Concrete 314

Essentials of student cooking >P11

Human rights in Turkey >P8 6th October 2015 Issue 314

concrete-online.co.uk @Concrete_UEA ConcreteNewspaper

UEA admits live-stream lectures and virtual seminars could become norm >> Students’ union says provision needs to keep pace with growth in student numbers EXCLUSIVE Joe Jameson Editor-in-Chief UEA has stated that it is “unrealistic to assume” that it will not explore the possibility of increasing the use of “high quality video links” as a method of teaching. The Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) has warned against the move, urging the university to ensure that it is able to accommodate the rise in students predicted over the next few years.

Recently the university has suggested that it may look to increase the use of video links as part of its teaching methods, as it came to light that a Nursing induction lecture was held in two rooms, the students in the second had to watch a livestream of the lecture. When asked about the situation which had occurred in a nursing lecture, a university spokesperson said that the use of live streaming was not a “common method of teaching used in the School of Healt Sciences”, but added that it “is not unrealistic to assume that using a high-quality video feed as part of our learning and teaching methods will be utilised in the future”.

This admission comes at a time when Exeter University has announced a new partnership with Pearsons Education to build a series of online postgraduate degrees which could come on stream by September 2016. Exeter claims that the degrees will be “competitively priced with ‘on the ground’ degrees and allow students to fit their learning around part time work. The university’s provost, Professor Janice Kay, hopes that the project will widen

Former law lecturer detained in Ireland after fleeing his trial during lunch break Sam McKinty & Peter Sheehan News editor and Deputy editor Police in Ireland have detained a former UEA lecturer who absconded from Ipswich Crown Court on the 30th September. Julian

Photo: Flickr, Harry Harris the access to higher education from vulnerable and disadvantaged people.

Commenting on the prospect of UEA students viewing more of their lectures through a live stream, Undergraduate Education Officer at UUEAS, Connor Rand, sai: “Hastily video linking lecture theatres and issuing timetables late doesn’t give students confidence”. He add that if the university was planning to expand, “it must make sure that the appropriate seats are there before students arrive”.

This move by the university leaves it open Myerscough, 55, a former UEA criminal law lecturer, fled the court building just before the jury was due to return its verdict. He was being prosecuted for breaching the terms of his sexual offences prevention order, having been convicted in 2010 of possessing indecent images of children. Myerscough was found guilty in his absence.

Ipswich Crown Court judge, Emma Peters, issued a warrant for Myerscough’s arrest after it became apparent that he had fled the court. She told the jury: “You will see Mr Myerscough is not in court. Unfortunately he seems to have left the Ipswich area over lunch. I have issued a warrant for his arrest and significant steps are being taken to ensure he is taken into custody at the earliest point”.

A European arrest warrant was then

to questions about the value of degrees at their current price of £9,000 a year, and whether students are paying a fair amount for their level of teaching access. Rand, stated that “[As] the university intends to expand its student numbers in the next few years, it’s critical that this is done in a planned way with facilities and services growing alongside”, explaining that this extended to “lecture theatres, in resource for the hubs, and in services like accommodation, DOS and the SU”.

This news comes as the University has been caught out over a situation where some

students have found that their timetables had not been filled in, or had seminars missing.

Prior to the beginning of the semester the university was faced by a serious software issue which prevented it from issuing timetables to students in advance of Freshers week. This was compounded by a rise in students enrolling at UEA this september, and a reduction in teaching space in comparison to the same time a year ago, due to the closure of CD Annex, as well as the reduction in use of the Blackdale building, as the site is prepared for new accommodation.

Julian Myserscough, former UEA law lecturer Photo: supplied

issued after Myerscough was spotted in Dublin. It is thought that he took a train from Ipswich, then travelled to Ireland by ferry. He was subsequently detained the Gardaí, the Irish police force, on Friday morning. British and Irish authorities are co-operating to ensure his return.

The charges date back to September 2013, when police raided Myerscough’s address in Lowestoft and seized a laptop, a computer tower and a USB memory stick. All the equipment was found to contain indecent images of children. He was also charged with three counts of breaching the terms of his prevention order.

During the trial, in which Myerscough represented himself, he said that he “wouldn’t be told by the courts what he mustn’t do”.

6th October 2015

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Editorial Dougie Dodds

COMMENTcartoon

The University of East Anglia’s independent student newspaper since 1992 Tuesday 6th October 2015 Issue 314

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

UEA is leading a technology revolution But making sure that students share in the benefits is essential

Dan Falvey Editor-in-Chief

T

he fact that UEA has announced it may use livestreams for lectures in the future is a very exciting prospect. Soon people from all around the world will be able to learn from experts at UEA without actually having to be on the Norwich campus. Our front page exclusive highlights that UEA is currently at the forefront of technological advancements in teaching, and could very quickly find itself being able to properly compete with the Open University and other long-distance learning institutions.

However, this news must be treated cautiously. While there are many benefits to this new method of teaching, it is vital that students who are studying at the campus itself do not get penalised. For some nursing students to have turned up at a welcome lecture only to be told that there was no space for them to be in same room as their teacher is simply unacceptable. University is not cheap, and it is not fair that two students studying the same course could find themselves being delivered lectures in two different styles due to teaching space shortages.

Our article on page four reports on the Union of UEA Students (UUEAS) banning of sombreros being handed out by local TexMex restaurant Pedro’s at Welcome Week due to cultural appropriation. The news made national headlines and made UEA something of a laughing stock around the country. Given the potential spacing shortages around the university I’m sure that many students would

rather that UUEAS focused more on tackling the university regarding these more important issues than banning students from wearing sombreros.

However, while there are certain issues that UUEAS can be criticised for appearing to go too far on, we should not forget that UUEAS also does an awful lot of good. In our Comment section Penny Carter has written an article about experiencing sexual assault while at UEA. This is something that no student should have to endure but unfortunately as Carter states, many students do. UUEAS has an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault, and it is these sort of campaigns

“[There are] more important issues than banning students from wearing sombreros” that the union must be praised for running.

All students have a right to feel safe while on campus.

Human rights are the focus of our feature article in Global, as Caitlin Doherty highlights the details of a new report that was released last week revealing the large abuse of human rights by the Turkish government. Denial of the rights to liberty are unacceptable for any civilised nation in the 21st century and it is vital that these issues are addressed.

The timing of this report comes just after the United Nations International Peace Day 2015, an event held annually by the organisation in the aim of observing world peace. One of the articles on our centre-spread considers whether the world has become a more peaceful place since the UN’s formation.

With the ongoing civil war in Syria there is

Front page photo credits Top bar, left: Lydia Lockyer Top bar, right: Photo: flickr, UNAOC

already enough conflict in the world without countries who are members of the UN such as Turkey adding to the havoc by using police forces on citizens.

W

hile our front page looks at UEA’s technological advancements and its effects on studying at university, on page 21 of Concrete travel writer Alys Barr looks at the consequences that technological advances such as Instagram have on our life and whether there are cases of going too far in advancing technologies. Our Science and Environment section of the paper has a great example of advancement for the sake of advancement: a new car is being made that can travel at 1000 mph. There are no plans for the car to ever travel on an actual road due to the phenomenal speed at which it will move.

In which case some could be forgiven for wondering: what is the point?

Nevertheless, at the same time there is something undeniably cool about the idea of a car that can travel 240 mph faster than a bullet fired from a gun; we all love fast cars. Fast cars are the subject of one of our back page articles in Sport. Britain’s Lewis Hamilton appears unstoppable in this year’s Grand Prix and is practically running away with the Drivers’ Championship. Sports writer Esther Veas has written a brilliant summary of the Japanese race which took place at the end of September.

This is our first issue of the year that new students have had the opportunity to write for, and as I hope this editorial highlights, every section of this issue of Concrete is full of fantastic articles that are well worth a read. Content has been made up from a large number of students studying a large variety of subjects. We always welcome new contributors to get involved, so feel free to get in contact should you wish to write an article.

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 content. Opinions expressed herin are those of individual writers, not of Concrete or its editorial team.

6th October 2015

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News

NUS to take legal action over the government’s plan to cut maintanence grants >> Page 5

Norwich churches to assist European refugees COMMENT Local action is the best way to help refugees, says Megan Baynes

I

f we have learnt anything from the recent migrant crisis, it is that we cannot rely on the international community to decide anything quickly. With refugees still risking their lives in dangerous ocean crossings, it falls to us to step up where our government has failed to act. As the British government continues to deliberate about where to place 20,000 migrants, their situation is becoming increasingly desperate. 20,000 is a population slightly larger than UEA, yet our government is acting like they are re-homing millions, and are not treating the crisis with the urgency it requires. The situation in Calais is growing increasingly strained and time is very much of the essence.

I think very few of us can ever claim to understand the mind-set of a parent so desperate for safety that they would rather

Photo: Oxyman, Wikimedia Commons

“It falls to us not to judge but simply to help. And we need to help now” Photo: Wikimeadia: David Charlie Methven News reporter As the effects of the Syrian civil war continue to ripple across scores of countries and two continents, one attempt to help these refugees has been initiated right here in Norfolk. Following the UK government’s announcement that it will accept 20,000 refugees by 2020, the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James, has made early attempts to appeal for help from local churches. Hundreds of churches in the diocese of Norwich – which, despite its name, encompasses the entirety of Norfolk – have now received a letter from the Bishop’s office detailing ways that parishioners can support refugees.

One part of the bishop’s scheme will be to draw up a list of properties that could be used either to house refugees or to store donations.

UEA students join migrant relief efforts in Calais Jessica Frank-Keyes News editor A group of students from UEA have founded the UEA Migrant Solidarity Campaign. The campaign, which will support students and

Norfolk. Donations can be made by online, by posted cheque, or by text.

These are not the only efforts of their kind in Norfolk. The bishop will also be a member of Norfolk County Council’s new Refugee Taskforce, whose work he has pledged to regularly update churches in the area on. The charity Sanctuary Norfolk has been lobbying local authorities to provide accommodation for refugees for some months now, and the diocese’s list of available of properties

is designed to contribute to further assist this work. On campus, UEA’s Amnesty International society is also playing a part, and told Concrete “it is greatly encouraging to see that pressure to accept more refugees is starting to come from all sides”. Regarding the combined potential of these various efforts, the Bishop of Norwich’s letter points out “the accumulation of millions of individual acts of compassion and generosity can change things, and even change us. While we cannot do everything that doesn’t prevent us doing something”.

It is estimated that more than four million people have been displaced by the Syrian civil war. Though most are currently in neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, many have risked everything by attempting to travel to Europe, prompting many EU nations, most notably Germany, to pledge to grant asylum to thousands of refugees.

put their child on a boat to anywhere than stay in their home country. Therefore, it falls to us not to judge but simply to help.

And we need to help now.

I have always loved living in Norwich.

It is a community that is accepting and generous. But above all it is a place so safe that I’m not sure we can ever truly comprehend the horrors these people are fleeing from. The kind of action demonstrated by the churches of Norfolk, for me, sums up everything Norfolk, Norwich and UEA are all about.

Our university motto is “do different”, and this is what Norfolk as a whole is doing.

Rather than waiting for someone else to make a decision, they are stepping up now, when action is required, and anyone who criticises this needs to reconsider their arguments. We are talking about just fifty migrants: that’s less than one double decker bus full of people, and we are all people after all.

the Norwich community to collect and deliver donations for the refugees in Calais and across Europe, is supported by the Union of UEA Students (UUEAS).

The group’s intention is to “relieve pressure on other over-worked Norwich migrant support groups, educate and mobilise the student body to support refugees, migrants and migrants’ rights and establish a longerterm means of supporting migrants across Europe”.

In a statement of support for the studentled action on the union’s website, the Calais jungle was described as “already one of the biggest camps in Western Europe, and the conditions that refugees are living in have

been widely reported. Human Rights Watch have reported that the inhabitants routinely face abuse, violence and harassment at the hands of the local police”.

UUEAS has stated that it “believes in the principle of collectivism, and is proud to support its students in working with the local community to provide aid for those in need”. There are currently a number of refugee support and relief efforts taking place in Norwich, including the Norfolk Calais Refugee Solidarity organisation.

The UEA Migrant Solidarity Campaign plans to “establish a drop-off point in the Hive/union for clothes and supplies, build links with other organisations in Norwich,

do regular fundraising and collections for migrants in Calais, organise trips to Calais to bring supplies and volunteers and campaign for migrants’ rights”.

The group participated in Social ACtion Group during Welcome Week, and is currently in the process of becoming an official union society.

The drop-off point for donations to the campaign is currently in Union House from 09:00 – 18:00, Monday to Friday. A list of donations that are required is available on the union website. The campaign also has a Facebook group for students interested in helping with donations, or who want to get more involved.

The diocese is also encouraging parishioners to donate money, either to Christian Aid, which helps refugees everywhere, or to a new fund set up by the Norwich Diocesan Board of Finance which will be aimed specifically at those refugees who eventually arrive in

4

m

The number of people estimated to have been displaced by the conflict in Syria

6th October 2015

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News

Ethnic Minorities Officer: union “went too far” over Sombrerogate Charlie Methven News reporter

Hussam Hussein, Ethnic Minorities Officer of the Union of UEA Students, has released a statement addressing the controversy surrounding the removal of Mexican sombreros from Fresher’s Fair. The hats were being distributed by local Mexican restaurant Pedro’s as part of its advertising campaign.

However, the union said that the hats were in violation of its anti-discriminatory advertising policy; that they could be considered culturally appropriative; and that they were potentially offensive.

Hussein says that he is “not sure if we got #sombrerogate right”, but maintains that he is “glad we’re having the debate”. He also says: “I don’t think that the union always gets it right. I sometimes think our officers (and staff on their behalf) go too far, and sometimes not far enough”.

He also provided an explanation of why the union – and himself – felt that cultural appropriation in whatever form is not acceptable. He argued that “reducing someone else’s entire culture and appropriating someone else’s traditions and closely held

values just for fun and revelry is not okay.

Dressing up as a caricature of someone else based on racist slurs is not okay. Disregarding people’s lived realities, whilst perpetuating a damaging and fictionalised stereotype of their identity is not OK”.

Chris Jarvis, the union’s Campaigns and Democracy Officer, released a statement on defending the union’s actions. He said: “At the union we want all members to feel safe and accepted, so at all events we try to ensure that there is no behaviour, language or imagery which could be considered racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or ableist. At the fair all our stallholders were sent a copy of our advertising policy prior to the event and were also given a physical copy of the policy on the day, so we’re confident that all stallholders should have been aware of our restrictions on advertising in relation to equal opportunities and cultural appropriation”.

The episode has proved to be hugely controversy among students and has received coverage in the national press. Many think that the union’s decision to remove the hats was disproportionate.

Second-year history student Kirsty Mcalpine suggested that there is a crucial difference between real cultural insensitivity

and supposed offensiveness. “People wearing Native American head-dresses at festivals are trivialising the oppression of an entire group who are still discriminated against today, but there’s a big difference between being ignorant about an important cultural and spiritual tradition and simply wearing a hat while you eat a Mexican meal”.

History and Politics student Kate Romain agreed, arguing that the religious significance of a bindi makes the use of that as a costume far more problematic than a sombrero.

The union is planning to address this perceived disconnect between the antidiscriminatory policy through a series of internal and public discussions. Hussein has called for “a series of debates on cultural appropriation that seek to involve as many of us as possible and make sure our voice is heard”.

He continued: “I think we all want to avoid perpetuating discrimination in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily clamp down on freedom of speech. It’s how we do it that we need a debate over”.

Jarvis also said that the union will “discuss internally how we can improve briefings to external organisations and our own members so people aren’t caught out at the last minute”.

COMMENT Isaac Scoulding asks whether #sombrerogate was really as serious as it seemed

S

o, if you’re not Mexican and you wear a sombrero you’re engaging in “cultural appropriation” and preventing “equal opportunities”. Who knew? Evidently not Pedro’s Mexican Cantina, who last week were caught redhanded handing out sombreros to the students at the welcome fair. Thank God the student union were able to put a stop to this hideous crime.

And yes, this is the same union that recently held a toga party in the LCR. Apparently while it’s offensive to use a Mexican hat for advertising purposes, reducing historical Italian garb to a novelty party item is fair game.

I know the union were just trying to prevent offense from being caused, but when you’re openly mocked by both students and the majority of the national media you should probably just accept that you’ve made a mistake. Anyone who’s been to Pedro’s restaurant will know that they provide a full, fun Mexican experience that goes far beyond just the cuisine – they play Mexican music, serve Tequila with a worm to anyone brave enough to try it, and even hand out sombreros for the customers to wear.

Is this cultural appropriation, or even racism? No, of course not: it’s a celebration

“Is this cultural approriation? No, of course not: it’s a celbration of Mexican culture”

One of the T-shirts that was confiscated from students during the Freshers’ Week’s #Network UEA Photo: Chloe Alexander

Freshers’ Week T-shirt party: students’ union confiscates t-shirts with inappropriate slogans Dominic Clarke, George Martin & Matt Howard News reporters The union’s Welcome Week event, #NetworkUEA, more commonly known as the Freshers’ Week T-shirt party, has been a source of controversy after allegations that students were forced to change their t-shirts after being deemed by union representatives to be offensive.

Students who attended the event reported being “forced” to change attire, with one student – a 19-year-old, first-year politics student who did not wish to be named – telling Concrete: “By the time I reached the front of the queue there were about 50 to 60 students behind me and many congregated around the

entry area. As I entered a female member of staff told me I could not enter the LCR with ‘that’ on my shirt”.

He added that he “was not given an option to change privately, and I was told that if I did not change, I would not be allowed into the venue”.

“I fail to see what authority the union has to deny people entry to a venue based on an obscenity written on a t-shirt. Who are they protecting: seven-year-olds?” #NetworkUEA was designed to allow first-year students to exchange social media account details and to get to know each other. The event was sold out, however many students were left with a sour taste in their mouth.

Liam McCafferty, Postgraduate Education Officer, said: “On the night of the T-shirt party

our staff had to make to clear to a tiny minority of our customers that imagery on their T-shirts constituted racism or harassment and that they would not be permitted to enter wearing the shirts.

“Problems included bullying references to union officers/societies; homophobic references and jokes; racism/anti-semitism; and sexual references. In order that customers did not have to return home we offered the opportunity to redecorate shirts and delete material, or change into a new shirt. No customers were “forced” to change. Neither Yinbo Yu nor Jo Swo were present at the door”.

Concrete understands that it was wrongly alleged on social mead that Swo and Yu, both full-time union officers, were involved in the confiscation.

of Mexican culture. Presumably the union thinks that serving traditional Mexican food to anyone who isn’t Mexican is also offensive and inappropriate. Expect a union-backed petition for Pedro’s to only serve Mexican customers at some point in the near future.

The problem with only allowing Mexican students to wear sombreros is that by the same reasoning only English students should be permitted to wear top hats, and only French students allowed to wear berets. As long as Pedro’s, and the students they provided the sombreros to, weren’t mocking Mexican culture with their actions there shouldn’t have been a problem. And if anyone was to mock Mexican culture – or any other culture for that matter – then they should have been dealt with individually, sombrero or no sombrero.

UEA prides itself on its multiculturalism, with a huge number of events throughout the year encouraging students to learn about and get involved with other cultures. Don’t let us be known for #sombrerogate.

Still, if anything positive has come from this fiasco, it’s that Pedro’s has received more publicity than they ever could have hoped for. Make sure to check them out if you haven’t already. Just be cautious about trying on their sombreros…

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News

UEA postgrad hired by Nasa to do research on exoplanets and alien life Dan. Falvey Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Flickr, Andrew Moss

NUS takes legal action over grants Jessica Frank-Keyes News editor The National Union of Students has initiated judicial review processes over ministerial plans to scrap maintenance grants in England.

Lawyers from the NUS have written to the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, to demand further consideration of the implications on equality and diversity of the move. This proposed action was announced in July by George Osborne in his summer budget. The government has so far stated that it would respond to the letter in due course.

The NUS claims it has identified a “serious and unlawful failure” on the part of the government to follow the protocols set out in the Equality Act 2010 to consider the impact of policy changes upon poorer students. The

Sutton Trust: government’s budget changes will cost students thousands Megan Baynes News reporter Changes that would hold the student loan repayment threshold at £21,000 for five years will cost students on average £2,800.

According to the Sutton Trust, women will be more affected more than men, and those from poorer backgrounds hit hardest.

If the £21,000 threshold was not frozen, the average male, who borrowed £36,000 over three years, would pay back £34,900 over thirty years, and the average female £26,000.

However, this would increase; men would expect to pay back an extra £2,300, and women an extra £3,300.

Unfair Deal, a study by the Sutton Trust, has found that the average debt for students will increase to over £50,000 when means tested maintenance grants become loans in 2016, and the change in loan terms ensures this will turn into higher repayments –

letter states that “the abolition of maintenance grants will cause a very significant increase in debt for the poorest students; from £40,500 to around £53,000”.

As the policy currently stands, students who come from a family with an income of £25,000 or less are entitled to a full, governmentsubsidised grant of up to £3,387 in addition to a loan of £4,047 if they live away from their family home outside of London. Partial grants are available on an income assessed basis for those whose family income in between £25,000 and £60,000. The government has announced it intends to replace these grants with loans from September 2016.

A spokeperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said students would not have to pay back anything until their earnings rose above £21,000. The NUS is represented by Salima Budhani and John particularly for those borrowers who do not secure higher paid jobs.

This change is partly because the government says updated forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility show fewer students are likely to start paying than was expected when the policy was introduced, increasing the burden of higher education on the taxpayer.

The report says: “Changing existing loan terms is unfair on students, would undermine trust, and could prove unlawful and unenforceable if challenged.

“The uncertainty created by the proposed changes effectively forces students to write an ‘open cheque’. This may discourage participation or distort decisions as to where, what and how to study”.

It recommends no retrospective changes to loan terms should be made, but that even this might not be enough to restore trust.

The trust wants new borrowing to be given definite terms, which should apply throughout the whole repayment period.

It says: “The longer term risks should be borne by government, not individual students who cannot be sure of being amongst those successful graduates in well paid jobs.”

Elea Street, a second-year English literature student, described the decision as “utterly unfair”, adding: “The government needs to do more to ensure that students get a good deal from spending £36,000, either by creating jobs or by making life easier for us once we graduate increasing the threshold for which have to being repaying our loan, otherwise people will be entire put off going to university”.

Halford of legal firm Bindmans LLP who are calling upon the government on behalf of the organization to reconsider its obligations “to halt plans to abolish maintenance grants and to gather information to enable him to properly consider the complex equality considerations at stake”.

Megan Dunn, President of the NUS called the government’s plan “reckless”, adding: “we know the huge damage that this change will have if it is allowed to happen. It is obvious that the government is attempting to rush through these changes with no consideration of future generations of students”.

The NUS’s biggest charge against the governement is that they have failed to maintain their obligations in terms of commitments made to the Equality and Human Rights Commission to continuously assess equality impacts of policy introductions.

Photo: freestockphotos.biz

A high-flying UEA postgraduate student as been hired to work at Nasa to investigate whether alien life may exist on other planets.

Andrew Rushby first made headlines when he successfully proved that the Earth will be habitable for at least another 1.75 billion years in an article published in the journal Astrobiology. Following his findings, which he made alongside Mark Claire, Hugh Osborne and Andrew Watson back in 2013, he has now been called upon to work for two years at Nasa’s Ames Research Centre in the Northern area of California. During his tenure, the UEA postgraduate is expected to study thousands of exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope. His research will focus on investigating the surface environments of these newly discovered ‘Earth-like’ planets and how they evolve over time.

Rushby, who studied at UEA’s Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Science in the School

1.75

billion

The number of years for which Earth will continue to be habitable, according to Rushby’s research.

of Environmental Sciences said: “This is absolutely my dream job!

“I’m incredibly excited and grateful to have been awarded this prestigious fellowship to continue to carry out the work I love. This is a rapidly developing field which promises to provide wonderful and potentially gamechanging discoveries regarding other planets in our galaxy over the coming years”.

Rushby’s will be working for the newlyformed Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) which is an association of American universities and research institutes that carry out research with Nasa on exoplanet science.

On top of carrying out his own research on how planets’ surfaces evolve, Rushby has also been given the job of helping to manage the NExSS network and how they communicate new findings to the public.

“I’ve always been as passionate about the outreach side of research as the research itself, so the post is a great fit for me”, he added.

Andrew Rushby, whe’s been offered a job with Nasa Photo: supplied

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UEA rises in global universityISO!standings

6th October 2015

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News

Photo: Flickr, David Jones

Megan Baynes & Joe Jameson News reporter & Editor-in-Chief UEA’s rankings have recently been cause for confusion, following the publication of two higher education league tables by the Times.

In the Times University Guide 2016, UEA has fallen four places on last years ranking, to 18th, one place behind the University of Sussex which has leapt up 6 places since last year, but crucially remains within the top 20

UK universities. The university has also fallen down to 11th in the same publication’s league table for student satisfaction which, only two years ago, it had been ranked as 6th in the country.

The Time’s league table, which compiles data on every aspect of university business, including entry standards and graduate prospects, is not the only one to show UEA’s dip in performance, as the Complete University Guide enters UEA, one place lower than last year, at 16.

Photo: Wikimedia, Francis Tyers

Norfolk and Suffolk mental health deaths rise by 50% Jessica Frank-Keyes News editor Reports have revealed that, from 2013 to 2015, the number of deaths of mental health patients throughout Norfolk and Suffolk has risen from an average of four to six a month. This 50% increase has concerned healthcare services; following discussions in a trust meeting, an internal report has been commissioned.

The Mental Health Trust states that the deaths-per-month figure remains well below the national average, despite a Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) report documenting the rise in “unexpected community deaths from 95 in 2013-14 to 130 in 2014-15”. The statistic excludes death by natural

and drug-related causes and is a worrying finding for a healthcare trust that was placed in special measures earlier this year.

A spokesperson for the Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk claimed that the increase in deaths directly follows the 2013 reorganisation of services due to multi-million pound budget cuts and demanded “a public inquiry into what has gone wrong at NSFT and proper funding to restore decent services”.

Norwich South MP, Clive Lewis, said the deaths were “yet again the result of people let down by our services, who are struggling to do their best under increasing workloads and with less resources”. The findings of the analysis will be reported to the Trust’s executive board at a public meeting once completed.

However, UEA has also leapt up 49 places in the world rankings from 198th to 149th,

49

The number of places UEA has climed in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings

be recognised as one of the top one per cent universities globally.” Baty, added that the Times Higher Education World University Rankings uses “tough global benchmarks” and that the results are trusted by “students and their families, academics, university leaders and governments”.

Despite the slip in national positioning, UEA still achieved 88% for student experience, and many of its courses such as American studies and physiotherapy still continue to rank within the top ten.

If you too whisper these words in your sleep, Concrete Photography wants you!

which the editor of the league, Phil Baty, described as an “outstanding achievement to be celebrated”. Professor David Richardson, Vice-Chancellor of UEA said that he was “delighted that [the university] continue to

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Launch Night – What does it mean to be politically black?

Event type: Panel discussion Time: 5pm-7pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Guest Speakers: Malia Bouattia (National Union of Students Black Students Officer); Hajera Begum (Why Is My Curriculum White); Sanyaa Sequeira (UEASU Islamic Society); Emmanuel Agu (UEASU Pride)

Stalls in The Hive to raise awareness on Black History Month, prevent, and migrants’ crisis Event type: Information stalls Time: 11pm-3pm Venue: Union House

Open Mic Night

Roadmap to Apartheid

Event type: Music Time: 7:30pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Blue Bar

Event type: Film Night Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Society; Arab Cultural Society; and International Students Society

5 “Exploring East Asian cultures”

Event type: Language and cultural lesson Time:7pm-9pm Venue: Union House at 7pm Hosted by: Chinese Students Society Association, Japanese, Korean Society, and Vietnamese Society

Event type: Arts & Crafts Time: 5pm-7pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: Kieran (UEA Pride)

“Sexual identity, culture, and race” Being LGBT+ in the Black community

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Gender and Race

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Event type: Academic Seminar Time: 1pm-2pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: Tyndall Centre Guest Speaker: Dr Gareth Edwards (DEV)

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Event type: Academic seminar Time: 5:30pm-6:30pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: Water Aid society Guest speakers: Azza Dirar and Holly Morrison

15 Oppression, hegemony, and discourses Event type: Academic seminar Time: 5pm-7pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: DEV Society and Latin American Society

Event type: Film Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: Italian Society and Cinema Society

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12 Years A Slave

Event type: Film Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: Cinema Society

Black politics and the media

Event type: Panel discussion Time: 6pm-8pm Venue: Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: UEA:TV and Concrete Guest speakers: London Hughes (Comic actress and TV Presenter), Washington Post journalist (Skype)

Event type: Panel discussion Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Society Guest speaker: Heather Elaydi

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“La vita e’ bella”

Event type: Panel discussion Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Hosted by: African Caribbean Society and Feminist Society

Climate Justice Seminar: Civil Society and the Politics of Climate Justice

Event type: Film Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: Cinema Society and UEA Pride

Event type: Film Night Time: 7pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: Rotaract Club of UEA Society

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Event type: Reading Time: 12pm-2pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 5 Hosted by: Literature Society

Paris Is Burning

Event type: Music Time: 8pm-11pm Venue: Blue Bar Hosted by: Live Music Society and African Caribbean Society

Event type: Panel debate Time: 5:30pm - 7:30pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: UEA Pride Guest speakers: Tommy Snipe

Reading Group

Farming Food Security: Exploring the Effects of Blockade on the Food Production System in the Gaza Strip

Love Music Hate Racism (Solidarity with the migrants)

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Water justice seminar on Social and cultural impacts of dams in developing countries

Event type: Reading Time: 1pm-3pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 5 Hosted by: Literature society

Event type: Performance Time: 7:30pm-9:30pm Venue: The Hive Hosted by: International Students Society

Event type: Art Exhibition Time: 11am-3pm Venue: Union House, Exhibition Space Hosted by: Arts Society and Feminist Society

7 Reading Group

Event type: Film Night Time: 7pm-10pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 6 Hosted by: DEV society

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3

Event type: Student Meeting Time: 5pm-7pm Venue: Union House, Bookable Room 1 Open to all ethnic minority students

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Freestyle dancing

Black-Her-Story Exhibition

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Selma

Malcolm X

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Arts, crafts, tea, cake and mental health Ethnic Minorities Student Caucus

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Celebrating Black History Month ethnic minorities

6th October 2015

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Global

New report reveals widespread human rights violations by Turkish government Caitlin Doherty Global Editor A report released last week has revealed that the Turkish Government committed countless human rights violations since December 2013, despite its publically stated commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

At a time when the administration of President Recep Erdogan and his AK Party (AKP) is facing international scrutiny in regards to freedom of the press after the arrest of two Vice News journalists, four of Britain’s top lawyers have found widespread violation of “respect for human rights, in particular… freedom of speech and the rule of law” by the Turkish government.

It is believed that these abuses are a reactionary move by the Turkish government in the wake of the discovery of widespread corruption late in 2013. Members of the stillserving government were found to have been involved in an illegal oil deal with neighbouring Iran, paying for the commodity using laundered money and gold bars to try and subvert US-led sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation.

The authors of the report, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Rt. Hon Lord Woolf CH, UCL Professor of Public Law, Sir Jeffrey Jowell KCMG QC, former solicitor-general the Rt. Hon Sir Edward Garnier and media law barrister Sarah Palin, believe that these abuses are a corrupted attempt by the Turkish government to regain control of their own, greatly damaged, public image.

The abuse has fallen into three distinct categories The subversion of the rule of law and

Human rights in Saudi Arabia: the case of Ali Mohammed AlNimr Ollie Watts Global writer Ali Mohammad Al-Nimr is a name which has rapidly spread around social media in recent weeks, accused of participating in anti-governmental protests in Saudi Arabia in 2011. State media have disclosed how AlNimr was found guilty of a series of crimes, most notably sedition (overt conduct that tends toward uprising against the established order), breaking allegiance to the King, and rioting. He has been sentenced to death by crucifixion.

At the time at which Al-Nimr was charged with these crimes he was only 17 years old, encouraging attention towards his case and

subsequent denial of the rights to liberty, security and a fair trial In the last two years, the AKP have taken unprecedented steps to undermine other organisations and figures of authority in the country – mainly the judiciary, prosecuting authorities and the police force.

By unconstitutionally replacing many of those in office in the Supreme Council of Judges with candidates nominated by close personal aides to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice, alongside other unlawful, internal reorganisations of the legal profession, the AKP has effectively revoked the independence of the Turkish judiciary.

As a result, unlawful detentions and human rights violations against both Turkish and international media figures, as well as police officers involved in the 2013 investigation, have been reported. Those detained under the new judicial system are reported to have been subjected to unbearable conditions, forced to sign documents and denied access to legal aid whilst in detention, offences which contravene three articles of the ECHR: the prohibition of torture the right to liberty and security and the right to a fair trial.

Denial to the right to freedom of expression – suppression of the free press Article 10 of the ECHR, the right to freedom of expression has also been subjected to infringement as restrictions have been placed upon social media and the freedom of the press.

As well as requesting the 17-year imprisonment of the editor of Zaman, one of Turkey’s daily newspapers, merely for reporting on a parliamentary session led by the leader of the opposition, the Telecommunications and Communications Directorate have reserved the right to block online content. its relation to United Nations guidelines.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a signatory, prevents the use of capital punishment for felonies carried out by minors. United Nations Human Rights experts have claimed that the state has failed to give Al-Nimr a fair trial, denied him access to lawyers, tortured him, and also forced him to sign a confession whilst under duress. Anti-death penalty group Reprieve insists that Al-Nimr was also arrested without a warrant and that he was not informed of offences until proceedings were halfway through.

To further compound the situation, AlNimr is the nephew of prominent religious cleric and critic of the Saudi regime, Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, who was also arrested on similar charges. Many have been quick to conclude that the arrests and subsequent sentencing given to both men is a stark reflection of the troubles arising from the sectarian fault line which currently divides the country. The protests in which both men were detained took place in the Eastern Province where there is a Shia majority, an area which has long lamented its marginalisation at the hands of the Sunni ruling family.

Al-Nimr’s legal challenges are allegedly exhausted meaning that it is perhaps down to the International Community to save him by pressuring Saudi leaders to drop the charges.

Ironically, in the last fortnight, Saudi Arabia has been appointed head of a key United

Most famously, this law allowed the blocking of Twitter on 20th March 2014.

Despite the website being reinstated just two weeks later, after the Constitutional Court ruled the decision to be “a severe intervention on freedom of expression”, two accounts known for outing corruption, @Bascalan and @Haramzadeler333, remained blocked.

Photo: Wikimedia, Schmidt Andrea Nations Human Rights Panel. The head of the panel selects top officials who then models international human rights standards and opines on violations around the world. The executive director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer declared concern that the appointment may have been given as part of a backhand deal in exchange for the Saudi regime abandoning its bid to become president of the entire 47-nation council.

Human rights activists are calling on developed nations to take a stand and step in to resolve Al-Nimr’s situation, however

Salman, king of Saudi Arabia Photo: Wikimedia, Leon E Panetta

Discrimination against the Gülen movement According to the Erdogan administration, there is a “parallel state” in existence within Turkey: the Gülen movement which is in opposition to the elected government.

Despite there being no evidence of illegal activity, the government have utilised this pretext to “purge from public office, direct hate speech against and expropriate the property of individuals associated with the Gülen movement”.

A network of individuals and religious, humanitarian and educational institutions established by Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen, the movement is commited to interfaith dialogue, community service and universal education.

As well as the removal of 40,000 individuals from public office under suspicion of being involved with the organisation, the AKP has actively directed hate speech at Gülen members, labelling them “perverts”, “traitors”, “insidious viruses” and “members of a terrorist organisation”. President Erdogan went as far as stating that “only hell will purify them”.

The rejection of the right to a private life, and the widespread use of discrimination and hate speech are in direct opposition to articles 8, 14 and 17 of the ECHR. At a time of tensions within the EU and Britain’s seeming mistrust of the ECHR, what imapct will these allegations have on the state of human rights in Europe? this opens up a huge debate between the principles of inalienable human rights and that of state sovereignty. The principle of state sovereignty clearly holds that a governing body is vested with full power to rule inside its borders without any interference from external forces and/or bodies.

This principle means that if the West were to intervene in a case such as Al-Nimr’s they would be breaking a cornerstone of established international law and in violation of Article II of the UN Charter. However, international law, which is acknowledged as binding by Saudi Arabia, maintains that capital punishment may only be enforced following free trials that follow due process. In such case, human rights standards should take precedent over the state’s capital punishment laws, particularly when Al-Nimr was a minor upon detainment, and thus the use of the death penalty is forbidden by international law.

It is a delicate area of debate in international politics, one that cannot be solved through the use of military action. The best way to discourage such situations as Al-Nimr’s is through economic sanction and particularly through diplomacy. This is perhaps why the US state department welcomed the appointment of Saudi Arabia as head of a key UN Human Rights council, with spokesman Mark Toner saying “we hope it’s an occasion for them to look at human rights around the world but also within their own borders”.

6th October 2015

9

Global Donald Trump back in the spotlight for comments on immigration Donald Trump has once again come under fire for his attitudes towards American minority populations. Recently, the controversial billionaire announced what he would do on his first day as president. The question was posed to Trump in a Twitter Q&A, to which he replied “close up our borders so illegal immigrants cannot come into our country” relating the ongoing global refugee crisis with America’s longstanding fiscal turbulence. This is the latest in a long line of comments from Trump about Central American migrants; he caused outrage earlier this year by calling Mexicans “rapists, criminals and drug-dealers” and has stated his intention to build a wall along the American border with Mexico.

Natalie Froome Raising the standard?

It was recently announced that New Zealand would be holding a two-stage, binding referendum to decide if the nation wanted to change its flag, from its longstanding Blue Ensign flag with Union flag and Southern Cross, to a new flag which would be more representative of the country’s status as an independent and sovereign state. A shortlist of 40 flags was produced from an original figure of around 10,300 submissions, which included a spattering of comical entries. The 40 were then whittled down to just four by a specially chosen Flag Consideration Panel.

However, the choices were criticised due to their similarity to each other and to existing corporate logos. Following public dissatisfaction, Parliament passed legislation

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on the 24th September which implements a mechanism for a fifth design, the ‘Red Peak’ design, to be added to the ballot paper for the first round of voting.

The first round will be contested via postal ballot between the 20th November and the 11th December, and voters will rank the designs in order of preference. The winning design will contest a second referendum in which it will be pitted against the current flag. If the new design receives a greater number of votes it will be adopted as the official flag within six months.

Ollie Watts

Chris Brown banned from Austrailia because of domestic abuse record

Chris Brown’s domestic abuse record has left him without a visa into Australia.

Despite touring in Australia twice since pleading guilty to charges of domestic violence against Rihanna, the border forces have cracked down and last week refused him entry to the nation.

However, they have given him 28 days to appeal their decision.

Brown tried to excuse his trip to Australia, claiming that his intention for travelling was to raise awareness for domestic violence, and to spread information with the aims of presenting “spousal abuse”.

The global superstar is not exactly a poster boy for non-violent behaviour, injuring eight people in a NYC brawl with Drake in 2012,

and allegedly punching Frank Ocean for nicking his parking space. These cases and Brown’s record make his vow to learn from his mistakes pretty hard to believe.

After the incident Brown tweeted in response, stating that he wished to “show the world that mistakes don’t define you”.

Lillie Coles Obama on Oregon shooting: “Thoughts and prayers are not enough” The US president, Barack Obama, has said that “thoughts and prayers are not enough” in the aftermath of the latest mass shooting in the United States.

Obama is rapidly loosing patience with Congress of its failure to enact stricter gun control measures. There have been 994 mass shootings since Obama first made a strident call for tighter regulations after 20 children and six theachers were killed at a school in Connecticut three years ago. He has issued 23 executive orders, but substantial change can come only from Congress.

The National Rifle Association continues to oppose any kind of gun control measures, and public opinion seems to be marginally against dramatic changes.

Peter Sheehan Photos Left: Wikimedia, Eva Rinaldi.

Above: Wikimedia, Kevin S O’Brien Graphic: Wikimedia, US government

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Features

6th October 2015

11

Getting to grips with how much university reading you have to do >>Page 14

Student cooking: getting nifty in the kitchen Lydia Lockyer shares some wisdom on how to ace your cooking

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ongratulations! You’ve made it to university. You’re on your way to independent living and the adult world. You’ve had the Ikea trip of a lifetime and loaded up on saucepans, spatulas and woks. You know the basics – how not to burn toast, never try to cook pasta in a kettle, and the versatility of the humble egg. But now you’ve got to cook for yourself. For real.

You’re let loose in the kitchen – time to go wild.

This gastronomic liberation reveals several stock characters.

1. The Serial Beaners: Culinary wizards of

baked beans… I’m talking beans on toast, toast on beans, beans on toast. And the occasional bowl of cereal.

2. The Savvy Savers: Bulk buying, bulk cooking. Cooking one massive bolognese at the beginning of the week and having it every night until you never, ever want bolognese again. Until next week.

3. Our Hungry House Heroes: The ‘can’t cook/won’t cook’, extreme time savers and hoarders of takeaway leaflets!

4. The Keen Cook: Those who experiment and occasionally take it that step too far…

Roast chicken in the microwave? Really?

And why do these characters arise? As students we have access to varying but often restricting kitchens. We’re ever such busy creatures living in close quarters where there’s often not enough space to all be cooking at once. We have limited gadgetry (I’m talking about those lovely campus microwave ovens).

We live on fairly restricted budgets and many of us have never cooked a whole meal before.

It’s no wonder the Beaners and Bolognesers are stereotypical university characters.

Cooking is a wonderful thing. It’s a skill that most of us will undoubtedly use and need for the rest of our lives. Food keeps us ticking and the likelihood is, we won’t all be able to afford ready meals and takeaways every night of the week – for both economic and health reasons. Ready meals are packed with salt, preservatives and additives and lots of other nasties, which won’t do us any good – especially if we eat them night after night. So

Photo: Lydia Lockyer

learning to get nifty in the kitchen now isn’t a bad idea.

We need food that’s cheap, simple, quick, hopefully healthy, and preferably tasty. Get experimental. So I’ve come up with a couple of hints to get you started.

Stir-fry

The sweet potato

Trying to keep up with health fads can be difficult when you’re going for the most expensive and exotic ingredients. But that doesn’t mean that we should just give up and fall into the waiting arms of the nearest ready meal or Domino’s if you’re hungry.

Try to keep some of the less extravagant, reasonably priced bits stocked up – couscous for example (Tesco: 500g for 70p), or chickpeas (Asda: 400g for 54p). Both are quick, simple but relatively healthy sides – delicious warmed with roasted vegetables (cut up some courgette, peppers, squash, tomatoes, drizzle with oil and bake at 180 degrees until they look good and squishy), or as a side to a curry or casserole.

A deliciously adaptable being of many disguises and a ‘super food’ at a tiny price.

Kept in the cupboard, the glorious sweet potato will keep for a good while, so there’s no rush if you buy a big bag. She does chips, mash, jacket and she roasts and stews fairly well too.

Peel and chop a sweet potato into the vague shape of a chip, drizzle with some oil, salt and pepper on a baking tray, into the oven/microwave oven at 180 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes and Bob’s your uncle. Peel and cut one or two into chunks, heat some onion, carrots, and the sweet potato before adding chickpeas, stock and tomato juice (throwing in the odd herb), leave it to bubble and you’ve got a great stew to serve with rice, couscous or anything you fancy.

The midweek salad

Photo: Lydia Lockyer

By which I don’t mean a couple of pieces of lettuce and some dressing. I mean the ‘anything you like’ kind of salad. Add some chicken, some tuna, cheese, roasted vegetables, warm chickpeas, some toast and humus? Whatever takes your fancy. No one will judge.

There’s no excuse to be avoiding the stir-fry. It’s quick, it’s easy, you can make it vegetarian or vegan and you can buy all the ingredients for pretty good value, ready to wok and go.

Healthy cupboards

A

ll in all, you’re a student. It’s for you to figure out. You’re here to learn, and not just for your degree. Of course there will be days, nights, and certain mornings, when you just want to binge out on pizza and it wouldn’t be the ‘student experience’ without those moments. But take the time to learn your whisk from your masher now so when you do feel like you want more than a bean sandwich, you can whip something up with a bit more pizaazz. And with that, I wish you merry student cooking experience.

6th October 2015

12

Features

United Nations Interna

Daniel Miller looks at the function of the UN and asks whether we are closer to achieving peace now than when if was formed.

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he 21st September marked the 34th celebration of International Peace Day (IPD), an occasion held annually by the United Nations (UN) in dedication to observing world peace and, in particular, the absence of war and violence in human affairs.

Reading about IPD and the seemingly lofty ideals for which it stands, it is difficult not to wonder how successful the UN had been in fulfilling its obligation to banishing the violence of war and usher into existence a more “peaceful” world as a result. Is the world more “peaceful” now than it had been before the UN’s conception?

Dictionaries inform us that the concept can be neatly defined as “freedom from disturbance”. However, this seems to be grossly oversimplified as an answer to what it means in terms of international relations and human affairs more widely. In asking whether or not the world is more “peaceful” under the UN, a far more penetrating approach is needed.

Since its foundation in April 1945, the UN has presented itself as the dedicated opposition to armed conflict, and yet it would seem that our current age is just about as far removed from the quasi-utopian vision put forward on International Peace Day as is possible. True, World War Three has not happened; no nations have clashed in total war since 1945; we are all still here, despite the abundance of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons which have the power to end all life on earth many times over. And yet, can our age legitimately be called an age of peace?

Perhaps we have not experienced another world war in the conventional sense. Certainly in the developed world, no trenches have been dug, no Blitzkrieg has been enacted, and no Blitz has reduced cities to rubble, but is this also true in relation to less-developed countries? Ask any refugee fleeing Assad’s regime in Syria and they are bound to tell you it is not. Besides, though the nations of

less violent and more peaceful than the one inhabited by our great-grandparents. To do this, a historical perspective is paramount.

The first half of the 20th century was arguably the darkest in human history. The tides of revolution, war and polarised ideology swept across the globe, turning empires against empires, nations against nations and individuals against each other, engulfing the world twice in the fires of total war. The Great War (1914-1918) and its swift predecessor,

“The UN has presented itself as the dedicated opposition to armed conflict”

uch an organisation was announced in 1945 and the United Nations was ushered into being as the symbol of a new and brighter age. With the UN at the helm, it was believed by some that humanity could genuinely be cured of some of its most ancient and undesirable problems. Among these problems, the one in most desperate need of addressing was that of armed conflict.

The World Wars had shown the scale of the destruction that could be unleashed by mechanised warfare, and yet another such conflict promised to be even worse, thanks to the introduction and subsequent proliferation of nuclear armaments. Though we have, for now, managed to avoid the horrors of nuclear war, the world in which we live appears to be far from “peaceful”. Wars – civil, proxy and conventional – have torn apart states, communities and families since 1945, continuing unabated to the present day.

As well as war, mass murder and genocide have refused to be consigned to the dustbin of history, Rwanda and Yugoslavia in the 1990s being among only the most recent and horrifying examples. With this in mind, who can truly claim with any sincerity that the UN has succeeded in creating a “peaceful” world?

the developed world have not engaged in war with each other since 1945, can anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of global affairs truly dismiss the possibility that we may in fact be engaged in a new type of world war? Since the infamous terrorist attacks of 9/11, the War on Terror has been waged not just in the Middle East, but all over the globe, and not just by the US and its closest allies, but by hte majority of countries in the world: it being by its nature a war without borders.

In this sense, perhaps it is only because the rules have changed that we in the West believe ourselves to live in an age of unparalleled international stability and peace. The truth, if we choose to recognise it, may be far less pleasing. Be that as it may, it is necessary to briefly explore our recent history of violence and the subsequent founding of the UN in order to better understand whether the world we inhabit under such an organisation is

“The first half of the twentieth century was arguably the darkest in human history” the Second World War (1939-45) produced destruction and suffering on such a scale that they stand without parallel as the most costly conflicts of all time. Not only world wars, but also tales of impoverishment, pandemic, global depression and genocide greet us as we peel back the layers of the world in which our grandparents were born.

When, in 1945, atomic bombs were dropped by the Allies on the two denselypopulated Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and in the same year, Soviet soldiers stumbled on the first in a long line of Nazi concentration camps in Eastern Europe, it was clear that a world which had endured human tragedy on such a massive scale was in dire need of recovery. Clearly something had gone terribly wrong for such things to have happened and, clearly, something had to be done to ensure that future generations would not suffer the fate of their twentiethcentury forebears. With this in mind, it was decided that the creation of an international organisation, responsible for facilitating peaceful diplomacy and humanitarian aid, was in the best interests of all the world’s people.

Photo: Flickr, The US Army

S

Certainly, we in the West feel ourselves in many ways cut off and removed from the crises which continue to haunt the peoples less fortunate than ourselves, yet this is a disturbing and potentially dangerous phenomenon, as it numbs us to reality.

This reality is that the UN has, as of yet, failed to defeat what it has dedicated its existence to destroying. In 1945, the UN was founded beneath the stirring mantra “never again”. Never again, it vowed, would war and genocide afflict the human race on such a scale as they had in the Second World War. Though it would be far more comforting for both the writer of this article and no doubt the reader, can anyone with a basic grasp of the history of the post-war world plausibly argue that the UN has succeeded in its oath. Is the world more “peaceful” than it was before 1945? Are states less likely to go to war in a world of rapidly depleting resources, worldwide terror

and a globalised economy? Are individuals in Britain more accepting of other cultures as more and more refugees flood into Calais every day? How long before we no longer feel so removed from the strife that continues to plague the world as much as it did in the early half of the twentieth century? How long can we afford to?

International Peace Day promoted the ideals of world peace and global harmony, yet the irony of such a celebration – held even as civil war rages in Syria and thousands of refugees flee to Europe in numbers not seen since the end of the Second World War – is clear to all.

In asking whether the world is a more “peaceful” place than it was before the foundation of the UN, the answer appears to be painfully clear. It is not – we still have a long way to go before we are even close to reaching such a point.

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6th October 2015

ational Peace Day 2015

Features

Lucinda Swain considers the influence of the media on public perspective of the Syrian refugee crisis.

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ithout doubt the media influences our opinions. Media outlets continue to change and evolve with the fast pace of technological advancements, which depends a great deal on the demand of the public. The speed at which news travels around the world is unprecedented, because of the significant changes in the availability of new media platforms. The traditional methods of communication through television and radio have been surpassed by online resources. The news is more accessible to the majority of populations. As we live in a fast-paced society that has little time to read or research into the truth of the information given to us, we are sometimes swayed by attention grabbing headlines and as a result people tend to be influenced by these representations. Therefore, the media can greatly influence our opinions with an acute immediacy and it plays an ever-increasing role in shaping governmental policymaking.

For instance, the refugee crisis has triggered debates surrounding our

“Cameron felt forced to take action to maintain public support” government’s reaction and what we can do to help the masses of people seeking safety.

This crisis is a perfect example of how public opinion can be shaped. There are instances where the same newspapers have gone from headlines demanding to “send in the army”, to “we welcome with open arms” seemingly changing opinions to sell more papers.

The phrasing of “migrant” and “refugee” have also been used interchangeably, despite having completely different definitions. The shocking image of the washed up body of three-year old Aylan Kurdi led many British citizens to express disgust at the perceived lack of effort on our government’s part. With such a public outcry, Cameron felt forced to take action in order to maintain public support. He announced that we would now take 20,000 refugees over five years. However, there also seems to be a large number of people that are calling the mass media’s portrayal of little Aylan Kurdi’s drowning, with readers accusing the newspapers of

Photo: Flickr, Irish Defence Forces

deliberately distorting the facts in order to ‘morally blackmail the public’.

When information is largely controlled by a dictatorial government, such as in Syria, social media is essential. Since the beginning of Syria’s unrest, over a hundred journalists have been killed. This makes us increasingly reliant on social media for updates on the situation, as traditional newsgathering methods are too dangerous or difficult. The Syrian government deals severely with domestic opposition, with tens of thousands estimated to have been killed during the suppression of the 1982 uprising of the Muslim Brotherhood in Hamas. With online videos on social media we are able to see the protests and massacres directly from the source. However, judging the accuracy of these unofficial videos and posts is exceedingly difficult.

Nevertheless, effort has been put in to internet data analysis to resolve authenticity or credibility doubts. Extremist groups like Jabhat al Nusra have been particularly vocal on social media platforms. Althoguh, their strong presence online can give an inflated sense of the group’s effectiveness on the ground, when we receive other first-hand accounts from various sources and footage that prove otherwise. Furthermore, AntiAssad voices are having a polarising effect, eradicating much of the ‘middle ground’ in the public online conversation.

There is an increasing amount of scepticism at present, with critical thinking in regards to the accuracy and hidden agendas of the press. Media outlets like to pretend that they are independent from power. With citizen journalists, people also predetermine that there will be a certain biased attitude, maybe lack of professionalism or dearth of fact checking prior to publication.

However, this sort of ‘rogue reporting’ is largely considered to be beneficial to the public as they get the information swiftly

“Social media can both inform and mis-inform the public” and uncensored. In regards to Aylan Kurdi’s death, virtually every detail of the story (published in the mass media), that had originally accompanied this image, even down to his name, had been demonstrated to be at least partially false, yet its emotional impact remains. It conveys a message that thousands of people will die like this young child, unless taken in by the countries of the West.

Then again, we must remind ourselves that social media can both inform and misinform the public. While there are pitfalls to the media influencing the general populace, it has facilitated a great change in people’s perceptions. It has had a positive impact on people’s awareness of different cultures and struggles.

Journalists’ integrity and their code of ethics keep the majority of news stories true to form, but it will always be crucial to keep an open but critical mind to anything you read whether it’s online or in your daily newspaper.

6th October 2015

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Features

How much course reading does anyone actually do?

Sam Naylor examines the question we all want to know the answer to

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nother academic year has arrived at UEA, and with it a steady stream of preparatory reading for lectures and seminars. But how much do we actually manage? It’s a tough life being a student; this studying malarkey might just be too much to handle. This year, switching onto a joint honours degree which encapsulates a broad spectrum of humanities courses has shown me how different humanities schools recommend reading and ways to prepare for seminars.

There’s the list of ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ reading approach, where you can peacock proudly if you finish reading the last ‘compulsory’ poem before the seminar starts.

The ‘here’s just two chapters to read’ method: if you can’t even manage this then there really isn’t much hope. The final one to be found is the list method but detailed preparatory notes

“Depends on if I can be bothered, I’ll do the reading on a whim basically” are a must as these will be assessed. At first the commitment to our education can seem horrifying, and mandatory seminar notes leave us all of an intellectual flutter. Though perhaps this will be the handiest way for us to soak up knowledge.

As riveting as this all is, there is no point keeping to a monopoly on reading habits. To really spice things up we asked some other UEA students about how much reading they do to prepare for each weeks topics. To start things off, it’s worth looking at the stereotypical heavy weights of the reading world - English

literature students, on how one prepares; “I just do the primary reading - I try my best,” and your best is greatly appreciated! While history is a different field entirely, it’s more; “depends on if I can be bothered, I’ll do the reading on a whim basically.” But when the

“When the two degrees are combined, that’s when the magic happens” two degrees are combined, that’s when the magic happens. There’s a contrast between history, “reading piles and piles and taking what’s useful” and Literature which seems “more about analysing every detail, so takes much longer for much less text”. Now that sounds like a student that has been keeping on top of their reading! Whether any of it is making a positive impact on their UEA IQ is questionable.

It’s not all about humanities students though, science undergraduates also indulge in reading. Economics are stepping up their game, “I’ll try to do more now in second year... when I get my books.” But environmental science trumps all, “there’s a recommended reading list - I don’t think there’s a set list, it doesn’t matter either way as I don’t read.”

It would appear we’re all getting our money’s worth out of £9K and with change to spare too. But it isn’t all about weekly reading anyway; often making it to lectures and seminars on time is the biggest demon that many students will have to face. So if you can roll out of bed after an LCR night, make it to your 9am lecture and arrive knowing you’re on top of the weekly reading, you are studenting very well indeed.

Photo: Publis Health Image Library, Amanda Mills

Susannah Smith considers whether Kerry McCarthy is a force for change or out of touch with rural industry?

T here was a disgruntled murmuring when Kerry McCarthy was appointed Shadow Minister for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. All because she’s a self-proclaimed militant vegan.

Conservative MPs argued that she cannot do the job with a seemingly contradictory view to the health of the British farming industry, a large part of which is animal produce.

But what is the role of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minister? As well as organising policy around the food, farming and water industries, it also covers the forests and woodlands, biodiversity, ecosystems and animal welfare. Then there are responsibilities for helping British businesses adapt to the threat of climate change.

Therefore, farming is only one part of a complex role—and being a vegan in fact lends itself to many of the other aspects. In an interview with Viva!life, a vegan magazine, McCarthy stated that she “doesn’t see [the role] as a stepping stone to a different post, but is really keen to get

engaged in the issues”.

Additionally, the Vegetarian Society states that switching to a diet of food produced entirely in the UK reduces a person’s carbon footprint by up to 57%.

Thus promoting UK business. Veganism and vegetarianism are not only concerned with animal welfare but also sustainability.

Research has long been showing that the meat industry is a significant contribution to Climate Change, therefore it’s not sustainable. A Vegetarian Society document ‘Why it’s green to go vegetarian’ unequivocally states that “worldwide, farmed animals produce more greenhouse gas emissions than the world’s entire transport system”.

Additionally, producing meat is a highly inefficient way to feed people. The protein and energy put into animals is significantly more than what we gain from their meat.

Also, worldwide we are growing food to feed animals not people, and particularly in places where we struggle to feed people.

Of course not everyone is going to stop eating meat. We like the taste of meat and

before industrialisation meat was a key part of our diets. It has even been suggested that being vegetarian leaves the bacteria designed for digesting meat idle, increasing chances of infection.

However McCarthy recently stated that “meat should be treated in exactly the same way as tobacco, with public campaigns to stop people eating it.” Obviously this is an extreme statement, but there are many

“The meat industry is a significant contribution to climate change” health risks of meat, especially red and processed meat, including bowel cancer, heart disease and type two diabetes.

The NHS online states: “The Department of Health has advised that people… cut down to 70 g” of meat per day. It also says that “a cooked breakfast containing two typical British sausages and two rashers of bacon is equivalent to 130 g”.

Moreover, vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise as we speak. The 2013 YouGov Survey, commissioned by the Eating Better Alliance, found that 25% of the British public have cut back on meat in the past year and that 17% of young people don’t eat any meat at all. So why all the fuss over a vegan minister?

It is my considered opinion that suggesting a vegan cannot be in charge of the British farming industry is ridiculous.

When government is already suggesting we eat less meat, when it is known that to remain environmentally sustainable the meat industry must change its course, then a vegan minister will in fact prove very powerful.

Eating meat is clearly a case of personal choice. Considering the health and environmental factors it’s apparent we should all be eating less meat, however not everyone can commit to being vegetarian or vegan. But the right-wing’s criticism of McCarthy only serves to illustrate how they are scared of the impending, necessary changes she represents.

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6th October 2015

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We should not allow ourselves to be distracted by the real issues presented by #Piggate Lucas Cumiskey

“Cameron has been forced to publically deny committing sex acts on a pig”

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s Nicola Sturgeon so aptly put it, the allegations that, whilst at Oxford University, David Cameron “put a private part of his anatomy” into a dead pig as part of his initiation into the Piers Gaveston Society, have “entertained the whole country”.

The media, and Twitter in particular, have been deconstructing Lord Ashcroft’s account since the scandal first broke, and the frenzy shows no sign of abating. However, whilst the story, and all of the accompanying hastags (including #porkward, #hameron and #baeofpigs) and pig puns (“Netflix and swill?”) are indeed amusing, the public should be wary of the sinister design behind the allegations and the resulting implications for our democracy.

The allegations originated from the unauthorised biography of the Prime Minister, Call Me Dave, co-authored by billionaire Lord Ashcroft, the former Chairman of the Conservatives and the largest donor in the party’s history (exceeding £4m between 2006 and 2009). Ashcroft, a ruthless businessman and controversial but well-known nondomicile, is known to have personal problems with Cameron for not giving him a main role in the 2010 cabinet. In the biography, Ashcroft claims to have talked about his “status as a so-called non-dom” with Cameron in 2009, which, if true, would lead to questions about the Prime Minister’s statement on the subject in 2012. However, much as I am loath to defend a man who has stood by whilst over a million people survive through food banks, and uses ‘austerity’ as a buzzword to validate cutting £12bn from our national welfare budget whilst spending £45bn on defence, it is clear that this smear was meticulously planned.

In 2014, The Independent revealed that Ashcroft had secretly begun funding the

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fter a remarkably successful summer of campaigning, Jeremy Corbyn, a man who for thirty years existed only as an obscure stalwart of the backbenches, claimed the Labour leadership in an overwhelmingly decisive victory. Though the veteran’s appeal to the progressive electorate is a topic which deserves far more attention than a passing mention in an opening paragraph, the most salient point can be summarised in one of the favourite rallying cries amongst his supporters: “I voted for a new kind of politics”.

Was this slogan merely an attempt to convince the undecided that this movement, unlike those which preceded it, offered a genuine possibility to rid the country of the indifferent malice of neoliberalism? The only hope we have of finding an answer is to sit back and observe the extent to which Corbyn stays true to his promise, and whether his time at the helm will indeed herald a new chapter in British political history.

The new leader’s debut on Prime Minister’s Questions was always going to be a prime opportunity for him to prove himself. After years of watching the famously gladiatorial exchanges unfold from the sidelines, Corbyn’s aim was to bring the debates back down to earth. To do so, he planned to act as a mouthpiece for his supporters, by delivering a series of their questions in his characteristically thoughtful and reserved style.

It is safe to say that this mission was accomplished, and the tactic appears to have

to replace the Prime Minister after Cameron’s tenure as leader ends, or even Boris Johnson.

If the events of the past few weeks have proved anything, it’s that it’s the big money corporatocracy, rather than their Etonian pawns in the Commons, who wield the real power in this country. Certain parallels can be found with Hunter S. Thompson’s

Generation Swine, a North American satire, in which senator Johnson calls his presidential opponent “a pig fucker”, not because it’s true, but because he wants to make “the sonofabitch deny it”. Cameron, in turn, after repeated refusals to dignify the allegation with a response, has buckled under public scrutiny, and has been forced to publically deny committing sex acts on a pig. Whether there is any truth in the story or not, it has served to make him more toxic than cutting corporation tax, or referring to refugee’s as a “swarm”.

I Illustration: Dougie Dodds Conservative party again, something which, after 2010, he said he would never do. The donation in question came from a company called Anne Street Partners Holdings Pty Ltd. (in the past, Ashcroft had made donations from the similarly-named Anne Street Partners), which, furthermore, was owned

by Oren Investment, a company his son had previously been on the board for. This begs

the question: why the secret U-turn? A cynic might predict that a coup is about to take place, not unlike the recent fall of Tony Abbott in Australia, for which Ashcroft is playing the puppeteer. A cynic might suggest that it would be unsurprising if the “distinguished Oxford contemporary” of Cameron’s who Ashcroft alleges gave him the story turned out to be George Osborne, the favourite of the bookies

Welcome to a new kind of politics Charlie Dwyer worked in Labour’s favour. At best, David Cameron’s responses came across as prepackaged and formulaic; at worst, they were openly evasive, as demonstrated in his answer to a question about the housing crisis, when he launched into a rundown of everything the previous government had done to combat our country’s “chronic lack of affordable housing”, but neglected to mention what his current government planned to do in future. Overall, the surprise of Corbyn’s calm, collected demeanour, coupled with Cameron’s failure to match his adversary’s refreshingly understated tone gave Corbyn the edge.

It would be easy for Cameron’s detractors to view Corbyn’s performance as having shown the Prime Minister as an over-polished, empathy-deficient politician. However, there are number of factors to bear in mind. Leaving aside what people may think about Cameron’s empathy (or lack thereof), the fact remains that he is a highly competent politician; he is thus very adept at taking the sting of questions like Corbyn’s, and presenting his responses in a clear and level-headed way.

Consequently, it would not be difficult for the Conservatives to adapt to Corbyn’s new, gentler style, changing the dynamic of the

event, only in their favour; PMQs could cease to be an opportunity for the opposition to confront the incumbent, and become nothing more than a chance for Cameron to flex his

“It isn’t the back and forth nature of the traditional format that the public dislikes” political and rhetorical muscles. Meanwhile, Corbyn would be seated across the chamber, persisting with his subtle and deliberate line of questioning, but rarely challenging dubious statements and drawing attention to any ducking and diving the Prime Minister might employ.

Corbyn himself believes that the reason many people show such distaste for PMQs is that, rather than being a grounded discussion of pertinent issues, it has a tendency to devolve into a shouting match, with the leader of the opposition taking any opportunity to contradict their opposite number. This is apparently the point at which many people switch off; for this reason, Corbyn stayed

n his summer budget, Osborne was credited by sections of the media of raiding the most popular aspect of Ed Miliband’s manifesto: the abolition of non-domicile status. For Ashcroft, the reality is quite different to this misleading presentation; nondom tax status is being abolished for anyone who has lived in the UK for at the least 15 of the past 20 years, which, as we know, does not include Ashcroft. Furthermore, people who live in the UK, but were born to non-domiciled parents, will also lose exhibition; Ashcroft’s father may have been from Belize, but his lack of permanent residence here provides him with a loophole of economic absolution.

If there’s anything you should take away from this article, then let it be this: don’t be surprised if there is a Conservative reshuffle, or a vote of no confidence in Cameron from within his own party, and don’t allow yourself to be distracted from the real issues at hand by cheap personal gibes such as #Piggate.

away from direct rebukes in his first outing.

While this may resonate with some, I can’t help but think that Corbyn is somewhat missing the point. It isn’t the back-and-forth nature of the traditional format that the public dislikes, but the manner in which it is conducted. They see braying crowds of politicians who seem to care more about political point-scoring than discussing the problems they were elected to tackle; the whole event appears futile and irrelevant. This would not be the case if the person doing the questioning could maintain Corbyn-esque levels of calm and respectability when the time came to take the Prime Minister to task.

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he previously disillusioned voters who gave Corbyn his mandate voted because they saw an alternative: to the Conservatives’ social policy, to austerity, and to Britain’s political culture in general. Jeremy Corbyn leads the opposition. He needs to oppose, not just the government, but all of the objectionable facets of our current system: those who would claim it to be disrespectful rather than hypocritical for a republican to sing the national anthem, or those who think a party leader is obligated to comment on the youthful shenanigans of the Prime Minister. After Corbyn’s victory, “Jez we did” became the chorus of the faithful, but this is premature; until these forces have been driven back successfully, for me it will have to remain, “Jez we can”.

6th October 2015

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The Liberal Democrats are down, but they are not out Adam Stokes

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ver the past few months, there has been much coverage and media attention focused on the Labour leadership election; so much, indeed, that the public appears to have forgotten that an election also took place amongst the Liberal Democrats during this time, in which Tim Farron was chosen as the new leader of the party.

At the 2015 general election, members of the Lib Dems, myself included, were horrified by the extent to which the party was defeated, going from 57 MPs to just eight, with many talented and long-serving MPs, including Simon Hughes, Vince Cable and Danny Alexander, losing their seats. This annihilation in the election resulted in Nick Clegg being forced to resign, after having been leader of the party for over seven years.

Consequently, this leadership election was always going to be very different from those which had preceded it. In 1999, 2006 and 2007, the Lib Dems were electing a leader to continue the party's growth and success at elections; this time, the party needed someone to rebuild it from the ground up, and to resurrect its election success. In July, 56.5% of Lib Dems decided that Tim Farron would be the man to do so.

There has been much doubt from the general public about the future of the Lib Dems, and the ability of Tim Farron to change their fortunes; having watched the

Sexual assault, and how I took control Penny Carter

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s a victim of sexual assault, one of the hardest things for me was finding a way to take control of the situation.

When I’ve told people about what happened to me, they’ve reacted in a variety of ways, with the majority talking about the right thing to do, and what was best for me. It took a long time for someone to tell me that I was in control of the situation and could take whatever action I saw best, even if that meant taking no action at all.

The first thing most people think of is to call the police, which is what I did; indeed, before being sexually assaulted, I always

Saudi Arabia: the Middle East’s forgotten poison Ryan Newington

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“The survival of the Lib Dems is certainly not a guarantee” party go through the election from hell, I can understand why many people feel this way.

The survival of the Lib Dems is certainly not a guarantee; the party must work hard, or risk facing further defeat. Nevertheless, I am optimistic about the future. Tim Farron is a new, charismatic and exciting leader, who will be able to speak to and win over the millions of people who have lost faith in the party.

Since Clegg's resignation speech, 20,000 people have become members of the party, clearly having decided that liberalism need not die. Over the summer, Lib Dems have had their voices heard at many rallies, including those on voting reform, human rights and the refugee crisis; I was able to attend all of these events, and it is fantastic to see the Lib Dems once again on the streets of Britain, working with other parties and groups to show people

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Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrats Photo: Flickr, Liberal Democrats what it is the party stands for.

Equally, as someone who stood (sadly, unsuccessfully) in the borough council elections in May, it is amazing to see that since the general election, the Lib Dems have won more council by-elections than any other party.

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here is still a place in British politics for the Lib Dems. They must stand firm as the party of the centre ground, now that Labour, under Corbyn, will be veering off to the left, and the Tories, as we have seen since questioned why a victim wouldn’t want to go to the police, as it seemed like the obvious thing to do. However, what people do not mention is that the police might not necessarily be emotionally supportive or fully understanding of what you’re going through.

The crime itself is horrible enough to think about, but when you’re being asked to retell

“I have written this article in the hope that people who don’t know where to turn can learn there are other options” it, down to the minutest details, it gets even tougher, almost as if you’re reliving it, with the police scrutinising everything you say.

I do not mean to criticise the police; they were only doing their job. Nevertheless, I have written this article in the hope that people who don’t know where to turn can learn that there are other options. At UEA,

May, are moving to the right; there are millions of people in the UK who aren't interested in these oppositions of politics, for whom the Lib Dems can still hold an appeal. There are also many issues sidelined by other parties which they can tackle head on, including electoral reform and a reform on drugs policy, as they are the largest political party united on these issues.

The bottom line is very simple. The country needs a fair and just voice in politics, but also a liberal one. That voice has to be the Liberal Democrats. we are fortunate enough to have a great Dean of Students office, along with societies such as the Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign to offer peer support, and tutors and advisers who are more than happy to put in the time to help; I discovered this later than I would have liked, but I’m glad that I know now. Sexual assault is more common than people might think; it’s important for people to be aware of this, as well as to know that they can get help.

Both are massive issues and they need to be tackled.

As I said, people react in many different ways when I tell them I’ve been sexually assaulted. Some are stunned and have no idea what to say. Others are shocked, sad and angry. The latter two reactions generally seem to come from people who know others who have been sexually assaulted before, which, sadly, is a common reaction. There are victims of sexual assault everywhere, whether it’s someone who you sit next to in your seminar, someone who just sold you a coffee, or even you yourself. For this reason, it is vital that the issue is confronted and that people are made aware.

ith the focus of international media on the Mesopotamian Valley, due to Isis, the Syrian war, and of course the refugee crisis, it’s easy to forget about the big-picture problems of the wider Middle East. Jeremy Corbyn, the recently elected leader of the Labour party, used his speech at the party conference in Brighton to draw attention to this, and to call upon David Cameron to stand up to Saudi Arabia and stop the flow of weapons to Riyadh.

Many establishment politicians and media outlets ignore Saudi Arabia, because the guise of external stability makes it easy for our leaders to do so, in spite of the fact that Saudi Arabia blatantly lacks the desire to act in the interest of its people peace in the region.

Saudi Arabia has recently been appointed leader of a United Nations panel, which governs human rights inspections, and there was a horrifying lack of outrage in the Western world in response to this news. This is because many Western governments believe it is in our geo-political interests to turn a blind eye to the nature of the Saudi Arabian state; we buy oil from Saudi Arabia, and they then use that money to buy the weapons we manufacture.

On the surface, this appears to be a lucrative partnership, securing both our resources and strategic interests in the region.

However, this is a completely incorrect and frankly juvenile assessment of the political reality of the wider Middle East, with the Iranian nuclear deal effectively ending the main problem the West has with Iran: its capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction, as there is a genuine lack of any serious military threat. Some may argue that Iran supports terrorist groups abroad, such as Hezbollah, and is therefore a danger to be contained. Saudi Arabia, though, has been at best complicit in the Isis advance, because, as a Sunni group, it destabilises the Shia governments of Iraq and Syria, which are more closely aligned to their sworn enemy, Iran. By buying oil and selling weapons to Saudi Arabia, we make our fight against Isis much more difficult, by continuing to fund the Saudi state’s ability to resist our own influence.

Saudi Arabia’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis is both morally repugnant and against Western interests. Saudi Arabia has refused to reallocate any of the 20% of GDP it spends on defence to house refugees, or provide any humanitarian relief in the country. Instead, the Saudi government continues to use its military to bomb small and impoverished Yemen to its south, where an airstrike recently killed over 150 people at a wedding party. Perhaps more worryingly for the fight against terrorism, Saudi Arabia has offered to build 300 mosques in Germany for the influx of refugees; this is no religious humanitarianism, but a calculated move to further export Wahhabism, the Saudi government’s hard-line, socially backwards and perverted form of Islam.

In using his speech to bring the attention of people in the UK to the naïve and hypocritical relationship we have with Saudi Arabia, Jeremy Corbyn has done a wonderful thing.

The Conservative government continues, wrongly, to support one of the most detestable regimes on the entire planet, one that punishes its own citizens in a medieval fashion. Isis and Assad may be abhorrent, but we only have to look to our ‘allies’ to find the root of the poison.

6th October 2015

18

Science&Environment

Adventure of a lifetime: 1000 mph car unveiled Lauren Bird Sci&Env writer

The Bloodhound SSC (Supersonic Car) travels more than 240 mph faster than a bullet fired from a gun. It uses a Formula 1 engine just to pump the fuel. It’s powered by a combination of a Eurojet aero-engine and a rocket engine, fueled by a form of solid rubber, designed by a man with a handle-bar moustache. At top speed the forces on the outer rim of the aluminium wheels will be 50,000 times greater than Earth’s gravity. It’s going to be driven by Andy Green, the only person in history with experience of supersonic speeds at ground level. There’s only one place on Earth that can withstand the car being driven at full speed.

With huge flames shooting out the back of the car, it will cover a mile in 3.6 seconds.

None of which sounds particularly environmentally friendly. Yet the Bloodhound project is making a massive contribution to solving environmental, developmental, and many other global technology problems.

In the 21st century we need to find ways to overcome the issues posed by climate change, political and economic uncertainty, and continuing global population growth.

We need to provide clean water, sustainable energy, reliable communication and effective healthcare for up to nine billion people. In 2008 project director Richard Noble recognised the need for a new generation of innovative, skilled, and enthusiastic engineers, scientists, and mathematicians. How do you inspire a generation? With a rocket-powered car capable of up to 0 – 1,000 mph in 54 seconds, of course!

Noble and his team have broken the world land speed record twice before, in 1983 and again in 1997, but this project is more than a mission to engineer a vehicle capable of up to 1,050 mph. 4,000 schools engaged with the project in the first 18 months alone, taking part in practical workshops and design-andbuild activities, giving tens of thousands of young people a taste of teamwork, technical design, and problem solving.

It was through my own school’s involvement that I was inspired to become an engineer. I met driver Andy Green when I went to a presentation with a group from my school in 2008. I listened to him speak about how a relatively small group of enthusiastic and experienced people were working

The Bloodhound supersonic car, which can travel up to 240 mph faster than a bullet Photo: Wikimedia, Tony Hisgett together to achieve a goal that sounded impossible and decided that engineering sounded like an amazing job. I now study energy engineering, and I’d like to continue to research novel materials for renewable energy applications. It’s a million miles from the work of the engineers building the thousand-mile-an-hour car but their ingenuity and determination continues to inspire me.

The Bloodhound SSC vehicle is now about 95% complete and is on display at a sold-out exhibition at Canary Warf in London – quite a contrast to the industrial unit near Bristol where it was built. The impact that the project has had on the public’s imagination was made

clear when all 8,000 tickets to the exhibition were booked within days of the announcement.

On one side the blue and orange body work has been removed, enabling the exhibition’s visitors to see the inner structure of the car and to look through the carbon-fibre monocoque into the cockpit. Visitors will also be seeing the car in full record-attempt configuration for the first time: engine and structural testing can be performed at a range of speeds, requiring aerodynamic adaptations to the vehicle. For the 1,000 mph record attempt, the fin is a full 2 m high and is covered with the names of members of the public and small organisations that have made donations

NHS launches do-it-yourself contraceptive jab Louise Fitzgerald Sci&Env writer A DIY contraceptive jab is being offered free to women by the NHS for the first time.

The injection, called Sayana Press works by releasing a steady supply of the progesterone hormone into the bloodstream. An increase in progesterone levels prevents the woman releasing an egg and thickens the entrance to the womb making it more difficult for sperm to enter.

Sayana Press is already available if it is injected by a doctor or nurse but the drugs regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, have recently given it a licence to be administered at home.

The injection will be available from GPs and family planning clinics and is said to be a good alternative to the pill, which many people forget to take.

Women will be shown how to inject it into their stomach or thigh before being given a one-year supply.

The injection lasts between 12 and 14 weeks and will need re-administering every

three months.

A new website is being launched with advice and guides on self-injection, and there will also be alerts to remind women when their next injection is due.

Pfizer, the company behind the jab hopes it’ll be a more convenient alternative to going to the GP. A spokesperson said: “We appreciate that many women are very busy

to the project. After eight years of work the assembled vehicle will be tested for the first time after Easter 2016, travelling at speeds of up to 200 mph on a runway in Newquay, Cornwall. Providing sufficient funds can be raised, the team hope the car will be tested at 800 mph at the Hakskeen Pan in South Africa next year.

The first ever land speed record was set at 39.24 mph in France in 1898. Since then, ambitious people around the world have continued to push the boundaries of what is considered possible. It has been an epic engineering adventure and it certainly isn’t over yet. and that visiting their healthcare professional regularly to pick up their contraception can be a challenge. With around five million women in the UK choosing a hormonal contraceptive, self-injectable Sayana Press could offer an alternative to those who are short on time yet still want to take control of their family planning”.

There are concerns about this new way of administering contraceptives. With the license meaning that the jab will be available to prescribe to girls aged 12 – 18; it is feared that GPs will prescribe the jab to young girls who will then share it between friends.

Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust said: “The manufacturers may claim that this new product will only be prescribed to underage girls in exceptional circumstances, but in this area of medicine the exception all too quickly becomes much more common.

As with other forms of contraception, prescribing self-injectable contraceptives to schoolgirls is effectively giving them a licence to engage in illegal sexual activity and robbing them of the protection that the law on the age of consent is intended to give”.

Photo: Wikimedia, Ceridwen

6th October 2015

19

Science&Environment

Cancer drug shows promise for MS treatment

What’s new in science New findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provide evidence that liquid water flows on present-day Mars.

Jacob Beebe Sci&Env editor Photo: Flickr, MR McGill An experimental compound originally aimed aimed at tackling cancers, particularly brain and basal cell, has now been found to be effective at treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

The drug appears to alleviate symptoms of MS, such as leg weakness and forms of paralysis.

There are hopes that this could show promise for human application in the treatment of this debilitating degenerative disease.

Multiple sclerosis is a neurological condition that affects around 100,000 people in the UK. The disease arises as a result of the myelin, the insulating coating of nerves, become damaged because of autoimmune destruction or fault with myelin producing cells. The disease is characterised by lesions, commonly in the central nervous system, that lead to reduced myelination, this reduction in insulation causes aberrant nerve signal transduction and miscommunication in the body.

Within these lesions, a particular signalling molecule, Gli1, is usually upregulated, which is shown to sometimes play a role in cancer growth. This new drug, GANT61, acts by blocking this signal. A research team from NYU Langone Medical Center conducted a study in which mice with damaged myelin were given a dose of GANT61 daily for one

month. The results of this study showed a 50% increase in mylelin when compared to untreated mice and also showed an increase in neural stem cells that subsequently turn to myelin repair. The untreated mice suffered repetitive phases of leg weakness as well as bladder weakness, treated mice were able to recover from initial episodes of paralysis.

Professor Salzer, researcher at the institute commented on the research: “Our study results suggest that a potential long-term strategy for treating multiple sclerosis”. He added: “Our findings also make clear that there is a resident population of adult neural stem cells that we can target and recruit to treat the disorder”.

The significance for patients, if this drug proves safe and effective in human systems, would be great. In the least, it may prove to alleviate symptoms of a currently incurable disease. However, as always it is important to realise the limitations of models, a significant amount of work will be required before getting close to a human application. It is unlikely that such a drug would become a singular solution to the problem of MS, the research team hopes to follow up with more refined drugs to inhibit Gli1.

Scientists believe dark striping observed on Mars are due to flowing water.

Suggestion of liquid water on the surface of Mars has implications for the possibility of microbial life on the planet.

Research into two-million-year-old human fossils reveals that the hearing pattern resembles that of chimpanzees.

People with positive lifestyles, behaviors have different brain connections to those with negative ones.

Researchers are testing a prosthesis that turns short-term memories into longer-term ones, with the aim of avoiding damaged parts of the brain.

Leading scienctists in the UK’s have made a pitch to have the nation’s research budget raised due to oceanic warming.

Plastic-eating mealworms may help reduce landfill waste.

Scientists have found the first bioluminescent reptile – a turtle.

Researchers have found bacteria in a 20-million-year-old flea which may be the ancestor of Black Death.

Photos Left: Wikimedia, John.

Above: Wikimedia, NASA/JPS/USGS

6th October 2015

20

Travel

Photo: Georgia Tomlinson-Spence

Photo: Flickr, Jacksoncam

Why travelling is a great privilege W

e’ve all seen them, the articles telling us that there is absolutely ‘no excuse not to travel!’ and that ‘anyone and everyone’ can pack up their bags and live their lives on the adventurous side. Maybe you use Pinterest religiously, and have an entire board dedicated to travel inspiration, fuelling you to pursue that dream of teaching English in Thailand. Perhaps you even have STA Travel saved as your homescreen, always advertising new flight deals and offers that would entice any student to head off once again.

But what if we took a moment to stop and think about it all; is it true? Can just about anyone travel? Or is there actually a very specific demographic that is even able to gain any inspiration from all these sources?

Perhaps having English as a first language is a huge bonus for us, you could probably go to any place in the world and they would be in need of English teachers, but if you don’t speak English it’s probably not so easy. This is only one of a multitude of things that a single person may be fortunate enough to already have. Issues like health, time, and the obvious big one; money, do not always allow others the same advantages. If we take money, for example, our passport might allow us entry to a number of countries that do not require a visa. Even when it is required, the cost will most probably be a lot less signifcant to a British citizen than to someone from another

Dahlia Al-Abdullah asks why we should aim to travel ethically, and looks at how we can do this

nationality.

In our little bubble, perhaps, we cannot see how difficult the act of travelling is for everyone else who does not have that privilege. But, as with all forms of privilege, to be aware of it is the first step to being an effective ally for social justice. Although it is becoming easier for many of us to take three months exploring the Southeast of Asia with a tour group – how easy is it for the people who actually live in those areas? Are they benefitting from our tourism, or does that money simply feed corporate tourist companies that use their lives and cultures as bait for keen, hungry travellers?

I

t is always incredibly important to ask these questions as travellers; when you venture to other places, inherently you enter people’s lives and cultures. To be knowledgeable about what other communities will gain in order to create an equal exchange is vital. The purpose of travelling is to open your eyes, but most importantly, your mind. So those of us who do have the privilege of travelling, do so sensitively and respectfully.

Now comes the biggest question, how?

The first step is taken in recognising your privilege, but it is essential to use your knowledge to start benefitting the whole system. Begin by being wary about where your money is going and what it will be used

for. Invest your money in companies that give a clear manifesto of what they use it for. Most travel companies will have a section on their website labelled something along the lines

“Those of us who do have the privilege of travelling, let us do so sensitively and respectfully” of ‘Responsible Travel’ – check it out. If they don’t have a clear outline – email and ask.

There is absolutely no harm in asking; the harm is greater when we stay silent.

Details on how the lives of the local community are influenced by the tour you want to take is what to look out for. Learn to look past the vague statements with no substance, train your eye to look out for facts instead. In this way you can travel responsibly, aware of your imprint on the places you are visiting and making sure you are being an aid that contributes to helping the community, instead of being an enemy that brings it down.

At the essence of it all, it is always important to recognise your privilege in being able to travel, and use it to travel responsibly. Only then can we set up the pathways that will make travel more accessible to all kinds of people, and create valuble, lasting exchanges.

6th October 2015

21

Travel

Top four tips for student travellers Laudia Wride Travel writer

1

Travelling does not always have to mean going to the airport, getting on a plane, and going somewhere new and exotic.

Sometimes the most refreshing feeling is to take a bus out of town, go to the seaside, and explore a village. It doesn’t take a lot of energy, time, or money, and still gives you the joy of exploration by doing something so incredibly simple. There are countless beautiful villages scattered throughout Norfolk, that you can even reach by bicycle.

A great excuse to get your blood pumping, while travelling!

2 Photo: Flickr, Juozas Kaziukenas

The rise of the InstaTraveller Alys Barr Travel writer Instagram has become huge over the last couple of years, with people even managing to fund their travels from discreet, and sometimes not so discreet, advertising on their pages. Those of us who love Instagram will all follow people that live these seemingly amazing lives, constantly travelling from one incredible destination to another. Posting an abundance of photos every day, are these ‘InstaTravellers’ really able to enjoy their time away when their focus is so heavily orientated towards promoting themselves on social media?

Looking closer to home, we all have that one person on Facebook or Instagram who always seems to be off on a new adventure – ensuring they clog up our newsfeeds in the process. If you don’t, the chances are it’s probably you! Nowadays it’s rare that any of our friends go on holiday without uploading hundreds of photos of their amazing adventures along the way. Gone are the days of photo albums created after a trip; we are now fortunate enough to experience day by

day updates of every bikini, every cocktail and every sunset. With birds-eye photos of every meal (#foodporn) and go-pro shots from 14,000 feet, it’s no surprise that more people died taking selfies this year than were killed by sharks.

This raises the question: is social media and our overwhelming compulsion to share our lives with others ruining our travel

“Is social media, and our overwhelming compulsion to share our lives with others ruining our travel experiences?” experiences? Should we not be focussing more on enjoying our time in each country we visit, rather than planning our trips around getting the perfect Facebook cover photo?

Can we really, truly immerse ourselves in another culture, surely a major reason for travelling? If we are constantly worrying about where we are going to find the next internet café or plug socket to charge our

dying iPhones. Should we be concentrating on disconnecting from social media as part of the travelling process and experiencing another country? If it reaches the stage that we are disappointed when we cannot post our travel photos online, or are letting our dinners go cold for the perfect Instagram picture, are we really travelling for ourselves, or for our social media following?

I appreciate the desire to show people exactly where you went and what you got up to; explaining that unbelievable view from the top of Machu Picchu, that pristine desert island, or the time you got within a couple of metres of one of the ‘Big five’ just isn’t the same as showing them a photo. After all, we are told a picture says a 1000 words!

Perhaps there is a happy compromise?

Taking photos of our adventures, but not worrying about whether they make it online.

Limiting our social media intake to weekly rather than daily updates. Appreciating that sometimes a moment is more beautiful when you aren’t looking at it through a lens, and that the memory of the experience will suffice.

Make sure that you get the most out of every travelling experience, and don’t let a dead battery ruining your day!

One of the biggest reasons many of us enjoy travelling is because we love getting immersed in new cultures.

When we travel we meet all kinds of people, but never forget that in university there are all different kinds of cultures and communities right here on campus. In a university with all kinds of cultural and language societies, joining just one of them and getting completely immersed in to it will introduce you to all different kinds of people with similar shared interests and give you that same exchange that you get when travelling.

3

Take advantage of the opportunities you can find on campus. Many societies will do an annual trip away, or campus events such as Livewire’s ‘Jailbreak’ can make your travels an epic adventure, shared with friends.

Even aside from that, the academic schools will always advertise opportunities to take placements abroad. Perhaps you regret not taking a semester abroad on the Erasmus scheme; just begin to check the opportunities advertised in your newsletter, and go for it!

4

During our time at university, most of us will meet people from all different kinds of backgrounds. Utilise your friendships into the maximum by exchanging experiences between the two of you. Show them around your native hometown, and take the time to visit theirs. The more people you meet, the more places you see, the cycle goes on and on. Plus it most probably will mean free accomodation – and who would ever turn that down?

Photos Top: Wikimedia, Diliff. Below: Tom Howard, geograph.org.uk

Photo: Wikipedia, Dillif

6th October 2015

22

Sport

UEA sports teams round-up: hockey firsts and seconds Georgia Cleveland, 2nd XI Captain After an unfortunate loss last week, the UEA Ladies Second XI were determined not to let the same hapen again in their third match of the new season.

With a strong intake of new, keen hockey players at trials the evening before, we were ready to take on Carrow 1’s. UEA dominated possession from the first whistle and were quick to score taking a 1-0 lead.

The goal was firstly beautifully fashioned

by Ella O’Brien’s unrivalled stick skills and was then put away confidently by Kirsty Smith. It was in the second half that UEA’s confidence helped to control play and keep the pressure on the tiring Carrow team.

The new UEA players slotted into the team perfectly, with a special mention to the new goalie Hannah Ruddock, who made some superb saves in order to help keep the lead and finish on a 1-0 win.

UEA Hockey results 19th-20th September UEA 1st XI

8-2

Ipswich

26th-27th September UEA 1st XI

1-3

Christchurch

UEA 2nd XI

1-0

Carrow

UEA 3rd XI

3-0

Carrow

UEA 4th XI

0-0

Magpies

Rachel Mayne, 1st XI Captain After a long and treacherous journey to Ipswich, a (mostly) fresh-faced 11 took to the pitch ready for the season’s opening match.

We got off to a strong start after a saved strike was turned goalwards. Ipswich quickly retaliated with a well organised short corner routine, but the UEA Ladies were not to be put out of their stride. We continued to dominate the match, eventually putting away eight goals and keeping Ipswich at two.

Goals rained down from all positions across the pitch. Rachel Millar took a fantastic hat-trick, as Alex VJ, Heather Ward and Lucy Jeffery all added goals.

A huge shout has to go out to the defenders and goalkeeper who shut Ipswich down at every turn and provided a solid foundation for the attacking players. Following five months rest, playing without a single sub was extremely hard work.

A mixed bag of results over the last two weeks for the Women’s Hockey teams, as the first team triumph comprehensively over Ipswich

Newcastle’s malaise continues in week of League Cup action Nick­ Murphy Sport writer Pressure continues to mount on Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers after the Reds narrowly edged out League Two side Carlisle United on penalties at Anfield. Last season’s semifinalists required spot-kicks to see off Keith Curle’s side, despite having an astonishing 47 attempts on goal. Liverpool made six changes coming into the match, including a debut for goalkeeper Adam Bogdan, signed from Bolton in the summer. Everything looked to be going to plan midway through the first half, Danny Ings slotting home to give the Reds the lead from Adam Lallana’s ball in. But within ten minutes the scores were level, with Derek

3

The number of penalty shootout saves made by Liverpool’s second keeper, Adam Bogdan

Asamaoh firing home an equaliser at the near post in front of the Kop. With the scores at one apiece, Liverpool continued to push for that elusive second goal. But as the game was edging past 90 minutes there was still no goal in evidence. Memories of Liverpool’s League Cup embarrassment to fourth tier Northampton in 2010 seemed to be flooding back, as the game trundled on to penalties.

Despite both sides missing crucial spot-kicks, Adam Bogdan was the hero, making three stops to send the Reds through 3-2 and dump out the valiant Carlisle rearguard.

Meanwhile, discontent also grows at St James Park following Newcastle’s fourth thirdround exit in a row from this competition, this time at the hands of Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday. The Magpies, whose only win up to this point had been a 4-1 demolition of Northampton Town in the second round, came close to taking the lead through Moussa Sissoko just before half-time, only for his shot to clip the outside of the post. The introduction of Sergiu Bus in the second half ignited the visitors and within ten minutes of his arrival the Owls had the lead.

A hopeful ball upfield from Joe Wildsmith was cleared only to Lewis McGugan, and the former Nottingham Forest winger needed

Photo: mirsasha, flickr.com

Photo: Ronnie Macdonald flickr.com no invitation before rifling home first time past Tim Krul and into the bottom corner.

Wednesday could have added to their lead five minutes later when Lucas Joao crashed a shot against the bar. However, McGugan’s goal proved enough to inflict more pain on Newcastle boss Steve McLaren and send the Owls through to a fourth round date with Arsenal.

Alongside Sheffield Wednesday, the Championship is represented in the last 16 by Hull City and Middlesbrough.

Boro cruised past Wolves at the Riverside to reach the fourth round for the fourth time in the last five years, while a David Meyler goal was enough for Steve Bruce’s Hull to dump out 2013 winners Swansea City. This set them up with a home tie against early pace-setters

Leicester City. Middlesborough meanwhile will travel to Man Utd in the next round.

The three hotly anticipated derby games provided little surprise as Arsenal, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all advanced after negotiating tricky ties. A stunning Mathieu Flamini double, including a sumptuous first time volley, was enough for the Gunners away at Spurs. Over in South London, Dwight Gayle was the hero for Palace after netting a hat-trick in their 4-1 demolition of local rivals Charlton.

Meanwhile at Villa Park, Aston Villa and Birmingham City’s first meeting in four years was settled by a powerful header from Rudy Gestede to set up a meeting on the South Coast with Southampton. United themselves had little trouble in seeing off Ipswich Town at Old Trafford, as goals from Wayne Rooney,

Antony Martial and Andreas Pereira on his debut secured a 3-0 win against Mick McCarthy’s men.

Closer to home, Norwich City ensured their place in round four with a 3-0 victory against fellow Premier League side West Brom. After a goalless first half the Canaries took the lead on the hour through a Matt Jarvis goal. A neat finish from NorthernIreland International Kyle Lafferty and an own goal by Sebastien Pocognoli rounded off the scoring for the Canaries who travel to Everton in the fourth round.

Elsewhere a rampant Southampton saw off Championship outfit MK Dons 6-0, while there was to be no shock at the Banks Stadium as Chelsea put their early season woes behind them, cruising to a 4-1 success over Walsall.

6th October 2015

23

Sport COMMENT Isabelle Wilson considers whether Costa is costing football

F

ew teams seem to remain so consistently under the spotlight as Chelsea. Be it their form, their manager or their off the pitch antics, it seems impossible to ignore them.

The latest in Chelsea’s outlier of a season is the questionable behaviour of their anti-hero, Diego Costa during the Arsenal vs Chelsea clash last Saturday.

Chelsea’s 2-0 victory barely tells the story of a heated and controversial 90 minutes between the two clubs.

Costa’s unprovoked altercation with Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny was followed by a tussle with Gabriel which saw both players booked before Gabriel lashed out and kicked him, earning himself seeing a second yellow. card.

The incident caused much post-match debate. Questions were raised over Costa’s behaviour and Mike Dean’s decision making, as well as over Gabriel’s naivety in reacting to Costa’s obvious attempts to frustrate him.

Consequently the Football Association (FA) decided to revoke Gabriel’s double yellow, instead giving him a one match ban for his reaction to being sent off.

Costa, however, received a three-match ban for violent conduct.

It seems hard to argue against the ban.

You can’t assault a player and get away with it. It raises the question, why does Costa behave in this way?

Of course, Costa is not the only striker in the world who attempts to antagonise defenders and get them booked. It effectively limits their game, and a centreback on a yellow is a far less formidable opponent. Gabriel should not have reacted in such an aggressive manner, he should’ve known better and Costa got exactly what he wanted when Gabriel was sent off.

Of course Gabriel’s sending off ruined

Photo: Ben Sutherland, wikimedia.org the game, but for Chelsea it ensured three crucial points. So whilst some of us might not like it, there is an argument to be made that Costa is doing everything he can for his team except, of course, scoring goals.

However -and it is a big however- it has led to Chelsea having to play three games without their first team striker. Could it be said that Costa is a liability to the team’s success?

Comparatively, last season Costa

scored eight goals in his opening six games with nearly a 50% conversion rate.

This season he has netted just once, with a conversion rate of only 12%.

He is undeniably an incredibly talented player who is capable of dominating and commanding the pitch. Unfortunately, without his superlative striking skills in evidence, this seasonhe is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Perhaps his behaviour is stemming from

frustration, a reflection of the mood at Stamford Bridge. Similarly to Mourinho’s behaviour this season, when Chelsea are doing well it seems entertaining. When they are not it begins to seem desperate, and desperation is not a Mourinho hallmark.

Three points and a three match ban.

Perhaps if Costa starts performing at his best, his behaviour will lessen but for now one has to wonder, is it worth it?

City out of cup, but still in contention for League Tom Gordon Sport editor Although Jose Mourinho is lamenting the “worst period and results” of his entire career - at any of the European giants he has been lucky enough to manage – Emma Hayes’ Chelsea Ladies have very little to lament.

Whilst their male counterparts languish at 14th in the table, behind our Canaries, Chelsea Ladies are topping the Women’s Super League One with only a game left of the season. As with last season, when they were pipped on the final day via goal difference by Liverpool, Chelsea have a two goal lead over second placed Manchester City. Chelsea require a win to assure that the trophy will be brought back to West London. A draw against Sunderland will only be enough for Chelsea to be crowned champions if City fail to beat fifth-placed Notts County by three or more goals.

In other Ladies’ news, it was a red-letter couple of weeks for Arsenal and England’s Danielle Carter. She was the driving force behind England’s 8-0 rout of Estonia on 21st September, bagging herself a hat-trick on her England debut. Not content with the one

victory, she also played her part in Arsenal’s victory over Manchester City on 1st October, securing their place in the semi-finals of the Continental Cup. However, this game was not without controversy, off the pitch, rather than on it.

City’s manager Nick Cushing railed against the “disrespectful” scheduling of the game, which had been rearranged on account of the Football Association (FA) having to resolve the question of whether or not City had an ineligible player on their squad. City had only been informed of the Thursday kick-off on the Monday of that week, just three days before their title deciding game on Sunday. Cushing was understandably aggrieved at this. Not only was he banking on at least five days to prepare for the title decider against Notts County. On top of that the FA said that it might have been an error on their part for losing the registration form of the supposedly ineligible player. With the Continental Cup falling through their fingers, to fall short at second on the final day of the season would be doubly galling for the Mancunians. With a potential play-off on the cards, come Sunday it will be sure to be another barnstorming end to the Super League season.

Photo: joshjdss, wikipedia.org

Sport 6th October 2015 Issue 314

Arsenal knock City out of cup >P27

League cup action >P26

Photo: FLICKR, Badger Swan

Cricket’s Jones retires while Sussex are relegated Richard Ewart Sport writer Cricket’s Geraint Jones enjoyed a fitting end to his career as Gloucestershire secured a thrilling comeback against Surrey to win the Royal London One Day Cup. Jones, who had already hit the winning runs in the quarterfinal against Hampshire, scored one of his most important fifties to drag his side up to a below par 220.

Surrey would have been confident going into the break. Especially given Jade Dernbach’s pleasing performance, as he took 6-35, including the vital wicket of in-form Michael Klinger in the first over, as well as a hat-trick to finish the innings.

Despite James Fuller getting openers, Steve Davies and England star Jason Roy out early, Surrey appeared to be heading for victory. The experienced Kumar Sangakkara and Rory Burns were steering Surrey to within 71 runs of victory with eight wickets and plenty of overs remaining.

However, when Sangakkara hit a full-toss straight down mid-on’s throat, everything changed. At the age of just 17, Sam Curran made a valiant 37 runs, but Surrey still

Hamilton extends championship lead in Japan Esther Veas Sport writer On the 27th September, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton stormed to victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. This came as a relief after last race’s disappointment, which saw Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel win his third race of the season, when Hamilton was forced to retire from the Singapore Grand Prix after struggling with a loss of power in his car. It was his first retirement this year, and only the team’s second retirement in the past season after his team-mate Nico Rosberg’s engine

collapsed from 143-two to 214 all out, losing by six runs in the last over with seamer David Payne taking two wickets in three balls to win the match for Gloucestershire. The Man of the Match award was given to Jack Taylor as his off-spin took three wickets and built important pressure, backed up by Tom Smith’s slow leftarm. Gloucestershire fully deserved the win and Ashes hero Geraint Jones received a wellearned farewell.

With promotion already guaranteed for Surrey, they did achieve the bonus of winning Division Two of the County Championship, beating Lancashire to first place. Although they only achieved a draw against Northants, it was enough for the title as Lancashire failed to beat Essex. Young brothers Tom and Sam Curran ended their fantastic breakthrough seasons on a high as they bowled Northants out for 110 in the first innings, taking all ten wickets between them. A win could not be forced, however, as Ben Duckett, Adam Rossington and David Murphy all made centuries in Northants’ second innings as they amassed 514, setting Surrey 215 to win.

This was out of Surrey’s reach, despite Jason Roy’s best efforts with a swashbuckling 77 off 35 balls including eight sixes.

The two England internationals on show

for Lancashire’s visit to Essex, James Anderson and Alastair Cook, had mixed fortunes.

Anderson took seven wickets for 77 in the first innings, including the wicket of Cook, while the England captain made just seven runs in two innings. In spite of Anderson’s efforts, Essex were still dominating the match when it finished as a draw, which seemed inevitable after rain washed out the first day.

This left Surrey Division Two champions, with Lancashire the side joining them next season in Division One. Worcestershire were already confirmed as being relegated from Division One after losing to Durham in the penultimate match, however it was not known whether Sussex or Hampshire would join them. Hampshire faced Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge while Sussex faced a huge test; playing Yorkshire at Headingley. Sussex needed to either to avoid defeat against Yorkshire or for Nottinghamshire to beat Hampshire.

After Hampshire were reduced to 203-8 in their first innings, trailing by almost 150 runs, it was looking good for Sussex. However, tailenders Ryan Mclaren and Gareth Berg both made important fifties to bring Hampshire up to near Notts’ score. The home side were then bowled out cheaply, with Hampshire chasing

unit failed during the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

In Suzuka, an aggressive start by Hamilton meant that Rosberg, who started from pole after Saturday’s qualifying session, was redflagged following a heavy crash caused by Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat, dropped down to fourth. This enabled Hamilton to open up a gap which lasted him until the chequered flag.

Rosberg at least managed nevertheless to secure second position after a cunning pit-stop strategy. His title chances, however, continue to fade after yet another strong performance from Hamilton, who now holds a 48-point lead with just 125 points available in the remainder of this season.

Vettel finished third, ahead of team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. Räikkönen’s countryman Valtteri Bottas came home in fifth, just three seconds behind, achieving a few bittersweet points for Williams.

Meanwhile team-mate Felipe Massa could only manage 17th place after an early race shunt involving Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo,

where both cars suffered punctured tyres.

Force India’s Nico Hülkenberg had a smooth race from 13th on the grid, obtaining a sixth place, just ahead of the Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, who finished seventh and eighth respectively. It was the first time in six races that both Lotus cars made it to the end of the race.

Some other memorable moments included McLaren’s Fernando Alonso airing his frustrations on the team radio, declaring the car’s pace was “embarrassing” and “of GP2 standard”. On top of that, Toro Rosso’s 17-year-old Max Verstappen’s great performance, which saw him finish ninth after starting 17th on the grid.

The 2015 Japanese Grand Prix was the 41st win of Hamilton’s career. His total now equals that of the late Ayrton Senna, who is widely regarded as one of the best drivers to grace the sport.

The next Grand Prix event will take place between the 9th and 11th of October in Sochi, Russia.

down the target comfortably and winning by eight wickets. Fidel Edwards made the biggest contribution in the match, taking 10 wickets.

Hampshire’s victory on the fourth day meant Sussex had to avoid defeat against Yorkshire, a tough ask against the back-toback champions. After the first innings scores had only three runs between them, Yorkshire set Sussex 309 to win, leaving the match in the balance. The Sharks never recovered from the early collapse triggered by Jack Brooks’ three early wickets and lost by 100 runs, making just 208 and condemning themselves to second division cricket in 2016. Michael Yardy can be proud of his efforts in this game and his career as he made 70 and 41 for Sussex in his final game. However, it was all in vain for the south coast side as their five-year stay in the top division ended.

In international news, Samit Patel has replaced Zafar Ansari in the England squad after Ansari dislocated a finger while fielding.

Patel is a like-for-like replacement for Ansari, offering something with the bat as well as left-arm spin, though he will be the third choice spinner in the squad behind Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. England play their first test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 13th October.

Photo: Stefan Brending Photo: Wikimedia, flickr, magro_kr