Gair Rhydd 1053 - 11 May 2015

gair rhydd

Monday May 11th 2015 | freeword | Issue 1053

In this week’s issue: the General Election, student Facebook scams, how caffeine can help you revise, why we must destroy Yik Yak and how to stay healthy in the revision period

THE RESULTS: PAGES 14 & 15

Union refuses to back down on referendum

Officer team refuses to acknowledge any foul play during campaign Barney Willis to Scrutiny Committee: “I wouldn’t change anything”

Anna Lewis

Welsh speakers have been made to feel “isolated” and “exiled from their own capital” say campaigners, as the backlash continues following the shocking behaviour of sabbatical officers during the recent Welsh Language Officer referendum.

In response to the backhand behaviour of the ‘No’ campaign during last week’s referendum, disillusioned members of the opposing ‘Yes’ campaign have launched a scathing attack on the Students’ Union sabbatical team. ‘Yes’ have issued calls for the officers to admit the use of scare-mongering and exaggeration by the campaign, the evidence for which was revealed in the last issue of Gair Rhydd.

In a meeting organised at the

behest of current part-time Welsh Language Officer, Steffan Bryn, Students’ Union President Elliot Howells was grilled by members of the ‘Yes’ campaign, who said that they believed that the current sabbatical officer team had failed “to keep the interests of the students at heart”.

However, Howells refused to apologise to angry members of the ‘Yes’ campaign despite complaints that he and the other officers had engaged in ‘unethical’ behaviour during the referendum.

Howells asserted that “no lies were told” by anybody affiliated with the ‘No’ campaign. The SU President further denied the misbehaviour of Union officers during the referendum.

Despite this, Gair Rhydd pub-

lished evidence last week that Students’ Union officers intended to “influence” students to vote against the creation of a full-time Welsh language officer. During the voting period, both VP Societies and VP Education sent mass emails threatening members of societies and sports clubs with substantial budget cuts of a combined £46,000 in the case of a victory for the ‘Yes’ campaign. However, over the course of the meeting between Howells and the ‘Yes’ campaign, the Union were still unable to reveal the full-extent of the costs of employing a full-time Welsh language officer. This is despite Howells presenting conflicting figures of “over £30,000” and “at most £26,000”.

Accused of putting the Union as a

commercial entity before students, Howells was condemned by members of the ‘Yes’ campaign for stating that the creation of a full-time Welsh Officer was “not in the best interest of the Union.”

Meanwhile, VP Societies Barney Willis appeared before the Scrutiny Committee to insist that he would “do it all again”, in reference his emails sent to encouraged a no vote. In a shocking development, Willis was encouraged to strike the remark from the record, and is not believed to have been included on the minutes. He revised his suggestion to say that he “stands by what [he] did” as the sabbatical officer in charge of the Students’ Union’s Guild of Societies.

In response to complaints that full-time officers should not have

Continued on page 4

THE FREE WORD

EDITOR

Michael O’Connell-Davidson

GAIR

RHYDD CO-ORDINATOR

Elaine Morgan

NEWS

Georgia Hamer

Katie Evans

Alexander Norton

Anna Lewis ADVICE

Kirsty Fardell

COMMENT

Anne Porter

Gareth Evans

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

Vidya Brainerd

TAF-OD

Steffan Bryn Jones

Morgan Owen SPORT

David Hooson

Rory Benson

Joe Atkinson

PRODUCTION EDITOR

Sum Sze Tam

DIGITAL EDITORS

Jordan Adams

Gregory McChesney

SOCIAL MEDIA

EDITOR

Maria Mellor

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Eleanor Parkyn

Want to join the team?

Editorial conferences are each monday at 5PM. Proofreading takes place on Thursdays at 6PM in the media office during print weeks.

Write us a letter letters@gairrhydd.com Tweet us: @gairrhydd

At

at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints

Opinions expressed in editorials are not reflective of Cardiff Students’ Union, who act as the publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and should not be considered official communications or the organisation’s stance. Gair Rhydd is a post office registered newspaper.

A surprise turnout

When people said to me at the start of the year that the general election would be a defining week for the newspaper, I thought I understood what that meant. But reality has a habit of subverting expectations, as it did in this instance.

I’m writing this on my 25th hour in the office, and I imagine I’ll send it to the printers the 26th. Tat the first thing some people read will be the last gasp of the newspaper’s production cycle is incredibly frustrating to me; much of my work goes unnoticed, with no byline, the result of back-room tinkering and design work. Tat the bit with my name on it in the front has been written while I’m a shambling mess is a bit of a shame.

But I would not have it any other way, because a general election comes once every five years and lord knows people have had enough of me. With just a few more issues to go before this year’s set of issues is set to end, I’ve had my time to shine. Tis issue has been all about my insanely dedicated politics team, who I barely hold a candle to.

Carwyn Williams started our liveblog at 11am on polling day. It ended 3pm on results day. Jointly with the rest of the team, Carwyn stuck with the liveblog for a sustained 28 hours, an absolutely mammoth undertaking.

Fresh from handing in her dissertation and with four exams still to come, Rhiannon Tapp has stuck it out for just as long as I have, if not longer. Forever chipper, Rhi’s been writing and designing for print and media monitoring for the liveblog all night. If you’ve seen tweets from @GairRhyddPol, they were probably her.

Results day was Lauren Boyd’s birthday, and while I understand the results weren’t quite what she would have wanted as a gift, her unerring dedication to the newspaper has been such that I can only hope this issue forms a great present for her when it hits the stands on Monday.

David Hooson, Sum Sze Tam and Georgia Hamer were all on hand to sub the pages to completion.

Shanna Hamilton joined the unseen ranks of the sub-editors, and I want to make it clear that if you think this issue looks tight and tidy, it’s down to them.

Te business of producing a newspaper in the face of a General Election as unpredictable as this one has been is strange, and the live blog (Jordan Adams’ grand contribution to Gair Rhydd) tells a story nobody saw coming. Last night, we managed to break news ahead of Media Wales and the BBC; we secured an interview with Jo Stevens last night at 5AM, and we’ll be back next week to quiz the candidate for Cardiff North (the Heath). It was a unique experience to be in the newsroom as the results came in - to get a first look at what shape the country would take over the next five years.

And while that would be the case with any election, what a brilliant election it’s been. I speak not of the results, but the unpredictability of it allbecause, really, who foresaw a majority? And, of those, who foresaw a Tory majority?

I confess that I have some sympathy for Ed Miliband. While he has been plastered with all sorts of names and been subject to character assassination from day one, I can’t help but feel thst, at his core, he is a decent man. Regardless of your politics, I think everybody can agree that he was a unique candidate who gave this campaign a sense of character that’s so often absent in Westminster.

And who really foresaw Farage not getting his seat? While everybody’s favourite rubber chickenpolitician has claimed that he’s simply going to contest the UKIP leadership again this Autumn, reducing the entire thing to farce, perhaps this is the end of the line for his political career. Farage has unsuccessfully run for parliament seven times, now, and I can’t help but feel like he’s running out of steam. Tis was supposed to be his moment: instead, UKIP got just one seat. While UKIP’s done exceedingly well in terms of vote share, I can’t imagine anybody at party HQ is happy with this result.

Nick Clegg? Well, he’ll never be popular amongst our audience, so I won’t say anything. With the Greens outpacing the Liberal Democrats in many constituencies, I can only wonder where the Liberal Democrats are going from here. No doubt Tim Farron is slated to be the next leader - they hardly have anybody to ask!

But it wasn’t the resignation of three leaders that made this a landmark for this newspaper. Nor was it the practically unprecedented set of results. Tat we were able to accompany people as they watched the count online on our live blog, and that we were able to produce so much great local analysis for the newspaper - that’s what made this a defining election for Gair Rhydd.

I believe wholeheartedly that our digital strategy this year has been very good indeed, and this election has been another success story in Gair Rhydd’s transition towards being a publication that transcends print and moves towards being a truly modern publication. Te web is important, and we’re doing it well.

Whatever shape next year takes, I think that of late we have stood by the student body exceptionally well. If next year things are difficult - or if they are made difficult for us - I hope that our reputation will continue to improve and that the student body will stand by us.

We are a public service; we exist both for our volunteers and for the student body at large. I believe that this year has been the first in some time that we have genuinely embraced that. We have immersed ourselves in the democratic machinations of the Union, and put a real emphasis on devolution and the Senedd in our political reporting. While we might have lost our place within the University culture before, nights like tonight lead me to believe that we are well on our way to finding our place once again - and that perhaps we’ve already found it.

- MOCD

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: GAIR RHYDD 394

15/05/1991

Tis week we are taking a peek into issue 394 - way back in May 1991, a time when the world wide web was not yet publicly available (yes, such a nightmarish time did once exist!).

Te big news on the front page of this issue was that the Union was proposing a £50,000 redevelopment of the food court known as the ‘Afallon’. Tis re-development would not only see a fresh design to the ‘Afallon’, but would also bring fresh food to the plates of students eating there, as all produce was to be made on the premises.

Te writer of this article shares their design ideas for the pre-existing catering facilities, hoping for black and white tiles, coloured plastic and neon signs in the Fish and Chip Bar. Hopefully it ended up looking a little more upmarket than this sounds. Te illustrator seems to have a different idea, however, with what appears to be fish, and possibly dolphins, decorating the walls of the Fish and Chip Bar they have drawn.

Also featured on the front page is the news that, due to an amendment to the constitution, students in general meetings could speak in Welsh without providing an English translation. Students had been campaigning for this amendment for several years in an attempt to make students aware of the need for equal status of Welsh and English languages.

However, this news did not please some students, who thought it would complicate meetings and confuse people. It also appears that the BNP had been visiting the Union on a leafleting campaign, leading to the

issue of fascism being raised at the GM.

One thing that hasn’t changed since 1991 is the fact that academic books can be very pricey. In an article entitled ‘Students show priority for fun’, the result of a nationwide survey reveals that a fifth of students had not bought any books that academic year.

However, ‘fun’ is perhaps not the right word, as student’s stated the reason for this was more to do with inadequate funds than a preference for entertainment over education. Today, with the rise of eBooks and online publications, the price of books is not quite as much of an issue, but I think we can all still relate.

Possibly the funniest part of this issue is the full page spread with the caption ‘partyyy!!’ Apparently in the world before Facebook existed, University students were encouraged to invite people to their parties via an advert placed in Gair Rhydd. After skimming through subsequent issues of Gair Rhydd, it appears no one took them up on this offer, and I can’t say I’m surprised.

Another notable part of this issue is the inclusion of a letter from one Ian Shepherd. Mr Shepherd begins his letter by stating his upset at a previous Gair Rhydd article that apparently contained ‘disparaging comments concerning the male organ’, which he claims could offend some men.

However, it turns out that Ian could not care less about whether or not men were offended, but rather wanted his name in print, by any means necessary. Looks like he’s got his wish again.

Atkinson

Campus In Brief

Students up and down the land headed out to their polling stations for what was the first time many of us had the right to vote in a general election. Te Students’ Union encouraged students to vote by offering a lucrative £20 Taf voucher for the best ‘polling card selfie’. In Cardiff Central, Liberal Democrat Jenny Willott lost her seat to Labour’s Jo Stevens. Overall, the Conservatives won a surprise majority while the SNP won 56 of Scotland’s 59 seats.

A comprehensive study from the University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies found that on television news bulletins politicians spend more time attacking political opponents rather than focusing on their own policies. Te research found that about half of the BBC’s political soundbites featured such attacks, while Channel 4 news had the lowest, at 36.4% of soundbites –in comparison 43.8% were used to put forward information on their policies.

Local band Super Furry Animals paid a visit to Cardiff University as they played a set dressed “like mad scientists in white boiler suits”. Te band, which formed in 1993, is touring in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the release of their Welsh-language album ‘Mwng’ and the 20th since their first EP.

Scientists at Cardiff University’s European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, believe that they have made a breakthrough in the battle against cancer, using stem cells. Tey identified a compound that works in targeting tumour cells associated with pancreas, colon, breast and prostate cancers.

Te University reported a 144% increase in students spending time in Europe following a fiveyear drive to increase the number of placements on the continent away from Cardiff. On work placements abroad, Cardiff University vicechancellor Colin Riordan said: “Not only do they provide student with ‘real world’ experience but they can forge collaborative ventures with a range of universities.”

NATIONAL

Tere were a number of, perhaps inevitable, polling cock-ups on Election Day, most noticeably the omission of UKIP candidate David Hodgson from “dozens” of ballot papers in the constituency of Darlington. Elsewhere some British expats complained that postal votes have arrived too late for them to exercise their right to vote.

Both the value of sterling and the FTSE fell as Britain headed to the polls in anticipation of the political chaos that would go with the expected hung parliament. Te pound’s value against the dollar hit its lower since last year’s Scottish independence referendum, as it fell to 0.1 per cent against its American equivalent.

While the election dominated headlines, other things happened too. It was reported that the lives and livelihoods of some of the victims of last month’s Hatton Garden raid could be “ruined” after it emerged that some did not have insurance on their depositaries. Te gang that raided the 56 safes took an estimated of £2million in total. Experts said that they didn’t see the victims succeeding with lawsuits against the security personnel at Hatton Gardens.

Students were given an excuse not to check emails from university as a former government advisor described the “epidemic” in Britain of employees checking and dealing with work emails out-of-hours. Sir Cary Cooper claimed that people responding to work emails leads to a loss of productivity compared to their international counterparts.

Manchester city council came under fire as it banned homeless people from entering the city’s main library or using their toilets. Protestors claimed that they felt like “second-class citizens” and “members of the underclass”, while implying that the council were undertaking social cleansing. Te ban came after a group of homeless people had set up camp outside the library as part of an anti-austerity protest.

INTERNATIONAL

An appeals court in the United States overturned a 2013 decision in deeming the mass collection of phone recordings by the National Security Agency as illegal. Judges urged Congress to take action against the NSA and halt the programme. Meanwhile a group of artists who erected a statue the man who initially leaked documents related to the bulk surveillance, Edward Snowden, will not be charged, and have had their statue returned.

Te newest in the line of Russian battle tanks ground to a sudden half during a rehearsal of the May 9th Victory parade in Moscow. Te tank, a T-14 Armata, which is one of the country’s most hightech military weapons, has been rumoured to have stopped because of a breakdown, as it was brought to an embarrassing stall in Red Square.

Te Greek government vowed to stick to their “red line” promises on labour and pensions that it made upon election in 2014. Te incumbent Syriza party has been locked in talks with the International Monetary Fund and the European Union for much of its time in power, as it struggles to implement its antiausterity policies that the population voted in swathes for.

Explorers off the coast of Madagascar have claimed that they have discovered treasure from the wrecked ship of the notorious 17th-Century Scottish pirate William Kidd. Te explorers, who said they had “no doubt” of the validity of their find, discovered a 50kg silver bar, which was presented in a special ceremony to the president of Madagascar.

And finally, a Japanese zoo apologised as a baby monkey was named after the new-born Princess Catherine. Te name was decided via a vote at Mount Takasaki Wild Monkey Park, who claimed: “Since we announced the name we’ve been receiving calls and emails from people mostly complaining that it is rude to British people.”

Scientists at Cardiff University believe they have made a breakthrough in the battle against cancer, using stem cells

Joseph

Pictured: Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals

(Photographer: Silvio Tanaka, Wikimedia commons)

tweet us @gairrhyddnews

email us news@gairrhydd.com

or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/news

Cont’d: Union refuses to back down on referendum

Continued from front page

“Howells insisted that ‘officers have a right to express an opinion’

”sought to promote their own views on the matter, Howells insisted that “officers have a right to express an opinion”, and share their knowledge of Students’ Union procedure. In the meeting held between Union staff and ‘Yes’ campaigners, the statement was met with support by both current VP Heath Claire Blakeway, and Students’ Union Chief Executive Daniel Palmer.

In defence of his blog posted on the Students’ Union website urging students to vote against the creation of a full-time Welsh language officer, Howells suggested that it would be “irresponsible” to prevent sabbatical positions from expressing their opinion.

However, the President’s explanations were slated by members of the Welsh speaking community, who condemned both Howells and other sabbatical officers for expressing their opinion through official Students’ Union social media accounts.

One member of the ‘Yes’ campaign in attendance stated: “When using official channels, you should have the interests of the students at heart.”

“Students are intelligent enough to make their own decisions without being influenced.”

As a result of the developments, concerns have been voiced over the behaviour of sabbatical officers in the

Pictured:

Members of the ‘Yes’ campaign confronted SU President on a meeting held on Tursday (Photographer: Anna Lewis)

next academic year.

In the meeting, students demanded to know whether future SU President Claire Blakeway understood the severity of the behaviour conducted by fellow officers.

One student demanded: “Do you understand why we feel cheated?”

“We have tried to achieve integration with the Students’ Union but this has only lead to isolation”.

In an attempt to improve relationships with the Welsh speaking community, Union staff have acknowledged the need to improve Welsh language provision at both the Union and University.

“We now need to look at how to engage and represent Welsh students in order to ensure what we’re doing is wanted”, stated Head of Membership Services Steve Wilford.

However, requests from staff for co-operation and suggestions for future plans were met with resistance, as members of the ‘Yes’ campaign responded with cries that their calls for action have been ignored.

One campaigner explained: “ Te students have demanded the creation of a full-time Welsh language officer. We want that change now.”

Meanwhile, the Union’s plans to introduce a full-time Students’ Union staff member to improve Welsh language facilities were met with further criticism, as members of the

Man

A‘Yes’ campaign emphasized the inability to bring Union staff into account in comparison to elected officers.

“What can a member of staff do that a sabbatical officer can’t?” members of the ‘Yes’ campaign questioned.

Tey continued: “ Tis is clearly what the Union wants, and not what the students want.”

As a result, it was suggested that in line with existing societies and AU executive committees, a Welsh Language Executive Committee be created in order to examine the Union’s progress towards improving Welsh language facilities.

It was also suggested that a member of the Welsh speaking community be placed on the Union’s scrutiny committee, in order to hold current sabbatical officers to account.

Both Howells and Blakeway admitted that further plans to improve facilities for Welsh language speakers had yet to be put in place. In the meeting they emphasized that collaboration with the Welsh community was needed in order to pave the way for future developments, and that without it, it was unlikely that there would be any further progress.

Currently, members of the ‘Yes’ campaign claim that the lack of a full-time Welsh sabbatical officer has caused significant problems for first language Welsh speakers.

“Last year two of my friends failed their exams due to a failure to provide Welsh translations,” one stated.

As such, the need was highlighted for a full-time officer within the Union, able to ensure a link between all bodies within the Union.

As leader of the ‘Yes’ campaign, Bryn explained: “we need to take out the middle management and ensure we have a sabbatical officer with a free timetable to meet our needs.”

Demands for details of the current budget for Welsh language provision were also left unexplained, as Howells was unable to provide figures for the current academic year.

However, according to his own investigation as current part-time Welsh language officer, Bryn suggested that the figure exceeded no more than £800 of the £600,000 block grant allocated to the Union by the University.

Such estimates present a stark contrast to the £2.5 million allocated to the refurbishment of the Students’ Union announced last week.

Tis vast sum has been brought under scrutiny by students in favour of a full-time Welsh language officer, with some members accusing the Union of purposefully withholding the news of the refurbishment until after the end of the referendum period.

Tese accusations were emphatically denied by union staff.

reportedly left ‘beaten unconcious’ outside Union

man was reportedly left beaten and unconscious outside Cardiff University Students’ Union on the evening of Saturday, 3 rd May.

The incident gave rise to claims that a man was left bruised and ‘blue’ from the cold as he was ignored by hundreds of students leaving a club night at the Union.

According to second year ENCAP student Charley Griffiths, the man was found near the bottom of the front steps of the building on Park Place at approximately 1am.

Having stopped to aid the man

herself and asked for help from numerous passers-by, Griffiths claimed that she was ‘ignored’ by fellow students as she sought to establish the victim’s identity.

‘No-one seemed bothered, yet he was obviously in a bad way’, she stated.

Accompanied by fellow second year Alex Roach, Griffiths eventually sought help from staff at the Union.

After having received help from the two students, the victim received medical attention from bouncers and first aiders on duty

at the Union, who reportedly brought the man out of a state of unconsciousness.

Although it is unknown whether the man attended club night ‘Flux’ at the Students’ Union, he was described as in his ‘mid twenties’ and ‘definitely student aged’.

Speaking to Gair Rhydd, both Griffiths and Roach described their disgust at the behaviour of other students who failed to help the person in question.

‘We couldn’t believe it took so long for the man to be taken care of’, they stated, ‘especially as all he

“

We have tried to acheive integration with the Students’ Union, but this has only lead to isolation Member of the ‘Yes’ Campaign

”

needed was some tender loving care’.

However, a Cardiff University Students’ Union spokesperson appeared to cast doubt on whether the man in question was actually injured.

“We received a report that one of the Union’s medic staff spoke to someone on Park Place on Saturday night,” they said.

“The person was in fancy dress and had just attended a zombie run. No medical attention was required.”

Efforts continue to indentify the man.

“

We

couldn’t

believe it took so long for the

man

to be taken care of

”

Anna Lewis

Alexander Norton

Georgia Hamer

Tousands of students fall victim to Facebook scams

Fake student events pages linked to Cardiff based promotor Electric Ents

Thousands of students across the UK have been scammed by fake Facebook events linked to Cardiff based club promoters, Electric Ents.

A whole host of pages advertising fake events across student cities in the UK have been illegally eliciting personal details from students under false pretences.

One event that drew a huge amount of attention from students was ‘University Wipeout’ - based on BBC One’s game show ‘Total Wipeout’, it promised an obstacle course of ‘inflatables and plenty of prizes’.

Te event instructed those who were interested in taking part to ‘preregister’ by signing up on a Google docs form and giving their full name, date of birth, email address, phone

number and university.

Tere is evidence to suggest that these events are part of a wider network of Facebook pages designed to collect personal details from students.

Last month Radio 1 revealed that a Facebook page titled ‘Bring Radio 1 Big Weekend To Your City’ was in fact a scam.

Te page included a statement, at the head of each city specific page, purporting to be from a Radio 1 representative. Tis read: “We have decided to try let the Radio 1 BIG Weekend be chosen by the public instead of the heads of the BBC.

“We are doing a competition between key cities that we think deserve the Radio 1 BIG Weekend and whoever has the highest number of attendees by December 1st 2015.”

Further pages have emerged since, including campaign page ‘No More Student Fees’, ‘I’m Going to University 2015’ and ‘Open Air Cinema’.

Students have also noted a number of these pages using ‘bait and switch’ marketing techniques. Students are lured in with promises of exciting activities and prizes only to find that the event details have later been changed to completely different events after thousands of students have clicked attending.

News broadcast group Get Current revealed that the illegal practice could be traced back, via the signup pages, to the same user account‘christianunicribs’.

‘Uni cribs’, or University Cribs, is a student property site set up earlier this year which is registered to the same

address as Volt Marketing Ltd.

Te account has also been linked to Christian Samuel, listed as managing director of Volt Marketing Ltd, director of Open Air Cinema and Electric Ents.

Despite speculation, the company has denied that the events were part of a data mining scam. In light of the revelation, a petition has been set up online urging students to sign in support of an alternative charity event.

Te petition, which wants to ‘create a positive out of a negative’, claims that it ‘exists as a proposal to Cardiff University that the event should go ahead in support of the Children’s Trust’ and ‘harness everyone’s enthusiasm about these events for a good cause’.

Cardiff defies rankings slump with graduate prospect rise

The Complete University Guide has ranked Cardiff University eighth in the United Kingdom for graduate job prospects.

In the summary, the newspaper noted that Wales’ highest ranked university is ‘particularly renowned’ for its school of journalism

The guide ranks institutions on the percentage of their undergraduate alumni that have attained employment or entered higher education six months after completing their degrees.

The latest results show that 81.5 per cent of Cardiff graduates achieve either goal approximately half a year after the conclusion of their studies.

This marks an increase of 4.1 per cent compared to the previous year’s figure, which at score of 77.4 per cent left Cardiff University stranded outside the top ten.

In the summary, published by ‘The Times’, the newspaper noted that Wales’ highest ranked university is ‘particularly renowned for its school of journalism’.

However, an English student told Gair Rhydd that the figures weren’t representative for all courses.

“It varies so much from course to course that the average figure is pretty meaningless, particularly when the study doesn’t really account for what kind of jobs people are doing,” he said.

“All in all it seems fairly irrelevant to me.”

The publication of the figures for graduate prospects is the latest element of the full rankings released last week, in which Cardiff University paradoxically dropped

eight places to thirty-first overall.

The lines of work that graduates found themselves in wasn’t clear, with ‘The Complete University Guide’ claiming to monitor ‘employment in an area that normally recruits graduates’.

Imperial College London took the top spot, boasting an impressive 89.9% rate – placing it ahead of illustrious rivals Oxford (seventh) and Cambridge (third).

The rankings come in the wake of

a QS study which showed twentyfive of the thirty-three subjects taught at Cardiff ranked in the ‘world elite’.

However, the institution was criticised for falling further adrift of the targets set out in 2012’s ‘The Way Forward’ paper.

It aims to see Cardiff University placed in the top twenty in the UK and the top hundred worldwide, but it currently lies 31st and 123rd respectively.

“

” Students

are lured in with the promise of exciting activities and prizes, only to find the event details have later been changed

Alexander Norton

Pictured: Cardiff University graduates ranked eighth in UK for job prospects

Pictured: ‘University Wipout’ Facebook event scam

6 NEWS

Success of university sports clubs celebrated at AU ball

Tennis club awarded ‘Club of the Year’ and Cardiff Uni FC take ‘Team of the Year’

Alexander Norton

Cardiff University’s winning Varsity outfits toasted a successful twelve months at the end-of-year Athletics Union Ball last week.

The 2014-15 event, which took place in a colourfully decorated Students’ Union Great Hall on Wednesday, 6th May, began with a champagne reception and threecourse meal for attendees.

Tennis picked up the ‘Club of the Year’ - the third time they have been nominated for the award

There followed a speech from VP Sports Bryn Griffiths, with the outgoing sabbatical officer donning a horizontal-striped pink and white jacket, which provoked commentary on social media under the hashtag ‘#AUBall15’.

The awards ceremony itself saw an array of trophies handed out on the back of what has been a highly successful year for the institution’s various teams, with a total of eleven gongs on offer from Cardiff University Sport.

Lacrosse player Rebecca Jordache took home the first award of the night after being named ‘Fresher of the Year’, whilst ‘Coach of the Year’ was won by Nick Bartlett for his role

with both the men and women of the Basketball Club.

The award for ‘Most Improved Club’ went to Cardiff University Surf Sports, which has grown to attract a social media presence of more than four hundred people.

In the same vein, ‘Most Improved Sportswoman’ was awarded to Trampolining Club’s Rebecca Litt and ‘Most Improved Sportsman’ was given to Jamie Bodner-Horvath, again of Cardiff Lacrosse.

With the anticipation ratcheting up as the evening progressed, ‘Sportswoman of the Year’ went the way of Team GB pistol shooter Coral Kennerley whilst the male equivalent was awarded to Welsh international futsal player Christopher Hugh.

There was further success for the futsal contingent when Cardiff Uni FC were awarded ‘Team of the Year’ on the back of their triumph in the Welsh FA’s Futsal Cup.

The ‘Athletics’ Union President’s Award’ went to Emily Wiltshire, who represents Cardiff University Sailing Club.

Finally, Cardiff University Tennis picked up ‘Club of the Year’ – the third time they have been nominated for the award –following a thrilling victory over their Swansea counterparts during last month’s Varsity Shield.

The Athletics’ Union will be

hoping for a replication of this year’s triumphs under new Vice-President Sam Parsons for the 2015-16 academic year, at the end of which several of the event’s attendees will be hoping to represent Team GB at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Inspirational staff and students recognised at Enriching Student Life event

The Enriching Student Life Awards took place last Tursday to commemorate a number of University staff and student representatives who have significantly enhanced student experience.

A number of members of staff and students were in attendance at the annual event that took place in the Great Hall in the Students Union.

After a champagne reception and three-course meal, VP Education, Rhys Jenkins took to the stage to kick off the awards. First up, the Honour Roll, an award open to all students who have achieved something outstanding during their time at university, was given to Maryambibi Bham.

Following this, Most Uplifting Staff Member was awarded to Emma Stone. In reference to her work within the NHS the judge said: ‘[she] went above and beyond her duties to accomodate all our extra requests including working

hard to fit extra students in to packed clinics without complaint.’

Iiona Johnson was commended for being the Most Innovative Staff Member for her ‘enthusiasm, responsiveness and innovative ideas about teaching and learning’.

Te Employability Award was given to Catherine Jones for ‘enthusing many in an area not particularly recognised as having a subject specific related career path’ and Louise Hughes was named Student Rep Coordinator of the Year for her ‘all-round inspirational influence’. Awards were given to the most highly commended Student Academic Reps from various different schools across the University. Te three winners of Student Academic Rep of the Year were: Tom Davies from the School of Chemistry, Jumana Nabulsi from the School of Pharmacology and Maximilian Schulze Wenning from Cardiff Business School.

Each of these students were shortlisted for an overall Student Academic Rep of the Year award which was won by Jumana Nabulsi.

Women’s Officer, Laura Carter, commended Nabulsi on Twitter, saying: ‘I had the pleasure of working with Jumana Nabulsi [..] her enthusiasm is infectious and is so well deserved!’

In a highly contested category, Michelle Aldridge-Waddon was named Personal Tutor of the Year for the support given to student tutees throughout the year. Te student who nominated her said: “Michelle’s constant guidance and advice goes far beyond the personal tutor requisite.”

Following this, Most Effective Teacher was awarded to Mark Elliott from the School of Chemistry for ‘having the best interests of students at heart’.

One of the most prestigious awards of the night, the Enriching Student Life

Award, was given to Student Support worker Einir Evans.

Having nominated Evans for the award, student and Editor of Gair Rhydd Michael O’Connell-Davidson was happy at her success. He said:

“I nominated Einir because her job literally changes lives. While there aren’t very many care leavers at Cardiff University, I don’t think it’s any overstatement to say that the ones who are there owe her very much indeed. I wouldn’t have come to university without her support and to see her recognised at these awards is wonderful as one of the people she helped.”

Te Vice-Chancellors Award for Commitment to Student Experience went to Clare Morgan who received a standing ovation as she took to the stage to accept the award.

Te awards drew to a close as Chris Turner was commended for his lifetime achievement.

(Source:

One of the most prestigious awards of the night was given to Student Support worker Einir Evans

Georgia Hamer

Pictured: Cardiff University Men’s Tennis at Varsity. (Photographer: Taliesin Coomes)

Pictured: Te Enriching Student Life Awards 2014 event

Cardiff University)

Alexander Norton

O fficers reflect on year in office at scrutiny meeting

Last week saw Cardiff University Students’ Union’s six fulltime sabbatical officers review their own performances before an end-of-year meeting of student representatives.

Te ten person Scrutiny Committee, which is tasked with “hold[ing] Cardiff Student’s Union Elected Offices to account on behalf of students”, meets behind closed doors approximately seven times per academic year.

Tis time, however, marked the first time Gair Rhydd was given access to such a gathering – albeit after a prolonged discussion and subsequent vote over whether to approve the presence of a journalist.

Te meeting saw SU President Elliot Howells, VP Welfare Faraz Alauddin, VP Sports Bryn Griffiths, VP Education Rhys Jenkins, VP Heath Park Claire Blakeway and VP Societies Barney Willis interviewed individually.

First before the panel was Blakeway, who in addition to her duties as Heath Park representative was recently elected to the position of Students’ Union president for 2015-16.

She suggested that the year had “gone well” from her perspective, with developments to the Heath Park infrastructure and the success of Medics’ Varsity amongst her highlights since September.

Furthermore, she emphasised the instigation of a Housing Charter, the extension of Languages For All learning hours and increased opening times of the Heath Hub’s ‘IV Lounge’ as positive developments during her term.

[Barney Willis] said that he “stood by what he did” in his role as a representative of societies

As part of her preparation to succeed Howells as president, Blakeway then set out plans for a summer tour in which newly elected officers will visit Students’ Unions at the four largest universities in London – and in Dundee.

When asked to bring up any failures in the role, she admitted that ill-timing had contributed to the cancellation of the ‘Healthcare Games’ but that on the whole “I achieved more than I thought I would.”

She was followed by Faraz Alauddin, who claimed that the majority of his manifesto had been

fulfilled and that “a lot of extra stuff ” had also been achieved.

Te VP Welfare emphasised the success of having exam timetables released early, establishing a Residents’ Association (which would particularly aid first year students) and changes to the existing substance awareness policy.

However, he conceded that issues such as the ‘Time For Change’ pledge and the provision of out-of-hours health support had encountered issues which had prevented their implementation.

Alauddin was more positive on projects such as the establishment of a ‘Credit Union’ and the limited roll out of bursaries for asylum seeking students.

Te latter project, which would support two new students per year (a total of six concurrently) has seen the university pledge to waive tuition fees, but now depends on the Union’s ability to raise six lots of living costs (approximately £24,000) annually.

Tird in was outgoing Students’ Union president Elliot Howells, who described his year in the role as “the most amazing of my life”.

Although he insisted his focus was now on putting things in place for successor Blakeway, he was keen to point to winning NUS Wales’ Officer Team of the Year, securing £2.5m for redevelopment of the Union’s ground floor and the itinerary surrounding the general election as highlights of his year.

Te latter project, described as “one of the biggest election events programmes in the UK”, reportedly contributed to 19,500 students registering to vote in the poll.

Asked about less successful events, Howells suggested that much of his agenda had been delayed by University paperwork – in particular, projects such as the ‘Campus Card’ payment system being delayed until September.

He was then the first of the officers to be asked about the furore surrounding the outcome of the previous week’s referendum on the proposed creation of a full-time Welsh language sabbatical officer.

Howells said that, ahead of a meeting later that week, he was

“not sure” what Steffan Bryn Jones’ campaign members would want from him – but emphasised the need for reconciliation.

He described the angry response to the ‘No’ vote as “a weight on my shoulders”.

He suggested that the Union remained committed to Welsh and had targets for advancement, but these were easy to discount as they were “less tangible”.

Howells did remark that technical staff were working on making the Students’ Union website entirely bilingual, with ‘.cymru’ and similar domain names currently being purchased.

Once the SU President had departed, VP Education Rhys Jenkins was called in.

He too was positive on the impact his year in office had had, again highlighting the early release of exam timetables and the success of student feedback event ‘Speak Week’ as the projects he was most pleased with.

Given the opportunity, Jenkins suggested that he would meet with student representative chairs earlier than Christmas, as he did this year, as it had proven an effective method of addressing concerns.

He also confirmed that projects such as ‘Lecture Capture’ were progressing well, with the software decided but certain legal hurdles still yet to be overcome.

Like the President, Jenkins was then tackled over the outcome of the Welsh language referendum.

He acknowledged that the elected officer team was “glad of the outcome”, but conceded that it was “going to be difficult to repair the damage” done to the Union’s relationship with ‘Yes’ campaigners.

He then suggested that the Union should have started pre-planning for each possible outcome earlier, with “more groundwork” necessary to decide on the best route forward.

Barney Willis, who had come in for particular criticism for his role in the ‘No’ campaign, was next to answer to the Scrutiny Committee.

He opened by insisting that he had “loved this year”, pointing to various fairs – and most prominently, the Cardiff Fringe Festival – as particular highlights.

However, amongst his regrets he listed his initial inward-looking approach and a failure to devise a better system for societies-based feedback.

Despite this, Willis suggested that the Societies Council had approved of his changes, including to the controversial ‘tier system’.

He also addressed the effects of the Counter-Terror and Security Bill, insisting that his personal view was that as many speakers as possible should attend the university and that the Islamic Society had had the vast majority of their guests approved.

He too was then asked about the Welsh Language referendum campaign in which he played a prominent role.

Willis started by praising the engagement provoked by the referendum, the most successful in the Union’s history, and added that he hoped that ‘Yes’ campaigners would be willing to work with next year’s officer team.

He added that his personal encouragement of a ‘No’ vote had been “misinterpreted by Gair Rhydd” and that he “stood by what I did” in his role as a representative of societies

Finally, VP Sports Bryn Griffiths was asked in – telling the committee that the year had gone “very quickly” and that he had learnt “a hell of a lot”.

He suggested that his highlight had been Varsity, which he planned to tell successor Sam Parsons to take full advantage of the annual event. However, he admitted that his changes to gym membership could have come earlier and that he would have liked to have seen sports facilities experience greater upgrades during his tenure.

He then addressed the ‘Rainbow Laces’ campaign, which he claimed had “blown [him] away” with his success after his initial feeling that he would have to “sell it more” to various sports teams.

Griffiths noted that the campaign had gained great social media attention, and expressed the hope that it would remove any obstacles or apprehension LGBT+ students would have to getting involved in university sport.

Jenkins conceded that the elected officer team was ‘glad of the outcome’ of the referendum but conceded that it was going to be difficult to repair the damage done

All undergraduates, postgraduates, mature and international students are eligible to sit on Scrutiny Committee, and can nominate themselves via cardiffstudents.com

Pictured: Outgoing Students’ Union President Elliot Howells. (Photograph by Cardiff University Students’ Union)

Binge eating on sugary foods will make your energy burn out quicker

Here’s

(Photographer:

Welcome to our Advice section, where we bring you tips for surviving Cardiff University life Email us: advice@gairrhydd.com

Procrastineating?

The revision period is the easiest time of year to pick up terrible eating habits and eat all the rubbish food you’ve been trying to avoid all year. It happens to everyone – you stress out, you need a break and all you have in your cupboard is chocolate, crisps, cake, pizzas…all the comfort food you love. Tis same food journeys with you to the library and annoys everyone around you with the noises you can’t help but make when eating it. Te most exercise you get for a

few months is walking to and from the library or Tesco’s, and then when you’re suddenly free of uni for 4 months or summer you realise you’d rather not been seen in public with your bad skin, muffin top and constant breathlessness.

In reality none of this makes sense. We all have that annoying friend on Facebook who constantly posts about going to the gym and eating healthy, probably flogging some miracle milkshake to make it all better. Tese same people post about how eating well

and staying active means you have higher energy levels – something you definitely need during revision. We all know we should be eating well and it would help us, but it just seems like extra time and effort that we really can’t be bothered to give.

So here are some ideas on how to get through the revision period without having to squeeze yourself through the door on the other side, breathless.

Firstly, it really is true that eating well during your revision will help you through it. Binge eating sugary snacks and drinks will give you a quick buzz of energy that will soon deplete and take you back to square one where you feel like you just can’t read another word.

Start your day off right – have a healthy breakfast that will keep you full until lunch. Porridge is a great way to start the day and can be bought for super cheap in Lidl, or for a bit more you can get nicely flavoured variations. By buying the plain variety you can add your own flavours but sweetening it up with a teaspoon of honey or adding fresh or dried fruit. Basically any flavour can be incorporated – jam, chocolate, cinnamon, even peanut butter. It will keep you fuller for longer as it slowly

releases energy and you can make it tasty without spending a lot or putting in much effort. Eggs are also the perfect way to start the day. Tere is a variety of egg for everyone – fried, boiled, scrambled, poached and they’re all great at kick starting your day of revision. None of them take long and you can make scrambled eggs in the microwave, so add some brown toast and fill up.

A well-deserved revision break comes in the form of lunch, but try not to get coaxed into going to McDonald’s or getting a meal deal from Greggs. Make your own fresh sandwiches, salads or jacket potatoes. Try and include one fruit and one vegetable with it, for example butter your bread with a thick layer of fresh avocado if you want an egg sandwich or have a salad on the side. Te general rule with vegetable is that the darker the better, the darker vegetables tends to include more nutrients, so add some spinach or broccoli to your lunch.

Don’t be afraid to spend a little on your favourite fruit. If a box of strawberries is £2 and feels overpriced, ask yourself if you would feel the same if it was a box of chocolate. Since you’re saving money by not buying the

Swap white carbs for their brown alternatives and cauliflower rice instead of white rice

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

Kirsty Fardell

Pictured: Scrumptious eggs on toast, forming part of the breakfst you should not be missing

Deli Chicchi)

Pictured: Students revising and snacking in Julian Hodge

Continued from the previous page

Create a fresh fruit salad with a fruit juice and store it in the fridge, so that when you need a healthy snack you only have to reach for it

chocolate, you can afford the strawberries.

Te afternoon is often the longest stretch you will go without a proper meal until dinner, so it’s important that you fill up well on lunch so you don’t reach for the rubbish food inbetween. Foods high in fibre will keep you feeling fuller for longer, so add nuts, oats, beans, avocado and apples as an easy way include plenty of fibre in your diet.

Dinner shouldn’t mean a quick call to Domino’s and a super-greasy delivered meal. You’re going to feel sluggish afterwards and not want to look at any more of your revision notes.

So give yourself an hour to cook up some brain food and have a nice break. Being stuck in the library or at your desk all day will eventually make you despise your surroundings, so giving yourself a change of scenery will help things along too.

Fish contains many minerals that your brain will love and you don’t have to be a chef to cook the Bird’s Eye fillets. Chicken can help to get your energy levels up too and there are so many ways to cook it you will find a dish you love.

Add as many vegetables to your dinner as you can stomach – by buying frozen bags of veg they will last for the whole revision period and are super easy to cook. Enchiladas are easily stuffed with peppers, onions, beans, lettuce – anything you can fit in while still staying tasty. Don’t just cook boring chicken pasta, add broccoli, red peppers, courgette or any other veg’s you like.

One key way to keep eating well is by preparing fresh food into convenient helpings. Buy onions, peppers, carrots, broccoli and anything else you like and chop them up on the day you buy them and store them in food containers. Tat way, when you are cooking your meals you’ll only have to reach for a handful of the ingredients rather than spending extra time chopping them up.

Tis is the same for fruit – create a fresh fruit salad with a fruit juice and

store it in the fridge, so that when you need a healthy snack you only have to reach for it.

However healthy you try and eat, you will still want to snack in between meals. Everyone has been to the library with a snack that becomes the loudest noise in the room, and everyone has been distracted while looking at the offender and wondering what thought process made them think that loud crunchy crisps with their rustling packets was a good choice.

So prepare what you’re going to bring with the noise element in mind. Most fruits make no noise at all – you won’t get the stares and dirty looking for nibbling on berries. Cut up raw vegetables such as carrots and celery into bite size pieces and bring a pot of hummus to dip them in, sound-free.

Yoghurt and fruit are always a good healthy mix too, as are crackers with cream cheese and veg. Sometimes we snack without actually being hungry, and quite often the cure for this is just drinking lots of water. Water will suppress your appetite and stop you reaching for the extra snacks you don’t really need.

A great way to improve plain water without adding calories is to prechop up lemons and limes and freeze them in a freezer bag. Tat way, when you add a slice to your glass of water you get some added sweetness and it acts as an ice cube to give you fresh cold water.

Sometimes making a few changes to the foods you buy will improve your diet and stop you feeling bloated and tired. By swapping all your white carbs for their brown alternative you’ll be able to enjoy your favourite meals without the added calories. Swap white bread for granary, potatoes for sweet potatoes and white pasta for brown. For rice, try making cauliflower rice that will add an extra vegetable to your meal and stop you feeling too full.

If you’re one of the lucky people who finish their coursework and exams early for the summer then

perhaps you want to boost your fitness after a sedimentary couple of months.

Te easygym on Queen Street offer a month-by-month contract so you don’t need to sign up for a year. It costs £18.99 a month and its open 6am until 11pm most evenings. Puregym also offers a single month contract that you can cancel at anytime and is the same price.

For some, the gym is too intimidating and you never know if you’re actually improving. Motivation is difficult too, so you’d rather work out with a friend. A great way to do this is by joining one of the bootcamps around Cardiff for weekly sessions. Bring a friend or go alone, either way you’ll have plenty motivation by having people all around you.

Tere are bootcamp sessions every Monday and Wednesday evening for an hour in Roath Park that are £5 per session, or £30 per month for unlimited sessions. In the Pontcanna playing fields there are several bootcamp sessions running early mornings and

evenings, with strength and conditioning classes running on selected evenings.

Te sessions cover all levels of fitness, so whether you’ve never properly exercised or need a challenge there will be a suitable group exercise to do. To find all the details about the bootcamp sessions visit http://tinyurl.com/34hqwl9

A free alternative to gyms and bootcamps is using the space around you. Going for a run may seem like the most effort in the world, but if you plan when your going with a friend you will find you’re more likely to stick to your routine. Around Roath Park are several exercise stations which can also work as a great gym alternative, so jog to them and do some exercises with a friend to motivate you.

Its easy to get lost in books and papers during exams, but make it part of your revision to eat healthy and stay active. It will benefit you in the long run, so stop making excuses and make the simple changes.

Bootcamp sessions run several times a week in Cardiff and cost £5 per session

Preparing food in advance will make it easier to stay on track with healthy eating

Pictured: Prepared fruit and vegetables

(Photographer: Champion Catering)

Pictured: Te dream situation: the ASSL with free tables to snack without worrying about noise

No news is good news: Our appetite for the trivial is ruining reporting

Anne Porter

T“

” What I often see reported as ‘news’ is often utter bullshit

he British media undoubtedly draws a wide audience. No two readers are the same. But what I see reported as ‘news’ is often utter bullshit. So what makes us keep reading, and fuelling the power of newsrooms? We shouldn’t be tolerating the utter drivel that comes at us from newspapers, instead we should be working to ensure that our media gives us reliable information of both the society and world around us. Take the front pages of last Wednesday’s newspapers. Only the i produced something remotely unbiased. Te Sun ran the now infamous incompatibility of Ed Miliband and his bacon sandwich, running the headline ‘Save our Bacon’. 40p can get you this bullshit – or you could spend £1.20 on Te Times and receive a warning about Ed Miliband trying to ‘con’ his way into number 10. Poor Ed. Not only have

his relationships been mocked by the media and that time he travelled on the tube ridiculed, but the media has done its best to ridicule him. He’s just a normal bloke, really - a bit like everyone else. And it’s not just Ed Miliband who is caricatured. No politician escapes lightly, especially if they are female. Countless articles are produced on the outfits of the female politicians. I don’t care what they wear. I care more about what comes out of their mouths than their dress sense. How about we actually listen to our politicians, rather than mock them for who they are, no matter what thrill we get out of it.

It’s women who feel the burden of the media to the greatest extent. Kate Middleton, unless you’ve been under a very large rock recently, has just had another baby. Fresh from hospital, a mere four hours after giving birth, she appeared to the media and was

criticised for looking too radiant. In the past, Kate Middleton has been criticised for being too skinny, having a wardrobe that’s too expensive and for wearing boring nude heels. She tied her hair in a goddamn ponytail and it was a news story. Leave the woman alone. She has a team of stylists working to create her look –which we would criticise if she looked anything less than perfect. Some of us live to judge others, thriving off others’ imperfections. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the notion that women appearing without make up and exercising in public are heroines. Sometimes make up is effort. Tose stories, therefore, are not news. Te trivial nature of our media is laughable. But while the media produce trivial stories like those, they also have the power to deeply disturb. Twisted agendas of politics, how everything can give us cancer and the numbers

of immigrants taking our jobs have all been presented by the media. Te media present us police reports of deaths on a frequent basis. While one of the media’s jobs is to inform us, they take this a step too far. I should have a little more respect than to see how someone committed suicide – I saw the irony in naming the individuals I had in mind in this article. Celebrities are just like ‘normal’ people at the end of the day (whoever the latter are, I’m yet to find one that exists). Imagine if one of your family members tragically took their own life and their details were splashed all over news pages. Tat is not a news story: that is tragedy. So let’s grow a pair and tackle the shit storm that is our media. We have the power to produce our news, even if the ever-growing news companies have the ability to set the agenda. So let’s not fuel this fire anymore, and create an agenda for ourselves.

Caution: students at work

Sights in the ASSL are like no other - here’s why

Sally West

The only summer heat you’re sweltering in is the stuffy tropics of the law floor

Even though it feels like only yesterday we were doing our January exams, the last few months have swiftly taken us to the next grind: summer exams. Te time where you tell yourself there’s just one last push until the glorious promise of summer, despite the entirety of your social life during this period being based in the library. Te time where you can’t believe you used to hate going to bed, where your bank account is looking the most attractive it’s ever looked and you tell yourself “It’s okay, I’ll have a really productive day tomorrow”. Te only summer heat you’re sweltering in is the stuff y tropics of the law floor, and you’re reminded of this every time you have to trek to the ground floor to fill up your water bottle. So, what counts as acceptable library behaviour? When the ASSL is as busy as it is this time of year, library etiquette becomes important. Important to the point where getting up early is imperative to get a seat, much like getting a sunbed on a package holiday. Tis means that it is NOT acceptable to put all your stuff down, plug in your laptop, then bugger off for 5 hours. It’s one thing to

reserve a space that you’re clearly not using, but at this time of the year when the tally counters go into overdrive, it’s just selfish. Tis also brings me to my next point; the fact ASSL is now 24 hours is both a blessing and a curse. Whilst you know you can have a productive Sunday morning, there’s a guilt in realising you have less excuses. Only problem with this though, is that there are a select few who use ASSL as their naptime. Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely fine to have a snooze now and then; but the other day I witnessed a guy who spent what was the majority of the day spent asleep on a desk, to the point where library staff had to check he was ok. Highly amusing of course, but if you’re that tired, maybe you should work from bed. We’ve all been guilty of using the library as a catch up session – only to be told to be quiet by a member of staff. It usually subsides quickly, but this isn’t true for things such as chewing gum or loud music. Don’t be that person who brings carrot sticks to the library – yes, we know you’re trying to be healthy, but you’re noisy as hell. Music during revision

is sometimes the only thing that makes it interesting/bearable, but just because you downloaded Flo Rida’s new album, it doesn’t mean everyone wants to hear it. Blocking out the sound of other people with your music also means one other thing –your chewing becomes excessively louder, to other people’s annoyance. Tat said, there are some absolute gems in ASSL. Te people who bring extension leads and the people who share their food are among my favourites. Random kind acts like these

mean that getting a socket isn’t like a scene from Te Hunger Games and makes life considerably easier. Fom a final year perspective, thanks to all the staff who have helped us from anything from printing issues to last minute meltdowns. Although I won’t be sad to exit ASSL when I finally finish exams, there will definitely be a sense of nostalgia when I walk through the doors that last time, knowing that all my fines have been paid and I’ll never have to laugh off the embarrassing sound of the alarms again.

...while the media produce trivial stories like those, they also have the power to deeply disturb “ ”

to hate strangers in such a small

space.

Pictured: Te ASSLwhere you realise that it is possible

Pictured: A woman had a baby and that was news, apparently

Nobody wins on the internet

Petty social media arguments are an embarrassment and a waste of time

Olivier van den BentKelly

Last week the Union’s Welsh referendum saw support from both sides, but one of the most important aspects of it was happening on social media. As I scrolled through the timelines of my various social media outlets, I continued to come across intense arguments concerning both the Welsh language and their culture as a whole. This wasn’t a civilised debate, however, but a series of aggressive, personal attacks from both sides.

sponse or even abuse. Every sneer and demeaning comment you make in a fit of blind rage will be left for the public judgement. You become a public spectacle. Engaging in such debates is truly pointless, for you become an object of other people’s amusement. I admit, I find social media arguments rather entertaining. Who doesn’t?

Being a keyboard warrior and having a righteous sense that you have the ability to state whatever you want isn’t right. How can it satisfy anyone? To shut down another individual through such primitive means is the lowest form of debating.

put down or comeback going to really assist you in any way? I honestly can’t see it doing so. If you’re looking for applause from behind your keyboard then you’ll be waiting some time. It may gather a few Facebook likes, so I hope that satisfies you.

You can’t win a fight on social media, you only have the last word

Some, thankfully, did manage to maintain a form of polite discussion and dialogue with a calm temperament, but many didn’t. I read numerous threads that dissolved into insults, before essentially proclaiming “I’m right and you’re wrong - how can you be so ignorant?” Conservations ended there. There’s no point in engaging in a Twitter war or Facebook comment frenzy: you can’t win a fight on social media, you only have the last word.

Who actually gains something from such a public display? If we break it down to its simplest form, social media provides an unrestricted view into how you angrily react to a situation or differing view, which is consequently left on the record. Hundreds, if not thousands of people will see your opinion, re-

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve eagerly called my friends around my laptop so they too can bear witness to the next episode of ‘calm debate’. Passive aggression is perhaps my favourite form of response - where belittling remarks are shrouded in facts to prove a point. But the only point it proves is in making a popcorn-eating-fest for all viewers of the argument. It’s that form of lowbrow entertainment that doesn’t make you think that hard - like Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway; it’s easy watching. But it does trivialise all individuals involved. I’d feel people would be slightly more wary of what they’d write if they actually took a step back and considered a simple question: is this an accurate representation of my character? Admittedly, you shouldn’t care what people think of you. But it is for your own sake that you should not lend yourself to such a low level.

But let me set the record straight: I’m not saying don’t express an opinion. On the contrary, I would actively encourage people to. There is something rather refreshing knowing that people have the medium to openly express their views and engage in a conversation about a current topic. It’s important that we, as a society, participate in the culture of debate. But there’s a difference from detailing what you think to inciting an inflamed response. And vice versa - why should you feel the conscious need to reply to an angry remark? Don’t take the bait. Remove your trembling thumb of rage from the send button.

Yes, the impulse to respond to an individual who is lambasting you with insults and bad language is difficult to overcome. But having a right to respond, no matter how rude people are on social media, doesn’t mean it has to be exercised. Let me go back to the point I made earlier: what is the point? Is a witty

Slanging matches on Facebook or Twitter of a vicious and personal nature just don’t achieve anything. Full stop. You’re not going to instantly convert someone to your view, and that is what I don’t understand. Achieving something meaningful from arguments over social media is nigh on impossible.

I honestly believe that no wins at all in these arguments. Whenever I see the latest controversy to hit my timeline I let out a large sigh of despair. Baiting others to fuel a bitter dialogue is incomprehensible and unhealthy. Ever seen a couple arguing in the streets quite vocally and you inwardly cringe inside? That is my reaction to any argument I see on either Facebook or Twitter. It’s embarrassing, humiliating and literally leaves you at the mercy of public ridicule. Have self control and simply avoid participating in it. Refrain from any form of ridiculous conversation that leads to a public argument. Offer an opinion - absolutely. Just ignore the bait.

Pictured: Social media sites - not all fun and games, let’s not deny that. (Source: mkhmarketing, Flickr)

Being a keyboard warrior and having a righteous sense that you have the ability to state whatever you want isn’t right

Making your voice heard: Politics

beyond the general election Politics is more than just the general election. It’s every day. Here’s why you need to stay engaged and take the long view.

There are probably few things Russell Brand and I agree on, but on an admittedly rare occasion I find myself nodding along with the recent Ed Miliband interview – not because of the person being interviewed – but because it seemed to strike a chord somewhere about how important it is to remain politically engaged beyond election time.

Politics gets trapped in its own little world of assuming what voters want to hear, and such a scenario can make it appear out of touch

This week, people are probably thinking to themselves that it is high time this politics nonsense disappeared for a while. After all, everyone has been bombarded with general election this and general election that for what seems to be an endlessly long time, and probably feel like they need to take a well-deserved break. The national newspapers have engaged in a war of some sorts on who can slander the candidates the most.

Perhaps in a year or so we can vote in a local election, or something along those lines, if we really want to, but for now politics can remain a subject confined to academia and the political bubble. Te thing is, this attitude only leads to a dangerous trap of apathy, disenchantment and perhaps, most concerning of all, vulnerability.

For many, the typically British

attitude of expressing a democratic voice once in a while to occasionally teach the politicians a lesson continues to prevail. After all, to those who do not keep updated with political events, everything seems a bit confusing and dull. As a result, it is quite easy to get extremely lost and think ‘why bother’?

Without wanting to sound obvious or blunt, the only way to stay on track with political information is to regularly consume political information. Te question is, what could possibly motivate someone to attempt to do this? Tink about it this way. Parties are constantly seeking votes, and seem to think the best way to do this is to appeal to as broad a group of people as possible. Everything is meticulously planned from day one of a new Government assuming office, in preparation for the next election, where these votes will be needed. Yet, such a setup often means politics gets trapped in its own little world of assuming what voters (or potential supporters) want to hear, and such a scenario can make it appear out of touch and somehow unreachable. It does not have to be like this.

By keeping engaged by politics –not just through keeping updated –but also by taking part in activities

such as rallies, activism or raising your voice about a political issue, people in the political world might actually find out what the public really want, and not resort to an elaborate form of guesswork. Otherwise, they will just carry on regardless without the fear of being caught. If you are reading this, you are one of the lucky people who are in a country where it is possible to raise your voice and speak freely without fearing prosecution or negative consequences. What is the point of having the potential to challenge or help change something you really do not like, when you will not do anything about it?

Governments have a bad habit of only listening to those who shout the loudest. Just look at UKIP. How can a party which has a relatively small amount of support pressure the Conservatives into an EU referendum? The answer is that they are the ones continuing to engage, which many respect, even if they do not agree with what UKIP says. In the European elections last year, UKIP gained the most seats because their supporters were the ones particularly engaged with the elections as they saw them as an important issue so made the effort to vote. If you are frightened by the

thought of UKIP gaining influence almost by default, then surely this is a powerful reason why you should engage.

Take a moment to consider this. If tabs are not kept on what is going on in politics, parties may use this lack of awareness to their full advantage. Clearly, if people are lazy and do not check whether the often audacious claims made by politicians and spindoctors are true, then they will be misled into believing something that is simply not true. Politicians may also believe they can get away with anything as no-one is likely to notice then say people had their chance to have a say but decided not to. Te key components of our political system are accountability, transparency and democracy, but if people do not remain engaged then they should not complain if something controversial like the bedroom tax magically appears if they have done nothing to challenge it. Politics is a two-way process, and it is important to keep it that way.

The political tools are there, and the only way to engage is to use them. In doing so, politics can be made more accessible. As this happens people can become less apathetic and begin to feel integrated with the political process.

“

” Governments have a bad habit of only listening to those who shout the loudest

Kieran Lewis

Pictured: Emmeline PankhurstBritish politics wouldn’t be the same without her.

Source: Topical Press Agency, Wikimedia Commons

13 JASON ROBERTS VS THE WORLD

Why we must destroy Yik Yak Yak attack

Generally, I am embracing of new technology. Tis is because I believe that most new technology is invented to make our lives easier, and I like this because I am an unrepentant slob. Any technology that eliminates the need for personal interaction is also good, because people fuck up everything you ask of them. And then they want to engage you in a boring conversation about the weather/sports/the new royal spawn/something else you don’t give a shit about, and you just wish they’d make your damn coffee right. In contrast, computers do everything right all the time, and if they don’t, we can throw them into a skip and buy a newer, better one. You can’t do that, at least not without serious legal ramifications, with people.

Any technology that eliminates the need for personal interaction is also good, because people fuck up everything you ask of them

Understandably then, I depend a great deal on my phone. Armed with my phone, I would never have to leave the house if I didn’t want to. It has everything I need. An app for ordering food, an app for casual sex, an app to inform me that my editor is furious about me handing in this column so close to deadline, literally everything. So whenever I hear about a new app, I’m all ears. Anything that makes my already cushy existence just a little bit cushier.

Which leads me onto YikYak, which apparently is now officially, ‘a thing’. I first heard about it a couple of months ago, when a friend of mine messaged our group chat to in-

form us that he was ‘YikYak famous’, which I assumed wasn’t difficult because he had to be the only person on it. I mean, if there was a new way to agonisingly express myself online, I’d have heard about it right? I was the first person in my school year to get Twitter! (Okay, that might not be true, but my Twitter was way better than anyone else’s. It was truly ground-breaking stuff.) As it happens, there’s a reason I hadn’t heard of YikYak. It turns out that my subconscious had recognised its existence, but subliminally informed me that it was not worth my nearly worthless time, because YikYak is total horseshit.

A quick primer to those who have been lucky to avoid this soulsucking shambles of an app thus far: YikYak is essentially a stream of updates from anonymous users near you. Like Twitter, only you follow everyone who posts within a certain radius, and you can’t see who they are. You can then upvote their posts if you like them, and downvote them if you don’t. If a post is downvoted enough, it gets deleted. If it gets upvoted enough, it makes it onto the HOT SECTION. An example of the HOTTEST YAK as of the time of writing: “’Women should not have to pay for sanitary towels/tampons. Period[.]” This is the sort of place YikYak is.

Essentially, YikYak has taken the worst features of social media, and

in some kind of sick homage to the Island of Doctor Moreau, created an app where you can handily access everything that makes the world of social media such a total shitshow. Want the banality of Facebook and Tumblr? Te faceless anonymity of Twitter? Te thirstiness of Tinder? YikYak has it all.

Te thing is, I can actually deal with all that. Every time I’m on any form of social media, I’ve always got something to sidestep, whether it’s a shit joke, casual racism, not-so-casual racism, whatever. All social media presents both good and bad, because it’s representative of humanity as a whole. No, what I hate about YikYak, is that I’m now having to watch every single little thing I do, knowing that if I do something even slightly weird, it’ll be on there within five seconds.

I don’t want you to read that as: “Yikyak is turning us into a police state everyone stock up on tinfoil hats!” because It’s not that bad. Yet. But it’s causing us to change our behaviours. Look at the library for example. YikYak has turned the ASSL into London Fashion Week. It used to be fine to rock up to the library in trackies and a hoody, but if I wanted to do that now, I’d be the subject of intense mockery. Which is bullshit, because the library is a place of total misery, and I’ve dressed appropriately.

Everything I do is now subject to invisible scrutiny. Just last week, I

went into a quiet room in the Students’ Union to do some work, where there were no more than ten people in there. I opened my laptop, only to be greeted with the Britain’s Got Talent Crowd on full volume going apeshit over a guy spinning some plates, which my girlfriend had been watching the night before. It took me about fifteen seconds to shut them the hell up, during which time at least two people had gotten their phones out to YikYak it. Tis isn’t saying that the age of privacy is over, it’s just kind of annoying that as well as people thinking that I watch Britain’s Got Talent, I also have to suffer the indignity of having my misfortune anonymously broadcast across the greater Cardiff area.

People do dumb shit all the time. People do weird shit all the time. People go out looking like tramps and they walk home looking like death. Tese things happen so often that they don’t need to be documented and preserved for the approval of faceless randomers. Instead of being a technology that’s making my life easier, YikYak is actually making it worse. Te only thing that comforts me is that there’s every chance that we’ll have something else in 12 months, which means this absolute travesty of a social network will be consigned to its rightful place in history: as an annoying inconvenience that made nothing better and everything worse. Death to YikYak.

Everything I do is now subject to invisible scrutiny

Jason Roberts

Pictured: Yik Yak on a smartphone. (Photographer: Mary Duggan)

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

Mixed results for Cardi ff Labour

Jo Stevens successfully contests Cardiff Central, but Mari Williams left disappointed as Tories hold the Heath

In a night of surprise results, Cardiff was no exception, with a shock hold for the Conservatives in Cardiff North and Jo Stevens elected as the new Labour MP for Cardiff Central.

In what was a long and agonizing night for Labour, it was clear early on that Labour would not secure a majority. But Cardiff Central candidate Jo Stevens celebrated success at 4am last Friday when the count concluded and results were announced. Stevens overturned Liberal Democrat majority of 4,576 winning with 40 per cent of the vote, ending Jenny Willott’s decade-long tenure in Parliament.

Speaking to Gair Rhydd shortly after the result was announced, Stevens said she “felt thrilled” and “was not expecting such a big majority.”

“We knew we had a chance to win but a 5,000 majority is unbelievable.”

Jenny Willott, the outgoing Member of Parliament had a mixed voting record, and this will have definitely influenced Cardiff voters. She resigned from government to protest the rise in tuition fees, but voted in favour of the bedroom tax, a reduction in welfare spending, and an increase in VAT. Coupled with nationwide trends that suggested the

Liberal Democrats were to experience trouble, Labour seemed destined to take the seat, and last week’s Gair Rhydd prediction was correct.

Te Liberal Democrat’s vote collapsed by 14.7 per cent on average across Cardiff last week, being roughly on par with the national vote slump. On Friday, she took to Twitter thanking her constituents for letting her serve as their MP.

Stevens said that while the Liberal Democrats did very well in Cardiff during the 2010 election, the people who voted for them “voted for one thing and got something different.”

“A Tory government is not what they wanted”. Tat’s why Labour managed a strong 11 per cent gain on the last election, she said.

Ed Miliband announced before polling day that Labour had over five million conversations on doorsteps during the campaign, and Stevens has been an active contributor to this, saying she had spent the last two years knocking on doors.

Voters nationwide appeared to reject Labour’s vision of government, losing seats up and down the country. Stevens seemed confident that though “a lot of Labour voters deserted us in 2005 and 2010, [they]

Gair Rhydd survey

now wanted to come back. A lot of our policies this time around targeted core Labour voters and brought them back to us.”

As a new MP, she hopes to be a visible and open MP for Cardiff Central and her constituents. She pledged to “do my utmost to represent people in Cardiff Central in this enormously privileged job.”

When Gair Rhydd was talking to Cardiff Central’s new MP, she stated that she had only been concentrating on Cardiff Central, and was yet to catch up with the gloomy Labour results elsewhere, especially in Scotland.

In Cardiff North, one of the most unpredictable seats of election night, Mari Williams could not regain the seat taken by the Conservative Craig Williams by just 194 votes in 2010. Williams, a former deputy head and Cardiff local, was too upset to comment. Jo Stevens said that result was a “real shock,” as Mari “was a great candidate.”

Troughout the night, the BBC reported that Cardiff North was too close to call. Despite it being widely predicted that the seat would be a Labour gain, the Conservative incumbent in fact managed to increase

his majority to 2,137.

Te UKIP surge across the country was expected, but their support in Wales may come as something of a surprise. UKIP came third in Cardiff North and fourth in Cardiff Central. In Cardiff South and Penarth, UKIP came third with over 6,000 votes, up over 11 per cent on 2010 in their target seat, but this didn’t dent Labour’s majority here.

It was fascinating and surprising in equal measure to see UKIP coming second in some Labour strongholds in the valleys, such as in Merthyr Tydfil. Te average share of the UKIP vote in Cardiff seats is 9.8%.

Responding to this, Stevens expressed her concern at this heightened level of UKIP support, as well as her surprise and disturbance at the UKIP performance here in Cardiff

She went on to say it was very surprising to see UKIP doing so well, considering that there were some “great candidates” standing such as Martin Pollard for Plaid Cymru. In a disappointing result, Pollard missed out on getting his deposit back by eight votes, despite boosting the Plaid Cymru vote share in the seat by 55 per cent over the results in 2010.

“

In what was a long and agonizing night for Labour, it was clear early on that Labour would not secure a majority

”

Carwyn Williams

A key feature of this election has been the call by many of the minor parties, be it UKIP, Plaid, Green or Lib Dem to change the electoral system to use more proportional representation

Wales swings to the right

How the

nation voted

No one saw it coming. Labour has lost the election in extraordinary circumstances; in Wales it has its lowest number of seats since 1987 with 25 of 40 won. It only slightly improved on its vote share from 36.3% in 2010 to 36.9% this time round. The Conservatives here have gained 3 seats to Labour’s one, bringing their total to 11, their best result since 1983.

UKIP managed the most tremendous positive vote swing nationally, up 11.2% compared to the dismal negative 13.6% swing the Lib Dems experienced leading them to lose Cardiff Central and Brecon and Radnorshire. To put it poetically, our hills no longer echo traditional Liberal principles, our valleys are no longer bastions of socialist tendency. In this election, while Labour holds most seats in Wales, the nation has been stained both red and blue with UKIP purple beneath. Farage’s party came second in four Welsh seats: Islwyn, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney, and Caerphilly (all primarily working class, ex-industrial Labour heartlands). UKIP has managed to muster over 204,000 votes in Wales from an electorate of nearly 2.3 million, this is 13.6% of total votes cast. The figure for Plaid Cymru stands at nearly 182,000, that’s 12.1%, a modest increase from the 11.3% managed in 2010. The Party of Wales will be content with its ability to hold Arfon, Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, and Dwyfor Meirionydd. It will be disheartened in failing to reach beyond its traditional voting base and reducing its vote share in its target seats of Llanelli and Cere-

digion. It only slightly increased its vote in Ynys Môn but despite this failed to unseat Labour. It seems although many disenfranchised working class voters from the Labour party in particular, which Plaid sought to attract, have moved to UKIP in this election. Labour’s only saving grace in Wales was its gain of Cardiff Central from Lib Dem Jenny Willott, in stark contrast, the party lost the Vale of Clwyd and most surprisingly Gower to the Tories, a seat held by Labour since 1910.

The gap between the big two (Labour and Conservatives) parties in Wales in this election was 9.7%, this figure is lower than the 10.1% achieved in 2010, and much less than 21.3% in 2005. So, this figure definitely seems to be converging.

While the first and second largest parties in the country remain Labour and Tory respectively, the third largest party this time round is UKIP rather than Lib Dem who have fallen to fifth place from 2010 figures while fourth and unchanged is Plaid Cymru.

A key feature of this election has been the call by many of the minor parties, be it UKIP, Plaid, Green or Lib Dem to change the electoral system to use more proportional representation (PR). The Green’s and UKIP together make up 16.2% of the popular vote in Wales. The first-past-the-post system means a vote share even on this scale cannot guarantee elected MPs. Next year, the Welsh electorate will vote in the National Assembly Election which does use a form of PR, the additional members system, whereby 40 AMs represent constituencies elected by

plurality and 20 additional members using the d’Hondt method of proportional representation. This, using current projections, means that the next National Assembly will consist of 28 Labour, 14 Tory, 11 Plaid Cymru, 5 UKIP and 2 Lib Dem members.

In summary, an increasing num-

Wales General Election Results

Seats

ber of people in Wales have made a clear statement; that they are willing to endure harsher and deeper public sector cuts, more NHS privatization and severe slashes in welfare all in a ‘stab-in-the-dark’ attempt to see some economic growth. Undoubtedly and comprehensively, Wales has swung to the right.

Note:

Areas tinted red and purple are where UKIP was the party with the second highest vote share

Robert Thomas

Dems

Plaid Cymru

16 POLITICS

Day one, and three scalps for Cameron

Te election results eliminated three

TIn further news, the Scottish National Party has won a landslide victory in Scotland. The rise of nationalist politics has been an important factor in this campaign. The SNP will have huge significance in Westminster

his election result has shocked the nation. Te election’s unprecedented result has seen the resignation of three party leaders, posing significant questions for the future of those parties. Nigel Farage, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have all stepped down as leaders of UKIP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats respectively. Te Conservatives have received a majority government in this election winning 331 seats while Labour received a disappointing loss with just 232 seats. Tis election result is far removed from the poll projections of the last few weeks, taking many by surprise. Te discrepancy is said to be due to the ‘shy Tory effect’. Tis is the effect of people voting Conservative but not admitting it to pollsters; since 1992 pollsters have modified their polls to accommodate for this. Te election has shown unprecedented results for the Liberal Democrats as well, with their downfall across the UK being described as ‘cruel and unforgiving’.

Te Liberal Democrats have received their worst ever result, winning just 8 seats. Tis is a loss of 49 seats for the party. Following this it has been suggested that it could be the end for Liberal influence. If this is the case then the political system has lost an important central ground. Following this we can expect a future of two party politics in which people are made to choose between left and right, seeing the previously moderate electorate forced to the peripheries.

Nick Clegg said this election would have ‘profound implications for the Liberal Democrats and the country’. Te Liberal Democrats did even worse than the exit polls predicted. Paddy Ashdown promised to eat his hat if the exit poll turned out to be correct. In retrospect it seems the Liberal Democrats should not have entered into a coalition if they wanted to retain electoral support.

Nick Clegg resigned on Friday afternoon after being leader of the Liberal Democrats since 2007 and dep-

uty Prime Minister since 2010. Clegg stated in his resignation ‘the Liberal Democrats have had to bear the most challenging of circumstances.’ Clegg added that he believed the country was a ‘more liberal place’ and that history books would judge his party ‘kindly’. ‘Fear and grievance have won, liberalism has lost but it is more precious than ever and we must keep fighting for it.’

Te Labour Party’s losses were a great shock. Te Labour Party has suffered numerous defeats across England, Scotland and Wales and has fallen behind the Conservatives by 99 seats. A loss of this size was not predicted by the pre-election polls. Prior to the election Miliband had tried to affirm confidence in a Labour majority government. After suffering such a huge loss, Miliband offered his resignation. During a speech at midday on Friday Miliband stated ‘I take absolute and complete responsibility for the result. Te party needs to have an open and honest debate about the right way forward without constraint’. Miliband said ‘the issue of our unequal country will not go away, the fight goes on’. Following this, Miliband announced that Harriett Harman has been the ‘best deputy leader anyone could ask for’ and that she will take over until a new leader is decided. Harman later announced she will resign as deputy leader.

Ed Balls, Labour’s shadow chancellor, who lost his seat at Morley & Outwood, reiterated the sentiment saying ‘any personal disappointment I have at this result is nothing compared to the sense of sorrow I have at the result that Labour has achieved across the UK’. It now remains to be seen who will replace Miliband and Balls, two Labour forerunners within the political campaign.

In further news, the Scottish National Party has won a landslide victory in Scotland. Te rise of nationalist politics has been an important factor in this campaign. Te SNP will have

major rivals

huge significance in Westminster, as they will represent the largest nationalist party numbers in parliament and the third largest party overall. Tis should win them influence in select committees. Nicola Sturgeon says an SNP win is not a mandate for a Scottish referendum, adding that ‘the SNP will do their best to represent those who voted ‘No’ in the Scottish referendum as well as ‘Yes’’.

UKIP’s progress has been of interest to many. Te Euro-sceptic party have seen the product of their growing popularity in this election as they received four million votes nationwide. Douglas Carswell won a seat for UKIP in Clacton leaving UKIP’s overall result slightly below predictions, with most people projecting a 2-3 seat win for the party. In Wales their support has risen by 11 per cent since 2010, compared to Labour and the Conservatives whose results rose by just 0.6 and 1.1 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats’ support fell by 13 per cent.

Leader of UKIP Nigel Farage appeared to concede defeat prior to the South Tanet announcement. After failing to win his seat Farage announced his resignation as leader of UKIP. Farage ‘congratulated the Prime Minister for securing a majority’ and said ‘there has been an earthquake in this election but it happened north of the border’. Farage added ‘on a professional level I express a degree of disappointment but on a personal level I feel a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I’ve never felt happier’.

Andrew Rawnsley commented that much of UKIP’s identity centred around Farage’s leadership. Additionally, many UKIP voters identify with his image in the media, making it questionable that anybody could effectively fill this position. Douglas Carswell is a contender but it is unlikely that he could command working class support in the same way Farage has.

Without Farage’s leadership the party could lose momentum, and it might be thought that this is the end

of UKIP’s surge and growth across Britain that has dominated the media since last year’s election.

After securing a majority Conservative win, David Cameron went to visit the Queen on Friday morning. David Cameron said to his colleagues ‘of all the victories, this is the sweetest victory of all’.

Te Conservatives have, throughout this campaign, promised ‘to finish the job’ by continuing austerity measures. Prior to the election they had promised further cuts of £12 billion, but did not disclose which areas of society would be hit by such cuts. To drive down the UKIP vote, the Conservatives pandered to the party by promising an IN/OUT EU referendum by 2017 following a re-negotiation possibility on the terms of Britain’s membership of the European Union. However, if the UK were to leave the EU it is widely believed that the SNP will call for another independence referendum, which under those conditions may actually be successful.

Deep cuts will also be imposed on Welsh Government funding under Conservative rule. Te slashing of Welsh funds will have significant effects on local services and healthcare in Wales.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party were two parties, which came in close to their polled predictions. Plaid Cymru were successful, receiving 3 seats in Wales. Teir leader Leanne Wood has said ‘the result is a good foundation for Assembly elections next year’.

Te Green Party has established its place by reaffirming Brighton’s Green Party standing. Caroline Lucas hailed her party’s success in the election saying ‘they have made history again, in Brighton and nationally’.

Te election may have been influenced by the fear of coalition, because of voters’ preference for stable majority governments. Fear of the SNP may come to be seen as the deciding factor accounting for the Conservative majority.

“Deep cuts will also be imposed on Welsh Government funding under Conservative rule. The slashing of Welsh funds will have significant effects on local services and healthcare in Wales

Pictured: Clegg, Miliband and Farage, who resigned as party leader once Tory majority became clear

Rhiannon Tapp

What do these results mean for the biggest parties?

But first, a few interesting facts about the new parliament:

Number of women in parliament rises by a third. 29% of 650 seats won in this election are held by women, a rise from 23% in 2010. Is this enough to warrant celebration?

Much has been made of the ‘Shy Tory Factor’, a nineties phenomenon in which the Conservative Party consistently attained better electoral performances than their opinion polling would ever have suggested. Tis was attributed to Tory supporters answering pollsters less than truthfully as to their voting intentions – whatever the reason.

Tis election represents perhaps the most significant re-emergence of the aforementioned, long thought to be lapsed, factor. Tis was the election that was destined to be hung; and whilst (at the time of writing) the Conservatives may yet fall painfully short of an overall majority, the various quirks of the House of Commons means that they will rule and rule alone.

Teir performance has been utterly

Apolitical earthquake hit Scotland last Tursday, shattering all Scottish Labour and Lib Dem hopes in the country. Last year’s referendum saw a surge in people getting engaged in politics, and this has continued to this general election, with voter turnout well above the UK average at 71%.

Te polls predicted unprecedented SNP gains, and they were right, with the SNP gaining 56 out of a possible 59 in Scotland.

With 50 gains, the seats had to come from somewhere, and they came from

The Labour Party has fallen remarkably short of its predicted numbers by over 100 seats coming in at 232 seats behind Conservatives at 329.

Exit polls released at 10pm on Tursday night revealed an unprecedented number of Conservative seats at 316 with the Labour Party falling behind at 239. As the night proceeded these polls proved to be accurate.

Former Ed Miliband who resigned after Labour’s downfall said it has been a ‘difficult and disappointing night’ for the Labour Party. He apologised to his Labour colleagues who had seen heavy defeats against the SNP in Scotland. Labour lost their hold at Nuneaton when the swing went to the Conservatives who won with a majority of 5,000 votes. Tis marked the point at which a

Bradford Council have confirmed they are investigating George Galloway after complaints he breached election law by allegedly tweeting an exit poll before polling had closed.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson made claims there were incidents of ‘voter intimidation by burly men’ at an Annan polling station in Scotland.

The Conservatives

startling.

No, they have no seats in Northern Ireland – that was to be expected –or Scotland, but there was to be no stopping the SNP juggernaut. In England and Wales, however, they have achieved more highly than they would ever dared to have hoped. Here in the latter, they have eleven seats (including the Gower, a Labour stronghold for more than a century), which represents their best performance since Margaret Tatcher’s second election win in 1983.

But make no mistake about it: this was an election won within the English borders. Te Tories’ southern heartlands came out in force, providing them with the strongest of foundations on which to build a government of their own.

Across the rest of the nation, a

swing of eight percent from the Lib Dems and two percent from Labour was enough to stave off the two parties’ challenges in key swing seats, and enough to see the Tories nick a fair few targets of their own – mainly from their former coalition partners, who bore the brunt of the voters’ anger for five years of austerity.

With five difficult years behind us, the Conservatives would never have expected to better their 2010 performance; having done so, they will now be emboldened in pushing forward. For some time, austerity will continue and both the British economy and society will be subject to stresses that they will rarely have felt. Te Tories claim we will emerge stronger – we can only hope they are correct.

Domestically, too, calls for voting reform will continue. Tis time

The SNP

Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who together had 52 seats in 2010, were down to a single MP each after last week’s SNP breakthrough.

Tere were certainly big upsets across Scotland, with even a 20 year old student standing for the SNP beating Labour’s campaign chief Douglas Alexander. Mhari Black is also now Britain’s youngest ever MP, becoming the baby of the house when Parliament returns.

On vote share, the SNP did well, winning over half of votes cast, with Labour lagging behind with less than

a quarter of the votes.

Nicola Sturgeon told the BBC that Labour had been “losing the trust of the people of Scotland over a period of years.” Adding ““What we’re seeing tonight is Scotland voting to put its trust in the SNP to make Scotland’s voice heard, a clear voice for an end to austerity, better public services and more progressive politics at Westminster. Tat’s what we now intend to do.”

On Friday morning she told voters that this was a vote to make Scotland heard, and she’s always said that this

The Labour Party

Labour government seemed out of the question.

Labour only managed to win Edinburgh South in Scotland and lost their Scottish Labour leader, Jim Murphy. Douglas Alexander lost his Labour seat in Paisley to 20 year old SNP candidate Mhairi Black, who secured 51% of the vote.

Wales saw significant Labour losses, with the Gower losing its seat to the Conservatives- a constituency which has been a Labour stronghold for 109 years prior to the election.

Ed Balls, Labour Shadow Chancellor lost his seat at Morley & Oakwood on Friday morning. Balls stated that he felt ‘sorrow at the result Labour had achieved across the country’. It has been commented that even those who hate Balls within the House of Commons

still respect him as an economist. Ed Balls failure to get elected confounded Labour’s struggle to gain their seats. Overall there have been significant losses to Labour’s holds and expected gains. Labour’s downfall is hard to pinpoint. With hindsight we can perhaps understand how the Labour Party campaign may have failed to engage and remain in touch with ordinary people. It could be suggested the campaign failed to define itself in the eyes of the public, as a strong alternative to lead the country. Moving the blame away from Labour brings arguments about the media and opposition parties’ smear campaigns into view, as these may have impeded on Labour’s chances.

Rafael Behr of the guardian claims ‘Labour lost the election before the campaign even started’ arguing that

Election day was also the 70th anniversary of the end of WW11 (VE Day). Tis meant Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg’s last acts as leaders were to attend remembrance service.

the clamour will come not only from the left, but the right too, with UKIP feeling under-represented given their substantial share of the vote at this election. And on foreign policy too the latter will make itself heard, with the Tories having committed to the daunting prospect of a referendum on EU membership.

Tis country is fractured, and great tests and quandaries lie ahead. But the Tories’ can rightfully claim to have the mandate to navigate the nation through this difficult period in its history, and to do so without a liberal presence keeping it in check.

Prior to this election, the talk of the left was the potential of a coalition designed to lock David Cameron out of Downing St. What they – nor anyone else – bargained upon was the voters handing the Prime Minister the key.

But make no mistake about it: this was an election won within the English borders

vote was not about another referendum, and she vowed to keep to her word and not take it as a mandate for a referendum.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy even lost his seat, but added in his concessionary speech “the fight back starts tomorrow.”

Boris Johnson, an influential figure within the new Conservative group, said on Friday morning “Tere has to be some kind of federal offer (to Scotland). Everybody needs to take a deep breath and think about how we want the UK to progress.”

people’s concerns were deep seated against Labour and could not have been fixed by any short-term campaign. It can be argued the Conservatives however ran an effective campaign against Labour which may have convinced people of the idea Labour was responsible for years of economic failure and that David Cameron is a better choice of Prime Minister. No doubt there will be further discussion of Labour’s election campaign and Ed Miliband’s leadership in the days following the election. Labour has begun talks about how they can ‘rebuild’ and ‘turn this around’.

Bookies are claiming ‘Andy Burnham is the favourite’ to be the next Labour Party leader. Whoever takes the position will have the recent Labour downfall to concede with.

On vote share, the SNP did well, winning over half of votes cast

Labour’s downfall is hard to pinpoint

Rhiannon Tapp

Carwyn Williams

Alex Norton

18 POLITICS

David Hooson

Lauren Boyd

Introducing Westminster’s 2015 cohort Labour

Stephen Kinnock – Aberavon

Stephen Kinnock is the son of Neil Kinnock and consequently known as a “red prince”. He is the husband of the Danish PM Helle Torning Schmidt. He has had a successful international career and speaks 5 languages – but not Welsh. Some Labour party members have complained that relatives of politicians or former politicians have been handed safe seats.

Imran Hussain – Bradford East

Hussain was the first in his family to go to university and is a trained barrister and deputy leader of Bradford council. Hussain refused a £1,000 donation from Tony Blair to kick start his campaign, because of his opposition to the Iraq war. Blair offered the money to candidates in key battleground constituencies.

Conservatives

Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Berwickupon-Tweed

Te Lib Dems accused the conservatives of trying to buy Berwick because of the high level of donations Trevelyan received. Controversially, Trevelyan received £9,000 from the Ukrainian boss, Alexander Temerko, of the oil and gas company OGN. Temerko’s company has donated £690,000 to the conservatives in all.

Craig Williams - Cardiff North

Te Conservatives held this seat from a Labour challenge, but the incumbent MP had announced he would stand down two years ago. Before his election as an MP, Williams was serving as a city councillor in Cardiff with particular involvement in transport policy and focused on local issues in his campaign. He has also served as an advisor to the Welsh Conservatives on European issues, so his role in the impending EU referendum will be interesting.

Paula Sherriff- Dewsbury

Sherriff accused the former conservative MP Reevell of being a part timer for having a second job, which earned him £44,648 last year, on top of his £67,000 MP’s salary. Since almost half of the local Labour Party are Pakistanis and Gujaratis, Sherriff has worked hard to gain their support, turning up at pro-Palestinian protests and talking about the right for Kashmiri self-determination.

Boris Johnson - Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Johnson has been Mayor of London since 2008 and previous to that was MP for Henley, serving in the Shadow Cabinet. He has now returned to parliament for one of the safest Conservative seats, in a move that was seen by some as the beginning of a leadership challenge if this election had not gone well for his party. It will be interesting to see what role he plays throughout the course of the next government.

Tangham Debbonaire – Bristol West

Debbonaire was the research and funding manager for Respect, a charity supporting victims of domestic violence. Prior to working for domestic violence charities Debbonaire studied maths at Oxford and was a professional cellist. She is a supporter of the Robin Hood Tax and claims that ending child poverty by 2020 is her highest priority.

Derek Tomas - St Ives

St Ives was the last constituency to announce its result and was one of the many seats in the South West to swing from the Lib Dems to the Conservatives. Tomas is one of a cohort of Conservative MPs with young families, all of whom have focused on local issues to win support on the ground, perhaps by making themselves seem more relatable than their party’s leadership.

Mhairi Black – Paisley and Renfrewshire South

Black is only 20 years old, making her the youngest MP since 1667 and the youngest ever under the Great Reform Act 1832, and is due to sit her final politics exam at Glasgow University. Black’s victory was not only notable for her age; she also unseated Douglas Alexander, former Shadow Foreign Secretary. Black’s share of the vote was 51%, overturning a majority of 16,000.

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – Ochil and South Perthshire

Ahmed-Sheikh was a member of the Conservative party until 2000 when she resigned in opposition to William Hague’s “right wing” comments on asylum seekers. It also emerged that she had been a member of the labour party for 2 years in the 90s Ahmed-Sheikh, a lawyer, was awarded an OBE in 2014 for services to business and the Asian community. She has starred in her husband’s Bollywood films.

Tommy Sheppard – Edinburgh East

Sheppard is a comedy club owner and former Scottish Labour general assistant secretary. He claims it was Labour that left him during the referendum. He describes himself as a “republican socialist democrat” who is not instinctively nationalist; he wants socialism in Scotland and believes nationalism can achieve this.

John Nicolson – East Dunbartonshire

Nicolson beat senior Lib Dem Jo Swinson. He is a former speech writer for a US senator and a former BBC journalist, who reported for Panorama, Newsnight and Watchdog among others. He presented BBC News 24’s live coverage of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. He was the first person in his family to go to University and studied at Glasgow University and Harvard.

Pictured: Te new workplace for newly elected MPs

(Photographer: Dan Forest, via Flickr)

AHow will the climate fare under a majority Tory government?

majority Conservative government does not bode well for the future of the environment. David Cameron went from hugging huskies in the 2010 election campaign to “cutting the green crap” from energy bills. Neither the ‘Green surge’, nor Labour being led by a former climate change minister put climate change at the centre of public debate.

However, the world is not on track to keep below 2 degrees Celsius: ‘safe’ warming and the scale of the problem only worsens the longer it is left. One of the biggest talks on climate change will take place in Paris this November so climate change needs to be taken seriously early on in this parliament.

According to the independent Committee on Climate Change the cost of delaying climate change action is over £100bn so it is urgent, even for economic reasons, that the government puts strong policies in place to deal with climate change as soon as possible.

Action to help mitigate climate change is also necessary to help the 19% of the population who suffer from fuel poverty. Ed Matthew, director of campaign group Energy Bill Revolution claims that 1000s die unnecessarily every year because of poorly heated homes. Te Conservatives promised to insulate 1 million more homes but only committed themselves to ‘low-cost’ energy efficiency measures. According to one Yougov poll 68% of the population support energy nationalisation.

Tis means the new government will have a lot of catching up to do to get the UK on track to meet its EU target for 15% of UK energy demand to be met with renewables by 2020. Although 68% of the UK public support wind farms, the Conservatives stated in their manifesto that they will not subsidise any more on shore wind farms if they are elected. Tis suggests that the Conservative Party

counted on their appeal to “NIMBYs” who oppose wind farms in their areas.

Te coalition have a poor record for a government that claimed to be the “greenest ever”. Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has pulled in applications for 50 wind farms and rejected 17 projects despite five being approved by independent advisors. It also scrapped the Infrastructure Planning commission that was set up to allow nationally significant projects, such as renewable energy development, to receive planning permission more quickly.

Te UK subsidises the oil and gas industry between $543 and $1,174 million annually through tax exemptions for exploration and extraction. Tis seems unlikely to change considering that the Conservatives receive £2.5m in donations from energy companies. Te European Commission has taken the UK to

court over some of its fossil fuel subsidies. Te Capacity Market has been challenged on the grounds that it violates state aid rules by prioritising fossil fuel electricity generation over cheaper and more reliable demandside options.

Te situation would worsen if the UK left the EU in 2017. Te UK has been taken to court by the European Commission for failing to deal with the Aberthaw coal power station just outside Barry that emits 1300mg of nitrous oxide per metre cubed –more than double the legal limit of 500mg. Nitrous oxide causes acid rain and health problems. Te UK’s coal stations are thought to be responsible for 1600 premature deaths in the UK. Te Conservatives intend to continue investing in North Sea oil and gas.

Te Conservative’s claim in their manifesto that they are proud that their tax cuts have led to the birth of a new industry - fracking. Fracking is

widely opposed because finding new sources of fossil fuels are not what is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fracking is also thought to contaminate water supplies.

Most of the Conservative’s ‘plan of action’ on energy and the environment in their manifesto was nothing of the kind: it was in fact a selfcongratulatory list of things they had already done. Tey were proud to have signed a deal to build the first nuclear plant in a generation despite the risk of nuclear accidents and the difficulties with dealing with nuclear waste.

Nuclear power stations are also potential targets for terrorist attacks.

Te Bush administration claimed they had found diagrams of American nuclear power plants in al-Qaeda materials in Afghanistan.

In the Conservative party’s defence they have committed £1bn to carbon capture and storage. Carbon capture and storage

Will these polar bears survive the next parliament?

Here are some initial reactions from you, to the 10PM BBC exit polls

“I’m shocked and a little disappointed. Tis will mean five more years of coalition and how little progress has been made.”

– Dan Heard, Labour voter

“Isn’t a very good result, it’s bullshit! I thought Labour would do much better, now we will have more of the same horrible austerity and have more homeless people on our streets.”

– Ailidh Durie, Labour voter

“If this proves true, Labour have had an unbelievably bad night. I’m still speechless.”

– Jamie Williams, Labour voter

“Te exit poll has done little but confirm what we all expected: no clear majority.”

– Gareth Evans, Labour voter

“FUCK.”

– Sheri-Ann Brady, Labour voter

“I don’t think devastated is the right word. We need proportional representation now.”

– Rob Tomas, Plaid Cymru voter

“ Te exit polls shows me that Wales needs a political revival. Tere was a 71% turn out in Scotland, and the result is a yellow nation.”

– Jack Tilson, Plaid Cymru voter

“A disgusting result that shows an obvious naivety or self interest on behalf of voters.”

– Josh Smith, Green voter

“We’ve made small steps towards change but this election is a reminder that our system moves painstakingly slowly.”

– Sarah Roberts, Green voter

“Absolutely marvellous result, looking forward to the next five years of government.”

– Adam Stokes, Conservative voter

“Tonight has been a remarkable night and I’m delighted to see the nation put-

ting their faith in the Conservatives.”

– Sophie Bond-Jones, Conservative voter

“I expected to see our number of seats decrease but this is utterly unprecedented. It’s one of the darkest days in liberal history. We’ve been punished for acting in the national interest.”

– Alex Norton, Liberal Democrat voter

“I wasn’t at all surprised, but in my particular constituency the Lib Dems still had a chance. I knew people had lost faith in the party - but this is pretty shocking.”

– Jordan Adams, Liberal Democrat voter

Pictured:

(Photographer: Matthew Studebaker, via Flickr)

Lauren Boyd

20 POLITICS Northern Ireland Assembly reject same sex marriage motion

Greg McChesney

Northern Ireland has suffered yet another blow accepting rights for same-sex couples, after the Northern Ireland Assembly rejected a motion calling for its introduction for a fourth time. In a move that sparked condemnation from many facets of society, the Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected the proposal after 49 of 96 MLAs (members of the Northern Ireland Assembly) voted against the motion tabled by Sinn Féin. The motion – initially supported by Sinn Féin, SDLP and several Alliance MLAs – was squashed when 49 of 53 unionist members voted no, narrowly defeating 37 nationalist ‘Yes’ votes and six MLAs supporting the

motion under the category of ‘other’. This result is simultaneously disappointing and unsurprising for many involved in the marriage rights campaign in Northern Ireland.

A mere two days before the vote, Health Minister for Northern Ireland Jim Wells was subjected to police investigation after he made explicitly homophobic remarks during a hustings event the week previously. Wells insinuated that same-sex couples are neglectful, and that any child under their care is “far more likely to be abused and neglected”. Wells briefly engaged in damage control with a paltry apology for his actions, but it became evident that Wells’ attempt at repentance was short-lived,

after the police received a complaint a week later detailing his homophobic remarks to a gay couple while out canvassing. Immediately following this second offence, Wells resigned allegedly to take care of his terminally ill wife.

Despite a meagre quantity of ‘yes’ votes from unionist MLAs, those that did were eager to display their support for the motion. Ulster Unionist MLA Danny Kinahan was “proud” to support the motion. Citing his experiences in school and the armed forces, Kinahan stated that he was “ashamed” to say that he previously believed “gay, lesbian and such matters were wrong and could be laughed at” and that he had

never really “sat down and thought about it. In further comment Kinahan revealed his hopes for a society without discrimination regardless “of religious belief or sexual orientation.” Echoing the sentiments of Kinahan SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood said: “We need to, as an assembly, as people in positions of power and responsibility, we need to be seen to be embracing all members of our community - all members of our community. He added: “There is no reason whatsoever, Mr Speaker, why the north of Ireland should be the only place on these islands that doesn’t have marriage available to same sex couples.”

Were ISIS behind the Texas shooting?

Gunmen open fire at ‘Draw

Muhammad

contest’

ISIS has claimed responsibility for two gunmen who open fired on security guards at a ‘Draw Muhammad’ contest, held in Dallas, Texas. Te event was being held by the ‘American Freedom Defense Initiative’ (ADFI).

Anti- Muslim blogger, Pamela Geller wrote: ‘this is war’ just hours after the event

The AFDI is an extreme rightwing organisation against the ‘Islamization of America’. Founder and anti-Muslim blogger Pamela Geller wrote, ‘this is war’ just hours after the event. The event has seen a renewed interest in ADFI, which has been listed as a hate group since its establishment in 2010.

Te aims of the AFDI should therefore be discussed separately to such notions. Critics of the ‘Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest’ say the event was deliberately inflammatory and done to provoke hatred. Historically such actions do incite violent reactions. Drawings of the prophet Muhammad are offensive to followers of Islam leading to violence worldwide.

Islamic tradition dictates that any physical depiction of the prophet Muhammad is sacrilegious.

Te ADFI issued a statement calling the gunmen’s actions a ‘war on free speech’. Tis aligns with the view that attacks on ‘free speech’ is a core element of Jihadi terror. Following Charlie Hebdo, many have suggested that drawing the prophet Muhammad is an important form of protest in defence of free speech. Guardian cartoonist, Steve Bell responded to this saying ‘what does Muhammad have to do with it?’ arguing the best response to terrorism is to mock the killers involved. Many agree that since terrorists’ actions do not reflect Islamic teachings, depictions of the prophet Muhammad are irrelevant to protests against terrorism.

Reporting to Fox News, Geller stated the Garland venue for the art exhibit was chosen because it was the same place American Muslim leaders held a conference on fighting Islamo-

phobia after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris. Geller said in an interview on Monday, ‘Te Charlie Hebdo slaughter was the opening slavo in an ongoing battle’. Geller has been criticised for her racist attacks and use of hate inducing metro ads.

While ISIS claimed responsibility for the gunmen saying on its al-Bayan radio station that ‘two soldiers of the caliphate’ carried out Sunday’s attack in Garland, it is questionable whether Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi had any links to the terror group or were acting of their own accord. Tere is no evidence to demonstrate ISIS had a hand in or inspired the events which took place on the 3rd of May. American authorities have said they are investigating whether Sunday’s shooting had any link to international terrorism. Te White House issued a statement calling the shooting ‘an attempted terrorist attack’ but added that it was too soon to say whether the incident is linked to ISIS.

This result is simultaneously disappointing and unsurprising for many involved in the marriage rights campaign

Pictured: Ireland National Assembly Credit; Lyn Gateley

Rhiannon Tapp

Pictured: Pamela Geller, anti-Muslim blogger Photographer: Merel van Beeren

“Shanna Hamilton

I believe this is the first report of CRISPR/ Cas9 applied to human pre implantation embryos and as such the study is a landmark, as well as a cautionary tale

SCIENCE

tweet us @gairrhyddsci email us science@gairrhydd.com or visit us online at gairrhydd.com/science

Should we be editing the human genome?

Genetically modifying embryos sparks worldwide debate

Last month, for the first time ever, scientists reported editing the human genome, the genes inside a human embryo. Uproar has ensued, with a high profile debate still going strong, emotive and worrisome words like “eugenics” and “grave concern” even thrown into the conversation. What are the ethical implications of this work? Is it safe? Should we be editing the human genome, and tinkering with life?

Te structure of DNA was first discovered in the 1950s, and in the half-decade since, our scientific advances have been unprecedented. We can now sequence the human genome – the entire DNA code, all 3 billion letters of it – for less than £1000, in a matter of hours. We can manipulate the DNA of viruses and bacteria, to produce antibiotics and life saving medications. We are so accustomed to DNA manipulation as an integral part of our society, that it even features in blockbuster movies, such as Jurassic Park, and on Jeremy Kyle’s acquiredtaste chat show, in paternity tests to determine the father of a child.

Te latest advance in DNA modification has had life scientists across the globe in a frenzy. CRISPR-Cas9, utilizes age-old technology of introducing DNA changes to study the function of genes and the proteins, or life building blocks, that they make. Te difference with CRISPR-Cas9 is, scientists are given the power to add or remove genetic code very easily. Te technique means that the DNA code can be corrected or changed in a wide range of cells, including human embryos.

CRISPR-Cas9 is nothing new. It is a system found naturally in bacteria to help that fight off invading viruses. By using short strands of repeating code, known as CRISPRs, enzymes of the Cas family are directed to chop up bits of the virus, to preserve the integrity of the bacteria.

A few years ago, this system was exploited by scientists, to edit DNA in all sorts of organisms. By designing the right CRISPR, they could target a specific part of a genome, and cut the DNA – new DNA could be inserted, old DNA removed or replaced. Te possibilities were endless, and the

ethical conversation began soon after. However, the concerns were not as deep-rooted, as according to Nobel Prize Laureate and virologist David Baltimore, “It was logistically so complex that there was no clear path forward, so we didn’t worry about it a lot.” Last month’s discovery however, has changed that. “Now we’re here”.

In the research paper, submitted to Protein & Cell by Chinese scientists from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the team ignored the calls for a moratorium on human genome editing, and went ahead to apply the CRISPR-Cas9 technique to human embryos. Tey tried to modify the gene that causes β-thalassaemia, a blood disorder that can be fatal, in an attempt to eliminate disease from the genetic code.

Although the researchers used “non-viable” embryos, perhaps in an attempt to subside concerns from prominent biologists, many highprofile scientists are unimpressed. Although the gene correction was successful in 7 out of 86 attempts, a number of other “off-target” mutations were introduced that has many concerned. George Daley, stem-cell biologist of Harvard Medical School said, “I believe this is the first report of CRISPR/Cas9 applied to human preimplantation embryos and as such the study is a landmark, as well as a cautionary tale. Teir study should be a stern warning to any practitioner who thinks the technology is ready for testing to eradicate disease genes.” Te major issue is that editing of the human genome in this manner will make heritable changes to the DNA code – that is changes that could be passed on to future generations, with unpredictable effects. According to a Nature Comment article, authored by seniors in the field, while “genome-editing technologies may offer a powerful approach to treat many human diseases, including HIV/AIDS, haemophilia, sickle-cell anaemia and several forms of cancer … genome editing in human embryos using current technologies could have unpredictable effects on future generations. Tis makes it dangerous and ethically unacceptable.”

Scientists have even warned that the technique could be exploited for “non-therapeutic modifications”. Some have taken this to mean “frightening eugenic pursuits”, as described by Eyrn Brown of the LA Times, in reference to the social philosophy applied by Nazi Germany to “improve the genetic quality of the human population”.

According to Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes for Health in the US, modifying the DNA of embryos “is a line that should not be crossed”. He added there were “serious and unquantifiable safety issues, ethical issues presented by altering the germline in a way that affects the next generation without their consent, and a current lack of compelling medical applications”. In a particularly damning statement, Dr Collins made it clear that the US “will not fund research for modifying embryo DNA”, and others have called for a moratorium – time to discuss and consider before any other experiments continue.

While many agree that we should put the brakes on human genome engineering, some are keen to displace some of the propaganda surrounding

the method. Carl Zimmer, notable science journalist who hosts a blog at National Geographic, dislikes the comparison to movies such as GATTACA. Te thriller, starring Ethan Hawke, involves a world where the rich create genetically “perfect” people, leaving the imperfect, or “invalid” behind. Zimmer says, “If we are going to talk about international bans, I’d like an international ban on invoking GATTACA in these discussions. It’s like saying, “We shouldn’t genetically engineer people because we will end up with an army of flying monkey overlords… but is that the most useful way to talk about the real social and medical impacts of a new technology?”

Te CRISPR-Cas9 technique cannot be compared to eugenics as it is currently applied. While a moratorium and further research before editing the human genome seem logical, unfortunately bans are incredibly difficult to apply internationally, and it may be difficult to stop eager scientists from trying to eradicate disease from our DNA. Should we be editing the human genome? Maybe not yet. Will we? Probably.

Pictured: Above: Chinese scientists have modified human embryos using a new controversial technique, that is a huge step up from IVF treatment (Photographer: Jinepol IVF Clinic)

Te CRISPRCas9 technology takes advantage of a bacterial system, that allows DNA to be cut and removed, or altered (Illustrator: Willie, Fotolia. com)

Pictured:

Meryon Roderick

Student Science: Caffeine, man’s best friend

As the deadline season comes into full swing, this week’s Student Science examines how to make the most of that 2am coffee

It’s getting late. It’s just you left in Julian Hodge periodically shifting your weight so the disgruntled cleaners can clean around you. It would have been time to sleep hours ago if sleep weren’t for the weak. You have an exam or a coursework deadline in just a few short days and like so many of us you’ve decided that adequate preparation throughout the year just isn’t the way to go. Caffeine is how the real pros do it.

Whether it’s via the more modern methods of caffeine delivery like energy drinks and pro plus or whether you prefer a good old cup of exceptionally strong coffee, the effect is largely the same; but what does caffeine actually do to your body and how do you make the most of this most helpful of stimulants without getting so jittery you can’t even work the keyboard?

caffeine has been proven to minimise lapses in focus and improve work rate for simpler tasks...

“ ” ...

As you go about your daily business of shaking your head at lecture slides you’re sure you must have read and wondering whether resitting a year would really be that bad, your body produces a compound called adenosine. Tis binds to receptors that are located on nerve cells in the central nervous system, which produces a chemical response in your cells that makes you feel drowsy. Caffeine interrupts this binding process by blocking the part of the receptor that adenosine binds to which means that you don’t get sleepy. Caffeine also has the added bonus of being able to dissolve in both water and fat, which is part of the reason why its effects are felt so quickly.

One notable thing about caffeine is how some people go completely nuts after a can of coke whereas others

seem to require a man-sized mug of black coffee just to resemble a human being in the morning. Tis is largely down to how different people metabolise caffeine, which is measured in biological half-life, or how quickly you can remove half of the caffeine molecules in your body. In a healthy adult this varies widely from three to seven hours but this can be affected by whether you’ve built up a tolerance or not. You can become less able to metabolise caffeine if you’re pregnant or on the birth control pill because of the different levels of hormones in your body.

So how do you make the most of your late night caffeine dose? One thing that speeds up your metabolism of caffeine and reduces its effects is the presence of nicotine in the body, which means if you’re a smoker who wants to feel the full effects of that 2am coffee, you might need to cut out the stress smoking for a couple of hours before hand.

Another way to maximise the effects of caffeine is with a technique dubbed the “coffee nap”. Researchers at Loughborough University discovered that if you neck a cup of coffee and then take a 15 to 20 minute nap the coffee actually has a much greater effect. Tis is thought to be because the nap clears out a large amount of the adenosine in your body so the caffeine has less to compete with and can do its job more thoroughly. Te only catch is that you need to be able to nod off or at least achieve a peaceful half asleep state before the coffee takes hold obviously.

Finally, to really make the most of your coffee you need to prioritise your

work correctly. Tough caffeine has been proven to minimise lapses in focus and improve work rate for simpler tasks, more complex problems like synthesis of new ideas don’t appear to be made significantly easier. Tis means that its best to get the harder stuff like coming up with ideas for your essay out of the way early and save the more straightforward stuff like copying out notes or formatting until later because caffeine can take care of those so you don’t have to.

If you follow these steps then you can make the most of your caffeine intake (small doses every 1-2 hours is best) and avoid taking in too much at

once which just turns you into a paranoid, jibbering mess. Not the most productive state to be in. If you keep your caffeine intake to small doses you also avoid the potential health problems linked to large doses like headaches and heart palpitations. Just follow Student Science’s advice and you can use caffeine to your advantage to attain the degree you deserve. Finally, always remember that if you ever start feeling like you’ve spent too long being propped up by Relentless, there’s a species of bacteria that can survive solely on pure caffeine. I bet they never complain about pulling an all nighter.

Geologists warn of future earthquakes in Nepal region

Pictured: I hope that water he has there is caffeinated. (Source:

Meryon

Roderick

This segment ... may be capable of producing earthquakes of magnitude 8 or greater...

Earth scientists have warned that the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on 25th April, tragically killing thousands, may not be the end of the problems for the region. Earthquakes occur at fault lines (in this case the Himalayan Fault Line) between tectonic plates, releasing pressure that builds up as the plates rub up against each other. If there are kinks in the fault line such as sudden dramatic changes in direction then the earthquake will not carry past the corner.

Tis means that an earthquake is only capable of relieving pressure from the one section of the fault line it emanates from. Te larger the section, the larger the earthquake. Geologist Kristin Morell of the University of Victoria in Canada has warned that “ Te Himalayas are a very long mountain belt, and strain is still building up in all the other regions from Pakistan all the way to eastern Tibet.”

It is difficult to know exactly where the epicentre of the next earthquake

will be or how powerful it will be because the exact shape of the Himalayan Fault Line is unknown due to large swathes of it resting many kilometres underground. However, one side of a fault line will tend to dip down sharply as one tectonic plate is pulled under another. Tis pushes the ground above it upwards, creating steeper terrain with higher levels of erosion and deeper cutting streams. By searching for these features, researchers have managed to find a very long, unboundaried section of the fault line in Bhutan, which has been building pressure since an earthquake in 1505. Tis segment is nearly twice as long as the one responsible for the Nepal earthquake and may be capable of producing earthquakes of magnitude 8 or greater, even larger than the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal.

Nepal was ill-prepared for the earthquake that struck its capital city and emanated throughout the country and the Nepalese government has been apportioned part of

the blame for the huge loss of life and destruction of irreplaceable, ancient monuments. Te regions to the West of Nepal such as Bhutan must be prepared for any future natural disasters to avoid a repeat of this April when the next section of the Hima-

layan Fault Line relieves its pressure. In the words of Stanford University geophysicist Simon Klemper: “ Te earthquake I worry about is not the one that happened on [April 25]; it’s the one that could be a magnitude 8.6 to the west.”

“ ”

There’s a species of bacteria that can survive solely on pure caffeine. I bet they never complain about pulling an all nighter

(Source:

Pictured: Te Himalayan Faultline runs between the Tibetan Plateau (snow capped mountains) and the Takla-Makan Desert in the foreground.

NASA, Flickr)

Svein Halvor Halvorsen, Flickr)

Shanna Hamilton

Obesity has become a huge problem all over the world, threatening to overwhelm health services and drive life expectancy gains into reverse

New urine test can check your obesity risk

As UK figures skyrocket, this tool may be key to helping future diabetics

Normal risk factors for obesity and diabetes are quite clearcut – high blood pressure, a lack of exercise, a family history of similar ailments – but now scientists have found another place to look for evidence. A person’s urine has now been shown to contain chemicals that can help identify the chances of disease in later life.

Led by Imperial College London, the study, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows how obesity has a “metabolic signature”, a pattern of chemicals released into the urine. Tis may point to certain processes in the body that could be targeted to prevent ill health effects. Professor Jeremy Nicholson, director of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre, and co-author says, “ Tese findings provide possible starting points for new approaches to preventing and treating obesity and its associated diseases.”

Nicholson and colleagues looked in detail at the chemical make up of urine, which we would normally consider as a waste product. It is full of metabolites, or chemical by-products, that are produced by the processes that happen in our body. “ Te kidney doesn’t want those things at that particular moment,” Nicholson said. “But nonetheless, a lot of metabolites that

are in [urine] are still very useful to the body… You would be amazed how much frozen piss we have.”

By studying consecutive samples of a patient’s urine over a long period of time, researchers could establish the person’s “metabolic phenotype”: they could attribute the presence of certain chemicals in the urine to lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise.

Looking at obese people compared to those of a normal weight, some chemical ratios were very different. One ratio of chemicals, leucine-to-ketoleucine, proved key to their discovery. Leucine is an amino acid that is used to make energy, and ketoleucine is a byproduct as the amino acid is broken down. In obese people, there is less ketoleucine, because the enzymes don’t work as well due to lack of activity. Tis ratio is also linked to blood insulin levels, and therefore the risk of diabetes.

Robert Gersten, professor at Harvard Medical School said, “Since the late 60s or early 70s, people have been trying to figure out the association with obesity. Tis paper very nicely adds to the breadth of metabolic disturbances that are associated with human obesity.”

Tis new test is particularly relevant as the prevalence of obesity continues to skyrocket in the UK, with 1 in 4

adults overweight. Nicholson said, “Obesity has become a huge problem all over the world, threatening to overwhelm health services and drive life expectancy gains into reverse. Tackling it is an urgent priority and it requires us to have a much better understanding of how body fat and other aspects of biology are related”.

Professor Paul Elliot, co-author

also of Imperial College said, “Our results point to patterns of metabolic markers in the urine associated with obesity. It may be possible to identify non-obese people who have such patterns in their urine profile. Tese people could be at risk of developing obesity and metabolic diseases, and might benefit from personalised preventative interventions.”

First ever case of dog-to-human plague transmission

American pit-bull terrier bite spreads disease in Colorado

The largest outbreak of the plague in 88 years, spreading to four people in Colorado, US, was caused after a pit-bull terrier bit his owner, it what is the first known cause of dog-to-human transmission of the disease.

Plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated promptly to avoid serious complications or death

Normally, when the plague is mentioned, we think of a medieval disease of boils disease-ridden fleas rats that carried the Black Death across Europe in the 14th century, killing 25 million people. It may therefore be a surprise to know that the bacteria responsible, Yersinia pestis, is still very much prevalent in every continent except Australia. While cases of the plague are rare, even last year, 40 deaths on the island of Madagascar were attributed to the bacteria, usually carried by fleas.

When a flea bites, it contaminates the wound with bacteria-filled blood, meaning that Yersinia pestis can reproduce quickly. Te plague bacteria release toxins and travel to a lymph node, where is causes severe inflammation and the “boils” that are characteristic to the disease. If the bacteria enters the lungs, it can cause severe respiratory illness that is fatal in 100 per cent of untreated cases. Luckily, if caught quick enough, a course of strong antibiotics can eradicate the bacteria from the blood stream be-

fore things become too serious. It may be unnerving therefore to know that such a serious disease has been transmitted by a dog. Te latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has unearthed the cause of the latest outbreak of plague in Colorado. A man, who first presented with pneumonia and a severe fever, had been bitten the previous day by his two-year old pit bull terrier. After an investigation involving the man’s family, it was soon revealed that the dog had recently died, after falling short of breath and coughing up blood. Post-mortem tests soon revealed the presence of the virulent Yersinia pestis in the dog’s tissues. Tis the first case ever reported of a dog passing the plague onto a human.

Te man eventually recovered after 23 days in hospital last summer, but only after three others had been infected; two veterinary workers and a close friend.

John Douglas of Tri-County Health Department in Colorado, who led the investigation said, “Frankly, one of the biggest surprises of this outbreak is the source. Primarily… dogs don’t get sick at all or they get a minor illness” when infected with the plague.

However, the CDC urges that this

is a very rare case, and that we should not be overly worried. “ Te risk for plague can be minimized by avoidance of possibly infected rodents and their fleas,” say report authors. According to the CDC web pages, “Plague can be treated successfully with antibiotics, but an infected person must be treated promptly to avoid serious complications or death”. So in the extremely unlikely event you think you display symptoms of the plague, get checked out by a medical professional. It won’t be like the Black Death that wiped out up to 60 per cent of the population of Europeyou will simply take some antibiotics and be cured, don’t fret.

Pictured: An American pit-bull terrier was responsible for the spread of plague in Colorado, US. (Photographer :Marcelo Cesar Augusta Romeo, Flickr)

Pictured: Obesity is prevalent in the UK, with childhood cases rising and 1 in 4 adults now overweight. (Illustrator: Joe 13, Flickr)

Shanna Hamilton

Dibynnodd yr ymgyrch NA yn llwyr ar gefnogaeth agored, cyhoeddus a swyddogol swyddogion etholedig yr

Undeb, gan gynnwys y Llywydd yntau

TAF-OD

Yr Adladd

Fel y byddwch oll yn ymwybodol erbyn hyn, collwyd y dydd yn y refferendwm dros gael swyddog llawn-amser dros y Gymraeg yma yng Nghaerdydd gan drwch blewyn. Mi fydd hyd yn oed y difater yn ein plith yn groesgadwyr eiddgar dros ein hiaith bellach o ganlyniad uniongyrchol i’r modd y collwyd. Yn wir, ysgubwyd ymaith pob difrawder gan yr ymgyrch, ac afraid dweud y ganwyd cenhedlaeth o ymgyrchwyr brwd yr wythnos dyngedfennol honno, y cyfryw nas gwelwyd yma yng Nghaerdydd o’r blaen yng nghyswllt y Gymraeg. Ni thalai i mi ailadrodd hanes yr ymgyrchu a rhestru’r holl gamweddau drachefn; gwnaed hynny’n benigamp yn barod gan y papur hwn, ac nid oes gen i ddim i’w ychwanegu at y gwaith cynhwysfawr a gyflawnwyd ganddo. Yn hytrach, mi soniaf am yr adladd, a goblygiadau yr ymgyrch IE a’r golled fawr.

Y peth cyntaf i’w nodi, a’r peth amlycaf yn hynny o beth, yw’r dadrith a ddaeth i’n rhan yn sgil y golled. Fe wnaeth yr ymgyrch IE ddod â’r gymuned gyfan ynghyd yma yng Nghaerdydd mewn ffordd nad oedd neb ohonom wedi ei gweld o’r blaen. Yr wyf yn y gorffennol wedi bod yn feirniadol o bryd i’w gilydd o ddifaterwch myfyrwyr Cymraeg eu hiaith y ddinas hon. Credaf i mi fod yn hollol gyfiawn i’w beirniadu yn y gorffennol,

ond y tro hwn, fe ddaethant i’r adwy yn llu. Prin iawn y teimlais mor falch o fod yn Gymro wrth weld cynifer o fy nghyd-Gymry yn ymgyrchu’n angerddol dros yr iaith, gyda pharch ac urddas a gwir argyhoeddiad. Treiddiodd yr ymdeimlad o undod bob calon Gymraeg— a di-Gymraeg, yn ogystal. Un o ryfeddodau’r refferendwm hwn oedd y gefnogaeth o du’r myfyrwyr nad oes ganddynt yr un gair o Gymraeg. Cymeradwyaf eu cydymdeimlad â ninnau, ac yr wyf yn dra diolchgar o’r pontydd a godwyd rhwng gwahanol gymunedau gan y frwydr hon dros sicrhau troedle i’r Gymraeg yn ein Hundeb. Ond, serch hyn i gyd, collwyd y refferendwm i ymgyrch NA nad oedd wedi ymgyrchu’n gyhoeddus o gwbl ac nid oedd ag un degfed o gefnogaeth yr ymgyrch IE. Dibynasant yn llwyr ar gefnogaeth agored, cyhoeddus a swyddogol swyddogion etholedig yr Undeb, gan gynnwys y Llywydd yntau.

Gydag ysgwydd cynifer o siaradwyr Cymraeg dan faich yr ymdrech arwrol i ennill y refferendwm, collasom. Collasom i gysgodion yr ymgyrch NA; ni welsom mohonynt, ni chlywsom mohonynt, a phan ddatgelwyd y canlyniad, nid oeddynt yn bresennol. Eu hymgyrchu hwythau oedd i anfon ebyst at gymdeithasau a’r timoedd chwaraeon yr Undeb i’w hofni gan gelwydd am doriadau i’w cyllideb pe ceid

swyddog llawn-amser dros y Gymraeg. Anfonwyd hefyd ebyst at gynrychiolwyr academaidd yn eu hannog i bleidleisio NA. Fe gyhoeddwyd blog gan y Llywydd ar wefan swyddogol yr Undeb yn datgan ei fwriad i bleidleisio NA, gydag erfyniad ganddo i bawb arall gwneud felly hefyd. Defnyddiwyd holl ffrydiau swyddogol yr Undeb i hyrwyddo’r ymgyrch NA. Gwyrth ydyw y daethom o fewn 91 pleidlais o ennill. Gwarth ydyw nad oeddem â mawr o siawns o ennill gyda dylanwad cyfan yr Undeb yn ein herbyn. Cafwyd ar ochr yr ymgyrch IE garfan o fyfyrwyr angerddol â ff ydd yn y system. Credasom y cawn fuddugoliaeth o ddilyn y drefn; gwnaethom bopeth o fewn ein gallu. Credasom mewn democratiaeth. Siaradasom â channoedd yn uniongyrchol; creasom daflenni a sticeri i’w dosbarthu a chrysau arbennig i’w gwisgo wrth ymgyrchu; cyhoeddasom fideos o fyfyrwyr tramor y Brifysgol yn datgan eu cefnogaeth i’n hymgyrch, ac hefyd myfyrwyr o Ewrop o Wlad y Basg a Chatalwnia yn datgan eu cefnogaeth hwythau; lledasom ein neges bositif, gynhwysol yn ddi-baid ar Twitter a Facebook. Ond ofer fu’r cyfan. A dyma’r dadrithiad. Pe na bai am ymyrraeth swyddogion yr Undeb, a’u defnydd o blatfformau swyddogol yr Undeb nad oedd gennym ni ar yr ymgyrch IE yr hawl i’w defnyddio, mi

fyddwn wedi ennill. Nid oedd yn deg. Efallai yr oeddem ni siaradwyr Cymraeg yn naïf i ddisgwyl ennill ar ôl rhedeg ymgyrch mor dda a ddenodd gymaint o gefnogaeth, ond o wybod pa mor danbaid y bydd yr Undeb yn gwrthwynebu unrhyw ymgais debyg gennym yn y dyfodol i gael swyddog llawn-amser dros y Gymraeg, pa obaith sydd i ni bellach?

Mae’n anodd iawn teimlo bod yr Undeb yn ein cynrychioli bellach; onid oeddent wedi ymfyddino yn ein herbyn, a gwneud popeth a allent i’n rhwystro? Os na allwn gael rhywbeth mae’r gymuned Gymraeg yn unfryd dros ei gael trwy bleidlais, sut yn y byd y gallwn gael unrhyw beth? Siomwyd pob un ohonom yn enbyd. Ond, fe erys llygedyn o obaith. Bu’r ymgyrch yn bair chwyldro, ac yn ein colled yr ydym yn magu nerth a balchder. Dechreuad yw hwn, ac nid y diwedd. Fe barhawn i frwydro yn urddasol ac yn barchus ac yn bositif, ac afraid dweud, yn heddychlon. Mi fydd y refferendwm hwn wedi ei argraff u’n annileadwy ar ein cof cymunedol. Deffrowyd ysbryd cyfiawnder, ac y mae’r sêl dros degwch ym ymestyn yn bell y tu hwnt i ni siaradwyr Cymraeg. Cydsafwn â phob lleiafrif gorthrymedig, ac fe orymdeithiwn tuag at y byd newydd a gwyd o ludw ein gobeithion teilchion. Nid anghofir hyn. Ymlaen.

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Continued: SWALEC Finals Day

Continued from back page

narrow the final score to 17-12, with Ystradgynlais winning the Bowl and Edwards named man of the match for scoring all of his team’s points.

As the rain began to pour with the Stadium’s retractable roof still open, the teams in the Plate final faced a difficult challenge. Both sets of players should be credited for continuing their positive play in the conditions, which was perhaps telling of the conditions they are used to enduring every week for their clubs.

Te players’ perseverance ensured an entertaining game in which the lead continued to change hands throughout. Ystrad Rhondda set the early pace and had a try disallowed before Newcastle opened the scoring with a penalty. Ystrad quickly hit back with a try to lead 5-3.

Play was then unfortunately delayed as Newcastle’s fly-half Rhidian Lewis was carried off with his leg in a splint. Steffan Evans came on as his replacement and immediately made his presence felt. His kick found Dan Davies, who ran through to score a try

that took Newcastle into an 8-5 lead. With conditions somewhat improving in the second half, the scoring really got going, and the scoreline rarely looked convincing either way.

Another penalty success by Shaun Leonard extended Newcastle’s lead, but a Chris Clayton try, converted by Rhys Truelove, put Ystrad temporarily in front. Leonard’s boot then added another six points to give Newcastle a 17-12 lead.

Flanker Liam Davies touched down to level the scores, and Truelove’s conversion put Ystrad narrowly ahead inside the final 10 minutes. Newcastle errors gave Ystrad more scoring chances and they consolidated their lead to 25-17 and take the victory.

Heading into the Cup final, Pontypridd looked like the favourites to defend the title they have won for the last two years, after a relatively easy 33-27 win over Cross Keys in their semi-final and a 36-0 domination of Llandovery in the quarters.

Pontypridd also have an outstanding

recent track record in the competition, having lifted the Cup five times since 2002 – more than any other club.

Bridgend Ravens have had their own fair share of success historically, playing in four consecutive finals and winning two from 1979 to 1982, though they have never matched that form since and have had only five wins in the league this season.

To prevent the Cardiff rain again impacting on the game, the roof was closed for the day’s final game, which helped the atmosphere build for the climax of the club rugby season.

Te opening 30 minutes of the game saw penalty chances for both sides, with Bridgend succeeding twice and Pontypridd once. Just before the stroke of half time, Pontypridd’s Aled Summerhill touched down and the conversion made it 10-6 at half time.

Bridgend immediately closed the gap in the second half, with a penalty success in the 44th minute. Te game remained poised at 10-9 for a good 20 minutes, with Pontypridd pushing hard for the try, before another Owen

Howe penalty from a very difficult angle took Bridgend into the lead.

With Pontypridd throwing everything at them, Bridgend had to put in a superb defensive effort to protect their lead. From this defence came a long James Dixon kick that Tom O’Flaherty managed to chase down and carry home to try territory. Te conversion made the lead 19-10 with three minutes left.

A last-gasp try from Jake Tomas could not be converted and left Pontypridd four adrift at the final whistle, handing Bridgend a shock victory courtesy of dogged defence and shrewd seizing of opportunities.

With international stars acting as support staff for the day, and Wales legend JPR Williams and First Minister Carwyn Jones among the 10,717 in attendance, the day was a huge success for everyone involved, and thankfully not spoiled by the rain. Tis will surely be the biggest day in the careers of many players involved, and one they will look back on with pride for years to come.

“

Pontypridd also have an outstanding recent track record in the competition, having lifted the Cup five times since 2002 – more than any other club

Pictured: A successful day for men in blue (clockwise from top left): Te Bowl winners; the Plate winners; Bridgend captain Ashley James; Adam O’Driscoll tackling Pontypridd’s James Howe (Source: Wales Online)

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Glamorgan spark controversy SPORT

Early declaration against Derbyshire “against the spirit of cricket”

Derbyshire....................205 & 209/2d

Glamorgan...............................103/4d

Glamorgan’s rain-affected LV= County Championship game against Derbyshire at the SWALEC Stadium last week continued their run of draws in the early season, but was more notable for the controversy generated by the Welsh county’s early declaration in the first innings, which Derbyshire called “extraordinary” and alleged was against the spirit of cricket.

On the third day of the fourday match, which saw only 4.5 overs bowled due to lengthy rain interruptions, Glamorgan declared on 103/4 in response to Derbyshire’s 205 all out. Tose 4.5 overs crucially saw two wickets fall, giving Derbyshire a bowling bonus point and leaving Glamorgan far adrift of the 200 runs needed for batting bonus points.

Immediately after the declaration, the two counties and the match umpires, Alex Wharf and Nigel Cowley, became locked in discussions about the legitimacy of the declaration, with Derbyshire arguing that it was intended to stop them scoring further bonus points as it looked increasingly certain that the game would end in a draw.

Glamorgan were three overs behind their required bowling rate after the first innings and, with playing time rapidly running out, they needed to make sure they had time to bowl again to catch the rate up. Failure to meet

Cardiff Blues chiefs have claimed that they have received more than thirty applications for the vacant head coach role at the capital city region. Te Blues hierarchy will soon be cutting that number down to five applicants with the aim of putting a new head coach in place by the first of July.

Te Arms Park outfit have stated that right candidate will ideally have previous experience working within European and Welsh rugby.

So who could be in the frame to replace Mark Hammett as head

this over rate would have resulted in a points penalty.

Te ECB was contacted during the game, with their head of operations Alan Fordham determining the appropriate course of action. Tis may not be the end of the ECB’s involvement, however, with the potential for a hearing about the game and Glamorgan’s declaration still possible.

Glamorgan captain Jacques Rudolph remained insistent that the decision was taken with positivity in mind, and seemed surprised by the backlash against his declaration: “I know their coach spoke to the umpires and was quite upset about the decision to declare. We discussed the issue with the umpires and they cleared it with Alan Fordham. We declared and they were out bowling at the time.

“Nigel Cowley came into our changing room and mentioned there is a playing clause that was in the regulations. It is to do with the spirit of cricket and denying teams points. Derbyshire heard about the declaration and also spoke to Alan Fordham about this clause but our decision was a declaration about positive intent and we had discussed it in our own camp at lunch time.

“It was not about denying Derbyshire points. We are also missing out on batting points but there was a bigger carrot and that was to try and bowl them out cheaply.”

When Glamorgan came to bowl in the second innings, Rudolph chose to open with seamers rather than

honcho at the Blues? One name that has been mentioned in dispatches is that of Bristol forwards coach Danny Wilson. Wilson has gathered a reputation as being one of the most technically astute forward coaches in the United Kingdom.

Te current Bristol forwards coach led Wales under 20’s to the final of the Junior World Championships in 2013, and is also credited with transforming the Scarlets pack of forwards into a hugely competitive unit. Two other potential Welsh contenders could be

spinners, which he pointed to as evidence that he was employing an attacking approach and not trying to stifle play or maximise their over rate.

Derbyshire’s ‘elite performance director’ Graeme Welch registered his disappointment with Glamorgan’s declaration, stating that they were aiming to bowl Glamorgan out for around 150. Had they done so, they would have won 3 bowling bonus points and prevented Glamorgan winning any batting bonus points.

In the game itself, Andy Carter was the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers in the first innings, with his medium pace taking 4 wickets for 53 runs. Rudolph top-scored with 43 in Glamorgan’s batting innings.

In Derbyshire’s second innings, Glamorgan started well by removing the openers cheaply, but Scott Elstone and captain Wayne Masden built a good partnership by continually rotating the strike. Elstone was rewarded with a century, finishing 103 not out. Te decision to declare however, overshadowed the cricket played and has brought up questions regarding the spirit of cricket.

Te popularity of the short form of the game has led to an increase in revenue, which in turn leads to a demand for results. It can be be argued that this desire for wins has pushed the spirit of the game to a backseat role. Tis could making the gentleman’s game follow in the footsteps of football, where sportsmanship is becoming increasingly rare.

former Wales full back Mike Rayer, who is now in charge of Bedford, and Nigel Davies who has been out of coaching since departing as Gloucester director of rugby last summer.

All three are quality coaches in their own right, but one man who has also been linked with the role is Kiwi Mark Anscombe, the father of current Blues fly half and Wales squad member Gareth Anscombe.

Te former Auckland and Ulster head coach is rated extremely highly in his homeland, and also has experience

The County Championship points system explained

Firstly, points are handed out based on the final result of the match:

Win = 16 points

Tie = 8 points each

Draw = 5 points each

Match abandoned = 5 points each

Both teams can then win bonus points based on how they perform in the first innings only:

Batting points can be won by scoring:

200 to 249 runs......................... 1 points

250 to 299 runs ........................ 2 points

300 to 349 runs ........................ 3 points

350 to 399 runs ........................ 4 points

400 runs or over ........................ 5 points

Bowling points can be won by taking: 3 to 5 wickets.................................. 1 point

6 to 8 wickets............................... 2 points

9 to 10 wickets............................. 3 points

of coaching in the Pro 12 from his time coaching in Ireland with Ulster. However, all speculation aside the Blues can ill afford to get this decision wrong. Te Blues, who were at one time a superpower of the European game, have been in the doldrums for far too long. Te new head coach must be given a period of three years to turn the fortunes of an ailing side around, and more importantly must be given freedom of choice to recruit his own backroom staff and his own players within the regions designated budget.

David Hooson

Steffan Thomas

Pictured: A rain-soaked Sophia Gardens and Jacques Rudolph lightening the mood during a delay in play

Samuel Snell

SSnowsport slide to national success

nowsports’ successful year continued last week at King’s Regional Western League competition. Te ladies’ and snowboarders’ first teams took first place, closely followed by the mixed ski racers placing third and our second board team placing fifth.

Once more, the fans were treated to a nailbitingly close race from Cardiff, with both teams battling it out to the last gate

One of the biggest events on the Snowsports calendar saw over 500 students from all over the country descend on Brentwood dry ski slope for a day of fun-fuelled antics, with all teams vying for the top spot in their events.

A warm but cloudy day saw Cardiff ’s first team snowboarders step up to the mark in their bid to claim the title of King’s Ski Club National Champions.

Te first race was a challenge fit for none other than Cardiff ’s top racers: Phil Kenny, Rhys Oakley, Gareth Allcock and Paul Lange. Up against the Midlands Regional silver winners, Coventry, it was a tough ask. A couple of falls let Cardiff down and Coventry took a win in their first race with a lead of two gates.

A closely fought second race had everyone on edge. Once again, an unfortunate slip-up by Cardiff put the team behind, and things weren’t looking good. However, a fall from

a Sheffield racer allowed the Cardiff boarders to once again take the lead and go on to a win.

Following this, a fantastic third race performance leading to a win left Cardiff in second position after the group stage and qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Te boarders were seeded against Surrey’s notorious second team who, having won the Southern Regional League, were not an easy opponent to take on. Once again though, the South Welsh boarders stamped their mark on the competition with a spirited win against fierce opponents. It was a close race, but Cardiff took a small lead and, despite a tight finish, Cardiff won the race to progress to the semi-finals.

Once more, the fans were treated to a nail-bitingly close race from Cardiff with both teams battling it out to the last gate, but a faultless race with cleaner turns from the Cardiff boys gave us a win, seeing off the Kent boarders and putting Cardiff through to our last race.

Having outraced Loughborough in the semis, Coventry’s top boarders were to meet Cardiff once again. A tense atmosphere was felt by everyone; having been beaten once already by Coventry, the pressure was on more

than ever.

Te sun was finally out and observing from my spot at the top, the atmosphere was electric.

A fantastic start from Gareth gave Cardiff a slight advantage as Rhys stepped up and gave a rapid performance. Paul was to follow, and with another exceptional run it was neck and neck all the way down,

leaving it to our board captain Phil Kenny to bring up the rear.

Once again it was looking too close to call, but nearing the end Phil took a slight lead. With the finish in sight, a daring (and almost costly) front flip over the line led Cardiff University to victory, bringing the title of King’s National Snowboard Champions to South Wales.

Rowers draw a blank in Nottingham

Whilst everyone was enjoying a long bank holiday weekend, CURC were spending it with the majority of universities’ rowing clubs at BUCS regatta in Nottingham.

After a successful Varsity and some excellent training since, the crews were feeling pretty confident. However, with all other clubs stepping up their games and a broad spectrum of weather conditions, this feeling soon dissolved.

Friday saw the first half of the club travel up to Nottingham to kick off racing on the Saturday, with the senior men’s 8+ and the novice men’s 3 4+’s entered to race.

After the time trials, all boats were disappointed with their results. However, the best result of the day came from the only women’s race of the day, with the senior women’s 4x posting a time which put themselves in the B final.

With the second lot of CURC

Dan Heard

“Saturday Nights, On Channel 5! Saturday Nights, On Channel 5!” No, Cardiff haven’t secured Europa League football for next season (they would need to finish where Swansea are, in a whole division above them, to do that).

No, from next season, the Bluebirds will be one of the 92 Football League teams featured on a brand new highlights show on the home of Big Brother (where hopefully, everyone will be watching them). It’s no longer the case of

arriving there was a large amount of Cardiff support for their final. However, a dramatic snapping of a blade resulted in their race being cut short.

Waking up the next morning, the rowers were greeted by heavy rain and miserable conditions, resulting in the cancellation of all minor finals.

Te first time trials were the novice women’s two 4+’s and with cox-box drama and windy conditions, both 4’s did well to end up with decent times.

Despite the top four being disappointed not to end up in the A final, they came 3rd in their B final, beating the times of many crews in the A final, to come away with a result of 8th overall.

More results came from the novice men’s 8+ who did well in their time trial to come 10th, improving on the outcomes of Saturday, with an overall result of 12th in their B final.

Next were the im3 8+’s, the senior women’s top boat and a mix of novice and senior women in a second 8. Te

“Goodbye Manish, Hello Gary!”, but “Goodbye Manish, Hello…?” And that’s just it.

Tere’s that familiar air of uncertainty about the whole thing. And I’m not just talking about the Channel 5 deal.

No, there is uncertainty in exactly what the hell kind of beast Cardiff City will be next season. Promotion candidates? Play-off hopefuls? Midtable nothings? (Please, God, not again). Or even relegation fodder? I, along with every other City fan, just

senior women’s boat was devastated to find they had come 13th in the time trial, narrowly missing the B final by about a second.

Te senior men had their last set of races of the weekend with their two 4+’s, and after the 8+ the previous day, they didn’t have high hopes. Yet, with the weather appearing to be better, an announcement was made that they were running the minor finals, leading to the the top 4+ and women’s im3 8+’s realising that they would be racing again.

Rowing up to the start of the race however, the second women’s im8+ saw the weather was far from ideal, with boats being blown into each other and waves cascading into the boat. After realising the dangers of this, the race would be the last of the day as race organisers cancelled the rest of the finals.

Te Monday saw races from just the women’s squad with the novice women’s 8+ and the senior women’s

don’t know.

scratch 4+. Having not trained together, the 4+ were not expecting great results. Consequently, the best result of the weekend came from the novice women who made it into the A and B semi finals.

Despite pulling back on the last 750m to conserve their energy, the girls rowed positively to make it into the A final amongst traditionally successful clubs like Newcastle and Cambridge. After an excellent race the novice women placed 5th overall, giving CURC their best and final result of the weekend.

Despite a slightly disappointing BUCS, there are many positives to take out of the weekend, especially the novice women.

With the novice and senior squads merging this week, CURC will be looking forward to Henley Women’s and Henley Royal Regattas, and will endeavour to make improvements to get some good results and end the year on a high.

An 11th place finish in the disaster of a campaign just gone was their lowest finish for 10 years (the dark final days of Lennie Lawrence’s era). Looking at it from afar, it resembles some kind of soap opera. Billionaire, crackpot owner with a love of both control and the colour red, a journeyman ex-PE teacher picking the team, which consists of a group of lower-league wonders, overpaid flash-in-the-pan egos, and just a handful of quality amongst them all.

And then there’s the football. God, don’t mention the football.

But you know what? Next season, after wading through the fog of despair once again. I’ll be there. When Bolton, and Huddersfield, and even the MK Dons (don’t start) visit, I’ll be there.

When the next capitulation rears its head, I’ll be there. And I’ll watch the bloody highlights on Channel 5. Because it’s Cardiff City. Roll on next season!

Despite a slightly disappointing BUCS, there are many positives to take out of the weekend

Tegan Morris

Pictured: Cardiff snowboarders celebrating their success

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Bridgend star on Finals Day

Bridgend cause an upset at SWALEC Finals Day, as Ystrad Rhondda and Ystradgynlais also take home silverware at Millennium Stadium

Sunday 3rd May saw the climax of the Welsh club rugby season, with six teams competing for silverware on SWALEC Finals Day at the Millennium Stadium. Te day’s premier event, the SWALEC Cup final, pitched Bridgend against Pontypridd, while in the second-tier Plate final Ystrad Rhondda took on Newcastle Emlyn, and in the third-tier Bowl final, Ystradgynlais faced Cambrian Welfare.

Tis was the 44th year of the Welsh Cup, which has had several different

incarnations over the years. Tis year’s edition began with the first Plate and Bowl fixtures way back in September, with the first matches for those contesting the Cup taking place in January.

Te first game of the day was the Bowl final, Ystradgynlais settled into the atmosphere of the big day and into the home of Welsh rugby very quickly, playing positively and taking the game to their opponents.

Cambrian held their own, however,

and managed to shut out several close try chances. With both teams keen to impress on such a big stage, there were some massive tackles made across the pitch.

Ystradgynlais kicker Matthew Edwards took his side into the lead with a penalty, before breaking through to score what would be his side’s only try. With the conversion missed, the team in blue and white took an 8-0 lead into half time.

Cambrian were very active in the

second half and, after a string of errors including a knock-on from captain Julian Huntley, replacement Brendon Lyons dived over the line to get them on the board and back in the game. Huntley added the extra two points, leaving the game tentatively poised at 8-7.

Error-strewn play eventually came to haunt Cambrian, conceding three more penalties in the second half, all scored by Edwards. A late try from Richie Lewis helped Cambrian

Continued on page 29

David Hooson