New
Events Richard E. Grant, Ray Davies and Land Girls PLUS I
Fu
New reP-ort calls for serious shake路UP- with emP-hasis on research by JAMES GOFFIN
A CONTROVERSIAL paper commissioned by UEA Vice-Chancellor, Vincent Watts, has warned that radical change must be made if UEA is to avoid "spiralling and catastrophic decline" in the near future. The Creating Our Future document, amazingly written by senior University staff, recommends that UEA must axe hundreds of course units to stay amongst Britain's top universities. become the research-led institution to which this The report, meant to guide UEA into the new millennium, insists that the institution must report aspires," he adds. However, Union Academic Officer Katy Fixter become research-led, concentrating on activities that have "a high profit margin" if it is to survive has criticised the paper's findings. "It's understandable that some changes have to into the next century. be made because of the way the government links High profit funding to research, but what i really worrying is "Simple logic tells us we cannot continue to the almost absolute dominance of research . "UEA has got to properly address the issue of run almost 300 degree programmes, 287 undergraduate units with fewer than I0 students teaching quality, but this document makes little and 114 with fewer than 5," says the paper. mention of teaching at all," said Katy. UEA also is also c.riticised within the dossier Wrong for lacking "an overall sense of direction" and for having "a serious problem with its image路路. And she warned, "Under these proposals "There should be time given for improvement, schools that don't make a high profit will be axed, we will end up with a very polarised university but ultimately hard decisions will have to be made,'" warn the authors of the report . with little choice for students." Students have also condemned the new plans. Marketplace lsabel Garcia (EUR 3) protested, "I think these proposals are completely wrong, students won ' t And although the University officials have be doing such a good degree in future if there are attempted to distance themselves from the report, so few units to choose from ." stressing it is the independent work of University And Nathan Gricks (BIO 3) said, " I don't thinl.. staff, UEA's Vice-Chancellor, Vincent Watts, it's very sensible, if you want good postgraduates warmly endorses the study's findings in a foreword to the document. you have to have well educated undergraduates. so these plans would backfire. "This analysis of UEA's position in its "Anyway it 's necessary to have a broadly based marketplace indicates that we are not doing as education, without the choice education just isn't well as we should,'" write~ Mr Watts. as valuable," he added. "I have no doubt that we are well placed to
Latest on the acco111rnodation crisis 路 Page 3
2 Nevvs
Concrete. Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Student room gutted as another candle accident wreaks havoc by CAROLINE JEATER
FOUR UEA students had a lucky escape recently after a night time blaze broke out in their Golden Triangle home. The fire. which ~tartcd in.thc early hours of Friday. September 18. began after Oy Sin;ook (DEV 2) left a lighted candle una!!ended in her bedroom at 48 Winter Road . The three other residents at 48 " The fire brigade arrived just Wimer Road. who were asleep in after 2 am and it took them about their beds as the fire look hold, were two hours to pt.t the lire out, we arc only saved when Oy. who wm, just lucky we all escaped unharmed'' dowm.tairs. raised the alarm. Howe ver. the smoke was so severe that the fire brigade had to
Shouting
STAYING ALIVE
Said housemate Jane Monenson (DEV 2), " I woke up heari ng Oy shouting for us to get out of the house, by then smoke had really begun to fill the house."
Fortunate wear breathing apparatus to ligh t the fire. The fortunate houscmates now face a hefty bill for tire damage.
"We are still coun ting the cust of repairs and have lost our damage deposit on the house:· added Jane. The fire at Winter Road comes less than six months after a University Village room was gutted in a >imilar blaze. when a student also left an unattended candle in his room. In that incident over £I 0 000 worth of damage was caused and the student was hospitalised due to
>moke inhalation. orfoll.. Fire Safety Officer. Philip Magem. has urged
Danger student> to be aware of the dangers of ca ndles and to avoid using them. " 1 under>tand candles arc popular, but electric candles should be u>ed im.tead so as to prevent this dangerous sort of fire starti ng again," said Officer Magem. "A naked fiame is always going to be a danger:· he warned.
UEA's student radio station may soon reach a greater audience thanks to the installation of an improved AM transmitter.
LiH:wire. "hicl1 ha' h..:..:n dogged in the pa't h) poor reception in Llni,cr,it) r..:,idenc..:' and an inad..:quatc PAin The lli\C. loob 'cl Ill take to the aima'c' in 'tyk than!,., to a prnpo,alundcr con'ideration h) Communication' OITic..:r Tom Connor,. The plan , which is yet to be Union to buy a tempo rary FM agreed, cou ld mean that licence." Said Ed, "We have been budding DJs will be heard loud and clear in all campus gtven about £4000 for an FM broadcast and wtll be accommodation tncludtng the Village. broadcasting around February Satd Tom , ·To have a statton or March ttme.'' whtch only broadcasts to.-- - , - - - - - - - -=-:----., Unton House doesn't seem sensible, al though Livewire will still be able to broadcast to Unton House in the future." Statton Manager, Ed Moses. also revealed that the stalton had secured sufftcten t funds from the
UEA disgraced in fees table UEA has come a shameful third from bottom in a new survey assessing which Universities are fairest at collecting tuition fees . The Cni,cr,ity. \\hil'11 had been bottom until an admini,tration charge fo r the co l lection of the t.:IOOO kcs \\'as 'napped. c:un..: a lowl;. 7-+th in tahk. Union Academic Officer. Katy UEA fell down in the poll for Registry chiefs also attracted Fixer, has criticised the allowing fmanctally cnticism for asktng students not University for failing to consult dtsadvantaged students. who will awaiting means tests to fork out the Union whilst drawing up its £300 up front, even though they pay under £300, the chance to pay in ins tallm ents, despite may be in dire financial stratls collection plans. allowing more affluent students and ultimately exempt from Criticism payment anyway. to do so. "Fortunately they scrapped the plans for an admin charge but UEA still came out poorly
We offer great value for money All our food is freshly made We are run by students and ex-students so we care about your interests We give UEA students priority and do our best to deliver within half an hour Free delivery to UEA campus
CII ICKF.N 1'\UGGCTS & Cl ill'S SLA:\11'1 & CHIPS !101'-:FR & CIIII'S ONION RI GS & Cl! I I'~ GARLIC BRLAD CJARI.IC flRFAD & Cl ILLS!.: FRFSII SAL\D Cl ill'S SOl'T DRJNK 1'01 ofCII II 1.1 S,\LJCI: CIIOCI ATL J'UIJGI.: CAKF
cheese & tom.uu Ll.llO mushrooms. onton. sweercom. pmrappk. green peppers & olrves l..J ~() I'OLLO rhtrken, muslunoms & swt:etcnm l..J 'ill HA WAllA!'\ ham, mushrooms & pmeapple [..J ~() 1101'-:0R 111 I LJXI 1.1mb Jnnt:r. onrons & tomato slrct:s l..J ~() Kl[\' chtcken. ,ptcy bel'l, ontons & garlrL . . f..J.50 HOT & SPICY sprc' beet; rerperonr, mushrooms. tmrons & chtllr [..J 50 PITPEROr\1 1'1 US pcppcrnnr. nnrons mr"hro<1111s ,\: gtl'L'Il peppers [4 50 ~1 J:.A T Fl.:AST chteken, sptcy bee 1, peppe10n1 & han.1 f4.50 SI.AFOQIJ , . pr.!W]lS. tun,t, anchc.l\res & tnmatn slrcl's l..J 50 f\IR. Pl7ZA Cl lOll! ,tll) ll\e lOJ'Ptngs ol )Our chorce l'i ()() :1
rte
J
Garlic bread & cheese Portion of fresh salad Choc o late Fud ge Cake 1 .51. Bottle of soft drink
because they dtd not consult the Union ." she added.
Changes Assistant Regtstrar, Eleanor Martin. admitted that changes might now be made to the Universtties arrangements. Said Ms Marttn . "Clearly lhts is the first year of operation and all matters wtll be revtewed during the course of the year to assess their fatrness and operattng efftctency."
r-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~- - ------ 路
Ne""s 3
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Warm fronted research
by CATHERINE MILLEST
UEA HAS come under fire from angry students forced to live in " unsafe" temporary accomodation whilst they wait for campus rooms. The 12 student , who have been sleeping on camp beds in elson Court Common Room A, have complained that the Common Room door cannot be locked, leaving both themselves and their possessions at risk both day and night. One female student, who wishes to remain anonymou , was confronted by three intruders in less than twelve hours. The woman, who was sleeping in the deserted female section of the shelter, was awoken during the night by two
Intruders male intruders shouting at each other next to her bed. And in the morning the student, who has since been moved to the safety of the Union's Womens' Room , awoke to find another man at the foot of her bed taring at her. Mark Dickenson (EAS4), who has had similar experiences while sleeping
rough in the Common Room, spoke out against the University's
Obscenities arrangements, complaining. "Its so bad and unsafe that anyone can just walk into where we are sleeping." "At midnight I woke up to find a strange guy in the room, obviously drunk, muttering obscenities to himself," complained Mark. "That was quite scary, I was really shocked," he added. Mark also attacked the lack of secure storage space provided for students' belongings. "As you can image security is really bad, we have each been allocated a locker but you can barely fit one suitcase in there," said Mark. Union Welfare Officer, Claire White, described the security situation as "totally unacceptable"
but commented that returning students could have avoided the problems if they just decided to "bite the bullet" and found offcampus housing of their own. UEA's Director of Residences and ervices Jenny Grant has defended the insecure nature of the shelter though saying. "lt would be impossible for us to lock the door of the Common Room considering that
Security students go out and quite often do
n~returnuntil~reatn~~~
And Ms Grant refused to confirm that the ~ecurity situation would be changed next year. "We will be reviewing procedures for 1999 to see if we improve our service, but it is student路 s own choice if they to the.
ROOM CRISIS EASES .. ...but controversy continues over Clearing chargu UEA's housing crisis may soon be over for the who are allocated freshers the Uni versity housed in temporary rooms but then decide accommodation. to live off-campus 66
University chiefs are finally allocating permanent campus rooms to the 17 first years forced to lodge with members of staff and the 49 freshers living in the Nelson Court Guest Suite, nearly two
Clearing weeks after they arrived. However, students housed in the stop-gap rooms who applied to UEA during Clearing have cried foul over their treatment by the University, after bosses waived the room bills for all those who applied before Clearing. Mohammed Khan (MGTI) who applied through Clearing said, "I object to having to pay for my roor.t just becnuse I
applied to UEA through clearing. "Everyone else is getting their room for free but I'm still being charged over 拢30 a week. despite the fact there are no cooking facilities and it costs me about 拢I 0 a day to pay for food," protested Mohammed. However, Director of Residence and Services, Jenny Grant. justified the move saying that students who applied through clearing were never guaranteed a room on campus and must pay as a consequence.
Shortage And Ms Grant has laid the blame for the room shortage on a rush of first years applying to UEA and second and third years
ELITE boffins gathered at UEA earlier this month for a unique conference examining the growing threat of global warming , writes Adam Banham. The conference which attracted over 150 leading cli mate experts from all over the world issued the warning that the global climate could rise by as much as 4 degrees Celsius in the nex1 50 years if new measures are not taken now to cu rb ca r and industrial emissions. Scientists attending the meetings also heard that this temperature increase could cause the sea level to rise by as much as a metre, placing half million kilometres of coastline in danger, a major concern in low lying Norfolk. However industrialised countries such as America are reluctant to reduce emissions despite the startling fact that already scientists have proved that 1998 will be globally the hottest year on record since 1200. While some Scientists claim warming is due to natural climate changes, the CRU puts the blame on pollution. "Global warming has the fingerprint of man on it," explains Or Mckinley.
without notifying the A cc o m mod at ion Office. Said Ms Grant, "We have got to address the problem of returning
students accepting their rooms but then failing to turn up because they have got accommodation in the private sector. "We must get tough with these students," she added.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIVE. STAR
NORWICH NO EXTRA CHARGE AFTER MIDNIGHT
24 HOUR FREEPHONE
0800 575 575 or 01603 455555
4 News
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Flasher bares all to shoe ed freshers
Speeding Fog Driving in foggy condition s is always a t rial for drivers, but after one un ique fog on the M1, a motorist found themselves facing a very kind of trial. The fog in question was caused when drug dealer Glen McManus threw three bags of heroine out of his car as he sped down the fast lane. The heroin , which was whipped up into a brown fog , caused other drivers to break and swerve before the police caught up with Mr McManus.
Postman Pat and his Firefighting Act Postman Pat gave Fireman Sam a run from his money last week. Upon seeing a post box on fire, Bob Bragg, a fireman who was dressed in a Postman Pat costume for a fun day, rushed over to tackle the blaze. And when the fire brigade arrived they foun d that the postman had done the job for them.
Art Crime After a lifetime of crime, Reggie Kray is switching careers. The former gangster , who has taken to art while serving his life sentence at Wayland Prison in Norfolk, hopes to flog his crayon sketches at auction, with all proceeds going to Angels With Dirty Faces, a charity for children with Down 's Syndrome.
Royal Spice Prince Charles has revealed that he wants sexy ex-Spice Girl , Geri Halliwell to appear at his 50th Birthday Bash . Ginger Spice once covered the Prince in kisses and called him sexy, and it would be her first live show since leaving the Spice Girls four months ago.
By AMY KINGSWELL
POLICE ARE hunti ng a man who indecently exposed himself to a group of female freshers in the residences at Wolfson Close on Sunday, September 20. The lla\hcr. who wa' wearing a pi n" \tripcd T-,hirt and a pai r or hlue Umbro ' hurt\ ha' been dc,crihcd a' in hi' twentie,. \i\ foot tall. blonde and '"inny. Joanne Cone (MGT1) who the University has been the target of flashers in the past. was amongst a group of five first year girls who witnessed "These incide nts do happen the incident told how they first from time to time and the re have noticed the stranger loitering been two such occurrences over outside their Wol fson kitchen the past twelve months, but they window , holding a green appear to be unrelated ," said Mr Elliot. carrier bag. "Students should always be Loitering conscious that this sort of thi ng Said Joanne , "We all can happen , but we want to reassure people and keep the wondered what he was doing matter in context," he added. so one of the girls went out and asked him but he just said And he had this advice for anyone approached by a flasher. he was wai ti ng for someone. "However. he then ca rried Said Mr Ell iot, "Those involved on scratching around himself should not confront the offender until he actually 'fell out' of his Police shorts, the scary thing is that but it is important to report the he was making eye contact incident to th e police promptly. with us constantly." Joanne added, "When we Police spokesperson, Mel Lacey, urged anyone involved in first came here we thought it was very safe, but alter this such an incident to inform the I'm not so sure ." e1ther the police or UEA security. "We would advise students to Ron Elliot. UEA's security report such matters to the police supremo, has revealed that
NELSON COURT GUEST SUITE
WOLFSON CLOSE PRIVATE RESIDENCES
so we can track any pattern of events. " he added. Anyone with information
1
regarding the 1ndecent exposure can telephone Norwich Police on 768769.
TRAFFIC MADNESS
Bed & Breakfast on Campus Your visiting famil y and friends can enj oy convenient, comfo rtable acco mmodation at UEA:
e •
e e
Single and do uble rooms All roo ms ensuite, with TV and tea/coffee fac iliti es No price increase th is year- great va lue! Di scoun ts for students, their fa milies and Alumn i by JAMES GOFFIN, Assistant News Editor
For info rmati on and reserva ti ons, call in and see us at the Confe rence Offi ce in The Street, te lephone 0 1603 593297 (UEA internal ca ll s: 3297), or e- mail guestsuite@ uea.ac. uk
UEA Conference Services
STUDENTS and staff are so attached to their cars that over half would pay up to £50 a year for the privilege of parking on campus, according to a new survey. The inve\ tigat ion. carried out by SOC \ tudcnt' for Univcn.ity bo\\es, found that some car owner. would even pay as much as £200 to park close to the ir lectu res and office,. And as parking spaces become more scarce drivers have admitted that they would rather set out earlier in the morning to secure a space than cyc le or catch a bus or to UEA, despite the fact that a quarter of those questioned lived within 2 miles of campus. The report also claims that traffic problems can only get worse wi th the opening of the Sports Park and the new Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. However, the University's Director of Estates , Richard Goodall , believes that the new buildings will not mean further
parking chaos at UEA.
"Traffic volumes were taken into account at the planning stage, there wi ll be 130 dedicated car spaces on the Sports Park, plus parking for cycles and coaches," argued Mr Goodall. "Also, most of the use of the
Sports Park is li kely to occur outside of the main hours of the University,'' he added. However, the University has still com missioned traffic co nsultants Oscar Faber to assess the future of parking and road usage at UEA. "They are carrying out a transport manage ment stu dy which is needed to guide the university in the longer term - it will be more embracing than the survey just carried out," said Mr Goodall.
Ne\IVS 5
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30. 1998
Students lead the way as P-rotestors reclaim Norwich By DAVID ATKINSON
An environmental protest organised by the Reclaim the Streets movement brought roads around Norwich city centre to a standstill on Saturday. The group, who aim to question people's beliefs about the use of cars, initially gathered near the railway station at the junction of Rosary Road and Riverside Walk. The 100 strong demonstration, containing a number of UEA students, carnival began with a atmosphere as the protesters,
Carnival surrounded by a large police presence, stopped the traffic while playing musical instruments and displaying banners. However, after two hours the sit-down protest ended as demonstrators broke through police lines and made for the city centre. Police, who struggled to keep up with the
demonstrators, tried in vain to block protestors from gaining access to the city centre, where traffic was disrupted in Anglia Square, St. James' and Chapelfields. The demo finally ended at Chapelfield Park, where police lines managed to bring the protestors to a standstill .
Victory However, UEA student, Jon Cox (lAW 11) , thought the event had been a success. "lt was a victory, all we wanted to do was to protest and get from the station to the city centre," said Jon. "Around 150 policemen stood in our way but we made it through anyway ," he added . One of the organisers of the event, a man who referred to himself as The Wandering Weasel,
explained what he hoped Reclaim the Streets would achieve through the demo .
Awareness "We are defending our right to clean air, it is true that the event causes inconvenience to some people but it's the best way to raise awareness," said the activist. Regional Greenpeace Councillor for East Anglia, lngo Wajenknacht, was also present to support the demonstration. "We support all peaceful events as I believe it is
PROSPECTUS BLUES by LIAM SLATTERY
Last year's UEA prospectus has come under fire from UEA's Director of Admissions, Professor Charmley, who has blamed the booklet for 1998's drop in applications. "We know the prospectus for last year was not what it should have been, in my 18 years at UEA it was the worst I had ever seen," said Professor
Charmley. However, he then curiously admitted, "No one knows who is responsible for it." "Admissions work can be
very frustrating in some senses, because you can do everything right and it "still does not work out," he complained . The prospectus has been liE":---------:------------------... blamed for drops in applications of up to 20 per cent in certain schools, some of the worst figures in recent years. But Professor Charmley ·was adamant that every effort would be made to prevent such a situation from happening again. "Nobody is happy with a drop in admissions , it should not happen ," he said, adding, "We cannot ...ttt.~_:_..:.._:lkllllillllllillihl!lfltsslllillllllllill4 afford as a university 1o just accept that these things happen." .....................,.....,..,..........,.-,.-.,..,j However Professor ~'~~:JJl~~~~~~~z;;· Charmley pointed out that the shortfall was largely filled by students applying via clearing. "History for example , saw a decline of 20 per cent in its applications, but has filled its places with more A-grade students than ever before," he said.
continually necessary to keep up the drive for a better environment," said Mr Wajenknacht. And although tempers flared between protestors and irate drivers during the demo, the police made only two arrests and received no reports of violent conduct.
The Division Commander for Norwich Police , Chief Superintendent Roger Sandell said , "Overall the police operation was deemed to be a success, particularly as a high profile football match was taking place at Carrow Road at the same time."
r-----------·
~
------------,
WE CUT THE PRICE YOU CUT OUT THE VOUCHER BRING THIS ADVERT WITH YOU, AND GET
£1
OFF OUR ONE HOUR DEVELOP AND PRINT SERVICE AND A FREE REPLACEMENT FILM!*
BONUS PRINT ft 616831 3 White Lion Street (30 seconds from Virgin Megastore or 2 minutes from the market) • Offer not available m conJunction with any other offer. Offer only vahd wuh this voucher Offer expires on 14th October. 1998
L-----------· ~ ------------~
6
Concrete. Wednesday, September 30. 1998
Design your own •
11
m1n1 by GRAHAM DIGGINES
A BAND of intrepid UEA students have told how they headed north this summer to join a peace movement intent on disarming Britain's nuclear weapons. Ex-Union Environmental Oniccr, Kathryn Amos (ENV 3). joined forces with Richard Lewis (BIO I) and Hannah Griftin (DEV 3) LO attend the Tride nt Ploughshares 2000 peace camp situated on the door-step of' Britain's nu<.:lear submarine Jlcet at Faslane, Scotland. The trio. who got involved of their anti-nuclear belief~. witnessed the concerted efforts of fellow protesters to raid the top >ecret highland ha. e before Kathryn herself was arrested by police. Said Kathryn, "While we were at Faslane people started to carry out acts of disarmament, in just a wecltherc were over a hundred aiTests. "Three people also swam into
Arrested
becau~e
the base and managed to get wtthin 30 feet of a Trident submarine in the high security area before they were arrested. "After they were re lea. ed two of them >wam into the base twice more and are now on remand in prison, .. she added. Kathryn also explained how the wet-suited peace protesters armed themselves with hammers and, bizarrely. tins of golden syrup in their bid to damage the mas>ivc
Syrup 16000 tonne subs. aid Kathryn, "Golden syrup is a really efficient way of messing up the submarines· delicate equipment. " If you pour it on the control panel or down th e periscope you ca n do a huge amount of damage and even disable a submarine," she added. Kathryn then described how, along with four other protester; from the I 00 strong peace camp,
she bro!-e into the Mini str) Of Defence base before being arrested b) Scottish police.
r::r:::::;;:::::Zs:.J:;;iiiit:Ef'!:;;_;.~~§;;§I=:::Si!i:iii=::=:::;;;i::llll!l:llfiii10::1-1
Surveillance "The surveillance was really very high while we were there. with police patrols going past our camp every three minutes. day and night. "We cut through the fences at 4am and managed
~~-;:========~===========:::~::::===:.J
to get half to thebybase before beingway spotted a patrol, when we were arrested for ·malicious mischief, the Scottish equivalent of cri minal damage." she explained. Asked if she had any regrets following her arrest. Kathryn said, " It took me a very long time to decide whether I should ge t invol vcd in this protest but I am glad I did. And she added, " lt was a great opportunity to work for an antinuclear cause whilst working with so many like minded people."
The classic Mint clocks up tts fortieth anniversary next year and designers have dec1ded tt's time to give much loved motor a new lick of pa1nt. Style icons Kate Moss, Paul Sm1th and David Bowte have all been called in to come up wtth a destgner look for the car which upstaged Mtchael Came in the Italian Job . Howeve.r you too can JOin Davtd Bowte and hts mates as organtsers want you to come up wtth your own look for the ltttle wonder car. If you can come up w1th a colour scheme funky enough not only will you win a Mini, but your design will be exhibited alongside the stars· at the London Design Museum next year. If you think you have what 1t takes call 0191 415 7373 for an entry form, winners Will be announced in December.
A_question mark hangs over the future of new JaP-anese Unit By FLEUR DEESON
DON'T PANIC!!! Course books are arriving every day. The very book you are desperate for may be among them.
©es1[Hl
1crur~c0
SJGu@
OD~D @ ~ []3@ \:?Co11V1
UEA 'S PLANS to establish a new centre for Japanese Studies have been dealt a huge blow after a fund ra ising effort raised only half the £8million expected. The unit, which was to be created with the proceeds of the sale of Modigliani 's Portrait of Baranowski, now faces an uncertain future after the paint1ng was sold for just £4.3m. University officials, who had hoped that tnterest Japanese art from collectors would push the auctton price up, have blamed the poor sale on the down-turn in the Japanese econo my, .Disappointed Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Colin Davis said, "The painting was actually exhibited 1n Tokyo and was expected to ra1se a lot more than it d1d. Sotheby's were optimistic about the sale and expected £8 mil lion. "However, th e idea to se t a unit for Japanese culture ironically came just at the time when the Japanese economy collapsed." The plan for a Japanese cu ltural centre came after super-rich UE A benefactors Robert and Lisa Sa1nsbury approached the University earlier this yeat suggesting that they donate Modig lian i's masterpiece in order to set up the unit. According to Professor Davis, the Sainsburys are backing the project because of their fascination with Japanese culture, and hope to encourage both European and Japanese students to study at UEA. But the future of the centre is
now in question as UEA search for further funding. "A key issue to the University now is how much the Sainsbury's want to invest as they may want to provide a bigger subsidy," explained
Professor Davis. The fu ture of the unit now depends on the outcome of talks between the ViceChancellor and Robert Sa1nsbury during the next few weeks.
'
News 7
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30, 1998
End in sight for Fifers scandal by JAMES GOFFIN, Assistant News Editor
The four-year Fifers Lane accommodation fiasco, which has seen nearly £1 million wasted on the empty student residences, could soon be at an end. The debacle, which began in 1994 when UEA abandoned the halls at Fifers Lane despite still having 12 years of its lease to run, has attracted continuous critici sm from homeless groups. Fifers Lane is the 'biggest empty home in the country' according to the Government's Empty Homes Agency, with 400 unused study bedrooms. But in the four years since the residences were abandoned, UEA has continued to pay the council £95,000 a year in rent, with little movement
Solution towards a solution. . The University and local councils have now come under renewed fire, accused of wasting public money by not settling the problem earlier. The Government's Empty Homes Agency (EHA) alleges that without their threat of a legal order to sell up, the site would have been left to ruin. "The councils were receiving rent and keen not to annoy the University, veryone seemed willing to bumble long until 2006 when the lease ended,"
said Bob Lawrence, Chief Executive of the EHA. But Mike Britch, Norfolk County Council's Director of Property, has blamed UEA for the lack of action over the site. "UEA had a commercial lease for the site. They didn't come to us and ask to surrender until we had discussions earlier this year," he said. The University must now pay £600,000 to surrender the lease, which, on top of the amount already spent on rent, brings the total amount spent on Fifers Lane since 1994 to almost £1 million.
Expensive However, campus bosses say the £1 million spent is justified, claiming it would have been more expensive to keep Fifers Lane open.
residences significant amount of money spent them to keep them of a standard," said Richard Goodall, UEA Director of Estates. "lt was more cost effective to close Fifers Lane and to invest accommodation in the Village," added. The site could now be used by Norwich Airport-based Air UKIKLM as a training school for their employees , or sold on redevelopment.
What UEA could have done t~e £980,000 it has~ spent on Ftfers Lane since 1994:
•
• Bo.ug.ht 65,000 library books at £15 a time • tPhald Its annual grant to the Students Union for • ree years • Bought more than 1,000 new computers Doubl:d the UEA scholarship fund for the four • year F1fers has been empty Paid the controversial £10 graduation fee for 25 years • Bought UEA's 9,600 students 85 pints each in
I
UNION HITS JACKPOT by PAUL STOKES
UEA STUDENTS are slot machine crazy according to new figures. Official Union stati stics show that despite increased debt and hardship students plashed ou t a whopping £ 129,000 on fruit machines and arcade games last year in Union House. In fact the massive £84,000 they were a bit out of the way and use of the fruit machines. profit made by the machines this put people off just having a go "If you only have a limited easily eclipses the combined c a s u a I I y income and you spend that "£84,000 is equivalent to each week on gambling then profits of the Union Bookshop, Papershop and Post Office. almost all the money that we give you have a problem . But despite the astronomical to sports teams so it's quite an "If you are constan tly takings Union Finance Officer important sum, students like the looking to borrow money Neil Fox. has revealed that even machines too, so the benefits are from people and your more games have been hired there," explained Neil. thoughts are not on your over the summer vacation , However, a spokesperson for studies because of gambling while the existing fruit machines Gamblers Anonymous has issued then you also have a and arcade games have been problem ," added the repositioned in an attempt to get Danger s p o k e s p e r s o n . more people playing. Concerned students can Said Sabb Neil, "When the a stark warning about the dangers contact Gamblers games were in the games room to students who make excessive Anonymous on 0171 384304
N C"')
N
'I"'
N
CD
..I ..I -
:Z:
...2: .,..... Ill
N ....
CD N CD
....
Ill LU g:
....
fn
z
.-.. 0
Q Ill g:
-
----· - - -- - - - ---
- --
-- ---- ----
-------------- --··-
·-·
- · ... -
8
-
- --
.-
- - - - - -- -- - --- --- --- - - -··
Concrete. Wednesday, Septembe r 30 199
The new Scottish parliament and Welsh Assembly mean the end of the UK as we know it...
T
he l "- I' on the· lmn~ ol 1\\o ol the· llhhl
d!.llll.l ll l
J1<llliiL',til'h,lll),!e' Ill 0\ L'l
~()() ~ L'.tl'
The ne\! fl'\\ mun!h' "ill hnng .1 IlL'\\ p~rll.lllll'lil Ill Snllland. '' ith ''Ilk ldll t!l ll g pO\\ ~!':-. to create ne\\
law'
and
ge t 1id uf old one'. and a Ill'\\ WcJ,h i\"emhl) ! h~l "il l hL· ahk Ill ma~c deci,illn' 11 hi e h arc l'UITL'Il li ) !hl' re'J1011'ibi lit) lli ofricia J, in di,tanl \~ hitchall.
, , , 'L'<l jll' .
it include': health. cdu,al lnn. local
go\ L'l"lllllL'Ill.
hnu,u1g..
cconom1c <lclelopmenl. trade. l'llllllllal and ci1 il la\\. L'Olllb. pri,on-... pnlicc and fire ... L'n icL''· animah. the cn1 1ron1nenl. agri culture. fnod ... tandan.l .... r~m. ·. . . tr~. fi, herie'. 'Pori. and the ar". Onl) a fc\\ po li c) areas. li~ c forctgn JllliiL·y and financial mall e rs \\ill remain in !he hands of Wcstminsll'l · hased poliucians . A qrong meas ure of the
JllC;I'UJ"l' iha! OJ'Jl<lllL'll" O! dc1olu!lon claim \\Ill inc1 ilahl) lead In a " ia!l an la\ .. \\ ith in cn nll· ta\ rate" greater in ~cn!land than in Eng land .
\n nt hcr '''liL' rai-..L'd h' opponents lli the ne\\ cons! IIUI1 o nal set-up 1s ihL' so called " \\ 'csl Lothian question" . T" cnty ) cars ago Labour ~I I' for ~ cs l Lolhi;uJ. Tam Dal )dl. queqionL·d the future for Scollish MPs in the Wc,llninslcr parliatnenl if Sn>!land had i" <lll n la\\ -m~~in g hodies . \\'hi le Scoll ish
The re:~olulion that . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - , ta~ing p lace 111 ~coui'h politic' " hard tu mer,lalc . For the fir'! time since the Acl o l· Union joi ned JO:ngla nd and Scot land in 1707. vote rs non h of th e hon.Jcr "ill he able 10 elcel their ow n. dedicated parliame nt. The new Jcgi,Jatl!re. !o be ho u,ed on the fonner s it e of an old brewer} a! Ho I) rood. wi 11 he able to change the Ja w on a w id e range of tss ues. Th roug h the Scolli s h Office. Scotland a lready has a different ;,ystem of justi ce than "
Eng la nd. together with
s~paralc
~~~~~:~~~:~,~~:~~~~~:l!~t:=~~~······~
admin istrat ion of some education and properly maucr>. but the new range of powers being give n to the parlia me n! is breath -taki ng in
imponance of !he parliament i' that it will ha1·c the po\\er 10 vary the level o f income tax in Scotland by up 10 three pe nce in !he pou nd - a
members would be able to pass lnws that affected the whole o f th<: U K. their soul hem countcqJarls wou ld be restricted 10 legis lating for England a nd Wa le;,. it' s a question that. after two decades st ill hasn't been ans wered. But supporter;, of the plan s are confide n! that th e potential gain.., arc g reat enough 10 outweig h any di ~ad\antagc~.
"A great student favourite!" 2 Restaurants ... 2 Menus ... Under 1 roof!
Huge international choice Always good food Great atmosphere Student prices Big party rooms Lots of vegetarian/vegan dishes OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEI{, LUNCH 61: EVENING
6 POTTERGATE (Behind Tesco)
1r626763
\col! ish cousin. hut it "ill la~c 1111ponan1 dcL·istons on the future n l ihL' UlUilil). it" ill!a~c m e r ihL' role current!) p ia) cu h) ihL' \\ cJ,h SccTL'Iarl and a numhcr of undccJL•d go\ cnHllL'Ill
bodies h) deciding o n hllll be'! 10 1111J1lc lnen l l;m s pa"cd in London. The a'Se mhly "ill he ahle to decide the cxal'l nature of the sc hool c urriculum for l'\ ample and \\ ill he ahk to dc,ignate areas of en\ lnHuncntal -.,cn...,iti\ it~ . ih remit include, : economic dc1 elopmcnl. ag ricuhun; and food . i ndu...,tr~ and training. education. i<>L·al gmcrnmcnl. health and pcP. onal . . ul'ial -.,en ice-.,. IHHI..,ing. e n1 iro nmenl. planning. lran,pon and roads. arts and culiure. h~ritagc. a nd sport and recreation. Welsh Secretary Ron Da1·ies ha;, promised th at!hc Ill'\\ assc mhl} wi ll hcnefit the "hole of the countr) . " I am 1 er) please that the people of \\'ale' ha1 c gi\J:n thcir suppo111o a ;,trongcr 1 oic~ for Wale -, ... he said. Adding. "The J'lCOple of W~le;, ha1e ;,ho\\ n !ha! they believe in th~mscllc,. I g uarantee thatlhi s will be an assemb ly which is ge nu inel y inclus ive of the w ho le of Wa les." Both the Scollish Parliament and the Wcbh A;,semhly mark waters hed' no! jw,! in the way the United Kingdom i, govemcd. but also in the way we e lec t ou r legislators. For the lirsl time in U K e lec tion s a number of represemalives wil l be c hosen on the additional mcmher sy~lem. W hat thi ;, means i;, that afte r voters pid their con;,!i!uency 1P.
primari ly eco nomi c rather than political. The Single European Currency. orE 1U. will be launched on !;,! January 1999. h will he start of !he mo;, t ' ulNanlial European c un·e ncy h loc si nce the Pru;,sian do m ina!ed Zo ll verei n brought trade a nd c urrenc y un ion 10 ce ntral
"With its new responsibilities, the Scottish Parliament will be in a position to encourage vigorous sustainable growth in the Scottish economy" Donald Dewar MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
"With IlL\\ respon;,ibili tic;,. th e Scollish Parliame nt wi ll he in a pos ition In encourage 'i g.o rnu" ,uqainahlc growth in !ht: Scolli>h economy ... claims Don aid De war i\1 P. Secretary of State for Sco tl and "Polic i ~s nn health. hou s ing and education will rt:,pn nd more tlirec!l' 10 Scotland's need , ... " The Pari iamenl " i 11 11 nrk In protect and develop our unique cn\' ironml'nl ~" well a . . ..:nrich our nlitu ral inheritance ... he also c laims. The conslilutional scl!letncnt for \\':1 lc:-. j..., not a" \\ idc rangin g. hut i" ground brea~ing none the less . Th~ Ill'\\ Welsh i\"c mhl) \\lln·l he ah le 10 dir~c!l) pass n~\\ l;ms. li~ c i"
the) wi ll then lOll' for a politica l part y. The part y 1olc s \\ill he co mbined into lnrgcr colh titu cncic~ and MPs \\ill be elected in propor!ion IO ih ~ nUillhl'r of \'OIL'S c~sl. The hope is that the linalmakc up of the assemblies "i ll more accurately rcpre;,e nl th e publi c's preferences than the traditional ... ys tl'lll .
Proportional representation wil l he u;,cd for the next Europc~n · P~rliam c nl election;.. which will ! a ~e place on ~"la) 6th 1999. the ..,a me date ~h dcct ion" to th e ll C\\ Scoui;.h anJ Welsh hodies. Europe i'> a lso about lo under-go " id ~s pread change. bu! il " ~ J so
Europe in the 19th century. Althou g h Bri ta in 11011·1 be adopting the EMU fo r a number or years . if a! a ll. !he ne\\ L'UITL'Ill') 11 ill have a dramatic impact on the cconom) and lifcslylc of British ci1i1ens. 11 wi ll ma~c comparing prices across Europe muc h ca;.icr. and travelling acro;,;, the continent cheaper b) ~;e uin g rid of !he need 10 co nvert -currency and pay co mmi ..,:-.ion. I!. s an issu e or g reat i mponance 10 !he Scollish Na tional Part). "hi eh Joob increasing!) li~c hcing the majnril) pari) in the ne\\ Scollish a"cmhly . i\ slrong l) pro· European part). the S t P 11 ill he
keen to improve Scot land 's po,it ion in Europe . eve n if foreign affairs do orticially fall outside its power;, . I! has also promi;,ed 10 ho ld a referendum on fu ll Scolli sh independe nce if it w in s a majority of seals in the new parliament. An in dependent Scotland ruled hy the S P wou ld be keen to p lay a fu ll p~rl in Europe. including membcr;,h ip of !he European Mone tar) Union. If Scotland could pa" the ~:conomic t~:-.t:-. for the :-.ingh: currcnc). we would fal·c !he pro;.pec! of o n ~ isla nd . but two curn.: ncics. The future for Sco tland i' unc~nain but excitin g. There j-, a ICJ"\ re:1l pos;,ihilil ) that h) the time of the nc\1 election. the Uni te d Kingdom could he anything but united . Wales . too. is cha ngi ng but there 'eem' linlc desire for a split "ith England. ;, imp ly a demand for a greater :-.a) in ru nning their ow n affair~. The las t fc11 yean. or the millennium lo o ~ li~ c h ~i n g C\ cit ing tim e~ .
By James Goffin
Features 9
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Thirty seven yea rs since the birth of UEA • Darcy Hurford and Amanda Aiken look at the way t hin s used to be... ancy paying less than £1 for a gig ticket, constant treks up University Drive or living in halls over 5 miles away? If so, bad luck you're late - this was life at UEA for your average student just a few decades ago. Indeed, things have changed immeasurably at UEA since those early years, with everything from fashion to finances updated and, sometimes, recycled. When it was created in 1961, UEA's radical new architecture was designed to reflect the way the University was intended to be run - with ground breaking vision. However, not everybody shared this vision. Norwich's golfers in particular reacted less than favourably to losing their course, even if the new University had promised to run at least
F
changes since UEA's creatton. In the early years, a good night out might have been watching a play or listening to a spot of folk music. The LCR and Union House wasn't even a glint in the eye of UEA during its formative years either. The Students' Union was also located up at the Village site, where the Barn provided a venue for parties, ceilidhs and music events. And that timeless UEA institution, the Thursday LCR Disco, only became a regular feature of life 12 years ago. Of course, you could always entertain yourself. There may not have been any vending machines or snooker tables here during the seventies, but a pottery kiln was available for anyone looking for exciting campus activities. Unfortunately, this was evidently not enough to keep some students
"When the Queen came to tour the University, one of my friends was a rrested for throwing a banner at her" · ex EAS student Jackie Clift several hundred more themselves. The aim of UEA's founders was to provide a self-contained and functional university for East Anglia, with all schools and amenities in one linked space, whilst keeping in tune with the beauty of the natural surroundings. However, this building, which we all know as the teaching block, took time to complete and was not fully operational until the early 70's. During this time seminars were held on the site where the Village is now located. Most students could be found living in Norfolk and Suffolk Terrace, or at Fifers Lane, UEA's off-campus accommodation. And although the students who resided at Fifers had to trek about 5 miles to get to UEA each day they did have their very own bar to drown their sorrows in each night - something which residents of newer off-campus accommodation would probably be annoyed to learn. nee the 'alternative' appearance was in place, the University set about making the courses it offered different too. Nowadays, joint honours degrees and seminars are widespread, but back in 1963, this was a new phenomenon. Also new was the fascination with three letter abbreviations: the first Schools of Study included EAS, EUR, CHE and SOC, with SYS, HIS and WAM being among the later additions. However, it is student social activities which have undergone some of the biggest
0
stimulated, especially during special occasions one student celebrated his birthday by taking his bed down to The Square! And although UEA may not now be seen as a political hotbed of activity, in the 1960's demonstrations were a regular feature of student life. Ex EAS student Jackie Clift explains, 'We were pretty active, in the late 60's when the Queen came to visit one of my friends was arrested for throwing a banner at her when she was touring the University. We thought she was getting too much preferential treatment and excessive funds were being spent on her visit." She added, "There was also an occupation of Norfolk and Suffolk Terrace in protest against some of the University's policies." Even Union General Meetings were quite well attended, especially considering that students had to trek over to the Village to the Union. Fashions have also changed at UEA just as everywhere else. Many of today's more adventurously dressed and pierced students would come as a shock to the conservatively attired students of 1963, who tended to favour broaches over belly-button rings and ties over tattoos. But, even if UEA's initial intake of students had a less adventurous dress sense, they were quite prepared to try UEA's efforts as a 'new' university, to offer distinctive teaching methods and courses. This effort was spearheaded by Britain's favourite academic, Malcom Bradbury, a lecturer in EAS for much of the University's history.
He firmly put UEA on the map with his prestigious centre for creative and performing arts. The Bradbury MA, as some called it, became synonymous with East Anglia remaining so even after his departure. Andrew Motion Philip Larkin's' literary executor, succeeded the pipesmoking Bradbury who can still be seen on campus from time to time. And in spite of all the evolution over the last 30 years towards today's UEA with over 9000 students and a whole host of new curvy buildings, there has been one constant that has faced all students, past and present: library fines. By today's rates, if you'd taken a book out back in
L..-------------------------....1 1961 and failed to return it, you would currently owe UEA something in the region of 50 thousand pounds!
10 Features
Concrete, Wednesday, September 30, 1998
f <3 et )oareq
Wh<h .
qQ~d~
~1Ts tn~'h ~J路 RING WAVENEY WOMEN'S AID HEL.PUNE FOR FRE拢, CONFIDENTIAL HELP AND ADVICE ON EVERY ASPECT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
IOISOZJ 519801 24 HOURS, EVERY DAY
Features 11
12 Features
Concrete, Wednesd
Name: Mark Jones
September 30, 1998
Occupation: Middle School Teacher
How long have you been a teacher? I am just entering my second year of teaching
Why did you choose it as a career? I was looking for a job where I could go in each and every day without being bored. I wanted to be dealing with people and for the job to be a bit unpredictable - and you can't really get more unpredictable than children.
What age group do you teach? At the moment it's ten year olds, but I work at a middle school so it can range from 10-12 year olds.
What is the worst thing about being a teacher? There is not really anything bad about the children, it is more the internal school bureaucracy that you have to deal with. lt is also hard leaming about children's backgrounds and trying to b& there to support them.
What are the funniest things that the children do? Some of the kids can be real smart alecs. Once I was losing my patience a bit and told the class they should calm down, when one lad piped up, "Sir I didn't know you were a doctor!". Most of the time they are ok though.
Do you ever get propositioned by any of the mothers? Well it does happen sometimes, either with the mothers or even sometimes with the children's older sisters! They can keep popping up everywhere making comments or subtle suggestions, but it generally isn't too bad!.
What is the funniest note that you have received?
Does teaching affect your social life?
A lot of the time the kids try and write their own notes. We run an after-school football club but we need a note from parents saying that their child can stay behind. Last week I got a note which simply said 'Bruce can do football tonight' with a scrawled attempt at the boy's mother's signature! The problem was that it was written in school pen and was obviously Bruce's handwriting. lt took quite a bit of time to get him to admit he wrote it though!
Definitely! I always have to put Sunday afternoon aside to work, and it is a bit of a strain getting up after being out late the night before!
Do "fOU get m~:~ny over anx1ous parents? lt does happen at times, but they are obviously just concerned for their child's welfare. I did think that the 2 page letter I got from one mother was a bit excessive though, especially considering her child had only been a bit sick!
Do you have to break up many fights in the playground? There is not as much fighting as when I was at school, it's more just pushing and shoving really.
Do you end up having to sort out all their love life problems? lt is really funny, they are all going out with each other! lt gets to be a right little love nest! But I generally try not to get too involved.
Do you find it strange being a young person in the job? Yes, it is a bit strange, the older female teachers always tend to mother me while it can also be strange路when the parents are the same age as me
Is it difficult being a male teacher and not being able to hug an upset child for fear of getting false accusations made against you? You are always aware of the dangers, but a lot of the kids see you as a type of father figure and can get very close to you. This can be difficult since it might be easily misinterpreted. lt is important to never put yourself in a situation where you are alone with a child, because the child is always going to be believed over the adult. As long as someone else is around ifs OK to comfort a child if they're crying, but it is a tricky situation.
Would you tey and discourage someone from becoming a teacher? Being a teacher is something that you must want to do, it's not fair on you or the children if you don't want to do the job. it's constant hard work from 9am until 3.30pm when the kids go home, but I still. have friends entering teaching and I'd never discourage people from doing it.
. Do you enjoy your job? lt can be very rewarding, ifs a great feeling every time you've been able to teach a child something. it's a fun and unpredictable job.
a paid advertisement by your student union
What's that then? You don't get many chances to tell the people who run your lives exactly what you think. You don't get many chances to influence policy. You don't get many chances to try and change UEA. The UGM is your chance. The UGM is the most powerful decision making body at UEA because it's made up of you, the students. You have that power. This is your chance to change the Union and put the world to rights in one fell swoop. How does it work? All you have to do to is write down a motion, we'll do the rest. You can put forward a motion to make policy on anything- from barring Spice Girls CDs from the jukebox to plans to reduce the Angolan debt to GDP ratio. The floor is yours, we'll debate almost anything. And you can change things.
Motions need to be submitted by 5pm on Monday, 5 October WRITING THE MOTION Most motions are split into sections like this: 1) ''This Union notes" - This is the first part of the motion and contains background information 2) Then, ''This Union believes" - This contains any Union policy relevant to the motion and the ideology of the motion submitted 3) Then, ''This Union resolves" or ''This Union instructs" This contains any mandates (resolutions or instructions) that the proposers wish the Union to fulfil in connection with the statements in point 2 THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A MOTION This Union notes: a. The existence of cats and dogs b. Cats and dogs are animals This Union believes: a. That cats and dogs are friendly This Union resolves: a. To be nice to cats and dogs b. To condemn those who ar'e not nice to cats and dogs SUBMITTING THE MOTION: The Agenda for a UGM opens a week before it closes. Motions appear in the order in which they are submitted. You can however reserve a place on the Agenda by writing on the Agenda sheet the title of the motion and 'holding'. You then have until the Agenda closes to write your motion, giving you more time to work on the motion but ensuring a high place on the Agenda. For any help with writing or submitting a motion please contact Katy Fixter (Academic Officer), who can be found upstairs in Union House. BUT PLEASE REMEMBER. A MOTION CANNOT INSTRUCT THE UNION OR EXECUTIVE TO CARRY OUT ANYTHING ILLEGAL
For more info check out the UGM website http://www.stu.uea.ac.uk/ugm/
14 Letters & Comment
Concrete. Wednesday. September 30, 1998
MYSTIC ROD
REVEALS September 30 -October 14
Peroxide Pam and her evil cleaning posse tound Colin's room a constant source of enjoyment and good clean tun.
If you have an opinion you wish to air in Concrete, please write us a letter at the address below, marked for the attention of the Editor, James Graham. We reserve the right to edit all letters for length and clarity.
UEA's Independent Student Newspaper PO Box 410,Norwich NR4 7TB Tel: (01603) 250558 Fax: (01603) 506822 E-Mail: su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Editor: James Graham •Deputy Editor: Emma Newbery •News Editor: Graham Diggines •Assistant News Editor: James Goffin •Features Editor: Caroline Jeater • Assistant Features Editor. Carolyn Boyd •Sports Editor: Mark Edwards •Chief Photographer Rob Lutyens • Distribution Manager. Oliver Polhill •Editorial Contributors: Luke Turner, Pau l Stokes, James Tapsfield, Li am Slattery, Jack Hanauer,Catherine Millest, Adam Banham, David At kinson , Amy Kingswell , Darcy Hu rford , Amanda Aiken ,Nick Henegan , Simon Cogswell •Photographers: Rob Lutye ns, Sieve Cullingworth • Front page pictures for Concrete and The Event: Rob Luytens Advertising Managers: Emma Newb ery and James Graham •Special Thanks to. UH Stewards , everyone at ECN •Concrete is published by the Union of UEA Students. Opinions expressed are hose of the Contributor and not necessarily those of the Publisher or Editor. Use of the name 'The Event' appears by arrangement with the copyright holders, Planet Zog Ltd . •No part of th is newspaper may be reproduced or transmitted through crashing computers without the prior written consent of the publisher. Printed by Eastern Counties Newspapers Ltd ., Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1RE .© Concrete 1998.
concrete classified Pcntium Mul ti media Computer Sy;, tem for sa le. 64mb RA M. 24xCD Rom. 14" M onit or. Windows 95/MS Office 97. Built to order £650. Other systcrm avail able. Ca ll Pete on (01603) 766871 after 6pm or E-mail pcd OX 0~ \10 tm a i Lcom
PLA YSTA TION FOR SA L E brand new (sti ll boxed) w ith gancs Formula I and Time Cri ;is (w ith gun ). O ffers we lco med. ROLL ERBLA DESFORS A L E -SiLe 6/7 £1 5
J ul ic. Brown @uca.ac. uk
Listening
Not Lecturing
1r Opening Hours: 8pm - 8am every day for drop-in or phone 503504 confidential listening and information service
Letters & Co.n.nent 15 1
Conc rete, We dnesday, Se ptember 30, 1998
Doing Different-at UEA? For years UEA has claimed it is a centre of excellence. But a report commissioned by the Vice Chancellor has branded the University a second division team attempting to play in the premier league. However, there is apparently a solution to the problems research. The new paper sees research as the only future for UEA, whilst teaching is hardly even mentioned at all. We all want UEA to get back on course towards the big time, but should this be done at the expense of teaching and hundreds of course units -the very things which attract so many students to UEA in the first place? UEA has always prided itself on giving its students the opportunity to "do different". Will the University's motto now be following the hundreds of course units into the bin?
Across Down I. Stick out, RT pours round (8) 5. Drop in brief allegory (4) 9. Programming language found on beach (5) 10. S. takes Red Rum backwards first - destroys (7) 11 . Expecting. agianst to start with ( 12) 13. Frui t added nothing to variety (6) 14. Upset mate R.S .- water under bridge (6) 17. Correct in making a comeback? (5,2,5) 20. Little devil leads in general emergency initially, to intrude {7)
21. Harsh scent caused by ~preading acid around Rwandan capital (5) 22. Some free asylum i!. a piece of cake (4) 23. Support policeman's territory with a rock and roll rhythm (4,4)
I. Stop getting upset afterward!. (4)
2. A plentiful supply for the Atlantic and Pacific, for example (6) 3. Boulder on hill , perhaps! (7,5) 4. To take action against chief results in area of con trol (6) 6. Yiate ? Upset because 'snow such creature ( 1.4) 7. Finally. perhaps. endure the match (4.4) 8. ubdue riverside? It 'll cost you' (5,3.4) 12. In hail or rain, eats quiche
Across Down I. Send (4) 2. Big Seas (6) 3. Gathers no moss (7,5) 4. Area (6) 6.0ne Abomi nable Snowman (1,4) 7. End of season match (4,4) 8. Go for broke (5,3.4) 12. Name of quiche (8) 15. Make someth ing grow (7) 16. Oddessey author {6) . 18. Stares, open mouthed (5) 22. Not hard (4) 23. _ _ - The word ' s 19. To correct text (4) on the slreet (4.4)
I. Sticks out (8) 5. Tumble (4) (8) 9. Snails home (5) 15. Big on French to start with, 10. Kills (7) but get bigger (7) 11 . Wai ti ng ( 12) 16. Sheer poetry - a pigeon that 13. Fruity colour (6) comes ba k (6) 14. Brook (6) 18. Looks unbelievingly at 17. Freedom to talk bacl.. mixed up pages (5) (5.2,5) 19. Tide rising- change it round 20. Hold back (7) (4) 21. Pungent Smell (5)
-----------------------1 t seems that (yet) again our Sabbs seem to believe that we are incapable of doing anything unless told to. But I have finally taken some of their advice. Nei l Fox told us to drink elsewhere and I for one have done so. The union bar is a very important place, especially to freshers and student's who just want somewhere to hang out. But Neil Fox treats it as if the bar revenue is the only thing that comes out of the pub. So it is surprising that he won't respond to the pressu res of the market by adapting prices. Who needs the Union Bar when there are clubs and pubs in town with permanent £I, £1.20 and £1.50 bar prices on all drinks? These places offer much better value and, probably much to Nei l Fox's urprise, much better decor! If Neil doesn't want us in the Union Bar then he'll get what he wants. Students should go into town and fi nd the best pubs, with the best prices, best decor and best music. And when eil Fox finds hi> till receipts going down, the next U-turn he'll do will be on pound-a-pint. B. Noyes MGT 2
I
BALADS - the Ballroom and Latin American Dance Society
...
~ r--------------------------~ "%j
~
I like a partner who can perform '"t
(/)
~
(IJ (IJ
0
::s
"rj
:::0
t.rj t.rj ~
0
3(!) 3 r::r (!)
'"t
(IJ
*
....
PARK, DRINK AND RIDE e*
(/)
m c:
~
find it difftcult to accept that a University that provides alcohol on the premises makes it so difticult for students to leave their cars overnight. A few nights ago I drove onto campus. not intending to go over the lin1it. but as sometimes happens and one drink leads to another, and by the end of the evening I couldn't drive home.l asked the porters if I could leave my car on campus and catch a taxi. Although they did allow it, l was made to feel a· if they .were doing me a huge favour. This seems ridiculous when any other pub in the country will allow customers to park overnight if they're over the limit so that their patrons won't end up losing their licences; or more seriously killing themselves or somebody else. In fact many pubs have notices telling you to leave your car there if you're too drunk to drive: so fnr from making it difficult. it is encouraged. While I accept that perhaps I shouldn't bave had a drink in the first place, UEA should make it clear that if someone has had one too many they can. and ·hould leave their cars on campus. Surely this is reasonable in the light of the enormous dangers of drink dri\·ing.
I
Name and address supplied
...
(!)
::s Q.
~
~
e
'< ~
.....0
~
3 ...
~ ~
"
Q. Q. ~
~
c:0
(/) (/)
~
.....
'< ~
to music
:r ~
::r (!)
-~ ~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~ :a· (/)
:I: (!)
BALADS - the Ballroom and Latin American Dance Society
•sop to non-me mbers
_,
a paid advertisement by your student union
... become a student rep Do you think: - The Union and University don't listen to your views -Your courses aren't being run properly -The Union doesn't offer you the services you need - Karaoke should be an accredited course - The Exec are honouring the pledges they made to you - The Union should be boycotting Nestle
WHATEVER your views, they need to be heard! For more information, or a nomination form, visit the stall in the Hive this week or see Katy Fixter, Academic Officer.
To many newcomers Norwich can initially seem like a quiet place, free of the trouble and violence bigger cities suffer - and to a large extent this impression is accurate. However, it is important not to develop a complacent attitude or a false sense of security, just because Norwich seems sleepy it does not mean that students are free from the risk of being attacked. Furthermore, this potential problem does not exist in the City alone since a number of attacks occured on campus last year. However, this article is not meant to be alarmist and there are simple steps that we can all take as students to ensure we stay safe. Firstly, it is important to stick to well lit areas on campus rather than taking shortcuts - for example try to walk along University Drive rather than cutting through Earlham Park. Similarly, always check the identity of people seeking to gain access to your residences before letting them in , and try to avoid propping open the entrances to residences and corridors. Afte r an evening out in the City remember that some of Norwich's clubs aren't situated in the most hospitable of areas, so look for a taxi outside the club rather than wandering around first. Active steps to defend yourself can also be taken - the Union will be running self defence classes for women and men in the near future, whilst personal alarms will be on sale in the Hive this week. These normally cost ÂŁ2 each , but the Union will be subsidising the price of each alarm by ÂŁ1 so that they will be available to students for just ÂŁ1. Claire Kober, Women 's Officer 1998-1999
Sports Feature 1 7
Concrete. Wednesday, September 30. 1998
Is ootball forgetting its fans in the scramble for SP-Onsorship_ and corP-orate deals? B~ MARK
EDWARDS
EVER SPENT a Saturday afternoon at a lower league football game? Well, it may soon be a thing of the past - the face of football in England is changing rapidly. Floods of cash are currently being pumped into some areas, whilst others are starving from a lack of investment. The beautiful game is becoming increasingly divided between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots', with one inevitable consequence looming on rhe horizon -some clubs will have to either go semi-professional or go to the wall. Football's cash is currently in the public eye and causing huge controversy. The recent deal between media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and Manchester United chairman, Martin Edwards has created massive publicity, as well as a great deal of concern in some quarters. The deal has been attacked by supporters groups concerned that it pays no attention to the interests of the club's supporters whom until now have been United's lifeblood. But Edwards has hit back at critics such a the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association who claim that he is unconcerned with the club's future. "I will sit in front of anybody and argue the toss. Nobody will convince me that I have done the wrong thing," said Edwards. Still, the days when fans could get into a ground for less than a
Money couple of quid and still have ca~h left over for a pie and a pint are gone
forever. With the increasing popularity of football's larger clubs, prices for tickets to big matches of bigger clubs have soared, with many arguing that they are now beyond the reasonable reach of clubs ' true fans. Lucrative merchandise deals • _ _ _ __ _.__.,.._ have also brought in a great deal of money for football clubs, and big media groups such as Sky, Carlton and Granada arc now looking to buy clubs. Indeed, the commercialisation of football shows no sign of abating. And as the club get richer the wage demands of players are getting bigger and bigger. A.lan Shearer, the Newcastle United and England striker, has allegedly been offered around £7,000 a day to stay at Newcastle, simply because the club know that if they do not make the offer other clubs will gladly step in and do so instead. Such stories are believable because a player such as Shearer can bring clubs huge material rewards through increased merchandising, attendances and success on the pitch. With so much money and such fierce competition, the worry for the whole football league is that competition for players and fans may turn into civil war. An example of this is the disastrous Rugby World Super League, which Rupert Murdoch set up after his offer to get the rights for pay-per-view for the Australian Rugby League were turned down. After the initial influx of cash into the game, players wage demands skyrocketed, placing a great strain on the club's as well as their supporters financial well being. lt is feared that a European Super League for football could face similar problems were it to be founded in a similar way. And even the most loya: fans of England 's biggest clubs might not be able to afford the costs of travelling half way across Europe to
follow their team. The lower league clubs could also lose the chance to pit themselves against the best in the country in domestic cups, if proposed changes were to be endorsed, giving smaller clubs an even tinier slice of the money currently in football. However, clubs rooted in the lower leagues are already suffering under the football's current financial climate. The creation of the Premier League in 1992 ushered in the new financial order, with the top clubs taking a greater share of football's money than ever before. The structure of the deal meant that less money trickled down to smaller clubs, whilst the more recent Bosman ruling has meant that clubs may not even be able to raise revenue through selling their better players anymore. Dave Brown of the Cambridge United Supporters Association is
Dedicated channels for all the
Pay per view
look set to get another huge pay day with the inevitable launch of pay-per-view TV.
major clubs are in sight, whilst it just looks like a matter of time before a European super league comes to fruition . With the launch of these two projects th~re will be even less
money distributed to the poorer clubs. And with the money in football keeps gelling invested into the already rich and successful sides then the outlook for these smaller clubs looks very bleak. One thing is for certain though the face of English football will be unrecognisable ten years from now.
BALADS - the Ballroom and Latin American Dance Society Q)
......>
::r: Q)
...c: ....
'Tl ~-
I need a p
..... Vl
roVl Vl
.s
0 :l
>-.
<1l
~
·g
~ ~
~
-o -o
.....
N
0
...... >-.
3 3 C) (1)
<1l
-o c::
:l
(1)
..;
(/)
Vl
•
Attacked concerned at the effects of the 'new football order.' "Football ha~ certainly changed in recent years, unfortunately, I feel, not for the better. "With big money men and speculators now taking over from the fan , the future does not look good for the smaller clubs in the league," he added. Faced with this sort of financial pressure it is anticipated that around five football league clubs will either go bust or semi-professional in the next few years. The strenuous financial worries which smaller clubs such as Brighton, Doncaster and Aldershot have all suffered in the past are being experienced by more and more clubs today. There is a small glimmer of hope in the form of Lottery Grants, but it is probably unrealistic to presume that clubs can survive from a rare
~
~ ~
c::
0
"'"'
~
....
(f)
.!:l
can perform to music
~
BALADS - the Ballroom and Latin American Dance Society •sop to non·members
• 18
s
ort
Nowhere to Hide from ~ Herbie _ Sky's the Limit BSkyB is set to rake in even more dosh as they look likely to win the rights for pay-per-view with t he Football League ta king up the option at the end of the year. Prices are supposedly to range between £5 and £10 and League bosses have promised that these will on ly be in addition to the Friday night and Sunday games. Profits from the scheme w ill be cut between the two teams invo lved and the rest would be shared out amongst the league.
Wrap it up Footie nut Tom Leleux has travelled 15,000 miles over 13 years to visit all 92 football league grounds. The Derby fan has collected scarves from every one of the Lea g ue sides, and splashed out £20,000 to f inish his obsession, on ly for all the scarves to be kept in boxes because his flatmate will not let him pin them up on their walls.
A Dog's Life Norwich WBO champ, Herbie Hide may well be sued by his former manager, Frank Mahoney after saying that he earned less than a dog handler. Mahoney is not impressed by Herbie's comments and the re looks to be on heali ng of their acrimonious spl it.
Queen signs for United Her Roya l Majesty the Queen is getting in on t he Manchester United mania breaking w ith tradition and sign ing a football embossed with the United logo. The Queen si gned under the eye of England and Manchester legend Sir Bobby Charlton , and roya l aides later revea led that it was the first t ime her Majesty had ever given an autograph on a football .
NORWICH BASED boxer Herbie Hide retained his WBO heavyweight crown at the Norwich Sports Village, last night. Hide's opponent , German , Willi Fi sch er, received such a battering that American referee , Joe Cortez had to stop the bout. Fischer had never been brought to the floor in a fight before, but after being knocked to the canvas three times in th e second round , the match had to come to an end . The German had a big following at Norwich, but they were shortly silenced , after a first round rampage from local wonder Hide. Herbie Hide does not waste any time in the defence of his title, in his first match Hide knocked out Ameri can , Damon Reed in 55 seconds. The WBO title holder has now made an appeal to fight some of the bigger fish in the world of boxing , including Evander Holyfield , Lennox Lewis and even,Mike Tyson . But Herbie thinks that the best of the rest should be running scared from him because of his lightning speed. And in this sort of devastating form not many would bet against th e Norwich wildman.
Norwich Anglian Home Improvements
GOLDEN SHOT
..
£3 per hour plus bonuses Monday to Friday lOam to lpm or 6ptn to 9pm PERMANENT tel 616391 and ask for Christine
Commonwealth champ brings home the medals CHAMPION COMMONWEALTH shooter Mick Gault was showing off his four gold medals as he returned from the Games in Kuala Lumpur to the more settled arena of Heathrow Airport. 1\tlllC the k\\ Gault 1\~cci\ ed a glorious reception as he \\as m cl hy a c hee rin g c rowd at the ai rport. The Dcreham based Ci' il Sen ani "'" the \ecn nd htghcsl medal '' i nn~r in lhi" gam~~- anJ i ... 110\\ :-.l'Hing h i-.. s ighh o n a dea n :-.weep the pi sto l s hoot ing meda ls at th e ~()(){) 01} m pics. l\1r Gau lt aho hro~c the Cnmmonwcah h record for the men\
or
air pisto l \\ ith 67l) points. The go ld medal isl has had a troublesome time tr) ing to train for the gamt::-.. and had to tra\·c l to S" ittc rland. becau se the stric l
or
gun la\\..., 111 Britai n.
He has a lso had di ffic ul t~ in fund ing his training. and ended up
diggi ng dee p inl o hi ~ own pocke t. a lt hough he is sti ll o11cd t:6.000 b} !he Cion~rnmcnt rur cnmpc..'lhtllion after handing in h is gun equipment.
The "cy to h is success he sa id was. a more prok."iona l approach to !rai ning. a lt hough he has a lready prO\ed his abilil~ I" 11inning medab in Vi~ t oria. The sUl'CCS\ sho uld stand him 11011 in good st ed for lh c Europea n C hampionshq" a nd .tl Syd nc) in
2000.
---- - ------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• Sport 19
Concrete;Wednesday, September 30, 1998
Pelicans gummled bY. UEA Astros
Once again students were drawn towards the UEA SportsMart in large numbers, with a huge number of people joining various sports clubs. Each and every club was successful in drawing in a number of members, which is great for sport at UEA. Both in terms of numbers taking part and for competiton, UEA already has a very good reputation for having one of the highest participation levels for sport, and it will be good to see that increase again. Sports centre officials described the event as 'very successful' saying that over 2000 people bought club insurance. indicating a significant rise on last years figures. But, there is concern among Sports Centre Mavagement that some people have signed up for clubs speculatively and failed to purchase insurance when they went in. It is essential that sports players sign up for insurance to cover them for an accident which happens during a match or training the player will not be covered. Insurance only costs one pound, but it is vital that the Sports Center can afford to pay for a policy insuring the whole of the Sports Center and its users.
UEA 5 Pelicans 0
lbv JAMES BROWN I UEA Ladies Hockey firsts recorded an emphatic first win of the season over an outclassed Pelicans side. From the beginning, UEA looked dangerous in attack and solid in defence, pushing the opposition onto the backfoot, last Saturday. pressure into goals after 28 minutes The Astros dictated the pace of when Helen Wi llett slotted home the game, despite fielding a from close range. number of new players. A second UEA goal, two minutes The Pelicans made numerous from time rounded off the first half. unforced errors due to strong It was to be in the second half pressure from a brave and that the Astros made compact UEA side, forcing superiority felt, scoring another corners and winning possession three goals, looking slicker and back on a number of times. more fluent than the Pelicans. UEA often looked on the UEA also managed to keep a verge of scoring points, but for clean sheet on a hot day and won by the first half hour they were five goals to nil. unable to get past an overworked The goals included two from Pelicans goalkeeper. team captain, Caroline Malone and On occasion though, the one from club captain Rarhel Pelicans broke out of defence and also had chances to counterClarke. After the match both were attack on an inexperienced UEA pleased with the way their fledgling team. But they were unable to side was playing: Rachel said, "lt was pretty good convert their chances into goals, showing their weaknesses in a for the frrst match incorporating new players into the team, but we limp attack. should have scored more." Despite these chances the "There is enormous potential, away side never looked likely of gerting close to the Astros, who which we will work on: the team captain agreed, adding 'Watch out were in a different league. for us in the future!" UEA began
EXTRA! EXTRA! Get your favourite daily newspapers at fantastic student prices!
THE TIMES •.•.••••.......•... MON-FRI
by MARK EDWARDS, Sports Editor
Yet another Pirates player has had a successful summer, involved in the national set-up. · American footballer, Tim Stone, qualified for the Great Britain Bulldogs side after shining through in the trials at the beginning of the summer. Tim was picked to play at the accolade of being the defences defensive tackle against Canada, Most Valuable Player for the game. and went on a 11 day tour of Tim had joined UEA graduate Europe facing Holland and Richard Mortimer on the side who Germany. plays at strong safety. The Bulldogs faced Canada first Richard graduated last year after in a tough match to be held in a successful spell with the UEA Leicester, and the core stayed tight Pirates. throughout the game. With the first victory under their Great Britain just pipped Canada belts, the side moved on to their to the post taking a 6-0 victory European tour, but found things thanks to the one touchdown. were to get even tougher against the But the Bulldogs defence Holland all-stars. remained solid, and Tim Stone took In an even closer game the Dutch
stole the show by edging a one point lead over Britain to take the match. The Bulldogs took heart from the fact that the match came so close to beating a side which did not just contain students, giving them a good foundation to face the European Champions Germany. And the team spirit got Britain a result in Germany b:,t defeating the champions by 13-6. Tim Stone said, "This was one of the best experiences in my life, and I was really proud to play at national level." And he has high hopes for the Pirates new season, "This year the team is stronger than before, and we have real hopes of reaching the play-offs."
SAT
1Sp 30p
THE GUARDIAN ...........
MON-FRI
20p
THE INDEPENDENT......
MON-FRI
20p 30p SOp
SAT SUN
THE TELEGRAPH ......... MON·FRI SAT SUN
20p 30p SOp
THE EDP ....................... MON-SAT 20p
'
'
.
Inside this • ISSUe
UEA scraP.e first victo~ in final seconds by NICK HENEGAN
IUEA 3 Easton 2j
DESPITE A patchy first performance UEA's football second XI pulled out a well deserved victory last Saturday . The team grabbed a valuable 3-2 victory against an Easton team who just could not match the home sides competitive edge. The winner was struck in the dying minutes after Matthias Zucker expertly won the ball with a crunching tack le in midfield. before beating two men and expertly finished from twelve yards. This came after UEA·;, lack of concentration and fitness lead to the loss of a two goal lead provided by the promising first year forwards. Rich Crozier and John Varney. The game had got off to the best possible start when Crozier slotted
Dominant home in the opening seconds. For the rest of the half UEA were dominant in skill and possession but failed to turn the advantage into goals. despite exciting link up play between Tony George and Tom Connors on the right. This was due to the fact that
•
long periods, because of East on · s battling approach and the defensive nature of the centre midfield. After the break both teams resorted to long ball tactics. unti I the introduction of fresher John Varncy in the 66th minute gave UEA's auack a new lease of life. This advantage was immediately apparent in the 69th minute. when UEA scored their second goal when Crozier reached the by-line on the left to cross. finding Varney unmarked in the centre.
Resurgence At this point. far from admiuing defeat. there was a resurgence in the Easton side with increased possession and pressure. This cu lminated in UEA ·s lead being halved when a rni>understanding between Torn Connors and the defence led to an
eas) Easton goal in the 75th minute. Things then went from had to worse for UEA when a surging run from midfield. followed by an unstoppahlc 25 yard stri~e. led to Easton · s equaliser in the 80th minute. The match had a draw wrillen all over it until Matthias Zuckcr's 86th minute winner turned the game aound and saved UEA ' s blushes. After the game . captain Sam Cawley said. "In the end ·we were lucky but it was a good performance all round. especially from the new first years. ··we should have won the league last season and hope to improve this year winning the league and cup, and progressi ng in BUSA."