Volume 16 Issue 5

bathimpact The University of Bath Students’ Union Newspaper

Volume 16 Issue 5

Your newspaper. Your news. facebook.com/bathimpact Julian Deverell

Pedro Gomes

Monday 17th November 2014

Eva Rinaldi

bathimpact meets UKIP’s Julian Deverell ~ page 5

Let the festivities get underway Alexandra Egan Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk

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hristmas arrived early in Bath as thousands gathered in the city centre to attend the famous annual Christmas lights switch-on event, this year sponsored by Jolly’s.

On 12 November Milsom Street’s Georgian buildings were lit up by multicoloured lights as music blared from the centre stage in the buildup to the switch-on. Despite the wet weather, Bath was bustling with people hoping to catch a glimpse of BBC Radio 4 presenter, Justin Webb, from the Today Programme team, and Bath Rugby’s Stuart Hooper who had the honours of doing the switch-on. The sporty twist to the switch-on was popular amongst University of Bath students and Webb, as Patron of the Bath

Rugby Foundation, was an appropriate choice.

Webb and the Bath rugby squad followed in the footsteps of Mary Berry, star of ‘The Great British Bake Off’, Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall and Hollywood’s very own Nicholas Cage.

The event commenced at 5.30pm, opening with a performance of ‘The Fade of City’ by Bath City College, followed by another by Bristol based singer-songwriter Jane Taylor. The performances delighted the crowd, who were also mesmerised by the spectacular light show put together by Bath company Enlightened. The Christmas lights switch-on is one of the highlights of Bath’s festive calendar and marks the beginning of the short wait for Bath’s Christmas market to begin. The lights themselves are being funded by the council and resemble glittering chandeliers in the hope of paying tribute to

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Don’t fall for Russell Brand’s ‘revolution’ ~ page 7 Bath’s past rich in culture and history.

Oldfield’s Councillor David Dixon, the council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “This year’s Christmas lights switch on ceremony is set to put Bath on the map like never before.

“Bath and North East Somerset Council is proud to provide more than 70 individual Christmas light features around the city centre, which make up this year’s magnificent display.

The council is supporting the event in a bid to attract even more shoppers and visitors to enjoy what’s on offer in Bath in the run up to Christmas.”

The spotlight, however, was firmly placed on the recently refurbished department store, Jolly’s. The iconic store is one of the oldest department stores in Europe has been lovingly re-

world

stored to its former glory by its present owners, House of Fraser.

“It seemed appropriate to celebrate the star of our own high street, Jolly’s is an institution in Bath” stated Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive of the Bath Business Improvement District which co-ordinates the annual event with the council.

Cooper added, “The switch on marks the start of the busiest time of year for our retailers.

Bath is the perfect Christmas shopping destination with all the top high street brands as well as a host of great independents set in a beautiful heritage city.”

The switch-on was most certainly a success and the Christmas fever has definitely hit Bath, to the delight of the many retailers, going handin-hand with the recent agreement to extend their opening hours, between 8am and 7pm.

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pag Virgin to continue space missions

pag Fancy a smoke? It’s Uruguay time

La vie en rose

Ben Plumley looks at the failed test flight of Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane Enterprise and asks whether Richard Branson’s plans will ever be fulfilled.

Chris Knutsen looks at the legalisation of cannabis in Uruguay and considers whether this is a step in the right direction or if it presents a danger to society.

Constantina Tagapoulou shares her experiences in Paris and recommends all the best hidden treasures that can be found in the City of Love.

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Monday 17th November 2014

bathimpact

Editorials

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Student apathy at it again T

here has been a large amount of gesturing and confrontation on social media about the recent decision by the Students’ Union to not support the ‘Free Education Demo’ and put on coaches for students wishing to travel to London on the grounds of health and safety concerns. This decision has been criticised because a student vote on the issue was passed before the safety concerns came to light. bathimpact is of the opinion that the whole process has not been handled well by all parties and is an indication of the poor state of student activism in this country at the moment.

The vote over the issue was not publicised or communicated well by the SU and this was reflected in the turnout of 112 people, less

than 1% of the student body. The SU would probably agree that this could have been improved, but such high levels of apathy amongst the student body is clearly an issue and gives this vote an incredibly small mandate; as only those who were incredibly engaged with the issue knew the vote was taking place. Therefore claims from the pro-demonstration camp that 86% of the student body voted to go to the demonstration are completely unfounded as less than 100 students out of over 16,000 voted ‘yes’. With such a miniscule mandate and such a massive display of apathy, making so much noise over such a small thing seems almost redundant.

Furthermore, the suggestion that the SU Officers are folding to the wishes of corporate backers

is laughable. So called ‘corporate backers’ couldn’t care less about the fact that 100 left-leaning students want to spend a wet afternoon making noise in London, they’re too busy having jobs. The issue could have been communicated better by the SU Officers and they would almost certainly admit this, but calling for their resignation and accusing them of refusing to represent students is ridiculous. The easy decision for them would have been to just go with the vote and put on the buses and nobody would have cared, because as we have already established, nobody cares. Instead they have evaluated the issues with the demonstration and made a decision that they knew would irritate a very vocal minority. They are not the only Students’ Union

to make this decision and they have repeatedly said that they will still support students who want to travel to the demonstration.

Nobody has come out of this issue covered in glory and it is an indication of the weak state of student activism at the moment.

After four years of Tory government you would think student politics would be geared up to actually make a difference in an election year, but it appears to be in a more dishevelled state than ever; relying on pontification on social media, which even then is often shouted out by the misogyny of ‘The Lad Bible’ and ‘The Tab, more so than real action. The Students’ Union could have handled the issue better, but the real story here is of apathy and failure rather than betrayal.

Support staff over pay gap

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hen the actions of a few seem to have an impact on your life, it is natural for us to be less than emphatic.

This feeling of disgruntlement is intensified even further when the impact inhibits something we feel we are entitled to. When transport workers strike, we will rarely see eye-to-eye with their grievances if they interrupt our schedules. A civil service action which delays the processing of passports or drivers licenses we have already paid for will exhaust us, regardless of the legitimacy of their plans.

It was unsurprising to hear a certain amount of grumbling surrounding the potential impact of an ‘assessment boycott’ taken by University of Bath University and College Union (UCU) academic and academic related staff over a pension’s dispute.

Despite this cynical view on human nature and our inherent self-interest, it was – to a certain

extent – heartening to see 57.7% of students come out in support for the staff, looking past the idea that results from coursework might come in a little later than usual.

On issues which so closely affect us, particularly when it involves individuals we rub shoulders with on a daily basis, it is important to be informed. It is vital to understand the context behind the disruption, rather than assuming it is based on pure selfinterest. bathimpact has attempted to present both sides of the argument on the issue, highlighting not just the current issue over pensions but also long-standing disagreements between those who teach and those who run the University.

When you understand these issues, it is difficult not to have a certain element of sympathy for University staff. Is it fair that the Vice-Chancellor, the chief ex-

ecutive of the University, received salary increases of 35% between 2011-13 whilst most staff pay barely kept up with inflation? Is it right that staff are to lose potentially thousands in retirement?

Equally, however, we must understand the thought-processes behind those who make the hard decisions. Is creating a sustainable pension scheme for future staff a tough, yet justifiable, reason to make the changes? Is it really fair to compare the salaries of the Vice-Chancellor, who does work incredibly hard in a highpressured job, with other employees? Of course there are two sides to the issue and someone’s ‘right’ will be another’s ‘wrong’.

At bathimpact, however, we believe that the debates over pay and pension discrepancies are a symptom of an increasingly commercialised higher education system. The Vice-Chancellor’s successes with the University are

rightly lauded, but it is difficult to be filled with glee when she is the highest paid university head in the country (in relation to the institution’s size). It is even harder to ‘back’ her salary when she was a key advocate for tuition fees and has even called for a further increase.

It is a worrying situation when those who run the University appear so distant from the minds and interests of the students they represent. It is a difficult position when we take sides with the UCU, despite their inconveniencing of us, as their plight seems greater than our self-interest.

Ultimately though, when it comes to the big issues - tuition fees, a Living Wage for casual workers and helping us to be the best academics we can possibly be – the Unions have always been our most vocal supporters. It is because of this that bathimpact supports our staff.

Dapper isn’t Laughing now ‘Dapper Laughs’, the alter ego of ‘comedian’ Daniel O’Reilly, suffered a rapid and humbling fall from grace last week, culminating with O’Reilly claiming the character was dead and that he was ‘ruined’ in a Newsnight interview. His problems began when students at Cardiff University successfully petitioned for the cancellation of his planned show at the Y-Plas venue in their Students’ Union because of his frequent and vulgar brand of misogyny. Further cancellations followed and ITV2 decided not to renew his show, Dapper Laughs: On the Pull, all culminating with his apology and retiring of the character on Newsnight.

If anyone is unaware, ‘Dapper’, real name Daniel O’Reilly, found his fame on Vine, peddling misogynistic jokes in six second

snippets and getting millions of views. Examples of his comedic wisdom include “just show her your penis. If she cries, she’s just playing hard to get” and “remember, it’s only sexual harassment if she’s more attractive than you”.

Somehow, in our culture of ‘The Lad Bible’ and Robin Thicke, this has become a regrettably regular form of humour and is seen by many as acceptable. bathimpact is of the opinion that defending such acts as ‘banter’ or satire dismisses the very real problem of sexism and rape culture in society and welcomed the challenging of ‘Dapper Laugh’.

For those of you who feel he has been unfairly targeted or try to defend what ‘Dapper Laughs’ does as satire, shouldn’t be taken seriously. The definition of satire is “the use of humour, irony, ex-

aggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues”. Satire should be used to criticise those in a position of power and look to comment on improving society, not attack already marginalised groups; that’s called bullying. By suggesting that ‘Dapper Laughs’ is satire, you imply that the vice or problem that the women who bear the brunt of his jokes are guilty of is simply being women.

Rape jokes are not and never will be satire and pretending as such is horrifically offensive to all of those people who have ever suffered rape or sexual assault.

In terms of admitting his fault, Daniel O’Rielly did to his credit seem contrite in the Newsnight interview and has obviously

passed up a lot of money in cancelling the entire tour and giving up the character for good. Obviously the next step is proving that he has actually learned something from the situation and that any future projects he undertakes show a far higher degree of social awareness. If this is the case then he should be praised and bathimpact would wish him well in his future endeavours.

Finally, bathimpact would like to commend Vicky Chandler and her fellow Cardiff students for organising the original Cardiff petition. Despite the rather bleak portrayal we painted in a previous editorial, this is proof that student activism can make a difference when committed people work for a well-defined and worthy cause; other student organisation should take note.

The bathimpact team Matt Powell Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

Benjamin Butcher Deputy Editor-in-Chief impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk

John Barlow bite Editor impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Ramiye Thavabalasingam News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

Alexandra Egan Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk

Michael Powell Sport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

Pedro Gomes Photography Editor impact-photo@bath.ac.uk

Thomas Gane Online Editor impact-it@bath.ac.uk

Connor McGregor Morton Publicity Officer impact-publicity@bath.ac.uk

Siân Maria Morgan Design Editor impact-design@bath.ac.uk

Elliott Campbell Media Officer su-media-officer@bath.ac.uk

Advertising Enquires Helen Freeman H.Freeman@bath.ac.uk 01225 386806

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bathimpact Students’ Union University of Bath Bath BA2 7AY 01225 38 6151

The opinions expressed in bathimpact are not necessarily those of the bathimpact editors nor of the University of Bath Students’ Union. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct and accurate at the time of going to print, the publisher cannot accept any liability for information which is later altered or incorrect. bathimpact as a publication adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Conduct.

Please contact them for any information.

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expressimpact

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These rushed and unjustified changes to our pensions... will only go to pay for cocaine and prostitutes for bankers.

Dr Michael Carley, the University of Bath’s University and College Union Vice President, on the recent disputes over staff pension schemes.

Science Alert

photo of the fortnight

Last Wednesday, history was written when the European Space Agency (ESA) landed a spacecraft on a comet. These icy rocks zoom past Earth every dozens of years and they are potentioally the origin for water on Earth and perhaps even life.

For the past 10 years, ESA has been chasing a comet named 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko with a probe named Rosetta, which in August, managed to rendezvous with the comet. The probe has been gradually descending from 100km to 10km in order to send a lander probe called Philae.

The lander probe decoupled last Wednesday and after a very slow descent it finally landed at 16:00 GMT. Philae will start collecting data from the surface giving us greater insight into what comets are really made of.

The number of young carers in the UK who support their ill parents

11.2%

The percentage of total wealth controlled by the richest 0.01% in the United States

graphic of the fortnight

This graphic compares the turnout at three recently-held polls: the Scottish independence referendum, the citizen participation process on the political future of Catalonia, and the University of Bath Students’ Union poll on whether or not the SU should support a national ‘Free Education - no cuts, no fees, no debt’ demonstration. 84.59% of the Scottish electorate voted in the referendum, compared to the 41.6% turnout in the poll on Catunian self-determination, and in black, the mere 108 votes cast in the SU’s poll (a turnout of less than 1%).

updates & events UPCOMING EVENT How physics has put the energy into medicine. Professor Francis Duck will be discussing the symbiosis between medicine and energy, and how the role physics played in this development has been largely forgotten. Tickets are £2 for students and £4 for visitors.

Where: BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square When: Friday 28th November, 7:30pm.

NATIONAL The growth of the average pay of UK workers has overtaken inflation for the first time in half a decade, according to new data from the Office of National Statistics. The Consumer Prices Index inflation rate for September rose by 1.2 per cent, compared to the 1.3 per cent rise in wages excluding bonuses. The UK has also seen unemployment figures decrease by 115,000 between July and September.

INTERNATIONAL Ex-USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev has warned that the world is on the brink of a new Cold War, referring to the recent conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Mr Gorbachev said that the West had “succumbed to triumphalism” during an address he made at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

figures of the fortnight

700,000

News Lite

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LOCAL University of Bath student Beverley Lung has won the chance to present the British Council’s international radio show, The Selector. Beverley will be joined by five other student finalists from across the country to broadcast the weekly show until April 2015.

HEALTH One in ten sausages in England and Wales could cause hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection if they are undercooked, according to experts. There have been growing concerns amid a dramatic rise in the number of HEV cases, as there were just 124 confirmed cases of the virus in 2003, compared to the 461 cases that have been confirmed in the first half of this year alone.

UPCOMING EVENT University of Bath Snow Ball 2014. The annual event will be celebrating the University’s sporting achievements from this semester. The event is black tie with a masquerade theme and open to both members of sport teams and non-members.

Where: Bath Pavilion When: Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th November, 9:30pm.

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Proposed council tax to hit students Michael Powell Sport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

Kosala Bandara

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ath councillor June Player has suggested that students or their landlords should contribute to council tax. Player, an independent councillor from Westmoreland led a debate in a full council meeting last Thursday after she had originally raised the issue. The motives behind Player’s idea have arisen after a number of queries by local residents.

Currently landlords are exempt from paying council tax on properties which are solely occupied by full-time students. Students are not required to pay any council tax themselves. Player and her independent supporters are aiming to change this and are calling for Bath and North East Somerset Council to back their proposals. If the Council support these new ideas, the issue could then be taken to central government for further discussion.

Player has claimed that her motion “is all about fairness for all” and that she wants to “open the debate as to how this is achieved”.

She also believes that “local residents, local businesses and local councils should not have to continue to subsidise these purpose built student blocks or converted houses into student Homes of Multiple

Proposals have been made that students and their landlords should contribute to council tax Occupancies (HMOs). They do af- ter- they will spend it all on road and just leave it there. They make ter all use all the services that the signs, bike racks, traffic lights and a mess when it’s the end of the year, dumping everything bar the bridges to nowhere.” rest of us use and pay for!”

The debate appears to have kitchen sink outside their houses”.

Whilst much of the general pubAnother member of the public lic appear to agree with Player’s come about due to unrest of resicomments, saying that student dents in the main student area of hit back at the idea that the high homes should be paying council Oldfield Park. Many citizens are number of students in Oldfield tax as they use council facilities unhappy at the large number of Park should result in an introducincluding refuse collection, others students who dominate the lo- tion of Council taxes, saying “right are not so convinced. One mem- cation and the rubbish they cre- now there is so little incentive for ber of the public questioned if the ate with one resident claiming students to live elsewhere as anyidea “is a backdoor way of increas- “students put rubbish out on a where but Oldfield Park requires ing the overall tax take?”, whilst Wednesday letting it get kicked a hike or a round the houses bus another simply said that “the less around till collection on Friday - to get up to the University.” They tax given to the Council the bet- either that or they put it out late went on to suggest that “if bus ser-

vices were more extensive and ran later into the night to other parts of Bath, I’m sure students will move”.

The proposed change to council tax and ongoing student complaints demonstrates that the underlying problem is the relationship between students and other residents. This has led these residents to seek a way of ‘punishing’ students with the proposed council tax seen as an ideal way to do this.

This is not the first proposal which has targeted student living situations. In 2012, the Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) Council’s Cabinet voted unanimously in favour of a new planning rule – Article 4 Direction - that limits concentrations of shared housing across the city of Bath.

Any new conversions of a standard house into an HMO now requires planning permission, only allowing new HMOs where less than 25% of houses in a 100m radius are also HMOs. The law has had a profound effect on where students can live in Bath, with an increasing student population needing to find housing outside of the traditional areas. This is expected to have a profound impact, especially in the way of transport and house prices in parts of towns not currently prepared for a student population.

Ramiye Thavabalasingam News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

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he National Union of Students (NUS) recently launched their ‘New Deal for the Next Generation’ general election manifesto, a campaign title which echoes that of the Liberal Democrats’ pre-manifesto or, as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg calls it, a ‘manifesto for the next generation’. Earlier this year, bathimpact spoke to Don Foster, Lib Dem MP for Bath, about the upcoming general election and the Liberal Democrats’ position on so-called ‘student issues’.

Mr Foster, who is set to step down as MP for Bath in time for next year’s election, spoke of his experiences with the student pop-

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I am tired of people telling me that, in voting, students look only at student issues” Don Foster MP

ulation in Bath over his twentytwo years in office. “Bath is one of very few single constituencies to be impacted by two universities, and these two student groups are contained in a compact area,” the soon-to-be retired MP said, adding that, “The two universities have had huge economic benefits;

jobs have been created,” and that students have had an “impact on the night time economy” in Bath.

He emphasised his appreciation for the student community in Bath further when he said, “the hidden story is that there is a phenomenal amount of voluntary work done by students within the city.”

He then went on to speak about the political efforts of the student movement in Bath, saying, “membership of student political parties is low, but membership of societies and sports clubs is high.

Students aren’t particularly party political.”

When discussing past student activism, Mr Foster described the University of Bath Students’ Union battle against the Article 4 Direction as an “effective campaign”, though emphasised that he did not agree with the Union’s position on the issue. The Article 4 Direction, which was confirmed by the Liberal Democrat-led Bath and North East Somerset Council last year, placed greater restrictions on the development of Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). This was specifically targeted at areas which have a highly concentrated student population, such as Oldfield Park, due to fears that families are being ‘pushed out’.

He then added that students have not always played their part in the political process.

Policy Exchange

Don Foster MP on student activism

Don Foster said that the lack of student activism has been a “real bitter disappointment” at times “There are times of real bitter ‘next generation’, preferring the cision based on a wide range of disappointment – student move- term the ‘new generation’. He issues.”

Considering the range of poliments are not as vociferous as I’d said, “I’m in favour of Votes at 16.

The ‘new generation’ has the right cies that the NUS has outlined in like,” Mr. Foster said.

Speaking more generally about to be heard as much as the older their general election manifesto, which covers anything from prothe student movement on a na- generation.”

Throughout this interview, tecting the Disabled Students tional level, Mr Foster said, “from time to time the student move- Mr Foster spoke very adamantly Allowance to reversing the NHS ment has impacted on politics about one thing in particular: Bill, it is clear that students do – things like AIDs, the environ- students don’t only think about care about different issues, not ment, welfare issues and sport- themselves in their current situ- just the policies that are deemed ing issues.” When asked how the ation. ‘student issues’. As Mr. Foster “I am tired of people telling continuously reiterated, “the funstudent population compared to the average voter, he added, “stu- me that, in voting, students look damental point is that, above evedents are more open-minded – I only at student issues,” the Lib- rything, students campaign on a eral Democrat Chief Whip said, wide range of issues, not just stuwelcome that.”

He also criticised the term the adding, “students make their de- dent issues.”

Monday 17th November 2014

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UKIP’s ever-growing support in Bath bathimpact meets UKIP candidate to discuss the party and students Julian Deverell

Benjamin Butcher Deputy Editor-in-Chief impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk

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t doesn’t take long before Julian Deverell gets distracted. Within moments of ordering his coffee, Councillor Paul Crossley walks in and for a few seconds, Julian is lost for words. It isn’t hard to understand why: Julian is running for Parliament next year under the UKIP banner and Cllr. Crossley is Leader of the Liberal Democrat run Council.

Come May 2015, UKIP are likely to have played a key part in wiping his party off the map, both locally and nationally.

He quickly gets his attention back and relaxes again, placing a foot on the chair next to him. Campaigning, he tells me, is going well. “It has just kicked off and it has actually surprised us”, he says, “we’ve known that UKIP is doing really well nationally, but Bath has always been somewhere considered by the conventional parties to be not particularly fertile territory.”

The Bath constituency has, indeed, long been a Liberal Democrat stronghold since the election of Don Foster in 1992, who is stepping down next year. Since then the Lib Dems haven’t scored below 40% of the seat’s votes, but four controversial years in a Conservative-led coalition have changed things dramatically.

A poll from the Western Daily Press in May this year – shortly before the European Parliament elections – suggested that 25% of voters are aligned with UKIP, just 2% behind the Conservatives and over 10% more than the Liberal Democrats.

“If UKIP were running the Council,” he tells me, “I think it is fair to say we would be a lot less draconian.” At this point, he is referring to Article 4, the controversial measure pushed by the Liberal Democrat Council which meant Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs) – generally used by students – must be distributed more evenly around the

Young Independence

UK Independence Party candidate for Bath and North East Somerset addresses supporters city, even if house prices are higher the Council in Bath is very happy to the party and convince students or with poorer transport links. “The oblige.” that UKIP is not a one-trick party From time to time, Julian does focussed on Europe. As Young Inproblem in Bath is that you have a lot of local residents who make a lot extoll the ‘traditional’ UKIP image dependence Chairman for Bath on certain social values, in particu- & North East Somerset, Evans of noise about the ‘student issues’”.

Would a UKIP-led Council abol- lar, ‘human spurred’ climate change. says that “UKIP propose policies ish Article 4? He isn’t entirely sure. “We now have a situation where for no tax on the minimum wage He does, however, promise to be climate change is being taught in (£13,500) and removing tuition fees “more proportionate” and not allow schools as being factual,” he tells for science, technology, engineering, the “small minority who shout very me, “so if you’re asking why the maths (STEM) and medicine”, poliloudly and represent students in a younger generations believe that, it’s cies he claims “are resonating with because the government has taught students and young people alike.” very bad way.”

Julian spends little time talking them that.” This was matched with This isn’t just hyperbole; Young about ‘immigration’ or ‘traditional an equally scathing critique of EU- Independence has seen support values’; he is far from the caricature funding on the issue and, naturally, shoot up by 40% in the last nine of a UKIP candidate. His buzzwords the media’s portrayal of it. months, taking membership to It is on issues like this which 2,906 nationally. Evans believes a are ‘libertarianism’ and ‘common sense’, something he extends to the might help explain the often nega- lot of this is down to the fact that way students, who make up 25% of tive way young people perceive “young people often challenge the the city’s population, are perceived them. A YouGov poll conducted in status quo messages, and are turnby local residents. “I guess that I October showed that 56% of under- ing to UKIP for honest and open degrew up at the end of a generation 24s believed UKIP were a ‘racist bate, something that is lacking in the when people would knock on each party’, whilst 60% of youths rejected old three parties.” other’s doors to sort things out, but the notion that UKIP is “more in now they phone the Council. And tune with the concerns of people like me than the other three parties”. For If UKIP were running the a candidate standing in a seat with Council...we would be such a significant student populaless Draconian” tion, a poll by Tory peer Lord AshJulian Deverell croft which signalled support of only 12% from 18-to-24 year olds might “Perception problems,” he says, prove some concern. “come primarily because UKIP talk Julian, however, isn’t deterred: “I about issues other political parties think that one of the things about the have called taboo.” But UKIP’s inpolls is that they’re all getting it very creasingly broad repertoire of poliwrong and things are moving too cies has also helped convince young fast for them and they cannot keep people: “Only recently at a universiup with the way things are moving.” ty open Q&A we received questions And he isn’t wrong: the 12% figure is around money creation and using 7% higher than a similar poll taken direct democracy in Hong Kong. in June, and it trumps both young This shows the spectrum for converpeople intending to vote Conserva- sations with UKIP is opening up and tive and Liberal Democrat. “One we are starting to be treated as a sething I do know is that the Youth rious player on the political scene”, Independence movement has seen Evans claims.

UKIPs fleeting attention on youth massive gains in its membership and for the first time we’re launch- and student issues in the past might ing a group here at the University of explain why it took so long for Young Independence to mobilise in Bath, Bath.”

Dan Evans is one of the lead- but at their party conference last ing Young Independence members, month they unravelled a number Dan Evans (left) with UKIP’s leader Nigel Farage at a YI event hoping to transform the image of of policies including the scrapping

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of the 50% target for young people in higher education and greatly reduced tuition fees for those in ‘academic’ subjects, such as the socalled STEM courses.

But the decision to rid education policy of targets has been seen by some as countering improvements to social mobility in the last twenty years. “We’re not about targets, we’re about individual people,” Julian says, “the tuition fees were a retrogressive step, but I do believe the target was wrong. You should have the opportunity if it is the right thing to do and you want to do it.”

On student issues relating to the EU, Julian is more uncomfortable.

On the topic of Erasmus, the EU grant established to help students work or study abroad for a year, he was unable to comment and danced around how it might affect EU residents studying in the UK, who UKIP would force to pay the far higher international fees, which can be as high as £17,400 a year.

“It’s certainly not going to stop students studying abroad and we’re not talking about stopping immigration, it’s about controlling it and student visas will go on,” he says, “but in terms of the ins-and-outs [of Erasmus and EU-students], I’m no expert and I can’t tell you exactly how that would work.”

A significant proportion of University of Bath students take placement or study years, many of them within EU countries. Meanwhile, around 15% of the student body are European-based.

When asked to name a ‘Mickey Mouse’ subject, the UKIP name for courses deemed less academic, Julian quickly dodged the topic: “I can’t think of any and I’m not going to say any now”.

But Julian is sure of one thing, voting UKIP is the right choice for young people; the difference between UKIP versus the three ‘conventional parties’ “is a prosperous, free country that gives them the opportunity and freedom to prosper again, or an economic disaster.”

It is unlikely that swathes of students will be convinced in the coming months about UKIP’s ability to represent them, both in Bath and across the country. But, for better or for worse, UKIP are now at our doorstep. Julian oozes a likeability which is difficult to explain, it is neither the ‘faux-everyman’ appeal of Nigel Farage nor the sincere confidence of a pre-election Nick Clegg.

Perhaps it is because he isn’t, strictly speaking, a politician; he has never, by his own admission, been involved in local or national politics (he is, in fact, the owner of one of Britain’s largest chessboard manufactuers). He is how UKIP wants to be seen: small government, not isolationist. Common sense, not racist. He might even have ideas which appeal to a number of young people. But with UKIP comes the baggage, something which may well slow him down when campaigning among students.

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Monday 17th November 2014

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Disciplinary action for PCC Gargan Policy Exchange

Helen Edworthy bathimpact Reporter

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von and Somerset Police Chief Constable Nick Gargan is not to face any criminal charges following a probe by the police watchdog earlier this year.

Despite this, Mr Gargan is to face an internal charge of gross misconduct over allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, including making inappropriate advances to a female member of staff. The probe, which was conducted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), led to Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens concluding that the complaints against Mr Gargan were sufficient for the internal charge, and he has been suspended since May of this year. PCC Mountstevens had until the end of October to decide whether or not to go ahead with the internal disciplinary proceedings.

Ms Mountstevens commented: “I have made the decision there is a case to answer for gross misconduct and therefore I will refer the allegations to a misconduct hearing in front of an independent misconduct panel. The members of the panel will decide if the allegations are proven or not and will present their recommendations to me. I will ensure that these recommendations are made public.”

Mr Gargan, whose position as Chief Constable has been held by

Gargan will be facing internal charges over allegations of inappropriate misconduct towards women Acting Chief Constable John Long, complicated due to the PCC Sue the complaint against Mr Gargan is yet to comment on the affair. The Mountstevens’ naming of the per- be known to him after she had met chairman of the Avon and Somer- son who had originally made the with him to discuss concerns about set Police and Crime Panel, Mr Ni- complaint to Mr Gargan himself. the specific individual and their gel Ashton, voiced concern about Ms Mountstevens was told by the general state. Ms Mountstevens how long the gross misconduct force’s crime panel that she had publicly apologised for her mischarge had taken to be raised in the made a mistake after receiving a take, due to the fact that she had first place. Mr Ashton commented complaint about her actions in breached her own code of conduct. that the original complainant has naming the originally anonymous The force’s crime panel has chosen the right to anonymity, adding that person. Ms Mountstevens com- to publish the findings in the afterthe chief constable himself was also mented that, with regards to the math of Ms Mountstevens’ naming ‘innocent until proven guilty’. Mr situation and the ensuing com- of the complainant, clarifying that Ashton also added that it “should plaints, it is a situation she “could it is being considered a “serious have been handled much more have handled better”. Ms Mount- error of judgement” rather than a stevens has stated that she let the “mistake”. quickly”.

In addition to the complaints of The complaint proceedings were identity of the person who had filed

gross misconduct towards women, Chief Constable Gargan was also investigated over alleged data protection breaches, with the IPCC later saying that they did not feel Mr Gargan himself committed the offence. This is because Mr Gargan had previously been registered at the data controller for Avon and Somerset Police, and as such the offence can only be committed by someone who does not have the same access to the data to begin with.

When the decision to go forth with an internal charge of gross misconduct was first announced, Ms Mountstevens released the following statement: “Following the conclusion of the IPCC’s investigation into allegations in relation to the improper disclosure of information and inappropriate behaviour towards women, made about Chief Constable Nick Gargan, I was provided with the IPCC’s report and had 15 working days to make a decision on whether or not to refer the matter to misconduct proceedings. The IPCC put forward a number of recommendations regarding Nick Gargan. In accordance with those recommendations, I have made the decision there is a case to answer for gross misconduct and therefore I will refer the allegations to a misconduct hearing in front of an independent misconduct panel.

I will not be involved in the misconduct panel.”

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he National Union of Students (NUS) has been widely criticized by student activists after a decision was made to withdraw its support from what was hoped to be one of the biggest student’s demonstrations since 2010, due to ‘safety issues’.

In reaction to the NUS’s decision, a number of Students’ Unions and Guilds across the country followed suit, including those of the University of Bath and Bath Spa University.

Jordan Kenny, the University of Bath Students’ Union President, stated: “The safety of our members is of paramount concern and, whilst this remains at risk, we will continue to support the principles of free education but not through a demonstration that continues to have outstanding safety concerns.”

The Students’ Union had previously issued a indicative poll on the issue which received 108 votes, less than 1% of the student body, of which 86% voted in favour of supporting the demonstration.

A number of students reacted badly to the SU’s decision, with Christopher Roche, a University of Bath student activist, calling Mr Kenny “a disgrace and an embarrassment”. A small number of students called for Mr Kenny to resign.

The national protest, organised for 19th November was organised by the Student Assembly Against Austerity and the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) in order to protest for politicians to scrap tuition fees. Students will be marching through central London towards Westminster.

Toni Pearce, President of the NUS, has said in a statement that the march poses an ‘unacceptable level of risk to our members”.

Ms Pearce also states that the “plans that are in place do not give us confidence that the demonstration will be accessible to all students – in particular disabled students.” And that from a risk assessment point of view, “it is clear that there are inadequate measures in place to mitigate against significant risks”.

Additionally Pearce highlights that “there is no public liability in place” Pete Forsyth

Siân Maria Morgan Design Editor impact-design@bath.ac.uk

Matt Dinnery

NUS disapproves of demonstration

NUS President Toni Pearce (left) has deemed the demonstration as inaccessible for the disabled and that it is “clear that the concerns for the NCAFC said the stance the the NUS’ stance saying that “There of the NUS liberation officers about NUS have decided to take “directly are no legitimate safety concerns, so accessibility, safe space and the ability contradicts the democratic mandate [she] can only guess it’s a political obfor liberation groups to be in involved taken by conference and the NEC.” jection.”

Redmond also notes that despite have not been met.”

Despite Pearce claiming safety is a Despite the fact that she adds that their”tiny shoestring budget”, they serious issue with the demonstration “the NUS has a policy to support free have been working hard to “ensure Edwards has pointed out that they education” and that they will continue the demonstration is organised prop- have “negotiated a safe and accessible to lobby and campaign for this, she erly”. She also adds that “dozens of route with the police, and we’re workdoes not believe that anyone should campuses and student unions are mo- ing closely with councils and Transtake part in the demonstration due to bilising from all over the country, and port for London to make sure the day this demonstration should mark the runs as smoothly as possible.” the lack of safety requirements.

It is clear that the issue of free edu- beginning of a new wave of student Edwards still believes that there cation has been a point of contention activism – not just against fees, but for will be thousands of people ready to within the NUS. This can be seen by a transformative vision for free, dem- march on the 19th even though the the fact that last year’s national con- ocratic and public education, and that NUS are “putting out false informaference in Liverpool voted narrowly is also the democratically mandated tion that is just going to spread confuto support free education, as a signifi- policy of NUS. It is clear that the pri- sion.” cant number of people support gradu- orities of some in the NUS leadership This demonstration will be the beate tax within the union. ginning of a series of demonstrations are elsewhere.”

The NCAFC has criticised the NUS’ Fiona Edwards, one of the organ- before the general election to underdecision to withdraw support as “ri- isers of the Student Assembly Against line the students’ demands and presdiculous”. Beth Redmond, organiser Austerity also strongly disagrees with sure politicians to support them.

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Harry Brennan bathimpact Writer he cult of personality surrounding Russell Brand started to emerge straight after the eponymous interview with Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight. It was after this interview that people, including several of my close friends, began to laud the comedian for his alleged articulacy and insight. The interview went viral and became bafflingly popular – most likely because it involved a famous loved comedian as opposed to a grey suited, unknown politician – and at one point I even heard someone refer to Brand as a “genius.” I remain perplexed by the way in which so many people were duped and even impressed by Russell Brand’s semi-literate rhetoric. I have often found myself going against conventional wisdom when it comes to pop culture. I still haven’t properly figured out why people are content to listen to the awful dross of the top forty charts that is pumped out of Radio One and Kiss FM every day. Seeing as conventional wisdom ceases to be wise as soon as it is indeed convention, I was able to see past the charming celebrity veneer of Russell Brand and actually listen to what he was saying. It turned out that he wasn’t saying much.

Beneath the mixture of complex, Latin derived, multi-syllabled words and his “cheeky chappy” provincial colloquialisms, are some very conventional opin-

Eva Rinaldi

Do not fall for Brand’s ‘revolution’

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Russell Brand continues to be popular despite the poor reviews of his latest book ‘Revolution’ ions. He, like the great majority channel video blog called ‘Trews’ introverted teenagers who discovof people who care, is frustrated (“True News”) and has now pub- ers Marxism or Richard Dawkins with British politics and the glib lished a book entitled Revolution. for the first time and likes nothpoliticians who are contemptuous The trouble with Russell Brand, ing more than to plagiarise their of the genuine views of their own and his pseudo intellectualism, is arguments in the ‘dull’ corner at electorate. He, again like most that it is not original in the slight- parties. It is incredibly frustrating of us, would like to see a serious est, nor is it profound. More or that writers like Chomsky remain change in the way the country is less everything he says or writes unread by the majority of the poprun. This change in constitutional sounds like a very poor imperson- ulation - as well as journalists who power is what Brand is deeming ation of Noam Chomsky. Brand have opposed the establishment does indeed reference Chomsky for years - whilst Russell Brand will be a new “revolution.”

As Russell Brand’s cult follow- every now and then, and has de- can amass a huge support base afing grew, so did his own thirst to scribed him as “a linguist, politi- ter one interview.

Russell Brand is a populist. become a public intellectual. He cal theorist and name you’d better began to appear more regularly start saying at gatherings if you People love him for who he is. on shows like Newsnight and want to be taken seriously.” Well What he says though, is actually Questiontime, reiterating his pre- I must say that I find it quite hard quite irresponsible. Despite arrodictable leftist spiel that people so to take Russell Brand seriously. gantly comparing himself to the love. He started up his own news He reminds me of one of those most successful public intellectual

of our time with a cringe-worthy sense of hubris, Brand fundamentally contradicts Chomsky. I wonder how aware of this Russell is.

A fundamental belief that Chomsky holds is that political change can be made within the existing political structure. He hates apathy, which is exactly what Russell Brand advocates. Whilst he goes on about how the establishment is only interested in itself and wants nothing more than to be left alone to run things – something with which I actually agree -, he says don’t vote. Don’t vote, don’t get involved, and boycott the elections. It is a ridiculous and contemptible proposal that would do nothing to make any change and would serve to continue the way things are currently run.

I am very pleased to see Russell Brand being taken down a peg or two in the media lately. His book has been very poorly reviewed, despite being quite shamefully advertised all over the BBC. His writing has been derided and he is being mocked on social media.

Some very clever and funny person came up with the idea of appending ‘Parklife!’ to the end of every Russell Brand tweet, drawing comparisons with the complex lyrics of the Blur single. Hopefully people are beginning to realise that Russell Brand is not as clever and profound as they once thought. Don’t waste your time with him. Go and read the work of some real writers and thinkers, not a former addict comedian.

Nipuni Perera bathimpact Writer

I

t was an honour to have been selected and sponsored by the University of Bath to attend the One Young World Summit in Dublin this year. I was given the opportunity to interact and engage with present day global change makers such as Kofi Annan, the first female President of Ireland Mary Robinson, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, NASA astronaut Ron Garan, and many more. Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus also made an address at the event, telling the group of young delegates, “Think of you as a job creator, not as a job seeker. Having job is old fashion, create things that solve problems and become job creators.’

From the moment I reached Dublin airport to attend the One Young World Summit - the second largest gathering of nations on Earth with over 1400 delegates from every country - I felt a warm welcome from the ‘One Young World’ banners displayed in the airport and all across the streets.

It was such a great experience to see like-minded people determined to make a difference in the world. Not just students, but

employees of leading corporate firms, NGOs, young politicians, all under one roof being inspired by each other and by the world leaders who acted as our councillors.

As the flag bearer of Sri Lanka, it was a fascinating moment to step on to the stage and march with pride along with the other countries’ representatives. It felt like it was the whole world under one roof collaborating and cooperating in harmony. That’s when this question struck me: why can’t we all live in peace like this?

I was highly motivated and empowered by the stories of two girls from Cuba and North Korea and the struggle they faced in order to escape their own countries in search of democracy. Yet it was interesting how at the same time, I met an employee of Coca Cola, who stated how the company has conquered, and operates in, every country in the world except the two aforementioned nations.

I was also blown away when I met such successful young entrepreneurs who have achieved so much without pursuing further education, proving that anything is possible and that you do not need to go through the traditional route to make a difference in

the world and be successful.

I was involved with the Q&A sessions where I was privileged enough to raise a question to Professor Yunus about the challenges and the critics of microfinance.

I was also fortunate to interact with the Founder of Wikipedia and asked him a question on what they are doing to improve the validity and reliability of their content. During the internal breakout session, I had the opportunity to present to the audience the case study which we discussed as a group on increasing the Mushroom farming. I presented our ideas on the marketing strategies, distribution and finance. As part of the external breakout session, we were taken to the Google Head Office in Dublin, where there was a talk about what technology can do for the problems facing global society.

I was simply amazed by all of the talent, courage, and drive I saw in Dublin! So happy to have met and connected with so many amazing people. One Young World has indeed transformed me to be more socially responsible and demand change now, not tomorrow!

I am now a proud One Young World Ambassador.

One Young World

Being a part of this One Young World

Nipuni Perera (left) was flag bearer of Sri Lanka at the annual event

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UK objects to freedom of movement Sebastian Zwez

Ramiye Thavabalasingam News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

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arlier this month, Angela Merkel warned David Cameron that the principle of freedom of movement within the European Union was not up for negotiation and that she would rather see the United Kingdom leave the EU than compromise over the policy. Even the Prime Minister’s Nordic counterparts, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven and Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, have weighed in on this debate, warning Cameron that changing the rules of freedom of movement could ‘ruin’ the institution.

As a German citizen who has lived in the UK for over a decade now, I find myself at odds with this predicament. The principle of freedom of movement has affected so many Europeans across the continent, and not just those from EU member states; Switzerland has up until recently fully accepted the terms of the ‘Four Freedoms’ of the single market (people, goods, services and capital), despite the fact that the country isn’t even a member of the European Economic Area, let alone the EU. So how can the UK, which arguably plays a fairly significant role within the international organisation, assume that it can pick and choose between the basic foundations of the institution? In order to reap all the benefits of being a part of the EU’s

Germany and the United Kingdom have knocked heads recently over EU freedom of movement single market economy, you must efits up to 2011. Compare this to often debated, though it must be be willing to pay the price of free- the British population in the same pointed out that a large majority period, which drained the state of of the immigrants in this country dom of movement.

But what truly is the price of around £600 billion. However, are relatively young and are therefreedom of movement? According there remains evidence that im- fore able to contribute even more to a recent report by University migration can also drive down the to the UK’s economy over the time College London’s Centre for Re- pay of the indigenous population, that they will living and working search and Analysis of Migration, particularly those at the lower here. the immigrants from the ten coun- end of the pay scale. This can reImmigration has always been tries that joined the EU in 2004 sult in a greater use of benefits a scapegoat used by political parcontributed £4.96 billion more in amongst the working poor in Brit- ties across Europe; something taxes than they took from using ain. Whether or not the overall about it seems to unnerve people, public services and claiming ben- contributions outweigh this risk is and politicians are very aware of

this. Yet there are far greater issues with the EU as an institution than just the freedom of movement of people, such as the recent budget surcharge, which led to increased budget demands for many member states, including the UK, whilst other countries, such as Germany and France, saw a reduction in their contributions.

Issues revolving around the EU economy and budget remain serious concerns, yet political parties from across the spectrum continue to use immigration as the face of their campaign against the EU. Even the Labour Party has recently tightened its policy on immigration controls and the rights of EU migrants within the UK, with a particular focus on benefits and tax credits. With politicians on both the left and right arguing for more strict rules on freedom of movement, it is difficult to distinguish whether this should be our greatest worry when it comes to the EU. According to German news magazine Der Spiegel, the German Chancellor fears that the UK was getting close to a “point of no return” regarding its membership of the institution, yet David Cameron recently said that he believed the British people would want to stay in the EU, just in a “reformed and changed” state. Whether this is the case will be shown in next year’s general election, with the rising popularity and success of UKIP leaving the UK’s membership of the EU at risk.

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organisation wishes to help men to share their experiences with regards to mental health and invest time in breaking down this fairly taboo subject. It has been said that £2.5 m from the moustaches grown this month will go towards mental health. Paul Farmer, the Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind has expressed how pleased he is that the stigma of this topic will be broken down.

We cannot ignore the fact that men become particularly proud of their ‘mos’, so what better way to promote your involvement than by getting others to join in the hairy fun through hosting an event during the month. There are dozens happening all over the country now, whether it is hosting a group chat or a party with kegs, it adds to the fun of Movember!

Competitions for the best style of moustache are even held and now that we are well over a week into Movember that facial hair should akaitori

Scarlett Clark bathimpact Writer he Movember Foundation challenges men to grow moustaches during Movember (formerly known as November), to spark conversation and raise vital funds for its men’s health programs. Last year alone £20 million was raised in the UK for men’s cancer, focusing specifically upon prostate and testicular cancer.

The Movember Foundation is now also tackling mental health. Movember was established back in 2003 as an entertaining initiative whilst promoting real issues and to change, literally, the face of men’s health. According to The Movember Foundation’s cofounder, Justin Coughlan, men do not look after themselves until it is too late. In the United Kingdom, 77% of suicides are male suicides, which means that twelve men everyday decide to take their own lives. Coughlan explained that the

be shaping up into something quite impressive. Whether it be ‘the trucker’ tash, the ‘gentleman’ , or the French ‘twirler’, everyone should get your creative juices flowing and get styling!

It is also a good idea to get sisters, mums, grandmothers and girlfriends involved too. Aussie, a hair care company, has launched the ‘Misstache’ campaign this November for the first time. All they have to do is grab a lock of hair, take a selfie and dedicate it to a man in their life. Then they must upload and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag ‘#MISSTACHE for #MOVEMBER’. Laura Whitmore, the ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here’ presenter, was recently spotted sporting the trend in OK! Magazine. The MTV star admitted it is good to give the boys some extra support. “It’s a really good, fun campaign. Men’s health is a really important topic and I think it’s easier for girls to talk about these things.”

Men have a 14% higher risk of developing cancer than women and a 37% higher risk of dying from it. Currently, in the UK more than two-thirds of men are obese or overweight. By taking a few simple steps such as maintaining

Tomasz Grabowiecki

Many-a-moustache this Movember

Movember is a popular and fun way to raise money for charities a good diet, getting regular check- and friends involved, the tashes ups and taking action early when are providing a platform to get experiencing a health issue, every more charity partakers. The reMo Bro can improve their chances search has proven that it is having a positive impact on getting men of living a happy and healthy life.

So is all of this actually mak- engaged and thinking about their ing a difference? Yes! The Mo- health as well as taking necessary vember Foundation has said that action. Progress is being made. it is in fact all the Mo Bros out but there is still a long way to go there who are the real advocates and the only way to achieve the raising awareness. Through com- ultimate goal is through throwing munication and getting family away those razors. Get growing!

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Illegal immigration doubles in one year

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wenty-four Afghan immigrants lost their lives in the Black Sea on 3 November in yet another attempt to make the dangerous journey to Europe. It is likely that the immigrants were trying to reach the Bulgarian and Romanian coasts on their makeshift boat when tragedy struck.

Turkey is another country deemed popular for Asian and African immigrants to begin their European lives in the hope of a better future. In 2013 a boat sunk off of the coast of Turkey killing five people, which was attempting to reach Greece. What is clear is that tragedies such as the former continue to take place and immigrants searching for a better life in Europe, despite such tragedies, continue to make the dangerous voyage overseas.

Even with European efforts, the number of illegal immigrants has actually doubled in recent years. The main causes for this increase include widespread poverty, the Syrian civil war and political instability in North Africa. A substantial amount of immigrants also come from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Albania and Chechnya. The immigrants pay sums of money to smugglers in their search for free-

dom and better living standards.

Those bearing the brunt of the doubling of illegal immigration in Europe include Italy and Greece, due to their positioning in the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, ‘Operation Mare Nostrum’ was launched in October 2013 by the Italian government to patrol international waters, as well as to rescue eventual boats approaching European coasts. Due to Italy’s efforts, over 100, 000 people have been saved from impending tragedy and more than 700 smugglers have been arrested. However, due

“

This is a dark day for the moral standing of the UK. Kate Allen

to the high costs of the operation, Italy can no longer afford to pay for the operation; €114m has been spent so far and the country has turned to its European counterparts for help in the fight against its immigration problem.

The European Union has finally announced a joint operation to combat the issue. The European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the

External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) has launched ‘Operation Triton’, costing the entity around €3m a month. The operation will focus on a narrower area than -Italy did before. However, Operation Mare Nostrum will not cease immediately and will continue for another two months in combination with Operation Triton.

Unfortunately, despite the EU’s efforts to solve the crisis, the measures taken are simply not enough to stop the dangerous overseas illegal immigration journeys. Moreover, not all the countries that make up the EU have financially committed to Operation Triton, whilst Finland, Spain, Portugal, Iceland, the Netherlands, Latvia, Malta and France will provide the equipment needed, other countries like Germany and the United Kingdom have refused to help with the situation.

The two European heavyweights in particular have received widespread criticism for their actions.

British Minister of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Joyce Anelay, believes that the fight against immigration should take place on the territories the immigrants come from.

Ticketautomat

Eleonora Monoscalco take a looks at the EU’s response to the situation

The EU has launched a joint effort to combat illegal immigration According to Anelay, Triton will stated on that the British governnot discourage smugglers from ment’s decision to not help in the organising more journeys. In- effort to stem overseas illegal imstead, the operation will have the migration, “is a very dark day for reverse effect and push more peo- the moral standing of the UK”.

There is hope that Operation ple to emigrate towards Europe, knowing that they will be picked Triton will be successful in stemup by international ships. The ming illegal immigration and problem, according to the Brit- preventing further loss of life. ish, needs to be addressed at the Whether the UK is to be a part of the venture in the future and source in order to find a solution.

Kate Allen, the General Direc- whether the operation is to be tor of Amnesty International, successful remains to be seen.

Labour’s Alistair Darling steps down O

n 2 November, Alistair Darling announced his decision to step down at the forthcoming General Election. Darling has become an extremely prominent figure on the British political scene, most recently through his leadership of the “Better Together” campaign against Scottish Independence.

Moreover, since 1987 he has held a continual position as an MP representing the Edinburgh South West constituency, and was Chancellor of Exchequer between 2007 and 2010 under Gordon Brown’s Premiership, playing a vital role in leading the country through the economic crisis.

Darling has explained his decision to step down now is so that he may whilst he is still “relatively young”. However, during this announcement he also expressed significant disappointment that the Labour Party has not done more to make the most of their involvement in the victory of the “No” referendum campaign in Scotland. Therefore it is possible that this was a contributing factor to his decision to step down.

Darling has proven himself to be of great importance to the Labour Party as demonstrated through the sentiments expressed on Twitter shortly after his announcement. David Miliband

tweeted in response to the news, “My retiring friend and colleague Darling is a gentle giant of politics: high on integrity, low on ego”. However, this most recent decision not to stand in the 2015 general election comes as a great blow to Labour, not only because of his individual significance as an MP, but also due to the fact

that this announcement follows the resignation of several other Scottish Labour representatives, including that of Scottish Labour Party leader, Johann Lamont, and Deputy Leader, Anas Sarwar. The future Labour seats in Scotland seem to be empty.

Furthermore, the Scottish National Party appears to be in-

creasing in popularity, despite the recent failure of their ‘Yes’ campaign for Scottish Independence.

This renders a strong Labour Party in Scotland necessary and indispensable should they wish to maintain those seats that were previously considered ‘safe’, after the 2015 elections, including that which Darling is about to vacate.

Stephen Jaffe

Roisin Haigh bathimpact Writer

Alistair Darling headed the “Better Together” campaign ahead of the Scottish referendum

The impending loss of who can only be described as one of Labour’s steadiest and most reliable members brings into question the future of the party. Although there has been no outright declaration, decisions to stand down by key figures such as Darling within a political party often demonstrate a general dissatisfaction with party leadership. This coupled with Darling’s indication that he is not to completely retire from the political scene could indicate that his decision to stand down has been influenced by a lack of faith in the party leader. It is no secret that Ed Miliband is not currently the most popular of politicians and despite being the leader of the Labour party in Westminster, there is speculation as to how long this will last, and if he is the most appropriate leader of the party through the upcoming General Elections.

With Darling’s indication that he has no intention of completely leaving the world of politics, he stresses his desire to use his experience from the “Better Together” campaign in the event of a future referendum on the UK’s European Union membership. There have also been rumours of a possible Lordship for Darling in the future.

Thus, despite his announcement to stand down at the next general election, it is certain that there is more to be seen of Mr. Darling.

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Science & Tech

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Professor Science: magic unicorns A

s a Professor of Scientific things, it is fascinating hearing you humans talk about unicorns. These are the mysterious and legendary creatures first described in ancient Greece around 350 BC and, although I am many moons old, I have never seen one myself! In fact, nobody ever has.

However, there have been plenty of descriptions and drawings of these mighty beasts. Tales depict it as a goat-like, horse-sized animal with cloven hooves and sometimes a goat’s beard, and of course the single spiralling horn on its forehead.

In olden day stories the unicorns’ horn in sometimes covered in glitter that sprinkles magic all over the world and lights up the sky.

For centuries people were (and still are) inspired by these ancient and even biblical stories and an obsession with the unicorn grew.

Plenty of heroic knights in shining armour went on the hunt for this mystical creature with magical healing powers during the Middle Ages. However, their quests were fruitless as only a gentle and virgin maiden was thought to be able to tame this wild beast, the complete opposite of a heroic knight in shin-

ing armour - that is for sure! As a scientist myself, I find this whole unicorns malarky slightly humorous to conjure up in my head.

In later times adventurers and explorers still unable to catch a unicorn came back from their world travels with plenty of tales.

Marco Polo is said to have described them as: “scarcely smaller than elephants… they have a single large black horn in the middle of the forehead…they are very ugly brutes to look at.” It later became clear that he was talking about a rhino. Unfortunately, science at the time relied on the reports of these adventurers that searched far and wide for new things to discover.

There were no cameras to take picture evidence and some of the colourful descriptions of wild beasts in faraway lands left a lot of room for interpretation. Science based on no evidence is no science at all!

Not surprisingly the obsession with finding a live specimen drove people to the brink of madness.

Some constructed skeletons from various animals and sold them as unicorns. In 1985, the Ringling Brothers Circus went as far as manipulating baby goats’ horns to

Poppy Peake

Our fabulous scientist explains why unicorns are not real at all

grow as one and presenting them as unicorns. As a fellow animal being, I sympathise with these poor goats!

Others only ever sold the horns they had gathered on their trips to the Artic, and they were worth a fortune.

Extensive studies showed that these ‘unicorn horns’ are not re-

ally from a mythical creature, but in fact the tusks of real-life seaunicorns, the male narwhals. The tusk grows from the canine tooth in left side of the upper jar. Although, not as magical as a unicorn horn, narwhal tusks do not give up their secrets easily either. Scientists are still debating what exactly it is

for. Some suggestions include: ice breaker, swimming rudder, thermal regulator, environmental sensor, weapon, foraging tool, status and sex symbol.

If you believe you have stumbled across a unicorn, it might be an idea to tone down the alcohol intake.

Ben Plumley bathimpact Writer failed test flight of Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane Enterprise has left one pilot dead and the other seriously injured.

The spaceplane was conducting the first manned test of a new type of rocket fuel on Friday 31 October when it disintegrated shortly after detaching from its launch vehicle, WhiteKnightTwo, and crashed into the Mojave desert in southern California, killing co-pilot Michael Alsbury. The pilot, Peter Siebold, is said to be “alert and talking with his family and doctors”. An investigation into the cause of the crash has commenced, but is expected to take up to a year to complete.

Initial findings suggest that the engine and fuel tanks remained intact, but that a system designed to slow the plane during re-entry deployed itself without the pilots’ instruction, leading to the crash.

Virgin Galactic is one of a recent wave of commercial space tourism companies, which hope to send groups of paying customers on trips near to or even into space. However, continued setbacks have meant that despite founder Sir Richard Branson’s prediction that the maiden voyage would take place by January 2009, the company is still a long way from achieving its goal. The United States aviation authority, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requires test flights to be completed at an altitude of

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Virgin to continue space missions

The Virgin Group’s founder Richard Branson offered his condolences to the family of Alsbury 62 miles; Virgin Galactic’s craft However, the investigation team deployment. What is unclear is has achieved just 13 miles to date. found the engine and fuel tanks why it deployed seemingly without Branson’s most recent prediction, intact amongst the debris, indicat- instruction, and why this meant made in September 2014, was that ing that the new fuel was not to the aircraft was ripped apart. So commercial flights would begin by blame for the crash. Instead, pre- far, investigators have not ruled March 2015, which appear to once liminary findings suggest that the out any possibilities, including piagain be optimistic in light of re- component at fault was the tail of lot error. cent events.

The accident has brought about the aircraft, which was intended The Enterprise was the only to swing into a vertical position to criticism of Virgin Galactic’s safety existing Scaled Composites Space- slow the aircraft down when the practices, including from senior ShipTwo, and had completed just pilot gave a command to do so. aerospace engineers. Carolynne three powered tests before its What actually occurred was that it Campbell, a rocket propulsion excrash. Virgin Galactic had been began to swing as soon as the pi- pert at the International Associahoping to test a new plastic-based lot deactivated its locking mecha- tion for the Advancement of Space rocket fuel for the first time, which nism, which meant the craft was Safety (IAASS), said of the prohad previously only been tested travelling around 300mph slower gramme: “This explosion is not a in laboratories on the ground. than it should have been during surprise…it was Russian roulette”.

Tomasso Sgobba, also of the IAASS and former head of safety at the European Space Agency, criticised the company’s secretive methods, revealing that Virgin Galactic had refused to allow independent experts to review the rocket design prior to take off. According to rocket scientist Geoff Daly, even Virgin Galactic’s own engineers agreed there was a safety concern, and that managers were aware and chose to continue with manned tests regardless. Despite their credentials, Branson dismissed his critics as “people who know nothing about what they are saying”.

The official statement released

by Virgin made oblique references to these and other criticisms by aggressively defending the group’s safety record, claiming safety was their first priority and “any suggestions to the contrary are untrue”.

In his statement, Branson offered condolences to the family of copilot Alsbury, and read a message of support from notable astronaut and former test pilot Chris Hadfield. He highlighted the dangerous nature of space travel and spacecraft testing, and vowed to “find out what went wrong, [and] if we can overcome it…to make absolutely certain that the dream lives on”.

Whether the crash was inevitable or simply a tragic accident in a dangerous industry, what is clear is that Branson’s desire to open up space travel to the public is not something Virgin Galactic will easily give up on.

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‘Yes’ majority in Catalan referendum SegiL

Roy Cobby and Nicolás Balcell bathimpact Writers

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arely two months after the Scottish referendum on independence, another nation in Europe is calling for greater autonomy. The Catalan case, however, differs in its context.

The effects of the economic crisis in Spain have been more dramatic than those of the United Kingdom.

In Catalonia, for instance, 20% of the population are at risk of becoming poor. Considering Catalonia’s role as a net contributor to the Spanish treasury, nationalist parties on the left and right believe greater fiscal autonomy would be a way out of the crisis. However, Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government, which has been in power since 2011, has repeatedly dismissed any requests for formal negotiations to take place concerning the issue.

In 2012, the Diada, the National Day of Catalonia, was marked by a march in central Barcelona, suitably depicted by the slogan “Catalonia, new state of Europe” proudly capitalised across multiple banners.

While the independence movement is deeply rooted in Spain’s history, the show of public support served as a catalyst to Catalan President Artur Mas’ call for snap elections. Voters, frustrated with a central government unwilling to explore a ‘third way’, elected a coalition of pro-independence parties in the November 2012 election. Mas, along with other nationalist parties, set the date for the Independence Referendum or ‘Consulta’: 9 November 2014.

Rajoy and Madrid government officials responded to Mas’ ‘snap’

Catalonia voted 80% in favour of independence this month despite Madrid’s objection to a referendum decision with a ruling of the Spanish Constitution, which explicitly prohibits Catalonia from seceding from Spain. The conservative absolute majority in the Spanish parliament blocked the ‘Consulta’ proposal and it’s illegality was confirmed by the Spanish Constitutional Court, leaving the Catalan government with no legal approach to host the referendum. The Madrid government then dismissed civil disobedience as a valid reason for the referendum to take place.

As a result, the referendum has become a non-binding vote, arranged by volunteers and supported by the Catalan Government. This has of course raised many doubts concerning its legitimacy, or even its usefulness. Supporters of the event have called it “a symbolic democratic gesture” that reveals the extent of

public support for the independence process and promotes the need for a revision of the Spanish Constitution.

Final results have shown that, out of those participating in the Catalan ‘Consulta’, 80.76% voted for independence. Within the wider Catalan population, this means 24.59% of people voted in favour.

The results were not unexpected.

In fact, what mattered the most, for both supporters and opponents, were not the results but the fact that the ‘Consulta’ took place. From the Catalan point of view, it represented a shift forward in Catalonia’s quest for autonomy; Mas labelled it a “great step” towards independence and described the referendum as an “act of democracy”. From the Spanish government’s perspective, however, it was seen as as an “antidemocratic consult” and labelled an

“act of propaganda”.

In reality, although the ‘participatory process’ bears no legal significance, it has once again clearly demonstrated that a considerable amount of Catalan people want, for one reason or another, independence. In this sense, the symbolic political message from the vote is clear, and it is a powerful one: this is not the end, it is only the beginning. In light of this, the next step the secessionists will take will be the much anticipated ‘plebiscite-style’ regional elections, with the hope of achieving a majority that would allow them to unilaterally declare the independence of Catalonia. In these elections, Artur Mas would presumably step down and Oriol Junqueras, the leader of the secessionist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC; The Republican Left of Cata-

lonia), would take over Catalan leadership.

Over the past few weeks, Junqueras has insisted on the importance of unilaterally declaring independence as an essential condition before any further political, social and economic reforms can take place in Catalonia. According to Junqueras, obtaining a 50%+1 majority in the coming elections would enable him to break the rule of law in the name of the Catalan people.

It is evident that the situation is extremely delicate, and the secessionist threat is more tangible than ever. Consequently, it is absolutely imperative that the Catalan and the Spanish governments establish negotiations immediately, in order to solve a problem that has been absolutely peaceful up until now.

It seems to us that the solution to this imminent problem, if there is one, can only be that of a constitutional reform that would allow a referendum authorised and organised

by Spain’s central government. In such a case, the alternatives, being not only status quo and separatism, but also federalism, would have to be clearly stated and explained to the Spanish and Catalan people.

More generally, a constitutional reform is needed not only to permit the referendum but also to materialise what many of us are asking for; that is, a federal Spain, with greater, asymmetric competences given to its regions. Whether this would solve the ‘Catalan problem’ remains to be seen; it is clear, however, that democracy can only flourish with a political project that requires votes, remaining always within the rule of law.

Marianne Gros bathimpact Writer he year to come is sure to be a challenge for the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Burma and more commonly as Myanmar.

It was recently announced that the country would hold its next presidential elections between the last week of October and the first few days of November 2015. The announcement brought back bitter memories of the last general elections in 2010, during which only military-backed parties were represented, as leader of the National League for Democracy party (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyi, was unjustly detained and forbidden from running. As a matter of fact, many Western countries and prodemocracy Burmese opposition groups accused the military junta of fraud and election rigging.

The military have been running the show in Myanmar ever since General Ne Win took control through a coup in March 1962, and have refused to cede power in spite of countless pro-democracy demonstrations, economic sanctions on the government from

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international powers and undeniable support for the NLD. The country’s current constitution was drafted by the army and approved by a referendum in 2008, an event that has also been subject to speculations of fraud, with a suspicious result of 92.4% in favour. The constitution is the main reason that prevented Suu Kyi from running as a presidential candidate in 2010, since it bares a clause blocking anyone whose spouse and/or children are overseas citizens from becoming the country’s leader. With this background in mind, the news that Myanmar’s current president and Suu Kyi were in talks is considered groundbreaking for the nation.

President Thein Sein met the opposition leader on 31 October to discuss a possible amendment within the constitution regarding the clause that prevented Suu Kyi from running five years ago. Ideally, the president would agree to launch a motion to revoke said clause and enable her to legally run in the forthcoming elections.

However for such an amendment to take place, it would have to be supported by at least 75% of the

parliament.

Furthermore, the meeting was also a forum where parliamentary speakers, military chiefs, Vice Presidents and various ethnic minorities leaders gathered to discuss peace processes, national reconciliation and inclusivity as well as drafting strategic political reforms to reach such goals.

These talks and meetings are in fact considered to be a direct result of the United States’ involvement with, and influence over, Myanmar’s government. Barack Obama was due to visit the country in less than a week after the meeting took place, and he has expressed concern about the less then democratic voting conditions in Myanmar. The issue was discussed over phone calls with both the President and the opposition leader prior to his arrival. According to the White House, Washington is determined to “support efforts to promote tolerance, respect for diversity, and a more inclusive political environment”.

Furthermore, the US have been pressuring Myanmar to make additional effort in ending violence in the state of Rakhine, where

Magnus Mankse

A step forward for Burmese democracy

Burma’s President Thein Sein met the opposition in October Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have been fighting each other since riots began in 2012.

Free and fair elections in Myanmar would be a step in the right direction for the country as it fights for a democratic and peaceful future, setting a positive example for the whole of Asia.

Nevertheless, there is reason to be skeptical about the relative impact these talks will have on Myanmar’s

current political situation and unresolved social conflicts. After all, grand democratic gestures always make a good impression, particularly when the ‘leader of the free world’ is paying a visit. Myanmar has yet to prove that it will hold free and fair general elections in the future, not to mention dealing with the ongoing ethnic conflicts and unresolved violence in state of Rakhine.

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Agathe Barceló bathimpact Writer British-Iranian woman has been sentenced to one year of prison after watching a volleyball game on 1 November in Iran.

Ghoncheh Ghavami has been accused of “spreading propaganda against the system” at the volleyball match and immediately after the ruling, Ghavami started a hunger strike to denounce the Iranian Court’s decision.

On 20 June, Ghavami attended a volleyball match between Iran and Italy as part of a group of people who peacefully asked if women could watch the game. In Iran, women have been banned from

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We have concerns about the grounds of this prosecution” William Hague

attending any volleyball games since 2012; this mirrors the same law applied to stadium football games in 1979, in the hope of protecting women from the obscene behaviour of male supporters.

The protesters were immediately expelled from the stadium and detained for several hours; they were also allegedly violently repressed by Iranian police forces.

Ghavami was sent to Evin Prison, a Tehran jail infamous for holding activists and political

prisoners. Kept in solitary confinement for forty days, Ghavami undertook a hunger strike in protest of her detention.

The young woman was also prevented from speaking with her lawyer Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei until just two days before the trial; the lawyer is currently not allowed to visit her.

Miss Ghavami’s brother, Iman Ghavami, has said that the family was devastated but remains hopeful, “As we speak my parents are scrambling from one office to another to see if we can get leniency or bail”.

Miss Ghavami graduated from the London’s School of African and Oriental Studies with a law degree and after living in London came back to Iran, seduced by the moderate and progressive policies of President Hassan Rouhani.

Ghavami fiercely defended human rights and published critical articles against the regime on her Facebook page regularly.

Amnesty International has described Ghavami as a prisoner of conscience and has called for her immediate release. On the other hand, Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, claims that Ghavami’s “case has nothing to do with sports”. In fact, the detention of the young woman coincides with a crucial moment in the Iran-West diplomatic relations.

Ghavami’s arrest could cast a shadow over the improved IranUK relations. Former British For-

Anoo Bhuyan

Arrested for watching volleyball in Iran

British-Iranian citizen Ghoncheh Ghavami has been arrested after attending a volleyball match in Iran eign Secretary, William Hague, Islamic State is also reinforcing Rouhani must be left in no doubt has even gone as far to suggest that the country’s credibility. that the UK will not accept the the improved relations may result Despite apparently harmoni- jailing of this young British womin the re-opening of Britain’s Em- ous relations, Iranian conserva- an simply for mounting a peaceful bassy in Tehran. Furthermore, on tives still seem cautious with re- protest over a ban of women at24 September, Prime Minister Da- gards to the UK, which has in light tending sporting events in Iran”. vid Cameron met Rouhani, mark- of recent events, been in touch Good relations with the UK ing the first encounter between with the Iranian government con- are indispensable for the success an Iranian President and a Brit- cerning Ghavami’s unlawful ar- of Iran’s foreign policy and for ish Prime Minister since the 1979 rest. Hague remarked “We have potentially building cordial relaIslamic Revolution. Rouhani also concerns about the grounds of this tions with the United States. The appears to be slightly more mod- prosecution, due to the process apparent willingness of the counerate in his desire to re-engage during the trial, and Ghoncheh’s try to relax its foreign policies in trade relations with the West. treatment whilst in custody”. will hopefully lead to cooperation Iran’s provision of forces to Iraq Amnesty International also with UK officials and the release in the infamous battle against the released a statement, “President of Miss Ghavami.

Chris Knutsen bathimpact Writer ruguay has become the only country in the world to fully legalise cannabis.

This radical move was first proposed by the country’s Defence Ministry in the hope of reducing Uruguay’s rising crime rate. The idea was then promoted by the President José Mujica and other prominent figures, such as the Archbishop of Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo. After long parliamentary debates, the law passed 50-46 in Congress, a vote divided strictly on party lines.

In implementing the plan, Uruguay is following a more state-oriented approach than the US states in which cannabis is now legalised.

Small, licensed clubs with a maximum of 45 registered members will be allowed to grow up to 99 plants a year at least a minimum of 150 metres away from any schools, colleges or drug rehabilitation centres. Prices will be set at about or just below current street prices, in an attempt to undercut illicit drug dealers and reduce their market share.

Many in Uruguay and abroad, however, are opposed to such liberalisation of drug laws. Some worry that the consumption of cannabis

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Fancy a smoke? It’s Uruguay time!

Uruguay is the first country in the world to fully legalise cannabis could rise under the new measures involved in the distribution of a and potentially lead people to try substance once considered harmharder drugs, with marijuana be- ful to the population. In legalising ing easy to access and consump- cannabis, once the ‘genie is out of tion being somewhat condoned by the bottle’, will it not be incredibly the state. Legalising cannabis could difficult to reverse the decision? also send a signal to the young that The argument for the law was the use of a drug that used to be il- perhaps put most succinctly by Delegal is, in fact, acceptable. Many fence Minister, Eleuterio Fernánalso find it odd that a state can be dez Huidobro, “We think the pro-

hibition of certain drugs is creating more problems for society than the drugs themselves”. Supporters of the new law argue that prohibition, which drives the industry into the criminal underground, has lead to a host of appalling and preventable outcomes. This is driven by insatiable demand in the West but is largely apparent in Latin America.

One of many examples is Colombia; the government is locked in a fifty-year-long war with guerrillas fuelled in part by the lucrative illegal drug trade. Mexico is also engaged in a bloody fight with ruthless drug cartels, which, according to Human Rights Watch, claimed the lives of 60,000 people between 2006 and 2012 alone, and recently the tragic massacre of forty-three students. It is perhaps unsurprising that in June foreign ministers of the countries in the Organisation of American States agreed “to encourage the consideration of new approaches” to the drug problem.

Reformers also see benefits in taxing cannabis sold, creating a useful revenue stream that can be used to build schools or combat addiction to substances. Would it not be better, they ask, to regulate the market for cannabis in a way similar to other condoned drugs like alcohol or tobacco?

Drugs do pose big challenges for civil society, but a fifty-year-long war on drugs in Colombia has come at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives lost and more than a trillion dollars spent by the government. The war on drugs has not led to a meaningful reduction in the consumption of illicit substances

“

We think the prohibition of drugs is creating more problems” Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro

worldwide either. Many want to see a new pragmatic approach to the issue, based on evidence. In legalising cannabis, Uruguay is attempting to do this, but the cartels the government is trying to undermine may have more tricks up their sleeve.

With US states like Colorado and Oregon, Uruguay has positioned itself at the forefront of progressive liberal change on drug policy, and it will be interesting to see in the years to come what the outcome of their bold experiment is. The world, and both sides of the debate, will be watching.

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Amongst these are calls for General Motors to stop their economic hegemony by exporting cars as “other countries have their own fucking cars”. But a simply supply-demand analysis of that statement would state that less than 50 countries in the world produce cars, so simply halting exports of the Americanbased company would solve very little. But it’s not the finite points that grossly belittle and humiliate his revolutionary cause, but his clear misunderstanding of major ideas.

Written in the book is the extraordinary statement, “if my vacuum cleaner went nuts and forced me to live in economic slavery, I wouldn’t roll my eyes and say ‘Oh well’ and humbly do its bidding. I’d turn it off and fuck it out the window.”

When asked to critically analyse this statement, Professor Chandran Kukathas, the chair of political theory at the London School of Economics, exhaustedly said: “Is the financial industry really like a vacuum cleaner?

How does one turn it off? Or throw it out the window? Sure, this industry may need reforming – perhaps radically so. Does the manifesto have anything useful to say about how or in what ways?”

The problem with Russell Brand isn’t necessarily his intentions or beliefs; there is a myriad of reasons to emphasize with the far-left or even anarchists. It’s his oversimplification and clownish manner in which he presents himself. Economics implies theory, but political economics involves the human implementation of it. Leaders are needed for the latter and it becomes worrying when Russell Brand is the closest to it. He is more Groucho Marx than Karl Marx.

So what does this combination of politics and economics need: a very human leader. I’m not making any suggestions; just don’t let it be Russell Brand.

Kafuffle

ith his grungy appearance and flamboyant demeanour, Russell Brand seems far from your conventional economist. In fact, if I remember rightly, the first time I ever saw him was in a hilarious, yet vivid, sex scene in the film Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

But nonetheless, the millionaire turned anarchist has released a book Revolution and is now in the process of producing a documentary with filmmaker Micheal Winterbottom.

The truth is, Russell Brand is not an economist, by his own admission: ‘I’m not supposed to get my head around economics, none of us are, it’s designed to be obtuse. Look at those f***ing NASDAQ, FTSE, Dow Jones things...”. But his ideals seem to blur the lines of Marxism and political ecology without understanding either of these ideas in depth. So how can we best summarise this?

Many of you might recall his surreal appearance on Newsnight where Jeremy Paxman quizzed him on voting and the imminent ‘revolution’. From my cosy sofa in Oldfield Park, said revolution seems far from pending, but his point does stand: politicians increasingly are distant from the inequalities that exist in society, whether you believe that apathy is the answer or not. It is from this idea that his broad, yet jumbled, beliefs emerge.

Overarching this is the necessary demise of “corporate tyranny, ecological irresponsibility and economic inequality”. These are, for all intents and purposes, Marxist-ideals held together by the call for a “spiritual revolution”. These ideas aren’t unique to Brand; simply look at Spain’s Podemos movement or the growing popularity of Green Partys across the UK. What Brand does offer is an incredibly incoherent set of questions and answers which delegitimise the entire leftwing movement.

Brand doesn’t seem to understand Marxism or economics

Emilia Pilss bathimpact Writer verything is spiralling out of control for former retail giant Tesco in the United Kingdom, which has recently seen a decrease in market share values, sales and confidence of investors.

After a major accounting scandal earlier this year, the company continues to decline. Recovery is not in sight despite new boss David Lewis’ efforts in damage control.

It is hard to imagine anybody wanting to take on the task bestowed upon Lewis by replacing Philip Clarke as Chairman of Tesco. Not only does he have to deal with the chaotic situation his predecessor left to him, but more importantly to come up with a strategy to immediately turn the tide for the company.

Earlier this year Tesco was associated with a multitude of accounting errors. As Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer and the third largest in the world, admitted in September, it has overstated its profits for the first half of the fiscal year. It is uncertain whether this was a case of intended forgery of numbers or simply a miscalculation, as estimating revenue can prove to be quite tricky. What is clear, claims ‘The Economist’, is that it was much to do with the “premature recognition of revenue”. The firm is currently under criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

The growing competition of the German low price chains Lidl and Aldi is also threatening to lure the

GeographBot

Economics of... Is it the end for Tesco?

Russel Brand

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Tesco has seen a significant decrease in its market share value middle class clientele away from months. Buffett’s conglomerate Tesco. The company, once known Berkshire once owned just under for attracting all customer bases, is 5% of the firm but has continually losing customers to cheaper alter- cut its share to under 3% now. In natives as well as to higher quality an interview Buffet also described retailers such as Marks & Spencer. his investment in Tesco “a huge Pre-tax profits fell by 92% this year mistake”.

As Lewis emphasised in a recent with operating profits falling by almost £700m, whereas Aldi and interview, one of his main prioriLidl showed impressive increases ties for Tesco is to rebuild trust by of up to 20% in sales compared to reinforcing transparency of the inlast year. In contrast, Tesco’s only ternal business. The company has positive sales figures are in foreign published interim results accessimarkets, mostly in in Central Eu- ble to the public on tescoplc.com.

This is an important step towards rope, Thailand and South Korea.

Shares also dropped after the widening their customer base, discovery of no less than £263m fi- something that will be the basis of nancial shortfall of the super mar- strategies to return the company to ket chain. Their drop by 48% year- its previous standards.

It is clear that Tesco needs to reto-date was the fastest falling rate store competitiveness in its British amongst UK retail last year.

Recently the ‘Sage of Omaha’, markets. This means it has to get Warren Buffet, has announced a ahead in the scramble for Christlarge-scale withdrawal of shares in mas sales, whether this will light the supermarket chain after losses up Tesco’s fate this year remains to amounting to $678 m in just three be seen.

What an absolute banker

Marco Scozzafava bathimpact Writer he world’s second largest bank, HSBC, has set aside $378m (£237m), bracing themselves for a huge fine after allegedly manipulating the foreign exchange market.

The foreign exchange market (Forex) handles transactions amounting to over £3 trillion per day; allegedly bankers from HSBC set favourable currency rates that would directly benefit the company, specifically to the tune of £3.3 billion according to The Financial Mail. HSBC’s £378m provision would represent the largest ever penalty imposed by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

HSBC’s provisions follow the actions of both RBS and Barclays who, between them, set aside over £900m after being accused of rigging the Forex. This means that Britain’s three biggest banks have set aside a total of £1.14 billion to cover the potentially huge penalties for unlawful Forex behaviour.

In addition to covering up the costs of their stock manipulation, HSBC have also run up a bill for other misconduct related accusations. The bank have set aside a total of £1.6 billion worth of ac-

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counting charges which includes £438 million worth of customer compensation, £368 million to cover the cost of mis-selling payment protection insurance and funds to cover the potential criminal investigation the bank faces in France over alleged tax offences.

The implications of this scandal have been somewhat damaging to the bank’s reputation. Almost immediately after the allegations of manipulation were made public HSBC saw their shares drop in value from 644p to 623p and overall profitability also fell for the first time in nine months by 9%.

In spite of the serious penalties that HSBC will potentially have to face, Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said that he is “confident” that the “business model remains sustainable.” However, the future consequences of HSBC’s unlawful behaviour suggest that Gulliver’s view is nothing but blind optimism.

Firstly, due to their stock market rigging, HSBC will come under increased scrutiny and regulation.

Much of HSBC’s profit comes from the market volatility and trading between the United Kingdom and in South East Asia, where half of their head offices are located. In-

creased regulation would mean that HSBC could be subject to more rules and constraints which would make the market fluctuate less and also make trading with South East Asia far more difficult.

In the third quarter of this year, HSBC’s operating expenses rose 11% and increased regulation is likely cut into their profitably.

HSBC’s future also looks uncertain not only due to their swindling of the stock market but also due to hostilities in Hong Kong. According to Finance Director Iain Mackay, Hong Kong as well as the UK are the bank’s “home markets”.

However, the recent protests that have erupted throughout the former British territory threaten to decrease the scale of foreign investment in Hong Kong, potentially destabilising the market.

Yet, Gulliver still insists on turning a blind eye towards the hostilities by stating that HSBC has been here since 1865 and Hong Kong has been through more difficult times.

Whilst it may be true that HSBC’s relationship has stood the test of time, it is important not to underestimate the effect the protests and the potential heavy fines will have on the bank’s future.

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Chris Harvey bathimpact Contributor

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rue Innovation is when there are no precedents. In this case I’m talking about Student eSports Events as BUNCS, The Video Gaming Society, leads the way! For those who are not familiar with gaming, League of Legends (LoL) and Defence of the Ancients 2 (DotA2) are the most played video games in the world. They both require a team of five to closely push towards your enemy's base, while ticking off objectives and kicking the digital stuffing out of your opponents in a combination of skill, teamwork and trust.

While University eSports events have only emerged recently, professional gaming is fairly well established. Over the Summer DotA2's “The International 4” gave out a total of $7,200,000 while the "LoL World

Championships" was watched by 40,000 people in a football stadium and over 10 million online!

The next step is towards the development of the amateur and university scene. While organisations like the "National University eSports League" have contributed to the wider growth, they have failed to provide centralised events for local University societies to gather around. This is where the "Best of the South West" steps in!

We give any team of five from surrounding Universities to test their mettle against one another.

Last year there were eight teams that entered LoL but, due to the increase in demand, we have expanded the tournament to sixteen teams and are also conducting a DotA2 tournament for twelve teams. We have even upgraded the venue from the Tub to East Building, booking out the entire main lecture hall and the surrounding foyer!

BUNCS

Video game Soc a League of Legends

Bath is hosting The League of Legends and Defence of the Ancients 2 tournaments this month By the time you've read this the Due to the sheer number of teams, World Gaming, a gaming bar and we have had online qualifiers to strip café in Radstock is providing PCs Semi-finals would have been played the sixteen and twelve teams to just and will have their own mini-games. online and whilst I cannot begin to the best two from each tournament. Team Xbox will be coming along predict who will feature in the fiFrom here they shall journey with a few Xbox Ones and a bundle nal, I know for certain that it will to the University of Bath where of goodies to giveaway. Finally the be packed full of excitement and acthe DotA2 will be commencing at National University eSports League tion!

If you’re interested in our soci10:00am and the LoL at 3:00pm will be there to help unite all gamers on the 29 November. Entrance for and encourage gaming societies to ety then join our Facebook Group follow suit. You can also watch the – facebook.com/groups/buncs and spectators is completely free.

There will also be a number of event online as we’ll be streaming to if you’re interested in “Best of the companies at the event with goodies the BUNCS and the NUEL’s twitch South West” then like the Facebook page – facebook.com/LoLBotSW. and gear so you can have fun! Wire- account.

top form and fully refreshed and we made our way to Warwick University.

The Warwick and Bath joint concert took place in Butterworth Hall, a 1500 capacity performance hall with excellent facilities, catering to the equally musically talented students at Warwick. The concert was packed with fantastic music from both the Bath and Warwick Concert Bands. Warwick played a fitting piece named ‘British Grenadiers’ in homage to remembrance Sunday proceedings followed by a wonderfully played repertoire of music finishing with a catchy arrangement of Pharrell Williams’s ‘Happy’. The Bath Concert Band responded with high standard repertoire which ChaOS

Dan Bowen bathimpact Contributor Last weekend, fifty-five members of the Bath University Choral and Orchestral Society (ChaOS) went on tour to the Universities of Warwick and Leicester. Over the course of the trip ChaOS’s Concert Band, Big Band and Choir performed in two separate joint concerts with the other universities.

Saturday night’s concert opened with the Leicester Big Band playing a variety of songs and showcasing their wonderful singer, followed

by Bath’s choir singing renditions of Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre, Mozart’s Ave Veurm Corpus and many more. The combined energy and vibrancy of the big band and

The University of Bath ChaOS society showcases their talent the powerful sweetness of the choir included the ‘How to Train Your were the perfect way to kick off the Dragon’ theme. Both bands played weekend’s performances. After a with liveliness and enthusiasm.

Overall the weekend was a sucshort interval, Leicester Chorus, made up of both students and staff cess with some amazing talent continued the high standard of mu- displayed and new friendships essic with lively pieces such as Vida tablished. On behalf of the entire la Vida and exerts from the musi- society, we would like to thank both cal ‘Oliver’. Finally Bath’s Big Band universities for the opportunity brought the night to an end in their to play as well as Leicester YMCA normal bouncing, brilliant, broad for letting us stay overnight. The manor thoroughly entertaining the committee would also like to thank audience with pieces including ‘Su- everyone who came on tour and we perstition’ by Stevie Wonder and look forward to seeing you all next ‘Wanna Be Like You’ from the Jun- time!

If you are interested in finding gle book.

After a delightful night’s sleep out more about ChaOS, please look on the hard, cold floor of Leices- go to http://www.bathstudent. ter’s YMCA gym everyone was on com/socs/societies/chaos/.

Nicola de Martini Ugolotti bathimpact Contributor ave you ever heard about Capoeira? Capoeira is a physical art form combining elements of martial arts, dance and acrobatics. Capoeira is a physical dialogue between players, a conversation through movements which can take many shades of meanings. Created in the 17th century by African slaves in Brazil, Capoeira’s dance-like appearance represented a way to hide combat and self-defence training which slaves used to fight against masters in order to run away and regain their freedom. Nowadays Capoeira knows worldwide diffusion and recognition, was labelled ‘Intangible Heritage’ by UNESCO in 2012, and represents for many an engaging way to stay fit, socialise, discover unexpected interests and abilities, as well as get in touch with meaningful elements of cultural diversity and history.

Affiliated in November 2013, the University of Bath Capoeira Society is a brand new society, but already has a diary full of activities and events programmed. Amongst the events already planned is a social with Brazilian food, music and dances on the 29 November.

Furthermore from 13-15 March 2015 we will be hosting our annual main event: three days of capoeira, music, dance with several Brazilian Capoeira masters. Last year our first annual event saw sixty participants between University of Bath students, students from Bris-

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Capoeira Soc

ChaOS in Leics Capoeira dance off

Bath’s Capoeira soc belnds martial arts, dance and acrobatics tol, Reading, London, Manchester, Union. Our sessions focus on the as well as from The Netherlands and fundamental elements of Capoeira Italy. The Capoeira Society is also (rhythm, balance, body conditionorganising two exchange experi- ing and music) in order to enable ences for its members: one in Am- participants to develop and discover sterdam during the Easter holidays their personal abilities, as well as to (2-6 April 2015) and the other in Tu- boost confidence by learning specrin, Italy, at the beginning of tacular and smooth movements and June. The two exchange sequences.

Trainings are tailored to all levels trips will enable society members of experience and ability, so you can both to attend re- pop-in anytime and start training. nowned interna- Most importantly, Capoeira is a fun tional Capoeira activity for all those who practise it. meetings and One of our main goals is to build a have an amazing friendly and welcoming group of Capoeira experi- students over the years in a culturally rich and diverse environment, so ence abroad.

If you want to if you are curious and want to know see and find out more more about any aspects related to about Capoeira and our Capoeira, just come to see us!

If you wish to find out more inactivities, do not hesitate to come to meet us at our weekly ses- formation on contacting Capoeira sions on Tuesdays between 7:30- committee members, please go to 9pm, and on Thursdays between http://www.bathstudent.com/socs/ 7-8:30pm on Level 2 of the Students’ societies/capoeira.

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Sam Hall impactsport Contributor ugby league superstar Sam Burgess has become the latest name to join Bath following his arrival late last month.

Twenty five year old Burgess joins the West Country club after four years testing himself in the NRL, bowing out with a man of the match performance for South Sydney Rabbitohs in their Grand Final victory against Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Burgess is recognised as one of, if not the best rugby league players in the world and the Yorkshireman joins Bath with much expectation on his back as well as a rumoured price tag of £500,000.

He has already set his sights on a call up for England’s 2015 Rugby World Cup squad, something Stuart Lancaster has not ruled out. Yet for all Burgess’ undoubted talent and potential, a number of questions shadow his move.

The first and most pressing concern is when Burgess will be ready to play. He earned plaudits for his Grand Final display, made more remarkable by the fact the he played 79 minutes of the game with a fractured cheekbone. Yet now he comes

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Is Burgess worth the Bath gamble?

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Sam Burgess has switched to Rugby Union with a move to the Rec to Bath with an injury that will keep Burgess has got to learn to ruck, him from really getting stuck into take part in lineouts and scrums as training and push back his expected well as deal with four extra players debut date. On top of that, Burgess on the pitch on top of the numerous has got to learn the game of Rugby intricacies and quirks that a game Union. Whilst there are similarities of Union will throw up. Take Joel between the two codes, seasoned Tomkins as an example, another rugby aficionados will be quick to famed League convert from Wigan point out that there are few true to Saracens at the cost of £400,000 similarities save the oval ball, tack- in 2011. Tomkins didn’t make his ling and passing. Other than that debut for six months following his

transition. All said it can’t just be expected that Burgess can move over and instantly take to Union like a duck to water.

Debate rages amongst England and Bath over where Burgess will even play in the 15 man game. England are pushing for Burgess to play at centre, hoping for a ‘made in Yorkshire’ version of Sonny Bill Williams. Bath on the other hand, have taken a more laid back approach saying they could play him there or in the back row. Ultimately it will be Bath who make the decision over where Burgess will play, the fact is, he has the raw talent to play in either position. At 6’5 and 18 stone he would be a monstrous centre, especially with his offloading ability. But Bath already have two England centres. Kyle Eastmond and Jonathan Joseph have both been outstanding this season and are deserving of their England call ups. It would be foolish to break up such a partnership and it is not in Bath’s interest to. Yet England and Stuart Lancaster maintain that’s what they see for Burgess’ future. It becomes even more confusing given that England already have a wrecking ball, offloading monster in the

centre by the name of Manu Tuilagi. Burgess in the centre could be magnificent but a Burgess and Tuilagi partnership? It’s just so much smash and very little guile.

Finally, will he be any good? Ok, slightly facetious, yes he will be good and he probably will play for England. But will he be Jason Robinson and Sonny Bill Williams good, or will he be Lesley Vainikolo and Wendell Sailor good (who are they you ask?

Exactly). And this question is why Burgess is that half a million pound gamble. Many in the game predict big things for the Dewsbury lad and they are completely justified in doing so. But Vainikolo was heralded as the new Lomu and Tomkins the new Will Greenwood before his return to Wigan after an unsuccessful three years at Saracens. No amount of crystal ball gazing will give an answer to this question, for Burgess to be a success it will take supreme hard work and professionalism, outstanding coaching and a good deal of luck. Let’s not kid ourselves, it will be hard but Sam Burgess is one of those ‘once in a generation’ players and if anybody can make themselves a success in Union, then it’s definitely him.

were on hand to support the event and ensure the day ran smoothly.

There were many taster sessions on offer throughout the day with wheelchair basketball, seated volleyball, goalball, VI football, VI athletics, wheelchair tennis, adaptive rowing and team building being held in both the Founders’ and STV sports halls.

Walker said: “Visitors commented on how fantastic our volunteers were” and thanked them for “making the day the success it was.”

All those attending enjoyed their opportunity to try some new sports and make new friends in a relaxed recreational environment and Walk-

er added: “for some of our visitors this was the best day of their entire year.”

Paralympic athlete Ben Rushgrove attended the event to give his support and to inspire those interested in taking their sporting talents further. The sprinter who is one of Britain’s most famous para-athletes won a bronze medal in the T36 200m at the 2012 London Paralympic Games after claiming silver in the 100m in Beijing four years earlier.

The chance to meet such a successful athlete was a wonderful opportunity for everyone in attendance and many enjoyed the chance to speak to Rushgrove who also gave a short speech.

Many clubs will be running regular disability sports session throughout the year so look out for further events being advertised and check bathstudent.com for more information.

Nutrition Tips Disability Sports Day Alex Keane impactsport Contributor

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ide nutrition obviously plays a huge part in ensuring maximum benefit from your ride; Team Sky employ whole teams of cooks and chefs to ensure that their riders have the edge over the competition. This article will split nutrition into four parts: pre ride, ride nutrition, ride hydration and post ride and has been compiled to help those that want to extract the maximum performance gains from their training through extensive research combined with careful analysis of available literature.

Pre-Ride It has been shown in numerous studies that caffeine can significantly reduce a subject’s perceived effort; similar studies have shown that concentrated beetroot can improve a subject’s time to exhaustion by up to 10%. As such, make a secret mix of espresso, concentrated beetroot juice and pro-plus to extract the very best from yourself. The caffeine in this mix also has mild laxative effects which can really help riders lighten the load if taken the correct period of time before departure, though results can be catastrophic if left too late.

Ride Nutrition Over the winter season, many pro teams will embark on long training rides without so much as a Twix in their back pocket. This is in a bid to obtain as large a calorie deficit as possible and train their bodies to burn fat stores.

This logic is strongly advisable, but the pro teams appear to be missing a trick; celery in fact takes more calories to digest than are contained

in the food. As such, advice for riders is to take no less than 17 celery sticks on each training ride to maximise your calorie deficit. For the weak and those afraid of ‘bonktown’, hummus can be stored in another jersey pocket as a tasty dip.

Ride Hydration Following the same logic, the only suitable hydration is celery soup. This not only increases your calorie deficit; the process of drinking celery soup from a bottle can improve both lung capacity and suction. The resultant brain-freeze from the addition of crushed ice will train you to withstand extremely cold conditions. Salt and pepper may be added for both taste and electrolytic properties.

Post Ride Studies have shown that maximum training benefit is obtained through ingestion of suitable nutrition within 30 minutes of finishing exercise. For a post ride meal there is simply no alternative to pasta though it must be prepared correctly to unlock it’s nutrients; pasta should be put on to boil before leaving on a ride. (Obviously, for a ride to count as a training ride it must be at least 6 hours in duration. If your ride is shorter than this you do not need pasta at the finish; regardless it would be horrifically under cooked anyway.)

It is widely known that beer is the optimum recovery beverage for cyclists, with experts theorising this is due to the exceptionally high calorie content of ethanol. What is less well known, is that to truly reap the benefits, only genuine Belgian beer must be drunk as only Belgian beer can unlock the true spirit.

Michael Powell impactsport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

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his year’s University of Bath Disability Sports Day was held on Saturday 8 November and saw students, staff and members of the general public attend the event. The day was a regional camp and invited students and the community to come together to try a range of disability sports. The event encouraged both able bodied and disabled people to attend and try out the disability sports on offer, with the main aims of the day being to raise awareness of Disability Sport and to signpost individuals to regular sport opportunities that are available both at the university and in the local community.

The day was set up by the Sports Executive Disability Sport Coordinator Alice Walker and was organised in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust so that a wider audience could be reached.

It proved to be a bigger and better disability sports day than ever b e f o r e with many community groups attending, including visitors from Three Ways School, Bristol Bisons Wheelchair Basketball Club and Leonard Cheshire. University of Bath sports teams got involved with the day to help run the taster sessions and many student volunteers

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Tom Cawse impactsport Contributor

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ath’s fine sporting start to the season continued during week 5 with many teams and sports once again claiming victory. The week saw a continuing theme of Bath v Cardiff with multiple teams from both Cardiff and Cardiff Met facing the blues and yellows. There were many cup matches taking place too, meaning some Bath teams got the week off after receiving byes whilst others were forced to continue with their league duties.

The Badminton club continued their successful start to the season with both the Men’s 1s and 2s teams recording 8-0 victories and the Men’s 3s winning 7-1 away to Bournemouth 1s. The women didn’t disappoint either with the 2s beating UWE 7-1 and the 1s playing out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Cardiff. The squash club also joined in on the act with the Men’s 1s beating Cardiff Met 5-0 and the Women’s 1st’s beating rivals Exeter 3-1, but the women’s 2nd’s lost 3-1 at Southampton 1s.

The Football Club enjoyed a mixed week of results with the Men’s 2s, 3s and 4s teams all recording Western Conference Cup victories over Cardiff 4s, Winchester 2s and Cardiff 8s respectively. The men’s 1st team suffered a 2-0 loss at home to South Wales Pontypridd and Cardiff in their league fixture though and the women’s 1s suffered a heavy 11-0 defeat to Cardiff Met 1s. The futsal teams helped to balance the results against Cardiff Met on the weekend with two extremely tight fixtures seeing the Men’s 2s winning 8-7 and the Women’s 1s securing a 4-4 draw. Netball also saw mixed fortunes with the 1st and 2nd teams both losing home league fixtures but the 3rd and 4th teams recording commanding cup victories against Cardiff Met 6s and 5s respectively.

There were just four hockey teams in action during the week but the Men’s 1s beat Cardiff Met 3-0 to record another victory in what was a long-running battle between the two universities.

The men’s 3s thumped UWE 4s 12-0 in a cup game but both the women’s 1s and men’s 5s suffered league defeats.

Lacrosse saw victory for the men’s 1s with a 14-5 scoreline against Cardiff, but the women suffered two heavy defeats with the 1s losing to Cambridge 13-2 and the 2s being beaten 19-0 by Cardiff 1s. There was a double victory for the Rugby Club, with both Union 1st teams recording home victories – the men 24-15 against Cardiff whilst the Women ran in 9 tries in a 55-12 demolition of Plymouth.

On the weekend following another packed Wednesday, the Killer Bees kicked off their American Football season in style with

a 27-7 victory at Brighton whilst the Women’s 1st Cricket team won a nail-biting encounter against Cardiff 65-62.

Week 6 brought another round of BUCS fixtures and it was certainly a successful one for the University of Bath. There were 28 wins to only 16 defeats.

There were some stand-out performances this week with the women’s second lacrosse team thrashing Marjon 23-1. There was a 5-1 victory for the mixed golf team against Bournemouth, the men’s 2s beat Exeter 6-0 in the hockey, the same scoreline the women’s 3s achieved down the A4 against UWE. In general, it was a great week for hockey, with 6 wins and only 2 defeats. As well as the women’s thirds, the women’s seconds (with a 4-1 win) and men’s third (with a 2-0 win) made it a clean sweep of away wins, and the men’s first and fourth teams also won their matches at home.

In basketball, the men’s first team lost narrowly to London South Bank with a final score of 80-81. It was more successful for the teams on their travels though, as the women’s first team beat Plymouth 38-34 and the men’s second team beat Trinity St. David’s 67-55.

Bath’s football teams had a good week with defeats handed out to fellow South-West visitors Exeter and Plymouth. Away from home, the women’s first team beat Brighton 4-2, and the men’s 2nd team scored 4 without reply against Gloucestershire.

Bath’s netball teams won 3 of 4 of their matches with the women’s second team losing a closely fought game 59-52 to Bristol.

Against Bristol’s neighbours UWE, both the first and fourth teams won, including a huge 6731 victory for the firsts and on the road, the third team beat Bournemouth in a closely fought 40-39 victory.

In rugby, the men’s first team met Cardiff Metropolitan with a great performance, beating them 29-15 and the men’s third team were successful against their fellow Bath students, the men’s fourth team.

In squash this week, both first teams played UWE, the women’s team winning 2-2(8-6) and the men’s team losing 3-15.

In volleyball, the men’s team won a close 2-1 game against Southampton and the women’s team lost 3-0 to Swansea.

And with the final whistle going in the report, the last word goes to badminton who registered a (kind of) clean sweep of victories. The women’s first team served up a 6-2 win against Brighton whilst the men’s first team rallied to beat local rivals Bristol an outstanding 8-0. In an even more local tie, the women’s and men’s second teams both came out victorious against Bath’s third teams.

Holly Clemens Sport Exec Sports Reporter asketball is described as diverse, exciting and active and the University of Bath’s team have finally taken to the floor of their brand new Founders’ Hall courts to kick off their 2014-2015 BUCS season. The ever growing club put out their Men’s first team to lead the way in week 6 and they set the standard for the rest to follow.

The game, which had incredible sportsmanship, led the Men’s firsts to work as a team as they took on last year’s Premier South winners, London South Bank. The match which they knew was going to be tight, was fast paced from the outset with the scores staying close throughout. The tension within the Founders’ Hall was intense but the support from Bath students was incredible and the boys played an unbelievable game with sheer determination. At halftime the score was 32-36 to London South Bank but the Bath men were staying right on their tails and not letting them out of sight.

After another two intense quarters of nail biting basketball, Bath narrowly missed out on victory with the final score being 80-81 to LSB. It was an incredible game for the Mens 1st, with their captain, Tom Riley, providing special mentions to Hakim Shephard and Stephano Lamaris. The freshers had outstanding games in their first BUCS performances, scoring 18 and 16 points respectively.

Basketball is a club which not only prides its self on the top play-

SU Sport

BUCS Review Close call Basketball

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ers, but also on the recreational athletes, providing numerous sessions for those who wish to have a go. These sessions run on Tuesday from 2-5pm and give individuals a chance to work on their skills through different drills and activities. The Basketball Club also drives to provide their recreational members with a chance of competition; with a strong inter hall league being set up this year due to popular demand. There are also rumours that there are some great prizes to be won!

It doesn’t stop there, with wheel chair basketball also taking off this

year. These sessions are run every Tuesday 4-5pm in the Founders Hall and offers ANYONE and EVERYONE the chance to have a go at an exciting and adrenaline pumped sport. If you would like more information please contact the Higher Education Wheelchair Basketball Officer Alice Walker on aew33@bath.ac.uk.

We wish our Men’s 1st the best of Team Baths luck in their next home game against UCL on 26th November. If you have the time, go down to the Founders’ Hall and have a look. It’s a game not to be missed.

Pavillion Fight Night Zoe Freeman impactsport Contributor he Kickboxing Fight Night is the highlight of the club’s competition and social calendar, and this year is no exception.

This Friday, the 21st of November, Bath Pavilion will be packed with over 600 spectators and competitors for the annual event. The club have invited the very best fighters from UWE to spar with their own cream of the crop in what will be an adrenaline fuelled night of fun.

Over the course of the evening

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there'll be over 10 fights consisting of fast paced full kickboxing with thrills (and maybe some spills) to match. There will be something for everyone from beginners with only a years' experience of fighting right up to world class black belts taking part during the night.

There will also be performances from Bodysoc and Cheerleading, so the entertainment at half-time will be second to none as they perform in the ring. There'll be plenty of time for some BeeStings from the bar too, as well as the phenom-

enal raffle prizes that are up for grabs. The prizes on offer include the opportunity to win a full suit from Rupert and Buckley and discounted club night entry.

All profits from the event will go to the Cystic Fibrosis trust as the Kickboxing Club keep true to their tradition of Fight Night being a charitable event. Tickets are available on Parade by the library (as well as raffle tickets) and are online too. Buy as soon as you can as the tickets sell out faster every year!

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Ultimate success for frisbee Tennis Daniel Ryle impactsport Contributor

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Both Bath’s 1st and 2nd men’s teams qualified for the Nationals for the top spot and the Nation- Bristol 1s. In what was the most als places on Sunday. Everything tightly contested match of the went to plan for Bath 1s, topping weekend Bristol edged Bath 1s in their group with a dominant per- sudden death. Despite this gutformance. Bath 2s finished second ting defeat the first team managed in their group, falling short only to regroup and win their next two to Bristol 1s who proved too much games against Southampton and for the second team. Bath 3s and Exeter comfortably to secure sec4s also had successful days; both ond place and a spot at Division 1 finishing the group stages in a po- Nationals.

The real surprise package of sition to compete for ninth place the tournament though, were the on the following day.

Sunday was the business end Bath second team. The 2s went on of the tournament; Bath 1s first an incredible run on the Sunday game was the semi-final against – taking down three first teams

Katie Holmes impactsport Contributor aturday 8th November saw trampoline clubs from over 20 universities descend on the STV for the first competition of the 2014-15 season, hosted as part of the Southern Universities Trampoline League (SUTL). The day organised by the University of Bath Trampolining Club catered for all abilities and comprised a packed hall in Jumps & Throws

with almost 300 competitors entering the various competitions.

The athletes ranged from bouncers who only started in September, to a number of senior National level competitors who inspired everyone with multiple somersaults, twists, and displays of acrobatic finesse. Following the competition, all of the guests were treated to Plug pizza and a superb night at Klass.

The hosts, the University of

Olly Bailey

ltimate Frisbee is one of the fastest growing university sports, combining speed, stamina, skill and teamwork into a game that’s like no other sport. It’s a team sport where the players aim is to score points by passing a disc to a teammate over the opposing team’s goal line, it is regularly described as an amalgamation of American Football and Netball.

The men’s indoor regionals on the first weekend of November was a weekend of firsts for the University of Bath’s Ultimate Frisbee team; not only did they host their first regional tournament, but they also secured two places at BUCS Division 1 Indoor Nationals (top 16 teams in the country) for their first and second teams respectively. This feat has never been accomplished by Bath and you have to look back a long time to find another university that has.

The event saw 20 teams comprising of 200 players travel from across the South West to the University’s Sports Training Village to compete for the title of Regional Indoor Champions. There were also five spots at the Nationals up for grabs – three for Division 1 and two for Division 2.

The Saturday consisted of pool play; four groups of five battled for a spot in the top 8 so that they could subsequently contest

on the way and after dispatching Plymouth and Southampton 1s they found themselves with an opportunity to book their spot at the Division 1 Nationals by taking third place. The team that stood in their way was Exeter 1s.

This game with a trip to the Division 1 Nationals at stake, was an intense affair, with Bath 2s taking an early lead. However, the experienced Exeter team fought back to tie the match. The second team showed resolve and pulled one point ahead with 30 seconds to go. Exeter then tried to even it up again, but Bath managed to force a turnover in possession. After some incredible play, Bath put in one last point before the buzzer and the whole club invaded the pitch to celebrate.

The third and fourth teams, made up of mostly beginners, finished as the best third and fourth teams in the region beating some second teams along the way as well; concluding the clubs most successful tournament ever.

If this article has inspired you to pick a disc up and give it a go, be sure to check out the club’s page on bathstudent.com and get in touch with the committee.

It’s never too late to start playing and the club welcome people of all abilities. The club has men’s, women’s and mixed teams and they play all year round – indoors, outdoors and sometimes even on the beach.

Trampoliners blitz medals S

Bath had a particularly successful day, with Bath competitors taking medals in most categories. There were many notable achievements such as Anders Hagen taking gold in S6 men, with Gwil Renouf the silver in same category. Other individual medallists included Connor Wallis with gold in S5 men, Emma De Cruz with bronze in S3 ladies, Mark Percival with silver in S2 men, and Charlotte Male with gold in S2 women.

Action from the competition of the seasonorganised by the University of Bath’s Trampolining Club

In the higher categories team event, Bath won the silver medal with Tom Scullion, Mark Percival, Shân Bendall and Charlotte Male.

The lower synchronised event saw Gemma Waters and Tori Foote claim silver, and Nick Norton and Will Pile win the bronze medal.

Gina Hodges and Hannah Milbourn took bronze in the higher synchronised event. TeamBath Evolution competitors, Megan Comber and Charlotte Plummer, took the gold medal following their bronze at the National League in Liverpool event the previous weekend, and also achieved silver and gold respectively in S1 women.

Overall, the University of Bath Trampolining Club had a great weekend with all of the student and external volunteer coaches, judges and officials making the event a great success. The club are now back to training hard and are focussing on their next competition at the University of Bristol on Saturday, 22nd November.

The Trampoline Club trains on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays in the STV Jumps & Throws Hall and is open to all abilities, whether recreational or competitive, so if you’re interested in giving the sport a go, email them for more information at studenttrampoline@lists.bath.ac.uk

from back page number 1056 Sandro Ehrat facing Authom, many expected his comfortable run to continue, particularly when he claimed the first set 6-3. These predictions proved to be wide of the mark though, with Ehrat fighting back to the take the second by the same margin and the decider going all the way to a tie break. Authom won the breaker 7-3 to emerge victorious in what was arguably the match of the week. The Belgian then claimed two more British scalps, with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over David Rice in the semi-finals and a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 victory over his doubles partner Josh Milton in the final to claim the crown.

In the men’s doubles event, Rice and Milton reached the semi-finals before succumbing to eventual winners David O’Hare and Joe Salisbury. The Irish-British combination seemed to be successful with the pair claiming three successive straight set victories to claim the title, with a particularly impressive 6-1, 6-2 success against second seeds Richard Gabb and another Authom victim Jonny O’Mara.

New show is on air This year, SU Sport has teamed up with University Radio Bath to establish ‘The Sport Show’! Hosted

by Sport Officer Ben Jessup, alongside Zoe and Holly from the Sport Exec and Henry from the SU Sport office, the show is an opportunity to catch up on all the BUCS results of the preceding week and have a bit of a laugh at their attempts to answer the bizarre sporting conundrums which the weekly quiz might hold.

The show was hit by some delays at the start of this semester, as Ben struggled to grasp how to cope with the studio desk (honestly, it’s seriously tricky to work), but now they are flying and will be broadcasting every Thursday from 5-6pm for the rest of the year. They are going to be ramping things up in the coming weeks and will be getting some guests on, kicking off some phone-ins and chatting endlessly about all things sport.

As well as all the fun stuff, the show is a fantastic way to find out about many upcoming events as we move through the year. At the moment, Snowball is obviously on the cards, alongside the Polar Plunge (keep an eye out in the next edition of bathimpact for more on this) and Boxing and Kickboxing’s Fight Nights. Tune in to find out more about these events, as well as where you can get tickets for them, and why you should be forking out money to attend.

Remember, The Sport Show is also the best way for you to find out the all important #teamoftheweek, so make sure that you listen every Thursday from 5-6pm via www. uniradiobath.com.

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Vogt victorious in Bath Pro-Series Michael Powell impactsport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

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he annual Aegon GB pro-Series tournament returned to Bath for the ninth consecutive year during the first week of November. The tournament run by the LTA is held on the indoor courts at the STV and was once again free for spectators to watch. The Bath Pro-Series was the last ITF Pro-Circuit tournament of 2014, so competition was fierce as players looked for a strong finish to their season.

The women’s event had a $25K prize fund and featured 32 players, 11 of which

were ranked inside the world’s top 300 and was won by third seed Stephanie Vogt. The Liechtensteiner suffered a couple of early scares, dropping the first set in both her first round encounter with British qualifier Freya Christie and in her quarter-final match against Czech youngster Tereza Martincová.

Despite this, the world number 199 found her form over the finals weekend, dropping just 5 games against second seed Marta Sirotkina in the semi-finals and defeating fourth seed Alberta Brianti 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) in the final. World number 213 Brianti, had been on fine form herself, reaching the final without dropping a set and recording three ‘bagels’ in her first

two matches. The Italian then defeated top seed Carla Buyukakcay in the semi-finals to set up the encounter with Vogt who edged the final in two tight sets.

18-year old Londoner Harriet Dart was the most successful Brit at the tournament reaching the quarter-finals, while wildcard Sarah Beth Askew took the first set off top seed and world number 140 Buyukakcay before eventually losing in three sets.

The women’s doubles event saw just 12 entrants, but top seeds Lesley Kerkhove and Xenia Knoll proved to be the class of the limited field, dropping just 10 games during the entire tournament to record three comforta-

ble victories. It was Kerkove’s second success in recent weeks after teaming up with fellow Dutchwoman Richel Hogenkamp to claim the Shrewsbury pro-series title at the end of September.

In the men’s $15K event, world number 306 Maxime Authom made it back-to-back victories on the ATP Challenger Tour following his success in Loughborough the week before. The Belgian dropped just 18 games in 5 matches at Loughborough, and breezed through the first two rounds in Bath with straight set victories over British youngsters Johnny O’Mara and Toby Martin. With a quarter-final encounter against Swiss world Turn to page 23

bucs trampolining get involved An in-depth look at Bath’s Wednesday sucesses

Bath host first competition of the year

impactsport’s Tom Cawse writes about the BUCS results our teams have been collecting over the past couple of weeks, while Holly Clemens takes a look at a thrilling Basketball match that was decided by just a single point.

impactsport’s Katie Holmes talks about the numerous medals won by the University of Bath’s Trampolining Club in the first competition of the new season which was hosted in the STV.

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We’re always looking for writers, photographers, people to take part, or just all round sports buffs to help out.

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So if you are interested in sport and want to contribute, then contact impactsport Editor Michael Powell (impact-sport@bath.ac.uk) to find out more about how you can get involved.