Forge issue 69

INSIDE: Banana hill/ titanfall/ NICK MULVEY/ LOCH FYNE/ merchant of venice/ PISTORIUS/

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

Issue 69 Friday March 21 2014 @ForgePress /ForgePress

Lifestyle rate:

The best foreign music festivals, p. 19

Screen explore:

The quests of the women of Westeros, Fuse, p. 4

Comment highlight: The marginalisation of BME students at university, p. 8

You say yes to Yael Nicola Moors, Jessica Pitocchi & Will Ross Yael Shafritz was elected the first female in 12 years to become president of the Students’ Union last night, clinching the lead by just 1.1 per cent.

Yael beat her seven rivals in this year’s officer elections with her campaign ‘Yell for Yael’ winning with 28.4 per cent of the total president votes.

She won by just 83 votes with presidential candidate Annie Lapik coming close second.

Yael entered the stage to chants of her name and tears of joy at her success from the front row.

She told Forge Press: “It’s really amazing being the first female president in 13 years but it also shows how much work we still have

to do the fact that it hasn’t been a woman for ages.

“Gender is really important and we need to make sure women feel much more empowered and that we are fighting sexism and patriarchy on the premises everyday.”

Students eagerly crowded in Bar One on elections night as the officer candidates anxiously waited in the wings to hear the results.

The development officer results kicked off the evening with third-year Geography student Jack Wyse victorious with 52.4 per cent of the votes.

Speaking to Forge Press, Jack said he’d become “close friends” with the three other development candidates.

“They’ve been so friendly and supportive,

we’ve been the best of friends for the past two weeks despite the fact we have been running against each other. I rate them so much, and I hope they agree that we can be friends for a long time.”

Next to take to the stage was Malaka Mohammed Shwaikh, who won the role of education officer, beating the three other candidates.

The education officer stormed to victory with the biggest win of the night achieving 53.7 per cent of the votes.

After much whooping and running around in excitement, she was just about able to squeeze a few words of thanks out to everyone who voted and supported her.

Read full elections results on pages 6-7

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Editor

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

DEPUTY EDITOR Jessica Pitocchi

House fire possibly sparked by e-cigarette

Managing Editor Mikey Smith

Camille Brouard

Nicola Moors

fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Karen Scattergood HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com matthew Smith News news@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer Patrick O’Connell 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 Joseph Bamford Thomas Pyman Jack Taylor Music music@forgetoday.com Nicky Crane Rachel Smith Games games@forgetoday.com Joanne Butcher Reece Nunn Screen screen@forgetoday.com Kate Lovatt Will Ross Arts arts@forgetoday.com Camille Brouard Lizzie Hyland COPY EDITORS Rosanna Austin Chloe Coleman Samantha Fielding Polly Winn Elizabeth Richardson Matthew Smith PICTURE EDITOR Josh Rock M edi a H u b, U n io n o f Student s, We s t e r n B an k , S hef f ie ld, S10 2T G 0114 2 2286 46 // f or gepr e ss@f o r g e t o day.co m

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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 .

A blaze at a student house in Broomhall may have been caused by an e-cigarette plugged into a laptop.

Liam Crouch, a resident of the house, told Forge Press fire officers were “pretty sure [the fire] was electrical, possibly an issue with an e-cig plugged into a laptop”.

The fire broke out on Broomspring Lane at 3pm on Friday March 14.

The fire department has not yet officially confirmed the cause, although they have been contacted.

By 4pm the residents of the house were allowed back inside by the authorities but only to the communal living area because the other rooms were still being checked for damages.

None of the residents were injured by the fire but Crouch told Forge Press one bedroom has been deemed ‘no longer liveable’ by the fire services due to damage.

Crouch said the e-cigarette was in the room most damaged.

The residents are currently awaiting more information about the complete extent of the damages.

University of Sheffield Physics student Crouch said: “Everybody is fine, the fire alarm went off quickly and the smoke upstairs was fairly abundant.”

Crouch lives with nine other people, including eight University of Sheffield students.

Police and fire services outside the house in Broomhalll

Photo: Patrick O’Connell

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Redbrick universities losing their place in the top 100 Neelam Tailor The UK’s redbrick universities are dropping from the world’s top 100, with Sheffield, Leeds and Bristol all losing their places.

The UK has 10 universities in the top 100 this year, one more than in 2013.

Bristol University dropped out this year, Leeds lost its place last year, and Sheffield dropped out in 2012.

The gap between the ‘golden triangle’, made up of London, Oxford, and Cambridge, and the rest of the UK universities is widening.

Rankings editor Phil Baty said: ‘The UK has lost three big-name universities from the list of the world’s 100 most prestigious institutions since the rankings were first published in 2011.”

Cambridge is the highest placed UK institution, at fourth place, one down from 2013. Oxford dropped one place to number five.

The rankings are based on reputation, and expert senior academics judge the excellence of the institutions.

US institutions are cementing their

CRIME

dominance over international league tables with 46 US universities in the world’s top 100.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University College Union, said: “The UK continues to punch above its weight on the global stage, but as other countries invest in their universities and move up global league tables, we risk being overtaken.”

Harvard University in the US is ranked highest in the table, and has held the first place for four years in a row.

POLITICS

Bungling burglar snared by selfie

Visa process story hits Commons

Patrick O’Connell

Jessica Pitocchi

A burglar who accidentally sent a selfie to his victim’s work colleagues has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

Ashley Keast, 25, of Norfolk Court, Rotherham, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on March 18.

Co-defendant Anthony Hunt, 27, from Garbroads Crescent, Thrybergh was also sentenced to 18 months for burglary.

The pair pleaded guilty at earlier hearings.

Keast and Hunt broke into a couple’s house at Fernleigh Drive, Brinsworth, Rotherham, on September 11 last year, while the homeowners were away on holiday.

Keast stole a sim card from the property and, using another phone, took a selfie and posted it on WhatsApp messenger application.

However, Keast also unwittingly sent the picture to the victim’s work colleagues, who became suspicious and contacted police.

The next day the pair were arrested.

On the night of the offence, the

culprits had borrowed a friend’s car to apparently buy cigarettes but had instead used it to commit the burglary.

The pair forced open the rear patio door and stole a large quantity of electrical items, jewellery and an Audi A4, collectively valued at £27,000.

The damaged car was located nearby Centenary Way, Rotherham.

The stolen Rolex watch, worth £4000, was found wrapped in a towel behind a radiator in Keast’s flat and returned to the victim.

PC Adam Broughton, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Burglaries cause the victims and their families a great deal of pain and suffering and in this case many items of sentimental value can never be replaced.

“South Yorkshire Police is committed to identifying and arresting offenders. The result of this case should act as a deterrent to would-be offenders who should think twice about committing such offences.”

A video which provides an insight into the application process for international students to study in the UK has been premiered in the House of Commons.

The six-minute video, pioneered by the University and the Students’ Union, was previewed at a special event held at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday March 19.

It attempts to raise awareness and understanding of the application and preparation process for international students to study at leading UK universities.

The behind-the-scenes film features two international students from China and follows their journey of being accepted to come to the UK to study for a higher education qualification.

The film documents from their application process at the Visa Application Centre and their webcam interviews with the UK-based Home Office to the successful receipt of their visas.

Viewers also watch the students phone their parents to tell them the news and follows

them to the airport before they leave for their study.

The parents of the students in the video explain how they would like their children to study in the UK because they would be provided with better opportunities.

Another international student featured in the video says: “As a student, your intention is simply education. It’s not about immigration issues.”

The campaign was made in collaboration with the UK government and has the support of over 80 universities as well as partner bodies the British Council and the NUS. International students’ officer Alex Kohnert, who attended the event hosted by University vicechancellor Sir Keith Burnett, said: “We had a really great turn out from staff, students and politicians.

“We were lucky enough to have the immigration minister come along who hasn’t actually talked to students anytime in his job.

“We had a rare opportunity to talk to a real decision maker.”

You can watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1eSAdi4.

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

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Gay couple set for midnight marriage Yvette Tan Sheffield is set to be the first city in the UK to host the wedding of a same-sex couple.

Kyle Emerson, 25, and Richie Wood, 28, plan to wed on March 29 under the new equal marriage law which comes into force on the same day.

The pair, who are set to marry at midnight at the town hall, first met at a Manchester club on New Year’s Eve 2006.

They have been together for seven years since and engaged for a year.

Wood said: “We are excited about the prospect of being the first in Sheffield.

“It’s a real honour, but we are more interested in celebrating the equality that’s been achieved and our love and commitment to each other.”

The couple, who live in Hillsborough and both work for Sheffield Hallam

University, had previously considered the prospect of a civil partnership.

Emerson said: “For us it is about equality.

“I don’t see my relationship as any different so why should it be called something different?”

LGBT Sheffield secretary Neale Gibson said that the council was supportive of the marriage and that it would “put Sheffield on the map as a city of equality.”

He said: “Sheffield was the first city to make steel, lead new technology, and now to have the first equal marriage.”

Existing marriages of gay couples that took place overseas will also be legally recognised.

Plans are also in place to allow couples in civil partnerships to ‘upgrade’ to marriages from late 2014.

In a discovery that heralds a new era for physics, scientists working on the BICEP2 instrumentation at the south pole have confirmed the theory of inflation after detecting primordial gravitational waves.

Inflation states that the universe expanded 100 trillion trillion times in the first fractions of a second after the big bang, leaving behind ripples in the very fabric of space and time.

The announcement has been described as “the discovery of the century”, as it could lead to the holy grail of modern physics: linking gravity to quantum mechanics in a unified ‘theory of everything’.

Daniel King

Breast cancer gene linked to brain development

Kyle and Richie

Photo: Facebook

YOUR UNIVERSITY

Council in the hot seat Inspirational film catalyst for women in academia over chair costs Thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been spent on expensive furniture for Sheffield city council, according to a recent Freedom of Information request.

Of the £26,000 spent on new furniture for Moorfoot Building, £17,000 has being used solely for 230 chairs.

The remaining £9,000 has been splashed out on tables for the city centre offices.

The cost has caused Liberal Democrat council members to criticise Labour for excessive spending.

Cllr Andrew Sangar, Liberal Democrat spokesman for finance said: “Local residents will be furious that, at a cost of £75 a chair, their tax has been poured into plush furniture for swanky

council offices.

“These latest revelations make it clear that they [Labour] simply weren’t being open and honest with local people.”

A total of £8 million is being used for the refurbishment of the pyramid-shaped building.

Further work expected to be completed on Sheffield town hall and Howden House which will cost a further £2.8million.

A spokesman for Sheffield city council said: “The refurbishment of Moorfoot is part of the council’s Office Accommodation Strategy that was approved three years ago and gained all-party support at the time, as the council aimed to avoid future costs and introduce more efficient working practises.”

Estel Farrel Roig Five academics and a PhD student took part in a short film about the progression of women in academia as part of International Women’s Week.

In the seven-minute film, the women talk about their experiences to raise awareness of the lack of female professors in the UK. Dr Katie Edwards, a lecturer in the Biblical Studies department, said: “To that ambitious woman out there I’d say don’t ever let anyone make you think that ‘ambition’ is a dirty word and never accept no for an answer.”

Director of Women in Engineering Prof Elena RodriguezFalcon said: “It is a combination of conscious and unconscious-bias as well as lack of self-confidence that stop women from succeeding.”

“Being able to say ‘I am good at what I am good at’ is something women are not good at – not even in paper.”

Edwards said: “there’s a serious issue with women being ‘trained’ not to ‘big themselves up’. Women tend to find it more difficult to speak positively about themselves, their work and their achievements for fear of being perceived as arrogant or ‘bragging’.”

They believe support from other women has been crucial for them.

They praise mentoring schemes and groups like TUoS, which provides support for women staff.

Prof Lorraine Maltby, of the environmental biology department, said: “The Athena SWAN initiative has been an excellent catalyst to alter our attitudes so that talent can flourish in our university.”

CRIME

Jail for armed Bargain Beers raid pair Lauren Procter Two men have been sentenced to a total of eight-and-a-half years in jail after raiding Bargain Beers off-licence on West Street last year.

Aafi Mohamed and Mustafa Suleiman entered the store wearing balaclavas and

Still from CCTV footage

Technology

Gravitational wave discovery

YOUR CITY

Alex Grove

SCIENCE &

threatened the shopkeeper with an imitation rifle at around 5.40am on Friday November 8.

19-year-old Mohamed and accomplice Suleiman, 20, pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an imitation firearm at Sheffield Crown Court in January.

Mohamed pointed the rifle at a member of staff, whilst Suleiman launched himself over the counter and demanded the shopkeeper to open the tills.

The shopkeeper opened the till and Suleiman began stashing hundreds of pounds into a white plastic carrier bag.

The pair then left the store and headed onto Cavendish Street.

Suleiman, of Netherthorpe, Sheffield, has been sentenced to a four-year sentence while Mohamed, from Moss Side, Manchester, has been given

four-and-a-half years.

No customers were present in the store at the time of the offence.

The rifle and some clothing was discovered by a local city worker, just 300 metres from the scene of the crime.

Forensic analysis later confirmed many of the items were linked to the offenders.

Workers at Bargain Beers were said to be shaken but unharmed.

Anna Sedgwick, detective constable of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Members of the public should be able to go to work without fear of violence. These lengthy custodial sentences should act as a deterrent for those considering committing similar offences.”

Third-year Linguistics student Amy Longmore said: “West Street is always such a lively and popular place, especially at night.

“I’m surprised it has been targeted for an armed robbery, but I’m pleased the courts have taken the incident so seriously.”

The gene BRCA1 is well known for its role in breast cancer development but recent evidence suggests it may also play a role in brain regulation and evolution.

BRCA1 proteins in the breasts and ovaries prevent new tumour formation by fixing damaged DNA. New research conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California revealed that mice with a mutant BRCA1 gene possessed fewer neurons and other brain irregularities.

High levels of BRCA1 were observed to be essential for the development of mouse brain tissue, without which mice developed brains one third of their natural size.

Such affects are not seen in women with a mutated BCRA1 gene.

Victoria Stanway

Photo: Wikimedia University’s ambitious cell imaging project The University’s Florey institute has unveiled an ambitious project to make itself a world leader in cell imaging.

They plan to use £6million to install state-of-the-art equipment and bring together experts to tackle current problems in microscopy.

Visualising cells is fundamental to us understanding how infectious agents interact with their hosts in order to create new treatments.

Bacteria such as MRSA are extremely small and limitations with current microscopy techniques makes studying them difficult. The use of superresolution microscopy will allow the university to understand the life of such organisms and hopefully interrupt those life processes giving rise to new antibiotics.

Connor McCarry

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UniNEWS Arts Tower explosion leaves carpark crater

Interesting stories from other universities around the world

University of Hull students could have been aboard missing plane

The University of Hull has expressed concern about reports that one of its students could have been a passenger on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight.

Yue Wenchao, 26, was one of the passengers on board flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 and has not yet been found.

There were 239 passengers on board the flight.

The University has said that it has a student of the same name and age registered, but cannot confirm whether it is the same man.

Registrar and secretary Jeannette Strachan told BBC News: “We are deeply concerned to hear that Yue Wenchao, a student in the final stages of his MSc degree with Hull University Business School, may be among the passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines’ flight.

Lauren Archer Researchers discover new “chicken from hell” dinosaur Paleontologists from American universities have discovered a new species of dinosaur, nicknamed the “chicken from hell”.

Anzu Wyliei, named after an ancient mythological bird daemon, is thought to have been a giant raptor, with chicken-like features and feathers.

The creature would have lived in the North and South Dakota areas of the United States 66 million years ago.

Researcher Emma Schachner from the University of Utah said: “It was a giant raptor, but with a chicken-like head and presumably feathers.

“The animal stood about 10 feet tall, so it would be scary as well as absurd to encounter.”

Lauren Archer

The crater left on the surface of the Arts Tower carpark Patrick O’Connell An explosion has left a hole the size of a small car in the Arts Tower car park last Friday.

A University of Sheffield spokesman confirmed that the blast was caused by a burst water pipe.

The area was cordoned off

Women students locked in during Holi festival Authorities at the Punjabi University, Northern India, locked female university students in their hostels on Holi, the Hindu festival of colours.

The authorities said that allowing the women out on the day of the festival could lead to “nuisance” on campus.

Holi, which took place on Monday March 17, is an ancient Hindu religious festival that involves the throwing of water and coloured powder.

Women were allowed out of the campus hostels for an hour during the festival, but confined to their rooms for the rest of the day.

Neelam Tailor

immediately after the incident, though nearby University buildings such as the Arts Tower remained open.

The pipe, owned and maintained by French transnational company Veolia, burst at around 2pm on Friday March 14.

Darren Hardwick, the

university’s travel planner said that “there was a significant failure to the Veolia district heating supply,” resulting in heating failures in various nearby buildings.

The cause of the explosion which left a smoking crater has still not been fully discovered.

“Further investigations in

to the cause of the failure are ongoing,” Hardwick said.

Until the problem is resolved the university is no longer offering visitor parking on the car park.

Temporary fencing and signage is currently in place until repairs are completed.

YOUR UNIVERSITY

New scholarships for Indian students Neelam Tailor The University have announced a range of scholarships on offer to students from India.

The scholarships are available to students who show exceptional academic potential and are starting their studies at the University of Sheffield in September 2014.

There are five Indian merit undergraduate scholarships available.

Each one is worth £7,000 per year of study for all programmes except Medicine and Dentistry.

The scholarships will be in the form of fee

reduction.

Eligibility is based on Indian nationality, and application for a study place by June 20 2014.

There are also postgraduate scholarship opportunities available for Indian students who are starting a postgraduate taught masters programme in 2014.

There is a £1,000 India Sheffield scholarship for student studying Nanotechnology courses.

There are a further 10 India merit postgraduate scholarships available with a £7,000 fee reduction available for one year.

The University of Sheffield is also involved

YOUR CITY

Redevelopment boost for Sheffield shoppers Patrick O’Connell

Photo: Flickr/Kiran Jonnalagadda

Photo: Patrick O’Connell

A new £40 million plan to redevelop city centre shopping in Sheffield has been announced.

The new fund, which replaces the scrapped Sevenstone scheme, involves the city council putting up £40 million of its land in a bid to encourage investors back into the city centre.

Tax Incremental Finance worth £50 million, which allows local authorities to undertake infrastructure improvements through borrowing against what it will get back in future business rates will also be available for the redevelopment scheme.

With a completion date of spring 2019 planned for the development, the council look set to team up with private businesses to deliver the shopping complex.

Simon Green, executive

director of the council’s place management scheme, told the Star: “We still need that private investment. It is too big and too risky for the council to do on its own.”

It is hoped that work on a 600,000 square-foot retail and leisure space in the city centre will commence next summer.

Sheffield City Council are eager to progress with plans to redevelop the city centre, following fears that businesses are being lost to out-of-town shopping centres such as Meadowhall.

Since its opening in 1990, the city centre has been in competition to win back shoppers who have favoured the shopping centre.

Council chief executive John Mothersole showcased the venture, called the Sheffield Investment Fund, at the international real estate conference MIPIM in Cannes, France this week.

in the ‘GREAT Scholarship Programme’ which has the single largest number of scholarships ever launched in a year in India.

It offers around 370 scholarships worth almost one million pounds.

There are numerous other scholarships available to international students in the Engineering, Science, Law, Arts, Social Science, and Management courses.

The University are taking part in such scholarships to fulfill the ambitions of young, talented Indian and other international students, studying in the UK.

CRIME

Fraudster who stole from friend’s business jailed Patrick O’Connell A fraudster who pocketed £1.2 million from his best friend’s business, causing 350 job losses, was sentenced to four years in jail.

James William Burdall, 49, formerly of Bents Green, Sheffield, admitted four counts of fraud by abuse of position at an earlier hearing.

He was sentenced at the hearing on March 13 at Sheffield Crown Court.

Burdall was sentenced to four years imprisonment for each charge, to be served concurrently.

The financial crime investigation unit of South Yorkshire Police first began their investigations following allegations made by Burdall’s former friend Lawrence Wosskow.

Wosskow was the owner of Bradwells Ice Cream Limited, as well as the Out of Town Leisure Group Limited, a holding that operated a number of food outlets across the UK – the majority of which were at Meadowhall.

After suffering from a heart attack in 2006, Wosskow decided to emigrate with his family and left Burdall to oversee his business.

But Burdall instead siphoned funds to his personal account in order to

“fund a lavish lifestyle, including fine art, private school fees and an indoor swimming pool and landscaped gardens at his Sheffield home,” South Yorkshire Police said.

In July 2010, Wosskow was informed by a business associate that Burdall had been taking money.

Shortly afterwards Out of Town Leisure Group was placed into administration, causing 350 people to lose their jobs, including 100 at Meadowhall.

Burdall cheated £400,000 from Out of Town Leisure Group and over £775,000 out of Bradwell’s Ice Cream.

Graham Wragg, fraud manager at South Yorkshire Police, said of Burdall: “In his self-serving pursuit of an extravagant lifestyle he caused the loss of the livelihood of 350 ordinary individuals and risked further damage to the health of his former friend.

“I am very glad that he has now been brought to justice and will pay for his crimes, which left hundreds of hardworking people out of work through no fault of their own.”

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Desert marathon couple on track with 160-mile run for Neurocare Lauren Archer A Sheffield couple is taking part in a non-stop 160-mile ultramarathon through the desert in order to raise money for charity.

Sue and Shaun Braddock, 50 and 51, will be taking part in the Ocean Floor Race, running 160 miles through the Egyptian Western desert, carrying all their equipment and food on their backs.

The race is the equivalent of six back-to-back marathons.

They are taking part in order to raise money for local charity Neurocare.

As a neurosurgery and neuromedicine nurse at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sue has experience working with Neurocare, who provide care and equipment for patients with neurological disorders.

Sue’s mum and Shaun have both been treated on the wards

and benefited from the charity.

Shaun, who says he and his wife have been training for the event since last December, told Forge Press: “To get involved in endurance sports you need to be committed to the training it involves and gradually build up your training to minimize injury.

“Finding someone or a group of people to train with is good, because you motivate each other.

It helps if you enjoy what you are doing and are passionate about your choice of sport and the charity you are supporting.”

“We are both ready for the event, they say that long distance running is 90 per cent mental, and the other 10 per cent is in your head. So being mentally prepared is very important” Shaun and Sue are raising sponsorship money online at http://www.justgiving.com/ oceanfloor

Sue and Shaun Braddock

National News

Toddler’s toy phone shouts expletives A shocked grandfather has spoken of his anger after finding that a toy he bought for his 18-month-old grandchild swore when a button was pushed.

The toy telephone was designed to read numbers allowed when they were pressed, but instead of saying the number six, the phone would say “fuck”.

Joe McManus, the concerned grandparent, told the Huffington Post: “Call me old-fashioned but I believe that a child’s first words should be mum or dad, or maybe please and thank you, but not four-letter swear words,” A spokesman for ASDA, where the toy was purchased, said: “We sold 20,000 of these products last year and this is the first complaint we’ve had of this nature.”

Patrick O’Connell

Photo: Facebook

YOUR CITY

Steel city superhero comic sent out to school students

famous exports, was invented.

The project is receiving strong support fromsupported by science, technology, engineering and manufacturing (STEM) ambassadors.

These ambassadors encourage school students to choose technical subjects for their GCSEs, with the hope of getting more people involved in university courses and careers related to science and engineering.

Dr Dunkley said: “Students will enjoy reading Stainless and see Harry as a role model.

He was a barefoot child who left school at 11 to become one of our leading industry pioneers, putting Sheffield on the world map with stainless steels.”

Students will also discover the key to a treasure hunt, taking them around the city. The winner will be recieve a package of educational prizes.

The book will be available to download from www.sheffieldstainless.co.uk in due course.

Will Ross More than 14,000 Sheffield students between the ages of 12 and 13 are being given a copy of a new graphic novel, Stainless.

The novel celebrates the invention of stainless steel alloy in Sheffield over 100 years ago by Harry Brearley, who stars as a superhero figure.

The full colour 64-page modern murder thriller features flashbacks about the life of Brearly and has QR codes embedded on the pages for young students to research further, with the purpose of getting children interested in Sheffield’s famous history of technology.

The project was inspired by engineer and Rotarian Dr John Dunkley and has been supported by a range of local companies such as Gripple.

Stainless was written by local storyteller Andy Messer, and illustrated by Bob Moulder and Kieron Edwards, who will be running roadshows to support the campaign.

The comic has been written to give students an insight into Sheffield’s industrial past and details how stainless steel, one of Sheffield’s most

A page from Stainless

Student rubs shoulders with Prince of Wales

University ranks near top quarter for employability

Student scoops £5,000 for article on education

University of Sheffield student Carly Williams had a close encounter with the Prince of Wales at an awards ceremony in London.

The 21-year old Social Work student won the Samsung Young Achiever of the Year award at the Prince’s Trust event.

Williams spent 13 years in care fighting depression and struggling to live independently.

However, after completing the trust’s programme she is filled with confidence and is thriving in her degree.

Others were also awarded for achieving highly in community project, as well as business and enterprise.

Renowned stars who attended the event include Ben Kingsley, Dame Helen Mirren, Victoria Pendleton, Mark Ronson, and singer Laura Mvula.

The University of Sheffield ranks at 26th position out of UK universities in terms of graduate employability, with 72 per cent securing employment within six months.

The Students Have Your Say survey from February found graduates apply to 12 jobs on average before gaining employment, research has shown.

The poll of 2,000 UK students and graduates, commissioned by the professional networking site LinkedIn, also found one in four students receive no feedback from unsuccessful applications.

The survey also found that two thirds of students feel unprepared for the world of work at the time of graduation, and more than half (52 per cent) said that universities do not teach the skills needed to gain a job after their degree.

A University of Sheffield student has won £5,000 for an article she submitted to the Sunday Times about the role a university education plays in a future career.

Law student Emma Blake won the newspaper’s journalism prize after her piece was judged the best of over 3,000 entries.

The nationwide competition asked students to submit 500 words answering the question: ‘How confident do you feel about your future career and do you think university is helping you?’

Emma, who lives in Sheffield city centre, told the Sheffield Star: “It’s pretty crazy to know I’m the winner. I’ve had a very good reaction from family and friends so I feel pretty good.”

The 22-year-old intends to put the funds towards a legal practice course.

Photo: Emma in Candyland Vengeful Gumtree buyer texts seller complete works of Shakespeare A disgruntled Gumtree user who was ripped off by a seller got his revenge by texting him the complete works of Shakespeare.

Edd Joseph, 24, bought a PlayStation 3 console for £80 on the trading website, but never received his purchase.

In an effort to turn this tragedy into a comedy, he’s started texting the seller the entire works of Shakespeare (not including sonnets), all 835,000 words.

The works have been sent as a single text, but will be received as 29,305 individual texts over the course of almost a week.

Mr Joseph told the Telegraph, the longest play, Hamlet, took 1,143 text messages and that he had started receiving abuse from the seller.

Lauren Archer Woman claims to have been saved by dog’s accidental first aid A woman is claiming that her dog saved her life by accidentally performing the Heimlich maneuver when she was choking on a sweet.

Rachel Hayes, from Carmarthenshire, 40, was doubled over after choking on a fruit pastille when her springer spaniel Mollypops stood on her back, helping her cough the sweet out and open her airways.

Rachel told the Mirror: “She’s an absolute hero.

“I was having difficulty breathing but Mollypops’ sixth sense kicked in and she knew I was in trouble.

“I gave Mollypops lots of cuddles and, as a thank you, I bought her a squeaky chicken and some doggy sweets.”

Jessica Pitocchi

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@forgepress

ELECTIONS

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com

opment l e v e d SU officer

yse

Jack W

Education offi

cer

Malaka Moha

mmed

fficer

o Activities

ngton

Clio Symi

Women’s o

fficer

The 2014-15 Union officer team (Jack Wyse absent) continued from p.1 A clearly ecstatic Malaka said: “It’s really difficult to describe my feelings.”

With just 418 votes separating first and second place, the new activities officer Clio Symington beat her nearest rival, Pete Buchanan.

Clio said: “I can’t wait to get started with it all to be honest, and start changing things.”

José Diaz De Aguilar Puiggari won international students’ officer with 1795 votes, narrowly pipping Ghazel Etoum who got 1517 votes.

He told Forge Press: “I feel overwhelmed.

I thought I had a small chance, I thought I

wasn’t the favourite.

“I’ve been on my own a lot of the time in physical campaigning, trying my best. I am really proud of what I have done. I really want to call my family and tell them.”

Just 59.2 per cent of the voting population chose to elect an international students’ officer, making it the position with the lowest turnout.

The new women’s officer will be Miriam Miller, who won with over half of the 5617 votes.

She said: “I’m not entirely sure what this emotion is - a combination of excitement and relief, and tiredness.”

Miriam Mi

ller

Percentage of votes for winning candidates

28.4%

32.9%

33%

34.9%

Yael

José

Tom

Clio

50.9%

52.4%

Jonny

Jack

53.3%

53.7%

Miriam Malaka

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FO R GE PRESS Fr i day March 21 2014

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SPECIAL Preside

nt

Yael Sh

afritz

International students’ officer

José Diaz De Aguilar Puiggari ficer

Welfare of

ison

Tom Harr Replacing current sports officer Emily Dibble will be Jonny Block who pipped Jess Ellis to the post by 911 votes with his ‘Building Blocks for the future’ campaign.

He said: “I’m not going to lie, I weeped.

I genuinely was ready to lose, I had no speech, hence the spraying of champagne.

I’m so happy, I can’t express how happy I am, and I will fight for every student for sport.”

Beating the other eight welfare candidates, Tom Harrison stormed to victory to become the new welfare officer with 33 per cent of the votes.

Tom told Forge Press: “I feel empowered,

invigorated, and absolutely overwhelmed.

“I would say to the other candidates that you’ve been a part of a political student movement and don’t stop there.”

The new councillors were Adam Tarasewicz for Architecture, Alison Worsley for education councillor and Lauren Archer for women’s councillor.

All referenda passed meaning that the Union will remain affiliated to the NUS and the constitutional review was accepted.

The University has also affiliated with the University of Gaza.

The new officers will take their position from July.

Sports office

r

Jonny Block Election coverage by: Nicola Moors, Jessica Pitocchi, Will Ross, Patrick O’Connell, Lauren Archer, Neelam Tailor, Chloe Coleman, Josh Rock, Elsa Vulliamy

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COMMENT

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Inclusivity: more than just a multicultural campus Lauren Archer Stereotyped, profiled and used as tokens of multiculturalism on the pages of prospectuses, the ‘I, Too, Am…’ campaigns have opened our eyes to the marginalisation of black and minority ethnic (BME) students at universitiy.

Starting with ‘I, Too, Am Harvard’, blogs have opened up at universities across the world, allowing BME students to share their experiences of racism on campus, including one of the most famous UK universities: the University of Oxford.

Oxford students share quotes from their peers like “You do know they only accepted you because you’re black?” and “Are you here on the access scheme?”, and present statistics about the underrepresentation of people of colour in academia.

The experiences they share are upsetting and shocking, but also hugely important. They show us that inclusivity and equality are not just buzzwords, and not just admissions statistics, but about the entire university experience – of which we are all a part.

As a result of a group of BME students daring to talk about the difficulties they’ve faced while at university, a group of ‘multicultural students’ (read: largely privileged white kids and two pictures of the same BME man, which doesn’t quite count as a ‘display of diversity’) have

launched their own blog: ‘We Are All Oxford’.

Theoretically, the authors of the blog are “concerned that the negative portrayal of an ethnic minority student’s experience at the university will discourage prospective ethnic minority students from applying.”

In reality, they’ve countered this by undermining the experiences of BME students, further marginalising and downplaying them.

The group wrote on their blog: “We would like to emphasise that we do not aim to undermine the original campaign and we are not working against them.

We acknowledge that racism exists at the University of Oxford and it needs to be challenged, but we believe that the university is working hard to tackle these prejudices and misguided perceptions.”

“If BME students feel marginalised then we, as students, must collectively take responsibility for that” It’s easy to say that, but when this campaign involves students holding up signs like “We enjoyed celebrating diversity at the international fair” it doesn’t feel like they’re taking the upset and anger of BME students all that seriously.

In a 2011-2012 diversity report, it was found that 10 per

cent of all university staff and 21 per cent of all students at the University of Oxford identified as being from a BME background.

There is still a long way to go until people of colour feel comfortable and fairly treated in academic life, and these blogs are a key part in opening up a dialogue around what more we can all do to ensure that happens as soon as possible.

If BME students feel marginalised and stereotyped on the campuses they share with us, then we, as students, need to collectively face up to that and start taking responsibility for it.

What BME students don’t need is a counter-campaign that desperately tries to disprove experiences and assuage their own guilt.

The University of Sheffield BME committee is now launching its own campaign: ‘I, Too, Am Sheffield’.

It’s time to face up to the fact that we all play a part in making our campus as comfortable and inclusive as possible.

It’s not our right to be angry or offended when marginalised groups demand better treatment, or to try and “compromise” with their liberation.

Following a campaigning season where some white students have actively spoken against the introduction of a BME students officer, we need to take a step back, shut up, listen and realise that they too, are Sheffield.

Photo: Itooamoxford.tumblr.com

How much do we really care about Scotland?

Laura Fensterheim In the last few months, there have been a slew of news articles about Scottish independence.

With a referendum to decide Scottish independence due to be held on September 18 2014, a number of its detractors from Chancellor George Osborne to Business Secretary Vince Cable have warned of the disastrous consequences that independence would entail.

While Scotland’s people will be allowed to decide its fate, the population of England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be barred from voting.

The question is this: should the rest of the UK have a vote, and ultimately, do any of us really care?

For Westminster’s politicians,

the answer is a resounding ‘yes’; the three main political parties in England oppose independence, citing huge economic upheaval for Scotland if it goes ahead.

“An independent Scotland would be a further blow to a postcolonial Britain” In February, George Osborne ruled out the UK implementing a currency union with an independent Scotland, declaring that the pound is not a “CD collection that can be divided up” and that “nothing could be more damaging to economic security than dividing the UK”.

Meanwhile Vince Cable reaffirmed warnings of economic difficulty should Scottish

independence take place, arguing that big businesses such as “RBS would ‘inevitably’ move their headquarters to London”.

There have been a flurry of other warnings: Scotland would be reduced to a mere sprig on the world stage; they would need to reapply for EU membership, and would lose public services such as the BBC and Royal Mail.

Pro-independence supporters have dismissed these claims, with Alex Salmond, the First Minister, dismissing Osborne’s refusal to permit a currency union as “a sign of just how out of touch and arrogant the Westminster establishment has become”. And perhaps he has a point.

While the image in the media of a vaguely villainous-looking Alex Salmond grinning in front of a Scottish flag might seem comical; a frontman to head the

campaign for Scottish liberation, he ultimately represents a threat to the established order.

“Some might feel that a Braveheart inspired story has been fulfilled” Behind the rhetoric of disaster lie the anxieties of a world power that finds itself diminishing; an independent Scotland would be a further blow to a post-colonial Britain which no longer holds significant power on the world stage. Scotland and England have, after all, only officially been joined together since the Acts of Union in 1707.

Despite being united on paper, and sharing the nebulous identity of ‘Britishness’, cultural narratives

for hundreds of years have alluded to England as the ‘oppressor’, and Scotland as ‘the oppressed’.

Alex Salmond’s talk of liberating Scotland from a Westminster only interested in the English invokes a long history of resentment between the two countries.

Will Scotland leaving the UK mean a great deal? Certainly, it will transfer total power from Westminster to Holyrood for the first time in 300 years. A liberal, SNP led Scotland will no longer have to follow orders from a politically opposed Conservative government.

The size of the UK as a territory will shrink by 5 million or so.

Some might feel that a Braveheart inspired story has been fulfilled.

As for the notion of a common identity that we all share, I suspect we’ll be no nearer to defining it than we ever were.

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

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Trials and televisations

COMMENT

Do the middle-classes rule at University?

Michael Haywood A brief review of social media and news websites suggests that public fascination is firmly fixed on the trial of Oscar Pistorius.

This interest is surely only inflated by the presence of the TV cameras.

The key points of each day are there to be replayed, speculated upon and sensationalised by anyone who wishes to express an opinion, however misconceived.

Coincidentally, this week also marks the 20th anniversary of the O.J. Simpson murder trial which captivated American audiences in 1994 and so it seems timely to ask: should trials be televised in England and Wales?

This would surely be nothing more than the realisation of the old maxim, ‘not only must Justice be done, it must also be seen to be done.’ But we are forced to question just what it is we really want to see?

Recent reform has led to cameras being placed in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, which now has its own channel. These broadcasts are generally limited to the judge’s summing up, sentencing and discussions of points of law.

These are potentially of the highest significance, statements of our collective morality and invariably affect us all. The vast majority of court proceeding are open to the public and rightly so; access to the courts is a fundamental pillar of the Rule of Law. The suggestion that the televised trial is a natural, 21st century extension of this concept is misleading. If the suggestion is that there would be mass interest in justice on the airways then I think we are deluding ourselves for only sensation will ever draw the public to a case.

There is something of the macabre in our fixation on murder trials. Certainly that is what oils the presses of the tabloid media, ever hopeful of some sensation.

But whether this amounts to justice is questionable. Justice is surely the result of the trial not the divisive adversarial exchanges during it, if those who advocate cameras do so to satisfy some extension of a celebrity culture then this must be resisted.

The impact of TV on the courtroom is far more wide-ranging than the public gallery ever can be, the all-pervasive nature of television is hugely problematic; witness’s testimony will invariably be clouded by what they see, the influence of earlier testimony will be almost unavoidable and the impact on jurors might be worse still.

Evidence already suggests they have come to enough grief through social media and little need the encouragement of nationwide exposure to further lose their way.

An article by the New Statesman recently decried the death of the great British trial, but to revive the grand Victorian trial as a means of indulging a fleeting public whim is concerning and doubtless unfair on the parties.

To limit televised trials is not to shroud the courts in a Kafkian mystery but to recognise the negative impact they might have on due process.

Let us remember that there are no juries in South African courts to be influenced by the Pistorius broadcasts.

Photo: Ben Scull

Isaac Stovell Last week, Peter Brant, the head of policy at the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, blogged a suggestion that working-class children, in order to fit in better at university, should learn to think, speak and behave in more middle-class ways.

The fact that he’s sort of right is a grand indictment of British society – but he’s missed the main point, recommending an awkwardly patronising treatment for one symptom of a national disease.

Children from less affluent backgrounds are, by dint of sociological implications of growing up in a poorer community, much less likely to aim for the same level of education as better-off children.

Consequently, less working-class young people enter universities and the ones that do encounter a culture dominated by the middle-classes.

“Social inequality never left Britain entirely, nor has the national obsession with class” Recent years have seen attempts to boost aspirations of working-class children to amend this, but these are faltering due to the foreignness of the university culture that these young people encounter.

There are accessible aspects of course – indeed the working-class characteristics of strong work ethic, gregarious sociability,

and being accustomed to tight budgeting probably help them settle in much faster in many regards.

It’s not quite the caricatured haven of port-swigging croquet-lovers whom, for lack of experiencing any actual hardships in their youth, all took gap years in Uganda.

It’s certainly a sizeable leap into cultural realms generally unexplored by disadvantaged students and this is often discomforting. University remains largely middle-class.

What does Brant suggest then? Workingclass families should expose their children to middle-class culture to help them navigate upwardly-mobile society more comfortably.

Quoted in the Telegraph, Brant wrote that their “struggle to adapt to their new social environment [has a] detrimental impact on their ability to reach their potential”, and so they “need help to change the way they eat, dress and conduct personal relationships to get ahead in life”.

Of course, this is probably true – the career ladder’s higher rungs are dominated by the middle-classes just as universities are, and fitting in will help with upward mobility – but it’s not addressing the root of the problem which is, obviously, class divisions.

Social inequality never left Britain entirely, nor has our national obsession with class – and it’s hard to deny that the two are inextricably intertwined.

The economically disadvantaged see their local areas repeatedly overlooked for development and investment projects, which over generations takes the enthusiasm for individual advancement out of any community.

A culture of stoic deprivation takes root with the result that, despite being as intelligent and able as their wealthier peers, poorer children are indirectly discouraged from striving to reach their potential.

On some level the prejudice needs to be tackled – working-class and middleclass people are equally impaired by failing to engage with each other’s cultural backgrounds.

“Poorer children are indirectly discouraged from striving to reach their potential” But the root issue is the economic divide that fostered these cultural misunderstandings and prejudices in the first place.

Suzanne Moore writes in the Guardian “surely if you want working-class kids to have more middle-class experiences, why not pay their parents enough money to have them?”

The cultural, social and prejudicial aspects of class are symptomatic; it is fundamentally a problem of incomes, and until they are made more equitable, children from poorer backgrounds will always, to some degree, find it hard to fit in when surrounded by the affluent.

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

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COMMENT

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A place in history to Crow about Rae Passfield The passing of Union leader, Bob Crow was very sudden and very sad.

He will be sorely missed by his family and the generation he inspired to fight for their rights as workers.

As we lose probably one of the last widely recognised union leaders, it raises questions about the place trade unions have in modern society and how we, the public, perceive this role.

Throughout Bob Crow’s union leadership, he was the right wing media’s convenient left wing target.

The man responsible for London commuters catching the replacement bus service to get to work in the morning.

The newspaper headlines would point to him and his Union as responsible for bringing London to a standstill and condemn those who strike as if they are doing it to inconvenience you personally.

Commuters need someone to blame while standing in dismay at St Pancras International for the next three hours and Bob Crow was a handy scapegoat.

Never, though, do the reports offer insight to the reason why workers strike.

We don’t hear about the hundreds whose livelihoods are threatened, or about the working conditions they fight to improve.

Our tabloid press simply has too

Editorial

Social media trends have paid off, for once Hello and welcome to another issue of Forge Press.

By the time you read this (obviously, you’re really good at avoiding university work), next year’s Students’ Union officer team will have been elected.

There has been a little bit of a change this year on elections night. Instead of all candidates for each position standing on stage while they announce the winner, they were off-stage in a holding pen to protect the “welfare” of the candidates.

Seriously, if they can’t handle a bit of democracy then how would they handle a year in office, dealing with (sometimes) angry students, the wrath of the student media and the ever-tedious Union Council (where they are questioned on their progress, or lack of)?

Understandably a lot of blood, sweat and tears have probably gone into the 10 days of campaigning, and to lose after all that is disappointing to say the least, but sometimes democracy isn’t kind.

On to a more pressing matter: it’s not often that I find myself pleased by a social media trend.

Necknominations pissed me off - no, downing alcohol does not make you look cool but the recent no makeup selfie is a great way of helping a worthwhile cause.

It’s quite self-explanatory really basically people upload a picture of themselves without makeup as well as a screenshot of them donating money to Cancer Research UK. Around 800,000 donation texts have been sent to the charity raising more than £1million, so it just shows the overwhelming power of the ordinary person.

This campaign has come at a time when a 19-year-old has died of cervical cancer after being too young to be eligible for a smear test that could have saved her life.

Friends and family have started a petition called Sophie’s Choice to lobby the government to lower the smear test age to 16.

At the time of going to print, they have more than 220,000 signatures and I urge you to sign and share it with your friends and family. You can find the petition here: http:// submissions.epetitions.direct.gov. uk/petitions/62385 PS. Congratulations Yael!

Nicola Moors - Forge Press editor nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

much to gain from political alliances than to focus on how corporations exploit workers for capital gain.

Keeping the people passive, fearful and disillusioned is more profitable for the ruling elites – Cameron, Murdoch and Co. For this reason, the media has no interest in holding the powerful to account. Our Unions, though, are doing exactly that.

“A great leader of a relatively small union with the industrial muscle to bring London to a halt” A necessary balance of power is as relevant today as it was when the Labour and union movements came to prominence at the end of the nineteenth century.

With 6.5 million union members their relevance to 2014 Britain is indisputable. Workers uniting together, organising and fighting back where they see injustice is surely timelessly relevant.

The idea that unions are outdated and inefficient is a seed planted by those who are threatened by organisations who shine bright lights on a corrupt system.

Despite their necessity to the functioning of a healthy democratic society, trade unions remain restricted by anti-union legislation brought in under Thatcher’s government intent

D.A.R.T.S.

on union control, and shamefully never repealed by New Labour.

Perhaps the media’s attention will now turn to Len McClusky and Unite, or the ‘fighting back union’ as they describe themselves. 1.4 million members and a General Secretary committed to fighting austerity, cuts in our communities and protecting the countries most treasured possession, the NHS. Without these organisations it would be impossible to deal with issues like the widening poverty gap between rich and poor, the on-going exploitation of the youth in training, the female worker, the foreign worker, and all those vulnerable to capital greed.

In a time of economic crisis, disparity and growing frustration amongst the under classes, it is our Trade Unions that collectively stand up for the people whose voices are rarely heard individually.

Bob Crow has a place in history.

A great leader of a relatively small union with the industrial muscle to bring London to a halt. Nonetheless the worker struggles continue and the movement will respond - now that is something to ‘Crow About’.

Join the Conversation: @ForgeComment on Twitter facebook.com/ForgeComment

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Social crusader of the fortnight

Quote of the fortnight:

As you may well know, the Conservative Party is pretty damn posh. The Cabinet is claret-spillingly posh. David Cameron’s inner circle is positively caviar-wreckingly good.

His chief of staff, minister for government policy as well as his good self all hail from that bastion for entitled blokes: Eton College. Surprisingly, the social mobility crusader who pointed this out is that hero of the Left and all round good egg: Michael Gove.

Joking aside, who our leader surrounds himself with is a significant decision.

It’s important that our leader gets a spectrum of different viewpoints from a diverse selection of advisors so that no one mentality dominates. Instead, we have a situation where something akin to an ‘old boys’ lads club can be presumed to exist at the heart of number 10.

Surely the advice is going to suffer here? Come on Davey boy, sort it out old chap.

“The D is big”

Silly news coverage of the fortnight While the news about the disappearance of flight MH370 has been tragic, the news coverage has regularly descended into farce. This is due to the very real fact that there has been no news. None. But the news companies need news on this important story.

Yet, there still is none.

Thus the news has descended into a competition of who can come up with the most imaginative procrastination story. The BBC even have their own procrastination section of their website dedicated to the constant train of no news which they fill with theories that propose that the plane has simply hidden in the shadow of another plane. If only we’d known.

Kate Lovatt, screen editor

Sextoy of the fortnight No issue of DARTs under our tenure would be complete without something Putin-related. This week Vlad the Invader is pictured in butt plug form.

What better way to draw attention to the vile man’s vile LGBT policies.

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

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LETTERS

Comment of the fortnight: Our article ‘Being a ‘lad’ doesn’t stop you being a feminist’ got you talking Feminist connotations need to change I think part of the problem is that some people, both men and women, mistakenly think that ‘feminist’ is synonymous with ‘man-hater’.

B

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: 25 per cent price increase for student travel The price has now officially doubled since I started university in 2011.

Beth The student bus fare in Sheffield changes all of the time in both directions. At one point a few years ago, First charged £1 for a single and Stagecoach £1.50 for a return, with no option for a single. My point is this price rise is nothing to worry about and they will probably put the price down again in September when a new batch of students arrive to fill up their buses. Also, £1 is still pretty cheap.

Philip I can’t believe that since I started as a student here, there has been 100 per cent inflation on our bus fare! No longer will I be able to pay for the bus and use the remaining 20p for a locker at the gym. I will definitely have to start thinking twice about jumping on the 52 over tackling the dreaded Conduit.

Ell

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Explosion leaves hole in Arts Tower car park Bye bye parking space Oh dear. Yet another parking space bites the dust - as if we need to lose any more. The University’s answer is “buy a bike”.

Sally

Sally - it looks more like two parking spaces have bitten the dust! It might be a good idea to get a bike - it’s better for your health and the health of the planet, whilst also not funding oil companies who are fast becoming the real string-pullers of the planet. And more important than parking spaces - thankfully it seems no-one was injured by what looks like it was a powerful explosion.

Harry

Got an opinion?

Email: letters@forgetoday.com Write: Forge Press, Union of Students, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TG Please include your name, course and year of study.

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

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Sheffield’s social

lubricants Beer – students are excellent at consuming vast quantities of it but when one’s priority is to get sufficiently plastered for an odious night out, the quality and culture of this drink is overlooked.

Isaac Stovell writes about the rich and interesting Sheffield beer scene.

H

aving grown used to beer as a conversational aid, a social lubricant if you will, we’ve become less bothered about the contents of our pint glasses. While not an enormous tragedy, it is quite sad given the sheer breadth and depth of potential for exploring the range of local beers around.

It does seem like young people, including students, are becoming more open to being adventurous with their beverages of choice when they go pubbing. This doesn’t mean drinking stronger or more potent drinks to get drunker faster before a clubbing experience, but daring to try something interesting – and Sheffield’s locally brewed beers are an excellent place to start.

We all know a handful of people, inevitably clad in checkered shirts and sporting impressively impractical beards who are well-acquainted with the varieties of locally brewed beverages, but the beer culture in Sheffield has something for everybody. There are many microbrewing firms in and around the city, with Abbeydale, Sheffield, Bradfield, Thornbridge and Kelham Island being the five best-known.

Each of these produces a wide variety of locally brewed stouts, bitters, ales and lagers, which have quite high stakes in the local culture.

Generally speaking, we in the north get very passionate about local foodstuffs and drinks – note the pride with which a Sheffielder wields a bottle of Henderson’s Relish or a Yorkshire pudding.

Sheffield brewery’s Seven Hills and Crucible Best speak for themselves, as does Kelham Island’s Pride of Sheffield. Thornbridge brewery’s specialist brews Kill Your Darlings and Reverend and the Makers respectively tie beers to locally famous artist Kid Acne and a successful rock band hailing from the city. Bradfield and Abbeydale breweries emphasise Yorkshire’s agricultural and industrial heritages. The beers are an integral part of their pubs and their city because they all build on the same beveragecentric enjoyment that Sheffield has.

Local brews have a lot of heritage and variety going for them, they’re a sizeable addition to a place’s culture and Sheffield is no exception to these. Pubgoing is probably the best facilitator of social bonding, especially among young men; instead of getting wasted and going to another regrettable club night, you’ll have a much cheaper and more enjoyable time going to a good pub and drinking good beers. The

atmosphere is more relaxed, you’ll get to know your friends better and it’s easier to moderate your intake thus saving money, not to mention liver cells and hangovers.

So pubgoing is good - why local brews then?

Because they’re tasty and there are hundreds of them to try. They’re also integral to pub identity, one of the core factors in a pub being local instead of a homogenous Wetherspoonsian entity that has the same draughts all over the UK. If you’re still not persuaded, think of the economic benefits.

Not only are the Yorkshire ales slightly cheaper than the standard pint and will save you money in the long run, local breweries and pubs are generally quite small firms. Supporting them genuinely helps increase local employment, investment and development – not to mention money for research and development of new brews.

So pubgoing is good - why local pubs then?

Of course the socio-economic implications of the beer industry are not the things that will immediately persuade a non-enthusiast, but the beers themselves might. They are considerably more interesting taste-wise than the big-brand pints. The immense variety means that you’re almost guaranteed to find several you’ll enjoy.

I met up with a locally-renowned aficionado J. Dismorr and together we revisited some of Steel City’s beer culture hotspots to find a few worthy of mass-recommendation.

We started at the Broadfield in Sharrow – a pub that was recently shortlisted as UK’s best but is unfortunately far away from typical student hangouts. The proprietors and staff are incredibly knowledgeable about their ales, having several local brews but also dozens upon

dozens from around the world. They also have over a hundred types of whiskey and source some from every single distillery in Scotland, but we shall not digress.

Their on-tap field of choice is so broad that to help customers select one, they pour out a taste of several different beers into small glasses to choose from. We settled for Broadfield’s popular citrusy pale Farmers’ Blonde. Mr Dismorr noted, “stunning, a masterly brewed malt with tangible Yorkshire passion” (n.b. for all his knowledgeable keenness, he is not a properly qualified aletaster). The Broadfield is an excellent pub with an atmosphere poised between hearty warmth and fine delicacy and it is frequented by the young - its high-quality food and drink make it a perfect social hub.

The next pub was the Stag’s Head near Hunters’ Bar; another popular hangout for non-stereotypical pubgoers, with superb food and all Thornbridge’s finest ales on draught.

Thornbridge has dominated Sheffield’s local beer limelight recently, simply because their variety is so good. Their Indian Pale Ale (IPA) Jaipur was voted the best keg ale in the world in 2010. Yup. I tried their surprisingly fruity SouthPacific pale ale Kipling and Dismorr sampled the coffee milk stout Pollards – which he commented was “absolutely incredible, luscious and creamy”.

Then the Red Deer, a small lively pub tucked behind West Street, with regulars including many an engineering, philosophy or economics lecturer based on departmental proximity. It was too busy in there to talk to the bar staff at length about the culture and production of several beers, so we tried the most obvious ones on offer – Kelham Island’s soft pale Easy Rider.

Finally we came back to the campus proper for our last stop, none other than the Students’ Union’s indisputably best outlet, Interval.

Unbeknownst to me, they do serve local beers here, most notably the popular Moonshine from Abbeydale brewery.

Once you’re settled into local pub/beer culture, the benefits reap themselves – you get to know dozens of brilliant little pub haunts all over the city, their specialist brews, atmospheres, regulars and histories.

Of course, this is not an urgent or overly important matter to all but trying properly local brews at local pubs is likely to be more sociable, healthier and cheaper. It will give you a better taste for local culture and heritage and open your eyes to a world of better tasting, more interesting beverages. Give it a go: you may be pleasantly surprised.

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Once you’re settled in, the benefits reap themselves Pho to by Photona te.com o n Fli ckr

Eight pubs that serve local brews Ranmoor Inn

4 stars, 330 Fulwood Road

Fox & Duck

4.5 stars, 227 Fulwood Road

Grapes

4.3 stars, 80 Trippet Lane

Devonshire Cat

4.3 stars, 49 Wellington Street

Lescar

4.4 stars, 303 Sharrow Vale Road

Porter Cottage

4.1 stars, 286 Sharrow Vale Road

Cobden View

5 stars, 40 Cobden View Road

Hallamshire House

4.6 stars, 49-51 Commonside

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BAN

Born from a drunken encounte Sheffield brand. Looking back honest insight

L

ike many tales of university friendship, Jack’s and Chris’ story begins in fresher’s week.

“I met Jack in the smoking area at Livewire, a live music night at the Students’ Union back in our first year,” Chris recalls.

“Jack was just standing there with his shirt off, and somehow we started talking.”

The two decided to build on their shared loved for alternative and quirky music, combining Jack’s music blog, Banana Hill, and Chris’ late-night show on Forge Radio.

“I found some of the old radio show recordings last week, and they’re hilarious,” Chris admits with a large grin spreading across his face.

“Just us trying to fill two hours on a Tuesday evening. Quite often we’d go to Tuesday Club afterwards, so we would have beers in the studio and just kind of use it as a mini pre-drinks. We never knew how many people were actually listening.”

Chris stresses that they didn’t set out with the goal of hosting regular nights or booking famous DJs. “We weren’t really that organised. We just tried to blog something every day; it was mainly just about the music we liked,” he says.

“Yeah, we probably need to learn how to do this” At the beginning of their second year, Jack and Chris started putting on nights at the Green Room on Devonshire Street.

“Sometimes it was really good, sometimes it was a massive failure,” Chris admits, taking a sip of his double macchiato.

His confession continues, and – intentional or not – is the ideal encouragement to anyone who wants to follow suit, despite not having a clue about where to start.

“We were such bad DJs, I don’t even understand how we managed it. It was terrible. We used to turn up at the Green Room with a bunch of CDs and just literally mess around.

“There was one night when we played at DQ, it was the first time we put on an event in an actual club. We were both really drunk and it was really bad. After that we said to ourselves, yeah, we probably need to learn how to do this.”

Their one-off gigs, featuring a wild mix of garage rock bands, disco and hip hop weren’t enough to create an identity, according to Chris.

Looking back, he notes that the key to establishing a successful

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FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

NANA HILL

er in fresher’s week, Banana Hill has over time evolved into a recognizable k at four years of beats and bananas, co-founder Chris Knight gives us an t into the ups and downs of starting your own club night.

by Ina Fischer

night lies in combining your passion with a niche in the market.

“Do something that hasn’t been done before, put a spin on it. Have a unique element that attracts people and sets you apart from the rest.”

Starting small Banana Hill found their personal niche in April 2012, when they co-organised a fundraiser at the Harley with the African Affairs Network. Chris says that was the first time he really got into African music in a club setting. “It really sparked my interest in world music. That’s when we thought, ‘yeah, this is what we want to be doing’.

“There was just nothing else like it in Sheffield at that point, and after that night people were talking about it for weeks.”

‘Start small’ is the best bit of advice Chris can offer to anyone toying with the idea of starting their own club night. Don’t do anything too big, just get a few mates down and see how it goes, he recommends. “It was really good starting off in The Green Room because nobody judged us. We learned a lot during that time,” he explains.

Chris speaks humbly about the evolution of Banana Hill, but it becomes clear a lot of hard work, dedication and most importantly creativity has gone into the project. Although Chris keeps emphasizing throughout our chat how unorganised he and Jack are, it is remarkable that Banana Hill is now in its fourth year running.

It’s a testament to their love for music that the project has not only survived separation (Chris studied abroad in Italy last year, while Jack is currently doing a Master’s degree in Amsterdam) but also grown in the process.

Steel City Carnival in June 2013 was Banana Hill’s biggest success so far, according to Chris: “We had never really done a ticketed event before, we kind of took a risk on it. But then we sold like 400 tickets in two hours, it was just crazy. That gave us the confidence, that was the game changer. After that we said OK, we can do events like this.”

Future Plans This year has already seen a remarkable number of Banana Hill events in various Sheffield venues, including the Night Kitchen, CADS Basement, Fez Club, the Harley and the Bowery. But the biggest event is yet to come. The Banana Hill end-of-exams party

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on Friday June 13 will see Gilles Peterson play a special Brazil set, amongst other so far unannounced special guests. Banana Hill will also be hosting an event at Penelope’s for the Sheffieldbased Tramlines festival in July.

How hard is it to balance a project like Banana Hill alongside university commitments? Chris shrugs his shoulders. “It’s not actually that bad,” he admits.

“It doesn’t really feel like working, its more like downtime in the evenings. Especially last semester we did a lot of the work in advance, in the summer. It’s all about careful planning, I knew when my deadlines were so I tried to not make those coincide with events.”

Despite graduating in the summer, Chris has every intention to keep Banana Hill alive, potentially moving it to a different city.

“Its a hard thing to do, cause there’s nothing quite like what we’re doing here in Sheffield, but if you go to Leeds or Manchester it is a completely different scene. There is loads of stuff going on over there.

“But we’re just going to test the waters and see how it goes.

I’m going to try and save up some money in case it all goes to shambles,” he says, laughing.

Chris’ final words of wisdom: “We always try and give away free bananas. They’re very good for you. But if you eat too many, you could die.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

u

22/03/ - DJ Astrojazz at The Harley £1 before midnight, £3 after. 11pm - 4am

u

05/04/ - Débruit, Jägerverb, John Loveless & more at the Night Kitchen £6 advance, more on the door. 11.45pm - 6.30am

u

05/05/ - Shangaan Electro at The Harley more info TBA

u

13/06/ - Gilles Peterson & more at the Night Kitchen Tickets go on sale 07/04. 7pm - 7am

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Internati nal

“

W men’s W

”

omen’s week is one of the highlights of the Sheffield Student’s Union calendar.

It is a week-long celebration of women, centred around International Women’s Day on March 8.

International Women’s Day is a long-standing feminist tradition, and has been observed for over a century. The festival is a chance to acknowledge women’s achievements and celebrate inspirational women.

It also serves as a platform for feminists to fight for women’s rights, challenge sexism and work towards equality.

This year, International Women’s Day focused on the struggle for equality, with the United Nations theme equality for women is progress for all’.

Feminism is alive and well in the city of Sheffield, and there is a strong feminist core within the University, working tirelessly for the benefit of women students, campaigning against sex discrimination, the objectification of women and rape culture.

Increasingly, more young women are getting involved with feminist activism, inspired by prominent media campaigns like the Everyday Sexism Project, No More Page 3 campaign and the backlash against Robin Thicke’s song ‘Blurred Lines’.

The internet has also changed the landscape of feminism, uniting women around the world and offering new ways to share information and ideas.

This year’s Women’s Week at the Students’ Union brought together female students of different backgrounds and nationalities in a week-long celebration of womanhood.

There were workshops focused on introducing students to feminism, whilst others were aimed at more experienced campaigners, examining issues like misogyny in left-wing politics. There were also several workshops for women’s self-improvement, teaching skills like public speaking and debating, as well as workshops focusing on consent, abuse and fleeing domestic violence.

In addition, several eminent female writers and campaigners also visited the University during women’s week, to discuss their work and issues affecting women today.

One such woman is writer and television presenter Emma Woolf, whose candid memoir An Apple A Day documents her struggle with anorexia, a disease she describes as “a one-woman battle against myself.”

Woolf’s latest book, The Ministry of Thin, critiques society’s obsession with thinness. She argues that female bodies are constantly policed by the food, fitness, fashion and beauty industries, which encourage women to be impossibly thin and beautiful, and to strive for ‘unobtainable perfection’.

Emma Woolf’s frank and emotional talk at the Students’ Union addressed the social and psychological issues surrounding eating disorders and body image anxiety. Linking these issues with women’s inequality, Woolf argues that societal pressures on women lead to a loss of confidence and poor self-image.

Women today are bombarded by pressures: the pressure to be thin and beautiful, the pressure to be wealthy and successful, and the pressure to be a good mother, girlfriend or wife. In short, society sets women up to fail.

In some cases, the self-hatred that accompanies this sense of failure can manifest itself as anorexia, according to Woolf, derives from a desire to become invisible – to literally take up less space.

Woolf uses the language of self-help, and her approach is highly individualistic. She advises

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FO R GE PRESS Fi day March 21 2014

women to make the “choice” to recover; she believes that sufferers have the power to decide their own fate when it comes to eating disorders. She implores women to be authentic and real, advising us to get back in touch with our gut feelings.

Her most poignant piece of advice is to “treat yourself as you would treat others.” This may sound cheesy but, in a world obsessed with cosmetic surgery, thigh gaps and size zero, many women find it impossible to feel good in their own skin.

The mind and the body are very closely connected, and learning to value and care for your body is a crucial step for women. Woolf’s motivational talk was a reminder that the personal is political; it is crucial to address women’s mental health issues, in order to advance women in society.

Another highlight of Women’s Week was Rhian E Jones’ lecture about her book Clampdown: Pop-Cultural Wars on Class and Gender. Jones is a writer and blogger, whose work explores the representation of class and gender in music and popular culture.

In Clampdown, Jones argues that mainstream popular culture has been appropriated by the ruling elite. Jones comments on the class-ridden landscape of British popular culture, and asks why left-wing politics and resistance has become extinct in pop music since the 1980s.

Jones’ talk focused on the music of the 1990s, exploring how Britpop exploited class stereotypes in order to entertain, such as Oasis’ bleak working-class image and the chauvinistic ‘laddism’ of Blur. During this age of Cool Britannia, political apathy became trendy, and lad culture a crass stereotype of working-class masculinity, began to dominate popular culture.

Jones argues that this led to working-class women being characterized as trashy, uneducated and sexually available. This stereotype has been perpetuated since the 1990s and comic depictions of “chavvy” women are commonplace in popular culture, for example, Matt Lucas’ portrayal of Vicky Pollard in the popular television show Little Britain.

As a researcher in the field of popular music studies, I found Jones’ talk particularly interesting. Popular culture is ubiquitous and influential in today’s mediasaturated society, and yet it is often deemed unworthy of analysis or criticism.

It is great to see writers and campaigners focusing on the representation of women in popular music, and Jones speaks on this subject with verve and conviction, qualities which make her particularly engaging as a public speaker. Hopefully events like these will bring the study and analysis of popular culture to a wider audience, and will encourage fans of pop music to challenge and criticise the images of women presented in pop songs and music videos.

International Women’s Day offers an invaluable opportunity to spark debates about gender inequality and bring these issues to a wider audience. The range of events organised for this year’s Women’s Week meant that there was something for everyone with an interest in the women’s movement, giving students the opportunity to come together to recognise women’s contributions.

However, while International Women’s Day is marked by celebration, it is also important to remember the United Nations message of equality, and to consider the struggles of women and girls, in this country and abroad.

Hopefully, there will come a day when International Women’s Day is no longer needed. However, until that day comes, women and men around the world will continue to use the March 8 champion the achievements of women, and to fight for equal rights.

Words: Bridget Coulter Image: Mirari Erdoiza

Week

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

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WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT

Fashion

by Karen Wong

ket Farmer’s mar Nether Edge

Chocolate Tasting

Sunday March 23, 12-4pm at Nether Edge and Glens Road, free entry

Monday March 24, 7-9pm, meet at Glossop Road entrance to Bar one, tickets £10 in advance at box office

The Nether Edge farmer’s market is definitely a great place to go for handmade arts and crafts. The market is organised by a small group of local residents in Nether Edge, and there will be over 80 local businesses selling food, crafts and hand made items.

The afternoon will also include a live showcase, with a multicultural dance act, as well as music and theatre performances. Go and support this great platform for independent sellers.

One of the best Easter events put on by the Students’ Union, this Give it a Go is one for the chocolate lovers.

You will learn the history of chocolate and the cultivation of cocoa from bean to bar. You will have the opportunity to sample chocolates from around the world, from raw chocolate to sweet white chocolate. This evening could be a special alternative, or addition, to having a regular Easter egg and you may learn the skills to make your own egg next year.

Fame: The mu sical

SIC CONCERT OLLIE KING: FREE MU

Tuesday April 1, 7:45pm at Lyceum Theatre, £15 in advance

Thursday April 3, 1:10-1:55pm at Western Bank Library, free admission

If you want a fun night away from the endless stream of work that March seems to bring, try this not-to-bemissed production, based on the Oscar-winning film and hugely successful TV series. You’ll be spending an evening watching a truly talented group of youngsters, showcasing the ambition, triumph and heartbreak of the story that is Fame. So get involved in this leg warmer-packed evening of excitement and dream of leaving your arts degree and making it in the big bad city of New York.

This music concert is completely free and could be a great accompaniment to your soup or sandwiches.

Take the opportunity to have a break from the library and sit back, relax and enjoy your meal with the beautiful music performed by the talented University students. Music includes pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries and there’s no obligation to stay for the entire concert- you can choose to listen to one piece or stay for the whole performance.

Five things we’re not going to miss about Students’ Union elections

by Niki Kesharaju

Being accosted on the concourse Never before has the walk from Hicks to the Arts Tower taken as long as it did during the two weeks of the Students’ Union elections. You couldn’t turn a corner without having someone shove a leaflet in your face or “stopping for a chat”. Pro-tip: It’s usually never a chat; it’s always soliciting for votes. Every visible free space is covered with campaign material in a myriad of colours, sporting a colour co-ordinated candidate to go with it.

You always tell each of the candidates the same thing, “Yeah, I’ll definitely vote for you”, until they leave you to bother someone else.

Spammy Facebook newsfeed We can understand the actual candidates updating their profile picture to their campaign poster, but when their friends and their friends of friends start doing it too, that’s when it gets annoying. Over one night, your entire newsfeed transforms into a sea of social media campaigning. You are also invited to more ‘events’ in this ten day period than any other time of the year. You’d like to think you’re incredibly popular but realistically, you’ll say ‘attending’ but never actually go.

Having lectures interrupted by campaign speeches At the start of the campaign season, you love those mini speeches by candidates running for positions. But when it starts happening multiple times during every single lecture, you start to wonder if there’s even any point attending the lecture at all. All the speeches turn into a blur and there is no way you’re going to remember who made the speech or what they’re even running for. You know you’ve had too many speeches to listen to when you’re actually looking forward to getting back to an uninterrupted lecture.

Campaigns taglines A common trend of the student elections is to come up with a tagline for your campaign. For the entirety of the two weeks, you’re blasted with the tagline everywhere, on posters, Facebook and sometimes from the mouths of the candidates themselves. Some go down the inspirational route, usually mentioning something about responsibility, impact and change. Others go down the cringeworthy pun route, usually involving their first name or their surname. Occasionally, you can’t help but feel that they decided to run for a position just because they were blessed with a surname that lends itself to a remotely funny pun. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt regardless.

Being bribed with sweets Walking across the concourse we have all encountered that one candidate that wants us to vote for them in exchange for sweets. It feels like you’re in primary school again, being told to do mundane things in exchange for a couple of those sweets you get in a big bag from Poundland. Maybe someday we will have the courage to just go, “No, thank you, I’m watching my waistline actually.” Either way, we saw right through the sweets but may have to consider carrying the odd few around in our bag, just in case we get hungry during lectures.

Science

Lifestyle loves

by Ellie McCaldin

This fortnight at lifestyle we are loving the fact that the weather is finally allowing us to crack out one of the most wearable trends of spring 2014: the tea skirt.

A compromise in length between a maxi and a midi - these lady like skirts are all about volume and end just at the shin.

At the moment the best place to pick up a decently priced tea skirt is asos. com with this pink pleated number coming in at £30. We also love the American Apparel sunflower print tea skirt which is on offer for £62 with a matching crop top available for £34.

This look is perfect for very tall leggy girls but for shorter girls craving the tea skirt the addition of heels creates basically the same effect.

For colder days team the look with chunky boots and a leather jacket to clash girly with grunge for an instantly stylish look.

Image: Asos.com

A mammoth discovery

by Ben Daniels

Science has brought about some of the greatest advances in human history- penicillin, sending rockets into space and the theory of general relativity to name but a few. Yet there are many more fundamental questions still to be answered such as: can we bring woolly mammoths back from the dead?

A team of scientists based at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, Siberia, reckon they can. Woolly mammoths have been extinct for 10,000 years, but an incredibly well preserved carcass was found off the north coast of Siberia in May 2013. This specimen was so undamaged that they were able to extract and isolate its DNA. In theory this should allow us to actually clone a woolly mammoth by injecting the DNA into the egg of a female Asian elephant.

The team working on it stress the point that it will not be exactly the same mammoth from thousands of years ago, as they have had to use a modern day elephant intermediate, but by interbreeding for multiple generations we could have a purebred mammoth within our lifetimes.

Even more excitingly, a nature reserve in Siberia called Pleistocene Park is being developed to recreate the subarctic grassland ecosystem that woolly mammoths would have lived in during the last ice age. It stands to reason that we wouldn’t have to just keep these creatures in zoos around the world, as we do with so many animals, but could allow them to live in their own personalised habitat. Hopefully this won’t result in a Jurassic Park situation, although if worst comes to worst, we can always give Jeff Goldblum a call.

This is a huge step forward for science and could bring about a biological renaissance period, where creatures extinct for thousands of years could be brought back from the dead. And if that happens, I’m pushing for the dodo next.

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LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Top five: musical festivals abroad

Travel

By Katie Langwith Bored of the UK’s predictable festivals and looking for somewhere a bit different to celebrate music? Look no further, here are five of the top foreign music festivals.

Primavera Sound This Spanish festival takes place from May 28-31 at the Parc del Fòrum on the coast of Barcelona. Notable bands which have performed in the past include Florence + the Machine, Los Campesinos! and Pet Shop Boys. This year, bands include Arcade Fire, Disclosure and Queens of the Stone Age. Tickets are very reasonably priced at €195 (approximately

Images: Charlotte Mills

Fashion

£160) for a standard three-day pass. Aside from the festival there is also a lot to see and do in the city. The ‘Poble Espanyol’ boasts a number of craft shops featuring traditionally made Spanish goods and of course for football fans, a tour of Barcelona FC’s stadium, Camp Nou, would be a must see attraction too.

Benicàssim Also in Spain is Benicàssim, a very popular music festival among tourists near the city of Valencia. From July 17-20 watch bands and artists like Kasabian, Lily Allen, The 1975 and many more take to the stage while soaking up the Spanish sun. The standard four-day ticket costs €149 (approx £125) which includes access to the music venues as well as eight days camping from July 14-21, giving you chance to explore the area. The beach is about a 20-minute walk from the campsite and in the town is Aquarama, Benicàssim’s very own water park.

PinkPop Holland probably isn’t the first place that would come to mind when thinking of music festivals. In recent times its infamous capital Amsterdam has been its central attraction for tourists. But for those seeking music, Landgraaf in southeastern Holland plays host to PinkPop, a festival which has been

running consistently for 45 years now. This year it will take place from June 7-9 with a weekend ticket costing €175 (approx £145) and a chance to see some big names including Arctic Monkeys, Biffy Clyro and The Rolling Stones. Outside of the festival tourists can also visit Mondo-Verde, Landgraaf’s theme park and zoo.

Unknown As summer comes to an end, Croatia’s Unknown festival is coming to life. It’s a 5-day-long festival consisting of concerts, DJ sets and parties located in the coastal town of Rovinj. So far this year’s acts include Chrvches, Wild Beasts and Jungle.

Tickets are £179 for the five days and as the festival site is open from September 7-16, there is lots of time either side of the festival for you to relax and explore the area and a ticket for this extended stay is £219. Nearby are the Adriatic islands known for their picturesque views and stunning beaches and there are frequent ferries to the Island Cres from various ports in northern Croatia.

past The Prodigy, Arcade Fire and Lana del Rey have all performed here and 2014 looks just as big with Franz Ferdinand being one of the headliners. With tickets at only €105 (appoximately £88) including free camping, Eurokeennes is great value for money. The festival will be taking place from July 4 -6 in Belfort, a city in the north-east of France with the beautiful nature reserve of Le site du Malsaucy nearby which offers a range of water sport activities as well as mountain biking for those more daring.

Eurockeennes Nicknamed ‘The French Glasto’, Eurokeennes definitely doesn’t disappoint on the music front. In the

Concourse couture

by Niki Kesharaju

Aaron Cole Masters, Journalism Wearing: coat from Peter Werth, shirt from Ted Baker, jeans from Zara, boots from M&S, Ray Ban sunglasses

Rosalinda Cheung Third year, Psychology Wearing: shirt from a vintage shop, playsuit, rucksack from Urban Outfitters, shoes from Topshop

Jonny Peters Third year Politics Wearing: jacket from a charity shop, jumper from H&M, jeans from Republic, boots from Timberland

Amy Aziz First year, Dentistry Wearing: coat from Zara, top from Topshop, skirt from Urban Outfitters, boots from Topshop

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@forgelifestyle

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

/forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

Societies

By Lily-Josephine Sims Lily-Josephine Sims, University of Sheffield Oxfam society member and constituency campaigner for Oxfam North, explains one of Oxfam’s biggest campaigns and how you can get involved.

Oxfam had a prolific 2013, launching significant campaigns dedicated to improving global food justice. One of these campaigns – ‘GROW’ - established awareness of the issue of land grabbing facing poorer countries. Land grabbing is when land farmed by poor families is sold to companies looking for cheap agricultural space to grow commodities such as sugar, palm oil and soy.

‘Behind the Brands’ is a campaign that started as part of ‘GROW,’ and aims to lobby against companies such as ABF (Assosiated British Food), Coca-Cola and Pepsico, who are land grabbing to satisfy their enormous sugar demand. These three companies own numerous well known brands such as

Tropicana, Twinings and Innocent. ABF is the world’s second largest sugar producer, responsible for roughly three per cent of global supply.

Oxfam’s aim is to implement a ‘zerotolerance’ policy for land grabbing through raising awareness of the related risks and uncovering the impact on affected communities. The Oxfam society at the University of Sheffield has supported Oxfam in achieving their aims. You may have seen members in November sporting green Oxfam tees, eagerly handing out leaflets at EEKweek (ethical and environmental week).

Through the work of Oxfam teams around the UK, Coca-Cola announced zero-tolerence to land grabbing in November.

December 6 marked an important date for Oxfam supporters in the UK: the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ABF in London.

Supporters, including UoS members,

Fashion and beauty

massed together at the venue and assured leaflets on land rights were handed out to all shareholders and attendees. Inside the headquarters Oxfam supporters asked questions to the board of directors regarding the policies in place to ensure poor communities are protected from land grabs and whether this can be found within ABF’s production line.

University of Sheffield Oxfam Society members received a mixed response from members of the public with many being interested and engaged. Others were less so – one told a member that “Oxfam can go to hell.” Overall though, it was a great success.

ABF know what Oxfam supporters want: for them to build land justice into their business practices. Coca-Cola has agreed to change for the better and Oxfam supporters eagerly await further communication with ABF.

new campaigns in the fight against poverty, and Oxfam supporters will continue to demonstrate how public pressure can be an influential hand in this fight. Watch this space, as the Uos Oxfam Society builds towards achieving similar goals with Oxfam’s new campaign, Lift Lives For Good.

Further information on this campaign can be found on the Oxfam website, www. oxfam.org.uk.

This year, Oxfam will continue to introduce

Top five bloggers and vloggers

By Alice Burrow

1. Beauty Crush - http://youtube.com/beautycrush Sammi, aka Beauty Crush, is one of the original beauty vloggers and arguably the most successful. Over the past few years, her YouTube channel has gained over a million subscribers and inspired hundreds to start their own Youtube channels. Starting out in her university bedroom in 2009, Sammi started out making beauty tutorials. Since then, her channel has expanded hugely and the beauty guru now covers style lookbooks, shopping ‘hauls’, reviews of products and life advice, amongst a variety of other videos.

Beauty Crush’s reviews are the highlight of her YouTube channel. She tests and provides honest feedback on a huge range of different high-end and high street skincare products, makeup, and clothing. Sammi has a secondary YouTube account where she frequently uploads vlogs, documenting her day-to-day life. The heavily tattooed 24-year-old also maintains a blog where she documents daily outfits and, in a new recent venture, reviews of cafes and restaurants around London.

2. Pixiwoo - http://youtube.com/pixiwoo Pixiwoo is run by sisters Samantha and Nicola Chapman who are professional make up artists based in London.

The channel started out with Samantha filming short video tutorials and uploading them onto YouTube as a hobby while she worked full-time as a makeup artist. The channel has since grown in size and now, with

her sister Nic, they upload videos several times a week providing everything a makeup enthusiast could wish for.

Their videos mainly cover step-by-step makeup tutorials, which range from Halloween to Hollywood glamour and recreations of famous celebrity looks. The sisters also provide advice on the basics of makeup for beginners so are a must-see for makeup amateurs looking for a starting point. From the channel, Sam Chapman started the Real Techniques range of makeup brushes. These are designed to be the quality of professional brushes at high street prices. Their step-by-step tutorials can guide even the most inept, myself being a good example, through complex looks.

3. The Fashion Editor at Large - http://www. fashioneditoratlarge.com The Fashion Editor at Large is a blog run by Melanie Rickey, former editor-at-large for Grazia, who has a wealth of experience on major fashion publications. She has written for national newspapers such as the Guardian and fashion giants such as Vogue, so her word is gospel.

Rickey’s blog provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight to the elusive world of fashion with contributing posts from the Junior Fashion Editor at Large, Bethan Holt.

They dissect collections straight off the catwalk and also provide thoughtful and engaging features on issues surrounding the fashion business. The Fashion Editor at Large also provides a platform for emerging fashion

designers. It is blogs like this that are tearing down the barriers to the once inaccessible world of fashion and are spearheading the rise of the blogger as the mouthpiece of this industry.

4. The Little Magpie - http://thelittlemagpie.com Scottish fashion enthusiast Amy Bell styles her daily outfits and posts them to her fantastic blog, The Little Magpie.

Amy’s style is really eclectic, as she seemingly manages to spin an amazing outfit out of almost any combination of clothing. Whether it’s military boots, tailored work trousers or mini cocktail dresses, this girl knows how to piece together a great look. The focus of Amy’s blog is definitely affordable high street finds mixed in with vintage bargains so it’s a great read for those looking for inspiration on a student budget. What sets Amy apart from the crowd is her incredibly sharp sense of humour, which has made me very happy that she has decided to enter the world of YouTube. She has only made a couple of videos to date but if it is anything like her blog, she is set to become a Youtube success.

Image: Bea

uty Crush

Image: Pixiwoo

Image: Amy Spencer

5. 5inchandup - http://5inchandup. blogspot.co.uk 5inchandup is written by Sandra Halgelstam, a Finnish fashion student based in London.

Her effortlessly simple style is heavily influenced by androgynous tailoring and clever layering. Since 2009, Sandra has been posting her daily outfits onto 5inchandup as well as documenting her foray into the world of fashion. Sandra has a collection of shoes to rival Imelda Marcos and her jet setter lifestyle makes for a fascinating read.

She is also involved with a variety of different collaborations with major brands like G-Star and was involved heavily with the Diesel rebrand, injecting her polished Finnish style into a brand that had become dated and tired. Hagelstam has also designed her own standalone collection for Nelly.com, a popular online clothing site. The collection was full of her signature sharp tailoring and sportluxe inspired garments. If beautifully styled city-slicker fashion is your kind of thing, 5inchandup is well worth a visit.

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Travel

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Easter escapes: Paris and Amsterdam

Paris has recently been named the top tourist destination in the world, but there is so much more to see there than the Eiffel tower. If you’re craving a slightly less touristy experience, here are some more authentic sights that this city has to offer.

Amsterdam is one of the closest European capital cities and is extremely easy to travel to, either by coach or by plane. The city is famed for its coffee shops and red light district, but there’s a lot of other things happening in the Dutch capital.

First things first, culture. Avoid the crowds of the Louvre and pay a visit to the Luxembourg gardens or the Centre Pompidou (Rambuteau line 11) which has a more modern showcase of fascinating art work. They also have student concessions. It’s really important to bring your passport with you when you’re sightseeing. Many tourist attractions such as the Arc de Triomphe will allow you to enter for free or at a discount if you can show your passport!

For anyone spending a short time in the city hiring bikes will be the best decision you make. For only €6 we got the most comfortable bikes for a full 24 hours. Initially getting used to them was a little tricky, as to break you have to cycle backwards, however it meant that we got to see far more of the city. Amsterdam is a city that is so geared up (excuse the pun) for cycling and so most people are very accepting of us ignorant tourists not knowing the traffic laws. But to be honest during the entirety of the weekend, none of the laws become any more apparent to us than when we first got there. Bikes, trams, pedestrians and cars all travel down the same road so in the end we just adopted the motto that ‘if you can make it, go for it’.

If you’re not careful, you can easily wipe out your student loan on a French meal. My suggestion is to always look out for a set menu (prixe fixe).

You’ll find some cheap restaurants which also have a great view of the city opposite the Sacre-Coeur. I would definitely suggest you try beef bourguignon or tartiflette if you really want to immerse yourself in the french culture.

Obviously no trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a trip to one of their infamous coffee shops. On the first day we stumbled across a little gem called Rookies coffee shop on Korte Leidsedwarsstraat. It felt like we were getting the real Amsterdam experience rather than being in a café full of other English tourists. Conveniently this coffee shop was located about a two-minute cycle from the notorious ‘I AMsterdam’ sign. Seeing as our aim for the weekend was to fit in the most touristy things that we could, this was a must. And even if you don’t want to take the generic ‘climbing on the letter’ photos this is a gorgeous area of the city, regardless. To get through it you have to walk through the Rijksmuseum which is a gorgeous building: sort of Disney castle-esque with street music and performers all around. The sign is in the middle of a large pedestrian (and bike) only zone with plenty of benches and areas to sit and watch the world go by.

Is there anything more scenic than drinking coffee in a Parisian café and watching the world go by? If you agree, don’t leave Paris without trying Charles Chocolatier (Etienne Marcel Route four). The hot chocolates are delicious and it’s close to the famous Palais Royal. Elsewhere, you can take a coffee break in the Marais quarter (Bastille route one and five) which is the trendy, bohemian district of Paris.

Saved up enough money and are looking to buy a present for a loved one?

Take a visit to Les Galeries Lafayette to find typical French souvenirs that they’ll love. Be sure to look up at the ceiling because the architecture is stunning. If that’s not for you, right next door is my favourite clothes shop in the world, Citadium. They boast an amazing range of French street wear brands that your friends will most definitely be jealous of. The nearest metro is La Fayette-line seven or nine

If you’re interested in the more cultural side of the city, the Van Gough museum is a mere 30 second walk away.

by Sophie Jackson

by Toby Varian

Review With over 40 restaurants nationwide, Loch Fyne is one of the finer fish restaurants to dine in.

It has a reputation for excellence and nowhere better can this be experienced than in its outpost in Sheffield, which can be found just up the road from the Students’ Union on Glossop Road.

For those of you who get seasick, you should take your pills before stepping inside, for the interior quietly and tastefully resembles the inner recesses of a vintage boat. The restaurant is fairly noisy, but this is to be expected from any open-kitchen restaurant, and there is certainly no risk of any awkward silences; moreover, the dining area boasts an impeccable cleanliness, ambient lighting, as well as a spacious and well laid-out seating plan.

The chilli and garlic king prawn starter was rather disappointing due to an overwhelming oiliness and sogginess which clouded the taste of the chilli.

Loch Fyne

By Jack Bilsborough

The sticky toffee pudding (£5.25) and rhubarb and custard cheesecake (£5.25) arrived around 15 minutes after the main dishes had been cleared, and these again did not disappoint; they were appropriately sized, not too stodgy and at just the right temperature. As someone who does not normally enjoy the heaviness of desserts, I was impressed, and even had space for a latte (£2.60) afterward.

Overall, Lock Fyne’s menu is diverse in the seafood mains which it offers, but not too Image: lochfyneseafoodandgrill.co.uk

Creme egg brownies

by Hannah McCulloch

The smoked salmon ashet however was the tastiest of all the courses, with great presentation and huge flavour for something so small (be wary of the green wasabi which is mind-blowingly hot).

For mains we had grilled hake in hollandaise sauce with potato dauphinoise and green beans (£15.45), and whole british lemon sole with new potatoes and beurre noisette (£18.95). Both of these dishes were faultless, with the fish and vegetables being cooked to perfection and good sized portions. The lemon sole was extremely flavoursome, but not ideal for those who prefer a boneless and flaky fish – for those that do – I recommend the fillet hake, which was delightfully aromatic and straightforward to cut and eat.

Lifestyle’s cheap eat Makes 12

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 30 mins Ingredients

varied in the way that these mains are served, for example, those with a preference for curry and spice are limited to king prawns.

There is huge scope to personalise dishes under the ‘Fresh From Our Fish Bar’ section, where one can choose: the fillet of fish, how it is cooked, the sauce and the sides.

Many of you may be put off by the beauty of the building itself, for it oozes luxury accompanied by looming pound signs; but Sheffield’s Loch Fyne is in fact the perfect restaurant for a well deserved treat, a place to take the family, or the lavish location for a 21st birthday.

Sheffield may not be renowned for its fresh seafood, especially being over 70 miles from any form of salty water, but one can be assured that the freshness of Loch Fyne’s fish is equivalent to many other fish restaurants I have visited nearer to the coast.

185g dark chocolate 185g unsalted butter 275g caster sugar 85g plain flour 40g cocoa powder 3 eggs 6 creme eggs Method

1) Melt the butter and sugar together. Once melted, put to the side to cool.

2) In a separate bowl crack the eggs and add in the caster sugar.

Whisk togther until the mixture becomes mousse-like.

3) Combine the cooled chocolate mixture with the eggs.

4) Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and fold slowly.

5) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 degrees C until the brownies are part baked. The top should be firm but not completely unbreakable.

6) Whilst the brownies are cooking, cut the creme eggs in half vertically. This can be quite tricky and a bit messy. Having a clean knife edge each time will help.

7) Take the brownies out and add the creme egg halves, pushing them into the surface.

8) Cook for another 10 minutes to melt the creme eggs. Take out and leave to cool before slicing.

Image: Hannah McCulloch

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Fri day March 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

COFFEE BREAK TWEETS OF THE FORTNIGHT

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

‘Tis the season of the vintage fair. Buildings all over Sheffield are filling up with vintage clothing sales where you can find some real gems hiding among the rails of sixties dresses and woolly grandad jumpers. Some fairs even offer the opportunity to have your hair and make-up done, retro-style. Keep your eyes peeled for vintage fairs popping up around Sheffield in the spring season, and check out more of Nikita’s photos at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101197089@N04/.

Photograph of the fortnight: Vintage fairs come to Sheffield

Photo: Nikita Kesharaju

We all want to live beside the seaside In this fortnight’s offbeat news, a builder has finished converting a dilapidated public toilet into a two-storey seaside home.

Nick Willan, of Cawston, Norfolk, spent three years and £189,000 on buying and renovating the abandoned Victorian loo block on the seafront at Sheringham.

The now-charming little house, a 30th anniversary present for his wife, Sue, features a beautiful sea view (and presumably also a stiff sea breeze).

Sue may have thought he was “bleeding mad” when he bought the crumbling toilets at auction, but three years later she has been made to eat her words.

With two en-suite bedrooms and full electrity, gas and running water, it isn’t a holiday home to be sniffed at - even taking its humble origins into account.

Evidently unable to resist the opportunity for a good pun, the proud owners have named it ‘The Wee Retreat’.

This isn’t the first home to have been built out of something unusual.

There are many old churches that have been converted to family homes, the graveyards remaining as back gardens.

Water towers and mill towers are also popular choices, as well as former watermills. There is even a former RAF control tower, now a four-storey home, in Perthshire, Scotland.

Last but not least, we must of course mention the lighthouse home on the Isle of Man owned by Jeremy Clarkson. It’s spacious, it stands out from the crowd (literally - you can pick it out from a skyline) and it boasts a view unlike any other. It’s a shame he’s probably never at home.

Word of the fortnight Logolepsy, noun: 1. A fascination or obsession with words.

...

now k u o y id

D

The Google headquarters, known as the Googleplex, features swimming pools, volleyball courts, three free meals a day and discounted massages.

Unsurprisingly, Google receives a million job applications a year.

If you eat too many carrots, you may end up with carotenosis — where excess beta carotene turns your skin an orange-yellow colour.

This is the same chemical that occurs in the oncepopular drink Sunny Delight.

The Sound of Music Over the hills and far away lies the remote Turkish village of Kusköy, one of the few places in the world where they still use whistling as a means of communication.

Kusköy - which translates to ‘bird village’ - has a population of just 500, and all of the villagers use whistling to pass information over long distances.

Originally invented by shepherds, long-distance whistling is a convenient way to instantly communicate over several hundred metres.

Although the villagers also now have mobile phones, whistling remains their primary means of contacting each other - and it costs them nothing to use.

It is a way to instantly communicate important information to the rest of the village. It can even be used to communicate privately with family members if one uses a private whistling code known only to the family.

The whistles, which sound uncannily like bird calls, are a direct translation of the language, each spoken syllable translated into a tone. In the whistled language that the

inhabitants of Kusköy use, for example, an ‘a’ is lower pitched than an ‘i’. For consonants the whistle is shorter or longer or bent upward or downward.

Many villagers learn the ‘bird language’ when they are children, from a parent or grandparent.

The villagers of Kusköy participate in an annual competition for the title of best whistler - isolated as they are, this is one of the biggest events of their year. Judges stand on the other side of a wide river to assess the quality of the contestants’ whistling.

Although other whistled languages exist in isolated areas of places like the Canary Islands and South America, they are most commonly found in West Africa, used in heavily tonal languages like Yoruba where extensive conversations may be whistled.

The whistled languages of the world are slowly dying out.

The most studied of them all is Silbo Gomero, spoken in La Gomera in the Canary Islands to communicate across the deep ravines and narrow valleys that run through the island.

Photo: DW (English)/Youtube

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FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

@FPCoffeeBreak

COFFEE BREAK

/forgepresscoffeebreak

Puzzle Page: sudoku Medium

Easy 8

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Quotes of the fortnight

“What lies behind us and what lies before

us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“

I have reached a point in my life where I feel it is no longer necessary to impress anyone. If they like me the way I am, good, and if they don’t, it’s their loss.

María Corazón Aquino

”

dingbats

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

1.

Across:

Down:

1. Musician; chimpanzee (6) 4. Soothing; often used ironically to describe a voice (6) 9. Uncut (5) 10. A hat every Parisian wears? (5) 11. Uncontrollable crying in a healthy baby (5) 12. Hit by a vehicle (3,4) 13. Medium (11) 18. Sender of a Valentine (7) 20. First performance (5) 22. Tabula rasa (see 21 down) (5, 5) 23. Remove hair (7) 24. Most recent (6) 25. In Hindu tradition, one of seven areas of spiritual power in the body (6)

1. Portmanteau word for a mid-morning meal (6) 2. Medieval term for the nose guard of a helmet (5) 3. Passageways into the lungs (7) 5. In the city (5) 6. Portable holiday house (7) 7. Teachers (6) 8. Tried hard to achieve (something) (11) 14. Criticise harshly (7) 15. Traditional language of the Jewish community (7) 16. Maiden, possibly in need of rescuing (6) 17. Born fully grown from Zeus’s forehead (6) 19. Smells very unpleasant (5) 21. (See 22 across)

2.

24

Fri day March 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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Sheffield SU Highlights Friday 21 March - Thursday 3 April /sheffieldstudentsunion

@sheffieldsu

SUNDAY 23 MARCH

Give it a Go: Beamish Open Air Museum 8:30 til 16:00, £23.00

SUNDAY 23 MARCH

Film Unit: Gravity

15:30 & 19.30, SU Auditorium, £2.50

THURSDAY 27 MARCH

Spring into Jobs Fair 10:30 til 15:30, Octagon Centre

THURSDAY 27 MARCH

Get the Blessing

19:30 til 22:30, Auditorium, £14

www.sheffieldsu.com

FRIDAY 28 MARCH Boxfresh presents

Toddla T x Tuesday Club

23:00 til 4:00, Foundry, Studio, Fusion, £13.20

SATURDAY 29 & SUNDAY 30 MARCH

Tour de Cinema

SAT: Film screening, 19.30, Firth Hall, free SUN: Activities, 18.00, ASZ & Coffee Revolution Film screening, 19.30, SU Auditorium, free

WEDNESDAY 2 APRIL

ROAR vs. Mischief Varsity Pt 2

23:30 til 2:30, Foundry, Studio & Fusion, £4 adv

SUNDAY 6 APRIL

Sheffield Half-marathon: Run with RAG 8:45 til 14:00, Don Valley Bowl, £26

2

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

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SPORT

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Matchdebating Can England win the 2015 Rugby World Cup?

Enigmatic England can The Red Rose will come up short start dreaming Jack Taylor Can England win the 2015 Rugby World Cup? YES. If you had asked me this question this time last year, following England’s 30-3 drubbing at the hands of Wales in the final round of the 2013 Six Nations, I would have laughed at you and said no chance. One year on and the thought now seems a distinct possibility.

Stuart Lancaster has breathed new life into the England side since being appointed head coach in 2011.

Gone are the days of washed up has-beens like Mike Tindall and Phil Vickery and in their place a new breed of young exciting prospects have come to the fore.

The average age of England’s starting XV against Ireland was a mere 25 years of age and had only 316 collective caps to their name. Some may say that leads to inexperience in the face of adversity, but it also allows for players who have no fear. They aren’t damaged by a multitude of defeats to supposed better teams and in many ways they can play without the shackles tied.

Clearly inexperience will sometimes lead to mistakes and that was no more present than against France in the first game of the Six Nations when they failed to take the sting out of ‘Les Bleus’ who managed to score a late try, which unbeknownst at the time would be the reason for the failure to win the title.

However, despite this England came storming back from the disappointment to win four in a row including

defeating eventual champions Ireland in a close encounter at Twickenham.

The reason for this run was that the heads didn’t drop and the few experience players England do have, the likes of captain Chris Robshaw, Tom Wood and Six Nations man of the tournament Mike Brown, all stepped up and led by example.

However, do wins against the likes of Scotland and Italy really allow us to say that England can go on and win the World Cup in 18 months time?

“On only two previous occasions the hosts have failed to make it to the final” Of course it will be a big ask, but they have one advantage greater than all the others and that is home advantage. Twickenham is the home of rugby, an iconic 82,000 all-seater cauldron of noise, and if that can’t lift the spirits then nothing can.

History says that on only two previous occasions the hosts have failed to make it to the final or better an omen which surely lifts England’s spirits.

England may have the hardest group with the hosts fighting it out with Wales and Australia for the two places in the quarter finals, but these are two teams they have beaten at home in the last six months.

After that it may be more hit and miss with the likes of South Africa and reigning champions New

Zealand coming to spoil the party, but that is where England’s meticulous preparation will count.

England’s next four games are against the All Blacks both home and away and if they do manage two wins from those four they will certainly have shown their credentials as serious contenders.

England’s future looks bright, the likes of Farrell, Lawes, Launchbury and Burrell have all shown themselves as world class performers despite a lack of experience and as the next 18 months pass by, with hopefully more success, this current crop may well have the wherewithal to emulate the stars of 2003 and lift the Webb Ellis Trophy aloft.

The world famous FA cup trophy

Simon Watters I believe 2015 is just too soon for this current England side, they are not quite the finished article.

In the toughest pool of the tournament consisting of both Wales and Australia, England would need to top the pool to avoid South Africa in the Quarter final: this would mean they will need to win all seven matches throughout the tournament.

But, the fact that England are at Twickenham for all of their pool matches is certainly an important point and could be vital against both Australia and Wales which will no doubt be close.

A key question is

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Forge Sport awards

whether Rugby League star Sam Burgess will adapt to union in his first season at Bath and excel like converts such as Israel Folau or Sonny Bill Williams.

At 6’5 and weighing over 18 stone, it’s clear that the RFU are trying to mould a centre partner similar to Manu Tualagi, and no doubt Burgess is one of the best forwards in the NRL. Rugby Union is a much more complex game and bashing it up the middle is not enough, that being said Burgess’ defensive capabilities should not be questioned.

When reviewing Englands’ Six Nations campaign, they were extremely unlucky in losing out to Ireland on points difference in the end. Were it not for a few individual errors in their first match, they would’ve undoubtedly been grand slam champions.

Ruthless against a poor Scotland side, clinical and assured against Ireland, merciless against Wales and rampant against Italy, they played with a confidence that was wonderful to watch.

England are certainly top two in the Northern Hemisphere on current form, but can they become world beaters in 18 months?

The three test tour to New Zealand in the summer will certainly give us a good idea. The most feared team in world rugby went unbeaten in 2013 and it will be a tall order for England to win a game, let alone the series with the current long term injuries in the squad, incuding Tom Croft and Alex Corbisiero.

England’s strength in depth in key positions such as prop, hooker and in the

backrow will be needed for a successful world cup campaign if they are to challenge South Africa and New Zealand.

With a fully fit squad, England can certainly do the business, but so can

“18 months is just not long enough time to become world beaters” South Africa and New Zealand.

Beginning with the Springboks: heavyweights such as ‘The Beast’ Tendai Mtawarira and Eben Etzebeth in the pack are world class, while Pat Lambie and JJ Engelbrecht are match winners in their backline.

The All Blacks also have a wealth of talent in their current squad: Richie McCaw and Kieran Read make up two thirds of the best back row in world rugby, while the legendary Dan Carter pulls the strings for the likes of Israel Dagg and the monster that is Julian Savea.

England have a superb squad and are playing superbly but I feel 18 months is just not enough time to become world beaters.

Forge Sport editor Tom Pyman chooses his heroes and villains of the week Brian O’Driscoll The legendary centre enjoyed the perfect end to his career as Ireland won the Six Nations.

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Robin van Persie

Ferrari

Manchester United’s Dutch striker scored a hat-trick to help overturn a 2-0 deficit against Olympiakos and qualify for the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League.

The much-fancied duo of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen disappointed in the Australian Grand Prix, finishing fifth and eighth respectively.

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George Boyd

The Hull City winger was charged by the FA after spitting at Manchester City’s Joe Hart.

26

Fri day March 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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Varsity preview 2014

Forge Sport contributors Jack Taylor, Phil Carpenter, Rob Milne and Simon Watters look ahead to Varsity

After winning Varsity for the first time in 10 years, Forge Sport look ahead to this years event to see where points may be won and lost over the next two weeks.

University of Sheffield currently lead 5-2 heading into the main Varsity period and they will be hoping to reclaim the title.

Jack, Phil, Rob and Simon look at some of the best bets for this years competition.

Men’s Table Tennis After last season’s league and trophy success, the men’s table tennis team has continued their dominance into this year.

Thanks to the help of stars Biao Yang and Mike Fraser, University of Sheffield managed only one defeat and claimed nine wins as they easily reclaimed the Northern 1A title by nine points from Hallam in second place.

However, Sheffield Hallam have also had a successful season with a spot in the BUCS trophy final to add to their second spot.

Over the course of the season University of Sheffield claimed victories over their local rivals on both occasions and will hope to repeat the feat at the EIS on March 2.

Hallam on the other hand, are currently the best side in the country and a Varsity point here looks unlikely.

Women’s Football The University of Sheffield Women’s Football 1st XI go into this year’s Varsity fixture with plenty to be optimistic about.

Despite going out at the last 16 stage of the cup, they have had a fine campaign in Northern 2B league, lying second with two games to play following six wins and only two defeats.

Nonetheless, Hallam’s season has been almost faultless so far: they lie second in Northern 1A after seven wins, two draws and a solitary defeat. In addition they are semi-finalists in their respective cup competition and have never lost this particular Varsity fixture, last year’s result being a 3-1 win.

The University of Sheffield are determined to change that this year, thanks in part to the help of a sports psychologist who has been enlisted to get prepare them

mentally for the fixture.

The team is captained by passionate midfielder Ella WalesBonner who leads by example and is a potent attacking threat, linking up well with pacey striker Sophie Williams (aka Messi). Winger Tina Pafiti is a key player, providing excellent service to the forwards as well as creating plenty of goal scoring opportunities for herself.

Women’s Tennis Women’s tennis will go in as favorites ahead of their varsity clash which will be played on their rivals home courts at the Hallamshire tennis and leisure centre.

University of Sheffield have had a consistent season in BUCS Northern 1A as they finished mid table in third place, but they consistently had the better of Hallam who finished bottom of the same league, managing to win 12-0 and 10-2 on the two occasions the sides met.

The likes of Dannielle Smith, Lydia Huxtable and Helen Morse

Men’s Rugby League After last season’s promotion the team were on a high heading into the campaign but they were quickly brought down to earth with a bump as they were steamrolled 40-22 by Varsity opponents Hallam in their first fixture at the new level.

Since then they have managed to regroup and the likes of Sam Wilson and Richard Veazey have both impressed as they more than held their own in most matches, but still face relegation with two games to play.

Hockey have high hopes will all be hoping to keep that winning run going as Varsity takes centre stage.

Hockey Last year saw the hockey points evenly split across the city with one for our men and two for our women.

The story is much the same in the BUCS leagues this year, with the exception of the women’s 2s, who look set to run riot over Hallam in a dramatic reversal of fortunes.

Of course what matters is the result on the day, and with tough-to-call fixtures across the board, it could be the support that makes or breaks it.

Four of the six points up for grabs will be fought over on Hallam’s turf, so get down to Abbeydale Road and make the difference.

Men’s Basketball Table tennis hope to continue domination

Photo: Philip Carpenter

The black and gold are in for a

Photo: Philip Carpenter tough match-up against Hallam this year. They lost in 2013 9959, against a superior Hallam side but showed character, the Spartans will be hoping to win this battle through pure passion.

Sheffield Hallam finished second in the North Premier, while the Spartans have secured a mid-table finish a few divisions below in the Northern 2B. It will be tough but by no means are they incapable.

The play of Andrew Chiguri will be crucial. He is a physical presence on the court, able to drive to the basket; draw fouls and is consistently one of the top point scorers on the team.

He will work alongside Pierre Michelot who is a stand out shooter on the perimeter for the team, if he is given any open look he is confident enough to shoot the ball from deep with a good shooting success rate.

Hazem Hashem is the dynamo, he shows great hustle all over the court. Times this season he has brought his team back in clutch situations and if he fires on all cylinders his team will have a chance of revenge.

Varsity boxing proves a huge hit

Photos: Philip Carpenter

27

FO R GE PRESS Fr i d ay March 21 2014

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Hallam toppled by tenpin kings Varsity 2014 Tenpin Bowling University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam

30 11

Tom Pyman The University of Sheffield extended their early Varsity lead to 4-2 after thrashing Hallam in tenpin bowling at Firth Park on Wednesday.

Tenpin was on the Varsity schedule for the first time in four years and a resounding victory was the perfect way to celebrate the return of the sport.

The match format consisted of six games. In each of these, members of either side would play against one another, with each winner claiming a point for their University.

The opening game was tied; Matthew Duncan, Tom Andrews and Abdullah Al-Tamimi beating Kate Brown, Ian Keeling and Cameron Whitehead respectively, with Hallam winning the other three.

The highlight of the second game was unquestionably Hallam’s Alex Castle scoring an incredible nine consecutive strikes in his encounter with Aleksandar Parvanov.

Carl Whitfield meanwhile racked up Uni’s best of 211 as the game

again finished level, bringing the scores to 6-6 and leaving the match finely-poised.

From then, on, however, Uni began to dominate and pull away from their opponents. They won the third game 4-2 and the fourth 5-1, opening up an impressive 15-9 lead.

A 6-0 whitewash in the fifth made victory an inevitability going into the sixth, where Uni refused to let off, comfortably winning 4-2.

An additional five points were awarded to Uni for a superior pinfall difference of 716, creating an emphatic final score of 30-11.

Darren Ellis was perhaps Uni’s most consistent performer throughout with an average of 202.5 but it was an excellent team display.

Duncan, who captained the side to victory, said afterwards: “It was a good win. Hallam pushed us hard at the start and we fought back and took it from them.

“It’s good to be back [participating in Varsity] and it’s good to be the one bringing it back because everyone loves bowling and we’re all passionate about the sport that we play.

“I think that it should be worth a Varsity point and we should be able to help the rest of the university beat Hallam.”

Varsity victors celebrate together

Teeside tamed by hockey 3s Women’s Hockey BUCS Northen 5B

University of Sheffield 3s Teeside University 1s

2 0

Philip Carpenter The University of Sheffield women’s 3s had nothing to prove going in to the last game of the season in the Northern 5B league, having secured the top spot a week earlier with a 2 - 2 draw away at Northumbria.

Teesside were simply looking to avoid a significant defeat in order to maintain second in the league, and as such the first 10 minutes of the game were understandably

cagey but were also the only time when the visitors showed any sustained dominance.

The lack of pressure on Sheffield’s goal did not stop Bex Hill from putting on a master class in defensive anticipation, closing out all but a handful of attacks before they had a chance to get going. Bex followed this up by consistently supplying accurate and powerful hits up the field, taking much of the Teesside team out of the mix.

It wasn’t long before Sheffield broke the deadlock, with Kate Desmond putting in from a short corner to make it 1 – 0, which was just one of a run of determined attacks on the Teesside goal. The

Hockey 3s warm up for Varsity with victory

only answer offered in response for the remained of the half was a spate of cynical fouls to break the run of play.

The second half only really offered one chance to Teesside, which they would have capitalised on were it not for a well-placed foot by Sheffield’s keeper, who played despite taking a severe knock to the wrist during prematch warm-up. By contract, Sheffield scored again with Kate Desmond winning the ball off a Teesside push-in and driving it across the field to Emily Young who sealed the win at 2 - 0 and ensured a seven point margin at the top of the league, 12 points clear of varsity rivals Hallam.

Photo: Philip Carpenter

Photo: Aisha Hussaini

Spartans sink Leeds in battle Men’s Basketball BUCS Northern 2B

University of Sheffield 1s University of Leeds

88 75

Rob Milne University of Sheffield Spartans resisted a late challenge from Leeds to claim an 88-75 victory.

The visiting University of Leeds side sat in fourth position at the start of the game, just behind Sheffield in third, despite the visitors having played two more games. Sheffield were coming off the back of a defeat to Salford but had already pulled off a victory against Leeds early in the season.

Sheffield started poorly in the first quarter, struggling to find any consistency when shooting, giving up early points. Leeds was very quick on offense, a high pace which any side would struggle to deal with.

Despite the Spartan’s early problems defensively they began to find some rhythm when attacking the basket, with Andrew Chiguri powering through the defence and consistently drawing fouls.

It seemed there was always a man open for Leeds who even when shots were missed were dominating rebounds. Sheffield still could not hit from beyond the arc, before Pierre Michelot finally hit a long three from deep.

The home team made it 20-19 to end the quarter with a steal by Chiguri and Akin Lisk-Carew put away the lay-up.

Emphasis changed in the second quarter with Sheffield finding success when driving to the basket, building a five point after a few effective free-throws.

Leeds went for clever over simple, with an over the shoulder pass in the post which did not quite come off.

Offensive rebounds were still an issue for Sheffield, both sides could have benefited from a more structured pattern of play. LiskCarew hit a deep two point shot to end the half and provide some breathing space for the hosts.

Michelot starred in the second half registering 18 points in the game. Whenever he was open he was able to shoot well and with success.

It was still tight, with Leeds getting away with fouling.

Chiguri answered the Leeds dunk with two quick break layups, built on by Lisk-Carew’s baseline drive and smart reverse lay-up, gaining a 66-55 lead and the home side’s game to lose.

Leeds defensive play crumbled in the fourth, with loose passes and open shots but they still remained in the contest.

The visitors grew in confidence but the Spartans were still matching them on both sides of the ball. George Reddington was a presence around the basket and played a crucial role in resisting the comeback.

Sheffield held on for the win, quelling the Leeds rally in a match-up that was ultimately equal throughout, winning out 88-75.

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Fri day March 21 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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SPORT

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It’s a knockout!

2s held to a point Men’s Football BUCS Northern 4B University of Sheffield 2s Newcastle University 2s

1 1

David Conway & Tom Pyman

Photo: Philip Carpenter

Varsity 2014 Boxing University of Sheffield Sheffield Hallam

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Jack Taylor The University of Sheffield boxing team produced a fine display of skill, speed and power to see off Hallam and take a 5-2 lead in the race for Varsity glory.

With a partisan crowd in the Octagon, the night started with a number of local fights, which allowed time for the audience to get into full voice ahead of the Varsity fixtures which were to follow later in proceedings.

The night began with controversy as some audience members left the arena when it turned out the first fight would be between two local junior fighters, Niall Sharpe and Lee Rudland. But both fighters handled themselves amicably in a high quality contest that saw Rudland crowned the winner.

Eight local fights took place before the main event with the highlights being former University of Sheffield student Jordan Davies defeating Roman Moore from Brodsworth and former Hallam student Muma Meweemba winning a closefought contest against Nathan French from Grimsby.

The ex-university connections only helped to crank up the atmosphere even more as the beer continued to flow and by the time the Varsity fights had begun, the crowd had been worked up into a frenzy.

The first of the three Varsity fights saw Ray Kahn of the University of Sheffield take on Ben Otter of Hallam. Both fighters made their way to the ring with the help of smoke machines and walk on music, but nothing could distract them as they kept their steely concentration ahead of the bout.

The first round saw Ben Otter

come flying out of the blocks and he managed to land a stern shot to Kahn’s head which led to the referee issuing a standing eight count, but the cleaner work was coming from the man in black and gold and Otter was warned for slapping rather than punching.

The second round saw Kahn begin to take control as he stepped up a gear forcing two eight counts in quick succession as he visibly rocked the Hallam fighter.

Going into the final round it was still crucial that Kahn kept up the pressure and he did just that producing a stirring display as he once again forced two standing eight counts ensuring that victory would be his.

Shouts of “UNI UNI UNI” thundered around the venue as Kahn’s arm was lifted aloft by the referee to signal his victory, as the first bout of the night went the way of the University of Sheffield.

With the crowd now begging for the blood the second fight, between Hallam’s Joe Moylan and Jai Meyrick of the University of Sheffield, began.

Meyrick knew that if he could take victory then the Varsity point would be going the way of the black and gold army and despite all the pressure on his shoulders he produced the best display of the night.

In round one Meyrick set his stall out as he boxed at length using his stern jab to stop Moylan getting on the front foot.

This was Meyrick’s first ever competitive bout, but he boxed like he had been in the ring for over a decade. His opponent was never really in the contest as Meyrick continued to step it up and soon had his opponent on the ropes, thanks to a flury of punches.

Only a knockout could now save Moylan and Hallam from losing boxing Varsity for the first time in its three-year history, but Meyrick was not going to let that happen as he dominated

the centre of the ring in the final round meaning that the judges could only see it one way with University of Sheffield taking an unassailable two point lead into the final bout of the evening.

With Varsity victory assured, Hallam’s final fighter Rikki Webster was fighting merely for pride as he took on Charlie Salmon who was looking to make it a clean sweep for the University of Sheffield.

Webster started the contest the better in a cagey opening two rounds which saw both fighters feel each other out before the fight came to life in the final round. Salmon managed to get through with some strong hits, but Webster was handed a split point’s decision by the judges to

give Hallam a conciliation point.

The night was a huge success, with the fighters producing some fine displays in front of a noisy and knowledgeable crowd, but it was the fans dressed in black and gold that went home the happier as the University of Sheffield took the Varsity boxing point.

This week’s contributors Jack Taylor Joe Bamford Tom Pyman Philip Carpenter Robert Milne David Conway Simon Watters

Sheffield earned a hard-fought point in their final game of the BUCS Northern 4B league season against Newcastle University.

After a disappointing defeat to league leaders Bishop Burton a fortnight ago, this was an opportunity to end the campaign on a high.

Strong winds had an adverse effect on the game, as both sides struggled to maintain the ball for long periods.

Following a cagey opening, it was the visitors who took the lead on 12 minutes, as Joey Lavor turned in an exquisite cross from the right, leaving the goalkeeper helpless.

It took Sheffield a while to settle into the match, which proved to be a real physical battle. The tough conditions hardly helped the home side’s cause and key decisions seemed to go against them.

They forged their first real opportunity just after the halfhour, when Joe Ford had a terrific curling effort tipped round the post superbly by the Newcastle keeper.

A serious-looking injury towards the end of the first period took the sting out of the game and halted some of the momentum Sheffield were beginning to build.

The referee brought the half to a premature end following the lengthy delay, with the hosts trailing.

A couple of shrewd tactical substitutions after the restart helped the pendulum swing in Sheffield’s favour.

The impressive Ford almost found the net moments into the second half when he charged down the Newcastle keeper and saw his precise lob acrobatically cleared off the line.

Frustrations began to boil over as Sheffield searched desperately for an elusive equaliser, with a number of crunching challenges resulting in the referee brandishing several yellow cards.

For all of Sheffield’s probing, Newcastle looked sharp on the counter and almost scored after a searching ball into the box narrowly evaded the on-rushing forwards.

Sheffield did eventually score with 15 minutes remaining as substitute Andrew Sweeney, who looked a threat throughout his cameo, latched onto an accurate through ball and calmly slotted it through the keeper’s legs.

Both sides searched desperately for a winner but, alas, time had run out.

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Photo: Philip Carpenter

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