Gair Rhydd 1062 - 26th October 2015

gair rhydd y

gair rhydd | freeword Cardiff ’s student weekly Issue 1062 Monday 26th October 2015 Also in this issue

Comment: Homelessness in Cardiff P12>>

Students’ Union and pro-Welsh Language Officer campaigners at loggerheads

Politics: Branson on potential drug legalisation P20>>

t Students demonstrate during interviews for Welsh Language Coordinator t Sabbatical Officers call demonstration “intimidating and aggressive” t Welsh Language Officer describes interview process as “undemocratic”

EXCLUSIVE Joseph Atkinson

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ensions between Cardiff University Students’ Union and students campaigning for a full-time Welsh Language Officer have reached boiling point after a group of Welsh-speaking students staged a demonstration during the interview stage for the newlyformed Welsh Language Coordinator role last Thursday.

The demonstration was staged after the current part-time Welsh Language Officer, Steffan Bryn, was not been included on the panel to interview candidates for the role. The Students’ Union stated that this was because having a student on the panel would be inappropriate to choose a full-time member of staff.

Bryn had been given the right to

give the candidates a tour of the Students’ Union and then give his feedback on the candidates’ suitability.

That right has now been revoked by the Chief Executive Officer of the Students’ Union, Daniel Palmer, following the demonstration.

A statement made on behalf of the current sabbatical officer team of the Students’ Union made to Gair Rhydd said that: “the Welsh Language Officer and other Welsh representatives were intimidating and aggressive, to the point where individuals felt threatened”, while acknowledging that: “individuals who are supporting a cause which they are passionate about can react strongly”.

They went on to express disappointment that the demonstration may have affected candidates for the role: “Candidates entering the building were witness to a demonstration and the Union had concerns about

the impact on the candidates and the recruitment process.”

While in the past the Union have expressed their belief that they can work together with the Welsh Language Officer, it appears that this latest turn of events has damaged relations further, with the sabbatical officers stating: “The Union has sought to meet with the Welsh Language Officer to further the development and direction of Welsh language provision and activity within the organisation.

“At this stage the Welsh Language Officer has not been able to commit to participating in any of this activity and we believe it is his intention to continue to frustrate the process, with a view to using the resulting lack of progress as justification to seek approval for the previously rejected full time elected officer position for the Welsh language.”

Pictured: Full-time Welsh Language Officer campaigners at last Thursday’s demonstration (Photographer: Carwyn Williams)

Continued on page 4

Science: Virtual reality comes to Cardiff P25>>

Taf-od: Yw Cymru’n byw yn y gorffennol? P32>>

2 EDITORIAL Gair Rhydd Coordinator Elaine Morgan Editor Joseph Atkinson Deputy Editor Shanna Hamilton

the free word

Protection of Welsh is crucial.

But how to go about it?

News Anna Lewis Shanna Hamilton Joanna Beck Toby Holloway Advice Gwen Williams Comment Em Gates Charley Griffiths David Williams Columnist Helena Hanson Politics Carwyn Williams Luke Brett Sam Patterson Science Maria Mellor Lizzie Harrett Societies Aletheia Nutt Taf-Od Carwyn Williams Park Life Vacant Sport Jim Harris James Lloyd Jason Roberts Jamie Smith Social Media Editor Jack Boyce Thank you To all the proofreaders who helped with this issue!

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Joseph Atkinson

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o once again the Students’ Union are at odds with Welsh Language campaigners, this time over the non-inclusion of part-time Welsh Language Officer Steffan Bryn on the interview panel selecting the new Welsh Language Coordinator.

This is of course not the first time that the Union and the same group of campaigners, with the tightest and most-participated in Cardiff Students’ Union referendum in history really setting the ball rolling on what has become a bit of an acrimonious relationship between the two parties.

The referendum that took place in early May to decide whether the Students’ Union should have a fulltime Welsh Language Officer came down a handful of the 2,367 votes cast, but the fallout from the events of that day are still being felt, with last Thursday’s demonstration seeing emotions spill over the edge for both parties.

The Welsh language is undoubtedly a highly charged debate, and taking an objective view I understand

frustrations on both sides of the coin. This is not an issue of whether the Welsh language is important, I have no doubt in that whatsoever.

The language is a significant part of Wales’ cultural heritage and is still entirely relevant today to the near20 per cent of the Welsh population who speak the language fluently.

Those who dismiss the language and the protection that it is afforded plainly have little understanding of the cultural bond that it acts as for the people who still speak it. I have seen people denounce Welsh and some parties have sought to argue that provisions in place to maintain the language are a waste of money, or “pointless”.

I don’t think it’s for people who are from the outside to denounce a cultural object such as an entire language in such a way. Being from Newcastle myself, I only know a handful of Welsh words and cannot see myself striving to educate myself beyond that. However I do have a good idea of cultural heritage and branding a part of that heritage as outdated and unneeded is pretty disrespectful.

Anyhow, this has always been

more of a matter of money in my eyes - more specifically, whether it is worth the money to have a fulltime Welsh Language Officer at the Students’ Union. The ‘No’ campaign back in May argued against the role in regard to this argument, and I went along with that, as well as believing that the current Welsh language provisions at university were adequate - though who am I to say that as someone who doesn’t speak Welsh?

The demonstration that took place in the SU marks just another moment where frustrations have boiled over in this highly sensitive debate.

A couple of weeks ago the First Minister of Wales even had his say on the Welsh Language Officer matter at Cardiff University during an interview with Gair Rhydd, describing the situation as “bizarre” following May’s passionately-fought referendum.

It will be interesting to see how the debate now pans out after Steffan Bryn was removed from having any say in the appointment of the new Welsh Language Coordinator after a demonstration that the SU say left people feeling “threatened”.

The Union seemed resigned to the pro-Welsh language campaigners continuing to make moves to have a greater representation for something that clearly means a great deal to them.

Steffan is keen to continue on the current trajectory, campaigning against the SU and attempting to make his voice heard. While perceived to be dull, student politics can actually get pretty interesting if people feel hardly done by and how the next couple of weeks and months play out will be key for the future of the Welsh language at the university of the capital of Wales.

I’m sceptical as to whether continuing to stage demonstrations will be an effective course of action in the grand scheme of things. The demonstration last Thursday seems to have damaged any hope of the student Welsh language community from having much of a say in the appointment of this full-time staff member who will represent the Welsh language.

Whatever happens, it is sure to stir up more emotions and just shows how important the Welsh language is and how it needs to be preserved.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: GAIR RHYDD 796 24/10/2005

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his week in history we go back a decade to 2005, with the uproar of England qualifying for the football World Cup and with Welsh fans less than impressed. This is in stark contrast to the delight felt by Wales now with the prospect of the 2016 Euro’s ahead.

The front page story comments on a ‘spot of bother’ at the School of Psychology, where the proposal of installing the terracotta tiles that we see today predicted to cost £125,000.

Although tuition fees were nowhere near the £9,000 we now, students were concerned how their money was being spent, some branding it ‘a waste of university resources’.

Police appeared to be cracking down on drunken behaviour in the city centre, introducing a new scheme to fine anyone £80 who urinated in a public place. I wonder how many of these have been handed out over the last few weeks.

Over in Gabalfa, the force ordered First Choice Leisure to stop advertising ‘special massages” for £45. Residents complained that piles of condoms were left outside.

We also hear that a massive rise in sexually transmitted infections in the South Wales valleys areas meant that sexual health clinics

were turning people away for testing and treatment. Leanne Wood, not quite leader of Plaid Cymru, blamed inadequate sex education for people’s complacency about contraception.

Let’s hope we are all a little more educated now.

In World News, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe compared George W Bush and Tony Blair to the wartime dictators, Hitler and Mussolini. He also accused them of invading Iraq under false pretences and trying to unseat other governments. Mugabe had two years previously described himself as “the Hitler of the time”, so whether this was meant as a compliment to the other leaders, I’m not really sure.

The lowly duck makes an appearance in Science, described as “the biggest threat” to mankind, above and beyond global warming, nuclear wars and terrorism. Ducks were the main carriers of the much-feared H5N1 avian flu that managed to spread mass hysteria, rather than the flu, right across the globe.

A senior in the United Nations warned that an outbreak of avian influenza could kill 150 million people. A total of 43 people died that year.

- Shanna Hamilton

EDITORIAL 3

Campus in Brief

Jack Boyce

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Home Secretary Theresa May has criticised the police force for being “too white”

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hree people have been arrested in Cardiff over the suspected sale of a baby boy. The six-week-old baby is believed to have been born in northern Spain to a Romanian teenage mother, and was allegedly trafficked into Britain to be sold to a Spanish couple. South Wales police has arrested a 19-year-old woman, 25-yearold man and 26-year-old woman, and the baby has been taken to social services. Spanish police have stated that the mother registered the baby in Virgen de la Cocha hospital in Zamora, but 15 days later phoned authorities claiming that the baby had died in an operation in a Welsh hospital.

Police believe a figure of up to £11,000 was paid for the child.

The Tramshed, a new 1,000 capacity venue in Grangetown, has opened after an inaugural gig from reggae legends UB40. The venue, located in a former depot for city trams, includes other facilities such as a café and bar, a gallery and a cinema.

Nathan Stone, marketing manager of the Tramshed, said; “The venue is looking fantastic. From the craft-themed bar and the sun decking to the features that are kept from its past, it really is a sight to behold.” Stone added, “We’ve had a multitude of positive feedback so far on both the venue and the shows that are coming up in the next few months.”

The Hadyn Ellis building, on Cardiff University’s Innovation Campus, has finished runner up in a national competition recognising outstanding innovation in project design. The building secured second place in the Design Through Innovation category at the RICS 2015 awards after securing first place in the same category in Wales.

The national judges said that the building was the “first of its type in Wales, bringing together some of the world’s leading scientific teams engaged in advanced medical research.”

National

A 95-year-old has become an Internet hit after being invited onto BBC radio after calling in to a live show to talk about being lonely. Bill Palmer, from Southampton, phoned into the Alex Dyke show on BBC Radio Solent to talk about his life after his wife, Sheila, was moved into a nursing home for a section called ‘Love – Later in Life’. Host Alex Dyke immediately phoned a taxi to pick up Palmer and bring him to the studio to allow him to sit in on the show and chat to other listeners who phoned in to offer support and advice. Dyke said Palmer had “touched the hearts of thousands of listeners.”

Home Secretary Theresa May has criticised the police force for being “too white”. This accusation comes after May pointed out that four different forces had no black officers at all, although two of these have hit back but stating they have at least one black officer each. May said that the proportion of black and Asian officers was “simply not good enough”. May also challenged the police on the lack of female officers there are on the force, as they only account for 28% of the police workforce. May has said that these figures will act as a ‘wake-up call’.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has acquired an extremely rare Picasso collage.

Initially one of 30, which has decreased with most now in private hands, the still life cubist collage includes such materials as a bottle standing on a table, a stylised glass and an newspaper ad for Quaker’s Oats, the piece was seen as revolutionary during the early 20th century. Simon Groom, director of the Gallery of Modern Art, said that the piece was “the kind of work any of the world’s great museums would love to have.”

International

Current USA Vice President Joe Biden has confirmed he will not be running for President in the 2016 elections. Appearing at a White House address, Biden stated that his “window has closed” to mount a winning campaign to be nominated for the post. One of the main reasons behind his decision was due to personal reasons, after Biden and his family lost eldest son, Beau, to cancer in May. Many Democratic staff expressed their relief at Biden’s withdrawal, after speculation regarding his status in the race for the nomination was met with anxiety at the potential of an inter-party civil war. Biden’s withdrawal leaves Hillary Clinton the lead runner for the Democratic nomination.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe received the prestigious Confucius prize, dubbed “China’s Nobel Peace prize”. Mugabe has been criticised over his 35year reign over Zimbabwe for using systematic violence and torture. The Confucius prize committee argued that Mugabe has “worked hard to bring political and economic order to the country and to improve welfare of the Zimbabwean people by overcoming hardship”.

Previous winners of the prize include Vladimir Putin and Fidel Castro.

Twenty-nine South African students have been charged with public violence amid the largest student protests to occur with the country since 1994. The demonstrations started at Johannesburg’s University of the Witwatersrand after threats that tuition fees are to be increased. These demonstrations have since spread to 10 other universities in the nation, forcing many to be closed. On at least two occasions, police used stun grenades to disperse the crowds as they stormed parliamentary complexes, along with the governing body African National Congress’ (ANC) headquarters in Cape Town. South African President Jacob Zuma stated; “It is important that we work together to find solutions.”

Pictured: Protesting university students flee from the police in Johannesburg (Photographer: AP Photo)

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Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has received the prestigious Confucius prize, which has been dubbed “China’s Nobel Peace prize”

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4 NEWS

news

Editors: Anna Lewis Shanna Hamilton Joanna Beck Toby Holloway @GairRhyddNews news@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/news

Cont’d: Welsh language demonstration

Continued from front page

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The Welsh Language Officer and other Welsh representatives were intimidating and aggressive Sabbatical Officers’ statement

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Anna Lewis Shanna Hamilton

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Statistics have shown that voter turn-out has decreased from last year from a figure of 1,081 votes

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In a press release Steffan Bryn described the current process of appointing a Welsh Language Coordinator as being “undemocratic”, adding that: “This whole affair, whereby unelected staff members take key decisions and have the final say on important issues behind closed doors, also brings into question how “student centred and student led” the Union is in reality, and who is really in charge? These are questions that should concern all students.”

The press release also explained that the students that staged the demonstration were: “unhappy that the appointment is being made without full and proper consultation with the Welsh language community and argue that this proves the need for a directly elected student representative to represent Welsh language students and learners within Cardiff University and the Students’ Union.”

Last week, Cardiff University Students’ Union President Claire Blakeway told Gair Rhydd that the Union had: “devoted unprecedented levels of support to the Welsh language” over the last couple of months, and insisted that the SU “has a long-term commitment to the advancement of

the Welsh language within the Union”.

Bryn rejected Blakeway’s statements in his press release, saying that: “Last week we heard from the President that the Students’ Union is already doing enough in terms of the Welsh language and the representation of Welsh language students.

“However, the exclusion of the elected Welsh language Officer from today’s panel interviews for a Welsh Language Coordinator is further proof that Welsh language students are insufficiently represented on issues directly affecting them and their interests within the current Cardiff Students’ Union structure and the subsequent University structures.”

The statement made by the sabbatical officers explained why Bryn had not been allowed on the selection panel: “It is not Union policy, nor do we believe it appropriate to include students on interview panels for staff members. Interviews panels are most commonly comprised of the role’s direct line manager, someone from HR and a sabbatical officer or someone with a specialist knowledge in the job being recruited.

“The Welsh Language Officer was

invited to participate in the recruitment and selection process by means of an opportunity to meet and talk with all candidates and provide his views to the panel.”

Now though Bryn will no longer be invited to have his input on the candidates as a result of the demonstration, with the officers saying: “As a result of this unacceptable behaviour, the officer team felt it would be inappropriate for the Welsh Language Officer to continue to take part in this process.”

Bryn confirmed that in the aftermath of the demonstration “Welsh language student representatives refused to leave the building until the elected SU President, or her deputy, confirmed the orders of the Chief Executive. The students stayed in the Officers’ offices for the majority of the day and the President, who was away on annual leave on Thursday,

had to be called into work.”

He went on to say: “This is highly unfortunate considering the context in which this position is being created. Full and equal representation for the Welsh language and its speakers is certainly not a luxury that cannot be afforded; it is a basic right.

“This is the capital city of Wales and the University with the highest number of Welsh speakers in the world. This situation is unsustainable. I once again call on Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan himself to meet with Welsh language representatives in order to fully address these calls for the University to directly finance a full-time officer for the Welsh language.

“Our campaign will intensify over the coming weeks and months until our calls are met with the attention that they deserve and are fully acted upon.”

Three per cent voter turn-out in SU by-elections

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nly three per cent of students voted in this year’s by-elections, results have shown.

According to the results of the by-election released last week, 888 students actively voted for positions including members of the Student Senate, Mature Students Officer and Black and Ethnic Minorities Officer (BME).

Given Cardiff University’s student population of over 30,000, this translates to roughly three per cent of potential turn-out.

Statistics have shown that voter turn-out numbers have decreased from last year from a figure of 1,081 votes. This decrease comes despite an incentive from the Students’ Union offering 20 pence printer credits in exchange for voting.

Of those who voted, 77 per cent were undergraduates and 23 per cent were postgraduates. Meanwhile the gender balance of voters was revealed to be more equal, with 56 per cent female students compared to 44 per cent male.

It is currently unknown how much the printer credit scheme cost in total, although the Union have predicted “only about 20 per cent [of voters] end up claiming their credit”, based on results from other student unions.

“If we’d had a 100 per cent increase in turnout it would only have cost us around £400”, it was later confirmed.

When confronted with the statistics, Students’ Union President Claire Blakeway said she was “disappointed that voter turn out isn’t higher” but attributed the result to the “challenging time of year” after the end of Freshers’ Week.

“Whilst turn-out was lower this year than last, it is still considerably higher than it has been in the past”, Blakeway continued.

Indeed, the 2015 figures present a sharp increase from the by-election results of three years ago, with a mere 287 votes or 0.95 per cent of students counted in 2012.

Despite the news, the Students’ Union President emphasised the importance of Union elections, describing them as: “really important, as they give students the opportunity to decide which students are elected to represent them.”

When asked how the Union will attract more voters, Blakeway explained that “ultimately, our role is simply to enable the democratic process to take place.”

The poor turnout of the by-election was compared to the more popular Annual General Meeting, which sees attendance boosted by requests

for representatives of societies and sports clubs.

“We think this is only fair considering the benefits associated with being affiliated with the Union”, Blakeway said.

Helen Corcoran has now been appointed BME Officer, responsible for representing the interests of black students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Talking to Gair Rhydd, Corcoran explained that she aims to “promote student politics and encourage ethnic minority background students to run for executive positions”.

The results come after five candidates applied for the position.

By contrast, the Mature Students Officer position faced less competition with two applicants for the role.

In the by-election James Roberts received most votes. Responsible for representing the interests of mature students, Roberts described the importance of the role as she stated that “some of us have very unique situations where fitting university life in around our commitments causes problems”.

Other newly-appointed positions include scrutiny committee members, forming part of a group which holds elected officers accountable.

With only nine applicants out of a

possible ten, all candidates were welcomed to the committee.

25 students were also appointed to join the Student Senate out of 31 applicants. Student Senators are responsible for representing and acting as the voice of Cardiff students and work to create and review policies.

“

Full and equal representation for the Welsh language and its speakers is certainly not a luxury that cannot be afforded; it is a basic right.

Steffan Bryn

”

Pictured: Members of the Student Senate last year

NEWS 5

Cardiff job advert sparks MP outrage Dan Heard

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It is absolutely inappropriate to suggest that recruitment for a post should be restricted in terms of gender, never mind the reference to ‘good looking’ Jo Stevens, MP Cardiff Central

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Anna Lewis

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Universities should prioritise the voices of the most vulnerable, not invite speakers who seek to further marginalise them Rachael Melhuish Women’s Officer

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A

Facebook post advertises for “good looking girl” to work in Cathays student letting agents

Facebook post appealing for a “good looking girl” to work in a Cathays-based property firm office has received backlash from students and politicians.

The post was published by Cardiffbased Modelling Network, apparently on behalf of Kingstons Residential Estate Agents to find a member of staff.

The message was also posted on Twitter, saying: “Looking for a good looking girl to work in the front office of a property agents in Cathays, Cardiff to get the students in.”

However, Kingstons, a letting agent specialising in accommodation for students based in Cathays, says the firm has no links with Modelling Network and did not ask them to advertise the job.

The agency say that while they placed an advertisement for an administration assistant, they are not using Modelling Network, but are instead going through recruitment agencies such as Indeed. The advertisement for the job itself also makes no reference to the appearance of the applicant.

Both the Facebook message and the Tweet have since been deleted.

The post by Modelling Network

drew heavy criticism not only from students, local residents and social media users, but even from senior politicians, both local and national.

Former Labour leader Harriet Harman, once UK Minister for Justice and a prominent campaigner for women’s rights, tweeted her outrage, saying: “This is unlawful under Equality Act. @EHRC [Equality and Human Rights Commission] are you going to do anything about it?”

Speaking to Gair Rhydd, Jo Stevens, Labour MP for Cardiff Central, said: “I’m shocked by the job advertisement.

It is unlawful under the 2010 Equality Act. “It is absolutely inappropriate to suggest that recruitment for a post should be restricted in terms of gender, never mind the reference to ‘good looking’. I hope that all letting agents in Cathays and the rest of Cardiff Central remember that the way to attract tenants is to offer well-maintained and affordable properties.

“It’s really disappointing that in 2015 some people still feel it is appropriate to think about women in this way. The Everyday Sexism campaign, which I support, works hard to highlight these

ongoing issues. Kingstons have replied to say they do not endorse the posting.

I hope they take prompt action, get some advice on their legal obligations as a business so that this doesn’t happen again.”

Within hours of the story going viral, Kingstons released a further statement: “The events today where completely and totally astonishing to us as we were caught completely unaware regarding the un-approved advert, that has caused great offence to our clients and to the wider community.

“We fully understand the offence

it has caused as we are an investor in people.”

“We will be conducting a thorough investigation as to how such an advert was posted without our knowledge or any prior approval.

“As employers we appreciate and fully understand our obligations to our employee’s potential and current, not to discriminate or show any discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race or any disability under the Law.” Modelling Network did not respond when asked for comment.

Pictured: Kingstons Residential on Wyverne Road (photgrapher: Anna Lewis)

Students fight to ban “transphobic” academic from campus

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ardiff students are speaking out against the University, after it was announced that the openly transphobic academic Germaine Greer will be giving a lecture next month.

Greer is planned to visit the University on November 18th in order to deliver a lecture named ‘Women and Power: The Lessons of the 20th Century’.

Despite being a celebrated feminist, the academic has caused widespread controversy after stating in January that trans women “are not women” and that allowing individuals to undergo surgical procedure during transition was “unethical”.

As a result, students have taken to social media to express their outrage at Greer’s planned appearance at the University.

“Germaine Greer is a noted advocate of women’s rights, however not for all women,” one first year student expressed. “Her past comments in regards to trans women and transphobia are not what the University should be advocating themselves by hosting her: when those views go against the duty of care that the University has to all its students.”

Talking to Gair Rhydd, Students’ Union LGBT+ Officer Jack Miles said: “I feel that the University giving Greer a platform is extremely problematic.

While her contributions to the Feminist cause are unquestionable, her outspoken transphobia is of deep con-

cern and should not be tolerated “I’d much rather we didn’t host her, but if the event goes ahead it should be under strict terms - or, better still, her transphobia should be directly called into question.”

An online petition campaigning to cancel Greer’s appearance has also been launched, receiving over 100 signatures during the first eight hours of its launch.

At the time of print, the petition received over 210 responses, having received national media attention.

The petition was created by Students’ Union Women’s Officer Rachael Melhuish.

In a statement, Melhuish condemned Greer for her “misogynistic views towards trans women, including continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether.”

She continued: “Universities should prioritise the voices of the most vulnerable on their campuses, not invite speakers who seek to further marginalise them.

Similar views were also expressed in a letter written to the University.

In reaction to the news, Payton Quinn, who identities as gender fluid, wrote: “For the sake of making a safe space for all students and members of the community, you cannot allow this transphobic woman a platform which she will use to continue her incitement of violence against trans people.”

Despite such comments, the Uni-

versity maintain that it strives to welcome and not isolate its students.

Talking to Gair Rhydd, Cardiff University Vice-Chancellor Professor Riordan emphasised the University’s commitment to its LGBT+ students and staff, stating “we work hard to provide a positive and welcoming space for LGBT+ people and we are in consultation with student and staff groups to ensure that the views of LGBT+ people are represented at our events.”

Riordan also emphasised the University’s commitment to its LGBT+ students and staff, stating that “we fully recognise the tremendous benefits having such a diverse community brings to Cardiff University.”

Defending Greer’s lecture, he stressed that “events within the University events include speakers with a range of views, all of which are rigorously challenged and debated. This event will be no different.

“We in no way condone discriminatory comments of any kind.”

Eleanor Prescott, a third year Journalism student, also voiced the importance of holding Greer’s lecture in the interest of creating a debate.

She said: “Just because someone holds problematic views, doesn’t mean we should automatically censor them, because the reaction that provokes is not a progressive one. Challenge them. Challenge ignorance with better information”.

Talking to Gair Rhydd, Students’

Union President Claire Blakeway reminded students that it is the role of the Student Senate to vote and agree upon the Union’s political policies and that motions can be submitted to Senate until Tuesday October 29th.

When asked whether the SU would support Melhuish’s petition, she also stated that “Cardiff University Students’ Union will continue to support its Campaign Officers as they campaign on issues affecting students at Cardiff University”.

Pictured: Germaine Greer has previously called trans women a “ghostly parody” (Photographer: Maggie Hannan)

6 NEWS

Housing agencies letting students down Protesters demonstrate against poor housing standards

Anna Lewis

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ardiff students took part in a march last week in order to voice their anger about poor housing standards.

On Saturday October 17th, representatives from both the NUS and the Socialists Students society joined forces with numerous Cardiff groups to march through the city centre.

With approximately 50 participants, the peaceful protest attracted considerable attention from onlookers with chants stressing the need for urgent rent control and action against government cuts.

The ‘March against the rent ripoff ’ demonstration was organised by groups including Cardiff Housing Action and ‘Cardiff against the Cuts’ and was sparked amid statistics that rent in Cardiff has increased by 25 per cent in the last four years.

The movement also called for an end to agencies fees, some totalling over £100, and the implementation of

sanctions for landlords.

Starting outside Cardiff City Hall, the event began with a series of speeches before the group took to Queens Street with multiple banners and signs reading ‘Scrap rip-offmoney-for-nothing agency fees’ and ‘home is a right not a privilege’.

Speaking at the protest, NUS Wales President Beth Button emphasized that students are “disproportionally” affected by the poor standard of housing in Cardiff and often treated as “second class” citizens forced to accept substandard and vermin-infested conditions.

Button proposed that letting agencies should come under increasing control and regulations, after it was revealed that many ignore important legislation.

The Vice-President of NUS Wales added that as a result of the housing crisis in Cardiff “students have been forced to drop out or live in B&Bs”.

“Whole communities have been driven out of society”, she added.

During the demonstration, Socialist Students President Sebastian Robyns-Landricome blamed the rent increase on the greed of landlords, “and the capacity of lardlords and agencies to manipulate tenants.

“For students living in Cathays and Roath, there is no choice but to use these agencies” he continued.

“There is something terribly wrong with the situation…the government does not value students as much as the rest of their society” The Chair of the Youth GMB group for Wales and the South West, David Hamlin, also emphasized the troubles experienced by students in his speech: “Young members of the community are hit particularly hard”, he said, and “are felt to be worth less” after it was announced that those under 25 will not receive the living wage.

Despite this Hamlin reminded the

crowd that “rent is no less price for students”.

All speakers reminded the group of the need to get involved and “stand united”.

The ‘March against the rent ripoff ’ demonstration hopes to launch a petition to the Welsh Assembly Government to address the housing situation.

The protest has followed after a series of meetings held by the Socialist Students Society addressing the issues faced by fellow students, in which approximately 30 people attended.

The society, which has grown rapidly in size since last year, is also involved in other projects including the lobbying of the government to accept more refugees.

Last month the group also joined the ‘Reclaim the Night’ event which took part last month to show solidarity against the series of sexual attacks that took place in the city centre.

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Students are often treated as ‘second class’ citizens forced to accept substandard and vermininfested conditions NUS Wales President Beth Button

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Pictured: Socialist Students President Sebastian RobynsLandricome (left), protesters in Cardiff City Centre (right) (Photographer: Anna Lewis)

For students living in Cathays and Roath, there is no choice but to use these agencies Sebastian Robyns-Landricome

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Is ‘lad culture’ to blame for Cardiff sexual assaults?

Toby Holloway

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addish” culture has been deemed a primary cause for the series of sexual assaults which took place in Cardiff in September.

Following a summit on the issue last week, Cardiff Council, South Wales Police and the universities of Cardiff agreed a crackdown on “laddish” culture was necessary to prevent further attacks.

Three sexual assaults took place during Freshers’ week, one of which occurred near Cardiff University’s main building, in the Civic Centre.

A second assault happened in a house on Cathays Terrace, Cathays, on the 22nd of September, while the third took place in Gorsedd Gardens. Khalid Alhmadi, 23, was charged for the latter of the three attacks, and Remus Hamza, 40, with the second. Both men were due to appear in court on October 12th.

The summit was attended by the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales, Sophie Howe, who stated: “We’ll be working with all the universities here in Cardiff to develop a programme looking at challenging a laddish culture which can at times lead to sexually inappropriate behaviour”.

Ms Howe highlighted the emergence of “laddish” culture throughout British universities as “worrying”, whilst also criticizing some taxi drivers for refusing to give lifts to people who ask for shorter journeys around Cardiff ’s city centre.

She said: “Absolutely, they need to accept fares, if their light is on they need to take fares no matter where in the city they’re going”.

Despite the summit’s conclusions on the issue, there were those who remained skeptical about the part that “laddish” culture played in the attacks.

Tom Moran, 3rd year Geography student at Cardiff University, said this: “I don’t understand why lad culture has been blamed; one man charged with rape is a 40 year old man whilst the other is in need of a translator at court”.

This viewpoint highlights the argument that the two men charged over the incidents were not characteristic of typical ‘lads’, one being 40 years old and the other speaking very little English.

Some people stress that there is no causal link between “laddish” environments often attributed to sports initiations or socials and the sexual assaults that were carried out by the two men.

The issue of taxi drivers refusing some passengers was also brought to light by the safety summit, with drivers heavily criticised for rejecting passengers that request short journeys around the city centre.

Following the assaults, Cardiff

Council have received large numbers of complaints about taxi drivers refusing fairs, while the actions of some drivers have been deemed “unacceptable” by Police Commissioner Sophie Howe.

In response to these accusations, Cardiff Hackney Cabs Association chairman Mathab Khan stated: “The real problem is drunk and abusive passengers who are refused and then complain to the council”.

In a statement made to Gair Rhydd, Cardiff University Students’ Union President Claire Blakeway explained that lad culture’ falls within important questions about student safety and behaviour on campus.

As a result, the Students’ Union will be focusing on developing a lad culture policy, including “promoting appropriate behaviour and responsible attitudes to relationships and sex within the student population.”

“

Ms Howe highlighted the emergence of ‘laddish’ culture throughout British Universities as ‘worrying’

”

Annual General Meeting Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol

Thursday 12th November OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS DOORS 17:30, THE GREAT HALL

SUBMIT MOTIONS TO AGM@CARDIFF.AC.UK BY 12PM WEDNESDAY 4TH NOVEMBER For more information visit: CARDIFFSTUDENTS.COM THIS IS A STUDENT MEMBERS’ AGM. YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SHOW VALID STUDENT ID ON THE DOOR. Business to be transacted: ratification of minutes of the previous meeting; receiving the report of the Trustees on the Union’s activities since the previous meeting; receiving the accounts of the Union for the previous financial year; approving the list of affiliations of the Union; open questions to the Trustees by the Student Members; and any motions submitted by members.

8 ADVICE

advice

Editor: Gwen Williams @GairRhyddAdv advice@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/advice

Housemate roulette: May the odds be ever in your favour!

Pictured: Cathays student housing (photographer: Anna Lewis)

Gwen Williams

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In halls, you are thrown in with a random group of students in the hope that you will ‘click’. It’s the luck of the draw really

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B

y the end of October, some of you will have started discussing housing situations for the next year or two. Others may be looking at living options ready for graduation.

If you haven’t, don’t panic! There is plenty of time to sort it out, so don’t feel obliged to sign with the first people who bring up the issue for fear of being too late. Having said that, you do need to start thinking about the type of people you would like to live with, particularly when the work steps up with each year.

The first thing you need to think about is the number of people you want living in your house. You may have found that living with seven other people in halls was a terrible experience, with too much noise and drama, so try and find others who would prefer to live in a quieter environment with extra fridge space! Alternatively, you may have found that living in a flat of two or three was isolating due to everyone having different timetables, so look for people who are sociable and lively.

Next you need to consider who you would like to live with. In halls, you are thrown in with a random group of students in the hope that you will ‘click’. It’s the luck of the draw really. By now you’ve lived with them for almost two months so you should have a good indication of whether you could see yourself living with them for another year. Already you start to know whether you get on with them and whether their bad habits are bearable or not. Also, it’s nice to have other topics of conversa-

tion with people on different courses and from different backgrounds.

Have you considered living with your course mates and university friends? You have a different kind of friendship with them than with your friends from home, and probably have a lot of things in common.

It would be great to have company to walk to and from lectures and a potential study buddy to motivate you to work. However, your friends could have the opposite effect and distract you from your reading.

Living with your best friends can either make or break a friendship.

Think carefully about what things about them could annoy you in a domestic environment. For example, you probably love your friend despite the fact that they are messy because it doesn’t affect your friendship. However, if you’re naturally a tidy person, you may fall out over little things such as washing the dishes.

Petty arguments can build up and escalate, causing a rift. Plus, if you take the same modules, you may be together for most of the day and could get sick of each other.

Some of your friends from home may live in Cardiff. After knowing them for most of your life, it may be easy to decide that you are compatible for cohabiting. By now, you can accept and appreciate their flaws and are used to being in their company frequently because of the hours you spent sitting next to each other in A level sociology. You’re as honest and comfortable with them as you are with your own family. Yet, peo-

ple change when they get to uni, and the year you spent in halls may have had an impact on how you all see the world. As a result, your friendship may alter in the months between signing for a house and moving in.

Having said that though, it could be great!

Maybe you’re considering moving in with your partner. This is a very big step in any relationship and needs careful thought and extensive discussion, even if you have been together a long time. Remember, once you sign for a house it’s difficult to get out of it. You may break up months before you are due to move in, or worse, just after you’ve started living together.

As students, neither of you would be able to afford to move out and pay the rent on the house you were supposed to be sharing. It could be a very long and stressful year if this were to happen.

University is a time where you can enjoy the slow pace of a relationship.

You have plenty of time for all of that serious stuff when you graduate and start working. I have a few friends that have partners who live a couple of streets away from them in Cardiff.

They find it helpful to live apart in order to keep them focused on their degree and it also gives them somewhere to chill out and be together if their housemates are annoying.

If you’re graduating, you may be considering living completely autonomously or moving back into your parents’ house. These have many pros and cons. Living on your own is great but only if you like your

own company. You can do what you want, when you want and you don’t have to compromise on anything.

However, one bedroom flats can be very expensive to rent and it can be constricting when you are cooped up on your own. If you decide to go back home, the obvious advantage would be economic. You may have to contribute a little to household bills but you would also have home made meals cooked on a regular basis. The familiarity of it all would be lovely and your parents would be glad to have you back for a bit.

Anyhow, living with your parents can be just as constricting as living alone. Although you’re an adult, it’s not your house so you have to live under their rules. Having lived three years independently at university, it can be difficult to adjust to life back home and some clash with their parents.

The bottom line is that you need to weigh up all options before you come to a conclusion. You can certainly narrow it down by process of elimination . No matter who you live with it’s going to be a rental roulette as you can’t be completely sure if you are compatible with someone before you have actually cohabited. Living with anyone can be taxing and no friendship is perfect.

Anyway, if you get half way through the year and realise you pulled the short straw, remember people don’t often get it right the first time. It’s just another stitch in the tapestry of life that you weave as you make your way through the world..

“

You can’t be completely sure if you are compatible with someone before you have actually cohabited.

Living with anyone can be taxing and no friendship is perfect

”

ADVICE 9

Radio tips: It’s more than a golden voice

Karla Pequenino

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the era of the #hashtag everything has arrived and we can use it to learn more about what our audience likes and dislikes

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D

o you dream of working in radio and want some “inside advice”? The Student Radio Association (SRA) organised training days all over the UK to connect radio professionals with university students interested in working in the world of radio, either by producing or presenting a show.

Cardiff guest speakers included Dan Potts (BBC Wales) and Vicki Blight (Absolute Radio), who were previous members of Cardiff University Students’ Union’s Xpress Radio that climbed the industry ladder with their hard work and creativity.

Here are some of their best tips: Know your audience – Don’t just work for yourself “You are not speaking for yourself!” insists Vicki Blight. What you consider interesting might be boring to others, especially if they’re not pulled in by what you’re saying. If you’re doing a podcast on a certain topic get something fresh – get news from “today”! – to convince people to stop and listen to you.

Similarly, if you’re doing an underground music show, do not start with the most unknown song: try something a bit more mainstream to warm up your audience.

Use social media!

A good way to engage with the audience is to use social media to con-

5 ways to prepare yourself for your semester abroad Going abroad is a massive step, being away from your family and friends for many months. You really learn to live independently but it can be a challenge at times Here are five important things to remember to make life easier.

vince people to share their opinion.

Both Dan and Vicki agree that the era of the #hashtageverything has arrived and we can use it to learn more about what our audience likes and dislikes.

To be a star at the BBC, first get a job at the BBC “How can we work in radio at the BBC?” was a popular question throughout the day. According to Dan Potts, getting a job at the BBC because you “know someone” is an urban myth.

Nowadays, it is impossible to teleport right to the top of the food chain. You have to start at the bottom and, as Dan says it, “To get a job at a BBC Radio show, the first part is actually getting a job at the BBC.” Dan got his first job at the station by answering phones and running some errands, but he worked his way up to the top by proving he was willing and motivated: “Getting that @ bbc email account is very important to apply for jobs internally as you get priority” Be consistent!

It might be cliché, but getting to work on time and being reliable will be fruitful in the long run. Dan and Vicky were very clear on the fact that people do not give chances to those who think they are too good to show up.

1. Personal documents Scan copies of important documents, proof of identification, addresses, and phone numbers etc and have photocopies in print. If anything happens, you have plenty of back-up copies.

2. Visa Get your visa sorted sooner rather than later. Depending on where you’re going it can take up to a few weeks to process. You need to enrol before you apply, as they need proof that you are at university. Don’t book a flight until

“Fake it until you make it” “Getting a perfect first job doesn’t happen,” explains Dan. “You will not like every programme or topic you’re asked to work on”. In other words, people might ask you to prepare something about topics you know nothing about. It is important to say yes and prove that you are versatile and willing to make it work.

The pizza / pie chart trick for extra time Pizza is great! As a late night snack, maths chart or, you guessed it, radio planning. Pizza or pie charts are great ways to visualise how fast an hour of radio can go and how you should divide time between your programme, music breaks, publicity and guests.

Plus, it can draw attention to some issues with your show. Vicki pointed out never to place news and spoof news together as it can generate a lot of problems. It would sound terrible if your comedy piece about a famous politician was heard before the news programme announcing he had just been in an accident.

Do not reveal all your cards!

If you like doing podcasts, or you are thinking of creating your own show for Xpress do not tell your listeners everything that will happen in the programme straight away. Not only does it force people to hear a lot of

you get your visa in case it is rejected.

3. Accommodation Once you sort out your student accommodation, follow it up. Make sure you know where you are living, when you can move in and where to pick up the keys.You need to make sure that your first few days are planned to make the move as smooth as possible.

4. Transport Make sure you book your flight well in advance so you can also book links from the airport to

talking without a break, but by the time you finish your long list everyone will have forgotten the first point. “Now” and “Up next” are good enough for informing listeners and will keep your engaged.

The bottom line?

Working in radio takes more than passion and a “golden voice”, especially as not every position is as a presenter. Yet, hard work seems to pay off and it was great to hear the work stories of two professionals that started with our student radio.

Although we have focused on Dan and Vicki, the SRA training day brought many more speakers to Cardiff.

Xpress Radio Station Manager, Kieran Lewis, notes that the training days are useful and hopes Cardiff ’s Student Radio can help organise other similar events. In his words: “Training days give a real taste of what the radio industry is like and also show how student radio is a great way to get involved and gain relevant skills.”

More about the “advice-voices” behind this guide: Dan Potts is a former Cardiff Student and member of Xpress back in his days. Currently he works as a Broadcast Assistant for BBC Radio Wales. Vicki Blight, current host of Absolute Radio, also started out in Student Radio Cardiff and has already worked for Heart and BBC Radio 1.

your accomodation. Research and familiarise yourself with the public transport system of the country you are going to. Get hold of public transport timetables and find out details such as whether you can pay by cash or need a travel card.

5. Health Familiarise yourself with your health insurance. Check what is and isn’t covered. For instance dental work may not be included. If you have glasses, go to your opticians at home and check that your prescription is up to date.

Pictured: Tips on getting into radio.

(Source: Karla Pequenino)

“

Working in radio takes more than passion and a “golden voice”, especially as not every position is as a presenter

”

10 ADVICE

Postgraduate schemes: Frontline

Gwen Williams

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It is a paid training route that enables you to get qualifications as you go

”

“

Good analytical and leadership skills will ensure you can lead with sound judgements

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A

re you considering a social impact career after graduation? Are you thinking about applying for a graduate scheme?

Katie Purser, a recruitment director from Frontline, talks about an exciting opportunity for third years: Can you please give an overview of the work Frontline do as a general organisation and more specifically in terms of Cardiff?

Over half a million children in the UK are in need of great social workers on a daily basis. Without their help, the odds are against them: almost a third of the homeless population and a quarter of the adult prison population were in care at some point in their lives.

Frontline is a new scheme to get outstanding graduates into one of Britain’s toughest professions, child protection social work. We believe that no child’s background should determine what their outcomes are in life. We’re looking for individuals who want to train on the job, whilst being paid and getting their qualifications to practice as a social worker.

We’re also looking for people who have aspirations to move into positions of leadership and take responsibility throughout their careers, so that Frontline participants, having completed the programme, can become leaders in both social work and broader society. As such, we offer a bespoke leadership development training programme to really ensure that people can have a transformational impact.

The reason that we are particularly interested in Cardiff is that eight of the 124 participants in our second cohort were from Cardiff University.

We’re very confident that the university has got the right calibre of students and outstanding individuals who should be thinking about joining the Frontline scheme and going

into social work.

What is different about Frontline compared to other routes into social work profession?

There are lots of different routes into social work. At the university based level there is a Bachelors in Social Work, or a Masters in Social Work.

Both are very academically based training routes with placements during the programme. There’s another scheme called Step Up to Social Work, which is a seventeen month programme where individuals work with local authorities in child protection teams. They work and learn on the job alongside social workers.

The difference with Frontline is that we are an intensive training route where you complete a five week residential followed by a yearlong placement in a local authority.

During this year, participants work in a team of four with an experienced child protection social worker as a line manager. While the social worker has statutory responsibility, the Frontline participants will work through different complex scenarios with children and families to have a positive impact.

It is a paid training route that enables you to get qualifications as you go. In the second year, Frontline participants will be practiced, ready and working independently as registered social workers in child protection units. Additionally, they’ll be offered a coach who will help them achieve their leadership potential and maximise their transformational impact on the lives of vulnerable children.

Do you have any tips on applying to the Frontline programme? Are there any specific entry requirements or degree specifications for instance?

Frontline is looking for people from a whole variety of backgrounds and

different degree disciplines. The specific academic requirements are a 2:1 in your undergraduate degree (predicted or obtained) and grade Cs in GCSE Maths and English. At A Level, whilst most successful applicants have obtained at least BBB, we do have some with CCC, where their application forms have been outstanding.

In terms of applying, we’d recommend that people think very carefully about why Frontline is for them, why they want to be a social worker, and why they want to commit to working with children and families, particularly the most vulnerable. We also advise they draw on a range of experiences which show their adaptability to working with different people as well as taking initiative and responsibility – all qualities we believe will enable them to succeed on the programme.

In addition, the competencies by which we assess applicants throughout the application process are threefold. Firstly, you need real motivation and commitment to working with children and families. Secondly, effective communication skills and empathy are essential to enable you to work well with people. Finally, good analytical and leadership skills will ensure you can lead with sound judgements.

Are social impact careers popular career choices for students these days? Why or why not?

Social impact careers are a huge opportunity for students these days, and I think they are very popular.

We’ve got some great opportunities out there. Teach First, Police Now, Think Ahead and Frontline are all offering a great chance for people to have a life changing impact on vulnerable individuals in society. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Teach First and Frontline have both

been recognised as top 50 graduate employers, according to the prestigious Times Top 100 list for 2015-16.

The great thing about social impact careers is that on those schemes you have really great training, they’re often paid, and you can have a direct and positive impact on people, particularly upon those most in need.

There are also transferable skills that you can gain that will enable you to access lots of opportunities in the future, and which can be deployed to other fields.

How did you personally get into a career with Frontline?

My own background is with Teach First, which I really rate as a graduate scheme. What really excited me about Frontline was the fact that you can have a transformational impact on the lives of vulnerable people, most specifically children in care.

Whilst a teacher can help them during the day, when a child goes home in the evening or at the weekend without clear structure and support from supportive adult role models, it can really disadvantage a child. So I think the opportunity with Frontline and what it can do in terms of developing that individual, who really believes in these young people, and wants to help them change and enable them to achieve their goals, that to me is a really important proposition, and something that is vital for ensuring more equal outcomes in society.

How do students apply for this brilliant opportunity?

Applications are currently open and close on November 12th. Final year students can apply online via our website:

www.thefrontline.org.uk/apply

Pictured: Frontline can offer you the career training you need.

(Photographer: Michael Havens)

“

The specific academic requirements are a 2:1 in your undergraduate degree (predicted or obtained) and grade Cs in GCSE Maths and English

”

Cardiff Nightline

CardiffNightline @CardiffNL CardiffStudents.com/nightline

12 COMMENT

comment

Editors: Em Gates Charley Griffiths David Williams @GairRhyddCom comment@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/comment

Homelessness in Cardiff

Sarah Harris

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Have people become desensitised to homeless people by seeing them so often?

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T

Do students feel obliged to help tackle this significant issue?

o be ‘legally’ classed as homeless, a person must have no home to occupy in any country in the world. This does not necessarily mean they have to be sleeping on the street. Between 2007-2009, Cardiff saw a dramatic rise in their homeless population, with numbers increasing from 93 to 259.

After being raised in Pakistan, a developing country with a shockingly high homeless population, it was alarming to see these conditions in Cardiff. Having previously volunteered with charities, I knew that in most cases, the fault wasn’t usually of the homeless person themselves, but often due to a deeper rooted issue.

Despite this, there is no doubt that something needs to be done about this growing problem.

Upon writing this article, I asked my friends for their stance of the situation. Did they feel obliged to give money? Did seeing people in this vulnerable state so often desensitise them? By the end of the conversation, it was safe to say that people had differing views on the matter. A few said they often gave money to those who looked like they ‘needed’ it. When I asked them how they could tell, most people responded by saying they

looked at physical appearances. Another few said they would often give money only if they were asked. The rest said that as disheartening as it was to see people in such a vulnerable state, it was often hard for them as students to spare some change.

Llamua is one of Wales’ largest charity organisations specifically targeting those without a home to go to. The charity mainly targets young adults although their shelters are open to anyone. Alongside the shelters, the charity also provides counselling services and workshops to equip disadvantaged adults with the skills they might need to work in a professional environment.

Other than this, there are numerous facilities provided to the homeless population of Cardiff to help them.

The Boardroom Coffee Shop near Cardiff Market is the first Café in Cardiff to introduce a ‘suspended coffee’ service. This means that customers can buy a coffee for any disadvantaged person to later come in and claim.

Ideas like this are being introduced all over the world to try and lessen this problem.

However, it is clear that much more can be done to solve this issue. I remember coming across an article a

few months ago stating that a 12-yearold boy in the USA had discovered that just by changing the font used in official government documents, the US could save an absurd amount - $3 billion - enough to solve poverty in Africa. It made me think what our government could do to solve the issue of homelessness in the UK. There are countless numbers of charities aiming to improve the lives of those less fortunate, but what was our actual government doing?

Over the summer, I volunteered with the charity ‘Human Appeal’. One of the tasks this involved was supplying food to homeless people. Through this, I had the opportunity to meet a wide range of wonderful and enthusiastic people who despite their conditions, always managed to greet me with a smile. Out of all the people I met, one man’s story has managed to stick with me and has made an impact on my life. He told me of his past and how he had been raised in a normal, middle-class, suburban family. He was completing his third year at university when his parents passed away. With no extended family to turn to, he was left on his own with no money, an unfinished degree and no home. Despite the struggles he’d faced throughout

his life time, he still managed to tell the story with a smile on his face and was especially appreciative of the fact that I had taken the time out of my day to sit down and talk to him.

Meeting this man it put a lot of things into perspective. He made me appreciate simple things such as the fact that I had a roof over my head, a bed to sleep on at night and the fact that I was lucky enough to be able to afford a good education. Since then, I have tried my best to greet every homeless person I’ve seen with a smile as although it may not seem like much, it makes a huge impact on their day.

Cardiff University student Sam Patterson is currently in the process of establishing the ‘Cardiff University Society for helping the homeless’.

Patterson says: “The society will aim to raise funds and distribute them among Cardiff ’s homeless population, in the form of necessities, and assistance in finding accommodation.

We want to change people’s attitudes towards the homeless, and encourage altruism.” Anyone interested in becoming involved can email Sam at PattersonS1@cardiff.ac.uk or message Laurie Cook at CookLN@cardiff. ac.uk.

Pictured: Having a home is about more than just having a roof over your head.

(Photographer: scribbletaylor/ Flickr)

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Between 2007-2009, Cardiff saw a dramatic rise in their homeless population

”

COMMENT 13

Charlie Knights

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This has caused serious concerns among many current and future medical professionals, including current medical students

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J

Junior doctors up in arms

unior doctors and other medical professionals have been up in arms in recent months over the proposed changes to junior doctor working hour contracts.

The Department of Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has released proposed changes to the current standards of junior doctor working hours, which aim to be implemented by April 2016 as part of the Department of Health‘s drive for seven-day services. This has caused serious concerns among many current and future medical professionals, including current medical students.

These proposals are based around redefining a typical working week of a junior doctor to include Saturdays, and to end at 10pm each night excluding Sunday.

A recent Times report investigating the issue claims that the pay rate of junior doctors could even be cut by up to 30 per cent, as weekends and evenings would count as standard rate.

Over 80,000 people have signed a petition on the UK Government and Parliament Petitions page calling for a parliamentary debate to repeal the current bill, and over 90,000 signed a separate petition on online petition platform Change.org urging the British Medical Association to support a strike for junior doctors.

“Just imagine a situation,” Dr Matt

Egan states on change.org, “where your pay has increased at a rate below inflation for the last five years (effectively a pay cut for five years in a row) and now you’re facing another 30 per cent wiped from your earnings.”

A BMA spokesman eventually issued a statement saying they “are willing to ballot our members on industrial action if the threat of contract imposition is not lifted,” leading to many junior doctors marching throughout London, Nottingham, and Belfast on Saturday 17th October, protesting against this change as the prospect of strike action comes closer.

Jeremy Hunt replied by saying that the BMA had “misrepresented the Government’s position” and “caused a huge amount of anger unnecessarily”.

The new contract could affect up to 55,000 doctors, according to the British Medical Association, but the Government’s official reply to the debate petition insists that this is not a “cost cutting exercise” and that the “new contract will improve patient safety, better supporting a seven day NHS.” However this hasn’t stopped the worries of the medical society at large, who believe that an over-worked five day NHS will be stretched even thinner over a larger working time slot.

As well as online petitions, the Twitter hashtag #JuniorContract has been

flooded with complaints from people all over the UK. Twitter user @demelzajm, a final year medical student in London says “I just can’t get my head around how the government think the changes to the #juniorcontract are safe for docs or our patients.”

Cardiff University’s own Vice President for Heath Park, Katey Beggan, is also worried about the risks to patient safety.

“I think one of the main problems with the bill they want to put through is it takes away the safeguards stopping doctors from working longer hours.”

She continued, “So theoretically, yes, they should be able to work different

hours and there should be different doctors covering different times of the day… given the current state of the NHS they will be asked to work longer than they are currently allowed to do.

“We had loads of students approach me about the situation,” Katey went on to say. “We decided as a team that it was an important enough issue that we would be backing, and decided to contribute towards students traveling down to London for the demonstration.

“If those safeguards are taken away, it will be highly detrimental to not only junior doctor’s health but inevitably patient safety”.

The consent lessons debate: Why George Lawlor is wrong

Last week George Lawlor, writing for the Tab Warwick, made his opinions on sexual consent lessons clear, causing a lot more controversy than he could have ever expected

Dan Heard

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Since a photo of this went viral nearly a week ago, everyone seems to have lost their minds over it

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B

efore this week, nobody in Cardiff had heard of George Lawlor. In fact, I’m guessing nobody outside of his (now rather select) group of friends or course-mates had, or even had anything to do with him.

A Politics and Sociology student at Warwick University, Lawlor has unintentionally ventured into the world of infamy normally reserved for the likes of Katie Hopkins, Piers Morgan and just about any other social commentator with an opinion they feel everyone should hear and agree with.

That all changed when he picked up an A4 notebook and scrawled on it “THIS IS NOT WHAT A RAPIST LOOKS LIKE”. Since a photo of this went viral nearly a week ago, everyone seems to have lost their minds over it.

Lawlor was speaking out against being invited to sex consent training lessons, something which he says, is “the biggest insult I’ve received in a good few years.” Writing online, he

describes how he was excited to receive an invite to what he thought was a social gathering, but on discovering the true nature of the event, his “crushing disappointment” quickly boiled down to anger. But this anger didn’t stop with a strop or even a sulk, (you know, like most six year olds would when they can’t stay up to watch TV). He instead picked up his notepad and camera and did the deed we’ve all been ranting about ever since. I felt I couldn’t go any further with this without acknowledging the views of other students, so I asked Gair Rhydd columnist Helena Hanson for her take on this. She didn’t hold back: “George Lawlor epitomises the reason why consent classes are necessary. What does a rapist look like?

A rapist can look like an ordinary student, in ordinary clothes. Just as rape victims can be ordinary students, in ordinary clothes, studying ordinary degrees. Lawlor’s attitude is wrong,

instead of taking the invitation as a personal insult, Lawlor must realise that women and men need to work alongside one another in order for any of us to make a difference. One in three women studying at university has experienced sexual assault, George, so do not be so bold in suggesting rapists cannot be boys like you.”

His Warwickshire peers didn’t offer much support either. One stated, “George Lawlor, you are a fucking idiot, and your article is offensive to women and an embarrassment to men.” One tweeted: “George Lawlor will look back at his article one day and feel embarrassed - your article is horrendous and ignorant.” Another said how they were “speechless at how someone can undermine such important education that fills a crucial hole in our curriculum, awful.”

Perhaps George should visit Cardiff. Last month there were three sexual assaults on young women in

Pictured: NHS activist at a junior doctor contract march last week (Photographer: Garry Knight)

Pictured: Lawlor is against attending consent classes at Warwick University (Photographer: George Lawlor)

“ five days. Three young women who, by the way, had no idea what a rapist ‘looked’ like. But still, being made to attend lessons on consent? How terrible. I will commend him on not being afraid to speak out, but that’s all I can, and want, to commend. Seeing as he feels he doesn’t need to learn any more on the issue, I’d personally love to hear what HE considers consent, seeing as he has said so much despite actually saying very little. Until the day you rock up at Cardiff Central, George, I’d get back to your studies.

Because your fifteen minutes of infamy are, thankfully, just about over.

One in three women studying at university has experienced sexual assault George, so do not be so bold in suggesting rapists cannot be boys like you

”

14 COMMENT

Animals without rights, laws without meaning

No charges brought against Cecil the lion’s killer

Brett Jones

“

If laws are there to protect the powerless from the powerful then Animal Rights is a very good indicator of who we are as a species

”

Tom Morris

A

t the end of June 2015, American dentist Walter Palmer shot a lion with an arrow. Approximately 40 hours later he had tracked down the animal again and shot it with a rifle. The body was stripped of its hide and the head was cut off. Not only did this seem to be the execution of the world’s most famous lion, media establishments all over the world shared in mourning and outrage at the death of Zimbabwe’s beloved big cat.

Controversially, we have now learnt that Walter Palmer is not going to be charged because Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister Oppah Muchinguri has ascertained that “all the papers were in order.” I for one wouldn’t be surprised if they were. But so what?

The fact that Mr. Palmer’s actions may not have contravened any piece of legislation doesn’t do very much to alleviate the stomach-churning emotion many of us feel whilst thinking about what he did, which in bold terms, was pre-meditated and completely indifferent first degree murder.

The devil really is in the detail and their gratuitousness. Why use a bow and arrow? Clearly it is inefficient. How could he callously stalk a wounded animal for 40 hours? What reason can you possibly have for skinning and decapitating the corpse? I don’t think the answer to those questions is anything too mysterious, it’s sadism, it’s power, it’s taking pleasure in the suffering of another. It is certainly not the behaviour I would like to see displayed by my dentist.

It can’t be a coincidence that every article covering this story feels the need to prominently feature Mr.

I

Palmer’s profession. Just look at the photo of Mr. Palmer adorning any of the stories about Cecil. There he is in his pearly white dentist’s shirt, in front of his pearly white reception, bearing his pearly white (obsessively so) incisors. He looks like a cross between Breaking Bad’s Walter White and Dr. Christian Szell, Laurence Olivier’s war criminal (and dentist) in Marathon Man. There is still the small problem that he didn’t break any laws. If we so readily circumvent the rule of law in our pursuit of somebody who photographs so well as a weird, creepy, sadistic pervert aren’t we taking a step closer towards becoming like Mr. Palmer and his guides who avoided breaking the law by enticing Cecil outside the bounds of Hwange National Park?

Animal rights have also recently been raised by a member of the British Royal Family, the little known cousin Princess Michael of Kent. After many years spent deeply considering the topic (some of those years living rent-free in Kensington Palace) she deigned to inform us that animals don’t have rights because they don’t pay taxes. This does rather raise a question about her views on the rights of children, students and retired people. These famously lazy, lay-about, leeches (I mean children, not minor royalty) even have VAT taken off many of the items they need!

But let’s leave this predictably leftist response to one side for a moment, what about the unsung victims of her political theory? What about the non-doms? What about tax-fiddling celebrities? What about poor Google

and Barclays Banks? What about their rights?

Princess Michael seems to have half-remembered the revolutionary slogan ‘No taxation without representation!’ and got it completely arseabout-face. It is just a blatant reminder from those in power to the lower folk that they have to earn their keep.

But what does that have to do with animal rights? Quite a lot actually. If laws are there to protect the powerless from the powerful then Animal Rights is a very good indicator of who we are as a species.

Walter Palmer doesn’t appear to have broken any laws, and tax-avoiding Princess Michael of Kent seems oblivious to how advantaged she is by the legal system. But why should

that surprise us? Here are the people whom the laws are written for. If we are serious about animal rights, or true democratic representation, or any laws at all, we need to look seriously at how those laws are made.

Powerful lobby groups and those with vested interests can exert their influence all too easily, and the less we care about an issue the easier it is for them.

If we only take law-making seriously some of the time then only some of our laws are going be worth anything.

We need to treat Animal Rights seriously and we need to treat legislating on the subject seriously. Walter Palmer has not broken any law and will subsequently receive no punishment at all for the events in Zimbabwe. Isn’t that a damning indictment of us all?

Pictured: Cecil was a male southwest African lion who reached 13 years of age before his untimely death (Photographer: paulafrenchp, Flickr)

Meningitis: are you protected?

f you’re a fresher, reading this, you’re at risk - and you’ve probably heard very little about it.

Young people starting university aged 18-25 have been identified by the government and health boards as being most at risk of catching Meningitis.

Freshers may read this and think that if they were vaccinated as a baby then there is no need to worry. Except most British babies are only treated for the “B” strain of the virus. Our age group are at risk from strain W and are being urged by official groups including Public Health England to get the vaccine known as “ACWY”. This is a quadruple dose that protects you from strains A, C, W and Y. The risk of meningitis to students has been reported in the media, including The Guardian and The In-

dependent, but I feel I have neither heard nor seen absolutely anything about it from the University or the Students Union. At my accommodation there are a few posters around the place, but that is a private accommodation.

When walking through other campuses, there’s no information to be seen. Freshers I’ve spoken to say they’ve not heard that they’re supposed to be vaccinated - I would argue that in my opinion this is a serious failing on their part.

Meningitis is a serious infection which can affect the brain and spinal cord - meaning if you’re infected, you could get seriously physically ill and potentially halt your studies indefinitely. We are most at risk, aside from babies, because the disease is spread through close contact. With students, especially freshers, liv-

ing close to people from all over the country and indeed the world, sharing cutlery, cigarettes, and snogs, it’s easy to see how the disease quickly spreads through the student body. In recent years, unfortunate students at other universities have, lost limbs to the disease or even died.

The last time our university was hit by a major meningitis outbreak was in 2011, when a number of Cardiff University students were infected in Uni Halls. Two students died and the Students Union had to cancel all upcoming club nights to help prevent further spread of the disease. Last year, one student at Talybont was infected and had to take time off, but it wasn’t too serious.

This year on the 30th September, the BBC reported that a Cardiff Metropolitan University student living in halls in Treforest was taken

to hospital with meningitis. There seems to have been little scare surrounding this event, which is quite bizarre as surely the heads of Cardiff, Met and USW would want to ensure the welfare of students - especially first years, who may well be having the toughest time of all?

If you are second year or more, you may well want to get yourself protected against meningitis as the ACWY jab has only become widely available this year. It should be free from your GP after you have booked an appointment. If you refuse to get it or are scared of needles, well, just say that since you’re immune, you’ll be more than happy to press a glass against their red rash and point out that it hasn’t disappeared before packing them off to be operated on by their Medic friends down at the Heath.

“

With students, living close to people from all over the country, it’s easy to see how the disease quickly spreads through the student body

”

COMMENT 15

Kate Elswood

“

Pistoris’ rise in 2012 was followed by a shocking fall as he was found guilty of culpable homicide

”

Sam Saunders

“

The £5 fee to join the guild of societies is not too steep, and generally worth it in terms of the access to societies

”

Pistorius’ release: Helping or hindering rehabilitation?

I

n the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games, the South African athlete Oscar Pistorius was welcomed into the spotlight as he added to his expanding list of gold medals. He was just 17 years old when he won Paralympic gold medal at the 2004 Paralympic Games.

Eight years later, he became the first amputee to compete at an Olympic event. His talent helped him to find a place in the hearts of many. However, his rise in 2012 was followed by a shocking fall, as he returned to the spotlight as a criminal, guilty of culpable homicide (the equivalent of manslaughter).

In February 2013, Oscar Pistorius killed his girlfriend, South African model Reeva Steenkamp. On Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius’ neighbour heard four gunshots and screams.

Pistorius had shot Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door. He claims that he mistook her for an intruder.

Pistorius was released from prison this week after serving less than one year of his five year sentence.

Although the first possibility of him gaining an early release on parole had occurred in August, this original opportunity was denied to him. He will remain under house arrest at his uncle’s house, where he will serve the remainder of his sentence. His supporters are keen to emphasise that his sentence has not been reduced.

While he is under house arrest, he will have to adhere to strict conditions. He will not be allowed, guns, alcohol or drugs, he is also not allowed to leave the house at night.

He has to take part in community service and continue psychotherapy

sessions. He will also have to meet with Steenkamp’s family, when they are ready. This is seen as a vital part of the rehabilitation process. However, it does not seem fair that he is reunited with his family so soon, in a way that his victim never will be.

During the trial, the image of Pistorius as a talented athlete in his prime crumbled and in its place a new image came to the foreground, the image of Pistorius as an intimidating man and a gun enthusiast. In court, Steenkamp’s WhatsApp messages to Pistorius were read and they made it apparent that she was afraid of him. Adding to this threatening image was footage of Pistorius at a shooting range, evidence of his passion for gun violence. It became clear that he was a dangerous man and that Steenkamp had been aware of this fact before her death.

The horror that the public felt at the case that was revealed seemed to be mirrored by Pistorius, whose reactions in court were also indicative of his own horror at what had happened. He broke down into tears in court, appearing to be dismayed by what he had done. Despite this display of remorse, Steenkamp’s family do not appear to feel that Pistorius will ever truly repent for what he has done. Steenkamp’s family believe that the sentence is too light.

Some people continue to suggest that Pistorius is guilty of murder.

They claim that that he would have realised his mistake in believing that an intruder had entered his house before the firing fourth shot. They believe that if he had stopped earlier, he could have prevented her death. Pistorius will face an appeal on the 3rd

Pictured: Pistorius at the 2012 Olympics (Photographer: Jim Thurston)

of November, by prosecutors claiming that he is guilty of murder rather than culpable homicide.

If Oscar Pistorius is held as an example of how domestic violence towards women and gun crime is viewed in South Africa, this could be a concern. To many people, just one year in prison does not appear to be a fair punishment for culpable homicide. Even the full five years would be hard to justify to Steenkamp’s family, especially when some people believe that Pistorius is guilty of murder. Regardless of the length of the sentence, it is possible that he would never gain forgiveness from everyone, no matter strongly how he may express his remorse.

Instead of focusing on the length of time spent in prison, we should focus on the way that the punishment leads

to rehabilitation, both for the victim’s family and for the perpetrator. If rehabilitation becomes more central to the punishment of criminals, a society focused on improvement, rather than the harbouring of hatred, can be built. In Pistorius’ case, it is too soon to tell if the punishment will be effective. Perhaps Pistorius has been released too soon to allow Steenkamp’s family time to recover, but the terms of his house arrest could pave a path towards rehabilitation.

For many people, taking a life is an unforgivable offence. Despite this, it is clear that destroying another person’s life does not solve the problem.

Even a life sentence for Pistorius would not bring back Steenkamp to her family, friends and fans. It is unlikely that this would even help her family to forgive Pistorius.

“

Perhaps Pistorius has been released too soon to allow Steenkamp’s family time to recover

”

Are Guild fees driving down societies and sports club memberships?

M

any students are put off joining sports clubs and societies by the high guild and membership fees. What is the impact on students and what can be done?

After arriving in Cardiff to start my first year at university, and whilst in the midst of investing my student loan on a number of things during Freshers’ Week, I did what most returning students and first years do, and visited the Societies Fair. True, the event was enlivened by the fact that there was free Dominos pizza there, but the main reason for going was to join a society or a sports club in order to socialise with more people and truly live the ‘uni life’.

At first glance, this appeared to be a good deal; there’s usually a small fee to join the vast majority of societies, with sports costing slightly more, which made sense. It was only afterwards, when registering to join societies and

the Karate club online, that problems began to arise. In my opinion, the £5 fee to join the Guild of Societies is not too steep, and generally worth it in terms of access to joining the other societies for the rest of the year. Also, as the fee to join each society was relatively inexpensive, (I joined five for a bill of around £20 plus membership) so I thought this was a generally good deal.

The main issue I had was with the sports fee, especially after learning that the additional club costs were also rather expensive. For example, I paid £30 to join Karate including the membership, which didn’t cover the cost of each training session, rather the insurance to do it. As was the case with the societies, I only needed to pay £15 once, but, unlike the previous payment, I came to realise that many students, myself included, only really

had the time to do one sport in addition to societies, especially when these were sports which involved intense and time-consuming training sessions.

This essentially makes the cost of joining the football club £50 for most people then, a fee which doesn’t include the cost of any socials, the special tie or any of the university branded ‘Rhino’ tracksuit and hoodie combo.

In an age when the financial pressure on students is being cranked up at a ridiculous rate, this system appears to be ludicrous. However, it is my opinion that the issue most pressing with the Guilds is that their role just isn’t very well marketed. For example, I only became aware of the fact that the Athletic Union can subsidise some of the costs of new kit for certain clubs earlier this week, meaning that the students have to pay less. Yet, their role is mostly unknown, as I’m not aware if the join-

ing fee is used to upkeep the Sport Centre and facilities, or if it’s used for future improvements, or if that comes straight from the University.

Therefore, I feel as if these membership fees are, at face value, small, pesky, annoying things that seem to be simply asking for more cash from students.

Whilst this is not a major problem with the Guild of Societies, I imagine a lot of students who are worse off and have less money to spend on leisure are deterred by the cost of joining, and then the additional add-ons like kit and competitions. I believe that this is more a problem of marketing, and if the Athletics Union were clearer about what the fees are actually used for, or could help students out more by subsidising certain larger purchases, these costs would be more justified, and perhaps less students would be pushed out due to financial concerns.

“

The main issue I had was with the sports fee, especially as additional club costs were rather expensive

”

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THE GAIR RHYDD COLUMN 17

Escaped from Pryzm

For the price of entry and a Jäeger bomb, you could get a Netflix subscription and a pack of digestives.

Helena Hanson

“

When asked my plans, I can’t help but cringe at myself when I reply that I’m doing nothing

”

R

eturning to university as a second year student, I am becoming increasingly aware of how often I get asked ‘are you going out tonight?’ When asked my plans, I can’t help but cringe at myself when I reply that I’m doing nothing.

For the first time in my life, last week I was called the B word. Now, I can recognise my imperfections, and I know I can be a lot of things; reliant, obstructive, cantankerous perhaps, but I know absolutely for a fact, I am not boring.

I think I can hold a stimulating conversation, I have a flourishing social life, I have hobbies and interests and am fascinated by others. The reason, however, that I was called boring, was for one measly statistic; The grand total of nights out I have been present at since returning to Cardiff this year, is a laughable, humiliating zero.

That same sense of disapproval and condemnation you feel towards me now has been similarly verbalised by friends of mine, who have no qualms in letting me know just how much of a loser I have apparently become.

In first year, I went out religiously. Walkabout was my church, Mr Brightside was my pastor and Blossom Hill was my wine. It makes me feel almost nauseous the amount of money I must have spent over the year on club entry, Jägerbombs, new outfits and chewing gum from those ladies that sit in club toilets. Perhaps there was some ineffable beauty in the sparkle of my Jäger-glazed eyes, and the rosy glow of my fresher-flushed cheeks, but I can’t say I miss it.

Perhaps I didn’t want to turn down a night out with my new friends when first impressions felt still so vital or perhaps it was the fear that, God-forbid, they may have fun without me. I was also conscious that I absolutely must let all my friends from home know what a magnificent time I was having in this remarkable new city and brilliant new university which was much, much, much better than wherever they all were.

There are a number of explanations I’d attribute to my change in attitude.

As a second year, after a summer of travelling and now living in an exorbitantly priced house, I am broke. My overdraft is bigger than my phone number and my savings account has, for the first time ever, the impressive sum of absolutely nothing. My loan, perhaps unwisely, was indulged on Rugby World Cup game tickets, pretty winter clothes and the Lidl bakery.

The thought of spending £20 for a few fresh bruises, a heavy headache and a missed nine o’clock lecture now makes me shudder.

As well as that, I’ve found myself in a long distance relationship. Far from being the sort of person to be kept in by a relationship, it is dishonest to suggest that your experiences in clubs with your single friends don’t change. Finally and perhaps most importantly, the realisation is beginning to materialise that next year is my final year. I will be out in the real world, and that is something I want to tackle with something more than a colossal overdraft and beer belly.

I have become the kind of person

I myself once envied and resented all at the same time. That kind of human that choses homework over house parties and bed over Bump n Grind.

That said, don’t panic, I’m not nearly suggesting I will never go out and get drunk again. In the near future you may see me doing tumbling backward rolls down the stairs in Revs or you may find me head banging into your back in Live Lounge. Most probably, after such a dry spell, I will be a total disaster and best avoided if possible.

“You’re a shit student” I was told.

Perhaps. And perhaps in ten years’ time I’ll look back and regret the nights I went to bed early and turned down a second drink, and I certainly won’t reminisce them as momentous, but I will not be pressurised into going out, when I simply don’t want to.

Sitting on the sofa watching Beck (which is awesome by the way, once you get past the confusion of it being in Swedish) with sweeties and a friend on a Saturday evening is suddenly much more appealing to me than getting a VK thrown over me in Flux, and fist-pumping to the sweet sounds of shoes squelching and Dizzie Rascal.

I know you’ve been there. You’ve been persuaded to go out, and you’ve just about convinced yourself that you want to, but you just can’t quite muster the energy to get ready. You can’t quite appreciate the music you’re listening to at pres, you can’t quite get drunk enough to tolerate Glam and you ultimately don’t quite enjoy your night. Predominantly be-

cause you didn’t really want to go.

So next time, don’t. Save the money, save the Vodka, and save the energy, for a night when you really do want to go.

Contrary to popular belief, having my toast at home instead of in Walkabout on a Thursday does not mean I’m unsociable or boring. It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy drinking or mingling either. I’ve enjoyed every Rugby World Cup match in the stadium, in a pub, in a club, in a bar, socialising, dancing, having one too many and crying when my bets didn’t come in, and it’s been fantastic.

Nothing in the world would make me want to exchange belting the national anthem of my country at an international rugby game in the Millennium Stadium with screeching along to the Spice Girls for the 900th time in Retro’s.

All of that said, if you are capable of managing your workload, gaining work experience, exploring local culture and going out regularly, then I salute you. You deserve a special kind of prize my friend, because that is levels of organisation and dedication folk like me can only dream of.

My point is, just because you don’t want to go out every night, or ever, this doesn’t make you boring. There are other ways to drink, or socialise, or enjoy yourself that don’t involve clubs or bars or staying out until 2am. There’s so much more to Cardiff, and to university, than drinking and partying and clubbing but you may just need to be hangover-free to see it.

Pictured: Cardiff students partying their little lives away in Pryzm (Photographer: Pryzm Cardiff )

“

Contrary to popular belief, having my toast at home instead of in Walkabout on a Thursday does not mean I’m boring

”

18 POLITICS

p politics

Editors: Carwyn Williams Luke Brett Sam Patterson @GairRhyddPol politics@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/politics

Chinese President’s state visit to Britain

Adam Muspratt

“

Chinese investment will finance the government’s most ambitious projects

”

P

The President was greeted with a royal banquet, while human rights protests organised outside Buckingham Palace

resident Xi Jinping’s four-day state visit to the UK kicked off on Tuesday, heralding a golden era of partnership between China and the United Kingdom. The President of the worlds fastest growing economy was jubilant in recognition of the interdependence between the two countries, stating that he believes the visit will lift ties between the two nations to “new heights”.

The political sentiment was matched by the pomp, as Jinping was greeted by a 41-gun artillery salute and a lavish carriage drawn by white horses, which delivered him to Buckingham palace. Fitting, as such visits are considered the highest of all political protocol, culminating in a lavish state banquet where the visitors were entertained by a host of personalities, ranging from the political elite to business leaders and entertainment giants.

At the banquet, the Queen echoed the views of the President saying this “was a very special year for our bilateral relationship”.

David Cameron also outlined the significance of the visit, saying it will open the UK to more than £30 billion

of investment and commercial deals, with a potential to create more than 3,900 jobs across the UK. The fruits of this deal are already starting to show: oil giants BP and China National Petroleum set to announce plans for close co-operation. This is just the first of a string of highly lucrative deals that are set to emerge throughout the week. In terms of infrastructure, Chinese investment will also finance the Government’s most ambitious projects, such as Hinkley Point nuclear reactor, High Speed Rail 2, and even the Northern Powerhouse project.

However, not everyone was basking in the pageantry as the event faced a significant amount of protest from political commentators and campaigners. Amnesty International and pro-Tibet protesters lined the streets as the procession went ahead, engaged in a chanting war with the one-party state’s more favourable supporters.

The campaigners urged David Cameron to press the President on China’s human rights abuses and were generally critical of the PM’s decision to grow stronger ties with a country often recognised for its lack of social

liberty.

There was a further flurry of incidents that may have dampened the occasion. One came in the form of indirect barbs from Commons Speaker John Bercow, who during the Westminster address made a reference to the recent visit of Aung San Suu Kyi, declaring her, “international symbol of the innate human right of freedom.” To further incite tension, Prince Charles had chosen to miss the banquet due to his support for the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama.

Lastly, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was given a surprising one-onone meeting with the president where he raised human rights concerns and the process of cheap steel dumping.

The latter of which has dealt a major blow to the already struggling British steel industry, resulting in plants closing, thousands of job losses, and steel giant Caparo Industries filing for administration. This has been the result of cheap, subsidised Chinese steel flooding the markets in a bid to cease the summer stock market crash. Overall, Corbyn declared the talks “cordial and constructive”.

The deal has been described as “win-win” by the government, but perhaps a bit more for China in reality. It is the culmination of a three-year courting process meaning that David Cameron will not let it fall by the wayside. This allows China to revel in its many abuses; there is no incentive for the Chinese government to cease its human rights violations, its cyber attacks, or its actions in the South China Sea. The UK has distanced itself from getting entangled in such touchy subjects, a stark contrast to the US State Department, which is more liberal when criticising the one-party state.

Overall, both parties will want the state visit to go off without a hitch. For the UK, investment in infrastructure remains the Conservative Government’s highest priority. For China, they will want confirmation of longterm financial responsibility after the nation was embarrassed by its summer stock market meltdown. This will also be very domestically important for the Chinese populace, which will want to see the communist leader shown respect by western nations upon the world stage.

Pictured: Chinese President Xi with David Cameron (Photographer: Number 10 via flickr)

“

Amnesty International and pro-Tibet Protestors lined the streets as the procession went ahead

”

POLITICS 19

Clinton’s emails uncover revelation on Blair-Bush meetings

Conor Holohan

“

Blair would defend America’s position in Iraq in return for a more commendatory and flattering image on the world stage

”

Vincent Mullin

Pictured: London at Christmas (Photographer: Filippo Diatolevi)

F

ound among Hillary Clinton’s personal emails she recieved as Secretary of State, a memorandum consisting of an assortment of embarrassing and scandalous revelations. The email in question, discovered following the publication of 30,000 of Clinton’s emails demanded

by US Courts, concerns Tony Blair and George Bush’s infamous liaison at the president’s Crawford Ranch in April of 2002.

Written by Colin Powell, Bush’s Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005, the document affirms that Blair would defend America’s position in Iraq in return for a more commendatory and flattering image on the world stage, and more importantly, infers that Blair was perhaps committed to military action in Iraq a year before the war began in March 2003. At the time, Blair had maintained that he would continue to pursue diplomatic routes to curb and contain Saddam, and to persuade him to give up the nuclear weapons that were never found by invading forces, nor investigative forces. When the decision on the war in Iraq was brought before Parliament, the motion was passed comfortably by 412 to 149.

In the document, Powell writes that Blair would be, “with us”, should they choose to take military action to liberate Iraq of Saddam. Both Bush and Blair have denied that they made a deal “in blood” to invade Iraq at their

T

intimate meeting at Crawford where the ex-PM attended Bush’s daily CIA briefings and the pair shared a myriad of private dialogues without advisers present.

What was discussed and/or agreed upon at Crawford is a mystery, but the newly seen memorandum infers that Blair had agreed to follow the United States into Iraq without consulting the House of Commons or the Cabinet. The price of this was an improved image, as Powell writes that British voters “will look for signs that Britain and America are truly equal partners in the special relationship.” There have been damning criticisms launched at Blair on the basis that he made this assurance to the President at the time.

Five months after the summit at Crawford, Downing Street released the September Dossier; which claimed that Hussein’s regime was in possession of chemical and biological weapons, and was on the path to acquiring nuclear weapons.

The document also poses new issues relating to the Chilcot Inquiry. The £10 million inquiry, yet to be released in spite of calls from both Labour and the Conservatives, may have failed to see this memorandum, it may even have failed to see any American governmental material. This could mean that when the report is eventually released, at which point we will all probably be decrepit skeletons, its findings

could be heavily scrutinised and considered invalid. Though I say the skeletons part in jest, the deplorable delay persists.

Conservative MP David Davis’ has argued that the document proves how Blair “sub-contracted” British foreign policy to another country. Davis also scolded the eradication of Saddam from Iraq by saying it had “infected surrounding countries to this day and created the vacuum into which Islamic State has stepped.” This is a persuasion held by many in America and Britain.

The outrage ensuing over Blair’s apparent disregard for diplomatic options is absurd. Critics are pointing to

the fact that not once is diplomacy in the memorandum. Diplomacy would never have worked, Saddam tried to use diplomacy to bide time to acquire nuclear weapons - Blair should not have promised it. Saddam was an enemy of diplomacy and a friend of deceit and it was a fantasy that he could be co-existed with. What this memorandum proves, if anything, is how driven by vanity and image the top New Labour circles were during Blair’s premiership, rather than by democracy and honesty. Having said that, this is almost, but not quite the smoking gun the anti-Blair/Bush press have been praying for.

Pictured: Tony Blair (Photographer: Megan Moore)

Dear general public, Merry Christmas, love George

he not so happy Christmas card? Many families will learn of the changes to the benefits they receive in a letter just before Christmas, as last week Chancellor George Osborne announced welfare spending cuts intended to save £15 billion of taxpayer’s money. This is arguably what Mrs Thatcher would

describe as a major ‘U-turn’ in Conservative policy, as David Cameron stated he would not cut tax credits in his party’s pre-election manifesto.

Currently, millions of families up and down Britain receive benefits from the government under the welfare system. The plan, as proposed, seeks to reform working and child

tax credits, this is causing nationwide debate. Working tax credits can be claimed by all those over 25 after a personal assessment, granted they work at least 30 hours a week.

But these new proposals change the amount you can earn before a person’s tax credits start to decline from £6,420 to £3,850 by April 2016. Under current child tax credit laws, parents can claim up to £2,780 for each child until the age of 16 or until 20 if they are still in education. This would be adjusted in April 2017 to just two children as parents will be unable to claim for the third child onwards.

The tax credit issue was explosively personified by Michelle Dorrell on Question Time last Thursday, as she fired her feelings of betrayal as a Conservative voter at energy secretary Amber Rudd MP - “I work bloody hard for my money to provide for my children…and you are going to take it away from me and them...shame on you.” Her fury can be backed by independent economic analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies forecasts a £550 detriment to household incomes with someone in paid work.

After branding themselves as the

party for the workers, is David Cameron’s message of being in this “together” starting to wane? There are growing pressures from inside the party as David Davis MP and Stephen McPartland MP reject last month’s vote on tax credit reforms. Boris Johnson also acknowledged party disunity but in a typical Boris fashion, his position being fairly vague. The freshly formed Labour opposition gave mixed reaction to these changes.

The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Seema Moultra MP and Shadow International Development Secretary Dianne Abbott MP, refused to confirm the reversal of these plans if they came to office in 2020. But the greater challenge for the Conservatives comes from the House of Lords, where a ‘fatal-motion’ could be passed in the Liberal and Labour majority chamber, sparking widespread fury from Conservatives in the Commons.

Whilst many families are concerned about that expected Christmas Letter from Mr Osborne, the House of Lords poses a significant challenge to Conservative welfare reforms, causing divisions between the chambers as well as nation-wide debate.

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After branding themselves as the party for the workers, is David Cameron’s message of being in this “together” starting to wane?

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20 POLITICS

Conor Holohan

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Six Cabinet Ministers have demanded to be able to campaign for the UK’s exit from the EU

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Cabinet divided over the European Union

t has been reported over the past week that six Cabinet Minsters have demanded to be able to campaign for the UK’s exit from the European Union, something David Cameron is not in favour of. The Prime Minister has made clear in the past few weeks that his cabinet, regardless of their view on the EU, will be expected to back his negotiations in Europe for a better deal.

This expectation, known as ‘collective responsibility’, has been under the microscope this week.

The Ministerial Handbook, the rulebook for parliamentarians, has seen a subtle change in its code this week. Collective responsibility now applies to all government Ministers when previously it did not. The rule means that those affected by it must publicly support government decisions, even if they do not personally agree with them. This seems a suspicious time to change the rules, but Downing Street has said that the change was made simply because the Conservatives are no longer in coalition with the Lib Dems. The Ministers who are demanding the ability to campaign for an exit from the EU

are calling upon Cameron to not apply collective responsibility. Downing Street insists that no decision on whether it will apply before the EU referendum has been made.

Cameron’s wish list for his negotiation with the EU rests on four main, fairly vague points. Firstly, he will try and wrest from Brussels ‘an explicit statement’ to affirm that Britain will not be involved in any movement in the direction of a European superstate. To be successful in this negotiation, Cameron will have addressed concerns that Mr Juncker, the President of the European Commission, and his friends desire the dissolution of European nation states. As a younger, lesser know EU politician, Nigel Farage told Juncker that he knew why he wanted this; ‘because you’re from Belgium, which is pretty much a non-country’.

He will also negotiate for an explicit statement that the European Union is a multi-currency union, and a system to bring power from Brussels to national parliaments to prevent unwanted laws being passed down - this would give the UK Parliament the ability to scrap the in-

flammatory ‘Freedom of Movement’ laws among EU member-states. A recent surge in Euroscepticism in Britain has been profoundly influenced by immigration since freedom of movement was introduced and the Migrant Crisis began. Since March 2014, two months after the across-the-board implementation of freedom of movement, to March 2015, net migration into the UK was 330,000.

Finally he will fight for a new EU structure to stop the Eurozone dominating countries using their own currencies. This will include protections on London. Although London voted profoundly Labour in May this year, and of course Labour took a strictly pro-EU stance, eurosceptics argue that regulations on business hit London the hardest. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, raised his concerns over the recent ruling from the European Court of Justice that workers should be paid for travel time. This will now become British law, and Johnson wrote that ‘I have never once been lobbied on the question, no one has ever written to me or come to see me proposing that

he or she should be paid for the time they spend commuting to work.’ Boris would, like Cameron, also like to see a repeal of the 1972 European Communities Act, which says that every emanation of the Brussels legal system has primacy over the laws of this country.

Some are saying Cameron’s collective responsibility could lead to a bitterly divided party, though the Tories are already divided on a myriad of issues, be it the EU, drugs policy, foreign interventions or snooping legislation. However, Cameron’s wish list, if he could meet each point, would mean fundamental reform of our relationship with the EU, and the debate would be changed in its very main and most influential points.

Will he meet his negotiation criteria?

It would be a surprise if he could; the points are nothing if not ambitious.

Will Cameron purge the eurosceptics that are close to him? Leader of the Commons Chris Grayling would probably be the first to go. One thing is certain; the EU should be an open goal for the Conservatives - to win over the eurosceptic middle class who sneer at Farage.

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Cameron’s wish list would mean fundamental reform of our relationship with the EU

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Pictured: EU flags.

(Photographer: Jean-Etienne)

UN could call on governments to decriminalise drug use, says Richard Branson Sophie Young

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New approach to drug control could change laws

n October 19th, Richard Branson took to his website to announce that he had seen a report by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) which would greatly alter the organisation’s position on the decriminalisation of drugs.

Branson stated that the report would “call on governments around the world to decriminalise drug use and possession for personal consumption for all drugs”. This report had been released to some media under embargo, but Branson chose to break this, releasing it to the public early in the fear that the UN will “bow to pressure by not going ahead with this important move”.

He claims he was already aware of one government putting strong pressure on the UN to change this new approach, and that the paper was originally to be discussed in Malay-

sia this weekend but had since been delayed.

However, Branson’s moves may not only be somewhat irresponsible, but quite premature. The UN was quick to deny any allegations that it changed its position based on government pressures, but most importantly that Branson had misunderstood the nature of the statement.

A UN spokesperson from Vienna stated “the briefing paper on decriminalisation ... intended for dissemination and discussion at a conference in Kuala Lumpur is neither a final nor formal document from the UNODC, and cannot be read as a statement of UNODC policy.” Furthermore, “it remains under review and UNODC regrets that, on this occasion, there has been an unfortunate misunderstanding about the nature and intent of this briefing paper.”

The concern of the UN is that

drugs policy should reflect the health perspective and the human rights of drug use. Branson feels strongly that decriminalisation of drugs is a necessary step and that drug use should be considered a health problem and not a crime.

These positions have clear common ground and evidence that would support Branson’s view. Portugal decriminalised possession and use of personal drugs and has since seen a reduction in drug-related deaths and HIV infections, and no increase in monthly usage. Furthermore, a study undertaken in 2013 on European Union member-states confirms that the countries that had decriminalised drugs have not seen increased rates in drug use, and in fact “tend to have lower rates than those with punitive policies”.

So Branson’s intentions may well be in the right place and the UN could

be on its way to proposing a highly reformed stance on drugs. But ultimately Branson’s release of the document was untimely and unreflective.

Although the UN acknowledges the discussion on policy is definitely warranted, its International Narcotics Control Board has expressed concerns on too much liberalisation with regard to softer drugs such as cannabis. So the picture is not quite as clear as Branson is portraying, neither was it his decision to make on when and how the document should have been publicised. Such a far-reaching policy would typically take years to fine tune and then be released by a senior UN figure.

Whatever your personal position on drugs policy and Branson’s actions, in April next year the UN Assembly will hold its first debate on drugs in 18 years. Either way, it will be interesting to watch unfold.

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Branson’s moves may not only be somewhat irresponsible, but quite premature

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POLITICS 21

Dan Heard

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The other parties say they want to fight the election on our record. Well, I say, ‘good’, because so do I Nicola Sturgeon

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Dan Heard

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Nicola Sturgeon defiant over SNP dominance in Scotland at Conference

cottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has urged voters that at next May’s Holyrood election they should judge the SNP on its record in government. Speaking at the party’s annual conference in Aberdeen, she also reiterated that a second independence referendum would only come when the time was right. Ms Sturgeon insisted that since 2007, her party had laid “strong foundations” in government, including free university education and modern apprenticeships. Her speech referred to her party’s record in government seven times. “The other parties say they want to fight the election on our record. Well, I say, good, because so do I. Our record in government is one of delivery and achievement. It is a record I am proud of, and you should be proud of it too”.

Ms Sturgeon made a series of promises for when the powers are delivered to Holyrood, including that: by 2018 every nursery in Scotland’s most deprived areas would benefit from having an additional qualified teacher or childcare graduate; the party will increase the flexibility of childcare provision to better suit parents’ working

patterns; £200 million will be invested to create a new network of elective treatment centres in Glasgow, Livingston, Edinburgh, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen; and that carers’ allowance will be increased so that it is paid at the same level as jobseekers’ allowance. She also warned members of the party that it should not go the same way as Scottish Labour and be “arrogant, lazy and complacent”.

She said she believed that if the SNP did its best “each and every day” it would win the trust of the people it served. Ms Sturgeon also strongly criticised both David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn. Ms Sturgeon said she had had high hopes for the new UK Labour leader, but she now concluded that Mr Corbyn was not changing Labour, but rather “allowing Labour to change him”. She said she also believed that the Prime Minister had treated Scotland with disdain.

“In fact, the Prime Minister’s attitude to Scotland betrays the worst characteristics of his government, arrogant, patrician and out of touch.

Pig-headed some might say”, in what could be interpreted as something of a derogatory aside to the recent

scandal involving Mr Cameron in his youth.

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood also took to the stage during the conference, saying that Wales suffered a “double whammy” of a failing Labour government in Cardiff Bay and by weak devolution. She hoped to return to the conference next year as the First Minister of Wales. Unlike the SNP however, Plaid failed to win

more seats at May’s general election.

In her speech on Saturday, she said: “In Scotland you have broken the Tory-Labour duopoly and it’s our aim to do exactly the same in Wales.” To cheers from SNP members, she added: “It’s my hope therefore to return to your conference next year and to congratulate you on yet another famous election success, but to do so next time as the First Minister of Wales”.

Pictured: Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood at last year’s SNP conference (Photographer: SNP via flickr)

Liberals sweep to victory in Canada

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anada held their general election early last week, where the Canadian Liberal Party won the close contest, ending nearly a decade of Conservative rule. The centrist Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, started the campaign in third place but, in a stunning turnaround, ultimately commanded a majority.

Mr Trudeau, the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, said Canadians had “voted for real change”. Trudeau replaces incumbent Conservative PM Stephen Harper, who had been in power since 2006.

For many Canadians, though, this sweeping victory seemed to be unthinkable even a few days ago.

Trudeau, whose father was a re-

vered figure in Canadian politics, and considered to be the father of modern Canada, addressed jubilant supporters, saying Canadians had “sent a clear message tonight: it’s time for a change. We beat fear with hope, we beat cynicism with hard work, but most of all we defeated the idea that Canadians should be satisfied with less. This is what positive politics can do.” He then praised his now-predecessor Mr Harper for his service to the country.

When Mr Harper first announced that this year’s general election campaign would be a record 78 days long, many believed that it would benefit the Conservatives, giving them more time to bring their financial advantag-

es to bear. In hindsight, however, the lengthy campaign gave Mr Trudeau an opportunity to introduce himself to Canadians and overcome Conservative attacks that characterised the 43-year-old, a former high-school drama teacher, (and now the second most prominent Justin from Canada, after Bieber) as too inexperienced to lead the Canadian nation.

Yet Mr Trudeau also successfully outmanoeuvred the New Democratic Party, campaigning to that party’s left on economic issues. Tom Mulcair, of the left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) said he had “congratulated Mr Trudeau on his exceptional achievement.” The NDP is on course to win 44 seats, less than half the

number they held in the outgoing parliament.

Mr Harper, one of the longestserving western leaders, had been seeking a rare fourth term. However in recent times, he had come under fire, particularly from the American media over his stance on immigration and religious free speech. Speaking after the polls closed, he said he had congratulated Mr Trudeau, and that the Conservatives would accept the results “without hesitation.”

He will stand down as Conservative leader but remain as an MP. There is no fixed transition period under Canada’s constitution. Mr Trudeau is expected to be sworn in during the next few weeks.

Pictured: Justin Trudeau walks the Gay Pride in Vancouver.

(Photographer: Justin Trudeau via flickr)

22 POLITICS

Tryweryn: 50 years on

Drowned village remembered as a significant moment in Welsh history

Rory Wade

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his month marks 50 years since the North Welsh village of Capel Celyn was flooded to create the Llyn Celyn reservoir, to provide a water supply to Liverpool.

It was an event marked as one of the most significant in Welsh History and as a symbol of the sometimes strained Welsh-English relationship.

In 1956, a private bill sponsored by the Liverpool City Council was brought before Parliament to develop a water reservoir from the Tryweryn Valley – which would include flooding Capel Celyn. Due to the Act of Parliament, Liverpool City Council would not require planning consent from the local Welsh authorities and went ahead with their plans.

This caused great opposition across the country with many seeing the flooding as an attack on the Welsh language and culture, given that Capel Celyn was one of the last remaining exclusively Welsh-speaking communities in the country. 35 out of 36 Welsh MPs opposed the bill (the other didn’t vote) and the villagers waged an 8 year campaign to try and stop the flooding.

Eurgain Prysor Jones – a former Capel Celyn villager who was just two years old in 1955 when news first broke that her community was earmarked as a site for the new reservoir – recalled her memories of protesting against the flooding in the streets of Liverpool for a new BBC documentary (Tryweryn: 50 Years On), “The reception we had in Liverpool was awful. People were spitting at us and throwing rotten tomatoes at us. It was an awful disappointment.”

Despite the fierce and restless opposition, the valley was flooded in 1965 to create Llyn Celyn. The village, the post office and chapel with a cemetery were all lost underwater.

Twelve houses and farms were also submerged and 48 people out of the 67 who were living in the Valley lost their homes. “At the end of the day, the eventual consequence was written before it was started”, added Prysor Jones, reflecting over the failure of the protest to prevent the flooding of her home.

The effects of the flooding created a new surge in support for Welsh nationalism with membership for Plaid Cymru doubling and their first MP elected in the year following the opening of the Llyn Celyn Reservoir.

There were also further powers given to Wales such as the creation of The Secretary of State for Wales and The Welsh Office.

However some of the nationalist reactions took a violent turn with the militant group Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (Movement for the Defence of Wales) forming in response to the flooding. In 1963 MAC claimed responsibility for the bombing of the dam construction site – which led to the one year imprisonment of one its founders Emyr Llewellyn Jones.

They were also behind explosions at other dams, pipes carrying water to Liverpool, the Welsh Office building and even the Temple of Peace and Health in Cardiff. Since the 1960s the group has been inactive.

In 2005, Liverpool City Council issued an official apology for the “hurt of 40 years ago” and the “insensitivity by our predecessor council” over the drowning of the Tryweryn Valley and Capel Celyn. The apology was welcomed by the then-Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Plaid Cymru’s Parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd who said the apology “should be accepted in the fulsome way it is being offered.”

Nonetheless the apology was not accepted by all of Wales – “I think

nothing of it, it is just a way to say goodbye and sweep it all under the carpet” said Betty Watkin-Hughes, whose family was forcibly removed from Capel Celyn. “They can keep their apology and start doing what’s right for the people who are left.”

To mark 50 years since the opening of the Llyn Celyn reservoir hundreds marched across the dam site on the 17th of October, led by Plaid Cymru’s former leader Dafydd Wigley and the parties new MP Liz Saville Roberts. The anniversary was recently raised in Parliament on the 14th of October by Mrs Saville Roberts who said: “Since the flooding of Capel Celyn, there has been a significant development in Wales’ national

consciousness, but her resources remain in the hands of a neighbouring country, there have been no developments to make a repeat of this sad event illegal.”

“The UK government, in producing the Wales Bill, must now give the people of Wales full control of their natural resources. Never again should the people of Wales be forced out of their communities against their will, against the will of the country and those who represent us.

“I hope the people will join us on Llyn Celyn Dam to mark this poignant reminder of why Welsh land, Welsh culture and Welsh communities cannot be allowed to be so drastically undervalued ever again.”

A week in the Senedd with Carwyn Williams

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Thomas mentioned modern slavery, and the good work the anti slavery coordinator is doing

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First Minister’s Questions Fracking has been a forgotten topic that was brought back to the Siambr last week, with Plaid’s Llyr Gruff ydd questioning whether there really is a moratorium on fracking in Wales.

The First Minister however insisted that it was in place, but made it clear that this is a temporary position.

Leanne Wood called last Tuesday

a “sad day” in the history of steel production and indeed manufacturing in Wales. She criticised the Welsh Government for not doing anything about the situation. Carwyn Jones said the Government was working closely with Tata Steel, and that the future at their plant was now looking better, but not great, due to difficulties in the global industry. The Welsh Government are

also writing to the UK Government about energy prices, saying that they are far too high, especially for a successful industry, but of course there are other manufacturing industries in Wales to concentrate on as well.

In this new digital age, it’s essential to take advantage of being able to connect, and this is the string Kirsty Williams pulled. She quoted a GoOnUK report that outlined up to 40 per cent of adults in some parts of Wales don’t go online. The Minister said that other surveys showed different results, and that this is an issue of age, with 99 per cent of young people getting online but this drops to half in the over-65 range.

Gwenda Thomas mentioned modern slavery, and the good work the anti slavery coordinator is doing.

More victims are being recognised thanks to increased awareness, with over 2,000 people trained to identify the signs of slavery.

Microchip dogs by April Assembly Members last week agreed to implement new regulations meaning every dog over eight weeks old will need to be microchipped from next April. Similar rules are also being passed for England and Scotland, and have been in force in many other countries. The Welsh Conservatives, however, said that it is a shame that it has taken so long for Labour to legislate in this area.

Plaid deal with Labour Plaid Cymru have struck a deal with Labour on the a new law to allow voluntary mergers of local authorities in Wales. Plaid members abstained on the vote, allowing it to pass. The bill, however, seems to be pointless, as there are no potential mergers on the table, and no decision on forced mergers will be made until after next year’s election.

Pictured: After the flooding, this was painted and is the most recognisable symbols for Welsh speakers, it reads ‘Remember Tryweryn’ (Photographer: Nic Dafis via Tumblr)

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24 SCIENCE

science Brett Jones

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The brain relies on ‘prior knowledge’ to pad out gaps in the information provided by our eyes

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Lisa Carr

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Many people argue that vegetarianism isn’t just a moral choice for the sanctity of animal life; it’s an ethical choice that protects the people on the planet too

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@GairRhyddSci science@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/science

Understanding why we hallucinate

ost of us at one time or another have probably had the experience of conducting the double-take. Your gaze passes briefly over something, your brain takes a moment to process the information before flagging up a swift ‘alert’ message and you look back to check if you really saw what you thought you did. Scientists at Cardiff University have worked with colleagues in Cambridge to examine how this mundane process can contribute to psychosis, defined by the study as ‘hallucinations’ (perceptions in the absence of causative stimuli).

They worked with groups of people experiencing early psychosis and people classed as ‘more prone to psychosis’ than the general population.

As part of the study different groups were shown an unclear black and white picture and asked to try and interpret it. They were then shown the picture in colour. Those with early signs of psychosis showed a greater improvement in interpreting the picture after seeing the colour version than the control group did.

These different responses show us that what we see makes up only a part of how our brains construct an image of the world around us. But the brain also relies on ‘prior knowledge’ to pad out gaps in the information provided by our eyes.

To give a personal example: I can remember leaving a Christmas Eve

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Editors: Maria Mellor Lizzie Harrett

party and doing a double take when I thought I saw a sleigh and reindeer parked outside the local pub (what on earth makes you think alcohol was involved?). It turned out to be simply a pony and trap. But at other times seeing something that would surprise many people can have little effect on us; seeing a small orange shape rush by your feet as you enter the living room probably won’t make you jump if you know that you own a ginger cat. But it might make your new friend scream and drop their red wine on your couch if you neglected to mention to them that your pet cat was a bit skittish.

Therefore, knowing about the cat helps the brain to understand the situation when a small, fast-moving projectile is heading towards your shin. Alternatively you could quickly realise that reindeer and a sleigh would be a very odd sight to see outside a pub on Christmas Eve because prior knowledge tells you that what you think you’re seeing is clearly nonsense (obviously Santa is far too busy that night to pop into your local for a quick half ).

Despite these frivolous examples, gaining a better understanding of how our brains use these different inputs to make sense of the world can have more serious implications: “Vision is a constructive process” said Dr Christoph Teufel, from Cardiff University, “in other words, our brain

Pictured: What you see isn’t always what is really there (Photographer: Rob Walker )

makes up the world that we ‘see’. It fills in the blanks, ignoring the things that don’t quite fit, and presents to us an image of the world that has been edited and made to fit with what we expect.”

Explaining why these findings were important Naresh Subramaniam of the University of Cambridge said, “not only do they tell us that the emergence of key symptoms of mental illness can be understood in terms of an altered balance in normal brain functions. Importantly, they also suggest that these symptoms and experiences do not reflect a ‘broken’ brain but rather one that is striving - in a

very natural way - to make sense of incoming data that are ambiguous.”

Perhaps the most striking part of the study is that these alterations are evident so early on in psychosis and can also be linked with factors that indicate an individual’s proneness to psychosis prior to the emergence of severe mental illness. This could mean that very distressing conditions can be identified all the sooner: in Dr. Teufel’s words, “We hope that developing this understanding may eventually contribute to identify people who are at risk for illness and help them earlier, even before the full symptoms might emerge.”

Lab-grown meat will be available by 2020

he growing global demand for meat has increased exponentially with our increasing population. The meat industry is undeniably unsustainable. To adapt to the growing needs of nations, intensive farming conditions have provided awful conditions for animals and the value of animal life has been disregarded for the meat-consuming lifestyles humans have adopted.

Not only does intensive farming have devastating impacts for the animals involved, the meat industry is a huge contributor to humanity’s environmental footprint, accounting for up to 18 per cent of our total greenhouse gas emissions.

Similarly, animals reared in intensive farming conditions are pumped with antibiotics to alleviate their illhealth traits caused by inbreeding.

These antibiotics are being leached into the water supply and are contributing to global antibiotic resistance, a worrisome consideration when you envisage how many lives antibiotics have saved.

Projections have shown that by

2050 global meat production will have doubled from 1999 levels and calls for more sustainable lifestyle choices have been echoed far and wide. Many people argue that vegetarianism isn’t just a moral choice for the sanctity of animal life; it’s an ethical choice that protects the people on the planet too.

If people won’t reduce the amount of meat consumed, alternatives must be developed hard and fast, and this is where artificial lab grown meat comes in.

Dutch researchers have been working for the past nine years to grow meat out of stem cells, first creating ‘mouse burgers’ out of mouse stem cells in 2013. Their aim is to make the lab-grown meat available in stores by 2020, a mere five years away.

Peter Verstrate, the head of the firm behind the lab-grown burger meat, said to the BBC, “I feel extremely excited about the prospect of this product being on sale. I am confident that when it is offered as an alternative to meat that increas-

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The visual alterations can also be linked with factors that indicate an individual’s proness to psychosis

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Pictured: Lab-grown meat could soon replace the need for normal beef like this (Photographer: Grant Hutchinson)

ing numbers of people will find it hard not to buy our product for ethical reasons.”

Food critics were invited to review the prototype artificial burger, they summarized that although it was close to meat, it was not as juicy and soft as the real deal.

The prototype burger cost a total of £215,000 to make, so whilst the technology doesn’t exactly look monetarily sustainable for now, lots of work will be done to whittle down costs and perfect the product in time to shape the future of the meat industry.

SCIENCE 25

Science in Cardiff

Gair Rhydd Science went to see some of the sciencerelated events around Cardiff Lizzie Harrett

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It’s certainly a far cry from the traditional setting of stuffy academic conferences and dry research papers where new findings have traditionally been presented

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Maria Mellor

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Learning more about ‘dark matter’ is on the agenda, as it reportedly makes up about 26% of our universe

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Virtual reality display in Science Cafe

ack to the Future Day has resulted in many moaning about the lack of hover boards and selflacing shoes. However, the futuristic virtual reality headsets demonstrated at the most recent Science Café Cardiff event implies that at least some of the predictions that the 1989 film made are correct Science Café Cardiff is part of a wider international movement, where for the price of a pint of beer or mug of coffee members of the public can learn about ground-breaking scientific research and technology, with the opportunity to try it all out. All whilst eating a giant pizza if the need strikes you (as it did me). It’s certainly a far cry from the traditional setting of stuff y academic conferences and dry research papers where new findings have traditionally been presented.

The café is led by a group of volunteers from various organisations and is supported by Cardiff University and the British Science Association This month the focus was on virtual reality headsets and their accessibility.

The only equipment needed to run a virtual reality programme is a recent smartphone and a device known as Google Cardboard, which can be purchased online for less than £5. Google Cardboard is pretty self-descriptive: a cardboard frame with a lens. You download the relevant virtual reality apps on your phone, slot your mobile into the frame, hold the lens up to

your eyes and you’re good to go. Your phone is placed at an optimal distance away from the lens, immersing you into a 3D world when the relevant app is launched.

Matthew Allen is an Astrophysics PhD student at Cardiff University.

He not only helps to organise Science Café Cardiff but also presented the session on virtual reality. With his colleague Scott Balfour, he has developed two free Android apps that allows you to explore and learn about the stars in the night sky (Our Universe in Light) and nearby planets (Our Solar System) through virtual reality. To make the most out of the app you just need to own a recent smartphone and have a keen interest space – being a physicist or astronomer is not required. The Science Café Cardiff event not only provided those attending with Google Cardboard sets, but also gave everyone the opportunity to try out the apps that let you travel through the night sky.

The accessibility technology like this may give to the general public is incredibly exciting. Matthew Allen stated: “The journey to reach some planets in the solar system and stars in the night sky would take light years, virtual reality apps help bring these distant ideas to the forefront of people’s minds and make them truly interactive.”

This technology is not just confined to learning about our night sky and so-

lar system. There are many companies who are developing apps which provide virtual reality tours of museums and famous landmarks. For those unable to travel due to poor health or financial constraints, virtual reality could open the world up to them. This technology also has its uses in scientific research: it has recently been used to help visualise the comet 67P which the European

Space Agency’s Rosetta Mission came into contact with.

Science Café Cardiff is not just an opportunity to learn about exciting research from Cardiff University academics. You can meet link-minded enthusiasts, all whilst having a relaxing after work pint. Next month the focus will be on ‘Movember’, if you are interested in attending then like their Facebook page for more information.

it due to its gravitational effects on visible matter.

The LHC Roadshow will be travelling around the UK to celebrate this

fantastic science project and showcase the British research in the facility that helped to discover the Higgs boson particle.

Pictured: What we looked like testing out the devices (Photographer: OlivIreland)

Large Hadron Collider comes to the Senedd

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hen it comes to popular science, the Large Hadron Collider is a household name. I doubt you’d find many people that haven’t heard of it, and rightly so. The colossal underground structure lies beneath the FranceSwitzerland border near Geneva and is supposedly the largest, most complex experimental facility ever built.

Recently the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) have been going around the UK, presenting a ‘LHC Roadshow’ for public viewing. The interactive exhibit was displayed in the Senedd last week and we went to see what it was all about.

“The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s biggest and most powerful particle accelerator, built to understand some of the mysteries of how the universe works” claimed a colourful sign at the start of the exhibit.

Researchers use it to hurl protons and electrons in a beam almost as

fast as the speed of light and collide the beams together to study the effects. With this method they discovered the Higgs boson. Physicist believe that without this subatomic particle, mass would not exist.

The exhibit in the Senedd included a life-size model of a cross section of the Large Hadron Collider which members of the public could walk through. There were lights to represent the beams of particles being shot around, and models of all the safety equipment in the tunnel.

We were told that the hugely successful project that is the Large Hadron Collider aims to gain yet more success with the research being undertaken by scientists from across the world. Learning more about ‘dark matter’ is on the agenda, as it reportedly makes up about 26% of our universe but still remains a huge question mark in the field. Dark matter cannot be detected by telescopes, but physicists can hypothesise about

Pictured: The exhibit (Photographer: Maria Mellor)

26 SCIENCE

Are ‘miracle pills’ the future of exercising?

Scientists are developing a pill to mimic the benefits of exercise

Pictured: The benefits of exercise could be put into tiny pills like these (Photographer: Jamie Dobson)

Karla Pequenino

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They’ll let you get muscles that are stronger and faster and reach your exercise goals much quicker.”

Ismail Laher

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xercise pills that improve blood circulation and muscle resistance are being developed with success reported across the globe.

The compounds of these new pills copy molecular-level muscle reactions that replace workouts. This is done by boosting the number of mitochondria in the body, which are responsible for producing the energy a cell can use. Thus, this means having more energy to spend, increasing the body’s endurance to exercise.

These discoveries are the outcome of a global effort by teams from Australia, Canada and China. Results recently published in leading science journals, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences and Cell Metabolism, further suggest the pills have potential as they have worked in lab testing with mice.

Ismail Laher, a member of the Canadian research team, explains to Time Magazine that: “They’ll [the pills] let you get muscles that are stronger and faster and reach your exercise goals much quicker.” In other words, the pills can help people get better at exercising, but cannot replace it.

Laher compares the exercise pill to a vitamin supplement by explaining that while these are good, the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables are greater.

However a researcher of the Australian team, Nolan Hoffman, told Quartz that the exercise ‘blueprint’ they have developed “lays the foundation for future treatments, and the end goal is to mimic the effects of exercise”.

Scientists insist the pill is not a dietary supplement and can be used

as a serious medical tool. The team from University of Sydney claim that the pills have potential as exercise can help fight many diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

These pills could also help amputees, stroke victims or others who cannot move in an intensive way due to any type of sickness or paralysis.

In a press release from the University of Sydney, it is stated that “for many people, exercise isn’t a viable treatment option. This means it is essential we find ways of developing drugs that mimic the benefits of exercise.”

Despite the media frenzy, the “miracle capsules” are still not available on the market. An opinion article by Dr. David Samadi, a health specialist for the Daily News, warns people

that these pills might be promoting a bad attitude about exercise by trying to put people off the gym. According to him, exercise does not only build endurance, but can ‘sharpen focus and lift spirits’.

Dr Layer, from The University of Sydney, confirms the pills do not intend to create magical weight loss: “It is unrealistic to expect that exercise pills will fully be able to substitute for physical exercise. It’s not going to make a couch potato into Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

The bottom line seems to be that these pills are now more than sciencefiction. While they might not boost weight-loss miraculously, initial testing has showed that they can improve people’s fitness level and might be useful for those who cannot exercise due to medical reasons.

Would it be worth exercising if there was a pill that gave many of the benefits and none of the effort?

The pills sound suspicious, like weight loss pills in general. I would need more info. I exercise to get fitter, to lose weight and to tone. Even if I do not get better results, working out seems safer and makes me happier.”

“After working out I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I also feel better if I decide to go for a treat later in the day. I’m a bit of a foodie.”

- Katherine, Psychology student

“I would not use pills. I am against pills in general. You have to work out to get the benefits and putting more chemicals in your body is bad”

“I exercise because it makes me feel good. Would a pill do the same thing?”

- Katie, Maths undergraduate who loves playing tennis

- Abbie, Geography student

- Giorgos, postgraduate student and member of the Cardiff Baseball team.

“If we’re talking about classes, like the ones I give, it’s not just about losing weight and toning. It can be a social activity and it can be very relaxing.

In fact, exercising is also incredibly good for your mental health. There are many studies that prove that and some of the people who attend my classes are recovering from depression and have been instructed by their doctors to try exercising.”

- Heather, a fitness instructor at Cardiff University Sport Centre

“If these pills were scientifically proven to be effective and safe, then I would consider them as an option on occasion. However, exercise would still be important because at the end of the day it’s more natural.”

- Carwyn, History undergraduate “I am a bit sceptical about them. Actually doing exercise has way more benefits than these pills could give.”

- Helena, Journalism student

“

While they might not boost weight-loss miraculously, initial testing has showed they can improve people’s fitness level

”

SCIENCE 27

Astronomers find ‘alien megastructures’ Objects orbiting a far-away star have caught the public’s attention

Camilla Lee

“

The “object” blocks out so much light, that it has been humourously refered to as an ‘alien megastructure’

” Alec Evans

“

Not only are these teeth fit for purpose, but also help the fight against bacteria

”

A

stronomers from Penn State University have detected what they think may be a large cluster of objects orbiting around a star in the milky way. This ‘bizarre’ star system described by Jason Wright may have been built by an alien civilisation. Despite alleging that aliens could be a possible explanation for the phenomena, he commented that aliens should always be the last hypothesis one considers.

The now famous star, named KIC 8462852, lies between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra, above the Milky Way. It’s been catching the attention of astronomers since 2009, when the NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope first flagged it up as a candidate for having earth-like, potentially habitable planets. Kepler uses analysing techniques to investigate light emitted from other far away stars in the universe, investigating in particular how planets orbit their stars and obstruct the light patterns.

The strange light pattern that KIC 8462852 was emitting stood out among the 150,000 stars that the Kepler Space Telescope monitors.

It has been found that a dip in the starlight from KIC 8462852 is not part of the expected pattern.

Another astronomer, Tabetha Boyajian of Yale University, believes the documented dipped pattern could have been a fault with the detection equipment, but this has since been ruled out. The ‘objects’ block out so much light, that it has

been humourously referred to as an ‘alien megastructure’.

In 2011, the star was under the watchful eye of Kepler’s ‘Planet Hunters’ team who also found the star ‘bizarre’ with ‘alien megastructure’ debris surrounding it. However, it has been pointed out that before planets are formed, it’s normal for a mass of debris to surround a young star. But KIC 8462852 is not a new star which calls for investigation as to why this phenomena is occurring. Two possible hypotheses are that the debris must have been deposited around the star recently or formed together by gravity.

Obviously this sparked interest for further research and Boyajian, who oversees the ‘Planet Hunters Project’, has been looking into other possible explanations for the cluster of objects. She has ruled all but one out, which is that another star has been attracting comets too close to KIC 8462852, causing fragmentation which perhaps contribute to the ‘alien megastructures’. The likelihood of the strange objects having been built by aliens is being taken seriously by Andrew Siemion, the director of SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and Mr Wright. There has been speculation that intelligent beings are trying to harness solar energy through a similar means to our own - a set of solar panels around the star. The three astronomers, Mr Wright, Ms Boyajian and Mr Siemion, want to investigate further by using radio dish technology to hunt for

Pictured: Could this be the work of little green men?

(Photographer: Andy Castro)

“ wavelengths associated with technological civilisations around this star.

Nobody is seriously theorising that this is evidence of the existence of a technologically advanced alien civilisation, this is being treated only as a rather jocular possibility.

It’s too early to form any conclusions, however, we have embarked on an exciting journey. Technological advances will enable us to find new discoveries and we certainly look forward to what further research will reveal.

3D printing could be the future of false teeth

N

ormal false teeth on the NHS are made of either synthetic resin or metal. But Professor Andreas Herrmann and his fellow colleagues of the University of Groningen in The Netherlands have managed to pioneer false teeth production in a way that is far from normal – through 3D printing.

This new variety of tooth is made of a plastic that acts against the growth of microbes, meaning not that only are these teeth are fit for purpose, they also help the fight against bacteria. Use of positively charged ammonium salts counteract the negatively charged bacterial membranes.

Hermann explains, “The material can kill bacteria on contact, but on the other hand it is not harmful to human cells.”

3D printing has its origins from back in the 1980s with the earliest 3D printing technologies being known as Rapid Prototyping technologies. There was an unsuccessful patent application for the technology in 1980 but it wasn’t until 1986 that the first patent was successfully issued to the American Charles ‘Chuck’ Hull. He is today acknowledged as the father of 3D printing for his pioneering of ste-

reolithography apparatus and was last year inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame, which also features Thomas Edison and The Wright Brothers. This demonstrates the prominence that 3D printing has nowadays.

Today, 3D printing is used for a number of reasons. It has been used by companies such as General Motors and Ford for making vehicle parts and on a bigger scale and used

by NASA for their rocket engine injector. But Hermann’s idea isn’t the first to use the printing to assist the human body. It has been used to produce limbs for the disabled, aid the senses of the visually or aurally impaired and even produce internal organs designed for an individual’s body.

3D printing is not without its critics. High-tech gunsmith group Defense Distributed managed to produce a gun called the ‘Liberator’.

15 of its 16 parts of can be produced out of plastic by 3D printers, with company associate Cody Wilson believing to be evidence of the US Government’s inability to enforce gun control. This was criticised by New South Wales Police commissioner Andrew Schipione, who told

There has been speculation that intelligent beings are trying to harness solar energy through a similar means to our own

”

Pictured: One day all kinds of false teeth could be made from the 3D printed material (Photographer: Stefan Z)

The Telegraph a few years ago: “The catastrophic failure comes about because there are no standards around these weapons.” The printing of false teeth is less dangerous,

but Schipione probably echoes the thoughts of many when it comes to technology like this. Innovations can be a great thing, as long as they are fully understood by the public.

28 SOCIETIES

societies Hannah Sterritt VP Societies

H

Editor: Aletheia Nutt @GairRhyddSoc societies@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/societies

Hannah’s note: New Society Applications

i everyone! Last week we hosted Committee Forums which was a chance to feedback on the year so far: what has gone right and what could do with improving. All the feedback has been collated and we are working on everything to improve your Societies experience.

On another note, we’ve had quite a few New Society applications through and we accept them throughout the year. If your interest isn’t represented

in our current list of 200 Societies and you can get together 20 potential members, then please apply on the Societies section of cardiffstudents. com. The beauty of Societies is that they can be for a shared interest of pretty much anything, so the more specific the better. Examples of new Societies over the past year include the Ornithological Society who have an interest for birds, the GP society and the Quiz Society who are cur-

rently heading up the search for the next University Challenge team.

We’ve also introduced the ‘Event of the Week’ on our Facebook page (Facebook.com/guildofsocieties) so if you’re looking for something completely different to try each week then have a look there!

I hope you have a great week and as ever, if you have any Societies related questions, feel free to email me at vpsocieties@cardiff.ac.uk.

Cardiff University A Capella Mared Jones

“

You can, however, most certainly expect that your eardrums will have a bang tidy good time

”

U

New voices are always welcome

nless you’ve been living under a soundproof rock on another planet, you’re probably very well-aware of the a cappella mania that’s invaded modern media. From Pentatonix’s viral videos to Pitch Perfect 2, and The Naked Choir, a cappella has taken over the planet - and we at the A Cappella Society are bloody loving every minute of it.

Have your friends have ever threatened to disown you if you quote Fat Amy one more time? Is your idea of a good night hitting up Flux and trying to harmonise with Mr Brightside? Do you occasionally stare at Pentatonix’s Youtube channel and wonder if they’re actually real human beings? If you answered yes to any of the above, then we reckon you should definitely be one of our snaz-

zy members! Of course, we don’t just appreciate a cappella - we perform it, too! From performing at the Cardiff Beatbox Battles to hosting bi-annual showcases and hitting up The Voice Festival, we’re most certainly a very active gang of aca-enthusiasts.

Want to know more about our groups? Well, first up we have the Acappellads – who are, funnily enough, lads who do a cappella. This all-male group has covered everything you and your grandmother can think of: from Sam Smith to Bruno Mars, these blokes can make you cry both tears of sadness and hysterical laughter!

Along with our lovely lads, we also have our lovely ladies: the DeciBelles!

With their sassy style and sound, the DeciBelles are most certainly not your average all-female group. From

indie songs like alt-J’s ‘Breezeblocks’ to Taylor Swift mash-ups, you never quite know what these girls will do next.

You can, however, most certainly expect that your eardrums will have a bang tidy good time listening to them. As of last year, we also have a brand-spanking new group: Vox! They might only be a small gang of boys and girls, but they can most certainly pack a punch when it comes to their intricate arrangements and show-stopping voices. And, last but not least, we have our biggest and most fun-loving group of all: interChorus! This is our mixed group featuring everyone from the boomiest of basses to the squeakiest of sopranos. If you love singing, beatboxing or fancy becoming the sixth member of Pentatonix, this is most certainly

the group for you!

We’re always more than happy to welcome new voices to our acafamily, and, luckily enough for you, we’re hosting a Give It A Go session this Monday evening on the 26th of October!

With the help of our fantastic array of members and music directors, you’ll learn all you need to know about a cappella - and beatboxing, too! The extremely talented Matthew Hann will be joining us to give us the low-down on becoming a human drum set, so if you fancy making incredibly odd noises for two hours with a bunch of fellow music-makers, we would absolutely aca-love to have you join us at Main Building!

Find out more about our event and society at facebook.com/cuacappella

Pictured: Cardiff University A Cappella at Freshers’ Fair 2015

SOCIETIES 29

Come dine with the Cooking Society

Michele Spence

Theo Martin

“

The society prides itself on welcoming all LGBT members whether they are out of the closet or not and whether they are of any race, religion, gender and sexuality

”

D

o you enjoy cooking? Eating?

Watching foodie films and snacking on copious amounts of cheese and biscuits? Then Cardiff University Cooking Society is the place for you!

You may have seen us during freshers with our Give it a Go Welsh cake making, but that is only a sliver of what we have to offer. We are a small, friendly society with a range of events to suit all tastes: the ever popular themed bring a dish nights, foodie quizzes, cooking lessons, Come Dine with Me competitions to name but a few!

Bring a Dish nights are some of our most popular events. Themes in the past have included: bring a dish from home, Italian night, bring red food night - the list goes on and on! We treasure the opportunity to share our food and dine together, ensuring a friendly, social atmosphere where all members can get to know one another. We also have the odd night where we cook together: making pancakes and the like.

Every year, cooking lessons prove to be a popular activity. From learning to make macarons to traditional British pies, we aim to offer something for everyone, at any skill level.

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Full tuition and ingredients are provided, and you take home everything you make - normally enough for two people. These lessons are run on demand for a nominal fee, so register your interest today by emailing us or coming to our next social.

We also run our very own Come Dine With Me: an informal competi-

tion where groups of 3-4 people host dinner parties for each other. Scoring is anonymous, and there will be prizes for the winners, given at our Christmas party. For more information, to sign up for Come Dine With me or register interest in cooking lessons, please sign up on the SU website, like us on Facebook at ‘Cardiff

University Cooking Society’ or follow us on twitter at @cookingsoc.

We meet every other Tuesday, normally in the boardroom in the lounge on the third floor of the SU. Our next social is on the 27th of October and is a foodie film night: come armed with dessert or snacks. Everyone is welcome - happy cooking!

Pictured: Cooking Society’s Wine and Cheese Night

CU Pride, Cardiff ’s LGBT+ Group

or those who don’t know what CU Pride is as a society, we are the LGBT+ society of Cardiff University (standing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and other). As a society our main purpose is to provide a safe place for LGBT+ students to meet and have fun, mostly by hosting many events over the semester, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Additionally, it’s important to note that the society prides itself on welcoming all LGBT members whether they are out of the closet or not and whether they are of any race, religion, gender and sexuality.

We’ve already had several successful events at the beginning of the semester. The first event being our ‘Fresher’s Welcome’, created to introduce new members to the LGBT+ scene that the society visits frequently. The Fresher’s social was made to provide new members with a safe look at the sort of LGBT+ nightlife that Cardiff can provide and so that they have the chance to get to know our Committee for this year.

The CU Pride Committee strives to ensure that we are available to our members and can be approached with questions about the society and the university.

CU Pride also hosted a second event during Fresher’s Week, our ‘Give it a Go’ social where every student in Cardiff University (including non-LGBT+) was invited to enjoy a night out on the LGBT+ scene. This was easily one of our busiest and best nights as everyone who attended was able to fill out every venue we took them to and everyone attending seemed to have enjoyed their experi-

ence of Cardiff ’s LGBT+ nightlife.

We have had several nights out since Fresher’s week ended, our most recent being our inter-uni scene crawl with Cardiff Met, called the ‘Back2School Graffiti social’. On this particular night, both societies wore plain white school shirts and used pens to draw on them, resulting in funny, sweet and mostly rude artwork on everyone. CU Pride is always willing to host joint events with other societies as we know, especially from our graffiti social, how much fun it can be.

While I have mostly mentioned social events that were nights out, I would also like to discuss some of the society’s non-alcoholic events.

First of all are our Saturday brunches, hosted weekly since the start of the semester where our members can come, have some good food and hang out with other members for a pleasant Saturday morning experience. Other non-alcoholic events include our ‘Cardiff Monopoly’ social, where we had members run around Cardiff finding landmarks in a large, city-wide race. We also have several future social events planned for the society that promise to be just as good as their predecessors, if not better.

The closest being our Halloween themed night out ‘Kings, Queens, Divas and Demons’ on Wednesday 28th, our first true fancy dress social. We’re inviting our members to try out their best Halloween costumes and show them off on our usual LGBT+ scene crawl. We are sure this will prove to be an exciting night as the best dressed has been

Pictured: LGBT+ at Freshers’ Fair 2015

promised a prize, so the Committee are expecting some terrifying stuff. Furthermore, we’re following one fancy dress social with another on November 6th with our amazing Disney social. Our members will be able to dress up as their favourite Disney villain, hero or heroine and the best dressed will once again have the chance of winning a prize from the society.

Additionally, in order to interest our members in getting more involved in how the society is run, CU Pride will also soon be hosting our Annual General Meeting. Our AGM, or renamed EGM (ExtremelyExciting General Meeting), is being held on Monday 26th which gives our members the chance to have their say on how the society is run,

to provide feedback so far, and to see how they can get further involved with the society.

We have no intention of slowing down near the end of the semester either. CU Pride is already making plans for larger events such as our joint Playzone social with the Scifi society. This will be an excellent night out for the society as the Playzone in Swansea (filled with slides, climbing mazes and ball pit balls) allows us to go in from seven to eleven pm and have fun reliving our childhoods.

CU Pride is dedicated to giving its members some of their best university experiences and our committee is fully committed to making sure that their memories of CU Pride will be good ones.

“

CU Pride is dedicated to giving its members some of their best university experiences

”

30 SOCIETIES

Not too late to join Fitness And Dance

Juliet Heaton

Rachel Jones

F

AD is a commercial dance society, a style of dance which is very current that you will see in many recent music videos and performances. FAD stands for fitness and dance, a title that demonstrates that you can have fun and get fit at the same time in our classes.

We carry out classes for dancers of all capabilities. Our beginners class is perfect for those with little previous dancing experience, or for anyone who isn’t yet confident with their ability as a dancer. The class is very relaxed with simple moves to wellknown chart songs that anyone can join in with and have fun to!

The next class is at an intermediate level, which tends to be popular for any dancers who haven’t had any experience for a long time, as it is somewhere between the levels of beginners

H

and advanced.

For more serious dancers, advanced level is more suitable as they are at a quicker pace! At the beginning of each year, a group of dancers is picked from advanced to form Troupe, who take part in competitions and performances throughout the year, including Journeys, Manchester University dance competition and Dance Varsity.

Every member of FAD is given the opportunity to perform what they have learnt in classes. This term we will be taking part in the Winter Showcase on the 9th December, an evening where dance and performance societies get together to give a show of everything they have been working on for the term. A similar night takes place in the spring term at the Fringe Festival.

Come along and see which lev-

el suits you best! We are holding mid-term Give It A Go sessions on Wednesday 4th November in Y Plas, where we will be starting new routines for the rest of the term, so it’s still not too late to start something new. Each class is an hour long; beginners at 2pm, intermediates at 3pm and advanced at 4pm. You will be able to try as many classes as you like to find which one fits your ability best, with each class costing only £1!

After that, classes will be held weekly every Wednesday at the same time from 2-5pm in Y Plas. A full membership of £20 covers one class a week for the rest of the year. A parttime membership is £5, and £1 must be paid for every class you attend, perfect for those who are unsure whether they will be able to make classes every week.

The social side of FAD is a great way to meet new people at university and will give you plenty of other opportunities. We hold socials every other week, which will have a fun fancy dress theme for you to get involved with! Socials start around 8:30pm on a Wednesday night, and are full of fun, games, drinks, socialising with friends and meeting new people. After a couple of hours we then move onto YOLO at Y Plas! We also have lots of fun non-alcoholic events, such as film nights, meals out and trips. Next term we will be visiting the Move It dance exhibition in London which is a fantastic opportunity!

We hope that we have encouraged many of you to come along to our Give It A Go sessions and convinced you it isn’t too late in the year to start something new!

Volunteer at the World Half Marathon

ello! We’re Cardiff Volunteering, the brand new volunteering charity based on the second floor of the students union!

We’re going to have a weekly article to tell you all about the fab opportunities we have, and also to shout about the incredible things that our volunteers do! This week we are going to tell you about the IAAF Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships.

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) and Cardiff University have teamed up to organise the World Half Marathon Championships. This Marathon combines the world’s elite athletes and people who love running! 300 elite athletes (including Mo Farah) and 25,000 general runners will be taking part in the marathon on Saturday 26th March 2016. The event will be broadcast on BBC 1 and around the world. Runners

will follow the Cardiff Half Marathon route, which will be lined by spectators and entertainment zones.

The World half Marathon has been all over the world from Russia to India and has only been in the UK three times and has never come to Wales, so this is a prestigious event to be hosting!

Fun fact: Paula Radcliff is the marathons official ambassador and has won the event three times.

As you can imagine, an event this large needs a lot of volunteers, 1,500 to be exact. Due to the fact that Cardiff University is organising the event, they have reserved the top 200 volunteering positions for Cardiff University Students.

The first opportunity is the finish straight/starting pen opportunities.

This role will involve setting up the finish straight and awarding medals, tee shirts and giving out water and fruit

“

Come along and see which level suits you best!

”

Pictured: FAD’s Safari Social (left) and one of FAD’s performance last year (right)

“

to the runners when they finish the course. 50 people from this section will also be selected to accompany each set of runners (runners are organised into pens based on their estimated finish time). These volunteers will walk forward a group whilst wearing brightly coloured tee shirts and balloons, to allow each group to have their own personalised start time. These volunteers will be right in the thick of the action, live on BBC 1 and experiencing the atmosphere as runners wait to take on the course.

The second opportunity is the Cardiff University Water Station down the Bay. Within this role you will be expected to set up the tables and brand-

ing and open up the water bottles ready for the runners. Once this is done, your key role will be to hand out water bottles and cheer on the runners as they come past! Again, this is a key role and will be broadcast heavily across the TV channels.

As a thank you, all volunteers will get an Adidas volunteer uniform, food and drink and a goody bag to take away! Full training will be provided and you will also get a lanyard with key information.

Sounds like something you might want to do? Check out our website www.cardiffstudents.com/volunteering or email us on volunteering@cardiff.ac.uk!

The World half Marathon has been all over the world from Russia to India and has only been in the UK three times and has never come to Wales

”

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32 TAF-OD

taf-od Tomos Williams

Golygydd: Carwyn Williams @Taf_od tafod@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/tafod

Lido Pontypridd a’r hiraeth Gymreig G “ ellir dadlau fod Cymru yn wlad o gof, un sy’n byw yn ei orffennol. Diben yr erthygl yma yw trafod i ba raddau mae hyn yn wir, gan dynnu ar rai enghreifftiau, yn enwedig y Lido a pharc newydd ym Mhontypridd sydd wedi’i hysbysebu fel “Lido Genedlaethol Cymru”.

Yn amlwg, mae’r teitl a’i hysbysebu o Abertawe i Gasnewydd yn ei wneud yn bwysig. Nad yw’r erthygl yn feirniadaeth o’r holl waith sydd wedi mynd mewn i’i adeiladu; nad yw hi’n feirniadaeth o unrhyw ffurf o dreftadaeth.

Yn syml, yr wyf am sôn am y Lido ym Mhontypridd yn gyntaf, ac yna hiraeth yn gyffredinol.

Mae nifer o ddadleuon am dreftadaeth, dadleuai rhai ei fod yn denu pobl, ac felly arian; mae eraill yn dadlau ei fod yn wastraff arian ac amser, a’n rhithiol i fyw yn y gorffennol; ac mae dal eraill yn dadlau ei bod yn bwysig i atgofio’r gorffennol am barch a gwersi moesol/

rhesymegol (dysgwch o’ch camgymeriadau). Yn sicr, nad oes dadl mae pawb yn defnyddio.

Am £6.3 miliwn, ail-adeiladwyd y Lido yn haf 2015. Cafodd ei adeiladu yn gyntaf ym 1927 fel rhan o’r tuedd i adeiladu pyllau nofio tu allan. Erbyn y 1990au roedd y Lido yn dirywio ac ym 1991 roedd hi ar gau. Nawr mae nôl.

Erbyn heddiw, mae dadl gref (o leiaf, yn fy marn i) i ddweud bod yr ailcreuad o’r Lido yn rhan o adnewyddu yn Rhondda Cynon Taf ac i raddau fwy yn hiraeth. Yn sicr, mae’n wrthrychol yn dda bod rhywbeth ym Mhontypridd fel hyn. Ond gellir gofyn a yw pyllau nofio tu allan yn syniad da, yn enwedig yn y gaeaf. Gofynnwch a chafodd ei ailadeiladu i adnewyddu neu i gofio, fel nodyn atgoffa ddrud. Dadleuai rhai ei fod yn wastraff arian a’n aneffeithiol gan ei fod yn dymhorol; neu wedi methu yn y gorffennol, a byddai’n methu eto. Felly, pam dewisodd pobl i’w ail-adeiladu?

Adnewyddiad neu hiraeth (neu efallai adnewyddiad trwy hiraeth)?

Yn fwy, mae effaith hen ddiwydiant yn yr ardal, chwarae i blant; efallai i’w haddysgu’r agweddau y mae rhai eisiau i barhau. Fel bachgen o Bontypridd, gwelais yr ardal chwarae wrth gerdded trwy’r parc. Y peth gyntaf sylwais oedd strwythurau pren gyda’r geiriau “Coal Mine”, “Pontypridd Railway Station” a “Chainworks” arno. Mae’n ddigon teg i ddweud bod hyn, yn enwedig ar ôl i ddiwydiant yn yr ardal cau oes yn ôl, yn hiraeth. Ond mae’n rhaid mynd bel-

lach: beth mae hyn yn dangos i mi yw poblogrwydd diwydiant, hyd yn oed ar ôl iddo farw. Mae glo yn rhan o ddiwylliant poblogaidd a hunaniaeth (cenedlaethol neu ranbarthol) yn gymdeithas Pontypridd.

Hoff wn fynd yn bellach gydag hyn.

Mae rhai academyddion yn awgrymu fod perthynas rhwng tir, tiriogaetholdeb a hunaniaeth: yn sicr, mae gan yr ardal fynyddog (a’r creiriau ffisegol o’r gorffennol a’r bensaernïaeth sy’n dal i fodoli) effaith ar bobl yr ardal. Maent yn gwybod bod hanes diwydiannol a threfol i’r dref. Maent yn gwybod o hanes eu teuluoedd bod llawer o falchder i weithio dan y tir. Felly gwelir y tir ei hun – y mineralau a’r fath o dir; mae effaith ar economi a thai’r ardal, a chafodd y rhain effaith ar feddylfryd y bobl. Cafodd y byd tywyll, gormesol effaith llawn ar y bobl oedd o dan y tir. Dwi’n hoffi geiriau Bryan Martin Davies yn ei gerdd Glas, sy’n disgrifio gwyliau byr, llawn rhyddid, i fôr Abertawe; ac erbyn diwedd y gwyliau, mae’n rhaid dychwelyd i’r “ddyffryn du totilitariaeth glo”. Mae’r “Coal Mines”, “Railway Station” a’r “Chainworks” ar strwythurau pren wir yn bwysig i bobl (yn hanes a heddiw, gan ein bod yn byw yn adladd y gorffennol) yr ardal felly!

Yn sicr, mae dychwelyd i’r gorffennol fel hyn (yn enwedig ar ôl i’r pwll cau ym 1991) yn symptomatig o ardal ddigalon, hiraethus. Ond pwy sydd â’r hawl i roi’r ‘bai’ ar y dylunwyr? A phwy fyddai’n rhoi ‘bai’ ar unrhyw un am

fod yn hiraethus? Roedd hiraeth, dadeni a rhamantiaeth am y gorffennol yn boblogaidd i’r Rhufeinwyr, yr arlunwyr y Renaissance, i’r Fictorianwyr, ac yn amlwg i ni heddiw. Beth sy’n bod â hiraeth? Mae’n bosib beirniadu pobl am fyw yn y gorffennol, ond fel hanesydd, os gallai cael arian am fyw yn y gorffennol byddai’n arbennig! Os gwelwch Big Pit National Coal Museum, rhan o’r effaith arbennig yw’r ffaith bod hi’n brofiad go iawn wedi cynnal gan lowyr go iawn. Ond erbyn heddiw, mae’r glöwr fel person proffesiynol, balch yn un prin. Mae hyn yn beth drist i nifer sy’n falch o ddiwydiant Cymru, ac eisiau iddo barhau mewn un ffordd.

O leiaf i mi, nad yw Cymru yn sownd yn y gorffennol, ond wedi’i gyfareddu ganddo. Mae’n wlad gyda dilyniant.

Gellir dadlau bod treftadaeth yn ei hun yn ddilyniant oherwydd mae’n dangos pobl sy’n ffodus a diwylliant a’n gyffrous a’n am ei orffennol ei hun, sy’n falch o’i arwyr! Mae natur Cymru yn newid i ddod a’r gorffennol i’r presennol, a’i gyfuno. Fel yn dreftadaeth, fel yn y Lido, fel yn rygbi. Gwelwch y bêl rygbi enfawr sy’n addurno’r (neu ddifwyno’r) castell: mae cymysg o’r hen a’r newydd; cymysg o hen hanes aristocrataidd-milwrol a diwylliant a balchder modern. Gwelwch wladgarwch yn amlygu ei hun yn ffisegol ar hen gyson o’r castell.

Cofiwch fod Cymru yn llawn pobl sy’n falch o’u hun a’u hanes, ac nad ydy hyn yn beth drwg.

O leiaf i mi, nad yw Cymru yn sownd yn y gorffennol, ond wedi’i gyfareddu ganddo

”

Yn y llun: Llun archif o Lido Pontypridd

Achos am swyddog llawn amser yn tyfu M

Carwyn Williams

ae polisi Cymreictod Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd wedi bod yn araf yn datblygu, yn ynysig wrth gorff y myfyrwyr ac felly yn warthus ac yn embaras. Ar fore Ddydd Iau diwethaf casglodd grŵp o siaradwyr Cymraeg yn adeilad yr Undeb i brotestio bod llais myfyrwyr ddim yn cael ei glywed wrth lunio polisi iaith.

Roedd yr Undeb yn cyfweld gydag ymgeiswyr i’r swydd newydd cydlynydd y Gymraeg ar y diwrnod. Nid oedd y protest eisiau mewn unrhyw ffordd ceisio atal pobl rhag derbyn y swydd, ddim yn erbyn y swydd o gwbl, ond

yn hytrach fel neges bod angen sicrhau bod llais myfyrwyr Cymreig yn cael ei glywed. Nid oedd y protest gyda’r nod o ymyrryd ar chyfweld a’r ymgeiswyr hynny.

Protest bach hollol heddychlon yr ydoedd, a ddim yn dychrynu unrhyw un. Dod at ei gilydd fel grŵp, yn dal posteri bach, dyna’r gwir, dyna gyd yr ydoedd, yn fy marn i.

Ond eto, ni gall yr undeb dderbyn protest, wel ddim wrth fyfyrwyr Cymraeg ta beth.

O ganlyniad i’r protest heddychlon, nid yw Swyddog y Gymraeg, Steffan Bryn, bellach yn mynd i gael dweud ar agwedd Cymreictod polisi’r undeb a rôl newydd y cydlynydd. Meddyliwch, cydlynydd Cymraeg yn cael ei phenodi heb unrhyw farn na dweud gan gynrychiolydd etholedig y gymuned Gymraeg, bach yn od.

I ddweud y gwir, dwi wedi colli pob ffudd (o’r bach iawn oedd yna ta beth) yn yr Undeb. Bellach, dyw Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd ddim yn undeb, dyw o ddim yn cynrychioli ei aelodau, ddim ei holl aelodau ta beth, ac mae hwn yn broblem.

Mae’r undeb wedi pendrfynnu ac yn mynnu ni fydd swyddog llawn am-

Yn y llun: Protestwyr ar drydydd llawr yr undeb ar fore ddydd Iau diwethaf

ser i’r Gymraeg. Mae’n dod yn amlwg mi fydd yn annodd tu hwnt newid y pendrfyniad yma. Mae’n anheg bod barn y gymuned Gymraeg ond yn cael ei gwrando i yn ddibynol ar agwedd y sabbs, a gallai newid yn ddramatig o flwyddyn i flwyddyn.

Dim ond un tudalen o’r wefan sydd yn Gymraeg, sydd yn dangos ei hagwedd at y sefyllfa yn hawdd. Y maent wedi cael blynyddoedd i’w cyfieithu, ond dal rydym yn yr un sefyllfa. Mae’r undeb wedi mabwysiadu Siarter iaith NUS Cymru, ond dal mae pob cyfieithiad yn yr Undeb yn llai na’r Saesneg ac y maent yn gwrthwynebu llais gan y gymuned Gymraeg.

Ond, ar ddiwedd y dydd, mae’n frwydr araf, mae wedi bod ac y mae mynd i fod.

Ond mae’r frwydr yn parhau, roedd ymateb yr undeb i Ddydd Iau diwethaf yn od, anonest ac annheg.

Mae’n dod yn amlwg felly bydd swydd y cydlynydd newydd yn un annodd tu hwnt, i dod a balans rhwng yr undeb a’i aelodau unwaith eto. Ond, yn fy marn i a nifer eraill, mae angen swyddog etholedig llawn amser.

Mae’r gymuned Gymraeg ddim yn gweld yr undeb fel fforwm dilys i’w cynrichioli, ac ond gyda swyddog llawn amser bydd yn gallu ein cynrychioli yn llawn, yn hytrach nag agwedd y sabs eraill.

“

Dim ond un tudalen o’r wefan sydd yn Gymraeg, sydd yn dangos ei hagwedd at y sefyllfa

”

Annual General Meeting Cyfarfod Cyffredinol Blynyddol

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SPORT 35

BUCS Results: Wednesday 21st October

Presented by:

H/A

Sport

Cardiff Team

Opposition

Result

W/L/D

A

Badminton

Mens 1st

Southampton 1st

7-1

L

H

Badminton

Womens 1st

Bath 2nd

1-7

L

H

Lacrosse

Mens 1st

Southampton 1st

2-6

W

A

Football

Mens 1st

Swansea 1sts

2-1

W

A

Football

Womens 1st

Gloucestershire 2nd

1-3

W

H

Netball

Womens 1st

Brunel 1st

30-38

L

H

Table Tennis

Mens 1st

Southampton 1st

17-0

W

A

Volleyball

Womens 1st

Swansea 1st

0-3

W

A

Squash

Mens 1st

Exeter 2nd

1-4

W

A

Hockey

Womens 1st

Exeter 1st

4-0

L

H

Tennis

Womens 1st

Swansea 1st

8-4

W

H

Rugby Union

Mens 2nd (Medics)

Gloucestershire 1st

31-18

W

BUCS Rugby: Depleted Cardiff beaten in Met derby

James Lloyd

“

Cardiff will need to rebuild quickly as they head into another local clash against University of South Wales on Wednesday

”

C

ardiff University first team succumbed to their second loss in as many games as they crumbled to a 34-11 loss to local rivals, Cardiff Met. Cardiff went into the game having lost their opener against University of Bath 32-7. Met, on the other hand, entered the game with a one and one record, having dismantled USW 61-3 last week, but lost 38-0 to University of Exeter in their season opener.

In front of hundreds of spectators at Cyncoed, Cardiff began the game well- going ahead within three minutes through a Julian Mogg penalty.

Two minutes later, a well-worked catch and drive line-out from Met resulted in a try in the corner.

And, after the restart, Cardiff piled pressure on the Met defence as last week’s try scorer, Tom Boot, made a surging run that resulted in a Cardiff penalty. Mogg missed the kick but the early momentum gave the visitors a positive start.

However, that strong beginning went without reward as Met bounced back to score in both the

15th and 20th minutes respectively, albeit with both conversions being missed.

Harry Salisbury and Matt Roberts consistently found gaps in the Met defence and continued to propel Cardiff forward. Met’s open-side flanker was sin binned after fouling in the ruck and Mogg slotted the resulting penalty.

And Cardiff continued to threaten as good handling work in the backs was rewarded with a try, Huw Parks crossing over to make it 15-11.

Following the restart, Cardiff were caught napping and, after bamboozling the Cardiff defence, Met’s outside centre touched down in the corner to edge the hosts ahead.

On the brink of half time, Cardiff managed to stop a dangerous Met drive with some impressive defending.

But a skewed line-out gifted Met a 40th minute try as the referee blew for the interval.

The second half involved minimal rhythm as neither side posed much of a threat. Matt Roberts went off

with injury as Cardiff continued to win scrums. But Met finally made a breakthrough in the 76th minute as another well-worked catch and drive from the line-out put the game to bed, making it 34-11. Prop, Fraser Young, was sin binned late on after a scrap as the game fizzled out and finished 34-11.

Second row Jon Kenny praised his teammates despite another disappointing loss. He said: “To be honest they were a good side, the boys played really well. I think we didn’t play in the right areas, we probably should have played for territory.

In attack when we had the ball, we played well and looked strong.”

He added: “We have USW next week, we have to up it another notch. We were a lot better than last week so if we up it another notch we should get a win.”

Head Coach, Louie Tonkin, claimed his side weren’t clinical enough and rued missed opportunities. He told Gair Rhydd Sport: “We had quite a few line breaks in the first half and I think we were a

bit shocked from that and we sometimes looked surprised.”

He added: “We were in the game for large patches, we’ve just got to learn how to manage the game better. We played that whole second half in our own half, we shouldn’t run out our own half against one of the best sides in the league, you just can’t do it, but we’ll learn from it.”

Tonkin also explained the limited availability in the squad, commenting: “We were decimated with injuries today, we had about 12 firstchoice guys unavailable today and we’re coming up against a team who are on form at the moment and one of the best sides in BUCS. We already have injury worries with none of them due back anytime soon. We just have to strap ourselves up and get training and get ready for USW.” Cardiff will need to rebuild quickly as they head into another local clash against University of South Wales on Wednesday, when they will be looking to get their first win and gather some momentum heading into November.

Pictured: Cardiff University Rugby 1st team in action against Swansea at Varsity 2015.

(Photographer: Taliesin Coombes)

CARDIFF

11

Tries: Huw Parks Pens: Julian Mogg (2)

CARDIFF MET

34

36 SPORT RUGBY WORLD CUP REVIEW Continued from back page Liam Corcoran

“

The familiar taste of being so close yet so far remains, and will do until the Six Nations come around next year

”

Jason Roberts

“

Stuart Lancaster will have to bear the brunt of some deserved criticism, particularly with regards to his squad selection

”

Wales

G

atland’s men look to a Biggar and brighter future On Sunday evening, with the dust barely settled on Wales’ Rugby World Cup campaign, Jonathan Davies, Martyn Williams, Xavier Rush and Dean Ryan sat around the Scrum V table discussing Wales’ chances at the 2016 Six Nations, with all agreeing that based on their performances this autumn, Warren Gatland’s side should be the favourites. England’s campaign was an absolute train wreck, Ireland were dealt a huge blow and Scotland will be bitterly disappointed by their last gasp defeat, which could go one of two ways.

So, despite Wales, Ireland and Scotland all exiting at the same stage of the World Cup, and Scotland coming closer than anyone to the semi finals, why is Wales’ campaign regarded as more successful?

Just over a month ago, Wales’ warmup match against Italy was on the horizon as one final test for the side before heading into the group of death, in which they were the most likely side to exit in the eyes of many. After that bruising and cruel 80 minutes against the Italians, Welsh expectations were flipped on their head, with their most in-form player, Rhys Webb, and the golden boy, Leigh Halfpenny, both stretchered off the field and ruled out of the tournament, something that quickly dashed the hopes and expectations of a nation.

With the expectations off their shoulders, Wales seemed to play more freely

in their opening game, yes, against a semi-professional Uruguayan side, but there was still a job to be done. Cory Allen was the standout performer, touching down three times leading Wales to a 54-9, and there was a sense that the Blues man could be the new Welsh hope. Sadly that wasn’t to be, as Allen hobbled off with his own tournament ending injury; adding to the list of Jonathan Davies, Rhys Webb and Leigh Halfpenny, with Samson Lee and Liam Williams not match fit yet.

Next for Wales was a trip to Twickenham, where they were not really given a chance by the media in what was widely regarded as the Pool A decider.

As always, it was a tight encounter, with Owen Farrell and Dan Biggar trading penalties before Jonny May broke the Welsh defense and touched down, as England headed in at half time leading 16-9. England’s discipline was their downfall as they let Wales back into the game, and when Gareth Davies got on the end of Lloyd Williams’ kick to score coupled with another Biggar penalty minutes later, Wales had overcome their biggest rivals and turned the group on it’s head.

England were ultimately eliminated from the tournament following a humiliating defeat to Australia, meaning Wales’ game against the Wallabies did not carry as much importance as once feared, though the pathway to the final was very different on one side to the other, with South Africa lying in wait for

England

I

n England, there are few things more predictable than the cycle of events that occur after a national team gets knocked of a major tournament. Firstly, the media will speculate upon the job security of the manager, where the earliest mutterings of potential replacements will appear before the tournament has even begun. Then, moments after the final whistle, there’ll be close-up shots of our crestfallen heroes broadcast live to the homes of millions of equally crestfallen families. All of our dads will break the silence with a succinct piece of Dad Analysis (“Didn’t win that because they didn’t want to. No fight in ‘em”), then leave the room mercifully, so we can languish in our own personal misery.

Later in the week, there’ll be ‘alleged’ reports of disunity in the squad, where the manager will be made to look dangerously incompetent/out-of-touch/ tactically inept, while the players will be painted as spoon-fed babies who care more about their haircuts and endorsements than their country. There may also be an associated scandal involving the same traitorous players abusing pedalos/bungee-jumping/dwarves.

Of course in the meantime, a review panel will have been set up, with at least one person who has no absolutely business being there. This panel of highlycompensated individuals will come to the bold conclusion that the players in question played badly, but the manager

picked them, and because they can’t fire the players, it’s the manager has to go.

This will take them at least two months.

The now-vilified manager will go to work in television, because the thought of stepping back down to club level is just too much to bear having tasted the sweet nectar of international sport.

That, and they won’t be able to get a job anywhere else.

This is what England will have to endure once again, in the wake of a World Cup campaign that could at best be described as, ‘disappointing’ and at worst as, ‘a festering wheelie-bin engulfed in flames.’ A tournament that began with so much expectation ended with the hosts crashing out in the pool stages, kicked out of their own party before it even had the chance to get going. The general public probably should have tempered their expectations a little, too keen to overlook the flaws in the side that would prove to be fatal while trumping qualities that would never emerge, but not even the most pessimistic of supporters could have predicted the all-encompassing totality of England’s failure.

Stuart Lancaster will have to bear the brunt of some deserved criticism, particularly with regards to squad selection.

His original 23 players were pretty much the best available to him, but when it came to the crucial games against Wales and Australia, the pragmatism of Owen Farrell was preferred to the attacking

Pool stage Wales 54 v the losers. Wales started brilliantly and came close in the opening minutes, but Australia tightened up and Foley and Biggar began to exchange three pointers in a close encounter. With Australia at one point down the 13 men, Wales were crashing into a golden wall of defence as Michael Cheika’s side somehow kept them out, holding the ball up three times. Ultimately, Wales fell short against one of the Southern hemisphere powerhouses once again, perhaps even more frustratingly by the smallest of margins.

Despite ultimately taking the hard route to the final, Wales were presented with an immediate chance to redeem themselves from the week before, as they came up against a South African side who were still licking their wounds from the historic defeat at the hands of Eddie Jones’ Japan. The Boks had grown into the tournament since then which pointed to a mouth-watering quarter final. Much like the Australia game, Wales were on top in the early stages and should have come away with more points, though they did manage to touch down thanks to a magical up and under by player of the tournament contender Dan Biggar and good support work by Gareth Davies, it then once again came down to a kicking contest between the fly halfs, with Wales’ defence resilient as ever for over 70 minutes, before a magical offload allowed South Africa scrumhalf Fourie du Preez to score in the corner, leaving Wales no time for a reply.

So, where next for Wales? The familiar taste of being so close yet so far remains, and will do until the Six Nations come around next year. The negatives for Wales will surely be that they have once again come within inches of beating one of the big three on the world stage, but are unable to just get over the line. With this feat being repeated year in year out, it must be asked whether it is a psychological problem for the players, as in terms of ability the world knows they are good enough to beat these teams. What is vitally important for Wales is that this World Cup is used as a platform, so the coaching staff and majority of the players stay on board for the future. Dan Biggar issued a similar plea last week, with Rob Howley and Shaun Edwards’ contracts expiring soon.

There are also plenty of positives for the Welsh to take, with their squad being depleted to the bare bones following injuries in every week of the tournament, it has to be said that fans will be left wondering what could have been had Halfpenny, Davies, Liam and Scott Williams and Rhys Webb all been fit, the majority of which will hopefully be back for the Six Nations. Wales then have a tour of New Zealand to look forward to, which could reshape Welsh rugby if they were to come away with any results and well and truly get the monkey off their back. Plus, they just need to take a look across the Severn Bridge to see how bad things really could be.

Uruguay 9 England 25 v Wales 28 Wales 23 v Fiji 13 Australia 15 v Wales 6 Quarter final South Africa 23 v Wales 19

Rating

8/10 Pool stage England 35

threat of George Ford and Sam Burgess was chosen to be the hardest man on a field littered with hard men. But in yet another ill-disciplined performance that seems set to be a defining feature of the Lancaster era, England gifted 21 penalty points to Dan Biggar, and the match to Wales. A week later against Australia, the 15 players selected for their defensive qualities were promptly cut apart by a single Australian named Bernard. For Lancaster, perhaps the biggest failure was the decision to abandon the attacking players and style that had brought so much praise, and it’s with a degree of irony that reverting to a safety-first approach could see him lose his job.

However, it’s a monument to the scale of the English implosion that Lancaster’s fate is being treated almost as an afterthought. Instead, the crosshairs are being pointed firmly at the RFU, namely their policy of ruling out overseas players for international selection. Only Steffon Armitage knows how he felt watching David Pocock and Michael Hooper deliver a masterclass in openside play from the comfort of his sofa in France, but I don’t think anybody could blame him for feeling slightly smug at the sight of Chris Robshaw chasing shadows at the breakdown for 80 minutes. In theory, the RFU policy is a good one. In practice, England are watching the rest of their own tournament on TV. It’s not even that the policy needs a radical over-

haul; it still allows players to be selected in special circumstances, like when Jonny Wilkinson was recalled from Toulon to kick them to the 2007 final. But whoever leads the side into the 2019 tournament must be bold enough to select the best team, regardless of where they play their club rugby.

But ultimately, the issues that have doomed England stem from the way the game is taught at grassroots level.

At this point it’s beyond a cliché to defy southern hemisphere rugby, but until England and other northern hemisphere nations begin to adapt to their southern counterparts, the dominance of the ‘Big Three’ will continue unabated. In particular, there’s no area in which the gulf between the two regions is more apparent than at the breakdown. The lack of a ‘proper’ openside flanker doomed England against Australia in particular, but aside from Armitage languishing in French exile, the next best true openside available was probably the uncapped Matt Kvesic of Gloucester. The death of the English openside is probably an exaggerated phenomenon, but it’s clear to see that bigger, brasher, ball-carrying flankers are available in abundance; the product of a culture that teaches rugby to athletes in gyms, rather than players on pitches. If England don’t learn from their mistakes, they’ll face another early exit, and their fans will have to face the familiar post-tournament failure cycle.

v Fiji 11 England 25 v Wales 28 England 13 v Australia 33 England 60 v Uruguay 3

Rating

1/10

SPORT 37

Dan Heard

“

This one is going to hurt because they will believe that they have seriously underachieved.

”

Rhys Thomas

“

Scotland have gone home with their heads held high. After low expectations and an air of lethargy, they finished a whisker away from the final four.

”

Ireland

I

n the build-up to the World Cup and even through the tournament, the neutral fan would never have believed Ireland were good enough to win the Webb Ellis Cup, but were also pretty sure that their campaign would not end in a hammering, such as the one they received at the hands of Argentina. Injuries to Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony and Jared Payne, plus Sean O’Brien’s suspension, were huge factors in Ireland’s collapse. If anything, the previous match against France at the Millennium Stadium was brutal even by modern day standards, despite the comfortable win. It also brought to a premature end the international career of one of the most influential players in the professional era, Paul O’Connell. A giant of a man as well as a player, whose pain after suffering a serious hamstring injury was never going to wipe away his victory smile.

For O’Connell, the team, be it club or country, has always come first, and it is that ethos which helps Ireland overcome adversity. O’Connell followed Sexton off the pitch, before O’Mahony was helped off with what turned out to be a tournament-ending injury. Joe Schmidt’s team were three key players down, but it made no difference: up stepped Ian Madigan, Iain Henderson and Chris Henry, who all made rather large boots fit them comfortably. Ireland overcame

setbacks to vanquish familiar Six Nations foes, they now have to prove themselves against teams who are cut from the same cloth while having greater skill levels.

Knowing that they were missing so many key players will not reduce the sense of frustration that the Ireland players will feel for some time. This one is going to hurt because they will believe that they have seriously under-achieved. But then World Cups are hard. Just ask England (which is pretty much like being asked to leave your own party, in your own house, at 10 p.m., because you’re too drunk). Ireland should have beaten the All Blacks in Dublin two years ago, and a repeat of that form and the performances that saw off Australia and South Africa last autumn might have been good enough to get them to a first semi-final. But, they were unable to match that and it has to be a concern that they could not perform when it really mattered.

Viewed in the cold light of day, the France game destroyed Ireland’s World Cup as much as the brilliance of the rapidly improving Pumas who, by contrast, were able to rotate their squad after their opening joust with New Zealand and rest up to ten of their starting line-up for the next game a week previously for their clash with Namibia. We’ll never know how much more competitive they would

Scotland

C

oming into this Rugby World Cup campaign, expectations were at an all-time low for Scotland. They had come bottom of the Six Nations earlier this year (losing at home to Italy) despite having star talent such as British & Irish Lions Stuart Hogg and Richie Gray, and there were serious doubts about whether they would even get out of Pool B which contained a heavyweight South Africa, Samoa, Japan and the USA. Coach Vern Cotter had overseen a turbulent start to his reign, but his track record with sides such as European aristocrats Clermont Auvergne showed that he’s a man who demands success and more often than not gets it.

Scotland were one of the last teams to play their first match at Rugby World Cup 2015, and it came in the rugby heartland of Gloucester against Japan who four days previously were giant-killers in the biggest upset in RWC history when they defeated two-time winners South Africa in Brighton. Fortunately for Scotland, the short rest period was too much of an obstacle for the Japanese to overcome and the match ended with a comfortable 45-10 victory - the result somewhat flattering the men in blue. The Sunday after in Leeds they overcame bottom-place USA 39-16 despite a tricky start where they went

in 6-13 down at the break. A resurgent Springbok side came next as they made their way up to Newcastle to take on top of the table Scotland who made eleven changes from their victory over the Americans.

Cotter was accused of putting out a second-string side, and they duly lived up to low expectations going down 34-16. On the final weekend of the pool stage, they made a return to the home of Newcastle United to face Samoa who pushed the Scots all the way, 33-36 being the full-time score after a hairy last few minutes with their World Cup hopes lying in the balance. The top three sides in Pool B all finished with three wins, and it came down to bonus points to split the teams - South Africa then Scotland went through, with the plucky Japanese becoming the first side in RWC history to go home after winning three times in the pool stage.

In the quarter-finals they faced a much-fancied Australian side who topped Pool A, aka the ‘Group of Death’ and had put England out of their own tournament. Going into the Twickenham encounter as the clear underdogs, they produced one of the heroic World Cup performances. It was the first time that Australia had won a RWC match after trailing at half-time - 15-16 the score at the end of the first forty minutes. The

Pool stage Ireland 50 v have been if three or four of their key absentees had been in harness for the quarter-finals. It assuredly would have made them more competitive.

Even then, to recover from an early 17-0 lead and enable the Irish fans to raise the roof at the Millennium was incredible to see. It is about peaking at the right time. The southern hemisphere teams just seem better prepared heading into World Cups after playing all those high-octane games in the Rugby Championship throughout July and August. Meanwhile, the European teams are playing, if anything, below-par warm-up games in August and early September, without the same competitive element as their rivals, and it is just not the same preparation.

While the likes of Argentina will only grow stronger, where exactly do Ireland go from here? The Six Nations doesn’t allow its coaches the luxury of riding out two fruitless World Cup campaigns, and there’s no guarantee Schmidt will even be around for the next one, despite last year’s Six Nations triumph. As well as no O’Driscoll and O’Connell, there will be no Rory Best, and perhaps even no Johnny Sexton or Jamie Heaslip. Ireland have so far beaten Italy and France, but under Head Coach Schmidt, they have downed Australia and South Africa and been within a minute of securing a first victory

over the All Blacks. Their togetherness helped paper over certain deficiencies, as well as giving them a collective strength that has helped them overcome adversity. They will have to take a step up without the player who for more than a decade has been the first out of the trenches. And it will be the spirit of Paul O’Connell that is needed to drive them on. Otherwise, despite chasing a historic three titles in a row, this season’s Six Nations will appear a little hollow.

Canada 7 Ireland 44 v Romania 10 Ireland 16 v Italy 9 France 9 v Ireland 24 Quarter final Ireland 20 v Argentina 43

Rating

6/10 Pool stage Scotland 45 v

lead went back and forth throughout the game, with Mark Bennett’s 73rd minute interception try giving Scotland very real hopes of making their first semi-final appearance since 1991. Alas, it wasn’t to be. With the clock ticking down, an overthrown Scottish line-out in their own half led to the ball ricocheting off players and ended with referee Craig Joubert giving a penalty to Australia. The call was extremely controversial (especially after the contentious yellow card given to Scottish winger Sean Maitland earlier in the match for an intentional knock-on) and international governing body World Rugbylater decreed that Joubert was wrong (although that’s not much consolation to Scotland). As the seconds in the final minute ticked away, Bernard Foley calmly slotted the penalty to seal a narrow 35-34 win and a semifinal clash against Argentina. Joubert ran off to pitch to the dismay of players and pundits alike - perhaps the South African knew that he had made a critical error that dashed the hopes of a nation.

Despite the loss (and the manner of it) there are reasons to be cheerful. Several Scottish players did themselves great credit. After the culmination of the quarter-final stage, second-row Jonny Gray topped the tackle charts with 67 with scrum-

half and skipper Greig Laidlaw topping the points charts with 79 - his boot being absolutely crucial to their progression beyond the pool stage.

Wing Tommy Seymour scored a try in every match he appeared in (USA being his only non-appearance), and Kiwi convert John Hardie won two man-of-the-match awards in his first campaign for the Scottish team. The forwards as a group made their mark with strong scrummaging displays, and the backs posed more of an attacking threat with ball in hand than in years gone by.

Team Scotland have gone home with their heads held high. After low expectations and an air of lethargy, they finished a whisker away from the final four. It will take a while to get over the loss, but despite the current disappointment they’ll be feeling, Cotter’s men have made a real statement. They will be dark horses to win the 2016 Six Nations, and they begin that campaign in Cardiff against Wales.

Japan 10 Scotland 39 v USA 16 Scotland 16 v South Africa 34 Samoa 33 v Scotland 36 Quarter final Scotland 34 v Australia 35

Rating

9/10

38 SPORT

Mark Wyatt

T

Coach’s Corner : Nick Suller

his week in Coach’s Corner, Mark Wyatt spoke to Nick Suller, Head Coach of the Cardiff Ladies’ Hockey 1st team, who have just begun another BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) campaign, one year on from their second-place finish behind the undefeated Exeter.

Hello Nick! What are you plans for a successful season?

Hello! This season is going to be quite important for us. We’re in a lot of competitions and have goals set out for each one. We actually had a team meeting recently outlining our aims and goals. We want to win the South Wales League, get to the Welsh Final and then also to finish in the top two of the BUCS League. Obviously we want to improve the ladies skills and knowledge of hockey along the way, which would be fantastic.

“

I obviously enjoy the actual training and match days but I really love imparting my knowledge onto the players

”

Rhys Thomas Cardiff Blues Columnist

How are the Freshers getting on in the team and was your task of finding new players difficult?

Luckily for us, we managed to get a few contacts of some of the new players coming into the University prior to pre-season. So we got them to come down before Freshers Week started and had them join in pre-season. That gave us a really good look at some of the players and what talent they had. We also had a trials day on a Sunday, about three hours or so was spent with the new girls and we had about 60-70 turn up on the day. We graded them and brought them into the new teams straight away. We always emphasised that there is a gauge there and an opportunity to move up and down the teams because it will take three or four weeks to settle so there will be movements. We’ve been lucky in that everyone has gelled really well this year, so hopefully that will happen on the pitch as well!

On a personal note, why do you enjoy being coach?

Well, I obviously enjoy the actual training and match days but I really love imparting my knowledge onto the players. It works two ways as a coach because I learn quite a lot from them as well. I’m not a coach that says ‘do this!’ and ‘do that!’ – the way I like to work is by setting up plays in training. We talk about them and engage our ideas. That way I know that the players actually understand what we want to achieve rather than just listening and me then hoping that they get it right. Their input is vital. What we also try and do in training is have as many game-based scenarios in there as possible. That way it all translates back onto the pitch and we can implement our ideas from the training ground and everything slots into place!

at our teams, for example, there are maybe six teams on a Wednesday and five on a Saturday – that’s a lot of teams! Obviously the turnaround every year means more and more players are exposed to the sport so it’s a great thing to be involved in. It all makes for a very interesting preseason. The first four weeks are sometimes gruelling with the intensity but we’re doing well.

Leading perfectly on, we know the team are heading into Europe – what are your chances of success?

We’ve got an aim that we’d like to finish in the top three. That means a medal!

Obviously it’s all dependent on exam timings and the squad we take but I don’t see why we can’t come away with a medal. I’ve played in quite a few and coached teams out there so I know what the standards are like and I think if we can continue the way that we’re playing and keep most of the squad strong then our target is definitely achievable! It would be a big moment for the team and for the University.

Given the success of Women’s Hockey at the 2012 Olympics, have you seen a rise in popularity?

It is definitely on the up. When you look at how many sides are in BUCS League, it’s clear. Then again, if you look outside of universities there are quite a lot of teams around and most of these clubs have a fantastic youth base, which is very important. Look

So how long does your season run for?

Well, for me, it starts in the summer! I begin to contact people and keep tabs on new players. Once the exam results are out we start to really search for new players all through our division. Obviously, we can find out what level those coming in early play at and slot them in very quickly.

Then, in September, we have a big team meeting to sort everything out and the season will run probably until March/April time. This year, however, the season is going all the way through into May as the ladies team are representing Wales at the European Club Championships. That’s in Gibraltar so we have quite a long season ahead of us! We’re going to be playing in quite a lot of matches this season.

The Ladies’ first team have made a strong start to the new season, claiming two wins and a draw in their first three games. They currently sit in fourth place, just two points behind leaders Whitchurch Saints with a game in hand. (Correct as of October 22nd).

but the results so far point to clear progress in the team.

With the World Cup finishing, not only can the Blues look forward to their Welsh representatives, including national captain Sam Warburton, returning but also Filo Paulo and new signing Rey Lee-Lo from Samoa, along with fresh American recruits Cam Dolan and Blaine Scully.

It will be interesting to see when the internationals are brought back. Barring injury, the non-Welsh players are likely to turn out for their new club soon, but key Wales players like Gethin Jenkins

are likely to be given more of a rest.

Both club and country will be hoping for a long overdue return to form of wing Alex Cuthbert, who has endured a torrid time over the past couple of seasons. He has not regained the scintillating form that won him a British & Irish Lions place back in 2013 when he was one of the most lethal finishers in world rugby.

A fascinating positional battle should take place between Rhys Patchell and Gareth Anscombe. The former was part of the wider Wales training squad before the World Cup, whilst the latter won a

place in the main squad due to injuries and even started at full-back in the final two fixtures against Australia and South Africa respectively.

Whilst both can play full-back, the two have made clear in the past that their main position is outside-half. As with last season, space will probably be made for both in the team. But there is the risk that Patchell will develop ‘James Hook syndrome’ - proving to be a quality player in multiple positions, meaning he isn’t necessarily played in his first-choice position of fly-half and,consequently, doesn’t grow to his full potential.

So what are your feelings for Varsity this year?

We should win. Last year we won on penalty flicks, which should never have happened. We were all over them for the entirety of the match. I have absolutely every confidence that we’ll beat them again this year.

Have you had much of a squad rotation with graduates leaving? Has it been tough?

We’ve got roughly four Freshers in so far. We keep a squad of 16, each team does that so we don’t have to keep pulling and disrupting other teams below us. We lost (lengthy pause for arithmetic) about four graduates as well this year so luckily it was nice and straightforward! Everything seems to fit together well after a few weeks and then we get a real sense of what the teams will be looking like for the upcoming season.

On the day that Wales left the World Cup party having lost to South Africa, Cardiff Blues were also in action - out in Cork against Irish heavyweights Munster. They went down to a battling 35-27 loss but scored three tries in the process - just missing out on both the losing and try bonus points.

Compare the results against Irish opposition from last season and there is an undoubted improvement. Some of this could certainly be attributed to the international matches with Munster much more depleted than the Blues in terms of international representation,

“

What we also try and do in training is have as many game-based scenarios in there as possible

”

SPORT 39

Sport Spotlight: Archery

This week in Sport Spotlight, Gair Rhydd Sport sent Jason Roberts to shoot some arrows with the Archery club

Jason Roberts

“

The fact that most famous archers are works of fiction tells us a lot about the mythology behind the sport

”

Dan Heard Cardiff City Columnist

A

rchery has been around for roughly 10,000 years.

Understandably in that time, it’s managed to accumulate some relatively famous practitioners, from Robin Hood, who probably wasn’t real, to the Green Arrow, who definitely isn’t real. The fact that most famous archers are works of fiction tells us a lot about the mythology behind the sport, namely, that it’s the sole preserve of ruthless vigilantes with a thirst for justice.

Compare them to guns for example.

Guns are loud, boorish, and require minimal skill to aim and fire. It’s why they’re so popular in America.

A bow and arrow by contrast, is difficult to use, but it’s as quiet as a breeze, and you feel the baddest man on the face of the earth when you strike down whatever was stupid enough to get in your way.

Fast-forward to Wednesday night.

I’m standing in the Talybont sports hall, ready to dole out some justice to the targets at the end of the cricket nets that have been carefully erected by the good folks of the

university archery club. Now, in the interest of transparency, this isn’t my first time on a range. I worked at a summer camp in the United States for a number of years, where it was apparently a good idea to entrust children with weapons. And in between pleading with them not to try and 360 no-scope the targets, I managed to pick up the general idea of the whole lark. Point, shoot, high-five everyone after hitting the target. Just like the Glam toilets.

The first thing I noticed in the nets, and it really was the only downside of the whole experience, was the giant line of people waiting to shoot.

There were four targets, with about eight archers at each target. Each shot took about a minute, and with the detailed coaching offered by the incumbent members, it was taking around half an hour to shoot three arrows. I should have seen the signs when people began sitting down and opening books that they’d bought along. But apparently, this was the last week in which people would be shooting individually, so there would

be much more opportunities in future.

Eventually, I got my turn.

Determined not to let the last half hour go to waste, I got set, knocked the arrow, and took aim. I was advised to take note of all my movements.

Consistent repetition is the key; most of the veteran archers had their own idiosyncratic quirks, but they were the same every single time they stepped up to the line. I let go of the arrow, and it flies straight into the wall, about a foot wide of the target.

I am almost certain I have broken the arrow. The equipment sec smiles and tells me it’s not a problem; she spends most evenings fi xing arrows fired by idiots like me. Encouraged by her words, I fire my next two into the wall. They look to be broken too.

I wouldn’t like to see her out of a job.

But with more practice I slowly begin to improve. It turns out that advice about consistency is super important. My hand draws the arrow back to the same place, I look to the same point on the target, I hold my breath because that’s what the snipers on Call of Duty do (and this is

basically the same thing), and I start to hit the target more consistently.

One arrow scores a nine! A goddamn nine! Out of ten! It doesn’t matter that the other two barely stayed on the board, I feel like a warrior king.

And therein lies the great appeal of archery; it really is a throwback to a different time. We live in a time of unparalleled leisure, and rarely have to use our own hands to do anything.

I don’t have to kill my own food, I don’t have to build my own housing, and the only thing I really have a hand in actively creating is this newspaper, which I made on a computer. It feels nice to do something that’s so quintessentially primeval, because it’s an activity that connects you with literally millions of human beings that came before you. It might be an anachronism, it might be redundant, but there’s no denying that on the rare occasion that everything aligns perfectly, it’s a thing of beauty.

Archery is on from 5:30-8:30pm on Wednesdays at Talybont Sports Centre. The club also have access to a range at the Heath.

Hooray for squad rotation! Yes, that’s right, Russell Slade finally made changes to his starting XI for the first time in weeks as Cardiff earned the narrowest of home wins over Middlesbrough.

Out went Anthony Pilkington, Scott Malone, Joe Ralls, Sammy Ameobi and Kenwyne Jones, and in came Aron Gunnarsson, Fabio and Alex Revell.

That’s right, even when you lose a Premier League-quality striker to injury and replace him with a former League 1 forward, you can still beat

one of the automatic promotion favourites! Admittedly, it took an unfortunate own-goal and the usual heroics from David Marshall, but a win is a win.

City hadn’t picked up maximum points since beating Charlton towards the end of September, yet currently sit eighth in the Championship table, a point away from the final play-off place.

Their defensive solidarity has certainly improved since the beginning of the season, despite star centre-back Bruno Manga being side-lined for two

months with a groin injury. Yet, at the same time, the goals appear to have dried up.

Joe Mason, the Bluebirds’ leading scorer with five, saw his effort turned in by ‘Boro defender George Friend for the winner, but contributed little else to the game.

With Jones joining Manga and summer signing Idriss Saadi (yet to even train with the squad, let alone feature) in the treatment room, Slade will need to quickly find a suitable strike partner for Mason.

His options are Revell (who the less

said about, the better), or Ameobi, who, despite turning the tide of every game he has featured in so far, often can’t even make the bench, never mind the first team.

Regular football is what he was after following his loan move from Newcastle, and now is the time to give it to him, starting with tonight’s Severnside game with lowly Bristol City.

Hooray for squad rotation? I bet the manager is wishing he still had Adam Le Fondre and Eoin Doyle- whom are on loan at Wolves and Preston respectively.

Pictured: A member of of Cardiff Uni’s Archery team competing at Varsity 2015. (Photographer: Suz Richards)

“

A goddamn nine! Out of ten! It doesn’t matter that the other two barely stayed on the board, I feel like a warrior king

”

sport p

Editors: Jim Harris James Lloyd Jason Roberts Jamie Smith @GairRhyddSport sport@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/sport

Also this week

Derby Day: Cardiff Uni Rugby versus Cardiff Met P35>>

Rugby World Cup Review: Home nations falter The 2015 Rugby World Cup is over for Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland, with every home nation team failing to make it past the quarter-final stage. We assess what went wrong for each side.

James Lloyd

W

ith the Rugby World Cup coming to a close and the home nations all out of the tournament, Gair Rhydd Sport reviews the performances of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

All four home nations entered the World Cup with high hopes of progressing to the knockout stages. England, as hosts, were second favourites going into the competition but failed to overcome both Wales and Australia in what were intense matches at the home of rugby. They now face a major post-mortem having failed at the past two World Cups. Is it time to end the foreign country policy? Is it the end of Lancaster?

Elsewhere, Scotland certainly did the home nations proud. A slick per-

formance against a confident Japan side in their opener set the tone as they brushed aside both Samoa and USA to reach the quarter-final. South Africa dismantled the Scots in Newcastle as Laidlaw and Co. headed into their knockout stage clash with Australia at Twickenham. In what was one of the most enthralling matches in rugby history, Scotland were edged out 35-34 despite a spirited display that won the hearts of many fans around the world.

Ireland, meanwhile, will be disappointed with their World Cup after another quarter-final mishap. The Irish were expected to be the top home nation due to their easier path to the knockout stages. Hindered by the absence of numerous key players due to injuries, including both captain Paul O’Connell and fly-half Jonathan Sexton, they crumbled to a surprise defeat against a buoyant Argentina side at the

Millennium Stadium.

Wales had a mixed campaign with injuries also interrupting their proceedings. Gatland had to chop and change so much that the squad never found any rhythm or consistency. Although they secured an outstanding win against England in their own backyard, Wales fell to South Africa in the quarter-final to break what was a difficult but inspiring tournament for the Welsh. Dan Biggar has been the standout fly-half at this tournament and has arguably overtaken Ireland’s Sexton as the number one fly-half in the Northern Hemisphere.

Jason Roberts (England), Rhys Thomas (Scotland), Liam Corcoran (Wales) and Dan Heard (Ireland) give their verdicts on where it went wrong for the home nations and what direction each should now take in order to overcome the surge of the Southern Hemisphere.

Pictured: Wales line up for the national anthems ahead of their final group game against Australia.

(Photographer: David Roberts)

Continued on page 36

Coach’s Corner: Nick Suller, Ladies’ Hockey P38>>

Cardiff City and Cardiff Blues columns P38-39>>

Sport Spotlight: We give Archery a shot P39>>