Issue 1155: Freshers Issue 2020

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rhifyn 1155 issue 1155

28 Medi 2020 28 September 2020

gair rhydd Cardiff University’s student paper | Established 1972

Inside: Gair Rhydd speaks to students affected by the A-level results algorithm controversy (pages 6 & 7)

Two-thirds of Welsh residents now under local lockdowns

• Cardiff, Swansea and Newport among areas affected • Residents warned to not leave their local area “without a reasonable excuse” Sam Tilley News Editor

Sam Portillo News Editor

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rom 18:00 Sunday September 27, Cardiff became the latest local authority in Wales to announce it was going into a local lockdown. The Welsh capital, along with Swansea, are the seventh and eighth local authority to have additional measures imposed after a spike in coronavirus cases. As of last week, Cardiff hit a seven-day rate of 38 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people with a positive test percentage of 3.8%, above the so-called ‘red-zone’ of 2.5%. As a result of the measures, residents will be told not to leave or enter an area of lockdown unless they have a “reasonable excuse”. The extended household system, which allowed groups of up to four households to group together without the need to social distance, has also been suspended. Other measures include mandatory wearing of face coverings when in a public indoor space, a ban on meeting anyone other than members of your own household inside and a requirement for all pubs to stop serving alcohol at 22:00 and to close by 22:20. Students at higher education institutions within Cardiff are being asked to conform to these new measures and to continue to practice social distancing. In an email sent out to all students by Cardiff University Pro-Vice Chancellor Claire Morgan, the university confirmed that if students were “symp-

tom-free and not subject to self isolation”, they can still travel to, and remain in, their student accommodation and attend classes. The email also contained a commitment to still hold some face-to-face teaching sessions and to keep student services, including libraries and student support, as open as possible under the new restrictions. Large swathes of South Wales are also under local lockdown restrictions. Whilst local lockdowns were only initially announced for Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf, local measures were also implemented last week in Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Newport and Blaenau Gwent. Three more areas: Torfaen, Neath Port Talbot and the Vale of Glamorgan were announced to be under new restrictions from Monday September 28 in addition to the Carmarthenshire town of Llanelli, the first case of a single town being placed back under lockdown. It seems to be the case that many cases can be traced back to different households mixing and socialising indoors without social distancing and enhanced hygiene in place. Contact tracing and testing has attributed rising numbers in Newport, for example, to a single house party, after which guests mixed with the wider community and the virus began to pick up speed. The national figures for cases and deaths are not at the levels seen at the peak of the epidemic in early April, but could very well continue to worsen. The Welsh Government will hope that quick and localised responses to rising cases, as seen in these counties and others, have come soon enough to cut the chain of transmission.

Curie’s laboratory: Seen here with her husband, Pierre Curie, Marie worked tirelessly in their laboratory to discover radium. Source: Wellcome Images (via Wikimedia Commons.)

Marie Curie and the continued development of radiotherapy

Holly Giles Deputy Editor

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arie Curie is arguably one of the most famous scientists of all time for her discovery of radium, uranium and the theory of

radioactivity. These discoveries led to Curie winning two Nobel prizes each in a different scientific field, the first person ever to do so. Her work is used in radiotherapy for cancer patients and is currently being manipulated by researchers to make the process more

The year ahead for Ailagor Neuadd UK politics Pantycelyn Hallum Cowell Deputy Editor

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his year in UK politics is shaping up to be as eventful as we’re used to. A Brexit deal up in the air with a tight deadline as the UK is set to leave the EU on December 31. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of almost everyone on Earth and is far from over. May’s Welsh and Scottish elections are set to be key moments for the UK as groups set on independence or the union clash. This coming year is set to be a key time for UK politics. To read more about what’s in store for the UK over the next academic year, turn to page 14. 14

Nel Richards Golygydd Taf-od

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sgrifenna Nel Richards ar effaith ailagor neuadd Pantycelyn ar yr Iaith Gymraeg yn y rhifyn yma. Ar ôl gorfod cau’r neuadd yn 2013, cafwyd flynyddoedd o ymgyrchu a phrotestio er mwyn achub canolfan sy’n clymu myfyrwyr Prifysgol Aberystwyth at eu gilydd. Medi 2020 oedd yr agoriad swyddogol i 200 o fyfyrwyr newydd ar ol buddsoddi £16.m i’r cynllun. Wrth i gannoedd o bobl ifanc deithio i Aberystwyth ar draws y wlad wrth i’r dymor newydd ddechrau, mi fydd neuadd Pantycelyn yn gartref i nifer o ddigwyddiadau Cymraeg ar draws y flynyddoedd i ddod. 10

efficient. This review looks at the life of Marie Curie and the current trials in radiotherapy through the work of Cancer Research UK. Turn to page 23 to read more about the extraordinary life of one of the world’s most famous scientists. 23

The rise of women in film Molly Govus Deputy Editor

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s society grows and becomes more liberal, one would think it would be a natural progression for its facets to follow suit. Film, TV and media play a huge and influential part in setting cultural ideals to the public.Unfortunately, there is still so much more to do to raise the bias against women in film. Whilst charities and incentives work hard to flatten this unfortunate curve by providing education on the inequalities, it is hard to change a bias that is so ingrained into the media. Read more about the rise of women in film on page 17. 17


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