bathimpact Vol 15 Issue 01

bathimpact The University of Bath Students’ Union Newspaper

Volume 15 Issue 1

Your newspaper. Your news. www.bathimpact.com

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Saturday 21st September 2013

zero-hour contracts Page 5 Helen Edworthy News & Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

B

ath students have been named as the most satisfied university students in the country, according to the 2013 National Student Survey (NSS). The results of the survey which were released on Tuesday 13th August, showed that Bath student satisfaction is nine points above the UK national average for Higher Education institutions (HEIs), at 94 per cent overall compared with the average of 85 per cent. This outcome puts Bath at the top of the national table, which includes over 130 universities.

Some highlights of the NSS 2013 results for

Bath include: being ranked first in the UK for student satisfaction in the areas of Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Business Studies; achieving a much higher average response to the question ‘it is clear how students’ comments on the course have acted upon’; and Bath students ranking the Students’ Union as fourth best of any university in the UK. The NSS is now entering its ninth year, as a platform for all final year graduates in UK higher and further education institutions to express their opinions about what they did and didn’t like about their university experience.

For 2013, 304,000 final year students from 154 HEIs and 165 further education colleges (FECs) responded to the NSS. This is the high-

est result the NSS has received in its nine year run so far. The NSS is a valuable tool for helping HEIs and FECs improve the education and services they provide, and is particularly useful for improving student union services.

Of Bath’s high result, Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell said: “This is fantastic news and reflects the students’ view of the unique combination of high quality teaching, excellent support services and a close-knit campus community we offer them. We aim to ensure our graduates are classic all-rounders of the highest intellectual calibre as well as being accomplished in other spheres of life – competitive sports, the arts and any other field of endeavour they choose to pursue. Our

science comment e 12

The science of intoxication

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This week, bathimpact’s ‘know-it-all’ in residence Professor Science has a look at the science behind why drinking is so fun, and why it hurts so much in the morning.

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Universities found using

outstanding facilities, coupled with the professionalism and accessibility of all our staff and services gives our students the opportunity to thrive. This achievement is testament to the hard work, passion and commitment of all our staff.”

Students’ Union President Ellie Hynes also commented on Bath’s high ranking, commenting: “This is a brilliant start to the new academic year. For our Students’ Union to be viewed as one of the best in the country is a great result and a deserved reflection on the efforts of our students. Our students recognise the strong culture of collaboration here and how we work in partnership with the University to improve the student experience.”

bite

Public opinion on Syria divides France

bite’s guide to Freshers’ Week

bathimpact’s Alexandra Egan takes a look at the effect the Syria situation is having on the French public, and how an agreement cannot be reached.

This week’s edition of bite has all you need to make the most of Freshers’ Week 2013. See centre page spread for your guide to getting lost in Bath.

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bathimpact

Editorials

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Russia’s summer of shame R

ussia’s anti-gay legislation has been making headlines across the world this summer - at least in the West – with much has being written and broadcasted on the issue.

Those commenting on the legislation have ranged from Barack Obama to Stephen Fry, Denise Lewis to Wentworth Miller, the actor who came out while refusing to attend the St Petersburg Film Festival. It is impressive too that the anti-gay laws have received such condemnation from all sects of society, aside from some right-wing nutjobs in the USA. At a time when so many countries continue to outlaw homosexuality outright, why all the fuss over Russia? The lack of attention given to other countries with shocking gay rights abuses is, in itself, unacceptable and the extended coverage of Russia only makes this much more apparent. There have, of course,

been suggestions by countries such as Sweden and the UK that aid they provide to impoverished nations will be cut if they do not address their LGBT rights abuses.

With all the unrivalled coverage of its LGBT right abuses, the question is, why has the West’s media turned its attention to Russia’s failures? Is it down to the perceived backwards step? The utter contradiction between its laws and the values of the Olympic movement? Or even the fact that Russia is seen as more ‘European’? Is it just worse in Russia?

Even with the arguably wall-towall coverage, stories highlighting and detailing the heinous treatment of Russia’s LGBT community in the wake of this ‘anti-propaganda’ legislation have not made their way into the mainstream media. It has, however, been filling up news outlets which pay specific attention to LGBT

issues. The barbaric acts reportedly being committed against people in the name of upholding ‘traditional values’ should revile even the most ardent opponent of LGBT rights.

But the Russian state is passing a blind eye to the beating and even murdering of, more often than not, young and adolescent gay men.

There have been many reports of anti-LGBT and neo-Nazi vigilante groups baiting young men to inflict “punishment” upon them.

These groups are using YouTube, WhatsApp, and Russian based social media to circulate videos of the young men being tortured. This ranges from being forced to come out, being stripped down, urinated on, and being raped with bottles. In extreme cases these young men are murdered. This is not just a matter of being gay or not; it is a matter of human dignity and the state.

These incidents have not been

picked up on by the mainstream media; talk of boycotts is more palatable to the readership of middle England, no doubt. The real consequence of Russia’s anti-gay ‘propaganda’ laws need to be laid bare.

The LGBT community of Russia are in a catch-22; homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993, but the recent legislation has put the community in a very difficult position.

Enjoy the freedoms won in 1993, but then be forced to face a state reluctant to intervene when these freedoms are not respected? In the UK we are lucky enough, in 21st century, to live in a society where LGBT people are accepted. In Russia that is not the case. It is difficult to see a time, unfortunately, when it will be the case.

It is important to remember that it is all well and good being able to do something, but living in fear of reprisals is no freedom at all.

No expense spared for Bale

G

areth Bale made a successful start to his new job as ‘the world’s most expensive footballer’ by scoring a goal at 38 minutes in Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw against Villarreal.

Capturing Bale’s signature has been an ongoing task for Real Madrid, and it seemed to have been the story of the summer’s transfers.

However, nothing took place until the last couple of days before the window was shut.

The transfer was almost inevitable when Tottenham started spending an especially large amount of money on new players, so it must have been clear in Andre Villas-Boas’ head that Bale was leaving for a large amount of money himself, as otherwise it would have been very hard to justify spending to whoever was bankrolling the transfers.

At Madrid, Bale will join former world’s most expensive player Cristiano Ronaldo, who was purchased

by Madrid in 2009 for £80m (a sav-

ing of £5.3m on Bale), which is a fairly small number in the context.

But, as soon as we escape the world of football this sum becomes enormous.

The transfer money is only half of the story; by working from Monday to Wednesday Gareth Bale will have earnt more that David Cameron will do in one year. Within the editorial team at bathimpact, none of us have ever been Prime Minster, nor have any of us been a professional attacking midfielder so this is only speculation. However, we are fairly certain that Bale’s job isn’t 109.5 times more difficult or strenuous than Mr Cameron’s.

This is the main problem with football; there is a complete departure from reality when it comes to finances, and all common sense is lost.

For example, looking at the signing of Peter Odemwingie by Cardiff for £2.25m it seems that the Bluebirds just stuck their hand down the back of the sofa and had the money there.

They did still somehow manage to find £2.25m, which politically motivated people will tell you how many nurses or teachers that money could instead be employing, but we’ll explain it in student terms instead: this transfer fee could pay for every student at the University of Bath to go to Score every single week for the entire year, and then semester one of the year after.

The scariest thing is that Real Madrid will not be losing money with Bale; through shirt sales and potential increased TV revenue leading to bigger and better sponsorships, the Spanish team will somehow be able to stay afloat.

It seems that large amounts of money are sustainable in big, successful football leagues like the premiership or La Liga, but as we saw with Glasgow Rangers, for smaller teams this just results in bankruptcy. The Rangers were always in contention for victory in their league, and hence pulled in big crowds and

a fair amount of TV revenue, which meant they could demand money from sponsors. This still wasn’t enough to save them from running out of money. Of course, there is less money in Scottish football than in Spanish football, but as spending increases something is going to have to give sooner or later – and if sponsors are no longer seeing the rewards from their investments and broadcasting companies aren’t able to afford the fees the leagues demand, this bubble will soon burst.

Catastrophically.

So far, it has been fine for Bale at Real Madrid; he’s played one game and grabbed himself the crucial first goal for the new team, which has impressed both management and fans. However, this wasn’t as impressive a start as the one Rickie Lambert had to his international career when he scored the winner with his first touch of the ball. Which was a pretty good bargain, considering he cost England nothing at all.

has a notoriously bad reputation (deserved or not) for the objectification of women, but people are more than happy to listen to and dance to those tracks without causing a societal uproar. What is so special about Blurred Lines?

Despite appearing to condone rape, and despite Thicke's even more damaging attempts to make light of his musical decisions, the song has rocketed in popularity amongst younger listeners and is a staple on bar and club playlists across the country. At a recent silent disco held

by EUSA, the DJ was asked to fade out Blurred Lines, despite students having the option to change to the other channel of music if they found themselves overwhelmed by what they were hearing.

EUSA's subsequent decision to

ban the song from their buildings completely begs the question of what merit could come from their actions. Kirsty Haigh, EUSA Vice President Services, said: "The decision to ban 'Blurred Lines' from our venues has been taken as it promotes an unhealthy attitude towards sex and consent." The song goes against their 'End Rape Culture and Lad Banter on Campus' policy, which seems like a forward-thinking and pragmatic idea, but banning anything - a song, a substance - immediately makes it a sensation.

Marijuana might be illegal, but that isn’t going to stop people from smoking it (for the most part).

Equally, people will be drawn into the hype about Thicke and watch the video, read the lyrics, and engage in discussions about what this song

says about the state of modern society. That gives the song airtime and increases its popularity exponentially; great news for Thicke’s publicity people and even better news for his pockets.

Ultimately, EUSA’s decision looks mostly like someone jumping onto the bandwagon of an international discussion by making a bizarre decision on behalf of people who are perfectly capable of protecting themselves from four minutes of music. If Bath SU took the decision to ban Blurred Lines, we’re not sure if we would support the decision or not. There’s a big difference between a radio station quietly deciding not to play the song until after the watershed and a Students’ Union making a large scale press announcement on the same decision.

Blurred lines of censorship A

recent move by Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) to ban the 16-week chart hit 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke has caused divisions among students, feminists and music fans alike for potentially being a step too far in reaction to the misogynistic lyrics and explicit video.

As part of a group of students whose primary objective is to broadcast information to other students, we at bathimpact are readily aware of our responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of the student population.

Therefore, as a publication, bathimpact are certainly not impressed with Thicke’s contribution to music.

This said, we are certain that there are numerous other explicit songs which would contravene a safe space policy than just Blurred Lines. Rap

The bathimpact team Simon Rushton Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

Tomos Evans Deputy Editor impact-deputy@bath.ac.uk

Ben Hooper bite Editor impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Helen Edworthy News and Comment Editor impact-news@bath.ac.uk

Tom Ash Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk

Connor McGregor Morton Sport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

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

Gemma Isherwood Online Editor impact-it@bath.ac.uk

Poppy Peake Publicity Officer impact-publicity@bath.ac.uk

Gabriela Georgieva 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 www.facebook.com/bathimpact www.bathimpact.com

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.

Saturday 21st September 2013

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fortnight photo

Dennis Rodman does it because he’s nuts.

“

“

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The strapline of an advertising campaign

Online Links

featuring Dennis Rodman and a Kim Jong-Un lookalike, poking fun at North Korea in the interest of selling pistachios.

The Costa Concordia’s hull is pulled from the reef it hit a year ago.

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135 million 25 million Number of ‘Grand Theft Auto’ games sold since 1997

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Number of copies of ‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ sold since release

Get in touch via any of the above links or email - we always need new team members!

UPCOMING EVENT

NATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

Freshers’ Week Launch Night. Billed as a ‘Night of Vibrant Madness’, this night promises to be a great kick-off for the academic year and a warm welcome for 2013 freshers.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has announced that the government would be willing to send UK weapons experts to Syria, however UK troops would not be tasked with protecting them. The news comes after an agreement reached between the US and Russia on Saturday 14th September, wherein the two countries agreed that Syria should hand over a list of its total weapons stockpile within a week, as well as destroy all chemical weapons by mid-2014.

A former US Navy reservist has killed at least 12 people in a mass shooting at a Washington DC military facility. The shooting resulted in part of the American capital going into lockdown, in order for authorities to search for two other armed gunmen before it was concluded that the reservist acted alone.

The chaos began just after 8 am, at a facility just half a mile from the White House.

Where: Founders Hall When: Monday 23rd September, 9pm-2am

UPCOMING EVENT

LOCAL

EDUCATION

UPCOMING EVENT

Freshers’ Fair. The best place to find out what both the Students’ Union and the University can offer you, the Freshers’ Fair is the opportunity to load up on free pizza, free pens, free sweets...and generally anything that’s on offer.

Part of B&NES County Council’s core strategy for 12,7000 planned new homes in the Bath area by 2029 is to be scrutinised by a government inspector in a one day inquiry.

To be held at the Guildhall in Bath, it is expected that these figures will be deemed insufficient and that there will be calls for the releasing of more green belt land.

A University Challenge team from Bath were upstaged by their York counterparts in the first round on Monday 16th September, despite their best efforts. The team, made up of politics and economics student Lily Morris, chemistry student Callum Woof, maths student Jack Davies and mathematical sciences student Simon Love were beaten by a points gap of 200, making short work of the group of four.

Toga Party. The best finish is a big one and the final big event of Freshers’ Week 2013 encourages you to party like it’s 480 AD and go out in style.

Where: Founders Hall When: Friday 27th September, 10am-3pm

Where: Founders Hall When: Saturday 28th September, 9pm-2am

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Zero hour controversy: uni edition F

alisation in further and higher education. The widespread use of zerohours contracts is the unacceptable underbelly of our colleges and universities."

In juxtaposition to the wider economy, in which 27% of businesses use zero hour contract, 53% of universities employ staff on understanding. Significantly, a large number of these flexible contracts are used; nearly half of universities

employ over 200 people on zero hour terms. The worst offender is Edinburgh University, which has 2,317 members of teaching staff on zero hour contracts.

Bath, which, according to the UCU's data, is the university with the second highest number of flexible workers in the UK (1,596), said only staff working less than the equivalent of one day a week were on zero hour contracts. It said em-

ployees on flexible arrangements accounted for less than 5% of the sum of hours worked by its academic staff.

However, Bath told the UCU that in June it had approximately 200 employees on zero hour contracts, which had worked for the university for the preceding 12 months. This represents nearly two-thirds of its teaching staff, according to the staff listed on its wikimedia commons

Madelaine Winn bathimpact Reporter reedom of Information requests submitted by the University College Union (UCU) have shown that more than half of the UK's universities and nearly two-thirds of Further Education colleges use zero hour employment contracts.

Such flexible contracts, often viewed as highly controversial, do not guarantee working hours, and therefore pay, but may impose restrictions on gaining employment elsewhere. Moreover, staff employed in this way will have limited guarantees on conditions and may not receive holiday or sick pay.

Consequently, staff are unable to make future financial and employment plans, even on a monthto-month basis. In particular, an employee's ability to get a mortgage or loan is significantly reduced if their contract is flexible. The UCU said the use of these contracts was 'haphazard'.

Simon Renton, The UCU president, said: "Our findings shine a light on the murky world of casu-

More than half of universities have been found using zero-hour contracts

books by the Higher Education Statistics Authority.

The UCU explained that zero hour contracts enable universities to keep costs down in a difficult time for the academic sector.

Renton said that universities use flexibility as a justification, when in reality it's a case of 'exploitation'.

Zero hour contracts are becoming increasingly commonplace; the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development estimated that approximately one million workers nationwide are on such contracts.

As well as universities and higher education colleges, firms such as McDonald's, Cineworld and Boots use zero hour contracts. However, it's not just the private sector utilising flexible employment, as the government has admitted that 307,000 workers in the care system are on zero-hours contracts.

Following criticism regarding the increasingly popular zero hour contracts, business secretary Vince Cable, is undertaking a review of the issue for the government, yet Labour have already condemned the inquiry as inadequate.

Graduate employment on the rise M

ore than 300,000 graduates leave university every year, and with at least one third of all graduates achieving a 2:1, along with the influx of European graduates, a still prominent recession and the rise of mature students, the graduate job market is looking less than promising.

However, the situation is not totally negative. A recent survey carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency has revealed the percentage of advertised graduate vacancies is up 4.6%, the highest rate since 2009. The survey assessed the class of 2008-2009 and found that 87% were in work three and a half years after leaving university, despite graduating at the height of the recession. The survey of 60,000 graduates discovered that more than eight out of 10 were satisfied with their career, two thirds thought that their degree had given value for money, and 75% felt their course had prepared them well for their career.

Furthermore, the unemployment rate three and half years on (3.2%) is lower than that of 2007 graduates at 3.5%. However, it is still higher than 2005 graduates, which is at 2.6%. The unemployment rate of the general population stands at 7.8%.

But which subject areas are the most successful for finding graduate jobs? The most popular areas for graduate applications, as found on graduate-jobs.com, are management, marketing, media, consulting, teaching, charity, research and development, investment

banking, accountancy, law, and engineering. However, employment rates vary between these areas, with the survey finding 89% of the 2008-2009 medicine and dentistry graduates in employment, compared with 72% of history or philosophy graduates. The survey also highlights that of graduates leaving full time courses in 2009, 18.8% found work in the health and social sector, while 14.1% are now in the professional, scientific and technical industry.

Stephen Isherwood, Chief Executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters states: “The public sector, engineering, retail and consulting are advertising more vacancies. The IT and telecoms sector has also increased recruitment year on year. The banks, on the other hand, still aren't hiring as many people as before the recession. Law recruitment is also pretty flat. But employers are still investing in graduate talent. While there's no actual growth in those figures, at least we're getting back on to an even keel."

In addition, the survey also found that the biggest source of employment for graduates was the education sector, where 25.5% of 2008-2009 graduates now work.

The increase of graduates into teaching and education is partly down to schemes such as Teach First, a non-profit organization which fast tracks students from top universities into teaching careers in state schools. This year the scheme recruited 1,260 graduates, the largest recruiter in 2013.

The two year scheme sees 54% of its ambassadors go on to full time teaching positions.

This figure lends itself to the idea of ‘portfolio careers’, whereby graduates are now choosing to have six or seven careers in their lifetime as opposed to a strict one or two like our parents. Graduates are no longer looking for a job for life, but instead for varying roles to enhance their CV and future career prospects.

It’s also good news for students who undertake placements or internships with a study by High Fliers, indicating they are three times as likely to land graduate jobs. The study also showed that Bath has the highest number of university students carrying out work experience placements with three quarters of its alumni, suggesting that Bath graduates are the most likely to find jobs.

Students are now working

harder than ever to secure employment post graduation. On average students submit more than seven job applications each, which is the highest level found in 18 years of research into the graduate job market. Researchers estimate from the top 30 universities alone there will be 427,000 job applications, almost double the number five years ago. Graduates are also less likely to take time off after university, with about only one in 10 considering travelling or taking a gap year. Half of all graduates now also expect to work in London, adding to the competitive nature of the graduate job market.

The average graduate salary is between £18-29k according to graduate-jobs.com, with the UK’s largest graduate employers offering an average of £29,000. This is

higher than elsewhere in the job market. The highest paid jobs are in investment banking with an average of £45k although again, this is the most competitive area for graduate employment.

Despite often negative opinions, graduate recruitment is on the up, with leading UK companies strengthening their commitment to graduate employment. The 4.6% increase demonstrates this, along with the number of placements, work experience and graduate schemes. Most employers ask for a minimum of a 2:1 degree, but also look for relevant experience, good communication skills and commercial awareness. Take advantage of the careers advice and placement services that Bath University offers, and enter the grad job market with confidence.

USACE HQ

Imogen Ware bathimpact Reporter

Engineering has been named as one of the most successful subject areas for finding a job

Saturday 21st September 2013

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HE lacking for equal opportunity Holly Adeyemo bathimpact Reporter oes equal opportunity exist at university? At the elite Cambridge University, only 63% of students are from state schools.

At Bath, the number of students from state schools is 74%, but this is still smaller than the overall 93% of students who went to state schools. This fact alone appears to indicate that private school pupils, who are usually wealthy, have a better shot at getting into elite universities. There is also the fact that private school pupils make up over 30% of those getting above three A grades at A-level. So even if there was equal opportunity in deciding who gets into elite universities, still only about 70% would be from state schools and 30% from private schools. The problem seems to be not the universities, but that state schools seem to be producing fewer pupils with A grades.

Ofsted has noted that more than 40% of state schools are failing to push their most capable pupils. Because opportunity is unequal in schools, equal opportunity in higher education makes no difference: the outcome is inequality.

UCAS reported that in the first year of £9,000 tuition fees, university applications declined by

Private school pupils continue to monopolise university places

Amy Bradshaw bathimpact Reporter ince March 2012, the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) has been funding a new programme that gives 18-25 year-olds from across the UK the chance to get involved in international development projects.

The International Citizen Service (ICS) aims to successfully place 7,000 UK volunteers in developing countries across the world by August 2015.

Among other things, the DFiD is responsible for taking action to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set up during the United Nations Millennium Summit of September 2000. The eight MDGs, which range from halving extreme poverty to preventing malaria and providing universal primary education, are a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions, and are to be met by the year 2015. The ICS programme is just one of the ways that the UK government aims to help achieve these goals.

So, how does the ICS programme work? ICS is run through its in-country partners; seven unique international organisations including Raleigh, VSO and Tearfund, which take the UK volunteers to their projects and link them up with an equal number of national volunteers with whom they will

live and work for the duration of their placement. After each placement, both UK and national volunteers are expected to complete something called an ‘action at home’, whereby they use the skills obtained from their volunteering to carry on the good work in their own communities. In this way, the ICS programme is aiming to create 14,000 active citizens with leadership skills of value to their communities by the 2015 deadline.

So far, 2,390 UK volunteers

Santa Catalina School

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9%. This has sparked claims from the University and College Union that inequality has worsened and that poorer students aren't applying because they are more scared of debt. Others have pointed out that applications from the wealthiest fifth of the country dropped more than from the poorest fifth.

But by 'wealthiest', they mean areas with a high number of university applications. Universities minister David Willetts has accused universities of not promoting equal opportunity by doing too little to encourage applications from backgrounds which traditionally wouldn’t attend university – but there is the argument that if equality existed in the first place, encouragement wouldn't be needed in the same way. Universities have responded to this criticism that the reason for the lack of these groups at university is not because they are not encouraged enough, but rather because they are not coming out of school with the right grades.

This might be set to change though. One view of the introduction of free schools is that they might help to equalise opportunity. Free schools are allowed to be pickier about who they let in and who they kick out; they can either become a haven for well-behaved children of all social classes

to focus on learning in a pro-education, misbehaviour-free environment, while comprehensives are forced to take all the misbehaving pupils. The other side of the debate is that free schools will be for the wealthier children only, leaving poorer children stuck in failing comprehensives. Swedish charter school pupils, which are similar to free schools, are on average getting lower grades than Swedish state school pupils, which complicates the argument further. It is unclear what effect free schools will have on unequal opportunity.

The government's view is that careers advice is partly to blame for the problems with equal opportunity. A recent change made careers advice the responsibility of schools, but this appears to have been unsuccessful. Brian Lightman, leader of the ASCL head teacher's union, explained that “the duty to provide careers guidance was placed on schools at a time when most existing infrastructure and funding for such provision had been removed”.

Poorer pupils may be unaware of the academic and vocational higher education available to them, hindering equal opportunity. In conjunction with the abolition of EMA, opportunities look set to become more unequal.

DfID calls for International Citizens

Derek Keats

S

The ICS receives funding from the DfID and aims to send volunteers to countries such as Rwanda have already been on an ICS placement which lasts from 10-12 weeks in one of 24 of the poorest countries across the globe. Leanda Hatten, who volunteered as an ICS team leader in Rwanda, had this to say about her experience: “Being a team leader on the ICS programme was one of the most challenging and rewarding things I’ve ever done. Nurturing a crosscultural team and going on a massive personal journey at the same time made for an experience I will

treasure for the rest of my life”.

According to an evaluation of the 2011 ICS pilot programme, ICS volunteers are likely to make the biggest impact in the areas of increasing access to basic services and promoting equality. Volunteers such as Usman, who did his placement in Malawi, are proof of the positive impact that ICS volunteers can have on a community.

He told ICS that during his trip, he and his team among other things provided a foot pump and other

materials, helped to dig an irrigation canal and taught the villagers techniques for channeling water to some new plant beds using the pump.

Although the programme is only set to run for three short years, if it is deemed successful it could go on to create an entire generation of young people with a hunger to see positive change at home and abroad. To find out more about the ICS programme or to apply, go to http://www.volunteerics.org

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France and Syria: Divisive opinions présidentialiste, it is perfectly within Hollande’s rights to engage in military action against Assad without a parliamentary vote, which many parties, including those on the far left wish to execute.

What, however, does the French public think about this? It is clear that public opinion in France is divided. Politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the communists are hostile to any potential intervention, whilst the majority of the socialist and green parties side with Hollande. The Union for a Popular Movement, however, appears to be torn between the two.

In an interview with the French radio station RTL, Alain Juppé, a member of the UMP as well as previous Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister, points out what has occurred in Syria is unacceptable and action must be taken to show other dictators around the world they cannot get away with these crimes. Juppé then adds that change has been needed for some time, to prevent more casualties of the civil war and to aid over two million refugees.

Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has recently come out of the woodwork with what he calls a “plan” to save Syria, outlining what he would have done, which seems to be fast, punitive action.

Sarkozy famously claimed that he would not involve himself in politics unless Syria became a topic of debate, fiercely advocating his

Gemma Isherwood bathimpact Online Editor he politics of the white west will always be interlinked and, as such, it is important to keep up.

Australia might seem irrelevantly far away from our little island but the world has recently developed a bad habit of pretending it’s the 1950s again, and it is interesting that Australia is not exempt from this.

Tony Abbott is the new Prime Minister of Australia. No, it’s not ‘that ginger woman’ any more – Julia Gillard was ousted as leader of the Labor Party a few months ago and a lovely man named Kevin Rudd took over as leader and, ipso facto, PM. I use the word ‘lovely’ with deliberation, because he was nice in a grandpa kind of way; his twitter feed (@KRuddMP) is the epitome of the ‘older generation using modern technology’ trope

T

pro-intervention stance on the 8th August 2012 when he demanded the international community and the French authorities act urgently against Syria.

This argument combines with the Allies’ arguments for the need to promote democracy and humanity throughout the world, to defend the Syrian people and to abolish tyranny and fascism. Doing nothing could be worse.

According to a survey carried out by the newspaper Le Figaro, 55% of the French public are pro-

military intervention on behalf of France and the rest of the United Nations. However, a second survey discovered that only 41% are favourable of sole French military intervention without the aid of its United Nations allies. A more recent poll shows there has been growing opposition about any military intervention in Syria, with 64% against intervention.

The main reasons for this concern the consequences of such an attack. Firstly, launching missiles on Syria could spark a broad es-

maltman23

Alexandra Egan bathimpact Writer hroughout the past month, the debate of Syrian intervention has exploded onto our screens.

The massacre of an estimated 1400 Syrian citizens, including over 400 children, took place near Damascus. The use of the neurotoxin sarin gas, allegedly by President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, shocked and divided the international community.

Over the course of the past month, we have seen two camps emerge: the French, British and Americans on one side, claiming to possess vast evidence condemning Assad and his government. On the other: the Syrians, Russians and possibly the Chinese. What then ensued, however, rocked the Allies’ conviction: European powerhouse Germany’s refusal to participate in military intervention and the British Labour Party forcing the topic off of the table in the House of Commons, leaving David Cameron with his hands tied.

France’s President, François Hollande, maintains a steadfast position alongside President Obama as the US’s sole European ally.

Despite Cameron’s reluctant withdrawal from potential intervention and Germany’s rejection, Hollande insists that France will respond to the Syrian government’s irrefutably unethical attack with the necessary retaliation. With a government

Public opinion in France continues to be divided about Syria

calation of hostilities throughout the Middle East, endangering in particular Israelis and Christian minorities as targets for Syrian retaliation. Secondly, inflaming antiWestern sentiment within the region could lead to more terrorist attacks. Furthermore, shifting the balance in the fighting could benefit some of the extremist Islamist militants opposing the Assad regime. Finally, the memories of recent conflicts, such as in Libya and Mali, have dissuaded the French public.

Working in France has helped me understand the extent of these reservations, with some people saying that despite being extremely sorry for what happened in Syria they believe, in a nutshell, that it is not France’s problem. France has its own domestic issues that need to be addressed first rather than partake in more interventions abroad that end in extreme expense physically and economically. Finally, without the British, France is the US’s sole ally.

Others, however, believe that it is necessary to go to war because if we do not then other countries could follow Assad’s example. We cannot let such a crime go unpunished and if we were to turn a blind eye how can we expect Assad not to use chemical weapons again?

The French public may not be thrilled with the prospect of going to war, but France itself appears to be that way inclined.

Googling ‘PM Tony Abbott is a...’

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and he signs off his tweets with a smiley face. His policies and the way he runs his party, however, are the more important factor.

Rudd and Labor would have been the most sensible choice. Abbott’s party, the Liberal National Party (LNP) are not at all as Liberal as the name suggests, and a few of the more opinionated Aussies out there are convinced that they’re about as far right wing as you can get. The LNP want to set

back the already-in-motion plans to have ultrafast broadband across Australia using carbon fibre (the National Broadband Network) in favour of fixing the existing copper wire services already in place - which will need upgrading at a later date for a greater cost. Labor were happy with the system and roll-out plans as they stood, supporting Australia’s movement forward in the digital age and encouraging an admittedly huge project.

Abbott has said, and you can Google the interview if you don’t believe me, that he feels ‘threatened… as many people do’ by homosexuals. That’s right. Gays scare him because they ‘challenge… the right order of things’ and are not orthodox like the rest of society with our divorces, child abuse, domestic violence and prostitution.

When put into the perspective afforded to us by the huge leaps forward that have been made across the globe in terms of marriage rights and equality, he doesn’t seem like the kind of man to lead the country into a bright, rainbowcoloured future. Admittedly, the comment he made was a while ago, and leopards have been known to change their spots. However, his attitude towards people who call him out on his words is to make excuses about family difficulties and having a lesbian sister rather than

admit that what he said was poorly thought out and offensive to a lot of people who already have to face enough trouble as it is.

Tony Abbott is also a frequent offender in the category of denying climate change. He isn’t keen on pushing the importance of basic things like reducing energy consumption, recycling and looking at carbon footprints. For a country that has been dividing their public waste bins by type for at least five years (progressive by UK standards), it doesn’t make sense that a man who doesn’t think we need to take care of the planet is in charge.

I can only hope that a freak hole in their already damaged bit of ozone will open up and fry him on the spot.

This only scratches the surface in the myriad of reasons why it’s a little scary that Tony Abbott is the main man for Australia today.

The country is looking a little too close to the backwards thinking that has landed Russia in its current situation and I know from a dozen recent conversations that Australians all over the country, especially those of our generation, are not feeling optimistic about the LNP starting to roll out their policies. And if that isn’t enough, type in ‘Tony Abbott is a…’ to Google and look at the suggestions. Need I say more?

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

9

Politics

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Mike Szweda bathimpact Writer he Spanish government have been making people wait in their cars for up to four hours in the hot Spanish sun (or hot British Overseas Territory sun depending on your political leaning).

The reason they are claiming is to clamp down on tobacco smuggling and as a strange form of retribution for seventy concrete blocks being dumped in disputed waters.

Underlying tensions were brought to the surface when Gibraltar dropped concrete blocks into the bay to encourage an artificial reef to develop and allow sea life to flourish. However the Spanish government saw the waters as under their sovereignty and the movement as an affront to their authority. As a result the Spanish government has introduced rigorous border checks to punish the people of Gibraltar for the actions of their government.

Additionally they are planning on bringing in a 50 euro (£43) fee to cross the border into Spain and then use the funds to compensate Spanish fisherman.

Whilst all of this may seem extremely disproportionate and malicious, the Spanish government have said that they are no longer

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prepared to turn a blind eye to "irregularities" at a time when it considers Gibraltar to be acting unreasonably. The main irregularity that they are referring to is tobacco smuggling.

There is some truth to the Spanish government’s claims about tobacco trafficking; last year Gibraltar imported 175 million packets of cigarettes. So unless every Gibraltarian (including the babies) is smoking more than 15 packs a day, it is likely that the tobacco is being smuggled. Cigarettes are 40% cheaper in Gibraltar than in Spain and a third of the price in the UK, so there is a lot of money to be made by smuggling cigarettes across the border.

The Spanish government, however, may have done more harm than good with their attempt to protect their fishermen’s jobs. Just across the border, the town La Linea de La Concepción has one of the highest unemployment rates in Spain. Many unemployed turn to smuggling because they see no other route to employment; Alexis, a student, told Vice news "My friend lost his job at a recycling plant last week after three months of not being paid, what else is he meant to do?"

Additionally, Gibraltar is a little

economic powerhouse; it is a tax haven in the style favoured by Tory Party donors. With a flat corporate tax rate of 10 per cent, it has also become a favourite place for online gambling firms and financial services to base their offices. With a GDP of $1.9 billion and unemployment of only 3 per cent, in this global economy it would be advantageous for both countries to hold onto this brilliant source of income.

In spite of all of these reasons, Spain's vociferous response to a single action in a long existing dispute is no accident. Recently Spain has been rocked by a corruption scandal. Approval ratings in the Spanish government are at an alltime low; recent surveys reveal 86 per cent of Spaniards do not trust Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. So, much like Big Brother in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Rajoy has rallied the nation behind the flag of patriotism to oppose a foreign power wishing to harm them.

Similar to David Cameron’s regular transformations into a rabid British bulldog at regular intervals over the Falklands, the EU and immigration to make us forget about how he's privatising the NHS on the sly, this is smoke screen politics and the people of Gibraltar are the victims of this distraction.

andriesss

Gibraltar’s contraband contention

Gibraltar imported 175 million packets of cigarettes in 2012

Why do teenagers look at porn?

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hat should one do as a right-wing party when one's white male voter base is being drained by xenophobic libertarians?

There are many good answers to this question, but announcing a crackdown on pornography is unlikely to be one of them.

The political dimension to Cameron's clumsy digiphobia has been covered to death, leaving no need to resurrect the arguments of the summer. So, let us put to one side the censorship debate.

Let's ignore the bullish ignorance of saying 'here's the law, now figure out how to implement it' to the ISPs and search companies.

Let's even turn a blind eye to the 300,000 attempts to access porn websites from the Houses of Parliament in the past year.

Instead, let's talk about why children watch pornography, because no mainstream commentators seem keen to grapple with the fact that minors actively seek it. Perhaps this unwillingness stems from the role of children in the political narrative of British life; helpless and defenceless paragons of innocence, the epitome of naivety. To square this view with reality, Cameron et al. must accept the fiction that children 'stumble' onto pornography, as if the ground beneath their virtual feet were littered with sex tapes,

and then become hypnotised by its glamour. Doubtless, this is what the children themselves told Mum before googling how to delete their browser history and becoming initiated in the arcanas of incognito mode.

But a 'child' can be anyone under the age of eighteen, whether that be by a day or a decade.

Painting the younger generation

as whiter than white thus can only result in failure to comprehend the reasons behind their quest for erotica. The seed of curiosity is sown, no doubt, by parental talks of 'special cuddles' to explain the origin of babies to infants. Biology lessons do nothing to assuage the thirst for knowledge, with their pencil cross sections of genitalia.

And then suddenly puberty kicks

in and we start wondering what other people look like naked. Cue the eureka moment, when one types 'breasts' (or related terms) into Google and – bang – instant, graphic answers. Thus begins the slippery, occasionally sticky descent into the bowels of the internet.

The reason this world of bare skin, rippling bodies and ten-

Dave Stokes

Tom Ash Features Editor impact-features@bath.ac.uk

ants who can't pay the rent is so enthralling is because finally we realise what all the fuss is about.

Everyone talks about sex like it is the best thing since sliced bread, yet hitherto in a teenager's existence all explanations have been rather flaccid (for lack of a better word). But then pornography comes along and shows us how it's done.

The catch, of course, is that porn largely fails to demonstrate the 'right' ways of doing it. Porn video practices are often unpleasant for the receiving participant, especially if done incorrectly.

They can even be quite dangerous. There can, however, be no replacing porn's role in informing sexual practice. Sex education just isn't interesting enough to compete; if it were, then it would itself be pornographic.

It is not possible to curtail culture through the law; decades of failed drugs and alcohol policy prove this. Peer-to-peer sharing will surely be the undoing of the new filter system; the solution may instead be to change the kind of pornography that informs the sexual expectations of both teenagers and adults, and this may mean actually directing teens towards sites that depict safe, mutually enjoyable sex. It may seem like a radical suggestion, but would do more to shift attitudes than any filter. Fetishising the innocence of childhood protects no one.

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

11

Business

bathimpact.tumblr.com

What the frack is going on here?

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ne of the issues on everyone’s lips over the past few months has been that of fracking.

Aside from pun-believable headlines from The Sun (“Shale we inherit the earth?” - 25th July) and all the fun of saying it, I still don’t know what fracking is or why it’s important.

Following some research on the subject, I now know that fracking consists of drilling straight down into shale, then extending the drill perpendicular to the original bore hole, and drilling for miles on end.

This exposes hundreds of thousands of tiny natural cracks in the rock where the gas we rely on has been trapped for millions of years. What is known as slickwater is then pumped into the rock at high pressure to expand these cracks, and solid particles, known as proppants, then get pumped in with the slickwater in order to hold the fissures open. Once the water pumping has stopped, natural gas rushes back up the bore hole where it can be collected.

According to the aforementioned Sun article, the UK’s energy needs could be met for 40 years on the gas in shale beneath

us. Fracking would increase GDP, employment and, perhaps most importantly, reduce dependence on foreign energy. So why are people up in arms about it?

In the US, where fracking has been practiced for many years, there have been reports that the

dangerous chemicals used in the process have escaped to a groundwater level. Companies claim that this is because of bad practice, not an inherently dangerous technique. There have also been earthquakes, albeit small ones, detected in some areas where fracking

takes place. The use of large volumes of water has also caused environmental concern.

George Monbiot suggests in his Guardian column that perhaps it is the nature of fracking, the big, manly, rugged nature that attracts the politicians; not neces-

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Caleb Wheeler-Robinson bathimpact Writer

sarily the fact that it is the most economically viable thing to do or the best thing for residents and the environment, but that they get some sort of testosterone high out of it. This comes at a time when the government is introducing a veto vote for local residents to halt wind turbine construction and when fracking sites can be constructed as close to any homes as possible - there is no required ‘safe’ zone around the site.

Ultimately this is the recurring theme with companies, especially those with international influence, and those whose industries are especially environmentally damaging. They say they care.

They claim that techniques such as fracking are completely safe, and that all detrimental effects are a case of bad practice. This responsibility should still lie with the companies. They should provide adequate training, equipment and employ people qualified in order to ensure accidents don’t happen. From the Exxon-Valdez disaster in 1989, to the more recent BP oil spill, there is recurring evidence that in a world where money is king, the environment is subjugated to every whim and request his master may have at whatever cost to himself.

Economics of...

Freshers’ Week Our anonymous economist appraises your sordid social dynamics

Fenya Wells

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conomics of…’ is an award winning column put together for each issue. Twice a month I strive to find the issues which really matter, be it prostitution, love or marijuana, and remove the moral restraints which hinder (or encourage) the way we think about these issues. It is, in every way, pure economics.

Just simple, no-holds-barred common sense and pure cold logic.

Freshers’ Week is a fascinating social experiment. What happens when you take hundreds of young adults from different backgrounds and cultures, create artificial cringe-worthy social events to encourage interaction and discreetly incite the mass consumption of alcohol? The answer is, of course, an orgy of debauchery on the scale of the last days of Sodom and, in theory, the creation of long-lasting friendships forged around the person who you decided to become during that fateful first week.

When asked in the early fifties whether he was a communist, as many people suspected, Fidel Castro’s response was meticulous: “I will be communist, if I can be Stalin”. What followed was a series of calculated decisions which pushed Castro towards the ideology which would define Cuba for the rest of the century. We make our decisions based on a certain amount of rationality, both con-

scious and subconscious, which in theory grow to create other people’s perceptions of us. The chiselled schweff who screws every girl he can get his hands on will become known as ‘the sociopathic player’, the girl who cooks for everyone will become ‘the mum’ and the chap who puts on a baffling playlist of alternative dubstep during your first game of ‘Ring of Fire’ will become known as ‘the douchebag’.

These examples are not necessarily bad, but what they do represent is examples of how we make decisions based on benefit, taking into account the cost they exact. Wait, I hear you say. Is he really applying the cost/benefit analysis to the human personality? My simple answer is yes.

For those ignoramuses who are unfamiliar with the concept, the cost/benefit analysis is generally applied to simple economic

decisions. For example, Bodgem kebab are thinking about buying a new chip fryer. It costs them around £10,000. But, the benefit is that – thanks to improved efficiency, taste and speed – the fryer will bring in around £5,000 a year more than the old one. It is clear that the expenditure is well worth it. How on earth though does this apply to humans?

Well, let us take ‘the sociopathic player’. As he begins the

evening by applying copious amounts of wax to his hair, carefully ironing his finest Oxford shirt whilst playing some slightly less alternative dub, he has got one thing on his mind: pussy. He knocks back a few beers, but not enough to lose sight of the target.

He hits the Founders Hall with his newly established crew and instantly sees what he wants. Sure, he misses a few times but eventually heads home with a slightly inebriated victim. The benefit for him: he’s a player. The cost: he’s a sociopath. As an economist, I am made to remove emotion from the picture. I refuse to believe that there is anything akin to a ‘selfless’ good deed. Everybody does stuff for cold, calculated reasons.

‘The mum’ benefits from the unconditional love she will receive from her Freshers, the cost being the time and money she puts into the act. As for ‘the douchebag’, he loses the respect of his fellow housemates and spends a fortune on skinny jeans, but gains it by a holier-than-thou-art ego which makes him feel superior to the conformists.

So my Freshers, you have some decisions to make. Who do you want the others to think you are?

You are rational human beings with the world to gain, but remember you have to spend a little to make a lot. And be careful little ones, you are just as cold and cynical as I am, even if you don’t know it yet.

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Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

Science

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New compound combats cancer Alberto Lapedriza bathimpact Writer

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e all love going on holiday to a sunny place to enjoy the sun and the beach, or lying on the grass by the lake on one of those rare (not this summer) sunny British days. The sun, however, is not harmless and indeed the ultraviolet (UV) radiation that it emits is the main cause of skin cancer. In the UK, more than 100,000 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year, making it the fifth most common cancer. Exposure to the sun can be dangerous if we do not protect our skin properly.

Researchers at Bath are trying to improve the way we protect ourselves against the dangerous solar radiation by developing a new sunscreen ingredient.

The UV radiation emitted by the sun that reaches the Earth is classified into two main groups depending on the wavelength; ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB). UVB, despite representing only 5 per cent of the UV radiation that gets to us, is the one that produces more damage in our skin because it affects directly the DNA molecules in our cells, producing mutations that could lead to tumours. UVA, which penetrates deeper into the skin than UVB, has less power to produce mutations in the DNA by itself, but generates highly reactive bodies called free radicals that damage the DNA.

Sunbathers may soon be protected by a University of Bath innovation In our skin we have some specialised pigment cells which produce a black or brown molecule called melanin, which acts as a natural barrier against ultraviolet radiation. Melanin absorbs and scatters the radiation, reducing

skin damage. However, it is not perfect; the melanin in our skin absorbs between 50 and 75 per cent of the radiation. Therefore, there is still some UV radiation that goes through. In order to protect our skin against the radia-

tion that melanin lets through we use sunscreen. These lotions contain compounds that mimic the activity of melanin, reflecting or absorbing UV radiation.

Most sunscreens in the market are quite effective protecting

against UVB radiation, but they are not so good against UVA. When the skin is exposed to UVA, it generates iron and free radicals.

Because the iron released promotes the formation of more free radicals, damaging the cells even more, the use of antioxidants to fight against the free radicals produced by UVA radiation has not been effective. The use of “naked” iron chelators, molecules that capture and inactivate iron, has also proved ineffective, because it inactivates both the iron released by the UVA and the iron that the cells need to function.

Research groups led by Dr Pourzand and Dr Eggleston in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology here at the University of Bath have developed a new compound for sunscreen lotions that reduces the damage of UVA radiation in the skin. The new compound is a caged-iron chelator that is only activated upon UVA exposure. Once the chelator is active, it captures the extra iron generated by UVA, and reduces the DNA damage that could promote skin cancer.

This new compound developed at Bath could increase the effectiveness of sunscreen lotions, and reduce the incidence of skin cancer. It will need some more time until you can see sunscreens with this new compound in the shops, but maybe in a few years you will be able to use a Bath innovation when sunbathing.

Prof Science - not just happy juice Our resident scientist explores the ins and outs of CH3CH2OH jellies, induces a state of intoxication well known to many of you after making it through Fresher’s Week. It acts as a central nervous system depressant, and influences consciousness, mood, motor and sensory function to a varying degree depending on the dose. As the dose increases, toxicity symptoms progress from slurred speech and nausea, to delayed reaction time, unconsciousness, coma and even death.

Ethanol is metabolised in the liver. This process is slow, leading to a build-up of ethanol concentration in the blood. Circulating ethanol affects the heart and causes blood pressure to drop. It also circulates to the lungs, from which some of it will be exhaled; this is why we can test for alcohol consumption using breathalysers.

The feeling of an ‘alcohol blanket’ - feeling all cozy and hot when you’ve had a few drinks - comes from the effect of ethanol dilating your blood vessels, bringing more blood and warmth into your skin.

‘If it is so toxic, then why is it so irresistible?’ you may ask yourself.

Well, besides all those negative effects mentioned, it also triggers our brain’s reward system and at a low dose it makes us happy.

But alcohol is much more than just happy juice. It finds use in a plethora of applications, including antiseptics, solvents, and biofuels.

To produce ethanol involves the fermentation of sugars. Historically, this is one of the first biotechnologies employed by humans, invented thousands of years ago, and involves our little microbial friends. Most commonly used are yeasts, such as Saccharomyces cereviciae, to create brews such as beer and wine. However, bacteria are also naturally able to ferment sugars into ethanol and many species capable of this have been isolated from environmental samples such as palm sap or compost.

Fermentation occurs under oxygen limited conditions, however the toxicity of ethanol limits how much can be produced by the microbes used in the process.

Since those ancient times of course the technology has been refined and distilleries have been invented to create a purer product. This purer ethanol plays an increasingly important role as an alternative, renewable energy source. Biofuels, especially second generation biofuels made from plant waste, are under major development and we even have a team

of scientists working on improving production processes of bioethanol here at the University of Bath.

Bioethanol from plant waste is not only an invaluable alternative to fossil fuels, but it is also an en-

vironmentally friendly fuel, as its production and use reduce landfill and green-house gas emissions.

Let that boggle your brain, and don’t drink and drive. Only your car is allowed to do that.

Darius N

Dear Professor Science, after last night’s party in the Tub, I woke up with a massive hangover. What is it that makes booze so fun, yet so regrettably painful? – Anonymous Dear heavy-headed Anonymous, Perhaps a big glass of water to rehydrate you will be a good start to the day. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it removes fluid from your body - that’s why every pint throughout the night calls for a toilet break. Consuming alcohol also induces hypoglycaemia, a low blood sugar level, by blocking the body’s mechanism to stabilise blood sugar levels between meals, gluconeogenesis. This is why you crave that greasy kebab on the way home from the club and why you probably feel very shaky and fragile after a night of heavy boozing.

Technically speaking the alcohol we consume in alcoholic beverages is ethanol (CH3CH2OH). There are other types of alcohols, such as methanol, that you certainly don’t want to mess with.

Ethanol is one of the oldest recreational drugs known to mankind, or animal-kind for that matter. As a psychoactive drug, its consumption, mostly as alcoholic beverages but also fermented fruit and vodka

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

13

World

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Rouhani - a fresh start for Iran?

Marral Shamshiri bathimpact Writer

activists. Whether this was a tactical front or a sincere belief is ambiguous; Rouhani has appointed the first female Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham, and female Vice President Elham Aminzadeh, yet at the same time he has also appointed Mostafa Pourmohammadi, a former executioner responsible for killing 30,000 political prisoners, as Justice Minister.

He has expressed his stance regarding women on Twitter, tweeting about his campaign to “empower and elevate women”, even using the hashtag #GenderEquality. Several tweets regarding women’s rights echoed Westernised language, referring to the professional accomplishments of women, including an image of female graduates. One tweet declared that “Iranian women are educated, capable & powerful”, an incredibly surprising statement to make considering the subjugation women face under this Islamic state, not

‫یریشمش لارام ؟‬ ‫یناحور نسح‬، ‫اهنت‬ ‫رد ور هنایم یادیدناک‬ ‫ناریا نئوژ هام تاباختنا‬، ‫دیدج روهمج سیئر ناونع هب‬ ‫دش باختنا ناریا‬. 72.2 ‫دجاو ناگدنهد یار زا دصرد‬ ‫تاباختنا نیا رد طیارش‬ ‫یناحور و هدرک تکرش‬ 50.71 ‫نآ زا ار ارآ زا دصرد‬ ‫درک دوخ‬. ‫رد بلقت زا سپ‬ ‫سویأم رایسب تاباختنا‬ ‫ لاس هدننک‬2009 ‫رد هک‬ ‫یار داژن یدمحا دومحم نآ‬ ‫قافتا هب بیرق تیرثکا‬ ‫درب تقرس هب ار‬، ‫یرایسب‬ ‫تکرش یارب نایناریا زا‬ ‫یب ای ددرم تاباختنا رد‬ ‫دندوب توافت‬، ، ‫نیا اب‬ ‫لاح‬، ‫ینویزیولت هرظانم‬ ‫و یروهمج تسایر یاهادیدناک‬ ‫دنچ اهنت اهنآ میقتسم شخپ‬ ‫کی تاباختنا زا لبق هتفه‬ ‫راکفا رد یناهگان رییغت‬ ‫تخیگنارب ار یمومع‬. ‫ور هنایم دنوخآ کی یناحور‬

‫یرایسب یاه هدعو هک تسا‬ ‫تسا هداد مدرم هب‬، ‫دازآ زا‬ ‫یسایس ناینادنز ندرک‬ ‫ات مدرم قوقح زا تیامح و‬ ‫تردق اب رتشیب لماعت‬ ‫ یبرغ یاه‬.‫رد وا تارظن‬ ‫تسا هناروسج نانز دروم‬. ‫قوقح یربارب دروم رد وا‬ ‫هتفگ نخس نادرم و نانز‬ ‫هجوت اب هک یزیچ تسا‬ ‫اساسا یمالسا نیناوق هب‬ ‫تسا نکمم ریغ‬، ‫یلاح رد‬ ‫وا راک هظفاحم فیرح هک‬، ‫یلیلج‬، ‫رب دیکات اب‬ ‫ردام ناونع هب نانز شقن‬ ‫نالاعف زا یرایسب مشخ‬ ‫تخیگنارب ار نانز قوقح‬. ‫هبنج یو عضوم ایآ هک نیا‬ ‫ای و هتشاد یکیتکات‬ ‫مهبم تسوا هناقداص رواب‬ ‫رانک رد یو هک ارچ تسا‬ ‫هب مخفا هیضرم باصتنا‬ ‫یوگنخس نز نیلوا ناونع‬ ‫هداز نیما ماهلا و هجراخ روما‬ ‫روهمج سییر نواعم ناونع هب‬ ‫نامزمه باصتنا هب مادقا‬

‫یدمحمروپ یفطصم‬، ‫ریزو‬ ‫رد لوئسم قباس یرتسگداد‬ ‫ لتق‬30000 ‫یسایس ینادنز‬ ‫درک‬. ‫رد دوخ عضوم نایب اب یو‬ ‫رتییوت رد نانز اب هطبار‬، ‫یتاباختنا تازرابم دروم رد‬ ‫و یزاس دنمناوت“ هب دوخ‬ ‫هدرک هراشا ”نانز ندرب الاب‬ ‫تسا‬. ‫نیا یارب یتح وا‬ ‫ زا عوضوم‬#GenderEquality ‫تسا هدرک هدافتسا‬. ‫وا رتییوت مایپ نیدنچ‬ ‫یا هفرح یاه تیقفوم زا‬ ‫یتح و هدرک تبحص نانز‬ ‫ناگتخومآ شناد زا یریوصت‬ ‫تسا هدرک همیمض ار نز‬. ‫رد‬ ‫لیصحت“ زا رگید یمایپ‬ ‫هدرک‬، ‫ندوب دنمتردق و رداق‬ ‫هتفگ نخس“ یناریا نانز‬ ‫تسا‬. ‫نتفرگ رظن رد اب‬ ‫تموکح تحت نانز دایقنا‬ ‫رشب قوقح ضقن و یمالسا‬ ‫ناریا رد‬، ‫ییاهنت هب نیا‬ ‫زیگنا تفگش یا هینایب‬ ‫تسا‬. ‫رگید یوس زا‬، ‫ماقم‬

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to mention the ongoing human rights violations. On the other hand, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei utilised Twitter to promote his own views on the matter, instigating indirect tension, referring to an old-fashioned metaphor of man and wife in the home, with his outdated approach comparing women to delicate flowers.

The electoral system in Iran deems the President as the highest directly elected official, the second most important position to the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This position was formed in 1979 shortly after the Iranian revolution and overthrow of the monarchy, whereby a new constitution was ratified for the new Islamic state. Ultimately, it is the Supreme Leader who holds the most power.

Rouhani has called for “serious and substantive” nuclear talks, saying that he is determined to work with the West in order to resolve dispute over Iran’s nu-

clear programme, something that former president Ahmadinejad was stubborn in perpetuating. In an attempt to open the door to peace with Israel, while its sincerity can be questioned, Rouhani expressed Rosh Hashanah (New Year) wishes to Jews around the world, receiving an unimpressed response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, believing it to be a distraction from Iran’s nuclear advances.

The preceding oppressive theocratic regimes and the violations of human rights should be a surprise to no one. Many Iranian liberals will fundamentally find themselves disappointed with Rouhani, who is ultimately a conservative cleric at core; critics may believe his appeal to be staged, however, the slightest advances in such a state should be gratefully received.

For many, Rouhani is a symbol of progressive change, yet for many more he is simply the best of a corrupt bunch.

‫یربهر مظعم‬، ‫هنماخ هللا تیآ‬ ‫رتییوت زا هدافتسا اب یا‬ ‫دوخ یاه هاگدید جیورت یارب‬ ‫عوضوم نیا اب هطبار رد‬، ‫یمیدق هراعتسا هب هراشا اب‬ ‫هناخ رد رهوش و نز زا‬، ‫اب‬ ‫نانز هدش خوسنم یدرکیور‬ ‫هسیاقم فیرظ یاه لگ اب ار‬ ‫دنک یم‬. ‫هتسه تارکاذم یارب یناحور‬ ‫یدج“ یوگتفگ یاضاقت یا‬ ‫ددص رد و هدرک ”یساسا و‬ ‫روظنم هب برغ اب ات تسا‬ ‫رس رب هشقانم لصف و لح‬ ‫هرکاذم نآ یا هتسه همانرب‬ ‫دنک‬، ‫سیئر هک تسا یزیچ‬ ‫رد داژن یدمحا قباس روهمج‬ ‫درک یم یراشفاپ نآ لباقم‬. ‫ندرک زاب یارب شالت رد‬ ‫لیئارسا اب حلص هب برد‬، ‫یم ار نآ تقادص هک یلاح رد‬ ‫داد رارق لاوس دروم ناوت‬، ‫یناحور‬، ‫)ون لاس( اناشاه‬ ‫رسارس رد نایدوهی نایدوهی‬ ‫تفگ کیربت ناهج‬. ‫اب و‬ ‫زا هجوت ذخأم خساپ تفایرد‬

‫وهایناتن نیماینب‬، ‫تسخن‬ ‫لیئارسا ریزو‬، ‫دش هجاوم‬ ‫کی نیا دراد داقتعا هک‬ ‫ناهذا فارحنا یارب تکرح‬ ‫یا هتسه یاه تفرشیپ زا‬ ‫تسا ناریا‬. ‫کیتارکوئت یاه میژر‬ ‫رشب قوقح ضقن و هناملاظ‬ ‫تسین سک چیه دییات دروم‬. ‫یاه لاربیل زا یرایسب‬ ‫راک یور زا اساسا یناریا‬ ‫دندونشوخان یناحور ندمآ‬. ‫زا‬ ‫کی یو تیاهن رد نانآ دید‬ ‫تسا راک هظفاحم دنوخآ‬. ‫نیدقتنم هک تسا نکمم‬ ‫یب و یرهاظ ار وا یاهراتفر‬ ‫نیرتکچوک اما دننادب انعم‬ ‫اب دیاب ار یرییغت‬ ‫تفریذپ یدونشوخ‬. ‫یارب‬ ‫دارفا زا یرایسب‬، ‫یناحور‬ ‫تسا یقرتم یرییغت دامن‬، ‫لاح نیع رد‬، ‫یرایسب یارب‬ ‫رگید‬، ‫نیرتهب زا یکی وا‬ ‫دساف هورگ کی رد اه‬ ‫نایب هب رداق نامز اهنت!تسا‬ ‫دوب دهاوخ یو تیعقاو‬

wikimedia commons

assan Rouhani, the only reformist candidate in Iran’s June election, is the new Iranian president.

A respectable 72.2 per cent of the electorate participated, with Rouhani securing 50.71 per cent of the vote. Many Iranians were undecided and moreover apathetic following the disheartening rigged election of 2009, in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stole the votes of a vast majority, however the presidential debate televised just weeks prior to the election evoked a sudden change in public opinion.

Tehran’s mayor, Mohammad Ghalibaf held a strong lead together with early front-runner Saeed Jalili, both of whom were favourites. An early poll reported 57 per cent of voters as undecided, meaning that undecided voters could easily overturn the lead. In the televised debate, the subject

of the July 1999 student protests was raised, in which hundreds were injured, several killed and the aftermath of which saw many more inconspicuously disappear.

The articulate cleric Rouhani was able to verbally defeat Ghalibaf and highlight his naivety by addressing his faults as chief of the police force at the time. For many undecided Iranians, this was the turning point.

Rouhani is a reformist cleric who has made many promises, from releasing political prisoners and upholding the rights of the people, to pledging greater engagement with the Western powers.

His views on women are enthusing, he has spoken about the need for women to have equal rights with men, something that is essentially impossible according to Islamic law, while his conservative opponent Jalili emphasised the role of women as mothers, angering many women’s rights

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Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

Media

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Think you’ve got a face for radio?

Jamie Lee URB Head of AdMarket urb-admarket@bath.ac.uk

T

he University of Bath’s student radio station is the award-winning 1449AM URB, broadcasting every day of the year online, on mobile, on campus and on 1449AM. One of the most established and recognisable stations in the country, URB provide an unrivalled platform to begin a future career in the media. The wide-ranging opportunities the station provides means whether your passion is for presenting or production, your expertise in events or engineering, URB allows your talents to flourish.

The station has a set of three purpose-built studios and an office space in the heart of the Students’ Union next to Fresh Express, opposite the entrance to the Student Centre. All equipped with the latest tools and software, Studio 1 serves as the main broadcast studio, Studio 2 as a DJ studio and Studio 3 for use by the production team. Launched in 1973, this year URB celebrated its 40th anniversary with a reunion weekend hosted by the current committee, the Students’ Union and University of

Bath Alumni Office where former members revived their old shows on air. Many leading broadcasters started their careers at URB before going on to work for renowned media organisations, with alumni of the station including TV and radio personality Neil

‘Dr’ Fox. Those interested in presenting can quickly get on air with no experience necessary. The station’s Head of Training will guide you through the equipment and how to put together a radio show and once your demo tape has been

improved you can join our team of specialist and daytime presenters. During Freshers Week, URB will be hosting a one-off day event allowing budding DJs the chance to try out radio for the first time with fifteen minutes live on air supported by a URB co-presenter available to all those who come to the studio (details can be found at facebook.com/1449amURB).

Media members have the chance to meet and interview the various acts performing at the university throughout the year, are regularly offered backstage passes to sold-out gigs in Bath, Bristol and beyond and given press passes to events such as Latitude Festival and EXIT Festival in Serbia. Recent interviewees include Bastille, Hadouken, Everything Everything, Funeral For A Friend and BBC Radio 1’s Greg James, Zane Lowe and Scott Mills.

URB consistently performs well at BBC Radio 1 and Global Radio’s annual Student Radio Awards, in recent years receiving awards in Best Student Radio Station, Best Student Radio Chart Show and Best Marketing and Station Sound. The Student Radio Awards provide an excellent chance for members to network with radio

executives and presenters and many have entered this year’s awards to be held at The o2 in November. National radio stations such as Capital FM, KISS and BBC Radio 1 regularly look to student radio stations to discover new talent, with success stories including BBC Radio 1’s Greg James who won Best Male Presenter in 2005.

So if you fancy getting involved with URB, join Media today! Media membership costs £9 per year, and includes 1449AM URB, bathimpact and CTV, and can be purchased by visiting BathStudent.com/media.

Throughout Freshers Week, URB will be providing resident DJs, interviewing acts and compiling the best of the week’s audio in our daily online podcasts.

The station will also be giving away a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila every single day on the station’s Facebook page. To join in and for more information about URB’s involvement in Freshers Week 2013, visit facebook. com/1449amurb. URB is also on Twitter, Instagram and SoundCloud at @1449amurb and on 1449urb.co.uk.

Maybe you’re the presenter type?

Ron Morrow CTV Station Manager ctv-managerr@bath.ac.uk

B

ath CTV is the Students’ Union’s award winning television and filming branch of Media. Now entering its 25th year, the station is hoping to produce more content than ever before, as well as increasing its scope and variety. In previous years we’ve hosted panel shows, comedy skits and informative pieces all in one form or another, while this year we’re already planning our second competitive livestreamed video game tournament (League of Legends for the gamers

amongst you) and bringing back our fortnightly news show to keep students up to date.

The Process - Each week we hold a contributors meeting where

we discuss current projects and distribute roles for new projects.

Taking our news program as an example, the core roles to be decided are the producer, the camera operator, and the presenter. The producer will liaise with members of bathimpact to find out the main current story affecting students, and will work with the presenter to write a short script. Having filmed the introduction, the crew will head out and collect opinions of the student population. Once all of the footage is collected, it gets edited down, everyone who was involved gets credited at the end and the final product is up-

loaded to our Youtube channel, ready to be shared across our Facebook and Twitter pages.

So why get involved? - There are all sorts of skills that go into making videos from a huge range of people. Opportunities exist both in front of the camera acting and presenting, and behind the camera shooting, directing, producing, and writing. It’s easy to get involved in any of these aspects as projects are commonly being worked on by a group of people, where you can jump in and slowly work your way up as you learn more. The skills you can gain and the experiences you’ll have as part

of CTV are unlike anything else at the University, and a great chance to learn technical skills.

If you fancy trying your hand at any part of the filming process then come along to our first contributor meeting in 1E 3.20 (in the corridor behind Plug) on the first Monday of term, or to watch any of our previous videos check out our Youtube channel (youtube. com/BathCtv).

CTV will be covering all the action during Freshers’ Week. Look out for our cameramen on campus and make sure you come over to say hello.

Or do you just like to write words?

Simon Rushton bathimpact Editor impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

Y

ou may have have gathered by reaching this page that this is bathimpact, the student newspaper and this is kind of what we do. (If you haven’t, please read more of the paper and then come back here.) Becoming a journalist may seem daunting, but it’s really easy to get into; all that needs to happen is write that you write something that you know and ideally care about. From there it will then be taken in by our editorial team and made to look pretty; and in my case changed from incomprehensible drivel to some-

thing more or less completely legible.

I’m going to leave you a challenge by not explaining to you the general areas we have in the paper.

Instead, you should look now...

DO IT... Done? Good, so hopefully you are now more informed about the paper and should have worked out which section suits your talents, so get going and email the section editor with an exciting article.

We also get to do actual, real journalism by leading coverage during the SU officer elections and will lead the questioning during the debates, which may sound fairly boring but is really, really

fun (pinkie swear). We also get to do even more fun things like covering gigs, film releases and so on and so forth, and occasionally for free. Yes, that’s right, free entertainment - what more can you want?

The bathimpact team during Freshers’ Week will be producing mintyfresh, your friendly neighbourhood Freshers’ newsletter with a minty twist. Getting your name or picture into our esteemed publication is possibly the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a Fresher - so find us on campus in our beautiful neon yellow t-shirts, or we will find you. No really, we will.

Student Media

Today!

www.bathstudent.com/media/

Join

Well. It始s something to do, isn始t it?

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

17

Activities

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Get your Socs on for Freshers’ Scott Burfiend SU Activities Officer SUactivities@bath.ac.uk

W

hen you first come to the University it can be a very daunting experience – living away from home, making new friends, managing your finances. Joining a society and meeting people who share your interests is one of the best ways to alleviate these concerns and settle in. Continuing your passion, whether it’s for fine art or environmental activism, can give you something familiar and engaging so you can integrate into Bath life instantly.

Students’ Union Societies at Bath are a fantastic opportunity for you to get involved in so much more than just your degree. We all know that studying is at the top of priorities for most people at university, but there is so much more to gain and experience by getting involved outside of your course.

With over 80 Societies, 2 Enterprise groups and 3 Media groups in the Students’ Union there is surely something for everyone. Whether you want to continue an old hobby, try something new, or meet people with a similar interest our societies cater for everyone.

What can I get involved in?

At Bath Students’ Union we have 5 Areas of societies you can join. Every single society is open to every single student. No matter your experience, background, course, age, interests, name, shoe size, hair colour… everyone can join each and every society and will be welcomed by the student committees and members.

The Ethical and Political Area is a meeting ground for students interested in local, national and global issues. Come along and discuss your views with a diverse group of students bringing experiences from all walks of life. Join the debate and open your eyes to new ways of viewing the world.

Faith and Cultural Societies are our largest area, providing cultural links for students and covering nationalities from all over the world. Get involved to share your culture or faith and to learn more about those of other people.

Our Departmental Societies are a great place to meet people on your course, or on a course you’re interested in. Meet students in years above you, get advice on units and placements, attend conferences and lectures and enhance your career prospects by making links with employers.

Arts Societies are for all things creative; from writing and performing in a musical to riding a unicycle, from photography to working backstage in Freshers’ Week. Watch out for Show-ina-Week. Starting on Friday 18th October our Arts Societies will be given a theme. They then have just one week to write, rehearse and

perform something based on the theme. Join any Arts Society to get involved.

The Recreational Societies at Bath span the widest variety of activities on offer. Whether you want to play board games, watch films, learn first aid, relax and meditate, enjoy a curry, or run around the wood role playing as an elven wizard, there is definitely something for you.

Not sure which society to join?

Keep an eye on these 5 award winning societies and see what they have in store for 2013/14: Debating Society (BUDS) – Ethical and Political Society of the Year 2012/13 CySoc (Cypriot Society) – Faith and Cultural Society of the Year 2012/13 BEST (Bath Economics SocieTy) – Departmental Society of the Year 2012/13 ChaOS (Choral and Orchestral Society) – Arts Society of the Year 2012/13 PoleSoc (Pole dancing) – Recreational Society of the Year 2012/13 If you’ve had a look at all of our societies and still can’t find the one that you want, we can help you create a new society. Come into the Sport and Societies Office in the Student Centre and I’ll support you all the way to creating a brand new society.

with Societies. The support and encouragement I had from these friendships both kept me studying at Bath, and ultimately lead to where I am today as the Students’ Union Activities Officer.

In my Freshers’ Week I remember feeling overwhelmed, a little lost and very unsure of what to do. Remembering the advice from one of my teachers “just say yes and see what happens”, I found myself joining Gravity Vomit, the circus skills society. At the time I could barely hold three balls, let alone juggle them. Lured in with a promise of cakes, a year later I found myself as Chair of the society and organising a convention for over 300 jugglers from all over the UK and Europe. A very unexpected and incredible experience!

Almost exactly four years later, here I am as the Students’ Union Activities Officer, supporting all of the fantastic societies on offer to the students of Bath.

If you want to find out more about societies, come and find me and my bright orange hoody in Freshers’ Week. The Societies Exec will also be around in their (not quite so bright) orange hoodies to answer any of your questions. Without their support my job would be impossible, so ask them questions, say “thanks” from me, and maybe bring them sweets.

They deserve a treat.

Why should I join a society?

We’ll be around at the Activities Day, Thurs 26th Sept on Parade and the Activities Fair, Mon 30th Sept in the Founders Hall.

Love and hugs,

Possibly the best thing about our student societies is that they are entirely organised and driven by you, the students. Every society elects a committee of students each year to drive forward and develop their group for the benefit of all. The skills you can gain from organising socials, coordinating an ensemble or hosting a conference are invaluable and will definitely make your CV stand out from the crowd.

By getting involved in a society you are opening up a whole new world for yourself. The best friends I made during my time at Bath I met through societies.

Looking back at my fondest memories from the past four years, the majority are from my involvement

Great Scott SU Activities Officer

Arty People Ben Cochrane bathimpact Writer

H

ave you considered joining an arts society? No? Well why not? Is there something wrong with you? Probably. You should go get it checked out. Arts societies are the most engaging, enthralling and rewarding of all of the societies. They allow you just to let go of all your inhibitions, though not all of them – we have standards, and just thoroughly enjoy yourself.

I’m trying not to sound like a soppy git, but that doesn’t seem to be working. Have you ever tried acting? Well why not? Everyone can act; Ben Affleck does it for a living. Acting is basically saying something that someone else has written.

Some of the best moments of my life have taken place during a BUST workshop. It is one of the only two places that has ever made me hurt from laughing. The other was when I saw Eddie Izzard live.

BUST put on plays that are worthy of professionals and even perform work - plays and films that have been written by members themselves. For instance they are performing A Christmas Carol that has been written by a very handsome and witty member of the society that also writes hilarious but informative articles for bathimpact.

BUST’s sister society is BUSMS, the musical society. They perform incredible musicals that have both the cast and audience smiling from ear to ear. Do you need to sing? No! (Unless you want a part that requires you to sing without help from the others, but who really wants to be centre stage? I mean it’s a bit showy-offy, that’s why I write. I know good decision.) All you need to do is to turn up with a smile and you’re set!

I have mentioned only two arts societies here in detail as they are the only two I’m a member of – my

time is too valuable to divide anymore – but there are loads of others. Bodysoc, the dance society, for example. I have loved watching their performances; they are seriously talented and they have often asked, neigh pleaded me to join. I had to decline unfortunately.

Gravity Vomit – the juggling and circus skills society. Chamber Choir, Bath Fashion, Music Soc, Photo Soc, Salsa Society, Splat Art, ChaOS – the choral and orchestral society, Break – Break Dancing, Backstage, Folk Soc and even Knit Soc if you want to save your winter clothes shopping bill.

Do you need to have prior experience? No! Do you need to be very good? Well within reason.

How do you sign up?

Look for their stalls in the societies fair and you will be able to catch them in their many shows and the societies showcases that are dotted around the year. Take

a chance, try something new – it might just change your life. It if not then hey, at least it was only four quid.

BUSMS and BUST memberships are available to buy from www.bathstudent.com.

18

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

Sport

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Connor Morton impactsport Editor impact-sport@bath.ac.uk

B

ath enjoyed a successful summer of sport, with bath-based competitors taking part in the IPC and the IAAF world championships, many of whom gained medals in their respective sports.

The IPC (International Paralympic Committee) world championships were held in Lyon, France from the 19th to the 28th of July, with the Swimming championships being held in Montreal, Canada from the 12th to the 18th of August. These were the first major gathering of Paralympians since the 2012 London Paralympics.

Stephanie Millward, who was originally aiming for the British International team, was diagnosed with MS and subsequently joined the Paralympic team. She is based at the Aquae Sulis performance swimming club, which trains using Bath University’s facilities. She attained an incredible 4 Gold medals- Firstly in the S9 Freestyle 100m, then in the 34 points 4 X 100m freestyle relay. She then achieved gold in S9 100m backstroke, and then finally achieved gold, and setting a new world record with a blinding time of 4:46.21 seconds in the 34 points 4x100m medley relay. She also brought home a silver in the SM9

200m individual medley.

Paul Blake, also based in Bath, is an athlete who suffers from cerebal palsy. He carried away a gold in the 800m, breaking the championship’s record, setting a time of 2:06.10 seconds - shaving an astounding 5 seconds off of the previous record. He also achieved a silver in the T36 400m, coming in at 56.72 seconds- just short of Evgenii Shvetcov, the Russian world record holding athlete, who came in at 56.27 seconds. (For any Star Wars fans, Blake’s father was the actor who portrayed Greedo in “A New Hope,” which I thought was quite cool.)

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Associations) world championships were held in Moscow (not without its controversies) from the 10th to the 18th of August.

Eilidh Child, a Scottish born athlete which is now based in Bath, won bronze as part of the British women’s 4 x 400m relay team- one of Britain’ 6 medals overall. Although she missed out on a medal in the solo 400m hurdles, she kept her spirits up and says the experience of winning the medal will prepare her for the 2014 commonwealth games.

Alongside this, Bath University have won the right to stage the ParalympicsGB camps for the Paralympics in Rio de Janiero, in

2016 - beating hard competition such as Surrey and the strongly sport oriented Loughborough to the place.

A large number of athletes will gather at the univeristy to prepare for their respective sports- just as athletes did when the university hosted the prepareation camps for the London Paralympics last year.

Bath University has also partenered itself with the paralympics, being called a “National Performance Partner of Paralympics.

Outside of Bath-based athletes at the IAAF Championships, Usain Bolt became the most successful athlete ever, winning 3 golds, the 100m in 9.77 seconds, which was not so close to his alltime record, 9.58 seconds (set at the Berlin World Championships in 2009), but was fast enough to again put him back into the position of “World’s fastest man.” This was after a highly competitive series of qualifying rounds, with Bolt not looking quite as confident as usual- he had lost the 100m to Justin Gatlin in the Golden Gala meet in Rome. He went on to win the 200m in 19.66 seconds, short of his world record time of 19.19 seconds- again set in Berlin in 2009.

He also helped attain the gold in the Jamaican 4 x 100m relay team.

Along with Bolt in the 100m final was a British runner- coming in 8th place, but as an up and

Turning to Kimi Räikkönen, who will now be welcomed back into Ferrari fold. He like Alonso has been outperforming his team mate, the hap-hazard Roman Grosjean. The problem however is that he, also like Alonso, is a number one driver.

This is why Ferrari’s decision to re-sign Räikkönen has shown that they are potentially more willing to risk a drivers’ championship in

the quest to get their hands on an elusive constructors’ title. Playing second fiddle to Alonso would not have tempted Räikkönen to sign for Ferrari, his is of course, like Alonso a thoroughbred racer who wants to win.

In the coming season it will be interesting to see how the two drivers gel. For F1 fans this will be even more fascinating considering the well-documented history of Alon-

Ed Clayton

The sun shines on Bath athletes

Stephanie Millward won 4 Gold and a Silver medal at the IPCC comer, James Dasaolu shows a lot of promise. Other than this as well, Britain fared well, with Mo Farah winning Gold in the men’s 5000 & 10000m, with times of 13:26.98 seconds & 27:21.71 seconds respectively, with the 10000m being

a season’s best. Christine Ohuruoga won gold in the women’s 400m with a time of 49.41 seconds- setting a new record for the sport! Great Britain overall placed 7th, with 3 gold medals and 3 Bronze medals.

so, while at McLaren at least, of not liking being beaten by a teammate. Studying his McLaren history further also begs the question as to how Alonso will cope with having a team which is no longer solely built around him - arguably the reason that caused Hamilton to leave McLaren.

The gamble needs to be taken as the Ferrari hierarchy are clearly angered by the team’s lack of suc-

cess in recent years, made all the more painful following the meteoric rise of Red Bull in recent years.

For a team with such pedigree four seasons without a trophy is unacceptable.

With the title slipping out of their hands due to Sebastian Vettel’s dominance, Ferrari Team Principle, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo needs to be seen to do something drastically to save his job.

Ferrari’s other main hope for crushing Red Bull are the regulation changes that will take place in 2014 which will radically affect the sizes of cars and engines.

Historically a team with a large research and development budget like Ferrari will hope to get the jump on the competition and have a dominate car straight from the start of the season. A large points haul at a season’s debut can prove crucial in a F1 season, a factor influential in Brawn GP’s championship win in 2009.

The Ferrari faithful will also hope that the engineering team will not try and run before they can walk, a problem that plagued Ferrari at the start of last season.

Only time will tell if Ferrari’s bold move will pay off, but at the moment it seems that relationships within the team will be put under new pressures as Räikkönen moves in on Alonso.

Simon Rushton Editor-in-Chief impact-editor@bath.ac.uk

F

errari has made the key signing of the Formula One transfer season by re-signing their former world champion Kimi Räikkönen. The news signals the end of the road for Felipe Massa; loyal servant to Ferrari.

Massa had shown a large amount of potential and outperformed Räikkönen to come within one point of the world championship in 2008. However, in 2009 he suffered a potentially fatal accident forcing the Ferrari management to take a gamble on whether he would return to his best. Unfortunately, to date, this has not been the case.

As a consequence Massa has been very loyal to Ferrari and has acted above and beyond the call of duty of a number two driver exceptionally aiding Alonso in his bids to win the world championship. Massa showed his supreme loyalty in the season just past where he even took a 5 place grid penalty to allow Alonso to take the clean side of the grid at the Circuit of the Americas.

Despite all of this Massa has been unable to perform consistently for Ferrari. Some suggest that this is in part due to the team not building a decent car. Alonso, however has made a habit of performing better than his car should allow for thus compounding Massa’s misery.

Chrissatchwell

Massa out as Räikkönen re-signs

Ferrari Formula One team prepare their last championship winning car at Goodwood

Saturday 21st September 2013

bathimpact

19

Sport

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Sport: Who bothers? Why bother?

Bath SU

Ben Cochrane impactsport Reporter

CJ Isherwood

M

any of you will use the sports facilities available to you here at Bath that have gone a long way in earning the top spot in the student satisfaction chart. Some of you will play for one of the great sports teams that make the University of Bath a name that makes other universities quiver in their inadequate sport footwear. Others might walk to a lecture and that’s it. Actually that’s not it, is it?

During your time here at Bath, it will certainly involve a form of exercise. Even eating doughnuts.

So what type of exerciser are you?

There are different groups that each warrants their own answer.

The first one is the professional athlete. The one who gets up at 4am each morning, goes for a run, then a cycle, then a row, then another run and then a swim in the sea that requires another run past Bristol.

They then return and swallow two egg yokes, an orange – whole and wash it down with a carton of semi-skimmed milk and all before their 7am lecture. Then at 4pm they are up the pitch for training that begins at 7 and once that’s done they stay for another six hours to practice some more. They then go to bed and start the whole process over again.

The second group play in the

same team as the professional athlete, however they don’t do nearly as much work. They roll out of bed at midday, maybe they’ll go to a lecture, maybe they won’t. They rock up to training ten minutes late, train half-heartedly then return to their flat where they have a meal of chips and chicken kiev that they probably won’t bother to defrost either because they can’t

be bothered or don’t know how to.

Some nights before bed, they will even get horrifically drunk and go out, possibly ending up in bed with exactly the same type of person from the opposite gender, or perhaps the same. However, their sporting prowess is far superior to the professional athlete, as they possess natural born talent. These people are really bloody annoying.

They don’t seem to do any work, yet can still succeed at a very high level.

The third group plays for a sports team that is not as competitive as say the first or second team. These people were the star of their school sports team, or one of the ones who wasn’t actually forced to play by a PE teacher.

They train well and have a good

and Lorenzo did before him Mark Marquez is doing it in arguably a far more professional fashion.

Lorenzo, did show promise in his first season but he also showed his bike flying about the track on all types of corners on many different tracks, going on to be world champion – Pedrosa, in case you didn’t already know wasn’t as successful and will nev-

er be world champion, you heard it here first. Marquez is in contention for the lead in the championship and could go on to win it, he has some stiff competition but the point is, he’s a hell of a lot closer to the championship title than Lorenzo was to Stoner’s final championship in 2012?.

This leads us to the crux of the article; will anyone ever fill the

void that Valentino will eventually leave? And if they do will it be in the same capacity, as the most formidable rider and as a fan demi god, because let’s face it, nobody is loved more than the Doctor and he’s loved for his personality and riding skills equally.

Sunday 15th was the Italian GP, the death of Marco Simoncelli was mourned as it’s been under two years since his death, Simoncelli was the only man apart from the aging Colin Edwards who came anywhere close to having the charisma and support as Rossi; the devastation felt about his death was felt especially because of the way fans could relate and warm to Simoncelli.

Even if you genetically bonded Marquez and Lorenzo and injected the new being with pure Brian Blessed they’d still be on the Alan Rickman scale of charisma.

As far as riding goes, there are riders progressing through the ranks, the likes of Scott Nicholls and Cal Crutchlow and probably countless tiny boring Spanish riders (Since when were Spanish people boring?) means the talent is there and keep the hopes alive for the future of the sport, but the factory rides just aren’t available for riders to progress easily, god forbid a future Rossi should end up at Ducati.

social rapport with the other players as well. How nice. They might have a couple of beers at the weekend and will go out once a week. A very good balance indeed.

The majority of girls will lie in the fourth group. They probably didn’t play much sport at school but very much like to keep fit in their own time either through running or going to the gym. They eat healthily and are very happy.

Good for them.

The majority of boys lie in the fifth group. They like to think that they do loads of sport but they’re too lazy. The will probably go to the gym 10 times in the year and will play the odd game of football or squash recreationally. The rest of the time will be spent on the playstation . They don’t eat as well as the fourth group and will drink considerably more, but are still fairly happy.

The sixth group can’t be bothered to do anything except eat and so I can’t be bothered to write about them.

Whatever group you lie in, it has to be the group that makes you the happiest. Exercise is a great way to keep happy and meet new friends, but if drunken adventures or Xbox is more appealing to you than dawn jogs or a quick trip to the gym then you have do what’s best for you. Though if you are in group six, disregard everything I have just said.

Can anyone fill the Doctor’s boots?

V

davedehetre

alentino Rossi has been climbing to the top of motor cycle racing’s most elite class for over a decade now, I’m sure any GP fans will be rolling their eyes at yet another Rossi centric article; but bear with.

So, another Spanish rider is climbing the ranks, as Pedrosa

As MotoGP steadily changes, the sport is crying out for a new Rossi- will it be Marc Marquez?

The introduction of the CRT bikes has ruined the sport in a lot of respects with the prices keeping good factory bikes like Suzuki and Kawasaki away, there just isn’t the competition there used to be, maybe this article is looking at the past in that nostalgic rose tinted view people often look back with, but something needs to be done. Hopefully the introduction of the extra factory like bikes next year should propel the competition forward a bit, Colin Edwards will be back in contention and with a factory ride for Cal Crutchlow, the field might be a bit tighter, but another Rossi, it’s doubtful his exquisite shoes will ever be filled in both on an off the track greatness. The Doctor will always be the GOAT (Greatest of all Time).

Corentin Foucaut

Ben Charles Hooper bite Editor impact-bite@bath.ac.uk

Is Marc Marquez is on the up?

impactsport Sun shines on Bath Sport 3:Thirty Bath Club su

Team Bath Bath su

page 18

Saturday 21st September 2013

Inside impactsport Formula one run through bathimpact Editor-in-Chief Simon Rushton discusses the implictions of the changed line-up of Ferrari drivers.

Page 18 has the full story

Which type of sportsman are you ? impactsport Reporter Ben Cochrane talks about the catorgies of sports people here at The University of Bath.

Turn to page 19 to read the full story The University of Bath has a wide variety of sports, for differing commitment levels - it’s easy to start and get into sport now!

Welcome to Bath Uni Sport S

port sport sport! This has been the motto at this university for quite a few years now, and it has been shouted in corridors and staircases many times throughout the long and lonely summer days… It is now more relevant than ever as this year we probably have the best sporting offer Bath has ever seen.

There are a total of 48 sports clubs, 36 of which run regular activities on campus! The facilities here are great, and SU Sport has worked very hard with the Department of Sports Development and Recreation (DSDR) over the last few years to secure more training times for our students.

Founders Hall especially is pretty much a student only facility, and if you have a look down there pretty much any evening you will see our student clubs playing and training. Probably one of the biggest regrets I have from my university career is not getting involved in more sports in my first year! Living on campus, you have the luxury of having everything available within a 5 minute walk.

Make sure you try as many sports as possible, the challenge being to go through all 48 within 1 year; saying that, I have yet to meet someone who has tried all sports in their 3/4/5 year university life… Challenge?

Now it’s all good saying that you should try all sports, but aren’t we ranked 4th in the country judging

by BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport), therefore we only want the top performing athletes, right? NO. All of our sports clubs now have a ‘recreational’ offer, meaning they will cater for people who just want to have a go, or play for fun once a week. SU Sport also organises regular tournaments in Dodgeball, Rounders, and other

activities that aren’t covered by our sports clubs. Last year, we absolutely smashed our membership record of about 4,000 members in 2011/12: we had over 4,600 people take part in sport as part of SU Sport and club activity in 2012/13. Our target this year is to get to 5,000 people and have over a third of all University of Bath students partake in regular sporting activities.

But say you’re like me and absolutely love competition, and unfortunately just like most students on campus you don’t particularly excel at a certain sport even though you enjoy playing it… Then Inter-Halls is the thing for you. This programme we run

Bath su

Tom Janicot SU Sport Officer susport@bath.ac.uk

Football is among the 48 sport clubs that one can join here!

all year long as part of the ‘Halls @ Bath’ movement is really catching on becoming the best way to find some friendly competition on campus. Whether you’re a fresher living in halls or a 4th year living in Oldfield Park, come represent your hall of residence, the one thing you will always be proud of! Except for Westwood, because everyone knows Eastwood is better… Anyway, we have two huge Inter-Halls set-ups this year that have built on the successes of last year: Netball and Football. Every single sport is looking to incorporate halls competitions into their activity but all they’re really looking for is people like YOU! Show interest, speak to the committees about it, and who knows maybe you will help set up the University’s best recreational sport league…

It’s settled then, we all know that sport is good for mental health, physical health, happiness, and many more happy things (speak to ‘Sally for Community’ for more info!) and we have one of the best and cheapest social sports offers in the country. Sign up now, love sport, love SCORE!

Moto GP impactsport Reporter Ben Charles Hooper writes about the void left by the steadily declining Rossi, and the lack of talented Motorbike riders in the MotoGP to replace him.

Turn to page 19 for more

Get involved If you are interested in sport and want to contribute, then contact impactsport Editor Connor McGregor Morton (impactsport@bath.ac.uk) to find out more details about how you can get involved.

We’re always looking for writers, photographers, people to take part, or just all round sports buffs to help out. So, if you have a story you want to share, don’t be afraid to get in touch!

Freshers

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Saturday 21st September 2013

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Freshers welcome and hi, hello.

G

ood afternoon Freshers (and sophomores etc. alike) if it’s morning, go back to bed. Just kidding there’s plenty to explore this week (mostly in the evening) but seriously it’s not all about partying. After partying it’s customary to sleep, after the sleeping then comes the eating and then... the spanking. I welcome you to bite, a rollercoaster of a pull out section, bite likes you to think of her as a magazine, really. Just because we can’t afford for it to be made of glossy paper, doesn’t mean you can’t imagine; by all means don’t stop there, take this on as a life lesson, start going to parties a little less dressy to save money to spend on more important pursuits. Go for budget Belarusian crayons over Crayola and just roll like John Lennon at least until some Yoko comes along and shatters your lead. Enough about Japan. Let’s talk Freshers. Freshness. Daisies.

It is that time of year again where all the halls of residence are relieved of their strange marks of graffiti and campus is full of fun things to do, as long as you’re fresh faced and sporting the right wrist attire of course. In this the first issue of bite you shall find all things Freshers, a nibble of bite will tell you all about that. bite will be in every issue of impact this year, that’s biweekly and will always have 1. A theme 2. Interesting articles mostly about pop culture, but, there’s no rules, that’s our motto and of course something about cats, lastly it’s all written by you guys, the STUDENTS, old or young, post- or undergrad.

So take this as an introduction from me, bite editor: if you see stuff in here you like, email me, approach me in a bear costume… if you see things you don’t like, email me, probably leave out the bear costume. I don’t like bears when they’re angry. My point is we’re always eager to re-

A nibble of bite

cruit new writers in every section of impact and in every causeway of student media. There’s only one inescapable clause and that’s the bear clause. Get it? Nevermind.

This is after all an editorial, so what does Freshers mean to me I hear you ask. Have no fear, I shall now divulge, and I promise no more bear jokes. It wasn’t even funny anyway. It was just a bit too cutting edge, a bit too, roar.

Should have let that one hibernate a little while longer.

Seriously now. In late September 2010 I arrived at Bath campus ready for my Freshers’ Week, I was 24 years old and to be honest I was feeling a little holier-than-thou and above it all. Vowing not to get a Freshers’ wristband, not to get involved with all the kids and just get on with my work (I was rather a studious mature student). Little did I know at that point that I’d meet some of the most valued friends I have in my life, in that very week.

Music might not have been to my taste but I was too bolloxed to notice.

On the flip side, Freshers’ Week isn’t the be all and end all and I certainly reach out to those who feel isolated in this time of social isolation and loneliness, it’s not easy for everyone to be th-rown into the lion’s den of social situations like this and get on the zebra as it were. So Freshers, patience is important, empathise with those who perhaps don’t make eye contact, or barricade their room; and remember we were all embryos once. Weren’t we?

So my Freshers’ Week was important to me, it remains full of happy memories and anecdotes but I think the opinion is mixed usually as far as my circle of friends is concerned, so how important a time is it? Do we make our friends for life or just hang with the first people we en-

counter? Are we just too intoxicated for it to matter? Well I guess it’s all subjective, an important time, regardless.

During Freshers’ there are lots of things and people you will do and I promise it will be memorable. The certain important and unique quality I’m talking about aren’t really encountered by one at many times in life, in fact one could argue one might never really experience something quite like this ever again. When will you find yourself surrounded by approximately 3000 people who are in the prime of life, in the same book and on the same page as you - not to mention that this particular metaphorical page is littered with exciting bright sparkly colours and excitement. More importantly, forgetting the events, people’s normal social barriers and codes of coolness in many ways disappear, despite my age I am still subject to being shunned by the cool kids, sorry to say I’m just not one of them... BUT, this was not the case in Freshers’ Week, yes, it will all come screaming back afterwards, but for one week you can talk to anyone you happen to pass by, and they won’t look at you in a funny way, regardless of what you look like or sound like or whatever; they will simply talk to you as another canvas waiting for an extra bit of paint, as a human in the same situation as they are.

It doesn’t matter that Bath and all of this will eventually get old and you’ll be glad to escape the place, here and now is what it’s all about.

The uniqueness of the experience is out there waiting for you, go forth and SMELL THE MENSTRUATION!

This week’s theme is of COURSE, Freshers.

Blog of the week:

Bite is usually laden with pop culture, creative writing and other bits and bobs of fun - we thought we’d just give a bit of extra love to the new student cohort.

http://pohtpof.tumblr.com/

See page 5 for a The Guide which will give you info on the best events in Bath and the wider area each week, usually highlighting the things your average Joe might have missed

You may or may not know about this blog, but you should know, and should probably get involved

People taking pictures of people taking pictures of food

As a side note, why not try a spin-off such as: people taking pictures of people taking pictures of bite?

Find us on facebook and show us things

COMPETITION! Beginners or experienced writers welcome We’re recruiting contributors, doesn’t matter if you’re sane, but we would prefer those individuals who are slightly mad and we are asking those budding writers and blotter jotters out there to show us what you’re made of, so here’s the brief: The theme next issue is Clarity and Cloudiness (it’s always a vague theme) One 600 word article about Clarity and Cloudiness in our lives today, does it exist.. make it funny Don’t worry about swearing, or being profane, just be yourself - swearing and vulgarity are not a necessity Send it to impact-bite@bath.ac.uk by Monday 30th October, midnight SHARP!

Our sex columnist this year has an anti-sexer to compete with, see more about that on page 10 Harriet Tagney gives us her secrets on how not to just wear jogging wear all year on page 11

..also on page 11 get the best recipes in town for not being hungover The Best map you’ve ever seen, possibly... is to be found on the centre page spread

On September 30th Johnny Flynn’s awaited third studio album is released, his debut album Al Larum (2008) was only complimented by his second album in 2010. His dulcet folk brilliance is displayed through his ability to write pop numbers that aren’t too poppy and slow numbers equal to those of Simon and Garf unkel - he was ahead of the curve on the folk revival and this album is one of travel and experience

Saturday 21st September 2013

bite bathimpact.tumblr.com

What the FWEM?

Hi Freshers!

Welcome to Bath and congratulations of getting your place here! We at the Students’ Union have been busy all summer planning Freshers’ Week, so you had better be prepared for the best week of your lives! This year there really is something for everyone so make sure you make the most of it.

There will be loads on during the day so get yourselves out of bed, grab your housemates and don’t miss out! On Wednesday and Thursday you’ll get the chance to see what our Sports and Activities have for you and you’ll also be able to win points for your halls in the inter-halls league at Campus Challenge and lots of other events throughout the week. Don’t forget to pick up your free Freshers’ T-shirt in your halls colour after your residence induction on Saturday, Sunday or Monday to wear to Campus Challenge and Launch night on Monday.

Each night, as well as all the crazy Main-Hall parties, we have some great Alternative Events – stand-up comedy, open mic, magicians, film nights and more. If you didn’t manage to get a wristband, don’t worry, you will still be able to attend loads of events throughout the week. Just ask one of our team of volunteers and they will let you know what else is on. We have 47 captains (dressed in Irish green), 283 crew members (dressed in bright blue) and the three of us FWEMs (dressed in red) on hand to answer all of your questions. Your crew will be taking you on city tours and helping you get to know your campus and new home a little better. Don’t be scared to ask them any questions you have, we were all in your shoes a few years ago and your Students’ Union is here to help!

Our Advice and Representation centre is will be here to help you in all sorts of ways, from free legal advice to cost price sexual health products, to academic support and the Nightline if you just want to chat confidentially. You also have the chance to get more involved in your Union; you can nominate yourself to be a Hall Rep this week, you will have the option to run for Academic Rep soon and later on in the year there will be loads more opportunities. Your Union is funded by The Plug and The Tub, so every time you get a morning bagel and coffee here, enjoy a meal or come to our huge club nights; Score and Fuzzy Duck, you are investing in your Union.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out? facebook.com/bathfreshers13 @bathfreshers13 on twitter bathstudent.com/freshers2013 so you know everything that’s happening and make sure that you have the best Freshers’ Week possible!

Lots of love, Your Freshers’ Week Event Managers, Charlotte, Jordan and Louise x

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Saturday 21st September 2013

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“Excuse me Bath... a music scene?”

Written by Thomas Gane

In Bath the only place you can really go for good live music on a regular basis is Moles (RIP Porter </3), and it’s a wonderful, wonderful place. Punk, metal, folk and rock bands play regularly (check the listings) and every Thursday you can see a live band and get a free indie/alternative club night at Stereotypes (probably best night in Bath). It also has the best EDM and DJ’s in Bath by a considerable margin, last year we had Grandmaster Flash (seriously, we had Flash in Bath), KOAN Sound, DJ Derek, Roddigan and Birmingham house label Origins doing regular take over nights. Just to give you guys an example, SKREAM is playing there on the 5th October, so it’s not

all tea and Austen. It’s also worth checking the listings at Bath Pavillion and Komedia as occasionally you get some real gems there, e.g. Frank Turner and Funeral for a Friend, and High Contrast played Second Bridge, but these are rarities. Finally, Green Park Tavern was always a great place to go and see local bands, as well as more established acts such as Blitz Kids, but it’s currently undergoing a change in management so it might not be as good when it returns.

“probably not as bad as

you thought”

So that’s Bath, it’s not great, but it’s probably not as bad as you thought it was. Plus Bristol is a 20 minute train ride away and its scene is one of the best in the UK. Motion gets some of the biggest EDM acts in the world, the O2 Academy and The Colston Hall get most of the big UK tours, and there’re tons of great little venues like Thekla and The Fleece for your more indie and alternative needs. The last train is usually at about 11pm, last bus is usually 1am and if you’re doing it properly, the first train is 5.45am; it’s definitely worth the extra effort to make the trip.

Celticblade

B

ack in the 80s and 90s, NME culture meant that a significant chunk of The University of Manchester’s students had no idea about what they were studying or why, just that they loved Oasis and Stone Roses so were basically living in their Mecca. If you’ve got a massive hard/wide on for Jane Austen and slightly yellowish architecture then perhaps the same could be said for Bath, but I don’t think anyone has ever said the words, “I picked Bath for its blossoming music scene”, without letting out a sad little cry afterwards. Still, if you’re are the type who likes skinny jeans and beards over the gym, there’s definitely a few little gems to be found.

Arguably Bath’s best music venue, a dungeon of fun

The Guide

Music Jake Morley, 20th October at The Bell Inn Bath. £6 A bit premature for a gig on Oct 20th but buy a ticket for Jake Morley at the Bell Inn before they sell out (only £6) an awesome alternative lyricist, who plays his guitar in every which way a human can – Jake sits on the periphery of a few genres but he’s a modern folk hero in my eyes and his songs speak to everyone Culture Shock, 5th October at The Trinity Centre Bristol. £10 adv tickets An anarcho-dub punk band have reformed and are seriously awesome, let’s see how anarcho they are now they’re old – Dick Lucas have moved away from politically driven lyrics, well worth the trip

Comedy Robert Newman, 26th September 8:00pm Komedia Bath, £12.50 advanced booking Even if you’re not into live comedy you absolutely have to go to this, Newman was once part of the Mary Whitehouse experience, an innovation in the world of comedy he was also part of Newman and Baddiel and responsible many believe for the beginnings of stadium comedy. The first ever stadium gig being Newman and Baddiel live at Wembley 1993. You can only get it on video but it’s well worth it.

hot tin roofs, 25th September at The Bell Inn Bath. Free?

Alex Genn-Bash

head down to the Bell Inn for this gig, the selfproclaimed bastard child of Mae West and Little Richard

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Saturday 21st September 2013

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Here’s your basic guide to the cultural side of the wonderful city you’ve chosen to live in. From museums to pretty buildings, we’ve compiled a list of the can’t-miss destinations around Bath. Enjoy your first foray down Bathwick Hill!

How to get l K

A

A The Royal Crescent

B

You’ve probably seen the pictures. It’s a great place for a picnic or a hangover day (when the weather’s nice)

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B The Circus

What it says on the tin. A collection of beautiful houses in a circle. Nice to look at and close to the Crescent if you’re taking a walk up for some fun in the sun.

C Roman Baths

D

Basically a large, green, Roman swimming pool. Mecca for any Latin fans and a great opportunity to trick someone into drinking a glass of warm, rock-flavoured water when you’re done with the tour.

8

D Jane Austen Museum

Any literature fans out there mgiht like an afternoon wandering the exclusive exhibits in a beautiful house near the centre of town. Bonus old man outside dressed up in period costume if you choose the right day.

E Bath Abbey

B

One of the most beautiful buildings and the site of your very own graduation in several years time. Christmas Carols happen here (at Christmas, as far as we’re aware) and there are tours if you’re in your history.

3 9 45

F Guildhall Markets

Great place for cheap supplies, fancy dress, teapots, books, scarves... take a look and see for yourself. There are cute owlshaped pillows too, but we don’t know if you’re into that.

1

G The Weir

If you’ve seen Les Miserables, this is where Javert commits suicide. If you’re not familiar with the story, then, er, spoiler.

H Holburne Museum

Arty, pretty installations of various things at various times of the year. They did a nice thing with lights once.

I Post Office Museum

We don’t really know a lot about this but if you’re brave/boring enough to go then we’ll print a review in bite and give you a free puppy.

6

J Parade Gardens

Sometimes you can get in free with your library card (we don’t know exactly what the rules are there) but this is also a great place for a hangover day, including deck chair hire, and cirently has a flowerbed shaped like characters from The Herbs. Google it.

K Victoria Park

Full of homeless people at night, but there’s a skate park. So there’s that. Good for impromptu cricket and full of ice-cream eating peasants in summer.

L Great Pulteney Street

It’s 1000 feet long and 100 feet wide. According to my Dad, and he’s normally right. Really nice to look at but horrible if you start to think about how much you really, really can’t afford one of those houses.

Bus stops

You can get off at the one near 10 or F. Wessex and First bus case of which one comes first, s

Sainsbury’s

The place you will trek to and f to order your food on the intern

Saturday 21st September 2013

bite bathimpact.tumblr.com

lost in Bath

1

Here’s the list of the best eateries and... drinkeries(?) that Bath has to offer. Look out for student deals and remember, non-alcoholic alternatives are always available.

1 The Hobgoblin

A bit alternative but they don’t bite and you can get a nice cheap pint. Very oldy-worldy pub style and everything’s made of wood.

2 Cosy Club

H

The most delicious place you will ever go. The food is great and the decor makes you feel like you’re dining int he house of an overly-keen old stuff collector. We think the term is ‘vintage’.

3 Molloy’s

They do pound-a-pint nights during the week. We’re sold. Nonalcoholic alternatives available at the bar.

L

I

F C

An Irish pub. None of us really remembers anything that’s ever happened here, which is probably good thing. The signs for the toilets are in Gaelic, good luck.

5 Komedia

They do comedy. And Motown. And Burlesque. Get down there.

G

11

4 Flan O’Brien’s

6 Matty’s Cafe

Only open until the early afternoon but it does two HUGE delicious kinds of breakfast and will deliver them to anywhere in Bath. Perfect for delicate mornings.

7 Lamb & Lion

E 14

J 15

7

It’s like a less shit version of Wetherspoons.

8 The Raven

Really good pies (like, really good pies) and the Uni do free lectures for the public. Search for ‘Science Cafe’.

9 Gong Fu

A noodle bar. The Thai green curry and the salt and pepper squid are the most fantastic things you will ever put into your face.

10 Jika Jika

2 13 10

J and get back on at the ones near s serve both stops, it’s generally a o choose your return ticket wisely.

om once before deciding it’s easier et.

Hands down the best coffee in Bath.

11 Tea House Emporium

SO MANY KINDS OF TEA. Also no signal in the tea room downstairs so a great place to hide out if you’re avoiding someone you had an awkward encounter with.

12 Yen Sushi

Better than the chain restaurant alternative down the street.

They do these great little crunchy fish egg things.

13 Bertinet

Relatively poncy place next to the station that does delicious croque champignons. Dress code is trackies and flip flops (Hollister only).

14 Real Italian Pizza/Ice Cream Company If you can’t work out what these people sell or why it’s good then you probably don’t deserve to go.

15 Po Na Na

They hold some really good club nights and the drinks are always reasonable. A night here feels like raving in the Batcave.

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September 21st September 2013

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Media’s quick and flirty guide to your Students’ Union 1.

Bath SU is all about saying ‘yes’

Have you ever wanted to learn how to bake properly? Do you want to play tennis but not competitively? Want to jump out of an aeroplane? Me neither but you can at the SU. There are groups for everything, whether you want to do it seriously or not. I’ve seen people write plays and win championships and raise thousands of pounds for charity all through these groups. You can join any of them at www.bathstudent.com so have a look around. They are all run entirely by students so if you want to try managing something then you can do that as well. Most important to point out is that in your brief time here you’re going to be able to do more and have access to more than at any other point in your life. Most societies cost less than a fiver to join so say ‘yes’ and try a bunch of stuff. Far be it my place to tell you what to try but you’d be out of your mind not to join Media (£6 gives you access to bathimpact, CTV and 1449AM URB).

2.

They represent you

Every year of every course elects representatives. You’ll elect yours in a couple of weeks. You may well end up being on of them. Every month or so these Academic Reps sit down with a few staff in your department and decide things. Are you getting enough feedback on that coursework? Is this module asking an unreasonable amount of prerequisite knowledge? How come my department’s computer lab doesn’t have a printer? Past that every Faculty elects Reps and they sit on an Executive Committee. A similar structure is employed in Societies and Sports and all areas of the Union. Representation of you to higher powers. At the top of the SU are the SU Officers. Each with their own remit they negotiate on your behalf with the University and all manner of organisations. Anybody can be elected as an SU Officer, once a year.

3.

You are definitely not alone

If you are wondering if there is anyone else under the age of 40 at the Uni who loves ale as much as you do then you’ll discover the Bath Real Ale Society. If you’re wondering if anyone else is already married, or has kids, or has been depressed or is gay and hasn’t told their parents then you may be surprised to know that all that is covered as well.

There are a large number of groups that are both support mechanisms and social groups at the same time. With 15,000 students you won’t be alone and if you have questions then there are people with answers. They can talk to you about day-care or tell you what the best gay bar in Bath is (it’s Mandalyns).

Overall half of all students are in some way involved in the SU and that ignores those who drink in the bar the SU runs, or go to its club nights or read this paper. I can only assume that the other half are certifiably insane. Go to www.bathstudent.com and do things. Then brag to your new roommates about all the stuff you’re doing and get them to do stuff to. Also join Media. Seriously.

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Saturday 21st September 2013

bite

Sex Column: Fresher sexcapades

bathimpact.tumblr.com

Written by bite’s sex columnist

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ne night it hit me. With the startling crack of the whip I realised that I had made a colossal error. This young, excited, male fresher just wasn’t going to do the trick. Despite his obvious foot and cucumber fetishes, he became a truly appealing choice after my tenth shot of tequila; in retrospect this was probably where I went wrong. The last straw was when I realised that this rampant specimen was not only too inexperienced to be allowed between the legs of anything with a pulse but also an absolute doppelganger for a 14-year-old Neville Longbottom.

But, my darlings, if you do decide to engage in filthy fumblings of this nature, remember to wrap it up. Don’t be silly, wrap your willy... put your love in a glove... (and all that jazz), because unfortunately Freshers’ Flu is not the only thing circulating the musky, sweaty confines of the Founder’s Hall. Packets of condoms are available at an extremely reasonable price in the Advice and Representation Centre on Level 3 of the Students’ Union. I advise all practising the act to go and get some. Now go and have some safe, sticky, kind-of-horrifying-when-you-thinkabout-it-in-a-couple-of-years, fun.

recubejim

My shambles of a night between the sheets, however, was not an experience in which I’m alone.

Freshers’ Week tends to reveal the sordid, nitty-gritty details that make you kind of wish you’d never started drinking in the first place. One acquaintance last year misguidedly decided that it was absolutely fine to have intimate relations in the disabled toilets of one of the venues, much to the shock and alarm of the security guard on duty. Another failed to see the issue with doing the stride of pride across campus at 10am with whipped cream and honey in her hair. You might awake under the impression that you just had the best night of your life, but what you are currently experiencing is just a horrible mixture of testosterone and bitter disappointment.

Once the hangover wears off, you will soon realise that, despite your best efforts to maintain sexual anonymity, that guy you just slept with is totally on your course. Awkward.

Dissapointment didn’t kill the cat, but it kept it from sex for a while, and wine fridges

Anti-Sex Column: oh to die alone Written by bite’s anti-sex columnist

Henry Townsend

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veryone always comes back with those stories; you know the ones… where they tell you about some recent conquest, how they were horrifically drunk, how they lied about their course or made Venus herself renounce the heavens mid copulation...stuff like that. This is fine; in fact it’s lovely. I’m glad some people out there have magical, spontaneous, sexual experiences, like some meaningful movie, or an 18 year old girl’s fantasy… I mean I don’t; if I do get any action I’m usually so drunk I can only imagine I look like a newly birthed giraffe, when I’m not drunk I’m so impossibly polite and worried about offending that all semblance of romance is lost, oh and to top it all off I’m pretty dense when it comes to reading those all-important signs, like winking or putting 3 X’s at the end of a text… so basically I’m god’s gift to women. This may in fact be a slightly harsh critique of myself but no one else can critique me… they all disappeared! Weird right.

Honestly though, and I mean truly honestly. I have never met anyone who has a healthy relationship towards sex at least not under the age of 30. How could you; from an early age your hidden from it, and its meaning convoluted, and as you get older it just gets more complicated, especially with today’s liberal values… but I don’t want to get into what sex should mean, if at all anything because for the purpose of this article it serves to say that sex is something inherently personal to everyone. People’s sexual dis- functionality may manifest itself in infinite guises, some of which may or may not be more socially acceptable. But it doesn’t matter.

Everyone has their hang ups and you know, where sex is concerned if you start pretending your someone you’re not you probably won’t enjoy it and neither will they. Fuck trying to get laid; you’ll probably meet someone just as messed up as you are one day. If not, you will die cold and alone but at least you will have personal integrity… that counts for something right.

A life lesson, a competent fellow If your sex life isn’t going swimmingly, try painting with woodland critters

Written by John Barlow

As Far as survival goes this degreen was a great idea, as for some reason the lizards in the surrounding area stood out like sore thumbs in the golden undergrowth. The sad result of this was that they where extremely easy targets for corporate vultures and the

majority got chewed up and spat out. Metaphorically of course, vultures cannot chew – no teeth. Of course being a lizard is more than just not getting eaten. It’s the smell of a newly hatched scale, the taste of a freshly caught insect, the early morning sun warming your blood. It is a historical and cultural heritage bestowed over countless generations. So some would say it was understandable when those who waded through shit to get where Newt was today didn’t afford him the respect he so sorely felt he deserved. “But I’m a master of disguise too!” He would shout as the other sticky brown lizards shunned him, some even pushed him into that very shit from whence they came just to make him know, to make him feel but a glimpse of the hardships they suffered.

Newt knew that he was better, how could he not be, his brownie lustre was authentic!

So newt surrounded himself with other like minded amphibians fresh out of the pond and quietly lived out his life. This progressed

some time; there merry group gallivanting around the foliage, safe and secure in the knowledge that they where camouflaged.

Until that is, George lucus discovered blue screen. All his friends slowly died around him from expectation poisoning and violation of childhood memories. Whilst lying on his leafy death bed surrounded by butterfly nurses. Newt had an epiphany brought on by a joint infection of Indiana Jones 4 and the star wars prequel.

Newt finally realised, this Degreen, a thing he so highly prized may entitle him to a better quality of life, but nothing can entitle you respect of your peers; that, you have to earn.

Unless your Darth Vader and have loads of Midi-chlorians… fuck you George. George; fuck you. But seriously all joking aside, you will be here for 3-5 years. As much as gaining a degree you are here to develop your self as well, a degree gets your foot in the door.

Its your experience your work ethic and your personality which will make you successful.

Ingrid Taylar

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was planning to write something vaguely helpful here, I mean it may be the first thing you read at university so part of me believes it should at least be insightful… food for thought. If you’re lucky I may smuggle some kind of vaguely philosophical message into the article. Ok… I shall begin. A long time ago in a distant Galaxy far away there lived a lizard. The lizard was named Newt Bywater! He had no father and had spent all of his life studying and balls eying frogspawn from 50 paces. Instead of adventuring, saving a rebel army and finding out that he was actually a komodo dragon he went to university, to get a thing called a degreen, a thing that made him seem like a better Lizard due to his new brownie golden lustre.

The difficult green vine that is life

Saturday 21st September 2013

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Freshers Fashion: shelve that onesie Written by Harriet Tangney

Although a strong style will help you stand out and give the all-important good first impression, to survive university life you’ll need to include some practicality in your wardrobe as well.

Some pretty flat shoes I know I’m probably going to be smited by the fashion gods for saying this, but ditch the heels. It’s just not worth it. With the amount you will be going out in first year they will just end up getting sticky from runaway jagerbombs, muddy from drunken short cuts across campus, covered in flatmate tears and vomit (was this all just my first year?). You will also soon realise that they are very impractical for walking down the slimy steps to the ubiquitous underground clubs, but most of all they fucking hurt! Also, you know what aren’t pretty? Bunions. Just set aside some flat shoes and name them your “Going Out Out Shoes” and they can get as disgusting as you like and you can save your expensive heels for ruining at the Summer Ball! Also, flat shoes make Walks of Shame (or Strides of Pride) much more manageable.

Cross body bag A friend of mine almost always ends up losing her phone or most famously (and ridiculously) her shoes on nights out! Although this won’t help with the latter, it will help to keep your valuables attached to you when you inevitably fall over drunk outside Al Falafel. Unfortunately it can’t extend the Five Second Rule on those cheesy chips (everyone knows that things with sauce have a Zero Second Rule anyway).

Casual = cool As the year progresses, you will notice that the standard of ensembles seen on campus decreases. People get lazy.

The joggers and the flip-flops come out. Freshers realise that they can easily go to their lectures in their PJs and then go straight back to bed.

However, like we all learnt on afterschool TV, just because everyone is doing it, it doesn’t mean it is cool. I definitely made my look a bit more casual when I started at Bath, (falling asleep in lectures is far more comfortable in leggings and a baggy jumper) but let’s not forget that this is a fashion article here. Let’s keep that grey jersey a little more Alexander Wang than school leavers’ hoodie. Look towards missguided.co.uk for very affordable jersey basics with sporty details.

An oversized jumper always says casual-cool, and can be easily tied around the aforementioned cross body bag once you hit da club.

Printed trousers These became popular over the summer months and are here to stay for A/W. They are less of an absolute necessity than the others but definitely very practical and easier to wear than one might first think. Pair with a basic top or jumper and ankle boots for an effortless look. Whether it is abstract digital, floral or checked, Zara (as always) has the best trousers on the high street this season.

Food to make you feel...Fresher Written by Lily Morris

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his week bite’s most formidable food columnist has provided a few cheeky tips for food for fresher nights out - so choose one, or treat yourself and make all three. What the hey, it’s Freshers’ YOFO!

1

Mikael Dltemark

2 How is this photograph not relevant? Of course it is

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Peanut Butter on Crackers It’s an oldie but a goodie – simply spread generous amounts of peanut butter (or cashew or almond if you’re feeling fancy) on your favourite kind of cracker or rice cake. The best bit: the protein in the nuts will help prevent such a bad hangover. You’ll thank me in the morning.

Microwave Chocolate Mug Cake Put a quarter of a cup each of sugar and flour, 2 tablespoons each of cocoa powder and oil, and 3 tablespoons of water in a mug. Stir it until you get a consistently textured mixture, and microwave for about 1 minute 20 seconds. Serve with ice cream, marshmallows, or whatever takes your fancy.

Banana Split Leaving aside the innuendo possibilities of bananas, the potassium they contain can help to counteract the diuretic effect of alcohol, meaning less headache. Simply peel a banana, trying to keep most of the peel in one piece (you’ll use that as a plate), then slice the banana into chunks and put chocolate in between them. Pop it in the microwave for thirty to forty seconds, cover in toffee sauce or sugar, and enjoy!

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Saturday 21st September 2013

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Puzzle Corner

Horoscopes  Taurus

April 21 - May 20

As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week. You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, you’re going to meet a lot of new people, your house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid , but probably not, you need to shower more.

 Gemini May 21 - June 20

Something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week. You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, you’re going to meet a lot of new people, your house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid , but probably not, you need to shower more. As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al.

July 22 - August 22

Cryptic Crossword This week’s theme: Countries

 Libra

June 21 - July 21

You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, you’re going to meet a lot of new people, your house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid , but probably not, you need to shower more.

As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week.

 Leo

You’re going to meet a lot of new people, your house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid , but probably not, you need to shower more. As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week. You’re going to relocate to a strange new place.

Sudoku

 Cancer

 Virgo

August 23 - September 22

Your house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid , but probably not, you need to shower more.

As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week. You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, you’re going to meet a lot of new people,

In this space, we’d like September 23 - October 22 Across ......You might even get laid , but probably not, you to write some notes you need to shower more. As the stars align, the 1. A female curious monkey (7) Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re 2. Balanced entryway (7) on how bite has made going to experience lots of new things this week.

7. One’s self counts (5) You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, 9. Ancient italian goes mad (7)  Scorpio you’re going to meet a lot of new people, you you feel 10. Not to eat in (4) house may have one or two extra non- british 11. Hasten the lady (6) 13. Hello hot beverage! (5) 15. Metal container abacus (6) 16. Lair’s blemish (7) 17. Matador’s emerald cloak (4,5)

nationls living in it.

Down



1. Fruity thrown explosive (7) 2. Spanish Dali (2,8) 3. You’re not a woman? (7) 4. Blind rodent pretends to be fouled (8) 5. An ass in the second person (8) 6. Knightly ale (6) 8. Home of the red Tellytubby (6) 12. Impoverished minstrel (9) 14. Neckwear claims victory! (6) 15. Hustler leave (5)

Bridge-it

Sagittarius

November 22 - December 21

October 23 - November 21

But probably not, you need to shower more. As the stars align, the Chip Shop boys et al. something tells us you’re going to experience lots of new things this week. You’re going to relocate to a strange new place, you’re going to meet a lot of new people, you house may have one or two extra non- british nationls living in it .. you might even get laid.

This might be the month you read a coherent and decent horoscope, it might have been written by the love of your life..

Flocks of birds circle around your head, confusion raining down like fecal matter. Perhaps emotions of ‘I could do better than this’ are going to surround you, if so. Bring it Fresher.

Sudoku

 Aquarius



Capricorn

December 22 - January 20

January 21 - February 19

You look fab?

Should probably make more effort with your hair ?

 Aries



Pisces

February 20 - March 20 She doesn’t love you

March 21 - April 20 You’re going to have a TERRIBLE week. Look out for falling paint.

by Insane gardener