The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield // www.forgetoday.com
Issue 19 // Friday February 19 2010
Chinese X Factor winner News page 3
Lecturer ridicules students’ mistakes 4‘Uninspiring’ exam papers leave lecturer feeling ‘truly depressed’ Leanne Rinne A University Management School lecturer who sent an email mocking students’ exam scripts to his colleagues, has been deemed “disrespectful” and “unacceptable” by Union Education Officer, Holly Taylor. Dr Jon Burchell, an exam marker and Strategic Management lecturer at the University, circulated the following comments by a Management staff email list on January 26, this year: Dear All, Having spent the last couple of days dismally working my way through the first bunch of truly uninspiring undergraduate exam scripts, I thought I’d just share with you some little known facts about Milton Friedman that two of our final year undergrads have provided which you may (or may not!) wish to include in your future lectures: 1) Milton Friedman was the founder of capitalism 2) Milton Friedman was a socialist I am feeling truly depressed!! Only another 200 to go!! Jon A source who received the email said that they were concerned by the way students were being mocked. They were also concerned that Dr Burchell appeared to be absolving himself from
responsibility for the exam performance of those he teaches. Education Officer Holly Taylor said she finds it “really sad that somebody who works at a university, has such a negative and, quite frankly, disrespectful attitude towards students.”
Have your say Comment on this article at Forgetoday.com Send a letter to letters@forgetoday.com She said: “This taps into a wider problem of how little teacher training academics have. “To become a lecturer you have to prove yourself through your research ability not through your teaching ability or your passion for helping students on their academic journey,” she said. Taylor added: “If an academic works at the University because of their love for their subject rather than the teaching of it, I imagine it’s quite easy to avoid buying into these values altogether,” she said. Dr Burchell’s comments do not breach student confidentiality or examiner regulations, but Taylor said she would like to see staff training and refresher events enforced more rigorously so “negative attitudes towards students can be put to the test. “It is unacceptable in this day and age to be faced with teaching staff who don’t have any time for students,” she said. Continued on Page 2
Sheffield graduate and inline skating world champion, Jenna Downing gets some air. Interview - p.15
Jenna, Champion of the World FUSE
Crucible reborn
Exploring the refurbished theatre
NEWS
More//inside
Sex Survey
10
Comment
22
Lifestyle
25
Travel
29
Sport
Find out how many are at risk of STIs
News Fuse pages 8-9 page 5
www.forgetoday.com
2
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
NEWS UNIVERSITY
Editor
Robert Golledge
Deputy Editor
Helen Lawson
Managing Editor
Rob Ellerington
News
Letters
Rachel Blundy Leanne Rinne Rosie Taylor
We’re simply the best - again The University of Sheffield’s Union of Students has been crowned the best Students’ Union in the UK for the second consecutive year
Emily Cresswell
Comment
Michael Hunter André Nunn
Features
Lifestyle
Lucie Boase Paul Garbett Oli Hughes
Hannah O’Connell Keri O’Riordan
Travel
Vicky Shaw
Sport
Matthew Duncan Christopher Rogan Ross Turner
Fuse
Alistair White
Music
Games
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Helen Lawson Natasha Parker Jeremy Peel
Screen
Brendan Allitt Melissa Gillespie Pete Walsh
Arts
Richard Scott Amy Smith
Web Editor Alexandra Rucki Fuse cover
Lucie Boase
Forge Press Media Hub, Union of Students Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TG 0114 2228646 forgepress@forgetoday.com
Forge Press is part of Forge Media Forge Press is published by the Union of Students. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the University, the Union or the editorial team. In the first instance all complaints should be addressed to the Managing Editor, although a formal procedure exists. Forge Press is printed on 100% recycled paper
Advertise in the Forge Press with The Student Connection 0114 222 8540
CHARITY
RAG appeal for Haiti A Haiti earthquake collection appeal is being run by Sheffield Raising and Giving (RAG) throughout February. The University-wide appeal aims to raise £2,000 and RAG have set up a JustGiving webpage for students to make donations. They will also be collecting at lectures and at student residences. RAG chair, Rachel Colley, said: “Your donation, of any amount, really can make a difference.” To donate to the appeal visit: www.justgiving.com/ RAGhaitiDisaster. Matthew Burgess
Photo: Stephen Findlay
Students make the most of the facilities available in The Source at the Union. Natalie Morris Sheffield’s Union of Students has been recognised as the best Student’s Union in the country in The Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey for the second year running. The award follows previous success for the Union which was named HE Students’ Union of the Year in the 2008 NUS Awards and Best Students’ Union in the UK in the 2007 Club Mirror Awards. Union President Paul Tobin
COMPETITION
Win £100 for logo redesign Students and University staff can win £100 for designing a new logo for Sheffield Volunteering. Entrants must design a logo that reflects the society’s new mission statement: ‘Inspire and be inspired as an active citizen. Take part in our city’. The logo must be original work, and must be submitted by April 12 to the Volunteering office in the Source or volunteering@ sheffield.ac.uk All of the designs entered will be displayed in an online gallery and in the volunteering office from April 14. Rosie Dean
said: “It is vital that a University has a strong Students’ Union to support its students and these results clearly show that the excellent services we provide, along with the dedication and support of our staff, make the student experience unforgettable.” According to the survey, students at the University of Sheffield are the most satisfied in the region and fourth most satisfied in the UK, behind Loughborough, Cambridge and Oxford. Sheffield also came second
behind Loughborough when it was rated solely on the facilities offered to students, including the student union, accommodation, the library and the level of sports facilities. Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Burnett said: “This award reflects the enthusiasm and commitment of all our staff and the work they do to ensure our students have a great student experience here at Sheffield.” The national survey aims to show which universities offer the best all round student experience. Over 10,000 students were
surveyed nationwide and asked to rate their universities in terms of 21 different attributes. Paul White, the Pro-ViceChancellor for Learning and Teaching, attributes the University’s success to the Information Commons. He said: “It isn’t a conventional library. We found that students want to work with a book open but Google running at the same time. It is a place where many different sources of information can be brought together, and it is collaborative - students can work together.”
Student reps defend lecturer Continued from Page 1 Dr Burchell’s University web profile states that his interests are in the “areas of corporate social responsibility”. The Management School’s webpage also states: “We take our responsibility for our students seriously.” But the Management Society president, who has asked not to be named, said that in order for the Management School to progress, lecturers need to discuss students’ progression and work including exam papers. “Jon has every right to be annoyed at the students who have not grasped the simple concepts mentioned in the email as they are the backbone to the entire module. “I can only assume this is why he felt the need to discuss the
matter with others,” he said. The Union Link for the Management School, who also asked not to be named, said the comments only reflect some students’ work and were likely to have been meant in a “jokey sense” rather than representing a “serious opinion”. She said: “Lecturers often have public sites erected on social networks displaying much harsher comments. These are in a sense much more offensive and derogatory than this email and achieve very little if anything at all. “Many people will, and should, understand that lecturers often have hundreds of exam papers to mark. This is a lengthy and monotonous task, regardless of the quality of scripts, and that is all this email was expressing.”
The University Executive Board has recently released a paper titled ‘The Sheffield Academic’, to outline the values and work ethics that an academic at the University should possess. It states: “Sheffield Academics are passionate about their subject and ambitious to make a difference in their field and to the University´s achievements as a whole.” Taylor said it demonstrates how seriously the Vice-Chancellor and University Executive Board (UEB) take issues of teaching standards and professionalism. Dr Burchell and the University declined to comment.
Inside ‘Don’t ridicule students’ Comment, page 13
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
Uni student launches career after Chinese X Factor win Rachel Blundy A Sheffield student who made international headlines after triumphing in a Chinese version of The X Factor has exclusively revealed to Forge Press that she plans to launch a solo singing career. Mary-Jess Leaverland, 19, from Gloucestershire, has officially paused her degree to pursue a music career and has said her degree was only ever a “back-up” in case she failed to make it as a singer. She won the competition on the show Min Xing Chang Fan Tian (I Want To Sing To The Stars). The second year student was enrolled on a Music and Chinese course at Sheffield until last month, when she claimed victory in the competition. The young songstress was the only foreigner in the final of the Jiangsu province contest, home to nearly 70 million people. She sang ‘Moonlight Lovers’ from the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, in Mandarin to be crowned the winner. Leaverland now plans to launch her singing career in both Britain and China, helped by her newlyappointed manager. Speaking to Forge Press she said: “This is what I’ve wanted to do my whole life. The degree was more of a back-up. “Since the competition it’s been really busy. It’s certainly been keeping me on my toes.” Despite not receiving a record deal as part of her victory, Leaverland was later offered the chance to sign for a Chinese agency by one of the competition’s judges. But she was forced to decline the offer because she was only living in China on a student visa. Since arriving home to the UK the singer has been inundated with calls from the national press and is still adjusting to her newfound fame. She said: “Since the show I have been recognised in the streets, which is really strange but nice. “My friends think it is cool. The show was the most exciting thing I have done in my life.” Leaverland urged any students on a year abroad to “take every opportunity you are given and grab it with both hands.” She said: “Make the most of what you’re doing out there. You can do degrees later in life now. “My family have been very supportive. They’re really proud of me, that’s a nice feeling. They know that I have only paused my course and that this is what I’ve always wanted to do.” During her short time at Sheffield, Leaverland was a prominent member of the University Chamber Choir. The choir’s conductor, Professor Nigel Simeone, has commended the aspiring singer on her recent achievements. He said: “I’m thrilled about Mary-Jess’s success. She’s a terrific person and a very good singer, so she really deserves it. “It must be an amazing experience spending part of your year abroad winning a show that was watched by millions of people, but she has done just that, and I think it’s fantastic. Leaverland is yet to announce what style of music she will be recording in the coming months.
3
UNIVERSITY NEWS
BAE agrees to £255million settlement
BAE hitting the headlines in 2009. Millie Travis
Second year student Mary-Jess Leaverland is all set launch a career in the music industry.
Top 10 ways to achieve fame/infamy whilst studying at the University of Sheffield 1. Piss on a war memorial and get your friends to post the evidence on Facebook. Make sure you are visibly wasted. Participation in an organised bar crawl is not compulsory but will maximise potential for controversy. 2. Make a ‘comic’ video based on the Arts Tower or the Information Commons. Upload the results onto YouTube and simply wait for thousands of students exhausted from revision to popularise your creation. 3. Devote every second outside of your degree to training for the world heptathlon championships. Triumph in said competition and secure third place in BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year.
4. Publish a book which contains a wealth of wisdom well beyond your years. 5. Alternatively, for those of a lesser intellectual ability, write a children’s book which supposedly encourages kids to accept individuality. Characters might include; Roy the `short sighted´ Eagle, Milly the asthmatic Cheetah and a vegetarian grizzly bear named Kate.
Refuse to leave until your student debt is officially cancelled by the Student Loan Company or you have achieved world peace. 8. Audition for the final series of Big Brother. Either maintain a likeable yet dull persona throughout, or do something scandalous with a wine bottle and become cherished by the British public.
6. Sleep with a lecturer and sell your story to The Daily Mail or The Sun. Don’t forget to include all the gory details of your intense yet brief affair. Conceiving a love child is optional.
9. Drop-out of your studies and launch a career in stand-up comedy as a genius transvestite. Become enormously popular in America. If you’re funny enough you’ll be awarded an honorary degree anyway.
7. Stage a sit-in protest and chain yourself to a University building.
10. Complete your degree before the age of 12 with a first.
BAE Systems, the British arms firm with close links to the University of Sheffield, has accepted an out of court settlement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) following allegations of bribery and corruption. The deal announced on February 5, consists of a payment of $400m (£225m) to the US and £30m to the UK. The allegations of corruption date back to the 1970s and involve arms deals with Saudi Arabia, Central Europe, Tanzania and South Africa. BAE Systems have continually denied any wrongdoing, claiming supplies only ever consisted of defence and monitoring systems. The company’s direct link to the University has provoked strong opposition from students, leading to accusations from the Union’s Ethical and Environmental Committee (E&E) that the University has “blood on its hands” (Forge Press, Issue 14). But Vice-Chancellor Professor Keith Burnett has once again sought to defend the University’s links with the British arms company. He said: “It is my role to ensure we have excellent engineering research opportunities at Sheffield and BAE offers these.” A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield added: “The University’s research partnership with BAE Systems is one of several collaborations which result in important local, national and international developments. “These industrial partnerships also bring major benefit to students, resulting from these companies sharing their expertise, through placements, industrial lectures and case studies. The organisation Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is disappointed that the case will now not be taken to a criminal court. They argued that the SFO had received a plea bargain. The chairman of BAE Systems, Dick Oliver, has defended the firm, labelling the company’s actions as “legacy issues” and claiming it has “systematically enhanced” policies and procedures. He said: “We are now seen as a company of good standing and a responsible company to do business with.”
4
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
NEWS UNIVERSITY
New teaching space put on hold Plans to redevelop the University’s Jessop Edwardian site and provide new teaching spaces have been postponed due to a funding hole
VC claims expenses for elite club membership
Leanne Rinne
Leanne Rinne
The Jessop Edwardian redevelopment project - set to provide new University learning and teaching facilities - has been put on hold due to a lack of capital funding. A new Learning Hub was meant to be located on the redeveloped Edwardian site to provide a central space for “student, academic and personal development”. But the University has had to prioritise “a significant amount of essential maintenance costs” in other buildings, according to a University board meeting held on January 21. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, Professor Paul White, said: “At the moment we do not have the capital funds to spare but the Learning Hub as a concept has not been cancelled. A new location is being firmed up.” He said money is needed more urgently for the maintenance of other University buildings, including the Hicks Building where an entire floor cannot be used until maintenance work is completed. In 2001 the University acquired the site of the former Jessop Hospital and since then the area has been a focus for new building and refurbishment. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard said: “The Jessop master plan is still in existence - we have just had to pause it. “At the moment the bottom line is the cash.” The Learning Hub design was drawn up by international architecture firm RMJM in 2002, approved by Sheffield City Council in December 2009 and set to be completed between 2011/2012. But now the University has been forced to consider how existing buildings can be freed up to house the Learning Hub project – potentially the Arts Tower. A spokesperson from the University said: “Plans to provide space for an integrated
The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Sheffield has claimed hundreds of pounds for membership to a private gentlemen’s club, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. Professor Keith Burnett claimed just over a thousand pounds in expenses between January 1 and December 31, 2009 – including a £920 subscription fee to The Athenaeum Club in London. The elite Pall Mall club was founded in 1824 as “a meeting place for men who enjoy the life of the mind”, and provides a smoking room and bedrooms for it’s members. But Keith Burnett only uses the club for University business and as a place to meet financial donors, a University spokesperson has said. “Some UK universities have permanent office space in central London – an option which would be substantially more costly to the University, without the quality and history of the Athenaeum”, a University spokesperson said. Recently the VC met author Lee Child at the Athenaeum’s sister club in New York who donated a six figure sum used to provide 50 scholarships for students in financial difficulties. A University spokesperson added: “The Athenaeum Club provides a valuable venue to host dignitaries and potential donors to the University in central London, as well as in discounted sister venues in cities around the world.” Notable members have included Winston Churchill, Charles Darwin and a number of other UK Vice-Chancellors - including Sheffield’s previous VC, Professor Bob Boucher. Over the years the club’s membership criteria has been widened to include any person who is deemed to be “of substantial value to the community.” Over 52 past and present members of the Club have won a Nobel Prize - one in each category of the prize.
Artist’s impression of the Learning Hub within the existing Edwardian Jessop building. student skills support service will continue, together with attempts to address the deficit of small seminar rooms.” The new design was set to transform the existing wing and deliver “an outstanding learning experience to future students”. Education Officer Holly Taylor said it is “a real shame” that the redevelopment project has had to be aborted. “It would have been a step towards resolving the teaching space issues on campus and would
have created greater cohesion, visibility and access for all of the learning support services. “We can only hope that the University is successful when it applies for more capital project funding later this year”, she said. In 2009, Neil Cameron, Director of Estates at the University, said the new Edwardian redevelopment would underpin “the ongoing improvement in the University’s learning and teaching infrastructure”.
Art: RMJM
The University has recently completed the new £21m Jessop West development which provides new premises for the Schools of English, Modern Languages, the Department of History and a brand new Soundhouse for the Department of Music. In December 2009 RMJM’s lead designer for the Learning Hub, Murdoch Cameron, said he was “delighted” with the new Edwardian project and the way his project team had approached the challenging design.
Spending cuts bring English universities ‘to their knees’ Leanne Rinne England’s university budgets are being slashed by a total of £449m as part of the Government’s plan to cut back on higher education spending. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has announced university teaching budgets will be reduced by £215m in the academic year 2010-11. Union President Paul Tobin said the situation is “frightening not just for current students but for the future of this country”. The amount universities are given for encouraging those from the poorest backgrounds has been cut by 0.75 per cent and grants for capital projects have been cut by 14.9 per cent. Education Officer Holly Taylor said: “It seems crazy that the Government would spend years
investing in Higher Education to then take so much away from it. “Here we’ve already seen module cuts which have reduced students’ choice and I wouldn’t be surprised if the greater strain and work load on the remaining staff is to the detriment of students’ learning.” She said that in many cases academic staff at the University are having to teach more students and often “chip in” on modules above their specialist area. “This has an immediate effect on the hours they can then spend in their personal tutor capacity, researching, or giving feedback to students in office hours,” she said. Vice-chancellors and other student leaders have said the cuts are “an extraordinary act of self-harm” which “is bringing higher education to it’s knees”. The Univeristy’s Pro-Vice-
Chancellor for Learning and Teaching, Professor Paul White, said the University has been preparing for this challenging time even though no member of the Russell Group is “sitting pretty”. He said: “The University decided in 2009 that it was vital to address a projected shortfall in our income. For this reason, we instituted a Voluntary Severance Scheme, which allowed us to reduce our staff costs across the board. “Despite 324 staff being approved for voluntary severance, we have yet to identify a further £9.2m to reach our £25m target, and need to continue to find ways of increasing our income and of reducing expenditure.” He said the University has prioritised teaching and learning quality and it’s international reputation for outstanding
research. “We cannot keep ploughing the same amount of resources into everything but we have no plan to close any departments,” he said. Higher Education Minister David Lammy has said he is “confident” that Hefce can implement the cuts “in a way that minimises the impact on teaching and students” – but Tobin is uncertain. “I wish I was confident that cutting nearly £500m from the Higher Education budget would have a negligible impact on teaching and students as Lammy suggests, but I think the reality may be very different. “HE requires large budgets as it is the forefront of most of the UK’s industrial output as well as providing the knowledge and skills which fuel the economy. If anything, now is a time to invest in universities, as the USA is
doing,” said Tobin. On March 12, the University will be told exactly how much money it is to receive from Hefce. The financial cuts have also sparked calls for higher tuition fees and Policy Exchange, an independent education charity, has suggested a minimum tuition fee of £5,000 a year. On top of this, university cheifs have predicted that an unprecedented number of students applying to university will not be offered a place - up to 300,000 students. Future education grants will be concentrated on departments with higher quality ratings and an extra £10m will go to the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths. Taylor added: “We need to be actively campaigning nationally and lobbying the Government to reinvest before it’s too late.”
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
5
UNIVERSITY NEWS
Chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes... A third of Sheffield students may be at risk Rachel Blundy Over one third of students at the University of Sheffield have admitted to engaging in unprotected sex since starting their degree, a new survey suggests. A Forge Press poll of approximately 1,300 students indicates that over 35 per cent have had sex without using any contraception, whilst 1.4 per cent admitted they had had unprotected sex with the knowledge they had a sexually transmitted infection (STI). But the survey also suggests that almost 40 per cent of Sheffield students tend to stick with just one sexual partner since the beginning of their time at university. An overwhelming two thirds majority thought that their number of sexual partners was below the national average for people of a similar age. In other statistics, almost 14 per cent of those polled confessed to having a one-night stand with someone after a Union club night. Just 3.4 per cent claimed to have had over 10 sexual partners since coming to Sheffield, and less than three per cent admitted to having sexual relations with a member of University staff. But nine out of 10 students said they had never forgotten a sexual encounter due to excessive drinking or drug taking. The survey also asked students to rate different social groups in order of promiscuity. Female and male home students were considered to be equally promiscuous by over 40 per cent of those asked. Whilst over a quarter of participants thought that both home and international students, regardless of gender, showed the same levels of sexual licentiousness. Welfare Officer Jen Hastings believes that although the survey results are not necessarily representative of the whole student population, they are still valuable. She said: “Interestingly, over half of the respondents feel that
Do you feel that your number of sexual partners is...
Have you ever had unprotected sex whilst at University?
64.1% Below average
63.5% No
30.9% Average 5% Above average
36.5% Yes
How many sexual partners have you had since coming to Uni? 24% 7.2% 0 38.8% 5.1% 13.1% + 12%
Results of the sexual health poll carried out by Forge Press. their number of sexual partners is below average. “The majority of people who answered the survey fell into either the ‘one’ or ‘zero’ sexual partners categories. “So perhaps our perception actually differs quite a lot from reality. “I think students are the victims of a lot of pressure, not
only from their peers, but also from external sources, such as the press, who often count promiscuity as an essential part of the student experience. “As these results show, this is not the case. “We need to encourage students that there’s no such thing as ‘average’.” Last week, the Union Welfare
Committee organised a sexual health awareness week to offer students advice on how to stay safe in sexual relationships. ‘Sexy Week’ included a Moulin Rouge themed Population, an LGBT sexual health workshop and a Give it a Go Burlesque night. Members of the Welfare Committee also gave out free
chlamydia testing kits and condoms in Bar One. Hastings said that ‘Sexy Week’ was intended to widen the Welfare Committee’s target audience. She said: “We wanted to show that you don’t have to be sexually active to get involved with a sexual health campaign. “We included a range of events to reflect this.”
Scriven says bar crawls are ‘no joke’ as Carnage returns to city Kirsty McEwen Sheffield City Council leader Paul Scriven has called for more police and a crackdown on licensing laws as Carnage UK returns to Sheffield. Carnage are due to host a ‘Cops and Robbers’ themed event in Sheffield this Sunday, February 21. Councillor Scriven wants to ensure that there is “no repeat of the scenes witnessed at previous events.” He said: “Carnage UK must have thought that branding their latest event in Sheffield as a ‘cops and robbers’ theme is some kind of ironic humour. “But getting boozed up and ending up in trouble with the law is no joke, as no doubt some of the previous participants in Carnage UK could tell you.”
Councillor Scriven said that he wanted to see an increased presence of licensing officers and members of the police force. “I want to make sure that all participating bars understand that they will be held to account if they break the terms of their licence, which includes not serving people who are already drunk. “I have asked the police to take this event into account on what would normally be a relatively peaceful Sunday evening in the city centre,” he said. Embrace nightclub and Vodka Revolution, both of which will feature on Sunday’s organised bar crawl, have declined to comment on Scriven’s statements. Carnage UK claims to have contacted Cllr Scriven to discuss his reservations, but said last week they had yet to receive a response from him.
A spokesperson for the Carnage UK brand, Varsity Leisure Group (VLG), said that its events provide a financial boost to the local economy. The spokesperson added: “Carnage UK fancy dress student events allow students from different ethnic and social backgrounds to come together and socialise in a closely supervised environment. “The events are well attended by students from all walks of life. “Varsity Leisure Group wants the students to be safe and for there to be a boost to the local economy, at a time of recession. “VLG would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Cllr Paul Scriven, leader of Sheffield Council, to discuss his concerns and address them.” Union Welfare Officer Jenni Hastings explained that as Carnage UK is an independent
Photo: Sam Bennett
organisation, the Students’ Union has no control over the running of it. But she added that Carnage bar crawls are not something the Union seeks to actively promote. She said: “Whilst Carnage is not solely responsible for the binge drinking issue in this country, it does not adhere to the same responsible alcohol policy as the Union. “Attending any form of bar crawl is completely up to the individual. “However we would urge students not to put themselves in a situation they may regret the next day. “It’s also really important to keep an eye on the people you’re out with.” Union President Paul Tobin added: “We encourage all students to drink responsibly if they choose to go on such a night out.”
6
NEWS UNIVERSITY
Officer slams new visa laws Emma Crowe International Officer Alex Erdlenbruch and International Councillor Mina Kasherova have slated the Government’s new rules for obtaining a visa to study in the UK. The new legislation means that international students must possess a much higher standard of spoken English. Student visa applicants must also have secured a place at a “highly trusted” educational intuition. In addition, the number of permitted weekly working hours for those studying below degree level has been halved from 20 to 10. Erdlenbruch and Kasherova believe the measures show a lack of flexibility from the Government in dealing with different cultures. Erdlenbruch said: “A young woman from Saudi Arabia may have a one-year-old child, for example. This is taking away a huge opportunity of studying English for six months.” Kasherova added: “Your level of English doesn’t make you more or less likely to be a terrorist or to seek illegal employment.” Erdlenbruch also criticised the Government’s legislation for being inherently vague. “There is a need for clarification of what is meant by ‘highly trusted’,” he said. Erdlenbruch believes a reduction in permitted working hours will discourage students from poorer backgrounds from applying to British universities. But the Labour Government said the new laws will be implemented immediately. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said that the legislation will cut down on the thousands of “bogus” applications to study in the UK.
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
Welfare vice-chair accused of ‘harassment’ over comments Student voices concerns over ‘aggressive’ and ‘intimidating’ response Rosie Taylor
Disruption at the Union Ben Hunt The continuing redevelopment work to the Students’ Union is set to cause further disruption to services within the building this month. For six weeks the Media Hub will be relocated to the Source, and the Sat Pal Ram and Dales meeting rooms on Level 4 of the Union will be closed. Students will not be able to access several of the computers usually available in the Source because they will be allocated to the Forge Media team. But Activities Officer Claire Monk said that the temporary relocation of Forge Media will not affect any other services in the Source. She said: “Opening hours will remain the same, as will the staff and related support services operating in the area, such as sports and volunteering.” The internet-only computers situated in the Gallery on Level 4 will still be available. Finance Officer Martin Bailey said: “Due to the specialist computer equipment required by the media team the Source space was the only available location within the Union that could facilitate them.”
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Burlesque teacher helping at Sexy Week. Doyle (inset).
Photo: A. Harley
The vice-chair of the Welfare Committee, Amy Perry, has been accused of “harassment” for her response to a student’s criticism of the committee’s Sexy Week campaign. Perry wrote on her public Facebook profile that she was “fully prepared to get into a fully fledged fight” with fourth year undergraduate Hannah Doyle, after Doyle questioned how appropriate last week’s Sexy Week events were. She also stated that she would “own her [Doyle’s] ass” and referred to her and others who had objected to the campaign as “idiots”. Doyle said: “The comments made about me were pretty aggressive and if I were a more fragile soul they might have intimidated me and made me feel wary of going to the Union - you could call that harassment.” The comments came after a public debate between Doyle, Perry, Welfare Officer Jennifer Hastings and other students on social networking site Facebook. Doyle had objected to the use of condom games, a Give it a Go burlesque event and the Moulin Rouge-themed union club night that featured as part of Sexy Week. She told the Welfare Committee: “All you’re doing is promoting the idea that promiscuity is an essential component of any night out.” After debating the issue, Perry replied: “If you don’t like it, don’t come.” She also told Doyle: “I am not answerable to you.” Her attitude angered Doyle, who told Forge Press: “It really infuriated me. Whatever activities the Union plan take place using our money and are directed by people we have voted for. “Because of this you absolutely cannot tell people to shut up and go away just because they’ve raised queries.” When Doyle accused Perry of trying to get “brownie points for being politically active”, Hastings told her: “I would like to ask that you don’t launch a personal
attack on Amy [Perry].” Doyle described the subsequent comments made about her as a form of personal attack. “I think it displays perfectly the hypocrisy of some members of the Union and also the negative use made of Facebook to vilify me,” she said. Perry claims that she dealt with the situation correctly. “I apologise if Hannah [Doyle] felt threatened or intimidated. However, when writing on the Sexy Week event page in my role as a Welfare Committee member, I believe I acted appropriately and I stand by my responses,” she said.
Have your say Comment on this article at Forgetoday.com Send a letter to letters@forgetoday.com The vice-chair insisted that her comments on her own Facebook wall were not representative of the Welfare Committee’s views. She said: “My Facebook wall is my own. I did not say anything intentionally aggressive and did not mention her name. “I am fully entitled to my own opinion and I did not discuss her with the intention of encouraging everyone in the University network to judge her. “I was not writing in my capacity as a vice-chair but as an individual under verbal attack.” Welfare Officer Jennifer Hastings has defended the actions of the member of her committee. She said: “I am sorry if Hannah feels she has been treated in such a way by the Welfare Committee, however I disagree with this accusation [of harassment] and feel that things have been blown out of proportion. “We welcomed Hannah’s comments and I believe we answered her questions appropriately. “Amy’s posts on her own personal profile are her own business. She is not a member of Union staff and so has the right to voice her views on the matter, just like any other student.”
Postgraduates win the right to stay in their Halls Emily Cresswell Postgraduate students living in Cratcliffe Halls in the Endcliffe Village will now be allowed to remain in their residences over the summer - provided the demand is high enough. The students were originally told by the Accommodation and Campus Services (ACS) that they would be unable to extend their 42-week contracts because the Halls were being used to house visitors attending business conferences. Union President Paul Tobin, who campaigned on behalf of the postgraduates, said the problem was caused by confusion on the part of ACS. The students were offered
alternative accommodation for the summer instead but Tobin says ACS “didn’t consider that there would be a problem” with this arrangement. ACS have now said they will offer “no resistance at all” to students who wish to stay at Cratcliffe during the summer - as long as the demand is sufficient. Tobin said that ACS had “responded quickly” to student complaints. ACS are encouraging those concerned to get in touch with them personally. If a sufficient number reply, all students living in Cratcliffe Halls will be allowed to remain. Tobin said that if the postgraduate students do stay at the Halls it is likely that visitors attending the business conferences will be moved to
vacant undergraduate housing on the Endcliffe site. But Tobin is uncertain how many students ACS require to contact them about the issue in order to secure the residence for the summer. He said: “For now it’s quite a simple issue, though it may get bigger once students have responded.” Problems may arise if too few students contact ACS to request to stay in their accommodation. The presence of the visitors attending conferences in the same area may also be an issue. Regardless of whether or not the students are allowed to remain at Cratcliffe, all students will be provided with housing during the summer. If an insufficient number of students respond, the alternative
accommodation at Broad Lane Court will still be offered. According to Tobin, the problem with this accommodation will be the logistics of moving the postgraduates’ possessions to another building for a temporary period. Despite this, Tobin believes that the issue is, for the time being, “sorted”. All postgraduate students wishing to remain in Cratcliffe Halls over the summer are advised to contact ACS as soon as possible. They can be contacted by emailing the Accommodation Office at: accommodationoffice@ sheffield.ac.uk. ACS can also be called on 0114 222 4488 or students can visit PropertywithUS on Level 4 of the University House.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
Societies receive no funding after failing to check email accounts Andre Nunn Many of the Union’s societies are not receiving the grants they are entitled to because they failed to reply to their emails. Societies were asked to apply for funding from October, but many missed the two-week deadline and so have not received their grant. As a result, only 112 of the Union’s 254 societies were given money this year to help finance events, fundraisers, conferences and guest-speakers. Societies which failed to apply for funding have been left with a basic £50, which was only intended to help with publicity at the start of the academic year. Societies regularly receive less than half of the money they apply for. In 2009, they applied for around £34,000 from the Union, while committees applied for nearly £39,000. Some committees submitted bids of up to £4,800 but none were granted more than £2,200 in funding. Finance Officer Martin Bailey said that his budget for societies was just over a quarter of what committee leaders bid for. He said: “For committees, this year there were total bids equating to almost £40,000 and I had a budget of £12,600, a budget that was set in May 2009, so it was inevitable that no committee was going to
receive 100 per cent of what they had asked for. “In a number of cases, committees had spent a lot less than they had originally planned in the first semester due to various reasons.” In October, societies on average received just a third of the funds they applied for. Societies receive one grant of money from the Union at the beginning of the academic year, while the committees’ funds are separated by semesters.
Claire Monk said in comparison with other universities there is a huge spectrum of money available to societies, and the University of Sheffield is in the middle. She said: “We’d love to give them all the money in the world but that’s just not possible with the money the Union allocates.” The money is handled by the Societies Committee, which shares between the societies the budget decided by Claire Monk,
and Finance Officer Martin Bailey, who grants money to the committees. Chair of the Societies Committee (SocCom), Kab Nepal, said: “There’s been a bit of criticism this year because we’ve changed the system and some people have received a lot more than they usually do, while others have received a lot less.” He said: “It’s amazing what people can do with the little they receive whatever they receive they do fantastically well with.” While committees’ funds are decided by Martin Bailey and discussed with each of the treasurers, the societies are now ranked in a points system which has been deemed fairer than the previous system – where money was granted according to the number of members. Claire Monk said that the societies that do not submit an application can apply for money from a separate grant at a later date. Student committees are responsible for representing specific student groups and interests. Students are advised to find out more about the Union committees and societies by contacting the Source or by checking out individual society websites. If you have an idea for starting your own society then complete an online application form on the Union website.
‘Crackdown’ on fake tickets Rosie Taylor Union security is “cracking down” on fake tickets after a number were discovered at the Mega Roar club night event before Christmas. Door staff and members of the Entertainment (Ents) Committee working at the wristband exchange for Mega Roar discovered several fake tickets, some of which were highly sophisticated copies. Finance Officer Martin Bailey said: “We had no previous awareness of the lengths people go to to make these fake tickets. “But I’d like to make it clear we are very aware that fake tickets do exist and with increased security measures we are cracking down on them. “We will take steps to punish those who are
caught selling them.” Union staff were alerted to the possible threat of fake tickets at Mega Roar from tip-offs from student staff and through social networking sites. As a result all tickets were scanned under UV light to check their authenticity. The Union has also introduced foil seals on tickets as these are difficult to fake. Bailey raised concerns that those using fake tickets were damaging the experiences of other students. He said: “If people choose to make and sell fake tickets it loses revenue for our Entertainments Department, meaning that the quality of our club nights may drop as we cannot put as many resources into them.
“That is of course an extreme situation but the negative costs will accumulate. “I would encourage those dealing fake tickets to invest their time in joining the Ents Committee where by helping set up and promote events they can earn free tickets and guest list places as a reward.” He recommended that students avoid inadvertently buying fake tickets by making sure they get them from an official source, such as the Box Office, the Union website or an official ticket seller with Union ID. “The majority of our tickets for club nights go on sale one week before so I’d also encourage you to get there early, especially if it is an event such as Mega Roar that is likely to sell out quickly,” he added.
7
UNIVERSITY NEWS
8
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
NEWS UNIVERSITY
Students to vote on selfdefining women definition Rosie Taylor All self-defining women will be able to use the Women’s Minibus, become Women’s Officer or Women’s Councillor and sit on the Women’s Committee if changes to the Constitution are voted in at next fortnight’s elections. The Union Council has made the decision that wherever “woman” or “women” are referred to in the Constitution, this should be understood to mean “selfdefining women”. But this change will only be made if students vote for the
amendments to the Constitution in the elections. The move comes after the Women’s Committee requested that self-defining women be allowed on Women’s committee in order to be trans-gender friendly. The Constitutional Committee decided that it would be suitable to extend this definition across the entire Constitution. Women’s Officer Amy Sutherland said: “There are a minority of trans-gender students at the University of Sheffield who this will affect and they should be treated with respect.”
Disabled to get subsidised taxi service from Union Ellie Neves Disabled students will receive access to subsidised taxis from the Union if a planned scheme goes ahead. The scheme, which does not yet have a launch date, comes in response to feedback from disabled students who felt that they could not stay in the Union in the evening or attend any late night events because they were unable to get home without additional support or a taxi. If the service goes ahead disabled students will pay only £1.50 for a taxi to their door, the same cost as the Women’s Minibus, and the Union will pick
up the rest of the cost. The scheme will operate only during undergraduate semesters, taking students to any address within a two mile radius of the Union. Chris Jesson, chair for the Disabled/Dyslexic Student’s Forum (DDSF), said: “The scheme is partly a compromise measure instead of an accessible minibus, which has not been a viable option because the number of users was too low.” Martin Bailey, the Union’s Finance Officer, said: “We felt this service was a necessity for our disabled members and it wouldn’t be suitable to pass on the full cost of the service to them.”
Cheap taxis could be on offer for disabled students. Photo: Sam Bennett
Who wants to be a student entrepreneur? Leanne Rinne A University of Sheffield Business Management student has published his first book on entrepreneurialism whilst studying for a full-time degree. Third year student Adrian Osula, 22, took just 16 weeks to write The Entrepreneurial Bug, a 151 page exploration of what makes entrepreneurs successful. He said: “This book is aimed at people who have entrepreneurial ideas within but do not yet have an outlet to put them into practice. “I hope my book encourages people to dig deep within themselves and find a cure for their own entrepreneurial bug.” Aside from being an author, Adrian is also a student enterprise ambassador, a member of the University’s Enterprise team and a member of Sheffield Students in Free Enterprise Society. He works in and around the University promoting entrepreneurial awareness and initiative. His top business tip for students is to “mix passion with success”.
Have your say Comment on this article at Forgetoday.com Send a letter to letters@forgetoday.com “One of the main reasons I was able to write this book was because I enjoyed writing it – it wasn’t a chore,” he said. Author of Instant Entrepreneur, Robert Ashton, said Adrian’s book will help more people play an important role in making the world a better place. Adrian plans to start up his own business when he graduates from university this year. He added: “I’m using my final few months here to brainstorm ideas on how I can make my own business a reality.” To find out more about Adrian’s entrepreneur development visit his website www.the-ebug.com.
Referendum on representation Nicole Hernandez Froio Next fortnight’s elections will decide whether the positions of Union Links and departmental Councillors will merge, creating a new position with a yearly pay of over £200. Union Council agreed to take the decision to referendum at their meeting last week. Students will now have to vote on the issue. There have been concerns that the responsibilities of the two roles overlap and confuse students. Education Officer Holly Taylor said: “This overlap creates a barrier of confusion. “We want students to feel represented in the best way possible.” Union Links are the connection between academic departments and the Union and deal strictly
with academic problems, while departmental Councillors provide political representation to each department and deal with a range of student issues. The position of Union Link has existed for ten years but the Councillor positions were only created in 2007, thus causing overlaps in the job descriptions. Union President Paul Tobin said: “Rather than students having twice the amount of representation we found that they were confused about who to speak to.” Some councillors objected to the idea that the new positions would be paid for, but defenders of the plan asserted that the money should be seen as recognition of good work, not an incentive. Tobin said: “The new Union Councillors would be doing slightly more work, it’s only fair they get paid.”
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
A number of councillors also questioned whether the workload of two positions on one person would become too demanding. Christopher Northwood, Computer Sciences Councillor, said that if the two positions are clearly explained to students the merging and extra workload could be avoided. “I think that this type of merging is far too drastic, and there are perhaps smaller, less risky steps that could be taken,” he said. Even though there are sceptics on the subject the majority of the Council agreed to recommend this plan and pass it on to students to vote. Tobin said: “We think the new system will be a lot simpler and a lot more effective for students when they most need it - when they have a problem.”
Adrian Osula with a copy of his book, The Entrepreneurial Bug.
Kerbside recycling starts Olivia Morley A new household recycling scheme is being rolled out across Sheffield, starting in March and finishing in October. New blue boxes used for recycling paper, card, plastic bottles, metal cans and glass will be collected for free from the kerbside every two weeks. The first collections are set to begin in March. Black bin collections will continue weekly. The scheme is being introduced to the city from north to south with student areas, such as Endcliffe and Ranmoor, being covered in the third phase of the process in September.
The City Council’s cabinet member for climate change and local environment, Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, said: “Local people said they wanted to be able to recycle more materials and we have been able to offer all this without the need of an extra bin, which would clutter up pavements. “We want to make it much easier for people to recycle, with the ultimate aim of seeing an increase in Sheffield’s recycling rate and minimising the amount going to landfill.” Up to 28 per cent of Sheffield’s waste will be recycled under the scheme.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
9
www.forgetoday.com // news@forgetoday.com
LETTERS
Have your say Is Peter Brennan a satirical genius? Dear Forge, When I first read Peter Brennan’s article ‘Making a stand for white, middle-class men like me’ (page 11, Issue 18), I thought it was the whiniest, most insipid piece of writing I’d read all year. Then, as I read it again, I realised this must be how those people who believed The Office was a real documentary must have felt when the illusion was ruined by a know-it-all friend. Surely, surely, this was actually a piece of Gobi-dry, sardonic satire, a send up of those white, middle-class males who fail to engage or attempt to understand other points of view. It’s also a poke at the “identity construction” literature, an area that often seems to flitter between genuine, insightful debate, and woe-betide-me pretension. Right? Issues such as ‘struggling with the burden of free education, in a world that seems tailor-made for people like me to succeed’ is a flip of the usual issues in this area of social politics, such as structural discrimination that continues to treat ethnic minorities and women as second-class citizens. References to ‘me and my people’ are a pop at SocialDarwinism, yes? Bemoaning the fact he was born into the wealthiest and most powerful demographic is the mirror of those who are born into
Star letter is sponsored by Your Harley
The winner receives a free meal for two and a Lock-In membership at Your Harley poverty, marginalised and denied opportunities to improve. So, all in all I must congratulate an article that cleverly (if cruelly at times) highlights the differences between the identity struggles faced in sections of society, and pinpoints how sometimes people can show a total lack of gratefulness for affluence they receive based purely on the accident of birth. That was the point, right? Yours, Luke Temple Social and Spatial Inequalities Fourth Year
Investment in School of English will not undo damage Dear Forge, I write, as a postgraduate student in the School of English, in response to Rachel Blundy’s article ‘University reinvests £700,000 in Arts faculty after staff cuts’ (page 3, Issue 18). Due to the sensitive nature of this subject, I write confidentially. Though I applaud Dominic Shellard’s gesture of contrition in the article (“we do regret what has happened in the first year of the Faculties”), I believe he fails to see the extent of the damage done to the School of English in the faculty’s recent rounds of job cuts. He says that recent plans to invest in jobs to fill gaps in staffing are “not triage”, when it is in fact “triage”, by way of emergency aid, that is required. I had to laugh aloud when I read that Shellard states “this is for long term sustainable growth for Arts”, shifting his metaphor to one of organics, as if he plans to see the development of essential provisions as if in the petri-dish of the Jessop Building. A severed limb will not grow back, Professor Shellard, need I remind you, especially not within the sterile confines of Jessops. Unfortunately, the time of reparation is long gone to many students within the department, particularly for postgraduate students. Many of the postgraduates in the department have lost supervisors and feel abandoned. Many exciting postgraduate
Thanks for attending Palestine Society vigil Dear Forge, I would like to thank everyone who attended the Gaza vigil on 19th January 2010 outside the Information Commons. This vigil was held to commemorate the innocent victims who lost their lives in the 22-day Israeli assault on Gaza, which began on 27th December 2008. The brutal Israeli offensive killed 1400 people, including over 400 children, and wounded over 5000 people. Reading out the names of all the people who perished in the conflict made us realize the dire
reality of the situation. They were real people: real men, real women and real children. However, the event reiterated that there is much to do. Of course, we can’t stop and solve the conflict in one day, but we can continue to put pressure on our University to play an active role in supporting the Union policy of End Israeli Occupation. The current situation is direIsrael refuses to lift the crippling blockade on Gaza, which has resulted in desperate shortage of basic necessities of life such as food, water and medicines, and is hampering the re-building process.
Write: Forge Press, Union of Students, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TG Email: letters@forgetoday.com Please include your name, course and year of study. We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
The Palestine Society at University of Sheffield hopes to educate people about the conflict, and to not only concentrate on the politics of the situation but also to show the rich culture and history of Palestine. The Palestine Society will be hosting a visit for Palestinian students in March. If you would like to get involved in this event or any other events, please find us on facebook and join our mailing list. Yours, Raisa Ahmed Medicine Third year
Which TV show would you most like to win?
Kenneth Allan Structural Engineering First year
Luke Palfreeman Japanese Language Second year
Hai-Fen Wu Educational Studies Postgraduate
Nina Armin Science and Engineering Foundation year
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? It’d help me pay of my student loan without getting a job.
Eggheads, because if you win it’s something prestigious rather than something silly.
I have no idea. The shows are very different here. In my country, it’s more funny and less serious.
Takeshi’s Castle, because I like that sort of thing much better than singing.
modules have been dropped, and there are significant staffing gaps in essential areas of the core of our School’s curriculum. Filling gaps will not do, especially for those who are entering into their third year, are half way through a PhD or a parttime postgrad course; the new staff employed with a cut of the £700k will need training and will inevitably have to settle in before they have an effect on the quality of the School. Further, the point may be raised of why the original staff had to go if the money for staffing was in existence. Many within the School will see the recent losses of excellent staff as an issue of sacrifice: for the recently-completed Jessop West building which is our new home, for Dominic Shellard’s balancing of the books, for restructuring according to a ‘Faculty’ system, and of old, expensive staff, for new, cheap blood. I fear the cut-rate infusion will not keep the School of English in health; in fact, I am concerned about terminal decline. The stop-gap measure of deploying part-time postgraduate tutors (some of whom have been, some would say, inappropriately promoted to actually convening modules) cannot help to stem the haemorrhaging of vital talent and ability from the School Furthermore, such sticking plasters consist of disgruntled, underpaid, and exploited students, who are unable to patch the wound. Tom Hastings, Union Councillor
for the School of English, is deluded; the forthcoming money will not serve to replace the staff who have been coerced or forced out. Those staff were an essential part of the identity of the School, and their flair and originality will not be replicated unless they return. Further, it is unlikely that all empty posts will be filled, and when they are filled they will be taken by inexperienced staff who cost less than their predecessors. Perhaps one of the most salient points to remember here is that the University (and, by implication, the Faculty) funded a massivelyexpensive redevelopment (Jessop West) to rehouse the School, and other departments. This money could have been used to save staff, and attract even better ones. From my discussions with other postgrads and more junior students, the student body would be happier in the knowledge that they will graduate from a reputable university with a concern for excellent quality teaching, rather than being able to brag about an architecturallysignificant building that houses a skeleton staff. So for our “value addeds”, and so for the School’s research agenda, a fond reminiscence of better times, cruelly surpassed. Yours, Anon School of English Postgraduate
‘Poor turnout’ at Societies Showcase not caused by rebuilding work Dear Forge, I am writing to clarify the article ‘Poor turnout at Union Showcase’ that was written in Issue 18 of Forge Press (page 2). The article states that the “poor turnout” was blamed on the Union rebuild. In actual fact, when asked about the turnout at Societies Showcase, I said that the Societies Committee would have liked it if more people had come along but that the feedback from those that were there was excellent. When further probed specifically about the building work, I simply stated that it could have been one of a number of factors why the turnout wasn’t as high as hoped, as last year we were able to use the concourse to help advertise with some performances from societies. I am looking forward to the new Union building being completed. Despite the criticisms that the rebuild may be facing by some, I personally feel that it will help the Union to remain at the top of the game and continue to win awards for being the best Union in the country. I feel that the rebuild will have a particularly positive effect for societies, with new spaces being created for their use.
It is also worth pointing out that societies have been asked for ideas and contributions as to what they would like to gain from the rebuild, and these are being taken into consideration when planning the space in the Source area. Finally, I would like to respond to Bob Tyler’s comment that “There could have been more societies performing. It didn’t show its true potential.” As pointed out by the article’s author Andre Nunn, the show was three hours long. The Societies Committee would have loved to incorporate more performances into the show, however we were simply unable to find the time to fit any more in. I agree that we may not have been able to show the full potential of the Union’s societies, however this is not easy to do when there are over 250 societies. Later in the year we shall be recognising some of these societies in the Activities Awards, however it is always going to be difficult to demonstrate and praise fully all of the talent on display when there is so much going on. Yours, Kabir Nepal Societies Committee Chair
Got something to say? Read Forge Press online and comment on articles at www.forgetoday.com
10
www.forgetoday.com // comment@forgetoday.com
COMMENT
Editorials Government has let students down over university financing
O
h, what a terrible mess the Higher Education sector is in. First the Student Loans Company fouls up, leaving thousands of students out of pocket for months and months - meaning many faced daily struggles to stock the fridge and to pay the bills. Then it transpires that they’re not the only ones who are broke: the universities are too. Sheffield severed ties with more than 300 members of staff to save £13m, Leeds Met got a slapped wrist for spending millions on sponsoring professional sport teams, including the National Ballet (how sophisticated), meanwhile London Met came up with a clever way to bring in the bucks by inventing hundreds of imaginary students. But in times of need you can always rely on the Government - just ask the bankers. Or not - eek! Enter Lord Mandy and his pal David Lammy. Rather than bailing out the universities they decided to take more away. To the tune of £1billion. This is a blatant sign that the debate about increased fees is a dead one. The Government has continued to show that it is not interested in listening to students concerns over fee rises as the consequences of their savage cuts will lead us down the road of lifting the cap. It is an absolute scandal that Parliament has continued to negate the issue.
Despite the doom and gloom we can all take inspiration from the achievements and endeavours of our fellow University students, past and present . We all know about the rise of ‘Golden girl’ Jessica Ennis, including the fact she has now accrued every University award going; the career of inline skater Jenna Downing is every much a fascinating equal. Similarly the drive and ambition shown by entrepreneur Adrian Osula is highly commendable. Both Ennis and Downing say that their experiences at this University helped them to get to where they are today. So, yes, the future for universities is looking a bleak one but you should seek to make the most of your time here. The Union of Students has once again been rated as the best in the country. This accolade is representative of the hard work put in by so many, enhancing the student experience. Forge Press Editor, Media Hub, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TG, forgepress@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Higher Education set to suffer amid visa hysteria Restricting places for international students would be damaging to the culture - and coffers - of UK universities
Olivia Morley TOP OF THE AGENDA Some believe they are dished out as frequently and subconsciously as union flyers on the Concourse. Truth be told, there is indeed a growing number of international students joining UK universities. Almost 1.5million student visas were handed out by the Labour Government in the past few years, a staggering number indeed. The University of Sheffield boasts just under 3,700 international and non-EU students from 120 different countries.
Universities are facing bigger deficits
Labour now vow to “crack down” on the “rampant abuse of the foreign student visa regime”, saying that one visa being issued every two minutes is too much.
Perhaps there should be some tightening, but are we forgetting the importance of international students in the money-minded Higher Education sector? In the case of Newcastle University, some of their overseas students pay £13,765 a year to study. Putting myself in the shoes of a university vicechancellor, I would be stupid to say no. Little may we realise, but international students bring in huge revenue to British universities, so much so that they probably would be unable to function properly without them. After the Christmas Day bomber, worries over the relaxation of the rules reached crescendo. But there are always rules which cause division. Damaging relationships with international students would have more than financial repercussions, though. Cultural bonds, influence and understanding which often comes with overseas students will also be lost, and the future of our universities may well be in jeopardy. Foreign students are now becoming alienated and essentially demonised. But in the eyes of a nationalist, this might be justified. We are officially out
of recession, but many universities still face rejecting a record number of applicants this summer. So in the view of some people, cutting more places for British pupils and handing them to foreign students who pay higher fees will not sit well.
Cultural bonds and influence will be lost It is a shame, but the universities are left with little choice. They are now more focused on financial gain, cultural interlinks and benefits which come with foreign students, meaning British pupils are no longer primed for British university places. Those in secondary education in Britain must work as hard they can. Those who put the most effort in are more likely to be accepted on a university course than those who don’t. And rightly so. In addition, if we as a nation continue to alienate our foreign students, fewer will be obliged to want to study here. No one wants
Art: Mark Mackay
to come to a new country and have a finger pointed at them. On arriving at university I found it quite intimidating, and was definitely out of my comfort zone for a little while. I can only imagine the upheaval international students are put through. Sheffield is great in that it does its very best to welcome all foreign students with all sorts of orientation programmes in intro week. It is sad, though, to think that this may just be on offer for such students to pass on their stories of success back home, encouraging friends and family to apply to the University and ultimately gain it more revenue. But, universities are facing bigger deficits than ever, which would be made worse with fewer , foreign students applying and paying inflated fees. Foreign students have not just benefited us financially, but allow us multiple opportunities to engage in cultures which make universities such as Sheffield an enriching and influential institution. Overseas students contribute greatly to this country. And without them, our universities would not be where they are today.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // comment@forgetoday.com
11
COMMENT
I’d sip cocktails Risks too high over hard graft to chase dream
Reaching for the stars is better than having Your dream won’t last forever - a degree is to scrimp and save after graduation something you can always fall back on Georgina Burkoff
Emma Crowe
When I was 10 I wanted nothing more in the world than to be a hairdresser. That dream was shattered when I accidentally removed the hair from all of my dolls, which led me to believe this was possibly not the career path for me. Ten years on, I’m studying for a Journalism degree and the dream has somewhat changed. Like most aspiring journalists, especially nowadays when jobs are few and far between, I’d give anything for a chance to begin my career by being offered a position at a toppaying, world-renowned magazine. But does this mean I would leave the comfort of university life if the opportunity came knocking? In a word, yes! If you were able to avoid the stress of competing with those who achieved the same degree as you, wouldn’t you do the same? With so many people gaining degrees, some in subjects as diverse as Madonna Studies, Pig Enterprise Management and Knitwear, are the degrees we leave university with even still relevant? This is the question Sheffield student MaryJess Leaverland is asking herself after over 70 million watched her win China’s version of The X Factor. Should she leave university to launch a career as a pop star? You often hear celebrities talk about their “big break”. If I was able to leave university to pursue a
So I Want To Sing To The Stars winner Mary-Jess Leaverland has decided to leave university for now in order to pursue a record deal. It sounds like the stuff chick flicks are made of doesn’t it? Girl wows exotic nation; follows her dream; lives happily (and wealthily) ever after. However, the harsh truth is that competition is abundant and opportunities are rare, so dreams like hers usually remain dreams forever. As a mature student, I’ve lived in the real world for several years and, apologies for being the voice of reason, but the fact is that eventually we all have to accept the battlefield of adulthood. Dreams are pretty, but we can only put off real life for so long. Once we leave university we have to let our heads have at least an equal standing with our hearts. Only a very privileged few ever become that glittering girl in the spotlight, and they normally come from an already spot-lit background. Of course there can be exceptions, such as Emma Watson, whose decision to continue with the Harry Potter films instead of going to university right away has meant she is now the highest paid actress in Hollywood. However, in Leaverland’s case one needs to be cruelly realistic – no matter that she won in front of an audience of millions, we have never heard of this show in the West. She’s still
career in journalism, I would jump at the chance to learn on the job and I would say more often that not, it is worth the risk.
Don’t let the norms of society restrain you Just take a look at the top earners of 2009. Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, aged 20, pocketed a whopping £12.8million last year alone. How many students would pass up the chance to travel the world, buy whatever they desired, and ultimately have the money to still work, but also play in copious amounts? If you think it is more important to continue with your studies and to leave university with a degree, but risk having no job upon graduation, then my response would be that you only live once. If that dream job comes
Art: Natasha Maisey knocking, consider your options. Potentially moving back home with a mindnumbingly dull job whilst searching constantly for the career you studied towards. Or alternatively, you could be swarming in success, with windows opening left right and centre. Obviously don’t make any rash decisions. Fleeing the country without warning for example could be a slight issue with the people you’re close to, if only because you didn’t offer to take them along for the ride. But don’t let the norms of society restrain you. If an offer comes up, grab it with both hands. Who knows. Maybe in a year’s time I’ll be looking back at my peers in third year who were foolish enough to stick with their studies, sipping a cocktail on a sunbed in Los Angeles and awaiting the arrival of Brad Pitt for an interview in OK! magazine.
D.A.R.T.S.
at square one here, and to make it big she will need to break our market. She is obviously intelligent and by studying Chinese and Music she would have had a good degree that would have given her a comfortable and exciting future for the rest of her life.
Your degree in itself is a fantastic opportunity Is the off-chance that she is what the music industry is looking for right now really worth risking a prosperous future for? She could easily have pursued a musical career after she had graduated. No ‘dream chance’ could convince me to leave university, particularly as easy access to our Higher
Education system may not exist in a few years. Every day I am surrounded by people who don’t take their course seriously, despite the fact that new government proposals will mean that in the 2010/11 academic year 300,000 home students will be turned away, and many people are likely to be simply priced out of university. Don’t assume that your degree is an everyday thing you will always be able to undertake, because it’s unlikely to be the case. You are very lucky your degree in itself is a fantastic opportunity which will bring you many opportunities in the future. When you get out into the real world you’re going to be amazed how important it is to have that simple piece of paper.
Forge Press takes its satirical aim
WATCH ME CRANK IT, WATCH ME ROLL
WORKING HARD
SAVING PENNIES
A room full of cheesy pop and sweaty students isn’t everyone’s idea of a good night out. In fact, the very idea of having a vodka and coke knocked all over you while the people around you ‘superman’ to Soulja Boy is enough to turn most people to drink. Alone. At home.
It hasn’t taken the builders long to see the perks of working on our Union. Cut-price papers. Fair share of eye candy. And now, cheap lager in Bar One to polish off a busy day. You’d have thought the hard hats and high-vis vests would suggest they weren’t students. Still, they slipped past security during exam time to enjoy a £1.70 pint over the live football. Fair play.
You’d think a £17k salary would be enough pay for full-price bus fares. But Union Activities Officer Claire Monk was set on getting her £1 student return last week. The bemused driver wanted to charge her an extortionate full price of £1.30 when she produced her green Ucard. But wily Claire haggled hard for that 30p saving. Every little helps.
But it seems some are so desperate to “superman that ho” with their drunken chums at the Union that they’ve resorted to making fake tickets. Call us cynical but for a night of ’90s pop, handing over £3.50 of our own money is about as much effort as we’re prepared to go to.
Art: Natasha Maisey
12
www.forgetoday.com // comment@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
COMMENT
Let’s talk about sex before we try burlesque 4Moulin
Rouge-themed club night helped spice up Sexy Week message 4But less titillating activities would benefit those with body image issues
Art: Michael Westwood
Emily Cresswell
Our Union’s latest initiative to hammer in the sexual health message was Sexy Week. Seven days devoted to burlesque-themed nights out and free johnnies. An entire week encouraging us to think more about sex. And am I complaining? Hell no. I’m as happy as a kid in a candy store. Or, to use a more accurate analogy, I’m as happy as me in Ann Summers. The week is intended to encourage safe sex without bombarding us with sterile information. Sexual health with the sexy left in. But do university students have much left to learn about sexual health, or being sexy? I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned how poppers work. I’ve learned that I can put a condom on a dildo better than some straight girls. And a very nice person from the
Welfare Committee showed me how two quick cuts can transform a condom into a helpful aid for oral sex; a cheap and cheerful alternative to shelling out for dental dams. However the week can be criticised, it’s certainly been a success in that sense. Importantly, people are talking about the issues. Proof of that was evident in the ladies’ room in Bar One during the chlamydia testing on Monday evening, as women stood at the mirrors, doing their makeup while cheerily discussing their urine samples.
The sexed up student stereotype seems dead
Which is good - if we can talk about chlamydia without shame, we lose the stigma that stops people from getting STIs treated, which means less people are passing them round. The problem is, wellmeaning though the free
testing and warnings to always make sure condoms are on properly may be, with the temptations of the cheap alcohol and the ubiquitous lacy skirts and stilettos of a Moulin Rougethemed Population boring into our booze-addled minds, will this good advice be forgotten? Well, actually, it seems not. According to a Forge Press sex survey, we’re a pretty safe lot. Most respondents have had only one sexual partner since starting University, and almost a quarter have had none. Meanwhile, over a quarter have had unprotected sex, a tiny proportion have done this knowing that they have an STI. With hardly anyone confessing to the stereotypical staples like the one-night stand or getting pissed and forgetting who you’ve slept with, the sexed up student stereotype seems to be dead. All those people who thought their number of sexual conquests was “below average” may well be wrong. So with the “safe sex” message seemingly
redundant, the “be sexy” sentiment certainly got a lot of coverage, particularly at Friday’s Give it a Go burlesque workshop. Burlesque, as the instructor vivaciously explained, is a form of striptease originating in the 1940s Really? So, it’s not a form of parody theatre based on stock situations popular in the late 19th-century that mutated into satirical music hall performances and was only associated with striptease in 20thcentury America? If you say so. This was the subject of a lot of controversy, with arguments debating empowerment and objectification, including a scathing argument on Facebook which ended in accusations of harassment. This controversy is not without cause. The theory behind it to encourage women to recognise how sexy they are - is commendable, but all of the women who turned up appeared to be the attractive, confident types who probably haven’t had body image issues since puberty. The women attracted to
burlesque are those who already know how sexy they are. Those who actually need to learn to celebrate their own bodies are too intimidated to try it.
I can put a condom on a dildo better than some And what about the men outside the (proverbial, not literal) door? Obviously most women are more comfortable with all-female classes, but perhaps there are men who’d like a class to themselves. Or, men whose partners would like a class for them. After all, teaching a woman to confidently present herself sexually can be useful, but menloving women deserve to be entertained too. A body image workshop sounds less exciting than a burlesque class, but it’s likely that more people, men as well as women, most of whom would really benefit from it, would turn up.
I’m not saying give up burlesque. But a more relaxed workshop would be useful, if not essential, to run alongside it. Informative events did seem limited in comparison to more sexualised ones. But, while not heavily publicised, the information was good. The LGBT sexual health workshop was thorough and, refreshingly, was delivered by someone who really knew what he was talking about, and seemed genuinely empathetic, rather than sterile and patronising. The return of sexual advice drop-in Sexplored is back to benefit all students for the rest of term. And even the stall by the box office was full of useful information. Plus, they had dental dams, which are rarely given out for free. Flavoured ones, no less. Yum. Words like “trivial” and “promiscuous” are still thrown around too much. We can all benefit from thinking and talking about sex, for our own enjoyment if nothing else. Sexy Week has got people talking and thinking. And do I feel sexy? Yes. I damn well do.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // comment@forgetoday.com
13
COMMENT
Sarky email remarks show lecturers lead dull lives Packet of Werther’s Original are meagre distraction from tedious essays Nina McArthur
It’s gone ten o’clock. It’s dark outside. You can hear screams of laughter as friends head out for a funfilled night. And where are you? Stuck in front of your laptop reading an essay for the hundredth time and finding yet another reference that you didn’t write down, having to sift back through the Star Catalogue to find it. Sound familiar? Well, it’s the same for our poor, tired lecturers. After a hectic day in the library, they get home and are stuck in their leatherbacked office chair all night. With just a cup of tea for company, they have to plough through essay upon essay on the same subject from behind their goldrimmed, perfectly-mounted spectacles. You can only imagine
their frustration when the opening titles to University Challenge chime away on the television, crestfallen that they can’t go and watch it. But never fear. Our academic stewards have a stress-release technique up their sleeve. Just like we might glide the mouse over to the Facebook window, they slide their cursor over to MUSE to send a quick email to their clever online buddies.
The time has come for lecturers and teachers to fight back ‘Look what someone wrote. Fancy putting that down!’ Then again, I think I’d be depressed reading variant versions of my essay two hundred times over. But should it be the case that they get to make
fun of the hours we spend shut away in our rooms, drastically changing and altering words on a page? I remember when my second-ever assessment was returned to me and my tutor said: “You obviously got complacent with your first mark and got sloppy.” He didn’t even know me so how could he say I was complacent? Maybe all this is part of a lecturers’ movement to take a stand against us; a final uprising to every single embarrassment they have ever experienced from us as students, no matter how small or insignificant. Whether it was slipping a joke that they’d spent hours trying to come up with into a lecture only to receive blank looks and an awkward silence, or being subject to sniggers as their evident lack of technological knowledge was illustrated in their failure to combat the use of PowerPoint or the projector. Either way, maybe the time has come for lecturers and teachers – even those supply teachers back at school that you took advantage of – to stand up
straight and fight back. These lecturers won’t be walked over any longer. They will get laughs with their well researched and constructed jokes, and they won’t get laughed at over their struggle to get the computer to work. We students don’t miss a chance to have a good laugh when something goes wrong – a necessary
expulsion of the stress and strains of student life – but we do appreciate quality teaching. Despite our moans and groans over how much work we’ve got piling up and the limited amount of time we have to enjoy ourselves, we do respond to good lectures and helpful tutors. When you’ve spent a long time on an assessment,
it’s hurtful to think your lecturer is making sneaky comments on behind your back. But you’ve got to admit, the thought of sitting in a high-backed office chair with piles of unmarked student papers next to a mug of Earl Grey and an empty packet of Werther’s Original is a frightful one.
Extra year in student suburbia beats signing on Michael Hunter
Do you want to be a Union Officer? If you do, unlucky. Nominations closed last week. So, perhaps more pertinently, do you know what a Union Officer is? Well, they’re the micro-celebs of Sheffield Union. Seven Sheffield graduates and one undergraduate who have donated a year of their life to providing a voice for their peers. They’re a visible lot nowadays. Not just via gigantic posters looming over the Concourse, but also at the cutting edge of social networking. They blog and tweet away on
anything and everything; from the sounds of pneumatic drills emerging from the rebuild, to the pressing news of where a fresh batch of condoms can be pilfered. And when a 30p paper from the Union Shop or a Coffee Rev Iced Mocha isn’t enough to keep them occupied, a video-blog won’t be far away. In return for a year under the microscope, 2010’s successful candidates will pocket a £17k salary; a palatable enough figure to help live out 12 more months in student suburbia. Okay, so there are those 40-oddhour weeks trapped in a lofty office with only a giant-size print of yourself and your colleagues for company. And there are those interminable fortnightly debates at Union Council where you must resist wringing the neck of the upstart Union councillors who insist on talking and talking.
And importantly, eating into the time you and fellow Sabbs had set aside to film yourselves cooking a fish pie and uploading it to YouTube. Not content with mere discussion, they’ll persist until you’re forced to come back to next Council with another report. But it isn’t all bad. There’s always a chance to get away from it all with a Union scouting trip to the delightful settings of Northumbria or Warwick. Anyway, it beats signing on. And that’s what I’ll be doing in five months time if I can’t convince the Westmoreland Gazette that I’m good enough to justify £14k-ayear to be their Church Fête
Correspondent. More likely, you’ll bump into me down the job centre on West Street. And I can’t promise I won’t be wiggling my hips and whistling the tune to ‘Hot Stuff’ as I wait with cap in hand. For those of you who’ve had the foresight to try and sidestep the graduate job crush by bidding to become a Union Officer, a furious few weeks of campaigning beckons. But before you get ahead of yourselves planning a manifesto, you first need to come up with a catchy catch-line (ideally catchier than ‘catchy catchline’), and nurture a new, warmto-me
personality. After all, when I logged in to the polling station last year and mulled over my votes, Paul Tobin’s promise ‘to embed democracy at every level of our organisation’ was hardly ringing in my ears. Nor was Martin Bailey’s determination to ‘encourage better communication and increased loyalties to the Union using innovative technologies...’ well, you get the idea. All my fickle and limited memory could relay to me was ‘Tall Paul’ and ‘Bank on Bailey’, followed by a vague recollection of a Bummit hoodie with a chirpy smile, and a fun, frizzy head of hair respectively. So Piers Morgan needn’t tear out your soul on national telly. Rhyming and alliteration: the sure-fire way to Sabbatical success in a time rife with stereotypical student voting apathy.
14
ADVERTISEMENT
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010 www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
15
FEATURES
Head and shoulders above the rest Forge Press speaks to Jenna Downing, Sheffield graduate and inline skating world champion. “There always one girl from America (Heffernan), and we always end up battling it out against each other for first and second. So I was very happy to win as she is a good competitor.” Jenna said. Now 21, her lifetime ambition of becoming world champion has already been realised, but her passion and determination for the sport is clear. “I was seven when I first started and found out about a skatepark which was quite close to my house. I loved it trying out the ramps and tricks and things and gave me a brilliant buzz and I just kept going and I got into competitions and it went from there. “Everyone was quite excited that I was a girl skating and I was doing all these ramps as there aren’t many girls who do it at such a high level.” A year later, Jenna entered the world amateur championships in Holland finishing in 58th place. “The competition organiser then asked me to compete with pro women which I was absolutely terrified about. I actually won that competition so it was from then on that all my hopes and dream started coming true.” Jenna now competes all around the world after becoming the youngest female professional skater ever at 12 and the only professional female in Britain. She believes the sport is becoming a lot more popular all over in the UK and her one remaining ambition is to secure inline skating as an Olympic is
Oliver Hughes Jenna Downing has had to work hard to get to where she is today. Since her first taste of success at the age of eight, she went on to become the youngest female professional skater ever, aged just 12 and won her first world championship title at 19. Add to that modelling, acting and sports ambassador for the UK, and somehow managing to have the time to graduate with a 2:1 in Law from the University in 2009.
‘I’ve been brought up by a single mum and I’ve had to work really hard to get where i am’ Jenna Downing, Skater Just last week, the Barnsley born inline skater kicked off the new season with victory at Winter Clash in Berlin, one of the biggest events on the skating calendar, beating off stiff competition from American rival Fallon Heffernan in the process.
event. “It definitely used to be a lot bigger in America but now it’s getting really popular over here with all these new urban sports like BMX, skateboarding and inline skating. “I’d like to see the sport become more mainstream. Hopefully become an Olympic sport one day so that’s what I’m working on now with some organisations in Liverpool and some universities such as Liverpool John Moors. “That’s my one dream I’ve got left now which I’d like to fulfil and compete at the Olympics.” F o r Jenna, the balance between education and the sport she loves was always difficult, but her motivation to ensure neither would falter at the expense of the other was evident. “It definitely was tough but it has always been important for me to maintain an education
whilst practising in my sport because I’ll not be able to skate forever and I’ve always enjoyed studying.” “I studied Law so it wasn’t an easy degree. My time management skills had to be on top form and if I know I’m going away on competition I’d take my work with me or I’d put a lot of time aside to make sure I got my studying done. I never wanted to fall behind on that.” Whilst studying Jenna lived in halls in her first her, but found it difficult to get to skateparks in Liverpool and Leeds and moved back home for the last two years. “I’ve never really drank a lot or partied a lot because for my sport I have to keep very fit. “But I did enjoy my time at university and did enjoy my degree. It’s a brilliant university and I’m really glad that I went there. “So happy now I have achieved the top in both my sport and studies because I can’t skate if I get injured or for any reason if I don’t skate I’ve always got my Law degree to fall back on.” Jenna was Sports
Ambassador for the UK in 2004 and puts a lot of time and effort into sharing her experiences with youngsters in the hope of inspiring kids to future sporting success and since 2007 has been a “Sporting Champion” for Sport England.
‘I hope I can inspire them to pursue their dreams and to take up sport’ Jenna Downing, Skater “I go out with a lot of disengaged young people and share with them my stories of success and hardship in the hope that I can inspire them to pursue their dreams and to take up sport and prove that anyone can succeed in sport.” She is also part of the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, an athlete mentor on the Respect Athlete Mentor Programme and Sky Living for Sport youth volunteering projects for Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust. “It’s not been easy for me, I’ve been brought up by a single parent mum and I’ve had to work really hard to get where I am today. “So the whole point of these schemes are for me to give back and to show young people you can achieve your dreams.”
16
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FEATURES
The two-wheel Lucie Boase Bells are trilling; bike lights are flashing impatiently and everyone is resplendent in reflective gear. It’s 6pm on a Friday night, and a group of cyclists are gathering below Sheffield Town Hall’s clock in the nose-nipping cold. As the minutes pass, the group swells to a mass of around fifty people. Then a cry goes up, and the shining fleet moves off in smooth synchronisation. “Why are you all on bikes?”, comes a familiar pedestrian call. Well, this is Critical Mass, a bid by cyclists to ‘reclaim our streets’ from other, more aggressive road-users. The idea is to bring together a group of cyclists to promote cycling in cities, and to enjoy the roads together. For one night a month the rule of the road becomes a reinvention of the Animal Farm maxim; ‘two wheels good, four wheels bad’. The greater the number of ‘massers’, the better; as Sheffield Critical Mass’s Facebook group informs me, ‘a critical number are required for the mass to be able to safely occupy a space on the road, and also to project a powerful image of cycling to other people’. Critical Mass is not a Sheffield or even UK-centric event. San Francisco saw the first official Critical Mass take place in 1992, with cyclists riding together as a group to draw attention to the city’s perceived unfriendliness to two-wheelers. Now Critical Mass takes place in hundreds of cities across the world, with the number of participants varying hugely. Sheffield’s contribution is relatively measly; a twice-yearly event in Budapest attracts up to 80,000 cyclists. The event has variously been described as a protest; a social movement; and a celebration. Massers insist that it is a spontaneous gathering, not an organised demonstration. This convenient legal get-out clause means that Critical Mass events can take place without advance notification of the police. Despite this, clamp-downs on Critical Mass events have occurred on numerous occasions. If the police decide that the ride is a protest, they are known to implement tactics of intimidation to discourage people from participating. Traditionally Critical Mass has a non-hierarchical, or rhizomal, structure, meaning that there are no leaders, and the route is decided on the spur of the moment by whoever is currently at the front of the ride. This can make coordinating the direction somewhat difficult. Some rides have taken to
agreeing on a route beforehand. Predictably then, it’s hard to find someone to tell me more about what Critical Mass is and why it takes place. I manage to track down Oli who administers the event’s Facebook group. He tells me that the aim of Critical Mass is “simply to celebrate cycling as a peaceful, social and environmental way to get around”. So far, so good. But as we progress along on our ride, I start to feel more and more uneasy. At one point, we run into difficulty: different people have tried to influence the ride’s direction coming off the Arundel Gate roundabout, and the group has been split into two. I am in a convoy of about eight people when we realise that the bulk of people haven’t followed us off the roundabout – they’ve continued on round and back towards the Moor. We smirk a bit, aware that motorists are unlikely to be wildly impressed by our united cycle efforts if we prove we can’t even, ahem, remain united, then we ride back to join the others. Along the way we commit the cardinal sin of cycling on a pedestrian-only area. This is just one of many incidents during the ride which convince me that we’re doing the opposite of setting a good example, of promoting responsible bikeriding.
Critical Mass is is a bid by cyclists of ‘reclaim our streets’ Apart from pavement-cycling, red light-crossing takes place, along with reckless riding and motorist-baiting by a couple of renegades whose actions are not representative of the group proper. Not-in-charge Oli later says, “the vast majority of drivers seem to have no problem with Critical Mass. Inevitably though, there are some who see cars as the only legitimate road-users and get irritated by having to share the road with lots of cyclists. “Critical Mass is about showing people that cycling is basically a much nicer way to travel through the city; it doesn’t really make sense for people participating in it to actively try to annoy motorists”. It’s hard to tell whether the horn-honking emanating from cars and buses is a sign of appreciation or disapproval. I overhear someone remark, “I know the idea of Critical Mass is to turn people on to cycling, but I feel like we’re just putting their
As cycling becomes the green lifestyle choi Mass, a group riding event which aims to cr backs up”. No more so than when we pile onto the Hunters Bar roundabout and proceed to block four lanes of traffic by encircling it. It feels wonderfully liberating, but the cars waiting to get onto the roundabout lurch towards us every time we come round, and suddenly the atmosphere feels a little fraught. Finally we come off and make our way back down Ecclesall Road. There’s a police riot van behind us, and when we reach the underpass, we find them parked on the roundabout’s verge. Two police officers climb out and come down to talk to us. We’re slightly riled, but it transpires that all they want to tell us is that everyone should be visible, and no-one should be
jumping red lights. When I raise my fears with Oli that what we’re doing is illegal and perhaps should only be permitted to take place if the police say so, he responds, “one thing that defines Critical Mass is that it’s just an established meeting point and time – there isn’t any formal organisation or planning (beyond publicity) which goes into it. There’s really nothing for the police to sanction or bless. “In any case, hundreds of thousands of cars clog up roads across the country every single day, and fifty-or-so people on bikes isn’t a particularly significant disruption in comparison” As more and more people aspire towards environmentally friendly lifestyles, cycling is becoming
an increasingly popular form of transport. Conservative Leader David Cameron is one highprofile proponent. But criticism has been mounting for what many people see as being ‘bike bandits’: those who seem to believe they are above ordinary traffic law. Cyclists are known to disregard aspects of road safety, including stopping at red lights, giving way and signalling properly. But while cyclists in cities are generally understood to be social-pariahs, I feel that my undesirability as a road-user is equated – nay, surpassed – by the smugness which emanates from my every pore every time I speedily freewheel downhill all the way to uni. Along the way, we exchange
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
17
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FEATURES
The non-stop rise of the fixed-wheel
l revolt
Joseph Hayes Fixed wheel enthusiast
It’s official: fixed-wheel bicycles are making a culty comeback. From enjoying exclusive usage by City bicycle messengers and road racers, fixed-wheels are now the smartest accessory for cyclists both sides of the Atlantic and sales of fixed-wheel frames are booming. In their most basic definition, a fixed-wheel bicycle is a bicycle without a freewheel. This means that when the wheel turns, the pedals will turn; if one pedals backwards, one will go backwards. It is a direct drive - one that allows the rider to feel and control every small movement that the bike makes.
Once you ride a fixed-wheel, you may never want to go back to freewheeling
oice of many, Forge Press joins Critical create greater harmony between road-users. pleasantries in the way that only absolute strangers with one minor thing in common can. People are surprisingly friendly; one guy cycles up to me to tell me he likes my bike, before riding off and saying to his friends “It’s a nice reason to talk to people”. Another remarks sagely on my prissy bike-basket: “You could have brought us all sandwiches in that!”. Towards the end, a fixed-wheel enthusiast pedals up to me. “It’s a good way to see the city, isn’t it?”. And I have to agree, because it is: it may be freezing cold (at times I’m tempted to cut and run/ride back home) but the sky is clear, the moon is full and beautifully bright, and the atmosphere is pleasingly jovial.
The pace of the ride is calm and unhurried; mostly we amble along quite slowly. Most of all, it’s just lovely to cycle with others. Often I feel I’m on such a lonely mission – a single cyclist surrounded by armies of cars desperate to drive me off the road. When I catch sight of another cyclist – often red-faced, battling a steep hill with a bus snaking menacingly up behind - the temptation is wave in solidarity; here I’m surrounded by a crowd of them. Unlike, say, the Dutch, we seem to be a nation of walkers, resolutely pavement-bound as if every forward step exists solely to further reinforce the belief that walking is good for you. It’s unrealistic to hope that
overnight, huge swathes of pedestrians and motorists would become evangelistic bike-riders like me in some sort of Biblical Critical Mass conversion. Especially since cycling in cities is often such an irritating and hazardous affair. Cycle lanes are inadequate and often end abruptly, leaving the cyclist with no option than to walk their bike along the pavement; cyclist deaths have been steadily climbing year on year. In Oli’s opinion, what is needed is “a more holistic shift, where cycling is seen as the primary wheeled form of transport. Fossilfuel reliant vehicles simply don’t have a long-term future. The sooner we acknowledge that, the better off our lives will be for it.” Photo: Adam Harley
Fixed-wheel bikes require a considerable amount of skill to manage; indeed, the technique and practice involved arguably outstrips what is generally needed to master cycling on an ordinary bicycle. In order to slow down or stop a fixed-wheel bike, the rider must resist the turning cranks. A rider can also lock the rear wheel and skid to slow down or completely stop on a fixed-wheel bike. This manoeuvre is sometimes known as a ‘skid stop’, and works when the rider moves their weight forward slightly, off the rear wheel while in motion and pulling up on the pedals using clipped pedals or toe clips and straps. The most obvious downside is the extra physical exertion which is required to use fixed-wheels. While most cyclists take for granted being able to change to an easier gear to tackle a hill, and letting the bicycle do the work while they coast down long slopes, fixed-wheelers cannot depend on this luxury. A fixedwheel cyclist never rests – to keep the bicycle in motion, they must be constantly pedalling. For these reasons, a fixedwheel seems an unlikely choice of transport considering Sheffield’s hilly terrain. As bicycles have developed to accommodate the demands of different gradients and a more punishing usage, it is received information to most that a bicycle’s quality is reflected by the number of its gears. Part of the beauty of a fixedwheel is its humble
minimalism, which by comparison makes normal bicycles, trussed up as they are with gear cables and chain-rings, seem bulky and unbecoming. The growing fixed-wheel trend reflects a renewed interest in pared-down cycling and a return to a simpler age. Will Self recently described his new fixed-wheel as being “very Zen”. In Sheffield the number of fixed bikes has rapidly been increasing, especially in the last 6 months. Back in 2008 they were a relatively rare sight; now it’s common to see two or more every day. It’s hard to pin down exactly why these bikes are so attractive; different aspects of the culture associated with them appeal to different people. Fixed-wheels can be used in bizarre sports like cycle ball and bike polo for example. Their suitability for performing tricks is also recognised, such as track stands, a manoeuvre in which the bicycle can be held stationary, balanced upright with the rider’s feet on the pedals. Competitive races involving fixed gear bicycles including New York City’s Monstertrack alleycat are also popular. In Sheffield, ‘fixies’ are known to race each other down Ecclesall Road. Many feel switching to a fixedwheel is an easy choice - they are lightweight and very low maintenance. Couriers, who brought the track bike to the streets, find it’s the fastest way to get through heavy traffic, since the direct drive means quick starts and maintained speeds.
Fixed-wheels are an unlikely choice for residents of hilly Sheffield Increasingly, and not altogether positively, fixed-wheel bicycles are becoming a fashion accessory. But while the promotion of cycling is a brilliant advancement, the desire to give off a certain image may come at the detriment of your safety and that of others around you. Fixed-wheels require proper handling and a constant awareness of what is happening around you. Standoffishness and macho bravado often accompanies fixedwheels, but it’s important to get past this. Anyone can enjoy and appreciate a nice bike, and it’s a great means for getting around the city. Once you have learnt to ride a fixed-wheel you never forget, and you may never go back to freewheeling.
18
ADVERTISEMENT
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
19
FEATURES
Quidco.com was started as a distraction from its founder’s university research project, but the site has now become a multi--million-pound operation.
Photo: Sam Bennett
Making millions on the web
Mikey Smith
Paul Nikkel is every inch a student geek made good. He’s squeezed me into his busy schedule, but only if our conversation can take place over Skype. Landlines are so very twentieth century. Originally from Canada, he and wife Jen set up “cashback co-operative” website Quidco.com in 2005, as a distraction from his University of Sheffield research project. “As with anything you’re often procrastinating,” he says. “I’m not trained as a business person, I wasn’t studying business either.” He’s not kidding. His PhD in “Military Vocabulary in Near Eastern Texts”, a sort of biblical lexicography, is about as far from business studies as you can get. “We call ourselves a web cashback co-operative.” He explains: “When someone purchases an item online there’s often a referral commission that’s paid to the advertiser. We take those referral commissions and instead of keeping them as an advertiser we pass them back to Quidco members. “We call ourselves a cooperative because we use the first £5 that a member makes in a year to support the site and keep it running, and the rest of the commissions go 100 per cent back to the member who generated them.” Quidco members are expected to spend over £200m this year, using the site to claim back £22m from major online retailers including HMV, Marks and
Forge Press speaks to a University of Sheffield graduate whose student pipe dream has become one of internet shopping’s big successes. Spencer and lastminute.com. Mobile phone companies give some of the biggest rewards, with Vodafone offering £130 cashback for taking up any of their contracts.
After hours of searching I have yet to find a negative comment about Quidco
Not satisfied with giving the users some of their money back, Nikkel is on a mission to give them back some power, too. “I think what we’re seeing is that online consumers are getting smarter and smarter. Back in previous advertising ecosystems where the mass media played a role in pushing out advertising and consumers were very passive. Now consumers are very active. “I’ve always believed it’s really important to say “You know what? These guys are smarter than us. “Our members know more than us. They’re much better at knowing what’s going on out there,
so we need to respect them, and we need to be providing a service that treats them as equals. And I think that’s something that the new consumer is really sensitive to and looks for.” Nikkel sees a gulf of difference between the way the traditional high street operates and how online stores must operate. “I think [treating customers as equals] is a very tough mindset for traditional retailers. They always pay lipservice to supporting their customers, but rarely really follow through with it. “Everybody’s got a customer service nightmare story, I think that the traditional retailers are really stuck in that. Even Amazon, who have a great reputation for customer service, again seem to have a different kind of relationship with their customers. And that’s a cultural thing. “You have to go right into the base of the culture of a retailer and I think it’s harder to do for the old school retailers.” The free flow of ideas and opinions makes the internet a tricky place to build a business. Having worked on many a customer service helpline, I know how easy it is to lose faith in the firm you work for because the satisfied customers never call. Just the ones whose cookers haven’t turned up on time, or who
are angry that little Johnny’s Christmas present didn’t come with batteries. It’s the same online, except that the customers don’t just email a company to tell them their shortcomings, they post on forums, make facebook groups and send tweets, potentially telling the whole world of the injustice they have suffered at the hand of your evil organisation. It’s a bit like recordings of customer service complaints being broadcast on the radio 24 hours a day.
‘One of the hardest things is that Quidco seems too good to be true’ Paul Nikkel, entrepreneur The striking thing about Quidco is that after hours of searching I have yet to find a negative comment about the service. If there’s a catch, nobody’s found it yet. How have they managed to get it so right? “I think we’ve got some huge fans, and in the case where
people have had problems with Quidco I like to think we’re out there, online, in the places people go to talk with them about how to fix it. “One of the hardest things about Quidco is that it sounds too good to be true. Obviously there are a lot of very scammy things online, so when you see ‘you don’t need a credit card and it doesn’t cost you anything’, people’s ‘too good to be true side’ comes up. It’s funny to say we’ve got a business where in some ways the model is almost too attractive.” And although the management of the business moved to London in early 2008, the people who maintain that unblemished reputation still operate from Sheffield. “The London guys are all merchant facing, account management and sales, that kind of thing, and that’s grown quite a bit. “But we’re still in Sheffield where we have all the admin guys and our member support guys. We’re very happy to be in Sheffield, and really happy that we’ve been able to keep that connection as we’ve got quite a bit larger.” With former Friends Reunited director Michael Murphy joining the team this year, Quidco are set to join the big league. “It’s an interesting time right now, we’re certainly looking ahead and thinking we can get a lot bigger yet, both in terms of how many people use Quidco currently but also how many people are going to be shopping online a year or two from now. “We’re riding the right sort of wave, I think.”
20
ADVERTISEMENT
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010 www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
21
FEATURES
From gutter to the gallery: painting through the pain Forge Press meets Nick Spencer, a former homeless drug addict whose talent for pop artwork changed his life and helped him overcome a troubled childhood. Tim Lamden The persistent clang of metal slamming down upon metal was what it took to finally raise concern. It is 1982 and in a desolate yard behind a house in Scarborough eight-year-old Nick Spencer frantically digs his hammer into a can of corned beef. Poking a brittle lollipop stick into the crevice he has burrowed, the young boy picks out small clumps of the can’s treasured contents, feeding the mouth of his wailing little sister. The two of them were abandoned by their mother three days earlier. “I remember a lot of professionals suddenly being there and I remember going to my grandma’s and her saying ‘I’m not having the little brats’,” Nick recalls 27 years on. He has an astounding recollection of a life fraught with tragedy and drama, memories most would rather forget. In the 27 years since that fateful day in Scarborough he has battled crippling drug and alcohol addictions, spent bouts in prison and lived on the streets. He carries the scars from two stabbings as well a bullet lodged deep within his left leg, courtesy of a gun-wielding drunk in Blackpool.
He slept rough on Devonshire Green, living off loose change Now though, 35-year-old Nick is preparing to start work on a £1,100 commission from a London art collector. The collector previously purchased a unique portrait Nick had painted of iconic Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. This time around the connoisseur has requested a depiction of late punk rocker Dee Dee Ramone. This a realm of artistic endeavour Nick feels most comfortable in, it is a combination of his two greatest passions in life: art and music. “All my artwork is a lot of portraits of musicians. I just started painting who I like. I love The Who, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin,” Nick says. “For most kids, if they showed an inkling towards being good at painting their parents would get them some materials but I didn’t get any of that,” Nick remembers. “I’d open fag packets up from the inside to draw on and I’d get charcoal from the fire because I
Nick specialises in painting rock legends like Mick Jagger.
Nick’s portrait of Led Zeppelin star Robert Plant.
didn’t have a pencil.” This was the cold reality of Nick’s primitive artistry. Shortly after their mother abandoned them and their grandmother refused to take them, Nick and his sister were placed in the care of their father in Barnsley. Nick endured sustained physical abuse by his father for years, eventually running away at 14 to Scarborough and a return to the mother that had abandoned him six years earlier. The reunion was inevitably short-lived and by the age of 16 he was back in Barnsley with his volatile father. During his time in Scarborough though, Nick had been due to sit his GCSEs but days before his first exam his mother threw him out. “The only GCSEs I got were Art and English because they were coursework, I got two As,” Nick points out. “My mum threw me out because I drank a full bottle of whisky and I had to have my stomach pumped.” With his son back in Barnsley after a two-year hiatus, Nick’s father tightened his grip over the youngster in a manner which proved to be more catastrophic than ever.
Devonshire Green in the city centre, surviving off the loose change he could amass from hours of begging. It was during this time that he began visiting the Cathedral Archer Project, a drop-in centre on Campo Lane providing support to Sheffield’s homeless.
“I began plastering for my dad and in exchange for the work he gave me prescription painkillers and morphine. He got me taking three lots of three tablets everyday and I ended up hooked,” Nick recounts solemnly. From there Nick swiftly moved onto harder drugs and by the age of 17 he had sunk into a crippling heroin addiction, spending much of the next 15 years in and out of prison. In the solitude of incarceration he rekindled some of his boyhood creativity. “Prison was where I started drawing again,” Nick says. “Someone said ‘I like your drawing, do you do portraits?’ If I looked now at the first ones I did I’d laugh. But they were good enough for people to go ‘wow, look at that!’ So I started saying ‘look if you want my paintings go and get me some Subutex,’ which is a heroin-like substance.” In exchange for the drug, Nick would illustrate letters home for inmates and draw portraits of their loved ones. Outside of prison Nick was still struggling with a heroin addiction and by 2005 he was living in Sheffield. Over the next couple of years he was forced to sleep rough on
Nick endured sustained physical abuse for years Nick began taking art classes at the project and before long he was running the classes himself. From there onwards Nick’s artwork blossomed and it began garnering widespread interest. He recently sold two of his paintings to The Frog and Parrot pub in Sheffield for hundreds of pounds. “I was very nervous because I used to beg outside the door of The Frog and Parrot, I used to sit on the doorstep – it’s a good little spot. I used to get moved on and I thought ‘what if the owner remembers me?’,” Nick
remembers timidly approaching the pub in hope of a sale. “But the owner didn’t recognise me and he bought a painting I did of the Arctic Monkeys, he was really impressed. He recently bought another one I did of Joe Cocker.” With the support of the homeless project and his art, Nick has now been off drugs for nearly two years and has a flat of his own in Pitsmoor. He has already enjoyed two exhibitions of his work, one in Sheffield Cathedral and the other in Castle Market, and he promises there will be more to come. Nick is also embarking on a trip to Paris, as part of the college art course he has undertaken in a bid to reach university. It’s a remarkable progression from the child forced to unravel his mother’s discarded cigarette packets so that he could daub with pieces of coal from the fire. But this is a rebirth for the artist with a tortured past, only this time the uncertainty of the future excites him. “I’m sure I’ll have a breakthrough with my art. There’s something just about to come, I just have to keep painting though.”
22
www.forgetoday.com // lifestyle@forgetoday.com
Lifestyle
Fashion Food & Drink Health & Fitness Technology Sex & Relationships
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Hero of the fortnight Lady Gaga For winning three gongs at the 2010 Brits and flying the flag for weirdos everywhere.
From the Catwalk to the Student?
Hannah O’Connell & Keri O’Riordan look at student and celeb styles you can D Girly
Sophisticated
A sophisticated look is hard and often expensive to pull off ,however when done successfully it can almost be empowering. Tailoring and nudes are the more fail safe ways to achieve a sophisticated look. As shown by Anna Friel (below) who uses a simple cut nude dress, with silver embellishment in order to create a sophisticated night time look. This military inspired look from Chloé (left) uses sharp tailoring, which is brought up to date by a tapered leg. Our student achieves a sophisticated look by wearing a tailored dress in a tartan print. It is often difficult to look sophisticated in a print, but this student manages it by keeping her accessories to a minimum.
This Erdem number was not alone on the 2010 catwalks, which were full of nipped in waists, floral prints and polka dots. Clashing prints will bring any floral design to the fashion forefront, however you can still keep things simple like Lily Allen (below) in order to be bang on trend. The juxtaposition of bright colour and dainty prints means that it’s an easy to imitate, while also not putting too much of a dint in your overdraft. Finally the bias cut which helps give the impression of a tiny waist means that it will flatter almost any figure. This Student has taken a full skirt, which sits high on the waist to create an enviable hour glass shape, while incorporating a dainty purple floral print to bring it up to trend. If you want to make your own style a little girly, then just think of texture, colour and prints. Using different materials such as lace adds a richness to any outfit, while bright colours are also a way ushering in the summer weather.
Tailored cropped jacket, £55 Topshop. Cream bow-front stiletto, £54.99 Schuh. Red button front dress, £49 Jasmine Guiness available at www.very.co.uk.
Necklace £25 www.eclecticeccentricity.bigcartel. com, Dress £20 www.boohoo.com, Shoes £28 Topshop, Skirt £16 New Look, Top £10 New Look.
Edgy
Bora Aksu have epitomised edgy, with a Goth inspired collection. To take this look off the catwalk and into the mainstream, it’s all about giving your outfits a gothic edge, like Rihanna who has dialled down her leather off the shoulder dress with floral panels. Tees with emotive prints, such as running horses or bones will give any outfit an up to date edge. However, if you want to do something a bit more daring add a bit of leather, this student has given her skinny jeans and fur jacket a dark edge by wearing some calf high lace up boots. Lace up boots are big on the high street at the moment, with a different Doc Martin inspired design in every shop, and you can pick up a pair from about £35. Finally accessories can add an edge to even the tamest outfit. When choosing your edgy accessories try to imaging chain mail, or a dominatrix’s goody box and your probably along the right sort of track.
Rock print t-shirt, £14 New Look (above, top). Steve Madden ‘Corley’ boot, £36.56 available from www. nordstrom.com (above). Chain print body-con skirt, £25 Topshop.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
23
www.forgetoday.com // lifestyle@forgetoday.com
Gadget of the fortnight
Villain of the fortnight
Product of the fortnight
Puzzle Alarm Clock £19.99 Addicted to the snooze button? This puzzle alarm clock won’t turn off until it has been solved.
Vernon Kay Half of TV’s most perfect couple has admitted to sending dirty texts to other women. Shame on you.
Palmer’s cocoa butter £3.19 This classic is ultra-moisturising and really does fade stretch marks.
Highlights of... Sharrow Vale Road DIY
Vicky Watson Tucked away behind Ecclesall Road, near Hunters Bar, is Sharrow Vale Road. Filled with boutiques and quirky shops, Sharrow Vale Road shows a different side to Sheffield, a far cry from the commercial shops and restaurants in the city centre. The street is a mixture of old and new, scattered with terraced houses - many occupied by students. The Greedy Greek Deli at one end of the street, sells a wide variety of fresh Greek ingredients, available to take home and experiment with or perfect for a place to sit in and have lunch. Other restaurants such as Otto’s, which boasts a Moroccan menu and the chance to bring your own wine for just a small cork charge, are close by to an Italian - La Terazza, and an Indian restaurant, Mogul Room. Not a Stabucks or Nandos is to be seen, but the lack of chain shops gives the street its character. A designer watch shop stands
oddly, next to a health food shop, which has multi-coloured candles hanging in the window. Down to Earth sells local, organic and fair-trade food, health products and herbal teas. What I like most about Sharrow Vale Road is exploring the quirky little shops. I came across a shop, which sells vintage clothes and many other obscure things, including an old baby’s pram and a knight’s armour. You also get the opportunity to rifle through the clothes racks in one of the many boutiques, such as Rio, Exile and Ivory; some of which offer student discount. There are lots of cute shops like Home Sweet Home, which sell gifts, designer mugs and kitchenware. However, my favourite place on has to be Fancie; the little café which specialises in a wide variety of cupcakes, perfect for a cup of tea and a chat with friends. I opted for a Banoffee cupcake which I highly recommend trying. If you feel like escaping your student bubble and exploring more of Sheffield, go and take a look.
Sharrow Vale Road has it all, including a cupcake shop.
Rendered immobile?
Ellie Neves
Day one I’m the sort of person who needs to keep their phone so near to them that simply keeping it in a handbag isn’t enough; it has to be clinging to my side in the nearest pocket. But today, for the first time in years, it will be shut in a drawer. I’m having visions already; I can picture myself broken down on some desolate road somewhere with no phone to call for help, or missing the most important call of my life. Possible scenarios race through my mind, before I remind myself of the poor folk 15 years back who managed perfectly fine without plastic lifelines by their sides. Funnily enough, I don’t actually feel the void until around 2pm. I’m on my lunch break at work, which is the time I check my phone, with anticipation that I have a text from the person I wanted. But I remember the challenge and suddenly my lunch break seems a little more grey. While I can’t even update facebook mobile, I find I can’t wait to get back to work. Ten hours later and I’m going to bed, I automatically reach for my phone charger but then remember that I have nothing to charge tonight. I begin to wonder, what if the house burns down in the night and I need to call 999? It takes a good nights sleep to bring me back down to earth. Day two Today is my friend’s birthday and I can’t text her happy birthday; as the birthday text is so conventional nowadays this seems criminal.
Mobile Fact File In Britain of kids bullied by
These days, having a phone by your side 24/7 feels almost as vital as air. Yet some say living without a phone can be liberating, so I’m going to put that to the test for three whole days.
Photo: Edd Wright
16 per cent have been text message
In 2001 1billion texts were sent in the United Kingdom. Wigan’s Lindsay Fletcher is the Britain’s fastest texter. She did a 233-character message in 100 seconds Manufacturing a mobile phone uses the equivalent of 39.79 gallons of petrol in energy. The first truly mobile phone went on sale in 1985 There are half as many active cell phones on the planet as there are people Stephen Fry relies on his phone to keep up with his Twitter addiction. I can’t even ring to arrange to see her, as my life is shut away in a drawer. So I opt for a the more traditional method of communication; I pop round and see her. Momentarily it hits me how ridiculous it seems to have made such a momentous task out of something so simple. Maybe phones actually hinder us by providing an easy way out of making real effort. Feeling good about being proactive, I am able to enjoy the 50 minute walk to her place. Only to find she’s out. Suddenly, I’m not so critical about the utility of phones. I decide to turn to Facebook, which I soon discover to be a satisfying substitute for a phone. Not only can I wish my friend happy birthday, I can also arrange to meet with her. Suddenly, my void is filled, all the contact I’ve missed through not having my phone, I can regain through a social networking site. And why waste your minutes calling someone if they’re immediately available on chat, for
free? This task suddenly becomes a breeze. Day three Today I wake up feeling confident; instead of reaching for my phone for messages, I can reach for my trusty laptop, and enter a social networking site,. My contact seems so easy I begin to wonder if this counts as cheating. Messaging my friends with arrangements, my day feels sorted, and I head to my lectures feeling content. Come 3pm, however, my flatmate asks me how the interview went. What interview? The sinking feeling in my stomach reminds me of the job interview I was due to have this afternoon, but without my phone diary to trigger the reminder, I’d completely forgotten! Suddenly, social networking can’t fill the void left from being phoneless, and I’m suddenly forced to admit I’m lost without it. One thing’s for sure, I don’t envy the mobile deprived world that now seems long forgotten.
Eight out of 10 people in America own a mobile phone, fewer people own a passport or have access to the Internet. The first text message Christmas.’
commercial read ‘Merry
Answering your phone whilst undertaking another task reduces your IQ by 10 points. The equivalent of getting a sleepless night. Mobile phone users on a contract are now paying on average £44.18 a month. The Average age for someone to first own a mobile phone is eight, The most popular mobile phone model at the moment is the HTC Hero. Scientists are looking at ways to keep Sim cards safe, one of them includes inserting them into your forearm.
24
www.forgetoday.com // lifestyle@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Lifestyle
Monsieur Derrière:
The barman and the bum antics
W
hen you walk into a club and the first s o n g you hear is ‘My neck, My back’ by Khia, you know it is going to be a good night. It was the first time I had ever ventured into the dark side that is known as Pounded at the Hallam Hubs: with £1 entry and £1 drinks this led to a very drunk and flirtatious Monsieur Derrière. I was very excited to be losing my Pounded virginity, but little did I know that this was not the only v-card I would be losing that night. As the drinks were so cheap we spent most of the night propping up the bar and dancing to the music echoing from the surrounding rooms; or at least that’s what my house mates thought. But I had ulterior motives – the barman. It was at this point that I lowered my standards and gave him my number; within five minutes he text me saying his shift was nearly over and he was coming to find me. Score. As soon as he finished his shift we left and went back to his apartment (foreplay is so overrated anyway) and the argument began because he thought I took it up the arse.
This guy could be my 21st shag Now I’ve slept with 20 men in my life but have always been the giver and I wasn’t going to change this for anyone, let alone a Hallam boy. But when you are drunk, lying in bed with a frisky stranger it can be hard to stick to your principles. I realised that this guy could be my 21st shag so I would make it a special one and let him put his enormous pulsating member inside inside me. It hurt! This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it but I definitely decided that receiving is not for me. So remember kids; lube up, work it up slowly and try it out.
Fad diets: tried and tested Hannah O’Connell It’s no easy feat losing weight and many of us try and do it “the quick way” by crash dieting and drastically cutting calorie intake. This is especially true after the Christmas and New Year binge, where everyone is feeling bloated and is desperate to rid themselves of the newly acquired bulge. There are loads to choose from: Atkins, the baby food diet, the metabolism diet, and what could be better than shedding half a stone in just a few days? Is this sounding too good to be true? Well maybe that’s because it is. Over the past few weeks I have put a few well known diets to the test to see how much weight you can lose, and more importantly, how much you can keep off after resuming a healthynormal daily diet. We all know that it’s not healthy to crash diet but the allure of a quick fix is too great. However, what I found out by doing two well known “fad diets” is that the results aren’t as good as you might think – and therefore there isn’t much point in doing them. Diet one: the three day diet This one consisted of three set “meals” each day – and no snacking. When I say meals what I mean is half a chicken breast and a few vegetables for your evening meal and a dry piece of bread with dry tuna on for lunch. This actually comprised of only 2,000 calories over the three days, which is just a third of the recommended daily amount for women. Weight loss: six pounds. Weight loss after seven days eating normally: two pounds
Diet two: The cabbage soup diet. Seven days of eating cabbage soup was, as you can imagine, n o t great. On some days you c o u l d also eat fruit, vegetables, steak and rice; but on the days where all I could eat was vegetables and soup meant it was carrot and cucumber for breakfast. This was hard to stick to because it was so depressing to eat the soup, which had that many spices in it my tongue was dyed yellow. I gave up after six days. Weight loss: five pounds. Weight loss after four days of eating normally: one pound Diet 3: Slimming World. Food optimising is the name of the game on this eating plan. At a first look this is really confusing but once you get into it is surprisingly simple and it enables you to eat as much of the designated “free foods” as you want. On some days this means that I could eat loads of pasta or bacon; I was still able to eat some chocolate too and it didn’t really feel like a diet at all. For snacking, albeit on healthy foods, to be part of a diet meant is was even easier to stick to. The drawback of following this is that I had to pay for classes but handing over the money and the thought of someone else weighing me really spurred me on. This is not meant to be a quick fix; the point of sticking to this plan is to change your lifestyle. Weight loss (over seven days): 3 pounds. Weight loss after five days of eating normally: 3 pounds. If you want to read more about any of the diets I have tried (and how hard they have been!), then refer to the Hannah’s Food Diaries blog on forgetoday.com.
Anyone is invited: take a seat and grab some needles. Photo: Louise Loo
Society of the fortnight: The Knitting Society Louise Loo Carefully tucked away in the elevated section of the Interval bar, I joined a sizable group of budding knitters on a Thursday evening, armed with nothing but a short-lived ambition to make sweaters and scarves out of the multi-coloured woollen balls lying rustically around. With no prior knitting experience, or of performing nifty manoeuvres with my fingers for that matter, I was relieved to have coveted the seat next to Clare, secretary to the society and one of two instructors for the evening - my robotic phalanges needed all the help they could get. Thirty minutes (and about ten stitches) into the two-hour session, I found my attention governed solely by the two knitting needles now awkwardly positioned between my fingers, revelling in the particularly therapeutically-repetitive weaving and the unexpected ease at which picking this up was turning out to be. It was also particularly comforting to learn that most of those on the table were no more than half a year into their knitting endeavours, and yet the products (scarves the clear winner) on their hands were fastly taking shape.
What a timely rebuke of the machinations of modern consumerism we have all fallen prey to; as I reminded myself of the overpriced woollen scarf I had my eyes on at High Street just the other day.
A timely rebuke of modern consumerism For a brief moment I caught myself flirting with the idea of giving my life to knitting hundreds of beanies and all sorts of winter paraphernalia, mechanically weaving my retirement years away in a quintessential rocking chair... until of course I mustered the courage to admit that a mere finger scarf does not make for a promising portfolio. At least when I’m old I can spin a yarn on how my first knitting experience went. With the generous providence of copious amounts of yarn and knitting needles, £2 is certainly a small fee to pay for the novelty of knitting in a light-hearted, friendly setting. Membership fees cost £3, and the society meets every Thursday in the Interval Bar at 5pm. Anyone is invited –and with no strings attached.
Students speak out on... 2010 resolutions Emily Williams, third year History On the first of January, nearly half way through my last year and still with no idea what to do with my life, I resolved to take control of my future. I have been applying for jobs, graduate schemes, work experience and thinking seriously about type of career and life I want. As of yet, a graduate job has not been attained but I have no doubt that this new approach will eventually pay off.
Vicky Watson, second year Journalism For someone who usually runs for a few minutes before slowing down and changing the song on her iPod; it’s going to be a hard task to run the Sheffield half marathon. I recently started running and thought I would challenge myself this year. However I can’t help thinking that 13 miles is a long way. Anyway, now that I’m in print saying this, there’s no going back.
How to achieve your goals: Don’t set yourself unachievable targets; you will feel worse when you can’t complete them. - Instead, set yourself small and frequent interrim targets. - Set time aside to work on your goal; if you timetable in an hour to fill in application forms then you are more likely to do it. - Think of all the positives that will come with achieving your goal - it will make the hard work seem worthwhile.
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
25
www.forgetoday.com // travel@forgetoday.com
TRAVEL Foreign Correspondent
A Naughty Night at Kit Kat Jo Wendel Something about my shiny black skirt and peach-coloured corset just screamed innocence. Especially compared to the man wearing nothing but a gimp mask and the guy with the open satin robe and strategically placed fairy lights. It was my first visit to a sex club, and it showed. On the dance floor a guy in a wheelchair had wheeled up to me, grabbed me by the hand and dragged me over to a seat nearby. His t-shirt said “BODYPAINTER” and his small arms were struggling to reach the paint and brushes. But as the first stroke of neon paint touched my chest, I knew I had to go along with it – for the sake of exchange students everywhere. As I sat there being painted, I realised it was just one of those magical moments that would never (?) come again. Next year I’ll be back in Bar One, smearing on the Snazaroo. But for now, I’m still in Berlin and it’s my obligation to make the most of it.
It was my first visit to a sex club I had been full of prejudices against sex clubs and their guests, but actually being in one changed my opinion completely. It was an amazing place, because everyone was welcome. Looks, age, fetish – nothing mattered. It didn’t even matter why you were there, you were accepted anyway: Looking for a spitroast? Great! Just want to dance? Cool! In my opinion, most regular clubs are seedier than Kit Kat Club. In Kit Kat people understand and respect a ‘NO’, whereas a lot of boozed up guests in ‘normal’ clubs seem to consider it a signal to keep grinding. Going on a year or semester abroad is about pushing the boundaries and experiencing things you never thought you would. You are forced out of your comfort zone, and it’s up to you to make the most of it. I can honestly say that I have looked my German Year Abroad straight in the eye – if German Year Abroad is a masturbating middle-aged German man wearing nothing but a latex vest. I have stared it right in the face. And survived!
Read Jo’s blog and see pictures (if you dare) of her adventures at www.forgetoday.com
Photo: Rosanna Hume
Perito Moreno Glacier.
The Chile way to travel Exploring Patagonia, the ultimate southern journey Rosanna Hume The first thing my students ask me is “Por qué Chile?” (Why Chile?) and I always reply “Because of the friendly people” (this always helps on the ‘making friends’ front) and because of its beautiful, diverse geography,” and this similarly brings a smile to a Chilean’s face. I am currently living in Central Chile teaching English at a university here as part of my year abroad project from Hispanic Studies and I am having the best time. My response is 100 per cent true; the people here are so friendly and welcoming and this country really has so much to offer to a traveller “hay de todo” as a Chilean would say (there is everything). Since I arrived here at the end of July last year I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit beaches, mountains, Easter Island and the amazing Patagonia region. I went to Patagonia at the start of December with my two housemates and it really was a once in a lifetime experience, however clichéd that may sound. We travelled from the Chilean capital, Santiago, to Puerto Natales, known as the gateway to Torres del Paine national park. Rather than heading straight to the national park, we took
a day trip across the border to Calafate in Argentina to visit the Perito Moreno glacier. It is the world’s only advancing glacier and it is an extremely impressive sight. We took a boat ride right up alongside it, and although it was perishingly cold, it was a spectacular sight; we even saw (and heard) a couple of large chunks of ice break off it. Whilst in Calafate, we sampled the local Calafate Sour - a drink made with rum, pisco and Calafate berries - legend has it that if you drink one, you will return to the region someday – I hope it’s true. On our second day in the South
We felt like we were at the end of the world we went to Torres del Paine, the journey there felt like we were heading into Narnia, it is such a mystical looking place and the huge snow covered mountains peaking out of the mist gave it a truly magical atmosphere. Las Torres is arguably the most impressive sight in the national park. They are part of the Andes mountain range which protrude from the snow and mist alongside a beautiful lagoon. The eight hour trek itself wasn’t particularly easy but it
was most definitely worth it and we were lucky enough to be the only group of tourists at the top when we arrived so it felt extra special. All in all, Torres del Paine is a truly amazing place to visit – I had to keep pinching myself to prove I was actually there. Our next stop on our whistlestop tour of Patagonia was Punta Arenas – penguin spotting. We hopped aboard the boat to take us to Isla Magdalena, an island where for several months of the year more than 120,000 penguins come to breed. We spent an hour on the tiny island watching and photographing the penguins who didn’t seem too perturbed by the many visitors to their island some even posed for the camera. The trip to Isla Magdalena, although short, was very memorable (and I have 250 penguin photos to prove it) From Punta Arenas we headed south and once again, crossed the border into Argentina, this time to Ushuaia. The city is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world – even the tourist office here stamps your passport to say “Fin del Mundo” (End of the World). Like all tourists, I got mine stamped too. One big travel tip for Ushuaia is to book your
return journey in advance, there aren’t many buses which depart from Ushuaia and the Lonely Planet warns of tourists getting stranded here and missing onward connections. Ushuaia itself is a lovely city, very small with the feeling of a ski village. It’s full of small shops and restaurants and has a nice harbour area where you can watch ships leaving on their Antarctic voyages. We took a boat trip along the Beagle Channel and saw some fantastic wildlife including cormorants, sea lions and penguins again - this time we even caught a glimpse of an Antarctic penguin. It felt like we were at the end of the world. It was astonishing to think that we were there during their summertime, it was bitterly cold and we were wrapped up in many layers; I dread to imagine what it’s like in the middle of winter. My trip to Patagonia was the most amazing trip I have ever been on. I saw sights I never dreamt of being able to see and I feel so fortunate that I was able to go to these brilliant places and would highly recommend Patagonia to anyone heading to South America on a gap year, a year abroad project or just as a holiday.
check out the Urbis museum which is located in the heart of the city centre. Where to Eat: There isn’t enough space here to divulge all the culinary delights Manchester has to offer. But whatever cuisine you’re craving you will find it here; from Chinatown to Rusholme’s Curry Mile. Nightlife: Music: Manchester is famous
for its music scene, head on down to one of Manchester’s smaller music venues like The Roadhouse and discover some of the up-andcoming talent for yourself. Clubs: For a night out on a student budget head to Oxford Road. Alternatively: Check out The Comedy Store’s ‘New Stuff’ nights on the second and last Sunday of every month with tickets from £2.
City Scout: Manchester Get there from Sheffield by: Train to Manchester Piccadilly - 50 minutes, advance return ticket from £7 with a Railcard. Where to stay: YHA Manchester Hostel from £17.95 per night. Things to See and Do: Head to the Arndale centre for all your favourite high-street shops or for those of you who enjoy hunting around vintage boutiques then Manchester’s
Northern Quarter won’t disappoint. If you’re feeling cultural then
26
ADVERTISEMENT
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
27
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
PUZZLES & HUMOUR
Coffee Break SUDOKU
CROSSWORD
Fortnightly quiz 1. Hibernia is the old name for which modern day country? 2. What were the three counties Ian Botham played cricket for? 3. In which county is Stonehenge? 4. What is the Prison called in TV’s Porridge? 5. Prior to the adoption of the Euro, what was the currency in Portugal? 6. What TV show would you find the character ‘Mr Chips’?
connected by Britains longest road? 8. What do Limnologists study? 9. Who played Winston Smith in the film 1984? 10. In which decade did Guinness start to publish its book of Records annually? 11. Which actor had a number one hit in 1986 with the song ‘Every loser wins’? 12. In which year was The Woodstock Rock Festival held?
7. Which two cities are Solutions: 1. Ireland, 2. Somerset, Durham and Worcestershire, 3. Wiltshire , 4. Slade Prison, 5. Escudo, 6. Catchphrase, 7. London and Edinburgh (The A1), 8. Lakes, 9. John Hurt, 10. 1960s, 11. Nick Berry, 12. 2969.
Across 1. Aquatic mammal (5) 4. Striped equine (5) 7. Watered (9) 8. Flows back (4) 10. Tennis stoke (5) 13. Arm bone (5) 14. Disparaging remark (4) 17. Essential (9) 19. Rear part of a ship (5) 20. Smooth fabric (5)
Down 1. Relinquished (6) 2. Atmosphere (3) 3. Boundary of a surface (4) 4. Stringed instrument (6) 5. Confound (7) 6. Desiccated (4) 9. State of equilibrium (7) 11. Bird of prey (6) 12. Implement for writing or drawing (6) 15. Optical device (4) 16. Small snakes (4) 18. Colony insect (3
PICTURE OF THE FORTNIGHT
Issue 18 crossword solution: Across: 1. Simple. 4. Type, 8. Announced, 9. Iota, 10. Winter, 13. Facile, 15. Balm, 18. Crocodile, 19. Bunk, 20. Battle. Down: 1. Sheriff, 2. Meant, 3. Lone, 5. Yacht, 6. End, 7. Audio, 11. Rampage, 12. Bloom, 14. Crown, 16. Avert, 17. Visa, 18. Cub.
mOST POPULAR web CONTENT: 1. Interview: Radio 1’s Mary Anne Hobbs 2. Fun sex is baby-making sex 3. FUSE (radio show) 4. Review: Left 4 Dead Survival Pack 5. Off the city’s beaten track of music
Keep up to date with Forge Media by visiting forgetoday. com; featuring articles, podcasts, listen again shows, video content and lots more.
These Penguins were photographed at Isla Magdalena, Chile, by Hispanic Studies student Rosanna Hume on her year abroad.
COMPETITION
OVERHEARD IN SHEFFIELD In a student house: Guy One: “You know men have a g spot up their arse?” Guy two: “Really!, I might try it out with a pen or my finger!” Outside the IC to her friend: Girl: “I had a really good night last night, I even kind of enjoyed throwing up.”
All you have to do is fly a plane and shag all the air hostesses.” Boy two: “Even the Ryanair air hostesses?” At home watching TV: Girl one: “What’s that Chinese Dr from Greys Anatomy called...? Ying, Yang, Lang, Chin or something?” Girl two: “You mean Christina?!”
In the Gallery:
Girl one: “Thats the one!”
Boy: “The only person who’s going to take Rian out is a sniper!”
On the Concourse:
Two boys outside Jessop West: Boy one: “A pilot is the luckiest guy in the world.
Girl: “She’s okay actually, she lost her virginity to a guy called Wayne but everyone makes mistakes...” In the Media Hub:
Hungry individual: “You smell like I could eat you.” In the Mappin Building: Boy to two other housemates: “It’s like
the Wizard of Oz in this house. You (Housemate one) are heartless and you (Housemate two) have no brain.”
To celebrate the release of Michael Arteta’s Youth In Revolt, starring Micael Cera and Portia Doubleday, Forge Press has two ‘François Dillinger Made Me Do It’ t-shirts to give away. The film is based on C.D. Payne’s acclaimed novel of the same name - the story of Nick Twisp, an affable teen with a taste for the finer things in life, who falls in love with the beautiful and free-spirited Sheeni Saunders while on a family vacation. But family, geography and jealous exlovers conspire to keep those two apart. With Sheeni’s encouragement, Nick abandons his dull, predictable life and develops a rebellious alter ego: François.
François will stop at nothing to be with Sheeni and leads Nick on a path of destruction and uproarious consequences. Q. In which TV-series did Michael Cera make his breakthrough role as George Michael Bluth? Please email your answer to screen@forgetoday.com by Friday, March 6, 2010. Good luck!
28
ADVERTISEMENT
www.forgetoday.com // features@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010 www.forgetoday.com // sport@forgetoday.com
29
FEATURE SPORT
Olympic hopefuls both grateful for BUCS
The Brownlee brothers, Alistair (right) and Jonathan, with the BUCS mascot Brian the Lion at the launch of this year’s Championship.
Matt Duncan The Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonathan, are a very talented duo. The boys from Yorkshire have swiftly risen to the top of their sport and look set to be amongst Britain’s best hopes for glory at the London Olympics 2012. Alistair is the reigning world triathlon champion whilst his younger sibling Jonathan is the best junior triathlete in Europe. The pair recently launched this year’s BUCS Championships which runs in Sheffield from March 10 to March 14. Both brothers have competed in BUCS events as part of their progress, the most recent occasion being Jonathan’s involvement in the BUCS Cross Country in Stirling. Alistair, 21, completed a Physiology and Sport degree at the University of Leeds and is now
studying for an MSc in Finance at Leeds Metropolitan. University sport was an important step in his development as an athlete: “Obviously I already entered University at a high level so University was really something else to do.
‘You get a chance to do student stuff, but just have to be up at seven to go and swim’ Alistair Brownlee, World Triathlon Champion.
“It offered me another focus other than sport, so I wasn’t completely wrapped up in sport which was really important.” He also hints that it helped
him focus on what he wanted to achieve. When asked whether he missed out on any of the traditional student pursuits he was quick to show the positives: “I was never really jealous to be honest. You definitely get a chance to do that stuff, but you just have to be up at seven to go and swim.” He went on to stress how important he thought events such as the BUCS Championships are for the development of British talent. “There are a few things really, there are a lot of guys already at a high level and it gives them another chance to compete at a big event. “And then there are the guys who are maybe a few levels below inspiration because they get to compete against some of the nation’s best. It acts as a link between school and the next level of competition. “Places like America are all about University sport and I think that this model is something we have got to work on in this in Britain.”
Jonathan, two years younger than his brother, is currently a student at the University of Leeds where he is studying for a History degree.
‘The Olympics are massive anyway but the fact that they are in England is incredible’
Jonathan Brownlee, European Junior Champion. Despite the buzz surrounding his rapid progress, he was eager to keep his feet on the ground. “We keep getting asked this a lot, how are you going to do at 2012? I am just taking it a year at a time, I was only a junior last year so the Olympics is a big
step up but I just want to keep on training and get better every year. The Olympics are massive anyway but the fact that they are in England makes it even more incredible. “But it is a long way off and I have just got to think about other competitions in the coming years, including two Athletics World Championships before then. “Hopefully then I will make it to the games, but there are only three spots in Team GB for the triathlon event.” Alistair was keen to extol the virtues of his native county from a runner’s view. “I love being home in Yorkshire actually. The Dales are perfect for running, they just need a bit better weather. Apart from home I really like Canada; it’s amazing with all the massive spaces and the mountains.” “I don’t really like Australia or America,” he added. “That sounds stupid but we have just got great running in Britain because we have loads of footpaths and back roads and you just don’t get them in places like that.”
30
www.forgetoday.com // sport@forgetoday.com
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
SPORT NEWS AND COMMENT
Luger’s death must force us all to think about the role of sport
Another award for champion Paul Garbett
Matt Duncan Comment The death last week of the luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili in Vancouver, left the sporting world in shock. The Georgian came off his luge during a training run last Friday and collided with a concrete pole at nearly 90mph, causing him fatal injuries. His team mates wore black armbands at the opening ceremony and the luge competition was completed in a sombre fashion. The tragedy brings sport into stark relief. Why does the whole world care about the death of a 21 year-old Georgian who very few had heard of? If he had died in a car crash in Georgia would it be front page news? I doubt it.
Sport exists so that incredible people can show us what is possible if we conquer fear Sport becomes so important in our lives and the working of the world that any disruption to its flow is a huge event. Sport is the world’s way of escaping and the Olympics in particular are the greatest of all getaways. Sport exists so that incredible people can show us what is possible if we conquer fear, if we escape the constraints of normal life. Team sports are metaphors for war; sports like luge are human nature’s attempt to defy gravity and feel like they are
flying. If people start to die whilst doing sport then sport becomes pointless; it becomes too much like real life. For sport to function, we have to accept that it really doesn’t matter at all. Ralph Ellison, in his classic book Invisible Man, has one of his characters utter a phrase that sums up sport perfectly: “Play the game son, but don’t believe in it.” He may be talking about race relations in the USA but the meaning translates completely. We need to place sport in its proper place otherwise our view of life will become skewed. If we take sport too seriously we lose the fun of kicking a ball around or of sliding down a mountain. This brings me to possibly the most shocking fact of the horrible events of last week. In his initial investigations, the local coroner found that the track was not to blame for the accident and that the death came as a result of human error. The President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, points out the undeniable truth that “no mistake in sport is supposed to lead to a death.” Following the incident the organisers swiftly moved to build a higher wall where the crash happened and also change the profile of the ice at the entrance to the ill fated Turn 16. They also added padding to the concrete support barriers around the track. It is not our place to apportion blame at this time but questions must be asked as to why this safety measure was not taken earlier. I know that some sports are more dangerous than others and that risking injury is an accepted part of being involved in sport. I accept that in sports such as luge, people will get injured and occasionally die, but they should not die in a preventable manner. The only way to completely stop deaths in sport is to stop sport completely, but we at least owe it to the competitors to do our best
Clockwise from right: Nodar Kumaritashvili, Ian Olding and Ayrton Senna. to protect them as they provide this is completely unnecessary some of the world’s greatest and very unsettling. entertainment. If we do not we It is not in the public interest risk losing the innocence that is to see someone dying. When integral to sports role in all of our someone ran onto the track at lives. Silverstone a few years ago, TV cut to an advert break to avoid even the possibility of showing a death. How have we sunk so low so quickly? Please show some respect.
Questions must be asked as to why this safety measure was not taken earlier
Another issue that has been raised by this tragedy is that of the media’s reaction. Within hours of the crash the internet and network TV stations were airing the video of the incident. For me
Since our last issue, John Terry has lost the England captaincy. Good. The man is clearly not suitable to hold such a visible and responsible role. He has taken illicit payments to give tours of Chelsea’s training ground and tried to make extra cash by touting his Wembley box. All this before he had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of team-mate Wayne Bridge. If any of the players have any respect left for him then I will lose a lot of respect for them.
Sheffield’s golden girl Jessica Ennis scooped another award last weekend after being named as Athlete of the Year by the British Athletics Supporters Club. Ennis was presented with the award at the Aviva Indoor Trials at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, but was forced to pull out of the competition due to a slight injury to her right foot. The 24-year-old said: “It really is just a precautionary thing. I strained a ligament and it’s not too serious; it’s just about being careful at this stage. “I’m absolutely gutted to be missing out as it’s really difficult to be sitting on the sidelines and not being able to compete.” Ennis picked up the injury as she captained Britain’s team to success in the Aviva International match in Glasgow, which took place earlier this month. The University of Sheffield graduate smashed the British 60 metre hurdles record and set a new personal best in the high jump as she inspired Team GB to glory. The world heptathlon champion set a stunning time of 7.95 seconds to beat American sprinter Lolo Jones. Ennis then leaped an impressive 1.94m in the high jump to claim second place. Her performance helped Britain to claim victory over the USA by three points, with University of Bath sprinter Craig Pickering winning the final 60m event to secure the trophy for the British team. Ennis, who graduated from the University with a Psychology degree in 2007 and received an honorary doctorate last month, now hopes to recover in time to compete at the World Indoor Championships next month. This will feature as part of her preparation for the European Championships in Barcelona this summer. In December, Ennis won third place at the BBC sports personality of the year awards.
Biggest ever Winter Varsity begins Matt Duncan Over the next two nights, the University of Sheffield will compete against Sheffield Hallam for the Winter Varsity trophy. Tonight sees the competition get underway at the Ski Village with the ski and snowboard events. The action will then transfer to Sheffield Arena for the final ice hockey match on Saturday afternoon. That match promises to be the biggest single sporting event in Sheffield this year with reported ticket sales somewhere in the region of 3000. The move to the Arena has been organised in partnership with Sheffield Steelers, the city’s professional ice hockey team. Union Sports Officer Kate Rickard praised the Steelers’ organisation. “I am excited about this weekend’s events and a lot of
that is credit to the Steelers, especially Mike O’Connor and Amanda Hilary. “Everything has gone pretty smoothly in the build up to the event.” Club Sport manager Andy Cox was also keen to praise the Steelers. “It has been good to work with the Steelers and start a partnership with them. We already work with both Sheffield United and Wednesday, so it’s a good to start another relationship with another major sport in the city.” The move to the Arena for the ice hockey finale has excited many groups within the University, according to Rickard. “It is encouraging for us all that the event has been embraced by so many societies, residences and departments. “I’m sure that the wide range of support we have got is going to make the difference come the
weekend’s events.” Cox said: “It has become an event as well as just a game of ice hockey. “There are a number of buses going down from the residences and ticket sales are looking good.” The move has also raised the profile of the event significantly, with adverts being seen across the city. Cox said: “It is definitely a bigger profile for the event. Being at the Arena we can handle much higher numbers than we have done in recent years. “I am confident that everything will go well.” Rickard said: “I am looking forward to this weekend being the biggest and the best Winter Varsity that we have ever seen.” Cox was a little more circumspect in his views. “I just hope that we have a really good game for everyone who is going down.”
FIND OUT ALL THE NEWS & RESULTS FIRST WITH FORGE MEDIA LISTEN LIVE TO VARSITY ICE HOCKEY ON FORGE RADIO (www.forgeradio.com) Sat 20th Feb, from 2pm LIVE BLOG, REPORTS & PICTURES FROM SKI VILLAGE & ICE HOCKEY ON FORGETODAY.COM 19th & 20th Feb
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
www.forgetoday.com // sport@forgetoday.com
REPORTS AND NEWS
Uni continue losing streak in competitive match with Hallam
SPORT
Easy victory for men’s hockey firsts Men’s Hockey firsts
Men’s Volleyball University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
31
University of Sheffield University of Stirling
0 3
11 1
Ross Turner Andy Rivers The men’s volleyball firsts experienced their second defeat in a week at the hands of a confident Sheffield Hallam at Goodwin on Wednesday. With the visiting Hallam side coming into the game as unbeaten league leaders it was always going to be a tough ask for the Uni team, who find themselves towards the bottom of the Northern Conference 2B with only one league win to their name. Prior to the game, Sheffield captain Adam Brewer was quick to stress that, whilst his team were clearly the underdogs, they were keen to take the game to their Hallam counterparts, and this was evident from the start of the match. The first game began as a tight affair, with errors coming from both teams as neither side was able to gain a significant lead. However Hallam began to dominate, with a series of strong spikes from their outside hitters who were taking advantage of gaps in the Uni defence on the flanks. As Uni struggled to get back into the set their play became inconsistent at times, and it was no surprise to see Hallam’s power win through and with it the first game by a comprehensive margin of 25 points to 14. The second game was considerably closer as Sheffield realised that they had to level the scores. Similarly to the first game it remained close throughout, but Hallam were always in control even when playing badly thanks to their ability to rescue points when they were being pressed on the defensive. In contrast, some serving and concentration errors from the Uni team in the middle of the set gave Hallam the initiative and they pressed home their advantage,
Uni put in a brave performance but couldn’t get anything from the match with Hallam Photo: Simon Jones winning 25-17. Hallam were able to comfortably team’s effort, particularly their Although it would have been secure victory in the third game serving consistency, and was easy for Uni heads to drop at this and extend their unbeaten league confident that a more reliable point this was not the case. record. training schedule would help A series of strong serves by After the game Brewer was the team in their battle against Hallam however saw them begin pleased that his side remained relegation. to open up a significant lead and competitive throughout but Next up for the team is an away edge closer towards victory. stated that too many mistakes trip to third placed Northumbria A late rally by Sheffield was and losses of concentration had where Uni will be looking to not enough to see them back into cost his team at important times avenge a close 3-2 defeat earlier the match and despite some good in the match. in the season. points inconsistency remained as Nonetheless he praised his
Weather no barrier as Uni dominate in Shield Men’s Rugby League University of Sheffield University of Lincoln
28 12
Anthony Hart Sheffield’s men’s rugby league first team won their first round match in the BUCS Shield last Wednesday with an emphatic and indomitable performance against the University of Lincoln that struggled to match Uni’s inspired play. The match was played in freezing conditions at a snowcovered Norton Playing Fields, with kick-off being delayed for nearly 20 minutes due to the late arrival of the match referee. When it got under way, Lincoln were determined to play in the
opponents’ half as much as possible, and started the brighter side. It was only good tackles from the Sheffield players that prevented the visitors from taking the lead. The conditions made play difficult, and with both teams struggling for league form, sitting in the bottom three of the Midlands division, the opening minutes were punctuated by stoppages, handling errors and knock-ons. However Sheffield, sitting three points above Lincoln in the league, eventually got a foot in the game and scored two tries in quick succession around the 20-minute mark. Both were in the left-corner, the second particularly special after a superb down-field kick was followed by tireless running. Sheffield failed to convert
either of their tries, making the score 8-0. Just minutes later the home side went over for another try, this time in the opposite corner to make it 12-0. Sheffield were playing at a higher tempo than the visitors, and a quick breakaway led to another try before the half-hour, under the posts, and finally the conversions were added to extend the lead to 18-0. Lincoln reduced the arrears just before the break, after finally putting pressure back on the Sheffield line and getting into the corner themselves. They subsequently managed to successfully convert with the extra points resulting in an 18-6 score at half time. After a lack of scoring in the first 20 minutes of the second half Lincoln threatened a close
finish with another converted try to pull the score line back to 1812. However, as the weather worsened with sleet starting to fall Uni only improved, and a brilliant move which spanned half the length of the pitch resulted in an incredible try for the home side. With the conversion the score was 24-12 and the result of the match was finally put beyond doubt moments from the end with another try in the corner to make the final score 28-12. Commenting afterwards on the match first team coach Herb Gray said: “It was a good win and a great performance despite the lack of training due to bad weather. There were some good skills shown in atrocious weather, well done to the lads.”
The University’s men’s hockey firsts brushed aside a far inferior Stirling first team at Goodwin to progress to the next round of the BUCS Cup. Although captain Will Beeching maintained after the match that the game was not a showcase of the side’s most impressive play this season, Uni never looked in trouble in a game they dominated from the start. The home team’s first clear chance came within five minutes, during which Stirling barely had an opportunity to touch the ball. The chance began when Joe Battman began a lighteningfast breakaway move which tore through the Stirling defence, the start of what was to be a superb game for him. After another five minutes of strong possession, Sheffield finally and deservedly put the ball in the net from a short corner. Another short corner gifted club captain David Harvey the second within another minute, followed quickly by a finish from John Hamilton to make it 3-0. Sheffield continued to look impenetrable, responding to the rare times that Stirling threatened to attack with tearing counter-attacks, the pace of which the opposition constantly struggled to cope with. A resulting short corner from one of these counters granted David Harvey his second and Uni’s fourth, and immediately after Stirling were only prevented from scoring from their first real dangerous play by a fantastic save by Uni’s keeper. Sheffield’s one-sided supremacy in the game meant that the most remarkable event of the rest of the half was the ball splitting in half after an over-enthusiastic Stirling strike. The second half began in complete contrast to the first half, as a mistake by defender Carl Ward allowed Stirling an easy one-on-one chance with the keeper, which converted to make it 4-1. This was, however, the one highlight of the away team’s game, and a brace from Sean Collins promptly made the score 6-1, with two well taken goals. Beeching got his name on the score-sheet about mid-way through the second half, followed by two more from Hamilton to give him a hat-trick. A subsequent own goal made the score 10-1, and the eleventh came from Marcus Beef, to round off a strong display from Uni. Beeching was careful not to read too much into the straightforward victory: “We never go into a game taking it for granted that we will win, especially in the Cup. We always have a competitive mind set. Our performance was okay but there is always lots of work we can do to improve. We were not pressed too hard today and we know we’ll have to work harder in the later rounds. “But still we were pretty solid and we are connecting much better as a team.”
32
www.forgetoday.com // sport@forgetoday.com
SPORT
Triathlon feature Page 29
Netball firsts come out fighting in close encounter
FORGE PRESS Friday February 19 2010
Match reports Page 31
Graduate accused of illegal fixing
Jack Burnett
Photo: Helen Munro
Hallam were just outplayed in a tight match.
Women’s Netball University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
27 19
Charlotte Duncker The netball first team beat Sheffield Hallam in a tough match at the English Institute of Sport on Wednesday afternoon. With a number of Uni’s first team injured it looked as though it was going to be an interesting match between the two rivals. Hallam were the first team off the mark scoring straight from the centre pass and defending well to keep Uni out. Uni kept applying the pressure and responded by scoring every time Hallam gained a point. Hallam’s defence tried hard to keep Uni out but their opponents’
efficient and impressive passing proved too much for them to handle at times. Uni edged the first quarter by one point after some very skilful shooting from the goal shooter. With the score being so tight it led to a very exciting second quarter. It was Hallam again that showed more promise as play resumed with their wing attack in particularly good form, and it was only some excellent defending from the Uni goal keeper that prevented them from capitalising on their good start to the quarter. A superb shot from Uni’s goal attack put them back on level terms for the second quarter and spurred them on to score a further three times in quick succession. In a moment of drama down the other end of the court, Hallam’s centre collided with their goal
keeper, injuring both players. The Hallam centre then inexplicably ran off court to the confusion of the rest of the players and was found and brought back by one of her team mates. This led to play being suspended for nearly five minutes. Uni did not let this affect them, however, and went on to score twice more before half time. With the half score 15 – 12 in favour of Uni, there was all to play for in the second half of the match. It was Uni who were to start the better out of the two teams in the third quarter with some very clever movement which gave Hallam no time to think. Hallam had failed to score five minutes into the quarter thanks to forceful defending from Uni but they did not let this deter them and they soon came fighting back scoring three times in quick succession.
The match continued at its highly energetic pace into the final quarter and it would have taken more than bullying tactics for Hallam to emerge victorious. Hallam started strongly again but Uni’s magnificent passing around the circle combined with the goal shooter and goal attacker in great form meant that Uni edged the final quarter 5 – 3. Hallam looked depleted at the end after such a fiercely contested match. Uni’s captain Olivia Mason, who played through an injury, was ecstatic with the result. She said: “It was a great game and with so many players injured we still managed to struggle through. I think we wanted it more than they did and we really fought for the victory here today. We can’t wait for Varsity now. We are going to smash them.”
A former University of Sheffield student has been arrested following a match-fixing scandal in the Chinese Super League. Tony Xu, who is president of the Chengdu Blades, a football club owned by Sheffield United, was arrested along with twenty other prominent figures in Chinese football. Mr. Xu, who obtained an MBA from the University’s Management School, is suspected of bribing an official from rival club Quingdao to throw their match against Chengdu Blades in 2007. A 2-0 victory in that game proved instrumental in the Blades’ eventual promotion to the top flight that season. Mr. Xu and his deputy allegedly paid their opponents a sum of 300,000 yuan and promised to invest a further 200,000 yuan in Quingdao, amounting to a bribe worth a total of roughly £45,000. Although Sheffield United have not been accused of playing any role in the scandal, the news will not be well received at Bramall Lane. United, who also hold stakes in Ferencvaros of Hungary and Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, have not released an official comment on the situation but may be forced to review their investment in the Sichuan-based club. Chengdu have received a substantial amount of funding from United since they were purchased in 2006. This enabled the construction of a state-ofthe-art football academy, with Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe among those present at its grand opening in Chengdu city five months ago. The police crackdown also saw the arrest of Nan Yong, head of the Chinese Football Association. His replacement, has vowed to root out corruption within the game but faces an uphill struggle. Chinese football has been mired in controversy, and this latest news will only further damage the international reputation of the country’s sport. Allegations that footballers bribed CFA officials for selection in the national squad were quickly followed by the latest revelations about match-fixing in the league. A FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA is totally committed to fighting any form of corruption in football, and places great importance on ensuring that this is done also at the level of our member associations, including the Chinese FA.”