Forge issue 70 by Forge Press

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

Issue 70 Thursday April 3 2014 @ForgePress /ForgePress

Features decide: The worth of online activism, p. 14-15

Comment state: Equal marriage is only the first step to equality, p. 8

Arts expose:

The liberation behind life drawing, Fuse, p. 6-7

We are the champions

E 16-PAGT E V I S U U EXCL ITY PULLO VARS Photo: Josh Rock

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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NEWS Editor

nicola.moors@forgetoday.com

Nicola Moors

DEPUTY EDITOR Jessica Pitocchi Managing Editor Mikey Smith fuse editors fuse@forgetoday.com Amelia Heathman Karen Scattergood HEAD OF ONLINE matthew.smith@forgetoday.com matthew Smith News news@forgetoday.com Lauren Archer 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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/forgepress news@forgetoday.com YOUR UNIVERSITY

‘Life-threatening injuries’ for student who fell 40ft from Endcliffe window Nicola Moors A University of Sheffield student who fell from a fifth floor window at Endcliffe student village last weekend has suffered “lifethreatening injuries”. The female student, who has not yet been named, has been in Northern General hospital after the incident in the early hours of Saturday morning. A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to the Endcliffe student village at 4.50am on Saturday to reports that a woman had fallen from a window. “The 18-year-old was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she remains. The University said that the student’s condition was “cause for concern”. Debora Green, head of student support and well-being at the University of Sheffield, said: “The student remains in hospital and her condition continues to cause

concern. “Student Services and ACS staff are offering support to her family and friends.” A team of between six and 10 policemen was seen outside the Froggatt accommodation building with forensic scientists reported as being present on Saturday morning. A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: “The University can confirm there was an incident in the early hours of this morning at Endcliffe residences and a student was taken to Northern General hospital. “The University has been in touch with the student’s family and will be working closely with both them and the student’s flatmates to offer support and guidance.” Kieran Brown, a University of Sheffield student who lives in Endcliffe, said: “There were loads of policemen, a detective and an ambulance. “The detective was pointing at the window and then at the floor.”

Photo: Nicola Moors

Police van outside Froggatt

CRIME

£125m drugs gang uncovered in student area Patrick O’Connell Five men who ran £125m heroin and cocaine factory in Endcliffe Crescent have been convicted of drugs offences. A jury at Sheffield crown court found all the men guilty of two charges, conspiracy to produce Class A drugs and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, on Wednesday April 2. The investigation headed by South Yorkshire Police began in September 2010, when officers entered a flat in Endcliffe Crescent which was being rented by 26-year-old Mohammed Faizan. When police raided the property, Mohammed Zulficar, 33, was at the apartment and was shortly joined afterwards by Adnan Lal, 27. Officers found a stash of heroin and cocaine

totalling a street value of around £300,000 as well as cutting agents and equipment to support a drugs preparation factory. Further investigations revealed that the machines would have produced Class A drugs with a street value of around £125m between April and September 2010. Police also uncovered two other members of the group – Mohammed Ishaq, 39, and Haidar Ali, 25. Detective constable Andrew Shaw, the officer who led the investigation, said: “This was a sophisticated operation which we were able to stop thanks to the information from an observant and concerned local resident. “This is a prime example of the community and the police working together in difficult times.”

The group were arrested in April 2012 and subsequently all charged with two counts relating to drugs. Zulficar, of Cranworth Place in Eastwood, Rotherham; Ali, of Earl Marshall Road in Fir Vale, Sheffield; Ishaq, of Main Street in Mexborough; Lal, of Crabtree Close in Fir Vale and Faizan, of Whiteways Close in Fir Vale, are to be sentenced the following day, Thursday April 3. DC Shaw added: “This has been a long and complex investigation by South Yorkshire Police and I am delighted that these men will now be brought to justice.”

STUDENT LIVING

YOUR UNIVERSITY

One in four student homes 2016 officer roles review infested with vermin Tasmin Wade A quarter of student houses are infested with vermin, research this week has revealed. The report from the NUS found that one in four privately rented student accommodations have problems with vermin including mice and rats. The report also found that almost 50 per cent have issues with mould. Joe Hudson, a third year Business Management student who lives in Crookesmoor, said: “We have had mice in our house and m o u l d in our house last year. You expect it as a student but it is disgusting.” The NUS suggest these numbers come as a result of financial problems, finding 39 per cent of students struggle to pay energy bills. The report came as part of a campaign for proper

regulation of letting agents. NUS vice president for welfare, Colum McGuire, believes students are putting up with unreasonable conditions, and that universities have a responsibility to help students. He said: “There are a significant number of students now who live in the private rental sector so it’s no longer good enough for universities to keep that at arms length.” The NUS has created a list of recommendations for the government to safeguard students from housing problems, which include banning letting agent fees and undertaking research to see whether more can be done to protect deposits. Housing Minister Kris Hopkins told the BBC: “We have given councils £4 million to tackle the small minority of rogue landlords, and will be requiring letting agents to belong to redress schemes, so students will have somewhere to complain if they get a poor deal.”

Elsa Vulliamy A referendum which could potentially change the Sheffield Students’ Union officer roles for 2016, is due to take place this October. Councillors voted at the Union council meeting on March 27 to determine which possible officer roles students would vote on. The council voted on three options, each proposing a different set of officer roles, in order to pick two to stand alongside the option to keep things as they are. The result was to place proposals A and D on the ballot. All proposals contain the roles of president, sports officer, activities officer, international students’ officer, women’s officer and welfare officer. Proposal A also contains an academic affairs and access officer and a black minority ethnic students’ (BME) officer while proposal D contains an academic officer and a representation, inclusion and access officer.

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NEWS

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Council house tenants face higher rents as business plan could ‘destabilise’ Patrick O’Connell

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30 year forecast

The council’s previous update estimated that their £350m housing debt would be fully repaid within 30 years. However, their latest update predicted that almost half the debt would still be left to pay.

Tenants of new council houses face a rent increase as council bosses admit their housing account will remain in debt for more than 30 years. A Sheffield city council report on the Housing Revenue account released at the end of March revealed higher rents will be required in order for new council houses to be “self-financing” and not be a “detriment” to their existing housing plan. Council estimations last year said that their £350 million housing debt would be entirely repaid within 28 years. The viability of the plan is assessed on whether it can repay its debt within 30 years, but estimates indicate that it is incapable of repaying the debt in the time period, causing fear that the plan could derail. The updated report released last week said the council “no longer has the capacity to repay debt in full over a 30-year planning horizon” – with a debt of £140 million expected to be still left to pay by year 30. The council has been in control of its own housing budget since 2012, following a government policy which introduced ‘selffinancing’ to all local authorities. The transition from government funding to self-funding involved a transfer of debt to the each stock owning local authority to a level that the government considered to be affordable. Sheffield city council’s Housing Revenue account revealed a £350 million debt. “Under self-financing all aspects of council housing in Sheffield have to be funded from the income which is generated

through council housing in Sheffield”, the council report, written by Liam Duggan, said. The self-financing scheme was described in the report as a positive step for Sheffield, bringing increased flexibility. However, it was acknowledged to bring risks with it, “particularly interest rate risk”. Of the 41,000 dwellings owned by Sheffield city council, it is now understood that the affordable rent will be charged to tenants in place of social rent for most new council homes. Affordable rent is higher than social rent, and defined as up to 80 per cent of market (private) rent. The Homes and Communities agency have recently given the council funding to bring 31 longterm empty properties back in to use. The terms of the agreement are that the houses must be let at affordable rent. The report also said that the ‘bedroom tax’ introduced by the government was damaging to the scheme. Duggan’s update said: “Arrears resulting from underoccupancy rule will be higher than assumed” in the previous report. As of October 2013, 4,261 council households were affected by the ‘bedroom tax’. Also damaging the viability of the plan was the Right to Buy scheme. The impact of Right to Buy sales on the business plan is “a reduction in rental income over the long term as a result of increased sales, which is only partly offset by savings in repairs, depreciation and interest costs.” The council added if the plan was unable to fund the repair of its housing or deliver essential services, “ultimately the plan could destabilise.”

STUDENT LIVING

Ucas receive £12m for selling student data Neelam Tailor Access to personal data from millions of teenagers, students, and their parents has been sold for marketing purposes to mobile phone and energy drink companies, among others. The University and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), which is host to around 700,000 university applicants each year, has received almost £12 million in return for selling details from teenagers as young as 16 for targeted advertising. Access to targeted marketing is sold through the commercial branch, Ucas Media. Vodafone, Microsoft, and O2 are among those who have marketed using Ucas data. Red Bull energy drinks launched a large campaign directed at new students where they sent out a free can of one of their new flavours to each new university applicant. People can opt out of this direct marketing, but this would also mean opting out of education and careers mailing. Data campaigners have called this approach “underhand”. Ucas Media publicises the data to potential advertisers saying: “We help them reach uni, we help you reach them.” The Ucas application gateway is used by almost every applicant from the UK and overseas. It requires them to provide up-todate contact and identity data.

There is no indication that Ucas are breaking the law in selling access to applicants’ data as it markets access to the data through its own commercial channels as opposed to directly selling it. This way it retains possession of the valuable and abundant information. Ucas Media goes on to promote the use of applicant data by saying: “We’re one of the most important organisations in the lives of any young person aspiring to get into university. “With years of experience building relationships with students and having worked with some of the UK’s bestknown brands – from multinationals to independents – we can help you reach current and future students, a market worth over £15bn a year.” Rob Campbell, the chair of the National Association of Head Teachers said: “I have a degree of concern around that principle of to what extent students are aware when they opt out or otherwise what decision they are making. “I would also have concerns as an educator and parent about the kinds of advertisers you want to specifically target these groups.” Ucas Media says that the majority of its profits go to the parent corporation, a charity as well as a company. They claim that it keeps down applicant fees which currently stand at £23.

SCIENCE & Technology

Getting a head start This week, researchers in the Netherlands have announced that three months ago they carried out a worldfirst operation implanting a 3D-printed replacement skull. The patient suffered from a rare bone disorder resulting in a super thick skull of 5cm, compared to the normal 1.5cm, which led to sight-loss and would eventually have led to death due to the increased pressure exerted on the brain. 3D printed implants have previously been used to replace fragments of bones within the face and skull, but this is the first time a full hemisphere had been attempted. 3D printing could potentially revolutionise this field of medicine as 3D printed implants are designed from scans of the patient in order to get the perfect fit.

Claire Ozber

Photo: Wikimedia

Japanese whaling not ‘for purpose of scientific research’ In a landmark ruling at The Hague, Holland, the UN Court of International Court of Justice (UNICJ) has declared that Japanese whaling in the Antarctic is not “for purposes of scientific research” and must stop. Australia have been suing Japan over the program, arguing that Japan’s slaughter of over 3600 minke whales since 2005 was for commercial purposes. Japan set out to monitor changes in stomach contents, blubber thickness and other variables over six years, yet only two scientific papers have been published since 2005. Japanese deputy foreign minister Koji Tsuruoka said “Japan will abide by the decision.”

Daniel King WHO report doubles air pollution death estimates More than seven million people died from air pollution exposure in 2012, this is according to a new report released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 25. The data highlights the connection between air pollution and cardiovascular diseases making air pollution a serious environmental health risk. In 2013 the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC) condemned air pollution as a carcinogen capable of causing cancer. The WHO report attributed 4.3 million deaths to indoor air pollution as a result of biomass stoves and 3.7 million to outdoor air pollution.

Victoria Stanway

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

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NEWS UniNEWS

Interesting stories from other universities around the world

Oxford student accused of sexual assault An unnamed University of Oxford student has been accused of sexually assaulting two people soon after their Union published a pamphlet on sexual abuse awareness. The pamphlet looked into the culture of silence surrounding sexual violence, just as one of the women who made the allegation revealed she was afraid to tell authorities. She said: “It was one of the most naïve thoughts I’ve ever had, but my thought process was basically: ‘he goes to Oxford, so it must be okay. People from Oxford are fine.” The girl said that similar allegations had been made by another student, but they had been shamed into withdrawing them.

Neelam Tailor

Photo: Leeds Student No more printing for Leeds University newspaper The University of Leeds’ student newspaper Leeds Student has ceased printing due to insufficient funding. The University paper, which has been a starting step for journalists including Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has been printed since 1970. The petition, ‘Save Leeds Student Newspaper’, started by University student Kyle Hulme, states that the Union has fallen short of providing the £5,200 funding needed to print the free weekly newspaper. It had reached 1,306 signatories at the time of printing.

Jessica Pitocchi

/forgepress news@forgetoday.com CRIME

Man ‘beheads girlfriend while still alive before running naked into street’

Lauren Archer

An 18-year-old Sheffield woman was still alive when her boyfriend started to cut her head off with a kitchen knife, a court was told. Aras Hussein, 21, killed Reema Ramzan by decapitating her and stabbing her in the chest, before stabbing himself and running naked into the street, Sheffield crown court was told on Tuesday. Ramzan died on June 4 last year, in Hussein’s flat at Herries Road, Shireford. The prosecution is alleging that Mr Hussein stabbed Miss Ramzan multiple times, cutting off her head, stabbing her in the chest and inflicting a number of shallow incise wounds to her hands and left forearm. Graham Reeds QC, for the prosecution said of the couple’s background: “It was a relationship that her family disapproved of.” He said that Miss Ramzan had lived with her family in Darnall, Sheffield, before moving in with her uncle in Firth Park, Sheffield after it was found that she was still spending time with Mr Hussein despite her family’s disapproval. While at the Firth Park residence, Miss Ramzan’s uncle found red marks on her wrist which “looked as though she had been gripped,” Mr Reeds said. There had been a number of incidents involving Mr Hussein, Miss Ramzan and her family which showed Mr Hussein’s “attitude towards her”, Mr Reeds said. These incidents included Hussein ringing Miss Ramzan’s uncle and telling him: “I’m going to bring my boys, you’ve got no right to keep her there.” Mr Hussein also took sexual pictures of Miss Ramzan and threated to show them to her family if she left him, Mr Reeds said. The pictures were deleted by the police after the incident was reported by Miss Ramzan’s family. Mr Reeds also told the court that Miss Ramzan’s brother,

YOUR CITY

Students living in the library Three University of Birmingham students recently spent an entire working week in their University library to raise money for charity. James Phillips, David Franklin and Sam Jones began their challenge, known as the #LongLoanLockIn, on Monday March 24 and spent the next five days eating, working, washing, socialising and sleeping within the confines of the Main Library. The three friends raised over £1,000 for Birmingham Nightline, a support and information service run by students for students. David Franklin told Forge Press: “We never realised how hard it would be to be surrounded by hundreds of incredibly stressed students for the week.”

Jessica Pitocchi

Sohail Ramzan, had seen red marks around her neck. It is alleged that Mr Ramzan rang Mr Hussein, who reacted aggressively and told Mr Ramzan he would “do what he liked”. When Miss Ramzan went to Mr Hussein’s house on June 4 2013, Mr Reeds said, she brought her passport and a large amount of money with her. Mr Reeds said she did not tell anybody why she was going to visit Hussein or why she packed her passport and money. That afternoon, Mr Hussein’s neighbour awoke from a nap when he heard a woman “screaming for dear life”, Mr Reeds said. The neighbour did not enter the flat and went to the shops, returning later to find Mr Hussein stood outside his flat, naked and covered in blood with a stab wound. Mr Reeds said to the the jury: “The tissue bruising suggests that Reema was still alive as the defendant started to remove her head. “The process of decapitation would require considerable motion with corresponding considerable force, which needed to be sustained until all the tissue had been cut through. “Severe force would have been needed to cut through the spinal vertebrae with a knife in order to remove the head.” Mr Reeds said a local resident saw Hussein stood outside, naked, covered in blood with a stab wound, clutching a passport and a wad of money. The resident said he thought Mr Hussein had been shot. This witness called an ambulance and, soon after, Mr Hussein was arrested and taken to hospital. Mr Reeds said: “I killed someone, I need to die. I stabbed myself” and asked paramedics: “Why are you helping me? I’ve murdered someone.” Mr Reeds said Mr Hussein was initially calm but soon became violent, attacking police officers and members of staff

Patrick O’Connell Sheffield couple Kyle Emerson, 25, and Richie Wood, 28, made history as they tied the knot at midnight on Saturday 29 March, becoming one of the first same-sex couples in the country to wed. A string of other gay couples married throughout the country as the clock struck twelve and the Marriage Act 2013 came into force. 60 friends and family attended the ceremony at Sheffield town hall, alongside another 25 special guests, including MPs Paul Blomfield, Meg Munn and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper. Cooper delivered a special gift to the newlyweds – a copy of the same-

sex marriage bill from Parliament that had been personally signed by David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg. Kyle and Richie met seven years ago after kissing during a New Year’s Eve celebration at midnight. The wedding was held in reverse, with the reception held first and the ceremony afterwards. The couple are planning their honeymoon but have not yet decided on a location. Speaking to the Sheffield Star, Kyle said: “It was a wonderful, joyous occasion but it was all a bit of a whirlwind.”

Reema Ramzan from Northern General Hospital when he was admitted with the self-inflicted stab wound. He said Hussein was then injected with a strong sedative. Hussein was sat in the dock surrounded by hospital staff and his translator, dressed in suit trousers and a waistcoat. He is charged with assaulting five staff members at Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, where he was taken for treatment following his arrest. Mr Reeds told the court that Hussein was likely to claim diminished responsibility, on the basis of a diagnosis of schizophrenia, although the defence statement has not yet

Photo: South Yorkshire Police been presented. Mr Reeds said Hussein had no history of mental illness. Reeds said: “He was able to function perfectly well: he held down a job, he lived on his own…he had a girlfriend.” “The prosecution case is that his behaviour right up until the time of the killing was entirely ordinary. “Of course, the killing itself was anything but ordinary.” Hussein has denied one charge of murder and five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The trial continues.

STUDENT LIVING

New student flats set to rise from the ashes of Gatecrasher club Neelam Tailor Contoversial new plans are in place to build accommodation on the site of the former club ‘Gatecrasher’ which burned down almost seven years ago. Council permission is being sought for a five to seven storey development which would house 245 students with a view to completion by summer 2016 in preparation for the new academic year. There have been concerns regarding the saturation of Sheffield city centre with student flats. The developers, City Estates, maintain that there is still demand for

accommodation in the prime location. Director Dale Fixter told the Sheffield Telegraph: “There have been a number of people converting redundant office space, but there has been very little in the way of new build for a number of years” The location is at the corner of Matilda Street and Arundel Street, the damages from the blaze are still evident. The flats would be equipped with a gym, launderette, and an internal courtyard. The development is estimated to cost £10m.

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Union bar sales down, defecit up

National News

Rats the size of cats in Birmingham

Huge rats have been scuttling on the streets of Birmingham. A pest controller, Colin Watts, said he saw a 2ft rodent “as wide as a brick”. The problem is growing as the city saw more than 5,100 alerts within the past year, an increase by around 300 on the past year. The rats, said to weigh the same as two bags of sugar, are being managed by pest control. Dr Robin Allaby, a professor in evolutionary genetics explained that the rats are growing due to the easy access to waste food, in the same way that humans grew with increased nutrition. Neelam Tailor Patrick O’Connell The Students’ Union is forecast to accumulate a deficit of £283,344 this financial year. The figures were announced by development officer Sam Neagus at Union council last week. Trade at the Union has not recovered at a rate previously predicted following refurbishment works taking place throughout Students’ Union building during 2012-2013. The original budget predicted the Union would make a profit of £5,700 from the entire year, but revised estimates now indicate that the Union is set to make a loss. Neagus said trade was expected to be poor during the refurbishment. “After the building works we thought it was going to pick up

quicker than it has”. Bar sales are down in the Union, a trend that has also been observed within other students’ unions throughout the UK. Neagus said: “On a national level, most students’ unions are recording much lower bar trade in particular, as student habits have changed. As a result of that our commercial contribution is declining,” A compensation package from the university to the Students’ Union for the building project was agreed prior to the commencement of works. The Union is set to receive a sum of compensation from the university for this year. However, the final figure is yet to be negotiated. Neagus remained positive about the financial situation of the Union, saying: “We’re in a strong position to deal with it. We’re optimistic about the future”.

Interval, University of Sheffield Students’ Union

Do I look big in this? Mums have started a new craze on Instagram known as #babysuiting. Babies are being dressed in men’s suits and uniforms that are far too big for them, and the cute photos are trending all over social media. The trend was started by Ilana Wiles, known as mommyshorts on Instagram. Since then thousands have followed her lead.

Photo: Neelam Tailor

STUDENT LIVING

Student Housing Co-op secures two houses Lauren Archer The team of students behind the Sheffield Student Housing Co-op have secured £400,000 of funding to buy two houses to help set up their scheme next year. The houses, both for five people, are likely to be located in Crookesmoor and Hunters Bar. Earlier this week the NUS released a report on the current state of student housing. The report, called Homes Fit For Study, shows that 50 per cent of students do not believe their accommodation is value for money. Jamie Risner, who helped set up the Sheffield Student Housing Coop, said: “In Sheffield, and across Mature students’ committee reformed In conjunction with the Welfare Officer, the Mature Students’ Committee (MSC) has been re-formed. MSC represent all mature students from Sheffield. Mature students make up 11 per cent of the total population of the University of Sheffield, which is around 3,000 students. As it is a working committee, all students are entitled to be members, anyone who defines as a mature student can get involved. MSC are currently working on a rebrand which will be launched in the next few weeks along with their new Facebook page.

the country, students are starting to fight back by taking on the landlords at their own game. “By owning and running housing ourselves, we can have cheaper, better run student housing.” In 2004, the NUS joined up with the Confederation of Co-operative Housing and Manchester Metropolitan University Union (MMU) in an attempt to set up cheaper, co-operatively owned student housing for MMU students. The plan fell through when NUS management changed. As part of the same nationwide project – Students for Cooperation – Edinburgh Student Housing Co-op has secured a lease

on a 100-bedroom property, which they will now be able to rent out to students. Risner said that the scheme would allow student tenants to have more control over their houses, including decorating or furnishing the properties to their taste. The Sheffield scheme is part of a nationwide network of student accommodation co-operatives. Student housing co-operatives are made up of student members, all of whom part-own and help maintain a portfolio of properties. These properties are designed to be cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Tonnes of coal moved from under the Jessop Hospital

Children’s hospital amongst best for waiting times

Seventy lorries of coal have been removed from the site of the University of Sheffield’s Jessop Hospital site. The former women’s hospital is in the process of being demolished to make way for the University’s new £81 million “state-of-the-art” engineering complex, set to open in September 2015. The site is part of the Silkstone coal steam, and more than 1,000 cubic metres of coal was found beneath the hospital’s foundations. Andrew Fallon, head of estates at the University, told the Sheffield Star: “All the coal has now been removed from site and the amount discovered was as anticipated, resulting in no net financial gain to the University or the project.”

The emergency department at Sheffield’ Children’s Hospital is one of the best for meeting waiting time targets, new results show. The hospital on Glossop Road, Broomhill, treats children from across Sheffield and South Yorkshire. Overall, 97.25 per cent of patients were seen by a staff member within the winter target of four hours, nearly five per cent better than the national average. The report, ‘NHS Winter: Weekly A&E Tracker’, was published by the BBC and measured waiting times compared to targets over a 20-week period from November 2013 to March 2014.

Photo: Instagram mommyshorts Neelam Tailor Bright spark could save US Government $400m A bright boy has given the US Government a simple idea for saving $400m (£240m). Suvir Mirchandani spent hours working out that if Garamound, a lighter and thinner font, is used in official documents, as opposed to their customary Times New Roman, the Government would use around 25 per cent less ink. It began as a project for a science fair; Mirchandani was looking into how his school could save money. It occurred to the teenager that there was huge focus on saving paper, but not as much on ink. The average US federal employee is estimated to print out 7,200 pieces of paper per annum, bringing the Government’s annual printing expenditure to $1.8bn (£1.1bn) Sarah Fankhauser from the Journal for Emerging Investigators said: “We were so impressed. We could really see the real-world application in Suvir’s paper.” The Government has not implemented the idea as of yet, but Mirchandani hopes that it can help everyday consumers around the world. Neelam Tailor

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

COFFEE BREAK TWEETS OF THE FORTNIGHT

@FPCoffeeBreak /forgepresscoffeebreak

The Arts Tower cuts a familiar figure for Sheffield students. Both a place of study and a funfilled day out (No, really. TripAdvisor ranks it #68 out of 119 Sheffield tourist spots. Most recent review: “This isn’t an attraction!”), it has recently seen controversial student occupations and a dramatic water main explosion in the car park nearby. Check out photographer Nikita Kesharaju’s Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101197089@N04/

Photograph of the fortnight: The Arts Tower at dusk

Photo: Nikita Kesharaju

Spoilers are coming An unnamed maths teacher at a Belgian school has discovered the perfect way to control his students threatening them with spoilers from HBO series Game of Thrones. According to one student’s post on social media, there was a lot of noise in the class and pupils refused to turn the volume down. In a Machiavellian move worthy of Tywin Lannister himself, the fed-up teacher decided to teach his class a valuable life lesson. He asked how many of them were watching Game of Thrones. The answer - about threequarters of the class. The teacher then announced he had read every single book and told his students that if they continued to misbehave, he would write the names of the characters who die in the impending fourth season on the whiteboard. He

even threatened to describe for them in juicy detail how each character meets their end. When disbelieving students tested his resolve, he promptly wrote the names of every character killed in the third season on the board. A hurried silence fell across the room as those who hadn’t yet seen the third season had their hopes and dreams dashed in one stone-cold move. The original student added: “I can tell you there was a religious silence during the last lesson.” Coffee Break wonders if George R. R. Martin has heard about this chilling tale of manipulation and intrigue. He might draw inspiration from it for his next book. As for noisy students, beware: teachers are coming.

Word of the fortnight Brontide, noun: 1. The long, low rumble of distant thunder.

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now k u o y id

The Guinness World Record for the most expensive dessert stands at $25,000. The sundae, a team effort between a restaurant and luxury jeweller, is infused with edible gold and has a 14 karat gold and diamond bracelet hiding at the bottom.

Water vapour is not steam. Steam is the invisible gaseous form of water, while water vapour is what we see and often mistake for steam. We see water vapour when the steam cools as it comes in contact with air.

The short end of the stick Most of us use eBay to try to sell off our old clothes, books and electronics. A more adventurous seller might try to flog their handmade pottery and crafts. Intrepid eBay user whackychop has taken it several steps further, uploading a listing of “organic twigs” for sale. Somehow the bidding has managed to reach £37 at the time of writing, with four days left on the auction. Rather impressive for a listing that literally consists of some sticks picked up from the ground. Whackychop claims that the twigs all have their own individual characteristics, warning that twig number five is “THORNY!”. The description given is as follows: “Parents, how many times have you had to break up an argument over a twig? A lot right? You try and offer your child a new twig, but what you don’t understand is that like the Spice Girls each twig has it’s [sic] own character and you can’t just replace one with another twig. Well on offer for you I have a set of six travel size twigs, each with a unique personality so you never have to come unstuck.”

Whackychop further claims that the twigs aren’t just any random sticks - they come from the wealthy area of De Beauvoir Square in London, making them “premium twigs and not everyday rubbish.” Coffee Break is curious as to what the successful bidder will do with a collection of sticks. Other listings from whackychop include a handwritten version of the lyrics to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, currently standing

at £10.70, and a “voucher with a 5 year gaurantee [sic].” Surprisingly the bidding for this has reached £2.60, despite it being completely and utterly useless. Whether this is an amusing way for whackychop to spend their free time or an ingenious solution to the ongoing recession, the fact remains that somebody somewhere will pay at least £37 for a handful of twigs.

Photo: eBay

FO R GE PRESS Th ur sd ay Apr il 3 2014

@FPCoffeeBreak

COFFEE BREAK

/forgepresscoffeebreak

Puzzle Page: sudoku Medium

Easy 7

2 3

9 3 3

5 4

3 8

7 9

1 7

8 8

9 3

2 6

8 9

1 3

Hard

Quotes of the fortnight

“

Laugh as much as you choose, but you will not laugh me out of my opinion.

“

”

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Taught from infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.

Mary Wollstonecraft

”

dingbats

Dingbats are visual word puzzles from which you must identify a well-known phrase or saying. 1. Across:

Down:

1. It came whiffling through the tulgey wood (10) 7. Croaking (7) 8. Butler to the Addams family (5) 10. Superlatively good (4) 11. Diplomatic or political manoeuvre (8) 13. Genius; often associated with autism in popular culture (6) 15. Close embrace partner dance that gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s (6) 17. To do the opposite of sewing (8) 18. Jason’s ship (4) 20. Stiff hair or bristles (5) 21. Bond’s drink of choice (7) 22. Killing of a brother (10)

1. College at both Oxford and Cambridge (5) 2. Prison cell onboard a ship (4) 3. Young eagle (6) 4. Shared title of songs by Kelly Clarkson, The Script and Franz Ferdinand (4,4) 5. Central core of a maize ear (7) 6. Pair of piano pieces composed by Debussy between 1888-91 (10) 9. Clotting of the blood (10) 12. Poor, needy (8) 14. Criticise harshly (7) 16. Breaded fish, commonly made with prawns (6) 19. European river beginning in the Swiss Alps (5)

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COMMENT

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

One Act closer to tying the knot with equality

Photo: Wikimedia commons

William Coley By most accounts March 29 2014 was a historic day. That is unless you’re the editor of the Daily Mail, who thought a story about celebrity pebble-dashing was more newsworthy than the fact that LGBT people were finally granted equal rights to civil marriage. Ignoring this ignorant anomaly, equal marriage can be seen as the final piece in the legislative jigsaw of gay rights. By 12.01am gay weddings were joyfully already taking place across the country, including that of Kyle Emerson and Richie Wood here in Sheffield. This momentous day marks a long fought battle for equal treatment that wouldn’t have been

possible without the courageous and tireless campaigning of both LGBT people, and straight, allies. Though it has been hard won, it is as easy as ever to downplay the significance of such an occasion. Less than 50 years ago, gay people could be imprisoned in the UK, and it took until 2001 to finally equalise the age of consent.

“Equality has not been granted by a simple act of parliament” The legislative liberalisation that has occurred over the past decades has been phenomenal, and we can now join the exclusive club of 17 nations which can be seen as embracing the rights of their LGBT people. Our celebration of equal love

says a lot about the society and people we are, and fortunately, in this case, actions are speaking louder than words, drowning into insignificance the views of those unenlightened boors who oppose marriage equality. The debate that has occurred over this issue has brought many of these people out from under their rocks, from sickening chants such as ‘gays, gays, gays, we hope you die of Aids’, to those who just don’t get it, with questions of why civil partnerships aren’t enough. Surprisingly, it’s this last point that saddens me the most; to me, and many other LGBT people, it’s like questioning why ‘separate but equal’ racial legislation of 60’s America was wrong. Separate is never equal, civil partnership were never equal. Those like Mail Columnist, Amanda Platell who ‘welcomed the

introduction of civil partnerships, but simply feel that gay marriage is a step too far’, are effectively saying that homosexual people are not worthy of the benefits and rights of everybody else.

“One third of the population still oppose marriage equality” This is why equal marriage is such an important milestone. Even David Cameron recognises that we should be ‘far from complacent about the challenges that remain’. There should be no illusion, equality has not been granted by a simple act of parliament. As Amanda Platell and the one third of the population who still oppose marriage equality go to show, there is no escaping the

disturbing undercurrent of homophobia that exists in society. This, in its mildest form, can leave LGBT people feeling uneasy and embarrassed to be themselves for fear of cowardly verbal abuse and offensive stereotyping. In its extremes, this undercurrent, that is all too present in our schools, leads to 56 per cent of LGBT children self-harming and 21 per cent attempting suicide. Equal marriage is a wonderful thing. I wish all those getting married the best of luck, and look forward to my own wedding which will be the best damn wedding ever. However, we can’t get ahead of ourselves, homophobia still degrades lives and taints our society.

Student loans: An inevitable timebomb? Neelam Tailor It is a recipe for disaster: a hike in student loans, combined with increasing leniency in loan repayment terms. This is bound to result in the government being billions of pounds out-of-pocket. It is predicted that by 2042, £90 billion of the £200 billion owed to government, will be written off, this can be attributed to a large proportion of university graduates (currently 45 per cent) not earning enough to repay their loans. This money could be sent to the numerous other causes in desperate need of cash, but instead, we are simply running a massive loss. The equivocal responses being

thrown around by David Willetts, universities minister, are a smoke screen to detract from the daunting prospect of future losses. He said: “I can envisage in the future, if graduate earnings pick up and rise more than forecast, that the amount we are going to collect back will improve.” This optimism is not substantiated; it appears to be blind faith, not something for us, the people at risk, to rely on. The increase in loans to £9000 a year was enforced in the name of healing the deficit, but it has raised little money at all. It actually costs the government more than the previous £3000 cap on fees, because of the overly generous terms of repayment. In an attempt to encourage people to go to university, the earnings level at which tuition fees

are to be paid back has risen from £15,000 to £21,000 a year. The policy appears to have failed on both counts: firstly it is costing the government more, and secondly, there is no obvious increase in the proportion of people from poorer backgrounds going to university. By giving a loan with little realistic expectation of repayment from many graduates, the government is nurturing a somethingfor- n ot h i ng culture, which is not b enef icial to students or the economy.

Disgracefully, it is not feasible to go back to free university education and maintenance grants for students. The next best thing would be to cap fees at the lowest amount possible, not writing the loans off completely. The loan could be made under a more standard contract with the expectation of repayment. As students, we decided to take out a loan for our benefit and it

seems only right that having had the benefit of a university education, we should repay the debt. Neither the economic argument, nor the sociological argument for the lax repayment terms, stands up to scrutiny. The billions of pounds the government is prepared to write off appears to be a very expensive vote winner for them, with little or no benefit for the country. What could possibly be motivating politicians to be so very generous with public money?

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

FO R GE PRESS Th ur sd ay Apr i l 3 2014

@forgecomment /forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

COMMENT

Filtering out the no makeup selfies? Rosy Roche and Holly Barrett debate the credentials of the (in)famous no makeup selfie Facebook campaign

Rosy Roche This latest trend to dominate our newsfeeds has left a trail of controversy as its viral blaze has blown up on our social networks. The campaign, which encourages users to take a picture of themselves without makeup and donate to Cancer Research UK, has provoked both comments on its narcissistic nature and messages that praise the ‘natural beauty’ and goodwill shown. The campaign is estimated to have raised over £8 million in six days – therefore perhaps criticisms of its vanity are irrelevant.

“I doubt the people at Cancer Research are criticising the donations made” There are undoubtedly problems within the no makeup selfie movement. It enforces our photoshopped culture, almost promoting the idea that, as taking a picture of yourself without makeup is such a big deal, makeup should be the norm. Despite this, the appearance and increasing presence of these pictures is refreshing. Diluting the pool of pictures saturated with heavily airbrushed, makeup laden, Instagram-filtered faces, helps to remind us that these artificial enhancements are unnecessary. This says a lot about our society. A viral trend showing something as banal your face without makeup is a depressing indictment on our culture. For those like me who wear makeup everyday, a picture without it can be nervewracking and cringe-worthy, but the campaign’s positive reinforcement that a lack of makeup does not change how our friends see us can be both comforting and inspiring. If posting celebrations of our charity and our ‘natural’ selves provokes comments like ‘you’re such a natural beauty’ and ‘you’re just as stunning without any makeup’, then perhaps we will all be just a little bit more confident in our appearances and a little bit happier.

Comment selfie #nofilter

The accusation that telling everyone about our donations to charity accompanied by our selfies is a narcissistic display of our generosity is valid. Ideally we would donate and encourage our friends to do the same without documenting it for the online world to ‘like’. But, if this self-indulgent movement did not allow self-gratification, perhaps it would not have swept across the internet with the same force. Coupling the alreadypopular trend of the selfie with a charitable twist engages the masses as it results in positive reactions. Therefore, narcissism becomes almost irrelevant as the statistics speak for themselves; £8million is £8million and does it really matter if those who donated it indulged their own insecurities while doing so? Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter innately encourage narcissism with features such as ‘likes’ – if we manipulate this to raise money for charity by ‘liking’ our friends’ donations, this can only be positive. This surge of donations will allow Cancer Research UK to run 10 more clinical trials, and as a friend of mine once said “anything that helps raise money for charity is a good thing, even if it’s really annoying, like Bono.” I doubt the brilliant people at Cancer Research are criticising the donations made, so perhaps we shouldn’t either.

Holly Barrett The #nomakeupselfie trend started out as another meaningless gesture, with the mention of cancer awareness carelessly attached. Selfie-takers claimed to raise awareness without actually sharing any information of what we should be aware of, such as symptoms to look out for, or anything that benefited the fight against cancer. In many cases, including celebrity efforts, the ulterior motive seemed to be an effort to get compliments on how naturally pretty they were. In these cases people were not baring all as a kind of sacrifice for charity, but ensuring they looked good enough to receive sycophantic comments about their natural beauty. Thankfully, the campaign was steered in the right direction by an alliance between critics of the original narcissists and people that actually cared about donating to Cancer Research. People got involved for genuinely altruistic reasons as they saw how much good the campaign was doing. Cancer Research ended up receiving £8 million in six days, something everyone who got involved should be incredibly proud of. Yet I can’t help but think that the ‘Facebooking’ of society has changed the way we think about charity. The campaign appeared to succeed because it was linked to the self when charity is supposed to be about selflessness. Ever yone wanted to get involved when it b e c a m e about them. How many people do you see sharing and being comp elled to donate when they see

shocking images and true stories. Often only a handful. When the original selfies were exposed as narcissistic, why did the majority of the people involved use the selfie to get their point across? Instead they could have shared charity-related links, for example cancer symptom information to look out for or an image of a loved one lost to cancer. This is probably because of the warm fuzzy feeling people experience when they get loads of Facebook likes and positive comments on their appearance without make-up. The boost you receive from charitable giving should be purely due to making a difference.

“Everyone wanted to get involved with the charity when it became about them” The way the campaign was carried out also redefined charity as something that was about showing, rather than doing. It was hard not to see the showiness, competitiveness and element of proving yourself about the whole thing, as people broadcasted their donation sums to the Facebook community. While everyone’s faith in humanity has probably been restored by these selfies, people are giving less in general - 27,000 charities now rely on the government for 75 per cent of funding. This means they are profoundly affected by austerity cuts, and are often bound by contracts, which reduce their freedom to make decisions independent of government. In order to best plan for the future, charities need regular sources of income. People must not lose the generous spirit the selfie campaign has inspired when the fad dies down, and rediscover charity in its original sense. They must give their time or money whenever they can, not just when giving is made about the self, and when the Facebook community is watching and sending applause their way. This way, cures will be found quicker, lives will be saved, and people and animals protected from suffering.

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@forgecomment

COMMENT Clegg won something! Shame no one saw /forgecomment

comment@forgetoday.com

Oliver Saunders In the wake of the Clegg/Farage EU debate, the immediate, post-debate polls indicated a Farage victory. Of the 1000-odd surveyed by YouGov, 57 per cent named Farage the victor; compared to Clegg’s 36 per cent. Such a result, alongside more than a tint of Eurosceptic bias, prompted such tabloids as the Daily Mail and the Sun, and indeed Peter Oborne from the broadsheet the Telegraph, to dismiss any notion of a Clegg win. This opinion in fact dominates much of the prestige press commentary, as the irrelevant titterings of an isolated political establishment. Some insisted Prime Minister Cameron and opposition leader Ed Miliband had lost by way of absence. Others, notably Fraser Nelson, deemed Cameron the victor, with Clegg and Farage representing political extremes between which the premier has set out a moderate agenda (renegotiation and a post-election referendum). Dan Hodges has noted that, while any upsurge in Ukip support, which he thinks likely, will damage the Conservatives, the heightened visibility and perceived competence of the Ukip leader will transfer the weight of expectation from Cameron’s shoulders to Farage’s. He parallels this with Romney’s supposed success in the US presidential leaders’ debates. However, I’m afraid I have to come down on the side of Oborne’s isolated political

establishment. As has been pointed out numerous times, leaving aside any consideration of Clegg and Farage’s respective performances, the fact is that 36 per cent of those surveyed by YouGov picked Clegg as their winner. Considering the broadly Eurosceptic

“Ultimately, Clegg won on both style and substance” inclinations of the British public, as well as Clegg’s current public standing (his poll rating resembles that of, well, Europe), a vote of over a third in favour of the institution lambasted constantly in the right-wing press as an oppressive, bureaucratic dictatorship bent on Britain’s destruction. In tacit favour of the political personification of arsenic, Clegg, cannot be considered anything other than a victory – well, at least not a defeat. As to the actual contents of the debate, you can find those elsewhere. Suffice to say that both made some fairly dubious claims. Farage insisted that 70 per cent of Britain’s laws are made in Brussels, the reality being that under seven per cent of primary legislation and under 14 per cent of secondary legislation are passed in the EU. Clegg warned of an overnight loss of three million jobs should Britain vote for the exit. The majority of the analysis rests on style rather than substance. The number of times Farage’s sweatiness/tendency to shout/look like a frog has been mentioned makes you despair for modern journalism. Clegg’s points were somewhat more substantiated, but seeing as the European debate, as so far conducted, has favoured

emotion over fact, what was actually said matters little. At any rate, there’s another Clegg/Farage debate coming up on the BBC next week, and you can be relatively sure that whatever is said there will drown out all that was said in the last one. Ultimately, Clegg won on both style and substance, but seeing as few were watching and about the same number cared, it doesn’t exactly matter. If we were to completely disregard the contents of the debate, and it’d seem that we should indeed do so, it could be argued that Farage won simply by turning up. A television/radio appearance alongside

We are the champions! Hello and welcome to another issue of Forge Press. To be honest, you don’t really give a damn about what I have to say so this is going to be short and sweet. Unfortunately this is my last issue as editor and while I can actually have time for afternoon naps again, I’m extremely sad to leave. I’ve had an amazing editorial team this year and it is thanks to them that we’ve had such a beautiful looking paper all yearround. Of course, none of this would even happen if it wasn’t for you so thanks for writing, reviewing, drawing and picking up a copy of my darling newspaper every

fortnight. To the new editorial team congratulations for making it through the AGM and afterwardtrip to West Street Live. Good luck for the next year, I have no doubt you’re all going to have an amazingly fun and sleepless year. Enjoy it while you can. Now, to the important stuff: the content. Inside this bumper edition of Forge Press, you will find a 16-page Varsity pullout. A huge credit to the sports editors, photographers (especially Josh Rock, who has been amazing as ever), contributors and to the sporting team WHO WON US VARSITY. #UNAAYYYYYYYY

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

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

Photo: Ukip.org

D.A.R.T.S.

Editorial

the Deputy Prime Minister arguing his party’s raison d’être would seem to cement his position upon the political stage and lend his party and position an air of credibility it had previously lacked. For Nigel, the fact that most were aware, but few listening, is nothing if not a bonus.

Forge Press takes its satirical aim

Hipster of the fortnight:

Quote of the fortnight:

And the award goes to… Michael Gove. As if any more proof that the curriculum-wrecking Education Secretary was down wiv da kids (booyakasha), not only did he pose for one of the most painful selfies in living memory, but he also dusted off his rapping repertoire. I highly recommend that you choose Mikey Gizzle’s performance of ‘Rap’ by renowned gangsta rap group ‘Wham’ for your procrastination today. Perhaps if enough people watch this performance then we can get him to perform ‘In Da Club’ in the House of Commons with Ed Miliband beatboxing and Cameron on the decks.

“Doesn’t somebody famous live in Washington DC?”

Tweets of the fortnight: Last week, in true Hunger Games style, the Forge AGM took place. The candidates were grilled with such hard-hitting questions as: “what’s your favourite sport?” and “who would play you in a film?” The AGM also saw the current editors take to abusing their twitter profiles. Kudos to music. Highlights included:

Apologies to those who received the drunken email from us. Ever professional.

Nicola Moors, editor of Forge Press

Fashion tip of the fortnight: At risk of stepping on Lifestyle’s toes, there’s a fashion trend that’s too big to ignore over here in comment towers. Where did it start? Milan? Paris? Try Pyongyang. That’s right this fortnight’s style icon is Kim Jong-Un who has insisted that all male University students in the totalitarian state must get the same haircut as their dear leader. Not exactly the worst human rights abuse we’ve heard about North Korea but we’re hopeful that most Londoners will be following Boris’ lead ASAP.

Varsity tips of the fortnight: At risk of stepping on Sport’s toes, there’s a sporting event that’s too big to ignore over here in comment towers. Sport is happening all around us. Sport is everywhere. SPORT. YES, it’s VARSITY, everyone’s favourite sporting extravaganza. Here are comment’s top tips for doing Varsity: 1) Wear loads of black and yellow in an attempt to look like someone who plays sport 2) Talk to your friends about things like “I’m so happy WE won the canoe polo” 3) Write Facebook statuses like ‘#bleedblackandgold’ and make it clear you don’t go to Hallam 4) Go to Roar and pretend that you helped contribute to the Varsity victory/ loss/ apathy 5) Read our Korfball journalistic excellence. #BLEEDBLACKANDGOLD #thiscityisours #lads

FO R GE PRESS Th ur sd ay Apr i l 3 2014

@forgecomment

LETTERS

/forgecomment comment@forgetoday.com

Comment of the fortnight: Our article ‘Review: The Zero Theorem’ got you talking I came out of this film loving it for reasons that I wasn’t sure of. It took me a little while to fathom out the film’s message behind all the apparent randomness, but it is a film that will linger on in my mind for a while. Kieran Dean

Your comments on www.forgetoday.com to: Ukraine’s amicable divorce? You could say they had a conscious uncoupling.

Elsa

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.

Which NHS service is best for me?

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@NHSSheffieldCCG

Choosing the right NHS service if you are a student and become ill or are injured. REMEMBER! The Accident and Emergency department should only be used in very serious or life-threatening situations. It is for people who need emergency medical attention or who have had an accident.

Choose Well student advert 1April14.indd 1

Download our handy FREE app that provides all the healthcare information that students in Sheffield need to know. It provides information and health care advice on how to stay fit and healthy and signposting to key services in the city. It’s available for iPhone and Android - just scan one of these QR codes. or search for NHS Sheffield Service Finder at www.apple.com/itunes or www.play.google.com/store

01/04/2014 13:43

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

n Sunday March 30, a flight was stopped by protestors at Heathrow airport in London. Mauritius Airlines had a special passenger that day, one whom everybody knew, but very few had met. Yashika Bageerathi, the Mauritian student who is currently being held in an immigration detention centre called Yarl’s Wood, was allowed to stay in the UK after hundreds of supporters signed a petition on Charge.org to stop her from being deported. Because Yashika was over the age of 18, her request for asylum was being dealt with seperately from that of her family. The previous week, as British Airways prepared to send the 19-year-old back home without her family at her side, they were pressured by angry protestors who collectively threatened BA’s reputation and custom. And the whole campaign started on the world wide web. #FightForYashika has so far saved the life of the 19-year-old woman who, wrapped up in gang warfare in her home county, had come to the UK seeking asylum. A hard-working student, Yashika worked her way through school, preparing for her A-levels and gaining a good understanding of the English language. But just a few months before Yashika’s final exams, the Home Office decided to send her back home. Home Secretary Theresa May has been approached by hundreds, some begging her to overturn the decision to “forcefully remove” Yashika . The power of social media to share information quickly, and in concise bursts, is invaluable to those who need it shared. Within seconds a cause can be seen, read and sent on to hundreds more people, and the great part of this is that nobody has to suffer the injustice of being ignored on the streets when trying to engage the public.

By creating and using a hashtag effectively on Twitter, just about anyone can get their point out there, sparking off debates, arguments and - best of all, in Yashika’s case – enough sympathy to get someone to sign their name on a petition. Have you ever wondered what the internet thinks of your natural good looks? No? In aid of Cancer Research UK, thousands of women across the country have been posing make-up free on social media sites like Facebook to raise awareness and money for the charity. #NoMakeUpSelfie hit the world by storm just a couple of weeks ago, and has already managed to raise over £8m in donations, proving that online activism does in fact work a great deal. The idea that people can make a difference simply by staying active on the internet is an upgrade from the classic awareness campaigns seen in decades past. The money raised by the campaign will fund nine clinical trials and one ‘tissue sample’ – a process that can be used for cancer diagnosis and analysis, Cancer Research UK have confirmed. Arguably, this result proves the positive outlook online activism holds for the future. Using the internet to campaign means guaranteed readership, the use of visual aesthetics to grab people’s attention, and the complete ease with which people can make a difference. The public will no longer have to be approached by campaigners in shopping centres. In just a few years, charities and campaigners will likely have all the space online they need, with enough people reading about their cause to safely place all their cards in one hat. But there are some out there in the big, bad world of social media, who consider this recent surge in online activism to be a lazy cop-out. While there has been significant proof of the benefits of social media, the concept of “slacktivism” has caused some concern. But only some. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/ AIDS argues that slacktivism proves a lack of engagement or devotion by people who are only willing to take simple measures, while there remains an underlying assumption that problems can be seamlessly fixed using social media. Another example of a world-wide rally that got slated by anti-slacktivists was the Invisible Children campaign in 2012. Set up by Ben Keesey and Jason Russell two years ago, the sensational YouTube video took the world by storm with its powerful imagery, strong active presence and

“

Online activism #FightforYashika

Words: Will Ross Artwork: Ina Fischer @forgefeatures /forgepress features@forgetoday.com

#kony2012

FO R GE PRESS Th ur sd ay April 3 2014

the thousands of people who got on board within weeks of it first being aired. But while the video claimed that groups of protestors would be accompanying US troops into Uganda, nothing much happened once the movement started to lose its spark, and some critics have argues that Richard Kony very much got away with his crimes across the continent. However, the Greensboro sit-ins, where hundreds of people protested against racial segregation in a US Woolworth store, are a good example of the effect physical activism “on the ground” can have.

“

”

So perhaps some level of compromise could be reached here? Is there an issue with the so-called ‘lazy’ approach to activism, where traditional methods would get the job done differently? Certainly, the examples given here are solid proof of the speed and reach of social media. LabourList editor Mark Ferguson insists that online activism is a key tool in political debates and understanding. He says that as long as social media use is not boring, and people “don’t say things they wouldn’t say in person,” it can be an

essential instrument. While digital campaigning may not be the best use of all your time, “every political party at the moment is investing hugely on digital,” Mark explains. “The cost of a billboard campaign can amount to millions of pounds, whereas the use of a oneoff digital billboard, used alongside social media activity, can save huge amounts on the bill,” Many of the tools used in the Obama campaign in America can, and probably will be used over here soon enough. The way that Facebook groups work “offers leverage for impact on voting.” In an age of political soundbites and shorter attention spans, concise journalistic prowess is important to politicians. Mark argues that while big messages are perhaps best saved for leaflets and conference speeches, use of social media is definitely the most efficient way of communicating in a broad sense. Had Grant Shapps’ infamous ‘Tory Bingo poster’ not been spotted on social media, or Tory councillor Richard Davies’ comparison of female MPs to strippers not been shared so fast and furiously, the current online political spectrum may not be so in touch as it currently is. There are to be several main types of so-called slacktivism, starting with “clicktivism”, where sites such as Twitter allow individual clicks to be counted and registered, where signed petitions may not be as effective. Another form is simply registered as “sympathy slacktivism”, which counts the #NoMakeUpSelfie campaign, whereby simply changing a Facebook profile picture or liking pages can help to network a cause which needs the sympathetic vote. Whether you’re regularly active across social media platforms, or you can barely manage to work out how to use your PC, activism has always been an effective way to make a change, whether digital or not. Surely advancing with the times can’t be criticised, when it produces such great results. Online activism is just a new wave of change. As more and more of us get involved with social media alongside those in power who can make a difference, this modern form of campaigning has the potential to thrive. It all starts with a like, a retweet, or even an e-mail - and you can’t stop people from telling a story.

m - effective or just plain lazy?

“Text BEAT to 70007”

#likesforchange

#slacktivism

#nomakeupselfie

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

The magnificent

Peak District

Tired of the bustle of Sheffield city centre? Have a sunny spring day to spare? Katie Langwith tells you how to get out and about in the Peak District National Park, a scenic area only a short trip away

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A day can be spent wandering around the little honeypot villages or cycling through moors and hills

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Photo by Paul Wilkinson on Flickr.com Photo by Photona te.com on Flic kr

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overing an amazing 555 square miles, there’s almost an endless number of villages to explore, routes to walk and landmarks to discover in the Peak District.

Being students, we’re not all gifted with the luxury of a car or unlimited taxi service (although we can dream). However, there are fairly frequent train and bus services from Sheffield interchange and railway station at reasonable prices, giving you no excuse if you’ve got nothing to do at the weekend. On Saturdays, you can catch the train, which runs through Dore and Totley, Grindleford, Hathersage, Bamford and Hope every hour. With tickets costing only £3.50 for a return with a 16-25 railcard, you don’t have to dig too deep into your pockets. There are also a number of bus routes offering a slower but much more scenic route into the Peak District. A stunning feature to look out on for on the way is the Ladybower Reservoir. The 272 bus takes you to all the same places as the train and then further on to the beautifully traditional village of Castleton. The 275 bus takes you even further into the hills all the way to Eyam and then Bakewell known for being home to the Bakewell pudding - very different to the Bakewell tart, apparently. The only downside to taking the bus is that the infamous 80p student bus fare does not extend out to the Peak District so return bus fares are around £5. Sheffield Interchange is well equipped with maps, constant updates on TV screens and many helpful people in case planning routes by public transport isn’t your forte. In terms of activities and things to do in the Peak District, walking, exploring, climbing and generally taking in the views are probably the main appeals. There are a number of websites offering an ample selection of walks varying in distance, gradient and area, including lots of opportunities to stop off at a pub or two to help you on your way. I’d highly recommend the website www.walkingbritain.

co.uk. It tells you the length, ascent and grade (easy, moderate, and hard) as well as a very detailed description of each walk including a map and a range of other walks from the same starting point. The Peak District Walking Festival runs from April 26 to May 11 this year and includes some of the best walks the Peak District has to offer attracting keen walkers of all levels. The fortnight includes a number of guided walks, leisurely photo walks and introductory sessions to trail and fell running and moorland navigation. Film and TV fanatics may be surprised as to how many places were used on the big screen either as inspiration or as an actual setting. Stanage Edge, near Hathersage and Bamford, was used as the scenic spot where Elizabeth Bennet (played by Keira Knightly) daydreamed of Mr Darcy (played by Matthew McFayden) in the 2005 remake of Pride and Prejudice. Also, the remarkable Hardwick Hall, located south of Sheffield on the border of the Peak District, provided the inspiration for the formidable Malfoy Manor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A day can be well spent wandering around the little ‘honeypot’ villages nestled away in the Peak District. A personal favourite place of mine is Castleton. It can be reached directly by bus or by hopping on a train to Hope and then walking a little further on up the road for about twenty minutes. In Castleton is the medieval Peveril Castle. It overlooks the village and is located up a winding path which takes your breath away a little, but then so do the panoramic views once you reach the top. A student ticket costs £4.20 and during the summer months it is open every day from 10am – 6pm. Castleton is also home to many independent pubs and shops including an old fashioned style sweet shop specialising in fudge with its own factory next door, a lovely unique feature of the village. Further south is Bakewell, a small town which hosts the only market in the Peak District every Monday. There are 162 stalls and tourists are always given a very warm welcome by the locals. Bakewell also holds an annual food

festival at the end of April which promises over 80 stalls, discounts in various cafes and restaurants and cooking demonstrations. Golf enthusiasts can enjoy a round or two at Bakewell Golf Club and for everyone else, a walk along the River Wye on a summer’s day can’t go amiss. Anyone interested in art may also enjoy an exhibition of paintings by Mark Preston, a landscape artist, being held throughout April at The Ridgeway Gallery. If you prefer being on two wheels than two feet then look out for the first ever L’Erotica Britannia coming to Britain. It is a 3 day bike and style festival taking place on June 20-22 and it begins at Bakewell. Choose from three varied routes which all take you on a spectacular tour of the Peak District while soaking up the festival spirit by exploring food and drink stalls, a traditional British fairground and vintage fashion and antique stands. Don’t just wait until this event to cycle around the Peaks though. Like walking routes, there are hundreds of cycling routes online which can take you by reservoirs, moors and hills, depending on your preferable distance and gradient. Virtually all routes take you along quiet, traffic-free trails too. At the other side of the Peak District is England’s leading spa town - Buxton. It is a little further out than the other areas and getting there is slightly more complicated involving a change of trains at Manchester, but there really is so much to do there if you prefer to explore places in depth. For a truly fun-filled day, Go Ape is a must. It’s great for team building activities and sends adrenaline running high as you’re zip wiring, crossing rope bridges and making your way through the tree tops. To keep your feet firmly on the ground you can take a relaxing walk around the Pavilion Gardens or visit the great Poole’s Cavern featuring some incredible formations which have been sculpted over millions of years (geographers, control yourselves.) Buxton even hosts its very own festival in July, showcasing dance, drama, poetry, comedy and magic acts. It’s one of the largest Fringe Festivals in England. So why not make a trip to the beautiful Peak District this weekend and explore these areas for yourself? Or find somewhere even better? I dare you.

Mam Tor and the Great Ridge

Try this walk!

Start: Hope (25 minute train ride from Sheffield) Distance: 8.5 miles (13.6km) Time: 4 hours Difficulty: moderate/hard Climbing: 505 metres Hazards: a few roads to negotiate Refreshments: Hope, Castleton More info: www walkingenglishman com/ peakdistrict04.htm

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Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

On the receiving end

Only 30 per cent of people in the UK are registered organ donors. Anna Taylor reveals what it’s like to recieve an organ

I am so grateful for the way my transplant has transformed my life

very year, according to NHS statistics, around 4,000 organ transplant operations are carried out in the UK, while 7,022 are on the waiting list. The decision to give a patient an organ transplant is a complex process due to high risks associated with both the operation and the aftercare, and is usually only taken if there is no other option. This sadly means that every year thousands of people die before a suitable organ becomes available. Market research by the NHS has found that 82 per cent of people in the UK definitely want to or would consider donating their organs but most have never spoken about it, and only around 30 per cent of the population are currently registered as donors (NHS statistic). I signed up to donate all of my organs in the event of my death just months before the issue was brought much closer to home in March 2008. My experience started right in the middle of a year 12 Chemistry lesson, when my body finally decided to tell me that something wasn’t right. I suddenly felt like a huge weight had been put on my chest – it was difficult to breathe and my whole abdomen was in pain. A couple of hours later I was in my local A&E department in Solihull garnering quite a lot of attention. I’d never really suffered any health problems in the past and could count the number of times I’d been to a GP on one hand, yet my blood pressure was sky high and my stomach was visibly swollen. After scans, X-rays and blood tests over the following days, I was told my liver was several times bigger than normal and riddled with what looked like tumours, though it wasn’t clear whether they were cancerous or what had caused them. After three weeks on an oncology ward in another hospital and a lot more prodding and poking, I was told that the tumours were benign, but that I was a medical anomaly and a second opinion was needed to assess the harm my liver was doing to me. Several months later, I was finally placed on the waiting list for a liver transplant, as it was decided that my liver was a ticking time bomb; if the tumours turned cancerous, haemorrhaged or continued to spread, my health would deteriorate quickly. I was told that the average wait for a liver transplant was around three months. The next four years of my life were spent in a state of limbo. On the one hand, I finished my A Levels, and, after a year out, came to Sheffield to study Biology in 2010. On the other hand, I got gradually weaker, lost a lot of weight and became increasingly self-conscious about my body and my illness, which in turn led me to exclude myself from socialising and

embracing university life. I also wasn’t allowed outside of the UK. Finally, on March 17th 2012, I got ‘the call’, at the end of a long Saturday spent in the IC. My transplant coordinator told me they’d got a potential match, although the organ was still undergoing tests. An ambulance was on its way to take me to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where my operation was scheduled for midnight – transplants have to be performed quickly to avoid the state of the organ deteriorating – so surgeons certainly don’t work nine to five! Strangely enough, my initial reaction was ‘my deadline is on Wednesday! This report is not finished!’ but I guess I had a reasonably good excuse for not handing it in.

“

Four years of my life were spent in a state of limbo

”

On the way back to my house, I called my parents and friends, who immediately went into a state of frenzy. My best friend turned up to help and then, along with my housemates, waved me off. The journey was the strangest I’ve ever taken – half of it was spent laughing with the accompanying paramedic who was attempting to distract me with pictures of her dog, and the other half was spent in tears reading text after text from all the lovely people in my life who had heard the news. When I arrived at the hospital, I was rushed through a chest X-ray, blood tests and possibly other examinationsit was all a bit of a blur. The liver had been found to be in excellent condition, so surgeons had decided to split it – give the larger lobe to me, and the other to a young child. Although this sounded scary at the time, I was reassured it was commonplace; the liver really is an amazing thing, and it would regenerate. The operation was rescheduled for 9am so I was instructed to try to get some sleep. The next thing I remember clearly is the anaesthetist asking me to sign a form giving permission for the operation to

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go ahead, as my previous signature was outdated after my four year wait. Then… nothing. I came around quickly after just four hours in the operating theatre but was ushered back in as I was losing too much blood from drains on my abdomen and needed a re-examination and more blood transfusions. The next 24 hours were a morphine induced haze. Intensive Care felt like a spaceship to me; my view was just a succession of nurses and doctors standing in front of an enormous board containing all of my information, there was the constant buzz of machines and bright lights contrasted with total darkness. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed it. I was in a bubble, completely clueless as to what had happened to me but happy to chat away nonsensically to anyone who would listen. During this time I wasn’t allowed to eat, and my fluid intake was strictly limited to a few drops of water every hour or so. I had two thick tubes coming from my lower abdomen to drain blood and other fluid into bags, a nebuliser to clear my airways, a T-tube emerging from my belly button to drain bile away - necessary with a split liver transplant due to the cut surface - a urinary catheter, and lines in my wrist and neck through which I received drugs. I had also gained a large hook shaped scar, a very bruised back and several wounds from endless blood tests to monitor my body’s response to the new organ.

“

I got ‘the call’ at the end of a long Saturday spent in the IC

”

Finally, though, I was moved up to the liver ward where my supply of morphine was taken away and replaced with regular servings of jelly and ice cream, which didn’t work quite as well to mask the pain. Due to the enormous contrast in size between

my own liver and the transplanted organ, my weight had plummeted to six stone. In short, I looked a bit of a state. I was on the ward for three weeks in total, during which time I had an episode of acute rejection which was fortunately tackled quickly with pulsed steroid treatment. Other than this, my recovery was fast, probably due to the amazingly upbeat nurses and the twice daily visits from family and friends who always bought cards, magazines and stocks of Galaxy chocolate- the only food I could face. Gradually, my bags were taken away, my wounds started to heal and I was coaxed out of my horizontal position by a physiotherapist. This was particularly difficult, possibly because I was forced to sit up to watch an entire episode of Jeremy Kyle. The journey home was made up of excitement and horror in equal parts; I was still totally dependent and didn’t like the idea of leaving my body unmonitored when everything still felt so alien. Though it sounds ridiculous now, I was scared to move in case my liver fell out. On the plus side, I had been instructed to gain two stone quickly, and decided to do so through five meals per day supplemented with a constant stream of homemade cakes and boxes of chocolates from friends and family. By the summer, I was feeling better than I had in years. I go back to hospital for clinic every three months, and everything indicates that my liver is still functioning really well. There is a downside; I take around 12 tablets daily and the immunosuppressants

required to prevent rejection make me vulnerable to infection and illness. I have to be careful in the sun as there is an increased risk of skin cancer, and I spend a lot of time with my GP. Overall, though, I am so grateful for the way my transplant has transformed my life and given me a completely new perspective. Since my operation I’ve had the opportunities to make up for years of feeling like I was missing out, and now it is important to me to raise awareness and get people talking about their attitudes towards organ donation, as just a single person can change the lives of so many. Over the coming weeks, look

out for me in the Students’ Union where I am planning to provide opportunities for you to talk to me about your experiences with organ transplantation, register as a donor if you wish to, and sign a petition to change the UK system to opt-out. Visit http://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/ for more information

Photo: Cea1 Human Anatomy

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

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WHAT NOT TO MISS THIS FORTNIGHT by Ellie McCaldin

bration day RED tent cele Friday April 4, 10am-6pm, Students’ Union, free Come celebrate the last day of red tent week by popping along and joining in with a day of thought provoking films, comedy, activities and talks. For those who haven’t heard of the red tent, it is a space created in the union specifically for those who want to discuss menstruation, body issues or just sit back with a load of cushions and tea. Particularly worthwhile is the Irise knicker making workshop which runs from 1-3pm. Raising awareness for menstrual hygiene in East Africa. This event combines charity with craft making, the perfect feel good combo.

Five Day Italian

course

Monday April 7- Friday April 11, 9.30am - 2pm, Gallery Room 3 and 4, Students’ Union, £15 Always wanted to learn a language but haven’t got the time, or the money, to jet set off and emerge yourself in another country? This could be the next best thing. Over this intensive five-day course, you will receive 20 hours of teaching, which, for only £15, is a brilliant deal. This great for beginners, as you’ll start with the basics, going through pronunciation, vocabulary and key phrases. Granted, you won’t be sat in an Italian piazza, but after this course you’ll know how to order a gelato and ask for the waiter’s mobile number.

How to manage your Easter meltdown

Sheffield half marathon Sunday April 6, 9am, starts and ends at Don Valley Bowl, free to watch Promised yourself earlier in the year that you’d get fit and run a half marathon? For the many of us that somehow didn’t find the time to charge up and down the hills of Sheffield training, Sunday April 6 could be the perfect time to massage our collective guilt by supporting those competing. If you’re lacking a cause to support, a large group of University of Sheffield students are running for the ‘A life for Alisha’ fund, aiming to raise money for a three-year-old girl named Alisha Savage who has an aggressive form of cancer. Visit www.alifeforalisha.com to donate.

workshop True grit poetry

Saturday April 12 2-4pm at Riverside, free entry Lead by poet Joe Kriss, this poetry workshop is centered around the idea of exploring why South Yorkshire is such a unique and special part of the UK. This event is running in collaboration with the Yorkshire Festival, the best work produced from the evening will be filmed by filmaker Nathan Gibson and will be shown later on in the festival. Even if you don’t fancy yourself as the artsy type, the Riverside is a great pub with excellent food, often missed by University of Sheffield students as it is slightly out of the way but well worth a visit. The pub also sits on top of some of Sheffield’s best street art by the well loved Phlegm.

Science

by Katherine Hockley Five tips on how to get through your deadline and dissertation stress. 1) Carrot and stick method

Reward yourself for every hundred words written with one hundred minstrels. Pros: you’ll work harder for the sweet, sweet minstrel relief. Cons: you may gain 900 pounds. You could lower the reward to fit within normal human dietary needs, but we all know exam stress can do strange things to human appetite – I’m just being realistic. 2) Cry it out

If you’re stuck in the library and you think you’re never going to finish your assignment (or worse, that what you’ve actually written is the linguistic equivalent of a turd) run to the toilet and fulfil your destiny as a blubbering mess. It will make you feel better and the pity of others when they see your red eyes may result in a free minstrel. 3) Hydrate

Have a productive day and reward yourself with a giant glass of your favourite tipple. A strawberry and lime Rekorderlig never tastes as sweet as it does after a full day at the library. Don’t go too mental though ‘cause you’ve got to get up in the morning and do it all again. And definitely wait until you leave the library before you crack out your favourite can. 4) Make a pick-me-up playlist

Make the ultimate motivational playlist. For me this involves Slipknot’s back catalogue with a hint of S-Club 7. Listen to it in the library at full blast so that everyone else can hear it too. They will thank you endlessly, and stare longingly at you as if to say “louder please!” 5) And finally....

Is your boyfriend or girlfriend free? Do you have tinder? Do you have a hand? I think you know where I’m going with this one.

Food

Lifestyle loves

by Hannah McCulloch

Anyone who has worked in a café, restaurant or supermarket knows that the food industry, and society in general, has a serious waste problem. One report claimes that 30 to 50 per cent of food produced globally ends up in the bin instead of on someone’s plate. This is ludicrous considering the amount of people, both globally and here in the UK, that go to bed hungry. Leeds based chef, Adam Smith, has come up with a way of countering this waste culture in the local food industry. Adam and his team intercept food produce before it is thrown away by big name supermarkets and local eateries and put it to better use. His ‘Pay As You Feel’ Café serves up meals made solely from food destined for the landfill, for a price chosen by the customer. The café is part of the wider initiative the ‘Real Junk Food Project’, that, along with guerilla gardening patches, is trying to proactively help those in need within their community.

Image: The Real Food Project

Curious and curiouser

by Laura Norton

Throughout history humans have had a constant hunger for knowledge and experience. Neil Armstrong once said: ‘‘Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.’’ As a prime example of one of our modern explorers, no one knows the thirst for exploration better. I have found, however, that people tend to take this as truth, funny how we, who question everything, should not question our inquisitiveness. There are, however, a small number of scientists who have chosen to try to understand exactly what it is that makes us such curious creatures.

Particularly the fact that the pathways involved in curiosity can allow for heightened memory, shows that there is more to curiosity than often thought. It not only makes us want to learn, but it allows us to learn and develop our understanding of the world. It sets us apart from a life of mere survival. Makes you think, don’t you think?

Certain experiments have examined what happens in the brain when a person is feeling inquisitive and then again when that curiosity is relieved. A group of scientists from Leiden University in the Netherlands did this using fMRI imaging, a way of visually mapping stimulation in the brain. They discovered that the sections of the brain stimulated when we first question something are the anterior insula and anterior cingulated cortex (ACC), areas responsive during conflict. This may explain the strong need to feed curiosity, and the sometimes unpleasant feeling of not being able to answer a burning question. What’s more, they found that upon the respite from the disagreeable experience of being curious, sections of the striatum connected with reward processing are activated. Though an unusual topic, these were not the only group to analyse their own questioning; a group of scientists associated with California Institute of Technology questioned whether our thirst for knowledge is the same drive as the need to eat or drink. They used a hypothesis of an information gap theory, suggesting that a small gain in knowledge leads to a sharp rise in knowledge desired. This in turn leads to a gap which can only be filled by the gaining of knowledge. At this point the gap closes and curiosity falls. The group discovered, using fMRI, that there was a correlation between curiosity and expectation of future information as a reward. Interestingly, they also noted a link between experienced curiosity and a rise in memory function- it seems that "curiosity enhances memory for surprising information". Artwork: Philippa Spottiswoode

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Fashion

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Spotlight on: Sheffield charity shops By Alice Burrow

Most of us are accustomed to that feeling of hope when entering a charity shop. You dream of stumbling upon an amazing vintage find, but are too often faced with the bitter disappointment of rails upon rails of dusty M&S cardigans and dodgy knitwear. But, with a bit of knowhow, charity shopping can produce some unexpected and exciting bargains. In Sheffield, we are lucky to have some excellent charity shops, but you have to be willing to come off the beaten track. Thankfully, they tend to be

Fashion

grouped together in the same area, which is useful because if one charity shop doesn’t produce anything good, it’s more than likely that the next will have that lucky find hidden in the corner. It is also worth bearing in mind that charity shops are great for cheap DVDs; releases in the last few years can be found for less than a couple of quid. You can also find cheap homeware, if you look beyond the piles of royal family commemoration crockery and rejected cosmetic gift sets; second hand furniture, picture and charity shops can also unearth the occasional vinyl gold for records collectors on a budget. Broomhill has several great charity shops, which - paired with the great range of cafes and specialised shops, like Record Collector - makes for the perfect chilled afternoon. The best of Broomhill’s many charity shops is Oxfam. This large Oxfam is particularly great for second hand books, household items and furniture. The Age UK on Broomhill high street is a specialised book shop. In such a popular student area, you are highly likely to find that expensive core textbook lying on a shelf in one of these shops for less than a fiver. The PDSA across the street, next to Sainsbury’s, has the

best range of clothing in Broomhill. But, it’s worth remembering when charity shopping that clothing can be tweaked, chopped up or taken in so treat clothes with a critical eye. The long hike up the hill to Crookes high street has its rewards in some of the best charity shops in the city. St. Luke’s Hospice is at the far end of Crookes high street, but this huge charity shop is a pleasure to look around. It is super organised and has a fabulous women’s clothing collection. I found a great deal of popular high street brands last time I visited, most for less than £4£5. Across the road Fable, Weston Park Cancer Charity and Barnardos are close together and can produce the occasional golden find. Barnardos may be tiny but boasts a large selection of women’s clothing, neatly organised by size and colour, which takes some of the stress out of the usual charity shop hunting. But, Hillsborough is the real secret to Sheffield charity shopping. A short 52 bus or tram ride takes you to a charity shopper’s dream. It is not an area frequented by students all that often so those elusive charity shop bargains are more likely to be found here. There are charity shops dotted all over Hillsborough,

but the main street, Middlewood Road, is home to a cluster of several great charity shops including the British Red Cross, St. Luke’s Hospice and Barnardos. Charity shop shopping is a great way to explore both student hubs, such as Broomhill, and areas a little further afield. Forget city centre shopping, on a student budget this is a far better way of shopping that can unearth a wealth of great bargains.

Image: Randy P

Concourse couture by Niki Kesharaju

Beth McLeod First year, Architecture Wearing: boots from Office, shorts from Urban Outfitters, top from Forever 21, cardigan from a charity shop

Eguono Ogueh Second year, Law Wearing: coat and jeans from Topshop, cardigan from Urban Outfitters, top and shoes from New Balance

Martha Eldred First year, Philosophy Wearing: jacket from Beyond Retro, top and shoes from Topshop, shorts from a clothes show

Meroweh Beni Third year, Biomedical Science Wearing: skirt from Spain, coat from Topshop, shirt from H&M and boots from Timberland

Thu rsday Apri l 3 2014 F O RG E P RESS

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

One student, 26 miles, six months to go the distance As well as balancing a third year-sized workload, Biomedical Science student Leigh O’Malley, a novice runner, decided to tackle the 26.3 miles that make up the Virgin London Marathon. Here are her training tales and tips for aspiring runners.

On April 13 I am joining over 35,000 other crazy people in tackling the London Marathon. Firstly, let’s get one thing straight: I am not a runner, or at least I wasn’t until October. But taking on a marathon has always been on my bucket list and when the chance to run for an amazing charity arose, I couldn’t turn it down. I am running on behalf of Tommy’s. They fund research into prevention of stillborn and premature births as well as miscarriages. Currently, in the UK, one in four women will lose a baby during pregnancy or labour. Tommy’s wants to reduce this to one in three by 2030. My family lost my younger brother, Connor, when he was born 16 weeks premature, so I am proud to support this wonderful charity in his memory and to thank the charity for their support. If you are more likely to be found running for the bus than on the treadmill, don’t despair- a running challenge can still be for you. I have gone from puffed out after two miles to running 22 miles last Sunday, all in six months. It will be tough, there may be tears, but providing you are setting yourself a reasonable goal (even a superhuman shouldn’t run a marathon on a month’s training) that finish line can be in sight. Your biggest challenge might prove to be balancing university work with the hours needed pounding the pavements, so before you sign on the dotted line consider if you can realistically do both. After a 20-mile run it can be hard to drag yourself off the sofa and to the library, if you can walk that is.

So what have I learnt during my crash course in marathon training that I think will help anyone tackle a running race, from a 5k to a marathon? Get your squat on. Injury prevention starts with strong muscles. Girls if you’ve been focussing on your inner thighs in the gym it’s likely your outer thighs will be weaker. Aim to hit all the muscle groups: ask one of the gym instructors, as they are always happy to help. The free website Fitness Blender also has some great workout videos to get you going.

A bit of investment in trainers is important but don’t scrimp on your socks. Head to Up and Running in town if you want the full shoe fitting experience. Take along your current trainers and they will film you running on a treadmill to advise you on the best pair for your running style. This is worth it for the entertainment alone, especially if your legs flail quite as much as mine. For socks aim for a pair specific for running as they have nice cushioned areas and will really help prevent blisters. Buy an ice pack- it will be your new best friend. There is something to be said for ice baths, and for these you don’t need bags of ice, just run the bath with as cold water as possible or hold a cold-running shower over your legs. These are great for really bad muscle aches, but after three I chickened out and returned to hot baths. If you’re game for trying it out, get a warming cup of tea and lots of expletives at the ready. A running buddy can make all the difference. Your own company on a threehour run can start to drag. If your friends don’t want to run the full distance then agree to meet part way round your route, and preferably get them to bring something edible. As can some well-chosen running music. Some people favour audiobooks. Find what works for you to give you that much needed boost. Sometimes all you need is Eminem ‘Lose Yourself’ blasting in your ears to get you up that hill.

Don’t think that fancy energy gels and drinks are essential. Jelly babies, homemade flapjack, mini Mars bars and Vimto, with a pinch of salt for electrolyte replacement, have been my staple fuels. On longer runs, you should aim to take on roughly 40 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Running can be as cheap or expensive as you make it. The most useful purchases I made were a stopwatch (no need for fancy GPS as there are lots of route mapping websites such as Real Buzz out there and between the two you can get an idea of your average speed), a pair of decent earphones that don’t fall out (paired with a very cheap MP3- look for ones with a clip to attach to your clothes) and a running water bottle which is much comfier to hold. For more of her running ramblings or to see how she does on the day, take a look at Leigh’s blog at http://leighomalley. wordpress.com

Image: Schjelderup

FO R GE PRESS Th ur sd ay Apr il 3 2014

@forgelifestyle /forgelifestyle lifestyle@forgetoday.com

LIFESTYLE&TRAVEL

Travel

Venetian vacation by Jessica Williams

Where better to go with your other half than the most romantic city in the world? After finding a last minute package deal for only £145, flights and hotel with British Airways, my boyfriend and I knew it was too good a deal to pass up.

Although we wanted to make the most of our romantic getaway, being students we knew we had to work to some kind of budget. After hearing about Venice being rather pricey, both of us were a little wary of returning to the UK with less than a tenner of our student loan left to survive on.

After having a chat on the plane with a lovely elderly Venetian lady, we were advised that the first place we simply must eat was at Alfredo’s- Pasta to Go, rumoured to be the best pasta place in Italy. We decided to take her advice and check it out, and we weren’t disappointed. Alfredo’s is a takeaway

fresh pasta place, a choice of different fresh pastas and sauces, for under ten euros. It was definitely the best pasta I’ve ever had, and because it was a takeaway, and located close to Piazza San Marco, we ate it in the sun in front of St Mark’s Square which is around the corner and really beautiful.

The great thing about Venice is that although its attractions, such as the gondolas, can be very pricey, you can see many of the same sights just walking around. We spent a few days just wandering around Venice’s tiny little streets and shops, alongside the picturesque canals. The other benefit of this is that we stumbled across some hidden gems such as a delicious gelato place, La Mela Verde. We tried their signature ice cream, green apple; but their chocolate was definitely more up my street. At only about two euros a scoop, it was really reasonable as well.

Getting around Venice on foot is easy, but it’s good fun to get the Vaporetti (AKA water bus) in order to see all of Venice in under an hour. There are loads of deals for Vaporetti tickets online so have a look.

Hands down the most bizarre thing we saw in Venice was the Museo di Storia Naturale, Venice’s very own natural history museum. It might as well be called the museum of taxidermy. The first room we entered was full of stuffed jungle animals, with a rather disconcerting gorilla hanging down from the ceiling that looked ready to pounce. We then walked through rooms and rooms of stuffed animals, the room full of sharks being my favourite. It was pretty eery but you can’t deny the visual effect.

drink. Our favourite spot was a little jazz and cocktail bar called “Bacaro Jazz”. It had a great atmosphere and with the kitchen being open until 2am, it definitely hit the spot for some drunken snacks to go alongside our cocktails. They served a selection of cheeses, ham and mozzarella, ravioli, grilled prawns and bruschetta.

Venice may have quite a reputation for being extremely pricey, but it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and if you know the right places, you can make the most of the city without breaking the bank.

Venice seemed to come to life at night, the little alleys overflowing with people having an evening walk or

Image: Jessica Williams

Review

BrewDog: the new kid in town By Ina Fischer

When we enter BrewDog Sheffield on a Thursday evening, the bar is already filled with a mix of students and locals, most of them sporting either an array of tattoos, impressive facial hair, or both. But there is another thing they all have in common: a love for beer.

BrewDog isn’t the place to quickly neck two or three cheap pints before heading on a night out. The menu boasts a wide range of beers, all of which are brewed at the Brewdog headquarters in Aberdeen. There are also a number of guest beers on offer, some of which change almost daily. Customers are encouraged to try the draught beers in third- or half-pint size glasses so that they can sample a wider selection of the menu. “We would rather have someone enjoy one nice drink than have five bad ones because they’re cheap,” duty manager Naomi Tuckett explains as she sets four different beers and an impressive spread of cheeses, cured meats, olives and ciabatta bread in front of us. We’re told which cheeses compliment the

different beers, and then it’s time to tuck in. First up is the cherry-flavoured Blitz beer. With its burgundy colour and fruity flavour it’s not what you would expect from a typical beer, but we are here to experiment after all. The slightly sour aftertaste wasn’t for me personally, but I would highly recommend the cherry Blitz to anyone who is a fan of Belgian Kriek beer.

Number two of the mystery beers is by far my favourite: the Dead Panic is a light, refreshing ale with a strong zesty citrus and elderflower aroma which you can smell even before taking the first sip. It tastes similar to the popular Punk IPA, which is part of Brewdog’s core range and described as “a post Punk apocalyptic mother fucker of a pale ale” on their website. I’m not sure what that means, but I can assure you the Punk IPA is incredibly tasty and refreshing, perfect for a warm summer day. The Abstrakt range is a limited edition of beers, released annually and intended to push the boundaries of what we perceive as “beer”. Indeed, the Abstrakt 15 we try has a 15 per cent alcohol content and tastes, nothing like beer, to be honest. It’s dark like Guinness, sweet like sherry and I think I can taste nuances of liquorice. But Naomi informs us it’s actually salted caramel that was used in the brewing process. Previous batches of Abstrakt included the aroma

Images: Cameron Clarke and Brewdog.com

of banoffee pie, she goes on to say. Banoffee pie and beer sounds like an intriguing combination at the very least, so if you’ve got £16 to spend on a 375ml bottle of beer, I suggest you try it out.

The Hardcore IPA is another classic from the core range. It’s a bit darker than the Punk IPA and surprises with a very rich and oaky taste. To wrap up our Brewdog beer education, Naomi brings over two half pints of 5AM Saint and one of the guest beers – a German wheat beer called Weihenstephaner Hefeweisse. Brewdog Sheffield is the 13th of Brewdog bars to open in the UK. But their craft beer success isn’t limited to the British soil. Overseas bars have already opened in Sao Paolo, Stockholm and Tokyo, and plans for bars in Berlin and NYC are already in the pipeline.

If you’re looking to enjoy quality drinks in a laid-back and friendly atmosphere, there’s no need to look further. Brewdog Sheffield also offers ‘beer school’ sessions, which include two hours of beer tasting and nibbles for £24 per person.

Lifestyle’s recipe corner Chai tea delight Ingredients

by Alexandra Williams

For the cake: 250ml semi skimmed milk 3-4 vanilla chai teabags 220g butter 350g caster sugar 4 medium eggs 380g plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 mixed spice 1 tsp vanilla essence For the tea glaze: 1 vanilla chai tea bag 40ml semi skimmed milk 160g icing sugar 1tsp cinnamon 1tsp vanilla essence

Method 1. Heat the milk until nearly boiling. Brew the tea bags in the milk for five minutes and leave to one side. 2. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.

4. Add in the eggs and mix until fully combined, before adding the vanilla essence. 4. Sieve in the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

5. Add in the brewed milk and mix until fully combined and pour it into a pre-greased tin. 6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer can be inserted and pulled out clean. Use foil to cover if the top is browning too quickly. 7. Leave to cool for five minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Now move on to the glaze. 8. Brew the teabag in the milk as before.

9. Mix into the icing sugar with the vanilla essence and cinnamon. More or less may be required to get it to your desired consistency. 10.Whisk until smooth.

11. Pour over the cake and enjoy!

Image: Alexandra Williams

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Matchdebating Can English cricket come back from the dead?

Youthful side have the Current squad unfit to potential for greatness wear the shirt Jack Taylor 31st March 2014, a date which will forever be engrained on the minds of England fans. The loss to the Netherlands saw England hit a new low in their history, but with it came the chance to build a fresh side and with it a legacy. World class performers such as Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann may no longer be with us, but with that comes a fresh breed of hungry young cricketers. The likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes have already shown in their short England careers that they have more than enough quality to make it on the international stage and there are many more where they came from. The core of the triple Ashes winning side had been together since 2006 and a clique had begun to develop with a lack of fresh blood being brought in, but England now have a chance to put that right. When England’s Rugby World Cup winning side of 2003 was decimated by retirement and injury it took a decade to rebuild the side, but for England’s cricketers the job of rebuilding looks a much simpler task. The likes of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad, provide a core of world class players with which the rest of the team can be built around. Looking to names for the future, it is clear to see that Root and Stokes top the list, but middle order batman James Taylor, wicketkeeper Jos Butler and left arm quick Tymal Mills add to a list of great talents who are certain to

make a big impact in the next few years. With the summer fast approaching it is clear that England need to appoint a coach fast and with the top coaches in world cricket ruling themselves out it is time to return to an old face whose record speaks for itself. Peter Moores, the Lancashire head coach, was England coach five years ago until a fall out with then captain Pietersen led to him being sacked, but with Pietersen now emitted from the England set up, it is time for Moores to return. The former Sussex batsman has been a multiple County Championship winning coach and his record is the best of any English coach. If England can manage to create a partnership between captain and coach and also bring in some fresh players they may be

able to revive themselves faster than many critics may think.

“The likes of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Stuart Broad, provide a core of world class players with which the rest of the team can be built around” Sri Lanka provide the perfect opposition to blood the likes of Mills and Butler and start a legacy, with the potential to write the record books, in the same way the West Indies side of the 70’s and the Aussies of the 90’s managed to do so.

The world famous FA cup trophy

Tom Pyman England’s winter could hardly have gone much worse. Having won three consecutive Ashes titles going into November’s series, England looked in fine shape, but have since undergone an implosion of drastic proportions. The 5-0 whitewash in Australia was merely the tip of the iceberg, as things subsequently went from bad to worse. Many blamed the ridiculously short break of barely four months between Ashes series in 2013 as England slipped to fourth in the Test rankings and went from world beaters to something of a laughing stock. Shortly after, coach Andy Flower stepped down and was replaced with Ashley Giles, who it’s fair to say

hasn’t inspired confidence since taking over in February. Then there was the controversial sacking of Kevin Pietersen, England’s highest international run scorer of course, which caused uproar throughout the sport. He has since, however, said that not playing international cricket has given him a “big buzz” and the decision has been defended by the likes of Alastair Cook. The team’s latest low was a humiliating World Twenty20 defeat to relative minnows Netherlands on Monday. Having already been eliminated from the competition, such a pitiful performance added salt to England’s gaping wounds. Giles and captain Stuart Broad put the loss down to complacency but having been given a real scare by the same opponents

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

only three years ago, one would have hoped England would not underestimate Netherlands for the second time. Every team suffers from dips in form and bad days at the office, but a professional outfit with top quality players should never be guilty of complacency. Sri Lanka certainly weren’t when they bowled out the Dutch for just 39 earlier in the tournament, thus adding to England’s humiliation.

“One would have hoped England would not underestimate Netherlands for the second time” Things will certainly need to improve ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next February. The likes of Tim Bresnan, Jade Dernbach and Michael Lumb just don’t appear good enough and the England squad is a shadow of the allconquering side we’ve become accustomed to in recent years. Recalling Pietersen certainly wouldn’t solve all of England’s problems instantly but having a batsman of his calibre back in the fold can only be a positive, regardless of any off-the-field fears. A new, more experienced coach is surely also required as Giles seems somewhat out of his depth. England need to prolong their recent success and prove that this team is more than a flash in the pan.

London calling for brave Blades FA Cup Preview

Joe Bamford It’s been a strange old season for Sheffield United. A poor start to the season resulted in the sacking of their manager David Weir, and the appointment of Nigel Clough. Despite a comfortable 3-1 win at home to Crewe in his first game in charge, life

under Clough didn’t start as planned, and Blades continued to struggle. But the FA Cup has breathed new life into their season. Beating first Aston Villa, then Fulham, both away from home, gave some people reason to say they were punching above their weight. Wins against Championship sides Nottingham Forest and Charlton put paid to that

view though, as the Blades marched to Wembley. When John Brayford’s effort deflected into the Charlton net minutes after Ryan Flynn’s opener, anyone walking past Bramall Lane may have thought they’d experienced a small earthquake. The sell-out crowd at Bramall Lane that day will have noticed something of a change in mentality. Make no bones about it:

Blades more than deserve their place at Wembley. By comparison, Hull City’s road to Wembley has been relatively understated. Straightforward away wins against Championship side Middlesbrough and League Two outfit Southend United pitted them against Brighton. A 1-1 draw took the tie to a replay where they won 2-1 on home soil to

progress to the last eight. A comprehensive win over fellow Premier League struggles Sunderland set up a mouth-watering date in North London. Andre Marriner has controversially been appointed referee for the game after his horror show at Stamford Bridge a fortnight ago when he sent off the wrong player. The bookies make Hull slight favourites but you

would be brave to bet against Blades springing another cup upset. The winner of Arsenal v Wigan awaits the victor. Should United return to Wembley on 17 May it will be for their first final since 1936. Unlike that occasion, though, Blades will be hoping to go all the way; an up and down season ending on one herculean up.

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Sheffield is black and gold again

SU sports officer Emily Dibble and Head of Sport Sheffield Andy Cox celebrate with the Varsity trophy at the Motorpoint Matthew Smith The University of Sheffield have retained the Varsity trophy after a record-breaking victory over Sheffield Hallam. Uni beat their deadly rivals 4230.5, becoming the first team in the history of the competition to bypass the 40-point mark, and crushing Hallam by a record 12-and-a-half point margin. The destiny of the trophy in 2014 was still in doubt on Wednesday morning, with the overall score at 28.5-21, however in a period early in the afternoon Uni went through a spell where they won five successive points, to leave them needing only one more point to reach the victory target of 36.5 points. A number of sports could have been the one to push Uni over the line, but it was Squash 2s that had the honour of gaining the winning point, Kritin Gupta the player who won the crucial game. He said afterwards: “I’m pretty delighted, all I can say is I’m the

Photo: Josh Rock

happiest person here today”. This year’s competition saw a record number of sports taking part, with tenpin bowling and archery added to be fought for Varsity points, however many of this year’s talking points originated from outside the field play. One of the biggest controversies was the misbehaviour of Hallam fans after the football 1s games at Hillsborough, which saw their other men’s football clubs banned from winning points in their matches. This year also saw the Ice Hockey 1s played as the final event, with Hallam winning 5-2 in front of 6,500 fans at the Motorpoint.

Varsity articles online Read all the reports, results and reaction online all Easter

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The Uni fans celebrate back-to-back Varsity triumphs

Photo: Josh Rock