PEMBROKE STREET
FRESHERS’ WEEK edition
Transitions
Michaelmas 2018
Issue 10
CONTENTS Fresher’s Do’s & Don’ts 4 Summer Stories 8 Coming Out in Cambridge 14 50 Shades of Autumn 18 Pembroke House Volunteering 20 Imposter Syndrome 24 Tek : Pembroke People 26 College Families Advice 30 Best of Cambridge 32 The Uni Lifestyle 34
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Welcome to our
FRESHER’S ISSUE For many of you this will be the first time you've read a Pembroke Street magazine, so it's probably worth introducing it a little… When I first arrived, I was not aware of how unique Pembroke Street was in Cambridge. It was only as the year went on and I started talking to students from other colleges that I began to realise not everyone is lucky enough to have a communication platform as beautiful, engaging and welcoming as Pembroke Street. At the heart of it, we are an inclusive magazine for people from Pembroke to share ideas, stories and experiences, as well as providing entertainment for the rest of the College. It's also an amazing chance to try out the processes that go on behind making a magazine. So if you think you'd like to write something or create illustrations for our next issue, please get in touch! This is an especially exciting issue for me as it's my first one as co-editor. The next few pages are packed with articles all about transitions, from moving to uni to why leaves change colour in Autumn. Putting it all together has been such a fun and rewarding process - special thanks to Catherine, Phoebe and Jess for making my transition into being co-editor so painless! I hope you have a great term ahead! And enjoy reading!
Mairi PS - We were so lucky to be flooded with wonderful submissions for this issue, and I'm so proud of what we were able to put out. Please don't hesitate to contribute whatever you're producing – as we’d especially like to start publishing some student poetry.
Catherine
And to all of our wonderful freshers out there -
welcome to Pembroke!
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Illustrations by Amy Teh
Freshers’ Week Edition (Updated for 2018) By Lucy Fairweather Any transition can be scary, but starting university can be doubly so. You're probably living away from home for the first time, in a city where you know no one, but it's going to be absolutely okay! Your three (probably) years at Pembroke will be some of the most exciting, scary and enjoyable of your life so far. And whilst there's no one way to best do Freshers’ week*, second year contributor Lucy has some tips to help you make the most of it.
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*four days
Do: initiate conversations Don’t: worry if you haven’t found your lifelong best friends by Tuesday. At Cambridge, you'll be surrounded by like-minded people and it's very likely you'll make friends for life here. Getting to know so many people so quickly can be daunting, but try to make the effort to get to know your year. Invite your neighbours for tea, and sit with people in trough. You might remain good friends throughout the rest of the year with people you spent the most time with in Freshers’, but you might not get to know some of your closest friends until after a couple of weeks - I certainly didn’t. Don’t panic if you feel like you haven’t gelled with anyone particularly well by the end of Freshers’: there’s no rule against making friends after the first five days.
Do: keep in touch with home Don’t: forget about Cambridge Lots of people get homesick, so keeping in touch with friends and family at home can be a great way of alleviating this. However, remember you also want to be focussing on your time at Cambridge, and meeting the people who will shape your next three years and beyond. I'd highly recommend ringing a friend, or your mum, but make sure you still have time to do all the events and socialising you want to.
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Do: try and make your first essay/piece of work as good as you can Don't: worry if it's not brilliant Most people's first essays are a bit shit, and that's okay. For my first essay, I had no argument, and misspelt an academic's name multiple times, which my supervisor then went through and corrected every time. I cringed so much, but it turned out to be my strongest paper in my exams. While they might not let it show, most supervisors expect people's first essays to be weaker. This doesn't mean you shouldn’t try at all: in fact your first essay will probably take you twice as long to cover the same amount of material, but don't be disheartened. You absolutely will improve, so just try your hardest, but remember it's not the end of the world if it's not stellar.
Do: enjoy Cambridge's weird traditions
 Don't: be freaked out Cambridge is really strange. You have to sign a book to matriculate, and get to live in medieval buildings - and the whole thing feels a bit like Hogwarts. Your first formal will probably seem utterly bizarre - there’s a gong, gowns and Latin grace - but just try to roll with it. Some people might know what's going on more than others, but if you have no idea, don't panic. Most of the people around you will similarly have no clue, so just stand up when everyone else does and you'll be fine. Matriculation formal isn't a weird test, it's meant to be enjoyed, so try to make the most of a great free dinner!
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Do: Seize as many opportunities as you can
Don't: Completely exhaust yourself You're trying to find your feet in a weird, weird place with around 130 other people your age. Make the most of this! It's cliché advice but everyone is in the same boat: looking to make friends and try out fun new activities.
Go to the Freshers’ Fair, sign up to something wacky, and don't forget the Pembroke Freshers’ Squash either. However, remember that Cambridge weeks (for some bizarre reason) start on a Thursday, leaving you with only four days of Freshers’. Fitting everything in can be a bit overwhelming, so don't be afraid to say no. No one will remember in a month's time if you didn't go to Cindies one night. You've got eight more weeks to go, so don't burn out by day five!
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Summer Stories An Egyptian Welcome Content notes: mention of abortion, intrusive touching I arrived in Zamelek, a fashionable area of Cairo, near midnight. After a great deal of confusion I was escorted by the doorman, a sweet old man - who would later kiss me, (oddly less intrusive than the other doorman who lifted up my trousers to caress my calf) - to my Airbnb. My host, Maha, was in her mid-thirties and clearly distracted. She welcomed me in and offered me the ritual Egyptian tea. After being shown to my room (hair in between the sheets but sleepable) I was invited to join her and her boyfriend. Maha’s room reeked with cigarette smoke, and although the aircon and TV (showing sexy Arab music videos with women in clothing that if worn outside would result in a “very strong lesson”) vied for attention, the focus of the room was Maha’s iPhone.
It turned out they were waiting for test results to see if she was pregnant. The results were in English and I was asked to help interpret. I thought she was pregnant. I don’t think she wanted to believe me. She went to the doctor’s the next day with her boyfriend and it turned out she was 6 weeks pregnant. How did she feel? She wanted to have the baby but was going to have it “taken care of” because, “in Egypt as an unmarried mother I have no rights.” I saw a very simple solution, but some men just don’t want to settle down do they? She had an abortion two days later. Anonymous
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Choir
Members of Pembroke Choir, plus friends from choirs including Leeds, Truro and Lincoln cathedrals, spent ten days on tour in Milan and Rome. The tour began with rehearsals and a concert in Pembroke Chapel with a varied programme, from Allegri's Miserere through Byrd, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar to The Bare Necessities. While in Italy, we performed our concert programme, masses and evensongs in six beautiful cathedrals, with members of the choir spaced throughout the buildings. There were also some memorable impromptu concerts, including singing light music by the Tiber, on a rooftop terrace, and outside several gelaterias. We also performed Bruckner's Locus Iste (the unofficial tour anthem) in the incredible acoustic of a 4th century crypt in the Basilica San Clemente, a cathedral on three levels, which also had a stunning balcony from which the quartet for the Allegri sang.
 
 We had plenty of time for sightseeing, and despite one of our number being on crutches, managed an average of 16 km walking a day, visiting parks, galleries and museums. We spent a fascinating afternoon with the British Ambassador to the Holy See, but, on the other end of the classiness spectrum, spent several evenings drinking wine in a park overlooking the Colosseum, as well as very nearly being arrested for swimming in a public fountain. In 30 degree heat, cooling off in the fountains of the Villa Borghese seemed like a good idea until the carabinieri began cruising around the fountain in their police car and ordering us to get out. Other great trips included visits to the Vatican, Capitoline museum (accompanied by a knowledgeable classicist) and the ruins of Ostia.
by Annie Mackley
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Lundy Island This summer I have been volunteering on Lundy Island in North Devon, mainly surveying seabirds. In my spare time, I’ve been trying to photograph and film the seabirds underwater. Puffins are probably one of the most photographed birds in the world, yet almost all of the pictures are taken on land, despite them spending most of their lives at sea where they dive to catch small fish. Swimming with puffins and guillemots at sunset (I did it at sunset because that's when the light is best) was literally the most incredible experience ever. The light alone was insane, as the low sun created golden rays in the water. The birds were mind-bogglingly beautiful, using their short wings to “fly” far more gracefully underwater than through the air. Their feathers left trails of bubbles, lit up by the golden light. At times I was surrounded by guillemots (a relative of the puffin that nest on narrow cliff ledges) and a mess of their crisscrossed bubble trails. Swimming with the birds was also awesome because you could see them silhouetted against the sunset as they bobbed up and down on the waves. Photographing this required a small raft made out of plastic bottles, so that the camera was right down at water level. I could then take photos of the sun going down over the horizon behind the puffins. Sometimes I also attached a cuddly toy puffin to my head as a disguise, although since the puffins were very curious anyway, I’m not sure it made much difference. by Joshua Harris
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The au-pair diaries: travelling on a shoestring budget At the end of an exam term of splurging on comfort food and May Balls, the idea of spending the summer holiday abroad starts to look less and less likely. However, with a bit of planning ahead, there are lots of ways to make travelling cheaper, especially if you make the most of your Cambridge connections! The first way to save money is to ask College for a travel grant. There is a list of named grants on the website, although the College do also consider other applications. I wanted to practice my rusty Alevel French, and the College paid for my lessons at a language school in Nice. Language schools are a great excuse to travel, because you improve really quickly with just a few hours of teaching a day, and you often have the afternoons free to explore. Although Nice is an expensive city, trawling through TripAdvisor allowed me to find great, vegetarianfriendly restaurants that didn’t break the bank. You can also make lots of day trips along the Riviera for €1.50 a bus ticket. Your humble Camcard is an essential, especially with EU concessions for youths under 25 and students. Travelling alone forces you to become comfortable with your own company, while setting your own schedule of eating, sleeping, resting and sightseeing is much easier when you don't have another person to compromise with. I really learned to savour the moment at my tables for one – a nice chance to get lost in your thoughts without appearing rude.
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Granted, looking after children isn’t for everyone … Venture forth at your own risk. Another way of travelling on a budget is to au pair. Granted, looking after children isn’t for everyone, but if you can find a family that suits you then it can be a wonderful (and profitable) experience. Normally, you stay in the family’s house and eat for free in exchange for looking after the children, and get a bit of pocket money to spend on things like sightseeing. In the EU, au pairs are legally entitled to 1.5 days off a week. If you plan carefully, you could manage to see a whole city: all that needs taking care of is the flights! I paid for my flights from the pocket money, so the trip cost me nothing at all. If the family is kind, you can get taken out for meals, taken on day trips or given a nice room. However, from my experience and that of friends, richer families tend to have more technology and fewer rules, which can make for more spoilt and difficult children. Venture forth at your own risk. I went to stay with a family who were extremely generous, and adamant that I should try all of the expensive seafood that Galicia has to offer. It was great, but until I begged the parents to remove the Playstations, Nintendos and iPhones, I didn’t manage to get the children to do much at all, and my Maria von Trapp dreams of baking and playing charades were quickly shattered. by Anki Deo
Illustrations by Phoebe Flatau 13.
By Sarah Ashton
On coming out as Queer at cambridge
Starting uni can feel daunting, especially if you are faced with the prospect of ‘coming out’ to new people, or even for the first time in an unknown environment. I certainly felt this as a fresher this time last year (and will probably continue to feel daunted by it with every social transition that comes). This is despite the fact that I have been ‘out’ to my friends at home for five years, and to my family for four.
I came from a friendship group at sixth form which was at least 60% queer, and a family which had always tried to be as open as they could and say the right things, despite it not necessarily coming naturally. The move to uni filled me with dread that the supportive bubble I’d been lucky enough to find myself in would suddenly be popped. I think these fears were compounded by my reservations about Cambridge being a very traditional and conservative environment. I made the mistake of thinking that this applied to the political and social views of its students, a generalisation which I later found out could not have been less accurate.
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I think these fears were compounded by my reservations about Cambridge being a very traditional and conservative environment…
For the first time, I now find myself in a positive and vibrant LGBT+ community that extends far beyond my immediate friends. Before even arriving at Cambridge, I remember awkwardly messaging my college mum to try to suss out the LGBT+ scene in Cam. When she told me that it was one of the gayest student cities to be in, I definitely didn’t believe her. But I think she might be right. On arriving, I found an overwhelming number of LGBT+ events and socials available. Their presence, along with the chats with my wonderful college mums, gave me the confidence to ‘come out’ to my first friend at Pembroke and it’s happened really naturally ever since. For the first time, I now find myself in a positive and vibrant LGBT+ community that extends far beyond my immediate friends. While I’ve personally been comfortable with my identity as bisexual for a couple of years now, I don’t think I fully appreciated my identity in its entirety and I definitely didn’t explore my feelings fully until coming to university.
Illustrations by Phoebe Flatau 15.
the college and CUSU LGBT+ and welfare teams will always be more than happy to provide solidarity, support and signposting Over the past year I have been introduced to identities, debates and concepts I had never heard of; whilst my own identity as a queer woman, and more recently, my relationship with my girlfriend, has mostly been accepted without question. My greatest joy is being able to walk down King’s Parade and hold my girlfriend’s hand without worry – something which I can’t really say about my hometown. Even the instances of bi-erasure and the fetishization of same-sex female relationships that I’ve experienced have been minimal compared to the amount of support and solidarity I’ve felt here. Whilst this experience will vary from person to person, and I can by no means speak for anyone but myself, my own experience of being LGBT+ in Cambridge has been wonderful. However, it’s important to highlight the wealth of support and resources available if you find that this isn’t always the case for you - the College and CUSU LGBT+ and welfare teams will always be more than happy to provide solidarity, support and signposting. If you’re a fresher and feeling slightly tentative about putting yourself out there, I’d suggest going along to the fresher’s squash hosted by CUSU to meet some other people who may well be feeling the same. At this event I made some of the friendships that will see me through way beyond university and it made me feel slightly less alone (Sophie, Pembroke’s LGBT+ rep, and I would be happy to come along with you if you wanted a pal).
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So, if you’re LGBT+ or questioning whether you might be, I can assure you that there is a place for you here. That goes for whether you want to wave a glitter-encrusted rainbow flag and shout from the rooftops, whether you simply want to exist ‘in the closet’ for a while, or if like me, you feel you’re somewhere in between. Sarah xo
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By Amelia Sadat
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shades of autumn illustrations by Amelia SADAT Autumn is a time of transitions; hedgehogs begin hibernation, rabbits grow thicker fur, and a new group of humans leave home to start life at university. Perhaps most noticeable of all though is the changing colour of the leaves. The phenomenon of ‘leaf yellowing’ is a stunning spectacle that most of us have witnessed since childhood, but few of us know much about.
The Iroquois story of how leaves change colour is a satisfying (if gruesome) tale. They believed in a Great Bear who was killed by hunters in the heavens long ago. The blood from this event was thought to drip over the Earth’s forests, colouring them red every autumn. Luckily for the bear, this is likely not the case. So, how do leaves change their colour? To answer this question, it is useful to understand how a leaf obtains its characteristic greenness in the first place. A leaf is an instrumental organ for performing photosynthesis, the biological process that uses energy from sunlight to convert carbon found in the air to a form such as glucose. This requires a powerful light-harnessing pigment called chlorophyll, which makes the leaf green.
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So, how do leaves change their colour ? Additional pigments such as carotenoids (for orange colours – note the connection to carrots) and xanthophylls (for yellow colours) are also produced in varying ratios, making a unique leaf pigmentation pattern comparable to a human fingerprint. Having so many of these different pigments in each leaf dramatically increases the amount of light absorption able to occur. In spring and summer, carotenoid and xanthophyll pigments are often masked by the large quantities of green chlorophyll produced by the leaves. However, as the dimmer and colder months arrive, critical biological changes occur.
The circulation of nutrients, water and minerals is cut off, ceasing the production of chlorophyll. Any that remains is quickly broken down. While chlorophyll is a great asset in warm and sunny months, it becomes an expensive liability in the autumn and winter. It becomes too cold and dark for photosynthetic chemical reactions to occur, and soon the freezing conditions will cause the leaf cells to rupture and die.
Hence, leaves do not change, but rather reveal their true colours in autumn. The products from the breakdown of chlorophyll are stored in the stems and roots for future use, but they also trigger the formation of red and purple anthocyanin pigments. These are characteristically found in berries and red apples to give them their red hue. At last, with no chlorophyll to obscure them, a variety of earthy tones can bleed through the leaves, producing the beautiful landscape of yellows, oranges, reds and purples synonymous with autumn. Hence, leaves do not change, but rather reveal their true colours in autumn. There is a relatively simple home experiment you can do to reveal the underlying colours in any given leaf. Begin by agitating pieces of a green leaf with some rubbing alcohol in a small jar. Then cover it with cling film and stand the jar in hot water. After an hour or so, place one end of a strip of coffee filter into the jar and allow the alcohol to diffuse through the strip. It should carry with it the different pigments in the leaf, separating them out to give a beautiful pattern. Unlike carotenoids and xanthophylls, whose colours are merely revealed in autumn, anthocyanins are actively made at this time of year which suggests they may have a more critical role than the other pigments.
In fact, anthocyanins are known to ‘shield’ leaves from the harmful effects of sunlight during the low temperatures of autumn and winter. The production of these pigments is highly dependent on the intensity of light shining on the leaves. Brighter autumn days are well-known to induce higher levels of red and purple pigments, and thus a more impressive leaf transformation. The bright red leaves also warn insect pests that the foliage is heavily armed with chemical defences, resulting in the tree carrying fewer parasites. Unfortunately, producing this pigment is quite energy-intensive, so often trees that are more susceptible to pest invasion have redder autumn leaves but smaller fruits. It is worth noting that, despite popular belief, areas of brown on leaves are not caused by pigmentation, but by the hardening of leaf cell walls in response to the colder weather. These processes add an extra level of colour complexity to each leaf, making no two the same. As autumn approaches alongside the new academic year, there is much change to come. These transitions are an opportunity to show new colours, for leaves and humans alike.
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Charlotte Araya Moreland spent a week as a summer intern at London community centre, Pembroke House, and writes about their projects, the volunteers, and the local area.
Many Cambridge students come from London,
Pembroke House was established in 1885
but not many of them come from Walworth,
by a group of alumni from Pembroke
just south east of the Thames. Sandwiched between Elephant and Castle and Peckham,
College, as part of a wider Settlement Movement by Oxbridge colleges in
two areas of London swept well along the tide
London. At the time, it was seen as a
of gentrification, Walworth’s deprivation is clear to the eye of an outsider – as are its still
radical form of philanthropy, offering community and charity services in
present traditional working-class roots.
combination with a Christian mission – and
At the time, it was seen as a radical form of philanthropy, offering community and charity services in combination with a Christian mission
it was also a way of impressing upon young gentlemen their duty to the working classes. While Oxford colleges set up missions in the East End, Cambridge established theirs in South London. The Christian mission of Pembroke House is now the role of St Christopher’s Church,
Walking through the neighbourhoods of Old Kent Road and the Aylesbury Estate, it’s easy
which uses the building’s chapel on Sundays for worship. Pembroke House
to see that this is not a place which inspires
itself welcomes, and is staffed by, people
confidence and Oxbridge-ambitions in many of its young people. Yet, it is by no means an
from all faiths and none. One of the centre’s volunteers, Tom Seery, told me
unfriendly area. I can sense that people
that he felt there was a definite sense of
sometimes give me a second glance, but this is more because I am wandering around
spirituality in Pembroke House’s work, which makes it feel special – even if it
looking lost in a residential neighbourhood. I could easily be just another resident of the new shiny blocks from around the corner.
doesn’t censor any of the conversation in the weekly ‘Lunch Club’ for the over-60s.
Or, as is the case, a volunteer at Pembroke House, the missionturned-community-centre which straddles Tatum and Huntsman Streets.
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PEMBROKE HOUSE
Tonybee Hall, one of the first settlements established in East London
‘Migrateful’ teaches refugees, asylum seekers and migrants to be chefs and provides language training, while ‘IntoUniversity’ encourages schoolchildren in deprived areas to continue into higher education
It is the people of Pembroke House who left
As well as organising its own projects like music
digital age, and capital punishment. Maureen
teaching and gardening workshops, Pembroke
is a woman with many stories to tell, and one
House hosts outside projects. ‘Migrateful’ teaches refugees, asylum seekers and migrants
who has made a very significant contribution to her local community. She was recently
to be chefs and provides language training,
awarded the Freedom of the Borough of
while ‘IntoUniversity’ encourages schoolchildren in deprived areas to continue into higher
Southwark, an honour accorded to public figures including Harriet Harman MP, the late
education. It seems that the activities timetable
Dame Tessa Jowell, and Sir Michael Caine.
a real impression on me during my time there. One Tuesday morning, I sat in the garden with their cleaner of 32 years, Maureen. We had much to discuss, and she offered a lot of wisdom on topics as diverse as parental discipline, Irish Catholicism, the
caters excellently to all members of the community, including lifelong locals and those
This conversation – and others during the
who are new arrivals. Indeed, it is so successful
week – I found quite startlingly refreshing
that every week sees over 500 people come through the doors of Pembroke House – a
from the often-stagnant conversations Cambridge students have with each other. It
bittersweet statistic, considering that it is the
made me think: I have seldom (if ever) really
only product of the Settlement Movement still
sat down to speak with people who
operating with the three original elements of a
have lived lives so very different from
church, a social action centre, and a residency.
my own.
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I would strongly encourage anyone in college to spend some time volunteering and interning there. Moreover, as someone who resolutely does
not want to be an investment banker, it was reassuring to be given an opportunity to learn genuinely useful skills (including InDesign, Photoshop, MailChimp), get used to an office environment, and to feel that the work I was doing had
impact, however slight, on the lives of the people in the local community. some
And yet it is these differences which stimulate
October, I will of course be singing its praises to
great conversation, as well as imbuing my
anyone who will listen! Recently, they’ve
memories of Pembroke House as being a place which welcomes all.
introduced internships and work experience in fundraising, media and communications - which is what I was doing. These are being made as
I was particularly struck by the experiences of Tom Seery, the Lunch Club Volunteer
accessible as possible by covering expenses and offering the possibility of accommodation
Coordinator. Having suffered from agoraphobia,
in the Pembroke House residency next-door,
he was guided towards volunteering at Pembroke House as part of his recovery. Years
where a number of volunteers live – including two Cambridge alumni.
on, he is thriving and has hopes for his future, and is most definitely continuing to participate in the work of Pembroke House. He has what some might flippantly call a ‘wholesome’ attitude to his work and public service. But underneath the smiles and banter, Tom seems to have a deep sense of positive tranquillity and restoration – and fulfilment from his work within the community. One of Pembroke House’s ongoing aims is to foster a closer relationship with students at Pembroke College, and when term begins in
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By KatY bENNETt
Imposter syndrome “Imposter Syndrome” isn’t a phenomenon exclusive to Cambridge, but it is a big part of the experience for many students and can be a real struggle, in first term especially.
Academically, you’re surrounded by some of the most high-achieving people in the world – embracing your mediocrity can be liberating, but it can also be overwhelming. I struggled through my reading lists for History, feeling like everyone else was managing two or three times as much as me, and anxious that this would expose me as a fraud.
On top of being surrounded by academic high-achievers, you meet countless people who can (seemingly effortlessly) juggle a mountain of extracurriculars – and suddenly the fact that your supervision went well this week feels like an insignificant achievement.
I once had to read an article for an essay where the author had a habit of switching to Latin midsentence – no need for a translation, since everyone speaks Latin, right? I’ve spoken to friends who’ve had similar experiences – feeling like they “couldn’t possibly keep up with the vocab of (other) students and supervisors” or afraid to voice opinions for fear of being “wrong”. The whole environment of Cambridge can feel equally overwhelming. I worried about not knowing the right etiquette for formal halls (how do you know which cutlery to use?!) and felt isolated when I spoke to people in freshers’ week who had multiple school-friends starting Cambridge with them.
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But while imposter syndrome can make Cambridge feel intimidating at times, it also gets much easier. You learn to stop comparing yourself to others (remind yourself that everyone works at their own pace, and you’ll thank yourself for reading less when it comes to sorting through notes for revision). I went from feeling like my supervision essays had to be perfect (or I’d be exposed!) to realising that my supervisors were there to teach rather than judge me, even when I handed in some pretty shocking essays. And at the end of the day, everyone is in the same boat (even if that boat sometimes feels like the sinking Titanic).
At the end of the day, everyone is in the same boat (even if that boat sometimes feels like the sinking Titanic) I remember being convinced that I would turn up to my interview and be told there had been a mistake – nearly two years later and I still haven’t shaken off the feeling that somehow I got in by a fluke.
But although the feeling of being an imposter in this strange and confusing world might never completely fade, I’m learning to appreciate it. I’m not sure I ever want to get over the novelty of wearing a gown (or discovering that my supervisor didn’t actually hate my essay) – because it makes it all feel pretty special. Aspects of Cambridge can be off-putting, but don’t be put off – you absolutely deserve to be here.
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Pembroke People
Tek Kan Chung BY Mairi Eyres wifi, life
at Cambridge. Tek is a second year Engineering student at Pembroke. Over the last year, through his role as IT and Communications Officer, he has become well-known for his perceptive (and pun-filled!) newsletters on a range of topics from tennis to selflove.
After a reader complained that the official JP newsletters had become a ‘forum for fresher ramblings on the meaning of life’, Tek received an overwhelming amount of support. “I actually got back 30-40 emails just saying, you know, that they really enjoy my newsletters and want me to continue. And lots of people I see around College tell me the same thing.” He says it’s satisfying to know that so many people have found what he writes helpful.
“Through solving problems, you learn a lot and you reflect back on your experiences to try to see what you could have done better”
“I was very much a part of it; I was stressed as well, just like everyone.”
H R E S U L T a Q M S t a t u s [ N U M B E R O F
His inspiration for the newsletters comes from everyday Cambridge experiences, including problems like exam stress. “I was very much a part of it; I was stressed as well, just like everyone.” He suggests that dealing with difficulties can sometimes be beneficial. “Through solving problems, you learn a lot and you reflect back on your experiences to try to see what you could have done better.” Tek has had his fair share of challenges. At age 11, he moved to the UK from China. “It was difficult at first. And obviously the language barrier was very hard to overcome.” He remembers times at school when he didn’t understand what was going on in lessons. “I think it’s developed my resilience quite a lot.”
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This year he was named one of the nine winners of an entrepreneurial competition involving satellites. SatelLife (a “cheesy name”, remarks Tek), is a competition organised by the UK Space Agency to find innovative ways of using satellite data and imagery. Tek found out about the competition over Christmas. “I was bored,” he says, laughing. His idea was to use satellite data to prevent congestion on roads. “When you’re managing traffic networks as big as on a national level you have to use some kind of machine-learning algorithm.” By using an algorithm to learn about the conditions causing congestion, it may be possible to find ways of preventing it. “It’s all about trying to predict and pre-empt any problems.”
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t u He wrote a piece explaining how this s idea could be developed. “I sent it [ N off, and for some reason I won.” Tek is U unbelievably modest, despite beating M contestants across the UK for the B £5000 prize. E R When I ask Tek how his idea is different to Google Maps, he says it’s all to do with the scale and anonymity of it. “Google Maps are using GPS data from your phone so it’s a little bit dodgy actually - it’s a bit of a privacy issue.” He also explains that since only some people enable GPS and Google Maps on their phones, it’s hard to get a complete picture of what the traffic is like. “With satellite images you can know exactly how many vehicles there are on a particular road and you can tag each vehicle and anonymise it.” One idea Tek had for preventing congestion was to use automated ‘pace cars’. “A lot of traffic congestion at the moment is caused by the erratic behaviour of human drivers.” Slowing down and speeding up at random times can cause certain parts of the road to become more congested than others. “It’s not over-capacity that’s the issue most of the time.” Having automated cars that run at certain speeds in areas predicted to become congested, says Tek, could “smooth out the erratic behaviours and hopefully smooth the traffic as well.”
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a Q M P r o p I d
“People are so active in things like environmental issues, politics, and lots of different areas that aren’t part of their course. They put themselves forward and try to make a difference. I really like that attitude.” Being the IT and Communications Officer in Pembroke has been a big part of Tek’s life here. When I ask what the best part of his role is, he says it has to be working with everyone from the Junior Parlour Committee. He also adds: “organising bop – that’s pretty fun actually. Hard work cleaning up afterwards as well, but I think it’s worth it. A lot of people have fun.” When I mention the topic of college wifi, Tek laughs. “It’s a very long, arduous process, but we’ve had quite a lot of successes now.” Tek has been working hard this last year to get the college to install better wifi. “There will be an upgrade over the summer. It won’t be a complete upgrade, but it will at least be an improvement to what we had last year.” I ask why it’s taken so long. “There were lots of different factors. Money was a big issue. To upgrade the whole wifi system would have taken a lot of investment. And it was only a few years ago when they did a small upgrade, so the interest in upgrading again was quite low.”
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It seems the College didn’t roll over easily. “I understand the Bursar’s perspective, I know he’s trying to do his job and ensure the finances of the College are sustainable, but I think there was a slight disconnect between the Bursar’s point of view and our point of view. He doesn’t realise that we’re very much concerned about issues like wifi. It’s very frustrating when you go to the library and there’s no wifi to do your work.” Tek says he’s met lots of amazing people since coming to Cambridge, and he loves the community spirit. “People are so active in things like environmental issues, politics, and lots of different areas that aren’t part of their course. They put themselves forward and try to make a difference. I really like that attitude.”
The best thing about Pembroke? “Apart from the food - obviously the people! We’re all so supportive of each other. But yeah, the food as well. I’ve been lucky that I don’t have to worry about cooking every single day because trough is so close.” If Tek could go back and give his fresher-self some advice, it would be “don’t pressure yourself too much.” He says he came to Cambridge expecting quite a lot of himself. “I said I’d work really hard and get really good results. But I think I’d say to my past self that that’s not the most important thing in Cambridge. Take care of yourself a bit more.” And finally, I leave you with one of my alltime favourite quotes from Tek’s emails: “Learn to love yourself. Then learn to love others in the same way.”
If Tek could go back and give his fresher-self some advice, it would be
“don’t pressure yourself too much.”
By ANNA Mochar
College Families
How to make them work With the beginning of Michaelmas comes the time when college families meet for the first time. Everything has led up to this moment: from early college marriage anxieties, to the formation of parental groups. So, naturally, we all want to get it right and really bond with our fresh-faced fresher children.
It can be hard, however, to strike the correct balance of parental keenness, without overwhelming college children or drifting apart by the end of Freshers’. In order to make negotiating college family dynamics a little easier, successful college parents (mine) have exclusively disclosed their top tip for gelling as a family.
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The most important thing to do as college parents is to maintain contact with your children. Family group chats on Facebook are the easiest way of keeping in touch and making sure that interest in the family doesn’t just peter out. Spending time as a family and arranging social activities is the best way to bond with your children and will ensure that your college family becomes more than just a duty.
With college families, the greatest part of how well your family works is down to personality types, as well as shared interests and experiences. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get on with one of your children, or if your college family doesn’t measure up to what you’d envisioned it to be.
Ultimately, this is a fun (and slightly silly) tradition that anyone from outside the bubble will struggle to understand. If you take it for what it is and make an effort at communicating with your college children, your college family will definitely fulfil its purpose of offering a support network for incoming freshers!
Illustrations by Jess Beaumont and Amy Teh 31.
First up on this list is Mud Lane. Now I quite like this one. It’s simple and unpretentious but still vaguely interesting. I mean, it raises so many questions, like is it made only of mud? Is there any mud? What even is mud…? Ok, maybe only a couple of questions.
6.4 Mud?
Cambridge’s Best Street Names by Andrew Jameson
So you’re reading this collection of well put together, amusing and relevant pieces of writing and you’re thinking ‘Isn’t this great?’ and then you see the title of this article. Maybe you’re presuming it's some clever and subtle joke which will link into a broader and more meaningful topic. Well, no. This is solely one person’s opinion on a handful of street names in Cambridge. ‘Why street names?’ you ask – I’ll be straight with you here: this was one of the first things that popped into my mind and I thought why not go with it? (The quality of this article may prove why not but we’ll see.) Also – and I’ll let you into a little behind the scenes secret here – I’m not actually writing this while I’m in Cambridge. You may have thought that was a prerequisite for writing about the features of a town. It would appear not.
Next we have Bridge Street. Now I like bridges as much as the next person (probably more if we’re being totally honest), but I have to admit that it isn’t very imaginative. I mean, yes it may go to a bridge but then so do many streets. In a similar vein, there’s also a Park Street and a New Park Street and a Park Parade and a Lower Park Street. I feel the naming boundaries could have been stretched a little here.
3 Parky-Park Park 32.
There’s a street called Portugal Place. I don’t have any strong opinions on it, but it does seem unexpected so I thought I’d include it as a fun, little aside. Peas Hill. This is a bit of a misleading one as I can confirm that there is no particularly notable supply of peas in the vicinity, nor is it in fact a hill. You’d therefore be quite justified in thinking that it has rather failed as a street name. However – and this may just be my zany eccentricities talking here – I still really enjoy it. And often I think we have to look beyond this physical plane to see the true beauty of things.
8.78 No Peas, No Hills, But Wonderful Naming And the best street name in Cambridge? Well, that would of course have to be Pembroke Street. Yes, that is the creative and completely unpredictable answer I’m going for. Justification? Don’t be silly.
10 It’s definitely street-naming brilliance (I mean, it’s not like Pembroke Street would be at all biased towards a road of the same name – that would just be unprofessional…) If you enjoyed this – and why wouldn’t you? – then you’re likely to absolutely love my reviews of doors, clocks and bridges. They can all be found somewhere in the Pembroke Street archives if you really want. Also, I’m going to try to make this a more interactive experience. Now I know what you’re thinking, ‘Andrew, how can this possibly be any more relevant to my life?’ Well, yes I know, but I thought I’d ask for some suggestions. So if you have anything that you’d like me to review then send me a postcard, or an email (afmj2@cam.ac.uk), or a coded flare signal. Will yours make the cut? I suppose you’ll just have to read the next instalment to find out. Exciting, isn’t it? 33.
How to …
g n i k o o C t r t a a t f S l e s r u o Y r e fo k o r b m Pe by Sophie Weinmann
Not all of us come to uni as fully-trained 5-star chefs, and our limited gyp facilities don't make things any easier. So, if you want to try cooking for yourself instead of going to trough (whether that’s to be healthier, save money or any number of other reasons), I’ve put together some of my best tips that will hopefully make the transition easier for you. You can definitely start slow by making breakfast for yourself and eating lunch and dinner in trough. Not only is going to trough one of the best ways to socialise during freshers’ week, but your first weeks at Cambridge will already be exciting and intense enough without you worrying about recipes or cleaning kitchen utensils.
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Stock u p on th e basic s
Running to Sainsbury’s every other day to pick up some pasta will inevitably lead to you blowing your budget on sweets and snacks, again. Bulk-buying anything non-perishable that you will need a lot of (like spices, coffee and rice) at the beginning of term will definitely save you a lot of money (and time).
Ooo …
d n a g n i n n a Pl g n i p p pre You don’t have to come up with an elaborate meal plan every week, but roughly noting down what you want to make can be super helpful to make sure you don’t end up with a bunch of veggies but nothing to eat them with!
Corridors w ho cook together, s tay togethe r Cooking in a group is a lot more fun and can provide a welcome distraction from work! It’s great if you want to be social over lunch and dinner but aren’t convinced by what trough has to offer. And a bonus: it’s cheaper because you can split the costs!
Yum
my… 35.
chefs y z la r o f y r e v li e d d o Fo
Some
people enjoy a good Sunday night Sainsbury’s shop and lugging their packed (reusable!) shopping bags back to Pembroke – I’m not one of those people. The
most useful discovery I made in first year was having my supermarket shopping delivered straight to College.
Cooking doesn’t have to be a chore! Try to treat cooking as a break from work or a way to relax rather than an additional thing you have to do. If you don’t enjoy it and it stresses you out too much there’s absolutely no shame in sticking to trough - but do give cooking for yourself a try!
Whatev
er you d o, reme mber th more st ressful if at cookin you set g only g Pembro o ets ff a gyp ke’s are f n ir o e alarm.. toriously banned . , so plea sensitive se alway , and fry s leave y ing is o u r window when co s open oking!
tasty…
Gyp cooking inspiration: Creamy One-Pot Pasta Want to avoid fights over hob space in your new staircase come dinner time? Stick to one-pot dishes.
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What you’ll need: pasta one courgette frozen peas one red bell pepper one onion two cloves of garlic coconut milk a couple of teaspoons of red curry paste a couple of handfuls of diced tomatoes cherry tomatoes
Instructions: Heat some oil in a large pot and sauté the onion for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic, courgette and red bell pepper and cook for 2 more minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the cherry tomatoes. Cook for about 15 minutes (uncovered and on medium heat), then add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy!
The
Development of
Abortion Rights in a Changing Europe Tickets available now on Friday 28th September 2018, 9am - 6pm Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
Professor Dalia Lienarte
Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore
Ms. Caoilfhoinn Gallagher QC
Ms. Nathalie Lieven QC
Professor Brice Dickson
Panel moderators: Dr Stephanie Palmer, Benedict Ă“ Floinn BL, Professor Shazia Choudhry, Venetia Taylor BL, Dr. Claire Fenton-Glynn The conference is kindly supported by:
By ANNA Mochar
College Rooms
Ultimate Comfort at a Low Cost Arriving in Cambridge is a fresh start in many respects - not least in terms of interior design. After all, you’re moving into a bare college room, which is just waiting to be made homely and cosy. While scouring the internet for homeware is a fun pastime, it’s easy to get frustrated at the price of décor. Besides, having to move out of your room after each term really puts the brakes on any ambitious design concepts. That’s why it’s important to combine practicality, affordability, and design when looking to make your boxy Foundress Court room feel like home. Look no further for tips on how to do just that!
Repurpose items Pretty gift or shopping bags can be used for storage. I’m using an old perfume tin as a penny jar, and a hand cream box as a pencil pot. Repurposing little items from home for your college room will add an individual touch and save a couple of pounds.
Charity Shopping Buying everyday items for your college room can quickly add up. So, instead of getting everything new, take a look around Cambridge’s many charity shops on the lookout for tea cups and plates. This is particularly useful if you'd like a romantic or vintage-y design for your room. You can also be sure to find plenty of water and wine glasses in charity shops.
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Books and other personal items Bringing favourite books and posters from home will immediately make your room feel more lived-in. If you’d rather buy some new reads, the Oxfam bookshop on Sidney Street is a personal favourite for finding vintage editions that will look striking on your shelf.
Bedding
While paying for college bedding might initially seem convenient, it can feel a little impersonal and will have to be factored in when budgeting for them. It’s a lot cosier (and cheaper) to bring a favourite set from home. Bedding and cushions play a big part in tying together a room’s décor. Bring extra blankets and cushions to pile on top of your duvet - extra cosiness, and you’ll be grateful when your heating inevitably breaks.
Warming up your walls Any room is more austere without wall coverings. We’re lucky at Pembroke to get free railings and poster-hangers, so take advantage of prints available on Society6 or Etsy, and cover your
When looking to decorate your college room it can be easy to get carried away. However, it’s important to remember that your college room dreams don’t have to come at a high cost. Sometimes a few small, thrifty touches will be enough to make your new room feel like your space!
Illustrated by Jess Beaumont 39.
Cambridge Fresher’s Starter Pack
