Gair Rhydd 1061 - 19th October 2015

gair rhydd y

gair rhydd | freeword Cardiff ’s student weekly Issue 1061 Monday 19th October 2015 Also in this issue

Advice: Coming out at uni P10>>

Students under fire: Talybont Court residents criticised for slow evacuation despite genuine risk

Comment: £12m Assange police presence needed? P12>>

t Situation brought to attention after kitchen fire in University halls of residence t University highlights “very poor” student reaction to alarm t Students who fail to evacuate in future could face disciplinary action

EXCLUSIVE Karla Pequenino

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irst-year students have come under criticism from the University after residents at Talybont Court failed to evacuate the building at the time of a real fire.

Residents at University accommodation have been ignoring the fire warnings after constant alarms since the start of the academic year, but now University Security have warned that those who snub the alarm or tamper the safety material could be fined in future.

University officials confirmed that a pan fire broke out in House Two of Talybont Court on Friday October 9th.

Although the event was quickly dealt with by students, security staff and the fire service, concerns were

raised by the University over the slow evacuation times of students.

Students were sceptical and slow to evacuate due to persistent nuisance alarms. Firefighters arrived quickly and no injuries were reported, but many students were still inside the building while the professionals extinguished the flames.

A Cardiff University spokesperson elaborated: “The fire alarm sounded but some in the block were slow to evacuate.”

As a result of the incident, residents received letters reminding them of the “importance of reacting to the alarm immediately.”

The letter described the evacuation on Friday as “very poor”. Students were also reminded that “each time an alarm is activated residents are required to evacuate the building immediately.”

University halls of residence will

now be subject to a fire drill test.

Those who are slow to evacutate could face action under the University’s disciplinary policy.

Most students thought it was yet another false alarm as they are apparently common in the building.

According a resident, more than once a week and often during the early morning hours residents are forced out of bed by a beeping siren, only to discover there is no fire at all.

Innocent mistakes such as burned toast, unconscious behaviour by drunken youths, consecutive fire drills or tasteless pranks are apparently the most frequent culprits.

Security Officers were baffled by student’s sluggish reaction during Friday’s fire, feeling the need to scold the slow tenants: “As soon as you hear the alarm sound, you have to evacuate in three minutes,” cautioned an officer who preferred not

Pictured: House two of Talybont Court, the scene of the fire (Photographer: Anna Lewis)

Continued on page 4

Politics: Republican nominations: Sanders v Clinton P19>>

Science: The evolutionary science behind hipster beards P25>>

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

the free word

The importance of student politics (and getting involved)

News Anna Lewis Shanna Hamilton 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!

Want to be an editor?

We have editorial vacancies in News and Park Life Email editor@gairrhydd. com if you’re interested.

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Write us a letter letters@gairrhydd.com Tweet us @gairrhydd At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest possible standards. Sometimes, because of deadline pressures, we may make some mistakes. If you believe we have fallen below the standards we seek to uphold, please email editor@gairrhydd. com. You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints Opinions expressed in editorials are not reflective of Cardiff Student Media, who act as the publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and should not be considered official communications or the organisation’s stance. Gair Rhydd is a Post Office registered newspaper.

Joseph Atkinson

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tudent elections are often derided by a great proportion of the student body as being unimportant, and student politics seen as ineffectual and mlore of a populariy contest than a political process.

With the first round of student elections having just passed us by, and the Studnt’s Union offering each voting individual 20p in printer credits (that wlould have been well over £5,000 if the whole student body voted, by the way), there is a very clear message from the SU that they want to engage with as many studesnts as possible and be truly representative of the student body.

Indeed, engaging is important, now so more than ever. Students at the moment are being charged the most they ever have been in tuition fees, and will be paying back those loan debts (and the interest on them) for decades to come. It is of paramount importance that we as students get the best value for the considerable money we are paying, and getting involved in student politics is one way you can do that.

That doesn’t mean you have to campaign to be an elected officer; you can engage with course reps and tell them what you want to see improved on your course, or just simply exercise your right to vote. I feel as though it’s forgetten what the Student’s Union actually is - a union for students. The Union should always represent the interests of its members, szo if you feel that they don’t do that, then the only way to provoke change is to get involved at some leve. If you sit idly by while feeling that the SU does nothing for you, then you haven’t really got a leg to stand on - it’s a two-way process - what are you doing for the SU an d other students?

Spending time talking to sabbatical officers of the Union, you can tell that they definitely care about the issues that affect studesnts and haven’t just campaigned for election to prove thei popularity or get a nicdely paid job. It takes a brave and driven person to campaign for election while dressing up in a silly costume and handing out industrial quantities of sweets to often disinterested students. I’d class myself as someone who just wasn’t interested

in student politics before getting involved in Gair Rhydd. A large part of me groans when astudent campaigning for election comes into a lecture with a terrible gimmick and unrealistic policies that they would (try to) implement upon election.

But ultimately, the peop0le we elect represent all students at the University on issues that matter to them, so seeing beyond the sometimes-superficial nature of election week and student politics in general is important. The reason people dress up is so that it’s (supposedly) more engaging to students. The vast majority of the Student’s Union campaigns are aimed at getting more students politically active.

Political engagement among younger people is one of the hot topics every time an election comes around; our generation is derided for not taking enough of an interest. In many ways, this is true, but there are of course reasons for this. Politics has become less accessible and more abour hurling abuse rather than engaging in real debate.

Students critical of the student political process have told me that they see the sabbatical officers of

the Students’ Union as “detatched” from the student body and generally unrepresentative as a whole. From the outside of the SU bubble it may seem that the system is self-serving and not reaching out to the wider student body.

The Students’ Union does exist, inevitably, in a Park Place bubble where everything is centered on the main campus. For students who rarely visit the SU, student politics will seem very distant and un-engaging, and this is one of the problems the Union faces. The opening of the Heath Campus SU Hub has attempted to address this issue, but there will always remain issues of engagement by the nature of the moment.

Existing relatively close to the Union and engaging with it frequently as part of the newspaper, I can say that the intentions of the SU are positive in getting more students involved and trying to improve the lives of students in general. While they do make mistakes and elections are difficult to engage with everyone, student politics is ultimately an essential part of university life, and getting involved is key if you’d like your life as a student to be better.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: GAIR RHYDD 905 19/10/2009

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his week in history we go back six years to the last time October 19th fell on a Monday. Photographs scattered throughout the paper of David Cameron and Barack Obama reveal that time has not been kind to the respective leaders of the Uk and US. The front-page story concerns comments made by former Cardiff University Catholic Chaplain, Father John Owen, and his subsequent resignation. Fr. John made his comments live on BBC One, claiming that most of the sexual assault cases against young boys in the Catholic Church were “committed by homosexuals”. The University were also criticised for their handling of the situation and their apparent lack of action in the wake of what Fr. John said.

Elsewhere, we hear that the Conservatives were promising that “graduates in England would be offered a 10 per cent discount on early repayments of their student loans” if they were elected. They were indeed elected, though there is no sign of the proposed discount - surprise surprise.

In World News, the headline “Head start for Affrica” in confusedly attatched to an article about a 16-year-old boy in West Bengal (India, Asia) who was teaching underpriviledged children from his own back yard. Such spectacular

geographical ineptitude has to be applauded.

There’s also a small piece in World News simply entitled “Nazi Knome invasion”.

The Features section looks at how Cardiff has changed over the years. A photo of the current site of Walkabout in 1891 is captioned, “Walkabout was shit back then,” while a picture of the modern club declares, “Walkabout isn’t much better”.

Features also attempts to salvage the student lifestyle, asking whether alcohol is actually good for you. There is also a feature on the effects of so-called ‘study-drugs’ which were making headlines at the time. Some of the said drugs are profiled in comparison to the “most used student staple,” Red Bull.

The ever-entertaining Listings page advertises a Proclaimers gig at St. David’s Hall, while on the Sunday both Chase and Status and Biff y Clyro were to perform at the SU. In Sport, a whole page is dedicated to the coming weekend’s Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United. Three of the four Sport Editors went for a United win, but ultimately Liverpool came out on top with goals from Fernando Torres and perhaps lesswell remembered French forward David N’Gog. -Joseph Atkinson

EDITORIAL 3

Campus in Brief

Jack Boyce

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The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be arrested if he leaves the Ecuador embassy in London

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report produced by London Economics has found that Cardiff University contributes £2.7 billion to the UK economy annually, which equates to £6 for every £1 the university spends. This comes shortly after another report found that the University and its’ students expenditures during their studies amount to almost £1bn per year. This newer report from London Economics takes into account the expenditures, but also examines the wider social impact of the University.

Vice Chancellor Professor Colin Riordan stated that, “The role of universities in underpinning economic growth through higher-level skills and ground-breaking research could not be clearer.”

Scientists from Cardiff University and University of Cambridge have released studies claiming that they may know why some people are prone to hallucinations. Their work centred around the idea that brain has a predictive nature, meaning that it interprets the world using prior knowledge and predictions. Cardiff University’s Dr Christoph Tuefel explained that “Vision is a constructive process – in other words, our brain makes up the world that we ‘see’.” 18 people who suffered from early signs of psychosis were compared to 16 healthy volunteers.

The study used black and white images to see if volunteers could make out the image, and then gave them the full colour image to see if they could now see what the black and white image was.

Cardiff nightclub Clwb Ifor Bach has been called irresponsible for tweeting “come and be hammered” in Welsh. The Advertising Standards Authority complained that the tweet would be interpreted as inviting excessive drinking. The club bosses said that it was a weekly feature for Clwb Ifor Bach’s Twitter page to promote Welsh language events, but accepted that the wording was misinterpreted and that it would be more careful how it advertised these features in the future.

National

Players of the card game Bridge have failed in their attempt to recognise the game as a sport. The English Bridge Union (EBU) had challenged Sport England, after it made the decision that the game was not a sport as no physical activity is involved.

Bridge is a card game played by four players, with two partnerships formed. It utilises a standard 52card pack, and involves betting on the number of ‘tricks’ each side will win. The EBU was looking to reclassify the game, as it would have made it eligible for government and lottery funding. Alex Peebles, an EBU representative, said, “We are very disappointed and feel that we put forward a strong case.”

SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon has said that even a ‘thumping win’ by the SNP in next year’s Scottish Elections may still not be enough to push for a second referendum. Sturgeon also called on those who voted for “No” in the vote for independence to consider voting for the SNP. Sturgeon, on the subject of the possibility of a referendum, stated, “It will be down to whether we judge, I judge, that people who voted ‘No’ last year have changed their minds.”

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will be arrested if he leaves the Ecuador embassy in London. Ecuador’s foreign minister Ricardo Patiño has called for Assange to have safe passage to a hospital for a MRI scan to diagnose a pain in his shoulder. Assange is subject to an arrest warrant for an allegation of rape in Sweden, but sought political asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange’s lawyer Carey Shenkman has accused Britain of forcing Assange to “choose between the human right to asylum and the human right to medical treatment.”

International

German automotive watchdog KBA has ordered Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million cars in Germany after the diesel emissions scandal. Volkswagen has admitted that it had installed software in its diesel vehicles to deceive U.S regulators about the true level of their vehicles emissions. The recall is set to start at the beginning of 2016, and complete fixes on their vehicles by the end of 2016. Volkswagen had initially told KBA that Volkswagen vehicle owners would bring their cars back if they wanted to, but this was rejected in favour of a forcible recall. Volkswagen are under pressure to identify those who are responsible for tampering with emissions level figures that could affect up to 11 million cars worldwide. Around £4.8bn has been set aside by Volkswagen to cover the costs of the scandal, but this figure is said to rise by the end.

Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, who was sentenced to five years in prison last year for manslaughter after killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, is to be released to house arrest this week. Prosecution has appealed the verdict of manslaughter, saying he should be convicted of murder instead, with the case to be heard on 3rd November.

Pistorius has only spent 12 months in jail, with the rest of his sentence under “correctional supervision”.

The former president of Benin, Mathieu Kerekou, died at the age of 82. Kerekou, hailed as the man who ushered in multi-party democracy to Benin, and many other African countries. Kerekou first come into power under a Marxist regime in 1972, and spent nearly 30 years as President before stepping down after a democratic vote in 1991 after renouncing Marxism in 1989. Current Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi, writing on Facebook, described Kerekou as a “great man”.

Pictured: Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison this week

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German automotive watchdog KBA has ordered Volkswagen to recall 2.4 million cars in Germany after the diesel emissions scandal

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4 NEWS

news

Editor: Anna Lewis Shanna Hamilton @GairRhyddNews news@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/news

Cont’d: Students under fire

Continued from front page

to be named when questioned later.

“If it is a real fire, we are not going to risk our lives to go inside and save you. You have to be adults and act responsibly”.

Members of Security warned that students who ignore the alarm next time will be fined, just like anyone who is discovered to misuse the fire extinguisher.

Although Friday’s incident was the most dangerous so far, the fire alarm at House 2 continues to go off. The

latest fire alarm was set-off on early Sunday Morning due to a “prank”.

Once more, many students were slow exiting the building.

As a result of the ongoing issue, some have stated that they want to transfer from Taylbont court, although no requests have been sent to the offices yet.

“If this happens again, I am asking to move to another house”, claims Nishad, an international student from India.

Anastacia, who is completing an archaeology MA program, says the constant alarms leave her exhausted: “The alarms keep disrupting my sleep. It is very annoying. This never happens in the other houses.”

“Why is it always before dawn?” and “I am sleeping through it next time” are reportedly other common sentences heard amongst the freezing tenants during morning fire alarms.

When asked about what could be

done to urge students to evacuate quicker, the response from Security Residence was: “We might implement stricter fire drills to ensure that every student knows how to react in the event of a genuine fire.”

Such events have shown that awareness should be raised: ignoring the fire alarm drill can have serious consequences. Students are reminded that fire alarms are still a signal warning that the building must be evacuated immediately.

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If this happens again, I am asking to move International student

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Sports ban introduced for misbehaviour in SU Teams could face loss of players if they violate ‘anti-lad’ policy

James Lloyd

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ports members could be prevented from participating in sports fixtures if they misbehave at Union events in new rules released by Cardiff Students’ Union.

The AU Social and Behaviour Policy refers to behaviour both “off and on the field of play.”

It comes in the wake of a clampdown on ‘lad culture’ by the National Union of Students. AU President, Sam Parsons spoke to Gair Rhydd about the new policy. He said: “This has been bubbling under the surface for a long time and we feel we need to take a stronger stance on how behaviour in the nightclub and licensed premises needs to be acted upon.”

Parsons criticised the current policy by suggesting that the modern rules “weren’t very effective.”

“We want to make sure our clubs,

our AU members are positive role models for the wider student community and therefore we are looking at that this process to ensure that they are these positive role models.”

“We will make the process as fair as possible, as equitable as possible and as balanced as possible. We want to work with clubs and work with those individuals and not against them. We want a positive message to come out of our sport.”

A number of high-profile incidents involving Cardiff sports clubs last year have given new impetus to the AU to attempt to draw a line under poor behaviour. Such incidents include a Medic Rugby player publicly urinating onboard a ferry, hockey players running naked through the Julian Hodge library, and members of the Cricket Club hanging Ul-

ster Unionist flags outside popular student haunt Koko Gorillaz.

Parsons defended the call to introduce the new policy by suggesting that the decision has not come in the wake of any of the above incidents. “There’s a lot going on at the moment with the anti lad culture policies that have come down from NUS. We are one of the pilot unions to be doing that this year.”

It is important to note that the AU isn’t going to ban people from playing for minor incidents.

“We’re not going to stop people from playing in BUCS if they are just stupid on a night out.” Parsons added: “There’s a connection between how you behave on the field and off it, we’re not trying to use it as an imposing measure.”

Quizzed about the policies’ link

to initiations, Parsons insists that he trusts his committee members: “Our policy on initiations if found in our the activities laws.

We send that out to all the committees - our number one priority is student welfare. I understand that initiations are big team building events - call them what you want: ‘welcome drinks’, ‘initiations’, whatever, they are team building events, but student safety and student welfare are at the heart of that activity and if that’s up kept during the whole time of that activity going on then that is our stance as an AU.” It’s when that line gets crossed that intervention will take place. I have the utmost trust in our committees; I’ve met the committees now and I have a lot of trust in them, with safety being the paramount importance.”

Right of response: Dean of Medicine responds to MEDIC Forward claims

Joseph Atkinson

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he Dean of Medicine, John Bligh, has requested the right to respond to last week’s front page story regarding the MEDIC Forward scheme. The following is attributed to Professor Bligh.

Dear Editor, On Monday 12th October Gair Rhydd printed a front-page story on the MEDIC Forward project.

We believe your readers were presented with an inaccurate and misleading story which failed to report the issues in a balanced and fair way.

We were particularly concerned by the allegations of gender discrimination.

As part of the project a comprehensive Equality Impact Assessment was conducted for both the consultation and re-structuring elements of the MEDIC Forward process.

This data was presented to trade union colleagues. It indicated no unlawful discrimination against any protected group. Despite being presented

with this information the article makes significant allegations to the contrary.

Furthermore, allegations of discrimination are also linked to potential funding issues and grant loss based on Athena SWAN accreditation. We anticipate grant money increasing long term as a result of Medic Forward.

Athena SWAN accreditation is a totally separate issue and we are working hard to maintain this accreditation.

The article also gives the false impression that MEDIC Forward is something students need to be concerned about based on the views of two anonymous students.

It is disappointing that a one-sided argument is presented to readers despite a statement from the University that was made available to Gair Rhydd confirming that students would not be impacted by the changes.

We must also make clear that placing members of staff provisionally ‘at risk’ is not a tactic to force individuals into taking Voluntary Severance. In

accordance with employment law and under Statute XV of the University’s Statutes we were required to place all employees aligned to areas of proposed disinvestment provisionally at risk of redundancy.

We strongly deny any suggestion that this process has been used to force staff into a particular course of action. We believe that undertaking such a comprehensive consultation exercise has allowed us to consider all possible options and to realign a significant number of academic colleagues into the new structure.

The reduction in the numbers of people being placed at risk of redundancy is clear evidence of a robust and meaningful consultation process where the views of all parties have been considered.

We also feel that the cherry picking of results from the 2015 staff survey again paints a misleading picture.

The survey contains 69 questions and it is simply not possible to make

sweeping statements around staff morale based on a few carefully selected responses. Again we provided results specific to the School of Medicine to Gair Rhydd which were not used in the article.

MEDIC Forward continues to deliver transformational change to the School of Medicine. It has enabled us to investigate new ways of working, embrace positive change that delivers real impact, build on the success that already exists throughout the School and focus our resources and activities on the areas where we can realistically aspire to be world leading.

Although change can be an unsettling time for colleagues we remain focused on creating a Medical School that is known for world leading research and teaching excellence.

We do not wish to stifle debate and we would encourage Gair Rhydd to continue to follow the story, but we simply request that future publication is done in a balanced and fair way.

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We feel we need to take a stronger stance on how behaviour in the nightclub and licensed premises need to be acted upon AU President Sam Parsons

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NEWS 5

People and Planet protest outside Students’ Union

Student group lobby University to join workers’ rights monitoring body

Anna Lewis

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Dressed in biohazard suits and wearing surgical masks, the group voiced their anger against forced student labour used in European University supply chains

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Anna Lewis

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Shake failed to attract a sufficient following to make it viable long term Organisational Spokesperson

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tudent group People and Planet have taken to protest outside the Students’ Union, in order to lobby the University to join workers’ rights organisation Electronic Watch.

Cardiff People and Planet society, which is part of a national studentled movement, congregated outside the Student’s Union on October 7th carrying banners and signs. Dressed in biohazard suits and wearing surgical masks, the group voiced their anger against forced student labour used in European university supply chains.

However when the group attempted to give a letter to University management, the People and Planet representative was refused entrance to the building due to security precautions undertaken within the building.

According to People and Planet treasurer Jack Pickering the group planned to enter the management building “either as a group or by sending in a representative to meet someone from the procurement department to deliver a letter.”

“Our representative was denied entry to the building by security.”

This was later explained by a University spokesperson who clarified that the McKenzie House which the group wished to enter is not a public building.

“For the safety of those working in the building, access is controlled by access cards. As such, the Porters

Lodge is as far as unauthorised persons are able to go. Mail can be accepted via the Lodge, and the letter from People and Planet was accepted in this way,” they explained.

People and Planet now wish to organise a formal meeting with the procurement department in order to persuade the University in person to join Electronic Watch.

The meeting will form part of an ongoing relationship between People and Planet and the University, in which “several meetings’ have already taken place.”

Electronic Watch is an independent workers’ rights monitoring body for the public sector. The group consists of universities and other organisations using their contracts with suppliers to demand better conditions for workers in the supply chain.

In response to the group’s calls, the University have stated that much of the institute’s electronics are purchased through “purchasing frameworks” such as the London Universities Purchasing Consortium (LUPC) which is already a member of Electronics watch and “other HE procurement consortia.”

A spokesperson continued: “The University believes that the improvements to worker’s rights that People & Planet and Electronics Watch are campaigning for, are best achieved at a consortia level.”

The group’s protest coincided with the UN International Day of Decent Work and was held to raise aware-

ness towards the use of computers within University made by Chinese students as young as 15.

On October 5th, a report written by Electronics Watch and Dan Watch stated that students at Chinese schools and colleges are being made to work 12 hour days by their teachers for periods as long as five months to make computers and servers for some European universities.

This is in violation of both Chinese and International Organisation Conventions.

Jim Cranshaw, a campaigner from People & Planet said, “It’s truly shocking that students here in the UK are using computers and serv-

ers made by students as young as 15, forced to labour, in China.

“Students are calling on universities should use their contracts to insist that suppliers improve conditions by joining Electronics Watch, a workers rights monitoring organisations set up by NGOs for this purpose.”

This latest protest forms part of a larger series of criticisms that People and Planet have voiced against the University. Last year the society revealed that in 2014 Cardiff University invested £2.5 million in fossil fuwels and non-renewable energy though figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request.

Pictured: People and Planet lobby the University to join Electronics Watch

Monday nights collapse at Union for second time

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tudents’ Union club night Shake has closed due to low attendance, only weeks after its launch.

Cardiff University Students’ Union have confirmed that Monday night event Shake, held by an external promoter has been cancelled, after it failed to “attract a sufficient following to make it viable long term.”

The club night was launched only a month ago during Freshers’ week, where it initially attracted 2,000 students.

However, according to an organisational spokesperson, despite a “busy Freshers’ period and being well received by those who attended it”, it failed to maintain its popularity.

“As a result, the promoter decided to withdraw the event on an ongoing basis”.

One bar member working at Shake reported that she returned from her shift at only 1.30am due to a lack of students.

“They let in a fair amount of peo-

ple in but everyone had gone on to other places by 12.30 and it didn’t even take long to clear up and the end because we barely sold any drinks.”

The night was described on the Students’ Union website as “your Monday music mash up: playing anything WE want, and everything YOU want. It’s the best way to ruin your week.”

This is not the first time that a Union club night has collapsed due to a lack of attendance.

Last year alternative night Vinyl was also launched by the Union on a Monday night.

Despite initial feedback suggesting that the event would be welcomed by students, the night failed to attract “the supports of students in any substantial number”.

The night failed to gain the support of students in any substantial number and was withdrawn based on limited attendance.

The failure of two consecutive Monday night events could be attributed to a number of well-estab-

lished club nights, including ‘Bump n Grind’ and Tiger Mondays’.

In spite of the news, the Union emphasised the continued success of its other club nights YOLO and

Flux, which have “continued to grow in popularity and have sold out every night since Freshers’ Week with increasing profits going back into developing student services.”

Pictured: Y Plas will now stand empty on Monday nights (photographer: Anna Lewis)

6 NEWS

Student officers clash over criticism against Welsh language provision

Welsh Language Officer continues fight to get full-time role created after First Minister of Wales weighs in

Anna Lewis

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The representation currently on offer to Welsh langauge students is insufficient Steffan Bryn, Welsh Language Officer

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I reject these comments in their entirety and I’m dissapointed that the SU has again been unfairly criticised Claire Blakeway SU President

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Anna Lewis

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tudents’ Union President Claire Blakeway has rejected claims criticising the representation of Welsh language students, in response to a statement released by Welsh Language Officer Steffan Bryn.

In a press release sent to Gair Rhydd last week, the current part-time officer described the representation of Welsh language students as “insufficient”.

In response to Union’s plans to employ a full-time translator, Bryn also commented that the idea “will not address the needs of the Welsh language and its speaker, in the University nor the Union.”

However, the Students’ Union President has reacted strongly against such claims, refuting the Welsh Officer’s criticisms: “I reject these comments in their entirety and I’m disappointed that the Students’ Union has again been unfairly criticised for its Welsh language provision.

Blakeway continued: “Over the past few months the Union has devoted unprecedented levels of support to the Welsh language, including a commitment to a comprehensive bilingualism policy, signing up to the NUS Wales’ Welsh Language Charter and the recruitment of a full time Welsh Language Coordinator.”

The initial comments made by Bryn followed Gair Rhydd’s interview with First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones, who said it was “unfortunate” that a full time Welsh Language Officer was not appointed within the SU following a referendum held in the last academic year.

In addition, the First Minister questioned the use of a student-wise referendum to decide the matter: “Why was there a referendum on that? I used to be involved in student politics, and never even thought about having a referendum on that, seems a bit bizarre to have had that in the first place if you ask me”.

Backing Jones’ comments, Bryn then agreed that it was not “appropri-

ate” for the appointment of a full-time Welsh Language Officer to be decided via majority vote. The referendum caused substantial concern amongst Welsh language speakers last year, after it was suggested that those wishing to influence people to vote against a full-time officer used ‘scaremogering’ tactics to threaten students.

Now, the Welsh Language Officer has announced that he will appeal to the University directly to help improve Welsh language representation and support: “I appeal directly to Vice-Chancellor Colin Riordan to meet with Welsh language representatives, in light of the First Minister’s comments, to discuss how the University will take action in this area.”

Normally the Students’ Union and not the University is responsible for ensuring that the needs of students are addressed.

In his statement he added: “If the University Authorities are not willing to listen to their students, I hope that they will be more prepared to listen to the First Minister of Wales and the Minister with responsibility for the Welsh language in the Welsh Government.”

Bryn suggested that “the University could easily directly finance a sabbatical officer”, making reference to the £2.6 million sum awarded annually to the Students’ Union by the University under the 1993 Welsh Language Act. The possibility of University intervention within however been put into doubt by a University spokesperson, who explained that the appointment of a full-time Welsh Language Officer remains a “matter for Cardiff University Students’ Union”.

The spokesperson reiterated that, “while we work very closely with the Students’ Union”, the Union does in fact remain a separate organisation working with its own elected officials.

In reference to University funds given to the Union, it was also stated

that the allocation of the £2.6 million is decided by factors including the Annual General Election and the Student Senate.

Furthermore, although a full-time Welsh Language Officer has not been implemented by the Students’ Union, its president has been eager to demonstrate that representation of Welsh language students has continued to improve.

“The Union has a long term commitment to the advancement of the Welsh language and Welsh culture within the Union, as clearly stated within our strategic plan 2014-17.

The Students’ Union has vastly improved its Welsh language provisions in the past few months and it is part of a longer term plan to improve them further” Blakeway said to Gair Rhydd.

In order to improve its support to students, the Union has created a consultation committee named Welsh Language Steering group, compromising of members of the Students’ Union, Coleg Cymraeg and student body.

The group was initially planned to start in group in January 2014, but was

its creation was postponed due to the Welsh Language Officer referendum.

Its first meeting took place in July.

The Students’ Union President also drew attention to the Welsh language and culture day ‘Shwmae Sumae Day’ that took place last week and ongoing efforts to improve the Union’s ongoing bilingual approach to its communications.

Talking to Gair Rhydd, the Welsh Language officer responded that in addition to these efforts, he hopes that a Welsh Language executive board can be established to allow the heads of the many existing Welsh language groups together in one group. This includes members of Welsh language society ‘Y Gym Gym’, those from the Coleg Cymraeg (Cardiff ’s branch of the National Welsh College) and those from the new Welsh language society at the Heath campus ‘Clwb y Mynydd Bychan’.

The Welsh Language Officer stated that he would be willing to work with both the Students’ Union and Blakeway to achieve this and will continue to co-operate.

University contributes billions to economy

C

ardiff University contributes £2.7billion to the UK economy, according to a report by London Economics.

In the report produced for the University it was announced that the University produces £6 for every £1 that it spends.

According to the report, in 2012/13 of the £2.7billion generated, £609million was attributed to economic benefit associated with the University’s research activities.

The money created through graduate earnings and taxation receipts totalled £967million, suggesting that students create a significant impact

on the national economy.

However, the highly criticised increase in tuition fees also featured prominently in the results of the report, as it was stated that £135million was generated from overseas students.

Of the £135 million, £123million came from non-EU international students.

These figures come amidst a larger study investigating the wider economic and social impact of Cardiff University.

Earlier this year an economic impact report suggested that the economic contribution of the University

together with student expenditure totalled nearly £1bn per year.

However, the new report by London Economics also conducted research on the University’s wider social and economic impact on the whole of Wales.

It is hoped that the University’s contribution to the economy will continue to rise, with the current construction of its £300million ‘innovation’ campus. According to the University, the new campus will “turn ideas into products, technologies and new businesses”.

The University currently employs 5,500 people directly, supporting a

further 5,900 positions indirectly.

In addition, the social impact on the University on the UK was also emphasized by the substantial numbers of volunteers within Cardiff.

In 2012-13 over 1,200 people volunteered in both short term and long term projects, with students contributing 50,000 hours of work.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Riordan said: “This report looks at the full picture estimating, for the first time, our overall economic and social impact on the UK economy.

“We all know that going to university has a transformative effect on people’s lives, careers and families.”

Pictured: Welsh Language students confronting last year’s officers over the disputed referendum

“

£609 million was attributed to economic benefit associated with the University’s research activities

”

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8 ADVICE

advice

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

Homesickness: I’m sick of the stigma!

Pictured: Stick the kettle on, I’m on my way home.

(Photographer: Essie)

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Homesickness is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a completely normal phenomenon to experience, even if you love university

Gwen Williams

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‘The Tab’ published an article expressing a distasteful and harsh viewpoint on students who struggle with homesickness

”

Y

ou’ve been living in Cardiff for about a month now and things are beginning to settle down into a routine. Then it hits you.

Homesickness. You long for comfort and familiarity because, lets face it, learning to be an adult can be tough stuff. If you’re a first year, you may be a bit surprised that these feelings have suddenly cropped up from nowhere. You hadn’t really thought much about home since you arrived in halls. Why? Because up until now, you’ve been preoccupied with other things. Freshers week was full of fun and excitement and then you spent the first couple of weeks getting used to a new way of living and learning independently.

Last week, the online publication known as ‘The Tab’ published an article expressing a distasteful and harsh viewpoint on students who struggle with homesickness. The writer wrongly accuses those who regularly go home of “running away when it gets too much” and pompously states that they “have no place in halls.” He also belittles a homesick student’s ability to be academic by ignorantly claiming that “it might have been easier to do an empty degree with the Open University.” Quite frankly, this self-righteous individual needs to get off his high horse and go back to commenting on something that he actually has a valid viewpoint on.

Homesickness is nothing to be

ashamed of. It’s a completely normal phenomenon to experience, even if you love university and most students will feel this way at some point.

Even second and third years hanker for home and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, it’s a place where we can forget the stresses of student life and switch off for a couple of days. Some people have a closer relationship with their family than their friends at uni so it makes sense for them to be around those that they are most comfortable with. Others simply find uni life too distracting and go home to concentrate on their work better. Also, there are students who have weekend jobs at home who prefer to travel back and forth every weekend rather than applying for a closer job. Finally, some people don’t get on with their housemates, so knowing that they can go home on weekends makes them feel better about having to live with in a tense environment during the week.

I will be the first to admit that I have had frequent bouts of homesickness over the last couple of years.

It can be horrible at times, but I am now in my third year and haven’t let it stop me from doing my best in my degree. This idea that people who experience homesickness are weak is completely ridiculous. In fact, if you stick it out despite feeling this way, you are resilient and will get a great sense of achievement when the three

years are over. When I was in my first year, I was teased by other people for going home ‘too often’ but this is how I initially coped with university life.

You have to do what is right for you and if that means going home every weekend then do it. Don’t make yourself miserable over the insensitive opinions and pressures of others. As I have said before, if they can’t accept you for who you are, why are they worth your time?

If you’re a bit embarrassed about it (although you shouldn’t be) go and talk to someone you trust. Call up a family member and talk it through or speak to one of your close uni friends about how you’re feeling. The chances are, your friend has felt the same way at some point and will be someone who you can relate to. If you want to talk to someone who has experience advising students, go and see your personal tutor for a chat.

They have probably seen it all before several times over and know exactly how to help. Sometimes just talking about issues can help a lot because the issue is no longer bottled up and getting you down.

In between home visits, I find that the best way to tackle homesickness is to keep as busy as possible. If you’re having a difficult day, why not call up a friend and make plans? If you haven’t already, join a couple of societies that will get you out of the house a few nights a week.

It’s great fun! If you are on a course that involves a lot of reading, try and encourage your friends to study together at the library. Even if you’re not talking, you have company and people to motivate you to work. The more things you have planned, the less time you have to think about home.

Just because you are not at home, it doesn’t mean that you can’t keep in regular contact with your family and friends at home. I have regular chats with my mum on the phone and software such as Skype and FaceTime enables you to see people as well as hear them. It’s almost as good as having a conversation face to face. My grandmother on the other hand has no idea how to use technology, but I keep in contact with her through letter writing. Call me old fashioned, but I really enjoy writing to her and receiving something in the post every week. Plus it gives me something to do one evening when I get home from university.

Remember, if you are homesick, you have every right to feel that way.

Try and remind yourself that you worked hard for your place at university and it is an important transition to get to where you need to be. Just because you miss home, it doesn’t mean that you are not cut out for university and it doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. It just means that you need to make university life suit you.

”

“

In between home visits, I find that the best way to tackle homesickness is to keep as busy as possible

”

ADVICE 9

What I did when I graduated...

Pictured: A Chemistry classroom (Photographer: TLSuda)

Gwen Williams

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At the time, I was unsure of what I wanted to do, so I organised a summer placement

”

“

I think I was very lucky, working in industry. I had a range of different positions that enabled me to try different skills

”

S

haron Magill is the Head of Chemistry at a secondary school in South Wales. She talks about her drastic change in career and how it’s never too late to become a teacher.

Please explain what your role entails as Head of Chemistry.

I am responsible for organising the schemes of work for all year groups, including Key Stage three, GCSE and A Level. I teach science as a general subject to years seven to nine and chemistry at GCSE and A Level. I also analyse exam results to ensure a continual improvement of grades and overall standards. My role also includes raising the profile of the department through the organisation of enrichment activities, clubs and events. For example, I encourage students to form a team and participate in annual chemistry quizzes.

I also have a registration class that I am responsible for. It is important to have the welfare of the pupils in mind at all times. As a form tutor you are the main steadfast person in their everyday lives. They know they will see you first thing every morning. You need to be approachable to make sure they can talk to you about potential academic and home issues.

Your job is to guide them through their school life. This includes teaching them how to revise and be organised etc. It’s great when I get the same form class from year seven to eleven because you get to know them and their parents well, so you can give them more accurate and helpful advice.

Take me through your career path.

How did you get to where you are currently?

I studied a BSc HONS degree in chemistry at Queens University of Belfast and followed on with a masters in polymer science and engineering. At the time, I was unsure of what I wanted to do, so I organised a summer placement at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands to explore other options. It also gave me something extra to add to my CV to make me stand out as a good candidate for employment.

Initially, I only considered careers in industry. This was mainly because

large companies targeted the university and showed exciting career possibilities, with large salaries to match. I was interested in research and development so an industry based career felt like the best choice for me.

I got a job working in the field of polymer science because I enjoyed this aspect of my degree. I found that I liked roles which were challenging, yet provided something different on a day to day basis. I worked in industry for 15 years and had seven different roles, from production to customer technical support. My first job was with British Stella, but then after a merger, became what is currently known as Tata Steel.

I think I was very lucky, working in industry. I had a range of different positions that enabled me to try different skills including research and development, problem solving and learning to be innovative within a time frame. Working as a technical advisor within the commercial department was particularly enjoyable as I was working closely with customers to use steel in their new applications. A great perk of this job was travelling around visiting lots of customers and seeing their manufacturing sites.

My next role was within manufacturing as a process specialist on a production line. This involved ‘through process analysis’ to try and ensure that the line was running profitably, as well as working with suppliers to maintain current supply and develop future products. Part of this job entailed looking at complaint material, which customers couldn’t use. I particularly enjoyed the problem solving aspect of this.

As a result I became a customer technical engineer, where I went to customer’s factories to look at problem material and to work out ways, to try and use this material. Initially, I found that I loved travelling around the UK, Europe and the US meeting new people and seeing different manufacturing sites. However it was difficult after a while as I was never home, making it a solitary lifestyle that I didn’t enjoy.

On the whole, my 15 years in industry were very beneficial to me.

I travelled the world meeting lots

of people ranging from those who worked in the factories to the CEOs of companies. As a result, I have good communication skills that are transferable across any career. I have become a very organised person because i had to juggle a number of projects at the same time. Although my career had not necessarily used all the knowledge I gained when completing my degree, the skills I learnt are still useful twenty years on!

During my time in industry, I liked the variety of roles that were available to me. However, I felt that these roles were purely based on saving money. I had reached a point where there was no job fulfilment or satisfaction. As a result, I retrained to become a chemistry teacher, taking the traditional route of completing a PGCE to do so.

What is it about teaching that you like?

I really enjoy passing my knowledge and love of chemistry onto students.

On the whole, I love using my knowledge of the subject to explain why many everyday phenomena occur. I really like interacting with pupils, especially GCSE and A Level students, as they learn about many challenging concepts.

This becomes more enjoyable when it’s clear that they are passionate about the subject. It’s really rewarding to work with them to achieve their required grades. Teachers are there to provide a stepping stone for students to get to university and then onto their chosen career path. When they get good grades the feeling of pride is immense!

Is there anything about your job that you dislike?

At times it can be difficult to teach pupils who find chemistry challenging or who aren’t interested in science as a subject. As a result, extra work is required to try to engage pupils in the subject and to relate lessons to everyday life.

Describe a typical work day for you?

My day starts at about eight o’clock.

I look over the lessons that I have planned for the day ahead while grabbing a quick cup of coffee. At

nine, my form class arrive for registration. On average I teach four lessons per day, alongside a number of lunchtime and after school classes, as exam time get closer for my GCSE and A level students. I also help out with netball club after school. On average, I probably spend three to four hours per night marking books, then planning and preparing lessons for the next day. It is definitely not your average nine to five job.

Do you have any tips for students aspiring to become secondary school teachers?

Teaching is a really, really rewarding career. However, it’s a lot of hard work. You have to be very organised and truly passionate about the subject that you teach, as this is very transparent in the way that you deliver your lessons. But at the end of the day, I can’t stress enough how enjoyable my work is.

More and more teachers have spoken out negatively about how the education system has changed over the last few years. As a result, it may have made students think twice about whether they want to become a teacher. What is your response to this?

For me, teaching has been a very fulfilling career, there is no doubt about that. However before you enter the profession, you need to know that you are doing it for the love of the job. The pay is good after a few years, but the work level is incredible. Expect to complete a 60 hour week as a norm, with the perceived fantastic holidays being spent catching up with work or marking. it is a brilliant career but it’s important that you enter it with your eyes open.

What advice would you give your student self with hindsight?

I should have conducted a wider search into possible careers, as well as being more introspective and realistic about what I enjoyed in life. I like variety, as I get bored easily so working with people and the feeling that I have achieved something worthwhile is important to me.

Working in industry did not tick all these boxes for me. Teaching definitely does!

“

Teaching is a really, really rewarding career.

However, it’s a lot of hard work. You have to be very organised and truly passionate about the subject that you teach

”

10 ADVICE

Student perspectives: Coming out at university

Getting involved with CU Pride and LGBT+

Marcus Connolly

T

he autumn term is well underway. I’m sure you all had a wonderful and wild first few weeks celebrating student life. Cardiff is a brilliant place with so much to do and see, plus a load of new people to meet. However it’s true that people take time to come out of their shells when they find themselves in a new place trying to be an ‘adult’ for the first time.

It’s with this new found freedom that coming to university is a great thing and for a lot of people it can be the first time they can truly be themselves. Someone you’ve met over the past few weeks at uni could be LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Ace, Arrow, Genderqueer, Non-Binary,) and being here has given them the chance to be open and honest

about themselves by coming out, possibly for the first time.

We’re lucky enough to have two LGBT+ groups for students within Cardiff University, the society CU Pride and the LGBT+ association.

My advice to you is go and explore LGBT+ Cardiff. Come and see what we do. Come and meet some interesting people who’ve been where you’ve been. They can help you make the most out of university in terms of your non academic life. When I was a fresher the first person I met, one of the welcome crew, was LGBT+.

That helped me a lot as I instantly saw that you can be out and proud at our lovely university.

Coming out is something universal, the place and people might be different, but the feelings we can

go through are the same. I realised I was Bi when I was 16 and came out to friends when I was 18. When I came to uni, I was looking for the LGBT+ society. Some people realise they’re LGBT+ before uni and some work it out during their time here.

I’ve met people who are afraid of coming out because they’re worried about reactions from their friends.

However, coming out doesn’t change you as a person, but feel free to start being loud and proud if you want to though.

You’ve got the chance to become a part of a community that organises brilliant events and can support and help you through any hard times you may face. If you have the chance, go to Pride Cymru (in Cardiff ) and National Student Pride in London. Help

Your sexuality doesn’t define you

David Jones

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Everyone has been really supportive and completely fine with it.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be

”

B

efore coming to Cardiff, I was only ‘out’ to a couple of friends.

Starting university was the first time I thought to myself: “I’m going to be open about my sexuality to all the new people I meet.” It doesn’t mean you have to say to every person you meet “Hi, I’m gay”. I have never said anything along those lines to anyone. Why? Because your sexuality does not define you.

All of my university friends either found out in casual conversation, or saw me talking with guys on nights out or at a gay bar. For me, it was easy as I didn’t have to have any awkward conversations with anyone.

Remember, everyone is scared about how people will react and a fear of rejection is natural.

However not one single person has judged me. Everyone has been really supportive and completely fine with it. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

Some people find it difficult to be open about their sexuality to guys.

There is a general misconception that straight guys don’t want to be seen associating themselves with gay guys. However this is not true at all.

Some of my best friends at university are straight guys, and they treat me no differently to how they treat each other. On the other hand there are the girls. Girls just love gay guys.

Having gay friends is also important and you can meet lots of new people through them. It also makes you realise you’re not alone. Cardiff ’s gay bars are great fun. The music is great, drinks are cheap, what more can you want? A lot of my straight friends love gay clubbing even more than I do!

The Cardiff University LGBT+ society has never really been something I was involved with due to being committed to other things.

That’s not to say it isn’t a great society to be part of. Being proud of who you are as a whole is important.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve come to realise that although your sexuality is a big deal, it’s one small part of you and people should see that and accept it. Your personality and character is what will develop your friendships. You can be proud of who you are without being an active member of the society, though I would recommend you sign up to show your support.

Even now, I’m not yet ‘out’ to my family. But I’m happy. I’m more comfortable in myself than I’ve ever been and it has been a massive step being open about my sexuality. Don’t feel pressured to ‘come out’, it’s about being comfortable and doing it in your own time. When the time feels right I will come out to my family, but for now I’m in a very good place.

make positive changes at uni, for yourself and future students with the association. Learn more about the student movement and NUS (National Union of Students) LGBT+.

After two years at Cardiff, through events like Student Pride and NUS Conferences, I’ve met people I consider friends for life, from all over the country.

So just throw yourself into university life! Thanks to the society and association I’ve had interesting experiences at uni. Most of my friends would say the same. Being out at uni opens yourself up to meeting new people and offers you chances to do many different things. In the word’s of RuPaul: ‘If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else?’

5 ways

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Coming out is something universal, the place and people might be different, but the feelings we can go through are the same

”

students can save money during their university life 1. Buy a student railcard If you plan on making more than one trip home during the year, you will make your money back quickly and save a third on all journeys.

2. Student discount in shops Find out which shops have student discount as this will especially come in handy when you are buying Christmas gifts later on this year.

3. Cook house meals Cooking for four can sometimes work out cheaper than cooking for one. If this is not possible due to different schedules, cook multiple portions and freeze what you don’t eat.

4. Budget your loan If you are a spendthrift, transfer the student loan over to your parents so they can send you a fixed amount each week. You quickly get the hang of managing money and you may have some left over for the summer.

5.Microsoft Office 365 Students can claim a free version using your university email address, saving you a lot.

Pictured: LGBT+ flag (Photographer: Ted Eytan)

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12 COMMENT

comment

David Williams

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The Met Police has finally decided to end the 24 hour guard outside, which has cost £12.6million of taxpayer’s money

”

Mared Jones

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

Julian Assange: three years and £12.6 million later

ulian Assange has been taking refuge at The Ecuadorian Embassy in London for three years since Ecuador granted him political asylum.

This week the Met Police has finally decided to end the 24 hour guard outside. The Met have estimated that it has cost around £12.6 million and now believe it is “no longer proportionate”.

They have said they will use both overt and covert measures to catch Assange.

He is arguably one of the most famous and controversial whistleblowers of our time and is wanted by both Sweden and the US. In the US the WikiLeaks founder is wanted for espionage, the US government have an ongoing sealed grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks. Assange is considered a terrorist by many senior figures and has been severely criminalised for his actions.

He is wanted in Sweden under investigation for several offences, though in August investigators ran out of time to question him over one

D

allegation of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion. He is still wanted in accusation of a rape offence but strongly denies these allegations. If Assange goes to Sweden for questioning he fears he will then be extradited to the US. Opportunities for Sweden to interview Assange at the embassy were talked about but never came about, raising the question: do Sweden just want to get hold of him to extradite him?

In the current economic climate, £12.6 million of tax payer’s money is definitely a big deal. This money has been squandered on a police guard outside the embassy when the money would be much better spent in healthcare or education. London Mayor Boris Johnson has also voiced concern saying that the money should be spent on frontline policing. Why has it taken so long for the police guard of the embassy to end? There are much more pressing matters for the police to be dealing with day to day. Cuts to polic-

ing are constantly in the headlines.

The amount of money spent on the guard is evidently extortionate. The decision by the Met to end it is better late than never. I fully acknowledge that the rape accusations are a serious issue and need to be looked into, but on the side of espionage I believe Assange should be protected and not extradited. As a Journalism student I feel very strongly about freedom of speech and transparency in the media.

Without whistleblowers like Assange, many issues would be unknown to the public. After all, most of the information made public by WikiLeaks has arguably been in the public interest. I believe the fear created around whistleblowing is a form of censorship in itself, fully backing initiatives such as the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI) which aims to protect journalism and freedom of speech, encouraging investigative journalism.

Little is known about Assange’s plans to reach the safety of Ecuador.

There was speculation over leaked documents in early September which suggested smuggling him out in disguise, or in a bag, then into a car. But this was quickly dismissed because the embassy shares the building, and therefore police had been patrolling inside, making it difficult to get to a car. Now that the police guard has been removed could this be his chance to flee? Ecuador has also previously considered appointing Assange as their representative at the UN, giving him diplomatic immunity before the UN could reject the the appointment.

But this also never materialised.

Britain is a country that is supposed to pride itself on human rights which includes freedom of speech, expression and information deemed in the public interest. We should be supporting whistleblowers not trying to stitch them up. Yes, Julian Assange needs to be questioned over the rape allegation, but he should also be granted political asylum in the UK.

Pictured: Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London (Source: The Independant)

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As a journalism student, I feel very strongly about freedom of speech and transparency in the media

”

Why are England angry over 5p carrier bags?

epending on your nationality and/or current place of residence, it is likely you spent the beginning of October in one of two very different ways: you either lived your life exactly as you have always done, or you stole a Morrisons trolley and rioted in the car park. This apparent apocalypse is due to the fact that, as of October 5th 2015, all major English supermarkets must now charge five pence to their customers for all singleuse plastic carrier bags. As a direct result of this dramatic change in social structure, England appears to have lost its collective shit.

On the other side of the border, however, the Welsh are as calm as ever

due to the fact that this law has been a perfectly normal part of everyday life since 2011. For the average Welshman, a bag for life is as necessary as a debit card and a trip to Lidl bakery. Meanwhile, from furious tweets to fisticuffs at self-service checkouts, it’s safe to say that England has handled this new law as calmly as Luke Skywalker when he found out that Darth Vader was his father.

Though the plastic bag charge might be irritating for those who aren’t used to keeping five thousand spare bags in their glove compartment, there is no denying that this new law is a necessary change in terms of consumer behaviour.

According to a government report re-

leased prior to the #Bagocalypse, nearly a whopping 8 billion plastic carrier bags were distributed by major supermarkets in just England alone last year - a figure which has been steadily creeping up despite our increased environmental awareness as a society. In stark comparison, the use of plastic bags in Wales has decreased over 79 per cent since the introduction of the charge, and tens of millions of pounds have gone to charities and other good causes as a result of those extra few pennies.

Of course, these statistics aren’t enough to convince the whole of the English public. Fortunately, the vast majority of England’s population simply grumble under their breath before

grudgingly handing the cashier a five pence coin, but some have taken rebellion to a whole new level. Bags and trolleys have been stolen nationwide and - in one case reported by The Sun - arguing with staff until they got themselves banned from Asda for good. “We don’t take the decision to ban customers from our stores lightly,” a spokesperson gravely announced, perfectly depicting how seriously the plastic bag chaos has affected English sanity.

This law is here to stay, folks. Don’t fancy getting yourself banned from all major supermarkets or being jailed for stealing a Tesco trolley? Get yourself a bag for life, because a bag for life is a friend for life.

“

As a result of this dramatic change, England appears to have lost its collective shit

”

COMMENT 13

Transgender EastEnders

BBC soap makes history as the first to hire a transgender actor to play a transgender character in a positive move towards media equality Charley Griffiths

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To suggest that this casting choice is an act of tokenism or political correctness is ridiculous. A talented actor should always deserve a part, regardless of their background

”

T

his week, the BBC announced the casting of 21 year old Riley Carter Millington as ‘Kyle’ in popular soap ‘EastEnders’. This is the first time a transgender actor has been cast in a transgender role in a UK soap.

Usually, if I am scrolling down my Facebook feed and see something with EastEnders in, I would continue scrolling. But this story really grabbed my attention. I admired the soap’s positive step towards equality and diversity in the media, and the casting of transgender actors in British TV has been long overdue.

EastEnders has always triumphed in showing a range challenging storylines addressing the social issues of the day.

Storylines have ranged from domestic violence, rape, stillborn children, disabilities, teen pregnancy, HIV, the first gay character in the 80s, the first gay kiss, to name a few. The soap’s executive producer Dominic TreadwellCollins said that the soap has “always led the way in changing audience’s perceptions about difference.” So it comes as no surprise that Paris Lees, writing for the Guardian, cited this casting choice as a “cultural landmark”, and I agree. We live in such a diverse culture, and while I am not a fan of the show, I greatly admire Eastenders’ progressive attitude, and so should we all.

Treadwell-Collins was quick to stress how this move “isn’t about tokenism”, which unfortunately, some

people will assume. To suggest that this casting choice is an act of tokenism or political correctness is completely ridiculous. This is more than just a trend, where TV shows all jump on the bandwagon. A talented actor should always deserve a part, regardless of their background. Soaps, while overly dramatised, aim to depict all aspects of life, whether happy or sad, funny or serious. The transgender community are rightly receiving more acknowledgement and becoming more known and accepted in society, so our TV programmes should definitely reflect this change. It is refreshing to see such a character being represented in an authentic way, and not some embarrassing or offensive parody that is often seen in so-called ‘comedies’.

But Eastenders is not the only soap taking on diverse representations.

Coronation Street has also previously tackled a transgender storyline, with actress Julie Hesmondhalgh brilliantly playing Haley Cropper. While her acting and character were great, the step forward from Eastenders is to have a transgender character being played by someone who is also transgender off screen - as is the case here with Riley Carter Millington playing the part of Kyle. This progressive move will hopefully act as an inspiration for the transgender community, where their issues are receiving attention and acceptance from the media. Treadwell-

Pictured: Riley Carter Millington on the set of EastEnders (Source: The Independant)

Collins added how Riley is both a talented actor and “an inspirational young man.” Hopefully, viewers can watch TV and see someone they can identify with.

Many have been quick to compare this breakthrough with the ever popular show ‘Orange is the New Black’, where transgender woman Laverne Cox is part of the large and diverse cast. (And is one of my favourite characters, I might add). Cox is a great public speaker and LGBT advocate, and often considered the ‘face’ of the American transgender movement. She was the first transgender actor to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy award, and the first openly transgender person to feature on the cover of Time magazine. Pretty impressive stuff. So is it any wonder more and more shows want to promote equality by hiring transgender actors?

It has also been reported that Hollyoaks will follow suit by introducing a transgender character, played

by Annie Wallace, also transgender.

Previously in the soap, the character

Do you even lift?

of Dylan Royle was openly a crossdresser, so this takes it a step further.

BBC has also given another main role to a transgender actor, Rebecca Root, in comedy ‘Boy Meets Girl’ at the beginning of September. Root, in an interview for the BBC, highlighted how the show “will demystify [the transgender] community” by increasing “the visibility of the trans population.”

And in the celebrity world, Caitlyn Jenner’s very public transition helped raise awareness and gain support for the transgender community. In the modelling industry, we are seeing more and more transgender models on the catwalk and in magazines.

Everybody is happy to accept and celebrate the transgender community. It is fantastic to see that members of the community have plenty of people to relate themselves to. Overall, it sends out a positive message of respect and recognition. And in the near future, I hope that the hiring of a transgender actor will no longer be news, and more of a norm. But for now, let’s hope the movie industry will pick up on it.

“

Everybody is happy to accept and celebrate the transgender community

”

With the popularity of social media, gym selfies are on the rise. But are people going to the gym purely for the likes?

Saxon Norgard

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The need for social recognition is still a major influence on our day to day decision making

”

M

ost of us have scrolled down our feeds and seen: #ripped #gainz #transformationtuesday #fitspiration. If you are still reading, then, like millions of social media users around the world, you have become de-sensitised to the phenomenon that is the gym selfie.

That, or you are hoping that this article might instruct you on the best hashtags for your next upload (hint: it won’t, but there are plenty of websites that will).

We all know that there is nothing like a bit of motivation from your peers to help you achieve your goals.

The need to succeed becomes more visceral when others are invested in your success – particularly when failure involves posting a photo on Facebook of your beer gut with the description “Ab Challenge Week 5”.

But there is a point at which the glis-

tening bicep tagged “shredded” reads more like a threat of violence against those who fail to ‘like’ it than a search for motivation. With Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts devoted solely to toned human mass popping up in alarming numbers, one could be led to conclude that the gym has become a source of social recognition rather than a temple for genuine ‘gains’.

Maybe I have become cynical in my less than glorious physical shape, merely jealous of the heavily filtered muscles bulging out of my screen.

Perhaps if I were to post images of my emaciated frame onto @GainzCentral, I would get the kick needed to add on bulk like the rest.

We seek social acceptance as a matter of instinct, shaped by years of evolution in which those who banded together faced greater odds of survival.

The pervasiveness of social media in today’s world proves more than anything, that this need for social recognition is still a major influence on our day-to-day decision making – it’s just that now, our interactions are broadcast to nearly every corner of the planet. In years gone by, one might work tirelessly in the gym for months on end only to reveal their sculpted physique to a few hundred at the beach during summer months. Now, you can upload a photo that will reach thousands if not millions of viewers in the blink of an eye, receiving instant gratification via likes, shares and follows.

This is not to say that people go to the gym merely for the selfie. Rather, one might conclude that social media motivates people to go to the gym in the first place, and to strive for the body that will get the likes.

Pictured: Posing with weights or actually using them?

(Source: Lower Columbia College/ Flickr)

14 COMMENT

Lucy Hegarty

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The development of certain pupils on the show is a direct result of the head’s refusal to write any child off

”

Aislinn McDonagh

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The major thing that has changed through the years is just the ease of which one can share these images

”

T

Educating Cardiff : How education should be done

he latest part of Channel 4 school reality series, ‘Educating Cardiff ’, has received fantastic reviews, as it shines a spotlight on the modern teaching profession.

The TV show gives its viewers an insight into the reality of the role of teachers. The focus is not upon OFSTED reports and academic targets, but instead allows viewers to see the important relationships of teachers with their pupils, and the vital role teachers play in supporting and developing the most challenging students. The programme reminds us just how fragile and impressionable teenagers are, and that the influence of one teacher can change the course of a child’s future – for better or worse.

Teaching as a profession has been reported to be in trouble in the UK, with many teachers noting the introduction Michael Gove as education minister as the catalyst. The Independent reported in April 2015 that the number of teachers entering the profession is in decline. It is therefore refreshing to see the passion driving the teachers at Willows High School in ‘Educating Cardiff.’ At schools such as Willows, the job is considered even more difficult due to the challenging circumstances which the teachers work in. The low socialeconomic status of the school and the surrounding area mean that the children are at an economic disadvantage from the beginning of their school career. The Teach First charity have published that only one in 10

teachers would consider teaching in a challenging school such as Willows.

This highlights a huge problem with education in the UK, as difficulty to attract teachers to these areas creates a huge gap in the educational standards of these schools, and schools where the average household income of the family of each child is higher.

It is this lack of strong teaching in challenging schools, and other factors, which contribute to the widespanning problem that is educational inequality in the UK. It is a sad, but true, fact that the income of a child’s household determines the chances that child has in terms of education. 21 per cent of children eligible for free school meals make it to university, compared to 85 per cent of children from independent schools.

With this in mind, the determination of the staff at Willows in ensuring that the children at their school get the best chance they can to defy this statistic.

It is teachers like Headmistress of Willows High School, Mrs. Ballard, who are leading the way for change in education. She recognises the problem and says herself that she “doesn’t think it’s fair that your postcode can determine your life chances.” ‘Educating Cardiff ’ shows Mrs. Ballard’s talent as a leader, as she treats each pupil and teacher as an individual.

The development of certain pupils on the show is a direct result of her refusal to write any child off ; tailoring opportunities to ensure all pupils at Willows are given something to

aim for. Jessica, for example, is made editor of a new school newspaper to help her improve her social skills with the other children. Although nervous at first, we can see her glowing when the newspaper sells out entirely in the school cafeteria. It is small actions like this for each individual, which has allowed Mrs. Ballard to drag Willows High School up from the bottom – from one of the worst schools in Cardiff, to one which is almost unrecognisable.

It is clear from watching ‘Educating Cardiff ’, that educational inequality can be targeted by injecting schools with strong and passionate leaders, like Mrs. Ballard. Teach First is an initiative in England and Wales working to confront this problem in this way.

Teach First is a charity which trains the UK’s top graduates through their unique leadership development programme - a two-year commitment combining teacher training and a fully-funded PGCE qualification with one-to-one leadership coaching and skills development. Participants develop leadership qualities that can be applied to any working environment,

no matter where your career takes you afterwards. Teach First believe that, alongside the classroom, educational inequality should be targeted from all angles of society.

Teach First’s Undergraduate Programmes Officer, Victor Bamigboye, is a shining example of the powerful, positive impact that a Teach First participant can have on the life of an individual. Previously, Victor’s ambition was to work in Foot Locker.

Now, he is successful and driven and works for Teach First to help other teenagers in Sixth Forms and Colleges to know what opportunities are out there for them.

Teach First have started their Leadership Development Programme in Wales in recent years, and will be driving up standards in schools like Willows High School all across the country. And while ‘Educating Cardiff ’ shows its viewers that teaching is not just about academia, it’s general message of seeing each child as an individual and knowing that some of them just need someone to believe in them is integral to the experience of being a student.

Crackdown on revenge porn

R

evenge porn is the sharing or posting online of nude and explicit images of a partner without their consent. Since being criminalised in February, its profile has died down a little in the media, but it is still a major issue in the UK, with the government’s dedicated helpline receiving 1,800 calls in its first six months, and a suspected 200 victims in England and Wales.

Despite being a criminal act, there are many who would consider explicit images being put online as the fault of the victim. This is particularly true of nude ‘selfies’, or photos sent by the victim, with a ‘if you don’t send them, you can’t lose them’ attitude. Much of the media attention is also focused on young people, and “why do young people take so many nudes?” Both of these can be addressed quite simply.

Everyone takes nude photos. Or at least, lots of people do. And our generation is not the first to do it – I’m sure people took naked photos on polaroid’s in the 70’s, on film in the 90’s and on chunky DSLR’s when they went through their ‘alternative’ phase

in the early 2000s. The act of taking explicit photos of yourself or your partner is not new, and telling people to simply not take them is at best unhelpful, and at worst, slut-shaming.

The major thing that has changed through the years is just the ease of which one can share these images in revenge.

If, in the 1980s, you wanted to show your friends a nude photo of your ex, you would have to go to their house with a physical copy of a photo your partner. And I’m sure people did. Even the ‘old’ revenge porn which initially came to the media’s attention was (mostly) men uploading explicit images of (mostly) women onto normal porn websites, or even more sickeningly, sites set up specifically to revel in this sexual humiliation.

However, most of these sites have either been taken down or have put in place measures to report revenge porn (such as pornhub’s new policy).

It seems that people who wish to humiliate their ex’s are being told ‘you are not welcome’ everywhere online.

So, increasingly, people are posting

these photos on social media, for their friends.

Social media revenge porn may be seen as ‘revenge porn lite’ by its perpetrators. They aren’t the sickos uploading it to porn websites for weirdos to see, they’re just showing their mates why ‘Gemma wasn’t even that fit anyway’. But this is a serious offence and by no means acceptable.

In my opinion, the best way to tackle revenge porn, is to tackle the perception that social media revenge porn is ‘not really that bad’. The first woman to be convicted for revenge porn was sentenced last month for uploading photos of her ex to Facebook for half an hour after a row. In schools, initiatives are being put in place to try and reduce revenge porn with minors (doubly illegal) on Whatsapp (yes Whatsapp counts).

I don’t think most of these types of perpetrators fully understand either the legal aspect to what they’re doing, or, more importantly, the serious, long-term effect it can have on their victims. I am not suggesting a ‘hug-arevenge-porner’ attitude, but aware-

ness campaigns such as we have seen for sexual assault and domestic abuse, challenging potential aggressors to think about their actions might see a drop in the worryingly high statistics.

There will always be people doing it deliberately and calculatedly to humiliate, hurt and betray their victim.

For those people, legal punishment may be the only deterrent. But for others, maybe a little empathy coaching would help.

Pictured: The stars of Educating Cardiff (Source: Evening Standard)

“

Teaching as a profession has been reported to be in trouble in the UK

”

(Photographer: Martin Gommel)

COMMENT 15

A welcome disturbance at the Suffragette premiere Pictured: The London Film Festival (Photographer: spiritquest/ flickr)

Kate Elswood

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For those women, gaining the vote was the key to improving women’s rights

” Jack Williams

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It isn’t so much the fault of these ‘corporations’ – more of the system itself

”

O

n the 12th of October, the film ‘Suffragette’ was released in the UK. The film tells the story of women who dedicated their lives to obtaining female suffrage.

For those women, gaining the vote was the key to improving women’s rights. Less than a hundred years later, many of the things that those women dreamed of are now a reality. Carey Mulligan, Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter all champion the women they portray in the film, as strong activists who began a movement still going strong today.

During the premiere of the film in London, activists from Sisters Uncut used the red carpet as a stage to protest about cuts to government funding for victims of domestic violence. They caught the attention of the media by

chanting ‘dead women can’t vote’ and lying on the red carpet. Though having successfully gained publicity for their movement, it also brought their concerns of current women’s issues into the spotlight. They also gained support from stars on the red carpet, such as Lauren Lavern, who used Twitter to show her support, stating that she will “always support those speaking out against domestic violence.”

After women first obtained the vote in 1918, progress seemed slower than expected, with women not gaining equal suffrage with men until ten years later. Their place in the home and their domestic ‘duties’ still remained a large part of many women’s lives. However, with regards to women’s rights, important improvements were made, such as the increasing ac-

ceptance of women in the workplace and in educational institutions, and also the opening of Britain’s first birth control clinic by Marie Stopes in 1921, which gave women more control over their bodies. It seems odd for all these legislations and movement to come into fruition and still have almost 4,000 women die every year due to domestic violence.

But the progress over the past one hundred years is undeniable and should not be forgotten. Despite the problems that still exist, the majority of the western world is much closer to obtaining gender equality. In the UK, women now hold a vital role in the world of education and work, with 55 per cent of undergraduates being women in 2014, according to UCAS. This suggests that women are able to achieve a high level

of education and it also conveys that women have the desire and the opportunity to access higher level professions. Slowly but surely, all of the hard work is paying off.

Although much has changed since women gained suffrage, the values of feminism that the women who campaigned for female suffrage created are still relevant. The vision that the suffragettes had is still a dream for the women represented by groups like Sisters Uncut. Women and men who suffer as a result of domestic violence depend on the continuing support of groups of activists who can speak out on the behalf of vulnerable people, and it’s thanks to activists like the suffragettes and Sisters Uncut that these issues are being tackled more and more.

“

Although much has changed since women gained suffrage, the values of feminism created by campaigners are still relevant

”

Are we wrong to criticise Facebook over tax?

T

Tax-avoidance is legal, but is the system to blame?

he US social media giant Facebook is in hot water after it was revealed that it paid only £4,327 in corporation tax last year in Britain. Yes, that seems suspicious but it is not illegal. In fact, Facebook were completely within the law.

Firstly, we must distinguish just what exactly ‘corporate Facebook’ is, because it is actually made up of multiple ‘Facebook’ international offices.

Here, we are talking about Facebook UK and Facebook Ireland.

Facebook UK only provides sales, marketing and engineering support to Facebook Ireland. They deal with the finalising and completion of the sales. Hence the low tax in the first place. It is Facebook Ireland who should be under scrutiny. But even they are within EU law.

It isn’t so much the fault of these ‘corporations’ – more of the system itself. The inconsistencies in UK law and EU law means there are always

going to be loopholes that will be found and used accordingly. Which then makes us ask who exactly is to be blamed if someone wants to complain – the company? The people running the company? Or the law system?

Possibly the people running the company by manipulating the law?

But they are still well within their rights to do it and are only expected to stop because it doesn’t fit with the public’s moral compass. Technically they are doing their job, so in my book they can carry on as they wish.

It is the system that needs to change.

They are simply taking advantage of a pre-existing, broken system.

It is the system that should be blamed, not the corporations. Probably not a popular opinion. The EU allows corporations to decide in which member states they pay tax. Hence why Facebook uses this to their advantage in the UK and Ireland. This is all legal and part of a strategy known

as “Double Irish”. Profits are shifted from higher tax countries, to lower ones. Therefore one could argue it is the fault of the EU. Yet another reason to want out. The EU openly promotes tactical taxing.

In March, Chancellor George Osborne announced his diverted profit tax on companies who moved profits overseas. This charges a 25 per cent tax on profits that are shifted out of Britain. There will however never be a central European solution because countries such as Ireland and the Netherlands would lose out.

It is important to discern the difference between tax-avoidance, and tax evasion. Tax evasion is wholly illegal, whereas tax avoidance simply seeks to minimise the bill without breaking the law. And that is what Facebook did, and what many other companies in the UK and around the world do.

In that sense it is pointless to be angry with Facebook. For many it is

hypocritical.

It’s like blasting Facebook for their tax choices while drinking a Pumpkin Spiced Latte from fellow tactical-taxers Starbucks, on a smartphone with Vodafone as your phone network and the Facebook app open. Change your lifestyle habits if you have a problem with tactical taxing and want to send a message to these companies. It will be near impossible believe me.

Most people will find this practice morally wrong. But it is completely legal. That is the most important thing to ascertain from this story. Until a big corporation breaks the law, they are well within their rights to do what they can to minimise what they pay. Besides, certain companies do a lot worse that you don’t hear about.

Be honest with yourself, and ask yourself the question: would you do the same, and protect your hardearned money if there was a legal way to do so?

“

Most people will find this practice morally wrong. But it is completely legal

”

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THE GAIR RHYDD COLUMN 17

I’m an Insta-fan but I’m not proud of it

Helena Hanson

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Instagram is as necessary to my circadian routine as my cup of tea before lectures and my afternoon nap

”

S

If you made a salad and you didn’t upload a photo to Instagram, did you really make a salad?

ocial media site Instagram has had its fifth birthday this month. It’s perplexing to consider that for five whole years we have rejoiced photographs of exquisitely arranged salads, cherished Kim Kardashian’s selfies and neurotically monitored fitness inspiration blogs that remind us how fat and unhappy we all really are.

Instagram has now overtaken Twitter in terms of the amount of active users, with over 300 million monthly active users, of which more than 75 million use the app daily. As much as it makes me wince to admit, I am one of those 75 million. Instagram is as necessary to my circadian routine as my cup of tea before lectures and my afternoon nap.

I slump in bed in the morning and probe through whose boyfriend has bought them a new Michael Kors handbag this week (always captioned ‘the boy did good’) and discover that another boy from high school has become a self-proclaimed fitness instructor and is offering me advice on how to enhance my biceps by four inches in 24 hours, and I love it. Instagram is perhaps so popular because it allows us to showcase ourselves in a way that we have never before been able to do. It encompasses the innate human yearning to show-off.

There is no better way to show everyone how much better your life is than theirs than via Instagram. It

paints an idealised view, perhaps, of what we wish our reality was like.

One could assume, looking at my Instagram, I eat beautifully poached eggs and avocado on toast every morning, before taking a selfie in my spotless new Nike gym-wear, and then spending the evening sipping exquisite cocktails in a bar with my beautiful friends and their perfectly manicured nails and fresh blow dry’s.

The reality however, goes more like this; OMG! For the first time in three weeks of trying my breakfast doesn’t look like a cat has just thrown it up - I’ll Instagram it. OMG! My new Nike leggings are so comfortable I think I’ll sit in bed all day and appreciate their stretchiness, but it looks like I’m going to the gym - I’ll Instagram them. OMG! I have a free drink voucher for that posh place in town lets go there! Then I proceed to photograph my drink before subsequently colliding with the table of cocktails as I try to remove the toilet paper stuck to my Primark heel. This is what I love: you will only ever see what I want you to see.

Instagram has impacted modern society in ways I don’t think we can yet comprehend. ‘Insta-famous’ is a culturally recognised adjective and it’s becoming a career opportunity too. Millions of people, businesses and brands around the world use Instagram as their primary advertising source. Users are constructing

livelihoods, and generating a lot of money, from showcasing their bodies, make up skills, clothing, photography and so on.

With this popularity comes a whole culture of Instagram. You must learn the unwritten rules of Instagram in order to maximise usage potential. For example, it is obligatory that if your best friend uploads a selfie, you comment the love heart eyes emoji, the princess emoji, or the burning fire emoji. If they do not yet have eleven likes, you better like that photo, it is your duty. If you buy a coffee, or cook a steak, one must upload a photo, otherwise it didn’t happen. People don’t like it if you put #stunning on your own photo and you must always, ALWAYS be extra vigilant with navigation when you are 78 weeks deep in your ex-girlfriend’s or new boyfriend’s pictures.

Only recently, when travelling America did I begin to recognise the true depths of my Instagram obsession. Living in the jungle with no access to social media, I found myself comfortable and relaxed in my own skin. My own particular Instagram weakness is female fitness pages. I trawl through hundreds and hundreds of spectacular muscular bodies, flawless feminine six-packs, toned legs and peachy arses. I gawp and curse myself silently as I shovel more pizza into my mouth and glare through my tears at my rapidly grow-

ing food baby. Perhaps, on reflection, it was a sense of freedom, being separated from the social pressures to be picture-perfect all the time. That said, I’d be lying if I said Instagram was far from my mind the whole time I was away. I couldn’t help but imagine the glory of each photo with an Instagram filter, and separate my photographs between Facebook and Insta-worthy.

Ultimately I try not to worry too much that Kendal Jenner, who is younger than myself, had the most liked photo on Instagram of all time (over 3.1 million likes), and that my pictures get twelve likes on a good day. I know that I can rest assured knowing that if I #girl, SexyDarren37 from Bolton will like all selfies I’ve ever taken.

It also shouldn’t matter that Taylor Swift probably has more followers than breaths I will take in my entire life because ultimately, it doesn’t really mean anything. We need to stop searching for clarity in an emoji or a follow or a like, because we are all so much more than our 180 Instagram posts.

Nobody looks like their twice edited Instagram photograph in real life, and nobody’s figure looks as good in reality as it does with a Valencia tint.

Although a picture may be worth a thousand words, I don’t really think one selfie can ever truly be worth 3.1 million likes.

Pictured: Instragram has become one of the most widely used social media apps in the world (Photographer: Jason Howie)

“

This is what I love, you will only ever see what I want you to see

”

18 POLITICS

p politics Sam Patterson

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A significant proportion of the Toyotas came to be in Syria through US funding of moderate rebels

”

Adam Muspratt

T

@GairRhyddPol politics@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/politics

USA questions ISIS’ use of Toyotas

he Toyota Hilux has become a fixture of ISIS propaganda.

When ISIS took control of Raqqa in 2013, two thirds of the vehicles shown in their propaganda were white Toyota Hiluxes, while numerable other images and videos produced by the group show large numbers of Toyotas. The Terror Financing Unit of the US Treasury asked Toyota if they knew how ISIS were acquiring so many of their vehicles, and if they would support an inquiry to find out how, this is despite the fact that there is nothing to substantiate any culpability of Toyota’s part.

ISIS are not the only militant group to have used Toyota pickup trucks in large numbers; they are manoeuvrable, durable, and it’s possible to have a gun mounted on the back. The Hilux and the Tacoma (its American counterpart) have been used by militant groups in Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq, while they are also used by US special forces.

In 2014, American public radio PRI reported: “Recently, when the US State Department resumed sending non-lethal aid to Syrian rebels,

I

Editors: Carwyn Williams Luke Brett Sam Patterson

the delivery list included 43 Toyota trucks.”

“Hiluxes were on the Free Syrian Army’s wish list. Oubai Shahbander, a Washington-based advisor to the Syrian National Coalition, is a fan of the truck.”

Military aid for Syrian rebels is not the only way the vehicles get into Syria; militant groups acquire vehicles legally and illegally. Vehicles like these are stolen disproportionately often. In Australia, vehicle theft has dropped by almost 300 per cent since 2001. Despite this, the number of Hiluxes being stolen is rising and some experts on terrorism think this, among many others, could be a possible source for militants.

Toyota responded to the US’s questions, stating that they have all the proper protocol in place to prevent militant groups from acquiring their vehicles, and said that they would support an inquiry. It’s extremely unlikely that Toyota are acting any differently to other automobile manufactures, nor is it the case that if they stopped selling Hiluxes, ISIS would be at a loss for 4x4s. The much more likely scenario is that ISIS, similarly to other militant groups, acquire their vehicles through a variety of

means, and that a significant proportion of the Toyotas came to be in Syria through US funding of moderate rebels.

The Obama administration’s record in Syria has come under criticism; the US recently ended its $500 million program to train Syrian rebels

which fell disastrously short of its target, training only 60 of the intended 5,400. The US’s questions to Toyota reveal either a certain negligence on the part of the Terror Financing Unit, or a bad attempt by the US to distract attention from their role in funding militant groups in Syria.

Pictured: A Toyota in Aleppo, Syria (Photographer: Evgeni Zotov).

Green Belt to suffer due to housing demand

n 1955, Duncan Sandys’ Green Belt policy was enacted in order to control urban growth, marking a realization of the need to protect our countryside from urban intrusion. The policy gave way to 14 belts of countryside that encircle highlypopulated areas, covering an estimated 13 per cent of the UK. These buffers between our urban sprawls not only provide astonishing landscapes to frolic in and partake in outdoor activities, but they also allow agriculture, forestry, and nature to thrive. However, recent housing proposals put forth by the government put the belts at risk of being cemented over in a bid to accommodate the need for housing.

The recently announced landmark Housing and Planning Bill states that local councils will have to produce plans for new homes to be built in their respective areas by 2017. New powers will also be given to the government to overrule any council reluctant to build new homes.

This, under David Cameron’s selfexpressed, “national crusade to get homes built,” the crux of which will result in one million homes being built by 2017. The policy also ensured that 200,000 starter homes will be built, and that red tape will be cut to increase house building.

The policy may receive flak from his countryside supporters if the Green Belt is further encroached

upon. They will no doubt remember his election pledge back in March, in which he stated that he was a “countryman” and would protect the Green Belt at all costs.

There is good reason why around two thirds of the public are against building upon Green Belts. The woodland that comprises much of the Green Belt is ancient and has stood there for centuries. It has very much become apart of England’s identity and heritage.

However, there are some economic downsides to the continued use of Green Belts. Critics often point out that the policy forces up housing prices substantially by constricting the flow of supply and demand. The results of which can be seen in places like London and Cambridge that have exuberantly expensive houses.

The policy can also come across as too restrictive and out-of-date with the current problems faced by city planners.

The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) estimates that if 3.7 per cent of London’s green belt was liberated, up to a million homes could be built. In a report, ‘the Green Noose’, the ASI claims the protection of the Green Belt is environmentally negative, as it leads to more land being devoted to transport infrastructure, and to more pollution and greenhouse gas

emissions.

The issue is complex with many solutions, but with no clear answers.

Should we produce more high-rise and dense flats? Should we curtail immigration to reduce the need for housing? Or should we move housing development away from the south?

What does remain clear is that the Green Belt is at risk, and has been for the last few years. The National Trust recently published a report with worrying findings; it was revealed that “areas of outstanding beauty” were not being protected from housing developers who had been given substantial leeway. The Campaign to Protect Rural England showed similar findings: they claim that housing developments on Green Belts has increased “five fold” since 2010, and over 219,000 houses are in the planning stages to be built within Green Belt land.

The true importance of Green Belts remains a contentious issue.

However, when considering the potential positives and negatives, it is important to remember that at their very core they serve to form boundaries and stop towns from coalescing in what would become indistinguishable urban sprawls. Their restrictions also incentivize the use of Brownfield sites within cities, ensuring every space is economically used.

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Critics often point out that the policy forces up housing prices substantially

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POLITICS 19

USA: Eyes on Clinton and Sanders after first Democrat debate Pictured: Democratic candidates Clinton and Sanders (Photographers: Marc Nozell & Paul Morigi).

100

40

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20

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All the contenders were polite and calm, in stark contrast to the heated and frankly childish Republican debates

”

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Even a FOX news poll favoured Sanders’ performance in the debate

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Left: Polling before the debate is a polling average by realclearpolitics.com Right: Polling instantly after the debate is from USuncut. com Chafee

20

O’Malley

60

Webb

30

Chafee

80

O’Malley

40

story. According to a poll conducted by ‘US News and World Report’ on Facebook, 82 per cent of viewers said that Sanders won the debate, whilst only 11 per cent chose Clinton. Even polls on the websites of the major news outlets such as CNN and Time showed Sanders to be the debate winner, with upwards of 80 per cent of those surveyed picking Sanders.

Focus groups selected by CNN from right-leaning states such as Florida and Nevada chose Sanders as the favourite, and even a FOX news poll favoured Sanders’ performance in the debate. Polls were promptly removed from websites such as CNN - it’s no coincidence that Time Warner, the owner of CNN, is one of Clintons top campaign contributors. This, along with the initial reluctance of the Democratic Party to hold a debate, shows a clear orchestrated effort by both the Democratic Party, and the American media establishment, to downplay the popularity of Sanders, and to exaggerate the popularity of Clinton.

The debate did much to publicise Sanders, to educate Americans on his positions. Following the debate, Google searches of ‘Sanders’ and ‘socialism’ skyrocketed, and post-debate Internet polling seemed to reveal that Clinton’s hesitancy to have a debate was justified. The debate revealed much about the candidates, and solidified the view that O’Malley, Webb, and Chafee have slim chances of winning the election. The reaction of the major American news outlets to the debate however, perhaps revealed more about the election race than the debate did itself.

Who won the debate?

Sanders

Polling before the debate

gun manufacturers immunity from lawsuits by the victims of shootings - one of the few points on which she is more in tune with the progressive movement than Sanders.

Another key area of conflict was Wall Street and regulations on the banking sector - Sanders was predictably strong on this issue and has widespread support in liberal circles. He attacked Clinton for not having taken concrete steps to stop the excesses of the banks, whilst he himself called for a “political revolution” - this is arguably the biggest point of difference between the two main candidates and is very much an ‘establishment’ versus ‘outsider’ battle.

Despite the intense debate there was one clear moment of agreement, Senator Sanders defending Clinton when asked about the email scandal and ensuing Republican witch hunt, saying: “people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails” to which Clinton responded: “Me too!” and then proceeded to thank the Senator. This totally contrasts the current Republican culture of attacks, and Sanders has on multiple occasions refused to attack Clinton.

The most interesting development, rather than the debate itself, has arguably been the discrepancy between the conclusions of official pundits, and of regular viewers, as to who actually won the debate. Major outlets such as CNN, Time, The Guardian, Vox, The Boston Globe, chose Clinton as the victor, with headlines such as “Clinton’s Confident Sweep” - CNN, and “Clinton in Control” - Time. The Internet polls however, tell a different

Clinton

50

contributors are Citigroup Inc, Goldman-Sachs, JP Morgan, Time Warner (CNN owners), Lehman Brothers, and FOX. Sanders on the other hand receives over 80 per cent of his funding from small donations of under $200.

The past few weeks have been tricky for Clinton, with Republican attacks centring on the death of the US Ambassador in Benghazi during her tenure as Secretary of State, as well as the improper use of a personal email address for Government business hurting her standing in the polls and not helped her reputation for being untrustworthy. Clinton has also had to contend with the rising star of Bernie Sanders, aged 74 and the only Independent member of the Senate. His brand of left-wing, anti-Wall Street politics has struck a chord with many progressive Americans, especially the young. His rise is very much like Jeremy Corbyn’s in the United Kingdom, or even Syriza in Greece. Whilst Clinton is still the firm favourite, some of the polling numbers are certainly a shock with Sanders ahead in some Iowa and New Hampshire polls those two being the all important first two states in the primary season that can make or break candidates.

All the contenders were polite and calm, in stark contrast to the heated and frankly childish Republican debates dominated by the big personality of Donald Trump. There were several points of contention in the debate. Gun control was one, and this was an area where Clinton scored big over Sanders. She attacked him on his perceived laxness towards gun control and his Senate vote in 2005 to give

Webb

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Biden

Clinton and Sanders fundamentally disagree on a whole host of important issues

Sanders

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T

he race to succeed Barack Obama as Democratic leader and President of the United States hotted up last week as the Democrats held their first debate of the 2016 electoral cycle, hosted by CNN in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Republicans have already steamed ahead and had two debates, whilst the Democratic National Committee has come under fire for how few debates they have pencilled in the DNC apparently wishing to limit the chance of the non-Clinton participants.

The contenders are frontrunner Hillary Clinton - former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of State; Bernie Sanders - current Vermont Senator, self-described “Democratic Socialist” and the man who’s setting the agenda on the left; Martin O’Malley - former Mayor of Baltimore and Governor of Maryland; Jim Webb - former Virginia senator and Secretary of the Navy; and finally Lincoln Chafee - former Republican Governor of Rhode Island.

The latter three candidates have a very slim chance of overtaking Sanders, let alone Clinton.

Clinton and Sanders fundamentally disagree on a whole host of important issues. Clinton voted in favour of the invasion of Iraq, the Wall Street bailouts, the ‘Patriot Act’, the death penalty, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Keystone pipeline, all of which Sanders voted against. The sources from which they receive their funding also differ immensely. Whilst Sanders rejects all campaign contributions from corporations, Clinton receives tens of millions from Super PACs, her largest

Clinton

Rhys Thomas & Sam Patterson

20 POLITICS

The not so Right Honourable Jeremy Corbyn Leader of the Opposition declines invitation to Privy Council

Conor Holohan

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David Cameron did not attend a Privy Council meeting until three months into his leadership

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Luke Brett

E

veryone’s favourite controversial and outspoken leftist Jeremy Corbyn has hit the headlines yet again. The Home Office have confirmed the Labour leader has been stripped of his Right Honourable title (Rt Hon), for not attending the first Privy Council meeting since his recent leadership election victory.

Corbyn, it seems, stood the Queen up. He was photographed in Nevis, Scotland on what has been called a ‘holiday’ while Parliament was in recess.

In defence, he explained that he had “long standing private arrangements” and “needed relaxation time,” and was compelled to decline the invitation. But, what even is the Privy Council, and what does it do?

Her Majesty’s Privy Council consists of over 600 councillors, consisting of MPs, Bishops, Judges - and, of course, the Queen. The Council rarely ever meet as a whole. The majority of the members do not attend most meetings, and they are only required to meet in their entirety upon the death of a monarch, or their announcement of engagements.

Those who are made members of the council are members for life, and they meet wherever the monarch is staying to secure her approval to pass laws and make governmental appointments. They are also given the Rt Hon title to use before their names.

In reality, Jeremy Corbyn hasn’t actually been stripped of his Rt Hon title, as he was never offered it. The title is given to a member once they’ve been sworn in, and Corbyn declined

F

the invitation to the monthly opportunity to do so.

The Queen of the Privy Council, who are a group of advisors who carry out the Queen’s wishes, stripped the Labour leader of his title. This was only really in a digital sense, as it was only removed from his name on the Commons website. The Queen does not appear to be impressed.

Corbyn cannot join the Council now until next month. He will have to send someone from his Shadow Cabinet who is already a member to be briefed on important security matters in his place.

Something which has been rightly pointed out is that David Cameron did not attend a Privy Council meeting until three months into his leadership. However, Corbyn’s failure to be sworn into the Council could be more concerning for him than it was for the PM. A vote on military action in Syria could well take place before he can become a member - so the Leader of the Opposition will be unable to voice his obvious qualms with military intervention to the sovereign.

The Labour leader’s office confirmed that he would be demanding to be made a member of the Council so that he can receive intelligence briefings about any pressing security issues over the next month. This indicates his eagerness to join the Council, disproving allegations that he missed the meeting out of being adverse to the idea of kneeling before the Queen.

I hope this is the case. Though a republican sentiment is popular, and is shared by people across all parties,

Corbyn should have made his protest smaller and less media-friendly.

I try to avoid pessimism and say that whilst he will continue to make protests against the monarch, as he certainly reserves the right to do so, he should consider that the position of Leader of the Opposition is, to be crude, bigger than he is.

As out of date as the action of exercising these traditions with the monarch is, he should remember that they are merely traditions. Important though these meetings are in passing laws, the Queen would not dare to uphold the will of Parliament, nor of a government with a clear majority.

Regardless, if there is a vote on intervention in Syria and Corbyn is denied membership of the Council by the Queen’s advisors or the Coun-

cil in general, this would raise some more concerning questions. Specifically about the relationship between elected officials and unelected entities in our governing system.

Should elected officials have their demands approved to alter traditional procedures with Her Majesty in a moment of international significance such as a potential vote on Syria?

Of course they should! Especially if the elected official in question is the Leader of the Opposition! It would be a scandal if Corbyn was denied membership in this instance, a slap in the face for democracy. Especially because of his well-known pacifism, which is sentiment strongly shared among many inside and, more so, outside the walls of Westminster Palace.

Pictured: Jeremy Corbyn; it’s getting difficult to find an image that hasn’t been overly used by the media (Photographer: Bob Peters)

Petition forces Parliament to debate drug decriminalisation

ollowing 224,000 people signing a petition, decriminalising cannabis was assigned three hours to be debated in Parliament on 12th October.

100,000 signatures are needed on a petition on the Parliament website in order to debate a particular issue.

Remarkably, the petition hit this figure within four days as far back as August.

The petition argued that legalising cannabis could bring around £900m in tax revenue per annum, while also saving £400 million in associated police costs and creating over 10,000 new jobs.

Labour MP Paul Flynn brought forward the debate alongside sole Green MP Caroline Lucas and Norman Lamb, Liberal Democrats Health spokesman.

Flynn described cannabis as the oldest medicine in the world before comparing Britain’s approach to cannabis to the United States’ approach to gun control, “we’re getting near to a position where we look at the United States with incredulity because they don’t accept the evidence on the possession of guns”.

The parliamentarian for Newport West used Portugal as an example of successful decriminalisation, as crime rates have fallen since reforms. Since Colorado legalised cannabis adult drug usage has largely stayed the same and in fact dropped amongst young people.

Conservative minister Peter Lilley was open to the use of cannabis for medical reasons, citing Queen Victoria as someone who had used cannabis to relieve menstrual pain.

However, the possibility of the government amending drug laws is highly unlikely. Theresa May has already drawn up plans to crack down on legal highs such as laughing gas, indicating the maintaining of a tough line on drugs.

The government responded to the petition: “There are no plans to legalise cannabis as it would not address the harm to individuals and communities”.

“Legalisation of cannabis would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families”.

Norman Lamb accused the government of being hypocritical. He claimed around half the government had tried cannabis themselves, there-

fore were in no position to imprison thousands of young people who also use the substance.

In October last year, only 21 out of 650 were in attendance in a debate over drug policy, following a Home Office report suggesting no pattern between stringent drug laws and a declining in drug usage.

Successive governments’ firm and strict drug policy seems increasingly ideological, this was most notable when Professor David Nutt was fired in 2009 after calling for the legalisation of cannabis and to classify the drug as Class C. The petition brought attention to a divisive issue, though a swift rejection by the government of the petition’s proposal watered down the mass support it had gained, showing a step back for progressive drug policy.

“

The petition argued that legalising cannabis could bring around £900m in tax revenue per annum

”

POLITICS 21

Modern slavery on the rise in Britain Daniel Heard

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The government’s own most recent estimates put the number of people in slavery in the UK at 13,000

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odern slavery continues to be not only an international crime, but a blight that affects an estimated 29.8 million people around the world. Although slavery is illegal in every country in the modern world, it still exists, and even on the narrowest definition of slavery it’s likely that there are far more slaves now than there were victims of the Atlantic slave trade. It can include victims that have been brought from overseas, with these vulnerable people being forced to illegally work against their will in many different sectors, including brothels, cannabis farms, and in agriculture.

Victims found in Britain come from many different countries, including Romania, Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam and the UK itself. In 2013, 90 alone were UK nationals, a figure hard to believe or even comprehend in today’s society. Trafficking for the purpose of domestic servitude was the main reason women and girls (other than sexual exploitation) were trafficked, higher in the UK than anywhere else. For men, the main reason was for the purpose of labour exploitation. Although most associate trafficking with forced sexual exploitation, the most common purpose of trafficking is for forced labour.

Two years ago, over 1,746 referral reports of potential victims of trafficking were investigated. This was a 47 per cent increase on the number received in 2012. Yet the official

But who are the victims?

numbers of people referred to authorities are only a tip of the iceberg.

The government’s own most recent estimates put the number of people in slavery in the UK at 13,000.

Poverty, limited opportunities at home, lack of education, unstable social and political conditions, economic imbalances and war are some of the key drivers that contribute to trafficking of victims. What’s more, victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation. It is a global problem that transcends age, gender and ethnicities, including here in Wales. One of the most infamous and recent cases of this atrocity happened far too close to home.

Darrell Simester went missing after going on a trip to Porthcawl back in 2000. A member of the notorious Doran family, led by David Daniel Doran, had picked him up from the side of a dual carriageway and taken him to Cariad Farm in Peterstone, near Newport. For the next 13 years, Simester was then made to work for up to 16 hours a day, during this time only ever having two days off. He lived in appalling conditions, first in a rat-infested shed then a cold, squalid caravan, with only a horse trough to wash in, without soap or a toothbrush. After his family finally tracked him down last year following a social media campaign, they hardly recognised him, describing him as being a “broken man”.

In November last year, Doran was jailed for four-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to forcing an individual to perform compulsory labour.

Police investigating the Simester case say a pattern is emerging across the UK involving criminals exploiting vulnerable adults for their own benefit. Although modern slavery increasingly gets more attention, the response by the authorities still largely fails many victims. The government has begun to respond to

the issue of slavery in the UK with setting up the so-called National Referral Mechanism (NRM), to which potential victims of trafficking can be referred to and have their cases assessed, officially recognised as victims of trafficking, and support services provided. Going one step further, in June 2014, the draft Modern Slavery Bill was introduced in Parliament, signalling a renewed push to tackle modern-day slavery in Britain.

Pictured: Logo of antislavery. org, which campaigns in the UK and abroad.

A week in the Senedd with Carwyn Williams

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The Tories and Labour parties fell out into an argument over who is most ageist

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First Minister’s Questions It was a busy FMQs in the Siambr last week, with discussions on the proposed M4 relief road, health, education and devolution. Lindsay Whittle of Plaid Cymru suggested that up to £52 million has been spent on developing plans and consultation on the M4 project.

Whittle added that £4.2 million was spent in 2014/15, £19.8 million in 2015/16, £12 million on buying properties and £20 million on consultation fees, urging the Minister to drop the plans as it was a bad decision.

Carwyn Jones responded saying that the government has looked at other options, and the fees are necessary to inform the decision making process.

He also explained that the alternative

route would mean more disruption to residential homes and significantly greater impact on commercial properties.

There was confusion on the matter from the Conservatives; William Graham said his party supported the process, whereas moments later Nick Ramsey went totally against this calling on the government to consider the other options again.

The Lib Dem’s Kirsty Williams stood up to the minister on health, quoting a worrying fact that in North Wales only 60 per cent receive urgent radiotherapy treatment within 14 days, whereas the same figure in South Wales is almost 100 per cent.

Showing what seems to be another failure by Betsi Cadwaladr Health

Board, she also said that the charity sector has even offered to pay for new machines, but the health board might not provide the staff to man them. In what was a standard response, Jones said he would encourage the health board to look into and consider this, but offered no real solution to the problem himself.

The Tories and Labour parties fell out into an argument over who is ageist in the session. Andrew RT Davies said plans for adult education were failing, and 90,000 fewer adults in part-time education, pointing specifically to cuts in Further Education.

The First Minister however admitted that some awful decisions had to be made, due to cuts coming from the Conservative party in Westminster.

Davies said that the older you are in Wales, the less chance you’ll get to educate and re-train yourself, whereas Jones said the Tories were conducting a war on young people.

Leanne Wood had devolution on her mind, announcing worries that the current draft bill doesn’t go far enough. She also called on Labour to vote against any Wales Bill that restricts the Assembly’s powers in any way, to wait until after the Welsh General Election so a new government can take devolution to the next step.

Cardiff AM Rathbone sacked Jenny Rathbone has recently criticised the Welsh Government for spending millions of pounds on research and consultation on the proposed new M4 relief road in Newport.

She was also the chairman of the All Wales European Programme Monitoring Committee, which oversees the use of EU funds. But, after speaking out against the Government, she has been fired from her role. The First Minister said the chairman of the committee needs to act in the spirit of collective responsibility.

In response to this news, Plaid Cymru’s Simon Thomas said, “When I compared your managerial style to Sepp Blatter the other day I was clearly wrong. I underestimated your ruthlessness.” £8 million for mental health The Welsh Government has announced a big boost to adult mental health services in Wales, with over half the cash set for helping dementia patients. Health Minister Mark Drakeford also said that mental health is the single biggest area of NHS expenditure, and it’s £587 million budget will be ring-fenced.

22 SCIENCE

science

Editors: Maria Mellor Lizzie Harrett @GairRhyddSci science@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/science

Migraines are caused deep in the brain

Lisa Carr

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No study has ever correctly isolated the exact cause of the nauseating headaches

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Hannah Elliott

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Premature aging is closely linked to cigerette smoke and extremely low and high alcohol intake

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A protein embedded in the brain has been found to be the trigger

ood news for those who suffer from migraines (and no, hangover headaches don’t count). Scientists have taken another step closer to pinpointing the exact cause of the debilitating headaches and the new discovery could help develop therapies to treat sufferers.

There are many superficial theories surrounding the causes of migraines, from lack of food and stress, to sleep deprivation and hormonal changes. Yet no study has ever correctly isolated the exact physiological cause of the nauseating headaches, that can leave a person bed bound with paracetamol not even scratching the surface of pain relief.

However, researchers have recently found that a protein embedded deep in the brain can trigger a migraine by stimulating the neurones that control facial sensations. Simon Akerman of New York University and Peter Goadsby of Kings College London studied two specific neuropeptides released by neurones.

These two molecules, VIP and PACAP, were previously considered to play a role in migraines as they were found to be elevated in the blood of people who were suffering from migraine attacks. Both of these

proteins widen blood vessels, a process that was wrongfully thought to be significant in the development of a migraine.

PACAP in particular was shown to have substantial effects on the cluster of neurones in the head that are known to trigger a headache. When administered on rats in an experiment, the blood vessels in the rats’ brain showed increased activity, establishing that this protein is very much responsible for inducing a migraine. However, Akermand and Goadsby found in their experiments that the widening of blood vessels did not happen at the same time as the over activity of the neurones, therefore proving that the dilation of blood vessels doesn’t lead to migraines as previously thought.

The effect of PACAP on neurones can be blocked using specific molecules that block the protein receptors that PACAP binds to. When injected directly into the brain, the neurones responsible for headache pain stopped surging with activity. A cure for migraines could be on the cards using these receptor-blocking molecules, and a new therapeutic target for migraines can be developed from these experiments.

The existing drugs currently used

Pictured: A headache that leaves you unable to function normally (Photographer: Shaun Murphy)

“ for migraines, Triptans, are designed to shrink blood vessels in the brain based on the previous theory that migraines were caused by blood vessel dilation, therefore they are not particularly effective. They don’t work for many of the people who use

them and those also suffering from cardiovascular disorders can’t use them. The reason for the ineffectiveness of the existing Triptan therapy is now known, it was simply not fully understood how migraines really occurred.

Smoking and drinking cause premature ageing

N

ew research presented at the American Society of Human Genetics’ annual meeting this month shows exactly how excessive alcohol consumption can cause changes to our DNA that may result in premature ageing. The discovery, made at the University of Iowa by Robert A. Philibert and his team, used a technique called DNA methylation to examine how regularly smoking and drinking alcohol can affect gene expression.

DNA methylation involves modifying DNA by the addition of a methyl group to the DNA chain in order to fix genes in an ‘off ’ position, preventing their expression – these added groups are then copied onto new strands of DNA during replication.

It has been used in previous studies that show how levels of this modified DNA change as people typically age.

Consequently, it has also been used to explore how the levels are affected by cigarette smoke and alcohol at specific points along the human genome.

The new study used data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus to calculate biological age by measuring a person’s methylation levels

along their genome. This figure was then compared to the participant’s actual age and viewed alongside data about their exposure to cigarette smoke and alcohol, allowing the link between premature ageing and these environmental factors to be analysed.

The research shows that premature ageing is closely linked with exposure to cigarette smoke, as well as both extremely low and high alcohol intake. Surprisingly, regular but not excessive drinking was linked to the least accelarated aging.

This isn’t the first piece of published research that suggests moderate alcohol consumption may be beneficial to our health; information published by the Harvard School of Public Health lists a number of studies that have previously shown the correlation between having one or two drinks a day and a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

The team now plan to continue their research in order to establish how methylation levels change over a person’s life span and if they are affected should the person chooses to quit smoking or drinking. In the

When injected directly into the brain, the neurones responsible for headache pain stopped surging with activity

” Pictured: The vices that affect ageing (Photographer: Matthias Ripp)

meantime, their research enables us to educate the public on how these common lifestyle choices affect our bodies, as well as provide a quantitative measure of the adverse effects

of these toxins. A final benefit of the study serves to remind students that going to the pub after a long day of lectures may not be the worst idea after all!

SCIENCE 23

The medical mystery of anaesthesia Why do people wake up during surgery?

Shanna Hamilton

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I was awake but paralysed, I could hear the surgeon telling the trainee to cut ‘deeper into the eye’ Carol Weiner

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he last time I had an anaesthetic was for a fairly ‘minor’ operation on my foot, (12 weeks in bed wasn’t minor for me, thank you).

I was given something called ‘IV sedation’, which involved being rolled on to my front, and a small dose of the drug Propafol pushed slowly into the IV butterfly catheter in my hand. The idea was to send me into a mild sleep, so I was unaware of the procedure going ahead. Unfortunately, I appeared more tolerant than usual and I vividly remember grimacing and asking for more as a large needle went into the back of my thigh to block the nerve supplying my lower leg.

Eventually however, I must have dropped off. My next memory was staring blankly at a face I definitely could not recognise (only my own mother, woops) and unconsciously eating rich tea biscuits. Although I didn’t undergo a full general anaesthetic and was free to leave the hospital shortly after the procedure, I have absolutely no memory of the operation (thank god), even when I was apparently mumbling during it. My surgery was transformed from what could have been a horrific ordeal, to a gentle, if confusing nap, with sweet treats to finish.

It appears, however, that anaesthetic doesn’t always work completely and some people do remember parts of surgery, while a rare occurrence, with serious psychological consequences. A survey of three million patients across the UK and Ireland last year found that around one in 20,000 people had woken up during surgery.

However, in procedures that required a ‘lighter’ anaesthetic, such as a Caesarean section to deliver a baby, this risk rose dramatically to one in 670.

A wide range of sensations was described by these affected patients, including pain, choking, hallucinations and paralysis. Many reported the feel-

ing they were about to die, terrified of not being able to move. According to Jaideep Pandit of Oxford University, the consultant who led the study: “Paralysis is terrifying and has never been experienced by most people.” Around half of those displaying ‘anaesthetic awareness’ later went on to develop long-term psychological problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia.

Talking to CNN about the study, Carol Weiner discussed her experiences of awareness during eye surgery: “I was awake but paralysed. I could hear the surgeon telling the trainee to ‘cut deeper into the eye’. I was screaming, but no one could hear me. I felt no pain, just a tugging sensation… I thought I was dying.”

It appeared from the research that awareness during operations was much more common in patients who also received a paralytic drug, something to block nerves, as part of their procedure. Weiner would have received such a drug to paralyse her eye and face.

Our lack of understanding of how such terrifying experiences can occur stems back to the fact that actually, we don’t quite know how anaesthetics work either. While doctors can monitor whether our physical body is ‘under’, there is no way to know whether a patient is aware of what is going on. This all boils down to one of the biggest problems in science – understanding consciousness. We don’t know an awful lot when it comes to the brain, and the part that makes us unique, our consciousness, is a huge part of that. It allows us to self-reflect, have private thoughts, feelings and opinions, yet neuroscientists simply cannot explain how we can conjure up mental images, or translate signals into noise or colour.

Some scientists think it may be down to how sensory parts of the

brain are linked to the midbrain, a portion of the central nervous system. Others believe in the ‘Cartesian theater model’, that suggests there is a single spot in the brain responsible for everything, ‘where it all comes together’. It appears ultimately, that when it comes to the brain and consciousness, we are clueless.

It is no surprise then that the action of anaesthetic drugs is poorly understood either. How can a drug knock us out leaving us with no memory of pain? According to Stuart Hameroff, an anaesthesiologist from the University of Arizona, the answer lies in consciousness. “Anaesthetics are fairly selective, erasing consciousness while sparing non-conscious brain activity. So the precise mechanism of anaesthetic action should point to the mechanism for consciousness.”

A particularly confusing property of anaesthetic chemicals is that they are extremely diverse. A drug usually works by binding to a specific receptor, like a key in a lock. The key needs to be a certain shape to fit properly and induce a response. Anaesthetics however, can range from huge and complex molecules such as steroids, to mere atoms, such as the gas xenon.

While it has been concluded that certain receptors are affected in the process of rendering someone unconscious, such as the GABA receptor found on nerve cells, we still have no idea how binding such nerve cells leads to ‘knocking someone out’. Nick Franks of Imperial College, who has tackled this problem for decades, points out how very differently-structured drugs appear to work in the same way. “If you look at the brain under both xenon and propofol anaesthesia, there are striking similarities.

They must be triggering some common neuronal change and that’s the big mystery.”

There may now be an answer to the

issue of anaesthetic awareness, even if we can’t answer the unknown when it comes to consciousness. A device has been created by scientists at Swinburne University of Technology that can detect if someone is coming out of anaesthesia by monitoring changes in brain activity. According to David Liley who worked on the device, “Measuring how unconscious a patient is while they are under anaesthetic is particularly important, because if a patient is not completely unconscious they will remember the surgery, which can be quite a traumatic experience.”

This device, aptly named Brain Anaesthesia Response (BAR), uses three sensors placed on the forehead and behind the ears to detect electrical activity. This means that doctors will be able to adjust drug-delivery if it appears a patient is rousing, eliminating the chances of surgery awareness and pain during a procedure.

“The BAR Monitor has the potential to reduce the risks associated with surgical procedures, increase levels of patient care, optimise the use of anaesthetic agents, lower costs through reduced drug usage and in turn create a faster bed turnaround in the theatre and post-operative recovery rooms,” Liley added.

Undergoing general anaesthesia remains one of the most common surgical procedures around the world, even though, perhaps frighteningly, we have little understanding of how it actually works. While I was fortunate to remain memory-free of being worked on by surgeons, even if I do remember that giant needle and the bruise afterwards, some patients are not. Waking up during surgery must be a terrifying experience, and perhaps devices like the BAR monitor may stop these events from occurring, while we continue on the difficult quest to understand the human brain.

Pictured: The operating room (Photographer: Phalinn Ooi)

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Some people do remember parts of surgery with serious psychological consequences

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24 SCIENCE

Science attempts to determine our sexuality The search continues for the ‘gay gene’, but should it?

Pictured: Gay Pride balloons in Toulouse (Photographer: Guillaume Paumier)

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It has been noted that lions, chimpanzees, bison and dolphins, as well as 130 species of birds, have been spotted in same sex pairings

Maria Mellor

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Sexual attraction is such a fundamental part of life, but it’s not something we know a lot about at the genetic and molecular level Dr Tuck Nagun

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S

cience has in the past tried to explain in biological and sociological terms the reasons for homosexuality. It has long been recognised that sexuality is not a choice, both by scientists and LGBT rights activists, but the root cause of it is a mystery.

In evolutionary terms, the survival of the species depends on male/ female pairings to create offspring.

Aside from certain asexual creatures that can reproduce without a partner, you’d think that nature would only need heterosexual reproductive couples, however it has been noted that lions, chimpanzees, bison and dolphins, as well as 130 species of birds, have been spotted in same sex pairings. You may have heard stories in the news in recent years of same-sex penguin partners in Kent Zoo adopting a chick that had been abandoned by its biological parents. Is it reasonable to believe that homosexual partners are actually valuable to the survival of the species by acting as surrogate parents to abandoned or orphaned babies?

A recent study has flooded the media this past week, claiming to have found that homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications to DNA. Researchers from the University of California studied 47 pairs of identical twins - 37 twin pairs where they were both gay, and 10 where they differed in sexuality. They found that sexuality may be determined by epigenetic changes to DNA: chemical modifications that alter DNA

activity without changing the DNA sequence. With identical twins, they will have the same genetic sequence, but may have epigenetic differences.

Researchers looked at methylation of the DNA, a process that has been compared to a switch in the DNA making the effect of it stronger or weaker. Distinct patterns were found that seemed to be linked to sexuality.

Dr Tuck Ngun, a member of the research team, said: “sexual attraction is such a fundamental part of life, but it’s not something we know a lot about at the genetic and molecular level.”

There are, however, some things to note about this experiment before making any real conclusions. The study was very small - too small to be reliable on its own. The research only considered male twins and not female, and ignores the fact that sexuality is not divided into just two groups, gay or straight. Despite these facts, popular media has latched on to the findings. “DNA test that reveals if you’re gay” claims The Daily Mail, when in fact the already very small study correctly classified the sexuality of the individuals only 67 per cent of the time. Other articles take the ‘test’ element to twist the study how they like. Healthline, a website supposedly dedicated to health news, call it a ‘real-life gaydar’ as if you’re going to make people take a blood test in Live Lounge before you start flirting with them.

The nature vs. nurture debate is

ongoing and long-lasting. Popular culture likes to believe that mother or father figures in early life can influence sexuality in later life. Some scientists like to think that there’s some kind of genetic pattern to be found.

Even with the new evidence found by the University of California, there is still no definitive answer.

In the 1990s, a study by American geneticist Dean Hamer had people convinced that homosexuality was genetic and was passed down by a certain ‘gay gene’. This study has since tried to be replicated by different sources with hardly any luck in finding the same results. Research never seems to take into account that sexuality isn’t just a binary of gay or straight, and I doubt they’d be able to apply any such findings to explain bisexuality or asexuality for example.

In 2013, there was a study that found that having more older brothers increases the likelihood of the next male child being gay. The study involved nearly 1,000 participants and researchers examined how many biological brothers each man had.

The theory is that while carrying sons, an immune response is triggered in the mother that increases with each boy she carries. This is probably the most convincing piece of evidence to date to suggest nature over nurture, but yet again it ignores homosexual women and sexualities other than gay or straight. If they can’t prove it for other sexualities, then as interesting as the evidence may be, it still doesn’t

give the whole picture.

Sexuality is a difficult matter to discuss due to its extremely personal nature. Despite the matter being scientifically interesting, finding a true reason behind sexuality could be bad news for society. There are prejudiced individuals out there who might want to use the ‘DNA test’ for negative purposes. History is littered with horrific acts committed with homophobic intentions to ‘cure’ homosexuality, and if an actual test for homosexuality fell into the wrong hands it could be catastrophic. What if parents wanted to test their children? Or worse, what if they wanted to test their unborn children to see if they have the markers.

It’s only been around 40 years since homosexuality was removed from the list of recognised mental disorders.

Dr Ngun himself is worried about what the findings of the new study could bring, so much so that he abandoned his research in the field completely. He says, “I don’t believe in the censoring of knowledge, but given the potential for misuse of the information, it just didn’t sit well with me.”

From a scientific perspective, there is no ‘cure’, however researchers still persist to look for a ‘cause’. Julie Bindel, writing for The Guardian says ‘why is so much effort put into locating a gay gene and not a paedophile gene?’. As soon as any research possibly indicating that sexuality could be genetic, it sends the media into a frenzy.

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“

If an actual test for homosexuality fell into the wrong hands it could be catastrophic

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SCIENCE 25

The evolutionary advantage of beards Sophie Young

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The more competition within a society, the more grandiose males must make their features

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Lizzie Harrett

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While you may be partly genetically programmed to procrastinate, your environment will also influence you

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Want more Tinder matches? Grow some facial hair

ave you found yourself more attracted to bearded fellows as of late? Science says you have, and it can also tell you why.

Dr. Cyril Grueter and colleagues at the University of Western Australia have recently published an article in the journal Evolution and Human Behaviour in which they detail their investigation on males requiring ‘badges’ in order to win the attention of females in big societies.

Experiments with monkeys support this observation.

The evidence suggests that the more competition within a society, the more grandiose males must make their features if their objective is to be sexually attractive to a potential mate. Some of these features include cheek flanges in orangutans, elongated noses on proboscis monkeys, upper-lip warts in golden snub-nosed monkeys, and beards on human men.

The experiment was conducted using 154 species of primate, and a positive correlation was found between the extravagance of badges and the extent of competition. The need to stand out quickly is strong.

Beards are not the only option, Dr. Grueter also suggests that “body decoration, jewellery, and prestige items” can work similarly to serve this function.

History also provides support for

this argument, as from 1842 – 1971 there were fewer women available for marriage and during that time the popularity of beards and moustaches grew considerably.

Alongside dense populations and easy travel, the online aspect to dating has radically increased the pool from which people can choose a partner. Men growing elaborate beards and moustaches in order to stand out would fully comply with the research and observations on this behaviour. In particular, the aesthetic value on which people are judged, particularly online, has fast become the only means of selection, as apps such as Tinder require you to simply swipe left or right after viewing a picture for often just a few seconds. In such situations, personality may indeed be overrated.

The fashionable nature of beards is taking its toll on male wallets as the undertaking of beard transplants has grown substantially over the last ten years. Dr. Jeffrey Epstein, an American plastic surgeon, told the New York Times that a decade ago he performed around five beard transplants per year, this has now grown to approximately one per week. The procedure costs up to £14,500.

Will the taste for facial hair desist?

Competition surely won’t. However as the point is to stand out, it is possible that if the day comes when

Pictured: Ladies, form an orderly queue (Photographer: Edoardo Marino)

“ beards and moustaches are so terribly common, perhaps the babyfaced male will enter the spotlight;

thus continuing the cyclical nature of fashion, with a little bit of reasoning from science.

Professional procrastinator? It may be in your genes

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o you prefer reading BuzzFeed articles to your revision notes? Starting a new series of Pretty Little Liars instead of that long essay due for next week?

If you are serial procrastinator who will do anything to put off completing an important task, it may not be entirely your fault. Researchers have identified links between genetic traits and procrastination.

A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology studied the behaviour patterns of identical and non-identical twins to determine why some individuals are so easily distracted. They concluded that having a procrastination trait was due to both genetic and environmental factors influencing your behaviour. Identical twins have the same genetic makeup and nonidentical share on average half of their genes. Therefore a higher correlation of a particular factor among identical twins compared with nonidentical twins would indicate a greater role for genetic influence.

They divided the key qualities of procrastination into three main sections. How prone an individual is to procrastination and goal-failure were both tested through both types of twins completing questionnaires about these two factors. The third element they were examined on was executive function performance (essentially mental discipline), which they tested using game that ‘shifted

mind-sets’ - categorising pictures according to either their colour or shape.

They determined that a propensity to procrastinate was partly inherited. The variation of procrastination tendency also overlapped with genetic factors associated with goal failures and executive function ability, although environmental influences also explained the variation in these results. So while you may be partly genetically programmed to procrastinate, the environment which you put yourself in will also influence whether you reach for your university folders or the TV remote.

However, there is some good news for those who prefer to log-in to Facebook over Learning Central.

Procrastinators tend to be better at shifting mind-sets, meaning you can move more comfortably from one task to another. Your butterfly mind may prevent you from focusing, but you do have a stronger mental flexibility.

Scientists have not yet been able to identify the specific genes affecting these behaviours – it is likely that there are thousands of gene variants involved. However, by helping to pick apart the root causes of procrastination, we can develop methods that effectively help circumvent distraction. By demonstrating that at a genetic and behavioural level the desire to pro-

crastinate goes hand in hand with poor goal management, we may be able to prevent procrastination and

Perhaps the baby-faced male will enter the spotlight; thus continuing the cyclical nature of fashion

”

limit the influence genetic factors are having by setting more effective and achievable goals.

Pictured: Is time you enjoy wasting wasted time?

(Photographer: Lynn Friedman)

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SOCIETIES 27

societies Hannah Sterritt VP Societies

Poppy Jennings

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@GairRhyddSoc societies@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/societies

Hannah’s note: Societies forums

i everyone, this week in Societies we are hosting the first Societies Forums of the year between Monday 19th and Friday 23rd October. This is an opportunity for Committee Members to tell us about how the year is going for them, discussing the Societies Fairs, training, and communication among many other issues. This is running four times next week and is a great opportunity for feedback. We’re also adding in Society Networking so members of different Society categories have the opportunity for discussion and collaboration with targeted sessions. The networking builds on

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Editor: Aletheia Nutt

the Committee Training that committees received at the beginning of the year, where they were informed of all the goings-on and logistics of the Activities department of the Students’ Union and how we are here for the benefit of you as students. More details are available on the Students’ Union website.

In addition, the Students’ Union’s By Elections were held last week and the results have now been announced for several different positions: Scrutiny Committee, Student Senate, two Part Time Officer positions and NUS National and NUS Wales Delegates, all who hold a key role in the demo-

cratic processes of the Union. There’s an exciting year ahead and I’m sure you’ll hear a lot more about these roles and how they work for you in the near future.

One more thing – we’re holding drop in sessions all day on Tuesday 20th October in the IV Lounge at the Heath Park campus. If you’d like any information about Societies, please pop in and say hello! I’m also available by email at VPSocieties@cardiff. ac.uk. Hope you all have a great week and remember, it’s never too late to join a society - find out more on the Facebook Guild of Societies page: Facebook.com/GuildofSocieties

English Literature Society are running a Charity Creative Writing Competition

re you an avid dabbler in poetry or prone to writing a short story or two? What is it that inspires your creative flair? What theme do you often find yourself drawn to? Whatever it is, we want to see what you’re capable of. We want to know the depth of your inspiration this year for our creative writing competition.

Those of us who run the CU English Literature Society are trying to raise as much money as we can for the National Literacy Trust this year, and to do so we’re hosting a creative writing competition! We’re very excited to announce this and encourage everyone to get involved, whether you’re drawn to prose writing or poetry — we want to see what you have to offer. If you’d like any more informa-

tion on the charity and all the events that they themselves host, then you can find everything on their website: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk The limit for short story entries is 1,000 words; the limit for poetry submissions is 100 lines. We want you to format your pieces however you choose, and write within any theme or genre, as long as they don’t exceed these limits. You can submit as many pieces as you like but each will have an individual fee of £4. Members of the English Literature Society will receive a £1 discount on this fee. Entries can be bought from http://www.cardiffstudents.com/events/6515/6227/ (on our society homepage) and each submission must be sent via email to JenningsP@cardiff.ac.uk with your name and student number as the sub-

ject of the file so we know who has entered and paid their fees. Names will then be made anonymous when they are sent to be judged, we just need them on file to be able to announce the winner and distribute prizes!

The winner(s) of this competition will have their submission published in the January edition of Quench Magazine and receive a range of prizes, from book vouchers to theatre tickets to see The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe at the Sherman Theatre. Entries will close at 20:00 on 16th November 2015 so make sure to pay your fee and send in your literary pieces before then!

Because we are so curious about each individual’s unique inspiration for their writing, we’re hoping you

include with your submission what it is that inspires you. What was it that sparked the idea you’ve created? Whether it comes in the form of a photograph or meaningful quote, we’d like you to attach a file alongside your literary piece to show us what encouraged your writing.

It’s perfectly okay though if you don’t want to, we understand that not everyone uses outward influences to inspire them and a lot of work comes from within. We just thought it would be a nice companion to your creative writing — something that could be published alongside the winning piece to help readers understand its depth.

We can’t wait to read all the amazing entries, and look forward to seeing whose winning piece is published!

Teddy Bear Hospital Cardiff are putting on an Acoustic Night and Bake Sale

Kathryn Hughes

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eddy Bear Hospital Cardiff is a student led society open to all Medical and Dental students. Their aim is to reduce children’s fears of hospitals, doctors and dentists through play.

They visit children at school or in after-school scouting groups such as Rainbows, Cubs and Brownies using the fun medium of teddies and stations to teach children about basic anatomy, tooth-brushing, germs and healthy eating. Last year they had

15 visits to various groups, allowing over 120 members to take part!

Before taking part in visits, all members must have completed a training session and Child Protection Training, which the society provides in the autumn term. The training session familiarises new members with the equipment they use on visits and offers the chance to talk to more experienced members about how the sessions run.

They also hold fundraising events

and socials to raise money for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity, who they raised £770.17 for last year! This Wednesday (21st October), the Teddy Bear Hospital Society alongside the Paediatric Society are hosting an acoustic night and bake sale at Highfields Church (Monthermer Road).

This event will raise money for the Noah’s Ark Appeal, which is the Teddy Bear Hospital Society’s chosen charity. Noah’s Ark Children’s Hos-

pital Charity is a charity that raised enough money to build Wales’ first ever Children’s hospital, they called this Phase One of their charity.

Phase Two is to provide equipment such as a MRI scanner and a hydrotherapy pool. So, as you can see, Teddy Bear Hospital Cardiff really do raise money for fantastic causes.

Please like their Facebook page to stay up to date with visits and events throughout the year!

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Whether you’re drawn to prose writing or poetry - we want to see what you have to offer

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The aim is to reduce children’s fears of hospitals and doctors through play

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28 SOCIETIES

Cardiff University Jazz Society host their first Jam Night of the year

Jasmine Claricoates

Katherine Pugh

Ellie Philpotts

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night not to be missed!

If you love everything about jazz then Yard Bar last Thursday night was the place to be. Above the downstairs main bar is the Jam Jar Bar that regularly plays host to Cardiff University Jazz Society’s ‘Jam Nights’.

Here, in this relaxed environment, members of the society have the opportunity to get up and perform any piece of music of their choice. This night proved to be popular amongst not only members of Jazz Society, but also the people propping up the bar downstairs, who, having heard the sound of music from above, came to have a look; an hour in and the Jam Jar was packed out.

Yard Bar created the perfect atmosphere for a night of jazz, with sofas, modern decor and cocktails flowing,

T

“ ryone is encouraged to get involved and perform, it’s good to gain experience in such an informal atmosphere.

The Jazz Society are a friendly crowd, so for many, performing in front of them can be a great confidence boost, all members will cheer you along and give you words of encouragement.

From my experience as a member of the society, having been along to many of these sessions I would definitely recommend going along to take a look. They are organized every month, so come and chill with friends new and old at Cardiff ’s hottest Jam Night!

If you love everything about jazz, then Yard Bar last Thursday night was the place to be

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Law Society: What’s on?

he law society has an outstanding reputation in the Cardiff Law School and is governed by a committee of law students. Joining the society greatly enhances your experience at university. The society helps students on a social and academic level. We organise a variety of socials that help everyone to get to know one another and make new friends. We can also help increase your employability as we hold many careers events alongside many other skill building activities.

The law society comprises of twelve committee members which were elected after last year’s elections. The organisation is governed by our president Chelsea Mitchell, who is constantly working hard to make this year the best of all! She is planning more socials and holding more events that will help you to become a successful lawyer in the future.

There are a vast amount of upcoming events for law society members.

For example, the society is famously known for their amazing socials! Just

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there was a chilled vibe surrounding the whole space. It is the ideal environment to mingle and discuss music with like-minded people. The intimate setting allowed the audience to be up close to the performance and meant that the musicians were able to interact with the people watching; encouraging them to clap and dance along to the music. A wide range of repertoire was covered; from the likes of Coltrane to Snarky Puppy, whatever you like, there’s something for you.

Not only this, but the society comes armed with a range of music books for people interested in performing to look at for inspiration.

The best thing about these nights is that you don’t have to be a hardened performer to go up and play. You don’t have to be a music student; eve-

o you want to do something a bit different alongside your degree? Think about things beyond where you’re going for pre-drinks; the odd reference to your readings; and maybe pondering about what you’ll do when you graduate?

If you’re struggling for inspiration but essentially trying to find ways to engage in the deeper side of life while still having fun via typical student experiences of free food and meeting new people, Krishna Consciousness

last week we had our first social which was held in a local pub in Cathays and then we all headed to a night club afterwards. The night was truly fantastic as the social secretary arranged a white dress code which meant all law students could identify one another which gave everyone the opportunity to mingle and make new friends.

All members had a great time playing drinking games in the pub as well, which functioned as an icebreaker between students who didn’t know each other. We are currently planning our next law social so watch out on our social media pages for upcoming details!

Thanks to the dedication of Tamsin Best, who is our current vicepresident, there is an upcoming trip to Madrid in November! This is truly exciting with the tickets selling out in a mere two days! Madrid is a beautiful city with a rich history and stunning architecture. The law society cannot wait to take Madrid by storm for a total of four days! This year we will also be travelling in style as we will be flying instead of taking a long gruelling bus

journey.

Other upcoming events include the public speaking series which is run by James Williams. Hate speaking in front of big crowds? Then why not go to a public speaking workshop? This is a great opportunity to put an end to nervousness and to become a confident and collected public speaker. The law society holds many public speaking workshops throughout the year.

These events are often held by special guests such as lawyers from a variety of different firms, who speak about how they demolished their fear of public speaking.

The Law Ball is another event held by the society. Where do I start describing the event? Well firstly in my opinion, the Law Ball is the best night of the year! It is a great chance to glam up and have an amazing night dancing with your friends. The ball is usually held in the picturesque location of City Hall. It is a themed night with previous themes being ‘the great Gatsby’ and ‘a night at the Oscars’. Last year the ball was so popular that the tickets were

sold out in forty minutes! This year’s law ball officer is Megan ChisholmJones, and she is hoping that this year’s event will be the best one yet!

Last but not least is the society’s magazine known as ‘Unprecedented’ which is a termly magazine and online blog. All articles are written by law students on any topic, such as travelling or work experience or a subject in law that interests them. This is also a marvellous opportunity for society members to showcase their work and to make new friends. Joining the sub-committee enhances members application forms as the best articles written this year will be published by Lawyer2B on their website! Although this is a big commitment joining the sub-committee as a writer, the law society is there to guide you and help you every step of the way.

I think this article clarifies how amazing being a law society member is and how it can help you leaps and bounds in making friends and having all those important skills and experiences on your future application forms!

Society profile: Krishna Consciousness Society may well be what you should join.

We’re a Bronze-tier society transporting spirituality into today’s world, through studying topics like ‘what does it mean to be truly successful’; ‘why do bad things happen to good people; and ‘the power of sound.’

If you’re questioning whether you’ll be able to pull your weight when such big issues are the topic of conversation, fear not. KC Soc’s socials go beyond just talking – you can also try your hand at new experi-

ences like meditation; yoga; artwork; drama; traditional music and even, perhaps most crucially, directly helping society such as by feeding and getting to know the homeless. You can normally catch KC-Soc on Mondays at 6:30pm in Room G, but sometimes socials expand beyond the SU, or even Cardiff altogether.

The first meet of the academic year was in the yurt at Milgi, a unique vegetarian restaurant on City Road, and you even have the chance to explore the beautiful waterfalls of the Brecon

Beacons on Saturday 21st November – buy tickets at http://www.cardiffstudents.com/events/11505/6079/ and give it a go!

Cardiff ’s Krishna Consciousness is among 30 of these University societies, overall offering the perfect platform to evolve the mind, revamp the definition of ‘structure’ and bring insight by linking similar-minded students. Self-realisation, new skills and a happier lifestyle can all be attained by getting involved, so what are you waiting for?

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The law society for example is famously known for their amazing socials!

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30 TAF-OD

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

Cymru ar lwyfan y byd: Dyma ein hamser ni N “ Dan Heard

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i wnaeth popeth weithio allan mewn tebygrwydd fel gwnaeth Chris Coleman a’i chwaraewyr ei ddychmygu, ond serch hynny, fydd y noson yna yn Zenica yn cael ei chofnodi yn hanes tîm cenedlaethol Cymru fel y noson gwnaeth bron chwedeg mlynedd o hunllef a galaru dod i ben. Mae enw Cymru nawr ymhlith Lloegr, Spaen a’r Almaen gan wneud ei phererindod at Ffrainc haf nesaf, yn claddu pob atgof ofnadwy o drio llwyddo i gyfaddasu ar gyfer twrnamaint rhyngwladol yn sownd yn y gorffennol. Nawr, gaiff Gymru’r siawns i ddangos y llwyfan Ewropeaidd yn union beth sy’n gallu cael ei gwblhau efo waith caled, yr ymdrech yn ystod yr amserau caled,

ac, wrth gwrs, y don o wladgarwch a chefnogaeth y tu ôl iddynt.

I roi pethau mewn i fath o bersbectif, y tro diwethaf y gwnaeth Gymru llwyddo i gyrraedd twrnamaint o bwys, Cwpan y Byd ym 1958, roedd Harold Macmillan dal yn Prif Weinidog, bu Elvis Presley efo’i chan No. 1 gyntaf, a Wolverhampton Wanderers a Preston North End yn ymladd am ragoriaeth ar ben yr Uwch Gynghrair.

Er y chafodd Cymru ei guro am y tro gyntaf yn ei grŵp cymhwyso gan golli i Bosnia-Herzegovina, o ganlyniad dau gol gan Milan Djuric a Vedad Ibisevic, fe deimlai hyn fel manylion bach ac efo ddim pwys wrth ystyried beth y mae’r fuddugoliaeth yn golygu i sut gymaint o gefnogwyr, ac, mewn

gwirionedd, i Gymru fel cenedl gyfan.

Gwnaeth Cyprus wneud ffafr enfawr gan guro Israel, yn golygu llwyddiant inni efo gem i fynd, ac yn sicrhau bydden ni’n gorffen o leiaf yn ail yn ein grŵp. Roedd dim atal beth yr oedd wedi cael ei wneud o fewn ein hanes.

Yn ogystal, ar ôl goroesi un o’r grwpiau mwyaf anodd o fewn twrnamaintau diweddar, wnaeth tim cenedlaethol Rygbi Cymru hefyd llwyddo. Er y llu o niwedion i’w chwarewyr gorau gwahanol, gwnaeth y tim fel uned llwyddo i gyrraedd y rownd nesaf.

Y broblem nesaf oedd gwynebu un o’r ochrau gorau rhwngwladol yn y byd; De Affrig. Mae’r bois, a’r hyfforddwr Warren Gatland yn mynnu ei fod yn barod am unrhyw her o fewn

Y tro diwethaf y gwnaeth Gymru llwyddo i gyrraedd twrnamaint o bwys, Cwpan y Byd ym 1958

”

Carwyn Williams

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Y digwyddiad yn rhan o ddyddiau mwyaf anffodus y Gymru fodern

”

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yr wythdeg muned yn Twickenham.

Mae rygbi yn gêm wedi ei adeladu ar haen o deimladau wahanol, gan gynnwys dioddefaint, ac hefyd yn cylchynu eich galon a’ch enaid hefyd.

Gallech chi gael eich cludo’n bell efo enaid, efo enaid fel y mae y cefnogwyr ac, eto, y pobol cyffredin Cymraeg wedi ei ddangos tro ar ol tro wrth rhoi popeth tu ol i’r tim, fel y mae’r bois yn arddangos pob tro y mae nhw’n rhoi y crys goch a rei gyrff.

Fe wyddai ar ôl y perfformiad yn erbyn Awstralia fod fwy o manylder a mwy o ffocws ei angen yn ei ffordd o chwarae- ond un beth sydd ddim ei angen yw rhagor o enaid. Wyddai’r dau dim fydd colli ar ddydd Sadwrn yn golygu diwedd ar ei freuddwyd Cwpan y Byd am o leiaf pedair mlynedd, ond gan wybod fydd ochor Heyneke Meyer yn un hynod o galed i dorri lawr, wyddai Gymru fod ganddynt y nwyddau perffaith i sicrhau fuddigoliaeth. Feddwl o dan y bwysau, o dan llygaid filoedd o chefogwyr yn y stadiwm ac yn wylio ar draws y wlad, feddwl yn fwy glir o dan y bwysau yma, a feddwl yn fwy glir eto o dan y pwysau fwyaf dros ben, hynny sydd angen ei wneud yn erbyn y Springboks.

Wn i ddim beth y bydd y dyfodol yn dal am ein dau dîm orau cenedlaethol. Mae gan y ddau ohonynt gyfle ardderchog, nid ond i arddangos ar lwyfannau Ewropeaidd a Bydol am beth yn union y mae Cymru yn gallu gwneud, ond hefyd yn dal calonnau a chariad y genedl y tu ôl iddynt efo pob symudiad, pob gôl, pob cais, pob buddugoliaeth ar a bant o’r cae. Dyma’n amser ni. Amser Cymru. O leiaf fod un beth yn sicr, dw i byth wedi bod mor falch o fod yn Gymro.

Hanner canrif ymlaen: Gall Dryweryn arall ddigwydd eto

0 mlynedd yn ôl, boddwyd y bentref bach yng nghalon Cymru. Aeth Capel Celyn i mewn i’r llyfrau hanes, er mwyn gallu cadw i fyny gyda gofynion dŵr Lerpwl. Yr wythnos diwethaf, gwnaeth Alun Cairns, Gweinidog Swyddfa Cymru, galw’r hanes fel “pennod gywilyddus yn hanes Cymru.” Ychwanegodd y gweinidog bod y digwyddiad yn rhan o ddyddiau mwyaf anffodus y Gymru fodern.

Gwnaeth Liz Saville Roberts, Aelod Seneddol newydd Dwyfor Meirionydd, defnyddio’r pen blwydd i roi rhybudd. Mewn trafodaeth a rhoddwyd i farcio’r achlysur, cyfeirydd at y gyfraith. Mae’n dweud gall yr Ysgrifen-

nydd Gwladol amddiff yn yr hawl i ymyrryd ar unrhyw ddeddfwriaeth Gymraeg a “allai cael unrhyw effaith difrifol ar adnoddau dwr Lloegr, cyflenwad dwr Lloegr neu ansawdd y dŵr yn Lloegr.” Yn gyfreithlon felly, allai Tryweryn arall ddigwydd.

Fel enghraifft ddiweddar, mae’n dadlau bod galw am tua 700-750 llefydd carchar yng Ngogledd a Chanol Cymru, ac felly mae’r cynlluniau i adeiladu carchar i dros 2,000 yn un od. Yr unig gyfiawnhad; swyddi.

Syndod yw clywed bod hwn y gyfraith gyda datblygiadau sylweddol datganoli, ond mewn gwirionedd mae’n gwneud synnwyr llwyr…i Loegr. Mae Cymru’n gyfoethog ar ran

adnoddau naturiol, ond gellir dadlau da ni byth wedi cael digon o fantais allan o hyn. Mae’n beth wallgo’ bod gwlad arall yn cael rheoli mewn ffordd ar adnoddau naturiol Cymru.

Ond, a yw’r gofynion yma yn dod lawr i genedlaetholdeb? Mae nifer o haneswyr yn gweld Tryweryn fel rhan bwysig o dwf cenedlaetholdeb yn y 1960au. Daeth protestio ar gyfer yr hunaniaeth Gymraeg o ddifri yn y cyfnod, a wnaeth newid safbwynt gwleidyddol y wlad yn raddol, ac arwain at dwf Plaid Cymru. Wrth gwrs nid

oedd newid dros nos, ond lewyrchan bach ar gyfer sicrhau llais gwleidyddol go ddifri.

Erbyn heddiw, mae’r mwyafrif o bobl wedi anghofio achos pentref bach Capel Celyn, heblaw am wers hanes neu raglen gloi ar y teledu efallai. Dw i ddim yn dweud mai annibyniaeth yw’r ateb hawdd yn syth, ond yn hytrach y peth pwysicaf yw cael pobl Cymru i siarad a thrafod eto.

Daeth llais Cymru yn fyw o achos Dryweryn, sydd wedi cael ei cholli erbyn heddiw.

Mae rygbi yn gêm wedi ei adeladu ar haen o teimladau wahanol, gan gynnwys dioddefaint, ac hefyd yn cylchynu eich galon a’ch enaid hefyd

” “

O leiaf fod un beth yn sicr, dw i byth wedi bod mor falch o fod yn Gymro

”

Yn y llun: Carreg mae bron pob Cymro yn adnabod yn syth, yn cofio pentref bach Capel Celyn (Ffotograffydd: Rob Phillips)

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32 PARK LIFE

ppark life

Editor: Vacant @HeathParkCSU VPHeathpark@cardiff.ac.uk gairrhydd.com/park-life

Heath Hub opened

The Students’ Union now has a presence at the Heath Neil Alexander

“

The SU in the IV Lounge is now in line with the modern look and feel of the Park Place Union

”

Camilla Selous

T

he Heath Students’ Union was officially opened by Pro-Vice Chancellor Patricia Price on Monday 12 October. Staff from the Students’ Union were in attendance to tour the new space in the IV Lounge as well as the 2 new offices.

The SU in the IV Lounge is now in line with the modern look and feel of the Park Place Union. It continues to offer all the same services that the Park Place Union offers but now has a fabulous new makeover and is open 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

Each day a service from Park Place will have a staff member in attendance to speak to Heath students and better gage how they can meet their needs. Patricia Price commented on the colourful, open and fun feel of the new space and was interested to

know about how the students use the services.

The two back offices were praised

by Patricia for being bright, inviting and appealing. One of the offices was specifically designed for our Student Advice Service that already has drop in sessions here on a Monday, to see any Heath student that wants to discuss issues ranging from academic to housing. Park Place SU staff will also be working from the back office and seeing students on a one to one basis.

The second office space is a meeting room that will be available for students to book for group work or committee meetings. Patricia Price again praised the room for being current and lively.

As Patricia was based at the Heath

for 15 years she more than understands the pressure and workload the Heath students face. She was instrumental in getting the investment needed to refurbish the space for the students and will continue to be a force for change and inclusion for the Heath campus.

Patricia Price in her official opening speech was to stress the importance of catering for the Heath

students and making them a priority rather than an afterthought. She puts the emphasis on driving things forward at the Heath and giving the Heath students the best service and experience they can have while they are here.

Please pop into the new Heath Students’ Union to see the refurbishment, what we can offer you and how you can best use the new spaces.

Pictured: Pro-Vice Chancellor, Patricia Price, with Katey Beggan (Photographer: Cardiff Students)

My experience of the Moldovan slave trade

S

lavery. If I’m being honest, I always thought it had ended several centuries ago with Wilberforce and Lincoln. When I went to a talk by a Moldovan charity called ‘Beginning of Life’, I was shocked beyond belief to learn about the realities of Modern Day Slavery. Today, an estimated 27 million people worldwide are ex-

ploited in the commercial sex industry and as forced labour. This summer I boarded a flight to Moldova to volunteer for them and learn more about human trafficking.

Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe and a terrifying amount of its population have been trafficked, primarily into the sex industry in Rus-

sia and Western Europe. When Moldova gained its independence from the Soviet Union, the economy collapsed and drove almost half the population to leave the country and seek work abroad. This created a whole generation of abandoned children incredibly vulnerable to exploitation.

Traffickers lure young girls in with the

offer of jobs abroad only to confiscate their documents on arrival and force them into sex work.

Working with Beginning of Life was the most challenging but inspiring experience of my life so far. One of the women I met had been sold into slavery by a ‘boyfriend’ looking to exploit her for financial gain. She had been completely traumatised but after three years on BOL’s restoration program she had undergone a significant healing process and was now training to be a nurse.

An important lesson I took away was the need to understand each of our own skills and limitations when we want to help a cause we are passionate about. I’m not a lawyer who can prosecute traffickers, a social worker who can support survivors or a psychiatrist who can provide therapy, but I do have other skills! Whilst there, I had the opportunity to lead Art, Dance and English workshops on the youth camps BOL use as a platform to educate teenagers about trafficking.

Trafficking is much closer to home that we’d like to think. Only this July, the police freed 13 slaves in raid of a traveller site outside Cardiff. To learn more, check out ‘the A21 campaign’ or consider watching the award-winning documentary ‘Nefarious Merchant of Souls’.

Pictured: Chisinau is the capital of Moldova (Photographer: Pieter van Marion)

PARK LIFE 33

Katey’s Note: Medics’ Varsity

Last year’s inaugural Medics’ Varsity between Cardiff Medics and Bristol Medics was a huge success, with Cardiff whitewashing their rivals at Coombe Dingles in Bristol. In November, the second instalment of the competition comes to Cardiff!

Katey Beggan VP Heath Park

“

This is a fun filled day which allows Heath students to take the sporting stage

”

H

ello! I hope everyone is well.

We are now well underway with our plans for Medics’ Varsity which will held in Cardiff this year on Saturday November 21st.

We have all the sports from last year competing, however we will have a debut match from Healthcare basketball this year. As I am sure many of you remember from last year, this is a fun filled day which allows Heath students to take the sporting stage and show off the talent that Heath students have to offer.

We are hoping to step up what we have to offer in our package this year with lanyards, T-shirts, food and club night entry all being included with the ticket deals.

Please come along as we hope to make the event bigger and better than ever! Have a look out on the Cardiff Students’ Union website for

more details nearer the time.

In other news we had the Heath events week last week. Thank you for everyone who has been involved with the events from our Quiz night to our Student Parents social. We hope to have more social events over the coming months so please look out for these.

The University are currently looking into improving security at the Heath Park site. This will hopefully involve better lighting and the implementation of CCTV cameras with the idea that the current spate of bike thefts will decrease and overall security around the University buildings will improve. This is a positive step which will help with student safety at the Heath Campus.

Enjoy the week ahead! Like I said last time, my email is vpheathpark@ cardiff.ac.uk. Please feel free to email

me about any issues that may arise over the coming weeks.

Medics’ Varsity 2015 schedule Saturday, November 21st Cardiff 9:00 - Mens Hockey Astroturf 10:00 - Netball New Hall, Talybont Sports Village 10:20 - Womens Hockey Astroturf 11:30 - Basketball New Hall, Talybont Sports Village 11:30 - Mens Squash Fitness and Squash Centre 12:00 - Womens Squash Fitness and Squash Centre 13:30 - Football Blackweir 14:30 Rugby Blackweir

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SPORT 35

BUCS Results: Wednesday 14th October H/A

Sport

Cardiff Team

Opposition

Result

W/L/D

H

Badminton

Mens 1st

Bath 1st

0-8

L

A

Badminton

Womens 1st

Aberystwyth 1st

0-8

W

H

Fencing

Mens 1st

Bristol 1st

113-118

L

H

Football

Mens 1st

Hartpury 2nd

2-1

W

H

Football

Mens 2nd

UWE 1st

2-6

L

H

Football

Womens 2nd

South Wales 1st

1-4

L

H

Football

Mens 3rd (Medics)

UWE 2nd

2-1

W

H

Football

Mens 4th

Cardiff Met 4th

2-1

W

H

Rugby Union

Mens 1st

Bath 1st

7-32

L

A

Rugby Union

Mens 3rd

Cardiff Met 4th

26-35

W

A

Golf

Mixed 2nd

Cardiff Met 2nd

4-2

L

H

Squash

Mens 1st

UWE 2nd

6-12

L

H

Squash

Womens 1st

UWE 1st

12-0

W

H

Squash

Mens 2nd

Swansea 1st

5-14

L

H

Squash

Womens 2nd

Bristol 2nd

0-12

L

H

Volleyball

Mens 1st

Swansea 1st

3-0

W

H

Volleyball

Womens 1st

UWE 1st

3-0

W

A

Lacrosse

Womens 1st

Bournemouth 1st

1-15

W

H

Lacrosse

Womens 2nd

Royal Agricultural Womens 1st

14-1

W

H

Lacrosse

Mens 1st

Bath 1st

3-13

L

A

Lacrosse

Mens 2nd

Swansea 2nd

7-2

L

A

Tennis

Mens 1st

Exeter 2nd

4-8

W

H

Tennis

Mens 2nd

UWE 1st

4-8

L

A

Tennis

Womens 1st

Southampton 1st

3-3

D

A

Netball

Womens 1st

Exeter 1st

35-40

W

H

Netball

Womens 2nd

UWE 1st

36-23

W

A

Hockey

Mens 1st

Cambridge 1st

1-3

W

H

Hockey

Mens 2nd

UWE 2nd

11-1

W

A

Hockey

Mens 3rd

Royal Agriculture 1st

2-2

D

H

Hockey

Womens 1st

Bath 1st

2-3

L

A

Hockey

Womens 2nd (Medics)

Southampton 1st

5-0

L

H

Hockey

Womens 3rd

Bristol 2nd

0-1

L

H

Basketball

Mens 1st

Bristol 1st

59-53

W

H

Basketball

Mens 2nd

South Wales 1st

47-60

L

A

Basketball

Womens 1st

Southampton 1st

63-49

L

A

Table Tennis

Womens 1st

Bath 1st

2-3

W

A

Table Tennis

Mens 1st

South Wales 1st

9-8

L

36 SPORT

NFL at Wembley: Is it worth the hassle?

Following the recent instalments of the NFL’s International Series, we ask whether hosting matches in the UK will ever replicate the real deal

Jack Boyce

“

It felt that the majority of the people were there to put a post on Facebook rather than to actually enjoy the event.

”

I

t’s not everyday that you get to watch some of the best NFL players on the planet, especially when you’re on the opposite side of the Atlantic Ocean. So when the fixture list for the ‘NFL International Series’ was released earlier this year, I was determined to make it to London to watch some good ol’ NFL. I ended up getting a ticket to watch the New York Jets take on the Miami Dolphins, the first game of the series.

I cannot state how excited I was to watch my favourite sport with a load of other people who share the love for the sport, instead of in front of a TV screen.

For those that don’t know, the Jets and the Dolphins is considered to be a particularly fierce rivalry, so I thought I was being realistic in expecting some of the passion to spill over to the UK fans. This was not the case.

In football, ‘plastic fans’ is a term which is thrown around to describe sets of fans that attend the games but don’t really add much to the atmosphere, hence; ‘plastic’, they are there but they’re not completely ‘there’. This term is usually thrown at the biggest clubs, such as Manchester United or Real Madrid. They’re teams that attract a whole load of tourists from around the world who will go to the game, buy some merchandise, take a

shed load of photos and look around bewildered. This usually only extends to a fairly small section of fans attending matches, so the atmosphere is not always adversely affected.

Now, magnify this concept to a 90,000 seater stadium and then the overall experience does take a hit.

The image of some guy wearing a Dolphins jersey with ‘Tannehill 17’ (the most popular Dolphins player) emblazoned on the back, carrying an £8 hotdog in one hand and a £5 beer in the other, posing for a photo in the middle of the walkway is etched into my brain forever. I thought it would be funny to count the amount of times it happened throughout the game, but then I lost track of the number due to the sheer number of times it occurred.

I get that this event is quite unique, and that you may want to get a photo of yourself enjoying the festivities to post on your several social media profiles, but when you’re not even paying attention to the game – that really gets under my skin. It felt that the majority of the people were there to put a post on Facebook that they’ve been to the game, rather than actually enjoying the event.

American Football is also quite a nuanced sport that doesn’t really translate so well to the British public.

In football or rugby it’s quite easy to

enjoy the game, even as a casual – when someone gets close to scoring or does score then you should cheer or sigh depending on what team you’re supporting. American Football has a few unspoken rules that the Americans are used to, but not so much the British. One of these is that when the quarterback is communicating to the rest of his team, his fans should be as quiet as possible so there are no possible mix-ups. Again, this is something that the crowd did not understand. Every time Ryan Tannehill was calling plays, the majority of Dolphins fans got louder in an ill-advised attempt to spur on their team. This actually became a detriment to the team, and you could see the Dolphins players get frustrated at how they were essentially being dragged down by their own support.

It wasn’t all on the British public, though. The USA’s truly awful habits came out in full force during the down sections of the game. There were painfully cringe-worthy attempts to initiate such old favourites such as the ‘kiss cam’ (which was only successful twice after many, many attempts), the ‘flex cam’, ‘party cam’ and other variations of finding people in the crowd to do stupid shit. Cheerleaders were sent out to ‘pump up’ the crowd by shooting tshirts out of cannons and doing their

regular routines as many times as the players took the field, and it all felt like a half-hearted attempt to Americanise a crowd which, well, wasn’t American.

It also didn’t help that the NFL were essentially acting like those of us who were properly invested in the game had no idea what was happening and that they needed to explain every detail like we were a child. The announcer’s favourite lines included such mind-numbing explanation like “That was a run play that went for 12 yards and that means that’s another first down” and so on. The NFL even went so far as to air a video in the stadium of a reporter asking fans such dull questions as “what is the name of the person who throws the ball?” It seemed to target those who had only ever watched the Superbowl once for that time Beyoncé was the halftime entertainment, instead of the vast amounts of actual NFL fans who were excited to watch their favourite sport in person.

If talks about there being a permanent NFL team in London are true, the plans need to be scrapped immediately. The NFL and anywhere else in the world does not mix, at least not yet. Maybe give it a few more years until the UK becomes more versed in the sport and then we can come back to the debate.

Pictured: Wembley Way on game day (Photographer: mingles27/ flickr)

“

If talks about there being a permanent NFL team in London are true, the plans need to be scrapped

”

SPORT 37

Continued: Wales confirm Euro 2016 berth

Continued from back page

“

Wales are more than just a oneman team

”

Jim Harris

record? Bale actually turns up to play on a regular basis, hence, along with other reasons, his superior impact on the national team. Also, there is the fact that Giggs’ world-class status is a total myth. Though a quality player, he was never the consistent match-winner that Bale is – but perhaps that is an article for another day.

Wales are more than just a oneman team, however. The tag ‘Gareth Wales’ is amusing, but unjust. No keeper kept more clean sheets than Wayne Hennessey during qualifying, whilst Ashley Williams was consistently impressive as both a player and captain. Hennessey, Williams and right-back Chris Gunter played in every match of the campaign, giving the defence vital solidity and stability.

The impact of players such as Bale and Williams is undeniable. But the qualifying group, the Welsh, found themselves in was far from unnavigable. Indeed, if the teams in Group B were to be ranked according to players’ individual quality, then

Wales would surely only drop one place. Even this would be a contentious decision: Bosnia – who would take second position in our theoretical table – are a side dotted with talent but who, much akin to Wales themselves, have little strength in depth.

Had the Welsh indeed fallen just short of automatic qualification, the playoffs would have provided a welcome lifeline. Expansion of the European Championships from a 16 to a 24 team format means that, for the first time, third-placed finishing sides will contest a two-legged tie for a place at next summer’s tournament.

Wales were beaten to a place at the 2014 World Cup by Croatia and Belgium and for the 2010 tournament, it was Russia and Germany. Ahead of the 2012 Euros, Switzerland and England both finished above The Dragons, so all things considered, it is perhaps no surprise that Wales have previously struggled to qualify for these competitions. But with a favourable group draw and an ex-

panded competition format this time round, the prospect of making the European Championships in France was something much more realistic.

When extreme points of view come together and clash, reality invariably lies somewhere in-between.

Has this been a monumental and completely unexpected triumph on behalf of Chris Coleman and his men? No. Qualification from the group Wales were in was definitely achievable, and they have a string of quality players now, including one genuinely world-class star in Bale.

Does Welsh success owe itself simply, therefore, to pot luck – with

How Euro 2016 will work Group A

Group B

Group C

1.

1.

1.

2.

2.

2.

3.

3.

3.

4.

4.

4.

Group D

Group E

Group F

1.

1.

1.

2.

2.

2.

3.

3.

3.

4.

4.

4.

W

ith the long and gruelling qualification period out of the way, many of Europe’s top nations, including Wales, can now begin preparations for next summer’s European Championships in France. 2016 will be the first Championships with 24 competing nations after UEFA expanded the size of the tournament. And so arises the question – how will the new format work?

Formerly, the European Championships had 16 teams, shared across four groups. The top two sides from each group would qualify for the quarterfinals, before semifinals and a final would ensue. With 24 teams involved in 2016, the format and structure is somewhat more complicated: Groups will again consist of four

teams, but this time spread over six groups with the top two sides still automatically qualifying for the next round. UEFA have though, for 2016 and beyond, introduced an additional ‘knock-out’ stage, meaning that, of the 24 competing nations, 16 will progress out of the group phase.

With 12 teams set to qualify automatically for the ‘Round of 16’, the four best performing third-place sides will also make it through to complete the draw. These teams will be determined by total points obtained primarily, however if this is level between nations, goal difference will decide it, as per normal, ahead of goals scored. Like any other major football tournament, the quarterfinals will follow for winners of each ‘Round of 16’ tie, before the semifi-

nals and of course, the final, which takes place in Paris on 10th July.

In regards to the group stage draw, this will take place on 12th December 2015 in the French capital. Wales will then discover who awaits them in next summer’s major tournament: their first for 58 years. Given Wales’ poor (lack of ) record in recent competitions, Chris Coleman’s side are seeded in Pot Four for the draw meaning, in a worst case scenario, they could face the challenge of overturning Poland, Italy and Germany before the knock-out stages. A match up with England in next summer’s Championship is not out of the question either, but fellow home nation Northern Ireland join Wales in Pot Four so there is no chance of a meeting there.

changes to the tournament format and a favourable group draw both benefiting the nation? Not at all.

The team played well throughout the campaign, and overcame some strong sides - notably beating Belgium and finishing above Bosnia, who were at the 2014 World Cup. In days gone by, even fourth-placed Israel would have been viewed as fairly formidable opposition.

So can Wales really deliver in France next summer? Of course they’ll need Bale to stay fit, and a good group-stage draw but this is the best Welsh side in decades, so who’s to say they won’t go far?

Pictured: Aaron Ramsey celebrates his goal against Andorra (Photographer: Huw Evans)

Who’s qualified already?

France (as hosts) England Czech Republic Iceland Austria Northern Ireland Portugal Spain Switzerland Italy Belgium Wales Romania Albania Germany Poland Russia Slovakia Croatia Turkey

38 SPORT

BUCS Rugby: Cardiff first XV beaten by resolute Bath

James Lloyd

“

Cardiff bossed Bath at the scrum and it was the only area of the game which they seemed to dominate.

”

Harry Elliott Cardiff Blues Columnist

C

fitness was pivotal to their win. He told Gair Rhydd Sport: “They were a bit rusty, but to be fair to them it’s their first game of the season, whilst we have had a couple already and haven’t started great.

“They weren’t a bad side, they were probably the better team in the second half, so congratulations to them and I’m sure they’ll do well this season.” Roberts and scrum half Petrozzi both entered the game having played at the Red Bull European Seven’s Championships. Roberts said: “We ended up playing at The Rec in front of 15,000 people, so that was unbelievable.”

Both Wilson and Roberts quickly turned the focus to Wednesday’s crunch match with Cardiff Met. Wilson added: “It’s massive for us, we need to be working hard and then fly into Cardiff Met, a derby next, what more do you want really? It’s a big game to react to and we can do a job I hope.”

ardiff University’s Rugby first team fell to a disappointing 32-7 loss to the University of Bath in their season opener at Llanrumney.

Cardiff, who entered the game having not lost at “The Fortress” in 18 months, were hampered by firsthalf injuries and went down 10-0 within the opening fifteen minutes.

Cardiff flanker Sam Montieri was stretchered off in the 18th minute, delaying the game for half an hour.

Montieri was taken by ambulance with a suspected broken left leg.

And Cardiff never seemed to get a grip on the game after the restart, despite some big scrums.

In a quiet first half, Bath scored on the cusp of half time, with a well worked try. Luca Petrozzi crossed over after slick handling work on the right flank to make it 18-0. Formerly on the books of Treviso, scrum half Petrozzi had a strong game and was at the forefront of the majority of Bath attacks.

After the interval, Cardiff knew they had to come out fighting and simply had to score the first points

of the second half to have any chance of a comeback. Just two minutes in, Bath made it 25-0 with a converted try by their left winger.

Cardiff bossed Bath at the scrum and it was the only area of the game that they seemed to dominate.

Plagued with injuries, the pack had to reshuffle with hooker Jack Haines being shipped to fill in at Number 8.

Cardiff continued to press and their build up was patient and precise. Some slick passing between the backs and some strong breaks by centre Matt Roberts led to the breakthrough after a battling drive.

Tom Boot crossed over with 20 minutes remaining and closed the gap to 18 points.

A fresh burst of confidence had hit Cardiff after their score and their rugby became fluid and dynamic.

Bath’s defence, however, was resolute throughout the entire match as Cardiff were pushed further back.

After a series of phases, Bath’s defence held up, much like Australia’s against Wales last week.

With the last play of the game, Bath managed to secure a bonus

point win as their open-side flanker crossed over under the posts. The conversion was duly converted to seal victory for Bath.

Making his debut as captain, Tom Wilson praised Bath’s strong defence.

After the game he commented: “We came back and battled as hard as we could but fair play to their defencethey held strong and we couldn’t break it today. They came out the blocks and started very well.”

Outside centre, Matt Roberts, who, on a number of occasions managed to break through the brick wall Bath defence believed early season experience and sharpness was key to the loss, saying: “It’s our first game back whilst Bath have had two games so far, we were just a bit rusty in the first game.”

He added: “We have quite a lot to work on but I’m proud of the boys, everyone put a good shift in. We had a young side out with some freshers so it’s important to give them a few more weeks of experience.”

Bath full back, Cam Roberts, applauded Cardiff ’s second-half efforts and hinted that early season match

You can watch Cardiff University take on Cardiff Met on Wednesday at Cyncoed, 7:00pm kick off.

It would be unfair to expect fireworks at this early stage in Danny Wilson’s tenure as Cardiff Blues’ Head Coach.

Any new man in charge needs time to implement their style of play and way of thinking - something which is rarely ever an overnight fix.

Perhaps then, it is no surprise that some of the ghosts from last season continue to haunt the Blues, having made a somewhat mediocre start to the Pro12 season.

A last gasp try for Connacht cost them two weeks ago: a fixture that the Blues would certainly have been hopeful

of getting something from. The positive is that a 36-31 away loss earned them two bonus points and they now occupy 7th position in the Pro12 table (as of Gameweek 3).

Wilson, who succeeded Mark Hammett at the Arms Park, will likely have run defensive drills this past week as his side go into a succession of several difficult away games, including trips to Ulster and Italian outfit Zebre- whom the Blues’ sole win this season came against.

Whilst the Blues are the league’s top scorers after three games, they also

boast one of the leakiest defences with a whopping 72 points conceded already. If these defensive frailties can be quashed then the Blues should feel relatively confident on their travels. Zebre should be a routine win and the Blues will look to test themselves against last year’s Pro12 semi-finalists Ulster, who will be missing some players on Irish international duty.

Wilson probably isn’t overly jubilant about the national side’s impressive World Cup campaign - as far as the 38-year-old is concerned, the sooner he gets his key players back the better.

It should be noted that Blues are by no means the worst affected with squad absences but, with Wales having been hit so hard by injuries, Blues players have enjoyed more game time in the national squad– themselves risking injury.

With a slow and steady start to Pro12 life, for Danny Wilson the message is clear – shore up the defensive side of the game and the wins will come.

The prolific boot of Rhys Patchell and impressive try-scoring exploits of back rower Josh Turnbull hopefully offer a glimpse of things to come, but progress must start sooner rather than later.

CARDIFF

7

Tries: Tom Boot Cons: Lewis Molloy

BATH

32

Tries: Cam Roberts, Luca Petrozzi, Will Monroe, Pat Jenkinson Cons: Zack Henry (2), Will Flinn Pens: Zack Henry (2)

SPORT 39

Sport Spotlight: Dancesport

This week in Sport Spotlight, Gair Rhydd Sport sent Tom Hall down to the Great Hall to give Dancesport a go. Hear what he had to say as he popped some moves on the dancefloor.

Tom Hall

“

In the hours beforehand I was excited by the prospect of dancing with the inevitably beautiful girls

”

Shaun Davey Cardiff City Columnist

I

feel like we should get a few things clear before I begin: I am not a natural or willing dancer, other than the odd effort at a decidedly wooden and completely humiliating version of ‘dad dancing’ in a nightclub (usually aided by some form of Dutch courage). So you can imagine my apprehension when the call came for me to give Dancesport a go.

In the hours beforehand I was excited by the prospect of dancing with inevitably beautiful girls.

However, I knew my skills would not entice them. It was like going hunting with a jukebox – plenty to shoot, but nothing would come near me.

As the time came for me to head to the Great Hall for a showdown with my own lack of coordination, I donned my best Adidas tracksuit, applied an elegant amount of deodorant – I knew I was going to sweat; collected my friend who had agreed to accompany me and made the walk.

Opening the door to the Great Hall I was instantly greeted by the leading lights of the society. My nerves left me - these were normal and exceptionally friendly people. There were many who had just started and I felt I could easily fit in. It was

Since Cardiff City’s relegation from the Premier League in 2014 there has always been an air of animosity lingering around the Cardiff City Stadium.

A mixture of poor performances, together with Vincent Tan’s controversial ‘identity’ rebrand has created a somewhat disillusioned fan-base.

Yet in spite of this, the Bluebirds have made an encouraging start to the 2015/16 campaign and remain in touching distance of the top teams.

So why have recent attendances only peaked at a mere 13,950?

clear this was no club for elitism – they were the definition of inclusive and displayed all the traits that have made them a Gold tier society.

Pleasantries exchanged, it was time for me to dance and the nerves returned. An exceptionally smartly dressed instructor flew into the first steps of the ‘Cha Cha’ with his glamourous assistant. They were more fluid than a river, more in time than a clock and possessed a serenity that I could not achieve if I broke into meditation on the spot. My God they were good. To make matters worse, my fellow dancers began copying the steps with an unerring accuracy. This would be me in a minute. I felt sick.

We were instructed to pair up to begin with, and before I could feign illness or run away, a very smiley girl flew into my arms. I paused to wipe the newly formed sweat from my hands on my trousers and composed myself to display my incompetence.

The first step was a catastrophe, my ego carried me through and I managed to giggle my way to the end of the dance. I apologised to my elegant partner for my inadequacy, in the hope she would provide me with a confident-boosting compliment.

Tan is seen by many as the main factor behind Cardiff ’s off-the-field troubles and fans have subsequently boycotted the stadium since their relegation to the Championship.

But now that the traditional blue kit is back, the mistakes of the last few years need to be learnt from.

Stability must be restored and only then can dreams of promotion return to the South Wales club.

For some, it’s manager Russell Slade. There is an ever-growing consensus around the terraces that the former Leyton Orient boss is not the

It never came, she just broke into a wry smile. Alas, she was a class act.

I then gained some counselling from a fellow male dancer, who keenly gave me some tips – this really is a friendly society. Before I could transmit my newly gained knowledge of dancing to my limbs, my next partner appeared in front of me. More sweat. I thanked my earlier exuberant deodorant application.

As we progressed through more of the Cha Cha, incorporating spins and ‘New Yorkers’, I began to feel more and more at home.

Spending most of my time laughing at the amount of innuendo in dancing, we needed to be more “firm”, one girl saying “you need to take control” but also to “relax”. I tried and failed to hide my amusement.

On one spin, we needed to be like a door so that the girl could push off.

Unfortunately I am clearly more of an open plan living kind of guy and was displaying none of the doorlike characteristics that my Yodaesque instructor was looking for.

During the interlude, I paused to speak to the instructor and gain some tips. I needed to channel my inner Darcey Bussell if I was to redeem

right man for the job. Despite Slade’s turbulent first year in charge, promotion is still a realistic target for Cardiff, who are only a handful of points shy of the league leaders.

Joe Mason’s goals thus far have been integral to The Bluebirds’ bright start, but there have also been encouraging contributions from Peter Whittingham and on-loan winger Sammy Ameobi.

The threat is real for Cardiff and the message from the fans is clear; if play-offs are not achieved this year, the club faces the risk of fall-

my shattered reputation. He advised me to dance within my gate with smaller steps. I have always walked through gates and could not see one in sight, so decided to ignore him and continue with my lunging steps in the hope that my zesty approach to the routine would change dance forever.

I aimed to pioneer a new form of dance that involved wild steps and treading on your partner’s feet.

However, Yoda put a stop to this by introducing another dance. Again, more perspiration. He then singled me out as a case example of someone taking too big steps. His exact words were “I was too big”, to which I instantly replied by remarking how girls had never had that problem and the room broke into laughter.

Humour though, was no cure for my appalling dance moves and the final style was too much for my limited skill- crumbling tragically like the ruins of a once great building. My evening was over and I had genuinely enjoyed myself. After thanking some victims for their patience, it was time to rehydrate in The Taf and reflect upon my misspent youth playing football.

I wish I had taken up ballroom dancing aged 12 so I could have looked some of my ‘victims’ in the eye, rather than looking down at my feet crashing into theirs. I wish I could have given them a sweat-free handshake and accepted the offer of another dance. That said, there is no time like the present to learn in and when I can find the time, such was my enjoyment, I intend to return.

Cardiff Dancesport have two separate options if you have been taken in by my experience; a social membership, which is low on commitment and has a selection of available classes, costing a mere £5 and a £35 team membership for those who have read this and thought they are better than me. I would question your judgement if you haven’t!

I cannot advocate it enough. The team is all-inclusive and anyone can compete, a policy that has not hindered their success having won UK gold last year in Blackpool.

To find out more information on Dancesport, you can check their section on the AU website. ing into Football League ‘wilderness’, where previously ‘top’ clubs struggle to return to the top flight. The likes of Blackburn, Bolton and Middlesbrough spring to mind.

The Cardiff soap opera has taken some steps in the right direction, though, including offering reduced home tickets to Cardiff games for students. A policy they need to maintain in order to create an influx of new fans to the club. That said, a vocal home support, along with success on the field, will undoubtedly lead to some supporters returning.

“

I wish I had taken up ballroom dancing aged 12 so I could have looked some of my ‘victims’ in the eye, rather than looking down at my feet crashing into theirs.

”

Pictured: Members of Cardiff Uni Dancesport (Photographer: Cardiff Uni Dancesport)

sport p

Editors: Jim Harris James Lloyd Jason Roberts Jamie Smith @GairRhyddSport sport@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/sport

Also this week

Cardiff Uni Rugby slump to season-opening defeat P38>>

Wales make history, but what’s next?

Why the NFL won’t work in the UK P36>>

Wales have qualified for their first major tournament since 1958 by booking a place at Euro 2016 in France. With star players such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, can they deliver on the biggest stage?

Joe Fletcher

W

ales closed their historic European Championship Qualifying campaign on Tuesday night, finishing with a comfortable victory over Andorra to confirm second place in Group B. Fittingly, Gareth Bale had the final word with a goal which wrapped up the match in the 86th minute. And so, the team will be in France next year – their first appearance at a major tournament since 1958.

Such a fact will tell you that the campaign has, without doubt, been a successful one for Chris Coleman’s side. Whilst this latest success will taste sweet, and the team are right to celebrate, now is the time to look forward - to progress. As with any team in sport, continual assessment and evaluation is essential if you are

to progress, and there is plenty of preparation required for this Welsh outfit ahead of next summer.

A criticism frequently aimed at the Welsh national team is that they are far too reliant on Gareth Bale. Could they cope if, heaven forbid, he were to get injured? The short answer to that question is no, probably not.

Wales have scored 11 goals across this European Qualifying campaign: Bale has seven of them - crucial goals too. The Real Madrid man hit both when Wales scraped past Andorra in the opening game; two in the home win against Cyprus a year ago; and the only goal in the return leg last month; as well as, of course, ‘that’ goal in the historic 1-0 victory over Belgium in June. You get the gist.

As with other high-class players like Wayne Rooney for England and Cristiano Ronaldo at Madrid. Bale’s most important attribute is his abil-

ity to penetrate defences despite the fact he doesn’t always control the game as a player of his calibre might.

In short, even if he’s playing badly, he still has a handy knack of putting the ball in the back of the net; and for Wales, at all-important times too.

He’s also committed, and should be commended for it. Take the example of Ryan Giggs - also a Welsh left-footed winger considered to be world-class in his prime. He is frequently hailed as one of the greatest Premier League players of all time.

Yet in a 16-year international career, he managed just 64 appearances for his country, whilst Bale – at 26 years old – has ten fewer Welsh caps and already seven more goals.

After his first appearance for Wales in 1991, Giggs missed 18 consecutive friendly matches - how can a player ever expect to lead his country to success with that sort of a

Pictured: Wales celebrate after beating Andorra 2-0 to kick start the party in Cardiff.

(Photographer: Jon Candy)

Continued on page 37

Complete BUCS results P35>>

Sport Spotlight: We have a go at Dancesport P39>>