Issue 269 | Tuesday 1 May 2012 | Fortnightly | Free
UEA’s Independent Student Newspaper
On concrete-online.co.uk this fortnight: Features | The US Presidential election begins to take shape Film | Review of American Pie: The Reunion Sport | How the Canaries survived their return to the top flight
Men’s Rugby Union ban upheld Hannah Britt | News reporter Despite an emotional appeal, the ban of the Men’s Rugby team by the Union will be upheld in the 2012-13 academic year. On Monday 23 April, representatives from UEA Men’s Rugby went to an emergency Union Council session in order to appeal against the one year ban. Despite the club’s claim that they were bringing “new evidence to the table,” Men’s Rugby lost the appeal. Union Council only just made quorum, with 28
of 41 voting members supporting the decision to disband the club, and thus UEA Men’s Rugby will not exist, unless they succeed with an appeal to the University. The punishment of UEA Men’s Rugby was initially given after complaints of both racism and sexism. One of the complaints was that the team offended a member of UEA Hockey, a girl of German nationality, when they took part in an offensive chant named “10 German Bombers.” The allegations came after
a social with the theme of “bad taste.” During the social, team members dressed up as controversial figures such as Joseph Kony and Baby P. Driver, speaking on the subject of the social, concluded that: “In hindsight, we can now see that this was a mistake, however, it was definitely not meant to offend anybody.” The national interest in their story spiralled, ending up on the websites of the BBC, The Sun, The Mirror and The Mail. The allegations even made it as far as the News Track India website.
The aforementioned offences, along with a previous incident such as damage to a hotel in 2011, were brought back under scrutiny at Union Council. However, the process took a dramatic turn, as Men’s Rugby blasted the Union officers for their “unprofessional” attitude towards the appeal and criticised the lack of investigation into the complaints, points which have been raised by students on the Concrete website. Continued on page five
Chancellor Sir Brandon Gough dies Concrete regretfully reports that the Chancellor of the University passed away last Thursday (April 26). Sir Brandon Gough, who had served as Chancellor since October 2003, died unexpectedly at the age of 74. The UEA flag was flown at half mast on the day of his death as a mark of respect, with the University and the Union of UEA Students expected to organise an
event to pay tribute to the late Chancellor after his near-decade tenure. Union Communications officer, Matthew Myles, said: “Sir Brandon and Lady Gough’s visits to the Union were always greatly received and appreciated by officers and staff. “We offer Lady Gough the deepest sympathies on behalf of all staff and members of the Union.” To read more, turn to page three
Max Hetherington
Laura Smith
NEWS | P3 TRAVEL | P10 FEATURES | P12-13 Library takes tough stance on Concrete takes a gamble and travels We round off a year in UEA news, disruptive and selfish students to “Sin City” itself, Las Vegas with the biggest stories of 2011-12
SPORT | P21 UEA Angels top the tables among the University’s sports clubs
Greg Mann
Mark Shead | News reporter