http://citsu.ie/publications/backissues/volume10/november2008 by CIT Students' Union

CIT Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union Magazine Volume Ten - Issue Three

Conferring Photos

Christmas Day Cancelled

STUDENT MAIL IS HERE! Sport & Socs News Update!

Competitions & Great Prizes

Editorial

Opinion

CIT Students’ Union Rossa Ave, Bishopstown Cork, Ireland. Telephone: 021 493 3120 Fax: 021 454 5343 Email: info@expliCIT.ie expliCIT Staff Editor - Killian Hughes Design & Advertising - Philip O’Reilly Contributions Ed Riordan Miriam Deasy International Students Soc Gearóid Buckley Killian Hughes Paintballing Soc Padraig Sugrue

Séan F O’Leary Adam O’Brien Shaun O’Connor Barry O’Sullivan Philip O’Reilly Shane Fitzgerald Aoife Kelliher

CIT Students’ Union President - Gearóid Buckley (supresident@cit.ie) Vice President Education - Adam O’Brien (sueducation@cit.ie) Vice President Welfare - Thomas Lynch (suwelfare@cit.ie) Entertainments Officer - Rebecca Liston (suentertainments@cit.ie) Projects Officer - Chriostoir O’Scanlain (suprojects@cit.ie) Communications Officer - Killian Hughes (sucommunications@cit.ie) Print Barnaville Print & Graphics LTD Advertising Opportunities CIT has almost 17,000 full and part-time students with over 1,500 staff. Why not use expliCIT to promote your business to this large audience? Copy deadlines, advertising rates and technical specifications are available from our website www.expliCIT.ie or upon request from the Publications Office. expliCIT magazine is published monthly by CIT Students’ Union. The views expressed in the magazine are those of their authors and are not necessarily those of CIT Students’ Union. All articles and pictures are the property of their respective owners and should not be reproduced without their permission.

We Need You! If you would like to contribute to expliCIT please contact Philip in the Publications Office, 1st Floor, Student Centre or email: info@expliCIT.ie

Another month down, time is flying by lads and assignments are mounting up (HELP!!!!!!!!!!). I could talk about studying and all that important stuff but I’m going to take it that everyone is already saying those things to you because I know everyone is saying them to me☹. As you may have already heard CHRISTMAS DAY is cancelled - yes cancelled. This is a direct result of the actions of some people last year, and their actions had a negative impact on the name of CIT. You might think that this is being blown out of proportion but unfortunately it has not. It got so bad that if it went one step further someone could and probably would have died. Just so that you don’t think I am talking out my hat, some examples of disruptive behaviour included; some lads decided that it would be a good laugh to dress up in black and lie done on a continuous white line to make it look like it was a broken white line so cars could pass out others; a girl got so drunk that she passed out on the main road and she was lucky that the driver of the car on the road was experienced enough to control his car so as not to run over her. Radio stations told people to avoid Bishoptowns because CIT Christmas day was out of control! Is this the reputation you want for the place you go to college? I know I don’t want it. I know that was a bit depressing but I thought it was a vital piece of information that you the student should know. If you have any questions about this please don’t hesitate to come up to the office and talk to us, we would be glad to explain all of this to you in further detail. Well shake it easy and have a nice November Killian Hughes Communications Officer

Latest News Exclusive

CIT Pays Tribute to Career of Recently Retired Registrar, Mr. Brendan Goggin. “...Brendan has been a tireless champion of those who are underrepresented in education. He has left an important legacy in this area and his work will continue through the ground-breaking seeds he has planted...”

Cork Institute of Technology held a gala concert on Thursday 6th Novemeber in recognition of the service and dedication of recently retired Registrar, Mr. Brendan Goggin. The concert MC was Deputy Registrar, Mr. Ed Riordan and he conveyed the main themes of the night including Mr. Goggin’s integrity, imagination, ability to see the big issues, huge store of knowledge about all aspects of education, support for rights, access and fairness, and a true public servant in the best possible sense. Mr. Riordan stated that “so many within CIT have benefitted from Brendan's generosity and support - such a presence is so important within such a large Institution - it is this kind of generosity that makes things happen.” He added, “'Brendan has been a tireless champion of those who are underrepresented in education through his work in the area of Access. He showed great courage and tenacity, in his inimitable dignified but determined way, in progressing the concepts of life-long learning and social inclusion. He has left an important legacy in this area and his work will continue through the ground-breaking seeds he has planted”. Mr. Goggin received many other tributes on the night and was presented with a cut crystal vase from CITSU General Manager, Vicky O’Sullivan. Ms. O’Sullivan praised Mr. Goggin for spearheading the development of Student Services within the Institute. Ms. O’Sullivan said that “His vision was to enhance the student third level experience by creating an environment where both the academic and personal developmental needs of students are catered for”. She added, “Words used by student representatives to describe Brendan include supportive, approachable and always fair”.

Concert Acts included: Jazz Big Band Cork School of Music Jazz Big under the direction of John O’Connor, is one of the sixteen performing ensembles in the School that represent CIT in the City’s performing arts community. The Band recently played to over a thousand people as part of their involvement in their sixteenth Cork Jazz Festival. Evelyn Grant and Mary Murphy Evelyn Grant was joined by harpist Mary Murphy of the Cope Foundation. Mary is a very committed learner who has played in Aras an Uachtaran, City Hall Cork and the RDS Dublin and was a torch-bearer in Japan for the Special Olympics. She is a member of Evelyn's Cork Music Works. CIT and Cork Music Works recently won an AIB Better Ireland Award for a music technology project whic is now up and running with in the School of the Divine Child in the Lavanagh Centre, Ballintemple. Sopranos Majella Cullagh, Cara O’Sullivan and Mary Hegarty are three graduates of the MA in Performance at CSM who have been at the top of their profession for many years and have flown the Cork flag in opera houses and concert platforms throughout Europe. The singers acknowledged the invaluable support of Brendan and the Registrar’s Office in assisting them in completing their studies. They were accompanied by Frances Kelleher, a member of CIT. CIT Staff Traditional Irish Group Matt Cranitch, fiddle Johnny McCarthy, fiddle and flute Aidan Coffey, accordion Pat Ahern, guitar

G AS REA SAM LA T P E ST RI YE CE AR !

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VISIT http://canada.usit.ie for full application details Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment. Subject to terms and conditions

Union Address CIT Students’ Union President

Opinion

By now you will have heard that Christmas day is cancelled for 2008. For the safety of CIT Students the day had to be given a break for this year.

A lean national budget was expected, it is also understandable in light of our current economic climate that all our lives are affected in some manner. However to put such a burden on students, those that will carry the future of this country is a disgrace.

Originally Christmas Day was a light hearted charity event, however over eight years it has grown to out of proportion and results in not just Bishopstown being torn apart but also many lives in the community long term affected.

The hike in the registration fee is unacceptably high and is a result of so called minimal increases over a number of years. Many believe that since the registration fee was increased, tuition fees will not be introduced. Minister for Education, Batt O’ Keeffe has not stated that tuition fees are off the agenda, thus we must continue to campaign and endeavour to fight fees in any form. Keep an eye out on campus over the next couple of weeks for an update on our campaign.

I hope you are all studying hard now. Exams are fast approaching, and I know there is a temptation to work the extra few hours to save for Christmas. I recommend that you only do so if you are one hundred per cent sure that you have adequate study done for your exams. Is your class rep doing their job? Are you receiving adequate information from Union Council and lecturing staff. If you have any difficulties pass them on to us through your rep or call directly to the office and we’ll do all we can to help you out.

If you are stressed over the next couple of weeks call up to Thomas for a chat, or why not organise a class party before the critical study starts. Keep it real, Gar

CITSU Vice President Education I was conferred recently along with around a thousand other students in the college. My classmates and I all went out on the town that night and had a great time. I got up the next morning feeling a little blue and couldn’t for a while understand. I realised that I probably will never see everyone in my class together again and some people ever again. I had reached that milestone – I finished college and (if not for the Students’ Union) go into the real world. It just passed by, the party with my class – how can you say goodbye to so many people that you have shared

the better part of four years with? We all left each other with nothing more than a see you later. These are the people that shared the same worries about assessments and results, the exultations about passing and great nights out in town. The stories that resulted have become sacrosanct legend among us and we already look back fondly on them. Just remember the people who are in the same class/college as you. They are going through the same crap and the same parties as you are and when it’s over, it’s over. I hope to meet many of my college mates in the future through various adventures all over the world! Good luck to all the graduates and the near graduates! Adam

CITSU Vice President Welfare What an unreal Halloween! Was I the only one that had a great night in Bondi? The costumes were fantastic too, like who was the half naked Tarzan? Wait that was me! But, seriously, the costumes were amazing so congrats to everyone, especially those who won a prize.

Opinion

Lastly I promised I’d say hi to Aidan and Eddie! As I was walking to McDonalds after the beach party in Bondi one Thursday night, I was stopped by these two lads saying “hahahaha, you’re the condom guy”. They said they read this all the time so I said I’d say hello, so hello! Moral of the story: if you see me on a night out, roar at me, I’m well used to it. Thomas

Next congratulations to the people who are being conferred… you finally get to leave, wohoo!

CITSU Projects Officer I’m the new projects officer, Chris Scanlon. Thanks to everyone who voted for me!! Much appreciated. As projects officer, it is my duty to organise event and campaigns. My first campaign will centre around the lack of a bus shelter at the no.5 stop in Rossa Avenue! I hope to get a shelter for the students waiting for busses, too keep you nice and warm and dry (thought that was a nice touch). I will also look into the no.5 bus service since many of you have complained about services running late.

Opinion

As I am sure you are all aware of by now Christmas Day 08 is cancelled. It is cancelled due to the events which occurred during last years Christmas day. Some of the behaviour, to put it mildly, was idiotic. It was a disgrace and the reputation of C.I.T. and their students was severely damaged. Hopefully it will go ahead again next year. Just a reminder to everyone about the night bus which runs from the city to all student accommodation areas. It leaves outside Four Star Pizza on Washington Street at 1:45, 2:15, 2:45 and 3:15. It only costs €2 and it is a safe way home after a great night out. Finally if you have any suggestions don’t hesitate to come up to the Union Offices and talk to me! Mise le meas, Chriostoir O’ Scanlain

Union Notices CIT Christams Day 2008 Officially Cancelled Its official Christmas day is axed for 2008. The actions taken by fellow CIT Students has resulted in scrooge appearing for one year, and no that s not Dr. Brendan Murphy. It’s the result of many students taking Christmas day to its limits last year. Christmas day was run for the past eight years, a day set aside in the academic calendar for festive fun and a break before students knuckle down for Christmas examinations. The charity based day also saw many local school children arrive on campus to visit Santa clause and partake in fun with responsible adolescents. However Christmas day has exploded over the past couple of years and has left college management with no choice but to prohibit Christmas day on campus. The President’s office and the Students’ Union’s office were inundated with letters and phone calls from local residents, councillors and clergymen. The actions taken by students were horrific last year. One elderly lady had a brick thrown in her front window, a week after burying her husband. Another elderly couple witnessed two students engaging in intercourse in their front garden. These two examples are just the tip of the ice berg and are proof that last year, CIT Students striked fear into the minds of the elderly and should be ashamed for doing so. Not just the elderly were affected but also the other end of the spectrum, local children. Primary school children whom had enjoyed a light heated day in the canteen, mingling with college students were victimised, their role models were staggering across roads and shouting verbal abuse as they left school. Christmas Day was a fantastic day on the academic calendar, however when you now evaluate the day in retrospect of the past few, I get a very different conclusion. If Christmas Day did go ahead there are some obvious potential results to be considered. We could say good bye to Rag Week and

Notice

Fresher’s Week. If CITSU Christmas Day followed the same route as last year the college management could prohibit the use of the student centre for on campus events during Fresher’s Week and Rag Week.We could see a breakdown in the Union and Management relationship, destroying such relationships would stifle any future projects planned and result negatively for future students. Relationships could also be damaged with local residents. It is important we acknowledge their contribution to a student’s life. Going forward campaigning for a new library and a bar, objecting residents will not work in our favour. The reputation of CIT Students is on the line, not just locally but nationally. The daily Star recently covered CIT Christmas Day, thus highlighting that it is a high profile day. Not only could the reputation as you as an individual be jilted but also as a professional. Would you hire a CIT Student, after all they are renowned for staggering around Bishopstwon at twelve in the afternoon? Finally and probably the most drastic result. Last year the Medical Centre noted that a significant increase in students were admitted on Christmas day. Many of whom were seriously injured and needed to go to hospital. The severity of injuries has increased so significantly over recent years, that there would only be one result from this year, death. It could be you, a friend, a classmate or maybe a young school child forced to run onto the road? CIT CHRISTMAS DAY IS OFFICALLY CANCELLED FOR 2008. The future of the event will be evaluated later in the year. I regret that such a drastic action was taken, however for the safety of students this decision had to be made. I hope all students find another manner in which to celebrate Christmas, bearing mind the lives of others. Gearóid Buckley

Technology

Launching Monday 17th November 2008 See posters & notices on campus for times of free demo sessions in Open Access Cork Institute of Technology is launching a new email communications system which will enable important information to be transmitted to students. The system is facilitated by Googlemail.

On first login, you will be required to activate your account, to change your password and to enter letters displayed in an image, which Google uses for verification. If you have difficulty reading the verification image, Google offers an audio verification alternative.

Every student in the Institute will be issued with an email address. Details on how to access your email account are provided here and further instructions regarding your username and password will be posted to your home address. From time to time the Institute will send messages to this email address to inform you of important matters which will be relevant to you. For instance, the Exams Office will send you information concerning your personal exam timetables. HARD COPIES OF SUCH INFORMATION WILL NO LONGER BE ISSUED. The student email system may also be used by teaching staff, who may wish to inform students about class changes, assessments, placements, etc. It will therefore be the individual student’s own responsibility to avail of the new student email system to obtain all such information. Your CIT email address will most likely be in the format: firstname.lastname@mycit.ie and your initial password will be posted to your registered home address. You will be required to change your password on first login. Please ensure that you store your new password securely.

How do I log in to my account?

How do I send and receive emails? Emails are received in your account’s Inbox. To send an email, click the Compose Mail link on the left side of the page under the CIT Student Mail logo. Enter the recipient(s) email address with your message subject and message. You may add attachments to your message, check spelling, and change text formatting if required.

1. In your internet browser, type the address www.mycit.ie and press the Enter key. 2. The GoogleMail login page is displayed. The login ﬁelds are visible at the top left of this page. 3. In the login ﬁelds, enter your username and initial password as provided on the letter that was posted to your home address Click Sign In.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IMPORTANT COMMUNICATIONS FROM CIT ADMINISTRATION WILL BE SENT TO YOUR CIT EMAIL ADDRESS, AND YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO CHECK YOUR MAILBOX REGULARLY.

Technology What should I do if I forget my password? Should you forget the password to your Student Mail account, click on the link I cannot access my account, which is located under the Sign In button on the login page.

How should I deal with SPAM

(unwanted emails)?

GoogleMail and CIT have effective SPAM ﬁlters which work to prevent unwanted emails entering the system. However if you do receive SPAM messages in your Inbox, you are advised to Report Spam using the link provided.

Can I access my account using an email client?

http://home.mycit.ie is your search portal. Login to create a personalised page displaying your emails, documents, calendar, weather and news feeds..

Yes, your student email account supports POP3 and IMAP email access. Instructions on setting up services for Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail and other email clients are available from your account’s Settings link.

What other services can I use? In addition to your Student Mail account, you also have a calendar application, search portal and document editor.

http://calendar.mycit.ie is your direct access link to your calendar. Make sure you search for “Cork Institute of Technology” in public calendars to add important college dates. You may also add your mobile telephone number in your settings to receive FREE SMS test message reminders of appointments saved in your calendars.

The calendar can be accessed through your Student Mail account or by visiting http://calendar.mycit.ie. You will have a private calendar and the ability to subscribe to online public calendars. You also have the option to receive free SMS text message reminders for saved meetings in your calendar. The search portal allows you to login to your email, calendar, and view the latest news and events. It can be accessed at http://home.mycit.ie Google also offers a free online document editor for your account where you can edit and share various ofﬁce documents such as Word, Powerpoint and Excel Files. Collaboration features allow you and your class mates to work on projects and ﬁles together.

http://docs.mycit.ie allows you to edit, share and store office documents such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint files.

CIT President Welcomes Launch of New Student Mail Service Cork Institute of Technology President, Dr. Brendan Murphy, welcomed the launch of the Student Mail service in a recent communication with staff. He stated “I am pleased to inform you that we will be launching an Institutewide student email service on Monday, 17 November 2008. This is a very positive development within the Institute and it will improve our capacity to communicate with our students both formally and informally”. He added, “The new student email system is being provided in partnership with Google (Ireland) and will be branded with the domain name “myCIT.ie”. This service has been implemented through the efforts of Eamon O’Connor and his team, Philip O’Reilly from the CIT Students’ Union and Gerard Culley the IT manager. Eamon O’Connor and his team have developed the system

for creating email accounts directly from the Banner MIS system, so that every student registered on Banner will be automatically issued a CIT student email address. It is our intention that the student email system will become the primary mode of official communication between the Institute and the student. Official emails will in general replace the official letters that were heretofore used to inform students about registration, examination timetables, etc. As well as providing a new avenue for official communications it is hoped that the email system will provide improved facilities for Department-student, staff-student and student-student interaction”.

Caught on Camera... Thammasak & Valarie Wongkumad BA Fine Art

Louise Horgan - BA Fine Art

Mary Horgan, Claire Doherty, Linda Hedderman MA Art Therphy

Aoife Morris & Moya Moldowney BMus

CITSU Halloween Ball & CSM / CCAD Conferring Photos

Aoife Morris with parents Pat & Evlyn BMus

Welfare / Sport & Societies Welfare Advice on: Bullying! You would think that in a third level college as prestigious as our own that you would not encounter such childish and dangerous behaviour as name calling and pushing. Unfortunately I’ve already had some cases brought at this early stage of the year. The two most common forms of bullying are verbal and physical. Both are very serious because despite what the proverb says sometimes words hurt more then broken bones ever could. The major difference is, with a broken bone you can see the damage, a doctor can put a cast on it and in six weeks it’s all better. However when you call

someone a name, the damage inflicted isn’t seen, and can’t easily be mended by a doctor. The psychological damages done by verbal bullying could take years to rectify. Physical bullying, luckily, does not happen that often in the college, but it consists of pushing, hitting, tripping and any other kind of physical abuse. Pulling a chair out from under someone can be counted as physical bullying, and while can be funny when done among friends, if there is a malicious intent, it can be very upsetting to a victim of bullying. Verbal bullying is the more common form of bullying in this college. Name calling can seem so harmless but psychologists have made a profession out of rectifying the damages done by it. Studies have proven that verbal abuse can not only damage the well being of a person but also they’re development. College years contribute to how people develop and to who they are ultimately going to be so there is no place for bullies here. If you are being bullied or know of someone being bullied, in any shape or form, please come into the Students’ Union office and ask to see the Welfare Office or go the Careers and Counselling service above the medical centre in the Students’ Centre. Thomas - suwelfare@cit.ie

Education Advice on: Exams! For many of you, if not all, exams have already begun with a harsh 30% examination for many modules striking students across the board. I plan on writing just a few tips and things you should know for the coming ending weeks of Semester 1. Attempt every question Sure you may think 4 questions is good enough but that fifth could impress the lecturer a small bit more and who knows – maybe more marks! Show up for the exam / assessment. You’d be amazed at the amount of people who just ‘forget’ to show up. Kind of infuriating if it’s a group project seminar. If you are sick, bring in the Doctor’s note post-haste. None of this malarkey of ‘Eh, I was sick that day, can I get it off?’ No note, no excuse.A Doctor’s note from 3 months later around when you are complaining to your lecturer will not pass the mustard.

Welfare

Education

Also, remember the nuances of Modularisation and Semesterisation – many of you know about compensation or have at least heard about it. Here is something big about the new system that you may not know about. If you compensate any number of subjects (1-3) at the end of this semester, if they are over 35% and your other marks are good, you will be told you passed the semester. Then in the summer – if you fail any subject <34%, you have to repeat that exam and the ones you compensated in semester 1. With one fail (<34%) in either semester 1 or 2, you would be told to repeat every exam under 40%. . It’ll be a kick in the teeth for some who don’t know about it so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Adam sueducation@cit.ie

Society News: CIT Paintballing Society On a seriously wet 23rd of October, the CIT Paintball Society went on an excursion to Action Pack paintball outside Kinsale. It started off with everyone standing out in the pouring rain waiting for a bus. We were soaked pretty much to the skin before even leaving college. There was a mix of twenty one guys, three brave girls, and a half mad bus driver. You could tell everyone on the bus was nervous on the way down, not knowing what to expect. Upon arrival, we put on our overalls and were shown just how powerful those paintball guns are. We were then taken to a mock village for the first game of capture the flag. This consisted of twelve people defending and twelve attacking. Personally I was shot in the ribs, thighs, and worst of all the top of the head. Obviously a major headache ensued. In the rain, people were sitting in puddles, covered in mud and the visors were fogging up every thirty seconds which made it even more realistic. The legend, Micheal Brennan, won the game for the white team in the last five seconds. What a hero!

The second game involved us treading through streams, crawling through briary ditches, and wading through clay nearly up to our waists. But don’t be frightened, this made the trip so much better. The briars were prickly in this game of trench warfare and the muscles were starting to get sore, as well as people getting irritated from getting shot every two minutes. The final game was a free for all and was the best game ever. Everyone got trigger happy and really energetic. I emptied about ten bullets into two poor guys after pulling the flanking manoeuvre of a life time. Poor Sean and Mike nearly blew off Sean Tarrants pinky. On the way back to base camp, we had to walk through a small little stream. It started off with people kicking water at each other, and ended up with a number of people swimming in what we thought was a puddle until we tried walking on it. It was six foot wide and in excess of eight feet deep. Words cannot explain the shock of seeing two of our brothers in arms disappear into a muddy puddle. We will be going again before the exams and everyone is welcome. Just contact the CIT Societies Office and we will be in touch. Also keep an eye out for posters. Until next time....

International Society Trip to Belfast

Saturday, October 25th 5.45 am. It is still dark outside but an early bird can spot a bunch of 50 people waiting for something at the bus stop in front of CIT. It’s not that for some reasons they couldn’t sleep, believe me they would if they could, but on that day 51 members of International Student Society started their trip to Northern Ireland. It was still very early in the morning and there was a long journey ahead but everybody was excited and had smiles on their faces. They knew they are going to explore one of the most known cities in Northern Ireland – Belfast, and have a chance to admire the second most beautiful coast in the world – the Giants Causeway. There was a truly international atmosphere on the bus as we were a mixture of students from Spain, France, Germany, Finland, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, and of course Ireland which was represented by the bus driver. Most of the students have just arrived to Ireland so they were really keen to learn about a new culture and traditions. The way up to Belfast passed very quickly, as we had something we call a ‘bus quiz’ about Ireland, Irish culture and Cork. In the evening, tired but in great moods we arrived to Belfast and decided to compare Irish and English pubs and clubs. The real adventure started on the next day early morning. Our route is depicted on one of the pictures. We were travelling along the east coast towards the Giants Causeway, listening to the histories about small towns we were passing from our guide – Anna. We were extremely lucky with the weather, because we could even see the Scottish coast. On the way to the Bushmills Distillery where we had our lunch break, we stopped to look at the magnificent Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. After visiting the famous place where the best Irish ‘uisce beatha’ is produced we went straight to the goal of our trip. When we arrived everybody was astonished by this marvellous and breathe taking view. 38,000 hexagonal shaped basalt columns formed

62 millions years ago looked like they were sculptured by man. On the official Giants Causeway website we can read: The majestic cliffs and inaccessible bays combine with myth and legend to inspire, but look carefully amongst this breathtaking landscape and you will find echoes of another reality, isolated ruins, kelp walls and shoreline fields bear testament to the harder life of subsistence farming and fishing endured by past generations. Affected by the magic of this place we threw ourselves into exploring this stony coast. From the gift shop we got flyers showing different stones formations and we set off keen on discovering as much of them as possible. Everybody succeeded in finding the Giant’s Boot and Pipe Organs but not everyone was lucky enough to find the Honeycomb or the Camel’s Hump. After this exciting day, there was another surprise waiting for us back in Belfast City. Empty streets and closed shops really stunned us. The city looked like it was abandoned. To look for an answer for this mystery we went out again hoping to meet somebody who knew the reason for this unusual phenomenon. Unfortunately local people met in one of the pubs claimed that it’s just the way it is there. So our curiosity stays unsatisfied. We can only suspect this could be a historical reason or influence of Catholicism. On Irish bank holiday Monday the 27th of October we were on the way back to Cork. Before we left Belfast we toured around learning about historical aspects of the city. It was dreadful to learn of some of the tremendous acts of violence which took place in past decades. Paintings on the walls struck us as a very interesting way of expressing political preferences and stressing important events. We all had a great time there; made new friends and learned more about this island, which for most of us will be a home for the next academic year.

The Management & Staff of the Rochestown Park Hotel would like to wish all new and returning students to CIT the best of luck with the year ahead. Thank you for once again making us your Number 1 Ball Venue for 2008

The Best Horror Film Of The Last Decade by shaun o’connor - http://shaunoconnor.wordpress.org About ten years ago, in the throes of teenagehood, I read Stephen King’s collection of short stories entitled “Skeleton Crew”. His writing is as wonderful as ever, of course, and many of the stories are absolute belters. “The Mist” is the tale that opens the book. A good 150 pages long, it’s actually more of a novel than a short story. It tells the story of a group of small-town residents who find themselves stranded in a supermarket when the eponymous Mist appears, bearing within it all manner of nasty beasties. Ostensibly, it’s a good boogeyman story, but it’s less about the monsters outside than how the people trapped in the supermarket react to these extraordinary circumstances. The plot focuses particularly on the hero of the story, David Drayton, who must contend with Mrs. Carmody, the local bible-basher who sees the monsters as manifestations of God’s vengeance for Man’s iniquity. In the same vein as Carpenter’s “The Thing” or Boorman’s “Deliverance“, the threatening environment is merely a stage within which the real drama of human conflict is played out. Frank Darabont’s film version of the book, which was released this year, is actually his third King adaptation, after “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile“. And yet, it’s the first one that could be considered an out-and-out horror. So yes, it’s a big thematic change. But the resulting film suggests that Darabont can do horror. In fact, he absolutely knocked it out of the park. Firstly, he nails the human conflict perfectly. The roaming camera picks up on stolen glances, casual comments that demonstrate the mounting fear in the crowd. Much of the film’s opening hour revolves around Drayton and his friends’ attempts to convince the others that something is in the Mist. Most react with typical incredulity, and the universal small-town spats and biases rear up; noone wants to be made a fool of. When the threat becomes readily apparent (in a series of brilliantly-staged

attack scenes), the crowd begin to give more and more heed to Mrs Carmody. Played superbly by Marcia Gay Harden, she embodies the attractive power of religion purely as a means of rationalizing the unknown. At the outset, most people are laughing at her brooding piousness. But she makes a couple of lucky predictions about people’s deaths and the creatures being “sated” - and suddenly she is God’s unquestioned loudspeaker. Towards the end of the film, she is holding sermons in the aisles; her followers baying for blood to appease the horrors outside. They find their scapegoat in Wayne Jessup (Samuel Witwer), who admits that the Mist and the monsters have been the result of military research into the existence of parallel dimensions. The were looking for a “window”, he says - but “they opened a door!”, says Carmody. Jessup is promptly thrown outside for the creatures to devour. At this point, Drayton, his young son, and the few non-Carmodyites left decide to make a break for it. They get into his truck and try to get clear of the mist, though it may already be across the globe, for all they know. They keep going until the fuel in the truck runs out, but are still surrounded by the mist. There seems no end to it. With creatures ululating in the distance, Drayton takes the only action left to him, which the group have agreed upon; he takes a gun and shoots each of them, one by one, including his son (who he had promised that he won’t “let the monsters get him”). However, Drayton has no bullets left with which to kill himself. He stumbles out of his car, screaming for the creatures to come and get him. But instead of a monster, what emerges is a huge military cleanup operation, destroying the Mist and its denizens. Drayton falls to his knees and wails in despair. Darabont cuts right to the heart of King’s story, and in doing so, takes the film way above and beyond the trappings of a standard creature feature, and mines the true meaning of “horror”. How does he do this?

Firstly, the struggle between religion and rationality is brilliantly played out. M. Night Shyamalan’s film “The Village” explored the need to perpetuate the idea of outside threats to maintain an internal order; allusions to Bush’s “Axis Of Evil” worldview were obvious. However, there’s an implicit suggestion that without the politicians who demonize these perceived threats, that people could in fact function in a rational and self-sufficient. “The Mist” dismisses this as wishful thinking. It looks at how, when faced with true terror, most people will willingly sacrifice everything they believe in, just to generate some semblance of social and psychological order. That’s one of the attractions of aggressive religious speech, as exemplified by Mrs Carmody. It breaks the world down into Manichean factions; black and white, good and evil. It offers the simplest type of order, a beacon in the climate of fear. One scene addresses this issue directly. Drayton’s friend Amanda argues that “People are basically good, decent (….) We’re a civilized society.” David replies, “Sure. As long as the machines are working and you can dial 911. But you take those things away, you throw people in the dark, you scare the shit out of them, no more rules…. You’ll see how primitive they get.” Another character continues, “You scare people badly enough, you can get them to do anything. They’ll turn to whoever promises a solution. Or whatever.” Another standard horror theme that the film addresses brilliantly is that of the Faustian pact. The military, in their search for biological weaponry, have opened the door between two dimensions and caused the creatures of another to spill out into ours. Of course, this idea is nothing new; humans messing with what they don’t fully understand has long been an archetypal fear. Prometheus took fire from the Gods, Victor Frankenstein destroyed God’s position as sole giver of life. (That fear of the unknown has never left us. The CERN hadron collider at Geneva has recently been the subject of scrutiny, since it was revealed that microscopic black holes could appear during their newest experiments into the origins of the universe, which will recreate the conditions of the Big Bang. A former Nuclear safety officer from Hawaii unsuccessfully filed a suit against the organization in an attempt to stop the experiment from taking place.) Mrs Camody exploits this fear explicitly when she accuses the military of continuing the long tradition of “…going against the Will of God …. walking on the Moon! Or splitting his atoms! Or stem cells and abortions! Destroying the secrets of life that only God above has any right to!” Horror has been arguing this since time immemorial; but what is so astonishing about “The Mist” is the feeling of utter finality of what has happened as a result of Man’s hubris. This thing is upon us, and there is little or no explanation as to its origins. In a stunning scene near the film’s end, Drayton, with his son and friends, stop their truck and watch a gargantuan creature stride past. It is impossibly huge, a skyscraper, and its footsteps are like earthquakes. The looks exchanged afterwards say it all. This is ultimate

horror; not the loss of civil liberties or even a loved one; but the loss of reality itself. Every book ever written, every discovery ever made, every human advance ever achieved is instantly forfeit, and these monstrosities are all we are left with. Towards the film’s climax, Darabont uses the funereal “The Host Of Seraphim” by Dead Can Dance as a recurring theme. He himself described its use as “a requiem Mass for the human race”, and the film’s tone captures that perfectly. This isn’t the slow-burn apocalyptica of “Independence Day” or “28 Days Later”, where humanity can and must fight back. This is after the fact; the End of Days has been visited, and that’s that. We’re done, it’s already finished. And in that sense, The Mist is not just scary - it’s also brutally melancholic, something that most horror never achieves. And then there’s the film’s conclusion (which is actually more downbeat than King’s own ambiguous ending). When Drayton, seemingly left with no other option, shoots his son and friends, he is doing the right thing. He is sparing them a much worse fate at the hands (claws?) of the monsters. But when the military appear, dissipating the Mist, it turns out that all his goodness has been for naught. In fact, it has been precisely Drayton’s bravery, his virtue, and love for his son that has led them to his situation. Had it not been for him, they would all have stayed at the supermarket and been rescued by now. Mrs Carmody’s followers, for all their shrieking fervour, are now safe and sound. Despite their fundamentalist idiocy, their judgement was correct. Drayton has taken the route of every classic hero; he stayed calm and collected, thought rationally, tried to save as many people as he could, did the right thing at every point. But those choices have led him to voluntarily slaughter four people, including his son. In that single shot of the military emerging from the Mist, Darabont takes this seemingly incomprehensible horror and condenses it into Drayton, creating for him an entirely new nightmare, arguably worse than the one he has just escaped. (The fact that Darabont handles each of these old horror tropes with such subtlety and dexterity makes it all the more astounding that this is the same guy who directed The Shawshank Redemption. Not only that, but he worked for a year on a script for Indiana Jones 4, but which was rejected by George Lucas and replaced with the work of resounding mediocrity that was eventually released.) I think that special mention has to be given to actor Thomas Jane (who plays Drayton), as his performance is these final scenes is stunning. His crushing, guttural screams are punctuated with brief moments of jaded, accepting calm, and seem much closer to a state of total despair than any more classically theatrical turn could convey. It is the introduction of this type of horror in the final minutes that drives the film home and cements its position as an instant classic of the genre; the idea that being a good person and taking the noble path will not always lead to a happy ending. It’s like Lao Tzu says: “Heaven and Earth are cruel; They treat all living things as straw dogs.” No matter how much you believe in your ideals, how noble you consider yourself, it’s all dangerously relative. Because under great duress, even a seemingly infallible moral compass can lead people to do the most terrible, insane things imaginable.

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Feature Why Obama’s Win Is A Victory Against Fear And Ignorance

by Shaun O’Connor

Like many other people across Europe and around the world, I stayed up all night on Tuesday 4th November to watch the results of the US elections. Barack Obama’s landslide victory was thrilling to watch; the first black President (elect) in a country that had been riven with seemingly insurmountable racial prejudice only a few decades ago. This was history in the making.

Republicans took it and ran with it. Obama was now a Communist Muslim (It brought to mind that episode of the Simpsons where McBain has to defend America from the Commie Nazis). In fact, the highlight of the entire electoral campaign for me was VicePresident elect Joe Biden’s reaction when a right-wing interviewer accused Obama of Marxism outright.

Yet, in spite of all the tears and declarations of tectonic shifts in the Western political landscape, I found that one of the most striking and moving moments of the night was, in fact, Senator John McCain’s concession speech.

The thing is, all of these silly attacks and lowbrow wooing of the Bible-Belt seemed to come as second nature to Sarah Palin; she dove into slandering her rivals with aplomb. But McCain never looked entirely comfortable with this approach. During the debates he appeared tense and uptight, and rarely did he achieve the verbal ease of the man onstage with him. He seemed like a fish out of water.

McCain was incredibly gracious and well-spoken. He radiated nobility in the face of crushing defeat. He had the air of a wise old man who, happy that he had been given “a fair hearing” by the American people, accepted his loss with admirable grace and magnanimity. And yet, what was most surprising, to me at least, was that McCain seemed utterly different from the man we had watched in the Presidential debates and almost all of the media coverage of the electoral race. Indeed, up until Tuesday night, McCain appeared a man bent on employing lowbrow tactics, both in terms of how he addressed the public and attacked his rival. Both he and (especially) Sarah Palin seemed to use every available opportunity to speak to their public in base terms, employing verbiage of the lowest common denominator rather than properly addressing the relevant issues. In the debates, for example, McCain’s speech was peppered with platitudes; he preceded almost every statement with the words “My friends”, inserted the words “America” and “this great country” repeatedly into sentences where they really had no place, and pinned the addendum “I can fix this problem” onto many points - without having delineated just how he was going to fix that problem. Sarah Palin’s contentions were even more base; she simply echoed all of the above (adding in “Doggone it” and “Say it ain’t so, Joe!”) while propagating her image as an all-American hockey mom. The lowest point in her debate with Senator Biden had to be when she did a “shout-out” to all the kids in Gladys Wood Elementary school: This type of coarse appeal to middle-America had no place in the current political climate, where international crises like the war in Iraq and the global economic meltdown need to be dealt with effectively. It seemed to me that this approach was a callous ploy on the part of Republican party. They knew, 100%, that a electoral campaign based on honest debate on economic and foreign policy issues was virtually unwinnable. After all, it was eight years of Dubya and GOP policies that had brought America to its knees and added four trillion dollars to the national debt - almost doubling it in just two Presidential terms (In fact, the National Debt Clock in Manhattan recently had to have another digit added to it to accommodate the new 10 Trillion figure).

Indeed, even a cursory glance at the man’s record appears to confirm that he may not have been at all suited to the party line he was pushing. A few weeks ago, I watched two excellent documentaries: Taxi To The Dark Side and Shut Up And Sing. Both films looked at contemporary US issues; the former, imprisonment and torture of terrorist suspects and the latter, censorship in the media. Incredibly, John McCain featured in both of them. Even more incredibly, he was a hero in both films. In particular, in Shut Up And Sing, he attacked the the monopoly of radio stations who had refused to play the Dixie Chicks’ music after they had famously spoken out against George W Bush. In doing so, he seemed to be railing against the mindless, reactionary intolerance that yet exists within certain American cultural strata; people who would go out and actually destroy the artistic work of (and in a few cases, threaten to kill) anyone who dared question a war that seemed to have no valid basis - or the President who had instigated it. This was the true Maverick John McCain; defender of free speech. So where did that guy go? It seems to me that for the duration of the electoral campaign at least, he was railroaded by the pressures of the Republican party. He had to put his most honest convictions aside and take the path of least resistance in order to garner votes. He had to play up the mores and vapid adages of the Middlest of Middle America. He had to play the numbers game. But I’m not sure his heart was in it. The warmth, humility and compassion of his concession speech showed that McCain is nothing like the frustrated old man we saw in the debates. He is an intelligent and highly skilled man, and probably would have made a good President. But America (and the world) wanted change - which is precisely what the Democratic campaign promised. Based on Obama’s stunning intellectual ability and keen awareness of global issues, I think it’s safe to say that he will be, at the very least, an extremely capable leader.

So, the Republicans decided to argue their case using as little actual data as possible and as many rabble-rousing cliches and platitudes as they could. Also, though they denied playing “the race card”, it’s obvious that it was in fact played many times over, though tacitly so. Pointing out Obama’s highly tenuous link to ex-radical Bill Ayers, the Republicans seized the opportunity to use the word “terrorist” and associate it repeatedly with their rival. This played right into the hands of the many less-informed people who, astonishingly, actually believed that Obama may secretly have been a Muslim.

The other great thing about Obama’s victory is that it demonstrates that America does not make its decisions based solely on trashy axioms and insults. The bible-bashing, “I can kill ‘cos in God I trust” brigade will not always win out, in spite of pandering to their huge numbers in the most shameless fashion. All of the cries of Muslim, Terrorist, Communist etc, seemed to have little or no impact; if anything, they were perceived as invidious by most and actually hurt the McCain/Palin ticket. The exploitation of ignorance and fear is an incredibly powerful political tool - but in this election, even its extensive use has proven ultimately futile.

Soon after that, Obama made the mistake of explaining to supposed everyman Joe the Plumber that he would “spread the wealth around”:

In terms of milestones for the new century, that’s almost up there with the election of the first African-American to the White House.

While this may seem an ostensibly innocuous statement (and even praiseworthy, considering the massive divide between affluence and poverty in Western economies), the

Shaun O’Connor http://shaunoconnor.wordpress.org

SHOT GUN RULES

Fun Stuff This article is for every person who has a car and for their friends. I myself have two such friends (ye know who ye are). They keep shouting SHOTGUN and I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about time they learn the rules and so should everyone else.

Section I - General Rules

Section II - Special Cases

1) The first person to yell "SHOTGUN" gets to ride in the front seat.

These special exceptions to the rules above should be considered in the order presented; the case listed first will take precedence over any of the cases beneath it, when applicable.

2) The remaining back seats may be divvied up in the same manner by being the first to call "back right seat", etc... 3) The word "shotgun" must be loud enough to be heard by at least one witness. If no witness is to be found, or in case of a tie, the driver has the final word. After all, it is most likely his/her car. (Note: if it isn't his/her car, and the owner is present, the owner's decision is final. Owner must be sober, however, or he will defer his judgment to the driver.) 4) Early calls are strictly prohibited. All occupants of the vehicle (including the driver) must be outside of the building and directly on the way to the vehicle before shotgun may be called. Under no circumstances may a person call shotgun inside a building. For the sake of simplicity, a garage is considered to be outside. Parking structures and detached garages are always considered as being outdoors, even if they are underground. 5) A person may only call shotgun for one way of a trip. Shotgun can never be called while inside a vehicle or still technically on the way to the first location. For example, one cannot get out of a vehicle and call shotgun for the return journey. 6) Being as how everyone is created equal, men have the same right as women to the front seat of the car i.e. women don't own the front seat. 7) One is allowed to ride shotgun as many times as he/ she can call it, but for himself only. No one can call shotgun for their friend. 8) The driver has final say in all ties and disputes. The driver has the right to suspend or remove all shotgun privileges from one or more persons.

Killian Hughes, sucommunications@cit.ie

1) In the instance that the normal driver of a vehicle is drunk or otherwise unable to perform their duties as driver, then he/she is automatically given shotgun. 2) In instance that the person who actually owns the vehicle is not driving, then he/she is automatically given shotgun, unless they decline. 3) In the instance the driver's spouse, lover, partner, or hired prostitute for the evening is going to accompany the group; he/she is automatically given shotgun, unless they decline. 4) In the instance that one of the passengers may become so ill during the course of the journey that the other occupants feel he/she will toss their cookies, then the ill person should be given shotgun to make appropriate use of the window. 5) In the instance that only one person knows how to get to a given location and this person is not the driver, then as the designated navigator for the group they automatically get shotgun, unless they decline. 6) In the instance that one of the occupants is too wide or tall to fit comfortably in the back seat, then the driver may show mercy and award shotgun. Alternatively, the driver and other passengers may continually taunt the poor fellow as they make a three hour trip with him crammed in the back. Finally Drivers/Owners Decision is final when called upon to pass judgement!!!

Fun Stuff

Drop in your competition entries to the Students’ Union office before 1st December 2008 in SAE. Winners Listed Below and on www.citsu.ie Forums

MAZE Zero

By Shane Fitzgerald

The clock strikes zero zero I stand in front of a wall A wall of prejudice and inequality The clock strikes zero zero I look out a window A window into a world run by a machine A machine whose power source is fear The clock strikes zero zero I walk in a field The ground is rough Soulless spears rise from the blood stained earth The clock strikes zero zero I watch a screen The screen shows me symbols Symbols that rule the world Symbols that consume and corrupt the human soul The clock strikes zero zero Its over