gair rhydd - Issue 953

“ “ “ gair rhydd page 18

Monday June 06 2011 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 953

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I want to do th i but how on ea s rt would I go abo h ut doing it?

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o more n e r a e You than th d e fi i l u qua ound yo r a m a te

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y manifesto m e t o r w I n e h W uld have o w I t a h t t h g I thou ose things h t n o t u p in n a

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You a re the one w looked ho is to for answe all the rs

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page 09

Science put together a solution to climate change page 20

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Features explore married life at university

Opinion: Should Twitter be censored?

After a series of in-depth interviews with this year’s Elected Officers, gair rhydd asks

Did they deliver?

Morgan Applegarth News Editor Over the past two weeks, gair rhydd has investigated the extent to which Cardiff Students’ Union’s Elected Officers have fulfilled their manifesto promises, relayed during last year’s campaign week.

Through a series of in-depth interviews, this year’s Elected Officers team were questioned over their pledges and promises made to the Cardiff University student population in their hope of getting

elected.

The investigation revealed that the majority of this year’s team believed that they had been ill-informed as to the requirements and realistic capabilities of their position before being elected.

The investigation also revealed that members of this year’s team accept that not all manifesto points can be fulfilled due to a lack of knowledge about the full extent of their responsibilities and what is achievable during their term.

Head of Student Media and gair rhydd Editor Sarah Powell admit-

ted: “I don’t think that I achieved everything that I set out to achieve in my manifesto.

“You write this manifesto in March which is five months before you are actually meant to come in and do the job, and you can only really hypothesise about what the job is going to entail.”

She also noted how Elected Officers can be “no more qualified than the team that are around you,” yet are looked to for all the answers.

Finance and Commercial Officer Darryl Light told gair rhydd that during the election process, his

thoughts on what the officer in his position did were different to what he later learnt having been elected: “It’s interesting because when I wrote my manifesto I thought that as Finance Officer I would have more input on [certain] things.”

Such findings raise questions over the election process and the ability for any student to run for any position with little to no knowledge of their desired position.

Using IMG Rugby as an example, AU President Jack Perkins revealed that in some cases, not until a student becomes elected do they learn

about the possibility of fulfilling their promises: “Because I am the figurehead of the AU, if I sign off IMG Rugby, it is my responsibility. “[IMG Rugby] is quite a serious thing and I think that when I wrote my manifesto last year I didn’t necessarily know that.”

He also said that IMG Rugby can be more of a “buzz word” used by candidates who may not have done their research, but include it in their manifestos in a bid get votes.

Continued on page 4

02News

gr EDITOR Sarah Powell

CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan DEPUTY EDITOR Dom Kehat SUB-EDITOR Hannah Van Den Bergh NEWS Morgan Applegarth Miranda Atty Pippa Lewis Ben Price Hannah Pendleton FEATURES Zoe Bridger Laura Brunt OPINION Holly Howe Chris Williams POLITICS James Dunn Oliver Smith SOCIETIES Bianca London

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

Remembering a friend Laura Evans Reporter Friends of a Cardiff student who tragically fell to his death earlier this year will be hiking 50 miles over four days to raise money in his memory.

James Wood, first year student studying Maths, sadly died in hospital in the early hours of Saturday March 12 after being taken by ambulance from the scene of Senghennyd Court Residences where he lived.

Emma Gros, Emma Creed and

Emma Mullins, who are all from James’ hometown of Eltham South London, were close friends of his and have decided to raise money to have a plaque in his memory placed on a bench in Oxleas Woods, a place where they treasure happy memories of James.

The three Emma’s will be trekking around the Gower Peninsula in South Wales over the course of four days accumulating a total of fifty miles. This is the same route that James completed with his scout unit only two years ago.

Whilst at home, James was an active member of the Royal Eltham

Scouts, so any money remaining after purchasing the plaque will go towards them, as his friends believe it is what he would have wanted.

The unit are helping James’ peers with planning their route and are providing the equipment necessary to complete the fundraiser.

The girls hope to raise at least £350 and are currently more than half way towards reaching this target. gair rhydd spoke to Emma Gros about the fundraiser for James. She said: "We are doing this because we want everyone to know just how incredible he was. He was a good

friend, such a laugh and so intelligent. James was going to do so many great things with his life and it’s not fair that he didn’t get to.

"Initially we just wanted to gather some money together so that we could buy the plaque but actually doing something in his name, which will also go to a good cause, is so much better. He did a lot for his scout troop and so we are hoping that through this he can do even more."

The hike will take place from 8-11th September and donations can be made at http://www.everyclick.com/walkforjames

Celebrating student media Chris Andrews Reporter

May 27.

Held at Cardiff ’s Hilton Hotel, the ceremony hailed contributors across all four main areas of Student Media; gair rhydd, Quench, Xpress Radio and CUTV. Hosted by Absolute Radio DJ

Vicki Blight, all of the awards were judged by industry professionals, including journalists from the guardian, GQ Magazine and BBC Radio One. Speaking on the success of the night, Head of Student Media Sar-

ah Powell told gair rhydd: "It was a great night and everyone seemed to have a good time.

"The media awards is an opportunity to celebrate the hard work of everyone involved in student media and to showcase people's talent."

Best Designer

Best Male Presenter

Best Photographer

Best CUTV Programme

Alex Winter

Sean Thorne

Tom Armstrong

Edge Magazine: Behind The Scenes

Best Edited Programme

Best Opinion Writer

Best Quench Feature

Best News Writer

Just Cardiff

Henry Burton

Jack Doran

Morgan Applegarth

Best Interview

Best gair rhydd Feature

Best Critic

Best Quench Section

Chris Browning

Bethan Cable

Matt Ayres

Food

Best On-Screen Personality

Best Specialist Show

Best Short Film

Katie Haylock

Lia and Charlotte

Dougray Scott

Most Dedicated CUTV Member

Best Producer

Best Mainstream Show

Best Interview

Sean Thorne

The Sean and Martyn Show

Jack Doran

Most Dedicated Quench Member

Best Speech Show

Best gair rhydd Section

Best Sports Writer

Matt Wright

Points for Punditry

Writer's Block

Alex Bywater

Best Newcomer

Best Xpress News Reporter

Best Female Presenter

Most Dedicated gair rhydd Member

The Weekend Wake Up Call with John & Emma

Sheri Hall

Tamsin Grainger

Morgan Applegarth

The creative talents of Cardiff students were celebrated at the recent 14th Annual Cardiff Student Media Awards, which took place on Friday

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT Tom Clarke Jack Parker TAF OD Elliw Mair SPORT Alex Bywater Lucy Morgan Alex Winter CONTRIBUTORS Jo Greet Elizabeth Crandon Luke Slade Ben Pearson John Hillard Daisy Payne Laura Evans Geoff Kingston Jack Green Chris Andrews Peter Hardie Matt Jones Caleb Woodridge Joanne Southerd Heather Arnold Sophia Willworth Becca Smithers Mia Holt Alice Evans

And the winners are...

Beckie Saunders

PROOFREADERS Henry Burton Chris Andrews Aneurin Brown Thomas Reynolds

News03

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

Students elect Cardiff Union's part-time officers in by-elections Postgraduate Support Officer RON 16

249 votes cast Hannah Pendleton News Editor The By-Election results have been announced for Cardiff Student Union's part-time elected officer positions.

Voting took place between Wednesday March 25 and Friday March 27 2011. Students voted online or at Union polling stations.

Up against just Re-open Nominations (RON), Hassan Alfarra was elected for Postgraduate Support

233 votes for Hassan Alfarra

Students with Disabilities Officer

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All those who took should be very

proud of themselves, running during a stressfull time in the academic year

Officer. With 249 votes cast in total for the two candidates, RON received 16 votes and Hassan Alfarra won with 233 votes.

The first round of voting for the students with Disabilities Officer saw RON eliminated with just two votes and the votes redistributed.

Cath Mackintosh was elected for the position in the next round, beating the third candidate, Donna Williams, by one vote with 130.

Initially three positions were open, however, the Mature Students Officer position did not acquire

261 votes cast

part in the elections

any candidates. Nominations for this postion are due to re-open next term.

Rose Savage, the Welfare, Campaigns and Communications Officer commented on the By Elections stating: "The decision to run another By-Election was a success, electing another two positions into the Elected Team, it was unfortunate that we were unable to fill all three positions available, however, the Union will benefit from having a fuller team of officers at this point in the year, than in previous years.

129 votes for Donna Williams

"We had a successful turn out of voters, where we saw an unprecedented number of voters, turning up to vote in the Union and voting at home during exam revision time. Each candidate must have been working hard to promote their manifestos, really opening themselves up for being challenged while displaying integrity and the want to represent fellow students in the next academic year.

"All those who took part in the elections should be very proud of themselves, running during a

130 votes for Cath Mackintosh

stressful time in the academic year, showing real commitment to what they represent individually, "I look forward to handing over to the successful candidates during the next few months and wish them the best of luck during the next year.

"To the other candidates I hope that they stay in touch with the Union and contribute to the Union's development, based on manifestos some great ideas and targets were set and put into the public arena."

University fails at exams New city centre Issues over the administration of exams leave Cardiff transport plans University facing difficult questions from students Morgan Applegarth News Editor

Questions over Cardiff University’s ability to run examinations have surfaced following a series of errors during the on-going spring examination period. gair rhydd understands that an incident occurred during a recent Physics examination in which a mistake was made on one of the exam papers.

However, the University claimed to have received “no reports of an incorrect exam paper being issued during a Physics exam” that took place during the second week of the examination period.

In addition, last week, gair rhydd reported how a number of second year English Language and Literature students made complaints to the University and Students’ Union following an error in their English Phonetics examination (Issue 952).

In the exam, which was worth 50% of the Sounds of Speech module, students were supplied with additional material that contained the phonetic alphabet to aid in the answering of questions.

However, the symbols had been misprinted, making the content of the paper unreadable. While the error was rectified during the exam itself, one student told gair rhydd: “The exam was made impossible to complete due to a huge error on the exam paper.”

This incident was the second of what gair rhydd understands to be three incidents, spread across three different Schools.

Last month, it is believed that third year Architecture students were handed last year’s exam paper to complete. The University did not comment on the incident.

In defence of the criticism, a University spokesperson said: “All complaints received regarding the University’s examination process are taken very seriously.

“Any issues reported are investigated by the University and, where appropriate, reported to the Chair of the Examining Boards in order that they may be considered and suitable action taken to rectify the situation.

“The University’s Academic Standards and Quality Committee receives an annual report from the Superintendent of Examinations and ensures that action is taken to minimize and avoid errors in examination papers.”

Criticism over errors occurring during examinations is not the only issue that has been highlighted during the on-going examination period.

Many students complained over hectic timetables, with some feeling that their final examinations of the year had been scheduled too close together.

One student told gair rhydd that their timetable this semester had been the worst they have had during their three years at Cardiff.

Matt Jones Reporter Radical new plans have been proposed for a car free Cardiff city centre and a congestion charge for the inner suburbs.

The report, published by the Cardiff Civic Society, suggests a pedestrian zone across the entire city centre, including the area around Cathays Park. It also details plans for a congestion charge in suburbs such as Cathays and Roath, stretching to the junction of North Road with the A48.

The purpose of the planned initiative is to improve sustainable transportation in the city, and to introduce a metro network and improved park and ride facilities.

The congestion charge would be around five pounds per day, with the Society hoping that this will encourage people to use public transport instead.

David Eggleton, secretary of the Cardiff Civic Society, said: “It is

clear to us that transportation is the most single important aspect that will affect Cardiff, its growth, its quality-of-life and its sustainability by 2026.

“It also offers the chance to transform the quality of life in the city itself – for residents, commuters and visitors. It would release substantial areas of land for new public spaces, parks and key developments. The Civic Centre could become just that, a new, car-free zone where the city meets and manages its life.”

However the report was not met with approval from Council leader Rodney Berman. He expressed doubts that residents would support the proposal to pay to drive in the inner suburbs, and claimed that the scheme “could have a disastrous effect on the economic viability of the city centre.”

The Centre Director of St David’s agreed, saying that it 'would discourage people from coming into Cardiff' at a time when “we need to do all we can to stimulate growth”.

04News

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

Empty promises or misplaced intention? freewords EDITORIAL est.1972 Miranda Atty News Editor In order to get into power, it often seems judicious to be the one who promises to ‘get things done’. Not only do members of Parliament repeatedly propose radical reform, but in order to stand out from the crowd, sabbatical officers through time immemorial have also claimed to offer something different, regardless of the actual feasibility of such acts. The predominant issue for me is that the candidates essentially make promises that they have no idea whether or not they will be able to keep. Let’s be clear, this is not a criticism of this year’s

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What would you say to criticisms of how you handled the issue of fee increases?

It is something that we have had to deal with as a team. The first demonstration was NUS organised, all sanctioned properly and we chose to put all of our efforts into that. As a team we then took the decision that we should only support following demonstrations which were organised and sanctioned properly.

I think we have balanced it really well. If I‘m being honest, the whole Union could have gone as far in that direction as possible stating ‘we want this and we want that’ but instead we have taken the position that we have to be the bridge between the University and the Union and I don’t think that sitting in occupations and shouting is often the best way to achieve results.

How would you describe the feeling within the Union now that the raised tuition fees have been an-

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Daryll Light

Finance and Commercail Officer

Do you think that you have increased and expanded nightlife in the Union?

At the start of the year we tri-

sabbatical team, but evidence of a failing within the system itself. Interviewing all the current sabbatical officers, it became evident that not one had been able to fulfil their entire manifesto brief, and what’s more, most of the sabbatical officers reiterated a feeling that they had written their manifestos pretty much blind.

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Sabbatical Officers have claimed to provide something different, regardless of feasibility

After all, is a third or fourth year student who is still very much cocooned within the bubble of university realistically going to be able to envisage life as a Director of a company and Trustee of a charity? The majority of the sabbatical positions operate at such a level removed from student life that it is no

nounced?

I think it is positive. Ever since the vote was passed in parliament for tuition fees to be raised we have been in talks with the University.

The following day I said to the University Council that tuition fees were going up and that students will be demanding more. I said that we know that there are issues across the University whether it be sports facilities, issues on courses or student support services, and we need to get a plan in place because we know that students will be expecting them to be the best that they can be in the future.

You said that you wanted to increase support for minority groups, do you feel that this has happened?

We have had one of the most active part-time officer representation that we have ever had in the Union. I have always said that the key to be able to interact with these groups is to get the officers up and running so that we know what the issues are. We can’t answer the alled a new club night called ‘Fail’ which obviously was more of a dance, house, electro, CYNT-esq night. In the end it went well for the first week and then slowly declined for the next few weeks but in the end it failed. We tried something new but ultimately people didn’t want it. On the other hand, the club nights we already had have done really well this year. I don’t think that there is any room to introduce another club night because four in a week is more than most unions manage.

What feedback have you been getting from students about club nights, and in particular the May Ball?

The May Ball was a contentious issue. At the start of the year we decided that by splitting the May Ball and 'drink the bar dry' and Beach Break we could have a more formal event. I think it would work

surprise that not every item on the manifesto can be achieved.

As the first port of call for the students, the Students’ Union President oversees the rest of the sabbatical team, helps maintain democracy within the Union, and liaises with the University. While the ideals of a sabbatical officer may well be fostered during university, the practicalities associated with such a degree of responsibility are unlikely to be developed by university life. It is not that students are incapable of fulfilling these job roles. On the contrary I think, particularly this year, the officers have done a good job. The issue is that students are not fully aware of the scope of the job, and of exactly what is involved. Apart from the position of Head of Student Media, and to an extent AU President, students don’t have practical experience of what the roles they are writing a manifesto for actually involve. A number of the sabbatical question of representing them and engaging with them if we don’t know how they want to be engaged with.

There was quite a lot of controversy around the role of Women’s officer, is that something that you have addressed, do you feel that it is still an issue?

It has been addressed and is continuing to be addressed with extra support and training being offered.

I am very much of the opinion that we offer as much support to the part-time officers as possible as they have been elected in and votes of no confidence are not the way forward when they have not even had a chance.

How have you developed the Union's online capabilities and made access easier?

At the beginning of the year it was changed to a new website without our knowledge and there has been internal discussions as to how the website should develop in the before exams but this year we got caught out with the freak terms. We couldn’t have the event during the week because the University need the Main Building, and we couldn’t have it on the same week as Beach Break because we didn’t want acts clashing so it didn’t leave us with much leeway. In hindsight, a lot of students didn’t have the opportunity to go because of exams. In the future this will be avoided because there will be three weeks before exams, so it will be held before they start or if next year’s team choose to hold it after exams then that is up to them.

Students who did go though said it was fantastic. It felt more like a ball than the Summer Ball event because girls’ heels weren’t sinking into the ground, and there was no mud. I think that the idea of using the Main Building does work but I think that the day is something that we got wrong this year. I don’t

officers spoke of being thrown into the deep end straight away. They highlighted the difficulty of transitioning from being an ordinary student at the end of June to being a director of a multi-million pound organisation by the beginning of August. When students decide to campaign for the coming year they know they have to produce a votewinning manifesto.

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It is all very well proposing reform, but cutting through the bureaucracy is more difficult than it appears

Couple this with the fact that they are unlikely to know the full extent of the responsibility they face, and is it any surprise that many manifesto points fall by the wayside?

Grandiose plans from campaignfuture which has put us back several months from where we would like to be with the website. It is going in the right direction but, if I am very honest it took quite a few steps backwards at the beginning of the year. We are continuing with training programmes and trying to make it as user friendly as possible.

ing students this year included bringing back the Summer Ball, and IMG rugby. As the current sabbatical officers will tell you, however, there is a reason that these projects were disbanded in the first place.

It is all very well proposing radical reform, and suggesting things that you think the students want to hear, but cutting through the red tape of bureaucracy is a lot more difficult than it may appear.

Hearing from this year’s sabbatical officers through their own words highlighted the fact that while superficial change may be easy, it is implementing long-term change within the Union that remains a real challenge. Until students gain a real understanding of exactly what the roles involve, I can’t help but remain doubtful that future manifestos will reflect the significant change that is needed, or that each manifesto promise will be fulfilled.

Olly Birrell Students Union President

What has been your greatest achievement in the role?

I like to think that the strategic plan will be my biggest achievement in the long term. This year we have done a full marketing research campaign involving thousands of students, which has given us our values and where we need to go in the future. We now have lists of action points and projects that will be developed in the future. We are talking about some quite ambitious plans representing the desire for us to become a leading Union in the UK which offers the absolute best that we can to students in Cardiff. think that Cooper’s field is a viable option just because of the huge cost. Last year was a £60,000 loss and we predicted an £80,000 loss so the President and I said ‘no’ we can’t do that. To have that big hole wasn’t very financially viable.

What processes have you introduced to make sure that the Union provides the best prices around?

We had the VAT increase at Christmas and we made the decision to absorb it because that gave students the best deal. It slightly impacted on our profits but it impacted students less and I think that is quite important. What we try to do is make sure that we are giving students a good deal but also making sure that the Union is financially viable.

What do think your greatest challenge in the role has been?

Making sure that you are think-

ing students first but making sure that the Union exists. Some unions don’t have a Finance or a Services Officer because they believe that it is a staff role and therefore not really needed. I think that my hardest challenge has been weighing up the business, making profit and being a viable financial institution versus providing value for students.

It’s always a really difficult thing because you never want to rip students off but you also want the business to be viable.

What has been your greatest achievement?

We were awarded the green impact gold award which is finance and commercial but also ethical and environmental. Also, the Union has come in on budget this year and we have not overspent. The charity side has come in under budget but we will make sure that we spend the full amount.

News05

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

gair rhydd investigates Sabb manifestos -

Sarah Powell

Head of Student Media and gair rhydd editor

In your manifesto you said that you wanted to upload content as it happened, have you achieved this?

Library opening hours have increased, that was your main manifesto point. Do you think that it is sustainable?

Libraries are currently looking at a way to make longer opening hours sustainable. Starting in January 2012 there will be a full scheme in place that won't be a pilot scheme and that will continue then forever onwards. Libraries are looking at whether students would prefer selfservice or whether they would prefer librarians. I definitely think that we have cracked it but I don’t know whether we will ever go for 24 hour libraries. I don’t know whether we should encourage students to work all hours.

You said that you wanted to improve the relationship between students and staff, obviously the Enriching Student Life Awards happened, how successful do you think this was?

There were 234 nominations in total so that was really pleasing, we were hoping to get 100 so we surpassed that and the best bit is that

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Rose Savage Welfare, Campaigns and Communication Officer

In your manifesto you said that you wanted to clean up Cathays, how have you done this?

As a Union we decided to assign

No, I can actually hold my hands up and say that we have not uploaded content as and when it happened. When I first came into the job one thing which I thought would be really important is uploading content when it happened so that people have 24 hour news.

But then I realised that our current website didn’t have the capability to do this, it wasn’t in a blogging style so I commissioned somebody to do a website for us and it has been one of my big projects to change the look of the website. It’s a work in process and I know that I haven’t achieved it as well as I could have done but I think that it is something that can start to happen now with this new site.

Do you feel that societies and sports coverage has been extended and improved throughout student media?

In gair rhydd we have made massive leaps this year with the introduction of the societies page. I have it is continuing next year. I’ve had so much feedback from staff, after the awards were over I emailed the staff the original student nominations. I received so much thanks from the staff for letting them know why the students appreciate them.I had some emails from lecturers saying that they cried when they read the nominations. Who doesn’t like being told why they do such a good job?

You said that you wanted to improve the standard of feedback which is given to students, do you think that you have done this?

This year we have started ‘assessment matters’ which is a University project. It runs for two years and is a feedback policy which all schools will use. For some schools who already give good feedback it will mean little change but specific standards will be laid down for feedback . There will also be a website where lectures can go to look at what is expected, what good feedback is and what kind of comments are expected. The University has some budget towards hiring legal people to help us with the Council’s Section 46 protocol which introduced fines to students who were not meeting waste management shemes. £1,500 has been returned to students and we’re still hoping the council will pull the policy entirely.

In terms of cleaning up Cathays, we have mounted a few high-visibility litter picks and a community waste management SVC project which will be coordinated next year by my position and the Ethics and Environmental Officer.

You said that a priority was the quality of student accommodation, which is a big issue for a lot of people. How have you addressed that issue?

In terms of physically making a change I will admit that I probably haven’t done very much but in terms of any issues that have been highlighted to us by students,

worked quite closely with Cos on that and we now have our own societies editor and she does the societies calendar of events and the articles and there has been very good feedback about that.

With sport, I think it is quite a difficult one. We need to be doing something different in student media and we need to be talking about who has won the latest IMG match or what is going on with IMG rugby.

I think we have made massive progress this year, we have a sports section on xpress radio and we diversified our coverage of Varsity this year across the whole of student media.

Do you feel that you have conducted more investigations keeping students up to date with the stories that they want to know about?

I hope that we are providing what students want to read. Every week people seem to pick up the paper so we are obviously doing something stuck relatively closely to the NUS’s 10 principles of good feedback.

We reported on investment in libraries, what about resources, has anything been done to address student complaints?

JSTOR 3 was the campaign that we started this year . It was started by a student but everyone else wanted it too so all I did was put a form on the website that everyone could fill in. We had 470 responses from staff and students – 45 from staff and the rest from students. Now the introduction hasn't been formally agreed but we have been told that it will almost definitely be in place for next year.

What has been your greatest challenge in the role?

I think the greatest challenge was at the very beginning before you know anyone. I work very closely with the University which is fine now and I know exactly who to go to and who does what, but at the very beginning it was quite daunting to know who on earth would even I keep on top of those and feed them all back. We also ran a Housing Week campaign to highlight the importance of housing issues in Cardiff. Cardiff works on the basis that their accommodation is one of the cheapest within university communities and because prices are so low they don’t really need to react to students.

You said that you wanted to promote the importance of Nightline. Do you feel that this has been done?

Nightline volunteers presented their model to the University quartet (consisting of the four vice-chancellors from Royal Welsh College, Glamorgan, UWIC and Cardiff) and made a budgetary request to highlight the fact that it is actually providing a service to UWIC and Glamorgan and getting no fee for that to improve their service. We also hosted the annual Nightline

right. Obviously the CarBS story was one of the biggest stories of the year and that came out of an investigation. Somebody mentioned to one of our news editors that they were asked for extra money for tuition and we thought that this was a huge deal and looked into it a bit further. It unleashed this story which was actually investigated on a national level.

I would like to think that we are raising the questions that students don't have the opportunity to do themselves.

What do you think your greatest achievement is in the job?

One thing that I did enjoy was the coverage of the protests. The fees issue and the student protests have coloured gair rhydd for the year. Those issues were really good, we had amazing pictures and people reporting back from London.

What would you say has been your know the answer to this question.

I want to do this but how on earth would I go about doing it?

The biggest challenge was settling in and gaining the University’s trust. I think that it is easy for the University to be wary of students coming in because we have obviously never had full-time jobs before and maybe being too enthusiastic or wanting to do too much or not the right sort of things. That was, I think, the biggest challenge but I think I’ve overcome it.

biggest challenge?

CUTV has been a big challenge this year. I think that it is just very technically intensive and at certain points in the year I have become frustrated because I think that there is a massive potential there that we haven't harnessed. There is so much that we can do with it but it’s just finding the volunteers who have the time. I think towards the end of the year we did turn it round with awesome Varsity coverage.

Another thing that I found challenging was the way in which I am expected to lead the student media team when in reality I am no more qualified than they are.

Sometimes when you are sitting there on gair rhydd deadline day and it is 1am and you haven't got a front page it can be very challenging because you are the one who is looked to for answers, and actually you're just as scared as they are that you're not going to have the killer story to put in the paper.

Sarah Ingram

Academic and University Affairs Officer

What do you think has been your greatest achievement?

I suppose the Enriching Student Life Awards just because it was something that I created from scratch and it is something that is going to continue.

Everyone says that after the job we want to leave our legacy behind and I suppose that if the Awards continue beyond next year then that will be mine. I think that it has made so many people happy and who wouldn’t love making people happy? conference in Aberdare Hall and have worked with the people in estates to get the facilities within the Nightline house improved.

You said that you wanted to address student safety. There was a spate of sexual assaults amongst other things. What have you done to address these?

I’ve worked very closely this year with the student police volunteers and crime rates have dropped during the periods when patrols have taken place. The Union has a zeropolicy tolerance for sexual harassment. Our staff are trained to react in an appropriate manner and taught to take the correct action. I am hoping that we are going to run two shuttle buses for Drink the Bar Dry. I think it’s inappropriate to invite students to get smashed from 11am till 2am and not provide any safety for them. I’m hoping this will set a precedent for future years.

What has been your greatest challenge in the role?

I think being respected by the University staff. You come in to the role and it’s taken them a year to get used to the previous team of officers and now they have to get used to you as well. I mean fair enough, I graduated in July, I am just a student who’s graduated and I have to come in and present myself as if I know what I’m doing.

What has been your greatest achievement in the role?

It would probably be the development of the Welcome Crew. We’ve created positions like the International division within the Welcome Crew so that we are recognising the international population that we have at Cardiff. We are making sure that we benefit them while getting them under a recognised brand.

06News -

Cosimo Montagu Societies, Events and Activities Officer

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • news@gairrhydd.com

been?

I think that it is definitely a step in the right direction. It has been a fair success, but I guess it’s now just a question of getting more students aware of its existence in the gair rhydd and looking at other avenues as well.

What about encouraging society co-operation?

It is difficult because there has not been a policy or any kind of statistics but there have been societies working together, for example, a lot of the dance societies and RAG have been really involved in working with everyone.

You said that you wanted to increase society exposure in student media, obviously you’ve got the societies page in the gair rhydd, how successful do you think that’s

You said that you wanted to ensure the use of facilities for all, do you think that sport has been inclusive for people?

We could always have more but generally we do quite well at Cardiff. We cater for a lot of students to play sport but I suppose fairness is a tricky one. A lot of how things work is because that is how it’s always been done. There have been some changes this year, there have been some clubs that have been particularly affected but in terms of fairness, not all change is bad. Everyone will always think that their team or their club is hard done by whatever you do, it’s just the natural way of life.

You said that IMG rugby was a priority but it has not transpired. Do you think that it was ever realistic?

I still think that it is realistic.

Ultimately, because I am the figurehead of the AU, if I sign off on IMG rugby it is my responsibility if someone gets injured so it is quite a serious thing and I think that when I wrote my manifesto last year I

-

Oliver Luton

Healthcare Integration Officer

What have you done to further integration between the Heath Park Campus and The Students' Union?

It’s a pretty hard job to do when

What do you think about the Guild funding vote?

I’m in two minds about it. I think overall, I have to be positive and say that it’s going to be a good thing. I think it will increase the number of activities and events that we see in societies. If we can help reduce the cost then that’s good, I just didn’t necessarily know that. Even this year, I think pretty much everyone out of the eight candidates wrote about IMG Rugby and I don’t think that anyone did any research about it before hand. It’s just one of those things, a buzz word almost with a vague meaning.

However, I have sat down with the head of Rugby and he has drafted up a revised plan for a college cup which is essentially just a safer way of playing IMG rugby to do with the time of the year, coaching and refereeing and I think we have a revised version.

You said that you wanted to post results inside the Union, at the Lash and online, have you done this?

Not very well. In terms of all of that I think with the gair rhydd we tried include results, I think it probably happened maybe three times but I think that’s just one of those things.

In terms of The Lash, I didn’t try. Olly Birrell told me it was a mission from last year., mainly because either clubs are a bit gutted that they’ve lost so they don’t text you the result, or they are really you have so many course subjects that require people to be on placements.

One of the things we did was to put an online publication of Parklife and send that out to all the students to make sure that they felt up to date.

We also told them that they had the chance to write in, and get involved with Parklife, gair rhydd, and Quench. Many medical students write articles for these publications.

We also put on a bus transport service during Freshers' Week. We ran minibus and coach journeys for roughly eight hours a day.

How have you increased integration between the different groups of healthcare students?

Having previously been a MEDSoc committee member, I saw a lot of scope for social interaction between healthcare students. I have

think it will mean that if you’re paying, then you will expect more, especially with the course based societies.

Do you think that it will put some students off ?

I think at the end of the day it will. We were talking about predicted 10-15% membership drops.

Whether that is the case or not, it is hard to know because there are just so many different examples. It depends on the society.

You said you wanted to improve the room booking system, do you think that has been achieved?

With regard to the University, there was quite an issue around this year. From what I could piece together, the students wanted to have one meeting, but there are also three other events, which make it super complicated. The Noam Chomsky event was never an issue because they came to meet me about University Rooms and happy so they get too drunk to text you the result.

You said that you wanted to increase participation, there were reports earlier in the year that professional rugby players were being enrolled in lifelong learning courses in order to play in varisty. Do you think this is justified?

This is quite a controversial question. The University have been asked to release a statement to explain who our students are. Within the BUCS framework to play BUCS you only have to do, I think, 60 credits for a year which some of the lifelong learning modules comply with. The University when it was asked who were Cardiff University Students, I think it said that it was any students enrolled on any course provided by Cardiff University which means that Lifelong Learning students, people who do distance learning, part-time courses, are Cardiff students. That means that our student figures go up from 27,000 students to well over 30,000. They probably wouldn’t even know accurately how many students there were. used the healthcare association committee so we get the presidents of all the societies together and talk about what’s going on, how they are raising money, what issues they are going through in their schools, how they run their staff-student panels.

There has been some criticism of the Healthcare Integration officer position. Do you think that it is a warranted role?

Absolutely. The whole role of this job is specifically to make sure that it does not seem like we have a peripheral campus. It is not far but everyone sees a big divide between the places. This role is vital and is just as valid as any of the other sabbatical positions.

What have been your best achievements in the job?

I would like to say getting a full time member of staff situated at the Heath Park Campus in for the

then decided that all of them were too small. There were concerns within the Students’ Union about certain security issues, which I think got blown a bit out of context. Then Saint David’s opened up.

Jody McIntyre was the big problem. They wanted to hold the talk in the Shandon Lecture theatre in the University Main Building. According to the University they said ‘no’ because it was a Sunday and they didn’t have the right facilities for Jody so they wouldn’t be able to manage it properly. It was a little bit dubious because at the same time the same person was told that societies were not allowed to hold events with members of the public there anymore. That felt very much like there were reactions going on about the nature of the speaker.

The University said ‘no, absolutely not’. The Chief Executive of the Students' Union and I spoke to the University about that at the time and laid out that we would always expect societies to have members It is something that the AU and Societies has to keep track of.

With regards to Varsity in terms of widening access, I don’t know, it’s a tricky one.

of the public there and that the University was not to block certain speakers. I think an eye should be kept on the issue.

What would you say has been your greatest challenge?

Implementing real change is quite difficult. I think our team has done pretty well with a lot of strategic planning actions this year, stuff that really does help to change things in the long run. I think we’ve done with some things, but some things are always going to stay the same.

What would you say your greatest achievement is?

I was very proud with my involvement in the National Demo at the start of the year, and the involvement with the demo by societies in general. I led the response to the government proposed immigration changes for our international students for the union, and I was very proud of what we put together there.

Jack Perkins Athletic Union President

What is your greatest challenge in the role?

Probably prioritising. There is so much, there is a bottomless pit of things to do and you can always do more. There is not really an end aim so it’s quite tough. I think it’s not that it’s an unfulfilling job it’s just that, I could stay here all night but tomorrow I would still have loads of stuff that I could do.

Funding, having to make decisions on budgets when everyone thinks that everything they do is just as important as anyone else and it is really difficult to say that that isn’t worth funding or, that is only worth funding this percentage.

What is your greatest achievement?

This year, Varisty was really fun.

Just generally the whole thing.

year that I have been here. Being quite honest it takes a long time to get anything done. The University and the Students' Union are bureaucratic by nature and so it takes a long time to get things done.

It took 6-7 months to realise that a member of staff was on the cards.

Overall, It has taken over a year to get a member of staff who would work full time at the Heath Park hub. It wasn’t directly my influence it was my predecessors and every healthcare student who has been crying out for a bit more support up there.

I have tried to do a massive renovation of the IV lounge, so that students spend more time up there and get to know each other.

We are also looking into providing more security up there to make the students feel safer. That is something that came out of the market research that has been conducted by the Students' Union. Stu-

dents said that they didn’t feel safe because the car park is offsite and it’s dark.

Nurses who finish at 1am or 2am have to walk to the car park by themselves so we are doing work with the police to try and increase security levels.

What about your biggest challenge?

I'd have to say that my biggest challenge has been Healthcare Sports teams. It is the same challenge that has been around for the last six years.

The competitive nature of sports teams talking about mergers and having ‘one institution’ are touchy subjects because of the history involved.

Since we have one AU representing two highly competitive sports teams in the same league it has caused many years of difficult administration situations.

World News

07 Pets on a plane? Bugs life iDiot sells kidney Laura Evans Reporter A 36-year-old man was arrested at an airport in Thailand last month while trying to smuggle seven baby animals through customs.

Noor Mahmood, from the United Arab Emirates, was due to fly out from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport to Dubai when he was found with the wild animals in his luggage.

After being detained, Mahmood was given a court sentence but failed to attend.

Immigration police confirmed

he had left Thailand without any indication of his whereabouts.

Four leopard cubs, a bear cub, a gibbon and marmoset had been drugged and were discovered in cages within the man’s suitcases.

They are now being cared for by Thailand’s wildlife department and are reported to be in good health.

Canned-wich Tom Clarke Reporter Everyone is used to picking up a Mars bar from the vending machine, but is its pride of place in the dispenser about to be usurped by a sandwich?

The “Candwich” has been launched amidst much fanfare in the US. Maverick inventor Mark Kirkland of Salt Lake City claims the Candwich is “The perfect product for people on the go” and “for emergency food storage” The sandwich comes in its constituent parts, inside a drinks can.

The inventors claim that it remains fresh for up to a year without refrig-

eration. It is available in a variety of flavours including Peanut-butter and Jelly and BBQ Chicken. There are unfortunately no plans for a UK release.

Geoff Kingston Reporter

Jack Green Reporter

A girl from Taiwan has had almost 30 ants removed from her ear by doctors, after complaining of pain and itching.

The 16-year-old was found to have more than 20 ants in her right ear, and six in her left, as she underwent treatment at her local hospital.

It is believed that the teenager’s late-night food binging in bed tempted the insects into nesting in her ears. Doctors successfully removed the ants, though warned that the girl was lucky not to have any permanent damage.

A seventeen-year-old boy from China has sold his kidney so that he could afford an Apple iPad 2.

The teenager, known only by his surname “Zheng,” confessed to his mother that he had sold his kidney after he had seen an advert online offering cash payment to anyone prepared to become an organ donor.

Speaking to a local television network, the teenager said: “I wanted to buy an iPad 2, but didn’t have the money.”

Caught out

The boy travelled to a nearby city where his kidney was removed at a local hospital. He was discharged after three days, and given RMB 22,000 (£2,070) in cash for his organ.

“When he came back he had a laptop and a new Apple handset,” said his mother.

“I wanted to know how he had got so much money and he finally confessed that he had sold one of his kidneys.”

HMS Flake

Chris Andrews Reporter

Peter Hardie Reporter

A man from Seattle fell 30 feet down an embankment as he relieved himself by the roadside.

A passing car apparently startled the male as he was going to the toilet, causing him to fall down the side of the hill.

The man spent 12 hours at the base of the hill before firefighters came to rescue him.

He was eventually brought back to the roadside at six o'clock in the morning.

Fortunately, he is said not have suffered any serious injuries.

Ice cream man Jamie Campbell has taken his business to water with his amphibious ice cream van, dubbed HMS Flake 99.

Fredericks, makers of Cadbury’s ice cream, have developed the vehicle to celebrate this week being National Ice Cream Week.

“We are considering taking the remarkable vehicle across the Channel and onto the canals of Venice to champion Britain’s beaches and give our continental cousins the ultimate taste of the British summers,” states the company’s press release.

Mr Campbell took the van, based on the duck boats which are used for tours of several UK and US cities, for a test drive down London’s River Thames last week.

Opinion

09

Does Twitter need regulating?

The Investigations of the Library Spy.

This week the library mole has been keeping an eye out for the various and imaginative ways students managed to distract themselves from the ever-present task of revision. Do you find yourself guilty of any of these?

Probably.

FACEBOOK ....More Facebook

Obscure social networking sites people have never even heard of

Updating that old Flikr page you once made on a boring night in Tidying room

Watching people in the library – guessing their course, name, personal details etc.

Daisy Payne Opinion Writer I have 48, Sarah Powell has 358 and Jamie Roberts has over 19,000. What am I talking about? Twitter followers of course. After this week, I’m sure even my granddad knows what Twitter is, even if the concept of online followers is hard to grasp.

It seems Twitter is possibly more influential than anyone could have anticipated. You know it’s a big deal when people start referring to it as a ‘global phenomenon’.

Twitter has been like a community full of truth seekers. We all tweeted ‘who is this anonymous footballer?’ and here’s to the brave men and women who stuck their necks out and defied the super injunction!

Anyway, ‘whatever’ to Ryan Giggs! I say ‘whatever’ to all the other footballers who don’t know the meaning of the word commitment. All of that is old news. When Giles Coren gets threatened with prison – it is war.

Coren found himself at the centre of quite some controversy this week, after some of his tweeting was rather suggestive of another footballer’s infidelities, incidentally the footballer remains nameless… It sounds like it’s not Giles that needs to be locked up; it’s some very rich people’s trouser pockets.

But all of this begs an extremely important question: does free speech still exist? It’s just I don’t want to go to prison for having an

opinion.

Twitter has further prompted concerns of free speech as this week they passed on the personal details of a south Tyneside councillor accused of vilifying the local authority via a series of anonymous Twitter accounts. South Tyneside council took the legal fight to the superior court of California, which then demanded Twitter had to hand over the user's details. All of this, I feel has implications for free speech on the web. I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder every time I tweet.

If I say something on twitter, will someone later on down the line be popping a pair of handcuffs on me and informing me that if I were to say anything, that it may be used in evidence against me in court?

With a mere 48 followers, I really don’t think I have enough twitter power for this to be the case, but the underlying issue still stands – can we say what we want on online sites such as twitter and expect no consequence? Or must we keep quiet and say nothing?

Just because some footballers haven’t got their own way, should one of our key human rights be thrown into jeopardy? Definitely not. Does Twitter need regulation?

Perhaps.

I would suggest that Twitter may need a beady eye to oversee the goings on there. Like any community, there are likely to be people who misbehave or say things they really shouldn’t. Furthermore, with no consequence – people are bound

“

I say ‘whatever’ to all the other footballers who don’t know the meaning of the word commitment.

to say untruths and lies in order to cause a stir unnecessarily. Of course they shouldn’t be able to get away with it – just like they wouldn’t be able to get away with it in reality. But why should this prevent the majority from their freedom?

Unfortunately though, this is not a black and white scenario, it is a very grey area – making it very difficult to regulate and to find the balance between free speech and privacy.

I would suggest though, that if he didnt’t want his wife to know he'd had an affair, instead of turning to the courts – 'that' premiership footballer should perhaps have had some consideration of the consequences of his actions before flouting his infidelity – especially considering he is a role model to millions and one of the highest paid footballers in the country. What happened to people having morals? Hand these people a moral compass!

I knew the internet was powerful, but I never anticipated how much of a stir it could cause. In many ways, it’s quite exciting. This whole episode should serve as a warning: watch out, because Twitter is not just some online community, where people tell each other what they are having for dinner or how hung over they are, Twitter is a place with real power, where the truth will out and where I will tell and continue to tell everyone what I had for dinner. Twitter is whatever you make it, and whatever you make it – make the most of it, before we all get chained up.

If you want to write a piece for You Reply about any Opinion articles you have read, or have any other opinions, email opinion@gairrhydd.com.

Looking for attractive members of the opposite sex Planning how to revise Planning what will happen after re vision Playing FIFA Making vast numbers of cups of tea/coffee ‘Helping’ other people with their revision Sleeping/lying in bed

Wondering why you decided to put yourself through a degree

Furiously (and incorrectly, probably on purpose) attempting to cal culate your current grade and what you need for a 2:1 (or 1st if you’re super-smart).

Meticulously working out what’s likely to come on the exam paper Talking to coursemates (or just anyone) about what will come up on exam paper

Cleaning kitchen/lounge/ENTIRE HOUSE

Making trips to random places for lunch, even though you have food in the house Writing for gair rhydd…

Rating members of the opposite sex in the library

Playing with a remote controlled car in the library (spotted in Julian Hodge....)

Opinion10

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • opinion@gairrhydd.com

Did you get a golden ticket?

Jo Greet Opinion Writer The 2012 London Olympics; we watch as sporting history unfolds.

During the bid to host the event on British soil, Seb Coe, head of the London Bid and now chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, promised that London 2012 would ‘provide another enduring sporting legacy’ and would aim to ‘deliver a magical atmosphere, an electrifying experience for competitors and spectators’.

The Olympics have, for centuries, been at the very heart of sporting excellence, captivating and inspiring the nations of the world under the iconic Olympic Rings. It is unsurprising, therefore, that so many

Elizabeth Crandon Opinion Writer After one Toronto policeman’s remarks sparked outraged protests across the world, the term SlutWalk has been thrust prominently into public consciousness.

For many, the officer’s comment that: ‘Women should avoid dressing like a slut in order to not be victimised’ has acted as a template for the underlying culture of victimshaming we currently live in. Sexual assault remains one of the most under-reported of all crimes and is on the increase in Britain – and yet, a worrying study suggests that nearly a third of students in Wales attribute some degree of blame to the victim of rape if they were dressed provocatively.

And so on Saturday, when the well-publicised SlutWalk phenomenon finally made its way to the streets of Cardiff, it was met with a powerful mix of emotions – pride,

are desperate for a chance to be a part of this sporting legacy.

With just over a year to go until the start of London 2012, debate surrounding the fairness and efficiency on ticket allocation for the event has somewhat taken precedence. Over 1.8 million people applied for tickets, meaning that many events were oversubscribed and were subsequently allocated through a ballot.

As an illustration, the men’s 100m final received over a million applications for tickets with a stadium capacity of only 20,000 seats available to the public.

This system has been overtly criticised, as money for tickets is taken from the customer’s account before they are told which tickets they have been allocated, meaning

that customers applying for multiple events may have a shock when they next check their bank balance.

With the majority of tickets costing between £50 and £100 and tickets for premium events up to £725, the system in place for attaining tickets for London 2012 appears to be a bit of a gamble.

How is the ‘average’ student expected to estimate the probability of attaining tickets, when the selection process is, ultimately, random?

Is it better to apply for multiple tickets to increase the chances of attaining a ticket, or applying for what you can realistically afford and risk missing out on participating in this momentous event?

This elusive, ‘Willy Wonka-esque’ method of ticket allocation proves to be detrimental, with some bank

accounts being hit hard and others completely missing out on their ‘Golden Ticket’.

Despite the haphazard method of purchasing tickets, economist James Knightley has suggested that advance ticket sales for London 2012 will boost Britain’s struggling economy now. The sale of tickets for the Olympics has generated over £400 million, which contributes to a boost in the UK 2Q11 GDP in the current quarter.

However, this economic optimism must be counterbalanced with the reality, that the cost of tickets will prevent growth the following quarter, as successful applicants grapple with the cost of tickets racking up interest on credit cards or overdrafts.

If I am successful in attaining all

the tickets I have applied for, I will face a charge of over £500.

While I acknowledge that applying for more tickets than I can afford is unwise and realise my student budget cannot really be stretched, the fluky odds and luck of the draw approach, inherent in attaining tickets to this once-in-alifetime experience is frustrating and does not promote the nature or spirit of the event.

It seems a shame that the true spirit of the Olympic Games, recognised as the foremost sporting event promoting integrity, sportsmanship and providing inspirational role models, has been neglected, as the priorities of the retailer and the demands of the economic condition take precedence over the enthusiasm of the nation.

defiance, dignity, solidarity – and for many, a complete lack of understanding of the whole point.

The message of SlutWalk is simple and powerful – blame the attacker, not the victim. The purpose of the walks is not, as has widely been interpreted, to ‘take back’ the word ‘slut’. It’s not about encouraging women, to dress in a certain way. It does not specifically condone or celebrate any particular sexual conduct. It is not about celebrating being a ‘slut’.

It is simply about highlighting the use of this word in society for the purposes of objectifying women and to challenge what it really means. Exactly what does it take for me to be called a slut? How short does my skirt have to be? How many sexual partners do I need to have had? How much makeup do I need to wear? Just how much cleavage needs to be on show before I am partially responsible for my own sexual assault?

The aftermath of any sexual as-

sault is devastating for the victim.

On top of the unspeakable feelings of violation, there are often feelings of guilt and worthlessness. The victim may feel reluctant to report the crime at all, for fear of being judged by what they were wearing at the time of their assault. However, the point we need to make clear to all women is that a woman’s clothing does NOT make her more likely to be attacked. The hard fact is if a man is going to rape, he will do so regardless of what a woman is wearing. And yet victim-blaming does appear to be a commonly accepted idea. In this very newspaper, a recent article covering SlutWalk Cardiff concluded that while what a woman wears does not justify her attack, she does have to accept the fact that her outfit choice communicates information about her to the world, and she must accept the consequences of potentially being perceived as a slut.

This folks is the point of SlutWalk – we do NOT have to accept the

consequences of what we choose to wear. Female objectification has been so deeply ingrained into society that the majority of people will immediately question the woman’s choice in clothing rather than the patriarchal society that suggests that women need to dress a certain way in order to not be labelled a slut and put themselves at risk of sexual assault.

While a woman might choose to express her sexuality with the way she dresses, this does not give a man the automatic right to comment, judge and objectify her body because of it and a woman is never ‘asking’ for assault by the way she dresses.

It’s an attitude that makes no logical sense in regards to men either.

Are we to happily accept that men are no more than beasts that lose all control of themselves at the sight of cleavage? Seeing as this is the implication behind victim-blaming, then why on earth aren’t we all, regardless of gender, challeng-

ing such a harrowing idea, instead of accepting it as an inevitable fact of life? Why are we not pushing for men to be educated from a young age to treat women with equal respect? Why is the focus, instead, upon teaching women how to dress and how to behave?

The SlutWalk phenomenon is about making our voices heard and refusing to censor our choices, our personalities, and our sexualities.

And if you take nothing else away from the media furore around SlutWalk, let it be to question anything that pushes women to do otherwise.

If a woman is derisively labelled a slut, question it. If a victim is blamed, question it. Question society, question authority, challenge people’s views. Perhaps even challenge your own. Because regardless of gender, intoxication, age, clothing and sexuality – sexual assault is never the fault of the victim. And it’s up to us to shout it.

Columnist

11

The end of the road? Not quite...

Photo: Ups and downs and all that

W

ell, it’s coming to the end of the year and, for final years like myself, the end of the whole Cardiff University experience. Sort of. I mean, nobody really leaves university behind, do they, not unless they go off and live as a cave hermit in the middle of nowhere. Friends, lovers, memories, whatever: they stay with you.

I sometimes wonder when the best time to have been in university would’ve been, and I usually say the mid-to-late Nineties. Great, great, great music, for a start. But one’s allotted time has to suffice. And if Nick Hornby’s account of late-70s Cambridge is to be believed (I recommend his Fever Pitch, by the way,

especially if you’re an Arsenal fan who thinks a mere six years with no trophies is the end of the world), the university experience of thirtyodd years ago wasn’t all that much different to now, or any better really. So there’s a fair chance it’s the same as it’s always been, only with Facebook and cohabitation permitted.

I’ve gone on about football a fair bit in this column, and I’m going to do it again now. I think it’s apt: end of the season, end of the year and all that. University’s a bit like a football season, after all. No, seriously. Look. Every so often you’re gonna get someone whose uni experience is absolutely, utterly, scintillatingly unbeatable: a Man United treble-winning season, or promotion to the Football League for the

first time a la AFC Wimbledon last week. For most people, of course, things overall won’t be quite that fantastic, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to a bad time. You could have a bloody brilliant time with its fair share of average bits, or the occasional bad result, but still come out smiling at the end of it: United’s 10-11 title challenge fits this bill perfectly.

And if you’re going to fuck things up just a little bit, hopefully you’ll do it in style. Like Ian Ollie Holloway’s madcap tangerine antics with Blackpool FC. Sure, you might get relegated (or get a worse degree than you wanted) in the end, you might score a few own goals or get some dodgy results, but it’s one hell of a ride while it lasts.

As long as you don’t have a bloody awful Derby County-style experience (that is, 11 points out of a possible 114, or, basically, complete crap), then I should imagine it’s gonna be a pretty decent time of your life.

Now comes the rest of it, the midtable vagueness of the rest of your life. The occasional relegation battle and top-four finish and all that.

Strolling – or stumbling – off to God knows where in the big bad world, with a piece of paper that, whatever it says, is maybe worth less than it was a generation ago.

Well, I stand by my analogy. Apart from anything else, a humanities degree shows that you can spout almost complete bollocks with the utmost justification, as long as you back it up properly. And this isn’t

even complete bollocks.

Football, or The Simpsons, can absolutely definitely provide an analogy for life. It’s medically proven.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this column over the past few months. My choices of topic have been basically limited to: university, football, politics, films and music. And why not?

That’s still about sixteen times more varied than your average Littlejohn or Polly Toynbee column.

I mean, I could’ve discussed whether sambuca or tequila is the superior shot, or the merits of the new-shape Renault Megane over its previous incarnations, or whether it’s wise to leave your large stuffed tigers out in Hampshire fields, but I didn’t.

Politics

13 IMF stands on the brink of their biggest decision

James Dunn examines the gravity of the question the International Monetary Fund now faces - whether or not to look outside of European dominance for salvation

R

arely has a moment of crisis in the business world become a turning point for the international economic and political community. Even rarer is such the catalyst of such a monumental moment being an international public scandal.

On the May 14 2011, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund was arrested on a plane about to depart from the American JFK International Airport. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Socialist favourite to run for the Presidency in the French elections next year, volunteered to stand down from the IMF only four days later. He was the fourth French leader of the organisation in its 47 year history.

Facing at least two counts of criminal sexual acts, which can carry up to 25 years in prison, Mr StraussKahn was forced to resign. The future of global economies has been catapulted into the global spotlight due entirely to the scandal now surrounding the Frenchman. What has perhaps not been emphasised enough, is the very real danger that both the IMF and international fi-

Photo: Dominique Strauss Kahn. Or DSK to the media nances are now in.

Mr Strauss-Kahn was the 11th leader of the International Monetary Fund since their inception in 1944. A global financial regulatory system, the IMF and World Bank were designed to fuel the Allied rise above the catastrophe of World War II. Out of those 11 leaders, only one has ever been from outside of Europe when, in 2004, Anne Krueger served as acting leader. The major issue of contention that has arisen in the wake of Mr Strauss-Kahn’s resignation, is from where the next leader should actually come from.

With virtually every leader of the IMF being European, while the leaders of the World Bank are led by the Americans, there is now a phenomenal effort to place a growing country in control of the organisation.

Bookies drew up a list of 13 potential candidates to become the new Managing Director of the Fund. Of those thirteen, only four came from European countries.

The emerging markets of India, Mexico and Turkey, all had people initially suggested to take on the second biggest role in international finance. It seemed, quite early on,

that the European monopoly on the IMF was due to end. With applications not being closed until June 10, a very clear front runner has emerged, along with less right-wing alternatives. And most of these are European.

“

It seemed quite early on that the European monopoly on the IMF was due to end

Kemal Dervis, the former Turkish finance minister, who developing countries were expected to unite behind, announced he would not be standing almost immediately. Since then, Agustin Carstens of Mexico and Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore, seem to be splitting the anti-European vote. Mr Carstens would be a very surprising winner, considering his link to the hard-line University of Chicago monetarists.

These developments have been virtually ignored by the European media in favour of a brewing power struggle and controversy.

Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, seems to be virtually unassailable as the European

favourite for the position. The Italian Mario Draghi has been largely discounted, as favourite to run for the European Central Bank. Axel Weber, the former President of the German Bundesbank, has also fallen out of contention since Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, forwarded her support for Ms Lagarde. The major controversy for the European vote, so far, is the sheer fervour of support for Ms Lagarde. On May 29, the G8 threw their full weight behind her. On the back of the huge British rejection of their former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, it would appear that the IMF is set for their fifth French leader. Peter Mandelson and Alastair Darling, both former allies of Gordon Brown, were emphatic in their support of the Frenchwoman.

Combining with the British Chancellor’s support, George Osborne, the Europeans seems to have firmly united behind their sole candidate.

Christine Lagarde is about to embark on a visit to emerging economies, in what appears to be a politically motivated attempt to improve her image.

All this political shifting before the candidates are due to submit

their applications has distracted from the item of major importance for the IMF. Irrespective of whether or not Dominique Strauss-Kahn is convicted, it is true that he managed to turn a rapidly outdating institution into the major hope for global economies. Three bailouts were agreed during his time in charge. If his ideas are not to be abandoned, the focus most be taken off of politics and returned to actual policy. The European elite, vocally supported by Peter Mandelson, have argued that someone with strong European sympathies is needed to help drag them out of crisis. Yet, with less than ten percent of the global population, it does seem out of proportion for a European to again lead one of the foremost economic institutions on the planet. The question that shareholders now face is this: should the emerging economies be given their deserved chance to shine, or should the European monopoly be maintained largely to bail out the European nations? Once the political posturing of candidates is replaced by policies, then global economies face a very serious decision for their own immediate future.

14Politics

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • politics@gairrhydd.com • Follow @GairRhyddPol

Expenses hits House of Lords

Luke Slade Politics Writer Ex-Conservative Lord Taylor of Warwick has been jailed after being found guilty in January of making £11,227 in false expenses claims. The 58-year-old claimed travel expenses between his Oxford home and Westminster as well as for living in London. He made a bold claim saying he was acting from advice from colleagues.

Photos: (L-R) Lord Taylor has been jailed faces his expense claims and, right, Eric Illsley awaits sentencing All this sounds wonderfully innocent, as I am sure was rehearsed.

I often sidestep being a cynic about MPs; perhaps I am too forgiving.

For all of my forgiving nature, to find out he listed his main residence as a home in Oxford, which was owned by his nephew, while he actually lived in a flat in London, is to surface the cynic within.

With all of the fuss over the MPs expenses, however, it is quite interesting that only he is the third

Parliamentarian to appear in court over their expenses.

There have been two former Labour MPs: Eric Illsley and David Chaytor, who have pleaded guilty.

Mr Chaytor is serving a prison sentence. Mr Illsley is more than likely to be sentenced next month.

The problem with the expenses of the MPs, is the fact that technically it is taxpayers money and often they were absurd claims. Personally all I want to know, is whether

they claimed or not and if they did then they should pay it back.

All this talk of moats and duck ponds is media gold, but in terms of what this information serves, it fails to capture my attention.

Perhaps if I was a mindless follower of WAGS and the like, I might love the intricately described articles in the ennobling newspaper The Sun. I disregard, however, conjecture and extreme mediation in search for facts.

The judge said: "The expenses scandal has affected the standing not just of the House of Commons but also the House of Lords.”

What this means for the House of Lords, is that the wake of reform is more important than a toilet seat claim.

Despite his conviction, Taylor, who could be released on licence in four months, is set to remain a member of the House of Lords.

Is a British withdrawal from Afghanistan on the cards?

James Dunn Political Editor A senior British general has warned against David Cameron’s proposal to remove up to 450 from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

Lieutenant General James Bucknall, has suggested that withdrawing such a high number of personnel, could result in the loss of everything that Nato had managed to gain over the winter. Following the death of Osama Bin Laden earlier this month, there seems to be a strong desire among Nato politicians to start the withdrawal of their occupying forces.

Lt Gen Bucknall, the serving deputy commander of the Nato mission

in Afghanistan, has instead warned politicians to be wary. Helmand province, the area of Afghanistan with the biggest British presence, is likely to be under heavy fire within a matter of months.

Rather than seeing the beginning of a mass exodus, the Nato command are advocating their desire to have troops stay for at least two more ‘fighting seasons’, for fear of sending signs of weakness to the Taliban forces.

Commanders have instead suggested that personnel could be cut from cooks, and other support services, provided that the front line of the British army is left fundamentally unchanged.

The allied coalition in Afghani-

stan has promised to lift their occupation, and return control of the country to the Afghanistan government, by the end of 2014. Three hundres and sixty eight British personnel have died in the country since fighting began in 2001.

The scale of the British occupation, and their withdrawal, is being dwarfed at the moment in the international media in favour of the American situation.

Having withdrawn the bulk of their fighting force from Iraq last year – with 50,000 personnel still left in place to serve as peacemakers – President Obama, has started outlining plans to withdraw as many as 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of July.

The Nato alliance is starting to face increasing pressure, almost ten years after the occupation started.

The Italian leader, Silvio Berlusconi, has to face down renewed calls to begin their withdrawal after a suicide bomber attack. On Monday, a suicide bomber hit the Italian main base of Herat. Five people died. Margherita Bonniver, speaking for the Italian Freedom Party, has called for a withdrawal in the ‘briefest time possible’.

Lt Gen Bucknall, has suggested that the Taliban insurgency is under the greatest pressure it has ever been. It isn’t unlikely that the same is true for the Nato alliance.

An alarming number of commentators have been bold enough

to suggest that, with the death of Osama Bin Laden, the war has been won. These comments seem to be entirely ignorant of the retaliatory attack of al-Qaeda in Pakistan days after the announcement, resulting in the death of 80 people.

While the argument over the British involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan is one that will persist for years to come, it would be foolhardy to withdraw before the job is done.

The sacrifice of the 368 British personnel, even more American soldiers, and a catastrophic amount of innocents on all sides can not be allowed to be in vain.

It does seem very unlikely that the British will begin a withdrawal any time soon.

Features16

Gap yahs gone wr

Travelling over the summer can be an amazing experience, but there ar bubble Features chats to four Cardiff University students whose travelli Causing a stir in Egypt by Joanne Southerd

T

his time last year I was eagerly anticipating a family holiday to Egypt. We were going to see the pyramids, cruise the Nile, go snorkelling in the Red Sea: it would be a dream come true. Sadly, I had failed to take into account Egypt’s attitude to women while packing my suitcase.

As far as I was concerned, I was going abroad for a week, and that meant that I wanted to come home with a gorgeous, glowing tan. On board the ship nobody batted an eyelid at my summer wardrobe, but it was a different story completely once we left to explore.

Although no one had warned me to cover up, the first day that we took a stroll into Aqaba, we immediately noticed the attention my denim shorts were attracting.

Wolf-whistles from the men, scorns from the women, stares from the children; it was as if they had never seen a pair of human legs before, and it was more than a little embarrassing.

A few days into the holiday we went on a fantastic excursion to Cairo. Outside the beautiful Mosque of Mohammad Ali Pasha, a local man approached my dad: “Seven

hundred camels for your daughter.”

Thankfully, my old man found it within him to refuse this tempting offer (how he would have got the camels home I don’t know).

The man then upped his game, adding two thousand chickens into the deal. We all found the encounter generally hilarious, and thought nothing of it.

“

Wholf whistling from the men, stares from the women - It was as if they had never seen a pair of human legs before

After a tour of the mosque, our guide told us that we had a little time to explore the area ourselves.

Photographs were taken, souvenirs were haggled for, but something felt strange.

Each coach-load of tourists had been assigned a security guard, and ours seemed to be lingering around my mum and me. When my dad

asked him why, the security guard explained that he was worried for my safety. We realised that he was deadly serious, keeping his hand on his MP5K submachine gun at all times. I was gobsmacked.

What had started as a bit of a joke was no longer funny. Touch wood, nothing serious came of the situation, but to think that I might have put my family in danger, or compromised the safety of someone else from our coach, still makes me feel sick. Especially when the situation could have so simply been avoided had I just thought to pack a pair of trousers.

Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country, so common sense should surely have told me to think twice about what I was wearing. To assume that I would be able to dress the same over there as I would at home was incredibly naïve of me.

The holiday itself was sensational. The Nile was spectacular, and seeing the great pyramids at Giza was probably one of the most breathtaking experiences of my life so far. However, was I to return to Egypt I would certainly reconsider my wardrobe choices, not just for my family’s sake, or for my own safety, but out of respect for their culture.

Hopeless in Hanoi by Zoe Bridger

B

efore I flew to Vietnam everyone had warned me about getting into a dodgy taxi at Hanoi airport.

So I planned ahead, looked up a nice hostel in my lonely planet guide and went to a respectable looking taxi company at the airport who were very friendly and helpful.

‘I’d like to go to Sunshine Hostel please’, I asked the driver and after a bit of bartering we drove off. He asked me if I’d booked a room and I said that I hadn’t, which was a mistake.

Hanoi is a huge, stuffy, labyrinth of a city with endless streets that all look the same. So when the taxi driver stopped outside ‘Sunny Days’ hostel I was a bit bemused.

‘No – I asked for Sunshine Hostel’ I said wondering where the hell we were. ‘Oh that Hostel is fully booked, you should stay here’ the taxi driver piped up.

His ‘friend’ then came out of Sunny Days Hostel and started to lift my bag out of the boot in order

to check me into his hostel. I didn’t know what to do.

There was no mention of a Sunny Days Hostel in my guide and I didn’t want to just stay anywhere but at the same time I didn’t know where I was and the taxi driver was adamant that the hostel I had originally wanted was full.

“

I needed to get away from these men as soon as possible

I asked the driver to take me to Sunshine Hostel anyway and I would see for myself if it was full, but he refused. After a bit of arguing I got out of the taxi, grabbed my bag back from the driver’s friend and decided that I needed to get away from these men as soon as possible.

As I mentioned before, Hanoi is an incredibly busy, humid city

and the sun was glaring down on the streets causing 42 degree heat.

My lonely planet guide had a small map of Hanoi city and I desperately tried to work out where I was.

Traipsing up and down the boiling hot streets with my heavy bag on my back I was starting to get pretty desperate. The local people stared at me as I walked past and were no help at all when I asked them for directions.

I was going round and round in circles, losing my sense of direction and slowly my will to live. In the end I found a pretty shitty looking hostel and was so tired I just checked in and hoped for the best.

Luckily the hostel owner was nice and in the morning he showed me exactly where I could find the Sunshine Hostel, so I set off glad that the morning heat was nothing like the midday sun.

I was told by people not to trust taxi drivers and I still fell into a trap. The most important thing to tell the driver is that you’ve booked a room, because then they’ll actually take you to the hostel you want.

Features17

gair rhydd • Monday June 06 2010 • features@gairrhydd.com

rong: your stories

re times when it all goes a bit wrong. In order to burst the 'gap yah' ing stories are far from the clichés we've all heard so often.

Killings in Kampala by Heather Arnold

B

eing in Africa during the world cup was amazing; even in Uganda - 3000miles away from the action the notion of ‘Africa United’ was all over and everyone was excited.

The obvious decision when the final came along was to go to the capital city where there would be a cheap bar with a big screen to watch Spain and Holland bash it out.

Seconds after the finale a fan came downstairs wearing a bright orange robe and a beer in hand (he later turned out to be the owner of the Dutch run bar) and calmly told everyone that two bombs had gone off in Lugogo (an area only a five minute walk away) .

Everyone ignored him; after all who would trust a man in a neon robe? But a few minutes later another man joined him and explained we need to evacuate.

Quickly and calmly everyone got into their cars and drove home, avoiding the area that had been under attack.

My friend and I didn’t have such

a luxury and spent about an hour haggling for a motorbike ride home that wasn’t three times the normal price.

Eventually we forked out as the noise from the sirens and the crying started to reach us; all we could say was that we wanted to “get the fuck out of here”.

“

We spent the evening clinging onto everyone we knew, terrified and with no idea what to do

When we arrived at the backpackers hostel we were staying at there was a women screaming in the local language at a calm but terrified looking security guard.

From the little Ugandan we knew we figured out what the conversa-

tion was about and saw the woman was pointing at a plastic bag at the entrance.

We both froze, me and my friend just stared at the bag and didn’t do anything but listen to the women saying that the terrorists were attacking foreigners and that this bag was a bomb.

Eventually one of the guards told us to go into the backpackers and stay there, we blindly followed.

We spent the next hour clinging onto everyone we knew, terrified and with no idea what to do, until it was announced that the bag was not a bomb but just rubbish dumped at the road.

Inside the hostel everyone was awake, crowded round computers, trying to find out as much as they could about what had happened.

Slowly throughout the night the death toll kept on rising; from 25 to 33 and then to 64.

The final number was 74, this was about fifty percent more than the London bombings in 2007.

By this point I had been in Uganda for 10 months and I had never seen it so quiet.

Alone in Australia by Sophia Willworth

N

Photos (Clockwise): Scary scenes in Kampala, the busy streets of Hanoi and Joanne in Egypt.

ow that I am older (and wiser apparently), the thought of my nineteen year old self going travelling on her own is pretty daunting. At the time, I don't think I even considered the risk factor. I was simply too excited I wanted to go so far away that the thought of going any further would feel like coming back.

Landing in Sydney at half eight in the evening, my intial thought was 'shit'. It hit me that I didn't know a single person in this massive country and that my own method of survival was to be confident and make friends quickly. I was excited, but bloody scared.

I arrived at the hostel that I had pre-booked with STA travel, and was pleasantly suprised to find that the people sharing the room with me were really friendly. The room itself looked like a bit like the toilet cubicle in Trainspotting, with the added delight of damp sheets and mouldy walls. Still, I didn't care that much, I was in Sydney.

The first people I met were two young guys from Bath. They were

super chatty and gave me loads of advice on where the best places to go were, where to avoid etc. Nineteen year old Sophia was pretty confident too - I quite liked this new me.

That night, as much I had wanted to go out and have a drink, I wasn't confident enough to suggest it to these two strangers. Instead I went to bed really early, excited about the prospect of waking up with a whole new city to discover. However, that night's sleep took a scary turn for the worst.

I didn't sleep particulary well.

The damp, grubby sheets and mould for company didn't really help. But that wasn't the only problem. Half way through the night, a young guy accidentally climbed into my bed.

He was completely off his face on something and he didn't have a clue what he was doing.

The scary thing was that not only did my fellow room mates not say anything, he refused to listen to me tell him to get out. I was fortunate: this man was not aggressive. But it scared the hell of me because I had no one to help me and I didn't know what his intentions were.

After a few minutes of me telling him to leave, he got out and stumbled out of the room. It made me realise just how lucky I was that nothing worse happened. It also made me realise that I was very much alone.

My tired and anxious self got up the next morning to find that my room mates had all gone out to the beach. I wasn't expecting an invite, but I was feeling pretty low at this point. Still, I went out, got lost in Sydney and loved it. I thought Sydney was utter magic.

The trip was improving. I had been out with a girl who had moved into the room and was beginning to feel like I could really do this. My trip to Australia lasted two months: I travelled up the East Coast and had one of the bext experiences of my life.

Having the choice now, however, I wouldn't have gone on my own.

There were too many occasions where I felt alone. At other times, there were so many things to see and do that I just wanted to share the experience with someone. It turns out that at twenty-two years old, I am a little wiser.

18Features

Your Space.

gair rhydd • Monday June 06 2011 • features@gairrhydd.com

We want to hear your stories: anything goes. Just drop us a line on features@gairrhydd.com. This week postgraduate student Caleb Woodridge tells Features about married life at university...

Y

ou can’t be married, Caleb – you’re a student! Only proper people are married, and students aren’t proper people!” exclaimed one of my coursemates.

Having returned to study for an MA in English Literature only a couple of years after graduating, I’m young enough not to be a mature student. While some of my coursemates and tutors didn’t bat an eyelid on learning that I’m married, many reacted with varying degrees of surprise.

Since I’m now a postgraduate student, being married is probably not as unusual or unlikely as my friend suggests. In these modern times, twenty years old is a younger age than average to be married, but hardly unheard of.

Studying at university when married is a different experience.

Unlike the freewheeling, unstructured existence of an undergrad, my spouse is working nine to five, paying the bills. Most undergrads exist in a different time zone to “proper people”, where the day doesn’t begin and the night doesn’t end until several hours later.

Since I wanted to actually see my wife during my masters, I needed to work the same routine. So I’ve tried to do all my reading, note-taking and essay writing in that same nine to five pattern. It’s good to have that focus, and it’s made me look a bit more efficient and organised to my coursemates.

“

Some people might miss the thrill of the chase, but the security and commitment of marriage is great

That’s an illusion: it’s just my attempt to get it all done in time for the evenings and weekends, so my wife and I can actually see each other!

I can’t get away with the same levels of distraction and procrastination either. My wife is still working away hard in her job to pay the bills. Also, having to pay the tuition fees for a masters up-front rather focuses the mind. If I spend the day procrastinating, I’ve got my wife to answer to – as she’s happy to remind me, she’s not supporting me through my masters for me to

spend all day on Facebook! But it’s not a hardship: I came back to study because I wanted to, and I’ve got much more out of it than if I’d just drifted into it immediately after my degree.

I suspect that being married does subtly affect the way that other people relate to me. A subject like English Literature has a gender ratio strongly skewed towards women, but being married makes it slightly easier to get on with the opposite sex. Being married, I’m somehow “safe”, so I can simply be friends without any possibility or worry or speculation about it going further.

Some people might miss the thrill of the chase, but having the security and commitment of a married relationship is really great.

It’s amazing to have found the one person I want to spend my life with. I had some great housemates while at university, but they simply can’t match up to having a loving, supportive wife to encourage me through the ups and downs of hard work and essays.

On June 13, it will be two years since we got married here in Cardiff. We couldn’t afford anything expensive, but with lots of help from friends and family, it was a great day. My Mum baked the wedding cake, my mother-in-law made the dress, and everyone we knew joined in to make it a wonderful time without breaking the bank. You don’t have to wait years and years to afford the dream day that advertisers and pushy parents try to persuade you that you have to have. If you’ve found the right person, why wait?

It’s not unusual among our Christian friends to get married in the couple of years immediately after university. We seemed to spend half our weekends last summer at various weddings, including many of our old university housemates.

Most of our non-Christian friends haven’t reached the marrying stage – that wedding season is yet to come.

It’s probably not surprising that those who believe that sex should be saved for marriage are more eager to get married, but there’s more to it than that! Marriage is important to me and my wife because we want that life-long commitment of love to one another.

As Christians, we believe that marriage is God’s design for relationships, and is a picture of the love that Christ has for the church.

It is also a lot of fun! Being a married student is very different, but a great experience.

gair rhydd • Monday June 06 2010 • features@gairrhydd.com

Your Space.

19Features

We want to hear your stories: anything goes. Just drop us a line on features@gairrhydd.com. This week Mia Holt encourages us to spot the signs of depression at university.

H

ow many of you have ever felt like you can’t face leaving your room?

Or that you find it hard to socialise with friends? How about bad moods that last days on end? Okay then, so how many of you would talk to someone about this?

My guess is not many, and yet worryingly, according to the Mental Health Foundation, 50% of students are now showing signs of having a mental health issue.

It is not unusual for someone to have a mental health issue; apparently 25% of people are likely to suffer with a problem during some time in their life. This can range from full blown depression to slight anxiety.

It’s also a well known fact that young people are more likely to suffer with anxiety during their University years. What is more concerning is that students are not

seeking help for their problems and so what starts as pre exam stress or work stress turns into crippling anxiety or clinical depression.

“

I think I thought that somehow I'd get better by myself or even that there was nothing wrong

The statistics have worried the government so much that for the first time ever, a full report is set to come out this year, detailing the full extent of the number of sufferers.

The reasons for the increase are quite common and a lot of young students could relate to them.

Probably all of us will have work

worries at uni. I mean the stress hardly ever goes away!

It was stressful to get the grades to get into uni, then we had the stress of settling into the style of uni work itself (I’m sure those of you who have ever had to use Harvard referencing know what I mean!), then come the essays, group work, presentations, reports, practicals etc... I could go on and on.

As if that’s not enough, you then get this awful feeling of homesickness. That weird feeling you get in your stomach when you think about your mother’s cooking or your brother’s annoying yet comforting company. Soon you may end up going home for no reason at all just to have those comforts, which tends to just make things worse because then you don’t want to leave!

For those of you in your second or third year, you have the money worries to look forward to, that time when your student loan just won’t stretch to that extra rent payment

and you find yourself dipping furiously into your already increased overdraft.

For a lucky few, you might be totally at ease with all of this but for some of us; it will be enough to push us over the edge, me included.

Yes, I have anxiety problems and although I was looking forward to uni and settled in pretty well during the first few months, the anxiety managed to seep through and slowly started to destroy my social life. I’ve always been quite sensitive anyway and was always the one to panic before a school test or exam but during my first year, the anxiety attacked me like never before.

I started having weird panic attacks for no reason, sometimes about work or sometimes just randomly when I was going out with friends. It became so bad at one point that a friend took me to the doctor to get some help and I honestly say that without her and my boyfriend convincing me to go, I

wouldn’t have.

I think I thought that somehow, I’d get better by myself or even that there was nothing wrong. Only those close enough to me actually knew. I felt too ashamed or shy to actually admit it to anyone else so I just carried on in Uni as normal, met all my deadlines and passed my first year with an overall 2.1.

I am just one person in the thousands that study in Cardiff Uni. So statistically, a lot more you must be suffering with similar problems.

It’s really important that you seek help.

A lot of people tend to spend hours at the gym or eating healthily but not many people remember to look after their mental health as well. To be able to look after your mental health, you first need to know the signs of anxiety or depression.

To start with, don’t panic if you feel occasional anxiety when it comes to University work. Anxiety is the brain’s normal way of dealing with danger so if you have an essay due in and you start having those butterflies in your stomach, then that is perfectly normal.

Anxiety becomes a problem when it stops you doing normal things like socialising with friends, going to the shops or attending your lectures. When you feel the need to avoid certain situations or have a constant bad feeling about something, then it would be a good idea for you to speak to someone about your fears.

Even little things like your mind going blank or constant irritability are signs of anxiety so keep an eye out because the problem with anxiety is that it often leads to depression.

The warning signs of depression are very easy to spot in someone else, but you might not even notice them in yourself. It starts with you feeling persistently sad or lonely, which then makes you lose interest in normal day to day things, you start to feel lethargic and tired a lot which then affects your eating and sleep patterns.

However, the most severe feeling of depression is the utter hopelessness. You become tearful over minor situations and feel like there’s nothing you can do that will make you happy.

Some people deal with this is different ways, by locking themselves away, phoning home or most worryingly; harming themselves. If this has happened to you or someone you know, urge them to use the help that is available to them. Don’t just become another statistic.

Science20

Climate Change: Here's the solution.

It's been a depressing year for the environment, but behind the headlines engineers and politicians alike are proposing solutions. The question is, will we adapt in time?

We all know the global warming story; it’s been the buzz-phrase of the last decade or two all over the world, it’s been taught as a module in schools and universities for around the same amount of time, and there have been more conventions, summits and policies than you could shake a carbon-offsetstick at.

But are we still stabbing in the dark when it comes to battling the effects of global warming? Are the policies and promises made by global conventions and governments all bark and no bite? Is it too late to undo the damage done by our huge fossil fuel consumption habit?

The answer drifting down on the welsh winds from Machynlleth, in the foothills of Snowdonia is “no”.

Established in 1973 on the site of a

disused slate quarry to research alternative technologies. The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Powys, has been researching ways to effectively eliminate carbon emissions from British industry, homes, power generation and transport systems for years: and they say Britain can reduce its net emissions to zero by 2030.

This idea may seem ludicrously idealistic to some, but CAT have done their homework, and through

Oil

Wind

Food

Alice Evans Science Writer

plans to “power down” high-carbon living by reducing energy demand, they suggest Britain can be eased into going cold turkey from fossil fuels for good, to create a greener, cleaner, more efficient Britain – their ideas are outlined below.

CAT says Britain would not only benefit environmentally, but also socially and economically. The British economy (which we’re all aware is suffering) would benefit from: the creation of around 300,000

jobs in offshore wind-power; an expanse of ‘green jobs’ in the renewable sector and the cutting of the £49 billion per year national trade deficit accumulated from energy import to the country.

Socially, diets would improve and the quality of life would be better for many. A more efficient, less consumer-focused economy can be powered entirely by renewable and sustainable energy – so what’s the catch?

“

At least one set of policy options and technical measures exists to eliminate carbon emissions whilst simultaneously enhancing our quality of life.

Oil consumption could be dramatically reduced by electrifying the transport system, including all cars and trains.

The UK could build as many as 130,000 offshore wind turbines and make more use of potential wave power.

“

The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge, but all economies know that the only sensible long term way of developing is to do it on a sustainable basis.

gair rhydd met with the man with the answers: Hugh Compston, Professor of Politics at Cardiff University and author of Climate Change and Political Strategy to get his view on what can be done (and more importantly, why it is not being done) about global warming.

Compston points out that the principle obstacles to stronger action on climate change are political in nature. We’ve got the science, we’ve got the resources, so why isn’t anyone doing anything about it?

He suggests the Centre for Alternative Technologies zero carbon policy is “a little optimistic, but

-Tony Blair helps to fill an important role in setting out a clear picture of where we could get to, and how we could get to it”. He explains that the difficulty lies in gaining public support and getting politicians to take decisive action when individuals that are prepared to take responsibility for global warming are few and far between.

How can we gain support for taking action against climate change, when all it will mean is an increase in carbon tax, fuel prices and a general inconvenience to the public and a tough battle, risking serious political damage and a gamble to

Reducing livestock and the production of meat and dairy would decrease the emission of methane. It would also free up more farmland that could be used to grow biofuels.

- Professor Graham Parkhurts Centre of Transport and Society, UWE

Planes

Biomass

Journeys

Cut out domestic flights that take place unnecessarily over such a short distance. Planes could also be powered by biofules, when grown in a sustainable way.

Growing biomass would provide energy as well as take carbon out of the atmosphere - a double dose of goodness.

Simply promoting walking, cycling and forms of public transport would reduce our energy demand and lessen the burden on oil alternatives and renewable energies.

the economy for politicians?

Compston suggests several strategic approaches to getting policies into place that can work, which can be seen on the next page- unilateral action, persuasion and political balance.

But the elephant in the room when it comes to Britain taking action is that– even if we achieve a zero carbon Britain- when it comes to reducing global carbon emissions, it will be a drop in the ocean (a drop of 1.84% of global annual carbon emissions according to the United Nations Statistics Division).

Compston’s response to this is that

western countries like Britain and America need to reduce carbon outputs before expecting less economically developed countries to follow suit and bear the weight of their actions.

How can India and China make cutting carbon emissions a priority before we do, when they are still dealing with starvation, disease and human rights issues? We need to lead the way in setting an example for the rest of the world that taking action is of paramount importance.

If pain is relative, countries that are going to be most affected by glob-

al warming will be in the most pain and so are already leading the way in reducing carbon emissions. The Maldives are the first country as of yet to go carbon neutral, unsurprisingly because as ice caps melt and sea levels rise, they would be one of the first to go underwater.

The message seems to be that it’s all about political priorities. We’ll do something about it when it becomes a real problem for us. But if leading politicians don’t make climate change action a priority right now, we may as well all start saving up for a new boat house.

Science21

Monday March 06 2011 • gair rhydd • science@gairrhydd.com

With the implementation of better technology and an overhaul of infrastructure needed, it's time to hear directly from the engineers. Science Editor Jack Parker interviews Dr Devin Sapsford from Cardiff's School of Engineering.

Alice Evans Science Writer Unilateral action – the line of least resistance. A multi-pronged attack from the fork that will cut green house gas emissions through small steps on many fronts to create unblockable policies and target sectors that can pass on costs to soften the blow. Currently, political strategy targets emissions sources, but by targeting business groups and electorates we could spread the weight of responsibility.

Persuasion – getting everyone on the right side. There are still global warming cynics who deny that the issue even exists, and individuals with the view that “it’s not going to change the world in my lifetime, so why should I care?”

To get everyone on the climate change bandwagon, the media and politicians can emphasise the consequences of global warming to persuade the public that we are facing a bit fat hot problem and that it will be a problem in our lifetimes.

No one wants to send the public into a state of universal panic, but by developing new framings and storylines to stress the moral dimension, the public may wake up to the reality that extreme weather patterns are increasing, agricultural practise will have to change and huge amounts of biodiversity is being lost.

You only need to look to the last few months to the flooding and tsunamis in Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia and beyond, to realise that climate change may have devastating effects in the near future.

By taking advantage of weather related natural disasters, the media can suggest that these phenomenons are down to climate change to drive the point home to the public.

But the media doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom – there can be a positive spin on global warming to advertise the opportunities for

employment, research and technological development in renewable energy and carbon reduction that will be made available.

However, there are many sections of the media that still give too much prominence to the 3% of scientists who do not agree that global change is an anthropogenic issue – these types of reports will only give climate change sceptics ammunition and give those who don’t want to take action on climate change an easy way out.

“

There can be a positive spin... to advertise the opportunity for employment

Tip the political resource balance - change the balance of political resources to favour climate change.

Extend the powers of the climate minister, centralise planning powers, increase climate-friendly politicians and officials in key positions, internationalise costs, allow ‘spill-over’ so that one policy gets the foot in the door for a new policy, buy into the energy sector and cut off opportunities for corruption by encouraging emissions training schemes from companies to create an integration concept.

Q) We often hear that we already have the technology to solve climate change. So is the solution an engineering problem, or a political one?

A) Well, that’s difficult to answer succinctly, but there are a few points to make.

The technology for CO2 capture exists and is established but it uses a lot of power to capture the CO2.

Photos: Storing carbon dioxide back underground may be a solution, but we'll have to pay for it

Inevitably this cost would fall on consumers and people would protest as many see access to affordable electricity as a fundamental right.

Furthermore although the 'capture' is well established, the largescale storage of the captured CO2 in geological structures has not been proven, and critically not proven over extended time periods.

There are good reasons to think that this storage will work though, and then it becomes an engineering challenge to capture, pipe and store the CO2 (under the North Sea for the UK) economically.

Politically we have witnessed a rise in climate scepticism for many reasons including mistrust of science (I think that this is also in part due to the widening political divide in the USA) and generally it is difficult for people to understand a quite slow intangible change in the climate as a risk.

My guess is that fossil fuels will continue to be used around the world, mainly because the technology for recovery of energy from fossil fuels is well established, tried and tested and works, and most countries in the world have some kind of fossil fuel resources.

Energy security is thus very important (i.e. not dependent upon other countries for energy).

Also there is an ethical dimension: why should we seek to prevent the likes of India and China (et al) developing economically (as the West did) off the back of utilising vast fossil fuels reserves?

The other solution is of course investing in non-fossil alternatives such as renewables, but the stark reality is that the global power de-

mand over the next few decades cannot be met with renewables alone.

While it is theoretically possible, in my view it is probably practically impossible and that the rate of installation of renewable plants cannot meet the rising demand for electricity (and heat).

This is related to the difficulties in harnessing large amounts of energy from renewable sources compared to the ease of generating power from energy-dense fossil fuels.

Nuclear power could have a significant role but of course there are clearly geopolitical and technological challenges with this too.

For the UK, I would agree with the most commonly heard views – which is that we need to develop as diverse an ‘energy mix’ as possible whilst reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

In summary, there are engineering and political challenges to solving climate change. The latter in my opinion are significantly harder to resolve.

Q) Do you think geo-engineering, such as spreading gases that reduce the greenhouse gas effect in the atmosphere, is a potential solution?

A) Personally speaking - No. But I think that it is prudent supporting some research in this area as a 'justin-case' technology that the world would have should there be runaway climate change.

Q) Do you think we have any realistic chance of keeping average global warming below the 2

degree Celsius threshold?

A) I am not sufficiently versed in the science of climate predictions to know the answer to this one. But there are three things that are scientifically 'crystal clear' to me.

That is that CO2 is demonstrably a greenhouse gas, which can be shown in simple laboratory experiment.

Secondly, that substantial geological evidence shows that atmospheric CO2 concentrations are higher than they have been for millennia, and thirdly that burning fossil fuels releases vast quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere.

These three facts alone in light of the consequences of global warming are all the evidence I need to convince me that it would be prudent to reduce our global CO2 emissions.

What is not clear to me is how we can possibly overcome the geopolitical challenges.

Follow us on Twitter @GairRhyddSci

Taf-od

23

Hapus dros Abertawe?

Elliw Mair Taf-Od Fel perchennog tocyn tymor i Glwb Pêl droed Caerdydd, torrais fy nghalon wrth eu gweld yn cael eu chwalu gan Reading o 3-0 yn enwedig gan fy mod hefyd yn gefnogwr brwd i Tottenham ac roeddwn yn edrych ymlaen yn arw i’w gweld yn brwydro ei gilydd ar gae chwarae Caerdydd.

I wneud yr holl sefyllfa yn waeth, collodd Dave Jones ei swydd ddechrau’r wythnos gan adael Caerdydd heb reolwr. Nid oeddwn yn bersonol yn teimlo y dylai Dave Jones wedi colli ei swydd ond wrth edrych ar garfan Caerdydd, roedd ganddynt dîm gorau'r gynghrair ar bapur yn fy nhyb i, ac fe ddylent wedi gorffen y tymor yn un o’r ddau safle cyntaf.

Ond, tua phedwar deg milltir i ffwrdd o Gaerdydd, roedd partïon gwyllt yn cael ei gynnal yn Abertawe Nos Lun wrth i gefnogwyr yr Elyrch ddathlu eu buddugoliaeth a'u dyrchafiad i Uwch Gynghrair Lloegr. Dyma’r tro cyntaf i Abertawe ac i unrhyw dim o Gymru gyrraedd yr Uwch Gynghrair. Roedd

hi’n gêm a hanner prynhawn ddydd Llun a theithiodd dros 40,000 o gefnogwyr Abertawe i Wembely i weld yr Elyrch yn chwarae Reading.

Sgoriodd Sinclair ddwy gôl mewn dau funud yn yr hanner cyntaf gydag un ohonynt yn gic o’r smotyn.

Stephen Dobbie oedd yn gyfrifol am arwain Abertawe dair gôl i ddim ar y blaen gan sgorio gyda’i droed dde o 16 llathen.

Ar yr hanner, roedd hi’n edrych yn bur annhebyg y byddai Reading yn gallu crafu ei ffordd yn ôl mewn i’r gêm ond deg munud i mewn i’r ail hanner, tarodd y Cymro, Joe Allen y bêl i mewn i rwyd ei hun ac wyth munud yn ddiweddarach yn dilyn cic gornel, rhoddodd Matt Mills y bêl yng nghefn y rhwyd i Reading.

Er bod y ddwy gôl yma wedi gwneud i gefnogwyr Abertawe chwysu ychydig, cafodd cic o’r smotyn ei roi i Abertawe deg munud o’r diwedd ac fe sgoriodd Sinclair a olygodd buddugoliaeth i Abertawe a hatric i’w hun.

Diddorol yw nodi, wyth mlynedd yn ôl, gorffennodd gêm arall dyngedfennol yn 4-2 i Abertawe yn erbyn Hull wrth i Abertawe frwydro ar

ddiwrnod olaf y tymor i aros yn y gynghrair Bêl-droed. Nid oedd colli yn opsiwn i dîm Abertawe.

Roedd eu problemau ariannol yn ddifrifol a blwyddyn ynghynt, nid oedd Abertawe yn medru hyd yn oed fforddio talu'r biliau trydan.

Roedd 9,585 o gefnogwyr ar gae'r Fetch ac allan o’r holl dyrfa, dim ond 195 ohonynt a oedd yn gefnogwyr i Hull ac roedd miloedd mwy o gefnogwyr yn gwylio’r gêm o uwch ben siediau a garejis o amgylch y stadiwm. I ddau o chwaraewyr Abertawe a oedd yn bresennol yn y ddwy gêm sef Alan Tate a Gary Monk, roedd ennill yn erbyn Hull yn llawer mwy o fuddugoliaeth nag ennill yn erbyn Reading.

Roedd achub y clwb yn deimlad llawer gwell na ennill lle yn yr Uwch Gynghrair, ac yn ôl Tate ‘The consequences of losing that game and losing against Reading were miles apart.’

Wedi gwylio gêm Abertawe ac wedi ei gweld yn cael ei dyrchafu, nid oeddwn yn si r sut i ymateb i’r fuddugoliaeth. A ddylwn i fel cefnogwr selog i dîm pêl-droed Caerdydd fod yn hapus dros Abertawe? Yn amlwg, rwy’n siomedig bod Aber-

tawe wedi mynd i fyny yn hytrach na Chaerdydd ond rwy’n credu mai teimlo’n eiddigeddus yr ydwyf yn hytrach na theimlo atgasedd tuag at Abertawe.

Felly, fel cefnogwyr Caerdydd, rwy’n teimlo’n siomedig ond fel cefnogwr pêl- droed Cymru, byddaf wrth fy modd yn gweld chwaraew-

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yr Cymraeg megis Joe Allen ac Ashley Williams yn chwarae yn uwch gynghrair Lloegr yn erbyn rai o chwaraewyr gorau’r byd fel Fabregas, Rooney a Drogba. Ers y gêm dyngedfennol yn 2003, mae Abertawe wedi codi o nerth i nerth ac yn llawn haeddu ei lle yn yr Uwch Gynghrair.

Listings

Monday

Tuesday

25 Wednesday Thursday

6th June

7th June

8th June

9th June

THE LASH, Solus, £3.50, 9.30pm The Lash promises all the best in chart and cheese, which doesn't really sound all that tempting to be honest. But if you're a sporting LAD then it's most definitely the place to be.

NEVER MIND THE PUB QUIZ, The Taf, FREE, 8pm A pub quiz. In the Taf. It's not big, it's not clever, but it's a bloody good laugh.

FUN FACT TREE, Solus, FREE, 9pm Fun Factory is an institution among Cardiff students and you simply must check it out.

Playing the very best alternative music, and with various cheap drinks promotions, you're sure to have the best night of the week here and I'm not even biased. It's a staple. If you like it alternative, if you like it rocking, and most of all, if you like it loud then there is only thing for it . There will also be live music courtesy of the Live Music Society.

LATE NIGHT LIVE, 10 Feet Tall, FREE, 8pm Live music, acts, comedy and DJs upstairs, new music & party tunes in the bar. Plus the added bonus of two for one cocktails between 5pm and 9pm.

JAZZ AT DEMPSEYS: BOCK - A - DA BOCK, Dempseys, £4/5, 9pm If you can't make it on Wednesday and fancy doing something a bit different with your Monday night, head to Dempseys. Music ranges from piano or guitar trio, saxophone or trumpet quartet, quartet with vocals to big band.

JUST DANCE, Clwb, £3, 10pm Just Dance returns every Tuesday night at Clwb Ifor Bach with one simple mission...to get you dancing all night long. A mixture of modern day pop, rock and R&B thrown together with some cracking blasts from the past... Cheap entry, cheap drinks prices and great, GREAT tunes.

10 FEET LIVE, 10 Feet Tall, TBC, 8pm Live music, singer-songwriters, bands and acoustic acts upstairs, new music & party tunes in the bar. Plus, there's the added bonus of two-for-one cocktails from 5pm until 9pm.

THE CARDIFF STORY, The Old Library (The Hayes), FREE, 10am-5pm A social history museum which tells of how Cardiff came to be the place we know today through objects, stories and interactives predominantly donated by the Cardiff public.

The museum is designed to act as the perfect starting point for visitors to Cardiff as well as short or long term residents, so would appeal to those visiting for open days as well as current students in the City.

LISTEN UP, Clwb, £3, 9pm Listen Up has become an institution within an institution. Everybody loves Clwb. Everybody loves Listen Up. Playing a mix of motown, funk, indie and pop among three floors of cheap bars and trendy kids, this is the place to be every Wednesday.

JAZZ AT DEMPSEYS, Dempseys, £5, 9pm Music ranges from piano or guitar trio, saxophone or trumpet quartet, quartet with vocals to big band. Hear jazz standards made famous by the likes of Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nina Simone, as well as original tunes.

BOUNCE, Walkabout, £4, 9pm If you really, honestly, have nothing better to do... actually, no, even that isn't a valid excuse.

C.Y.N.T, Clwb, £4, 10pm This is the only legitimate thing to do on your Thursday night.

SUGAR DROP, Ten Feet Tall, FREE, 10pm Midweek dancefloor dose of roots, electro, dub, party breaks, dubstep, drum'n'bass & mashups.

WHAT'S THE STORY?, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, FREE, 7.15pm The topical panel game hosted by Justin Waite, is returning to BBC Radio Wales. Request tickets by email on: tickets@tidyproductions.co.uk.

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Venues

10th June

11th June

12th June

Students’ Union, Park Place, 02920 814456 www.cardiffstudents.com ◆ IV Lounge, Neuadd Meirionydd, Heath Park 02920 744948 ◆ Clwb Ifor Bach, 11 Womanby Street 02920 232199 www.clwb.net ◆ Metros, Bakers Row www.clubmetropolitan.com ◆ CAI, Park Place 02920 412190 ◆ Buffalo Bar, 11 Windsor Place www.myspace.com/wearebuffalobar ◆ Chapter Arts Centre, Market Road, Canton 02920 304400 www.chapter.org ◆ Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay 0870 0402000 www.wmc.org. uk ◆ The New Theatre, Park Place 02920 878889 www.newtheatrecardiff.co.uk ◆ The Sherman Theatre, Senghennydd Road 02920 646900 www.shermantheatre.co.uk ◆ Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Mary Ann Street 02920 224488 ◆

BOOMBOX, Solus, £3, 10pm Playing an eclectic mix of electro, funk, drum 'n' bass, hip hop, dubstep and breaks with a turntablist twist. Featuring dance classics, chart remixes and old school classics. Expect to hear Pendulum, Calvin Harris, Dr Dre, David Guetta, Major Lazor, A Skillz, High Contrast, Prodigy and much more. To be fair, it's the cheapest Friday night this side of the bridge, fulfilling all your student needs and perfect for bringing those visiting mates too. Plus, there's the added bonus of our best Xpress DJ's spinning some great tunes at the silent disco. Go ahead kids, BOOM YOUR BOX. EUPHORIA TOUR: ENRIQUE IGLESIAS AND LEMAR, Motorpoint Arena, Tickets starting at £35, 7pm Enrique! How can I miss this? Beautiful, sleazy man. I would go to this, just to hear him sing 'Hero'.

COME PLAY, Solus, £3, 10pm A safe bet for a Saturday night. If none of the other events do it for you, head to the Union for guaranteed good music and cheap drinks. Not the most imaginative of nights out, but you'll be sure to have a good time.

And who said that being able to predict the playlist down to the very last minute was a bad thing?

BEATBOX BALLROOM, Buffalo, Free before 11pm, 8pm "Booty-busting breaks, pimped out soul & clock-stopping rhythms." Apparently.

EVERYONE TO THE ANDERSON, Buffalo, £3, 7pm Just another obscure little band that nobody has heard of.

THE KEYS, Norwegian Church Arts Centre Cardiff, £7, 8pm See above comment. But insert 'Welsh' after the word 'obscure'.

10 FEET TALL SUNDAY SOCIAL, 10 Feet Tall, FREE, 8pm If you have nothing better to do on a Sunday night and fancy heading out for twofor-one cocktails, perhaps give this a go.

THE BIG SUNDAY RECOVERY PROJECT, CAI, FREE, 12pm What’s the Sunday Project ? It’s a regular social gathering to end the week. You get together over a late Sunday Roast or just laze around with fellow hung-over friends on the sofas. Enjoy a Sunday ‘Institution’, weekly - Squeaky Hill Pub Quiz is back.

The only quiz that provides you with a general all-round work out, utilising the physical, mental and creative parts of your brain that other pub quizzes just can’t reach! It's free to play, and theres loads of exciting prizes to be won.

HAVE A SUNDAY ROAST Gather all of your housemates together and cook a Sunday roast. Or, if you can't be arsed, why not head to the Taf or CAI for a dinner that will rival your mum's.

comic.

sudoku.

EASY

Puzzles

27

MEDIUM

crossword.

Across 9. Chemical recipe (7) 10. A hanging bed of canvas (7) 11. Rather (7) 12. Dreamlike (7) 13. A woman's "change of life" (9) 15. Informal language (5) 16. Feat (7) 19. Overabundance (7) 20. Iciness (5) 21. Workers (9) 25. Of moral excellence (7) 26. A side of a coin (7) 28. Demesnes (7) 29. Ewer (7)

Down 1. Assert (6) 2. Jail (6) 3. Sometimes, the shape of ice (4) 4. A four-wheel covered carriage (6) 5. The start of a beard (8) 6. Showman (10) 7. Not excessive (8) 8. A window in a roof (8) 14. Squanderer (10) 16. Ejected (8) 17. Level of urgency (8) 18. Dissertation (8) 22. Cue (6) 23. Tastelessly indecent (6) 24. A range of mountains (6) 27. Disallow (4)

By Daniel Judd

Societies28

The Actor's Nightmare Becca Smithers Reporter

Act One is Cardiff University's only drama society, putting on around six full scale productions at various venues around Cardiff every year as well as an uncountable number of shorter events and socials throughout the year to make university life just that little bit more entertaining.

One of the most recent events held by Act One was The Actor’s Nightmare directed by Josey O’Neal.

The fifty minute play showed George Spelvin (some call him Stanley), a man who has no idea

who he is, where he is or why he is there being roped into performing a wide variety of roles with no prior rehearsal.

Being put on the spot on stage with no script, George has to improvise his way through a confusing mixture of scenes from Private Lives, Hamlet, Checkmate (based on Beckett’s Endgame/Happy Days) and A Man For All Seasons.

Through all this confusion, George wonders if it is all a dream and the audience is left guessing whether it was reality or not.

Aled Bidder, who played George Spelvin, captured the sheer terror of any thespian left in the position of having nothing to say on stage whilst reigning in its comic value

and the serious undertones when reality is questioned.

Many members of the audience could empathise with Aled’s character from their own experiences of forgetting lines or improvising to cover another cast member.

Most of the comedy came from the other characters (who had rehearsed their respective scenes) having to cope with George Spelvin’s lack of experience.

Georgia Bradley, Alice Thatcher and James Sidwell’s characters all had to act alongside George in utter chaos whilst trying to remain professional. George Spelvin was aided

by Meg the stage manager, played

by Bethan Paterson-Hughes who found a wide variety of reasons

to come on stage to prompt poor George.

The confusion of the play builds and builds to the point where George in unsure if it is all a dream.

The appearance of the executioner, played by Darren FreeburyJones, provides a dramatic climax to the play whilst the other characters still try to retain decorum in their muddled show.

Josey O’Neal has managed to make the most organised and well directed chaotic play since “Noises Off ” in 2010.

The cast portrayed the stress and desperation when everything goes wrong in such a convincing way you almost forgot that The Actor’s Nightmare had its own script – the

scenarios seemed so realistic.

A huge round of applause for all of those involved, it was a fantastic evening of entertainment.

So what is next for Act One? The new committee is presently in the process of determining the main productions for next year and preparing to send a production to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August called Writer’s Block, which has been written and directed by Ellie Barrow and Elin Williams.

Next year boasts to hold many more events like The Actor’s Nightmare and a wide selection of social events to keep the society buzzing.

Watch out for Act One at the fresher’s fayre.

Monday June 6 Timothy Bible Study Group: Weekly Bible Study -Nelson Mandela Room, 7pm

People and Planet: Speaker from Global Poverty Project -Main Science Building, 6.30pm

Tuesday June 7 SDU: Problem Solving Session -3rd Floor SU, 5pm

Wednesday June 8 Scoutguide: Pool and Wii Night -Union games room, 8pm Above: Act One

On a mission to Beach Break Live

Rock Foundation: Weekly Meeting -Nelson Mandela Room, 7pm

Broadway Dance and FAD: Performance -Location Online, 1pm

Thursday June 9 Amnesty International Society: Stories from Guantanamo

Bianca London Societies Editor One Mission society are warming up the decks in anticipation of their long-awaited performance at Beach Break Live (BBL) festival 2011.

The society held a sell-out pre-festival event for freshers to help them celebrate the end of their exams and get them in the festival spirit.

The event took place on Friday June 3 at Talybont Social and united scores of celebratory freshers.

Society President, Rachel Underhill spoke about the event: “One Mission relies on fresher's to make our nights as epic as they are, and at the heart of this is Talybont.

"As BBL veterans, there really was no other choice for DJ's on this night which combined the great things about One Mission-amazing

bass music, wicked atmosphere, some funky dance moves, Freshers and Beach Break Live!”

The DJ's that played were: Dj KiDd, Warcharm, Ben Chi, DJ AC and DJ Nurv.

Beach Break Live Marketing Manager, Matt Dawes spoke of the event: “It was a great event thanks to one of Cardiff's most successful societies.

"Everyone is looking forward to seeing One Mission play at the festival amongst some top UK acts. They should be really proud of their achievements.”

Beach Break Live is a four day festival between June 16-20 which looks set to be the student event of the summer with only 2,000 tickets remaining.

-Wallace Lecture Theatre, Main Building, 7pm

Bioscience: Summer Ball Ticket Sale -Contact Sophie (07814 912 737)

Friday June 10 LGBT+: End of Year Party -Wow Bar, 9pm

Saturday June 11 Maths Soc: End of Year Ball -CF10, 6.30pm

To feature an event or article email societies @gairrhydd.com

Limited tickets are available at the Union Box Office.

If you would like to join a Society, or see a full list of opportunities, visit: http://groups.cardiffstudents.com/societies/home

Sport31

Monday June 06 2011 • gair rhydd • sport@gairrhydd.com

Damp squib for Glamorgan despite surprise England win Alex Bywater looks back at the First Test of the summer, at Cardiff's SWALEC Stadium

C

ardiff ’s SWALEC Stadium produced the goods again last week, hosting what was ultimately a surprise victory for England over Sri Lanka in the first Test of the summer.

The finish to the game matched the end of the first Ashes Test of 2009 for drama, when James Anderson and Monty Panesar repelled the Australians to earn a draw. The tourist’s pitiful collapse, bowled out for just 82 inside 25 overs was the main talking point as the cricketing bandwagon rolled out of Cardiff. In the face of what was some tremendous English bowling, the Sri Lankans had no answer to the controlled aggression of Chris Tremlett and the mystery of Graeme Swann.

Despite the England win though, not all was rosy down at Glamorgan with the county coming under criticism for their holding of the match, particularly within the English press.

Sadly, all five days of the game were interrupted at some stage by rain with delayed starts the norm throughout the match. This had a massive impact on ticket sales with just 992 spectators in the ground as England clinched victory.

With the visiting Sri Lankans failing to attract supporters (when compared to the Australians for example) the inclement weather was another kick in the teeth for Glamorgan bosses.

In contrast to the full houses seen at the 2009 Ashes test, the attendance on the Monday typified a series of poor turnouts with just the Saturday of the Test attracting more than 10,000 spectators in a stadium that can hold more than 15,000.

The combination of poor weath-

Above: Much of the Test was a wash out (left) but England's bowling still secured an innings victory (right) er and low ticket sales looks set to have a significant impact on Glamorgan’s finances. Having bid £2.5 million to hold the test, reports suggest that the county is looking at a £1 million loss on the event overall.

Despite the condemnation of Glamorgan’s holding of the Test, the Welsh county cannot be criticised for their work.

The weather was a particular disappointment, especially given the sunshine that had dominated the Cardiff area in the previous two months.

However, there was always a risk that rain might dampen proceedings. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) may need to take this into account when scheduling the first game of the summer for Cardiff. Glamorgan did not actually bid for the first Test, they were

only given it when London was deemed unable to cope with holding a Champions League final and a Lord’s Test match on the same day.

If this was the case, the Olympics should be fun!

As one of the smaller counties, Glamorgan have put in significant investment into becoming a test match ground and quite frankly there is now no way back; Glamorgan cannot survive without test cricket and the money it brings in.

Despite the criticism, the SWALEC Stadium is undoubtedly deserving of holding international cricket; it’s beautiful surroundings in Bute Park offer a different atmosphere to other Test match grounds and the stadium itself compares well to other venues around the country. The state of the art drainage system and excellent work of

the ground staff were also of international class, meaning a result was possible in a match that may well have had to be abandoned early elsewhere.

The ticket struggles experienced

by Glamorgan are also far from an anomaly, with other grounds struggling to sell out. Hampshire's Rose Bowl has also struggled to sell tickets for their inaugral Test this summer against the same opponents.

The Welsh county's accessible ticket prices could also not be criticised, a ticket for one of the first three days cost just £30.

Despite the bleak weather, Glamorgan Club chairman Paul Russell was happy with how the game went.

“Cardiff has done it again and we seem to specialise in exciting finishes,” said Russell. “We had a

glorious afternoon with some quite remarkable cricket.”

Despite the criticism, Russell is right to be confident of the future of the club. Glamorgan deserve credit for showing the ambition to turn themselves from a regular county side into a Test match venue. This may not be popular with traditional venues such as Old Trafford and Headingly (both have missed out on holding Tests in recent times) but spreading Test cricket into new areas is no bad thing.

The criticism must be ignored as Glamorgan have the capability to become a permanent fixture in English crickets summer calendar.

Cardiff is already a top international sports venue for rugby and football and with such a superb facility as the SWALEC, the Welsh capital deserves first class cricket too.

Contrasting fortunes for Welsh clubs Alex Bywater Sports Editor Monday May 30 saw Wales’ two leading football clubs dominate the headlines for different reasons; as Swansea City celebrated promotion to the Premier League, Cardiff City parted company with Manager Dave Jones after a six year spell in charge.

The Swans’ 4-2 triumph over Reading at Wembley, means that the people of South Wales can look forward to welcoming the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea to the Liberty Stadium next season.

So what chance do Swansea have of competing in the Premier League?

Acknowledged as one of, if not

the best passing team in the Championship this season, Swansea have a dangerous attacking line up with Wembley hat-trick hero Scott Sinclair particularly to the fore. The former Chelsea man will especially be looking forward to a chance at the highest level after failing to be given a chance during his time at Stamford Bridge.

Swansea’s free flowing attacking play is their strongest suit but like any promoted side, questions must be asked as to the capability of their defence to handle Premier League attacks.

One interesting aspect to next year’s Premier League, is that all three promoted sides like to play good football. Champions Queens Park Rangers and Norwich like

Swansea, prefer to keep the ball on the deck. It will be interesting to see whether this approach pays off, or if like Blackpool their willingness to play good football will eventually lead to relegation.

In contrast to the upwardly mobile Swans, Cardiff City’s future looks unclear after the dismissal of Jones (left).

Having again suffered play-off heartache, the club look like losing a number of key players due to loanees returning to their parent club and some squad members out of contract. This has the potential to decimate the Cardiff squad with Jay Bothroyd, Chris Burke and Seyi Olofinjana among others likely to leave the club.

However, the club’s immediate

problem is finding Jones’ successor.

Jones was always likely to be under pressure after another play off failure but whether or not Cardiff can find a better manager remains to be seen.

Rumours of Martin O’Neil taking over will please supporters but whether or not the club can afford him is up for debate. Whoever takes over has a tough task, with a serious rebuilding job on their hands.

Despite the varying fortunes of the Welsh clubs, it is great to see a club from the principality in the top flight. Brendon Rogers will be hopeful of a successful debut season in the top flight while a repeat of Jone's play-off place would be seen as a triumph for his successor.

Sport

A look back at a rain soaked Cardiff test << Inside

Cardiff Snooker take BUCS Gold

Above: The Cardiff team claim the BUCS Team Championship trophy

Jon Hillard BUCS Snooker Cardiff University’s snooker 1st team followed up their Midlands Cup success by defeating York 1sts to win the BUCS Team Championship for the first time since 1999 at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds. Fresher Mark Green also won the BUCS Championships Singles title to confirm his place as the best university snooker player in Britain.

The singles event was first up and Cardiff ’s players impressed immediately with Green, Huw Carpenter, Rhys Carpenter and Layton Brooks, all progressing comfortably through the opening rounds with Green sending out a message of intent with breaks of 54 and 48.

Rhys Carpenter fell in the last 16 to the eventual finalist Mike Walsh of York but Huw Carpenter, Brooks and Green all made it through to the semi finals as Cardiff dominated proceedings. Brooks would fall to Walsh leaving Huw Carpenter and Green to fight it out for a place in the final. A tense match ensued and Huw Carpenter, the number one seed for the event, pulled out a 30 point lead in the deciding frame but it wasn’t to be, as Green clawed

his way back into the frame and stole victory.

The final was a surprisingly scrappy affair and Green found himself two frames to one down but he mounted a comeback to win 3-2 and take the title. A gold and two bronzes was an excellent start to the medal haul for Cardiff.

Cardiff players also progressed in the Trophy singles with Rupert Taylor progressing to the quarter finals, with the help of a 37 break before falling to eventual winner Michael Bailey of York 2nds, while Luke Turford added another bronze medal for a run to the semi-finals that was ended by Lyam McDermott of Ulster 2nds.

In the team event both Cardiff teams were in the main draw of the top 20 teams. Cardiff 2nds were in group A and Cardiff 1sts were in a tough group D. Cardiff 1sts made a mockery of their tough group though, as they blitzed Imperial 1sts 10-0 in their opening game, before following it up with an 8-2 win over Ulster 1sts thanks to 2-0 wins for Brooks and both Carpenter brothers and 1-1 draws from Green and Ryan Thomas.

Another 10-0 win was secured over group whipping boys Manchester 2nds, before a showdown with last year’s beaten finalists

York 1sts was required to decide the group winner. Cardiff found themselves staring at defeat as despite a 2-0 win for Huw Carpenter, who made a 46 break, they found themselves 5-2 down after defeats for Brooks and Rhys Carpenter.

Thomas battled well to get a crucial frame off Walsh to make it 5-3 and with Green on last it quickly became 5-5 and Cardiff won the group on frames thanks to their impressive other results.

IMG comes to an end << Inside Cardiff 2nds started off strongly with a 7-3 defeat of Warwick 2nds.

There were 2-0 wins for Dan Peacey, Turford and Taylor who made a good 39 clearance. Dibs Penwarden also picked up a frame in a 1-1 draw.

Next up was an unusually weak Glasgow 1sts side, who were defeated 8-2. Peacey and Turford opened up with 1-1 draws before 2-0 wins for Taylor, Penwarden and Jon Hillard who made a break of 30.

Cardiff 2nds then caused a stir as they defeated defending champions Queens University Belfast 1sts by six frames to four. BUCS debutant Penwarden stole a 2-0 win on

a re-spot from snookers down in a match that proved the difference as Peacey, Taylor and Turford all drew 1-1 before Hillard sealed the win after also drawing 1-1.

Confidence was high as Cardiff set about their last match against Kent 1sts and another 6-4 win was recorded as Turford won 2-0 and the rest of the team picked up 1-1 draws. The result meant that Cardiff 2nds were the first second team ever to top their main draw group and they were the only team with a 100% record of four wins out of four. But as a second team they were only allowed into the Trophy knockout stages. It was here that the rails came tumbling off as Cardiff crashed out 6-2 to Ulster 1sts in the quarter finals with Peacey and Taylor picking up the frames.

The focus now switched back to Cardiff 1sts whose Championship quarter final was against Kent 1sts.

There were no slip ups here though, as Cardiff recorded a 6-2 victory thanks to 2-0 wins for Brooks and Green and 1-1 draws from the Carpenters, with Huw Carpenter making a break of 43. In the semi-finals Cardiff would face Southampton 1sts in a re-match of the Midlands Cup final. Cardiff won 6-2 to book a place in the final for the second time in three years thanks to 2-0

wins for Green, who made a 46 break, and Rhys Carpenter and 1-1 draws for Brooks and Thomas.

The final would see Cardiff take on York once again, this time over five best of three rubbers. Green quickly opened up a 1-0 lead for Cardiff as breaks of 58 and 46 helped him to a 2-0 win. York levelled things as Thomas fell 2-0 to Walsh. Brooks and Huw Carpenter were up next and were playing dangerous York players.

Both men were determined to win having been in the side that lost in the final to Warwick in 2009 and this showed, as Brooks battled back into his match to level it at 1-1, before finally falling on the colours of the deciding frame while Huw Carpenter produced a near-perfect frame to win his match after being pegged back to 1-1.

This left the tie poised at 2-2 with just Rhys Carpenter to play and he dominated the first frame. The second frame became scrappy though and the York player was able to sneak it, to send the whole tournament down to the last frame. This didn’t seem to affect Rhys Carpenter though as he produced some classy snooker to win the frame with ease and seal the title for Cardiff.

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