Forge Issue 83

INSIDE:copyright laws/ procrastination/ treasure hunt europe/ blur/ Dartsity

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The independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield. Est. 1946.

Issue 83 Wednesday 13 May 2015 @ForgePress /ForgePress

INSIDE

Fuse Protest songs: long may they continue

Features

The Sheffield charity helping trafficking victims

Comment Exams: a necessary evil?

Clegg clings on

Uni’s £50k Party plan Adela Whittingham £50,000 has been budgeted for to fund the opening ceremony of the University of Sheffield’s Diamond building, Forge Press can exclusively reveal.

The formal launch of the new £81 million engineering department will take place in Spring 2016.

Work on the Diamond, which is still continuing, began in September 2013 and is part of the University’s master plan to improve campus.

At a meeting of the Diamond Opening Committee in March it was proposed that the formal launch would entail a reception and drinks for attendees, and a VIP dinner hosted by the Vice Chancellor for over 50 of the guests.

The potential names on the guest list for the formal launch include those of large regional and local companies, members of Parliament, Northern industrialists and advanced researchers.

Goody bags for attendees of the formal launch were also discussed at the meeting.

Continued on page 3

Election coverage and analysis p4-5

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EDITOR

elsa.vulliamy@forgetoday.com

Elsa Vulliamy

DEPUTY EDITOR Tom Schneider MANAGING EDITOR

j.may@sheffield.ac.uk

Jon May

FUSE EDITORS fuse@forgetoday.com Phil Bayles Kate Lovatt HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com Matthew Smith NEWS news@forgetoday.com Patrick O’Connell Treelam Tailor Adela Whittingham DEPUTY NEWS Estel Farell Roig Will Morgan Keri Trigg COMMENT comment@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer Isaac Stovell COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Helen Hiorns FEATURES features@forgetoday.com Kemi Alemoru Will Ross Polly Winn LIFESTYLE & TRAVEL lifestyle@forgetoday.com Isabel Dobinson Nikita Kesharaju SPORT sport@forgetoday.com Joseph Bamford Edward McCosh Thomas Pyman MUSIC music@forgetoday.com Rachel Bell Rebecca Stubbs GAMES games@forgetoday.com Samantha Fielding Robin Wilde SCREEN screen@forgetoday.com Joe Brennan Sophie Maxwell ARTS arts@forgetoday.com Chloe Coleman Joss Woodend COPY EDITORS Lucy Barnes Elizabeth Cunningham Friederike Dannheim Declan Downey Helena Egan Claire Fowler Ellie Tudor Karen Wong

Clarification Jon May, Managing Editor A comment piece in Issue 80 (March 6, 2015), which talked about the Gaza/ Isreal war, had a regrettable subheadline.

That subheadline should have been “Khalid Omari warns western consumers to be aware of the companies involved in the policing and detaining of Palestinian children.”

Forge Press apologises for this error.

q

CITY

FASHION

Will Morgan

Jessica Davis

A protest march against the new Conservative government will take place this weekend at Devonshire Green.

The march is scheduled to begin on Saturday May 16 at 12pm.

Protestors claim to be marching against austerity, but are also calling for “#TORIESOUTNOW”.

Their page states that the march is also against supposed plans to repeal the Human Rights Act and the fox hunting ban.

800 people on the Facebook event have clicked attending.

Local teenager Jack Crofts has set up his own business ‘Vicuna Royale’, selling exclusive yarn scarfs costing £6,000.

The 17-year-old is the first in the UK to import vicuna wool from South America, after getting the idea from watching a BBC documentary on the animals.

Jack won £3,000 in a national competition judged by Dragons’ Den star, Theo Paphitis, with his business plan.

With this he sourced suppliers in Italy and manufacturers in Leicester and now aims to start production next month.

UNIVERSITY

ELECTION

CRIME

Will Morgan

Jessica Davis

Lisa Latham

The University of Sheffield has submitted plans for a 1.3 million square foot expansion to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to Sheffield City Council.

The aim is to create the UK’s first Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District, which aims to be a research institute that is also within an easily commutable distance.

The expansion has been forecast to produce 1800 new jobs and £74.2 million to the local economy.

The parents of two-year-old Ollie Wroe, of Intake, Sheffield, were left stunned when he received a polling card in the post.

They could not remember adding Ollie’s details to registration forms and were shocked when he received the card to vote in the Sheffield Heeley constituency.

Sheffield City Council said Ollie was added to a registration form in October 2013, under the old system where one person would register an entire household.

South Yorkshire Police has been recognised for its crackdown on illicit alcohol with a nomination for a top award.

In 2011, a surge in the sale of illegal alcohol containing products such as chloroform and iso-pentanon landed many drinkers in hospital.

SYP’s successful campaign against the ‘poisonous’ alcohol has now put them in the running for a prestigious award, recognising their efforts to keep drinkers safe.

CHARITY

CELEBRATE

Elsa Vulliamy

Keri Trigg

Sheffield RAG has collaborated with Western Park Hospital Cancer Charity to encourage students to put on charity tea parties as part of their Time For Tea event.

The celebration encourages people around Sheffield to host fundraising tea parties to raise money and awareness for the local charity.

RAG is urging student societies at the Students’ Union and University departments to take part in the event by hosting their own tea parties and collecting money for Western Park Hospital Cancer Charity.

‘Good Gesture Day’ is coming to Fargate in Sheffield city centre this Saturday, May 16, in memory of Stephen Sutton.

Stephen, from Staffordshire, founded the celebration with charity Fixtures four days before his death from bowel cancer last year, aged 19. He also raised £5 million for charity.

Sheffield is one of 15 cities across the UK to welcome the event, taking place between 11am-3pm, which will see young people gathered to spread good gestures such as hugs, high-fives and fist pumps.

in brief...

Anti-austerity protest

News from the Steel City

Uni research centre expansion

RAG hold charity tea party

Baby in electoral error

Youth entrepeneur wraps up

SYP’s poison alcohol award

Good gesture day coming

Photo: Creative Commons

inside this issue...

News

Union Council approves controversial Tamil Society

Comment

Migrant Crisis: the reality is that deaths have increased

Features

Procrastination: preparing you for exam season

Lifestyle

Summer plans: best walks in the Peak District

Coffee Break

Your favourite puzzles, games and fortnightly riddles

Sport

Sports thoughts: should we expand Varsity?

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YOUR UNIVERSITY

Revealed: Uni’s £50k Diamond launch party Adela Whittingham

Continued from front page An

alternative

‘soft’

launch,

which is presumed to be open for students, will be held in September 2015, when construction of the Diamond is due to be completed, but a budget

for this launch has not yet been proposed.

The suggested itinerary for the ‘soft launch’, in comparison to the expensive formal equivalent,

includes a performance from a samba band and a treasure hunt.

Forge Press approached, Professor Gill Valentine, Chair of the Engineering Project Executive Group, for a comment on where the £50,000 budget is coming from, and what it is expected to be spent on.

Professor Valentine, said: “A budget of £50,000 has been allocated for the University to organise an impressive and professional opening event for The Diamond – an £81 million investment which demonstrates the University of Sheffield’s continuing commitment to the development of world-class facilities to support its worldclass teaching and research.

“We are working with the Student Officer team to plan an event for September, when The Diamond will open for teaching, as well as a formal opening event in Spring 2016.

“These events will raise the national and international profile of this amazing new University facility for learning and teaching.”

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Activists praise SU officers’ new eco-friendly University proposal

Tom Schneider SU Officers have launched a proposal to create a University-wide environmental responsibility strategy, receiving praise from activist groups.

The plan, backed by SU President Yael Shafritz and Development Officer Jack Wyse, pressures the University to embed a commitment to sustainability in all processes.

Forge Press has joined activist groups this year in criticising the University for previously failing to live up to its “commitment to making a difference and setting an example” on environmental issues.

The proposal highlights that “there is currently no clear accountability on issues of sustainability meaning that issues are passed around different layers and departments.

“By having a forward thinking strategy ... we save resources in the long term.”

Shafritz said “there are some great projects and activist groups here that we should link with our cutting edge environmental research. So much great work gets done but we do not have a joined-up way of making sure we can properly hold the University to account.”

Activist groups broadly welcomed the news. Louis Koseda of Project Foodhall praised the “chance to put some research into action” while Chris

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Something to B positive about A new technique has been developed which could remove the need to match the blood types of donors with transfusion recipients.

An enzyme has been evolved that can “snip” the offending sugars (known commonly as A or B) from patients’ blood cells.

The presence of these sugars in the blood causes the immune system to reject other blood types during transfusions.

If this enzyme is evolved further it could potentially remove all of these sugars in the blood and allow everyone to receive all blood types.

Ellen Moye

Gene Genie Chinese scientists at Sun Yatsen University have become the first to modify the genes of human embryos.

They attempted to replace the faulty gene that causes the potentially fatal blood disorder β-thalassaemia.

The process’ efficiency is questionable, with only 21 out of 86 embryos surviving.

If successful, the technique could be used to eradicate hereditary genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis and Huntington’s disease.

Such experiments are subject to fierce debate; due to the ethical concerns surrounding “designer babies” and the effects these heritable changes may have on future generations.

To minimise controversy, these scientists used only “nonviable” embryos, which would not have survived if implanted.

The US has ruled out funding any similar genetic modification efforts.

Ashley Carley

Photo: Wikipedia

Men close life expectancy gap

Saltmarsh, Chair of People & Planet’s Fossil Free campaign said “the proposal was good as it identifies that activist groups are being atomised. Sustainability cannot be a priority if strategy is restricted to pet projects.

“The University has failed to stick to its previous commitment on environmental issues and has become more business-like, run for profit rather than as a public institution with social and environmental responsibility.

“This proposal is a step forward and it has the potential to make activists’ lives easier but I’m not going to celebrate until I see action, not words, on fossil fuels divestment.”

Shafritz and Wyse also expressed their frustration with the length of the process by which proposals are accepted.

Wyse said “it is frustrating how long stuff takes to get through subcommittees.

Although it ensures accountability and

thoroughness, it also means that this proposal is probably going to take a long time to pass.

“Whether Fossil Free divestment is carried out, will be testament to how much the University values sustainability” Previously, action has stalled as the University’s Vice Chancellor has refused to issue statements of intent on environmental issues but Shafritz told Forge that Sir Keith Burnett was “receptive and supportive” of the proposal.

A report published by researchers in The Lancet medical journal has revealed that the gap between men and women with regards to life expectancy is narrowing.

Earlier research in 1981 showed that an average man’s life expectancy was six years shorter than that of a woman, however the new report predicts that by 2030 men will on average be living 85.7 years, two years fewer than that of the average woman.

While no research has definitively explained the gap, it is commonly attributed to women having immune systems that age slower, and men being more susceptible to disease.

Stephen Thornley

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NEWS

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General Election 2015

Blomfield crushes Creasy

Nathaniel Robinson Paul Blomfield MP was returned with an increased majority in his Sheffield Central constituency.

Despite a strong challenge from the Green candidate Jillian Creasy, Blomfield saw a 13.7 per cent increase in his share of the vote. Leaving him with a majority of 17,309 up from 165 in 2010, the largest

Labour party majority in the city.

The campaign was characterised by a fierce battle between the two parties, resulting in Labour accusations against the Greens of a deliberate Smear against

Blomfield in a recent edition of the Green Party’s constituency newsletter.

The Greens campaign was not enough to topple Blomfield who returns to parliament with a stronger mandate.

10 GE fun facts A City divided

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

omen now make up 29 W per cent of the House of Commons, with 191 female MPs, more than ever before.

onservative MP Grant C Shapps faced opposition from the real ‘Michael

T

here are now 42 ethnic minority MPs in the House of Commons, constituting 6.6 per cent.

Ed Miliband had been Ithefelected, he would have been first atheist Prime Minister in the history of the UK.

Green’ for his seat in Welwyn Hatfield. Heydon Prowse from The Revolution will be Televised changed his name to Michael Green, the famous alter-ego of the Tory chairman. d Miliband, after resigning as leader of the Labour Party, jetted off to Ibiza with his wife Justine Thornton, to de-stress and let his hair down.

E

T

he Danish Prime Minister, H e l l e ThorningSchmidt, was present at the general e l e c t i o n count in Aberavon.

She was there with her husband, Stephen Kinnock – son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock – who won his seat with over 10,000 votes.

avid Dimbledy has D been the BBC anchor for nine UK general

elections.

His first was in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher came to power.

onnie Carroll, R former Eurovision singer and candidate

for Bermondsy & Old Southward received 113 votes in the general election despite having sadly passed away several weeks before.

His 113 votes managed to beat the 77 votes of live candidate Robin Ellison of the U Party.

om Katsumi became T famous on the night of the general election after cross-stitching the election results onto a map of the UK as they came in.

fter Ed Balls lost his A seat his seat in Morely and Outwood, the hashtag #BallsOut began to trend.

Nathaniel Robinson While the political map of Sheffield looks the same as it did in 2010, underneath the surface there has been a surge in support for fringe parties, leaving the Greens and Ukip as the main opposition.

The results also revealed an increasing divide between the city’s students and the local population. Outside the city’s vast student population, a very different political city emerges.

In the student dominated constituencies of Hallam and Central, the left of centre Labour and Greens parties were the biggest

winners seeing vote increases of 19.7 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively.

The rest of Sheffield took a significant step towards the right and saw Ukip achieve its political ‘earthquake’, achieving an 18 per cent increase in their vote in Brightside & Hillsborough.

Ukip is now in second place in three of Sheffield’s five constituencies.

The collapse of the centre ground and the rise of these more peripheral parties shows the polarisation of the Sheffield electorate and the expanding split between students and locals

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General Election 2015

NEWS

Clegg clings on to Hallam

Nathaniel Robinson Clegg secured re-election in his Sheffield Hallam constituency despite a strong challenge from Labour’s Oliver Coppard.

Clegg won with 40 per cent of the vote compared to Coppard’s 35.8 per cent.

The campaign was characterised by Conservative voters tactically voting for the Liberal Democrats to keep Labour out.

Guardian columnist Owen Jones also joined the fight for Hallam coming out in favour of Coppard’s candidacy but this support was not enough to ensure victory.

Since the creation of the Sheffield

Hallam constituency in 1885, the seat has never been held by a Labour MP. Despite his victory in Hallam, Clegg resigned as party leader describing the election as “cruel and punishing.”

The inside perspective from the count Patrick O’Connell The English Institute of Sport last week played host to Sheffield’s general election count. The ballots were counted throughout the night, with the hotly contested Sheffield Hallam constituency being announced first, six hours after the polls closed.

Over 100 members of the press eagerly awaited the results, particularly for Hallam where the beleaguered Nick Clegg battled to hang on to his seat. Rumours swirled around the EIS, as volunteers counted the ballots on the track of the indoor sports arena. Members of the press watched from the side-lines as the results began to unfold.

Clegg arrived just after 4am with his wife Miriam by his side. He was escorted into the count via a side exit and evaded television crews and members of the press. He made no comments other than his election speech, during which he was heckled by a small number of the audience.

Clegg, looking visibly strained, avoided questions on the night regarding his rumoured resignation as leader of the Liberal Democrats, but less than 12 hours later he confirmed he would be standing down. He left the building, escorted by police, immediately after the Hallam announcement.

Oliver Coppard, Labour’s candidate for Hallam, reduced Clegg’s majority from over 53 per cent of the vote in 2010 to 40 per cent this year, though he was unable to grabble the safe Liberal seat off Clegg.

Turnout in Hallam was particularly strong, with 75.3 per cent of the electorate voting.

Throughout the night, journalists speculated from the EIS’s press pen on whether Clegg’s Labour challenger could topple him, but the former Deputy Prime Minister clung on to his seat with a close majority of just over 2,000 votes. The Liberal Democrats faced a humiliating wipe-out across the country, with their 57 seats crumbling to a mere eight.

After the Hallam results, the remaining five Sheffield constituencies – Central, Heeley, Brightside and Hillsborough, South East, and Penistone and Stocksbridge – were announced. All five were safe Labour holds.

In Sheffield Central, a constituency with a large student vote, competition from the Green opponent Jillian Creasy failed to materialise. In 2010, Blomfield scraped a victory with just 165 votes more than his Liberal Democrat opponent. Last week, he commanded 55 per cent of the vote in Central – 17,309 votes more than Creasy, his nearest rival.

In Heeley, Louise Haigh was elected for Labour with 20,269 votes. Ukip candidate

Howard Denby came second with 7,315 votes cast. In Brightside & Hillsborough, Harry Harpham won the Labour seat with 22,663 votes. It was previously the seat of now retired MP David Blunkett. In South East, Clive Betts held his seat with an increased majority of 51.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency was announced last, as some of the ballot papers were transported from as far away as Barnsley to the count.

Labour’s Angela Smith kept her seat and increased her majority, with a swing of 4.3 per cent.

Although Labour performed well throughout Sheffield, the night was a bittersweet victory for Labour MPs.

Labour’s Sheffield success was not repeated nationwide, with the party losing 24 seats since 2010 and suffering its worst defeat since 1987 in terms of seats. By 5am, it had become apparent that the Conservative Party was closing in on a majority government.

Already questions were asked as to how pollsters had been so inaccurate in their pre-election opinion polls.

The predicted aftermath of the election – tireless negotiations as the parties tussled to form coalitions – never materialised.

Instead, the Conservatives won 331 seats, with a working majority of 15 seats, forming the first Tory majority government in 18 years.

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YOUR UNIVERSITY

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Tamil Society approved despite divisive debates Neelam Tailor The controversial motion to approve the creation of a Tamil Society was passed after being heavily debated in Union Council.

The reason why the issue was taken to Council was because the ISC rejected the motion for a Tamil Society after it was approved by the Societies Commitee. The usual process for the creation of a society would not involve the Union Council.

Tamil people make up a large cultural group across many countries, with their own language and cultural practices, but are not tied to any one nation.

Much of the debate of whether there should be a Tamil Society originated from the lack of national ties that the cultural group has.

At the meeting between the applicants and other societies, three Tamil representatives attended, all of whom were British-born and so made the argument that they wanted their Tamil cultural identity to

be represented, but not within a national society such as Sri Lanka or India.

Clio Symington, Activities Officer, who submitted the motion to the Students’ Union council to be voted on, said: “I do feel that students should not have to join a national society that they may not feel any affiliation to in order to celebrate their culture.

“If there are students in our university who feel that their culture is not being fully represented then I feel that we have a responsibility to help. Ultimately this is why I supported the decision to have a Tamil society.”

The Societies Committee, who argued for the motion in Union Council, said: “Although the application was given the go-ahead from the International Students Officer, it was highlighted by Societies Committee and Zone staff that there were concerns with overlap with other societies – Sri Lankan Society, Indian Society, and Malaysian and Singaporean Society.”

The International Students’ Committee (ISC), who have representatives from across all regions in the world, gave feedback to reject the application based on similar concerns to the Sri Lankan and Indian Societies that a Tamil Society could potentially create a divide between the Tamil population and national societies.

ISC said: “This is a very sensitive matter, which has provoked a lot of discussion over many weeks. Ultimately ISC voted not to have the society because of the recent political history from countries such as Sri Lanka, we were concerned that it may encourage a divide and possibly isolate Tamil students at our university - something which we have worked hard in ISC not to do.”

President elect, Christy McMorrow, spoke for the motion at Union Council. He said: “I’d say that if a national or cultural group feels that they aren’t adequately represented by current societies and have the members to form a new one, there’s really no reason to oppose

it. Distinct identities shouldn’t be made to feel like a sub-group of another” Clio Symington said: “I do understand ISC’s concerns, it was incredibly important to listen to their insight around the political situation. I really respect what ISC and many national societies have done to try to avoid any divide or isolation of Tamil students.”

Despite the debate which was reported to go on for over 30 minutes, a majority vote decided to approve the application for a Tamil Society.

Gender-neutral toilets success Keri Trigg

Selected toilets in humanities building Jessop West are to be made gender-neutral.

The proposal was introduced at Students’ Union Council by Womens Officer Miriam Miller on behalf of Camille Brouard, SU Councillor for English Language and Linguistics.

SU Council voted in favour of the proposal, but rejected plans to lobby for all toilets in the building to be given genderneutral status.

It was also agreed to push for more of the toilets accross campus.

Camille said: “I’m really happy the motion has been passed.

“I think it’s great to give everyone the opportunity to do something as simple as use the toilet without fearing social exclusion or physical violence.”

She added: “The ultimate goal is to introduce gender-neutral toilet options University-wide, but the single cubicle toilets in Jessop West are a good starting point.

The University’s only current gender-neutral toilets, open to people of ‘all genders or none’ are on Level Two of the SU.

Clio Symington, Activities Officer who submitted the motion for a Tamil Society to SU council

YOUR CITY

Mercury merger creates monopoly Jessica Davis Sheffield’s two largest taxi firms are merging due to increasing competition in the city.

City Taxis and Mercury Taxis will merge on June 1, with a combined job count of around 110,000 per week.

City Taxis currently has 85 people in its new offices at Waterside Court in Sheffield and averages at around 75,000 jobs per week.

Under the new organisation the company will be branded as City Taxis.

The merge will result in a total of more than 1,400 drivers and will take 39 staff from

Mercury.

Arnie Singh, City Taxis’ managing director, told the Star: “At a time when competition for business within the taxi industry is increasing, this merger and consolidation is a significant and important move for both companies.”

He added: “City Taxis will strengthen its position as everyone’s ‘local’ taxi company and provide a very strong service in every Sheffield postcode and beyond.”

City used to be based at Manor Top and has recently introduced one of the most advanced booking at dispatching systems in the world.

Dermot Griffiths, Mercury Taxis’ general manager, also told the Star: “We sought a merger with another company because we believe that being part of a larger organisation such as City Taxis will allow us to provide a wider array of coverage for our drivers and customers alike.”

He added: “We are looking forward to all our staff having a new and exciting working environment and our combined customer base receiving even better levels of service.”

Both firms have said that their phone numbers will stay the same and that existing fares will remain unaffected.

What do students think of the merging taxi companies?

“I do think it’s a “It is not great, “I think that it’s good idea because if the lack of probably good it’s a great way to competition because there will expand and get increases the prices be a lot more taxi more people but at then that may availability, so it the same time they dissuade some could be beneficial. should keep their people from getting Obviously the mind that students a cab home which price is an issue are the people that could put them at but hopefully use it the most. If risk to violent crime the company will they can bear that because violent consider the fact in mind then it crime affects men that a lot of its customers are students so maybe it will offer could be a good idea but if not then we might aged between 18 and 24 the most, and need to voice our opinion” yeah, that’s not cool. Women may be more a student discount and a price increase to vulnerable because of it as well.” other people but not the students.”

Josslyn Beevers, Chemical Engineering

Michael Akuagwa, Bioengineering

Robyn Parker, Physical Geography

Photo: Claire Fowler

CRIME

Naked man gets driving ban

Keri Trigg

A man who stopped traffic when he paraded naked down a busy Sheffield road has admitted to smoking crack cocaine on the day of the incident.

Sheffield Magistrates Court was told that Kelly Savage, 48, brought London Road to a standstill when he was arrested outside a Sainsbury’s Local on April 21.

Savage, from London, was in Sheffield on business when he decided to buy and smoke the drug.

He was seen walking naked down Boston Road, Sharrow, before driving to London Road where he was arrested at 2.30pm.

Matthew Hauge, defending, said: “This is a very strange case and out of character. Mr Savage has had a colourful past but has since turned his life around.”

The court also heard that he had only driven the short distance due to becoming fearful and paranoid about his dealers’ “unreasonable demands.”

He admitted failing to stop for police and failing to provide a specimen for analysis, and was handed a 17-month driving ban and ordered to pay over £1,000 in fines and court costs.

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YOUR CITY

Sheffield remembers VE day 70 years on

Thousands of people celebrated the 70th Anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day at Sheffield Cathedral.

Friday May 8 marked 70 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe, with a two-minute silence held in the city centre to mark the occasion.

There was also a special service on Saturday, May 9, attended by the Royal British Legion and The

Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Peter Rippon.

John Mothersole, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council, said: “The 70th anniversary of the Second World War in Europe is such a significant milestone in our history that we wanted to do something to mark the occasion in Sheffield.”

“Many people joined us to commemorate the sacrifices made by the Armed Forces,

YOUR CITY

Land Girls and civilians who contributed to the war effort back home in Sheffield.

“As well as remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom, it was a chance to celebrate the day the War came to an end.”

History was re-lived to commemorate the victory in Europe, with various reenactments, activities and displays of artefacts and war memorabilia.

Live music from the 1940s accompanied the celebration, including a swing band, pianist and the Bobby Pins.

There were also stories from Northern WW2 Association reenactors, and historic vehicles were lined up outside the Cathedral.

The celebrations were enjoyed by over 3,000 visitors throughout the day.

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Doc/Fest to include Playful pups to come to Students’ Union Michael Palin

Tom Schneider

Doc/Fest organisers have announced the full line up for this year’s festival.

The annual event will run for six days from 5-10 June. Last year over 26,000 people attended various events.

It will showcase city-wide screenings of 150 award-winning feature and short documentaries as well as live music events, filmmaker masterclasses and headline speakers.

Acting director Mark Atkin said: “Doc/Fest is very lucky that Sheffield has so many incredible spaces within the city centre, which has enabled us again this year to showcase even more cutting-edge documentary across all platforms.”

The opening night features Josh Oppenheimer’s documentary of a family who survived the

Indonesian genocide.

It will be followed by the world premiere of Benedikt Erlingsson’s The Greatest Shows on Earth which features music written by two members of Icelandic group Sigur Rós.

Previously unseen footage from the University of Sheffield’s National Fairground Archive will be used in a film about nineteenth century fairgrounds and freak shows.

The festival will close at the Crucible Theatre with the international premiere of Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. Director Roger Graef said: “It’s the Pythons as never seen before, and will never be seen again.”

After the screening, Graef will be joined by fellow director James Rogan as well as Michael Palin for a conversation hosted by comedian Josie Long.

Candidate fights future, loses An election candidate campaigned in Northern Ireland on a platform of: the re-criminalisation of homosexuality, the banning of all rock and roll music and a crackdown on expressions of feminism.

Susan Anne White ran for MP of West Tyrone in the UK’s general election, and travelled all the way from the 1950s to do so.

Despite her firm belief that society is thundering down the highway to hell with no potential for a holy reform, her policies only rang true with a meagre 166 voters out of almost 40,000.

She returned home, not as an MP, but as a mere vessel for the outdated views that have largely died out.

Lisa Latham

Photo: Alex Evans/The Star

VE Day celebrations outside the Cathedral Jessica Davis

NATIONAL NEWS

Photo: Huffington Post #HipsterCop A police officer dominated Twitter after he was snapped with the perfect moustache.

He was branded “Hipster Cop” after being pictured at a London march on Saturday.

Users re-tweeted the photo making fun of the notorious subculture, the “Hipster.”

He was trending with the hashtag #Hipstercop.

One user posted: “#Hipstercop - solving crime one organic, fairtrade, venti, hot, wet, no foam latte at a time.”

Sergeant Nathan Shickle, of Wandsworth, tweeted: “I’m standing next to #HipsterCop right now, having a good old chuckle at some of the captions.”

Jessica Davis Photo: Univeristy of Sheffield Guide Dogs “It’s a great opportunity Keri Trigg for students, and anyone else University of Sheffield Guide attending, to meet Guide Dog Dogs are to host a ‘puppy play owners and speak to them about room’ to help students de-stress what it is like to be visually from exams. impaired and what a difference The group has arranged for having a guide dog makes. guide dog owners to bring their “And of course it’s a perfect pooches to the Students’ Union opportunity to have tons of dog next week, when students will and puppy cuddles.” be able to pay £2 for a 10-minute Demand for play time with slot to play with them. the dogs has been higher than There will also be a chance to anticipated, with over 3,100 learn about the charity’s work people having clicked ‘attending’ and speak with guide dog owners on the Facebook event. about the difference the dogs Steph said: “We were definitely make to their lives. not expecting so much interest, Steph Ross, Guide Dogs and we are so grateful for volunteer and Publicity Officer the positive attention we are of University of Sheffield Guide receiving.

Dogs, said: “The purpose is to “Thanks so much to everyone continue raising money and who has supported us so far and awareness for the Guide Dogs we are looking forward to it.” for the Blind Association, as they The dogs will be in Foundry are such a great cause and do not between 11am-4pm on receive any government funding. Wednesday, May 22.

Welsh Conservative penis artist

thanks

A re-elected Conservative MP has thanked the anonymous voter who drew a penis next to his name on their ballot paper, which counted as a valid vote.

Glyn Davies, MP for Montgomeryshire, wrote on his Facebook page: “One voter decided to draw a detailed representation of a penis instead of a cross in my box on one ballot paper.

“Because it was neatly drawn within the confines of the box the returning officer deemed it a valid vote.”

Davies said he was grateful for the support, stating: “If I knew who it was, I would like to thank him (or her) personally.”

Nathaniel Robinson

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Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

@forgepress

NEWS UNINEWS

Interesting stories from other universities around the world Oxford sexism workshop

The University of Oxford has introduced anti-misogyny workshops for rugby players in the hopes of combatting sexism on campus.

Every Oxford college rugby team is required to attend a “good lad” workshop in order to play in the biggest tournament of the season - the Cuppers tournament.

Dave Llewellyn, who started the scheme hopes to combat “lad” culture and move the campaign away from telling women not to get raped and instead suggest that men stop raping them.

So far about 700 men have taken part in 60 workshops and campaigners are looking to expand the scheme to other sports at the university and nationally.

Nathaniel Robinson Student poisons flatmates

Hayley King, 22, pictured below, a student at the University of South Carolina, was caught trying to poison her flatmates with window cleaner and spitting in their food.

Her two roommates set up a secret camera, as they were afraid of the repercussions of a series of arguments.

The footage shows King opening the fridge, spitting into food containers and pouring glass cleaner into one of them.

One of Kings’ roommates told WIS TV: “The aftermath caused me to fall behind in my classes.”

King was arrested shortly after the incident on February 4 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Jessica Davis Photo: XXXXXX

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

YOUR UNIVERSITY

SU Officers champion new apprentice scheme Will Morgan Students’ Union President Yael Shafritz and Welfare Officer Tom Harrison have announced plans to set up an apprenticeships partnership to improve the quality of apprentices in the city.

The Sheffield Apprentice Capital City Partnership (SACCP) aims to show that apprenticeships are a valid alternative to traditional higher education options by embedding them within the local community.

Shafritz and Harrison also plan to fight for an increase in the apprentice minimum wage of £2.73, which is £3.77 lower than the minimum wage for those aged over 21.

This is supported by the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), who employ around 200 apprentices.

They said: “Apprenticeships get young people into work, they’re learning skills and getting the practical experience to carry them on into a career for life.

“We try and encourage our

employers to pay more than the minimum wage, because we do feel an apprentice needs to be valued more than that”.

The SACCP’s aim is that: ‘Sheffield should be the beacon of excellence for apprentice provision in the UK and be recognised as the Capital for apprenticeship study’.

The SU officers intend to work towards this by involving both Sheffield College and Sheffield Hallam University, amongst other city leaders, in the scheme to make the city of Sheffield a nationwide leader in apprenticeships.

Ben Walters, president of Sheffield College’s Students’ Union, co-founded the partnership with Shafritz and Harrison, after he travelled to Bristol for the NUS’ Students’ Green Fund support day with the officers of the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam students’ unions.

Tom Harrison said: “This is a partnership that we’re hoping to develop out of the work done together on the general election

Welfare Officer Tom Harrison is pushing the scheme Photo: Sheffield SU as a product of the Sheffield Students’ campaign group.

“Our vision is for Sheffield to be the best place to be an apprentice in the country.”

Shafritz added: “Apprentices are great for the city, both for the

apprentices themselves and the community at large.

“It’s critical that we look to diverse models of education and development so that all people have acceess to education.”

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Medics choir sing for children’s charity Claire Fowler The annual medics choir concert was held on Friday May 8 at Wesley Hall in Crookes in aid of Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital.

Every year the Medics choir put on a spring concert to raise money and entertain the public.

The concert began at 7pm and lasted two hours. The performance included a mixture of classical songs as well as some more familiar present tunes such as Frozen.

The choir has a total of 25 members from various disciplines, though it is run by

medical students.

It is currently directed by Rhys Watkins, a third year medical student, and Ellie Picket, a fourth year medical student.

Together the two of them lead the rehersals as well as handle the day to day running of the society.

Rhys said: “Everyone has been working so hard since January, putting in as many hours of rehearsal in as possible.”

Ellie added: “It’s not just the rehearsals, the planning and organisation of this event has been hard work.” at the end of the evening Rhys

commented “I felt the concert went very well, and the hard work we put in definitely showed through.”

According to Rhys several members of the audience approached him at the end of the evening to say how much they enjoyed the evening and how clear their voices sounded.

Rhys also added “Everyone on the choir seemed to really enjoy themselves despite most of them having exams to worry about.”

Next term the choir will be working on a Christmas repertoire with an aim to put on several performances in

December. The team want to encourage anyone who has a love of music and singing to come along and give it a go.

They are an all-inclusive informal choir consisting of medics and non-medics who meet every Thursday between 7 and 8:30pm in Drama studio 3.

All the proceeds from the evening went towards the Sheffield’s Children’s Hospital.

The hospital has been helping local children since 1876 and, as of 2008, has been leading research into bone disease, neurology and cancer.

Hayley King Mucho Fuego

Bacardi intends to re-spark student drinking habits with a fiery new flavour, Bacardi Carta Fuego.

The new drink is marketed primarily as a shot, with a blend of cinnamon and nutmeg to deliver an initial impact and “silky smooth” aftertaste.

Student Times took to the streets to gauge student reaction to the new beverage.

In comparison with its rival in the ‘disgusting shot’ world, Jagermeister, student response was apparently positive, as they were “impressed with the taste, flavour and kick” of the drink.

Fuego is available now in all major supermarkets, with an RRP of £21.00 for a 70cl bottle.

Lisa Latham

The concert at Wesley Hall

Photo: Lisa Latham

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FO R GE PRESS Wed n esday M ay 13 2015

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

YOUR UNIVERISY

Students raise £8,000 in days for Nepal earthquake appeal Claire Fowler A group of staff and students have been left shocked and determined to help the people of Nepal after leaving the country just weeks before the earthquake hit.

They are now aiming to raise as much money as possible to help those they left behind.

Over the years the University has worked with PHASE Nepal and Focus to give geography students the chance to visit rural villages in Nepal to do field work as part of their course.

This year, the group visited Dhading to study topics such as mental health and human trafficking before returning home just weeks before the disaster struck.

Now they are putting all their efforts into raising thousands for the community they became so close to.

Amanda Cave, one of the students who was on the recent trip to Nepal, said: “My first thought was not about how lucky I was but about the people that we had left behind in Nepal.”

They immediately created a Facebook page for Friends

of Nepal and a Virgin Money Giving page for people wanting to donate.

It took the group less than a week to raise £8,000, including donations from University departments such as Law and Sociology, and are well on their way to their £10,000 target.

Jiban Karki, a PhD student at the University and the Executive Director of PHASE Nepal, said: ‘What we have achieved so far is amazing, but soon it will be monsoon season in Nepal, meaning three months of torrential rain, and with no proper shelter for the survivors to live in they are at further risk. “£10,000 is our target but the fundraising will continue for as long as the people need our help.”

A second earthquake measuring 7.3 hit the country on Tuesday May 12 near Namche Bazar.

Amanda Cave commented: “It is heartbreaking to hear that another earthquake has devastated Nepal.

“Our thoughts are with them in this terrible time and I know this will only push the team to raise more.”

The team in Nepal

Photo: Friends of Nepal

Forge Press: blast from the past

“It’s the economy, stupid”

Will Morgan

As the general election fades to just a simmering anger for the left, Forge Press looks back at how our previous incarnation Darts covered a similarly contentious election.

In 1974, following multiple miners’ strikes and the introduction of the three-day week, Prime Minister Edward Heath called a snap general election in the hopes it would give him a mandate to break the miners.

In reaction to this, Darts decided to disregard impartiality and come out in full support of the Labour party, saying on the front page “LABOUR MUST WIN” and deciding that the Conservative manifesto was “oh so hollow”.

Whilst the recent election didn’t see large swathes of disgruntled miners, both saw two parties fighting to say that they had the right plan to fix the broken economy and both parties holding vastly different opinions on the rights of those living on the breadline. However, unlike now, the Labour party’s manifesto managed to gain enough confidence with the general public to win them a slightly larger minority than the Tories.

Wilson called another general election later that year and managed to win a slim majority in parliament, ensuring his brand of “soft labour” would rule the country.

Wilson’s time in power saw Britain resist the US’ efforts to involve them in Vietnam, the legalisation of homosexuality and the abolition of the death penalty. A period of social liberalisation we are unlikely to see for some time.

Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

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COMMENT

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

Exams: are they a necessary evil?

Georgia Nolan-Rose Exams are all that are on people’s minds now, it seems. Let’s be honest, they’re the bane of any student’s life, the very mention of them fills us with dread and if they go badly then we feel awful.

But though the argument goes that for all the stress, they’re a necessary evil, I disagree.

I am obviously biased. I picked Sheffield firstly, because it was a Russell Group University and had a good English department, but secondly because only 22 per cent of my course is assessed by exams – one of the lowest percentages in the country.

“Reading textbooks in the hope of remembering some facts to regurgitate in an exam and never use again is pretty soul destroying” I hate exams because they are an invalid way to assess somebody’s knowledge of a subject, yet poor performance in an exam can

bring about real psychological harm, as they have been placed on some kind of educational plinth to be judged.

Personally I have had very bad experiences with exams, so much so that I had to take a year out after sixth form to redo my A-levels. With consistent A-A* coursework, it was clear that exams were the issue.

From personal experience, seeing your peers all go off to university while you’re stuck at home reading textbooks in the hope of remembering some facts to regurgitate in an exam and never use again is pretty soul destroying. My poor performance in these exams really shook my confidence and I felt useless and stupid, even though I knew that I was good at my subjects.

Getting bad exam results makes you feel rubbish, but since you eventually got the results you needed (otherwise you wouldn’t be here at Sheffield), what’s the problem? The problem is that by getting good exam results second time round, it proves that exams are an infuriatingly invalid way to assess somebody’s intelligence results can vary so widely that it almost renders them meaningless.

My school is an academy so, although most state schools will

allow sixth form students to stay on another year, they essentially said, “Sorry, can’t help you.” I had to relearn my A-level syllabus; I was at a disadvantage since I wasn’t allowed back to school and yet did significantly better than before when I had the advantage of being able to go to lessons.

Clearly I hadn’t suddenly got smarter; exams are basically a matter of luck, memory, and a formulaic technique.

“A test not so much of intellectual power as of sheer physical endurance” Geoffrey Alderman called exams “a test not so much of intellectual power as of sheer physical endurance” and I’m inclined to agree. The inaccuracy and worthlessness of the examination system is something I could on about for some time, but it would be simpler to sum up in the fashion of the exam essay.

To conclude, it seems that standardised exams, sat in a sealed off room in conditions which are only appropriate training for a career as a court stenographer, are an unsustainable system. There has to be a better way.

Crowd sourced manifestos: the future of electoral politics?

Lauren Archer In the age of the 2011 riots and the Conservative party getting their windows smashed in by a load of students at Millbank, people, and especially young people, have arguably never been more disengaged with party politics.

“Regular people struggle to connect to politicians” There are lots of factors that contribute to these feelings, not only of disengagement but of apathy and anger, but one that comes up time and time again is that regular people struggle to feel connected to the politicians that purport to represent them.

One party aiming to address this is the Pirate Party. A party previously consigned to the fringes by their fixation on fighting for internet freedom, the Pirate Party made the headlines last week by revealing Britain’s first ever ‘crowdsourced manifesto’.

The party started compiling their manifesto in 2011 with a project called ‘Steal This Manifesto’, launched on a dedicated subreddit

(internet forum discussion topic).

The party opened up discussion to anyone with internet access, encouraging them to help build and shape the party’s manifesto for the upcoming general election.

Branching out from digital warfare, the pirates’ manifesto now encompasses a wide range of issues, calls for which one often hears on campuses and in political movements across the country.

The party advocates for the right to free, life-long education and for the return of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) that helped young people support themselves through further education colleges.

They are also intent on ending age discrimination in the welfare state, meaning that housing benefits and Job-Seekers Allowance (JSA) would be awarded at equal levels regardless of a claimant’s age.

“Finally policies have been sourced directly from the people they will go on to impact once implemented” They want interns to be paid the National Minimum Wage, which

in turn would be raised in line with the standard set by the Living Wage Foundation.

The issue is not that I think these policies are ethically and politically sound ones, although I do. It is that they are finally policies which have been sourced directly from the people they will go on to impact once implemented. It’s easy to write off us, the ‘general public’ as being less politically literate and articulate than the political classes, and therefore less able to construct policy.

But now, in a country with millions of food banks, with hundreds of thousands living on streets despite homes lying empty, a country fresh from the triplerecession: can we be confident that the suited men making policies have our best interests at heart?

I’m not advocating you vote for the Pirate Party. I won’t be, and they’re not even standing in many constituencies. What I am saying is that, if you choose to politically organise within the confines of the electoral system, then start asking why mainstream political parties are not building manifestos based on the needs of their constituents, rather than on a constructed idea of what is best for the average

person.

If the mainstream political parties were actively listening to the people they represent, and constructing their manifestos in the same way the Pirate Party are: as a non-hierarchical, co-operative community project, maybe they would be better able to represent those they claim to.

“As a non-hierarchical, co-operative community project, maybe they would be better able to represent those they claim to.”

I can’t advocate the electoral system; it has never worked for me and I am not convinced it works for any working class people. But it is the system I am aware we have, and if people are determined to improve it from within, one of the key points of this improvement should be ensuring that parties are working alongside, rather than on behalf of, the general public.

Crowd-sourced manifestos, certainly, cannot be a bad place to start.

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Wedne s d ay May 13 2015 FOR GE PR E S S

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

COMMENT

Lifelong learning under threat as Uni prioritises profit over social mobility David Drew Courses for part-time students at Sheffield University are under threat. A year ago the Institute of Lifelong Learning was closed, and replaced by a much smaller department, despite a vigorous campaign of opposition by students, staff and unions. The change affected over 100 students in the middle of courses.

The Institute provides specialist courses for three groups of students: those who did not have the opportunity to go to university via the traditional route of A-levels, those in midcareer wishing to widen their job opportunities and those who just want to study (patronisingly called leisure learners in a university report). These courses ranged from modern languages to archaeology.

In order to cut costs, parttime students will now take a Foundation course and then join full-time students in other departments and attend lectures during the day. The new courses are for first time entrants (mainly) and ignore the others.

Particularly upsetting was a

Market Research report produced for the university which was used to suggest that prospective students preferred daytime teaching. As it happens, no current or previous students had been questioned for the study.

Enraged by this, a group of us campaigned against these changes. We spoke with our local MPs, Paul Blomfield and David Blunkett and even Nick Clegg. We received advice from the People’s Assembly. Jillian Creasy, the leader of the Green party was particularly supportive and we persuaded ‘the Times Higher’ to carry an article.

“Imagine a Director of Studies for French who could not speak French” We also wrote an open letter to the Vice Chancellor, Sir Keith Burnett. We met with his Deputy with a wlist of requests and a number of small concessions were made, for example that we should continue to have specialist Directors of Studies. (Imagine a Director of Studies for French who could not speak French. This is how ridiculous it got).

“Students in mid-career will find it almost impossible to attend lectures during the day time” Things seem to be improving and we can take at least some of the credit for this. The two year foundation courses can provide entry to degree courses and the two year Certificates Courses equate to year one of a degree. But much of this replaces existing provision which has been closed.

Students in mid-career will find it almost impossible to attend lectures during the day time, as currently proposed, as usually they are working. For them evening and weekend teaching is the only option.

As students we are additionally arguing for short, low cost courses for the people of Sheffield who helped set up the university with penny contributions in the first place. In the 1950s university professors would ride out to mining villages by motor bike to give lectures. Other universities, for example York and Leicester have many such courses, whereas

there are only a few in here.

At a national level the decline in part-time students has been dramatic. Numbers dropped by 55,000 last year and are 37% lower than five years ago. A major factor has been the increase in tuition fees to £9k (or the equivalent pro rata in our case). Universities are not liberal establishments, they are run as a business and it’s all about the money.

“The University’s characteristics are a market orientation, high pay for executives and a diminishing interest in social mobility”

The neo-liberal university is now the model. Its characteristics are a market orientation, high pay for its executives and a diminishing interest in social mobility and educational inequality.

We learned a lot from this and we believe that students, staff and unions have made a difference.

But this only happened because we made a fuss. Long may this continue. Lifelong learning still has a long way to go at this university.

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Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

COMMENT

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

For a strong student movement, abandon the bureaucratic NUS Chris Saltmarsh The National Union of Students (NUS) is supposed to be the representative force for all UK students and students’ unions who affiliate with it. In reality, the NUS rarely justifies calling itself a union, consistently failing the UK student movement and operating through a deeply undemocratic system.

“Their farcical attempt at democracy involves several layers of inevitably inadequate representation” You probably don’t know much about the way the NUS works - you hardly have any reason to. Their farcical attempt at democracy involves several layers of inevitably inadequate representation, and a topping of opaque bureaucracy.

Each Students’ Union elects delegates who attend the annual conferences and are the only

members allowed to vote on NUS policy and for its leadership. It is representative democracy on top of representative democracy, reminiscent of the Chinese political system which we all know to be bastion of pure democracy.

A ‘union’ which is supposed to represent millions of students and which operates in an age of universal internet access should not limit its policy making and leadership elections to a few hundred student-politicos.

As well as excluding millions of students from the running of their own union, the NUS conferences are woefully inaccessible. The prevalence of cliquey language, a plethora of factions and long days with almost no breaks in huge conference halls all mean that even the few students who are elected as conference delegates can easily feel excluded and have a generally awful conference experience.

Each conference elects the NUS president and 5 vice-presidents.

These positions are traditionally dominated by Blairite Labour Students who have been living off various sabbatical officer positions for years since graduating from full-time education. For example, the current president Toni Pearce

Editorial Elsa’s time to ‘Let It Go’ Hello, Well, I don’t want to upset anyone (I know this is everyone’s fave part of the paper) but this will be my last editorial.

Yes indeed; at last my reign of terror as editor of Forge Press is coming to an end.

It’s hard to imagine what my time at uni would have looked like if I had never wondered into the Media Hub in my first year, and if the lovely team had never convinced me to stay. Even if it is full of jaded, disgruntled individuals at times – there’s something magical about this office.

I hear people make jokes all the time about the fact that “no one reads Forge Press” (which, incidentally, is read by about 60% of the student population – how many people read your blog again?) and while those comments can hurt, the point is that we don’t put all this work in to gain your approval. We put the work in because we believe in being a voice for the people that have no voice.

Nowadays the world can seem out to get young people, especially those who define themselves as artists and writers, or those who are willing to stand up with a picket (or a sign saying ‘fuck the

capitalist state’ outside Clegg’s office) and fight for the underdog.

But being at Forge Media has taught me that we won’t go down without a fight. Forge Media is a group of hundreds of students who are filled to the brim with an enthusiasm.

They’re willing to give up all their time, sacrifice their first class degree and stay up all through the night to produce something they can be proud of, and not a single one of them thinks that the world is not worth changing.

As I step out into the Actual Real World I am, for want of a better phrase, ‘shitting it’ especially with the less-than-ideal decision recently made by the British public. But I really mean it when I say that the students at Forge Media have restored my faith in humanity. As long as places like this exist, we will never be silenced.

And so now I leave you under the trusted leadership of my successor Polly Winn, who has already proved herself in this paper to be far more than capable.

So for the last time ever, I bid you: Happy reading!

Elsa Vulliamy - Forge Press editor elsa.vulliamy@forgetoday.com

hasn’t been a student for 5 years.

The dominance of right-wing Labour students in the NUS’ leadership has meant that the ‘union’ has been of little-to-no support for the wider student movement in recent years, and prioritises feeble pro-voting campaigns which often have an implicit pro-Labour bias. Their recent #generationvote campaign was a patronising attempt to reduce all acceptable political participation to drawing a cross at the ballot box.

Their ‘Liar Liar’ campaign, though aimed at the admittedly justifiable targets of traitorous Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs, also reeked of unofficial Labour party campaigning.

“The NUS has become both irrelevant to its members and counterproductive to achieving a successful student movement” In combination with their defeatist tactics at the 2010 student protests, dreadfully organised

marches since and the withdrawal of their support for the free education demo last year, the NUS has become both irrelevant to its members and counter-productive to achieving a successful student movement.

Despite this apparently hopeless picture, many student activists feel there is reason to be optimistic about the future of the NUS. At the recent national conference in April, four out of the six leadership positions were filled by candidates from the left-wing student movement. This victory could be the key to a truly revitalised and powerful movement, if the four left-wing vice-presidents use their resources to support the free education movement. Many think so, and it could well turn out to be a really positive year for the fight for free education.

That said, I would hesitate to place any faith in the NUS as a long-term ally in the student movement. It is unsustainable to pin our hopes on re-electing leftwing officers year after year. In many ways, it is a lottery which requires the time and energy of committed activists who could be organising and campaigning in more effective ways than trying

D.A.R.T.S.

to subvert an organisation which is fundamentally contrary to our values of free, accessible and democratic education.

The student movement should think beyond the NUS to reimagine what a real national union of students should mean. We must abandon the bureaucracy, indirect democracy and authority of the NUS and allow local Students’ Unions to be autonomous, but connected in a national, directly democratic, fighting union where student groups can offer mutual support and solidarity without the constraints of the vested interests of Labour careerists, and the NUS’ absence of democracy.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Welcome from Robin and Chris

Out with the old, in with the new, and this issue sees the Comment section handed to four even less safe hands than before. We hope you enjoy our unique combination of baseless ranting and flat-footed attempts at comedy in the year to come.

Unexpected political alliance of the fortnight

Deep in the midst of General Election fever, two men at risk of imminent political obscurity found solace in an unexpected alliance. Russell Brand, drug addled sex pest turned watered down revolutionary, and Ed Miliband, glorious leader of the Labour Party, joined forces to propel themselves back to the top of the nation’s political consciousness. Conducting an interview in the comedian’s home, Brand abandoned his notorious disdain for voting in order to endorse Labour and Miliband: a member of the authoritarian capitalist establishment he had previously railed against. Who said excessively verbose, pseudoanarchist millionaire celebrities couldn’t be inconsistent?

Quote of the fortnight “Forge Press: Underfunded and Overworked - no penis, no nipples” Chloe Coleman, new Deputy Editor, establishing the paper’s new motto.

Most irrelevant contributions of the Genny Election

Every election the airwaves are plagued by notorious political figures who just INSIST on popping up to contribute their truly valuable opinion to the national debate.

So who best revived our faith in parliamentary politics this election period?

8 years is clearly too long for the British public to go without our favourite warmongering neoliberal. Thank god Labour rolled out Tony Blair to help plug their inspiring pro-EU credentials.

The public couldn’t get enough of Britain’s most exciting PM whilst he was in office, so it was obviously a no brainer for the Tories to wheel John Major out again to scare the nation about the possibility of Scotland having a voice in government.

Who could forget the national institution that is the Question Time audience? Its never complete without a boastful student, an angry mum, a casual racist and a general lack of political literacy. Thursday nights wouldn’t be the same without reluctant politicians hauling themselves in front of this fiery audience of highlyinformed political experts. Truly a cornerstone of our democratic process.

FOR GE PRESS Wed n esday May 13 2015

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Wednesday May 13 2015 Forge Press

Features contributor Ellena Rowlin looks further into why we are all so great at it and gives advice to serial procrastinators as to how to kick the habit

@forgefeatures /forgepress

@ features@forgetoday.com

Forge Press Wednesday May 13 2015

15

Procrastination: you’ll leave uni an expert P

rocrastination. I’m doing it right now. Anything to get me out of the six assignments I have due over the next three weeks. It’s something that we can’t help doing, no matter how much elation we know we’ll feel when that essay has been submitted to ‘Turnitin’.

We can find many things in today’s society to blame procrastination on, besides our own incompetence.

We are constantly surrounded by electronic devices with endless hours of Candy Crush to play -yes we all still secretly love it- and Yik Yak to trawl through and occasionally down vote desperate attempts at humour.

Unidays seems to find some sadistic humour in sending us emails everyday listing the shops offering student discount - cue my diverted route home past the High Street. Me personally? My mum innocently thought she was doing me a favour when she bought me a Netflix account. How wrong she was.

Surely there are others who procrastinate much better than I do? It would seem students never fail to succeed in areas involving not studying. My flatmate managed to get through the entire series box set of Game of Thrones in, can you believe it, 72 hours.

Another friend successfully used every bag of sugar and flour in the flat to bake 17 cakes in one day, a fairly impressive achievement. A male flatmate, well, as soon as I spotted the hoover outside his room I knew he’d taken procrastination to a whole new level.

But what is it that makes us so susceptible to distraction? Google says that without realising it, most of us instinctively retreat to a comfort zone, trying our best never to leave it and to avoid taking the action we need to because we know it will be painful.

I guess you probably could refer to revision as a degree of pain actually. The Huffington Post says: ‘Tomorrow never arrives and is always a concept in our mind today. It is a pure abstraction that we believe is ‘real.’’ This I could also agree with. We are constantly counting down the days, telling ourselves “it’s three weeks till exams… one week…” until abruptly it turns to “shit, today is my exam.”

Maybe it is just that humans are embarrassingly poor at prioritising. I don’t know about you, but I

always seem to find something more important that needs doing than studying. It correlates with a lack of delegation skills, something that must be improved upon pretty soon as it is always a guaranteed winner at a job interview when asked, “what can you do well?”

We also seem to make up excuses to justify why procrastination is good - “I work better under pressure” is always a classic. I have even found myself saying that working in a confined time period,

“My mum thought she was doing me a favour when she bought me a Netflix account. How wrong she was.” under a high level of stress, is a much more reflective of the industry I want to enter. Why I am choosing to work under stress I do not know.

To me it seems procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. Whether it’s day or night, students can always find something to entertain them and essay deadlines seem to offer up even more opportunities for us to amuse ourselves.

Who doesn’t deserve some fun after a hard week of 10 or so hours in university?

We all also have the staple of longing to not to miss out, and when it seems everyone you know is off to Corp for a regrettable night, we want to go too. FOMO, (Fear of missing out), has been proven to exist, particularly amongst the student age group.

Even the horror of those toilets and that floor seem more attractive than staying in and doing work.

But does procrastination really have the power to ruin our degree? Of course in first year we mostly get by with the mentality that ‘you just have to pass.’

The repeated guilt you experience every morning that follows an unproductive day of procrastination,

isn’t the best for gearing up a positive mentality.

The more you procrastinate, the more likely you are to keep doing it. It’s the breaking of the practise that allows you to move forward, without wanting to sound too much like a sponsor at an alcoholics anonymous meeting.

That said, New York writer Sheryl Canter did set up ‘ProcrastinatorsAnonymous.org’ in a deliberate mirroring of AA. The site was created so that procrastinators could recognise and join together to prevent the dangerous consequences of constantly putting off today what you could do in the next month.

So, what can be done to break the curse? The first and most obvious answer is to just STOP procrastinating! Open your laptop, find the document and start typing - all while ignoring that need inside your head to stop in favour of a more enjoyable activity.

Turn your phone off, log out of Facebook, and sign out of Netflix. If this all seems a little difficult, which I admit it does, then get your friends involved.

Give them 10 quid to look after until you’ve done the essay you’ve been meaning to do since the start of the April. Disclaimer: this one only really works if you have nice, trustworthy friends.

Another way to help could be to break the work down into small chunks. Instead of attempting to do 2000 words in an hour, set yourself a paragraph a day. Instead of attempting to learn a whole module in a day, think of different revision tasks, like those hauntingly beautiful things called mind maps.

The last is to purely accept the responsibility that comes along with a degree. Sorry to get all serious on you but we did, or should have known, what we were signing up for when we came to university.

It’s pretty tough to get our heads around the thought that homework no longer exists, ‘Bitesize’ is unfortunately not detailed enough for degree level Chemistry, and that our degree result is completely down to our own motivation; not nagging from teachers and encouragement from parents.

Instead, we have to gracefully accept it and get off our metaphorical arses. Napoleon Hill said “Don’t wait - the time will never be just right.” I think the man’s got a point.

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The Snowdrop Pr Sustainab

Features Editor, Declan Downey, spoke to Lara B charity to provide consistent, long-term s

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he Snowdrop Project is a charity founded by Lara Bundock to work with female victims of trafficking after they’ve left the care of social housing. Lara used to study at both the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University and was inspired to set up her own charity after working in a shelter for trafficking victims. She sacrificed her salary and career prospects to create an innovative project that would go that step further to supporting victims with the struggles they face while they try to rebuild their lives.

Trafficking is a huge problem in the UK, in 2013 it was estimated that 2,744 people were potential victims, a 22 per cent increase from 2012. The UK only began supporting trafficked women in 2009, Lara told us “it’s a really new area and so the people who have taken it on working in the safe houses are doing an amazing job for a new area of social care.” However, the resources of these safe houses are limited and can only support women for roughly six weeks after they have been taken in.

Lara mentions that when she worked with her first trafficking charity; “Women do really well inside the shelters, however if they get moved into the community they have no follow on support. It was a little bit like dropping off a cliff edge, once they moved into the community they developed really severe mental health problems, sometimes alcohol problems, homelessness, debt issues, going potentially back to exploiters, loads and loads of things, even simply just not being able to navigate around the community and feeling isolated and lonely, impacting on depression.”

“They would come back to us for help, but we technically weren’t allowed to support them officially and so we had to do this under the radar and so we were limited. So what were we to do? These women just fall apart! There’s no money, no resources and so you’re told just to teach them how to live independently in 45 days. And it’s like; you don’t live in the real world, that’s just crazy!”

This inspired Lara to do something substantial, so she designed a plan based on the long-term needs of the traffick victim. Lara did not expect much to happen and was surprised when her boss replied saying “I think you should do this!” And so she began putting her plans into action and by May 2012 Snowdrop was formed as a project.

“The name represents the first flower to kind of push through after the winter and it looks relatively fragile and weak but it’s actually the strongest one because it comes first and breaks through the ice and the snow; it’s a symbol that spring is on its way and there’s hope.”

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In order to achieve these beautiful symbolic goals the charity offers a phenomenal range of support, focusing on so many intricate details to provide as many opportunities as possible to the women in their care. They have case workers who work one on one with the women to help develop “skills which through exploitation have been repressed, forgotten or were never acquired” with things such as the immigration process, budgeting money, paying bills, “or just making sure they have the ability to make a phone call to the council if they need something fixed.”

They have also developed better mental health support and have secured two psychologists who have volunteered to work one day a week to help meet the psychological needs of the women.

On a community level, events are run such as dance classes organised from the University of Sheffield Dance society “the women absolutely love that.”

There are craft activities, film nights, “which have been really, really successful” and Christmas parties. They even provide childcare so that those who have children can attend the activities.

Most substantially though is the renovation of housing. “When a person gets given a permanent house it’s brilliant and they get a roof over their heads. But usually they’re not furnished. It’s not a home. To move a woman into that situation without any furnishing, with nails sticking out of the walls, it’s not the kind of thing that will make you want to rush home and make a life for yourself – and that can be the difference between someone stabilizing and making a life for themselves and living slightly more chaotically and being at risk of falling back into exploitative conditions. We turn the houses from a shell into a home with the help from the women who pick the colours.

The sheer passion and excitement that Lara expressed as she was explaining the process was unmistakable; “We have people donate furniture and pots and pans and do all kinds of things. It’s a little bit of a crazy period of time when we get a house, it usually gives me a bit of a heart attack, but it’s fantastic! It’s really really great and absolutely lovely seeing women moving into a house that’s actually a home.”

When you completely re-shape someone’s life, give them opportunities that were stolen from them and give them hope, support and motivation, you’re going to come across some heart-warming stories.

For Lara, the most rewarding aspect of the charity was when one of the women left a safe house after recovering, and was soon faced with very tough situations and circumstances and plummeted straight back down to where she started. “It was a very hard time, the case worker would send text

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roject: Towards A ble Future

Bundock, the founder of Snowdrop, the only UK support for female victims of trafficking. messages to say I’m here if you need me.”

“After four weeks she agreed to let the case worker in, and this was the only person she would agree to see. The case worker was able to work with her, building up her confidence, talking to her about what was going on.

The woman was pregnant at the time, but the case worker was able to help her overcome everything and now she’s not supported anymore because she has so successfully set up her life and has her own family, and is an amazing mother. She overcame a huge amount of things, and because it was a case worker that made this possible I realised that this is a shared vision.”

“It’s not just my vision, it’s something everyone has caught hold of and the most rewarding thing is to see my own original idea become something I was really passionate about has empowered people to live new lives and seeing a whole ream of people to catch this and take it on as their own is very humbling and amazing. And seeing the women that we have supported come back in and get involved in supporting the charity, is just amazing! We never ask for that or expect that. It’s the things you never really picture.”

Lara also helped me combat many misconceptions that I had held about traffiking. “I think many people think associate traffiking with sex. Trafficking is much broader than that. We have slave labour, the construction industry, the farm industry, cannabis farming -locking someone in a house and forcing to grow cannabis, car washes, nail bars, various things like that. They tend to have quite a lot of men.”

According to Lara men actually make up between 30-40 per cent of traffick victims. Unfortunately, as it stands, there are no shelters in Sheffield supporting male victims. Another issue that Lara highlighted that I never considered was domestic servitude. “We had a case with two consultants who had a slave in their house for a number of years.”

Lara was very grateful and inspired by her volunteers “Our volunteers are amazing, we’ve just been so lucky. I mean some of our volunteers have been volunteering since may 2012 and have just continued to do it!” As snowdrop is a newly formed charity, only receiving official charity status in 2014, they are still dependent on volunteers to keep the charity running and they advertise to students in particular to get involed, the roles vary.

You can volunteer on the community side of things where you can help run events and renovate houses.

If you are interested in having a more one-to-one role, Snowdrop are recruiting students with a related degree, such as psychology or anything related to healthcare, and you can apply to become one of the case workers. Another great way to get involved is to sign up to the mailing list which you can do by visiting the website, this is how the charity recruit volunteers to jump on board and help transform a shell into a home.

There will also be a skydiving fundraising event that anyone can get involved in, and the great thing is that if you raise the £500 goal, you get to plummet to your death for free!

Types of Exploitation

Age Of Victim

2013 Marsh Award

The UK wide Snowdrop Project won the award for Outstanding Contribution to the fight against Human Trafficking

£19 Billion a year

Profits from human trafficking around the globe are estimated to total £19 billion each year.

2nd Largest

Human trafficking is the second largest organized crime in the world and the fastest growing.

£100 a week

One woman can earn a trafficker between £500 and £1000 a week

450

It is estimated that up to 450 women and girls are trafficked every hour

Lady GaGa

Lady GaGa’s song ‘Bad Romance’ and the music video for it were about Human Trafficking

4,000 Victims

The Police estimate is that there are up to 4,000 trafficking victims in the UK at any one time

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Wednesday May 13 2015 Forge Press

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Forge Press Wednesday May 13 2015

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Movin’ On Up You’re an adult now, so here’s Kathryn Allen’s handy guide to help you with second year housing

Food can be delivered to your doorstep... no more pyjama runs

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contract proves succinct, the next step is to set up an appointment, either with the landlord or the letting agency, to sign. At this stage, if there have been any issues with the property such as broken beds, patches of damp, etc now is the time to raise these concerns and have them dealt with.

Keep in mind that letting agencies often charge non-refundable, and unavoidable, admin fees. These are often of up to £75, which you pay at the time of the contract signing. As outrageous as these fees are, they are charged by most letting agencies, and it is worth budgeting for them in advance. You may also be charged a month’s rent as a deposit so stay savvy and keep your chequebook handy.

Oliver Coppard, Labour candidate for Sheffield Hallam, has started a petition with Labour students to put an end to these fees. The 1000 Voices For Fairer Rent campaign, accurate to April 30, has 389 signatures, and while I would encourage all to sign it, it does not look like these fees will be abolished anytime soon. We will simply have to put up with paying through the nose for someone to sit at a desk and point at a line for us to sign for a little longer.

If you have managed to navigate you and your housemates through this process, there are a couple of things to note when moving in to your new property. Make sure you fill out and sign an inventory, including photos if needed, of the state of the property, and ensure you provide meter readings to whoever is supplying your property’s utilities.

Also, landlords or letting agents are required to notify you in advance of any builders, handymen or cleaners visiting the property. Always check the ID of anyone claiming to be allowed entry to the property, as some criminals may target student houses under the pretence of working for the letting agent.

A common scam in student areas has been men masquerading as builders or electricians claiming they were sent by the landlord and then stealing student possessions.

Once you have sorted your student house for next year, sit back and relax. If you are in first year, make the most of the luxuries of halls: tumble dryers, constant heating and hot water, and a fortnightly cleaner - these will be sorely missed when you leave university accommodation.

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are someone who loves stewing in their own filth, then you are in for a real treat.

There are obvious features to look out for when viewing a property. Some of the less thought-of features that are worth noting include: whether there are outside lights above dark entrances, if the property visibly suffers from mould, and whether there are accessible radiators and windows in every room.

You may have enjoyed the luxury of a tumble dryer in halls, but not all student properties have them, and you may come to rely on positioning your heavy-laden airier near a radiator. Dryers are also expensive, and it might be easier to air dry clothes to avoid fights over bills.

It is also worth noting that properties nearer to the university campus will likely be more expensive; if you are willing to walk a little further, you may pay less in rent. Remember though, this is Sheffield, and this walk will likely be up a multitude of hills; conduit on a Friday afternoon is like Everest.

Areas that are popular with University of Sheffield students include Crookesmoor, Crookes, Broomhill and Broomhall. Each have their own pros and cons, and it is worth exploring different areas to see which works best for you and your housemates.

While the local food shops and supermarket chains may play a role in your consideration of locations, do remember that you can order home delivery. Unlike in halls, when you have to run out to the car park in your pyjamas to collect your weekly shop, they will most likely deliver to your doorstep.

Once you have found the house that ticks all the boxes, it is recommended that you get the contract looked over by someone other than yourselves before signing anything. This can either be by a parent, if they know what to look out for, or by the university. If you want to be extra cautious, have it checked by both.

The Student Advice Centre, situated on Level 3 of the Students’ Union building, offers an appointment-based service, where they check for any irregularities or unreasonable demands. If the

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he prospect of finding a student house for when you are soullessly booted out of university halls can be daunting. Not only have you just been thrown together with a bunch of strangers in halls, but you now have to select the people you’ll spend a further year with in close quarters, without driving each other mad.

When it comes to choosing your housemates there are some vital things to remember; do not rush your selection process. Find those flatmates you get along with, as the treasured cleaners of halls are a luxury you can enjoy no longer - choose people you can realistically see pitching in with household chores.

Since you are now also responsible for paying your bills, make sure your future housemates are reliable enough to have money in their account when these are due. There are schemes where you can pay companies to sort your utility bills for you and divide them equally between tenants. However, you do end up paying a little more than if you organise them yourselves and if ou can all sit down and sort it toether, it’s not as scary as it sounds.

The sudden panic to find a house and housemates usually begins mid-November of first year.

Considering the wide range of property available to students in Sheffield, this is unnecessarily early.

That said, if everyone else is looking it can be stressful to wait and watch them potentially snap up the property that would have been your dream house. Do ensure that you can put up with those people you have chosen as future housemates, and, perhaps more importantly, that they can put up with you.

The process of looking at properties can take a while, especially when viewings have to be arranged when everyone is free (and willing to leave their beds). Even with three humanities students with very few contact hours, this proved a challenge in my house.

While the unhygienic state of some student houses may haunt your dreams and lead you to question how anyone can live like that, do remember that properties are normally cleaned when tenants leave.

Try not to be put off by the pile of unwashed dishes balancing precariously on the edge of the sink, or the collection of bottles lining the window sill. If you

If you like stewing in your own filth, you’re in for a treat

Wednesday May 13 2015 Forge Press

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Masters Student Matthew Smith talks theatre with his first year flatmate, whose theatre group ‘Funny You Should Ask’ have conguered the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and toured the country

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eeting up with a flatmate from your first year at University in a Sheffield coffee shop might be expected to be a relaxed, convivial affair.

Certainly, Matt hadn’t changed that much – with the messy hair pointing in nine directions at once, sipping a water as he was “coffeed out”.

There was a difference, however. We weren’t just meeting as long unseen friends reliving the old times – I was here as a journalist, interviewing a theatre director, and one of the brains behind an award-winning company and a critically lauded play, telling the often unremembered story of the Valley Parade Fire, which struck Bradford in 1985.

Set up in October 2012 at the University of Sheffield, the theatre group in question - Funny You Should Ask (FYSA) - initially consisted of Matt Woodhead and seven mates, formed to try and move their theatrical ambitions from the University’s old Drama Studio and into more alternative, exciting pastures.

It worked. Now formed of 18 members, FYSA has gained national recognition. Their play about Bradford, ‘The 56’ has enjoyed a month-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe and has been shortlisted for The Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. The group are now embarking on a national tour, encompassing theatres in London and the Lowry in Salford.

None of which has altered SUTCO alumnus Matt’s attitude towards his company and their production, which he described as a “northern story”.

Talking about ‘The 56’, a play described by Matt as a “raw, verbatim” play, drawn entirely from conversations and testimony of survivors of the terrible day, and the

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work required to get it on stage, he admitted he was “gobsmacked” that his plan dreamed up in his second year of University is now getting widespread acclaim – but also made clear that it takes years of work to be an overnight success.

“If you saw the work we put in, you wouldn’t be surprised about the success we’ve had”, he said, running his hand through his hair to make a tenth new direction.

“I now absolutely hate my computer, I’ve sent so many emails, sorted so much catering, organised so many interviews. But it’s all worth it. We’re not a Uni company, not anymore.

“We were thinking about what kind of company we wanted to form, and we wanted one that would respond to government arts cuts. I’m quite lucky in that I’ve always had a provision. But Tom [Lodge, FYSA co-founder], he comes from Skipton, where they don’t.”

From Sheffield, FYSA’s first major step was to the Edinburgh Fringe, where according to Matt they learned some of their biggest lessons.

“You have to pay attention to what other theatre companies are doing. At the Fringe, you can get quite isolated, and it does have a feel on the Mile, the main road, that it comes down to who can shout the loudest. I think its a case of noting what other people are doing, it’s quite a collaborative thing being in the arts, you have to watch what everyone is doing”.

These lessons have been brought into the production of ‘The 56’, and Matt tells some pretty shocking stories based on what he has heard from those that were there, those whose testimony he has put on stage. He is keen however, to emphasise that this is not a horror

he is putting on, and that they are simply trying to tell a story honestly. He admitted they didn’t consider a dramatisation instead insisting they should use the actual dialogue from the witness’ accounts.

“There was in one production, in the front row, a guy who gave us testimony, but he has Alzheimers. As soon as he saw the play, as soon as he heard the dialogue, even though its from an amalgamation, he was able to say, that’s my character.

“He went up to our actress, and you could tell he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t get it out. In the end, he just touched her arm and walked away.”

‘The 56’ focuses on three characters, as they give accounts from different perspectives on the day’s events.

According to Matt, putting the play together would get easier as time went on, and collecting the most personal information to change and improve the play became possible via word of mouth. Now the script contains input from many of those on the pitch on the day, including the then-Bradford coach Terry Yorath, and players like Trevor Cherry and Peter Jackson.

Amongst the most startling testimony received was from ten policemen, who had to clear the burned bodies out of the stands after the fire had taken its toll. Matt said he set up in a pub in Bradford at 9.30am, saw them in succession, and left at midnight. An exhausting day.

With his company set to flourish in the future, and ‘The 56’ ready for the wider audience, it is fair to say Matt Woodhead has come some way from the man who burned a hole in a set of speakers while trying to cook food late one drunken St. Patrick’s Day.

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

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How to tackle exam stress

Lifestyle leaves

by Isabel Dobinson and Niki Kesharaju

Issy

Being a Lifestyle and Travel contributor since first year, I was more than ecstatic to join the Forge Press team. I admit, although it has been hard work, it has been completely worth it. Not only has being an editor help me gain experience vital to getting accepted onto Sheffield’s MA Print Journalism course (yes, I’ve managed to stay a student for one more year!) I have had the opportunity to meet some truly lovely people, especially my fellow Lifestyler, Niki!

Lifestyle and Travel is one of the funnest, versatile and underrated sections in the newspaper. Too many people dismiss it as a section dedicated to beauty tips and fitness regimes aimed at smoothie drinkers and yoga lovers. Of course, this is not true and for the record, I am far from being a smoothie drinker and yoga lover. Niki and I have made the most of our freedom as editors and while recognising typical lifestyle elements, we wanted to give the section more of a voice. Being a proud feminist, it was inevitable that feminism would feature in nearly every issue and this year we have printed articles ranging from female entrepreneurs and the homeless period to Reclaim the Night and the changing role of the housewife.

While I regard Society Spotlight and mine and Niki’s most successful addition as editors, it is the travel element to the section that is my weak spot. My favourite travel article has to be my InterRail Guide back in last year’s handover issue, although my first ever feature, it gave me my first taste of editorial freedom. Also, being a travel junkie, it is safe to say that while I’ll be sad leaving the Forge Press team, I depart with a long list of exciting future travel destinations!

Niki

I can’t believe my time as a Lifestyle editor has come to an end. I am sure that Mojo and Mared will do a stellar job and I hope they enjoy it just as much as I have!

I have had so many highlights from this past year. Issy and I discovered our mutual love of food. Just recently, we went for brunch to Lucky Fox on Division Street. American brunches are the best, I persevered with my fried chicken, with waffles and maple syrup despite how full I was. Attending the Taco Bell launch night on Ecclessall Road and eating burrito after burrito at no cost to me at all has got to be a highlight. Most of all, I’ve loved getting to know the other editors, especially at the Christmas meal when most of us made it. I think it speaks volumes that my favourite memories of being in Forge Press have involved food.

Being Lifestyle editor has made me realise just how cheesy it really is. There’s just no way to avoid it! Despite the cheesiness (which both me and Issy have fully embraced), we’ve discussed some great feminist pieces on Lifestyle, done features on plus-size bloggers and Sheffield fashion labels and sent our contributors to attend the Sheffield Style Show and pole fitness classes. It’s been great coming up with ideas and seeing them come to life through our writers. Maybe I won’t miss spending my weekend in the Media Hub getting things done, but I’ll definitely miss the people and coming up with all these great article ideas and seeing our contributors bring them to life.

Image: Niki Kesharaju

As the dreaded end of year exams approach, Lifestyle contributor, Holly Droy shares her revision tips and how to avoid procrastination

With exam period fast approaching we’re all starting to feel the pressure. That sense of urgency and panic hits you as soon as you walk into the IC: people turning bug-eyed from hours of staring intently at computer screens which have fifty tabs open, students staying in the same spot for three days straight, the sounds of stomachs rumbling from hungry first years on the third floor who fear if they make a rustle to eat their lunch they’ll face the wrath of the final years, who need total silence to complete their dissertation. Yes, we’re all a tad on edge.

Spend a little time organising your workspace and your materials, so you can find things easily. It helps to separate the areas you study from the ones where you relax, so perhaps try using the library to do your work and keep your bedroom as a place of relaxation. ‘A clear room is a clear mind’ is one of the best tips I have been given, and it really works.

Coming home to a kitchen full of dirty pots and a bedroom with clothes strewn over the floor will only make you more agitated, so make the effort to be tidy.

Try making a revision timetable you can stick to. Mark your exam dates on a calendar and make a note of what you want to study on the days leading up to them. Allocate more time to the subjects you’re unsure about and be realistic about how much time you can spend working each day.

Be sure to take frequent breaks between studying to refresh your mind. Perhaps try working for 45 minutes, then spend 15 having your lunch or getting some fresh air.

Stay healthy. Instead of living off Red Bull and Sainsbury’s cookies for the next month, eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of water and stay active. Exercise has been proven to boost energy levels and relieve stress. Also avoid having too much alcohol and caffeine, as it can leave you feeling sluggish. If you look after yourself, it will reflect in your results.

Image: Pixabay Image: Flickr

The best way to stay confident and reduce anxiety is to be well prepared. So those of you who still think you can leave everything to the last minute, it’s time to knuckle down.

Instead of doing things you’d never usually care about (‘borrowmydoggy.com?’ ‘What does area 51 look like on Google Maps?’) – it’s time to face reality. Procrastination is your biggest obstacle – Jon Snow didn’t defend the wall and protect the North by binge-watching Gossip Girl in his chambers. So stop watching Netflix and get started!

Image: Niki Kesharaju

Find a study buddy. Similar to when you exercise with someone else, having another person working alongside you can increase your motivation. Encourage each other to work a bit harder and not get distracted.

One of the most important things is to get a good night’s sleep. You know what it’s like when you’re tired – your cereal goes down your shirt rather than into your mouth and you leave the house in your slippers.

If you can hardly get yourself dressed in the morning, how do you expect to do anything constructive? Also, don’t spend all night cramming before an exam, as your performance will only suffer for it.

These simple tips can make a huge difference.

Try not to worry excessively or compare yourself to others, as you can only do your best. Stay calm, keep working and good luck.

Three best walks in the Peak District It’s finally starting to look a bit more like Spring, so what better way to enjoy the sunshine than go for a short walk in the nearby Peaks? Lifestyle’s new editors, Mared and Mojo, pick their favourite three Image: Flickr

1. Mam Tor

Description: Near the pretty little village of Castleton, Mam Tor is one of the most dramatic view points in the Peak District.

Take the 272 bus from Sheffield to Castleton and then the 200 bus to the Mam Tor car park.

Climb the steps at the top of the car park and follow the National Trust path to the summit of Mam Tor where breathtaking views await you. On the way down, take the right fork in the path, just before the trees and continue to the road. Take the track to Blue John Cavern where you will have the opportunity to look inside. Afterwards, go through a small gate and up a grassy path. Bear right and go through a gate, cross the field and road and take the left fork to see another cave, Windy Knoll. From the cave, cross the field to a small gate and walk back to the car park.

Miles: 3 approx.

2. Chastworth House

Description: Used as Pemberley in the film version of Pride and Prejudice, the elegant Chastworth House and gardens are not to be missed. Take the 218 bus service from Sheffield to Chatsworth and start walking from the Calton Lees car park. Go through the gate at the top right corner and turn left along the park wall. Turn right across the park and follow the path to a small iron gate and steps. Turn right through the historic village of Edensor. Leave through the blue gates and cross the road to join the path that goes over the hill to Chatsworth House. Turn right along the bank of the river and at the mill, turn right to the gates on the road by the car park.

Miles: 3 approx.

Image: Geograph walking along the stone bridge over the River Wyre. This walk around the village is more of a stroll than a hike, but if you’re up for something a little bit more difficult take the bus to Youlgreave and walk back to Bakewell, taking in stunning views of greenery.

Miles: 4.5 approx.

3. Bakewell

Image: Wikipedia

Description: The home of the Bakewell tart, the village of Bakewell is full of things to do, from visiting the old bookshops to trying one of the delicious homemade cakes at The Old Original Pudding Shop. If you visit on a Monday, you’ll even get to experience the hustle and bustle of the outdoor market. Take the 218 service bus from Sheffield and start

Image: Geograph

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Society Spotlight: Dance Society

From competitions to socials, Sophie Cockett tells you the highlights of one of the University’s biggest societies and how you can get involved with them.

With 396 active members and 13 weekly classes, Dance Society is one of the biggest societies at the University of Sheffield, and it’s about time you got involved. Dancing at university is a great way to meet new people, get fit, and learn a new skill. So there’s no reason why you shouldn’t join in.

Whether you’re happy to attend just one class a week or you want to throw yourself into all we have to offer, there really is something for everyone. We pride ourselves on being inclusive and open to all, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve danced since you were tiny or you’ve never danced at all – energy and enthusiasm is all you need to bring with you.

to compete against universities from all around the country, whilst later on in the year we host an even bigger competition in the Octagon Centre. Weeks of training and rehearsals might seem gruelling at the time but all the hard work pays off when we perform in costume and bring home many trophies. This year we had 530 competitors take part and the day was a great success.

Weekly classes are the place that the fun really starts. We offer ballet, contemporary, modern, tap, street jazz, limbering and boys only ballet.

Most classes are taught by the more experienced members of the society, whilst some are taught by outside teachers who really do become part of the Dance Soc team. We have beginner, intermediate and advanced classes for many of the styles, so you can pick your ability and not worry about being left behind.

Our annual competitions are two of the biggest days in the Dance Soc calendar. In the first semester we take teams to Durham

Fashion

Charifa Rajiabo Second year: English Wearing: Dungarees from H&M, cardigan and bag from Pimkie, and shoes from ASOS

Once all the hard work is done, we like to let our hair down and enjoy a night out together.

We run bi-weekly socials; you’ll often see us on the dance floor in ROAR or enjoying a £5 round in West Street’s Vault. More often than not we will be dressed to impress – this year we have sported our strangest shirts, dressed as geeks and donned neon lycra like the cast of Fame.

Twice a year we rock our best frocks for the Christmas and end of year meals which are always lovely evenings. Other socials this year have included: a trip to see SUPAS’s performance of Footloose, a trip to the Varsity final’s day ice hockey and a night out to ‘Itchy Feet’ at Sheffield’s famous Leadmill.

Sober socials are always a big hit too. Who doesn’t love free pizza?

Sound tempting? A one year dance membership is available for just £10, which gives you the privilege of cheaper classes.

If you’re not yet sure about making the commitment, why not come along to one of our Give it a Go sessions in Fresher’s Week to see if you like it? disappointed; we can’t wait to welcome you to the Dance Soc team.

All images: Dance Soc’s Publicity Officer

Concourse couture

George Bent Third year: Geography Wearing: Jacket from New Look, shirt from American Outfitters, jeans from Topman, and shoes from Russell and Bromley

by Mared Gruffydd

Sophia Belbiyad Third year: English Literature Wearing: Top from Primark and all other clothes from small independent French shops

Stephanos Morgan First year: Maths Wearing: Jacket, jeans and shoes from independent shops in Sydney, and shirt from Cyprus

24

Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

THETrail

Travel

Outgoing Lifestyle editor, Isabel Dobinson interviews University of Sheffield graduate, Giulia Smith on her student-friendly travel website, The Travel Trail, her experiences abroad and her key travel tips.

Why did you and Rosie set up The Travel Trail?

Rosie Dean and I set up The Travel Trail because we felt after travelling for six months ourselves, that there was a lack of up-to-date and accurate information. We used recent copies of Lonely Planet to plan our travels but found we were let down several times due to inaccurate and out of date information.

We realised that as soon as a book is printed it was out of date, so we wanted to create a website that could be updated at any time.

All of our content is written by travellers, for travellers, as we feel the information is much more authentic when it is written by someone that has visited the place.

Our audience is 18-30 year olds who are interested in either backpacking for the first time, or are experienced backpackers that want to sample a new city. We also hope people looking to backpack may discover new places on our website that they hadn’t previously thought to travel to, or weren’t sure if it was a good place to visit.

What are your own travelling experiences and have you always been interested in travelling?

My taste for travelling began during my second year of University at Sheffield, where I visited Thailand for a month. After this trip, I caught the travelling bug and a year later when I finished travelling, Rosie & I set off around Africa, South East Asia and South America.

We did everything from climb Macchu Picchu, dive with great white sharks, rode ostriches and elephants, quadbiked through Bolivia, experienced the extraordinary Salar De Uyuni, kayaked through Halong Bay and stargazed in the Chilean desert to name but a few things.

Can you tell us how the site actually works?

The main aim of the site is to provide content to both help you plan your trip before you go away and aid you whilst you are on your travels. The website is crafted in a very easy to navigate manner, which we specifically wanted. Each

country and city has a key facts tab, which gives you a very quick breakdown of key pieces of information for travelling to that particular place such as, currency, climate, exchange rate, time difference and emergency numbers.

We have an Instagram page and hashtag called #thetraveltrail. Anytime a picture is hashtagged it appears in our gallery and along the bottom of every page. We also have a blog section were some of our writers have written more personal accounts of their travelling experiences. We have a news section which provides you with the latest developments on the website along with breaking news worldwide that may affect your travels. We also have a forum where travellers can interact and ask each other questions that perhaps aren’t answered anywhere else on the site.

Why do you think travel is so important, especially for young people?

Travel is so important because it opens your eyes to the world and what it is actually like and how other people live. Often we grow up in a bubble, especially during University, where we can’t imagine any life outside of our own and our close circle. You mature in many ways, often having to deal with harsh conditions, basic accommodations and exhausting journeys. You also become more independent you have to fend for yourself in completely new environments, and travellers often return home more well-rounded, grounded and with a bigger appreciation for life.

What sets The Travel Trail apart from other travelling websites?

The Travel Trail is currently in its infancy, we have many exciting plans for its expansion.

What sets us apart is that we will always provide honest accounts of places - we won’t provide a good review purely because it would benefit us financially.

We are constantly making sure our information is up to date so travellers don’t miss out like we did. Also we provide a great depth of information, our aim is that you will find everything you need on our site and won’t need to go elsewhere.

We’ve written a disclaimer on our site that if

anywhere is lacking the information you are seeking, to contact us and we will make sure it is provided instantly.

We have found that other travel websites are often very basic and don’t provide the high level of detail that you want in order to give you a good idea of what the area you are travelling to is like. We also want people to help us grow the website and add their input as we appreciate the only way to give the best information of all the countries in the world is to involve as many people as we can in the process who have travelled there. So not only are we giving accurate, up-to-date information, we are giving people a platform to showcase their writing and share their travelling stories and tips to help others.

What are the key things you would say to a young traveller who is just about to go away e.g. to South East Asia or South America for a few weeks or months?

The key tips I would give to a traveller before they go away is to: Research - make sure you have an idea of the place you are visiting before you go.

Certain places may have rules about clothing, behaviour, etiquette; you don’t want to get caught out/into trouble because you didn’t take the time to understand the culture. Get clued up on visas and medical vaccinations.

Go with an open mind - you might get a complete shock when you visit somewhere new (depending on where else you have been to before) or you may fit right in, either way, be open and willing to integrate yourself.

Be sensible - it might sound boring but it’s so important. Don’t behave any differently than you would if you were at home, if you’re going to the full moon party in Thailand that hosts 10,000 people, don’t drink so much you pass out or wander off so your friends can’t find you.

For more information on The Travel Trail, visit Giulia and Rosie’s website http://www.thetraveltrail.com

FO R GE PRESS Wedn esd ay M ay 18 2015

25

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

TRAVEL

On a shoestring : Thailand

Renowned for its tropical beaches, rich culture and ornate temples, Thailand is any traveller’s paradise. Lifestyle contributor, Holly Droy tells you all about her three month adventure, from voluntary work, and jungle-trecking to party islands, Thailand has something for everyone.

time to make friends and find our bearings in a country that could otherwise seem a bit daunting. Volunteering is well worth considering if you want to do something rewarding with your holiday.

One place I’d really recommend is Sukhothai, an ancient city in northern Thailand where you can spend the day cycling around the ruins.

When we initially landed in Bangkok, it was a lot to take in. It was hot, crowded, and stressful. The Thai currency is baht (£1 is around 50 baht), and we were charged 1000 baht for a 10 minute ride to Kao San Road.

In 2013, three other friends and I spent £450 on a 13 hour plane journey to Thailand, where we had the best three months of our lives.

Three months sounds like a long time to spend in one country, but it meant we got to see parts of Thailand most travellers don’t bother venturing to. We went to some of the most amazing rural villages, deserted beaches, and beautiful forests imaginable.

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Heading further down south we went to Khao Sok National Park, which we’d heard was stunning and exceeded our expectations. We went on a boat trip across a beautiful lake, and spent the day jungle-trekking, caving and swimming.

We later learnt we’d paid four times what we should have, so if you ever get a taxi in Bangkok, make sure they’re using a meter, or negotiate a price you think is fair beforehand.

Through a company called Starfish we had our first three nights in Bangkok covered, although it’s easy enough to find somewhere cheap to stay.

After a few days in Bangkok we spent three weeks in a rural village on the Burmese border called ‘Sangkhlaburi’, where we did voluntary childcare work.

The whole package cost £500, and it gave us

Towards the end of our journey we went island-hopping, as I think every young person who goes to Thailand should. Our favourite place was Koh Tao, as it was the perfect party

LIFESTYLE INVESTIGATES

#WeAreTheThey

Janice Kosidin looks into the body positivity campaign that has taken social media by storm It all started with a crass comment from singer Jamelia, who on the show Loose Women, said: “I don’t believe stores should stock clothes below or above a certain weight. They should be made to feel uncomfortable when they go in and can’t find a size.”

Image: Wikimedia And just like that, the social networking world reverberated into a gigantic gasp of ‘oh-no-she-didn’t’, and the campaign #WeAreTheThey was born.

Created by a blogger known as Debz, #WeAreTheThey seeks to correct the atrocity behind Jamelia’s comment, with the emphasis on the ‘they’ that Jamelia referred to as being people - a group of human beings who, like everybody else, have feelings and rights. The campaign has received a phenomenal response, becoming one of the top trending topics in the UK soon after.

It has encouraged people to post pictures of themselves, as part of a movement to set the record straight with Jamelia. The pictures illustrate the pride women and men have of their own bodies and their own

sizes, justifying the right to shop and be clothed, no matter the number on a clothing tag. In her letter to Jamelia, posted on her blog, she said: “If you feel that as a fat woman denying me the right to go shopping on the high street with my friends is going to make me thin you are mistaken. All it does is make me a fat, unhappy person rather than one that is happy and strives for better.”

This year has seen an influx of celebrities taking part in expressing their support for feeling confident about your own bodies by posting pictures of themselves embracing their own so called ‘flaws’.

Thandie Newton, for one, put up a picture of herself bleaching her ‘tash’ in preparation for a movie premiere she was going to attend. Chrissy Teigen, for another, posted a picture of her stretch marks with the caption ‘Stretchies say hi!’, also played her part by posting a close-up picture of her thigh in a pair of shorts, accompanied by the hashtag #nothighgap. These pictures have all received both support and gratitude from viewers, inspiring others to share similar pictures, expressing their own version of how acceptance trumps fear of their own bodies.

While being positive does its job, the surrounding influences also play a big role in a person’s mindset.

According to the Be Real campaign, a third of children said that they are concerned about their appearance and that it is one of the main causes of bullying at school. Women and men of all sizes have been the victim of countless condescending

supremacy in the hierarchy of the nonsensical ‘beach-body-perfection’, inflicted cruelly to reprimand the idea of beauty.

Remember that being positive does not mean that you have to love every part of your body. It just means that you acknowledge it as your own, you accept it, and you embrace it. You step out of your insecurity and you break through the barrier of low self-esteem and doubt. You breathe in the fresh air of liberty, having equal rights, doing what you want to do, wearing what you want to wear, fueled by the positivity to educate those who tell you otherwise.

island, which isn’t too touristy and busy compared to other islands, like Koh Samiu.

When you plan your route, bear in mind that the seasons vary at the north and south of the country, and plans can easily change due to wanting to spend a bit more or less time in one place than expected. We stayed in a variety of huts, hotels and hostels, all of which we never paid more than 300 baht a night for (that’s just six pounds!)

There are so many amazing places to see and things to do in Thailand, but here are some of my favourite memories from the trip; the full moon party at Koh Phanyan, Chang Mai night market if you’re a keen shopper, Bangkok’s temple tour, the Hin Lad waterfall at Koh Samui, or going scuba diving at Koh Tao. All images: Holly Droy

Lifestyle’s Recipe Corner

Chipotle Chicken Wraps

by Prashant Jha This dish is an alternative to your classic chicken fajitas but with a zingy twist.

Ingredients: • • • • • • • • • • •

1 chicken breast 2 tortilla wraps A third of a red onion Half a bell pepper Jalapeño peppers A few coriander leaves Half a sachet of Mexican Spice Mix Grated mozzarella Vegetable oil Spices (garlic powder, Cajun powder and chilli powder) Hot Chipotle sauce

Method:

1. Prepare and dice the required amounts of onions, bell peppers, jalapeños and coriander leaves.

2. Pour some oil into a pan on a medium heat. Dice up the chicken and allow it to sizzle in the pan. Add the bell peppers to the pan, if preferred soft.

3. Sprinkle some garlic powder and Cajun powder to squeeze some more flavour out of the chicken and peppers. Add chilli powder if necessary.

4. Once the chicken is almost white, pour some boiling water in the pan so that the water level is just above the chicken and add the spice mix. Turn the hob to maximum heat. If using dried coriander, add a dash now. Keep stirring so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.

Image: Grogan There is no norm in a body, which means that there is nothing to conform to. Don’t be afraid to stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself that you, have a beautiful body, and be proud of it.

5. Once the spice mix has been completely absorbed, turn off the hob. Place a pre-heated tortilla wrap onto a plate and add the mozzarella across the centre of the tortilla. Then add half of the chicken mixture and half of the remaining vegetables.

6. Now add the Chipotle sauce as desired, wrap and serve.

All images: Tess Cooks 4u

26

Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

COFFEE BREAK May 13 in History 1607 - Jamestown, speech as the prime Virginia, was settled as minister of Britain. a colony of England.

1950 – Stevie Wonder 1861 Britain was born. declared neutrality in the American Civil War. 1975 - Hailstones the size of tennis balls hit 1888 - Slavery was Wenerville, Tennessee. abolished in Brazil.

1986 – Robert 1912 - Royal Flying Pattinson was born.

Corps was established in England.

2008 - The U.S. Postal Service issued a 421940 Winston cent stamp in honour of Churchill made his first Frank Sinatra TWEET OF THE FORTNIGHT

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

Did you know...

Royals Queen Elizabeth II has in fact had the second longest term of service in the monarchy’s history.

George V – who reigned in early twentieth century – had a red and blue dragon tattoo on his arm.

Prince Harry is real name is Henry Charles Albert David.

Kate Middleton is eighth cousins – seven times removed – with George Washington

Riddles of the fortnight What has one eye but cannot see?

We see it once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day. What is it?

What can travel around the world while staying in a corner?

Dates for the Diary

This Ukip leaflet has been corrected by English teacher Suzy Howlett... That’s a

lot of red pen.

Word

of the fortnight:

Nescient, adjective, noun: 1. 1. Ignorant. Freq. with of.

May 13 is Leprechaun Day! According to Irish Folklore, Leprechauns, or little people, are about two feet tall, always dressed in green and shoemakers by trade. They also have a hidden pot of gold they must lead you to if you catch them, so perhaps celebrate this day by catching your own. After all, the student loans were a while ago now…

May 14 is Dance Like a Chicken Day! The Chicken Dance song was originally entitled “Dez Ententanz” (the Duck Dance) and was created by Werner Thomas in the 1950’s. Today is the day to show your appreciation for Thomas’ great work and to, you’ve guessed it, dance like a chicken.

May 16 is Armed Forces Day! Every third Saturday in May is a day to think about the work and the sacrifices all branches of

the armed forces make to protect our country.

May 18 is No Dirty Dishes Day! No Dirty Dishes Day is a chance to break out from the prescribed routines of washing, drying and putting away the dishes after every single meal.

Although this may not be out of the ordinary for some students, today is the day

to make a contrived effort to avoid the washing up.

Perhaps go out for a meal instead, or maybe use disposable plates, cups and cutlery.

May 18 is also Visit Your Relatives Day! This day is a great excuse to go and visit your nicest relative, particularly if you might get a nice home cooked meal out of the deal.

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FO R GE PRESS Wed n esday M ay 13 2015

@FPCoffeeBreak

COFFEE BREAK

/forgepresscoffeebreak

PUZZLE PAGE: SUDOKU Easy

Medium 4

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QUOTES OF THE FORTNIGHT

“ Politcians are the same all over. They

promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.

”

Nikita Khrushchev

“Cabbage:

a familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head.

”

Ambrose Bierce

“

My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it.

”

Boris Johnson

Crossword: Matthew Sapsed Across:

Down:

8. Enthusiastic applause (7) 9. Disturb (5) 10. (Potential) playboy ­and emails (anagram) (6,3) 11. Venomous snake (3) 12. European river ­in her (anagram) (5) 14. Large spotted cat (7) 16. Punk hairstyle (7) 18. Recess (5) 20. Use a spade ­gibe (3) 22. Opinion (9) 24. Put back at zero (5) 25. Kind ­tolerant (7)

1. Neck (of a shirt) (6) 2. Two pieces of bread with a filling (8) 3. Dossier ­folder (4) 4. Tooth covering (6 5. Reject (4,4) 6. Large continent (4) 7. Foolish (6) 13. Unearth (8) 15. Collection of records (8) 16. Up­to­date (6) 17. Thorn ­syringe (6) 19. Personal possessions (6) 21. Deep cut (4) 23. Colour of salmon (4)

DINGBATS

Dingbats are visual word puzzles from which you must identify a well-known phrase or saying.

1.

2.

XIST N G DEA

28

A D V E RT I S E M E N T

Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

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FO R GE PRESS Wedn esd ay M ay 13 2015

@ForgePressSport

SPORT

/ForgePressSport sport@forgetoday.com

SportsThoughts

Should we expand Varsity? Forge Press Sport editor Ed McCosh believes that the city’s marquee university event should look to feature as many as fifty sports.

As people poured into the Motorpoint Arena in droves to watch the Ice Hockey 1s from the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University bring down the Varsity 2015 curtain, amongst the buzz of excitement was genuine anticipation on the part of many, perhaps most, to watch an Ice Hockey match for the first time.

Said buzz was evidenced by the attendance; 7731, the largest ever attendance for an Ice Hockey Varsity game outside North America. A better turnout, even, than for two of the four Ice Hockey quarter-finals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Ice hockey was not the only sport to bask in the black-and-gold glow of Varsity, with fans swarming to watch the likes of Boxing, Netball, Basketball and Futsal.

The latter enjoyed the sort of attention it would never normally receive out on the peripheries of university sporting consciousness, and a similar experience was enjoyed by the likes of Canoe

Polo, Ultimate Frisbee and Korfball.

Sporting societies and fans alike voice a resounding support of Varsity, which grows on a yearly basis. This is certainly the case for the sports it incorporates.

While the 2008 edition had just 40 points on offer, this year 71 points were won from a total of 35 sports.

So why not continue to expand?

There is no shortage of interest in the great sporting spectrum to join The University of Sheffield sport’s showpiece event. In a sense Varsity expansion is a case of both widening and deepening.

The former would involve expanding horizons.

But where do we start? Perhaps looking to other university contests will provide inspiration.

For instance, the 2015 Roses competition between the University of York and Lancaster

University incorporated so-called ‘pub sports’ Darts, Pool and Snooker.

As Sheffield’s Varsity was fought for on the battlegrounds of Ponds Forge, EIS, Sports Park and Goodwin, the Darts Societies of the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam staged an unofficial Varsity match of their own in the much more modest surroundings of Stephenson Hall.

In front of a larger crowd than a fair portion of Varsity events, Sheffield defeated Hallam 8-1 (You can read the full report on page 30).

After the match, both captains were adamant that Darts could join the Varsity roster, as a sport slowly emerging from its beer-stained reputation of old and becoming more inclusive.

Snooker and Pool, too, have entered the sporting mainstream in a much more obvious way.

It is impossible to avoid Snooker in Sheffield with the Crucible Theatre hosting the Snooker World Championships, while Pool’s popularity creeps up with each staging of the Mosconi Cup.

So that’s one direction.

Kingston University and the University of Surrey have gone a step further. In amongst their Varsity itinerary, a point was on offer for winning ‘E-Varsity’, an E-Sports competition.

The two teams played four games competitively – DOTA 2, League of Legends, Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Smash Bros Wii U – and with Kingston emerging victorious in the former two while Surrey succeeded in the latter pair, a Varsity point was shared.

E-Sports and so-called ‘pub sports’ are two directions in which Varsity could go.

Doubtless, they would attract plenty of supporters, as every Varsity event does.

Darts in particular is a readymade spectator’s game, as the Premier League Darts proved at the Motorpoint Arena in April.

But they would cause us to bring into question how we define sport. And there would be no unanimous agreement.

For instance, there is as of yet no Women’s

The University of Sheffield basked in Boxing glory. Do more sports deserve the attention Varsity affords?

Varsity Ice Hockey. Women’s Rugby, Cricket and Tennis all have the potential to expand so that 2s teams could compete in future Varsity editions.

And given the huge variety in Cycling and Athletics, more than one and two points respectively could be on offer in the future.

It may end up becoming a race – what will Varsity reach first, 50 sports or 100 points? It seems like it would only be a good thing.

Varsity not only brings the university together for a week of frantic sporting action, but propels the societies into the spotlight, as each sport eggs each other on to do their bit for the University of Sheffield or Sheffield Hallam.

That buzz of excitement and the explosion of black and gold that the Ice Hockey 1s witnessed could be an experience shared by even more, and those memories would certainly be cherished.

The only people it may have an adverse effect on are us, the Forge Press Sport editors. An even more hectic Varsity may well kill us.

Photo: Wilson Law

Forge Press Sport awards

Forge Press Sport editor Rob Milne chooses his heroes and villains of the week Stuart Bingham

üü

Bingham achieved a career dream by securing his first World Championship title at the Crucible, defeating Shaun Murphy 18-15.

Our report is on page 31.

AP McCoy

ü

The legendary Irish jockey finally called it a day last month. He totalled 4,348 wins during an illustrious career and is honed as the greatest ever jockey.

Peter Moores

û

After a calamitous Test performance against the West Indies, Moores became the first England head coach to be sacked from the same role twice.

The Oystons

ûû

Protests against Blackpool owner Owen and chairman Karl saw the Tangerines’ final Championship game before relegation against Huddersfield abandoned.

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Wednesday May 13 2015 F O RG E P RESS

@ForgePressSport

SPORT

/ForgePressSport sport@forgetoday.com

Sports Personality of the week Forge Sport’s Tom Pyman spoke to Varsity-winning Women’s Hockey 3s captain Fiona Marsh

How long have you been playing hockey?

I’ve been playing hockey for a long time now, probably about 13 years. I’m clearly very keen…

What aspects of the sport do you enjoy most?

Hockey is a brilliant sport all round, but in particular I love the team aspect. As gushy as it sounds, there is no better feeling than training hard and sharing success with teammates.

What do you enjoy most about being part of a university sports club?

the league below us, but you never know with Varsity. So we just kept our heads down and focused on the end goal (or five in our case!).

With the University of Sheffield on the brink of victory after Wednesday morning’s events, did you and the rest of the hockey club feel under pressure to perform and to win?

“We are all winners!”

There is always a lot of pressure with Varsity, as

you’ve got a crowd watching and a whole university relying on you to perform. This year, there was definitely added pressure to secure the winning point, but luckily we managed to control our nerves and play some decent hockey.

Talk us through your feelings when you found out you’d claimed the winning point in this year’s Varsity.

I was actually speaking to Forge Radio when I first found out, so I probably deafened some listeners – sorry! But no, it was an absolutely brilliant

Being part of the university Hockey club has been the best decision I’ve made since coming to Sheffield. In particular I have enjoyed being part of a group that consistently supports each other and generally has a great time. I could only describe it as being part of a big, happy (if not slightly dysfunctional) family.

moment; the whole hockey club were jumping about on the pitch celebrating with us.

Success really does not come sweeter than that.

How important are events like Varsity in terms of increasing exposure and raising the profile of the club?

Varsity is an extremely important event for each individual, team and club involved. In particular, it has allowed the Hockey club to showcase some of the best talent in the university, which can bring a lot of interest to our sport. Gaining the winning point for Varsity has definitely raised the Hockey club’s profile in a positive way. A lot of people have shown support for the hockey teams and we hope that this will encourage more recruits for next season.

I would just like to finish by saying congratulations to all the sports teams that took part in Varsity. Although my team obtained the winning point, it really was a massive joint team effort by everyone who participated. We are all winners!

What was the build-up like leading up to Varsity?

Were you expecting to win?

The lead up to Varsity was a mixture of feelings.

There were pre-match jitters and nerves, but also a lot of determination to crush Hallam. We were expected to win, with Hallam being in

Photo: Hugh Dickinson

Read more reports, fixtures and features online all fortnight

DOT COM

Dominant Sheffield saunter to ‘Dartsity’ victory Darts University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam

8 1

Dan Reid The University of Sheffield Darts Society set the standard for future Darts Varsity matches with a comprehensive 8-1 demolition of Sheffield Hallam University in the maiden ‘Dartsity’ event at Stephenson Hall.

Although unofficial, the societies on both sides hold high hopes for Dartsity, which took place on April 17, setting the precedent for the sport expanding in popularity and even becoming part of the Varsity canon.

Sheffield went into the contest as clear favourites, having defeated Hallam 10-1 in their North East University Darts League fixture earlier in the year, and their superiority told from the start as club captain Max Orange defeated much-fancied Hallam opponent Jamesey Ennis 2-0 in the opening encounter.

It was a much tighter affair between James Douglas and Chris James, with Hallam’s James taking the opening leg and missing darts to win the match.

In a tight, nervy affair, Douglas’ quality shone through eventually, and a 2-1 win made it 2-0 to Sheffield overall.

The next match, between

Sheffield society President Tom Wright and Grant Morgans of Hallam, was at a complete juxtaposition to its predecessor.

Wright coasted to a 2-0 victory, notching up a sublime tournament-high 102 checkout in the process.

The only fresher in the Sheffield side was next up, yet Johnny Kirk threw with the style and confidence of a seasoned veteran, hitting 140 and a succession of other impressive scores on his way to beating Alex Bircumshaw 2-0.

With the score at 4-0, Ed McCosh had the chance to seal Dartsity victory for Sheffield with a win over Chris Moore.

Despite McCosh playing well below par, struggling to a double one checkout in the first leg after easily outscoring Moore, the result was never in doubt.

McCosh checked out 44, finishing by hitting the double 18 at the first time of asking to spark wild celebrations amongst the Sheffield players and spectators.

With Sheffield holding an unassailable 5-0 lead, the final four matches were somewhat of a procession.

Steve Organ’s consistent scoring proved too much for Hallam’s Peter Newton to handle, as a 2-0 win extended Sheffield’s overall advantage.

A whitewash was in sight, but Rob Matthews was unfortunate to find Tom Taylor in the form

of his life, the Hallam player triumphing 2-0.

With chances of a 9-0 win gone, the atmosphere in Stephenson Hall seemed to abate, but Tom Hogg got the crowd roaring again with the only 180 of the night as he crushed Hallam captain Jack Handley 2-0.

George Francis was on last, with his tartan trousers and unqiue walk-on music almost as loud as his self-admonishment after stray darts, but again there was little doubt of failure as he dispatched Michael Burton 2-0.

With the final score 8-1, Sheffield took the spoils on the night, but the overriding feeling was that university Darts in Sheffield as a whole may feel the benefits most in the long term.

With around 75 spectators attracted to Stephenson Hall to hear Ellis Turner MC a night of darting festivities, and a dedicated team organised by society secretary Zoe Pickersgill setting up necessary equipment such as a microphone, speakers and seating, and authentic details such as personalised walk-on music, the prototype of a highly successful Varsity event had been deployed in style.

In the aftermath of the tournament, both Wright and Handley made clear their intentions to lobby for Darts to join the Varsity roster next year.

Sheffield followed up on their Dartsity success with a fourth

place finish in the North East University Darts League finals, with a heartbreaking 6-5 defeat against the University of York denying them a place in the final.

Sheffield celebrate ‘Dartsity’ victory

With victory out of the question, Sheffield then slipped to an 8-3 defeat to Sunderland in the third/fourth-place play-off.

Photo: Zoe Pickersgill

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FO R GE PRESS Wedn esd ay M ay 13 2015

@ForgePressSport

SPORT

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Blades bow out of play-offs in stunning style Football League One Play-offs

Sheffield United Swindon Town

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Ed McCosh Sheffield United bowed out of the League One play-offs at the semi-final stage as they lost 7-6 on aggregate against Swindon Town.

Nigel Clough’s Blades conceded an injury time winner as they fell

to a 2-1 defeat against Swindon Town at Bramall Lane in the first leg on Thursday night.

650 people may have been booking their tickets to Westminster as MPs on a balmy Election Night, but for United and Swindon the only destination in mind was Wembley.

It was the home side who started the brightest, catching Town off guard with some rapid football.

With just over 19 minutes gone, Ryan Flynn made some space

for himself on the right before cutting the ball back for Kieran Freeman, who lashed the ball home despite Wes Foderingham’s best efforts.

United were in control, but the Kop were stunned when Nathan Byrne cut in from the right and was felled by Bob Harris.

Ben Gladwin was given the chance to level the scores from twelve yards, but Mark Howard sprawled to his right to beat the penalty away.

Sheffield United were the better side in the first half, and were looking for a second half that would see them match or even better the 2-0 victory they recorded over the Robins in the league.

Yet Swindon quickly put the Blades to the sword.

From Byrne’s corner, Sam Ricketts rose highest to nod home the equaliser.

Within a minute of coming on, substitute Matty Done had put the ball in the net, but Bond penalised the United striker for a push.

Two minutes later, Done was in on goal again, yet Bond had

inexplicably stopped the game for a foul by Yaser Kasim, for which the influential Swindon midfielder was handed a yellow card.

By this point the 20,890-strong crowd were effusive in their outrage.

Moments later the home fans were howling again, but this time it was accompanied by groans of disbelief as Steven Davies could only glance a header wide from five yards out with the goal at his mercy.

It would prove to be United’s last clear-cut chance, and one they would regret not taking.

Byrne, a thorn in United’s left side all night, took the plaudits with a drilled 25-yard effort that nestled in the corner of Howard’s goal.

The true drama, however, was reserved for the second leg at the County Ground, where Swindon and Sheffield United played out a scintillating 5-5 draw on Monday night.

The Robins roared into a 3-0 lead within 19 minutes, with a Gladwin double and a Michael Smith strike seemingly sealing

their place at Wembley.

A minute later, United found respite through a Nathan Thompson own goal, and Chris Basham ensured it was 3-2 at half time.

Swindon surged clear yet again in the second half, with Smith scoring their fourth of the night from the penalty spot, but Davies’ bullet header reduced arrears.

Jon Obika’s superb solo effort put Swindon clear once again, but United roared back to provide drama of the highest order.

With two minutes left, substitute Che Adams’ strike was parried by Foderingham straight into Done’s path, and the striker made no mistake.

In the final minute of normal time, Adams shimmied through two challenges and fired home an equaliser to make it 5-5.

Despite having seven minutes of added on time to level the aggregate score, United fell short and recorded their eighth successive play-off failure while their opponents from Wiltshire will go to Wembley to face Preston North End for a place in the Championship.

Wednesday let Leeds lead slip Football Championship Sheffield Wednesday Leeds United

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Anthony Phillips Sheffield Wednesday finished the 2014/15 season with a disappointing 2-1 home defeat against fierce rivals Leeds United and a 1-1 stalemate away to promoted Watford.

April’s encounter with Leeds lacked the ‘big game’ feel of previous years, with both teams securing mid-table finishes, but that did not stop the 28,227 fans inside Hillsborough from generating a lively atmosphere.

Wednesday fans were hoping for a repeat of last year’s 6-0 rout over their Yorkshire counterparts, but it was Leeds who started the brightest.

Alex Mowatt broke through within the opening minutes, but his shot was turned around the

post by Wednesday player of the season Kieren Westwood.

Luke Murphy also had a good chance but was again denied by Westwood, and Wednesday took full advantage to take the lead against the run of play in the 36th minute.

Chris Maguire slotted home coolly from the penalty spot following Sam Byram’s rash tackle on Southampton loanee Lloyd Isgrove to give the Owls a 1-0 lead.

Leeds went into the game on a run of five consecutive defeats, and a second half fightback rescued the situation just as Wednesday seemed on course to inflict a sixth.

Defender Charlie Taylor equalised for Leeds in the 57th minute, after a Murphy free kick bounced off the Wednesday wall and caused havoc in the penalty area.

Veteran striker Steve Morrison acted fastest, providing Taylor with an opportunity to tap in a leveller that the defender took with aplomb.

Sheffield Wednesday striker Chris Maguire. Photo: Sunday Times

The final pitted Murphy, the overwhelming favourite, against 10th ranked Bingham, who had progressed to the final following impressive victories against former champions Graeme Dott and Ronnie O’Sullivan. Bingham also came through an even tenser semi final against fan favorite Judd Trump, winning a final frame decider 17-16.

Murphy took a 9-8 lead following the first day of the final, in which the pair produced four breaks over 100 and 13 breaks over 50 in an excellent display of fast break building.

Excellent snooker in the final day’s afternoon session resulted in Bingham taking a 14-11 lead after clinching the session 6-2.

Bingham could have made a maximum 147 break in the 20th

frame, had he not missed the final red, but the Basildon-born man was content to head into the final session four frames away from securing his first world title.

Murphy took the first frame to claw the gap back to two frames at 14-12 before Bingham once again highlighted his talent for break building with a fine 102 break, which left him three frames from victory.

Murphy was not to be deterred, and breaks of 75 and 64 racked up the tension in the arena as he drew level at 15-15.

A missed yellow by Murphy in the 31st frame resulted in an extraordinary battle of safety play in a frame that lasted for over 64 minutes. Bingham held his nerve to take the frame, and the 50-1 outsider then took the

The equaliser silenced the home fans, and Wednesday were unable to mount any potent attack in the second half, with Leeds dominating affairs as they pressed for a winner.

Eventually Leeds found the goal they craved, as Morrison scored what proved to be the winner after 72 minutes.

Morrison latched onto a delightful through ball from right back Sam Byram and broke clear of the Wedneday defence.

Westwood kept out Morrison’s initial shot, but the ex-Norwich forward converted at the second attempt to put Leeds in front.

Wednesday failed to get back into the match and the visitors held on to a 2-1 victory to avenge last season’s heavy defeat and take all three points back to West Yorkshire.

Wednesday’s final match took place at Vicarage Road, with hosts Watford requiring a win to secure the Championship crown.

The Hornets seemed well on the way to completing their objective as Matej Vydra headed

them into a first half lead.

However, Watford were stunned by the visitors as Adthe Nuhiu notched an injury time equaliser, and the vocal Wednesday support were keen to notify their opponents that the goal handed the title to AFC Bournemouth.

Yet, as Watford fans left Vicarage Road anticipating a season in the Premier League, Wednesday were left to ponder on a season that concluded with the Owls in 14th place with a total of 59 points.

Wednesday’s defensive record, amongst the best in the Football League, is at least a silver lining in an otherwise dull campaign.

With new owner Dejphon Chansiri targeting top flight football, and claiming to boast the wealth to fund a promotion chase, Owls fans may be more hopeful of success in 2015/16.

Whether Chansiri will persist with Wednesday manager Stuart Gray, who has overseen just one win in the club’s last seven games, remains to be seen.

next frame following a break of 65.

In the 33rd frame, Bingham was given an opportunity to seal a famous world title victory following a missed red from

Murphy, and the man from Essex responded with a excellent break of 88 that secured a 18-15 win and clinched him his first world title.

Bingham claims Crucible title Snooker World Championships

Stuart Bingham Shaun Murphy

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Anthony Phillips Stuart Bingham won his first world snooker championship in dramatic fashion with an 18-15 victory over 2005 champion Shaun Murphy at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

Bingham, who had never progressed beyond the quarter finals of the tournament in 20 years as a professional, becomes the oldest world snooker champion since 1978, and collects a £300,000 winner’s cheque.

Photo: BBC

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Men’s Cricket fall short Men’s Cricket BUCS Northern 1A

University of Sheffield Durham University

206-9 254-5

Charles Jones The University of Sheffield Men’s Cricket 1s lost to Durham University by 48 runs on 29 April at the Maiden Castle Sports facility.

In cold and blustery April conditions Sheffield won the toss on what looked like a good batting wicket and elected to bowl first, with Harry Popplewell and Henry Eldred sharing the new ball. Sheffield got off to a fantastic start, taking the wicket of Whaley with the seventh ball of the game.

Eldred got the ball to shape away and it was caught off the edge at second slip by Harvey Fitton. Popplewell and Eldred continued to bowl wonderfully in their opening spells, restricting Durham to 24-1 from the first 10 overs.

This brought about the first bowling change, with

Jack Forrester and Fitton being introduced into the attack. Forrester bowled quite magnificently, going for only five runs from his first five overs. Sheffield continued to apply pressure and restricted Durham to 52-1 from 20 overs.

From this point, the spin of Cameron Jacobsen and Mithila Siriwardana was introduced, and this allowed Durham and in particular Kurtz to accelerate.

The pitch proved difficult for the spinners, however Jacobsen was able to pick up the wicket of Belton, having made 38. He chipped a simple chance to Charles Jones at mid-off which was pouched with ease. Kurtz made his 50 during this point and Durham moved to 115-2 from 30 overs.

Popplewell returned to the attack to stem the flow of runs, picking up the wicket of George, trapping him LBW with a clever piece of bowling. Kurtz continued to score freely without offering a chance until departing for 93, having also been trapped LBW by a well disguised quicker ball from Siriwardana.

This brought the destructive Mallode-Jones to the crease, with

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wickets in hand he attacked the bowling and made a quick-fire 59 not out from the last 10 overs.

This brought Durham to a score of 254-5 from their allotted 50 overs.

In reply, Sheffield got off to a similar start to Durham, unfortunately losing Orban Holdgate for one in the second over of the innings. From here Suleman Saleem and Fitton rebuilt, and a steady partnership was formed, taking the score to 42-1 from 10 overs. Unfortunately the partnership was soon to be broken, with Saleem chipping up a simple catch to mid-wicket off the leading edge having made 17.

This brought Eldred to the crease, who shortly followed Saleem back to the pavilion, with one to his name, having edged behind with the chance being taken in the slip cordon.

Billy Thorley came to the middle, combining well with Fitton, taking the score to 70-3 after 20 overs and a solid 89-3 at drinks.

This is where things didn’t quite go to plan for SUCC, with the third ball after drinks Fitton departed for 37, bringing Gordon Pal to the crease. Pal’s stay was controversially cut short when

he was given out LBW for two, however it appeared that he had made contact first with the ball using his bat.

This series of events left Sheffield teetering on 93-5.

Thorley was unlucky to depart to the leg spin of Gunning, having top edged a long hop, which was caught by the wicket-keeper.

Jacobsen showed brief flashes of elegant shot-making before playing the ball onto his stumps from the spin of Gunning, leaving Sheffield 111-7.

Siriwardana came to the middle and played a counter-attacking innings, before being caught on the boundary for 16, again from the spin of Gunning. Forrester’s stay was all too brief, departing for a duck, having been stumped off the left arm spin of Huwhurst.

Sheffield were now left on 136-9 after 41 overs, with the run chase all but over.

Popplewell came to the crease and along with Jones played aggressive cricket, including a hitting a number of boundaries, leaving Sheffield 206-9.

This proved to be another disappointing defeat for the first XI, with Sheffield falling 48 runs short of Durham’s total.

Canoe Polo BUCS Championship

on the cards for the Men’s A team as they suffered their first loss to Oxford University in a 2-1 defeat.

The men’s team were then heavily outclassed in a match against the eventual champions Durham, losing 10-0.

Not to be deterred by these two losses in a row, the men’s team claimed a 7-0 victory over Exeter University, meaning that the Men’s A team finished 11th in the table with three victories and two defeats.

On the other side, the women’s canoe polo team won their first match against Newcastle University 8-0 but were unable to keep up the momentum after being defeated in their second match 6-0 by Warwick University and in their third match 3-0 to Southampton University.

This meant that the Sheffield women’s team finished 9th in the table, above cross-town rivals Sheffield Hallam, who they beat 8-0 in their Varsity encounter.

Mixed fortunes at BUCS

Andy Cumino Edited by Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield Men’s and Women’s Canoe Polo teams participated in the last of three BUCS Canoe Polo championships of the academic year this weekend.

The men’s team went into the event full of confidence having beaten Sheffield Hallam University 11-1 in this year’s Varsity competition.

The first match of the event resulted in a Sheffield victory following Glasgow University forfeiting the match for failing to turn up at the designated 7:20am start time.

The second game against Bangor University was a much more exciting affair, with Sheffield edging a victory following a last-gasp winning goal.

A low-scoring affair was next

Team Wiggins debuts in Yorkshire Anthony Phillips Following the success of hosting two stages of the Tour De France last year, the first annual Tour De Yorkshire took place this weekend.

The event included sixteen teams, made up of eight riders, including Britain’s Team Sky. Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner, was competing for his newly-formed team for the first time.

He emphasized a new role for himself in the event, compared to the past: “To help them a bit more and position them and use our name to keep them up the front… It will be nice to get something out

of it on a team level, seeing as it’s my team now, he said “It’s not just a personal thing anymore.”

The tour included 3 days of racing across the Yorkshire region and an estimated 25,000 people lined the streets of Yorkshire to see Wiggins take part in one of his final road races.

The tour resulted in an overall classification victory for Team Sky’s Petter Nordhaug by 11 seconds.

The Norwegian won a dramatic 174km first stage from Bridington to Scarborough, following the race abandonment of Team Sky leader and Rotherham local Ben Swift who crashed on a descent in the Yorkshire Moors.

Rugby secure ‘Varsity’ victory Men’s Rugby Union Unofficial Varsity University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam

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Simon Watters The University of Sheffield Men’s Rugby Union 1s won their belated Varsity fixture in dramatic fashion, defeating Sheffield Hallam 25-22 after extra time.

Hallam opened the scoring in the first five minutes with an unconverted try against the run of play, as Sheffield had the lion’s share of possession in the early stages of the match.

Sheffield, soon hit back, going over in the corner after sustained pressure and some excellent work at the breakdown from second row Andy O’Malley.

Hallam got their second score following a breakaway, but once again the conversion was well wide as they continued to look sharp in attack.

But once again Sheffield were quick to reply; this time, the try came from scrum-half Robbie Walmsley, with extras added by Andy Hodgson to make the score 12-10.

After the break, another period of patient play through the phases eventually saw winger Jordan Bulgin go over in the corner as the lead extended to seven.

Hodgson saw yellow for tackling the man in the air, and then Hallam once again hit back.

Their winger, who had a poor game off the tee all day, finally made a conversion to tie the game up at 17-17 with 20 minutes to play.

Both teams exchanged yet another set of tries, as the game finished 22-22 after 80 minutes, but seeing as it was an unofficial Varsity fixture, it was decided that extra time would be played.

Hodgson made amends for his earlier caution with a routine penalty in the first period of extra time, in what turned out to be the winning score.

This week’s contributors Ed McCosh Rob Milne Anthony Phillips Tom Pyman Andy Cumino Charles Jones Dan Reid Simon Watters

Photo: Wikipedia Commons