Volume 15 Issue 4 by Student Independent News

relief from students from disadvantaged or Jobseekers Benefit backgrounds. Another major decision that will affect students is the extension of incremental Jobseekers Benefit payment levels. From 1 January 2014, anyone currently on the dole reaching the age of 22 will receive €100 a week and any new claimant will receive €100 a week up until they turn 25. Anyone currently on the dole they will receive €144 per week up until they are

NUI Galway students strip for charity By Ciara Treacy On Monday 14 October the NUI Galway Students’ Union photographed some of the University’s clubs and societies members in the nude for a 2014 calendar in aid of charity. Since the start of the new term students have been encouraged to participate in this calendar which will raise funds for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) and the Galway Rape Crisis Centre. The NUI Galway Kayak Club, Women’s Rugby team, Sin Newspaper and the Orchestra Society were some of the clubs and societies who took part in the photo shoot, and used relevant props to cover certain parts of their bodies. Alex Hillen-Moore, auditor of the Orchestra Society, shared her experience at the shoot where committee members used instruments to tastefully cover themselves.

“We were keen to do it as it’s for such a good cause and the orchestra usually donates funds made from our concerts to charity, so we saw this as a good opportunity to make a difference and have some fun,” she said. “We posed on the stage in the upper Aula Maxima and it was a great experience. The photographer along with Joanna Brophy from the Students’ Union and [Students’ Union President] Sean Kearns were brilliant – we all felt pretty relaxed about the whole thing. I think we got some awesome shots done and can't wait to see the finished result – think my Christmas shopping might be sorted already with it!” “The Naked Calendar was a great experience,” says Pam Bump, a visiting student from the United States who was photographed with Sin Newspaper.

“As I am a visiting student, I'm taking every opportunity to come out of my shell here. This seemed like a fun way to meet people and have something different to show off when I went home.” Speaking about the causes the money from calendar sales will go to, Pam said; “that added to my motivation as I was comfortable knowing that any money made was going to something good. It was way more comfortable than I expected and the photographer created a very relaxed environment. I’m glad I got to be a part of it.” NUI Galway Students’ Union (@NUIGSU) tweeted on Monday evening; “10 hours and 63 naked students later we are finished the photos for the naked calendar. Thanks a million ye total legends!” The calendar will be on sale in November to beat the Christmas calendar rush.

26, extending that level by an extra year. This will directly affect most students graduating and looking for work from the end of this college year onwards. In other money issues for students, both the price of alcohol and tobacco was raised in the budget. Tobacco will now cost 10c extra per packet of tobacco and cigarettes. A pint of beer and cider as well as a pub measure of spirits will increase by 10c also. In the biggest increase, a bottle of wine will increase by 50c per bottle, meaning the pr ice of w ine has increased by €1.50 per bottle in the last two years. However there is no increase in petrol, diesel, gas, electricity or public travel costs.

Halloween special

On Tuesday 15 October, students across the country discovered exactly what Micheal Noonan and the Government had in store for them. While there were certainly some positives to take from the budget, once again students and graduates were one of the hardest hit by increases in excise duty and fees as well as being out of pocket from Jobseekers Benefit changes.

The biggest single hit to students, while expected, was the €250 increase in the Student Contribution charge. This increase brings the amount of the charge to €2,750 from 1 September 2014 – a 10% increase. It is part of the decision in the 2013 budget to increase the charge year-on-year by €250 to €3,000 in 2015. However, there were no cuts to either the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) or the Student Grant, drawing a sigh of

Lifestyle

By Mark Kelly

Arts

Budget 2014 brings mixed news for students

sport

Free Student Newspaper | VOL 15, ISSUE 4 | 28 OCT 2013

Features

News

INSIDE WRDTG to hold Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Week

LGBT Helpline launch ‘National Coming Out Day’

Choosing a laptop

The birth of a Chugger

Have Twilight and fan-fiction made vampires irredeemably crap?

What we forgot about Halloween

DIY Wounds Tutorial

Skeleton Makeup Tutorial

7 Monsters you’ll meet on a night out

Yellow Brick Road

Student Speak

Gourmet meals for cheap

Hats-off to a stylish winter

Mock the Lyric

Bowie and Books

Sports for all?

Post Trappatoni: The future is bright

Continued on page 2...

Cathal O'Hagan (NUI Galway graduate, former LawSoc auditor), Ross Doyle (3rd Year Public and Social Policy, LawSoc Public Relations Officer) and Daniel McGlynn (3rd Year Public and Social Policy, LawSoc Social Secretary) at the recent Suit Up Day which was hosted by Law Soc and Engineering Soc.

2 News

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

WRDTG to hold Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Week By Jessica Thompson The Western Region Drugs Force (WRDTF) is hosting a seminar on 11 November that will address the issue of drinking in the home and the impact this has on individuals, families and societies. The seminar, entitled “Home Truths: The Culture of Alcohol in our Homes”, will feature a number of speakers and will be followed by the launch of the WRDTF third regional Drugs and Alcohol Awareness Week. The Health Research Board has found that 85% of Irish people believe that the current level of alcohol consumption is too high. The Board also found that there is a general perception (73%) that Irish society tolerates high levels of alcohol consumption.

From 1980 to 2010, average alcohol consumption in Europe decreased by an approximately 15%, while consumption in Ireland over that period increased by 24% “It has become an acceptable element of modern life that alcohol plays a central role in family gatherings and celebrations and it is timely that we highlight this issue and address the potential harm to ourselves and others due to this behaviour,” said Martin Lee, Chairperson of the Western Region Drugs Task Force. “Challenging our own personal engagement with alcohol is an ideal way to begin to reduce potential harms,” he added. From 1980 to 2010, average alcohol consumption in Europe decreased by an approximately 15%, while

consumption in Ireland over that period increased by 24%, according to the Health Research Board. Ireland has seen a change in its alcohol consumption in recent times with reduced sales in pubs and a dramatic increase in the sale of alcohol through off-sales, with a fivefold increase in the number of off-licences between 1990 and 2006. Furthermore, alcohol in Ireland became 50% more affordable between 1996 and 2008 and is widely available in off-licenses, supermarkets, corner shops and petrol stations. Dr Mark Garavan, Lecture in Social Care in GMIT, will

present at the “Home Truths” seminar on the role of alcohol in Irish culture. The influence that parents have on teenagers’ drinking decisions will be addressed by Dr Bobby Smyth, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Dr Smyth will also dispel some myths around the perception held by many parents about allowing teenagers to drink in the home. Editor of GALWAY Now magazine Gráinne McMahon will discuss the topic of wine-drinking in the home by women and Dr Ann Hope of Alcohol Action will address alcohol and the harm it can cause to others.

Budget 2014 brings mixed news for students Continued from page 1... In terms of funding for education, the €25 million cut from third-level funding last year which was meant to be restored this year will now not be restored until 2015 which means that the Higher Education Authority and each institution around the country (including NUI Galway) will have to operate with the same amount of funding they received last year and must now edit budgets and expected income and expenditure to deal with the news. There was some good news on the job front for students and graduates; 1,250 new teachers will be hired in the coming year. Also, 300,000 places in work, education and training places will be created and funded next year. There will be a new Garda recruitment drive next year as well as €14 million allocated to the Youth Guarantee fund. The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) have taken a mixed reaction to the budget, welcoming the deci-

sion to protect students and families while criticising the Government for reducing social welfare levels for people under the age of 26. USI President, Joe O'Connor, said; “This budget marks a turning point. After four cuts to the maintenance grant in four consecutive budgets, the Government has accepted that struggling students and families can take no more. “Minister Quinn and the Government have listened to students across the country who told them clearly that cuts to the maintenance grant would force students to drop out. “Throughout our campaign we have highlighted the fact that education is a public investment, not public spending. The maintenance grant, meagre as it is, allows those who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to attend third-level, to earn a degree, to have improved career prospects and contribute to our economic recovery. “ In o u r p re - b u d g e t engagement with Minis-

ter Quinn and TDs from all parties, there was an acknowledgment across the board that third-level graduates will be the drivers of our economic recovery. The decision to protect the grant recognises this. “While this budget reconfirms that the Student Contribution Charge (SCC) will increase again this year as outlined by Minister Quinn in Budget 2012, we will continue to campaign for this fee to be benchmarked against economic recovery and reduced to pre-crisis levels.” Minister Quinn and the Government have listened to students across the country who told them clearly that cuts to the maintenance grant would force students to drop out. “Today the student grant and the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) have been protected which is an encouraging sign that the government is listening to what people have been pressing for, education that gets people back to work. The campaign to ensure equal-

ity of access and equality of opportunity in our thirdlevel system goes on,” said Mr O’Connor. However, he also condemned the Government for raising the age levels for young people on social welfare, saying; “Young people, who have had nothing to do with the crisis this country now finds itself in, were punished in yesterday’s Budget for past mistakes. “Many highly-skilled, highly-qualified young people who are unable to find work due to the lack of opportunities now face a reduction in their social welfare payments, and a lowering of their social floor. Against a backdrop of mass youth unemployment and emigration, yesterday’s decision was an extremely punishing for many young people unable to find work.” USI supported a protest outside Leinster House on Wednesday 16 October against said rising of age levels. The USI have also released a Student Guide to Budget 2014. To download a copy, visit usi.ie.

Finally, newly appointed CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland Ann Costello will look at what has been done to date to address the issues being raised and what needs to be done to make a change for the future. The “Home Truths” seminar will be followed by the official launch of the third Western Regional Drugs Task Force Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week by Minister Alex White, TD. The awareness week, which will take place from 11 to 15 November, has a packed programme of activities and information events across Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. These events will explore the issues of drugs and alcohol under a number of themes including Alcohol in the Home; Cannabis; Prescription and over-thecounter medication; Social Media and Alcohol; and Underage Drinking.

The aim of the Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week is to increase awareness of drug and alcohol-related issues in the region, promote harm reduction and to highlight the support services available in Mayo, Galway and Roscommon. The WRDTF Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week in November of last year was a huge success, and the WRDTF are hoping for similar success this year. Of 52 various events that took place last year, 27 were from community and voluntary groups who were awarded small grants from the WRDTF. These events ranged from coffee mornings to parent information evenings to flash mobs, art and sport. To book a place at the “Home Truth: The Culture of Alcohol in our Homes” seminar contact the WRDTF Offices on 091-480044. For further details on other events taking place during the week, see the WRDTF website www.wrdrf.ie and follow the WRDTF on Twitter and Facebook.

Lab tally: connecting college computers By Brenna Dolan Imagine a world where you could find out in advance if there was a free computer in the library and around college? Thanks to past NUI Galway student Owen O’Brien, now you can. Owen has recently created a free new app called Lab Tally. This free app is a must have for all students. It’s a real-time computer lab app that connects with all the computer suites on campus, displaying the amount of computers in use and available in each location across campus. Any student, who has ever strolled through the library searching for a free computer and disappointingly found all computers in use, will appreciate the value of this. Displaying the exact location of the computer, this

app will save students an unbelievable amount of time that was previously wasted wandering library floors. The app is available on Android and iPhones. In Ireland the app mainly only services NUI Galway so far, which is great news for us. However, hopefully it will not be long until other colleges jump on board. Mainly operating on a North American basis, 52 colleges to date are benefiting from the app, including colleges in Toronto, Florida, Washington and Massachusetts. The app itself is colourful, easy to use and great news it is fast to download. So far it has reached over 1 million students, receiving an overall 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Google. It is the essential new app for any student of NUI Galway.

News 3

October 28 2013

Editorial: The giant dead caterpillar... from Hell (and other amazing Halloween costumes)

By Jessica Thompson Ah Halloween! As a child, it was my one of my favourite times of year, and now as a young adult, it is once again one of my favourite times of year. There’s something wonderful about dressing up in the weirdest costumes, wearing more makeup than your face can carry and walking to town, dodging Tellytubbies and superheroes and zombies and that one person who seems to be a mishmash of everything. Galway is such a great place to be on Halloween night. With its large student population the city comes alive with all manner of creatures. In fact, it’s very strange to see someone who’s not in fancy dress on Halloween night. It’s amazing how things change over the years. Remember the bin bag costumes so many of us wore as children? We were so damn cool, walking around with our plastic masks that our parents bought in a pound shop, carrying Tesco plastic bags, collecting sweets from neighbours and strangers alike. I’ll never forget all those years I wandered around dressed as a witch or a vampire, crackling like a plastic bag as I snuck from one corner to another waiting for some poor, unsuspecting victim (who could probably hear

me coming a mile away) to cross my path so I could scare the bejeezus out of them. There were some years when my parents weren’t quite so busy and would take the time to kit me out in the coolest outfits of them all. There was one year – when I was very young – when I was the coolest little witch in town. I must have been six or seven at the time. My mother made me a little black dress using some old material. She used a rolled up cereal box – a Rice Krispies box to be precise – covered in the same black material to create a pointy witch’s hat. She also went to the trouble of getting me a long nose (covered in warts of course), and some fingertips with long witchy nails that I could sit on top of my own fingertips. I was so damn cool. But that’s not all – my dad got in on the fun too and made me the greatest, most perfect broom that any little witch could possibly want. He used the handle of a sweeping brush, and affixed as many twigs as he could on the end of it. I didn’t have a cat, and decided that one of my dog teddies would have to suffice – he was promptly fixed to the end of my broom. And with a bit of Halloween makeup I was ready to go. We went to a party that night and I remember very little about it, except that I was running around a pole, singing away to myself when a strange lady came over to me and asked me my name. I told her and ten minutes later, she got up on stage and announced the winner of the children’s costume competition... me!

Editorial Vox Pops By Jessica Thompson This issue, I decided to ask my editorial team what their favourite ever Halloween costume was... Jenna Hodgins: My sisters dressed me up as a Teletubbie when I was four or five; they made the costume from my red onesie and a coat hanger. I even had the scooter and everything... Valeri Tarassov: Well, I might burn here but I was a catholic priest and my girlfriend was a catholic schoolgirl. I was 18 and she was 17. [It] looked pretty darn good [and] was fun. Shannon McNamee: I dressed up as Minnie mouse when I was 16; it was the best. I had the proper cute little Minnie Mouse ears and a red polka dot dress and whiskers!

It was such a proud moment in my life and such a massive achievement. I can still taste the marshmallows I was given as a congratulations present. One of my more interesting Halloween costumes was a giant dead caterpillar... from Hell. Yes, you read that correctly. It was one Halloween night when the family was simply staying in and watching scary movies. My siblings and I had no plans to dress up, but sometime in the middle of the evening, the urge to eat sweets came upon us. So we got a giant skull decoration that was hanging in the window and we grabbed a dark-coloured duvet cover and we became a giant dead caterpillar... from Hell. We crouched beneath the duvet, with my sister standing at the front holding the skull. My brother stood in the middle and I brought up the rear. We dipped up and down, alternating so that different parts of the caterpillar’s body were raised at various times. We got some very funny looks for our lazy costume, but we probably enjoyed that costume more than any other costume because of how weird it was to others. We had a nice little collection of sweets by the end of our adventures though. Another interesting outfit I had was a rock ‘n’ roll clown... from Hell. There wasn’t much to that; just an orange wig, a clown nose and a lot of leather. I was pretty cool that Halloween. It’s funny how the urge to dress up is so prominent in our childhood, and again in

our young adulthood, yet in our teenage years, we’re too embarrassed to dress up properly. I remember going to a friend’s Halloween “dressup” when I was 16. My mother helped me with my costume and my makeup and my hair. My hair was all messed up and my makeup, despite making me look dead, was beautiful. I wore a long dress and a lace veil that looked like black spider webs. I was pretty proud of that costume. I was some sort of corpse bride – though not one of the Tim Burton variety. After receiving several compliments on how great my costume was, I made my way to the party. Well I felt like Cady from Mean Girls when I walked in there. I was the only one in a proper costume. I’m not saying all the girls were scantily-clad. But they were in jeans and t-shirts, with ordinary make-up and they were wearing small things – like devil horns or a witch’s hat. There were no proper costumes and I was on the receiving end of plenty of condescending, judging looks. I never fitted in with that crowd anyway. Last year I was a corpse bride again, as can be seen from my photo, though this time it was received much better. This is the joy of being a young adult in Galway; everyone dresses up. This year, I’ll be dressed in a pig onesie and running around New York City. Now that will be an interesting night.

Editor in Chief: Jessica Thompson editor@sin.ie Layout: Shannon Reeves | contact via Ed.

News Jenna Hodgins | localnews.sined@gmail.com Conor Lane | nationalnews.sined@gmail.com

Features Leigh Ashmore | opinion.sined@gmail.com Michael Finn | features.sined@gmail.com

Lifestyle Ciara Treacy | fashion.sined@gmail.com

Webmaster Valeri Tarassov | web.sined@gmail.com

Happy Halloween!

Jess @Jess__Thompson

Helen Hughes: I got dressed up as a culchie one Halloween when I happened to be in America. I was about ten and my dad and uncle drove us around the suburbs on a golf cart collecting Hersheys bars by the bag-load! No-one could understand our kerry/donegal/cork accents but [it] was good craic. Ciara Treacy: Last year I was dressed as a post woman. The An Post logo was emblazoned on everything, including in my mind forever more. The only bad point was when the mailbag fell off the strap (containing my purse, phone and life) and I was going around with a strap on my shoulder, just a bag strap and nothing else. Took me quite a while to realise but thankfully it was retrieved and everyone got their mail in the end! I was delighted not to see anyone in a similar outfit – obviously one of the less popular public service costumes. Conor Lane: I went as myself because people are frightened by my appearance.

Upcoming Sin Meetings Thursday 31 October: NO MEETING: It’s Halloween. Go dress up

Thursday 7 Novemeber: Things we don’t do in Journalism.

All Sin meetings will take place at 6pm in AC213 on the Concourse. Anyone is welcome to our meetings and Sin always welcomes new faces.

4 News

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Starcamp to release LGBT Helpline launch ‘A Song for Childline’ ‘National Coming Out Day’ By Aideen O’Grady and Louise Greaves On 6 October, 110 lucky children that attended Starcamp Summer Camps from all over Ireland gathered with Starcamp leaders, musicians, photographers, videographers and technicians to record ‘A Song for Childline’ in Cork’s impressive School of Music. The single will be released later in the month to coincide with Childline reaching the milestone of 25 years answering children’s calls in Ireland. Aideen O’Grady from Starcamp said; “It was a complete tear-jerker to witness these children singing, children reaching out to other children is just wonderful to see. Given the nature of Starcamp, and the fact that our core ethos is building children’s self-esteem, it seems a natural and perfect next step to help this wonderful organisation in a way that we can.” One very lucky child was randomly selected from each of Starcamp’s nationwide summer camps to sing on ‘A Song for Childline’ with some of the leaders. This was an incredible opportunity for these children and they gave it their all. With this single, Starcamp hope to raise much needed

By Jane Kearns

funds for Childlin as today one in three calls still remain unanswered. The single will be available to download from Itunes for 99c. Copies of the CD will be available to purchase from Tesco and Golden Discs and 100% of the proceeds of the single will go to Childline. As Halloween approaches, Starcamp are about to embark on their first midterm camps brought about by popular demand. The spooky-theme d camps are aimed at all boys and girls between the ages of four and 13. The four-day camp runs from Tuesday 29 October to Friday 1 November from 9:30am to 2:30pm. Little wizards and witches will sing, dance, act, play games and be involved in a multitude of ghoulish activities over the four days with a Frightful Friday Finale Show for all to come and see.

The Galway Camp will be held in Salthill/Knocknacarra GAA Hall. The wonderful scripts that form part of the week have been written to suit the season and the songs and dance moves are all in keeping with the same enchanted theme. Starcamp is known for its wonderful open-door policy whereby all children of varying levels of abilities are welcome to participate. Each child will simply be encouraged to participate, to be creative, to use their imaginations and to enjoy it. The core ethos of building children’s self-esteem and confidence is evident in everything that they do. If you know a child who would like to be part of the wicked Starcamp spooktastic camps, places are limited so book online today at www. starcamp.ie or call 0214377900.

Wellbeing study taking place in NUI Galway By Michael Finn The NUI Galway School of Psychology are conducting a study exploring wellbeing in Ireland. They are looking to recruit people of all ages for this study which seeks to measure wellbeing using other indicators, aside from economics. The head of the school, Dr. Mike Hogan, believes that recruiting citizens to help with the study is the best approach to form proper statistics on wellbeing. “It is the citizens who must decide what our national priorities should be,” he commented. The study hopes to obtain relevant data by holding workshops in Dublin, Galway and Sligo. People are encouraged to

participate as the findings can be used to influence government policy. These workshops will be held throughout October and November. Currently, most governments measure wellbeing economically, and this study is being conducted to try look at aspects such as; education, community, health, governance and democracy, among other things. “Participation in the study offers people a unique opportunity to offer their opinion on what goals we should pursue to enhance the wellbeing of the people of Ireland,” said a representative from the School. “Thereby helping to shape what is measured at a national level.”

The human development index takes into account life expectancy, literacy, education, standards of living, and quality of life. As it stands, Ireland ranks third in the European Union behind the Netherlands and Germany. NUI Galway hosted a conference on wellbeing last year, which highlighted the absence of holistic approaches to healthcare, lack of a space for dialogue on holistic views of wellbeing, and no national measurement of wellbeing. For those interested in taking park in this study, you can contact Claire McMoreland at c.mcmoreland1@nuigalway. ie or 087 9232489, or online through the Wellbeing in Ireland Facebook page.

The LGBT Helpline has launched a National Coming Out Day; October 11 is now widely known as a day to encourage people to live their lives openly, confidently and without prejudice. National Coming Out Day is an international day of pride among the LGBT community that celebrates the right of passage for LGBT people that is coming out. To celebrate the day in Ireland a number of events took place all with the aim of reaching out to anyone struggling with their gender identity or sexuality, one such event was the opening of the LGBT Helpline for 24 hours on the day as well as a launch party in the Workman’s Club in Dublin. Coordinator of the LGBT Helpline, Paula Fagan, stressed the importance of the day to LGBT people, their families and friends, saying; “This day really highlights to LGBT people that they’re not alone in feeling challenged by the process of ‘coming out’, and that there are supports available for them. “People often associate the

process of ‘coming out’ exclusively with younger people but, in fact, people of all ages come out in many different ways.” Miss Fagan also highlighted that the day and the process of coming out in general not only applies to LGBT people, but to their families and friends too. This year’s ‘National Coming Out Day’ was significant as it came as gender recognition legislation is due to go before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection. Miss Fagan who promoted the day in partnership with the Transgender Equality Network Ireland went on to say; “As it stands, the Draft Heads of Bill says that the State will only recognise transgender people over the age of 18. “The proposed legislation also includes a requirement for a doctor’s supporting statement and requires the trans person to be single. So, while we welcome the introduction of legislation that brings this country a step closer to providing legal recognition for transgender people, we feel there is still a long way to go

in order for it to be a truly fair process.” Here in NUI Galway National Coming Out Day came on the tails of GIG Soc’s (Gay in Galway) Ally Week, which aimed to raise awareness around campus about what an ally is and to get support from allies in the form of signing a pledge which got over 2000 signatures. GIG Soc Auditor Gary Feehan emphasised the importance of having allies; “We need their support as well as support from our own community, especially with things like referendums and if we want to get any bills passed. The majority of people are straight and are allies, so therefore we need their support.” During Ally Week GIG Soc hosted a number of events, including a screening of Coming Out of the West, a short documentary made by LGBT Ally Cian Tracey about the struggles of coming out and being from a rural background. Coming Out of the West can be viewed on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=GLoXFUvIuME

PotterFest to return to NUI Galway By Rozi Kenderesi Lords, ladies, witches, wizards and muggles of NUIG! PotterSoc is proud to announce the return of PotterFest to the hallowed halls of our college. Bigger, better, and even more magical, this year's event promises to bring you activities old and new, all based on the much adored Harry Potter series. This convention will be taking place from the 31 January, to the 2 February 2014. So what have we got plan ned? Well, PotterFest will see the return of the popular and endlessly goofy muggle Quidditch, for any and all to join in. For those who like so say their piece, to voice their opinions, and to discuss their favourite aspects of the wizarding world, we'll be hosting panels, so you can do just that. This is the perfect opportunity to meet fellow Potterheads,

from across the country. Ravenclaws and Hermiones out there will enjoy classes in Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Divination, History of Magic and Defence against the Dark Arts. Over 18s can try their hands at Potions making in the College Bar, with delicious results. With lessons like these, you'll be fit to be a Prefect in no time. If you're hoping to do some stargazing, unrelated to Astronomy, watch this space and you might just get lucky. Is looking the part is your thing? Then we've got you covered, with cosplay events and costume contests. We urge attendees to refrain from the 'Nearly Headless Nick' look, though. It’s so five minutes ago. To make this year truly enchanting, Diagon Alley will be back, new and improved. PotterSoc are calling out to all artistic and crafty folk, to show the world what they can do, and maybe earn a

sickle or two in the process. Whether it be sketches or plushies, wands or badges, we're ready to see you strut your artistic stuff. For more information, or to show us what you can do, email potterfestgalway@ gmail.com. With pre-registration starting in mid-September, it's time to get excited. More details, directions, accommodation options, contact details and general information can be found on our website. Just follow the spiders to www.potterfestgalway.com to learn more and get in touch. Staff members are welcome; just send us an email or an owl (though the former is more reliable, and less likely to get distracted chasing mice). Hoping to see all Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Slytherins, not to mention staff, ghosts and everything in between, at PotterFest Galway.

News 5

October 28 2013

Galway youths visit Sweden for discrimination and equality workshops By Jessica Thompson A number of young people from Galway spent a week in rural Sweden recently, as part of a youth exchange with other youths from Sweden, Portugal, Armenia and Georgia. The theme of the exchange, which was funded by the Youth in Action Programme, was discrimination and equality and dealt with norms in society, acceptance, racism, LGBT culture and similar issues. Approximately 30 young people – four from Galway’s Rahoon Youth Project – took part in a wide variety of activities over the week, including a survival day on the beach and the Baltic Sea, a visit to a Swedish cheese factory, intercultural nights and various workshops – one of which taught them to craft and personalise their own cups. All those who took part in the exchange received a European Youth pass at the end of the week. “It’s important for cultures to integrate, so they can be more involved in their communities. Swedish people are very open-minded people,” said 17-year-old Gavin Flynn.

“I wish our country was more open-minded, as coming back from Sweden I realised how much of a closed-minded culture we are and how everybody only cares about themselves and money, whereas other cultures around Europe are more accepting and tolerant and they’re not as bothered; they take it as it comes,” he added. Meeting and mingling with young people from various backgrounds and cultures taught the four Rahoon young people a lot. “It was great learning about different cultures and how norms in Ireland wouldn’t be like norms in Sweden, for example. Also I learned a lot on anti-discrimination,” said 19-year-old Laura Vasilevskaya. The young people also learned “more about LGBT [culture] and discrimination” according to 19-year-old Nathan O’Reilly, while his twin brother Kian was pleased to learn more about the differences between Irish and other cultures. The aim of the exchange was to open the minds of young people to issues of

discrimination and equality and each of the four Galway youths have returned with a fresh outlook on society and new plans and ideas. “I can do more with LGBT because my auntie’s friend knows someone who works in an organisation that’s involved with LGBT people and I’ll hopefully get involved with it,” said Nathan. G a v i n w a s “a l w a y s open-minded about discrimination” but said “this youth exchange showed me how some cultures feel about certain topics, like homosexuality and stuff. “I’ll be more openminded and accepting to people from different religions and cultures and backgrounds who have different beliefs,” he said. The activities on the exchange were designed to encourage teamwork; “The day at the beach – Robinson’s Excursion – was a teambuilding activity where we split into four teams and were given a list of tasks we had to complete before certain times and throughout the day we also had to get points, in order to win the task,” Gavin explained. “Everybody had a role

Galway’s lay men to substitute priests at religious ceremonies By Maria Keenan The ongoing decline in numbers of young men entering the priesthood has prompted the Catholic Church to be more inventive in finding ways to fulfil their lay people’s demands. In May 2012, Fr Brendan Hoban of the diocese of Killala was quoted as saying; “We believe that in 20 years time there will be very few priests in Ireland. We believe too, as everybody understands, that without priests you have no Eucharist, and without Eucharist you have no Church. We are saying, 'what's the plan B'.” The latest attempt at filling this gap has arrived in

the guise of a proposal to allow male lay members in Galway (and the Archdiocese of Tuam as a whole) to preside over certain religious ceremonies. A three year curriculum is to be introduced under this model which, at its completion, will equip men, married and unmarried, over the age of 40 to perform baptisms, wedding ceremonies and funerals. They will become Deacons of the Church qualified to preach at Masses, though they will not be in a position to deliver a full Mass. Due to the aging population of the Church’s clergy, priests are increasingly responsible for more than one

parish at a time. This demand has led to an estimated decline of 75% in the number of priests in 30 years, should the current trend continue. This projection is founded on such discouraging realities as the fact that just 50% of men entering Irish seminaries are ordained with the number currently in training standing at just 180. To this end, the scheme would provide relief to an overstretched vocation. Fr Fintan Monahan, Secretary to the Archdiocese of Tuam has welcomed this scheme defining it as a means by which every member of the church can become more active in their involvement.

to play, so they can work together to build a camp,” Nathan added. The young people from each country hosted intercultural nights with food, and various activities that are part of the country’s culture, teaching them more about other cultures, as well as themselves and their own culture. “My favourite activity was doing the Irish intercultural night, because it helped me to get out of my comfort zone and be part of a team and to gain more confidence and to have more confidence communicating to the rest of the group, which would have been hard for me at the time,” said Kian. Free time throughout the week allows the young people to talk to others and make friends; “it was really emotional leaving everyone because we got to make loads

of great memories during the week; we bonded a lot. Also it was quite sad knowing we had to wake up and leave in the morning, but everyone had such a good time anyway because we knew we might not see each other again,” said Laura. “Although I was getting to know about other cultures in Europe etc, I also got to watch myself grow as a person and become more confident and take on responsibilities and show leadership skills and the maturity that I have,” Gavin recalled.

The overall experience of this youth exchange has opened the minds of the young people from Rahoon Youth Project. They have improved several skills, including teamwork, leadership and communication skills, while also learning more about various cultures around the world. But the aim of the exchange was to encourage open-mindedness and to teach young people about the issues attached to discrimination and equality. With the Galway youths, at least, this was certainly achieved.

6 News

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Labour MEP calls for change in attitude towards vocational education By Hazel Elliffe Labour’s MEP for Dublin, Emer Costello, has called for “parity of esteem” for vocational education to encourage young people to follow career paths that will lead to employment. She has also called on the European Commission to publish their proposals for Quality Framework for Traineeships agreed at European level to ensure that young people acquire high-quality work experience under safe conditions and to guard against exploitation. Speaking at a conference on the delivery of a European Youth Guarantee in Swords, Miss Costello spoke about the need to value vocational education in the form of work-based learning and high quality apprenticeships as a way to tackle the youth unemployment rate. “Ireland’s rate of youth unemployment currently stands at 28.5%, down admittedly from 31% a year ago, but still wholly unacceptable. The European Youth Guarantee offers us a unique opportunity to change the archi-

tecture through which we support young people into employment. “It’s vital that we get it right so that the social and economic costs of youth unemployment are never allowed to become so grave again,” she said. The conference discussed the European funding that will become available for the European Youth Guarantee scheme in Ireland in 2014. The plan is that within four months of a young person becoming unemployed they will be provided with education and training options with work-based learning, internships or high value apprenticeships. Miss Costello wants to ensure young people acquire high-quality work experience under safe conditions and to guard against exploitation. “Part of getting this architecture right lies in the quality and range of education and training options we offer. For too long, vocational education and apprentice-based training have been viewed as the Cinderella of our education system. “Countries with strong voca-

tional education and training (VET) systems – such as Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Austria – tend to have less youth unemployment. It’s time we drew from this and placed high-quality apprenticeships and work-based learning as part of the acceptable pathway to work,” she said. According to Miss Costello young people need to be encouraged to follow career paths that will lead to employment and she suggests broadening the spectrum of education that focus on apprenticeships, admin, hospitality, green economy, childcare and health sectors. After the collapse of the Celtic tiger students stopped applying for construction-related courses on their CAO. However in the Irish Independent dated 14 October 2013, Katherine Donnelly wrote about the skills shortage of surveyors, estimators, etc., as students are opting out of construction-related careers because of current trends. A number of years ago when students left school without receiving the required CAO points to attain a place in a col-

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By Kathy Dillon India’s east coast was hit by a category five tropical hurricane. With wind speeds of up to 200km/h, the storm known as cyclone Phailin has been the worst storm to hit India in 14 years. While the death toll was fortunately relatively low, estimated at less than 10, the infrastructural damage to the region was catastrophic. Mass evacuation by government authorities is believed to have saved thousands of civilians’ lives. The east coast states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh have been the worst affected. The storm has left almost 800,000 inhabitants displaced in a trail of carnage. Authorities had transformed temples, schools and other public buildings into temporary refuge shelters, while high speed winds tore down pylons, ripped rooftops from houses and knocked over trees. The region is currently left without electricity and roads remain closed putting strain on emergency services. However, officials remain confident that order will be restored within a matter of days.

The Indian government has mobilised relief workers to minimise humanitarian losses and accelerate reconstruction efforts. The Indian Army is also on standby to further relieve efforts and secure transport of food packages to the affected areas. It’s not the first time the region has experienced such violent winds. In 1999, the same region was struck by a super cyclone claiming the lives of 10,000 civilians, leaving the remaining population both devastated and traumatised for years to come. Indian authorities certainly learned from the natural disaster of 1999, refusing to let inhabitants of thatch and mud houses on the east coast remain in their homes. Fishermen were discouraged from any sea voyages and the local airport was shut down. Extensive evacuation and emergency relief preparation has no doubt reduced the possible number of casualties, yet the real work is only beginning for the local inhabitants. The violent winds may be easing but they have left their mark for many months to come.

Student knocks Garda over after being rescued from roof of Corrib Shopping Centre By Áine O Donnell A 21-year-old fitness student from Ballinasloe appeared in court in relation to an incident on October 15 2012 when he drunkenly climbed onto the roof of Corrib Shopping Centre Alan Madden had to be rescued by the Fire Brigade when he couldn’t get down; subsequent to his rescue Mr Madden was abusive towards Gardaí and “shouldered” Garda Orla Flatley, knocking her to the ground. He was charged with being intoxicated in a public place, threatening and abusive behaviour and obstructing a member of An Garda Síochána. Defence solicitor John Martyn explained that Mr Madden was intoxicated at the time of the event and his reaction to the Gardaí and in particular Garda Flatley was not “malicious”. He also claimed that his client returned to the scene to look for something he had left at an access point to

the roof of the shopping centre. Mr Martyn reiterated that no one had been injured and Mr Madden had no previous convictions. Judge Mary Fahy refused to accept €600 compensation on behalf of Garda Flatley that the defendant had brought to court until Mr Madden paid for his legal fees as he was a recipient of legal aid and Judge Fahy refuted his eligibility as his family owned a bus company. Judge Fahy has stated that she will consider the compensation once Mr Madden had paid his legal fees in full; “I’m expected to let the tax payers pay for this? They paid for the fire brigade to go out when he was on a roof. I want his parents to pay the legal costs. They should be ashamed that they would allow their son to take legal aid.” Judge Fahy revoked Mr Madden’s legal aid and adjourned the case until December 16 to allow the defendant to pay his legal fees before deciding on a sentence.

Ryanair ranked seventh most unethical company in the world By Robert Joyce

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lege, their future looked bleak. At the conference, Miss Costello spoke of the need to “value vocational education”. “From my experience in Europe, I know that in countries where vocational training is highly valued, parents, teachers, employers and young people themselves put as strong a value on achieving a quality apprenticeship as they would on completing a university degree,” she said. She welcomed the review of apprenticeships which was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn earlier this year; “I would hope that this review will help to revalue vocational training, as well as broadening the spectrum of education areas that focus on apprenticeship-based training, such as in the administration, hospitality, green economy, childcare and health sectors.” The technical colleges are teeming with students studying many practical courses in hospitality, IT, apprenticeship training etc, and students have the option of leaving at different levels, with a higher certificate after two years, an ordinary degree after three years or continuing. Most of these courses have industry-based training and the qualifications are recognised worldwide. Today’s students can also attend post leaving cert courses (PLCs) run by vocational colleges, offering an array of courses in engineering/green economy, childcare/media etc. These courses provide an excellent stepping stone into third level education. Most colleges and universities also offer year-long access courses for early school leavers wishing to pursue a college/university qualification. According to deputy Brendan Ryan TD, Emer Costello’s determination to ensure Ireland gets its share of funds to implement the ‘Youth Guarantee’ is vitally important, “as is her vision of making skills-based education a bigger part of our offering to school leavers,” he added.

Cyclone Phailin leaves India’s east coast in wake of destruction

Ryanair Holdings plc, the company that controls Ryanair, has been found to be the world's seventh most unethical company in the world according to Swiss research firm Covalence. The budget airline is known for its cheap international flights but has also gained notoriety in recent

years for its aggressive cost-cutting and mistreatment of both employees and customers. Owner Michael O'Leary is known to be a controversial and outspoken character, coming into the limelight earlier this year for describing the Aviation Commissioner as a 'village idiot'. The other corporations that accompanied Ryanair as the top

10 most unethical companies included Philip Morriss, one of the world's biggest tobacco companies; oil giant Chevron who evaded over 3.25 Billion dollars worth of tax to the US Government between 1970 and 2000; and Monsanto, an agricultural company known to sue small farmers for patent infringements on breeding techniques.

Features 7

October 28 2013

Choosing a laptop By Arindam Halder A laptop is our friend through the good and the bad times, sitting through lectures, completing assignments, playing games, social networking and any other task you can think off. The once ubiquitous desktop computers are relics of an era gone by. But with laptops becoming cheaper by the day and with a plethora of choices, choosing the right laptop can be a pain. Is there a laptop which fits all? Sadly the answer is a big ‘no’. There was a time when a laptop could cost anything upwards of €1000 but for a student an ideal laptop would cost between €600 and €800. But once in a shop the salesman tries to seduce the buyer to go for fancy laptops with features which won’t be used even once during the college days. So how do you decide which laptop is right for you? The ideal laptop should be light, portable, fast and stylish. But while buying a laptop you

should be guided by purpose rather than price. So here is a guide on how to buy a nice laptop without costing a bomb and to avoid being a gullible customer at the same time. Screen size: The first consideration while buying a laptop should be the screen size. The 15-inch machines are usually the cheapest but they tend to be bulky and difficult to lug around. So the ideal size would be anything between 11 inches and 14 inches. The laptops in this screen-size tend to weigh around the 5 pound mark. This makes them highly portable. An 11-inch laptop may sound too small so the ideal size would be 13-14 inches which gives a perfect mix of good screen size and low weight. tech gibberish: get the specs When buying a laptop ideally we would want the machine to last the whole course. So it’s better to go for the mid-level laptops which won’t cost a bomb but wouldn’t be easily

outdated in the fast world of technology. So let’s start with the processors. Stick to the latest generation of Intel processors. If there are budget constraints you can always go down a generation of the same processors. Try to avoid the Celeron or Pentium CPUs as they look attractive in terms of pricing but can literally bring tears to one’s eyes while multitasking. Laptops with AMD powered CPUs tend to be cheaper but stick to the A series of chips for a good experience. Next up is the memory or the RAM. For a student a 4GB RAM should suffice but based on the course and usage the memory can be increased for a minimal extra. The hard disk should ideally be around 500GB for carrying a mixture of songs, movies, e-books and course materials. If you are little flush with money you can opt for the Solid State Drives or the SSDs in short. The SSD improves the performance of the computer and increases

port is essential to connect to wire connections along with a few USB ports and VGA port to connect to external monitor.

battery life significantly. For gamers and engineering students another thing to consider would be the on-board graphics card. A GB graphics card will suffice for most users but they will push up the cost of the laptop. The specs would change based on usage. For example, software engineering and design students might like to go for quad cores and higher RAM and graphics. Go for a laptop with maximum battery life as that will keep you away from the trouble of frequent charging.

Warranty: The laptop should be under a comprehensive warranty to cover for any eventuality like a liquid spill or even a theft to bulletproof one through college. Design: Try out the laptop before buying. Check out the keyboard. Check the build quality and check out competing laptops at the same price point. In College we all want to look good so a better looking laptop at same price won’t hurt. Ultimately when you purchase a new machine, it's about choosing what suits your needs first, and what fits your budget second. In some cases, a higher price means a better peace of mind. You don't want to outright sell the machine and buy a new one later on or worse, try to get by with a computer that isn't as productive as possible. Making that purchase can be very tough, too. Manufacturers don't make it easy, and I'm not a big fan of a lot of what's on the market right now, at

Software: Try not to buy any software bundled with the laptop as it will cost a bomb. Ideally you should order the required software and get great student offers. Don’t ever buy an anti-virus as there are loads of free anti-virus programs available which are as good as the paid ones. Networking: The laptop should be equipped with basic networking hardware like wireless internet connectivity, Bluetooth and wireless networking. Also an Ethernet

least aesthetically. Interface is important, too; the keyboard, touchpad and screen are how you interact with the computer, so whenever possible – even if you're ordering online – go to a local store and get a feel for the machine or at least something fairly comparable. I can't stress enough how important the user experience can be. Also don’t forget to check with manufacturers for student discounts as most of them give 10-20% discount to students. All other features like the touch, hybrid etc are nice but can end up pushing up the cost of laptop significantly.

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8 Opinion

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

5 undeniably awesome reasons to volunteer Can Labour survive the next election? By Megan Reilly, ALIVE Intern Ever notice that if you ask anyone the best reasons to volunteer, they’ll always come back with: to make a difference, to help others, etc? Well here are a couple of lesser known reasons on why volunteering is great for you: 1. The variety: Possibly the best thing about being a self-confessed volunteer addict is that you’re not tied down to one organisation. Think of yourself as a free-lance artist, bouncing around into different areas. Feel like doing some gardening? No problem. Want to teach children the violin? (Knowing how to play the violin might be useful here) Or maybe you want to make friends with elderly? Rescue abandoned kittens from the streets? Work in a charity shop? What people sometimes don’t realise is that you can do all of this. The absolute best place to find this variety of opportunities is our website: www.nuigalway.ie/ alive where you can search by discipline or event, for whatever you want to do, literally! 2. Connections, connections, connections: I don’t mean those strategic, handy-for-the-future sort of connections (though you’ll make plenty of those too), but the amazing spectrum of people you get to meet. Basically, you’re going to meet people that you’ll want to have in your life for one reason or another. Whether it’s a new friend, love interest, or perhaps a final year English student who will tell you the plot of all the novels you’ve been putting off reading (well, you never know).

3. Free stuff: It’s the world’s best kept secret that volunteers get to keep a few goodies to themselves after a long day doing good work. My personal total tally of freebies includes three t-shirts, two very warm very snuggly hoodies, a mug, oh and of course all the free food. 4. People think you’re great: Volunteers are stereotyped as being kind, devoted, passionate and generous people right? Therefore as a volunteer you are automatically all of these things. And who doesn’t want the bragging rights to say to a group; ‘Oh yes, Ireland’s education system is in total disarray, why just the other day I was volunteering at the homework club I go to…’ *cue gasps of admiration and exclamations of appreciation at how much of an amazing person you are.* 5. Making that difference: As well as having an immense effect on the community you volunteer within, your work will also make a difference to your life. Volunteering will change the way you time-manage; it will expand your interests and your circle of friends. It will make you happier about others and yourself. Even knowing that you’re making a small difference in any environment is going to make you feel pretty good about yourself. So there you have it, five of the many undeniably awesome reasons to volunteer. If you want to hear more reasons from us (trust me, we have plenty) then why not pop along to the ALIVE office at the back of the hub, we’re open 2-5 from Monday to Friday. Or you can always just check out the website (www.nuigalway.ie/alive) to see all the opportunities around Galway city and on campus.

By Marcus Mac Dhonnagáin Labour is in crisis. The latest opinion poll from The Irish Times/Ispos mrbi put the party at 6% – one of the lowest scores the party has ever received since the mid 1980s. Of course, polls only provide a small snapshot of what a section of the public are currently thinking, with the Seanad referendum showing that they can be inaccurate. Yet, it’s part of a wider trend which has shown that the junior coalition member is losing support. Yet, this is coupled with the fact that casualties in Labour’s ranks have also been numerous. When elected to government in 2011, Labour successfully elected a record number of 37 TDs. Since then it has lost two Junior Ministers (though one of them has rejoined the party), a number of TDs and councillors, a Senator and an MEP – all of them resigning over policies that Labour has pursued. Why has this happened? Why has Labour’s support dropped by 13.4%? The answer is simple: Compromise.

Labour, as a political party, has never had the opportunity to stand on its own two feet, or even be the majority power of a coalition. This has meant it has never been able to fully pursue its own agenda. This compromising on its part has lead to the dilution of its policies – ensuring that it can rarely deliver on the vision it offers to voters. During the 2011 election Éamon Gilmore famously proclaimed that it would be Frankfurt’s way or Labour’s way. His party offered an alternative to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. As opposed to pursuing the policies of the centreright, it would instead institute a more social democratic model, protecting the most vulnerable of society. Progressive models of taxation would be implemented so that everyone would pay their fair, services would be protected and continued to be maintained, university fees would not rise. But the Irish people chose Fine Gael, who elected a record number of 76 TDs – nearly double of Labour’s number. The

austerity programme that Ireland entered into would be continued, but the cuts that would be made would favour Fine Gael’s political base the most. Though it has also dipped in the polls, it has suffered less than Labour. Currently it seems like Labour is pining on being in power for when the economy recovers; but its voters will most likely punish it for using the same policies that it had once rallied against. Fianna Fáil has shown that it’s easy for a party to bounce back after being punished by the voters and thus it’s most likely the party will survive. But Labour has damaged its relationship with the core voter, and betrayed those that had decided to give the party a chance. It has become synonymous with the status quo policies pursued by Fine Gael, but it has borne a far greater price for doing so. This is because its voters didn’t want Fine Gael; they wanted the promise of what Labour offered. The price of abandoning these people has thrown the party into crisis.

Smoking ban proposed in UK prisons ALIVE NUI Galway’s Community Volunteering Programme

An opportunity of a lifetime What do ALIVE community volunteers do? talk to people  work with animals  drive cars  plant trees  write letters  paint walls  host events  raise funds  cook dinners  walk dogs  play music  listen to people  give first aid  collect for recycling  engage with young people  spend time with older people  keep accounts  campaign on justice issues  office work  after school support for children and much more! Sign up to volunteer on the ALIVE website  Volunteer Opportunities Database with over 120 Community opportunities  Map of Galway with Community Organisations markers to help you find your way  Stories from ALIVE community volunteers  Videos and interviews with community organisations

By Caroline O'Shea When we think of prisons, jails, penitentiaries etc, I assume we all think the same thing; vaguely what we saw in The Shawshank Redemption or on America’s Hardest Prisons. We think of a place of unease with its own set of hierarchy and rules between inmates. Constant battles for freedom, rebellions against the “pigs” watching them, trades between prisoners such as naughty magazines or the ever popular swapping of small sharp objects and battle scars. A place rather like school where you fall into different social groups, the mexican mafia guys (the jocks who get all the girls), those Aryans brotherhood ones (the debaters), the Puerto Ricans (the computer geeks), the black guerrillas (the weed heads) and you (Morgan Freeman).

Economics teaches us where there is trade there is the exchange of goods and services in return for money. Cigarettes: the currency of the convict. It has been proposed in the UK that a smoking ban should be introduced into prisons because nonsmokers are uncomfortable with being surrounded by carcinogenic fumes. I would’ve thought being in prison there would be more on their minds, but it would appear that some convicts are concerned about their health as well. To get rid of cigarettes in the prisons would actually mean increased taxes for civilians because apparently prisoners are expected to pay for their own cigarettes but the public are expected to pay for their nicotine patches and e-cigarettes. I can see that proposal going up in smoke... Maybe this is a good move? After all, though these

people may have done some bad things, from stealing to murder, they are paying for it so there’s no point in denying them good health or judging them further. They’ve gotten their dues so we should leave them be and try to make prisons a more comfortable place where people who really need help reforming can get it. Whether or not this will go into effect has yet to be decided as some argue it would cause huge risks to guards, with prisoners being more agitated than normal. From an economic point of view however, I think it would be a good way to see what happens to a society when currency is taken out of it; a chance for us to see in a very extreme case if the world breaks down when all the money is gone. After all, nothing has to be permanent, if everything falls to pieces in there, it just give them those smooth laramies back.

opinion 9

October 28 2013

Why Ireland needs a wealth tax By Leigh Ashmore There’s nothing as dishonest as the idea that ‘everybody’s been hit hard by this recession’. Budget 2014 was bursting with cuts for younger people, older people, travellers, immigrants, cuts to health, education, social welfare, and a doubling of the property tax; it had something for everyone in it. Following all the public outrage created by it, a Fine Gael minister appears from the shadows and tells us “We don’t want to have to do this” and that “There is no other way. The country is broke!” The line “The country is broke” has been repeated so many times I shudder to think some people actually believe it’s true.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said that a wealth tax just isn’t possible. Apparently, there’s just not enough information on how much people earn and even if there was, tax evasion would just prevent the government from accessing the funds. The scale of economic devastation in Ireland becomes a lot easier to understand when we hear our Minister for Finance give at least tacit approval to tax inequality in Ireland. This logic is bizarre to say the least. Essentially, it would be like the Gardaí saying “We’d only be wasting our time arresting that rapist; sure he’s only going to do it again once he gets out.” Probably the most nauseating aspect to the budget

The scale of economic devastation in Ireland becomes a lot easier to understand when we hear our Minister for Finance give at least tacit approval to tax inequality in Ireland. This logic is bizarre to say the least. But what we didn’t see in Budget 2014 was just as disgraceful as what we did see. It contained no plans for increased tax on higher earners or an increase in corporation tax, instead leaving the brunt of the weight to be paid by the middle and lower classes. According to figures released earlier this year, I re l a n d’s r i c h e s t 3 0 0 people currently have a collected fortune which is valued at more than the state of Ecuador’s GDP. The Sunday Independent Rich-list 2013 showed that Ireland’s 300 wealthiest have increased their pooled profits to €66 billion, which has risen by €3.9 billion from last year. This is not even the one percent, it’s the 0.0075%. The top one percent in this country has a combined wealth of €130 billion.

was the mixture of smugness and ridiculousness that the coalition managed to wrap it up in. The government are desperate to spin the budget as a victory. We’re told incessantly that “we’re exiting the Troika bailout programme”, which can only mean that everything’s going to be fine forever. Except it’s not. It isn’t “the end of Anglo” as Noonan triumphantly proclaimed, like the ghosts of 2008 crisis are all gone. The interest payments on this country’s debt are at least eight billion, making up one third of our debt, the weight of which is going to be a burden on Ireland for decades at least. “We’ve created jobs!” is another boast you’ll hear from the government. But

the stark reality is that the majority of those jobs were created in the agricultural and tourism sector and are completely temporary, and exploitation schemes such as Jobbridge help make the employment figures look much nicer. As well as this, many of those taking up jobs in Ireland, especially young people, are getting lowpaid, low quality jobs with very little prospects of long-term employment. After all these austerity budgets have been proved to destroy any growth while also obliterating public services and benefits, it’s delusional to think that there can be any kind of change in our society when such appalling levels of economic inequality exist. Then again, it’d be just as bizarre to expect ministers to accept a wealth tax, considering it’s obvious where their priorities lie, in the clutches of big business. Budget 2014 saw about €600m taken out of health, and €500m funnelled into tax breaks for businesses “to create employment”. As for the Labour Party, they’ve once again brought in a budget that is totally regressive, that attacks those who don’t have the cash to defend themselves and one that seems more akin to Margaret Thatcher than James Connolly. The country is not broke. Ireland still measures as one of the 60 richest countries in the world, and highest classes in society are increasing their wealth in vast numbers. If there isn’t a concentrated effort in bringing about a radically fairer form of taxation – one not designed to serve the rich – then there will be many budgets to come where we will have to listen to future Finance Ministers read out the list of much-needed services and benefits that will be driven to the brink of extinction.

Alumni Interview: Garry Hynes Year of graduation: 1975 Course at NUI Galway: BA Current Occupation: Theatre Director

What is your fondest memory of NUI Galway?

Any juicy stories of your time here? I refer you to my memoirs which will be published as soon as the lawyers have finished with them.

What advice would you give to current NUI Galway students?

Ma Craven’s Coffee Shop

Enjoy. It will all too quickly become something you have only memories of.

Has NUI Galway changed since you were here? Completely.

How did attending NUI Galway develop you as a person? I grew up.

If you could go back and do it all again, what would you do differently? Funnily enough I would study more. It seems an impossible luxury now to have time just to read and learn.

Did you partake in any societies, sports clubs or volunteering at NUI Galway? DramSoc, Lit&Deb ArtsSoc

What was the college newspaper like when you were in NUI Galway? Did you write for it? Can’t remember but I wrote (terrible) poems and prose for Criterion.

Do you ever miss NUI Galway? Well I’m lucky enough to have a continuing relationship with it through Druid.

Did you ever get in trouble while you were here? Frequently.

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To a n e of the wly enhan ced c art bu am excitin il g new dings, wor pus with ne ld resea rch p class facil w state rogra mme ities and s for 20132014

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eir ide for th ing worldw d i n n fu m in lu Galway ts on campus To our a I U N r c n fo jor proje ambitio ese ma th f o y n ma

stay

connected With the Alumni Association and support NUI Galway’s vision for the future For more information on priority projects, events & activities: Visit us @ www.guf.ie l www.nuigalway.ie/alumni l T: 091 493536 Find us on Facebook

10 Opinion

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Birth of a Chugger By Michael Finn

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€10

PORTWEST CONIFER HAT

C hugger : A p a i d charity worker that encourages targets to give their bank account details to aid their given cause (ie: Charity + Mugger = Chugger). I, like many other students, moved back to home for the Summer holidays. If you were anything like myself, you found yourself unemployed and on the hunt for work. I planned ahead while I was still living in Dublin, and searched through Jobs.ie to find some Summer work. I submitted my C V left right and centre for any job that was in the Sligo region. But the most promising one had the title “Team Leaders Required in Sligo”. I am a team leader, among the likes of Ernest Shackleton, George Patton and Wolverine, so why shouldn’t I apply for this position? Plus, I have been working for a promo company in Dublin, handing out free samples and so on while in college, so it would suit me very well, since it was a marketing company. But I would later find out that ‘marketing ’ meant ‘direct marketing’, and ‘direct marketing’ meant ‘being a nuisance’. I threw in my CV and continued on with my day. Three weeks later I got a call from a strange Sligo-based number. It was from said marking company, and I was short listed for an interview with them. I arranged a date and was told to dress smart, as I would expect.

The Interview When I got to the office, it felt like I was joining a higher class of the workforce. The lobby was classy looking, with magazines on table printed by the parent company. I casually glanced through the magazine and noticed testimonials from chirpy looking student

types, boasting about how much money they made, and the amount of branches the company is setting up throughout Ireland. I was called in for the interview, and met by an enthusiastic woman who made the interview very comfortable and easy, asking me questions, while talking of all the opportunities to make loads of money from hard work. Not to mention the liberal use of the word ‘advancement’.

to raise money for well known charities. Unlike the church gate collection, or bag-packing for the local GAA team, we cannot accept mere hard cash. They need you to set up a direct debit account. I w a s s t i l l s l i g ht l y tempted by the prospect of making so much money a week, as if she was trying to pitch the job to me, as opposed to me selling myself like an interview should. But I couldn’t see myself becoming what I’ve always hated.

If a direct marketing job is offered to you on commission, there is a good chance you are going to get screwed over. And if you are a successful chugger, you are screwing other people over. She also made sure to tell me that the average employee with them makes €300 to €500 a week going door to door selling products. How come I know so many people who are slaving away in shops, bars and restaurants when ads for jobs with this type of pay are popping up all over Jobs.ie with “No experience required” in the title? It’s a dream come true! But she did have to mention right in the middle of the interview that it would be 100% commission, which I’m sure she thought, would give me the go-getter, team spirit attitude of an enterprising young go-getting go-getter. But surely, if the average employee makes €300 to €500 a week, they must be selling something in high demand and of good use to the customer, like Eircom Phonewatch and Mo r m o n i s m. B u t w e would be selling something different. The Chuggers We would be given the task of ‘fund raising’. Our jobs would be to go door to door, and on the streets,

When I ran into these chuggers a while back, I thought that they were doing volunteer work for charity, and had no idea that there was a business to be made out of it, as if they are selling cutlery, or Jesus. Best advice If a chugger approaches you on the street, simply state that you are not interested. You will be wasting their time and yours if you entertain them. If a chugger calls to your door, tell him that you are not interested and to leave. Direct marketing is one of the lowest and sleaziest business models, just above Pyramid Schemes. If a direct marketing job is offered to you on commission, there is a good chance you are going to get screwed over. And if you are a successful chugger, you are screwing other people over. If you want to set up a direct debit account for a charity, do so without the pressure of some chirpy faced student. Their commission isn’t going to help young Kofi get an education.

12 halloween special

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

This week’s debate:

Twilight and fan-fiction have made vampires irredeemably crap Yes: Twilight and fan-fiction have ruined vampires

No: The existence of fanfiction does not mean the extinction of the originals

By Mark Kelly

By Liam King

It's hard to believe that vampires actually used to be a villain we feared. We saw them as these really cool, elusive, beautiful and powerful creatures who could swoon a woman and overpower a man. They were these monsters that weren't really monsters by the actual definition of a monster; they were amazing and interesting. Also, the fact that you never knew if they were going to take you to your bed or rush you to an early grave added massive suspense to them; from Dracula to Interview with a Vampire, even Blade vampires were the life and soul of the supernatural world, the piece-de-resistance of fictional monster writers. How ever, Stephanie Meyer changed all of that. I am not going to comment on the quality of her writing but instead her take on “vampires” and how that has ruined the genre and character as a whole. Firstly, Meyer has somehow managed to take the idea of a vampire and twist it on its head completely. If we think about vampires, the old rules used to be that they couldn't walk in sunlight, they were allergic to garlic and a stake to the heart would kill them. Instead, Meyer has made people (especially females) believe that vampires can not only walk in the sunlight, but when they do they sparkle! Like, what the hell? How can you seriously suggest that a vampire can sparkle? One can understand vampires being burnt in sunlight due to having no blood-flow so hence the UV does massive damage, but how the hell can a vampire sparkle? Also, these vampires can only be killed by dismembering them and burning

them in a fire. So, you have taken away the slim chance a human actually has of killing a vampire. That was always the interesting thing about vampire movies and books before, the hero always had a chance to slay the vampire, even if it was slim; it was something that the viewer could be excited about. However, these new vampires mean that if a human ever decided to stand-up to them, then they wouldn't have a chance of winning. Which takes away any suspense and means the ending would be pretty much predetermined. Another thing that Twilight has taken away is the suspense of the lust that the vampire has for characters. Unlike movies such as Fright Night and Interview with a Vampire where the presence of a vampire could either mean a romp in the bed or two teeth in the neck, Twilight has taken away from us the passion (which is pretty much non-existent) which just means that Edward is in love with Bella. Also, the rape-culture of Twilight is highly disturbing, and is something that is coming across in a lot of the fan-fiction being written about the book, film series and vampires in general. The “grooming” by Edward of an emotionally fragile Bella is something both deeply disturbing and frightening, and may be conditioning teenage girls into being groomed. It's something that has to be addressed, and if this continues Twilight may have contributed far more negative effects to our culture then just ruining vampire movies. I think one of the biggest annoyances about Twilight is the whole “government” that is established in it. How can a government form in a species that is so small and that also has global reach? It makes absolutely no sense.

Most governments strain to see everything that is happening in their own state, never mind on a global scale. The great thing about vampires is that they are usually loners, sometimes travelling in pairs. There is no global network; bumping into another vampire is a rare and thrilling thing, that's something the family and government system in Twilight takes away from the genre. Again, one can easily forget about Twilight if they don't like it. I can accept that some people find the movies and books appealing, and more power to them. The issue I have is that Twilight has meant we have had TV shows like The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf, and even the new Dracula is moving more towards the Stephanie Meyer style of vampires. And that's my problem. I love the old vampires that had the air of mystery around them, but as long as young girls and their mothers absolutely love the good-looking, loving vampires who feed on animals and swoon over other young girls who then improve when they get with the vampire, the genre will never go back to the way it was. And that's the real shame in all of this; the fact that fans of the original vampires are losing out to this absolutely pathetic class of vampire. I fear for the future of one of the greatest subgenres of the supernatural.

Vampires have been around a long time. They crop up across all kinds of media, and always have, but just lately, there seems to have been a new kind gaining ground. Namely, the cuddly romantic lead with optional sparkles and angst, who just happens to have a taste for blood, as opposed to the more conventional monster that needs to be killed. The new, softer kind of vampire gets a lot of scorn in forums and YouTube comments, but to say that they render all vampires irredeemably crap is a massive overstatement. Twilight and fanfiction have their bad spots, but they are far from all there is to vampire fiction. Other works exist, and even the trend for vampiric romances is older than you may think. The work of Anne Rice, Laurell K Hamilton, and Joss Whedon seems to be well received for the most part. So what about the most recent vampire portrayals inspires such distaste? It can be argued that the recent paranormal romance rush is getting vampires fundamentally wrong somehow, but that raises questions of its own. There’s a hell of a lot of vampire lore, and no two stories are entirely the same. How often have you seen a flick where the key to victory was stealing the vampire’s left sock? Or scattering seeds that it was compelled to count? (Sesame Street excepted).

There’s no one true way of depicting vampires, so one way of showing them is as valid as any other. The classic vampire is based on Dracula, probably the most famous vampire story. But here’s the thing; it’s not a terribly accurate depiction. Bursting into flames in sunlight? Dracula himself was fine in sunlight, it just interfered with his shapeshifting ability. Victorian evening dress? At the time of writing, that wasn’t some kind of vampire uniform, it was something he wore in order to avoid notice in England. He also usually hung out in houses his lawyers bought for him, rather than in crypts and such. Even earlier than that, vampires as depicted were closer to what we would be more likely to consider zombies these days, making it hard to define what a ‘real’ vampire should look like. Vampire stories have always been about just picking bits and pieces of the lore you liked and running with them. Twilight and fanfic are no different. So they retain the super speed and strength, and some of the classic powers like being hypnotic to look at. It’s not that strange. The idea of the ‘vegetarian’ vampire is not new. Besides, in universe, the Cullens are aberrations; the majority of the vampiric population is more than happy to cut a swathe through the human cattle. In fact, at least three overlords fit the more conventional depictions of sitting in a castle not doing much for extended periods beyond having random people slaughtered and fed to them. The only real essential core of vampire lore that has to be present in stories about them is the necessity of feeding on something from humans, usually (but not always) blood, and some supernatural abilities to distinguish them from ordinary murderers. Both these things

are present and correct in Twilight and its fanfiction derivatives. As for the fanfiction, it’s not exactly limited to vampires. There are terrible depictions of just about every popular fandom somewhere out there, as well as the rare gems. But you almost always need to go looking for it to actually find terrible fanfic, so why be concerned about what that is doing to vampirism as a whole? There are a bunch of portrayals of other things in fanfic, like that great love story that is Hermione Granger/Severus Snape romance (or better yet, Gandalf and Spock experiencing the joys of motherhood together). But nothing is ruined by the fact of their existence. I’ve never met anyone who actually stopped watching a movie because of what fanfiction might be writing about it. The originals still exist. Vampire romances do not make killer vampires ‘irredeemable’ any more than killer vampires make vampire romances irredeemable to those who have a taste for them. If you like your vampires active and murdery, there are plenty of works that can supply that. Twilight vampires are potentially even more dangerous, actually, since they have none of the traditional weaknesses. It’s possible to tear them apart if you can get them to stand still until you burn the pieces, but as far as humanity goes, they’re pretty much untouchable. And sparkly and telepathic. They are not my favourite depiction of vampires generally, but they don’t ruin anything by existing. There are lots of other things to read or watch that don’t touch on anything Twilight-related, and while there are now shelves upon shelves of paranormal romances, it’s easy enough to check the horror section instead.

halloween special 13

October 28 2013

Re:

New Feminism and Horror Public Movies this Halloween

Tracy Conway Halloween is that frightfully wonderful time of year when horror movies abound. As a pop-culture loving feminist, I have made it my mission to watch as many scary movies as possible during this bewitching season and doing so has got me thinking about the role of women in horror movies. How various forms of media view and objectify women is a serious issue for our modern times. Films, of every variety, are one of the most powerful ways to convey messages and opinions. The horror genre in film is often susceptible to repetitive plots and an abundant use of clichés; so much so that at the end of many a terrifying movie we are left with a lone female survivor. Women have a better track record for escaping insidious beings and the more innocent and virginal this woman is, the better her chances of living until the credits roll. It’s just one common theme found in decades of horror movies and the cli-

chés involving ladies are numerous; our apparent inability to run without falling over is another example. Thankfully most women really don’t have such problems with gravity and not all horror movies assume so. Many classic horror movies do not define the kick ass capability of ladies by their level of promiscuity. Therefore this Halloween, between the parties and over-indulgence in chocolate, perhaps find some time to get reacquainted with some of the best female roles in horror. The following movies are recommended not only because of their female characters but because they are excellent horror movies overall. First off, Scream and Cabin in the Woods are noteworthy for their outright acknowledgement of horror movie clichés, particularly how women tend to fare. Cabin in the Woods will probably not scare you as much as amuse you but for anyone looking for a huge variety of supernatural beings then look

no further. The movie has everything one could want for an entertaining scary movie, from their nods to how horror has blatantly used gender stereotypes to a rampaging unicorn. Both Scream and Cabin in the Woods act as a parody of the genre while also indulging in the onscreen violence that has become standard in modern horror. Both movies stick to conventional ‘damsel in distress’ scenarios for the purpose of satire. The female leads do not end up being damned by their sexual behaviour and manage to fight all manner of insidious beings, human and supernatural, resulting in movies that seem familiar yet are so different from anything else. A better example of woman power in horror is The Descent. Set in claustrophobic caves, this movie follows a group of women as they are hunted by monsters. As a result, they turn on each other. The Descent will not only make you sleep with the light on but has an astounding cast that is sure to impress.

The sense of entrapment throughout the movie along with the malicious creatures makes for a viewing experience that is hard to forget. Finally, it would be amiss to not mention the classic that is 1979’s Alien. I had first watched Alien as a child and was left both terrified by the creature in it and amazed by the character of Ellen Ripley. The movie is set in the future on a spaceship that encounters a being that is determined to wipe out the crew. The alien in question has enjoyed lasting fame and is well recognised as one of the best scary creatures ever created. Such a frightening creature needs an equally impressive adversary. Ripley is the ultimate female protagonist and her attitude throughout the movie (and subsequent sequels) has resulted in her character becoming a feminist icon. She was strong, assertive and confident instead of being valued solely on appearance. For such reasons Ripley has been heralded as one of the most formidable women

in film. So for all those looking to be scared this hallows eve make sure to add Alien to your own Fright Fest. This brief look at some great horrors with femi-

nist themes is by no means exhaustive but offers a few examples of how to have a terrifying movie experience this month. So enjoy and have a Happy Halloween!

back. Never put a spade in the ground on may-day. Don’t put new shoes on the table. If crockery is broken, break it again and say “may your bad luck go with it”. My Uncle said to always warn the fairies when throwing out water so as not to hit and anger them. And finally, passed down from mother to daughter, you would cut the sign of the cross into loaves when baking bread. We Irish also have a fascination with death. In my village there’s rarely a conversation I’ve overheard that hasn’t had the memory of some deceased neighbour (“God rest his soul!”) brought up in one guise or another. The author J.P. Donleavy once wrote that Ireland is “a

country where the dead are forever living”. A truer word was never spoken; there is a plethora of piseogs attached to wakes and funerals. When someone in the house dies, people used to tie a black ribbon on the door; stop all the clocks; young people weren’t allowed to see their parent being placed in a coffin; and the corpse was borne away feet forward. How e v e r, t h e s e a re light-hearted piseogs in comparison to the stories my great-aunt, once upon a time, used to tell me; stories of

farmers’ crops being cursed by jealous neighbours, the ‘bad eye’ being cast over success and fine looks. Evil magic to steal your neighbour’s luck and add to your own. People were also suspicious of fairies and took great care in deciding where to place a cow byre, for placing it on a fairy path would lead to terrible luck. Do piseogs still belong to an aging generation? In some ways, perhaps, but even today, in this county, around this campus, I still see people’s hands raised in salute to the magpie. Finally,

I will leave you a story my great-aunt told me. “A woman in Connemara suffered a terrible toothache, and she went to a local piseog woman for a cure. The woman gave her a sealed envelope and told her she wasn’t to open it. The toothache seemingly vanished, yet she confessed her sin to a missionary priest visiting the area. The priest asked to see the envelope. Inside was a note, and written in scrawled writing the message, ‘Bye bye toothache, until we meet in hell.’” Happy Halloween!

A FemSoc poster used at Halloween last year.

Very Superstitious By Helen Hughes On the day I moved to Dublin for summer-work, my mother armed me with a shaker of pepper and a Saint Benedict’s medal. Inner city Dublin, I thought, is she well in the head? Was this uncommon though? No. Over the years I’ve packed more travelsized bottles of holy water from her than sandwiches, but as we approach Halloween I began to ask myself just what other superstitious oddities exist in the Irish psyche? To our visiting students, the following may seem bizarre, but perhaps in some ways similar to those of your own country. ‘Piseog’ is the Irish word

for superstition. It also has darker connotations that liken it to the Irish equivalent of Voodoo. Deciding not to trust the internet I sourced most of these piseogs from locals in my village in north Galway. One boy told me his neighbour only ever leaves the house by the door she entered. Another farmer told me of the malicious trick of putting a clutch of eggs into a bale of hay, and when they rotted the hay went bad and was taken as a sign the entire harvest would ruin. Farmers spat on money exchanged at the fairs for luck up until the 80s. Carpenters should never cut wood on Good Friday. A fisherman who meets a redheaded woman should turn

Carpenters should never cut wood on Good Friday. A fisherman who meets a red-headed woman should turn back. Never put a spade in the ground on may-day.

14 halloween special

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Have some Halloween costumes gone too far? By Jenna Hodgins Big name supermarket chains, Tesco and Asda, have been forced to withdraw serial killer and mental patient costumes from their shelves after an influx of criticism from both Twitter and mental health organisation, MIND, who described Tesco’s ‘psycho ward’ and Asda’s ‘mental patient’ costumes as “staggeringly offensive”. Sue Baker of MIND wishes to “avoid fueling stigma and discrimination that are so damaging for large numbers of the population”. The retailers have since both removed the products from their Halloween range and publicly apologized for the offense caused. Year in, year out, every Halloween there’s an institution worth of gorified ‘zombie-basket cases’ and ‘creepy mental asylum patients’. Admittedly, it was only last year that I dressed up as a ‘zombie/crazy ex-girlfriend’ with “Patient no. #666 Broadmoar Prison” written on my t-shirt. I’m on the fence to say the least. A part of me understands why there needs to be a lockdown on trivialising mental illness all for the sake of some Hallmark holiday. On the other hand, the laid-back-take-a-joke part of me wants to grab concerned parents and mental health advocates by the shoulders and yell: “IT’S ONLY A LAUGH” in their face. No tell-tale signs of any mental health issues there at all, at all… The outfits themselves are both fake blood embellished uniforms; Asda’s dawning a little white number and Tesco opting for the florescent orange convict onesie. Tesco’s muse is clearly none other than Hannibal Lecter with the orange jumpsuit and muzzle ensemble, while Asda went more for a mummified Einstein kind of look complete with meat clever and blood splatters. On first impression, the costumes are harmless; they appear merely as a failed mummified-butcher outfit and pop-culture tribute. Harmless – until you read the costume names. Regarding the actual wording of Tesco’s

‘Psycho Ward’ costume, I can fully understand the criticism. There is nothing in the name that suggests the outfit impersonates a criminal or a typical killer <insert noun here> Halloween costume. Instead, the costume completely stereotypes mentally ill patients who are committed to mental institutions as crazy, barbaric cannibal/vampire beings. The term ‘psycho’ – and you may argue this but it is true (c’mon!) – has been deemed and used as a derogatory insult. It’s not a good thing if you’re called a psycho and it certainly doesn't emit any cool trendy vibes either. In all honesty, ‘Psycho Ward’ is a very misleading costume name; it doesn't depict a in the slightest. Where are the plain ward white walls and padded cells? Meanwhile George at Asda’s ‘Mental Patient’

generalizes all patients of mental institutions and hospitals as fuzzy-haired blood thirsty killers with a penchant for butchering. However, I cannot but question the stereotyping in general found in Halloween costumes: Why is it we can’t stereotype the criminally insane but it’s socially acceptable to dress up as a ‘sexy nurse’? No offence nurses, I can imagine you are all in fact very sexy people, but how is it socially accepted to type-cast these men and women as sexual objects? The same applies for any civil service job or occupation in general. Even species are sexualised for a holiday that is meant to be scary i.e. “I’m a mouse, duh”. Although, it is all in a name; would the costumes be less offensive if they were called ‘Crazy Cannibal’ and ‘Criminally insane’? Or does the existence of a mentally ill character

as a Halloween outfit stigmatise the already taboo topic of mental health? The truth of the matter is that we are providing younger generations an image of reality that has been warped and caked in make-up, as well as misconceptions behind serious issues such as mental health. What if it were your children aspiring to be ‘sexy nuns’ or feeling too scared to speak out about their mental health – we’ll see how seductive you’d like to be that Halloween. It has gone too far and I’m not lying when I say there’s such thing as a ‘sexy Nemo’ costume... as in the fish; Google it. Essentially, for some, it is all a bit of a laugh and we have the right to dress as we please. It’s a matter of information keeping in mind that we cannot censor the world, but we can educate it.

The magic of dressing up By Ciara Treacy Most of my childhood memories (and most of my best ones at that) follow a similar pattern – being dressed up to the nines in a granny shawl and metallic purple beads, or in a Spice Girls costume (despite being brunette I insisted I was Baby Spice and will always be Baby Spice) or head-to-toe in nurse attire. Kate Spade really epitomised this when she said that “playing dress-up begins at age five and never ends”. As I wipe off the catwoman face paint I applied to prepare for Halloween

– and also to avoid doing a 3000 word assignment – I can promise that it really doesn’t. I don’t know if it was the prettiness of the accessories, the excitement involved in putting them on and feeling like a star, or just the sheer girliness of dressing up that attracted me to do it on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis as a child. There was a period where as I got older, the trends became more eccentric – blue eye shadow, upstyles to replicate Mary-Kate and Ashley’s in Two of a Kind and of course, the day we were going to visit my brother after he got his appendix out and I proudly strutted out to the car in a pink fairy costume, complete with wand and tiara. In secondary school dressing up continued but on a totally different level, with outfit and make-up choices five-year-old me would be ashamed of, and twenty-year-old me still denies ever happened. We all tried to keep up with what was cool at the time, which ranged from chunky plastic headbands which broke after three wears, to foundation on our lips (why?), to hair so wet with mousse that you looked like you just swam a gala. And we can’t forget the luminous clothing. If you owned luminous clothing you didn’t need to try anymore, you had earned your sterling reputation in the fashion world. Although support groups have been established to recover from these poor choices, there’s no denying how fun they were at the time and how happy we all felt in our bright pink blush and neon legwarmers. Today the same enjoyment comes from dressing up, particularly for occasions like balls, weddings and themed events around

town. Because these occasions hold more importance than your average night out (and have the promise of more photos ending up on Facebook), we all love to put more attention into planning the outfit, accumulating the matching accessories and watching endless tutorials to get the right hairstyle and make-up down. I have done the last minute dash into town to get that lipstick which I wasn’t bothered buying at first, but realised at home it complements the dress perfectly and no cost should be spared because that night will be the most important night of my life and I will end up on television for having such an amazing outfit and Jim Browne will ask me to run the university for being such a wonderful individual and wearing such a cute Ted Baker dress with fabulous heels. You never know. While I may prefer my outfit choices today, I sometimes wish I could wear them with the utter confidence and model walk displayed by my Junior Infants alter ego in her feather boa and cowgirl hat. However, the excitement and escapism provided by putting a few nice outfits together still continues and provides so much stressrelief it should be introduced into the Leaving Cert curriculum. With Halloween, we’re given the chance to actually rival our childhood costumes of witch hats and bin bags (you know you did it too) and put more creativity into making a Poison Ivy outfit or postwoman suit. And as much as you love them now, just remember – who’s to say in another fifteen years time you won’t look at those pictures and cringe?

October 28 2013

halloween special 15

The Origins of Halloween By Shannon McNamee Halloween, also known as All Hallow's Eve is a holiday celebrated on 31 October in many countries worldwide. It's that time of year when children dress up in scary costumes and go trick or treating in their local areas. We carve scary faces into pumpkins, and get drunk at fancy dress parties, where the standard costume for any grown female is anything with the word 'slutty' in

front of it (slutty witch, slutty pumpkin, slutty rabbit...). This is how the holiday is celebrated today, but it is believed by many to have originated from the pagan Irish festival Samhain. Samhain, also the Irish word for October, was a festival celebrated by the Celts in Ireland. It marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and is one of the four quarterly festivals on the agricultural calendar. It was at this time that cattle were brought from their summer pastures and

livestock were slaughtered for the winter. Similar festivals were also celebrated in the other Celtic lands; Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man. It was believed by the people at the time that during Samhain, spirits and fairies would come into the mortal world. They were believed to be dangerous, and so the people needed to ward them off. They would disguise themselves in an aim to protect themselves. This is possibly where the modern tradition of dressing up in costume comes from.

What we forget about Halloween By Conor Lane If you’re like me then you’re probably like most people and are blissfully unaware of the underlying meanings that denote some of the major days in your life. Taking my confirmation as an example where I picked a saint’s first name and inserted it in to my middle name and got a nice amount of money. That to me was the basic gist of said event and had nothing to do with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost that created a stronger bond between Christ and myself. Much like Christmas where most people know they will be getting gifts and/or very drunk. So what do we know about Halloween and how does it relate? We know that it is on the last day of October… and that’s it. Unless you’re really smart and can tell your friends that it’s also a time when we remember the dead; that the reason we dress up is from Celtic origin where we try to hide

ourselves from or imitate the dead spirits who had passed within the previous year that supposedly roam the earth on this night. But before you go out and buy yourself a costume, like a giant Action Man costume to hide yourself (which I doubt the dead would be fooled by) or whatever you crazy kids are wearing these days, know this: there is much more to Halloween than grown men dressed in toy costumes. Let’s look at some of the truly interesting/unsettling facts about Halloween. Supposedly the first Jack-O-Lanterns weren’t p u m p k i n s ; t h e y w e re scooped out turnips and originated in Ireland – horrific I know. Celtic tribes in Ireland believed in the Druid religion. They worshiped Samhain, The Lord of Darkness and the first day of November signified the Druid New Year. Orange and black – very popular colours for Halloween – were to remind people of Fall, and they are the colours of death. Who knew colours were supposed to be frightening?

And did you know farm animals used to have holy water thrown on them to ward off evil spirits? Possibly the biggest thing we have forgotten about this holiday is that you can really think of Halloween as an Irish invention that has become a fiscally prodigious bonafide event. In the US alone it’s said to be worth almost $7 billion a year; of which we have received very little compensation considering we practically invented it. Pity we can’t trademark it or create a theme park known as Halloween World. We may have some of the scariest-looking politicians in the world but the Dáil still wouldn’t count as a possible location. Crucially what Halloween has taught us is that it’s possible for humans to use their fear of death to create routines and traditions that can then be used to steer people into spending a great deal of money on ways to help remove that fear for us. Or was that Catholicism? Huh. Still, it’s fun dressing up as Action Man.

Souls of the dead were also believed to have revisited their homes, and feasts were had at which they were beckoned and places were set for them among the living. Bonfires were lit, and were believed to have protective and cleansing powers and were sometimes used in divination rituals. The tradition of bonfires on Halloween is still practised to this day all over Ireland. In more modern times, (18th century onwards) Halloween was celebrated in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man

by 'mumming' and 'guising'. This involved people dressing up in disguise and going around from house to house reciting songs in exchange for food. The use of the costumes may have been to disguise themselves from the spirits. In some parts, young people dressed up as the opposite sex. In Wales, men dressed up as scary creatures called grachod. In parts of Ireland, men would dress up as a horse, láir bhain, and lead a group of people from house to house in search of food. The guisers

would also typically play pranks on this night. The guisers would use carved out turnips to act as lanterns, this later became the tradition of carving jacko-lanterns out of pumpkins. Quite a different festival today than as it began, but the traditions of Halloween today are clearly seen in the traditions of Halloween when it originated. Maybe this year you'll think a little before donning your generic slutty witch or super hero costume.

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16 halloween special

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Tutorial: DIY Wounds By Jenna Hodgins There’s always that one persona at a Halloween party who clearly hired a make-up artist and spent a fortune on prosthetic scars for their costume, and that one person always looks deadly. Are you broke, crap with make-up and have no friends in GTI? Well, look no further! You can get that bad-ass special effects look with some bog roll and eyelash glue for under a tenner.

the tissue and glue until you achieve your desired shape. Let your paper wound dry for about two minutes or so. Tip: Use Vaseline to help shape the tissue, it’ll save you from wasting any more glue.

Get creative! Research pictures of scars and wounds and try copy the colour of the cuts and bruises. I like to use black around the edges to make the wound pop out or look burnt even. For bruises use purple, brown and green colours.

Step 4: Go to town on the fake blood. Have

it oozing out of your wound or splattered all over the surrounding areas. Essentially, get creative and go crazy.

You will need:

For men who do not wear make-up, you will need a female friend who does. Toilet roll (or man-flu tissues because you’re a beast) Eyelash glue (man-flu tissues are recommended for those who feel emasculated right now) Fake blood Brown/Black/Pink/Red eyeshadow or face paint. Foundation Step 1: You can use a reference but I usually

just wing it. Take your eyelash glue and apply it on to the area of skin you’d like to gorify. When applying the glue try outlining the shape of your wound. It’ll act as a guide for the next step.

Step 2: Remember paper maché on art

attack? Well this is basically it. Take your tissue and tear it into thin small pieces. Begin building your wound by crunching up the bits of tissue and applying them directly on the glue. Mess around with

Step 3: This is the fun part. When your

wound is dry and the tissue is slightly crispy and hard, cover the area in foundation that suits your skin tone (or your costume skin tone). Start to colour in the wound with pink/red eyeshadow or face paint. Bear in mind that the raised parts of your wound are meant to be peeled skin, so keep the reddening around these areas to a minimum.

Et Voila! Using all the same materials and messing around with shapes and colours you can create wounds, scars, cuts and bruises all over your poor unharmed body. To remove them, it’s simply a matter of picking the bits off or running it under lukewarm water. Happy Halloween!

October 28 2013

halloween special 17

Tutorial: Skeleton Make-Up By Shona O’Connor “What are you goin’ as for Halloween?” - The habitual question this time of year, striking fear and panic into the hearts of many. The days tick by and still you can’t decide, “Should I be a slutty policewoman or a school girl this year?” But fear not good students of NUI Galway, I have the answer! Simple, cheap and everything you require is in your make-up bag (or your girlfriend’s). Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the skeleton costume; now made easy by my 5 simple steps.

Step 3: Next with grey and black matte

eyeshadows and a fluffy eyeshadow brush darken areas where you want to create shadow.

Step 1: Start off by applying a layer of your

usual foundation. This is the time to ignore all of the make-up rules so make sure to get a lovely thick layer of the stuff on your lips and through your eyebrows. Next outline the area around your eye from the top of your cheekbones to your eyebrows using gel eyeliner (black face paint will work just as well) and a flat angled brush. Draw two hollows under your cheekbones on both sides of your face. Fill in these areas with your gel eyeliner and darken it if needed with a matte black eye shadow. Draw a line from cheek to cheek running through your lips and then make thin angled lines all the way through it to form the teeth

Step 4: To add some definition to your lips

apply your lighter concealer between the lines and blend into the eyeliner around the edges (see image above right). Step 5: Add your finishing touches! Darken or

lighten areas where you feel you need it. Apply eyeliner to your waterline, sharpen your edges and don’t forget to add some cracks!

POSTGRADUATE

OPEN DAY 5th November

12 pm to 4 pm Step 2: Outline the bottom of your nose and

Bailey Allen Hall, NUI Galway

fill it in again with gel eyeliner. Apply a very pale concealer or white face paint to the tops your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, your chin and forehead.

BOOK YOUR PLACE www.nuigalway.ie/postgraduate-open-day

18 halloween special

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

7 monsters your friends will become on Halloween Night By Kieran Kilkelly As Halloween approaches so, too, does the ominous night out. Every year we witness a variety of more contemporary costumes in favour of the traditional ones. Some are good, some are bad and some are downright terrible. However, no matter what your friends decide to dress up as you're bound to see a return to the more classic creatures before the night is out. 1. The Werewolf: Generally, these people are the quiet, unassuming ones. They are the one you wouldn't expect beforehand. But when the moon comes out and the prospect of a few drinks beckons, they perk up. Sudden changes occur. The urge to dance uncontrollably or spark up aimless conversations with random people on street corners may be noted. Once these differences have been seen make sure to bring them away from the bar or they will be howling into the early hours

of the morning. NB: If they are significantly hairy that might prove some prior indication.

form of constant doorbell ringing at five in the morning 'cause they've forgotten their keys.

2. The Witch: Unlike the transformation

4. The Vampire: These romantic beasts

into a werewolf, this will not be so obvious. They will become mischievous, beginning with something simple; an uncomplicated Facebook frape perhaps? Though, the more alcohol taken, the more cunning they will get. Brewing minor rumours from person to person they will watch things unfold as they cackle in the corner. Then they will disappear into the night's sky leaving utter chaos after them.

come into their own when the sun goes down. A hunt for "flesh" begins. Suave and seductive, they skulk around for their next victim. Using their charm alone, they hypnotise the object of their desire. Their one goal: to inflict their mark. Passionate and intense, a hickey is left to an unsuspecting and disorientated person. Fed and satisfied they wander off into the night again to escape the sunrise.

3. The Ghost: You will see them in the house, you will hear them in the taxi and then they're gone! Once the taxi doors open, that's it. They will be floating around somewhere but the likelihood is you won't bump into them. Glimpses of them will be had but on a second look and a run of your eyes, they fade away. However, just like any other spirit they will eventually haunt you: most likely in the

5. The Skeleton: Contrary to the rest of the characters you might encounter this one might be rarer (depending on your type of friends). It takes a certain type of person and a certain mixture of drinks to bring this trait out in someone. Bare bones will be exposed as they think it’s a good idea to undress in front of a crowd. The person in question will have little recollection of this in the morning but it will prove to be a

Halloween Night: College vs Childhood By Kieran Kilkelly As the days begin to get shorter and the nights longer there is a little nostalgia building up among us. For those of you who are living away from for the first time (or the second or third) you may begin to miss home. As you see Halloween decorations and costumes in shop windows, a reminiscent feeling will come over you, thinking back to a more innocent time. It will be hard for you to pin-point just exactly where your childhood ended and Halloween traditions became diluted but it is interesting to see the difference between then and now. Every Halloween began with a costume. The excitement of picking a scary outfit for the night used to be a big deal; schoolyard discussions for weeks before were telling people what you were thinking about dressing up as. You would be amazed when you’d enter a pound shop, look around and see all the different costumes. It seems that we have lost some of that enthusiasm we once had not to mention the more traditional meaning of a costume. Bin bags were not an unusual sight to see. It appears that things have gotten more complex, we have to make an impression with our costume and frightening isn’t the aim either. Elaborate face paint, expensive costumes and fluorescent wigs will be on display with yourself asking most people what they are. Replies of cheerleaders, someone from “Geordie Shore” and that television charac-

ter that everyone talks about will be heard. Unfortunately, the fright element seems to be lacking (if you exclude the shocking notion of someone wanting to be someone from Geordie Shore). While the fright element isn’t always obvious, the idea of a party still remains. We have outgrown the ‘trick or treat’ aspect of Halloween but we still go from house to house, albeit to different house parties. However, that’s where the similarities end. The games played differ completely. Instead of bobbing for apples we now down shots. The skill exhibited by trying to sink your teeth into an apple hanging from the ceiling is now replaced by enduring a beer bong for as long as possible. And those of you that remember ‘Blind Man’s Buff’ (Google it if you haven’t heard of it) that has been replaced by someone searching for their phone or keys. Perhaps a return to some of these games this Halloween night might bring back past memories and provide some entertainment also. With the celebration of the night over, we wake up the next morning with sick heads and stomachs. Whether you’re a child or an adult this is unavoidable. When we were kids it was the aftermath of a serious sugar rush, whereas now it’s a basic hangover. There is a big contrast between the two however. We will wish we were children once more when we open our wallets and see them empty, thinking that if we had gone ‘trick-ortreating’ we might have got a few pound from the more generous neighbours.

skeleton in their closet for years to come 6. The Mummy: This will be the monster your friends will most likely change into on Halloween night. Be it early or late in the night, someone will always exceed their limit. Incoherent slurring and staggering forward, they have tasted the joys of "outside life" and now want to return to their tomb for another eternity. Be warned though, if you do enter their crypt you may be cursed or probably cursed at. 7. The Zombie: It will almost be guaranteed that one (if not all) of your friends will turn into one of these. Not too different from the Mummy, they only have one thing on their mind: food. Moans and chants for snack box meals and curry cheese chips will be heard. They will mob Supermacs until they have gotten what they want. It might be best to avoid them or you too will be infected with the disease; the need for greasy fast food will take you over.

The dos and don’ts of Halloween By Chelsea Tabert Year after year October comes around, and we all count down to what this month has in store for us... Halloween. The nights get chilly, creepy decorations go up, and leaves turn to that crisp color of red. Whether you’re an annual pro looking to step it up a notch with the festivities, or a new comer to the game, these tips will give you all the help you need to make the best of this Halloween season. Do take candy from strangers. This may be the one and only time taking from strangers is encouraged, so what are you waiting for? Take advantage of it! Do go to a Halloween party. Dress to impress and show off your best costume creation. And let’s try not to follow the Mean Girls motto, sometimes less isn’t more… Do check out local charity and craft shops. Your costume will be one of a

kind this way; get creative and throw something thrifty together. Don’t be that person who shows up without a costume. Even if it’s a last minute

costume or a simple wig, it’s never too late to pull together something. Don’t dress-up as Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. Just to clarify, this has already been

done once and it was terrifying enough. Now that we’re all getting over the nightmares, please do not recreate this. Do dress-up as the Walking Dead. A classic zombie costume never goes out of style. And really, who doesn’t appreciate a well doneup, gory zombie stumbling all over town? Don’t play the trick in trick-or-treating.

As funny as you think your pranks may

be, cleaning toilet paper off your house the following morning has never been humorous. Do carve pumpkins. Get creative and try some new techniques like skinning. Or put your skills to the test and try something like a headless horseman. Whatever carves your jack-o-lantern. Do make pumpkin pie. Sounds gross, tastes great. If you’re a baker, add this one to the top of your list. Don’t watch scary movies. Well you’re more than welcome to, though I wouldn’t advise it if you plan on sleeping that night…

October 28 2013

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The Ultimate Halloween Playlist 5 films to watch this Halloween By Shannon Hugh Halloween is upon us. That spook-tacular time of year when we unleash our inner demons, our inner child or our inner slut – whichever you prefer. The nightclubs of Galway are always packed on Halloween so why not have a ghoulish get-together and then head down to Supermac's for the after-hour bants? Now, if you're going to throw a Halloween party, you have to have the right soundtrack. Here's just a few of the must-have tunes. Happy Halloween! 1. ‘Ghostbusters’ by Ray Parker Junior: Try not to have the volume too loud or your neighbours may pay you an unexpected visit. Who you gonna call? No! Please not the Guards! 2. ‘Timewarp’ from Rocky Horror Picture Show: This party stopper is from everyone’s favourite musical. Come on, you need to know the dance! 3. ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson: MJ has had many iconic songs but ‘Thriller’ is arguably one of his best. Thriller's music video is 30 years old but still manages to send chills down my spine every time I watch it. Unfortunately, with all the plastic surgery, Michael kind of morphed into a zombie over the years. 4. ‘Monster Mash’ by Bobby Pickett: This song pays homage to the cult horrors of the 1950's, full of vampires, ghouls and the mad scientists' monsters. The mad scientist is the host of this party and all the monsters of the world are invited around to his for some monster mashing madness. 5. ‘Witches’ by Aqualords: Back in the “Bebo Stunnah” days, everyone tuned into the radio just to listen to this song. A constant transcendence beat accompanied by a sexually narrative voice, it had the word ‘witches’ in it so that made it Halloween-ey enough for us.

6. ‘Disturbia’ by Rihanna: Bum-BumBeDum-Bum-Bum-Be-DumDum. Oh I love how Rihanna make sounds into words. This creepy little tune fittingly has a creepy video to go with it. Warning: This song may cause scantily clad women to show off their erotic dance moves in your living room. 7. ‘I Put a Spell on You’ by Nina Simone: The song was originally written by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and was performed and sampled by many others. It makes an appearance in the classic Halloween film Hocus Pocus but Nina's version is my favourite. The pure seduction in Nina's voice leads you to imagine a sexy little witch, casting her spell on you. But you don't resist; you welcome it. 8. ‘In A Heartbeat’ by John Murphy: The theme song from Danny Boyle's horror film 28 Days Later. It was also featured in the follow up, 28 Weeks Later, and the Kick Ass films. The eerie tune anticipates the worst. It's one of those songs you wouldn't play while you're alone in the dark which makes it the perfect scary song for Halloween. Who doesn't love being terrified on Halloween? 9. ‘She Wolf’ by Shakira: Gone are the days when werewolves were hideous hairy creatures that wanted to tear out your throat. Now we see them as statuesque young men that turn into overgrown puppies. Thanks a lot Twilight. Werewolves have turned into sex symbols. Shakira is another who jumped at this trend. Hearing Shakira howl is reason enough for this song to be one your Halloween playlist. 10. ‘Everybody (Backstreet's back)’ by Backstreet Boys: This has to be everyone's guilty pleasure. Although the lyrics don't relate to Halloween at all, the band's music video plays as a parody to the horror genre. The boys spend the night in a haunted house where they transform into some of the famous monsters we know. They wake up and realise it was all a dream… Or was it?

By Michael Finn I think we’ve all seen Hocus Pocus, Scream and Casper the Friendly Ghost enough times over the years, and we rarely get a good scare nowadays with most modern films substituting horror for people being cut to pieces (or being sewn together). So here are five films that guarantee a good old fashioned scare. 1. The Exorcist (1973): Although it spawned numerous sequels and copycats, it remains the most iconic horror film of all time. If you didn’t know, the story follows a 12-year-old girl who has been possessed by a demon and the attempts of two priests to vanquish the evil spirit. It is also famous for the most head turning scene of all time (literally). 2. Psycho (1960): Don’t be put off by the fact that Psycho is 53 years old. It stands up remarkably well and may just be old enough for you to have escaped the many pop culture spoilers/references. The story begins as a secretary steals $40,000 from her employer and leaves town to start a new life, but 24 hours later paranoia sets in and she stops at the iconic Bates motel… 3. The Silence of the Lambs (1991): It is because of this film that fava beans and

Chianti are inextricably linked to cannibalism. What people may not realise is that it isn’t the infamous Hannibal Lector that Clarice Starling and the FBI are chasing. It’s Buffalo Bill, notorious for skinning his victim’s corpses, that the FBI needs the imprisoned Hannibal’s help to catch. Generally renowned as the only ‘horror’ film to win the Oscar for best picture, it is a classic for a reason. 4. Zodiac (2007): The Zodiac was the name given to a serial killer who sent cryptic clues with information about his crimes and identity, to the newspapers of San Francisco in order to taunt the police and the public. The Zodiac killer was also the inspiration behind Dirty Harry, but if you think that it is a similar 'cops-get-the-bad-guy' story, you’re in for a surprise. 5. The Wicker Man (1973): This cult film begins with Sergeant Neil Howie landing on the solitary island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl who the locals claim never existed. Howie, a devout Christian, is shocked by the pagan people of the island and is determined to find the truth. Stay clear of the Nicolas Cage remake; it’s a different type of horror altogether!

The Simpsons: 24 years of Halloween Specials By Kieran Kilkelly The Simpsons will hold a special place within the childhood memories of anyone born in the 80s or 90s. The famous yellow family has been on our screens for 24 years this December and are still held dear to this day. Although there are many classic episodes, the Halloween ‘Treehouse of Horror’ episodes are the highlight of each season. There are many reasons we love these once-off episodes. Firstly, the ‘couch gags’ are unique to every special. Although they are somewhat unique to every episode of The Simpsons, it is the comical but frightful element that is present every time. Successful producer Guillermo del Toro recently created the latest one for ‘Treehouse of Horror XXIV’. After the customary ‘couch gag’ intro, the parodies of much loved Halloween themed films begin. Movies such as The Amityville Horror, A Nightmare on Elm Street and various Hitchcock films are made into comical spoofs. It is the ability with which the writers turn some of the most frightening films into hilarity that we fall in love with. There are also references made towards trending television shows and films that don’t possess the traditional scary film element. In the most recent special, the much loved How I Met Your Mother is used as a basis for one of the three mini scenes.

The mockery made of Twilight in one of these mini episodes, entitled “Tweenlight”, (Treehouse of Horror XXI) is another main reason we love these yearly shows. The inclusion of Daniel Radcliffe as the voice of Edward Cullen makes it more ironic. It is through these popular cultural references that we relate to the episodes more so than usual. While making these references, the usual format of The Simpsons remains the same; the childish humour that we all know and love still remains. Even when they change the characters to personify something or someone else, their personality stays the same. Homer’s funny ignorance, Marge’s insecurities, Bart’s devilment, Lisa’s intellect and Maggie’s silence all are present. Finally, the quotes from these stories will live long in the memory. From “no beer and no TV make Homer go crazy” (cue Homer’s insanity) to “Dad, you killed zombie Flanders”, “he was a zombie?” They are quotes to be adored time and time again. And if you can’t quote or remember anything mentioned in this article it might be time to brush up on your Simpsons trivia over Halloween.

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Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Tell Me a Story… The Halloween in Poe By Karen McDonnell It was a dark and stormy night. I lie. It was dark. There was rain and it was a tad windy. But stormy? I was tucked up in bed. Tea steamed in my favourite mug on the bedside table. Yes, alright, there was chocolate somewhere about the place. October 31 was looming, and in the interest of Sin readers I felt I should write about a scary book. There’s a few from my modern history modules I could tell you about, but I’ll spare you the details. I stood in front of my bookshelves, head to one side, reading along the spines. Way down, in a corner, I stopped in front of the lonely little group that comes under the heading ‘Anthologies’. They keep strange company – Collected American Short Stories, The Faber Book of Letters, Stories from the Greek Comedians. (Maybe I should move that up to the Classics shelf.) And there it was: Anthology of Fear: 20 Haunting Stories for Winter Nights. Why, the title alone would send a shiver down your spine. Long ago and far away (or, when I was younger and lived in Dublin), I subscribed to one of those collections that are advertised on TV. You know the type – knit your own Spitfire, create your own cushions with Granny’s old tights and This! Embroidery! Kit! With me, it was books. The Great Writers! Introductory Offer! Only 4.99! Mighty handsome they were too: gilded hardbacks, with print like that in crumbly leather-bound copies of Cowper and Johnson found my brother in a Portobello book barrow. No sneering at the back. Thanks to that collection I read Thackeray’s Vanity Fair for the first time, and was amazed at how much I enjoyed it. I had read Mrs Gaskell’s biography of Charlotte Bronte, but now I discovered Cranford, long before the BBC adaptation renewed Gaskell’s reputation. The Great Writers books sit solid in their own battered mahogany bookcase. Occasionally I think about sending them somewhere – I am fast running out of shelf space for my other books – but they’re still here. For now. Now and again, the people at Great Writers’ Central would give us an extra, seasonal, treat – Christmas Stories by Dickens. Or Stories for Summer. (Paperback. Handy for the plane. Very thoughtful people at Great Writers Central.) Or Anthology of Fear, which was now propped up on the duvet in front of me. The book had moved house – twice. Still, dear Reader, I had never opened it. Now, having done so, I made two important discoveries. I came across ghost stories by writers I would never have associated with the genre. My love of reading stories was revived. Maybe you knew, but I sure as hell didn’t, that Edith Nesbit – she of The Railway Children – had written horror stories. Four collections, in fact. Edith Wharton

– creator of The House of Mirth, and the Pulitzer-winning The Age of Innocence – also wrote ghost stories. The collection also contains two stories by Mary Braddon, a Victorian writer of ‘sensational novels’. Her The Cold Embrace is melodramatic: a no-good student comes to a bad end. There’s a surprise. There are stories by writers whose names we know from their popular work, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, who wrote The Scarlet Letter, and Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow). Hawthorne’s atmospheric Young Goodman Brown, is set in Salem. Its horror is in the way the mind of the protagonist is altered forever; only the reader is a witness. Bram Stoker’s Dracula’s Guest is included, as are his The Judge’s House, and The Squaw. Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella Carmilla is printed in full. A vampire tale, written 25 years before Dracula, it is a wonderful read. Which leads to my second realization; I had forgotten how much fun it is to read stories. Anthology of Fear brought back the childhood joy of discovery on opening a new book. Because they are ghost stories, I found myself taking them for what they were, allowing myself to be dragged along by the narratives – the best of which are extremely scary. There is a delight in reading stories set in the 16th and 17th centuries, and those written in the 1800s. The descriptive style, vocabulary and structure used in the stories are an antidote to modern novels. ‘Yclept – I like reading a word like ‘yclept’. The writers of these stories create an intimacy with the reader – unforgettable pictures are framed in the mind. Now, I want to read more of these writers’ work. I must borrow a line from Irving’s The Lady with the Velvet Collar. Cosy, as the wintry weather whirls round the house, I become “in a manner, a literary ghoul, feeding in the charnel-house of decayed literature.” I’m ready. Tell me a story.

By Martha Mahoney Halloween is a time of horror. It is a day – and night – of mysteries, of ghost stories, and the supernatural. In these 24 hours of All Hallows Eve, we are brought out of our square zones of comfort and into a place of eeriness; a place beyond normal. We excite our minds and thrill ourselves with haunted houses, spooky costumes, fake façades et al, to leap into a world of the unknown – a world that supposes the boogie man really is under the bed, or the shadow lurking in the room isn’t just darkness and nothing more. Or, to Edgar Allan Poe, a world where a raven ‘quoths’ rather than crows. Poe is most well-known for his chilling tales and poems of death; the unusual, the mysterious, and the grotesque. The American author, whose work is internationally celebrated, lived from 1809-1849. The peculiarity of Poe’s writing (other than superseding that of his contemporaries), is its penetrating incitement of the horror that lurks within the human mind. Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, tells the story of an old man’s murder, as narrated by the murderer. The narrator describes his incentive for killing the old man – his hatred of the old man’s one glassy, piercing blue eye. The narrator further describes his action of killing – sneaking into the old man’s room in the middle of the night and squashing him under his own mattress. The narrator thereafter stuffs the dead corpse under the floorboards of his house. Poe draws in the epic horror themes of homicide, midnight trespassing, wrath and sociopathic behaviour in The Tell-Tale Heart. Surging from a manic fit of ecstasy to an unbounded state of anxiety, the narrator ultimately turns himself in to the police; his confession, of course, resulting from his increasing paranoia that he can hear the beating of the corpse’s heart, and that it is audible for the police to hear. Berenice, another haunting story of Poe’s, tells the tale of Egaeus, whose lifelong mental illness incurs his strange fascination with the teeth of his late cousin and fiancée, Berenice.

The Sinners’ List of Scary Books By Karen McDonnell We put out a call from Sin city, and the poll is in. Listed below are five books with which you can scare the living daylights out of yourselves – either alone or during a bloodspattered evening at a Halloween book club. The ‘fright element’ of these books is caused by the pictures we create for ourselves as we turn the pages. For that reason, it is no surprise that two of the top writers to feature in our poll were Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe (who is the subject of a separate article by Martha Mahoney). Many of King’s works received individual votes. David Nevin voted for

Skeleton Crew, and Jenna Ní Shearcaigh favoured The Stand. So, representative works from both King and Poe went onto our list. But as Halloween is also about fun, our final book – nominated by Joseph Loughnane – is all about laughter as much as tears. And yes folks, it’s also downright scary. Herewith, the Sinners’ List:

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe Dracula by Bram Stoker The Shining by Stephen King Bertie Ahern: The Autobiography by (um) Bertie Ahern

Narrated by Egaeus, the story moves in the dismantled waves of his unstable brain, chronicling his childhood and manhood years spent inside the library of his forebears’ estate. Poe’s tradition of eeriness and the unusual are revealed through the fatal illness to which Berenice succumbs. As Egaeus describes it, though Berenice’s physical beauty is evanescent, her teeth remain vitally and effervescently intact; thus becoming the preoccupation of Egaeus’ obsessive mind. Upon Berenice’s passing and burial, Egaeus climbs down to her grave to obtain his 32 white treasures. He finds that Berenice has been buried alive – a matter of indifference to him, as his sole concern is to uproot all 32 of her teeth. In The Tell-Tale Heart, Berenice, and many of Poe’s short stories and poems, he brings his readers to a place of the unusual – where supernatural events occur and anxiety of the mind persists; a world that is hauntingly not much different than our own. The land of Poe’s horror is the land of our horror; it is the ever-present crack in the cornerstone of our existence that only our imagination can create and cultivate. Stimulating the dark alleyways in our minds, Poe’s writing emanates Man’s entrance into his mind’s crypt. Within the vaults of intrigue and terror our minds so well conceal, Poe captures the spirit of our anticipated holiday of Halloween. On this day of the dead, we tempt our senses with fright and push our thrill-seeking thresholds to their deepest levels of fear, until the pounding of our hearts overcome the ticking of our watches and our tortured imaginations plead: Nevermore. So we console our riddled minds with candy galore, at which point our 32 sterling teeth demand: Nevermore!

October 28 2013

halloween special 21

My Worst Nightmare By Hazel Doyle What’s my worst nightmare? There’s a few actually. I scare really easily. Just looking at that sign on roller-coasters – the one with the picture of the heart warning you not to go on that ride if you’ve a dodgy ticker – makes my heart start racing. And really I’m okay there I think. Things on the telly that scare me include movies with an over-15s rating, CSI and what I’ve heard about Love-Hate, because I’m too much of a wimp to actually watch it. Basically anything on TV that isn’t a rom-com and I’m checking my wardrobe for monsters and robbers before I go to sleep. Ants give me the heebie-jeebies. Yeah, I know it’s pretty cool the way they all work together and stuff, and yeah, I’m all about the team-playing thing they have going on, but there’s never just one ant. There are always two… or ten… or thousands… That freaks the ess-h-one-tea out of me. They could overtake the world if enough of them got together. And just imagine if they got in your hair. What about walking home in the dark? I hate that. I’m always too afraid to wear my headphones, in case I can’t hear anyone coming up to attack me. And I never have credit to ring someone to have a ‘casual’ chat while you use their conversation as a means of protection. Giving blood scares me too. I’ve tried twice now to give it but they just won’t take it. They’re so picky about their iron levels (#budgetcuts, wha’?). I just want to do it once and then I can say I’ve done it and I can be a good person. But both times I’ve been secretly

relieved I don’t have to let the vampire-nurse at me with a needle. Some big country taking over the rest of the world would be a disaster. If they were communist, what if you didn’t like the communist uniform and you had to wear it? Or what if aliens made us all their slaves? It might seem far-fetched now, but everyone thought Christopher Columbus was crazy once. I’m pretty scared of fireworks. I think it looks like the rain is on fire and falling down on the world. I actually was crap at Halloween in secondary school because I hated those bangers too. I’m like a little old lady; it’s just the noise I can’t handle. I fear nuclear weapons. I don’t watch the news much because I prefer to pretend the world is a happy place, but I fear that someday there will be war. Number 1; this will greatly upset me. Number 2; I will miss the warnings and die because I’ve been so scared it will happen I’ve been ignoring the news. One of my seriously worst nightmares is unemployment. It’s going to be tough and competitive out there in the real world. Ants don’t have this problem. I’m afraid of falling in college. You know the steps by the reading room? The ones going up to the concourse? Imagine falling on those. Everyone would see. I’d have to drop out of NUI Galway; I’d be too mortified to stay. Whenever I go abroad, I dread my life being made into the next Taken movie. All that local knowledge and savvy I’m lacking, plus my luscious pale and pasty skin makes me an easy target. In second year, one of our exams was taken in week 12 during class-time. One guy came

in hoping to get some tips for the exam; he thought this was the last lecture. That would be any student’s absolute worst nightmare. Pretend you work in a café and you’ve just served someone a brownie. Just imagine it. Now they’ve already told you they have a nut allergy and you assured them there are no nuts in the brownie and then they start to choke and go into anaphylactic shock, because you made a mistake. That’d be a pretty bad day alright. Imagine going on a mystery tour and the bus leaves without you because you went to the loo in the local S’Macs and your friends thought you were actually on the bus. And your battery had died because it’s a smart phone, not a Blokia. You’re not even sure where you are anyway and you’ve no cash. That would be a nightmare. I could go on for another few paragraphs about all that haunts my dreams nightly but I am conscious that I don’t want to make anyone else as paranoid as I am. I will leave you with this; Imagine ants start to eat your leg when you’ve been left behind on a mystery tour. You’ve just remembered there’s an exam tomorrow. You can’t get in contact with your dad who is Liam Neeson. Add to this the fact that someone is choking on the chip you offered them, as they are allergic to vinegar. You had assured them there was none on your chips. Fireworks begin to go off so you start to leave the vicinity. You are afraid of walking in the dark too and, panicked, you fall over in a very public place. Suddenly an alarm sounds; the locals know this to be a nuclear warning. You will die having never donated blood.

Love-Hate begins to play on a large screen in the sky and you realise it’s an alien spaceship projecting Nidge as they land. You have no credit to call anyone, but you’ve just gotten a text from your boss to say you’re fired. That would be a roller-coaster of my worst night-mares.

Trick or Trend: A look at the most popular costumes this Halloween By Rachel Masterson Traditionally, All Hallows Eve was a time when people took the opportunity to frighten their neighbours, scare their friends and creep the bejaysus out of unsuspecting family members. Replacing the horror and gore, Halloween is now a time where it is universally accepted for men to dress as women and women to dress in nearly nothing at all. Scantily clad is the new black and 2013 is sure to be no different. While there will be no shortage of horror this Halloween, TV and internet inspired costumes are certain to be all the rage for many twenty-something-year-old trickor-treaters. In respect of this arising trend, Ann Summers has become the store of choice

rather than your friendly neighbourhood costume shop. As the saying goes, “less is more” and considering some of the top trends of 2013, partial nudity should reflect the social consciousness. There is a quote which makes a mockery out of how we use social media today; “I possess in my pocket a device that is capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man but I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguments with strangers.” This is most relevant when it comes to Grumpy Cat. The internet meme became a phenomenon because of its surly expression and is certain to inspire a few creative types this holiday. Speaking of cats, since the fourth season of Love/Hate premiered, the cat which was shot has shot to superstardom. Appearing on Twitter within minutes and on The Late Late Show, I will be very surprised if the Love/Hate cat does not appear at costume parties around the country. Staying with Love/Hate, there has been a surge of people on the hunt for a “Fran mask” since the gangster donned it on the show. Today FM has demonstrated on its website how to make your own as the mask itself is seemingly un-purchasable.

Not surprisingly, Breaking Bad has dominated the costume searches this year, second only to Minions. Television costumes which are all the rage also include Walking Dead zombies and Ireland’s own Damo and Ivor. Every house party, pub and nightclub in the country will have all of the above mentioned characters out in force. Although her true identity was never revealed, the infamous Slane Girl became the most discussed female of 2013, possibly even more than Miley Cyrus. Who knew giving a blowjob could make you important. Slane Girl will definitely be strongly represented this Halloween, in some cases literally. Finally, Miley Cyrus twerking at the VMAs - enough said. Giving girls an excuse to go out in their underwear and dance provocatively, Miley is guaranteed to be a Halloween hit. Add some imagination and get a friend to dress up as Sinead O’Connor to create the perfect pairing. Be safe this Halloween kids, and remember everything you do in public has the potential to go viral; you don’t want to be the theme for a Halloween costume next year.

22 Student Speak

Student Speak

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

By Hazel Elliffe

Last week, we went around college and asked students two questions: ‘What are you dressing up as for Halloween?’ and ‘What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve seen?’ Here's what they said... ther Cashin, a e H d n a ty r e h a Fl Orla Therapy l a n o ti a p u c c O r a e 1st Y Ryan Morrison, 1st s: Zombies Dressing up a : Crayon Year Physics Best Costume Dressing up as: Asimo from South Park Best Costume: A friend who dressed up as Banana Man.

Maria Doverma n, 2nd Year Bio Pharmaceutica l Chemistry Dressin

Padraig MacMaghnuis, 2n

g up as: Pois on Ivy Best Costum e: Someone dressed up as Poison Iv y , hence I stealing the concept this am year.

d Year Nursing

Dressing up as: A ch ar ‘Team Rocket’, the cr acter from iminal organisation in the Pokemon serie s. Best Costume: Rafik i from The Lion King.

Luke Griffin, 3r

Year Science Dressing up as: A guy in a su for the chan ce to wear m it, simply y new suit. Best Costum e: A friend d ress stand and s aid he was a ed up as a night ‘one night sta nd’.

ar Science

Ye Bethany Endersby, 3rd

ther a Dressing up as: Ei e cabl Minion from Despi ll ba Me or a wrecking y ile M (after the whole . Cyrus controversy) Best Costume: 3 people who went as the Jamaican bobsled team from s. ning the film Cool Run

l, 4th Year Physics

Colin Hamilton and Oisin O’Domhnail

rman’ characters. Dressing up as:‘Celtic Supe d as a suicide ‘jager bomber’ Best Costume: A friend dresse strapped to his chest) (with redbull cans and shots

Laura Hunt, 2nd Year Arts

Dressing up as: Lisa Lopez from the pop Left Eye group TLC. Best Costume: Portal oo

Bashir Olukoya , Postgraduate L

Dressing up Morgan Fre as: eman Best Costum A transform e: er

THE SU PAGES Student Representation: What is Students Union Council?

The Students' Union Executive (15 officer) is answerable to the Students' Union Council. The Students' Union Council consists of approximately 350 members representing every class in the University. The Council is essential to the running of the Union and is beneficial to the running of the University. It also helps bring students ever more closely involved with the workings of the Union and the University. The SU Council is used by the Union to inform students what is happening within the University and also to get feedback from students regarding any problems, suggestions or positive aspects they have found in the University. The SU Council meets at least three times per semester and quorum for a SU Council meeting shall be fifty class representatives. Each of the NUI Galway Colleges also has a College Class Representative Council together with a Postgraduate Council. Each College Council meets twice each semester. The object of the College Class Rep Councils is to discuss individual faculty issues whilst Students' Union Council discusses University wide issues. Class Reps is co-ordinated by the Vice-President/Education Officer who works with the SU Council Chair and the Convenors to ensure that every class is represented and heard. Feel free to make use of the SU Council to get your views across by approaching your class rep or and Officer.

What does the Students’ Union do? In a recent survey done in each faculty across three years, Convenors asked students: what does the students union do for you? So here is an outline of just some of the services the SU runs.

SU Services SU Bookshop Students’ can sell books through the students union. Prices are set by the students and you can check online to check availability.

drop in luggage on a daily basis, but all items must be removed before closing time. Please note that we cannot accept laptops. If you require something for long term use, you can rent a locker from the Students' Union. Check out the Lockers section

SU Grinds Register Students can sign up to a database to give grinds or you can search to see if students are offering grinds in a subject you require help with.

There are still 383 lockers available and you can sign up online or in our office in Aras na Mac Leinn.

Before taking grinds in any subject, students are advised to consult with their lecturer(s) or course director, who may offer additional support in problematic areas of your course. They also know more about the course material than potential tutors.

SU Life Skills

Sin

The Life Skills Programme run by the Students' Union offers a chance to further your development outside of the academic world through classes in areas such as:

Published bi-weekly during term time Sin is Galway's only student newspaper. With a circulation of 6,000 copies, Sin is student & campus focused, celebrating the achievements of NUI Galway's students, athletes, artists, writers & staff.

SU Lockers

Sign Language, First Aid, Occupational First Aid & Cardiac First Responder, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Guarding Skills, Self Defence, Manual Handling Training and Door Security. These classes are provided at a reduced rate giving you a chance to learn a new skill which, in some cases, could save someone's life. This is also a great chance to broaden your CV.

SU Cloakroom A free baggage room is provided by the Students' Union in the basement of the library building. Students can

Explore NUI Galway and the Students' Union joined forces in early 2012 to introduce the EXPLORE Innovation Initiative. The first scheme of its kind in the Irish thirdlevel sector, EXPLORE invites students and university staff to work in equal partnership to deliver innovation on campus and in the community.

1st year students meet weekly for an hour to learn from each other under the guidance of trained 2nd year Student Leaders, with input from academic staff. CÉIM is a form of academic peer support, better known as PASS or PAL.

SU Card With the SU Card, you can now earn points or free products every time you shop with us. Your SU Card can be used in any of the Students' Unions businesses. Students' Union businesses are spread thought out the campus, so your SU Card will quickly start to clock up the points.

SU Shop The Students' Union operates a campus shop, which is located in the basement of the library building, where students can buy all the essentials. It's open from 08:45 until late in the evening Monday to Friday and daytime hours on a Saturday.

The College Bar The Union operates a licensed club located at Áras na Mac Léinn. The Club is better known as "The College Bar" and provides top quality food and beverages for students all year round.

Smokey’s Café Smokey's is a popular coffee dock on the Concourse of the Arts/Science Building, serving a full range of hot and cold drinks, snacks and fresh juices and smoothies.

Ceim

The Wall Café

CÉIM is a collaborative approach to learning and settling in to university life.

The Wall Cafe is located in the new Sports Centre, at the back of the

Campaigns We asked students recently what types of campaigns they would like to see. Currently run by SU: • Mental Health Days • Equality Week • Worked with gig soc for an LGBT Ally Campaign • Pro-Choice Campaign • SHAG Week (Sexual health awareness and guidance) • Health Living week • The Road Safety Authority • Drug and Alcohol awareness week • Exam Preparation and Destress • GOATING – going out and talking to see what students’ want from their Union • Residence runs re: anti-social behaviour We would love to hear more suggestions for other campaigns: send to su.president@nuigalway.ie climbing wall hence it's name. It's the perfect place to grab a healthy sandwich, smoothie, panini and much more. The Wall is open Monday Friday, 08:00 - 20:00 and Saturday & Sunday, 09:00 - 18:00.

The Hub The SU also manages the cafe in the Hub Common Room in Áras na Mac Léinn providing a range of hot drinks and confectionery. A microwave is also available for students' use

Caife na Gaeilge Bia Léinn is located in Áras na Gaeilge and is a café provides a dining experience through Irish. All staff converse through Irish and customers have the opportunity to come and interact as Gaeilge.

24 lifestyle

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

The 4 spooky pitfalls of fruit

By John Mulry Remember when you were a kid and you had to bop for apples at Halloween? Thinking back to those simpler days reminded me of all the good things and not so good things associated with fruit. Most of us consider fruit to be healthy – something that we can enjoy without restraint. And while fresh fruit does contain essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, the market place has been flooded with "fruit products" that are doing more harm than good. Here are four spooky truths about fruit.

Spooky truth #1: Juice Fresh fruit juice can be wonderful. It has great flavour, great colour, and good amounts of important vitamins and minerals. But unfortunately, many juices contain a very low amount of actual fruit juice. For these hardly-fruit juices, sugar and water make up the bulk of the contents, robbing you of the important benefits of all-natural fruit juice and leaving you primed and ready to fill your fat cells. Always keep fruit juice indulgences to a minimum, as even the fruit-only kind is loaded with simple sugars. Spooky truth #2: The fruit smoothie A smoothie can give you a big boost of vitamins and minerals that help you feel energetic and ready to face the day. But it's very easy to add more sugar to your smoothies than is found in many desserts, losing all the healthy benefits and putting you at risk for fat storage.

To keep your smoothie lean and healthy, don't add ice cream or other items that are high in sugar and filled with empty calories. Spooky truth #3: Fruit-filled desserts Lots of desserts are based around fruit. Cheesecake, pies, tarts and upside down cake just to name a few. Though most of these desserts are unhealthy, there are a few healthy fruit-based desserts to enjoy. Fruit parfait and fruit sorbet are usually lower in sugar and calories than most desserts. And if you just have to have your cake and eat it with berries too, a light angel food will do just fine. Just make sure the slice of cake is thin. Spooky truth #4: Fruit-flavoured cereals Hopefully eating bowl after bowl of fruity cereals that leave your milk pink and

orange was only a problem when you were a kid. But if you're still hooked on cereals that claim to have some semblance of fruit, while being filled with added sugars and calories, it's time for a change. Yes, these cereals may taste good, but sugar-laden breakfast cereals are ruining your fitness results — even if they supposedly have real fruit flavours. Wean yourself from the fruity cereals by chopping some real fruit into a bowl of healthy, sugar-free, wholegrain cereal. Stick with the real deal; only eat raw, whole fruits and avoid packaged fruit in any shape or form. This will keep you on track with your fitness and fat loss goal. Don't forget that true fitness success comes from a combination of a consistent, challenging exercise routine coupled with a diet of wholesome, unprocessed foods.

Wise Words: Autumn Stuffing

By Móna Wise It feels great to be over the half-semester hump and back into the stride of study; that is how we should all be feeling right now, right? The pressure of assignments due (or past due) has started to weigh heavily on my shoulders and many of my classmates are starting to stress concern over the dreaded ‘E’ word. Yes – Exams are looming and the teachers have already started dropping hints, inviting even more stress into our world. The weather has taken a shift and the essences of Autumn was washed away with the amount of rain we have experienced over the last few days. Instead of dashing into class with a jumper over our shoulder we are reminded to

seek and find the raincoats, the wellies and occasionally, if it is not too windy, a brolly. This week, mostly thanks to the fact that there are winter squash and pumpkins all over the city of Galway, I am sharing a recipe for an autumn stuffing. Now, stuffing, or dressing as the Americans call it, is treated a little differently across the pond. This bowl of breaded bliss is more than an adequate replacement for the dependable plates of potatoes or pasta we sometimes like to feast on. I like to use this recipe all year round and tend to favour it during the cooler months because it has an almost dinner-in-a-dish quality to it. As long as the bread is stale and dry, the end result will be delicious. Give it a try! Autumn stuffing - serves 6 people (side dish) Introduction I like to use this stuffing recipe as an alternative to serving potatoes, pasta or rice and it marries very well with poultry dishes. Traditionally made at Thanksgiving (late November in US) or for Christmas, I tend to throw a batch together anytime we have a loaf (or a

few ends) of stale bread lying around. This recipe calls for autumn squash but you can let your imagination go wild and incorporate any veg you like. Tomatoes with fresh oregano for an Italian style stuffing or spinach and feta for a Greek flair. Take note, we do use a good artesian loaf of bread with a chew to it. Otherwise it might end up being a bit sloppy. Enjoy! What you need 200g butternut squash, medium dice 1 onion, diced 1 celery, diced 1 garlic clove, minced 200g dry stale bread, cubed 200ml chicken stock

50g butter Salt and black pepper to taste 1 egg, beaten 1tsp dried sage or 2tsp fresh sage 1 large bag crisps (optional) How to prepare it Sauté the squash, onions, celery and garlic in butter until it is tender (ten minutes). Remove from heat and add the bread, stock and seasonings and egg and toss lightly to mix. Place in a buttered casserole dish and bake at 200ºC for 30 - 40 minutes until golden brown. When within ten minutes of completion remove from oven and top with crushed potato crisps. Return to oven for final ten minutes. This adds a nice crunchy texture to the dish.

Gourmet meals for cheap Main Course

Pan-fried rump steak with caramelised onions, sautéed mushroom, chunky handcut chips, and Cafe de Paris butter (serves 4) Cafe de Paris butter (total cost: 40¢)

100g butter (softened) 1tsp mixed herbs 1tsp grated lemon zest Caramelised onions (total cost: 15¢)

By Shannon McNamee I've teamed up with my big brother Peadar on this one. He's an award-winning chef, so he knows a bit about good food! Below is a recipe for a twocourse gourmet meal for well under €5 per portion. Student living doesn't have to be all oven pizzas and noodles. Starter

Mediterranean Vegetable Bruschetta (serves 4) 1 tomato (15c) 1/2 yellow Pepper (16.5c) 1/2green Pepper (16.5c) 1/2 red onion (8c) 2 garlic cloves (7c) 1/2 lemon (12.5c) 1 small baguette (25c) 1 ball mozzarella (49c) 2 sprigs of basil 1/4 jar pesto (50c) 4 slices of parma ham (1.32c) Total price per serving: 50.2¢ Method

1. Dice tomato, peppers, onions, and garlic. Place in bowl and mix with lemon juice, salt and pepper, a tablespoon of olive oil, and the chopped sprigs of basil. Set aside to infuse the flavours. 2. Cut the baguette in 4, and bake for 5 minutes or until lightly golden at 180c. 3. Take from the oven, add the sliced mozzarella and return to oven to melt the cheese. Remove from the oven again and spread a little pesto over the top. 4. To serve, place baguette in the centre of the plate, add a spoonful of the vegetable mixture, drizzle a little pesto over and around. 5. Finish with a slice of parma ham and a sprig of basil.

1onion sliced 1tsp sugar Salt and Pepper 1 tbsp butter Chips (total cost: 80¢)

3 large potatoes Oil for frying Mushrooms (total cost €1.20) 12 mushrooms 20g butter Steak (total cost: €5) 2 8oz rump steaks Total cost per serving: €1.88 Method

1. Cafe de Paris butter: mix all ingredients together and place in fridge until ready to use. 2. Caramelised onions: melt the butter in a hot pan, add onions, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes or until golden in colour. 3. Chunky chips: part boil the whole potatoes in water (with or without the skins) until you can stick a knife through the center with slight resistance. Drain from water, and cut in to wedges. Heat the oil in a fryer or pot, cook the potatoes until golden. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Mushrooms: remove the stalks and wash. Heat pan with butter and cook whole mushrooms until golden in colour. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Steak: preheat pan and add a little olive oil. Place seasoned steaks on hot pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes either side for medium (or longer for well done). 6. Make sure everything is hot before serving. Enjoy! All the ingredients here were bought in Lidl, except for the rump steaks, which can be bought at any local butchers.

Lifest yle 25

October 28 2013

Hair Care: Damage and Repair The fashion 5: news stories from By Samantha Kelly and Ruth-Ann Browne Well ladies it is that all important question; what actually damages our hair and how can we repair it once it has been damaged? Well look no further because here we will highlight the damages and also the cares to leave you with luscious locks! Hair Damages: 1. Heat: Any type of product that puts

heat on your hair will inevitably dry your hair out, such as hair dryers, curlers, straighteners and even the sun on a hot day will dry out the moisture from your hair, and who wants straw for hair? 2. Colouring: Hair colours are known to dry out the goodness from our hair over time. As the colour washes out so does the keratin, which is the protein that keeps our hair strong. However, it is excessive bleaching that will really leave your mane looking mean! 3. Hair accessories: Ladies, bobbins have been invented for a reason – to be used. So ditch the elastic bands, unless you want elastic hair that is! Myth buster: having your hair up in a bun does not break your hair, in fact it is much worse to leave your hair down all the time as your hair is more likely then to rub off your clothes and split and also it tangles much easier than when it is placed in a bun! 4. Wet hair: When our locks are damp just out of the shower is when we really need to be careful. Roughly towel drying and brushing is going to split the ends twice as easy, as the hair fibres become weaker when wet.

Now that we have examined the various causes of hair damage, let’s look at the three most important steps that can be taken to reverse this damage. Face it; no woman wants straw-like hair but the opposite; soft, shiny and sleek luscious locks! Follow these three golden rules and you will notice a major improvement in your hair’s texture and appearance within just one week. 1. Turn down the heat: Allow your hair to dry a bit before blow drying. Your hair will “be much better off if you start blow-drying when it isn't dripping wet," according to Boston dermatologist Ranella Hirsch. Turn the setting down on your hairdryer and your straightening irons if you use them. Even at a lower heat setting they will still have the same desired effect. 2. Protect it: Always use a heat protective serum or spray to protect your locks from the effects of heat styling. I swear by VO5 Heat Protect Styling Spray. It never fails to leave my hair super soft and shiny as well as leaving a most fabulous smell! 3. Mend your ends: Condition, condition, condition! I cannot state enough how important it is to use a good conditioner for your hair. Even if it means saving up for one, it really will be worth it. For those of you with damaged or overprocessed hair take note. The difference in a good conditioner (i.e. one more expensive than your regular conditioner) is as follows; "The ingredients aren't that different from those in your daily conditioner, but they're much more concentrated and they leave behind a smoothing film that won't wash off for days," explains cosmetic chemist Joseph Cincotta. Personal favourites and swear-bys include Tresémee Split Ends Remedy Conditioner and Kerastase Resistance Fibre Architecte Conditioner.

Hats-off to a stylish winter By Hazel Elliffe There is one positive aspect about the weather getting colder and that is getting the chance to wear a hat. A certain bit of confidence is required to wear a hat and we need to see more people leaving their inhibitions aside and embracing unconventional headwear. Hats enhance a person’s personality and are a great style accompaniment to any outfit. They can brighten up an outfit, hide a bad hair day and just generally keep you warm. In a high street store over the weekend I was delighted to see the array of hats on offer for autumn/winter 2013. A couple of years ago the only thing on offer was the conventional knitted hat but now bobbles, fur lined chullos and funky fedoras are all the rage. Check out our must have guide to the hat to be seen in on campus:

Kiera Knightly sports a Cossack in Anna Karenina.

1. Knit hat/Beanie: Worn worldwide and found in many variations, they are a style staple in any wardrobe and easy to pull off.

the world of beauty and fashion By Ciara Treacy SoSueMe announces book release Irish blogger Suzanne Jackson is set to launch a beauty and fashion book this month. Suzanne, of the website sosueme. ie, has recently revealed that she has written a book answering the most common style questions she has been asked by her readers. According to sosueme.ie, Suzanne has approximately 350,000 international readers each month and at the time of going to print has over 86,000 fans on Facebook. Her new release will include advice on skincare, hairstyles and shopping for special occasions, as well as providing an insight into the blogger’s own wardrobe. The book is set to launch on 24 October and will be available in bookstores across Ireland. Rihanna v Topshop comes to an end The High Court case between Rihanna and high-street clothing brand Topshop came to an end last month, with the final decision ruling in favour of the singer. Rihanna had taken legal action when a t-shirt depicting an image of her without her permission appeared in Topshop stores across the world, which the company claimed they had bought from a freelance photographer. It was found that the sale of the t-shirt could mislead the public into thinking Rihanna had endorsed it herself, and an injunction was granted to prevent further use of the image without her permission. Her lawyers are seeking almost £1 million in legal costs, which is currently pending a full damages assessment by the Court. Vivienne Westwood sparks controversy again

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has been criticised by the media for advertising unpaid internships shortly after her controversial statement that “poor people” should buy fewer clothes. At the end

of her show at the recent London Fashion Week, Westwood made a plea for people to choose “quality, not quantity” when purchasing clothes, with a warning that people on lower incomes should be even more careful to follow this mantra. The designer’s London Office has now advertised on its website five “voluntary” internships in the areas of fashion design, archiving, graphic design and product development. This also comes in the same week that British PM David Cameron advised unpaid interns to report their employers if they felt they were being exploited. Marc Jacobs leaves Louis Vuitton Paris Fashion Week was the scene of Marc Jacobs’ final show for Louis Vuitton, which the company confirmed just hours before the show took place. Jacobs, who had been creative director of the fashion label since 1997, has decided not to renew his contract in order to focus on his own brand. His final show had an all-black theme and paid homage to his shows of the past sixteen years, with notable props such as a carousel, escalators and a fountain being used once again for the designer’s final goodbye. French designer Nicolas Ghesquière is rumoured to be Jacobs’ new replacement. Kate Moss and Playboy to celebrate Birthdays together Model Kate Moss has been confirmed as the cover star for the 60th Birthday edition of Playboy magazine, which will be available on newsstands at the time of Moss’ 40th Birthday in January. Editorial director of the magazine Jimmy Jellinek has expressed his delight at the decision to the Los Angeles Times, saying “she’s the perfect partner for us to help launch the next 60 years”. The photoshoot has allegedly already taken place, with Moss apparently wearing French cuffs, silk stockings and velveteen bunny ears if rumours are to be believed.

2. Bobble: Once considered a children’s hat or associated with football supporters in club colours, every store is now embracing this trend. They are fun, quirky and a must in every wardrobe. There is nothing like pulling on a bright bobble hat to cheer you up on a cold winter morning.

different styles and have variations like a bobble or fur lining (see below).

3. Fedora: Popular with fashion types, not for their warmth but more of a style statement. They used to be very expensive but now most high street stores are stocking these and they are the epitome of style. If you want to update your wardrobe you cannot go wrong with one of these.

6. Cossack (real and faux fur hats): Traditionally these hats were worn by eastern European and military types – think Dr Zhivago. They became a big hit on the high street last year after Keira Knightly starred in Anna Karenina. Ever so stylish and elegant, more people need to embrace this look.

4. Chullos (hat with ear flaps): An Andean style hat with ear flaps typically made from sheep’s wool. Once popular with eco-warrior types, they were updated with a modern twist and are now the staple of sporty surfer types. They come in many

5. Ushanka (real and faux fur hat with ear flaps): These originated in Russia to deal with the Siberian climate. So warm and stylish, this is the hat to embrace this winter.

There is no excuse for being cold this winter, the high street is full of stylish hats to suit every individual taste. So embrace your inner style god/goddess and start wearing your hats with style!

26 Arts & entertainment Druid’s Good News By Karen McDonnell Listeners to RTE’s Morning Ireland on October 8 had some good news to accompany their coffee and toast. Taking a break from budget targets, tobacco controls, striking junior doctors and the omnipresent Troika, the subject turned to the Arts – theatre in particular. Sp e a k i n g t o R a c ha e l English, Druid Theatre’s

Ar tistic Director, Gar r y Hynes, announced that the Galway company’s performance space in Druid Lane would be renamed the Mick Lally Theatre, in honour of the actor and gaelgóir who died in August 2010. “Mick,” Hynes said, “was taken from a stool in the Cellar Bar down to the Jesuit Hall for the summer of 1975 and stayed more or less forever.”

Bowie and Books By Thomas Murray Tucked away on the edge of Chinatown and central Toronto lies the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada’s premier art museum and current host to the retrospective travelling exhibition David Bowie Is. This collection of all things Bowie includes his diaries, instruments, extravagant costumes, photographs, set lists, clips from live performances, and moments from Bowie’s life. One of the more interesting items on display is a list of the popular singer’s top 100 books. Among these are included modern classics such as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, 1984 by George Orwell, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, and In Between the Sheets - a collection of short stories by British author Ian McEwan. The list includes a variety of genres ranging from psychology, history, music, travel writing and even Beano comics. Unsurprisingly, there’s plenty of fiction to be found on the list. It is evident that the gifted singer draws on various liter-

ary sources for inspiration in writing his songs, and designing his ludicrously fantastic costumes. Bowie, who is constantly resurfacing in the news in one form or another (Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield’s memorable rendition of Space Oddity springs to mind), released his twentyfourth album earlier this year, to universal critical acclaim. But that won’t be the last you hear of the flamboyant singer for 2013. The dulcet tones of Mr Bowie, an avid Arcade Fire fan, can be heard during the second half of the band’s recent seven minute single from their upcoming album Reflektor. David Bowie, the one person on earth who could beat Lady Gaga in a ‘Best Dress’ competition, has been an integral part of many movies developed within the ten year break since his last album, Reality (2003). Whether he’s popping up in films like Zoolander or The Prestige, or providing songs for Moulin Rouge or Inglorious Basterds, Bowie is an inescapable part of modern culture.

performances abroad, there have been the tours to community halls and local theatres. These tours have ensured a strong loyalty from those audiences, with whom Druid maintains an enduring relationship. Garry Hynes has also announced new work and coproductions. A new Tom Murphy play, Brigit, will be premiered in 2014. The company has a longstanding relationship with the playwright (a Druid Writer-inAssociation), which led to the production of DruidMurphy in 2012 and 2013. Continuing with the theme of collaboratively reimagining work, 2015 will see Druid perform what is presently titled The Irish Shakespeare Project. The company will stage four of Shakespeare’s history plays in association with New York’s Lincoln Center. Last year, the BBC filmed the history plays on location; eliciting wonderful performances in vivid productions. Now it’s Druid’s turn to

take on Richard II, Henry IV parts I & 2, and Henry V – in a new adaptation by Mark O’Rowe. 2015 will be a long wait. When questioned on Morning Ireland about the impact of the recession on Druid, Hynes stated that “the falling funding from Government, from the Arts Council ha[d] forced Druid to the pin of their collar, like all other companies.” Druid has supportive audiences, but a drop in funding can only be carried so long before any artistic company is forced into unpalatable choices, be they artistic or financial. This November will see the official re-naming of the theatre, and Druid will also announce details of a new six-week residency programme for young theatre-makers – to be located at Druid Lane. At the pin of its collar or no, Druid is showing no deviation from the ideals of its founders: new, innovative theatre, accessible to all.

Review: Pearl Jam Lightening Bolt

it kicks through the walls of expectation and gives the middle finger to those who thought this band was over. Sadly, Lightening Bolt isn’t a perfect album. The required dose of sentiment transforms into sickening mush at times and leaves you wondering if shuffle has switched on a Garth Brooks number. ‘Future Days’, with its trickling acoustic backdrop and face-scrunching lyrics, is a big slab of cheese that should be skipped before you lose your appetite. Perhaps the Seattle rockers are getting a bit gooey around the edges, but at their core, they still maintain their original spark that set the charts ablaze in the 90’s. Judging from this album, lightning will strike again.

Lally was part of the decision to continue the company after their initial production of Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. He remained a stalwart performer in Druid productions until shortly before his death. “Mick and Synge were a writer and an actor born to be together,” Hynes said. She also recalled an image of Lally performing in the fort on Inis Mean in 2006, “while the winds raged about.” Druid has been praised often for its innovation. Productions such as the Leenane Trilogy and DruidSynge grew from the director, actors, and designers coming together early in each project’s inception, in an inclusive creative process. Now Druid is continuing that collaborative process by creating a new ensemble of actors. Hynes considers it to be “quite simply the really good way to make theatre […] where

By Tracey Halloran A whopping 22 years ago Pearl Jam released their first album during the gritty grunge explosion. Reaching number two on the Billboard charts and slipping in nicely to the alternative rock scene, it appeared their timing couldn’t have been better. Fast-forward to the present day of auto tune, dizzy so and sos, and prepubescent boys with fringes, it is hard to envisage a place for the old rockers dawning on 50. Even so, after a four year gap in recording – their longest to date – Pearl Jam have crafted their tenth studio album, roused

This week’s prize for the stupidest song lyrics goes to...

Lyric: “I got you saying Jesus so much it’s like we're laying in the manger!” Song: Cabaret Artist: Justin Timberlake Suggested by: David Molloy

BEAT of the Week Song: Help me Lose My Mind Artist: Disclosure Suggested by: Shannon McNamee

the actors are involved over the long term.” The new group of ‘Druids’ will be associated with the company over the next three years. Included in the ensemble are two of Druid’s long-standing associates: Druid founder Marie Mullen, and Maelíosa Stafford. Other members are Rory Nolan, Marty Rea, Garret Lombard and Aaron Monaghan. The company will see out 2013 with a performance of Dion Boucicault’s The Colleen Bawn at The Black Box venue in Galway. The play will then tour in 2014 to the Hawks Well Theatre Sligo, Gaiety Theatre Dublin, Belfast Opera House and Lime Tree Theatre in Limerick. This tour is keeping with Hynes’ own belief that “people are entitled to see first class theatre in their own communities.” One of the standing stones of Druid Theatre Company has been a commitment to national touring. Apart from the publicized and highly acclaimed

their dedicated fans from slumber and reminded them, once again, that they are still alive. Lightening Bolt strikes and delivers the same surge of raw energy that sparked interest in the beginning. Brimming with the old familiar essence and secret Pearl Jam ingredients, it does not disappoint. Lead singer, Eddie Vedder, jotted down his perception of the world and weaved it into melodies that will cling to your memory with pleasure. Over time, he has chiseled and polished the rough edges of his lyrics and produced something clearer, smoother and easier to comprehend.

Comparing the process of songwriting to surfing he says; “the waves are the song and the board is the words and really, it’s just how you move around.” ‘Sirens’, a mid-tempo track about the harrowing sounds of LA, encompasses Vedder’s lyrical ability and proves he can still stand on his board and ride the tide. Lead guitar rips through this song, as it does with the majority of tracks, and hits all the right places. The rebellious track dripping with testosterone, ‘Mind your manners’, will please even the harshest of critics. With a thundering drum beat and lightening speed guitar lines

Canadian Alice Munro receives Nobel Prize for Literature By Chelsea Tabert

Mock the Lyric

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

History-breaking news came early on the morning of 10 October when writer Alice Munro was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2013. Upon announcing the Canadian’s literature award, the Nobel Committee named Munro “master of the contemporary short story.” Munro knew she was being considered for the Nobel Prize, but when listening to the voicemail that named her 2013 Nobel Laureate, she was “terribly surprised”.

Alice is the first Canadian woman in history to secure this honour since the award was launched in 1901, and only the 13th woman. Earlier this year, the 82-yearold writer – known for her short stories – announced that she will be retiring; “It’s nice to go out with a bang,” she announced. This is not her only award-winning title, however. In 2 0 0 9 , Mu n ro wa s awarded the Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, and contribution and achievement in fiction on the world stage. Some of her other awards include the Lan-

nan Literary Award for Fiction, the American National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year. Munro began writing as a teenager and published her first book The Dimensions of a Shadow in 1950 while studying English and Journalism at the University of Western Ontario. After marrying her first husband, James Munro, they moved west across the country to British Columbia where they opened Munro Books, which is still in operation today. Alice Munro is widely known for her collection of

stories such as Dance of the Happy Shades (1968), The View from Castle Rock (2006), and her recent story collection Too Much Happiness (2009). Many times critics have proclaimed that Munro’s short stories have the emotional depth of a novel. If you are interested in reading some of Alice Munro’s collections, I recommend Dear Life. Munro reveals the ambiguities of life through her writing, and stays true to her explorations of ordinary lives and human nature. Dear Life won the Trillium Book Award in 2012.

9 – 10am 1 – 2pm 6 – 8pm 6 – 8pm 6 – 8pm 8 – 10pm 8 – 10pm 8.30 – 11pm 5 – 6pm 6 – 7.30pm 6 – 8pm 6 – 8pm 7 – 9pm 7.30 – 9.30pm 9 – 10.30pm 9 – 11pm 8 – 10.30pm 8 – 10am 1 – 2pm 1 – 2pm 4 – 6pm 6 – 7pm 7 – 9pm 9 – 11pm 7 – 9pm 6 – 8pm 8 – 9pm 9.30 – 11pm 7 – 8.30am

Hall 2 Hall 3 Raquetball Court Hall 1 & 2 Hall 3 Hall 1 & 2 Hall 3 Full Pool Hall Hall 1 Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 3 Hall 1 Hall 3 Full Pool Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 3 Hall 2 Hall 1 3 halls Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 3 Full Pool 2 Lanes

University Sports Clubs Schedule – Kingfisher Get off the couch this semester!

ThUrsday

Mens Varsity Basketball Aikido Karate Badminton Archery Club Futsal Soccer Taekwondo & Judo Swim Club Boxing Club Fencing Club Ladies Basketball – Varsities Karate Club Aikido Club Maui Thai Cricket Club Kayak Club Volleyball Archery Volleyball Aikido Archery Mens Varsity Basketball Cricket Club Badminton Taekwondo Karate & Judo sharing Table Tennis Sub Aqua Swim Club

VENUE

FrIday

TIME

sUN saT

MoNday TUEsday WEdNEsday

CLUB

TIME

Frizbee Muai Thai Cricket Ladies Basketball – Varsities Ladies Basketball – Recreational Table Tennis & Fencing Taekwondo & Aikido Fencing Advanced Swim & Lifesaving Club Mens Basketball – Varsity Archery Club Inline Hockey Volleyball Club Blank Judo Club & Table Tennis Swim Club – Varsities Team Taekwondo Swim Club

5 – 7pm 7 – 9pm 9. – 10.30pm 6 – 8pm 8 – 10pm 6 – 8pm 8 – 10pm 5 – 6pm & 8 – 10pm 9 – 11pm 11am 10.30 – 1.30pm 7 – 9pm 6 – 10pm 6 – 7pm 7 – 9pm 9.30 – 11pm 12 – 2PM 4 – 5.30pm

VENUE Hall 1 Hall 1 Hall 1 Hall 2 Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 3 Raquetball Court Full Pool Hall 2 Hall 3 Hall 1 Hall 2 Hall 3 & 1 Hall 3 Full Pool Raquetball Court 2 Lanes

Fencing Club

2 – 4pm

Raquetball court

Check www.clubs.nuigalway.ie for updates.

28 Sports

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

Sports for all anybody? Shinty/Hurling International Series By Patric Evason

Have you ever wondered how a blind person can play Soccer? Or how a wheelchair user can take part in a Hurling match? Today sport is such an integral part of people’s lives, whether it is from their actual participation in a Sunday morning Gaelic match to a parent dropping the kids off at karate class. Sport has been proven to have significant health, mental well being and social inclusion benefits. This has never been truer than for someone with a disability. What sport does for those with disabilities is change people’s preconceptions and gets any spectators to focus on their sporting ability and not on their specific disability when they are watching a match. It was with this in mind that I recently attended CARA’s ‘Disability Inclusion Training’ (DIT) course. The course aims to give a solid grounding in what constitutes a disability and the correct terminology that should be used. It also informs you about the different forms of barriers to participation whether physical or attitude wise that may be out there. Did you know there is an Irish Blind Soccer team currently being formed? “How can they play?” I hear you say. It really is quite easy when you think about it. Blind soccer follows a five-a-side format with 4 blind players with the addi-

tion of an eye shield so no visually impaired player may have a competitive advantage and includes a sighted goalkeeper who must remain inside his penalty area. The ball has bearings inside to disclose its position at any given time during a match. The players shout “Voy” when they move (Spanish for ‘I’m Here’) and the team’s coach can shout instructions to call plays and direct shots as any coach would. With this example in mind it may perhaps become a bit clearer on why such a body like CARA is attempting to correct misconceptions and inform all that sport is not impossible for anyone despite a disability but can be an allinclusive and encompassing exercise and experience for all those participating, regardless of barriers. CARA runs the Adapted Physical Activity centre based in IT Tralee and runs programmes such as ‘Campabilities’ which is a residential camp for children with vision impairment and the’ Xcessible Leisure Centre’ initiative for leisure centre staff which aims to heighten awareness of health benefits associated with exercise for people with disabilities within their local leisure centre. They also run the DIT course which I was lucky enough to be invited to where they attempt to show the importance of Sport in the life of a person who also has a disability.

I was struck by the age profile of the group attending, not wishing to be too disrespectful but there weren’t too many wannabe ‘Young Uns’ like myself! This got me wondering as to how this could be addressed in the future; more of that later. The course showed the usual stereotypical attitudes to people with physical, intellectual and sensory disabilities and the perception that ‘these people’ are time-consuming and generally difficult to deal with and it attempted to debunk these myths that have become associated with this type of attitude and further went on to explain the various disability categories involved in sports. The course contents, although only an overview, attempted to explain that there should be NO barrier to Sports participation by a person with disabilities and indeed sports as diverse as surfing for children with Autism through to Judo For ALL are all showing you the sort of things that CARA actually run and what a multifarious organisation it is. Altogether an enjoyable and informative few hours spent on this day course which made you challenge some of your own pre-conceived ideas on what you think people can, cannot and what they should even attempt to do. I now fully understand the differences between Special Olympics Ireland and Paralympics Ireland

and I even feel confident enough to run a session of Seated Volleyball or to participate in a game of Parachute Popcorn. I would actively encourage anyone to get involved as I have met some wonderful people and had some great times in my short involvement of working with people with disabilities and I would recommend this as a great opportunity to take the first steps to volunteering. If you are interested in attending CARA’s next local ‘Disability Inclusion Training’ course in the new year (all ages catered for), please send an expression of interest to my email, p.evason1@ nuigalway.ie. Places will be strictly limited and the course will also go towards your ALIVE certificate. This course will strictly depend on getting enough people to participate. Patric Evason is a first year B.Comm (Accounting) student who has completed the first 3 levels of the FAI’s foundation courses and is hoping to complete his FAI Youth Certificate next year, he is also waiting to be confirmed as a Special Olympics Volunteer. He has worked with Special Olympics Ireland Ladies International Soccer team members and assisted training with ex League of Ireland players under an After School Soccer programme. He currently plays for Athenry FC in the Galway and District League Premier Division.

By Brendan Dunleavy The 2013 Shinty/Hurling International series between Ireland and Scotland takes place in the coming weeks with the first test going ahead as part of a double header with the Ireland v Australia international rules game in Croke Park on 26 October. The second test takes place a week later in Inverness. Shinty/hurling is a game of composite rules that aims to marry the best aspects of both games in order to create a spectacle that celebrates the links between the two cultures. It has been played in one form or another since the 1890s. Camanachd Association, who are in charge of shinty, stopped the composite rules matches around the time of the Second World War as the British Government disapproved of their involvement with the GAA, but university students kept the game alive and international matches resumed in the 1970s. The main rules are:

• 14 players on each side with 4 outfield subs and a replacement goalkeeper. • 5 points for a goal, 1 point for a regular point or 2 for a point scored from a free or side line taken off the ground • Only Goalkeepers can catch/ handle the ball • The ball cannot be kicked, but may be stopped or controlled by use of one or both feet. • The game is played with a size 4 hurling ball and either Camans or hurling sticks can be used.

Ireland won last year’s series comfortably, their fourth win in a row. Previous to this Scotland claimed their own 4 in a row from 2005-08. The game has struggled to grab the attention of players or public to any great degree. This is down to a number of factors. It is only ever going to be a friendly series played for exhibition purposes. It is played at the tail end of the season for both shinty and hurling and some players are still involved in club competitions. The game also suffers from a lack of promotion from the two Associations. Certainly, when compared to the effort that goes into marketing the International Football Rules series, the shinty/ hurling series gets very little attention. As I write, there is very little information available about this year’s series. It gets barely any mention on either association’s website, and a google search about this year’s series fails to bring up any recent articles. One would wonder if the game has any future given this lack of interest. One positive development for the game has been the increased co-operation between clubs. For the past few years a game has taken place between the Micheal Breathnach club in the Connemara Gaeltacht and a selection from the Scots Gaelic speaking areas. There has also been a game played between the Irish & British Defence Forces. Perhaps it is at this level, as a vehicle for improving cross cultural links, that the game has a future, because as a competitive international series it has failed to catch the imagination of player or public.

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Sports 29

October 28 2013

NUIG Rugby collects two bonus points in narrow loss 10-try thriller in Hamilton Park By NUIG Rugby On Sunday 13 October in Hamilton Park, Sligo, two of the league’s frontrunners and rivals faced each up to other in perfect conditions for rugby. Early last year, NUIG Rugby had arrived in Sligo with a strong chance of winning the league outright in a game that had been refixed as a double header. That day, College came up only inches short with a narrowly missed late conversion which would have won them the game after an end-to-end, intense battle, which produced exciting, enthralling rugby from two well-matched though contrasting teams.

Sligo edged the result that day, having established a substantial lead over the first sixty minutes, until College forced their way back to within a point of the home team. Last week’s fixture, the first meeting of the two sides this year, mirrored almost exactly last year’s game, in its epic ebb and flow. Like last year, College also had scoring chances late on, including a difficult late conversion opportunity, possibly to win the match. Sligo were going into this game off a narrow, last-gasp loss to Ballinrobe at home the previous week, where they led right to the end of the game, only to lose out to a very late try.

In Sligo on Sunday 13, both teams started brightly but the home team, eager not to slump to a second successive home defeat, were first to hit their straps, scoring a well-finished try from their man-of-thematch, full-back Colm Egan, who took his opportunity well after loose kicking and a poor line press from College. College responded with sustained pressure, and a great break from a set move in the backs released Ruairi KehoeClarke who linked very well with flanker Adam Brady before finishing the move he started and touching down near the posts. Alex Kirwan dispatched the conversion and College were level. Though College pressed and created some penetration and space, they were unable

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly By Daragh Small Connacht Rugby saw 2013/14 as a season of change, the induction of Pat Lam into the Director of Rugby role along with the signing of some marquee names such as Craig Clarke and James So’oialo meant that Connacht would hit the ground running, but this hasn’t happened. In sport results mean everything and with a solitary victory over the lowly Zebre the only win to speak of in the opening weeks, the Connacht Clan could have been forgiven for becoming slightly disillusioned. Despite injuries and the lack of depth within the squad Connacht have repeatedly fielded strong starting 15s and for some reason haven’t come away on

the right side of the result as much as they should have. Yet that seems to be the crucial difference this season; Connacht have always been game competitors however this season they have played with a different style and attitude in comparison with other years where field position was key and the backs were rarely used. Dan Parks who has so often in the past been used to ping teams back inside their own 22’s has this year been given more of a free reign to express himself and with the flatter lines has brought his centres into play more often than not. Robbie Henshaw has been moved into outside-centre where he had played most of his school’s rugby and he looks to be at home at number 13. He has

been vital to the stats that show Connacht among the top teams in the offloading stats in the RaboDirect Pro12 as well being near the summit on line breaks. Another major contributory factor has been the re-acquisition of Fionn Carr who has made the number 14 jersey his own while Matt Healy has given Lam more options on the other wing where he has looked dangerous. Craig Clark and Michael Swift linked up well against Saracens in the opening Heineken Cup fixture and it was their dominance in the line-out that helped Connacht to the brink of one of the biggest shocks in Heineken Cup history. Even with a thread bare front row, the scrum looked comfortable against the multiple international and Lions

to finish off a number of clear try-scoring opportunities. Sligo absorbed the College pressure before imposing their game and collecting a 100% return of two penalties from two visits to the College 22. he momentum of the game then swung towards the home team who added two further converted tries, to stretch their lead to an insurmountable looking 27-7 at the break. College were not helped during this period by the fact that they were reduced to playing with 14 men after a team yellow card was given for successive infringements at the breakdown. However, almost exactly like last year’s fixture, in the second half, College raised their intensity and responded

with four scintillating tries, one from College’s man-ofthe-match, scrum half Eoin Himpers and a hat-trick from three-quarter Alex Kirwan who was one of College’s outstanding attacking players on display. Though up against a bigger and heavier pack, College’s forwards, ably led by team captain Luke Murphy, played brilliantly throughout, and were especially effective in the loose. Of special note also was the performance of Jason O’Halloran – out of position on the wing – who had an outstanding game both in defence and with the ball in hand. The game finished 37-31 to the home team, with College again left to rue missed chances and lacklustre defence in a

game where they also played some great attacking, creative rugby. Though travelling home with a loss, College also pocketed two bonus points, and will aim to keep their momentum going in an intensely close and competitive league. College’s next league game is at home in Dangan against Ballinrobe on Sunday 27th October, kick-off 2.30pm. NUIG Rugby v Sligo RFC: Ross Tiernan, Alex Kirwan, James Kennedy, Ruairi KehoeClarke, Jason O’Halloran, Tony Hall, Eoin Himpers, Max Sale, Ross Stapleton, Adam Brady, Brian Carey, Ronan Mulloy, Tom O’Regan, Luke Murphy (c), Rob Conneely, Shane Ryan, Justin Conboy, Colin Lawlor, Conor Gantly, Marc Walsh, Pete Small.

caps with the Premiership clubs ranks. Rodney Ah You was a revelation in this fixture and the performance of JP Cooney off the bench showed that maybe there is even strength in depth than the team-sheet suggests. Speaking to Pat Lam prior to the game it was evident that he has recognized the potential he has within his squad. Despite the obvious new style of play that he has implemented he insisted that “in Connacht we are focusing on trying to remove simple errors from our play in order to reach the levels of the Munsters and Leinsters of this World”. We saw this against Saracens as Dan Parks began to use the boot more often, almost every second ball that the Scot got was sent high into the sky in order to put pressure on Alex Goode and the ploy wreaked dividends on numerous occasions no more

so than when Kieran Marmion raced through what was normally a water tight Saracens backline to touch down under the posts. What this showed was, Connacht are a team to be reckoned with now and there is many more sides to Pat Lam’s rugby philosophy than meets the eye. Friday 11 October was special for a number of reasons, the reintroduction of Heineken Cup rugby to the homely Galway atmosphere but none more so than for both sides to set a precedent for their respective beliefs over the whole Anglo-French debacle. Following the fixture it’s hard to know who are the winners and losers. Of course, Saracens are the winners on the night but they wanted much more than the four points they left with. The London-based giants are one of the biggest franchises spear-heading the venture that

could spell the end of club rugby as we know it. Sitting in the press-box in a cold Sportsground that night with only the warmth of the Connacht support and atmosphere created to keep you warm it’s hard to believe that we may very well be seeing the last of such iconic nights. This time next year all we might is the memories if the selfish fat cats get to flex there cheque books and commercialise the greatest sport of all. I just hope the English and French know what their getting themselves in for. The short-sightedness of what they propose is quiet simple baffling. The plethora of true rugby voices need to be heard if Connacht Rugby is to survive. Connacht laid a hell of a marker that night in the Sportsground that night, all we can do now is pray that it’s enough.

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30 Sports

Sin Vol. 15 Issue 4

GAA All Stars By Ciaran McGreal After an enthralling season in both hurling and football, this year's GAA All Stars nominations have caused widespread debate with several genuine contenders for each position in both codes. The All Star nominations are usually dominated by the winners and it's no different this year as hurling champions Clare earned 13 nominations while football's kingpins Dublin have 12 nominations. Ultimately these teams will dominate the final selections, which will be revealed on November 6th, and the players selected will be rewarded with another accolade to add to their winner's medal. That said, I'm sure if the Clare or Dublin players had been offered an All Star or an All Ireland winner's medal at the beginning of the year they would all have taken the winner's medal. This year's hurling championship was one of the most exciting in years with Clare and Cork an unlikely final pairing. There's no surprise that Clare lead the way in terms of nominations with 13 in all. This means that nearly a whole team's worth of Clare players were nominated. Shane O'Donnell beat Darach Honan to a nomination in the forwards after his final display. Honan had been a regular up to the final but O'Donnell was a late inclusion after he contributed 3-3 in the replayed final. Defensive regulars Cian Dillon and Patrick O'Connor missed out on nominations. Both will be disappointed particularly Dillon who performed

man-marking jobs on Joe Canning, Declan Hannon and Patrick Horgan during the campaign. Clare are sure to have a number of players in the final selection. The likes of Brendan Bugler, Tony Kelly and Podge Collins are pretty much guaranteed places. Cork have nine nominations and Anthony Nash, Patrick Horgan and Shane O'Neill all look set to win accolades. Dublin had a wonderful season and reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by Cork. Liam Rushe looks a safe bet while Conal Keaney and Danny Sutcliffe are also in contention. Limerick were crowned Munster champions this year and are rewarded with seven nominations. Richie McCarthy, Wayne McNamara and James Ryan will all hope to be included. The nominees for player of the year are Clare's Tony Kelly and Cork's Anthony Nash and Patrick Horgan. Nash had a fantastic year and few will forget his goal in the replayed final as he managed to score with twelve Clare players on the line. Horgan thought he had scored the winning point in the first final before Domhnall O'Donovan rescued Clare. Ultimately, Tony Kelly is the favourite for the accolade. His skill was there for all to see and he is thoroughly deserving of the award. Kelly is also nominated for young hurler of the year along with Podge Collins and David McInerney. Football will be dominated by Dublin and Mayo. They contested an interesting final in which Dublin emerged one point winners.

The Blues defeated Kerry in one of the games of century in the semi-final and were worthy winners overall. Mayo once again fell at the final hurdle by the smallest of margins. Monaghan had a great season as they secured the Ulster title and reached the quarter finals of the All Ireland. They were rewarded with six nominations. Kerry received five while the other defeated semi-finalists Tyrone received four. Colm Cooper and James O'Donoghue of Kerry should be included while Sean Cavanagh was immense this season, despite what Joe Brolly thinks of him! For Dublin, Stephen Cluxton, Rory O'Carroll, Michael Darragh MacAuley and Bernard Brogan are dead certs while Mayo will most likely be represented by Keith Higgins, Lee Keegan, Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor. Stephen Cluxton, Lee Keegan and Michael Darragh MacAuley were nominated for Football of the Year with MacAuley the favourite. Aidan O'Shea will be disappointed not to have been nominated. While he didn't shine in the final, his performances earlier in the season will live long in the memory for Mayo fans. The nominees for Young Player of the Year are Dublin's Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion and Mayo's Cillian O'Connor. O'Connor is in line to win his third Young Player of the Year award in as many years. No matter which players ultimately win these awards, each and every player across both codes should be commended for contributing to a brilliant season for the GAA.

Cork's Anthony Nash, nominee for player of the year

Post Trappatoni:

The future is bright By Michael Farrell It’s hard to know how we will look back on the Trappatoni era. Some will have fond memories of Poznan and Gdansk, others will remember the disappointment of Paris and then the others will only remember the toothless defensive football of his reign. What had worked in previous campaigns failed this time around and the manner of the 6 – 1 loss to Germany showed that the team had grown stale and that the players weren’t fully behind the manager. Losing from winning positions is not a mark of Trappatoni’s teams and the five lost points against Sweden and Austria was the difference in what could have been a successful campaign. In the long run this campaign might prove to be a fruitful one as we managed to blood a lot of new players. David Forde would seem to be nailed on as first choice keeper after his performance in Germany. Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson both proved that Trap made a major mistake in not playing either of them at the European Championships and were probably our most consistent performers over the course of the campaign. Coleman in particular has turned into one of our most important players and provides creativity and the ability to go by a player on the right flank. The pairing of Richard Dunne and John O’Shea in the centre of our defence

have over 170 caps between them and even though they are aging, should provide a solid base to build on for the next campaign. Sean St. Ledger and Ciaran Clark provide ample replacements. The midfield is the main area the new manager will need to address, with both the right structure and personnel needed. Darron Gibson (when he recovers from his cruciate ligament injury), and James McCarthy look to be the best options in the centre of midfield and get the nod not so much due to their creativity, but due to the other central midfielder’s lack of it. Anthony Stokes has impressed over the last two games and is a different type of player than any other we have. He is our only representative in the Champions League this year and he should be one of the players to build the team around. His best role might be in the “Schürrle” role on the left hand side of midfield where he played against Kazakhstan. One of the main criticisms of Trappatoni was his rigid 4-4-2 formation. The new manager faces a tough decision in deciding on how to play. If he changes to a 4-2-3-1 formation it may be necessary to drop Robbie Keane, as he lacks the pace and power that a lone striker needs. Shane Long should be the man to lead the line, his natural pace and ability to run in behind the defence would suit a 4-2-3-1 formation and would ensure

our midfielders have more space in which to play. There are two options for the playmaker role behind the main striker. Wes Hoolahan would seem to be the best one as he has performed well in that role for Norwich in the last few seasons, while Andy Reid would provide a less mobile than Hoolahan, but is a great set piece taker and could be accommodated on the wing. It was clear from the Kazakhstan game that this formation needs some width in the team and this will have to be provided by the likes of Robbie Brady, James McClean and Aiden McGeady. Brady, judging by his Premier League performances this season, is another who the new manager should build his team around. The case for continuing with the 4-4-2 formation would be that it allows us to get the best out of Robbie Keane, our most prolific striker and this is something worth considering as he has now scored over 60 international goals. It would suit him to play up front with a bigger man and have any of the wide players mentioned previously getting crosses into the box. Only in time will we be able to judge Trappatoni’s era. The results of his successor may show that we are better off being defensively minded, well organised and long ball orientated. But as we are now able to field a full team of Premiership quality players, let’s hope not.

October 28 2013

Final Word 31 diary of the Smokey’s Pigeon I can’t believe they changed the furniture in my home without even asking me.I liked it the way it was. Don’t get me wrong, I like it the way it is now too. It’s really colourful and has a nice layout. But it’s my home, not theirs, so they should have at least told me it was happening. I just woke up one day and they were moving everything around! It was terrifying! Speaking of terrifying, I’ll be going as myself for Halloween. People scream whenever they see me anyway, so why should I dress up?

Such is life.

Useful facts to prepare you for the “What Do They Teach You in College?” scenario • There are more people alive today than have ever died. • The average person who stops smoking requires one hour less sleep a night. • The colder the room you sleep in, the better the chances are that you’ll have a bad dream. • Women are born better smellers than men and remain better smellers over life. • Your eyes are always the same size from birth but your nose and ears never stop growing. • If you eat a polar bear liver, you will die. Humans can’t handle that much vitamin A. • Honey does not spoil. You could feasibly eat 3000 year old honey.

Bizarre but true:

Wine for cats goes on sale in Japan Pet Supplement Company B&H Lifes is rolling out a brand of bottled wine for cats. The wine, which is called “Nyan Nyan Nouveau” does not contain alcohol, but a mixture of juice made from Cabernet grapes, Vitamin C and catnip. The beverage supposedly tastes like wine, and the fact that it contains catnip means that the cats who drink it will get drunk. B&H Lifes developed the drink for people who want to celebrate birthdays or holidays with their cats. Nyan Nyan Nouveau is priced at 299 yen (approximately €3) per bottle and is limited to one thousand bottles.

Working and Travelling Abroad Fair Áras na Mac Léinn Wednesday 30th October 12pm-3pm - Free Entery

More information is available at: www.su.nuigalway.ie