INSIDE: TRIBES/BIOSHOCK INFINITE/OBLIVION/SYRIA IN CRISIS/JUNIP/INANIMATE CARBON ROD
FREE
The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield. Est. 1946.
Issue 58 Friday April 19 2013 @ForgePress /ForgePress
Screen talk:
Crowdsourcing, the new age of cinema? Fuse p.5
Lifestyle find:
Sheffield’s best graduation eats, p.20-21
Sport enjoy:
Uni’s first Varsity win in 10 years, p.30-31
Hallam delegates spend £2k on hotels, in their own city 4NUS pay out so Hallam Uni reps can stay in luxury during national conferences held in Sheffield Jonathan Robinson Delegates from Sheffield Hallam University stayed in luxury hotels during the NUS conference at a cost of approximately £2,000 over two years, despite the fact the three-day events were held at Sheffield City Hall. The Hallam team stayed in the four-star Hilton Hotel, near Victoria Quays, for two nights this year, Forge Press can reveal. The total bill was £980 and was paid for by the NUS. It included five rooms - four twin rooms and one single. As this year’s national conference was being held in Sheffield, the NUS gave both universities in the city the option of staying in hotels like other visiting delegates or staying in their own accommodation. Delegates from Hallam University chose to stay in the hotel because they thought it was “important to experience the
conference as a whole”. However, delegates from the University of Sheffield agreed to stay at home because they wanted “to save money”. Hallam Union president Helen Francis defended the decision to stay at the Hilton Hotel, where prices for a night’s stay start at £79. She said: “It was easier for me to lead our team in one place. “We wouldn’t have stayed [in the hotels] if it cost our Union.” She also said that delegates did the same at last year’s national conference in Sheffield. This means that over two years Hallam University’s decision to stay in hotels will have cost the NUS around £2,000. Student representatives from across the country travelled to Sheffield to take part in the NUS’ national conference, where delegates vote on policies and elect the leadership team. University of Sheffield
Students’ Union women’s officer Amy Masson, who was one of the delegates at the event, said: “We made a decision not to stay in hotels to save money. I can’t comment on Hallam’s decision.” An NUS spokesperson said: “All delegates to NUS national conference are offered accommodation in order that no delegate is prevented from attending by the cost of accommodation or unmet access needs. “Delegates who feel they don’t need that accommodation are given the option to decline it. It is neither practical nor appropriate for NUS to decide the access needs of those attending national conference.” Union president Abdi Suleiman said it wasn’t suggested by University of Sheffield delegates to stay in hotels. He did not wish to comment on Hallam’s decision.
Tributes made to graduate who died during marathon The Hilton Hotel
See inside p.3
2
NEWS
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
New venue spaces revealed as SU building work nears end NEW VENUE SPACES WILL OPEN IN SEPTEMBER 2013
Women’s officer Amy Masson has expressed concerns over sexual harrassment by taxi drivers in the city. She said: “There have been a couple of disturbing reports about sexual harassment by taxi drivers. “I am working with the police to resolve the issue. If you are harassed by a taxi driver remember it is your right to report it.” Posts on an anti-sexism Facebook page have drawn attention to the incidents. A female student from the University of Sheffield shared her experience on the ‘Spotted:
DEPUTY EDITOR Rowan Ramsden MANAGING EDITOR Mikey Smith
FUSE EDITORS fuse@forgetoday.com Arnold Bennett Coral Williamson
THE SOUNDROOM
HEAD OF VISUALS Adam Harley NEWS news@forgetoday.com Lauren Clarke Jessica Pitocchi Jonathan Robinson COMMENT comment@forgetoday.com Martin Bottomley Hamilton Jones
A TOTAL OF £20M SPENT ON SU DEVELOPMENT
THE DEN
LETTERS & COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Holly Wilkinson
STUDIO CLUBNIGHTS SUCH AS ROAR AND SPACE WILL RETURN
LIFESTYLE & TRAVEL lifestyle@forgetoday.com Olivia Adams Laura Davies
MUSIC music@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Lianne Williams GAMES games@forgetoday.com Kaz Scattergood Andrew Smith
For an interactive tour of the new venues, go to forgetoday.com
Sexism on Campus’ page. She said that she was alone in a taxi after a night out when the driver told her she looked “smart” and “very nice”, and asked her why she didn’t have a boyfriend. He then said: “If you don’t have a boyfriend, what do you do when you want to have sex?” The student said: “Safe to say I told him off and will definitely be a bit wary next time I have to get a car back on my own.” This comes days after another University of Sheffield student posted on the Facebook page saying that a driver had told her that if she engaged in sexual activity with him he would let her have her journey for free. He referred to her student
FEATURES features@forgetoday.com Sophie Allen Lizzy Jewell Nicola Moors
SPORT sport@forgetoday.com Adam Hancock Will Aitkenhead Matthew Smith
officer Tom Dixon said: “With the future in mind, the new names underpin the diverse, compelling and vibrant range of events and activities that these venues will host for students, the University and wider Sheffield communities.” Alongside the new venues, three new catering outlets will open once the building work is completed. New Leaf and the SU Shop will also return. Artistic impression of the new venue
‘Disturbing’ sexual harassment reports involving taxi drivers Lauren Clarke
Alisha Rouse
WEB EDITOR Adam Harley
Jessica Pitocchi The names and identities for the new venue spaces due to open in the Students’ Union in September have been exclusively revealed to Forge Press. The new venues will be the Soundroom, Studio and the Den, and will be situated on level two of the Students’ Union after the completion of its £20million University-funded refurbishment. Some of the new furnishings include raised platform DJ areas, feature walls and LED-decorated benches. The names were chosen as a result of the Students’ Union events team collecting suggestions from students and staff. The identities were developed when working with Sheffield designer, the Hyspanic Gentleman. A Union statement said: “A consideration was that the new names should reinforce the overall successful identity of the Students’ Union with the venue room names themselves being readily identified and distinctive. “The names are relevant, aligned to the activities students have requested and the events they are designed for.” The venues have formerly been the Foundry, the Fusion, Park, Bar 2 and the Lower Refectory. The venues will host all the familiar weekly Union clubnights including ROAR, the Tuesday Club, Space, Pop Tarts and Climax as well as other events including markets, live music, fairs, performing arts and talks. They will also be available for student society bookings for activities from the beginning of June. University of Sheffield Students’ Union activities
EDITOR
alisha.rouse@forgetoday.com
status and said: “Look love, you’re a student, I know you need to save money, so how about this: you help me out and the taxi is free of charge.” When she refused his offer he allegedly said: “Come on love don’t take offense, just some casual sex - helps you out financially as well.” He also made comments such as “I’d love to meet a girl like you” and “you’re exactly my type.” On Facebook, she said: “Is it too much to ask to phone a taxi and just be delivered to your address as a paying customer without being asked to prostitute yourself for a £5 taxi fare?”
FULWOOD BY-ELECTION COVERAGE ON FORGETODAY.COM ON MAY 2/3
Hockey club paint faces for cancer charity Jonathan Robinson The University women’s hockey team have been wearing face paint every day this week to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust in memory of a club member who died from breast cancer. The team is raising funds for the charity that cared for Charlotte Loader, a Management student at the University of Sheffield, before she passed away in March. They have been wearing different coloured faces all week. Club captain Jess Braddock said: “A lot of the girls sadly never met Charlotte and I’m really impressed with the way they have all come together to take part in this event in her memory.” The club have so far raised almost £300. You can donate at: http:// www.justgiving.com/ SheffieldUniWomensHockeyClub
SCREEN screen@forgetoday.com Phil Bayles Dan Meier ARTS arts@forgetoday.com Olivia Middleton Elsa Vulliamy COPY EDITORS Ally Christodoulou Ellen Jurczak Lizzie Palmer Matthew Smith Matt Voice Elsa Vulliamy Media Hub, Union of Students, Wes t ern Bank , Shef f ield, S10 2TG 0114 22286 46 // f or gepress@f or ge t oday.com
Forge Press is printed on 100% recycled paper
For ge Press is published by the Union of Students. View s expressed are not necessarily those of the Univer sity, the Union or the edit orial t eam. In the f ir s t ins t ance all complaints should be addressed t o the Managing Edit or, although a f ormal pr ocedure exis ts.
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
3
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
NEWS
Council ends early as reps fail to turn up
4Chair ‘disappointed’ as 20 councillors don’t show up, eight didn’t send any apologies Nicola Moors The chair of Union council has expressed her disappointment after council was halted from a formal discussion because not enough councillors turned up. Chair Jessie Smith said: “It is disappointing to see such a lack of involvement from the very people who ran for these positions in the first place.’’ 12 councillors had given their apologies for last week’s meeting, but there were an extra eight missing. The council needs 60 per cent of councillors present before they can meet quorum and formally discuss issues. These rules meant that Union council couldn’t begin until there were enough councillors present and it had to adjourn early, as English Literature and Theatre councillor Sam Rae had to leave due to other commitments. According to current rules, as long as councillors submit apologies before council, they can miss every meeting. Jessie said the rules should be changed so that councillors can only miss a certain amount of meetings a year. She said: “I think it is really unfair when someone runs for the position, but rarely attends the meetings as it means there is an entire department or representative group that is not being represented. “Candidates are made aware of the time commitments and the days of the meetings prior to running, so there is no excuse really.”
Currently the chair has no powers to sanction councillors although she can demand a ‘formal apology’ from those who failed to attend. If councillors miss more than one meeting without apology, they are deemed to have resigned from council and therefore removed. Four councillors this year have
been removed due to the rule, although only one was able to be replaced. Jessie added: “I was very disappointed in those councillors that skipped the last council meeting, and although some that sent in apologies had very legitimate reasons, I feel that there were some that genuinely didn’t provide a reasonable
apology. “I really wish more students would demand to know from their councillors whether or not they’ll be attending council meetings and workshops, as I think pressure from one’s ‘constituents’ to do the job they ran for and being accountable for their actions is never a bad thing.”
Councillors were due to discuss the recent NUS conference as well as scrutinise the officers in their objective update reports.
What’s on your mind? Comment on this article online: www.forgetoday.com
DOT COM
President slammed for ‘late report’ Nicola Moors
Abdi Suleiman
The president of the Students’ Union had a heated exchange with his fellow councillors at Union council as his lack of reports came under attack. A motion complaining about Abdi Suleiman’s lack of an officer update was put forward at last Thursday’s Union council. A councillor, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Forge Press: “Abdi has now been in office for nine months and in that time has failed to submit a single report on time. “In fact we have only had one written report from him, which was incomprehensible to say the least and didn’t actually seem to include anything he’d done, and instead was a two-page rant about his opinions on the
philosophy of education.” Abdi was due to deliver an officer objective update at the meeting, but he did not submit it to councillors before the meeting. He instead said he wanted to deliver the report, which includes the progress he has made on his policies and pledges, orally. Speaking to Forge Press, Abdi said: “In just the last month I’ve worked on getting financial support for asylum seeker students, cheaper rents for first year students, the international students campaign, support for undergraduates who can’t afford to become postgraduates. “This is all on top of my routine of regular meetings on the management and strategy of the Students’ Union. It is rewarding and tiring to be SU president
and any reports I don’t write in time are never done so intentionally.’’ However Opal Mattila, councillor for postgraduate research students, said at council: “I’ve got a parttime job, I’m a full-time PhD student, I’m on four committees and I attend this council, yet I still manage to submit my reports on time. We’re all busy.” Aaron Kulakiewicz, Union council vice-chair, told Abdi: “The purpose of the council is to scrutinise you. “We can’t scrutinise you if we have nothing to read.” He then suggested that Abdi scheduled ‘writing reports’ in his timetable. Three of the other Union officers attended the NUS conference, which took place in Sheffield last week, and submitted their reports on time.
‘It’s criminal that he has passed away’: Friends pay tribute to graduate who suffered fatal heart attack Jonathan Robinson Tributes have been made to a University of Sheffield graduate who died while taking part in the Brighton marathon last week. Biology graduate Sam Harper Brighouse, 23, collapsed after suffering a suspected heart attack around the 16-mile mark. Paramedics tried to resuscitate Sam at the scene before taking him to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Ben Winter, a friend of Sam’s and a Biology graduate, told Forge Press: “I’m going to miss Sam. I think it’s a testament to how much of a great guy he was that everywhere I go around the University people are talking about how much they’re going to miss him.” Tom Whitehouse, another close friend, said: “My time at university with Sam is a period I will cherish forever, one of the few that stuck with me for all day celebratory drinks after exams every semester without fail. “It’s criminal that he has passed away, he was a wonderful, wonderful man.” Professor Mike Siva-Jothy, who taught Sam during his time in Sheffield, described him as a “character in the best sense of
the word”. He said: “I taught Sam before I became head of department. He was an optimistic, enthusiastic and confident young man who wasn’t afraid to ask questions, or inject humour into a discussion. “He was a character in the best sense of the word and was an important social nucleus for his student cohort. “My colleagues and I are deeply saddened by his passing, and we are proud to have taught him.” Sam, from Forest Hill, London, was running the marathon on behalf of Arms Around the Child, a charity that helps children affected by HIV and Aids in Africa and India. He had originally raised £500 but since his death well-wishers have donated over £24,000 on his JustGiving fundraising page. A statement from Arms Around the Child said: “We are liaising with his parents to use the money raised through his JustGiving page for a specific project in his memory. “We know that Sam was delighted that he had reached his fundraising target and was helping to make a difference to the lives of the children looked after by Arms Around the Child in India and South Africa.”
Tributes made by Sam’s friends “Sam... The good times will last forever. You were such a true friend who would drop everything at a moment’s notice to be there for anyone. When my mind thinks back to all the times we laughed, got drunk, chilled, I can’t imagine my life without you in it.” - Chris Griffiths, Biology graduate “You once told me you were trying to do something with your days each day. So, for you, I promise, once I’ve picked myself up out of this, I will do the same. You will live on through all the people who love you, our wonderful, kind boy.” - Emily Berry, fourth-year Biology “Seeing these tributes literally pouring in for him and watching the donations skyrocket make me feel so proud that I can call myself his friend.” - Nicola Gunary, Biology graduate
Sam Harper Brighouse
“You’re simply one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever known. We were friends, then a couple, found we weren’t too good at that, so went on to become even better friends. You’re just the best and will be massively missed in so many ways.” - Gemma May, Biology graduate
4
NEWS FORGE IN BRIEF Project to bring the Bible out of the closet An ambitious university project is hoping to challenge the relationship between religion and homosexuality. Hidden Perspectives is hoping to stimulate discussion on the Bible’s views and challenge assumptions made by popular readings. Dr Katie Edwards, of the University’s Department of Biblical Studies, has teamed up with feminist activist group LaDIYfest Sheffield to challenge preconceived views on LGBT people. According to Dr Edwards, this collaboration could not have been timed better: “The project is timely and topical given the recent government consultation on equal civil marriage and the fierce debate provoked by the Church of England response.” The project’s first major event will be a festival at The Showroom Workstation, due to be held on June 1. Cabaret acts, artists, storytellers and academics will offer interpretations of biblical stories that have traditionally been read as ‘anti-gay’. Broadway cabaret actor, Dominic Mattos, will also perform as ‘Angel Gaybrial’ at the event. Martin Harnick-Roscetti
Old Bailey archive celebrates tenth birthday An online archive of historical court records from the Old Bailey has celebrated its tenth birthday. The website, a collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire, contains searchable proceedings from the world famous courthouse between 1674 and 1913. Professor Robert Shoemaker, from the University of Sheffield and one of the two founders of the database, said: “The Old Bailey Online has been used in ways we never anticipated. “We are particularly proud of the fact it is a free resource, open to all, and we continue to be amazed at the creative work it facilitates.” The archive has information on 197,745 criminal trials, making it the largest collection of information on the lives of everyday people ever published. It has received over 34 million page hits. The last ever issue of the Old Bailey Proceedings was also published 100 years ago. To celebrate, the website held a blogathon for people to post about how they have used the website to study family history, carry out research and even teach. Lisa Preece
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
NUS CONFERENCE 2013
Toni Pearce elected as new NUS president Jonathan Robinson and Lauren Archer A student from Cornwall who has never been to university has been elected as the next NUS president at the national conference in Sheffield. Toni Pearce, the current NUS vice-president for further education, beat two other challengers in a election that was marred by controversy. She won 424 votes out of a possible 733 and will replace the outgoing Liam Burns. Pearce said her priorities for her year in office will include fighting for better postgraduate funding and campaigning for a single central admissions system for all colleges and universities. Speaking to Forge Press shortly after her victory, Pearce said: “This isn’t a historical moment just because I’ve been elected as a further education president. “It’s a historical moment because our movement has come together and recognised that we are a collective and that every single person [at conference] is fighting for the same cause because they want education to be better. “We have to stop putting people in boxes.” Pearce beat her closest challenger, Vicki Baars, by 214 votes at Sheffield City Hall. A protest candidate - the ‘inanimate carbon rod’ from an episode of The Simpsons - pulled out of the race for the presidency just hours before delegates were
due to vote. Samuel Gaus, a UCL computer science student who was speaking on behalf of the rod, launched a scathing attack against the NUS, calling the presidency a “joke position”. He said: “The inanimate carbon rod is not a joke candidate. It is a serious candidate for what has become a joke position. “It is a product of a decade of stupidity, incompetence, irrelevance and personal opportunism.” 22-year-old Pearce, who studied at Cornwall College, said the NUS needed to readdress what its priorities were, after it unsuccessfully campaigned to end £9k tuition fees. “The students that I speak to aren’t thinking about dropping out because of tuition fees. They are thinking about dropping out because they can’t pay their rent, childcare or bills. Those are things we can win on. “The biggest area we need to crack on with is employment. We need to recognise that it’s what students are crying out for.” Pearce said last year’s national demo, which was criticised for its low turnout and ending in a residential park, was “maybe not the right tactic at the right time.” She said: “We should absolutely be fighting for a progressive model of funding for education but we have to recognise that there are other issues as well. “We can’t just keep letting the debate being led by [£9k fees].”
Toni Pearce Vicki Baars
210
Peter Smallwood
91
‘Carbon rod’ (withdrew)
Heavy criticism of NUS during conference Jonathan Robinson and Aidan Phillips The NUS was heavily criticised during its national conference after some delegates were heard clapping at news of Margaret Thatcher’s death, while two protest candidates received strong receptions. NUS president Liam Burns called for calm after some delegates cheered as news of the former prime minister’s death broke during the conference’s opening session. He appeared on stage shortly afterwards, calling on delegates to show respect. He said: “We must not forget that she had family, friends, collegeues and supporters. “It would reflect extremely badly upon us if we were to show disrespect at this time. We are better than that. There’s such a thing as humanity, there’s such a thing as sensitivity.” Later during the conference, UCL democracy and representation officer Sam Gaus received a thundering applause from delegates following a satirical speech on behalf of his inanimate carbon rod. Gaus said: “I was trying to highlight that we may as well elect a non-existent candidate for all the good it will do. We wanted a platform to spread this feeling as more people should be questioning the value of the NUS. “I think it is broken to the point of needing serious overhaul or abstainment.” Soon after, Naomi Beecroft, a friend of
Gaus’ and a committee member of ‘the national campaign against fees and cuts’, launched an angry tirade against the NUS and the Socialist Workers Party. Beecroft criticised her fellow higher education VP candidate, Tomas Evans, and the Socialist Workers Party for failing to fully deal with an accusation of rape earlier this year.
Around 100 delegates then joined Beecroft in a walkout when Tomas Evans took to the stage. Evans said: “These claims against the SWP and myself are unfounded. It was a political attack based on rumours and false allegations, she has no evidence. “These things that are coming out about
rape and apology have been stuck up on blogs and the internet. The people that are attacking us are people who attack us anyway. “Our party has a really good track record for fighting against sexism, such as in our support for the Sussex movement and slut walks.” Following her heated speech, in which she was twice stopped by the conference chair, Beecroft said: “It was incredible to see so many people leaving en masse.” Responding to the criticism, out-going president Liam Burns said: “NUS national conference is the biggest democratic meeting of students anywhere in the world, and so it’s both a really good thing and entirely natural that there will be differences of opinion expressed there. “I think that we need to keep the criticisms of a sometimes vocal minority in context.” Gaus said his decision to stand for election at the conference came about after attending last year’s national demo. He said: “Naomi and I were sitting in a pub after the demo lamenting the inefficacy of the NUS, and we decided to run campaigns to highlight this. “The decision to run as the rod came after my friend Andrew Tindall set up the inanimate carbon rod for NUS president Facebook and Twitter pages.”
5
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
NUS vice-presidents
Conference votes ‘no’ SCIENCE & on holding new demo TECHNOLOGY Lauren Clarke
Rachel Wenstone, Higher education
NUS delegates voted against another national demonstration and campaigning to bring back EMA at the NUS conference. Liam Burns, outgoing NUS president said: “I’m against another demonstration as they are for making change. We have done polling that measured the impact we had. There was a lot of sympathy for the r a t i o n a l e , but not the act of demonstrating. I think there are smarter ways we can be
campaigning.” Last year’s demonstration cost £60,000 but had a poor turnout. Burns said: “It didn’t have the impact I wanted.” Delegates also voted against a ‘Bring Back EMA Battle Plan’. Aaron Kiely, NUS black students officer said: “The scrapping of EMA was a disgrace. EMA needs to be reformed, not removed. Surely we want a system that is better targeted at the people who need it most?”
Joe Vinson, Further education
Photo: Tobias Klenze
Photos: NUS
Raechel Mattey, Union development
NUS declares ‘war’ on lad campus culture Katie Laurence
424 Colum McGuire, Welfare
367 votes needed to win 7 RON 1 Spoilt ballot Dom Anderson, Society and Citizenship
A fringe event asking “What needs to be done to respond to ‘lad culture’ in higher education?” was held during the NUS’ annual conference. Chaired by Kelley Temple, NUS women’s officer, the event asked guest speakers for their own experiences of ‘lad culture’ and how unions can change prevailing attitudes. The presentation was a response to research findings by the NUS on ‘lad culture’ in dayto-day student and campus life. Liam Burns, one of the guests at the event, said he was proud that the NUS had commissioned the research as “no other part of
society has touched this issue with a bargepole”. Lucy Holmes, founder of the ‘No More Page 3’ campaign, gave a talk on her work - a topical issue at the University of Sheffield Students’ Union since Union council recently voted to boycott The Sun without a referendum. She emphasised the importance of social media as a ‘safe platform’ to share views, and said that women have historically found it hard to have a voice. It was decided at the event that a student summit is to be encouraged to develop a national strategy to deal with ‘lad culture’.
Extra medicine loan to Gender quota motion tackle student poverty falls by just nine votes Jonathan Robinson A motion calling for an additional maintenance loan to be made available for medicine and nursing students was passed at conference. ‘Motion 602a’ calls on the NUS to work towards achieving an additional loan payment for students who need extra support over the summer. M a n y medicine and nursing courses last longer than other subjects, with study often running into the summer holidays. This means medicine students have less time to earn money in part-time jobs which in many cases ultimately pays for a student’s rent, living and course
costs. The 602a motion recognises that: “Students who may require additional financial support over the standard summer vacation, such as those with dependents, those studying longer courses (e.g. nursing) or who are estranged from their parents, may be disadvantaged by the current threepayment system.” It comes after the NUS’ ‘Pound in Your Pocket’ survey found medical students faced the most challenging financial system. The survey showed 66 per cent of NHS students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: ‘‘I regularly worry about not having enough money to meet my basic living expenses such as rent and utility bill.’
NEWS
Alisha Rouse A controversial motion that would have made sure 50 per cent of delegates at future NUS conferences were women fell by only nine votes. ‘Motion 701’ was voted by secret ballot, with 268 delegates rejecting the motion, and 259 voting for the proposal. The motion met controversy on Twitter, where delegates argued on the hashtags #nusnc13 and #noto701. Gender balancing was introduced at the University of Sheffield Students’ Union last year, meaning half of our delegates attending NUS national conference were women. The vote was the only secret ballot of this year’s conference, meaning we cannot know how all-male delegations voted. Sheffield women’s officer, Amy Masson said: “I am disappointed that motion 701 did not pass. The sad fact is that we cannot hope
to make our conferences more representative in the near future without quotas. “How long will we be left waiting now?” Rosalia O’Reilly, VP for equality, welfare and diversity at Lancaster spoke against the motion. O’Reilly told Forge Press: “There has been a nine per cent increase in female delegates thanks to women’s campaigns empowering females to run, quotas are lazy corner cutting that defy genuine democracy and equal opportunities, that is why I spoke against them.” University of Sheffield women’s committee chair, Hannah Rudman said: “I was particularly shocked to hear that they felt it necessary to carry out a secret ballot. “We still have a conference that is majority white and male, something clearly needs to change.”
Lab-grown kidney could revolutionise transplants Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have successfully transplanted a lab-grown kidney capable of producing urine in a rat. The procedure involved striping a rat kidney of its old cells, to produce a sort of scaffold. This was then used to rebuild a new kidney using new cells taken from the rat. When transplanted into the rat, these engineered kidneys were less effective than natural ones but the team believe they have made an important step. If further tests prove this technique to be successful then it will have a huge impact for transplant surgery. Current transplant patients have to take drugs to suppress their immune system for the rest of their life, to prevent the kidney being rejected by their bodies defence system. As these engineered kidneys are grown using the patient’s own cells, this problem would be removed. Emily Berry
Morphing material From studying the way tears are both transparent and protective, a team at Harvard University have developed a new material that can morph under deformation to repel liquid. Appearing super-slippery if stretched, pores in the elastic layer of the material become larger, causing the film coating to roughen and allowing for the immobilisation of a sliding water drop. Light and heat as well as pulling the material can cause it to become more opaque. The properties of this substance could be used with tents as it can repel rain water whilst being transparent in the sun. Alys Rudling
Chicken virus kills cancer Virologists at the VirginiaMaryland Regional College have successfully produced a genetically engineered virus capable of killing prostate cancer cells. The virus responsible for Newcastle disease in birds was modified to attack prostrate cells specifically. It does not damage normal cells. Viral treatment of cancer cells could provide alternatives to hormonal therapies and chemotherapy, however this research is still in the discovery phase. Victoria Stanway
6
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
NEWS
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
NATIONAL NEWS Football fan apologises punching police horse
for
A Newcastle United fan who was arrested for punching a police horse during the violence that followed last Sunday’s defeat to Sunderland has said he acted “stupidly and wrongly”. Barry Rogerson said he was “disgusted” by the way he behaved. After the game finished 3-0 to Sunderland, a group of Newcastle fans took to the streets to vent their anger, which saw 29 arrested and four police officers injured. “Somebody set a rocket off, or a banger or something and it spooked the horses” he claimed. “The next thing I knew, the horse came running at me and I instantly reacted, stupidly and wrongly.” When asked about the scarf worn he wore to cover his face, he claimed it was to stop cold air getting to an exposed tooth filling. Phil Blackler Thieves jailed for stealing £57,000 worth of Lego from Toys R Us Two thieves have been jailed for three years and 10 months in total for stealing £57,000 worth of Lego from a Toys R Us van parked outside a motorway service station in Northamptonshire. 27-year-old Andrew Mills, who the judge described as a “professional criminal” and 22-year-old Ben Barton both pleaded guilty to the theft at Northampton Crown Court. The duo unloaded 12,000 boxes of Lego into a getaway vehicle. They were caught after an automated vehicle recognition system found their van to have fake number plates. How the pair were planning to shift their haul is unclear, however Mills’ defence lawyer suggested that the proceeds would be used to fund his cocaine addiction. Iain Gale
Students brew perfect pint with local honey for EU competition Jonathan Robinson Four students from the University of Sheffield have teamed up to create the perfect pint for a prestigious beer competition in Belgium. Engineering students Arjun Krishna and Damini Mahajan, and marketing students Alexandra Nicolau and Martin Fuentes, have created a new beer brand, called ‘114 Sheffield Students’ Beer’. The team had to come up with a brand aimed at students for the AB InBev Best Beer competition - an annual contest organised by the brewer of Stella Artois and Budweiser. The Sheffield team, which is made up of students from India, Chile and Romania, will travel to Leuven, Belgium, later this month to take part in the final. They will compete against Anglia Ruskin college from the University of Cambridge and two Belgian universities for the €4,000 prize. Team member Martin Fuentes said: “We are all really excited about going to Belgium. “The competition is all about marketing the brand and we’ve worked hard to get to this stage in the competition. “Our beer tastes great, is sustainable and is different from anything else. We hope to win!” Arjun and Damini made the 114 beer in partnership with the Sheffield Brewery Company. They describe it as ‘smooth and crisp with a
Anne Williams, who had fought for the new inquest into her son Kevin’s death in the 1989 football tragedy, passed away yesterday after suffering from cancer. Kevin was one of 96 Liverpool fans who died as a result of a crush during an FA Cup match at the Sheffield stadium. Mrs Williams made her last public appearance on Monday at the annual Hillsborough memorial service at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium. Lauren Clarke
refreshing taste and a tinge of honey’. The honey is produced nearby at the University’s beehives. Alexandra and Martin have been responsible for launching a marketing campaign for the beverage, which involved designing a logo, filming a promotional video and organising free taster sessions. The AB InBev Best Beer competition
invites universities from the UK and Belgium to compete against each other in developing a sustainable beer concept. The University of Sheffield team won the UK final last month in Luton, and will pitch their idea to a panel of judges on April 30. The name ‘114’ refers to the number of students enrolled at the University’s foundation in 1905.
Charity wins local family bedroom tax exemption Huang Yanlin A charity has successfully helped a Sheffield family escape the ‘bedroom tax’ and claim that others could be exempt too. The family were told by Sheffield city council that they should pay the bedroom tax, which came into effect on April 1, because their children could share a bedroom even though one
of them is severely disabled. The Sheffield Law centre pointed out that the tax required by Sheffield council breached the family’s human rights because they were being treated the same as non-disabled families. The family had been moved to a bigger property last year because their daughter needed her own room but were told they would have to move back to a smaller
house or pay the bedroom tax. Douglas Johnson, one of equality rights workers, said: “The whole point of Sheffield council rehousing this family in 2012 was because they genuinely realized her need for adequate housing. “I am really pleased the council’s benefits service has made the right decision when there is so much concern about
the impact of the bedroom tax.” Mr Johnson said other families who think they might be exempt from the cuts should get in touch with the council. “There are lots of unique circumstances which the council may not know about, which may mean the bedroom tax does not apply.”
Three staff suspended City’s buildings picked from Children’s Hospital for top regional awards after baby death probe Huang Yanlin
Tom Vigor
Hillsborough justice campaigner Anne Williams dies at 60
Arjun Krishna, Damini Mahajan, Martin Fuentes and Alexandra Nicolau at their launch in Interval
Three members of staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital have been suspended and interviewed by police after the death of a baby girl, allegedly from a morphine overdose. 18-week-old Hanna Faheem was admitted in December with breathing difficulties. Her mother, Naseem Akhtar, from Brightside Sheffield had believed Hanna’s death to be a result of the rare genetic condition Edwards’ syndrome she had been born with. Naseem said she was later told detectives were investigating whether Hanna was given a 3.5mg dose of morphine instead of the correct 0.35mg - 10 times too much. Detectives are awaiting the results of pathology tests, and an inquest has been opened The possibility of Hanna’s death being a result of anything but Edward’s syndrome was revealed when South Yorkshire
police arrived at the house of the family to stop her funeral. The condition, also known as trisomy 18, causes nearly threequarters of babies suffering from it to be miscarried or stillborn. This tragedy follows a number of other incidents at Sheffield Children’s Hospital which have been published in an annual report. The report states that formal complaints were up by more than a third, from 79 last year to 120. It also stated that: “Following death, a patient was transferred to an external hospital without consent of the coroner, and in breach of the local guidelines.” Other incidents include private medical records being left out in public, a delay in returning samples to a number of families and a case of a child being given an overdose of opiates. The hospital have refused to comment on the ongoing investigation into Hanna’s death.
Four buildings in Sheffield have been shortlisted for a top regional architecture award. The Royal Institute of British Architects Yorkshire awards aims to discover innovative architecture in the country. There are eight buildings shortlisted and half of them are in Sheffield. They include 192 Shoreham Street, SOAR Works, the U-Mix centre, and the first phase of the Park Hill revamp. 192 Shoreham Street, which is designed by Project Orange, was listed as one of the most interesting buildings in 2012. The structure looks like one building
Revamped Park Hill flats
stacked on top of another. SOAR Works is a new purpose built enterprise centre in north east Sheffield and the U-Mix Centre is a £2.5 million youth facility on Lowfield Open Space. The new Park Hill revamp has also been nominated. Nicole Woodman, who is working with Urban Splash to develop the new apartments, said: “We are very pleased Park Hill has been shortlisted. The new colorful windows have transformed the Sheffield skyline.” The regional results will be announced in June and the winner will be considered for a RIBA National Award.
192 Shoreham Street
7
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com
Celebratory Thatcher death parties held in city centre Jessica Pitocchi Around 100 people united outside Sheffield City Hall for an organised party on Wednesday, celebrating the day of Margaret Thatcher’s funeral. Plaques and banners branding phrases like ‘Rot In Purgatory’ and ‘Thatcher: Government of the Rich by the Rich for the Rich’ were held by members of the crowds. Attendees listened to speeches from teachers and supporters expressing their anger at ‘biased’ media coverage and the £10 million spent on the former prime minister’s funeral, which was labelled a “disgrace”. Members of the crowd addressed the fact that some people may not agree with what they are doing but retaliated the statement: “When the oppressor dies, the oppressed celebrate”. Live music was also performed including the song ‘Maggie’s Dead’ which was performed by one of the organisers of the gathering, Laura Acaster. John Baxter from University College Union and a supporter of UK Uncuts wore a black suit and told the crowd: “Not for Thatcher, for those whose lives were prematurely obliterated”. He told Forge Press: “I’m sad today, actually. It’s all been a bit of an anti-climax. A footnote. “I understand people want to dance on her grave and I understand the anger, but I’m just sad because of all the sorrow she has caused.”
There was light policing at the event starting at 5pm, having been put together as an open Facebook page by UK Uncuts, which slowly saw more and more people gather in the square. Some turned up in brightlycoloured attire to adhere to the Facebook-requested dress code of ‘80s’. The festivities had all cleared by around 6.15pm which seemed disappointing to some supporters. Posts on the Facebook group included: “That was possibly the dullest sendoff I’ve ever attended” and “not exactly the riotous street party we hoped for”. However, the party continued later that night at 8pm at nightclub Plug, who organised a special ‘Ding Dong Maggie’s Gone’ event - which included live bands and DJs until 2am. Plug owner Adele Bailey told Forge Press: “UK Uncuts and a couple of Unions approached us about holding the event here and we agreed. “Some people have been waiting 30 years for this moment. “The average age of the people here tonight will be about late 40s. Their days of violence are long gone, they just want to get together with their mates and have a party. “We appreciate it is for some in distaste, but most have been waiting 30 years for this.” A celebratory party was also held in Lloyd’s Bar on the day of her death.
Photos: Adam Hancock and Jessica Pitocchi
Residents of a South Yorkshire village burned an effigy of Margaret Thatcher and staged an alternative funeral celebrating her death yesterday. Thousands marched through Goldthorpe, near Barnsley, parading old union banners and singing. An effigy was carried on a horse-drawn cart with the words ‘Rot in hell with Jimmy Savile’ written on its side. A red and white floral display alongside the coffin read simply ‘scab’. Glynn, 51, a miner between 1979 and 1994, from Thurnscoe said: “During the strike we lived on £1 a day for 13 months to save our jobs. It shows just how close we were because everybody held together. “She destroyed the place, but she didn’t destroy the people.” Anne Scargill, a prominent campaigner and former wife of union boss Arthur, said: “I think you can understand why they are doing it because in this community they were decimated. “I am glad I am here today not in London, you can see the excitement.” The effigy was set ablaze and fireworks set off to cheers outside the Rusty Dudley club on Main Street.
Adam Rich, 21, from Goldthorpe said: “She deserves to be gone. At the end of the day she didn’t think of our families when she was closing the pits.” Tina Giles, a retired teacher from Wombwell said: “I’m here because of what this woman did to our community in general. I think what she did was appalling.” The protests and parties seen since Margaret Thatcher died have caused anger for some, but Jeanette Ottewell, 48, from Bolton-on-Dearne said: “They are going to be unhappy, it never affected them. “The rich got richer, while the poor got poorer. If the mines hadn’t been shut down here the young ones would have had a job.” Liz Nosworthy, 27, from Balby said: “It’s absolutely disgusting that we have to pay for this when Thatcher’s son has so much. The effect she had on these communities still has repurcussions. “This is our way of closing the door really.”
www.forgetoday.com
DOT COM
Applicants wanted for Mars colony The Dutch organisation Mars One has announced it will be opening applications to give would-be astronauts the chance to go to Mars. But there’s a twist – the journey is one-way only. Mars One’s co-founder Bas Lansdorp explained that “after spending time on Mars’ much weaker gravitational field, it would be almost impossible to readjust back to Earth’s much stronger gravity.” Unlike other private spaceflight projects, Mars One wants to establish a permanent colony on the red planet, with the first humans due to arrive in 2023. The entire project is to be televised, and it is hoped that the income generated by this will provide much of the funding required. Some remain sceptical about the project, with Dr Veronica Bray from University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory raising doubts about whether humans would be able to survive for an extended period of time on Mars, due to its hostile environment.
Rat poison bread rolls put 25 German workers in hospital
Goldthorpe residents burn an effigy of Margaret Thatcher
Memorial service as SWFC remembers Hillsbrough disaster Lauren Clarke Over 100 people attended a short service at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club this week to remember the 96 Liverpool fans who died in the Hillsborough disaster. Led by Sheffield Wednesday’s
club chaplain, Reverend Peter Allen, at the permanent memorial on Parkside Road, the service included a minute’s silence and prayers for those who died. Owls chairman Milan Mandaric laid a wreath of flowers on behalf of the club.
What’s on your mind? Comment on this article online:
WORLD NEWS
Christopher Noble
Fake ‘Thatcher’ coffin set on fire near Barnsley Aidan Barlow
NEWS
Photos: Lauren Clarke
25 employees have been hospitalised in Germany after consuming bread rolls which were laced with rat poison. The workers from a plastics firm in Lower Saxony began eating the rolls before a member of staff noticed an unusual substance and called the emergency services. The rest of the rolls were flown to Berlin for laboratory testing where it was confirmed the rolls contained rat poison. Staff presumed the rolls were a gift, as they were found in a box with a note left on the company’s doorstep. Police say there are no suspects and the motive is not yet known. Neeru Sharma New Zealand legalises marriage in landmark vote
gay
New Zealand has become the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to legalise gay marriage. Lawmakers amended the country’s 1955 Marriage Act, with 77 votes in favour and 44 against. Hundreds of gay-rights activists celebrated in the parliament’s public gallery and broke into song, singing a national love song called ‘Pokarekare Ana’. Jonathan Robinson
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
8
COMMENT
@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com Photo: Salford University/Flickr
At least the milk’s safe now
Isaac Stovell reflects on the legacy of the iconic prime minister who changed the face of Britain Isaac Stovell For some reason figures with a historical footprint as large as Margaret Thatcher’s are seldom able to die without widespread public controversy. Tweets from David Cameron (she “didn’t just lead our country, she saved our country”) and George Galloway (“may she burn in the hellfires”) encapsulate the hugely polarised responses. There are many mourning the loss deeply; looking back in sad fondness at the terrific changes the Tory Queen wrought upon her country. There are likewise others cheering; Milk-Snatcher’s snuffed it and they expect Britain to swing back to pre-1979 glory again. I think both responses are significantly wrong. The mournful responses have tended to idolise her in a dangerously blinkered fashion. Certainly she was a very impressive politician: the UK’s first female Prime Minister, and her stubborn
assertiveness and stark drive saw her make larger changes to society than almost any other - but, with all due respect, Maggie’s stint in office broke Britain.
‘The mournful responses have tended to idolised her in a dangerously blinkered fashion. ’
Throughout her 11-year ideological tenure, trade unions were disempowered, public transport and utilities deregulated, core national industries undermined, and “free market” policies rewarded activities that disproportionately benefited the rich (such as financial speculation and corporate monopolisation), to the extent that they are now potential economic threats. She laid the groundwork that enabled a parasitic elite to form its stranglehold on modern business, with devastating effects - as Owen Jones wrote in the Independent, “working-class communities were
trashed – and, in some cases, never recovered” (Jones’ book Chavs contains several cogent exposures of how Thatcherite policies lead to current inequalities). If general public quality of life is to be taken as the measure of successful policymaking, the evidence of hindsight shows Thatcher’s legacy to be an extremely negative one. The latter response however, has dehumanised her hatefully and wrongly. Just because an old woman’s former neoconservative reign plunged many lives out of order doesn’t make celebrating her death in the slightest bit okay.
‘Working-class communities were trashed – and, in some cases, never recovered’ Most of you probably saw a social media post proclaiming something along the lines of “it’s party time”, and ‘Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead’ from The Wizard of Oz topped iTunes’ popular
singles list. Sickening. Baroness Thatcher’s departure is soberly tragic, as is any human being’s.
‘I’m not happy that Thatcher died, but I do wish her legacy had died sooner’ I think alongside this baseness is hypocrisy; party-throwinglefties to some degree betray their own moral stance by celebrating death. Russell Brand commented in the Guardian, “if you opposed Thatcher’s ideas it was likely because of their lack of compassion… If love is something you cherish, it is hard to glean much joy from death, even in one’s enemies.” I agree – the ethical basis of left-wing thought is compassion; finding a way to cooperate, to provide, to help. A contrast, then, to the more Thatcherite ethical standpoint, which is harsher, more selfish, more callous; the belief that “other people’s pain is
not your problem” and the best thing for everyone would be to just look after themselves. Sadly, that uncompassionate tendency is prevalent in modern society (which there is, undisputedly, such as thing as) – perhaps Thatcherism’s main impact was not the policies that destroyed communities via their economy, but the individualistic philosophy that destroyed communities by interpersonally diminishing them.
‘That uncompassionate tendency is prevalent in modern society’ I’m not happy that Thatcher is dead, but I do wish her legacy had died sooner.
Join the Conversation: @ForgeComment on Twitter facebook.com/ForgeComment
9
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com
COMMENT
Photo: Milton CJ/Flickr
The rod is not angry, it is irate Michael Turner In student politics, lighthearted manifestos are far from uncommon, and as someone who finds the plethora of placardwielding candidates more irritating than informative, they supply a welcome reprieve from the otherwise bland uniformity of what is essentially five people with similar ideas staging a popularity contest. Whilst some of these efforts are undoubtedly just good-humoured nonsense (in 2008, the University of York elected a pirate as president of their SU), joke candidates can be a powerful satirical tool.
‘It is a serious candidate for what has become a joke position’ At the recent NUS presidential election, Andrew Tindall and Sam Gaus’s delightfully tongue-incheek submission of an ‘inanimate carbon rod’ was more protest than playful student banter. Inspired by an episode of
The Simpsons, the rod pledged not to “spend time fighting for buzzwords” or “making repetitive, generic policy”, emphasising the very real concerns of the students behind the campaign. The campaign was initiated because of the apparent alienation of students by the NUS, and because of the founders’ frustrations at campaigns that “rehash empty slogans” and leadership “decided by cliques”. The rod’s manifesto is something to behold, with genuine political assertions sandwiched between crudely reproduced scenes from the Simpsons and some of the rod’s more radical motions, such as the training of “800,000 death cyborgs”. What started out as a lighthearted dig at the student political establishment gained momentum quickly owing to social media, and before long the rod had garnered more online support than any other candidate. With previous president Liam Burns receiving heavy criticism for his perceived lack of action over the trebling of tuition fees, the inanimate carbon rod embodies the notion of impotence and lack
of meaningful action in the NUS. After all, there seems little point in electing the much-coveted ‘student voice’ if in the real world, nobody is listening. As Gaus put it in his speech at the NUS conference:
“The Inanimate Carbon Rod is not a joke candidate. It is a serious candidate for what has become a joke position.”
In concluding his speech on behalf of the inanimate carbon rod (worth a watch on YouTube), Sam Gaus declared that he felt he had made his point and withdrew the rod from the presidential race, which was eventually won by Toni Pearce, who had previously been vice-president for further education. Ms Pearce gained 58 per cent of the votes, promising to campaign for an improved postgraduate funding scheme and a replacement for EMA. Whilst both the margin of victory and the manifesto pledges are admirable, they bring to light further questions about the effectiveness of the presidential position, as posed by (you guessed it) the inanimate carbon rod. As president, Pearce represents the UK’s nine million or so students, yet the total number of delegates voting in the election was 732, and I have a suspicion that if approached, the average student would be unaware of the existence of Toni Pearce, Liam Burns, or even that there had been an NUS conference in the last week, which is hardly indicative of representation. It will be interesting to see
whether or not Ms Pearce has any success in her lobbying for change – again, it seems that student awareness of action taken by the NUS is limited.
‘It seems that student awareness of action taken by the NUS is limited’ The conference also discussed the way the organisation’s budget will be set out and a variety of motions concerning the priorities of the NUS in the upcoming year. Without a doubt, the discussions brought together students to discuss issues that are pivotal to the continuing improvement of the student experience, and evoked passion in people who really do care about the future of higher education. The goal now is to link the enthusiasm of that minority to genuine results that can be observed by the majority, and that is what this latest generation of NUS electees must achieve. Otherwise next year’s candidates may find themselves up against stiff competition.
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
10
COMMENT
@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com Photo: Jennifer Boyer/Flickr
Belfast NUS delegate’s abortion vote: Women’s officers need to be able to vote on their conscience
Laura Elliot On March 27, Aisling Gallagher, elected National Union of Students (NUS) and Union of Students in Ireland (USI) women’s officer, was removed from her position as a Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union delegate after casting a divisive conscience vote on abortion rights. The controversy arose after Gallagher voted against the neutral position of her University, QUB, and stood pro-choice in favour of the USI’s initiative to tackle the worrying increase in rogue crisis pregnancy agencies in Ireland. QUB’s subsequent decision
to remove her delegate status and revoke her voting rights for the duration of the conference sparked widespread debate across the student press. However, Gallagher has since received extensive student and delegate support for her decision to vote with her conscience at a conference for which none of the delegates were specifically elected, but rather, as councillors already chosen by their University’s students, had expressed their interest and were therefore allowed to attend. In a written interview I conducted via email with Aisling, she claimed that she could not simply remain neutral on the rights of women to an abortion, saying that she was ‘not willing for
a Northern Irish [case like] Savita Halappanavar’s to happen, and neither are a lot of people’.
‘The women’s officer should be able to stand for what she believes in, and for the rights of women in N.Ireland’ Although the debate concerning whether Gallagher and the other delegates were there to vote according to their union’s mandate or according to their own conscience is still ongoing, I doubt that many would disagree with her views on Savita Halappanaver’s tragic death, reported in the
Guardian on April 2 only days after Aisling had her voting rights revoked. In the Guardian’s report, Savita’s husband claimed that his wife died in October last year after being denied a termination at the University Hospital Galway, despite the fact she was in the midst of a miscarriage and the foetus was later found to be unviable. In the face of such an extreme example of the pro-life stance of Irish politics, can anyone really argue that a vote regarding abortion rights at a USI conference is not a vote according to conscience? Ms. Gallagher says no, and although so far she believes that her situation has been handled ‘horribly’, in the concluding segment of our
interview she also said that in order to prevent future tragedies such as Savita’s, it is “important that at every opportunity we get we make our views heard, because if we don’t the government will not recognise the fact that things are changing”. In a statement released at the conference by the QUB Students’ union president, Jason O’Neill, he said that Gallagher’s actions “will be considered by the Students’ Union council on April 18 2013”. It can only be hoped that on that day the council followed their own conscience, and stood in full support of their national women’s officer’s right to stand up for what she believes in, and more importantly, for the rights of women in Northern Ireland.
Time for a major change of Korea Mark Lomasney Despite being a politics student I know very little about North Korea, but then again who does? After all, North Korea is renowned for its secrecy and fear of the outside world. However, what insight the world has had into North Korea paints a bleak picture of impoverished citizens living in dire conditions and eccentric leaders who have achieved cult status through hugely repressive censorship. One of the more bizarre and humorous stories to emerge in recent years reported that the previous leader Kim Jong-Il, completed his first ever round of golf in 38 strokes including an array of hole in ones - Tiger Woods, eat your heart out. Unfortunately though, North Korea has recently dominated headlines over bellicose nuclear threats against South Korea, Japan and Washington rather than its current leaders Kim Jong-un’s sporting accolades, although his haircut is said to have set the trend across the country.
Technically, North and South Korea have been at war since the 1950s as they never signed a peace treaty following the Korean War between 1950 and 1953 but relations between the North and South have heated up recently with North Korea embarking on a nuclear programme. Since the North’s nuclear tests in February, tensions have remained cold on both sides of the peninsula with the world unsure whether threats from Pyongyang will erupt into war.
‘Kim Jong-Il completed his first round of golf in 39 strokes - Tiger Woods, eat your heart out’ Over the past 50 years China has aligned itself with the North due to shared political ideologies whilst the South allied itself the US. Unsurprisingly, the US has been quick to condemn the actions of the North, warning they are “skating very close to a dangerous line” with the threat of further nuclear testing and attacks
in South Korean, Japanese and American military basis in the area. Fortunately though China has come out and condemned its allies. In a speech this week Chinese President XI Jinping warned “noone should be allowed to throw a region and even the whole world into chaos for selfish gains”. Over the weekend China and America have also pledged to work together to persuade the North to give up its nuclear programme, a move which will surely show Kim Jong-Un that the world is not prepared to let him abuse his vast power as he likes. Outside of Korea, the G8 have also promised to make the Korean dispute a priority at the upcoming summit, a clear commitment to resolving the tensions. With the world determined to avoid a further escalation in the dispute and most importantly China’s public condemnation of Pyongyang it seems likely that North Korea will hold back on its nuclear programme. Maybe then before too long we will be looking at Psy, the other public face of the Korean peninsula, again - although we can always hope not.
Photo: petersnoopy/Flickr
11
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com
LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET (choice of)
Photo: LoopZilla/Flickr
Victoria Ngow There are three Tesco and two Sainsbury’s stores within a 10 minute walking distance of my room. Yet another Sainsbury’s will be opening its doors here in Sheffield in the place of the Old Cart and Horses Inn, Ecclesfield. With my basic understanding of economics, surely there are more grocers than there is demand. How they possibly compete (profitably!) is beyond me. Yet, the figures continue to show otherwise. There are over 1000 Sainsbury’s and 3000 Tescos in UK! Over 500 supermarkets were granted planning permission over two years. Should we worry about this Tesco and Sainsbury’s domination in Sheffield? As with all large businesses, Tesco has become synonymous with all the things people hate about large businesses. These suffocatingly large retailers threaten the existence of independent butchers and grocers, and so on. Then there are aesthetic issues that arise, like whether our housing areas are disrupted visually and noise-wise. In a free-market economy, a company can’t be forced to stop expanding just because its competitors struggle to keep up.
The same phenomena can be observed in other retail sectors; H&M affects local boutiques, Starbucks onto little cafes. The most sensible path of evolution is a dose of healthy competition, and so large supermarket chains and independents can coexist. In the US, there’s IGA- a supermarket chain-owned franchised and owned by independent grocers. I trust the local councils have carefully considered the interests of all those affected before granting planning permission. After all, it would be silly to ignore the modern consumers spending habits at large retailers. Besides, Sainsbury’s promises to create 10,000 jobs over three years, which sounds jolly well.
‘Tesco has become synonymous with all the things people hate about large businesses’ An amusing clash between retailers occurred in Highland. The Highland council rejected an application from Tesco and approved Asda, on the basis that there were “too many Tescos.” Tesco argued that it was “simply because of a desire to undermine the Tesco development”.
No other council should present such biased reasons. There are more pressing issues to deal with, like whether there’s horsemeat in our beef for example, if our cows are milked ethically, if all our supermarkets’ supply chains are reliable.
‘I don’t mind large grocery retailiers. As a student, Tesco is a godsend’ Personally, I do not mind these large grocery retailers popping up around every corner. As a student, Tesco is a godsend. We don’t own cars and share tiny kitchens which means we must resort to shopping frequently in small quantities. The more outlets coming closer to me, the more convenient! Besides, the meal deals offered are nutritious, affordable luxuries. My heart skips a beat when I see yet another food item on sale at the Tesco Express on the way home. Perhaps I would feel prouder of myself if I shopped at an independent grocer, but there aren’t any around the corner, and so Sainsbury’s is fine.
COMMENT Editorial
Thank you, and goodbye This is my final issue of Forge Press. Swings and roundabouts of cat campaigns, chasing an angry Liam Burns around in the rain, and hiding under my desk, shaking. I hope we’ve brought our readers a quality of student journalism they can be proud of, and allowed tomorrow’s journalists to get their first flourish into the industry. Student media is something incredibly important to me: Grown adults can shout you down, ignore you, and even ban you (nice try, guys), but the enthusiasm to expose corruption at the top levels of university life and hold your representatives to account is the cornerstone of this microcosm of society we all live in. We have the government (the officers), big business fat cats (ACS), taxpayers (students), and us; the free press. At Sheffield we’re lucky to be independent of both the University and the Students’ Union, and hopefully we’ve left a legacy that proves the overarching importance of this system. Sure, the team and I are full-time students, producing a 48-page fortnightly newspaper, running a multimedia website and attempting to eat and sleep occasionally without throwing our shite printer out of the window. But the experience and knowledge we gain from this system puts both the team and all its contributors in a great standing to get real, paid work in the industry. Seriously though, our printer
Alisha Rouse
D.A.R.T.S.
is fucking terrible. Many an hour has been spent kicking the living crap out of it, then kissing it when it tentatively prints a dodgy black and white page. The new team will take over our printer woes next issue, and I’m confident that they will continue to produce the high quality of student journalism you’ve come to expect. The printer aside, this year’s team has primarily been plagued by the NUS. Having to cover one terrible national demo, and two equally terrible national conferences, our faith in student democracy was shaken, having barely existed to begin with. Between Labour-safe-seatwannabees and self-righteous miscreants, the passion of many in the movement is lost in a sea of politics-laden motions and grown adults in Superman capes. Put that next to a muddy demo in a forgotten park somewhere in zone two, where anarchists lobbed fruit at a hysterical Liam Burns in front of a grand total of 45 people, and students are left feeling pretty disaffected. But hey ho, good luck to you all with that, and a massive thank you to the wonderful 35 people I’ve had the pleasure of managing. Despite their egos and occasional breakdowns (mine included), it’s been a blast. If you need me, I will be found in the Wick, drinking cocktails and crying into old copies of my lovely little paper.
Forge Press editor editor@forgetoday.com
Forge Press takes its satirical aim
Through the static and distance, a farewell transmission It’s been an exciting year for Comment, alas our tenure at the desk of whimsy is drawing to end and we’re getting all teary-eyed and emotional. We look back fondly at the hours spent coming up with terrible puns, being shouted at by our tempestuous editor Alisha, and writing horrendously libellous DARTS, only to have them axed by our evil overlord Mikey Smith. Still, we have reason to be proud. We are proud of our contributors, as cheesy as that sounds, who often surprised us cynical bastards with intelligent, eloquent and witty contributions that didn’t just confirm biases, but challenged the baseless assumptions and blanket statements too often found in other Comment sections. Unfortunately, those articles
usually weren’t the ones with the most hits on the website. I guess you’re all just a bunch of filthy ignoramuses. Nevertheless, our time is coming to an end, and we’re proud to hand over to the new folks. They’ll lead the section forwards, not backwards; upwards, not forwards; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards a paradise of pompous polemics, pop cultural references, and endless, glorious puns.
Quote of the fortnight: “I couldn’t give a fuck about Forge Press” - Rowan Ramsden, Forge Press deputy editor
12
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
ADVERTISEMENT
13
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgepress /forgepress letters@forgetoday.com
LETTERS
Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to:
Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Mass walk-out at NUS conference following denial of Gender quota motion falls at NUS conference
rape apology
A lot of people aren’t going to be happy with me saying this, but I’m glad this failed.
This is great news. The SWP should be shunned in all universities and in student unions both locally and nationally. Whenever someone from that vile and despicable party gets up to speak, they should be reminded of their kangaroo court methodology of dealing with a rape claim. There should be no place for the SWP in any union, be it a student union, or a trade union. Michael Ezra Click on Michael Ezra’s profile and he describes himself as a “Hedge Fund Guru and anti-Communist”. No vested interests there then.
Sexism is the least of the NUS’ problems.
If the point of feminism is to attain a parity with men, then I have never understood why exactly feminists of Masson’s ilk insist on fussing over numerical equality at the expense of actual equal treatment. Treating gender equality as if it is a mere numbers game surely does the cause no real favours and if anything arguably puts it back a step or two. Think of it this way, where you start imposing quotas you end up with a situation where, in this instance, delegates are selected because they are women. Ok, so there may be some competition for the job, but it will simply be “which woman is best suited for it”. Without quotas, the selection of delegates comes down solely to the issue of who is best to do it, irrespective of their gender.
Paul Gardner
Imposing quotas (or any other form of so-called “positive discrimination”) simply seems to place more emphasis on exactly the thing that shouldn’t be at issue – what gender you are.
Julia Cohen
At the end of the day the NUS, as with every other organisation, needs people who can do the task that they are being asked to fulfil. If it happens to be the case that they believe a woman is best to do it, then that’s fine. It’s surely no less fine, however, if they pick a man to do it. As long as everyone is treated the same way in the selection process, then surely that’s all that matters.
Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to:
Party to celebrate Thatcher’s death to take place in city centre Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Whilst many obviously disagree with the policies of Margaret Thatcher and what she did, I don’t think it’s right to have a party about the death of an 87 year old woman, who’d been ill for some time, and had family and friends who cared about her. Celebrate the decline of Thatcherism, but not the death of a stroke victim. Christopher Noble Although it is normal not to celebrate someone dying, in this case it is warranted. Forget the first natural instinct to care, she never did. i am happy that an evil influence on this planet has gone. Mark Thompson
Alex Smithson
NUS president responds to Thatcher death Since when has the NUS not been extreme? It’s pretty much never been the case that it hasn’t been in the hands of the far-left, who unfortunately seem to dominate these kind of things and thus comprehensively fail to represent those of us who aren’t so keen on the notion that Marx was right about everything. Why should it start being more sensible now, it’s not like students are under attack more than ever before and need a strong body that represents us all to actually fight fo our interests. Oh, wait…
Alex Smithson
16
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
Salma Haidrani investigates the trend of female students doing promotional work for local nightclubs Are these jobs sexually exploitative?
I
@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com
t’s approaching midnight on the streets of Sheffield and Mercury Taxis are descending on the centre of a town littered with revellers. Nightclub doors are open and music is blaring down the streets. A queue begins to form with the overpowering scent of aftershave and cologne lingering unpleasantly in the air. Women huddle together to shield themselves from the bitter Sheffield cold. Dressed in hotpants and a skimpy crop top, Charlotte* is immediately let in first to enter the venue, much to the dismay of her fellow party-goers. But she isn’t just here to party – she’s getting paid. Photos from your favourite latenight mid-week haunt of guys surrounded by promo girls wearing hot pants emblazoned with the club night’s name, knee high socks and little else can be an inescapable feature of our Facebook news feeds the morning after a night out. What would initially appear to be a harmless and lucrative part-time job opportunity for cash-strapped female students, however, may not be the case. With debt for students starting university this academic year estimated to total an astounding £53, 400, it’s unsurprising that a plethora of renowned club nights have reported an unprecedented surge in female students combining their passion for socialising and earning an income by acting as promoters for club nights. At present, female students constitute one in three of all promo girls in Sheffield. And with the National Association of Student Employment Services (NASES) advising students not to work for more than 15 hours a week, the flexibility of evening shifts late into the night, which can complement a demanding schedule of lectures and essay-writing, might be increasingly attractive for undergraduates. On the surface, promo girl recruitment bears a resemblance to traditional part-time jobs, such as pulling pints or waiting tables, which offer students a valuable source of income to support their studies. In stark contrast, however, to the reliable monthly income of their counterparts, promo girl vacancies are commission-based, meaning their earnings are reliant on how many students they can persuade to party or how many bar crawl t-shirts are sold. But when commission can be as measly as a few quid, working as a promo girl is arguably little more than financial exploitation. Fourth year student Charlotte works as a promo girl at one of Sheffield’s biggest midweek student nights out. “Initially, working as promo girl seemed ideal as I was getting paid to party in one of my favourite clubs in Sheffield, have my photos taken and received so much male attention and compliments on my looks – which
boosted my self-esteem,” says Charlotte. “But before long, I wasn’t making enough money to pay my bills or to contribute to my monthly rent, while the club night organizers received the majority of profits.” She could not advocate working as a promo girl for monetary gain, ‘‘In hindsight I should have applied for a job where I would at least have received a monthly paycheck. “A contracted part-time job with a reliable monthly income is a much more attractive and safe option for students.” However it isn’t merely economic exploitation which is an inescapable feature of working as a promo girl but the, perhaps not-so-subtle, sexual exploitation. Unlike the majority of part-time student jobs which require tangible academic qualifications or relevant work experience, to qualify as a promo girl entails more superficial criteria. Aspiring promo girls are expected to be outgoing, bubbly and oozing with confidence, but most importantly they must meet the requirement of physical attractiveness. The criteria including hair colour, height, skin colour and bust size is abundant in online job applications. One advertisement looks for ‘two beautiful blonde girls to work as promo girls at a VIP party’ and another ‘tall attractive girls to sell shots’. And some are even more forthright, saying applicants ‘must be smoking hot providing plenty of eye candy’, suggesting this will cause male party-goers to ‘automatically like’ the clubnight being promoted.
“The criteria including hair colour, height, skin colour and bust size is abundant in online job applications”
In all applications, the prospective promo girl is required to attach a full-length photo with the threat that the candidates will not hear back if they opt out of doing so. Even more worryingly, club promoters are increasingly scouring social networking sites in an effort to lure cash-strapped students to promote their club nights. But club promoters are not exempt from recruiting female club promoters outside of the virtual world. Second year student Jessica* works as a promo girl in one of Sheffield’s most popular mid-week student nights out, and was recruited while partying. “I was on a night out with friends in one of my favourite clubs in Sheffield. A club promoter of a popular nightclub in the centre of Sheffield approached me and offered me a job. “I was initially hesitant but later accepted as it sounded fun. Although my parents aren’t keen on my job, even labelling it as seedy, I need the extra income.” Even she acknowledges, however, that being hired was not owing to her academic credentials or past work experience,
17
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
Secret diary of a promo girl but solely on account of her long blonde hair, tanned skin and statuesque physique which are so sought after by the club promoting industry. “My physical appearance has undoubtedly played a factor in why I work as a promo girl,” she says. “I very much doubt that if I didn’t look the way that I do now I would have been recruited.”
“It further promulgates the objectification of women which is already so engrained in our culture – especially in student culture”
Promo girls are required to dress in a provocative ‘uniform’ donning little more than tight crop tops bearing the club night’s name, tiny hotpants and towering platform heels to flaunt their breasts, bums and thighs. In some extreme circumstances, female students are even expected to wear bikinis. In promotional adverts and videos for some club nights, female employees are featured scantily clad and pouting provocatively at the camera. In stark contrast male club night organisers are not required to adhere to a ‘company policy’ requiring them to work in minimal clothing displaying their flesh in an effort to drive up sales of club nights in an identical fashion. University of Sheffield’s women’s councillor Lucy Pedrick concurs, “Often the clothing that staff are obligated to wear could be deemed exploitative as it is specifically designed to be sexually provocative. “What this essentially means is that many women working as club promoters are employed less for their competence at verbally selling a product and more as mannequins. This is potentially harmful as it further promulgates the objectification of women which is already so engrained in our culture – especially in student culture. “There is nothing inherently wrong with having a dress code for staff, but when the dress code is so overtly sexualised as it often is, and taken in the context of broader sexualisation of women in society, I do think questions need to be asked about how useful it really is.” Enforcing such a dress code for female employees solely for men’s titillation can worryingly expose them to unwelcome danger. Psychology student Louise*, left her job as a promo girl after two months, having repeatedly experienced physical and verbal harassment and intimidation from male party-goers whilst working. “When I was recruited in my third year of university, I naïvely and foolishly overlooked the underlying dangers of the job,” she says. “On an average night working, I’ve had drunk male students wrap their arms around my waist, try
to kiss me or grope my backside. I’ve even had men call me ‘slut’ or ‘whore’ if I refused their advances. “Although I complained to the club night organisers, they excused their behaviour as banter and typical of drunken men. I’ve never worked anywhere else where every night is a battle to keep men’s fingers off my body.” With a recent study by the National Union of Students (NUS) revealing that one in seven female students has been a victim of sexual assault or violence, it would appear that club nights throughout the UK may be increasingly hazardous for your average female student. What risks do they pose then to the promo girls expected to entertain? It can be argued, however, that promo girls are not so financially and sexually exploited, and that it can be a fun and enjoyable part-time career for students supporting their studies. English Literature graduate and former promo girl Emma* agrees, maintaining that cash-strapped students are in reality exploiting the club night organisers by enjoying wild parties and excessive drinking while making some much-needed money. “I think a lot of people feel that promo girls have no other option, that they’re being exploited. But that couldn’t be further from reality,” she says. “Working as a promo girl is just like partying a couple of nights a week in one of your favourite clubs with your girlfriends, which is what I would have done even if I hadn’t been recruited – it’s just a bonus I’m earning money to do it. “If I wanted a secure wage, I’d go back to my old job waiting tables but why not make money and have fun whilst I’m young?” Emma also maintains that promo girl recruitment is not too dissimilar from high street retailers, who allegedly recruit staff solely on the basis of their physical appearance: “Promo girls are not the only exception where women are paid to look a certain way.” But, prospective promo girls, although free club entry and queue jump in exchange for donning risqué outfits may seem an easy way to earn money, there is no need to resort to accepting the job immediately. Take your time to ensure exactly what the job entails, how and when you will be paid and to explore the abundance of student-friendly part-time jobs available in the city. Although sending out innumerable CVs in the mere hope that an employer will hire you may seem like a more timeconsuming route than being paid to party, what could be more satisfying – and empowering – than being hired on the basis of your actual qualifications as opposed to your physical appearance? While part-time promotion work can provide an invaluable source of income for students, not forgetting the added perks of free entry and unlimited free drinks, any job which expects women to flaunt their bodies for monetary gain and solely for men’s titillation adds to an existing culture in which women are reduced to sex objects, commodities to be bought, seen and – ultimately – discarded. *Names have been changed.
Images: (right) Rob Shenk/Flickr (left) Qsimple/Flickr
14
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
Conflict & Crisis
Words: Benjamin Swift Photo: ScottMontreal/Flickr
15
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
I
n their speeches, politicians stress that as we fight in far off conflicts such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Mali we are fighting a war for freedom, for democracy in these parts of the world. Islamic jihadist groups such as Al Qaeda are fighting against democratic, egalitarian principles and are a threat to the security and prosperity of western democracy. The frontline of democracy, however, isn’t in Kandahar or in the corrupted and flawed democracy of Baghdad. The great call for freedom in the early 21st century comes from the Syrian people where 200 people die daily in a conflict to bring about a democratic and pluralistic society. Syria’s civil war started on March 15 2011. In almost two years of conflict it has resulted in the death of approximately 70,000 people according to UN figures, 49,390 of those casualties being children. As a conflict that has caused the mass displacement of over a million people, it is having a huge effect on the surrounding regions where the country of Jordan has had the largest influx of refugees but countries such as Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon have also felt this impact. Inspired by the Arab spring, and the demands for democracy across the middle east, the conflict began with peaceful protests against a regime which has used torture, brutality and murder for 40 years to repress its people and silence their demands for the inalienable human right to live in security, peace and freedom. However, these horrifying figures fail to really put a face on one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 21st century. Forge Press met with Maher Barotchi, a native Syrian who has now lived in Britain for 25 years. Mr Barotchi came to the UK after he was awarded a scholarship from the University of Aleppo to study abroad. As an educated Syrian who plans to return to his country after the war, him and his peers will be at the forefront of the rebuilding process once the war is over. Having been vocal in his condemnation of the regime in his own country, he discovered after completing his course and preparing to return to Syria that he had been blacklisted. He tells me that the regime uses interrogation and torture to inspire fear. If he returned to his country, he would be detained, interrogated and most likely tortured to be made an example of to those who speak out against the Bashar Al Assad regime. “Their way to rule has been for 40 years by terror and torture”, he tells me, “We’ve had this for so many years”. It began in Daraa with the torture of children as young as 11 or 12 years old, says Mr Barotchi, after the security forces in the region arrested a classroom on suspicion of having daubed the revolutionary slogan ‘Now it’s your turn, doctor’ on the wall of a school. Assad is himself a medical doctor and the slogan referred to the mass changes in leadership which were occurring at that time across the Arab world. Whether they were involved or not, these children were rounded up and tortured for answers. There was huge anger when a video was released by the family of one of the victims. It showed an 11 year-old-child with torture marks all over his body including his
fingernails removed. This video was the start of the peaceful protests. When the families of the children went to the head of the security forces of the region asking for their children to be released on the grounds that they were so young and they could not be held responsible for their actions, they were told to raise their children better. Worse still, the security forces threatened, that if they were unable to do so they should give them their wives so that the soldiers could give them better children.
“
Their way to rule has been for 40 years by terror and torture. We’ve had this for so many years Maher Barotchi
which were dealt with brutally by Bashar Al Assad’s father, Barotchi says that people would not dare rise up against the regime. The majority of activists in the current conflict are in fact in their teens and early 20s. Despite the torture, bombing and killing, they go out every day to fight the regime. Something which marks this uprising out from previous revolutions is the ‘Twitter Revolution’. To raise awareness of the horror of the conflict and the struggle for freedom, the younger Syrian generation have organised themselves into local coordination committees or LPPs, which are the press offices to the revolution. They post news online every day using social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Barotchi’s daughter is in fact a translator for the Aleppo region’s LPP; she translates the news into English to pass it on to the western media. This would never have occurred to any previous generation in Syria, to be able to use media in this way to inform the world of their struggle. Ignorance is in fact Assad’s greatest tool, namely western ignorance. In the last years of the conflict he has attempted to portray himself as a barrier to radical Islam and engaged in a war against sectarianism.
”“
This lead to peaceful demonstrations outside the town hall demanding the release of the children. The regime’s response was to open fire in an attempt to inspire fear. Government channels later claimed that the shootings had been carried out by gangs. “The people of Syria have always been used to people going missing and disappearing, but the events in Daraa lead to widespread protests in the region” Barotchi says. They lead first to peaceful protests, met with sadistic and brutal repression from the regime whether it be through the use of tanks or the rape and pillage of protesting villages. This then developed into the civil war of attrition which now engulfs the country between the Free Syrian army and government troops. In the last months it has escalated further as the regime allowed the use of ballistic missiles against the rebels. “People don’t understand when you talk like this: you need to find a peaceful settlement”, Mr Barotchi remarks with regard to a peaceful solution to the conflict, “We have to sit down and talk with the regime. People in Syria would not talk. “What if it happened to you, if the army went into your town, looted your house, killed your younger sister. Would you ever negotiate with them? You have nothing to lose. “I never thought people would have this much courage in the face of this murderous regime”. After the uprisings in the 80s
The aid will reach those who need it most. There were a lot of doctors involved and their efforts are vital at such a time of humanitarain crisis Maher Barotchi
”
Recently, a documentary was made by the multi-award winning journalist Bill Neely. Neely was allowed into Syria by the regime and in part of this film he was taken to a the site of a massacre near Homs, in a village called Hassia to denounce the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity there. Neely was told and reported that the perpetrators were members of Al Qaeda. His programme contained an interview with a woman who appeared to be telling a journalist that she did not know who performed the massacre. However there are inconsistencies in the video clips. Barotchi has seen the original video and says that it contradicts the translation in
Neely’s programme. Instead, the woman claims that it was the regime that perpetrated the crimes. When challenged over this on Twitter, Neely refused to answer. Neely was told that the massacre was a sectarian attack on Sunni Muslims perpetrated by Al Qaeda, a Sunni Islamic group. Seriously believing such a claim is as ignorant as believing claims that catholic radicals specifically targeted other Catholics in sectarian violence, Mr Barotchi compared. It simply doesn’t make sense and it is only through our ignorance in the west that it is possible for the regime to lie in this way. A BBC reporter who interviewed survivors was told that pro-Iranian Shiite forces were allowed to enter Hassia by the besieging regime troops and were protected by them as they performed the massacre. Furthermore, the Mail Online reported Christians being beheaded by rebels in another case of sectarian violence. Their only source of information was a nun named Agnes Miriam who was an Assad supporter. In the past she had commented on the Al Houla massacre in which a hundred children were slaughtered with knives. She gave interviews both to Der Spiegel, the German magazine and Sky News claiming that the rebels had committed the massacre because the children had been pro-Assad supporters. Der Spiegel printed an article on the massacre based on her testimony. A later UN investigation found that the children had actually been killed by pro-regime thugs entering the town under the protection of the army. Despite this however, a year later the Mail still took this proven liar’s testimony seriously enough to print an article further impressing upon the public the idea that Syria’s civil war is a sectarian and ethnic conflict. Through either incompetence or deceit, media coverage has in fact helped Assad’s regime and distorted the truth of a conflict which is for an egalitarian, libertarian democracy. It appears that in their struggle no one will help the people of Syria except charities such as ‘Syria relief’ and ‘Hand in Hand’. Both Barotchi and his wife, Mayce Masood, who is an Arabic teacher at the University of Sheffield help out in these charities which attempt to send vital medical equipment and infrastructure to Syria. He says they are the minimum he could do for his country. This includes projects such as field hospitals on the borders, medicine, clothing and even ambulances. It is a “small help, but it is better than nothing”. They have recently held a charity event in Nottingham and were planning to hold one in Sheffield in the near future. In a conflict where there has been so little hope of help from outside, this seems a vital effort to help the people of Syria. “The aid will reach those who need it most. There were a lot of doctors involved and their efforts are vital at such a time of humanitarian crisis”. Charity events and efforts are crucial, but can only go so far. The only solution to this brutal conflict is when Syrians are able to live in a democratic, egalitarian society and it must be our duty in the western world to help them. Until this happens, Syria will continue to be violently divided.
@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com
18
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com
19
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
Enacting Hope Words: Ellie McCaldin Photos: Enactus Sheffield
L
iving in the relatively safe areas of Crookes, Broomhill and Ecclesall, and wrapped up in busy student lives, it is hard for us to imagine that even in our own city community there is an all too significant number of women who are living out their lives as slaves. Either forced into domestic or sexual servitude or entered into unpaid labour, according to antislavery day, there are currently more victims of slavery than there were in the entire 350 year history of the slave trade - and one in eight of these victims are currently living in Europe.
“
For every day, an equivalent of 10 jumbo jets filled with victims are transported
”
Perhaps the most harrowing statistic comes from Human Wrongs Watch who say that in a crime industry that generates 32 billion dollars a year only one-two per cent of victims are saved. Even though these women may have been ‘saved’ from the immediate effects of trafficking, however, the overall experience is one that can go on to debilitate victims throughout the remainder of their lifetime. Left in foreign countries, often without knowledge of the language and without family or friends, it can be almost impossible for victims to picture a way out of their situations. The task of reintroducing these women back into the community is one which Sheffield HOPE (Healing through Opportunities to Pursue Enterprise) is working towards. The HOPE project runs as part of Sheffield’s Enactus (formerly known as SIFE) initiative and is focused on developing enterprise projects to help rebuild the lives of women who have suffered, either at the hands of
domestic or sexual abuse or through human trafficking. HOPE’s own Leanne Dodson recently appeared on ITV Fixers programme, on which she outlined the reasons for her having wanted to get involved with Enactus. “I think when I first found out about human trafficking I was really shocked to know that it existed in the world, it existed in the UK and worst of all it existed in Sheffield,’ says Leanne. “I could see myself trusting a friend and then waking up in that situation feeling absolutely hopeless and it just makes me wish that I could do more about it.” The short campaign video also sees Dodson interviewing Magda, a victim of trafficking brought over from Poland by her boyfriend who “said in England [they] could find jobs and have a better life.” Magda goes on to outline the story that so many female victims of trafficking live through: “Because I loved him I believed him. But when we got here he said there was only one job. It was prostitution.” Magda tells of being “left with a gypsy woman” who, when Magda said she didn’t want to prostitute herself, beat her and told her that “something would happen to [her] family” if she didn’t. It is stories like Magda’s which help to fully expose the horror behind the human trafficking statistics which can often be depersonalised due to their overwhelming figures. It is hard to comprehend that Magda’s case is not by any means an isolated one. Stop the Traffick have collated statistics which approximate that two-four million men, women and children are trafficked into other countries or across borders within their own country every year. This means that for every day an equivalent of 10 jumbo jets filled with victims are transported. Members of the HOPE project work with female survivors of abuse living in the Sheffield community through a project based around the business model of a jewellery company. The group works in conjunction with City Hearts, a safe house for the victims of trafficking in the Sheffield, who have allowed Enactus to use their location as a place to hold workshops which teach the women the skills needed to create their own jewellery. This jewellery is then sold through the HOPE website in the hope that it will enable the women to financially support themselves and their families. The aim of this project is that not only will the women acquire a whole new set of practical skills,
they will also gain confidence, be able to practise English language and essentially become prepared for employment. Not only does HOPE operate within the Sheffield community to help local victims, it has also recently extended its effects to an international level by developing the HOPE Nigeria project. HOPE Nigeria is Sheffield Enactus’ next big international venture. Their previous project, Blankets for Bolivia, was set up six years ago, and paid women on commission to make blankets out of the waste products from local crisp factories which were then donated to the poor in the community. HOPE Nigeria is working towards setting up a not-for-profit Shea processing and production enterprise, which will be manned and managed by victims of trafficking and those vulnerable to trafficking. Dane Hisocks, head of the commercial division of Enactus was part of the team who went on the initial research trip to Nigeria. He was able to gain a clearer insight into the hardships of the lives of trafficking victims in the Bennin City area, the area from which 80 per cent of all Nigerian women trafficked into Europe come from.
“
When I first found out about human trafficking I was really shocked to know that it existed in the world, and worst of all it existed in Sheffield
”
“Trafficking survivors can try to stay in the UK and seek asylum. However, they often have to return to their home countries,” he says. “We saw that in Nigeria it is common for the women to be shunned by their society or by their own families once they return. “The women can’t go back to their families because often their families will re-traffick them, as the need for money can be so desperate. “They can’t gain employment as they don’t have any skills, so these are women that have hit rock bottom. Sometimes the women re-
traffick themselves as they feel that it’s the only way that they can gain money. “What we wanted to do was to give them employment to stop them from being re-trafficked.” The project aims to take advantage of the wealth of opportunity for shea nut harvesting that Nigeria offers, using this as an avenue through which trafficking survivors can be employed in respectable jobs, creating sustainable futures for themselves and their families. The project’s mission statement outlines how through “empowering these women through the power of enterprise, we will not only provide them with dignified employment, but will also offer additional services, including basic education, financial literacy, counselling and legal assistance.” The shea nuts will be harvested and turned into an unrefined shea butter paste, a highly necessary product for both the cosmetic and chocolate industries. The shea butter paste will then be sold in small pots both locally and to medium to large scale companies. Project director of HOPE, Bethan Rimmington, went to Nigeria with a team of students over the Easter break to implement the second stage of the project. This involved setting up a small shea butter co-operative in a rural village in the outskirts of the capital city, Abuja. Whilst there, Rimmington was able not only to successfully carry out the second stage of the project but was also able to witness both the outstanding dedication of the Nigerian women involved and some of the more immediate effects of the project: “The secretary of the co-operative was pregnant when we got there,” says Rimmington. “She was involved in the manual training on Friday, gave birth on Sunday and was back to training again on the Monday! “Their water hole was broken and so they had been drinking dirty water for a year. Obviously the shea butter is designed to go on skin so this had to be fixed. “Essentially it gave the women a massively increased standing in the village as it was the women themselves who fixed it: they were in charge and now hold the key. “Before this it had been a massively male dominated community with the women having almost no standing at all. It was a pretty drastic change.” ‘With a head for business and a heart for the world’, HOPE is just one of the branches of the Enactus operation working to create a brighter future for those in need. 20 year old Management student, Tom Dutton, spoke about why being a part of Enactus has made an important impact on his university experience. “Enactus gives you real experience of how a small scale organisation operates,” says Dutton. “The work that Enactus does and the impact that it has on both the
local community and communities abroad is fantastic and great to be a part of.” Tom is part of the commercial team and so is not directly involved with the HOPE project, but he goes on to say that “it doesn’t matter what project you’re working on or exactly what you’re doing [as] everyone contributes.” Tom’s role as part of the commercial team means that he is focused on fund-raising, organising bar crawls and events and putting the money towards a good cause: “Most of the money raised recently has gone directly to the HOPE Nigeria fund,” he says. “We raise money to pay for Enactus members to travel over so that they can begin establishing links. Money is also being raised to fund the plant that will be used to process the shea nuts.”
“
In Nigeria it is common for the women to be shunned by their society or by their own families once they return
”
The most inspiring part of the project is the way in which it not only empowers survivors, giving them a chance to make a new life for themselves through enterprise, but also how the small team of women who will receive training from the project will be able to go on and teach other victims these same skills. Initially HOPE are aiming for this team to consist of about 20 women. Thus the project is able to create a self-sustainable impact in the Nigerian community that will continue to aid in the reparation of victims lives long into the foreseeable future. The full implementation stage of the project will be carried out this summer. The Sheffield Enactus team are currently preparing for the National Enactus competition which is taking place from April 17-18. Students wishing to get involved with Enactus should ‘like’ their Facebook page for further updates on the next application cycle, which will take place at the beginning of the next academic year.
20
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
Fashion Food & Drink Health & Fitness Travel Giving Back Sex & Relationships Technology
Lifestyle & Travel WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT
Lifestyle’s pick of what’s on in Sheffield
By Ellie McCaldin
FORCE OF NATURE
FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING?
This free event sees Applied Theatre Students from Sheffield Hallam University as they perform creative pieces inspired by the current Force of Nature exhibition at the Sheffield Millennium Gallery. The Force of Nature exhibition is running up until Sunday June 23 and explores John Ruskin’s life-long preoccupation with landscape and nature. The exhibition also includes work by artists such as John Constable, Elizabeth Blackadder, Dan Holdsworth and George Shaw.
If you know (and dread) that you have oral exams or presentations coming up at the end of this year, this could be the event that finally puts the butterflies in your stomach at ease. Professional speakers and trainers will be attending the event to impart some tried and tested strategies which could significantly improve your public speaking abilities- an essential tool in any student’s arsenal. This is the first of a series of events run by the Public Speaking Academy who have used their methods to train MPs, Media Personalities and more. Booking in advance is advised.
Friday April 19, 12:30-1pm at the Millennium Gallery
Saturday April 20, 10am- 4pm at Jury’s Inn
A PILE OF WIT
A READING WITH TONY HARRISON
Join the Antics for a night of comedy as they launch their Edinburgh Fringe Festival preview show, A Pile of Wit. The night includes an hour and a half performance followed by a raffle and a series of games. Hailed by The Star as “Hilarious, very witty and wonderfully daft”, it’s sure to be a good ‘un. The show is totally improvised so you won’t really know what you’re in for until it starts but what could be better than supporting local acts at a very reasonable price?
The Leeds born poet has been heralded as an essential figure in Britain’s poetic heritage, with works such as ‘V’ still causing controversy 25 years after its original broadcast. With his narrative style emerging as an amalgamation of his working-class childhood and his passion for classics Harrison is often recognised as being one of the most unique poets of our time. This is a rare opportunity to hear the seminal Harrison read from his own work at an incredibly cheap price. The event is certain to be one of the highlights of the Sheffield Lyric Festival - truly unmissable.
Thursday April 25, 7-9:30pm at the Library Theatre
Student Life
Thursday May 2, 8pm at St. George’s lecture theatre
Graduating this year?
Your definitive list of what to do in Sheffield Lucy Copson So you’re graduating from university this year. You’ve got exams, jobs, and the terrifying prospect of having to be a responsible adult on your mind. While you’ll probably still manage to fit hangovers and the odd pizza into your daily post-uni routine, why not make the most of Sheffield while you’re still here and go out with a bang? 1. A last night out at Corp. Order the full colour spectrum of pints and try to finish them without vomiting the rainbow. Get your feet thoroughly trampled on and your personal space violated like it’s never been violated before. Dance on the podiums, have your fake nerd glasses stolen, do your really bad attempt at a Harlem Shake and make out with a random stranger. Corp is like Marmite: whether you love or you hate it, you have to admit, it’s a unique experience.
Food
2. Gather your friends for a picnic in one of the many parks around Sheffield. Weston Park, Crookes Valley, The Ponderosa - take your pick. If you’re feeling decadent, get everyone to bring ridiculously fancy food. I’m thinking chocolate-dipped strawberries. Top Tip: It would probably be best to wait until it’s warmed up a little for this one. Which will no doubt be right, bang smack in the middle of our exams. Lifestyle takes no responsibility for soggy picnic food. 3. Dig out those sensible shoes and go for a walk in the Peak District. Be honest, how far outside of Sheffield have you explored in all the years you’ve been living here? Take sandwiches and jump onto the Hope Valley train line. There are lots of little villages nestled in the Peaks that you could visit – for the start of the Pennine Way, get off at Edale. Go on a ramble and reward yourself with a refreshing pint at a country pub en route.
4. Make the most of your student discount while you still have it. Did I hear someone say clothes shopping? Did I hear someone else say Meadowhall Student Lock-In?
5. Check out some of Sheffield’s exciting events. Vintage clothes fairs, live gigs, comedy shows, the list goes on. Although these aren’t only restricted to Sheffield, why not check them out with your uni friends while you’re all living in the same city?
6. Host a potluck dinner. Make the most of still being in Sheffield and only a hop, skip and a jump away from all your uni friends. As of June, it’s gonna be all change! Top Tip: invest in some paper plates, or risk fighting over the washing up. 7. Visit the Henderson’s Relish factory. We’ve all smelt that distinctive scent wafting across the road and into the I.C., but who has actually been in and learnt all about Sheffield’s most loved sauce? It’s definitely a must-see. And be sure to pick up a T-shirt for your Dad whilst you’re there.
8. Take a ride in the Paternoster. If you haven’t already scaled the heights of the Arts Tower, then it’s definitely worth a trip. If not for the incredibly strange lift, then definitely for the view from the top. Top Tip: Go up at sunset. 9. Most importantly, make it memorable. To lapse into cliché: “When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did.”
Laura Davies With metre high gold helium balloons, a full live swing band and a packed out bar before the sun had even set, it was clear that we’d picked no ordinary night to visit Vodka Rev’s younger sibling; Revolucion de Cuba. Celebrating their 2nd birthday with a weekend jammed full of 2-41 offers, live music and scrummy food, Rev de Cuba was certainly on good form. Shown to our table by a 1920s themed waitress complete with a feathered headband, it didn’t take us long to pick our cocktails and order before Happy Hour was over! On recommendations from the waitress, we chose a Bohemian Mojito (Sailor Jerry rum mixed with absinthe, lime juice, mint leaves and a splash of ginger beer - £7.50) and a Raspberry Colada (Malibu and bacardi superior rums mixed with raspberry and pineapple juice - £6.25). Shaken by smart barmen clad in waistcoats, the drinks arrived promptly and ticked all the cocktail boxes - refreshing, icy, loaded with rum and garnished to perfection.
Over our first round of drinks, we checked out the menu and chose our dinner. To start, we opted for a couple of ‘small plate’ dishes from the Cantina menu; Gambas Mojito (king prawns dipped in a homemade mojito batter - £4.95) and Patatas Bravas con Chorizo (fried poitatoes and over roasted chorizo with a rich tomato sauce topped with garlic aioli -£4.95). Delivered on a chunky wooden board, these scrummy tapas-style dishes were the perfect stater. Meaty prawns that melted in the
mouth, coated in a crispy batter, and spicy potatoes with chorizo. Simply delicious. Appetite well and truly whetted, our mains could not have come any quicker. We had chosen steak enchiladas (flour tortillas stuffed with peppers, onions and steak, baked in a tomato cream sauce and topped with bubbling golden cheese and a side of their house rice - £9.95), and one from the specials menu, the Cuban Smoke Stack Burger (a 6oz home-made beef burger with spicy rum sauce, jalapeños, Manchego cheese and a hefty topping of smoky pulled pork and home-pickled onions, all served in a Cuban cob with skinny fries and mojito battered onion rings - £12.95). Phew, what a mouthful. But boy was it a delicious mouthful. The enchiladas, almost a spicy Cuban lasagne, were cooked to perfection, with steak that just fell apart, thin tortillas and a rich tomato sauce. Served with salad, a side of chili and house rice, which I used to soak up the tomato sauce. If I hadn’t already managed to sneak a peak at the dessert menu, I probably would have licked the dish clean. Of course, it was then time for a second round of drinks. This time we went for a passion fruit mojito (bacardi superior rum with passion fruit, lime juice, sugar, mint leaves and a splash of soda - £6.75) and an orange daiquiri (santa teresa orange and Gran Reserva rums shaken with sugar and lime juice - £6.50). Our plates were swiftly cleared as the place began filling up, and that tempting dessert menu appeared in front of us. It wasn’t a hard decision - a portion of churros to share, with chocolate and toffee dipping sauces. As the band kicked off and the dancers took to the stage, pudding arrived. Perfect timing. What I had already classed as a great night, got one whole lot sweeter. 1 Mappin Street, Sheffield, S1 4DT
T: 0114 279 9250
21
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com
Graduation Dining
You’ve got your glad rags on, scroll in hand and your proud parents are offering to foot the dinner bill. But where will you choose?
Olivia Adams Silversmiths is located on Arundel Street, so a little bit ‘out of the way’ from our university bubble. It has to be said, the sign outside the restaurant wasn’t quite as obvious as we had hoped for, considering we were in an area we don’t usually go to (and therefore feeling lost). But as soon as we stepped inside the old building we had very high hopes. We were greeted by a bartender who showed us to our table. I loved the wooden panelled interior and the unique hanging lights over the tables. The background music was appropriate and not intrusive. Once seated we were given our menus, one for drinks, one for food, and informed that their cocktail of the week was a homemade rhubarb syrup, pear vodka and prosecco delight. We ordered two straight away and turned our attention to the food menu. Although we both eyed up the new season asparagus and Mrs Bell’s blue cheese tartlet, we decided to sample different things to savour as much as we could. There were four starter options on the daily menu; Laura went for the tart and I ordered broccoli soup, with roast garlic and cream
cheese crouton and crispy leeks. The cocktails arrived and were really lovely. The waiters were attentive and our food arrived promptly. Presentation was excellent and so were the rich flavours, which made up for the small portion sizes, which I personally prefer anyway. As the evening went on the tables around us began to fill up, and it was clear that this was no hidden secret. The venue mainly consisted of tables for two, which suited us fine, but I would suggest that if there is a larger group of you to book in advance. The ‘In the Week’ menu for Wednesday and Thursday priced two courses at £14.50 and three at £16.90, which we thought was very reasonable considering the high standard of food product we were served. Friday and Saturday are understandably more expensive, and the restaurant also holds a successful pie night every Tuesday which costs just £8.50. Silversmiths prides itself on only using smaller, independent suppliers, 100 per cent of whom are Yorkshire based and 70 per cent Sheffield based, which I enjoyed knowing. It’s always nice to feel like you are supporting independent business from your own city and county.
Laura Davies Disclaimer: I truly hate giving five star ratings. Honestly. In fact, so much so that I’ve never given one, until now. Read on, and I’m sure you’ll understand why I made an exception. As the little brother of Sheffield’s awardwinning Milestone, the Wig & Pen instantly sprung to mind for special occasion dining such as this. A quick browse of the menu online told us we were in for a treat but nothing could have prepared us. When we arrived, on a Friday night at 7pm, the bar was packed with young professionals sipping cocktails, as a live band were setting
up in one corner. We were shown to our table, a large chunky wood affair (not the usual cramped table-fortwo), right next to the window and lit with a cute candle in a teacup. A smartly dressed waiter gave us the menus, and helped us to choose. To start, we went for a simple jar of olives and a ‘flight of gin’; three glasses of weird and wonderful special gins, with precious little bottles of tonic for us to mix. Not just any old gin, these were garnished to enhance their flavours - one with tomato and rosemary, one with mint, and a third with apple and celery. Now I’m not one for straight spirits, but these I could have sipped on all night long. I’ve honestly never tasted gin like it. The Wig & Pen often hold special weeks, most recently a ‘Pork Week’, and the main we chose was a special from then, which had proven so popular it had become a resident; the Pork sharing platter. Crispy black pudding fritters, pan fried Barnsley chop, pork belly, crispy pigs ears, apple sauce and a home made jus, served with tenderstem broccoli and garlic and chilli new potatoes. Trust me, it was hard to share. Possibly the best dish I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, it wasn’t hard to see why this had stayed on the menu. I was dubious at first about eating pigs ears, but in fact these turned out to be one of my favourite parts (I ate both). Salty and crisp, they were like the best crackling you can ever imagine. And they didn’t look too much like ears, so I wasn’t put off. The attention to detail was incredible, even
After finishing our cocktails we each ordered a glass of the house white, dry and very nice for a house wine, and then ordered our mains. There was an interesting variety, ranging from quirky takes on a burger, to ox tongue and cheek cottage pie. I chose the sautéed ‘autumn harvest’ wild mushroom risotto, with Harrogate blue cheese and toasted seeds. Laura decided on the Whitby fish pie in a white wine and cream sauce, with mashed potato top. We also added a side of honey glazed carrots – each side dish is priced at a reasonable £2.95. The risotto arrived, served in small sections, with mushroom pieces sprinkled over it - an unusual take on the usual presentation. On first inspection I did think it was too small a portion to be served as a main dish, and if we hadn’t come for a three course dinner I would probably have left full, but not completely satisfied. Laura too wasn’t overjoyed by the portion size of her delicious fish pie, despite the beautiful presentation. For dessert Laura picked the chocolate ‘Eccy Road’ Terrine and I the Yorkshire forced rhubarb flavours, cheesecake, sorbet, and biscotti. Both were quite ominously described so we were intrigued as to how they would be presented.
the potatoes were simply delicious. And I must not forget to mention how well the gin garnished with apple and celery complemented the dish great recommendations from the waiter. After such a feast for our main course, I was almost cautious to order dessert (for the first time in my life), for fear of ruining the taste sensation. But of course, those worries didn’t last long and before I knew it, I’d surveyed the pudding menu and ordered. Not one, but two desserts. I went for the Yorkshire Parkin served with green apple sorbet, muscavado and thyme custard. Based around a northern speciality, Parkin, this version came in a light, fluffy ginger cake form, with a refreshing green apple sorbet. It was the perfect cleansing dish after our meaty feast. So much so that it almost felt healthy. Handy, because that was only the first dessert that had been delivered, with a smile, to our table. The second was sticky toffee pudding, the classic and my personal favourite. Again, an impossibly light sponge, in a dish of sticky toffee sauce with vanilla ice cream. The waiter warned my dinner partner to
I think they were quite possibly the prettiest presented desserts I have ever seen – the photos speak volumes so I won’t say any more on this. We both really enjoyed our evening at Silversmiths. But, if portion size is a big consideration for you, then maybe think twice because the restaurant definitely prides itself more on flavours, food quality and presentation over large dishes. My only other critique is that the waiting staff did not wear uniforms which meant they could wear their own casual dress underneath an apron. The atmosphere was friendly, but I think a uniform could improve the tone of the restaurant, especially as many of the middle-aged diners had clearly made an effort. Take a walk deeper into Sheffield to this multi award-winning family run restaurant. It won’t disappoint.
Recieve a free glass of prosecco for each of your party, when you book a table of four or more from July 16-19. Valid for bookings made before May 31 2013. Quote ‘Forge Press’. Valid student ID will be required. Sign up to the mailing list for 20% off your food bill! 111 Arundel Street, Sheffield, S1 2NT
T: 0114 270 6160
www.silversmiths-restaurant.com
keep this one to himself and he was right. It was the kind of pudding that makes me want to say ‘mmmm’, out loud. Overall, it was a spectacular dining experience, definitely the sort of memorable meal out that we all deserve after Graduating. See you there! Don’t miss Beef Week, coming to the Wig & Pen on April 22-27. 44 Campo Lane, Sheffield, S1 2EG. www.the-wigandpen.co.uk T: 0114 272 2150
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
22
Lifestyle & Travel Health & Fitness
Fashion Food & Drink Health & Fitness Travel Giving Back Sex & Relationships Technology
The Coppafeel! Campaign
The breast cancer awareness charity is aimed at young people to promote early detection Lucy Copson Everyone's familiar with the pink ribbon breast cancer campaign and how successful it's been in raising public awareness, and now there's a new campaign on the scene. Its name? Coppafeel!. Kris Hallenga founded the charity
Student Life
in 2009 - a month after she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. There is no stage five. Why was she diagnosed so late? Due to the fact that she was only in her early twenties – because everyone knows breast cancer only happens to older women, right? her GP dismissed her concerns and
chalked them up to 'hormones'. Her mum dragged her back to the doctors' six months later and by the time she received her diagnosis the cancer had spread to her spine. Coppafeel!'s mission statement is 'to live in a world where all breast cancers are diagnosed at the earliest stage possible, at which treatments are more effective and the survival rates higher'. They're all about awareness, and it's only appropriate that one of their main aims is to stamp out late detection and misdiagnosis. They want women to know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, to check their breasts regularly and to feel confident enough to go to a doctor if they think something has changed. They run an amazing number of events and awareness campaigns, from comedy shows and music festivals, half-marathons and prweek.com
cycling, to last year's hundredstrong flashmob with every dancer dressed up as a giant boob. They've teamed up with Cosmopolitan to run a #checkyourpuppies campaign and celebrities like Fearne Cotton and Dermot O'Leary have pledged their support. There's even a text messaging service that will remind you once a month to give your chest a check – and guys, that applies to you too. 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. Coppafeel! are based out of London but run campaigns all around the country - students of Sheffield, you have no excuse not to get involved. T h o s e students you saw around on
campus last term wearing giant boob costumes? They were part of the Uni Boob Team. If you need further motivation, you can apply to receive a Career Development Award from the Chartered Institute of Marketing after being a Uni Boob Team Leader for six months. Women of every age should be checking their breasts on a regular basis for anything out of the ordinary. To encourage this Coppafeel! recommends you give your boobs a name. Are yours more of an Antony and Cleopatra or a Bert and Ernie? Either way, don't be afraid... coppafeel. check out the website: www.coppafeel.org
Five alternative summer festivals
There are still many awesome ways to spend summer Hannah McCulloch If you didn’t get a ticket to the big ones then here are a few other options that haven’t yet sold out.
Parklife
The weekend exams officially finish on June 8-9, so head up to Manchester for Parklife. This year it’s headlined by Plan B and Example, plus the Maccabees and Jessie Ware. It’s a quite new city festival, and is great if you know people that go to university there as you’ve got somewhere to stay. Tickets cost £69.50 (Booking fee is an additional £7.00,) but ask around as there are lots of students selling tickets without the booking fee. The venue has moved this year
so it’s got bigger. The festival boasts both live acts and great DJ sets, many who played at The Tuesday Club or Plug’s OHM SWEET OHM. On top, Jurassic 5 are special guests. Because who doesn’t like some good old 90s hip hop.
Tramlines
Tramlines is Sheffield’s finest festival and definitely one not to be missed. This year it’s over the weekend July 19-21. Spread throughout the city over 70 stages, with 700 acts, last year 150,000 people descended on Sheffield for the weekend. It’s always been free but this year there’s a £6.00 a day fee, or £15.00 for the weekend, which is still great value for money. A must do if you’re a fresher moving into a house for second year. Come and take advantage of
the summer rent you’re going to be paying. Last year acts included We are Scientists, Spector, Ms Dynamite and Toddla T. This year acts are still to be confirmed, but become a ‘tramliner’ to be kept in the loop.
Beacons
Beacons is the smaller, countryside version of weekend festivals such as Parklife or Tramlines. Live acts include Solange Knowles, Bonobo and Ghost Poet. Plus lots of DJ sets including Bondax. Known for great house music it also has arty stuff as well. It’s in Skipton, in the Yorkshire Dales, and runs from August 16-18. They do student tickets and a deposit scheme so you pay £25.00 now and the rest by July 1 which is great if you’re a bit strapped for
cash right now. Student ticket in total costs £79.50 (plus a booking fee of £9.54)
Bestival
It hasn’t sold out yet which is unusual for the festival but this is probably because the headliners, Snoop dogg and Elton John, are a bit like musical marmite. However, the middle section of the line-up is incredible and really diverse - Rudimental, The Flaming Lips, James Blake, Peace, Belle and Sebastian, the list goes on… Plus the DJ sets run until 5am and are just as impressive as Park life’s, with the addition of Annie Mac and other big names. It runs from September 5-8 and is on the Isle of Wight. Student tickets cost £180, or can be bought on a 15 week programme at £12 a week.
Unknown festival It’s at the end of the summer and is an alternative to the big festivals in the UK. Plus you’re set to see some sun, as it’s in Croatia. Tickets cost between £159-209, depending on if you want to camp or stay in an apartment. However many recommend the latter as temperatures can reach 40 C, which is pretty unbearable in a tent. It lasts four days from September 10-14 which is a perfect short break before coming back to all that hard work. Or to fresher’s. Give a few days travelling around Croatia before the festival and then come back just in time the first week. Summer sorted.
23
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com
Food & Drink
Why aren’t young people cooking? Research reveals that young people rely on quick fix meals
Olivia Adams New research reveals that Britain’s students and young professionals are relying on ‘quick fix meals’ instead of cooking. Eek! Doesn’t sound good. But I can completely believe it. I live in Broomhill and I am surrounded by Spar, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and it is far, far cheaper to buy their frozen food meals than it is to buy fresh ingredients to bring home and prepare. In regard to fresh food in general, in Tesco, their fruit ‘offer’ is two boxes of fruit for £4. I round that up to a fiver, which cuts a lot out of your weekly budget. Especially on a student one. Now I am a self-confessed health junkie, but the temptation to buy £1 chicken burgers over an organic chicken breast which I then need to prep with more ingredients and cost tests me every time I go in a chain supermarket. The deals on chocolate and sweets as you are queuing usually get me as well. After a hard day at university (okay, a mildly challenging day) 90 per cent of people in the study agreed they are more likely to bang a pizza in the oven or stir some pesto in a bowl of pasta than cook anything more exotic. Sound about right to you? But at the end of the day (literally) I consider – I’m not cooking because I am too poor, or too busy.
Beauty
I’m not cooking because I’m lazy, and because it is convenient to buy ready made meals. Think cereal is just for breakfast? Well a quarter of those polled admit to regularly having cereal in place of a proper meal, because they can’t be bothered to do anything else. That’s a real case of laziness, although a bowl of Coco Pops is hard to resist. From a young professional perspective, a study of employees aged 18 - 30 in Cosmopolitan shows many cook from scratch just once a week. Why so little? They claim to be too busy to produce culinary delights nightly, which to be honest, is fair enough. They have the excuse of working eight hours a day and being too exhausted to do anything except turn on a microwave, but we don’t. I think what helps is planning your meals for the week. Think a pepper for 80p, a pot of goat’s cheese for just over one pound, a tub of mushrooms for a pound and a bag of 79p couscous can make at least two meals. I would never view food as something to keep me going, but rather as something I really enjoy. It’s definitely more laziness and convenience than being tired. I’m not even joking when I say that once
when I was coming back in a taxi from the night out, my house mates ordered a takeaway to be delivered to our house. So I recommend creating a shopping list, sticking to it, and making time to prepare nice dinners. Another tip would be to invite friends over, or cook with your house mates. It’s much more enjoyable to follow a recipe and bung a load of fresh ingredients together to make a tasty stir fry. In the meantime, the IC is full and exams and deadlines are approaching. Cut out our healthy revision snacks to get you through, written by our new lifestyle editor Hannah McCulloch.
The best on the (student) market
Eleanor Hubert With the sun’s sporadic attendance this year keeping your skin a stubborn shade of pale, it’s probably been a long time since you kissed those summer tan lines goodbye. British weather is so menstrual that when it comes to tanning, fake tan is our faithful first resort. However, with the vast range of tanning products gracing the shop shelves, it can be hard to know which brand to choose. Having used fake tan religiously for the past few years, here are some of the best products out there that won’t render your elbows an interesting shade of orange.
1)
St Moriz Mousse
Imitating St Tropez not only in the name, but the quality too, St Moriz is extremely good value for money. At just £5 a bottle, it’s tons cheaper than many of the high-end brands, and provides pretty much the same effect. It comes in an easy-to-apply mousse, never goes streaky and will give you a beautiful glow instead of the slightly off orange
2) Fake Bake 60 minutes Self Tan liquid
One of the best known fake tan brands out there, Fake Bake is famous for a reason. One of the best things about this fake tan is how quickly it dries off, making it perfect for last-minute nights out. The only downside is the price; at £25, it’s not your cheapest bet.
3) Lancaster Gradual Hydrating Bronze Lotion
Lifestyle’s Cheap Eat
Revision snack special by Hannah McCulloch
Quick and healthy flapjacks This is a quick and adaptable recipe, just scour your cupboards for things to add as ingredients. I used oats, honey, various seeds, nuts and dried fruit (for example raisins) Mix all the ingredients and put in the oven for around 20 minutes at 150 degrees C. Check after 15 minutes to see how they are doing.
Popcorn
Fake tan: Tried and tested colour that a lot of other fake tan products give. It also fades very gradually, so will last a few days.
Food
For those wary of looking too TOWIE but still want a bronzed glow, this product is near perfect. The lotion can be applied every day to build up a gradual tan and has the added bonus of drying quickly – ideal if you’re pressed for time whilst at uni.
4) Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan Water Resistant
The matte, moisturising formula of this product is an instant winner, and at a student budget too. The key selling point of this tan is the fact it is water resistant – I can’t count the number of times I’ve had streaky legs on a night out from running through the rain or spilling drinks on myself, so for those with the same problem, this is your best bet.
5) Garnier Ambre Solaire No Streaks Bronzer SelfTanning Mousse
One of the best things about this product is how it doesn’t have that biscuity fake tan smell that men find so repulsive and that let’s face it, we don’t much like either. At just under a tenner, it won’t break the bank, too.
Making popcorn is a good idea if you’re someone who constantly snacks while they’re revising. It’s cheap and fat free (until you add something to it!) Tesco sells a 500g bag of Popcorn kernels for £1.89 which should make at least 10 sizable portions. Classic toppings such as butter, salt or sugar are easy but you could also try adding things like marmite, soy sauce, honey or a mixture of cocoa powder and cinnamon.
Ryvita snacks
Ryvita biscuits and cracker bread are a healthier alternative at a fifth of the calories of a slice of bread (which means you can eat five times as much.) They also taste great with nearly everythingPhiladelphia and sweet chilli sauce, Hummus and red pepper, Pesto and tomatoes… Plus most of the toppings go well with raw vegetables such as carrots and celery as well, which a great to snack on during revision.
Caffeine alternatives
A lot of the time when you think you’re hungry your body is actually dehydrated. This is exacerbated by the amount of tea and coffee you drink, which, for me anyway, can be measured by the bucket load during exams. If you find you’re drinking too much maybe switch to decaf, or try fruit or herbal tea, such as peppermint or lemon and ginger. Plus, as ever, drink loads of water.
24
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
ADVERTISEMENT
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
ADVERTISEMENT
25
26
COFFEE BREAK OPTICAL ILLUSION OF THE Can you spot hidden tiger? FORTNIGHT
the
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
@ FPCoffeeBreak /ForgePressCoffeeBreak
Photograph of the fortnight: Frozen methane bubbles
National Geographic creates some of the most visually stunning magazines and television programs around. Mark Thiessen admits the frozen sides of the world aren’t where his true passion lies (he follows wildfires every summer, photographing them as they sweep across the land, and is also a certified wildfire firefighter) but the photos he produced for National Geographic’s ‘Methane: Good gas, bad gas’ feature are exceptionally beautiful. This one features methane bubbles frozen in place as they rise to bubble on the surface of an Alaskan lake. Check out the article at: http://bit.ly/ZCzQ4j
Photo: Mark Thiessen/ National Geographic
PUPPY LOVE TO BUST EXAM STRESS? WHY NOT?
Want to avoid that awkward ‘We’re related’ moment after a night of fierce passion?
The University of Aberdeen are geniuses. Coffee Break may be biased on this front (we do have an unhealthy love of fluffy animals), but I’m sure you’ll all agree, they are revolutionising the exam period – a phrase usually reserved for disgust, and not used lightly. The Union is constantly bending our online ears about finding time to unwind during exams, offering various methods to help us with this futile endeavour, but maybe we should have been looking to man’s best friend for the answer. The University of Aberdeen is drafting in puppies – yes, puppies – for the May exam period this year. They are
going to create a special ‘Puppy Room’ where undergraduates are invited to stroke away their stress by cuddling the adorable babies. The move follows their extremely successful trial with Guide Dogs Scotland, and will feature both golden retriever and labrador puppies. Emma Carlen, of the University’s Students’ Association said “hopefully we can boost students’ health and grades.” So if you were considering dropping out or changing course, go to Aberdeen, the oil capital of europe, the silver city with the golden sands, home to Aberdeen Angus beef and the solution to beating exam stress.
RANDOM FACTS OF THE WEEK:
Is it a man? Is it a plane? No, it’s a goat and it is going insane
People who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. A study published in 2008 found people under the age of 25 rarely ever dreamt in black and white. Those over 55 claimed to dream in monochrome about a quarter of the time. This is largely attributable to the shift from black and white television to full colour back in the 1940s.
Coffee Break’s Word of the Fortnight: Verisimilitude, noun: 1. The appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude. 2. Something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.
It is pretty much a given that if you have avoided the screaming goat sensation (Taylor Swift’s ‘Trouble’, anyone?) then you must be a hipster god amongst men avoiding all things ‘mainstream’, an 80-yearold who thinks YouTube is a type of plumbing, or be in possession of friends who don’t enjoy winding you up with these ridiculous goat remixes (lucky you). However, apparently the star-
Coffee Break has never thought about the horror of finding out you’re related to your boyfriend. However, a recent episode of The Mentalist twinned with the ever expanding coffee family – tall half-skinny, half-1 percent, extra hot, split quad shot (two shots decaf, two shots regular) latte with whipped cream, anyone? – has meant it has been preying on our caffeinated mind. What are the odds of it? Is it possible? Oh, the horror. Luckily, the clever folk over in Iceland have come up with an app (there really is an app for everything) to prevent this abomination of an event occuring.
studded goats are enjoying their time in the limelight and aren’t willing to shrink away back into the shadows any time soon. New York’s finest were recently dispatched to Putnam County after a woman called in to say she could hear a man screaming for help, who she believed could be trapped under a car. The operator also heard the screams, which apparently “sounded like a chimpanzee” and sent the officers over post
Called the Islendingabók, it allows users to see if their family trees are intertwined by merely bumping their phones together. Neat. Ever an advocate of species diversification, the app is currently free from the Play Store. Although there are currently only 720,000 in the user base, it is expanding too, so next time you want to bump uglies with someone, why not bump phones first? It’s quicker (possibly), and ultimately less traumatising. As one user commented on the app, “If I’d had this in earlier, maybe I would not go home with my aunt.”
haste. However, on arrival the bobbies just found a pissedoff little diva called Charcoal screaming, with police deputy Will Page explaining: “We could hear what appeared to be a man screaming for help. It was actually coming from a goat that was tied to a fence. I spoke to the owner, who stated that he was going to take care of the goat. We then returned to the complainant and notified her that everything was ok.” The owner, one Mr Carlos Mendez told news teams that Charcoal is used to being with the other goats, so when he was separated from them he wanted to get back with the other goats, and we all know that stamping your foot and throwing a tantrum is the best way to get your own way. Or maybe he just realised that he could use his fame for ego purposes – they always say that fame goes straight to your head.
27
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@ FPCoffeeBreak /ForgePressCoffeeBreak
PUZZLE PAGE: SUDOKUS E
COFFEE BREAK
with Holly Wilkinson
H
M E
A
A
D I
S
R
U Y
QUOTE OF THE FORTNIGHT
“
Not all those who wander are lost.
D
M Across:
Down:
1. Gibberish, nonsense (11) 7. Seventeenth century French political philosopher (11) 9. Having an unpleasant sound (11) 12. The second part of the stone age (11) 13. Black, hornless breed of Scottish cattle (8, 5) 14. “Welcome to my humble ____. Feel free to take a look around.” (5) 15. The Greek muse of lyric and love poetry (5) 16. Portrayed the Sundance Kid (6, 7) 17. The revival of learning and culture (11) 19. The quality of being perceivable by touch (11) 21. Berkshire public school for boys (4, 7) 23. Lacking distinct, individual characteristics (11)
2. Sumerian god of the sky (3) 3. A corrosive, caustic tone of voice (7) 4. Unable to move, defend one’s self (11) 5. Not up to expectations (15) 6. A heavy, colourless gas (6. 7) 8. Sumerian god of the sun (3) 9. Induration of the heart, caused by the development of fibrous tissue (15) 10. The syllable naming the fifth (dominant) note of any musical scale in solmization (3) 11. 12th President of the US (7, 6) 13. Designed or arranged to offer the least resistant to fluid flow (11) 17. The ___ season, the period of reproduction for deer (7) 18. A trap (3) 20. Playing card (3) 22. A light brown, the colour of topaz (3)
LECTURE PUZZLE
”
J.R.R.Tolkien
By only cutting the square to the right twice, how can the dot be put into the middle of the piece of paper?
And in case you want to have several attempts, here are some practice squares (practice never killed anyone, well maybe jousting, but not puzzles):
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
28
SPORT
@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com
Matchdebating
Debate: The 2013 Masters may have been broadcast worldwide, but is golf a boring sport?
Golf has a fair way to Skill and challenge makes the sport great go to get out the rough
Joss Bennett With the 77th Masters golf now finished, and won by yet another new champion, the immediate question for everybody who bothered following the tournament may not be whether or not the sport is boring. Fortunately, my mind works a little differently, so here we are. It’s probably important to explain at least a little about the sport first, and without being too patronising about hitting a ball with a stick into a hole. At the moment, the four most prestigious golf tournaments are the PGA Championship, the US and British Opens, and the Masters, the biggest of all. All four present a different challenge, with varying degrees of difficulty, as well as being affected by the weather and climate of wherever the tournament is being held. Exciting enough yet? Secondly, I should establish that the sport has arguably been at its most competitive and challenging level for some time. Australia’s Adam Scott, the winner of this year’s Masters tournament, represents the third different nationality to have won the competition in the last five years - accompanied by two Americans, a South African and an Argentine. Golf is no longer dominated by one country, as it was for almost a
All Varsity Results
quarter of a century after the creation of its major international competition, when it was won by someone from the USA every single year for the first 24 years it was held.
“The excitement of the last day alone of the Masters should be enough” A nightmare for betting fans, the sport is very rarely predictable and often doesn’t go to plan for even the best players. The last two Masters tournaments (three in the last five years) have gone down to a play-off between the top two at the end of the round, and even then all three winners have needed two holes of suddendeath. Compare that to what is undoubtedly the most popular sport right now: football. In the German league, Bayern Munich are already champions with five games left to play and with a 20-point gap between them and second place. With seven games to go in Spain, England and Italy, the league leaders have a combined 29-point lead and have their titles all but wrapped up. But the excitement of a sport cannot of course be defined purely by how competitive it is – there has to be an entertainment factor too. Admittedly, golf lacks the constant rush that a RUGBY UNION Men’s: 1s - Uni 23-18 Hallam 2s - Uni 40-17 Hallam 3s - Uni 12-22 Hallam Women’s: 1s - Uni 10-17 Hallam RUGBY LEAGUE Uni 24-32 Hallam HOCKEY
FOOTBALL Men’s: 1s - Uni 0-1 Hallam 2s - Uni 0-2 Hallam 3s - Uni 0-1 Hallam 4s - Uni 1-1 Hallam Women’s: 1s - Uni 1-3 Hallam 2s - Uni 0-5 Hallam
quality football match can give you but there are few sports that can match the suspense and tight winning margins of the former. It is a game where success on the day is determined only by yourself, bar perhaps a sudden downpour, and no one else. For many, including myself, the painstaking hours of overweight men hitting a ball with different sticks into different holes may not be worth watching all-day, every day for a week. However, the excitement of the last day alone of tournaments such as the Masters should be enough to rid the sport of its ‘boring’ tag.
Men’s: 1s - Uni 1-10 Hallam 2s - Uni 1-4 Hallam 3s - Uni 4-3 Hallam Women’s: 1s - Uni 3-1 Hallam 2s - Uni 1-2 Hallam 3s - Uni 1-0 Hallam
Matthew Smith For one night a year, the world is enraptured by putting and wedges as the Masters rambles to a conclusion. This is the one night on which, for the vast majority of sports fans, golf is bearable, as it takes on the aspects that make other sports entertaining; the things taken for granted in most events, like tension, intensity, drama. However, I’m afraid for the rest of its existence, golf falls into the trap of being quite painfully dull, for reasons that are numerous and extensive.
Primarily, golf has the same pitfalls that Formula 1 does, in that it is simply too long for its own good. Personally, I feel any sport that lasts for an entire weekend is taking the mickey. CRICKET Men’s: 1s - Uni 85, Hallam 86 2s - Uni 94, Hallam 43 Women’s: Uni 33, Hallam 34 TENNIS Men’s: 1s - Uni 10-2 Hallam 2s - Uni 12-0 Hallam Women’s: Uni 4-8 Hallam NETBALL 1s: Uni 42-23 Hallam 2s: Uni 28-50 Hallam 3s: Uni 33-21 Hallam CLIMBING Uni 2-1 Hallam
BASKETBALL Men’s: 1s - Uni 59-99 Hallam 2s - Uni 76-57 Hallam
The problem with Formula 1 is that it should consist of a single qualifying session and a race of around half the length that it is now. Stroke play golf should go the same way. The Masters, and similar majors, are slogged out over 72 holes, meaning that unless you are spectacularly dedicated, being paid, or have no life, you cannot follow the event in its entirety. You can only witness a tiny fraction of the action, not the intricacies and intrigue that surround the best sporting action. 36 or 54 holes would work a whole lot better.
“Golf needs to become a much snappier, more high tempo spectacle”
If golf wants to appeal to more than just the braying oddballs who follow the golfers around the course at Augusta wearing a frankly alarming set of plus-fours, it needs to become a much snappier, high-tempo spectacle. One of the reasons why the Masters is such a long, often turgid event is because of the sheer number of competitors. No-one can deny the presence of Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy at the top table, nor the eventual winner What’s on your Adam Scott or plucky runner up Comment on this article online: Angel Cabrera. But there www.forgetoday.com are so many SQUASH 1s: Uni 3-4 Hallam 2s: Uni 2-5 Hallam SWIMMING
Women’s: Uni 37-104 Hallam VOLLEYBALL Men’s: Uni 0-3 Hallam
Men’s: Uni 45-85 Hallam
Women’s: Uni 3-1 Hallam
Men’s: Uni 10-9 Hallam
LACROSSE
people playing at major tournaments simply on their name alone that it has become farcical. Ian Woosnam, for instance, hasn’t won a major in 22 years, his last being the Masters in 1991. Yet he is still permitted to clutter the Augusta fairway, shooting rounds of 80 and 78 to come nowhere near making the cut. On the other hand from the has-beens, we have the amateurs. The presence of 14-yearold Tianlang Guan at the 2013 Masters was seen by some as romantic. Really, it was proof that major sports events should be left to professionals, as Guan stumbled to 12-over and a penalty for slow play. Maybe he will become a major star in the future. But he should only be playing at the Masters when he is a major star, not now. But golf’s greatest flaw is how readily it panders to its biggest stars. Tiger Woods should have been disqualified for an illegal drop, but instead received a two-shot penalty. Without being overly cynical, we can safely say a man without a range of video games named after him wouldn’t have been able to finish his round, which sums up all the issues of this ‘sport’ in a nutshell.
Women’s: Uni 71-59 Hallam WATER POLO Women’s: Uni 5-13 Hallam
mind?
GOLF Uni 1-3 Hallam JUDO Uni 4-3 Hallam TABLE TENNIS Uni 15-2 Hallam BADMINTON Men’s: Uni 4-4 Hallam Women’s: Uni 5-3 Hallam ATHLETICS Men’s: Uni 73-67 Hallam
Men’s: Uni 5-13 Hallam
CANOE POLO Men’s: Uni 6-6 Hallam
Women’s: Uni 63-67 Hallam
Women’s: Uni 19-0 Hallam
Women’s: Uni 3-2 Hallam
1s: Uni 6-10 Hallam
EQUESTRIAN Uni 26-100 Hallam (Uni win)
2s: Uni 5-4 Hallam
KORFBALL
29
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com
SPORT
Blades give Wilson the chop as Morgan takes charge of United promotion push
Photo: guim Club legend Morgan took charge for the first time against Swindon
Wilson resigned with United six points off automatic promotion
Danny Wilson: Games in Charge: 106 (55 wins, 31 draws, 20 defeats) Win %: 51.9 Highlight: 16 game unbeaten league run at start of 2012/13 season Lowlight: Play-off final defeat to Huddersfield
Adam Hancock Sheffield United have parted company with manager Danny Wilson, replacing him with club legend Chris Morgan until the end of the season. The club made the decision after United lost 2-0 at home to Crawley Town last Tuesday. That game ensured that United had not scored at Bramall Lane since February 16. United made the immediate decision to appoint first-team coach Morgan and he has started well with a 2-0 victory over Swindon at Bramall Lane followed by a 2-2 draw at home to Brentford. The Blades now lie fourth in
League One, five points off the automatic promotion places following the entertaining draw with Brentford. Speaking after that match, Morgan said: “What we’ve got now is Portsmouth away, Crewe away and Preston at home and I might be proved wrong but coming into the Preston game at the end of the season that game will be a chance for automatic promotion, I genuinely belief that.” Morgan made 247 appearances as a central defender for the Blades. In his time at the club he scored 14 goals. In October 2010 he sustained a serious knee injury and soon became Sheffield United’s
reserve team coach. In the 201112 season he led the reserves to the Central League title. In July 2012, Morgan announced his retirement from professional football due to his injury. He remained a member of the coaching staff at Bramall Lane. Since his appointment, United have played with a higher tempo and their football has been much more entertaining to watch. Morgan’s predecessor, Wilson, had a mixed time whilst in charge of the Bramall Lane outfit. The highlight of his reign was guiding the Blades to last season’s play-off final. United lost on penalties to Huddersfield Town at Wembley after a 0-0
Photo: Steve Parkin
draw. Wilson was not liked by all United fans, with many sceptical about his time as a player and manager at fierce rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Last summer Wilson was forced to cut costs with Matt Lowton, Nick Montgomery and Stephen Quinn all leaving the club. Despite these overhauls, United started this season well and remained unbeaten in League One until November. In the January transfer window Wilson was forced to sell top scorer Nick Blackman to Reading and was also hit by a season-ending injury to Shaun Miller.
Late goal stinger at Bramall Lane as Bees salvage draw Football nPower League One Sheffield United Brentford
2 2
Matthew Smith Four goals, four penalties and three red cards made for an extraordinary evening’s viewing at Bramall Lane, as Sheffield United’s automatic promotion hopes suffered a blow at the hands of rivals Brentford. Substitute Bradley WrightPhillips scored in the 89th minute with a cute turn and finish past George Long from 14 yards, as his side finished the game with nine men after captain Tony Craig and star winger Clayton Donaldson were sent off.
Brentford had gone in front after 23 minutes, Long bringing down Donaldson in the box, Marcello Trotta converting the resultant penalty. United had a spot kick of their own on 51 minutes, after an off-the-ball incident which saw Craig recieve his marching orders, however Tony McMahon hit the bar. United did however take the lead on 62 minutes from the spot after Jake Bidwell handballed, Barry Robson smashing in. Five minutes later, Dave Kitson nodded past Simon Moore from six yards. Brentford missed a chance to equalise when Long saved Sam Saunders’ penalty, for which Harry Maguire received a second yellow. Minutes later, Donaldson suffered the same fate, but the Bees grabbed their late goal.
Simon Moore is beaten as Dave Kitson put Sheffield United in front
Photo:Blades Sports Photography
Forge Sport’s Heroes and Villains of the fortnight Adam Scott
Paolo Di Canio
Sir Stirling Moss
Rioting Fans
The Aussie produced a nerveless display to defeat Angel Cabrera in the Masters. Add this to the fact that he dated Ana Ivanovic and you have the ultimate hero.
Di Canio inspired his side to a 3-0 thrashing of Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby, ensuring Sunderland now have a real chance of survival.
The F1 legend sounded out of touch and ridiculous when he claimed women don’t have the “mental aptitude to race hard”.
It has been a bad week for football fans: firstly, Millwall fans turned on each other at Wembley and then Newcastle fans trashed their own city.
30
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
SPORT
@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com
Cycling: Hallam thought they had a chance, they spoke too soon Varsity 2013 BMX and Time Trial Richard Simpson For the third year in a row Uni have beaten Hallam 5-0 in cycling, and with such talent coming through the team, it looks like this domination may continue. In the time trial, Riders proceeded upon the Peak District roads in one minute intervals, and before the 5km mark some Uni riders were already catching their minutemen. A long descent provided ample opportunity for riders to show their dominance. By the time the
riders came to the finish there were only two Hallam riders who had not been overtaken. Strong performances came from throughout the team, but the race was really set alight when Michael Caley crossed the line in an astonishing 31 minutes 57 seconds. Caley’s friend and training partner, James Jobber, will be disappointed to have lost out to him by only three seconds, but having already won Varsity Hill Climb this year, he can’t be too disheartened. Tom Stewart and Chris Dredge also put in great rides for Uni. In the BMX, Dave Camus proved the hero as Uni picked up a much more narrow victory.
Photo: Duncan Philpott
Dave Camus led the way for Uni in BMX
Football fourths bring it home Varsity 2013 Football Jack Taylor, Thomas Asker and Matthew Smith The final day of Varsity began with Uni supporters wondering which team would claim that crucial half-point. The answer was the Men’s Football 4s, who drew 1-1. Tom Richardson’s wonder strike cancelled out an early free kick by Hallam’s Tom Simmons to secure the all-important draw. The game could not have started worse for Uni keeper James Neal as Simmons’ curling free kick flew low into the bottom corner before five minutes had elapsed.
In a game that offered a deluge of hard tackles but no sustained momentum for either team it was a wonder goal from Richardson’s left boot that earned Uni a deserved draw. The midfielder collected the ball outside the area and reacted quickly to the opposition’s lax defence by sending the ball dipping over the helpless Hallam keeper. The Men’s 3s could not match their counterparts, losing 1-0. With Uni’s Varsity victory already sealed, Hallam were playing merely for pride in what turned out to be a dull encounter between the respective teams. Soon after the interval the only goal of the game was scored by Hallam’s Alfie Sutton as he latched onto a through-ball and calmly slotted the ball past John
Harvey in the Uni goal. The first team to have a chance to secure the trophy were the Women’s 2s, who kicked off at 10.30am. However, they might as well have stayed in bed, as Hallam ran rampant, winning 5-0. Hallam applied most of the pressure from the off, and it proved unlucky 13 for Uni, as on 13 minutes Hallam scored the opener. Hallam doubled their lead in fortuitous circumstances, a cross from the left flying in off the far post. On 51 minutes a corner was headed in from three yards out, and on 55 minutes, a breakaway after a Grace Merry miss saw Joey McPhail comfortably beaten. Hallam scored a fifth late on.
The Sheffield team in action against Hull
Darts hit the Hull-seye Darts University Darts League
University of Sheffield University of Hull
7 4
Robert Worrall
With the point secured, Uni were able to celebrate at Hillsborough
Photo: Chris Chadwick
Photo: Robert Worrall
The match started promisingly with Sheffield taking an early lead in the first treble game. Three players from each University had to finish on a double from 1001 over just one leg. Sheffield took the lead, but Hull levelled the match, hitting their double with one dart. Sheffield managed to restore a narrow lead after the next set of team games, the doubles, with
some impressive scoring and finishing. Steven Organ and Jim Barrington produced a confident display which quickly dispatched the opposite Hull pair. However, the narrow advantage did not last long as Rob Worrall and Joe Maguire lost a closely fought game. Fortunately for Sheffield in the last double,they managed what the previous pair couldn’t and won their narrow game. Heading into the six individual games Sheffield held a lead of just a point at 3-2. However, Sheffield had held their form players to last and a combination of Ed Pearce, Organ and Hogg won their games without dropping a leg.
31
FORGE PRESS Friday April 1 9 2 0 1 3
@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com
SPORT
Hillsborough losses can’t stop Uni celebrations
Stephen Moules almost heads Uni into the lead, before the celebrations truly began (inset)
Varsity 2013 Men’s Football University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
0 1
Danny Armstrong Uni had already won the overall competition earlier in the day, but both sets of fans made it clear that only victory would do as they created a raucous atmosphere that lit the touch paper for a fiery game. The match was lively from the start with Uni playing much of the better football. Winger Will Doyle had Uni’s first real chance of the game, blazing over from wide on the left. Hallam went close at the other end, hitting the bar with Uni keeper Seymour seemingly beaten. Captain Jack Cripps provided astute defending at the back,
thwarting many a Hallam attack on the right hand side of a Sheffield defence that coped well with aerial threats from Hallam’s long ball approach. Doyle continued to be a nuisance and provided Uni’s best attacking option on the left wing. The game’s temperature heated up as both sides traded late challenges. A tackle on 25 minutes left the Hallam captain needing treatment after staying down and the resultant free kick was fired just over the bar. Hallam created the better opportunities in front of goal at the end of the first half as they saw two clear chances go wide moments apart and from almost identical positions just outside the Uni six-yard box. The game settled into more of a rhythm in the second half as Uni continued to attack down the left, but they were undone by a soft goal on 65 minutes as an in-
Narrow defeat for League Varsity 2013 Rugby League University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
24 32
Michael Clegg Hallam may have arrived with an air of complacency, after administering a 52-6 drubbing in the same Varsity fixture last year. However, a Uni side in fine form were determined to give a better account of themselves against their local rivals. Uni dominated play for a large part of the proceedings, leading from the 28th minute until the 72nd, but Hallam’s late stamina allowed them to edge out Uni in the closing minutes. Hallam were first off the mark, scoring after eight minutes. They followed this up with another try seven minutes later, but were unable to score either of their conversions. The second 20 minutes of the first half belonged to Uni. Uni full-back Tom Jackson halved the deficit, scoring his team’s first try on the left-hand side on the stroke of 21 minutes.The conversion went astray. Soon after, Uni’s Sam Wilson scythed through half the Hallam team from deep, to set up Tom Shannon for a try.
Richard Veazey scored the kick to put Uni ahead. A penalty kick from Veazey in the dying minutes of the half meant Uni walked off of the field leading 12-8. Pluskota provided an ideal start to the second half, scoring almost immediately on Hallam’s weak left flank. Uni looked comfortable and assured in the lead, which Wilson extended with a try of his own. Veazey confidently converted both kicks. Uni looked to be running away with the game, but Hallam’s apparent collapse was mitigated by a try and conversion two minutes later. As the final 20 minutes began, the momentum seemed to shift as Hallam fought tooth and nail for a result. Spirited and fearless defending by Uni metres from their own try-line could not prevent Hallam scoring another try and conversion. With eight minutes to go the score was 24-20 to Uni, but Hallam had the greater stamina. They broke through an exhausted Uni line again a few minutes later to level the score, the successful conversion pushing them ahead by two. Trailing 24-26 Uni valiantly tried to take the lead once more, which resulted in a Hallam counter-attack scoring another try and conversion in the final minute.
Photos: Chris Chadwick
swinging Hallam free kick from the right wasn’t cleared. Substitute Matt Moores was able to bundle the ball past an already grounded Seymour and into the bottom right hand corner of the goal. Moores had been on the pitch for a matter of seconds before his goal. From then on Hallam shut out Uni for much of the rest of the game. A corner in added time saw Seymour come up to add his efforts but the ball was cleared and played out to a Hallam winger who tried his luck but couldn’t find the open net. The final whistle followed shortly after. Uni were beaten in the final varsity fixture, they had lost the battle, but had very much won the war. Afterwards the trophy was awarded to Uni with Luke MacWilliam and Andy Cox performing a lap of honour.
Varsity 2013 Women’s Football University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
1 3
Ryan Bramley An impressive team effort by the University of Sheffield wasn’t enough to see off Hallam at Hillsborough, as the underdogs suffered defeat by a two-goal margin. Prior to the game, the team in black and gold seemed optimistic, with manager Bejal Shah hoping the girls could put Hallam ‘under the cosh and give them a really good game.’ When the news that Uni had sealed the overall Varsity win minutes before kick-off, the girls arrived even more determined to get a share of the plaudits. However, it was Hallam who broke the deadlock on 39 minutes
with a powerful 12-yard drive from the right hand side of the box – the ball landing low in the bottom-left corner of Kim Griffiths’ goal. Uni continued to press for an equaliser in the second half, but Hallam looked more dangerous by the minute, keeper Griffiths being forced into a fine double save on 56 minutes. However, the result was in little doubt 10 minutes from fulltime when Hallam doubled their tally. Griffiths made yet another good save but couldn’t stop the follow-up shot. Uni had a glimpse of hope late on when substitute Sophie Williams was taken down in the box after a fantastic run, Williams herself converting the penalty into the right of the Hallam goal. However, any hopes of a late comeback were soon dashed by a third Hallam goal – a strike from close range in injury time.
Uni putt in their place by Hallam Varsity 2013 Golf University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam
1 3
Tom Shiels With no BUCS team Hallam were an unknown quantity going into the fixture, but came out of it having left Uni in no doubt of their quality. The first Uni pairing of Charlie Berry and Nick Sudderick started well and were soon 2up through four holes, however Hallam clawed their way back into the match and finished Eagle, Birdie to win 1up. The second pairing consisting of club and team captain Tom Shiels and Andrew McCarthy knew they had a fight on from the start with Hallam making birdie on the long opening hole. However with McCarthy nearly getting a hole-in-one at the second, Hallam’s opening advantage was gone. Uni continued to pile on the pressure. At the short par four seventh hole, Shiels had a short putt for eagle, however it was McCarthy who holed, snatching the glory. Birdies at nine and 11 left uni 2up with 4 to play, and although a sloppy bogey at the 15th meant Hallam were able to reduce the
deficit, further Uni birdies at the 16th and 17th clinched the match for Uni 3&1. Third out were Josh Dye and Alex Stead. In a tight match Uni came back from two down to level things up by the 18th tee. The final pairing for Uni consisted of new boys Marcus
Hutchinson and Will Swarbrick. In another tight match, a birdie on the 17th was good enough to clinch victory for Hallam leaving the score 2-1 to Hallam. Dye and Stead knew they needed to win the 18th to salvage a draw for Uni, but it was Hallam who made a birdie to win 1up.
Uni suffered a surprise defeat in Varsity golf
Photo: Chris Chadwick
Friday April 19 2013 FORGE PRESS
32
SPORT
@forgesport /forgepress sport@forgetoday.com
2013
Sports Officer Luke MacWilliam finally got his hands on the Varsity trophy, whilst (inset) the crowd celebrate at Hillsborough
Photos: Josh Rock and Chris Chadwick
No more years of hurt Matthew Smith The University of Sheffield have won Varsity 2013, their first victory in the flagship sporting event since 2003. Uni led 35.5-28 over Hallam going into the final day of the event, meaning they required only half a point more to bring the trophy back to Goodwin. The half-point was secured at Uni’s home ground, Norton, where the Men’s Football 4s drew 1-1. This meant that Hallam could not catch their rivals, making two victories in the traditional Varsity deciding matches at Hillsborough futile. The overall final score was Uni 36.5-34.5 Hallam, the widest winning margin since 2010, when Hallam won by two points. As news spread of Uni’s triumph, fans flocked to Hillsborough to celebrate victory in one of the most unusual Varsity competitions of recent times. Uni had hoped to secure victory on the traditional finals day, before Easter. However freezing weather rendered the pitches at both Hillsborough and Norton unplayable. However, Uni almost thought they had it wrapped up anyway; needing seven-and-a-half points to win outright, they scored seven, just falling short in athletics, badminton and climbing to miss out by the narrowest margin. All that was forgotten however, when first year Tom Richardson scored a stunning equaliser just
before half-time in the Men’s Football 4s, which proved just enough for Uni, who also won in cycling time trial and BMX. Hallam’s victories in football, rugby league and golf made the scoreline more respectable for the dethroned champions. Sports officer Luke MacWilliam said: “I actually heard about the win in my office, I’d been at Norton in the morning but had to stop off at the Union for a meeting before going to Hillsborough to set up for the final. “During the meeting I was following @forgesport then at the end went to my office, phoned Andy Cox who simply said “we’ve just won Varsity”. “It’s huge not just for sports clubs but for everybody. It displays how hard our clubs work throughout the year.” Andy Cox, head of Sport Sheffield, said: “I was actually at Norton for all the games, so after the Women’s 2s had lost their game I felt a little more nervous but confident the Men’s 4s would bring it home. “After going one goal behind I still felt they could do it; when we equalised with an outstanding goal I just felt this was going to be the moment. “It didn’t really hit me until I arrived at Sheffield Wednesday, and then walked out to see the black and gold army in their thousands. “I’m really proud of all the hard work and commitment that has gone in to the competition over the last nine years.”
2009
2010 For the past 10 years Uni have suffered disappointment and heartache at Varsity. All this pain was forgotten last Wednesday as Uni learned at 1.30pm that they had won Varsity for the first time since 2003.
2012
2011