Issue 95

Issue 95 Thursday 21 April 2016

SHOCK! WE WON VARSITY ...FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN A ROW

INSIDE: 16-PAGE

VARSITY PULL-OUT FORGE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS, MATCH REPORTS AND PHOTOS

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NEWS

In Brief...

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Varsity notoriously hard to spell Hallam misspelt Varsity on their live stream of the Ice Hockey last night, renaming the event “Varisty”. But, we did it last year, so no judgement from us!

Paris shots named “Paris Bomb” After the nightclub Paris posted an advertisement on Instagram for their shot the “Paris Bomb”, students and locals have posted responses statig that they are “disgusted” and the name is “wrong”.

Sheffield industrial state turned into student flats An industrial state in Sheffield is being demolished and the area used to build student flats. The appartment block will have 103 flats and be six storeys high. As part of new regulations, developers will be required to pay £39,820.

New Sheffield actor in Game of Thrones

HEAD OF ONLINE ned.westwood@forgetoday.com Ned Westwood

NEWS news@forgetoday.com Keri Trigg Will Morgan Lisa Latham DEPUTY NEWS news@forgetoday.com Jess Davis Ellena Rowlin COMMENT comment@forgetoday.com Robin Wilde Chris Saltmarsh

the chance to learn elsewhere, and become a much more confident person (maybe I’m growing up…? It feels weird).

Forge Press has come a long way in the last year, and I’m incredibly proud of the team and how we’ve all grown together. I’ve met some of the most impressive, committed, hard-working and caring people, and after effectively living together in the hub this past year, they’ve become like a forge family. They’re all going to go on to do such incredible things with their lives, and I hope that we all stay in touch (if anything just to be able to know some of the big journo names) Apologies for the soppy and overly Forge-lovey post, but if you’d all been editor for a year you’d understand!

Forge love to you all,

What not to miss this fortnight Thurs 21 Apr 18:00-21:00 Free: The Diamond, Lecture Theatre 8

Interval Open Mic Night

Residents of South Yorkshire are being warned of high pollen over the coming days.

The Met Office are cautioning that shockingly warm weather due for the rest of week may cause people to have severe reactions.

PICTURE EDITOR dan.west@forgetoday.com Dan West

dissertation…) and head into the real world (yikes).

It’s easy to laugh off student media as relatively insubstantial, of course it is. We know we’re not the Guardian, and we know that we don’t dictate the thoughts of the entire student body, but we do make a difference in such a close-knit environment.

There’s nothing better than handing out the SU election issue to keen students, watching them flick through the infographics and appreciate what the editorial team were in the media hub working on until 2am.

When you’re paying upwards of £9,000 a year, it’s important to know what you’re getting.

It’s important for universities and Students’ Unions to be transparent about their policies, their money, their staff and treatment of their students.

This is what we strive for Forge Press gives students the opportunity to meet, interview and report on incredibly influential people from poets, to political icons.

It’s given me the chance to gain skills I’d never have had

Having become a member of the Labour Party at the age of 15 and won a general election at 27, Louise will talk to us about her political journey and first year in Westminster.Come along to get an insight into what it means to be a young, female MP and a Shadow Minister.

South Yorkshire on high pollen alert

DEPUTY EDITOR chloe.coleman@forgetoday.com Chloe Coleman

E

llen Goodman said: “There’s a trick to the ‘graceful exit.’ It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, or a relationship is over — and let it go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out.”

I’m going to start my final editorial with that quote in the hope it will make it sound somewhat more professional and inspirational than my own words could.

Forge Press has been the defining experience of my time at University - I know that might seem sad to lots of you - and I can’t imagine my experience without it. Being on the paper, from a keen copy editor to ‘esteemed’ editor has allowed me to grow so much as a person and learn so much about leading and being part of a team. Forge Press has played a big part in shaping the person that I am now, as I wave goodbye to University (hopefully, if I finish my

In Conversation with Louise Haigh, MP

Game of Thrones has welcomed a new Sheffield star.

Sheffield-born actor Junade Khan as a Dothraki warrior in the new series of Game of Thrones. As of the new season, Sean Bean will not be the only Sheffielder who has been in the show.

EDITOR editor@forgetoday.com Polly Winn

Editorial

nterval Open Mic Night runs fortnightly in the intimate environment of Interval Bar and Cafe. If you have a talent you want to share come on down. If you want to play or know someone who does email openmicnight@sheffield.ac.uk

Tues 26 Apr 18:00-23:00 Free: Interval Cafe Bar

Sheffield Volunteering Awards 2016

The Volunteering Awards are a celebration of all the amazing achievements & dedication of our volunteers throughout the year. This year’s theme ‘Be Part of The Big Picture’ aims to recognise the impact that student volunteers make to their city through student-led projects.

COFFEE BREAK press.coffeebreak@forgetoday.com Adilah Hameed FEATURES features@forgetoday.com Sheena Sidu Anna Gillies Hallam Roffey LIFESTYLE lifestyle@forgetoday.com Mojo Abidi Mared Gruffyd

Mon 09 May 19:00-21:45 Book your free tickets through the SU Ticket site

SPORT sport@forgetoday.com Ed McCosh Rob Milne Anthony Phillips MUSIC music@forgetoday.com Tara Hodgson Charlotte Pick GAMES games@forgetoday.com Moya O’Rourke Ash Emritte

ARTS arts@forgetoday.com Joshua Hackett Jo Gallacher SCREEN screen@forgetoday.com Rhys Handley Luke Baldwin COPY EDITORS Sophie Cockett Bethan Littley Emily Quigley Harriet Hales Joanna Booth

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

NEWS

NUS caught in controversy over Holocaust debate Will Morgan

At the National Union of Students’ (NUS) annual conference, a debate has been held as to whether the NUS should commemorate the holocaust.

At the event, held on 20 April, it was argued that commemorating the Holocaust meant privileging western genocides over others.

One of those speaking against the commemoration was Darta Kaleja from Chester University.

She said: “I am against the NUS ignoring and forgetting other mass genocides and prioritising others.”

She added that “it suggests some lives are more important than others” and asked “when during my education was I taught about the genocides in Tibet or Rwanda?”

Up to one million Rwandans died in the 1994 civil war that is missed out from the National Curriculum, which Holocaust education is part of.

This comes at the same time as widespread criticism of the NUS’s alleged anti-semitism, following the election of Malia

Bouattia, who had previously called the University of Birmingham “a Zionist outpost in British higher education” and refused to vote to condemn Islamic State.

She is also alleged to have called the government’s Prevent strategy “the result of a so-called Zionist lobby” at an event at SOAS, University of London.

Zionism is the political ideology that advocates for the state of Israel’s continued existence and for its security.

Leeds University student Sam Gold countered Kaleja’s argument, proposing an increased awareness of the Holocaust, saying: “the living memory of the Holocaust is dying.”

He asked: “How come on Holocaust Memorial Day there was just one tweet, and one blog?”

Reactions on social media to Bouattia’s election and the Holocaust debate have been negative and frequently bewildered, with one Twitter user saying: “The NUS just applauded a comment about not remembering Holocaust

Memorial Day, then elected an anti-semitc President who wont condemn ISIS.” Ultimately, the amendments

to commemorate the Holocaust and to counter anti-semitism were passed by the conference.

Frankie the hedgehog is on the slow road to recovery after being rescued.

The hedgehog was found with its spines cut off in the early hours of Saturday 2 April in University of Sheffield student accommodation.

He is now in the safe hands of Allan and Anita Broadhead at Cawthorne Hedgehog Sanctuary.

They tend to him daily to make sure his stay is as comfortable as possible.

Frankie was found after a maintenance man entered a student flat, and the hedgehog dashed towards him. According to his carer Anita, asking for human assistance is a sign of desperation and distress.

Anita said Frankie’s case was unique - they had never seen such a brutal case of abuse towards any hedgehog that has come to their sanctuary.

He had his spines cut short with scissors and was suffering from an aggressive case of ringworm.

Although Frankie is on the mend, Allan estimates that he won’t be back to his old self for around eight months.

He said: “There is no sense or reason behind the way Frankie was treated.”

They were both very emotional when first meeting Frankie and cried at the sight of him.

It is because of the severity of the case that Allan and Anita are pushing for a prosecution.

Frankie’s case was even brought up in Parliament last week by Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith in a debate on the protection of the species.

Allan and Anita were unsure whether Frankie being brought up in Parliament would help to change anything. However, they are anxious to spread awareness.

Anita said: “As soon as you find a hedgehog out in winter you need to bring it to a carer.”

The University of Sheffield said in a statement: “We are currently trying to find out why the poor hedgehog was in our

SCIENCE & Technology

The future of steel Investment in technology that yields higher-quality steel could save thousands of jobs in the UK steel industry, an expert has claimed.

Cambridge Professor Julian Allwood has proposed that British steelworks need to shift their focus from competing with low-wage economies, such as China, for mass-market steel, and instead utilise innovative technologies that can remove the impurities from recycled steel and yield a purer highquality output.

This can fulfil steel demand for leading UK industries in car and aerospace manufacturing.

Embracing technologies that can produce this ‘New Steel’ is estimated to cost between £1-2 billion for the UK Government.

Josh Bolam

Pollution linked to obesity

Hedgehog healing after ‘brutal case of abuse’ Lottie Dean

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university accommodation.

“It’s good to hear the hedgehog is now doing well

at the Cawthorne Hedgehog Rescue and Care Centre.”

A recent study has suggested that rats exposed to high air pollution are more likely to be obese than those breathing in clean air. Unsurprisingly, this has also been hypothesized for humans.

High levels of air pollution can lead to an increased inflammatory response and hence an increased risk of developing metabolic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, factors associated with obesity.

Currently this is just a correlation, but if substantial human evidence were to arise, we may have an even stronger case for lowering our emissions.

Air pollution may not just be destroying the planet, but human health too.

Lauren Nuttall

Danger Drone Authorities are conducting investigations after a British Airways aircraft was suspected to have collided with a drone.

The plane was carrying 132 passengers at the time, none of which were harmed, as the aircraft proceeded to land safely at Heathrow airport.

In the UK, there were 23 close encounters between drones and aircraft, from April to October 2015. The plane was flying at 1700 feet, although law does not permit drones above 400 feet.

The event has sparked wider debate about airspace safety, as possession of drones is on the rise.

Ashley Carley

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NEWS UniNEWS

Cambridge captain raises eyebrows The captain of the Peterhouse College from Cambridge University has become a hit on University Challenge, receiving gifts, proposals, and twitter accounts dedicated to her arched eyebrows.

Hannah Woods, who is the captain of the UC team, has had spoof twitter accounts set up, one for each of her asymmetrical eyebrows, along with a Valentine’s Day card and even a bottle of gin left in her pigeon hole at Uni. The team went on to secure a third consecutive victory for the prestigious University, and Hannah herself has encouraged more women to audition to take part.

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Sheffield’s violent streets: the full story

In the second issue of the year, Forge Press asked the question “How safe is your city?” following an attack on a student in popular nightclub Viper Rooms. A few days previously, South Yorkshire Police had announced that safety measures had been taken prior to Freshers’ week to minimise crime against students. The precautions had been largely successful, with a reduction in crime during the first two weeks of term in comparison to the previous year.

But, this year Forge has reported countless incidents of crime in our “safe” city.

Costly KFC A Gloucestershire student has finally been reunited with his lost KFC meal - at a hefty price.

Callum Meek, from the University of Gloucestershire, dropped his beloved chicken and chips on a night out celebrating handing in an assignment when the handle on his meal broke, leaving his food on the floor.

After a social media hunt, Callum came forward, and now has to pay an £80 fine issued by the borough council.

Callum’s lost meal is thought to be worth around £15, which he said was two weeks’ worth of food to him.

Oops! Didn’t mean to send that An American university has had to apologise after accidentally sending out 5,000 letters of acceptance to prospective students.

The University at Buffalo said it deeply regretted this slight error in communication at such a stressful time for both students and parents.

5,019 inboxes were fooled that day, which is around a fifth of all applicants to the university.

The university did its best to cheer students up of course, by letting them know that many of them still had their applications under review and still had all the odds of actually getting in, for real.

Police hunt for Crookes sex attack suspect Josh Peachey Police are on the hunt for a man who reportedly sexually assaulted a woman in Crookes last Sunday.

The woman was walking along Conduit Road at around 11:55pm on Sunday 10 April.

South Yorkshire Police believe the man approached her, assaulted her, and then made off in the direction of Crookesmoor Road and Northumberland road.

He was reportedly white, around 5’9” and was dressed in dark clothing. He is thought to be in his late 20s or early 30s.

A similar assault happened against a 19-year old student on School Road, which is joined to Conduit road, in October last year.

The police have released an e-fit and are asking anyone who may know the man or may have been a witness, to come forward.

The University has sent an announcement via email to all students about the incident, appealing for information.

If you have any information, call South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident 1 of 11 April 2016. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

NEWS

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Gleadless axe attacker charged with attempted murder Lisa Latham A man accused of assaulting several police officers with an axe on Wednesday 13 April has been charged with attempted murder.

Five police officers were seriously injured in the attack, with one officer, PC Lisa Bates, suffering a severed finger, broken leg and fractured skull.

It started when two officers were called to a “domestic incident” in a block of flats in Gleadless, and escalated when they attempted to arrest the suspect, 35-year-old Nathan Sumner.

Local resident Simon Ellis, 46, spoke to the suspect’s girlfriend as the incident unfolded upstairs. She told him that her boyfriend had gone crazy, was seeing aliens and was trying to kill two police officers. She then took refuge in Ellis’s flat.

As she spoke, PC Bates staggered out of the stairwell followed by Sumner. Mr Ellis said: “It was a frenzied attack, chopping at her with the axe.

She was on the floor with

her baton up, pleading for somebody to help her, to stop him hurting her.”

Mr Ellis managed to drag the officer into his flat and locked the door. He rejects claims of him being a hero, and says: “I’m not having that.

“If I helped, that’s all I’m bothered about. I’m not being dramatic. I just want to make sure she’s all right.”

After allegedly assaulting PC Bates and a colleague, Sumner fled to a nearby co-op, injuring more officers who attempted to restrain him.

He was eventually detained when police used batons and a taser.

Police cordoned off Plowright Close, where the incident happened, to allow access for emergency vehicles. Speaking to The Star, one eyewitness said: “I heard it is the largest ever police response in South Yorkshire, with 27 police cars and five ambulances.”

Sumner is charged with offences, including attempted murder, six counts of assault by beating and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He will appear before Sheffield Crown Court on 13 May. Over £7,000 has been raised in support of all the officers involved in the attack on a Just Giving page set up by Ian Morgan. Users of Facebook

have also been adding blue line filters to their profile pictures in recognition of the bravery of the South Yorkshire Police force.

South Yorkshire MP Louise Haigh and Police and Crime

Commissioner Alan Billings will be visiting Gleadless on Saturday 23 in response to the attack to speak to local residents.

They will be at Newfield Library at 1:30pm.

Forge Press Crime Timeline Sunday 10 April 11:55pm: Woman assaulted Crookes, efit image

released

Tuesday 12 April: Bikers attack woman in car

On 29 September a man stabbed three party-goers in Viper Rooms, Carver Street, including a student. after drinking two bottles of vodka and snorting seven lines of cocaine. Taukeer Hussain has recently been jailed for five years for the attack.

Sunday 17th April: 20 yr old man stabbed on Pomona street, police appealing for info

Thursday 14 April: Man smashed in windows of Sheffield police station

Tuesday 12 April: 22 yr old woman stabbed to death in Gleadless

Thursday 14 April 7:50pm: 19 yr old man stabbed on Club Garden Road

On 10 October a man was assaulted by several youths thought to be aged 14-17 on Woodstock road in Netheredge. The victim sustained injuries to his mouth and head.

The attack came just over two weeks after a similar incident on the same street.

Saturday 16 April 2:00am: 29 yr old man stabbed in Manor Parkway, 30 yr old woman arrested on suspicion

On 21 December a 22-year-old man was shot and killed in Sheffield city centre in an attack thought to be related to a long-standing feud between rival groups. Jordan Thomas was shot while stopped at traffic lights in his car and later died of his injuries.

Words and design by Lisa Latham and Chloe Coleman

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NEWS

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

@ForgePress /ForgePress

University Professor: uni students don’t read books Emma Bragg

Students are facing criticism from academics, suggesting that they are incapable of reading entire books.

University academics have frustrated students by claiming that many find reading books to the end “daunting”, as they are incapable of focusing on complex theories and have short attention spans.

Jenny Pickerill, a professor in Environmental Geography at Sheffield, told Times Higher Education magazine: “Students struggle with set texs, saying the language or concepts are too hard”.

However, students of Sheffield have hit back at professors, insisting that they aren’t given enough time to finish them.

Minesh Parekh, Education Officer at University of Sheffield Students’ told The Independent: “It’s just not true that students find reading whole

books too challenging.

“The reason some students don’t read whole books isn’t because they struggle to, but because of problems with how we’re assessed.

“The over-emphasis on assessment means that when writing an essay or preparing for exams it makes more sense to read a journal article or chapter of a book”.

With so much emphasis to do well in exams and written assessments, some students have argued that the time frame given to complete entire books is unrealistic.

Some feel that the pressure and regularity of essays and coursework has made it difficult to read extensive books that could be up to four-hundred pages long.

A number of assessments do not require large texts to be read and specific information can be attained through selected chapters or journals specifically tailored to research areas.

When modules require extensive reading, espeically as assessment hand-ins draw closer and closer, many students have found time management becomes an

One half of the volunteers will take two 7mg capsules per day of of lycopene supplement containing lactolycopene, whereas the other half of volunteers will take identical placebo dummy capsules.

In order to keep the study as unbiased as possible, neither the volunteers or researchers will be aware of who had what capsule.

After this, the volunteers will provide three sperm and blood samples, in order to

check lycopene levels and to see if some individuals absorb lycopene more readily than others.

Eventually, the study intends to discover whether Lycopene has a positive effect on participants’ sperm.

The research will be led by Professor Allan Pacey, one of Britain’s leading experts on male infertility.

The first half of the group will receive twice-daily capsules of the over-the-counter

issue and they are forced to choose between reading time and focusing on assessments.

Come and receive free amazon vouchers Jess Davis

The University of Sheffield has launched a study of sperm in the name of science.

The study is calling for male volunteers across campus aged between 18-30 to take part in the new study in return for a £75 Amazon voucher.

Volunteers will be asked to take Lycopene, the red pigment found in tomatoes and other red fruits, whilst donating samples of their secret sauce.

supplement called XY Pro, and the other half will receive identical dummy capsules.

Lycopene has been suggested as a possible treatment option for male infertility due to the antioxidant properties of Lycopene, which may counteract the damage inflicted on sperm caused by stress.

The study and others like it have come about due to the statistic that one in six couples are unable to conceive naturally.

Studies have already shown that lycopene, the red pigment compound found most readily in sun-ripened tomatoes, can boost sperm count by up to 70 per cent, as well as conferring other benefits on the male reproductive system.

The study will last for three months.

We asked some male students from the University of Sheffield what they thought about the research, and whether they would be tempted by the voucher.

Josh Shreeve, 21, journalism student, said: “As long as no one was impregnated by me, I don’t see a problem with it! ”

People drink alcohol Ellena Rowlin

‘Pre-drinking’ is not only a common occurrence for young people but also for older drinkers, according to research undertaken by The University of Sheffield.

The group, funded by Alcohol Research UK, found that while heavy drinking is still an issue in young and older adults alike, most consumption is moderate and sociable. Between 2009 and 2011, 46 per cent of drinking in the UK involved relaxed drinking at home.

The findings come from drinking diaries completed by 90,000 adults as part of Kantar Worldpanel’s Alcovision study.

Participants detailed how much they drank, where, when and for what reasons.

The researchers at the University’s School of Health and Related Research used the diaries to identify eight main types of drinking occasion.

Dr James Nicholls, Director of Research and Policy Development at Alcohol Research UK, said: “The idea that there is a single British drinking culture is wrong.

Drinking behaviours have changed enormously over time, and there are wide variations within society.”

The Union flapJack Ellena Rowlin A cake shop on Devonshire Street could be facing legal action after painting a Union Jack on the front of the shop.

Cakes ‘R’ Us owner, David Chan, said he painted the shop in an act of “national pride.”

Sheffield City Council said that he did not have consent for the work, and in a report said: “Whilst the need of the business to advertise its presence and attract custom is recognised there is no justification for garish and unsympathetic painting of the shop front.”

A complaint about the shop was received in January 2015.

The council wrote to Mr Chan to say the design was “unacceptable”. He said he had “no intention of repainting the shop” and would instead apply for consent.

The council’s planning committee will meet on 26 April to discuss further action.

Mr Chan said he will write to the Queen if the council makes him repaint the shop.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

NUS votes to limit Yik Yak and other troll acounts Joshua Hackett The NUS National Conference has voted in favour of introducing limits on Yik Yak, Facebook and Twitter during SU election periods.

While the motion concedes that social media during election time does “more good than harm”, it calls attention to “anonymous and troll accounts during election periods”.

The motion was light on exactly how such restrictions might be accomplished, but calls on the NUS to “open a dialogue” with the Silicon Valley giants, none of whom had commented at the time of print.

NUS president Megan Dunn branded the anonymous discussion app Yik Yak “a particular menace” to SU elections.

Such restrictions would likely impact on the University of Sheffield’s @GuidoForge, an anonymously run account which tweeted to much acclaim during this year’s election

period.

The motion, titled “Safe Social Elections”, was proposed by the University of Surrey Students’ Union.

The reaction on social media has been polarised, attracting harsh criticism from students and non-students alike. Delegates from Oxford university tweeting at @ ohwellalright called the motion “awful” and “censorship”.

The annual conference, held this year in Brighton, brings nearly one thousand delegates together to discuss and vote on national motions, as well as to elect the next NUS officers.

It calls itself “the world’s largest democratic gathering of students”.

On Wednesday, the conference also independently voted for motion 314, which seeks to reduce restrictions on student media election coverage.

This could mean that the reporting restrictions which bound Forge this year may not be repeated. All Forge outlets

were not permitted to release full voting results until the next day, in the interest of candidate welfare.

The NUS conference also voted to elect Malia Bouattia, incumbent black students officer, as its new president.

ASSIST holds eight- Fans fooled by Jim hour poem-a-thon Carrey rumours Will Morgan An eight hour ‘poem-a-thon’ raised £140000 for charity on April 2, with 48 poets attending to read out their work.

ASSIST Sheffield is a charity that helps homeless asylum seekers in the city by providing food, shelter and guidance to those who find themselves homeless after having had their initial claim for asylum rejected.

The event was held at The Art House gallery situated off Division Street and parts of the

event became standing room only.

Each poet spoke for eightminutes.

The poets included: Sally Goldsmith, Helen Mort, Ruby Robinson, Kathy Towers and Seni Seneviratne.

The £14000 raised was three times the original target and was the most successful fundraiser for ASSIST Sheffield so far.

For details about ASSIST Sheffield visit their website: assistsheffield.org.uk

Josh Peachey Last week people in Norwich were fooled by fictitious rumours that Johnny Depp was moving there in search of more ‘genuine’ people, now there are almost identical rumours that Jim Carrey is coming to Sheffield.

The first story, with its quotes that Mr Depp wanted to “just live in a place full of real, genuine people” was utter fiction. But more than 600 people commented on it many of them welcoming the Edward Scissorhands star to Norfolk.

Now an almost identical story which uses the same quotes has pranked Sheffield residents.

Both stories included fictitious quotes such as “I’m just tired of the L.A. lifestyle” and “I’m just looking for a change in life and I think I’ve found that.”

Tramlines even capitalised on this publicity opportunity by tweeting out a picture of Carrey with a cheesy grin on his face photoshopped into a picture of a previous Tramlines festival.

Linda Barradale from Richmond, Sheffield, commented: “Sheffield people are genuine, hope you have a dog, look forward to seeing you walking it in Endcliffe park & seeing you at Bramall lane.”

Clearly Linda hasn’t seen the awkward apology video from Depp about his dog.

NEWS

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NATIONAL NEWS Boaty McBoatface wins the race…almost RRS Boaty McBoatface has been announced as the winner of a poll to name a new £200m polar research ship.

The poll, which was opened to the public, went viral last month after the name was suggested.

The Natural Environment Research Council opened up suggestions of what to name the new ship.

Boaty McBoatface came in first with 124,109 votes, whilst second place received only 34, 371.

The name, initially put forward by former BBC radio presenter James Hand, took off unexpectedly and received tremendous support from the public.

Boaty McBoatface beat off competition from the likes of ‘David Attenborough’, ‘Pingu’ and “Its Bloody Cold Here” to take the ‘prestigious’ title.

However, chief executive of the NERC, Duncan Wingham, who has the final call, is left to make the decision.

Will he keep up the credibility of the organisation or the hopes of the humorous general public?

Fears of increase in young people trying anal sex Government officials are concerned in the increase of young people having anal sex.

The increased popularity of the act has puzzled Department of Culture representatives, as research suggests it is “unpleasurable” for women.

The Department has issued a warning in a consultation document to implement harsher restrictions on accessing online pornography.

The document insists that young people are trying anal sex after viewing pornography and argues that it causes damaging representations of consent and sexual fantasy.

The report says: “Many people worry that young people will come to expect their real life sexual experiences to mirror what they or their peers see in pornography, which often features ambiguous depictions of consent, submissive female stereotypes and unrealistic scenarios,” the consultation states.

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NEWS

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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Know your vote: council elections, EU referendum Josh Peachey

Sheffield is set to have three different elections on 5 May, to elect councillors for the different wards, a new Police and Crime Commissioner and a new MP. Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough constituents will be voting to elect a new MP after Labour’s Harry Harpham passed away after a battle with cancer in February of this year.

In Sheffield, there are 84 elected councillors with three councillors for each of the 28 wards. There are currently 59 Labour councillors, 17 Liberal Democrats, four Greens and four from UKIP. University of Sheffield students living in Endcliffe and Ranmoor student villages will be able to vote for three councillors for the Fulwood ward and their nearest polling stations are The Edge for Endcliffe and St John’s Ranmoor Parish Centre for Ranmoor residents.

Students living in or around the Crookesmoor area will

either be in the Broomhill & Sharrow Vale, Crookes & Crosspool, or Walkley ward.

You can check your ward online on the Sheffield Council website by entering your postcode.

Polling cards with the details of where your nearest polling station is and which ward you live in should have already been delivered.

Councillors are elected representatives who play a key role in serving the public, aiding local business, and managing services such as public transport, housing, schools, and campaigns.

It takes less than 10 minutes to check out who’s running in the local elections. Sheffield students should visit their nearest polling station on May 5 to cast an important vote, which ultimately affects their time in Sheffield.

Registering to vote for these elections closed on April 18 but many students will still be registered from the general election last year.

Polling hours are between 7am and 10pm but voters

should check what time their local station is open by looking at their polling card. You do not need to take your polling card to vote on the day.

The election for the new Police and Crime commissioner for South Yorkshire takes place once every four years and

voters from all Sheffield areas will be able to vote this year.

Alan Billings, the current PCC representing the Labour party, is running against four other candidates, one each from the English Democrats, UKIP, Liberal Democrats, and the Conservatives.

Our Cow Molly, the dairy farm that supplies the University of Sheffield with all of its milk, has earned a spot in the BBC Food and Farming Awards finals.

The family business is competing in the Future Food category, which looks at innovative supply chains that could influence how the UK’s food and drink will be grown,

distributed, and sold in future.

Eddie Andrew, who runs the farm located on the outskirts of Sheffield, said: “The University of Sheffield is the only university at the moment that gets its milk straight from a dairy farm.

“It’s a real shame that the majority of the milk out there has just taken so long to get from a dairy farm to the end user, so the BBC are looking

The University of Sheffield has been ranked above Oxbridge in a recent poll voted by students.

The poll was made by Whatuni.com and analysed the viewpoints of over 20,000 student reviews, showing just how much we love it here.

The University of Sheffield was also placed 50 places above Sheffield Hallam University and also trumped UCL, Durham, Birmingham and York to name a few.

As well as this, 94 per cent of Sheffield undergraduates had found a job or went on to further study after graduating.

The poll ranked 125 universities across 10 different categories.

Forge20 blaze it

Local dairy farm in with a chance of BBC Award Josh Peachey

Sheffield aces poll results

at the University and how they get their milk direct from their local dairy farm, incredibly fresh, as a positive idea for the future.”

The family business, which started in 1947 by Eddie’s granddad, prides itself on the freshness of the milk which it supplies to all the University buildings and cafes as well as 1,000 door steps daily.

Eddie also said: “The

University puts its order in at 5pm. We bring the dairy cows in from the fields and then take them through the milking parlour. That milk then goes straight into our pasteurising dairy, which separates it into whole milk, semi skimmed, and skimmed milk.

“We bottle it through the night and deliver it in the morning. It’s only a few hours from the cows being made straight into coffee at the Uni cafés. The fresher the milk is, the better it foams, the sweeter it tastes, and it enhances the whole drink. It does make a significant difference.”

Our Cow Molly is going head to head with the McDonald’s in Sheffield, who have a relationship with local beef farmers. Eddie said that a major difference between his dairy farm and his competitor was that the beef supply chain is only a small part of McDonald’s business, whilst providing super fresh quality milk represents the whole of Our Cow Molly.

The winner will be announced on Thursday 28 at the BBC Awards ceremony in Bristol.

The inhabitants of Sheffield, the UK’s greenest city, have been celebrating the international day for stoners ’420’.

The day on which large quantities of marijuana are consumed has obscure origins.

The most common origin story is that it was the time at which a group of students searched for a legendary cannabis crop, it soon devolved into just being the time of day at which people smoked weed.

The holiday took place on a day of blazing sunshine, possibly explaining the haze over Devonshire Green.

Speaking to Forge Press, the Devonshire Street based head-shop Balance said that they had “four dozen” more people come in to just buy “the essentials”, meaning large hemp “cigarette” skins.

A ‘chronic’ smoker, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It’s been a spliffing day so far, though it started off as a slow burn. I had a toot on a fruity zoot to start my day and I’m currently choosing between whiteying or getting some chicken nuggets.”

The shop was also selling half-foot long blunt cones and 24-carat gold blunt wraps for stoners who fancied splashing out to have a dope day.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

NEWS

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SU Officers critical of planned Assange Festival of Debate talk

Chloe Coleman

SU Officers are critical of the Students’ Union’s decision to host a talk by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

Assange will be speaking via video link in Foundry as part of the Festival of Debate on Thursday 12 May. The journalist, publisher and internet activist became a controversial figure when he founded Wikileaks in 2006, an online publisher that supports whistleblowers, promotes government transparency and has supported leaks released by people such as ex-US soldier Chelsea Manning and former CIA employee Edward Snowden.

Assange, who was subject to extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning regarding an allegation of a “lesser-degree rape”, has currently been granted asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

A statement given by SU

President Christy McMorrow and Women’s Officer Sharmin Jahan highlights that due to the ‘Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment’ policy: “Unfortunately, the policy does not directly relate to No Platform issues or the Assange case, and as this matter somewhat ambiguous.

However we are working on a policy in relation to ‘no platforming’, safe-spaces, to ensure a clear protocol for the future.”

They state the “reason [they] are critical of Assange speaking at the students’ Union is because in November 2010 Assange was alleged to have committed two counts of sexual molestation and one count of unlawful coercion against two women during a visit to Sweden that August, and was wanted for questioning in Sweden.”

In the talk, which is part of the In Conversation series, is hosted by The Canary’s Kerry Anne Mendoza and presented

by Opus Independents’ Festival of Debate, Julian will discuss his work via video link from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Despite the criticisms and issues raised by the SU officers, they have said they “have an agreement to work with [the Festival of Debate]

through the Students’ Union.

[They] will endeavour to build in a stronger conversation with external partners over choices of speakers in the future.”

Your MP says: Dozens of new Don’t lose your say acts for Tramlines on your future Paul Blomfield MP

Joshua Hackett A slew of new acts have been added to the Tramlines Festival 2016 bill.

New additions to the lineup include David Rodigan, Mr Scruff and MC Kwasi.

Veteran Craig Charles, who has performed virtually every year since the festival’s ceation, will also be returning.

Already announced are Catfish and the Bottlemen, Dizzy Rascal, Kelis, Mystery Jets and dozens more.

Director Sarah Nulty is calling the 2016 event, which will take place from July 22nd, the biggest yet.

She said, “We’ve upped the

capacity and organised tickets so more people can see their favourite acts.”

“In the first couple of years it was very hard for us to get the acts we wanted. But as we’ve grown, the festival’s amazing reputation has spread.”

The festival makes use of dozens of venues, ranging from City Hall, the Leadmill and Sheffield Cathedral, to outdoor locales such as Endcliffe Park and the Ponderosa park in Crookesmoor.

The Tramlines main stage moved from Devonshire Green to the Ponderosa park last year, to cope with the increase in crowd numbers. Now, over 8,000 can be accommodated

at the main stage alone.

Tickets are now priced at £42 for a full weekend pass. This is an increase on last year’s price, which organisers say reflects the “higher calibre” of acts.

Running since 2009, the first few years of Tramlines were free, with the first ticketed festival in 2013.

It’s now widely regarded as the UK’s biggest inner-city music festival, having won “Best Metropolitan Festival” at the UK Festival Awards.

Tramlines organisers are also making slots available for local up-and-coming talent, who can apply to perform via the festival website.

Young people will decide the outcome of the EU referendum on 23 June. And all those I have spoken to overwhelmingly support remaining in Europe. But that doesn’t mean it’s a forgone conclusion.

Polls show that while 80% of over-65s will vote, only 40% of under 25s are certain to do so.

If that’s what happens, we risk leaving. Polls suggest that over 65’s, who will be least affected by the consequences, will vote against Europe by a ratio of 2:1. Young people see the benefits of studying in cities like Barcelona and Prague as part of the EU’s Erasmus programme. Huge chunks of university finances flow from the EU. Collaboration with other EU universities delivers cutting-edge research.

But it’s more than that. As well as the chance of working across Europe, up to a million jobs here could be at risk if we leave. So would important protections for workers, consumers and the environment.

We’re better working with our neighbours in tackling the big issues – from climate change, to corporate tax avoidance –

not turning our backs on the world.

Ask yourself whether and where you’re registered to vote. If you’ll not be there on 23 June, register for a postal vote. It’s easy; you can do it here https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote .

Don’t lose your say on your future.

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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COMMENT

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Check out News’ report on the local elections on page 8 Chris Saltmarsh

Sheffield Town Hall in all its brown majesty

Keep your own council

A

Robin Wilde

t their most basic, councils exist to be moaned about. It’s a long standing tradition in this country to idolise the community group protesting against library cuts or closures, pushed through by humourless councillors with overinflated egos and waistlines.

But it’s not easy to run a council.

Over the past few years, some of the most deprived council areas - Sheffield among them - have faced swingeing budget cuts from central government, leaving them with a pittance with which to work.

Given the much smaller pot of money, it becomes correspondingly more important how that money is spent. Yet council elections, which occur yearly in so many places, see turnouts often under 30 per cent.

Several factors are probably responsible - not least a lack of awareness of what the council does. Councils aren’t totally to blame for this - functionally they’re quite boring, and most have neither the time nor inclination to care very much. But when they’re the first point of interaction with the government for most people, that understanding should be spread.

Second is the propensity to be blamed. Councils are held under strict financial rules. They cannot run a deficit, or their running will be taken over by the Department for Communities and Local Government. They cannot raise council tax by more than 2 per cent without a local referendum, and their central government grants are cut smaller and smaller, leaving them with little choice but to make cuts in services.

People unsurprisingly don’t like cuts that affect them, and since it’s the council making the direct decision, they’re often the easiest target for local ire.

You might have seen over the last few years the protests and fuss over libraries and trees.

But to focus on the negatives - and with any system containing humans, there will always be negatives - is to ignore a huge amount of achievement.

Despite having to hand them over to volunteers, the libraries remain open.

Sheffield’s schools, care homes and roads remain open and in reasonable condition. Council tax remains low. After six years of cuts, it’s important more than ever that Sheffield finds a way to weather the storm.

The right to hold their local officials to account is a right yearned for by millions around the world Councillors, contrary to the stereotype, are largely not careerists. Simply put, it’s not a great way to build a career. Unless you’re a cabinet member it’s not a full time job, and the pay is hardly great. To be elected in the first place you have to put in months of gruelling work, canvassing, leafleting and going to events, often with no guaran-

Sheffield’s local elections are taking place on 5 May - the same day as the election for a new MP for Hillsborough and Brightside, and the election for South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

This year’s elections are all out, meaning that unlike normal years, all the councillors are being elected at once. This is because some of the ward boundaries and names have changed - including Conduit Road being moved into Crookes and Crosspool ward, and Broomhill being redrawn as Broomhill and Sharrow Vale.

Your polling station should be on your polling card, and you’ll have three votes for your councillors, as well as a vote for the new PCC. Fulwood ward, where the Endcliffe and Ranmoor villages are located, is a relatively safe Liberal Democrat ward, but came close for Labour last year when heavy student turnout for the General Election reached 75 per cent.

Crookes and Crosspool is a split and relatively marginal ward, with two Labour councillors and one Liberal Democrat. Broomhill and Sharrow Vale, another student-heavy ward, is a battleground between Labour and the Green Party, as is City Centre.

The PCC election is held under Supplementary Vote: if your first preference doesn’t reach 50 per cent, second preferences will be distributed to the top two candidates - one of whom will win.

As it stands, Sheffield City Council is composed of 59 Labour councillors, 17 Liberal Democrat councillors (mostly elected from the west and south west of the city), and four councillors apiece for the Greens and UKIP. The city has been in Labour hands since 2011, when the former Lib Dem administration was swept from office in a landslide. Former Lib Dem council leader Paul Scriven, now a member of the House of Lords, is standing for election in Ecclesall ward after being defeated in Broomhill in 2012.

Alan Billings is the sitting Police and Crime Commissioner, having taken office in a 2014 by-election held after the resignation of Shaun Wright, the former Labour PCC. In the by-election, Labour held the position with a huge majority on first preferences, avoiding the need for a second round of counting.

Polls are open on May 5th from 7am to 10pm.

tee of success. It takes a special kind of commitment to one’s community to dedicate at least four years of service to them and their problems, which can vary from the petty to the truly depressing.

They do that job firstly so that you can avoid having a local authority run by faceless, unaccountable managers, and secondly so that you don’t have to do the dirty work of democracy yourself.

Britain has its local democracy about right. It’s not on the rather strange level of America, with its elected police sheriffs and school boards, but is still reasonably close and accountable. You would be hard pressed to find a city council official who would take a hard cash bribe, as in so much of the world.

You have no idea how important those rights are until they are gone. The right to hold their local officials to account is a right yearned for by millions around the world - and while our council isn’t perfect, the bins are collected, the traffic lights work, and the buses run. That’s something to be thankful for.

So before you get annoyed when an earnest council candidate knocks on your door, or you’re deluged with leaflets, think. Consider what that person has given up to stand, why they’ve decided to take on that responsibility, and what priorities they stand for. You’re not always going to agree with them, but admire them for their grit. And even if it’s a scribbled ballot, and you can’t muster the energy even to cross a box for the best option for you, vote on 5 May.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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@ForgePress /ForgePress

COMMENT

Stop horsing around

T

Europe isn’t the only issue facing britain this summer

T

David goodman

he recent announcement by Indian steelmakers Tata Steel that they would be ceasing operations at their Port Talbot plant has thrust the steel crisis to the forefront of public consciousness. The imminent closure has endangered thousands of jobs and there is a looming sense of an industry at its end. Unless another buyer can be found to take ownership of the facility - unlikely given how little reward and how much risk the steel industry offers in this moment - Port Talbot won’t survive.

Worldwide the industry is suffering, brought about by a huge influx of cheap Chinese steel. China’s growth and development has slowed in recent years, and there is no longer a need to produce the amount of steel required for massive infrastructure projects. This has led to a surplus of steel which China is selling at below market value.

The Conservative government led

by David Cameron has been criticised for both failing to intervene in the steel industry’s interests, as well as actively working against them by blocking recent EU proposals for higher tariffs on Chinese imports. The EU is actually a tricky factor in all this, as although they wish to tax cheap Chinese imports more highly in order for domestically produced steel to be more competitive,

EU regulations that prohibit state aid have prevented governments from ‘bailing out’ failing companies. With an upcoming referendum on Britain’s membership status within the EU, this has left Labour in the unenviable position of being the workers’ party that is unable to stand up for its members because of EU rules, while also stridently arguing in favour of our continued membership in the union because of the benefits it brings us.

how devastating the effects of thousands of job losses will be The argument is over whether or not the government should step in and provide financial assistance in order save the steel industry, and the case seems unanswerable. During the global financial crisis, the government stepped in and bailed out the banking industry, so for it to not offer assistance to the steel industry during its time of crisis would be unfair. This hypocrisy would only further the growing feeling in society that there is one rule for the rich and powerful, and another for the average citizen. Ever growing wealth inequality in almost all of the

developed world, and more acutely catalytic events such the recent Panama Papers leak which exposed some of the large scale offshore tax avoidance measures used by the world’s wealthiest individuals, has only compounded this disillusionment with the way our current economic and political systems work.

Regardless of which course of action the action the government decides to take, this will be a fascinating insight into the true nature of its ideology.

Does the government wish to champion the principles of free market capitalism and its survival of the fittest ethos, where the one overriding objective is to generate as much profit as possible, and those who are unsuccessful in turning a profit should be left to fail. Or perhaps we will get to discover whether compassionate conservatism was ever anything more than a soundbite? We will have to wait and see if the government recognises how devastating the effects of thousands of job losses will be, not just on those families directly impacted, but in the wider communities of Port Talbot, Scunthorpe and Redcar.

Although much of the news coverage of the steel crisis has focused on other parts of the country, Sheffield too has been affected in recent times.

Despite no longer being the industrial powerhouse of old (the ‘Steel City’ has in recent times rebranded itself

as a modern, cultural hub), there is still steel production based in the city.

Sheffield Forgemasters has a staff of around 750 and the business focuses on specialised components for the energy and defence sectors, including parts for Britain’s fleet of Trident nuclear submarines. Despite the reduced scale of the works, increased modernisation and automation and being highly specialised the business had its first loss-making, year in 2014. In January of this year, and they announced that they would be cutting 100 jobs.

Further to that, another steel firm based in the city, the Finnish company Outokumpu, announced that it would be letting go 50 of its 600 strong workforce. These 150 cuts, although not as devastating as the potential 4000 losses in Port Talbot, or last year’s 1000 in Redcar, are still damning evidence of the British Steel industry’s continuing decline. It seems inevitable that one day in the not too distant future, there will no longer be a steel industry in the UK. Whether this is something that the government should safeguard against is a debate that we are likely to hear numerous times over the coming years.

Or perhaps in the spirit of democracy, much like the EU question we the British public will answer on June 23rd, we should have a referendum on whether or not to save the steel industry.

kate marron

he Grand National began in 1839, and the event has developed over the years. The first five Grand National races included a solid stone wall jump, which has now been replaced. Despite that change, 24 horses have died in this race since 2000, and little has been done to protect horses in races since.

As a rider, I understand the dangers of any equine sport. Devastating cases of horses and riders suffering fatal injuries occur even at amateur levels. However, something makes the Grand National stand out. No other equine sport has such a high death toll and racing regulations are of a low standard. This, combined with the risk to the horse’s life, means this event resembles little more than a bloodsport. The desire to win completely overrides any interest in the horses’ welfare. Granted, poor regulations run throughout racing, but few races, if any, are as deadly as the National. Beaten and bruised, though lucky to be alive, many horses sustain permanent injuries, leaving them in a state of agony for the remainder of their lives.

With four horses dead as a consequence of this year’s race, one does have to question why any owner would enter their horse into such an event. For most riders, their horse is a cherished companion. They would never put something so dear to them in great danger. Would you enter your pet into a deadly event? It’s the same for (respectable) horse owners. We look down on and criminalise greyhound owners found beating their dog after a race, yet the National glamorises cruelty to thousands of spectators and few people bat an eyelid.

The owners who enter their horses into the National see it as an investment and care little about the horse itself.

Jockeys seem to lack empathy for the horses they ride. Ruby Walsh, winning National jockey, is a prime example.

After the death of a horse during the Cheltenham Cup, he made the comment that ‘racehorses are replaceable.’

Clearly Walsh’s career isn’t founded on a love of animals. Anyone remotely concerned with animal welfare would boycott this spectacle, not contribute to it.

It’s supported by people who don’t understand the risks, or simply don’t care, and the latter are a sad state of affairs. There is only one way the Grand National could be redeemed new regulations to improve horse and rider safety. If measures were taken to improve the National and ensure equine safety, these would be lessened.

Until this happens, I will continue to boycott this event and implore you to do the same. Do not be fooled by the glamour and prestige. Know that even though the coverage may be finished, the repercussions see many more lives wasted when they’re put down due to agonising injuries. If however, you continue to support it, know that bets you place, and winnings you make are tainted by every fatality, every fracture and every trauma an innocent animal has undergone for your entertainment.

These people are only interested in money and attention - starve them and the cruelty will end.

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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COMMENT

@ForgePress /ForgePress

Check out Features’ guide to the Panama revelations on page 16

wE NEED TO COME TO TERMS WITH BEING RULED BY LIZARDS a mAN, a PlAN, a cABAL, pANAMA

W

Michael Chilton

e have been told to draw many lessons and revelations from the most recent and biggest whistleblower leak. The responses fall into four broad camps - those telling us to be shocked, those telling us to not be shocked, those telling us to not let this leak fade into obscurity and those telling us action is needed.

The Panama Papers will fade into obscurity, and we shouldn’t be shocked by this. Glenn Greenwald alludes to this in his own article in the Intercept where he stated that “scandal had been legalised”. This kind of behaviour has been legalised and normalised over subsequent decades to the point that when we finally discover it explicitly we aren’t really shocked. An eye roll and a brief sigh, maybe, but we only confirmed what we already knew.

Despite this initial reaction, there is still something to learn from all this, or at least be reminded of. And it is a lesson that has been intently buried by nearly all broadcasters and media outlets, keen to reinforce their own narrative of events in an ominous Orwellian affair. We have many western media outlets such as the BBC screaming that Putin is the chief story in this scandal while outlets not so aliened or western inclined spouting that the Panama Papers show the corruption of western free market capitalism; rotten to the core.

The agendas at hand of course are the reason for this, vilification from all sides to demonise the other. And while we are so caught up in this we

seem to overlook the fact that all these guilty parties, be they corrupt Russian premiers or wealthy PM’s fathers, are involved in the same scheme, the same firm and the same immoral acts. One could begin to question all the apparent differences between these wealthy elites when considering how easy it is for their interests to align. It doesn’t seem to matter if you are a member of a communist government, leader of a kleptocratic regime or fierce proponent of free market capitalism.

They clearly have no qualms about getting in the same bed over tax avoidance and evasion, making you reconsider all the rhetoric we hear them throw. It seems that, more often than not, wealthy elites are happy to at the very least coexist to ensure their own interests are secured - and what better shared interest is there for them than making and securing their vast fortunes?

The reason this should be highlighted after this leak is all too often we fall into the narratives woven by the powers that be, despite our best efforts to escape and fight them. The leaked Mossack Fonseca papers are a clear example of this. We should fall in line and form up around our own corrupt elite, ignoring their wrongdoing and crying out in outrage over the wrongdoing of others, seems to be the mantra of the day. Any real change therefore can’t come from one country demanding others step up but unilaterally from the bottom up.

We should not expect an elite claiming to represent our interests to regulate themselves because they simply will not. The recent soundbite that has been coming out of our own government (as an example of this)

has been that this government “has done more than any previous to clamp down on tax avoidance”. This I liken to someone claiming to have done more to prevent their friend from committing murder by saying they shouldn’t do so.

This comparative argument to previous governments just does not hold. The truth is this government has done nothing of substance to combat tax avoidance and have been furthering it by voting against measure to help end such tax avoidance schemes.

This drives home the fact that our government, like any other, cannot be trusted to fight the wealthy elites attempts to avoid and evade tax.

The powers that be are happy to peddle tribalism when it suits them the “them and us” mentality is always a tried and tested model to ensure political mandate. More often than not it is an outright lie. We are not being led by benevolent leaders, but just a slim portion of the wealthy elite out there, who are all in agreement that they shouldn’t pay tax.

Share your views on the Panama Papers with us - email press. comment@forgetoday.com, or tweet @ForgePress

H

Will morgan

atched and raised separately from human society, the Lizard King finds recent events upsetting.

Many of the structures of power that have hidden both his finances and forked tongue have begun to crumble under the weight of leaked documents, the pressure from the moon-lizard elders was increasing. He had to act.

A hiss echoes around the chamber as the Lizard King enters. His reptilian kin beat their chest and screech their approval before he takes his place, licks his eyeballs, and tells the country that there is nothing shady in holding large sums of money in offshore accounts.

This might seem a disingenuous, or maybe even childish, way to describe the country’s ruling elite because, after all, David Cameron has yet to be seen to shed his skin and his preferred diet would probably be molluscs rather than insects. Yet, following the Panama Papers leak, do we not get a sense of a separate species living amongst us? People for whom a £200,000 gift from a family member could even be a possibility, let alone a reality, live so apart from those of us who drink Sainsbury’s Basics vodka and consider fruit a luxury that they clearly are a separate species.

I must confesss that I have no physical evidence of Dave’s scales because for me, like most people, politicians are just intangible images on a television.

However, I do have plenty of proof of his cold blood. Whether its crushing a generation of young people with student debt, auctioning off parts of the NHS or choosing to ransack the welfare budget to feed the Tory’s misguided deficit reduction plan – there can be little doubt that no warmth runs in the veins of the Conservative front bench.

What we can gain from seeing the ruling elite for the reptoid moon-lizards that they are is a greater understanding of how ridiculous and universally hated legislation, like the bedroom tax, can be implemented and defended by elected officials.

The Conservatives have been attempting to implement a “snooper’s charter” since the last parliament so that they can read our texts, emails and internet history without needing the authority of the pesky judicial system, yet many Conservative MPs had the gall, following the Panama Papers leak, to say that seeing their tax returns is an invasion of their privacy.

Despite having cared for his disabled son and experiencing the struggles surrounding disability, David Cameron has overseen reform to Disability benefit that have led to the suffering of literal thousands of disabled people who were assessed as capable to work.

David Cameron was caught smoking weed at school yet his government has quashed multiple attempts at drug reform, including a report from the Home Office that drug laws do not lead to lower drug use.

So why is it okay for 16 year old David Cameron to get stoned on a school night but not for grown adults to have a spliff and a glass of wine before bed?

Why is it okay for the financially sound Cameron to cut the money that disabled people live off whilst so many corporations pay little to no tax?

Why is it okay for Tory MPs to hide their finances but not for me to hide my Wiki walks from the government?

Because these people lead lives so detached from our own worries of money, food, health and housing that if they aren’t moon lizards, they might as well be.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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@ForgePress /ForgePress

COMMENT

T

he new Comment editors for 2016/17 would love to get to know you - and the best way is to rummage around in your brains and give you amazing advice.

To receive our agony relations’ advice in response to your problem, email press.comment@forgetoday.com, or tweet us at @ForgePress

I am in a band in which my drummer is getting ideas above his station. How do I prevent this sudden boost in his ego? - James Fahey

J

ames you need to act quickly. If this has only been a recent occurrence I would recommend duct tape (the Scotch brand, durable yet also cheap) to seal their orifices. This will ensure the ego is contained however may result in internal bleeding. But that is okay because that is where the blood is supposed to be.

It however may already be too late, luckily for you drummers only hit things and can be replace. Find a secluded and quite place in the peaks and “resolve” this problem. Ideally have the new drummer do it for you to show his commitment to the band.

A miracle on ice. Photo Credit: Graham Haley

Yours, Michael

Complaining about varsity just isn’t cricket (or football, or korfball)

I

Robin Wilde

t won’t come as any surprise to the people who know me that sport isn’t really my thing. Apart from a brief, racquet-flailing attempt at tennis in my teenage years, and several years at karate (I only indulge the most esoteric combinations) my sporting prowess extends little beyond once running away from a firework-wielding mob.

So it was something of a surprise how involved I got when I showed up to Dartsity over the weekend. Though not an official part of Varsity (think of it more as a pilot episode) it was carried off with all the professionalism and atmosphere of a real and integral part of the event. I found myself cheering and chanting with the rest, although I think it’s to my credit that I didn’t throw any pints.

There are plenty of people at this institution who’ll sneer at Varsity for various reasons (sport, they reason, is nothing of any importance). It consists of teams of people with physical ability but little by way of brains battling for superiority in games with arbitrary rules. There’s a non-zero number of times where this might be true. But to think of sports like that is to thoroughly miss the point.

The point of sport is not to belittle others, but to engage in friendly competition and displays of physical

strength, skill and endurance that we evolutionarily find impressive. That makes it sound grimly mechanical, so it’s worth emphasising that there is a social element too. It’s a way of bringing people together, to see common humanity shared in support of your candidate and your team.

Is it a cipher for some kind of suppressed tendency towards nationalism, as certain killjoys would suggest? Yes, probably. But to criticise on that basis supposes that human beings aren’t innately tribal. It should be obvious that we are - otherwise we would never have formed tribes. And if we’re going to be that way, I’d rather it took the form of a basically friendly sporting rivalry than showed itself on the battlefield.

“it can sometimes be hard to see the institutions which really bind people together” Though there have been incidents of nastiness or stupidity throughout the competition, the sportspeople and supporters have basically been courteous and rubbed along well

throughout. Think about how often you spend significant amounts of time with people from the Other Place and then consider whether there’s any context but Varsity which could more easily make that happen.

Then there’s the stickier issue of class and prestige. Yes, the University of Sheffield sits higher up the rankings than Hallam. Yep, a lot of those chants (‘your dad works for my dad’) are crass and unpleasant. But at the end of the day, Hallam students are still at university.

They’re still of higher social status than most of the people they sit next to on the bus, and it’s not as though we can pretend that ‘I’d rather be a poly than a ****’ is not a nasty little chant. But the point is it’s the same variety of chant as is sung at football terraces up and down the country every weekend. If we’re shocked by that, we probably aren’t ready to face the world as it is.

Varsity also gives expression and weight to sports and activities which aren’t often thought about. The idea of the popular sports star outshining the other students and bullying nerds is really only ever applicable (and even then less so than you’d think) to the sports which people think about. Football, rugby, and at a push athletics. The uni geeks and the darts or korfball players are in the same boat popularity-wise.

Let them have their day.

On a more practical level, Varsity isn’t

simply a good day out for players and fans. It’s an important event for student media, which gives them vital practice in live broadcasting, commentary, working to tight deadlines and running social media. Those abilities bleed through heavily into everyday student life, because they train up the same people who’ll keep you updated if the internet goes down, or someone cuts the spines off a hedgehog. While this might be a long way down the list of priorities, it’s also a good stress test for the city’s transport infrastructure and it tells us the vital detail that the yellow route tram on Ice Hockey night is woefully inadequate.

At an institution with tens of thousands of members, it can sometimes be hard to see the institutions which really bind people together. It’s possible for an English student to go through their entire degree without speaking to a medic, and vice versa. Past the social melting pot of first year halls, there’s no enforced integration of different courses and social groups. For a couple of weeks each year, Varsity gives us some sense that the black and gold the players wear is part of a collective identity we all share. It might be slightly gaudy, vapid and rude - but it’s better than nothing, and we’d be poorer without it.

“I’m white, middle-class and have never faced real hardship. What can I be offended by?” - Vladimir Trotsky

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his is an important question to ask.

When surrounded by people who face prejudice for their race or religion on a daily basis you might start to feel a little bit left out. I recommend the following to get back in the race for oppression: Be offended by everything and treat all opposition as personal.

A good way to start with this is to ensure that you share as many examples of oppression on Facebook as possible, so that everyone is aware of just how offended you are.

For the more advanced victims out there, I can also recommend banning anyone you disagree with from speaking. You won’t have the time to leave your chair to verbally disprove someone’s ideas when you’re angrily commenting on Reddit or Tumblr about social injustice.

Yours, Millie Worgan

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hen princesses started making their own happy endings Rosalie Davidson talks about how Disney Princessses have evolved over the years and how they are now a symbol of empowerment for women young and old.

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he Disney Princesses with graceful pink gowns and stunted independence seem to be quite a thing of the past, much like the misconception of feminists being ‘angry man haters’ who don’t shave and relentlessly burn their bras.

The evolution of the Disney Princess began when it was no longer the norm for the Prince to unlock her life’s happiness. Even though Snow White fought off her evil stepmother and fended for herself in the mysterious dark woods, her whole existence still depended on a man she saw once through a clearing of a hazy wood to give her that all important kiss and, ultimately, life.

Similarly, Aurora, the delicate sleeping beauty whose whole kingdom’s destiny lay with, again, a man she saw in a clearing of an enchanted forest, only further propels this idea of ‘love at first sight’.

Interestingly, Sleeping Beauty took ‘true love’s first kiss’ one stop further by making it a universal source of life.

This dependence on men in earlier Disney films leaves little to be desired.

And like humans evolved from the primate, Aurora, Cinderella and Snow White evolved into strong, independent women whose stories did not circulate around a man’s touch, presence or strength. This evolution was embodied in strong characters like Pocahontas, Mulan and Merida from the film Brave.

Pocahontas’s strong character broke the mould when she defied the norm that as young girls we are conditioned into believing. Pocahontas’s discovery of her own life, body and soul without the aid of any man and her defiance of her father and culture meant she took control of her own future. She fearlessly defied every single man in the story and, what’s more, she refused to follow the footprints of

a man, and instead made her own.

Similarly Belle’s repulsion of Gaston who demands her to be his wife and mother to his multiple children, led her to throw her mind into books and look elsewhere for happiness.

This reflects how women’s roles are no longer kept within the constraints of a kitchen, nor indeed a bedroom.

Service to men is over and the role of women within the workforce and within society in general has forever changed. Likewise, I doubt Disney will ever produce a Princess so dependent on men ever again.

Equally, men should no longer be cornered into conforming to the role of the strong, rugged prince.

Brave’s Princess Merida shook the ground with her wild, forest-fire hair and bellowing Scottish accent. The dispute is over Merida having to be married against her will, in order to become Queen. Unsurprisingly, she is enraged. Her mother dresses her up to make sure she is seen but not heard: corset, hair braided and tied back behind her, and a breathrestricting dress.

As the suitors line up to try and fire an arrow into the centre of the target in order to prove their manliness to win her hand, Merida is firmly placed within the same traditional, ‘helpless princess’ context of earlier films.

The suitors are, alas, incompetent at shooting the arrow, and as Merida gets more frustrated her personality shines through. Her corset rips, the dress breaks at every seam and her hair flies through the material that once contained it.

Merida storms through, firing every single arrow at the centre of the target. Once more, Merida shows how no man, or indeed women, can control her mind, body, or talents.

Mulan followed suit and broke all forms of gender rules imposed by her

FEATURES

society. The only way she could bring her family honour is not by being ‘feminine’ but by being a fighter. The beautiful imagery when the Chinese empire bows to her in honour salutes a woman whose role was to be by the side of men in war.

Disney’s recent visual offering Frozen presented a very different narrative to the films that had gone before it. As an audience we were all overwhelmed by the bold and brilliant decision for Elsa and Ana to be each other’s true love, their sisterly bond the love in shining armour.

The progression of feminism, by showcasing women’s own talents and capabilities and highlighting the importance of female relationships with other females, is revolutionary in the field of Disney films. Rather than pitting women against other women which is so often the tactic employed by the media, it’s a celebration of sisterly love and support .

Significant is the communication of the importance of women’s independence, strength and intelligence to young boys and girls.

Dismantling the very damaging idea of gendered roles which troubles the minds of many boys and girls at a young age is paramount. You may think it presumptuous and radical to think that little girls and boys would even take notice of the metaphorical significance of what is shown on their screens. But when it is continually perpetuated like a seed into a young mind, it will grow and develop into a poisonous weed that will haunt and damage their own self for years to come.

However, as empowering as the new Disney Princess is, I am still awaiting the day when a Disney Princess is not size four, or for when Princesses cease to be predominantly white. But there has been clear progress.

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The Features Guide to:

THE PANAMA P T

he Panama Papers is by far, the greatest exposé in recent decades of the super-rich who prosper unlawfully by deceiving the state. Every instance of legal manipulation and every penny that should have been paid in tax were accounted for, along with the names of the perpetrators.

While the one per cent all around the world were losing sleep and engaging in some well needed disaster control, journalists hailed the discovery as an important milestone in investigative journalism.

With many economies just coming out of a recession, ordinary people still visibly struggling to stay afloat, and an unforgivingly brutal media platform with a history of naming and shaming tax evaders, the Panama Papers revelation was absolutely explosive.

What are the Panama Papers?

The first of its kind, the scandal was centred on the fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, and a leak of 11.5 million files from one of their supposedly secure databases.

It is the biggest leak in history with 2.6 terabytes of information extracted from the firm’s database; it is only second to WikiLeaks who reportedly leaked 1.7GB of information.

The leak is believed to have been orchestrated by an anonymous, who revealed the information to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, who then shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

What is Mossack Fonseca?

The firm, which was first established in the British Virgin Islands, extends services in areas such as wealth management and other corporate services to clients in over 200 countries.

Mossack Fonseca has refused to discuss their involvement in the scandal but they continue to maintain their innocence; the firm claims to have not breached any anti-money laundering legislation and they remain adamant that they will not be held responsible for the misgivings of third parties.

Despite the firm strongly protesting their innocence, their headquarters were subjected to a police raid last week in an effort to find evidence of money laundering. Prosecutors claim that the firm had taken on clients who were saddled with international embargos.

This worryingly included individuals with strong links to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. With the international spotlight firmly placed on Panama, President Juan Carlos Varela has promised to make financial dealings more transparent, despite initially springing to the defence of Panama’s humiliated finance sector.

Tax Avoidance vs Tax Evasion: Is there a difference?

Although both terms are incredibly similar and often mistaken to mean the same thing, what really sets them apart is their legality.

Tax avoidance is legal and it includes lawful ways of minimising the amount you pay in tax. It is almost like twisting the arm of the taxman rather than blatantly deceiving the state. Methods include saving into an Indiviudal Savings Account (ISA) in order to avoid paying income tax and more extremely, exploiting legal loopholes.

Even though Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs does not actively encourage methods of tax avoidance, many methods remain entirely legal. If, however, Revunue and Customs does not agree with a method of tax avoidance, they could compel you to settle the arrears with interest and penalties.

However, tax evasion is illegal and involves forgoing tax laws and producing a false account of how much tax is owed.

Tax evasion includes failure to declare your full income, hiding taxable assets and refusing to file tax returns. Absconders could also face up to ten years imprisonment. Last year, HSBC was accused of helping clients dodge millions of pounds in tax by hiding money in offshore accounts.

The Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Seychelles are popular destinations for tax evaders

due to low and sometimes non-existent tax restrictions.

Using offshore companies and accounts is legal and many people have valid reasons for doing so.

In certain countries, people use offshore accounts as a way of protecting their money from criminals and also to avoid any disadvantageous currency restrictions. However, there is a fine line between using offshore accounts legally, and using them as a vessel for tax evasion.

Who has been exposed?

Four of the sixteen FIFA officials who were recently charged with corruption in the U.S. have been found to have used offshore firms. Celebrities including Argentine footballer Lionel Messi had his name connected to another offshore company called Mega Star Enterprises.

Out of the twelve national leaders whose names have been closely linked to the files, a two billion dollar trail led straight to Russian president Vladimir Putin. As it appears, Putin’s best friend and cellist, Sergei Roldugin, coordinated a scheme which allowed him to hide money from state banks in offshore accounts.

With the mounting media backlash and public outcry, the Russian Government released a statement condemning the leak as a personal attack on Putin.

The most talked about reaction to the scandal came from Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson who walked out of an interview after being questioned about his ownership of a company exposed in the leaked documents.

The papers also revealed that the PM had a ‘power of attorney’ over the company which gave him complete control to manage the firm as he sees fit. Other national leaders included: Xi Jingping, the Chinese president; David Cameron, the British prime minister; Ayad Allawi, former Vice President of Iraq; Nawas Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister and Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine.

Not a whisper from China

After the documents revealed that family

While the one per cent all around the world were losing sleep and engaging in some well needed disaster control, journalists hailed the discovery as an important milestone in investigative journalism.

V4RSITY 2016

MATCH REPORTS, INTERVIEWS & PHOTOS FROM ALL VARSITY FIXTURES More at forgetoday.com/varsity

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FORGE PRESS | Thursday 21 April 2016

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The calm before the storm

Image: Tom Mason

Inside 2-3

Mixed Bag

Featuring Winter Varsity, Boxing and Dartsity at the Octagon as well as cycling.

4-7

Days 1-3

Including a bumper opening day of action at Hallam Sports Park.

8-9

10-12

Centrefold

The full Varsity results table.

Days 4-6

An action-packed afternoon at EIS and

Finals

Ice hockey, swimming and more as Varsity draws to a thrilling end.

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Varsity in pictures

A selection of the week’s best photos.

The team Sports Editors

Ed McCosh Rob Milne Anthony Phillips

Reporters

Hugh Dickinson Tom Holden Ben Hall Beth Andralojc Will Moran Nicole Oshisanwo Arne Dumez

Design

Photography

Sonia Twigg Matthew Wright Jacob Broadbridge Matt Hutchinson Ollie Thrift Harry King Sheena Sidhu

Aidan Leape Siddharth Solanki Dom Lowe Leona Awoyele Josh Peachey Sian Bradley Chloe Coleman

Ed McCosh Joshua Hackett

2.5 1.5 Rob Milne & Hugh Dickinson

more.

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Ski and easy for Uni

Dan West Sian Bradley Tom Mason Graham Haley Sam Kite Royce Lee

Sheffield Hallam snatched a unexpected Varsity point, before the second day of Winter Varsity was cancelled due to poor conditions.

The show-piece event in the University snowsports calendar was held in Tignes in the Alps this year.

The freestyle events, planned to be held on the second day, were forced to be rescheduled after officials deemed weather conditions too dangerous to compete in.

The University of Sheffield secured the Ski racing point with a team including Ali Miles, Lawrie Campbell, Kai Hayes, Georgie Beer and Lewis Garland.

But in the Snowboard freestyle race the Sheffield team were unable to build on that lead, falling just short with Hallam winning the point.

Miles, the race captain for the Ski team, told Forge Sport: “Everyone did so well and even the people we didn’t

know were necessarily good, in teams and on snow were really, really good”.

Despite the tough conditions, Miles’ skiers claimed their Varsity point for the race event with ease.

“As you can tell everyone did really well, so we’re all good,” added Miles.

In last year’s winter event, the University of Sheffield teams romped to a 5-0 victory, but the event was much closer this year with the points tied at 1-1.

The University of Sheffield took a 3-2 lead in Varsity overall as the Ski and Snowboard clubs took 1.5 Varsity points between them after a three month wait.

Winter Varsity moved to the less glamourous Xscape Snozone in Castleford which nonetheless endeared itself as the Winter events were concluded a day before the summer ones officially begin.

After a qualifying session, the judges decided on the best skiers and snowboarders to represent the two universities

based on style and difficulty.

When the competitors went for their two final runs, the results went as expected.

Hallam Men’s Snowboarder Callum Patton cruised to victory in style performing a 270 on to the box and a 360 off the last kicker, before upping the latter on his second run to an impressive 540.

The two Women’s events also went with expectations as the first skier to attempt the slope, Nicole Bramley, won for Sheffield, finishing the last kicker with a backside 180.

She was not to be outdone by her Snowboarding counterpart Emma Scott who was the only one in her discipline to attempt the tougher rail at the start of her run rather than the A-frame box. She followed this up with a frontside boardslide with a 180 off before a frontside 180 on the final kicker.

The most hotly contested event was the Men’s Skiing Freestyle, and there were impressive runs from Hallam’s Lewis Pamphilon, who couldn’t quite land either of his attempted 540s, and Will Johnson who landed a 360 on his first run. This was technically more difficult than Byron Haywood-Alexander’s spectacular frontside inverted roll, but the trick impressed the judges and his victory ensured Sheffield won Winter Varsity by 2.5-1.5.

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Sides share spoils in boxing bonanza 3 The University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University shared the spoils with a 3-3 draw securing half a point each in a thrilling night of Varsity boxing.

Hallam raced into a 2-0 lead but TKO victories for Harry Hughes and Rob Dixon turned the tide, before Hashim Rehman won the final point of the night after a tense bout to retain the Varsity Shield.

In the first Varsity fight of the evening, Ben Otter of Sheffield Hallam University narrowly defeated Chris Taylor in a split decision after three closely fought rounds of boxing.

Speaking to Forge Sport after the fight, Taylor said: “I didn’t think it was a split decision.

“I did the best I could, but I really thought I won that fight.”

3 In the second bout, the intense concentration and fleet-footed movement of Alireza Foroughi was too much for Sheffield’s Niall Patrick.

Though Patrick landed a couple of punches of his own, it was too little, too late, as Foroughi dominated all three rounds.

The only shock, one which prompted gasps in the crowd, was that Foroughi only won by a split decision.

Harry Hughes tore apart John McKeating in the third fight, beginning the University of Sheffield comeback after the opening two losses.

Hughes caught McKeating flush in the nose with an excellent third round right hook, blood splattered onto the Hallam fighter’s chest before the referee stopped it again – this time deciding

McKeating could not continue, giving Hughes a well-deserved win by TKO. Needing victory to level the scores at 2-2, Rob Dixon produced one of the fights of his life to stop Quinlan in the third round after a number of incredible punches that left his opponent flailing in the arms of the referee.

Hughes tore apart McKeating in the third fight, starting the Sheffield comeback

after the second stoppage of Quinlan, who looked dead on his feet, as Sheffield restored parity to the delight of the crowd.

However, Matthew Smith quickly nudged Hallam ahead with a comfortable win over Yaseen Noorani.

Smith’s far superior reach and offensive style gave him the advantage from the off, but Sheffield’s Noorani put on

The result was redemption of sorts for Dixon, who was knocked out 20 seconds into his fight at last year’s Varsity event.

The referee halted the contest

perhaps the most impressive performance of the night to hang on with the odds stacked heavily against him.

Entering the final fight, the pressure was on Sheffield’s Hashim Rehman to salvage half a point from the event – he did not fail to deliver.

The judges awarded the win by split-decision to Rehman, securing half a point for Sheffield.

The University of Sheffield boxers. Image: Dan West

Across the Board Pre-Varsity cycling Hugh Dickinson The University of Sheffield won three of the five cycling events to claim 1.5 Varsity points.

Sheffield won the cycling cross country, the first of the five cycling events after Sheffield had six riders finish in the top 10.

Hallam tied up the competition after winning the downhill with all six of their riders coming in the top six.

In the time trial, Sheffield won by 31 minutes with Chris Bevan being the highest

placed Sheffield rider.

Hallam won the BMX event held in Bole Hills to bring the Cycling event to the final event.

On the last day of Varsity, Sheffield won the hill climbing after Bevan, Kieran Savage and Archie Cross finished in the top three.

The points guaranteed Sheffield retained Varsity for the fourth year in a row before Women’s Hockey 3s won Varsity for Sheffield.

Much more at FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

Image: Sian Bradley

Sheffield snatch Dartsity title Sian Bradley

Image: Hugh Dickinson

The University of Sheffield edged out Sheffield Hallam 11-10 in a tightly contested Dartsity contest in front of a raucous crowd of 400 at the Octagon.

Though it was not worth a Varsity point, victory for Sheffield was well received by supporters in black and gold.

It was the second ever edition of Dartsity – the first, a day short of one year previous, was won 8-1

by Sheffield in front of 75 spectators.

The first match pitted Sheffield captain Jonny Kirk against Hallam counterpart Jack Handley, and Kirk raced

into a 2-0 lead with a 40 per cent success rate on his doubles.

However, Handley capitalised on double trouble from Kirk to take the final leg.

Danny Hall and Declan Parsons starred in the tie of the night, the former hitting two 140s and a 100 in a 19dart opening leg to make it 1-0.

Parsons fought back impressively however, and won the tie 2-1.

Max Orange then turned the tie in Sheffield’s favour once more, notching up the only 3-0 win of the night over Jamesey Ennis.

The next two ties were scrappy affairs – Hallam’s Alex

Hadfield beat Tom Hogg 2-1, before Ed McCosh of Sheffield prevailed over Ben Laurence by the same scoreline to put his side 9-6 up.

Brad Hambleton then set Sheffield nerves racing by taking a 2-0 lead over Rob Matthews, but the Sheffield thrower checked out 91 on the bullseye to make it 10-8.

Brad Clowery needed just one leg to seal the win for Sheffield, and he managed it at the first attempt to spark wild celebrations.

Peter Newton did, however, bring Hallam’s total up to 10 with a 2-1 win, rounding off an exhilarating night of darts in front of one of the biggest crowds of the Varsity week.

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x PRESS Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE

Men’s Football 1s win in thriller 3 Rob Milne Brad Johnston’s goal sealed victory for the University of Sheffield Men’s 1s in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sheffield Hallam.

The match saw two red cards, five goals and some incredible goalkeeping from Sheffield’s Jack Farthing, who stopped Hallam from equalising in the closing minutes.

Sheffield Hallam started the stronger of the two sides, throwing themselves into challenges all over the pitch, and giving Sheffield no time to dwell on the ball.

Hallam capitalised in the 17th minute on their early pressure with Hallam centre back Luke Stephens having a shot trickle past Farthing into the bottom right hand corner of the net to make it 1-0 to Hallam.

Tackles continued to fly in all over the pitch with the referee

2 miraculously not brandishing a yellow card until Sheffield Captain James Reid flew in with his studs showing.

Hallam continued to apply pressure with Jordan Ware coming close to scoring, but Ben Burgess was incredible in the air to keep Hallam from extending their lead.

Sheffield levelled the score when Joe Ford found Johnston on the left, who played the ball across and found Mark Waters at the far post whose shot cannoned off Hallam keeper Luke Martin and bounced into the net.

Going into the second half, Hallam continued to put pressure on with George Coser’s long throws and Sheffield were lucky not to concede.

The game turned when James Reid converted a 25yard free-kick, nestling the ball into the left side of the goal after whipping it over the Hallam wall. It was an

incredible strike that left Martin with no chance.

Two minutes later Johnston doubled the Sheffield lead.

Joe Ford nodded down to the winger, who cut in from the left and fired home under the Hallam keeper, giving Sheffield a 3-1 lead.

But Hallam bounced right back with an immediate response. An expert inswinging corner was met by a Hallam head and Farthing could not save, making it 3-2.

Unsavoury scenes followed the goal. Farthing held on

to the ball to the annoyance of Hallam and a goalmouth brawl ensued. Burgess and Ware were sent-off leaving both sides with 10 men for the remainder of the contest.

Tensions were high as tackles continued to fly in, with Luke Stevens forcing the referee to brandish another yellow card.

What followed were heroics from Jack Farthing between the posts.

First, from a free kick he dived to his right to stop a shot, immediately followed by

another chance for Hallam’s Andy Ofosu with Farthing diving down to his right to stop what seemed to be a certain goal, securing a great victory.

Speaking to Forge Sport after the game, Sheffield goalkeeping hero Jack Farthing said: “It’s not just me, the whole back four, midfield; everyone worked themselves to the ground.

“We made one change in the 90th minute that shows how hard everyone worked for each other today – it’s unbelievable”.

Brad Johnston (centre) netted a dramatic winner for Sheffield. Image: Dan West

Football 3s romp to win 5 Image: Ed McCosh

Union 3s hold on 13 6 Ed McCosh The University of Sheffield picked up their first point of the day in rugby at a busy Hallam Sports Park as the Men’s Rugby Union 3s battled their nerves and a spirited Sheffield Hallam side to record a 13-6 victory.

Sheffield dominated the early proceedings, and constant pressure meant that Hallam were not able to leave their own half in the opening 10 minutes, and it finally told as Sheffield captain Toby Dewar

made the most of excellent work in the scrum to make it 5-0.

However, the conversion attempt by Sam Blakeley went wide of the posts, meaning that when Hallam reduced the deficit to 5-3 with a penalty, proceedings became decidedly more tense. Blakeley added another penalty before the half while Hallam were reduced to 14 men after a sin bin.

In the second half, Hallam added a penalty to make it 8-6 and every turnover brought cries of exasperation from the bench.

With 20 minutes to go, Sheffield went further ahead when James Bailey stormed into the corner to make it 136.

Despite jangling nerves, Sheffield held on for the win.

Ben Hall The University of Sheffield Men’s 3s Football team secured a Varsity point with a comfortable 5-2 victory over Sheffield Hallam Men’s 3s.

It was Sheffield who took the lead in just the third minute of the match. A downfield break from a Hallam corner saw Sheffield Captain Oscar Harrison play a lovely through ball for striker Dave Lodge to run onto and he calmly tucked the ball away inside the far post to make it 1-0.

Hallam responded immediately with a goal of their own. A long ball over the defence was met by the head of striker Ross Simms who diverted it past the onrushing Sheffield goalkeeper Chris Harvey for the equaliser.

Two minutes later the dramatic start continued as Hallam took the lead.

Simms was again instrumental in the goal as

2 he cut inside a defender before firing in a low cross that midfielder Jacob Stanton diverted into the net via an outstretched leg.

It was almost 3-1 on 10 minutes as Simms again got the better of two Sheffield players and struck a mis-hit effort which almost trickled into the far corner.

Sheffield did manage to get back on level terms before the break though. Fyfe played the diagonal ball to Bradshaw whose sublime volley that nestled into the top corner to bring the score to 2-2 at half time.

The second half was one-way traffic with Sheffield enjoying large spells of possession and able to break through the Hallam defence almost at will.

It was Tom Wilson who regained the lead for Sheffield with a sublime drive into the far corner of the goal after latching onto a flick-on by the impressive Lodge.

Two minutes later it was 4-2

to Sheffield, Lodge grabbing his second of the game as he nipped in to rise highest and head home following a looping header back across goal from Bradshaw after a corner had been swung in from the left.

Lodge turned provider again on 61 minutes, racing past the Hallam right back before squaring for Harrison, who was pulled back by a recovering Hallam defender as he tried to shoot. The referee rightly pointed to the spot. The Sheffield captain stepped up himself and sent the Hallam keeper the wrong way with the penalty to make it 5-2.

The game played out to a lull thereafter, Simms and Carney not able to pull a goal back for Hallam as both produced speculative efforts that curled beyond the far post, while Lodge was denied a hat-trick goal after the referee adjudged him to have fouled a Hallam player in his leap to head home another pin-point Fyfe cross.

Sheffield though had done another to secure another comfortable victory over Hallam and with the final whistle picked up the allimportant Varsity point.

Much more at FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

FORGE PRESS | Thursday 21 April 2016

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Sheffield Climbing reaches new heights

Rugby League in dominant win 44 24 Ben Hall The University of Sheffield Men’s Rugby League team defeated Sheffield Hallam 48-24 to secure back-toback Varsity victories for the first time in the side’s history.

It was a flying start with two quick-fire tries coming in the opening ten minutes.

Marcus Stock burst onto a lovely short ball to open the scoring, before a good passing move saw Joe Hammond dive in for the try.

With both conversions pushed wide, Sheffield had an early 8-0 lead.

Hallam hit back strongly though, and led 12-8 after 22 minutes after tries from Arron Kite and Kieran Smith.

Sheffield captain Johnson threw a clever reverse pass to Mark Cordeaux who scored.

That try and Richard Veazey’s conversion made it 14-12.

Alex Taverner scored to quickly extend the lead before Peter Ainsley scored a minute before the break to give Sheffield a 22-12 lead at halftime.

The start of the second half saw Sheffield allow Hallam back into the game with a pair of tries through Jack Mitchell and Luke Powell.

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0

Beth Andralojc

Image: Dan West

Mitchell’s fourth conversion had made it 24-22 to Hallam, but their lead lasted less than five minutes as Sheffield began a spirited fightback with Hammond crossing for his second try of the game.

Sheffield then scored their sixth try with Ainsley scoring his second of the game.

That try was converted by Grimmett to make it 32-24, before Grimmett himself ran into to score the seventh try for Sheffield.

Sheffield then continued to run up the score on a Hallam side who began to lose hope in winning the contest.

38 points became 42 as Tarverner turned provider with a superb flick to Stock after another powerful run and Stock dived in for the final try of the game.

Grimmett added his final conversion to give Sheffield a 44-24 victory.

The University of Sheffield’s climbing team kicked off the first proper day of Varsity with a roaring start, securing both climbing points on offer against Sheffield Hallam University.

In order to achieve the most points, competitors were required to climb the highest amount of climbing walls out of all the other competitors.

As points are given based on the number of times a climber must climb the wall to complete it, each competitor was tested not only on their climbing skill but also on their ability to succeed on the first try.

With 20 climbing walls to complete, the Sheffield competitors faced a difficult challenge but the team demonstrated an unmistakable talent for climbing and were able to achieve the highest score overall from the qualifying round.

Sheffield students Adam Fidler, Sam Williams and Luke Dawson were the most successful competitors, with Fidler garnering 197 points overall and Williams and

Dawson claiming 191 points.

They were also accompanied by another Sheffield climber in Connor Byrne. All four went on to represent Sheffield in the final of the men’s competition.

Having won four medals at the BUCS National Championships, the climbing club entered as favourites Sheffield was also well represented in the female finals with Jen Wood and Dawn Brinkman scoring impressively in the qualifying rounds to advance to the final.

In the final of both events, Wood came first for Sheffield whille Fidler was the overall winner in the men’s competition, meaning that the University of Sheffield claimed both Varsity points on offer.

Much more at FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

Hallam hit target in Women’s Union 1s lacklustre as Archery win Hallam secure shock victory 13 21 Will Moran After a late start for Archery, a heated competition soon began between the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University in a sport that is heavily based upon precision, accuracy and technicalities.

The University of Sheffield had previously claimed victory in this event two years ago before Hallam emerged victorious in last year’s event.

Things quickly got underway with both universities facing each other in a four versus four format for the first round where losing players would win one point in the competition for their universities while

players who advanced to further rounds would have the opportunity to win more.

After the first few rounds, the quarter-finals saw Jack Wells beat Iain Cramphorn to make it through to the semi-finals as Sheffield’s only competitor while Hallam had Tom Mowforth, Christian Czerniak and Mike Smith; however Sheffield held at this point, a lead of 10-6.

In the first semi-final between Mowforth and Czerniak, it reached single arrow sudden death with Czerniak prevailing. Mike Smith defeated Jack Wells in the second semi-final to make it an all Hallam final.

In the third place playoff, Wells was unable to defeat Mowforth which meant Hallam claimed all three podium positions.

In the final, Smith and Czerniak shot some superb arrows but Smith came out the victor which resulted in Hallam defending their title by winning the event 21-13 to claim the Varsity point.

5 Nicole Oshisanwo The University of Sheffield women’s Rugby Union 1s lost 17-5 to Sheffield Hallam in Varsity.

The game was fiercely contested and this led to a very scrappy first half, with Sheffield dominating, but largely unable to convert their dominance into any clear cut chances.

They were let down by their passing close to the try line, with errors and slow offloads allowing Hallam to scramble the ball away on numerous occasions.

However, in the 30th minute, confusion from a Hallam line out allowed Menna Pogh Jones to scoop up the ball and score a try which Sheffield failed

17 to convert. This meant that Sheffield held a 5-0 advantage over Hallam at the break.

Sheffield had more chances to extend their lead but were let down by poor passing.

Five minutes later, poor defending by Sheffield allowed

a Hallam player to go on a storming run to score a try and level it up at 5-5.

Sheffield were further punished by their first half profligacy in the 67th minute, when another Hallam player ran almost the entire length of the pitch to score a try. This time it was converted, to give Hallam a 12-5 lead.

Sheffield applied more pressure but couldn’t score before Hallam capitalised on more poor defence to score a final try in the 80th minute.

Image: Sian Bradley

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE PRESS

Union 1s stunned by Hallam 21 24 Arne Dumez

Image: Dan West

The University of Sheffield Rugby Union Men’s 1s suffered a narrow 21-24 defeat to Sheffield Hallam in the Sports Park day finale to leave the overall Varsity score tied at 11-11.

In view of a huge crowd, the highly anticipated match kicked off to the roars and chants of both sides’ fans.

Sheffield quickly carved a lead into the scoreboard as George Hedgley scored the first try after a few minutes of gameplay to give Sheffield a 5-0 lead. Fly-half Alistair Hills missed the conversion but redeemed himself moments later with a penalty kick to give Sheffield a 8-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Hallam played strong defence all game, putting up

Sheffield fall short Women’s Cricket 1s

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Sheffield Hallam win by two wickets Matt Wright The University of Sheffield Women’s cricket team narrowly lost to Sheffield Hallam in the first Varsity cricket fixture by two wickets.

Indoor cricket is fast-paced and ideal for tight finishes, and this game did not disappoint in the slightest, with Hallam snatching the Varsity point in the final over of the match.

The game swung back and forth with neither side ever quite capitalising on their opportunities until the very end, in a game that will have set many a heart a flutter with nerves.

Hallam won the toss and put Sheffield in to bat, placing faith in their batting depth to chase whatever they were faced with.

After two overs, they must have wondered if they’d made a grave error as Sheffield’s openers, Millie Boddington and Hannah Lautch, got off to a flyer, taking the score to 23, aided by three wides and some positive drives and clips into the leg-side.

However, Hallam dug their feet in and put a halt to the scoring, with overs three to six only conceding 15 as

Sheffield’s threes dried up almost completely.

Sheffield lacked the decisiveness between the wickets that can really pressure a team.

Two wickets fell too, as Boddington chipped to midoff for 11 and Zara Aslam was struck plumb in front for a duck.

A late-innings spurt saw Sheffield reach 73 for the loss of two, with Lautch reaching 25 off the last ball of the innings, a knock notable for her positive off-side play and speed between the wickets.

Sheffield will have fancied their chances too after a strong start with the ball.

They restricted Hallam to just 23 off the first four overs, with two wickets falling in quick succession in the fourth over.

Hallam opener Connor looked strong, but was caught and bowled by Boddington, before McCurrie was then run out after a mix-up left her and Patel at the same end, making

it easy work for Aslam and wicket-keeper Megan Lee. Lizzie Dillam continued the good work for Sheffield, bowling a superb sixth over, bowling Watson and only conceding one run, leaving Hallam with a tough ask of 39 off four overs.

In their search for a fourth bowler for one over, Sheffield slipped up, as Lautch’s gentle pace gave Patel and Donlon plenty of time to work the ball around, taking 12 off the seventh over.

From there, they ran very positively, putting Sheffield’s fielding under pressure, and profiting heavily out of the dab behind square on the off-side.

Hallam took 20 off the eighth and ninth overs, with Patel retiring on 27.

In the meantime, Hallam were left with a relatively comfortable seven needed off the final over.

Boddington bowled it, and two threes came off the first two balls to tie the scores.

By the time she cleaned up Donlon by making a mess of her stumps, it was too little, too late.

Patel came back in and hit the next ball for three, giving Hallam a two-wicket victory, and the all-important Varsity point.

It was a disapointing defeat for the Sheffield side who had performed well in BUCS competitions this year.

numerous defensive displays to stop Sheffield when they were camped metres from the try line.

Sheffield scored again when Harry Pratt slid past the line, but Hills missed the conversion.

Nonetheless Sheffield lead 13-0 after 24 minutes.

Hallam added a penalty to narrow the gap before Sheffield stopped Hallam from scoring with impressive tackling by Sammy Graham and Joe Slater.

Hallam scored their first try in the 32nd minute when their prop drove over the line.

Sheffield seemed to be incapable of containing the aggressive advance of their opponents and Hallam led 1314 at half time after two more penalties.

Sheffield could have scored a try after the restart, but more strong defending stopped Alex

Bilton.

Officials were called into action as tensions between the teams erupted into a fight with Bilton and a Hallam player sinned binned.

A penalty in the 65th minute put Sheffield back on top at 16-14.

However, Hallam quickly retaliated with a kick of their own, taking a narrow 16-17 lead.

A tremendous ruck by Sheffield took them to the Hallam five metre line before Sheffield forced themselves over for their third try of the game and a 21-17 lead with three minutes remaining.

Inspiring defensive tackles by Lewis Bloor and Joshua Leonard were proof of Sheffield’s determination to keep Hallam away from their try line.

But this was in vain, Lewis Bowman managed to score the winning try for Hallam in the very last seconds of the match before a successful conversion gave Hallam a 24-21 victory over Sheffield. Hallam fans fans then stormed the pitch to celebrate victory.

Hallam canter Men’s Cricket 1s

Sheffield Hallam win by 19 runs Sonia Twigg After the University of Sheffield Men’s 2s and the Women’s 1s had both lost narrowly in Varsity to Sheffield Hallam, it was up to the Men’s 1s side to try and rescue a point for Sheffield.

Unfortunately the task was too much for the side and they slumped to a 19 run defeat.

Hallam won the toss and batted first and despite this being an unusual decision it didn’t prove to matter in the course of the game.

Despite some good bowling from Jack Forrester and Matt Wright, a failure to get an early breakthrough proved to be costly. This proved to be a feature that determined the course of Hallam’s innings as the first wicket, a run out by Edward Pearce, only came in the ninth over with the score already at 86.

Two more run outs in the final over failed to restrict Hallam’s score significantly and they made a good indoor score of 100 from their 10 overs.

What was already a steep challenge was worsened by the loss of opener Alex Wheatley on his first ball. Despite a developing partnership until the start of the 5th over from Mason Denning and Pearce, Sheffield were always behind the required run rate, managing only 35 runs after 5 overs.

Unfortunately Sheffield’s batting failed to live up to their performance in the field.

This trend worsened as wickets began falling for Sheffield; two wickets were lost in the sixth over for only two runs. A valiant effort by Pearce with the bat, making 44 and as the last man in after the eight over for a moment gave Sheffield some hope, but ultimately 100 proved too much to achieve.

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Athletics honours even 1 Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield Athletics team shared the two Varsity points on offer with Sheffield Hallam on the third day of Varsity.

The Men’s team comfortably beat Hallam 65 points to 44 to secure the Varsity Point while the Women’s point was more closely contested with Hallam securing the 75 point to 70 victory after the final race of the day.

In the first event of the day, the Men’s high jump, Sheffield athletes Curtis Mitchell and Theo Walkley-Bartlett finished second and third after jumping 1.80 and 1.65 metres respectively.

The Sheffield Men’s first victory of the day came in the javelin where Robbie Morris threw 38.83 metres to win, with Tom Horton second after a 34.40 metre throw. Horton was at it again moments later, winning the 800m race comfortably in a time of 1:57 with Sheffield athletes finishing

1 second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth.

Liam McGivern won the Men’s long jump for Sheffield with Connor Lafferty third and Sheffield continued to have more success on the track when Joe Epps and Gareth Surman finished first and second in the Men’s 400 metre hurdles. In the 110 metre hurdles, Epps came second to a very fast Mitchell to secure another Sheffield top two.

Sheffield athletes who competed in multiple events were doing well, with McGivern getting his second victory of the day in the 400 metres while Theo-Bartlett was first in the Men’s 100 metres.

In the 5000 metres, Joe Wilkinson comfortably ran round the track to win and that victory secured the Men’s Varsity point for Sheffield.

More victories followed for the Sheffield men with Eima Meade winning the 200 metres and Tom Horton powering to victory in the 1500 metres ahead of Sheffield athletes Will

Hallam fire home Ice Hockey 2s victory

Mycroft and Jon Collier, while Connor Laferty won the shot put with a throw of 11.37.

The Women’s side owed much of their competitiveness to the efforts of Rebecca Cope and Steph Pike. In the Women’s long jump, Cope’s first round jump of 4.77m saw her finish second while her and Pike ran around the track in the 400m hurdles to secure the points for Sheffield after Hallam fielded no runners.

Despite having never participated in the high jump before, both Pike and Cope took part to make sure Sheffield secured at least one point in an event Hallam won.

Cope then secured victory for Sheffield in the Women’s long jump with a leap of 11.10.

Caroline Schaulfelberger stormed to victory in the 800 metres, winning by over 13 seconds from Sheffield athlete Rachel Lundgren. Lundgren then won the 400 metres before also winning the 1500 metres. Jacqueline Penn won the 5000 metres before Hallam began a comeback.

Hallam won the 200 metres, the shot put and the javelin before winning the 4x400 metre and 4x100 relay races to secure the Women’s Varsity point by a very narrow margin of five points.

Image: Tom Holden

Black and golf success Tom Holden The University Of Sheffield Golf 1s won a hard-earned Varsity point against Sheffield Hallam Golf 1s, beating them 6.5/5.5 at Lindrick Golf Club.

The day began with foursomes, followed by eight singles in the afternoon.

The first pairing out for Sheffield was Joseph Bates and Quentin Gallitre who claimed the first point of the morning.

With the game tied on 16, Hallam had a putt to win the hole but couldn’t convert the chance.

They were made to regret the miss, losing hole 17 and putting them one behind going down the last.

A composed tee shot left Sheffield just short of the green and a well-judged pitch from Gallitre was enough for the Hallam pair to concede the point.

Match two saw James Malin and Monty Williamson dominate proceedings for the majority of the game, but Hallam fought back

Other Sports Park Day Results Football M2/4 The University of Sheffield Men’s 2s secured a Varsity point after a tense 1-0 victory over Hallam with a second half goal from James Smith after a mistake from the Hallam goalkeeper.

In the first ever Men’s 4s Varsity match, Sheffield lost 5-2 despite a world class goal from Luke Pearce who leapt backwards to score a sensational scissor kick. Despite this, Hallam dominated and won comfortably.

Image: Graham Haley

Ben Hall Sheffield Hallam levelled the 2016 Varsity standings at 1212 on Thursday evening as they defeated The University of Sheffield 3-1 in the Ice Hockey 2s match at iceSheffield.

All the goals arrived in an electric second period, Hallam taking advantage of their chances to wrap up the victory.

Both goaltenders put in fine individual performances to keep down the score and ensure their side stayed in the game, but Sheffield’s Callum Steventon was finally beaten in the second minute of the second period by a long-distance effort from Craig Naylor.

It was 2-0 to Hallam shortly after, as the impressive Matt Unwin finished neatly with a chipped shot over the outstretched arm

of Steventon that nestled into the net.

It was a positive response from Sheffield, who cut the lead less than a minute later. Stephen Killick’s strike from distance seemed to be heading harmlessly towards Hallam goaltender Bevan, but Miller diverted the puck with a great reaction flick.

Sheffield conceded again as Unwin’s backhand pass was completely missed by a Sheffield player, which allowed Barras to collect and skate in on-goal, showing lovely puck movement with a quick deke in-front of the net-minder before slashing into the far corner.

The third period was much of a non-event, with Hallam willing to control possession of the puck and see out the win in comfortable fashion.

and took the pair to the final hole, despite Sheffield being 3up with three to play.

Captain Hannah Holden played alongside William Swarbrick who together fought a mighty battle to stay in the game after being four down on the 11th – securing a halved point.

The final pairing of Max Bacon and Graeme Sutcliffe suffered a similar fate to that of the first game.

An incredibly tight fixture was again taken to the final hole, after Sheffield won hole 17 to stand 1up on the 18th tee.

Hallam left a crucial putt short, losing the game and leaving the scores at 3.5/0.5 at the halfway stage.

Captain Holden led by example and won her own game 4up with two holes left.

Williamson then followed suit by winning his match, leaving Swarbrick to bring home the points for Sheffield University, thumping his opponent 6up with five to play.

Cricket M2 The University of Sheffield Men’s Cricket 2s were left devastated by a one run loss against Sheffield Hallam.

Hallam stumbled towards a target of 80 and Sheffield needed 16 runs off the final over but could only muster 15 to come up agonisingly short of the target.

Image: Sian Bradley

Rugby U M2 The University of Sheffield Rugby Union Men’s 2s secured their Varsity point with a narrow 12-5 victory over Sheffield Hallam.

In a cagey and tense game littered with mistakes throughout, the victory was secured with tries from Sharif Doug and Moyo Oyelukemun.

Football W1/2

Image: Sian Bradley

It was a day to forget for the University of Sheffield Women’s 1s football team who lost 9-0 to Sheffield Hallam.

Hallam had Doncaster Belles player Jess Sigsworth in their starting line-up and she dominated Sheffield with two goals and two assists.

In the Women’s 2s game, Sheffield lost 5-0 with Hallam scoring two in the first half and three in the second. The score could have been higher had it not been for Sheffield keeper Lauren Barnes producing a number of excellent saves.

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE PRESS

Men’s Badminton 1s and 2s Women’s Lacrosse

2015 (37)

Men’s Hockey 3s Women’s Hockey 3s Men’s and Women’s Canoe Polo Korfball 2s Men’s Tennis 1s and 2s Women’s Tennis Men’s Squash 2s Women’s Squash Men’s Hockey 2s Women’s Hockey 1s and 2s Men’s Volleyball Netball 1s and 4s Men’s Table Tennis 1s and 2s Women’s Table Tennis Equestrian Trampolining Triathlon Sailing Rowing Athletics Golf Rugby League Men’s Rugby Union 2s and 3s Men’s Football 1s, 2s and 3s Climbing Cycling Boxing Ski Freestyle Ski Racing

University of Sheffield

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Ice Hockey Women’s Badminton Men and Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Men’s Lacrosse Men’s and Women’s Water Polo Korfball 1s Swimming Men’s Squash 1s Men’s Hockey 1s Futsal Women’s Volleyball Men’s Basketball 1s and 2s Women’s Basketball Netball 2s and 3s American Football Triathlon Athletics Ice Hockey 2s

Sheffield Hallam University

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Women’s Rugby Union Men’s Rugby Union 1s Men’s Football 4s Women’s Football 1s and 2s Women’s Cricket Men’s Cricket 1s and 2s Archery Boxing Snowboard Freestyle Snowboard Racing

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2015 (34)

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Rowing are oar-some 2 Will Moran The University of Sheffield claimed a vital Varsity point with a 6-4 Rowing victory at Dam Flask.

Going into the event on a sunny Saturday morning, the overall Varsity score was deadlocked at 13-13, and the two points on offer had become precious commodities.

Proceedings got underway with the Novice Men’s 4s, with Sheffield Hallam taking the first victory of the day.

However, from that point onwards the tide turned, and Sheffield took control.

The second race, the Novice Women’s 8s, went down to the wire with both teams neckand-neck going into the last 100m - but Sheffield were able to edge clear and claim a morale-boosting win.

Next, in the Senior Men’s Double Sculls Sheffield showed off their strength and resilience as they powered their way down the dam to win the event by five lengths.

But Hallam came straight

0 back at Sheffield in the Novice Women’s Double Sculls with an impressive run.

The Senior Men’s 8s was the next race to follow, and was extremely closely contested until the 200m mark, but Hallam lost their rhythm and technique, and made a costly error that would unfortunately lose them the race.

The Senior Women’s Double was another comfortable win for Sheffield, which meant that they were now 2-1 up in each the Men’s and Women’s events.

Hallam put in a strong

performance to win the Novice Women’s 4s to make it 2-2 in the Women’s events, meaning it was all to play for in the last race.

Sheffield confidently took the Men’s point as the Novice Men’s 8s rowed to victory.

Hallam were able to win their last race, the Senior Men’s 4s, to make it 3-2 in the Men’s event.

Finally, it was the Senior Women’s 8s. Another important point rested on this race, and once more Sheffield’s rowers were ultimately victorious as the Women’s 8s rowed to victory.

The much deserved Sheffield success built upon Varsity victories last year for the Men’s and Women’s teams, and ensured the Varsity title holders would retain the lead going into Sunday’s events.

Image: Will Moran

Photo: Joseph Satchell

Trampolining soar to win Beth Shreeves The University of Sheffield trampolining team secured the Varsity point by beating Sheffield Hallam by a large margin of 16 points.

After a impressive performance at BUCS, Sheffield came into the competition as heavy favourites.

Competitors from each team were required to perform a sequence of ten moves, varying in difficulty depending on the six categories: Novice, Intermediate, Interadvanced, Advanced, Elite and Uber. Points were awarded for the top three performances in each category.

Winner of the novice category was Hallam’s Beth Gale, with Raia Blackburn from the Sheffield team placing second.

Intermediate was won outright

by Sheffield with Tori Wensley, Anna Kelly and Kirsty Lee placing first, second and third respectively.

First in Interadvanced was Hallam’s Eliza Andrews, with

Fred Mears and Caroline Thornhill representing Sheffield placing second and third.

Alex Fairman and Cat Southard scored first and second place in Advanced for Sheffield, with Meg Baker and Ed Whatley-Smith also winning first and second in Elite.

Finally Uber was won by Sheffield Lianne Sellors, closely followed by Lucy Smith, with Ben Cooper representing Hallam in third place.

Overall Hallam took a total of 10 points, beaten by Sheffield who took 26.

Trampolining captain Meg Baker told Forge Sport: “I’m very happy, it was meant to be pretty close but we’ve completely smashed it!

Team morale is pretty high”.

The trampolining club are currently second in their league after an impressive season, and their result today allowed Sheffield to build a crucial three point lead over Hallam after the first five days of the Varsity tournament, with Sheffield leading 18-15.

Stalemate in Triathlon Reports: Around the grounds 1

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Arne Dumez The points were shared at Southwell Triathlon on Sunday as the University of Sheffield took the spoils in the Women’s division, while Sheffield Hallam claimed victory in the Men’s.

Rachel Brown, Claire Cooke and Charlotte Pheasey occupied the top three places in the women’s race, dominating their Varisty meet.

However, Isaac Moss, Sam Hughes and captain Jacob Pope could not pip Hallam’s trio to the win.

The triathlon was worth two Varsity points, one for each gender division, and had the potential to be the push both sides needed to gain a significant lead in the overall scores.

Liam Walker, Igor Gawron and William Ellis represented Sheffield’s first wave of the day, starting early after a 5am rise.

They were quickly followed by James Mellor, Ben Magnall and Robert Jones for the men, and Bethan Gay and Helen Eachus

for the women.

Jones claimed first place in his gender division with an impressive 16:35 run, which brought his overall time to just under an hour.

Gay emulated his feat and claimed first place for the women minutes later.

However, both sides upped the ante and positions were quickly shifted down the rankings.

Sheffield Men’s captain Jacob Pope crossed the finish line in a solid 57:40, and Brown claimed the Women’s top spot with a time of 01:00:12.

The last two waves were bound to decide the outcome of the Varsity meet, as both sides released their best athletes onto the course.

Isaac Moss and Sam Hughes set out to dominate Hallam, and put down times of 53:33 and 55:42 respectively, which pushed Pope to third place in the Sheffield rankings.

Unfortunately, Hallam’s performance outshone Sheffield’s men, with their top three all coming in under 56 minutes. With both sides claiming a point each, Sheffield cemented their Varsity lead.

“Today was great”, Ben Magnall told Forge Sport.

“I think the club as a whole delivered a great performance today and I’m already looking forward to next year”.

American Football edged out The University of Sheffield Men’s American Football team lost the SteelBowl to rivals Sheffield Hallam University for the third year in a row, losing 13-10 at Goodwin.

The first half was a mixture of shared field goals and numerous penalties, until Sheffield quarterback Jacob Hardy found Simon Arnold to give Sheffield a 10-6 lead.

However, Hallam managed to score a touchdown late in the fourth to secure a 13-10 win.

Image: Matt Hutchinson

Sailing victorious

Sheffield dominate 10K

The University of Sheffield’s Sailing club emerged victorious with a comfortable win at Windscar Reservoir.

With a large crowd braving the bitter conditions, the University of Sheffield tore apart the formbook, having lost the fixture last year. Sheffield won four of the final five races to secure the Varsity point.

In the 10k event, the University of Sheffield were victorious in both the Men’s and Women’s races to round out an impressive performance in the athletics.

In the Men’s event, Jon Collier, Ollie Kyriakides and Olly Williams placed second, fifth and ninth whilst Becky Rigby and Ellen Downs placed first and second in the Women’s race.

Equestrian success The University of Sheffield claimed the Equestrian Varsity point after the A team claimed victories in dressage and jumping.

Hallam were victorious last year, but an excellent all-round performance turned the tie in Sheffield’s favour.

Sheffield captain Sarah Fitton told Forge Sport: “I am really proud of how we performed in dressage today”.

Vice-captain Tiff Barnard said:“We are so happy to beat Hallam”.

Image: Graham Haley

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE PRESS

Futsal stunned in Varsity thriller 9 Rob Milne University of Sheffield Men’s Futsal fell to a shock goalfilled 9-11 defeat to the underdog Sheffield Hallam side.

Sheffield lost a three goal lead during the match – with Hallam scoring five unanswered goals to turn 4-7 to 7-9 lead.

It was evident from kick-off that Hallam’s goalkeeper was right in form, making a couple of brilliant saves in the opening minutes – diving to his right to prevent Sheffield from taking the lead.

Sheffield’s Nathan Lightowler managed to break the deadlock with a wonderful finish.

A long ball came over his shoulder and he met it with his left foot, putting it back across the goal to make it 1-0.

Hallam answered well, raining down shots on Laurence Bimson in between the Sheffield posts.

Within a couple of minutes the

11 Hallam team saw two shots cannon back off the post, following some long distance drives.

It was not long before Sheffield’s luck ran out. A lovely side footed finish beat Bimson to level the score.

Tom Wilkes answered back for Sheffield almost immediately, finishing calmly at the near post to regain the lead.

Sheffield’s Raif Howley oneon-one with the Hallam keeper but found himself unable to finish - after some brilliant ball control.

The end-to-end action continued when a missed tackle saw the Hallam forward oneon-one and able to finish nicely into the bottom corner.

Hallam went on to take their first lead of the game, with another rocket from distance finding the back of the net – putting them 3-2 up.

Next it Sheffield’s Nwokobia’s turn, a deft finish guiding the ball home, to the joy of the fans

in black and gold.

Hallam scored again to retake the lead, but Lightowler scored again, connecting sweetly first time to fire home – leaving the score 4-4 at the half.

Sheffield started the brighter of the two sides in the second half, with Nwokobia breaking through to square to Enric Garcia Font who fired emphatically home.

They continued to build their lead with Wilkes getting his second from an Enric assist – soon after Lucho Gonzalez netted, putting Sheffield 7-4 up.

But then the remarkable Hallam comeback began, with a low shot arrowing into the net.

Their next goal, to put the score at 7-6, forced Sheffield to take a time-out.

Tensions hit a high when Enric got involved with two Hallam players after a couple of poor tackles – two yellow cards were brandished.

Sheffield continued to live on the edge and were punished by a sliding finish to level it up at 7-7.

Then came the first Hallam penalty, giving them their first lead of the half at 7-8.

Sheffield were briefly back level but Hallam answered back immediately to retake a 8-9 lead.

New Sheffield goalkeeper

Rich Wilkinson misjudged a long throw from the Hallam keeper, and the Hallam forward headed home to give them a two goal advantage Wilkes scored his third of the game but a dubious handball penalty decision again captain Ryan Willson gifted Hallam the chance to restore their two goal lead.

It was converted with ease, confirming the 9-11 Hallam win.

University of Sheffield Futsal team finished fourth in the BUCS Northern Premier this year, meanwhile their city rivals, Hallam, competed in the league below.

Image: Dan West

Table Tennis sweep points 3 Image: Dan West

Netball 1s in EIS triumph

42 36 Sonia Twigg The University of Sheffield Netball 1s made sure the points were shared equally on EIS day after defeating Sheffield Hallam 42-36.

With Hallam 2-1 up after winning both the 2s and 3s games there was a lot of pressure on the Sheffield 1s to even the score.

It was a convincing performance from the Sheffield side who held the lead for 58 minutes of the contest.

Good shooting from Lena

McGuffie-Newnham and strong defence from Yasmin Vines and Liz Bailey gave Sheffield a comfortable 11-6 advantage following the end of the first quarter.

Charlotte Bayes kept Sheffield ahead at halftime after some more excellent shooting with Sheffield holding a 22-17 advantage.

Lots of late goals in the third quarter of action meant Sheffield had a seven point lead going into the final quarter.

More excellent defending from Sheffield denied Hallam multiple scoring opportunities whilst Bayes and Newnham kept the scoring ticking over at the other end.

The good shooting by Sheffield proved invaluable as they secured a 42-36 victory.

Rob Milne, Ed McCosh and Matt Hutchison The University of Sheffield Table Tennis club secured a 3-0 whitewash of Sheffield Hallam after the Men’s 1s, Women’s 1s and Men’s 2s all won convincingly.

In the Men’s 1s, Sheffield captain Warren Li Kam Wa did not lose a single set in his four games.

Hallam took an early lead when Ellis Cooper beat former Sheffield Hallam captain but now Sheffield player Luke Tattersall 0-3, but the score was levelled when David Man Min Ho managed to defeat Hallam’s number one player Dale Parnell.

The game of day came when Tattersall took on Parnell. The Hallam man took a two set lead before Tattersall pulled it back to 2-2 in a brilliant comeback. Parnell came out firing in the final set, finishing a great game and taking the Hallam point.

To top off the day, Li Kam Wa

0 and Fraser treated spectators to an immaculate display in the doubles. The leading pair, who are both in the top 65 players in the country, put Parnell and Cooper to the sword to round off a brilliant performance.

Overall Sheffield won the Men’s 1s 14-3.

In the Women’s event, Sheffield defeated Hallam 3-2 after Laura Horton and Echo Wu prevailed in the deciding doubles match.

Hallam had 23rd ranked Isobel Ashley in their ranks

who defeated Wu and Horton in singles but the team of Wu and Horton held their nerve to defeat Ashley and Wynne Ly. Though Sheffield, who finished 4th in BUCS Northern 1A division, were favourites against a Hallam outfit that finished 5th in Northern 3B, it was a hard-fought and wellearned win for Horton and Wu against the prodigiously talented Ashley and her Hallam counterparts.

In the Men’s 2s, Sheffield produced a similar display to the Men’s 1s, defeating Hallam 14-3 in a dominating performance after winning 14 of the remaining 15 matches.

The overall Varsity performance highlighted why Sheffield have one of the best table tennis clubs in the UK.

Image: Sian Bradley

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Squash hold off Hallam challenge 4

Tennis victorious 3 Matt Wright, Siddharth Solanki and Finlay Panting University of Sheffield’s Tennis club secured all three Varsity points in an excellent day of tennis at Hallamshire Tennis Club In the men’s 1s it began Tom Dyakowski and Will Athow of Sheffield taking on Sheffield Hallam’s James Spence and Olly Janson – the Sheffield pairing winning in straight sets, a tight first set at 7-5 and prevail 6-1 in the second set.

A thriller developed in the other doubles match as Sheffield captain Matt Ford,

0 partnering Ben Stevenson, lost in three sets to Ben Jackson and Remario Brown.

In the singles, Dyakowski demonstrated control in his 6-2, 6-3 win over Janson, while the powerful Athow beat Hallam’s Spence Sheffield had to wait until the final match to seal the point.

Stevenson saw off Brown with ease, romping home to a 6-2 6-2 win.

The women’s 1s managed an impressive 4-2 win over Hallam – despite not winning the event for two years running.

The day started off with the two doubles matches. Lydia Huxtable and Danielle Smith

Men’s Squash 2s win but 1s fall to defeat

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Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield Men’s Squash 2s won 4-3 to take the Varsity point after securing the first four singles matches.

However. the Men’s Squash 1s lost 5-2 to give Hallam the victory.

Sheffield couldn’t have begun the Men’s 1s any better after winning the first two singles matches. Unfortunately for them, they were their only singles victories of the day.

Guy Tallentine narrowly beat Paul Brimson in the opening encounter by three sets to two.

At the same time, Jonny Coverdale produced an excellent display to defeat John Askew 3-1.

Jack Cornell of Hallam defeated Sheffield’s Sam

Birch-Machin 3-0 before Ed Stallworth defeated Simon Graham 3-1 to tie up the Men’s 1s at 2-2.

Omar Badr was beaten 3-0

by Jack Alcock to move Hallam within one point of victory and that was secured when Ed Walker beat Owen Bailey 3-0 to give Hallam the Varsity point.

The Men’s 2s event could not have been anymore different for Sheffield.

Sam Koelling produced an excellent display to defeat Lewis Bellwood 3-0, winning the final two sets 11-1.

That performance indicated the quality of the Sheffield Men’s 2s who went 2-0 up after Chris Yu defeated Tom Gill 3-1.

Greg Deighton then defeated George Illridge 3-0 but he was made to work for his victory, taking the final set 18-16 after 16 minutes of high level squash.

Sheffield won the Men’s 2s point when James McClure won although Michael Hobbs, Alex Fredericks and George Matthews lost later on.

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Sonia Twigg and Anthony Phillips Image: Helen Morse

won the first in straight sets, 7-5 6-3, while Hallam won indoors with Natalie Bacon and Sam Wileman well beaten.

Ashwini Foster put Sheffield in the lead in the first singles match by winning her match 7-5 5-7 6-2. In the second singles match, Carla Baceanu lost the first set but came back strongly to win the next two sets and the match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

To close the event, Danielle Smith won her match moments after Bacon’s loss, 7-6 6-4, to win Sheffield Women’s Tennis 1s the Varsity point.

In the men’s 2s, Sheffield ran out 6-0 winners over Hallam.

The tie consisted of six matches; two doubles and four singles Sheffield had a superb start and Vilis Vitols secured the Varsity point with a 6-3 6-2 win over Smith.

The result confirmed the clean sweep of tennis.

The University of Sheffield Women’s Squash team won the Varsity point after defeating Sheffield Hallam University 4-2.

The addition of Women’s Squash this year meant that the overall Squash event was now worth three Varsity points.

In the first Women’s singles fixture, Natalie Anwyll produced a dominating display of racquet hitting to blow away Sophie Salinger 3-0 in less than 20 minutes.

It was the same story in the second women’s singles match.

Lucy Tetlow took complete control in the centre of the court, hitting excellent boasts and beautiful drop shots to keep Holly Moore of Hallam running. Tetlow also secured a 3-0 whitewash to put Sheffield 2-0 up.

Sheffield secured at least half a Varsity point moments later when Tilly Spence defeated Hattie Hammond 3-1 in a much more competitive game than the previous two contests. Hammond had tied up the contest before Spence

managed to pull away in the third and fourth set.

With Sheffield still needing at least one victory to secure the overall Varsity point, Sarah Gill was defeated 3-1 by Tansy Clark of Hallam.

Hallam had the wind under their sails at this point and they realised they could secure at least half a Varsity point with two victories in the final two singles matches.

In the fifth singles match, Maria Bainbridge fought bravely but was outclassed 3-1 by Jess Dixon despite winning the first set to make it 3-2 with one singles match remaining.

It was left to outgoing sports officer Flic Wilbraham to secure the victory for Sheffield.

In a classic contest full of momentum swings, Wilbraham defeated Georgie Goodwin 3-2 to win the Varsity point and give Sheffield an unassailable 4-2 victory.

After Wilbraham lost the first set, she took the second and took the third to move within one set of victory. However Goodwin took the fourth set to take it to a dramatic conclusion.

The fifth set was filled with excellent shotmaking by both players. Goodwin saved a game ball at 10-9 but Wilbraham took the set 12-10 to seal victory.

Much more at FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

Late winner for Hockey 2s 3 Nicole Oshisanwo Late drama at Abbeydale saw the University of Sheffield Men’s Hockey 2s score a winner with only three minutes remaining to take the Varsity point.

Sheffield survived a Sheffield Hallam onslaught in the final minutes to hold on 3-2 winners, in a heated encounter between the two rivals.

Sheffield captain Alex Tait set the tone for the match in the first minute, lasting just 30 seconds before aggressive tackling saw him receive the game’s first yellow card.

Both sides were clearly pumped up, challenging hard for each loose ball, and it wasn’t long before Hallam also had a player in the bin for an overly eager slide tackle.

Despite both teams being temporarily reduced to ten

2 men, neither side took their foot off the gas and the opening exchanges were played at an electric pace.

Hallam had the first clear chance on ten minutes, but Sheffield were let off.

Less than five minutes later they rued the missed opportunity, as Tom Hawthorne scored for Sheffield.

After receiving the ball in the circle with his back to goal he turned sharply and fired it hard into the bottom corner.

The lead didn’t last long however, Hallam equalised five minutes later with a scrappy goal against the run of play.

For the remainder of the match the teams were evenly matched, with much of the play in the centre of the field and neither side able to work a clear goal scoring chance.

Sheffield scored again just before the break through Matt

Prichard, but were pegged back again when Tait was sent to the bin for a second time, and Hallam converted the subsequent short corner.

Sheffield reacted well to the equaliser, raising their game again with more strong tackling in defence, and powerful attacking runs from Dan Johnson.

Throughout the final quarter of an hour Hallam were pinned back in their half as Sheffield pushed for the winner.

Pressure had been building on the Hallam goal and it eventually paid off.

After a long, patient build up the ball was fired across the circle to the back post where Johnson met it with a superb strike past the keeper to break Hallam hearts.

Emotions were running high after the final whistle. Hallam’s number 10 vented his anger by throwing his stick to floor and aiming abuse at the nearest official, shouting “You are a f**king disgrace of an umpire”.

Such reactions have no place in Varsity, but it didn’t take the gloss off an enthralling and well-deserved Sheffield win.

13 FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE PRESS

Basketball 1s come close 77 97 Arne Dumez The University of Sheffield Basketball Men’s 1s fell to a 77-97 defeat despite an inspired third quarter comeback.

Sheffield even levelled the score in the third quarter – a great achievement against a widely fancied Sheffield Hallam side.

Ben Thomas gained possession for Sheffield at the tip-off, and Marko AmezayaKutija immediately made an offensive attempt on Hallam’s paint. Hallam scored the first points and quickly established a lead.

Five minutes into the first quarter Sheffield suffered a 2-12 deficit after Hallam’s Eddy Brownell scored six points from downtown. It was a poor start for Sheffield.

John Tsui eventually put some points on the board and brought back Sheffield’s morale.

The first period came to an end as the scoreboard showed 13-23.

Hallam, determined to keep up the pace they had set

in the first quarter, opened the second with a charge in Sheffield’s paint. Their lead quickly grew to 16-29.

Nehmie Mimbo endeavoured to bestir his teammates and opened the way for Chris Buckley and Tsui to score.

Sheffield burst into the third quarter with the single objective of closing the 37-48 gap.

After only three minutes, the score stood at 49-53.

The black and gold crowd roared as Sheffield found their second wind.

Captain Jahmai Hibbert-

Photo: Joseph Satchell

Men’s Hockey 1s fall narrowly short

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Harry King Sheffield Hallam survived a spirited University of Sheffield comeback to win 3-2 at Abbeydale.

Late drama almost saw Sheffield earn an unlikely draw after pulling a goal back with one minute on the clock, but time ran out in search of an equaliser and Hallam managed to hold out for the win.

It was a fast-paced game played by two high standard teams who both play in the Northern Premier division.

Sheffield started the match the better of the teams, looking far more comfortable in possession, and Matthew Kettley was immediately causing Hallam problems down the right wing with his pace and dangerous crosses.

However, Hallam grew into the match following a slow start, and after a spell of pressure and several short corners were able to take the lead on 15 minutes with a well worked move.

Sheffield responded well to going a goal behind, with Jack

Howard equalised at 55 points, giving Sheffield its first glimpse of victory since tip off.

However, Hallam did not let their opponents take the lead and quickly regained their composure and their lead.

As the third period came to a close, the score was back to a double digit deficit at 61-74.

Despite North’s exemplary aggression in offense and Hazem’s clever work in the paint, Sheffield could not halt Hallam.

With five minutes left to play, Hallam stood atop a 6689 lead.

With one minute left on the clock, Joe Hensey dashed away from the Sheffield defence to intercept a pass by Hallam and scored a lay-up, thereby reclaiming Sheffield’s dignity in the final moments of the match.

Culmer dominating the midfield, and not allowing Hallam any easy possession.

Eventually the pressure told, and just before half time Sheffield equalised with their first real opportunity of the game. The ball found its way to Marcus Hooper in space, and he fired an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.

Hallam started the second half the better side, forcing several good saves out of Sheffield goalkeeper George Wright, who kept his team in the match at 1-1.

However, even he could not keep Hallam out forever, and after a controversial call by the umpire awarded them a short corner they retook the lead 10 minutes into the second half.

As Sheffield pushed for an equaliser, they were forced to leave holes at the back, and Hallam looked to have killed the game when they scored a third seven minutes from time.

With just 60 seconds remaining the tie seemed to be fizzling out, but James Wright had other ideas.

He controlled a hard pass at the back post and finished well to give Sheffield some hope.

But there was just too little time left to get the equaliser, and even swapping the keeper for an extra outfield player was not enough to force one last chance.

Photo: Tom Holden

Women’s Hockey 1s cruise

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Chloe Coleman The University of Sheffield Women’s 1s sauntered to a 4-0 victory against Sheffield Hallam to seal the Varsity point with consummate ease.

Sheffield flew out of the blocks early on, with the opening goal scored by Amelia Milton in the sixth minute.

Minutes after the goal, there was a short corner given to the Sheffield after foot contact with the ball, but it ultimately they failed to take advantage.

Tension was building among rather vocal fans of both sides after three penalty corners were awarded to Hallam in quick succession, yet none

resulted in a goal. A fairly exciting and fast first half ended with the score still 1-0.

Almost immediately after the teams returned to the pitch, Sarah Bazley-Harrison extended Uni’s lead with a composed finish, bringing the score to a more comfortable 2-0. Sharp intakes of breath were heard minutes later as Hallam’s Amy Palmer took a shot and narrowly missed.

The noise of the crowd grew once again as Milton, who scored earlier, was given a green card after a foul. Hallam’s attack fought back as they sought a way back into the game, but the Sheffield defence held them off well.

Alice Williams then silenced the Hallam crowd and scored for Sheffield, furthering the lead to 3-0.

Then, in the closing moments of the match, a last minute goal brought the score to 4-0 to a dominant Sheffield.

Reports: Across the courts Netball 3s and 4s The University of Sheffield Netball 3’s agonisingly lost 36-35 to rivals Sheffield Hallam with the game decided in the very last seconds of the match. Sheffield were penalised for travelling moments before they thought they had secured the equaliser.

Hallam had been six points ahead towards the end of the third quarter before Sheffield began their fightback.

The Netball 4s won in a more convincing fashion, defeating Hallam 44-30 after some excellent attacking and defensive play througout the contest.

Basketball

The University of Sheffield Women’s Basketball 1s and 2s and the Men’s 2s all lost to superior Hallam opponents.

The Women’s 2s lost 62-23 in a Varsity exhibition game, the Women’s 1s lost 94-35 and the Men’s 2s lost 78-42 which allowed Hallam to win all four Basketball matches.

W Hockey 2s The University of Sheffield secured the Women’s 2s Varsity point despite losing the game 1-0.

Varsity officials ruled that the Hallam point would be given to Sheffield after it had been discovered that the Hallam Women’s 1s captain and two other Hallam first team players played in the fixture.

In the actual game itself, Sheffield lost 1-0 following an own goal in the 22nd minute after a shot deflected off Maddie Wilkins and flew into the Sheffield goal.

Photo: Sian Bradley

W Volleyball The University of Sheffield Volleyball Women’s 1’s suffered a disappointing defeat at EIS day, losing three sets to love.

After losing the first two sets 25-15 and 25-16, Christina Venslavovitch landed awkwardly and required medical assistance with Sheffield in a strong position. The third set was 25-19.

Netball 2s

The University of Sheffield Netball 2s fell to a 52-33 defeat against Sheffield Hallam despite a strong start at EIS. Sheffield had led 7-2 early on but the side, for whom Ellie Hands and Frankie Bunting scored 10 and 12 points respectively, could not hold on.

Tenacious defending and sharp interceptions foiled multiple Sheffield attacks, and a steady stream of scores meant Hallam had established a 24-17 lead by the halfway stage.

In the final two quarters, Hallam scored 16 of the next 17 points to defeat Sheffield 52-33.

FORGE PRESS | Thursday April April 2016

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Ice Hockey provides thrilling finale Rob Milne

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Image: Lucy McLean

In an incredible endto-end game of Ice Hockey, Sheffield Hallam University ended up 4-3 victors over the University of Sheffield in the final event of Varsity 2016.

Fans from both universities packed into to Sheffield Arena to see Varsity’s centrepiece event, a sea of black and gold and maroon and white – the game ended with Hallam edging out Sheffield in a thrilling encounter.

The first real chance fell to Sheffield’s Rory Garrett, who was unable to convert when the puck was squared to him.

Hallam opened the scoring in the third minute when Jordan Ho was able to take advantage from a fast breakaway – undefeated Hallam looked relatively comfortable in the early stages.

Hallam’s Josh Nimms was the first player to be sent to the sin-bin, for tripping.

Sheffield equalised soon after through Jordan Sullivan, making the score 1-1, with a lovely flick into the roof of the net. They kept the momentum up when Max Gerstein rounded

four players before shooting inches too high.

Seconds later, against the run of play, Hallam’s George Bradbury made it 2-1, with a thumping finish. Intensity in the first quarter was high with Garrett making a brilliant last ditch challenge to prevent a Hallam one-onone.

The second period began with a Sheffield power-play, with Dan Boardman just missing at the end.

Hallam were creating a lot of chances through their good attack and Sheffield through poor Hallam defence.

The fight that everyone wanted came when Tom Robjohns of Sheffield and Lyndon Taylor of Hallam threw down their sticks and fought for nearly a minute – embracing in a lovely hug afterwards as they were both sent to the sinbin.

Sheffield began their fightback shortly after when Jerry Tang diverted a long range drive into the Hallam goal, making the score 3-2.

A minute later, Sheffield struck again with Tang getting another. The puck was squared to him and he calmly fired into the roof of the net.

Sheffield looked firmly in control, making chance after chance, with Hallam continuing to play on the back-foot.

A small fight closed an exhilarating second period, with the score level at 3-3.

The third period started slowly, with both teams looking to open up their opponents defence. - the only early chance coming when Hallam’s Sam Krempasky tested Wood in the Sheffield goal.

Krempasky didn’t waste his second opportunity on goal, putting away his shot and giving Hallam the lead with ten minutes left to play.

Sheffield now had to push to overturn the 4-3 scoreline.

Despite some impressive pacey attacks led by Gerstein, Sheffield struggled to get any open looks at the Hallam goal and net-minder Matt Croyle was left largely untroubled for the majority of the final period.

Sheffield came close to equalising a couple of times in the closing moments, including a scramble in front of the Hallam net, but the victory and final point of Varsity 2016 went to Sheffield Hallam Ice Hockey.

Badminton victorious 2 Siddharth Solanki and Dom Lowe The University of Sheffield enjoyed a successful day of Badminton, with the Men’s sides winning both points on offer before the Women’s 1s suffered defeat.

The University of Sheffield Badminton Men’s 1 did not let the pressure of potentially sealing a Varsity point affect them at all as they managed a 5-3 to win a point against Sheffield Hallam. Unfortunately for them, the women’s hockey confirmed Sheffield’s win halfway before through the Men’s Badminton event.

Ollie Cohen won his first singles match quite comfortably, 21-1, 21-6.

Cohen prevailed in the second singles match although he faced a tougher battle than in the first, eventually winning 21-19, 21-14. He was by far the best singles player on the court. Kalana De Silva, the other singles players for

1 Sheffield, only managed to win one of his matches.

The doubles teams won three of their four matches. Victor Yuan and Jin Chunlok won one of their two matches,both closely fought contests. On the other hand, Matt Olney and Freddie Matthers were in fine form and won both their doubles matches for Sheffield.

Hallam needed to win the final match to gain half a point but Matthers and Olney kept their nerve to win the match and the point for University of Sheffield.

The University of Sheffield Men’s Badminton 2s convincingly won their Varsity point in a brilliant display at Goodwin.

Yi Yang and Anuj Savani won both of their singles matches to propel their team to victory over a strong Hallam side.

Meanwhile the two doubles pairs, Shannon Chen and Sam Sin, and Ivan Tan and Jerrico Yeo, both won one of their matches to secure a 6-2 win

for the University of Sheffield.

Yang, Sheffield’s first-seeded singles player, won both of his matches convincingly, not dropping a single game in both of his 2-0 wins.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Badminton 1s were beaten 8-0 in a comprehensive win by a Sheffield Hallam side who were almost perfect all throughout the contest.

Hallam won all eight games against Sheffield who could not match Hallam’s play consistently.

Despite defeat, Ellie Martel told Forge Sport: “I have the best team in the world.

We love how Varsity brings the University together.

“The support today was amazing.”

Elsewhere, the University of Sheffield Men’s Badminton 3s defeated Sheffield Hallam University Men’s Badminton 3s 5-3 at Hallamshire Tennis and Squash Club. There was some quality badminton on show at the Goodwin Sports Centre.

Unfortunately, as it was only an exhibition match, the win did not count towards the overall Varsity score.

While Varsity victory arrived during the Badminton action, it was this set of performances that added gloss to the final scoreline.

Image: Sam Kite and Marie Holler

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | FORGE PRESS

Hockey 3s seal Varsity 2 Ed McCosh “Sing it, shout it, climb atop Inox Dine and proclaim it from the rooftops – the University of Sheffield are the Varsity 2016 champions!”

Those were the words from Forge Radio that greeted full-time at Goodwin, as the Women’s 3s Hockey secured the 2-2 draw and 0.5 points that confirmed a fourth successive Varsity victory for the University of Sheffield.

A black and gold wave of jubilant supporters flooded the pitch at the whistle to celebrate

2 with the side that has pushed Sheffield over the line for two years running.

The match itself, played under clear blue skies and before a raucous Goodwin crowd, was packed with Varsity drama.

Sheffield dominated the early stages, and the pressure told after nine minutes when a cross from the right found Rosie Malone, who swept the ball home.

Lizzie Hall was denied by a sprawling save from the Hallam goalkeeper, but with 20 minutes gone Hall made no mistake from

close range, making it 2-0.

It stayed that way until the closing stages, with chances at a premium for both sides, but then Hallam struck twice in quick succession.

A first goal was scrambled in with eight minutes remaining, before a remarkable equaliser was struck home moments later.

The game seemed to be slipping away but Sheffield held firm, keeping Hallam at bay with the vital half-point within their grasp.

The whistle sparked wild celebrations from the crowd, who in turn informed the players of their success, and it was at that moment under the beating sun that the University of Sheffield made it four Varsity titles in a row.

The Men’s Hockey 3s also won, beating Hallam 3-2.

Image: Sonia Twigg

Korfball finish level 1 1 Anthony Phillips & Leona Owoyel The University of Sheffield shared the spoils in Korfball on a frantic last day of Varsity.

In the mixed 3s exhibition game that did not count towards Varsity, Sheffield defeated Hallam 105.

Robert Renz Marcelo Gregorio was the star player for Sheffield, he opened the scoring in the first couple of minutes to give Sheffield an early advantage.

In the first half, the game was very tight with good defending from both sides. Sheffield had a narrow 5-4 lead at the break.

The second half of the match was all Sheffield who began to pull away from Hallam.

More good shooting from Gregorio saw Sheffield extend their advantage and Hallam only managed to score one point in the second half as Sheffield won 10-5.

In the mixed 2s, Sheffield began quickly, sailing to a 8-2 lead.

Hallam slowly but surely began to pull themselves back into the contest. Hallam scored three consecutive points brought the score to 11-5.

Sheffield continued to keep up the good attacking display and added a twelth goal to seal a12-6 lead.

Unfortunately for Sheffield, the Korfball mixed 1s could not bring home both Varsity points after an enthralling contest.

The game swung back and fourth with the score tied throughout most of the game.

With news of the overall Varsity score spreading round the crowd and the team, Sheffield began to lose focus as Hallam started to play for pride.

In the final 15 minutes, Hallam took a narrow lead and then extended that minutes later.

Sheffield continued to try and keep up the pace but they were unable to stop Hallam from scoring.

In the end, Hallam won 16-12 to secure an inconsequential Varsity point.

Image: Ed McCosh

Mixed fortunes for Lacrosse Chloe Coleman The University of Sheffield Women’s Lacrosse team won a frentic match against Sheffield Hallam 16-6.

Sheffield took the lead within seconds of the start before Hallam equalised moments later with a excellent goal from Hartley.

Moments after Hallam scored, Sheffield took the lead again to make it three goals in the opening five minutes.

The fast start soon cooled off for Hallam who conceded three more Sheffield goals in the next 10 minutes before they finally added their second.

The Sheffield side werent done with their attacking display and scored another three goals in quick succession to effectively end the contest.

The eight goal of the game was scored by incoming Sports Officer Emily Roche.

Hallam had no reply to the dominance of Sheffield despite scoring their third goal of the match.

Sheffield continued to keep scoring at regular intervals with more goals after excellent

attacking movement.

In the end, Sheffield defeated Hallam 15-6 to win the Varsity point.

The Men’s game was meant to be a fascinating encounter between a Sheffield side that had won all fourteen games they had played this season, being victorious in both the league and the cup and a quality Hallam side in the division above.

Sheffield started the game strongly and took a 2-0 lead after Joe Boag scored from Charlie Murray’s assist.

Hallam fought back and tied the game at 3-3 midway through the second quarter before extending their advantage to lead 5-4 at the half.

The game continued to be tight at the end of the third quarter with Hallam leading 7-5 after both sides missed some good goalscoring opportunities.

Sheffield made it 7-6 before Hallam pulled away in the fourth quarter as Sheffield began to tire.

Sheffield scored the last goal of the game two minutes from time but it was too late as Hallam inflicted the first defeat on the Men’s all season, winning 11-8.

Reports: In the pool & on the pitch Double defeat for Water Polo teams The University of Sheffield men’s Water Polo were unable to overcome Sheffield Hallam despite some valiant defensive work, falling to a 3-9 defeat.

Sheffield started brightly but Hallam still managed to make it 0-3.

Despite James Rafferty heroics in the Sheffield goal, Hallam surged clear to win comfortably.

An elite Sheffield Hallam women’s Water Polo team easily defeated the University of Sheffield 16-4 at Ponds Forge.

Much more at FORGETODAY.COM/VARSITY

Canoe Polo

Swimming

The University of Sheffield were dominant in the pool, winning both the Men’s and Women’s Canoe Polo event at Ponds Forge.

The Women’s side set the tone, winning 5-2 as a perfect prelude to the Men’s event.

The Men were even more emphatic, crushing Hallam 9-1 to take the point.

The University of Sheffield Men’s and Women’s Swimming teams performed admirably but were unable to stop Sheffield Hallam from clincling both Varsity points.

Sheffield had a number of second and third places in both the Men’s and Women’s events but Hallam took the most victories, and as a result the points.

Frisbee

Image: Sam Kite

The University of Sheffield Men’s and Women’s Ultimate Frisbee sides both suffered defeat against Sheffield Hallam at Goodwin.

Amidst the jubilation of Sheffield taking Varsity victory, the two defeats went under the radar somewhat. Hallam Women ran out comfortable 6-3 winners, taking the Varsity point with it.

Hallam Men’s 1s kept Sheffield at arm’s length throughout, and closed out a 15-7 victory.

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s e r u t c i In P

FORGE PRESS | Thursday 21 April 2016

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Forge Press| Thursday 21 April 2016

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PAPERS members of Jingping and other state officials have connections to a series of offshore companies, the Chinese Government has since organised an information black out.

If you type “Panama Papers” into the Chinese search engine Baidu, you will be greeted with a solitary message saying that the search results “may not meet the relevant regulations, and have not been displayed”.

President Jingping’s war on corruption has always been selective and in the light of recent events which named and shamed his brother in law Deng Jiagui, we can only expect the state to focus their anti-corruption campaign elsewhere.

In 2014, Jiagui’s name was also featured in an ICIJ report which the state refused to acknowledge.

Therefore, it is unlikely that Jinping would actively investigate those behind the offshore investments.

It would be outing many Chinese officials and their family members which the Chinese government is not prepared to do.

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Devni Kitulagoda has compiled a comprehensive breakdown of everything you need to know surrounding the recent revelations of the Panama Papers

Check out Comment’s view on recent events on page 12...

What about David Cameron?

The Panama Papers also revealed that Prime Minister David Cameron’s late father had an offshore investment fund registered in Panama.

Blairmore Holdings successfully avoided tax by hiring residents in the Bahamas to sign the paperwork.

The documents do not paint a clear picture as to whether any tax rules were broken. If the firm pretended that company decisions were made abroad, that would be a clear breach of tax rules and regulations. Recently, Cameron admitted that he did hold shares from 1997 to 2010 but they were sold before he took office as Prime Minister.

This has still drawn criticism as he only chose to sell just a few months before becoming Prime Minister. He still continued to hold them during his time as the leader of the Opposition from 20052010.

With the mounting criticism, Cameron has recently published his tax return in an effort to quell the public outrage. Cameron also faced further embarrassment as the Panama Papers highlighted the British Virgin Islands as a hotspot for offshore activity.

The damage done to Cameron’s personal credibility and the trust the public had instilled in him could permeate into other aspects like the upcoming EU referendum.

There is a danger that the public may not see him as fit or trustworthy to negotiate on their behalf and purport to vote leave in the referendum. In order

to control the media storm, Downing Street issued a statement reiterating that Cameron is no longer involved with the company.

However, this did little to stop the influx of questions and protests as it failed to clarify whether Cameron did in fact benefit from Blairmore Holdings Inc.

What Now?

Following the scandal, the EU’s five biggest economies including Britain and Germany have joined forces to crackdown on tax evasion. This would constitute a global corporate information exchange

in order to lift the veil of secrecy associated with corporate financial dealings.

The chancellor, George Osborne, said the agreement is “a hammer blow against those that would illegally evade taxes and hide their wealth in the dark corners of the financial system.” The plan hopes to include the perpetrators and their enablers including lawyers, tax experts, bankers and accountants.

However, does it go far enough? Whether this positive movement would extend to overseas British territories is a question that still needs to be answered.

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Thursday 21 April 2016 |Forge Press

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Exams Vs.

. . . s t n e m s s Asse ? e s r o W What’s Unfortunately, it’s that time of year again where the stress levels are high. Our Features Editor Ellena Rowlin investigates which is more stressful for students - exams, or assessments...

I

t’s rolling around to exam season again. You’ve just had your week of revision lectures, and now comes the dreaded task of revising what seems like a whole library worth of notes, all for just one two hour exam, of which 100 per cent of your module is based. No pressure.

It’s doomsday if you will. As you’re moaning about the task you are faced with while grabbing a revision snack from your fridge, you hear your housemate

say, “I don’t have any exams, mine are all coursework.” Without even knowing it you automatically a) hate them and b) wonder how it can be fair that not all students are assessed in the same way.

Or maybe, being a student that has everything assessed by coursework, you think how unfair it is that while everyone else around you is having a grand time at Tuesday Club, Roar, Corp or other weekday nights out, you’re slaving over

your 20th ‘short essay’ this semester!

Both sides of the argument are valid and the question arises of which method of assessment is better for us students? Should there just be one kind of assessment for everyone?

Well here are some of the pros (if there are any) and cons (which are more likely) of exams vs coursework. Sit back, relax and imagine a life where everyone is assessed in the exact same way.

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Forge Press| Thursday 21 April 2016

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EXAMS I

t’s a task that only the mightiest of us are cut out for: a booklet of blank white paper, a question of a couple of sentences maximum, and two and a half hours ahead of us.

For decades students of all ages and intellect have argued that assessment by examination just is not fair to everyone.

The panic sets in, your prepared process of time management goes out the window, and the worry that the question could be worded that oddly to mislead you, suddenly becomes all too real.

Many people would argue that exams are just a test of memory, not intelligence. The creativity that we looked forward to unleashing at university, feels trampled on by our main aim of getting in every ‘key phrase or idea’ that we know is on the mark scheme. Some exams even take away marks if you put the wrong thing now. Since when has that been a thing?

Then there is the tedious subject of feedback. Okay, some of us really could not care less about what an examiner thinks of the second word of our fourth paragraph, but a lot of subjects receive absolutely zero feedback from their exam.

COURSE

WORK B

eing a social science student, I am very familiar with assessment via coursework, so much so that the tight deadlines are no longer news to me.

Many of us can’t praise coursework enough: it gives you time to plan, structure, change, and vitally write your argument, all within a two week, not two hour, time constraint.

But this lengthy amount of time can actually work against you. Sometimes while engaged in essay mode, our original point becomes hazier through the twenty something references required and everything becomes a bit blurry. Where were you going with this? Do you have enough references? What page number was that quote? It can all get too much.

If you have not had to experience the world of referencing, it requires slaving over books in multiple locations to find one relevant quote to support your points. The IC is not the Holy Grail of all books as we once thought it was.

The marking criteria for coursework is also famously much harsher, as tutors obviously expect a much higher standard of work from the amount of

This would most likely not be the case with coursework.

Many of us humble students may be having an off day, possibly, still slightly hungover on the day of the grand test of module knowledge. While the coursework students can spread their display of wisdom across weeks of selectively chosen sessions.

More worrying is the fact that different markers may interpret the exam criteria differently.

Two Psychology students at Warwick were less than pleased to find that they had been downgraded to 2:2 grades by a second marker after initially receiving firsts, without any explanation.

This begs the question as to whether exam results are down to our memory quality and subjective preference of whichever examiner gets your wonderful paper

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to mark. Is this really fair?

But then of course, there are the lovers of exams. The ones who can cram a ring binder of knowledge, a wall of mindmapping or a whole desk’s worth of post-it-note facts into their brain, to then splurge it all out onto that blank piece of paper in perfectly phrased paragraphs.

This is not said with a bitter tone, I am actually very envious. But is life really better off in the land of coursework?...

VERSUS

time we are given when compared to the restrictions of an exam. And damn you, word counts, you become the bane of our lives for weeks.

For the luckier ones, chunks of well written and well-loved texts are deleted while a tear is shed, all to avoid getting 10 per cent deducted for writing too much!

Then there is just the simple eventuality of boredom.

Yes, we all succumb to it, and sometimes the relationship you have with this obscure question becomes frankly, a bit repetitive, and as a result our focus flops. This wouldn’t be a worry in an exam- the invigilator is practically giving you the five minute warning before you’ve even started.

And who can forget our old friend. Harvard Referencing, which just tops off the bored, exhausted, coursework student, who now has to make sure every single reference is correct. That’s before you encounter the problem of forgetting to write down the release years of every book you used.

OUR VERDICT? So which is better then? The arguments both for and against have valid weight to them, although most of you reading this probably just agree that we shouldn’t have either at all, which is also a great point.

The acceptance that each student works differently is key, and many of you most likely chose your degree course based around how you work and if the course assesses you in that way.

A balance seems to work great for me, but then the person next door may be a self-taught memorising genius, who can regurgitate facts in an exam like there is no tomorrow.

No matter how much we despise exams for their pressurised environment or coursework for their evil mark schemes, university is designed to test your intelligence throughout the three years in many different ways.

So stop comparing your degree to others, because each form of assessment is suited to that course.

Go have a bit of fun without exams and coursework, before the tough times are upon us.

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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On a Shoestring: Malaysia Sheena Sidhu tells us everything you need to know about her home country, Malaysia.

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rowing up in Malaysia, I was never really driven to explore different parts of my country. It wasn’t until a friend of mine from university came to visit me that I realized that I hadn’t ventured very far beyond the comforts of the shops and cafés surrounding my neighbourhood. It was only during this last Christmas break that I became a tourist in my own country.

I think it’s important to highlight that Malaysia is broken up into two parts: West Malaysia, the peninsular where most economic activity takes place, and East Malaysia, a somewhat less developed area of natural beauty. I got the chance to visit Sabah and Sarawak, the two states that make up the East and I was certainly not disappointed with what I saw.

Due to a devastating earthquake that

had rocked the area around the tallest mountain in South-East Asia, Mt Kinabalu, we were unable to put our endurance to the test and complete the trek, but we were still able to get a sense of the wildlife there as we explored the nature trails whilst battling through the humidity and mosquitoes that would not leave us alone. It was worth it though, as I was able to give my friend an experience totally different than anything she would have experienced back in the UK. Back home on the Western Peninsular, we took a trip to Malacca, or ‘Melaka’ as the locals call it, the historic city which was a trading hub as far back as the 15th century. Having been under both Portuguese and Dutch rule in the past, it is easy to see that a lot of that influence has remained, with majestic churches such as Christ Church and St.

Peter’s Church continuing to stand tall in this predominantly Muslim country.

We also took a trip up north to Penang, a place that is known for one thing in particular: food. Malaysia is a country full of foodies and Penang is easily one of the most famous places to sample all the culinary triumphs this country has to offer. From Penang curry laksa, a delicious spicy broth made up of coconut milk and seafood, to char kueh teow, a delectable mix of fried noodles with egg soy sauce, the only issue here is how much you can fit into your stomach, with prices being a non-factor. You can easily eat like a king for less than £5 a day.

Despite the exorbatant flight prices, I would encourage anyone to visit Malaysia for a true taste of what South East Asia has to offer.

Recipe Corner: Vegan Sweet Potato Wedges Rama Alsammouah shows us how to cook a delicious, cheap and healthier alternative to fried potato chips.

Ingredients:

- 2 Sweet potatoes - Oil (I used rapeseed oil as it has a higher smoking point than olive oil)

For seasoning:

- Salt (I used sea salt) - Black pepper (optional) -Paprika (optional- but it gives a nice contrast to the sweetness of the potatoes) - Cumin (optional) - Garlic powder (optional)

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with non-stick wax paper or drizzle some oil on the tray and coat the tray evenly.

- Wash the potatoes and cut off the two edges on the opposite ends of each sweet potato.

- Next, cut the sweet potatoes into

circles (although you can cut them into chunks but I find this way quicker) with a 3mm width, as you don’t want them to be too thick that they take a very long time to cook and you don’t want them to be too thin that they end burning.

- Now, in a bowl add the freshly cut sweet potatoes and add 2 table spoons of oil (1 table spoon per whole sweet potato). Then, add your salt and spices and using your hands combine the ingredients until all the sweet potatoes are coated evenly.

- Next, place your sweet potato wedges on the baking tray.

- Then, place the baking tray in the oven for 35 minutes on 200C heat.

Check them every so often and while they’re baking in the oven they will shrink in size and when they are soft and crispy they are ready to consume.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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Step into Spring

Cristiana Frunza picks her favourite spring fashion trends that you should wear now.

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t’s raining outside but all I can think about is spring. For me this season is all about the new, about taking your old self and reshaping it, as well as your old clothes and restyling them.

So, what are the key items for this spring? It might seem hard to figure out a whole new wardrobe for this season, but not to worry! Thanks to the gods of fashion, designers who work months for a collection, there are a few very fashionable items which will save you the

trouble of overthinking.

My personal favourites are the lace up pumps. The thin laces will make your leg look slimmer, longer and you’ll feel a lot more comfortable in them. Adding a ‘Lolita’ feel, these shoes will make your look classy or girly – the choice is all yours!

The cold shoulder

The cold shoulder issue, as I like to call it, is probably my favourite thing this spring. The cold shoulder is really a DIY cut out around your shoulder, showing your skin beautifully, while the sleeve falls gently on the arm.

On the same note, the off the shoulder top seductively reveals the bare shoulder.

For more of a casual yet still edgy outfit, I’d go with the cold shoulder while a piece of clothing which exposes the neck and shoulder line will always be the right choice on a more special occasion.

The headband

The patched jeans

Statement or statementless jeans?

Because I’m sure once you put a pair of these on you’re good to go. Wear it with a white tank top to give that effortless vibe, or add a metallic sports jacket to look like a complete badass.

Whichever you prefer, patches are one of the trends which will go throughout the whole of spring and summer, adding that glam-rock effect to your outfit. While they may seem a bit pricey, think of it as a

long-term investment, you’re not buy just jeans, but trousers, patterns and patches.

Lace up pumps/sandals

Spring is such a versatile season and with it comes great variety. From heels to flats, from boots to sandals or trainers, spring shoes are easy to mix and match.

The best news? You can wear the same pair throughout the season and you’ll rock them!

The headband is that one accessory which comes and goes, but has been seen in collections along the years; think the beautiful red roses on Dolce headbands, or the punk-rock studded headbands by Givenchy. And so, this spring headbands are back! Having a summer-y touch, floral headbands keep a natural look, while for the more daring ones, gold headbands will truly add that touch of elegance. As well as braided hair, the braided head pieces are one of the trends dominating this season. I suggest you wrap your head around it, cause they’re in for a long run.

The long vest or the duster

Oh, the long vest! It’s not a jacket and it’s definitely not a dress, but it’s both! This beautiful combination of sleeveless cut and a flowy fabric is definitely a must this spring, for those long, warm days when

Concourse Couture

Nick Studying Business Management Top: Charity shop Jeans: ASOS Shoes: DC

you know you’re going to be outdoors from morning till dawn. I prefer to wear it with a turtle neck sweater or a ¾ sleeve crop top. Try it in pastel colours like peach, baby blue or pale green.

Hannah Studying Korean and Japanese All clothing garments: from a Japanese brand called SwanKiss

Photos: Rama Alsammouah

James Studying English and Linguistics Jeans: COW Shoes: Depop

Millie Studying English Top: TopShop Skirt: COW Shoes: Doc Martens

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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The Best Burritos in Sheffield

Since 2014, Mexican restaurants have risen in the UK by 71 percent, with Sheffield being no different to other cities in riding the Mexican culinary wave. Burritos are one of the fastest growing food trends on the high street so we sent Carolyn Wright to tuck into a selection of Sheffield’s finest to find you the five best burritos in the Steel City.

Your burrito is completely customisable and tailored to your taste.

There’s a choice of six fillings, two types of rice, two types of beans and four salsa spice levels coming to an even £5.

The chipotle chicken is a mild option while barbacoa beef is tender and juicy, a definite favourite.

Street Food Chef

Grill & Go

Nestled right in the heart of the SU, Grill & Go offers burritos customisable with your choice of wrap, salad, filling and sauce from £3.50. The fillings on offer change daily and it’s worth going early for the best selection, although they’re all full of flavour. You can choose a marinated chicken filling (all halal) or vegetarians can go for spicy Quorn.

They have a range of sauces so you can take the flavour of your burrito in any direction. Opt for chipotle mayo to add a kick.

Buckin’ Burrito

According to their slogan, visiting Buckin’ Burrito “mex sense”.

“Completely customisable and tailored to your taste.”

Although its location on Ecclesall Road makes it a good walk from campus, it’s worth the adventure. You can take your lunch to-go or dine-in surrounded by vibrant graffiti art.

Street Food Chef is a cosy mexican canteen recently set up on Glossop road. Burritos start at £4.60 and are pretty packed, but there’s also the option to go large from £5.50.

With 5 spice levels and 5 fillings to choose from, you can have your burrito your way with veggie, gluten free and dairy free options available. The tomato chicken provides a mild, smoky flavour and the beef brisket is perfectly tender, making Street Food Chef well worth a visit.

Revolucion de Cuba

Conveniently located on Mappin Street, Revolucion de Cuba is an ideal lunch spot. Although a more expensive option at £7.95, Revs’ deal includes a soft drink, beer or hot drink. The cosy booths make it a great place to chill in your lunch break and the speedy service can have you back in lectures within the hour.

The marinated chicken burrito combines crunchy pan-fried chicken with smooth refried beans. The burrito has a kick to it, but spice lovers can always add their own heat with Revs’ spicy rum sauce.

California Fresh

California Fresh on Glossop road serves unique Californian style burritos, meaning they feature fillings such as cheeseburger and dill pickle, which won’t be found elsewhere.

“balancing flavoursome and fiery buffalo salsa with cool ranch dressing.”

The menu has a staggering choice of 17 burritos blending the American and Mexican palettes or the option to

design your own. “Lite bite” burritos start at £2.75 and regular burritos at £4.39. You choose your spice level with 3 homemade salsas and Louisiana hot sauce for extra heat.

Spice lovers need to try the Hella Hot, which balances flavoursome and fiery buffalo salsa with cool ranch dressing. For something milder, the Chipotle Lover pulled pork is juicy and succulent with dill pickle bringing out the saltiness. The No-Cheeso is a mouth-watering vegetarian/vegan option packed full of tangy sweet onion and crispy tortilla strips.

California Fresh are also on Deliveroo, but don’t miss the chance to dine-in at the restaurant, where you’ll get to eat your lunch at a surfboard table and listen to upbeat 50’s rock ‘n’ roll.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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LIFESTYLE

Review: Thrifty Store Mared Gruffydd tells us about the latest addition to Sheffield’s ever-growing vintage shop collection, Thrifty Store.

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eing a student on a tight budget means most of us spend our time browsing rather than buying. A popular alternative to pricey high stores are vintage shops, and Sheffield offers some of the best in the country.

Sheffield’s newest vintage shop is Thrifty Store, located in the city centre near Primark. It may not seem like much from the outside, but if you follow the corridor to the back of the store you will find a warehouse sized room abundant with vintage shoes, clothes, furniture, records and jewellery. At first, the sheer size of the shop and amount of clothes is overwhelming.

Bally, the owner of Thrifty Store, told me that the store already has a few regulars who enjoy spending hours delving through piles of second hand items, trying to bag themselves a bargain. “For a rummager, like me, it is paradise”, he said. Bally told me that his stock comes from all around the world, from America to Amsterdam.

Bally holds monthly vintage kilo

sales, which is an ideal way for students to buy a large amount of clothes for an affordable price. A great thing about Thrifty Store is the fact that everything is extraordinarily cheap. I spotted one man trying on a long fur coat that cost only £6.99; a bargain for those trying to find new winter clothes.

What I liked the most about Thrifty Store was its quirkiness. I especially liked the yellow post-it notes dotted

around the shop with positive messages scribbled on them, like “Have a mint day”. The store also has a large video and record collection, selling for as cheap as a pound each.

Thrifty Store is holding a £1 sale on 23 April, where everything from skirts, shoes, jackets, dresses, and jeans will only cost, you guessed it, a pound!

This event is a must for any vintage shoppers and bargain lovers.

Wanna be on top?

Shruti Shukla writes about her evening at Sheffield University’s Next Top Model competition and Fashion Show.

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he University of Sheffield’s first ever fashion show was a night full of alluring models, exuberant dance performances and raffle draws that made for a fantastic Sunday outing.

Held in Players Bar on West Street, the show attracted an audience of over 150 people. The 11 finalists who walked down the ramp were selected in the casting round based on their fashion style, catwalk and one to one interviews. The clothes worn on the catwalk spanned four different themes: vintage, urban, university life and elegance. The models chose pieces from their own wardrobe for the elegance theme; a challenge proposed by the president of the fashion society to evaluate their style. Hair styling and make up helped get the models rampready.

Mikhail Mohd Noh from Malaysia acquired the title of Sheffield University’s Next Top Model 2016 with his sophisticated dress sense and sharp looks. The young model is inspired by the Australian model Andreja Pejic and strongly believes that confidence alone makes fashion statements. Hungarian beauty Kriszta Orbán and Leanne Liu from China were first and second runners up.

Esther Koch was named Most Professional Model, Kaifan Guan with a fresh grey hairdo was awarded Best Makeover and Yixue Mao from China won the audience’s hearts with her traditional outfit and was appraised as Best Dressed.

Besides Brandan Lai, president of the Fashion Society, the panel of the judges also included the Vice President of Fashion Society, Aysha Goztepe, and Lifestyle Editor of Forge Press, Mared Gruffydd. Public votes and committee opinions also counted towards the final decisions.

Sheffield-based dance group, Ink Dance, entertained the audience with their performances and turned out to be a big hit. The Belly Dance society and Expressive Dance Society also joined to encourage the models.

The show involved an extensive preparation, nine months in total.

From planning, getting sponsors, recruiting potential committee members, auditioning contestants and getting the finalists ready for the big day.

University of Sheffield is consistently voted number one for student experience and this evening was yet another example why.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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ENTERTAINMENT

THIS FORTNIGHT...

Why we must fight for our libraries It was announced this week that Lambeth Council will be investigated as to whether its planned library closures are breaking the law. The breakthrough comes after weeks of high-profile occupation of South London’s Carnegie Library, threatened with transformation into the exclusive and dubiously named ‘Healthy Living Centre’ – essentially a glorified private gym.

It certainly seems fitting that Lambeth’s well-loved home of literature should be replaced by such an elitist business. After all,

libraries are perhaps the greatest social equalisers in the modern world, and the government’s recent decimation of their services can only be viewed as an attack on social mobility.

For the Arts sphere in particular, libraries are crucial to broadening horizons; anyone, no matter their circumstances, can drop in and uncover a wealth of literature, music and information.

In a society increasingly segregated by class privilege, public libraries leave inequality at

the door.

I worked in a library in my hometown, and saw first-hand the phenomenal power these institutions have to improve lives. Whether you’re raising a family or unable to make ends meet, the opportunity to read raises aspirations and sparks inspiration.

For many people, the library is their only point of access to the Arts, and unlike almost any other source of culture and learning, the only restriction is the time you can invest. No one benefits more from

this freedom than those who are struggling, so it seems inconceivable that the progressive tradition of public libraries should be all but annihilated in the name of private profit.

Let’s hope, then, that the wave of destruction will be halted by the upcoming investigations. In the midst of these attacks on culture and equality, it will show the citizens of Lambeth, and their supporters across the UK, that the fight isn’t over.

LAURA MULVEY

Brought to you by the film industry...

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pril seventh marked the occasion of the 12th annual British Academy Game Awards, as chosen by the people who know the industry best: the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Sure, they may not deal with games exclusively, but us gamers are a thick skinned bunch, and being the apparent afterthought of a more respectable industry is still preferable to being constantly implicated in the majority of mass shootings.

Voted for by the ‘BAFTA community’ as opposed to the customary panel of judges, the triumph of Fallout 4 as Best Game continues the idea formed in the last few years that the best game is probably the one that your mum will have heard of because it made it onto BBC News. I’m sure that this isn’t true though, and that Destiny won last year because of its compelling story and innovative gameplay.

Last year, the honour of Best British Game went to the

admittedly brilliant mobile game Monument Valley. So, the folks at BAFTA knew what they were doing when they named Batman: Arkham Knight as this year’s winner, a confident finale to a fantastic series. The PC port did have to be recalled shortly after release due to it being an unplayable mess, but hey, I’m sure the Academy thought that the quality wasn’t affected by the fact that a whole demographic couldn’t actually play it.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture won the categories for Best Audio,

Best Music, and Best Performance by an actor in a video game. Of course, you can probably afford to tighten up the sound when you’ve forgotten to include anything resembling an actual game.

That last point was possibly a bit unfair, as video games have subjective appeals. But it helps with the credibility if the awarding body at least has the word “games” in their title.

MATTHEW MILLS

The nostalgia behind #indieamnesty

W

atching the indie amnesty hashtag trend earlier this week was a peculiar sight. Hearing all these artists, fans and general hangers on of the music industry recount stories of their early days almost felt foreign, which seems odd at first, but in retrospect, isn’t really.

Nearly all the tweets with the hashtag contained nostalgia for the early noughties, regaling stories of mischief of the past decade.

Popular music isn’t started like that anymore. I don’t want this to

be a blanket statement; there are some bucking the norm like Wolf Alice etc. But on the whole these experiences are far rarer today than yesterday. Most bands and artists are now packaged by an industry intent on dispelling any notion of “warts and all”. They simply don’t have that organic growth to be relatable. Think of some of the biggest acts in music today and it is hard to understand their transition from normal individual to perfect spic-and -span superstar. More often than not, the period they would gain such outrageous and human stories

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that the trending hashtag exalted is just missing.

This is partly due to the increased popularity of indie music. Let’s face it, indie music is now (more often than not) mainstream popular music. This isn’t a criticism but just a fact.

And with this rise in popularity comes pressure from big labels to produce safe and reliable music and artists that will sell. This sucks out the audacious moments from those years of growth and often the ones looked back on with the fondest memories.

That is why, if a similar hashtag

is ever created again in ten years’ time, it wouldn’t be nearly as relatable or human as those we have seen over the past week.

Instead we will have to look to other burgeoning scenes like posthardcore, alternative and grime to capture the spark that we reminisce about in the indie scene during the late 2000s. Because the truth is we love the falls as well as the rises of our music heroes. We don’t want perfection in our music idols, we want a human element we can all relate to.

MICHAEL CHILTON

Feels like we’ve been here before...

s producers churn out remakes of classic films like there’s no tomorrow, they often omit the aspects of the appealing aspects of the original movie. The effect is tragic; not only is the remake unnecessary, but it’s also unbearable.

Consider the rumoured remake of Mrs Doubtfire, for example.

Here is a movie that is so hilarious and emtive that its legacy continues in the world of cinema

today. In addition, it is also a movie that contains nostalgic purposes.

“Remakes are not only unncessary, but unbearable.”

A generation of people grew up watching Robin Williams’s incomparable depiction of a Scottish nanny in a long skirt-do we really want to see another

actor fruitlessly attempt to emulate that? It’s not just the legacy of the wonderful Mr Williams that could suffer at the hands of reboots.

Do you remember Ghostbusters?

Well, the remake of that will shortly be released in cinemas as what its producers describe as a ‘feminist reboot’. To give the producers their credit, they are trying to apply modern values to a classic comedy, which is an admirable aim.

But why do they need to make another version of Ghostbusters to do this? Surely, the writers have the comedic capacity to create a funny film that is underpinned by feminism that isn’t a reboot.

I’m a feminist and a comedy fan to my core. I just don’t understand why we need to remake movies to assert modern values when new movies can do this.

BETH ANDRALOJC

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GAMES

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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Coasting Through Ash Emritte takes a look at the new generation of theme park builders, and offers some tips on building pretty parks.

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fter a relatively muted decade from the genre, the new generation of theme park builders are finally here. As if to make amends for the long void, not one, but three games have been bestowed upon us, each owing heavily in some part to the previous generation: the un-challenged kingpin that is the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise.

Parkitect harks back to the first two games with its isometric views, giving it the feel of an HD reboot of a beloved treasure of our past. But in a good way.

Planet Coaster returns to the front line the game developer Frontier, the makers of the third RollerCoaster Tycoon game. Not only does Planet Coaster feel like the spiritual successor to the franchise, it feels like RCT 3 on steroids, riding a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Finally, RollerCoaster Tycoon World returns with the name, if not much else. Atari has assured gamers that they have learned valuable lessons from all the negativity of the beta launch, and that they will not “walk away from the game”. Of course.

Whatever the game, read on and explore some of our tips in getting a theme park looking aesthetically “swish”.

TIP #1 Rinse & Repeat Finding it difficult getting the details right for the scenery around your rollercoaster? This is method is one for the perfectionists to try out. Note: this method is not exactly money friendly, and would probably fare better in a sandbox map where bags of money are served up to you on a platter.

First, build your full coaster then save it.

Then, place it several times, each next to the other. Always have one full ride, and with the subsequent one, delete parts of the track so that you are left with a small section you can focus on building the scenery for.

Build the scenery around each section then copy/save and place the scenery onto the corresponding section on the full coaster.

This method helps you get your head around the scenery, and allows you to be sure that everything is in it’s precise, correct place, exactly where you want it to be.

It’s a whole lot of effort, but it’ll pay off, especially if you hate it when that little piece of wall is just a little bit off, even though nobody else is probably ever going to notice the difference.

This is particularly useful in the first two RollerCoaster Tycoon games, or games where you don’t have full control over the 3D view. Sometimes turning the ride supports invisible, amongst other things, can help better with this, but other times it’s best you’re aware of the context. You don’t want a piece of scenery to block the supports and make it as though the entire thing is floating. Or... do you? Ploppable supports are also available on online modding sites depending on the game.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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GAMES

TIP #2 Limitations, Mitigation and Integration Try keeping your coaster compact within a certain confined space. Large, park-wide sprawling coasters can often look horrible and if you’re gunning for a theme park that actually looks like a theme park, having a coaster looping all over your park just looks like a mess, unless you can find a way to integrate it well with the surrounding scenery.

Before you start building your coaster, use something cheap and easy to place and delete like paths, or terrain types to define a limit for your coaster.

Always try and bring the track back around on itself, almost like you’re trying to tie a knot.

Most of the time, getting a coaster to look exactly how you want it is about the proportions. If you’re going to have a rollercoaster that’s going to ascend very high, try making the entire thing occupy a long and thin space, whereas smaller coasters allow you to go wider, though try not to go too wide.

The more you keep building rollercoasters, the more you will develop an eye for what looks right. It’s a good way of training your eye to “see” graphically.

Think you’re good at designing rollercoasters on a theme park builder game?

Pick up a copy of Photoshop (or GIMP, the free alternative), learn how it works, and have a go at designing some sort of a poster using the same skills you use building a rollercoaster. Your poster can and will kick major leagues of ass.

TIP #3 Unsightly Shops Saddens Souls When it comes to building shops and information stands, things can be a real pain. With the exception of Planet Coaster, where the shop buildings are a blank slate and you are given the tools to decorate them as you wish, most theme park builders come with pre-designed shops, and it can be a major hassle to get your park looking swish and perfect when the shops just don’t belong.

A simple, but sometimes crude way, is to use walls and bits of scenery and build as close as possible to the actual stall.

The easiest, but sometimes most limiting way is to place the stalls in its corresponding themed area, but they don’t always match the aesthetic you’re trying to sell.

Foliage gives you an opportunity to hide them if you so wish, though personally, this doesn’t do it for me as it defeats the entire purpose of having the shops in the first place.

One of the most elegant solutions, I find, is to build a high street to locate the vast majority of your shops. The busyness of the high street actually means the contrasting buildings don’t clash as much as they would located somewhere else. With high streets like these, normally try to make it at least a minimum of three paths wide. Some green space in the centre also does not go amiss. The street does not need to be straight or symetrical, but try to have a plan, and prioritise certain sections over others. Maybe there are certain points where it opens up into a large plaza. It’s up to you. These are just suggestions, they’re not rules. Just get creative!

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STREET FIGHTER V

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et’s be clear. Street Fighter V is a great fighting game. However, the limited single player content currently available means it is difficult to universally recommend it at the moment.

The most important aspect, the fighting system, is handled excellently. For starters the new V system keeps command lists relatively simple whilst at the same time giving each character unique abilities (such as Ryu’s parry move from Street Fighter 3). This helps make characters with the similar move-sets such as Ryu and Ken more distinguishable. Smaller technical changes include the removal of chip damage and back dash invincibility.

The most noticeable (and welcome) changes have been made to the frame data. This not only means

FAR CRY: PRIMAL

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n 2013, Ubisoft released essentially a smaller, reskinned version of Far Cry 3 in the form of Blood Dragon, to critical acclaim.

Despite being the same basic gameplay, the humour and setting of a neon 80s vision of the future gave the game heart and character.

It’s easy to see, therefore, Ubisoft’s intentions with Far Cry Primal, which takes the basic formula of Far Cry 4 and transports it back 12,000 years. However, Primal’s delivery is nowhere near as exciting as Blood Dragon’s.

F i r s t l y, Primal has a full retail price tag.

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the game is more lenient regarding command inputs, it is also now much easier to link attacks together into combos. All of this makes the game considerably easier for new players to get into and I am confident that Street Fighter V is the best place for newcomers to start.

Sadly, it is said newcomers which the lack of modes affects the most. Though there is a ‘Story’ mode, it is in fact only a prologue for the cinematic campaign which comes out in June. Each character’s preview can be completed at most in seven-and-a-half minutes. The only other single player mode, besides training, is Survival. To quote my enthusiastic friend, this mode has a “spirit crushing difficulty curve whilst also encouraging cheap, unsafe tactics which are not viable against real players”. There isn’t even the option to play single matches against CPUs. Most time in the current build

will therefore be spent in the online multiplayer. There have been improvements here as well.

For instance, the matchmaking so far is doing a better job setting up matches with players of similar skill levels. At the same time though, long time competitive fans are

Although Primal has the expansive playtime to be expected in a modern Far Cry game, gameplay does sometimes feel repetitive and doesn’t offer enough change to warrant the £40 upgrade from it’s predecessor. Hunting, resource collecting and camp liberation all make a return but for many this may be touching on boring at this point. Despite their familiarity, the gameplay mechanics do remain some of the most fluid and welltuned in any current shooter.

The few new mechanics introduced to fit the new era are also very well executed, most notably the animal companion system. Not only do your animal bodyguards work a treat in terms of balance and playability, they also perfectly suit the Far Cry ethos of choice of approach, with certain creatures filling a stealth role whilst others act as the live equivalent to a bazooka.

The world itself is also a highlight, with a focus on tension and survival reflective of the primitive setting but never losing that wonder found in the previous games.

Far Cry Primal is undoubtedly a good game.

It has relatively interesting characters and setting, solid gameplay and fantastic audio and visual design. But it just lacks enough change to make it a great game.

For any die hard Far Cry fan, Primal shouldn’t disappoint too much. But for anyone new to the franchise or on a budget, it’s predecessors are definitely the way to go.

DLC CORNER

LUKE BALDWIN

“the most accessible entry in the acclaimed series yet” more likely to get the most out of this mode compared to casuals and newcomers. The servers also clearly need some more work, as when lag is present it has a tendency to shift the match in one player’s favour.

Thankfully the general performance of the game is solid, especially compared to recent big budget releases. The game looks great visually, though the difference

FALLOUT 4: AUTOMATRON WASTELAND WORKSHOP

F

irstly is the Automatron expansion costing £7.99, which sees the protagonist go up against the evil Mechanist and their vicious robot army. A funny reference to a side quest from Fallout 3, this DLC has the potential to expand on a fan favourite whilst offering an interesting story. The unfortunate reality is a dull quest line consisting of generic fetch missions which can be finished in about two hours.

But surely the new gameplay features make up for it, right?

Wrong. The only major new feature comes in the form of an expansion of the armour and weapon customisation found in the base game which now allows you to customise your robot companions

between high and low visuals on PC are very noticeable. Some extra options to find a better balance would have been appreciated, though this is still a very well optimised game nonetheless.

The sound design also compares well to previous series entries with both the soundtrack and voice acting holding up nicely. You can even switch between English and Japanese for each character individually to suit your preference.

Another intriguing new feature is how Capcom is managing the game’s DLC. By playing the various modes whilst connected to the Capcom Fighter Network, you earn Fight Money which can be spent to unlock new characters which would otherwise only be available as paid purchases. Dedicated players can therefore grab all DLC fighters without spending a dime. It is a great incentive to keep playing and I hope we see similar business

models in the future.

To summarise, Street Fighter V is set to be the most accessible entry in the acclaimed series yet. However, given its current, unfinished state, I do not think it wise to attribute a score to it at the moment. The key problem is that Capcom has failed to make it clear to customers that the game has been released early so that competitive players can learn the mechanics in time for the World Tour tournaments.

If you fall into that category, then you should get plenty of value for your money with the online multiplayer and free DLC characters. For players new to Street Fighter or casual fans, you are best off waiting for the remaining modes to be released.

or build them from scratch. Any quirkiness this offers, however, soon wears off and becomes tiresome, with your personal robot quickly becoming just another lifeless NPC. Even the excitement of finding new schematics to add to your droid is made pointless by the fact that all the parts are unlocked upon beating the final boss.

Next is the Wasteland Workshop, but even at the humble price of £3.99, the content feels like a massive waste of money. This pack adds hundreds of new items into the settlement building portion of the game, most notably a cage system which allows the capture of wild animals which can then be pitted against each other or your settlers in a custom arena. What this gives the player other than brief sadistic joy is still unknown to me. Considering most players ignored the settlement building feature as an unwanted gimmick, the DLC fails to add enough to

change their mind whilst also failing to add anything different enough to excite fans of the vanilla version.

Both DLCs are okay in their own right, offering just enough new features and content to give players an excuse to boot up the game and be reunited with in the Commonwealth. But unless it’s a world you really did miss, the expansions price tag simply don’t warrant their purchase.

This problem is reflective of the industry and made more apparent when games, such as last year’s The Witcher 3, offer the same amount of additional content for free. For the same price as the Automatron and the Wasteland Workshop you could probably get a much more entertaining indie title which will provide far more hours of fun *cough* Firewatch *cough*.

ALEX PINFOLD

LUKE BALDWIN

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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THE NAP

S

nooker, comedy and theatre are not exactly three things you expect to see together.

Yet somehow, Richard Bean, together with director Richard Wilson, manage to pull it off with The Nap, and they have the perfect venue to do it.

As well as being an internationally renowned theatre, The Crucible is known to be the home of snooker, with the World Snooker Championships taking place at the venue since 1977. Remarkably, it is only now the two have ingeniously come together.

The Nap has everything; a fantastic plot twist, more one-liners than you could ever wish for and to top it all off, a love story amongst all the chaos. There is so much more to the play than sport; it tells a tale of corruption, working-class Britain,

and throughout it all, Sheffield.

The play follows Dylan Spokes, a young Sheffielder, played by Skins star Jack O’Connell, as he tries to make a living through his one true passion, snooker. His drug-dealing father, alcoholic mother and her transgender gangster ex with a robotic arm are not going to make his route to success an easy one.

Sporting authorities warn the young talent of gambling and matchfixing and it is not long after that he is instructed to fix an all-important match, and with his mother’s life as risk, it is far from an easy decision to make.

“The Nap has everything!”

Wilson is not afraid to show a game in progress; something notoriously difficult to pull off in live theatre.

The snooker table boldly occupies centre stage and at one point you

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get to witness Dylan’s all important match, against Duncan Ferryman, a non-speaking part played by professional snooker player John Astley. The unpredictability of the game enables the audience to get fully engaged, clapping and letting out “aahs” and “oohs” in disappointment – making it feel like you are actually sat watching the world championship.

One of the stand out performances comes from Dylan’s father Bobby, played by the brilliant Mark Addy.

From the moment he abruptly arrives on stage, interrupting his son’s practice by offering him a sandwich, a laugh erupts from the audience, and one which Addy manages to sustain throughout.

The show wasn’t without its faults, as the romance between O’Connell and Rochenda Sanda wasn’t quite as convincing as intended. Unfortunately this made the fairytale ending somewhat anticlimactic.

JOSIE LE VAY

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN READING OVER EASTER? MODERN ROMANCE

By AZIZ ANSARI and ERIC KLINENBERG

H

ilarious, insightful and intelligent, Ansari explores the pleasures and perils of modern day romance.

You’ve been waiting for a text back for hours. Every time your phone buzzes you pick it up and every time you see it’s not them you hate yourself a little bit more for being so excited. Finally after four hours and 26 minutes (you are far too aware how long it’s been) they reply.

You then decide that the most

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

B

By B. A. PARIS

ehind Closed Doors is the heart-racing story of Jack and Grace Angel, a story of emotional abuse in a relationship with the façade of the perfect marriage.

This debut novel by B. A. Paris amplifies the emotional issues of domestic abuse by seamlessly weaving it into the dark storyline, bringing to light the fact that nothing is ever as it seems.

Grace is trapped in a marriage with Jack, who projects a terrifying side of his personality as a result of

his morbid past. Every time Grace sees a glimmer of hope, Jack’s chillingly calculated side throttles any hope for escape, revealing the true nature of his disconcerting thought process.

However, Jack’s real intentions are far more warped than Grace initially realises, and soon she is forced to act to protect her loved ones.

Seen through Grace’s eyes, B. A. Paris’s debut novel develops her characters in a way that reveals two sides to the human psyche – the sick and twisted side and the powerless and trapped side. A feeling of unimaginable helplessness and near enough frustration dawns on you

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES

N

By MALORIE BLACKMAN

oughts and Crosses is the first in Malorie Blackman’s thrilling trilogy.

People usually re-watch movies over and over again but rereading a book? Well, this one is definitely worth it.

Without giving away the plot, Noughts and Crosses is a popular story about two lovers who society forbid to be together. It may sound cliché, but here’s the part that makes it stand out.

The hierarchy of race is reversed, as the Noughts are the

logical thing to do is to make them wait five hours for a response because, you know, you don’t want to come across too keen.

“An intuitive exploration into the state of modern romance” We’ve all been there. Our modern customs make an odd kind of sense, but it does make you question what was it like in a simpler time where romantic politics weren’t dictated by which emoji to use and Tinder

wasn’t a battle ground of disturbing sexual advances and cheesy chat up lines.

That’s where Ansari and Klinenberg step in. In this intuitive exploration into the state of modern romance, questions about how the internet has changed our dating and marriage patterns, how we interact with one another now you can go from swiping left on a stranger’s picture to getting a date in under an hour and whether we are really happier now that we seem to have more choice.

Travelling across the globe, opening internet chatrooms and chatting to people of all ages , the

as you learn about Grace’s plight.

It’s very clear whose side you are on, and the unshakeable sympathy felt for Grace’s character has you turning page-by-page for the end.

Jack’s distressing nature makes it hard to believe that a character like him even exists. He is clever, callous and perverted and he embodies the character that you love to hate.

With a character so detestable, there is some sadness in that Jack is a man acting on harrowing childhood experiences.

However there is something uncomfortable about the sadistic nature of his brilliance, which has you rooting for Grace.

The story is simple in terms of

the characters and the setting, yet the psychological battle running between them is thoroughly disturbing. The alternating chapters focus on the past and present, taking you through peaks and troughs of tension and relief, eventually merging at the present into a scintillating climax.

Made for fans of psychological thrillers, Behind Closed Doors has been dubbed as “2016’s answer to Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train”.

The unsettling nature of a seemingly perfect husband-wife relationship makes this novel a gripping read.

white, inferior, lower class members of society, whilst the Crosses are the black, superior, upper class members.

The first time I finished this novel, I cried. It moved me that much and I found myself constantly going back to it due to its uniqueness. A story like this has never been done before and it’s told from both perspectives of the main characters, Sephy, who is a Cross and Callum, who is a Nought.

This love story isn’t a typical, happy ever after kind of story, which is sad but also realistic and that’s what makes it stand out.

You truly see life in a different light after reading this novel,

the way it touches on interracial relationships and having the white characters seen as inferior due to the colour of their skin.

tales told in Modern Romance are quite shocking.

Going into it, the reader might expect something more autobiographical, but it turned out to be like a short, hilarious research journal. Coupling hard facts with on point observations. It was such a quick and easy read, but every minute was enjoyable.

The statistics and studies are broken up into manageable chunks with Ansari slipping in his own dating faux pas and observations of the painful reality that we all do mortifying things in the pursuit of romance.

ALICE BROSTER

NIKI KESHARUJU

“This love story isn’t a typical happily ever after” Callum is one of the few white

students who are finally allowed to integrate into an all black school, although he’s faced with racism and aggression from the black students.

This novel is the epitome of ‘putting yourself in my shoes’ and

I would love for the books to be turned into a movie, as it would help teach others about race religions.

I bought Noughts and Crosses from my nearest WHSmith, so if you’re interested in grabbing a copy to see what it’s like, then I highly recommend you doing so.

Without meaning to sound extreme, I guarantee it will change your life.

JASMINE LEE-ZOGBESSOU

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Thursday 21st April 2016 | Forge Press

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Forge Press | Thursday 21st April 2016

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ARTS

Watch and listen to the full interviews online

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MUSIC

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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Top Study Records W

hether or not you’re into techno, Daniel Avery’s music is so mesmerising, you can block out everything else going around you, making him the perfect revision music pick.

His older music is mainly electronica for those of you not feeling brave enough for his latest heavier beats. But don’t let that keep you from checking out his Boiler Room techno set for Divided Love, including a dark Rødhäd remix of Avery’s most popular track, ‘Drone Logic’.

A good starter is his Resident

DANIEL AVERY

Advisor podcast (RA.385), which is three years old this October. The podcast is so gentle and melodic, it’s simply perfect to have you locked in for an hour’s work.

Alternatively, the Dekmantel 060

“Avery’s music is so mesmerising, you can block out everything else”

podcast is a step into subliminal techno for those of you after some relaxing background noise.

Album lovers who prefer Avery’s older tunes will find Drone Logic hits the right spot between techno and electronica. Quoted by NME as being “in a league of its own”, this album is the perfect addition to your revision music collection.

But if unadulterated techno is what you’re after, Avery’s SoundCloud page has plenty to get you revising.

NIKI KESHARAJU

S

ARCTIC MONKEYS: SUCK IT AND SEE

uck It and See is the perfect example of a career defining album; it remains a melodic, metronomic masterpiece on the Arctic Monkeys’ discography. Yet it is also the perfect accompaniment to studying; its 12 songs each offer something different to the listener.

The album’s main strength lies in its consistency however, and this is something epitomised through strength of its main single, ‘Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair’. The lyrics of the song would help cheer up any angst-ridden student; “Do the Macarena in the Devil’s legs”, something that surely would bring a smile to even the most pessimistic individual out there.

The slower, more powerful songs

SIGUR ROS

S

tudying is a stressful time, and some music in the background is essential to getting through those long nights of revision and essay writing. When it all gets a bit too much, there’s nothing better than Iceland’s finest Sigur Ros to calm the nerves and focus ahead of looming deadlines.

The ambient sounds, ethereal cello-bowed guitar and soothing vocals of Jonsi Birgisson on their 1999 album Agaetis Byrjun manage

to both chill and motivate the mind.

Sprawling ten minute tracks like ‘Svefn-g-englar’ and ‘Vidrar Vel Til Loftarasa’ ensure you won’t be tempted to get up from your desk to change the track any time soon.

SAM KELLY

“The ambient sounds, ethereal cello-bowed guitar”

are particularly relevant, “Does it help you stay up late / Does it help you concentrate” (‘Black Treacle’).

The song does in fact provide the perfect background music for any kind of studying however; its chirpy guitar chords provide an upbeat vibe to work alongside.

“An upbeat vibe to work alongside”

One particular highlight is ‘Reckless Serenade’, a song so romantically inspired it almost feels a personal ode from Alex Turner himself. The bass lines are

so hypnotising, that the pain of any looming exams or submission dates is drastically eased.

In contrast, is the melancholically pitched guitar chords of ‘That’s Where You’re Wrong’. This provides a fitting conclusion to an album perfectly suited for any type of study.

CALLAGHAN RAMSAY

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

@ForgePress /ForgePress

MUSIC

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BIRDY

B

irdy’s angelic vocals and stunningly moving lyrics are all that compose me at the moment when the essays start to pile up.

With the recent release of her third album, Beautiful Lies, I’ve found myself easing back into old habits of continuously hitting replay on this indie pop songstress.

A playlist compiled of tracks from her three albums creates a soothing listen, that will drift you gently through the upcoming study period.

Birdy’s cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Skinny Love’ was her breakthrough debut single back in 2011, and her hauntingly stirring vocals, accompanied by a mesmerising

piano tune, that is effortlessly beautiful and extremely easy listening, is enough to ease you through any deadlines.

“Effortlessly beautiful and extremely easy listening” Another personal favourite is the melancholy track ‘All You Never Say’ from Birdy’s second album, as this moves away from the covers in her first record and touches upon her own experiences through a hypnotic and stunning vocal.

As for her new album, the title track ‘Beautiful Lies’ is a gentle piano ballad complete with equally delicate lyrics that feel somewhat mature, yet still as convincingly sincere as ever.

There are many other tracks which deserve recognition, but the tracks mentioned here should give a glimpse into her back-catalogue, and a worth to listen to next time the impending exam stress becomes all too much.

AMY KING

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM

I

f sometimes ,you need something punchy and quick to push you to get those hours in and meet those deadlines, my go-to is LCD Soundsystem.

The infectious dance-punk rhythms on Sound of Silver and This Is Happening, make you feel like you can take on anything the exam throws at you.

It might be best to skip their

2007 hit ‘All My Friends’; whose refrain of “where are your friends tonight?” could serve as a painful reminder that they’re having the time of their lives in Corp while you scramble for another 150 words to make a Thursday morning deadline.

SAM KELLY

“The infectious dance-punk rhythms make you feel like you can take on anything”

T

SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS

rying to slog through exam revision and assignments can be tedious at the best of times. My usual response to the tedium is to start up Spotify and browse the “Mood” playlists (who isn’t moody trying to complete coursework?).

The reason I like Spotify is because the playlists are constantly updated and contain lots of lesser heard tracks and artist covers that

“For low-effort, easy-listening”

you don’t hear on the radio.

My current favourite playlists are

‘Accoustic Café’ and ‘Pop Accoustic’, because the chilled and mellow vibe is more conducive to studying.

Although I have to stop working to sing along to particularly moving songs such as Sia’s ‘Chandelier’.

Other favourite tracks include ‘Fast Car’ by Boyce Avenue and ‘Take Me to the Church’ by Savannah Outen, both of which have inspirational lyrics.

‘Budapest’ by George Ezra and ‘Skinny Love’ by Birdy for their incredible vocals.

I’m even prepared to tolerate the more gimmicky pop tracks such as ‘Renegades’ by X Ambassadors and ‘The One That Got Away’ by Katy Perry.

I would really recommend Spotify for low-effort, easy-listening.

“The playlists are constantly updated” However, I must admit, that perhaps the only sound track suitable for intense study is silence.

MADELEINA KAY

With exam season looming, Forge Press have compiled some of the best records and artists to study to, to help you power through those impending deadlines.

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MUSIC

THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS @ CITY HALL

T

he Last Shadow Puppets divide the crowd. There’s no inbetween with Alex Turner and Miles Kane’s side project – you either love them with an unmitigating devotion, or you find them distinctly odd and inaccessible. With a sold out tour across the country, there appears to be enough of the former to make the band deserving of the impressive, and slightly intimidating,

ELLIE GOULDING @ ARENA

J

ohn Newman features his Revolve tour as a special guest appearance before Ellie Goulding takes to the stage at Sheffield Arena.

Slightly anachronistic owing to his projection of soul with dance party music, he opens the stage with ‘Tire Again’. The crowd fall silent as Newman serenades ‘I’m Not Your Man’ to its music loving people.

He proves to be as impressive with those high notes as he is with those hips and heels, as he belts out the

Thursday 21 April 2016 |Forge Press

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“Velvety strings envelop each song, giving this set a clandestine, intimate feel”

venue of Sheffield’s City Hall.

Before the band have even entered the stage, the audience stand in one swift movement, with the seats beneath left redundant.

From the get-go, it’s clear that Turner and Kane are natural showmen, with years of experience behind them. They greet the audience with charismatic swagger, Turner especially looking quite at home in his hometown, before launching into Everything You’ve Come to Expect album opener ‘Aviation’.

Despite this being a dual musical effort, Turner still steals the limelight throughout the set. He instigates the chat, the mic sharing, and draws the attention with his languid tambourine playing and snake-hip

movements. Despite his somewhat dodgy stage accent, his voice is faultless during his swooning, crooning solos, with ‘Sweet Dreams, TN’ and ‘My Mistakes Were Made For You’ being particular highlights.

The city’s namecheck in ‘The Dream Synopsis’ gets a tumultuous response from the local crowd, with “and a wicked gale came howling up / through Sheffield City Centre” being sung back to the band with rousing unity.

That’s not to say Kane doesn’t have his time in the sun. ‘Bad Habits’ is well and truly his moment; he spits out the staccato lyrics with swaggering venom, and struts about the stage with magnetic confidence.

Velvety strings envelop each

song, giving this set a clandestine, intimate feel, despite the size of the hall. The encore opener comes in the form of a cover of The Beatles’ ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’; a lust-heavy, seductive monster of a song, taken to a new electric high

by Turner and Kane in the midst of

chart topper ‘Blame it on Me’.

Ellie Goulding kicks of her performance with ‘Intro (Delirium)’ whose soundscape has a very Hunger Games-esque feel to it.

She immediately follows with the melody from ‘Aftertaste’, promising for an exciting evening.

But as the set progresses the music starts sounding sadly generic.

Fortunately there are spectacular light and curtain displays happening in the background to distract.

She bangs on her mini drums for extra effect, and some bass during ‘Goodness Gracious’ but truth be told, the synths in the music video have more life than this one.

There is nothing in her music that

matches her on-stage theatricals and quite often, it gets hard to tell her songs apart. They seamlessly flow into each other, lacking clarity as well as character.

Some of the otherwise crystal clear tunes lose something in the techno pop space age drama that she tries to pull. Maybe you need to be a young adult standing near the stage to appreciate the music better. If not anything else, the evening clears your confusion about whether her music is EDM, pop or rock – you come to the realisation that it is an odd mashup of bits and bobs leading to nowhere.

Amongst her many self-admitted love songs is ‘Devotion’, a track sung

with a shiny white acoustic, and is one of the higher points of the evening.

‘Keep on Dancin’’ looks like the crew raided an alien spaceship. The dancers are entertaining, but that shouldn’t have been the focus. After her collaborations with the likes of musicians such as Calvin Harris, watching her live is akin to watching a trained swimmer struggle at sea.

It felt like she was drowning in the theatre that she brings, and has not the force to keep her wandering tunes in check. This was especially evident during ‘Outside’.

Songs like ‘Army’ and ‘On My Mind’ are undoubtedly catchy if you are working out or are on a

this befitting setlist.

The evening is drawn to a close by fan favourite ‘Standing Next to Me’, which sees the pair partake in some Pete ‘n’ Carl mic sharing, and the crowd finally abandoning the confines of the allotted seating areas. One of the most absorbing, mesmerising performances culminates in Turner and Kane taking a synchronised bow, and Turner purring into the microphone “see you again soon Sheffield”. We can only hope he means it.

TARA HODGSON

night out. But they unfortunately have nothing to offer in a live performance.

To her credit, Goulding gets people to put their phones away towards the end of the night, having them participate and throw their hands up in the air for ‘Burn’, ‘Anything Could Happen’ and ‘Love Me Like You Do’.

Fading into mainstream pop, the hypnotic sound Ellie Goulding is known for doesn’t translate too well, and at the end of the show, it’s hard to praise anything other than the lights.

NAVYA HEBBAR

Forge Press| Thursday 21 April 2016

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WE ARE SCIENTISTS: HELTER SELTZER

W

e Are Scientists; part musicians, part comedy duo, are back with their fifth and “flashiest” album. Since the Americans were last on the scene with TV en Français, lead singer Keith Murray has more grey hair and bassist Chris Cain has more oustache.

We Are Scientists have transcended a lot of indie bands that were on the scene in their beginning circa 2005 (whatever

happened to Art Brut and the Long Blondes anyway?), but we are glad they have stuck around to consistently churn out great music.

“Helter Seltzer is a fantastic amalgamation of ten shiny new songs”

‘Buckle’ is the first release from the album. One of the strongest songs from their new release, it shows that We Are Scientists are back with a punch. Accompanied by a mesmerising video of a one way

food fight between Keith and Chris, the pair maintain their wit wherever possible.

Helter Seltzer is a fantastic amalgamation of 10 shiny new songs. Their style varies greatly from their breakthrough album With Love and Squalor released over ten years ago. However, the albums released since have seamlessly lead to a more refined style that occurs in Helter Seltzer. Whereas you may prefer the more abruptness of the riffs in their earlier work, it should be mentioned that Murray can actually sing now, and the music flows more succinctly.

There is a bit more of an electro-pop vibe in Helter Seltzer, especially in songs such as ‘Too Late’. The songs also feature plenty

of effect on Murray’s voice, which suits the album well but is maybe not needed. Combining this with a smash of electronic drums and 80s keyboard chords marries the sounds together well.

“There is no doubt that many of the songs off the album will sound amazing live”

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‘In My Head’ and ‘Headlights’ bring the album back to the original sounds of the band, more hasty and wild than other songs off Helter Seltzer.

Despite it being quite far removed from their classic style, Helter Seltzer is still an indie classic unlike any other albums out there. There is no doubt that many of the songs off the album will sound amazing live, with strong guitar and drums. With a big UK and USA tour coming up, it’ll probably be worth going to see We Are Scientists to catch the full experience.

KATHERINE HARDY

CULT CORNER CODEINE VELVET CLUB: CODEINE VELVET CLUB

A CATE LE BON: CRAB DAY

T

he titular opening track of Cate Le Bon’s fourth studio album sees the Welsh artist come right out of the gate declaring, “It doesn’t pay to sing your songs,” backed up by a buoyant, discordant stomp.

From Penboyr, Camarthenshire, Le Bon has made a name for herself with a signature mix of twiddly indie bounce, mystical allure and stark, fatalistic lyricism - bolstered by her 2013 breakout Mug Museum.

On Crab Day, she creates a dynamic, pleasingly concise collection of new cuts that, while not breaking new ground, reinforces her artistic vision and confirms her skill.

Where Mug saw her tentatively introducing her wide-eyed, left-field pop to a wider audience, here Le Bon is bolder, more assured. There is a confidence that strengthens every track.

The wistful lyrics of ‘Wonderful’ are elevated and accentuated by the gentle lilt of her native accent, softening the deathly metaphors while a Coxon-like guitar screeches away in the background.

‘Find Me’ sees her playful, almost mischievous, carefully selecting

phrases that sound almost like impish incantations when rolling off a Welsh tongue and ‘I’m a Dirty Attic’ continues this thread while layering on a vintage horror-movie sense of doom in its stuttering organs.

‘I Was Born on the Wrong Day’ has an energetic hop to it, thanks to a springy piano backing and rumbling horns giving backbone to her wide-eyed falsetto in the choruses - which has more than a slight hint of early Kate Bush.

‘We Might Revolve’ is skittish, swirling and agitated while ‘How Do You Know?’ provides a monotonous, doomy marching song that highlights Le Bon’s wickedly, charmingly pessimistic outlook.

The only real weak link here is

closer ‘What’s Not Mine’, whose meandering, loose guitar whines its way through a seven-minute trudge.

It ekes out the final strains of Le Bon’s anxious energy before finally bringing the album to a sputtering stop. As the final phase in a set of choppy, quick pop delights, which revel in their audio dynamism and wry wit, it feels out of place, like an experiment gone wrong.

But here’s hoping one misstep doesn’t deter Le Bon, as she shows her expertise and, while not pushing the envelope now, the promise of real musical daring in years to come.

RHYS HANDLEY

s far as hidden gems are concerned, nothing comes more elusive or precious than Codeine Velvet Club’s eponymous debut, and only, album.

Harking back to a golden age of Hollywood, Codeine Velvet Club’s boy-meets-girl vocals and cabaretesque horns, make their music as silky as their name evokes.

The seductive refrains in ‘Vanity Kills’, mixed with the show-girl delivery in ‘Time’, make this album feel like it’s come straight out of the 1940s. It’s easy to imagine smoke-filled rooms and clandestine meetings while listening to this record.

Despite being the side project of Fratellis’ frontman Jon Fratelli, Codeine Velvet Club is as far removed from his other band’s sound as it is possible to be. Gone are the whistle-stop indie barrages, which are instead replaced by more thoughtful, yet no less addictive, offerings.

An incredibly underrated album from an underrated songwriter, this record deserves to be indulged in time and time again.

TARA HODGSON

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SCREEN

THURSDAY 21 APRIL 2016 | Forge Press

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eimagining children’s classics;

credible or cash-in?

As a live action remake of Disney’s beloved The Jungle Book opens this week, it’s becoming clear that a new trend is developing in cinema; the live-action retelling of a classic children’s tale. We’ve had Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent, retelling Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of its iconic villain; Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, and Joe Wright’s Peter Pan origin story Pan. Now there are live action adaptations of Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, Mulan and The BFG waiting in the wings among others.

So why is this the new big thing for family entertainment, and what does that say about modern cinema?

The concept of “reimagining” a beloved classic for a new audience isn’t something new in the cinema. 1985 saw Return to Oz, an unofficial sequel to the 1939 classic which saw Dorothy return to a dark, twisted future Oz with the yellow brick road in ruins and the Emerald City destroyed by an evil Nome King. Such a drastic and gloomy vision of perhaps the most beloved of all children’s films didn’t sit too well with audiences and critics of its time, but Return to Oz has since gained a cult following and could well be seen as an early template for the current wave we are experiencing.

But what kicked off this current wave? Perhaps it was Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland back in 2010, which unexpectedly took in a billion dollars worldwide to become one of the most successful films of all time. Suddenly, movie studios realised the massive financial potential behind modern retellings of children’s classics; they can appeal to young audiences while offering enough intrigue for the parents, and offer a global

appeal due to the immediately recognisable characters and story (nearly 70 percent of Alice’s billion dollar haul came from outside the USA) . Over the past half-decade all kinds of classic children’s tales have had this treatment, and it’s only going to become more prominent as Disney begin to work through their back catalogue of animated classics for remakes.

“Over the past halfdecade all kinds of classic children’s tales have had this treatment, and it’s only going to become more prominent” But while Alice in Wonderland had a characteristically Burton-esque weirdness to it, it was still a fairly light hearted and child friendly affair. It’s only in the last couple of years that the gritty darkness seen in Return to Oz has returned to live action retellings, and is this the right approach? Both Snow White and the Huntsman and its upcoming sequel Winter’s War have been given 12a ratings, effectively preventing the small children to whom the original Snow White was aimed at from seeing the film. This does not seem in keeping with the spirit of the original fairy tale, no matter how dark the Brothers Grimm can be.

These films, and others like it, are hardly reimaginings at all; they simply use the brand of the original fairy tale to draw audiences into what is otherwise a generic high fantasy adventure.

And for the greatest example of what can go wrong with this trend look no further than last year’s Pan. With Atonement director Joe Wright at the helm and Hugh Jackman starring, the film attempted to tell the origin story of the beloved

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By Sam Kelly JM Barrie character and should have been one of the big family blockbusters of the year. Instead it rapidly became an embarrassment for everyone involved with awful reviews, controversy surrounding the casting of white actress Rooney Mara as Native American Tiger Lily, and an unmitigated commercial disaster making just $128 million on a massive $150 million budget.

Where did Pan go wrong where others have succeeded? Perhaps it’s because Peter Pan’s origin in the Barrie book rather than a fairytale or myth means that attempts to play around with the story feel less acceptable. Maybe it’s because the CGI drenched depiction of Neverland would have been better suited to the simple charm of animation. Or maybe it’s because a Peter Pan origin story is simply an idea that ruins the mystique and charm of the original tale, which works so well because of the mystery of Pan and his relationship with Captain Hook.

“Filmmakers should utilise the opportunity of reimagining to do something worthy and interesting with their classic stories” And this is the lesson that needs to be taken by The Jungle Book and others if this trend is to successfully continue without alienating audiences. Pan came across as a manipulative attempt to cash in on a trend for the purpose of money, without offering a take that anyone wanted to see. Retelling these classics has potential to offer fascinating new explorations of characters and settings – I’m very excited to see what Paul Thomas Anderson, director of intense adult

dramas like There Will Be Blood and Magnolia, is going to do with Pinocchio - but if wasted on poor quality cash-ins, audiences just won’t connect.

In fairness to The Jungle Book, director Jon Favreau seems to be doing it right – it’s getting great reviews and has broken a few box office records for Disney, and it crucially seems to maintain the family-friendly tone that characterises the animated version, even retaining the musical numbers from that film. But there are already some warning signs for the upcoming retellings slated for release over the next couple of years.

Over 30,000 people have signed a petition demanding Disney cast an Asian actress in the lead role of Mulan, justifiably fearing a repeat of the whitewashing in Pan; and Alice Through the Looking Glass, the upcoming sequel to the film that kicked the whole trend off, looks like it will abandon the Lewis Carroll source material almost entirely in order to create an action-filled adventure.

As this trend rapidly increases in popularity, studios and filmmakers should remember what makes the source material they draw on so great, and avoid cheaply using existing characters and stories to guarantee an audience. They should utilise the opportunity of reimagining to do something worthy and interesting with their classic stories, or this current wave of films will not stand the test of time nearly as well as the tales that inspire them.

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THE JUNGLE BOOK

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ombining Rudyard Kipling’s novel and the 1967 animation, Jon Favreau directs the latest adaptation of the classic children’s story, with a dark twist. The film is incredibly tense from the opening scene, and this tension runs throughout. There is a sense of threat that suggests this adaptation is not simply a fun children’s film.

The Jungle Book does still hold

EYE IN THE SKY

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iven the increase in the use of drone strikes on suspected Jihadi targets in recent years, the morality of remote-controlled warfare is very much the military’s new hot potato. In his tense new thriller, Eye in the sky, Gavin Hood reflects the deep division within military and political ranks relating to the ethics of drone attacks. Sharp acting and an emotive plot elevate what could have been a generic thriller to a lesson in humanity, as it urges viewers to consider civilian casualties as not just mere ‘stats’, but as human beings.

The film plays out in multiple locations, with all the action taking place on a small militant-controlled area of Nairobi. International intelligence and political officials watch a safehouse where high level terror suspects, affiliated with the East African jihadist group Al-Shabaab, are planning a martyrdom mission. Helen Mirren plays a British Colonel hell bent on eliminating the terrorists, while conducting negotiations with a British military General (Alan Rickman), an American drone operator (Aaron Paul), and a wide array of others involved in an operation that quickly becomes a kill mission. The characters scramble through complicated bureaucracy in an effort to try to limit collateral damage.

For the most part, the tone of the film remains as apprehensive as it should. The strategic game of backand-forth between London, Nevada

Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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characteristics of the Disney original. The songs add a more joyful element to the film, although even they are sometimes twisted to become sinister. King Louie’s “I Wanna Be Like You” is coercive and foreshadows a dark scene where Mowgli tries to escape from him, resulting in destruction that leads to the film’s climax. Similarly, Bill Murray as Baloo sings “Bear Necessities”, yet there is little evidence that he lives with the bare necessities at all, forcing Mowgli into a life threatening situation in order to get honey for himself. The songs are distorted throughout the and Kenya is repetitive, but not to the film’s detriment. Rather, it makes the narrative less predictable as the developments will make you wonder if the strike will happen at all. Save for the unnecessary comic asides, like the Foreign Sec’s severe case of food poisoning and Alan Rickman’s quest for the correct baby doll, the film adheres to its genre.

Admittedly, watching the sardonic Rickman explain the difference between toy dolls is an interesting spectacle.

In light of Rickman’s recent death, people may go into the film expecting a swansong performance.

This is not the case, however; it is very much an ensemble piece. Despite this, Rickman utters what may be the film’s greatest line in a way that once again reminds us of his talent for cynical delivery. If there is to be a stand-out performance in addition Rickman’s, it is Mirren’s. She perfectly captures the frustration and angst of her character, whose calculating manner and vigour bare all the hallmarks of someone who personifies the stark reality of warfare.

Not only is the movie an example of edge-of-your-seat cinema, it is also incredibly poignant. The action scenes are not crafted in a bombastic, Bay-esque fashion. Instead, the human element is emphasised. In a key scene, for example, the use of sound is particularly effective, demonstrating Hood’s ability as a director. Overall, Eye in the Sky is a slick, intelligent and evocative thriller that will, at the very least, make you think deeply about your stance on the validity and morality of drone strikes.

BILLY GLEESON

film to become slower and deeper, reflecting the frightening nature of the jungle.

The jungle setting is both threatening and dreamy. This version definitely highlights how dangerous the jungle can be, especially for a young boy like Mowgli. Despite this, the jungle is still presented as a place we would like to go to. It is exotic enough to be exciting and transport us back to memories of childhood adventure and awe at new places.

At times both predator and prey come together and these moments are wonderful as they show the

diversity of animals in the film and the sometimes peaceful state of this fictional jungle. All the animals unite to defeat their common enemy in Shere Khan. The audience is transported into a dreamland which, for all its threatening elements, is really magical.

The film’s effects are amazing and, visually, it is a breathtaking masterpiece. Available to see in 3D and IMAX 3D, it is a really immersive experience. The animal’s movements are, for the most part, incredibly true to life. Despite this, the human characteristics given to them do not seem out of place.

Perhaps this is because the film is also excellently cast. It includes Ben Kingsley, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Idris Elba voices Shere Khan perfectly, making him sound menacing and haunting. Neel Sethi plays his introductory role as Mowgli with confidence.

The Jungle Book is a charming depiction of the natural world and the animals within it. Some of its themes are much more mature than those addressed in the 1967 animation, thus making it an ideal film for children and adults alike.

SOPHIE WILSON

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UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT

o recap the first season, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is the story of a girl who escapes from a bunker. She’sd been held hostage there with others and they’d been told that the world had ended.

However dark the show sounds, I promise it is quite the opposite.

After being freed Kimmy moves to New York. The show follows her story in New York, meeting new friends, learning about new technology and just really living life again.

Each episode lasts half an hour so if you’re looking for your next Netflix binge, you could easily watch both seasons in a few days.

The show is hilarious, it’s a very silly sort of humour and this episode is no different. The episode is titled ‘Kimmy Goes Roller Skating’ and indeed she does, but there is also so much more going on in the episode.

It uses the supporting characters to tackle larger issues in a light hearted manner, such as being gay in the South and balancing a Native American heritage with living in a large city.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is not a profound show, it is not going to change your world view, but if you want a silly show that will make you laugh and is very watchable, this is the one for you.

HANNAH SMITH

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SCREEN

“Midnight Special has all the right elements - suspense, wonder, action and heart.”

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL

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riting this review has been a somewhat contentious issue for me; in that I’m not entirely sure whether I really enjoyed this film or not, yet I can’t really fault any aspect I approach it from.

A very scaled-down synopsis would be: a boy with special powers is pursued by the government and a group of religious fanatics as he

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR

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hink: Frozen meets Brave.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War is a prequel-slash-sequel to a movie that was neither popular nor well executed four years ago.

This time, however, director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan decides to leave out Kristen Stewart as Snow White and introduces Jessica Chastain, instead.

Chastain portrays Sara, who suspiciously reminds us of a certain other redhead with a bow and arrow, and is the main love interest of our mouthwatering hero.

The story reveals a stunning Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) doing two things at which she excels: killing and chess. Usually, the latter helps her achieve her main goals in life: power and beauty. Conversely, her sister Freya, a kinder, more fragile woman dreams of Duke Blackwood (Colin Morgan) and the bliss of marriage.

When her dreams shatter,

and his father flee across America.

Now, scaled down is the operative word here because the actual plot is nowhere near that simple.

As an audience member you’re left almost entirely in the dark regarding anything that happened before the events of the film. The boy spent two years in some sort of religious community without his parents (only ever referred to as ‘The Ranch’) and the government have been tracking some strange radiation signal he’s been giving off.

His dad’s accompanied by a state patrolman whose origin or

motivation is never really made clear and this kid’s powers seem to range from shooting laser beams out of his eyes and making people see heaven to causing satellites to fall out of space and rain exploding debris down on buildings. It’s not the easiest plot to follow.

That said, it is a unique film in that respect. Jeff Nichols’ direction takes all the Spielberg-branded sci-fi charm of Americana and douses it with a heavy amount of independent spirit. You’re unlikely to have seen a film quite like it.

Nichols takes every genre he can get his hands on and smashes them

together; the road trip elements are the perfect excuse for the cinematography to shine through, disaster movie elements make you jump out of your seat on more than one occasion and the family story at the heart of the film is genuinely touching.

Combined with complex, realistic characterisations and solid performances from veterans Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst and Joel Edgerton, to newer breakthrough actors such as Adam Driver (Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) that all manage to slide into and compliment the tone

however, Freya’s slumbering powers awaken, transforming her into the Ice Queen of the North. White hair, glittery dress and an ice palace does this ring a bell?

Raising an army of huntsmen (and huntswomen), she conquers village after village, forbidding all inhabitants from ever falling in love.

Amongst those warriors are Eric (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara. Doing exactly what Queen Freya told them not to, they plot to escape and start a life of their own. As we all know, fleeing the evil queen never really works out that well.

Fast forward seven years, the magical mirror is again the topic of discussion. Eric is asked to find it before it falls into Freya’s frosty clutches.

Joined by a group of dwarves (Rob Brydon, Nick Frost, Sheridan Smith, Alexandra Roach), the chase for the mirror takes them into the land of goblins. This part of the movie is probably the most entertaining to watch: some jokes, some fighting, and some naked time.

If not for that, Colleen Atwood’s

costume design actually makes the trip to the cinema worth it.

Purposefully putting both queens into contrast, she effectively plays with colour. The dresses are a sight for sore eyes, enhancing Blunt’s and Theron’s beauty.

Whilst the film music by Paul Newton doesn’t necessarily add to the narrative, it is fair to say that it doesn’t do that bad of a job either.

All in all, the movie is definitely better than the poorly executed trailer, but not necessarily better than one’s expectations of it. It serves the purpose which it was made for: two hours of mild entertainment with a few dramatic elements and a final showdown.

It might be a bit confusing in the first 15 minutes, but it does get better in the remaining 105.

Ending with the words “While fairy tales do come true, none ever truly ends”, The Huntsman: Winter’s War hints at a sequel with the subtlety of a dwarf’s pickaxe.

CULT CORNER

VICTORIA WOEBLINGER

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ADVENTURE TIME SEASON 7

ow deep into its seventh season and with an eighth confirmed, the Cartoon Network flagship show, Adventure Time has demonstrated its ability to evolve, harnessing everything it already had and refocusing it to produce a strikingly consistent series of the highest quality.

A strict divide had always existed prior to season 7, a distinction between ‘fun’ episodes and ‘story’ episodes, with elements of each respectively lacking from the other.

The early seasons were marked by a commitment to outlandish, almost random events with little hint of an overarching narrative.

This had its benefits, they have a charm and originality that contribute to making the show accessible for children, as well as fun for older viewers. This season structure gradually developed,

perfectly. Jaeden Lieberher as the confused and ever so slightly weird super-powered boy, Alton, also deserves especial praise.

All in all, Midnight Special is a pretty weird film. But it’s got all the right elements – suspense, wonder, action and, above all, heart. I highly recommend you go and check it out if you fancy seeing something a bit out of the box.

JOSEPH MACKAY

incorporating more long-term stories that successfully expanded the ‘Oooniverse’ but came at the cost of some of the non-committal fun that the show began with.

Season 7, however, demonstrates a reconciliation of these two disparate types. The result of this is that, for the first time in the show’s run, every episode has felt important to the development of the series.

This is seen in character explorations on an unprecedented scale, the use of guest animators, and a confidence to produce episodes around formerly minor characters.

Watching season 7 provides far more attention than one would expect due to the depth of the world, characters, and stories created. Rewatches are rewarding, interpretation is open, and the acknowledgment of fan wishes shows that the series has no intention of patronising its audience.

JACK BEAL

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COFFEE BREAK

Unusual Sports

As this issue will be about Varsity, here are some of the most unusual sports played across the globe.

Bottle Kicking - Teams try to move a small keg containing ale across fields to streams, which are located one mile apart.

Dog Surfing — Dogs are trained to surf on surfboards.

Ferret Legging — Place a ferret down your trousers for as long as possible.

Lingerie Football - American Football played by women wearing lingerie.

Ultimate Taser Ball — Involves players carrying a real taser gun and using it on the other team to gain possession of the ball.

Volcano Surfing — Surfing downhill on slopes that are covered with volcano ash.

Unicycle Football — A variation of American football but moving around the field using a unicycle.

Nude Beach Olympics — Held at the nudist section of Baker Beach San Francisco, the name of the sport explains what it does.

Dingbats BOB BOB

R ROADS A D S

Quote of the fortnight: “Are dragons real... like in the past?”

~ Keri Trigg

Photograph of the Fortnight

Caption: Pop Tarts with your pals

Unique Holidays in April National Humour Month International Guitar Month Keep America Beautiful Month Lawn and Garden Month National Poetry Month National Pecan Month National Welding Month Records and Information Management Month Stress Awareness Month Sexual Assault Awareness Month There is also a National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day, Draw a picture of a bird day, National Pecan Day, Blah Blah Blah Day, Garlic Day, Take A Chance Day.

Forge Press |Thursday 21 April 2016

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Sudoku Easy

COFFEE BREAK

Hard

Medium

Crossword Across 1 4 8 9 10 12 14 15 18 20 21 22

Season of growth (6) Turn round (4) Record (4) Impetus (8) Discerning (5­7) Scottish dish (6) Hand tool (6) Impressive (12) And the rest (2,6) Supporter (4) Fury (4) Reduce in strength (6)

Down

Answers

Credits for the crossword: Matthew Sapsed

1 Upset ­flow (5) 2 Four­sided shape (9) 3 Bane (7) 5 Possess (3) 6 Wash (7) 7 Complacent (4) 11 Group of problem solving experts (5,4) 13 Judge (7) 14 Term of endearment (3,4) 16 Adolescent (4) 17 Man­made fibre (5) 19 Ovum (3)

Across: 1 Spring, 4 Roll, 8 Disc, 9 Momentum, 10 Clear­sighted, 12 Haggis, 14 Pliers, 15 Breathtaking, 18 Et cetera, 20 Ally, 21 Rage, 22 Weaken.

Down: 1 Spill, 2 Rectangle, 3 Nemesis, 5 Own, 6 Launder, 7 Smug, 11 Think tank, 13 Arbiter, 14 Pet name, 16 Teen, 17 Nylon, 19 Egg.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

@ForgePressSport /ForgePressSport

SportsThoughts Sian Bradley Women have a place in darts - and it’s about time they realised it I was just four years old when I first played darts.

It was in my grandma’s garage and I was so short that I had to stand on a paint bucket to have any chance of hitting the board.

Despite a break of over a decade, I’ve come a long way from those heady days in Ireland.

The players I’ve got to know are some of the nicest people I’ve come across and it’s a sport I properly love. But there’s one problem: women.

It’s the final of the PDC World Championships, and Alexandra Palace falls silent.

The lights go down and the ambient music builds. The announcer’s voice rings out across the arena as Seven Nation Army kicks in and the crowd leaps to their feet.

All eyes are on former world champion Michael van Gerwen, but the darts community still feels the need

Anastasia Dobromyslova, one of darts’ female trendsetters. Image: Twitter

Anthony Phillips You’re not the first, Jordan: the biggest sporting collapses Golf is one of those sports where the tiniest mistake is magnified into a monumental collapse.

When Jordan Spieth stood on the 12th tee at Augusta with a five shot lead, his mistake was magnified.

After hitting two shots into the water, Spieth recorded a quadruple bogey that allowed Englishman Danny Willett to sneak in and take the green jacket.

Spieth’s collapse came 20 years to the day that Greg Norman let slip a six shot lead going into the final round of the Masters that let another Englishman, this time Nick Faldo secure the victory.

Perhaps one of the most famous collapses in golf occured in the 1999 British Open.

Jean Van De Vedle was leading the British Open by three shots while stood on the 72nd and final hole. Needing no more than a double bogey six to become the first

Frenchman to win the open since 1907, Van De Velde hit his ball into the water hazard just before the green.

Rather than take a drop, the sight of Van De Velde with his shoes and socks off and his trousers rolled up trying to hit the ball out of the water hazard epitomises the word collapse.

Golf is not the only sport where there have been huge collapses.

In football, the 1970 World Cup Quarter Final between reigning World Champions England and 1966 runners up West Germany is notable for an English collapse.

England took a 2-0 lead after 50 minutes through Alan Mullery and Martin Peters. However, Sir Alf Ramsay decided to substitute Bobby Charlton in the 70th minute. This allowed Franz Beckenbauer to push forward into midfield.

Peter Bonetti was playing in goal for an absent Gordon Banks and his two mistakes allowed the Germans to equalise. In the 108th minute of extra time, Gerd Muller scored to send England crashing out in a game they had largely dominated for 70 minutes.

Domestically the Newcastle United side of 1995-1996 must be one of the greatest teams to never win the

to accessorise him with a woman on his arm.

Nobody quite knows what she’s there for, but she’s a fabulous piece of eye candy, as are the dancers on the stage.

The fact that the women who accompany players are referred to as ‘walk-on girls’ speaks volumes about gender attitudes in the sport.

How are young women supposed to get into darts when the only time they see people like themselves in the biggest competition on the planet is as scantily clad models?

Very seldom do women break through and, when they do, they’re met with the likes of Eric Bristow.

Anastasia Dobromyslova was included in the 2009 PDC World Championships only to be met with animosity from the other players.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Bristow said: “that Russian bird… shouldn’t be in it” and, although this proves one certain syllable of his nickname ‘The Crafty Cockney’ to be true, don’t assume this is an isolated attitude.

It is no wonder women do not want to enter this sort of environment.

Even if women do manage to break into the professional game, there’s no way they can play full-time.

Because of the lack

Premier League.

Managed by Kevin Keagan, the Newcastle side played explosive attacking football and led the Premier League from August to mid-March, having a 12 point lead ahead of second place in January 1996.

In March, Newcastle went on a run of five defeats in eight matches, with defeats coming to West Ham, title rivals Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Blackburn. This allowed Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side to overtake Newcastle. Ferguson’s mind games caused Keagan to go on live TV and explode with rage which was the embodiment for the collapse Newcastle suffered.

Newcastle finished second and Keagan departed halfway through the next season with neither the club or the man himself ever reaching the same heights again.

In cricket, the World Cup 1999 semi final between South Africa and Australia must be considered in terms of a sporting collapse.

South Africa had one wicket remaining and needed nine runs off the final over.

Lance Klusener hit two fours off the first two balls of the over to tie the game.

On the next delievery, a mix up between Allan Donald and

of investment going into women’s darts, they have to hold down a separate job at the same time, whereas many of the top-ranked male players can devote all of their time to practicing.

When the PDC did introduce a Women’s World Championship in 2010, which only ran for one year before it was abandoned, the prize money was paltry.

The winner of the women’s event won just £10,000, while Phil Taylor received £1 million for winning the male edition.

Even in the 2016 BDO World Championships, where both genders compete annually, the women’s prize was a measly 12 per cent of that offered to men.

It was closer to the youth prize, in fact, than it was to the men’s.

One of the most common reasons given for the insubstantial amount of money invested in the female game is the lower standard that women play to.

This is a feeble excuse.

Women might average less, but that’s because they’re never given the same opportunities.

They’re never actively encouraged to play. When women do play to a high standard and hold their own among men, the men are mocked not for their general lack of skill, but for being beaten by a mere woman.

Klusener when attempting to run saw Klusener run out.

Although the score was level, Australia advanced to the final which they won after finishing higher in the super six group stage earlier in the tournament.

In tennis, Jana Novotna led defending Champion Steffi Graf 4-1 in the final set after taking the second set 6-1.

Playing some excellent tennis, Novotna was within grasp of securing her first Grand Slam title. With a game point to

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People laugh at men rather than congratulate women for their performance. There is no credit where credit’s due.

Things do change when you move down into the grassroots game, particularly at university level.

At the University of Sheffield, women are urged to take part and are accepted on an equal basis to men. But it doesn’t work.

Currently, the Darts Society only has five women out of 40 members.

In a sport that is so much fun, there is clearly a problem elsewhere that is putting women off from playing, which is a great shame.

When you go to buy equipment, you’re still met with inherent sexism.

Catalogues are filled with women in their underwear emphasising the phallic shape of darts.

Men, on the other hand, are shown actually using darts for their intended purpose.

Even the names of darts are dreadful. Flick through and you’ll see a myriad of stylish darts with powerful names such as ‘Destroyers’ or ‘Hellfire’, but any with a smidgen of pink on them are called ‘Foxies’ or ‘Wild Roses’.

Sports across the spectrum are changing, from football to tennis, they’re becoming more inclusive and inviting.

It’s about time darts does the same.

go up 5-1, Novotna doubled faulted and allowed Graf to get back into the match. Graf would win the match after taking the third set 6-4.

Images of Novotna crying on the Duchess of Kent’s shoulder highlights the crueltly of sport, how one can be close to victory, only to lose and collapse. Rather than being remembered for victory, you go down in history as a mere footnote, remembered only for your collapse.

“I’d love it if people stopped mentioning this interview, love it!” Image: Twitter

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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Where there’s a Willett, there’s a way Sheffield golfing sensation Danny Willett makes global headlines with Masters triumph Ed McCosh Sheffield was put on the golfing map last week as Danny Willett secured one of the most prestigious titles in the sport, winning the Masters at Augusta.

Willett, 28, added to the second place finish secured in the European Tour’s Race to Dubai last year with victory in Georgia.

When favourite Jordan Spieth suffered a late collapse to scupper his designs on winning the Masters for a second year in a row, it was Willett who beat off the competition of fellow Englishman Lee Westwood to capitalise and claim the muchcoveted green jacket.

It was the perfect way to round off a month in which Willett and his wife Nicole welcomed their first child into the world.

Had he been more aware of his surroundings, Zachariah Willett would have been proud of the momentous achievement.

Willett started confidently at Augusta, carding an opening round of 70, but a 74 in the second round brought him back to level par overall.

A 72 on the Saturday did not aid his chances for the green jacket, but a superb 67, coupled with Spieth’s shock capitulation, sparked wild celebrations among British golf fans.

The three-stroke victory was undoubtedly the highlight of the unassuming Yorkshireman’s career to date, and a huge boost for golf not only in Sheffield but the United Kingdom.

Willett became just the fourth Briton to win the Masters, and the first since Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam claimed the green jacket five times between them from 1988 to 1996.

The new Masters champion was not the only Sheffield local to impress in Georgia – Matthew Fitzpatrick also recorded a final round score of 67 to finish tied for seventh at the age of 21.

Fitzpatrick, who turned professional just two years ago, has won the British Masters and finished second in the Omega European Masters since, with Willett pipping him to the latter.

Willett has also enjoyed a meteoric rise. In 2014 the fivetime European Tour winner had picked up just one trophy and lay 132nd in the world golf rankings.

After triumph at Augusta, the Sheffield star has leaped to ninth in the rankings, ahead of the likes of Justin Rose, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson.

He has also achieved something the likes of European golfing greats Garcia and Colin Montgomerie have failed to over long and successful careers by winning a major title.

The coming year could yet

be even more prosperous for Sheffield golf – Willett will represent Team GB at the 2016 Olympics as golf makes its long-awaited bow, and Fitzpatrick could yet join him.

Both are almost certain to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup, as Darren Clarke takes his side to Hazeltine in Chaska, Minnesota looking to secure a fourth successive European win.

Willett’s Masters victory may have more positive implications closer to home, as his inspiring win could see more Sheffield youngsters heading to their local course.

The University of Sheffield claimed a point in the Varsity golf and, coupled with the city hitting headlines worldwide, it is a good time to be playing the sport in this part of Yorkshire.

Image: Tumblr

Ambitious Owls aiming for top flight Anthony Phillips In the 1999-2000 season, Sheffield Wednesday were relegated from the Premier League after a nine year stay, finishing 19th.

A lot has changed since then.

In the year Wednesday were relegated, Britney Spears was a global pop superstar who was number one with ‘Oops I Did It Again’, the highest grossing film was Mission Impossible 2; Kevin Spacey won the best actor Oscar for American Beauty, the Euro was established as the currency of Europe, Family Guy, SpongeBob and Dora

the Explorer all debuted on television, the PlayStation 2 came out and the last FA Cup final was played at the old Wembley.

The following 16 years have not been kind to the Owls, who have been relegated twice from the Championship into the third tier of English football, first in 2003 and then again in 2010.

Image: Joe Bamford

Once a proud team of English football, with four first division titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup and one Community Shield, the third oldest team in the English football league had become an afterthought to many casual football fans.

This was highlighted by the fact that Wednesday haven’t even mounted a challenge to suggest they are ready to reenter the top flight, with their best finish being ninth in 2006.

However, this season is different. Under Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal, the Owls have mounted a resurgent challenge to find themselves located sixth in the Championship and close to securing a Championship playoff spot with four games of the season remaining.

The start of the season saw 14 new players arrive at Hillsborough with Lewis McGugan, Ross Wallace, Barry Bannan, Gary Hooper and Fernando Forestieri bringing a touch of quality and experience to the squad.

The Hooper and Forestieri goals have been crucial to the Owls’ push up the table, with the pair combining for 25

goals. Last season, Wednesday managed only 43 goals in the Championship compared to 60 this season and this new attacking display of football has been evident in a 4-0 win over Wolves, a 4-1 win over Brentford and a 3-0 victory over Charlton.

The confidence of the team and the belief that they could play at a higher level was encapsulated in the League Cup fourth round victory over Premier League side Arsenal.

Playing at Hillsborough, Wednesday produced a brilliant performance to win 3-0.

In the luck of the Championship playoff, Owls fans have every right to believe that Wednesday can produce something magical and gain promotion.

Their home form this season has been spectacular with 12 wins, six draws and only two losses combined with 38 goals scored and only 16 conceded.

Therefore it may only be a matter of time before one of the sleeping giants of English football finally returns to the top table and the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City visit Hillsborough regularly.

Forge Press | Thursday 21 April 2016

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Black and Gold: BUCS Review Anthony Phillips The University of Sheffield had one of their best seasons in BUCS competitions.

Multiple Sheffield teams won leagues, gained promotion and won cups.

The University finished 19th overall in the BUCS standings,

a place higher than last year.

They accumulated 1,444 points, securing 889 of those points in BUCS leagues and 275 points in Cups alongside 280 points individually.

The result was even more impressive considering the fact the University finished three places ahead of city rivals Sheffield Hallam as well as the University of Leeds, Imperial College London, University

College London and Kings College London.

In this article, we outline the four best Sheffield teams this season, but praise must go to the Women’s Netball 1s who were promoted from the BUCS Northern 4B division after winning nine games from 10.

The Netball 3s were second in the 6B division with eight wins from 10 and the 4s were promoted from 9B after five

Men’s Lacrosse 1s The University of Sheffield Men’s Lacrosse 1s had a remarkable season in BUCS competitions, winning the BUCS Northern 2B title and gaining promotion to the higher division after winning all 10 games in the league.

In the cup, the Sheffield side won the BUCS Northern Conference Trophy after defeating Bangor 15-6 in the final.

En route to the Trophy, Sheffield produced two outstanding performances to win.

Firstly, in the last 16, Sheffield defeated the University of Central Lancashire 28-0 before defeating Durham 3s 19-0 in the semi-finals.

The team were fantastic on offence all season, in the league they also were able to produce some dominating displays with Sheffield defeating the University of York Men’s 2s 21-0.

In Varsity, the Men’s Lacrosse 1s produced a brave performance against a Hallam side ranked two divisions above them but narrowly lost 11-7.

Captain Cameron Parkes told Forge Sport: “The occasion got to us today, Im gutted to lose.

“I’m proud of the season we have had though”.

Men’s Table Tennis 1s The University of Sheffield Men’s 1s Table Tennis had a dominant season, finishing top of the Northern 1A Division after 10 wins from 10 matches.

The Sheffield side secured victory in the BUCS Table Tennis Trophy after defeating the University of Nottingham 2s in 9-7 in the final.

In the league, the Sheffield side secured huge victories over the University of Leeds 17-0, Newcastle University 15-2 and Lancaster University 14-3.

The sweetest moment of their season came in Varsity however with the table tennis 1s side sweeping to a 14-3 victory over rivals Sheffield Hallam.

Warren Li Kam Wa, Marcus Fraser, Luke Tattersall and David Man Hin Ho produced outstanding performances in doubles and singles to seal victory. The Men’s 2s side and the Women’s side also produced excellent performances to make it a clean sweep of table tennis for Sheffield in Varsity.

Captain Li Kam Wa, speaking to Forge Sport after the game, said: “We’re quite happy. We expected to beat Hallam, so 14-3 is quite a good result.

“Everyone did well today and gave their best, I’m quite happy with the team performance. It’s been a perfect year”.

wins from six.

The Women’s Squash 1s and Women’s Cricket 1s both reached the semis of the cup while the Men’s Football 1s finished first in Northern 2B. The Sheffield Golf team has reached the final of the BUCS Trophy while the Women’s Hockey 1s lost in the semis of the cup. The Men’s Hockey 2s went a stage further than their male counterparts, but lost in

the final to Northumbria.

The Women’s Water Polo side finished first in Northern 2A after three wins from four, while also reaching the semifinals of the BUCS Trophy.

The four biggest Sheffield success stories this year, however, were the Men’s Lacrosse 1s, the Women’s Basketball 1s, the Men’s Table Tennis 1s and the Men’s Fencing 1s.

Women’s Basketball 1s Having recorded a perfect 14-0 season, the Women’s Basketball 1s dominated their league, winning the BUCS Northern 2B title comfortably to gain promotion while also winning the BUCS Northern Conference Cup after defeating Northumbria 2s 50-45 in the final.

They also beat archrivals Sheffield Hallam University 2s home and away this season despite the opposition team’s prestige in Basketball.

The Sheffield side dominated at Goodwin, winning one game 7213 and sending the York St John University 1s crashing out of the Northern Conference Cup in the second round.

Unfortunately, against a very strong Hallam 1s side in Varsity, the Women’s 1s had their first defeat of the season, going down 94-35.

Club Captain Elina Helavuori told Forge Sport: “Women’s basketball as a club has worked really hard over the past three years to build the foundations for high performance on the court and this year it has all come together.”

She then added: “I am incredibly proud of the team that we have become and cannot wait to see the girls play in Northern 1A next year and provide the black and gold family with more brilliant results.”

Men’s Fencing 1s Fencing became the fourth University of Sheffield team to finish the season unbeaten and in the process securing a league and cup double.

In the BUCS Northern 2B Division, Sheffield won eight games from eight to secure promotion to the Northern Premier, the highest division in BUCS in the north.

Sheffield were also the BUCS Northern Conference Cup champions.

It was plain sailing in the opening two rounds, with Sheffield being given a bye in the first and a walkover in the second.

Sheffield progressed to the final after beating Bangor 1s 135-102 in the semi-finals.

In the final, Sheffield defeated Durham 3s 135-80 to claim a memorable victory.

Men’s captain Sam Cooper told Forge Sport: “I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the team this year”.

Club President Tom Lee said: “I have never been more proud to be part of the club”.

Fencing is not currently part of the Varsity roster, but after a successful season for the University of Sheffield there may be more clamouring for the sport to be part of the biggest week in Sheffield university sport.

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Thursday 21 April 2016 | Forge Press

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Four in a row Final score

42 35

Ed McCosh The University of Sheffield made it four consecutive Varsity victories as they prevailed 42-35 over Sheffield Hallam University in an engrossing week of sport.

The scoreline reflected Sheffield’s second biggest victory in Varsity history, in a week in which they led at the conclusion of every day of competition.

In a repeat of last year’s finale, it was the Women’s Hockey 3s who claimed the decisive point - or, in this case, half a point - that carried Sheffield over the line.

They drew 2-2 at Goodwin on the final day to spark jubilant scenes across the unversity and delight students, staff and alumni all over the world.

Winter Varsity, normally an event which gives Sheffield a strong foundation upon which

to build a lead, was this year shared in the first of a set of results which confounded expectations.

The two points competed for in Tignes were shared before heavy snowfall blighted the rest of the event.

The rearranged tie, staged in Wakefield, finished 1.5-0.5 to Sheffield, though Hallam had improved on last year’s tally.

The Varsity week then began in earnest with a hectic Wednesday at Hallam Sports Park, and it proved to be the only day in which Hallam took the overall lead, albeit briefly.

It was Hallam who dominated the opening stages, but the Men’s Rugby Union 3s stopped the rot for Sheffield with a 13-6 win.

It was then that the formbook began to take a beating.

Sheffield’s Women’s Rugby Union side, much-fancied and holding a 5-0 lead, succumbed to a shock 17-5 reverse.

Yards away from the rugby field, the Men’s Football 1s match turned out to be one of the most thrilling affairs in recent Varsity history.

After 90 minutes of intense drama, scintillating skill and

fiery exchanges between the two rivals, Sheffield prevailed 3-2.

Then, to conclude an exhilarating day of action, Sheffield Hallam Men’s Rugby Union 1s came from 13-0 down to win 24-21 and stun Sheffield with a last-minute try.

From the Sports Park pitches, Sheffield took to the lakes, the rinks, pools and sports halls to reassert their dominance.

Points were shared in the Athletics and Triathlon, while Rowing and Sailing victories ensured Sheffield ruled the seas - or at least the lakes.

After the well-received relief of the first Dartsity played at the Octagon, which was narrowly won by Sheffield, the battle for Varsity points resumed with a narrow reverse for the Sabres in the American Football at Goodwin.

A packed day of sport at EIS followed, and Sheffield enjoyed a successful day not for extending their three-point lead, but for maintaining it.

A total of 14 points were up for grabs on a manic Monday, and both sides took seven apiece to keep Hallam well adrift.

Sheffield enjoyed complete control of the Table Tennis, winning all three points, while the Netball 1s also mustered up a stirring victory.

It was at times impossible to tell who had the momentum amidst the frantic action, with Volleyball the most hotly contested, but it evened out by the end of proceedings.

Hallam threatened a comeback towards the end of the night, however, with three Basketball points earned and a stunning 11-9 Futsal win, garnered after Sheffield had taken a 7-4 lead.

Sheffield continued to keep Hallam at arm’s length throughout Tuesday’s action, with Tennis and Squash running riot to put victory within sight.

There was controversy in the Women’s Hockey 2s surrounding Hallam’s decision to field three first team players, including the 1s captain, in their 1-0 win over the Sheffield 2s. The point, at first awarded to Hallam, was overturned a day later and given to Sheffield.

By then the University of Sheffield had already secured

the win.

The heroics of the Women’s Lacrosse, 16-6 winners at Goodwin, set things in motion, while a 10-1 win for the Men’s Canoe Polo put victory within touching distance.

While Hallam secured all the points in Ultimate Frisbee and Swimming, Korfball and Badminton set Sheffield on their way.

The stage was set perfectly, then, for the Women’s Hockey 3s to tip the balance.

The confirmation that Sheffield would take at least 0.5 points from the Cycling meant another half-point was needed; as it turned out, the Cycling Club excelled to take 1.5.

It seemed as if the Women’s Hockey would take a full point, but a Hallam fightback meant they settled for a half. That half, however, was decisive.

As the masses exited the Arena following the Ice Hockey 1s, thoughts turned not to the fourth consecutive Varsity that had been won, but next year’s quest for a fifth.