2009/10 Week 22 by Exeposé

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VC draws £30k bonus

Monday March 22 2010 Week 22

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Alex Moss News Editor

FIGURES released by the University have shown that Vice Chancellor, Professor Steve Smith, last year received a five-figure bonus and ‘hospitality budget’ in excess of £36,000. Prof. Smith, who is both Vice Chancellor of the University and head of Universities UK, the umbrella organisation for Higher Education institutions in the United Kingdom, last year earned a fixed salary of £265,000. This marks a £30,000 increase on his 2007/8 salary. By contrast, Gordon Brown last year earned £197,000. Professor Steve Smith also received a £30,000 performance-based bonus. Stuart Franklin, University Communications Director, explained that this related to Exeter’s position in the Higher Education league tables. He said, “Members of the ViceChancellor’s Executive Group are eligible for a performance-related bonus if they meet set targets. This award was for 2008/09, the year in which Exeter made it into the top-ten of a major league table for the first time.”

“Clearly women have not yetachievedequality in the workplace ” Kate Delvin, University Equality and Diversity Manager

Universities UK, headed by Prof. Smith, last week claimed that the increases in VC salaries were justified. Nicola Dainbridge, Chief Executive of UUK, told The Guardian, “Salaries of university heads in the UK are comparable with those in competitor countries and are also in line with renumeration packages for directors

NEWS investigates the issue of plagarism in Exeter and interviews University Chancellor, Floella Benjamin OBE

Vice Chancellor Prof. Steve Smith’s on-campus residence Redcot House. Photo: Henry White

and chief executives of public and private organisations of a similar size.” She added, “As the role and importance of Higher Education have grown, so have the demands on the offices of vice chancellors.” This statement came during the same week as announcements that government Higher Education funding would be cut at three quarters of universities in the UK, though Exeter is set to receive a 3.7% rise. In addition to the bonus and fixed salary, a further £36,200 was spent on ‘hospitality’ events hosted by the Vice Chancellor in his on-campus residence Redcot House. However, Stuart Franklin explained that this budget was not held by the Vice Chancellor himself. “The ‘hospitality’ budget is actually held by me rather than the VC. It covers the cost of events at Redcot, which we use as a venue for entertaining important guests.“ He added, “The purpose of such events varies.”

Prof. Steve Smith does not currently fall into the bracket of top-earning Vice Chancellors in the UK. The highest-paid in the country currently draws a £474,000 annual salary, while 19 others earn over £300,000. Statistics released under the 2002 Freedom of Information Act have also highlighted the number of University staff currently earning over £100,000 a year. Currently 24 individuals employed at Exeter University draw a salary in excess of £100,000. However, it has also been revealed that only three of these were women. Kate Devlin, University Equality and Diversity Manager, said she was “disappointed” but “not surprised” that there was such a disparity in the relatively low number of women in top-paid jobs at Exeter. She commented, “Since the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970 (40 years ago) we really have not seen a dramatic shift in who are the top earners in the UK. There is probably something here about what opportunities are

available to women and the subtle often-unintended barriers that may still be put in their way.“ Devlin added, “In universities in the UK in 2009 pay gaps were much wider between male and female staff than between the other equality categories of ethnicity and disability.” However, Stuart Franklin explained that the University was committed to increasing the number of women in the top jobs. He said, “We are working to improve the number of women in senior positions and have developed a plan to achieve this.” He added that it was a national problem, and not limited to Exeter. “It’s worth noting that the highest earning academics nationally tend to be in areas like science and engineering, which have traditionally had higher numbers of men than women, and this affects the sector as a whole not just Exeter.” In contrast to Franklin’s comments, Devlin concluded her statement by saying, “Clearly women have not yet achieved equality in the workplace.”

Lifestyle explores mental health disorders, exposes the issue of factory farming and lists 50 things to do in Exeter before graduation

books discusses the publishing industry with Exeter's Impress Books and writers choose their favourite books of all time

march 22 2010 Exeposé

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Making the headlines for 20 years Issue 564 Week 22 2010 Editors Gemma Dye Rebecca Lewis James McMeekin editors@exepose.com News Editors Alex Moss Adam Walmesley news@exepose.com Features Editors Munya Hoto Dini Muana features@exepose.com Lifestyle Editors Thomas Downes Francesca Houslander lifestyle@exepose.com Music Editors Lalita Korzybska Joel Moktar music@exepose.com Books Editors Tristan Barclay Kate Rothera books@exepose.com Screen Editors Daniel Parker Hannah Smith screen@exepose.com Arts and Stage Editors Nicola Ranson Emma Waterson arts@exepose.com Videogames Editors Alex Bennett Dominic Small games@exepose.com Sports Editors Alex Sharp Vicky Wise sport@exepose.com Photography Editors Melinda Greenacre Lyn Haskell photography@exepose.com

Birks bank £30,000 compensation...

Andrew Waller Senior Reporter

THE Hall Committee of Birks Grange and Moberly House has been awarded £30,000 following ongoing pressure from residents. The goodwill gesture follows a year of significant disruption for the students at Birks and Moberly. However, it was the recent power cut at the halls of residence that resulted in an official response from the University. Cowlin Construction Ltd., the contracting company responsible for the power cut, met with representatives of the University. At the meeting, Geoff Pringle, University Director of Campus Services, said the University had “stressed the severity of the incident and how much inconvenience it had caused students.” Following this meeting, the contractors offered £15,000 to the Birks and Moberly committee, which was then matched by the University following ongoing pressure from the students. Pringle added, “Working practices have been changed on the site at Birks Grange to help prevent a recurrence of the incident.”

Building work in the Birks area has caused disruption. Photo by Henry White Damian Jeffries, President of Moberly, who led calls for compensation, said that, whilst a “significant” amount, this was not the level of compensation residents had been hoping for. “It does not fully compensate for the situation with which we are still burdened, but does go some way to alleviating the prevailing sentiment that the University does not care.” Fees for Birks students rose by

“It does not fully compensate, but does go some way. ” Damian

Jeffries,

President

Moberly Hall The extra £30,000 now makes Birks Grange and Moberly House the richest committee in the University. It is currently thought that most will be spent on subsidising a summer ball for the students.

...but students lose the same to library fines

Charlie Marchant Senior Reporter

STUDENT library fines have amounted to over £30,000 so far this year. In 2008/9 students racked up fines of almost £70,000, suggesting there will be a decrease in the amount of fines to be charged in this year. Steve Vinall, University Communications and Marketing Manager, remarked, “We anticipate that fines this year will be lower than normal, due to the large number of fines waived early in 2010 in order to compensate

students for the various system and network problems we encountered, for example due to virus or snow disruption.” However, the attribution of library fines has been any more lenient than in previous academic years. Fines still apply to any item that can be borrowed from the library and the amount of the fine depends on the demand for it. Tom, a third year, has paid over £200 in fines this year. He says that he refuses to return books during exam period because of the invaluable importance of holding the resources during this time. Tom claims, “I

Advertising Joanna Bowery j.c.bowery@ex.ac.uk (01392) 263579 Martin Homer 08451300667 mh@bamuk.com Exeposé, Cornwall House, St German’s Road, Exeter, EX4 6TG (01392) 263513 The opinions expressed in Exeposé are not necessarily those of the Exeposé Editors nor the University of Exeter Students’ Guild. While every care is taken to ensure that the information in this publication is correct and accurate, the Publisher can accept no liability for any consequential loss or damage, however caused, arising as a result of using the information printed. The Publisher cannot accept liability for any loss or damage to artwork or material submitted. The contents of this, unless stated otherwise, are copyright of the Publisher. Reproduction in any form requires the prior consent of the Publisher.

10% this year despite the construction works. Whilst acknowledging the payment as a step forward, some students thought, that at less than £60 per person currently living in the hall, this was too little too late. Residents have long been campaigning for some form of compensation given the level of disturbance caused by construction works. Earlier this year, a petition of 403 signatures was submitted, highlighting their grievances.

Receiving the payment from the University marks a significant milestone for students. Matt Richards, Guild Welfare Officer, who was involved in discussions between the University and residents, welcomed the result and the possibility it would set a precedent. He added, “I would hope students used this example as evidence in the case of similar issues in the future.” Regarding this case, Nasser AlAraimy, former President of Birks, said he was “really stunned at the success of Damian Jeffries.” He stated that last year the committee “was faced with a huge financial challenge.”

Students have paid over £30,000 in library fines so far this year. Photo by Henry White

received one fine of £100, but pleaded that I didn’t understand the Ready Text System. The staff levied the fine.” The University say the system is in place to benefit students. Steve Vinall explained that the money from the fines is “used to contribute towards the cost of repair or replacement of damaged or lost books, funding oneoff enhancements to the collections; for example, purchasing e-books that can be used by lots of students at the same time, and occasionally towards projects aimed at improving the overall level of services offered.” Calvin Davidson, an exchange

student at Exeter University from New Zealand, recognised that, “It’s easy to renew stuff by going into the library or over the internet and I’ve returned DVDs a couple of minutes late without being fined. I think they e-mail as well when a book is almost due back, so it’s not like they are out to get students.” Calvin was recently fined £8 for four DVDs, which he was 20 minutes late in returning. On this, he said, “Of course I’m going to be annoyed about that, but I still acknowledge that it was my fault and could have easily been avoided.” When it is so easy to return and renew, library fines are a fair and effective system for universities across the country to work by. In the absence of a maximum fine, students would be able to accumulate a substantial amount. Steve Vinall said, “The University regulations state that students are not allowed to graduate if they owe the University money. Money owed to the University can be in a number of areas including tuition or accommodation fees, as well as library fines.” However, this is extreme and only happens in rare cases with library fines. One student commented, “It’s never fun getting fined, but [the fines] need to be in place for the library to function properly.”

News

Exeposé week twenty two news@exepose.com

Plagiarism: in Exeter students’ words

Adam Walmesley News Editor

ACADEMIC misconduct is rising among Exeter students, according to official figures obtained by Exeposé. 165 cases of academic misconduct were recorded across the University in 2008/09, and three students were expelled. The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that more students were found guilty of misconduct last year than in the previous two years. According to the Freedom of Information data, collusion cases more than doubled between 2006/07 and 2008/09; plagiarism rose by 42% over the same period; but recorded cases of cheating fell by 4%. Overseas students were the culprits in over 80% of the cases, whilst cases involving home students fell by 70% from 2006/07 to 2008/09. More male students were found guilty than female students during all three years.

“I’ve sold essays online. I can get paid £150 for producing a 2.1 undergraduate essay” Research Postgraduate student A Postgraduate at the University claimed: “I was shocked to discover at a plagiarism workshop that some of the International Students had not only not heard of the term, but said that in their country (China) such behaviour was accepted and in common practice. With the massive increase in students from all over the world, the University clearly has an uphill and extensive task on its hands.” Professor Jonathan Barry, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, responded

to the statistics: “The falling number of home students being caught is hopefully a result of our more effective communication of what plagiarism and cheating are and how to avoid them, as well as the deterrent effect of the penalties we apply; we think the online module has helped with this.” He explained the numbers of international students at Exeter has quadrupled since 2006-07. He said, “This will largely explain the growth in cases involving international students. We work hard to make sure that international students understand what is and is not allowed in the UK in terms of academic practice.” Penalties ranged from warnings for very minor cases of incorrect referencing to expulsion for the most severe cases of malpractice. Other penalties involved marks of zero for the assignment. Some serious loses saw students awarded zero for the module, meaning they were unable to graduate with the originally intended award. For example, an honours degree student would get an ordinary degree. Prof. Barry & Neil Abel, Head of the Taught Faculty at the University, emphasised the institution’s tough stance on cheating. He said, “The University is taking an increasingly tough line on any academic misconduct. Increasing efforts are being made to detect plagiarism and exam misconduct. Students who are caught face penalties which can affect their degree classification or even the type of degree they can receive.” However, a Research Postgraduate, suggested the policy was not being adhered to everywhere. She said, “I mark undergraduate coursework and I feel certain module convenors do not take plagiarism seriously enough when I have detected it in my marking. Some take it very seriously, but

One research postgraduate student admitted selling essays online. He revealed, “I’ve sold essays online. I can get paid £150 cash for producing a 2.1standard, 1500-word undergrad essay that will take me an hour without really thinking about it, and even more for higher class essays. Although I know any essay I write won’t contain plagiarised work, if you’re stupid enough to pay £200 for an essay that you should be able to do in a couple of days then you deserve to get caught.” Some students were critical of the current plagiarism system, “I know of classmates who have copied entire essay material from wikipedia and/or textbooks and received a First; whilst other students put a lot of time and effort into their work and only receive a 2:1. How can this be fair?!” Most respondents were happy that their department was effective in combating plagiarism, with two thirds of respondents saying their department was “Very Good” or “Good” at preventing plagiarism. Perceptions of the extent of plagiarism at the University were mostly that isolated cases took place. Almost 60% felt the University was doing enough to combat plagiarism.

Academic misconduct cases at Exeter rose to 165 in 2008/09. Photo by Henry White. plagiarism should be taken seriously by everyone.” In a separate survey of 864 Exeter students, a small proportion of respondents said they were guilty of academic misconduct. Meanwhile students were generally aware of, and happy with, the university plagiarism policy. Under 4% of respondents claimed to have plagiarised a piece

Over 17% of survey respondents said they had been tempted to cheat in essays or exams. Photo by Henry White.

of coursework, the majority of which were male. 3% admitted cheating in an exam, the majority of which were female. Only three respondents admitted purchasing an online essay. Over 17% said they had been tempted to cheat in an exam or coursework. One female undergraduate said, “I’ve never felt the need to cheat or plagiarise. I take pride in my own work and receiving a fair mark for what I have done. I don’t know if others do it or not, but if they do, it’s their choice, and it doesn’t really bother me.” Another female student admitted misconduct. She explained, “the essay topic was too difficult, I didn’t have enough insight to analyse the text I was supposed to do, so I based my essay on some lengthy books, only changing the words, but ideas were taken from somebody else’s work.” 7% of survey recipients said they had been wrongly suspected of cheating. One male undergraduate claimed, “I was penalised when another student plagiarised my work. Little investigation was done and decisions were made by members of my school who had never had any interaction with me.”

“The University is taking an increasingly tough line on any academic misconduct” Neil Abel, Head of Uni Faculty One mature student commented, “As a very mature student I can only say that at my school (1940s) cheating would have been very severely dealt with, and apart from obtaining a piece of paper, what is the point, you have only learned [if successful] that you can ‘get-away’ with it, not what you were supposed to learn and understand.” Taffy Morris, Guild Education Officer, said: “The University has done lots of work to educate students about plagiarism issues. Obviously, further efforts are needed to ensure a clear message is communicated to all student groups. Professor Barry added, “It is in the best interests of all students that we address this matter firmly. Not only does cheating by a minority of students disadvantage the great majority who behave properly, but it is also damaging to the educational experience of those who cheat.” The Exeposé survey entitled, “Plagiarism: in the words of Exeter students” was run from Thursday March 11-18. 864 students took part.

News

march 22 2010

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Students back in Business after reimbursements

Rachel Bayne Reporter

STUDENTS taking second year modules in the Business School will be reimbursed the extra money they had to pay for a compulsory modular assessment. This comes after complaints from students and the Guild over fees charged which contravened University policy. The refund will be either of £21 cash or £23 in Amazon vouchers for students taking the modules Intermediate Microeconomics 1 and Financial Accounting. Emails were sent out on February 24 regarding these reimbursements; however students are yet to receive their money causing concerns within the Business School. A 2nd year Business Student working on the campaign commented that students are “happy with the result, but are frustrated that they still haven’t been paid back. “We hope that the Business School will make sure that extra fees aren’t charged for assessment and that students aren’t forced to pay on top of their fees in order to access grades.”

common sense has prevailed”. Dr David Boughey, Director of Education, University of Exeter Business School, recognised the complaint made by students and commented that, “It was agreed that we were not permitted to impose an additional cost for completing summative assessment, and we then turned to looking at ways to reimburse students.

“They were in breach of regulations and common sense has prevailed ” Taffy Morris, Guild Education Officer

The Business School has agreed to repay the money students spent on taking two mandatory assessments

Campaigners hope that this sets a precedent to departments and will show that SSLCs are prepared to react against any action which

contradicts University guidelines. Llywelyn Morris, Guild Education Officer, is delighted with the results. “I am glad that

Photo by Henry White

the Business School co-operated and came to the correct decision of backing down. They were in breach of the University regulations and

“Overall the Business School is committed to finding a solution that gives students access to excellent online learning resources, and ensures no payment is ever required where such online resources are used for summative assessment. “Hence the Business School is committed to enhancing the learning experience of all its students, and will make appropriate investments to this end.”

Dozens take Virgin issues to High Street 16 @ GM

Adam Walmesley News Editor

VOCAL students staged a street protest over their broadband service. Around 60 Exeter students participated in a peaceful demonstration outside the Virgin Media store in response to months of poor service. Placards, banners, chants and costumes accompanied the protest from 12-2pm on Wednesday March 10. The Virgin store ‘sit-in’ was the latest move following continued dissatisfaction over the company’s poor internet speed, efficiency and the customer service in several areas of the city, including Mount Pleasant and St. James. Chris Fullbrook, an Exeter student who organised the protest felt it was successful. He told Exeposé, “The protest has gone well - more than 60 students have turned out. We’ve had a lot of public support, especially from sympathetic shoppers. It was about raising awareness of the problem, and about telling people about the lies

they told us about their service.” English students Emily, Hannah and Katherine said the protest was about raising awareness of the problems. The second-years commented, “Their advertising is hypocritical. We lose internet twice a night for a least an hour. It’s difficult when you’re trying to write essays, it’s been ongoing for months.” Biology finalists, Johndan Arthur Chilcott and Rob Carslaw, have experienced problems since September. They said, “Even now, accessing pdf files and streaming

media is very difficult. It’s poor customer service. They fob you off with rubbish excuses.” Lewis Carson, another finalist, warned students to “be wary” of the company’s service before signing up. Josh Griffiths, 3rd year Biosciences said, “A nice day for the protest. Shame we couldn’t go into the store. I would have liked to have organised a swamp into the store and get arrested.” Over 1,000 students and some locals have joined the Facebook group ‘Because Samuel L Jackson

Lied…’ in response to the Virgin Media service. Virgin Media had blamed high internet usage for the problems, but had promised to resolve the issues by the end of February. Significant numbers of customers, however, maintained their internet problems were not resolved by March.

“I would have liked to have swamped the store and got arrested” Josh Griffiths, Virgin customer and Exeter student

Students protested against Virgin’s internet service. Photo by Adam Walmesley

A Virgin Media spokesman said, “Our engineers have diagnosed the cause and are working to resolve the issue at the highest priority.” Griffiths added, “We paid £24 for four months of no internet, and for them to add bits of placebo tech. The situation now is still largely negative. We’ve had no refund. “The customer service is shocking. It’s a model of how not to run a business.”

Adam Walmesley News Editor

LESS than twenty students present at last week’s Students’ Guild General Meeting (GM) debated and voted on three Guild Policy motions. The St. Luke’s meeting, open to all students, saw the passing of a Mental Health Policy and a redrafted Anti-Semitism Policy. The most contested motion proposed by two students to give societies a chance to represent themselves as a “lobbying group” to the Guild was defeated after a 45 minute debate. Guild FATO, Gemma Richens, presented the new Guild Advertising and Publicity Policy, after a successful motion to change the previous one was passed at the last GM. The new policy allows society sponsorship by any group, excluding those on the Guild Ethical Platform list. Advertised by all-student emails, posters and on Facebook, the meeting was attended by 16 students, all five Guild Sabbatical Officers, Guild staff members and two University chaplains.

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Northcott gets a spring back in its step

Eleanor Busby Senior Reporter

THE Arts Council has invested £100,000 in Exeter’s Northcott Theatre to safeguard its immediate future following the announcement last month that the venue had gone into administration. The funding provided by the Arts Council has enabled the theatre to remain open for the spring season. The majority of performances in the spring programme will continue to run. The investment has saved the Northcott from immediate closure. Chris Humphrey, South West Executive Director of Arts Council, said, “We considered our funding very carefully in the light of the theatre’s current financial problems and have concluded that further investment now will help to secure the future of the Northcott.” He added, “We will continue to work closely with the other stakeholders to determine the best way forward for the theatre and we look forward to seeing their plans for the new company and vision.”

Kate Tyrrell, Chief Executive of Northcott, said, “The staff at Exeter Northcott are pleased that Exeter City Council, Exeter University and the Arts Council have pledged their commitment to the ongoing future of the theatre.”

“We look forward to continuing to work with the venue ” Gemma Richens, Guild FATO However, the long-term future of the theatre remains uncertain. The University, who owns the building, and Exeter City Council have been in regular discussion with each other to develop a longer term plan for the Northcott. This is likely to involve the set-up of a new company and board to run the Theatre. Jeremy Lindley, University Director of Corporate Services, said, “We are delighted the theatre’s spring season will now largely go ahead unaltered. The University is extremely keen to keep the Theatre as a community resource and would wish to provide financial support to a new

and viable artistic venture.” This investment came as positive news for supporters of the Theatre and the University societies which regularly use the Northcott for productions. Exeter University’s Footlights society was relieved by the announcement, as the society relies on the theatre for their large scale annual winter production. Kaitlin Nixson, Exeter Footlights President, said, “We now have greater hope that we will not need to find an alternative venue in January 2011.” She stated, “The Northcott production is the main source of income for Footlights and the worry is that a less accessible and popular venue would have financial implications.” Mike Gormley, Exeter Gilbert and Sullivan President, agrees that “this is great news,” but declared that “it is only half the battle” and, “students need to support the theatre by buying tickets.” Gemma Richens, Guild FATO, said, “The Students’ Guild is thrilled at the recent news on the Northcott and this is great for both students and the local community.

The investment will allow the Spring schedule to continue. Photo by Henry White. “We look forward to continuing to work with the venue in the future and hope to continue our varied schedule of student performances.” The funding is very beneficial

to the immediate future of the Theatre, but meetings and campaigning will continue to take place as the Theatre is not yet safe from ultimate closure.

University set to gain amidst funding cuts

the University’s income. Account figures obtained under the 2002 Freedom of Information Act show that the University currently has over £17m in investments. A further £275m has been put aside for development projects across the University’s campuses.

Alex Moss News Editor

THE University will receive a 3.7% increase in its government funding allocation for the next year in spite of a general decrease across three quarters of other Higher Education institutions in the UK. The £573m drop in funding is the first decrease in Higher Education allocations since Labour has been in power, representing between 1.1% and 3.2% in real-cash terms when adjusted for inflation. However, high-quality researchbased institutions such as Exeter have not been affected by the cuts. The increase in Exeter’s allocation reflects the growth of its research and an increase in the quality of research being produced. David Allen, University Registrar and Deputy Chief Executive, said, “This is very good news for the University and for the South West as a whole. This increase in our funding will help us to continue developing, despite problems in the economy as a whole.” He did add, however, that “the

“This is very good news for the University and for the South West ” David Allen, University Registrar

Exeter has been largely unaffected by cuts to government funding cuts to universities. Photo by Alex Moss government has signaled its intention to cut Higher Education funding in the years ahead, so we are expecting more challenging times to come.” The University currently receives less than a third of its annual turnover from government funding. At the end of the 2008/09 academic year, there

was over £390m in the institution’s reserves. University figures show that the institution could currently continue running for 50 days if all sources of funding were unexpectedly cut off. There is currently £36.3m ‘cash in hand’

for the day-to-day running of the University. Since 2002 the University’s turnover has increased by 250% from £96m to £241m, with an increase over the same period of 5,000 students. Tuition fees currently represent around 30% of

Staff costs currently amount to 56.1% of the University’s expenditure. A further 100 academic staff are expected to be hired for the 2010/11 academic year. The main institutions set to lose out from the cuts in government allowences are those with weak research records. The hardest hit has been London Business School, which faces a real term drop of nearly 12%, while Bristol, Leeds and Manchester are set to face cuts of between 1.3% and 3.2%.

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march 22 2010

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Amnesty Society ‘clean up Shell’s act’

Lizzie Mackley Senior Reporter

STUDENTS dressed in white hazard suits staged a demonstration imploring Shell to “Clean Up Their Act” following accusations that their oil extraction practices infringe Human Rights. On Wednesday March 3, members of Exeter University Amnesty International Society, armed with mops and buckets, ‘cleaned’ the Shell garage on Topsham Road. Over 29 campaigners stepped out to raise awareness of the environmental and economic damage major oil companies have caused to the Niger Delta by oil spills and gas flaring. Mark Johnston, President of the University Amnesty International Society, said, “To dress up in an Environmental Hazard suit and then talk to strangers about events which are taking place on a different continent is no easy task.” He added, however, “every

Amnesty member involved in the campaign was so enthusiastic and well informed on the issues that they made this look easy.” “The aim of our campaign is not to destroy Shell; it is to get Shell to improve their operating practices in areas of the world, such as the Niger Delta, where their work has undermined the human rights of indigenous communities.”

SIX engineering students will cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats this Easter to raise funds for a sanitation project in a school in Uganda. The students are all members of the society Engineers Without Borders, which is working with a local charity project, New Build Uganda, to improve facilities for school children in Uganda. To promote the project ahead of their trip, the students organised two Cycle in the Foyer events last week. On Monday and Friday, in the Harrison building and outside of Devonshire House respectively, they cycled on stationary bikes from 9am to 5pm in relay style. A sweepstake to guess the distance that they could cycle was held

The second of Amnesty’s demonstrations involved collecting nearly 300 petition signatures outside Devonshire House on March 11 to send to the Chief Executive of

Shell, Peter Voser. Amnesty International intends to continue the campaign over the next six years to achieve the positive changes needed.

“Every member involved was so enthusiastic and well informed ” Mark Johnston, Amnesty President Gas flaring, which involves burning the residue from oil extraction, has been illegal since 1984 but is allegedly practised in the Niger Delta due to a lack of local law enforcement. Damage caused includes water pollution, which not only poses health risks, but also kills the fish which are a major source of the

Cross-country cycle

Hannah Sweet Reporter

local economy. Despite ensuring the campaign did not break any laws, the amount of attention attracted warranted a visit from local police.

to raise money for the project. James Please, a member of the group, said that the events “provided a fun opportunity for us to raise the profile of the project and train towards what promises to be a huge challenge.” The trip will begin on April 12, and the 874 miles are intended to be completed within two weeks. Please said, “this trip promises to be an adventure and a challenge for all those involved, but hopefully through our efforts and achievements we can help to transform the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves.” Four of those involved in the cycle will be visiting Uganda in the summer to work on the project. If anyone wishes to donate directly to the project they can visit www.justgiving.com/EWBuganda2010.

Students ‘cycled in the foyer’ to raise money for the trip. Photo by Adam Walmesley.

Amnesty members donned hazard suits to ‘clean up Shell’s act. Photo by Amnesty Society.

Teaching Awards success Camilla Kenney Senior Reporter

OVER 1,000 students have nominated and voted for their favourite members of University staff in the first ever Teaching Awards. From the beginning of this month until March 12, students were able to nominate members of staff for The Teaching Awards for the first time. The Awards aim to celebrate and promote excellent teaching within the University. There were five categories: Tutor of the Year, Innovative Teacher of the Year, Feedbacker of the Year, Lecturer of the Year and Support Staff Member of the Year. Llywelyn ‘Taffy’ Morris, Guild Education Officer, described the awards as “an opportunity for students to thank the staff who have gone that extra mile and greatly furthered their academic experience.” Last week, the Student-Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs) decided who the best candidate in each of the five categories within each subject area was. Two additional categories include ‘Subject with the Best Student Employability’ and the ‘Best

Subject’ for which the SSLCs may put forward their departments stating in up to 250 words why their subject should be considered. However, this information will remain confidential due to its sensitivity. Students were asked to write up to 200 words explaining why their nominated member of staff deserved the award. These included remarks such as “without [him] I may not still be an Exeter student three years later,” and “he goes above and beyond what most personal tutors do.”

“I’m surprised, flattered and delighted. It’s an honour to be nominated ” Prof. Richard Everson Another wrote “[he] invests much of his time in ensuring that his students always succeed.” Other remarks included “[he] takes a keen interest in the extracurricular activities that his students take part in and, where possible, will attend” and “goes out of his way to support the work we are doing.” One nominee, Prof. Richard Everson, Associate Professor of

Computing, said, “I’m surprised, flattered and delighted. It’s a honour to be nominated for the Guild awards, so I very much appreciate someone nominating me.” Everson added that he’d “encourage students to nominate and vote for other staff because I know there is lots of excellent work going on, much of it unrecognised.” Overall, 1,843 nominations were made by 1,166 students. Morris said this was “an outstanding success” and that “it is really refreshing to hear students appreciating the lecturers.” He added, “We plan to send an email to all the staff nominated a selection of quotes that students have written as it would seem intolerable to hold back on letting staff know how fantastic they are.” This week, a panel drawn up from University staff with expertise for each of the awards will choose the one overall winner in each category. The panel will include staff members who have already won an award at the subject level. On May 5, the winners will be announced in a “glitzy” awards ceremony, which is to be held in Devonshire House.

News

Exeposé week twenty two news@exepose.com

“I intend to be around for a few years yet”

Adam Walmesley & Alex Moss News Editors

FLOELLA Benjamin OBE, celebrated children’s television presenter, British film star, and Chancellor of the University of Exeter has been in the public eye for four decades. After receiving an honorary degree in Literature from the University in 2002, she took on the mantle of Chancellor. In between her charitable work and releasing her own Caribbean food line, Floella had time to answer a few questions for Exeposé. She explained her role at the University, saying, “I give around 20 days a year to the University which allows me to participate in a wide variety of activities.” In spite of only spending such a limited time on campus, Floella said, “I love my visits to the University, there’s always such a buzz of excitement in the air and looking around campus is almost like being at the United Nations, there is so much diversity.” One of her main duties as Chancellor is hosting the annual graduation ceremonies. Every year she shakes around 4,500 hands, though this isn’t without a few surprises. “The funniest thing I’ve had said to me was after telling a graduate to go out and ‘change the world’ she replied, ‘I can’t, Chancellor, I am in finance’.” With the main campus undergoing

radical redevelopment amidst the £275m works on the University, Floella has assumed her position in a time of great change for Exeter. “If you look back at the history of Exeter you’ll realise that it is forever evolving and developing. So the Forum Project is a perfect example of that forward momentum. I think it’s visionary and will really underline Exeter’s role as a leading university.” However, in spite of this forward thinking optimism, Floella echoed the concerns of students, and recognised the impact and disruption of the building work on the everyday lives of those at the University. “Obviously we have to get through the building phase first, which will last until the end of 2011. The inconvenience of construction work always causes disruption but at this present time it’s necessary to help the University to grow.” She conceded, “I think you have to take a long term view and remember you’ll have an Exeter degree for the rest of your life, so how the place is doing in 10 years’ time is just as important as how it’s doing now.” In spite of the concerns about the future, Floella recognised how far the University has come even in the short time she has been a part of its development. “When I first became Chancellor the University was way outside The Sunday Times Top Ten Universities

Dr. Benjamin has been Chancellor since 2006. Photo by University Press Office League Table but had great ambitions to gain one of those top places, today Exeter is reaching that status which is wonderful.” However, it’s not only the University itself that has changed, but also the students and the very nature of Exeter’s composition. “The most noticeable changes for

me have been in the mix of students, with far more international students now coming to Exeter. I think the international students add a lot to the Exeter experience and make it a more vibrant and interesting place to study and work.” With all these changes and developments for Exeter at a time of

nationwide financial uncertainty for Higher Education following further government cuts, Floella stressed the importance of universities for the future. “Other countries seem to realise the importance of this investment in a way that we don’t. Your education really will be the key to a prosperous and happy future, even more so than now.” Floella has found her work rewarding, especially with children. “The thing I find most inspiring and rewarding is working with and for children. I have been doing so for the last 34 years and have loved every moment. “I work tirelessly to make businesses, government and organisations realise their policies and what they say or do have a direct effect on children, be it good or bad.” Floella has found her position as Chancellor to be very rewarding, and expects to hold it for some time. “I intend to be around for a few years yet and look forward to seeing this wonderful university continue to flourish.” Explaining the secret behind her joyful expression and characteristic smile, Benjamin concluded by saying, “This all makes me feel very lucky and joyful to be given the opportunity to change lives and being part of the University of Exeter adds to that feeling. That’s why I am always smiling.”

Great Hall closes for Forum building work

Chris Hardy Senior Reporter

THE Great Hall and Lower Exam Hall are set to close following the arrival of the main contractors on site. As enabling works are drawing to a finish, construction work on the Forum Project will soon be underway. Jo Cole, Communications Officer for the University, said, “The processes leading to the construction of any scheme of this size are inevitably complex. For that reason we built in both a financial and timescale contingency and the project is currently on track to meet its targets.” Construction work will take place immediately outside the Great Hall, making it unavailable for usual events due to potential blockages to fire exits. Campus services, such as Blackwell Bookshop- ‘the Knowledge Retailer’ which employs students, have moved to the Queen’s car park instead of being forced to close. Cole added, “The University would

always rather the Great Hall remain open but health and safety is our first priority. In the meantime we hope some small student groups might still be able to use it but this will of course be dependent upon health and safety advice. We hope the Great Hall could re-open by spring or summer early next year.”

“Costs of alternative spaces have been investigated, and will hopefully be picked up by the University” Gemma Richens, Guild FATO This has affected a number of stalwart features of the University calendar, including the Graduation ceremonies set to take place in July this year. The closure of the Great Hall means that some of the societies making use of the space for rehearsal purposes have

had to find alternative arrangements. Gemma Richens, Guild FATO, explained the provisions made by the University and Guild for such societies. “Unfortunately the closure of the Great Hall means a loss of space for some societies’ activity. Therefore, over the summer the Guild looked into alternative locations, both on and off campus, so that all student activity can continue throughout the Forum build.” “Costs have been investigated and will hopefully be picked up by the University if we are unable to find an alternative on campus.” One of the societies affected by the Forum build is the Symphony Orchestra. EUSO President, Jenny Rogers commented, “For this term’s concert we are performing in town in the Exeter Corn Exchange (Wednesday March 24, 7.30pm). “ I urge everyone to make the effort to see the concert, as this is a prestige venue, and the orchestra have worked extremely hard this term, despite having to deal with substandard

rehearsal conditions.”

The Great Hall is officially closed for building work. Photo by Henry White.

Opinion Facebook and Apathy

Alex Moss, News Editor, discusses how pushing a button does not make you politically active. Over the last few weeks, Exeposé has featured a number of groups started on Facebook ‘campaigning’ on certain issues, from Graduation to the service provided by Virgin Media. A fine tribute to student activism, awareness, and political consciousness, the Facebook group truly represents an effective, meaningful and ultimately effective means by which to get something done. I think my sarcasm key is broken, so perhaps it’s easier to just say here and now: it really, really, REALLY, isn’t. I’m not sure about how active Senior Staff are on social networking, and perhaps it would be worth finding out before I judge, but nonetheless, I can’t help but feel in the unlikely event they are all avid followers of each others’ news feeds (perhaps ‘Steve Smith is gutted at government funding cuts lolololol’), most would click ‘no’ when invited to join a group criticising some aspect of the University. Perhaps my favourite feature of Facebook ‘campaigns’ is the regular updates on membership. Announcements go out to members congratulating them on signing up another arbitrary number of people. ‘Send to all friends’ is a daunting task; even moreso is linking in your status. If there’s one fair assumption, it’s that the more people who have clicked ‘Join’ on a Facebook group, the more successful the cause is. It’s a real achievement to be part of something like that.

Laudable though it is that students are showing some semblance of a vague awareness of the world around them, perhaps other avenues need to be explored rather than taking on the world from the safety of your laptop. Rather than pay lip service to an issue by providing a link in your ‘groups’ section, why not talk to people in the real world? The only thing more tiring than the barrage of leaflets thrust upon us all in elections week are the people complaining about the barrage of leaflets thrust upon us all in elections week, but at least they make people stop and think about what they have just been handed. Last week a sit-in took place in the town centre, and while its impact on the Branson industry machine remains to be seen (rumours are it is starting to crumble from the top after that), at least people voiced their opinions over an issue face-toface. Having been news editor of this paper for a year now, I’ve had my fair share of criticism for the publication of certain articles. Ranging from attacks on my professionalism to those on my personal character, I’ve put more and more consideration into the impact of my articles as I’ve got used to the job. With this piece, however, I had no such qualms, concerns or worries. After all, I asked myself, what’s the worst that could happen? A Facebook group? Save yourself some time and carry on playing Farmville.

Corrections:

march 22 2010

Exeposé

www.exepose.com

Gemma Dye, Rebecca Lewis and James McMeekin

editors@exepose.com

News, reviews, debate...

Gemma Dye, Rebecca Lewis and James McMeekin, Editors, reminisce about the highlights of their Exeposé tenure.

THIS year has seen some significant changes to Exeter Univeristy, some good, some bad. The implementation of the new term dates has dramatically changed the structure of student experience, the beginning of developments of the Forum Project has transformed the landscape of campus, whilst this year has also seen Exeter’s rise into the prestigious top ten status. As editors of Exeposé and Exeter students we have been lucky enough to experience these changes first hand and to keep students informed of their development.

Dear Exeposé,

We’ve printed some controversial and exciting articles this year, ranging from the branding story, which was later taken up by national press, and Emma Thompson’s much publicised visit to Exeter. We hope our investigations into student initiations and plagiarism have also sparked valuable debate amongst the student body. In addition we’re particularly proud of some of the high profile interviews we’ve conducted this year, including Benjamin Zephaniah, Ed Miliband, Philip Pullman, Frank Gardner and the Coen Brothers, amongst many others.

Being a part of Exeposé has been a fantastic and rewarding experience, even if a dingy office with no windows has become our second home. We’ve stayed until two in the morning, and had regular stressful press days, working full-time weeks without any pay. However, ultimately it’s been a privilege and honour to work with so many talented and dedicated volunteers and help to voice the opinion of the Exeter student body. We wish the new team the best of luck as they take over this Easter and look forward to reading Exeposé in the future.

Exeter Students Not Top Ten

Having been an avid reader for much of my university; having, on occasion read the pages of Exeposé once, twice, even thrice a week – so much enjoyment did I glean from ink-stained pages - I regret to inform you of my recent disappointment with Exeposé and its content. While the verbal sparring between Business School proponents and opponents have been thrilling, and the, ‘Should We? Should We Not? Graduate from the Northcott’ letters have sparked some excellent debates; it has astounded me that the general student body is guilty of a colossal oversight on an issue that affects the everyday activities of our lives. On my regular visits to the Library, I was shocked to hear distressing noises omitting from the cavities of my fellow students’ noses. Great horn noises echoed

through the vast stacks of books as dozens of students blew phlegm blocked nostrils into soggy tissues. This sound is all too familiar in the lecture theatres of Queens and Peter Chalk et al. Now, unless there is another outbreak of Swine Flu I have missed (in which case shame on you Exeposé for not reporting it as my sole outlet for news!), I am at a complete loss for such terror on campus. Or rather, I was at a loss until I went to Arena. The monstrosities I witnessed at Arena were enough to vanquish the Jabberwocky! Swollen noses, deflated hair and no more than four layers of makeup adorned the girls, a far cry from the beginning of the term where luminescent faces would glow orange through the humid air of Arena. The men were in a sore state too; thin, their highlights growing out and only enough stamina to bolt two bottles of vodka, rather than four.

It is a travesty for a supposedly top-rate university that our students are disturbed by such laziness. And the cause? Extended term dates of course! This time last year students strutted Amazonian-like around campus, like gazelles around a watering hole, like the cast of Gossip Girl, except in Devon. And now, ridden with disease and ugliness, Exeter students are more concerned with the pressure of surviving such a strenuous term, rather than attending to their general appearance and wellbeing. The message is clear – lest you wish mine eyes and ears to offend itself on a regular basis, wishing with fervour that they could unsee and un-hear the monstrosities abound, sort out the term dates. Yours faithfully, Anon.

Thanks to all those who proofed this issue: Matthew Allen, Andrew Waller, Calum Baker, Jennifer Seymour, Rachel Bayne, David Brake, Laura Le Brocq, Ellie Bothwell, Alice Scoble-Rees,

Exeposé would like to apologise to Elizabeth Jane Pennington. In issue 563 we printed a photograph to accompany “Inspirational Voices for Inspirational Women” on page 26. The photograph printed was Elizabeth Jane Pennington and her solo performance “Blood Mother” as part of the evening for Inspirational Women’s Voices on the March 7 2010.

Leanne Bingle, Ellie Busby, Ben Murphie, Ellie Steafel, Hannah Price, Henry White, Georgie Klein, Melissa Kennedy, Andy Williams, Alex Cook,

Exeposé would like to apologise to Mike Gormley, President of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, for incorrectly printing his name as Mark Gormley in issue 563.

The current editorial team, Orlando Murrish, Joy Taylor, Gareth Oughton, Jo Bowery, Ed Phillips, Stuart Smith, Meri Wills, Gary McLachlan and

Rosie Scudder, Clare Mullins, Charlie Marchant and members of the Exeposé editorial team.

Exeposé would like to thank (in no particular order): the elections team, Diesel and Sarah-Jane Bloor, Rich Stearn, Marte Billington, Gemma Richens, Llywelyn ‘Taffy’ Morris, Matt Richards, Tom Murray, Stuart Franklin, Steve Vinall, Ben Bradshaw, Greg Bradley, Harmsworth printers, Exeter City FC, Ritazza, Dominos, Matt William-Ellis, David Rufus, XTV, Xpression fm, XMO, Emily Jones and Dave Cooper, all our writers, contributors, proofers and all our readers.

Exeposé week twenty two letters@exepose.com

E-mail your views to letters@exepose.com Opinions and perspectives expressed on this page are those of the authors of the letters printed and not necessarily those of Exeposé or the editors. All letters are printed as received, in full, unedited, and uncorrected by Exeposé

In response to: “Cathedral Campaign is exclusive” Dear Exepose,

Oh dear. It looks as though someone has attempted to use an exclusivist argument against exclusivity. I do hope that Gábor Gergely was only attempting to speak for himself when insinuating that no right-minded Muslim, Jew, atheist or other not belonging to the Anglican sect would consider holding a graduation ceremony in Exeter Cathedral. I am an atheist. The pendulum of my personal feelings towards any and all dogmatic religions usually swings somewhere between “Meh” and “Philosophical Disdain”. However, as I doubt very much that the bishop is going to attempt to bless the graduation Dear Exepose,

It is fair to say that Exeter University is a secular place which does not consciously aim to discriminate against any race, faith or gender – a minimum requirement of any international institution, not least a place of education and discovery. In addition to this, but not entirely, you might say that the majority of its students also share the same view, by and large, as members of this place of growth and development. It is with this in mind that I want to respond to Gábor Gergley’s letter: “Cathedral Campaign is Exclusive” in the last issue. There was a very valid point raised – what about those who, for religious reasons, would take offence of some sort at having their graduation at the cathedral? They should not be forced to enter the place, let alone receive their certifications there. But, and I think this is very important, saying this campaign is exclusory really misses the point of what it is the graduation is celebrating. When truly seeing why you are at university you will come to the conclusion, among many others, that you are there to improve yourself, to further yourself – to make yourself a more perfect human (though true perfection can never be achieved). This process of constant becoming over the three years in academia is the process of culture: the pursuit of perfection through the higher things in life (whether we devote all our time to these or not). Culture, the “cultivation” of the mind, you might say, is the culmination

ceremony, or that graduates and their guests will have to undertake some kind of sacred rite before we are allowed to enter, I was happy to support the campaign. No, I didn’t think that the cathedral was “the ideal venue” - like virtually everyone else, I thought that the ideal venue was the Great Hall, minus the encroaching building work and the fact that half the campus has turned into a building site. With our actual “ideal venue” taken out of the picture the cathedral seemed as good a place as any, and I’d agree the same if it were a mosque, synagogue, town hall or other venue that had the capacity to stage a graduation there. The fact that I disagree with a religious organisation,

its principles, and the attitudes it espouses does not mean I have to have some sort of secular allergic reaction to anything pertaining to it. It’s not like I’m going to catch Christianity by spending time in the Cathedral. I’ve been in there a few times and quite successfully not caught it. I don’t try to speak for everyone: being one person in one demographic, I can’t. Sensibilities probably were offended by the suggestion of the campaign. However, I’m willing to bet that plenty more were offended by the fact that we will be graduating in the industrial tip our campus has become.

of your career at Exeter. Culture, as a process of perfection, is the same all over – but the societies and “cultures” in which it finds expression are, as you’d agree, truly different. Indeed, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and Buddhist cultures, as well as many others, strive for perfection of the mind – in no serious world religion will you find ignorance as a value. These religions have places in which to focus their devotion to perfection: mosques, synagogues, pagodas, and inevitably, cathedrals. You can see where I am heading: a university career is very much akin to a religious career. The connection lies in culture – a pursuit of perfection. And so, whether realising it or not, it appears that the campaign for the cathedral tapped into our secular, university led pursuit of perfection. Indeed, the cathedral seems the most fitting venue to complete and appreciate a university career apart from the university itself because both institutions seek perfection, not least in the human mind. And this is trans-religious. Do not for a moment think that the cathedral was suggested as part of a religious hidden agenda by some opportunist Christians. The graduation ceremony is a secular celebration of our journey to self-refinement, refinement that all religions seek to embrace, and a refinement in which all their buildings seek to accommodate. And so, were we in India – let it be in the Temple; were we in Saudi Arabia – let it be in the

Mosque; we are in Exeter – let it be in the Cathedral! We cannot forget the sense of occasion that a venue like the cathedral arouses, and I’m sure this was more in the mind of the pro-cathedral campaign’s think-tank than any religious sub-stream. It is one of the great beauties of English, Devonish and, agreeably, Christian culture – and so it would be fitting to celebrate our pursuing of culture there. I finish with one last approach at the claim that the cathedral is an exclusory venue. I ask: to whom does the cathedral not willingly open its doors? Where else will you find a place so in tune with the history of English religiocultural development in our cultural articulation (i.e. in Exeter)? Which place calls for tourists of all races and religions to learn more about this land and its history of ideas – calling tourists from all over to pursue perfection? Where else says “Exeter” like the cathedral? It shares so many values with so many faiths and non-faiths, not least in the pursuit of culture, that hosting the graduation there would be of benefit to all who attend; like any great building which celebrates human life! This all leads me to believe that anybody who challenges a graduation at the cathedral on “exclusory” grounds really has not thought about their position hard enough.

Yours faithfully, Kay Hamilton

Anonymous

Forum project speed bumps frustrating

Dear Exepose,

I understand that the forum project has meant that some changes campus road networks are necessary, however I think the situation has very quickly become ridiculous and planning does not appear to have involved any common sense. Firstly, the ‘green campus’ that Exeter has always prided itself must have increased its vehicle emissions by at least three times due to the length you now have to drive just to get out and if there is a blockage caused by a lorry delivering to Northcott Theatre, you have to drive all the way round campus to get out and then come back up the road past Queens building, just to get to the sports centre! Also, speedbumps appear to be being placed wherever the builders’ close their eyes and point, they are everywhere. I don’t remember any car accidents happening on campus in the past, or anyone being run over, so why all of a sudden do we need so many speedbumps, especially on Stocker road, on which you can now only go

uphill anyway! These speedbumps are excessive and are incredibly steep. I imagine a lot of students who do own cars probably can’t afford to replace their suspension every year and as a lot of student cars are old cars, they are more likely to be affected by very steep bumps I have made several complaints, the first being last term and it seems something is finally being done about it. I have been told that one of the speedbumps in Rennes drive is to be removed so with more nagging and complaints hopefully we can get the rest removed. The number of times I have seen lorries and vans crashing over them, this cannot be good for deliveries to the uni! Am I the only person who feels this way? I know of at least a couple of others who now deliberately drive past Stocker round and come into campus up past Queens building, just to avoid speedbumps again Exeter a lovely green campus? I think not any more. James 4th Year Student

In response to: In response to the Angry Mob

Reading recent articles I’ve notice a set of a controversial set of opinions. That’s right the entire ‘Dan Diamond’ issue. What initial was an amusing article on the Business school quickly turned my thoughts into a sense of disappointment towards Exeposé. Firstly I would like to express my disappointment in Daniel Diamond to what can only be described as an attack on the BSOE. The way he presented his argument initially was clearly set out to offend others. I was also disappointed with the critical analysis on Steph De Souza’s use of Language. Such comments are unnecessary.

As a regular reader of expose I feel that we are losing sight of what these opinion pages should be. They should be a place where students can express their issues, not be a place to attack other student’s studies or languages skills. There are greater student issues to discuss than merely who’s degree is ‘better’. My Final thoughts go out to Exeposé and hope in future that they have better judgement when selecting which opinions should and should not be published. Gareth Morris First Year Student

Sir,

and subsequently I apologise for my actions. Justifying my tirade would be fruitless. I should have realised that undertaking a module entitled ‘Principles of Marketing’, as a student who has studied Business since GCSE, would not have brought about many groundbreaking concepts I had not already studied. Sam Lush

With reference to my letter published on the 23rd February 2010, I would like to publicly apologise to the ‘american lecturer’ whom I gave such a damning review. Successful complaints recognise problematic issues with the forward thinking to enact positive change. I am not inclined towards personal attacks

studying abroad On 12 April the University launches its International Exeter initiative, with

Scholarships available. Start planning now for where International Exeter will take you.

opportunities for students across our three campuses.

Visit our website for further information

www.exeter.ac.uk/international 2010INT006

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS t EXPERIENCE NEW CULTURES t ENHANCE YOUR EMPLOYABILITY t FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE

? u o y e k a t r e t e Where will Ex

Exeposé week twenty two letters@exepose.com

Birks through the eyes of a former hall president

Dear Expose, Dear All,

My time at Exeter is coming to an end. This is my third and final year living at Birks Grange, the hall which has snapped up media attention once again. Many people have come and gone, and many around me have made an impact upon my life. I feel compelled to tell you what I have given back, to thank the current and previous committee for their hard work, and wish you all the best of luck in the future. I am well known for my long messages. Even this has been edited down but you can buy my book from Amazon – just kidding. I am considering writing one though! I was elected to the role of President of Birks and Moberly during my second year (08/09), despite knowing Biological Medicinal Chemistry is not a light workload! I met up with other hall presidents but it was only after hearing their account balances, that I realised the committee of Birks and Moberly was in financial crisis. The other presidents were laughing – the largest hall on campus with so little money. With no financial assistance given by the Guild, I knew the year ahead would be tough. We still spent money, although wisely - our treasurer approved a top of the range Butterfly table-tennis table, subsidised by Moberly residents for their common room at the request of James Meadows (Sports Rep and appointed Moberly Rep) yet saved costs by making phonecalls for disused chairs from Northcott House to be delivered to Moberly rather than buying new ones to rejuvenate their common room. Aside from my dear mother who gave me advice, Scott Wilson, Olly Murley, Chirag Kaneria, Cheryl Garniss, Laura Burrows, Emma Holland, Jo Bennett put so much energy in... - the list of those who helped out is endless – not forgetting the resident tutors, who only Sam Goodman and Graham Matthews remain as well as Ann Strzelecka (hall manager). Despite not being trained by the Guild, we quickly assumed our responsibilities and made last year the best year that we could have possibly made it, knowing it was the last year the beautiful grounds could be used. We ran a £7000 ball with less than £1500

in our account. The Birks Summer Ball was named “The Summer Extravaganza” after Jamie King (President 07/08) and James Lindley’s event the year before. We did this on a much bigger scale though! The BBQ and simple ‘inflatables’ theme from the year before were added to, with a photobooth where students could take unlimited photos in fancy dress and take away high resolution photos absolutely free. A chocolate fondue, unlimited candyfloss, and obstacle course with prizes, a live act by James Dixon (arguably the most talented musician the university has to offer) and so much more. The highlight of the event being a huge inflatable nightclub, and we could have never come up with a ball half as good without the appointment of three girls who lived on my floor as the social secretaries. The day was a great success with some girls telling me it was the best night of their lives. I began office with less than £1000 in our account and we left more than £4000, anticipating the future challenge the next hall committee would face. My committee was hailed as the first profitable one at Birks Grange by the resident tutors. I had a dream that if our success could be replicated then one day Birks would be the wealthiest society in Exeter... looks like we didn’t have to wait that long... Sorry G&S! (Nice play the other day though) Type ‘Exeter University Hitler Rant’ or ‘Birks Grange Exeter University – mastercard’ into Youtube and you will see that some of the students at Birks have turned any frustration into something comical, although the biggest test is when the weather is hot, and students want to open their windows while revising. I thought about the hall committee not being able to give students a summer ball and requested some sort of financial assistance from the university but didn’t expect any to come. However Damian changed the scene entirely and focused efforts on the disruption the building work caused the students, a fight I knew I never would be able to handle in my course time constraints and on a scale like he has done. As I understand it, he negotiated £30,000 to credit the Birks Grange Committee account over the next week, plus a further 15k next year and a possible

15k the year after, depending on whether the works are still taking place. I am really stunned at the success of Damian Jeffries, and I think he is now being recognised rightly, with the title of ‘Moberly President’, rather than simply ‘Moberly Leader’ (as shown on the front page in the Expose paper dated 22nd Feb 2010), and on behalf of the students I thank him wholeheartedly as well as Geoff Pringle for enabling this to happen. I am so happy I gave him my advice and support, and I was honoured to be the second person besides him to sign the petition consisting of more than 400 students for some sort of compensation. So what will they spend it on? Upon telling last year’s treasurer the good news, he reminded me that the current recipients should not be selfish (as the Birks committee was 2 years before mine) and never again should a committee have to undergo the stress my committee and I were put under. Ideas are floating around, such as holding the Ball at Powderham Castle, and a number of other venues, although I can’t go into detail at this stage. Although the committee should realise the money is for students and that they should receive a significant amount of this money through subsidising events, it should also be noted that future years will also need such money. I will be working with the current committee to advise on safe spending, whilst still delivering significant subsidies on an event held on a record scale. I pass on a big thank you to Joy and Orlando, who have provided much support throughout and have pledged to continue doing so. I leave you all with these last bits of advice. Success is a measure of achievement against one’s dreams. It is not from where we begin, but where we end up. Ladies and Gentlemen, your future is in your hands. Our life is what our thoughts make it. Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have. I look forward to seeing some of you on graduation day. Good luck, and God Bless. Nasser Al-Araimy

‘Campus Services’ anti-postgrad

Dear Exepose,

Ever since they closed Clydesdale House, giving us just four weeks’ notice and with no real consultation, Hospitality Services seem to have adopted an anti-postgraduate agenda. We in the Postgraduate Union are not quite sure exactly why this appears to be their policy, but the most recent issue to reach us is so blatantly antipostgrad that I just had to share it with you and your readership. A couple of weeks ago I received some emails from a member of the aforementioned department and given that none of them contained disclaimers, I will go ahead and quote them directly. The first, and most telling, simply reads as follows; “The post grads were in the balcony bar {16/2/10} they took and drunk bottles of wine up there just to let you know.” Given that, by their own admission in a later email, there was no evidence of the status of these students it would appear that this person has simply assumed that the people in the Balcony Bar were postgraduate students - and we all know what happens when you assume something. However, it doesn’t stop there. “One of our porters has reported

that post graduate students were consuming alcohol in the balcony bar area...if it continues I will lock up this area.” Ah yes, now there’s a surprise. As someone who has actually tried on numerous occasions to use that area in the evenings I know that more often than not it is locked well before 7pm, despite a supposed “agreement” between the PGU and the university to keep it open until 10pm. Therefore I’m not at all shocked that they want to “lock up this area” given that they are already unhappy about having to lock a couple of doors a few hours later than they used to! The moral of this story is a simple one - use Guild outlets, premises and spaces as much as possible. Hospitality Services clearly do not care about postgraduates, do not understand postgraduates and quite frankly go out of their way to make life difficult for us. Making unsubstantiated claims against postgraduates without even a shred of evidence is disgusting in my book and I would hope that many people would agree. It’s time to use our Guild - at least they actually give a damn! Yours, Craig Strachan Postgraduate Union President

“There really were motherf**king snakes”

Dear Exepose,

As I write this letter, hundreds of disgruntled Virgin Media customers may or not have decamped in the Virgin store on Exeter high street, mobilised by the admirable efforts of the ‘Because Samuel L. Jackson lied’ movement on Facebook. Having also suffered from sluggish internet speeds, I sympathise with the aims of the group. What has greatly troubled me about this saga however, is the subsequent denigration of Samuel L. Jackson and his fine canon of cinematic work. Not content with bringing down the entrepreneurial empire of a bearded dyslexic, the group’s in-box tagline opines that ‘Snakes on the Plane wasn’t

very good either.’ When Voltaire spoke of defending Humanity’s inherent right to free speech, I don’t think that even he foresaw such odious and misguided attacks on the greatest film of the last decade. The assertion of the group’s name is that Samuel L. Jackson is ‘a liar.’ The last time I checked, there really were ‘motherf**king snakes on the motherf**king plane.’ I guess next time poisonous reptiles are released aboard a chartered flight, Samuel should just remain tight-lipped for fear of further character assassination. Yours, Jonny ‘Denzel’ Rose, English Literature MA student.

march 22 2010

Exeposé

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Features

We asked each candidate the following questions: 1) How do you intend to engage the student electorate to vote in the upcoming elections? Do you feel that this is important? 2) The environment is a particularly important subject at the moment - how does your campaign address green issues? What relevance does it have to students and the population of Exeter at large? 3) Bearing in mind the tuition fees situation and the NUS declaring Exeter a “student battleground” over the issue, how do you intend to assist students in higher education? All questions were presented to each candidate to answer, with no word limit set on their responses. Answers are printed here in full and unedited.

Exeposé takes a look at the candidates battling for your votes and questions them on the issues that affect you the most.

Ben Bradshaw - Labour 1 Of course, it’s very important that everyone uses their vote. Many students will have the choice between voting in Exeter or voting at home. I hold regular meetings and take part in debates at the university and elsewhere in the city, not just at election time, but throughout the year. I also spend weekends knocking on doors in Exeter, including many students’ doors, asking them if they have any issues or concerns they would like to raise with me. Many students will have received letters or newsletters from me and more will be sent to them during the election campaign proper. I have a Facebook profile and a Twitter feed along with a website, and Exeter University Labour students have set up a “We’re backing Ben” campaign and website. I have also helped campaigns by Exeter University student groups including Amnesty’s recent campaign on domestic violence and I hold meetings with representatives of the Student Guild and take up concerns and issues they raise with me. 2 I don’t own a car and travel around Exeter by bike. I also take

Paula Black - Green Party

my bike up and down on the train to London, which has helped ensure my expenses have always been the lowest of any MP in Devon and Cornwall. Labour has put tackling climate change at the centre of our Government policy. We will continue to push hard for that vital international agreement this year. I was very concerned by a recent poll of Conservative candidates that put climate change at the bottom of their list of priorities. It is also worrying that senior Conservative politicians like the former Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, are leading the campaign by climate change deniers against the science. Personally, I have been carbon neutral for a number of years - offsetting all my emissions, both personal and professional. I have also supported the growth of renewable energy, particularly here in the South West. Exeter University and the South West more widely have the potential to become leaders in environmental sciences - with major spin-offs in terms of jobs locally and benefits to the environment. I initiated the Government’s Marine Bill which provides vital new protection for

our marine environment, including setting up a network of marine protected areas around the South West coast. Labour’s re-introduction 3 of grants and bursaries has been vital in encouraging people from all backgrounds to go to university. We’ve seen a healthy increase in student numbers, including people from less well off backgrounds. If we are to succeed as a country in the long term it is important that we continue to attract more people to university and I would not support any policy that acted as a deterrent to that. None of the political parties have committed to the demands of the current NUS campaign, so it is disingenuous for individual candidates to do so. What I am clear about is that Labour has a good record of increased investment in higher education, widening access and increased student support. I want that to continue. I would not support the “savage cuts” proposed by the Tories and would strongly oppose a “free market” in the higher education fees structure.

1 The student vote is of the utmost importance, at the last general election the voice of the younger voter was missing with 60% of 18-24 year olds not voting. This has resulted in the larger parties concentrating their efforts and therefore their policies upon an older generation, further pushing younger people away from involving themselves in the political system. If you feel that you have no voice in your democratic system then you will become further alienated from the process and therefore further disenfranchised. This is highly unacceptable in my opinion, we need the younger voice in politics to enliven debates and bring us their demands. Please email me, and we will be on the street with our stalls, and as said in the pubs. I also intend to show students how they can postal vote where they are registered. Remember there is still time to register now. 2 Well I am standing for the Green Party, so that clearly shows how important I think the issue of the environment is. We ARE our environment, how we treat our ultimate resource will have long-term and shortterm impacts. We are all custodians of this land environmentally, socially and economically, but for younger people

the future of how this interaction develops is hugely important, it is your future world. The wealth that western nations have experienced through policies of encouraged credit and consumerism have left as we know huge deficits, in financial terms but in some ways that is the least of it. Within the next 20 years climate change will bring rapid changes to the world as a whole, in some respects here in our fine city of Exeter with our beautiful University campus, those impacts will be little compared to Africa, and Asia, but there will be change. 3 Youth are the future of our society and integrated world, and being young gives people the thirst for knowledge and understanding of the world around. Education for life is of the utmost importance, not just to be turned into what is seen as a useful economic unit. A well qualified and questioning nation is essential if we are to fully mitigate the so very serious problems we as a world are about to face. Students are that future. Under Green Party policy students will not have to pay tuition fees, and grants will allow those in full time education to have sufficient income for their basic needs.

Features

Exeposé week twenty two features@exepose.com

Graham Oakes - Liberal Democrats 1

I have visited the University on a number of occasions and have enjoyed listening to the views of students, whether as part of a debate or over a pint in the RAM. In political terms the opinions of students are very important as they will play a major role deciding who the next MP for Exeter is. However their individual opinions are more important as they are citizens of our city and the future of our country. By challenging existing ideas they refresh the political debate and turn it into a battle of ideas rather than just a political beauty parade or spin fest.

I’m reluctant to separate green issues out as a separate subject as all our policies effect the environment and our green principles under pin much of our thinking. Exeter has a long and proud tradition on issues such as recycling however it can, and will, do much more. Congestion is a major problem in our city and will only get worse unless we take practical measures now. We need to significantly improve public transport in the city, including regulating the bus service, undoing the damage done by the Tories, allowing local control of routes and fares. Unless buses are

cheap people, particularly students wont use them. We also need to create safe and secure places to leave bikes so that cyclists can be encouraged to move around our city. We would also make it a requirement that all new buses and trains carry bikes. Many students make long journeys across the country to go home. We need to encourage as many as possible of them to use the train, so we need more electrification, new stations and longer platforms allowing longer trains so that you don’t have spend most of your journey standing or perched on a

luggage rack. We also need to keep the price of fares down so that it makes economic sense to travel by rail. We would not build any new nuclear power station and would actively support renewables. I favour Tidal Ponds instead of a barrage for the Severn. We support the 10;10 campaign to reduce UK carbon emissions by 10% in 2010 as do the Lib Dem run city council. 3 If Exeter is a student battleground on this issue then I stand alongside the students against both Labour and the Tories. The recession

has meant that we have had to alter our commitment, so that now we plan to phase Tuition Fees – a tax on learning – out over 6 years. I would like to do it more quickly but accept that the bankers have created such a mess we have to accept some delays. Tuition Fees may not have dissuaded many young people from going to university but the evidence is now emerging that younger siblings are looking at the debt and deciding it’s not for them.

Hannah Foster - Conservatives 1

I have been on campus every week of this term trying to ensure that students have a chance to talk to me, ask questions and understand my views. I have had a regular stand at lunchtime in Devonshire House, held 4 public meetings on campus this term and canvassed most of the student areas. The reality of the timing of the election is that most of you will not be in Exeter for most of the formal election campaign – so I have made a conscious effort to try and give you a chance to pick my brains this term. Your vote is really important, and for most of you it is your first General Election vote. So you get to vote in an important election in a really key seat - You have power! Students are important not only because you are vital to in the life of this city but also you are the future of our country. The problems facing this country and the world now will effect your lives for decades to come – I think we owe you the opportunity to know who we are and what we stand for. Many people feel completely let down by our politicians – you are a new generation that has to vote for change. We need accountability and transparency at all levels and realisation that Government must work for the people. MPs must remember to put their constituents first. I will do that and ensure that Students and the University remain an important part of my accountability to this City. 2 It falls to this generation to develop a sustainable economy – locally, nationally and globally – failure to do so will leave the consequences to your children and grandchildren. I firmly believe that Exeter can be a key player in the new green economy. While we must never lose sight of the environmental imperative for carbon reduction, there is also a compelling economic case for going green. Generally people in this city have an understanding

of the environment and sustainability. I believe we can develop environmental education, innovation and business to rival any other city in Britain – good for the environment and our economy. In my view the University and Science Park are key elements of developing Exeter as a Green c i t y.

A more balanced e c o n o m y must include a dynamic industrial change, challenging the dependency of our economy on carbon-based energy. Britain is uniquely well placed to be the world’s first low carbon economy and Exeter can play a key role in that. We already have the natural resources to generate tidal and wave power. By harnessing the power of markets and innovation, we can create the products and services that will transform our economy as well as protecting our planet. Conservative policies include: • Using genuinely green taxes to change behaviour the use of fossil fuels can be reduced without increasing the cost of living. • Diversifying our energy supply we can have cheaper, cleaner and more secure energy. • Driving energy efficiency in every home so we can reduce emissions and cut people’s bills. To date the green agenda has been seen as being about banning things, I see the transition to a low carbon economy as an opportunity to become world leaders in new fields, like carbon capture and green finance, so creating jobs and helping our local and national

Keith Crawford - UKIP economy. I started talking about environmental issues when I was 14, over twenty years later I see that whilst we have to change here a key strategy must also be to help the developing

world to grow sustainably. I believe that young people 3 from all backgrounds should be encouraged and helped to attend university – not trying to work to an artificial target but enabling those who can achieve good degrees. There is a serious problem of those from modest backgrounds not getting to university. But this is because, firstly, not enough people from disadvantaged backgrounds are applying to university and, secondly, those who have often not been given appropriate advice and guidance. These problems will not be solved by Ministers trying to instruct universities about who should and who should not be admitted. To widen participation we need more good schools, better support for young people considering university, more flexible learning, a strong further education sector and reform of bursaries. Conservatives are committed to providing students with better information and advice about institutions and courses, and to creating a university funding system which provides proper financial support for those that

need it most. We support the principle that those who benefit from higher education should meet some of the cost of their degree. At the same time, we must ensure that people who could gain from university are not put off by the prospect of d e b t . We cannot know what impact topup fees have had without a

thorough r e v i e w . It would be reckless of us to pre-empt the current fees review and commit to a policy without looking at the evidence. However, if students are to be charged higher fees, they should be given clear evidence that they will receive a better service in return for their money. A better educational experience for students is an essential quid pro quo for any change to the tuition fees cap. Conservatives are looking also at ways to offer a better deal for part-time students. Nationally around 40 per cent of total UK student numbers are part-time. Despite their size and being key to widening participation, part-time students get a raw deal in term of support. Part-time students are not eligible for student loans and there is no tuition fees cap for part-time courses. I also believe there are many ways that student debts can be more manageable by working with employers, encouraging flexible degrees and attracting foreign students.

I do feel it important to engage the student electorate and this will be accomplished by making available to all students my personal contact details, and the use of hustings, debates and postal communications. 2 This country produces 2.4% of the worlds carbon emissions, of which approximately half are man made. I believe in ending and reversing the destruction of the rain forests. We have now reached the sad situation where rain forests are being cleared to make way for the growing of biofuel crops! Until the results of more and better climate research has lead to an agreement between scientists who are fully independent of political and commercial sponsors I remain sceptical of apocalyptic claims. 3 UKIP’s policy and I totally agree with it, is to fund higher education by grants and not loans. The funding for this would come from the daily saving of £45 million, the daily cost of our EU membership. I however consider that the labour governments target of 50% of school leavers attending higher education to be unrealistic. No rise in education fees has already received my backing.

For more information about the general election, visit www. general- election2010.co.uk. To find out how to register to vote, visit www.aboutmyvote. co.uk

march 22 2010

Exeposé

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Not So Fairtrade?

Alex Moss, News Editor, discusses the more contentious issues of Fairtrade.

FOUNDED in 1988 under the aegis of Dutch development agency Solidaridad, the Fairtrade Organisation currently represents over 800,000 farmers in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The organisation aims to ensure fair prices are paid to smaller indigenous farmers affected by trade tariffs and large corporations who can monopolise production of cash crops and produce in the third world by virtue of their investment and technological development potential. The estimated Fairtrade retail sales in 2008 exceeded £700m in the UK alone and an ever-expanding range of products were certified with the Fairtrade label. The

DAVID Robert Joseph Beckham is undeniably a national treasure and one of the best footballers England has produced. Look at his illustrious career so far: 115 caps for England - the most ever for an outfield player-two time runner-up in the Fifa World ‘Player of the Year’ award and he has played for arguably the best teams in England, Spain and Italy. Beckham has been consistently hailed as one of the best, if not the best deliverer of a dead-ball at corners and free-kicks. Yet, in recent years, it seems Beckham only attracts headlines through stunts and off-thefield actions rather than for his profession – football. Be it through his marriage with Victoria, allegations of infidelity

Organisation represents a growing international movement that reflects an increasing willingness of first world consumers to pay more for high quality produce to ensure its value is put back to the farmers at its genesis. However, while the ideological and humanitarian underpinnings of Fairtrade are unquestionably laudable, it remains to be examined to what extent the initiative can represent a significant or lasting change for the farmers it professes to represent. Criticisms along economic and development lines level the charge that it is ultimately only of short term benefit to promote slightly higher prices to ensure farmers receive higher proportions of the profit, while more should be done at a systemic and systematic level to improve the situation further for future generations. Setting higher prices on produce effectively represents artificial inflation. The motivation and result of this may be laudable, but nonetheless, it is impossible to ignore the reality that fluctuations in the world market, especially in cash crops such as cocoa and coffee, are an inevitable correctional feature of international trade. If a product is found in abundance, its value will drop as supply outweighs

“It remains to be examined to what extent the initiative can represent a significant change for the farmers [represented].”

demand, and as such the price will drop, less will be produced, and the supply-demand balance will be corrected. In the 1950s the price of cocoa on the international market dropped significantly, and in the first half of the 1980s the price of coffee at an international level dropped by nearly half. While it is an anachronism to apply the effects of Fairtrade to historical examples that predate its existence, both coffee and cocoa, covered by the Fairtrade label, need to undergo these fluctuations to ensure the levels of their production remains stable. Without this, the products stand to flood the market and push down the prices offered to farmers outside the remit of the Fairtrade label. A further effect of the artificial inflation of prices lies in its long-term considerations. The exports of many countries covered by Fairtrade are often overwhelmingly drawn from production of a single raw product. This phenomenon has led to examples of such an export pattern being called ‘Banana Republics’, in reference to Latin American countries basing their

economies on the production of bananas in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. By offering a fixed price to farmers contrary to oscillations in international value, these socalled ‘Banana Republics’ are not forced to diversify their produce in times of market decline, since their income is protected by artificial inflation under Fairtrade. This has led to an economic pattern called Dutch Disease, under which a nation becomes overly dependent on a single item of produce, so that when the market significantly declines, even beyond the protection of Fairtrade, there are no other sectors to provide alternative sources of income. By failing to promote the diversification of agriculture, Fairtrade protections have the potential to cause a national economic crisis if they ever prove to be insufficient in a crisis, or they are removed. Finally, in the agreements between Western corporations, governments, and Fairtrade, there is an inherent hypocrisy on the part of the former two. While the Fairtrade message is promoted, and first world countries buy products in abundance, trade

tariffs, the source of the problem in the first instance, are never addressed as a development issue. In spite of the hugely successful Fairtrade sales figure cited at the top of the article, the UK retains some of the highest protectionist tariffs in Europe. Farmers outside the remit of Fairtrade suffer disproportionately under the current standards and regulations that insure our international trade. Until they are addressed, the Fairtrade crutch can never be removed without undoing all its achievements of the last two decades. The intention and achievement of the Fairtrade Organisation are entirely laudable, and deserve their recognition and celebration over the last two weeks in Fairtrade Fortnight. However, until the systemic issues outlined have been addressed, it represents a permanent short-term solution that needs constant renewal. The artificially high prices are a plaster rather than a cure, which carry their own problems and consequences. Ultimately, Fairtrade represents a form of benevolent teleology: it identifies the problem and offers a solution without truly addressing the all-important factors that fall in between.

David Beckham-Footballer or Celebrity? with Rebecca Loos or his move to LA Galaxy to make “soccer big” in the States. Indeed, take his muchpublicised return to Old Trafford as an opposition player: although he did provide several teasing crosses that could have led to goals and even powered a volley at Van Der Sar that was arguably AC Milan’s best chance on goal, his most notable contribution was when he donned the green and gold anti-Glazer scarf. This shows that Beckham, forever the self-publicist, has always had a natural knack for staying in the media glare but also for winning the hearts of football fans. Consider Manchester United fans: regardless of his big-money moves away from his supposedly beloved ‘Theatre of Dreams,’ those same fans were

still praising his every move on his return with chants of “Fergie, Fergie, sign him up.” His wearing of the anti-Glazer scarf can only further integrate him into the hearts of supporters. So Beckham, once a footballer, now a part-time player and fulltime publicist. Even though his skills as a footballer have dwindled with age; (his pace has gone, stamina mediocre,) one still cannot fault Becks – well not too much anyway. Largely, he has been a victim of his own success at drawing media attention. In my opinion, prior to his injury, he still warranted a place on Capello’s plane to South Africa. Maybe not for his ability as a footballer, which actually is still unique compared

to England’s other right midfield options he is still the best crosser of a ball in the national team. However, he should still go, because he could provide experience to younger players on how to deal with media pressures at the biggest sporting tournament in the world and, well, it’d be better to read something about good old Beckham at the World Cup than about young pretenders to his media throne

– John “affair-man” Terry and Ashley “why would you cheat on the best-looking woman in Britain” Cole.

Exeposé week twenty two features@exepose.com

Interview with Andrew Marr

Marina Bunzl talks to one of the most famous faces on British television and radio.

AndrewMarrhasbeeninvolvedin journalism from the start of his career. Graduating with a degree in English from Trinity College, Cambridge, he started his career as a trainee at The Scotsman, shortly followed by a stint at The Independent. This was followed by some years at The Economist which would lead to his first time as Political Editor in 1988. After returning to The Independent as Political Editor in 1992, he became Editor of the newspaper in 1996. In 2000 he was appointment Political Editor of the BBC. This served to make Marr one of the best known faces on British television. In his time he has interviewed several of the world’s most powerful figures. He has written several books on politics, the latest published last year, entitled A History of Modern Britain. He has been involved with BBC radio, notably with Start The Week on Radio 4 and has presented a number of documentaries for the BBC.

get was on the paper I was currently contributing to, The Scotsman as number three in the parliamentary team. I was interested in politics, I always had been, but knew absolutely nothing about journalism. I spent the first few years in the old fashioned parliamentary way, I had this whole big wedge of page of what happened in parliament every day. My job was to produce very short hand note of what was being said and to produce all those related reports. I spent a huge amount of time sitting there and listening and doing short hand and doing anything, in my case, Scottish.”

What was the most interesting assignment you have been involved with as a journalist? Gosh (pause.) I think the two biggest stories that I was directly involved in would be the fall of Margaret Thatcher, which was a really epic story when it happened and, much later on, the

“I think it’s really, really important to hang on to those big cultural distinctive institutions that we’ve got, such as the BBC, the NHS, the monarchy.” In our interview I mix the personal with the political. Whilst cautious, due to the nature of his work, to remain impartial, he speaks passionately and gives insight into the coming elections and the identity of our country. He speaks with a great understanding of the younger generation. Perhaps a quality enhanced by being father to three young children. It was kind of him to be so willing to do an interview for Exeposé as Britain’s most admired face has a busy schedule. Equally as intelligent and charming in real life as he appears on screen, it is apparent why. I end the interview thinking we need more characters like him in parliament. Andrew Marr for Prime Minister! Why did you become a political journalist? I became a political journalist because I lived in Edinburgh and I needed to get down to London, partly because I wanted to spend some of my life outside Scotland, and partly because the girl that I was chasing at the time was in London. The first job offer I seemed to

events leading up to and during the Iraq War, when I was the BBC’s Political Editor, sort of globetrotting with Tony Blair, when he was going around, trying to get impartial support and prepare for war. How can students become more active in political debate? Why do you think students are not more radical and vocal unlike 20 years ago? I think that, well, going back further than twenty years ago, back to the seventies, when I was a student, there seemed to be a much wider gap between the parties. The socialists were a separate party and so there were lots of people with genuinely radical views involved in the Labour party and on the other side, with the rise of the Thatcherite, the Tory party, had become much more right wing and more market driven, so there was a real rivalry going on between the Left and the Right, the Tories and the Labour, at the heart of politics. Despite all this rouse in recent years and the

rhetoric around the parties, I think if you actually look at the actual political position taken by the New Labour, under Gordon Brown, and by the Tories today, they’re much closer. It’s harder to get really passionate about mainstream politics. It does seem to be that a lot of the students who are interested in politics have gone off to, as it were, other international issues, whether they’re obsessed by the Palestinian question or global warming. People seem to migrate to those sort of things, rather than mainstream politics.

Is the general sentiment of apathy amongst students something which concerns you? It does because we sometimes think we’re in a democracy, we’re all Democrats, as if it were something in our DNA, as if we were born into a parliamentary democracy. We don’t believe the state of things if people don’t seriously use parliamentary politics as their arguments and bother to not just vote, that of course, but actually keep themselves a little bit informed. You can’t have a democracy without informed voters. If you were a student today and wanted a political career, how would you go about getting involved? I would certainly suggest joining one of the main political parties, the student groups and take part in as many debates and public events as possible. It is not a bad thing to actually go out, if you support the Tories or Labour, or whoever it might be at university, to actually go and help the city or town party. You have written about the need to remain impartial and ‘convey fact and nothing more’. How does a journalist know when to stop? I am thinking particularly about the case with Andrew Gilligan publishing everything as supposedly related to him by David Kelly. I don’t think the Kelly Gilligan thing was really about being impartial. It was more about the difficulty of using precise language. I suppose it restrained political fire fighting which [Gilligan] was totally unprepared for, so I don’t that was really about impartiality. All of us know when we are talking about somebody, whether we are being provoked or not. I think you say to yourself, as a journalist, all the time: am I being fair? Am I seeing both sides? Am I understanding what X or Y is doing or saying? How important do you the media is in keeping politicians to account? Absolutely vital. The ordinary voter is

“You can’t have a democracy without informed voters.” too busy and too unformed about the details to really know what an MP does for you and following the twists and turns of the government. Would you encourage your children to go into journalism? Probably not. You have to work very, very hard and it is a very insecure job. I love it. But because I’ve been doing it, I think they would be better getting out in a new direction and doing something totally different. By and large, I’m not a great believer in the family trade, as it were. I think they need to go out and discover themselves. Of all the interviews you have done, who do you admire the most? I’m going to give you a non-political answer for that one! David Hockney, a good friend of mine. And now a few questions about the coming elections. Do you think there will be a hung parliament? Why do you think the conservatives have lost so much of their lead in the polls? On ballots, there won’t be a hung parliament because I think that as voters gets nearer to the election, it looks like the polls will come in and people will recoil at what they have discovered. I think that the Conservatives have definitely been lacking the definition of clarity. Are they a really tough bunch that are going to make big cuts and shake things up to the same score that Margaret Thatcher did or are they much more of a middle of the road, nice party? It seems from the outside view that they can’t decide which road to take which is the problem. I do think they’re much better in the marginal seats than they’re doing in the national poles. Where do you think the election will be decided? I think the West Country will be very important. I think Wales will be more important than ever and possibly Scotland. I think the South of England is mostly cut out for the Tories and the northern cities and most of Scotland seems to be

staying pretty solidly Labour. It is said that Exeter could be decided by the student vote. Do you find it interesting that for a number of consecutive years Exeter has swayed to the side of the government? Yes, any swaying city is interesting. You will see a lot of political persuasion during the election campaign, up to the election. Has Britain lost its identity and if so, how do we get it back? I don’t think overall we’ve lost our identity. I think we have been perhaps impeding with it by American culture. And therefore, I would say this wouldn’t I, but I think it’s really, really important to hang on to those big cultural distinctive institutions that we’ve got, such as the BBC, the NHS, the monarchy. Above all, and I would say it again, but I really mean it, to remember our own history. And to follow our history because if you forget your history, you don’t know who you are. Who would you most like to have dinner with and why? I’m going to go for Obama. I’ve never met him. I’d love to hear from him; First of all, I was hearing if he could really identify the change, what is he going to do about it and secondly, politics in Washington seem to be really, really gridlocked at the moment and whether if his presidency, which started out so well and there was hope, is turning into a bit of a disaster. Is it true that you don’t wash your hair? It was true. I’ve been bullied back into it by my wife! Who is your political hero? A boring answer, Churchill; For getting it right on that single day in 1940 when he changed British and world history by doing the illogical thing, which was to keep fighting rather than open peace talks with Hitler.

march 22 2010

Exeposé

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Ride of the Valkyries

Craig Browne writes on one of several projects for the ‘Help for Heroes’ foundation.

IN Norse mythology the Valkyries took the bodies of war heroes and rode to the great hall of Valhalla, where the fallen would recuperate for the afterlife. Valkyries were there to support those in battle and on the May 24 three hundred modern day reincarnations, both war veterans and civilians alike, will be partaking in a ride of their own to raise money for ‘Help for Heroes.’ Three hundred cyclists will

be journeying from Portsmouth to Dunkirk over the course of seven days. The cyclists will stop at several sites that saw battle in World War I and World War II throughout the ride and observe short reflections of remembrance. One of the participants is Mark Baker, a senior group captain in the RAF who has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Mark is doing the ride having raised money for the charity whilst in Afghanistan in 2009, “At Kandahar Air Base there was always one group of Brits or another having a sponsored run, weight-lift, superstars or whatever kind of competition. Also, at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province where we were operating jointly with the US Marine Corps, RAF personnel took part in the annual US Marine Corps marathon.” Mark had a flying role throughout his time in Iraq and so made it clear that his “exposure to the realities of war [were] far less personal.” However his time serving abroad enabled him to see that “on the ground

you are treated to a daily diet of the sacrifices people make both physically and emotionally. This can be incredibly demanding and takes a toll on people. The losses affect everyone, however, there is a clear understanding that life moves on and everyone does just that. At Kandahar we were under regular rocket and suicide bomb attack and strangely you become inured to the risks by the frequency. Obviously, there is always the acceptance that if it has your name on it there is little you can do anyway.” Unfortunately, the danger in which the servicemen and women are placed means that casualties are extremely likely. It is in these cases which charities such as ‘Help for Heroes’ have proved invaluable. Mark highlighted the importance of such charities as although “public support for our forces has not been as strong as it is for many years, the realities are that resource rarely matches with requirement in the Ministry of Defence and we are staring

“On the ground you are treated to a daily diet of the sacrifices people make both physically and emotionally”

now at a legacy of young men and women who have stored up potential issues (Emotional, PTSD etc) for the future.” Each participant on the ‘Big Battlefield Bike Ride,’ as it has been named, is required to raise at least two thousand pounds for the charity. However, it seems that the fundraising has been less of a challenge for Mark than training whilst “freezing to death and getting soaked by hail, sleet, snow and latterly rain throughout this winter.” Due to his age and seniority Mark described the chances that he will return to a war zone as being “highly unlikely,” however, conflicts around the world will undoubtedly rumble on unperturbed. Therefore Mark believes that “the role of responsible nations is to understand the causes, effects and

best responses to these [conflicts] and ensuring that a comprehensive approach to resolving them is followed.” He added that “the western nations are showing a better understanding now than they have in recent years of the threats we now face and we ignore the lessons of history at our peril.” As wars do not appear to be relenting around the world it would seem that there will always be a demand for charities such as ‘Help for Heroes’. This also means that humanity has failed to learn from the past. Even if they only existed in mythology, Valkyries are still required in our modern world – albeit in a slightly different form. They continue to support the brave but are now very real indeed. .

“I’m Afraid It’s a ‘No’ From Me” Ryan Thompson discusses the effect of TV election debates.

Homer, in The Iliad, states “victory passes back and forth between men.” This is precisely the schema for the Prime Minister’s Questions, the rap-battle in brogues that feeds the insatiable 24-hour news world. Thus, the announcement of live television debates is puzzling. Will it feed ‘gesture politics’; a focus on saying, not doing? Or will it allow us to see who these strange men really are? Proponents endorse the open platform for delivering policy and the public’s opportunity to pose questions directly. Three 90 minute events will be held, covering domestic, international, and economic concerns separately,

showing a creditable breadth of discussion. However, as only the three main party leaders will have the stage the political status quo will be galvanised. This is despite talk of moving to a proportional representation voting system and the emergence of credible minority parties. Furthermore, holding the main events solely in England tarnishes the idea of debating for the premiership of the United Kingdom. Separate debates in Scotland and Wales may just serve to keep nationalist movements in their box. Why not have the devolution argument put nation-wide? The debates may also become farcically sterile, with Brown,

Cameron and Clegg agreeing to no fewer than 76 terms. This controls, minutely, details from banning handshakes, to ensuring the ‘live studio audience’ cannot clap, nor jeer during the session. They might as well drop the ‘live’ adjective. The ‘contestants’ in what is increasingly looking like a bland talent-show, have 60 seconds to respond to predetermined, filtered questions. The audience, numbering around 200, will be vetted by pollsters ICM to ensure fair representation of social groups. No particular audience member can be shown during an answer, to avoid stereotyping. Altogether, it seems the leaders, far from encountering the snarling lion of British public opinion, will merely have to tame a tranquilised cub. It is commendable that the organisers wish to avoid the histrionics of BNP leader Nick Griffin’s Question Time cameo, where a hyperactive audience and sardonic chairman resulted in this rocket of a programme heading Earthward at pace. But a true revolution in democracy would be giving the public a chance to get in the politicians’ faces on issues drawn across philosophical lines, as

so famously happened to Margaret Thatcher during the Falklands War. Rather, they are gagged, and the audiences engineered, creating a pallid canvas for vainglorious artists. At this time, when public trust in politicians is so low, we need to rebuild the idea of Government as servant. It is perverse that the election may hinge on a well-rehearsed answer, or a snappy put-down. A presently embattled Obama will attest that vote-winning sound bites may later come back and ring in your ears. The mass reach of these debates may engage the disenfranchised, and, crucially, rouse youth interest; but the electorate may never be truly enlightened as the chastening format could encourage platitudes, or incredulous rhetoric. Envisage Gordon Brown proposing grandiose spending plans as Alistair Darling looks on, as Hamlet, shouting: “Thrift, thrift, Horatio!” Perhaps the unuttered question is: where did Parliament go? Such debates further the encroachment of personality into politics via huge media centricity on mere individuals. This contravenes the Parliamentary system that has been largely

unchanged since the 1707 Treaty of Union. As the House of Commons is the real power-bearer, rather than the Lords or Monarch, the public should be able to assess the merits of the cabinets as a whole. For instance, Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable could debate the economy. It is ironic that the “Mother of all Parliaments” appears this neglected as we celebrated, of all things, Mother’s Day. This idea is one of contrasts: we have the openness of debate though stifled, and the presence of the crowd though muted. A Prime Minister apparently standing for substance over style will now engage in a debate more individualistic than any contested by his slick-performing predecessor. And, this beacon illuminating the future of democracy will be held whilst pretending smaller parties do not exist. Perhaps an uninhibited talentshow would be purer! The Lib Dems could bluster through ‘Imagine,’ as, for nearly a century, that’s as close as they’ve got to power, and ‘Poker Face’ was practically written for Blair. But, perhaps the best summary comes from another of Homer’s immortal quotes: “D’Oh!”

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Lifestyle

Revolutionary new idea: 100% natural meat Francesca Houslander, Lifestyle Editor, exposes the horrors of factory farming and the heroes of Piper’s Farm.

THIS morning I went to Piper’s Farm and could not look in my fridge again. In September 2009, when BBC 4 camera crews invaded Piper’s Farm for the Kill it, Cook it, Eat it Programme, one Exeter student participant felt my shock. It was the shock of tasting real meat; the shock of realising that for three years I have been consuming ‘basic’ dog food, by farming methods that would make concentration camps look like a hotel. The Greig family independently set up Piper’s Farm, just outside Exeter, when they realised that they could no longer feed their children the poor meat they were being forced to produce by an upmarket food store. Will Greig, a Cardiff graduate, told me of “a lady who prefers to feed her dog a roast chicken as it is cheaper.” This doesn’t mean a phenomenon of dog sentimentality, rather that some chicken has reached a lower quality than dog food. “I don’t give a shit where it comes from, as long as it looks good, I don’t care” is an attitude common amongst Exeter students. So let us leave animal welfare aside and focus on the notion of ‘looks good.’ In order to make poor meat ‘look good’, food industries use the chemical sodium nitrite to turn the meat bright red. It makes old, dead meats appear fresh and vibrant even if the true colour of the month-old meat is putrid gray. Once in the human digestive system, this toxic additive is believed to be a primary cause of the 67% increase in pancreatic cancer. But you’ll be sure to find it in every packaged meat product imaginable. Non-organic beef has traces of heavy metals (mercury, cadmium), which can, if some studies are to be believed, accelerate Alzheimer’s disease and Dementia as well as stressing the liver and immune system. Which? magazine tested 27 ham samples including Sainsbury’s Basic Cooked Ham, Asda Rollback Smart Price Thin Sliced Ham, Tesco Value Cooked Ham, and Morrisons Bettabuy Cooked Ham. Between them, the hams racked up 40 extra ingredients. ASDA Smart Price sausages contained only 34% pork meat and Sainsbury’s Eight Basics Sausages contained only 32% recognisable meat, meaning over half of each mouthful isn’t meat, but a mixture of water and additives. Intensive farming factories also pump their meat full of antibiotics which an Oxford University journal has linked to an increase in human antibiotic resistance. In July 2004, PETA revealed the

results of an investigation into a fast food giant’s slaughterhouse in West Virginia. Workers were caught on video “stomping on chickens, kicking them, and violently slamming them against floors and walls. Workers also ripped the animals’ beaks off, twisted their heads off, spat tobacco into their eyes and mouths, spray-painted their faces and squeezed their bodies so hard that the birds expelled faeces—all while the chickens were still alive.” (see Peta.org.) “I was almost knocked to the ground by the overpowering smell of faeces and ammonia. My eyes burned and so did my lungs and I could neither see nor breathe… There must have been thirty thousand chickens sitting silently on the floor in front of me. They didn’t move, didn’t cluck. They were almost like statues of chickens, living in nearly total darkness, and they would spend every minute of their six-week lives that way.” — Michael Specter, New Yorker, April 14, 2003. Of the 500,000 pigs raised and bred by Smithfield Foods the faeces equalled that of 1.5 million people living in a large city like Manhattan. However the real problem is that factory pig waste is a pollutant as the unhealthy conditions require the pigs to be pumped with compounds such as oxytetracycline.There are few farms that have managed to keep humanitarian methods. The animals at Piper’s Farms get the life that they deserve. The chickens have a climbing frame so they can exercise to reach their food and the pigs graze in the nearby Cider Orchards. The meat is produced by friendly locals in a kitchen adjacent to the Greig family home, using only natural ingredients. But there is so much more at steak (pardon the pun) than just your morals and your health. “What people don’t seem to understand” says Will, “is that if we let the whole country give into factory farming, there wouldn’t be a countryside anymore because countryside is farmland,” something which I know many students here must approve if they decided on Exeter University. Not to mention the employment of 30 other collaborating farms and local, small abattoirs which Peter Grieg saved from being shut down by a bill in The House of Commons. Ironically The Food Standards Agency are trying to shut Piper’s Farm down because it doesn’t conform to the common, factory stereotype. “The funniest thing,” says employee Emily Deer, “is that we are desperate to

reduce our carbon footprint but we buy lamb from New Zealand.” Greenwash is the factory farm Corporation’s (and arguably the Government’s) most powerful weapons. Faced with increasing public concerns, appearing to be an ethical and thoughtful company taking heed of today’s social and environmental issues has become more and more important for corporations whose public image is vital to their sales. Think twice before believing any of it. Peter Greig sincerely informs me ‘It is a veneer. We have had no support from national government.” So what can we do as students besides running to Veganism? A perfect example is Exeter student Phoebe Downton. She was the participant on BBC 3’s fourth series of Kill it, Cook it, Eat it programme where she was shown the caring, meticulous detail that goes into Piper’s Farm meat and other ‘proper’ farms. Phoebe and Exeter Graduate Emily Deer recently started a successful evening at Timepiece night club where they offered an alternative to the dubious Kebab Van burgers of 100% protein, Piper’s Farm burgers. Peter Greig is making this a regular event at Timepiece but insists, “we can’t provide ketchup. Ketchup is to go on commercialized meat to hide its poor quality. Our meat has taken three years of careful development to produce beautiful natural flavouring and it does not need ketchup or mayo.” Piper’s Farm offer a student pack of their multiple award-winning meats. “We have been criticised for being foolish,” says Will, “because we don’t push for profit as much as we should. We are just desperate to push for welfare farming and to give students the meat they deserve at affordable prices.” Sources available on request.

Happy Piper’s Farm Livestock

Factory Farming

PIPER’S FARM MEAT PACK 1 x Red Ruby Beef Stir Fry 250g or 1 x Diced Chicken 250g 1 x Red Ruby Steak Mince 250g 2 x Red Ruby Steak Burgers (glutenfree) or 2 x Chicken Burgers or 3 x Cumberland Sausages 3 x Plain Pork Sausages 1 x Smoked/unsmoked Streaky Bacon – 250g Type of Steak: 2 x Grilling Steaks or 2 x Sandwich Steaks 6 x Free Range Eggs

£12.50 (free delivery)

thesimplestrange.com, pipersfarm.com

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march 22 2010

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The Mind Behind The Mirror

Adam Walmesley, News Editor, examines the widespread taboo of mental health

Photo by Henry White

We can all have a bad day. The stresses and strains of university life hit us at some point, whether in Welcome Week or as dissertation deadlines draw nearer. The shock of moving away from home for the first time into a new environment with new people, combined with peer pressure, financial concerns and the increased competitiveness, can be enough to send even the most levelheaded person into frenzy. Equally, more serious academic pressures, relationship breakdowns, or loss of friends or relatives can be the trigger for a downward spiral. A difficult day can become an awful week, a manic month can generate into a year from hell. And then the

Symptoms of depression -Fearful or depressed appearance -Social withdrawal/ decreased talkativeness -Psychomotor retardation (slowed thoughts/ reduced physical movements) -Depressed mood -Diminished interest/ pleasure in most activities -Self-pity/pessimism -Feelings of Worthlessness -Thoughts of suicide or death

road to recovery is a long one. Working to treat people in their lowest state can be a life-saving job: “I’ve stopped people committing suicide, I’ve cut them down. When you see people that distressed, it’s difficult to accept the idea that mental health problems don’t exist,” explains a nursing assistant at a local Acute Psychiatric Hospital. Mental health problems, including depression, eating disorders and social anxiety, are common among university students and can hit anyone. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists 374 mental health, ranging from psychological difficulties, such as external pressure, to psychiatric, sometimes unstable conditions. Unfortunately, the stigmas attached to such ordinary issues can be a barrier against people seeking or accessing help. Perceptions that only the weak and vulnerable suffer from mental health issues are naive. Ideas that once you’ve contracted a mental illness it stays with you forever are only true to an extent. Problems may reoccur, but effects can be controlled more easily with guidance. Sue Murphy, Head of the Student Counselling Service at Exeter, explains why it’s important to tackle the stigmas: “For some people, particularly males, to be seen strong is to be seen coping. But strength lies in admitting the issues. We are aware, however, that there are more students seeking counselling in line with increased awareness.” The World Health Organisation estimates that across the world 450 million people suffer from a mental

health problem, such as depression. $80 billion are spent every year on psychiatric drugs across the world. A 2003 study into Mental Health in Higher Education by the Royal College of Psychiatrists revealed that 25% of students suffer from mental health problems during their time at university. And it suggested students were more likely to develop symptoms of mental health illness than a control group. Dr. Kate Thomas, Principal Medical Officer at the University Student Health Centre, believes Exeter students fit into the national trend: “We certainly see a large number of students with depression, eating disorders or anxiety, and we are aware that there are more students suffering from these problems who don’t seek help.” The treatment process can be counteracted by external factors. Access to support through staff becomes more restrictive when student numbers exceed staff numbers. Secondary mental health care through the NHS is, according to Dr. Thomas, “very slow with very long waiting times for NHS psychological treatments.” People enter a ward only if they are referred by a GP or, more seriously, sectioned by the police. Diagnosing a mental health problem is effectively only a labelling process, according to some scientists. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders lists 374 mental illnesses. Yet, one doctor’s manic depression diagnosis may be another’s social anxiety disorder, such is the overlap of each category

“For some people, particularly males, to be seen strong is to be seen coping. But strength lies in admitting the issues. We are aware, however, that there are more students seeking counselling in line with increased awareness.”

and the inability to accurately categorise all cases. At a 2006 Psychiatry AGM in Glasgow, expert psychiatrists revealed some worrying confusions in the diagnostic process. They admitted that there is no complete or concrete diagnosis for a mental health illness. Moreover, there is no exclusive test that tells whether one person has a mental illness and another doesn’t. Diagnosis of a mental health process is mainly a clinical decision rather than being based on a biological or physical test, according to one scientist. Another challenged the traditional assumption of a biological basis for depression: “the idea that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance is absolute crap.” While they admitted not knowing the causes of mental health illnesses, one scientist said “suffering is a human condition, it can’t be cured.” The celebrity culture in which we live is smashing privacy barriers, and allows us to effectively enter into minds through the media proliferation of magazines, newspapers, television, radio and the internet. Kerry Katona openly discussed her bipolar disorder, and Stephen Fry encouraged other people to self-diagnose themselves and step on the road to recovery. Winston Churchill offered a metaphor of a ‘black dog’ to explain his depression. Mental health illnesses are not, of course, restricted to the extraordinary people. Depression affects around 1 in 10 of people in the UK each year. Alex McNamara, a third year Business student at Exeter, spoke openly about his illness. “I’m quite loud, outgoing, chilled out. People wouldn’t associate depression with me. But they say that people who have depression are some of the least likely people you’d assume to have it.” Suffering from bullying at boarding school, Alex found his first university experience at Nottingham University a welcome relief: “You’ve got no one regulating what you do, so you can go out and get hammered every night of the week and not do any work, and no one’s going to chase you up on it.” He reaveals that his own sense of

academic failure contributed towards his illness: “I was a perfectionist. You set goals above any standard which you can get. I thought that if I ignored the work I couldn’t do it would go away. If I didn’t do it right, I thought I’d failed. I was scared of failure.” Paternal pressure also gave Alex a sense he had to perform above his realistic capability: “I got an A*, 6 A’s, 2 B’s, at GCSE. My dad expected me to be a straight As student at A Levels, but I got a B and 2 C’s and he was not happy about that. He told me that if I didn’t get a first at uni, I’d failed.” Alex dropped out of Nottingham because of academic problems. He joined Exeter in 2008. Around Christmas of his second year, Alex was denied the opportunity to pursue his dream film production internship in America. “I came back to uni and that was the first time I thought something was wrong. I used to sit in the library for eight hours a day and just be on Facebook. I’d do five minutes of work, get really annoyed that it would never be good enough and just leave it.” Organising a self-perceived failure music festival called eXefest, Alex recognises the start of his depression as coinciding with January exams. “I went into a downward spiral. I started drinking far too much. I never had a full night’s sleep, but I stay in bed all day. I used to try and pass out to try and get some sleep. I just didn’t want to be sober, because it was real if it was sober. For three or four months I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t feel sad, I didn’t feel happy, I didn’t feel anything. I just felt nothing. There was no kind of feeling whatsoever. “Some people say if you have depression, you should just snap out of it and do something. You can’t do that. Before I had depression I thought sufferers were weak.” Relations between Alex and his housemates suffered: “I was an absolutely horrible person. I’d come downstairs and I’d try to socialise. But if I said something, I’d just snap at them. I’d have a go at them for no apparent reason. I’d just sit there and get pissed off my face.”

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However, escaping his house enabled Alex to pursue a temporary happiness: “When I was out I was a different person, because I could escape. I used to go out to Arena loads, hang out with other people, and they just didn’t realise. I knew this wasn’t a permanent happiness. It was so good when I went up, but I always knew I was going to go back down again.” Alex soon hit rock bottom: “I was sat in the library trying to revise human behaviour and I just broke down. I just started crying. I couldn’t deal with it. When I left the library, I thought I wasn’t coming back to uni. It was that bad.” His mindset would dive to its lowest point: “I had suicidal thoughts. I never thought about killing myself, I just thought about what it would be like if I wasn’t here anymore. If I was to, say, cross the road and get hit by a car and not be here any more, it would just be easier than trying to go through things I thought.”

Her Christian faith was challenged during her depression: “I became a Christian when I was 17. Part of my depression was that ‘I’m not good enough because I’m not Jesus.’ I stopped going to Church. One friend said ‘Claire, this is the devil taking over your soul. You need to pray,’ so I thought I was the devil. This turned into a massive crisis of faith, which I’ve since rediscovered.” She firmly believes that depression is a battle: “Everyone has thoughts they aren’t good enough, but with depression you get stuck in a loop. You have the same thoughts over and over again. Keeping on top of the fight is essential. You’re fighting yourself, and saying you’re not going to let it beat you. Every situation is different.” Paul*, another student, felt unable to confide his problems to those closest to him: “I worry about judgement. There is a sense you don’t want to burden your friends. People here don’t understand my background. It’s harder

“I just didn’t want to be sober, because it was real if I was sober.” However, Alex claims his hardest decision was to admit there was something wrong. He saw a counsellor, which changed his perspectives: “I realised that I wasn’t the only person to have depression. I’d never known anyone with depression before. If other people had it, then it could be cured, I thought, and that was a boost.” Counselling taught Alex to set more realistic aim in his assignments: “I just went in to my summer exams, and said if I get 40% I’ll be happy. I wasn’t stressed. I wasn’t anxious. I came out with 60% which really boosted me.” Alex reflects on the effects of his recovery: “Everything has gone from being really s*** to actually quite good. I got back my marketing exam the other day, and got 70% in the module. Then I got back my December coursework and I got 79%. Even my dad said congratulations to me.” Claire*, a 21-year-old student, had a place on a prestigious medicine course. “For me it was like extreme paranoia. I had about 3 months where I would just wake up and would think ‘This is the most awful day ever. I wish I could just wake up and go back to sleep again. I wish I was dead.’ I did try to commit suicide.”

Photo by Henry White

for them to relate and understand. My father is of the ‘don’t talk about feelings’ background, which seems quite typical to me. You feel so crushed by everything.” Anorexia Nervosa is characterised by abnormally low body weight, control of that weight, and denial that it represents a problem. Eleanor Pike, a first year Exeter student, suffered from anorexia during her early teen years:“I was eating very little- 400 calories a day. I used to have a slice of melon for breakfast, two rivittas, and an apple at lunchtime, salad and a rice cake for tea.”Eleanor is keen to break down the stigmas associated with anorexia:“It’s not just about being thin, and the way

GCSEs, Eleanor took a year out before A Levels, and was referred to a clinic due to her “dangerous” weight level: “I had structured meals, the main area is around weight gain. Around that you have group therapy and individual therapy. But then I would go home and not eat anything.” Eleanor spent four weeks at the clinic as a day-patient, before three months living there, and another two months as a day patient. “I was very fortunate to be honest. The clinic I was in was brilliant, I couldn’t fault it.” Since going to university, Eleanor’s illness has improved, even if she still tries to retain control “At university I don’t really like to drink because of the calories in alcohol. As people might say they are going out for a meal, I would still say ‘it’s ok, you’ll be able to eat something there.’ My day-to-day diet is not very similar to my housemates. But it’s about making sure you don’t take it to extremes.” Social Anxiety Disorder is characterised by fundamental negative beliefs of a self-derogatory nature. Sufferers, such as Exeter third year student Angela*, experience panic attacks: “I have feelings that I’m not in control, and adversely the fear that if I have a panic attack I won’t be in control and I will embarrass myself in front of people, leading to a vicious cycle.” She describes other day-to-day difficulties: “An increasingly bad relationship with food, and avoiding, where possible, certain situations where there will be lots of people in a small place, like clubs, house parties, theatres, trains.” Not wishing to be defined by her health, she has so far only confided in those closest to her: “I have a strong relationship with my boyfriend and mother so can talk freely and openly with them. I think going to see a professional shows pro-activity and courage to address your fears and

“We are aware that students are seeking counselling in line with more awareness.” you look. It’s so much more than that. To get to a point of semi-starvation, there’s obviously something a lot deeper going on.” Meanwhile, other mental health issues further complicated Eleanor’s situation: “I got really bad paranoia about hygiene. I had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with it. I was washing my hands until they were bleeding.” After

do something about it.” Her desire not to allow her anxiety problems to overcome her is certainly a mark of strength: “I’m recognising that the anxiety is only a small part of me, and that the confident, successful, friendly and optimistic student is the bigger and more dominant part. Some days it is easy to do, others it is more challenging, but I’m determined not to let panic attacks dominate my life.” She advises other students in similar situations not to be ashamed, to try to feel positive, and “recognise that mental health is a part of you, not all of you.” Dr. Kate Thomas, Principal Medical Officer at the University Student Health Centre, explains that university stresses may exacerbate mental health problems. “It is difficult if not impossible to draw a line between normal problems and illness. It is important for anyone experiencing difficulties to talk to someone whether that is friends, someone in the department, Counselling Service, Guild or

Photo by Henry White

someone in the Health Centre. The student Counselling Service offers confidential support and advice to students for a variety of issues. Sue Murphy says “we are aware that there are more students seeking counselling, the average number of sessions that students attend is 3-4. We offer one-toone counselling, workshops and even online counselling.” Although there are plenty of resources on campus, the external support is questionable. Michelle Jagger, Guild Advice Unit Manager comments, “the University is doing the best it can within current resources and certainly things have improved in the last few years, especially with mental health support through the DRC. But there are gaps, especially in local community provision and also peer support.” Matt Richards, Guild Welfare Officer, suggests talking to friends and housemates: “Just chatting about it helps to remove the stigma around mental illness, and can help create a more understanding and welcoming atmosphere”. A recently formed student group is ‘Mind Your Head’ Society, working closely with other University and Guild facilities. Abigail Horsley, MYH Society President explains “Mind Your Head is dedicated to promoting awareness of mental health and mental well-being, to work towards de-stigmatising the general perception of mental health issues.” The society carried out a survey of over 200 students which revealed some shocking statistics. Over 45% of respondents admitted to suffering from some kind of mental health illness, 75% knew of friends and family suffering, whilst almost a quarter of respondents had been involved in support services. Despite the range of services available the Guild has only recently adopted a Mental Health Policy committing the Students’ Guild “to actively promote the awareness of mental health difficulties in order to combat the stigma that is associated with mental health and promote positive mental health.” The policy also exposes a possible flaw in the current University system: the institution doesn’t have a comprehensive mental health policy. The road to recovery from a mental health illness can be a long one. Scientists freely admit there is no cure for mental health illnesses. But it doesn’t

have to be a life-long rehabilitation. People can indeed fully recover from mental health illnesses with enough access to help and support, especially from those closest to them. Highs and lows can form part of that process, and taking each day as it comes can stop the pendulum of emotion swinging so vigorously. One sufferer says, “You have good days and inevitably bad days. If you have a bad day you have to recognise that, and know tomorrow you will be stronger.” *Some names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality Who can help? University/ Students’ Guild support: 1. Voice- the student run listening and information service, run by students for fellow students at the University of Exeter and is available from 8pm to 8am every night during term time. Internal Number: 74001 for Listening (Free from halls) External Number: 01392 275284 2. Advice Unit Visit: Devonshire House - 1st Floor next to Long Lounge. Tel: 01392 723520 Email: studentadvice@ex.ac.uk 3. Student Health Centre Tel: 01392 676606 Email: studenthealth@ex.ac.uk 4. Mental Health Advisors, Disability Resource Centre Tel: 01392 263880 or Email: disability@exeter.ac.uk 5. Student Counselling Service Tel: (01392) 264381 Email: counselling@exeter.ac.uk External support: 1. MIND- mental health support www.mind.org.uk 0845 766 0163 2. Mental Health Foundation www.mentalhealth.org.uk 3. Students Against Depression www.studentdepression.org 4. Eating Disorders www.b-eat. co.uk 5. Online counselling resource http://counsellingresource.com/

march 22 2010

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50 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU LEAVE EXETER UNI 1. Make survivors’ photo at summer ball. 2. Do a triple Lemmy (Friday/Sat/ Sunday Quiz). 3. Go to Ottery St. Mary on Bonfire Night. 4. Watch an Exeter City Football Game. 5. Do the Topsham Ten. 6. Play ‘I have never’. 7. Canvass in the Guild elections. 8. Go to the SSB. 9. See a Footlights/Eutco Production. 10. Swim in the outdoor pool. 11. Re-visit your old room in halls. 12. Canoe to the Double Locks. 13. Been on the CA bouncy castle. 14. Go to the Impy Beer festival. 15. Put an Exeter Sticker in your rear windscreen. 16. Rack up a library fine over £10. 17. Eat fish and chips at the Exmouth Seafront. 18. Go to St. Lukes Bop. 19. Visit the Cathedral. 20. Pull a member of the Guild Exec Sabb team. 21. Explore the underground passages. 22. Watch a Varsity Match. 23. Wake up with a piece of street furniture in your room. 24. Do an all-nighter (work). 25. Do an all-nighter (drinking). 26. Go on a Rag Raid. 27. Buy some stash and wear it going out at home. 28. Speak on Xpression FM. 29. Visit the beach at Dawlish. 30. Spend a Friday in the Ram/ Lemmy playing board games. 31. Drink Snakebite in Walkabout. 32. Have a shower in the Ram Toilets. 33. Do the Great West Run. 34. Buy a copy of the Big Issue from an Exeter homeless person. 35. Do coffee at Boston Tea Party. 36. Shag a fresher when not fresh/ shag a finalist when fresh. 37. Eat at Harry’s. 38. Play frisbee outside halls. 39. Go on a Dublin/Amsterdam Hitch. 40. Have sex in the library. 41. Complete a three-legged pubcrawl. 42. Take part in the StopAids Dodgeball Tournament. 43. Run up cardiac hill. 44. Get your picture printed in Exeposé. 45. Phone Voice. 46. See a film at Campus Cinema. 47. Try your hand at surfing. 48. Get on the Welcome Week team. 49. Go out in town on the weekend. 50. Chat up a chav at EX4.

The Gap Year Myth Davina Cameron-Gale investigates the ‘gapper’ and ‘straight from schooler’ stereotypes.

“YAH... so when I was on my gap yah...” This is the phrase of the moment, thanks to an amusing, yet terrifyingly apt, YouTube comedy sketch that’s currently doing the rounds on Facebook. It focuses on an upper middle class boy on his ‘gap yah’ – read ‘gap year’ - who has not only encountered great human suffering (in Africa he observed a malaria-stricken women, and felt a profound connection with her, after all, with Fulham and Africa, you’re practically neighbours right?) and stunning geographical landscapes, but has eventually ended up in prison for bringing ‘naughty salt’ into the country. Whilst this mocking take, on what is arguably a hideous stereotype is clearly an exaggeration, I think that it simultaneously strikes a chord. It aligns itself nicely with what I like to call the ‘gap year myth’; the question of whether taking a gap year makes you a more rounded, interesting and sophisticated person. Clearly there’s a point to be made here about generalisations; many undergraduates take a gap year and get a job, see the world, and get some life experience before entering three years – or more - of academia. It’s a crucial life stage, and a year out can give you a real clarity of vision as you make the

transition from your schooldays to the tentative stages of adulthood. Yet when I hear people saying things like, “Oh well, I can tell she hasn’t had a gap year”, or “Well you would know...IF you had taken a gap year”, I have my reservations. Is there some kind of standard test you take during your gap year that provides you with a certificate of superior knowledge and sophistication? Maturity and understanding do come from life experience, but surely this is dependent on the individual, and how they choose to use their time. You might go to Burma or India and ‘find yourself’, but equally, you might just as easily find that it’s a bit too hot, you’ve run out of underwear, and maybe it’s time to go home. The YouTube sketch plays on a cliché that is undeniably somewhat unfair, and is definitely not a catch-all representation of those who took gap years, but I think that everyone has encountered some form of the stereotype at some stage in their university careers. It’s a kind of arrogance and lack of social conscience that is easy to laugh at, yet hits home. There are plenty of people who presume that they can sail through life, going from one social bubble

to another, preening their everexpanding egos and superiority complexes. To suggest that this type of person is confined to someone who took a year out is ridiculous. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t take a gap year myself, but was once helpfully told, “Really? You don’t seem like you didn’t.” Perhaps this is because I exude maturity and sophistication – and modesty – but I think that it sums up my point perfectly; there is no set way to find out whether someone took a gap year or not. Maybe we should just make things easier for everyone and brand the foreheads of those who have? Just as I’ve pointed out the unfair stereotype of the gapper, I should also highlight the other end of the spectrum; the ‘straight from schooler.’ Now this is someone who, contrary to popular belief, cannot be identified on sight alone – though the fact that we still have dummies is, of course, a slight giveaway. Yes, there are people who are naturally a little less worldly than others, who may not have travelled the world and developed any real sign of self-identity, but this should not be the basis of assumptions about everyone who arrived at university without taking a year out. I know that if I had taken a gap year, I would have

just remained sedentary for a year, slowly becoming one with my sofa; going straight into Higher Education was what was right for me and it’s not something I regret for a second. Equally, I don’t feel at a disadvantage amongst my friends in terms of self-development or life experience. This is what needs to be separated; the stereotype the mythical figure of the gapper in the YouTube sketch, with his braying laugh and questionable interpretation of the word ‘banter’ on the one hand, and the unfair assumption that those who come straight from school aren’t as socially developed on the other – and the reality. Otherwise you end up being just as bad as both the clichés. Maybe I just don’t understand; I didn’t take a gap yah, you know...

Time to Slay the Buffet David Brake has an unfortunate adventure down the dark alleys of Buffet City.

DOWN a dark dark street; down a dark dark road; down a dark dark alleyway – at the end you shall reach Buffet City. Ladies and gentleman, prepare your eyes and stomachs for something that your simple mind could never imagine. To metaphor this experience, it is the equivalent of the bearded lady or the one-eyed wonder - a creation so monstrous yet marvellous it beggars belief and you can’t help but be amazed by its existence. However I invite you to join me on my descent into food hell. So, just off George Street, you head down an alleyway decorated to look like the deleted scenes from John Carpenter’s Big Trouble In Little China. You walk into the restaurant, accepting your now inescapable fate. The atmosphere seems tense and nervous. The décor seems styled upon The Sound of Music, bland airport lounge and Peter Stringfellow’s garage concoction a disturbing mix in anyone’s book. Passing by several disgruntled families with dads already starting their third or fourth pint of the day; even though it was only 2:20 in the afternoon. This does not bode well.

A set of nervous laughs and pure hysteria spreads throughout as eyes catch a glimpse of the food bonanza that awaits. In all honesty, I believe even Bruce Bogtrotter from Matilda would have stalled at the gargantuan variety of food available. It’s ridiculous. From Indian to Chinese, chips to oysters - there is nothing this place does not serve. It serves more than 100 different dishes a day and by anyone’s standards, that’s incredibly impressive. However, it is when one peruses the menu that the fear properly hits you. Firstly, the statement “we do not serve tap water” immediately catches your attention. However, before you have even taken your seat, your waiter arrives and basically sets up the ground rules. Firstly, you are not allowed to stay for longer than 90 minutes. Secondly, only take what you can eat – if it is decided that the amount of food left over upon your plate is considered excessive, you will be charged extra. Nevertheless, £7.95 all-you-can-eat- how bad can it be? Well, as you approach the food, a lot becomes clear. Some of the

curries look saggy and sad after having seemingly stewed in their own juices for the best part of four to five hours. The noodles looked limp and lifeless. All the dishes are presented in such a depressing manner, simply bubbling and stewing, waiting for someone to please eat them. Personally, nothing is outrightly appetising in the slightest. I went for the chicken balls and lemon chicken. In hindsight, these were bad decisions. The chicken balls were lowest denomination of chicksen ever to enter into existence. The cooking technique equalling that of simply triple deep fat frying the food; therefore, it is possible that you will simply find yourself chewing upon fat drenched batter. However, to give Buffet City fair credit, it is the author’s belief that the author himself should be examined. Allergic to nuts, wheat, dust, cats, dogs, some fish and much more - I am not the best man for this job. For example, one of my friends stated how the chicken satay was very nice and flavoursome. Indeed, most of the visiting entourage enjoyed their meals, so there is light at the end

of the tunnel folks. Personally, my experience of the food was an interesting one to say the least which left a fascinatingly disturbing taste on the tongue. However, if offered the chance to go again with my friends; I would. Reasoning? In those precious 90 minutes, I’ve never laughed so much and giggled like the little four year-old girl that I truly am. The bad food brought my friends together. The sight of my friend’s face after devouring god-awful sushi was one of the funniest moments I’ve experienced in Exeter. Pure brilliance. Overall, it is a genuinely horrendous place. However, enter with an open mind and big smile – it’ll be the best £7.95 you spend in a while. Buffet City - good or bad - it’s up to you. Of my own admission, this article is heavily colloquial and it may not please everyone. It really is an Exeter experience. I urge students everywhere to suffer this strange delight. Buffet City is the stuff of urban legend. Forget about the food quality. Forget about the bewildering environment. Pull up a chair and prepare yourself for the one, and the only. Buffet City.

Exeposé week twenty two lifestyle@exepose.com

This lifestyle statement entitles you to sex. Apparently.

Tom Richards explores a bathroom in Reading and the new Citroen DS3.

THERE are many things about the railway network that I can’t recommend to you. For instance, at the time of writing, and against my better judgement, I’ve just had to use the Little Boys’ Room at Reading Station, and I simply have nothing to say about it, other than that there is someone in the Berkshire area who can’t aim. And that there was no cleaner on duty with either the morale or stomach fibre to deal with the mess. It was vile. Viler than vile. It was Slough, Croydon and Bracknell, all rolled into one horrendous pool of cess. There’s more too. The apathetic ticket inspectors, who have had enough of stamping orange slips of paper and just want to be glugging nameless whiskey in their grey home in the grey village of Communist-on-Sea. Or the catastrophically awful textile designs on the seats and carpets. But the worst thing for me is the free travel magazine on each and every train. I opened one up recently – it was a better alternative to glaring at the inspector – and glanced through the pages, and I was astonished by the number of pictures of smiling families, with perfect teeth and perfect children, prancing gaily around perfectly perfect places

that were nowhere near a train line. The train operators have realised they’ll never get people on trains by advertising quality of service. Such a thing would be banned under the Trade Descriptions Act. Instead, they’re selling tickets on the promise that customers are buying into a lifestyle, one in

which they grin like the Cheshire Cat and have sex with beautiful people. And so it goes with the car pictured here, the brand new Citroen DS3, a competitor to the Mini. The French manufacturer insists that this “sensual” product is one of “self-expression,” “strong personality” and other similar phrases that make marketing men go all moist, gooey and weakat-the-knees. They suggest that, in buying such a car, you will be engaged in coitus with a smiling

size 6 within minutes. It all sounds like a load of cobblers to me, though, so I instantly threw away the lifestyle bumpf and decided it’d be best if I actually looked at the car itself. And it looks good. The looks aren’t for everyone, but to my mind it’s a handsome thing, and refreshingly un-retro, unlike the rest of the competition – the Mini and Fiat 500. It also comes with a seemingly endless list of customisation options – contrasting roof colours, textured paintjobs, that sort of thing. The same goes for the interior. With attractive polished surfaces and fake-suede panels, it looks and feels grown-up and futuristic. Unlike the C3 on which the DS3 is based, which looks and feels like Morecambe. In November. Slot yourself into the nicelysupportive seats and press the engine start button, and the same, brilliant 1.6 petrol engine found in the Mini thrums into life, and is good for a satisfactorily-fast 7.3 second sprint from 0-60mph, onto 133mph if you feel like losing your licence.

It’s really rather good fun too, the kind of car you can throw into a corner with slightly gay abandon and come out the other side smiling. It feels much softer than a Mini, sacrificing the sporty and sometimes downright uncomfortable ride, replacing it instead with something that’s much more comfortable, much more fluid. Think of it as your favourite sofa, but with racing stripes. And not much room for anyone else. One thing you should not think of it as, however, is a lifestyle statement. If you need one of them, take the train. No, the DS3 is a more grown-up, more comfy supermini, and if you can ignore the ‘self-expression’ toss in the brochure, what’s left is really just a very good car, which is infinitely better than taking the train. Although some of the seat patterns on offer might remind you of those on the 21.12 First Great Western service from Reading.

Lifestyle

Brand New Brogues Aldo

Topshop

Dune

Citroen DS3 THP 150 Price: £15,900 Power: 156bhp, 0-60mph in: 7.3secs, Top Speed: 133mph Economy: 42.2mpg

7/10

SEX-ON-THE-EXE

An anonymous student discusses oversized packages.

BEING 5ft 2 (and a bit) has seemingly always held its advantages for me. I can take my pick from guys of all shapes and sizes, be they a gentle 5ft 5, or a more aspiring 5ft 9. But it was only recently that it occurred to me to reach even higher and go for a really big one. 6ft 4, whilst not giant, seems dauntingly tall from down here, and it was not without some trepidation that I accepted the potential physical challenges that entering into such a relationship could entail. Never before have I been confronted with size in such vast proportions, and never before have I so openly questioned whether or not it matters, or indeed makes a difference. There is an awkward foot worth of size difference that is little remedied when sitting, and standing up involves a game of stretch and shrink from both sides in order for our lips to meet. This does, however, give me an excuse to wear heels more often.

Small consolation for being vertically challenged. Upon relaying the news of my new man to my family, my mum’s reaction was one of abject surprise, perhaps at the fact that such a tall man would even have seen me, his eye line constantly being far above my head. I distinctly heard my little brother yell in the background “you’ll look like a midget, and he’ll be like a giant,” and indeed I worry that we do. In the back of my mind a small voice tells me that we might look just a little ridiculous, especially when my arm is stretched almost to breaking point as we amble along attempting to hold hands. It’s like a Great Dane venturing out with a Miniature Poodle. (Though

I hope I’m not that much of a bitch!) Looking somewhat ludicrous to the outside world is one thing, but what hadn’t really crossed my mind before was how this would all equate in the bedroom. After all, it’s all very well standing on tiptoe to kiss his lips and just managing to graze his neck, but sheer proportional differences could potentially mean that when I am lying back, thinking of England and wanting to gaze into those doleful hazel eyes, all I can see is a hairy chest. Such was my fear, a recurring nightmare seeping through my dreams for nights on end, coupled with one in which an oversized Jiffy bag couldn’t be received and all I got was a note from the Post Office simply

Schuh saying ‘this parcel is too big for your letterbox and cannot be delivered.’ What if the parcel can never be delivered? What if it is simply too large to fit through my letterbox? Such questions plagued me for days, particularly after I had seen the sheer size of the thing and had been told by an expert that my letterbox was ‘unusually small.’ I didn’t want to take delivery at the backdoor, nor did I much like the idea of stuffing the parcel haphazardly into the letterbox. Instead, we were patient, and after a little rewrapping, succeeded in gently easing in the package. Patience only made the reception even more exciting, and ultimately I was very satisfied with the postal service. If they’d asked me for feedback, I would have given them ten out of ten. Ten, because I didn’t even find myself staring uncomfortably at a hairy chest. All I could see were understanding hazel eyes. When the lights were on, that is.

ASOS

march 22 2010 Exeposé

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Music

Upcoming

music interview

Steve Richardson talks to James Frost from The Automatic

I WENT along to The Automatic’s gig at the Cavern on March 4 and met up with James Frost, the band’s guitarist and song-writer, after the show to get the scoop on their new album Tear the Signs Down, as well as to uncover the truth about unhinged fans, how to get your band signed, the Welsh music scene, and just how bored of playing Monster the band really is. I wanted to know what we should expect from the band’s third studio album. “I think it’s probably the most diverse album we’ve done. I think some of it relates back to some

of the songs on the first record. ‘Cannot be Saved’ especially reminds me of some of the dancier stuff on the first album. There are some similar themes to the last album This is a Fix as well. It’s now heading in the rock-indie direction it’s always been going in and this is the next chapter of that. We’ve kind of opened out a bit more, there’s some heavier stuff than we’ve done before but definitely ‘High Time’ is the most relaxed song we’ve ever written.” I spoke to James about how we often hear a lot of musical genre labels thrown around to describe

The first album we did, we called it something like ‘electro-punk-pop’ but I don’t think it’s down that route anymore. Now it’s probably nearer somewhere between rock and indie.”

a band’s style – names like ‘danceindie,’ ‘electro-indie’ and ‘electropunk’ have all been used to describe The Automatic. I asked James how the band personally describe their music and how the new album might be summarised musically. “That’s one thing I like the journalists to do for us. It’s not something we really ever think about, especially during the recording of the album...it’s not something that ever really crosses our mind. It’s more just the music itself. The first album we did, we called it something like ‘electropunk-pop’ but I don’t think it’s down that route anymore. Now it’s probably nearer somewhere between rock and indie.” The Welsh music scene has blossomed in recent years and has produced many iconic bands including The Stereophonics, Lost Prophets, Funeral for a Friend, Kids in Glass Houses, The Blackout and

22/03 - This Is Hell + More Than Life + Osmium + Depths + We Hold The Gun (CAVERN) 25/03 - Andy McKee (PHOENIX) 25/03 - The Lawrence Arms (Fat Wreck) + The Cut Ups (CAVERN) 27/03 - Indie Club - Walter Schreifels (CAVERN) 27/03 - Pam’s House In 3 D (PHOENIX) 29/03 - The False Arrests + Lost Without Lacie (CAVERN) 01/04 - Torch The House presents Hooks + Finding Faith (CAVERN) 02/04 - Vida Guitar Quartet (PHOENIX) 03/04 - John Etheridge (Solo) (PHOENIX) 04/04 - Denian Arcoleo (PHOENIX) 04/04 - Jim Moray Band + Chris Woods (PHOENIX) 23/04 - Acoustic Night with Richard James (MAMA STONE’S) 24/04 - Albenaza + Francis & The Drakes (MAMA STONE’S) 25/04 - Willie & The Bandits (MAMA STONE’S) 26/04 - Melosa + The House Band feat Paul Avez (MAMA STONE’S) 27/04 - The House Band feat Kat Marsh (MAMA STONE’S) 28/04 - Dan Crisp + Blues/ Jazz/ Jam Night (MAMA STONE’S) 30/04 - Beat Roots (MAMA STONE’S) 31/04 - Ellie Williams + Francis & The Drakes (MAMA STONE’S)

of course The Automatic. I asked James how the Welsh live music scene has developed recently and whether The Automatic are personal friends with any of the new Welsh bands coming through. “We used to play a lot of gigs with those bands back when we were 15, 16. There’s a place called Teen Spirit which was basically where underage bands could play in proper venues together. We sold tickets in our schools so when we were 15 it was great for us because we got a chance to play in the Cardiff Barfly. You’d see some of the bands that came down and then years later they’d be out there touring like we were as well.

(continued on page 23)

Playlist

MORRISEY - First Of The Gang To Die STARS - The First Five Times PULP - Do You Remember The First Time? RED LIGHT COMPANY - First We Land OF MONTREAL - First Time High IMOGEN HEAP - First Train Home NICK DRAKE - One Of These Things First DEVENDRA BANHART - First Song For B YANN TIERSEN - First Rendez-Vous THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND - First Girl I Loved BRIGHT EYES - First Day Of My Life CAT STEVENS - The First Cut Is The Deepest NOAH AND THE WHALE- The First Days Of hannah fortune

Exeposé week twenty two music@exepose.com

The Automatic Interview, continued from page 22 “We know Kids in Glass Houses a little bit, they’re always out in Cardiff and we did Reading with The Blackout and we were the two

opening bands on the main stage. It was quite a nice Welsh opening to the day; it was quite a patriotic feel.”

As with any band The Automatic started small, playing many unpaid gigs in and around Cardiff for several years. For many unsigned bands the trade-off between earning enough money from a regular job to pay for dayto-day expenses, and investing valuable time and money in band rehearsals and equipment, presents a dilemma. Not knowing whether a band will sink or swim is often a nerve-wracking and potentially disastrous experience for any unsigned band. James offered me his advice for unsigned bands looking to get their musical feet off the ground and gain the valuable recognition of a record label. “I think the main thing is just to give it as much time as possible and don’t let anything get in your way. One thing we did was to sync up all our shifts so that we’d all be working at the same time, so we’d all have our free time at the same time to rehearse. Give it everything and treat it like a job. I see a lot of bands that support us and think ‘how has this band not been signed?’ Give it all the time you’ve got, basically.” Many unsigned bands go through the doubtful stage when they begin to consider the awful alternative to playing music professionally - getting a ‘real’ job. I quizzed James about where he’d see himself today had The Automatic not worked out as a full-time career. “Oh God,

I’d probably be working some rubbish job. I’d still be in a band I think and I’d still be playing guitar for someone and I’d still be writing songs but I doubt it’d be particularly successful, definitely not as successful as The Automatic. In a way we’re very lucky to get where we are and we’re so lucky to have had the time to develop. I’d otherwise probably be working in a guitar shop or on tour with some other band.” I jokingly asked Frost if the band had experienced any memorable incidents involving crazy, stalker-like or star-struck fans. “We used to have a lot of people who would follow us round the country in the first couple of years and you’d see the same people every night. You will have just travelled 300 miles in the tour bus and you’d get to the next venue and they’d be there waiting for you, and it would be like ‘how did you beat us here?’ They’re all pretty sane really but after a few beers they turn a little bit crazy!” Well there’s a relief! The Automatic were greeted at The Cavern by an energetic and rowdy audience, who had been thoroughly pumped up by Exeter University’s own Hang On Look John and fellow Welsh rockers Straight Lines. Both supporting acts were excellent and provided a solid platform onto which The Automatic stepped to deliver a truly awesome set made up of a

Music

mix of old tracks and several tracks off the new album, including the anthemic ‘Interstate,’ the funky ‘Can I Take You Home?,’ and the downright catchy ‘Run and Hide.’ Classic crowd-pleasers including ‘Steve McQueen’, ‘Raoul’ and ‘Recover’ provided excellent moments of crowd participation, with raucous sing-alongs and general moshing. However it wasn’t until the band unleashed their cult-classic ‘Monster,’ that the full fury of the audience was realized. I asked James backstage whether the band was sick to death of playing such a well-worn anthem as ‘Monster’ or whether it grows better with age. “Playing it at gigs is a release. We still like playing it and it definitely doesn’t get boring live - it’s one of our best songs I think. If I hear it out anywhere then that’s quite boring and I will turn it over, but live it’s still got as much energy as it used to and I look forward to playing it. We still really enjoy playing the stuff off the first record, especially with Paul (former lead singer of Your Codename is: Milo) in the band - everything’s got a bit of an edge to it.” The Automatic are currently touring the UK and will play at the Bristol Thekla on March 28. If their show at The Cavern is anything to judge this upcoming gig by, I highly recommend making the journey.

iEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS albu The Courteeners Falcon

TWO years after the release of St. Jude, The Courteeners return with their second album Falcon. As another conventional ‘indie rock’ band, their sound is nevertheless distinctive, with Liam Fray’s heavy Mancunian accent lending Falcon a sense of honesty and realism. On first listen, I felt that the album was pretty mellow; the recognisable radio favourite ‘You Overdid it Doll’ being by far the most upbeat song. However with their candid, albeit often repetitive lyrics, The Courteeners provide an endearing edge and immediate sing-along feel after only a few listens. I was impressed that the lyrics of the songs were easy to relate to (with my twentieth birthday coming up next week, I wasn’t sure anything could top ‘Not Nineteen Forever’). Even the

more sentimental songs touch upon relevant issues to young student types anyway, such as long distance relationships and missing “the streets where I grew tall.” Their lyrics often draw attention to the fact that they don’t appreciate clichés, a flaw they easily avoid with the inclusion of pertinent lines that are insightful in their simplicity, “I’m still young, I need life more than I need a wife”, and mundane yet relatable references to ground the album, “I’ll be minding your drink as you go to the RBS cash machine.” The overall feel to the album seems heartfelt, sincere and through this, a little more grown up and gritty. There is the occasional song that crosses over into soppiness such as ‘Last of the Ladies’, which is sweet, but

“The

Courteeners

provide an endearing edge and immediate sing-along feel.” potentially Falcon’s weakest link. It’s not all sentimental however, and the earthy interesting narrative to their songs keep the album from slipping into simply ‘background music’. If you liked The Courteeners’ previous indierock stuff, then I doubt you will be disappointed with the more mature sound Falcon has to offer.

emma vince

march 22 2010 Exeposé

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iEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS albu Ellie Goulding E.P.

Alan Pownall E.P.

24 YEAR-old Alan Pownall has seen a rapid rise to prominence, if not potential success. After writing just a handful of songs whilst at Art School he gained a position supporting Adele on her UK tour and even played the same circuit as the rising Florence + The Machine and Laura Marling, going on to tour with the Lemmy’s own letdown - Mr. Hudson. It would be wrong to suggest, however, that his music is anything like that of these previous artists; to put things simply he sounds like an English Jack Johnson with a penchant for jazzy French whimsy. Whether this is a good thing or not is perhaps up to fans of Johnson himself or similarly inoffensive artists such as Norah Jones and Corinne Bailey Rae. There is nothing wrong with Pownall’s approach to song-writing, yet it often appears that in terms of originality he is still striving for authenticity. Second track, ‘Chasing Time’, resounds with ramshackle brass and string sections that lend it the sort of assumed Gallic posture that means it could be found on the soundtrack to a rom-com set in

Paris. Again, this is not necessarily a bad thing, yet the knowledge that this song was chosen for the Nokia N Series advert suggests the type of commercial appeal it has and subsequent blanketing of bland emotion. ‘Clara’ further describes Pownall’s sound; accented by a bouncing western saloon piano and complemented with vibrating double bass strings and a mandolin. Interestingly, these are largely the same instruments of choice for the rapidly ascending Mumford and Sons (with whom Pownall once shared a flat in London), yet where they combine them to attempt dramatic sweeping emotion, we are given something much more lighthearted. The only real standout track is ‘Colourful Day’, with lyrics daring to stab at real emotion with the phrase, “it’s rude to point but attention’s what I want and she told me I looked like David Bowie.” This is backed by a mellow croon that is successful in conveying a real sense of sadness, hinting that Pownall might have greater potential than he is currently realising. It is a shame then that

WINNER of BBC Sound of 2010, winner of the Critic’s Choice Award at this year’s Brit Awards and a top five single all seem to indicate this is the year of Ellie Goulding. But does her debut manage to live up to this mountain of hype? Well, it really depends on your mindset. Listening to Lights, it would be easy to simply hear a synthed-up Dido. Listenable, but not lovable songs put into a tentrack, highly commercial album ready for Mother’s Day. However, delve a little deeper and it becomes clear that Goulding may in fact have more to offer. Opener ‘Guns and Horses’ sets up the album well with its impressive melody and bouncy synths. Then comes Goulding’s defining hit, ‘Starry Eyed’, clearly one of the standouts on the album. Goulding’s fluttering vocals on lines such as, “you look at me, it’s like you hit me with lightning”, show the infusion of both folk and synths on the album. Whether this sound is actually Goulding’s, or whether it was concocted in a boardroom meeting to cash in on two of the most

the same voice proves rather trivial on the rest of the songs here, more suited to whiling away hours spent on sunny Sunday afternoon drives than breaking hearts and inspiring poetry. There is nothing obviously wrong with this E.P., yet the fact that it is neither dangerous nor affecting makes it appear somewhat inconsequential. It feels as though Pownall has deliberately written a set of songs that will bring him the largest amount of success in the shortest time possible. No new territory has been charted here that has not already been trodden and re-trodden by singer-songwriters in the past. Pownall won’t be wielding his guitar at the head of human rights rallies any time soon, yet he will definitely see constant airplay in Starbucks, something that is sure to please him and his record company.

ben murphie

recent sounds du jour (La Roux and Mumford & Sons) it is difficult to say. However, if the story of ‘folk-singer’ Ellie Goulding meeting Frankmusik at college, penning one of the darker songs on the album, ‘Wish I Stayed’ and discovering synthesizers is to be believed, then this genuine evolution in sound could prove to be very worthwhile for her. The synth-folk sound continues through most of the album, with the only exceptions being ‘The Writer’, which sounds much more traditional and almost Coldplaylike, and the buzz single ‘Under the Sheets’, which focuses much more on the synth-side of Ellie. However, some of the songs do sometimes merge into one another as a result of this cohesive sound throughout the album. The biggest casualty of this is ‘Every Time You Go’, which is catchy but not spectacular, and therefore gets lost in the mix somewhat. It is really the last three tracks of the album that show Goulding in the most impressive light. ‘Your Biggest Mistake’, ‘I’ll Hold My Breath’, and ‘Salt Skin’ are the most inventive and ultimately rewarding to listen to of

all the tracks. ‘Your Biggest Mistake’ has a sweeping and undeniably catchy chorus. ‘I’ll Hold My Breath’ does not excite on first listen, but soon unleashes its joy when Goulding sings, “A sky of diamonds just for us!” The closer, ‘Salt Skin’, could signify the direction Goulding will take on album number two. Much darker in vibe, and more intricate than any other song on the album, it is the perfect way to end an album that could be seen to be too safe or uneventful. To say this album is a masterpiece would be unfair, but to say it doesn’t live up to the hype would be unfair as well. As a debut, it is melodically impressive throughout, and could well be one of the catchiest pop albums of the year.

matt eustace

Music

Exeposé week twenty two music@exepose.com

iEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS album REVIEWS albu Ash

A-Z Vol. 1

FOR those unfamiliar with them, Ash are one of Northern Ireland’s

finest exports, with a vast back catalogue, an excellent live

show and eight million record sales to boot. Having ditched the traditional album cycle structured approach that most bands take, following their 2007 release Twilight of the Innocents, Ash have released a single every fortnight since mid May 2009. The first 13 of these (A-M) are collated on volume one with varying results. It should be made clear that AZ is not a traditional Ash record as we know it. Some of the songs are very different to everything they have done before. Songs such as ‘True Love 1980’ have an indierock air about them, boosted by an almost electronic disco-esque bass sound, whereas ‘The Dead Disciples’ contains rapid double bass drumming from drummer Rick McMurray, whilst room is found for electronic drum sounds in the piano-driven ‘Pripyat.’ The

Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit Warm Heart Of Africa

FOLLOWING the unexpected success of their 2008 mixtape, The Very Best, Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and London production duo Radioclit put together their first full-length studio effort, The Warm Heart of Africa. Drawing influences from traditional Malawian music, recent developments in the qwaito scene, and contemporary western electronica, the dynamic collaboration has produced something profoundly new and refreshingly different, while still retaining the hallmarks and characters of the individual influences. This has been perhaps one of the most exciting releases in the last twelve months. Sung primarily in Mwamwaya’s native Malawian dialect, the vocals sound clear and subtle, ranging from the softly sung ‘Chalo’ to the synth-driven opening track ‘Yalira’. Guest spots from Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig (on ‘Warm Heart of Africa’) and M.I.A. (on ‘Rain Dance’) complement Mwamwaya’s distinctive singing without ever compromising his stamp on the album. Following impeccable covers of Vampire Weekend’s ‘Cape Cod Kwassa

Kwassa’ and M.I.A’s ‘Paper Planes’ on The Very Best, it is unsurprising these high-profile artists were involved with the album. Mwamwaya’s reinterpretations of their well-known tracks were so much better than the originals (especially ‘Paper Planes’) that any means by which to become associated with the talented singer must have seemed attractive. The music is incredibly diverse though. The warmth of ‘Yalira’ is offset by the dark minimal house track ‘Nsokoto’, which again finds its counterpoint in the almost grimey ‘Julia’. While the qwaito influence has been disappointingly left out on The Warm Heart of Africa (listen to ‘Sister Betina I’ on The Very Best), the album is still an excellent composite of a number of different genres and styles, all of which Mwamwaya gives the perfect voice. Radioclit’s production is flawless throughout, incorporating a huge range of instruments to craft distinct songs while retaining a characteristic sound that flows through the album. The only criticism that could be leveled against this album is perhaps by those who have heard

The Very Best. While the initial mixtape was perhaps a little more experimental in its instrumentation, Warm Heart of Africa feels a little too safe at times. While this could

musical departures on this album aren’t quite alienating though, with songs such as ‘Ichiban’ displaying competent fret work from Tim Wheeler and catchy melodies and structures reminiscent of the Ash of old. The majority of the songs here are competent but it feels like something is missing. The album smacks of a band in cruise control, which admittedly Ash can afford to do these days. The sheer number of songs involved (there are 13 more to come) suggests that quality control is minimal and it can be argued that many of these songs wouldn’t have made it onto a traditional album, let alone be single worthy. Further to this, although most of the songs are catchy, the album lacks anything remotely as good as the classics ‘Girl from Mars,’ ‘Burn Baby Burn’ or ‘Orpheus,’

and only occasionally do the band sound like three driven musicians jamming in a room on tracks such as ‘Ichiban.’ It is only then that the band sounds something close to their considerable potential. Then again, the fact that A-Z isn’t really an album should be taken into consideration here. Most modern day artists would struggle to write 26 single-worthy songs in a decade and if the first half of them are to be believed then Ash do very well to almost pull it off. Although A-Z is devoid of classics there are some decent songs on here and it is a necessary purchase for any fan.

just be the collaborative effort settling into their own pattern having tried and tested different styles, earlier efforts were more memorable because when Radioclit

experimented, they got it right. It is impossible to know whether the same could be true second time round, but it wouldn’t have killed them to try. An obvious exception comes in album closer ‘Zam’dziko,’ which is entirely a capella and relies on some ridiculously over the top harmonies. The collaborative effort put out by Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya has gone sadly unrecognized since its inception, let alone since Warm Heart of Africa. An uplifting, exciting, and memorable release by an impossibly talented team, the album is perfect for any situation. It’s gone down well at house parties, to sit in the library with, and even while I sit on this train writing this review. Anyone interested in exploring new styles, and hearing some impressive reinterpretations of those already familiar, I implore you to listen to this album.

christopher cooper

alex moss News EDitor

Books

march 22 2010

Exeposé

www.exepose.com

BOOKS FEATURE

Ever wanted to get your work published? Catherine Webb talks to Richard Willis of Exeter’s Impress Books.

If you’re a writer, then probably the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do is get your first book published. Making the industry aware of you and your work is a long and hard process and success can be a mixture of talent and luck. However, talking to Richard Willis of Impress Books I have learnt a few ‘top tips’ to at least get the ball rolling. Last year there were over 200,000 books published in the UK, all from approximately 8,000 of our publishing companies. It is essential to understand that the UK produces the most books per year than any other country in the world, even above the US, so the industry is very busy, highly competitive and sometimes unkind. With this in mind, Willis says to “research publishers and agents before sending submissions: they all specialise so it is important you fit their list.” A publisher’s ‘list’ is an important point to consider as

publishers can specialise in genres - from military history to biography. Send your work to publishers who might have an interest in your topic or genre and they will at least spend time considering it. However, publishers whose list does not fit your book will more than likely not even consider reading your work. Another tip Richard Willis gives is what to send to each publisher when attempting to gain their interest: “Don’t send completed manuscripts to agents and publishers: just a synopsis, author bio and a sample chapter.” A whole manuscript can sometimes be overwhelming and perhaps a little too keen. A publisher can usually tell if they are interested in a book from the first chapter, and a synopsis of the rest of the book will usually give them enough information. Another point Willis stresses is to “proofread your work before you send it out!” An obvious but crucial idea - mistakes do not make a great

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Richard Bach

first impression. However, one of the easiest ways to get your work noticed is to enter literary prizes and competitions. Entry is either cheap or free and if your work is short-listed, a judging panel will usually include a representative from the publishing industry. The winner’s prize can be incredibly beneficial, ranging from prize money to publishing contracts. The renown from winning a prize or even just being shortlisted can alert publishers to potential newcomers into the literary world. Examples of this can be seen through the Impress Prize for New

“The easiest way to get your work noticed is to enter literary competitions”

Writers, an annual prize with the aim to find talented new writers and the award of a publishing contract from Impress Books. Carol Fenlon won the 2007 prize with her entry Consider the Lilies and said that “as a result of winning the prize and being published, I was encouraged to work on a second novel and have signed up with a well established literary agent... the Impress Prize offers a chance to break into the highly competitive world of publishing.” Other examples of the effect of the Impress Prize come with the announcement that Gabrielle Kimm, who made the short-list in 2007, has received a two-book deal with the publishing group Little, Brown. With news that her entry to the Impress Prize and its prequel were going to be published, Kimm has said that, “almost immediately after being informed that I had been short-listed for the Impress Prize for New Writers 2007, the literary agent who had been considering my novel

The Blind Assassin

Few authors have managed to bridge the chasm that exists between the novella and prose poetry as successfully as Richard Bach. In Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Bach captures the experiences of freedom and solitude with an incredible tenderness, and explores ambition in a fashion diametrically opposed to the damning Miller-ian style that has dogged the 20th Century. The novella follows the fortunes of the young seagull, Jonathan, first in his quest to master flying then later as he becomes enlightened and turns the teacher to a younger gull,

“A beautifully crafted piece of utopian escapism”

Margaret Atwood ISBN: 1860498809

ISBN: 0743278909

Fletch. Jonathan’s love of flying has made him an outsider from his flock, looked upon with disappointment by his parents and with confusion by his fellow birds, they cannot conceive of why he need study flying beyond that which serves the purposes of collecting fish, and this collective disdain causes Jonathan to falter in his confidence and question his love of flying after his early setbacks. He stays the course however, and eventually is rewarded both in flying and by meeting a select group of gulls who share his passions. I have something of a personal relationship with this book, having read it a great number of times, it has always been a piece of picturesque escapism. As a result it is one of the few stories I do not have a great wish to de-construct the Platonic structure, as well as parallels in Christian transcendentalism and Eastern philosophies which are all reasonably explicit. Like Mark Twain once said, “Explaining a

for some weeks, decided to take me on. This agent has since brokered me a two-book deal with Little, Brown. In many ways, it feels very much as though it all started with Impress.” Perseverance is the final point that Willis makes: “many now successful writers were initially rejected by agents and publishers.” This is perhaps best seen in the case of J.K. Rowling, who famously sent her manuscript of Harry Potter to twelve publishers, all of whom rejected her. She eventually was picked up by Bloomsbury. This is perhaps the best example to illustrate the idea that rejection does not equal failure. So in summary: research the publishing companies and find ones that suit you, don’t send them too much as they do not want whole manuscripts, get yourself noticed, enter the Impress Prize for New Writers 2010, and finally: persevere, persevere, perservere!

joke is like dissecting a frog: you understand it better, but the frog dies in the process,” and the book’s fable-like nature makes this a similar proposition. That Richard Bach was a pilot will surprise no-one who reads his work, and whilst the author himself will claim that he writes nobly about the limitless capabilities of humanity, and there is no denying that those concepts are present, what makes his writing remarkable is simply the way he writes about flying. I said in the opening words of this article that Bach reaches the descriptive heights of prose poetry and in the way he gracefully narrates Jon Gull’s endless swoops, dives and falls, he grants us window to a world of freedom and openness in a way that Wordsworth and Blake would be proud of. At the heart of this book is love and respect for the discipline of flying, no doubt borne out his military experiences as a jet pilot, and Bach represents the phenomenology, the experience, of flying with such assured accuracy that allows for our complete absorption into Jonathan’s world. We soon understand why he must fly faster and find ourselves intimately engulfed with successes,

“The Aesop’s Fable of the 20th Century” failures, triumphs and shames. Accompanying Bach’s blissful control of pace and flowing meter is the wonderful photography of Russell Munson. The book contains no fewer than 44 beautiful black and white photographs of seagulls in flight, ranging from hazy action shots to expansive panoramas, each adding to the serenity and feeling of space created by Bach’s prose. Whilst it may not be a resounding political commentary and philosophically it finds itself a little light, neither of these things detract from what this book really is, a beautifully crafted piece of utopian escapism. There is a reason it remains one of the most dogeared of books on my shelf, because in Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Bach has the expertise of Kipling and the innocence of Dahl presented in a self contained world that makes this the Aesop’s Fable of the 20th Century. jacob moffatt

On reading this gripping tale of tragic suicides and passionate love affairs, it comes as no surprise that The Blind Assassin was awarded the Booker Prize and is listed by The Times as the best novel of 2000. The ominous title immediately sets the mysterious tone of this novel, which enigmatically flits between the past and the present, revealing the disturbing history of the Chase family. Set in the historical conflict of the 20th century, the fragmentary memories of Iris Chase depict a romantic past on the wealthy estate of Avillon. Such upper class luxuries rapidly fall to ruin, and, instead, alcohol addictions, loveless marriages and illicit affairs take hold. All the while, the novel is interlaced with the highly seductive and violent tales of the fantastical Sakiel-Norn, which were written by the youngest Miss Chase. This science fiction world provides an eerie contrast to the painful reality of her childhood, providing both Laura and the reader with an emotional release from the traumatic truth. I guarantee that this dynamic novel will plunge you into confusion and intrigue, demanding cover to cover reading. A thrilling read which exemplifies the award winning work of Margaret Atwood. JOANNA SPINDLER

Exeposé WEEK TWENTY two books@exepose.com

Condensed Classic

Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

ISBN: 0142000272

They say that Tolstoy began by writing a cautionary tale about adultery, and ended up falling in love with his tragic heroine. You will love her too, no matter how hard you may try not to do so. Anna Karenina is a novel of many plots and sub-plots which fill its dense

Fever Pitch Nick Hornby

900+ pages. Despite being named after one character, the novel is in fact a strikingly detailed depiction of Russian life during the 19th century. The characters are numerous and made confusing by Tolstoy’s referring to them by both their actual names and various nicknames and abbreviations, which in fact bear no resemblance to their full names. The novel follows the lives and trials of various characters much like a more subtle Sex and the City, as relationships and engagements are made, broken, or sought after during months of solitary pondering. Where the novel does differ from a modern day soap opera is in its precise portrayal of Russian life, but 40 pages of description of modern farming techniques was sadly more often than not enough to send me reaching for the remote rather than a scythe. What is gained from such intense description is a vivid image of life

and a colourful idea of the characters. Although the novel is not easy to wade through, the stark pictures of men in military dress, and women in all their finery attending the opera, not to mention a Darcy-esque Levin sweating in the fields, that will swirl in your mind long after you have turned out the light, and indeed, turned the last page, merit your time and dedication far more than a night of Sex and the City ever can. Anna herself is resplendent. Unlike many other classic heroines, she is not in the least irritating. Whilst morally aware and guilt-ridden, she still avows to herself and others that her exclusion from society is worth it for the man she truly loves. The novel is a constant battle of Anna’s will, through encouragement from certain friends to be with her lover, and a general snubbing from the rest of society for so doing and forsaking her husband. You cannot help but

empathise when she constantly puts herself through such a gruelling moral trial, which ultimately leads to her death. Tolstoy builds up an image of Anna even before her entrance into the novel, which heavily influences your view of her as she is seen through the eyes of so many others. Though nothing short of a challenge, Anna Karenina is well worth reading. If you consider it in the light of values, morals, family, purpose and love before you start reading, it will serve you better than any modern self-help manual. Not to mention the infinite knowledge you will gain about 19th century Russian farming techniques and political movements. The voyage may be long, but the images of 900 pages will linger long after you have finished reading, and you will find yourself looking to Anna as a tragic moral compass. My next challenge: War and Peace. laura le brocq

passion. For those fanatics reading Fever is like looking in the mirror, so uncanny is the way emotions portrayed on the page reflect what sports fans feel every weekend. As well as conjuring up nostalgic images of glorious cup finals or unlikely comeback one never forgets, Fever presents its readers with the awkward position football has in people’s lives, questioning the somewhat embarrassing way in which it is prioritised. Hornby’s honesty about his

own obsession is revealed with characteristic wit that allows even non-fans to enjoy reading it as much as followers of the Beautiful Game. As if he could be writing a fantasy novel rather than his own memoirs, Hornby depicts a way of life that many people have never experienced and presents non-fans with the means to understand the weekly mood swings of their fanatic friends or to simply laugh at them in pity. Still, as well as chronicling the ecstasies and failures of football seasons, Hornby

openly describes the highs and lows of childhood, family life and searches for work and love that will resonate with many readers and it is hard not to become engrossed in his life story. What shines through in the book is the power of sport to create a sense of belonging and joy that can be a constant presence in life when other aspects may come and go. Fever should be on the shelf of anyone who is, or knows, a lover of football, which, lets face it, is everyone. Pete Thompson

ISBN: 0140293442

At first glance Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch seems like a book solely reserved for football fans. Admittedly, it is written by a football supporter, about a football team. However Hornby’s honest style of writing makes his memoirs an emotional and funny read that anybody can relate to. Hornby grants the reader access to his life through the unexplainable world of the obsessive football fan and at the same time unlocks the heads of thousands of Britons that share that

Salem Falls Jodi Picoult

ISBN: 0340835532

Salem Falls is a modern retelling of the Salem Witch Hunts in America. It is a book full of intrigue, deceit, blame and the authority of speech – a riveting read by one of all my alltime favourite authors Jodi Picoult. The novel puts a modern spin

books Bestseller List 1. Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel Fictionalisation of the life of Cromwell; Man Booker-winner.

2. The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold A murder victim recounts her death and watches her family trying to cope.

3. Gone Tomorrow Lee Child Jack Reacher encounters a suicide bomber on New York’s subway.

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Stieg Larsson

on the accusations made by Abigail Cooke and her friends in 1692; who in accusing local villagers of witchcraft, managed to shift the blame for their actions onto others, creating a web of deceit that ensnared and killed many innocent people. Jodi Picoult follows on from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible by using modern accusations of rape in her novel, drawing on the themes of deceit and witchcraft from 1692. The

“Full of intrigue, deceit, blame and the authority of speech” novel shows how relevant the actions of the Salem Witch Trials are today, for in this realistic setting, Cooke’s legacy is played out by Gillian; a disturbed Wiccan and the protagonist

of Picoult’s novel. The book is set around an idyllic town in New England where a handsome young man arrives and causes a stir amongst the neighbourhood. Gillian is attracted by Jack’s charms and his controversial presence in the town as a school teacher formerly imprisoned for seducing a school girl. The story is set around Gillian’s manipulation of her friends and fellow towns’ people, her Wiccan religion and the way she traps Jack into another allegation of rape that he is very unlikely to win. It looks at the authority of speech, for even though someone lies, what affects whether they are believed is very often their appearance, their reputation and the way they can manipulate others with their words. It is a well-crafted novel with a thought-provoking court case that focuses on a moral dilemma of trust and

A computer hacker and a journalist investigate a cold faith. Jack faces the might of Gillian’s case. father; a local businessman who fully believes his daughter and will move mountains to protect her, and the case is settled around testimony and speculation. The case also features the Wiccan religion, which draws on 5. Fever of the the actual Salem Witch Trials where Bone people were hanged for supposed witch craft, showing that the trials are Val McDermid still prevalent today, just without the Tony Hill chases a presence of a hangman’s loop. savage serial killer With an amazing twist at the targeting the young. end, it truly is a thrilling and an engrossing read that places you into a race to the finish to discover Picoult’s completely unexpected resolution. Although it may be perceived as ‘chiclit’ it is actually far more complex. Its portrayal of moral issues and historical themes makes it a must-read and this is why it is most likely my favourite Sunday Times Bestseller List book. March 14 2010 rachel bayne

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Exeposé WEEK twenty two books@exepose.com

Life of Pi Yann Martel ISBN: 184195392X

Finishing a really good book is a bit like finishing an exceptional meal: you savor the taste that’s left in your mouth, you bask in your satisfaction, and you long for just a little bit more. You are, frankly, disappointed that it’s over. This was how I felt upon finishing Life of Pi, a book that had sat on my

“You savour the taste that’s left in your mouth, you bask in your satisfaction, and you long for just a little bit more” shelf for years. I was wary because of all the attention it has received; in fact, it’s had substantially higher sales than any other Booker Prize winner before or since. Surely, I thought, this was all fanfare, the publishing industry’s version of peer pressure. But I was decidedly, blessedly, wrong. The story spans several continents and a very vast ocean between; it recounts an accidental journey that probably has no destination. I expect the book is called Life of Pi not because it is an account of Pi’s life, but because Life is Pi’s only aim.

Less Than Zero Brett Easton Ellis

His journey is not about arrival but about survival – as yours would be if you were trapped on a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Fantasy fiction has never interested me much, and Martel’s bestseller is nothing if not fantastic. But I found myself believing every word of it. Pi is a character one can’t help cheering for, even falling in love with. How can you resist a boy who finds no problem with being Hindu, Muslim, and Christian all at once – because, after all, God is love, plain and simple? Part I of the book is devoted to

even assured at one point that it has a happy ending. But this tale is far less about an ending than it is about the middle; the meat-laden main course far surpasses, in its ability to satisfy, the sweetness of dessert. Life of Pi is a literal feast of Norwegian Emergency Rations, turtle blood and guts, and algae sweeter than Canadian maple syrup. Canada is, in fact, where Pi – whose name has nothing to do with a number but rather with a famous swimming pool in France – ends up: “a great country much too cold for good sense, inhabited by compassionate, intelligent people with bad hairdos.” While we may be relieved to see Piscine Molitor Patel set foot on dry land, we may also find ourselves, much like Pi after his oceanic ordeal, asking for just one more helping. jordi wieler

Bridge Across My Sorrows Christina Noble ISBN: 0552142883

ISBN: 0330447971

With a much-anticipated followup novel due for publication in the next year, attention has returned to the debut novel of US author Brett Easton Ellis. Less Than Zero (1985), written while Easton Ellis was only nineteen and still attending college in Vermont, is a novel authored during the nascent and formative years of his career and yet finds in its composition many of the hallmarks of his style and form. While he would later claim it was written during a three day crystal meth binge in his pseudoautobiography Lunar Park (2002), the novel reflects Easton Ellis’ distinct talents of observation and the way in which those same observations are communicated. A story of disillusionment, apathy and despair, Less Than Zero remains a high point in the author’s career, and the first of a number of excellent and era defining works. In contrast to his later novels, which focus on the yuppie lifestyle of the US in the 1980s, Less Than Zero focuses on Clay, a student

Pi’s religious “adventures.” And to explanations of the bewildering habits of wild animals. Nothing much happens, to be honest. But Martel doesn’t let us grow bored for a moment. Pi’s voice, his passion and his earnestness, his interest in all creatures great and small, his questioning of the universe and of his own heart, all these serve to make him thoroughly engaging: a true storyteller. His story is framed by the voice of a nameless other, someone recording him and observing him, long after Part 2 has taken place - someone who feels, perhaps as we do when Pi’s story has been told, “weary of the glum contentment that characterizes my life.” As practical as he is spiritual, as worldly-wise as he is heavencentered, Pi survives; he lives. That much is clear from the start, for he is with us to tell his tale – and we’re

from a wealthy family in California who has returned home for the first time after starting college in New Hampshire. The novel instantly seems to be a product of Easton Ellis’ own life and experience, and gains a degree of realism and depth as a result. The disparity between Clay’s new life away from home and the one he used to have before starting college forms the major conflict of the work, which remains highly relevant to anyone who has been in the same situation. The stark detachment of Clay from his friends and family, and even from his own narrative, seems to seep from the page and feels almost as though there is a weight resting on the shoulders of the reader. The shallow and meaningless relationships Clay once had become increasingly banal through a cycle of parties, clubs, drug use, and flashbacks. The sense of despair constructed by Easton Ellis is nearly flawless, reflecting the strength of his style even early in his career.

like daze he drifts through the work in. The simplicity of the opening phrases, ‘Disappear Here’ and ‘People are afraid to merge on the freeway’ establish a sense of despair that transcends the prima facie emptiness of Clay’s life. The novel is not about his individual despair, but about the human condition. To Ellis we drift through life, rather than claim it as our own. Less Than Zero established Easton Ellis’ distinct thematic and stylistic character. Recurrent drug use, emptiness, the blurring of reality, and a sense of removal all serve to punctuate his world view which typified the New York literary scene in the 1980s, of which he was a major part. The shallowness of the wealth and prosperity of the United States in the period is shown to override the apparent benefits through all of Easton Ellis’ work, any volume of which I would emphatically recommend. While later works such as Rules of Attraction and the

“A story of disillusionment, apathy and despair” The prose is heavy without being difficult to read, which lends itself well to the major thematic developments of the work. As Clay becomes more despondent and removed, so too does the presentation of his narrative. Lengthy passages and paragraphs construct a stream of consciousness that invites the reader into Clay’s thought; while iconic recurring phrases punctuate his experience as reality rather than the dream-

notorious American Psycho perhaps gained more renown, it is only by reading Easton Ellis’ first work, written during such an integral point of his career, that one can truly gain insight into the characteristics that make his work truly great.

Alex moss News editor

Aged 16, my grandma hands me a book, and says “read this, it will change your life”. A somewhat slightly presumptuous statement, but none the less I thought I would give it a fair go. Bridge Across My Sorrows is a story of an Irish woman called Christina Noble, who throughout her life has had to be brave and resilient in the face of deprivation. Her tale starts off as a child living in the Liberties, Dublin, in which she describes her childhood as a distant memory of pain and betrayal. Living in the 1950s when money was scarce and a father that was an alcoholic, life wasn’t exactly easy for Noble. As with many alcoholics he was abusive to his wife, and as a result his children felt the brunt of his addiction. Despite having vague memories of brief moments in her childhood when times were good, at the age of ten this struggle for happiness and at times survival, takes a turn for the worse when her mother, no longer able to resist or endure her husband’s abuse, tragically dies. Like any ten year old this bereavement becomes her fault for ‘being naughty’ or ‘for crying’ or more upsettingly ‘not stopping daddy from drinking’. It was this moment in the book that I suddenly felt overwhelming grief for this young child, and with a father that is barely able to look after himself she is now faced with the task of taking care of her own life. While this book tugs at your every emotion, I thought that things could only get better for this young and desperate girl. However, left in the care of a relative she is then subject to months of abuse by a family member and later escapes to the Streets of Dublin. At sixteen she is pulled into a car by four men and raped

repeatedly. Noble’s life throughout this book consists of a series of abuse on a scale not only I, but most, would find unimaginable. This said, Christina Noble consistently gets back up onto her weary feet and carries on fighting a life that she doesn’t seem to be living but instead, struggling to exist. However she is finally driven to insanity when, like her mother before her, she was exposed to abuse by her own husband. At this very moment Noble describes how ‘there was a terrible blackness about those years’ and it was then that her ‘hopes and dreams of a normal life were forever destroyed’. Remarkably, it is from a dream that Noble once again finds the strength to fight back. Yet, this is no vision of luxury and self-indulgence; instead Christina’s hope lies in a determination to work among the bui doi, the street children of Vietnam. With this she has successfully formed the Christina Noble Foundation International, where she is still located today helping to pick up the pieces of a war that happened years ago. This book drains you of emotion, initially left feeling, unaware, selfish and ignorant of suffering, but by the time you reach the end of this book you are left feeling encouraged, inspired and determined to succeed. To say it changed my life, would perhaps be slightly pretentious as at no time was I able to comprehend Noble’s suffering, this said it is a book that gives you an immense feeling of hope and as this book says on the cover “A record of grief and courage that would take a tear from a stone.”

Hannah metcalfe

March 22 2010

screen The Screen Awards

Calum Baker and David Brake give their verdict on this year’s films.

Awards season highlights the best of the year’s films, from the technologically advanced Avatar to psychological thriller Moon. Yet the season is drenched in predictability; few doubted that Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges would take home acting prizes, while the battle between The Hurt Locker and Avatar was only mildly gripping because of the directors’ romantic entanglement. Additionally, the American ceremonies traditionally favour homegrown entertainment, thereby marginalizing the efforts of British talent Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan and films such as In the Loop (although the notable exception is Slumdog Millionaire’s sweep of awards in 2009, yet as an uplifting drama this was no real surprise either). As an alternative, we offer our pick of the best (and some of the worst) of the year, and, yes; we do favour A Single Man quite a bit, but only deservedly so.

Best Picture

ORIGINAL SCORE

•Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino •A Single Man – Tom Ford •Star Trek – J.J Abrams •Coraline – Henry Selick •Moon - Duncan Jones •(500) Days of Summer – Marc Webb •In the Loop – Armano Iannucci •Up in the Air - Jason Reitman •The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow •Let the Right One In – Tomas Alfredson

•Alexandre Desplat – Fantastic Mr. Fox •Michael Giacchino – Star Trek •Michael Giacchino – Up •Tyler Bates – Watchmen •Carter Burwell; Karen Orzolek – Where the Wild Things Are

BEST SCREENPLAY

•Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino •In The Loop - Armando Ianucci; Jesse Armstrong; Simon Blackwell; Tony Roche •Up in the Air – Jason Reitman; Sheldon Turner •District 9 – Neill Blomkamp; Terri Tatchell •A Serious Man – Joel Coen; Ethan Coen

•X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Gavin Hood

BEST ONE-LINER •In The Loop – Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) “Climbing the mountain of conflict? You sounded like a Nazi Julie Andrews!”

BEST FOREIGN FILM •A Single Man - George Falconer (Colin Firth) – “Looking in the mirror staring back at me isn’t so much a face as the expression of a predicament”

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

•(500) Days of Summer – Rachel Hansen (Chloe Moretz) “Just because she likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn’t mean she’s your soul mate”

BEST ACTOR •Colin Firth – A Single Man •Sam Rockwell - Moon •Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds •Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man •George Clooney - Up in the Air

•Carey Mulligan – An Education •Julianne Moore – A Single Man •Vera Farmiga – Up in the Air •Mélanie Laurent - Inglourious Basterds •Zooey Deschanel – (500) Days of Summer

•Moon - Duncan Jones •A Serious Man - Joel Coen; Ethan Coen •The Informant! - Steven Soderbergh •Me and Orson Welles Richard Linklater •Looking for Eric - Ken Loach

•Up •Inglourious Basterds •A Single Man •Watchmen

BEST CLOSING SCENE •A Serious Man •A Single Man •Up in the Air •The Hangover

BEST DIRECTOR •Inglourious Basterds – Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) – “I know this is a silly question before I ask it, but can you Americans speak any other language besides English?”

•In The Loop – Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) –

BEST ACTRESS

MOST OVERLOOKED

BEST OPENING SCENE

•A Prophet – Jacques Audiard •35 Shots of Rum – Claire Denis •The White Ribbon - Michael Haneke •Sin Nombre - Cary Joji Fukunaga •Ponyo – Hayao Miyazaki

•The Invention of Lying – Ricky Gervais; Matthew Robinson •Where the Wild Things Are – Spike Jonze

Exeposé

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“You say nothing, okay? You stay detached. Otherwise that’s what I’ll do to your retinas.”

•Quentin Tarantino – Inglourious Basterds •Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker •Tom Ford – A Single Man •Jason Reitman – Up in the Air •Duncan Jones - Moon A notable omission is a film we emphatically deemed completely unworthy of every category above, but was nevertheless recognised by the Academy, not to mention seemingly every cinema-goer on Earth. We feel, however, that James Cameron’s Avatar is worth a closing mention for its technical feat, nay, triumph - though it hardly managed to truly entertain, with its bland dialogue, awful plot and so-so acting.

Crazy Heart

Dir: Scott Cooper Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell (15) 112mins

SOMETIMES taglines get it just right, and this is true with Crazy Heart; “The Harder the Life, The Sweeter the Song.” ‘Bad’ Blake (Bridges) is a washedup, alcoholic, chain-smoking country singer, scratching a living by playing tiny venues to die-hard fans. His lifestyle has taken its toll (the 57 yearold Blake looks far older than the 60 year-old Bridges), and his future looks bleak until he has a chance meeting with aspiring reporter and single-mother Jean (Gyllenhaal). Through his growing affection for

both her and her son, he begins a slow journey to salvation and new songs, helped along the way by his protegé (Farrell) and an old friend (Duvall). Director Cooper fills the scenes with a warmth that was sorely lacking from the stark and cold Brokeback Mountain, and an earthy quality that fits the story closer than Walk the Line’s polish would have. His direction remains unobtrusive, allowing the story to travel along with the characters. The supporting cast equip themselves well; Farrell

plays the young, successful musician with ease, showcasing some impressive vocals, and like Duvall is sadly on screen for much too short a time. It is Gyllenhaal, though, who really shines as the solid, if slightly predictable, love interest. Bridges, now safely furnished with an Oscar, is incredible. Beyond the obvious comparisons to Kris Kristofferson, his performance cannot be described as merely great acting, as he surpasses this to actually become the character of Blake, and renders him completely

believable. For much of the film he is drunk, hung-over, or exhausted (or all three), and while sometimes his mumbling is unintelligible, it all adds to the complete realism of his portrayal, and his presence on screen is as addictive as the whiskey and cigarettes Blake constantly craves. The true star of the film, however, is the music. Created by T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton and Ryan Bingham, it brings humour, thrills and emotion throughout. The Oscarwinning track, ‘The Weary Kind,’ performed by Bingham (who also

cameos) and authored by Blake during the course of the film is beautiful, and every bit as sweet as the tagline suggests. The lyrics reflect all the heartbreak, the mistakes and bad decisions that have plagued Blake’s life, delivering him to the place we find him. Crazy Heart is at once heartbreaking and heart-warming; a tragic tale, both beautiful and melancholy in equal measure, it begs to be watched and embraced. Chris davies

Screen

Exeposé WEEK TWENTY TWO screen@exepose.com

Alice in Wonderland

Dir: Tim Burton Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Stephen Fry (PG) 108mins

ATTEMPTING something slightly different this week, I present to you a – hopefully successful – review in two parts: firstly, my presumptive expectations; secondly, the actuality post-viewing. The film in question? Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Firstly, as a massive fan of Burton, I was naturally excited for another 90 minutes of visual splendour; while the aesthetic, based on the trailers, does not seem up to the supreme, almost illustrated Edward-Gorey-esque beauty of Edward Scissorhands,

Sleepy Hollow (etc.), the design still evoked a classic Burtonesque feel. The narrative has been criticised for changing Lewis Carroll’s episodic trip to a straightforward quest. It didn’t look set to be Burton’s best, but with effective use of motion capture 3D seemingly bringing out the inner stop-motion in the director’s vision, it can only be an entertaining slice of Burton. Surely? Secondly, here I am in retrospect, saying that the 3D was largely rather nice, though the only part really worth it was the wonderful Cheshire Cat. The rest was comparatively arbitrary. Unfortunately, this sense of pointlessness pervaded my enjoyment of a film that wasn’t really Burton and wasn’t really Carroll. Let’s elaborate. There I was in the cinema; and I realised, in a classic Burton irony,

Shutter Island

Dir: Martin Scorsese Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley (15) 138mins “TO live as a monster or to die as a good man” echoes around the cinema amidst an atmosphere of confusion and stunned silence, and to a perplexed and generally astounded audience. This was after 138 minutes of Martin Scorsese’s newest, thought-provoking (or is this put too lightly?) even mentally disturbing film Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Kingsley. Adapted from the novel by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island is a psychological thriller depicting a chase around an island where no one can escape; where every story could be insanity or just as easily the truth, making it impossible for the audience to take a side. Using Lehane’s well-written prose, the narrative twists in and out of real life and the most remarkable parts are Teddy Daniel (DiCaprio)’s gripping flashbacks - or even semi-hallucinations. This adds to the mentally-unstable qualities of the film which sets it apart from most of the thriller genre. It begins with what seems to be a mentally-stable Marshall Teddy Daniels investigating the case of an escaped murderess from Ashcliffe Mental Hospital. This takes place on a mysterious Alcatraz-esque island where the inmates are incredibly violent

mental patients instead of prisoners. The opening however is far from conventional for a thriller. From the offset you meet the character of Teddy showing human flaws of seasickness on the ferry; it does not depict a heroesque detective off to save the day. In fact whilst the film seemingly follows the conventions of a thriller with an escapee, sense of panic and a charming policeman dashing off to save the day, a sense of foreboding pervades the film. A warning is given to the Marshalls and this is coupled with chilling sounds from violins and a thunderstorm, building the tension and heightening suspense. This works alongside characters on the brink of mental illness which creates an eerie effect for the audience. From here the plausibility of the story spirals downhill as it seems that not only could there be a conspiracy on the island, but also bipolarity seems to affect everyone. Not one character seems to be sane, making it impossible for the viewers to ascertain the truth. The audience is sucked into the chase with the conclusion left open and bewilderingly unclear as to what happens and what actually is going on in this bizarre 1950s mental institution. A theme of bipolarity pervades

that the Red Queen’s massive cranium correlates somehow with her obsession with ritual decapitation: “OFF WITH HIS/HER HEAD!” is a classic catchphrase from Disney’s last attempt at an Alice film in 1951, and as I sat in the cinema watching their latest attempt I realised something fairly significant. The classic cartoon, upon reflection, really evoked Carroll’s novels to near-perfection. Burton – working with Lion King writer Linda Woolverton – presents a disappointingly linear set of events which largely fails to retain even Carroll’s trademark absurdity & brilliant wordplay. There are essentially three different films at odds here: a Tim Burton film; an Alice adaptation; and a kid’s-quest-actioner-Disney-thing. The latter, unfortunately, pervades; and the seemingly most important element – that of Alice itself – is

pushed to the background. How, then, did the reality actually match up with my expectations? The narrative was horrible, and a quest involving favoured Carroll poem Jabberwocky was literally wrong. It was not so much meddling with the text as just failing to understand the writers’ principles: it is not a quest; and there should certainly be no horrible monster or fulfilled destiny in a land governed by only the whimsical psyche of a small girl. The books were episodic and fractured as a representation of the airy mental meanderings of the eponymous dreamer. Disney may intend otherwise - and Burton may be an effective symbol of their ostensible “boundary-pushing” but to reiterate: this is not Narnia. And that’s all I need to conclude.

Calum baker

Campus Cinema

The cheapest cinema in Exeter M&D Room, Devonshire House www.campuscinema.co.uk

the film, making the flawed narration even more complex and bewildering. Scorsese in fact seems to have made a film on the basis of a mental patient’s story, and in general it seems to be a critique on mental health methods used to restrain patients. Indeed how far should a psychiatrist go to save a mental health patient? The film deals with issues over care and frontal lobotomies and is interesting because it is a realistic depiction of the mental health community of the 1950s. The film is chilling, yet unfortunately suffers from being very long. The 138 minutes it entails at times drags the story out making it repetitive and tiring to watch. However, the length seems to be the only downfall of the film. With an interesting cast, Leonardo DiCaprio being not the most obvious choice for a tortured policeman, the acting was well done and the weather sequences were well-shot. Its take on cultural issues was interesting and frankly if you have time it is worth a viewing even though it will take you more than two hours!

this, I’m afraid to say, is the last lot of Campus Cinema films for the term. Luckily for you, though, we’ve got a special film festival for you, designed to celebrate our 60th a n n i v e r s a r y. Every day we have a different film representing a decade of our existence, so glance below to see what’s on. Additionally, we’re showing the ever-popular Twilight films (Twilight and New Moon) in a special double-bill screening on Monday March 26.

Events start at around 8pm, with the evening lasting until around 2am to fit both films in. The Lemmy bar will be open, so you can fuel the evening with drinks, and there’s also an optional fancy dress wherein you can declare you “alleigance” to either Edward or Jacob, with an alcohol-related prize on offer. Tickets cost £5 for both films (or £2.50 for just one) and are on sale at the Lemmy, Ram, Box Office or any Campus Cinema event, with members also getting a half-price discount on tickets.

Mon Mar 22 - Some Like it Hot (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6.30 & 9pm Tues Mar 23 - Dr. Strangelove in association with History Society (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6.30 & 9pm Wed Mar 24 - A Clockwork Orange in association with Politics Society (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6 & 9pm Thurs Mar 25 - Raiders of the Lost Ark in association with Classics Society (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6.30 & 9pm Fri Mar 26 - Twilight/New Moon Double-Bill (Lemon Grove, Cornwall House), 8pm ‘til 2am Sat Mar 27 - Pulp Fiction (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6 & 9pm

RACHEL BAYNE

Sun Mar 28 - The Dark Knight (M&D Room, Devonshire House), 6 & 9pm

march 22 2010 Exeposé

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photos from www.spacex.co.uk

ARTS FEATURE

Random Acts of Art

Ellie Steafel and Rosie Scudder explore the accessible and interactive new Spacex exhibition.

FOR many, art can often feel unattainable. The idea of strolling down the white-washed corridor of a gallery, musing over the works of faceless artists, can often seem an impersonal way of experiencing art. Visiting your quota of noted art galleries has become more of a social and cultural obligation than an enjoyable pastime. This traditionally voyeuristic way of appreciating art has unsurprisingly triggered the uprising of a new artistic process, one which centres around the relationship between artist and viewer. This concept of interactive art has been the focus of a new project at Exeter’s very own Spacex. The project, entitled ‘Random Acts of Art’, is a culmination of three artists’ interpretations of Exeter’s West Quarter community. The West Quarter is home to such retro haunts as The Real McCoy, Manson’s Guitar Shop, Off the Hook and indeed the Spacex gallery itself. The artists’ aim is to engage with this alternative

area and celebrate the people and independent businesses that make it so unique. Project Coordinator Martha Crean sees this exciting project as an opportunity to “collapse the boundaries between who makes the art and who views the art.”

“The viewers are as much a part of the art as they are spectators of it and thus any ‘ownership’ is universal.” From March 6 to April 23, the gallery will be closed whilst three artists, Amy Feneck, Lady Lucy and Volkhardt Müller, gather their content for the exhibition. These artists have a specific interest in “participatory art” and are concerned by the relationship between their art and the public. Each artist will be working directly with the residents of the West Quarter to create their respective interpretations of the

vibrancy of this community. Amy Feneck will conduct interviews with local people on the theme of “independent spirit,” whilst Volkhardt Müller will form his interpretation through moving image. Lady Lucy has created a mobile portrait studio which she intends to take to a housing estate on Preston Street. Her aim is to capture the spirit of the people of this area through conversation, culminating in portraiture. Crean observes that in the last twenty years, there has been “a wave of people making art more about people and relationships [...] more about the process than the final object.” For us, this innovative approach to art responds to the exclusivity synonymous with those whitewashed walls. This Spacex project seeks to produce art both “in the gallery and off-site,” making the art more recognisable and therefore accessible. Arguably this style has the potential to patronise the audience in what could be seen as a ‘dumbing down’ of art. However, Crean

assures us that Spacex is firmly committed to producing “very high quality pieces of art [and] “supporting artist’s work and practice.” But is there an audience for this art in Exeter? The lack of a Fine Art degree at the University reduces the number of students naturally inclined to become involved with Exeter’s art scene. However, Spacex’s “socially engaged art practice” means that you don’t have to study art to appreciate it. ‘Random Acts of Art’ provides an accessible route into this often alienating world. With a project like this on our doorsteps, there is nothing stopping us from getting involved. After talking to Martha Crean, we gathered a real sense of the overriding message of this exhibition. A striking photograph in the gallery reiterates this. It reads, “I like to feel that I am in possession of my city.” This provoking statement encapsulates the issue of ownership in art. ‘Random Acts of Art’ addresses the division between the artist

and the appreciator by involving the community in the project. This way, the viewers are as much a part of the art as they are spectators of it and thus any ‘ownership’ is universal. From April 24 to May 1, Spacex is opening its doors, with opportunities to view the art, chat with the artists, and even enjoy some free cake. So why not head to the West Quarter, venture a little further than The Real McCoy, and take ‘possession’ of our city?

EXHIBITION WEEK April 24-29: A series of workshops and panel discussions with the three artists (details TBC). April 30: Open film night – an opportunity for budding artist filmmakers to share high quality work. If you are interested in entering a piece, see the Spacex website. May 1: Fun and fancy tea party – with free cake.

Exeposé wEEK twenty two arts@exepose.com

ARTS REVIEW Swan Lake

MATTHEW Bourne’s breakthrough contemporary dance piece, Swan Lake, was definitely worth the wait after three hours on the train (and the money!). In its sixteenth year, the production has evolved and developed with dark undertones and highly amusing satire. Whilst not the same as the classical ballet story of Swan Lake, Bourne, (famous for his exploration of homoerotic themes) develops twisting and intertwining relationships, especially between the Prince and the male swans. The deeply mixed-up character of the Prince (Dominic North) was well played and was one of the only characters which the audience felt sympathy for. The Queen, performed by Nina Goldman, held a strong persona, adding class and bringing a more sinister facet to the performance. A complete opposite to this was the role of the ‘Girlfriend’ danced by Kerry Biggin. This comedic character shaped the “funny” moments of the dance. Biggin was possibly slightly over-the-top at times, exaggerating the role and making it less believable. However, she definitely brought comedy to the

piece. Ending in death, the performance was full of darkness bought out especially by Richard Winsor playing the main Swan and the Stranger. His performance explored the confused evil in both characters and entranced the audience with his muscular upper body. The leading roles were expertly danced with passion and a beautiful

quality. I cannot forget to mention the chorus dancers, whose technique was excellent and acting was extremely authentic. The male swans were particularly moving with their shaved heads, pale sculptured bodies and face paint, which was actually quite disturbing. The costumes were created to emphasise the characters as well as making the whole cast look sexy and erotic. The set was well made with clever scenery changes which were quick and didn’t affect the overall viewing of the performance. The lighting was particularly good, highlighting the swans’

features and creating a dark mood drawing out the violence in the performance. In my opinion the dance was powerful, moving and entertaining and I would recommend it even to those without a keen interest in dance theatre. If you ever get a chance to see this breakthrough piece of contemporary dance I urge you to do so. ALICE MASSEY

ARTS COMMENT

Why I Love Mark Rothko

THERE is a moment in every art lover’s lifetime when, strolling through a gallery somewhere in the world, something about a piece of art connects with a part of your brain that you didn’t even know existed. Something suddenly clicks, illuminates a dusty field of consciousness that makes you think ‘Wow!’ For me, this moment came stepping into ‘The Red Room’ at the Tate Modern and meeting the work of Mark Rothko head on. If you haven’t seen one yet, I can’t express enough what an astoundingly amazing painter this man is. He paints in a sort of Abstract-Expressionist style, but really defies all categorisation; he is an artist who stands in his own category of ‘colour-genius’ or something similar. His paintings

- consisting of blocks of colour layered usually in overlapping rectangular shapes - may not sound much on paper but in reality a Rothko is captivating. His works in red are arguably the most stunning; they pulse, they breathe, they are like the inside of a living being, yet a part unfixed by scientific fact. There is a tension within the soft-edged rectangles, between nature and the act of construction. The colours and brush strokes are undeniably vivid and painterly, but there is something through the colour, an energy trapped or perhaps expressed through the paint. Rothko is one of the great Modernist painters, and of late has not been given wide enough acclaim within the public artsphere for his work. The removal of the

moody ‘Red Room’ dedicated solely to Rothko at the Tate Modern a few years ago was a tragic event, especially to be replaced by a seemingly sadistic painter who indulges in painting in blood for shock-appeal. Although there are many great Rothkos still standing in the walls of the Tate Modern in London and indeed in the Tate Liverpool, it is a great shame that this beautiful room was lost. For me, Mark Rothko will always be a painter who defines the beauty of what art is, and what art can do, and I would urge anyone who has not spent at least five minutes staring into the depths of a Rothko to do so as soon as you can; it is a fascinating experience. ZOE BULAITIS

Comedy Radar

Arts

Andy Kaufman THE late Andy Kaufman was a self styled ‘song and dance man,’ as opposed to stand-up comedian, but his legacy has been remembered as that of a stand-up, and his profound influence on contemporary stand-up comedians, through pioneering anti-comedy and performance pranks, still resonates today. As a child, Kaufman was said to have been frequently found performing routines for imaginary audiences in his bedroom. This probably accounts for the intense personal quality his performances were alleged to have held. As a performer, Kaufman blurred the line between his onstage persona(s) and his real identity, often assuming the guise and character of his creations offstage, to the point where they took on a life of their own. Arguably his most famous creation, Foreign Man, would later be transformed into Latka Gravas and played by Kaufman in the hit sitcom Taxi; a role Kaufman detested, as he did all sitcoms for their formulaic style and employment of canned laughter. However, Kaufman signed onto the show with a number of conditions, including that he would be awarded his very own ‘special’ and also secure a guest appearance for Tony Clifton who was, unbeknownst to the rest of the cast and crew, Kaufman’s greatest comedy creation. Tony Clifton was a failed, non-talented, meanspirited lounge singer played by Kaufman, and sometimes his writing partner Bob Zmuda, in disguise. Clifton’s performances would mainly result in him openly abusing audience members and completely forgetting lyrics to songs. Clifton was to be fired and

escorted off the premises of the set of Taxi, when filming his guest role, for throwing a tantrum, an incident undoubtedly relished by Kaufman. As Taxi began to grow more successful, Kaufman would often be hassled by live audiences to “do Latka” which often angered the performer. In response, Kaufman would resort to punishing his audience by boring them with a reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. After a sufficient amount of groaning, Kaufman would pause and give the audience the option of hearing a record or continue with the reading. Predictably the audience would choose the record, which would be a recording of Kaufman reading Gatsby from the point at which he’d left off in the reading. Kaufman was also happy to play the role of the villain in order to elicit an emotional response from his audience. Inspired by his love of wrestling, Kaufman took to a career of wrestling women, playing a cocky version of himself who delighted in humiliating his female opponents. Though this never won him any fans, Kaufman enjoyed a joke at the expense of his audience, even if he was the only one laughing. In a pre-alternative comedy world, stand-ups were largely ‘working men’, looking to get their place on the next big chat show and emulate Johnny Carson or find their way onto a hit sitcom. There was very little room for weird, alienating and intimate comics, such as Kaufman, who genuinely pushed the boundaries of their medium at the time.

MATTHEW HIGHMORE

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ARTS REVIEW Decode Victoria and Albert Museum

‘ART’ is an incredibly expansive term, with many different forms coming under its umbrella. The meteoric advances in technology brought by the modern age mean that new and innovative methods of artistic expression are still being made possible. One of the newest of these is ‘digital art’, which makes use of code and sophisticated computer technology, and, although its youth means that it is not yet widely accepted by galleries and collectors, the ‘Decode: Digital Design Sensations’ exhibition at the V&A illustrates the extent to which digital art is establishing itself as a credible form. The main intention of the exhibition is to show that beautiful art can be sculpted from the raw materials of code and data just as well as from clay or stone. This also demonstrates the potential for interactivity that lies within digital art. The first exhibit is a bizarre forest of glowing antennae (‘Dune’ by Daan Roosegaarde) that must be walked through in order to reach the rest of the exhibition, and which flash and squeak according to the surrounding

ARTS REVIEW

Walk a Mile in Homeless Shoes

Leanne Bingle discusses the use of art to demonstrate the plight of sleeping rough.

noise level. This is the first of several works on display that hinges on interaction between the artwork and the viewer, a theme that makes a visit to this particular exhibition far more fun and involving than one might expect. Another exhibit that requires input from the viewer is the eye-catching ‘Body Paint’ by Mehmet Akten. Her sensors pick up movements from people standing in front of a screen and translate them into splashes of colour, meaning that visitors can effectively paint on a digital canvas using their own bodies. There’s also ‘Videogrid’ by Ross Phillips, a giant screen covered with miniature video feeds, which links up to a camcorder that allows people to film a threesecond clip of themselves to add to the grid. This results in an amusing and ever-changing cross-section of the gallery-visiting public. Two of the most interesting pieces in the exhibition are by two of the best-

ARTS Theatre Round-Up in Exeter

BORED of the same old nights out? Looking for something better on a Saturday than a school disco at the Lemmy? This is a call to arms for all students who aspire to something different, something superior, and if this is you then get yourselves to the theatre! Whilst Exeter may not be the number one hot spot for all the big sell-out names, there is more theatre too see than you possibly could right on your doorstep. The Northcott Theatre, although right at the top of the hill on campus, is completely worth the climb. This season it’s got some brilliant stuff on, from the English Touring Opera (tickets selling really fast, grab them while they’re still around) to the less high brow Ruddigore, the Northcott has got all bases covered in terms of theatrical tantalisation. Graham Greene’s Ministry of Fear finished this weekend, and a finely polished, fete-fuelled thriller it was. The opening night pretty much summed up all that is great about the Northcott – a flawless performance from the Theatre Alibi Company followed by a fantastic free drinks reception, adorned with bunting, a ‘’guess the weight of the cake’’

Arts

competition and a chance to chat to the acting cast. Also on March 29 the theatre is going to be graced with the presence of Jonathan Dimbleby in a one-off Any Questions about the Arts? A must see for all SALL students, and pretty interesting to everyone else, this is a chance to watch a panel discussion, and see some student talent performing too. It’s free, so there is really no reason not to go!

“The Northcott has got all bases covered in terms of theatrical tantalisation.” The Barnfield Theatre is running a performance of Patrick Marber’s Closer over the next few weeks, directed by Adam Brummit. My experience was ultimately that of embarrassment on behalf of the production team. Filing into the auditorium with a meagre audience of seven other people after a twenty minute delay of infamous ‘technical difficulties’, my expectations were hardly soaring. The play itself was painfully awkward to watch; the supposedly ‘sexy’ scene in a strip club inducing a desperate urge not to laugh and the rest of the performance

known digital artists in the world: Golan Levin and Daniel Rozin. Levin’s contribution is a giant mechanical eye (‘Opto-Isolator II’), which unnervingly mirrors the movements of your own eye, even blinking when you blink. Rozin’s piece, my personal favourite, is ‘Weave Mirror’ in which the user stands in front of a screen made from hundreds of tiny motorised prints, each shaded from light to dark. The shadow that you cast on the ‘mirror’ is sensed and then reproduced as a ghostly portrait on the screen as the prints mechanically rotate. There are 30 other pieces on display in ‘Decode’, all of which do an excellent job of showing the beauty that can be extracted from code, and helping to rid digital art of its geeky image. I myself knew next to nothing about this particular art form before visiting the exhibition, but am now definitely eager to see more. CHARLIE BRYANT

somewhat of a relief in being merely clumsy. The story of Closer is perhaps best known in film form starring Jude Law and the supremely gorgeous Natalie Portman as the stripper – a hard act to follow. The programme is definitely worth a read, as a piece of comic elevation following the drama I witnessed (I use ’witnessed’ here as it was somewhat a crime to theatre). Love is summated as telling someone that you ‘value their part in [your] reality’ whilst romance is presented ‘as oil to water, the product is shimmering and hypnotic but vile and stagnant upon closer inspection’. Such statements are ludicrously over the top teamed with the performance on the night. Overall, taking the rough with the smooth, I would urge you all to give the theatre a try this spring, from firsttimers to theatre buffs there is plenty to see, and even if the performance turns out to be more hysterically funny than moving and gripping, you will have a good night out of it regardless! Grab some mates and do it! ZOE BULAITIS

“I HEARD this guy who was drunk just saying ‘piss him down, piss him down’ and I heard it and he took his cock out and I just turned and catch his cock – and I did ask him why do you want to do that… do you want to be a man? And this guy did afterwards he apologized […] and was sober suddenly and afterwards he was talking to me and did give me a score you know 20 quid. This is an interesting story. 18. Youngsters you know. Was drunk, came out of the club.” The realities of being street homeless are easily ignored. The general public, secure in their own minds about the character deficiencies that cause homelessness often assume that rough sleepers are deserved of the situation that they find themselves. Often, we assume that a homeless individual is lazy, dependent on drugs and a scourge on the idyllic image of our most beloved cities. At best we pity them; we buy the Big Issue and resettle our conscience for a couple of days, at worst we urinate on them whilst they are sleepingeither way we interact momentarily, ignoring the stories and experiences that have culminated in sleeping on the streets. It is this ignorance that has provoked the formation of the Spare Change Theatre Company who, over the last three months, have been working with individuals who are, and have been street homeless. The project has been created in order to give a platform for the voices of the vulnerably housed in order to facilitate a change in public perception. Working with the Shilhay Community, a charity that works to enable the homeless to access accommodation and employment opportunities, we have created

an audio tour of Exeter from the perspective of street homeless individuals. In using real life testimonies the project hopes to reveal an alternative view of the streets of Exeter in order to urge audiences to readdress their assumptions of the homeless. Through an engagement with sitespecific theatre the tour addresses an audiences sociospatial configuration by presenting the duality of prominent Exeter locations. Northernhay Gardens for most Exeter residents is a place of tranquillity, one of the oldest parks in the country, it hosts an outdoor cinema every summer and a food festival. However to one homeless individual involved with the project, it represents his first ever night sleeping rough. His experience couldn’t be further from the tranquil, he informs the audience of the fact that whilst sleeping, his rucksack containing all of his documents was stolen, leaving him without formal identification and a means of proving his residency. In presenting these alternative experiences through the medium of performance, the project readdresses an audience’s perception of a particular location. This re-evaluation enables a redistribution of associations, providing a realistic and resonant account of homelessness in Exeter, whilst simultaneously raising an awareness of The Shilhay Community charity. The Shilhay Community is the single largest voluntary sector accommodation-provider in Exeter and runs a number of properties that cater to ‘one of the most marginalised groups of men and women in society’. Their continued support of sociallyexcluded individuals means that they have enabled many service users to move on into main stream society and independent living. In line with the work achieved through The Shilhay community, the ultimate aim of the project is to generate a mutually beneficial relationship between the University of Exeter and the charity based on a volunteering scheme. The Shilhay community is also seeking volunteers to run sports programs for their residents and it is through this that we hope to facilitate a lasting interaction between students and the homeless. If you are interested in the chance to experience the audio tour, or for more information please contact lb290@ex.ac. uk

videogames News

Bytesize

The highly-anticipated demo for Splinter Cell: Convictions has been scheduled for an Xbox Live release on March 18. More DLC episodes for psychological thriller Alan Wake have been promised for the coming year. Perfect Dark arrives on Xbox Live Arcade this week. I, for one, cannot wait to resume blowing stuff up with a laptop gun. Microsoft says it’s looking like July for the epic-looking Crackdown 2. Let’s hope that the thrilling footage released for the game is an accurate reflection of the end product. Molyneux’s scheme to break down Fable 2 into episodic DLC content to be downloaded from Xbox Live has proved “massively successful” according to the man himself. Really, Peter?... really? Modern Warfare 2 is the UK’s second best selling game. Hands up who’s surprised? Bungie has announced a new trademark hinting at a new project underway for the developer. Fingers crossed that this means something else other than another flipping Halo game. Final Fantasy XIII has hit five million copies, further cementing the fact that a whole lot of people like their visual novels. A Wii Doctor Who game has been announced. Given that the Wii’s currently drowning in the wake of 360 and PS3 sales it’s hardly surprising that the Wii’s clinging onto anouther franchise for dear life. A final Super Street Fighter 4 character has been revealed. New characters are about as exciting a shake up as you can get in a 2D button-bash but hey, change is good. A new Carmaggedon clone has been released on Xbox Live under a shiny sheen: Scrap Metal. It’s still the same old psychotic mix of guns and roadkill. Brilliant.

I Hate Videogames Rage Extravaganza

I hate videogames so much that I’m not going to write about them anymore. In fact, in a crushing blow of finality, my total apathy towards videogaming has now been set in stone by the fact that I have to complain about it for a good 350 words in this little box. Some people like to rant - they relish the chance to have a good moan about anything. Presumably, this is because it distracts them from the dire circumstances of their own miserable lives. However, I have better ways to escape from my weltschmerz. For the record, videogames aren’t one of them. Recently, I visited a friend’s house and played Fifa 2009. This isn’t ordinarily the kind of game I would bother to play: my memories of being able to run away from the referee

in Fifa 1994 suffice. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. In the interests of contrast, I dug out my old copy of Pro Evo 2008. I don’t know why so many mouthbreathers salivate over this game whilst largely neglecting any other videogame. I guess because it’s football, they don’t feel so insecure about the fact that they might be ‘a nerd’, which would lead them to believe they need to ‘get a life’, which seems to involve drinking weak beer, persuading boring girls to sleep with them, and chatting about the whole thing on Facebook the next day. Anyway, I found it exactly the same as Fifa 2009, only a little slower. I then decided to dip into another footy game - an oldie, Sensible World of Soccer - and found it far more fun. The ant-like players in the top down view move too fast for you to effectively control them, and sometimes the ball just veers away from you if you turn too fast. Much more interesting. This isn’t some cringe-inducing lament for ‘retro’ games, for which

I have little affection. I just think games should be fun, not realistic. For instance, I absolutely loathe all racing games, with the exception of Burnout. I remember the fuss over Gran Turismo when it first hit the shelves. I had a go on it. You veer around, struggling to control your car because you didn’t expect the fun-destroying importance of barely ever touching the accelerator, before crashing into the walls enough times to destroy your vehicle, forcing you to abandon the race. What the hell is the fun in that? Surely having to master driving realistically would be better done on a damn driving test? That’s like having to abide by traffic laws in Grand Theft Auto, lest the rozzers converge upon you. I kind-of try to do that sometimes though. No shame here. I remember, at the height of my friendlessness, I was involved in leaking the Touhou games to a Western audience by getting early copies at the Japanese Comiket conventions. Yeah, if anybody was doubting my Games credentials they can shove it now. I did this because the games offered such awe-inducing challenge. Just looking at screenshots of these ‘bullet hell’ top-down shooters fills most people with wonder - ‘how the hell do you navigate that?’ Well, people could play and find out, but they don’t. Even the widely available top-down/bullethell/curtain fire shooters like Ikaruga are absolute minnows in popularity when compared to Forza, or Gran Turismo, or Fifa 2010. I just don’t understand. Having played tons of footy growing up and played the games, I don’t think there’s something I’m ‘not getting’ here. People might say they prefer a more ‘social’ experience with videogames - what could be more social than screaming at the top of your lungs as you direct your friend to dodge bullets that have destroyed him before you’ve finished barking your orders? I don’t see how racing or sports games, with the occasional goal or race win followed by the odd ‘wey’, can possibly stand up to this. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I hate videogames because of what they have largely become - not because older is better, merely because public consumption trends have bred out the challenging and enjoyable games, popularizing instead the utterly diabolical year-after-year clone games we now heavily anticipate. Therefore, I hate videogames because I hate people. What a surprise. You, mild-mannered average Joe who likes a bit of a laugh with the occasional game of Pro Evo or Fifa - thanks a lot. You ruined my hobby. ALEX BENNETT videogames editor

march 22 2010 Exeposé

It has been an enjoyable year of editing the Videogames section of Exeposé and it seems only fitting to end it on a final rant; or rather a collection of rants seemingly strung together by the last angry man. Activision is the behemoth of the gaming industry, producing masterpieces such as Modern Warfare 2 and Doom 3 as well as churning out the ‘games’ known as Guitar Hero. All good and well, except not once have I ever got through to their PR people. Not once have they responded to an e-mail, even if to say, “No we won’t send you a copy of our game, even though we could clearly afford it.” EA and Microsoft have been miles better and the internet agrees with me. So there, take that Activision, or just send us the odd game... But please spare us Guitar Hero. Guitar Hero. Even calling it a videogame makes me feel dirty. I just fail to see the point; games are about escapism - well a large portion of games are. Playing a guitar pretending you are a rock god is a) pathetic and b) pointless. Just pick up the guitar and actually start playing. See, I can’t pick up a gun and shoot Russian soldiers in the face so I turn to videogames. But should I have a desire to play the guitar and become a musician then that is within my grasp without threat of jail and/or death! Hmm what next, oh yes the total butchery of gaming by Hollywood. Max Payne and Max Payne II: a Film Noir Love Story are two of my favourite games of all time. However average Joe Public now associates the name Max Payne with some rubbish film starring convicted violent felon Mark Wahlberg. This is a perfect example of why Hollywood should be burnt to the ground and we can content ourselves instead with pretentious European cinema which has a woman’s vulva being cut off with rusty scissors. With interesting, albeit frustrating, ‘nightmare’ levels and the graphic novel panels telling a great story this was meant to remain a game - not become a terrible movie to be consigned to disgust by everyone. I would also like to take this opportunity to stick my middle finger up to the entire concept of

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DRM and the companies that now choose to use it. Firstly, we will beat your system; secondly, I like being able to play my games offline. I’m looking at you Ubisoft. In fact I, like many other fans, are totally happy to pay a reasonable price for a top notch game. However by insinuating that we are all criminals I’m very tempted to in fact join the ranks of those who don’t pay just to make a statement. Seriously, let’s take a look at a quote regarding their DRM and internet disconnects: “Where exactly you are reconnected in the game may differ from title to title. Settlers 7 reconnects at the exact point where the connection was

lost, Assassins Creed 2 reconnects you at the last checkpoint. There are many checkpoints so you’re back to the point where you got disconnected in no time.” So imagine this not too unlikely scenario. You are on a tough level of AC2 just before a checkpoint, then your housemate trips over the router disconnecting you from the net leaving you stuck having to repeat the section again. The magic is lost. All of a sudden not only are you a total slave to blue screens of death but you now must guard you internet connection against possible disruption. This attempt to tackle piracy by forcing you to be connected all the time is immature and doomed to fail; despite the fact we are increasingly connected it should not be a prerequisite to play a videogame. Simple as. DOMINIC SMALL Videogames editor

Videogames

Exeposé wEEK twenty two games@exepose.com

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat GSC Gameworld: PC

I had been exploring the scrubcovered Ukrainian wasteland for about an hour when the first emission warning squawked over my radio. ‘Everybody, get to cover now!’ the voice yelled, so that’s exactly what I did, sprinting for the rusted hull of a beached cargo ship as the wind whipped up into a roar. Emissions, I later found out, are a common occurrence in the ‘Zone’, a fictionalised version of the area around a Chernobyl nuclear plant that didn’t just cause humdrum cancer and poison when it blew. No, this meltdown was much more of the exciting 1950s sci-fi variety, filtered through a grubby lens of bleak post-Soviet realism. Mutants and psychic phenomenon abound, but could only be further from man-in-asuit monstermovie antics

if they settled down in Wiltshire and took up knitting. Back in the hidey-hole, I was pulled out of my slack-jawed stupor by sudden movement. Someone had the same idea as I had and was running for the wreck. I could see them as dots on my mini-map, showing up as friendly so I wasn’t worried for my own sake but... hadn’t they left it a bit late? As I watched, the dots flickered. One by one they turned from green to grey. Grey dots indicate corpses. This was the moment I realised how into C a l l of Pripyat I was. It had evoked a feeling that few g a m e s can – that of being in a living, breathing and above all functioning world. Admittedly, it’s not a world I would want to live in, but beggars can’t be choosers, can they? This latest title in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series follows the style of its predecessors, an openworld FPS where shooting takes a backseat to exploration and survival. You play a lone soldier

Abe’s Oddysee Retro

CONTRARY to what you may have read prievously, Thief was not the first game to establish the stealth mechanics which many of us know and love, and despite what I may have said at the time, neither was Metal Gear Solid - which came out at roughly the same time. In fact, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was released six months before the both of them and it still wasn’t the first to the punch. These three games all graced our world in 1998, a year often regarded as the roots of the stealth genre, but in 1997 the small games developer Oddworld Inhabitants brought out the gem known as Abe’s Oddysee.

The star of Abe’s Oddysee is Abe, a clumsy happy-go-lucky Mudokon who takes it upon himself to rescue his brethren from slavery. In Oddworld, the Mudokons are a relatively peaceful race, many which have been enslaved by the meat processing factory RuptureFarms. Matters take a turn for a worse when RuptureFarms unveils plans for a new product: Mudokon Pops, and at this point Abe realises that he must escape the plant and rescue as many fellow Mudokons along the way. Standing in Abe’s way are the guards of

on a mission to find out just what the hell happened to a group of helicopters sent out by the Russian military. The plot is decent enough (though far from inspired), and serves its main purpose by giving you an excuse to stroll around the wilderness and climb into the irradiated boots of a Stalker, lunatics who risk the myriad dangers of post-blast Chernobyl for the chance to grab and sell rare artefacts that give pseudo-scientific magical powers. I’ve heard the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games described as survivalhorror in the past and find that label hard to disagree with. The combat is fittingly sketchy, made frantic and incredibly brutal by the series’ constant commitment to hardcore realism. A single shot can kill with ease if it’s not embedded in an adjacent wall thanks to recoil or crappy aim. This vulnerability can make Call of Pripyat incredibly hard at times, making it seem like the game genuinely hates players. Take, for example, Bloodsuckers. These mutants can turn invisible at will, take a shotgun blast to the face, move very fast and pull your spine out in a single move. In any other title they would seem to be horribly overpowered, even for bosses, but here they’re one of the first enemies you encounter. Eek. There’s a lot to love about this game, but it’s not without problems, almost all of which are made even worse by the fact that they’re so

clearly fixable. It’s practically a tradition for S.T.A.L.K.E.R games to be buggy, broken messes at launch and Call of Pripyat didn’t want to let the side down by changing now. Aside from a whole trough of localisation issues (on-screen text bearing little resemblance to voiceovers, weird fratboy-isms among Russian mercenaries, appalling grammar), the entire game is riddled with bugs and technical weirdness. The review PC is more than capable of handling Crysis on high settings, but wheezed away at Call of Pripyat even when all the sliders were set so far to the left they were practically in the next building. There are bugs and crashes everywhere so you’re pulled right out of the immersion every time a door opens. You have to be careful with doors, you see,

not because of what evil beings lie behind them but because if you stand in the wrong place they’ll push you into a wall and only CTRL+ALT+DEL will set you free. Every time this happens I sigh a little, because so many people will see this, read the back-of-the-box blurb and say “Eff this, I’m back off to Modern Warfare 2”, and the only person to blame is the game itself. Call of Pripyat is almost a metaphor for modern PC gaming – It offers unrivalled choice, freedom and wonderful looks, but only if you’re prepared to spend hours and hours trying to get the bloody thing to work properly.

RuptureFarms: Sligs and Slogs. Sligs are semi-robotic slug things armed with automatic rifles, whereas Slogs are vicious dog-like creatures. Both attack on sight, and Abe has no chance in fighting back. So what makes Abe’s Oddysee a stealth game, or more importantly, a good stealth game? Mechanically, it comes down to two things. First, there’s the stealth, obviously. Abe uses sneaking footsteps to get past sleeping enemies, and remains unseen by hiding in the shadows. It’s simple stuff but it’s effective and easy to grasp. In order to make the whole thing interesting, Abe has a few other tricks; levers can be used to trap or remove enemies, and Slogs can be distracted by lumps of meat, but best of all is the ability to possess Sligs (assuming they don’t shoot him first). This little trick forces them to act in Abe’s interests hopefully. Possessing Sligs gives you free control over them, so you’re immediately given a whole

new set of tools to work with, such as an automatic rifle - handy - and the ability to command Slogs or talk to other Sligs. There’s something else to Abe’s Oddysee though: atmosphere. At times it’s cruel, twisted, dark, and gritty, but it maintains a good level of humour throughout. The humour is critical, because the story can get pretty depressing if you empathise with the Mudokons, or even just Abe who gets treated pretty badly. It also means you don’t need to be a total sadist to take pleasure in watching your Mudokon brethren perish in various gruesome manners though it does help - giving you a couple of ways to play the game (with appropriate endings for each). In Abe’s Oddysee, Oddworld Inhabitants have created a beautiful world; not Avatar beautiful, but rich and filled with personality beautiful, and this is what makes the game great. Abe’s Oddysee has its flaws of course. For a start it’s old, which

means it can be hard to come by. And I guess the graphics are nothing special anymore, but they still function just fine. Alright, I admit it, I’m biased, but I’m trying real hard to find a bad point about this game. It only saves at certain points, which is occasionally frustrating, but other than that it comes down to preferences; perhaps it’s a little too puzzle-like for you, or maybe you just don’t care about saving OR slaughtering Mudokons. Regardless, there’s an official site where you can download a demo, so you might as well try it out. Oh, and once you’ve completed Abe’s Oddysee, you can move on to Abe’s Exodus which continues the story. It’s essentially the same game, but is much bigger and has several new features, including the ability to possess your own farts. Classic.

8/10 Richard Jansen

Matthew Allen

REFERENDUM: ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION, CHARITY LAW AND INCORPORATION CHANGES. 23RD – 30TH MARCH 2010

STUDENT FORUM ELECTIONS: NOMINATIONS OPEN – 29TH MARCH NOMINATIONS CLOSE – 5TH MAY

Exeposé week twenty two games@exepose.com

The Irrepressible Independents Musings on the recent Indie boom

What it is that truly defines something as ‘indie’ is always nigh-on impossible to pin down. The word itself is taken from the word ‘independent’, so you would think that’s exactly what it meant – something produced outside of the usual industry style. In a perfect world this would be the end of any debate, and the overlords of neatlyseparated genre and style would be sitting happy in their comfy chairs. However, this world ain’t perfect, so screw those guys. The progression of indie gaming is remarkably similar to that of indie music, and has ended up with similarly blurred boundaries. Originally a DIY movement that, not only didn’t care about the mainstream and bigbusiness, but avoided it wherever possible, indie music began to be associated with a certain aesthetic and type of sound. As individual bands and songs became more and more popular, ‘indie’ began to morph from a lifestyle into a genre and soon the actual independence of the performers became more-orless irrelevant. Is it still indie-rock if it says EMI on the label? Does it matter if it still sounds good? Games are undergoing similar identity crises at the moment. For as long as the internet has existed, bedroom programmers

Psychonauts

Psychonauts is a really original platformer and the first completed project from the developer Double Fine – an independant breakaway group from LucasArts. Whilst Double Fine’s latest effort Brütal Legend was pretty underwhelming, Psychonauts has an imaginative premise, great design and is just really fun. You take on the role of Raz, a runaway who wants to join a special summer camp and become a Psychonaut – a kind of spy that takes on the enemy by invading his mind. Each level is a play-through of somebody’s brain, featuring elements of the conscious, subconscious and neat little gimmicks like ‘Emotional Baggage’ that you get bonuses for clearing up. Each stage is radically different from the last and you’re always kept on your toes, plus you get cool psychic abilities to take out the monsters spawned by the subconscious. Psychonauts’ sales were undeservedly low, but you should definitely check it out, it’s brilliant stress relief. Alice Scoble-Rees

have been churning out their own projects to a limited audience and limited profits online, whilst dozens of sites groaned under the weight of simple browser-based flash games that devoured lunchhours and spawned millions of inventive excuses for non-existant homework. It wasn’t until the widespread adoption of digital distribution platforms (XBLA, PSN, Steam, WiiWare, etc) though, that the big companies took notice of just how profitable these tiny minnows swimming alongside their multi-million dollar sharks could be. Braid was the spark that fired the indie keg. Programmed by a single man and developed with his own money, this achingly beautiful time-manipulation puzzler blew minds and dropped jaws wherever it was played. Free from concerns over demographics and cost/profit figures, its creator Jonathan Blow was able to push the boundaries of what consumers expected and made a staggeringly solid... well, blow, for videogames as an artistic medium. Initially released over Xbox Live Arcade, Braid sold incredibly well and received almost universal acclaim from critics. It helped open the doors for titles ranging from the epilepsyinducing music/racer mash-up of

Did You Know?

Did you know that Operation Flashpoint is technically an indie game? Probably not I would assume. Indie games are often thought to be pixelated simplistic story-driven games. Not always the case. Operation Flashpoint was developed by Czech studios Bohemia Interactive and is considered by many the classic military sim game. Unsurpassed for its realism and atmosphere. Other games termed indie include the groundbreaking, yet disappointing, Republic: The Revolution which saw you attempt to take control of Novistrana, a fictional ex Soviet-bloc state. Both these games had high quality graphics engines and revolutionary gameplay. The latter being a staple of much indie game development especially in light of the behemoth that is Activision. The more classic indie games include Killer7 and No More Heroes as well as Alien Hominid, pictured opposite and Castle Crashers, currently sitting top of XBLA. Get out there and game. Alex bennett and dominic small videogames Editors

Audiosurf to the controller-smashing Trials series. This is not the only indie-gaming revolution, however. Smartphones (especially the ubiquitous iPhone) have provided a truly gigantic audience with what happens to be an almost perfect mobile gaming platform. Apple didn’t intend to provide such a massive basis for phone-based games, but the immense

user-base combined with the cheap and easy-to-use appstore to create a multi-million dollar industry almost overnight. Indeed, it is arguably the unexpected profits garnered from Apple’s cut of these sales that softened their opinion on mac-based games as a whole. The iPad was recently announced with a surprising

emphasis on gaming, and was followed up with the news that, to many MMacusers’ delight, the digital distribution and gaming platform Steam would be coming to their shiny white boxes. It’s questionable if this would ever have happened if it wasn’t for the indie trailblazers that showed the world how gaming on the iPhone should be done.

Videogames

Success is, however, a double-edged sword. As more profits flow from the genre and the minnow turns into a dolphin (to abuse our earlier metaphor), the more competition and commercialisation there is. Braid cost in the region of $200,000 to produce and costs are rising as the need to stand out above the crowd ramps up. The debate still carries on as to what ‘true’ indie is, but the progression of indie style seems to be impossible to stop. In the past week alone (at time of writing) it was announced that two promising titles (Shank and Deathspank), developed by independent studios, will be published by gaming’s former ‘Evil Empire,’ EA. Is it still indie-gaming if it says EA on the label? Does it matter if they’re good? (As long as it isn’t Activision - Ed)

Cave Story

In an alternate reality, Cave Story 7: Cave Harder shifted millions of units last year, the next-gen continuation of a beloved franchise known the world over. The games of this imaginary universe are subtly different from ours – more mature, thoughtful and artistic. Why? Because their version of Cave Story was created a decade earlier than ours and took the planet by storm. The fact that people fly sentient hovercars to work, however, is probably unrelated.

Richard Jansen

Released in 2004 after five years of development by a lone programmer, this 2D actionadventure game is nothing short of excellent. Playing out in a similar vein to the classic Metroid games, Cave Story follows the adventures of a nameless and memoryless robot dragged into protecting a race of rabbit-people from an evil villan. Okay, it sounds cliché, but in practice this free (yes, FREE) game is nigh-on perfect. Download it now. You deserve it. Richard Jansen

Sport

march 22 2010

Exeposé

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Bahrain bore in F1 opener Formula One

Karl King

F1 Correspondent

The much anticipated 2010 Formula One season got underway in Bahrain on March 12, and it was expected to be a corker. All-time legend of the sport Michael Schumacher, love him or loathe him, returned after a three year absence and adding to the excitement was the mouth-watering prospect of Hamilton vs Button within McLaren. Three new teams and a raft of rule changes left F1 fans

worldwide longing for March 14. That date came and that date went, and for many fans it would have left a bitter taste in their mouths. The race was predictably dubbed by the tabloids as ‘the Bore-rain GP’ – and justifiably so. The race was processional and largely uneventful with Fernando Alonso emerging victorious after long-time leader Sebastian Vettel experienced a loss of power in his car. Massa and Hamilton slipped past but Vettel managed to hold off the Mercedes cars for fourth place. Nico Rosberg finished one place ahead of returnee Michael Schumacher, who had

an unspectacular return. He’ll be hoping the team improve the car to the same pace as Ferrari and Red Bull, as sixth is not a position a seven-time world champion is used to. Current champ Jenson Button had a disappointing race considering his team mate got a (somewhat lucky) podium place. The Brit could only manage seventh – but, encouragingly, had better pace than Schumacher at the end of the race. With the ban on refuelling near-eradicating the possibility of leapfrogging cars on strategy and modern aerodynamics making it notoriously difficult to overtake on track, Button will have to improve his qualifying performances at future races. Mark Webber finished 8th in the Red Bull – not a great result considering his sister car was leading for much of the race. Again, though, overtaking is sadly very difficult in modern day F1 – made even harder by the absurd decision by organisers to change the layout of the circuit to include a long, tight, twisty infield section which added nothing to the racing, and only reduced the amount of long straights turning into heavy braking zones, where overtaking

would have been more viable. The McLaren was especially poorly set up in qualifying to deal with this bumpy section of track, meaning the team will be optimistic as we head to Melbourne. One good-news story to take from the weekend is that the Lotus Racing team saw the chequered flag, something both HRT and Virgin were way off. That is an astonishing achievement for the small Norfolk team on their debut – and they showed some good pace at the end of the race too.

What is clear is that the sport shot itself in the foot at the weekend. Many more fans are likely to have tuned in given how much this season was hyped up, only to find themselves wishing they had some paint to watch dry. Let’s hope it’s a blip and the show improves soon – if it doesn’t, something will need to give by the time we reach Europe.

England cooking up a storm Cricket

Andy Williams

Sports Correspondent

The England test side have managed to transfer their recent run of good form in the one day format of the game into a convincing win over Bangladesh. England managed to set aside batting woes in the first innings to post an intimidating score of 599-6 after losing the toss, surprisingly put into bat by Bangladesh. In the absence of Andrew Strauss, his regular opening partner Alastair Cook took over the helm for the first time and produced his highest test score of 173. Cook was joined at the crease for long periods of time by Kevin Pietersen, who, having continued his fine form during the limited overs game, fell just one short of a century before being clean bowled by Razzak. Cook was also partnered by Paul Collingwood, who demonstrated England’s improved middle order by scoring a fluid 145 which included four sixes. After Cook fell Collingwood was

accompanied by Ian Bell, who chipped in with a reputable 84 before his dismissal induced a declaration with the score on 599-6. The Bangladeshi bowling attack were left with a lot to think about, having made the mistake of putting England into bat, and then, despite using eight bowlers, only managing to take six wickets. Bangladesh’s response did not manage to compete with England’s mammoth first innings total, yet they showed signs of resistance with Iqbal (86), Mamuhdulah (51) and Rahim (79) all scoring half centuries. However there were no other major scores, with six of the batsmen failing to reach double figures after an impressive display from the England bowlers on an excellent batting pitch. Swann picked up another five wicket haul with Broad, Bresnan and Finn also contributing to the wicket tally. Bangladesh finished on 296 all out, and with England already having a 300 run lead, it allowed them to come to the crease with a free licence. In contrast to the first innings, none of the England players went on to post big scores

despite Cook, Carberry, Pietersen, Bell and Swann all getting into the 30’s. Most of these scores came at a quick rate, and after England had decided to declare for a second time in the match, this time with a score of 209-7. This gave them the best part of two days to bowl out Bangladesh, who needed an unprecedented 511 for victory. With England’s spirits buoyed by the prospect of a quick victory, they took to the field only to be met by a stubborn Bangladeshibatting line up, with a point to prove to their home fans after their performances so far with both bat a n d

ball. However, they did not get the start they would have hoped for, with both openers going cheaply, eventually finding themselves at 1105 before a brilliant resistance from Siddique and Rahim, who scored 106 and 95 respectively. This was enough to force the contest well into the fifth day, however, Bangladesh were fighting a losing battle, and after both those

batsmen were dismissed they offered little resistance. Bangladesh finished on 331 all out, with Swann taking his second five wicket haul of the match, taking his total to 10 for the test. His first 10 wicket haul for England. Bresnan took a further three wickets, with both Broad and Finn picking up one wicket each. Despite England not providing the clinical finish they would have hoped for, they still showed great promise with both bat and ball, and should hopefully keep moving forward.

Sport

Exeposé week twenty two sport@exepose.com

Grecians training hard to avoid the drop Football Alex Sharp Sports Editor

Last Thursday the Grecians took to the training pitch after a crucial 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on the Wednesday night. The club kindly invited me down to see how they train and have a chat with the squad. The team pulled out all the stops in an exhilarating game at St. James Park. The Grecians knew they had to carry on picking up points on home turf and defended resolutely under the guidance of stalwart captain Matt Taylor and Man of the Match, Rob Edwards. The game was end to end as both sides sensed they could snatch a victory, but it looked to be heading to a draw until James Dunne rose the highest to superbly head in a dramatic injury time winner. Defeating Bristol Rovers was Exeter’s first victory since January and was a much needed result. Manager Paul Tisdale remained focused after the game; “It’s one game and three points. It is difficult not to be pleased after tonight’s performance and we’ve now had two clean sheets in succession. I believe we are doing the right things and results will come.” The club remain just in the relegation zone by one point, but victory on Wednesday gave them a real fighting chance. Tisdale added, “I am confident we will do our very best. I never promised or guaranteed promotion in the last two years so I won’t promise anything now. We certainly look effective and have a great chance of staying in League One. It is a team effort from the manager,

the staff, the players and the supporters.” Director of Football Steve Perryman was keen to emphasise the strong team spirit in the squad, “We are so proud of the players who are insisting on playing quality football with such grit and determination. Even in tough times the players’ heads have never dropped and have worked even harder.” The squad are right behind Tisdale and also believe the presence of Perryman is a crucial aspect in the success of the club. Rob Edwards suggested his knowledge of the game is second to none, “Steve has been in the game as long as you’ve been alive. He’s been in the game long enough to know how to deal with the ups and downs.” Striker Richard ‘Logie’ Logan heaped praise on the Spurs legend, “Steve is quality. When he’s in the stands shouting for me, ‘Logie,’ it keeps you going and on your toes. He’s definitely a great person to have around the club.”

On Thursday the lads were in high spirits preparing for the crucial game against relegation rivals Wycombe Wonderers (Saturday 20). Day in, day out the squad works relentlessly to try and improve performances. Logie said, “It depends if you’re in the team, if you’re not, then you do a lot more running. I’ve been on the bench a lot recently so you do a lot more fitness.” The players train for two hours every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. “People think it is a really easy life as a professional footballer, but when you are out there it’s really hard, high intensity work.” On the Thursday, the team rigorously studies the opposition, Rob Edwards said, “we look at their recent performances on DVD analysis; studying their set plays and how they generally play.” The team seems positive that their League One status can be retained; Captain Matt Taylor claimed the team, “Need to keep grafting in the last ten games. We need to keep working hard and

putting our bodies on the line.” Logie insisted that what is needed for survival is simple: “Our away form needs to be better; we need to pick up a couple of draws or even wins on our travels to ease the pressure on home games.” Some of the local press has been extremely pessimistic and critical of the Club’s recent performances, however the fans have really got behind the team, with high attendances in recent weeks, to try and be their twelfth man. Despite the difficult situation everybody involved at the club remains incredibly positive and upbeat ahead of the end of season

run in Rob Edwards pointed out, “We know we have great spirit and the manager is a positive guy. He encourages the team to go out and express themselves.” It seems that the manager, staff and players certainly have the attitude and determination to avoid relegation and let’s hope results go their way. As it is my last issue as Sports Editor, I would like to thank the Club for their co-operation with the University, wishing them all the best in the future.

Sport

march 22 2010

Murray’s Musings...

AU President Tom Murray

much work to make this event a great success, especially Charlotte and Catherine and the AU exec, without whom the event would not happen. Good luck to ladies Rugby this week who are playing in their BUCS semi final! If you want to follow Exeter Sport on Facebook, log on to www. facebook.com/exeterau Have a great sport filled week! Tom Murray au@ex.ac.uk 01392 263573

As can be expected from a member of the athletic union the night after AU dinner, I am currently finding the everyday tasks slightly harder than normal to achieve. Despite being a Teetotaller, I could not help but over-indulge in the enjoyment of last night’s dinner. There is something amazing about so many sporty students getting together to celebrate a year of sporting success. And what a night it was! With sporting celebrities such as Simon James Tyson and Lou Michael and AU legends such a Bruce Coleman how could the night fail to be a success? The night was an evening of glitz and glam with a feast of good food and awards given. It was a great night for the men’s hockey club, scooping four of the top awards, to be the crowning achievement on their great season this year. Praise too should go to Luke Dillon, who in a highly competitive field for club captain of the year came out worthy winner. Thanks should go to everyone who put in so

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The Awards: Most improved club: Athletics Website for the year: Canoe Volunteer of the year: Becky Todd Treasurer of the year: Holly Atkinson Club Captain of the year: Luke Dillon Team captain of the year: Sarah Hall Team of the year: Men’s Hockey 1st and 2nd team Non BUCS team of the year: American Football Club of the year: Men’s Hockey Fresher of the year: Tom Carson Sports woman of the year: Vix Adderley

Debut Gold for EUBC

Badminton Steve Rigotti XMedia Sport

Exeter 2nds were going into this final with great confidence after an impressive debut season in the BUCS competition. Remaining unbeaten in the Western Division 2B and with wins against Solent, Southampton and UWE in the previous rounds of the cup, UWIC presented another testing challenge. In front of the largest crowd ever to support a 2nd team match Guy Michell displayed swift smashing and self-assurance to take the first end 2114. He then clinched the second end and the first game of the final with an emphatic 21-8 score line. With BUCS games consisting of a best of three ends in eight games (four singles and four doubles) it was important to get a good start. In the other singles game James Bell started nervously with the UWIC player gaining a 10-2 advantage early on. However, Bell drew on seven years experience and with

control and poise he won 21-18 21-18. With the first round of singles giving Exeter a lead of 2-0 in games, it was the turn of the doubles pairs to take to the court. Fresher Patrick Baldwin and second year Andy Muir were buoyed by their impressive form against UWE 1st in the semi finals, winning 21-12 in the first end. The UWIC pair burst into life in the second end with a fast paced display, edging it 19-21. Undeterred, the Exeter pair regained control in the third end, eventually winning 21-14. Exeter’s second pairing of Mike Harcus and Matt Bolton, a new partnership,hadmixedfortunesintheir match, losing 16-21, 13-21. The UWIC pair made for a tough opening game for them, as they got used to playing together in the BUCS competition. With the half-way point reached, Exeter had a strong lead of 3-1 over UWIC going in to the second round of games, with the singles again taking to court first. Michell, with trademark power won 21-17, 21-13 after some exhaustingly long rallies.

This left James Bell with the chance to clinch gold for Exeter in his second game. With effortless movement and confident control of the rallies, he ran the UWIC player into the ground. In the hands of such experience the comfortable 2112, 21-14 score was never in doubt. Exeter gold was now guaranteed with the overall score at 5-1 it presented UWIC with two games to play for pride and they rose to the task. In a close game Muir and Baldwin went down 19-21, 20-22 and Harcus and Bolton, with the partnership starting to click, lost 23-25, 15-21. The victory adds to an impressive debut season for the 2nd team; maintaining their unbeaten record, they now look to the BUCS playoffs to see if they can follow the foot steps of the 1st team into Division 1A. With the new director of badminton put in place at the beginning of the year, Helen Ward, there can only be more to come from the badminton squad in the future as she gains more experience in her role.

Record books rewritten by EUAC

Athletics

James Lewis Sports Correspondent

As the teams lined up for the heats of the women’s 4x200m relay at the BUCS championships this weekend, Helena Corbin, in the glorious green vest of Exeter took to her marks. Ahead of her on the infamous staggered start stood the purple vests of Loughborough, branded with the slogan ‘Thanks For Coming’ across the back of their vests. The Exeter quartet of

Helena Corbin, Beth Hampson, Karla Drew and Becky Courtenay were unfazed by the stalwarts of university sport and tore up the track. They not only got close enough to read the banter from the Loughborough athletes, but emphatically sprinted past them to become the first women’s team in Exeter’s history to make a BUCS relay final, and doing so in record time. Exeter’s supporters were rapturous throughout the weekend as the crowd saw five athletes make the finals; Karla Drew, returning

from her recent GB debut, was unfortunate not to make the medals in her three disciplines; Mark Andrews made the triple jump final; and Jack Bancroft was only one tenth of a second off making the highly coveted 1500m final. Yet in my humble opinion the performance of the weekend goes to Charlotte Davies. The 1500m is a race combining a passion for speed, a determination for endurance, and natural mental and physical strength. Charlotte has all in abundance; on Saturday she excelled in the heats, smashing her

personal best by three seconds to secure a place in Sunday’s final. In the final she repeated this mean feat to break not only her own personal best time again but also become the quickest female 1500m in the University’s history and finish in the top eight in the country. This weekend saw a record number of 22 athletes, one coach and two mascots travelled to Sheffield to take on not only the best students in the country but some of the best athletes in the world. Out of the 22 athletes, 13 ran or jumped faster or further or higher than they

have ever accomplished before and three University records had to be rewritten. As the giant athletics universities continue to dominate proceedings at these Athletics Championships, accomplishments such as the women’s 4x200m final and Charlotte’s 8th place prove the continued improvements we have made, and persist in pushing us closer and closer to becoming one of the prestigious giants of the sport.

Sport

Exeposé week twenty two sport@exepose.com

Alexander Cook Sports Correspondent

Beneath the glorious Devonian sun, Mothering Sunday was host to the inaugural Hockey Varsity match against arch rivals Loughborough. This was a ‘must win’ game for Exeter, battling to avoid relegation from the National Premier Division, and thus a mouthwatering prospect for the substantial home crowd. Loughborough, still smarting from the previous Thursday’s BUCS defeat, began the game with intent. Their quick transfer and slick passing pinned the home side in their own half and stretched the defence. After an insufficiently cleared Loughborough attack, the deadlock was broken as their striker pounced on a loose ball at the top of the D and finished clinically. Exeter nevertheless rallied round, responding with spirit and gusto, undoubtedly fuelled by relentless chants of ‘Green Army’ and pitch-perfect renditions of Spandau Ballet’s Gold. The half progressed with both sides trading and squandering opportunities. Five minutes before half time though, Exeter’s Tom Carson provided the

(continued from back page) The second half commenced with no let up in hard work and passion by either side. Another corner won by Exeter was saved, but finally at a fourth time of asking, Exeter executed their short corner and found the back of the net. 2-1. Momentum then swung in Loughborough’s favour as they surged forward looking for an equaliser and finally started to produce some of the hockey that has seen them dominate university hockey over last three years. Exeter held strong but ill discipline reduced the ‘Green Army’ to ten as Kelleher did his time in the sin bin. Loughborough continued there assault and were

necessary spark – he humiliated his opposite number with sublime stick skills and squared the ball to the top of the D. A grateful James Grannell then drilled the ball into the bottom corner to the delight and relief of the Exeter faithful. At half time we were then treated to a fabulous display from the Exeter Cheerleading squad, who performed magnificently in trying circumstances and sustained an already hearty and buoyant atmosphere. Loughborough began the second half as they had the first, firing on all cylinders. They were almost immediately awarded a penalty flick (which they duly converted) after a series of short corner opportunities. They then made it 3-1 with another short corner, and Exeter dreams of victory increasingly seemed like Tantalus’s fruit. The boys nevertheless fought on resiliently and there was hope when they won a succession of short corners. Sadly, they couldn’t convert, despite coming agonizingly close. The game ended at 3-1 to Loughborough. Post match disappointment in the Exeter dressing room was tangible. Captain Henry Erikson’s appraisal of the game was matter-of-

finally rewarded with a dubious penalty stroke. Dispatched. 2-2. With minutes to go, calls for calmness and clarity in the Exeter camp were made as the crowd bubbled with excitement! The excitement emanating from the sideline proved difficult to overcome but finally some excellent work down the right by Mcnaught-Barrington and a moment of inspiration by the Welshman setting Carson up for his second with another exquisite finish. With just minutes left on the clock Exeter held strong and secured their long awaited BUCS GOLD! Thanks must be extended to many for making trip up to Sheffield to support: club captain Thomas Walter and those of the hockey

fact but fair: ‘they took their chances we didn’t’. He was also adamant to thank the supporters, saying that ‘it was really good to have so many people up here’ and to ‘raise the profile of hockey’. It also emerged that the Loughborough BUCS squad was supplemented on Sunday by five or six ‘alumni’ (who happen to share hundreds of international caps between them) whereas the Exeter team remained unchanged. In light of this, the lads gave an excellent account of themselves - no doubt they’ll bounce back again next season. Finally, thanks must go to the Hockey Club for all their hard work in organizing this event. Let’s hope it sets the precedent for another long-standing Exeter Varsity tradition. club who travelled the 482 mile round trip to support us, friends and family who travelled from all over the country, our groupies, the 2nd XI who offered their excellent support after their victory, and also Birmingham University who offered serious volume from the sideline. Thank you all. BUCS Championship team: Maxwell Rogers, Alex Jakeman, Henry Ericson, James Royce, Tom Woolven, Toby Roche, Benjamin Edge, Edward Kelleher, James Granell, Brendan Noble, Joseph Sterlini, Samuel Burret, Thomas Carson, Rufus McNaught-Barrington, Oliver Deasy, Daffyd Bury, Thomas Woods, Nicholas Beasent, Christopher McInroy.

exeposé crossword -

Hockey Varsity

No. 7 by Emily Jones and Dave Cooper

Loughborough grabs varsity revenge

Across

Down

1. Fairground ride (6,7) 5. Hannah ___, Miley Cyrus’ alter ego (7) 7. Jacob ___, South African President (4) 8. Waves breaking on the shore (4) 10. Disney villain (5) 11. Eskimo house (5) 12. Home of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (6) 14. Motor (6) 16. Jumper (6) 20. Theatre hosting Oscars ceremony (5) 21. ___ Jones, adventurer (7) 23. American river (11)

1. County - home of Rose Bowl cricket ground (9) 2. Blue ___, bird (3) 3. Jesus raised him from the dead (7) 4. Land-locked colony in central Africa (6) 6. Baked ___, meringue dessert (6) 9. American rapper - Low (3,4) 13. Take legal action against (3) 15. ___ Watts, King Kong actress (5) 17. Hindu religious teacher (5) 18. Long for (5) 19. Band fronted by Gene Simmons (4) 22. Drunk (3)

Crossword 6 solution - Across: 1. Warwickshire, 7. Lionel Richie, 8. Ni, 10. Edam, 12. Neatly, 13. Fanny, 14. Ska, 16. Bloc, 17. Ramadan, 19. Lentil, 20. Earl Grey, 21. Wally, 22. Beatles Down: 1. Wilberforce, 2. Rioja, 3. Colon, 4. Sri Lanka, 5. Inhale, 6. Eden, 9. Imbecile, 11. Mensa, 15. Maury, 16. Bandit, 18. Mural, 19. Lyre

Monday March 22 2010

Exeposé

www.exepose.com

sport

Exeter City FC

Exeposé heads to Exeter City FC’s training ground to see the Grecians in action.

Men’s Badminton 2nds grab maiden gold- p42

Page 41

Champions League Quarter Final Draw

Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow

Arsenal v Barcelona

Hockey lads sweep Gold Joe Sterlini Sports Correspondent

Exeter University Men’s Hockey Club demonstrated their dominance of University hockey by winning the Men’s hockey Trophy and the Championship. The 1st and 2nd XIs travelled up to Sheffield for their respective finals taking place on the March 11. The 2nd XI proceeded to win the trophy for a third year running

in the morning with an emphatic 4-0 demolition of Birmingham University 2nd XI, leaving the first team the challenge of overcoming Loughborough University in the afternoon in order to make a clean sweep of the men’s competitions. Loughborough were in pursuit of their fourth consecutive year of winning the championship. Early exchanges reflected the overzealous temperament one would expect from students in a national final and produced a distinct lack of the quality both sides are capable of producing.

Ten minutes in or so both sides got a hold of themselves and started to play some excellent hockey. Ericson and Noble dominated the left hand side and were responsible for the majority of Exeter’s good attacking play in the first quarter. Two short corners were won by the Devon side, the first two clear chances of the game, but were unable to make the most of these opportunities. Inevitably, Loughborough then proceeded to win a corner of their own against the run of play and did what Exeter could not, and found the

No.72

GRID 2: MEDIUM

GRID 1: easy

No.71

Exeposé sudoku

target and the back of the net. Exeter pushed forward but could not create any sort of clear opportunity as the Loughborough defence held strong. An excellent piece of individual skill by Carson on the top of the D was required to produce the much sought after scoring opportunity and the young freshman did not waste his good work producing an excellent reverse stick finish into the roof of the goal. 1-1 at the break.

Man UTD v Bayern Munich

Continued page 36

Fill in the grid so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear in each row, each column, and each 3x3 box

GRID 3: HARD No. 73

Hockey

Lyon v Bordeaux

Team of the year

MONDAY 22ND MARCH 2010 ISSUE 24

Richard Stearn is seeing red over Student Funding 2

What's on?

Events and Gigs listings 4

Minding Our Heads

Mental Health Week with one of our newest Societies 3

A Diamond Anniversary

CinSoc turns 60 this week 3

Are you feeling Charitable

Why you should vote yes in the upcoming referendum 2

CAN YOU

AFFORD

A DEGREE?

Students are taking a Battering

Richard Stearn, Students’ Guild President explains the worsening situation of fees, and the event in Exeter supporting the Student Funding Debate

The Plan for the Day: 12:40pm – We’re meeting in Bedford Square in the City Centre. It’s the open area between Debenhams and ExeShed. There will be a series of short addresses about the issues followed by a group photograph. Don’t forget that the campaign colour is redyou’ll also be given a red balloon! Things should be wrapped up by 2pm. 6:00pm – In the evening we’ll be hosting a discussion on higher education funding featuring Professor Steve Smith, our Vice Chancellor and the President of Universities UK, and Wes Streeting, the President of the National Union of Students. This will allow all who attend a great chance to get to grips with the issues and hear two of the most informed people about funding speak. It’s in the Parker Moot Room on the Streatham Campus.

ight now Lord Browne, the former chief executive of BP, is conducting a review into Tuition Fees. If you’re a Home or EU student then I imagine that you’re paying £3,225 a year for your University course. This has been this case since 2006, only four years ago and before 1998, Higher Education was free. This review is fundamentally ﬂawed for two reasons: 1. It reports after the next general election with both Labour and Conservatives in agreement not to talk about the results until then. This means that we won’t be able to make an informed choice at the ballot box because neither side will announce their stance on fees. Thanks to this political manoeuvre students will be unable to vote on the issues that matter to them.

“Potential Students are aleady being put off by the cost” 2. The review is taking

place at the same time as significant public cuts and in the face of calls from business, industry and some university figures for students to pay more. Early indications suggest that the fees will increase to a figure between £5,000 and £7,000.

Are you feeling Charitable?

Josh Kinrade tells us why you should vote in favour of changing the Students’ Guild Constitution

he Students’ Guild is launching a referendum on major changes to how it operates. Student Unions used to be exempt from registering as a charity, but this recently changed. As a result, the Students’ Guild intends to become a Company Limited by Guarantee as preparation for registration with the Charities Commission.

“Unions used to be exempt from registering as a charity, but this recently changed” In order to do this, the Students’ Guild has consulted lawyers and drafted a document called the ‘Memorandum and Articles of Association’, intended to replace the current Constitution. This will represent

a major change in the way that the Students’ Guild operates, which is why we are putting the document to a referendum. Though registration is required by law, this does not mean that you can’t vote no. If the changes are rejected, then the Guild will look at the reason behind this and produce a different proposal. Moreover, if you are really against the proposal, the Guild will provide you with £100 to run a ‘No’ campaign. One important change is the creation of a guarantee which would mean that no student will have to pay more than £1 towards the Guild’s debts, instead of the trustees being personally liable for any debts owed by the Guild. Another change is an increase in the number of students required for a General Meeting to take decisions. This is currently 300, but would rise to 2.5% of students (about 430). Without this number the meeting would have to wait half an hour and meet again the following week.

The Articles would also allow any student to designate a person to cast their vote at General Meetings, without having to attend themselves. For more changes, you are encouraged to read the Articles online at www.exeterguild.org.

“No student will have to pay more than £1 towards the Guild’s debts” Overall, the message is to

go and vote! The changes could have a signiﬁcant impact on your time at Exeter and will change how the Students’ Guild hears your voice. The referendum is open from Tuesday 23rd to Tuesday 30th March. Visit www.exeterguild.org and follow the links to vote.

This will potentially put students in a very difﬁcult position. University, I’m sure we’ll all agree, is one of the greatest experiences we’ll ever have. It’s so much more than three years or more spent studying a particular subject; it’s a life experience and we all come out of it more rounded people.

Town Takeover is all about. Town Takeovers are a campaign started by the NUS across big university towns in the UK. It’s a chance for us to gather together and say with our united voice that enough is enough, students shouldn’t pay any more. I would advise you to check out the NUS website for more details. If you’re available on the 29th please come and join us as we defend university for students in the future, if not then please register to vote in Exeter.

tertiary education is the biggest force for social mobility. Everybody deserves this chance. Hence when we start to talk about fees reaching approximately £7,000 there is serious cause for concern. Potential students are already being put off university by the cost and increasing it will only decrease the number applicants even more. That’s why it’s so important that we try to do something. The result of the review may not affect us directly but I believe that we have a responsibility to try and inﬂuence its outcome. This is what the Exeter

in the next election and if we can say to the candidates that students are going to vote then our issues are far more likely to get on their agendas. We are young, educated and passionate. Don’t let the politicians take us for a ride, come to the Exeter Town Takeover.

“Don’t let the politicians take us for a “Before ride” University underpins the democratic processes of this 1998, Higher country and university educations power our economy. For those very Education reasons we need to ensure that every person has the opportunity was free” to go to university, especially as This seat is going to be very close

Tell us what you think about X. Email your thoughts to: communications@guild. ex.ac.uk

Quite Interesting? Our fortnightly column of interesting facts and statistics about Exeter University and its Students.

This week we give you some of the results from Exequest Part 2.

90% 75% 60% 33% 68% 31%

of students found it easy to join a Students’ Guild Society of students know that Richard Stearn is the President of the Students’ Guild of students felt it is important to campaign on Local Issues of students have a part-time job

of people rated Exeposé as good or very good

of people would choose to volunteer at the Safer Sex Ball

SOCIETY FEATURE: CINSOC

Stephanie Richards Committee Member

his has been an excellent year for the University of Exeter Campus Cinema. We’ve been a presence at the University for the past 60 years and this week is our Diamond anniversary. So to celebrate this achievement we’ll be hosting a week-long ﬁlm festival in week 11 (22nd to the 28th March). Each night we’ll be showing a classic ﬁlm to represent every decade of our existence.

“This week is our Diamond anniversary” The ﬁlm choices have

been nominated and voted for by our members and include the

1950s classic comedy Some Like it Hot, Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 masterpiece Pulp Fiction as well as one of the highlights of the “noughties” The Dark Knight. There really is something for everyone. For you film buffs out there we’re showing Stanley Kubrick’s controversial A Clockwork Orange, providing what for many may be the first and only chance to see it on the big screen. Interspersing our countdown of the decades’ finest, we will also be bringing you “Twi-night” a Twilight and New Moon double-bill. Get ready to join either team Edward or team Jacob, as we settle down in the Lemon Grove for a latenight screening of the two teen

vampire-romps that have taken the world by storm.

“Each night we’ll be showing a classic ﬁlm” Optional fancy dress could win

you some fantastic prizes, while access to the Lemon Grove bar should keep you hydrated all night. Tickets are available from the Lemon Grove Box Ofﬁce, any Campus Cinema screening or on the door; £2.50 for one ﬁlm, £5 for both – Campus Cinema members get half price entry.

SOCIETY FEATURE: RUSSIAN SOCIETY

Melissa Kennedy Committee Member

ecently the University of Exeter Russian society held its Annual General Meeting (AGM); a key part of this was the election for a new committee. The positions were hotly contested, with all the candidates throwing themselves into canvassing for votes. This year’s campaigns were particularly innovative; with everything from propagandastyle posters to personalised election badges – “vote Boris for VP!” There were a huge number of Facebook groups each trying to persuade society members to vote for the page’s creator with catchy taglines and manifestos. Finally, powerpoint presentations on the day left us outgoing ’09-ers reeling

at the cumulative effort and talent on display from our eager candidates.

“This year’s campaigns were particularly innovative” Once the pizza was

eaten and members’ votes cast, the results were announced. Heading up the gang for next year is Yana Makoveeva. Working alongside her will be: Tom ‘Boris’ Laing (of election badge fame), the affable Emily Dyson as social sec, propaganda

commissar Max Edwards for publicity, multilingual Claire Kreiger in the role of secretary , Exeter’s favourite Slovak Maria Mikulcova for treasurer and polyglot Kate Sukhanova as International Officer. Congratulations to all of you. The selected seven are set to provide plenty of good times over the coming year for the society’s ever-growing membership. But meanwhile, to keep up the pace of what has been one of the most active years in Russian society history, old and new committees are working together with Kazakh society to bring you an unforgettable V.E.; including a mixture of films, fireworks and food.

SOCIETY FEATURE: MIND YOUR HEAD SOCIETY

Abigail Horsley Committee Member

ind Your Head Society is dedicated to promoting awareness of mental health and mental wellbeing, as well as the stigma and general perception associated with mental health issues. We hope to work closely with student run services such as Voice, and promote the fantastic services the university offers (such as Student Counselling and the Disability Resource Centre). 1 in 4 people will suffer from some form of mental health problem throughout their lives (World Health Organisation), and there is excess strain placed on students in a university environment, so reducing the stigma attached to mental health issues is very important.

“1 in 4 people will suffer from some form of mental health problem” We recently conducted

a mental health survey to gage the student body’s awareness of mental health issues, to ﬁnd out what people knew about the services the university can provide, and to discover what people wanted from us as a society. It proved to us that,

with the right approach, there is so much we can do to make a positive difference. Almost all of the people who completed the survey either knew somebody who had suffered from mental illness, or had experienced it themselves. We received some constructive feedback on the University and Students’ Guild, and lots of ideas about how the society can make a difference. We hope to take these ideas and mould the society to suit the needs of Student’s in Exeter. From Monday the 22nd to Friday 26th of March, to promote mental health and Mind Your Head Soc we’re hosting a Mental Health Awareness Week. Come and meet us in Devonshire House.

more challenging routine for those more conﬁdent with their salsa). 8:50pm - 9pm: Practice time. 9pm 10pm: Intermediate class (for those wanting a much more challenging class, both with footwork, styling and turn patterns). Contact slc215@ex.ac.uk for more details.

EVERY WEEK MONDAYS 4pm - 5pm German Society: Conversation Class Long Lounge, DH A great opportunity to practise your spoken German with native speakers in an informal and friendly atmosphere. Suitable for German undergraduates. Contact alt204@ex.ac.uk for more details. 7pm-7.45pm Folk Society: Folk Music Session JCR, DH An opportunity to play traditional folk tunes. All instruments welcome. Also see our slower music session on Fridays. Contact cgb203@ex.ac.uk for more details. 8.30 pm- 10pm Folk Society: Folk Dancing JCR, DH Come and try some traditional english folk dancing with Folk Soc, one of Exeter’s longest running societies. No partner needed. No experience necessary.Contact cgb203@ex.ac.uk for more details. 8:30pm Community Action: Pub Quiz Ram, DH Pub Quiz hosted by CA. Prizes include exciting vouchers from Dominoes and the Black Horse. Tickets £1 per person, half of which is charitably donated to CA and its volunteering projects. Prizes up for grabs include ﬁve Domino’s Pizza vouchers, ﬁve drinks from the Black Horse, a bottle of wine and a healthy cash sum is up for grabs. Contact cafundraising@ex.ac.uk for more details.

TUESDAYS 6:45pm - 9:45pm Dancesport Society: Latin and Ballroom Lessons Hope Hall Dining Room Latin and Ballroom Lessons taught by a former world champion. No previous experience necessary for our beginner lessons. 6:45pm -7:30pm: Beginners Latin. 7:30pm -8:15pm: Beginner Ballroom. 8:15pm - 9pm: Novice and Intermediate Latin. 9pm - 9:45pm: Novice and Intermediate Ballroom. Email slc215@ex.ac.uk

8.30pm - 10pm Japanese Society The Lemon Grove Bar The Japanese Society's regular meeting; come along for a friendly chat!

WEDNESDAYS 1pm Amnesty International Meeting Freddie Mercury Suite, CH Amnesty’s weekly meeting, during which we plan our campaigns and fundraising events and take action on contemporary Human Rights issues. See www. exeteramnestystudents.co.uk for more details. 7pm Buddhist & Meditation Society: Meditation Evening Queen's 4.2 Every week we have a meditation session with a local speaker, who gives the background to the practice and leads a meditation. All sessions are free and anyone is welcome at any time so do come along. Contact us on jrm212@ ex.ac.uk if you want more details of our schedule. 7:30pm - 9pm Nooma Long Lounge, DH Exploring the relevance of Jesus and the Bible in contemporary society, looking at ‘building the foundations for a brighter future’ open to all. 8pm onwards Xpression FM presents Open Mic Night Lemon Grove, CH A free and fun evening. All new and returning acts welcome, come along at the beginning of the night to sign up. www.xpressionfm.com.

THURSDAYS 4:30pm - 6:30pm World Music Choir: Rehearsal Knightley Seminar Room Come and join the World Music Choir for a fun rehearsal singing songs from around the world £2 members £4 non-members. Contact worldmusicchoir@yahoo. com for more details. 5pm onwards Poker Lemon Grove, CH 7pm - 10pm Dancesport Society: Salsa Lessons Hope Hall Dining Room 7pm - 7:50pm: Beginners class (beginners footwork and partner work). 7:50pm - 8pm: Practice time. 8pm - 8:50pm: Improvers class (a

7pm Arabic Society: Bellydancing Coffee Express, DH Arabic Society is proud to introduce the return of our belly dance classes! Lessons will be held weekly all the term on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 8pm in Coffee Express, Devonshire House. Prices are £1 for members of Arabic Society, and £2 for non-members. It'd be great to see you there!"

FRIDAYS 1-2pm Arabic Conversation Classes Seminar Room 2, IAIS Colloquial Arabic conversation classes. Mainly Levantine dialect, incorporating some Egyptian. Anyone welcome! Contact kjm205@ex.ac.uk for more details. 6pm onwards Free Fun Friday Ram Bar, DH Enjoy all the games in the Ram for Free from 6pm, as well as promotional drinks offers every Friday! 6:30pm Folk Society: Beginners’ Folk Music Session Claydon (behind Knightley) Come along and join in with a slow informal folk music session. All instruments and abilities welcome! We also teach instruments from scratch. Contact cgb203@ex.ac.uk for more details. 7:30pm Debating Society:Friday Debate Parker Moot Room,Amory The Debating Society’s weekly show debate, check the Debsoc Facebook group each week for the motion. Contact cf256@ex.ac.uk for more details.

SUNDAYS 8pm onwards RAG Quiz Lemon Grove, CH

WEEKS 11 & 12 MONDAY, 22ND MARCH 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: Some Like it Hot Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members

7.30pm PsychSoc: Play that Funky Music Exeter Phoenix Exeter University Jazz Orchestra and Soul Choir will be combining forces to provide an amazing evening of musical entertainment. Tickets are a bargain at £5...come along, it’s guaranteed to make you smile!

TUESDAY, 23RD MARCH 12pm-2pm BodySoc: Bake Sale CH A bake sale to raise money for the ‘Breast Cancer care’ chairty. Tickets for our formal charity dinner will also be availble here. 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: Dr. Strangelove Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members 7.30pm ECU Open Mic Night Cross Keys, St Luke’s Relaxed informal environment, everyone welcome, invite your friends and come and hear some great music. Short talk by AU pres Tom Murray;hosted by ECU. 7.30-9.30pm Community Action: Take me Out Lemon Grove, CH

WEDNESDAY, 24TH MARCH 6.30-8.30pm UNICEF: Student Art and Poetry Night Castle Galleries, 18 Cathedral Yard An exhibition of student art work and poetry inspired by the theme of UNICEF’s global work. Refreshements will be provided. 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: A Clockwork Orange Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members 7.30pm EUSO Spring Concert Exeter Corn Exchange Join EUSO for our biggest concert of the year: Sam Richards: 4 Sea Studies Glazunov: Violin Concerto Op 82 in A minor, soloist Sulki Yu Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique Student tickets cost £4.50 and are available from 01392 665866. BOOK NOW!

Lost Ark Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members

FRIDAY, 26TH MARCH 8.00pm-2am Twi-night; Twilight and New Moon Marathon Film Screening Lemon Grove, CH Don’t miss out on this fully-loaded night of Vampire-ladened fun! Team Edward/Jacob dress-up with PRIZES and drinks available at the Lemmy bar. Popcorn and Ice Cream! £2.50 for one ﬁlm, £5 to see both. Half price entrance for Campus Cinema members. Buy your tickets in advance from the Lemmy Box Ofﬁce, any Campus Cinema screening or on the night.

SATURDAY, 27TH MARCH 1:30pm Exeter University Chamber Orchestra Spring Serenade University Chapel Experience the joys of spring with Chamber Orchestra! Repertoire includes Ireland’s Concertino Pastorale and Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with student soloists Jenny Rogers and Clara Bradbury - Rance. 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: Pulp Fiction Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members

SUNDAY, 28TH MARCH 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: The Dark Knight Film Screening M&D Room, CH £1.50 members £3.00 non-members

MONDAY, 29TH MARCH 7.00pm BodySoc’s Formal Charity Dinner for Breast Cancer Care The Royal Clarence A formal dinner to raise money for ‘Breast Cancer Care’ at Michael Caine’s Restaurant and to include a pink champagne reception @ Pithcher and Piano.

TUESDAY, 30TH MARCH 7.00pm-11.00pm Exeter’s Got Talent Heats Lemon Grove, CH

THURSDAY, 25TH MARCH 8.00pm World Music Choir: Spring Mini Concert University Campus A half hour break from stress and deadlines, with some fun, beautiful music and the World Music Choir 6.30pm and 9pm Campus Cinema: Raiders of the

Available from 8pm to 8am every night during term time. Call: 01392 275 284 (local rate) or 724000 (free from halls) E-mail: voicemail@exetervoice. co.uk (response within 48 hours) Skype: exetervoice Online Chat: www.exetervoice. co.uk

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In this issue

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Alex Moss News Editor

“Clearly women have not yetachievedequality in the workplace ” Kate Delvin, University Equality and Diversity Manager

NEWS investigates the issue of plagarism in Exeter and interviews University Chancellor, Floella Benjamin OBE

Vice Chancellor Prof. Steve Smith’s on-campus residence Redcot House. Photo: Henry White

Lifestyle explores mental health disorders, exposes the issue of factory farming and lists 50 things to do in Exeter before graduation

books discusses the publishing industry with Exeter's Impress Books and writers choose their favourite books of all time