Forge issue 66

INSIDE:CATCHING FIRE/ ICE SKATING/ KILLZONE/ WATERMADE/ JAKE BUGG/ SLEDGING/ PAGE 3/

FREE

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

Issue 66 Friday December 6 2013 @ForgePress /ForgePress

Features uncover: The stories behind the homeless, p. 14-15

Comment complain: It’s beginning to look a lot like capitalism, p. 8

Music reflect:

The best albums of 2013, Fuse, p. 10-11

Photo: Josh Rock

“

A right to protest does not give the students a right to occupy Katherine Holland QC, University lawyer

University strikes back

4University can ‘quickly evict’ future Sheffield Strikes Back occupations

”

Read the full story on p. 3

No more quad vods in Corp

Read more on p. 6 Photo: Sophie Bell

2

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

NEWS Editor

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

Nicola Moors

DEPUTY EDITOR Jessica Pitocchi Managing Editor Mikey Smith fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Karen Scattergood HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com matthew Smith News news@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer Camille Brouard Aidan Phillips Sophie Broadbent Neelam Tailor Tasmin Wade Comment comment@forgetoday.com Tom Schneider Ben Scull LETTERS & COFFEE BREAK letters@forgetoday.com Lucy Copson Features features@forgetoday.com Martina Danelaite Ina Fischer Elsa Vulliamy Lifestyle & travel lifestyle@forgetoday.com Ellie McCaldin Hannah McCulloch Sport sport@forgetoday.com Peter Grieve Thomas Pyman Jack Taylor Music music@forgetoday.com Nicky Crane Rachel Smith

@forgepress /forgepress news@forgetoday.com

Six-figure staff cost £12m a year while value of wages drops for rest Aidan Phillips The University of Sheffield has been hiring 91 staff members on salaries of £100,000 or more while telling employees it cannot afford to pay them a wage rise in line with inflation.

The combined cost of these employees – including 25 on salaries of £150,000 or more – comes to at least £12 million, not including employer pension contributions.

This includes a vice chancellor’s salary which has ranged from £193,000 to £271,000 since 2004, not including pension contributions which have been as high as £40,000.

The University has paid at least 67 staff members salaries in excess of £100,000 for at least the past nine years while citing financial pressures as the reasons it cannot pay staff a rise in line with inflation, leading to a 13 per cent wage decrease since 2009.

In 2010/11 staff were offered a 0.4 per cent increase, in 2012/13 and 2013/14 a one per cent increase and in 2011/12 an extra £150, working out as a 1.1 per cent increase for

the lowest grade staff.

Director of Human Resources Andrew Dodman said: “Members of staff on the higher end of the salary scale are primarily our professors and clinicians, who make a significant contribution to our research excellence and world-class teaching.

“For our senior leaders, their salary is reflective of the huge responsibility of leading a complex organisation with an international reputation, in a sector where competition and demand is high.”

He said the salaries “carefully reflect performance and the wider market for recruitment and retention.”

On its website the University says belowinflation pay rises are “in response to pressures from funding sources, as well as the Government’s expectations of pay restraint in the current economic climate and the risk of volatility in student numbers as a result of higher tuition fees and quotas.”

Sam Morecroft, branch officer for the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU), said he

thinks the large salaries display “an arrogant and uncompromising attitude to staff.”

He said: “I think the attitude underpins an unwillingness to negotiate meaningfully with our membership and a failure to value the contribution staff make.

“This is particularly so in the case of staff who earn below the living wage.”

On its website the University said that during recent negotiations with trade union members it “explored all aspects of their claims, acknowledging the particular importance of those on the lowest pay points and in particular in relation to the living wage.”

Despite this they continue to spend at least £12 million a year on its six-figure salaries when the highest possible cost of implementing a living wage would be less than one-sixth of that.

Figures released from the National Union of Students (NUS) show the University employs at least 353 staff members on less than the living wage rate.

Strong winds blow metal piece off Arts Tower

Games games@forgetoday.com Joanne Butcher Reece Nunn

Arts arts@forgetoday.com Lizzie Hyland Rhiannon Pickin

Forge Press is printed on 100% recycled paper

For ge P r e ss is pu blish e d by the Un io n o f St u de n t s .

Vi ew s e x pr e sse d a r e n ot nec ess a r ily t h o se o f t he Uni ver sit y, t h e Un io n o r t he edi t oria l t e a m . I n t h e f i r s t i ns t an c e a ll c o m pla in t s shoul d be a ddr e sse d t o t he Manag in g E dit o r, a lt h o ug h a f orm al pr o c e du r e e x is t s .

The cost of implementing a living wage for these 353 staff members would be £1.9 million in the most costly possible scenario.

This figure is calculated on the basis of all staff being 18 to 20 and receiving the minimum wage of £5.03 an hour, while working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year.

On its website the University said: “Under the framework agreement the use of points on the national pay spine are matters for local determination in consultation with local trade unions.

“As outlined above, higher education institutions also provide a total reward package that

Piece of metal fallen off building, bottom left corner Photo: Aidan Phillips “was about 10 metres in length.” Other Aidan Phillips estimates from onlookers put the length A piece of aluminium fell off the Arts at five metres.

Tower on December 5 as winds reached Ingram said: “The winds are really such strong levels that students were strong, a health and safety staff member nearly picked off their feet. was just blown across the car park.

Students were re-directed away from “I went to pick her up, she’s grazed her the front entrance of the Arts Tower as leg but she’s inside now.” a piece of aluminium had fallen onto the At around 11am the passage between area to the right of the front doors. the Arts Tower and Western Bank was Lewis Dennett, who was working in cordoned off due to strong winds, with the nearby Cycle Hut, said he saw the students being re-directed through piece fall off around 9am this morning the Western Bank library. The front from the bottom left corner of the entrance was reopened around 2:45pm. building.

Head of health and safety at He said: “There were a few people in the University Tom Fleming said: the area but no one near enough to be “Extremely strong winds posed a risk to in danger of being hit. Staff were pretty staff and students approaching the front quick to respond, there were here within of the Arts Tower. Health & safety took 10 minutes.” the decision to close the main entrance Estates and Facilities staff member and redirect Arts Tower users over the Jeff Ingram said the piece of metal link bridge and through the library.”

encompasses generous sickness, holiday and pension benefits, none of which are reflected by the Living Wage Campaign.”

The page also says a one per cent increase “brings staff paid on the starting points of the national pay spine closer to or above the living wage.”

Although this was correct at the time of publication, a rise of 20p from £7.45 to £7.65 in the living wage rate this November constitutes a 2.6 per cent increase, meaning the relevant staff are now further from the rate than beforehand.

Uni to ‘take actions’ on Europe debate Aidan Phillips

Screen screen@forgetoday.com Kate Lovatt Will Ross

COPY EDITORS Rosanna Austin Chloe Chloeman Katie Mealey Elizabeth Richardson Matthew Smith Beth Topham Medi a Hu b, U n io n o f Studen t s, We s t e r n Bank , S hef f i e ld, S10 2T G 0114 22286 46 // f or gep r e ss@f o r g e t o day.co m

Vice chancellor Sir Keith Burnett

Senior managers have agreed the University needs to highlight the issue of the European Union (EU) referendum more clearly, with a spokesperson for the University saying that “actions can be expected.”

Soon after a meeting on November 24 between senior colleagues, including vice chancellor Sir Keith Burnett, pro vice-chancellor Paul White was asked by the University’s media team to write an opinion piece “on a topic of his choice.”

In response he wrote an article for the Guardian calling on universities to “stand up and enter the debate” on the EU referendum.

In it he wrote: “The chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry has done it.

Firms involved in inward investment in the UK have done it. But, as yet, British university leaders have not raised their voices in the Europe debate.

“It is time for the UK university sector to stand up and enter the debate.”

The main bulk of the

article saw him taking a strong stance in support of UK involvement in the EU. He wrote: “The UK’s participation in various EU programmes creates access to talent in terms of researcher and teacher mobility, and through encouraging some of the brightest students in the world to study and to take up postdoctoral positions in Britain.

“The benefits of the international pooling of resources and expertise have been demonstrated in the work of CERN and in the development of Graphene for which British-based scientists won the Nobel prize – both significant beneficiaries of EU funding.”

A spokesperson for the University said White’s piece is written in a personal capacity, “not necessarily any reflection on the University’s view at all.

“Actions can be expected although there aren’t any more specifics than this.”

FO R GE PRESS

3

Fr i d ay D ece mbe r 6 2013

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

University secures eviction order UniNEWS

Interesting stories from other universities around the country

Stephen Fry to teach at Oxford Stephen Fry is expected to take up a teaching post at the University of Oxford in February next year.

The actor, presenter and writer will succeed theatre director Sir Michael Boyd as the Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at St Catherine’s College.

The professorship was established in 1990. Others to have held the position include Sir Ian McKellen, Arthur Miller and Kevin Spacey.

The Cambridge graduate said: “Above all I hope we’ll all have fun.”

Fry will deliver his first public lecture on 20th February.

Ghaniya Bi

Photo: Wikipedia

Student documentary wins two national awards Student activists occupying the Arts Tower Nicola Moors The University of Sheffield has been granted a 12-month High Court order which allows them to quickly evict further occupations from their buildings, including the Students’ Union.

Before they can evict people, the University must be able to demonstrate a link to the members of Sheffield Strikes Back, the group who organised the Arts Tower occupation of December 2, or a link to that occupation in general.

The possession order, which was granted by a High Court judge on December 4, to reclaim the University’s land also includes the Students’ Union as one of its buildings.

But the judge made clear that if a different group was to occupy any of the University’s buildings,

Photo: Lauren Archer

then the University would have to get a new possession order.

The order means the University no longer have to give notice of any eviction proceedings before going to court to seek eviction, if they can demonstrate a link to the previous action.

Earlier in the week, there was confusion over the scope of the order as Students’ Union officers were not sure if protest action was included in the order.

In notices posted on 22 University buildings on the evening of December 3, the University described the defendants of the civil case as “persons entering or remaining upon the buildings of the University of Sheffield for the purpose of protest action (without the consent of the University of Sheffield)”.

The original application wanted

those in the University buildings “for the purpose of protest action” to leave the premises and give the University back their possession.

This would have allowed the University to quickly evict anyone involved in protests or occupations.

The order was changed minutes before the court case was due to start with the effect that the order only applies if they can make the link.

Usually papers must be served at least two days before a civil court case, but during a ruling on December 3, District Judge Kirkham shortened this time frame to three hours as the case was considered urgent.

The Students’ Union officers were not personally warned or given details about the court case.

When Forge Press made officers aware that the court case was

happening, SU president Ally Buckle, development officer Sam Neagus and welfare officer Becca Barnes ran to Sheffield combined courts centre to attend the hearing.

Buckle defended students during the hearing, where District Judge Robinson said Buckle had handled the case with “dignity, honour and conspicuous ability”.

Want more information?

Read about the previous possession order by scanning this QR code.

The possession order: a report from inside the courtroom Nicola Moors During the High Court ruling Katherine Holland QC, representing the University, said: “A right to protest does not give the students a right to occupy.”

District Judge Robinson said there was no defence to the University’s order of possession because they had a right to their own land.

He said: “Students entered Sheffield’s tallest building, the Arts Tower, and there they sought to remain.

“It may be said they were seeking rights amounting to exclusive possession and it amounts as a challenge to the title [of the land] held by the University.

“It’s right that the University should have the opportunity to regain possession.”

The judge did say that the University’s representation had an “astonishing inattention to detail” as they made an error on the time of serving papers on the claim form that he had, which was different to the one the lawyers had.

Originally the claim form said that the papers had been posted on to the University buildings at 10pm, which solicitor Lauren O’Sullivan had signed despite not actually being present when the papers were served.

Fisher, speaking from the witness box, said that he had started putting the papers onto the buildings at 11.30pm and that it had taken “two and a half hours” to finish.

Holland QC, representing the University, said there had been an amendment to the papers but that “it had fallen off” when faxed

to the court, so the judge had received the incorrect time of service.

Speaking after the hearing, Buckle said: “It would appear that the order doesn’t quite carry the same amount of precedence as we thought it would.

“I think we were just a bit disappointed with the lack of communication which led us to not know whether this was anything from a spectrum of banning protests all out on campus down to, what it is now evident to be, which is just reaffirming the university’s right to own its own buildings.

“I’m relieved to know that if there was any further protests that the university would have to take an additional order, which will again give us the chance to have a court hearing and defend students.”

A student filmmaker has scooped two awards for a film documenting her family’s recovery from the deaths of her mother and two brothers.

Sophie Piggott was 13 when her seven-year-old brother Simon and pregnant mother Sarah, 42, were killed by a careless driver near their family home in Shrewsbury, Shropshire in 2006, the day before Sarah was due to be induced.

Now 20, Sophie made the film, titled 26 after the date of the accident, for a project towards her media production degree at Staffordshire University.

The six-minute film features Sophie’s dad and two brothers recalling memories whilst watching home videos.

The film won the Best Documentary Short prize at Suffolk Film Festival, and Screen Stockport Film Festival.

Keri Trigg Cambridge A&E ward havoc University of Cambridge students in fancy dress on a night out caused “operational difficulty” in Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

About 10 students made it difficult for doctors to treat other patients, being rude and having to be told to stop wandering around.

Staff treated some students for “facial injuries from fights” the BBC reported. Others were semi-conscious.

A University spokesperson said: “The university deplores the reported unacceptable behaviour”.

Estel Farell Roig

4

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

SCIENCE &

Scheme aims to drive down hunger this Christmas Camille Brouard

Technology

Chemotherapy drug damage flu defenses

may

A drug normally prescribed to chemotherapy and transplant patients may influence susceptibility to flu.

New research from the University of Massachusetts has revealed the anti-fungal drug Amphotericin B nullified natural antiviral immune proteins in mice and increased their susceptibility to mild influenza infections.

Researchers also saw a decrease in interferon IFITM activity which modulates viral replication. Interferons are antiviral agents which trigger an immune response.

Patients prescribed the anti-fungal drug may become immunocompromised. In this situation they are advised not to stop taking the drug, but to consider a seasonal flu vaccination.

Victoria Stanway HPV vaccine may be made available for men Government advisers are considering the possibility of offering the HPV vaccine to boys and some men.

The vaccine is currently only offered to girls aged 12 and 13 to protect them from cervical cancer.

In other countries, including the US and Australia, boys are regularly vaccinated.

Experts say more research is needed to determine whether this would be effective enough to justify spending UK taxpayers’ money.

The HPV virus is known to cause cervical, prostate and oral cancers, as well as other disease such as genital and skin warts.

Connor McCarry

Photo: NASA Goddard Similar solar system found Astronomers at the Institute of Planetary Research in Germany have discovered a star system uncannily like our own.

Named KOI-351, it is the first system with many planets showing similar architecture to our own solar system including small, rocky planets close to the host star and gas giants at the edges of the system.

KOI-351 contains three planets with nearly identical orbits to Mercury, Venus and Earth, and four with orbits smaller than Mercury’s.

Due to the similarities, scientists hope this system is hiding crucial data that could complete our theories on how our solar system evolved.

Daniel King

Volunteers at the Christmas food drive launch

Photo: Lauren Archer

Sports teams to sign pro-LGBT ‘Varsity Oath’

Forge Press dominate reporter category at the Guardian awards Aidan Phillips Forge Press became the first student media to scoop both reporter of the year and runnerup at this year’s Guardian Student Media Awards.

Last year’s editor-in-chief Alisha Rouse was awarded student media reporter of the year for her in-depth coverage of the widening funding gap in higher education, as well as the tale of beloved campus cats Taz and Charlie.

Judges said Rouse stood out by turning her hand to lighter topics.

Former news editor Jonathan

Robinson received the runner-up award in the category.

His stories included a front page splash about Sheffield Hallam University delegates spending £2,000 on luxury hotels during NUS conferences despite them being held in their own city.

Robinson said: “I would just encourage anyone interested in writing to cause ‘mischief’, which is what the Guardian deputy editor told us he wanted to see in young journalists.”

This is the first time Forge Press has won the reporter of the year award since 2006 when Felicity Hay took home the prize.

A group of students launched a food drive this Monday to help those in need over the Christmas period.

The drive will continue until Friday December 20.

All donated food will be given to Parson Cross Initiative (PXI), a local food bank, and the Cathedral Archer project, a day centre for the homeless and vulnerable.

Volunteer and organiser Jacob Hebditch said: “On our third day we already had two to three crates of items, which is a much faster start than we were expecting.”

A number of groups contributed towards the drive, including the Students’ Union’s marketing department, Raising and Giving (RAG) and the Sheffield on a Plate project.

The Ethical and Environment Committee and Student Eats publicised the drive and will sort collections.

Hebditch said: “Over the past year, use of food banks in Sheffield has more than doubled, at PXI the number has more than tripled, and there have many cases of demand outpacing supply.

“Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for students to donate, perhaps a tin that’s in the back of their cupboard, or adding something onto their shopping list, so vulnerable members of our

community can have food over the cold winter days leading into Christmas.”

Sheffield on a Plate coordinator Tim Allen said: “I’m proud to be involved in our Christmas food drive this year.

“When students and staff work together in this way we can do wonderful things to benefit the local community.”

A prize draw has been organised and will likely happen at the end of the drive’s second week.

Those wanting to enter can leave contact details on a signup list after donating.

Prizes include mince pies made by the Baking Society and preserves donated by a student. More prizes are to be confirmed.

The group are also holding a knitting event on Sunday December 8 in the SU to make donation items for Ben’s Centre, a charity looking for items of clothing to keep homeless people warm over the winter.

Students wishing to donate can find collection boxes under the Christmas tree in the SU foyer or at the Hub behind the SU shop.

Speak Society plan to organise donation points at Endcliffe student accommodation, to make it easier for students to donate.

Tasmin Wade Sports teams from both Sheffield universities have been asked to sign the ‘Varsity Oath’ to stamp out prejudice and encourage equality within sport as part of the LGBT committee’s Out in Sport campaign.

The ‘Out in Sport’ campaign is being launched in time for for the Winter Olympics following on from the success of last year’s nationwide National Union of Students (NUS) campaign.

It aims to eliminate the stigma for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students in joining sports teams, after an NUS report found only a third

of LGBT students participate in an organised team sport.

The committee has also organised events to promote awareness of the current issues in Russia, the host of this year’s Winter Olympics, who have come under worldwide criticism following a bill being passed which banned any gay propaganda and the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relationships” to minors.

LGBT committee member Francesca Young said the aim is to “make more LGBT people feel comfortable engaging in all sports and to help teams actively show that they are inclusive.”

‘No More Page Three’ t-shirts on sale in the Students’ Union Estel Farell Roig T-shirts for the ‘No More Page Three′ campaign are to be sold in the Students’ Union next semester.

The Student Executive Committee agreed to buy the t-shirts and sell them to students at the same price so they cover costs.

Women’s officer Kat Chapman, who put forward the proposal, said: “It is a very visual way of spreading the message, of saying what we support. T-shirts are really fun.

“We are going to get them at cost price which is considerably cheaper, we are just putting forward the capital to buy them.”

Chapman said she is confident the SU will start selling them after Christmas.

Fourth year Medicine student Katy Timms said buying the t-shirts “reinforces the Union’s opinion that we should not tolerate undermining images of women.”

In February 2013, Union Council voted to remove all newspapers with page three-style content from sale at SU outlets and to support the national campaign in lobbying the Sun to remove its page three.

The decision sparked a petition “to return our freedom to choose what we believe and what newspapers we want to read”, which gathered 108 signatures for and eight against.

Freshers Spanish student Sarah Stewardson said it is “good to sell them to spread the message”,

adding that she signed the national petition which has received support from more than 125,000 people.

The national campaign held events all across the country on November 17 to “celebrate women, not the objectification and sexualisation of them”.

The Empowering Movement, which is behind the “No More page three” campaign, says on their website that “something as small as a t-shirt can be a powerful tool for change.”

Chapman will be encouraging students to take pictures of themselves and send them to the national campaign.

5

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

IC bookings kicked out as exams loom Camille Brouard Corporate Information and Computing Services (CiCs) have switched off the PC booking system because its software has been failing.

All the PCs in the Information Commons (IC), Western Bank Library and St. George’s Library will now only be available on a ‘walk up’ basis like other University campus computers for students.

Head of learning and teaching support Patrice Panella said: “There have been several instances where it unexpectedly logs out groups of students on bookable PCs which creates an unacceptable risk of students losing any unsaved work.

“Unfortunately the third party supplier who provides this software hasn’t been able to come up with a fix so we have had to turn it off.”

Orthoptics student Katie Meakings was dismayed by the closure of the booking system. “Nobody wants to walk from Level 1 to 6, desperately looking for a free computer.”

Panella added that no limit will be imposed upon the PCs as there is no way of limiting how long people will stay.

She said: “We will be stepping up controls so people can not hog computers.”

CiCs plan to buy more laptops and extend the amount of hours they are available for in the IC. They can be booked on the MyRoom&Resource portal on MUSE.

Photo: Aidan Phillips

How long does it take to log on to a computer in the IC? Daniel second Molecular student

Brown, year Biology

1 minute 33 seconds

Richard Goodman, second year Biochemical and Microbiology student

Theo Cole, second year Biochemistry and Genetics student

1 minute 17 seconds

1 minute 12 seconds

Students question oil company about ethics on human rights Neelam Tailor

Two of the activists at the Shell graduate event Nursing another no show Nursing and Midwifery has seen no candidates once again as the Union Council elections opened for the second time.

Maths, ScHARR, Information Studies and all modern languages departments have all seen candidates step forward this time round, yet Nursing and Midwifery remains the only department to still be unrepresented.

Vice president of the nursing and healthcare society Alexandra Nolan said students seem interested in the department’s learning and teaching committees so she’s not sure why they wouldn’t want to be part of Council.

She said: “It’s unfortunate but I think it’s the nature of such a small degree course with an older demographic. There are lots of parents who aren’t interested, and of us who aren’t mature students most of us work to support ourselves.”

Photo: Neelam Tailor

Student activists attended a Shell recruitment event in order to interrogate the company about its ethics.

Three students asked company representatives about Shell’s oil spill record, investments into renewable energy and the impact of their operations in Nigeria, before security asked them to leave.

Before and during the presentation, which took place on November 26, the People and Planet and Amnesty International societies held a protest on the bottom floor of the building against the recruitment talk.

Twelve protesters handed out flyers reading “Go To Hell Shell”, campaigning about the effects of oil spills in Nigeria and the impact they have had on local livelihoods.

In August 2011 the Guardian reported Shell had one of the “worst safety records of any major oil company in the UK”, having been officially censured 25 times and prosecuted four times between 2005 and 2011.

Jessie Bastos questioned how Shell could justify talking about safety after its record of oil spills.

The Shell representative responded: “I am not an expert in those areas, I do not have statistics on these things.”

Another speaker was asked whether Shell should be investing in renewable energy, to which the they said: “We are investing in renewables, a lot of technology we develop does end up in renewable projects, like the North Sea wind farms.”

‘Cuddly’ robotic seal tested

by Sheffield PhD student

Human Rights forum for UN Human Rights day

300 students volunteer 1,400 hours in one day

Researchers at the University of Sheffield are studying how people with little experience of robotics interact with a robot seal known as Paro.

Japanese-invented Paro was created for use in ‘robot therapy’, similar to animal therapy in which a patient is encouraged to interact with an animal for psychological health improvement.

PhD student Emily Collins is researching how groups of people interact with different robots.

At 57cm and weighing 2.7kg, Paro resembles a harp seal pup in both appearance and behaviour.

The robot was designed to react to external stimuli. It purrs when cuddled and stops reacting if hit to display its irritation.

The School of Law is holding its second human rights forum which coincides with the UN’s celebration of Human Rights day.

The event, on Thursday December 11, will feature a variety of speakers from the University of Sheffield and the world music collective Rafiki Jazz.

2013 will hail the 20th anniversary of Human Rights day, which began after the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for human rights.

According to the SU website the forum will discuss how human rights have progressed over the past two decades.

It states: “The past two decades have seen much progress [...] but many challenges remain.”

The event is free and refreshments will be available.

Over 300 students took part in Sheffield Volunteering’s 24-hour event, contributing over 1,400 hours between them.

The event saw students engage in a variety of volunteering activities between November 22 and November 23 in aid of 22 local organisations and charities.

Events ranged from building a “bug hotel” to a scavenger challenge throughout Sheffield for items to support the homeless.

Overall 305 students got involved, contributing 1,429 hours between them.

Volunteer Charlotte Bell said: “It was interesting speaking to the permanent volunteers there and the other staff to gain a better insight into the company.”

6

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

Sheffield’s youth and students raise thousands for Phillippines Typhoon Haiyan appeal Keri Trigg Local groups, schools and the University’s Raising and Giving (RAG) society have raised thousands of pounds for the Philippines typhoon appeal collectively through a series of separate events.

Pupils from all years at Sharrow Primary School emptied their piggybanks to make coin artwork in their school’s hall.

The youngsters brought in enough coins to cover the hall with slogans and patterns, raising almost £900.

A similar effort was put in by the junior department at Sheffield High School, whose teachers challenged them to bring in over 7,000 coins, one for every island in the Philippines.

They raised £682 on the day.

Ecclesall Church of England Junior School sold tea and biscuits to parents at their parents’ evening, while members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) of Sheffield joined forces with British Red Cross volunteers in collecting donations at Sheffield train station. £3,500 was also raised at Sheffield’s Oxjam festival in October, most of which was donated to the appeal.

RAG launched an appeal to help survivors of the disaster, raising over £3,000

so far through fundraising and donations from the University’s staff and students.

Community fundraiser intern Abby Brown said the first cheque to the British Red Cross is on its way.

She said: “’We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the University, Students’ Union staff and students. Raising £3000 in such a short space of time is no easy feat.

“The money will make a huge difference to people who have lost so much.”

She said “numerous” people have also come into the RAG office to donate anything from £10 to £200, with funds also raised from online donations and bake sales.

First year accounting and financial management student Denise Estacio, who is from the Philippines, said: “It’s nice to know that everyone gave time and effort to help out people who were affected by the typhoon. It make us feel more united and stronger, knowing that people from different parts of the world are supporting us.”

Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines on November 8 affecting over 11 million people and killing over 5,600, with almost 1,800 still missing.

Selling cakes on the concourse to raise money

Photo: Sheffield Raising and Giving (RAG)

Prices up and measures down: no more ‘quad vods’ at Corp

Blunkett keeps warm on taxpayer money as bills rise

Camille Brouard

Keri Trigg

Local nightclub Corporation will no longer sell their infamous quadruple vodka drinks, known as ‘quad vods’.

Instead customers can buy two doubles, with an extra cup provided, or a triple measure drink with an extra shot in a separate cup.

Drinks have also risen in price, the cost of a double vodka and mixer before midnight now £1.40 instead of £1.20.

Corporation manager Mark Hobson said: “We’ve had some of the local authorities say they don’t like it. It’s not illegal to sell four shots in one drink, but stopping that means customers may spend more time buying smaller drinks.”

Hobson said they have stopped selling ‘quad vods’ in the past. “Personally I think selling it in separate cups just increases wastage.

“It depends on whatever’s on top of the local authorities’ current to-do list.”

The club put up notices on their premises on Monday saying: “Due to government tax increases our suppliers have [increased] prices.

We have therefore had to put our offer price up.

“We told the government to fuck off, but they are bigger than we are.”

There was no signage about the decision to stop selling ‘quad vods’. Biomedical student Sophie Bell said: “I asked for a ‘new quad vod’ and got a triple vodka drink with an extra shot on the side.”

Students expressed mixed opinions towards the changes in measures and prices.

Chemistry PhD student Max Chambers said: “I doubt it will make much difference. 70p for a single measure is still very cheap.”

History and Chinese student Adam Bradshaw said: “I don’t think [stopping ‘quad vods’ is] anything to do with cost effectiveness - especially as a quad vod is the same price as two doubles.

Sounds more like an anti binge drinking measure to me.”

Secretary of the University of Sheffield’s Rock Society Owen Dunne said: “A little sad for the wallet but not awful. As long as they keep the

grime. They can take our money but not our grime.”

Sheffield City council said they had no direct involvement in Corporation’s decision.

A council spokesperson said: “It’s not against the law to sell four shots of alcohol. We try to warn people about drinking too much, but some people just don’t want to listen to that.”

The council’s alcohol-related initiatives include the Best Bar None scheme, which is concerned about the “responsible management of licensed premises.”

A statement on the government’s website said: “The current rate of spirits duty is £28.22 per litre of pure alcohol.”

Photo: Katie Meakings

As energy bills continue to rise for his constituents, figures show that Sheffield MP and visiting professor to the University of Sheffield David Blunkett claimed over £1,700 for energy bills at his second home in the past 19 months.

Whitehall’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO), has estimated 17 more years of above-inflation increases in energy and water bills for consumers at the same time as five of the country’s six main energy companies announced price rises at an average of 8.1 per cent.

The news is unlikely to keep most South Yorkshire MPs awake at night, as figures show most claim hundreds every year for heating bills on their second homes, with Blunkett claiming the second highest figures in South Yorkshire at £1,095 in the 2012/13 financial year and £628 so far in 2013/14.

This is despite engaging in far more extra-parliamentary work than any other Sheffield MP, earning him nearly £110,000 last financial year by his own estimates on top of a £66,000 MP salary.

His earnings for 2012/13 include £20,000 as a lecturer for the London School of Business and Finance and tens of thousands from public speaking and articles. He recently told the Star his £99,000 annual earnings as a social responsibility consultant to News International ceased in June.

Figures show he claims more on energy bills for his second home than any other MP in Sheffield, and is only outspent across South

Yorkshire by Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton who claimed £1,171.

A spokesperson for Blunkett said: “It is a requirement of being an MP to live and work in two places.

“If he wasn’t claiming on his energy bills he would presumably – as so many others do – be claiming a higher rate. There is a ceiling on what can be claimed.”

Five other Sheffield MPs have been claiming hundreds of pounds, with Sheffield MPs altogether claiming £3,404 over the past 19 months.

Claiming £440 last financial year and £42 so far this year, Sheffield Central MP and ex-Sheffield Students’ Union general manager Paul Blomfield said: “MPs claim expenses, within defined limits, to cover those costs incurred to do the job.

“Because I’m required to work in London four days a week I have to rent accommodation there.”

Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn claimed £446 last financial year and has claimed £177 so far this year, despite receiving at least £5,500 every three months between July 2012 and July 2013 for extraparliamentary work. Munn did not respond to attempts to contact her.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg claimed £254 last year and nothing so far this year, whereas Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Angela Smith claimed £256 last year and £66 so far this year.

Out of South Yorkshire’s 14 MPs, only two did not claim expenses to cover energy bills at their second homes, including MP for Sheffield South East Clive Betts.

7

FO R GE PRESS Fr i day D ecem be r 6 2013

@forgepress

NEWS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

Air pollution is breaching EU limit National News

Nicola Moors Air pollution in Sheffield is at ‘illegal levels’ with heavily-populated student areas Crookes and Broomhill being at least twice over the recommended limit by the EU. Under the European Union legislation, which was brought out in January 2010, levels of more nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant found in the air, should not exceed the daily limit of 40 micrograms per metre cubed (μg/ m3) more than 35 times per year.

Air pollution in Sheffield’s student areas was measured the highest on Whitham Road and Crookes Road in Broomhill where the monthly average for May was 83 μg/m3 .

For 2013, the council only have measurements for the first six months excect for April.

Every year since 2003, the road has had an annual average of at least 53 μg/ m3.

The Western Bank and Northumberland Road area was also at an illegal limit at around 50 μg/m3 per month.

The measurements were recorded by Sheffield city council’s transport, traffic and parking service and the East End Quality of Life Initiative, which is a community led project.

Jack Scott, councillor and cabinet member for the environment, recycling and streetscene, said: “The Law Emissions Zone Study has set out how we aim to reduce air pollution in the city to meet EU limits by 2015.

“We recognise that reducing traffic emissions in isolation without tackling industrial, commercial and domestic heating will not achieve the overall improvements in air quality that we need.

“But local route transport must deliver its fair share of improvements.

“We all have a part to play in this and our partners must be firmly committed to the strategy.

“But the government will also need to take the lead in key national policies to reduce the use of diesel vehicles in urban areas and tackling pollution from the M1 motorway.”

In the council’s air quality action plan (AQAP), it said nitrogen dioxide levels are so high “that without major interventions the [national] objectives are unlikely to be achieved until at least 2020.”

“This is of major concern where there are people living close to the roads.”

The total vehicle kilometres

Did you kn

ow?

The healt h effects pollution o costs Sh f air effield about £1 60 millio n a year

now? k u o y Did is

Christmas market reindeer makes bid for freedom

n on olluti ealth tha p r i h A o t g ging dama ve smokin i s s pa

A Christmas market in Newbury was forced to cancel its reindeer appearance after one managed to escape.

Cracker and Humbug were supposed to wow visitors in town last Saturday but Humbug decided to jump free from his enclosure the day before their debut.

Market spokesperson Nick Houghton told the BBC: “Humbug made a dash for it and managed to escape the enclosure, then proceeded to head up the A339 towards Sainsbury’s and past the local police station where several officers and his handler managed to catch up with him.”

“He was briefly detained by police for questioning before being reunited unharmed with Cracker.”

Houghton hoped the reindeer could make an appearance for Newbury’s 2014 market.

Camille Brouard

Photo: Philip Carpenter travelled in Sheffield has increased by 15 per cent from 1993 to 2010. Road transport and industrial sources cause 85 per cent of Sheffield’s air pollution.

Air quality became a hot topic in government debates when the select committee released their environmental audit highlighting the dangers of air pollution to the health of society.

The 2010 report said that: “Poor air quality probably causes more mortality and morbidity than passive smoking, road traffic accidents or obesity.”

Since then the council has introduced a range of measures to improve the air quality including promoting different methods of travel by improving public transport.

With the help of funding from the government’s Clean Bus Technology Fund, the council will also be fitting five Stagecoach buses with compressed natural gas engines to reduce emissions in 2014.

The cost of air pollution to the city is £160 million a year, due to the cost of lost working days, according to the State of Sheffield 2013 report, commissioned by the Sheffield First Partnership (SFP).

What’s air pollution doing to you?

An analysis of the health effects More people die earlier due to poor air quality than passive smoking - in Sheffield alone, 500 people die prematurely because of air pollution per year, according to the State of Sheffield 2013 report.

Nationally, the life expectancy is shortened by an average of two years.

Long term exposure, especially to higher levels of pollution, can lead to serious conditions, such as heart disease, according to the department for environment, food and rural affairs.

The main pollutants in the air are nitrogen dioxide and fine particles. The gas nitrogen dioxide irritates the lung airways, increasing the symptoms of lung disease while the particles can cause inflammation of the lungs.

They also worsen heart and lung diseases.

In December 2010, the committee on the medical effects of air pollution (COMEAP), published a report which showed those living near main roads in cities could account for 15-30 per cent of all new cases of asthma in children. The report also concluded that air pollution aggravates asthma in those already with the condition.

Sheffield first European city to see revolutionary autopsies Nicola Moors Sheffield will become the first European city to install a new digital autopsy centre.

The software, housed at Medico-Legal Centre, means that autopsies can now be done digitally on a CT scanning machine, saving time so that bodies can be released for burial or cremation sooner.

A 3D representation of the body will now be scanned onto a screen where the pathologist rotate the image round.

It is hoped the new scanning system will help avoid invasive autopsies so some findings can be more easily seen, such as the location of foreign objects like metal fragments or bullets.

Sheffield city council is the first authority in the country and the first place outside Malaysia, where the technology was developed and tested, to grant the facility.

Council leader Julie Dore, who was part of the official opening delegation, said: “I am pleased that we have been able to secure the new £3 million Sheffield centre at no cost to the Council and I welcome iGene to our city in this ground breaking deal.

“The facility will train and support the pathology team in Sheffield as well as recruiting up to 14 other highly-skilled support staff to work along-side them.”

In 2012, around 95,000 deaths nationwide were followed by an autopsy, with nearly all of them being ordered by coroners in cases

where the cause of death was unknown.

Cases will be assessed on a joint basis to decide whether the digital autopsy process would be the most appropriate course of action.

This means that bereaved families may be able to avoid invasive autopsies in cases where a digital autopsy can prove a cause of death instead.

The centre was opened by the Chief Coroner for England and Wales, HHJ Peter Thornton QC, on Wednesday November 27.

The facility is the first of 18 to be built across the country.

Photo: Wikipedia

Adults still write to Santa One in six adults still write to Father Christmas every year, according to a study by the National Trust.

One in three 25 to 34 year olds still receive an advent calendar from their parents and nearly a third of 18 to 55 year olds still hang stockings.

Over half of the adults participating in the study said their mum’s Christmas dinner was the best they’ve ever eaten.

National Trust spokesman Tony Berry said: “Our research highlights how important traditions old and new are to families at Christmas time.”

Jessica Pitocchi Sweeter brussel sprouts for sale this winter A sweeter version of the traditional brussel sprout will be available to buy for Christmas this year.

Farmers took a year to develop the new crop.

The sweeter, nuttier sprouts will be available from Waitrose.

They are aimed particularly at “children and picky eaters”.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “Sweetness usually indicates that something is safe to eat and that’s why kids traditionally love biscuits, desserts and sweet treats.”

Camille Brouard

8

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgecomment

COMMENT

/forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

Candy canes and capitalism

Ben Scull Festive celebrations have moved on from their humble religious beginnings. No longer do we pay an honourable tribute to the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrate the values of Christianity, help those less fortunate than ourselves.

December 25 has been transformed into a pompous, tinsel-covered extravaganza, laden with hideous baubles, crackers full of crap, brussels sprouts no one wants to eat and, of course, lurid knitwear.

“No longer do we pay an honourable tribute to the birth of Jesus Christ” Everyone is aware that Christmas has become hugely commercialised.

Paramount importance is placed on the giving and receiving of gifts. Back in the day, Jesus, the son of God, received some gold, frankincense, and a bit of myrrh.

If Jesus was born today, he would expect a sack full of the latest ‘must have’ gifts from Santa and his elves, just like the rest of the children in Western society.

As society becomes less religious, so does Christmas Day. Christmas has come to be less about Jesus Christ

and more about Santa Claus. It has mutated into an exercise of capitalism in its purest form, with the spending of ridiculous amounts of money and indulging in an unhealthy amount of food.

This gluttony purely reinforces and justifies, from a young age, the apparent importance of materialism, arguably synonymous with the widersociety who have become obsessed with owning the latest mod-cons.

This consumerist onslaught is aptly depicted through Christmas advertising. We are bombarded with Christmas ads from as early as October. Every ad seems to kindly show us ‘the perfect gift for Christmas’.

In reality, who really wants to receive Aled Jones’ 60th greatest hits album in their stocking? Aled, you’re not an eight-year-old boy anymore.

The irrelevance and obscured meaning of Christmas is summed up by the current John Lewis advert.

Here, we see a Disney-esque bear and a hare traversing on a deep and meaningful journey through a wonderful Christmas land, accompanied by Lily Allen covering a song by everyone’s favourite Scottish indie band, Keane.

In this land of splendour and joy, all animals seem to live in harmony together and can wrap presents without opposable thumbs. The advert culminates in the bear being awoken by an alarm clock brought to him by his friend, the hare.

For some reason the bear isn’t annoyed at being woken up early and doesn’t rip the hare to shreds, splattering his guts across the snow. I suppose that isn’t in keeping with the

Christmas spirit somehow.

The point is, this advert truly has nothing whatsoever to do with the ‘true meaning’ of Christmas Day. The fact that people have cried at this is ridiculous: it’s an advert for a shop.

“Father Christmas has become a pin-up for capitalism” With our society becoming less religious it is understandable why Christmas has, too. I understand that Christmas is a time to spend with your family, engaging in awkward conversations with aunts no one really knows or cares about, but Christmas seems to be becoming more commercialised, and more about spending money, year on year.

People go crazy when they see the ‘Holidays are coming’ Coca Cola advert, but in truth, what has a giant illuminated truck got to do with the birth of Jesus Christ?

Father Christmas has become a pin-up and prime advocate for capitalism. In reality, Christmas puts huge financial strains on parents and families who have to live up to their children’s ever lengthening Christmas wish lists.

In the current economic climate, which sees so many families struggling financially, should we really place such precedence on purchasing expensive gifts?

Artwork: William Ross

It’s about time we get the meaning straight Adam Ladley Being a gay person in Britain today is arguably easier than it’s ever been. With the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 being passed earlier this year, many legal obstacles LGBT people face have now been overcome.

Of course there are still severe problems for LGBT people across the world, but the struggle for gay liberation in the UK is over. The gay agenda has won.

If only that were true. What the success of the equal marriage campaign has proven is not only that gay rights are here to stay, but there is also a great deal of progress to be made.

This is why much stricter measures need to be taken against homophobic language in schools, especially the derogatory use of the word ‘gay’.

The publication of Stonewall’s report, ‘Tackling homophobic language’ has stirred debate on the use of the word ‘gay’, with pieces appearing

in outlets as diverse as the Guardian and the Tab. The report found that 99 per cent of young people had heard the use of ‘gay’ as a derogative.

Most often this isn’t even used to refer to gay people themselves, but instead is used to denote something rubbish. As a result, while the use of the words ‘faggot’ or ‘poof ’ may be challenged in classrooms, the word ‘gay’ often slips under the radar.

However, according to Stonewall’s research, 84 per cent of young gay people find the useage distressing, with 45 per cent saying it distresses them considerably.

This is why gay commentators saying they don’t particularly mind the usage are far off the mark. It’s usage creates an atmosphere that is

hostile to gay people.

Given that nearly a quarter of young LGBT people have attempted suicide and over half have self-harmed, taking a ‘it didn’t do me any harm’ attitude is dangerous.

In my secondary school while I was in the closet, official condemnation of homophobic language was inconsistent at best.

And what made it worse was other forms of abuse against ethnic and religious minorities as well as disabled pupils were condemned readily.

Now this isn’t to say that those groups aren’t still persecuted, but it appeared to my 13-year-old self that homophobic language was justified. After all, where were the teachers? The isolation I felt, and

the inability to speak up was by far the worse experience I had in secondary school.

However, things got better. At my sixth-form college, the reduction in homophobic language and the visible support for LGBT students gave me the courage to come out and to challenge the use of homophobic language around me.

Though speaking up is not a panacea, it is probably the single most effective action that can be undertaken in schools today.

Often those who use this language are not homophobic.

But they are contributing to a homophobic culture.

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecem b e r 6 2013

9

@forgecomment

COMMENT

/forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

Nasty party: nasty country?

Mike Haywood David Cameron spent this week outlining his plan to combat the supposed threat of ‘benefit tourism’. Not the unveiling of a new approach, but the continuation of an old one.

In reattempting to tackle the ‘EU immigrants question’, the PM has engaged in a series of misrepresentations which distract attention away from the real issues confronting Britain and his premiership.

The campaign against the threat of benefit tourism by EU migrants enables the government to attack the conjoined issues of the EU and immigration at once.

Though fears of an influx in numbers from two of the newer members of the EU may have some numerical accuracy, it is simply untrue to say that these people will be able to access welfare freely.

There appears to be an almost wilful misrepresentation of the law around this.

The right to equal treatment, and therefore the right to claim benefits, is afforded only to migrants who are workers, the migrant self-employed and their families.

Are the British going to finish in last place?

Qué son “wheat crunchies”?

Do you speak English?

“Misrepresentation strengthens the appeal of fringe parties” Beyond an initial right of entry which lasts three months, migrants must show that they are employed or can support themselves if they wish to remain.

Given the government’s own report (Department of Work and Pensions, Jan 2012) shows that migrants are less likely to claim benefits than home nationals are, why does Mr. Cameron not champion these people as the economic motivators they are? Is the truth not that it is easier to whip up distrust of immigration than it is for him to defend his record on the economy?

According to New Statesman blogger, George Easton, we ought to really be more concerned by the lack of criticism this approach has received from the other political factions.

The only criticism came from the European Commissioner for employment, Laszlo Andor who complained that the UK risked gaining a reputation as a ‘nasty country’. The notoriously disastrous ‘go home’ vans policy fiasco is a good illustration of his point.

The motivation behind the recent rhetoric seems targeted at a large pool of voters who feel alienated by the mainstream political parties and feel concerned about immigration in particular.

All mainstream parties should make the case for or against immigration on the basis of the facts and not in glib policy statements like that of the Prime Minister this week.

The misrepresentation of the facts will not win back voters, it will merely strengthen the appeal of fringe parties who are waiting to pounce. If this continues then misunderstanding and ignorance of the benefits of immigration will escalate and Britain truly will risk being seen as a ‘nasty country’.

Photo: Ben Scull

Philie Spottiswoode If you are reading this article, you have the ability to learn a language. You don’t even have to think to use your mother tongue, you’ll just open your mouth and what you want to say will come out perfectly.

We arrive into the world like sponges - ready to soak up any language that we’re presented with. Why aren’t we harnessing this power from a younger age?

Our European neighbours start learning a foreign language from a much younger age than many British adolescents.

Learning a foreign language can be patronising, boring and uninspiring.

Garish cartoons showing a couple eating ‘la poisson et les frites’ in a textbook from the 80s does not make French more exciting or interesting, nor does seeing some German kids declaring ‘mein arm tut mir weh’ in front of a graffitied wall make languages seem ‘cool’.

In Germany, children are often introduced to foreign languages at the age of eight, though in many areas there is the option to start learning a foreign language from the age of three.

Although you may think that this is incredibly early for a child to tackle a foreign language, they are given the ability to learn the language of everyday life - for example, ‘I brush my teeth’, ‘I play’ and even ‘I fell over

and I hurt myself ’.

Younger children are more inclined to learn songs, listen to stories, as well as using the language as creatively as possible.

Of course, for now, we still dominate the media, but that could all be changing. TV shows and films from America and the UK are widespread and often subtitled rather than dubbed. This allows foreign onlookers to fully immerse themselves in the language.

However, with the recent increase in foreign media, it’s becoming easier for us to access foreign films and television. Anyone who has Netflix or Lovefilm has access to a huge database of world cinema.

“We arrive into the world like sponges - ready to soak up any language that we’re presented with” As well as the foreign languages trickling into mainstream media, economies such as those in China and Eastern Europe are emerging at an alarming rate, meaning that the English language isn’t the linguistic superpower it once was. Many businesses trade internationally and often have overseas positions.

So which languages should we be learning? Well, according to the British Council, the top 10 languages to learn are:

Spanish, Arabic, French, Mandarin Chinese, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish and Japanese.

“It’s becoming easier for us to access foreign films and television” There are many ways to pick up a new language, for example taking evening classes, or if you want to really immerse yourself in the language and have cash to burn, taking a summer school abroad can be seen as a future investment, or spending a year abroad as part of your degree.

However, if that isn’t an option for you, the great news is that all these languages and more are offered by the University of Sheffield.

Each course offers the ability to converse in that language from a basic beginner’s level right up to A-Level standard. You may not currently speak more than one language, but it certainly isn’t too late to learn another.

Visit forgetoday.com

For more opinions, visit our website

10

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

COMMENT

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

Nuclear deal: just a short term agreement?

Corrigan Lowe After five days of arduous talks in Geneva, a deal was eventually reached over Iran’s controversial nuclear program. President Obama said: “while [the] announcement is just a first step, it achieves a great deal.”

The deal places exacting limits on the program, in exchange for which Iran will be relieved from sanctions and receive unfrozen foreign assets totalling around $6 billion. However, this will last for only six months.

“The deal may have therefore multiplied, not reduced international tensions” Like many others, my feelings on the agreement are mixed. On first reading this news I regarded the deal as a success. Surely, any step that could avoid more conflict in the Middle East is a success for the world?

We could therefore regard the deal as a roaring success for President Obama’s diplomatic negotiations.

The deal reached by such careful diplomatic actions helps to avoid another Middle Eastern crisis.

We should recognise, however, that there are still some very pressing

concerns. The deal is controversial to Arab countries around the Persian Gulf, as Iran’s nuclear program is an extremely sensitive issue especially Israel, the Prime Minister of whom has labelled the deal as “a historic mistake”.

The deal may have therefore multiplied, not reduced international tensions in the Middle East – a cause for concern, not quite the international harmony that Obama and co. aspired to. Israel and Iran’s future relationship l o o k s worrying, and we p e rhap s ought to consider the deal’s outcome in the Middle East more than that for Western nations.

While such tensions

“We mustn’t forget the immense complexity of the situation” The likely success of the deal thus far is unclear. In the long-term, it may be ineffective but for the time being, conflict has been avoided. The mere fact that Iran and the USA have reached an agreement on such a sensitive issue that is accepted by numerous other nations is a historic event in itself, and we can only hope that it will lead to a more permanent peace solution in the future.

While by no means complete, the deal may prove to be a first step towards peace.

However, we mustn’t forget the immense complexity of the situation – more than Iran and the USA are involved, and if we don’t consider the opinions of all nations closely involved in the dispute, the intentions of the deal will be undermined and we will be pushed back to square one.

contact us letters@forgetoday.com

Merry Christmas, from everyone at Forge Press

Nicola Moors - Forge Press editor

especially regarding Iran’s neighbours.

Got an opinion on the topics discussed this fortnight?

Editorial

Welcome to another issue of Forge Press. I hope everyone is looking forward to the mince pie-filled Christmas holidays and that there isn’t too much uni work to be done.

Currently, I’ve been ignoring a huge pile of work on my desk and concentrating on Forge Press instead.

There’s nothing like priorities, ey!

In this issue of Forge Press, we have a bumper pull-out of Fuse to satisfy all of your entertainment-based needs this Christmas. We’ve got it all: presents you can get your relatives, the best antagonists and protagonists of 2013 and you told us what your favourite albums of the year were.

As for the rest of the paper, a contributor got a one-to-one iceskating lession from Dancing on Ice’s very own Mark Hanretty and Lifestyle have an interview with student and designer Hayden James.

In the meantime, have an amazing Christmas and a happy New Year.

Hopefully you’ve all managed to get enough work done and haven’t been affected too much by the occupation in the Arts Tower - I know I would have been annoyed if I had been

continue to flare, there can be no complete resolution in the Middle East.

Worryingly, it is now more likely that the sanctions coalition could fall apart if any of the five major powers disagree about the next steps.

The short length of the deal means that negotiations must start again immediately, the current deal being only an interim agreement.

The deal’s likelihood of success can also be disputed after a shaky 2004 deal collapsed in under a year.

While this is true, it is a triumph that such a deal was ever reached in the first place. I was somewhat relieved that an ignition of tensions in the Middle East had been hastily averted, but concerned over the long-term consequences,

prevented from going to my lectures like that!

To be honest, the strikes are really irritating - I understand that the teaching staff are experiencing pay cuts and want the living wage (which I support), but please take it out on the University, not the students.

Students are paying £9,000 fees per year, and international students are paying even more, they deserve to have the teaching they paid for.

It was an eventful day for all and even led to a High Court order where the University was granted possession of their own land, including the Students’ Union. Read more about this on page 1 and page 3.

Thankfully SU president Ally Buckle, welfare officer Becca Barnes and development officer Sam Neagus all managed to make it to court on time.

PS I hope you enjoy the picture on the right of comment editors Tom and Ben. They quite clearly have too much time on their hands.

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

D.A.R.T.S.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Deadly sin of the fortnight

The sheer stupidity of our favourite labrador cum politician, Boris Johnson, cannot go unpunished.

What this ‘buffoon-impersonating-anintelligent-person-impersonating-a-buffoon’ said was such a PR blunder that you wonder whether Malcolm Tucker himself was behind it. Boris announced that “greed is good”. He also mocked the “16 per cent of our species” that had an IQ lower than 85 and called for a “Margaret Thatcher International Airport”.

This actually happened. Maybe BoJo didn’t notice, but writing off 50 per cent of the country did Romney no favours.

Quote of the year: “Fuck, I got it wrong.”

Decembeard of the fortnight

This month, people will talk to you about universal jollity, merriness and celebrations that bring people together, but we all know the truth: it’s over. Movember has come and gone.

But never fear amateur facial hair enthusiasts, December has a treat for you: Decembeard.

Apparently there’s some other holiday this month so go for that Father Christmas beard!

Hotel of the fortnight

A cat hotel is to open in West Yorkshire. The hotel is the first of its kind and promises to offer the highest five star quality rooms and service. As avid cat fans, we at Comment are definitely feline this.

Aidan Phillips, Forge Press News Editor

Merry Christmas from Comment. May all your dreams come true

11

Friday D ecem b er 6 2013

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

LETTERS

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to:

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to:

Police profiling is evidence for institutional racism

Can the Union dictate your society’s views?

You refer to a ‘culture’ within the police force without fully justifying what you mean. The implication here is that the underlying intention of the police is to be racist rather than to prevent crime. The sad fact is that stereotyping does happen in the police, but that is down to the judgement of the officers themselves within the context of the search rather than the question of them collectively submitting to an outdated concept of ‘police culture’. You also over simplify the decision making involved with stop and search.

I came to this article sceptical, but I find I agree at least partly with your view. I am vehemently opposed to the vast majority of Israel’s foreign policy, and I personally refuse to purchase products in supermarkets imported from there, but that is a personal choice.

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) section one states that ‘an officer has to have reasonable grounds to suspect that they will find stolen or prohibited articles’. If all of those figures can be justified then there is no crime. The search won’t happen without justification. I am not suggesting that all of them can be justified and that there aren’t some racist police officers out there, but it is more complex than it sounds. Also, for the sake of transparency, a legitimate search record must be kept for three months and the suspect is offered the chance to complain. The police learn from mistakes and improve (the Brixton riots, the Stephen Lawrence McPhersons Report 1999). In fact PACE was introduced as a response to the Brixton riots (Scarman Report) and excessive use of stop and search.

When you talk about disproportionate targeting of stop and search, you disregard the fact that men are many times more likely than women to be stopped too. Does that mean the force is also sexist? I don’t think so.

Either way, the police can’t ever really win against public perception of them.

Sutherland

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Matchdebating: International stars blow McCoy away Thanks for writing this article. It’s great to see the achievements of the greatest Hunt jockey of all time be acknowledged and celebrated in Forge Press, though I must take issue with some of your criticisms of his accomplishment.

4,000 winners – in 20 years with months of that spent on the sidelines with injury – is absolutely phenomenal. In terms of numbers it is almost implausibly good – his closest rival is on 2,500 in 18 years. 20 years of putting his life on the line for the sport he has dedicated so much to. I think it is unfair on McCoy to say that the trainers and owners should be paid just as much respect. The trainers and owners aren’t travelling up and down the country every day for 20 years, only eating three dinners a week and not being able to spend quality time with their families.

Also, although Jonjo O’Neill is undoubtedly an excellent trainer, I wouldn’t go so far as to call him the owner of the most illustrious stable in Britain when Nicky Henderson’s Seven Barrows is currently home to Sprinter Sacre, Bobs Worth, My Tent or Yours, Simonsig and many fantastic horses. Paul Nicholls, who before Henderson last year was seven times consecutive champion trainer, retained Ruby Walsh when the amazing Kauto Star dominated Haydock, Kempton and Cheltenham. Jonjo O’Neill’s big race success has been down in part to training some of the best horses in the game, but he would certainly never have won the 2011 Gold Cup if the greatest jockey of all time wasn’t on board. I can’t agree that he has been owner of the best stables while McCoy has been his man, and so while the partnership has certainly helped him on his way to 4,000 it is definitely not cause to detract from his achievement. Don’t forget that thanks to the nature of National Hunt racing, he has won for the smaller trainer just as much as he has won for one of the big guns.

The 2011 Gold Cup on Synchronised is a great example of McCoy’s riding style and achievement – he guided a horse that didn’t have the profile of a Gold Cup winner to victory. Only he could have done it. Just as only McCoy could have got Wichita Lineman to win the 2009 William Hill Trophy after ploughing through three fences or getting Mountain Tunes back on the bridle when looking beat to get his 4,000th win at Towcester earlier this month. No other jockey would have won these races, no other jockey has that determination to succeed when apparently beaten, no other jockey has the genius to guide horses to victory when they haven’t deserved it. While sometimes it is a case of the best horse winning, it certainly isn’t for all 4,000.

Also, while McCoy did win the National on the best horse in the race, you forget that it took him 15 attempts to do so – it’s not always about the horse in that race as is evidence on Auroras Encore and Neptune Collognes winning at 66/1 and 40/1 the last two years. A bad example to use in the context of the sport.

I’m glad that you agree that the profile of racing shouldn’t detract from a sportsperson’s achievement. Just because street kids in Malaysia know that United drew on the weekend but not that Cue Card won the Betfair doesn’t mean that averaging 200 jumps winners in a season is less of an achievement. While Bolt and Messi have overcome adversity to reach the top of their professions, McCoy has overcome injuries that would have ended the careers of other sportsmen time and time again – lesser men would have called time on their careers after breaking both ankles, collarbones, shoulder blades, wrists, multiple ribs, a leg and so much more – not to mention the constant battle he has to have to keep his weight at around 10st and still be physically fit enough to control a ~550kg horse for three miles and over 20 obstacles. To this extent, has McCoy done more than others who are at the top of their game? Perhaps, but it’s unfair to make comparisons. Given this I think we should forget about deciding who are the best sportsmen of our generation and just agree that we can’t wait for win number 5000.

Richard Dawidek

If the council decides to ban all produce imported from Israel in Union shops and services then I see no issue, as they were elected, and these are services provided by the Union, under the control of the councillors. If people want to buy products from Israel, they are welcome to shop elsewhere.

I do think imposing support for an organisation on every society is stupid and rather meaningless. Not only does it put certain groups under uncomfortable scrutiny and force them to make difficult decisions, it also weakens the plight and message of the organisation itself. Support for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel) should be gained through campaigning, education and awareness, not imposition.

Tom I was at that protest. I am a passionate and active supporter of the Palestinian peoples, and campaign actively in support of the incredibly popular stance the Union has taken as a result of a unanimous democratic mandate. However I cannot help but agree with the above; I do think all societies should be sensitive to the Union policy, and Jewish Society seems to recognise this. The Model United Nations event was political in nature and insulting to the Union: however, forcing all societies to actively sign into BDS is problematic and doesn’t create the kind of pro-Palestinian movement I want.

I would be over the moon if more societies took it upon themselves to publicly state their support for BDS, but I don’t want a Students’ Union who in effect can’t have an active Jewish Society either.

Cyrus The Students’ Union already has a BDS policy (as part of a policy that has passed in three referenda, and is next due for review in 2015). As part of the Students’ Union societies are already expected to follow Union policies. The paper submitted to this week’s council simply calls for a clearer, more formal approach to ensuring this policy is not broken: “We should mandate the Officers to make it absolutely clear to Students’ Union societies and committees that if any student society in future finds itself in a position whereby there is the possibility its actions are contravening the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) policy adopted by the Students’ Union, they have a responsibility to inform the Student Executive Committee. SEC should decide accordingly whether or not the matter should go to Council. If it did, Council would then discuss whether or not the matter would result in an SU society contravening SU policies, which would therefore have the benefits of 1) allowing the SU to support its mandated policies, 2) prevent a situation like this occurring whereby the Officers were kept ignorant that a society was, unwittingly or not, contravening a SU policy, and 3) thereby allow the Officer team to properly do their jobs by supporting and implementing policy”.

If the Jewish Society wishes to do something which may break the BDS policy, it may be required to submit to the same process, in order to comply with the wider Union. I don’t see any problem in the Students’ Union Council defending popular democratic Union policy.

Otis R Gilbert The BDS movement is targeting institutions and companies that are complicit in the Israeli occupation, and those who support the illegal settlements that have been assembled on confiscated lands. It is not intended to target or harm any specific religious group. This has been explicitly stated in the movement’s literature and by all BDS advocates. The BDS movement has supporters and activists from all religious and non-religious backgrounds including the Jewish community. This is because the cause that the BDS is calling for (ending the illegal occupation, fighting injustice and discrimination and ending apartheid) resonates with the teachings of all religions and humane ideologies.

Dear Mariam, if you are annoyed because of the difficulties you have faced on your way to Israel and of the strict airport checks you have experienced, I and thousands of other Palestinian refugees scattered all over the world have been waiting for years to visit Palestine. We have not been granted permission to visit Palestine simply because all Palestinian youth are seen as potential terrorists by Israeli authorities. That is why it is only through supporting such non-violent struggle (BDS) we can end the occupation and we can all enjoy a just and equal life. Therefore, I call for your support and the support of all students, and ask everyone to join the BDS movement.

In the end I would like to say that this is a free democratic country and I don’t think anyone can force anything on anyone, a luxury that millions of Palestinians are not allowed to enjoy!

K.O.

Want to make your opinion heard?

Email us at letters@forgetoday.com

Please include your name, course and year of study.

We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and space.

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

12

ADVERTISEMENT

❄ THURS 12TH DECEMBER

❄

VINTAGE CLOTHING E E FR VINYL RETRO HOMEWARE T N E V E

40 FOOD T SHIRT BRANDS STALL INDOOR BESPOKE JEWELLERY HOLDERS MARKET CARDS & MUCH MUCH MORE...

THE FOUNDRY/ STUDIO & FUSION 11-4pm

13

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

Crash course

with Mark Hanretty

The Dancing on Ice star gives contributor Fran Hinton a private lesson.

The only catch: it’s her first time ever on the ice.

I

ce Sheffield, the local training venue for novice and professional ice skaters, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in spectacular fashion.

A special gala featured performances from some of the top ice skaters in the country, including the British and European championship veteran Mark Hanretty.

Hanretty executed a spectacular ‘silks’ performance that involved not only a succession of complex choreographed moves, but also the act of being suspended 20 feet in the air from silk ropes.

I had the pleasure of not only interviewing Hanretty, but also of skating with him. The only problem- I had never ice skated before in my entire life.

In fact, I have trouble coordinating my feet on solid ground most of the time.

Taking my first lesson with a professional such as Hanretty was intimidating to say the least.

Upon meeting Mark however, all my nerves soon died down. Sporting a cheeky grin and Scottish twang, he reassured me that there was no need to be nervous about stepping onto the ice for the first time. He even admitted that he’d found his performance at the anniversary gala earlier in the month “slightly daunting”.

Considering that his performance involved being suspended 20 feet in the air and mine was simply putting two feet in front of the other, it didn’t seem completely comparable, but I appreciated his attempt to make me feel more at ease.

Ice Sheffield had been Mark’s local training base for seven or eight years. He admitted that, despite having trained all over the world, he still felt Ice Sheffield to be “one of the best rinks in the country or even the world as a training venue”.

The high calibre of this training venue may seem intimidating to anyone stepping onto the ice for the first time. But although it hosts some of the best professional ice skaters in the country, the venue is also frequently open to the public.

I headed to the cloakroom and grabbed a pair of skates, They felt strange tp wear, but it wasn’t long before I was up and standing on my feet. Step one completed!

As I walked up to the rink, I couldn’t help but notice that everyone out there seemed to be performing acrobatic acts of magnificence. After interrogating Mark, I found out that I’d not walked into a public session, but one for more highly skilled skaters. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of embarrassment at the thought of potentially falling flat on my face in front of so many talented people.

I’m told by Hanretty that along with his wife Kathy, who is also a professional ice skater, he teaches adult skate camps for individuals of all abilities, ranging from people in their 80s to youngsters as young as three years old.

Although I was certain that any three- or 80-year-old would have better coordination on the ice than me, it was good to hear that I wasn’t the first person Mark would have trained from scratch.

After stepping out onto the ice, I’m told

that the first step of ice skating is not to try and skate right away. Instead, it’s better to start learning to walk first and get used to the feel of the ice beneath you.

Back to the basics it is.

After a while of what felt like tiptoeing around, I felt less nervous about the thought of falling over headfirst and started to relax. Curious about how Hanretty got into ice skating, I asked him a few more questions about his career.

Describing his motivation to take up the skates, he modestly cited himself as an example of the ‘classic Torvill and Dean story’. He said it was their return to the Winter Olympics in 1994 that really ‘pushed’ him into ice skating. What followed was an extremely successful career.

Inspired by Torvill and Dean, Hanretty went on to become one of the top competitive ice skaters in Britain and a regular at the British Figure Skating Championships along with his partner, Christina Chittlewood.

At the centre of such an illustrious career was always the local rink of Ice Sheffield, which not only centred as Hanretty’s training ground, but also acted as host to prestigious events like the British championships.

I begin to understand how important the venue is to Hanretty and how it holds a special place in his heart.

After running me through the basics of ‘how to not fall over on the ice’, which was easier said than done, Mark announced that it was time to learn how to glide.

Here, Mark broke down the process into three steps: posture, bend, extend. First of all, I had to make sure that I was standing up properly on the ice with my stomach tucked in. Then, bending my right foot, I pushed off from it and attempted to extend my left foot behind myself. At the start, I kept tripping up over my left foot after forgetting to extend it, subsequently wondering why I looked slightly less graceful than everyone else.

It took a little while to get used to, and even longer to stop muttering the different steps to myself every time I drifted off, but after a while it started to come naturally. I began to wonder why I never went skating before. I could definitely have been a part of the Torvill and Dean dream. Or something like that.

Unfortunately, my introductory skating session with Mark ended all too soon. It definitely gave me a real taste for the ice and made me want to pick up the skates again in the near future.

To be able to set foot on the ice for the first time under the coaching of one of the best professional skaters in the country was a fantastic experience, and one that I will not forget any time soon. I can’t thank them enough.

Ice Sheffield is a fantastic experience, and I can’t help but recommend anyone to grab a pair of skates and get the tram down there this winter.

What better way to celebrate Christmas with your flatmates this year than to spend an afternoon at the local ice rink, getting into the Christmas spirit?

@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

14

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

The name behind the face Our eyes slide over them in the street. We avoid looking in their direction. But behind every person living on the streets is a story.

Helen Hiorns tells us why these stories matter.

H

omelessness is one of the uncomfortable truths we walk past every day, usually without sparing a second glance.

As a society, we’re taught that the homeless are not to be talked to; we are not to give them money, lest it be squandered on drugs and alcohol.

It makes us uncomfortable that there are people with such obvious needs right in front of us, particularly when we’re conditioned to believe that we’re not supposed to help.

Instead, we purposefully avoid looking so we don’t have to think too much about it.

Statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government in 2011 show that Sheffield has some of the highest levels of homelessness levels in the country, with 1.2 homeless per 1,000 households, and levels of homelessness have been rising nationally since then.

The high levels of homelessness shuldn’t come as a surprise to us. We probably know where some of them sleep. We probably walk past some of them every single day.

Over the summer, I formed some vague notion of joining a soup kitchen or something similar. I was also looking for a church and, by chance, found both at once in Revive Cluster, part of St Thomas Crookes, who provide tea, coffee and soup to the Big Issue sellers and others every Saturday.

When I first talked to the leader, Bex, a fourth year Geography student, she told me that it wasn’t about the soup or the tea, it was about talking to and showing love to a group of individuals who rarely receive care or attention. The aim of the project is not to give financially, but to

simply show these people that there are others who care about them.

The first week I joined the soup run, I wasn’t sure what to expect. A lifetime of not meeting the homeless’ eyes was weighing heavily in my stomach.

It seemed strange to forgo that attitude and finally approach the individuals – who the volunteers know by name, by soup preference and by pitch – and ask them how they were doing. Mostly, I was quiet and watched as the others pulled them into conversation like old friends which, I now understand, they are.

The penultimate man we spoke to that day, a Big Issue seller, coffee two sugars, fell into conversation with us easily.

He’s a father of three who became homeless through a series of failed relationships and was delighted to tell us about the flat he was just starting to set up, through the help of the Big Issue in the North and various other charities.

Several weeks later, he pulled out a phone that his friend had just bought him and showed us photos of his three beautiful sons.

Last Saturday he enthused that, thanks to his new pitch, he’ll be able to buy his youngest son a Christmas present and that, in a few months time, he’ll be back on his feet again. He said that soon he’ll give up selling the Big Issue to make room for someone who needs the support now.

Of course, they are not all success stories. Last week, we ran into a new group of people. One man sticks out in particular as one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever met. He told us about how he’d been on drugs from the age of nine, that he’d self-taught himself Latin and Hebrew and had sympathy pains every time his girlfriend was due on her period.

He told me that, before that day, he’d been sober for nine months after various

“

The amount of support for the homeless in Sheffield is astounding

”

@forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

Image Liborius//Flickr

courses of rehab. When I asked him why he’d given in that day, he said something that really brought it home for me.

“A day out for me is buying a coffee from McDonalds,” he said, “That’s it. I don’t fit in anywhere. At least if I’m sat here drinking with these guys, I feel like I belong.”

When asked, one of the other volunteers told me about some of the experiences which led him to joining the project.

During his first year, he’d felt challenged to talk to a man he regularly saw outside the Broomhill Spar, and then began to talk to him on a regular basis.

He said: “One time I was sitting next to him and a mate on my course walked past, so I said hey... but he didn’t even look anywhere near the homeless guy and walked straight past. The homeless guy said ‘that’s what it’s like to be me.’ It’s got to be horrible to be ignored that much.”

The amount of support for the homeless in Sheffield is astounding.

I talked to one of the leaders of Church Group Revive, who is planning to stay in Sheffield after finishing her degree this year to set up a permanent soup kitchen, and I found the number of projects she was able to list inspiring.

The Cathedral Archer Project (CAP) provides vaccinations, showers and educational opportunities for homeless and vulnerably housed adults in Sheffield.

StopGap is dedicated to getting the homeless into hostels and temporary education. Good News Cafe, which provides home cooked dinner on Monday evenings and a full English breakfast on a Saturday morning (volunteer ran, despite the necessity for the volunteers

to be at the Cathedral for 7:30am on a Saturday) and enough soup runs that it’s possible for a homeless person in Sheffield to receive three meals a day.

Many of the projects that run stop over the holidays, as volunteers are busy with their own festivities, but HARC, Homeless & Rootless at Christmas, provides a full day schedule of warmth and food from Christmas Day to New Years Eve. It’s heart warming how many people work towards helping these people. I’m stunned at the dedication and heart of volunteers who provide these services.

Before I got involved, the homeless were people who existed just outside the realms of my peripheries. I knew that they existed, but they were nameless individuals who I just couldn’t help.

Now, they are people with names and stories who I care about. There are the individuals who jokingly gripe at us about our choice of soup (if it’s not Heinz tomato, then he’s not interested), and those who ask for extra bread (“he’s not being greedy, I promise,” his friend insists, “it’s just he hasn’t eaten for a few days”).

Some of the speculations about the homeless are true, of course, because even the other homeless are happy to report stories of individuals abusing the Big Issue system to feed their drug habits, but equally there are others on the brink of pulling themselves out of the holes they slipped into. I still walk past the homeless, sometimes, but their faces are burnt into my memory and I wonder how they got there. You don’t necessarily need to part with your money: for the homeless population of Sheffield who are so habitually ignored and forgotten about a smile and a ‘how was your day’ is invaluable.

“

Some of the speculations about the homeless are true, but equally there are others on the brink of pulling themselves out

”

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d asy D ece mbe r 6 2013

15

16

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgefeatures /forgepress

Photo by ca cca mo on Fl ickr

features@forgetoday.com

17

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

E

conomics is unfortunate among the social sciences in that the worldwide Great Recession spanning much of the last five years has made people resentful and suspicious of it and those claiming to study it. The economists are publicly considered at least as responsible as banks and politicians for the 2008 downturn. This seems odd; bankers are motivated by profit and politicians by voter support, so it’s not in either of their interests to take cautionary restraint – they trusted that to the economists, whose calculated recommendations should have helped steer the economy safely. So what went wrong? Why did such an “oh this obviously wasn’t a good plan” go for decades without significant opposition or warning of impending disaster?

It could be vested interests – politicians can win votes by prolonging unsustainable growth, and businesses (including banks) can make more profit by prolonging unsustainable growth. If economists are paid by either to analyse the economic landscape, then it’s not in their interests to tell their employer to stop doing what they’re doing quite so much. Alternatively, it may be that the analytical theories used by mainstream economists contain fatal gaps in the way they describe and predict real economic phenomena.

This latter option may well be the case: while economics used to be a subject notoriously splintered between differing schools of thought, the neoclassical theory has come into dominance over the last few decades of deregulation and expansion. Most powerful economists hold neoclassical theories, and most university economics courses are based exclusively on neoclassical theory. Interestingly, “the few who did predict the financial crisis were economists from nonmainstream backgrounds,” Ward-Perkins and Earle wrote in the Guardian. Without deviating into the political outcomes of particular schools of thought, it must be stressed that this exclusivity is not a good thing. Neoclassical economics is not bad or wrong in any objective sense, but it does emphasise the rational behaviour of consumers, firms and governments – which is perhaps why it failed to foresee the crash. The bankers didn’t behave rationally – they traded packages of risk-laden assets without expecting consequences. Lowincome earners didn’t behave rationally – they took out mortgages on houses they couldn’t feasibly afford. The crash happened because certain individuals behaved very irrationally and this was a blind spot for neoclassical theory.

Therefore if courses teach only neoclassical economics, then a new generation of economists is being insufficiently prepared to predict another possible disaster. But there is very little alternative theory or analysis to be found in economics courses, “no debates, no politics or history of economic thought and the courses are nearly all maths,” said Cambridge lecturer Tony Lawson in the Guardian. Neoclassical has become orthodox, and indepth theoretical analysis using mathematical methods assures students of its unchallengeable ‘truth’ – but while maths can prove points within the theory, it cannot challenge the theory itself, or any underlying presumptions (like rational behaviour). Prominent economists HaJoon Chang and Paul Krugman have also criticised this narrowness of mainstream economics courses.

The University of Manchester has seen an excitingly proactive response to this shortfall in taught theory.

Students there concerned that “the study of economics was in danger of losing its broader relevance” have started the Post-Crash Economics Society, which is aiming to pressure a rethink of the syllabus. They plan soon to publish a set of proposed reforms to the curriculum, and in the meantime are educating students themselves about alternative economic theories through book discussions and seminars with unconventional thinkers. The society is also keen to see similar projects develop

throughout other universities, as has already happened at Cambridge, University College London and LSE. .

Could this be a relevant movement for the University of Sheffield too? Economics students here agreed that neoclassical assumptions are too heavily present in the course. There are modules which look at the history of the world’s and Britain’s economies, as well as lots of modules looking at social issues such as urbanisation or health, but all are taught from a mainstream theoretical perspective.

This teaching bias remains despite many differing schools of thought heavily influencing economic histories and responding more effectively to particular issues (e.g.

Marxian economics to inequality, or Keynesian economics to employment). “It’s practically focussing on one tiny side of the discipline,” says Chloe, a second-year economics student. “I feel like we’re often taught that something happens in economics and there is no alternative, which is obviously not the case in the real world.” Secondyear economics and politics student Jake adds: “We should be taught how different economic backgrounds would respond. The syllabus isn’t broad enough.”

“ A syllabus

change is definitely called for

”

It is worth bearing in mind that many students do take dual degrees combining economics with humanities subjects like politics and philosophy, which are very different in nature to the single prescribed theory of economics. In dual degrees it may be that students can learn core economic theory on one side and question assumptions, values and ideals through the other, but I fear this is insufficient still.

Political philosophy modules encompass economic ideals and outcomes to a significant degree, but in the context of those subjects the economic analysis of those theories is still unhelpfully bypassed and therefore harder to question properly. One half of your degree may cover liberalism, conservatism, communism and so on, but the economics half will only explore the functions of rationallybehaving

individuals in free markets, which is not at all fully applicable to each differing theory of an ideal economy.

According to Simon Tebbutt, a lecturer and the Director of Teaching and Learning for Sheffield’s economics department, there was a module on the history of economic schools of thought, but due to changes in staffing it hasn’t been run for several years. He explained that the department would like to bring it, or a similar module, back but given resources it’s not likely to be very soon.

The issue was raised by student representatives at the staffstudent forum on Wednesday, following which professor of economics Andy Dickerson commented: “It is to be welcomed that students take a critical approach to the dominant paradigm, however, it is of course only possible to critique that paradigm once we have a good understanding of what it is, and how it can inform (or not) our understanding of the way in which the world works.” He’s right – mainstream economics still has immense worth, academically and applicably, and we’re not seeking to rewrite the whole curriculum, but to broaden it to encompass alternative theories that will deepen our understanding of the subject on the whole. He added: “I reflected then about how the economics profession was already considering the content and relevance of the curriculum in the light of the financial crisis,” citing a conference at the Treasury earlier this month dealing specifically with this problem. The outcomes were positive – the project’s head, Wendy Carlin, also an economics professor at University College London, announced that a new curriculum available from 2014 will take a broader, more empirical approach and include in-depth material on economic history and financial instability. Concerns remain that the project will be of minor impact unless many major universities adopt it. .

So where do we go from here? It isn’t reasonable or realistic to expect the department to crank out new material to fill the gaps immediately, but we must recognise that it’s an important learning gap that does need filling adequately at some point. I think the best thing we can currently do is keep up pressure for the change to be made, and continue discussing how and why – that’s what this feature is for, to provoke those very discussions. And until we are taught properly about alternative economic theories, we can still always educate ourselves in the meantime by simply reading them. Read Robert Heilbroner’s excellent overview of different economic theories, The Worldly Philosophers; read Karl Marx’s seminal socialist tome Das Kapital; read Friedrich Hayek’s erudite defence of the free market The Constitution of Liberty; read Ernst Schumacher’s ethically charming yet iconoclastic Small is Beautiful. A syllabus change is definitely called for, but until it gets here, let’s figure out what it should contain and let’s not remain ignorant until then.

18

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

ADVERTISEMENT

Sheffield SU Highlights

Friday 6 December - Friday 20 December /sheffieldstudentsunion

@sheffieldsu

TUESDAYS 10 & 17 DECEMBER Outdoor Film Screenings Watch your favourite Christmas film on the big screen!

www.sheffieldsu.com

SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER Give it a Go: Manchester Xmas Market A trip to one of Europe's biggest and best Christmas markets.

6pm, Bar One and Interval Gardens, Free

THURSDAY 12 DECEMBER

10am, £10

TUESDAY 17 DECEMBER

Christmas Upmarket

Winterval Wonderland with Real Reindeer

11am - 4pm, Foundry, Studio and Fusion, Free

From 12 - 4pm, Interval Cafe Bar Gardens, Free

Have your photo taken with the reindeer and enjoy our festive food and drink.

The perfect place to pick up your Christmas gifts

FRIDAY 13 DECEMBER Christmas SPACE with Danny Howard BBC Radio 1's Danny Howard on stage with huge tunes and mad DJ skills.

WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER We Love Xmas with Joey Essex It's gonna be a REEM Xmas Joey Essex is coming to town! from 7pm, Bar One

11.30pm - 3am, Octagon, £5 adv

SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER RAG Santa Dash

WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER Christmas ROAR vs Mischief

RAG's pink 5k Santa Dash for charity.

Ticket includes medal and Santa goodies!

The wildest Christmas party in Sheffield

11pm - 3am, Foundry, Studio & Fusion, £5 adv

11am, Endcliffe Park, £10

12 Drinks of

CHRISTMAS Week 1: 2-8 Dec Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Mint Hot Chocolate Banana Hot Chocolate Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Week 2: 9-15 Dec Gingerbread Latte Pumpkin Latte Cinnamon & Honey Latte Salted Caramel Latte

Drinks are available for one week only at these prices

Only £2.75 each

including a free mini mince pie

Week 3: 16-20 Dec Gingerbread Steamer Hazelnut Steamer Pumpkin Steamer Cinnamon & Apple Steamer

19

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT

By Ellie McCaldin and Hannah McCulloch

baret of bangkok ca ys o yb lad e Th Monday December 2 to Saturday December 14, 7.30pm-10pm at the Sabai Pavilion. Tickets at http:// www.ladyboysofbangkok.co.uk If you’re tired of the traditional yuletide trip to the pantomime then the Ladyboys of Bangkok cabaret may be the perfect alternative. For the show’s first run in Sheffield the ‘No. 1 Cabaret act in Europe’ is promising a night full of music, comedy and authentic Thai food. Those that have been lucky enough to attend a Ladyboy performance in Thailand will need no encouragement. If you haven’t then trust us- you won’t want to miss it.

Devonshire Christmas

market

Buxton wint er Wonderland

Packed full of Christmas cheer, the anual Buxton winter wonderland, hosted at the Pavillion gardens, is guaranteed to perk up the grinchiest of students. There will be local choirs performing carols throughout the day, plenty of warm winter food and the opportunity to sort out all your Christmas presents in one go. Market aside, the town of Buxton, often called the ‘gateway into the peaks’, is home to Poole’s cavern, a beautiful opera house and lakes. Combine with plenty of Christmas lights and your flat December outing is sorted.

eening Interval Film Scr

Sunday November 17 from 1pm- 5pm at the Moor Sheffield. Free entry

On the last Saturday before term ends Devonshire Green will be filled with stalls run by the best of Sheffield’s independent sellers. Not just fashion, crafts and gifts, the Devonshire market always has an impressive array of food and drink on offer, as well as music from local DJs and buskers. When you’re there be sure to check out WaterMade, the student social enterprise group, who have their own stall selling recycled handmade jewellery and crafts made by independent women’s groups in Kampala, Uganda.

There are some films that can only be watched at Christmas; Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, Home Alone, Elf… The list is about as endless as the Christmas Strictly Come Dancing special. Pick your favourite and vote as Bar One and Interval are hosting an outdoor festive film screening. Both Bar One and Interval have festive seasonal menus, so bring some friends, grab a hot chocolate and get in the christmas spirit. Voting opened on Monday December 2 and can be cast on the SU wesbite or by tweeting @SU_BarOne your choice of film.

Lifestyle loves

By Hannah McCulloch

Saturday December 7 from 10.30am - 5.30pm, meet at Glossop Road at 10.30am. Tickets £5

Saturday December 14, 11am - 6pm at Devonshire Green. Free entry

Review

Fashion

Over the past few years, the Christmas jumper has been making a comeback. Year on year the classic cable knit has evolved into a new breed of sweater.

It started with the simple festive red and green knits adorned with snowflake cross-stitch patterns. Then the jumper matured to include seasonal images of smiling snowmen, or household pets cheekily wearing Santa hats.

December 2013, and the Christmas jumper has morphed again. The third wave of Christmas jumper deserves a third dimension of decoration; the more abstract the better.

If the final result doesn’t look like Father Christmas’ grandma threw up over it then you haven’t been appliqueing enough.

Concourse Couture columnist Nikita Kesharaju found this woolen masterpiece in Freshman’s Vintage Store. Check out Forgetoday.com to see her top Christmas jumper choices.

Image: Nikita Kesharaju

Spotlight on: the Moor Market

By Neelam Tailor

The end of last month saw a new shopping destination opened in Sheffield.

The Moor Market opened to the public on November 25, replacing the wellknown Castle Market which had been running since 1959. Many people held the old market close to their hearts; however one stall owner described Castle Market as “unkempt” and “in need of refurbishment”.

The new Moor Market cost £18 million to build and houses an impressive 196 stalls.

New traders run a third of the stalls, and many are yet to be allocated. I met a couple of new traders; entrepreneurs trying to appeal to the 100,000 people estimated to visit this modern and diverse marketplace every week.

Despite the tight rows of traders, a high ceiling makes the market feel open and airy. It has a very European feel due to the assortment of stalls with mismatched signs, all portraying their individuality in a place where something tempts around every corner.

For the most part, the Moor Market is a food market. Stalls sell a plethora of produce, ranging from fresh fruit and meat, to cream cakes and homemade ice cream.

Apart from the amazing culinary delights, there are also a few craft stalls selling beautiful trinkets that you can’t find on the high street.

I was drawn to a shop called Bonnie Meets Clyde because it had a vintage patchwork sign, which I was told the owner made by hand. It was filled with home furnishings, beautiful crockery, and delicate jewellery - all of which, as the owner Jenny told me, were made by her and other local artists. Stalls like these are the perfect place to pick up Christmas presents that no one else will have.

For a spot of brunch I headed over to the café quarter where I was spoilt for choice.

Full English or Jamaican pattie? I decided to go for a bit of ‘Cossack Cuisine’ and ordered the apparently infamous ‘Grenky Toast’, a cross between a crumpet and eggy bread, covered in maple syrup from the

Russian Bakery Café. The owner told me that they put a photo of the toast on their Facebook page, and suddenly huge amounts of people were coming to try it.

Naturally, I had to see what the fuss was about. It was delicious and only 75p. I will definitely be heading back there for breakfast again.

Despite impressive architecture and new traders, not everything from the old market has gone. I could see the long standing relationship between some of the old Castle Market traders. I spoke to the owners of Punch Stores and the Nut Bar, after I saw them throwing loving insults at each other over piles of stock.

Mark Holmes from Punch Stores said: “It is a better atmosphere for shopping, but the relationship between traders has changed. I was across from the same trader for 30 years, so it’s changed”.

The Moor Market is a big melting pot of different stalls and trades.

I would definitely recommend going when you’re hungry and have time to venture down every aisle.

Photos: Neelam Tailor

20

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

TOOMUCHCLOTHING Think you’ve got a lot on? Imagine balancing a degree with running your own fashion brand.

Lifestyle met with student designer and fashion entrepreneur Hayden James, the brains behind the brand Too Much Clothing.

Can you tell us a bit about TMC, how and when did you start your own fashion label?

Although Too Much Clothing officially started in October 2012, it all really began the summer of 2012. Initially I made my own tie-dye t-shirts and after wearing them a few times friends, and even people I didn’t know, started asking me how they could get one themselves. For a month or so I was just sticking to making one off tie-dye t-shirts then I thought to myself that I wanted the people who see my tops to know exactly who made them and how to find them. This was the birth of Too Much Clothing. I designed a big bold logo to match the brightness of the t-shirts and got it printed on the front. The name just came instinctively. The phrase ‘too much’ can be used as slang for when something is good or cool so having Too Much Clothing can be interpreted in several ways.

How has TMC grown and developed since it first began?

We are now just over a year old and so much has changed in this short amount of time. I used to make each individual t-shirt by hand, now most of my time is spent on designing new products and coming up with ways to get them out into the world.

How difficult was is it to start marketing your clothes independently?

Marketing has been one of the most difficult factors.

So far it’s almost been non-existent other than through friends and online social networking sites.

This has brought TMC a good following but it can never be big enough. Joe Harrod, a PR and media student has recently become a new member to the TMC team so hopefully him coming in will make marketing a little easier.

What are you favourite pieces from the Autumn/ Winter 2013 collection?

I love them all! It’s hard to choose a favourite but I’d personally say the embroidered hands t-shirts or the baseball tops.

What are your plans for the future of the brand?

Our next main aim is building Too Much Clothing into a more established brand. Getting into shops around the UK and selling our products on other websites, not just our own. We have organised a few things in the near future, one being a pop up stand at Devonshire Green Market on Saturday December 14.

Other than the website, where can people buy your clothes?

We have our own Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages where you can contact us via email and place orders. At this time however, it’s mostly online or through word of mouth.

Where do you get inspiration for your clothes from?

Inspiration comes from all over really. From celebrities to just what people are wearing on the streets.

Was fashion and design not something that you wanted to pursue at university as a degree?

Fashion is something I feel is a hobby. It’s something I really enjoy doing and would love to pursue but I didn’t want to just follow the that one path. Doing a degree and having this clothing line gives me great options in the future and who knows, I may just end up combining the two.

I’m not a person who likes to have nothing to do.

TMC isn’t just a fun project to me but at this time I know my degree is the most important thing on my plate. Balancing it has been fairly simple so far, when I have uni I just let TMC do its thing and then over the summer, when we have time off from studying, I put everything into making this clothing line work.

What are some of your favourite independent fashion retailers?

Brand wise it’s hard to say, I love to support other local designers like myself so Hopeless Youth is a good one. Then on a bigger scale labels like Supreme and Odd Future are probably my personal favourites.

How many items have you sold since you started?

Since I started recording sales we have sold over 500 items. It’s hard to get an exact figure as we have only been recording since the website was up and running but online sales have now reached over 500.

Where do you shop in Sheffield, or do you only wear TMC?

In Sheffield I would mostly shop down Division Street. The Forum is a cool place to check out and a few other independent retailers. Maybe one day soon TMC will be stocked in some of these stores.

Other than that the only high street shop I really buy things from is Zara. 75 per cent of the time I wear TMC but sometimes you’ve just got to mix it up.

To find designs by Hayden go online to www. toomuchclothing.com or head over to the Devonshire Christmas market on December 14.

Do you find it difficult to balance TMC with your degree? How do you keep motivated when you have so much on your plate?

By Hannah McCulloch and Ellie McCaldin Image: TooMuchClothing

21

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Giving back

WaterMade

By Hannah Williams

In March 2014, local Sheffielder Liam Garcia, founder of the charity ‘The Long Well Walk’, will make a record breaking walk all the way from London to Cape Town, setting up sustainable water projects in the most disadvantaged parts of Africa along the way.

Not only has the campaign received national attention from the Guardian and Tedx, but there are also talks of a BBC documentary based on the trip.

In order for Liam to complete his mission to provide clean, safe water to as many people as possible, he will need financial aid and constant support along the way. This is where WaterMade comes in.

WaterMade is a student run social enterprise set up in partnership with the student group, Enactus Sheffield. They are a 100 per cent non-profit and volunteermanaged organisation that aims to provide Liam with a sustainable funding source so he can continue with his work across Africa.

This is only part of Watermade’s venture; 50 per cent of profits go towards Liam’s water projects, but the other half goes to the charity group ‘Kid’s Club Kampala’, which helps

Fashion

vulnerable children on the streets of Uganda through education and community development programmes.

Through their community links with the Kid’s Club, WaterMade is building targeted and individual driven grassroots development.

This work is also supported by the Department for International Development, highlighting what a difference these projects can make.

So how does WaterMade actually raise money? The student group currently sells recycled handmade jewellery and crafts made by independent women’s groups in Kampala, Uganda. These women are self-taught artisans and gather

the craft materials from discarded rubbish on the city streets, which they then transform into a whole variety of crafts; it’s amazing the things they can do with someone else’s rubbish.

This not only means that all WaterMade’s products are handmade and unique but also enables the enterprise to provide a sustainable income for these women whilst boosting their confidence as skilled entrepreneurs.

WaterMade hopes that by transferring these valuable business and marketing skills, it will help break down gender and class barriers in some of the poorest parts of Kampala.

With Christmas fast approaching WaterMade’s products make for a unique, personal gift while also supporting multiple causes. Over the next few weeks keep your eyes peeled for the WaterMade’s team around the University and local Sheffield markets where they’ll be selling beautiful handmade crafts, ranging from recycled jewellery to funky African aprons.

They’ve also got a few of products stocked in Space 205 in Crookes, but if you don’t want to venture out of the house then look on WaterMade’s wesbite http://watermade.org. uk, or on www.etsy.com.

If you want to find out more about the charities WaterMade support check out http://thelongwellwalk.org and http:// kidsclubkampala.org For information on how to get involved with WaterMade visit their website or social media on Facebook or Twitter (@watermadeuk)

Concourse Couture

By Nikita Kesharaju

Robbie Payne First year, Int. Business Management Wearing: hoodie from Delhi, India, jacket from Cow, shoes found at festival, jeans from Topman

Alex Johnson First year, English Lang and Linguistics Wearing: coat from Primark, dress from New Look, shoes from Moda in Pelle

Declan Gardener Third year, Biomedical Science Wearing: camouflage jacket from Barber, shoes from Converse, jeans from All Saints

Jenny Skaaret Masters, Law Wearing: coat from Primark, bag from Topshop, boots from Swedish brand Scorett, Jumper from Monki

22

Fri day November 8 2013 F O RG E P RESS

COFFEE BREAK TWEETS OF THE FORTNIGHT

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

This Christmas scene looks like it has come straight out of the pages of a fairy tale, full of festive cheer and olde-worlde decor. With this in mind you may be surprised to learn that in fact the photograph was taken in the Wortley Arms pub, in the village of Wortley just outside Sheffield.

This week’s photograph was taken by Paul Cocker: find him on Twitter at http://bit.ly/18aDjOy.

Photograph of the fortnight: The Wortley Arms at Christmas

Photo: Paul Cocker

Santa Claus is coming to town The streets of Liverpool were packed with Father Christmases this week as thousands of runners dressed up to take part in the 10th anniversary of the city’s annual Santa Dash.

The Santas were ambushed by an a-capella flash mob who serenaded them with Christmas carols at the beginning of the race; Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle then officially got the race under way, but didn’t compete due to a torn calf muscle.

Competitors followed a five kilometre track through Liverpool, passing some of the city’s famous landmarks en route.

Any small children in attendance were undoubtedly surprised and disappointed by the sudden thousands of Santas rushing past with no presents to deliver.

The official charity partner of the Santa Dash is Claire House

Children’s Hospice, with other support coming from Walking With Giants charity and this year’s media charity, Liverpool Unites for Alder Hey Children’s Charity. A worthy display of Christmas spirit for a very good cause.

Organisers of the event hoped to reclaim the world record for ‘largest gathering of Santas’, currently held by Las Vegas with over 10,000 participants. 8,500 people took part in Liverpool’s Santa Dash last year, so maybe this time the title will be theirs - but only if they are on Santa’s nice list, as Las Vegas are staging their own Santa Dash later this month in an effort to remain the undisputed Christmassy champions of the world.

Word of the fortnight Kallikantzaroi, noun (pl.): 1. Malevolent goblins in Greek folklore. They dwell underground but come to the surface for the 12 days of Christmas, causing mischief wherever they go.

...

now k u o y id

D

The figure of Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra, who lived during the fourth century. He is the patron saint of many activities, including the not quite so festive pastimes of pawnbroking, thievery, butchery and pirating.

It has been calculated that Santa Claus would have to travel at 650 miles a second and visit 822 homes every second to deliver presents to the world on Christmas Eve. The force of this acceleration would reduce Santa to ‘chunky salsa’.

Going green for Christmas Brussels sprouts are not what most of us are looking forward to in the Christmas season.

Good news - for those of us that really can’t stomach our sprouts at Christmas, an alternate use has been found for the little green vegetables that we all love to hate.

Scientists from The Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair have used 1,000 raw sprouts to power the lights on an eight-foot Christmas tree.

The unusual battery is made up of five power cells that each contain 200 sprouts. Each sprout has a copper and a zinc electrode embedded into it; a chemical reaction takes place between the zinc and copper, which creates energy that is converted into a current to power the Christmas lights. The sprouts in the battery are no longer edible - a great loss - but will last up to a month before running out of power.

This achievement is made more surprising by the fact that any fruit or vegetable could have been used, and in fact sprouts are one of the least efficient choices, as juicier plants are better at conducting electricity: dry leafy sprouts aren’t ideal.

The sprout battery was unveiled on the Southbank, London, and will stay as an installation throughout the Christmas season.

Paul Jackson, the CEO of EngineeringUK, which runs The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair, said: “We want young people to think about STEM subjects in an interesting way and are always looking for different ways to do that.

“It being the festive time of year – and kids’ dislike of sprouts being well documented – using them to create a battery seemed like a unique way to achieve that aim.

“Every year thousands of pupils and teachers attend the fair, which exists to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. We want to extend the buzz of the fair further and wider, so that even those who can’t attend are encouraged to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.”

Although sprouts may never be the vegetable of choice, at least they have a place outside of the edge of children’s dinner plates.

Even if it does take 1,000 of them to power one Christmas tree.

Photo: The Big Bang fair/YouTube

23

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay Novembe r 8 2013

@FPCoffeeBreak

COFFEE BREAK

/forgepresscoffeebreak

Puzzle Page: sudokus Medium

Easy 5 6

4 9

4

1

3

1 7

7 5 2

2

9 5

1 8

5 8

1

2

3 5

8

6

1

8

3

7

1 2

8

3

5

3

4

7

9

7 6

2 9

8

4

5

7 6

5

8

8

1

3

2 5

3

1 8

1

6 1

9

9

5

6

7

3 9

7

6 1

8

6

4

6

8

4

8

1 3

6 2

2

Hard

5

2

6

4

4

2

Quotes of the fortnight

“

I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.

“

”

Florence Nightingale

When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.

Alexander Graham Bell

”

dingbats

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

1.

Across:

Down:

1. Topped with an angel or a star (9,4) 8. Large, green and ugly (4) 9. Cared for (8) 10. Yield (10) 12. Ornament; trinket (6) 12. Done in secret (11) 14. The Lord’s crib (6) 15. Desire to do something unwise (10) 19. Harsh (8) 20. Recite tunefully (8) 21. Important source of energy; many diets avoid them (10)

2. New Year, och aye the noo (8) 3. Celtic tribe once led by Boadicea (5) 4. Small shaven patch on monk’s head (7) 5. Largest artery in the human body (5) 5. Sceptic and pessimist (5) 6. One born between mid-April and mid-May (7) 7. Large pitcher used for carrying water (4) 11. Declare to be wrong (8) 13. Home to rubber ducks (7) 14. Speckled, smeared (7) 16. Gift from the three kings (5) 17. Famous rival of Thomas Edison (5) 18. Atmosphere (4)

2.

3.

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

24

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

ADVERTISEMENT

25

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Matchdebating Should sledging be allowed in cricket?

Verbal abuse must be Sledging is essential driven out of the game to cricket Michael Haywood The chastening defeat suffered by England in Brisbane was the 12th heaviest in the history of the game by runs alone, but that may be the least of their worries. The departure of the ultradependable Jonathan Trott calls into question the integrity of their batting line up and their four man bowling attack looked incapable of dismissing the opposition twice cheaply. Yet the greatest concern must be the return of the Australian side’s verve, often intangible, it was ever present in their dominating sides of old. It shows itself in so many areas of their game.

Whether in the pace of their bowlers, the intensity in the field and ultimately in the ‘sledging’ which came to mar the closing acts of the first Ashes test.

It is with a degree of reluctance that any cricket fan would advocate the end of a practice which has graced us with so many fine anecdotes. Yet the departure of Jonathan Trott serves as a reminder of the extreme mental stresses in the game even before the verbal sparring begins. Sledging can so easily slip beyond mere fun and games. With the benefit of hindsight would David Warner have made his attack on Trott knowing the fragility of his mental state? What this shows is how indiscriminate sledging can be and the

varying levels of harm it can inflict, it appears too blunt a tool to be left unchecked.

“The departure of Jonathan Trott serves as a reminder of the extreme mental stresses in the game” Shane Warne branded the ICC a “disgrace” when they fined Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, over comments he made to James Anderson. Clarke was overheard telling the England quick to prepare for “a fucking broken arm” and whilst Anderson was no innocent party, having made similar threats to Australian fielders, Clarke’s comments should not be made by a captain and he was surely rightly reprimanded. So why then is so much of the media response to the issue so ambivalent?

The truth may be that the explayers, who make up so much of the press box, believe

that this is an integral part of the game at the highest level. This fierce defence of sledging appears to be rooted in an odd kind of

nostalgia for ‘how the game has always been played’ or even how it ought to be played. Equally the noises coming out of both camps on the eve of the second test suggest that this is also the view shared by the current crop of players, but is this an issue on which the players should decide?

The advances in television coverage, particularly in the clarity of the stump microphones, means that sledging is audible to the public and no longer the reserve of the autobiography.

It surely is detrimental to the games to have exchanges like this broadcast and subjected to scrutiny.

It is not only the sensibilities of the viewer at risk, but also the

Paul Martin We are just one Test into this Ashes series and already you could be forgiven for thinking we had been transported back to the 90s or early 2000s; England’s batting is folding like a pack of cards, the Australian media are full of themselves and players from opposing sides seem to have a genuine, seething dislike towards one another.

David Warner’s

comments about Jonathan Trott’s second innings at the Gabba, followed

by Trott’s

chance of juniors seeing such tactics as legitimate. It is surely time for players to recognise where the line is, which is surely somewhere before threats of assault.

18 time champion jockey AP McCoy

Photo: Dam Heap (Flickr)

Forge Sport awards

subsequent withdrawal from the tour with a stress related illness, have thrown the issue of sledging back into the forefront of cricketing debate. It is an issue which is always lurking in the background, and some of the comments from the First Test have led to calls for sledging to be banned.

This, however, misses the point. In the gripping intensity of an Ashes series, expecting the players to remain silent is like expecting to turn on the Sky coverage and hear Bob Willis say something interesting; it simply isn’t going to happen. Players trying to gain a psychological advantage is commonplace throughout sport; it could be a word in the referee’s ear, or a pre-match comment designed to place doubt in an opponent’s mind. Banning sledging would take away an integral part of the drama of test match cricket, as well as taking away the psychological test which all players must pass if they are to make it at the top level of the game.

Of course there is a line regarding sledging, and Peter Siddle’s sweary sendoff to Jimmy Anderson after Australia’s victory in the First Test, as well as Warner’s aforementioned comments, certainly crossed that. But to use these extreme incidents as evidence that all forms of sledging should be banned is over the top, as the majority of what is said on the field does not defy the oft-quoted ‘spirit of

cricket’.

As anyone who has stood in the field for a prolonged period of time can tell you, cricket is not always the most exciting of sports.

Sledging can give these duller moments some edge and excitement, and whilst it is not always the height of comedy it at least keeps the players on their toes and reminds the batsmen that they are in a game.

“Banning sledging would take away an integral part of the drama” Sledging has helped provide some of cricket’s most memorable moments, and great teams know how to use it to their advantage.

Whether you agree with it or not, psychological vulnerability is inevitably preyed upon in sport. In cricket, sledging is no more of a ‘dirty trick’ than substituting tired fast bowlers for lightning quick substitute fielders or timewasting between overs, both of which England have been particularly guilty of in the not too distant past.

Test cricket remains the pinnacle of this great sport, but its future is under threat. To ban sledging would harm over a century of tradition and take away some of the key drama from the spectacle, as well as removing some of the enjoyment for the players themselves. It is often not much more than playground humour, and as long as the players respect that there is a line which must not be crossed, sledging is something which should be allowed to continue.

Forge Sport editor Tom Pyman chooses his heroes and villains of 2013 Andy Murray

üü

The Scottish tennis star followed up his Olympic and US Open success in 2012 by becoming the first British player to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

Mo Farah

ü

The Londoner completed a historic ‘double double’ in 2013 as he added World 5,000m and 10,000m titles to his Olympic gold medals.

Luis Suarez

û

Despite some sensational goalscoring form for Liverpool, Suarez was again embroiled in controversy as he was caught biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic during a match.

Tyson Gay

ûû

The American sprinter was among several athletes that tested positive for a banned substance and brought the sport into disrepute.

26

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Sports personality of the week Forge Sport’s Will Aitkenhead met students union sports officer Emily Dibble for an interview

Why did you want to be sports officer?

I was involved in sport here at Sheffield throughout my degree, as a member then captain of the women’s cricket club, and as a member of the Sports Committee in my final year. I was considering the role in second year, and by the end of my first term on Sport Committee in my third year, I realised how much Sport here at the University meant to me.

I knew how much can be gained from taking part in sport whilst at University, and I wanted to be able to give something back and to help improve the provision of sport at all levels, as well as encouraging as many people as possible to get involved.

Has the job lived up to your expectations so far?

It’s far exceeded them already. I still find it odd how much responsibility we are given straight out of University and I am constantly learning so many valuable skills and meeting some fantastic people. I am really loving being able to commit time to meeting all our wonderful sport clubs.

Its great to be able to support our students in their sporting endeavours, be that

representing the University as part of a club, or just trying something new.

I would recommend anyone who is thinking about running to pop in to see me and I can let them know more information.

What have you found the most challenging aspect of the role?

One of the hardest things is balancing working on my objectives with the many meetings we as sabbatical officers are expected to attend, I seem to rarely be in the office.

It can also be

Photo: Emily Dibble

frustrating trying to explain why sport is worth investing in, as I feel it can provide so many benefits to our students, and the University. Luckily, attitudes seem to be changing, and the importance of sport as part of a university career is increasingly recognised.

If you were to narrow your aims for the year down to three things, what would they be and why?

The three things I am focusing on this year are disability sport, strengthening our Sport Sheffield community and encouraging links across the city, and working with Sport Sheffield to ensure student sport is at the heart of their decision making. Despite the success of the paralympics, the legacy does not seem to have hit Sheffield, and we have no disability sports provision. I am working with our Disabled Students Committee to address this and work out what we can provide. I have also been trying to promote our sports teams throughout the University and Union, to try and spread some of that support and community feeling we get at Varsity throughout the year.

Lastly, Sport Sheffield is the department that provides sport here at the University, but they are often perceived to be more of a business, than a student sport provider. I hope to make sure that everything they do takes student views into account, to ensure students get the best they can.

In terms of Varsity, what can we expect for 2014? Any new sports/events? (rumours of the boxing at ponds forge?, where will the rugby be played now?)

Varsity plans are well underway, although they are not yet finalised. One exciting development is that the skiing and snowboarding will be being held abroad in the Alps. Following the loss of the Ski Village, and the difficulties in using Swaddlicote, both Universities decided to host the competition whilst on their annual holiday.

The rumours of boxing happening at Ponds Forge are untrue; it will be hosted in the Octagon and looks to be a fantastic event as always. Rugby will be happening at Hallam’s Sports Park.

“I will never forget the minute I heard we had won Varsity”

All in all, it looks set to be a fantastic competition as always, and a real showcase of the amazing sport played here in Sheffield.

Do you feel any pressure to deliver the trophy again after Luke’s success last year?

Yes! This is the first year in my time at Sheffield that I won’t be able to be on the pitch, trying to help win a point. Instead, I aim to do all I can to help clubs win their fixtures and keep the cup. It is a group effort. I will do all I can to support our teams, provide them with what they need, and ensure the events run smoothly. And I trust them to go out there, train hard and get the job done! We have some fantastic talent in our clubs, and hopefully this year we will demonstrate again just how well we can perform.

What are your best memories from your sporting times at Uni? In my first year, the Pakistani Women’s Cricket Captain was playing for our University team. Playing alongside her in my first Varsity match was incredibly exciting. I will also never forget the minute I heard we had won Varsity last year; I was at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, putting up the decorations for the final that night and it was the best feeling imaginable! Another important moment for me was as a Cricket Committee member at the Give it a Go session last year. We had an incredible turnout and it was fantastic to see so many girls willing to try a sport they had never played before.

South Yorkshire strives for sporting success Jack Taylor

South Yorkshire is as synonymous with sport as it is with steel, but recently the doom and gloom around the area is as dark as the smoke which bellowed from its famous factory chimneys during the industrial revolution.

This weekend alone saw both Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday sack their respective managers as together they help prop up the Sky Bet Championship table.

Things don't get much better when you look at League One. Bramall Lane crowds will rarely have been less entertained in its 158 year history than they are now as Sheffield United make up a triplet of South Yorkshire relegation dog fighters.

However, if football is failing to put the area on the sporting map then where does this leave Sheffield and its surrounding areas. Can it still be seen as an organ of the British sports scene? Or is it slowly becoming a

Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday

Photo: Wikipedia

backwater of sporting success?

The closing of the Don Valley stadium and burning down of Sheffield's Ski Village suggests the areas sporting facilities are beginning to become second rate, but inferior facilities doesn't mean that there is a lack of talent.

With a population in excess of one million people, talent in the area is in abundance across the world in a variety of sports. In fact if the county were to have its own Sports Personality of the Year, few could argue that the contenders wouldn't be worthy of winning the BBC's main prize.

Despite only fighting twice in 2013, Kell Brook's dominance was such that the Sheffield born boxer is now recognised by many as a world class fighter. Two knock out victories have once again propelled him to world class status and 2014 promises to be a big one for the 27 year old, who is now the number one contender for Devon Alexander's world title.

The sport of squash was given a great big kick in the teeth this summer when they were denied a place as a new sport in the 2016 Rio Olympics, but in South Yorkshire one man continues to fly the flag of the fast paced racket sport. 2013 was a triumphant year for Nick Matthew.

The 33 year old, who trains at the Hallamshire Tennis Club in Hunters Bar, became the World

Sheffield’s Ashes hero Joe Root Open champion for the third time in November when he defeated world number two Gregory Gaultier in Manchester.

The Ashes was one of the most hotly anticipated events of the summer and although England's 3-0 demolition of the Aussies was a non contest, a young man made a name for himself on the global stage. Joe Root's 180 in the second test saw him make his mark on the series as he guided England to victory.

Local skier James Woods also warmed up for his own 2014

Photo: Wikipedia major sporting event, the Winter Olympics, in style winning silver at the World Freestyle Skiing Championships.

Although football in the area may be grinding to a halt the pistons on the rest of the sporting wheel continue to churn off talent after talent, all capable of succeeding on the global stage. In a years time it is possible that South Yorkshire will have an Olympic medalist, Commonwealth champion, and double Ashes victor.

27

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay D ecembe r 6 2013

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Sabres slaughter Manchester Met American Football BUCS North Western

Sheffield Sabres Manchester Metropolitan

38 0

Anthony Phillips Sheffield Sabres continued their fine unbeaten start to the season with a trouncing of Manchester Met Eagles at Goodwin Sports Centre last Sunday. Having completed a 29-6 victory over Manchester Tyrants weeks earlier, the Sabres were looking to do the double over Manchester Unis.

From the opening kickoff on a cold December afternoon, it was evident that the Sabres looked to dominate proceedings.

Manchester used strong safety coverage on their quarterback in order to repel the strong Sheffield defence, however this failed to work as Manchester continued to go three and out and being forced to punt the ball back to the Sabres. When Manchester managed to pop off the ball to one of their running backs or wide receivers, huge tackles from linebackers, such as Ollie Meikle, stopped it becoming anything significant.

For however strong Sheffield’s defence was, the offence was in imperious form. Constantly changing up their attack to passing and running plays, Sheffield were able to constantly rack up huge yards. With the

defence controlling proceedings, the offence received a lot of the ball during the first two quarters of possession and used it effectively by racking up a total of 32 first half points that will leave any team coming to Goodwin over the season feeling scared.

The star performer was the teams wide receiver James Sharrock who racked up a hat trick of touchdowns. Sharrock was extremely impressive, consistently catching the ball and gaining extra yards after the catch due to the poor man to man coverage of the Manchester Met secondary.

Sheffield continued to show great variety with offence, with another wide receiver Alex Laird also getting himself a touchdown.

Not content with passing through the air, Sheffield began running the ball and four games in to his rookie season Steve Burgess, a running back stormed into the end zone to put the score beyond doubt.

The second half resulted in an improved defensive approach from Manchester Eagles with them holding Sheffield to only one more touchdown, from quarterback Sam Kennett.

However Sheffield will be greatly pleased with an all round team performance that puts Sheffield in control of the division.

Sheffield head to UCLAN Rams next sunday hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

Defence was key as Sabres defence doesn’t concede a point

Photo: Philip Carpenter

Hallam too hot in local derby Womens Netball BUCS Northern 2B University of Sheffield 1s Sheffield Hallam 1s

27 37

Rob Milne University of Sheffield netball team lost to a superior Sheffield Hallam side 27-37, despite winning the corresponding fixture at Hallam early in the season.

The derby encounter was fuelled by a large and lively crowd in attendance. The atmosphere was electric. There was deep tension from the outset, with the Hallam goal attack ending up crashing to the ground following a collision. The lack of discipline from Hallam was a prominent feature throughout the first quarter, the players seemingly forgot that netball is a non-contact sport.

Hallam struggled early with the high intensity with their passes never finding their

target but the hosts did not take advantage, they could not turn good play into goals. University of Sheffield centre Naomi Parson epitomised the mood, battling for her team and University.

The opening stages were more emotionally powered than skill powered, fouls were an issue for both teams contributing to a scrappy first quarter.

There was much of the same in the second with both teams struggling be successful around the basket, even the rim seemed against Hallam as the ball refused to go in the basket.

Rough play continued as clashes got heated amongst some of the players. The black and gold deserved their lead at half time, they turned around a two point deficit and went in to the break 11-10 and were in control of the match.

Yet, it all changed in the third quarter. Hallam made tactical and personnel adjustments bringing in more of a physical presence to play around the basket, height had been the

University of Sheffield’s advantage in the first half. The visitors dominated rebounding and began to frustrate the hosts. The match slowly got out of reach as Hallam scored nine unanswered goals to fire them to a 22-13 lead, a lead that was never challenged, Hallam were unplayable in the third.

The hosts mounted a small comeback to get to 22-27 midways through the fourth but it was ultimately not good enough. Any form of attack began to break down, Sheffield had a period of dominance but they gave up easy points on the defensive side of the ball, with the final score 27-37.

Hallam was jubilant and the hosts were distraught after the loss, some of the players had never lost to Hallam. They were outplayed in the third quarter and never really looked like coming back. The teams will next meet at Varsity where the black and gold will be looking to bounce back.

ball well. Striker Becky Woods opened the scoring after half an hour, slotting past the Leeds keeper from close range. There was a late resurgence from the visitors in the last 10 minutes of the first half but the University of Sheffield defence was resolute: half time score 1-0.

Leeds equalised three minutes into the second period following a lapse of concentration from the Sheffield defence. The goal seemed to spur the Leeds side on, as they scored a second goal five minutes after the first.

Sheffield were now on the back foot but remained as creative as they had been in the first half.

Midfielder Emily Anderson put Sheffield level with 55 minutes played after a superb assist from Alice Williams who drew in the defenders in the corner, creating space for Anderson to convert.

Both sides then began to trade periods in each others’ halves: Sheffield were looking

the most likely to score next but Leeds held firm. That was until, with five minutes to go, a short corner struck by captain Sarah Bazley-Harrison was saved and the rebound tapped in by Alice Williams.

Leeds were extremely close to equalising in the last play of the match, but three Sheffield saves ensured the hosts maintained their perfect record as well as first place in the league. Anna Stonham and Alice Williams had standout performances as they linked well upfront, while Lucy Peel was solid in defence.

Sheffield hold on for vital victory Women’s Hockey BUCS Northern 2B University of Sheffield 1s University of Leeds 2s

3 2

Simon Watters

Men’s tennis 2s lost 8-4 to local rivals Hallam 1s in their relegation battle Photo: Philip Carpenter

The University of Sheffield Women’s 1s made it five wins from as many matches following a 3-2 win over Leeds 2s.

On a cloudless yet bitterly cold day, the match was preceded by a minutes silence at the request of Leeds following a recent bereavement and as such the visitors were black armbands throughout.

The first 15 minutes were fairly even, Leeds were slightly more threatening in attack but were struggling with their short corners. Striker Anna Stonham had a shot cleared off the line as both teams had plenty of chances, with Sheffield retaining the

More articles online Read more reports, fixtures and features online all fortnight

DOT COM

28

Fri day D ecember 6 2013 F O RG E P RESS

@forgesport

SPORT

/forgepress sport@forgetoday.com

Lambert brace blows Northumbria away

Mollie maddens Hallam Women’s Netball BUCS Northern 4B

University of Sheffield 2s Sheffield Hallam 2s

47 36

Jack Taylor

Sheffield put together a dominant passing game

Photo: Phil Carpenter as she scored from close range on the stroke of half-time.

The second half started as the first had ended as the home side were in control and nearly added another goal but a scrappy goalmouth scramble was eventually cleared. Northumbria then made things interesting, however, as a quick counterattack ended with the visiting striker rounding the goalkeeper and slotting into an empty net with 15 minutes still to play.

Any hopes that the visitors may have had of a comeback were extinguished just a minute later, as a short corner was played to Maddie Wilkins, who played a neat one-two and slammed home Sheffield’s fourth goal.

The final 10 minutes saw chances at both ends as the Northumbria goalkeeper did her best to keep the score down, but Sheffield put the icing on the cake with just three minutes to play when Susie Hill found the net to make the score 5-1.

It was not exactly the toughest test for the Sheffield side, but the manner of their victory and emphatic scoreline will surely fill the team with confidence ahead of the more challenging fixtures which lie ahead.

Women’s Hockey BUCS Northerm 3B University of Sheffield 2s Northumbria University 2s

5 1

Paul Martin A polished performance from Sheffield 2s saw them cruise past their Northumbria counterparts on a chilly evening at Goodwin on Wednesday.

Sheffield dominated possession from the outset, but they had to survive an early scare when a Northumbria forward was played clean through before seeing her effort well saved. It didn’t take long after that for Sheffield to break the deadlock however, as a fine ball from the right hand side was lifted into the roof of the net

by Sarah Lambert.

Sheffield had chances to double their lead but had to wait until the 26th minute to do so with what was almost an action-replay of the first goal; as Lambert again made the most of good service from the right flank to tuck home her and Sheffield’s second.

Lambert was inches away from her hat-trick moments later but couldn’t quite connect with a ball in, and it was left to Maddy Makepiece to add the third goal,

Swiveling away from trouble

Photo: Phil Carpenter

A competitive and fast paced game saw the University of Sheffield take the spoils in their derby day clash.

The University of Sheffield started the game 8 points adrift of second place Hallam in the league, but this gap wasn’t apparent as the home side started brightly.

University of Sheffield quickly settled into a free flowing passing game with wing attack Sinead Desmond and centre Gaby Hayward at the heart of it. Quick passing was allowing both Courtney Hill and Lucy McDermott to find space in the shooting circle as they ploughed into a 18-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Hallam couldn’t get control of the ball and were being forced into handling errors throughout the first half. Mollie Madden’s pressurizing defence in particular caught the eye as she managed to steal the ball on numerous occasions.

The University of Sheffield continued to dominate and by half time they were leading 3018. Good movement off the ball allowed Hill to continuously find space, she kept her cool and was clinical in front of the net.

At half time Hallam were hoping for a change in fortune but the break only spurred University of Sheffield on to add even more points winning the third quarter by 9 points to 7 to increase their lead once more.

A strong defensive display from the likes of Madden, Sophia Whitehead and Emma Jenkinson kept things tight at the back, allowing the flare players to dictate play.

Only in final quarter did Hallam really manage to get a foothold in the game as the University of Sheffield began to tire. Holly Caunt showed plenty of strength in the goal shooter position scoring two thirds of the visitor’s points, but University of Sheffield stayed strong with Emma Jenkinson showing strong leadership, as she over powered her opposite number with the home side cruising to a 47-36 victory.

As the final whistle blew the University of Sheffield girls celebrated with wild abandonment and a similar display in 2014 Varsity would be very satisfactory for the girls in black and gold.

More articles online Read more reports, fixtures and features online all fortnight

DOT COM