Concrete Issue #318

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1st December 2015 Issue 318

UEA claim historic Derby Day win concrete-online.co.uk @Concrete_UEA

ConcreteNewspaper

Exclusive interview with ‘Eddy from Pool’ and captain Nikolas Charalambous

Union snookers Pool society

Billy Sexton Sports Reporter

by Day 2014 will go down as a morable day, not only for those involved petitively, but for spectators who wed the event, be it in person or via extensive online coverage provided by A’s media societies.

Derby Day has taken place annually EXCLUSIVE e 2001, Dan and Falvey the 2014 contest was oubtedly Editor-in-Chief the closest encounter ween UEA and the University of Essex.

UEA Pool club is facing e 2005,The the home teamand hasSnooker traditionally existential crisis led to an victory and the last after away vital win facilities promised by the Union of UEA Students urred in 2004 when UEA beat Essex in (UUEAS) never materialised, following the hester.summer Organisers decided to move the House. redevelopment of Union petitionIntoana email Sunday in the seen hopeby that it exchange Concrete, the hasclosely admitted responsibility for the lack ld yieldunion a more contested event of facilities, that that there was a their epiphany didclaiming not disappoint. “miscommunication between [UUEAS] and t was clear that Derby Day 2014 was the architects” and that “there are no excuses”. g to be different fromSnooker recent club, yearswho won The Pool and UEA put much Derby more of a fight to theupannual Day tournament for against in 2014,were is onetraded of UEA’s oldest home UEA team.

As blows sports clubs.

It has ughoutstudent the day, Essex took firstexisted bloodever since the university was established in 1963 and a dominant win in the Futsal, but members have always had access to two fullA fought by tables recording victories sizeback snooker to practice on. However, Women’s Korfball, Ultimate theLacrosse, snooker room, previously located upstairs bee, Men’s Table Tennis and American in Union House, was demolished during the the building the ball torefurbishment name but aof few.

Indeed, during it summer leaving the club with nowhere to eared that UEA were easing toward train. ory only for EssexCharalambous, to pounce back and of Pool Nikolas President ow theand gapSnooker by emerging victorious in captain, and Bucs England n’s andhas Women’s Athletics, Women’s expressed his frustration at the club’s situation,Squash arguing that a result of their lack key, Men’s andas Women’s of facilities the club has seen membership nis, amongst others. Essex tookits the drop by 45% since the last academic year: Joshua Edwards, formerly of the UEA Pool society, whose victory clinched Derby Day 2014 for UEA Photo: Will Cockram Will Cockram early “Only into the evening, but grit and in the past five years the club changed situation before he entered the frame said Nik, who won five out of the six frames Pool club had sent somebody rmination from both of UEA’s Netball from Pool, to Pool and Snooker and this year “The lack of facilities has effected the when you have some time free... Team provided a great environment”. to the BUCS that he wanted tomembers take ‘theweopportunity to The he played, that the Derby Daywith winthe snooker tournament. illustrious ms andweWaterpolo meant that the are going to be playing in Bucs for the first number of have at the club. morale hopes has of course been affected, The union did not notifyNik’s the club that they time in the team To lose tables were such good opportunity opportunity to not practise as much asPool we had background would not be to provide thehe promised get a bitsnooker of glory’ . Eddy alsoa notes that can serve as a catalyst for growth of the in able snooker, where ranked all victory would beevent. decided bysuch thea valuable part ofat our club tables. that offers members for people towas play great, at a great rate of £15 andclub, to done previously, I helped some the of our 7th in the country for under 21s players, ‘Thean atmosphere the football particularly given thatcoach clinching oing contest the Pool incentive to join has affected us dramatically”. be able to play on campus between lectures members last year on the snooker tables as it Continued on page 5 The rest, as they say, is history. As UEA team came down, that made things really victory for UEA at Derby Day was merely helped him on his way to reaching ents sat on the edge of their seats brilliant. We got a lot of support from the tip of the iceberg of a highly successful the BUCS final, only to lose narrowly. agreed,asand he’d ‘never season.

Indeed, theworld-class club reached the final theoffered tournament saw tweeted in their masses to ensure them.’ Nik announced partsaid of thethat university’s 2030 vision, as attract more academics and to However, year, aftergiven coursesthat being for only four a tournament where you’ve BUCSthePool championships it 128 players take part, finishing in the top to increase student numbers by up togot 20% inofa the enhance university’s teaching andand research. years. #DerbyDay2014 trended nationwide played in move thatbetween would seethe up pool to 3,000 new students Richardson that he wanted to maintain thereachievement have been questions to tables.

It was there that stressed they experienced the most two isHowever, a fantastic for Nikasand gside Match of the Day and The Only three bouncers joining in away the next few years. pressure what they’d makes UEA special” stressed the whether likethe a university home and fan base. been“sounder alland season, club. this aim to increase student numbers Is Essex (the irony), pool team member was almostThese proposals are a part of the university’s that the vision would focus on investing and in such a short time span is achievable. A report ground.’

When on having won twothe tiebreakers in two playoffs Withby it the costing just £10 to join h Edwards, now affectionately known Like a football 15-year vision, which is duequizzed to be unveiled in developing Norwich campus, rather than issued School of Biology statesthe thatclub, one enjoyed playing under the to reach the final.

At Derby Day, Eddy Eddy and Nik encourage even those with a Eddy from Pool’, kept his cool to clinch whetherthehe New Year. This will be the first of three five- looking into options of other campuses in the of the operational problems, which the School pressure, mentioned he was ‘knewUKsomeone else I had small interest in thewith game yearEddy plans and follows on that from record-breaking or around thecould world.win “In it ourif planning, has had to contend overgetting the past involved year. The verall victory for UEA. recruitment the current academic year, with weit are mindful of later the opportunities reportthe argues that the highofnumbers that he inthrived in the situation; lost so wasalso a win or win situation.’ for given ‘big mix’ abilityof students present Speaking to Eddy and his captain ‘surprised’ UEA accepting 900 more new pressure students than in Additionally, expansion which areseason not purely location based, are a “testament to BIO’s teaching and research ‘I thought it would put a lot more this marked the already.

At the end of the day ‘anybody can olas Charalambous, Concrete Jessica Frank-Keyes & Joe Jameson 2013-14. but which can be offered via online and flexible reputation”, but that it “has put a huge strain on on me than I could handle.’ first time in over 10 years that the UEA win’ in pool.

‘It’s eight balls.

That’s all it is.’ overed that Eddy was aware of the News editor & Editor-in-Chief Speaking at the launch of UEA’s 2030 vision, learning.” teaching resources”. The School of Biology’s

>> No sign of special new facilities promised by union

>> Membership declines by half

UEA plans to recruit 20% more students by 2030

The University of East Anglia is preparing to announce its expansion plans to recruit thousands more undergraduate students.

The Vice Chancellor, David Richardson, has

professor Richardson said “There is no doubt that as a university we will need to grow our student population in the coming years”. He argued that growth was essential if UEA was to retain its position in global standings as well

The Vice Chancellor’s remarks that the 2030 vision will focus on the Norwich campus is confirmation of a move away from a previous strategy which had seen the university open a campus in London in 2010 which closed last

own data allows for it’s intake to mirror that of this year, even though that will mean the school will have 100 students more than they think is manageable, putting BIO’s intake up to an approximate 332.

1st December 2015

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Editorial Dougie Dodds

COMMENTcartoon

The University of East Anglia’s independent student newspaper since 1992 Tuesday 1st December 2015 Issue 318

Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ www.concrete-online.co.uk

Editors-in-Chief Dan. Falvey Joe Jameson concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy Editor Peter Sheehan concrete.deputy@uea.ac.uk

Our Derby Day heroes are in trouble For Pool’s sake on-campus facilities need to exist

Dan Falvey Editor-in-Chief

T

he news that the Pool and Snooker society are suffering from a lack of facilities is frustrating. They are one of UEA’s oldest sports clubs and have seen significant growth in terms of members in recent years. Add in the fact that they were 2014’s Derby Day heroes and that their current president, Nikolas Charalambous, is captain of the England Bucs Pool team, it is disheartening to find that such a simple human error has put the club’s future, as well as Charalambous’s playing career, in jeopardy.

I doubt anyone at UEA would disagree that Union House was in desperate need of redevelopment and that the work done on the building over the summer was necessary and made the building much more beneficial for students. It is therefore a shame that errors such as forgetting to make room for promised society facilities have arisen, as it has put a dampener on the building’s improvement.

The second story our front page focuses on is the announcement that UEA plans to massively expand by 2030. Increasing UEA’s intake of students by 20% will require a large increase in the facilities provided by the university in order to cope with the extra students. UEA should therefore take note of errors that have arisen from the modernisation of Union House and make sure that no student is negatively affected by the expansion of the university.

This issue of Concrete is our last one of Front page credits Top bar, right:Wikimedia

2015 and therefore it only made sense to reflect on some of the biggest events of the year. On page eight, our Global section have drawn up a timeline recapping the events which the last year will be remembered for.

From the shocking attacks on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper office in January to Greece rejecting an EU bailout in July to the news in November that Sierra Leone has been confirmed free of Ebola.

In our Features section you and your housemates can look back over the events of the last 12 months in the Concrete Quiz of the Year, with questions on topics including showbiz, politics and UEA itself (so prepare to cast your mind back to BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend!)

“Such a simple human error has put the club’s future... in jeopardy” Of course, this month also signifies the countdown to Christmas. Every year, to celebrate the festive season and the end of the first semester, plenty of first year students living in halls of residence attempt the task of cooking a flat Christmas meal. Given the facilities available in many of UEA’s halls this is a brave venture, so we at Concrete have tried to make your challenge just a little bit easier by including our guide to a Christmas on a student budget on page 16. Not only does it outline how to make your Christmas meal, it also explains how to decorate your flat with festive cheer and how to give the perfect Secret Santa present. Although, a word of warning… don’t take all of the suggestions made in this article entirely seriously!

To contrast with the slightly more fun Top bar, far right: Wikimedia, Kamil Sliwinsk

articles in features, we also have a double page spread focussing on the homeless in Norwich this Christmas. Homelessness is a serious issue that affects over 500 people living in Norwich. This article includes interviews with two people who have nowhere to go this Christmas and their answers provide a real insight into what life is like on the streets in winter. The spread also includes a comment piece by Joe Jameson highlighting what students can do to help those less fortunate than them.

How to most effectively help those that someone stands in solidarity with is also the topic of Joe Rutter’s article on page 17 in our Comment section. He argues that while acts of solidarity are inspiring, they have very little impact and that there might be better ways of catching the government’s attention.

T

his week, tucked away inside Venue, Concrete’s culture pull-out, is our Literary Supplement: ‘Frontier’. Carefully edited by our Venue editors, Joe Fitzsimmons and Ana Dukakis, this supplement focuses on literature from around the world, it includes reviews of some of this year’s award winning international bestsellers, interviews with literature translators and creative writing pieces provided by our creative writing team.

The 32 page supplement is well worth a read and will make for a nice break between those essays for end of term deadlines.

Today also sees the launch of Concrete’s annual Drugs and Alcohol Survey so be sure to fill it in on our website next time you take a break from writing. The answers students provide are always interesting and we look forward to revealing the survey’s results in our first issue of second semester.

From everyone here at Concrete have a merry Christmas!

Online Editors Rob Drury Tom Etheridge concrete.online@uea.ac.uk News Jessica Frank-Keyes Sam Mckinty concrete.news@uea.ac.uk Global Caitlin Doherty concrete.global@uea.ac.uk Features Olivia Minnock Alice Mortimer concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Comment Megan Bradbury concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Science&Environment Jacob Beebe concrete.scienv@uea.ac.uk Travel Dahlia Al-Abdullah concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Sport James Chesson Tom Gordon concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Chief Copy Editor Tom Etheridge concrete.copy@uea.ac.uk Principle researcher Sam Naylor email TBC

Editorial inquiries concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk concrete.venue@uea.ac.uk Complaints & corrections concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

No part of this newspaper may be reproduced by any means without the permission of the Editors-in-Chief, Dan Falvey and Joe Jameson. Published by the Union of UEA Students on behalf of Concrete. Concrete is a UUEAS society, but retains editorial independence as regards to content. Opinions expressed herin are those of individual writers, not of Concrete or its editorial team.

News 1st December 2015

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UEA students take part in international student solidarity walk out >> Page 5

Government spending review: the key points for students Student loan overhaul All students will be affected by Osborne’s decision to adjust the way in which student loans are repaid.

As part of the spending review, Osborne confirmed the earnings threshold at which student loan repayments began would be frozen for five years, instead of raised in line with average earnings, as promised in 2010.

The NUS explained that if the threashold is frozen at £21,000 rather than increased to £23,000, the anual repayment will be £360 rather than £180.

Martin Lewis, a personal finance expert who led a taskforce to help explain the new tuition loan scheme, attacked the decision to backdate the change to 2012, announced by the chancellor as part of his spending review. He said: “This is a disgraceful move and a breach of trust by the government that betrays a generation of students”.

Nursing students’ grants cut Student nurses are to have their grants cut under new spending review measures. It is hoped that the money-saving measure will lead to £800m worth of savings for the government.

The announcement is a blow for students, who, earlier this year, called on the government to pay them a living wage whilst on placement to stop them from being treated as what was described as “free labour”.

At the moment, the Department of Health spends £826m a year to fund approximately 60,000 student nurses in England through their three-year degree courses. the money comes from the £5bn a year the department gives to Health Education England, the NHS education and training body, which distributes the money to student nurses.

Dame Jessica Corner, chair of the Council of Deans of Health, last month criticised the existing system of funding nurses as “fragile and vulnerable” to pressures affecting the NHS. Nursing students also suffered “quite a lot of hardship” because the bursaries were “relatively underfunded” compared with undergraduates who relied on student loans.

The cap on nurse training places will, however, increase, with the aim of increasing the number of trainee nurses 10,000.

COMMENT Ruth Stone, president of Nursing Society, examines the decision to cut grants for nursing students

R

emoving the NHS bursary is going to have an undoubtedly negative impact on the health service in the future.

We’re not studying nursing for the money, but for myself, and thousands of other nursing and healthcare students across the country, the bursary pays our rent, bills, food, books, travel whilst we work up to 48 hours a week studying and

ANALYSIS Jessica Frank-Keyes looks into the background of the autumn statement

O

sbourne’s autumn spending review, the second most important financial announcement after the Budget, comes at an important political time.

The attacks in Paris this month mean that the security and police budgets will be under increasing pressure to do more with less funding; the shadow cabinet are ever more determined in their opposition to air strikes against Isis in Syria; and the continued row over the housing crisis, and junior doctor’s contracts all mean that all eyes were on the Chancellor’s funding plans for the coming six months.

What he announced last Wednesday therefore, could not have been more of a surprise. While those who took out student loans from 2012 onwards will find themselves repaying an increased amount per year due to the freeze of the repayment threshold, tax credit cuts have been scrapped, the housing budget upped and cuts to policing abandoned.

Osborne’s commitment to the Tory spending agenda of “less, less, less” now seems like a clever political front rather than an ideological backbone. There are some items that might be expected of the Conservatives hidden in the small print, such as 19% cuts to opposition party Parliamentary funding. On the whole the autumn statement suggests something else entirely: that the pre-election insistence on the importance of deficit reduction may have been, as described by a Resolution Foundation economist, “slightly fraudulent”.

Not all tax credits reversed Despite annoucing that not all tax credit cuts proposed in the summer will go ahead, the Treasury is still planning to cut the “income rise disregard” (the amount of money a person caliming tax credit can earn before losing benefit) from £5,000 to £2,500.

Average earning statistics lowered It also emerged that predictions for average earnings across the UK have been lowered for the next five years. In 2016 and 2017, earnings will fall by 0.2%; by 0.3% in 2018, and then by 0.4% in 2019 and 2020.

Funding for opposition parties cut

Photo: Flickr, Number Ten

unpaid on placements.

We don’t have time for part-time jobs due to the demands of our courses, so simply doing away with the bursary is going to force those training to take on a part-time job, something universities advise against.

Ultimately, this will cause even more stress and potentially lead to those studying being forced to drop out of an already demanding degree courses.

The government state that removing the bursary will enable universities to lift the cap on the number of trainee nurses they can take, creating 10,000 more university spaces. Whilst I’m all for more nurses, this seems a flawed logic.

How Osborne thinks these 10,000 students are going to be able to afford to

train without a bursary is baffling. This is only going to put prospective students off training, especially those who already have a degree or work and therefore have student loan debt, or don’t see value in a career change.

This future will always mean fewer nurses and other healthcare professionals, and place more pressure on an already pressured NHS. We are going to fight this. A petition to keep the NHS Bursary has already gained 100,000 signatures, meaning it will have to be debated in Parliament and a protest has been arranged for next Wednesday in London.

We are often told we are the future of the NHS, so it’s up to us to make sure that the NHS has a future.

Funding for opposition political parties, known as short money, is to be cut. Currently the Labour party recieves £6m an year in short money, and the SNP £1m. Under the proposals, total short money funding will be reduced by 19%. The Conservatives will lose out through the changes in funding to the policy development grant, but Labour will be hit the hardest.

Photo: Flickr, Chris Beckett

1st December 2015

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News

Students risk disappearing from voter register be students, those from low income areas, ethnic minorities and those in the private rental sector, of whom 36.7% are currently not on the electoral register, in comparison to only 6.4% of home owners.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, has labelled this as typical Conservative “gerrymandering” that it will favour the

Emma Slaughter News reporter Students across Britain have been warned about the importance of re-registering to vote before the electoral roll is amended on 1st December. The Labour party estimates that this will cause around one million more potential voters to be disenfranchised.

In the past, an elected head of household could register to vote on behalf of all the residents over 18 years old at that address. In order to prevent voter fraud, new measures have been introduced in the form of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). Each person will now have to register personally with their date of birth and national insurance number.

Originally, IER was intended to be in effect

by December 2016, but has been brought forward to 1st December this year, when the new electoral roll will be taken. From this information, the government aims to reconsider constituency boundaries, meaning that if people have failed to re-register, they could fall off the electoral map.

There are concerns that bringing the date forward so dramatically will mean that many people will not have registered, causing an unrepresentative record and making it more difficult for people to vote in coming elections.

If an MP does not meet the quota of 75,000-80,000 voters, their constituency could be merged with a neighbouring one. The reasoning behind the move to

600 70% Gloria de Piero, shadow minister for electoral registration Wikimedia, good advice.com

70

percentage of 18- to 24% The year-olds are registered to vote in the UK, 25% lower than the 95% of over 65’s

redefine constituency boundaries is that the Conservative government wants to reduce

MPs from 650 to 600 before the next election.

Gloria De Piero, the shadow minister for electoral registration, claims that there is significant evidence to show that those who will be disenfranchised are likely to be largely potential voters of the Labour Party. The Guardian highlighted that these will typically

Conservatives in upcoming mayoral elections and in future general elections, Ivan Lewis, shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland, has called it “the final betrayal of young people by the Tories and Lib Dems”.

Matty Epstein, a second-year English Literature student, was unhappy with the news. She said; “If the government has even the slightest bit of interest in tackling voter apathy, particularly among young people, then they really need to do more to ensure people are encouraged to vote. This could really have been avoided through a little bit of pre-planning”.

Ciaran Wright, a second-year politics student, disagrees. He argues that “if students want to be engaged in politics, then it’s really their responsibility to make sure they’re eligible to vote. You can’t depend on the government for absolutely everything”.

UEA research wins national award

Government proposes to exempt universities from freedom of information requests

Lloyd Peet News reporter

Jessica Frank- Keyes News editor The higher education green paper published this month by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills includes proposals to make universities exempt from freedom of information laws. The government’s further education agenda includes the suggestion that universities and education providers should not be classified as public bodies and therefore they paper, entitled “Higher education: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice”, estimates that the cost to providers of complying with the scope of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is around £10m a year. The source of this claim is a report by Universities UK, a group that lobbies tge government on behalf of higher education providers.

The report states that a “number of requirements are placed on Higher Education Funding Council for England-funded providers which do not apply to alternative providers”. The report goes on to claim that, as the “income of nearly all of these providers is no longer principally from direct grant and tuition fee income”, it should not be “treated as public funding. Alternative providers are not treated as public bodies”. This proposed change is in accordance with the government’s wider plan to restructure the FOI Act. The Times Higher Education supplement has used Freedom of Information requests to report that “UK universities spent £86.7 m on commission payments to overseas recruitment agents in 2013-14”.

The number of MPs the Conservatives plan to have sit in the next parliament, a reduction of 50 on the current numbers

Photo: Sam McKinty, Concrete Photography

COMMENT Isaac Scoulding asks whether universities should be subject to FOI laws The Freedom of Information Act has provided us with important information over the years, from dubious MP expense claims to details of who Britain has been selling weapons to. So at first it does seem worrying that the government is suggesting universities will soon no longer be subject to FOI requests. Will we soon have no way to find out if our tuition fees are being spent on expensive holidays and curved TVs behind our backs? Hopefully not.

Rather than to allow universities free reign to splash their cash on whatever they want, this change seems to stem from the changing ways universities are funded.

The act only applies to public institutions, and these days public funding provides as little as 15-20% of university income. This ultimtely means that freedom of information

requests received from universities by journalists or activists or members of the public, which are estimated to cost higher education institutions collectively upwards of £10m a year, aren’t just being paid for by public taxes, they’re also being paid for by the tuition fees of students.

Indeed, billions of pounds of public money is still invested into universities each year, and the institutions should certainly be transparent about what they spend this on, whether it be new buildings or equipment.

Ultimately, however, it just doesn’t make sense that the general public should be able to request information on what universities are spending student fees on.

If the Freedom of Information Act applies to institutions that have any public funding, then every business that has ever received a government grant should also technically have to make all their information public on request, and this simply isn’t the case.

Perhaps universities should only be required to share information that is requested by us, the students paying for our place here. This would cut down the volume and cost of Freedom of Information requests, while still allowing students to know what they are paying for should they so wish.

Medical research conducted by academics at UEA has been honoured at a national awards ceremony for the potential to “make a huge difference to global health”.

The research, conducted by scientists at Norwich Medical School, aimed to tackle the growing threat of bacteria growing resistance to antibiotics, leaving many infections untreatable as a result. It won the research project of the year at the Times Higher Education awards.

Professor Changjian Dong, who lead the project, said: “Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine and I feel very honoured that our research has [won] such a prestigious award.

Many antibiotics are becoming useless, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Super-bug numbers are increasing at an unexpected rate. We want to change that”.

The focus of the research revolved around wearing down the defensive shells protecting bacteria rather than the bacteria itself, meaning that the bacteria would not actually develop resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in the UK, with a Publich Health England (PHE) report saying that the number of people with a “significant antibiotic resistant infection” has increased dramatically between 2010 and 2014.

The World Health Organisation has also said the resistance is a “major threat to public health”. Overall it said that prescribing antibiotics to those in hospital increased by 11.7% between 2011 and 2014 and over the same period 8.5% for hospital outpatients.

1st December 2015

5

News

Day of solidarity: students on University Drive protesting against the government’s immigration and refugee policies Photo: Junyu Zhang, Union of UEA Students

UEA students stage walkout for international solidarity Sam McKinty News editor Tuesday 17th November saw students walk out of university classes to show support for international students and migrants during the Day of Solidarity.

A spokesperson for the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts said: “The day, called under the banner ‘International Students’ Campaign Day of Solidarity’ aims to encourage all students to stand in solidarity with migrants and tackle anti-migrant rhetoric and policies in the UK. Students will be walking out of classes and holding rallies, demonstrations and stunts in support of this”.

The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) organised the walkout from 08:00, urging students to walk out of classes in a show of

support for international students.

Mostafa Rajaai, NUS International Students’ Officer, said: “We want to send a clear message to the government that students in this country overwhelmingly reject the attitude and direction that the UK has adopted regarding immigration. The failure to respond adequately to the refugee crisis, the mistreatment of international students and the constant attacks on migrants’ rights are all part of the wider anti-migrant sentiment which is on the rise in the UK political establishment”.

Under policies implemented by the current government, post-study work visas were scrapped in 2012, removing the right of international students to gain work experience after their studies. In addition, international students are now subject to charges for NHS treatment, biometric identity cards and

landlord immigration checks.

Yinbo Yu, UUEAS’s Activities and Opportunities Officer said “International students make up nearly 30% of the student population at UEA, and we’ve really had enough. That is why we organised the Solidarity Day, supported by NUS. We want to show this government that we should work in unity regardless of our race, religion and nationality to end atrocities together, instead of demonising migrants”.

He added that “The anti-immigration policies of the government have become intolerable, The Prevent initiative will only isolate and marginalise Muslim students, and further policies have been passed over the past few years which work in direct opposition to the contribution that international students make, to both the university and the local community”.

“We will be looking to continue our work to support international students and would encourage more students to get involved and help us support those effected”.

In July, immigration minister James Brokenshire also announced the government will tighten immigration rules for non-EU students in higher education, adding to rules exposed in a leaked email from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, that international students would need more financial saving sthan their British counterparts upon arrival to the UK. The reaction on campus to the walkout was mixed, however, with many students, despite being in favour of the union’s support of solidarity with both migrants and international students – wondering whether not attending lectures was the best way to address concerns.

Union admits there are “no Proposal to move Norwich excuses” for Pool soc error clubs to an industrial estate Continued from front page facilities it had previously promised them until 8th September, at which point the club were informed of the situation via email.

UUEAS explained that “the area earmarked for the snooker table is not large enough, and also to put the table there would block fire exit routes”.

They went on to state that with the building now “built as it is, nothing can be done, and the bottom line is that a snooker table will not fit in Union House”.

To add to the situation Charalambous claims that the snooker tables that the union promised to hold in storage until there was room for one to be installed in the refurbished building have been given away: “The snooker tables have been destroyed, at the end of last year one snooker tables was given away to a member of the public and the other was kept in storage till the new postgraduate area was completed. Once the area was completed and the club found out that we would not be able to have a snooker table in the postgraduate area the other one was thrown away.”.

Yinbo Yu, UUEAS Activities and Opportunities Officer, has said that the union is doing everything it can to help ease the situation: “The union is paying for a table at Riley’s for Pool and Snooker this year. We’re

contacting [the architects] again regarding this issue, also arranging a meeting with the president Nick again to discuss about it”.

Pool and Snooker’s Union Council representative, Thomas Bulley, has proposed an resolution for Thursday’s meeting, demanding that the union “support the club in finding a suitable room and location to provide the club with similar facilities that had previously existed”. They are further seeking assurance that “that the location that would be provided would be safe from such events that have previously happened, if something similar was to happen then the club would receive a similar location to continue the club”.

While the club are quietly confident that the motion will pass, Charalambous is still cautious about what the future has in store for the club: “Anything can happen, if our union motion does pass then I can see it making a huge difference to our club. Almost every club has facilities on campus to practise and for us it can be so costly to use facilities away from campus.

“If the motion was to pass and we get what we need then I think the future of the club is not in doubt, without facilities on campus to inspire interest and to give people the chance to play then I think our future is not secure as a club”.

Caitlin Doherty & Joe Jameson News reporter & Editor-in-Chief A Norwich city councillor has suggested that ‘a nightclub zone’ should be developed on an out of town industrial estate to try and ease tensions on Prince of Wales Road.

City Member for Thorpe Hamlet, Ben Price, offered that such a move would improve the city’s night time economy, and help to relieve some of the tensions between residents and late-night businesses: “we could offer some of the types of activities you do on Prince of Wales Road in a space that’s away from residents, that could reduce the impact of anti-social behaviours”. An idea hat was welcomed by many of the residents of the Prince of Wales area.

However, the councillor also conceded that there were several hurdles to overcome in turning this theoretical project into a reality. As of yet, there is no specific site in mind for this industrial estate-esque space, and consequently, negotiations with police and ambulance services, as well as taxi drivers have struggled: policing such a large, out of town area, and providing sufficient travel services “would be a problem”.

Furthermore, the complete eradication of anti-social behaviours could not be guaranteed with a move of night time

entertainment. Kevin Driver, Norwich cabinet member for neighbourhoods and community safety pointed out that, previously, there were nightclubs in three areas of Norwich – Tombland, Prince of Wales road and Anglia Square, all three of which suffered problems.

These comments come not long after the owner of Mercy Norwich’s largest night club, Toby Middelton, which is located on Prince of Wales Road, considered taking legal action against Norwich City Council due to the large costs the club had been

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percentage of violent % The crime reported in Norwich

that takes place on Prince of Wales Road

forced to spend on noise reduction following complaints which have been running for seven years.

In 2008 the City Council put in planning apllication for an office block, adjacent to the club to be turned into housing, but insufficient steps had been taken to ensure that noise from the club would not desturb residents. Speaking to the EDP in July, Middleton claimed that he had been forced to spend £1m to cover legal costs and building works, commenting that “something has to change, or here’s a very high probability Mercy could close”.

1st December 2015

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News Union council round-up Campus Accessibility Jo Swo, the union’s Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer, put forward a motion which sought to increase campus accessibility for disabled students. The motion, which was passed by Council, mandated the management committee to address the lack of wheelchair access to the top floor of Union House, as councillors heard that the current lift in the street is not suitable for those students who use a wheelchair.

Jury service advice offered

Photo: Sam McKinty, Concrete Photography

Slaves’ singer Isaac Holman dislocates shoulder in LCR gig Daniel Jeakins News reporter Punk-duo Slaves’ set at the LCR was cut short on 18th November after singer Isaac Holman took an ill-advised stage-dive, three songs before the end of the gig, which resulted in him dislocating his shoulder.

The band, who were recently nominated

for the Mercury Prize and performed alongside Skepta at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend May, played the venue as part of their UK tour.

In a statement on the band’s Facebook page, Holman wrote that he “can’t drum for the next few weeks or there is a good chance it will come out again and cause some serious long term damage”.

A statement released by the Union of

UEA Students said that: “first aid were there in moments and he was given pain relief”.

The singer was taken straight to A&E but returned to the tour bus later that night in “good spirits”. As a result, the band have been forced to cancel upcoming tour dates in November, and as yet have not revealed if they will return to the LCR for another performance.

COMMENT Felicity Stephenson takes a look at mental health support at university

A Photo: Sam McKinty, Concrete Photography

Inquest into sudden death of UEA law student concludes Lucinda Swain News reporter An inquest has concluded into the death of a UEA student who was found dead in his room on campus earlier this year. First-year law student Christopher Harris died on 28th April 2015. He had been discovered unresponsive in his halls of residence, Nelson’s Court, by his father’s partner.

Outpourings of condolence were posted online and an email sent to students from the Head of Law read: “We all grieve Christopher’s loss and I know that this will be a difficult time for his friends in the school and the wider university... I and all my colleagues, and especially those who taught and advised Christopher – are deeply saddened by his loss”.

His father said at the inquest: “He was a lovely and caring child who was extremely clever, but sadly his difficulties overcame him and he is desperately missed by all of his family. He was an only child, which makes it extremely difficult”.

The 23-year-old had been on medication for both physical and mental health problems.

The inquest heard that he may have developed an opiate dependency; a medical conditions that characterize the compulsive use of opioids, such as morphine, heroin and codeine.

Although effective painkillers, opiates can cause a dependency to develop if they are used regularly for an extended period of time.

A month before Christopher’s death, a doctor had expressed concerns at the amount of medication he was prescribed. Dr Wendy Nixon, a GP at the UEA’s medical services gave evidence at the inquest, “He was on a lot of medication for some time and had been seen by various specialists over the years”, she said.

His cause of death was determined as “fatal opiate poisoning, in combination with the painkiller oxycodone and pregabalin, a drug used to reduce the effects of anxiety”.

The inquest concluded, on Tuesday 24th November, that his death was accidental but that it raised ‘concerns’ over a lack of an integrated approach by medical services.

lthough arriving at university is very exciting it can also be an extremely stressful time.

The pressures of venturing into the unknown, meeting new people, living away from home for the first time, as well as experiencing work and financial pressures, can be overwhelming.

In my opinion, there is not enough being done at UEA to cater for people with mental health problems. The union does not do enough to raise awareness of the mental health support services available to students. I know that in my first year I wasn’t aware of the options out there if you experience any kind of mental health difficulties. For example, there should be leaflets and support when you first arrive telling you exactly how to seek help if you need to.

Additionally, it is simply disgusting that there are currently over 180 people on the waiting list for the Dean of Student’s counselling service. Mental health issues need to be recognised on the same level as a physical illness. They can be just as debilitating and if not treated properly can have devastating effects.

However, the efforts of societies to support and raise awareness of mental health cannot be faulted; from tackling ‘the elephant in the room’ by wearing elephant costumes to providing positive messages on coffee cups in the Unio.

This effort by students should not be for nothing, UEA needs to reconsider what needs funding most and re-prioritise so that in the future students can gain this support without waiting.

Yan Malinowski, UEA Model UN rep., spoke to Council about how that he felt that the union could do more to help students who are called for jury service.

The motion mandates Jo Swo, Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer, to produce information for students which will be available on the union website, as well as lobbying the university to support students who are seeking proof for excusal.

No to Norfolk council cuts Council was host to some lively debate following a proposal from Connor Rand, Undergraduate Education Officer, seeking a mandate to lobby the County Council over proposed cuts, and arrange a meeting with the leader of the Council, councillor George Nobbs, to discuss concerns over how these cuts will affect students.

However, there was serious discussion over the proposed amendments to the motion which were opposed by Liam McCafferty, Postgraduate Education Officer, arguing that the Union should not claim that it has no platform to enact concessions from the County Council.

Union stands ready to oppose TTIP The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the US and the EU was strongly criticised by Council, with Chris Jarvis, the union’s Campaigns and Democracy Officer, presenting a motion which would stand the Union against the proposed agreement, in the hope that this would be a part of localised protest against the deal. The Union will create a campaign, titled “No to TTIP”, which will seek to educate students on the terms of the partnership. However, some councillors took issue with the suggestion that the Union could educate students whilst still pushing an agenda which looked on the agreement negatively.

Flight ban re-clarified Jonathan Gillespie, Conservative Future rep., tabled a proposal which would see the union revoke 1285 UUEAS Sustainable Travel Policy, which prevents students from flying to countries which are reachable by coach. After accepting a number of amendments to the proposal before the council session, the motion which was passed only sought to ensure that clubs and societies were made aware that this policy existed and that the catchment area of ‘Western Europe’ be defined more clearly.

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1st December 2015

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Global

Global: Review of the year

Concrete Global reflects on the international events that came to define 2015. Repoting by Caitlin Doherty, Grace Fothergill, Lillie Coles, Sophie Atherton, Meg Bradbury and Tom Gordon.

25th January - Anti-austerity party Syriza wins Greece general election Syriza, Greece’s anti-austerity party, won the country’s general election falling just two seats short of an absolute majority. The party’s leader, Alexis Tsipras, took the role of the country’s prime minister vowing to end “five years of humiliation and pain”. The party planned to renegotiate Greece’s debt owed to other Eurozone countries blaming the EU and Germany for austerity. In their first month in charge the party successfully renegotiated a deal to extend their bailout repayment by four months.

7th January - Charlie Hebdo attacks Saïd and Chérif Kouachi broke into the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and killed 11 people, including the magazine’s editor and cartoonists, in response to the printing of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The attacks continued around the city; 17 people died in total. On the 11th January, two million people marched in Paris to show unity. The phrase ‘Je suis Charlie’ was also shared across social media.

24th March - GermanWings flight 9525 crash Germanwings flight 9525 was crashed in the French Alps, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members. The crash was caused by the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who locked the pilot out of the cockpit and purposely crashed the plane. At the time the tradgedy was branded as a suicide attempt due to Lubitz’s mental health conditions; outrage ensued and stringent background checks on pilots were demanded. Black-box evidence revealed that Lubitz had practised a quick descent on another flight on the same day as the crash, and the tracker of his last ever flight also suggested that he attempted to override the descent .

22nd May - Ireland legalises same-sex marriage Ireland became the first country in the world to write samesex marriage into law by the means of a public vote.

The referendum had a 60.5% turnout, with 62% of the population favouring same-sex marriage. The only constituency to reject the amendment was Roscommon-South Leitrim. The Marriage Act 2015 was signed into law on the 22nd October.

Evelyne Paradis, of the LGBT Association, showed appreciation towards the Irish people and political parties, complimenting their ability to “put aside their partisan differences to campaign for the greater goal of equality”.

4th July - Greece rejects EU bailout The Greek electorate voted ‘No’ in a referendum on whether the nation should accept a “humiliating” European bailout deal, despite risking expulsion from the Eurozone. 61% of the population supported the governing Syrzia party and rejected the multibillion-euro deal that offered further rescue loans in exchange for more austerity. The referendum was called after the indebted nation defaulted on a payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 30th June, the first missed payment by a developed nation in history. The country now faces a renegotiation of its €240bn debt with the European Commission, the IMF, and the European Central Bank.

28th September – Water found on Mars Nasa announced that liquid water had been found on Mars. Researchers weren’t sure on where it had come from, suggesting condensation from the atmosphere or traces of underground reservoirs of ice. It was already known that Mars previously held water. In March Nasa provided evidence that there was once a huge ocean over around 20% of the planet’s surface, around five billion years ago. Recently, probes, such as Phoenix, launched in 2008, have found evidence of ice below the surface, but this is the first evidence of liquid water on the surface. This is hugely important for space exploration as Mars could provide the perfect checkpoint for longer voyages, where vessels could stock up on oxygen and hydrogen fuel from the water, expanding the range for manned missions massively.

7th November - Sierra Leone declared free of Ebola The World Health Organisation confirmed Sierra Leone to be free of Ebola, almost two years after the first case was diagnosed, a declaration that prompted celebrations across the nation. Ebola has claimed more than 4,000 lives in Sierra Leone since the start of 2014, and was reporting hundreds of cases every week at the peak of the outbreak in the middle of last year. However the nation is now deemed free of Ebola, as it has managed 42 days -twice the length of the incubation period of the disease – without any new diagnoses. Government officials praised “the heroism of the 35,000 Ebola response workers”.

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25th April - Major earthquake in Nepal Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the worst natural disaster the country has faced since 1934. More than 8,000 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. The global response was immediate, and thousands of pounds were given in international aid.

However, more than six months later, many people are still living in temporary camps, and fear that they won’t be able to find more permanent shelter before the winter snow.

26th June - Tunisian beach massacre A lone Islamic State gunman, Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi, killed 38 holiday makers, 30 of whom were British, and injured 39 more on a beach in the Tunisian resort of Port el Kantaoui. Yacoubi disguised himself as a tourist, socialising with others along the beach next to the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel, before reaching for a Kalashnikov assault rifle concealed in a parasol and targeting white, western tourists, on the beach, in the hotel and around the pool. Isis are opposed to tourism, believing hotels to be “brothels”. The attack has had a huge adverse impact on the industry which contributes 15% to Tunisia’s national economy. European holiday companies immediately withdrew their customers from Tunisia, and many are still refusing to offer trips to the nation, six months on from the attack.

17th August - Bangkok Bombing An explosive device was detonated at the popular Erawan Shrine, Bangkok, killing 20 people and injuring 125, most of whom were tourists. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, however, in the minutes preceding the explosion, an individual , who became known in the worldwide media as ‘the man in the yellow t shirt’ , was recorded on CCTV placing a backpack on the floor before walking away. As of 26th September, this individual was in police custody. The Thai government have suggested that this attack was in response to the government crackdown on the human trafficking network, or an opposition to the harsh Thai military regime.

10th October – Suicide bombs at Ankara peace rally Bombers detonated improvised explosive devices outside the Central Railway Station in Ankara, during a Labour, Peace and Democracy rally, killing 102 people and injuring more than 400. All influential political movements in the country condemned the attack, however, some directly blamed the ruling Justice and Development Party for the bombing, claiming that they failed to protect the Kurdish population from attack. No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, ten days afterwards one of the suicide bombers was identified as the brother of the perpetrator of a suicide bombing in the Turkish city of Suruç, July 2015, both of whom have links to Isis.

13th November - Co-ordinated terror attacks in Paris Seven coordinated terror attacks were carried out across Paris on an ordinary Friday evening. Terrorists targeted the Stade de France, restaurants, bars and the Bataclan concert venue – resulting in more than 130 total fatalities. Isis claimed responsibility for the attacks, declaring that France’s involvement in the Syrian conflict was their motivation. After the attacks, a state of emergency was declared and borders were temporarily closed. President Hollande said the attack was ‘an act of war’ and on the 15th of November, France launched its largest air strike on Syria in retaliation. Multiple raids in Saint-Denis have been carried out, resulting in the killing of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the group’s ring leader. Belgium introduced more stringent security measures with major raids being carried out in relation to the attacks.

Photos Top left, Wikimedia, Joachim Roncin central left, Flickr, William Murphy lower left, Flickr, CDG Medical top right, Wikimedia, Cobija, lower right, Wikimedia, Olivier Ortelpa

1st December 2015

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Global Ukranian Russian tensions remerge On 22nd November, over three quarters of the Ukrainian region of Crimea was left without electricity supplies. Electricity pylons were blown up in what appeared to be an act of sabotage, leaving 1.9 million people without access to power. The news outlet Russia Today stated that: “the Crimean Emergencies Ministry has declared a state of emergency and has put rescue teams on high alert”.

Crimea last year voted to annexe itself from Ukraine in favour of being subsumed by the Russian Federation following the presence of unidentified forces taking control of the peninsula. The utility company Ukrenergo stated that it has repaired one of the four damaged power lines in Kherson, the area that supplies Crimea’s power, but the peninsula was still without an electricity supply four days after the initial crash. On 26th November Russia sent an extra 300 mobile power generators to supply energy for essential facilities, including hospitals and schools. However, relations between Russia and Ukraine have deteriorated further when Kiev announced on 25th November that all Russian airlines were banned from entering Ukrainian airspace.

Jessica Frank-Keyes

France holds victims

memorial

for

massacre

The French government held a national memorial service on the morning of 27th November in memory of the 130 people that died in co-ordinated terror attacks on Friday 13th November.

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Approximately 1,000 people attended the service in Central Palace, amongst them, President Francois Hollande, members of the emergency services, surviviors of the attacks and victim’s families. A minute’s silence was held, before the names of all 130 victims were read aloud.

In his speech at the event, Hollande swore that France would do all it could to “destroy this army of fanatics” and will “operate relentlessly to protect [France’s] children”. He also promised that France will continue to patrtake in music and sporting events after these were two of the cultural areas targeted.

Both French and European people have paid their respects in a variety of ways since the attacks took place: a minute’s silence was held across the continent on 16th November, and

many of the crime scenes have been covered in flowers and other tributes Caitlin Doherty

Chinese-born Canadian Miss candidate banned from China

Canada’s Chinese-born candidate in the Miss World competition has been banned from entering China to compete in the contest’s final.

Anastasia Lin did not receive any form of official invitation to the event, so was therefore unable to apply for a visa.

The model travelled to Hong Kong, where Canadian citizens are eligible to apply for visas on arrival, with the hope of travelling onwards to China. However, she was banned from boarding the flight to the Chinese city of Sanya, where the event is being held.

Lin believes that her ban is as a result of her human rights campaigning. She has openly criticised the “oppressions and censorship” in China and is a practitioner of the Falun Gong spirituality, a movement that is deemed a cult in China.

The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa have claimed that “China does not allow any persona non-grata to come to China”, stating that Miss Lin’s lack of invitation was enough to judge her as being an unwelcome person and was therefore reason enough for her to be baned from from entering the country.

Sydney Chambers

Photos Left: Wikimedia, Jean-Marc Aryault Graphic: Wikimedia, US government

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Features

1st December 2015

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The worry of the elderly being alone this Christmas >>Page 16

Controversial coursework weighting changes Georgina Hewison discusses changes to the weighting of HUM coursework and the effects this may have on students

W

ith just two weeks left of the semester, students from all schools are facing the daunting task of completing their final pieces of coursework or exam preparation. However, many students on humanities courses may only just be starting their first summative assessment for a module.

There are an increasing number of modules that are now only being marked by one single piece of coursework at the end of the term. Before all exam crammers throw their hands up in disbelief, this isn’t necessarily a blessing to all humanities students. There are many aspects of this method that may have adverse effects on the higher education of these students.

Coursework-only modules have become increasingly popular for humanities-based courses across the UK, meaning less of a focus on memorising information and more of a focus on analysing concepts and applying theories. This is a beneficial method for these courses, but when participation in a module is marked on only one assessment, there could be a negative impact for students of all years.

Should students’ knowledge of 12 weeks of content be assessed by an essay or report pertaining to a single topic covered in just one or two weeks of lectures? The stress of such a major piece of work alongside other modules’ coursework in the same time frame can be too much for some students. Second-year history

student Joe Rutter considers this as “too much pressure to put on students who haven’t had any graded practice with the taught content, especially when the lack of assignments has probably left everyone too unmotivated to put much thought into the module”.

This idea of self-motivation that is a further consequence of being given a simple choice of essay prompts that would only require a few weeks of participation. Of course, it is an expectation to have enough interest in one’s subject to feel obligated to study independently, but are module organisers leaving too much to the students’ own will.

Especially for first years, motivating youself to do work is a slow-moving development, so attendance in lectures and seminars for 100% coursework modules is expected to be lower. Second-year society, culture, and media student Joanne Sursas recalls her first-year experience, saying “There [were] only about three to four people that would turn up to my seminars. This made discussions forced and lacking in variety of viewpoints, so I felt I didn’t get a lot out of these sessions”. Therefore, it seems that this absence of an incentive to work hard has ultimately led to a loss in enthusiasm in those particular subjects.

Even if a student is attending all lectures and seminars, the process of getting feedback on graded work is still regarded as one of the most effective ways of improving

at university. All of the 100% coursework modules will include chances to turn in formative work to receive feedback, but this may not be enough. Some seminar leaders will not always focus on every single aspect of a formative piece of work as they would with a summative. For first years, simple skills such as citing and formatting may be left too late if not addressed in these formative feedback sessions. As first-year media studies student Emily Jacks explains: “It has been challenging to get the hang of the university writing style and I feel I need lots of opportunities to learn from mistakes on assignments. If I was being marked by one piece of coursework, I think there would be many errors that I could have prevented”.

Ultimately, it seems that a lot of the issues with this method come down to the individual student; there is a need to self-motivate to attend lectures, study the material, and seek out extra help. However, it is left to be questioned what this means for humanities courses beyond the mark. While some may be happy with a minimal effort module, it could also be seen as undermining the importance of these areas of study. Many feel as though their course isn’t of any great importance compared to those in the sciences or social sciences just because some modules are not challenging throughout the whole term.

It is important for students to feel confident with their subject and to gain as

many skills possible for a future career, but when modules choose one assignment to mark, it will usually be an essay or research report. This takes away from many other skills that could be developed throughout the term such as presenting, debating, or group work.

Having only considered the effects of this kind of module, it has yet to be taken into account why certain modules are organised like this in the first place. In some cases, the only summative assignment is a final extensive piece of work that, along with formative work, is supposed to be a process throughout the whole term, similar to a dissertation. In other situations, it may be due to a large amount of diversely themed weeks that are more easily marked by one set of prompts to choose from (and in doing so, also avoiding the dreaded Hub).

It can therefore be seen that there is logical reasoning behind the choice, but for some students it just isn’t working. Many feel that with one assignment they are not motivated or getting enough out of the module, furthering the debate on how much of a disciplinary or motivational role university educators should be playing in our studies. Maybe our problems with the low-contact approach in humanities are in fact due to our own weaknesses in being able to independently put in the effort, or perhaps UEA needs to consider these issues before increasing the implementation of 100% marked coursework.

Empowerment: the causal sex generation Catalina Curbishley disucces the positive and negative impacts of caual sex and the Netflix and chill generation

T

he days of fighting for another’s attention in order to eventually get into their pants, some would say, are long gone. Taking a someone out for numerous dates and attempting to get to know them is a thing of the past. The truth is, people just don’t make the effort anymore. The chase is gone. Is chivalry really dead? Has the idea of romance fizzled away with the times? This is the Netflix and chill generation.

What happened to waiting until marriage?

Casual sex has boomed since the 60s hippie movement, as sleeping with someone on a night out, only to never speak to them ever again, is no longer frowned upon. Sex has become an act of pleasure rather than a marital bond. Some may argue that this idea of having sex with someone outside of a relationship is destroying the meaning behind “making love”, and turning it into a sport rather than an emotional act.

Is this necessarily a bad thing? Casual sex has allowed us, as a society, to become more liberal and accepting towards others. We are able to experiment and enjoy sex, without feeling guilty or having to hide it. It is allowing us to discover what we like at our own pace.

We are no longer feeling the pressure of

getting into a relationship simply to avoid criticism.

What triggered this sudden change in societies’ view towards sex? One aspect would definitely be the growth of the internet. Match.

many sexual partners you’ve had anymore.

Also, the religious morals behind abstaining from sex are no longer really around, so

“Principles may change over time, but sex will always be there”

“Casual sex has allowed us to become more liberal and accepting” com, one of the first online dating sites, was created in 1994 when only 5% of Americans had access to a computer. However, since then this number has increased to three billion people around the world. Apps such as Tinder have allowed us to quickly find someone in our area that we find attractive, and basically agree to have sex with them.

This has expanded our horizons and enabled us to meet people without having to break the ice. ‘No strings attached’ is the new motto.

The rise in feminism and decline in the position of religion in society could also be a factor. Women are now more liberal and believe that they should enjoy sex just as much as men. People don’t necessarily care how

Photo: Wikimedia, David Gothberg

people don’t see promiscuity as a bad thing.

The rise of porn has also allowed us to view sex in a more objective manner, and sex toy shops such as Ann Summers are no longer a taboo. Sex is being seen as a natural act rather than being sacred. It is being advertised everywhere and becoming a capitalistic product.

However, is this change unnatural? The view on casual sex has developed over time like fashion. The Romans and Greeks used to engage in orgies constantly. Our society’s morals change all the time, and this acceptance we have now towards sex will probably come back around in a number of years. Ultimately, we are simply animals. Sex is normal and ingrained into our minds. It is all around us.

Principles may change over time, but sex will always be there.

1st December 2015

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Features

Illustration: Dougie Dodds for Concrete

Terrorism and tragedy: turning to social media W

Dealing with tragedy Lucas Cuminskey

In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks, Lucinda Swain discusses the global impact of turning to social media in times of tragedy

T

he recent terror attacks in Paris reminds us that the role of social media has become an ever more important one.

With social media platforms aid those in need – for example with the #PorteOuverte Twitter hashtag, which means ‘door open’, which helped those without a safe place in the city to find locals opening up their homes – and enable people worldwide to show solidarity and united support through features such as the temporary French flag profile picture filter on Facebook.

As the world reacted on social media to these attacks by Isis we were able to see the positive and negative effects of social media on the events that unfolded. Facebook created a safety check that allowed people in Paris to check in and mark themselves as “safe” on their Facebook page. This allowed their friends on the social network to see that they were unharmed.

The French president, Francois Hollande, used Twitter to keep people up to date with the situation. Other important figures such as the Prime Minister, David Cameron, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Republicans candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, all swiftly tweeted their sympathy and support.

As with many recent global events, social media also had a negative influence to the terrorist attacks in Paris. For instance, Islamic State supporters used Twitter to express joy over the bloodshed in France, tweeting: “Paris is Burning” and using the hashtag #ParisIsBurning. The online gloating of Isis often contained the Arabic translation

of the hashtag with photos from the scenes of the attacks. Isis supporters also used the #PrayForParis hashtag to show their support for the attacks and praised the attackers.

Celebrities have been accused of clamouring to offer pointless support for Paris on Twitter (so-called hashtag activism); on the other hand, other well-known names have faced “fierce backlash for not jumping on the cyberbandwagon”.

The use of social media has been efficient to some degree at following the current events:

“Social media also had a negative influence”

to draw the kind of social media attention that followed the attacks in Paris (which, again is understandable: Paris is familiar to most of us. When did you last go on a romantic city break to Beirut?) . This lead to the hashtag #PrayForTheWorld becoming popular on Twitter.

Social media is essential to recruitment for terrorist groups. Facebook has become a key platform to gather new recruits and to encourage them into acts of terror with propaganda and the “use of Islamic grievance”. Social media allows recruiters to stay anonymous and makes it increasingly difficult for the good guys to prevent these atrocities from happening.

whether it’s documenting Isis’s destruction of musical instruments, irreplaceable artefacts and heritage sites; their efforts to eradicate any historical evidence of previous cultures; or sickening social media posts illustrating the their ideology – for example, Isis claims that they are destroying museums as they “have to destroy every statue that is a symbol of a worship different to theirs”. However, recent evidence posted online shows that they are selling on pieces they have looted, so it is very much funding related with little theological concern.

Other issues surrounding the use of social media is the lack of mainstream coverage of other Isis attacks. For instance, the lack of coverage in Europe of the Beirut attack (which perhaps is understandable to some degree: it is in a relatively unstable area, with a perception of serious violence being routine) has been described as sparse. With its failure

he social media hastags #ParisAttacks and #PrayforParis were used to convey messages of condolence and solidarity from around the globe. When social media spreads these events it allows people to witness the horror and pain experiencing a sense of vulnerability. It has the power to unite people. It gives us a chance to show empathy and compassion. It can inform and misinform.

Acts of terrorism are to get public attention, make a statement and spread fear.

However, messages in support of Isis on Twitter and Facebook show terrorism for what it really is: senseless, inexcusable violence.

And as Pamela Rutledge said in Psychology Today: “online and offline worlds are just ends of a spectrum of life. Online trauma becomes offline support through actions and donations.

Our emotional and practical reach is far beyond our immediate circle of acquaintances”. We can have support of a new global community much larger than has ever been encountered.

T

eeks have passed since the Paris atrocity and the West is still reeling from the terrorist attacks.

For many people this was not just an attack upon French citizens but an assault upon liberty, diversity and love. Isis want to unpick the very fabric of our liberal democracies strand by strand, and in the wake of such tragedy we must not unravel.

That is what they want.

They want to turn communities against each other because their goal is global religious war. We must decide to

“We must live and love and accept one another” mourn, remember and persevere but also, ultimately, we must lead by example. We must live and love and accept one another by continuing to cherish the cosmopolitan melting pots that are our great western cities. Isis is attacking our ideology and no war is worth winning if that means being subsumed by the intolerance and hatred of the cowardly terrorists.

They want to see a rise in jingoism and a spike in sympathy for far right groups, but the more we ostracize members of the Muslim community at home, the more we sow Isis’s seeds of division.

Times of tragedy and hardship are also times for reflection. Let us grieve our dead – ‘our’ because an attack on the city of love feels like an attack on us all. But we should not give in to reactionary politics. Rather, let wounds heal before inflicting them on others: there are some 40,000 civilians living in the Isis stronghold of Raqqah. We must consider whether drone strikes will bring us peace or kill more innocents and therefore radicalise their loved ones.

Solidarity means standing together.

Democracy means leading by example.

Let’s not allow the violent whims of a bunch of religious fanatics dictate our foreign and domestic policy.

Take the drugs & alcohol survey concrete-online.co.uk

1st December 2015

14

Features

Homeless in Norw

Dan Falvey looks at what happens over the Christmas p

O

n the 11th December the university term finishes and thousands of UEA students will begin to head home to celebrate Christmas at home with their families and friends. However, in Norwich there are hundreds of people who won’t have somewhere to call home over the Christmas period, many will be living in hostels, bed and breakfast accommodation or even on the streets.

There are over 500 homeless people living in Norwich, each with their own individual stories as to why they have ended up in the situation they are in. Some will have been forced to leave their home to escape violent households while others will have been evicted from their property due to being unable to afford rent. Yet in spite of these individual tales of how they ended up in their situation, they all have one thing in common: they all wish that this Christmas they had somewhere safe and warm to call home.

“Living on the street is not safe” says

Steve, a 59 year old who has been living on and off the streets for the past 12 years.

“I’ve had a couple of bad times but generally it’s alright, people here are pretty good” he explains sitting undercover outside MattressMan on Prince of Wales Road.

“I’ve only had one really bad time [while in

“They left me for dead, all my ribs were broken, one rib went through my lung, I lost three pints of blood” Norwich]. I had three guys start on me and gave me a real battering. They left me for dead, all my ribs were broken, one rib went through my lung, I lost three pints of blood, I was haemorrhaging and I was in hospital for four weeks”.

Being subjected to violence can be a

Types of homelessness

T

he homeless charity, Crisis, argue that as a broad definition “homelessness is the problem faced by people who lack a place to live that is supportive, affordable, decent and secure”. However, there are many different types of homelessness that can fit into this broad definition.

Rough sleepers This is usually what people assume homelessness means. Rough sleepers are those people who do not have adequate shelter to sleep in at night and therefore instead are forced to turn to sleep on the streets, parks or other outdoor areas.

Those living in emergency accommodation If someone who is homeless goes to the council for help because they don’t have anywhere to stay the council has a duty to provide emergency accommodation. This accommodation usually consists of a hostel or a bed and breakfast. If the person meets the right criteria the council will offer them temporary accommodation.

Those living in temporary accommodation Councils can provide temporary accommodation in a range of different types of housing.

A homeless person may be offered a bedsit, a flat, a house, a place in a hostel or a bed and breakfast. Those living in temporary accommodation must pay rent and may have to pay further charges for things like meals or cleaning services. This accommodation may be run by the council, a housing association, a private landlord or a volunteer organisation.

Intentionally homeless Some people are labelled by the council as being ‘intentionally homeless’. This means that they are homeless because they left accommodation that was suitable to stay in. Suitable accommodation may include temporary accommodation. Council’s look into determining why someone left their previous accommodation and must consider whether they left without good reason. If the council decides the person were responsible for, or failed to act on, the reason they were forced to leave their home or that it was reasonable to continue living in their accommodation, they are likely to be deemed as intentionally homeless.

Councils consider whether someone is intentionally homeless when determining whether to offer them temporary accommodation.

Priority need homeless Homeless legislation states that certain people are considered to have a priority need for accommodation. Those who fit into this category may be homeless people who are: families with dependent children, and households that include someone who is vulnerable due to pregnancy, old age, physical disability, mental illness or domestic violence, 16 and 17 year olds, 18, 19 and 20 year olds who grew up in care homes, an ex-member of the armed forces or someone who has spent time in prison.

Hidden homeless There are many people in the UK who are homeless but are not recorded on the official government statistics. Many people are unaware of the entitlements available for homeless people and therefore do not get in contact with the council. Further, some people feel too vulnerable or scared to ask for help.

Dan Falvey

constant fear for those sleeping rough. In June this year, a 29 year old rough sleeper locally known as Sergio, died in the St Stephen’s underpass in the centre of the city. The police said that they believed his death to be an act of murder following an assault.

The man had several cuts to his spleen causing internal bleeding.

“I now suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder”, explains Steve talking about his attack.

However, he claims that his mental health situation has not developed just from the one incident: “Prior to that [being hospitalised with broken ribs and loss of blood] I was stabbed seven times when I was in Great Yarmouth. I’ve still got the stab wounds”.

“You do get the occasional idiots... there’s just no need for it” says Sean. Resting outside Iceland on St Stephen’s Street with his two dogs, Massie and Cassy, Sean describes how he has ended up in his current situation: “I split up with my misses and that was her place. When she kicked me out I had nowhere to go. But I’ve been on and off the

“I don’t think the council do enough if I’m honest” says Steve.

“Norwich City Council absolutely believes that there’s nobody who is homeless living in Norwich” states Sean. “Last year they ran a campaign of don’t give to beggars, there’s only one genuine homeless person in Norwich.

I just don’t know where they get their information from.

Walking around the city you can see loads, plus you’ve got all those who are sofa surfing, all the people in these hospices which are temporary accommodation so their full of people who are homeless and people who may stay there for a while but ultimately end up on the streets again”.

Norwich City Council has always claimed that the city has a low homeless rate. In 2012 a freedom of information request revealed that according to the council’s official statistics there were only 12 people

“Being homeless does not always mean that someone is sleeping on the streets” streets since I was 16 and I’m now 40 so I’ve been going round and round the hostels”.

“I’m alright at the moment, I got into a hostel about 2 and a half weeks ago… the problem is you never know how permanent it’s going to be so I’ve still got all my camping stuff that I bought when I had the money, I still only keep a couple of sets of clothes because you never want to buy too much in case you end up back where you are”.

Being homeless does not always mean that someone is sleeping on the streets; many homeless people are living in temporary accommodation hostels like Sean.

If someone does not have somewhere they can call home they are able to ask the council for support, the council then considers the individual’s situation based on five criteria: 1) Is the person considered legally homeless?

2) Does the person have the right to live in the UK and are they eligible for assistance?

3) Can they be classed as being in priority need for help? 4) Does the person have a local connection with the council’s area?

5) Is the person intentionally homeless?

Based on the answers to these measures the council will then make a decision as to whether they should be offered temporary accommodation and if they should receive any other form of help.

However, both Steve and Sean argue that the council does not do enough to help homeless people get back on their feet.

Photo: Geography.co.uk, Albert Bridge

1st December 2015

15

Features

wich this Christmas

period to people in Norwich with nowhere to call home sleeping rough in Norwich. However, just a walk down the Prince of Wales Road late at night is enough to highlight that there may be many more people sleeping rough the official figures suggest.

Last year the council ran a campaign arguing “giving to those who beg does more harm than good”. The council stated that “Overwhelming local and national evidence shows that people who beg on the streets do so in order to buy Class A drugs, particularly crack cocaine and heroin, and superstrength alcoholic beers and ciders. These

“I always say to people if they are unsure whether to give money, buy them a hot drink or a sandwich or something” highly addictive drugs cause an extreme deterioration in people’s health and even death”.

“I’m just angry with the council” explains Sean. “There isn’t really enough for the homeless and then they tell people that they shouldn’t be on the street! I don’t do no harm, I don’t ask anyone, if people want to give me money it’s up to them, if they don’t then fair enough, if they just want to stop

Facts and figures 1 According to the charity, Shelter, 100,000 children may be homeless this Christmas, representing an increase of nearly 25% over the last four years.

2 The number of people officially sleeping rough in England last year was 2,744.

Joe Jameson looks at how to help the homeless in Norwich this Christmas

3 A rough sleeper is 35 times more likely to commit suicide than a non-homeless person.

4 112,330 households in England applied for homelessness assistance in 2014-15 which is a 26% rise since 2009-10.

5 Women in particular are at risk of homelessness. 20% of homeless women became homeless to escape violence.

6 There are more than 500 homeless people living in Norfolk 7 The life expectancy of a homeless person is as low as 47 years compared to the 81 years for the average UK citizen.

8 72 in every 100 homeless people suffer from mental health issues, compared to 30 in every 100 of the overall UK population.

Joe Jameson and have a chat then I’m happy with that, always have been.

“I do understand that you get your aggressive beggars, I do understand, and

people’s opinions are warped by it. But I always say, look at their feet, I mean some people are in lovely white Nike trainers for God’s sake! That’s what I always say to people if they are unsure whether to give money, buy them a hot drink or a sandwich or something… anyone who says no to that you know there’s something not right”.

Christmas is always an especially difficult time for those who are homeless and every

“Last December, Norwich had an average daily low temperature of just 3°C” year ‘Open Christmas’ at St Andrews Hall put on an all-day event to provide those who are in need of somewhere to go. Every year attendees of the event receive refreshments, hot drinks, a traditional Christmas meal, food parcels to take away and entertainment such as music performances, bingo and quizzes all for free.

“They cater for about 400 people” claims Steve. “They also have a load of racks of clothing, hats and scarfs and gloves, everything you need really, they have trainers too. They even have sleeping bags and blankets”.

Last December, Norwich had an average daily low temperature of just 3°C. Steve is currently sofa surfing because he is worried about living on the streets through the winter due to the low temperatures: “I’m 59.

I couldn’t survive another winter out on the streets. So at the moment I’m glad I’ve got somewhere to stay some nights”.

When students head home for Christmas in just a few weeks, it’s worth remembering that there are many people like Steve and Sean in Norwich and accross the UK as a whole. While St Andrew’s Hall provides some comfort to them on the 25th December, they no doubt wish they they too had the oppotunity to be at home celebrating with loved ones.

T

here are many ways in which you can help and support the campaigns, charities and groups who aim to help those who find themselves without a home at this time of year.

The Salvation Army offers those who have run out of places to go the use of their life houses which offer basic, but safe accommodation, as well as free meals and access to services such as drug rehabilitation. You can help support the work which the Salvation Army does by donating through their website. Currently they are fundraising for the Christmas season, where a donation of £19 will purchase a Christmas box filled with food which could feed a family in need.

Shelter, the homelessness charity, are also accepting donations which this year is being targeted at the estimated 100,000 children who will spend Christmas

“Shelter are also asking people to sign their petition to George Osborne asking him to commit to provide affordable houses” homeless. Crisis’ website asks for donations of £30 to provide urgent assistance for a family which may be facing eviction from their home over the winter period.

Shelter are also asking people to sign their petition to George Osborne asking him to commit to provide affordable houses for every council house sold. Shelter has previously petitioned Osborne to double the spending on the Affordable Houses Programme. Shelter also encourage anyone who wishes to to organise a fundraising event in Shelter’s name which could take the form of anything from a pub quiz to a half-marathon.

Here in Norwich there are also a number of schemes which provide a local service to those who may find themselves alone at on Christmas Day, such as Open Christmas Norwich, which is a community organised event operating out of The Halls, Norwich. A free meal and live entertainment is offered throughout the day from 11 until 5, as well as things such as a free clothing sale, allowing those who are struggling to keep warm and dry during the winter months to obtain some new clothing. Such events rely on the support of donations of non-perishable food stuffs, such as tinned food and dry cereals. Warm, second hand clothes are also welcomed and can provide a much needed extra layer in the cold weather, as well as non-food items like sleeping bags and toiletries.

1st December 2015

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Features

Christmas on a student budget Peter Sheehan invites you to enjoy the festive season on the shoestring that is your student loan

C

hristmas is a time of perfection: perfect decorations, perfect food and perfect company. But perfection costs. Indeed, in these benighted days of corporate capitalism, parting with large wads of cash is almost the only way in which yuletide adequacy may be achieved.

But here at Concrete, we are serious about consumer advice. We want to save you money.

So with the limits of the student budget at the forefront of our minds, we present our top tips for pulling off a university Christmas on a shoestring...

Food & drink

It is perfectly possible to cook a turkey breast, and a fairly sizeable one at that, in those crappy little microwave ovens they give you in halls.

We managed it in Norfolk Terrace when I was in first year. Granted, it takes a fair amount of time – in fact, you’ll likely want to start a week or so in advance – but surely what matters is that you get there in the end. Just make sure to double check its cooked all the way through.

If you want brussels sprouts, I’m afraid you’ve missed the boat. If they are to be in any way edible by the 25th December, you need to start boiling them in October. They are, however, a cheaper way of filling yourself up than eating more expensive foods such as proteins. So get going on that boiling, and gorge yourself on cheap festive greens.

Mulled wine is a must at Christmas. Aldi does a very nice line in glüwein, which doesn’t cost nearly as much as it could do. Indeed, the amount you stagger back with will probably be limited more by how much you can carry than by its price.

Of course, the centre piece of any selfrespecting Christmas dinner is the wine. Now it’s probably best to accept from the off that chateau-neuf-du-pape will be somewhat over the hill price wise. But, again, and if you can stomach the cloying sweetness, Aldi does a range of drinks which, if you blithley ignore your better judgement, might be charitably described as sparkling wine. And if you’re feeling really fancy, you could even draw on your own label in the style of one of the more respected champagne houses.

Presents

Don’t go buying lots of presents, for there is no better way to nose dive into your overdraft than running around the city purchasing gifts for everyone from your parents to your flatmate’s boyfriend. For the conspicuously hard up, Secret Santa is the answer. It’s benefits are twofold. Firstly, you need only buy one piece of Christmas tat, where else you might feel obliged to buy a small arsenal of stocking fillers.

But secondly, the requirement to give gifts of any quality is instantly removed. With secrecy being the name of the game, you can give that person in your flat whom you haven’t spoken to since Freshers’ Week – heaven forfend that you be tasked with buying a present for someone you know – any old piece of toot that you pick up in Wilkinsons. A new set of tea towels, plastic cutlery for parties and picnics, a door stop: anything goes.

Of course, the one person you might have to buy something decent for is your partner, should you have one. Being single myself, this is not something with which I have to concern myself. (It goes without saying that my continued single-ness is purely the result of my financial acuity, and in no way reflects badly on my social skills or standards of personal hygiene.)

My one piece of advice is to make the wrapping really damn impressive. Make sure it’s the most creatively wrapped present you’ve ever given. Bows, ribbons, fancy little tassley things. Let Rowan Atkinson in Love Actually be your guide. Would you like that gift wrapped, sir? Yes – yes you would. Only you have to do it yourself.

Gwyneth recommends...

Gwyneth Paltro has published her list of recommended Christmas gifts on her website, goop.com. We take you through some budget alternatives...

goop.com Currency case £190 amazon.co.uk Wallet £0.99

goop.com Champagne bucket £245 Halfords Heavy-duty bucket £2.49

goop.com Vase £430 Union shop Pint glass £price

Festive spirit

Now Christmas is one of those seasons which it would seem you are ordained from the heavens to partake in. Don’t get me wrong: I love Christmas. But there are certain ways of doing things which can prevent you from dying of tinselitus.

Everyone loves Christmas songs – we learnt this much from Will Ferrell when he told us that the best way to spread cheer is to sing aloud for all to hear. This is charming in theory, but when you’ve heard Last Christmas for the fifth time before you’ve opened the second door on your advent calender, it can seem as though the 26th December couldn’t come sooner. There is only so much Christmas everyone can take. It’s not like Halloween: you can’t ignore it if you close your eyes tightly and count to ten.

Festive spirit isn’t something which is constrained to your student budget, so it is perhaps one of the easiest things to really throw yourself into whilst you busy about on campus.

Bring out your Christmas jumpers, festive hats and winter scafs, and warm yourself with a jolly hot chocolate.

What can dampen your festive spirit whilst you wait for the holidays to roll around once more is the stress of the semester: deadlines close in and the lack of sleep begins to catch up with you. The holidays begin in only ten days, but you’d be forgiven for thinking that Christmas hasn’t really started.

But remember: festive cheer and goodwill are part of the True Meaning of Christmas. And they’re absolutely free. So warm those cockles, whack on Love Actually, and sing those carols loud: Christmas comes but once a year, so throw yourself into the jollity and conviviality with all the force you can muster. At least it will stop you thinking about your overdraft.

Decorations

Cut-out snowflakes on the window are simply the best way of adding Christmas cheer to your house or flat. (They are also the perfect way to recycle your avidly read, old issues of Concrete that no doubt litter your room.) Christmas trees, either artifical or real, would be a little on the pricey side, but peer-pressuring your welloff flat mate to bring one from home is a good way of avoiding the inconvenience of paying for one yourself.

Other forms of decoration are, unfortunately, going to be too expensive. But all need not be lost. For the duration of your Christmas dinner, take advantage of the early

sunset and learn to love the half light. Just as a night club would look far from its night-time glory when viewed in the hard glare of day, so bargain-bucket decorations may be best appreciated in the gloom. And this would also be a brilliant opportunity to keep those energy bills down.

Photos From top. Wikimedia, bgvjpe.

Wikimedia, dennis crowley. Wikimedia, Amelia Wells. Pixabay.

The author wishes to thank Joe Jameson for his invaluable input of festive cheer and seasonal goodwill.

goop.com Electric juicer £3,150 Amazon.co.uk Lemon squeezer £3.99

goop.com Tea towels £26 for two Argos Tea towels £4.89 for five Photos From top: Flickr, eLENA tUBARO; public domain; Wikimedia, David; Wikimedia, Ukko.de; Flickr, Deborah Schwartzkopf; Wikimedia, Lewis Ronald

1st December 2015

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Features

Switzerland and the suffrage movement

Zhou Miaoruo discusses what was really shocking about the film Suffragette and just how forward-thinking different nations really are when it comes to women’s rights

T

he year 1928 marked a stark transformation in British politics: for the first time ever, a woman could vote in general elections. This was a political breakthrough. Before that, women were once only marked as domestic care-takers, indecisive and unfit for making important political decisions. Many at that time would not have believed that this important half of the human race could ever be so utterly determined to alter the future of their nation, let alone succeed.

“Votes for Women!” This was the cry of the suffragettes. This year’s film, Suffragette, set between 1912 and 1913, and starring Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham-Carter, tells the true story of the sacrifices of a group of courageous working-class women who wanted to obtain a prominent position in the courts. They were beaten hard, they were jailed, and their blood shed for integrity. They considered hunger strike, vandalising shops, burning houses or even murdering the king to get their voices heard and to transform the living conditions of women. Their motto was “Deeds not words”.

The film itself displays the disturbing revolutionary moments of suffragette history – the hot-blooded wars of gender equality that are still ongoing today. Despite the fact that the film’s focus on personal struggles can be said to render the stirring historical and political movements of the suffragettes less remarkable, what really stood out was this: Switzerland didn’t have votes for women until 1971.

This shocking fact, which appeared in the end credits, has brought much suspicions.

Before 1971, most of the Western world had already granted women suffrage – New Zealand in 1893, Canada in 1917, followed by Britain in 1928. Switzerland had a remarkably late-coming acknowledgement of women’s status. Suffragette’s writer, Abi Morgan, comments: “I think it’s something about, you know, they make good chocolate – so surely they gave equality to women”.

It turns out that women’s proposals on voting had been rejected many times in Switzerland’s history, at a time when women’s causes was left at the mercy of men. It was only when women in Switzerland established the Association for Women’s suffrage and fought for women’s equal rights nation-wide, that the government really started taking their actions seriously. Switzerland held a national referendum in 1971, in which the government finally agreed to grant women the vote.

What does this tell us about Switzerland’s democratic political system? Would the nation be exercising its democratic rights if it left the door half shut for women voters? Or would it have reached its full political potential if it

“Hot-blooded wars of gender equality are still ongoing today” was ignorant of what women really can do?

We certainly know that democracy is not democracy until it achieves what it dreams of: to have equality in access to all, and even the most democratic country would have its fatal neglect on this part.

The concern is that the society is always on its own amelioration. Whether for Switzerland or other country which fell behind in granting women the vote – such as Saudi Arabia in 2011 – gender equality may be said to not have reached its full potential.

Even today in China, for example, women are still left trivialized in many rural areas.

Suffragette told one story, within Britain, of the movement for women’s civil rights, But its end credits reiterated that this was just one story, and it was rather shocking for viewers to find out how comparatively forward a society shown as backward might have been. It has left us still with the hope, as the suffragettes, has, that in the future, gender equality will no longer be a fantasy and women’s value to society will be fully realised.

Photo: Wikimedia, unknown

Loneliness among the elderly Susannah Smith conisders issues of loneliness in an increasing number of elderly people this winter

A

n elderly man sits in a small, grey house. It is the festive season but you can’t tell from his sombre surrounding.

He climbs a hill just to sit on a bench. It is an ordinary scene except that the house, the bench and the old man are on the moon. The new John Lewis advert once again has a tear inducing simplicity.

This advert, produced in partnership with Age UK, is the fairy tale of a real situation for many elderly people. A recent Age UK survey showed that 450,000 people aged 65 and over will spend Christmas alone and 60% are not expecting happiness this year. For many elderly people, the festive season is not a time of family and celebration – and for the lonely, many do not have a little girl with a telescope and a determination to break their isolation.

John Lewis Man on the Moon mugs and Christmas cards are being sold with 25% of

profits going to Age UK. The charity’s work is invaluable; with 55,000 elderly people suffering from loneliness in the South East alone, they provide support, advice and care.

This year the Norwich branch celebrates its 70th anniversary and is anw active charity in the city. Chief executive, Susan Ringwood, said: “Nowadays 70 is the new 50… We are there to help older people make the most of their opportunities… and, of course, we are there for those not so fortunate”.

Isolation has serious effects on health and wellbeing. Elderly people living on their own over the Christmas period are more likely to end up in A&E with severe problems, according to Professor Keith Willett, director for acute care for NHS England. The old and infirm are often unable to venture to their GP on their own, as it can be more of an ordeal than young people realise.

It is hard to imagine so many elderly people being without family at Christmas. Yet statistics from Age UK show that just 23% of 18- to 34-year-olds will spend Christmas with a grandparent, and less than half of those aged 25 to 54 will spent it with parents. It reveals a trend for families to fragment over Christmas. Catering for large numbers makes the holiday stressful and often older, infirm relatives cannot cope with big groups anyway.

Part of the role of charities like Age UK is to involve younger people in helping the elderly in their communities. Befriending schemes pair up volunteers with a person in need and regular visits are arranged. Sometimes this is all it takes to help combat the isolation and depression older people face. It is very easy to sign up for these schemes and they always need more volunteers, even if only for an hour a week.

Other Age UK projects include Life Stories, a collaboration with the Jane Austen College in Norwich and BBC Voices. Students recorded and scrapbooked some of the memories of older people in their community.

Both pupils and participants reported that it was a rewarding experience. Additionally, Age UK is running a Twitter campaign, #Notbymyselfie, which encouraged people to take selfies with their grandparents or parents.

Society’s idea of the elderly has shifted in recent years. When youth and beauty become the chief preoccupations, age is no longer wisdom but a drain on resources. Christmas is a time for us to embrace the charitable season along with the commercial excess. This year, your help could be needed much closer to home. For everyone should agree with Age UK’s slogan: “no one should have no one”.

1st December 2015

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Features Showbiz

Politics

Which rapper announced their intention to run for the US presidency in 2020?

A Snoop Dog B Kanye West C The Notorious BIG D Barak Obama

Following May’s general election, what is the Conservative party’s majority in the Commons?

A2 B 12 C 42 D 1,002

The Concrete Quiz of the Year

How many Kardashsians were there in 2015?

A Like, Kim and Caitlin?

B Eight, obviously C 42 D Who the hell cares?!

Who was the first person to have seven singles in the UK top forty at the same time?

A Taylor Swift B Justin Bieber C Calvin Harris D Nigel Farage Who did Stephen Fry imitate at this year’s Baftas?

A Stephen Hawking B Johnny Depp C Adele D Margaret Thatcher Who hosted Children in Need after Terry Wogan pulled out at the last minute dues to ill health?

A Claudia Winkleman B Greg James C Dermot O’Leary D Nigel Farage

Last week, Grant Shapps resigned from the government in disgrace following a bullying scandal. In a previous scandal, under what name did he admit to running a business while also sitting a MP? A Michael Green B Phillip Green C Stephen Green D Sauron In which constituency did Nigel Farage stand in the general election?

A Segfield B Clacton C South Thanet D He didn’t, it was all a nasty dream

UEA

How many budget statements did George Osborne deliver in 2015?

A Just the one B Two C Three D Too bloody many

Who was the first act to play at Radio 1’s Big Weekend?

A Years and Years B Olly Murs C 5 Seconds of Summer D S Club 7

How many points did UEA win at this year’s Derby Day? A 19.5 B 36.5 C 42.5 D Nine and three quarters

Who sang the theme song for Spectre?

A One Direction B Sam Smith C Adele D Nigel Farage

Who won best-dressed at Pimp My Barrow?

A The Avengers B Only Fools and Horses C The Vikings D The Village People

Which items of headgear are now considered offensive to Mexicans?

A Fedoras B Sombreros C Fascinators D Cycle helmets

What did jilted Conservative peer Michael Ashcroft alledge that David Cameron once do at a university dining club?

A Use the wrong knife for his starter B Order red wine during the fish course C Insert his particulars into a roasted hog D Praise Satan and drink the blood of innocents

Which politician did Joey Essex describe as “cool, wicked and sick”?

A Nick Clegg B Jeremy Corbyn C Stella Creasy D Nigel Farage

What is unique about the newly opened Enterprise Centre?

A It is the UK’s most energy-efficient building B Even its foundations are made of straw C It costs only £4.50 to heat D It

Which Hollywood film was partially shot at UEA? A Star Wars: the Force Awakens B Fifty Shades of Grey C The Avengers: Age of Ultron D Pitch Perfect 2

Which two former chancellors died this year?

A Dennis Healey B William Gladstone C Charles Kennedy D Geoffrey Howe

General knowledge

Sport

What Chinese year is it?

A Horse B Sheep C Goat D Monkey

Which team beat South Africa in this year’s rugby world cup with a shock score of 32-34?

A Samoa B Japan C Ireland D Scotland

In which film do the protagonists visit 2015?

A Transporter 3 B Pirates of the Carribean C Back to the Future 2 D Any Michael Bay film

Which country is holding a referendum to redesign its flag?

A Denmark B Nepal C New Zealand D Sealand

For how many days was Sepp Blatter suspended from Fifa?

A Nine B 19 C 90 D 190, but he was totally working from home Which country has been suspended from the International Association of Athletics Federations?

A Mongolia B Russia C France D Scotland

2015 marks 800 years since the signing of what?

A Magna Carter B The Treaty of Versailles C The Treaty of Utrecht D Justin Bieber’s contract with Satan

Showbiz ABBACBD

Which astronomical phenomenon occurred in September?

A A solar eclipse B A blood moon C Halley’s comet D The second coming

Which country accepted a controversial bailout from the EU and IMF? A Portugal B Greece C Ireland D Genovia

How many consecutive front-row lockouts has Mercedes achieved in Formula One? A Nine B 19 C 90 D 190, but they cheated Which major-league baseball team made the play-offs for the first time in 21 years?

A New York Mets B Toronto Blue Jays C Boston Red Socks D AFC Uckfield Town Which footballer broke the record for the number of goals scored in consecutive matches?

A Jamie Vardy B Fernando Torres C Wayne Rooney D Alan Shearer

Photos from left: Flickr, Joe Bielawa; Flickr, Chatam House; Wikimedia, Sputniktilt; Flickr, Ronald Woan

UEA CBABCC

Politics B A C C C A&D

General knowledge BBCABC

Sport BCBBBA

1st December 2015

20

Comment

Is military intervention against Isis in Syria the right way to respond to the Paris attacks?

Photo: Wikimedia, Senior Airman Matthew Bruch

YES The strategic use of ground troops must be considered as an option if we are to achieve stability Ryan Newington

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he Paris attacks on 13th November, in which 130 people were killed, represent the deadliest terror assault carried out by an Islamic terrorist group in the West for over a decade. It was later confirmed that Isis, the theological quasi-state, had claimed responsibility for the attacks, garnering the combined disgust of every government on the planet. David Cameron, Vladimir Putin, Barak Obama and François Hollande for once all seem to be in agreement about the need to end Isis once and for all; Cameron has even stated that he would be willing to negotiate with Putin over Bashar Al-Assad, the embatled Syrian president, remaining in power, exemplifying this determination to tackle Isis.

However, there remains a glaring gap in the strategic response of Western governments: the outright refusal to employ ground troops in the Middle East. A dangerous precedent has been set in recent times, in which indiscriminate intervention from the air is acceptable, whilst the strategic use of ground troops to minimise collateral damage is not. Nonetheless, this uncomfortable truth must be an option on the table if we truly wish to reach a point of stability in the Middle East, to eradicate Isis, and to prevent these kinds of attacks from happening in Paris, New York or Beirut ever again.

The West is held back from achieving a meaningful long-term strategic solution in the Middle East by the memory of Iraq, and the deadly mistakes that were made there. The Iraq war created a power vacuum in which Isis could grow, and an environment in which its abhorrent and warped manifestation of Islamic theocracy could flourish. Nevertheless, it would be a naive misconception to think that contemporary Western intervention is the source of all the current problems, or that the Middle East was a byword for stability prior to it. In short, the Western powers and their populations need to move on from the fallout of the Iraq war, and understand that inaction has just as many consequences as action in these circumstances.

The root problem of Iraq and Syria can be traced back to the arbitrary border that slices through Mesopotamia. Isis territory corresponds, with unnerving accuracy, to

where the majority of Syrian and Iraqi Sunni Muslim populations reside. Sunni Isis has gained traction as a violent response to the Shia-dominated governments of Syria and Iraq. Simply bombing them will not destroy them outright, and nor will it destroy their ideology; it will only serve to act as a propaganda tool.

Our response to the Paris attacks could provide an unprecedented opportunity to give the oppressed peoples of the Middle East a clean break and a fresh start, and to make amends for our horrendous misjudgements in Iraq. By deploying ground troops, we can send a message to our supposed allies in Turkey and Saudi Arabia that it is not okay to

“Inaction has just as many consequences as action” complicity allow Isis supply lines to exist. We can show that it is not okay to oppress and deny the Kurdish people their rightful claims to a state, when they are doing their utmost to fight the medieval methods of governance Isis is employing. By using ground troops, we can show the Middle Eastern populations that we will stand by them in their quest for human rights, the rule of law and permanent stability.

Equally, in using ground troops to pacify and change what remains of Iraq and Syria, we can create the beginnings of long-term peace, helping to stop the flow of refugees coming to the EU, and give its stretched institutions some breathing space to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe which is unfolding. In doing so, we would undermine the credibility of Eurosceptic parties intent on using the migrant crisis to divide our multi-cultural society, and ultimately break the EU apart. It’s been said many times that Isis want jihad, they want war, they want to become martyrs; whilst this is, to some extent, true, they also want to destroy Western civilisation from the inside, and the collapse of the European Union would provide the first stepping stone towards this aspiration.

The choice is clear. We must act now, in tandem with Russia and the United NationSecurity Council. The time has come to end Isis.

NO We need to break the cycle of military retaliation Charlie Dwyer

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n the wake of the atrocities committed across Paris, the internet erupted, bombarding newsfeeds across the world with minute-by-minute coverage, impassioned commentary and hopeless condolences. Inevitably, a sizeable percentage of the responses took the form of calls for retaliation. This is understandable; given the brutality of the attacks, why shouldn’t the perpetrators and their commanders be made to face the combined force of our vastly superior Western militaries? Wouldn’t inaction be akin to letting the extremists responsible off the hook? Indeed, far too many innocent people have lost their lives for total inaction to be an option. That said, we must tread very carefully when choosing our course, and not allow ourselves to be guided by our hearts rather than our heads. We are dealing with an incredibly violent group, active in one of the most volatile regions on the planet. This is no time for an emotional response.

Perhaps most frustratingly for those who counsel caution, we are not operating beyond the limits of human experience. Far from it, this isn’t even the first time this century that we’ve found ourselves faced with such a dilemma; consequently, we have a perfect illustration of the perils of bigger army diplomacy in the form of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Though the coalition succeeded in ending the despotic reign of Saddam Hussein and the Ba’athists, the transition from dictatorship to ‘democracy’ was anything but smooth. Iraq’s long suppressed Shi’ite majority were free to invert the religious situation, and embarked on their own programme of repression against the newly vulnerable Sunni minority, a move which inflamed religious hated and culminated in the 2006 civil war.

Iraq was in a state of utter discord.

Ordinary citizens were denied basic securities; skirmishes between militant Islamic sects, government forces and Western troops ensured bloodshed became an everyday occurrence, and most crucially, the structural issues that had plagued the nation prior to the invasion had not been addressed. This chaos proved to be a magnet for extremists who wished to join on the conflict on the side of the Sunnis, including the small but ruthless organisation that later become Isis. In postwar Iraq, this group found a haven. Desperate though the situation was for swathes of the

Iraqi population, the unrest transformed the beleaguered state into the perfect training ground for prospective Isis combatants; disillusioned young men and women, many of whom had lost everything to the conflict, could be moulded into battle-hardened fanatics. This only became possibly after the invading Western forces had instigated the collapse of social order.

However, even without this shamefully recent example of military action both causing and perpetuating the very problems it set out to combat, the case against intervention would remain strong. If one looks at the rhetoric being employed by Isis, it is clear their distorted interpretation of Islam and callous disregard for human life are not the only reason for the deaths of so many innocents.

They make constant reference to the sinful ‘crusader states’ of the Western world, in an attempt to incite sympathies to holy war; the attacks in Paris were a calculated provocation designed to elicit an aggressive response, and to hit back using military force will only reinforce this narrative.

Furthermore, though enemy fatalities may appear to represent progress, we must remember that the reality is not so simple.

When conducting a retaliatory strike of any kind, civilian losses are inevitable; tragic though the continued erosion of the local population would be, we must try to avoid this outcome for more than the sake of preserving lives. Yet again, all this would do is strengthen and vindicate the Isis chieftains. Is it not a sure-fire way of converting potential recruits, to allow their families, friends and homes to become casualties of war, and to write off the destruction as ‘collateral damage’?

There is no straightforward course of action in this situation. Political solutions, such as helping local rulers to create a stable environment, or encouraging cooperation between Middle Eastern states, will likely prove to be the way forward; though these approaches will be difficult to put into practice, a lack of satisfactory short-term fixes is not a reason to charge into the fray and inflame an already delicate situation.

As history has proven time and again, war breeds chaos, which in turns breeds further war. Though the political and moral pressure to do otherwise is immense, this cycle must be broken.

1st December 2015

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Jeremy Hunt’s response to the junior doctors’ strike is apathetic and will do him no favours Caitlin Doherty

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tarting today, Britain will be facing several weeks of NHS disruption, as junior doctors (a title which refers to any medical professional who has not yet reached consultancy level) go on strike, during what is usually one of the busiest periods of the year.

This is the first example of such action for more than thirty years. On 21st November, more than 98% of junior doctors polled by the British Medical Association (BMA) voted in favour of strike action, in response to Jeremy Hunt’s remarkably unfair new contract propositions. Faced with the prospect of a 30% pay cut, the abolition of restrictions on shift patterns, and the ‘standard working day’ being extended to 22.00 and to include weekends, it is hardly surprising there is anger amongst the profession.

Junior medics have been threatened with contract revisions of one form or another since 2012. Calls from the Department of Health for changes to the contracts clashed catastrophically with the coalition government’s determination to improve weekend medical services, and to create a “seven-day NHS”.

Now, after having been exploited as a political pawn for almost three years, junior doctors are “talking with their feet”.

Opinion has been divided on this subject, some choosing to support the government in their crusade against the foot soldiers of the NHS, whilst others have backed the angry, often vocal junior medics. One thing, however, is clear: the Health Secretary will emerge from this fight far more battered and bruised than his boss, David Cameron, or any junior doctor in scrubs involved in the strike.

As Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt holds one of the most important positions in British government. He is graced with a phenomenal budget, is in charge of almost 1.5m employees, and has previously been spoken of as a potential candidate for the soonto-be-vacant post of Tory leader. Clearly, he is one of the most influential men in the British government; yet his response to the proposed strike action was merely that it was “very, very disappointing news”, which seems a rather beige reaction from the man responsible for

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Acts of student solidarity are inspiring, but are making little impact Joe Rutter

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he boycott of lectures and seminars on 17th November truly was a day of solidarity, mobilising a number of home and international students, but was anybody watching? The success of the NUS, and of our own union, to rally a mass protest through various walkouts and stunts is commendable; nonetheless, it is outweighed by the distinct lack of interest shown by this government. Aware that they have very little to lose concerning the student and immigrant vote, the Tories continue to squeeze students in its quest for deficit reduction. They didn’t listen to the countless protests against the tripling of tuition fees; neither did they listen to the students who joined the Labour party to condemn the scrapping of the maintenance grant.

The government’s most recent assault on students, however, has taken a sinister antiimmigration turn, which panders to the right wing of the party and to its traditional voters.

International students already are already

Photo: Flickr, NHS Confederation the greatest disruption to healthcare services in a generation.

The apathy does not stop there. Junior doctors have approached Hunt on several occasions in recent weeks, in an attempt to try and resolves their differences and put an end to planned industrial action. On 22nd November, more than 600 professionals signed a letter “imploring” Hunt to intervene, yet silence still rang through Whitehall.

It would be naive to presume that politics is a fair and equal game of give and take, but one thing that it certainly must be is impassioned.

Cameron may not listen to his opposition when it comes to the divisive issue of Syrian intervention, but without a doubt, he will fight his corner. Hunt, on the other hand, seems to be entirely lacking in enthusiasm for either his position or his policies, a stance that will not convince anybody of the legitimacy of these already controversial ideas.

Apathetic, uninteresting, and possessive over policies that have upset more than a million people; it seems the poll card for the leadership candidates just got that little bit smaller.

Matthew Biggs examines whether compulsory religious assemblies in schools should be scrapped nyone who had the misfortune of attending a Church of England school will remember the arduous ordeal that was the morning school assembly. An old, middle-class authoritarian would stand at the front of the hall (which doubled as a gym during PE lessons), reciting the Lord’s Prayer, whilst you sat on the hard, parquet floor getting dust all over your trousers. Exactly how long those assemblies lasted would be difficult to say. This was before your infant self truly grasped the importance of spending your time creatively and productively; quite like your time as a fresher, the days and weeks of childhood blur into an indiscernible mass, so what harm could these assemblies be doing?

I’m not going to cry ‘indoctrination’ too loudly, as I can see how such a point might appear obnoxious. The UK is one of the least religious countries on the planet. It is for this reason that framing religion as an oppressive force, instead of something to tolerate, comes across as closed-minded; when we talk about oppression, it is easy to turn our heads to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Isis, and reflect on how, here in Britain, we don’t know the meaning of the word. Nevertheless,

Comment

this isn’t exactly setting the bar very high. In any case, I think my argument is far simpler: religious assemblies are boring children to death.

According to a 2015 YouGov poll, only 32% of adults in the UK believe in any sort of god. It would be an act of denial to assume that the statistics amongst children would be drastically different, yet it remains a requirement for all British schools to provide

“Schools are not churches or multi-faith centres, and should not be treated as such” daily acts of collective worship as part of the school day; this is in spite of the fact that around 76% of secondary schools are failing to do so. Consequently, a recent report has recommended that the requirement should be scrapped, and it’s easy to see why. Schools are not churches or multi-faith centres, and should not be treated as such. They are places of learning and fulfilment. Why are we catering to a small minority, in a way that invalidates the views of the rest: those who

follow a different faith, or the growing number of children who don’t identify as being part of any organised religion at all? Surely we don’t want these hymns, which amount to little more than singing ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ on repeat, to be associated with the robust, sophisticated educational institutions we want to build? These assemblies are no more than an obtuse form of discipline and conformity, teaching children to find value in outdated allegories.

Your time is a child is dictated by the adults around you, and rightly so. Parents are left to hope that the schools to whom they entrust their children will treat them well.

They hope, I am sure, that their child will be happy, that they will learn how to read, write and do maths, how to be creative and artistic, as well as to learn to understand the facets of human relationships and characters.

They also hope their children will learn how to reason and be reasonable, that they will gain some knowledge of geography, history and science. Are we really achieving any of these this in a religious assembly? Couldn’t children be educated about morals in a more reasonable manner, without the insistence on a divine overseer?

“The activism of the NUS will come to nothing without wider student solidarity, and vice versa” facing tuition fees that can be up to four times higher than that of a UK student, and now, tighter visa restrictions mean that the parapets to incoming students are getting higher.

Two weeks ago, renditions of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ were heard around the Square, in another solemn display of student solidarity in response to the Paris attacks. One line from that humanist anthem, “imagine there’s no countries”, resonates with the NUS’s opposition of this new wave of antiimmigration measures. This set of restrictions puts the global nature of our universities at risk, and is symptomatic of an elite political establishment out of touch with the real student experience.

As a vital part of the political process, students could look back to Solidarnosc in Poland for inspiration. Starting up in 1980, this ground-roots trade union brought together a swathe of citizens ignored by the Communist regime, and affected a seismic shift towards democracy by civil disobedience and cooperation.

The activism of the NUS will come to nothing without wider student solidarity, and vice versa. It is clear, therefore, that more action needs to be taken, in order to shake the walls of Whitehall. The boycotts may have created a stir, but they have not yet forced a response.

The Minister for Universities, Jo Johnson, has made no comment in the light of the protests. Neither have Theresa May, George Osborne, Michael Gove, nor David Cameron himself. Students are paying more, receiving less in grants, and our international friends are, it seems, being punished for their decision to come and study in the UK. What’s more, it would appear that, at the moment, our actions are having little effect.

1st December 2015

22

Science&Environment

Genetically modified salmon approved for sale in US Lauren Bird Sci&Env writer The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved genetically modified salmon for sale and human consumption in the US. It is estimated that up to 80% of processed food sold in the US already contains some genetically modified organisms (GMOs) but this is the first time that an animal-derived food has been approved.

The AquAdvantage Salmon, produced

by AquaBounty, can grow to market size in 18 months - half the time of a conventional salmon. This is possible because the AquAdvantage is similar to an Atlantic salmon but is injected with a growth hormone from a Pacific salmon. This causes it to grow more quickly, and this is moderated by a gene promoter from a fish called an ocean pout, promoting year-round rather than seasonal growth. The promoter does not contain code that is ‘alien’ to the salmon; rather it serves to control the activity of an existing gene.

The fish was first produced by AquaBounty in 1995 and to date ten generations of AquAdvantage salmon have been raised. The FDA’s decision has been based on the data collected from these ten generations and on the peer-reviewed journal articles and studies of them.

The fish’s rapid growth gives it various environmental advantages over non-GMO salmon. Although it consumes a similar amount of food to grow to a similar size, the AquAdvantage only needs to be kept in energy-intensive farm conditions for half as long. Additionally it can be raised in inland tanks near to urban areas, reducing food miles. The tank-based farming method also avoids human interference and reduces the impact on ecosystems damaged by previous over fishing.

However, concerns have been raised by environmental groups over the risks posed by the GMO fish entering the natural environment: an egg production facility is located close to an estuary. The GMO salmon has noticeably different behaviour from the non-GMO salmon, preferring to be solitary rather than swimming in groups and with different feeding patterns, so if released the AquAdvantage could affect the ecosystem

Photo: Flickr: Katmai Pasteur 1838 in unpredictable ways.

AquaBounty currently plans to use only sterile, female fish to obviate the risk of interbreeding and spreading of modified genes should escape occur.

One of the most controversial clauses of the FDA’s agreement is that AquaBounty

have no obligation to label the fish as GMO when it is sold to the public. This means that customers will have no choice about whether to purchase GMO fish or not, which problematical since this is the first genetically modified meat product to be sold and the effects on humans, including

allergens, are not fully known. By contrast, under EU regulation, all GM food must be labeled clearly for the customer. In the UK no GM food crops are currently being grown and the storage of imported GM produce is tightly regulated by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

GM mosquitoes resist malaria infection Jacob Beebe Sci&Env editor Malaria is a prevalent infectious mosquitoborne disease. The distribution of malaria occurs as a broad belt around the equator with high prevalence in countries with hot climates. In a significant new discovery, US scientists have successfully genetically modified and bred a mosquito that is resistant to malaria infection, essentially rendering them impotent as vectors, or distributors, of the disease-causing parasite.

Malaria is caused when the female Anopheles mosquito is infected by the malaria parasite which resides in their salivary glands. The parasite is then introduced to humans and spread when these infected mosquitoes bite and feed. US scientists have discovered a technique that could help to halt the spread of malaria.

The new technique involves introducing

a “resistant” gene into the mosquitos DNA using a special, emerging molecular biology/gene editing technique known as Crispr. This DNA insert helps to tackle the invading parasite by coding for antibodies that combat the parasite. The result of this is a mosquito host that is resistant to malaria parasite, and hence cannot further transmit it. Importantly, breeding of these genetically edited results in resistant offspring.

Prof David Conway, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, stated: “It’s not the finished product yet but it certainly looks promising. It does look like the genetic editing works”.

It is conceded that this would not be the sole or “Holy Grail” solution to the malaria problem. A vast amount of research is focusing on new ways to reduce malaria spread, and this is not the first instance of GM mosquitoes being exploited.

In 2014, it was reported that scientists had discovered a way of using GM mosquitoes that produce 95% male

Photo: Flickr: Sanofi Pasteur offspring. The approach tackles the problem on two fronts, reducing the number of disease transmitting females, and causing an overall population crash. Other research investigates genetically modifying mosquitoes to become infertile to reduce or

eliminate the population.

With some warning about the repercussions of eliminating the mosquito population, this is an exciting development in the fight against malaria, which offers an alternative method of disease control.

1st December 2015

Britain sending first ever astronaut into space Louise Fitzgerald Sci&Env writer In a little over three weeks Tim Peake, 43, will leave Earth for a six month stint on the International Space Station. Before Peake makes it back to Earth he will have lapped the planet more than 2,700 times.

Peake will travel to Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to board Soyuz TMA-19M, a Russian designed rocket. He will be joined by two other astronauts – one from Nasa and the other from Russia.

More than 8,000 people applied for Peake’s job when it was first advertised by the European Space Agency in 2008, but at the time the UK was not interested in human spaceflight and a lack of funding meant that there were no British astronauts.

Peake joined the European Space Agency’s astronaut corps in 2009 and was selected as an astronaut shortly after the British government increased its funding for the European Space Agency. Britain now contributes £240m a year, making the UK the fourth largest contributor after Italy, France and Germany.

To prepare for his mission Peake has trained in Japan, Russia, Canada and the US. This training included living underground in a

23

Science&Environment Sardinian cave system for a week and living in an underwater habitat in Florida.

Peake has been trained as an engineer and has undergone a number of simulator experiences. During the mission, named Principia after the book by Isaac Newton, Peake hopes to do a spacewalk. To train for spacewalks Peake trained in diving gear in a huge swimming pool and took part in a virtual reality learning environment which simulates what it is like to work outside the International Space Station.

Whilst Peake will be the first official British astronaut he is not the first Brit in space.

Helen Sharman took a privately-funded trip to the Mir space station in 1991; and others such as Michael Foale, Nicholas Patrick and Piers Sellers, had, or took US citizenship in order to qualify as Nasa astronauts.

What’s new in science A study shows that one poor night of sleep has same effect on blood sugar as eating a high-fat diet for six months.

A fall in the British butterfly population by 58% in ten years could be due to pesticides.

Plastic rubbish travels to Arctic waters posing threats to wildlife in the area.

Scientists suggest Mars will get its own ring when its moon is ripped apart by gravity.

“100,000 birds are annually”, poisoned by lead.

US scientists reveal spiders can be identified by the DNA left on their webs.

Europe’s ExoMars project ready to send satellite to Mars - ten years after approval.

Studies show that loneliness triggers cellular changes that can cause illness.

Humans and turtles share important skin proteins from a common ancestor.

Jeff Bezos (Amazon entrepreneur) has claimed success on the second flight of his New Shepard spaceship.

Research suggests a glass of wine a day may help people age slower.

Musicians and scientists team up to create the ‘world’s safest driving song’.

A study has revealed over half of Amazon rainforest tree species in the region are ‘threatened with extinction’ due to forest fires and deforestation.

Photo: Flickr: Dept. for Business, Innovation and Skills

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1st December 2015

24

Travel

Passages through time...

Our writers reveal the magic of going to places that stand still in

Photo: Wikimedia, Changlc

The dreamlike country of Taiwan Akane Matsumoto Travel writer Photo: Wikimedia, Lionel Leo

Marrakech’s enchantment Barbara Ashby Travel writer In March 2013 I took a trip to the city of Marrakech, in Morocco. It was a city I had wanted to visit for a very long time, as I love Moroccan architecture and had always fancied doing a bit of bartering in the country’s open-air marketplaces, known as the souks. What I did not bargain for, though, was what this trip had in store for me; much more than bargains from souks and an admiration of old buildings.

After an uneventful flight into Marrakech, and a slow, but organised, passage through

“I felt like I was Alice in my own wonderland, stepping in through a small door and entering this totally different world” passport control, I eventually arrived at my accommodation, which was a traditional Middle Eastern Riad house. This was my first experience of stepping into this completely new world. My taxi driver pulled up in a back street, let me out of the car, and then proceeded to take me down a narrow alleyway that appeared to lead only to a brown door sporting numerous studs all over it. There was no way out except to come back the way we had come. I felt like I was Alice in my own wonderland; stepping in through a small door and entering this totally

different world. The taxi driver knocked on the door for me and a lady, who was also a visitor from England, opened it and let me in.

The taxi driver said goodbye and I followed the lady inside. We walked along a tiled corridor for a few yards until we reached the end and it opened into a large courtyard with a tiled floor. It struck me as odd as there was no roof, a sight I was not used to. I was shown around the rest of the house, where painted blue doors separated the rooms from the landing and archways hid other treasures waiting to be explored. It was my own Aladdin’s cave and already I could sense I was going to experience something very different from anything I had done before; I was utterly enchanted.

The following day I decided to go and explore what Marrakech had to offer an intrepid traveller such as myself. I walked back through the brown door with the studs on it, up the narrow alleyway, and right on to the open main street. The first thing that hit me were all the various smells from the market place just a short distance away.

Pungent smells offering a mix of spices and dirty drains. Further along the market place there were chickens in baskets, large haunches of meat hanging up, and fruit stalls piled high with oranges.

Everywhere I explored in and around Morocco made me feel I had stepped right into a film set, as I encountered horses and carts bouncing along the road, people in traditional dress, and goat herders that one could believe had come from the biblical age.

My visit to Morocco was certainly a place full of wonder providing a feast for all the senses, as well as the imagination.

Often, it feels as though my memories from Taiwan are indistinguishable from my dreams. The capital city of Taiwan, Taipei, is an urbanised city. A tube service called the MRT, very similar to the London underground, and various other public transportation services have developed massively in recent years, meaning that travellers can easily access different tourist spots within the city. The highest building in the city, Taipei 101, lights up at night over the city below, a nod to the future of this bustling metropolis.

However, just a short two-hour bus ride away from the city will bring you to what feels like a completely different place. The Taiwanese countryside makes you feel as though you have stepped right into the past.

There is a sense of nostalgia and mystery that hangs in the air, a place just waiting to be explored.

The city of Jiufen sits at the top of the mountain, its new found maturity is largely

“There is a sense of nostalgia and mystery that hangs in the air, a place just waiting to be explored” down to its links with the gold trade. It is a very popular tourist spot for locals and overseas visitors alike, yet it is not one for the faint-hearted. The city centre is halfway up the mountain, so strolling through the city is the equivalent of taking a hike, but it is a worthwhile. However, when the majority of the streets are crammed with shops, food stalls and souvenir sellers, you are always guaranteed an enjoyable rest. The aroma of thousands of spices mingle together in the streets, winding around you, and drawing you into a new sensory world.

Passing through the main street, you reach an open space on top of the mountain,

showcasing a breathtakingly magnificent view over the city, and the ocean below. A multistorey cafe sits in the centre of the square, featuring large windows where people sit, sipping tea, and meditating over the views.

Traditional large spherical lanterns are hanged from the roof, their bright red a stark contrast

“Taiwan is a beautiful place, not only in its urbanised cities, but in the magic of its untouched countryside” against the deep black of the building. It has been suggested that the cafe was, in fact, a source of inspiration for Miyaziki’s film ‘Spirited Away’, because of its exotic looks.

Indeed, experiencing the dramatic change of scenery on the journey from Taipei to Jiufen, you do feel as though you have been spirited away.

During the Chinese New Year season, an event called ‘heavenly sky lantern’ is held in Pingxi, where people send lanterns flying into the sky that carry their dreams and wishes. Of course, tourists can participate in the flying event, but watching it from afar is so magical.

We waited in a large crowd, until the sky was completely dark. A count-down began, and once the crowd had finished chanting the lanterns were finally let go into the sky. We could barely see the calligraphy painted on them, and soon enough, they began to look like tiny orange stars. Although the whole event hinges on those few minutes when the lanterns are set free, it is a magnificent experience and is completely worth seeing.

Taiwan is a beautiful place, not only in its urbanised cities, but in the magic of its untouched countryside. It is beautiful at all times of the year, but visiting it at the right time can make the experience even more special.

It truly is a place that deserves to be on every traveller’s list, waiting to be explored and adored.

1st December 2015

25

Travel

Beating the burnout of travelling Dahlia Al-Abdullah Travel editor

Often when we travel, especially to places in close proximity to each other, cities can begin to blend in with one another. When there are only minor changes to us as travellers in architecture, food, or even music, it can be

“Time and time again, I have had to stop to try and remember whether it was Berlin or Prague that had a street full of incredible political graffiti” hard to see each place in its singularity. It is incredibly common these days to take a trip that involves visiting a multitude of cities in one go, and though this can get the most out

of your money and time, sometimes it leaves you feeling as though you cannot remember each place individually. Time and time again, I have had to stop to try and remember whether it was Berlin or Prague that had a street full of incredible political graffiti, or whether it was in Zagreb or Sarajevo that we had seen a museum for broken hearts.

It used to take me a very long time to try and find something that had cultury connected me to a place, the memory of the streets would blend together in my head, and I could never find anything that would link me to a specific place. It would bother me greatly, because I would remember how I had felt when I was walking through each place individually, and had appreciated each one’s uniqueness at the time, but on looking back I could not remember that same feeling. I felt as though, in a way, I had wasted my experience, because it was important for me to feel like I had truly visited a country and understood its culture.

For me, travelling through Japan was the moment I realised I needed to find a way of connecting to the uniqueness of each place, so

that they each had their clear place in my head.

I had never been the type of traveller to plan every detail of my trip, avidly ticking off tourist

“At that moment, I decided that walking around a city just taking in the atmosphere was not enough for me anymore” attractions as I went along. I was more of a wistful wanderer, but at that moment, I decided that walking around a city just taking in the atmosphere was not enough for me anymore.

In order to really get the best out of a place, I needed to find the things in that place that could not be found anywhere else. Whether that was food, music, dance, I needed to discover the idiosyncrasies of the places I was visiting, to truly feel like I had connected with them. The question for me was, what made a place distinctive, and how could I explore that? I made a real effort to read up on local

life in those areas. Fish markets in Tokyo, bee museums in little Slovenian villages, a spinach cake in Provence; the more effort I made to find these unique places, traditions, and delicacies, the more I was rewarded. I took a cooking class on the native country’s food, and would be completely absorbed in to a culinary world that was so specific to the place.

It wasn’t long before each and every location I visited had a little memory that was specific to it. I continued to do my usual wandering, but I also had specific activities that I would make sure to do during my trip. I began to feel so much more fulfilled, so much more in touch with the destinations that I was visiting. Even now, when I look back on any of my recent travels, I can clearly recall the activities I did in that place, and how they link in with the entire atmosphere of that place.

Previously I felt like travelling had become a little dull, places began to blend in so much that I could not appreciate each one separately.

I can now genuinely say that I remember each and every one of the places I visit, in their beautiful singularity.

World cafe: recipes from around the globe

Photo: Wikimedia, Takeaway

Saltfish cod fritters Tori Brown Travel writer Saltfish fritters are one of those standout dishes that one immediately associates with sunshine, sea, and all things Caribbean.

These are delicious served as a side dish alongside other traditional Caribbean foods, such as plantain and ackee.

Ingredients: -300g saltfish cod -300g self-raising flour -250ml cold water -3 spring onions -1 scotch bonnet -Vegetable oil Method: • Put the Saltfish in the saucepan, cover it with cold water, and rinse it through a couple of times to remove some of the excess salt. We want the fish to be salty but also edible!

• Fill the saucepan with water once again, and then cook the fish for ten minutes on a medium heat until the water boils. Make sure to do a taste test to check whether enough salt has been removed.

• Whilst the fish is boiling, chop up your spring onions in to small slices, so that they are fine throughout the batter. At this point you can also chop up your scotch bonnet to add that Caribbean heat, but if you want it extra hot you can always put those seeds in!

• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, spring onions, and scotch bonnet together until it is all evenly combined and distributed.

• You can now drain the saltfish, and use a fork to flake it in to little pieces.

Be wary of using your hands, as it may still be a little bit hot, and could burn.

• Add the flaked saltfish in to the dry mixture and then procede to gradually add the whole 250ml of water in stages, remembering to mix thoroughly in between pours. This should create a spoonable batter.

• In a frying pan, pour enough vegetable oil in for a shallow fry. Leave the oil to heat up for a couple of minutes, then spoon in 2 tablespoons worth of mixture in per serving, and fry on each side for seven minutes. Enjoy!

Top Tip: We’ve all chopped up a chili, rubbed our eye, and then felt that unbearable sting.

To prevent that, put a little bit of oil on your fingers before chopping, so that when you are chopping up the chili it doesn’t stick, just be extra careful when you chop!

Photo: Flickr, Paul Townsend

Tortilla de Patas Esther Veas Travel writer The Spanish omelette is perhaps one of the simplest dishes in Spanish cuisine, yet despite consisting of only three basic ingredients, it is certainly one of the best. Just as delicious as the more elaborate paella, this dish’s taste should not be underrated just because of its ease.

Ingredients: -1 potato -2 eggs -1/4 onion -Olive oil -Salt Method: • First, peel and wash the potatoes, pat them dry with some kitchen paper, and then cut them into slices about 3mm thick. The onions can be either sliced or diced depending on your preference. Add salt to taste.

• Pour it all into a pan with previously heated oil, it should be about 1 cm high. The mixture must only be added when the oil smokes lightly, as cold oil will result in greasy potatoes.

• While these are in the pan, beat the eggs.

Once the potatoes and the onions are done, the former should be soft, and the latter, golden, drain them and add them to the beaten eggs, and heat up oil in the pan again, you can use the extra one from earlier, this time just enough to cover the base. Again, when it is lightly smoking, add the mixture.

• Fry for approximately 1 minute while occasionally gently shaking the pan in circular motions so as to prevent sticking.

• Then it’s time for some bravery: cover the pan with a plate, press hard against the pan and flip it over in a very quick movement. It’s got to be seriously fast, otherwise it will all spill out. Let it all slide back into the pan and cook for another minute, poking it with a fork to accelerate the procedure.

• You can also customise it by adding green or red peppers, cheese, tuna or whatever you fancy.

1st December 2015

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Sport

Chelsea labour to narrow 1-0 win over Norwich Tom Gordon Sport editor Perhaps for the Chelsea of last year, this would have been one of those games. The type of “gritty” and “determined” game that has the Graeme Souness’s and Glenn Hoddle’s of the world declaiming this is the sort of game potential champions have to grind out if they wish to earn a title.

However, this season’s Chelsea are most certainly not sitting with their feathers preened up at the top of the table. They are firmly ensconced in the bottom half at 15th, only two points ahead of 16th placed Norwich.

Incidentally, the same Norwich they managed to garner three points against in a particularly unspectacular 1-0 victory, so it was something of a quasi-relegation battle.

It would be exceptionally charitable to declare the affair anything but dull. For the Canaries, gloalkeeper John Ruddy, was the standout man of the match. There are a few meagre positives Chelsea can take from the game: Pedro looked to have his head in the game for the first time since his Chelsea debut, and Nemanja Matic looked a shadow of his former self’s silhouette at the very least.

Despite Chelsea’s favourite utility player

Ramires making overtures prior to the game that Chelsea only required one win to get their confidence back, this match will not have imbued fans of the Blues with much joy. It was a game entirely symptomatic of Chelsea’s season thus far: defensively frail, and unable to make incursions into the opposing team’s six yard box – instead opting to pussyfoot indecisively about the edge of the penalty area.

It was Diego Costa who managed to draw even the ire of the discontented home fans at the Bridge, despite netting the only goal of the game. In a performance that was eerily reminiscent of Fernando Torres’ nadir at Chelsea, Costa could frequently be found drifting onto the wings, with a distinct lack of attacking purpose. Several times there were balls put right into the danger zone, but with no striker in evidence in the box to receive them they would simply trickle out for a goal kick. With an inconsistent Loic Remy and a lacklustre Radamel Falcao as back ups, Chelsea will likely be exploring new options up front in January.

Although Chelsea may have been granted a grace period of a victory and a far less truculent Jose Mourinho managing to keep his head out of the press, the players still seem stuck in a malaise that does not have the look of being shaken very soon.

UEA Women’s hockey scrap to victory Georgia Cleveland Sport writer

Photo: Wikimedia, Ben Sutherland Diego Costa scored the winning goal

Hockey’s women’s second team had a tough challenge last weekend facing the Magpies who currently sit second in the league. Coupled with the horrendous weather conditions of ice cold winds and rain meant for a testing 70 minutes of hockey.

UEA attacked quickly scoring a goal in the first five minutes, Eleanor Jarvis managed to sneak one in, surprising our opposition.

The rest of the game was an even battle, for every goal we scored they would score one back, with Kirsty Smith managing to score two glorious goals. Just when it looked like a draw was inevitable, Jarvis with her unrivalled skills beat the goalkeeper to score a fourth and final goal for UEA, giving us a 4-3 win.

However the win would not have happened if it were not for UEA’s Player of the Match, goalkeeper Fiona Bennell, whose diving saves kept the team in the running throughout the whole game.

Can Taylor regain his power at the PDC Champs?

Nick Murphy Sport writer The 23rd annual Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Darts Championship gets underway at the Alexandra Palace on the 17th December, with a £300,000 first prize awaiting the winner. Featuring 52 of the world’s best players, and 20 international qualifiers, this year’s tournament promises to be the most exhilarating yet. The favourite – as ever – is Dutchman, Michael van Gerwen. The 26-yearold from Boxtel in the Netherlands has enjoyed a sterling year on the circuit, picking up five major honours, including two of the three most recent tournaments, the European Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts.

His accumulated prize money for the current season stands at approximately £1.3m, and as such it is no surprise that he is a strong favourite to wrestle back the crown he first wore in 2014.

Standing in his way is current champion, Gary Anderson. The Scotsman claimed his inaugural world title last year, defeating Phil Taylor 7-6 in a pulsating encounter despite trailing 4-3 at the half-way stage. ‘The Flying Scotsman’, as he is known, has, however, endured a difficult 11 months. After picking up the World Championship at the start of the year, Anderson has made it past the third round of the season’s eight major competitions just four times, falling at the second round stage twice. For a world champion, Anderson has been far too inconsistent, and he’ll be hoping for a succession of favourable draws in the early rounds of the tournament to see him advance through to the latter stages.

One player he will be hoping to avoid, however, is the man he beat in last year’s final, Phil Taylor. The 16 time champion of the world last relinquished his crown in 2014, and as such will be eager for one final shot at glory in his advancing years. The 55-year-old has shown signs of weakness in recent times, and his 16-13 defeat to Michael van Gerwen in last month’s Grand Slam means that for the first time since 1994, ‘The Power’ currently holds no PDC major honours. Despite a poor 2015 by his own high standards, Taylor remains

Photo: Wikimeida, PeterPan23 a dominant force and will be amongst the contenders once more.

Completing the field of favourites is the eclectic Peter Wright. The second Scotsman after Anderson in our preview, Wright has been in fine form over the course of 2015 and has made it to the semi-finals of three separate major competitions, finishing runner up to van Gerwen at the UK Open. His power scoring and accurate finishing has enabled him to pick up three Players’ Championship events in the past eleven months, allowing the 45-year-old to rise to an impressive fourth

in the rankings. After his world final defeat to van Gerwen at the Alexandra Palace in 2014, Wright will be gunning for another impressive run in this year’s competition.

Amongst the remainder of the seeds, Adrian Lewis and Stephen Bunting both have a point to prove after poor seasons.

Lewis’s only major success this year was in the Auckland Darts Masters, and he needs to recapture the form that saw him become back-to-back world champion in 2011 and 2012 if he’s to have any hope this time around.

Bunting, meanwhile, has shown promise

since coming across from the BDO in 2014, but is yet to make it past the semi-final stage of a PDC competition.

Elsewhere, Robert Thornton, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld will all be looking for an extended run in the competition, while Australian Kyle Anderson heads up the best of the Pro Tour qualifiers.

A number of younger players will also be looking for their first extended run at the worlds, with Max Hopp, Gerwyn Price and Keegan Brown the pick of the young pretenders.

1st December 2015

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Goal shortage leaves Norwich struggling Isabelle Wilson Sport writer It is no secret that Norwich attempted to bolster their squad during the summer transfer window. They moved for a variety of foreign players as well as attempting to sign Benik Afobe, Dwight Gayle and Jon Walters but to no avail. Instead all they mustered was a last minute deadline day signing in the form of Dieumerci Mbokani on loan from Dynamo Kyiv.

Whilst not quite a cataclysmic disaster, Norwich’s season has been a slow burner to say the least. They currently sit two places and three points above the relegation zone. Their problem is not that they cannot score. They have managed to net more goals than Crystal Palace so far this season, although Mbokani has only managed two goals so far. Norwich’s second highest goal scorer is their captain and defender Russell Martin, not the greatest indication of a team’s attacking prowess.

They have, however, conceded far too many times and have failed to gain points in important matches. Norwich have let in as many goals as Aston Villa, who are currently bottom of the table. This included an ignominious 6-2 defeat against struggling Newcastle. So far Norwich have only managed one clean sheet, in their recent 1-0 victory over Swansea.

In Norwich’s defence they have faced some big hitters in the opening period of the season, including Liverpool, Manchester City and West Ham, and managed a reasonably respectable two points from those three

Norwich forward Nathan Redmond has been a key player Photo: Wikimeida, Nick

games. However, they ended up as one of the few teams unable to capitalise on Chelsea’s weakness this season, and failed to gain any points against them last weekend.

Considering Norwich have lost five of their last six league games, Alex Neil is certainly aware that things have to change.

In his annual general meeting on the 25th of November he admitted he will have switch to a more defensive minded set up, and that in the “first ten games (of the season) we were generally offensive and tried to play attacking football, as we did last season, but we were coming away in losing positions”. If Norwich want to remain in the Premier League Neil will have to compromise on offensive play.

As he said, “the growing of the club is bigger than my philosophy. I’ve got to find a way of keeping us in this league” - even if this is contrary to aesthetically pleasing football.

Norwich have a tough December coming up, having the imposing task of facing Arsenal, Manchester United, and Tottenham.

But if they can come through this difficult Christmas period and make some important purchases in January - an effective striker most urgently - Norwich can come into the New Year newly invigorated.

Their direct rivals are desperately struggling. Villa have won only a single game all season, and Bournemouth, Sunderland and Newcastle have only managed two victories each. As long as Neil and Norwich are willing to sit back and retain points at all costs they should be able to keep their head’s afloat until they can add some attacking prowess. Fingers crossed that come January time Alex Neil and his Canaries are flying a little higher.

Jos Buttler scores fastest century in England win Richard Ewart Sport writer England sealed a 3-1 series win over Pakistan in their fourth One Day International (ODI).

Jos Buttler earned the Man of the Series award after he enjoyed a destructive return to form, scoring England’s fastest ever century.

Having lost the first game, England’s newlook limited-overs side were under pressure, but they bounced back in style winning the next three with ease.

The first ODI was dominated from the start by Pakistan. After losing early wickets, only Eoin Morgan and James Taylor offered substantial resistance for England with the pair both making half-centuries, dragging England up to a below-par 216. Despite Reece Topley taking three early scalps, Pakistan knocked the target off with six wickets and more than six overs remaining. Mohammad Hafeez, coming into the series on the back of a match-winning 151 in the final test, scored an unbeaten century to see Pakistan comfortably home.

In spite of the heavy defeat, England went into the second ODI unchanged, with the selectors realising that having such a young side meant the occasional poor game was inevitable. One of England’s new ODI stars, Alex Hales, stepped up to the plate in this match as he scored his maiden ODI century with the top-order all contributing towards England’s 283. Chris Woakes, who had gone six matches without a wicket before the second ODI, took four wickets and assisted by David Willey’s three, ensured Pakistan barely got within 100 runs of the target. A heavy win for England levelled the series.

Chris Woakes carried his form from Dubai,

England Cricketer Jos Buttler, who scored his country’s fastest ever century against Pakistan the location of the first two ODIs, to Sharjah.

He took a further four wickets, successfully utilising the short ball as Pakistan were bowled out for just 208, with three farcical run-outs encapsulating their innings.

The England dressing room was nervous after early wickets reduced them to 27/2, but a resolute partnership between James Taylor (67 not out) and Jos Buttler (49 not out) saw England home with nine overs to spare.

Buttler’s innings hinted at a return to form,

but it was just a fraction of what he would produce in the next match.

Having won the toss and elected to bat, England played well from the off. Jason Roy scored his maiden international hundred and Joe Root made a composed 71 but the match will be remembered for the innings by Jos Buttler. Coming in to bat in the 36th over, Buttler scored just 17 off his first 19 balls. He then exploded into life hitting fours and sixes to all parts of the ground, reaching his century

Photo: Flickr, Nic Redhead

from 46 balls and smashing his own record for England’s fastest hundred. He now has England’s three fastest ODI centuries and he described his latest innings as the “best [he’s] ever played in an England shirt”.

While Pakistan made a decent effort in their chase of England’s 355, they lost steady wickets and eventually fell 84 runs short.

England bagged the series, and will not be short of confidence as they approach the no doubt scintilating Twenty20 fixtures.

Sport 1st December 2015 Issue 318

Norwich’s struggle continues >P23

Darts PDC Tournament >P22

Ruthless UEA put five past Northampton in comprehensive win Andrew Wells UEA Football Player UEA Seconds beat Northampton 5-2 in the Bucs Cup. The match got off to a quick start, with Matt Knowles looking dangerous down the leftflank. The first notable action was Knowles’ whipped cross, which troubled the shakylooking Northampton goalkeeper. A scrappy few minutes followed, neither side really getting a hold on possession. Still early in the game, a Felix Hempel header from a UEA corner was blocked by a defending hand, resulting in a penalty. UEA’s Will Hanson promptly drilled it into the bottom corner, sending the keeper the wrong way for the first goal of the game.

UEA started to apply more pressure to the Northampton players as Eddie Ntim won a header, which was then flicked on skilfully by Hanson to put Knowles through on goal. With two defenders snapping at his heels, however, he was unable to convert the opportunity. UEA threatened again when Marcus Legg broke with phenomenal speed down the right-hand side. The ball rebounded back to him from his cross, but his shot was somehow cleared off the line.

These misses were in the end inconsequential, when Knowles’ free-kick was fumbled by the Northampton keeper into the

path of the alert Ntim who made no mistake.

UEA 2nds were now dominating the game, yet in one of the only Northampton spells in their half, Ntim hacked down their attacker on the edge of the box. The resulting free-kick was struck towards the top corner, and with keeper

Jack Morton slow to get across, Northampton were back in the game at 2-1.

Reasserting their dominance, a long throw from Joshua Hayes found Ntim who forced a top reaction save from the Northampton keeper. As UEA were starting to wonder

how they were not winning by more, another superb flick from Hanson put Legg through on goal, and, with both a defender and the keeper sliding in, he poked the ball above them in what was an excellent finish for 3-1.

A swerving first-time half-volley of a wonder-goal from a Northampton midfielder 25 yards out meant UEAs lead was shortened again early in the second half. But Knowles began to terrorise the defence once more and found himself with a half-chance in behind the defence, but could not get enough power on the shot with his weaker foot.

Eventually, though, Marcus Legg did give UEA 2nds a deserved extension to their lead.

Will Hanson, whose link-up play had been excellent throughout, sliced open the defence and the on-rushing Legg calmly slotted it between the keeper’s legs. Legg’s hat-trick came soon afterwards, as he rounded the keeper before squeezing it past the desperately sliding defender.

There was little more action of note, with UEA dominating possession and defending solidly. Northampton’s frustration showed when one of their midfielder’s stamped on Joshua Hayes. Hayes was in understandable agony on the floor, and the Northampton player was lucky to escape with just a yellow card. Despite UEA continuing to create chances, neither side scored again and the game finished 5-2 in UEA’s favour.

UEA first team dominates korfball tournament

Photo: Camille Koosyial

Photo: Camille Koosyial James Chesson Sports editor Korfball is a game of intense individual battles, with a completely separate attack and defence, and is a hugely dynamic sport. It is one of the few sports where men and women can take to the court together. It is often described as a hybrid of basketball and netball. Players are playing either in attack or defence and much stay in those zones until a point is scored, when they switch roles. The male players can only be marked by other males, and the same applies to the female players.

One of the best aspects of Korfball is that UEA is really rather good at it. UEA’s first team won their preliminary tournament, held at the Sportspark on Saturday 21st November. They absolutely dominated the proceedings, winning all six games, scoring 55 points and conceding just seven. Seven,

incidentally ,was the lowest number of points UEA 1st’sregistered in any of their matches.

They set the pace from the very first match, opening with a comprehensive 12-2 win over the UEA’s second team. That was followed by an 11-0 annihilation of Kent’s third team, and later that score line was matched when UEA beat the same university’s second team by the same amount.

The crucial match for UEA’s first team was against the only Essex team in the tournament.

At the moment those two met, Essex had only lost one match, meaning a win for them would tie things up at the top of the table. This match was relatively closely fought for the majority of the game, but UEA ran away with it in the end, wining 7-3, putting them within touching distance of a 100% record.

Further UEA success was provided by the second team, who finished in a hugely credible third place, only bettered by the first teams of UEA and Essex. They managed the

same number of points as the Kent first team, but finished higher than them on account of their head to head record. UEA’s second team followed up the hammering at the hands of the first team by sneaking a hard fought 1-0 win over the Kent first team. They also narrowly lost to Essex, the eventual runners up, going down 3-2, in a valiant performance.

The wins came against the Kent second team, a convincing 4-1 win for UEA seconds, and against the Kent third team, which was an entertaining 6-3 UEA victory. Securing a place in the top four was a massive achievement, as it means UEA’s second team progresses to the regional tournament, alongside the first team.

UEA’s third team performed well too, finishing in fifth place, comfortably ahead of Kent’s second and third teams. Their highlights included beating the Kent second team 2-1, and the Kent third team 5-1. They also managed highly creditable draws with the UEA second team, which was entertaining,

despite being the only 0-0 of the tournament, and the Kent first team, with a 2-2 draw in their first game of the tournament.

One of the tournament referees, and former president of UEA korfball, Joe Skeet, said: “Special mention to UEA 3 who played an exciting brand of Korfball with much passion and commitment. Unfortunately they just missed out on making the regional event and instead progress to the plate competition.

After having attended the event last year, it’s great to see the numbers of teams increase.

Perennial power-houses UEA put up a strong performance as expected but Essex blades were probably the stand out performers of the event, qualifying for their first ever regional event, in only their second year”.

UEA player Chris Freakes said: “I’d say the tournament was a success! It was a competitive atmosphere but all teams showed great sportsmanship and respect towards the referees.”