Forge issue 61

INSIDE:OWLS/ GAMBLING/ SOBER FRESHER/ WET NUNS/ SEXISM/ BREAKING BAD/ BOOK CORNER/

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

Issue 61 Friday September 20 2013 @ForgePress /ForgePress

Games talk:

Breaking the law Vice City-style, Fuse, p.4

Features find: The power of social media p.14-15

Lifestyle guide: Around the city’s best venues, p.12-13

You can name John’s van

Photo: Jessica Pitocchi Continued on p.2

Silenced: Uni’s £1.8m gagging orders 4 University spent a “worrying” £1.8 million on staff compromise agreements in the last five years Lauren Archer The University of Sheffield has spent over £1.8 million taking out controversial ‘gagging orders’ on former staff members in the last five years.

Compromise agreements with confidentiality clauses, known informally as ‘gagging orders’, have been issued to members of staff leaving employment for reasons other than early retirement.

They are now known as settlement agreements following the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.

The agreements are used when

the University is in dispute with a staff member and are made through a voluntary process where both the University and the employee are legally represented.

But unions fear that employees may sign compromise agreements because they fear the stress associated with taking legal action or remaining in work.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said: “We are seriously concerned that the new legislative provisions on the admissibility of settlement offers and discussions in unfair dismissal cases will send a signal to employers that they are free to sack staff for arbitrary

reasons without needing to follow a fair disciplinary procedure.

“Whilst employees will have a theoretical right to turn the employer’s offer down, many will consider they have no genuine choice other than to accept the sum of money and leave their job.

“Many employees will accept the offer simply because they assume it is a foregone conclusion they will be dismissed if they do not.

“Others will fear that they will be bullied or victimised if they remain in the job. The provisions are therefore open to abuse by employers and could have a detrimental effect on wider

employment relations.”

The University said that “the decision to compromise is made taking into consideration factors including the beneficial impact to all parties through timely resolution to the dispute, the commercial impact of resolution, and the effective management of personal and or organisational risk.”

A former University employee who signed a compromise agreement told Forge Press: “Such is the stress of taking legal action against powerful organisations that many employees choose to sign a compromise agreement containing a gagging clause.”

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Number 16 24 25 13 24

Total 102

Cost £236,255 £549,589 £579,589 £196,907 £273,158

8

9 £1,835,4

Continued on p. 3

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John’s van taken for a ride but now back in business NAME JOHN’S VAN

The winner will also received a free sandwich everyday for a week, as well as open the van at the official opening.

News news@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer Aidan Phillips Comment comment@forgetoday.com Tom Schneider Ben Scull

Photo: Jessica Pitocchi Lauren Archer The much-loved mobile fast food unit John’s Van was stolen in the early hours of September 11 and discovered by police five days later.

At the time of the theft Jez Woolley, who runs John’s Van, took to social media to appeal for information and offered a £1,000 reward for the van’s safe return.

Determined to continue

Two University of Sheffield graduates have been shortlisted for the Guardian student media awards 2013 for the work they produced during their time with Forge Press.

Aspiring student journalists from across the UK submit their three best reports in the hope of being shortlisted and, in turn, winning.

Alisha Rouse, previous editor, and Jonathan Robinson, previous news editor, have both been shortlisted for student reporter of the year.

Alisha said: “I’m so happy to be shortlisted, and even happier that my fellow editor Jonathan has been too.

“It just shows what a great start in your journalism career Forge Press is.

“Everyone should get involved.”

Jonathan said: “It was a huge surprise to make the shortlist

providing Sheffield students with hot food, as the van has for over 30 years, Jez bought a new van and vowed to return, saying: “I’m really touched by everyone’s response, it’s unbelievable.

“It’s really heart-warming, it makes it all worth it and helps a lot when I’m getting everything back on track.”

The van was found five days after its theft and will soon be returned to its owner.

Jez said: ”It’s incredible, I thought it would have been melted down by now.

“Now, I’ve got two vans.”

There are no plans to get rid of the second van.

A 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft. He has been bailed pending further enquiries.

Interval and Bar one society loyalty card

Amelia Heathman

Sheffield Students’ Union is launching a new clubs and societies loyalty card for SU outlets to begin this September.

The idea has been in demand for the past few years and the Students’ Union development officer, Sam Neagus, pushed for the idea in his campaign during the officer elections.

The clubs and societies loyalty card will offer members of participating clubs and societies

Features features@forgetoday.com Eve Betts Ina Fischer Elsa Vulliamy Lifestyle & travel lifestyle@forgetoday.com Ellie McCaldin Hannah McCulloch

Music music@forgetoday.com Nicky Crane Rachel Smith

“I am really pleased that John’s Van has been recovered. Well done to everyone!”

David Blunkett, MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough (and former Home Secretary)

and I am absolutely thrilled to be representing Forge Press at the awards ceremony in London.

“I worked on some great stories and campaigns during my time as news editor and would like to thank everyone I worked with.”

The other nominees in the category came from the University of St. Andrew’s, Kingston University and the University of Oxford.

Other sectors that could be applied for included student publication of the year, student website of the year, student feature writer of the year and student photographer of the year.

The success of receiving an award can stretch much further than just the certificate, with several previous winners going on to become full-time journalists with the national paper.

The winners of all the categories will be announced at the Guardian student media award ceremony on Wednesday November 27.

LETTERS & COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Lucy Copson

Sport sport@forgetoday.com Peter Grieve Philip Hammond Jack Taylor

“I’m delighted to see John’s van will be back in time for Freshers’ Week, the campus wouldn’t be the same without it. I remember it well from my time at the University.”

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central

Forge Press journalist talent shortlisted for Guardian student media awards Jessica Pitocchi

Managing Editor Mikey Smith

HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com matthew Smith

“I will put a plaque on the side of the van with the name of the person and the winning name.”

To enter, either use #namesjohnsvan on Twitter or speak to Jez while he’s working in the van and give your entry on a piece of paper.

DEPUTY EDITOR Jessica Pitocchi

Head of Visuals Adam Harley

Jez said “The business will still be called John’s Van, but I want somebody to name the van.

The winner and plaque will unveiled Monday September 30.

Nicola Moors

fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Karen Scattergood

John’s van is back in business today and with an exciting new competition.

The competition is now open and will close Friday September 27.

Editor

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

discounts of selected food and drink products in popular SU eateries, Bar One and Interval. In addition to providing discounts, 10 per cent of what is spent on the card will go back to the society or club.

Due to the scheme being the first of its kind within the Union, the loyalty cards will be trialled with 10 clubs and 20 societies this semester.

The scheme has received a large amount of notice on social media, proving that already the idea is very popular amongst the University of Sheffield’s students.

For up to date news you can like the loyalty card Facebook page: www.facebook. com/shefsuloyalty and follow the scheme on Twitter: @shefsuloyalty

Games games@forgetoday.com Joanne Butcher Reece Nunn Screen screen@forgetoday.com Kate Lovatt Will Ross Arts arts@forgetoday.com Lizzie Hyland Rhiannon Pickin

M e dia Hub, Union of Students, We s t e rn Bank , She f f ie ld, S10 2TG 0114 22286 46 // f or g epress@f or g e t oday. com

Forge Press is printed on 100% recycled paper

F or ge Pre ss is publishe d by the Union of Stude nts.

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Campaign against health fees Aidan Phillips International students could face charges of more than £200 for accessing the NHS, as well as extra charges for specific services.

The government has proposed charging future students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) a “health levy” payable on entry to the country, while also suggesting mandatory health insurance as an alternative.

Sheffield Students’ Union has launched a year-long campaign against the proposals - including a petition created by international officer Alex Kohnert, which has gained over 1,000 signatures - with the National Union of Students (NUS) also planning to launch the further stages of their campaign after the Immigration Bill is published.

Sheffield MP Paul Blomfield said the union’s campaign has his “full support.”

He said: “The government’s trying to make people think they’re doing something to address concerns about immigration by hitting international students, but it’s populist nonsense.

“International students enrich our campuses and cities, enhance the learning experience for all and add massively to our research. They boost Sheffield’s economy by a net £120m a year, creating around 6000 local jobs, whereas the cost of setting up and administering a charging system could end up costing the NHS more than it raises.

“The government should promote the important contribution they make, instead of introducing plans that will make it more likely for them to study in other countries.”

Alex Kohnert said: “When international students already face extortionate fees for processing visa applications and getting accommodation, additional charges for something as fundamental as access to

healthcare are, in our opinion, grossly unfair.”

Pro-vice-chancellor Paul White said the University is not convinced by the economic argument behind the proposed levy, emphasising the important contribution that international students make to British universities.

The government defends such proposals, saying the NHS is “one of the most generous systems in the world.”

In a Department of Health report on migrants and the NHS released this July, health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “NHS resources, both financial and clinical, are used to treat and care for people who have no long term commitment to our country and should contribute towards it.

“We urgently need to address this issue or the system is likely to become unsustainable.”

As well as the levy, proposals were also made to charge for IVF treatment, cosmetic surgery, organ transplantation and services for pre-existing pregnancies. The report also welcomed any views on how it would be possible to charge for dental, ophthalmic or eye services and drug prescriptions.

Currently, all international students staying in Britain for more than six months get free access to primary care NHS treatment. These are services provided by a patient’s first point of consultation, which is usually a GP, dentist or optician.

Regulations introduced in 1982 require students from outside of the EEA to pay for secondary care, which covers treatment by medical and dental specialists.The government says only a fraction of these charges are collected.

Find job opportunities at volunteering fair Photo: Careers service Jessica Pitocchi The part-time jobs and volunteering fair will take place on Wednesday October 9.

The annual fair, held in the Octagon centre, allows students the chance to meet with local employers offering part-time work as well as local community groups and organisations with volunteering opportunities.

Employment types range from temporary and casual bank holiday work to seasonal work over the Christmas holidays.

Some company stalls will provide the opportunity for students to apply for current vacancies on the day.

Ellie Clarke, a third year student, said: “I believe that visiting the part-time jobs and volunteering fair is greatly beneficial as it provides a

convenient opportunity to easily apply for jobs and distribute CVs to local employers.

“Due to the number of employers who attend the fair each year, it provides a fantastic opportunity to talk to employers and to gauge the kind of applicants they are looking for, whilst also giving you the chance to find out more about local organisations that require and really appreciate the help of volunteers.

“Extra-curricular activities have assisted in keeping me proactive whilst at university and have allowed me to have a direct impact on areas of my own university life, helping to make me feel a greater part of the University’s community whilst simultaneously enhancing my employability.”

Ensure you bring your Ucard to the event in order to gain admittance.

NEWS SCIENCE & Technology

Gut microbes linked to human obesity

Photo: Lauren Archer

Uni’s compromise agreements Continued from page 1 Cllr Shaffaq Mohammed, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Sheffield city council, described the figures as “worrying”, going on to say: “When such large sums are being spent on these agreements students have every right to know why this money isn’t being invested in university services instead.

“As one of the largest and most respected institutions in our city, the University of Sheffield should be setting an example to other employers.”

Compromise agreements have been a contentious issue in the area recently, sparking outrage from local people when it was discovered that Sheffield city council had spent almost £200,000 on the orders in 2011.

Forge Press can reveal that the University spent more than seven times this amount in the same time period, despite having only 6,031 employees compared to the council’s 18,000 plus.

Sheffield city council spent £28,000 on compromise agreements in 2011 and £162,530 in the 2012-2013 period, with many of their compromise agreements including the controversial confidentiality clauses.

But the University of Sheffield’s spend dwarfs this – with £196,907 spent on gagging orders in 2011 alone.

The number of agreements made and the costs incurred are subject to annual scrutiny by the University’s senior remuneration committee, made up of the vice-chancellor and non-University staff.

The University has racked up almost £2 million worth of the controversial clauses in the past five years, peaking in 2009 when 24 agreements were made at a cost of £549,589.

In total, the University has made 102 compromise agreements with confidentiality clauses since 2008, resulting in a total spend of £1,835,498.

These figures also tower over the “concerning” spend of almost half a million pounds

at the University of York.

When the University of York Students’ Union officers found out about the £479,464 spend on confidentiality clauses since 2008, the spending was criticised as “careless”.

Kallum Taylor, York Students’ Union president, told York student paper Nouse: “These numbers are obviously concerning. Obviously we don’t know the ins and outs, but 80k a year could go a hell of a long way elsewhere for students here.

“Students are now paying a fortune, and their financial stake in the University has increased dramatically.

Scrutiny on spending should be higher than ever, and this type of business shouldn’t be carelessly accepted as a norm.”

University of Sheffield Students’ Union president Ally Buckle declined to comment on the figures.

A human resources spokesperson for the University said: “The University of Sheffield has a well deserved reputation as an excellent employer committed to developing a culture of excellence, collaboration, innovation, commitment and respect.

“The University is proactive in ensuring that it promotes and develops its staff capability, and considers a range of employment options to address any shortcomings which, when the circumstances warrant it, include compromise agreements. We take care to ensure this approach is only used voluntarily, and in circumstances where both parties have agreed it’s the best course of action, frequently in discussion with trade unions.

“The number of cases and University of Sheffield spending on such agreements is low when compared to other sectors. Over the past six years, spending has been at an average of around £18,000 per case, representing a tiny fraction of our total £1.1bn staff budget over the same six years.”

Recent studies conducted at the Washington University School of Medicine revealed differences in the microbial communities found in the guts of obese and lean humans.

The team, lead by Jeffrey Gordon, used germ-free mice to examine the effect of introducing gut microbes from twins where one sibling is obese and the other lean. Kept separately, mice injected with the “obese” microbes gained weight whereas rodents who received the “lean” sample did not.

Furthermore, through cohabitation of the mice and their subsequent consumption of faeces, the team found that microbial communities characteristic of the “lean” individual replaced those of the “obese” sample, preventing weight gain.

Victoria Stanway

Scientists grow functioning heart tissue in regenerative medicine breakthrough Biologists from the University of Pittsburgh stripped a mouse heart of its cells to create a scaffold to which human stem cells were grafted, creating a small, beating heart.

Similar feats have been achieved in the past; however, the team used iPS stem cells, which can be created from your own skin cells, as opposed to embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are the topic of much ethical debate and legislation as they must be harvested from unborn human embryos.

Whilst a lab grown human heart is many years away, the discovery brings hope to patients only needing a partial transplant.

Daniel King

New drug brings hope for a cure for Parkinson’s Researchers at the Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience have identified a promising drug which has the potential to stop the death of neuronal cells. Using skin cells from Parkinson’s patients over 2,000 compounds were tested leading to the identification of ursodeoxycholic acid, a drug currently used to treat liver disease.

Parkinson’s is a devastating neurodegenerative disease affecting one in 500 people.

Current treatment is targeted towards symptoms and doesn’t slow or stop the progression of the disease.

This study brings hope for a future cure with clinical trials to test the safety and optimum dosage of the drug in humans able to begin.

Connor McCarry

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Interesting stories from other universities around the country

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Living below the poverty line

Student-improvised ‘wrecking ball’ removed A university in America has been forced to remove its sculpture of a pendulum because too many students were using it to recreate Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’ video.

Grand Valley State University removed the monument, a large swinging ball designed to draw shapes in the sand below it, from its Michigan campus because they feared it posed a safety risk to students attempting to imitate the singer’s latest video.

Videos have been posted online of students riding the pendulum and mimicking Cyrus.

Lauren Archer

Jessica Pitocchi

My food diary by Caroline Hill Day 1

+ spoon full Breakfast: Porr idge made with water of jam = 8p e: 28p Lunch: Spaghetti with lentil bolognes el: 30p falaf and rice with Dinner: Spicy dahl 2 x tea with dash of milk: 9p 2 x custard creams: 4p Total: 79p Day 2

+ sprinkling Breakfast: Porr idge made with water 8p = ries kber blac + r suga of e: 28p Lunch: Spaghetti with lentil bolognes el: 30p Dinner: Spicy dahl with rice and falaf 2 x tea with dash of milk: 9p 2 x custard creams: 4p Total: 79p

Photo: Caroline Hill

Day 3

Pictured: Robin Thicke

Uni of Edinburgh bans ‘Blurred Lines’ The University of Edinburgh has banned Robin Thicke’s controversial song ‘Blurred Lines’ from being played on campus.

The song has been criticised for lyrics that some listeners deemed sexist and condoning of rape and sexual violence.

Lyrics like “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two” and “I know you want it,” have sparked widespread outrage and inspired parody Youtube videos from all over the world.

The University of Leeds Students’ Union has also banned the song.

Lauren Archer

+ sprinkling of sugar + Breakfast: Porr idge made with water blackber ries = 8p Lunch: Orange: 20p Dinner: 1 x tea with dash of milk: 4p 2 x custard creams: 4p Total: 36p Day 4

+ sprinkling of sugar and Breakfast: Porr idge made with water blackber ries = 8p e: 28p Lunch: Spaghetti with lentil Bolognes 40p egg: d boile x 1 and t toas x 2 er: Dinn 1 x tea with dash of milk: 4p 2 x custard creams: 4p Total: 84p Day 5

+ sprinkling of sugar and Breakfast: Porr idge made with water blackber ries = 8p a sprinkling of sugar and Lunch: Porr idge made with water + 8p blackber ries = Total: 16p

Fines threaten graduation Uni feedback: not good enough Aidan Phillips

‘Get a mug of vodka’ Uni of York advises angry hopefuls Prospective students of the University of York have been left feeling frustrated and insulted after the “rude” and “sarcastic” responses received by their accommodation services.

Abi Creak, a prospective student, reported: “She told me to ‘get a mug of vodka’ – what’s a mug of vodka going to do when I have no house?”

Another student, who has mild autism, was turned down for campus accommodation due to “very late notification”.

He said: “They’re blaming me for not stating it on my accommodation application but I put it on my UCAS. They [Accommodation Services] can get quite rude.”

Their University president, Kallum Taylor, branded the situation “a mess” via Twitter.

Jessica Pitocchi

It is commonplace for young people to budget but one group of frugal friends decided to take managing their spending a step further.

From September 9 until September 14, 11 participants took part in ‘Live below the poverty line’, the challenging task of living on just £1 a day.

Participants pledged to spend £5 over five days to provide themselves with the neccessary food, drink and transport.

Oxfam statistics show that over 900 million people go to bed hungry every night.

The campaign, run by the Oxjam Steel City team, was devised to raise awareness of this issue and provide a glimpse of what those in extreme poverty have to spend on healthcare, education, accommodation and food for themselves and their families.

The task unsuprisingly proved to participants to be an enlightening event.

Caroline Hill, a University of Sheffield graduate now working for Hallam Union, provided Forge Press with personal daily updates telling how she suffered from headaches, a lack of concentration and energy and feelings of frustration.

She wrote: “I started feeling slightly grumpy in the afternoon after facing my fourth glass of water when I would much rather have a coffee – but then this quickly turned to guilt when I realised that a constant supply of clean water is another luxury we have that we rarely appreciate.

“Instead of being over the moon that I had completed the challenge and raised lots of money, I felt sad and angry that I could simply stop this challenge whilst so many other people had to live this way every day of their lives”.

This is not the first time the people of Sheffield have pledged to tighten their belts. Back in April, Ruby Smith, aged 22, imposed a spending limit of £1 a day upon herself to raise money for Unicef.

At least 50 students every year see their chances of graduation threatened due to library fines.

Last year 66 students had their records flagged to withhold the award of a degree due to debts, with 70 the year before and over 80 in 2008/2009.

Overall, the University was owed £14,643 in fines at the end of last year, with figures ranging from £9,500 to £14,900 over the previous five years.

The highest debt owed by one person from fines alone was £1,393, with figures in previous years as high as £2,400.

University guidelines state that to be awarded a qualification and ensure attendance at graduation, all monies due to the University must be paid at least four weeks prior to the person’s graduation date.

If any debt is not cleared by this time, the qualification is withheld until the next

inabsentia ceremony, although once the accounts are cleared the person is able to obtain a certified transcript of their results.

The trend in the amount the University makes in library fines has been mainly declining since 2006 when the overall amount taken was £131,548. Last year’s total was £76,560, a slight increase on the previous year.

A statement on the University’s website said: “The University Library has a fines policy for overdue materials to encourage the timely return of its stock and to maintain availability for the benefit of all users of the library.

“Fines income is treated as general library income and is reinvested each year into our non-staffing budget helping to support the purchase of books, journals and electronic resources.”

Photo: Aidan Phillips Aidan Phillips Assessment and feedback on work last year was criticised by many students in a survey which revealed levels of dissatisfaction across most subjects.

Although the 2013 National Students’ Survey (NSS) showed a majority of students at the University of Sheffield were satisfied with the feedback they received, the figures revealed widespread levels of dissatisfaction also across most subject areas.Out of 53 subjects surveyed, at least 30 per cent of respondents in 40 subjects

did not feel the feedback they were receiving had helped them clarify things they didn’t understand. In 11 subjects this figures rises to at least half of students unsatisfied.

Added to that, at least 30 per cent of respondents in 27 subjects felt feedback on their work had not been prompt.

At least 30 per cent of respondents in 30 subjects said they had not received detailed comments on their work.

The National Students’ Survey has been conducted annually since 2005.

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One in five students turn their hands to gambling Aidan Phillips Many students are gambling to make ends meet, with a small minority relying on payday loans to get by, according to recent research.

Research by savethestudent.org shows that one in five students are turning to gambling to help with their finances while 2 per cent are resorting to payday companies.

According to the website’s 2013 Student Money Survey, the average student spends £763 a month, whereas average maintenance loans for those outside London cover only £458 of living costs each month, leaving many students with a major shortfall.

Payday loans, provided by companies like Wonga and Quick Cash, are fast track loans deposited within 15 minutes without any lengthy credit checks. They come at a representative APR interest rate of 5853 per cent, with the under-25s being the largest group of borrowers.

Sheffield students’ union has recently placed a ban on payday loaners advertising at students’ union or university events.

A Civil Engineering student who preferred not to be named is dependent on an income-based bursary the University provides, is one of many students who are turning to less traditional methods of finance.

He said: “This will be the third time I’ve borrowed from Wonga. My bursary does not get deposited into my account for almost a month after my student finance, and accommodation payments decimate my student finance immediately.” He says

Photo: Jessica Pitocchi he’s left to finance a month’s worth of food, bills, study materials and social activities himself.

The majority of student bank accounts offer up to a £1,000 interest free overdraft, but with the average student shortfall at £305 and accommodation payments made in advance, many find the overdraft isn’t enough.

One in five students look to gambling for a solution to financial hardship.

Another student, who also wished to remain anonymous, thought she was smart enough to beat the system, but lost £320 on roulette attempting to pay off her overdraft.

She said: “I know the table always wins but on my calculations I only had a 1 in 35 chance of losing”.

After successfully winning £80 the night before, she returned the following morning. Using the martingale system, she would bet on red or black and double the amount she placed whenever she lost.

With a minimum bet of £5 and with only a student budget she didn’t have enough cash to continue doubling, and with £160 on the table and another £160 under it Zakiya lost £320 in one session.

Instances of students gambling can include bingo, online betting and the national lottery. A ‘Lucky Dip’ ticket

Officers urge students to protest

comes with a 1 in 13 million probability of the jackpot.

The NatWest student banking team published data comparing real students’ financial situations to parents’ expectations. The team found that 28 per cent of students admit to living on their overdraft, whereas one in five use credit cards for everyday purchases.

A quarter of students admitted to losing sleep at night worrying about finances.

“No matter how good it sounds, it doesn’t work” Aidan Phillips on the risks of roulette systems

Photo: pfig / Flickr Lauren Archer Students’ Union officers are urging students to protest at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester next Sunday.

A coach will leave the Students’ Union at 9am and will return at 7pm on Sunday September 29.

Students’ Union education officer Sam Rae said: “The Conservative Party are doing sinister things to our National Health Service, without even bothering to consult the public.

“If you think this is not OK, then why not exercise your legal right to protest?”

The protest is a national demonstration called by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity and organised by the Trade Union Congress.

Initially called to protest the government cuts to the NHS, the demonstration is now set to include a variety or anti-austerity movements, including groups opposed to the bedroom tax and education cuts.

The People’s Assembly predict tens of thousands of people, including campaigners, trade unionists, community groups and students, will attend.

Students’ Union president Ally Buckle, who is spearheading a year-long campaign against the proposed ‘health levy’ for international students alongside international students officer Alex Kohnert, said: “The government have proposed a minimum £200 levy for International Students to use NHS services.

“We think this makes no economic sense at all and is an unfair political move against educational migrants.

“The NHS demo will provide an opportunity for our students to say that we are unhappy with the government’s latest decisions and affirm the founding principle of the NHS as free at the point of access for all.”

Coach tickets for are available from the Box Office in the SU foyer for £2.

The Martingale roulette system seems like a brilliant idea. You put £1 on red, then if you lose you put down £2, and you keep doubling until you win.

When you win, you always end up £1 up on what you started with.

My plan was to bet on the same colour every time until it came up. With a starting stake of 10p, the same colour would have had to come up 11 times for me to lose everything. The system seemed foolproof until 13 reds came up in a row.

Ultimately, there is no guarantee you won’t get it wrong 10, 20 or even one hundred times. No matter how much the odds seem to be in your favour at first, over a long period of time they are always against you. That one green number means that, by the law of probability, you’re more likely to lose all your money before you double it.

If you’re not convinced, read into the maths and ask others about it. Just don’t try it - the real winner is always the casino.

Photo: Jessica Pitocchi

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More than half of local libraries could close unless communities take them over

The cuts get deeper...

Jessica Pitocchi Sheffield city council is being hit with more than £100million funding cuts over the next five years.

The government’s latest announcement confirmed reductions being made in its grant to councils, with Sheffield’s totalling £108.8million.

Council leader Julie Dore branded the cuts “unfair” and said: “When they came to power the Government initially announced four years of cuts, and we have had to make quite deep savings.

“Now we have been told the unfair cuts will continue.

“Although local government spends only seven per cent of public money, we have taken 22 per cent of the cuts across the public sector.”

The cuts are likely to lead to an increase in the number of jobs at risk, with the council declaring it will have to “reshape” services such as culture and leisure through the use of third parties.

Another factor publicised was the continuation of a one per cent cap on pay rises for staff for at least the next two years.

Councillor Dore told how the council’s calculations for over the next few years include an additional government grant, rising by one per cent of costs, in return for a freeze in council tax.

However, she said: “If that does not continue to be offered, we could not rule out a council tax rise.”

The sum the council will receive by 2015 will be almost halved, seeing the figure drop from £190million to £109million.

Attempts for savings have been made earlier in the year with the closure of major sporting ground Don Valley stadium, scheduled to be demolished on September 30, expected by councillors to save the city £7million over the next five years.

John Mothersole, council chief executive, said: “We’ve never had such a challenging financial environment.”

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The confirmed cuts for Sheffield over the next five years

jobs will be lost.

Reasons given by council bosses for the chosen closing branches included levels of deprivation, use and distance from other facilities in the area.

The Sheffield Students’ Union education officer Sam Rae said: “Cuts to libraries are a miserly attack on the worst off in society.

For those of us who have to been to university, it is often easy to take for granted basic resources like books and computers, and the personal growth that they enable.

“By denying entire communities free access to these resources, we literally create ghettoes where for many working people the ability to explore knowledge independently and gain confidence as a self-directed critical thinker becomes unattainable.”

Councillor leader Julie Photo: Lauren Archer Dore previously warned of the possibility of these cuts Jessica Pitocchi and highlighted the need for Of the 26 local libraries in third parties to take over local Sheffield, a total of 15 are at services for their protection risk of closure unless community and survival. groups and other organisations This strategy is one that are willing to take them over. has been implemented by Sheffield city council has other public services with revealed its list of community schools taking over nurseries, casualties including those a community group running in Broomhill, Gleadless, Stocksbridge Leisure Centre, Upperthorpe, Newfield Green, and Sheffield Hallam Burngreave, Park, Southey, University recently agreeing Woodhouse and Walkley. to manage Woodbourn Road As a result of the cuts, 75 athletics stadium.

John Mothersole, council chief executive, said: “There are 27 organisations who have expressed an interest in running libraries – although we do not want to name them at this stage because they would then come under a lot of pressure.

“We also know there are a lot of people and voluntary groups willing to run libraries and we have funding set aside to allow some of them to do so”.

Though no official decisions have been announced, Newfield Green, Burngreave, Park, Southey and Woodhouse have possible interest shown in them being community-run.

The setting-aside of funding to cover operation cost, but not staff wages, at up to five sites for two years is currently underway.

Cllr Mazher Iqbal, cabinet member for communities, commented: “These proposals are the fairest we can achieve for Sheffield right now.” ­­In April, 10,000 people signed a petition against their closure.

What’s on your mind?

Comment on this article online: www.forgetoday.com

DOT COM

Mega-marathon feat as local goes the distance 30 times in 30 days

LGBT picnic in the park Lauren Archer Sheffield’s first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) festival took place in Weston Park on Sunday September 15.

The free event, called a ‘Pinknic’ or pink picnic, was coordinated by LGBT Sheffield.

The event was planned as a testament to Sheffield’s diversity.

LGBT Sheffield said: “Sheffield’s LGBT communities, their friends, families and

supporters can all come together and celebrate our diverse communities.”

Kath Housley, the LGBT Sheffield chair, said: “Despite having bad weather on the day, we had a great time.

People were laughing, giggling and even dancing in the rain!

This event was a launching pad for LGBT Sheffield.

We want to bring LGBT issues to the forefront and become more visible and community-based in

the city.

“We’re certainly not trying to steal the limelight from Pride, but we want to create an event that is more focused on families and communities.

The Pinknic will be an annual event for the whole family.”

Councillor Neale Gibson, who attended the event, said: “Despite the weather about 500 people enjoyed the music and atmosphere.

“A great time was had by all, looking forward to 2014.”

Pictured: marathon runner Chris Heaton Huang Yanlin A 54-year-old Sheffield man is two-thirds of the way through a mega-marathon challenge as he attempts to go the distance 30 times in 30 days.

Aiming to raise £30,000 for the Brathay Trust, Sheffield Assay Office chairman Chris Heaton is set to continue his herculean feat until September 29.

He has already raised over £34,000.

The track alternates between the extremely tough Great Langdale marathon course, known as the toughest road marathon in the world, and Windermere marathon course.

He said: “Because I want to raise a lot of money I realise I have to undertake something

out of this world in terms of difficulty.

“It will be 30 very difficult marathons in 30 days and will be one of the world’s great ultra endurance challenges in 2013.”

Posting on his race blog, Chris said the current course seems to be more difficult and tougher than the one he took during the initial 10 days.

He said: “My right ankle is dominating matters at the moment. It isn’t great although not visibly swollen. Such a nuisance as everything else is fine.”

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Half a million to police protest against non-existant mosque

NEWS National news Photo: @will_peachey/ Twitter

Un-happy meal

Photos: Adam Harley

Pictured: EDL protest from the June demonstrations Lauren Archer and Aidan Phillips The English Defence League (EDL) has confirmed it is going ahead with their protest outside the Pheasant Pub on September 21, despite there being no plans to turn it into a mosque.

The protest was originally planned to oppose what the EDL claimed were plans by Firth Park Cultural Centre to build a mosque on the site of the Pheasant Pub. However, consultants for the pub’s owner confirmed an offer had been approved from another bidder. Chris Meads from the cultural centre said they had launched a fundraising appeal to build a multi-faith cultural centre, not a mosque, and that they wouldn’t have been able to afford to bid on the site.

South Yorkshire Police said the demonstration will cost the force around £600,000, with officers drafted in from up and down the country.

Superintendent Colin MacFarlane said:

“As well as policing the rally, we will have additional officers on duty to carry out normal policing duties in the city, and a conservative estimate is that the policing operation on the day will cost at least £600,000 if not more.

“We would far sooner spend this money on local policing priorities but we have no choice.”

He added: “The irony is that the disused pub – the Pheasant – is not being turned into a mosque at all. In fact, planning permission has been granted to turn it into a fast food outlet.”

Shaun Wright, police and crime commissioner for south Yorkshire, said the total cost of policing this demo and a similar one last June is expected to reach £1.4m.

Police say that amounts to the salaries of 46 officers.

A spokesperson for the Yorkshire division said the demonstration will go ahead as “there’s still a plan for a mosque somewhere in the area”, describing it as a “general protest.”

Sheffield Unite Against Fascism (UAF)

said the EDL were using “racism to divide our multicultural city without a care for the damage they leave in their wake.” A “peaceful gathering to celebrate and defend multicultural Sheffield” will be held in opposition to the EDL protest at 1:30pm on Hatfield House Lane.

Sheffield Grassroots Antifascist Network (SCARF) is holding a direct counterdemonstration at 1pm in Firth Park.

SCARF said they consider the demonstration to be particularly relevant following an EDL presence at an anti-fascist organising meeting earlier this week.

Representatives of Sheffield Revolutionary Socialists, a group of University of Sheffield and Hallam students attending the SCARF protest, said: “We’re going to be protesting against the EDL on Saturday because they use intimidation, harassment and street violence to forward a politics of division and hatred.

Sheffielders ‘sleep out’ to help the homeless

A group of teenagers were recently asked to leave McDonald’s after they decided to dine out with a difference.

The fancy friends were enjoying a meal out at the fast food chain in Kingston before they were interrupted by staff because of the ambient extras they had brought with them including a tablecloth, fake candles and wine glasses.

However, the questioning staff member was overruled by other employees and customers and the boys, who wore white shirts and black ties, were allowed to stay in the restaurant.

Jessica Pitocchi

Just clowning around A creepy clown has been freaking out residents of Northampton by standing on street corners and staring at passers-by.

The mystery man made his first appearance on Friday September 13 and again over the weekend in the areas of Abington and Kingsley.

The red-haired, white-faced joker, sometimes spotted carrying a miniature clown teddy, has received a largely negative reaction including the spread of false rumours claiming he carries a knife.

However, it is clear some residents appreciate his presence, posting messages of support on his Facebook page.

Jessica Pitocchi

Photo: Solent News & Photo agency

Viral video legend dances her way to fame Photos: Cathedral Archer Project Jessica Pitocchi Recent graduates from the University of Sheffield took part in a charity sleep out to raise awareness of homelessness in the city, on Tuesday September 10.

The event, organised by the Cathedral Archer Project, raised money to go towards the supporting services the project provides including providing food, hygiene facilities, access to medical services and contact to support agencies for the vulnerable.

They aim to help maintain a more stable life pattern, whether that be involvement in education groups, leisure activities or becoming a volunteer at the project

themselves.

Homelessness has been on the rise since 2010 as the government reforms and housing cuts sink in, with the number ever increasing in Sheffield.

30 volunteers took part in the event which included two recent graduates from the University.

Amelia Bell-Bentley said: “Some of the volunteers who have been homeless in the past slept outside as well. They mentioned that drunken people have been known to go to places where they know homeless people will be sleeping rough to beat them up.

“I am aware this is a very different experience; sleeping on the streets

is a more dangerous and degrading experience.”

Sam Cook, who now works full-time for the project, kept friends and family updated through Facebook of his thoughts and progress during the night.

One post read: “I’m wearing a woolly hat, a shirt, hoody, coat, some cords and some thick socks.

“It’s getting slightly colder and I feel ok.

But I can’t sleep.

“It‘s unimaginable.”

So far, the group have raised over £2,890.

Ellie Cole, the Eastleigh secretary who shot to fame when a video of her dancing at a bus stop went viral this April, has been given the chance to star in a professional stage show.

The video, filmed by a passerby, shows Ms Cole shaking her hips and wiggling her finger while waiting for a bus, earned her the nickname ‘the Eastleigh dancing queen’.

Ms Cole made her stage debut last week in the chorus of ‘AH Men’ by the Point Theatre Company.

Lauren Archer

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Is freshers’ week really sexist?

As freshers’ week looms once again, Forge Press debates whether freshers’ is sexist or just a bit of hamless fun

Photo: falkphotodesign.com

Freshers’ and the objectification of women go hand in hand Katherine Laurence I remember freshers’ week as a haze of crippling nerves, loud music, and a somewhat large lack of sobriety. The alcohol fuelled initiation into university life is daunting but it is also a platform that introduces seemingly integral characteristics of a typical university social life. The sexual objectification of women, the expectation of men to live up to ‘lad’ culture mentality, and an overarching hyper sexualisation of the entire student body to name just a few acrimonious examples.

At the University of Sheffield, the events organised by the Students’ Union during freshers’ week do not portray the overt sexism which is so blatant in many other universities around the country. However that is not to say that sexism doesn’t exist in

Sheffield.

Freshers’ does not solely consist of what goes on in our students’ union but also the various clubs and nights out in the town centre. SheffieldParties and Eatmydisco have been known to tread a fine line on what is tongue-in-cheek and what is downright sexist - need I take you back to the ‘Pimps and Hoes’ themed Carnage event on Carver street? Themes like this exist within every student town across the country. These themes routinely urge men to dress up for a laugh and women to come in their highest heels and shortest skirts.

This foundation of sexism does not purely harm female students on campus but an unhealthy expectation is also made of their male counterparts during freshers’ week.

A university ‘lad’ is seen as a man that drinks (a lot) and has plenty of casual sex.

Although the drinking issue is pretty much the same case for women during freshers’, the infamous male sports team initiations

often take this to a whole new level. The horror stories of sports initiations that come out of so many institutions, including physical abuse and humiliation put an unhealthy, misogynistic expectation on what university means for young men, only fuelled by a similar lad culture in the night clubs and events hosted during freshers’ week in student towns.

“Freshers’ has now become a symbol for binge drinking and partying” Freshers’ week can also be a week filled with new and exciting daytime activities, however whether we like it or not, it has now become a symbol for binge drinking and partying.

Freshers’ is the first experience that you have of university life and it sets a precedent

for how you should act for the next three years. The excessive drinking and hyper sexualisation of student nightlife across the country, be it merely scantily clad dancers in Corp or the full blown sexual degradation of a ‘Rappers and Slappers’ party, leads to a student body that sees misogyny and sexism as a core characteristic of a ‘good’ student nightlife.

That first week can also make it seem like the student nightlife is the be all and end all of university life. Who really wants a university life which de-values female students, granting them merits solely on their sexual value, and also condemns male students who do not want to live up to this stereotype?

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It’s just a marketing ploy- live a little Glenn Hicks So here we are again, freshers’ week. A few thousand fresh-faced students turn up expecting to have the best week of their lives, only to end up face down in a pool of their own vomit crying over how none of their new flatmates really ‘get’ them. Dramatics aside, some students feel unhappy with the idea that it’s all just a bit of fun and believe that freshers’ week is in fact, sexist. I am not one of them.

First off, let’s clarify what we’re really talking about: it’s not freshers’ week as an event that is the problem, given most of it is just trying out new activities and having fun. It’s the perceived culture and stereotype of freshers’ week (for example, drinking a whole bottle of vodka while attending an

orgy) that’s causing issues.

While I agree that the stereotype of everyone getting off their face on Chekhov and Frosty Jacks then going on a wild sex romp isn’t necessarily in keeping with a focused academic career, intelligent students should see it for what it is: a stereotype. After all, if your beloved new flatmates really are the type to take sambuca eye shots and snort chilli powder for a laugh, then I think most of us would be better off seeking sanctuary in the flat next door.

“Students should see it for what it is: a stereotype” But is freshers’ week sexist? Well, it’s true that a lot of the stereotypes focus on sexual conquests. Indeed, local clubs are more than happy to highlight this fact by plastering

half-naked women (for the guys) and the promise of a penis shaped buckaroo bull to ride (for the girls) all over their flyers.

Perhaps it’s right that some feminists have taken offence to this, but at the end of the day it’s just a marketing ploy – places like Corp actively sell themselves as a seedy club, and it works.

“We’re all adults now, if you don’t want to go to these places then don’t” We’re all adults now, if you don’t want to go to these places then don’t, and they’ll lose the money you were planning on spending.

Unfortunately, there’s not much else you can do; these clubs are private businesses after all. Perhaps freshers’ week would be sexist if these sorts of events were forced

on students, but they’re not. The Students’ Union has a club night every day in freshers’ and considering we have our very own women’s officer, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see Snatch Saturdays replacing Pop Tarts.

Most students are educated enough so that the acts of attending a raunchily themed bar crawl or being in the presence of a female club dancer are taken as a bit of fun, and not as a basis for their view of ‘how society should be’. People who get so worked up over this sort of thing need to get off their pseudo-intellectual pedestal and realise that most students are in on the joke – they know that a freshers’ week event is not a depiction of ‘real life’. Besides, live a little, you’re supposed to be young.

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White-washing British history Minesh Parekh On September 6 2013, David Cameron refuted a Russian official’s summation that Britain was “just a small island” by delivering a speech that reeked of a Gove-esque approach to popular history, entwined with petulant patriotism. He seemed to cry out that “Britain’s one of the bigger kids too”, calling upon the rhetoric of the past as if to prove Britain’s place in the present world.

He stated that, “Britain is an island that helped abolish slavery, that has invented most of the things worth inventing”. True to Gove’s retelling of history, Cameron seems to have forgotten that whilst Britannia only just missed out on becoming the inventor of the transatlantic slave trade, it certainly gave it a go.

Whilst Britain may have helped in abolishing slavery, it was still about 300 years before anyone felt morally compelled to do so.

Likewise, in his impassioned outburst he declared Britain has “the proudest history”, and let’s not forget about the British Empire.

As a contribution to world civilisation and humanity, the Empire was pretty god-awful, gift wrapped with a musket and bloodstained hands. I guess David forgot about that then. Or maybe he thought historical objectivity is a little bit unattainable.

But we can forgive David for omitting the deaths of millions from his list of notable facts, can’t we? I mean, “our music delights millions”, that music being the Beatles, Elgar and One Direction, obviously. That alone is more important than acknowledging our nation’s past isn’t as idyllic and perfect as he would have it, surely?

“As a contribution to world civilisation and humanity, the Empire was pretty god-awful” I could happily sit here and poke holes in Cameron’s rosy imagined history all day but what actually disturbed me the most about the whole situation was the response.

Drawing upon the BBC’s selection of reactions which, in true BBCstyle, attempted to cover every moderate political opinion on the matter, this romanticising of the past still coloured half of the quoted opinions, even with Gove’s utopic portrayal of history yet to be unleashed.

One wrote: “I thought it was fantastic stuff. Finally, someone actually broadcasting our history with some pride”. Another said: “we built the world’s biggest and best-run Empire. We have paid

COMMENT

in blood and gold to fight evil empires, often alone and are still paying for it. Not bad for a tiny island”.

Obviously the latter feels Britain should still be thrusting its swords into the blood and wealth of others, but even with this imperialist’s war cry, there is an insatiable belief that “this island is almost single-handedly responsible for the world we have right now” which simply put is utter arrogance and nonsense.

“If the cause of multiculturalism is ignored, the consequence is that the tradition of multiculturalism itself is rejected” I should clarify that I have no problem with patriotism, and I am happy to call myself British; I identify as a British Asian. But this idyllic re-imaging of the past and its Imperialist undertones not only ignore the realities of tragedies that have occurred, but also ignore the circumstances that have led Britain to being as it is.

One of the criticisms of Gove’s curriculum was that, except for some minor tokenism, it disregarded the development of a multicultural Britain, something that empire and particularly its downfall played a vital role in crafting.

If the cause of multiculturalism is ignored, the consequence is that the tradition of multiculturalism itself is rejected, as was illustrated by the EDL. Instead of a complete and honest historic narrative that accepts and supports multiculturalism in Britain, we have ‘othering’ taking place in the streets, with groups like the EDL and the BNP dividing people on account of race and not heritage.

As I said, I don’t oppose patriotism. I especially don’t dislike celebrating history. I just wish we would accept and celebrate the past for what it was, rather than feeling the need to reinvent or omit parts as and when it suits. It’s the whole of Britain’s past that determines our identity as Britons, and in the end there’s much more to be proud of in our actual history than David Cameron’s exaggerations and patriotic bilge.

Got an opinion on the topics discussed this fortnight? contact us letters@forgetoday.com

Your new screen editor

Photo: Ben Scull

Rage against the machines Will Ross Want to read a book? There’s a machine for that. It’s called an e-reader. Want to send your friends and colleagues something important from a long distance?

Technology’s beaten you there, too; it’s called email.

Want to quit smoking, but don’t really, at all? “The new e-cigarette. From JML. It’s like the real thing, but totally nothing like it whatsoever.”

What is it about modern civilisation that says we can’t do things for ourselves anymore? Why do I have to splash out over 60 quid to read a book these days?

I like to walk to the local post office, lick a stamp to an envelope, and be patient for a few days while it embarks on its wonderful journey to wherever the hell it’s going. It’s kinda exciting.

Well that, I’m sad to say, is because we are lazy.

That’s right, we’re just plain old lazy. Tablets?

What, like that dude wrote on after he’d split a large body of water in half? Really? What even is that - an evolution of the laptop, that revolutionary device whose purpose was to incorporate comfort and ease to people’s everyday working habits, based upon a prototypical behemoth known only to historians as a PC. Rumour has it that computers actually derived from a form of communication known as writing. Oh, and don’t worry, you won’t need to worry about paper and pens during the course of your degree - say hello to Turn-It-In. Not long after the monopolous giant Apple released its esteemed iPhone 5, did it start farting on about the 5C and its cousin, the 5S. What started off as a monumental technological rift, mobile devices have

started a fad of stupid, money-induced scams that yes, I’m afraid, we’re all falling for.

However, I recently went out and I bought myself a Kindle. Woe is me.

To be fair to the little bugger it’s quite a nifty piece of kit; it’s light, it’s small, the screen reads like a dream.

It’s just not a book.

I mean, I know it isn’t actually a book, but that’s the point. The whole point of reading books, physically turning pages and the smell, is lost. Where technological jargon evolves around us, as can clearly be seen in the scientific documentary, WALL-E, we as humans are becoming more and more dependent on what it can do.

“The filtration of ‘electronic’ into modern kit has become a fashion statement on acid” Fine, the filtration of ‘electronic’ into modern kit has become a fashion statement on acid, but there are still people who believe in the old days. There are hundreds of campaigns begging you to share car journeys, quit smoking and keep the publishing industry alive – but to be honest, none of these get paid any real attention.

What’s really important is that you don’t forget to look around you every once in awhile. I mean, stuff exists outside of the (roughly) two to four and a half inch screen that lives in your pocket, even though it’s capable of projecting it in HD with Dolby Digital surround sound.

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Editorial

New year, New Leaf and why the north really is the best Hello and welcome back to the leafy suburbs of Sheffield - as a northern gal myself, I’m probably biased (but most definitely right) when I say that the north is the best; it’s cheap, everyone’s friendly and you can get chips ‘n’ gravy in abundance.

If you’re new to the University, let me introduce you to Forge Press. We are the fortnightly, editorially independent student newspaper of the University of Sheffield - I emphasise the independent part as this freedom means that we get to print the stories that matter most to you, the students of Sheffield. Even if it means that yours truly becomes disliked, and most likely, shouted at by the powers that be.

Should you be looking for a fun activity to indulge in your spare time at university or you enjoy writing, copyediting or drawing (I could go on) then there are plenty of ways to get involved with Forge Press and the wider Forge Media family which comprises of Forge TV, Forge Radio and Forge Online. Anyone can get involved with Forge Media - in fact, hundreds of students already are.

Come and see us at the Activities Fair in the Octagon, Thursday September

Nicola Moors - Forge Press editor

26 11-4pm - we are really friendly, I promise.

If you don’t already need any more persuading to get involved, then being part of Forge Press really is an excellent addition to your CV; two of last year’s team have been shortlisted for the reporter of the year at the Guardian’s student media awards. From all of us at Forge Press, a huge congratuations to Alisha Rouse and Jonathan Robinson (ex-editor and news editor respectively).

Anyway enough about how great Forge Media is and back to more pressing matters; New Leaf is back in the Students’ Union. Despite a rather strangely quiet opening, everyone’s favourite salad bar is back and greener than ever.

I feel that I speak for a lot of the student body when I say that this week’s biggest story was the theft of John’s Van - it’s true that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Everyone go and buy a bacon sandwich while you can and enter the competition to name John’s van - you could win a week’s supply of sandwiches, a very worthy prize in my opinion. I’m going to get my thinking cap on.

D.A.R.T.S.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

How not to make a fool of yourself in freshers’ week 1) Be too keen. Wafting your smart phone in someone’s face proclaming “add me on Facebook” will make you look a little weird.

2) Give away your irritance at having to hold the same painstaking conversations with every single person you meet. “Where are you from?” is a classic. Expect a look of geographic uncertainty and a response similar to “oh my aunt’s friend is from there, do you know her?”

Cretins.

3) Rise to the state school/private taunts. If you went to private school beware the “posh wanker” chants coming your way from those less fortunate than your-fine-self.

4) Go on Corp TV. No matter how much it seems like a good idea at the time. Trust me, I’ve been there, it’s awful.

Ben’s app of the fortnight: Cat Paint Just starting university? Looking for a great way to make friends? Look no further. What better way to make the purr-fect impression on your potential pals than yielding an app giving you the power to insert cats into otherwise mundane situations. Best 69p I’ve ever spent. #noregrets

Miley Cyrus/ Nicholas Cage hybrid of the fortnight: http://tinyurl.com/qgcttpf Quote of the fortnight: “I was a hardcore MCR fan for three years. Trust me, I know how to mosh”

John’s Van related quote of the fortnight: “ Could we get a picture of Jez squirting his ketchup on my bacon roll?”

- Nicola Moors, Forge Press editor

- Ellie McCaldin, Forge Press lifestlye editor

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

Have your say An open letter to Dr Cornel West Dear Dr West, I am the woman from your talk last night at the Sheffield Students’ Union who asked you the question about Julian Assange. I’m writing this open letter to you because I was troubled by the answer you gave me, and because I want to share more fully the reasons behind the concern I expressed last night. I am sure you are extremely busy, but if you are able to find time to respond to this letter then I will read your reply with great interest.

Last night, I listened to the start of your passionate and lyrical speech with excitement and agreement; but my heart sank when you mentioned Julian Assange. You referred to the difficult times he is experiencing, and to his residence in the Ecuadorean embassy, but you did not mention that the reason for this self-imposed confinement is that Assange is avoiding answering allegations of rape and sexual assault against two women in Sweden after the British High Court approved his extradition in June 2012.

I asked you the following question, which I wrote down so as not to stumble on my words: You’ve spoken very emphatically tonight about the importance of loving kindness, of compassion, and of empathy; and you’ve urged us to remember that integrity only ‘in the abstract’ is not enough for a decent human life. As a woman, I want to ask you how you relate this to Julian Assange, whom you mentioned, I understood, with approval. Because it seems to me that to evade legal charges of rape, as he has done, is to commit a gross failure of kindness, of compassion, of empathy, and, perhaps most especially, of integrity.

Although you said that you welcomed the question, your response to it seemed to me, and to others present, to lack the

clarity and confidence of your other words last night. I want to respond to the main points of your answer; I repeat what I heard you say as closely as I can. Forgive me any inaccuracies, and let me say that the order in which I list your points is almost certainly not the order in which you gave them.

You said that Assange must answer the charges of rape and sexual assault that he faces, and be suitably punished if he is found guilty, but that this should take place at an appropriate moment in time. I take it that you do not think this moment is now, or that it was in December 2010, when the allegations were first brought. I find this incredible. The women who accuse Assange deserve justice, and I cannot see any reason why they should have to wait to get it – unless one thought that their rape and sexual assault would, in any case, be of secondary importance to Assange’s work with Wikileaks. I hope you agree that such a view would indicate an unconscionable lack of respect for human rights.

You said that Assange told you that the allegations made against him are false. I am sure that you are aware that this does not remove the need for him to answer them through legal proceedings. Moreover, if Assange stopped evading justice then he would have the opportunity to challenge the allegations in a court of law. Until then, his innocence or guilt remains in question, whatever he may say.

You said that the timing of the charges against Assange is suspicious. Even if it is true that the authorities pursuing the allegations have been selectively zealous in their application of the law, this does not constitute a reason for Assange to avoid or delay answering the allegations. On the contrary, it reminds us that authorities are often lax and slow in responding to allegations of rape and sexual assault, and

that we should never stop trying to improve provisions for bringing perpetrators of rape and sexual assault to justice.

Finally, you said that your approval of Assange relates to his actions with Wikileaks, and that you do not approve of any rapes or sexual assaults he may have committed. I understand that it is perfectly possible to approve of some of a person’s actions and not of others, and I would never suggest that you approved of rape and sexual assault. But when you mention Assange’s residence in the Ecuadorian embassy without mentioning its cause, I feel that the voices of the women who accuse him of these crimes are silenced - and with them, the voices of all the other countless and uncounted women all over the world who will never see the men who have raped and sexually assaulted them brought to justice.

Even if you do not agree with my responses to your other points, I hope that this last point by itself gives you pause for thought. You spoke movingly last night of the evils of indifference. To me, your glossing over of the allegations against Assange is an instance of indifference on your part to the women who accuse him, and to all women and all survivors of sexual violence. I know from your work and from your speech last night that you are alive to the fact of male supremacy. I ask you not to let the power that you have as a man and a respected thinker lend unintended support to that supremacy.

Yours very sincerely,

Katharine Jenkins PhD student Department of Philosophy University of Sheffield

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT

By Hannah McCulloch and Ellie McCaldin

GOLD TEETH

Ugly

Wednesday September 25 at the Harley: 11pm-4am.

Tickets: £3 advance, £4 otd

Thursday September 26 at The Union 10pm3am (12.30 am last entry). Tickets: £3, available online

After gracing the Harley on a fortnightly basis last year, Gold Teeth is back by popular demand; it’s even had an upgrade: the night is now the permanent wednesday fixture. So, if you can’t face a school disco or a sports fest then head down to the corner of Glossop road for a place where you can really dance.

Music-wise expect anything and everything, from hip hop classics to house anthems to funk/ disco/ soul mixes.You’ll never need an orange wednesday code again.

Lovers of old school R&B and hip-hop will be pleased to know that the hugely popular UGLY has moved from DQ on a Thursday to our very own union. Head to www.mixcloud.com/IllMurrayUGLY if you want a taster of what your Thursday nights will be full of this year. It also makes for the perfect pre-drink playlist.

DQ always provided free fried chicken for the first 100 guests so here’s hoping the Union gets the kitchens fired up.

Saturday September 21 at the Union: 10pm-3am (1am last entry). Tickets: £4, available online

Friday September 27 at Plug: prices and times tbc

Pop tarts

Love it or hate it Pop Tarts is a must for Sheffield newbies. Officially voted the best regular club night of 2013 by a panel of experts at The Ents awards for its originality and ‘unique music policy’, Poppy Tees has been delivering a healthy helping of cheesy 90s and 80s to University of Sheffield students for a solid 18 years. Get a group together, get in the zone and get ready to embarrass yourself all night long

Top tips for freshers

By Katherine Hockley

Propaganda

Fans of all things indie will be pleased to hear that Propaganda will be taking over Friday nights at Plug this year. September 27 is the official launch date and organisers are promising a night that you’ll wish you hadn’t forgotten. With special guests yet to be announced, drinks starting from just £1 and three rooms full of indie, rock and pop it’s unlikely to dissappoint. Get on your dancing shoes (you sexy little swine...)

Lifestyle loves

by Ellie McCaldin

If there’s one item you want to be investing in this autumn/winter season it’s the pink coat. Trust us.

You only have to look towards the uber cool Cara Delevingne being photographed by Walter Pfeiffer in the September edition of Vogue for confirmation.

However, whilst Vogue may be perfect inspiration if you’re absolutely minted, this coat from Marks and Spencers strikes the perfect balance between affordable and elegant.

Although £99 for a student budget may sound slightly extravagent think of the price divided by the amount of time you’ll wear it in Sheffield in the cold winter.

Image: M&S

Beauty

Salon treatments for your bucket list

By Ellie McCaldin

1. Cut back on the cutlery Everyone thinks they need a whole kitchen set, so everyone brings one. This means everyone will use clean utensils instead of washing up dirty ones, causing endless arguments about washing up. Therefore you should take a leaf out of Noah’s book and take two of everything.

Snail Facials The latest beauty craze to hit Japan involves sitting back, relaxing and enjoying a small troop of snails shimmying across your face, moisturing and removing dead skin cells.

The salon in Tokyo, which currently houses enough snails for one mask per day (snails deslime pretty quickly it seems) is not, however, the original founder of the snail treatment.

Snail slime was reportedly used as a beauty aid by the ancient Greeks but has been brought to the attention of the modern day world by Chilean snail farmers who noticed that the skin on their hands was remaining youthful and supple due to frequent handling of the molluscs. Not convinced? Products incorporating snail slime have been created by Missha, Labcconte and Dr.Jart+ if you feel the urge to experiment.

2. Comfy shoes One thing to know about Sheffield is that it is synonymous with hilly. Want to walk home? No problem, just climb up this mini mountain. Walking home with heavy bags of shopping? I’ll pray for you.

Beer baths Rather than actually just sitting in a bath of Guinness, beer baths involve participants sitting in water heated to 35 °C which has been infused with ingredients used to make beer, such as yeast, hops and malt scrap. Reported to help eliminate toxins from the body, exfoliate and act as a relaxing massage, this procedure is becoming more and more available throughout Europe.

You can now go to Pivni Lazne, a spa in old town Prague, which offers the experience for around £65. The treatment includes a 20 minute soak in the beer bath, followed by a 30 minute relaxation period on a bed of oat straw and (slightly more appealing) unlimited consumption of beer.

3. Corp shoes and shirt There is a club in Sheffield that you are bound to end up in and to get in free on a Wednesday you have to wear school uniform, a.k.a. a white school shirt. It’s also the filthiest place on earth so any shoes you wear will get irreversibly ruined. It is therefore a good idea to invest in some crappy shoes and a white shirt or two before you come to save you a trip to Primark.

Bird dropping face masks Snail slime not enough for you? Well if you really want to feed your need for animal based beauty products you can head over to Tokyo native Shizuka Bernstein’s spa in New York where for just $180 you can get bird poo spread all over your face. Steam is used to open the pores and then a mixture of rice bran and poo is combined in a bowl and then applied to the face.

Apparently the magic lies in the type of bird faeces used. Nightingales are said to be the best choice due to their diet which produces a natural enzyme used in the cleansing process.

4. Bring all of the medicine Ah, the inevitable fresher’s flu. Stock up on Lemsip and just hope you don’t get it for long. I had it so bad that I nearly passed out on a bus before auditioning for the pantomime. I received one line: “oranges, get your oranges!” I never went back.

5. Don’t drink the night before registration You have to register in a big hall somewhere and it takes bloody ages. I went hungover and nearly cried because it took so long and I felt so ill. Make sure you check when yours is and leave yourself a poster-sized reminder saying DO NOT DRINK ON THIS NIGHT. Of course it is inevitable that you will go on to ignore said poster. Sill, nice to feel that you tried.

Fashion

Snake massage For thrill seekers who feel that bird droppings just won’t cut it, a trip to Ada Barak’s salon in Northern Israel for a snake massage could be the ideal way to unwind. At the relatively cheap price of £40 (airfare to Israel may add to the cost slightly) you can serve as the temporary home of six non-venomous snakes. Owner, Miss Barak, claims that the cooling presence and weight of the snakes helps to undo knots in the back and relax customers. No real science to back this one up but if you really are a lover of terrifying flora and fauna, Barak also has an exhibition of mammal-eating carnivorous plants on site ready for public viewing. Who wouldn’t leave relaxed?

Images:Flikr

Bull sperm hair treatments This treatment involves a mixture of the sperm of Aberdeen Angus Oragnic bulls and katera root being spread all over the head of the customer. It is then steamed to make sure the semen really sinks in thoroughly. Wouldn’t want to miss a spot. Owner of a Knightsbridge salon Hari Salem claims that the product works so well as protein is what the hair lacks when it becomes dull and lackluster, hence the addition of semen which has a high protein content. Unfortunately if this seems like your kind of thing you may have to hold off for a while as Salem has had to stop offering the proceedure due to EU regulations. Strange. Seemed legit to us...

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@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

Will your relationship survive university?

Relationships

By Camille Brouard “Want to do that Give it a Go later?” asks your new flatmate, leaning on the doorframe.

You’ve unpacked everything, remembered where a few Sheffield buildings are, reassured your parents that yes, you will eat properly; you’re at university and ready to go.

But wait, you promised you’d be free to Skype your girl/boyfriend tonight, so what to do?

Going to university can be a strain on any relationship, whether your partner is taking a gap year exploring Africa, staying home or busy getting to know Leeds.

It’s hard to know if you’ll still be together by the time graduation comes around and there are no definite answers about whether a relationship is worth it or worth abandoning once uni has started, but there are pros and cons to staying together.

It certainly isn’t impossible: there are ways to keep in contact once you’ve gone away and technology has made this particularly easy.

Gone are the days of lovelorn letters or the odd phone call, now you can message instantly on Facebook or see one another on Skype (tip: Google+ is downright useless in most respects, but the ‘hangout’ function actually trumps Skype).

This isn’t everything, but it does help with communication, which is essential if you want to keep things going.

Problems will arise along the way and you may have to talk about awkward stuff (like feelings, bleurgh) but if you learn how to deal with issues together and build on a foundation of trust you’ll be able to face almost anything.

Personally I wasn’t in a relationship preuniversity, but three of my housemates have

Food and Drink

managed to keep things up for over two years memories. so keeping a relationship going isn’t like This does mean that even a short train trying to find the holy grail. journey can be difficult to negotiate due to However, it is, undeniably, not a walk in the time and money. park.

With less time to see one another you’ll I’ve watched relationships fall apart share less physical contact, which goes because one or both people have gone to hand in hand with emotional security - a university and a few of the breakreassuring touch on the arm or a ups have been rather messy kiss is communication that because they’ve tried to words can’t always put stay together despite across. Also, the time various problems. spent staying in and Obviously the Skyping is time most prevelant that could be hardship is spent trying out the distance; a new bar with whether coursemates you’re a or going on 10-hour that society flight or a social. £10 train You can journey e i t h e r away, the sacrifice a seperation good night c a n out to sit become an in your inevitable pyjamas pressure discussing the point. essay you’ve University been set or go comes with out and have a commitments, great time with Image: k12istina15 /Flickr some of which are fun real people, not just a like the once-a-week person on-screen. society meeting and others, So, is keeping up a like that 9am seminar, not so relationship into university fun, but all are ultimately rewarding worth the hassle? for both the degree certificate and the good This all depends, each relationship is

By Hannah McCulloch and Ellie McCaldin

different, so there aren’t any hard and fast rules for telling whether you’ll ‘make it’, but give it at least a month or two before asking these questions: •Am I holding back from making the most of my university experience because of my relationship?

•Am I holding back my partner from making the most of their situation?

•Is the lack of face-to-face contact too difficult?

•Do I feel differently about my partner now that our situation has changed?

Remember that your partner is going through similar experiences and feelings, so talking to them about your thoughts is a good idea, even if it’s difficult.

Better to clear the air than let things stagnate and suffer an awkward break-up.

Being able to maintain a relationship whilst living in different places is an admirable thing and it can be worth it if you feel strongly about the other person. On the other hand if things have changed, if you find yourself feeling differently, there is no shame in talking about it or even breaking up.

University is a vastly new experience for most people and sometimes when another person isn’t physically there to share the experience they can become lower on your priorities list.

The most important thing is to think about how you feel, talk to your partner and try to make a decision that is best for both of you.

Lifestyle’s day to night guide: from hungover breakfasts to evening cocktails

New York Deli, Commonside, Crookesmoore

The Green Room, Devonshire St, S3 7SG

Tamper ,Westfield Terrace, S1 4GH

The Harley, Glossop Rd, S10 2HW

New York Deli is perhaps a little out of the way for Sheffield newbies but a perfect hangover destination for those living in Crookesmoor.

Situated on Barber Road, NYD provides amazing freshly-made bagels, pancakes, sandwiches and a variety of American confectionery. The deli also features a monthly food challege for ambitious diners.

For £3.95 you can bag yourself a huge Green Room brunch, tea or coffee included, consisting of bacon, eggs, beans, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes and sausages. An equally delicious veggie option is avaliable. Finishing the breakfast is a challenge in itself; for less than £4 you’ll be pretty much sorted until dinner. Food is served from 8.30am2.30pm. The Green Room also doubles up as an evening venue playing music every night until late with frequent gigs running throughout the year.

Nestled away just off West Street lies Tamper, the perfect place for a morning brew, a cheeky brunch or light lunch. The real treat of Tamper lies in its coffee, undoubtedly one of the best caffeine hits that Sheffield has to offer.

Tuck yourself in the back with the artwork or perch on the bar and have a chat with owner Jonathan Perry, Kiwi coffee connoisseur.

The Harley on Glossop Road should undoubtedly be the first stop for any burger lover in Sheffield. The highly popular eatery come venue is launching a new burger menu on September 21 which promises to be as great a success as the last and has also extended serving hours to as late as 11pm. Get ready to sample the In Da Club chicken burger or the Drop Dead Double Swtuffed Falaf-hell burger if you’re feeling brave.

Artwork: Manuel Fuentes

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@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

How to decorate your uni room on a budget

Crafts

By Katy Conlon

control over colour placement and allow for a more precise piece. Take an old clock, remove the mechanism and put it through the centre of a canvas to create an attractive new clock. If possible do this outside and wear old clothes, the wax will splatter and as nice as it looks your landlord is unlikely to be such a fan.

Things you need: crayons, canvas, glue gun or hairdryer, sticky-back plastic (optional)

1) Crayon Art: This is a very simple concept that can encompass any number of variations. Gluing crayons t o a canvas and using a hairdryer to melt your arrangement can produce some beautiful and sometimes unexpected creations. Using the nib of a glue gun instead can provide greater

Draw desired letters or pattern on to the shiny side of the sticky-back plastic and cut out. Peel backing away and stick design to canvas. Press wax crayon gently against the hot end of the glue gun over the area of canvas you wish to colour. Once canvas is covered in wax, carefully remove plastic to reveal your design. Alternatively put small amount of glue on canvas, allow to cool briefly (around five seconds should do it) and attach wax crayon (make sure you have peeled off the paper) to the glue. Once you have arranged all your crayons attack the canvas with a hairdryer until you’ve achieved the desired look.

Photos: Katy C

onlon

2) Magazine display: Perfect for those susceptible to boredom these custom collages require no glue, no fuss and no time. They are so quick and easy to change and provide the perfect procrastination tool later in the year.

Things you need: used magazines, clip frame, wrapping paper (optional) Place images into desired arrangement on frame backing, clip glass frame on the front and you’re finished. If this sounds like too little effort you can jazz up the background to your collage by covering it first in some fancy wallpaper

3) Iron on wallpaper : This is outrageously simple to do and leaves zero marks on the wall saving any worry of losing your deposit from pesky blu-tack stains. As an added bonus there are really no limits to what you can put on your wall. Lyrics, picture frames or even whole sheets of fabric to create a wallpaper effect are just a few ideas to get you started.

Things you need: fabric, Heatnbond lite (an American product available at low cost online but make sure it is the ‘lite’ version), iron

Iron your fabric alone first to remove any creases. Next draw your exact design on paper and use this as a template for cutting both your fabric and bonding material. Next apply your HeatnBond to fabric according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Gently iron the stiffened fabric to the wall and you’re done. Once finished with decor simply peel off to reveal your pristine wall.

4) Sharpie cushion : Cushions are a great way to personalise a room with the bonus of added comfort. Designing your own cushions is cheaper, prettier and a lot more fun than shelling out for fancy embroidery or putting up with plain old covers. These come out better if you go for a watercolour

effect rather than a specific pattern, but they are yours for the experimenting.

Things you need: sharpies, surgical spirit (available from most high street chemists), blank cushion cover

Draw on your design using the permanent markers. Space colours out enough bearing in mind nearby colours may mix in the next step creating a colour you’re not quite so keen on. Next apply surgical spirit to the pens and watch your patterns grow and change. For specific runs apply spirit with a cotton wool bud whilst for more abstract designs, spraying on spirit can ensure even dispersal of colours.

Fancie Ltd. Ecclesall Rd, S11 8PF

The Broadfield Ale House, Abbeydale Rd, S7 1FR

The Wick at Both Ends, West St, S1 4EW

Bungalows and Bears, Division St, S1 4GF

Fancie., started small, in owner Amanda’s family kitchen, and now boasts two cafes, a cake kiosk and an online shop. With both crazy and classic flavours these tasty treats are not to be missed; And if that doesn’t fill you up, Fancie. serves lunch too. Well, Eccy road is a hike and a half, you will have earned it.

The Broadfield Ale House is home to arguably the best pies in Sheffield. There’s also a bookable room available upstairs if you’re searching for a welcoming place for 21st birthdays With frequent changes to their menu and a lively evening atmosphere this gastro-pub has never fails to impress.

Sitting comfortably on West Street, The Wick at Both Ends has a huge and very reasonably priced cocktail menu. Happy hour runs from 12-9 Monday to Friday for cheap deals. The This is a Smile cocktail is one of the best of the bunch, combining lychee liquer, pomegranate juice and gin.

Delicious enough as it is, the bar staff have also been known to throw in lollipops and plastic jewellery. at random. Unsurprising really from a bar that won Best Bar Team at the 2012 Eat Sheffield Awards.

Stuck for somewhere to end the night?

Try Bungalows and Bears. On Tuesdays burgers are two-for-one. Wash down with Strawberry beer for something a bit different. One of the most versatile venues in the city, Bungs and Bears, like the Harley, functions as a restaurant, bar and live music space.

For more on Sheffield’s live venues check out this week’s Fuse Music map.

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The smart protest Words and artwork: Ina Fischer

C

an you remember what daily life was like before smartphones and social media?

Some might argue that little has changed.

Others, especially teenagers and young adults in their twenties, are likely to disagree.

In the UK, 66 per cent of 1624 year olds own a smartphone, according to the most recent Ofcom communications market report. A previous report, published in 2011, reveals that 37 per cent of adults and a staggering 60 per cent of teens in the UK describe themselves as highly addicted to their smartphones.

Due to constant technical innovations, phones are becoming smarter and smarter, and our dependency on them keeps growing. We use them to check the weather, read the news or look up directions. We also use them to take photos of our meals, follow celebrities on Twitter or play games during boring lectures. But Snapchat and Instagram aside, the power of the smartphone goes a lot further.

The Arab Spring, which started with the uprisings in Tunisia in December 2010, shifted the focus of the international community on the political landscape in the Arab world. It also showcased a new wave of political activism. Young political activists started using social media to communicate and express themselves without having to fear censorship by their governments.

For the first time, large-scale political demonstrations, like

the revolution in Egypt, were coordinated through social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Apart from organizing themselves and rallying up support for their cause, the protesters of Tahir square in Cairo also documented their activities on Facebook with mobile phone footage and eyewitness accounts of the events.

“

Facebook and Twitter is what started this revolution.

It’s the most important element we have here.

�

Suddenly, internet users around the world were able to follow the action from a firstperson point of view. These texts, photos and videos stood in stark contrast with the limited and arguably biased reporting of

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other media, both in style and content.

In Cairo, a collective of young activists quickly caught the attention of the media.

They were protesters, young revolutionaries, who came together in an apartment near Tahir square. Huddled around glowing computer screens, they used the time in between protests to coordinate the political activity and galvanize others into action. The inhabitants of this apartment, many of which were high school and university students, became known as “Cairo’s Facebook flat” - a term that was coined by the New York Times and quickly spread acrossd the internet.

“Facebook and Twitter is what started this revolution. So, it’s the most important element we have here,” says Yusuf Bagato, art student and a member of the Facebook flat, in a three-minute documentary, shot by Ed Ou for the New York Times.

Omar El-Shamy, a university student from Cairo also featured in the video, says: “Most of the youth in Egypt have Facebook accounts, so it’s the easiest way to get to them. You just write your political views, write what you feel, share videos, show corruption, and it works. People see it; people get all these images around them. It helps them become aware politically.

“We’re educated, we have a responsibilty to tell people what’s wrong, and to try to fix it.”

The Arab Spring, and specifically the revolution in Egypt, paved the way for a new generation of political activism. Its primary tools: smartphones and social media.

Ever since, it’s hard to imagine a political uprising without the corresponding social media coverage.

The demonstrations surrounding Istanbul’s Taksim square this summer are another example of political protests fueled by modern technology.

While the turkish government under president Erdogan tried its best to clamp down on journalists and supress media coverage of the events entirely, footage recorded on protesters’ camera phones spread across the internet in no time.

What distinguishes this new kind of media coverage is that it often speaks to the audience on a different level. Anyone who watches the news is regularly confronted with death, war and poverty. How much the news touch us personally naturally varies from person to person, yet it seems relatively easy for most people to turn off the television and therefore forget about these injustices. What we see on television usually happens far away, after all.

With Facebook, it’s a slightly different story. Seeing coverage of political protests on our newsfeed or friends’ timelines puts them in a different perspective. It makes us more aware of the reality of these events. As a result, many people are less alienated by the idea of protesting- it’s like an invisible wall has been broken down.

The recent protest in Brazil over the government’s decision to raise transport costs in the capital followed a similar path.

“Events were scheduled on Facebook and organized by people who met online over the common goal of activism,” recalls Nicole Froio, a University of Sheffield graduate and freelance journalist based in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was predominantly middle class university students who organized the protests. But one of the things that stood out was that all genders, classes, races, etc. were present. After the first huge wave it’s been a diverse occurrence. Brazil has really come together.

“The structure of protests has changed. Even my mum went and she had never been before.”

One can conclude that the inclusion of social media in protest culture, powered by the development of new technologies such as smartphones, has opened up political activism to a lot of people who otherwise would have

“

The structure of protests has changed. Even my mum went and she had never been before.

”

refrained from participating in one way or another.

Some critics argue that activism has become too ‘easy’and somewhat of a trend. Sharing and retweeting text and images is as easy as never before. While this enables us to spread our political messages at an incredible speed, it can take away a bit of their meaning too. It is easy to see someone else’s political commentary on Facebook, copy their opinion and post a generic comment, image or video to make yourself seem politically involved.

Fortunately, such shallowness is easily detected.

Nowadays, online and offline activism go hand in hand. While there is a lot of time to be wasted by procrastinating on social media, they have emerged into tools that helped shape a new political landscape in the Arabic world and across other parts of the globe.

Meanwhile, a large majority of smartphone owners still use their mobile devices for the most mundane things: taking ‘selfies’, ‘instagram-ing’ their food and playing Candy Crush Saga.

@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

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Words: Eve Betts Artwork: Ina Fischer Ben Gardner

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The sober fresher

Spent the night carrying home paralytic friends? Been asked one too many times why you don’t drink? Remember, there’s still a few things to feel smug about. You rock that Appletiser, fresher.

B

efore I arrived at university last year I was worried about three t h i n g s .

1) I would lose my flat keys in freshers’ week and end up sleeping with the campus foxes, 2) In my first seminar, a journalism lecturer resembling Jon Snow, terrifying and intelligent, would boom at me, “Young lady, what are your views on the Blair years?” to which I would murmur something about liking his dress sense, and 3) I would be taunted for my lack of interest in consuming vast quantities of alcohol.

hell out of my new friends: “How do you even walk into a club?”

As it turned out, my keys have always remained safely in my pocket and Jon Snow was a darling. However, drinking at university has been a slightly more complicated matter.

In sympathy of my self-esteem I want to bark, “No!” and for the majority of the time, this is true.

Since attending university, I can count on one hand the times I have been singled out for not drinking. Laughably, the worst thing that has happened is a drunken boy accosting me and slurring, “Don’t you think you’re just a little bit too sensible?” which I’m sure my ego has never truly recovered from.

I have always had an unenthusiastic attitude to drinking. This is not for religious reasons or a dislike of the taste, but the idea that one tequila shot too many can lead to a day spent with your head next to the toilet bowl is enough of a deterrent to put my glass down after just a couple.

I spent freshers’ week in a state of sobriety seemingly unheard of at university. I love dancing and student night life without alcohol, a fate that made me as ostentatious as Johnny Vegas at Slimming World. This didn’t faze me at all, but confused the

Brooker once put it, “If you’re out for the evening with people who drink, you start to pick up some hilarity-by-proxy anyway.”

And in all honesty, if you’re sober in Corp there’s no better survival tactic than to laugh the night away.

“Can you dance sober?”

“Can you even talk to people?”

So how does an abstemious fresher fit into a daunting new world where, it seems, every student’s blood is laced with Frosty Jack’s and your social life revolves around who spilled what gossip during the most recent game of ‘Never Have I Ever’? Does teetotal-ness exclude you from making new friends, having a great social life and enjoying student culture?

Or, the most frightening thought of all, does it make you boring?

So far I have managed to make great friends and have an exciting, if crazy, social life on all but no alcoholic stimuli.

Some of this is my stubbornness to be unfazed by a group of rowdy students, and some of it is because the rowdy student’s antics make for really excellent blog entries.

As critic and teetotaler Charlie

“

It’s true that no good story starts with a salad, but it’s the sober witnesses that remember all the juicy details.

”

But what about those who have endured one stone-cold club night too many? Students’ Union activities officer Alice Lord says there’s a huge number of societies and events students can join if they don’t enjoy club nights. “There are so many different clubs and societies you can try”, Alice says. “Lemon Fresh is an alcohol free society who organise loads of different events throughout the year including a summer fete.

The University of Sheffield boasts hundreds of societies from Dobby Soc (Harry Potter appreciation group where you are sorted into Hogwarts houses), to Kiting, Samba and Sci-Fi. Give it a Go also offers students the opportunity to try out new sports and activities throughout the year such as volley ball or learning a new language.

If, like me, you find nothing more joyful than hanging upside down from a questionable ledge, you can join the Sheffield Mountaineering club and climb, hike or cycle in the Peak District, only a few miles walk out of the city. If you prefer a thick roof between you and the Sheffield weather, Goodwin Sports Centre also offers the chance to join different sports clubs - think

archery, bouldering, fencing, swimming and Taekwondo.

Student life and alcohol are so deeply intertwined that separating the two would be as difficult as imagining Tom Selleck without a moustache, and until Kopparberg becomes ten pounds a bottle, that’s not ever going to change.

What perhaps needs some alteration is the idea that student life is all about drinking.

Yes, it’s a big part of the culture, but it isn’t the building block for life as a student. You’ll never be in a place so crammed full of more diverse, exciting people doing diverse, exciting things.

There will always be a place for you and your choices.

My fear of not being accepted as a non-drinker dissolved within the first few weeks of being at university. I was not judged and discarded based on how much beer I could chug. Being a sober fresher doesn’t mean a life spent sitting in the corner sipping J2O’s and fending off intoxicated friends either. If club life isn’t your cup of tea, sober or otherwise, then join a film club, arts programme or debates team. Universities are bursting with opportunities for the curious student wanting a different experience.

University is a place to learn, make friends, have fun and most importantly, find and follow what you truly believe in. It’s okay to swim against the tide. The uncharted seas of intoxication aren’t for everyone.

10 joys of being a non-drinker 1.

4.

5.

8.

10.

You have never woken up in a bath tub/cardboard box/hospital bed and forgotten how you got there.

There’s fun to be had if you’re the only one who can remember the night before. Try a few of these on your amnesiac flatmates and watch their worst nightmares come true:

You have never walked out of a club with a hand clamped over one eye because tequila slammers have given you double vision.

You can buy ample amounts of food from Marks and Spencer’s food hall as you didn’t blow your budget on two-for-one WKD’s.

Think king prawn currries and sundried tomato focaccia.

That guy who you thought looked like Ryan Gosling last night still looks like Gosling this morning. Oh yeah.

2.

You know that apocalyptic, brain-imploding hangover after a night spent on Jäger bombs?

No? How nice.

“Whiffy Dave just stopped by.

He said can you go to Pizza Hut rather than Nandos on your date tonight? Peri-peri chicken makes him gassy. ”

3.

“I can’t believe you called Alex Turner a ‘wannabe T-bird’ last night. He was really upset.”

You don’t have to spend the first half hour of every lecture plotting your escape route lest your nausea proves too much to handle.

“Your mum rang. She wants to know why you Snapchatted her a photograph of a pregnancy test.”

6.

You have yet to awake surrounded by stolen objects, for example traffic cones, salt and pepper shakers or sombreros.

7.

You avoid waking up to the inevitable face-in-the-takeoutbox the morning after a jaunt to Broomhill Friery.

9.

When you’re sad, you turn to your (probably) less damaging vice of drinking your weight in Innocent smoothies and watching back-to-back episodes of Friends.

(Alternatively, sitting against a rain-speckled window and crying to the soundtrack of Blue Valentine.)

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Fri day S eptember 20 2013 F O RG E P RESS

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COFFEE BREAK TWEETS OF THE FORTNIGHT

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

This colourful photo was taken by Flickr user Moyan Brenn in the picturesque town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria, Germany. Rothenburg was founded in 1170 and is famous for its wellpreserved medieval old town and castle. It has remained remarkably untouched through hundreds of years and two world wars, and is a popular tourist destination. More recently it was used as a filming location for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Photograph of the fortnight: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Photo: Moyan Brenn/Flickr

Balloon flight goes out with a bang Have you ever wanted to recreate that scene from Up by tying your house to a huge bunch of balloons and flying across the world?

That question may have been a little rhetorical. Of course you have.

Cluster balloonist Jonathan Trappe took this dream a little more seriously than most, taking off last Thursday from Maine in a small yellow lifeboat suspended by 370 giant helium balloons. He had planned to make the 2,500 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris in just a few days; he might have succeeded if he hadn’t been forced to make an early landing in a remote part of Newfoundland, Canada after just 12 hours and 350 miles.

This landing was apparently due to a technical problem with the balloons. What a let-down.

Upon landing safely in Canada,

he updated his Facebook status to: “Hmm, this doesn’t look like France.”

Good news: this probably won’t be the end of Mr Trappe’s attempts to make a full-scale balloon flight across the Atlantic.

In 2010 he became the first man to cross the Channel with a cluster balloon system, and in 2011 he was the first person to fly over the Alps. The man is clearly not a quitter.

Bad news: he had to wait 100 days this time round for weather conditions to become good enough to carry him all the way across the ocean. With winter on its way, he might be waiting a while longer to try again.

Word of the fortnight Offing, noun: 1. The deep, distant stretch of the ocean that is still visible from the shore.

2. The foreseeable future.

.

ow.. n k u o dy

Di

During prohibition in the United States, solid grape concentrate was sold with the warning message: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine.”

Honey is the only food known not to rot. The oldest sample of honey, found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs and dated at about 3000 years, has been tasted by archaeologists and found completely edible.

What not to do in freshers week Some people’s freshers weeks are memorable for the wrong reasons.

Most students have a fairly standard first week: alcohol, hangover, regret, repeat. However, some special snowflakes do things that will haunt them for the rest of their time at university. Or at least until Christmas.

One student at the University of Derby fell off her flatmate’s bed and knocked over a clothes horse, which in an odd twist of fate fell onto her head and shoulders, locking shut and trapping her inside. When her flatmates tried and failed to free her they decided to film her and upload the video to Youtube instead. It was only more than an hour later that she was finally cut free by firefighters from her unlikely prison. The moral of the story? Never trust your flatmates not to video your embarrassing moments, no matter how nice they may seem. Also try not to get stuck in a clothes horse.

Another situation you might want to try and avoid is the night where you set off the fire alarm and leave your whole block shivering outside at three in the morning because you drunkenly

tried to cook pizza. Yeah, don’t be that guy. If you are that guy, be extra nice to your flatmates for the next week until it happens to someone else and everybody forgets you did it first.

Don’t let the hundreds of pounds you suddenly find in your bank account go to your head.

Coffee Break had a flatmate who gambled his entire student loan away in the first week. We tell the truth, the entire truth and nothing but the truth when we say that he spent the rest of the

Photo: BBC News

term volunteering for medical trials and living off baked beans and charity. If this cautionary tale worries you then keep those sticky fingers off your debit card and maybe think twice about that super important 32-inch TV you definitely need for your room.

Unless you don’t mind eating ketchup sandwiches for the rest of the term, in which case go ahead and spend, spend, spend!

Don’t hide in your room. Go out and meet people even if you are dying inside. You’ll thank yourself in the long run.

It’s up to you whether you send drunken Snapchat pictures, but you’ll never be able to find out what you sent the morning after.

Never.

Don’t believe anybody who claims to know ‘the best hangover cure ever’ (check out the feature on pages 18-19 to find out why).

The most important don’t of all: don’t worry. You’ll make a few mistakes here and there, although hopefully not to the extent of becoming inextricably entangled in a piece of furniture - but go with the flow and have fun. You probably won’t do anything too bad.

Don’t panic.

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COFFEE BREAK

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Puzzle Page: sudokus Medium

Easy 8

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Quote of the fortnight

“

Take wrong turns. Talk to strangers.

Open unmarked doors. And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing. Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out. You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off. There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan. To find them, look for tiny interesting choices.

And remember that you are always making up the future as you go.

”

Randall Munroe

dingbats

Across:

Down:

1. Run with a steady, bounding gait (4) 3. The production and flying of aircraft (8) 8. Greek mythological figure: wife of Sisyphus, mother of Pelias and Neleus by Poseidon (4) 9. City in the south-west of France, famous for its production of wine (8) 11. A feeling of repulsion or disgust (10) 14. Type of ship propelled by rowers; ship’s kitchen; name given to a long and narrow household kitchen (6) 15. Relaxed; a military command (2,4) 17. Wishing harm or evil upon others (10) 20. An appalling act, situation or object (8) 21. Headgear of angels (4) 22. To fantasise while awake (8) 23. Symbol used in musical notation to indicate the pitch of a note (4)

1. Fatigue, sluggishness (8) 2. Circular window in the hull of a ship (8) 4. ______ Beauregarde, the child in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory who turns into a giant blueberry (6) 5. When a monarch formally relinquishes all power (10) 6. Islamic worship leader (4) 7. Subsequent, following (4) 10. Self-employed worker (10) 12. Bat and ball sport popular in North America (8) 13. American musician and actor, real name Marvin Lee Aday; one of the best-selling artists of all time (4,4) 16. Insane first wife of Edward Rochester (6) 18. Hairless (4) 19. Squirrel’s nest (4)

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

1.

2.

Find the answers to all of this fortnight’s puzzles online at: www.forgetoday.com/category/coffee-break

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Matchdebating

Was 2013 an even greater year for sport than 2012?

The summer of 2012 will never be topped

This year was sporting ability at its very best

Adam Drury

Kristian Johnson

The summer of 2012 will go down in history as arguably the greatest ever in terms of British sporting success. Not only did Great Britain successfully host a fantastic Olympic games, but its involvement in the games featured the most number of medals won since 1908; some achievement.

It was a summer in which the entire country was totally captivated by sport.

Firstly, those with no interest in tennis were inspired by Andy Murray’s run to the Wimbledon final.

He then thrilled the nation by winning gold in the men’s Olympic competition, thrashing Roger Federer in the final, for the loss of just seven games, before making history when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a thrilling US open final.

Much of the support he received this summer throughout his successful Wimbledon campaign can be attributed to his achievements throughout 2012, when he won over his critics.

Bradley Wiggins’ personality, as well as his success, gave an awful lot to the summer as well. He put cycling on the map for British sport in a non-Olympic event, something which no-one else had managed.

His eccentric ways gained a large following which was obviously added to when he

became the first British man ever to win the Tour de France.

His gold medal in the men’s time trial simply added to his rapidly growing celebrity status.

He, along with Andy Murray, was one of the faces of the summer.

His charm and genuine humour grabbed the nation’s attention; he connected with the country and was a large part of what made that summer so special.

Of course the main attraction of the incredible summer was the Olympic Games, and in particular that golden Saturday evening in the Olympic Stadium when Great Britain won

three gold medals inside an hour.

Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon, Greg Rutherford in the Long Jump and Mo Farah in the 10,000m inspired a nation and

gave them a sensational evening of sport to remember.

All 65 medals, including 29 golds, were widely celebrated and really made the summer one to never forget. Each of the golds made it the most memorable and greatest British sporting summer of

“ Each of the golds made it the most memorable and greatest British sporting summer of all time” all time.

Usain Bolt’s three gold medals, David Rudisha’s 800m world record and

many other magnificent events made this one of the great Games and Britain will forever be associated with that.

The fever created by the Olympics can’t possibly be matched by any event in one single sport and therefore 2012 was the most memorable year of sport Britain has ever seen.

Finally, Andy Murray has won Wimbledon.

No longer do we have to endure the tired rhetoric that “no Brit male has won Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 382 BC”.

Sure, Murray had broken his grand slam hoodoo 10 months earlier by triumphing over the same opponent, Serbia’s effervescent Novak Djokovic, at the US Open, but Wimbledon remained the Holy Grail.

The Scot was sure to face relentless pressure from the media and public alike until he held the gold trophy aloft at SW19.

Justin Rose had already secured his maiden major title at the US Open a month earlier. In doing so, he became the first

Englishman to hold the title in 43 years.

This was soon followed by a nerve-jangling series win for the British and Irish Lions down under.

The first test set the tone. After 79 pulsating minutes in Brisbane, the outcome of the match came down to just one kick.

Kurtley Beale stood over the penalty, the weight of a nation weighing heavily

London Bridge during last summer’s Olympic Games

on his shoulders. As he struck the ball, he slipped, ensuring the Lions drew first blood.

It was the Lions’ turn to endure heartbreak in the second Test. Leigh Halfpenny’s 80th minute penalty lacked the required distance and the home support went home jubilant.

With the Series poised delicately it all came down to the third and final Test. A tense first 50 minutes left the match in the balance, but the Lions mauled a belowpar Australian side in the final half hour to run out emphatic 41-16 winners and wrap up their first Series victory since 1997.

However, the Australian

humiliation was far from over.

In fact, it had only just begun.

Virtuoso displays from James Anderson, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad ripped apart a barely

Photo: Dave Catchpole (Flickr)

Forge Sport Awards

recognisable Australian side, and it was only a shambolic decision to stop play early in the fifth Test that prevented England from securing their first 4-0 Ashes victory.

“2013 blows the previous year out of the water”

Chris Froome became the second Britain to win the Tour de France in as many years, while Mo Farah, who had already donned his now infamous ‘Mobot’ celebration in winning doublegold at the Olympics, repeated the feat at the World Athletics Championships.

Which begs the question: has 2013 been an even better year than 2012 in terms of British sporting success?

If somebody had made such bold prediction when the Olympic flame was extinguished last summer, they would’ve been deemed madder than Ian Poulter’s tailor.

There is no doubting that a wave of euphoria swept the nation last summer, but put simply in terms of sporting success, 2013 blows the previous year out of the water.

It wasn’t just the sheer number of successes, but also the importance attached to each one and manner in which they came.

Whisper it quietly, but 2012 will have to settle for the silver medal.

Forge Sport editors choose their heroes and villains of the summer Andy Murray

üü

Having lost in the final last year, the tennis star became the first Briton to win at Wimbledon in 77 years.

Mo Farah

ü

The runner became the second man ever to complete an Olympic and World Championship “double-double” in distance events.

Lee Westwood

û

The British golfer squandered his twoshot overnight lead at The Open Championshiop and lost out to Phil Mickelson.

David Warner

ûû

The Australian cricketer punched England counterpart Joe Root in the face during a late session in a Brimingham pub.

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Sports personality of the week Forge Sport’s Peter Grieve met men’s rugby union club captain James Colclough for an interview

University rugby clubs across the country have a bad reputation, with some being banned by several institutions. Why do you think this is, and do you feel this is fair?

Rugby clubs tend to be fairly large at any institution. A large group of lads going out together is bound to attract attention.

Sometimes people can take things too far but anyone who knows any of the lads in our club on an individual level, would know that they are really good blokes and reputations are very rarely lived up to. It’s more boisterous fun than carnage and mayhem.

People tend to point the finger at rugby clubs which I think is unfair.

“We take socials very seriously at the SURFC”

What seperates men’s rugby union from other sports clubs in Sheffield?

As a fresher I noticed something which not all clubs have, a family vibe throughout the whole club.

You don’t just rock up a few times a week to training and play on a Wednesday. You live with the boys you play with, you got out, not just on the Wednesday after playing, but every night if you want to. This is rare, I think, and anyone reading this thinking of playing rugby this year should know that you will end up with mates for life if you sign up.

The sport is tough and physical and you fight for each other on the field, this breeds strong friendships.

What was the best social you’ve been on?

They all sort of mush into one really, however there are several

themed socials we have each year which our social secretaries scrutinize meticulously over to involve all members of the club, they make sure they are funny and still get everyone “ready for ROAR”.

I think school boys social is my favourite consistently; the freshers are all pupils and you are split into houses, there are lots of different ‘classes’ to try and succeed in an attempt to win house cup at the end of the night. A bit of thought goes a long way on a social, just seeing a pint off is funny the first time but when it all builds to something greater the night out is enhanced greatly. I think having tailored challenges to the theme of the night sets rugby socials apart from other nights out that I have seen.

well as a few other clubs has a tradition of giving club names to its players. What is yours and why?

Major Crapchat, or MC squared, named after an older boy that suffered a similar affliction of not knowing when o r

Club initiations are banned by the university.

Do you agree with that decision?

Absolutely.

The segregation of fresher and older boys is a thing of the past, which is where it should stay. These lads are out to have a good time not to be degraded. If its funny, we will endorse it. If its dangerous and just in place because you had to do it when you were a fresher, I’m afraid it has no place on a social. Initiations just promote the opposite of this and if you want your club to grow the best thing to do is to be as inclusive as possible, not the other way around.

Men’s

rugby

union

as Club Captain Colclough Photo: Tony Pipe

when not to talk. I’m a gobby player anyone that has been on a pitch with me will know, I’m constantly in my opponents’ ear and sometimes to the older boys annoyance in theirs. It’s a name I hated at first but in the end you grow to love it really.

All the names will allude to an insult or character trait (or just a ridiculous story that might have happened to them on a social). It is all meant in fun and if anything you get thicker skin because of it.

As club captain, do you plan on making any major changes within the rugby club or doing anything different?

Charity is something I want to expand on. We want to work with RAG this year and promote the rugby club and our charity of choice around the University.

We have appointed a new role on the committee specifically for raising money for charity and with a club of around 80 members we really should have some man power in terms of raising money.

We’re also aiming to work with Volunteer Sheffield and go into inner city schools and promote rugby for kids. My life has been influenced greatly by the sport as have all my friends and we would love to see the same opportunities for children who perhaps haven’t had the chance to play.

The rugby club goes on tour to Salou in Spain. What goes on during that week, and is tour necessary for players?

Tour is a necessary experience for any sportsmen, the rugby club take it seriously and really want to give all tourists the best

experience they could possibly have, even if that means not playing that much rugby. It is essentially a holiday with all your best mates. Two thirds of the way through your year you need to blow off steam. There’s a lot of going out and having fun, it can get pretty intense at times but the team definitely bonds in the four days they are there. I can honestly say there is nothing like it.

What does Varsity mean to you?

Everything. The one match that you think about all year.

It is without doubt the pinnacle of university sport for people like me. For one day a year you get to feel like a professional athlete, with thousands of people watching you at your sport. It was instilled in me as a fresher how important that day was but I didn’t expect anything near what it was really like. From the weeks leading up to it to the big day there is nothing like it, one side of the crowd cheering you on, the other cursing you. Once a player experiences Varsity it is in the back of their mind for next season. Your whole year builds to it, it’s a brilliant competition and for weeks afterwards you feel part of a massive community, it was even better to win one this last year gone.

What is your favourite memory from your time in the club?

Last year’s Varsity win is an outright favourite. As a more senior player, I knew what was coming and had a lot of involvement with the team, so it felt even better when we steamrolled them. I think the whole day was a great memory but the relief and elation of the final whistle blowing and knowing our job was done was truly incredible. That whole day, you couldn’t top it. The night out after wasn’t too bad either.

Boos as Wednesday draw again Football Sky Bet Championship Sheffield Wednesday Yeovil

1 1

Ben Wier A chorus of boos reverberated around S6 on Saturday as Sheffield Wednesday were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Yeovil.

Austrian forward Atdhe Nuhiu put Wednesday ahead with a controversial opener before Byron Webster was sent off for punching the striker five minutes before the break.

Yeovil outplayed the Owls for much of the second half and were rewarded when Joe Ralls stroked the ball home to give the Glovers a share of the spoils.

The result is Wednesday’s fourth draw in a row and means they have now squandered 11 points from winning positions this season.

After a slow start, the game

burst into life when a glancing Nuhiu header forced Wayne Hennessey into a smart save down to his left, after good work from home debutant Jordan Spence.

Moments later, Yeovil almost took the lead themselves when James Hayter’s goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Kamil Zayatte.

However, it was Wednesday who broke the deadlock on 24 minutes in contentious circumstances.

As both Michail Antonio and Nuhiu raced onto a through ball, the linesman raised his flag. The Austrian was offside, leaving Antonio to sprint towards goal with the referee correctly waving play on. The flag went down and Antonio squared the ball for Nuhiu to tap home his first Hillsborough goal.

Things then got worse for Yeovil when Webster tangled with Nuhiu five minutes before half time. The defender appeared

to punch the striker as the two grappled on the floor, leaving the referee no choice but to show a straight red.

After a fairly uneventful start to the second half, Yeovil pulled level on 64 minutes when the ball fell kindly to loanee Joe Ralls on the edge of the box. The youngster jinked past a defender before drilling the ball past Chris Kirkland to score his first goal for the club.

It was no more than the Glovers deserved after dominating proceedings from the restart.

Luck also appeared to be on the visitors’ side as an innocuous Antonio shot squirmed through Hennessey’s grasp, only for the ball to roll back to him off the post 15 minutes from time.

Wednesday couldn’t find a winner and as the final whistle went, the home crowd made their feelings known, jeering the players off the pitch.

Manager Dave Jones was critical of his players after the

Nuhiu celebrates after giving Wednesday the lead

game.

He said: “We didn’t get it down, we didn’t pop it about and our decision making was poor. We have to hold our hands up and

Photo: Sheffield Wednesday

say that’s a poor performance from us in the second half.”

Next up for Wednesday is an away clash with fellow strugglers Birmingham.

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Season Preview

Forge Sport Editor Phil Hammond catches up with university clubs ahead of the new season After winning Varsity for the first time in 10 years and recording the best ever season for the University of Sheffield in terms of BUCS points, topping last season will be a tough ask.

Forge Sport caught up with captains, presidents and secretaries from various university clubs, and asked for their hopes for this season.

MEN’S FOOTBALL Tom Hesketh Club captain I am confident that each of our four teams will possess the quality to secure maximum points in their respective Varsity matches.

MEN’S CRICKET Charles Jones Club captain

After a very successful year in 2012/13, winning the BUCS Indoor Cricket Competition and becoming national champions, sharing the spoils of Varsity and all three outdoor teams enjoying a solid season, we are looking for more of the same this time around.

We are hoping for another strong indoor season, a cricket victory in Varsity and more success throughout the BUCS competition.

All three outdoor teams will be looking to push on and secure those coveted promotion places.

Both the women’s and the men’s team won their leagues and got promoted to the Northern 1A league, which means that this year we will be competing against some of the best teams in the country.

The women’s team also won their Varsity match. All of this landed us the most improved club of the year award at the sports awards.

This season we hope the first teams will retain a comfortable position in their leagues in their first season in the Northern 1A.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL Rachel Burden Club captain Last year our first team performed well, managing to place second in the league as well as challenging Hallam in a very close match at Varsity.

Unfortunately our seconds had a very tough season and ended up being relegated from their league.

However this year we are optimistic as we are in a position where both our teams are in with a chance of winning promotion and we will also be pushing to settle the score in the most important match of them all Varsity.

MEN’S BADMINTON Gao Chao Zhang Club president Men’s football 1s at Hillsborough last year Domestically our aims are for the first team to retain their position in the Northern 1A league in which they were recently promoted to.

We want to see the second team push on from last season’s second place finish and gain promotion, and either the third or fourth team to secure promotion from Northern 5D. Last season’s snow affecting Varsity was a disappointment as we were unable to build on a terrific 9-1 aggregate win from the year before, picking up just one point.

MEN’S RUGBY UNION James Colclough Club captain Last season, the first team were unlucky to not get promoted, but this season we’re fully confident of securing promotion.

We have great strength in depth in our second and third teams, and for this reason I believe we have a legitimate bid for all three of our teams getting promoted this season.

We have a pro-active committee, an excellent first team captain and a number of key players returning from longterm injuries, so there should be no stopping us throughout this campaign.

We also have a new position created specifically for increasing revenue for charities in the club.

Winning club of the year at this year’s sports awards will certainly be on the cards if we do Hallam on all three fronts aswell.

Watch this space, it could be a huge year for rugby.

Photo: Josh Rock

WOMEN’S NETBALL Yasmin Vines Club captain First of all, we’re looking to hit the ground running this season as both our first and second team’s opening BUCS fixtures are against our bitter rivals Hallam.

We’ll definitely be looking for league promotions from our teams this year and I think it’s something we can achieve.

Last year we won two out of three Varsity games, so this year we’re aiming to dominate Hallam and win all three.

Hopefully that will help towards the University of Sheffield winning Varsity for a second consecutive time.

Badminton men’s first team had an amazing season as we won the cup and escalated to the first division, but unfortunately lost our Varsity match.

The men’s seconds went through last season steadily and drew in Varsity.

In the coming season the first team hope to keep up their momentum from last season to defend the cup and compete hard to win as many matches in BUCS as we can.

We will try to revenge Hallam firsts in this year’s Varsity.

The seconds willl aim to get promoted to the second division and hold their nerve to beat Hallam in Varsity.

WOMEN’S RUGBY UNION Annabel Faulkner Club captain

Men’s rugby union 1s in action at last year’s Varsity

We played our first season in the Northern 1A league last year and came second in the league.

We hope to improve our performance this year and aim to win the league, in order to gain promotion into the premiership.

We are confident that we stand a good chance at achieving this.

After beating Hallam in the league earlier in the year, we were very unfortunate to lose in a close match at Varsity but we are going to come back fighting this season.

ATHLETICS Gareth Burrell Club captain Last year was strong in terms of results for the athletics and cross country club.

Jazmin Sawyers, who sadly won’t be at the University in 2013/14, won two silver medals at both the BUCS indoor and outdoor track and field championships in the women’s long jump.

Jonathan Sawyers collected a bronze medal in the men’s triple jump at BUCS outdoor and the women’s cross country team won us valuable BUCS points.

The team won a Varsity point in the men’s competition but narrowly missed out in the women’s event.

This year, we aim to compete well and take large numbers to all the BUCS events and will aim to collect both Varsity points.

MEN’S AMERICAN FOOTBALL Tom Edwards Club president Last season we were proud to reach the quarter-finals in the nationals, as well as winning Varsity 40-20.

This year, our goal is to beat Hallam convincingly at Varsity, and continue our great off field work.

We’d love to win club of the year at this year’s sports awards, but, most importantly, we want to challenge for the national championship.

The outlook ahead to next season is looking promising for the club.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY Ellen Crick Club secretary After promotion and a semifinal cup finish for our second team, and mid-table finishes for third and fourth teams, we’re hoping these teams reach their full potential in their respective BUCS leagues.

Unfortunately our first team fell to relegation last year but definitely hoping for success this year.

Our fifth team had a rejuvenation through partnership with local bankers side giving them more fixtures which is great for players new to university hockey.

Then with Varsity wins for our firsts and thirds to finish the year, we’re definitely excited for the new season.

TABLE TENNIS Rebecca George Women’s captain We’re very optimistic for next season, in both the men’s and the women’s events.

The women are looking to field two strong teams. An unchanged first team who got to the semi -finals of the national cup and runners up in the league, and an improved second team who will hopefully challenge.

The men have a lot to live up to - last year we won the league, cup and Varsity, and there’ll be new faces amongst the first team as two of last year’s members have graduated.

I’m hopeful that both first teams will challenge for their respective leagues, enjoy a cup run, with an outside chance of medals at the BUCS championships.

We also had the most BUCS points of any university club last season, so we’ll be hoping for a similar performance again this year.

More articles online

VOLLEYBALL Dario Lecic Secretary Volleyball had an absolutely amazing season last year.

Photo: Will Aitkenhead

The University of Sheffield netball team in Varsity action

Photo: Clive Nichols

Read more reports, fixtures and features online all fortnight

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Welcome to the family

Eagles bid farewell to Don Valley Rugby League Championship play-offs Round two

Sheffield Eagles Dewsbury Rams

52 16

Jack Taylor

Futsal has finally become an independent sports club at the University of Sheffield Peter Grieve In the last 10 years, only boxing and ice hockey have become officially recognised sports clubs at the University of Sheffield.

This year, however, sees four new teams join the University’s roster.

With the University of Sheffield achieving their highest rank on the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) league table, futsal, pool and snooker, triathlon and weightlifting will be hoping to boost Sheffield’s hopes of bettering their current position of 20th.

Futsal, an indoor version of football, was previously an offshoot of the University’s football club. Club captain Thomas Msadala said: “it means a great deal to us to finally become an independent club, whereas before we were under the wing of the men’s football team.

This however does not change our aims and objectives for the upcoming season, which remain to reach the finals of the BUCS Futsal Championships.

Our development plan also includes having a second men’s team that would serve as the development squad and participate in BUCS next year, and hopefully a women’s team as well.”

The futsal club were crowned BUCS champions in 2011, and treasurer Marko Maver added “last year we got unlucky and lost in a tight match in the quarter finals. We also lost a number of quality players, but given the turnout we had at the trials last year (185 people signed up and over 100 turned up), we are bound to find some new talent again and maintain our status as one of the best futsal clubs in the UK.” Pool and snooker previously operated as a society, but with

Dale Molitt taking over from Mark Devlin as club captain, the club is now officially recognised as a sport.

Sheffield Students’ Union’s international student’s officer Alex Kohnert is also the club captain for triathlon. Kohnert remarked that after working towards triathlon’s official status as a university sport, July 31 was an exciting day for the club when they were finally given approval.

When asked about the aims for the triathlon club, Kohnert said: “we need to find our feet in the first year, and we’re aiming for approximately 40 members.

“We want to be as inclusive as possible, and encourage absolute beginners to come along and take part. We have already sorted out a training plan with two sessions a week; one in the swimming pool at Goodwin Sports Centre and the other making use of the roads and trails in Sheffield and the

Photo: Marko Maver Peak District.”

Weightlifting is the University’s 51st and final sports club.

Club captain Dan Harman said: “We are delighted and proud to have become a member of the club sport family this year, only six months after the club’s unofficial founding. We hope to promote strength sports for all those who are interested in weight training in both a competitive capacity and as a means of general fitness and exercise. With the Student Weightlifting Championships being held in Sheffield this year, we are especially keen to show other lifting teams what the Steel City can bring to the platform!”

Men’s rugby union is the first sport to kick off the University of Sheffield’s BUCS campaign this year, with the firsts, seconds and thirds all starting their season on Wednesday October 9.

Tweets of the summer

Sheffield Eagles signed off with a win in their final ever appearance at the Don Valley Stadium.

The Eagles ran out comfortable winners to keep their hopes of retaining their Championship crown alive by reaching the playoff semi-final eliminator where they will face Halifax.

Sheffield dominated the first half and led by 28 points to nil at half time, with a slick passing display leading to a number of eye catching tries.

Centre Menzie Yere was the star of the show and his hat-trick led to him breaking the all-time record of tries in an Eagles career as he took his tally to 117.

Yere was supported equally well by half-back Dominic Brambani whose 20 points saw him break the 350 points barrier for a single season with an assured kicking and try scoring display.

Further tries were spread around with Scott Turner, Tom Armstrong, Mitch Stringer and Michael Knowles adding to the damage.

Only a late defensive lapse allowed the score to become respectable as Dewsbury scored three late breakaway tries but this day was a special one in Sheffield’s 23 year history at the famous Don Valley Stadium.

Although the result brought smiles to the faces of many supporters it was also met with sadness as it brought about the end of an era.

After 338 games at the athletics track, including 202 wins, the Eagles are now being forced to move as the stadium is demolished as part of £40 million plans put forward by Sheffield city council.

Fans now fear that the club may have to move outside of the city to keep the club alive.

Eagles chairman Ian Swire moved to allay these fears when he addressed fans at half time, saying that Owlerton Stadium in Hillsborough, where they began 29 years ago, was their best option of finding a new home.

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