Photography showcase page 28-29 Immigrants fail to materialise page 8
Britain’s drinking culture page 14 Issue 270 Monday 27th January 2014 www.epigram.org.uk University of Bristol Independent Student Newspaper
12 week terms: are we feeling the benefit?
b.vimeocdn.com
INTERVIEW: Sean Bobbitt 12 Years a Slave cinematographer page 44
Stephanie Rihon Online News Editor Students have been questioning the benefit of the new term structure. The decision to change the structure of Bristol’s teaching year was taken in 2011 but only came into effect in the current academic year. Although it was aimed to improve student’s teaching satisfaction, Bristol’s student population has certainly felt the burden of the twelve-week term. So is an idea that seems perfectly sustainable in theory actually beneficial to undergraduates? Before the new structure, there was no clear divide between the teaching and assessment periods which undoubtedly caused confusion, especially for first years, as students were expected to revise for exams whilst also juggling new course material. Indeed, ProVice Chancellor for Education, Nick Lieven argued that the new term structures would ‘improve the educational experience for students’. However, courses such as Medicine and Dentistry were excluded from this change but every effort was made to make their timetables as closely matched as possible. Some feel there are certainly some clear advantages to this new system. The longer terms gives students a greater amount of time to settle in to Bristol – an invaluable pro for the incoming Freshers – and somehow makes the course seem more spaced out. In the summer term, there will be three dedicated exam weeks with one week before being solely for revision purposes: perhaps a greater incentive to revise one’s hardest when not pressured to learn new material.
Flickr: Stephan Geyer
Winter storms: the impact on Bristol’s homeless page 7
Fenella Maxwell News Reporter
flickr: Goddard
Continued on page 3
Churchill’s legacy threatened
NASA lands at UoB Laura Jacklin News Editor The current Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), General Charles Bolden is to visit the university to be awarded an honorary degree and to speak to staff and students. On the 29th January, the former astronaut will be awarded the honorary degree, and will speak about America’s history of space exploration and his experiences through his involvement with NASA at a free talk. His time as an astronaut saw General Bolden fly
on four space shuttle missions, including the flight that deployed the Hubble Space telescope, which involved training at British Aerospace in Bristol during the 1990s. General Bolden was appointed the position as the 12th United States Administrator of NASA by President Obama in 2009, with a mission to focus on research and development in space exploration. In 2012, General Bolden became the first human being to have their voice broadcast on the surface of Mars, via the Curiosity rover. The event will be held in the Great Hall of the Wills Memorial Building. Tickets sold out in 24 hours, one of the fastest selling events the university has held.
Churchill Hall residents have commenced a campaign to stop the development of a Botanical Gardens coffee shop within The Holmes, due to concerns about disturbance and losing historical legacy. The Holmes is a popular residency within Churchill Hall in Stoke Bishop, located within the Botanical Gardens. This building is also the site of which Americans planned the D-Day invasion. For nearly ten months during the Second World War, The Holmes was the home to some of the most powerful US military men in Britain, including iconic figures such as President Eisenhower and General Bradley. It is understood that the invasion was constructed within the exact room that is to be turned into a coffee shop. Continued on page 3
Arts Introducing: page 39