Gair Rhydd 1037 - 10 Nov 2014

gair rhydd

In this week’s issue: e war between chocolate trees and pink mushrooms, how not to starve at university, and the campaign that’s looking to change the face of housing in Cardiff

Dapper Laughs and fans ‘abuse’ students

EXCLUSIVE:

ACardiff student has been told to ‘fuck off’ by Dapper Laughs, as part of a wave of backlash against the petition to ban the ‘sexist’ comedian from the Student’s Union.

Georgia Lubrani, a Philosophy student at the University, was told by the controversial comedian to “fuck off” on Twitter after asking the Everyday Feminism Twitter page to promote the petition.

The tweet has been followed by a number of personal attacks directed

Cardiff Students subject to trolling and personal attacks for campaigning against ‘sexist’ comedian’s planned SU performance Continued

at the student for supporting the petition. One Dapper Laughs fan responded to Georgia by saying: “Ignore her Dapper. Sounds like she’s been stung by a bloke in the past.”

This has included criticism, on both social media sites, and news outlets covering the story such as the Daily Mail and VICE.

Talking about the criticism, Georgia explained that at first she was not concerned, describing the comments as “ignorant” and that they “missed the point.” Howev-

er, the abuse quickly escalated to shaming Georgia about past sexual partners. In an attempt to undermine her position, suggestions were made that she was “not a proper feminist.”

Speaking to Gair Rhydd, Georgia said: “I’m not upset, I’m just really angry, and I’ve found myself obsessively checking what people are saying about me.”

“For me the problem is the fact that these people have a problem with women being open about sex.

“A lot of people are calling us boring stuck up feminists, who need to go have fun. “

The student also voiced concerns that such abuse will deter students from standing up for their beliefs in future: “If there’s a single person who doesn’t bother to speak up because they’re scared of this backlash, then damage is being done. Not all people are as thick-skinned as me and people should keep in mind that they might really hurt someone.”

Anna Lewis

Pictured: Dapper Laughs (Photographer: Dapper Laughs on Instagram)

THE FREE WORD

EDITOR

Michael O’Connell-Davidson

DEPUTY

EDITOR

Georgia Hamer

GAIR

RHYDD

CO-ORDINATOR

Elaine Morgan

NEWS

Georgia Hamer

Katie Evans

Alexander Norton

Anna Lewis

ADVICE

Kirsty Fardell

COMMENT

Anne Porter

Olivier van den Bent-Kelly

COLUMNIST

Jason Roberts

POLITICS

Carwyn Williams

Lauren Boyd

Rhiannon Tapp

SCIENCE

Shanna Hamilton

Meryon Roderick

SOCIETIES

Hannah Sterritt

PARK LIFE

Tim Nagle

TAF-OD

Steffan Bryn Jones

Morgan Owen

SPORT

David Hooson

Rory Benson

Joe Atkinson

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS

Sum Sze Tam

George Rinaldi

Sarah Hazelwood

Ellie Sansom

Amin Rali

Anna Athanasiadis

Holly Duhig

Want to join the team?

We hold editorial conferences each Monday on 5PM in the student media office on the Third Floor of the union, so come along with any ideas or questions you might have.

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Final year students, I feel your pain

So it is, then, that November is now in full swing. If you’re a Fresher, you’re probably growing to like your housemates a little less as you realise that being matched with people in a system governed largely by random chance isn’t the best way to form lasting relationships. If you’re a fresher, you’re probably doing alright.

Second years? Man, whatever. I don’t even really remember second year - just that whenever I got a grade that wasn’t above 70, I’d vomit.

But for those in their final year, shit is getting real. And, really, it is. A lot of grad scheme applications are open already, despite graduation being almost a year away. You can’t really apply for work experience anymore on the understanding that you’ll have something to return to, because nothing’s less pleasant than working for nothing when you’re unemployed. Some masters programmes close applications a few days after this publication goes to print.

For a lot of people, this is the beginning of the end. Irrespective of whether or not you applied to university flippantly, you’re not going to be able to afford to do the same a second time round. The days of easy choices are all but over - from now on, it’s

career decisions, buying smart clothes with the aim to wear them at something other than a funeral, and “networking” (whatever that means).

It’s terrifying, but it’s also brilliant. Because whether or not you’ve lived your life flippantly up until now, you have a real reason to start taking it seriously. And you’ve spent the past few years at one of the best universities in Britain (certainly in Wales), so you’ve got a real reason to take yourself seriously as well.

A good friend of mine has been feeling pretty down about his degree lately. I can see why; when you’re staring down the future, it’s easy to write yourself off. It’s even easier to write off a humanities degree, because what kind of authority does English Literature confer upon you?

But if you can steer yourself away from temptation and have confidence in what you’ve spent the last few years doing, you’ll find that you’ve gained a lot more than a BA in whatever-the-hell.

Before I came to university, I’d never committed to anything for three years of my own accord. There have been times where I’d wondered if I’d even finish it. My mental health’s never been great, partly

because I overwork myself, and some days are massive undertakings. But goddamnit, man - I undertook them, and I’m coming out the other side. Yes, it’s terrifying that grad schemes are already opening and closing. It’s terrifying that the cards that govern your future are already being dealt. It seems like no time at all since you wrote that personal statement, I know.

I know because I’m there. I’m the first editor in 34 years to be a student, taking the paper back to its pre-1980s history. Irrespective of the unmanagable logistics of being a Gair Rhydd editor alongside three modules and the problems that come with being a student, I’m dealing with the same problems you are.

So final year students, I feel your pain. I’m not going to let the trappings of my final year at university get in the way of serving you, and I hope that you guys won’t let your final year at university get in the way of enjoying the work we do here. It’s November, but as you’re probably realising, the finish line is in sight. We’ll be here to serve you and keep you informed until the very end - so if there’s anything we can do before you go, please, get in touch.

Who makes the news?

We’ve had some queries this week about how we decide what the news is. That’s a complicated question, and one that some of the dudes over at JOMEC have devoted their adult lives to figuring out, but I’ll try to and give you an answer based on my own experience.

We follow the tenets of other, larger organisations, although we’re obviously dealing with a completely different set of resources. I’ve long been a devout follower of AP Style, but their editorial code is probably one of the most stringent in the world; as it is, we’re mostly informed by organisations like the BBC and The Guardian (which explains that liberal bias people keep telling me about) who operate with strong public service ethics.

Gair Rhydd is produced for a much smaller audience, though. And it’s an audience where people know each other, or have reasonably obvious ways to find out about one another. So we have to be very careful when dealing with individuals. As such, when we get reports about societies doing weird things, we’re generally putting off engaging unless they’ve done something that’s seriously within the public interest for people to know about (and most societies aren’t involved in Watergate style cover-ups) or there’s some strong evidence that we have as a starting point.

It’s not just fear of legal reprisal. While you never know who has lawyer parents with billable hours to burn, our responsibility as a student newspaper is to make sure that we don’t ruin anybody’s time at university; it’s not hard to find out information

about somebody if they’re on Facebook and you’re likely to have mutual friends, but more than that, nobody wants to go to lectures and feel like everybody’s formed an opinion about them that may or may not be true. Sure, naming and shaming people for the sake of a story is industry standard practice, but few newspapers are funded solely by their readers as part of another fee the way we are. Everybody has the right to feel like they own a piece of the Gair Rhydd, and with that in mind, we wouldn’t do anything you wouldn’t do.

As an editor, I’m much more interested in setting the agenda rather than following it. I do what I can to encourage my news team to produce active pieces using their initiative as opposed to producing reactive journalism. Aside from our investigative pieces (about drug use, or certain groups of students feeling like they’ve been gagged), we’ve looked at local or national stories and tried to find ways to put a unique spin on them. A writer for The Independent confirmed to me that our story about international students being charged fees to use the NHS was a nationally exclusive story that everybody else has missed. It’s that sort of thing we’re interested in - journalism that matters to you that you won’t be able to find elsewhere.

You’ll note our front page about the Dapper Laughs banning isn’t just about the banning, because if you don’t live under a rock, you’ll have heard about that and there wouldn’t be any value in running a splash about that specifically. Instead, we’re focusing on the impact he and his

fans had on students at our university, because if anybody’s going to assault the integrity or dignity of the people who live and study here, it’s our responsibility to establish the truth.

And truth is the most important thing. Last week, I asked people to bring me evidence for the various conspiracy theories we’ve been accused of engaging in lately, and do you know how many did? None. For those who said we were a walled garden - how many of you came to our meetings, or came to the office to question our decisions? Not one. While participating in this profession, I’ve been subject to all sorts of threats and attacks on my character. I’m used to it. But when people attack the integrity of the newspaper, they attack the integrity of the people who make it - a bitter, thankless job, which nobody has received a penny to do since Tom Eden, VP Media & Marketing and the previous editor of Gair Rhydd, resigned. It’s getting harder and harder to field those queries when they’re coming from people who have no real interest in learning the answers. We’ve made some pretty fearless decisions so far, despite this looking like it might have been one of the bleakest years in the history of Gair Rhydd (and student media at large). We’re going to keep making them, and we’re going to keep proving to the student body that we’re the impartial standard bearers you deserve. For anybody who wants to allege otherwise, I’ve got three options for you - you should actually read the paper, come to our meetings and ask questions, or hold your peace.

Campus In Brief

Cardiff students banded together to defeat Vine star Dapper Laughs - an allegedly ‘sexist’ and sexually overconfident comedian who ironically shot to fame for his six-second performances. Dapper, known to his proud mother as Daniel O’Reilly, told a Cardiff student campaigning against his billed performance at Y Plas to “Fuck off” in a now deleted tweet.

The student senate, that opted to cancel O’Reilly’s performance in response to a petition set up by Cardiff student Vicky Chandler, passed nine of the ten proposed motions in their meet last Tuesday. These included a move to have a greater representation of LGBT and women in the Student’s Union, and an act to investigate the legitimacy of the so-called homeless cage on campus was passed. The only act not passed was to keep the role of VP Media and Marketing vacant for the academic year following the resignation of Tom Eden, with plans for by-elections underway.

Cardiff University became the first university in Wales to become a living-wage employer, with all employees now earning at least £7.85. It should be noted that students – employed by the Student’s Union and not the university directly, do not receive the living wage, a move justified by students’ council tax exceptions.

The Union hosted its annual dodgeball tournament to great success, with thirty-six teams in total taking part. Gair Rhydd’s editorial team neglected their duties on deadline night to compete in the tournament, and deservedly returned to the office having been comprehensively beaten in all five group matches. We dodged, dipped, ducked, dived and dodged - but to no avail.

A study conducted at Cardiff University by sociolinguist Dr. Mercedes Durham examined over 90,000 tweets to establish prevalent attitudes towards the Welsh accent. Some representative tweets were: “If the Welsh language were a person we would be dating” and “Dad said if I ever pick up a Welsh accent I’ll be banished from the family”. Dr. Durham said: “There are far more tweets from people who love the accent than any other type”. Wales can breathe again.

National

There was grim news in Wales last week, as a woman was murdered in an alleged act of cannibalism. The suspect in the killing, Matthew Williams, was also killed by a police taser. The incident took place in Blackwood, Caerphilly, located just 35 miles from Cardiff, with both people killed thought to be local to the area.

The House of Lords could be no more under plans outlined by Ed Milliband. The Labour leader said the current system “fails to represents larger parts of the UK”, and plans to replace it with an elected senate. Milliband himself is facing a backlash from within his own party, with at least two MPs reportedly voicing their concerns about his leadership qualities and his recent performance as leader to the chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

It wasn’t a fantastic week for those working in PR: David Cameron’s refusal to wear a t-shirt reading “This is what a feminist looks like” took a new twist as it was alleged that the garments themselves were made by people working in sweatshop conditions. Manufacturers of the £45 shirt refuted this immediately, but the story seems determined to stick around. Leader of the Opposition Milliband and political punchingbag/Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg opted to wear the shirts to great acclaim (said no-one ever).

A Daily Mail article revealed the results of a poll that showed that “the public think immigration, teenage pregnancies and unemployment are all much higher than reality”. Without a hint of irony the Mail chose to accompany this story about the public’s misconceptions over such issues (driven by certain newspapers that we won’t name) with the headline “How we are WRONG about everything”. Exceptional.

Shadow Immigration Minister and Welsh MP David Hanson appealed for the French to impose stricter border controls to prevent illegal immigrants reaching Calais. Meanwhile Britain opted to pull out of search and rescue operations to save drowning illegal immigrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean, an

act described as “a barbaric abandonment of British values”.

In much more horrific news to potential suitors around the world, actor Benedict Cumberbatch opted to announce his engagement to theatre director Sophie Hunter in The Times’ upcoming marriages section. Self-styled ‘Cumberbitches’ around the world took to social media to mourn, while the rest of us raised an eyebrow at the fact that announcement sections still exist, then got on with our lives.

World

In the United States the Republican Party have control of both the House of Senate and the House of Representatives for the first time since 2006, a vote that both indicates the continuing public wavering of support from President Obama, and makes his remaining two years in office a lot more difficult.

The public hysteria over Ebola looks like it won’t be coming to an end any time soon as the head of the UN mission charged with preventing the spread of the disease in West Africa said he doesn’t yet have the resources to do tackle the disease. While the UK is under no serious threat from the disease in spite of some doom-mongering reports, it has now claimed closing in on 5,000 lives and is undoubtedly a crisis in West Africa.

Richard Branson has been fighting to retain his public popularity in the light of the tragic Virgin Galactic test flight crash, which resulted in the death of the pilot. Branson, who seems determined to continue his dream of taking the ultra-wealthy on holidays in space, has been in the media more than usual – an unenviable task for the Virgin tycoon.

The name of the upcoming Star Wars film has been revealed to be “The Force Awakens”. The seventh instalment of the series, set for release in December 2015, is in the hands of Disney and director JJ Abrams for the first times, with fans split over the decision to once again revive the successful franchise.

Joe atkinson

Pictured: The student senate consider a motion

(Photographer: Students’ Union)

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Cont’d: Dapper Laughs ‘abuses’ Cardiff

students

Continued from front page

Petition creator Vicky Chandler said: “Georgia has had abuse and she only shared the petition, she wasn’t even the one who started it, so you can see how vile people can be.”

Talking about her own experience, she continued: “There has been some criticism of course, especially Daily Mail comments, but I have learnt not to look.”

The decision was made to cancel Dapper Laughs’ performance at the Student’s Union by the Student Senate on Tuesday 4th of November. This was despite appealing to all University students to vote on the matter by November 6th.

The additional motion to decide on the comedian’s performance within the Senate, instead of by referendum, was added to the meeting agenda by Ollie Wannell. Describing the referendum as ‘insensitive’, the vote was decided upon by the clear majority of senators.

During the Senate, SU President, Elliot Howells, stated that the Union could potentially lose £50,000 by cancelling the performance and ruin relations with event promoters.

However, it was a student-run petition produced by third year Vicky Chandler to ban the self-acclaimed ‘lad’ that first brought attention to the comedian’s proposed show. Gaining over 700 signatures in five

days, the petition condemned the Student’s Union for allowing Dapper Laughs to hold his ‘Socially Unacceptable’ tour in spite of its established ‘Anti-Lad Culture Policy’.

“We are not stopping him from performing full stop, just in the SU. He is welcome to his “comedy show” elsewhere in Cardiff”, Vicky said.

Cardiff Student’s Union was the only University affiliated venue to host the comedian, who has been described as ‘sexist’ and ‘misogynistic’ for his trivialisation of women and rape.

Women’s Officer, Laura Carter, denounced the Union for providing a ‘platform to share and encourage his sexist and misogynistic views and behaviour.’

‘To allow him to perform at the Union would undermine the Union’s Anti-Lad Culture policy and Zero Tolerance policy’ she said.

Fellow university students have also expressed their concerns about Dapper Laughs and his ‘lad culture’ legacy. Holly Duhig said: “so called ‘celebrities’ like Dapper Laughs contribute to a culture that continues to be misogynistic. It just reinforces the same behaviour.

“When women speak up against objectification they get backlash. I would definitely define cases such as the criticism against Georgia as abuse.”

Cardiff University accredited living wage employer status

Cardiff University has officially been accredited as a living wage employer, becoming the first university to gain ‘living wage employer’ status in Wales.

Since January staff at the University have been receiving £7.65 per hour, a raise from the national minimum wage of £6.50. Despite doing so for most of the year, the University has only recently been acknowledged as an official living wage employer by The Living Wage Foundation.

According to ITV Wales, around a quarter of Welsh workers are paid below living wage, a figure higher than any other region in the UK.

“It is a matter of basic fairness that people should get a wage

which is enough to live on,” said Cardiff University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Colin Riordan, who is reported to have earned £252,000 in 2012-2013.

“That’s why Cardiff University took the decision to pay all staff at least the living wage of £7.65 per hour from 1 January, 2014.”

He added that over the next coming months the hourly wage will rise to £7.85.

“Securing accreditation as an official Living Wage Employer sends a clear message that we value our staff and we hope we will act as an example to other Welsh employers.” said Prof Riordan.

Over the past ten years, The Living Wage campaign is believed to have helped an estimated 45,000 people out of poverty.

Protesting UCU staff to boycott marking

Amarking boycott has been established across the University in response to proposals to change pension schemes.

The protest, which started on Thursday November 6, will mean that academic staff will refuse to both set and mark exams and coursework.

The University and College Union announced the boycott on October 27th, which is active in 69 other universities across the UK. The protest will affect over 1.2 million students and was approved by a ballot of UCU members, with 87% of those who voted favouring action short of a strike.

However, the UCU has also warned universities of even greater

sanctions if pay is docked from the staff involved. Members expressed that the decision was made with the ‘greatest of reluctance’ and appealed to students to support the verdict.

The opposed changes to the pension scheme will see members loose thousands of pounds in retirement, and result in reduced benefits for both current and future staff.

The decision was defended by the USS (Universities Superannuation Scheme) and university employers, who explained that the changes are essential by law to guarantee the ‘sustainability’ of the scheme.

However, the UCU said that ‘detailed negotiations’ are needed to ‘solve the current impasse’.

General secretary, Sally Hunt, said: ‘the employers failed to convince us of the need for their dramatic changes or the reasons behind the methodology for its deficit reduction plan. Their proposals remain full of holes and the information they are apparently relying on to back them up keeps being exposed as misleading. ‘

The marking boycott has been supported by the Cardiff University Student’s Union, who have offered ‘support’ to the staff to ‘challenge unfair practices’.

However, concern has been expressed about industrial action that would have ‘unnecessarily and serous impacts on students’, particularly when graduating.

This boycott follows in the wake of extensive protests by the UCU during the last academic year in response to national staff wage disputes. Between October 2013 and Easter 2014, six strikes were held throughout the University, with lectures and seminars cancelled.

Protest also included a proposed marking boycott in April 2014 that threatened the grading of third year dissertations and exams and ultimately questioned the possibility of graduation.

However, the boycott was resolved following an offer to increase staff salaries by 2% during the current academic year, in comparison to the previous offer of a 1% pay rise.

It is a matter of basic fairness that people should get a wage which is enough to live on

Vice-Chancellor, Prof Colin Riordan

Anna Lewis

Katie Evans

Good letting and good livable housing conditions shouldn’t be an aspirational thing

Sam Hickman, graduate and event organiser

Campaign launches to target rogue lettings agents

Home Sweet Home working alongside residents to improve student housing in Cathays

Students and local residents have united in the fight against rogue letting agents in Cathays with the launch of a community-led housing campaign.

On Sunday, 2nd November, dismayed renters gathered in Milgi’s cafe, City Rd, to share their housing experiences and outline a blueprint to initiate change with Home Sweet Home, the community organisation spearheading the campaign.

Common complaints included issues of cleanliness and safety, exploitation of students, unnecessary fees and a lack of awareness of tenants’ rights.

Poor housing has affected students as well as local residents for years, but things are set to change. Collaborating with Cardiff University’s Students’ Union, local councillors and an Assembly Member, Home Sweet Home will be targeting letting agents and landlords accused of poor practice.

Home Sweet Home is part of the wider non-profit organisation Movement for Change, which aims to help people take action to improve their communities. Nicknamed ‘the student village’, there are a large number of rental properties in Cathays, singling it out as a problem area when it comes to housing issues and letting agents.

Most students are first-time renters, leaving them vulnerable to illegal or dubious practices. Of those who attended the event, some said they had felt rushed into signing the contract for their house and pressured into renting early out of fear all the good houses would be gone soon - a common complaint.

Sarah, one of campaign’s lead organisers, shared her renting story: “I started renting in Cardiff about four years ago when I came to university.

My first experience of renting was in a six-bedroom house, which we signed in the December of our first year.

“We were rushing to signing the contract because we were told that

Aif we didn’t sign immediately, all the good houses would be gone. Obviously I now know this is not true.”

Jenny Rathbone, Assembly Member for Cardiff Central, also attended the event and spoke about supporting changes in legislation to prevent housing problems in the future.

“One of the things we’ve done in the National Assembly is we have actually legislated to regulate the private renting sector a lot more” said Rathborne.

“ e Housing Act, once it takes effect, will require all landlords to register, and in order to register they’ve got to do at least a one-day course which makes it clear to them what they’re expectations and responsibilities are.

“If they don’t register, they are not then eligible to receive rent, so it’s quite a strong incentive.”

She also described some landlords as “on the edge of legality.”

When told about half rent fees as a standard practice amongst student lettings, Rathborne expressed disbelief that tenants pay rent despite not living in the property, especially when letting agents and landlords justify half rent summer fees as funding repairs to the property over the summer months when, on moving in, students find the property is dirty or in a poor state.

Rathborne described the practice of summer half rent as bordering on illegal, exclaiming “ is is outrageous and exploiting students”.

e general consensus was that students ‘put up with it’, accepting that, at some stage, they will live in sub-par conditions whilst renting at university.

To prevent future housing horror stories, attendees suggested the launch of a ‘local good landlord award’ to encourage good practice and identify

outstanding letting agents and landlords for prospective renters.

Unknown to many, a blacklist of letting agents and landlords is available to the public and prospective tenants are encouraged to consult the blacklist prior to renting.

Home Sweet Home are actively encouraging students to get involved with the campaign and make a change, urging people: “We need you to get behind us so that things will change, because this effects everyone.”

Recent graduate and one of the event’s organisers, Sam Hickman, described how good housing stories “shouldn’t be the exception [and] shouldn’t be this wonderful fairytale idea we all aim for. at should be what is actually expected and the norm”, adding “good letting and good livable housing conditions shouldn’t be an aspirational thing.”

Cathays gets blazed: fire uncovers cannabis factory

fire in the heavily student populated district of Cathays has led authorities to discover the presence of a small cannabis factory.

e blaze, which broke out at around mid-day on Saturday, 1st November, occurred in the flat above the former Bobby’s Beds store at the northern end of Crwys Road.

In gaining entry to the building and tackling the outbreak, fire fighters discovered the likely culprit – a collection of drug paraphernalia and around one hundred and fifty cannabis plants. ree fire engines were dispatched to deal with the flames, which were safely extinguished by around 2pm that afternoon.

Once the immediate danger had been dealt within and traffic flow around the scene had been returned to

normal, the site was handed over the police for further investigation.

e property was subsequently cordoned off for a full examination, with onlookers witnessing experts leaving the building carrying several brown bags.

South Wales Police confirmed that they have yet to make any arrests in connection with the plants.

e discovery has served to exacerbate concerns regarding student drug use, with some within the academic community expressing the view that recreational drugs are now commonplace.

Last month Gair Rhydd published a survey in which two-thirds of Cardiff University students confessed to using illegal drugs, 81% of them whilst enrolled at the institution.

e fire is not the first of its kind in the Welsh capital, with an almost identical incident occurring in Grangetown in April 2013.

Another farm was discovered in a disused psychiatric unit at Whitchurch hospital in August of this year, whilst

£250,000 of cannabis was seized by police in city-wide raids back in July.

Cathays councillor Chris Weaver told the South Wales Echo that the fire “shows the danger of these illegal factories and the police need to be vigilant about where they are”.

Students and residents attending the Home Sweet Home event call for improvements in rented housing

In the run up to Housing Week, Gair Rhydd will be investigating student housing conditions. If you have an experience regarding student housing that you wish to share, contact us at news@ gairrhydd.com

Pictured:

Alex Norton

Katie Evans

Georgia Hamer

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Student Senate: How their decisions affect you

Senate call for the cancellation of Dapper Laughs, a by-election for VP Media & Marketing, responsible drinking training for society and sports commitee members and an investigation into the ‘anti-homeless cage’s legitimacy as a safety measure

The first Student Senate meeting of the academic year took place last Tuesday, raising a number of controversial issues.

The agenda, set out prior to the meeting, was packed full with ten items and a further motion was added on the night.

The additional motion, introduced by Ollie Wannell, proposed that the student wide vote on whether or not the Students’ Union should cancel Dapper Laughs’ upcoming show in Y Plas should be overruled and the show cancelled regardless of the outcome.

In his reasoning Wannell argued that letting the show go ahead would go against the Union’s anti-lad policy.

The motion passed with only one member of the board voting to reject it. Subsequently, Dapper Laughs will no longer be allowed to perform at the Students’ Union.

Second on the agenda was the approval of Student Trustees, a motion submitted by Elliot Howells, Students’ Union President and President & Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Earlier this year, interviews were held and three students were selected as Student Trustees. The motion required the Student Senate to ratify these selected students and passed with little discussion.

The third and most controversial motion of the night concerned the vacant position of VP Media and Marketing.

On 21st October, Tom Eden stepped down from the position with immediate effect. The motion, submitted by Elliot Howells, proposed that the role should remain vacant for the remainder of the academic year.

The Union’s by-laws outline that, in the event of an Executive Officer-elect resigning, the position shall be filled as soon as possible or left unfilled if deemed appropriate by the Student Council.

In the event of a by-election, the successful candidate would be required to take up the full-time position part way through the year and disrupt their studies, a point outlined in the motion.

Howells also noted that holding a

by-election mid-way through the year would receive nominal interest and a significantly lower voter turnout than the main elections.

A full review of the structure of Student Media was scheduled to go ahead this year, prior to Eden’s resignation and is currently underway.

For the remainder of the academic year it was proposed that Student Media be controlled by students and Michael O’Connell Davidson should remain Editor of Gair Rhydd – following his appointment as such by Tom Eden. Davidson previously served as the deputy editor of the publication.

Members of the Student Senate argued that the decision to appoint a student Editor was not democratic and that a by-election should be held, despite concerns raised by Howells.

The motion was rejected with 9 members of the board voting to approve it and 15 voting to reject it. A further 2 members abstained, stating that they did not feel they had been given enough information on the

situation in order to make an informed decision.

A proposal to postpone the vote until all members were fully informed was rejected.

As a result a by-election is set to take place towards the end of this semester. At the earliest, a new VP Media and Marketing (who would also be Editor of Gair Rhydd) would be elected by next semester.

Following this was a motion to adopt the NUS Wales’ national Welsh language charter, a motion submitted by Welsh Language Officer, Steffan Bry Jones.

The motion followed research conducted by NUS Wales which showed that the majority of students are in favour of improving the Welsh language provision in Wales’ university student unions and passed with all members of the board approving it.

A motion to increase the representation of LGBT+ Women in the Students Union, submitted by Sam Cook, LGBT+ Officer, also passed with the overwhelming majority of

All tickets subject to booking fee

The Blackout 11/11/14, £13.00 ADV

November January February

Neck Deep 26/01/15, £10.50 ADV

Lit 13/11/14, £17.50 ADV

Passenger 16/11/14 - SOLD OUT

Courteeners 17/11/14, £19.50

Suicide Silence 20/11/14, £12.00 ADV

Treatment ft. Annie Mac 21/11/14 - SOLD OUT

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members voting in favour.

The motion proposed that no one individual can work to represent the needs of all LGBT+ identities and that splitting the role would increase the representation of women elected in the officer teams and encourage more women to run in the student elections.

A motion to remove ‘and campaigns’ from the VP Societies job title also passed with all members voting in favour.

The motion was introduced by current VP Societies and Campaigns Officer, Barney Willis, who argued that the job title should be changed so that it is in time with what the job actually entails.

Following this the discussion was directed towards a motion submitted by Timothy Nagel who, concerning alcohol awareness, argued that the Students Union should work with the University to develop a substance use policy that staff and students can refer to should a problem be identified.

How the Union brands events where alcohol is sold was also called in to question. Nagel argued that events such as ‘The Lash’ - which has now been rebranded - and ‘Drink The Bar Dry’ may be perceived as promoting irresponsible drinking.

The motion also proposed that the training of society and sports club committee members should incorporate an aspect of responsible drinking to be considered when

organising social events.

The motion passed with two members choosing to abstain and all further members voting in favour of the proposal.

Up next was an issue which has been hotly debated in recent weeks. This was a motion concerning the University’s approach to homelessness, sparked by the decision to erect a ‘antihomeless cage’ over a hot vent outside of the Biosciences building which was previously used by homeless people as a source of warmth.

It was argued that, in the wake of the media backlash, the University should be seen to do something positive for the homeless community in Cardiff.

Lowri Pritchard, who submitted the motion, suggested introducing a food bank system – offering a dropoff point to the Union where students can take unwanted food and clothes to which could then be donated to homeless charities.

The motion also stated that the cage should be ‘removed immediately’. This was amended following discussion and a decision was made by the Senate to first investigate the University’s claims that the cage was erected as a safety measure to protect homeless people from harmful gases emitted from the vent.

The amended motion passed with all members’ approval.

The final motion proposed that the Students Union should support People

and Planet’s Fossil free campaign, request quarterly updates of the University’s investment portfolio and lobby the University to end all future investment in fossil fuel companies and divest from fossil fuel companies immediately.

The motion passed with all members in agreement.

Two motions were cut from the agenda due to time constraints. The decision was made to remove the ‘Integration of Foreign Students’ and ‘Networking’ motions so that they could be sufficiently discussed at a later senate meeting.

It was argued that, in the wake of the media backlash, the University should be seen to do something positive for the homeless community in Cardiff

Kirsty Fardell

ADVICE

Welcome to our new Advice section, where we bring you the latest and greatest tips for not merely surviving, but properly living in Cardiff over the next year

Worried about burglaries? Here’s what you need to know to stop them

As Cathays is primarily a student area, and November and December have had the highest level of reported crime over the last few years, it is worth protecting yourself for the coming months. Burglary in the student population is something everyone has an experience of, whether they have

been burgled themselves or if they know someone who has.

During December a lot of students travel home for a few weeks and the burglars know this, making student houses a prime target. ey also know that students have expensive laptops, cash, big TV’s and all sorts of electrical equipment which can

Make the most of your fi nal year

Or, how to be a “yes” person

easily be turned into profit that sit behind the weak front doors of empty houses. Our houses are also mostly very neglected and lack any sort of security, from questionable locks to weak windows - so the best thing you can do is be extra vigilant. Make sure you keep your doors and windows locked when you go out,

and be careful not to leave your expensive valuables visible through windows. It’s definitely worth asking your landlord to improve the locks on your front door or add one to your own bedroom door that you can lock from the outside if you’re particularly concerned about their strength. ink about your rubbish: when you buy something valuable, don’t leave the empty box packaging on display outside your house. Instead, break them down and bag them up. Leave a light on when the house is empty and always take in the mail that gets stuck in your letter box. ieves often watch houses to see how much activity they display, so keep it obvious that your houses is lived in around the clock.

If you really feel unsafe in your house then it may be worth getting together with your housemates to buy a small stick-on alarm for under £20. They stick to the inside of doors so they won’t leave a mark and are completely fool-proof. When turned on, they react to the movement of the door and produce a deafening noise. Placing them on the inside of the front door or even your bedroom door will give you some peace of mind even if you’re home - you’ll know someone is entering instantly. A burglar is less likely to continue entering your house if they hear the extremely loud and irritating noise from the device, so your house will also be more secure when you leave for Christmas.

A street in Cathays (Source: Zureks, Wikimedia Commons)

Kirsty Fardell

TWhat do you think? Have your say: letters@ gairrhydd. com

hird year has rocked up a lot quicker than anticipated for many and the year is powering on at full speed. Planning to come to university meant having a mental list of achievements you wanted to do - for some it was joining a particular society or getting involved in a sports team, while others just wanted to get a first class degree. It may seem too late to do these things still, but as students, this is the period of our lives where we have the most time on our hands, so with a little help you can still make the most of it and tick some things off your checklist. All the societies you could possibly want to join are still out there, being

run by the students who were getting involved earlier on in their student lives, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to get involved. Maybe you really appreciate Anime or Harry Potter and want to meet some likeminded people or just want to play poker on a regular basis, or perhaps you want to meet people of the same heritage as you - there are societies for all manner of things. It’s also easy to join. Find their group on Facebook and message them about joining, then find their page on the Student’s Union website to pay for the membership. You’re unlikely to get turned away because the general spirit of most societies is that the more people who get involved, the

When you buy something valuable, don’t leave the empty box packaging on display outside your house

“ ”

Dobby at a Cardiff Anime Society social, enjoying house elf retirement (Source: Cardiff Anime Society, Facebook)

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better the society will be. ere is also a huge array of music societies for those who want to share their musical talent, or try and find one. e A Capella society once turned into a flash mob in e Taf, and the drama society Act One have their own variety show. ere are also a whole range of different dance societies and instrumental societies that might take your interest.

Maybe you want to get involved in student media? at’s easy to do also. You just have to turn up to meetings and join the Facebook group, and make it known that you

want to get involved. ere are also political societies for those who want to represent and promote their political views, and religious societies for anyone who wants to proactively engage with their faith. Your first two years of mostly relaxing and working may have taken a toll on your physical health, and going to your lecture on the third floor feels like climbing Everest. Get involved in a sports team, most schools have quite a few - so search for them on Facebook to find the right sport for you. is is your last year - and there is

no changing that. If your social life isn’t quite what it used to be and the hangovers are getting worse, then use this time to see your uni friends for meals or more casual nights. It’s rare in life to have this much time and live so close to everyone, so take advantage of it. Be a ‘yes’ person, pick up all the opportunities you can, and put yourself out there. It is your last year of uni life and you could end up looking back on your time at university wondering what you spent your time doing. So make sure to do things you’ll remember and still talk about in the years to come.

How do you deal with someone on drugs?

The student population is known for being a breeding ground for experimental drug use, and most people have had to deal with drugs in some way. For many, university is their first exposure to drug use and it can come as quite a shock. Perhaps you’ll end up living with someone who regularly smokes cannabis or even uses something more potent, and then brings their friends round who are into the same thing. is can be quite unnerving for someone who hasn’t been faced with anyone on drugs before, particularly as you’re aware of what could go wrong.

Sometimes things do go wrong, though, and those who are sober end up in difficult situations. Many students have had this experience: whether in a club or just walking home,

most of us have been approached by someone who clearly has too much of something in their system. It can be awkward and worrying.

Anti-social behaviour makes up more than a quarter of all reported crime in Cathays every year, so it pays to be aware. e obvious signs of someone on drugs include bloodshot eyes, large pupils, extreme sweating, being talkative, restlessness, slow response, gurning and erratic behaviour. And in any situation, it is best to avoid them.

Often these people may try and corner you in the smoking area or at the bar of a club and it is definitely unwanted attention. It is best to just walk away - you don’t know the person, so don’t worry about what they think about you, just get yourself

out of the situation before it gets more uncomfortable. If they persist, always report them to a bouncer as clubs don’t want these people to be there since it will bring them a bad reputation, so they will more than likely be kicked out.

If you’re walking somewhere and come across someone who appears to be under the influence of drugs and is trying to approach you, the best thing you can do is go somewhere with other people - dart into a shop and hopefully that will divert the attention away from you. If it’s late at night and you’re on your own then always keep calm and keep ignoring their advances. Have your keys ready for your house, but try and shake off the person before you get to your front door so as not to reveal your address.

e most important thing is to stay calm and draw on your friends for help. Even grab a stranger in the hope that they’ll recognise the situation and help you.

Bloodshot eyes, large pupils, extreme sweating, being talkative, restlessness, slow response, gurning and erratic behaviour

Kirsty Fardell

Pictured: Ewan McGregor (Source: soooulwanderer. blogspot.com)

Pictured: Hannah Sterritt playing at the Jam at Wales Beer Festival (Source: Cardiff University Rowing Club, Facebook)

FOR: Anne Porter

Wearing a poppy is a simple sign of respect for those who fought for our country. Without their bravery and sacrifice we would not have survived

TFOR & AGAINST THE POPPY PRESENCE

Should international students feel obliged to wear poppies?

he red poppy has come to symbolise remembrance for our fallen soldiers, from World War One in particular. While I do not think that the concept of a poppy is a perfect one, I do believe that international students should wear one, just as British people do, if they understand and respect the need for one.

Wearing a poppy is a simple sign of respect for those who fought for our country. Without their bravery and sacrifice we would not have survived as a nation. A generation of young men was obliterated, while those left behind were left shaken and would never forget the images that World War One imprinted on their minds.

It was not only men who fought in our World Wars; the service of young women should not be forgotten either. They provided invaluable service to the war effort that helped to keep our country moving forward in a time of devastation. The women’s war effort helped them gain the vote in 1918. We should use the poppy symbol to remember all those who had a part in both World War One and World War Two, and conflicts that have taken place ever since. The animals that have served for us should also be remembered (and that includes more than the cute rescue dogs included in Help for Heroes adverts).

The poppy symbol loses its potency when people attempt to hijack it. It has been argued that

poppies are reflections of political and religious motives. The Royal Legion, the charity who pioneered the poppy symbol remembrance movement, argue that poppies are not meant for this purpose. Nor, as their website argues, are they meant to symbolise death. Wearing a red poppy shows that you are remembering those who fought for us, not only those who died for us. This is just one reason why I feel so passionately about the fact that international students should wear them. It is respectful to show people that you are aware of how a nation has been shaped into its current form. If we all wore a poppy to remember those who fought for us, the symbol would become even more powerful than it already is.

I should also mention who we remember when we wear poppies. We should remember all the soldiers who have fought for us, no matter which war that has been in. That is why international students should wear poppies, to respect all of those involved in wars. Those whom without the nation in which they have chosen to study would not be the same, there can be no denying.

‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them’ so says the last two lines of the Ode to Remembrance. This often follows the Last Post played as another sign of respect to all fallen soldiers. Everybody should remember those who have played a part in conflict for us, no matter who they are.

The wearing of poppies in the British Isles has become a national phenomenon. I would not regard myself as patriotic, and do not look back at previous wars over the past one hundred years or so and take part in the tabloid point scoring of how many wars ‘Great’ Britain has won. I do, however, wear a poppy every year to support the British Legion with their fantastic work and remember the millions who perished, especially in the case of the First World War, and in further wars since. I believe in remembering this extraordinary piece of history, bravery and sacrifice.

However, I do not think that this should be forced upon any person. As mentioned earlier, the poppy is a very British concept. Despite the idea of the poppy forming originally in America in modern times it is only really used for Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day in the UK and Canada. The wearing of the famous symbol, which grew first in the fields of Flanders after the First World War ended, is part of the annual imagery alongside the service at the Cenotaph of the Unknown Soldier. It is all part of a unique fragment of European history. It has become a British institution, one that Jon Snow has called “poppy fascism” with many media and political figures required to wear one to defend themselves from a sense of patriotic blasphemy. In Germany it is not treated the same; there are many arguments why this is the case, although this is not the setting to do it. The German people also suffered greatly in both world wars, however they do not have a similar poppy tradition. This is not due to the fact that the

Germans are bitter, it is merely that it is different culturally. And this should certainly not mean that any German student studying in this country should feel as if they have to wear a poppy just because they are in Britain.

I view the First World War, in particular, as four years where nearly a whole generation was thrown into a world of machine gun bullets, shell fire and nearly wiped out entirely; it changed Britain as a country in so many ways. International students from around the globe will probably not understand this concept if they are not brought up, educated, and fed through many media channels the direct consequences of the wars of the twentieth century.

If an international student does grasp this then by all means they can wear a poppy to show respect or an understanding of what it is meant to symbolise. But there are many people in the UK who do not bother or simply do not understand the whole concept of remembrance. I have had at least two people ask me when “poppy day” is.

The poppy should not be forced on students from across the world. We do not commemorate the Vietnam War, Iran-Iraq War, the Purges of Russia, or even British atrocities from South Africa, to Kenya, to India. We should start respecting the views of others who are in our nation.

As long as there is no disrespect or ill feeling, it is up to international students to decide if it is fitting for them to wear what is a covertly British tradition that, let’s be honest, in some circumstances has become more of a fashionable asset for two poignant weeks in November.

AGAINST: Peter Budd

I believe in remembering this extraordinary piece of history, bravery and sacrifice. However, I do not think that this should be forced upon any person

Pictured: Poppies at a memorial Photographer: meg_nicol, Flickr

Charley Griffiths

COMMENT

Cathays: the rear end of Cardiff

I’m finding it hard to accept that the money couldn’t have been spent on something slightly more necessary

A

s a second year living in the heart of Cathays, it is easy to see why it is famed for being dirty. My walk to lectures has me frequently stepping over countless bin bags and discarded chip boxes, and once, rather bizarrely, a smashed TV with a hammer in. e

first time my boyfriend came to visit me, he said it looked like a scene from ‘28 Days Later’. But is this to be expected from a student area? I certainly think so.

When I really think about it, it is not surprising it looks like this. I live in a house of eight, and it’s safe to say

Great expectations: were the Uni’s investments worth it?

As the ASSL renovations drag on into the first semester, Gair Rhydd looks at how fairly Cardiff is investing in its students

It was part of the £3.4 million plan to reinvent the face of Cardiff University, with the renovation of the second floor of the Students’ Union and the recent work on the Arts and Social Studies Library (ASSL).

Thanks to the complete refurbishment, the former Solus nightclub now boasts a bar sprawling over the entire back wall, a balcony, and a complete interior design makeover you wouldn’t have previously associated with the grimy glory of the Union, including wooden panelling and leather booths, creating a more versatile venue with Y Plas. The food on offer has got much better. There is now a noodle and salad bar, a ‘snack shack’ and even a student friendly-priced Starbucks, replacing The Kitchen which was tired and dated.

Altogether, it looks fresher and feels modernised. However, as nostalgia kicks in, it feels exceedingly hard to accept that these extortionately expensive changes needed to

happen; like an old dog, part of the Union’s beauty was also its flaws. There was no need for an amazing nightclub venue when you knew every week it would deliver something hilarious anyway. There is no need for the addition of spiral stairs, which may look good, yet with a mix of vodka and loss of inhibitions, are just asking for broken bones. There was never a need to fear whether a bottle would slam on your head from the new balcony, which can’t help but make the dance floor reminiscent of a vulture pit, with people circling looking down over you; whilst you’re probably not in your finest hour, may I add. Was it all really necessary? People were going to turn up, despite the looks. You’d be hard pressed to find a student who would boycott a Wednesday night due to the lack of wooden paneling or leather sofas. The ASSL has even had a little makeover: it has new barriers to let students in, new tables downstairs, machines to take out your

we produce a hell of a lot of rubbish between us. We cook separate meals, and order a lot of takeaways. Let’s not even mention how many bottles and cans we get through. I can assume many other student houses are similar. With black bags only being collected once a fortnight, it really does pile up on the street. It’s windy, it’s rainy, combined with cheap bin liners: cue rubbish everywhere the next morning. Not just ours either, but the whole street.

e inside of our house (again, assuming most other houses as well) isn’t much better. We currently have the ‘Leaning Tower of Pizza (Boxes) ’over our bin, and I am pretty sure the collection of dirty pans and plates has been there since we moved in. I remember going for house viewings last year as a hopeful fresher. My dreams of finding a cute house to call our home were quickly deflated. One of the places we looked at actually looked like squatters had been living in there, and the whole place needed a big dose of antibacterial spray. We managed to find a decent house in the end, but it has definitely been, shall we say, ‘lived in’. I don’t know why I thought it would be any different, as Talybont wasn’t exactly the cleanest

either. Anyone else who lived there will perhaps remember the countless trolleys everywhere. Not to mention all the random mattresses abandoned on Colum Road.

e truth is, I have got so used to it, I don’t really notice anymore. I feel slightly bad for the families that have braved living in Cathays, but maybe it should be expected when living in a student dominated area. Cathays in the summer is very different. I moved some of my things into my house over the holidays, and was one of the first to move back in for the beginning of term. I was shocked to see how much quieter and cleaner everything was when no students lived there. I think my parents actually said it was “surprisingly nice”. ey are in for a shock when they pick me up for Christmas.

In all honesty, I think it is something we just have to deal with. It is never going to get any better - I challenge you to find anyone willing to clean it all up - perhaps a snow plough scooping up the rubbish? Cathays is otherwise a pretty good place to live, with a great atmosphere and all your friends in one convenient place. I think I can overlook Cathays’ grubbiness for now.

own books...and the rest remains a bit blurry. The ASSL was in desperate need of a lick of paint, yet I’m finding it hard to accept that the money couldn’t have been spent on something slightly more necessary, such as, I don’t know-more computers? More coffee machines? They are definitely of higher importance in my mind. Maybe a student vote would have been a useful insight to gauge what was desired from the ‘improvements’. I wonder what the outcome would have been from that.

Despite the nostalgia clinging to the former Union, and the questions over the ASSL, there is no denying they look good. Yes, if the University had saved their £3.4 million, without doubt the Wednesday and

Saturday nights would still be full, but who doesn’t like a bit of luxury every now and then? The food outlets are a world of improvement. The ASSL at least looks better. If it’s there for the taking, there’s no good reason we shouldn’t welcome it with open arms. They may come under fire for spending so much money on the renovations of the Students’ Union, when other educational aspects need investment, yet with the effort to restore the ASSL, they have at least tried. The whole feeling of the University has improved, and that, in a sense, is the most important thing. If the only thing that these renovations have done is associate a more positive vibe with the Union and ASSL, I dare say it was worth it.

I’m finding it hard to accept that the money couldn’t have been spent on something slightly more necessary “

What do you think? Have your say: letters@ gairrhydd. com

Sarah Barltop

Pictured: Glynrhondda Street in Cathays

Skinny shaming

proves there’s no perfect body shape

Why do we struggle to accept body shapes and just accept that we are all different?

Issues of body shape, and that of women in particular, have been raised quite frequently as of late. Topshop has recently come under fire for promoting size 0 mannequins in their store, leading to a social networking storm regarding who is body shamed in everyday life and particular body sizes.

I am happy and healthy, but I am constantly pushed towards clothes that make me look skinnier or told that to be more attractive to potential suitors that I should try to lose weight. is is fat shaming. Should the size of my stomach or the shape of my thighs affect the way I see myself as a person? is is the kind of pressure all girls are put under, as this works in the exactly same way in regards to slim women.

Men do not get off lightly, either. A muscular, toned body is now being presented to society, especially by the media, as the ideal type. But obviously there exists more than one shape - from long and lanky to short and stocky. So why

should one body shape be favoured over another?

Meghan Trainor’s body image related song ‘All About at Bass’ a few months ago also sparked debate on female body image. Lyrics such as ‘I see the magazines working that Photoshop, we know that shit ain’t real’ try to show that the media are portraying images that are completely fake. Indeed this is true due to the prevalance of airbrushing. is idealised beauty in the media has been rather biased towards bodies of a slender disposition than that of a curvaceous figure. More recently fuller figured women have started to stand up against this discrimination. Unfortunately, this type of championing of their own bodies can lead to the shaming of all slim women, bringing other people down in order to lift themselves up.

Eating disorder anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate among any mental health condition. Due to some highly publicised cases of size 0 models acquring eating disorders, including

anorexia, being slim has connotations of death and illness. In turn this has led to this slimmer body shape being shamed in the same way a larger body would; for being unhealthy. It could be said that there is indeed no perfect body shape; only too skinny or too fat. Shaming people for having a figure that they cannot help could be seen to be as bad as racism or sexism, as this is not a factor that people choose, nor one they should be ashamed of.

ough certainly an uncommon clothes size to be, size 0 (a UK size 4) is a body type that can be displayed by perfectly healthy women. ese women tend to also be quite petite, which in turn leads to them being in proportion for their weight, but media outcry in the last 10 years has shamed all women of this size for being anorexic. Trainor’s hit labels all women not of plus size as ‘skinny bitches’ and comments on how men prefer women with fuller figures to that of a ‘Barbie doll’. ese are all examples of skinny

shaming, insults aimed at people who ‘ain’t no size two’ as Trainor puts it, easily putting down one set of people in order to motivate another.

Topshop’s exceedingly skinny mannequin promotes the exact opposite of Trainor’s hit, that skinny is the way our bodies should be. is could lead young girls to be confused as to what body image to idealise and possibly lead to a number of self esteem issue in the youth of today, when in reality there is no right shape or size to be. Girls with naturally slender frames are just as beautiful as girls with big hips and shoulders, as is everything in between.

What’s abundantly clear is that shaming, both skinny and fat, needs to stop. If we are sending out message that people should be judged solely on appearance, we may as well prepare ourselves now for a world full of shallow, self-conscious teens who are quick to tear another person down just to feel good about themselves.

Video game journalism is corrupt

But so is all journalism, and Gamergate won’t fi x that

Michael O’Connell Davidson

As somebody interested in the media (and video games more generally), I’ve watched the “Gamergate” scandal very closely. And why would I not? It’s claimed the scalps and job titles of some of my favourite people in the industry. Chris Plante, Phil Fish, the names go on and on - and that’s just the men. Countless women have had personal information revealed and locations leaked, some of whom don’t have anything to do with video games.

It’s driving away people with the power to change things for the better

Winding back a couple of months, Gamergate began as a scandal surrounding a minor game developer, and slowly transformed into a larger conspiracy where all game developers and games journalists were all over acquainted and in cahoots with one another. OK, fine, but it’s hard to imagine why they wouldn’t be; journalists are typically very close to their sources, and there aren’t very many sources or games journalists worth speaking of, so naturally the talent pool is going to be pretty small and pretty connected.

at’s not defending nepotism or bad practice, but assessing the reality of a profession in crisis.

I have no doubt that there are some individuals who have used the hashtag “#gamergate” and genuinely cared about journalistic ethics. But the trouble with journalism is that most people assume that something’s wrong if it doesn’t perfectly reflect their point of view. at’s why press releases are so anodyne - communications departments aren’t there to be challenged. ey’re designed to shape the message so that it can’t be chal- lenged.

Much of the criticism I have seen of games journalists and games journalism is centring on the fact that they are producing more challenging work. Leigh Alexander, who’s written about video games for a long time, declared that gamers were “over.” If somebody spoke to you and told you that “students” were over, I wouldn’t expect you to like it, but I wouldn’t expect you to start or participate in a twitter hashtag that ended up seeing people

driven out of their homes and into hiding.

e real issue with games journalism is that it’s journalism, and journalism isn’t in a good place right now. e political economy of websites like Gamespot and IGN is such that a small cabal of advertisers and media companies dominate the agenda - and it’s like that everywhere. e amount of PR and advertising copy that makes it into the news and isn’t marked as such is practically scandalous, yet nobody’s saying a thing.

Is that because there’s a conspiracy of silence at work? Maybe. Maybe everybody’s too scared to say that their hands are dirty, too. But if you read some work by Nick Davies about how much trash actually goes to print, you’d realise that video game journalism isn’t the problem - it’s the whole damn media, and as it stands right now, with no clear aims and a series of casualties to its name, Gamergate isn’t helping. It’s driving away people with the power to change things for the better.

What’s abundantly clear is that shaming both skinny and fat needs to stop

Em Gates

Pictured: Feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian, one of those subject to threats by Gamergate supporters

Pictured: A skinny Topshop mannequin (right)

JASON ROBERTS VS THE WORLD

Food, labourious food

How to survive university without starving

Jason Roberts

Last week I had Weetabix for breakfast. Normally this wouldn’t be a particularly memorable occasion, but last week was different. It started like any other day. I woke up, stared blankly at my food cupboard (which is 90% condiments and assorted herbs) for about twenty minutes, before salvaging the last two flaky brown discs from the back of my cupboard. I threw away the packaging and placed them into the last clean bowl in the house. I then walked over to the fridge and opened it, only to find that there was no milk. I tried to salvage the packaging from the bin, only for it to re-emerge covered in a mysterious goo. So they had to be eaten. And for anyone who’s had dry Weetabix before, you’ll know that it’s eating tiny fragments of glass, only with less taste. I was left with one choice: water. I bundled the slurry into the microwave and it came out looking, very literally, like a steaming pile of shit.

The first mouthful was the worst. That’s not to say that the rest were significantly better. But that initial first offering will haunt my dreams until the day I die. I have no doubt that in 20 years I will wake up in a cold sweat screaming “WHY, OH DEAR FUCKING JESUS, WHY WOULD ANYTHING TASTE LIKE THAT.” I can’t really recount the taste because 1) there are no words in the English language, or any other language for that matter, that can even begin to accurately describe it, and 2) there’s a chance that I will

have a PTSD-related flashback and start crying uncontrollably.

There is no pleasure in eating at university. It is an ordeal. It is a trial, every single damn day. It’s not really a question of, “What do I want to eat today?” but more “How can I avoid starvation without getting food poisoning today?” The problem comes down to three factors: time, money, and your own regard for your personal health. Firstly, time. You want to cook and eat well, but you can’t spend two days conjuring something that would make Heston Blumenthal weep salty tears of jealousy and rage. You’re a busy person. Busy people eat meals that take no more than half an hour, from the initial opening of the fridge to the last morsel being crammed through your slobbering maw. The problem is so many recipes give you the false hope of cooking wondrous fare in minutes. “EASY MEALS IN 10 MINUTES,” they proclaim. These are nothing but fables, because they never take into account all the boring necessities that cooking entails. For one, you actually have to go shopping and get your food. So you either have to walk your lazy carcass to the big Tesco by Talybont, or wait at Lidl for an hour because they never have more than 2 tills open. Then there’s the actual preparation of food. Washing stuff, chopping stuff, getting stuff out of the fridge and the cupboard, there was even one recipe in a book I had last year that wanted me to

marinade something the night before cooking it. A WHOLE 24 HOURS BEFOREHAND. This is assuming you’ve remembered to get everything at the supermarket anyway, which is fine when you’re cooking on the day of your visit, but three days later nobody remembers what they have left lying around. There was another recipe in a different (but similarly premised) book that operated under the assumption that I had essence of rose water lying around in my cupboard. If you’re a student with essence of rose water in your cupboard, you should do the decent thing and apologise to your parents for being a catastrophic disappointment. Then there’s money. Or more accurately, the lack of it. Basically, you’re broke as hell. You spent all your money when your loan came in, and now you’re walking round at pre-drinks tipping glasses upside down and collecting any pennies that fall out. So any actual nice food you might want is way out of the question. Nothing but ready meals all the way for you. And not the good ones either. We’re talking about the ones where the best part of the meal is the box that it came in.

It’s a constant paradox. You want to eat relatively healthily, but you don’t have the money or time to do so. So instead you want to eat quickly and cheaply but then you have to choose either a takeaway or a ready meal, both with as much nutritional value as AIDS . So this

is obviously going to impact your personal health. You either have to make the choice to eat sparingly but healthily, knowing that you might have to start asking strangers on the street for £2 a month to help you get through the winter. Or you can spend the rest of the year shopping at Iceland until you’re too big to fit through the automatic doors. You can’t win.

If you don’t want to starve and dissolve, or explode and have your body be melted down and made into the world’s biggest candle, the only option is exercise. I’m not saying you have to go and run until you collapse in a heap of sweat and fluorescent nylon, but go and do something. ANYTHING. I will never believe someone when they tell me that they hate exercise. They just haven’t found a type of exercise that they enjoy. The best form of exercise is when you’re not even aware that you’re doing it. That’s why running is the worst, because there’s never a moment when you’re not thinking “I hope that my heart gives out soon, because at least I’d be able to stop doing this.” Do something like, I dunno, badminton. I personally hate badminton with all of my heart, but it seems fairly pleasant and easy to get into. Basically what you should take away from this is: you’re going to have to eat terrible food to survive. To counteract this, you should go and play badminton. Enjoy your horsemeat lasagne.

Pictured: Mad chippage for the boys (Photograph: Keith McDuffee)

I bundled the slurry into the microwave and it came out looking, very literally, like a steaming pile of shit.

tweet us @GairRhyddPol mail us politics@gairrhydd.com or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/politics

Attack On Democracy In The US

Minorities worst affected by ‘voter suppression’ tactics

Twenty-seven US states have launched Crosscheck: a scheme which could disenfranchise millions of voters. Crosscheck scheme aims to stop voter fraud but nobody has been convicted despite the fact that 7 million potential fraudulent voters have been identified. Crosscheck lists people who share names with people from other states without cross referencing social security numbers or middle names. ey suspect these people of being registered to vote in multiple states and voting twice. Due to this Virginia has already removed 41,000 people from electoral rolls. e scheme overwhelmingly affects ethnic minorities: 1 in 11 white people are at risk of being removed from electoral rolls compared to 1 in 8 AsianAmericans and Hispanic voters and 1 in 7 African-Americans. AfricanAmericans are disproportionately affected as slaves often took their slave owners’ names. Other minorities also often share a few common names. Crosscheck states send out postcards asking people to reconfirm their information and sign to be kept on the electoral rolls. is seems straight for-

ward but the postcards unfortunately resemble junk mail. If no response is received there is no follow up phone call just disenfranchisement. Lots of mail becomes lost and if people move frequently, they will never receive any notification. Poorer people are more likely to rent property and move frequently, so it is likely that they are more badly affected. Many are incredulous at the claims that voter fraud is endemic. Who would be voting twice when so many people don’t vote at all? US voter turnout is far lower than most other western democracies and is significantly worse than in the UK. e lowest voter turnout in a post war general election was 59.4%. Two thirds of post war presidential elections have had turnouts lower than this. Turnout in the US ranges from 39 to 65%. When so few people vote at all it’s hard to believe that there are people who would risk being convicted of voter fraud and having to spend two to ten years in prison so that they could vote twice.

Of course, it’s not sensible to make the system open to cheating; instead of using Crosscheck Washington decided

to use ERIC, a system that checks people’s middle names and social security numbers. e designers of ERIC do not suspect widespread voter fraud, and one of its purposes is to find people who have moved and send letters advising them to register to vote.

It would be cynical to suggest that Republicans are using the scheme to disenfranchise minority voters who are more likely to vote for the Democratic Party but it is Republicans who stand to benefit and 22 of the 27 Crosscheck states are Republican. e Republican Party may have benefited from voter suppression in last week’s midterm elections where they gained control of the Senate and retained control of the House.

Crosscheck is the result of lobbying from the Voter Integrity Project. ey suspect widespread voter fraud such as voting by the dead, felons, foreigners and double voting. ey even convinced North Carolina to get an ex-FBI agent on the case. He has yet to catch any zombies or other fraudsters despite Crosscheck providing a massive list of suspects. Greg Palast, an investigative reporter for Al Jazeera went to

visit one of these suspected criminals, who lives near the Voter Integrity Project’s offices. e man is suspected of voting in Virginia and North Carolina but swears “on a stack of bibles” that he did not. Greg Palast, however, was dubious, and suspected the wheelchair bound old people’s home resident wouldn’t be able to lift more than one bible.

Crosscheck wasn’t the only form of voter suppression at the midterm elections; many are also upset by the new voter ID requirements amongst other restrictions. In Atlanta, 50,000 voter registration cards went missing. In 19 precincts in Virginia voting machines were malfunctioning. In other states people were sent away for clerical errors or given provisional ballots that won’t be counted after relocating.

Many groups are campaigning to secure voting rights for all citizens. New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan voter registration group, has, in coordination with the NAACP, already sued Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, on behalf of 56,001 voters who filled out registration forms but have yet to see their names on the voter rolls.

Republicans win big in US Midterms

The United States held their mid-term elections last Tuesday with elections for the Senate and House of Representatives, half way through Barack Obama’s second term in office. Barack Obama has had congress on his side until know. The democrats lost 7 seats giving the Republicans 52 seats. The Republicans victory may make life very difficult for Obama. Before now, the Republicans

have been able to block many of Obama’s plans because of their majority in the House of Representatives. Hopefully the next two years will see a working relationship between the parties to resolve real issues to avoid a repeat of last years government shut down to solve the budget ceiling deadline crisis. Alternatively US politics could see a stalemate where nothing could be achieved.

16

Note: Grey portions represent independents and other parties

Pictured: Voting in US fire station

(Photographer: Suzan Kreiter, Boston Globe)

Lauren Boyd

Carwyn Williams

Boris Johnson: “Other countries haven’t had the benefit of British colonial rule”

Has the Mayor of London gone too far in defending Britain’s past?

Boris Johnson has come out again with, yet another, outrageous and annoying remark. Whilst inflicting his painfully unfunny views on the world he is simultaneously demonstrating his lack of tact regarding how the world works, continuously speaking from an enormous heigh of inherited privilege.

Boris has suggested that “countries that haven’t had the ‘benefit’ of British colonial rule” are now “worse off”. These comments were said in light of a discussion in parliament about Winston Churchill’s foreign policy. While his remarks are not only insulting to all the people who have suffered as a result of colonisation it is, in fact, completely inaccurate.

Not only have academic disciplines such as history, the history of economics, politics and geography, devoted their studies to the consequences of British colonial rule in varying countries. The consequences of British colonisation include economic underdevelopment, the exacerbation of geo- political conflicts,

the decline of ancient languages and national identity, and a dependence on exploitative first world countries. Clearly ignoring all of this, Boris has based his assumption that ‘Winston Churchill would be ‘proud’ of ‘the continuing British legacy around the world’ on the point that ‘India, the world’s largest democracy’ shows a ‘stark contrast’ with other places that haven’t had the ‘benefit’ of British rule.

Anyone who has studied the history of India over the past two centuries will know the impact British involvement had. British interference in India’s politics since 1750 and dramatic involvement since then until 1950, has dramatically affected India’s growth as a country. Significantly, post-colonial nations find it hard to develop at a credible rate due to factors such as the dependency theory, corruption, debt and political restraints. The dependency theory is the notion that resources flow from a “periphery” of poor and underdeveloped countries to a “core” of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the

World War One debts

Still Linger

It has now been over a century since the start of the First World War. However we can still see the effects of that war today in the budget. Britain still has about two billion pounds worth of debt remaining unpaid since the Great War, but with no time limit on this debt and low interest rates, it makes sense to keep these debts.

The Treasury however announced recently that we would start to pay back those debts, with new debts, as interest rates are now lower

than they were when the original borrowing was taken. Winston Churchill took out the debt in 1927 to refinance the National War Bonds that were issued.

This proves that the impact of the war was huge on Britain, not only in terms of the amounts of lives lost, but financially also.

It seems hard to believe that our country is still paying off debt from a century ago, while also taking on new debts, thus rocketing our pile of debt.

former. Often countries become trapped within this cycle if they haven’t had the chance to develop alone or have been economically oppressed.

Despite countries like China and India appearing as the fastest growing economies in the world, the corruption, poverty and inequality that effects the populations of these countries is huge. There is no denial that British colonial rule has caused and exacerbated these circumstances. By colonising countries around the world and drawing arbitrary geographical lines to divide nations, between Afghanistan and Pakistan for example, Britain has been the reason for social chaos and crises surrounding nationality and language. Examples of this can be found across Asia, Africa and at home in Ireland, Wales and Scotland, affecting countless people.

Whilst this isn’t the first time Boris has voiced some ridiculous opinion, his reputation has included blaming drunk football fans for the Hillsborough disaster and claiming that greed and inequality are neces-

sary, it also comes at a time when politicians are very much in the public eye, and the Tory party is being criticised for not representing the majority of people in Britain. Boris Johnson has thus shown himself to be consistently dismissive of the realities of people’s hardships and grievances, in Britain and accross the world, reflecting the way his policies and principles are deficient in social empathy.

Veteran’s ‘Never-Again’ War Plea

This Remembrance Sunday, there will be something a little different happening in London, as well as the usual laying of red poppy wreaths. An organisation set up by former soldier Ben Griffin, named ‘Veterans for Peace’, will emphasize their disagreement with war. Mr Griffin claims that many veterans are now turning to believe that war is a waste of time and fight for peace. To commemorate the Remembrance event, some veterans will walk to Cenotaph memorial outside Whitehall under the banner ‘Never Again’ while carrying a white poppy wreath to acknowledge civilians killed in modern war. Also, to emphasize their pain, the veterans will wear t-shirts with a quote from the last survivor of the First World War Harry Patch ‘War is Organised Murder’.

The group states that they have not received any negative comments from other veteran groups, stating that they have respect for each other. However, unlike other veteran groups, Ben Griffin has felt pressure from the MOD and has even been served a lifetime injunction preventing him from talking about his experiences

in Iraq, after he started speaking out against the ‘immoral and illegal nature of operations I carried out’.

Mr Griffin also feels he has been harassed ‘on the street by members of the Metropolitan Police on many occasions’ as well as having his home raided twice in recent years.

While his remarks are not only insulting to all the people who have suffered as a result of colonisation,

it is, in fact, completely inaccurate. Labour “

Rhiannon Tapp

Carwyn Williams

Pictured: Harry Patch, who died in 2009

Pictured: A World War One memorial

Matthew Hale

POLITICS

Labour plans for Lords Reform

Ed Miliband has spoken of plans to change the House of Lords to an elected chamber

House of Lords reform is once again on the political agenda, after in a speech in Blackpool Ed Miliband announced Labour’s plans for an elected second chamber, with the U.S-styling of a ‘Senate’ Crucially, the proposal has been linked with the decentralisation drive in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum. Elections to the House of Lords would not be fought on current parliamentary constituencies, instead elected representatives would represent ‘the regions and nations of our whole country’ e proposal is just an outline, so the specifics of how this would work in practice remain unclear, but it seems likely members would be elected through a system of proportional representation into constituencies similar to those in European Parliament elections. Numerous representatives would be elected to different regions in England, such as North

East England, West Midlands, and London, while Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would also be represented

Sceptics would be forgiven for thinking they have heard this before.

In 1997 Labour swept to power promising a wide array of constitutional reform, including making the House of Lords ‘more democratic and representative’. However, after removing hereditary peers, in doing so removing a perceived built-in Conservative bias, the Labour party seemed to lose interest in further reform

In the current parliament, the Liberal Democrat bill to elect four fifths of the House of Lords failed in part because of the Labour party not giving its full support. Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Malcolm Bruce has claimed the Labour party ‘bottled’ reform two years ago, and that the new proposal is ‘lip-service from a Labour party who have no intention of actually delivering’

Labour’s record on constitutional reform may be weak, but the latest proposal is part of the culture of decentralisation that is high on the political agenda. e independence referendum led to a promise of greater devolved powers for Scotland, opening up various other constitutional issues. e government here in Wales has sought further devolved powers to reflect developments in Scotland. Consequently the ‘West Lothian question’ has resurfaced, raising concerns over the fairness of Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish MPs being able to vote on all laws while English MPs cannot vote on devolved issues, leading to an increasing demand for English votes for English laws and further devolution within England e idea of moving political power away from Westminster seems to have great momentum, and Labour have recognised this with their latest proposal for an elected House of Lords. ey have coupled strengthen-

ing British democracy with redistributing the political balance of power away from London; part of Miliband’s justification is that ‘London has more members in the House of Lords than the East Midlands, West Midlands, Northern Ireland, the North East, and Yorkshire and Humber added together’.

Labour’s record on constitutional reform raises doubts over the sincerity of the latest proposal. It may come to be seen as preelection manoeuvring, as Gordon Brown’s last-minute commitment to the Alternative Vote system in the run-up to May 2010 was. However, the structure of governance in the United Kingdom is rarely this high on the political agenda, and there is a clear push for decentralisation that seems to have consensus across the political arena. This has created a tide that House of Lords reform may be swept up in, depending on next May’s result.

Gay rights not a British value, says DfE

The Department for Education tweets on “nonsence to say schools must teach gay rights” since we want a curriculum based on “British Values”

The Department for Education has been fiercely criticised for a bizarre tweet which appeared to suggest that gay rights are not deemed part of ‘British Values’. e post argued that it is ‘nonsense’ to say schools ‘must teach gay rights’ and that they want a broad curriculum, based on British values.

e tweet was a response to a Sunday Newspaper headline covering the policy and it is thought that officials at the department felt this particular headline about Faith Schools ‘sensationalised’ the policy.

e post has evoked vociferous responses from groups such as the Labour party; who rightly have questioned what exactly the department deems to be British values and why gay rights don’t seem to fall

under this umbrella. e Shadow Education Secretary, Tristam Hunt responded with a strongly worded tweet of his own. According to Hunt, ‘LGBT rights are British values. e Department of Education must back compulsory sex and relationship education, including LGBT rights’. Gay rights activist Shaun Dellenty was even more damning, describing the tweet as ‘appalling’.

e fallout from this saga and the response from the British public led to a statement of clarification from the DofE. is statement, designed to diffuse the situation, pleaded that the tweet was nothing more than a ‘misunderstanding’. e department claimed the tweet was referring to a headline in the Sunday Times which reads ’Faith schools ‘must teach gay rights’’.

From this it is clear to see that the DofE felt that their tweet had been taken grossly out of context, given that it was one of many in response to a particular issue. Yet it was still perhaps an ill judged post, given that when read in isolation it is easy to arrive at the same conclusion as Labour members and countless others.

It would certainly be ‘sensationalist’, using the departments own phrase, to believe that this government body believes that gay rights should not be included in ‘British Values’. However it is clear here that a mistake has been made in the wording of the tweet. Given that the post was subsequently deleted, it is clear that the DofE believes this also.

We will make the second chamber of parliament truly a senate of the regions and nations of our whole country Ed Miliband Labour

It is clear to see that the DofE felt that their tweet had been taken grossly out of context “

Louis Urruty

Pictured: Despite some canges, the last revolutionary canges to the House of Lord’s was in 1911 thanks to David Lloyd George

Victor Degorce

EU increases funding for a deprived region in Europe: Wales

Wales has recently qualified to recieve £2 billion of ‘structural funding’ from the European Union, to be recieved over the next 6 years. is type of economic aid is awarded to regions with Gross Domestic Product less than 75% of the EU’s average, proving that parts of West Wales and the Valleys are some of the worst deprived areas within Europe.

It is also worth remembering that this payment will be the third time in a row that Wales obtains this EU fund since 2000.

Massive criticism against the labour government’s policies immediately erupted after the announcement of EU funding, and ternished the enthusiasm of the Welsh Assembly Government. Leader of the Welsh conservatives Andrew Davies stated that EU money had been granted due

to the ‘successive failure of Welsh labour government to improve Wales’ economic performance’.

Carwyn Jones’s government also faces huge skepticism from many, who question the ability of EU investments to solve Wales’ economic problems. is move by the EU has been encouraged over the last years, by the failure of the two first plans of economic aid to bring Wales up to the EU average. Wales has since recieved 6 billions of pounds to create sustainable economic growth. However, Wales’ economic situation has even considerably worsened, with a GDP accounting for 84% of EU’s average in 2005, to only 65% in 2011.

Prominent government officials argue that the economic crisis of 2009 prevented any successful investment as EU money was mostly

Better Wages In South East England

Carwyn Williams

London and the South East have the lowest proportion of workers earning below the living wage, with the rest of the UK lagging behind quite substantially, a report published last week outlined. Nationally, the number of people earning less than the living wage increased by 40 000 in the last year reaching a massive 5.28 million employees.

This data comes in spite of more companies and organizations joining in guaranteeing the living wage to all employees, which will be raised to £7.85, or £9.15 in London. More than a thousand companies have now signed up to pay living wage rather than minimum wage, including Cardiff University.

Northern Ireland had the worst statistics, with 27% of employees being paid less than the living wage, and the North East and Yorkshire & The Humber reaching a quarter of all employees. Here in Wales the situation is only a slight improvement on last year, with the percentage falling from 25% to 24%, but sill lagging

Carwyn Williams First Minister’s Questions

Farming in Wales would collapse, it wouldn’t exist without funding from the European Union, and it is absolutely essential that Wales remains part of the EU. Those were the words of the First Minister in response to Leanne Wood’s questions last week. The Minister also stated “If the UK leaves the EU on the basis of English votes it would trigger a constitutional crisis” which outlines the Assembly’s views on any kind of EU referen-

behind the UK average of 22%. The UK average is up from the 2013 report, proving that many regions saw increases in employees earing under the living wage, a worrying fact for the government who are trying to make work work.

This also suggests that the economic recovery is faring much better in London and the South East, while the rest of the country is struggling, proving the divide between the South West and the rest of the UK is continuing and unlikely to change anytime soon, unless a government can take drastic action.

It also points out that workers are much more likely to be paid below the living wage at a part-time job, something that may worry many students currently holding a job between their studies. Of course the government would love to improve these figures, the more that people earn the more tax they pay, however the coalition’s strategy for economic growth may be working at a much slower pace than previously anticipated.

dum. Mr Jones strongly believes that the UK will not leave the EU, despite the growth of Euroscepism in the UK. The First Minister also looked worried when he stated that Wales would be £150 million worse off, at the bare minimum.

Andrew RT Davies again emphasized the problems in the Welsh NHS and waiting times, but Carwyn Jones assured the assembly that the poor waiting times in the Betsi Cadwaladr

used to prevent Wales insitutions from collapsing, and that without the economic support from the EU the situation will have been much worse. Labour’s minister for finance, Jane Hutt, also claimed that EU funds have already helped some 186,900 people to gain qualifications and over 59,800 into work, while creating some 29,000 jobs and over 9,800 enterprises.

For Andrew Davies, the leader of opposition, these announces are only part of the government’s attempt to justify its policies, while masking the bad economic situation of Wales. e failure of this third plan of economic aids, in which the government engaged all his credibility, will already mean the complete discrediting of Carwyn Jones’ government, and of the next labour candidates.

Cardiff Central MP Quits Government

Cardiff Central MP, Liberal Democrat, Jenny Willott, announced her departure from government last week. e position she has stepped down from is an assistant government whip, a position she has held since February 2012. Her reasoning for leaving is said to be to speak in parliament and focus on her constituency and their needs. is is not the first time for Willott to resign from the government, after doing so in order to vote against the controversial decision of raising tuition fees. While remembering that the Cardiff Central seat has many students, she voted to support the views of students. Despite this however, it seems very likely that Jenny will lose her seat in the commons next May, with Labour taking a 12 point lead against Willott in polls taken in September. is is in contrast with 2010’s vote where the Liberal Democrats took 41% of the vote to Labour’s 29%. It seems obvious that Cardiff ’s student population is rejecting the Liberal Democrats due to their position on the student tuition scandal that rocked the student population back in 2010, despite our local MP voting against the contro-

health board is short term due to a un-forseen death of a consultant.

Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams brought up the topic of prescriptions, stating that reality and what is theoretically possible is different, and that many new drugs are not available within the 3 months since it was approved by Public Health Wales.

Labour member Ann Jones thanked the government for its efforts in avoiding yet another

versial measure.

In her letter, she admired the work her party leader, Nick Clegg, was doing and stating he was doing an excellent job as deputy prime minister. However, fellow 2015 candidate for Cardiff Central for Labour, Jo Stevens, commented that this decision is a ‘shameful admission’ from the MP that she has ‘neglected’ her constituency, and it is now too late for her to save her vote in Cardiff.

fire service strike and called for the first minister to thank the fire service for their constant hard work, especially during the busy start of November period.

Tourism was also on the agenda with many members calling for better marketing of Wales’ tourism services and days out, and calling for better collaboration between the private sector and the public tourism sector, including the heritage sites maintained by CADW.

The poll that matters is the one next May and lots can happen between now and then

Pictured: Welsh Government Finance Minister Jane Hutt

Jenny Willott Cardiff Central MP “

Meryon Roderick Pictured: e European Parliament

TTIP comes under fire from scientific community

The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has come under intense criticism from various campaign groups over the risks it poses to both public health and environmental protection.

e aim of the deal is reportedly to remove barriers to trade in a wide range of economic sectors including healthcare but this has raised concerns that it may lead to permanent privatisation of the NHS. is would almost certainly cause medicines and medical technologies

to become more expensive as health care is effectively commoditised.

A feature of the proposed bill called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) also has public health concerns worried, as it would allow corporations to sue the government if it causes them to lose profits. is would make future legislation to improve public health such as banning cigarettes or adopting new, more effective cancer drugs nearly impossible to enact.

Additional health issues could stem from the proposed harmonisation of

health and safety regulations between Europe and the US. e US has much less thorough and stringent regulation of things like food packaging and use of pesticides than Europe does which could represent a huge threat to public health.

With regard to the environment, this change in regulation has been linked to problems with genetically modified organisms, chemicals, poultry pathogen reduction treatments, and aviation greenhouse gas emissions amongst other things. ere are also concerns over the environmental impacts of ISDS. is aspect of the NAFTA agreement, a similar trade agreement between Canada and the US, allowed a hydraulic fracturing company to sue Quebec for $250 million when it banned fracking. is has intensified fears that under TTIP, any reversal in the current UK fracking policies may be impossible.

Regulation of both hydraulic fracture and extraction of tar sands is listed as a technical barrier to trade in the agreement. As the main purpose of the deal is to remove these technical barriers, it seems that so called “unconventional fossil fuel extraction methods” may be allowed to proceed in Europe more or less unchecked. Whilst this will provide economic growth and employment in the long term, it is far out of keeping with the EUs previous commitment to reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

It is clear that TTIP is a contentious and polarising issue, but currently the critics are shouting louder than those who support it. If this bill is to represent and protect public interests, it needs to be more openly discussed with the public to allow an informed debate so that scientific experts are not made redundant by political interests.

Pink mushrooms causing chocolate tree disease

Smooth, rich and tasty, chocolate is what most students’ dreams are made of. Unfortunately, there is a serious threat to our favourite treat in the form of enchanting pink mushrooms – the witches’ broom disease.

Although this sounds like some bizarre fairytale, the disease is spelling serious trouble for chocolate trees. e mushrooms of Moniliophthora perniciosa contain millions of spores that can enter a vulnerable chocolate tree through tiny gaps and damaged surfaces, causing a slow death and eliminating the chance of cultivating any cocoa for consumption. ere is no cure. Infected trees develop an unusual green outgrowths that resemble broomsticks, hence the colloquial name of ‘witches’ broom disease’.

ese pretty mushrooms devastated cocoa production in Brazil in the early 1900s, once the largest producer of cocoa in the world. 80,000 chocolate trees were cultivated

in the area of Bahia, below a canopy of native shade trees that protected them. Although the rainforest is naturally a giant biodiversity hotspot, the chocolate trees were derived from only a few seeds planted in the 1700s, meaning a limited genetic variation. “ is scenario created a very romantic, but extremely fragile situation”, said Brazilian scientist Gonçalo Pereira, an expert in the field. For a population to survive, genetic variation is very important. A variable population is more likely to be resistant to pathogens and endure what nature throws at them.

Unfortunately for the chocolate tree, when witches broom disease struck in 1989, due to the poor variation over 70 per cent of the trees were eradicated in a ten-year period. is was a catastrophe for Brazil both socially and economically, affecting more than two million people. Gonçalo Pereira of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil decided to head up a research

team with the aim to cure this devastating disease – the Witches’ Broom Genome Project. Using a special sequencing technique called dual RNA-sequence analysis that can closely monitor the interaction between the mushroom and the tree. e scientists can now provide a list of genes that are affected during the course of the disease, which will be shortly be published in e Plant Cell journal.Study author Paulo Teixeira commented, “Knowing the molecular and physiological basis of a disease is an important step towards developing effective control strategies.” Using healthy trees as a reference, the group have identified over 1,900 genes that exhibit unusual behavior in the green broom outgrowths of infected trees, which have been shown to trigger massive changes in the tree’s metabolism.

Another group member Daniela omazella said, “ e discovery of sets of fungal genes that are most likely involved in pathogenicity paves the

way for the development of targeted treatments of the disease.” is work will hopefully lead to a cure for this affliction, keeping chocolate trees safe and our cravings still satisfied.

...TTIP is a contentious and polarising issue, but currently the critics are shouting louder than those who support it “

Pictured: e pink mushrooms of ‘witches’ broom disease’, lethal for chocolate trees

Shanna Hamilton

Sharvaani Shaah

Mind reading device takes step towards reality

The University of California, Berkeley has conducted exciting research to develop a prosthesis that can translate people’s thoughts into audible speech. The study’s aim is to design a tool to allow physically paralyzed people who cannot speak and communicate with the outside world.

There has even been attempts to predict which songs people are listening to, by tracking brain activity whilst they listen to Pink Floyd

The research was co-authored by Brian Pasley, a fellow at UCB, and concerns the movement of brain cells or neurons that occurs when we hear speech or even when we read text in our mind. As sound waves enter our ears, they stimulate neurons, which carry the impulses created by these sound waves to the brain. They are then decoded into words with precise meaning.

The work carried out by Pasley and his team is based on a study conducted on epileptic patients, who had electrodes pre-implanted in their brains for treatment. This revealed that neurons in the temporal lobe of the brain become active in response to specific sound frequencies. Building on this, the team are now focused on designing an algorithm based solely on brain (neural) activity, to decode words and speech.

The study also proved that hearing speech and thinking produce similar

neural activity in the brain. This leads to the idea that an algorithm which can record speech-stimulated brain-movement, may also be able to read thought-stimulated neuron activities.

This is supported by another study conducted on epileptic patients undergoing surgery.

Patients were made to read John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address at Gettysburg or the famous nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty - both silently and out loud. The neural response to different aspects of speech was then recorded. Neural movement was then measured when the volunteers read the text in their mind. The words that were heard and thought mapped very closely onto each other and a decoder was able to recreate them using only the brain activity as a cue.

However, neuroscientist Stephanie Martin does not believe the algorithm is perfect. “We got significant results but it’s not good enough yet to build a device.” In effect, if a decoder were to help physically challenged people to talk, it would have to be based on what they hear as opposed to their thoughts. The team is currently working towards understanding the brain activity that governs the rate of speech and varied pronunciations

to predict which songs people are listening to, by tracking brain activity whilst they listen to Pink Floyd.

The tragic loss of SpaceShipTwo has led to disagreements... some believing it has set back the possibility of space travel by at least a decade

While still in preliminary stages, it is clear this work represents a promising step forward in a technology with wide ranging and important applications.

Virgin Galactic crash puts future of space travel in doubt

Virgin Galactic has suffered a serious setback after their sub-orbital spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, broke apart midair during a test flight. This tragic accident claimed the life of one pilot whilst another was injured.

Early reports have stated a feathering system which increases the drag on the spacecraft activated prematurely causing the spacecraft to disintegrate. However, until the NTSB have carried out their investigations, the cause of the accident remains unknown. Virgin were looking to introduce flights into sub-orbital space as early as 2015 with each ticket costing $250,000. The tragic loss of SpaceShipTwo has led to disagreements between industry experts with some believing it has set back the possibility of space travel by at least a decade.

There is a balance between safety and financial cost which has been a topic of intense discussion over the years. A book titled “SAFE is not an option” by aerospace engineer Rand Simgberg, discusses his view that the obsession with safety hinders the advancement of space exploration. Simberg argues there is a greater acceptance of risk for accidents and deaths in the military.

There were almost 12,000 aircraft accidents resulting in the death of 8,500 crew members from 1949 to

1988 in the Navy and Marine Corps alone. Despite the extremely high number of fatalities, no one has ever come forward to suggest the grounding of the forces. Even NASA accepted a greater amount of risk during the race to the moon in the earlier 1960’s.

The American aviation authority the FAA, released a document in August 2014 titled ‘Recommended Practices for Human Space Flight Occupant Safety’. The document addresses areas such as planning

of emergency systems and medical considerations, alhough only for the occupants involved directly with the spaceflight.

Public safety and mission assurance were not addressed. This is due to the nature of future commercial flights being unknown. It is evident that space tourism is still in its early days and there is a “learning period” before strict regulations can be imposed.

Currently there are only two private companies in the game for

sub-orbital flight. Virgin Galactic and XCOR Aerospace who plan to charge $100,000 for a flight as high as 62 miles in altitude. The majority of the commercial space flight industry echo the words of Simberg. It is too early to deem commercial space travel as too dangerous to continue. It has to be accepted that accidents will happen, unfortunately in some cases resulting in the loss of life. Still, these lessons will prove as valuable learning experience for the future.

of the same word. There has even been attempts

Pictured: Artist’s take on a mind reading device of the future.

Rahul Modhavia

Pictured: Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo which crashed on the 31st of October, tragically killing one of its pilots.

Barney Willis VP Societies & Campaigns

SOCIETIES

Barney’s Note

Hello all! This week has been a jolly one! Student Minds were giving out free head massagers and Islamic Society have been hard at work with charity week! My life continues to be obscenely busy

What’s On

Monday 10th November

Maths Society

Careers Talk: Lloyds

4.10pm - 5pm School of Maths, Room M/0.40

Women’s Association

Meet the Candidates

6pm - 7pm The Boardroom, 3rd Floor, Students’ Union

Chaos Society & RELIGsoc

Joint Social Religion vs Science 7pm - 4am Vulcan, then Glam

Music Society

MuSoc Acoustic Night

£1 per performer (£2 for non-members), paid on the night 8:30pm - 11pm Vulcan Lounge

Tuesday 11th November

Women’s Association

CWA Elections

9am - 14th November noon

AIESEC

First GoGlobal Information Session See article

6pm - 6:30pm Room 4J, Students’ Union

but in all the right ways. Thanks to the hard work of our societies, we now have over 7600 people in the Guild and we have given out over £15,000 in budget allocations to support societies cope with increasing memberships. In other

Art Society

Paint your clay/modroc!

7.30pm - 9.30pm Room 4I, Students’ Union

Wednesday 12th November

Expression Weekly Class 5.30pm - 7pm Cathays Community Centre

Comedy Society

Live @ CF10, raising money for the Kenyan Orphan Project. Expect stand-up, sketches and improv from the finest comic talent that Cardiff Uni has to offer.

£4 entry, £2 for Comedy Society members

Doors 6.30pm start at 7pm CF10

Thursday 13th November

Music Society

Children in Need Charity Concert 12.30pm - 2pm Concert Hall, School of Music

Student Enterprise

How to Market Your Product 6pm - 8pm 4J, Students Union

Beth Glover

tweet us @gairrhyddsoc email us societies@gairrhydd.com or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/societies

news, the BAFTA deserving video epic that is Societies in 60 Seconds continues to be released every Friday, providing a frantic breakdown of information critical to running a good society!

Now on to something very exciting indeed! I am putting together a campaign for a University Arts Centre to be established on campus. We have a terrible lack of performance and dance space here

Global Health Student Network

NHS Local Issue 6pm - 8pm

History Society

History Social Pub Golf!

7.30pm - 3am Cathays

Psychology Society

PsyCardiff Pub Golf!

8pm - 11pm

Begin at Blackweir Tavern

Friday 14th November

Ethical & Environmental Association

NUS Wales Blackout 5pm - 9pm

Meet in Boardroom, 3rd Floor, Students’ Union

Paedsoc & Live Music Society

Children In Need Live Music Night

£4 entry on the door 8pm – 11pm

Koko Gorilaz

Maths Society

M.A.T.H.S Social Dress up as something which starts with one of the letters from the word MATHS 8:30pm - 2am Pryzm Cardiff

All Dance Societies

Joint Dance Societies Social ALL Dance Societies are coming together for one HUGE night! The

in Cardiff and the need for such a venue is obvious to anyone in a performing society. If you or anyone you know might want to express support or have input on this project, please get in touch ASAP! Such a big investment would only be made if student body asks for it with a loud enough voice! Get in touch if you want to help!

As ever, get in touch if you need any help getting involved!

theme is burlesque (optional) so dress smart and classy! 11pm - 4am DC Cardiff

Saturday 15th November

Expression

Contemporary Dance Workshop

See article 10am - 16th November 5pm Room 4A/B

Boardgaming, Roleplaying and Wargaming League

Enter The Sorcerer’s Cave 10am - 5pm 4C/D, Students’ Union

LGBT+ Society Ceilidh at the Heath 7.20pm - 11pm Heath Sports and Social Club

Sunday 16th November

Erasmus Society Bath and Stonehenge Trip 9am - 6pm

Broadway Dance Society Burlesque Workshop 11am - 1pm Room 4J (SU)

Christian Union Convinced? Ultimate Sports Quiz £1 entry 8pm-11pm Varsity

Expression running contemporary dance workshop

Calling all dancers! Expression, Cardiff University’s contemporary dance society, is so excited to be running a weekend workshop of contemporary dance. We have somehow been lucky enough to have our own outstanding outside choreographer, Tory East, come to Cardiff for a whole weekend this November. The workshop will be taking place this coming weekend on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November all day from 10am until approximately 4.30pm in Rooms 4A/B on the fourth floor of the Students’ Union. It will be a super fun weekend of dance for everyone of all abilities who are welcome to come and give contemporary dance a go, sharing our love of dance and trying something new

with Tory’s unique style.

The choreographer Tory East trained at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating with a 1st Class BA Honours degree. During her training, Tory performed in works by the famous Richard Alston and Henri Oguiku. For three years she was a member of Retina Dance Company until 2009, as well as being co-director and choreographer for Retina Youth Company and RAUW (Retina’s site specific performance event for the community).

Tory is currently the Rehearsal Director of ‘Scatter’, the adult performance company of The Place. Making use of her PGCE, she also works with several Youth Dance Companies, schools and colleges throughout Hampshire. Tory is also

a regular teacher for The Place, London Studio and Greenwich Dance Agency. So she only has a little bit of experience in the world of contemporary dance!

We are so excited for this weekend and are looking forward to meeting Tory and hopefully seeing many familiar Expression-ers as well as plenty of non-members too! Tickets can be bought online via the Students’ Union website or in cash on the day. We’ve got an amazing price deal considering Tory normally charges £40 an hour (!), of £7 for one day or £10 for both days for Expression Dance Society members and £9 for one day or £12 for both days for non-members. For more information, visit https://www. facebook.com/ExpressionSoc

Have an event you want covered? Email societies@ gairrhydd.com

Pictured: A previous Expression performance

Society Profile: AIESEC

Interested in volunteering abroad?

Differentiate yourself with AIESEC.

AIESEC’s mission is to develop responsible, young, global leaders, whilst also being focused on facilitating a global exchange system that provides challenging and cultural exchanges for youth around the world. AIESEC is the world’s largest student-run non-profit organization who offer two unique opportunities for students: Join to Lead, where members have the opportunity to develop their leadership and management skills in a business setting, networking with business groups in Cardiff whilst gaining advice from industry professionals. This empowers students and develops a set of skills needed to grow in the real world, accompanied by regular training and workshops. We have strong links with many different types of companies: local, large corporate and AIESEC alumni of the region that support us in accomplishing our aim. On a larger scale, more than 4000 organizations - from multinationals to small and medium enterprises,

non-profits to government bodies and the UN - partner with AIESEC. With this, you will become part of a global community which gives you the space to gain a real insight into the world around you and where your skill-set fits into that.

The second opportunity is the GoGlobal programme which offers both the opportunity to gain work experience during the summer whilst travelling to a choice of over 110

countries within paid or voluntary internships. Internships are at least 6 weeks long lasting up to a year and vary across a wide range of industries and backgrounds. The Cardiff branch has country partnerships with Greece, Tanzania, Ghana, Cameroon, Mauritius, Thailand, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt and Italy.

Helen Tsang from Cardiff University says “my AIESEC Bahrain

To find more information about all of these events and to sign up in advance go to cardiffstudents.com/ giveitago

Anime Drawing Workshop

10th November 6pm-8pm, The Lounge, 3rd floor SU, Free

Krishna Consciousness Meditation

10th November 6.15pm, SU Room 4H, Free

Motivation Workshop

10th November 17:30-19:30, Room 4I Students’ Union. Free

Japanese Calligraphy

11th November 6 -7.30pm, Room 4G, 4th floor SU, Free

Traffic Pop-Up DJ School

11th November 8pm, Koko Gorillaz, £5

DanceSport Training

11th November 6pm - 7.15pm, Great Hall SU, £2

Hot Club of Cowtown Performance

11th November 8pm Performance Start, Saint David’s Hall – The Hayes, £7.00

Exclusive Student’s Union tickets at St David’s Hall!

SU Cinema: Saving Mr Banks 11th November Students’ Union Lounge, 14:00 Showing, Free

Deutsche Filme Screening: Das

experience is one that I will never forget: it widened my understanding of Middle Eastern culture and was full of wonderfully diverse characters from a range of different nationalities which allowed me to build friendships with people I would not otherwise have done without this opportunity. I also gained valuable skills from the project, giving me the confidence to not be afraid of a change in environment and reassuring me that I am capable of achieving whatever I put my mind to.”

AIESEC are hosting information sessions this week if you would like to hear more about what they do and hear the amazing stories from returning students. These will be held on Tuesday 11th and Friday 14th November between 6-6.30pm in Room 4J, 4th Floor, Students’ Union, and on Wednesday 12th November between 6-6.30pm in Sir Donald Walters Boardroom, 3rd Floor, Students’ Union. Alternatively, contact us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/ AIESECCardiffUK and @aieseccardiffuk on twitter.

Experiment

11th November 6.30pm – 8.30pm, 2.03 John Percival Building, Free (German with English subtitles)

Recycling Volunteering (Cardiff Council)

11th November 11am – 3pm, Students’ Union Reception

Cardiff Healthy People Workshop

11th November 8pm – 9pm, Room 4J, Students’ Union

Erasmus Tandem Café 12th November 8pm, The Lodge (Y Plas) Students’ Union, £1

Languages for All Taster Day 12th November 2pm – 4pm

1.17, 2.22, 2.26 in the School of Modern Languages

SHAG C-Card 12th November 12pm-2pm, Students’ Union Boardroom, Free

Problem Solving Workshop

12th November 5.30-7.30pm, Room 4I Students’ Union, Free

SU Cinema: Pompeii 12th November Students’ Union Lounge, 14:00 Showing, Free

Product Marketing - Enterprise Workshop

12th November 6pm – 8pm, Room 4J, Students Union, Free

Sustainable Travel Project 12th November 11am–1pm,

Michael Griffiths Building (Heath Park), Free

New Bike Stands! 12th November 6pm – 7pm, Students’ Union, Room 4D, Free

Mens Cricket 14th November5.30pm-7.30pm and Sundays 15th November 10am-12pm, Talybont Sports Hall, Free

Womens Football 15th November 8pm, Talybont Astro Pitch, Free

Anime Screening 15th November 7pm-9pm, Large Shandon Lecture Theatre, Free

NUS Wales Blackout 15th November 5pm – 9pm, Sir Donald Walters BoardroomStudents’ Union, FREE T-SHIRT & PIZZA

Healthcare Basketball 15th November 8-9pm, Heath Sports Hall, £2

Mens Cricket 16th November 5.30pm-7.30pm and Sundays 10am-12pm, Talybont Sports Hall, Free

Boxing

16th November 4-5pm & 5-6pm, Talybont Sports Dojo, £1.00

Healthcare Ladies Hockey 16th November 4pm - 6pm, Talybont Astro, FREE

Hannah Sterritt

Pictured: One of the photos from Helen Tsang’s Bahrain experience

Sign up now at cardiffstudents. com/events/ 6834/3817

SOCIETIES

RAG to put on LOST

As part of RAG Week, 9th-15th November 2014

You’ve been blindfolded. You’re on a bus to an unknown destination. You haven’t got your wallet or your smart phone. You’re with 2 or 3 of your friends. You’re in crazy fancy dress. Are you ready for an adventure?

Cardiff RAG is getting LOST with YOU on the 15th November 2014. We will be taking 13 teams out to a top secret location, dropping them there and leaving them to find their own ways home.

While you are busy having the times of your lives and creating amazing memories, we’ll be at HQ keeping track of you all and making sure you all stay safe. Throughout the day you will check in with us and we will map your progress on a map. We’ll link this map to our Facebook and Twitter pages so your friends and family can follow you throughout the day.

Cardiff RAG has been running this event for several years and it

is ALWAYS lots of fun. We have a challenge sheet for you to complete along the way which will make for some excellent photos. Each group has to come up with a team name, and ideally a team theme (this makes it much easier to get around!) We charge a £10 sign-up fee per person to cover transport costs and a LOST t-shirt everyone will be provided with. In addition to this there is a minimum fundraise of £50. All of the money raised goes to our four core charities for the year. Our core charities this year are World Child Cancer, Place2Be, War Child and Help for Heroes. These charities have been selected by the student body in an election process and all do hugely important work. World Child Cancer aims to treat children with cancer in developing countries or to give effective pain relief in untreatable situations. War Child aims to promote and protect the rights of the child. The create safe spaces for children in

war torn areas, help children to get educations and learn vocational skills for a sustainable income later in life. They also provide advocacy; helping children to get their voices heard and rights met. Place2Be provides emotional and therapeutic services in primary and secondary schools, building children’s resilience through talking, creative work and play. They currently reach 90,000 children, helping them to cope with wide-ranging and often complex social issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, family breakdown, neglect and trauma. Help for Heroes deliver an enduring national network of support for the wounded and their families. They aim to inspire and enable wounded people to achieve their full potential.

These are amazing charities and we believe this is a great opportunity to make a real difference to people’s lives whilst also having an incredible experience!

Other events running this week:

Undie Run

A 1km race through Taly in undies! What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Part of the ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ Campaign by Cancer Research UK

9th November 3pm

Talybont Court Reception

Open Mic Night

Come along to hear some great bands, have a dance and a few drinks and support some great causes. If you are interested in playing please contact RAG@cardiff.ac.uk as soon as possible to find out if we can book you a slot 10th November 7.30pm

Koko Gorilaz

Night Hike

Brave the wonderful Welsh weather in our night-time trip to the ghoulish & gothic Castle Coch! Fluorescent fancy dress encouraged, with a mystery prize for the best dressed hiker. All you have to do is sign up and raise a minimum sponsorship of £10simple! For more info contact RAG@ cardiff.ac.uk

11th November 6pm

Talybont Social to Castle Coch

Take Me Out

Just like the TV show. Come along for what is sure to be a hilarious night 13th November 7pm

e Attic - Koko Gorilaz

Christian Union presents ‘Convinced?’

Cardiff University Christian Union is a society made up of students who love Jesus and want to share that love and joy across the university, as well as answering people’s questions about faith and Christianity. We welcome absolutely anyone; whether you don’t know what you believe, or just want to know more. We’d love to meet you and get to know you!

Turning up to societies alone can be quite daunting, so we put on events in order to ensure the most relaxed and chilled environment possible. From the 16th-21st November, we even have a whole week dedicated to events. Our events week, Convinced?, is back this year for the fourth time and we are so excited to share our plans with you! The name Convinced? is not us trying to force our opinions and beliefs upon anyone, but simply us wanting to help students find answers for some of the big questions of life that they might not be convinced about. We’ll be kicking proceedings off on Sunday 16th with our Ultimate Sports Quiz. For a measly £1 entry, come along to Varsity and bring your best game! There will be a

short break at ‘half time’ and ample opportunity to chat to people from CU and meet new people. From the 17th-20th November, we are throwing two free lunches at Koko Gorilaz each day. These lunch bars will run from 12pm-1pm and then 1pm-2pm. Our speaker is Adrian Holloway (author of the highly popular ‘The Shock of Your Life’ and ‘Aftershock’ books) and he’ll be talking on the following

subjects such as ‘Hasn’t Science buried God?’ and ‘You can’t trust the Bible!’. These promise to be really great events, and they’re particularly good if you’re grappling with some big questions. Each weekday, except Wednesday, there will also be lunch bars up at the Heath Park campus, as well as free teas and coffees being given out in the Cochrane Library from 10am-midday each day. Look out for Convinced? flyers for more

information.

In the evenings, we’ll come together with students from Cardiff Met, ATRiuM and RWCMD for our main events. These will be held at Highfields Church, Monthermer Road and start at 8pm with the idea that you can have dinner with friends and then all come along together afterwards – we’ll provide lots of cake, hot drinks and chat. Adrian will also be speaking at these events, and we’ll also be hearing from students about how God has changed their life.

Our Christian Union gazebo, which you may know from Freshers or during term-time, will be up every day outside the Law building. At the gazebo we’ll be serving hot drinks and cakes each day – no strings attached – so do come along and say hi!

Look out for flyers, posters and t-shirts around Cardiff soon, and don’t hesitate to ask us any questions. We’re really looking forward to Convinced? and the opportunity to share what we love with Cardiff, so please do come along and get to know us all!

Cardiff RAG is getting LOST with YOU on the 15th November - are you ready for an adventure, from an unknown location with no smart phone or wallet?

Harriet Langshaw

Abhishek Mohan

Pictured: e Convinced logo

Claire Blakeway

PARK LIFE

Welcome to Park Life!

Over the past few weeks, it has been incredibly refreshing to see that the Heath student voice is finally getting heard with our representation being on the rise in a number of areas. ere were a record number of Heath Students running in the Students’ Union By-Elections with a good number being elected.

Cardiff University Womens Association (CWA) are proactively seeking Heath representation too as they recently introduced a Heath Park representative role to their committee. is again, just shows that Heath representation is being acknowledged, and people actually care about the Heath Student

Ihope that this finds you all well and settled into the term, it is flying by and will be over before we know it.

I also hope that you are enjoying Park Life; I am pleased we have featured every two weeks but featuring in Gair Rhydd is not the most important part, it is important that the content is relevant and interesting. It is also important that news from across the campus is included, news from sports clubs and societies as well as any relevant healthcare news which may affect us

perspective. Elections will be open online from Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th of November.

It’s also great to see Student Led Services such as ‘Student Minds’ running events from the Heath. I think this further symbolises a massive culture shift towards getting both the Students’ Union and Student groups to really involve Heath Park Students in their activities and decisions. I feel that Heath Park representation and involvement has been neglected in the past, so it’s really fantastic to see this change and hear about how people want to involve Heath students. Keep it up everyone!

Enjoy this week’s edition of Park Life!

as students. If you have any feedback please let me know (positive or otherwise) is week sees industrial action being taken by several unions to fight for better conditions for NHS staff and it is right that both sides of this debate, on how to deal with such issues within healthcare are discussed by future professionals.

It is good to see and hear about plans for our facilities at Heath Park but let’s hope that these redevelop-

ment plans are just the beginning of improvements on our campus. Like you, I am busy with academic work and am now on placement but absolutely want to see Park Life in every other weeks newspaper. I owe a massive thanks to the editor of the newspaper for organising the layout each week with the content provided, and to those who have already contributed to Park Life this year. I would urge anybody who has an idea on an article which you think should

Is it right for healthcare professionals to strike? I

Two healthcare students debate

Ithink we are all in agreement that NHS staff are over-worked and under-paid, and I absolutely believe that this should no longer be tolerated. However, I pose to you the questions: Is striking the way to go? What impact will this strike have on the National Health Service?

is is a service that as a nation we cherish so much. As NHS staff, or part of the future workforce, we have agreed to work for and support it as an institution. We clearly have faith in this system so why do we feel the need to walk out and turn our backs on it when it is in such a critical state?

Striking will have a detrimental impact on the quality of care patients receive. Are we not entering our professions to care for our patients? Staff will be leaving their posts, appointments will be cancelled, tests will not be completed and staff who are on duty will be under even greater pressure to de-

liver. On one hand, yes the strike could cause enough of a stir to turn the heads of the Members of Parliament, but on the other hand we are leaving the care of our patients in the hands of fewer staff. is is not fair on our patients and clients; they have no control over the NHS, so why are we punishing them?

Strike action is becoming an increasingly archaic concept; it is about time we found a new way to draw attention to the things we want. Unions need to start thinking outside the box: we need to come up with a new way of getting what we deserve. A way that does have an impact on the Members of Parliament but does not compromise patient care. Does it not bother you, not just as healthcare professionals but also as human beings, that we just walk away from the people that need our care, that need for us to be there to help them, simply make a political point?

grew up with a mum who trained and became a nurse before I reached the age of 5 and I was always acutely aware that although she was doing something she genuinely loved, it was a constant emotional and financial struggle. ere are many reasons why people choose to work in healthcare, however I doubt it is ever for ‘financial gain’ because, in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t pay very well.

But why is this? Since I started my nurse training in March 2014, my peers and I have been bombarded with information. It hasn’t just rained expectations, it’s poured them. e move to graduate-only nurse training in 2011 has meant increasing amounts of pressure on student and graduate nurses to jump through hoops and over hurdles that simply weren’t there a couple of years ago.

Scaremongering newspapers (one sounds a lot like Gaily Fail) like to kick people when they’re down and I’m afraid the NHS has become the latest target. Newspapers don’t want to run stories about how nurses can change the lives of people they care for, how they work well over the hours they actually get paid for, or how most nurses strive every day to work to the best of their ability; that simply isn’t newsworthy. Instead they focus on how a small minority of nurses ‘fail’.

However this piece isn’t a rant on how ridiculous I find press coverage and the general attitude towards the NHS, instead I should convey my gratitude that at last the unions are taking the concerns of their members seriously. With one of the worst recessions in history still fresh in our minds you’d be right in thinking that our government just doesn’t have the funds it should. Britain is vastly wealthy, but why do

feature to get in touch. We are not journalists and I am not looking for shocks or scandals (although these are obviously newsworthy!). If you want to write about your society or sports club event, have news about something going on in the world of medicine, dentistry, OT, radiography or anything else that may be of interest to fellow students at Heath Park please feel free to write and drop me an email.

Have a great fortnight.

we not feel it? Well from what I can gather, the government have ignored recommendations from the Pay Review Body to increase NHS wages by a minimum of 1% and have instead awarded a non-consolidated payment of £160 to staff at the top of their pay band. When the coalition government was formed in 2010 a 2 year wage freeze came into effect, so combining this with the most severe budget squeeze in the NHS’s history means that an astonishing 70% of nurses will potentially be denied a cost of living pay increase. Surely I am not the only one that can see this is just plain wrong?

Am I to enter a profession that demands everything but fails to pay anything near a reasonable amount?

Unfortunately the government seem determined to make this the case. e basic (yes basic) wage for a member of parliament is £67,060 per annum, a staggering 3 times the amount a newly graduated nurse would receive.

I don’t know about any of you reading, but I’d rather see threetimes the amount of nurses and a whole lot less pen-pushing MP’s. Unison have announced that on Monday 10th November 2014 nurses and many other healthcare professionals will be staging a half-day strike (8:30am-12pm). I urge everyone to show their support and get behind the people brave enough to strike. e only way the government will sit up and take notice is when we show that we no longer allow ourselves to be walked over.

ey have slashed our budgets, cut our numbers and tried to break our spirits, now they laugh when we ask to be paid a wage that reflects our skill and dedication. For me enough is enough!

They have slashed our budgets, cut our numbers and tried to break our spirits, now they laugh when we ask to be paid a wage that reflects our skill and dedication

AGAINST: Danielle Jeans

FOR: Lauren Thomas

Tim Nagle

Students’ Union renovation planned at Heath Park

In January 2015, the Students’ Union facilities at the Heath will undergo a drastic renovation giving rise to more purpose built and modern facilities; something that Heath Park has desperately needed for a long time! e renovation is expected to cost around £30,000, and is being solely funded by the Students’ Union - this really signifies our absolute commitment to improving the Heath Park experience.

This really signifies our commitment to improving the Heath Park experience “ ”

e biggest and most exciting renovation that will take place will be in the Heath Hub, where a more modern look and enlarged stock space will provide a more student friendly atmosphere. Alongside this, there will also be a link computer where students will be able to communicate via Skype which serves the main Students’ Union building. To further facilitate access to services, a second desk will be installed within the Hub to allow SU staff to work from the Hub on a monthly basis. Once again, this will be a great opportunity for students to

speak directly to services rather than having to walk 40 minutes to Park Place.

In the back offices, Student Advice will have their own dedicated space, and will be present on campus on a more regular basis. Clubs and Societies will also benefit from the new facilities, with a brand new meeting room that provides opportunity for hosting committee meetings as well as storage space for all their kit and equipment.

Once the renovation is complete we will be holding an official opening where key project stakeholders and Heath Park students will be able to come along and enjoy the newly renovated spaces.

On top of the amazing renovation, there will also be wall graphics on the corridor between the Heath Hub and the Healthcare common room. e graphics will include an opportunities wheel which will inform students of how they can get involved in the Students’ Union and what opportunities

HEATH PARK

can arise from their participation. e wall will also promote the Union services that are available to students.

As Vice President Heath Park Campus, I am incredibly impressed by the Students’ Union commitment to renovating and developing their Heath facilities. It makes me proud to be the Heath Officer, as it shows that we are starting to deliver what Students’ need

on this campus. I really can’t wait for January to come, and to see Students taking full advantage of these fantastic new facilities!

If you have any questions or queries about the changes to the Heath Park Students’ Union facilities, then please feel free to email me on vpheathpark@ cardiff.ac.uk. I would love to hear from you!

Claire Blakeway

BUCS Results: Wednesday 5th November

Presented by: Remember, we’re always looking for match reports. Email sport@ gairrhydd. com with your team’s progress!

tweet us @gairrhyddsport

email us sport@gairrhydd.com or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/sport

Wales’ Commonwealth hosting credentials (cont’d)

Continued from back page

joint South Wales bid, or even including places such as Wrexham and Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, to create a Games that includes all areas of Wales. is idea is sure to grab the interest of the 89 per cent of the Welsh population who live outside Cardiff, but it would force the organisers of the bid to sacrifice the enormous potential appeal of a compact Games in one of the UK’s most walkable cities.

Perhaps a more significant concern is the small capacity of non-sporting infrastructure in Cardiff and across Wales. Specifically, transport and accommodation – both crucial factors in organising such a large event –are far from capable of meeting the required demands. Arguably, these are already significant issues in Wales, and the inevitably hefty costs incurred

through new roads, public transport expansion and affordable housing would be entirely justified and win significant public support.

Another area needing expansion is Cardiff and Wales’ experience of hosting large events. e capital has hosted the Commonwealth Games when it was a much smaller affair in its previous incarnation as the British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

e country’s only other significant hosting duties have only been as a component of football and rugby tournaments. It would be advisable to campaign for other, single-sport events to take place in Wales before taking on the responsibility of one of the biggest sports events in the world.

e total cost of hosting major international sports events is

unavoidably high, and this is obviously an important consideration for the Welsh Assembly Government and whichever local councils are involved with a Welsh bid, as these are the authorities that would foot the bill.

ey might well be keen to take advice from the organisers of London 2012 and Glasgow 2014, as both events saw a major reduction in the overall cost of hosting these events, when compared with their predecessors, for the first time since costs have been recorded.

For some, the potential costs have been seen as prohibitively high, with the element of financial risk arguably being the main factor discouraging cities from launching bids to host the Commonwealth Games. Glasgow was one of only two bidding cities when it was selected to host the Games back in 2007, having been preferred over Nigeria’s capital Abuja.

Four years later, the run-off was somehow even less enticing, with Australia’s Gold Coast, the second largest city in Queensland, beating the small Sri Lankan town of Hamabantota. e vote to elect the 2022 hosts will take place next year, again with just two cities bidding.

Similarly, only two cities are competing for the right to host the Winter Olympics in 2022. It is likely that Beijing will win that particular ballot and become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, with some of the same venues set to be reused – Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, is its only competition.

While this is undoubtedly a worrying state of affairs for both the International Olympic Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation,

it does present the added benefit of a potentially smooth path for any serious bid to host either the Commonwealth Games or Winter Olympics in future. It is also likely that low-cost proposals would win favour from those in charge of organising the Games, meaning that the concept of a Games ‘on a budget’ need not be seen in a negative light.

In the modern age, security concerns have also been a factor in discouraging bids. e 1996 Olympics fell victim to terrorist attack and, although the event was concluded without major incident, the security of the 2010 Commonwealth Games caused much unease and shaped the Games’ image in the eyes of both the public and the media.

e necessary extra security measures would surely be one of the most expensive aspects of hosting the Games. ese measures would possibly be similar to those organised for the NATO summit that was held in South Wales this September, which were estimated to have cost £50 million. However, the length of the Commonwealth Games means that its security costs would likely surpass this figure.

While the prospect of a Games in Cardiff is intriguing to many and exciting to some, it provokes more questions than answers. However, time is on the city’s side, with another five years remaining to compile a serious case for the Games to come to Wales. Authorities must begin some metaphorical CV building now, but it is entirely possible that an impressive and prosperous Commonwealth Games could take place in Wales in the year 2026.

Cardiff’s Cobras bite back against Exeter

The Cardiff Cobras got their 2014/15 campaign underway at Duckes Meadow against the Exeter Demons. The Demons, looking to build upon a season in which they reached the Challenge Trophy semi-final, would provide a stern test for the Cobras.

Coming off the back of a solid 5 weeks training before taking the field for the first game, Cardiff were out to make a statement that would force the rest of the league to take note.

Cardiff won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball, looking to put up some early points on the board. After a promising couple of runs from veteran running back Ayo Akintunde, the drive stalled after a good stand from the Demon’s defense, and the Cobras were forced to punt the ball.

Getting their first taste of an offense that put up over 250 points last season, the Cobras defense struggled early with the tricky nature of the Demon’s scheme.

A combination of a short field to defend and a sluggish start by Cardiff led to Exeter Captain Alex

Briggs punching the ball into the endzone on a wide receiver reverse play that fooled the Cobras defense.

After the conversion, Cardiff had dug themselves a hole only 3 minutes into the game, trailing 7-0.

The Cobras offense struggled to find consistency for the remainder of the first half, showing flashes of strong play but stalling midway down the field. The defense stepped up to the plate after their shaky start, still giving up yards to the Demons but digging in and making plays when it counted. The two sides were locked in a midfield chess match, exchanging hard hits with both defenses dominating.

After the break, with the Cobras down by only a single score, momentum began to shift. The Cardiff defense was fully into their stride growing in confidence as the Demons threw everything they had at them with diminishing success.

The first significant change of momentum was seen when Free Safety Ed Woolcott stripped the ball and recovered the subsequent fumble, giving the Cardiff offense

the ball on the Exeter 20 yard line. The offense fed off the good play of the defense and it didn’t take long for them to convert the turnover into points.

After establishing the run with Akintunde in the first half and building upon it at the start of the second, it allowed the pass game to become effective. A hard play action fake by Quarterback Chris Brinkworth to Akintunde had the Exeter defense going the wrong way, and he found 4th year Receiver Stefan Pollitt on the backside of the play wide open with a clear path to the endzone after picking up a solid block from Dan Reeves. The conversion was missed so the Cobras still trailed by 1 with the score at 7-6 midway through the 3rd quarter.

Cardiff drove down the field deep into Exeter territory midway into the final quarter. The Exeter defense showed great fight to force a 4th down situation for the Cobras from the Exeter 18 yard line.

With time winding down, Brinkworth launched a high, arcing throw from the pocket, which found

Stefan Pollitt in the right hand corner of the endzone for the go ahead score with 7 minutes to play in the game. Brinkworth then converted the two point conversion attempt by scrambling to the right and diving in past the pylon to give Cardiff a solid 14-7 lead.

The offense leaned on Akintunde yet again to seal the victory. With excellent blocking from lead blocker Rhys Romo, and the offensive line of Ben Mason, Alex Dunkley, Alex Frost, Toby Lock and Jake Saffer, he passed 100 yards on the ground for the day as Cardiff looked to control the clock. Some crucial conversions in big situations forced Exeter to begin using timeouts to preserve what little time was left.

Exeter were in the last chance saloon with less than a minute to play and had to break down a now resolute Cardiff defense to send the game to overtime. Four pass plays in a row yielded no yards and the Cobras were able to kneel the ball out in a victory formation after a hard-fought battle to get their first win of the season.

While the prospect of a Games in Cardiff is intriguing to many and exciting to some, it provokes more questions than answers

Cardiff were out to make a statement that would force the league to take note “

Ed Woolcott

Pictured: e Millennium Stadium, which would be a strong component in a Cardiff bid

Joe

Investing in football’s American dream

As Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan joins forces with Magic Johnson to invest in Los Angeles FC, we look at how soccer is progressing in the USA

Soccer. It’s a word that causes the majority of British football supporters to cringe uncontrollably and direct a torrent of abuse toward anyone who would dare to refer to their most revered sport in such Americanised terminology – especially Americans.

However, soccer is growing in the U.S. of A. So much so, that profitmotivated Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan has opted to make what he terms a “minority investment” in upcoming Major League Soccer franchise Los Angeles FC.

“I believe the MLS will be a good investment” said Malaysian businessman Tan, who now has stakes in three football clubs, having bought Bosnian Premier League outfit FK Sarajevo in late 2013, three years after his takeover of the Bluebirds.

Because this is America, Tan will be entering into a rather unconventional partnership agreement with a number of other celebrity investors including former basketballer Magic Johnson, as well as the ex-U.S.A. women’s soccer captain Mia Hamm.

But among the glitz and glamour that will be L.A. FC’s executive box come the club’s opening MLS game (scheduled for 2017) when Vincent Tan and Magic Johnson finally meet, the question will persist: is the MLS becoming more valid in today’s footballing landscape?

Well, seeing as former League One regular Bradley Wright-Phillips has just set the record for most goals ever recorded in an MLS season (28 and counting), you could be forgiven for laughing in the face of American association football and casting your eye back to Europe, where the successful and talented players ply their trade.

Yet the U.S.A. reached the last sixteen of the summer’s FIFA World

Cup, something that couldn’t be said of international powerhouses Spain, Italy, Portugal, and of course England. It should also be noted that they did so with nine MLS players in their roster –over one third of the squad.

In addition to this significant achievement, attendance statistics are showing a steady increase in interest in soccer from the American public; the sport is now the third-highest attended in the country in terms of average numbers of bums on seats –only the National Football League and Major League Baseball draw larger crowds.

On top of this, demand has clearly grown for more clubs – in 2004 there were ten MLS franchises across the States. Now there are nineteen, with further teams from New York, Orlando, Miami and of course Los

Angeles sanctioned to join in the coming three years. In concurrence with the increase in franchises, attendances have also increased –in 2004 an average MLS crowd was 15,559, whereas in the 2014 season it had reached 19,151, and the upward trend looks to be continuing.

In fact those statistics make the MLS the eighth-most attended league in the world, ahead of football-mad countries Brazil and Argentina. ere is certainly a case to say the MLS is becoming a major force in football.

Ageing players, as has always been the case, are being drawn to America under the guise of improving the standard of football in the U.S.A., but the more likely reason is to gain one last fat paycheque before retirement. Legends such as Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, David Villa

and Kaka are all under contract at MLS clubs, but players such as England striker Jermain Defoe, who is adamant that he still has a lot to offer his country, are starting to cross the pond long before their sellby date has been reached.

On top of this U.S.A. stars are returning to their homeland too; the likes of Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones have all in the last year signed for MLS franchises from European clubs and are helping improve the quality and star-factor of the league.

So what stands in the way of this expansion? For starters it has been a long-heralded belief that the advertoriented U.S. broadcast service does not, and never will favour football, which involves long 45 minute halves that cannot be calved up by time-outs such as in basketball and American football. As a consequence, football gets less airtime, and people are less exposed to the sport in general.

Juxtapose this with the oversaturation of football coverage on Sky Sports, ITV and occasionally the BBC in our very own Great Britain, and you can see why Americans struggle to ‘get’ the beautiful game in the same way we do.

But Vincent Tan believes in America, and a flourishing MLS can only be a good thing for Cardiff City with their owner now having a personal investment in it.

Tan, reflecting on his turbulent reign at the Cardiff City Stadium so far and his venture into the MLS, joked that he had “invested so much money in Cardiff and it is my tuition fees to learn the football business.”

After his rollercoaster freshman years running Cardiff City, Tan will be hoping to graduate with distinction, but the complicated footballing landscape in the States means that he has another tough task in spinning a profit.

A flourishing MLS can only be a good thing for Cardiff City, with their owner now having a personal investment in it

Atkinson

Pictured: American soccer fans (top right); and Cardiff City owner and Los Angeles F.C. investor

Vincent Tan (bottom left)

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SPORT Team Talk: F.C. Euros

Charlie Legge and Rob Balchin of F.C. Euros give Sport’s James Lloyd an insight into their multinational side

James Lloyd

Ayear ago, F.C. Euros did not exist. Decimated by graduations and years abroad, the side were forced to fold. Over the summer, Charlie Legge and Rob Balchin teamed up to resurrect the onceformidable IMG outfit. After some heavy recruitment, the team are back on the up and aiming for Division One.

What are your roles within the team?

Charlie Legge: I am the main captain and Rob is more of the social sec, but we started the team together.

Rob Balchin: I look at the social side. I organise socials, sponsorship - things like that. We mainly run everything we do by each other.

Do you enjoy your role as captain?

CL: It has its ups and downs. F.C. Euros didn’t exist last year because it coincided with some of us going abroad and others graduating. So Rob contacted me over the summer, we did some heavy recruiting and now we’re up and running.

How well do you think your team will do this year?

RB: Division One is the target, but Division Two is more realistic.

e Blues’ poor start to their Guinness Pro 12 season worsened when they went down to an under strength Munster side in what was the Welsh regions third home defeat of the season. Performances have gradually improved at the Arms Park, with their last gasp defeat at the hands of the crack Irish province at least highlighting that the Blues do have the ability to compete with the Pro 12’s leading sides. However, with European qualification now based solely on a sides finishing position in the Pro 12, the Blues cannot afford many more slip up’s with a top six

CL: Coming together as a new bunch of players, we certainly have talent in the team. It’s a case of catching up with all the other teams who have played together for a number of years already.

How has your form been so far this season?

CL: We have already played four games this season, they have been quite high scoring encounters so far. We’ve scored lots of goals but we’re leaking a few at the back.

RB: We must give a special mention to Felix, he’s a six-foot-two German who had just established himself as our main centre back and then broke his ankle in a game. He has had to fly back to Germany, so we hope he recovers soon.

For F.C. Euros, would you rather have Messi or Ronaldo in the starting XI?

CL: Ronaldo for me.

RB: Got to be Ronaldo, but he’d be in competition with our Phil Teenan.

CL: Ronaldo might have to settle for the bench!

Who would be in your dream 5-a-side team?

CL: Well, start off with Ronaldo. Bale has to be in there too.

RB: Keeper wise, Buffon has a safe

finish already looking like a mountain that is unlikely to be climbed. However, there were positives to be taken from the Blues’ narrow defeat to Munster, and their two wins in the European Challenge Cup. Before the season began many pundits tipped the side to finish the season as Welsh rugby’s strongest region based on a decent summer of recruitment.

Despite that scenario having been thrown out of the window, the Blues’ summer signings are beginning to prove their worth to director of rugby Mark Hammett.

pair of hands, maybe someone like Wayne Rooney as well. Maybe Ramos as a defender.

What is your most memorable moment in football?

CL: Scoring a last minute header for my 1st XI at school, that is quite special. I rose, closed my eyes and I never score headers!

RB: The whole of our second season, I had a good penalty saving record, seven penalties faced, five saved, with the others missed.

What are your team tactics?

CL: Trying to out-score the other team! We play 4-2-3-1, which suits our European players who have a lot of flair and speed.

RB: We have a mix of old-fashioned English defending combined with a bit of flair.

CL: We have three Germans, an Austrian, a Dane, a Spaniard and a Bulgarian – so we have quite a mix.

Who is the Balotelli of the team?

CL: In terms of poor form, I had a bit of a shocker where I missed a one-on-one and a penalty.

RB: We have a diva in Phil Teenan – think the David Beckham of `98. I’d say that we have a bit of a character in Ben Clifford, especially on socials.

Who is the best trainer?

Adam Jones has been getting more effective in the scrum and industrious in the loose since his omission from the Welsh squad, Jarrad Hoeata is also beginning to show some of the form that won him three All Blacks caps, whilst Italian international number 8 Manoai Vosawi has been outstanding over the past month.

New signing and Argentine international winger Lucas Amorosino impressed against Munster, and with Welsh qualified utility back Gareth Anscombe having arrived in the country one senses that the Blues do

CL: Tom Edwards takes training seriously, and so does David.

RB: I don’t take training too seriously!

Who is the hard man of the team?

RB: Our Dane Klaus flies into tackles. He’s like a Martin Skrtel with hair. He’ll make a clean tackle but will take anybody.

Who is the most skilful?

CL: Nico, one of our German signings is very good. He plays well with Fred, Adrian is also very good.

RB: Adrian plays for Toulouse University. He has come straight in and asserted himself very well.

Who are your rivals in the league?

RB: Historically it has been MoMed.

CL: We have had some really good games with EarthSoc. We have come out with 4-3 and 3-2 scorelines against them. They always give us a good game, so it looks like EarthSoc will be up there.

Finally who is the best dancer at socials?

RB: Hands down that has to go Ben Clifford, the Dinosaur dance is brilliant.

CL: Because of the Erasmus element we have a few characters.

have an opportunity to pick up some vital Guinness Pro 12 points during the Autumn International period.

e LV Cup, which is now seen as a development competition, will see Mark Hammett give game time to some of his squad’s less experienced players. e likes of former Wales under 20’s captain Ellis Jenkins, hooker Ethan Lewis, and winger Harry Davies will be given an opportunity to show their worth.

If it is used wisely the LV Cup could be used as a tool to develop real depth in the Blues squad, which Mark Hammett has been badly missed this season.

We have a mix of oldfashioned English defending combined with a bit of flair

Steffan Thomas

Pictured: Legge and Balchin would both select Cristiano Ronaldo (left) ahead of Lionel Messi (right) in their starting XI

Sport’s Spotlight: Kayaking

Kayaking club member Louis Frost encourages students to take to the water

Kayaking is one of the fastest growing water sports in Britain, with over 1.2 million adults across the country taking to the water in one way or another every week, according to Sport England.

Whether it be pursuing new thrills by taking on raging torrents, competing in the high-speed action that is canoe polo, or taking in the breath-taking scenery of a beautiful Welsh valley, the sport has plenty to offer to participants at all levels.

I have been a member of Cardiff University Kayakers for over two years now, and have been paddling in one way or another for the last eight years. In this time I have seen some truly incredible sights, experienced white knuckle thrills, and made friends who I hope will last a lifetime.

Often, when speaking to people about the sport I love so much, I have realised that there is a perceived barrier to entry into kayaking which isn’t present in other sports: Why do you kayak? at looks really dangerous! Isn’t it freezing? ese are all questions I am asked regularly, and this piece aims to dispel many myths surrounding kayaking, and to promote the university’s kayaking club, which all members strongly believe to be one of

In the week following the announcement that Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan is among a group of investors behind new MLS franchise Los Angeles Football Club, it was also revealed that match-day programme booths at Cardiff were no longer open. is never used to happen in the past, but the booths dotted around the stadium which used to sell programmes have been closed, with in-the-know fanzine members hinting that it is part of a cost-cutting exercise at the club. On the face of it, it’s hard to come up with any other logical explanation as to

the best in the UK.

First and foremost, why kayak? To put it simply, it’s incredibly fun and offers a variety of competitive and recreational activities, from paddling down steep gorges, playing high-level canoe polo, splashing about in one of our many pool sessions, or joining a regular club social.

Everyone who is part of Cardiff Uni Kayakers is in it first and foremost to have a good time. I personally get a great thrill from both pushing myself with my own paddling, and by coaching and guiding people to their own kayaking goals. I recently had the pleasure of leading a group down the Teifi Tour, in Carmarthen. is was the first taste of white water kayaking for many of our members, and from their smiles at the bottom of the rapids you could tell they were hooked too. e club runs many such trips throughout the year, with missions to Dartmoor, Scotland and the French Alps all in the diary. ese trips are the perfect way to spend your weekend or holiday with plenty of ridiculous behaviour - mainly involving drinking and adrenaline rushes on the water - though these are probably best not done together.

Cardiff Uni Kayaking members tend

why it should happen.

So what is the significance of this?

How are these two occurrences linked? Whisper it quietly, but perhaps Mr Tan is losing interest in his little bit of the Far East in the Welsh capital.

Compared to the controversy surrounding the club as a whole, this may not seem as shocking to some. In fact, it may just seem like a formality in a time of financial austerity combined with the costs of actually running an enormous club.

But the signs have perhaps been evident for a while. e purchase of

to be people who wreak havoc. Whether we’re freezing together, drinking rum in a tent in West Wales, trying to cook pasta for thirty people using one giant saucepan or (accidentally) running someone over with the minibus, there is always chaos to be had off the water. On the water, however, we have a ‘safety first, safety second’ policy since the risks of white water kayaking can be all too real. Beginner kayakers can learn what they can do to be safe when kayaking at our weekly pool sessions. More experienced members of the club who act as safeties may have been paddling for many years, but still need

to engage in practising safety at all times.

Kayaking is a sport which takes you to amazing places, helps you meet great people and gives you a place in an exciting, evolving community on the water. Cardiff University Kayaking Club can offer you a way into this if you have no experience of paddling prior to becoming a student, or for those who have it is a place where you’ll meet like-minded people to show you exciting Welsh rivers, share a laugh and a pint with and make your university experience extremely memorable.

FK Sarajevo in Bosnia for one, along with the American venture now, could be seen as either an expansion of his footballing empire, or perhaps an attempt to create more economically viable options to him.

Tan is, after all, a shrewd businessman, and the programme booth situation is one of many recently in which cost has been a crucial factor.

Another, of course, would be the appointment of Russell Slade as manager, over someone such as Tony Pulis. Pulis, the successful Newportborn coach, was not contacted by

Cardiff in their hunt to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but admitted he would have taken the job had it been offered. Tan chose Slade, who is no doubt on half the wage that Solskjaer was or Pulis would demand, if that. is too, could be economically viable, a quick fix almost, bringing in a man from the lower leagues to get his club back into the top flight.

After nearly four years of ownership, are these internal decisions, coupled with the purchase of new teams the clearest signs yet that Tan is gearing up to walk away?

Everyone who is part of Cardiff Uni Kayakers is in it first and foremost to have a good time

Dan Heard

Louis Frost

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Could Cardiff host the Commonwealth Games?

After the success of this summer’s Games in Glasgow, Gair Rhydd takes a look at Cardiff’s potential as a host city

Since the success of this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, speculation about a possible Welsh bid to host the event has intensified. In a country famed for its sporting passion, there would surely be a warm and enthusiastic welcome for one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.

With the next two editions of the games certain to be held on far-flung continents, there is a good chance that the Commonwealth Games

Federation will be keen to bring the event back to Europe. is also means that the earliest possible date for a Games in Wales is 2026, meaning that there is plenty of time to plan and compile a strong bid.

However, with Wales having never hosted an event near the size of the modern Commonwealth Games and with a plethora of recent sporting events resulting in financial disasters, there are certainly questions of pragmatism to be asked before

the Commonwealth Games can be brought to Wales.

One major question is where the minimum of 10 or maximum of 17 Commonwealth Games sports would be held. Existing world-class facilities in Cardiff including the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium and the Cardiff International Sports Village would surely provide a strong centre point for a bid from the capital.

Furthermore, a long list of other venues including the Swalec Stadium,

the Motorpoint Arena and the Wales Millennium Centre could all be adapted into suitable venues for Commonwealth sports in ways that would be far cheaper than building new stadia, and would avoid the complications of creating the ‘white elephants’ that have been the legacies of major sports events elsewhere in the world.

A very interesting proposal is the possibility of also holding events in Swansea and Newport, as part of a

Continued on page 32

David Hooson

Pictured: Wales last hosted the Games in 1958