We meet Placebo, Reef and a Lord of the Rings star PLUS all the best news, reviews and previews Issue 15 I ¡ Wednesday, May 7, 2003
UEA 's INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
FREE
Builders' banging on campus P,uts a stoP. to exam revision STUDENTS in four of the University's residences are calling for compensation - as they face a hellish exam period with a massive building site on their doorsteps. The work on the University's new residences leaves students in Wolfson Close. Orwell Close, Waveney Terrace and Nelson Court being woken at 7.30am six days a week when the builders start work. The noise from the site continues all day. into the evening making - it almost impossible to revise. and students are concerned for their exams. In a desperate attempt to lessen the loud noise, voile curtains and a wooden screen have been put in place around Wolfson Close, but they have failed to improve the situation for those in Waveney and Nelson Court. Despite the University making
THOM SMITH Chief News Reporter
rooms in the Arts Building available for students to study. students are still livid. Resident of Wolfson Close Becky Grcenfield complained about the unbearable amounts of noise. " I don ' t think that the barrier has done anything to reduce the noise. and it's really hard to concentrate. the curtains aren't exactly tasteful ei ther." Residents are so angry that they are asking for their rents to be reduced in compensation. A Wolfson resident identified only as lsaac said for those who have exams it's really tough. "I only get any peace at night. Why are the prices so high? We ought to be compensated for the noise" Union Communications Officer Ned Glasier acknowledged that there was disruption for students. "With the exam period it's real1y important that students are not
disturbed . Students should bring their complaints to the Union. so that we can take the matter forward with the University." Student Deana Cooper is furious as the students received little warning about their noisy disruptions. "There was no prior warning. only after we wrote to Paul Bailey in the accommodation office, did they start to send information." As a result of the complaints Director of the Residences and Services Division Jenny Grant apologised for the lack of information and warning. "lt is a matter of great regret to the University and the contractors that communication about this development has been inadequate to date and I would ask you to accept our apologies for this. "Please be assured that our intention is to provide residents with information and solutions to emerging issues as this project proceeds." Ms Grant confirmed that the the new accommodation will be open in September.
Concrete Comment, Page 8
•,
r Pa ge 2
New sabbs learn ropes
Clubs party the • even1ng away at the CASAS
,\ hove: Next year 's Exec
T H E new sabbs a nd pa rt time sabbs have been busy this Easter unde rta king their training for next year.
REBECCA LAWRENCE News Editor
T lwy und ertook a th ree da y residential course in a hotel in No rth No r wich to get ready to und ertake their res ponsibilities for th e Union.
LAST term saw all societies gathering together to celebrate their fa ntastic achi eve me nts ove r th e past yea r at the Union CAS As.
T h ey we r e tra ined by Uni on 1\ lana ge r And) Pott a nd the N S region a l office r for East A nglia Richard Wa lker. Th e vice pres id e nt of t he NUS a lso we nt to give a ta lk . Union Communica tions Oflice r Ncd Clasicr said he t hough t it was the mos t productive training h e h a d had so fa r. " I ' ve done three tra inin g cours· cs with t he Union a nd t h is was the m ost t>ositivc. People thought as a tea m, a nd fo r the Union ra th e r th a n as indh·idu a ls. Nex t yea r. th e) will d efin ite ly wo r k we ll togethe r."
MP Clarke to return to UEA
The awards we re held in the LC R on M<trch J O. and we re prese nted to studenls and suc ie ti e' by t hi ~ ye ar~ Uni on Exec utive.
A bove: Casa-uovas, Football's J C Triuder, Stuart j eukiusou and Captain Paul }arret/
The Soc idy o f Year awan.l wa' g i,e n to th e M u, ic \ocic ty. Pre-,i dc nt S imon Amkr>o n '>a io the >oc ic ty wa> \ ery proud . " We \ e wor ~cd e \lrerndy ha rd thi> year. We did expec t it. lt ·, nice to he rccog ni-,ed. We arc a we ll known >ncie ty and it wil l let peop le ~n ow how much \VI: do. Next year' s com mittee have got lot\ or p lan' to Cont inu e the \ UI:CCSS. lt 's great fo r pcopk to he in a '>ocicty w hi ch ha'> won." The Sports Society of the year wa' awarded to the t-kn ·., Footha ll to commend their huge actHe\ e-
ROll OF HONOUR Service to Sport J~.:!-.~it:a
L'ptnn • Bu;.tt Dan Brown- Kurrhall Pridic Davic:-. - Fdl
T il E Secretary of State for Ed ucation a nd M P for Norwich south is holding a surgery at UEA for students this week. T he surge ry will ta ke place on Friday May 9 fro m 12.301.30 in room 1.33. It is a c han ce to s p ea k to C ha rles C larke a bout any p e rso na l p r ob le m s you m a) h ave, o r a bo ut n a tio na l iss u es. It i ~ the sct·o nd s urgery tha t Cha rles C la rke h as h e ld on cam p us th is acad e mic )Car, and he pla ns m o re for th e futu re.
Science success A YO U G UEA scientist h as hee n n amed th e Br it is h Bi o ph ys ica l Socict~ Yo un g Inves t iga tor o f
2002 . Dr Ju lea Butt fro m Sch ool of Chcmka l Sdc nn ·s a nd Ph a rm at· ~ "as awa rd ed t h e fi rs t B BS 1\lcdal for her •·"'ca rc h in pmtci n film volt ammctr) . Ill- Butt "i ll rct·ciH' hn U 000 priLc on Ap r il 2-'.
A bove: Pridie Ua vies
l1side this fort1ight:
Page 2: Coverage of the Union's CASA awards held back in March Page 3: The Cheerleader's bid to become recognised as a sports club Page 4 : Backchat - What has the Director of Sport been up to? Page 5: Tragic student's sister speaks out over Riverside CCTV
Page 6: Student s.lams police over stamping row Page 8: UEA staff's reaction to campus crime Page 9: Who is UEA's sexiest lecturer? Page 10: We introduce you to U1e Shadow Education Minister, Damien Green Page 11: The lowdown on SARS Page 12: Worried you 're
Don't miss this week's
EVENT
change:· He aooco that he '"" pl ca;eJ the Uni versit y had recog ni;ed the ir hard wo rk. in ; pile o f their lm;c>. "Nex t yea r. th e tea m pl an; to m a ~ c the B LJSA c hampi o n, hips. an o get ex tra coac hing ... lno i' io ua l ac hi eveme nts "e re abo recognised . Drama President Mcn na B"van wa., awarded for Se rvices to Soc ieties. She '>a id it wa\ a ' ery ~I range: c..b.t) as the~ \\ ere s till rehearsing du rin g the award>. " I litera ll y had to run in to get it. lt'' not ju;t about the a\\ard. it's nice to be nom inated. I was shak-
ing when I wen t on ..,t agc:· She added tha t it was a lo,e /y way to e nd he r year at LJEA. "The dra ma 'ociety abo won an a"a rd tor oul'> tanding acllle'cment. We're 'cry pro ud. for our \\or~ "ith Yoga lihimatr.: Fri-.h.:.:
011/s/alldillg Acllieveme11t (Societies) I.Gil Drama RAG
Amly Clarkc- l\kn"s Fnuthull Li.~: Garncu - Kayal\
Service to U11io11
Service to Societies
lh:lh June .. Ad~un S\l.'lh,on
Jo Rllhcn - LGR Dunna Smith - Lahuur
Above: the Rag society
Pa ul J arr~ t said he wa; surprised tu win the award. " We were n·t ex pec tin g to win . We a ll worked hard th ro ugh o ut the year. and it's good to get recognit io n. We we re d i '>a p po int ~d we l<bt in t h~ Norfo lk J unior Cu p. and BL 'SA Leag ue at the ~nd or the yea r. ~o th~ awa rd wa~ a ni cl.!
Sportsperso11 of the year
l\knna HI!\ an - Dr.unu
Nata,ha Hll\\an.J tlillall
Tom Budham - l.i\cwin:
Sports team of the year
011tstalldi11g Acllieveme11t (Sport)
Society of the Year
~kn·,
Haskl.'thall
havi ng a breakdown? Find out all about the Quarter Life Crisis phenomenon Page 14: How have UEA old Skool met up again ? Page 15: Travel- we go to Brazil Page 16: Black and white fas hion must-haves Page 18: All kinds of fun, inc. horoscopes and embarrassing incidents
:\h:n '.. l·nothall
:'\lu,il..·
Page 2 1: Your letters Page 22: What's going on at Carrow Road ? We bring you the latest of the the ground 's revamp. Page 23: Where is Darren Kenton off to? Our extended match report explains
alL Page 24: The U EA trampo ling squad jumped thei r way to success in Dublin.
featuring Placebo and Britain's nastiest TV shows
Page 3
路Students on SARS alert THE University has put students on red alert after the SARS outbreak, which has caused terror around the world.
Cheerleaders throw up pom-poms for sports status ADAM LOWTHER
THE UNIVERSITY cheerleaders, UEAngels, are so fed up of not being able to be a sports club that they are going to change their name. Currently, they can't take part in sporting competitions as they are classed only as a society. President, Laura Mathie is preparing to change their name to Cheer and Dance so the cheerleaders can achieve their best. ''We believe that our cheerleaders deserve the status of a sports club, like the Essex Flames at their university." But the second year SOC student is willing to compramise if it will mean the society, which was launched at the beginning of the 2001n002 academic year, can be treated as a sports club. "We will change our name to the Cheer and Dance squad as this will make us eligible for sports status." The Angels also have difficulty training in the LCR as the floors are unsuitable. For safety reasons, a sprung floor is needed but only sports societies have access to these in the Sportspark. But they could be in for a difficult time. The
decision doesn ' t rest with the Union, but with Sport England. And according to them cheerleading . is not down as a sport, even though activities like Yoga and Quoits are on their list. But Societies Officer Dipesh PaJana supports the cheerleaders efforts. "I don't see why cheerleading isn't on the list. I would be happy to write to Sport England and ask. them to consider changing it. lf Sport England will recognise them as a sport, the Union will automatically change their status to a sports society." Unfortunately, even if they get this recognition they could face some changes to the way things are run. Sports societies are eligible to apply for charitable status for help with funding but under these conditions the society is not allowed "social" members. They would also have to prove that by taking part the cheerleaders are "improving physical health and fitness ." Union Finance Officer Michelle Pratt said it is a vicious circle for the cheerleaders. " It 's difficult as until they are a sports club they can't do stunting. and they can't do stunting until they become a sports club as they need the facilities." "They will need to change their constitution, adding something to make them a sports club. and changing their name. "They did manage to hire a room at the sportspark, and a coach, which they really enjoyed."
Director UEA of Communications Alan Preece explained that the University is committed to ensuring the well being of its staff and students. "It has an established process for considering the health implications of transmittable illnesses;' said Mr Preece. ''It is necessary to consider the risks ~f the SARS virus, but it is equally vital that people do not over-react to the current situation." He said that according to all the medical advice the University has been given, students without symptoms should continue their studies as normal. "The situation will be reviewed regularly by. a committee of medics, staff and student representatives." Students are asked to seriously consider the risk of SARS when thinking about travel, and avoid travelling to the heavily affected area, such as Hong Kong, Bejing, Singapore and Taiwan. Anyone who fears they could have the illness should ring the campus Health Centre on 01603 592172 and should not leave their rooms. For more information on Sars go to the UEA website at http://www.uea.ac.uk/sarsqa.html and see Concrete page 11 for our special SARS feature.
NUMBERS
Above: campus life in the square
MORE and more students are competing to go to UEA, with applications up by 12% from last year's figures. This is four times the national increase in applications for
Universities. UEA has received 14,412 UCAS forms, so far for courses starting in September, an increase of 1,500 compared to last year. UEA assistant registrar Jon Beard said that this significant rise could be the result of a number of reasons. "The university 's policy of
NATALIE MAHON appealing to potential students from the Eastern region- with successful applicants then able to study while living either close to or at home could have played a part, along side the development of new facilities and courses." He also attributed the rise to the fact that some students now have the option of spending a year in New Zealand or Australia as part of their degree. "It's also important to consider the Sportspark, and the good teaching and research ratings. It's an attractive campus university, and
we have aJways found if students come to open days and see the campus, they like what they see, and end up applying," said Mr Beard. UEA, placed among the 332 other learning institutions on UCAS books, displayed the 53rd highest increase in applicants. One of the departments to have' welcomed a huge boost to applications is the School of Maths. Admissions director Mark Cooker said the department is getting such strong candidates that it has been pushing up the entry criteria for 2004. "Pupils now need to have an A at A-level Maths, as well as at least two Bs."
PEOPLE CARRIER 拢6
Concrete
Page 4
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
CONCRETE'S GUIDE TO WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T I< NOW.....
The one
and only WE'VE always thought the Summer Ball was supposed to be a dassy
Sportspark ''supremo'' lashes out at poor quality of UEA students UNIVERSITY boss Keith Nicholls has launched a stinging attack on UEA students. WHICH up and coming Irish boy band asked two UEA student journalists out for a dinner date and then admitted that they wouldn't be able to foot the bill. The cash-strapped lads evidently didn't have much of a clothing budget either, with the front man sporting a rather crusty tan leather jacket. They definitely deserve a big D in our dating book. Off SIDE lads!
In a shocking out burst, the Director of Sport and Ph ys ica l Education claims that the sports clubs are not as successful and stu dents are less inte lligent th an in previous years. Th e le tter. w hi c h he SEN T to Concrete and various others around the University. was to in fo rm us that he wo uld not be taking us to court for an article publi shed in the newspaper last September. But he couldn ' t resist an opportunit y to take a swipe. " Whilst o ur efforts to encou rage individua l and school based part icipa-
ti on have been e nthu sias ti ca ll y received it is disappointing to see the drop off in parti cipation. success and interest in Unio n sports cl ubs," And referring to us and the Union refusing to apologise to him. he went on to say: "[ have throughout thi s whole sorry epi sode hoped that the voices of reason and of integri ty that traditi onally charac teri se and dcli ne the academic wo rld 路would have emerged fro m within the student body. C learly the lack of them indi cates yet another change in the q uality of th is University and its membership .'' Ouch. For th e letter in full, see Your View 011 page 17
eveut. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise to hear that rent-a-z-list-celebrity himself, Chesney Hawkes will be making a guest appearanc:e at this year' bash. The bmer floppy IWred bas-been will be eafel1llbliDc the party aoers at tbe ~
Leisure Resort In Juae. Bat despite his abort fame spaa, a Uoioa Insider Is
deliahted
with tbe Dop &tar
"coup" aad reckoM thM studeats at tbe 拢39 pre dc:bt party wUIIove it. "ODe aad Oaly u LCR fa ourite IUld he bas goae
dowu reaJiy weD at the UDiversfty In the past. ''Whea he came a couple of years ago. there were boards of people waatlng his autoarapb, he didD't lmow wbat to do." They obviously lulvea't heard of tbe saylq, Is
more.
Page 5
Threat for
city club A NORWICH nightclub could be facing a bleak future after its owners admitted they were facing a cash crisis. Po Na Na, on Bank Plain, is the latest nightspot to fall on hard times in Norwich.
THE SISTER of UEA student Paul Brennan who tragically drowned last term has slammed the CCTV cameras, which have been installed along the Riverside.
GENEVIEVE KERR
The 26-year-old postgraduate died after falling into the river outside Lloyds No I bar in the early hours of February 6. Rachel, 24, betieves that the set-
up of CCTV will not solve the dangerous situation along the Riverside. "It eems to be a waste of time. Unless someone is manning the cameras all the time what is the point? The salary to pay someone watching them could be used to pay for barriers instead." She said that although she was pleased something had been done, she thought the cameras were more for controlling fights at the riverside complex. "Lf the person turns their back on the camera for one second, someone could drown in that time." "We are getting somewhere with our campaign for the barriers. We have a lot of people backing us, including Delia Smith. We have raised roughly ÂŁ2000. The cameras have not addressed the important issues surrounding the of the unsafe area Riverside." Speaking at the inquest of Paul Brennan's death Norwich coroner William Arrnstrong called for barriers to be fitted along the water's edge, and for pubs and clubs to assume their share for responsibility of the area. But Norwich City Council is yet
POLLY FLIES HIGH CONCRETE founder Polly Graham has gone one step nearer towards running a national tabloid after being promoted to Assistant Editor of the Sunday Mirror. Tl\e showbiz supremo moved up the ranks after the News of the World tried to poach her last month. Talking exclusively to Concrete, Polly, left, expressed her happiness at her new job. "I am really delighted, it's really great. It means that I have more responsibility on the paper now. ''The editor wanted me to stay at the Sunday Mirror and the promotion shows that she values me a lot," she said. After leaving UEA in 1993, PoUy went on to work for the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror, where she was a founding member of the infamous 3am showbiz gossip column. But in November 2001, she moved to become Showbiz Editor of the Sunday Mirror, where she writes her own gossip column, 2417. Concrete Comment, Page 8
to install these barriers or improve lighting in the area. Leader of Norwich
improve riverside safety. "Progress is being made and we would expect a report to be seen on that very shortly. We are very keen to deal with this quickly I
ficient to cover the estate. They will be very useful and are monitored
says that he is waiting for a report into what could be done to
The creation of Riverside has seen a significant increase in the number of clubs and late-bars over the past two years, which are all vying for business. London-based Po Na Na, which has 25 bars including the one in Norwich, faces an uncertain future after it was forced to suspend its shares last week after crisis talks with its banks collapsed. In a statement the club chain said the cash crisis has been caused by under performing clubs and delays in selling unwanted properties. A spokeswoman for Po Na Na said the club in Norwich would continue to operate as normal for the time being, but that the chain was examining all its options. SFI Group, which owns the Slug & Lettuce in Tombland, is also undertaking a strategic review after facing a similar cash crisis to Po Na Na. Earlier this year Luminar Leisure, which runs most of Norwich's biggest clubs admitted two of the city's oldest club could close. The company said Ikon and 5th Avenue in Tombland, which have been clubs for SO years, will remain open for the next six months but it admitted it was seeking planning permission for luxury nats. But the competition has not stopped more nightclub ventures being planned with work recently started on gutting the former ABC Cinema in Prince of Wales Road and transforming it into a 1,500 capacity venue. Essex entrepreneur Steve Peri, who fought a long-running battle for permission for the club, said he was confident there was enough business in Norwich.
su.concrete @uea.ac.uk, and we will forward them to he_r.
DIVA HAIR No 7 ST BENEDICTS ST
20% DENT DISCOUNT 1603 767854
Page 6
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Coacrete
www.concrete-online.co.uk
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Wednesday. May 7, 2003
lzzard to get UEA degree
Student Jim slams police for ignoring him THE UEA student who insists he was attacked by Charles Clarke's agent has told of his anger after charges were dropped claiming students are marginalised for their opinions. Firs t year Jim Botlian insi s ted he was assaulted by Peter Evans during a demonstration against the war with Lraq at the Norwich Labour Party Offices. " I uied to engage him in conversatio n. bu t Peter Evans stepped on my knee-cap as 1 sat in the corridor:· he claimed at the time.
L:O::~:.:.=;.:;,:;~
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REBECCA LAWRENCE News Editor
Now Jim fee ls that it is un fair that the ca;c against Mr Evan; was dropped. ·· 1 did expect it. as it is the nature of the case. There was no public intere,t in it. as it was part of a wider issue against the war with Iraq . "What Peter E\'ans did was inappropriate. I do think there shou ld have been , 0 me charge agaimt him . I'd ask Mr Evans to consider his action; in future. and not to lose hi; temper at the course of democracy which he shou ld be repre;ent ing in hi ; role ... The English Li terature student comp lained to Mr Evans' bosses too -but sti ll didn't rece ive an apology. ,::;::;;;;;;;;;:::::;;;;;::;;:~... "I reali se it is his word against mine. One person in a fi ght can' t object to the powers that be. Despite sending an emai I to the Labour Office. nobody said sorry ... Jim is also angry that he was not told that no lega l ac ti on would be taken . The lirst he heard was when we informed him last night. "The police did not even te ll me the charge; were dropped. I found out from Concrete. They've been \'ery ; lack. and because I'm a student, they just tho ught I'd go away ... But agen t Peter Evans insisted that the right deci sion had been made. " I didn't do anything to deliberately hurt anyone. I' m sticking by what I pre\'iously said. and that's a ll I want to say... he said . The police were unavaliable for
Eddie Izza rd is to receive an honorary degree from UEA and graduate with the class of 2003 on camCross-dressing Mr lzzard, who began his career at the Edinburgh festival, has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters for his efforts to promote tolerance of cultures and lifestyles .
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IS SHE?
THE search is still on for UEA's most infamous graduate, Dr Rihab Taha.
THOM SMITH Chief News Reporter
Coalition forces have still not captured the ex- Bi o post-graduate a nd fear s he m ay h ave fl ed to S y ri a - despite he r hus b a nd g iv-
ing himself up to US officials . General Amer Mohammed Rasheed - known as " the missi le man" and a former engineeri ng student at Birming ham Univers it y.
• ............................................•• ••• • • • Mon - Thurs I 5.30 - 9.30 •• ••• All pints & bottles 75 •• •• ................ ....... ..•• ... ....•...•..... •• • -117/fi} : •• •• •• • : TUI !TReiiCei'T YODICIIIIC Tal WGRID. • • ••• ............................................ •• •• : lnfo: • W: www. kafeda.co.uk • • E: Kafe_da@btopenworld.com •• •• T: 01603 622836 • • :
Above left : Our story in March, abo ve : ]im Bodiau
Above: Dr Rahib Taha
turned himself over to the coalition on Monday April28. He was an adviser to Saddam Hussein and was the Iraqi oil mini>ler until hi s sudden retirement in January thi s year. There was ; pec ulation. denied by the Iraq is that he was removed from offtce because of hi s links to the Iraqi weapons program. He is the six of spades in the Pentagon 's "deck of death." Dr Taha. a PhD student at UEA be tween 1980 and 1984 was bel ieved to be a senior member of the Iraq i biological weapons program. and has been d ubbed " Doctor Germ" and the "world' s most dangerous woman" She is also thought to have carried o ut work on anthrax and botulinum toxin amongst other bio log ical agents. Dr Taha has been on the wanted li st since the anthrax scares following the tcrroist anacks on September 11. In October 200 I. Concrete revealed how Dr Taha's teacher. Dr John Turner was shocked at what she was be lieved to be doing. At the time he sa id: "She wasn't an o ut standing student. I never thought she would go on to do something major. you could have knocked me down with a feather. I was llabbergasted ...
Ha ve yo u seen her ? E mail Concrete with any information
Joining lzza rd are the Dea n of or wich Rev Stephen Plattcn, DJ Andy Kersha w, Norwich born author Philip Pullman, and former journa list Michael Brunson. Also to be recognised for her achievements in broadcasting is J enny Ambra mnsky. an ex-UEA student who studied here from 1965-8. She was o\·erjoycd when she hea rd the news. "'I a m thrilled, delighted, and very honoured,'' she said. Aft er rewarding an honorary degree to Comic relief in 2001 , UEA is presenting another char ity with an awa rd - the Norfolk Cance r charity. T he Big C will receive an honour a ry doctorate of ci vil la w. Chairman, Philip Bla nchllower is also honoured . " We a re pleased we could help fund cancer research at th e UEA." UEA Registrar and Secretary, Brian Summers said: "The honourary degrees they wi ll receive are a recognition of their efforts."
New sandwich shop finally opens doors AFTER months of waiting, University catering bosses have unveiled their new sandwich bar, Mango. The outlet, which sells drinks, fresh coffee, sandwiches, pastries and cakes opened on March 31 - nearly three years after the Lloyds Bank, which used to occupy the site, closed . Director of the Residences and Services Division Jenny Grant is pleased with the new eaterie. "C ustom ers have res pond ed posith'ely to the new outlet a nd it 's location in the street." But students a re not ha ppy. Richard Stanley, a third yea r SWK student said: ''lt could be cheaper. so I think I' ll stick to the sandwiches in the ba r." And second yea r Nick Stratton agreed that the prices were a th an elsewhere, and criticised the service saying. " ot all the fillin gs were ava il· able that they ad vertised, and the staff don ' t seem to smile."
Concrete Wednesday. May 7, 2003
Keep it down Another yea r, another revision problem. Last year, students were thrown stra ight into exams with no time to stud y for th em. T his time, th ere may be plenty of time - a whole Easter holiday, but fo r those li ving in campus residences, the ir exam period will be a ni ghtma re. T he Uni versit y needs to expa nd, tha t 's simple. That means more teaching space and bedrooms for students of the future to li ve in, but unfo rtun atel y, as usual, UEA chiefs have failed to think th e situation through. Digging, cranes being moved a round and workmen shouting at one an oth er a rc ser iously going to hinder th e chances of stud ents being a ble to rev ise. So, good on the residents of Wolfson Close for demandin g chea per rents. When th ey moved in, th is was not made clear in their contracts, if it had of been, th ere would probably have been queues r ight a round the cam pus to li ve in orfolk or Suffolk Te rraces. We may have a reputa tio n for being lazy, beer swigging laya bouts, but we should not ex pect our Uni ve rsity to
academic success. th e least th ey should be given is some finan cial com pensation.
Cheer them up
University workers warn we must be more alert to burglars JON OWEN
Two senior member s of UEA staff have called out to students to impro ve their lax attitude towards crime prevention. Se ni or Sec urity O rti cer A la n G racie is appea lin g fo r stude nt s on camp w, to loc k the ir doors and be ca reful who they let int o res ide nces in an ane mp l to s lash burg la ri es. He cla ims that the continuing the ft s fro m ha ll >. is d ue to student s be ing ca re less. " We patrol a ll the res ide nces a nti o fte n find doo r; unloc;ked . Thi s
ma ke' it " l easy fo r people to steal be lo ng ings:· sa id Mr G racie. "Stude nt> j ust ho ld door;, open for anyo ne a nd le t people in . it 's a cctse of educati o n. I'd rathe r so meo ne locked themse lves out than left their roo m o pe n . it \ a majo r problem wh ic h we take serio us ly ... During the Easte r b reak. Waveney and Norfolk Terraces we re hi t by thieves who helped the m sel ves to ,a Juab lc comp ute r eq ui pme nt. T hree burg laries took place in B lock J o f Wave ney Te rrace o n the evenings of A pril 15. 19 a nd 21. The re we re a furthe r two inc ide nt> on A p ri l 21 in ' o rfo lk Te1Tace. A UJ:::A L ibra ry Ma nage r is a lso concem ed abo ut stude nt 's care less
atle nti o n to their prope rty. a fte r a se ri es o f the ft ; in UEA\ li brary. Severa l stu<k nt> had po>sc;,ion; sto le n w he n they momen tari l) lc lt pos;ess io n;, una ttended w hi k u,i ng library faci li ties. O rti cc M anagcr. Learni ng a nd L ibrary Re;,o urce;. C hri»tinc C hri,topher recornmc nds >Iudc n h do not leave the ir po>>e>\ion; una ttended. " We are very lucky tha t crime he re is so low. but somc ti rne» I ca nno t be lieve the la i:,;,eL- fa irc attitude of stude nts who leave the ir belongin gs in the library ... As ye t the re have been no succe;,s in loca ting the >to le n ite m;. PC Be ll be lieves mos t crimes of thi s nature are purel y opport un i; ti c -and is begging stude nt s to be mo re
care ful too. "T hey arc in no way premeditated but I wou ld like to pre>s on !>tudcnts to be vigilant. and if the) !-.C:t: anyo ne ac ting ~u\p i ciou~ to contact the police. "S t ude nt> should ma rk their property with V marker pens a,·ai lablc from Union House:· he ;aid. "The best way to deal \\ ith the prob lem i' thro ugh crime preven ti o n." he added. A po, tcr ca m pa ign ha' been imp le men ted encou rag ing »tude nts not to leave the ir bag> unattended. A nyone wi th any informa tion abo ut the'c i11<: ident> >hou ld contacl DC P hilli p Bcth ncll o n 0 195 .' 424 242 o r ca ll Crime,topper' on OROO 555 Il l.
News th at th e cheerleaders a rc being forced to change th e na me of their society is ridiculous. For two yea rs the club have been victims of r idicule by staff and stud ents a like. But th e fact of the matter is th at they spend hours each week tra ining for competitions that they aren' t even allowed to take pa rt it because th ey a re not classed as a s ports society. In a universit y that claims we shou ld do difTerent, it 's a little ironic that the Cheerleaders are not being supported in their quest to st;u·t a new club and be successful . Good 011 th e girls (or o[[erin g to compromise bl' cha11gin g th eir name. but it really should 11ot have to have come to that in th e fi rst place.
Street's ahead So, aft er months of yo u all rushing to vote for your favo urite lecturer, UEA 's sexiest teacher has fina ll y been revealed. But it is shocki ng to hea r that tlu: winner, Or And y Scott, is fa r from gra teful at winning his go ng. It seems his celebrity sta tus has go ne to his head extremely prematurely if th e reaction to his fa ns is anythin g to go by. Saying he's going to avoid contact with a nyone who voted for him is j ust downri ght un gr ateful a nd nasty. Surely Or J ohn St reet would have been fa r more a ppreciati ve of winning the a wa rd - a nd by the looks of it he probably deser ved it. Hav ing a group of fema le students preparing to sta rt up their very own society in his honou r is quite a n accolade. Best o{lu ck girls. How do we joi11 ?
Set in Concrete As a controversial stud ent ne ws paper, we constantly come und er attack by people across the whole University. But as the ne ws that our founding editor winning one of th e tOJ> positions in the British newspa per industry shows, student journa lism is a solid way to build a ca reer. Pa rticularly, it seems, is if th e stud ent pa per yo u wo rk for is Concrete. We' re always looking for new writers- no matter what your ability or interest. So why waste the opportunity of having one of the top fi ve stud ent news papers ri ght on your doorstep? We 're upstairs i11 U11i011 House a11d we 1•erv much look orward to m eeti11 ou.
A bove left: A Stude11t 's belongings we f ound in til e library, and above rig ht: Campus Police Officer, PC Richard Bell
MIXED SUCCESS student POST-G RAD Adl"ian Ramsay achieved hu ge s uccess in the Norwich City Council elections on May 1 - winning 50 % of the vote in Henderson Wa rd for the G reen Pa rty.
concerned wi th tra ffi c ca lmi ng. protec tion of green spaces. a nti hc ner doors top recycli ng sc hemes. "We wi ll con tin ue to ca m pa ig n o n counci l for the>e iss ues. We' re an
Uni versit y Ward. A lt ho ugh the Libera l C andidate lan W il liam s beat Dipes h by HOO vo tes, Dipesh sa id he was pleased with hi s res ult. " lt means 135 peop le tho ught I
Two seals were up fo r grabs a nd fe ll ow g reen c andid ate Jess ica Go ldfinc h. who was a pos tgradu ate in SWK . won the othe r seat.
was good eno ug h to re present them
A post-grad uate in SOC. Adri an said he was de li ghted to ge t in. especia ll y a; the g reen party wo n two ;cats. ju't afte r win ni ng thei r lirst ;ca t on the cou m:i l the prcv io u;, year. ''I' m c'pccia ll y p leased to have a ) ou ngcr person on cou nci I. and a student. I hope to make counc il mo re releva nt to ; tude nt >. by hig hli g hting i ss u e~ rdcva nt to them:· Ad1ian said peop le in hi ; ward a rc
o ppos itio n group so we do n't cont ro l counc il. bul \Ve are ga ining grnund.'" Des pite a lack of ca mpaig ni ng. a no the r UJ:::A st ud e nt . D ipcsh Pa la na. a lso ac hi e,·ed his ow n success. wi nn ing I ~5 vo te s fo r th e Pa rt y fo r th e C o nserva ti ve
A bove: Adria11 Ram sey
o n c ity counci l. The c hance; of w in ni ng th o ug h were ;l im . a; the Conservati ves have n · t won the Unive rsity Wa rd since the 1970s ... Dipe; h feel; hi> re; ult cou ld have been better if >t udent' had not been away fo r the Eas ter ho liday,. " Bei ng a studen t I think I cou ld ha,·e re presented st ude nt> e iTcc tively. I' m no t rea lly disap po inted . as the Conservatives d id we ll na ti o na lly. Nex t year. I' ll hope full y sta nd aga in . I'm s ure we' ll do better:·
Just the job A LECT URER and former student have j oined forces to produce a step-by-step guide to helping gr aduates a chieve their dream career s. Or Michael Collins of HIS has ofl'ered support to students' ca re er s for seve r a l years through his course on academic personal a nd achievement. His co-a utho r, Ue njam in Scott w ho n o w lectures o n the co u rse sa id th e s kills t a u g h t by Dr Co lli n s h e lped him b ea t m ore than a tho usa nd o ther ap plicants to secure a j ob w ith a London a d vertis in g a gen cy. T h e b oo k , call ed Turn your degree in to a Career. com b ines Dr C o llin 's a d vice with 1\ l r Scott 's own prac tical ex pe rie nces. T h ose in te r est ed in career build in g a d vice a r e in vit e d t o meet the a uthors at the ca mpus a t Wate r s to nes o n M ay .8 bet ween 12.30pm a nd 1.30pm.
Page9
UEA . paedo,
pr1est wont go to prison GENEVIEVE KERR
Law teacher triumphs in our poll for UEA's sexiest lecturer REBECCA LAWRENCE News Editor
LAW lecturer Andy Scott has beaten oft tough competition to win the first ever award for being UEA's sexiest lecturer. The Irish stud received over 65% of the votes - and defeated campus favourite, Dr John Street. One first year student, who wishes to remain anonymous, insists that she won't miss lectures when Mr Scott is teaching. "Check him out - trust me - his lectures have the best attendance levels out of all the first year law lectures -mrnmm. You also have to understand that he has the nicest Northern Irish accent ever!" But it's not been easy for the young academic since he was nominated for the esteemed award back in March. "Although I'm flattered, I'm also embarrassed. There's been lots of micky tak,ing from staff and students . It 's made classes more interesting though. "I don't know how I won, all of the others who were nominated, they are all such star quality. I am stunned into silence," he said.
Above: Dr Andy Scott
FilM MAKE-OVER NORWICH'S Cinema City is set to receive a massive overhaul next year • and will re-launch as a film excellence centre. The £3.25 million project has been supported by a number of famous actors and actresses, writes Thorn Smith. When planning permission is granted, the cinema will close in December so that two more screens, a new box o~. foyer and cafe-bar, as well as a semi-enclosed courtyard can be constructed. It should re -open in 2005 with a capacity of 365 and the only full digital projection outside London. Cinema City's Director, David
Above: Cine1tlll CiJy
Litchfield spoke of his confidence that the cinema will be around for many years to come. "We have been here for 25 years and we will be here for another 25." Despite the cinema upgrading to three screens" instead of the current one, he denied that it will be turning into a multiplex. 'The type of films we will show will be completely different, and the whole experience of watching a film will also be completely different." And Actress Emma Thompson has even thrown her weight behind · the project. "I consider it vitally important that Cinema City is given every opportunity to exist alongside the multiplex cinemas."
However, in a message to his hoards of groupies, Dr Scott has begged for some space. ''To my fans, I would say leave me alone. Thank you so utterly. I hope to wear a paper bag over my head for the rest of my time here. I' m going to avoid personal contact with anyone who voted for me," added Dr Scott. Sadly, he is not so enthusiastic about his new-found celebrity status. "People now feel they have right to talk about my physical appearance, which otherwise they would not do. If I was a famous celebrity, I don't think I could cope with the attention." The news will. come as a shock to fans of the popular Politics teacher, Dr Street. In an email to Concrete, a set of admirers told of their plans to start an appreciation society on his behalf. "We all love and ad.ore John Street in our seminar group. We have even been thiJlking of creating a fan club, complete with President, Secretary and Treasurer. We all do attend every seminar and lecture, which is very unlike us." See Concrete Comment, Page 8
A ROMAN Catholic Priest from Norwich, who downloaded images of adults having sex with young boys, has escaped a jail sentence. Father Neil Crayden, 47, was previously the priest for the Holy Apostles parish in Earlham, which includes . UEA. He was tried at Exeter Magistrates Court where he was ordered to undergo a sex offend· ers programme as part of a three-year community rehabilita· tion order, and was told to pay £58 costs. Father Neil Crayden had already been moved from his parish when he was caught with the child pornography. He was caught by Operation Ore, which is targeting paedophiles using credit cards to get hold of child abuse images on an American website. He admitted to receiving child pornography from Texas based Landslide Productions in 1999, and to six charges of possessing indecent images of children at an earlier court hearing. . But although reprimanded for his actions, he escaped jail. Chainnan Carol Maden said: ''You were in a position of trust with vulnerable people around you, and you have a previous his· tory of offences involving young males. ''However, there was no interaction with the subjects of these photographs and you did not dis· tribute them, and you are seeking help from a psychotherapist," she said. And East Anglia Bishop Michael Evans is sorry for the incidents. ''I apologise most profoundly for the damage he has done."
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Concrete
Wednt•.wlm·. Mar 7. 2003
Students up and down the country are up in arms at having to pay top up fees. They blame the Labour party. But what would the oppostion do? Katie Hind spoke to the Tory Education Minister and found out.
8
eing a shadow MP is a strange job to have. Whil e th e Cabi net Minister of the opposition pa rty faces backlash from students everyday about the current Higher Education funding crisis, Tory Damien Green gets the chance to gloat at his Labour counte rpart. The MP for Ashford in Kent visited UEA in April to talk to students and staff abou t how he feels about top-up fees. Unsurp ri singly, he disagrees with th em. In fact, he feels that stud ents shouldn't have to pay at all to go to unive rsity. But in the typi cal Tory way, he believes th at Higher Education in terms of university should be exclu sive to few.
"The aim of getting 50% into the system is ludicrous as there are going to be so many people who are going to get to university and then decide it's not for them" "The probl em with the current funding system is that they are trying to get too many people into education . The more students who go to a university, the less money they have. By having an aim of
getting 50% into the system is ludicrous because there are going to be so many people who are going to get to unive rsity and then decide it's not for th em and th ey wo uld be better off doing something else." However, he has a reasonably legitimate excuse for holding this view - he believes that the fewer students, the more money universities would have in their pockets. "We are trying to get 40% of young people into education, th at way th ere would be more money to go round and th en students wo uldn't have to pay so much money. "At the moment I do believe that young peopl e are being put off going into higher education because of debts they will incur and that is not right."
I
ndeed, like his fe llow Education chief, Clarke, he insists th at there is a group in society who are being left out of the equation. He claims that those who wish to go onto further education to learn trades are being ignored . "We need to look at the post-16 education system . The British workforce needs skilled people in . other areas, so it is not beneficial for everyone to go to university. The 50% target is distorting these, we should be looking to involve all young peopl e in education, be it at college or university. The economy will not survive otherwise."
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"lan is a very good leader and I believe he will be around for many years " However, despite claiming to whole heartedly disagree with the present situation, Mr Green insists that he and Charles Clarke are great pals. "I like Charles Clarke, we get on well , but I just dislike his politics . He has got a tough job, but if anyone is tough enough to do it, then it is him ."
During his visit, Green also put paid to rumours that the top Tory Boy, lan Duncan Smith is on borrowed time at the helm of the party. 'That's absolute rubbish , lan is a very good leader and I believe he will be around for many years to come. He does have his critics , but the majority of th e party are behind him . "it's only a matter of time before we are back in power and I think that he will make a very good Prime Minister. The war and the student funding system are making Labour very unpopular, they have lost many of their supporters to us and the Liberal Democrats over the past few years."
Co.cntt Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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New cases of the Sars virus _are reported by the media every day. Daniel le Agius looks at the story so far and finds out what UEA students can do to_protect them~elves.
''W
.
e must not be complacenr. "Complacency could hasten the virus". "Mind-blowing complacency" is assisting the spread. "Complacency": the key word in any newspaper report on the Sars virus that has totalled over 5,050 cases to date, a number that increases dramatically, and worryingly, each day. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome has already spread to 25 countries plus, centred mainly in the Far East (but not alien to Western countries), and killed over 320 of those infected. According to newspaper reports, the Far East governments appear to be exercising a mixture of denial, confusion, delay, ignorance and general apathy in the face of the epidemic. Dr Patrick Dixon, a specialist in predicting global trends, believes it could be more devastating than the Aids epidemic, which has infected 80million people over a 15-20 year period. He shockingly predicts that Sars could infect one billion in just over a year - however this is only his prediction. Panic, is a word that comes to mind when reading statistics such as this, but is this apparent pandemic being blown out of proportion or is there a complacency that threatens to aid the spread of Sars? Thought to have originated in the Chinese capital Beijing, the virus is being spread through air travel . Britain itself has been labelled an official Sars zone, although only 6 probable cases have been reported to date - none resulting in death. lt is being implied that there appears to be a lack of action to prevent the spread of this virus.
In Britain, our action is all precautionary and the situation should not be overhyped. Although those places with the highest statistics have been declared no-go areas by the World Health Organisation (Beijing, the Chinese provinces of Shanxi and Guangdong, and Toronto), tra~ ellers are still being allowed to travel out- and many·are arriving in Britain's airports each day. An estimated 51,000 passengers a week are flying into the country from affected areas, and although a step up in screening has been ordered most passengers remain untested, with WHO experts merely advising the postponement of travel. The Chief Medical Officer for the British Government, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, has stopped short of issuing specific screening or quarantine orders but justified his actions as following the correct approach at the present time. On the other hand, Dr Coathup from the University Health Centre declared: '1he WHO workers as "incredible" for their brave action and implementation of decisions attempting to control the virus in the face of what could have been a world pandemic. He believes they should receive the highest possible accolade. What is in fact being done? Officials in China have been sacked for hiding the scale of the problem, but true figures are now enabling correct action to be undertaken. Chinese authorities have closed its
capital's schools in an attempt to stop the spread . A record 132 new cases in one day provokes concern that should this continue its health system may collapse. Japan has installed thermal imaging equipment into its airports, and currently remains Sars free, other countries have followed this protective lead. Here, boarding schools are isolating those pupils arriving back from affected areas for the 10-day ·incubation time. There has, as of yet been no action from the University other than advice - you will yourself have received an e-mail detailing information about the illness and advice should you be concerned for your health. Dr Coathup states his most significant message is:"lf you have returned from a Sars area and within 10 days are feeling ill with a headache or flu like symptoms you should stay within your room and contact the Health Centre." He continued: "Although it may not be Sars it is the only responsible action to take. lt is also important to mentior'l anyone you have been in close contact with, or if you yourself have been i n contact with a Sars case, and leave your telephone number to allow for monitoring." In Britain, our action is all precautionary and the situation should not be over-hyped. Much of the hysteria stems from media frenzy - after all flu alone kills approximately 4,000 every year in Britain, and as of yet Sars has had no fatal British victims. In the Far East however, it has become a greater problem. So what is it about this virus that has created such hysteria? The pneumonia-like illness, was thought to be a mutated form of the coronavirus which causes common colds, and may have 'jumped' from animals to humans in China. However this possible cause is not present in all cases confusing scientists seeking a cure. lt is a droplet infection (less infectious than flu) and can also be spread through urine faeces, and survive on surfaces and hands. Symptoms are: a high fever (over 38 !IC), coughing, shortage of breath and/or difficulty in breathing.
· The_re. has, as of yet, been no action from the University other than advice. lt is important to note that there is no evidence that in the absence of symptoms the disease can be transmitted. After a 10 day incubation period with no signs of the virus the ~isk has gone. Victims have · tended to be the old, the very young or those with weakened immune systems, but new victims are causing concerns that the virus has mutated into a more lethal form. lt has proved fatal in 5-6% of cases so far but, due to the nature of its mutations, it could be years before a cure is found. There are treatments being used, consisting of antibiotics and antiviral drugs.
Chief Medical Officer: Sir Liam Donaldson
Should you develop any of these symptoms it is important you keep yourself away from contact with o.thers as quickly as is feasible, and phone the University Health Centre number on 01603 592172; do not travel to your doctor. Keeping yourself isolated and obtaining medical aid as soon as is possible is the best advice and it is more than likely any symptoms can be treated effectively and cured. With the exam period looming again, the message being reiterated is to be responsible. If you have visited a Sars area and are feeling unwell it is essential you do not attend. Ho~efully, nearer the time, information will be published clarifying that any student with possible symptoms will not be penalised.
S
ince I starting to write this article, figures have risen on a daily scale; all figures were correct at the time of going to print. Their ever rising nature is confirmation of the scale of this disease - with modern medicine and the huge effort going into finding a vaccine one can only hope there will be a breakthrough soon. In the meantime, although the issue may be sensationalised by the media, perhaps the mood of complacency in some areas should be replaced with one of concern and care in order to thwart any possible risks.
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CHattt Wednesday, May
7, 2003
Cotcrttt Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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our lt's that time of year again ..Exams are looming, your loan's running out and everyone from your care~rs adviser to· your gran wants to know what you're going to do with your life. Ruth Charnock explores. the traumas of the quarter life crisis and asks: have you had yours yet? .
Seemingly, the quarter-life crisis differs from the mid-life crisis in here were you when it happened? Maybe it was when that you don't get to buy an unsuityou received the umpteenth chirpy e-mail from the able car or date someone mtch Careers Centre inviting you to a C. V writing workshop. younger and firmer. You can't afford And you suddenly realise that these are the last few halcyon days of the Lotus because you still have your degree and that it no longer cuts the mustard to tell everyone loan debts and to go younger and that you're going to be a rock n roll star by the time you're 22. firmer would probably amourt to Because you're 21 and you can feel the drone-ltke existence of the paedophilia. However, you de get 9·5 pulling you ever closer, away from carefree youth towards adult all the attending misery of the midmundanity. life crisis; the identity crisis, the You want to scream "No! I'm not ready to be a grown up!" and hotlack of direction and all thatfJn. foot it back to the comforting embrace of the bar. But you've spent Take this sample nugget o1 your loan and you haven't got any jobs lined up. Roll up, roll up · it's despair from Derrick, a grad~ate of your quarter life crisis. And everyone's invited. . James Madison University: "You lt could only have come from America. The quarter life crisis as a might be bored at your job. You hitherto ignored phenomenon is explored in every twenty-someprobably will be. When you first get thing's Bible, Quarter Life Crisis: Getting Your Head Round Life In out of college, it's mandated :hat Your Twenties, written by two graduates, Abby Wilner and Alexandra you have a very boring job. Just Robbins. Cheerily, the sleeve-notes ask: "Are you torn between havremember that you're young and ing a career and having a life? Do all your friends seem more you won't be there for the rest of successful than you? Are you suffocated by choice, responsibility your life." They don't tell you that in and self-doubt? If money, home life and relationships are constant the Careers Centre. stresses then you are not alone · and you could be having your quarBut according to Joe, HIS 3, ter life·crisis." Oh goody. they don't really tell you anything at The book promises to help you through such quagmires as balthe Career's Centre; "The careers ancing relationships with new-found working responsibilities and advice at uni is rubbish. Students adjusting to life outside the cosy institutionalism of university. But with need to be cajoled into think.i1g chapter headings like "Work Won't Make You Coffee in the Morning" about their careers, but they :!xpect and "Look at All .the Lonely People" the book regularly slips into jobs to just fall into their laps. happy-clappy Americao psychobabble. Everybody wants to be a 'somebody' • whether it's the best musician, or artist, or whateV:!r. People don't want boring jobs, but the fact is that everybody needs money." But should we be se1ing ourselves up for at least temporary disillusionment and boredom in the However, it did get to the top of The New York Times bestsellers work-place? list, suggesting that despite the platitudes, tbe idea of the quarter life Anne Williamson, Careers crisis has found resonance with millions. Indeed, the book contains · Adviser for SOC agrees that the 'real-life' experiences from many American graduates; testifyi~g to transition from university to their varied traumas in making the transition from university to the employment is potentially very 'adult world'. scary, but says that there are ways to minimize the trauma: ''To some extent, starting a new job is always .____ _ _ __ going to be a jump into the unknown. But there are things you can do like doing your research at uni and talking to people who do the job that you're interested in. When you're making decisions based on information things become much easier."
W
Cheerily, the sleeve-notes ask: "Are you torn between having a career and having ·a life?"
Seemingly, the quarter-life crisis differs from the mid-life crisis in that you don't get to buy an unsuitable car or date someone much younger and firmer. But, says Stan, an EAS student, the difficulty for many arises from trying to make any sort of life decision. "Most people aren't ready for the autonomy that university gives you, let alone the working world. If you can't even peel a potato how are you supposed to know what you want to do in life?". Many students 1 spoke to echoed this sentiment. Natalie, LAW 3 said "The number of people leaving university who don't know what the hell they're doing with their lives· is amazing". Campbell Burton, the UEA Senior Counsellor backed this up: "At university you're protected - a definite framework is provided. There's a certain structure that doesn't exist in the 'outsde world'". Joe, HIS3, agreed: "You're institutionalized through your whole life. Then suddenly it's like you're standing on the edge of cliff and there's nothing there:• A lot of students try and stave off the impending leap into employment by spinning out their uriversity career for as long as possible.
This might mean you take an MA, just because you can't think of anything else to do, or try to maintain your student lifestyle even when you have to get up at 7am to go to work. According to Wilner and Robbins, both are definite symptoms of the quarter life crisis. They focus on the difficulty of the social transition from university to employment, saying: "Another major cause of depression among twentysomethings is the drastic change in social life after graduation". Anne Williamson agreed with this: "YQU have to make your own social life in a new job. If you're lucky enough to get on a graduate trainee scheme then you'll be with lots of people your own age. But for people that go to work for small compani es, you'll often be the only new graduate there and it might not be as easy to
"Most people aren't ready for the autonomy that university gives you, let alone the working world. If you can't even · peel a potato how are you supposed to know what you want to do in life?" meet people with similar interests as it was at university." However, she suggested that university is the ideal time to build valuable social skills that will serve you when entering a new job: "By doing plenty of extra-curricular activities you can really build your
confidence and ability to deal with lots of different situations and people. The people who run into problems are those who don't do _,anything at university. Even if you come out with a starred first, if you haven't 1;11ade the effort to develop yourself then you're going to have real difficulties in any job." lt seems that many students view the move from university to employment not so much as a transition but as a cruel wrench from a hedonistic way of life to an inevitable slide into paper-pushing and clock watching. No wonder so many of us are reluctant to take the leap and cling desperately to any vestiges of the university experience. But, says Joe, HIS 3, this can be dangerous in itself: "A lot of people grasp onto any kind of security, even if that means a university rela· tionship that has long gone stale." Britt, a mature student substantiated this: "You grow up so much in your twenties that you can't expect to be the same person or want the same things at 20 that you do, say, at 30:'
lt seems that many students view the move from university to employment not so much as a transit ion but as a cruel wrench Campell Burton provided a further insight into the desire to hold on: "People realise that it's no longer a time when anything is possible. ~s soon as you have to start making choices then, by definition, other options are closed off to you. This makes people feel panicky and they want to hang onto anything that's familiar." Others, like. Stan, found sanctuary in alcohol and drugs: "lt's the pressure of having to make decisions at such an early age that many people want to run away from. The mid-life and the quarter-life crises aren't actually that different. Both are about trying to run away from adult responsibilities and stay young." But according to Dr. Neil Cooper, SWK, the whole concept of a quarter life crisis is spurious: " I think the term is a nice marketing strategy for a book but not much more." He continued: "I think the 'cri· sis' is as 'real' as the mid life crisis which has become a cultural concept. But what we are into is basically 'pop' psychology which people shouldn't take too seriously." "I am sure some people in their 20s feel lost, but this is true of people at all ages, There are some specific age related issues going on
(especially around relationships and caree() but to call this a crisis is rather overstating things." However, Campell Burton, Senior Counsellor disagreed with this interpretation: "lt might be pop psychology but the only reason this sort of thing (the book) is popular is because it strikes a chord with so many people. If you can sift through the psychobabble then there is actually a lot of truth behind the idea of a quarter life crisis." And for many UEA students, the quarter life crisis is a definite reality. Campbell Burton suggested what to do if things get too difficult. "You should. definitely consult the professionals. lt's good to have people who can help you through a lot of the issues that arise with any transitional time." If that fails, you can always buy the book and share in the misery of our American friends. Bring on mid-life, when the real fun starts.
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CoiiCI'Itt Wednesday, May 7, 2003
ears
Worried you'll lose touch with your fancy boys ~nd gi_ rls at UEA? Fear¡ not, th~ Alumni Society is here to help. Here are some success stories
T
here are currently over 60,000 people in the alumni office of UEA's database of former students dating back to 1963. Every one of them (as long as the office has their details) recieves a free copy of Ziggurat, a yearly magazine providing the latest UEA and alumni news. Every month, around 100 alumni contact the office, notifying a change of address or trying to trace lost friends. Though the University cannot give out individuals' contact details because of the Data Protection Act, the alumni office is happy to forward letters asking old friends to get in touch.
Mary Tyler (EAS 1992-93) and Robert Bright (EAS 1992-95) Mary, a visiting student in 1992-93, had lost touch with Robert. She contacted the alumni office, who forwarded her message - and contact details to the address they had for Robert - in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. When, after a fortnight, Mary hadn't heard from Robert she emailed the alumni office again, suggesting that the address may be an out-of-date parental one and that Robert's older brother - also a UE A graduate may be able to help to trace Robert. The problem was, Mary remembered that the brother had red_ hair but had forgotten Robert's brother's name (note that the database only records a select number of criteria, and your hair colour is not among them!) .... an extensive database search of all alumni called 'Mr Bright' - who had attended a few years before Robert - revealed that he was called Jason and had studied in EAS from 1986-89. Luckily, an email to Jason resulted the same day in a telephone call from Robert, eager to supply the alumni office with his new contact details - he was now living in Richmond and working as a Production Editor of BBC's Top Gear programme which meant he'd now be able to receive the alumni magazine Ziggurat again.
H
e says: "it was a real stroke of luck UEA got in touch as I'd lost Mary's previous phone numbers and emails and was struggling to find a number which might put us back in touch ." He was duly passed Mary's
email address and, according to Mary, told her that to lose touch with him was probably 'the greatest catastrophe of her life - as it would be for any girl'. Apparently they had managed to lose touch when they both moved house at the same time (it does happen!) and was especially relieved to trace her as she had been living ten blocks away from the WTC on September 11 . â&#x20AC;˘ Both Mary and Robert say it's been great catching up - and Robert is planning a trip to America later this year to see Mary.
Sarah Kingdon (LAW 1995-99) and Martin Jones (SYS 1991-94) Last autumn Sarah Kingdon (LAW 1995-99) wanted to organise a birthday party for her boyfriend Martin Jones (SYS 1991-94), whom she had first met through the trampoline club during their days at UEA. The problem was, as she wanted it to be a surprise she had no way of contacting his old UEA friends, for whom she didn't have contact details. Luckily Sarah contacted the alumni office, who were able to forwara invitation letters . that she sent to the alumni offiCe. In the end fifteen people came to the party (which Sarah managed to keep a surprise from Martin until the first guests walked through the door), including several who still live in Norwich and one who travelled from Slovenia. Others that the alumni office put Sarah and Martin back in touch with were unable to attend, but are now in back in touch with them. When will you see them again? Left and right: UEA students' favourites, the Square and LCR
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riangle!
CoiCI'Itt Wednesday May 7, 2003
TRAVEL
www.concrete-online.co.uk
Break from the norm
Page 15
Worcester
Brazil is not necessarily an obvious holiday destination. However, as Sally Wain.-Heapy discovered as part of a gap year expedition, the country encompasses everything from shanty towns to vibrant cities and beautiful beaches.
A
s the car wound its way down the mountainous road, I stared at the sharp drop leading to the shanty town spread out below. Before I knew it we were in the midst of the favela, with children and dogs running in every direction. The favela ran on for miles, there were so many people in the streets, the noise of dogs barking and stereos blaring was deafening and there was concrete and rubbish strewn all over the streets - I felt like I was from a completely different world. But a challenge was what I had wanted and it was certainly what I had got. I had always known that I wanted to take a gap year abroad and learn a new language going to Brazil for six months and learning Portuguese with GAP Adventure Projects seemed the perfect solution. For my project I was to be living in a shanty town by the side of a motorway and it was a completely different scene to the one I had experienced in Sao Paulo a few hours earlier.
The children were full of life and were keen to know everything about England. As part of our training, a group of volunteers and myself had spent a week in Sao Paulo on a Portuguese and survival course. We were taught to manoeuvre ourselves around the vast city by using the tube, had been shown how to buy basic food and bus tickets and in our free time had also discovered the large array of clubs and the potent, national drink, capirinha. ' My first day in Cubatao was a daunting experience. I was sharing a tiny room with an English girl, in the school run by the Salvation Army and although we had had a teaching and portuguese course in London, my knowledge of children and Portuguese was fairly limited. The children in Cubatao have to attend school for only a morning or afternoon each
day, and the Salvation Army .has created their school as a place to keep the children off the streets and to help them with extra tuition. On "game days" I was in charge of the children who were allowed to play football in the park (as I quickly learned Brazilians are passionate about the sport to an incredible extent) and I also taught the teenagers basic English. The children were full of life and were keen to know everything about England - they were astonished that we also have Xmas and they all wanted to know about the Spice Girls! The majority of my time was spent helping in the creche for working mothers, where I helped with the cooking of lunch each day ( normally rice, meat and beans), supervised the children, and played with them. Before lunch each day, each child had to be showered before it's nap and at 2 o' clock the eating of food and playtime started all over again. We worked from Barn until 6pm daily and by the weekend we were generally shattered. Cubatao as a city itself is not a usual tourist attraction as it is one of the most polluted cities in Brazil. Each house is made of concrete slabs, without carpet or wall paper and further into the shanty town the houses are built on stilts. During our stay there was a limited supply of electricity and water, we experienced · flooding up to the school doors and we also got used to hunting down mice and cockroaches in our room! lt was quite a culture shock to start with as many inhabitants possess guns and there is a strong drug trade, however the local people really made me feel welcome. The Brazilian people are the friendliest and most generous people I have ever met and I was invited to so many homes, met so many family members and everybody had an amazing sense of humour. I was able to experience a Brazilian tradition first hand when one of the members of staff became engaged and I attended the equivalent of our hen night. This took place in the day and consisted of a variety of games. Each guest gave the bride to be a wrapped present and if the identity of the present was guessed incorrectly then she
had to undertake a forfeit. After the games had finished, we all walked through the shanty town collecting gifts from the different shops and stalls. We made quite an impact as the girl was dressed in a wedding dress and as is customary we were all banging drums and singing. During my stay in Brazil I also spent quite a bit of time in Sao Paulo and I visited Santos ( a town on the coast) frequently. Modes of transport in Brazil are either planes or buses ( depending on your budget) and I managed to spend fifty two hours
lt is also traditional for women to wear white on New Year's Eve~ on a bus travelling to Recite in the north east ( boring but cheap!). I spent Christmas in Recite sunbathing on the beach ( it is much warmer than the south) and it was very strange calling home on Christmas Day. On the coast at New Year many Brazilians attend parties on the beaches and there are often amazing firework displays. lt is also traditional for women to wear white on New Years Eve. The lguacu Falls near Argentina are an incredible sight to see and it is possible to visit Paraguay for a brief day trip from the area. Rio is an amazing experience and I would recommend taking the cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain and of course visiting Copacabana beach. Before flying home I went to the carnival in Salvador, which although dangerous was a brilliant experience. We bought tickets to dance in the crowd behind the floats. lt is also possible just to watch behind the barriers. Salvador, itself, is a wonderful place with amazing beaches and architecture. Brazil is a country with so much to offer and it should be on any travellers list of destinations to visit. From the beautiful beaches of Rio, the modern city of Sao Paulo, breathtaking waterfalls, the dancing of "Axe" in clubs( a kind of aerobic/ dance routine), boat trips up the Amazon, the excitement of carnival - as soon as I have the money I will be on my way back.
W
orcester? Isn't that a quaint historical city near Birmingham?
So you might think, but (demonstrating a huge lack of originality on the pilgrim settlers' part), Worcester is actually a bustling university city in Massachussetts, America. Think about an hour's drive away from Boston in the hills of central Massachusetts, and you're in Worcester, baby! Top random trivia: Worcester (for reasons still unknown) is also apparently the 'Shredded Wheat capital' of America. Great, so I'm In random city, USA - what now? Less of the random please, Worcester is a cultural hotbed just waiting to be discovered. Well maybe not, but it does have a fine array of fast-food outlets for your culinary pleasure. Think Dunkin' Donuts, Taco Bell and a multitude of aii-American diners to feast on. Yummy, can't you just feel that waistline expanding? So now I've been fed, what about a little watering? Worcester has a multitude of bars, the majority of which are situated in the downtown area. However, if you're under 21 , you're basically screwed as Worcester doormen are uber-strict on ID checks. But if you're under 21 and want to shake your thang, head down to Sh'Booms - a funky little over-1 8s joint. If it's scantily clad ladies with it all hanging out and wannabe fly boys you want, you'll find them here. And your older friends can always slip you a beverage under the table. Just watch out for random, over-enthusiastic revellers grinding against you. Unless that's what you like .. .. Culture, show me the culture ... Worcester is jam-packed with colleges, so there's plenty of bright young things flying around (around 20,000, to be precise) . And the historical Clark University, founded in 1887, boasted the first American lectures by Freud in 1909. Now they have a statue of him on campus, which can be often found wearing 'amusing' items of clothing. Oh, those crazy American kids ... . What If Worcester just becomes too much fun and I need to take a break? Happily, the bright lights of Boston are easily reached by train. Visit the famous Quincy Market or schmooze with all the genii at Harvard, in the western district of Cambridge. I also have it on good authority that the purchase of a CityPass is an ideal way to see several of the city's major attractions such as the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum and the New England Aquarium. But if you're not feeling cerebral, the shopping's pretty fine, with all the usual preppy suspects such as Gap, Urban Outfitters and American Eagle in the Downtown area. Phew, I'm all shopped out, where can I rest my head for the night? Well, if you're lucky enough to have a friend at Clark (that would be me), you can kip down in the pretty luxurious university accomodation, which makes Nelson seem like Waveney. If not, The Courtyard on 72 Grove Street costs from $64 for a single and if you're feeling flush, the Crowne Plaza, 10 Lincoln Square will set you back about $299. A snip...
Ruth Charnock. ..... ,. __________ ,. ____ ,..., _ _,. __ ,. ______ ,.
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Paoe 16
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Concrete
Wednesda v. M ay 7. 2003
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CoiCrttl Wedn esday. May 7, 2003
Page 17
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Lizzie wears: Black and white polka-dot boob tube,TopShop £1 0; Black mini-skirt, TopShop £22; Domino belt £15; Black boob tube, Miss Selfridge £15; White mini-skirt, TopShop £25; Black and white striped knee-highs, Miss Selfridge £4, Domino earring £2.50; Dice earring on chain £4; Dice necklace £5. Egg wears: Black suit, Phi lip Brown £450; white shirt Philip Brown £1 05; Black and white tie, Tie Rack £1 O;Biack shoes, 'Jeffery West' from Philip Brown, £165; White over-coat, TopMan £85. Claire wears: One shouldered black and white top, Miss Selfridge £20; Black crop trousers, TopShop £25; White Coat with black piping, TopShop £65; Card earing, £2.50; White mini-dress, TopShop £16; Wide black belt, Miss Selfridge £1 0; Plectrum necklace, £5; Domino necklace, £5. Mark wears: Fred Perry long-sleeved cardigan, Philip Brown £69; Fred Perry short-sleeved top, Philip Brown, £45; Black and White striped Tie, Tie Rack, £17; Black Military jacket, TopMan £45.
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Paac 18
Fun
Co.c:rete Wednesday Mav 7. 2003
www.concrete-online.co.uk
Horoscopes
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Bad news Capricorn - crep uscular Mars in your life chart points to your death on Friday. But you only need worry if your name is Bob. Either way, you will feel better by Wednesday. Flaccid Neptune heralds an unexpected windfall , perhaps frogs. Your lucky colour is puce. Aquarians will find good fortune through a man named Jim but must steer clear of shadowy places. Come ten in the evening, lock yourself in your roo m and tie masking tape round your head until the light of morning, this way you wi ll not loose the ingenious thoughts · brought with Venus' re-entry.
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Aries - stop revising! You are going to fail all your exams anyway. Mercury's presence in your chart brings good luck for impetuous ventures over the next week - you must paint your nose green , tie twigs in you r fringe and join th e circus. Fai ling this - buy a ro und , for once.
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All us wise astrologe rs know that you Tau reans are ugly - very ugly. With the new loan instalment deposited in your bank account by Pluto, splash out on a shave if you are a woman and have those breasts seen to if a man . Otherwise, bu y yourself a mask, for god's sake. You turn our stomachs.
How the following happened, I do not know. The _chances must be unbelieveably tiny. I was in a nightclub with a friend. After we'd been there a while she noticed one of her friends at the other side of the club and went over to say hello. With nothing else to do, l followed. The two girls were stood talking side on to me. My friend then decided to introduce me to her friend . 'This is claire ,' she said, and then, handing me her drink, excused herself· to use the bathroom . Feeling a bit stupid holding two drinks, I said something like, 'sorry, I would shake your hand, but I don't have one to shake'. 'How dare you!, she said, only then furry turning towards me, revealing that she only had one arm. Now honestly. What are the chances of being in a situation where you appologise to someone for not having a hand to shake and then to discover they're an arm short? I tried to explain th e misunderstanding without success. I've met Claire several times since, and she still gives me evil looks. Not as 'Armless as he appears, EAS1
Gemini Boy : yo u are mister charisma th is week impress that girl you've had your eye on by approaching her and saying whatever comes into yo ur head for five minutes; before long she will be yours. Gemini Girl: an unexpected approach will bring unpleasant results. Cance r: tired from kil ling off a third of the world with yo ur nefarious disease you must take time out to rest and reflect. Thursday is your lucky day. Don't forget on Friday you have a pressing engagement with Capricorn , don't be late! Your unlucky name is Bob and fortune comes in vani lla . All Leas must avoid Pisceans for the duration of thi s month, as an anomalous comet in your com munication chart looks set to make them suspicio us of your every move. If your partner is a Piscean dump them , quick, before they dump you . Or just eat her, pussy. Meaaow! Virgos shou ld spend their time playing pool and showing off trick shots to their friends . Your lucky sport is snooker, but don't spend too long in front of the World Championships on television right now, as yo ur house wil l burn down on Monday - you with it if yo u miss a big break. Libra - so scaly this week yo u should be Pisces. Avoid rushing judgement on friends and enemies alike, turg id Jupiter and a skulking Saturn show this to be unwise, and you 'll be making love by Wednesday. Turnips are your lucky vegetable , fe lt your lucky material and th ru sh your lucky venereal disease. Priapic Uran us is strong ly influencing Scorpio's love chart for the next three months, but particularly th is week on Tuesday. Pull your finger out and pop into town to take a bender with a few mates. Puffing on a few fags will not harm anyone as long as you protect yourse lf in other areas. For all Sagittarians, but especial ly those named Matt, this fortnight sees the dawn of new beginnings. An 'ind ustry' venture looks set, with Pluto waxing , to bring future prosperity, but keep your feet on the ground as otherwise you 'll fall over. Special initials this period point to C, P and L.
May 7 -14
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L-- - ------------------------__. ast year a quest for a cheap holiday ended up on a slightly dodgy camp site in France. Essentially, it was a field with a toilet block stuck in the middle of • • • it. Having pitched the tent and drunk a startling • quantity of cheap French lager, I decided it was time to give the facilities a try. Given the choice of a long line of deserted cubicles, I sauntered into one and proceeded to empty my bladder, not thinking twice as the door quietly closed itself behind me. Only when I had finished did I notice there wasn't a handle on the inside. For about 10 minutes J. attempted to scratch the door open with my fingertips to no avail. it was firmly closed. I tried kicking it, hoping it would bouce open, but it appeared to be jammed . The partition went too high for me to climb over the top and too low for me to squeeze under it. An hour passed without anyone entering the room. I tried shouting, but no one came in. Later, I would discover, my friends had decided to piss in the .bushes rather than walk all the way over to where I was trapped. Finally, after nearly two hours of captivity, a small child wandered in. By standing on the edges of the toilet (there wasn't a seat) and turning my head sideways, I was able to talk to him. Unfortunately it quickly became apparent he didn't speak English. My french isn't great. In fact, it's crap. I just about managed a paniced 'open the door, if you please'. The child stared at me, then burst into tears and ran away. Climbing down from the toilet, I put my foot in the bowl. Even this would-
A frienc. of mine, who is otherwise an extremely nice person , tends to do stupid things when he's drunk. This can be as simple as getting into fights or trying to steal bar furniture , but sometimes he really out-does himself. One example of this was when we were leaving a pub and my friend happened to overhear an extremely large, well-built bouncer talking with a foreign accent. For reasons that have never been explained, my friend demanded to see his immigration papers. The bouncer laughed and ignored him, and that should have been the end of it, but my friend wouldn't leave him alone, accusing him of being an illegal immigrant and worse. Laughing, but obviously pissed off, the bouncer produced a British passport, which my friend promply stole and ran down the street. Being drunk he began to swerve wildly from side to side and the bouncer easily caught him, knocked my friend to the floor and kicked him in the ribs . To this day, my friend claims to have no memory of the incident. With Stupid, LAW3 Do you have an embarrassing moment that you want to share with the UEA population? If so, come to the Concrete office and drop them in or email us at su.concrete@uea.ac.uk. The most embarrassing entry will win a free ticket to the Thursday LCR!
Key to this weeks love-o-meter...
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Get down that LCR and m ake the most of freedom befo re you go home
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n't have been so bad if the child had returned with an angry, hopefully polylingual parent. But he didn't. lt was nearly four hours before me and my now almost dry foot were released by the camp site's cleaner. Needless to say, all the beer had gone. Now a Xenophobe, EAS2 The first time my then current girlfriend stayed the night, my parents were still a bit funny about her sleeping in my room. Therefore, she was consigned to the spare bedroom. Except, of course, she didn't stay there. Well after everyone else had gone to bed, she crept across the corridor, much fun was had, and th en she successfully crept back again without anyone being woken. The embarrassment occurred the following morning. Probably trying to impress my girlfriend, my mother prepared an extensive breakfast for the whole family. ~ We were all sat down and chatting pleasantly when 1he ::> dog wandered in. With a used condom in his mouth !Xl that he must have found in my bin. There was silence .~ cu for a long time. The dog shook the condom around for a bit, then put it on the floor and walked out. Unable to ~ think of anything to say, I stood up, got some kitchen § role and removed the offending item. g Conscientious Lover, HIS3ij
A wet month ahead seems ideal for you Pisceans, but far from it. A close friend will make you feel like a fish out of water at an up-coming social event. Stay in bed and avoid cats. If your boyfriend/girlfriend is a Leo then split up immediately. You must not know why, but save yourself! ~
Here is an opportunity to share an embarrassing moment or · even expose your friends and watch them turn crimson as they start to recognise the dirty details ...
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Sorry, no such luck for you today. Avoid con tact with the opposite s ex .
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Life's boring so why not at least pass those exams by visiting the libra ry
Overheard in the library toilets:
"I shagged my boyfriend in here yeste rday." "Yuck, was the seat up?" "No, it was down , but it was very uncomfortable ."
A section covering juicy conversations overheard in that most glamorous of meeting places - the toilets ...
Co.cnte Wedensday, May 8, 2003
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11 my friends are revising , but I just can't motivate myself. What should I do?
"Just take it easy, exams aren't that important. If all else fails, you can always work for Tesco's". Rich, DEV1 . "Get out old exam papers and start with those. That way you know what you're going to be dealing with. ........... ~~.~ ignore your friends until you feel like you've caught ~ Jane, EAS4.
"Just try and imagine what your life will be like if you fail your exams. If you can deal with the scenario, then chill. If not, it's best you get your butt into gear." Andy, SYS2.
"Look at your old lecture notes and try and condense those to begin with. Lots of different coloured pens always help." Chris, DEV1 .
And the alternative advice ... "Just cram it all in at the last minute. lt always works for me." Jenny, SOC3. "it's ages to the exams yet, don't worry about it. Have a few drinks, everything will feel better soon ." Matt, SOC3.
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Page 19
ea r 5 We trawl through Concrete's archives to reveal UEA's history
"Start small - maybe with a few hours a day. That way you won't overtace yourself too soon. Don't worry, thinking about revising is often scarier than actually doing it." Sarah , ENV1 . "Your friends are probably lying, no-one's revising yet. Are they?" John, SYS2.
:E
Fun
www.concrete-online.co.uk
-. Ten Years Ago The main story at UEA ten years ago (in issue 20 dated May 12, 1993) was a £27,000 theft from the University School of Information Systems. Apparently the work of professional thieves, only the most expensive equiptment was taken, leading police to surmise the items had been stolen to order. Amongst the haul were four Apple Quadras, then top of the range, now adorning council skips up and down the country. The raid was the latest in a series of thefts at universities around the world. Quadras were also taken from Cambridge, Washington, California, Arizona and Berkeley. A spokesperson for UEA said the real problem created by the crime was replacing the work stored on the computers rather than the computers themselves. An illustration of how Norwich's nightlife has changed over the last decade can be seen in the issue's other front-page story. In 1993, Peppermint Park, "Nortolk's Premier Nightspot" was about to undergo a £1.25 million refit. Today, it doesn't exist. Perhaps manager Mark Brenner's desire to "incorporate bizarre and different themes" was the beginning of the end. Over on the back page, UEA's soccer team were celebrating becoming Division One Champions for the first time in 25 years. UEA's top goal scorer for the season, Tom Finlayson, racked up seven hatricks during the campaign . In Happenings, the early Event, pop was declared dead as bands such as Take That stormed the charts. If people thought they were bad, what would they make of S Club 8? The big reviews were Loaded Weapon ("On a scale of one to five, it gets a four with mustard") and The Fall's The lnfotainment Scan.
Five Years Ago The never-ending problem of food outlets on campus once again reared its ugly head in May 1998 (Issue 86) . Two years after spending £20,000 on replacing fast food joint Breakers with an Italian restaurant called Piccolo's, the University decided to bring
Prices and Services A4 single sided copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6p A4 double sided copies ......... . . . ........ 12p A3 single sided copies .......... . ...... . . . 12p A4 full colour copies . . ................ . ... SOp A3 full colour copies .. . ...... . . . . ........ £1.00 A4 black and white transparencies ..... . ..... 45p A4 full colour transparencies . . ....... .... .. . . £1 A4 full colour from slides ... . . . . . . . .. . ..... . 75p A3 full colour from slides . . . . . .... . .. .. ... £1 .20
back fast food . For a laugh, Concrete tried to guess what the new place would be called. Ideas included Temporaries, McPiccolo's and Back to Breakers. That no one thought of final choice Breakers 11, even for a joke, shows just how bad it actually was. Over in The Event, the entertainment section was boasting an interview with Armando lannucci, then hosting The Friday Night Armistice on BBC2, now fronting Gash on Channel 4. By far the biggest revelation in the article was the Norwich was chosen as Alan Partridge's home, thereby making the place a laughing stock for the next half-decade because lannucci "has an Aunt who lives here." Even better was The Event's eight-page 80s pull-out, a celebration of the whole sorry period. As well as a year-by-year account, readers were offered hideous images of Mr T and an 80s quiz.
Last Year A year ago, in issue 138, students were facing a second year of examination hell, as exams began just three days after the end of week 12. Student's Union Academic Officer James Harrison insisted the Union were doing all they could to change the situation. Inside the paper, readers got their first chance to see plans for the revamped Union Bar, which, if the picture was anything to go by, was going to be modeled closely on the Starship Enterprise. In the sports section, it was the familiar tale of Noriwch City nearly making the Premiership - but not quite. According to the back page story, the club were "one step away" from promotion. lt must have been quite a spectacular trip-up, considering they failed again this year. The Event went high-brow in May last year, featuring interviews with Ainsley Harroit, weather girl Becky Mantin and new Sugababe Heidi Range. While Ainsley and Becky were fun, Heidi managed to avoid making a single interesting statement. Peppering her speech with "likes" and "whatevers" she appears to be a genuinely boring person. Still, nice hair though.
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Cotcnte Wednesday, May 7, 2003
Page 21
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Ill Issue 151 Editor Katie Hind Deputy Editor Jim Whalley
S.end your letters for the attention of the Editor to Concrete, PO Box 41 0, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TB or email them to su.concrete@uea.ac.uk
His view I have now had confirmation from the solicitors engaged on my behalf by my professional association, that in their view the comments that appeared in Concrete on Sept 21 2002 under the heading "Unsporting behaviour" are libellous. The Association's insurers are prepared to finance legal action on my behalf against the Union of UEA Students as the "parent body'' of Concrete. The Editor of Concrete extracted two comments from the Sportspark survey of students to create the impression that these were the general view of students and to justify the sub headline that I was "the most unpopular member of UEA staff". The unedited contents of this survey were made available to the committee of students who assisted in designing the questions and to other interested parties. lt can be clearly seen from the survey that these two selected comments in no way reflect the general view of the respondents to a survey that set out to ask for suggestions on how to improve the service to students, nor do they provide a basis to support the allegation. By extracting these two and making the statement "the most unpopular member of staff at UEA" the Editor was not only taking the statements out of context but also used them to make a specific comment that these made me more unpopular than any other member of staff. The comments were deliberately distorted by her in a libellous way. The adjacent article "Free Sport for all" about the provision of free Educational User cards was both inaccurate and made no reference to any of the information supplied on this topic by the Assistant Director or Director of Physical Education & Sport. The omission of any information or comment from Physical Education & Sport is viewed as deliberate and aimed at supporting the assertion made in the Back Chat column. I have followed the Grievance Policy laid down by the Union of Students. lt is felt by the solicitors that this policy is clearly neither independent nor adequate. Concrete alleges that its procedure mirrors that of the Press Complaints Commission. The solicitors however feel that the Concrete Ombudsman process does meet the appropriate standards of independence or investigation. Comments by the Editor on the selection process indicate that the primary concern was not to offer independent assessment but to ensure the newspaper was protected from exactly that. The Concrete process therefore clearly did not mirror the procedure laid down by the PCC and offered neither redress nor protection to complainants. The Union of Students took the stance that it could not interfere in the "activity" of one of it's' member societies and made no attempt to either seek a resolution of this dispute or to involve itself in any attempt to resolve it without recourse to legal action. By its inaction and approval of the Concrete Grievance procedure and appointment of the Ombudsman the Union of UEA students has been party to this libel. The choice is now mine as to whether I accept the opportunity to resolve this matter in a court of law or not. lt is a choice that I should not have to make. The Officers and permanent employees of the Union have the power to intervene in any club or society where it can be shown that the interests of the Union and its members may be jeopardised. I invited the Union to state whether it supported and agreed with the comments in the Concrete article but it declined. As a senior member of staff at the University working very closely with large number of students and providing one of the most used resources it should be in the best interest of the Union and its members to try maintain good relations. The defence that the Union has to protect the Editorial independence of Concrete was overridden in the case of an advert it felt was more offensive than the front covers of a large number of magazines it is selling for profit in a Union out-
let. However, the Union made it clear to me on a number of occasions that it would not intervene in a case of libellous comments about a member of staff. 1am dismayed by the collective and individual approach taken by the Union student officers and the permanent staff; I expected a higher level of understanding and responsibility. As far as Miss Hinde is concerned her editorial stint with Concrete has been notable not because of its stimulating content, not because of significant journalism but for dragging it down to the lowest level of literacy and content in the history of a publication that at times has reflected the high literary standards this University is renowned for. The criticism by the Ombudsman of the quality of her writing makes the point more effectively than I can . Carrying out the survey, which was the trigger for Miss Hinds's article, was a result of a desire by me, as Director of Physical Education & Sport, to ensure that the Sportspark and Physical Education & Sport met the requirements of students. We were brave and now it appears possibly foolish enough to invite criticism, to publish it and to tackle it. This is something a Union of Students that was working on behalf of its students should be supporting and holding up as an example to other parts of the University. Perhaps the Union could show the same courage and determination to meet the needs of students by carrying out a similar exercise, publishing it, and responding to the outcomes? I am pleased that we did the survey, that we responded to the criticisms and as a result we have seen a staggering increase in student and staff participation. Whilst our efforts to encourage individual and school based participation have been enthusiastically received it is disappointing to see the drop off in participation, success and interest in union sports clubs. What will I achieve by taking the Union of UEA Students to court? Not a lot. If her Editorship of Concrete enables Ms Hinde to obtain employment in journalism it will be related to a publication I would not find intellectually stimulating enough to worry about. Maybe she will in time reflect on her lack of judgement and learn something from it. Taking her to court might delay that process. The Union has, whether or not it likes it both a legal and moral responsibility for Concrete. Throughout this affair it has shown a complete disregard for the interests of students by both failing to involve itself in seeking a solution to an issue that affected relations with a well used student service, and by not ensuring that a student society acted in a morally and legally responsible way. Taking the Union as a body to court would not acilieve a lot for future students. The current elected officers who have failed to accept their responsibilities are transient and would not in any case be able to effect the necessary change in the operation of the Union before they leave office. The Permanent staff who should have offered wiser council to the elected officers in this instance would not be the persons in the dock and their inaction is a matter for their consciences. I have throughout this whole sorry episode hoped that the voices of reason and of integrity that traditionally characterise and define the academic world would have emerged from within the student body. Clearly the lack of them indicates yet another change in the quality of this university and its membership. Taking the Union to court would drag the University I have worked hard to promote into the newspapers and tarnish its reputation. I do not feel all the good work done by so many people at UEA should be jeopardised by the lack of judgement and integrity of a few. I have not pursued this to get revenge but 1n the vain hope that the people involved would acknowledge the mjustice and the error of judgements. In the hope that the Union and its staff would revise the system so that investigative and critical journalism could continue and
gratuitous and libellous comments would be excised before publication , or at least acknowledged should they slip through. Sadly the individuals concerned have failed to accept their responsibilities. Although for the reason above I do not intend to accept this offer of legal support I will be taking some action as a result of my experience of the Union and its Society. Physical Education & Sport will use the alternative methods that have proven very successful this year to communicate with students and not use Concrete. Any enquiries or comments requested by Concrete will be dealt with by the University Press Office on our behalf. Whereas in the past we have tried to actively work directly with the Union of Students to develop all strands of sporting activity and have been proactive in working with them to try to improve the competitive performance of student clubs we will now work directly with the students. We are primarily concerned with the students and do not need to work with bodies that appear to have lost touch with them.
Keith Nlcholls Director of Physical Education & Sport
Give him a break Obviously I can't support what Mr Nicholls wrote in his letter about UEA students, but it is important to realise that he wrote it from the perspective of someone who had been hurt by what had been written about him previously in Concrete. it is also important to realise the massive role Mr Nicholls has played in improving sport at UEA and in particular his committment to the founding of the excellent facilities at the Sportspark.
Ned Glas/er Union Communications Officer
News Editor Rebecca Lawrence Chief News Reporter Thom Smith Features Editor Ruth Charnock Chief Features Writer Danielle Agius Fashion Stylists Hannah Walker Sports Editor Marc Dudley Photographer Ed Webb-lngall Advertising Manager Jenny Fry
Concrete is published by UUEAS Concrete Socie:y Š2003 Concrete . ISSN 135 i ¡2773 Letters should be addressed for the atter.:.on o: the Edttor, Katte Hind . Letters must tnclud& contact details. but we will consider anonymous publication. We reserve the right to edtt for length and clanty as neccessary. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Publisher or Ed1tor. Use of tt>e name The Event is by arrangement ov1th the copynght holders. Planet Zog Ltd . No part of this newspaper may be reproduced through any means wtthout the express permisston of the Editor. Pnnted by Archant Print. Thorpe Bus,ness Park. Norwich
Advertising Manager Part time
Looking for advertising sales experience and up to ÂŁ300 a fortnight? Applications are invited for the position of Advertising Manager, Concrete, for the period September 2003 to June 2004. The position is open to any student studying at UEA during 2003/4, and involves selling the adverts that finance Concrete to local and national customers, developing new relationships and nurturing existing clients in a professional manner. Pay is allocated on a commission basis. The successful applicant will have a
friendly telephone and personal manner, and ideally layout experience. Sales experience is not required although it would be advantageous. Send a full CV with covering letter and ideas regarding how the paper can increase its advertising revenue to su.concrete@uea.ac.uk or Jim Whalley, PO BOX 410, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TB Closing date: May 21, 2003
Page 22
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C..Crtte
Wednesda1•. May 7. 2003
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The season may be over for Norwich on the field, but off it, planning for the future has just begun. Last week the all clear was given for the development of the New South Stand, but what about the costs? Marc Dudley looks into the latest news on the new stand. e may have finished below our East Anglian rivals, but the Canaries' eighth position finish is respectable after last season 's rollercoaster ride in Cardiff. After years of hovering around in no-mans land and last day re legation battles, City have finally reached the dizzy heights as one of the top teams in the Nationwide 1st Division. News on the pitch may be promising, but off it the news is just as exciting . After months of planning and discussion , the development of the New South Stand at Carrow Road has finally been given the go ahead . Officials and fans of the club have high hopes for the future , as these are exciting times for Norwich , and the development of a new and modern South Stand is another reason for the club to be looking forward to the future . Supporters who have stood or sat in the South Stand over the years will have fond memories of the great Carrow Road clashes they have witnessed there, but it is obvious that the ageing structure was reaching the end of its era. The reason for a new stand is rather simple with the costs of keeping the old stand in line with strict safety regulations being too high and they
W
would have increased if the club had decided to re-develop the existing stand . Also, with Carrow Road packed out to sell-out crowds, the time was right to build a bigger and better stand to suit the club's reputation. Work on the new 8,000-seat stand will start when the current season ends in May, and hopefu lly seats will be available to supporters from as early as November, with the final completion date for the stand set for March 2004. In addition to the 8,000 seats in the stand itself, there will be a furthe r 1,500 seats in the new corner infill to be built to the same timetable. The capacity of the ground will increase from the current 22,000 to 25,500, and there are plans to build a further tier on top of the new stand, if the Canaries reach the Premiership, taking the capacity to 30 ,000.
he question you may be asking is how can a Nationwide League club afford a brand new stand after the financial problems caused by the ITV Digital collapse last season? Well , Norwich City football club own quite a bit of land in the Riverside area and part of the New South Stand project is the residential development on land ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ beh i nd the Norw~h and Peterborough stand. 330 one, two and three bedroom apartments will be built with the roof level apartments having roof gardens. A brand new 4-star hotel in the corner between the Barclay and South Stands will also be available. and some areas in the four floor new south stand will also be available for comercial and retail use, thus generating more revenue for the club. The revenue generated from this will hopefully help pay some of the costs, but a loan agreed last week will be the main help behind the massive project. The loan , which is repayable over 15 years, is payable to the Club in two instalments of £7.5 million. The first instalment has been received by the Club already and has been used to clear some of the debts already in the club. The next £7 .5 million will follow when the Club agrees terms with RG Carter for the construction of the new South Stand. Norwich City Chief Executive Neil Doncaster commented : ''The decision of the institutional investor to provide th is facil ity to a First Division club for th e first time was significantly influenced by our success in attracting record season ticket sales and sellout crowds and in the development of a dynamic, vibrant business with strong prospects for the future". Long-term Club benefactor and President Geoffrey Walling has also agreed to reschedule his loan to the Club, which was due for repayment in September this ye ar, for repayment in Apri l 2008. This refinancing , along wit h last week's detailed planning con sents for the res idential development and the new South Stand, will enable the Club to build the new stand as well as fund ongoing substantial losses while the Club brings expenditure more into line with income. Commenting on the arrange ments, Neil Doncaster added: "This is part of the Club's strategy of moving ·~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. . as much of its debt as possible from
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short and medium-term to long-term, which will allow the Club to work through the financial pain caused by ITV Digital and by the virtual collapse of the transfer market. "We remain indebted to Mr Walling for his continuing support of the Club in this, the 46th year of his involvement with Norwich City. Doncaster also revealed much of the planning has been discussed alongside the Norwich City Supporters Consultative Group to give the Canary fans the best facilities they want. On a final point which I know has been a bit of a bugbear for some supporters over the years, is that those blue and red seats in the old stand will be replaced with a more suitable colour scheme.
Here are the imponant dates for all those current eason ticket holders and non- season ticket holders wanting to get their hands on a seat in the New South Stand. May 2003: Demolition of Current South Stand July 2003: Allocation of seats in new stand for exci ting South Stand Season Ticket Holders. Nov 2003: 8,000 seats expected to be made available. South Stand Season Ticket Holders can move to new stand. Dec 2003: Season Tickets Holders in other areas of ground can choose an available seat in the new stand. Jan 20Q4: Remaining Season Tickets on general sale Mar 20()4: Full Completion of New South Stand.
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CoiG'Itt Wednesday. May 7, 2003
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ox What's best and worst in Sport today... Marc Dudley looks at the burning issues
Balls, balls and more balls I don't know 1f anyone has been turning on the1r telev1s.on sets and wondenng why a green table w1th balls or lt keeps on appeanng on the1r screens. The Snooker World Championships got under way again and for the last 2 weeks BBC has v1ewed every shot from every angle possible, and to say that I am pleased that the competition IS f1nally over IS an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against snooker and 1 was following most of the championships on BBC. but 1t gets to a point when you start seemg red balls evevywhere you •ook and you rehse that your I fe may not be worth hvmg. What made th1s year's tournament less enterta1mng for the neutrals was the fact that Ronnie O'Sulhvan got knocked out 1n the f1rst round by Hong Kongs Marco Fu. The 'Rocket' IS one of the few players who doesn't take years to play hiS shot and can f1msh a frame In about 4 JTOmutes. However, it wasn't all bad The amazmg comeback by Ken Doherty 1n the sem1-fmals aga1nst Paul Hunter was one of the best m snooker history, and if the lnshman ever gets any sleep is a good quest on. BBC also Introduced Frame Academy to th1s year's schedufe, and I asked myself why?' The pomt of Frame Academy (guess where they got that name from?) was that former snooker stars like Steve Davis, John Parrot! and Dennls Taylor played tnck shots and tile pubhc would phone 1n and vote out the players they least wanted to stay (or In other terms whoever impressed you as much popcorn popp ng 1n a microwave ) There was nothing wrong w1th the actual tnck shots, (although I am not sure some of hem can be ea' ed tnck shots, especsally that one WI'IJ the pack of cards by ~live Everton 1) its the fact that people actually bothe•ed to phone 1n and vote out the players they wanted out. People actually wasted money to get nd of waJters who can h 1 balls in a funny way1 The coverage was as usual for BBC exce lent, but aga1n (as usual!) the public were overwhelmed w1th snooker and by the th1rd or forth day you could probably play every shot from the champ1onsh1ps 1n your sleep. Now, 1t ts hne hav1rog the afternoon and evening sesstons live but then to have the highlights of the day, not once but twice aswell g1ves you a headache more pa1nful than 'Rocket' Ronme pound1ng you w1th h1s cue 1think 1 saw O'Sulhvans 5 m1nute 147' break about 10 •mes dunng one day, and it made the Whole experience of watchmg it hve the f1rst time less special. AI' 1n all the champ1onsh1ps were aga1n a success for the BBC, but 1t's about t1me they started to relise that too much of something can be awfuuly pa1nful for the v1ewers! Next for the BBC IS Wimbledon, and we will soon again be seeing g•een p1cthes on are screens all day. Unt1 then a huge cheer from all are granmes can be heard around the country, as they can now tune mto the good old 'Ready Steady Cook' again, wh1ch accord1ng to my Grandma 'makes her day when A1nsley gets going' I think I preferred the snooker
Canaries lose defender duo as Worthington looks to the Academy and a former City star. MARC DUDLEY Sports Editor
A PACKED Carrow Road gave their usual magnificent support as the Canaries ended the 200203 campaign with a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Preston. An own goal from Tyrone Mears a minute into the second half and a close-range volley from Phi! Mulryne ensured City finished the season on a high note. After the game the players walked round to a tremendous ovation from Canary fans. with Steen Ncdcrgaard's final visit to Carrow Road following his midweek move to Odense providing a particularly pmgnant moment to remember. The 33-year-old right-back de cribed the decision to leave Carrow Road and move back to Denmark as "One of the most difficult I have ever had to make:· He commented: "I have had three wonderful years at Norwich and the fans have been just fantastic all of the time, home and away. The only reason I am leaving is because I want to move back to Denmark with my family. Nedergaard made 97 appearances (I I b a ub titute) for the Canaries and scored five goals, arguably the most memorable being a superb 30yard strike against Coventry at Carrow Road thi. season. His consistent defending and pinpoint cro scs from the right have been an integral part of City's improved fortunes over the past two seasons.
City boss Nigel Wonhington wished the Dane a good trip home: "Steen ha. given us three years of great ser· vice and he's an excellent professional. We wish him all the very best when he returns to Denmark." Keith Briggs started his first match at nght-back agamst Preston replacing the departed Darren Ken ton, who is joining FA finalists Southampton in the summer. Kenton will be sorely mt . ed by the Canaries in defence, but the talented youngster felt it Wb lime to move on. Kenton commented: "l have had eight very enjoyable years at Norwich. My goal was always to get to the Premiership with Norwich City but now I feel it' time for a change." Canarie boss Nigel Worthington added: "Since the current coaching team has been in charge Darren has done exceptionally well and we wish him all the be t at his next club." However, City are still bringing in the talent with 18 year-old midfielder Dean Sinclair becoming the third academy player to be awarded a professional contract for next season. He join young pacey striker Ian Hcnderson and the tall promising defender Jason Shackell in the squad for next season, and manager Nigcl Wonhington promi es more wtll come though the ranks. 'There are a lot of talented players in the Academy and if they are good enough they will be offered a contract." Canaries mo t promising player, Ryan Jarvis, was away on international duty with England under IS's, but City fan will be looking forward to seeing East Anglia's Wayne
Rooney in action next sea ·on. Kenton and Nedergaard may be gone, but with players like Jarvis and Shackell coming through the rank Norwich have an exciting future ahead of them. Wonhington, desptte the lo s of two of his be>t players. is still m confident mood: ''The club has always been known for producing talented youngsters. and hopefully the new group of lad coming from the academy can reach their poten· tial next season and take orwi~h in to the Premiership." Next season the playoffs will be extended from 4 to 6 teams. meaning orwich 's chance of promotion next season are increa! ed. In other news, Norwich fans may
be intere ted to hear about fonncr Norwich tarlet Darren Eadie, who has been truggling with injury at Leicester City for the last couple of seasons. According to reports, the fonner Canary is desperate to make the move back east after hi injury mghtmare, and Leicester are prepared to let the free agent go in the summer when hi contract runs out. NA ONWIOE LEAGUE, DIVISION ONE FINAL TABLE P W D 46 29 11 46 46 46 46 46 46
23 11 12 24 5 17 w 16 10 20 14 12 19 13 14 19 12 15
6. N FOFGSI 7 lpsw~Ch 8. CITY Top City Scorer Paul McVelgh (15 Goals)
20 15 37 32 16 11
60 79 76 14
70 69
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Individual succes for UEA Trampoline Club at the Irish Student Open JENNI SALTER
AT the end of last term the UEA trampolining squad took flight across the Irish Sea to compete in the ISTO at the University of Central Dublin (UCD).
marked out of I0 by 5 judges. Barraclough was UEA's best Novice jumper finishing in 26th . whilst Kelly (37th), Turner (47th). Williamson (55th) and Clark (56th) gave the team a fine start to the
Thirteen members of the squad participated in the second year of thi. event. along with 32 other universities from all over the U.K and Republic of Ireland. This wa> a three day event starting on Friday with a general warm-up. before the main competition got under way on Saturday. The different levels of expertise were categorised. starting with Novice. Intermediate. Advanced and then Elite. In Saturday's competition each competitor had to complete a set and voluntary routine. each consisting of ten bounces which are
Salter was 21st best in the intermediate class, followed by Grundy (40th). Impe (48th) and Stammers (54th). UEA only had one jumper in the
Advance class with Bowie ending in 19th place, but there was success for Hughs in the Elite class. with the UEA jumper winning the toughest level. Aspinall (6th) and Hayes (lOth) rounded off a good first day for UEA. The team continued to impress on Sunday in the Syncro event. which involves the trampolinists jumping parallel with each other in a synchronised motion. Hughs and Hayes were UEA's best pair finishing 7th. but the other pairings of Barraclough and Impe (17th). Kelly and Turner (23rd), Williamson and Clark (25th) and Salter and Grundy (29th) did the univeristy proud. In the team even ts UEA's 'School of Debauchery ' came third in the Silly Syncro and in the gladiators event the team finished 16th out of 18 universities. C lub President Shell Aspi nall and Club Secretary Sarah Stammers were both proud of the team's performance, given that the majority of them were only experiencing their fi rst or second competition.
Got a sports story? Contact us at su.concrete@uea.ac.uk Concrete Prize Crossword #42 ACROSS
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Money owed (4) Egyptian instrument (7)) 3 Surrendered ( 12) 4 Glass bottle for wine (6) 6 Supple (5) 7 Halted (8) 8 Communicated (12) 12 Very small molecule (8) 15 Dream (7) 1 6 Stink (6) 18 Firestarting (5) 19 Untidy state ( 4)
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