gair rhydd - Issue 957

gair rhydd Monday October 03 2011 | freeword – Est. 1972 | Issue 957

Sports 1 - 0 Societies Sports club income 2010 - 2011

18%

29%

2010 - 2011

Societies memberships sold

Matt Jones News Editor Cardiff students are getting more interested in sport, but interest in societies seems to be dropping, according to new figures from the Athletic Union and Societies Fayre.

Memberships to the AU increased by 10.5% from 2010, along with a 12.5% increase in the number of students joining clubs.

However, the Societies Fayre appeared to have been far less successful. The number of memberships sold at the fair dropped 18%, with the total income gained from mem-

bership fees falling by almost 12%.

The AU Fayre, along with the Societies and Healthcare Fayres, took place in the Great Hall of the Students’ Union over Freshers’ Week, giving students, at all stages of their degree, the opportunity to get involved with the non-academic side of university life. The events are some of the most important sources of advertisement for groups trying to encourage new members to join for the coming year.

The great success of the AU Fayre will mean sports clubs will be particularly pleased, enjoying a huge increase in income, after tak-

Politics analyse the Labour Party Conference page 12

ing £10,000 more than the previous year. This is in addition to an extra £1350 going to the Athletic Union.

But the results of the Societies Fayre are much more concerning.

The large decrease in memberships on last year’s number could represent a significant drop in interest. So why have societies suffered whilst the AU has made such gains?

The average price of joining a society has risen by 7.8%, although the price of joining a sports club has risen by almost double that, at 14.7%.

One reason could be introduction of a £4 charge to join the Guild

of Societies, which had previously been free to join. This new policy had been brought in with the aim of providing additional funding support for smaller societies that otherwise might struggle to continue to run.

Societies Officer, Harry Newman, appeared to subscribe to this explanation while taking a very positive view of the fayre, saying: “We’ve had a very good first week with new memberships to societies remaining largely the same as at the fayres last year, despite the introduction of the Guild of Societies membership fee.”

Science examines speed of light claims page 21

The figures also showed that of the students who joined a society, an average of 85.5% had joined two or more societies. Information is not yet available for a comparison with last year.

These figures may indicate that the introduction of the £4 Guild Fee has discouraged students from joining societies this year, raising concerns over potential low membership levels. However, Harry did add: “last year over two thirds of the total memberships to both AU Clubs and Societies were taken online, so we still have a lot to look forward to.”

Sport provide a guide to gyms in Cardiff

page 27

02News

gr EDITOR Oliver Smith

CO-ORDINATOR Elaine Morgan SUB-EDITORS Pippa Lewis James Dunn Yas Langley Chris Williams NEWS Sheri Hall Henry McMorrow Hannah Pendleton Matt Jones Laura Evans OPINION Izzy Voss Libby van den Bosch COLUMNIST POLITICS Luke Slade Sophie Gidley FEATURES Ellen Atkinson Ali Ishaq SCIENCE Jenny Lambourne SOCIETIES Isabelle Roberts

SPORT Jamie Evans Zac Cole Jonothan Frank CONTRIBUTORS Rosey Brown Ollie Coppins Gemma Basset Amy Louise Hill Mike McEwan George Jackson Elizabeth Button PROOFREADERS Sinead Morrison Chris Williams

-

pg. 4

News look into the massive costs associated with library fines

gairrhydd

Check out our new website at www.gairrhydd.com

Missed the Media Recruitment Party?

pg. 7

Opinion are arguing about the pros and cons of the X Factor

Don't worry! Our first contribution meeting is on Monday October 10 in the Aneurin Bevan Room (4th floor Union) 5pm.

Sudoku

EASY

Taf-Od Elliw Mair

sport. taf-od. societies. science. features. politics. opinion. news.

Monday October 03 2011

Don'ts of pg. 17 Features gives us the Do'sjoband applications

pg. 28

Sport take a look at how fringe sports are coming into the limelight

For the answer and more puzzles, head over to page 23

News 1-6

Monday October 03 2011

Opinion Politics Features Science Societies Listings 21 19 22 7 - 10 12 - 13 16 - 17

Sport 26 - 28

03

gairrhydd

The Twi-llionaire

Tweeting for Charity

Matt Jones News Editor

One Pussy, Two faces Hannah Pendleton News Editor

A cat with two faces is to enter the Guinness world records as the oldest two faced cat.

The cat, ‘Frank and Louie’ from Massachusetts has just celebrated his twelfth birthday.

Two faced cats are not expected to live past a few

days old and are referred to as ‘Janus cats’ after the Roman god of transitions, who conveniently enough, also has two faces.

Although the feline has two faces he remains just one cat. Frank and Louie‘s third eye doesn’t function and he has one brain.

Frank’s mouth does the eating whilst Louie’s nose does the twitching.

60 Second Interview.... exaggerating when I say that this has never been done before. I'm looking to get loads of societies involved in the day and we currently have over 30 bands performing throughout the day. It's so close to being ready now, just waiting for the big day to come!

So busy just getting things done!

I’ve just finished redecorating the Xpress studios, ready for Freshers.

Has to be The Arctic Monkeys in November, well excited.

I'm really excited and feeling confident that this year is going to be the best year yet for Xpress. I really want to raise the profile of Xpress and get our presence known around Cardiff.

Fun Factory, by far the best for live music! Make sure you venture out of the main room and into Buffers to see some of the latest bands in Cardiff.

Make your way over to to see the latest issue of the official magazine of the AU

It has got to be Xpresstival, I'm not

The week by tweets

His owner Marty stated: “The normal life expectancy is one to four days for cats with this condition.

“When he was first born, every day was a blessing.”

Frank and Louie will appear in the 2012 edition of the Guinness world records.

A Serbian beggar has come up with an inventive way of boosting his takings - pretending to be invisible.

Nemanja Petrovic became fed up with being ignored by the public and chose to make a stand, by putting his shoes and hat on the ground next to a hand-written sign reading ‘invisible beggar’.

When Mr Petrovic returned, the sign that was meant to mock the public for ignoring him was soon surrounded by passersby and his hat was filled with cash.

The 42-year-old said: “‘Now I just put down the sign, a pair of shoes as a prop and wait for the donations to roll in while I have a coffee over the road.”

Mr Petrovic is one of the many beggars around the world who have embraced their entrepreneurial skills, including the ‘bush man’ in San Fransisco who covers himself in leaves and scares pedestrians for money.

Launched.

An unemployed man from Cardiff has decided to take on the bookies, in an attempt to gain one million followers on Twitter by Christmas.

Dave Wright, who is 27, has bet William Hill £25 at 40/1 that he will reach a number until now only achieved by the likes of Oprah, Charlie Sheen and Kanye West on the social networking site. If he succeeds, he will win £1000, which he says he will donate to charity.

He said that the challenge was conceived when thinking of ways to make his CV stand out from the crowd. So far progress is relatively slow, with around 2000 followers to date, but with almost three months left there is still plenty of time.

Anyone wanting to help him along can find him on twitter at @dave_v_wh.

Sheri Hall News Editor

@Lunedb

@aledsavedlatin

@ MissCerysJones

Feeling far too old to go party with freshers this weekend, but someone needs to show them how it's d o n e. . . # s i g h

Wilted freshers everywhere. Shape up, kiddos. Cardiff is not for the faint of liver.

@SnoopDogg you're in cardiff ? come to talybont south!!! #freshers

04News

Monday October 03 2011

gairrhydd

Half a million owed in library fines

Sheri Hall News Editor Last year, Cardiff University charged its students half a million pounds in library fines but only managed to collect just over half of it.

Students of Cardiff were charged £503,863.94 in fines but only paid back £293,694.81.

Out of the total amount of library fines charged by universities in Wales, Cardiff came top of the list, accounting for over half. Furthermore, Cardiff charges more in fines than other universities such as UWIC and Swansea, with a minimum charge of 25p compared to an average fine of 20p per book per day.

Cardiff University’s Academic and University Affairs Officer, Sam Reid, said: “Our main concern is that it appears that students are holding onto their books for longer and accepting the fines because they feel that they won't be able to regain access to the material” Although collected fines do not reflect the amount charged, Cardiff University collected library fines three times the amount of Swansea University and nearly five times the amount of UWIC. Sam added: "We are looking at ways of providing more resources for students, such as putting more popular books or chapters online so they do not need to take out hard copies.

"It's something we need to look into and I will have more information about it after the next meet-

ing."

Questions may be asked about where the money collected is being spent after gair rhydd reported in Issue 939 that there was a 30% reduction in library expenditure in the years 2009/10.

The National Union of Students Wales, have declared interest in the issue and are asking that universities make clear how they are spending charges incurred by library fines.

NUS Wales is concerned that library fines may be subsidising

services that should be funded by universities.

Their president Luke Young commented: "Universities have generated hundreds of thousands of pounds in fines from students. I would ask for clarity on where this money is being spent."

Cardiff University student, Sophie Chamberlain, told gair rhydd: “I think it’s unfair that I have had to pay my library fines when looking at the figures, it is clear that a lot of students haven’t paid them back.”

A Cardiff University spokesper-

son told gair rhydd "The rate of fines is comparable to other Welsh universities; the difference is that Cardiff University students borrow 4 to 5 times more items than in any other Welsh university. There are more students, and we have more books available for students to borrow." Furthermore " We don't think that the basic fines are too high and there was very little feedback about the cost of fines in our recent student survey, which indicates to us that most users probably accept the reasons for charging fines and feel

that the fines which we charge are reasonable."

"Fines may be waived for a number of reasons. Fines are waived in full or in part at the discretion of staff if it is considered that there are extenuating circumstances (such as absence through sickness or a family illness). In some cases users leave the University without paying off their library fines, although we take steps to recover the debt through the Registry where we can. In cases of financial hardship we allow payment by instalments,

Protest group hijack Conservative Society's freshers fayre stall Henry McMorrow News Editor Students at the Socities Fayre witnessed disorder as a protest group occupied one societies stall.

The fayre, held on Tuesday September 27, saw a group, believed to be the South Wales Anarchists, occupy the Conservative Society stand. The occupation lasted for 15 minutes while the group used flags and mega phones to catch the attention of browsing students. Union security staff later removed the group.

Chairman of the Conservative society and third year politics student, Adam Johns, remained resolute, claiming that the incident “was a great bit of PR for us.”

He continued by saying that “We are actually quite proud to see muppets with gunk in their hair see us as important enough to occupy.”

Although targeting the Conserva-

tive Society Stand the group made it clear that their protest was motivated by a lack of representation at the event, as well as an attack on the political stall. Gail, who is believed to be a member of the South Wales Anarchists said: “Our views are generally unrepresented at these events, and we wanted to make our voices heard.”

Harry Newman, Societies Officer told gair rhydd: “It was a shame that some stalls missed out on passing foot flow while the disturbance was resolved. I'd like to thank Welcome Crew and those members of staff who helped encourage the protesters to leave quickly and peacefully.”

For a full list of societies visit the Students’ Union website at: http:// www.cardiffstudents.com/ where you can join online.

News 1-6

Monday October 03 2011

Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Listings 21 22 7 - 10 12 - 13 16 - 17 19

Sport 26 - 28

News05

gairrhydd

Laura Evans News Editor Health and safety concerns have been addressed after an incident occurred last week regarding the outside seating area of the Union’s newly developed Lounge.

On Monday September 26, three students climbed over railings and onto an open roof area of the Students’ Union in order to take a photograph. They accessed the rooftop from the decking area of The Lounge on the 3rd floor of the Union. Security was called immediately and the three were escorted out of the building.

This incident has created concerns about the safety of the new outside seating space and questions have been asked as to why it was such a major oversight that students could easily access an area, which could have potentially been fatal.

It is anticipated that a large amount of students will make use of The Lounge when it officially opens on …… so the situation has the potential to be dangerous once large numbers of students have access to the area. gair rhydd has previously reported on similar stories where students have climbed onto the rooftops. Some have fallen or jumped off, causing minor to serious injuries. Back in 2009, a UWIC student visiting Cardiff SU on a Saturday

Matt Jones News Editor Cardiff Police have warned students to remain extra vigilant over the coming weeks, after several burglaries on student houses occurred during freshers’ week.

Two burglaries took place, one in a property on Llantrisant Street and the other in the Aberdere Hall student residences on Corbett Road, both in the student area of Cardiff.

Several electrical items were taken, including two laptops, a camera and an iPod, along with a red suitcase.

night, ended up in hospital with two broken ribs after jumping off the Union roof.

With the £300,000 project due to officially open soon, questions regarding health and safety should hopefully be taken on board by the Student's Union and acted on swiftly.

Nick Matthew, Finance and Commercial Officer, responded to the incident stating: ‘The Lounge has been built and approved to controlled building standards. We have built a fantastic space for students to use, if one or two students decide to act recklessly by climbing over the barriers, then so be it. The only way we can truly guarantee that this will not happen in the future, is to shut the space down. We’re not going to let the actions of the minority ruin the space for the majority.”

Burglaries are traditionally more likely to occur during the first weeks of term, as thieves take advantage of the 42,000 students moving into properties around Cathays and Roath. Detective Inspector Shane Ahmed said “Unfortunately, the arrival of students provides rich pickings for criminals, who know that most students will have valuables such as laptops and iPods that can be easily carried and sold on.”

Around one fifth of all burglaries in Cardiff are committed in Cathays during the academic year and

in view of this, a police operation has been launched to attempt to prevent further thefts. ’Operation Saturn’, will involve increased police presence on the streets around the student area, employing both uniformed and plain-clothed patrols.

As part of the drive, the police are urging students not to underestimate the importance of home security. During last year’s operation, student wardens checking properties, found that over 100 doors had been left open, obviously making burglary a lot easier for potential thieves.

Speaking about the problem, DI Ahmed added "The vast majority of these burglaries are at insecure properties where doors and windows have been left open. While we continue to target known offenders and carry out patrols, everyone living in the area needs to follow basic crime prevention advice to prevent becoming victims of crime.”

The police have advised students who have newly moved into the area to perform basic security checks, such as ensuring that windows and doors are securely locked, and leaving valuables out of sight

of windows.

Students at the University will also be able to get advice from police about protecting their property.

Throughout October, the student liaison officer will be running weekly sessions, where students can have their bicycles security marked by the police. These sessions will run every Wednesday afternoon at the Julian Hodge building, from 12.00 until 4.00 pm. There will also be information about marking and registering electrical items to aid their recovery in the event of burglary.

"reducing it to a one year deferral is not reducing it enough...."

Matt Jones News Editor

The Student Union’s elected LGBT+ officer has said that recent changes to the ban on gay blood donation do not go far enough. This is in reference to the implementation of a one year deferral period between sexual contact between two men and their eligibility to give blood.

Up to now, there has been a blanket ban on blood donations from any man who had ever engaged in

sexual contact with another man.

This law was originally imposed in the early 1980s by the government in response to the HIV pandemic. The new legislation ruled by the government on September 8 2011, scraps this absolute ban and replaces it with an obligation of a one year period of celibacy between sexual contact and blood donation.

This is because, there is a period after infection, from some viruses including HIV and Hepatitis B, where

the virus is undetectable.

This decision has provoked controversy because it means that any sexually active gay man still cannot give blood, even if he has been in a monogamous relationship for a long period of time.

LGBT+ officer Kate Boddington said “The lifting of the blanket ban from gay and bisexual men giving blood is a step in the right direction, but reducing it to a one year deferral is not reducing it enough.

“While the deferral period can be justified, due to the impossibility of detecting some blood borne viruses for up to 1 year after transmission, only those who engage in unprotected or risky sexual activities should be made to wait. Men in committed relationships, or those who always practice safe sex are still unable to give blood - whereas other people who are more at risk due to their behaviour are still able to donate.”

The UK’s 12 month deferral period of celibacy compares to a six month period between donation and a change of sexual partner in Spain and four months in Italy. Both of these countries’ law applies to both homosexual and heterosexual relationships.

The new legislation will be implemented from November 7 2011. It is hoped that it will help to bolster UK blood reserves.

06News

Monday October 03 2011

gair

Cardiff commuters disgruntled over rise in parking charges

Henry McMorrow News Editor

Commuters to Cardiff ’s city centre were shocked to discover that parking prices in the city have risen by approximately 15 percent – from £3.50 to £4.00.

The hike in charges comes at a time when speculation around parking in the city centre is high.

It has been reputed that residents’ permits have been restricted to two per household – a figure much lower

Hannah Pendleton News Editor The Student Union's Aneurin Bevan room is currently undergoing changes that seek to maximise its function and make it more accomadating to the Union's array of dance and performance socities.

than before. Permits cost £5 for the first and £30 for the second, a third is available for visitors only. However, these changes are met with some trepidation, as many in the city have more than two vehicles per household.

Sam Evans, who commutes from Newport four days of the week, has calculated that her monthly parking cost will rise to £80, a charge which she thinks is too high, “£4 is extortionate… There used to be free parking on the streets but they’ve

put double yellow lines all over the place now, or it’s resident-only parking – most of which leaves a lot of streets empty all day.” Sam also mentioned that public transport was not currently reliable enough to get her to work.

Another motorist, Sophie Seymour raised concerns about short term parking, stating that the longest you can park for is two hours, before having to pay the full fee for ten hours.

Cardiff Council is trying to ad-

dress the issues relating to parking on Cardiff ’s congested streets. With parking in privately owned car parks at a much higher rate, there are arguments that the raised fees are fair, a theory which a Cardiff Council spokesperson endorsed stating, “The cost of £4 to park in the heart of the city centre for up to 10 hours still represents value for money for users and makes the council on-street facility one of the cheapest places to park in Cardiff city centre."

The Aneurin Bevan room is located on the fourth floor of the Students' Union and houses a variety of events, societies and meeetings each week throughout the academic year.

Installation of a wall of five mirrors will attract a number of dance and performance societies includ-

ing Breakdance, Pole dancing, Slash, Expression and Broadway.

Harry Newman, Socieities Officer stated, "Something that we've struggled with increasingly over the last few years has been accomadating dance societies in the Union. We've had positive feedback from five dance societies and the

Aneurin Bevan room will become the first multi-use room with dance provision in the Union."

The mirrored wall will be put in place by October 14 2011 and the room will be open for bookings in its new format soon after.

New Cardiff University mobile app

Hannah Pendleton News Editor Cardiff University has launched a new mobile application for students giving them access to a variety of functional features.

Over the course of freshers' week,the new app has been promoted heavily around campus.

The new app can be found on the Cardiff University website. It is accessed online and can be installed onto mobile home screens.

Created with the help of Boxuk. com, a Cardiff based company, the app enables students to navigate between several features. It contains maps in which students can locate specific University buildings and facilities. Spare PC’s can be tracked down with information that specifies exactly how many are available in each computer suite.

Users of the app can keep up to date with the latest Cardiff University videos and news that is organised into sections of staff news, student news, events, international news and more. From this, Cardiff and Student Union tweets can be accessed also.

Exam timetables alongside key dates in the academic calendar are available to view and users can even log on to their University email accounts. Students and staff can connect with librarians over live instant messaging in the ‘Ask a librarian’ feature.

Further improvements for the app are already in motion. By Christmas, there are aims for the app to become more personalised for each student. Individual weekly and examination timetables may be implemented, together with further library integration, including library book renewal.

To install the app, go to m.cardiff. ac.uk or visit the Cardiff University website to scan the QR code.

News Politics Feature Science Societies Listings 21 1 - 6 Opinion 12 - 13 16 - 17 19 22 7 - 10

Monday October 3 2011

Sport 26 - 28

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Opinion07

X Factor: You be the judge

Izzy Voss Opinion Editor

A

s the weather turns for the worse, daylight hours are reduced to around 30 minutes and the first round of essay deadlines are looming; the return of X Factor has become the ray of sunshine in my week.

The show has only improved with the introduction of the ‘NEW GENERATION’ of judges; lovely little chavvy Tulisa all dressed up to look like Cheryl, Beyoncé’s BFF Kelly Rowland and Mancunian beauty Gary Barlow. Oh and Louis is still here. Poor Louis. At least Simon isn’t here to bully him anymore.

Watching the show can be something of an emotional rollercoaster; from shedding a tear for 31-year-old Wayne from Grimsby who’s ‘doing it for his nan’ to being outraged at the disillusioned spinster who refuses to leave the stage after being told she has the singing abilities of a diseased cat. Either way, the X Factor is the epitome of guilty pleasure weekend viewing. Whilst the press has slated the show for exploiting more vulnerable auditionees (who can forget Ceri from Bridgend?), I imagine it was a very small proportion of viewers who actually turned the show off during those car-crash moments. Which reminds us again of the tense relationship that

“

X Factor is the epitome of guilty pleasure weekend viewing

we Brits have with trash television; whilst many like to take the moral high ground and publicly shun ‘all that nonsense’ in favour of Newsnight, they also have Made In Chelsea on series link.

Furthermore, the show has produced some serious recording artists. Admittedly some previous winners have not been catapulted into the spotlight in the way they had expected, (I’m fairly sure Steve Brookstein works in Boots near my house), but other contestants have excelled. The British pop scene would be a very different place today if the X Factor had never happened, and JLS would still be singing in their parents’ garages.

So this weekend, I will be unashamedly glued to the sofa, offering my thoughts and comments on who should or shouldn’t make the cut and singing along to yet another rendition of Someone Like You. It’s not cool and it’s not clever, but it’s incredibly entertaining.

Libby van den Bosch Opinion Editor

A

s yet another wave of X Factor hysteria hits Britain, there are a brave few that refuse to help line the pockets of Simon Cowell’s belly-button grazing trousers.

Whilst the X Factor undeniably reveals some real talent, it also takes advantage of vulnerable people, using their eccentricities and hopelessly inflated dreams to boost viewing figures. Invariably there will be one rather unkempt lady who arrives on stage in a floral cardigan, informing the nation of her dream to become the next Whitney Houston and her undying love for Louis Walsh. Tuneless shrieks elicit sympathetic wincing from the judges but they do not shy away from making brutal rejections, whilst tragic music swells in the background. Meanwhile, the audience howls with laughter at what is arguably nothing more than Jeremy Kyle with a backing track. However, in order to appear before the judges these poor unfortunates will have already made it through three previous auditions, making them think, not unreasonably, that they possess a genuine talent.

For others, celebrity is instantaneous; one

day the contestant is working at a supermarket in Burnley and the next they are being hounded by the paparazzi and having their pictures splashed across gossip magazines.

However, apart from for the fortunate few, even winning the show is no guarantee of long-term success (Joe McElderry anyone?). Once the record labels have made their money, they are dropped without a second thought. After that, they are doomed to a life of appearing alongside Bonnie Langford in second-rate pantos and hanging around Tesco in the desperate hope that somebody will recognise them.

Ultimately, there is only ever going to be one winner. Behind the scenes Simon Cowell continues to get smugger and richer (yet inexplicably unable to afford a hairdresser that doesn’t use garden shears).

In time, the British public may start to tire of the overused format of scripted histronics.

However, their appetite seems to show no sign of waning, meaning that for the foreseeable future, we must be expected to root for tangoed hopefuls and endure the weekly sight of Gary Barlow’s smug face and perpetually raised eyebrow.

08Opinion

Monday October 3 2011

gair

The planet is still here and it still needs saving Rosey Brown Opinion Writer

T

he environment seems to be a subject most people are tired of hearing about, but it should not be disregarded as old news. Global warming, overflowing landfill sites, the world’s soonto-be-gone oil supplies... the media use these inconvenient truths for scare-mongering, before moving onto inane ‘breaking stories’ such as Sachsgate and the Tiger Woods scandal. News stories are designed to grab the reader’s attention, often using emotive language and bold headlines, but we soon forget about them, as the media provides us with newer, more exciting reports.

This sensationalism is not a good approach to dealing with climate change – it isn’t a shock story, it’s a problem which is gradually worsening over time.

The fact is, humankind have done little to combat climate change or reduce the tireless consumption of finite resources. We hear all the time about measures being taken by the government and various companies. Tesco, for example, are quick to tell us they care for the environment with their “Bag for Life”, which helps in “reducing the amount of bags [they] give away”.

They are happy to pat themselves publically on the back, but fail to mention all the times they’ve effectively stabbed mother nature in the face. The cut flowers you can

buy in Tesco are mostly imported and come with a massive carbon footprint, and the palm oil in their Value foods is most likely grown in plantations, where ancient rainforests once stood, now sacrificed for easy profit. These small measures companies take are all for show – the big problems aren’t dealt with because it would take too long, and eat into the all-important profit margins.

These problems are all so large

scale that it seems impossible for the individual to take any meaningful action and make a difference to the world. There is a way to change things though. As an individual, your money is your vote. If more people bought locally sourced (and thus with less environmental impact) produce, stores would recognise what their customers want and stock more of it, at a cheaper price.

There are examples of this having worked before; nowadays most

people buy free range eggs, and accordingly supermarkets don’t stock as many eggs from factory farms.

With enough awareness, and the breaking of a few bad habits, we can all do our bit to support ethical, environmentally friendly produce, and the shops will eventually get the idea.

It’s not just the way we shop that needs to change; universities themselves have the potential to do a lot of environmental dam-

age. In the 2005/6 year, Cardiff University’s carbon footprint came to over 45,000 tonnes. Since then, the university has taken measures to reduce this, becoming the first Welsh university to achieve the Carbon Trust standard. But is it enough? This year Cardiff came eighth from bottom on People and Planets Green League table ,which assesses the steps a university has taken to become more environmentally friendly. Cardiff failed to use exclusively free range eggs, source any of its water from grey or rain water resources, or implement initiatives to improve the energy saving behaviour of students in halls of residence, to name just a few of its shortcomings.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to implement so many changes at once. We as students can do our bit by turning off lights when we don’t need them, sharing appliances such as toasters and kettles, cycling instead of driving . . . you know the stuff.

Realistically, our whole lifestyle needs to be altered to reflect dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and use energy supplies that are freely available - wind and solar energy in particular. The most important thing is that we speak up and make it known to our universities and our MPs that we care about this issue. Because we should. Scary as it is to think, we’re heading towards being the next generation of 'responsible adults'; it’d be nice if the world didn’t disintegrate while we were living in it.

Mercenary Tevez up to his old tricks

Ollie Coppins Opinion Writer

Roberto Mancini has declared that Carlos Tevez will never play for Manchester City again, following what proved to be a tumultuous night of Champions League football. This outburst occurred when Tevez refused to come off the substitute’s bench and play for his team during a disappointing 2-0 loss to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich. The question now remains, is Roberto Mancini right to be so swift in his dismissal of Tevez?

In a word, yes. Many critics have leapt to the defence of Roberto Mancini’s decision, such as ex-Newcastle and Blackburn manager, Graeme Souness, who told Sky Sports directly after the incident that Tevez ‘epitomises what is wrong with modern footballers.’

As well as widespread condemnation from industry professionals, we can see clearly from Mr. Tevez’s past indiscretions that he is not a man to be trusted.

Having played for five professional clubs in ten years as a professional footballer, a picture starts to form when we consider that other than Argentinian club Boca Juniors, Tevez has been unable to

commit to any side for longer than two years, and is now leaving a club in ‘severely controversial circumstances’ for the fourth consecutive time.

In his defence, Tevez has come out to deny any wrongdoing in the matter, yet the idea that Roberto Mancini would knowingly create such turmoil surrounding his own squad without being 100% certain of the facts is not conceivable. Indeed, faith must be placed in Mancini, who must now be considered an old hand at managing prima donnas, with the likes of Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic having both played under him.

Lastly, in an already large squad which is attempting to establish itself as one of the world’s greatest, any potential threat to the team chemistry must be dealt with seriously. This imperative is only intensified when the source of potential disharmony is coming from a former captain.

So, whilst the player undoubtedly remains one of the most gifted to currently play the game, it is for the wellbeing and progression of the team that Roberto Mancini must separate both Carlos Tevez and Manchester City at any cost.

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S

o, by the time you gaze at this article, we will be deep in the bowels of the Rugby World Cupone of sport's pleasingly less soul degrading marquee events. It's been all the more amiable for the singular lack of dick-waving chutzpah and self-aggrandising pomposity that permeates its brothers such as the Olympics and Football's four-yearly self-congratulatory masturbation loop which, thank God, is still three years away. There’s a committed playfulness to the competition that Football would be blind to try and imitate; the matches have been generally excellent and played in good spirit and watching Wales has been as usual a dichotomised mindfuckveering from world beating to the Chaplin-esque melancholic comedy of their usual clumsy attempts at try scoring.

Compare two random players that I definitely haven’t arbitrarily picked because of the Orange hue of their skin – Gavin Henson and Cristiano Ronaldo. One, currently doing his best to be the most hilariously sweet and Welshest man alive on his Bachelor show, the other the tangerine embodiment of everything wrong with modern Football.

Henson is easy enough to laugh at, but Ronaldo makes my soul shrivel.

He’s a sort of a man, kind of, who manages to make virtues such as skill and finesse seem so dirty, that now I find it impossible in my head

to comprehend that his talent was ever genetically separate from his implicit dickishness. If Michael Bay gets bored of making technoporn out of children’s cartoons, he could always film the story of how the inhumanly talented Ronaldo began life as a self-generated dickfart of the autonomous, 2001-esque Sky Sports monolith in space, sent to various parts of the universe to sabotage any sense of joy in sport.

However, lest us not judge the perma-tanned android, as he is merely an extension of a system he does not understand. The beauty. The tragedy.

Anyway, I’m kinda frothing at the mouth without making my intended point, aka a Lynx advert which has been on during the Rugby World Cup, one which, even for their knuckle dragging standards was spectacularly out of tone with both the spirit of the Rugby being played, irking me twofold. Now, one can humbly swallow the occasional accidental glance of the ingrained sexism of football of an occasion.

You become expectedly immune to it if you are unfortunate enough as I am to actually like Football genuinely. So onto the ad itself - a veritable smorgasbord of casual misogyny as it was. Simply, the ad begins with a husky, 1960s throwback ‘ruggers’ commentator eruditely beginning to read out the rules of Rugby.

Soon, the depressing nature of the ‘body’ of the advert hits you like a slimy fish falling ploddingly down

Monday October 03 2011

your cheek. It features scantily clad women dressed in the colours of New Zealand and Australia, (so determined are the Lynx research team to adhere to the general ardour and fundamentals of rugby) who variously tackle, pass and do all the vital manoeveurs, such as the scrum, the lineout, and the slowly-move-the-pants-rising-upyour-crotch. We all remember Jonny Wilkinson nailing that one against the Aussies in 2003.

Call me a square from the past, or the advert a bit of harmless fun if you must but I don’t seem to remember getting the memo where it was decreed that any attempt at feminism was now unneeded. Is it that now, in the future, the objectification of women is fine, as we’re completely and utterly over that awkward ‘being sexist’ thing people 60 years ago were so bloody attached to. The idiots. It’s not just that the ladies are submitted to a voyeuristic camera which would’ve made Hitchcock’s jowls wibble in disgust. Rather, it’s the at arms length, knowing tone that bothered me, the suggestion that as long as Lynx make it patently obvious that they are aware of their own sexism it's A-Ok. By making it clear to the viewer that this was nothing, nothing to do with rugby, Lynx seem to be implying a degree of self-awareness - that as long as we know we are huge wankers, it's okay. Well that rule doesn't apply when you've pissed yourself, does it?

It’s the casual tone with which the whole thing is done which made me disillusioned. While the actual content is something seen everywhere and easier to dismiss, the fact that Lynx treat the gawping at women as some kind of in-joke is indicative of a new attitude toward women, which is equally depressing as the Page 3 street of journalism.

Lynx adverts seem to be made by men whose idea of women has been fostered exclusively on a diet of Nuts, FHM and the pungent waft of Lynx itself. Obviously, it exists in a weird teenage fantasy realm which is kind of harmless, but now more men seem to grow up culturally engaged with feminity in a completely ironised way, self-deludedly thinking that they are being hi-larious.

Admittedly, Lynx are certainly wanking toward the converted.

And, if they want to continue their adolescent circle jerk, who are we to deny them their right to it. Alas, in mass culture, this attitude is becoming pervasive, from the low culture of Lynx even to supposedly rule breaking comedy such as Frankie Boyle, the foregrounding of controversial views on women is fucking depressing. Watching these things off hand, it is comfortable being convinced that the postmodern structuring makes us aware of the sexism/racism suggested within the piece, therefore hi-di-hi, we’re

gairrhydd

all the cleverer for the experience.

This however, is far from the case. While Lynx is almost admirable for its bare faced cheek in colluding with the watching public to suggest that hey, we all know we look at the tiddies, so that makes it okay, Frankie Boyle is someone who can’t seem to see the forest for the misogynistic trees he climbs for comic effect. Much the same is Al Murray, the pub landlord, the audience of whom has been beautifully described by Stewart Lee as "Missing the point, grinning through bared teeth, like the dogs they are."Alas, while Lynx's adverts are not horribly distasteful toward women, they are the sole preserve of a band of man-children who nonetheless completely ignore women other than as faux-ironic butt's of jokes.

As the comedian Simon Munnery wisely said - "If the audience is behind you, you’re facing the wrong way," and Lynx's ad was hugely and vainly presumptious that its audience would be as thoroughly stupid as itself. Maybe it is demanding and foolish to want more from male brands, than to speak to their market - but it's something which is fostering a generation of men whose most vaulting ambitions seem to be handily listed in the 'stuff' section of FHM. LG.

Time to win

Santander is relocating its branch at the Cardiff University and to celebrate this, the bank will be giving away hundreds of prizes.

Leaflets will be handed out across campus on 5, 6 and 7 October.

Santander UK plc. Registered Office: 2 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London NW1 3AN, United Kingdom. Registered Number 2294747. Registered in England. www.santander.co.uk Telephone 0870 607 6000. Calls may be recorded or monitored. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority except in respect of its consumer credit products for which Santander UK plc is licensed and regulated by the Office of Fair Trading. FSA registration number 106054. Santander and the flame logo are registered trademarks. LCOM 6148 SEP 11 T

Labour conference

12 Liverpool 2011

Monday October 3 2011

gair

From tuition fee U-turn to high-risk speech Luke Slade Political Editor

T

he Labour conference began almost as a timid evasion at a time when the left should be able to win us all over.

Yes there is an economic crisis, but there is also a quiet crisis in politics. It appears to be crying out for reinvigoration, which will only come with real palpable change.

Unfortunately¢ real change is often feared just as much as it is wanted.

That said, Labour’s leader, Ed Miliband, gave a speech last Tuesday that appeared anything but timid. Miliband has promised to do away with the “fast buck” capitalism mindset in probably the most radical analysis of Britain’s needs by a Labour leader for quite some time. He presented himself as the man needed, who is “willing to break the consensus rather than succumb to it.”

Perhaps most interesting for us as students, is this proposed £6,000 tuition fee pledge. It would see the cap cut by a third, but it has come under fire and generated slight confusion.

It is still not clear whether or not the Labour party would support a graduate tax at the next general election. The National Union of Students agreed with the coalition when it comes to a graduate tax having little or no benefit to poorer students.

This has caused his being accused of a U-turn since he opposed the rise in fees last year. David Willetts, the universities minister, said: “Ed Miliband has now accepted that tuition fees should be doubled to £6,000 a year. He has consistently supported a graduate tax and Labour MPs were whipped to vote against higher fees last year. This monumental U-turn is evidence of weak leadership.”

But this is perhaps slightly unfair. It could be argued that the La-

bour leader is trying to claw-back the ‘normality’ of the tuition fees.

He said, “If we can do more by the time of the election [in 2015], we will,” he said on The Andrew Marr Show. “But this is the first step.”

It would be naïve to think that if Labour won the next general election they could simply revert back to the old fees, it would take time.

Labour sources have insisted there should be no confusion about Miliband’s commitment to endorsing a graduate tax, regarded by the Labour leader as being fairer.

John Denham, the shadow business secretary, said: “What we wanted to do was to show there is an alternative available to this government now, that would cap fees – [it] would mean that universities would get all the money they have been expecting to get under the new system.

“We are proposing a more progressive payment system because we are saying there should be lower

Enticing cut could benefit only the rich Although a cut from £9,000 to £6,000 in the tuition fee cap sounds good, it could be counter productive in terms of benefiting the poorer.

It is still not known whether graduates will have lower monthly repayments. It appears that they will stay the same.

Also, there will be no benefit to the lowest-earning graduates because their entire outstanding debt is written off after 30 years, irrespective of its size. Therefore, the new proposal actually appears to jeopardise the funding of universities without reducing the monthly repayments paid by graduates.

It appears that, relative to current government policy, it is the

highest paid graduates that benefit most, since they are the group who pay off the whole debt which will be cut.

fees. But the direction of travel, we have always said, should be towards a graduate tax … [which] could only take place over a period of time.”

Miliband said: “Britain's problems stemmed from the way we have chosen to run our country, not just for a year or so, but for decades.” New Labour “had brought good times, but this did not mean we had a good economic system. We changed the fabric of our country, but we did not do enough to change the values of our country.”

Accusing David Cameron’s government of being the last attempt of an old system, he intimated the country was not looking for a ‘big society’ concept but crying out for a society in which the hard-working grafters are rewarded and the closed circles at the top are broken up. He promised to regulate and tax companies according to whether firms invested for the long term, rather than for the “fast buck,” recruiting apprentices and not simply

taking away assets.

He was startled when part of the audience cheered when he told them he was not Tony Blair, a reaction that left some former cabinet members miserable. However, his awkward delivery appears to undermine his attempts to push his prime ministerial qualities Some of his new policy angles were: government contracts only given to firms that hire apprentices, support for employees on company remunerations boards, a break-up of energy companies and a commitment to allocate social housing ac-

“

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cording to behaviour, not just need.

But we were left wanting, when he described how he would regulate to reward what he described as 'good companies' such as Rolls Royce, as opposed to the predators such as the private care home chain Southern Cross.

He said his decision to attack Rupert Murdoch over phone hacking had taught him to be true to himself and his values. He said: “The lesson I have learnt most closely in the past year, is that you have got to be willing to break the consensus, not succumb to it.”

“I am my own man,” was his emblem statement.

Although Miliband refuses to present himself as against his own party, it is a breath of fresh air that he is able to challenge traditional Labour on the deficit, welfare and aspects of the Thatcher settlement.

He said at the start of his speech, that his party had lost the electorate’s trust on the economy and said many of the cuts will not be reversed.

He also said that if the deficit was not eliminated in this parliament, a Labour government would finish the task. He was "determined to prove the next Labour government will only spend what it can afford."

But as part of the new bargain that requires responsibility at the top and at the bottom, he also said welfare cheats would have to be tackled.

Lady Warsi, the Conservative party co-chairman, commenting on the speech said: “What we heard was a weak leader, telling his party what it wanted to hear. He's moved Labour away from the centre ground and come up with no solutions to the something-for-nothing culture that he helped Labour create.

“All he promised was more of the same spending, borrowing and debt that got us into this mess in the first place.”

Feature Science Societies Listings News Opinion 21 19 1-6 7 - 10 Politics 16 - 17 22 12 - 13

Monday October 3 2011

Sport 26 - 28

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Politics13

Conflict over Palestine's UN bid

Political Editor Sophie Gidley examines the contentious issues around Palestine's recent bid to join the UN

P

alestine’s recent bid to join the United Nations has brought the international community into conflict amid frenzied lobbying for and against the proposal.

Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, put forward the appeal to the United Nations Security Council on September 24, which if successful, will make Palestine the 194th member.

Although the Council and UN Security-General, Ban Ki-moon, have followed normal procedures and taken the first steps to consider the request for UN membership there is little unanimity among the existing member states as to whether the Palestinian application should be granted.

It is a move which Tony Blair, the international community’s Middle East representative, described as “deeply confrontational” as Israeli troops still occupy Palestinian territory.

The move has been condemned by many nations in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is still on going and centres on conflict between the Jewish and Arab populations.

Other contentious issues centre on security, borders, refugees and control of Jerusalem, which have often resulted in intense levels of violence. Many Palestinians believe that Israel is not interested in a negotiated settlement but merely wants to keep control of the entire territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

In a speech in New York, Mr

Abbas said it was the “moment of truth” for Palestine and statehood was long overdue. “The time has come for the Palestinian spring, the time for independence. The time has come for men, women and children to have normal lives. For them to be able to sleep without fear of what the next day will bring.” A Palestinian state would comprise the West Bank, the Gaza strip and East Jerusalem.

Currently, nations including Russia and China are fully supportive of Palestine’s proposal and said that they will vote in favour of its UN bid.

However, with the risk of renewed violence in the Middle East, some international powers argue that both sides must end their oneyear-old freeze on direct talks and reach negotiations before Palestine should acquire statehood. In reality however, diplomats hold out little hope that Mr Abbas or Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would allow talks any time soon. Although Mr Abbas, riding a wave of popular support in the occupied territories, says he is ready for talks if there is "complete halt" to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories. Israel's Netanyahu has said he wants talks without conditions and is refusing to halt the new settlements.

Mr Blair is desperate to find a way of getting the two sides to talk again. He said, “You can pass whatever resolution you like at the United Nations or the Security Council, it doesn’t actually deliver you a state on the ground in the West Bank or Gaza.”

Despite Mr Blair’s optimism, other nations are far more sceptical. The United States was one of the first nations to fiercely claim that it will veto any resolution in favour of Palestine.

Tensions were also high between France and Britain as Prime Minister, David Cameron, failed to support Nicholas Sarkozy's plan to give the Palestinians enhanced status at the United Nations. Although there have been ‘debates’ at the top of British government, Mr Cameron has yet to give a hard-line verdict.

French diplomats fear Mr Cameron is yielding to US pressure after he

“

appeared sympathetic to US arguments.

It is evident that a unanimous decision does not look likely at the moment. If a veto is used by any of the permanent members, the UN Security Council would be unable to recommend admission to the General Assembly.

It seems that if the fate of Palestine, and in turn Israel, cannot be negotiated between themselves, then it will be determined by the will of the original five UN members states.

Kirsty Williams on drug rehabilitation Luke Slade Political Editor

W

elsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Kirsty Williams AM, has attacked the Labour Government’s approach to drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.

Answers from the Local Government and Communities Minister reveal that the government’s approach to rehabilitation is in disarray and is failing to help those that need help the most.

From the stats that have been released, it is clear that the government will need to act if Wales is going to combat the use and distribution of drugs.

“

Communities across Wales are feeling the social and economic impact of those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction yet the government does not take the issue seriously.

“

“The cost of Class A drug use in Wales is estimated to be £780m a year and drug related crime accounts for 90% of this. Yet out of the 28,736 people referred for help by their doctor, the government provides just 12,674 places for treatment.

“The government does not even

know how long people are waiting to get help as they fail to compile waiting lists. This paints a dire picture for those people who want to get help for their issues.

that the money spent on rehabilitation service is reaching as many people as possible and is allowing them to overcome their addiction issues.

“In the first quarter of this year we saw that 2 out of 3 people who had access to rehabilitation services drop out before attending their first treatment.

“Giving patients the help and support they need to complete their treatment must be a priority.

“The Governments own substance misuse strategy acknowledges that substance misuse is damaging to individuals, their families and the wider community.

“The Labour Government must start tackling the issue of drug and alcohol addiction for the benefit of all involved. We must make sure

”

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Features

16

Monday October 3 2011

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Do You Have The Time?

Features Editor Ali Ishaq takes on the very fabric of Time in this abstract piece...

Hello All. Today we talk about Time. It is a wonderful and a terrible thing.

Always in continuous motion, without regard to any spatial factors.

So when I prop up my elbows on the table and stare at the computer screen after every sentence I write, Time goes on.

If there was an iTunes visualization of time, it would probably be smoke. Moving in a pattern that is anything but sequential, but still a pattern. Never ceasing to waft through the black pixel laced surface.

You know what I think? I think Time is underrated. We fail to realise what it does for us. You leave people in bitterness and in disdain and you come back to them after months have turned into years and you just can’t begin to hate them as you always wished you would. It’s as if, through the passage of time

much of emotion has eluded you.

Like the governess said, it is a good thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. It gives you space to think. Time gives you space to think. And then, even if you don’t want to, you find yourself thrust headlong into your very own well of thoughts.

“

So that’s the beauty of it. It brings you to a dead-end, a full stop. And then, a new turn, a new sentence.

An Alice falling through her very own rabbit hole. Somewhere in that fall, you come to a conclusion that you never fully realise but one that you perceive as having always been there. As if that was the way it always was. That was how it started and that is how it’s supposed to end. The Trick of Time. It has not cheated you out of anything. Makes you think that you made your own space in your own time. It reminds you that it has never been about Time, it has always been about you.

Particularly crafty, this thing called Time. Deceptive, I have to say. Like someone looking at the back of your head and always turning away when you look back. But always there, all the same. You did not come here to read this. But now that you have arrived at this point, I urge you to look at your clocks.

For Time did not stop for you when you deviated from your line

of thought, it went on. Ominous, silent tick-tock, stopping for no one dictating your state of mind.

“

Ominous, silent tick-tock stopping for no one dictating your state of mind.

It can be pretty terrible when it wants to be like that, though. Remember when you were enraged, distraught and eclipsed by all the things that you thought you would never face? When Anger becomes a way of life, a mode of living?

Facing black holes and not revela-

tions? Take it from me, Time does not make any of this better. On the contrary, it constantly reminds you of your bleak surroundings.

Enshrouds your eyes with veils of doubt and uncertainty. The damn thing practically stops when you need it to go on the most. That’s the thing. It does not stop. All the while, in all your sadness and grief and boo-hoo-ness, it has been going on, in your state of mind, creeping.

For how else will it lead you to the spectre of change that you are oh-so willing to embrace? How else than without passing?

So that’s the beauty of it. It brings you to a dead-end, a full stop. And then, a new turn, a new sentence.

In its delusory nature, it transcends all this emotion and thought that we go through.

Oh my, would you look at the time, I think I’m running late.

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News Opinion Politics Science Societies Listings 21 1-6 7 - 10 12 - 13 Feature 19 22 16 - 17

Monday October 3 2011

Sport 26 - 28

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Features17

Welcome to the World of Work Ellen Atkinson Features Editor

L

The Do's and Don'ts of job applications

et’s be honest, university is a pretty nice ride. Yes there are lectures, seminars, coursework and exam stress, but it’s nothing compared to the 9 – 5 daily grind.

But sooner or later we all need to start thinking about jobs, internships or work experience of some sort, so for this Features issue, we take a look at the Do’s and Don’ts of the application process.

As an applicant there are likely to be many different stages, tests and hoops you have to jump through until you finally get that coveted job.

And that’s before you have to actually start work! The first challenge normally comes in the form of a CV. Your CV could essentially act as a passport to that first paycheque, so it’s worth investing some time and effort to make sure you get it right.

And whilst this is definitely not the ideal economic climate to be out there looking for a job, a strong CV can set you apart from the competition.

CVs Do first, your personal and contact details shouldn’t require too much heavy thinking

get your head around CV writing, and essentially there isn’t really any other occasion where you’re required to go on about how brilliant and skilled you are for a page or two. For the modest amongst you this can be strange, and it’s tempting to downplay your achievements.

But don’t! in fact, do the opposite and really focus on your positive attributes

a punchy verb, such as “organised meetings... led a team… created new ideas. Cardiff University careers consultant suggests: “verbs in the past tense mean you get straight to the point you are wishing to make and keep your CV concise.” sition you are applying for. Cardiff University careers consultant suggests that you should “ideally tailor your CV to the job you’re applying for to ensure that it’s reflecting the skills and abilities the job is actually going to require from you.”

for the job then you don’t need fancy fonts, charts, pictures and colours to attract a potential employer

formed you are, the more prepared you will be for the interview. And knowing your facts and figures will show a genuine interest and dedication to their organisation

claims about your abilities unless you can back them up with evidence. Make sure you have thought about which examples you can use before you go in, so you’re not left umming and ahhing during the interview

may be able to help you with your interview technique, or you may be able to find some generic interview questions online and test yourself.

Friends and family are always useful for mock interviews, and may be able to give you feedback about how you came across and what you could improve upon. You’re also likely to feel less nervous about the real thing if you’ve had some practice beforehand

are a lot of different CV formats which are definitely worth researching more thoroughly. Some will work better for those with a lot of previous experience, whereas others can be useful to highlight your skills and academic achievements

the only thing in your life that you do manage to organise. Studies show that a recruitment manager spends an average of 10-15 seconds to decide whether to reject a CV or put it into the shortlist. So the key information needs to stand out, and it needs to be well formatted

have more to write than you think.

Even if you haven’t had very much previous job experience, you can use the life experiences you have had to highlight your transferable skills. Think back to anything and everything you have done which demonstrate the qualities that will tick employers’ boxes

Don’t work experience. Add a touch of personality by telling them a bit about some of your other hobbies and interests

focus on the points you are trying to make and how they show that you are the best candidate for the job

asked to. In most cases, just your name is enough ways get a second opinion from a careers consultant, a parent or a friend, or preferably all three! They may be able to give you constructive criticism and also double check your spelling and grammar so you don’t lose out on a job due to a minor error prentice’ candidates ferociously berated for lying on their CV, and if you are lucky enough to be called for an interview, and you’ve written that you speak fluent French or you’re an expert at kung fu then you may well be caught out too

skills. Maybe you’re a computer whizz, or have experience of working with children. Anything extra that you think may boost your CV is often worth putting in

try and keep it short and to the point. Use bullet points and short sentences tential employers take references very seriously and if you choose them carefully then it can work to your advantage. And whilst it’s tempting to use a family friend because they will undoubtedly say nice things about you, it may not give the professional impression you want to convey

Interviews Put yourself in your employer's shoes. They have no doubt received hundreds of CV’s and it’s their job to sift through and find the best ones. On average employers can receive between 100-300 CV’s for each position advertised.

From this, only 10 people on average are shortlisted for interviews. A CV is your chance to make sure that you are one of those people.

Now interviews are a whole different ball game. You’re no longer relying upon a piece of paper to represent you, which can work to your advantage, but also means there are now a lot more things to think about. Although an interview is probably the most nerve-wracking aspect of the selection process, by this point you’ve got through the CV check and can start to feel slightly more confident about your chances of succeeding.

Do According to some researchers, 92% of communication takes place nonverbally, meaning that you should think about how you come across to employers, your posture, stance, facial expressions and tone of voice are all important

smile, speak slowly and clearly and give eye contact. All of this can covey openness and confidence and creates a great first impression

the top, unless you are specifically position, everything! The better in

tions. You will often get a few obscure questions which don’t seem to relate to the job at all but test how well you can think on your feet, and are presumably somehow designed to reveal your personality to the interviewer

Don’t

trait which employers value and being late will not lead to a good first impression. Make sure you set your alarm (or several alarms if you’re a heavy sleeper) and leave yourself plenty of time to get there. Being early also means you won’t arrive feeling stressed and will be in a better mindset to go into the interview.

your watch, yawn. It sounds trivial, but all of these things can give the interviewer a bad first impression and undo all the hard work you put into getting this far

ways told not to judge a book by it’s cover, that appearances don’t matter, but interviews are a possible exception. A candidate that is presentable and dressed appropriately is far more likely to impress. When you’re invited to an interview you are often told how you will be expected to dress, so make sure you stick to it

fore the interview make sure you have re-read the CV you submitted so you can answer any questions your employer may have

Societies Listings News Opinion Politics Feature 21 1-6 7 - 10 12 - 13 16 - 17 Science 22 19

Monday October 03 2011

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Sport 26 - 28

Science19

Breaking the law...?

Jenny Lambourne examines scientists' claims of beating the universe's speed limit and its consequences

I

f true, it may prove to be the most significant scientific discovery of the century.

New findings by scientists in Switzerland have reported that they have found sub atomic particles that can travel faster than the speed of light. And the realm of physics has been in uproar since.

A report published by the CERN laboratory, home of the Hadron Collider, appears to show results of sub atomic particles travelling faster than the “cosmic constant” of the universe’s speed limit.

The experiment dubbed OPERA (Oscillation Project with EmulsiontRacking Apparatus), involved the sending of sub atomic particles called neutrinos through the earth from the CERN laboratory in Geneva to an underground laboratory in Gran Sasso, Italy across a distance of 730km.

The scientists at CERN sent muon neutrinos from their Swiss laboratory and recorded the time it took for their arrival at the Italian INFN laboratory in the form of tau neutrinos. If Einstein’s theory is correct, the neutrinos could not have exceeded the speed of light which is measured at 299,792,458 metres per second, roughly 700 million miles per hour.

“

Before you dig out your copy of Back to the Future and start looking wistfully at your Ford Fiesta, this is speculation, but these results are calling for extraordinary thinking outside of what we think we know.

According to the CERN results, the neutrinos travelled at 60 nanoseconds faster than the speed of light. Perhaps this seems small yet when you think that in one nanosecond, a beam of light can travel about one foot, it is incredible to consider these neutrinos covering 60 feet in the same time.

In the simplest of terms, according to what we think we know, this should not be possible.

Einstein’s theory of special relativity is based upon the understanding that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light and his theory is one of the foundations of the Standard Model of physics.

If you follow the theory of relativity, as you approach the speed of light time slows, you get heavier and also flatter. But if you can go faster than the speed of light then the stuff of so many movies and comic books occurs: time goes backwards. Cause and effect are no longer solidified. Einstein’s theories are based upon the fact that this

is impossible and yet the findings from the Swiss laboratory seem to be suggesting that they don’t match this thinking.

As a result, CERN have cautiously published their findings having rerun the experiment a further 16,000 times or so over the course of two years. Having found no errors in their data, they are turning to the rest of the scientific world to prove them wrong and put Einstein’s theories back into their place as a cornerstone of modern physics.

Antonio Ereditato, author of the CERN’s report, said they wanted to “find a mistake – trivial mistakes, more complicated mistakes or nasty effects - and we didn’t.

“When you don't find anything, then you say ‘well, now I'm forced to go out and ask the community to scrutinise this’.”

Understandably, these revelations are going to take some time to investigate. One team who will be particularly interested in doing so will be that involved in the Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) in Minnesota that published similar findings in 2007. At the time, there was much less confidence and criticism arose concerning the detector’s position. Four years later and the CERN team are offering up similar results.

At the same time, however, these results go against other existing measurements. In 1987, a supernova in the Large Magellanic Cloud occured. A detector in Japan picked up measurements of neutrinos from the explosion several hours before the light was detected.

Whilst this does not verify that the neutrinos travel faster than light, it does suggest that neutrinos were released first. If the CERN experiments were correct, this suggests that the neutrinos should have been detected years, rather than hours, before the light was detected.

Physicists across the world have already stepped forward to voice their caution on the current findings. Prof Jim Al-Khalili, professor of physics at Surrey University has said CERN are right to be wary about their findings and declared that he would eat his underwear on live television.

But what if - and it is a large ‘if ’, an undeniably scary ‘if ’ – they cannot disprove or find error with the results?

New theories would be needed to explain these results and with these, would come the need to rerun, recalculate and rewrite experiments, theories and textbooks.

Whole concepts of the entire universe will have to be taken back to the drawing board.

If E=mc2 where a tiny amount of mass m can create large amount of energy E because of the fact that

299,792,458 metres per second ...the speed of light

60 nanoseconds

Time difference between speed of light and neutrinos

the speed of light c squared is such a ridiculous number, then we have the basis of cosmology, of nuclear physics, of the majority of modern physics. If c is found to be in question, all of this and more will need to be reassessed.

It’s enough to get Sheldon Cooper’s Batman boxers in a twist.

The possibilities are staggering. Most predominantly, perhaps, is that of further dimensions and stretch as far as time travel. Einstein’s theory would remain intact, for instance, if we grant the possibility of more dimensions and it is here string theorists are watching the developments closely.

“Let's say you go from London to Sydney - you fly around the Earth. The other way to do it is to go through digging a big tunnel straight through the Earth, and that's the shortcut,” explained Prof Brian Cox, who has previously worked for CERN. “In some ways extra dimensions can behave like that and ... the neutrinos could be taking a shortcut through another dimension.”

Before you dig out your copy of Back to the Future and start looking wistfully at your Ford Fiesta, this is speculation, but these results are calling for extraordinary thinking outside of what we think we know.

Dr Ereditato and his team are in the unique position of inviting anyone to disprove their findings before having to consider the implications. “My dream would be that another, independent experiment finds the same thing - then I would be relieved," he said.

“We are not claiming things, we want just to be helped by the community in understanding our crazy result - because it is crazy.”

If these results are not disproved, “crazy” doesn’t even come close. But what is vital here is that this is very much a work in progress. CERN has cautiously published their findings, held a seminar to discuss their paper and invited others within their field to help explain their results.

They have been professional and rightly wary of their results, opening up their work for debate and criticism.

And bringing such a debate into the public domain can only be a good thing.

0.0024 seconds

Time taken by neutrinos to cover 730km

CERN paper available at: http://static.arxiv.orgpdf/1109.4897.pdf

Straight talking from KPMG.

Graduate Programmes All degree disciplines

We close for applications once we are full. To secure a place at KPMG, be sure to apply early. To find out more head straight to: www.kpmg.co.uk/careers

© 2011 KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative, a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks or trademarks of KPMG International.

No bull.

Listings News Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies 18 22 1-6 7 - 10 12 - 13 16 - 17 21

Monday October 03 2011

Sport 26 - 28

gair

Societies21

The Societies Fayre

Isabelle Roberts Societies Editor

Wild Wilderness

Fayre Frenzy The societies fayre was, undoubtedly, a huge success in terms of numbers. Students streamed in all day without pause or rest while the welcome crew and other staff kept everything flowing impressively and there was no end to the enthusiasm of the society committee members who manned the stalls.

Both the Art Society and the Broadway Dance Society concurred that they were having a lot more sign-ups than in previous years, with the Broadway Dance Society particularly pleased about the amount of men signing up. Alexandra Zens, from the New Cooking Society, was "pleased with how popular" the new society was turning out to be and said that the fayre had allowed them to intermingle with other societies – and that the Northern Society had suggested they combine to create a pie-cooking event together!

Towards the end of the day there was a significant difference between tired third years like Creative Writing Society executive Emma Jarrett, who found the day "hot, busy and exhausting"; while freshers like Rebecca Smith said "there are far more societies that I thought there would be" and said the day was "good fun". However, she had not realised that the sports fayre was another day entirely!

The Pole Dancing Society displayed their acrobatics to an amassed crowd while the Xpress Dinosaur roamed the Great Hall. Societies demanded email addresses (at last count the Media stand had 332 sign ups) and offered out tempting food and the dates of socials. Overall, another successful societies fayre which will hopefully create the new society leaders of the future and mean a lot of fun this year.

To feature an event or article, please email soci eties@gairrhydd.com

One of the societies at the societies fayre this year was WEMS. But what did they do last year? This summer, 12 members of the WEMS society (Wilderness Expedition Medical Society) went trekking in the Atlas Mountains and climbed the highest mountain in North Africa, Mount Toubkal, the summit of which is 4167 metres high. The primary purpose of the trip was to experience a "wilderness medicine" environment. Wilderness medicine is the practice of medicine where definitive care is more than one hour away, and often days to weeks away. The president of the society, Louise Channon, said the experience taught her "teamwork, knowledge of medical complaints and their proper management, outdoor skills and the opportunity to learn about Berber culture".

The members of the society who went on the trip stayed in a riad (a traditional Moroccan house that is built around an internal garden). The adventure – or, in my opinion, what seems to have been a torturous ordeal – involved lots of stale bread and sardines, a lot of vomiting and an appreciation for Western toilet facilities. Catharine Pearce, a member of the trip, has written a lively diary entry about the trip which is soon to be posted on the society’s website. In the diary she describes a visit to Lake Ifni as "apparently a major tourist attraction in Morocco. I don’t know if ‘major tourist attraction’ is 12 Cardiff Medical Students and one Moroccan child but there were four identical well-stocked shops so who was I to argue."

Upon reaching the summit of Mount Toubkal, Catharine found out the path they had taken to get there was only attempted by "expert French mountaineers. It was quite literally a hands-and-knees crawl".

If this seems like your kind of adventure then more information can be found on http:// groups.cardiffstudents.com/wems/about/

Mon 03 October

Media Recuitment Party Sign up in Solus from 7pm on

Mon 03 October

RAG Pub Crawl 8pm onwards

Meet in Loungue of SU

Tue 04 October

RawSoc Social - board games

Royal Oak Pub on Broadway

Wed 05 October

City of Cardiff Concert Band 6.30pm Cathays Methodist Church

Wed 05 October

STAR - training session SU

Thur 06 October

Broadway Dance - Social Buffalo Bar

Fri 07 October

Slash Hip Hop Dance Taster Session

Thursday 13th October

Follow @GairRhyddSoc for the latest news and info on future articles.

Sports & Exercise Medical Society 6.30pm New Lecture Theatre (Heath)

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

22

Listings

Monday October 03 2011

gairrhydd

3rd on late into the

XPRESSTIVAL LITTLE C

S

Fun Factory is an absolute institution

Hosted by Scott Mills, get out your old school rags and come all dressed up for this epic night!

RUSSELL J ONES RUSTY SHAC KLE STOKES, W

ALBATROSS

ILLIAM

ARCHIVE HORIZON

GAZ BROO KFIELD ALEX SEDG MOND

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Pints From £1.49

THREE PA

IRS OF SH

THIS MODER N YOUTH CUT RIBBON S SHARKS DON 'T SLEEP HULLABAL OO

JOHNNY CAG E& THE VOODOO GROOVE

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5

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OMETS

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OES

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/ £6

CYNT TRAFFIC BACKROOM THE CAULFIELD THREATMAN

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TICS

FAO VINYL VENDE CARDIFF CITY

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NON-STU DENTS £1.99 Dou OCTOBER ble JD & Coke 2PM IFF UNIVE 2AM RS ITY STUD R ENTS UN ION www.xpressra VAL! dio.co.uk

SOLUS, CA RD

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r e h Ot s to e c a l p try!

Friday

IV Lounge, Neuadd Meirionydd, Ifor Bach, 11 Womanby Street

closure and more!

News Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Listings 21 7 - 10 22 1-6 12 - 13 16 - 17 19

Monday October 03 2011

Sport 26 - 28

gairrhydd

sudoku.

INTERMEDIATE

CHALLENGING

Change the word at the top of the ladder into the word at the bottom, using only the four rungs in between. On each rung, you must put a valid word that is identical to the word above it, apart from a one-letter change. There are a few ways of doing this!

GREEN

word wheel.

How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at the centre of the wheel, can you make from this diagram? We've found 20, including one nine-letter word. Can you do better?

SEED

A GRASS

L

GROW

word ladder.

INTERMEDIATE

I E S

E L

T T CHALLENGING

answers.

EASY

Puzzles23

-satellite -tallies -tallest -stella -settle -elites -allies -lattes -tails -taste -steel -stilt -tease

-least -lease -sleet -eats -isle -ease -east -slit -lies -salt -seal -sea -see

word wheel.

Green > greed > treed > trees > tress > cress > crass >Grass Seed > sled > slew > slow > glow > Grow

word ladder.

Sport

26

Monday October 3 2011

gairrhydd sport@gairrhydd.com

Cardiff BUCS Netball look for a strong start to season Our netballers look to build on momentum from a strong previous season.

Gemma Basset Sports Writer

C

ardiff Uni Netball Club is one of the Athletic Union’s strongest and most competitive clubs, boasting over 50 members in 5 BUCS teams and an extremely successful 2010/11 season.

With the help of a newly appointed club coach, the 1st team held onto their place in the premier division whilst the 2nds, 4ths and 5ths narrowly missed out on promotion.

The Cardiff netball varsity squad dominated in the annual clash against Swansea, winning 57-35 and what's more the team had 2 players chosen for the Welsh Universities’ team competing in Ireland.

Last season also saw a lot going on, both on and off-court. A couple of the girls represented the club in the Cardiff Half marathon, with a loud support group helping to run a water station for the day. Many of our girls also ‘lost’ their kit in a naked calendar, which raised nearly £1000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

But what can we expect to see from the club this year? Having lost

many of last year’s players to placement years and graduation, the club is relying on trials; held on Saturday the 1st, to bring some quality new players, especially circle defenders and shooters.

Nonetheless with matches starting on the 19th October, the 1sts and 2nds are already back at Talybont Sports centre for some tough pre-season training, which saw the arrival (and return from injury) of some mid-court talent. The 3rds, 4ths and 5ths are also back in the swing of things training hard to ensure all the club’s teams are ready for their first fixtures.

“

Last season saw a lot going on, on and off court.

Club training is set to be as challenging as ever, last year Friday morning sessions were introduced for the 1sts and 2nds and these look to stay firmly in place to make sure we get some good results this year.

Gary Fish, our own personal mascot and Mr. Motivator will still be running fitness on Monday evenings, to ensure players are being stretched to their full ability.

The 1st team have some tough matches this season (Bath, Brunel,

Exeter, Gloucestershire, UWIC) their first match is at home against Exeter. The 2nds are in tier two of the league with matches against Bristol 2nds, UWE Hartpury, Glamorgan, UWIC 3rds and 4ths. Their opening match should be an easy start to the season against UWIC 4ths.

The 3rd team are in tier three, playing Cardiff medics, Gloucestershire 2nds and 3rds, Swansea 2nds, UW Newport. Last season our 3rds drew with now promoted UWIC 4’s, so it looks promising that this year will see them move up into tier 2.

The 4ths and 5ths are both in tier 4 of the competition, after a contentious finish to last season where 4ths beat 5ths in one of their last matches preventing 5ths promotion. Both teams have matches against Aberystwyth 1sts and 2nds, Bristol 4ths and Glamorgan 2nds.

However, the 4ths meet the 5ths in a season opening clash on the 19th of October, certainly a match not to be missed.

The 2011/12 season looks set to be a successful one for the Cardiff netball ladies. By building on high quality performances from last season and already showing determination through their gruelling training regime expect to see great things from this years netball club.

Jonathan Frank writes from experience to highlight the best things about IMG football.

I

t was a wet and windy Cardiff afternoon on the back of a glorious win for SOCSI football. I was unceremoniously handed over the smelly kit bag containing a withered old net, some empty cans of deep heat, rusty tent pegs and the stop watch which is lumbered on the unfortunate sole forced to referee. I knew captaining an IMG team was going to be an interesting experience.

I still recall turning up as a timid fresher to my first day of IMG training and nervously passing a ball between a group who I knew little about, shivering from the wind and the rain. Since then, IMG football has been central to my university experience and has shaped much of my social life. This is particularly the case in my first year, when it provided an outlet for those few days when halls and hangovers all seemed a bit too much.

When asked about IMG football by prospective players I try to emphasise the great team ethic that I feel that is at the heart of all the teams competing. It is difficult for me to recruit players from my faculty as it is largely female but nevertheless we seem to have amassed a squad through word of mouth to friends of friends and sometimes even wider. My firm belief is that is due to the positive and relaxed nature of IMG Football.

“

An outlet from Halls and hangovers.

We have regular Friday night sessions at the Talybont 3G football pitches where for a ninety minutes we can pretend we are bit a better than we actually are. However I’m sure that it is a mutual feeling

amongst all teams that the buzz of excitement created when a nice passage of passing comes together or a great goal is scored cannot be topped. IMG Football may be an alternative to the high standard of a university team but it certainly doesn’t mean you will not develop as a player on the pitch.

As a Captain there a few minor administrative details, which I’m sure, are burdens for all those in charge of an IMG team. However what is especially rewarding is the relationship I have been able to build with our local team sponsor of a nearby pub who provide us with a starting point to all of our memorable socials.

To anyone interested in sport this year that isn’t keen on the formality a university team, I would firstly recommend making use of the wide variety of opportunities the university provides. However if football is your passion then the IMG league will fulfil your competitive needs and provide you with a long lasting group of friends.

If you are intterested in playing in IMG. Look out for advertisments in your buildings.

News Opinion Politics Feature Science Societies Listings 21 1-6 7 - 10 12 - 13 16 - 17 19 22

Monday October 3 2011

Sport 26 - 28

gairrhydd

Sport27

Cardiff Rowers enjoy a productive summer Amy Louise Hill sums up Cardiff Rowers summer

C

ardiff University rowing club had an extremely successful season on both the national and international circuit this summer.

At Henley Women’s regatta, Nel Castle-Smith, a Cardiff University Rower competing for the Welsh Rowing Squad, raced in senior single sculls. She came in eighth, eventually being knocked out in the second round by the overall winner, this was a phenomenal achievement for a novice sculler in her first season.

The team had two coxed fours in the intermediate academic division.

Both Cardiff crews qualified on the Friday morning. After a superb effort. The first four (Sarah Davies (cox), Jessica Wood, Helen Roberts, Rebecca Girling, Cari Davies), made it through their heat and into the Saturday races, where they put up a gallant fight against Osiris B crew, but sadly lost by half a length.

The second four, (Emily Evans, Sarah Goodison, Laura Dentith, Alex Tennant, Francesca Hinds) were

Follow @GairRhyddSport for the latest sport and info on future articles.

knocked out in the afternoon by Osiris C. Nonetheless, there were good results for both crews.

The season may have finished for many, but for some, the competition was heating up. At the British Rowing National Championships in Nottingham, the university had athletes in two coxed fours. Peter Robinson and Joshua Holmes rowed in the four which represented Wales and faced stiff competition in their first heat. They narrowly missed qualifying for the final by quarter of a length to Leander Club but advanced to the repechage as the fastest non-qualifiers.

Here they were to come up against the other university rowers - Matthew Hetherington, Ryan Price, Tom Allen, Chris Morris and James Magee. The race saw the Welsh team take an initial lead, only to be overtaken in the final 750m by a Bath crew they’d previously beaten in the first heat by half a length. Despite putting in a strong effort, the Cardiff University crew finished fourth, beating the Armed Services and Aberdeen

crews convincingly.

The Championships also saw Joshua Bugajski and Gregory Smith, new to the club and Welsh Rowing, take Bronze in the U23 Men’s doubles.

The Welsh four was then selected to represent Wales at the Home Internationals Regatta held on Strathclyde Loch, Scotland, coming second in the coxed four, beating both the Irish and Scottish crews, and third in the coxless fours beating the Irish team.

Peter Robinson also represented Wales in the men’s eight, which came second in an exciting finish to the season with only bow balls between all four crews as they crossed the finish line. Overall, the Welsh team finished in second place losing out to the English by 5 points.

Well done to all our athletes.

The rowing club continues to grow stronger each year with excellent squads for both total beginners and experienced rowers.

To join the rowing club e-mail president@cardiffuniversityrowing.com

A students guide to Gyms in Cardiff Mike McEwan takes a look at Cardiff's Gyms from a student's perspective.

Y

ou flock there to shed the pounds; to gear one’s body to their chosen sport; to have an hour in your own company or perhaps to simply reach the fabled target of ‘the burn’. Over the coming year a high contingent of Cardiff University students will find themselves donning the lycra or equally tight materials to wreak havoc in their local gymnasiums. Whether these visits become fleeting or frequent your choice of gym is key.

Amongst Cardiff University students both the Cardiff University Gymnasiums, Park Place and the recently refurbished Talybont sport centre are popular choices. Incentives include the relatively inexpensive costs for students, with sole use of the gym for the year costing only a mere £150. Also the sport centre offers a range of exercise classes;

£150 Annual membership for Cardiff Uni gym

Ultimate Fitness Centre Cardiff: http://www.ufcc.eu/

which span the ingenious Zumba dance workout to the more gruelling boxing circuits.

With the clientele comprising mostly of students, it should be matters of visits until the stranger who groans on the chest press or the perspiration-drenched girl on the treadmill emerge as irreplaceable workout partners. The equipment is highly functional, modern and user-friendly. Although on both sites the emphasis appears to be on cardiovascular machines with the free-weight sections somewhat undersized and persistently overcrowded. Resultantly, at peak times the virtue of patience and employing a varied routine are prerequisites if your exercise is to be gratifying.

Another leading candidate in the race to administer your daily dose of strenuous exercise is Dave’s Gym, on Cottrell Road, Roath. With

an abundant free-weight section and multiple weight machines primed for those endeavouring to expand the chest, bolster the biceps it is a favourite locale for the burgeoning talents of the Cardiff University Rugby team.

Despite a deficiency in running machines, facilities do include a dojo, punchbags and floor mats which should state your cardio cravings. The student deals are highly reasonable and the staff approachable. They are willing to review your performance and inject the expertise to rejuvenate your workout. Free trial visit are readily available which would be advisable to use as some may find the blaring rock music oppressive as opposed to inspirational.

Finally, another worthy option is that of The Ultimate Fitness Centre located in the heart of Roath. As a result of the plentiful resistance

equipment and ample cardiovascular machinery, the centre is ideal for any budding fighters. The gym is extensively equipped with a boxing ring, multiple bags and a plethora of classes ranging from Thai Boxing to M.M.A. Students need not be daunted by the local vibe. The gym manages to cultivate a warm, communal ambience. This is instilled by the two entertaining and gregarious exkickboxing champions that manage the centre.

With sound research and investigation, a gym in Cardiff which matches your criteria and keeps you at ease is simple to find. Just adhere to the maxims of hard work, dedication, excessive sweating, and the pain will be a rewarding experience.

Sport

Why IMG football is the best thing. << Inside

Fringe sports push for centre stage

How the American Football team and other smaller clubs are bringing success to sport at Cardiff University.

George Jackson Sports Writer

T

he Freshers’ Fayre is the perfect place to look to see the great variety of sport on offer at Cardiff University, however this year there was a team that appeared to stand out above the rest amongst the stalls of the great hall; it was the Cardiff Cobras, the University’s American Football team, who turned out in force to promote their sport amongst the Freshers.

Typically viewed as a fringe sport American Football has been steadily gaining popularity in the UK and the British University American Football League (BUAFL) can now boast an impressive 45 teams that compete the length and breadth of the country-and that number is only set to rise.

The Cobras have done well in recent years, with three undefeated seasons at home, undefeated at varsity, 14 time winners of the welsh bowl and now national plate champions they appear to be riding a wave of success to ever new and greater heights. BUAFL certainly think so, naming them their number one choice to retain the National plate again this year.

With this winning record the Cobras have made a large impact on students this year and appear to be enjoying more popularity than has been previously afforded them; certainly the current AU president was backed by the Cobras last year and will be continuing to play for them in the future.

“

Typically a fringe sport American Football is gaining popularity in the UK

What does this mean for the students of Cardiff University though?

Well the main message is that it is entirely possible for traditionally small or fringe clubs to make a large impact on the sports scene here at Cardiff. A message echoed by the fact that there are over 55 sports teams available for students to join with more being started each year.

An example of this is Alex Bradley, who was successful in starting his archery club from scratch at the Sports Fayre with only his own hard work to count upon.

Students should definitely make the most of the opportunities currently afforded to them, it’s the start of the year, the workload hasn’t become overwhelming yet and there are literally hundreds if not thousands of keen people ready to jump in and get involved in sport.

University is one of the only chances you will get to experience such a rich variety with so many likeminded people that it may just be that the friends you make there will stick with you for life. It doesn’t matter what year you are in; there has almost certainly never been a better time to try a new sport at Cardiff. With so many fringe clubs now gaining popularity; American Football, Fencing, Korfball and Ultimate Frisbee could soon be set to add a lot more members to their books and this can only mean a richer, more rounded university experience for everyone involved.

The Cobras have used hard work and determination to earn themselves respect on the national circuit and this in turn transitioned into greater recognition from the University and the Student body.

If they can achieve success against high odds on such a massive scale then they are truly the model for any up and coming sports clubs to follow. The timing is perfect for students to get adventurous, so what are you waiting for? Get onto campus groups and sign up to something fun before the opportunity slips away.

IMG Netball Elizabeth Button Sports Writer

C

Facebook: Cardiff Cobras 2011/12 E-mail: Cardiffcobras@ hotmail.com Above: Cobras player gets his head in the game.

Below: Cardiff Cobras after win.

oming to university is an amazing chance for everyone to try out new hobbies and sports, and get involved with the amazing array of extracurricular activities Cardiff has on offer.

Whilst the university's sports teams are highly successful and popular, for those of us who want to play sport at a more recreational level, the IMG netball league is perfect.

IMG netball involves teams from most of the schools in the university playing each other in weekly matches within an annual league.

It is a great opportunity to play netball on a recreational level with regular training and brilliant team socials.

Most schools within the university will have a weekly IMG netball club running. IMG netball welcomes any ability and players are welcome to simply attend training to improve fitness and basic skills. The weekly matches offer the chance for more competitive players to play in high standard matches which are umpired by qualified referees. As well as being a good way to improve your netball skills, IMG sport in general is a fantastic way to meet new people and get to know your course mates. Participating in IMG netball allows you to get involved with a cheap extracurricular activity that is social and healthy.

If you would like to get involved with your school's IMG netball club, have a look for their Facebook group, or join the general IMG sports Facebook group; alternatively most schools will be promoting their netball club within the first week of lectures, listen out for lecture shout outs or look out for posters! IMG netball is a really sociable fun way of playing recreational netball with a chance for competitive matches, and is open to any ability and level of experience.

Cardiff Gym Guide << Page 27

Rowing Club's Summer << Page 26