gair rhydd - Issue 976

gair rhydd Monday April 23 2012 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 976

He’s not Brinning now Cardiff student forced to withdraw from local election after racist comments Henry McMorrow News Editor

A Cardiff University student who was running as a Cardiff council Labour candidate has been suspended from the party for a series of offensive Facebook and Twitter comments.

James Brinning made facetious comments about killing Justin Beiber along with racist and sexist remarks, whilst advocating violence against David Cameron and Nick Clegg on the social networking sites.

The 19 year old was running for Cardiff council’s Llanishan ward, where all four seats are hotly contested and which the Labour Party need to reclaim in order to regain control of the authority they lost in 2004.

continued on page 4...

Above: James Brinning with Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband

VC house costs spiral Matt Jones News Editor Cardiff University’s purchase of a property for the new vice-chancellor has cost almost £100,000 more than previously suggested. The house, situated in the prestigious Queen Anne Square, has been purchased for £765,000, making it £90,000 more expensive than the cost of £675,000 reported in issue 970 of gair rhydd.

As previously reported, the house has been bought by the University as a home for new Vice-Chancellor,

Professor Colin Riordan, who takes over from the retiring incumbent Dr. David Grant in September 2012.

The University had previously come under criticism for its judgement in spending such a large amount of money on a property, when Professor Riordan will earn around £225,000 per year.

In response, a spokesperson had explained that “the University requires a variety of venues for formal and informal events with existing and potential partners. The intended new property, which will

be used by the new Vice-Chancellor as a residence, will also host social events with key University partners.”

However, it has now also come to light that in addition to the £765,000 spent on the house, the University will also be paying for a number of developments which will ‘bring the property up to the specification required’. These will include a small extension, a modernisation of the heating and electrical systems, and improved facilities for University guests. The house will also be re-

decorated and refurnished.

A spokesperson explained that it is hoped that these redevelopments will make the house ‘suitable to welcome existing and potential partners of a world-leading University’, while helping to establish the house as a long-term asset for the future.

The University is currently contracting the jobs, ‘seeking best value in all cases’, so no total cost is immediately available. However, a source in the University has suggested a conservative estimate of

£65,000.

Asked how students would benefit from the investment in a house for Professor Riordan, a spokesperson said: “The University is in a highly competitive environment for the development of learning and teaching. Development of educational resources can often only be achieved by building relationships with external partners. The University believes this asset will help secure productive partnerships for the benefit of the entire Cardiff community, including students.”

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Monday April 23 2012

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EDITOR Oliver Smith CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan Chris Williams NEWS Sheri Hall Henry McMorrow Matt Jones Laura Evans OPINION Izzy Voss Libby van den Bosch COLUMNIST Lydia Davies POLITICS Luke Slade Sophie Gidley FEATURES Ellen Atkinson Ali Ishaq Jenny Kendall SCIENCE Jenny Lambourne Natalie Healey SOCIETIES Isabelle Roberts

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LISTINGS Gareth Johnston TAF-OD Caio Iwan Osian Gruffydd SPORT Jamie Evans Zac Cole Jonathan Frank CONTRIBUTORS Joanna Brook Felicity Box Amber Bell Joanne Faulkner Dana Beltaji Sophia Pellatt Helen Cox Amelia Barker Matt Evans Chris Clarke David Mason Jack Blakiston-Houston Liam McNeilly Henry Wormersley-Smith James Shapland Joanna Lucas

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In this week's gair rhydd.....

pg. 6

pg. 16

News find out what happened at TEDxCardiff

Features consider the real value of a degree

science.

pg. 8

Opinion put Ricky Gervais' new comedy under the microscope

pg. 20 - 21

Science unlock the secrets of our universe

societies.

pg. 14

pg. 35

taf-od.

Politics look through the candidates running in the local election

Sport ask whether the Grand National is still acceptable

sport.

Monday April 23 2012

Cardiff University has claimed two top prizes at the first ever NUS Wales Awards.

After competing against other Welsh universities, Cardiff Students’ Union won ‘Students’ Union of the Year 2012’and joint top Student Unionist in Wales.

Cardiff Students’ Union was also awarded the winning accolade in the higher education category at the recent NUS Wales conference.

The awards were judged by an independent panel including Stephen Brooks, director of the Electoral Reform Society in Wales; Rachel Tooth, a higher education policy advisor for HEFCE; and Joanne Simpson, education and correspondent for ITV Wales.

The award for top Student Unionist went to Cardiff ’s University Affairs and Academic Officer, Samantha Reid. She placed joint top with

Join if you want to kick Nick Clegg square in the balls.

The irresponsible teenager persists, adding misogyny to his list of misdemeanours, including a picture of an oven, under which appears the caption, “OMG. It’s the female version of the Xbox.” Children are also included in his persecution when he asserts his hatred of “little kids who think their [sic] Rambo.”

It appears even his own party are not exempt, with Brinning answering the question “Should Ed Milliband resign as labour leader?” with “Yes,” claiming that he is not happy with the Labour party as it stands.

A Welsh Conservative source said: “These shocking outbursts

a union member from Glyndwr University.

As part of her role, Samantha has trained more than 500 course representatives on how to navigate university infrastructure to fight for their rights, and had worked to pass a zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment in the Students’ Union.

Samantha was also elected to serve as one of two representatives from Wales on the NUS National Executive Committee for 2012-13.

The NEC serves to make sure the organisation fulfils the policy mandates set at the UK-wide annual conference.

Commenting on Cardiff University’s success, NUS Wales President Luke Young said: "Cardiff University Students’ Union has been a credit to higher education this year.

Its support and dedication to students is evident in all areas of the students’ union.

"Because of the Union’s work, students have been championed lo-

cally and represented nationally.

All the officers, staff and students in the Union should be very proud of their achievements.

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Laura Evans Editor

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Brinning’s Facebook page includes a question and answer section, where he recommends explicit pornographic movies, while on Twitter he responds to a discussion about Labour party Conference delegates staying in ‘pretty much a brothel’ with ‘[a] brothel sounds good though haha.’

The offensive comments pervade his facebook site. Among his ‘likes’ are racist inferences: “Lsmmtuafimc:” Laughing so much my turban unravels and falls in my curry; and “Being a top African and getting the water in for the boys.”

Elsewhere on the networking sites the Labour hopeful endorses heavy drinking, stating on Twitter that “At last year’s Superbowl I was beyond drunk,” advocating an “International get Drunk Day.” He also approves of “giving taxi drivers unnecessary drunken abuse.”

The blithe remarks continued when he approves of “throwing eggs at David Cameron, brick-shaped eggs – made from brick,” and as-

against women, ethnic minorities and children are grossly offensive.

This individual who incites violence against taxi drivers, makes deeply unpleasant jokes about gunman Raoul Moat and recommends graphic pornography, is not fit to stand for elected office.

“All these offensive rants were open for any prospective voter to see. Surely his Facebook friends Carwyn Jones, Peter Hain or Julie Morgan, should have noticed that this immature candidate’s views are incompatible with standing for election.

“This candidate and the Labour Party should apologise for this appalling behaviour and explain what disciplinary measures will be taken. These extreme and dangerous views have no place in Welsh politics.”

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said of the allegations, “Following a number of unacceptable comments posted on a social media site, James Brinning has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party.”

The spokesperson added that it was too late to withdraw Brinning as a

Samantha has been a champion for students across Wales this year, and has thrived in her role of Academic Affairs Officer.

"Samantha has been a champion for students across Wales this year, and has thrived in her role of Academic Affairs Officer, effectively scrutinising government and university policy. Her passion and dedication to improving access to education is inspiring.”

candidate and that he would be appearing on ballot papers.

Mr Brinning is too upset to comment at this time.

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serts, “Join if you want to kick Nick Clegg square in the balls.”

gairrhydd

Following a number of unacceptable comments posted on a social media site, James Brinning has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party.

The judges also pledged their praises to Cardiff: "Cardiff Students’ Union has had an incredible year. It has a great officer team and dedicated staff. The Union provides the student body with an impressive range of opportunities, which helps both social integration while studying, but also skills development and employability for the future.

After winning her award, Samantha told gair rhydd: ‘I am really grateful and so happy to be rewarded for something I feel truly passionate about.

"It is the ultimate form of reward. But at the same time, there are hundreds of student officers across the country that are equally deserving of this recognition. I am also so proud of Cardiff for achieving Union of the Year.

"We’ve come a long way and to get this recognition is a true representation of this. The officer teams, both past and present, have put in the hard work; I hope that next year’s team continue with this."

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04News

We’ve come a long way and to get this recognition is a true representation of this.

The two winning awards will now be put forward as nominations for the NUS National Awards later on in the year.

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News 1-6

Monday April 23 2012

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Sheri Hall News Editor EUROP students have been left confused by significant structural changes to their degrees, and are complaining that they have not been consulted by the department.

Students were notified by Cardiff School of European Languages, Translation and Politics, last Tuesday, of changes that would alter the weighting given to each year, as well as a change in the credits value of modules, with a language modules receiving a higher value than culture modules. The students were left confused by the changes with a poorly communicated e-mail from EUROP accompanied by a detailed powerpoint that appears to have left students with an information overload.

At present the weighting of the degree is distributed as 35%, 5% and 60%, for years two, three and four, respectfully. The restructuring will mean that the weighting given to each year will change to 30%, 10%, 60%. The changes will also affect the credits of language and culture modules, which are of equal value at present, giving language modules a higher value in a 40/20 credit divide.

Students from the third year and below have been led to believe that these changes are to come into force half way through their degree and that they will be back-dated, which would bring down their current average mark if they scored worse in their language modules than their culture modules. However, EUROP has refuted these rumours.

Current second year students will see their year weightings change but will not be affected by the change to language/culture credits. First year students, who have not yet pursued work that will affect their degree, will see the full force of the changes, but EUROP says these will be thoroughly reviewed throughout the year. Students currently in their third and fourth years will remain completely unaffected.

The Head of EUROP, Professor David Boucher, said in a statement: “Unfortunately, many issues have

been conflated, and much misinformation generated.”

“For students returning from the year abroad into year four, we will delay changes and reinstitute year four as it currently is. This cohort of students remain completely unaffected “For second year students, who will return to Cardiff into their 4th year in 2013-14. The current credits for modules will remain the same.

That is, both single and joint honours students will do take four 30 credit modules. The weighting for each year, however, will change in conformity with the University model: 30:10:60.”

“Students in their first year will enrol as currently envisaged for the second. During the course of the second year extensive consultation will take place with this cohort of students about the credits and content of year 4.”

According to the department, the restructuring is necessary to ensure that students’ language abilities are assessed most fully in the final year when students’ language skills are most fully developed.

A spokesperson for Disgruntled EUROP Students Unite said: “Some people feel that having lived in the countries now that there really is no more language to learn and therefore these changes are pointless.”

Academic and University Affairs Officer, Sam Reid, said: “Unfortunately the school has appeared to have blurred school changes with institutional wide changes, this has led to large amounts of confusion and panic amongst students.

“Whilst I haven't been involved in the decision making of the school changes, I have been heavily involved in the work of the Assessment Matters project to do with final degree weighting changes.

The final degree weighting changes are designed to create consistency, transparency and fairness across the University and will not be to the disadvantage of students.”

Sam Reid added that current second year students will have safeguards in place to ensure that they are not disadvantaged by the changes. The Student Union in-

tends to run the current and the new weightings allocated to each year alongside each other and will award students with the mark that calculated as the highest out of the two systems.

There have been allegations among students that when they have emailed members of the department questioning the changes, they have received ‘snappy’ and ‘rude’ replies.

Students have been left so confused by miscommunication from EUROP that a Facebook group called ‘Disgruntled EUROP Students Unite’ was set up three weeks ago, when concerned students on their year abroad were made aware of the changes by a visiting member of staff.

The Facebook group has since attracted over 200 members and an online petition set up by EUROP students has 100 signatures, revealing that the miscommunication was widespread.

Professor Boucher added: ““I received eleven e-mails (out of a potential 700 or so students taking language degrees) over a period of two days and responded to them immediately promising a statement which followed the next day.

“I am disappointed that students

Ambassador Jaguaribe met a number of academics with research links to Brazil. Dr Diego Vazquez, of Cardiff Business School has been researching bio-diesel value chains in Brazil, while Dr Peter Wells, of the same School, has worked on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol policy.

Meanwhile Dr Colin Berry, of the School of Biosciences, is a visiting Professor at the University of Brasilia and has collaborated on the control of tropical diseases. He also met with a number of Brazilian students.

Cardiff is one of the approved Universities accepted for the recently-launched Science Without Borders scholarship programme funded by the Brazilian Government.

The agreement was brokered for Universities UK by Professor Colin Riordan, who will become Cardiff ’s new Vice-Chancellor in the autumn.

Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, Daniel Taub, spoke at the Students’ union on the challenges and responsibilities of negotiating peace. He

have felt the need to make such allegations against the School which at all times attempts to respond the legitimate concerns of every student, and we have made no exception over this issue.”

Yvonne Momboisse, second year student rep, said: “As usual, a poor use of consultation has meant that grievances were brought forward outside of the [‘legal framework’ ie. facebook groups, petitions etc.”

Students have also claimed that they have received little in way of consultation. The department discussed the changes with a EUROP Student Voice focus group, made up of a PhD student, two post-graduates and three undergraduates.

Only one of the three undergraduate students was in his second year, being the only person to be affected by the changes.

Professor Boucher said: “The University will be e-mailing all first year and second year students on a four year degree in the coming weeks to explain the rationale for the changes. The University consulted widely on the proposed changes to the credit weightings and worked closely with the Student Union. “ “EUROP nor the University does not intend to impose detrimen-

tal changes. The changes are designed by the University to benefit students and have been carefully worked out in consultation with the Student Union representatives to ensure that there would be no negative impact.”

Yvonne added: “It seems that, telling students well in advance and organising proper discussions, and giving detailed explanations could have made these changes a little more legitimate.”

Sam Reid said: “I am now working with the University to reinforce the fact that all future correspondence on this issue needs to be clear, concise and that all students know who to talk to if they wish to raise concerns/queries.

“Good communication is of the up most importance and I am disappointed to see how this particular change has been communicated by this particular school. Hopefully we will be able to prevent this kind of panic in the future.

“If any students would like to have a chat with me on this or requires further information please email: academicofficer@cardiff. ac.uk or pop by to my office on the third floor."

Cardiff welcomes two ambassadors

T

he university hosted two high-level visits from notable ambassadors, both on March 27. His Excellency Roberto Jaguaribe, Brazil’s ambassador to the UK, met staff and students to discuss the potential for building on the University’s existing links with Brazil.

Meanwhile, His Excellency Daniel Taub, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, gave a lecture at the Students’ Union about international peace negotiations.

then answered students’ questions in a session chaired by Professor Hywel Thomas.

Professor Thomas said: "These were two extremely productive visits for the University. Cardiff already has a number of strong research partnerships with Brazil, including the control of tropical diseases and energy production.

"The Science with Borders Scheme, brokered for the UK by our next Vice-Chancellor, promises the opportunity to forge closer links with leading Brazilian universities

and welcome more talented students to Cardiff.

"Our discussions [today] identified further areas for potential future collaboration.

"His Excellency Daniel Taub gave a fascinating insight into the highest level of diplomatic negotiations, which provoked a lively and informed discussion."

06News

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Oliver Smith Editor

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Laura Evans News Editor Last month, members of the Cardiff University Caving Club were involved in a rescue located in an area of the Brecon Beacons.

14 cavers from CUCC were called at approximately 10pm on Thursday March 22, to help rescue a student, who had fallen close to the Boulder Choke in a caving area known as OFD1.

Trained rescuers from CUCC arrived at the scene, where they frequently cave themselves, at around 1am. They joined other rescuers to make a team of around 46 people, 34 of which climbed into the cave to help carry out the victim on a specially constructed stretcher.

Six to eight people held the stretcher at one time and then slowly passed the casualty along the line of rescuers and out of the cave.

The University of York student, who had been caving with fellow club members earlier that day, had fallen off the Shower Aven climb at around 5pm. Two of his team left the scene immediately and raised an alarm. The student was finally put into an ambulance and taken to Morriston Hospital, Swansea by around 4am, after a rescue of almost twelve hours.

By 5am the police were informed that the incident was closed and the casualty was released from Morriston late Friday morning having had his leg put in plaster.

Selected members of CUCC, both current and previous students, are part of the South Wales Rescue Team and can be called at any point to help with an incident.

Andy Fletcher, President of the Cardiff Caving Club told gair rhydd: "I’ve been caving with CUCC since I began university and this is the first time I’ve ever experienced putting our rescue training into practise. It was an eye opening experience and makes you appreciate the commitment of people within the Cardiff University Caving Club and the South Wales Rescue Team.

It’s a very rare occurrence that anything goes wrong, but it is reassuring to know that there are people who will help for no money or recognition."

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Last term TEDxCardiff was held at the Wales Millennium Centre on March 31 and was primarily sponsored by Cardiff University.

The event invited notable speakers to talk on their fields of expertise including medicine, environmental protection and biology. Four members of Cardiff University’s academic staff spoke at the event, including Professor Jonathan Shepherd and Professor Justin Lewis (JOMEC).

The event drew a wide range of guests including staff and students of the University, and although limited to 100 guests TEDxCardiff was live streamed via their website www.tedxcardiff.co.uk.

Jamie Evans, a final year Journalism student worked as an intern at TEDxCardiff. In his time there he worked on the events social media presence and helped organise the TEDxCardiff blog. He also helped choose some of the University lecturers including Professor Justin Lewis.

Jamie told gair rhydd: “my time at TEDxCardiff was great. I found the whole thing very inspiring working with Neil Cocker and Claire Scantlebury (the event organisers).�

Alongside speakers, live music was performed by Euphony, a quartet of young musicians from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; and DnA, a mother and daughter duo performing with harp and fiddle.

It was an eye opening experience and makes you appreciate the commitment of people within the South Wales Rescue Team.

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08 Opinion

Monday April 23 2012

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Derek shows a surprising softer side to Gervais Joanna Brook Opinion Writer

When Ricky Gervais announced that he was making Derek, a comedy drama about a man with learning difficulties, I know I'm not the only one who was nervous. After the mildly offensive and pretty

unfunny Life's Too Short, I was worried by the idea of Derek. It was a big relief, therefore, to find Derek portrayed sensitively as a kind and loveable character.

Derek uses the same mockumentary format as The Office and Life's Too Short to introduce Derek

Noakes, a childlike middle-aged man with learning difficulties played by Gervais himself. Derek has recently lost his mother and since become attached to Joan, a resident of the retirement home in which he works who reminds him of his mother. He loves ani-

mals, rhubarb crumble, autograph hunting and his job helping the elderly people, who are kinder to him than anyone else.

In his acting debut, Karl Pilkington plays Derek's best friend, the caretaker Douglas. Gervais has made it his mission over the past decade to make Pilkington a household name, and I've always been a big fan, but unfortunately it felt as though he was basically playing himself. Douglas is arguably grumpier and more jaded than Pilkington, but if you removed his bad wig and Ricky's affectations, their interactions are almost identical to those they have in real life. It makes you wonder if Gervais had written him a more dynamic role, he would have been able to do it justice.

After the heavy criticism of Life's Too Short, Ricky Gervais had a lot to answer for. Although in this BBC programme he thought he was doing something much cleverer, most of the 'jokes' in the show saw Warwick Davies in various dwarfthemed slapstick moments. As a result of this, it was expected that Derek would feature much of the same. Gervais managed, however, to balance the laughter with sensitivity here. In fact, after Derek falls in a pond and strips off, I found that I was laughing more at the sight of the rotund Gervais running around naked. Perhaps the highlight of the whole show, is when Hannah, a co-worker and friend of Derek's and the subject of the show's ro-

mantic sub-plot, headbutts a girl in a pub for laughing at Derek.

Once it had been established that we weren't in for 35 minutes of cheap laughs at Derek’s expense, the question remained as to whether it actually was any good.

Gervais wrote and directed Derek without Stephen Merchant, who I had often wondered was the real talent in the duo. At the end of the show, Joan dies, which hits Derek hard. At first I felt as though Gervais had gone for the predictable ‘tearjerker' here. Thinking about it later though, the predictability doesn't matter because ultimately, it is realistic. Personally, I'll cry at anything, but I found Derek acutely sad as I had really grown to empathise with and understand him. In this way, I think Gervais both wrote and acted well. He also succeeded in ending the show on an uplifting and hopeful note. Did he do anything innovative or groundbreaking? No, but what he did do was fix some of the damage wrought by Life's Too Short and redeem himself for some of his other projects.

He would never admit it, but I think that Gervais knew what he was doing when he made Derek.

He knew how the media would react to the concept, guaranteeing viewers and giving him the perfect opportunity to surprise everyone.

While he has yet to make anything to match the genius of The Office, Derek has at least restored my faith in his ability. For now, anyway.

The Undateables is undermined by marketing faux pas Felicity Box Opinion Writer Channel 4 is renowned for its zany and often controversial documentaries, dramatising the more obscure elements of human life. Last year saw the ‘74-stone Babysitter’ as well as ‘Mummifying Alan’, the tale of a man who donated his body to trying to recreate the lost Egyptian art of preserving the dead. The list continues: ‘The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off’; ‘The Boy Who Was Born A Girl’.

It seems that the British public is fascinated by the weird and wonderful; you only have to look at the viewing figures for ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ to see that this is true.

But Channel 4's latest series of documentaries, 'The Undateables which follows people with disabilities on their quest for love, seems to have really crossed the line.

So the title credits may picture cupid shooting the ‘un’ to leave ‘the dateables’, perhaps representing the way the programme is supposedly trying to disprove the preconceptions against people with disabilities having sexual relationships. However, this seems to be a small token considering that Channel 4’s advertising cam-

paign for the programme partly consisted of blowing up pictures of disabled and/or disfigured participants of the show and placing them on billboards, brandishing the words ‘The Undatebales’ at their sides; hardly a message to be sending the kids in our supposedly equal, tolerant 21st century.

There are moments where the producers seem to slightly ridicule or patronise the participants, a cameraman coughs and sarcastically asks if 37 year-old Richard, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, is wearing enough deodorant after he uses nearly a whole can in anticipation of his upcoming date. And it hardly

seems coincidental that in the first episode the dating agency matches two out of the three participants with other people with disabilities.

Wheelchair user Penny is matched with another wheelchair user even though they don’t appear to have that much else in common and Richard is matched with a lady described as having ‘slight learning difficulties’ whilst the agency assure them that they have been paired together due to a mutual interest in 80s music. Is Channel 4 trying to suggest that disabled people are dateable but only if those dates are with other people with disabilities?

One trailer features a girl saying that sometimes it’s a case of sleeping with someone purely for a “fascination fuck”; not exactly a shining beacon for equal opportunities.

However, despite its flawed marketing and patronising style, the documentary is sometimes surprisingly sensitive, insightful and genuinely moving, for all the right reasons. The title is obviously meant to provoke controversy – it means higher ratings for Channel 4 - but however disrespectful and untrue the title may be, the programme raises some of the everyday issues faced by the participants, es-

pecially in their personal lives.

But only if you watch the show will you see how those involved are voluntarily offering up honest, insightful, first-hand accounts of their own experiences, lack of experiences, and the problems they face. All those featured, at least in the first two programmes, are lucid, freethinking individuals who understand their own conditions and the challenges that accompany them.

It is however difficult to see how the average person would be able to gain all of this from driving past a billboard. Instead a link between the images of disabled and disfigured people is more likely to be forged with the concept of being ‘undateable’ in their minds.

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Opinion09

Female stereotypes show an ugly side to the Daily Mail Amber Bell Opinion Writer Is it a woman's duty to wear makeup? Are a woman's looks the key to her success? If your answer to either of these questions is yes then please put this paper down and go buy a copy of the Daily Mail.

The conservative paper is often criticised for its controversial and prejudiced views, often grounded in social stereotypes. This has been recently thrown into the limelight with the massive media attention brought about by the Samantha

Brick story: an article in which the female journalist claimed women hate her because shes beautiful.

Ms Brick claimed that women feel threatened by her good looks and that she has even been barred from promotions at work by jealous female bosses. Yet she made no reference to other factors that might have led to this occurring: her personality, her intelligence or indeed anything that was not purely superficial.

The article created mass hysteria in the press and amongst readers of the article. Why? The backlash suggests that it was certainly not

through jealousy of the woman's good looks, although this is what Ms Brick proposed in a following article.

My main criticism of the article was not, however, her claims of exceptional beauty but instead the ridiculous light in which she cast women.

The article suggested that it is only through stereotypically good looks that a woman will get noticed. Forget her IQ, her career or her achievements in life, what the article suggests is really important is a well-groomed appearance. It also casts women in a spiteful and jealous light, saying that whilst a man can appreciate a woman's good looks, a woman will inevitably react with jealousy and insecurity.

Furthermore, whilst it was Samantha Brick who write the article, it was the Mail who published it online and probably commissioned it in the first place. After all, the resulting furore attracted exactly the additional website traffic that the Mail Online would have hoped for.

Moreover, it's certainly not the first time the paper has allowed such a contentious story to be printed. Last year, the Mail Online had an article by another female journalist, Liz Jones, about a woman being made redundant from her job in Harrods for refusing to wear makeup. In the article, Liz Jones wrote that ‘Women who feel no compunction to improve what nature bestowed upon them are, in my experience, arrogant, lazy or deluded, and frequently all three’.

The story made a mockery of women, implying it was a woman's duty to wear makeup. How can such an opinion be justified in 2012? You don't have to be a radical feminist to recognise the immorality of such comments. In an equal and fair society how can it be that a woman's appearance must come first and foremost? An individual should be given a job based on their abilities and qualities, not whether they can apply mascara with perfection and just the right amount of lipgloss.

Admittedly, it isn't just the Daily Mail that is guilty of such sexism.

Most tabloids and magazines dedicate a major chunk of their column inches to the appearance of female celebrities. Female celebrities are constantly attacked about their weight; either the celebrity is too overweight and should slim down, or they're too skinny and setting a bad example to fans. Either way, they can't win. It sends out the message that females need to be the ‘perfect’ size - anything more or less than this is unacceptable. When men appear in these magazines with their tops off, it's mostly to show off their

muscular physique. And even if they are shown to have a slightly larger stomach, the comments will be more complementary than negative, saying they're “cute and chubby”, or patronising words along those lines.

Society is still quite behind the times in its perception of women, and the media is largely to blame for that. Until the media starts to rate women based on more meaningful criteria than how glossy their hair is, this is never going to change.

Twitter

George Galloway hails 'Bradford Spring' Joanne Faulkner Opinion Writer The Respect party candidate George Galloway, expelled by the Labour Party in 2003, caused political upset when he eased to victory in a local by-election last month. Mr Galloway took Labour’s Bradford West seat by over 10,000 votes, in what Mr.Galloway has personally described as, a “Bradford Spring”. His victory is the first example of an independent party candidate defeating another party in a by-election since 1973.

Apart from a brief period in the 80‘s, Labour held the Bradford West seat since 1974. Mr Galloway, who co-founded the anti-war Respect Party, has described this rejection of the mainstream parties, in

which only four out of ten people voted for one of the three main parties, as ‘the most sensational victory in British political history’.

The Respect Party, whose initials stand for Respect, Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environmentalism, Community and Trade Unionism, was founded in 2004 with its main political focus being opposition to the war in Iraq. Other key party policies relate to events in the Middle East - a region that George Galloway has long taken a political interest in.

Labour’s own campaign was attacked by some backbenchers who accused the leadership of having ‘no game plan and no strategy’ to win the seat, assuming a victory. There was a sense of complacency from Labour, who not only seemed disconnected to

voters but also failed to acknowledge the campaign from George Galloway and the Respect party as an actual threat. As a result, Galloway’s cruise to victory has been a huge embarrassment to Labour, But why did Galloway win?

There have been various opinions expressed regarding the role of the Asian community in the Respect Party’s victory, with outsiders stating that the party ran an Asian-only campaign. George Galloway himself said of Labour that they ‘must stop imagining that working people and poor people have no option but to support them if they hate the Tory and Liberal Democrat coalition partners.’

In the final days leading up to the by-election, leaflets flooded the mostly Asian-populated areas with

the headline, ‘God knows who is a Muslim. And he knows who is not’. It also said ‘Let me point out to all the Muslim brothers and sisters what I stand for. I, George Galloway, do not drink alcohol and never have. Ask yourself if the other candidate can say that truthfully. I, George Galloway, have fought for the Muslims at home and abroad, all my life, and paid a price for it. I, George Galloway, hold Pakistan’s highest civil awards.’

But more importantly it seems that George Galloway and the Respect Party found an area where the public felt particularly ignored and disconnected from the main political parties. Turnout for the election was just over 50%, which is considered high for such a contest, especially in an urban area.

I expect an element of why voters came out in such force was jumping on a political coup bandwagon, wanting to express their frustration at current government and the alternatives. George Galloway’s celebrity status only aided in this protest. Having a high profile representative is the perfect way to send a message. The Respect Party were a beacon for the people of Bradford West to express their distaste with the political representation available to them.

This is not the first time Mr.Galloway has caused upset. In the 2005 general election, he overturned the large Labour majority in London’s Bethnal Green and Bow, becoming the Respect Party’s first MP.

Columnist Silver Linings

10

Dear All, So, Easter happened and it was a little underwhelming for everyone.

Going home and pretending to be the worldly-wise university student, meant I was exempt from my family’s annual Easter egg hunt. (I did, however, demand my own percentage of the chocolate harvest.)

After the initial novelty of coming home, being cooked for and made of a fuss of, monotony sets in fast. I had a whole week with the house to myself, and by the Wednesday considered making my bed and microwaving noodles a productive day. I whiled away the hours watching such TV gems as Teen Mom, My Super Sweet 16 and, to give my visual diet an extra dose of class, The Real Housewives of New York City.

Now whenever I pass a mirror I’m too ashamed to face myself. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who despised reality television, fast food and popular culture.

The kind of person who “can’t bear to be in the same room as processed food.” One of those people who eats muesli with Greek yoghurt and passionately advocates animal rights.

Instead, I’m sat in my pyjama bottoms, watching Horrible Histories and eating Munch Bunch yoghurts.

I even hand-washed the little red

Monday April 23 2012

gairrhydd

By Lydia Davies tubs to recycle them. I digress.

At the beginning of 2012, I was resolved to go out more. To enjoy my youth, as old people are always telling you to. They always say it with a note of bitterness in their voice, as if you are personally responsible for the fact that they’ve developed crow’s feet and didn’t become the next Jimi Hendrix. They eye you viciously, as if to say, “Just you wait. It’ll happen to you too, you know.” Yes, actually, I do know. I’ve been scanning my scalp for grey hair since I was fourteen. So, to savour my youth and ensure I had some memories of university that didn’t involve me banging my head against a library desk, I decided to go out more.

It doesn’t take an Einstein to guess that I’m not very good at the whole clubbing thing. I know no other student who has managed to throw up in a taxi, without it being alcohol-related. (It’s a long story involving a rogue rambling expedition, a killer migraine, a trip to A&E and angry vegans. I’ll tell you about it sometime.) I’m that dad that is desperately trying to be ontrend and makes everyone shudder when he uses words like “hip” and “night club”.

My own aversion to going out

dates back to Freshers’. Dancewise, I saw that most people were doing this Skins-esque, one-armin-the-air, swaying-hips thing. I decided to go for it and raised my arm, proudly, arrogantly, like some kind of majestic, pasty-white flag. The difficulty came when I got tired and decided to get a drink – and couldn’t bring my arm down. People were pressed so close that my arm was wedged between various sweaty shoulders and the back of some madly thrusting maniac. So it just hung there, aching; this one lifeless arm in a sea of inebriated youths. It was horrific. Like that scene in The Lion King with the wildebeest stampede. Even with heels on I was still shorter than most people there. I’d be crushed. They’d find me the next morning lying amongst smashed glass, spilt beer, a pair of hipster glasses and lost shoes. Cut off in my prime. I panicked. I nudged the Maniacal Thrusting Gent in the back and ran for the exit, wiping sweat from my brow and cradling my poor, bloodless arm.

Lately, I’ve been getting better at it. I even enjoy it, although between my bedroom and the bar I age forty years, becoming everyone’s surrogate granny. I have to stop myself from offering drunk girls in leopard

!

print and tottering heels a cardigan or a cup of tea. I don’t even drink tea. It just seems like the thing to do. The politics of nights out have started getting to me, as well. I didn’t really notice it until I got to university, but being one of the few sober people on a night out gives you plenty of time for reflection (post-modern, I know).

One night in Propaganda, having mastered the whole arm in the air thing by taking frequent rest breaks, some creep reached over and patted my rear. Frustrated but sympathetic, as he was obviously a hapless drunk who had mistaken me for a Shetland pony, I turned around. The culprit shot me a look that clearly said, “What are you going to do about it?” and swaggered back to his cave.

Apparently, I’d forgotten that somewhere between puberty and the present, I’d become fair game.

By virtue of lacking a Y chromosome and daring to go out after dark, I had become public property.

I was wearing an outfit my parents would have approved of. I was entirely sober. I’m not remotely athletic enough to be doing the whole sexy, grinding thing – I’d put my back out. Yet one slobbering Neanderthal in skinny jeans had made me feel thoroughly ashamed of having legs, breasts, for daring to feel attractive at all. My friends shouted “Perve!” after him and carried on

dancing. But for myself: sad, single and terribly sexually unaware, the evening was spoiled.

Growing up in the twenty-first century, I had assumed that my body was a private space. That I attached my own meanings to it, and used it in whatever manner I wanted to. I’m not naïve enough to think that people won’t check each other out. Get off with each other, by all means. By stripping the human body of all sexual meaning you effectively divorce yourself from a source of physical and emotional pleasure. But the danger comes when a rite of passage for a young woman is being honked at by a white van in passing, or being groped at a festival. Some of us have been cornered in bathrooms or corridors. And let’s not pretend that women can’t be just as verbally threatening as men.

It would be arrogant and unjust of me to make sweeping statements about people on nights out. The majority of us go for a good time, romantic, sexual or otherwise. But remember boys and girls, there’s a difference between eying someone up and sexually harassing them.

I’m just saying, I’d find it easier to embrace my youth without some dim-witted chauvinist breathing down my neck.

12Politics

Monday April 23 2012

gair

Iran raises hopes of nuclear trade off Dana Beltaji Politics Reporter

Delegates have praised Iran’s positive attitude and constructive dialogue following the first session of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran appeared to have shown ‘serious engagement’ in the talks, with a second round of dialogue likely to be scheduled for next month. Representatives of the United States, Britain, Russia, China, Germany and France met with Iranian officials for the first time in 15 months in attempt to halt growing tensions in the region; particularly between Iran and Israel, the latter threatening military action against Iran earlier this spring.

According to diplomats present at the talks, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton opened the talks by recalling the history of the inconsistent negotiations between Iran and the international community on the atomic programme. This was met by a response from Saeed Jalili, the chief Iranian negotiator whose response was describes as ‘not long or bombastic or propagandistic. The tone was calm and constructive. He said he was ready to seriously engage on the Iranian nuclear issue.’ Jalili did disagree with some points made but diplomats present state that they were made in a calm, non confrontational manner. His suggestion to set up future negotiations further seem promising.

Yet these positive talks

could possibly take a negative turn in the following schedule set of negotiations which will require both sides to be more specific rather than the generalised discussions that had taken place. This is not to say that these discussions are not a significant improvement; previous talks had collapsed when Jalili refused to negotiate until economic sanctions had been lifted. Talks had quickly failed as the six world powers had refused to do so. Since these futile attempts at discussion in January 2011, the EU had announced an oil embargo against Iranian imports. These measures have heavily impacted Iran’s economy, which has

ultimately led to their willingness to negotiate further.

The most worrying for the international community and the reason why these talks have been initiated and reinstated time and time again is Iran’s production of 20% enriched uranium. This moved the nation much closer to the possibility of producing nuclear weapons. Despite Iran’s claims that production of enriched uranium was for more peaceful purposes, Western suspicion was heightened when Iran began nuclear research an production at the Fordow military site near Qom, Iran. Western diplomats are predicting that Iran would be

willing to limit their production of enriched uranium in return for the economic sanctions to be lifted.

Iran remained adamant that it is not their intention to create nuclear weapons, and their right to create and use nuclear energy peacefully is protected by the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Further reassurances to the international community were made by Iran’s head of the nuclear initiative, Fereydoun Abassi-Davani who suggested that uranium enrichment could be suspended once Iran had enough material. They currently have enough to maintain Tehran’s research for a further 8 years.

Yet what further problematises the negotiation efforts is Washington’s strict stance on Iran’s nuclear programme who intend on halting production of enriched uranium in Iran entirely as well as a closure of their nuclear research facilities . This goes against the policy of the six nations group who are more concerned with reaching agreement with Iran through discussion rather than forcing entire closure of nuclear research within the country. US secretary of state, Hilary Clinton, reasserts these intentions by asking Iran to deliver ‘concrete results’. She wants Iran ‘to demonstrate, clearly, in the actions they propose that they have truly abandoned any nuclear weapons ambition.’ She continued, ‘Of course, in a negotiation, we understand that the Iranians will be asking for assurances or actions from us and we will certainly take those under consideration.’

It is unlikely that negotiations will continue in such a positive fashion throughout continued talks, but the positivity that surrounds these initial discussions provide promise. Iran has not yet ruled out any possibilities; a striking start for a previously difficult and inconstant negotiations process. The next step is to make the talks more concrete; offering real solutions and settlements will be vital to the success of both the six nations group and Iran in achieving a desirable outcome.

Syrians demonstrate as an uneasy ceasefire holds Joanne Faulkner Politics Reporter

Demonstrations have broken out in several areas in a challenge of President Bashar al-Assad’s commitment to an already fragile ceasefire between rebel forces and pro government activist and troops. Tens of thousands of anti-government protestors took to the street to demonstrate, leading to clashes, testing the limits of the shaky truce.

The UN-backed ceasefire is an attempt to begin some sort of political dialogue between the two sides after what has been 13 months of extreme violence, the result of which has been a death toll of over 10,000 in a ‘crackdown on dissent’.

Syria blames the violence on what it says are terrorists seeking to topple Assad. The state run news has continued to blame terrorist groups for the violence with their aggression escalating hysterically since the start of the ceasefire. The UN-Arab League peace envoy, Kofi Annan, who brokered the ceasefire, urged Syria to open humanitarian corridors to deliver aid. The truce, to which Damascus has committed itself, calls for the withdrawal of forces from urban areas, the release

of arbitrarily detained people, freedom of movement for journalists and the right to demonstrate.

However since the formation ofthe ceasefire early Thursday (the 12th) morning Syrian forces appear only to be tightening security, with the increase of widespread deployment of the Mukhabarat intelligent service. A heavy security presence has resulted in a limit on the size of protests and a crack down on marches within the capital. This has only lead to questions being raised about Assad’s commitment to the peace plan. As a result, activists have called upon Syrians from all religions and political movements and those who are "hesitant", urging them to take to the streets, labeling it a time for “All Syrians” to “rise up if you want to end the rule”. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based activist group, estimated that tens of thousands of protesters calling for Assad's ouster marched in cities and towns across Syria.

Although there have continued to be fatalities since the ceasefire came into force the number reported dead has been somewhat lower then in recent weeks, where scores of people have been killed

everyday. Despite this it seems increasing levels of violence are beginning to resurge with the return of unrelenting shelling of Homs and other rebel areas. It is impossible to confirm the death tolls of verify reports as the majority of the country continues to be sealed off to journalist.

Many world leaders have said they believe the Syrian government is targeting dissidents seeking democracy and those who wish to see the end of the al-Assad reign, whose family has ruled Syria for 42 years. France’s president, Nicholas Sarkozy, has stated that he does not believe in the ceasefire nor does he believe Assad is being sincere.

Sarkozy’s claims have been backed up by emerging reports of scattered violence across Syria as well as fighting between Syrian troop and rebels near the Turkish border.

Both sides have emerged, accused each other of violations since the truce was formed with claims of trying to wreck the ceasefire.

UN monitors have arrived in Syria to observe the ceasefire’s progress and liaise with the Syrian government, with more expected to join the peacekeeping mission in the next few weeks. Despite this, the U.S. ambassador of the United Nations has already said that President Bashar al-Assad's regime has lost all credibility.

Amateur footage from civilians has emerged revealing that despite this truce in place, there has continued to be unrelenting shelling of rebel areas and violence, casting doubt over the feasibility of the truce and whether it will actually hold. Armed opposition fighters from the Free Syrian Army stated on Monday, that they will not wait to see if the cease-fire is maintained, they will be gathering more weapons to fight the regime in preparation of the agreement falling apart.

It would seem that despite only being a few days old, in certain areas of the country little remains of any ceasefire agreement at all.

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Monday April 23 2012

Sport 34 - 36

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Helen Cox Politics Reporter

Sophia Pellatt Politics Reporter David Cameron has become the first sitting prime minister to visit Burma since the country secured independence in 1948, in a trip that saw the PM meet with President Thein Sein, head of the nation’s ruling military junta, to discuss the prospect of lifting the international sanctions imposed upon Burma after years of consistent human rights violations, including human trafficking and child labour.

These sanctions include an arms embargo, the suspension of all aid bar humanitarian relief and economic sanctions including boycotts of Burmese products.

“

David Cameron has become the first sitting prime minister to visit Burma since 1948

Talks inside the grand presidential palace in the Burmese capital of Naypyidaw between the two leaders saw Cameron recognise Thein Sein’s role in the advancing political reform in the war torn country but his commendations were limited as he strongly reinforced that Burma’s peace process is far from completed and that further reforms are the only way to guarantee Burma will not become isolated once again.

Cameron’s tour of South East Asia did not originally include a stop in Burma but after the triumph of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in parliamentary by-elections on April 1, where the pro-democracy party won 43 out of 45 seats, the PM deemed this an opportunity to advance relations between the West and Burma.

“

The PM deemed this an opportunity to advance relations

Meeting Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in the colonial capital of Rangoon, in her humble home where Burmese officials placed her under house arrest for 15 years, David Cameron hoped to convey that Aung San Suu Kyi is not just a symbol of peace but a significant figure in Burma’s transition to democracy. This included addressing sceptics such as Germany but also the regime itself, stressing her standing in the international community and that ill treatment

towards her will bear repercussions on the junta.

Cameron also praised Aung San Suu Kyi’s courage and invited her to visit the UK, especially her “beloved Oxford” to see her family whom she has not seen since she left the city in 1988; her husband, Michael Aris, died of cancer in England in 1999. While an act of friendship, the invitation also has diplomatic connotations and will test the Burmese reforms.

After his encounter with Aung San Suu Kyi, Cameron said, "For many years Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed, if she wanted to, to leave this country. You wrote that they would roll out the red carpet all the way to the airplane and put you on to it, but never let you return … [A visit to Britain] is a sign, if we are able to do this, of huge progress [in] that you will be able to leave your country and return to your country as a member of parliament."

Aung San Suu Kyi, while in favour of the suspension of sanctions, is adamant that it be capped at this, fearing removing them altogether may result in reforms reversing, permitting the Burmese government free reign to act as they so please.

“

Aung San Suu Kyi is not just a symbol of peace but a significant figure in Burma’s transition to democracy

The decision of whether or not to lift sanctions will be confirmed on April 23 by EU foreign ministers and it seems likely the legislation will be passed. David Cameron spoke at the end of his trip, stating "if we really want to see the chance of greater freedom and democracy in Burma we should respond when they take action. If they keep moving the ship of economic reform forward and the ship of political reform forward then we should be prepared to respond." However, Cameron was insistent the arms embargo will remain intact and showed reluctance to remove all economic sanctions as so not to eradicate any leverage the West may have over Burma.

“

If we really want to see the chance of greater freedom and democracy in Burma we should respond when they take action

Despite being a resource rich

Following a freedom of information request from the Western Mail, the Welsh assembly has revealed that it has paid out £845,179 to various exAMs. The pay outs went to 22 AMs who either stood down or lost their seats at the last election. A further £333,668 was spent to cover redundancy pay outs for the support staff of these ex-AMs. In total, over £1 million has been spent, dividing opinion – some have questioned whether this massive expenditure was necessary whereas other feel that as redundancy pay is given in other jobs, it is only to be expected that AMs get this benefit as well.

Surely though, not being re-elected is a peril of being an AM, and one that you must fully expect at some point during your career? Similarly, working on a support team for an AM is not a permanent job – very few politicians hold a certain position for very long, so is it realistic that people should get redundancy pay for a job that they know to be very shaky in the first place? Take for example a Christmas temp in retail – they take this job, knowing full well that there may not be a job in January, but they have no grounds to insist on redundancy pay when their contract has not been renewed – now, I am not saying that being an AM or their support staff is exactly equal to being a Christmas temp, but the principle is there – there are no guarantees that this job is permanent, and if anything you should expect to only be there for a short period, and be pleasantly surprised nation, once nicknamed the ‘rice bowl of Asia’, Burma is amongst one of the poorest countries in the world after 70 years of corrupt military rule, ranking 155th wealthiest in the world out a possible 193. With a child mortality rate of 66/1000 (in the UK, this figure is just 5/1000), Burma requires a great deal of investment and a strong and stable g ove r n m e n t if it is to reduce i t s

Politics13

if your term in office is renewed.

It should be up to the individuals to prepare for the time when they are no longer required to be an AM and to have something to fall back on – they should not take from the reserves designated for the running of Wales – any AM (ex or current) with Wales’ best interests at heart would surely refuse this payment as they would know that £1 million could be better used elsewhere.

However, some people have come out in defence of these payments, but unsurprisingly; they are the ones who received them. Many of the people who received the pay outs already had a job lined up, or stood down to take another job. Jane Davidson, a former Labour AM, was given £49,260 even though it was announced two months before she stood down at the election that she had been chosen for a job at the University of Wales Trinity St David. Former Liberal Democrat AM Eleanor Burnham, who believes

"Everybody needs to know taxpayers money is being well spent." received £32,000 after losing her seat last year but attempted to deflect the attention from herself - "Quite frankly, let's get it into context.

Look at what the bankers have done to us and look at what the BBC pays people." These comments however lack firm ground – the financial crisis was not purely the fault of the bankers (and what does it have to do with her pay out anyway?!) and the pay of some of the BBC employees has recently undergone strict review.

The payment scheme has been changed recently – now only AMs that are defeated in elections will get the pay outs – those who stand down will not. Ultimately, although this is a fairer system which prevents abuses and payment to those who do not deserve it, it would still be more economical to scrap the pay outs altogether.

widespread poverty. It is hoped the lifting of sanctions is a surefire way to encourage constitutional reform and create a peace process with the ethnic minorities in the state; it will also help eliminate the barrier between Burma and the international community, allowing for assistance.

There is a substantial amount of investor interest in the state, especially from China, but this poses a threat rather than promi s e t o Bur-

ma as it is feared China intend to make a quick buck from its extensive source of natural reserves and dominate their economy. If Burma stands to have a more balanced economy, it requires relations with the West, which can only evolve if Burma is reformed.

14 Politics

Monday April 23 2012

gair

Amelia Barker Politics Reporter

On Thursday next week, May 3, local council elections will be taking place here in Cardiff and in other areas across Wales and England.

Cardiff Council consists of 75 councillors, who make decisions on waste collections, public transport, policing, licensing hours for pubs and all sorts of other issues that affect students' daily lives. Currently the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru run the council as a coalition.

Cardiff is split into 29 wards, with most of the University in Cathays ward, which is believed to be around two-thirds populated by students and is represented by four councillors. In the last local election four years ago the Liberal Democrats won Cathays by a landslide, with little separating the runnerups. The turnout in Cathays was just 16% in the last local election.

However, nationally the political atmosphere has changed, with the Lib Dems suffering heavy losses in elections elsewhere last year.

Asghar Ali, a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Cathays this

Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru leader year, spoke directly to gair rhydd about their campaigns, highlighting efforts to clean up streets and ban to-let signs. To-let signs have been a hot topic lately as statistics showed houses with them were

A selection of candidates: @wngstr

@wannelo

@cerithrhys

@CathaysFocus

@jackparker1991 For the full list of canditates scan the QR or visit:

much more likely to be targeted for burglaries.

He also spoke about additional licensing schemes for rented accommodation, which have been a major focus of the party in Cathays.

The scheme sees more pressure put upon landlords to improve housing, emphasising standards such as fire safety and security against burglars. Two of the current Cathays councillors are up for re-election, with two new candidates hoping to retain seats.

The Labour Party has also been active across Cardiff, with First Minister, Carwyn Jones, saying gaining control of the Council is “within Labour's grasp.” Their leaflets in and around Cathays have highlighted their pledge to freeze council tax in 2013, support the continuation of a good central bus station and improve waste collections.

Recently launching their citywide manifesto, the Cardiff Labour leader, Heather Joyce, pledged that council tax increases beyond 2013's freeze would be kept under 2% a year. Schooling was also top of the agenda, criticising the current council for allowing Cardiff's schools and colleges to slip to the bottom of Wales' league for achievement and organisation.

As the national opposition, Ed Miliband's Labour are likely to make strong gains across Cardiff, although it is unclear whether they will gain the 38 seats needed for a majority.

Cardiff Green Party has also been active and is targeting our own ward of Cathays this year, standing students and recent graduates which they say are repre-

sentative of the ward. Jack Parker was recently elected as the Ethical and Environmental Officer of the Student's Union and is now a candidate for Cathays' Greens. He says that his party is campaigning for better quality housing, insulation to reduce energy bills and better communication with students and other tenants over their rights, as well as using the council to create more jobs for young people.

Jack explained, “Lib Dems have been in power in Cathays for 12 years and yet most houses are still suffering from damp, are cold in winter and have poor storage space for our waste.” He argued that by standing young candidates in Cathays, they would be better able to understand student issues and communicate with them.

Plaid Cymru are also ambitious and are hoping to grow their number of councillors after being the minority partner in the current coalition. They are also standing young candidates in Cathays, who call for better pavements, greater clarity on rubbish collections and housing. Glenn Page, a Cathays candidate was quoted in their local leaflet on the topic of pavements and roads as saying, “Cardiff Council seriously needs to think of the safety of Cathays' residents and address this problem immediately.”

Plaid recently elected Leanne Wood, an Assembly Member for our region, as their national leader and will surely be using this news to boost their campaign across the capital. They are also talking of their successes in

power elsewhere, highlighting the Plaid run Caerphilly council, which “has the most improved recycling rate in South Wales at 51%”.

The Conservative Party tend to have a poor showing in Cathays, coming a clear 5th in the ward four years ago. However, they currently have 17 councillors across Cardiff, forming the second largest group.

They have pledged to reverse the council tax rise imposed by the Lib Dem/Plaid coalition this year, instead making savings by “cutting management costs and back office overheads.” David Walker, leader of the group, launched the Cardiff manifesto with additional pledges to invest in roads and under performing schools.

The Conservatives also have 'green policies', aiming to prioritise brownfield sites for new developments before building on greenbelts.

With the changing political mood across the country and such a weak turnout in previous local elections, it seems all to play for in Cathays and across Cardiff this May.

For more information about the local elections visit:

16Features

Monday April 23 2012

gairrhydd

How good is your degree?

I

Features writer, Matt Evans talks about degree prestige at university.

’m sure we’ve all had it at some point. Whether it’s with family members over the dinner table or with friends over a pint, the question of “whose degree is better?” will eventually rear its ugly head.

My housemates are a prime example; as Engineers, their schedule is hectic and their workload heavy. As an English student, I get to live the decadent lifestyle of a writer, with a whole twelve hours of lectures a week. Their degree is intensive, focusing on getting them a real job with real skills, providing a service that a lot of people are going to need in the future. My degree consists of ifs and buts; we’re never quite sure what Shakespeare was trying to tell us, but it seems a bit redundant considering he’s been dead for 400 years. I get a huge amount of grief for this, but as I’m fond of reminding them, I also get a lie-in. I consider it a fair trade.

Degree envy isn’t a new thing, but it has exploded recently thanks to the arrival of disciplines like anthropology and media studies.

It’s usually the social sciences that are affected the worst. They don’t

when we have our integrity?

The answer, sadly, is most of us. We’re all going to need a job at some point. This is when degree prestige becomes institutionalised; the higher employers rate the degree, the more valuable it appears in our eyes. What most people forget is that it really depends on the employer; any degree is useful as long as you’re looking for the right jobs, which makes the whole notion of “my degree is better than yours” totally moot. It’s like arguing who would win a fight between Superman and Godzilla.

“

As an English

often steer students towards specific fields, but there’s something to that; they carry a “jack-of-alltrades” quality, teaching plenty of key skills needed in various different fields. A useful concept, but put next to canonised subjects like physics, they aren’t usually given much credit.

My theory is, that there are two rules that a degree has to follow in order for everyone else to consider it a good one. The first rule is simple. If you were taught the basics in primary school, aka English, Maths, and the Sciences, it’s on the level. A degree in Maths or Chemistry sounds incredibly imposing because they are normally the subjects that people remember struggling with as a child.

The other rule of thumb seems to be that your chosen degree ought to push you into a job. After all, that’s the general point. Once again, take Engineering; a composite of maths and applied Sciences, it propels the student straight into a predetermined career path. Plenty of firms offer apprenticeships for students looking for a leg-up into the industry, and every Eengineer I know has applied. I’ve never met anyone that does the subject for fun.

There are a few exceptions, of

course; a Maths degree leaves plenty of options open career-wise, but I have yet to meet anyone that claims a Maths degree is a bad one. It’s the Arts and the Humanities that get scrutinised, and I can see why; they’re subjective, full of apparent waffle, with little or no bearing on the “real world”.

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We're never Shakespeare was sidering he's been

I concede that point. But I think, and most people that study a subject they love would agree with me, a degree needs to do more than just lead you straight into a career.

Going to university should be an experience that enriches your life; the late nights, practical jokes, bad food and the people you meet help define you as an adult, and I believe this should extend to your choice of

degree.

Many people study history without wanting to work in museums.

Many people study literature, safe in the knowledge that they’re unlikely to have their names mentioned in the same breath as Charles Dickens. We study these subjects because our passion wouldn’t let us do anything else. It’s the opposite of choosing a degree based on your starting salary; our school of thought is that by doing a degree that we care about, we’ll fall into a job that we like to do. The career options that we glean from it are afterthoughts, at best. Who needs to spend their lives chasing the pound

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Every degree brings something different to the table. Some require a sharp mind to navigate the laws that most of us can’t comprehend.

Others are fairly subjective, relying on opinions, nuances and keen analytical skills. Some are vocational, while others leave our futures open to us. But one thing that every degree has in common, is that none of them are easy. Every student has struggled with their subject and come out a better person for it, and that’s worthy of respect no matter what the discipline. Once the dust has settled and the banter has stopped, we should probably try to remind ourselves that Hamlet and Introduction to Statistics can often

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Monday April 23 2011

Sport 34 - 36

gairrhydd

Features

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Dana Beltaji

S

tudent insurance company Endsleigh has recently put up a Facebook quiz entitled: ‘Which housemate are you?’

Although the quiz does bring out some truths about student living by exposing you as a Party Animal, Boss, Dodger or Geek, you or your housemates cannot, unsurprisingly, be split up into four opposing characters. Living with people with different habits and lifestyles to you can be daunting, the root of many arguments, a hellish experience. With a bit of luck and tolerance, however, the student lifestyle can prove itself to be a good time.

Nearly two years ago now, I was on the train to Cardiff for the first time, all ready and excited for Freshers’ Week. One suitcase, two bags; all exceptionally heavy. A true test of my severely lacking physical strength.

I panted and ached my way up to the top floor of my new home; faces of lost, smiling freshers and their parents greeted me on way up to the top floor. It was surprising, although I really should have expected it, that Talybont South didn’t well and truly look like it did on the cosy, spacious 360 degree views on the Cardiff accommodation website. It was cramped, and I didn’t even have the luxury of a shower curtain or toilet lid. I opened up my door to make my way in to the still unexplored kitchen to find a pile of stuff parked outside my door: my next door neighbour had moved in, and so had, it seemed, everything she ever owned.

Over the next few hours I became acquainted with my new flat mates.

They seemed as lost and excited as I was. It was a relief to finally meet

definitely not worth arguing over.

We’d rather have a home that gets occasionally messy but everyone’s happy than one that’s pristine and polished but everyone’s angry with everyone else.

“

who you like or

them, and eventually the rest of the house, and I grew to find that generally everyone was friendly and just a bit lost at times. I wish I understood more of what they were saying though; my ears were yet to fully tune into the Welsh accent.

Despite the awkward beginnings that will forever be a Freshers’ Week routine I was lucky to have the flat mates I had. My first year was plagued with course-mates and housemates alike ranting about the annoying, rude, noisy or temperamental flat mate that they could never get on with. We weren’t particularly the best of friends in my flat, but we got along well - more than most can say about their random draw of first year flat-mates.

Perhaps unfortunately I’ve only seen my old flat once this whole year, around Christmas, when our plans to have a flat meal finally materialised. Perhaps it’s comforting to know that, fundamentally different people can get along just fine if

we’re all just nice to one another.

With such a wide variety of people and experiences living in a house with roughly 50 people last year, I could go on about Fresher’s year, but I promised my current housemates I’d talk about them, too. Everything changes dramatically when you get to second year houses, I think. This time you know who you’re living with and unless you’ve never visited each others houses (assuming you had different first year accommodation) or barely know each other you go into the second year at least with a slight assumption of how living with together will be like. This is the wrong direction to take. Much like first year, I’ve heard lots of varying stories with a wide range of circumstances about how housemates have fallen out with one another and don’t want to live together any longer.

It’s difficult to lose people who you were so close to initially over a few bad habits. They’ve all picked brand

new housemates in the hope that it will be better next year.

I’m lucky enough to report that I’ve absolutely loved living in the house I’m living in this year. Despite the emergence of a ridiculous

56% amount of damp creeping onto our walls after Christmas, the more than occasional pile up of bins or dishes, and one incident where a drunken housemate hilariously decided she wanted to take over my bed at 1am because she was too cold in her own one, living with people that are some of the loveliest people I’ve ever met has been a fantastic experience.

According to Endsleigh, over half (56%) of students have said that they have fallen out with housemates they live with, with 75% of them stating that untidy living habits was the reason they had fallen out. There’s no way of ensuring, however, that the people you live with are the exact same level of tidiness as you are, and chances are you won’t be. This shouldn’t put you off, however. Our lounge’s carpet has probably soaked up more spilled drink than you’d find in a small bar.

At most, we’ve gone four (possibly five) weeks without taking the bins out. That’s not to say that we’re messy or no one’s ever complained that our lounge smells funny or our back garden is full of rubbish. But we don’t let it get in the way. What’s the worst that could happen? It does get cleaned up eventually, so it’s

What’s most remarkable is our ability to adapt to one another’s interests. We are slowly realising, or possibly inheriting, overlaps in music taste. One of my housemates, who was adamant that she hates musicals, went to see the musical Disco Inferno (another housemate was part of the crew) and admitted she liked it. Another housemate surprisingly enjoyed a Nero gig that she wouldn’t have gone to if it wasn’t a birthday gift for another friend. I’ve even adapted my tea habits to be on the same level as the rest of girls in the house, and we take it in turns to keep the cups of teas coming.

Also unexpectedly, one of the guys watched Take Me Out with us once.

Another girl’s nan always lovingly sends us tins full cakes that we all share and munch on together. If I were to look back on the year, the last thing I’d remember was how many dishes were washed. We’ve looked beyond that and we’ve had a good time.

The most important thing, I think, is not only choosing people who you like or are friends with, but also people who are happy to tolerate and accept living habits that are different from their own.

We are varying degrees of messy and tidy, we started with not even remotely similar music tastes, and our TV often switches from sport to Loose Women. It will be sad to see our house shrinking next year from six to four, but if this year is anything to go by, it will be an experience to look forward to.

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Advice & Representation Centre The ARC is located on the 3rd Floor of the Students’ Union Open hours (term time): Monday - Friday 10am - 3pm, Thursdays: 1pm - 3pm. .

(Out of term): To make an appointment between 10am - 4pm email or phone ice Tel: 029 2078 1410 Email: advice@cardiff.ac.uk. Web: cardiffstudents.com/adv

Advice & Representation Centre

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20Science

A

stronomy is very much in the public imagination at the moment. Courtesy of the “Cox Effect,” Joe Bloggs is more likely than ever before to know the difference between black holes & supernovae.

Applications to physics and astronomy courses at universities have spiked. Millions of members of the public have taken part in “citizen science” projects, such as Galaxy Zoo & Planet Hunters, classifying distant galaxies and discovering planets. And just the other week, a lady camping in mid Wales, phoned up Cardiff University’s astronomers to tell us that she’d been woken up in her tent by an “electromagnetic phenomenon,” and would we like to investigate it?

Since Isaac Newton, Britain has punched above its weight in the sciences (although this may soon change in light of funding cuts), and astronomy is no exception. The Royal Astronomical Society is the world’s oldest national institution for the science and every year it gathers together the UK’s research astronomers to discuss their latest discoveries at the National Astronomy Meeting; this year in Manchester, along with Germany’s equivalent, the Astronomische Gesellschaft.

Physics is in an era of big machines. The Large Hadron Collider (which has received much press for its inability to destroy the world) is a fairly impressive nine kilometres across. But astronomers won’t be outdone by mere particle physicists, and NAM’s attendees heard about the plans for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a collection of over 10,000 radio telescopes, which will work together as one big super-telescope, spread over 3,500 km. When up & running, it’ll gather more data every day than the rest of the planet put together.

The SKA will be sensitive enough to see back to the early days of the universe, revealing to us how the cosmos reacted to the very first starts, and helping us unravel the secrets of dark matter (the mysterious, invisible stuff that makes

Monday April 23 2012 #gair

up 75% of the mass in the cosmos), dark energy (the even more mysterious force causing the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate), and perhaps even discover biological molecules floating between the stars - things like amino acids that are essential to living things, and which may have fallen from space to provide the building blocks of the first life on Earth, and maybe beyond. Construction is due to start in 2016.

The potential for life elsewhere also came up in a much more practical sense, at a talk by the University of Colorado’s Prof Fran Bagenal about NASA’s Juno mission. Juno is currently en route to Jupiter, to explore the giant planet’s aurorae

(its versions of Earth’s Northern & Southern lights), and to probe what the planet is like beneath its thick cloud layers, all the way down to the possible Earth-sized diamond that some suspect may be at Jupiter’s core (that may sound daft, but bear in mind that a planet made mostly of diamond was discovered not long ago).

Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, Europa, is understood to have a massive ocean under its icy outer layers. This ocean contains twice as much water as Earth’s, and is likely to be chock full of the ingredients needed for life to form & thrive, making Europa our best candidate for extra-terrestrial life. So seriously do NASA take the possibility

“

When the SKA is up & running, it’ll gather more data every day than the rest of the planet put together

of life on Europa, that when Juno has finished its mission of exploration, they intend to destroy the probe by slamming it into Jupiter’s super-dense atmosphere, to avoid the risk of it accidently crashing on Europa; were that to happen, bacteria from Earth that stowed away

aboard Juno could contaminate any native life they find.

No area of astronomy has caught the public imagination quite like the discovery of exoplanets; planets orbiting other suns. Over 750 have been detected to date, most of which are gas giants. They’re so far away that they’re next to impossible to see directly, so astronomers must use clever tricks to uncover their presence. Spearheading this search, NASA’s Kepler telescope has spent three years orbiting Earth, staring at the same 170,000 stars, watching for the slight “wink” in a star’s brightness when an exoplanet passes in front of it.

NASA’s Natalie Batalha spoke at NAM about how Kepler is get-

News Opinion Politics Feature 1-6 8 - 10 12 - 14 16 - 17

Monday April 23 2012

Science 20 - 21

Societies Listings 24 - 25 28 - 29

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David Mason Science Writer ting closer and closer to finding an Earth-sized exoplanet in the “Goldilocks zone” around a star, where it would be just the right temperature for liquid water and, perhaps, life.

So far, Kepler has discovered 61 exoplanets for certain, but has found over 2,300 good candidates, each of which stands about a 90% of being real. And Dr Batalha revealed that among those possible exoplanets, there is a candidate that is both the size of Earth, and in its star’s goldilocks zone. If confirmed, it will be some of the biggest news in human history; the first potentially habitable planet found beyond the Earth.

“

Europa's ocean is likely to be chock full of the ingredients needed for life making it our best candidate for extra terrestrial existence

Kepler’s ability to watch the miniscule winks of distant stars highlights an often-unconsidered fact - for the vast majority of history, astronomy has depended upon one thing: light. But many of Cardiff ’s astronomers at NAM were there to talk about how they’re working to change that. Our university is at the forefront of an entirely new way of doing astronomy, in the race to be the first to detect gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are ripples in space & time, predicted

by Einstein’s general relativity, and caused by cataclysms such as black holes smashing into one another, or massive stars exploding as supernovae. As such, they give us a way to uncover what’s going on at the heart of these extreme events, where we could never hope to look using regular old light.

Gravitational waves will make an object (including people) physically expand & contract in size when they pass through it. But picking them up is a massive challenge, as the change in size they cause is 0.0000000000000001%; the equivalent of the entire Great Wall of China gaining all of ten billionths of a millimetre in length. So to find gravitational waves, scientists bounce lasers back & forth through

tunnels kilometres long, looking for those tiny variations in length, using the most sensitive measuring equipment in history.

We’re currently at the cusp of being able to detect them, and it’s work done by gravitational astronomers at Cardiff that will pick out their elusive signals. The only gravitational wave detector online for the next couple of years, GEO, is joint-lead (and currently partly manned) by Cardiff researchers.

Cardiff is also heavily involved with the Herschel Space Observatory, the largest telescope ever sent into orbit. Instrumentation experts here built key components for its cameras, sensitive to light far beyond what our eyes can pick up.

Herschel can see the far-infrared “glow” of stardust floating in space, at temperatures below -200°C. This dust blocks the visible part of the spectrum (if you look up at the Milky Way on a clear night, the dark streaks you can see are because of dust hiding the stars behind), but Herschel’s gaze can pierce it, showing us stars being born in their dusty cocoons.

“

It would seem irresponsible of us not to strive to understand the beautiful complexity of the universe we’re a part of

Cardiff astronomers talked on how Herschel’s insights are allowing us to piece together stages of star birth in nearby parts of the Milky Way that were previously hidden from view. They also presented results about observations of Andromeda, the closest big galaxy to our own. We can now see where stars are being born, right now, in its spiral arms, and learn about the stardust churned out by

Andromeda’s previous generations of stars; the same dust that will one day go on to form new planets and stars.

This year’s National Astronomical Meeting was the most-attended ever, and next year’s should be every bit as successful, especially as it will feature the first discoveries of Europe’s Plank spacecraft (also partly built at Cardiff), whose mission it is to explore the structure, contents, origins and fate of the entire universe, by measuring tiny ripples in the cosmic microwave background radiation (which you’ll recognise as static on old analogue TVs).

In a time of austerity, people question whether public money should be spent on curiosity-driven research that doesn’t directly improve life here on Earth. I’m an astronomer, so I’m hardly an unbiased commentator on the issue. You may argue that the money used for research could be better spent directly helping people in Britain and abroad. But bear in mind that if the government cut the entire UK science budget, it would only increase the funds available for aid and welfare programs by 1.4%.

And don’t forget, exploration of space and astronomy for their own sakes led to the development of global positioning, thermal imaging, airport security scanners (love them or loathe them), dialysis machines, fusion reactors (our only real hope to solve the energy crisis), mammograms, smoke detectors, solar cells, and CAT, PET & MRI scanners, to name but a few.

I think that as a species, we should be aiming for more than consecutive quarters of positive economic growth, or just improving the quality of our lives.

I don’t think we should limit what parts of the natural world we explore merely to those which may reap here-and-now benefits for us to exploit. It would seem irresponsible of us not to strive to understand the beautiful complexity of the universe we’re a part of. If we don’t, who will?

Follow @GairRhyddSci for the latest news and info on future articles or check out our new website www.gairrhydd.com

Google’s latest high-tech reveal comes in the form of ‘Project Glass’, the development of augmented reality glasses that project information onto a small screen to be visible floating in the user’s field of vision.

The project was officially revealed on April 4, following rumours and speculation among the online community from apparent leaked images of the design.

“

The reveal video suggests the glasses will have a built in camera for picture and video, GPS navigation and a 3G or 4G data connection

The reveal video follows a user through an average day and boasts a series of impressive functions that are available. Primarily voice activated, the video suggests users are able to set reminders, send messages and even determine the location of friends if they choose to share it, all whilst on the go and without any form of mouse click or finger tap.

It is also implied that the glasses rely on the user’s vision as an input, including displaying information on subway closure as the subway sign is viewed.

Though Google has not released full design features or specifications yet, the reveal video suggests the glasses will have a built in camera for picture and video, GPS navigation and a 3G or 4G data con-

nection.

It has been speculated that the product will cost little more than current top-end smartphones, although the project is still in testing stages. In line with Google’s statement that ‘technology should work for you’, the current design of Project Glass focuses on being as unobtrusive as possible.

While this sort of technological advancement is seen by some as an obvious step forward, many have raised concerns over the practicality of augmented reality in everyday life. Already, the online community have produced several parody videos for the release, highlighting potential problems, not necessarily with the idea, but with the users.

Ranging from people being distracted by unwanted pop-ups while walking, to people potentially using the glasses while driving, these parodies highlight the fact that augmented reality is simply something people are not used to.

“

Already, the online community have produced several parody videos for the release

In a world where mobile phones use is still a major driving hazard, the risk of distraction and vision obstruction from Project Glass could pose a major risk whilst driving.

Ultimately, this technology may prove to be a significant technological advancement, among those who can make sensible use of it. Project Glass is expected to go on sale later this year, after being publicly tested

by Google employees in the coming months.

24 Societies

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efore Easter, the week of the elections resulted in Adam Curtis winning the role of Societies Officer for the next academic year with 1,559 votes (the runner-up, Liam Coleman, had 1,294 after all the other candidates had been eliminated). gair rhydd went along to interview him.

When asked about how he had found election week, Adam replied that it was “tiring. It’s not just election week but the weeks before spent preparing for it and the weeks after with all the final tying up. It was a highlight of my time at university, though. I spent the morning being as loud as possible – on crossroads, in lecture theatres – and the afternoon chatting to people in cafes. I have a lot of respect for Liam [Coleman], he was off up to Talybont when I was flagging and the competition and camaraderie often kept me going.”

Out of curiosity, I asked Adam his opinion on the costumes involved and whether it would be better to take the elections seriously, to which Adam said it was “a complicated issue.

The majority of candidates that won had a good campaign and costume, as well as good policies. I thought that the BFG was something that people would remember.”

Moving on to talk about Adam’s policies, I asked him about his intentions to make charity a major issue for societies.

Adam intends to publicise charity week more: “Everyone knows about Varsity, but who knows about charity week?” I pointed out that Varsity pay for publicity, and often charities cannot afford that. “Yes, but we could publicise it around the union more. We have TV screens. We can easily raise more awareness. The Varsity lot have a crew – basically, the same people that did Welcome Week – we could use them too.” And would it be the same week as RAG week, or a different week?

“I have two choices: one idea is to get all the societies involved, like Go Global which was a massive success this year and in previous years. It would be good to get a name – like Go Global – and brand it. Ideally, all the societies would be involved and we would choose one charity to support. The other option is to go with what we’ve already got. Use RAG week, but put everything together into that week.” And if RAG wants to supports its own charities? “I’d hope we can choose one. I tend to find that supporting one charity, over a sustained time, works better. Giving money to charity is just a band-aid on a problem, but continual support can help deal with the problem. I want to make people care.”

Indeed, Adam intends for every society to have a charity element. He did state that it wouldn’t be compulsory, and that he wouldn’t be intending to create a Charity Officer committee position (yet), but that he wanted any events the societies did to put profits to a charity that they would choose to support for that year. I pointed out that many societies did this already (the Healthcare Music Society concert, mentioned on the next page, raised money for Marie Curie), and those that didn’t were usually trying to raise funds for themselves – and often events did not have a profit, as many barely broke even (the recent Asian Society’s ‘Elements’ event being a case-in-point).

He reminded me that any money raised, multiplied by the fact

Monday April 23 2012

Isabelle Roberts

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there were 150 societies, would end up being quite substantial.

I reminded him that this year’s RAG week raised nothing like the amount that Bristol’s RAG Week did, and he said “yes, it’s more the attitude towards giving that I want to change. If you learn about a charity, in detail, you will want to give.”

And do you have any opinion on the society’s budgets? “Another complicated issue. I think it’s about education, and instructing the new committee’s on how to obtain funding. It’s also about transparency.”

How do you plan to encourage membership? “Only a third of students are currently involved in societies. I want to stretch the societies fayre, but I know we can’t really do that or it will impact on the business fayre, which will impact on the sports fayre, and so on. But the fayres' are always rammed at peak times! It would be interesting to try some sort of system, such as different coloured bands – yellow, green – and have certain people in at certain times. That, or run a second fayre a few weeks later.” Like the re-freshers fayre? “Instead of the re-freshers fayre. No one ever goes to that, and barely any societies show up for it either. Just run the same event a few weeks into term, after all the introductory sessions. I think introductory sessions are a great idea for people to try stuff out before they decide. Most people also seem to think you have to join up at the fayre – you don’t. You can join online, through CampusGroups, or up on the third floor of the union.” Yes, but then you’ve missed all the information and email sign-up lists that are at the fayres. “Emails can be sent out via CampusGroups. I mainly want to encourage second and third years. It’s mostly first years that will join up to societies.”

Did you have anything else you wanted to say? “I just wanted to mention the summer ball. When I used this as a campaign strategy, most people seemed to think it was an easy policy, a cop-out and that I was jumping on the bandwagon, but I seriously think we can do a good summer ball – other universities do! People want a good summer ball – it was basically all that was discussed at the AGM. I would do it differently. I would combine the universities – Cardiff, UWIC, Royal Welsh. Swansea University managed to get a great act – Florence and the Machine – as a headline, which obviously attracts attention and is expensive, but for example Aberystwyth mix a great act with a ‘joke’ act like S-Club who everyone’s heard of, but are a lot cheaper. If we combined with all the other universities, we’d definitely have enough people interested.” Where would you hold the summer ball? “I was thinking about the Winter Wonderland area – we could have all that roped off, a fun fair…I think that would be a good place.”

The votes this year had a lower turn out than last year: would a serious election be taken seriously? “It’s a complicated issue, as is the transferable vote system which is sometimes a pain.” What do you think, readers, of the elections this year and your new Societies Officer? Would a serious election be taken seriously? Would people vote? The debate continues online! #gairrhydd and http://www.cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/ gairrhydd/

gair

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Monday April 23 2012

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Isabelle Roberts Societies Editor How can a small cake sale can help create an Arms Trade Treaty? gair rhydd goes along to ask the Amnesty International Society.

Before the Easter break, on March 22, Amnesty International held a cake sale in the Humanities Cafe and in front of the Union, in order to raise awareness of the lack of an Arms Trade Treaty. Amnesty International had prepared letters for eager cake-buyers to sign which asked the Prime Minister to make a “robust public statement supporting a strong and effective Arms Trade Treaty.” The letter also cited that “1,500 people die from armed violence” every day. After speaking to some members of Amnesty International, who were manning the cake stand, I learned that there were no comprehensive legally binding international rules governing the arms trade at

Isabelle Roberts Societies Editor Albany Road Baptist Church, Saturday 24th March Before the Easter break, the Healthcare Music Society performed a ‘Best of British’ concert in aid of Marie Curie. The idea was to celebrate this year – what with the diamond jubille and the Olympics – by using only music composed by British composers. It was an interesting affair, mixing popular songs (such as Make You Feel My Love by Adele) with more classical music (such as Nimrod Variation IX by Edward Elgar, which is usually used on Remembrance Sunday). The ‘Adiemus’ music was very enjoyable, and had a brilliant solo flautist. It was sung as well as performed, and composed only of syllables so did not make much sense, but was hauntingly beautiful.

the moment, and that gaps and loopholes in national controls mean weapons often end up in conflict zones or in the hands of human rights abusers.

From what I saw, the cake stall was very busy and they also, eagerly, had membership information and a donation box at the ready. In order to inform students, they had the declarations from Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg there I thought was a good idea, and then and the letters were ready for you to sign, asking David Cameron to make such a statement. Interestingly, in 2006 the world took a major step forwards by agreeing to develop the first Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Amnesty International pointed out to me in their statement that “to be effective, the Treaty must prevent transfers where it is foreseeable that serious violations of human rights international law will occur, or that poverty will be exacerbated. It must have a broad scope and cover all weaponry.”

Kathryn Mackridge, Amnesty International Society Trea-

surer, told me that after the event they had raised £156.88 which is not bad for selling cakes for 5 hours. She described the event as, “incredibly successful. All our society members who offered to bake cakes put in a lot of effort.” Kathryn also praised the interest of students and commented that it was raising interest in a “positive” way for the campaign. Anna Wells, Amnesty International Society President, confirmed that they had persuaded 109 people to sign the letters to David Cameron. She commented that “it’s such an important campaign and I can’t believe that we still do not have a treaty to control the trade of arms in this day and age. […] Weapons manufacuted in the UK and the US are sold to military dictatorships.”

You can follow the debate online on twitter by #controlarms and #armstreaty or going to http://www.controlarms. org/index_c.php or http://www.amnesty.org.uk/content. asp?CategoryID=10079

After this was a speech about the Murie Carie charity, which would have been better placed at the beginning of the event, and then a band-like ensemble, with a guitar and a cello, who performed a mix of songs. The medley from Phantom of the Opera set my teeth on edge, but then I am a fan of the original and nothing will beat that. It was, however, impressive to see a proper harp being played! The rendition of Viva la Vida by Coldplay was possibly my favourite performance of the night.

The only downside to the event was the turnout: mostly, it was friends and family that attended the event, and so it definitely needed better advertising if they hoped to raise any serious money for Marie Curie. There were less than 100 people in attendance and the Church was mostly empty. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable evening and the event was very patriotic; the audience were asked to sing the national

anthem at the beginning, and the ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ at the end, while waving British flags that had been left out on seats.

Cardiff Healthcare Orchestra was conducted by David Langley and the Cardiff Healthcare Choir was conducted by David Roche (of ‘Ramdo: the Opera’ fame). Sadly, some of the various different groups which performed (such as the Dentists’ group) were disbanding after the show. For the fact they only had five rehearsals, it all went rather well and was more entertaining than I had been expected. However, the lack of rehearsals did lead to a bit of confusion and a new insertion into the programme of a brave soloist singing a song from Ireland – her bravery was rewarded with the loudest claps from the audience. Overall, the whole evening was rather sweet.

Each section of the paper has a different selection process, but for Societies you need to email with the following:

gair rhydd editor Interviews will take place soon, so email ASAP. Feel free to include examples of work you have done for gair rhydd or Quench.

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26 Listings

w

Monday April 23 2012

The Complete

To

Student Guide

What's On in Cardiff

April 23rd - 29th 2012

Feb 13th- 19th 2012

Millenium Centre , 7:30pm, £17.00

Chapter Arts Centre, 8:00pm, £5.00

Metropolitan Opera Director and winner of Tony Award for Best Director, Bartlett Sher, directs a stellar cast in the Broadway classic "South Pacific". A moving storyline that combines romance, humour, suspense and stunning scenery, there is little to disappoint in this production that has sold out auditoriums year in year out. Tony Award nominee Loretta Ables Sayr will be reprising her lead role as 'Bloody Mary' with supporting cast members such as Jason Howard, Alex Ferns and Daniel Koeck completing a superb ensemble cast. Tickets do start at £17.00, however, it is recommended that you pay a little extra if you are going to get maximum enjoyment from this fabulous production.

If you attend the Glee Club in Cardiff bay you can be pretty sure that most of the acts that you see will give you a giggle or two, but every year they like to put their reputation on the line in the search for up and coming Welsh talent.

As one of six heats before the July finals, comedians of varying ages will be giving everything they have got to impress the judging panel and audience. This could very well be a mixed bag, but for the price, it is well worth the opportunity to scout out the next Frankie Boyle or Russel Howard and enjoy a night of varied, if somewhat unpredictable comedy.

Walkabout , 7:00pm, Free There are few better places to watch your football than in Walkabout, which boasts more screens per square foot than anywhere else in the city centre. Spacious seating areas and a big screen that can be seen from virtually anywhere in the venue, mean that this is the place to be for the big games. With a menu ranging from a classic burger and chips to kangaroo meat and milkshakes, there is plenty to accompany your football feast, as Chelsea take on Barcelona in the second leg of the semi final of Europe's elite football competition. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the Catalans are now under real pressure if they are to make the final in Munich and stand a chance of defending the trophy they emphatically won at Wembley last year against Manchester United.

Solus, 9:30pm, £3.00 Personally the Lash isn't for me, but maybe that's because I'm a third year who has become rather boring, however, thankfully hundreds of people disagree and fill the Union for their weekly dosage of themed madness.

Whether it's clowns, togas, face paints, Spartan costumes, nurses, policeman or just sports teams trying to drink each other into the floor, there is always something entertaining happening in the Lash. No doubt most people will have received their student loans by this point so expect to see some, well, excessive drinking shall we say, so a trip to the Taf and it's post-booze grub is highly recommended.

Gareth Johnston

gair

Cineworld , 7:00pm, £6.50 Besides the Internet legend of Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee stands alone as perhaps the best know martial arts practitioner of all time, having made a name for himself as a Hollywood Great in films such as Game of Death and also Enter the Dragon. In this revealing documentary, various famous individuals share their opinions on the man including the likes of Mickey Rourke, Kobe Bryant and Gina Carano.

But the real reason for watching this film is the appearance of Cardiff University's very own Dr. Paul Bowman, who is considered a world leading expert on the great man. This is a one time showing of the film, so if you want to see Paul on the big screen then be there for 7 o clock sharp.

Undertone , 7:00pm, £5.00 Previously known as "Don't Tread On Spiders", you would wonder why a band with such a catchy name would ever want to change it, however they did, and now they go by the title "Fjords". The rebranding has done nothing to stifle their abundant talent, described by NME magazine as "By far the best unsigned band out there," a situation, judging by that statement, as something that will change very soon.

In a recent interview they stated that their main goal whilst performing is to, " present you some tasty riffs, arrogant instrumentation and some epic melodies." Simple enough stuff then. Support comes from the "Purple Spiral Project."

News Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Taf-Od 1-8 9 - 11 13 - 15 16 - 17 20 - 22 24 - 25 Listings 28 - 29 26 - 27

Monday April 23 2012

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Cineworld, 12:20-8:00pm, £6.50 When Joss Whedon was announced as the man responsible for bringing the Marvel team of super heroes to the big screen, there was a collective sigh of relief amongst fans that this wouldn't turn out to be the blockbuster that was doomed to fail after all. Combining a stellar cast that includes Robert Downey JR., Scarlett Johansson , Chris Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson, this film film is simply brimming with A list talent.

Following on from the events of last years "Thor", Loki the demi-God son of Odin threatens earth with an army that far outmatches any military force on the planet, leaving the likes of Iron Man, Hulk and Black Widow to defend it.

CF10, 7:00pm, £11.00 Following the successful performances around the UK with You Me At Six, Deaf Havana, will be stopping off in Cardiff as part of their nationwide tour.

Strong believers in the superioroty of live music, Havana will be looking to expand their fan base once more as they promote their hard hitting, and well critically recieved, 2011 album Fools and Worthless Liars. Speaking about the tour, frontmon James Veck-Gilodi was rather modest as he stated that "We wanted to make sure that the £10 you spend on a ticket is well worth it, especially as we are just four idiots from tiny villages."

Sport 31 - 34

Listings 27

Sherman Theatre 7:00pm, £15.00 Oil has run out and the world fights for food. To save his people, Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter to his barbaric new allies. With the fury of a mother betrayed, Clytemnestra waits for his return.

Adultery, power and revenge drive this new telling of an epic Greek legend.

A major new production from Sherman Cymru, Clytemnestra combines the dramatic story-telling of the former National Poet of Wales, Gwyneth Lewis, with the bold direction of Amy Hodge (Measure for Measure). This showing will be the only to offer the chance to meet the cast after the performance.

Great Hall, 7:00pm, £13.50 The Hip-hop duo from Brighton are back to perform to what will likely be a jam packed Great Hall. Having met at the age of just eight years old, Rizzle and Sylvester have seen quite the rise to the top of the U.K. music industry, having already collaborated with Olly Murs, Dizzie Rascal and also The Streets. Best known for the edgy Mama do the hump, the two lads have struck up a unique style that involves a substantial amount of dancing lunacy and energetic crowd interaction. Although this doesn't always happen in the most conventional manner as items of clothing have been thrown from the crowd in previous performances, you have been warned.

Solus, 9:30pm, £4.00

Motorpoint Arena, 7:00pm, £22.50

It probably doesn't need any advertising, but if you find yourself in the final term and you haven't been to the Comeplay, then you have missed out on the best nights that the Union has to offer. With the vast majority of students back in Cardiff by now, it will undoubtedly be filled with people hoping to cram the last few nights of drunken madness in before forcing themselves into library induced panic for the next few weeks.

Drink prices remain by far the lowest you are going to find with 20 miles on a Saturday and ,at 2am you can guarantee whatever DJ is on will be playing Bon Jovi. You know what you're getting here, a cracking night every time.

Lostprophets released their first album, 'thefakesoundofprogress', just over ten years ago. These have been years of shifts in both style and attitude as the band made the ascent through the British rock spectrum.

Now on their fifth album, the band encompass all the sound and experience that they have developed along the way. It's simultaneously a return to form, reminiscent of the chaos of their early work, and an expression of newfound maturity and growth. Having seen them myself in Cardiff two years ago, the Prophets always give a cracking performance and certainly know how to work a Welsh Crowd.

Team Sport Indoor Karting , 5:30pm-Late , £25.00 The indoor Go Karting arena in Cardiff is an absolute blast and every so often they give you the chance to drive to your heats content deep into the night. A brilliant idea for a birthday celebration or just to have a little different competition amongst mates other than who is the best FIFA player in the household.

An incredible combination of tasking hairpins and sweeping wide bends with a couple of slippery corners, ensure that driver skills are at a premium. With plenty of overtaking opportunities and state of the art timing systems, the Cardiff Indoor Go karting track is one of the best in the business and is certainly well worth the £25.00 that you pay.

Chapter Arts Centre, 5:00pm, Free For over a month, Nick Williams will be displaying his award winning art to the general public at the Chapter Arts Centre. Williams applies the knowledge and ideas of Modernism to his work in an attempt to challenge recent statements by some critics that ‘painting is anti- Modernist’. His works take reference from great painters like Breugel and Matisse, fused with modern popular music culture.

All of his work is drawn free hand and is based, interestingly, on internet videos, so if you feel like infusing yourself with a dose of culture and talent head on down to the exhibition to chat to the artist himself.

5

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You can give at http://krazydad.com Thank you! © 2012 KrazyDad.com

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Daily Sudoku Puzzles April 19, 2012 Monday Aprilby 23KrazyDad, 2012 gair

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Monday April 23 2012

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Hit the road Jack

Jack Blakiston-Houston gives and account of his marathon experience in light of the London marathon last weekend

O

n the April 1st, I lined up along with 800 others, at the start of the 2012 Connemarathon in Connemara, Galway for my first marathon. Last weekend was London Marathon weekend and 40,000 runners assembled at Greenwich park to struggle their way through the 26 miles and 385 yards past the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament to the finish line. Yet my own experience was a little less glamorous.

For those who don’t know Connemara, it is one of the most beautiful, and hilly, places in the British Isles.

The sun was very strong, so while I was very happy it wasn’t pouring with rain I was still a little daunted by the task that lay ahead. I had trained hard however, and was reasonably confident of getting near

Liam McNeilly Sports Writer

my target time of 3 hrs 30 minutes.

What’s more, watching the winner of the ultra (39.3 miles) marathon come through our start line doing six minute miles with a full mara-

“

I was a little daunted by the task that lay ahead

thon still to go, gave me a slightly more competitive appetite.

The first three quarters of the race was what I expected. I came through the half marathon mark in 1hr 30mins, negotiated the Magairlí an Deamhain mountain (translated it means the devils mother, but actually means the devil’s testicles) and

I was well under my target time for 20 miles. In fact, after 21miles I had one hour to run the final five, but then I hit the wall. Probably due to my rookie attitude that I was pretty much invincible and could go at the same pace that I would run in Bute Park.

On a basic level ‘hitting the wall’ is when your body runs out of carbohydrate energy and starts to break down fat, and given the 2.5 mile climb named the hell of the west from miles 22-24.5 it wasn’t looking good. I felt like 100kg of lead was bearing down upon my back and my legs back were restricted by elastic bands.

As I ran (walked) up the hill, I felt like I was going backwards.

The whole situation was made all the worse by the thousands of half marathon runners who were merrily jogging past me.

It took me almost an hour, half a

kilo of gummy bears and a packet of fig-rolls to get to the top, and it was there I thankfully saw the friend I met at the start line running. A tiny little bit of encouragement and we were running towards the finish together. Crossing the line in three hours 38 minutes.

I was running for Parkinson’s UK, in the end raising £1750, and would like to extend a thank you to all who offered support through donation and otherwise.

The Connemarathon was an overall success, with 3,000 in all crossing the line from the three races run on the day.

The ultra marathon I mentioned earlier was won in an astonishing 3 hrs, 56 minutes by the current 100K World Champion Giorgio Calcaterra.

The midweek Champions League ties saw Barcelona stifled at Stamford Bridge and Real Madrid lose to a last minute Mario Gomez strike for Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

The two Spanish sides will return home needing to overturn a onegoal deficit in the Camp Nou and Bernabeu respectively, with the bookmakers making them favourites to do so.

In Munich on Tuesday, Bayern were probably deserved victors, with Gomez’s last minute winner coming after he had squandered earlier opportunities. However, his constant threat, which saw him continually get in front of the defender and pull good saves out of Casillas, meant that his goal was a just reward for his good performance.

His goal came after Frank Ribery had opened for the home side, with an assured finish after a poor defensive clearance by Madrid. This came just moments after Ribery had been denied a penalty by Howard Webb.

Mourinho’s tactics were criticised on the night, but Mesut Ozil’s vital away goal on his return to his homeland, means that Madrid now know a clean sheet should see them through to the final. That is, provided they add to the impressive 23 goals they have scored in 5 home Champions League games.

Chelsea vs Barcelona has never disappointed, and Wednesday’s meeting at Stamford Bridge was no exception. After Messi gave the ball away on half way in first half injury time, a swift break involving Lampard and Ramires was finished

by Drogba who had flitted between looking fired up and lying on the grass.

Barcelona’s created 24 shots, but squandered many good chances.

Ashley Cole cleared Fabregas’ effort off the line in the first half, Sanchez shot wide from six yards and Busquets fired over from eight yards in the dying moments. Messi showed moments of brilliance but was shut out on many occasions by a solid Chelsea defence and Cech made some crucial saves.

An El Clasico final still seemed the likely final, but these results have removed the aspect of inevitability. Performances in keeping with the first legs from the underdogs could set up an enthralling Chelsea vs Bayern final in Munich on May 19.

News Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Listings 1-6 8 - 10 12 - 14 16 - 17 20 - 21 24 - 25 28 - 29

Monday April 23 2012

Sport 34 - 36

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Sport35

Your Pitch: Funding death?

Is the Grand National a tradition or an outdated and cruel practice?

Henry Wormersley-Smith Sports Writer Last Saturday saw the closest finish in the 173-year history of the Grand National. Neptune Collonges at 33/1 beat Sunnyhillboy in the last stride to seal the win for his trainer, Paul Nicholls, who has finally achieved a Grand National, win after 53 attempts.

The run-up to the race was also filled with excitement for many, as Katie Walsh riding Seabass became the joint favourite. A win for Seabass would have made Katie the first ever-female jockey to win the Grand National.

However, the most famous and thrilling steeplechase in the world was overshadowed for a second year running by the death of two horses. Both According to Pete and Synchronised fell at the infamous Becher’s Brook, sustaining injuries which meant they had to be euthanized on the course.

The death of Synchronised was all the more shocking because he was the winner of the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Ridden by the legendary AP McCoy, his owner and trainer were aiming to make Synchronised the first horse since Golden Miller in 1934 to win both races in the same year.

Horse racing is a hugely popular sport in this country with billions of pounds invested in each year.

You only have to look at the Grand National’s massive £975,000 prize pot. Yet for those in the racing industry the amount of interest and press coverage is a double-edged sword.

With every horse fatality the organisers of the Grand National face greater criticism as the media increasingly portray the sport as cruel. Following the two deaths last year, Aintree Racecourse spent £250,000 on improving the safety of the course and stepping up the veterinary services provided on the

day. This may sound like a lot, but in other equestrian sports safety provisions such as a pre-competition ‘trot-up’ and rigorous veterinary checks have been in place for decades.

Having ridden and competed horses all my life, it always surprises me that in the 21st century the safety standards for the horses in racing appear to be lacking. Now, speaking to people in the industry, they claim that critics should direct their attention to more cruel areas of the industry such as the trans-

port of horses for meat purposes.

A far higher proportion of horses die each year in this compared to racing. But the point is that if such huge investment goes into racing, why do horses still die?

I think this is down to the number of runners, which at 40 is by far the highest in any UK steeplechase.

This means that all the horses are trying to jump the same fence in the same place at the same time often causing wincing carnage. With 10 less runners there’s more space for the horses to jump. A reduction

will also see the exclusion of ‘nohopers’ who are often at huge odds of 150/1 and racing beyond their limits, serving no purpose but to make the race more dangerous.

Yet some in the industry have suggested, quite surprisingly, making the fences even larger than they are, which apparently would slow the horses down. It is the sheer size of the fences that cause leg breakages and subsequent deaths because these horses are bred primarily for speed not robustness. I think bigger fences will only increase these

injuries.

I bet on the Grand National every year, but every time a horse dies I feel like I’m funding their death. I certainly do not want this race or sport to be banned because it would hugely impact the livelihoods of thousands of people. I also don’t want to make this race less exciting and improving safety doesn’t have to. Less runners will make the race less of a lottery and allow those with the ability to succeed in a race they’re fully capable of.

Reading earn promotion, while the rest race for the finishing line James Shapland Sports Writer As we enter into the business end of this domestic season, the prize of promotion to the Promised Land of the Premier League gets ever closer for those battling it out at the top of the Championship.

Tuesday night saw Reading seal their place after four years of absence, as they fought out a narrow 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Madjeski Stadium. Jubilant scenes at the final whistle rounded off an astounding run of seven wins in the last eight games for Brian McDermott’s side.

Hoping to join the Royals are Southampton, who could have achieved their goal by the time this story is printed. A win at Middlesborough on Saturday evening would be enough to confirm backto-back promotions for the Saints.

After leading the pack all season, the south coast club proved their Premiership credentials, cruising to a 3-1 victory at London Road on Tuesday night.

Pre-season favourites West Ham have struggled this season, with home form in particular proving troublesome. Suffering a run of eight home games without a win, is proving costly as the season draws

to a close. Despite blasting six past a hapless Brighton, they faltered at Bristol City, only managing a 1-1 draw. Now five points behind Southampton with two games to play, fans will be bracing themselves for the playoffs.

The last three playoff places are still up for grabs, and the top six has seen numerous clubs come and go throughout the season. Recently relegated Birmingham struggled initially, with the pressure of European football, but the New Year has seen Chris Hughton’s side climb the table to all but secure a playoff spot.

Occupying sixth spot are the

South Wales hopefuls, Cardiff City.

After the heartbreak of the Wembley penalty shootout in February, the Bluebirds struggled to maintain form. Tueasday's win however, leaves them in need of just one more victory for their third shot at the playoffs in as many years.

Middlesborough are the only realistic challenge to Cardiff ’s playoff hopes but with a tough test at home to Southampton on Saturday, fans will fear the worst.

The championship therefore looks set for another tense end to the season for those teams vying for promotion, Southampton looking to be the only dead cert.

Sport

Review of the Grand National << Inside

Smooth sailing

Joanna Lucas reviews Cardiff Sailing's recent competitions

O

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n the second week of April, six Cardiff sailors travelled up to West Kirby Sailing Club in Liverpool to compete in the BUCS/BUSA team racing finals. Of the original 77 teams, only 32 remained to battle it out over the course of the three days.

The conditions were near perfect, with 15-20 knots of breeze. Cardiff didn’t get off to a great start, losing their first race, and unfortunately had to request a re-sail for the second race because of a boat malfunction, which ended in one of their boats without a rudder. The re-sail fortunately went well with a good win, and was followed by three more and one loss. At the end of the first day, Cardiff were looking good with four wins out of six races.

They retired to the hotel for a quiet night to prepare for the next day.

Thursday dawned with similar conditions but a little less wind.

Cardiff didn’t have such a good day with only two wins in 12 races, leaving them with only a 33% win rate.

n 1st-5th April, Cardiff University Yachting Team, which consisted of eight Cardiff students, travelled down to Port Solent, Portsmouth for the BUCS/BUSA Yachting Championships. 29 teams from 21 different universities competed in the four day event, which was sailed in Sunsail F40s.

The racing was tight, with several teams in the running and close calls throughout the fleet. The conditions were tricky at times, with the teams facing all types of weather through the week. During the long inshore race on Wednesday, the wind dropped so light, that the boats were forced to anchor and wait for the wind to fill in before continuing the race.

Unfortunately for Cardiff, who had been coming 6th in the race, this allowed the boats further back to catch up and overtake, and they dropped down to 16th in the non-discardable On the final day of racing the wind dropped right down and Cardiff only sailed one race, which was luckily a win for them. They didn’t make it through to quarter-finals, but joined the other teams on the bank and had good fun watching some tight racing between the top teams.

Southampton Turquoise were the eventual winners of the event, with Oxford White second. Cardiff finished 23rd and 2nd, and gained some good experience amongst the top sailors in the country.

TEAM: Matt Holbourn (capt.), Jo Lucas (Vice capt.), Hatty Black, Rory Jones, Andy Smith, Emily Wiltshire.

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The event was won by Exeter, with very consistent results. They were followed by Portsmouth Plum in 2nd and Plymouth Pink in 3rd. Cardiff finished 22nd overall, missing out narrowly to Swansea, who beat them by only five points, and who will go on to represent Wales at the Student Yachting World Cup. Having improved on their performance last year, however, the team is confident that next year will be even better.

To keep up to date with the Yachting Team and all activities from Cardiff University Sailing Club, follow us on twitter @CUsailingclub TEAM: Jamie Bodnar-Horvath (Skipper), David Vail (helm), Hatty Black, Sam Leonard, Jo Lucas, Sam Muskett, Andy Smith, Emily Wiltshire Get your BUCS articles in the paper. If you have any recent and exciting news about your club or team please send them in to sport@gairrhydd.com

Ever fancied trying sailing? Cardiff University Sailing Club is offering a Try A Sail Day on Sunday April 29 at Cardiff Bay! The day is open to everyone and all abilities are welcome! For only £10 you can have a morning or afternoon sailing and a barbeque lunch included!

As well as this, you will be sailing with RYA Qualified Instructors who will help you every step of the way.

They can also offer transport from the Union to the Bay and all kit is provided.

If you’re looking to try something new before the end of the year, why not go along and have a go!

If you’re interested, please email Milly at milly.beighton@ hotmail.com See you at the Bay!