Concrete 334

10

Clive

When Concrete Met Brexit, Trident and why students shouldn't feel ignored

16 9 God Save The Queen?

Concrete debates the role of the monarchy in the modern world

>>Trump Talk

The first installment of our new column

31st January 2017 Issue 334

Burger-lar faces union suspension

The official student newspaper of the University of East Anglia | concrete-online.co.uk

Caitlin Doherty

Deputy Editor Five students have been caught shoplifting from the campus shop in two days, following a clampdown on missing stock.

Stricter monitoring, including greater use of CCTV, was introduced at the start of the semester after shop staff noted unusually high amounts of missing stock during two consecutive stocktakes. Several possible causes were investigated, including staff theft and incorrect stock taking, however, shop floor theft was found to be the most likely cause.

Thefts have included a postgraduate student caught on CCTV stealing a burger, and a student leaving the shop without paying for hot drinks. One shoplifter was stopped by a student staff member after walking out of the shop without paying for a sandwich. On two separate occasions, students were stopped by members of staff with bags full of groceries that they had not paid for.

All of these incidents have been referred to the Union Code of Conduct pending a full investigation, and they will also be referred to a disciplinary panel. Following the verdict of the disciplinares, thieves will likely face temporary bans from SU activities, including participation in clubs and societies and access to

the bars and LCR. It is possible that more serious cases will be referred to the University. Sanctions may involve students being suspended.

Commenting on the incidents, Campaigns and Democracy Officer, Amy Rust said: "we are doing all that we can to try and reduce prices in the shop, and one of the thing that will help is reducing our losses on stock. We’ve improved things behind the scenes, but our shrinkage is too high on the shop floor, which is why last week we installed cameras and employed extra monitoring measures to eradicate shoplifting.”

"So far we’ve caught at least a couple of people every day, and while we take this very seriously we also want to make sure to sit down with the students in question and determine why this happened in the first place. Sanctions could include a temporary ban from SU facilities (as happened recently in the Jo Swo case), or in more serious cases, a referral to the University disciplinary process.”

Commenting further regarding welfare concerns, Jo Swo, SU Welfare, Community and Diversity Officer said: "Obviously some of these cases also present health and welfare concerns. We acknowledge that one of the main problems for students is the cost of living on campus, which is why we are working closely to ensure students caught that are in difficulty always get the help that they need.”

Page 4: Queen Elizabeth visits Sainsbury Centre

Norwich welcomes Syrian refugees Amanda Ng & Emily Hawkins Senior News Reporter & News Editor UEA students, alongside many other Norwich residents, will warmly welcome the first Syrian refugees being resettled to Norwich. Welcome efforts have

been underway following Norfolk County Council’s (NCC) decision to accept Syrians fleeing the country in the summer, and will include multiple campus-based efforts to help the first five families arriving in early February.

Norwich will offer sanctuary to the refugees as part of the government’s pledge to resettle an

overall 20,000 Syrians fleeing from civil war over the next five years through the Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme.

The final decision to accept 50 Syrians and pay for the longterm costs of resettlement was made by the county council in July 2016. The vote was 64 to six, with one abstention. There was some

opposition, particularly from UKIP councillors, with the group leader calling the result "the tip of the iceberg”. However, Cliff Jordan, Leader of the NCC, said Norfolk had "a long tradition of extending the hand of friendship to those in need."

Norfolk County Council will be providing a specialist team to help

smooth the process of resettling refugees into council homes in the Greater Norwich area.

From the early days of the refugee crisis, Norwich has shown strong support to Syrians. In 2015, various initiatives spawned on Continued on page 3

31st January 2017

2

Editorial For #QEA and country Caitlin Doherty Deputy Editor

Dougie Dodds

Norwich remains welcoming

We launch our latest column, 'Trump Watch' and Norwich welcomes fifty Syrian refugees Megan Baynes Editor-in-Chief It’s hard not to feel depressed about the state of the world when you look at the news. Donald Trump has taken office and a flurry of executive orders have followed. In the first week, he has signed an executive order banning immigrants from seven countries, reinstated the global gag order, started work on the Mexican wall (with the help of a 20 percent tax on Mexican goods) and promised to publish a weekly list with all crimes committed by (both legal and illegal) immigrants.

It’s enough to make your head spin and want to hide away underneath your duvet for the next 1371 days.

Yet that is not a practical, nor realistic, idea (despite how comfy it might seem). With Theresa May seemingly doing nothing to prevent discrimination against British citizens (the immigration ban applies to dual citizens too) it seems that we will not be safe from the effects of the Trump administration.

The most controversial, although by no means the most serious, of these executive orders is the immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) from entering the United States for the next 90 days, as well as suspending the refugee program for 120 days.

This order, enacted with the stroke of Trump’s pen at 4:42pm on Friday, also bars green card holders from those countries from re-entering the United States.

It has subsequently stranded immigrants and refugees across the globe. Families fleeing terror and persecution have been told they

cannot enter the United States. You don’t have to be an American to see sad about the future of the world.

This week we have launched our new column, online and in print. ‘Trump Watch’ will feature a concise daily summary of the Trump Administration and provide you with all the news that you need to know, without having to trawl through hundreds of different websites (we’ve done all the hard work for you). The plan is to keep this up until Trump stops enacting controversial policies or until the end of the world, whichever comes first. Probably the end of the world.

"It is positive to see that, amidst a sea of anti-immigrant rhetoric, Norwich has stepped up to the mark" Despite this, it is positive to see that, amidst a sea of anti-immigrant rhetoric, Norwich has stepped up to the mark (front page & p.3). Last year Norwich City Council made the decision to accept 50 Syrian Refugees and these families will be arriving in early February. Norwich has always remained proudly liberal amongst a conservative Norfolk sea: you only have to look at the referendum results to see that.

However, the decision was not an easy one and in July six UKIP

councillors voted against taking in the refugees. Yet UEA has openly voiced support for those about to arrive saying true to the slogan ‘UEA is open’.

This week's cover story looks at the rise of theft at the campus shop.

Whilst the thought of a student being suspended over the theft of a veggie burger seems faintly ludicrous, the root causes of this problem are not quite as funny. We all know the shop is expensive (over £1.50 for a pack of butter? No thank you, I'll walk to Aldi) but despite consistent student complaints nothing seems to be done to combat this problem.

Whilst the rise in shoplifting might be in part due to lapsed security and a student tendency to favour the five finger discount, there may also be a slightly more serious problems at the heart of this.

The cost of living on campus has only increased in recent years and students are finding it difficult to afford basics. I can't be the only one who gets fed up of having to live off 'buttery spread' and not-noodles.

Whilst students should face the consequences of theft (it is, after all, illegal) it would be good to see the SU look into the root causes of the problem and offer a solution that doesn't result in students stuffing sandwiches up their jumpers.

But, aside from Trump and the UEA hamburglar, this issue of Concrete has much to be positive about. From aliens (p.9) to new food at Campus Kitchen (p.14) this issue is full of features to make you smile.

If you need something to distract you from the cold, grey concrete of campus, make sure to check out Dan Salliss's travel feature (p.20).

Meanwhile, if you need me, I'll be in Scotland.

The weather ensured that it was more cold and laborious than happy and glorious, and you may have struggled to catch a glimpse through the blacked out windows of the Range Rovers speeding away from the glamour and Pot Noodle clad kitchens of Constable Terrace towards the Sainsbury Centre. But, decked out in a hot pink coat and hat combo, you can’t deny that when the Queen arrived, she did it in style.

There was no better location for Her Majesty’s first official engagement since her Christmas illness/disappearance - delete as appropriate in line with conspiracy theorists - than the Sainsbury Centre: contemporary art museum by day, superhero headquarters by night, an encounter with either Fijian drummers or Iron Man would surely be a warm welcome back to public service for anybody.

From the Sex Pistols bouncing around and smashing stages, to the emphatic flag wavers who line the Mall every year with their soggy sandwiches, most people have some sort of opinion on the Queen, her children and various descendants, and of course, not everybody embraced the Queen’s trip to campus. Joe Rutter and Thomas Gymer debate the pros and cons of the Royal Family, their status, and expenditure in this week’s comment section.

Of course, there is more to UEA this week than a crown with a convoy. Thursday 2nd February is Time to Talk Day, a day that encourages people to talk about mental health. Mental health is often considered a taboo subject in polite conversation, but with one in ten young people believed to be suffering from a mental health condition, university can be a challenging time for many students. Alongside an interview with two of UEA’s Nightline volunteers, Features cover Time to Talk Day in depth, offering some tips on helping maintain a positive mindset when studying, socialising and everything in between gets tough.

concrete-online.co.uk ConcreteUEA

The University of East Anglia’s Independent Student newspaper since 1992 Tuesday 31st January 2017 Issue 334 Union House University of East Anglia Norwich NR4 7TJ 01603 593466 www.concrete-online.co.uk Editor-in-Chief Megan Baynes concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk Deputy Editors Jessica Frank-Keyes Caitlin Doherty concrete.deputy@uea.ac.uk Online James Chesson concrete.online@uea.ac.uk News Emily Hawkins Senior Reporter: Amanda Ng concrete.news@uea.ac.uk concrete.seniornews@uea.ac.uk Global Sacha Silverstone concrete.global@uea.ac.uk Features Lillie Coles Lydia Lockyer concrete.features@uea.ac.uk Comment Charlie Dwyer concrete.comment@uea.ac.uk Science Milly Godfrey concrete.science@uea.ac.uk Travel Jennifer Redfern concrete.travel@uea.ac.uk Sport Richard Ewart Nick Murphy concrete.sport@uea.ac.uk Chief Copy-Editors Molly Burgess Emma Slaughter concrete.copy@uea.ac.uk Marketing Director Katie Gleeson concrete.marketing@uea.ac.uk Social Media Coordinator Charlotte Spencer concrete.socialmedia@uea.ac.uk Events Manager Sam Naylor Events Assistant: Grace Fothergill concrete.events@uea.ac.uk

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Editorial Enquiries Complaints & Corrections concrete.editor@uea.ac.uk

Queen Elizabeth: Megan Baynes Plane: Peter Kratochvil

No part of this newspaper may be reproduced by any means without the permission of the Editor-in-Chief, Megan Baynes. Published by the Union of UEA Students on behalf of Concrete.

Concrete is a UUEAS society, but retains editorial independence as regards to any content. Opinions expressed herein are those of individual writers, not of Concrete or its editorial team.

News

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31st January 2017

No black academics in senior roles since 2013 Rebecca Thompson News Reporter A new report released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has revealed that no black senior management staff were employed by any British university in the year 2015-16.

This marks the third consecutive year that black academics have been recorded as absent from the roles of managers, directors and senior officials in universities throughout the UK. The last occurrence that HESA recorded any black members of staff in the most senior category was 2012-13, with a mere 5 recorded black employees in the top category.

The 2015-16 figures show 3,205 black people are employed as academics, at British universities.

These figures highlight an ongoing and evident disparity in higher education, with 510 white academics employed in comparison to a total

Katy Went

Continued from front page social media, such as Izzy Day’s successful "Calais Action - Norwich Facebook”, which took food and clothing donations to Calais.

Prof. Lyndsey Stonebridge, a History lecturer at UEA, is currently leading Refugee Hosts, a AHRCESRC funded research project, alongside academics from UCL, Queen Margaret and Durham.

She said that the project aims to "critically inform public debates about refugees through print media, social media, television” and other types of media.

Stonebridge is currently calling on UEA students to participate in a cross-university competition to design a logo to be "the face” of Refugee Hosts. Interested students are encouraged to visit the Refugee Hosts website and submit a design before 13 February.

Livewire teamed up with the Migrant Solidarity Campaign (MSC) for their annual Battle of the Bands event last November, to collect donations. In January, UEA announced they would introduce scholarships for refugees living in Norfolk. The announcement followed a petition from the MSC and other students.

The Article 26 scholarship program is named after the clause stating "higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit” in the Universal

Katy Jon Went Declaration of Human Rights.

The University's website states that they hope to support "the aspirations of refugees” through the provision of an undergraduate and a postgraduate scholarship.

SU Welfare Community and Diversity Officer Jo Swo said that students "have a proud tradition of community involvement," and praised students for collecting donations to send to Calais and for arranging art exhibitions in the city to raise awareness about the crisis.

of 25 BME employees recorded in the most recent statistics. 30 senior academics either refused or failed to record an ethnicity.

Former higher education minister and current MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, has called the figures "absolutely shocking" and "deeply unrepresentative of the country".

He said the "complete lack of diversity" sends a dreadful message" to BME young people "wondering whether university is for them or not."

The 2015-16 report has also publicised the fact that the number of black staff employed by universities as receptionists, cleaners and porters far outweigh those employed as

Valerie Amos Simon Davis

Mental health nurses to join city police patrols

Students "have a proud tradition of community involvement"

She said the SU are currently in conversation with societies "about talking starting collections again with an emphasis on local refugee families and finding out what support they need.”

Nicholl Hardwick, speaking on behalf of MSC, said in February they will be "taking part in the 'One Day Without Us' campaign, producing a 'Wake Up Love More' zine as well as working in conjunction with Movement for Justice to host the 'Speak Up for Refugees' music and poetry open mic night on February 10." She said with these events students are aiming "to provide care, solidarity, and produce a positive change in current attitudes towards migrants"

professors and lecturers.

In 2011 a report by the Equality Challenge Unit’s (ECU) on the experience of BME staff in higher education in England found that "BME staff feel under greater scrutiny, have to work harder to prove themselves, are less likely to be encouraged to go for promotion".

The ECU’s race equality charter launched in 2016 asks the higher education sector to prove its commitment to BME students and staff and is "designed to improve the representation, retention and experiences of BME students and staff".

In compiling this data, HESA follow a policy of rounding down entries of two or fewe r to zero. This has meant that Valerie Amos, appointed the director of SOAS in 2015, does not show up in the data unless she did not record her ethnicity.

Flickr, West Midlands Police Imogen Barton News Reporter A partnership between Norfolk Constabulary police officers and nurses from the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) has formed.

This falls under Operation Gravity, an initiative aiming to reduce drug-related crimes in the area. Authorities have said the rationale behind the partnership is to prompt vulnerable drug users to reach out for help. The new approach intends to identify and assist vulnerable individuals in their own homes.

A secondary motivation to help users is to inhibit the influence of drug dealers in the area.

"Giving people who get caught up in this kind of activity options is an important part of our work" Operation Gravity lead, Chief Superintendent Dave Marshall said that "giving people who get caught

up in this kind of activity options is an important part of our work.”

The Norfolk Recovery Partnership (NRP) will be responsible for admitting the drug users. They also have experience with treating those with alcoholrelated problems.

Treatments for drug users under the scheme includes assessment, detoxification, medication. counselling and group support.

Previously, the NSFT focused on advising civilians dealing with the police (if mental health factored into the situation). With the new partnership, they will learn how to administer Naloxine, which is an antidote for opiate overdoses.

31st January 2017

4

News

Queen Elizabeth visits campus

Art and life at Kate Romain Arts Editor

Her Majesty looking at Fijian artefacts: Andi Sapey UEA

The Queen departing the Sainsbury Centre: Andi Sapey UEA

Fijian Warriors wait to greet the Queen: Megan Baynes Megan Baynes Editor-in-Chief On Friday morning members of the UEA Media Collective gathered outside the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, armed with cameras and microphones, to await the arrival of the UK’s most prestigious visitor.

We had been told to arrive early in order to register for the event and receive our briefing. This consisted of ‘watch out for those other guys, they’re professionals and they have sharp elbows.’ Ready to fight for the perfect photo of Her Majesty we made our way to the press pen.

The Queen was not the first high profile guest to attend the Sainsbury Centre exhibition ‘Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific’: on display are the largest number of Fijian artefacts ever seen in the UK. The event was opened in October by the President of Fiji, Joiji Konousi Konrote, and guests at the launch included Sir David Attenborough and Lord Sainsbury.

90 minutes later the Media

Collective team were still waiting in the press pen, feet now sufficiently numb, trying to act like professional journalists. The crowd outside the Sainsbury centre had begun to fill out, with latecomers flocking to the teaching wall in the hopes of gathering a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth. One daring student attempted to climb a tree in order to get a better view.

Flags at the ready, every time a car drove past the crowd held its collective breath. The Queen’s smallest admirers, excited pupils from West Earlham Infant and Nursery School and Bluebell Primary, arrived shortly after 11, lining the road in paper crowns, sure to impress the royal visitor.

Fijian warriors, in skirts made from dried bark strands stood without shoes, waiting to symbolically guard the Queen when she arrived. One of the 6’7” warriors was 19-year-old Joe Cokanasiga, a winger with the rugby union club London Irish. He later said that it was an ‘honour’ to guard the Queen

High Commissioner of Fiji, HE Mr Jitoko Tikolevu showing Queen Elizabeth the exhibits: Andi Sapey

A student climbs a tree hoping to get a better view: Megan Baynes on her visit.

The growing sound of the traditional Fijian drumming heralded the impending arrival of her Majesty. The sounds of cheering could be heard further up campus as a slow procession of Range Rovers made their way down the road, Union Jacks waving them along.

Despite the grey clouds and the grey concrete, Queen Elizabeth dazzled campus in fuchsia pink.

Her short stature was compensated for by the most fabulous hat in the east of England. She stepped down from her car on to the red carpet be greeted by the two warriors, pausing only slightly at the sight — I suppose her years of engagements have left little to be surprised at.

She walked swiftly past, collecting a small posy of flowers from a local schoolgirl.

Despite suffering from bad health over Christmas, the Queen appeared to be in great spirits despite the cold. This was supposed to be the day that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh carried

out their first joint engagement of the year: however, the Duke of Edinburgh’s absence caused many to question whether he had actually been informed of this. Royal aides admitted later that a diary mix up was the reason for the Duke’s absence.

Inside the Centre she met with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Richardson and the Fiji High Commissioner to the UK, H.E Mr Jitoko Tikolevu. Her majesty also watched footage of herself during her first visit to Fiji in 1953. Before departing from the back of the Sainsbury centre — Avengers style — she met with representatives from the university community, as well as Fijian students studying at UEA. Campus had been buzzing for the past week about the visit. One international student from Poland told Concrete, “Personally, I came because I think it’s interesting. She’s the link to the past that in some countries is long forgotten, but here it still exists.”

Curated by world authority on life in the Pacific Stephen Hooper, and housing over 270 works of Art, Fiji: Art & Life in the Pacific is the largest and most extensive exhibition on Fiji ever assembled.

Taking place here at our very own Sainsbury Centre, the exhibition is home to a wide range of impressive and visually compelling art, including sculpture, ceramics, ivory, and shell regalia presented so as to take the viewer on a journey through the cultural history of Fiji from the 18th century. Extensive collections of art works have been bought here from all over the world, including pieces on loan from the Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge, the Fiji Museum, the British Museum, the Pitt Rivers Museum (Oxford) and museums in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Exeter, London, and Maidstone, as well as Dresden and Leipzig in Germany.

The exhibition is the result of a three year project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, a project which oversaw the thorough examination of large Fijian collections from both the UK and abroad.

So, what can one expect from this exhibition? That Fijians produce the widest range of art from anywhere in the pacific is demonstrated by expanse of artefacts. The objects assembled were generally created for practical use: on display are spears and arrows for war, bowls and cups for drinking, and votive objects used to pay respect to ancestors.

Perhaps most impressively of all, the exhibition includes an eight metre double-hulled canoe build from Ironwood. Hooper has said visitors must ‘forget these things ethnographic specimens’. They should instead ‘look at these things as if they were made by the heroes of the 20th century.’ Remarkably, Hooper goes onto say that in order to draw the most from the exhibition visitors must ‘forget "artefacts”, forget "art”, forget all those categories – it’s all rubbish!’

Western work is also displayed; though naturally subordinate to the Fijian work, it provides the exhibition with a little more context. 17th century Watercolours by artists James Glen Wilson (available to view digitally by touchscreen) and Lady Constance Gordon Cumming beautifully depict a scene involving Fijian war Canoes, and provide a comprehensive catalogue of the myriad designs and items present on the island at the time.

Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific is both thought provoking and visually stunning. I have no doubt that her majesty was impressed.

5

31st January 2017

News

Clive Lewis suggests future Article 50 rebellion COMMENT

Tony Allen

calls on MPs to oppose Article 50

Sophie Elliott Henry Newton News Reporter Norwich South MP Clive Lewis has said that he would be willing to defy a Labour Whip and vote against the triggering of Article 50, but will vote with the party in the first reading.

Clive Lewis told the Eastern Daily Press, he will "respect the will of the referendum" but that "you have to give parliament a chance to do the best thing."

"This is what the second reading is about. We will put down those red lines and markers and reporting back mechanisms. I will, along with the rest of the Labour Party, make sure we hold this government to account.”

The Labour leader, Jeremy

Corbyn, has stated that he would not seek to block the wish of the British People, telling Sky News, "We will not block Article 50.”

Yet this has not stopped the threat of rebellion within his party, with a handful of Labour MPs having publicly said they will oppose Article 50, and rumours of others following suit.

"You have to give parliament a chance to do the best thing" Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq resigned from the shadow cabinet after it was announced Corbyn would implement a threeline whip on the vote.

Lewis said that if he does not

agree with the deal as it is presented at the final reading, "in terms of report back mechanisms, red lines on negotiations and a final parliamentary veto on the deal,” he would "vote accordingly”.

Much of the controversy over the triggering of Article 50 stems from the hard Brexit that has been hinted at by the Conservative administration.

They have made it clear that the process of leaving will involve revoking membership of the single market, something which has caused controversy amongst many of those seeking a more mild approach.

In January the Supreme Court ruled that Parliament would have to be consulted before the government is able to trigger the clause, which

once done would see Britain’s exit from the EU occur within two years.

Lewis said he was "mindful” that most of his constituency voted to remain in the EU. Norwich voted to Remain by 56.2 percent with a turnout of 69.1 percent.

96 56.2 31

thousand Norwich residents voted in the EU refrendum.

percent of Norwich voters voted to Remain in the EU. March is the Prime Minister's self-imposed deadline for Article 50 to be triggered

As our voice in Parliament, it is Clive Lewis’ responsibility to represent our constituency above any other consideration, including that of his party. After all, Labour only received 36.5 percent of the combined Norwich vote in the 2015 General Election whereas 56.2 percent of the city wanted to remain in Europe.

Despite my support of Jeremy Corbyn, I think he has dropped the ball here. Turning the nowinevitable vote on triggering Article 50 into a three-line whip (meaning MPs are ordered to attend and vote on the party line) would pit his leadership against majorities in Labour strongholds like the Remain-supporting London.

In his current position Corbyn needs to trust his MPs, not give them an impossible choice like this to make. It's important that Corbyn has an opposition that are willing to challenge the government and stand up for their voters if Labour are to have any chance of getting into power at the next election.

If MPs always followed the party line regardless of the views of their constituents, they would not only be doing us a disservice but damaging our representative democracy. This is especially pertinent to the final say on such a monumental decision for Britain.

In leaving the door open to reflecting the views of the majority of Norwich voters, Lewis might let down his party leader, but he would be carrying out his duty to his constituents impeccably.

After all, it’s us, the voters, not Corbyn, who will choose or reject Clive Lewis at the next election.

UEA launches Gender Studies MA Sussex deemed neglectful Olivia Minnock News Reporter The university has announced it will launch a Master’s Degree in Gender Studies this year. The course will focus on many disciplines of humanities including history, literature and philosophy and will include modules such as "Critically Queer: Sex, Gender and Sexuality” and "Gender and Power.”

Other universities already offering similar postgraduate courses include SOAS, Sussex and UCL. UEA currently already offers several modules relating to gender in undergraduate courses, but this is the first time an entire MA dedicated to the study of gender will be offered by the university.

The MA will take the form of a

one-year course, but can also be taken part-time, and assessment will be entirely coursework based.

The course will be offered to prospective students who have achieved a 2:1 or better in any arts or humanities degree discipline. As with all postgraduate courses, UEA offers a 10 percent fee reduction for alumni, as well as a 50 per cent reduction for students who received a first class degree from UEA. To mark the launch of the new course, the university is hosting a series of lectures covering gender and social issues. These events are being sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Institute for the Humanities.

The lecture series will begin with a talk by Professor Diane Negra from University College Dublin, titled "Cuteness, Non-Threatening

Femininity and the Meg Ryan Romance" on February 2nd. There will also be a Dragon Hall Debates panel discussion on the question "How far to go to gender equality?" in March.

The course outline states that the course will attempt to foster "an in depth and focussed understanding of the gendered aspects of society and culture, particularly in relation to other inequalities and social divisions.”

Dr Helen Warner said, gender "shapes the architecture of buildings, our understanding of bodies, and virtually all aspects of our social, political and economic lives.

"Critically analysing the ways in which gender operates is crucial for anyone seeking to address social inequalities and affect change.”

in student assault case Shannon McDonagh News Reporter

An independent inquiry commissioned for the University of Sussex has determined a failure in the approach towards an assault case involving postgraduate student Allison Smith and academic Dr Lee Salter.

The report was authorized by the university’s newest Vice Chancellor appointment Professor Adam Tickell in response to criticism following reports last August that Salter remained employed by the university ten months after his arrest.

This came despite Smith testifiyng to being "punched, knocked out, and stamped on” by Salter. Domestic violence expert Professor Nicole

Westmarland of Durham University headed the investigation, which was assembled to identify "aspects of poor and good practice in the handling of the case."

The findings of the report disclose Sussex’s failures to "communicate with the victim" throughout the proceedings and to "follow its own policies and procedures", thus incorrectly disciplining the abuser. It concludes by making 11 recommendations of courses of action for the university.

Smith has said that the report has somewhat reassured her, stating "being silenced and feeling very isolated and alone was the most difficult thing I’ve ever faced in my life.

So for [the university] to come forward and to say we completely got this wrong, that is healing for me.”

6

31st January 2017

News

UEA scholarships for Turkey Emily Young News Reporter The Educational Counsel of the Turkish Embassy has opened a new office in central London, attended by the embassy’s Higher Education and Learning Abroad Chief, Bulent Ciftci, and the Turkish Education Ministry’s director for EU and foreign relations, starting business by signing a deal with UEA. A UEA spokesperson called the agreement a "renewal” of a decadelong partnership with the country, aiming to "attract high achieving students from Turkey to choose UEA for their postgraduate studies.”

They added that the university’s scholarship programme wishes to "attract the brightest and best from across the world to study here."

The deal, signed by Craig Smitherman and Basma Hakim of UEA, means that Turkish students who have been offered a scholarship by the Turkish Education Ministry can have access to reduced tuition fees at UEA.

"We can mutually help each other with research and further develop our higher education systems" The agreement will mean that successful candidates will receive £3,000 scholarships, in the form of a reduced tuition fee.

Smitherman praised the Counsel for their plans to invest in higher education, and commented that "We think that by hosting them

in our universities, we can mutually help each other with research and further develop our higher education systems.”

Speaking on behalf of the university, a spokesperson said "The Turkish Ministry of National Education currently sponsors 1000 students in the UK and seeks to upskill and develop the human capital of Turkish universities by sending higher education staff overseas for masters and PhD studies.”

They added, "We offer many scholarships through either national government scholarship bodies, charitable or non-governmental organisations and to individuals themselves in order to allow as diverse a group of students as possible to undertake their studies here at UEA.”

Sinkholes force closure of gardens

COMMENT Professor Neil Ward, Academic Pro Vice Chancellor at UEA, reflects

on higher education reforms, arguing that both universities and students have been negatively affected The coalition government's hike in student tuition fees was accompanied by dramatic cuts to government financial support for universities. Subsidies for teaching students outside the more expensive laboratory-based subjects were withdrawn, and the level of capital grants provided for universities to maintain their buildings were radically pared back. So although students now faced greater indebtedness, universities did not see a corresponding uplift in resources themselves.

Higher tuition fees simply replaced the cuts and the amount of money available to universities pretty-much flat-lined. In the age of austerity, and for the sake of getting the costs of higher education off the public accounts, in their own way both students and universities have suffered.

"We would rather the TEF was not linked to inflationary fee increases, but we have lost that argument"

Wikimedia: Stephen McKay Charlotte Gaines News Reporter The Plantation Gardens near the city centre may remain closed until spring, after safety concerns forced the owner to close the site off to the public in January.

Tony Burlingham, who owns the local MJB Hotels Group, consequently owns all of the access routes to the popular Victorian gardens on Earlham Road. His decision to close the gardens results from sinkholes emerging at three of his nearby hotels, which stand on top of chalk mines.

Mr Burlingham has expressed his intentions to carry out a full underground assessment of the gardens, which are also thought

to be situated above a chalk mine.

He plans to reopen the site when it has been deemed safe and once rebuilding work has begun on Plantation House, which was damaged by subsidence last April.

"All options must be thoroughly explored to make sure full and free access is maintained."

Clive Lewis, Norwich South MP The Plantation Garden Preservation Trust continues to meet with councillors to discuss the closure of the site. The Trust warned

that the gardens may "deteriorate rapidly and could be damaged, because access can be obtained via illegal means.”

Meanwhile, an online petition to keep the Plantation Garden open reached 10,700 signatures in just a week.

Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, visited the Plantation Garden to speak to residents and has written to the Council and Mr Burlingham in support of the campaign to keep the site open.

In a statement, Lewis said: "Health and safety is of vital importance and should be taken into consideration, but all options must be thoroughly explored to make sure full and free access is maintained.”

The reform that introduced the £9,000 tuition fee also made provision for the Government to permit universities to increase this fee by the rate of inflation each year. Universities of course face inflation in their costs each year.

Total staff pay costs, which include both national pay award increases but also some staff getting promoted and progressing up pay scales, increase by 2 - 3 percent per year, and universities have also had to increase their contributions as employers to their staff pension schemes.

However, the government decided to stick with the £9,000 fee cap and not permit inflationary rises for several years. The effect has been that between 2012 and 2016, universities have been subject to an acute ‘cost-price squeeze’. The price they could charge remained constant, but their costs were going up year-byyear. After the 2015 election, the new Conservative government has introduced a new mechanism – the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) – in order to be able to permit some universities to make inflationary increases to their fee levels.

At one level, the TEF is a good thing. It helps incentivise universities to pay closer attention

to the quality of their teaching, the learning environment, and how well their students do. The TEF uses metrics covering student satisfaction with their teaching, academic support, and assessment and feedback, and also student drop-out rates and the likelihood to gaining employment and graduate-level jobs. Some of these things already count towards university league table rankings, and at UEA they are things we work hard on to improve each year.

However, linking the TEF to the ability for universities to raise their fees by inflation is unfortunate and something that UEA pressed the government not to do. We felt it might alienate students and undermine measures like the National Student Survey, which we have found very useful as UEA as a source of feedback and a means of improving our services and the student experience on campus.

We would rather the TEF was not linked to inflationary fee increases, but we have lost that argument and now we are where we are. It was really pleasing that, after having debated this issue fully, UEA Student Union’s Union Council voted against the idea of boycotting or sabotaging the NSS because of its link to the TEF and to fees.

The NSS is a vitally important tool in helping the University to improve what it does in order to enhance the quality of the student experience at UEA. The NSS is also of great use to the Students’ Union in its work with the University and helps underpin good quality partnership working. Any campaign to disrupt the smooth running of the NSS would risk undermining this partnership work and damaging the University and SU’s ability to improve the student experience together.

So we find ourselves in a less than ideal world. The university will need to make inflationary increases to fees in order for us to be able to protect the quality of the student experience and provide higher education of the highest quality. It is important to remember that UEA is an education charity and not a private or commercial organisation.

It needs to make a surplus from its activities, but that is not private profit that goes to shareholders.

All surpluses are re-invested in the university to ensure that the campus is well maintained and the university can move forward sustainably in what is an increasingly uncertain economic and financial climate.

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8

Global

31st January 2017

Britain’s war crimes pandemic Global trade and use of British illegal weapons in the Middle East

Gavin O’Donnell Global Writer The British government and arms trade have been accused of supporting a string of war crimes and human rights abuses across the Middle East ranging from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the UAE and Israel.

Conflict in Yemen between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebels (a religious-political movement emerging from northern Yemen) shows no sign of ending as the two year mark approaches. So far over 10,000 civilians have been killed, with the country’s humanitarian crisis on par with Syria.

Many of the weapons used by the Saudis come from Britain, who have sold over £5.7 billion worth of arms to the gulf state since 2008.

Amongst the Saudis’ stockpile of British arms lie cluster bombs. Despite the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions prohibiting their use, it has been revealed that the Saudis have used these British-made explosives in Yemen. This revelation led to the rebel Houthi Prime Minister accusing the UK of war crimes through arming the Saudi military.

Furthermore, the UK is providing training to an investigative unit that campaigners have accused of “whitewashing Saudi war crimes” in Yemen and failing to investigate human rights violations in Bahrain. UK Foreign Office documents confirm that Britain supported the establishment of the unit but have not been directly involved in the

investigations.

Britain’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is not an isolated case. Of the 30 countries over which the UK holds serious human rights concerns, around two-thirds can still purchase British arms. Overall, the British arms trade to these countries totals £3 billion per year. Britain’s biggest buyer is the UAE, who purchased £6.5 billion between 2008 and 2015. This is in spite of the UAE being accused of several serious human rights abuses, including t h e detention, torture and forced disappearance of individuals critical of the regime.

“Furthermore, the UK is providing training to an investigative unit that campaigners have accused of “whitewashing Saudi war crimes” in Yemen and failing to investigate human rights violations in Bahrain”

ain’s largest corporations - G4S continues to provide security equipment destined for the infamous West Bank wall dividing Israel and Palestinian land. In 2004, the wall was designated illegal by the International Court of Justice, who called for all countries “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction.”

Additionally in the lead up to the Gaza conflict of 2014 where 2,215 Palestinians were killed during what CAAT called “the most recent example of Israel’s indiscriminate acts of violence against the Palestinian people,” Britain granted £32 million of weapon export licenses to Israel.

In response the use of British arms in Yemen the government

The Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) further accused the UK of supporting an “apartheid state”, or a state with institutionalised racial segregation, by arming the Israeli military. The CAAT highlighted that one of Brit-

states that it “takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms-export-control regimes in the world.” Government policy outlines a ban on arms’ sales where there is “clear risk” of human rights abuses.

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills review following the Gaza conflict found that Israel met the government criteria for arms licensing and trade has since continued. In December 2016 Theresa May called for “proper investigation” of all allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law in the Gulf.

Photo: Flickr, RadekBet

Flickr: Radek Bet

Chelsea Manning to be released early Mireia Molina Global Writer

Chelsea Manning, who leaked classified documents to WikiLeaks, had her prison sentence commuted

by President Barack Obama in his final days before leaving office.

“The one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy: do not start off with a compromise” After being sentenced to 35 years in prison for disclosing secret military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks, former Army soldier Chelsea Manning is to be released from prison in May 2017 after the

former President commuted her sentence.

Manning was convicted in 2013 of a 2010 leak that made public a large number of confidential documents including military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, which compromised the US Army and Government.

Although accepting “full and complete responsibility”, Manning did consider the sentence “extreme” and she requested her release in 2013. The sentence, being by far the longest imposed for a leak conviction in the US, has been considered excessive by Obama’s administration, who also acknowledged and appreciated Manning’s expression of remorse and her taking responsibility for her own crimes.

Critics of Manning’s commutation, such as members of the Republican Party, have

considered her leak an act of “espionage”, putting at risk national security and American lives, and immediately judged Obama’s decision as “outrageous” and of being a precedent for future disclosures of confidential information.

Manning’s imprisonment generated the actions of activist groups, including organisations such as Amnesty International, and the conditions she experienced during her time in prison before she was convicted brought up critiques from the United Nations, among others, who considered the experience “inhumane” and “cruel.”

Manning’s status as a transgender woman generated actions of support and solidarity from different organisations, activists and LGBT groups. The commutation of her sentence has therefore generated a large

number of positive reactions, including an expression of gratitude from Edward Snowden, WikiLeaks and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Manning has since spoken out against Obama, calling him weak: “the one simple lesson to draw from President Obama’s legacy: do not start off with a compromise.

“They won’t meet you in the middle.

Instead, what we need is an unapologetic progressive leader.”

President Trump reacted to Manning’s criticisms of his predecessor, calling her “ungrateful” to Obama for commuting her sentence.

Flickr, T orbakHo

pper

9

31st January 2017

ISIS’ status in 2017

Crises in the Gambia

Adam R. Charlton Global Writer ISIS is retreating. According to Coalition figures, it has lost 27 percent of its Syrian territory, and 61 percent of its territory in Iraq.

Airstrikes have decimated the leadership, but the resurgence of the Iraqi Army, coupled with Kurdish military prowess have proved decisive in rolling back the caliphate. Since Sinjar fell to the Kurds fifteen months ago, (severing the IS bastions of Raqqa and Mosul), the latter has been rendered exposed to Iraqi forces, who are expected to retake the city before the second half of the year.

Compounding their woes, a ceasefire between the Syrian Government and rebels is holding and peace talks are underway, suggesting forces in the region may soon begin to coalesce against ISIS. Despite this hope, growing tension between the Kurds, the most effective force fighting on the ground, and governments involved in the conflict may prove as leverage against which ISIS can apply its weight.

They have also made gains in southern Syria, culminating in the recapture of ancient Palmyra, and the destruction of an amphitheatre there.

Although the caliphate is destined for defeat, this does not make ISIS any less dangerous. The attacks they inspire will continue across the globe, and they are beginning to inspire similar actions elsewhere. Their affiliates are swelling in shattered Libya, multiplying in Afghanistan and expanding into Yemen.

As such, the forces arrayed against them are going to have to pivot away from the Middle East before this war is won.

Trump has been using his executive powers considerably after being inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States on 20th January. Here are the biggest orders so far:

Flickr, Jammeh Sacha Silverstone Global Editor As the political crisis in The Gambia finally comes to an end, a financial crisis could be looming, with Adama Barrow sworn in as the country’s new president and his predecessor, Yahya Jammeh fleeing into exile with millions of Gambian delasi from state funds.

Jammeh held his presidential position in The Gambia for 22 years, but lost the last election to Barrow.

Despite being democratically elected, however, Barrow’s leadership has been persistently undermined by Jammeh’s refusal to leave the State House and attempts to make last-minute concessions, as well as imposing a state of emergency and firing cabinet members, instead insisting on overseeing all ministries himself.

“Ecowas is ready to take steps to ensure that the elected president is able to assume his mandate. The new president will have his say.” The Nigerian foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, declared regarding intervention of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) with military advance if

Jammeh remained uncooperative.

Barrow was inaugurated on 19th January 2017 and celebrations were rife despite underlying crises, with people rejoicing in the streets; as was the case when the election results were announced back in October 2016.

Military forces were on standby at the country’s borders on 20th January, as the need for forceful extraction seemed likely. Whether forces actually entered the country is disputed; The Gambia’s chief of defence staff, Gen Ousman Badjie denied this outright after sources stated otherwise. Streets were abandoned for fear of violence, and 45,000 people were driven out of the country due to the political instability, according to the UN refugee agency.

Internal security forces, whose allegiance had fluctuated between Jammeh and Barrow during the election, were also abandoning the stubborn ex-leader. “Nobody wants to die for this,” one source added.

Barrow addressed the military in his inauguration speech, assuring improved working conditions and better pay.

Yahya Jammeh stepped down and agreed to go into exile on 21st January. “My prayer and

desire [is] that peace and security continue to reign in The Gambia”, he commented in his concession speech, while president Barrow reacted, “the rule of fear has been vanished from The Gambia for good.”

It is further believed that Jammeh stole over £9 million and shipped out luxury vehicles in his final two weeks of power. This has now plunged The Gambia into a financial crisis, with coffers virtually empty, according to president Barrow’s special adviser, Mai Ahmad Fatty.

Adama Barrow will now have this added to the list of issues he is to face in his new role. “We must not forget the big promises Adama Barrow has made to free political prisoners, remove repressive laws and bring The Gambia back to the international criminal court,” Amnesty International’s Sabrina Mahtani recaps. The new presidency is already progress for the country as Barrow is the first democratically-elected leader of The Gambia since its independence from Britain in 1965. In the words of the new President, Adama Barrow: “It’s now one Gambia, one nation, and one people…and with that I believe things will change.”

The CIA declassifies thousands of documents, including evidence of UFO existence

Last week, the CIA released 13 million documents which they declassified, concerning a diverse number of issues from 1940s to the 1990s. The documents were publicly shared after pressure from activists in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Some documents referred to the Cold War, with plans to kill the former Cuban Leader Fidel Castro among the most significant. There is also evidence

what has the U.S. president done in his first week?

Sacha Silverstone and Gavin O’Donnell Global Editor and Global Writer

We are not alone?

Angel Loera Alonso Global Writer

Trump Talk:

of the construction of a 1,476 feettunnel in Berlin, with the aim to infiltrate the Soviet Army’s local headquarters during that same period.

Regarding the immediate U.S. surroundings, a report suggested that the Soviet fleet would be a threat for Canada but not for the U.S. territory. Another document also alerted that about 10 video cassette recorders existed in Canada during the 1950s and 1960s, a period when

there was high surveillance over those devices, considered important for national security Other unexpected discoveries were the reports on the CIA’s search for alien life, given a series of photos that presumably showed Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). There is also a document entitled ‘Soviet Jokes for the DDCI’, containing a series of jokes about the

FSU and, according to the Huffington Post, reveal the bad sense of humour of that characterized the FSU. The documents can be found online in the CIA Records Search Tool.

Flickr: Paul Hartzog

Executive Order to repeal the Affordable Care Act Trump’s first executive order mere hours after being sworn into office, marked the beginning of dismantling Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act. This claimed that agencies can “waive, defer, grant exemptions from or delay implementation of any provision or requirement” of Obamacare that poses a financial or regulatory burden.

Executive Orders on national security and immigration Trump has kept his promise and issued an executive order for the construction of a border wall between the US and Mexico. He also demanded, in a seperate order, that punishments be issued to cities who protect and hide illegal immigrants. The president has also signed an order preventing Syrian refugees from entering the US until further notice, as well as temporarily banning the issuing of visas to refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. On Saturday 28th January the ‘Muslim Ban’ was enacted and many refugees were detained at airports.

Executive Order on abortion Trump has reinstated the “Mexico City” policy. First implemented by Ronald Reagan at a UN conference in Mexico’s capital in 1984, the order bars NGOs around the world who recieve US funding from providing referral and advocacy for abortion services to women and families. The policy was rescinded by the Democrats under the Clinton administration.

Wikimedia: Gage Skidmore

Features

10

31st January 2017

“You are not voiceless, you do live in a democracy”

Megan Baynes, Jessica Frank-Keyes and Caitlin Doherty sat down with Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South, to chat Brexit, Trident and listening to student voices

It’s a freezing Saturday morning and Clive Lewis is open for business. The Norwich Open, usually home to a range of club nights, youth activities and gigs, is also hosting the Norwich South MP’s regular constituency surgery. Surprisingly, in such turbulent political times, the waiting room is empty, and we’re quickly shown into the room. We meet the Labour MP and Shadow Business and Energy Secretary at an interesting juncture in British politics.

An ex-journalist, soldier, and self-confessed “passionate European”, Lewis is often billed as a high profile supporter of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In person, he gives a somewhat different impression.

Professional, media trained, and a slicker political operator than many in his party, it’s hard not to feel Lewis’ frustration with the more oldschool style of leadership currently at the top of the party. Corbyn may be many things, but a ‘digitally-savvy, 21st-century politician’ he is not.

Lewis, as with many in the Labour Party, is currently caught between a very large rock and a very hard place. Stating that he “fought passionately for the Remain campaign,” representing a divided constituency in a divided country can’t be making life any easier.

However, decisions do have to be made, and the day before we met Clive he had confirmed on his Facebook page that he will vote in favour of the upcoming Second Reading of Article 50, despite Norwich voting to Remain in the EU by 56.2 percent.

He tells us that “the Second Reading doesn’t trigger Article 50, it doesn’t trigger Brexit, it triggers the right for Parliament to have a debate on the Bill that the government have put before us”. However, Lewis makes his own stance on the hottest topic in years abundantly clear, telling us emphatically that: “if the Bill that comes out of the other end of the debate and the readings, if it is still a Tory Brexit, if it doesn’t have

support for workers’ rights, if it doesn’t protect the environment, consumer rights, if it doesn’t have report back mechanisms to Parliament, if it doesn’t allow transparency and if it doesn’t give Parliament and the people a say over the final deal, within a time frame... then I won’t vote for it.”

“Some people are resigning over the second reading, I came very close to doing it myself” It is not just Lewis’ constituency which is divided over the EU, the Parliamentary Labour Party are scrapping like cat and dog over the official Brexit position, and there have been times when he has considered his position. “Some people are resigning over the Second Reading...I came very close to doing it myself”. The three-line whip forcing Labour MPs to vote in favour of the Second Reading has caused disharmony among MPs who feel that leaving the EU will not effectively represent the views of their constituents. Jo Stevens, MP for Cardiff and Shadow Minister for Wales resigned from her Shadow Cabinet role the morning before our interview.

Despite his concerns about the whip, Lewis believes that the party would have faced criticism whichever decision they made. “Jeremy Corbyn and the rest of the Shadow Cabinet who wanted to whip: I understand the argument that they made. We’re damned if we did and we’re damned if we didn’t. We would have looked appallingly weak...we’ve got to hold a position on this and I respect that.” He continues by saying that the

Photo: Megan Baynes reason that he will comply with this whip is because he would support an eventual anti-Brexit whip, should the negotiations leave a “Hard Tory Brexit Bill”.

Lewis is typical of a large number of Labour MPs, torn between the London ‘liberal-metropolitanelite’ and Northern heartland Brexit voters. Although, for all of the juxtaposing statements, his motivations in these European negotiations are clear. He is determined to get the best deal for all of his constituents, Remainers and Brexiteers: “I represent all of Norwich...what I’m going to do now is take the Supreme Court decision which I think was right and turn the Brexit that the Tories want to initiate into a better type of Brexit...I am not just paying lip service. I want to see this through until the end.”

These carefully orchestrated comments on Brexit are in stark contrast to the remarks that left him in hot water earlier this month.

A Parliamentary slip-up is surely something that every MP experiences during their Commons career, as Lewis discovered in January, when he faced criticism from both sides of the House after declaring “public good, private bad” when talking about green investment.

As the cliched political stereotype goes, the Conservatives are the friends of

businesses and bankers with their big bonuses, whereas Labour will always choose public ownership over private profit. Lewis admitted that his lines played right into those headline-friendly hands. “What the Tories have done is cry ‘arrrgh, socialist! Left wing Labour, Corbyn Labour, public good, private bad!’”

“Those who engage in the political process are the ones who get listened to” “I was talking about the Tories wanting to sell off the Green Investment Bank....Banks aren’t prepared to invest in innovative technologies because they can’t assess the risk.

So in the sense of the GIB, it was public good, private bad. I stand by the comment in relation to the GIB. The public sector, taking the risks that the banks won’t is the right thing to do because I think those environmental, green, low-carbon technologies are the future of this country and why it’s critical that the GIB stays in public hands.”

However, he admits that, given another opportunity to speak, he may use an alternative turn of phrase. “I’m a human being it wasn’t a prepared speech, I was responding to something that the Tories had said and I came and made

a comment off the back of that. In hindsight, yes of course you might phrase something differently, but what you learn is that the Despatch Box is very unforgiving, so context is critical. People want to talk things out of context they can and they will.

It happens all the time, but I think that if people go back and look at the actual debate, [the context] becomes quite clear. You don’t want to be a hostage to fortune, I allowed myself to be a hostage to fortune in this sense.”

Speaking of ‘hostages of circumstance’, what else could we talk about if not Brexit. Again. Norwich has one of the youngest populations pro rata in the whole of the UK, and seeing as many young people have complained/tweeted about being ignored, or having lost control now that we are leaving the EU, we asked Clive whether he had anything to say to his student constituents, and he had very little sympathy for apathy. “My message to students would be this. Those who engage in the political process, those who vote - whether it be in a referendum, whether it be in local council elections - those are the ones who get listened to. If you want to see politics move in a different direction, then you have to engage in it yourself. You are not voiceless, you do live in a democracy. It’s not a perfect democracy, ie you have to get up, stand up and do something.

“There are organisations, there will be parties who will be doing that, but you have got to engage.”

31st January 2017

11

We’re not getting our money’s worth

Photo: Megan Baynes Rhys Purtill Features Writer You walk into a lecture theatre and rush for the last seat. The person you overtook in the corridor looks around the room, slightly panicked and resigns himself to sitting on the steps at the side of the room. Fifteen minutes pass and your lecturer saunters in, apologises for being late, and starts playing a film on the screen. You sink down in your seat and watch the two-decade old documentary with little enthusiasm.

The film ends and your lecturer lets you go 55 minutes early.

This isn’t an uncommon experience for many students.

Our lectures and seminars are overcrowded, seeing students sitting on the floor or squeezing around tables that are too small.

Particularly in the humanities students feel that they aren’t seeing their tuition fees in their lack of contact hours and poor quality curriculums. Many students find themselves running from one side of campus to another for poorly timetabled classes that weren’t worth the effort. In between these classes, students sit on campus eating overpriced food, in their overpriced accommodation, using their overpriced books to write essays that are returned late with illegible feedback. It has become increasingly clear that we are not getting value for money when it comes to our degrees.

As we saw two weeks ago, the university is taking drastic measures to tackle an accommodation shortage that was caused by their over-zealous ambitions for higher student numbers. Despite students

being forced to sleep in bunk beds and to stay in academics’ homes, the university has generated an estimated £4 million from accommodation in the last academic year. Further, the Vice-Chancellor has seen a pay increase of £37,000 over the last academic year. Even worse, UEA has spent a staggering £1.1 million to prevent former university staff from taking legal action, instead of spending this money on improving the student experience. The university clearly has a large amount of our money but we have to ask, ‘where is that money going?’

The issue that we can see here is a problem with the university’s obsession with its future development plans. Whether it is the newly built accommodation, Hickling and Barton, or the proposed new science labs at the

end of the Chancellors Drive, UEA has chosen to focus on future students at the expense of the current student’s experience.

The highly competitive nature of higher education has caused a culture where universities are increasingly worried about their reputation, and this can be seen with UEA’s quest for shiny new buildings and a squeaky clean legal record. If this strategy continues, UEA will always have great looking

prospectuses but an unhappy student body.

There are ways to tell the university to make a change and ensure we are getting value for money from our degrees, but it involves us being proactive. We need to fill in every survey that gets emailed to us and demonstrate our disappointment at the high costs and low quality of our student experience. We need to talk to our course reps and make sure they know all of our complaints and concerns, so they can relay that information back to the university.

Most importantly, we need to actively engage with the student union’s campaigns surrounding student experience and academic issues. If every person reading this newspaper right now used their voice, our university could become a much better place.

victim to the purposeful advertising of these big corporations, I urge anyone reading this to do something a little more rewarding and remain steadfast and happy in whatever path you’ve chosen to take. Of course, promoting a healthy lifestyle and exercise is certainly not a bad thing but it’s when these ideals are being shoved into our faces and adorned with celebrity endorsement deals or flat tummy teas, that things start to take a bit more of a sinister turn.

Being at home for a month during the Christmas break comes with a lot of advantages but also access to a television and all of the wondrous advertising that pops up every fifteen minutes or so. After Christmas, the change

in advertising tactics was highly noticeable. The overly dramatic perfume adverts and decadent food deals in supermarkets were tossed aside, and replaced with healthier options, gym deals on offer for the new year and surprisingly, an increase in adverts for cosmetic surgery. Now, I personally do not have any problems with any of the aforementioned but it’s when I think of the target audience, that problems start to arise. All of the people in these adverts were women, of differing ages and races, but women all the same. For decades, the media has scrutinised women and fed off of their insecurities and now more than ever, I feel like we should not fall victim to these adverts.

If you want to work out and

tone up, do it for yourself. If you want to change your eating habits, do it for yourself. If you don’t want to make any resolutions and see where 2017 takes you, so be it.

With this bombardment of what we should and should not be doing, I feel as if there’s some kind of pressure to create resolutions. The new year provides new scope for opportunities and with this sense of excitement, may come the desire to grab life by the horns. If doing so, make sure you’re doing it for your own sense of self-entitlement and not as a result of some advert you saw on Instagram. Companies such as Weight Watchers conveniently rebranded in time for the new year with slogans such as “Say yes to success” being the centre of their

campaign. As well as the constant self-scrutiny one must conduct during the dawn of the new year, we must also consider our personal romantic lives. Oh yes! It’s not enough to be made to feel insecure after a season of indulging on mince pies but now, we must also be subjected to match.com and Elite Singles making last ditch attempts to make you feel lonely. No thank you.

When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, there’s always a sense of anticipation around what may be in store for the next 365 days. Rather than being a victim of this cynical advertising, I urge you to keep perspective and try to do something for yourself because you want to.

“In the humanities, students feel that they aren’t seeing their tuition fees in their lack of contact hours and poor quality curriculums”

Should we change with the year?

Morgan Cormack Features Writer

So it’s 2017 and don’t we all know it. With vast changes in the political world and what seems like more people than ever proclaiming that 2016 was the absolute worst, things seem to be changing. But not everything – unfortunately, the usual bombardment of January advertising is as forceful as ever and can really only be described as ridiculous. Wherever you look; be it social media, adverts on TV or in magazines, there has been no platform that has been spared from the mass marketing campaigns that always plague the beginning months of any year. Rather than fall

31st January 2017

12

Features

It’s time to talk about mental health

Tony Allen spoke to Nightline about why we should talk more about mental health UEA’s student run support service, Nightline, is a way in which students can anonymously talk about anything. Open between 8pm and 8am seven days a week during term time, Nightline volunteers are trained to listen to whatever people feel they need to say. Nightline offers a wide variety of ways to get in touch including over the telephone, through text or email, via Skype and instant messaging through their website.

Concrete spoke to two Nightline representatives, External Coordinator Joanne Bridgland and one of their Publicity and Fundraising Officers, Ruby Boorer.

All Nightline volunteers remain anonymous, the only exceptions being committee members. Ruby explained: “it’s not something you’re doing to show off how much you’re helping other people, it’s something you’re doing because you genuinely want to help and you don’t need other people to know that you’re doing it.”

And it is volunteers who are the lifeblood of Nightline. Joanne said that they are “a student run service, for students.” Nightline’s niche is the fact they are staffed by students and open during unsociable hours.

Joanne continued: “we are one of the only support systems on campus that is available during the night and I personally find that sometimes when you’re feeling maybe a little bit lonely and it’s really early in the morning, and you don’t want to wake anyone up to tell them that you’re not feeling great, being able to ring someone who you know will be awake and who is there just

to listen to you… appeals to a lot of people.”

Joanne said her time volunteering with Nightline “the most rewarding thing I’ve done at university without question.

“Sometimes you’ll have really long shifts that are hard but sometimes you’ll just have one contact that you know that you’ve helped and it’s an amazing feeling that someone rings you and they might be crying and they can’t speak through the tears and then at the end of the call, they’re calm and just like ‘thank you’. And that is amazing that you know that you’ve been able to help someone through a really tough time. It makes it worth all the work we put in.”

Nightline is more than just a last resort. It also acts as an information service where volunteers can use their experience and resources to direct students. As Ruby explained, “alongside listening, if someone phones up and they want to know when the next bus is coming or the number for a pizza delivery service we can provide them with that as well.”

Last year, Nightline was relocated from Suffolk Terrace to a room in the Library. This has presented a number of challenges, most prominently the service’s inability to accept visits in person.

Joanne explained, “We have seen a drop in the number of contacts we are able to take because we can’t take drop-ins in the situation that we’re in. And it has been affecting our volunteers a little bit just because shifts are not as comfortable as they used to be. We do ask a lot with a

12 hour shift so we try to make them as comfortable as possible and that’s not always the case in the library.”

However, both Nightline representatives agreed that it was thanks to the resilience and versatility of their volunteers that the aspects of their service aside from drop ins had carried on largely as normal.

“It’s not something you’re doing to show off how much you’re helping other people, it’s something you’re doing because you genuinely want to help and you don’t need other people to know that you’re doing it” Joanne praised the “amazing” students and explained: “every single one of our volunteers, they’re incredible people who are selfless and doing this because they want to help and for no other reason than that.And so even though it’s a bit of a difficult situation, they are amazing and they just pull through, they always do.”

Ruby added: “It’s actually been quite positive to see how flexible we are as a service that we’ve managed to adapt so quickly to a completely

different space and that we’re still running our service to the standard that we were beforehand… that’s been quite reassuring.”

In November, Concrete reported on a union council resolution and subsequent university promise to ensure Nightline’s relocation to a more suitable space. Joanne said: “we are making tracks always to move out of [the Library]. I have fortnightly meetings with Jon Sharp [UEA’s Director of Student Services] who’s helping us out.”

At this Thursday’s union council meeting, however, a motion will be tabled looking to block a potential Nightline move into rooms currently being used as music rehearsal spaces, raising more questions over the service’s future.

Occasionally some of the calls Nightline receive are particularly harrowing. Their website outlines their policy when it comes to suicidal callers, which involves discretion on behalf of the call handler and freedom to respect the caller’s wishes totally.

Loneliness is a real modernday scourge, evidenced by organisations like the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), which encourages men to speak to someone about their mental health. This is especially the case for students living away from home for the first time.

Staying true to their motto “we’ll listen, not lecture”, Nightline is there for everyone. Joanne commented: “I find that being able to talk to someone and just knowing that someone is there and that I’m not on my own is an enormous relief.

I think that if more people knew about the fact that they can call us about absolutely anything and that we will literally just listen and focus on just them, it might help some people I know a lot of people who benefit from knowing that they can ring someone up and have a chat even if it’s just a really small thing that’s on their mind.”

Nightline volunteers, said Ruby, are “trained to deal with anything” before they begin answering calls or responding to messages. There is a training weekend featuring lots of role play activities, and new Nightliners then have several shifts alongside a more experienced volunteer.

Nightline ensures that their volunteers are well looked after once their training is complete too. Ruby said: “we have quite an established support system so there’s always someone that you can talk to.” Joanne agreed: “if we are worried about [a volunteer] then the support structure will kick into place and we’ll have meetings with them [to] make sure they’ll be alright.”

Norwich Nightline is an affiliated branch of the Nightline Association, who coordinate training. Joanne said that “although we are mostly independent… they help us out when we need it.”

If you are interested in getting involved with Nightline, either to take calls and reply to messages or help out with the fundraising and publicity side of the operation, they are currently recruiting a new wave of volunteers. To find out more information, visit their website norwich.nightline.ac.uk.

31st January 2017

13

Features

Emily Hawkins outlines the changes to Student Support Services at UEA The Student Support Services (SSS) have announced plans to make what the SU are calling “significant changes” to counselling services.

There are 140 students currently waiting for their first appointment, prompting the SU to describe the service as being under “immediate strain”.

Changes will include the hiring of a temporary counsellor for three months, training SSS staff to administer counselling online, increasing the maximum number of counselling sessions per student from six to eight, and ensuring students can still use the services over the Easter holidays.

Since 2012 campus demand for mental health and welfare services has increased by 52 per cent.

SU Welfare Community and Diversity Officer Jo Swo has compared this to the seven percent increase in university funding for the SSS, describing the funding

disparity as having “placed the service under incredible strain.”

She also said, “not only is there massive demand for counselling, but once students got into the programme, they struggled to attend."

The SSS have noted that between September and November of last year 24 percent of counselling appointments were missed by students.

Swo said she was “particularly focussed on moving counselling services into the 21st Century,” by encouraging the SSS to improve their website, introduce more online resources and establish more convenient ways for students to access services digitally. The SU have been calling on the SSS to expand services as part of their ‘Mental Health Matters’ priority campaign, which aims for the university to provide “a more proactive mental health service.”

Photo: Pexels, Kaboompics

How to maintain a positive mindset

Maintaining a positive mindset can be difficult for everyone, but if you struggle with mental health problems it can prove even harder. Marty Ruczynska offers advice on how to deal with a mental health slump Remember that you are the most important person in your life.

This is the most important, but also the hardest one to learn.

Sometimes we have to press pause on everything and everyone around us and just take time out for ourselves and put ourselves first. If that means saying no to plans, moving some things around to another day or just spending the day in bed with Netflix, be it. Your friends have to understand; after all, they should want what’s best for you.

Exercise.

For fear of sounding hypocritical, I honestly do believe exercise can help reduce our stress levels.

I am an extremely lazy person

when it comes to working out, but whenever I do I instantly feel better. UEA has over 60 sports clubs and a gym, so you’re bound to find something to suit your taste.

I’m very competitive so group sports are something I prefer, but yoga is known for helping a lot of people relax. Plus, it’s great for your flexibility!

Get out of the house.

Just the other day I was feeling down and texted my friend to hang out. It was relatively late for a “Hey, let’s hang out” text. But he could tell something was up, picked me up, and we had a lovely evening just watching trashy TV and forgetting our worrie

Read self-help books

I know many people disagree or think reading self-help book is embarrassing, but I find something very comforting in knowing someone out there went through what I’m going through and found ways to get better. ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’ by Matt Haig was one of my favourite books in 2016 in general, and it definitely made me rethink a lot of things. ‘I Am Here Now’ is a mindfulness journal my parents bought me for my birthday, and it’s a mixture of a self-help guide and ‘Wreck This Journal’ – it’s great, and I’m very grateful for it

Talk.

National Time to Talk Day takes place on the 2nd of February. The campaign’s aim is to bring us together and get talking about our

mental health problems. I know sometimes all you want to do is lock yourself up in your room and stay away from the world, but bottling up feelings is never good.

And this is coming from someone who’s done so for years. I try to talk to my friends about it, but I often feel like a burden, and I think that’s understandable. Not that they necessarily make me feel this way, but in this case I mean talking to someone who’s a professional.

I’ve recently decided to take steps to get better and signed up to therapy

Cut out the negativity.

This one is also hard, but it really does help. I’m known for eternally moaning about trivial things, but

in 2017 I’m trying to become less of a Moaning Myrtle and more of a productive Hermione. I’m also learning how to stop overthinking and wallowing, which is proving very, very difficult for someone that suffers from high anxiety, but I am getting there. And you will get there too.

Find what helps you relax and stick to it.

For me personally, it’s having a relaxing bubble bath, lighting some candles and reading a book.

For you it could be meditating or colouring in – for this I recommend any of the Vogue or Harry Potter colouring books, they’re my absolute favourite! Listening to podcasts can also be great.

31st January 2017

14

Foodie Features

A taste of UEA Hattie Griffiths and Marty Ruczynska review the newly launched menu from UEA catering

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Photographs courtesy of UEA Photography Society

ADVERTISEMENT words provided by your students’ union officers

academic

news

let’s bring down academic costs on campus theo antoniou-phillips SU undergraduate education officer

>>

With UEA’s tuition fees set to rise to £9,250 this September, and to continue climbing in the coming years, students have never been more strapped for cash.

Like many undergraduates, I took out a student loan to help cover my tuition fees and maintenance costs. Though this meant that the money wasn’t literally pouring out of my pockets, knowing that I was going to graduate with +£40,000 of debt did effect how I handled my money while I was studying. I was overly conscious that every book I bought, every library fine, every drink in the bar was pushing me further into debt.

It is vital that the SU and University work together to bring down costs on campus. Students are under enough financial strain already –

we shouldn’t be adding to this.

As part of our ‘Student Purse Strings’ campaign we’ve have introduced our value|su range into all of the SU’s outlets. You can now get a cup of tea from Unio for £1, a meal deal in the shop for £2.49, and hot food from the bar from £2.40.

We’ve also opened a foodbank for students who are facing food poverty.

student can be blindsided by the cost of printing out their weekly seminar reading.

I’ve been particularly involved in this campaign where it directly affects your academic interests. I believe that there are many hidden costs associated with studying, which few people consider when they pick their modules.

This is why I’m fighting to make module costs transparent. I’m encouraging lecturers to consider ‘resource implications’ when they’re planning modules. In other words, I’m asking lecturers to estimate how much they’re asking students to spend on a particular module. Lecturers rarely think to check that the edition of the book they’re asking students to buy is cheaply available before they put it on the reading list. We hear rumours of students spending upwards of £30 to get a specific edition that has gone out of print.

From compulsory field trips to expensive books on the reading list, hidden costs can come out of nowhere. Even the most careful

The SU are also installing a second free printer in Union House. The first one (located outside the Advice Centre) has been fantastic.

postgraduate

words provided by your students’ union officers

All you have to do is download an app, and then you’ll be able to print completely for free. There will be small adverts at the top of each page, so this isn’t suitable for assignments, but it will be perfect if you need to print out your own notes.

I’m going to continue fighting to make sure that money doesn’t impact your academic studies.

From protesting tuition fee rises to providing free printing, I am fighting for your interests.

To keep up-to-date with the progress of this campaign, follow my blog at uea.su.

news

finally, a library for integrated master’s students maddie colledge SU postgraduate education officer

>>

We’re pleased to announce that final year integrated master’s students have been granted rights to the postgraduate taught (PGT) areas of the library.

speaking to integrated master’s students to gather evidence of their experience, I’ve argued in meetings, I’ve even semiaggressively blogged about it.

Until this point, the University considered integrated masters students as undergraduates, even when they were in their master’s year. This means that these students did not have access to the vital resources they needed to study at a postgraduate level.

Finally, the University has listened.

As of this week, the library have updated the campus cards of all integrated master’s students who are in their final year. All of these students now have access to the PGT space in the library.

All year, I have been campaigning to get integrated master’s students the same rights as other postgraduates. I’ve been out

The PGT space has just undergone renovations that will accommodate the extra students. We’ve secured a total of 14 computers for the postgraduate spaces, and this should be more than enough to

account for any additional people in the space.

UEA deserves genuine praise for this change. This decision means that UEA is one of the first universities that has started to recognise integrated master’s students as postgraduates. It is a massive step in the right direction, and the first of many towards achieving academic equality for integrated master’s students.

There’s more to be done…

Integrated master’s students are still asked to pay £9,000 for their master’s year, which means they’re asked to pay the same as

the undergraduate tuition fee rate instead of the lower fees offered to postgraduate students (such as the £7,300 for MSc Environmental Science).

I’m still working hard to convince the University that this, too, is fundamentally unfair. To keep upto-date on my progress, follow my blog at uea.su.

Comment

31st January 2017

16

GoD Save The Queen?

Thomas Gymer and Joe Rutter debate the role of the monarchy in the modern world In case you weren’t aware, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited UEA on Friday. This was the third such visit she has made to campus, this time to be shown an exhibition on Fiji in the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The visit caused a fair amount of excitement for many people, but for others this enthusiasm is seen as foolish, and there is no place for such passionate deference in today’s modern society. They see the Queen as a powerless and pointless figurehead, a relic of a bygone era, someone we have no reason to celebrate or respect.

Now, putting aside for the moment the arguments about democracy versus monarchy, and historical anachronisms or out-dated traditions, let us examine what the Queen and Prince Philip have actually done, which might engender such reverence. To begin with, during the Second World War, the Queen voluntarily joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service, where she

worked as an engineer. The Duke of Edinburgh was also an active participant during the war, serving in the Royal Navy on board several battleships and taking part in various battles. So, even if they had no other importance or achievements, and played no role whatsoever in Britain, they might still be greeted with respect and honour as veterans of World War Two. However, I do not believe it is true to say that they have not provided anything for the United Kingdom since the Second World War. The Royal Family as a whole are involved in various important charities, from Cancer Research UK to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association, to name but two out of the over two thousand that the Royal family support in the UK, with additional ones abroad. The good work of the Queen alone has helped raise over £1.4 billion for the charities she she is a patron of, an astounding sum that would surely qualify her for at

A E #Q

Photo: Foreign & Commonwealth Office

least an OBE for charity work if she wasn’t already the Queen of England.

As for Prince Philip, myself and many other people have taken part in the Duke of Edinburgh awards at various levels, learning new skills, volunteering to help in various areas, undertaking much physical exercise, and all with the encouragement and recognition of the Duke of Edinburgh. Again, people have good reason to praise and admire such people, and any UEA student who wants to should celebrate her visit however they wish.

“The Queen is a public figure more beloved than our politicians... no one could be blamed for being ecstatic to see her in person.”

Additionally, the Queen is the Head of State, and whatever people may say about her only having a

ceremonial role, this is an important part of the United Kingdom. She acts as an unofficial diplomat, visiting other countries and hosting foreign leaders. The recognition of the Queen’s dedication to this country, and the celebration of her and her family for their service in various areas, is at worst harmless. The ceremony and deference that surrounds them is unnecessary perhaps, but important to many. The Queen is a public figure more beloved than our politicians, and I’d argue no one could be blamed for being ecstatic at a chance to see her in person, and to be honoured by her visit to our university. Lastly, ignoring everything else, the simple fact is that the Queen is a famous person, and whatever the reason for their fame, such people attract a lot of attention, and will be a figure of interest wherever they go. Seeing famous people understandably excites people, it is a talking point they can tell people about, a notable event, something to remember. People are excited and happy, no reason to judge that. TG

“Ma’am like farm or Ma’am like ham?” @LibbyHarper

“We hope her LCR DJset is solid!” @UEATV

“Yeah the Queen left the way Thor and Iron Man did... #QEA” @Sam_Prudence

“The world’s media is watching! This is the Queen’s first public engagement of 2017!” @uniofeastanglia

“Can we really forget the pooling of £370 million of taxpayers money for ‘essential’ refurbishments of the Buckingham Palace?”

By now you must all have heard about the Queen’s visit to UEA on Friday, to view an exhibition of Fijian art. What you may not have heard is the sound of anyone giving a toss. People I’ve talked to seem genuinely unmoved by the prospect of the Royal Visit.

My favourite response was from a guy who asked ‘didn’t she come last year?’ Well no she didn’t, but she has been here before. In 1994, to open the Queen’s Building, and in 1968, when her visit was greeted by well-attended republican demonstrations.

These protests included a seminar on democracy held outside, and were fuelled by resentment at the UEA’s name being attached to the monarchy, an institution they saw as constitutionally irrelevant. I think it would be fair to say that most students still hold this view, but the ideological fervour seen in ‘68 - the zenith of student activism across Europe - has certainly been lost. Indeed, there are a number of reasons not to be filled with rage at the UEA’s latest dabble in pageantry. First, of course, is that she actually seems like quite an adorable old lady nowadays, unless you subscribe to the somewht bizarre conspiracy theory that she’s a shapeshifting lizard.

Second is that, as people keep telling me, ‘she’s done a lot for this country’, and indeed her service for Great Britain includes training as a mechanic during the Second World War. She also overcame quite a nasty cold over Christmas. Then there’s the ‘bigger things to worry about’ argument. Students who really are politically active would rather spend their hashtags and e-petitions on serious issues, winning justice for Harambe, for example.

Equally, you’ll be excused for feeling just a twinge of irritation at the visit. Can we really

forget the pooling of £370 million of taxpayers money for ‘essential’ refurbishments of the Buckingham Palace? Did no-one suggest that all those hospitals she’s opened could probably do with a sliver of that right now? It’s also difficult to ignore our commonly held political ideals. As an unelected, hereditary head of state, she is above democracy and the rule of law, and thus represents the last vestige of an absolutist, imperial Britain. She can, technically, dissolve parliaments, refuse Prime Ministers, declare war and drive without a license. ‘But tradition!’ retort the Royalists.

‘To be fair’, one royal-sympathiser said, ‘she’s never done anything against me personally’. Right, but neither has Trump, has he? And that didn’t stop 500,000 marching on London last week in a poignant show of resistance against the sexist, racist and divisive dogma of America’s new president. Almost fifty years on from 1968, perhaps a revival of anti-monarchical protests on campus would be a welcome sign that students still care. The lack of protests marking Her Majesty’s visit on Friday suggests that students’ overwhelming emotion towards the monarchy is disinterest. Perhaps our generation will be remembered for it’s apathy, although I doubt we’ll care very much. JR

31st January 2017

17

Adam Charlton fears that time is running out for South Sudan Men forced to carve and eat human flesh. Women gang raped by soldiers. Government-allied forces paid in women. Children abused and enslaved. These are just a few of the accounts flooding out of South Sudan. Despite reports from the United Nations on the ethnic slaughter that has engulfed the world’s youngest country, the world is not interested. With the Nigerian led intervention in Gambia, and the African Cup of Nations filling the continent’s disproportionately small quota of column inches, we may well be about to see a repeat “of what happened in Rwanda”, according to the UN. Even more alarmingly, there seems to be little appetite to counter the spiral towards genocide regionally, and a reluctance internationally to recognise the South Sudanese government’s devotion to brutality. Without immediate UN deployments, we will once again be culpable for letting an avertable situation metastasise into the race murder of millions of people.

Unlike in Rwanda which was defined by one ethnic group exterminating another, the situation in the Sudan is slightly different, but has the potential to be even more calamitous. Both the Dinka, South Sudan’s largest ethnic group,

and the Nuer, the second largest, are already killing one another in increasing numbers, as well as burning villages and employing rape as a weapon of war.

“Surely it is now time to stop treating this regime with legitimacy, and inform them that as signatories to the Genocide Convention, we are compelled to prevent and punish, whether they like it or not” Estimates of the death-toll are already in excess of 50,000, with the conflict both spreading and intensifying every day that nothing is done. In August last year, forces allied to the government stormed an aid compound, the sole purpose of which was to provide medical care and food for some of the 3.7 million Sudanese suffering from ‘severe food insecurity’.

After seizing the compound, the militiamen proceeded systematically to rape the female aid-workers, in one case fifteen times consecutively by different men. The UN’s failure to prevent this led to the Kenyan leader of the mission being removed. But as a result Kenya has petulantly pulled its 1,000 troops from the operation.

The South Sudanese government

Photo: Pierre Holtz for UNICEF is now refusing to even allow a UN deployment of 4,000 peacekeepers to enter the country, irrefutable evidence that the last thing they want is a potential obstacle in the way of their campaign of rape and

ethnic slaughter. Surely it is now time to stop treating this regime with legitimacy, and inform them that as signatories to the Genocide Convention, we are compelled to prevent and punish, whether they

like it or not. The British government must put pressure regional powers to step in, and the British people must insist that our leaders act now.

Don’t let it be said that you stood by and watched.

mental health matters read about great changes to uea’s counselling services following our campaigning at uea.su/mhmblog

wi on co nju nc ti in

ine l t h nig 97158 5 3 0 6 am 01 8 8pm

th

pop into union house or the library to pick up a free stress ball and bookmark!

LIBRARY AND STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

18

31st January 2017

Science

DNA testing breakthrough Harambe’s famous grandmother dies

would go for $50,000 or more.”

Nilsson said: “It can use the information that is carried in our DNA to make diagnoses.“There are Scientists have created a smartphone two main areas where this is done attachment that can analyse DNA. today.“In cancer, where certain muThe prototype phone-powered tations in tumours confer resistance pathology microscope can be to drugs, it can be used to prescribe mass produced for less than $500 the right treatments.“And in infec(£406) each. The accessory could tious diagnostics, it’s the be used to treat diseases fastest way to work out such as cancer and tuif an infection is viral or bacteberculosis, especially in r i a l , and, if it’s bacteria, to the developing world. f i g - ure out if it carries anThe attachment was develtibiotic resistant genes or not.” oped by scientists at the Dr Justine Alford, from CanUniversity of California, cer Research UK also praised the Stockholm University new technology, saying: and Uppsala University.

“Revealing the precise The developers make-up of a cancer hope that it could allow can help patients get analysis which would treatments that are normally require sendmost likely to bening samples to a efit them, but tests laboratory to be can be expensive carried out much and time-consuming. more quickly. Lead re“This early searchers Mats Nilsson study suggests and Aydogan Ozcan spoke mobile phone of potential benefits of the technology could attachment.Ozcan said: “A potentially speed up typical microscope with this process multiple imaging modes and reduce would cost around Wikimedia, NIH/DeWitt Stetten costs, but $10,000, whereas high- Jr much more er-end versions, such research is as the one we used to validate needed to find out if our mobile-phone microscope, it’s reliable and accurate enough James Chesson Science Writer

to make its way into the clinic.”

The device works by using a special lens attached to the smartphone’s camera to study a sample of tissue from the patient. Two laser diodes and a white LED beam light into the sample and the images produced are then analysed by an internal algorithm.

The only model of smartphone that has been tested with the attachment so far is the Nokia Lumia 1020, which was released in 2013.

The developers insist that the attachment can be adapted to be compatible with more recent smartphones.

The first task for the attachment will be treating patients with resistant strains of tuberculosis in India, according to Nilsson.

He said: “Currently [TB treatment in India] is a trial and error thing - they start with the first-line drugs even if one knows that only 50 percent of the patients will respond, since resistance is so widespread.”

This pioneering technology already has a rival product, created by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, who claim their product will be capable of analysing long sequences of DNA, rather than just single points of data.

This rival product works using only electric based tests, which allows it to be much smaller and much cheaper to mass produce.

She was the test subject for pioneering surgery Megan Baynes Editor in Chief Harambe’s famous grandmother, Josephine, has been put down following severe health problems.

Her death makes her the third African lowland gorilla in a US zoo to pass away this month.

“She is also notable for giving birth to the first gorilla born in captivity in Miami” Josephine was just short of 50 when she was euthanized by Miami Zoo. The Zoo said that exams and tests had shown several abnormalities that indicated systemic terminal conditions that “had no chance for positive outcomes or hope for recovery.”

It became too much “when Josephine could hardly move, even

celebrating lgbt+ history month

to reach for her favourite treat” and that “the staff knew it was the right thing to do.”

Josephine was famous largely due to her relation to Harambe, the gorilla who was shot to death by staff at the Cincinnati Zoo last May. However, she is also notable for giving birth to the first gorilla born in captivity in Miami. Moja was moved to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas where he sired offspring, Harambe.

She also became the subject of pioneering cataract surgery that saw her sight restored by the implanting of two artificial human lenses into her eye, restoring her vision after she was nearly blind.

The average gorilla can live as long as 50 years or more, but many do not and the death of Josephine at the hands of humans revives the original Harmabe debate and leave a great deal of questions as tothe ethical treatment of animals in captivity.

for a full line up of events, visit uea.su

19

31st January 2017

Wolf-sized otter found in China Sophie Christian Science Writer An ancient species of otter, equivalent to the size of a modern day wolf has recently been unearthed by scientists in the Miocene Shuitangba site, located in Southwestern Yunnan Province in China. This unusual species, Siamogale melilutra, inhabited the Earth six million years ago and stems from an ancient line of extinct otters that traces back at least 18 million years.

“The discovery of the otter helps solve some questions about otter relationships” The discovery revealed an entire cranium, mandible, dentition and various skeletal elements that offers insight on the evolution of the otter family. Dr Denise Su, Curator and Head of Paleobotany and Paleoecology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History commented: “While the cranium is

incredibly complete, it was flattened during the fossilization process.

The bones were so delicate that we could not physically restore the cranium. Instead, we CTscanned the specimen and virtually reconstructed it in a computer”.

The CT scan discovered a mixture of otter-like and badger-like cranial and dental features, explaining its unique name “melilutra”, which references meles, Latin for badger, and lutra, meaning otter.

The defining features of the otter were their large and powerful jaws, boasting enlarged, bunodont (rounded cusped) cheek teeth.

These would enable the creatures to consume large shellfish and freshwater mollusks, which were in plentiful supply in Shuitangba.

Lead author Curator and Head of Vertebrate Palaeontology Dr Xiaoming Wang at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County stated: “Multiple otter lineages have low-crowned, bunodont teeth, leading us to ask the question if this was inherited from a common ancestor or if this was convergent evolution based on common dietary behaviours across different species.”

Map: wikimedia, TUBS Otters: wikimedia, harleequeen “Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that bunodont dentition independently appeared at least three times over the evolutionary history of otters,” continued Dr Wang.

He concluded that this discovery will aid scientists when examining this species and said: “The discovery of the otter helps solve some questions about otter relationships, but has opened the door to new

questions”. Some of these questions will Photo: address Wikimedia, why it Scott was Kelly twice the size of a normal otter, how it succeeded in cracking open mollusks and shellfish for sustenance, and how did it move in the water and on land?

“Continued studies by our group will address these fundamental questions and give us a more complete picture of Photo: Harlequeen, Wikimedia its paleobiology,” concluded Dr Su.

Trump’s climate change wipe-out Donald Trump began his Presidency by removing all climate change references from the White House website

Milly Godfrey Science Editor As the 20th January rolled round so did the reality of Trump’s impending presidency and the American acknowledgement of a new dawn in the Science industry. In his latest actions Trump’s administration have wiped every mention of climate change from the White House website, instead replacing it with a new energy plan making no mention of global warming and attempts to reduce CO2 emissions.

Trump, who openly denied the validity of global warming and climate changing, claiming it to be a hoax created “by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”, has removed the page created by the Obama administration outlining a commitment to tackling the issues of climate change.

Trump’s election and his future action is said to be entirely focused on saving

the American people money. Action that, in turn, leaves no place for spending on fuel efficiency and environmentally friendly alternatives. owever, the one mention of climate change left on the website is made

“Trump’s administration have wiped every mention of climate change from the White House website” in direct reference to Trump’s promise to eliminate the policies made by the Obama administration and align American with an energy plan putting itself first.

The plan, titled “America First Energy Plan” exhibits Trump’s commitment to “reviving Americ’as coal industry, which has been hurting for too long” and declare “a brighter future depends on energy policies that stimulate

our economy, ensure our security, and protect our health”. Whilst there remains no mention of global warming and damage to the environment, Trump’s energy plan does reference a need to ensuring clean air and waters.

The website reads, “our need for energy must go handin-hand with responsible stewardship of the environment” moving on to claim that “protecting clean air and clean w a t e r, conserving our natural habitats, and pre-

serving our natural reserves and recourses will remain a high priority”.

It appears, Trump’s disregard of rising global temperatures and sea levels have not been met just yet with a complete denial of the damage already done to our environment and his new energy plan seeks to tackle the prolonged protection of American resourses and environments.

Trump’s actions move him more in line with a digital age of presidency in which the POTUS presence on social media and wider digital platforms provides important indication of the term time to follow. His immediate decision to update the White House website is evident of the new age in which social media and digital actions provide evidence of the bold differences between the old and new administrations. The White House website update is the presidential version of a twitter clapback and Trump’s alterations send his message out loud clear.

1 15

30

billion dollars.

The amount expected to cut from the Environmental Protection Agency’s $8 billion annual budget

thousand.

The number of EPA staff expected to lose their jobs following Trump’s reduction of their services.

billion dollars.

The amount of money Trump expects to save in seven years after lifting fossil fuel restrictions.

Photo: Architect of the Capitol

Travel "Breathtaking"

20

31st January 2017

Jack Leik

jDan Sallis Travel Writer

Daniel Salliss on the beauty of the Scottish Highlands

Photos: Dan Salliss

Hurtling through the Highlands.

Loch Ness to my left, a cliff side to my right. I was in the back of a van full of complete strangers, the day after a 12 hour car-crash of a train journey. The previous night’s hostel bed was less stable than the post-Brexit pound. I was excited, but unsure what a week’s volunteering with Trees for Life, a charity aiming to re-wild Scotland’s Caledonian Forest, would bring.

What it brought was an unbelievable first experience of Scotland, in the country’s most dramatic landscape.

My desire to work in wildlife conservation (and take pretty pictures) dumped me into this adventure. I needed experience.

A week of practical conservation volunteering to end my summer sounded perfect. I guess I won’t be breaking any Environmental Science student stereotypes this time.

The work was simple but

important. We wore high-vis jacketsit had to be important. Some days were spent packing young trees for planting and others spent removing invasive non-native trees from natural woodland. You get a petty macho-rush from taking out a tree twice your height with a tiny bowsaw. The work days were tiring, but this was easy to forget every time I looked up into the vast expanse of civilisation-less hills, weaving rivers and verdant woodlands. Taking a break to take in the lazy, almostsilence of the scene felt like forever and I still didn’t want it to stop.

When I wasn’t in the field time was spent socialising with my fellow volunteers. We were a varied bunch from all over the UK, ranging from a performing artist to a former soldier, from a carpenter to a pair of retirees and many more.

We cooked for each other, shared music and played games. What I really took in is what you can learn

from others when you’re outside of the usual buzz of day to day life.

When there was daylight I‘d make sure I’d take full advantage of the scenery and explore the charity’s massive estate, seeking out colossal views and quiet spots where I could relax, forget about anything and everything for a few precious moments. The evenings were spent sitting in front of the fire telling stories to each other over glasses of Scottish whiskey.

Although only my first time, I felt like this was the best way to experience the Highlands.

On a midweek day off, ignoring the desperate temptation to have a lie in (very other day was a seven am start) another volunteer and I set off on a three hour round trek in search of a hidden waterfall in the hills of the estate. A test of endurance, map reading and in my new friend’s case, patience- he had to stop and wait for me every

100 metres while I pretended to be on BBC Earth’s Nature Photography Team. We braved bogs, slopes and slippery river crossings- we even got our feet wet.

After two hours, there was no sign of our goal; we needed to get back home.

"Taking a break to take in the lazy, almost-silence of the scene felt like forever and I still didn’t want it to stop" “Let’s just see what’s round the next river bend”, I’d say.

Nothing. “The next one”. Nope.

But what lay around the last curve in the river was breath-taking.

A huge, secluded torrent of water gushing into a deep, black pool, surrounded by trees; rocks and moss.

I could only stop, say nothing and

absorb this tiny Scottish paradise.

You didn’t get this in Norfolk.

The last couple of days flew by and before I knew it I was having lunch in Edinburgh alone again, reflecting on my experiences and dreading another day long train trek.

I travelled on my own to work with strangers who I befriended instantly. I had got my first glimpse of how utterly gorgeous Scotland can be and I contributed to a cause I believe passionately about and will benefit so many.

A week well spent, I concluded.

I pictured my stand out memory.

On the penultimate morning, a small group of us dared each other to take a dip in the River Moriston at dawn. I was swimming in a gaspinducingly cold river, with the sun rising over the mountains on one side of the valley and a rainbow arching over the hills on the other.

Unreal. It won’t be long before I journey north again.

21

31st January 2017

Spanish paradise in Gran Canaria Rebecca Thompson Travel Writer You may be surprised to learn that the canary bird is not the inspiration behind the name of the Spanish island, Gran Canaria. In fact, the original meaning roughly translates to “Great Island of Dogs”, which is a slightly less exotic choice of animal for an island which sits off the Western coast of Africa.

During my week-long trip to the second most populous Canary Island, I have to say there was not an abundance of dogs, or any wild animals in fact, aside from the odd stray cat. However, the beauty of the island more than made up for this, with spectacular sights both on the ground, and almost two kilometres up in the mountains.

My favourite town that we visited would have to be Puerto de Mogán, a fishing village on the south-west coast of the island.

One of the most striking things about Puerto de Mogán is the vibrancy of the florae which bloom from the walls and rooftops of so many of the town’s buildings.

Dangling vines of brilliant orange, fuchsia, magenta against the cool white archways of the passages which criss-cross through the town. An extensive market forms

in Puerto de Mogán every Friday, drawing in crowds from around the island, and it’s not hard to see why.

Locals gather to sell a diverse range of wares from hand-painted pottery, artwork, handmade jewellery, to food and the unavoidable/ inevitable touristic sunhat.

However, unless you’re in a restaurant, there aren’t many places to sit down, and the unrelenting sunshine can become unbearable, so a few hours to explore is more than enough time before you hop back on the boat to Puerto Rico.

During a tour of the island, we were lucky enough to visit a very unique destination – La Finca La Laja in the town of Agaete, home to the only coffee plantation in Europe. Located on the north-west of the island, this family-run farm not only grows coffee, but oranges, mangoes and avocadoes too. If you glance upwards as you are walking towards the farm, you will see hundreds of bunches of grapes dance in the wind above your head.

Surrounding the plantation are not only the iconic mountains, but lush green trees and plants which are characteristic of the north of the island. Once inside, we were brought several cups of immensely rich coffee, glass after glass of a variety of wines which were produced on the farm itself,

and traditional Canarian lightbites.

I would say that the peak of the trip (both figuratively and literally) for me was our mountainous ascent to Pico de las Nieves, the highest point of Gran Canaria at a staggering 1,949 metres above sea level. Having driven for what felt like hours through scenic, albeit treacherously steep and narrow roads, we reached our destination around fifteen minutes before sunset.

Once standing at the top, trees and mountains, clouds and tiny Spanish towns stretched out seemingly endlessly before me. With a glass of champagne in our hands, we watched the sun gradually disappear behind Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands.

Observable from Pico de las Nieves is the natural monument Roque Nublo – translating roughly to “Rock in the Clouds” - which is the second highest point on the island. I could have stayed there for hours, it felt like I was in a different world.

All in all, whether you’re simply looking to soak up some sun on a beach – the island has plenty of impressive coastlines and ocean views – or to soak up a bit of Canarian culture (and also wine), Gran Canaria combines an attractive subtropical climate with outstanding natural beauty so you’re sure to find something for everyone.

your visa application for you and officially ‘invite’ you to Russia.

You’ll probably need to take a trip down to London so that officials can take your fingerprints. For larger groups, a mobile service is available.

and although the cold hits you every morning when you step outside, if you dress properly you soon get used to it. Promise!

Russia uses the Rouble, and although they’re not quite ten-apenny, you can get seventy-odd to the pound so if it’s a bulging wallet you’re after, get yourself some 50, 100 or 500 Rouble notes and make it rain all the time. It’s funny for the first couple of days.

Some pundits advocate taking US dollars for exchange however, in my experience, you can get a decent deal on Roubles straightaway in Norwich, and crucially any excess can be changed back.

I hardly need describe the cultural gems both of Russia’s great cities have to offer, that would be another article. But any History student will tell you that the country has seen its fair share of change and momentous events.

For my trip, we spent two nights in Moscow, before taking the overnight train to St Petersburg where we stayed for the same length of time. I won’t lie and say that the sleeper train is the height of comfort, but if you read ‘authentic’ as ‘a bit of a trial, but a genuine experience’, then it certainly satisfies that, and knocks out a long, dull transfer.

A package deal is probably the

Photo: Rebecca Thompson

From Russia, with love Tony Allen Travel Writer

Like most people, Russia’s probably not at the top of your holiday wish list. But allow me to redress the balance and tell you why European Russia can be an exceptionally rewarding place to visit, and give you some things to consider before you go.

I visited Moscow and St Petersburg on a sixth-form organised trip last year and can honestly say it’s one of the best things I have ever done.

With the 2018 football World Cup to be held in the country, interest in visiting Russia is growing. Until then, transport is of course limited.

You won’t be hopping on to a cheap last minute flight. The fourhour BA service from Heathrow to Moscow is perhaps your best bet.

The first thing you need to consider is that since Russia is not in the Schengen Common Travel Area, you’ll need a visa. It’s a bit easier for over-18s, but this is calculated at the time of application, not travel, so be prepared to provide parental documents if visiting with younger friends or relatives. Brits are strongly advised to go through a travel company who can handle

“Its not going to be a cheap or spontaneous getaway but Russia can provide a lifetime of culturally enriching memories and a colourful photo album" Russia is no different to any other destination in that you have to carefully consider the time of year you visit. Russia’s climate accentuates the importance of this decision, having been in the news recently for hitting -250C! Although typical winter temperatures are more like -5 or -10, if you’re particularly warm-blooded then you’ll probably have to pay that bit extra for a balmy summer trip and brave the increased number of tourists at hotspots.

However, I visited in February

way to go, with coach journeys to key places especially useful to those without good knowledge of transport systems or the Cyrillic alphabet.

“I hardly need to describe the cultural gems of Russia’s great cities... but any History student will tell you that the country has seen its fair share of change and momentous events" Some will even let you take a leg of your journey with your guide on the iconic Moscow Metro.

You must keep your passport on you at all times, unless you are required to hand it in to hotel reception, and make sure you keep the slip of paper you are given on entry safe with it to avoid departure delays. Border officials will spend a while examining your passport, relax and let them get on with their job.

Food-wise, Russia is far enough away to boast a range of local

delicacies but close enough to not be totally foreign. Try your speciality dishes safe in the knowledge that there is always somewhere nearby in the big cities where you can buy more familiar fare to eat in or take away.

Be careful when it comes to vodka. With friendly exchange rates, pay more for a better product that will only make it feel like your insides are on fire as opposed to causing potentially serious damage.

It is compulsory to return from your travels with a Russian hat, and at least one set of Russian dolls.

Some of their designs are hideous: I saw several sets with the faces of famous footballers and band members crudely painted on each one! However, shop around and you can find some more tasteful designs you won’t be embarrassed to give family and friends back home.

Of course, there are instances of petty crime and places you don’t really want to attend alone, like pretty much every destination worth going to. It’s not going to be a cheap or spontaneous getaway either.

But if you plan ahead and exercise a bit of due consideration and common travel sense, an excursion to Russia can provide a lifetime of culturally enriching memories and a colourful photo album.

Photo: Profotos de

31st January 2017

22

Sport

Mercedes sign local 18-year-old driver

George Russell: commons.wikimedia.org, Chris501

Andrew MacKenzie Sports Writer Many of the teams currently on the Formula One grid have a strong youth driver programme, including Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes. Over time these teams have produced some of the names that have become current greats of the sport.

Sebastian Vettel is a product of the Red Bull young driver programme, and Lewis Hamilton was scouted by McLaren from a very young age. Recently, Mercedes have got involved in the business of developing drivers, and drivers such as Valteri Bottas, Pascal Werhlein and Esteban Ocon are products of the Mercedes young drivers programme.

Their most recent signing

however has yet to make a name for himself in the world of Formula One. George Russell, 18, from Kings Lynn has become the latest driver to sign for the Silver Arrows.

“George Russell, 18, from Kings Lynn has become the latest driver to sign for the Silver Arrows He earned his place... after an impressive performance in last year’s European Formula Three category” He earned his place after attracting the attention of the current world champions during

an impressive performance in last year’s European Formula Three category, in which he finished third, taking three pole positions, two wins, ten podium finishes and five fastest laps. This was enough to grant him a seat in GP3, the third rung down in the Formula One ladder, driving for the prestigious ART Motorsport team.

Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said: “George has shown impressive form in the junior categories and we’ve been keeping a close eye on him for a while now.

It’s still early days in his career but we see great potential in him.”

This is potential that Russell must live up to, for current drivers Esteban Ocon and Valterri Bottas both won the GP3 series on their way to Formula One. That aside, his Formula One career could be closer now than

UEA ‘squash’ opponents

Richard Ewart Sports Editor UEA’s Squash Club will be confident heading into the next round of Derby Day matches having achieved promotion following a victory over Lincoln last week. A victory over rivals Essex would cap off a highly successful season for the club on the court.

“These positive results follow on from official recognition for the club after they won the most improved sports club award last year” Speaking to Concrete, squad and committee member Raeven

Headlam attributes Squash’s success to the increased amount of members the club has seen: “We’ve managed to expand our squad team, allowing us to create a development squad which has given more players a chance to work with our club coach and improve their skills.”

These skills have enabled the Men’s team to comfortably win the Midlands 3B BUCS league with last week’s 3-0 defeat of Lincoln confirming promotion.

The women’s team have also enjoyed success, currently sitting in third position in the local Norfolk League, an improvement on last year.

These positive results follow on from official recognition for the club after they won the most improved sports club award last year.

Despite the considerable amount of on-court success Squash

has experienced, the club still prides itself on its friendly atmosphere.

“We welcome new members of all ability [including] those who have never played before.”

‘Give it a Go’ sessions are run on Thursdays 5-7pm by the club President, alongside beginner sessions on Wednesdays 4-5pm run by the club coach.

Soon, all eyes will be on Derby Day with the club “very confident [as] last year we had a successful win with a 5-0 victory for the Men’s and a 3-2 victory for the girls.”

The Women’s team have won their fixture several times including wins in 2014 and 2015.

The Men’s 1st team bounced back in 2016, having lost in 2015, and will be looking to repeat their big victory in the next edition of Derby Day in March.

Logo: Tom Rees

he had ever thought possible, with several drivers on the current grid having been promoted directly from this category, including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Daniil Kvyat.

Mercedes F1 team boss Toto Wolff said: “George has shown impressive form in the junior categories and we’ve been keeping a close eye on him for a while now. It’s still early days in his career but we see great potential in him” the

This move by Mercedes shows significance of the young

Continued from back page round one at a time. Obviously I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win it and get to Minehead.”

Eddie Booth, meanwhile, a second-year International relations and Politics student and President of the UEA Debating Society, is looking to go one better than his only previous appearance at the qualifiers. Eddie participated in the 2015 trials but crashed out in the opening round with a 4-0 defeat and is looking for an improved performance on his reappearance.

He said: “From that 4-0 defeat a couple of years ago, I’ve learnt that you have to take your chances in this format. If you don’t, there are lots of good players at the event who will punish you. I don’t think having played in the competition before puts me at an advantage however, because every game is different.”

He also acknowledged a new found confidence in his own game, something that could bode well on the big stage: “I’m a lot more

driver programmes currently being employed by the top teams in Formula One. At least twelve of the drivers on the grid next year will have been given their debuts in Formula One by coming through the top teams’ young driver programmes, with several others currently signed on for the future.

It will be fascinating to watch Russell’s career develop and hopefully in a few years’ time he’ll be alongside established names of the sport. Russell recently spoke to BBC Radio Norfolk, telling them: “it’s a dream come true.” The teenager added: “the real hard work starts now.”

The new Formula One season begins at the Australia’s Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on 26th March, which was won by Nico Rosberg in 2016. confident now. I play far more regularly and feel like I’m a better player than last time around. I’d like to at least win one leg in the game, it would represent an improvement on last time if nothing else.”

Should Eddie, Chris or Jordan Henning – UEAs third participant and current third place man in the Wednesday night league table become the first ever university darts player to reach the tournament proper in Minehead, they would enter in the first round alongside Riley’s qualifiers from across the country and players ranked 65-96 in the PDC Order of Merit. Any player who progresses to the third round receives £1,500 in prize money and the opportunity to face one of the sports biggest names.

While the UEA darting trio may not quite make it as far as Minehead, a win of any sort in the qualifiers would represent a significant moment in each of their darting careers and one that could provide a platform to further darts success in the future.

31st January 2017

23

Women’s water polo suffer defeat

Nick Murphy’s

Amy Mills Sports Writer

The University of East Anglia returned to BUCS League action last week with limited success following a glut of postponements due to the freezing weather.

Of the 19 matches originally scheduled only nine went ahead with lacrosse, rugby, tennis and ultimate frisbee all falling foul of the poor weather.

There was success, however, for UEAs racket sports, with women’s badminton and men’s squash both picking up convincing victories. The squash team saw off Lincoln 2nds at home by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline to extend their lead further at the top of the Midlands 3B League to an almost unassailable 29 points.

The women’s badminton team also recorded a spellbinding result, putting eight past Derby to confirm a scintillating 8-0 home success. The win leaves UEA third in the table, just three points behind Nottingham 2nds in second and six points adrift of Loughborough 2nds who currently hold top spot.

The men’s futsal 1st and 2nd teams were also in action for UEA. The 1sts returned to winning ways following a disappointing defeat to Bedfordshire before Christmas by seeing off Nottingham Trent by a 9-4 scoreline at Sportspark. The three points moves UEA up above Trent in the table and into third place ahead of their next fixture away at rock-bottom Lincoln.

Unfortunately the success of the 1sts was not reciprocated by the 2nds who were narrowly knocked out of the Futsal Conference Cup against Nottingham Trent 3rds.

The UEA boys put in a valiant display but ultimately succumbed to an 8-7 defeat.

Of the remaining fixtures UEA failed to pick up a single point. The men’s badminton 1st team went down 8-0 at home to Worcester, while the men’s basketball 2nds are still searching for their second win of the season after a 34-81 home loss to unbeaten University of Lincoln.

The men’s tennis 2nds were also beaten at home by Worcester and the UEA misery was compounded in the rugby as the men’s 2nds conceded a walkover defeat to Coventry 1sts to make it five defeats from seven.

UEA did have some good fortune in golfing competition, however, with our 1st team recording a walkover victory of their own at home to Lincoln.

It means that UEA currently sit 53rd in the BUCS League overall table with a collective points tally of 554.5. With just under half of the BUCS season remaining it leaves UEA with a mountain to climb if the university is to overhaul their Essex counterparts who are currently in 30th place and over 300 points above UEA.

UEA lose two out of two in same day back-to-back clash with Oxford

The UEA women’s water polo team suffered back-to-back defeats against the University of Oxford last weekend. The UEA ladies lost 11-0 in the initial encounter before reducing the arrears to 9-5 in the second encounter of the two hour event.

The daunting prospect of the double-header games did not help the eight UEA women who, given the nature of a sport which requires you to continuously tread water, were understandably exhausted at its conclusion. Oxford, meanwhile, had 13 players to call upon including six substitute options to UEA’s one, putting them at a significant advantage before a ball had been thrown.

Despite the disparity in numbers, UEA started the first game on the attack with a great deal of speed.

The team’s defence was also holding strong, more than matching the aggressive style of play shown by Oxford. The women did feel the force of Oxford’s velocity on an individual level, however, as captain Emma Mumby received a black eye during the third quarter. Although UEA performed admirably and gave their visitors little room, in the end they just could not put their chances away. It meant that the first game of the afternoon concluded with a disappointing 11-0 victory for Oxford.

After that energy-sapping encounter, UEA could have accepted defeat. Many of the girls

facebook.om/ueawaterpolo

had not had an opportunity to rest, there was little rotation due to the low numbers and their bodies were beginning to tire. However, the team spirit between the women is exceptional, and with Oxford seemingly assured of their own quality and the exhaustion of their opponents, the UEA ladies were spurred on even more.

And in the opening stages of the first quarter UEA shocked their visitors by taking an early lead.

Kerry Blair seized her opportunity from ten metres out to lash home a delightful finish to make it 1-0. UEA built on their early dominance and Emma Mumby made it 2-0 soon after, producing the goal of the match by driving the ball beyond

two defenders and the goalkeeper who stood despairingly on the goal line. By the time UEA had racked up their fourth goal, Oxford were running scared. In a last ditch attempt to regain control of the contest Oxford completely switched their team in favour of fresh legs, a luxury that UEA could not afford.

Despite the newfound energy of the Oxford team, UEA continued to impress and soon scored another through Kerry Blair to take the tally to five. The visitors soon rallied to record an impressive 9-5 victory, but not without a serious scare from a UEA team flourishing with not only skill and talent, but also great character and determination.

The performance on Saturday

was testament to the work that all of the girls have put in during training.

UEA water polo has only had a full size squad for the past two years and all of the members have made huge leaps in their performance and skill. To break it down, threequarters of the squad that lined up against Oxford began playing the sport at university, while a quarter only began playing in September.

The team are going from strength-to-strength and it won’t be long before they are not only matching the likes of Oxford, but beating them. The showing at the weekend sent a clear message out that UEA will not go down without a fight and that for determination and teamwork, UEA remains unrivalled.

England lose high-scoring series Richard Ewart Sports Editor England were defeated 2-1 in the ODI series against India despite scoring over 300 in every game and 350 or more on two occasions. A narrow final over win in the third ODI ensured England avoided a whitewash but they will be disappointed with losing the first two matches having scored 350 and 366.

A Virat Kohli masterclass meant England’s 350 looked below par in the first ODI at Pune while India’s veteran pair, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, both scored centuries in the second ODI at Cuttack to make certain that England fell just short.

An excellent all-round performance from Ben Stokes in the final ODI meant that England can move to the IT20 series with the first win of the tour under their belts.

Jason Roy, Joe Root and Ben Stokes all scored fifties in the

first ODI, though they will all be disappointed to not push on to a bigger score, helping England reach 350 from their 50 overs.

This was the seventh time England have scored 350 or more since the dismal World Cup campaign of 2015; all the other countries have only scored 350 or more nine times between them. This shows the strength of England’s batting, however it was the bowling department that let them down in this series.

India chased the target with relative ease, winning with 11 balls and 3 wickets to spare. England did take early wickets, reducing the hosts to 63-4 but the batting side didn’t let that slow down their runrate.

Instead, Kohli and Kedhar Jadav scored a rapid 200 run partnership to take the game away from England. Late wickets gave England a glimmer of hope but India were able to seal victory in the 49th over.

England travelled to Cuttack

with the series on the line and again took early wickets with Chris Woakes ensuring India were 43-3 at the end of the first ten over powerplay.

India’s middle order went a long way to taking the game away from England again as Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni put on a 256 run partnership. Quick runs towards the end of the innings meant India scored a huge total of 381.

Jason Roy and Joe Root scored fifties for England again but it was under pressure captain Eoin Morgan that anchored England’s innings and gave the visitors a chance. He made a quick 102 and supported by a lower-order fifty from Moeen Ali, helped England take the game into the last over. However, Liam Plunkett’s late cameo of 26 could not take England over the line, handing India the series.

Although England only had pride to play for in the final ODI at Kanpur, they put in a good performance. Sam Billings came

in for the injured Alex Hales and contributed 35 to England’s opening stand of 98, with Jason Roy scoring yet another fifty. Jonny Bairstow, in for Joe Root, and Ben Stokes also scored half-centuries as England reached 321.

England’s bowlers put in their best performance of the series and took regular wickets throughout India’s innings. Kedhar Jadav continued his good series by top scoring with 90 but was unable to seal a whitewash for the hosts.

Needing to defend six runs from four balls, Chris Woakes held his nerve and didn’t concede another run, taking the wicket of Jadav in the process.

England will be glad that their bowlers put in a strong performance in the final ODI as it had been recognised that their bowling is the team’s weakest suit. If it does click for England then they will be a formidable team when it comes to hosting the Champions Trophy this summer.

UEA sports round-up

24

31st January 2017

Sport

Norwich grab second consecutive win Claud Letts Sports Writer Norwich City have continued their inconsistent form over the past fortnight with a 2-1 defeat at bottom club Rotherham followed by an impressive 3-1 win over Wolves and a 2-0 victory against Birmingham, as manager Alex Neil clings on to the Carrow Road hotseat. The defeat to Rotherham was particularly galling for the Canaries after seeing the hosts take the lead and then witnessing top scorer Nelson Oliveira receive his marching orders for a straight red card.

The victory against Wolves was a different story. Goals from Steven Naismith, Robbie Brady and Jonny Howson ensured that former City boss Paul Lambert endured a miserable return to Carrow Road.

Sandwiched in between Norwich’s horribly inconsistent league form was a desperately unlucky 1-0 FA

“Goals from Steven Naismith, Robbie Brady and Jonny Howson ensured that former City boss Paul Lambert endured a miserable return to Carrow Road” Cup defeat to Southampton, Shane Long sending the Saints through with an injury time winner.

In the home fixture with Birmingham, Cameron Jerome opened the scoring after 15 minutes before defender Timm Klose doubled the lead on 43 minutes when he headed home from a Brady free-kick.

Robbie Brady: commons.wikimedia.org, Michael Kranewitter

Norwich’s plight has not been helped by inactivity during the January transfer window.

Supporters remain uncertain as to whether manager Alex Neil is happy with the current squad, or whether the team is being starved of cash

by Chairman Ed Balls. With other mid-table clubs currently recruiting in their droves, some are beginning to call into question City’s lack of ambition in making a quick return to

the Premier League. The club spent big in the summer by bringing in Alex Pritchard and Sergi Canós from Tottenham and Liverpool respectively for a combined total of £10.5 million, but both have featured sporadically for the Canaries when they could and arguably should be providing more flair in Norwich’s attacking play.

Yet while incomings have been in short supply, City have been

weakened through players leaving the club. Experienced defender Martin Olsson has departed to Premier League relegation candidates Swansea City, while rumours continue concerning the future of key midfielder and Republic of Ireland international Brady. Olsson had been the Canaries’ best defender this season.

He provided stability and experience to a backline that has conceded

more goals than Burton Albion and that will be considerably shakier in his absence.

Brady’s position is also unclear and it would represent a disaster for City’s play-off ambitions if they were to lose him. Without a shadow of a doubt, he is a player of Premier League quality. Neil needs Brady more than any other individual member of the squad if the Scottish manager is to retain his job at Carrow Road. His position is not helped by an ageing squad that although has experience in Wes Hoolahan and Russell Martin, suffers with the likes of Steven Whittaker and Sebastien Bassong. On the other hand, youngster Jacob Murphy is proing to be a fantastic player and recently signed a new four-yeardeal with the club, providing the base for an impressive future City team once the deadwood is cleared out of Carrow Road.

The victory over Wolverhampton has eased the pressure on Alex Neil, but there is still much to do for the the 35-year-old.

Saturday’s fixture at home to Birmingham City was the first in ten days for the Canaries who travel to Cardiff City and then Wigan Athletic before returning home to Carrow Road for a winnable fixture against struggling Nottingham Forest on February 11th. These games should not be taken for granted however, and as the Rotherham defeat has shown, the Canaries find it tough against lower ranked teams away from home in the Championship.

If they can come through those matches unscathed City will still have plenty to play for. If Alex Neil can get the best out of his players for the remaining three months of the season there is no reason why Norwich cannot salvage an unlikely top six finish.

UEA Dart stars ready for UK Open qualifiers Nick Murphy Sports Editor In the coming weeks, darting hopefuls from up and down the country will take to the oche in an attempt to qualify for one of the sport’s major tournaments, the UK Open. The competition, which is open to amateur players from all levels of the game, has sparked significant interest at the University of East Anglia where several members of the university darts team are set to compete at Riley’s Sports Bar this weekend.

The qualifiers present an opportunity for amateur darts players of all ages and skill to mix it with the big names of the sport

at the tournament in Minehead.

Amateur players are required to battle through their regional heats against upwards of 200 players for the chance of a lifetime in the competition nicknamed ‘The FA Cup of Darts’.

“Last year the event attracted a total of 2,500 competitors across the country, with Norwich proving to be one of the more popular locations” Last year the event attracted a total of 2,500 competitors from across the country, with Norwich

proving to be one of the more popular locations. The city had 260 entrants over two weekends, with eventual winners Jason Mold and Rob Cross going on to feature in the tournament proper against household names Gary Anderson, Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen.

Mold suffered a first round defeat to Sweden’s Magnus Caris, but Cross excelled in the tournament, beating Ken MacNeill, Wes Newton and Jeffrey de Graff before bowing out in the 4th round 9-5 to eventual winner and world number one, Michael van Gerwen.

The performances of Mold and Cross give hope to the UEA student entrants who currently play in the university’s flourishing darts league. Alongside the Wednesday

night league for UEA students, the team also competes in the Norwich Tuesday Independent League against teams from all over Norfolk.

UEA currently sit joint-fourth in the table with six points from seven games, but with two matches in hand on current leaders, Windmill Yankers.

One of the team’s key players is Chris Marlein, a PhD student in cancer research at UEA. As well as being the team’s star player, Marlein also sits top of the UEA Wednesday league with only two defeats to his name all year. The 24-year-old has been in fine form of late and professed his excitement at the opportunity to face up against the world’s best players at the prestigious tournament in

Minehead. Speaking to Concrete, Marlein said: “I’m really excited.

The UK Open qualifiers are a great opportunity for amateur darts players to compete with the best in the business. The fact that if we are successful we could play against the likes of Michael van Gerwen or Gary Anderson definitely brings on the nerves.”

He continued by talking about his own hopes for the qualifiers, saying: “I’m not expecting anything really, I’m just going to go out, enjoy myself and see what happens.

There are some excellent players in Norfolk so the standard is naturally very high. I hope to get through the first round and then take every Continued on page 22