HSU ElECTiON SPECiAl!
MEET THE CANDiDATES FOr THE NEXT uNiON EXEC!
The
Heythrop Students’ Union Volume 1 Issue 8 Wednesday 23rd March theheythroplion.co.uk
4, 5, 6, 7
lion
Psychology Could Face Cut at College • Proposal put forward to cut Psychology from College • HSU President blames Government not College • Motion put forward at HSU AGM for student reaction James Johnston HSU President On 17th of march the following email was sent from John mcDade sJ to Psychology students, and I passed it on to all other students a day later. “In the current economic climate the College, along with all other university institutions, is reviewing its financial position and the implications for its activities. One area under consideration is the future of the Psychology joint undergraduate programmes of BA Psychology and Philosophy and BA Theology and Psychology. It is possible that the College may end recruitment to these programmes from September 2011. The proposal is under consultation and proposals will go to the Academic Board meeting on 6 April 2011. We wish to reassure all of you studying Advertisement
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on these programmes that your provision will remain until you have completed your studies. Also, arrangements to support/’ you to achieve British Psychological Society membership through Masters level study will remain in place. As Principal I invite you to an open meeting with myself, the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, the Psychology Programmes Convenor and the Heythrop Students’ Union President to discuss this possible development on Friday 25 March at 1.30 pm in the Brinkman room. “ Continued on P3>
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Candidate Drops Out Over Alleged Bullying Alex Hackett News Editor second year undergraduate Duy Hoang has left the race to be the next Vice President for Development in the Heythrop students’ Union Election, after comments were made on his facebook group. Complaints have been sent to the returning officer that the comments were racially motivated as well as being homophobic in nature homophobic.
Duy states on the group that “After Careful Consideration, I’ve decided to pull out of the Election Campaign. I’m sorry if this group has caused any inconvenience”. Some of the most controversial comments came from Ex-President of the HSU and Heythrop Alumnus John Underwood, who said of Mr Hoang’s campaign that “I will personally return to Heythrop, burn the HSU constitution and physically assault the bust of Freddie Copleston in the library if this travesty is allowed to occur”. Other comments refer to the fact the Duy ran
for the same position last time and was unsuccessful stating a lack of knowledge of the role as the primary reason for his defeat. HSU returning Officer Ben Lund-Conlon issued a statement on behalf of the HSU Executive Condemning the comments. The statement reads “The Heythrop Students’ Union (HSU) would like to express their vehement condemnation of the rude, ignorant and excessively personal abuse that has been suffered by some candidates in this year’s election. Such personal attacks are not in the spirit of the HSU or Heythrop
College and we deem them grossly inappropriate and entirely unwarranted. The HSU is particularly appalled at such alleged comments when they are of a racist or homophobic nature; this is wholly and utterly unacceptable. The HSU wholeheartedly supports every candidate in their decision to stand for election and we are dismayed that any candidate feels the need to step down from the election due to bullying.” In response to the statement, Mr Underwood has defended the comments, Continued P3>
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
NEWS
Heythrop Student Elected ULU Trustee Abduttayyeb Hassanali has been elected as a University of London Union Trustee
Thank You to all those who represented The Lion at the First Annual LSJSN Awards
theheythroplion.co.uk twitter.com/theheythroplion facebook.com/theheythroplion youtube.com/theheythroplion flickr.com/photos/theheythroplion
Gala Jackson-Coombs Editor
Gala Jackonpc
Please recycle your lion at one of the many recycle bins around College
Abduttayyeb Hassanali, a 2nd year undergraduate student at Heythrop College, has won a seat as an University of London (ULU) trustee in the ULU elections held earlier this month. Abs has previously held the post in his
first year, after winning a by-election. ULU student trustees are a non-sabbatical but elected role, which help financially govern ULU. They aid the sabbatical officers in achieving as much as they can, while being fiscally responsible. Abs will begin his duties as trustee in the next academic year. Unfortunately, Alex Hackett, Editor-in-Chief of The Lion lost his
The Co-Creator and Editor-in-Chief Alex Hackett alex@theheythroplion.co.uk
News Editor Alex Hackett news@theheythroplion.co.uk
Co-Creator and Editor Gala Jackson-Coombs gala@theheythroplion.co.uk
Features Editor Josh Ferguson features@theheythroplion.co.uk
Editor Katie Plumb katie@theheythroplion.co.uk
Comment Editor Gala Jackson-Coombs comment@theheythroplion.co.uk
The Lion is the independent student newspaper of Heythrop College, University of London. We distribute at least 1000 free copies during term time around campus and to popular student venues in and around Kensington. The Lion is published by HackJack Ltd. and printed by Mortons Print Ltd. All Copyright is the exclusive property of HackJack Ltd. No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or submitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Culture Editor John Arthur Craven Ord culture@theheythroplion.co.uk Sport and Societies Editor Katie Plumb sportsoc@theheythroplion.co.uk
election to become editor of The London Student, the ULU newspaper. In a statement to all students, Abs said: “Thank you to those who have supported Alex and me for our ULU elections – we could not have gone through it all without your support. I speak on behalf of the two of us when I say that it has been a fair, open and competitive campaign.”
Editorial Team
NEXT DEADLINE FOR sUBmIssIONs
07.04.11
Please send your submissions to: submit@theheythroplion.co.uk The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editors or of the Heythrop Students’ Union. Every effort has been made to contact the holders of copyright for any material used in this issue, and to ensure the accuracy of this fortnight’s stories. © HackJack Ltd. 2010, 639 Nell Gwynn House, Sloane Ave, Kensington, London SW3 3BE Pages 1 -8 - Designed by Alex Hackett Pages 9 -16 - Designed by Gala Jackson-Coombs
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WEDNESDAY 23rd March | THE LION
NEWS HSU President “Wholeheartedly against” Psyc. Cuts
HSU Vice President Resigns Vice President for Campaigns Philip Woods Resigns Over RAG Week
James Johnston President
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stating to the Lion that “it was my misfortune to be more or less the only person who dared express a public opinion on Duy’s candidacy rather than confine myself to the College’s signature hobbies of discreet bitching and JCR character assassination.” John also goes on to comment on the letter from the Returning Officer, calling it “One exceptionally pompous, presumptuous and badly-written HSU statement”
Firstly, the most important thing to take from this is that this is a decision that the College feel forced into making. The people responsible, and the people to get angry at are the Government, as this is a very clear warning of how education cuts might hit home in a very unpleasant way.
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There will be a motion going to our AGM on Tuesday, and mass student consultation on what students think about possible cuts to psychology. If you want to help please do get in touch as this will be a very considerable job. I am particularly interested in talking to Psychology students, and I really do urge all who take Psychology to come to the meeting on the 25th, if you have benefitted from Psychology at Heythrop now is definitely the time to say so!
To Vote on this at the HSU Annual General Meeting as well as to hear more information about this topic, please come to The Lounge at 1;30 on Tuesday 29th March. Futher developments will also be emailed to your college account
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Gala Jackson-Coombs Editor
The former Vice President Campaigns, Phillip Woods, who is currently studying for a Masters in Philosophy and Religion, tendered his immediate resignation to the Heythrop Students’ Union Executive Committee on the 11th March. This was received amidst controversy over who was to blame for the failure of RaG week, when it failed to raise more than £40, an embarrassing figure after last year’s total of over £800. The HSU Executive felt strongly that the responsibility of RaG week was that of Mr. Woods in his capacity as Campaigns officer. However, Mr. Woods did not agree this to be the case. The HSU Executive has recently accepted Mr. Woods’ resignation, and has sent out a statement to him, stressing their disappointment in his resignation. In a final statement to students, Mr. Woods explained: “After much consideration and with a heavy heart, I decided that this was the best available course of action given the Exec’s strong differences in opinion regarding RaG Week. It seems like such
a ridiculous thing to resign over, but I felt that I otherwise risked compromising myself.” “It has been an honour to serve on the HSU Exec, in arguably the most political role; at a time when students (not least of all, the students of Heythrop) have, to say the very least, not been so politically engaged and aware for over twenty years. It has been wonderful serving alongside Sabbatical President, James Johnston, for whom I have tremendous respect. I am also immensely proud of the contribution paid by the Welfare Team (Rebbecca FitzGerald and John Ord) in making the HSU a force to be reckoned with within the college. Last but by no means least; I would like to thank the Mature & Postgraduate Students’ Officer, Julia Middleton, for her kindness and support over these last few weeks.” Mr. Woods also goes on to say that the role of Campaigns within the HSU is far from over: “I hope to see as many of you as possible at the pivotal demonstration against cuts on the 26th. Furthermore, there has been discussion that fees set by the college may rise to £8,000. Such a rise is categorically unacceptable, as poorer
students will be discouraged from applying and middle-income graduates will be marginalised; it is a myth that fees are the only means by which the college can ‘wipe their face’, as there are other means of revenue like renting the buildings and gardens for private use. In this make-or-break time for Higher Education, the HSU must stand firm against cuts and increasing fees, without compromise. The college, under financial pressure from the government, is now talking about scrapping psychology, but the students of Heythrop cannot stand by and let this happen.” “In my manifesto, I spoke of eschatological reserve and asked you to challenge me constantly, so I am most grateful to those of you who have button-holed me from time to time. Please continue to challenge the governance of the HSU to make sure that we really are a student union, not a student unction.” “My resignation as a student union officer will enable me to devote more time to student politics. I wish my successor the best of luck.” Mr. Woods will be joining the Heythrop contingent on the UCU endorsed protest against funding cuts to education, taking place on the 26th March.
It was my misfortune to be more or less the only person who dared express a public opinion ...rather than confine myself to...discreet bitching and JCR character assassination.
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I should make my personal position clear; although I understand the reasons behind the proposed psychology cuts, I am wholeheartedly against them. Our Psychology department is a credit to our college in more ways than I could describe here, and I know so many people, graduates and undergraduates who have taken so much from it. That being said, the nature of my position means that I will act in the way that best represents student feeling on campus, and rest assured I will be seeking an opinion from all of you on this subject.
I want to go into the Academic Board meeting on the 6th of April with a clear picture of what you think and what you want. You elected me to stand up for you and to fight your corner, its what I’ve been doing tirelessly all year, and by now I’m pretty good at it. Email me, phone me or come to the office, just please get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you all.
Alex Hackett News Editor
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>Continued from P1
The HSU have a fantastic relationship with the College, and I want to work with them to look at the financial situation, possible alternatives and to get a sense of the full picture. That being said, part of the reason that we exist is to tell the College things that you want them to hear, and to act in a way that best communicates what you think or what you want to get across. Bear in mind that if we’re not doing that, we’re not doing our jobs.
VPD Candidate Duy Hoang quits over Facebook Comments
John Underwood
Mr Lund-Conlon has also replied to John’s remarks on the HSU’s statement explaining that “I am sorry if John felt that he was implicated in the reference to the alleged racist and homophobic abuse; this was by no means intended and I know personally that he would never dream of holding such opinions, never mind committing them to print.”
Mr Hoang has refused to comment on the situation and will not be re-standing for the position, making Jasmin Khosah the only candidate for vice president for development in the HSU elections. To contact the Returning Officer about anything to do with the Heythrop Students’ Union Elections, email ben.lund-conlon@heythropcollege.ac.uk
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
NEWS
ELECTION CANDIDATES VOTING CLOSES FrIDAY 25th MArCH VISIT YOUr COLLEGE EMAIL TO VOTE
PrESiDENT Wilf Horsfall
Heythrop College needs a bar. A student union’s purpose is to provide a mouth-piece to the students it represents. It shouldn’t see agreement with the faculty as a virtue. At present Heythrop’s governing body is made up of 16 members. Two of those members represent the student union. The Heythrop website lists 76 staff members employed by the college – we as students number roughly 800. We as a body are already under-represented. We should not stifle the voice we have. To elect a president who refuses to stray beyond the bounds of what the faculty endorse is to gag our small voice, and to turn the HSU into a wing of the college staff. The staff are influential enough, they don’t need our union representing them. Heythrop students want a bar – it follows that the HSU is obligated to campaign for a bar. Those of us who argue against a student bar at Heythrop tend to cite the faculty’s opposition to the idea as the main reason why we should not pursue the matter. As far as I’m concerned this is a retrograde attitude. As I’ve already said, the faculty are represented enough – the union’s place is to represent students. Success is not guaranteed. But a strong fight is. VoteWilf.co.uk
VPD
VPC
Gala Jackson Coombs
Chris Nicholson
Jasmin Khosah
Sam English
I think there are a few key reasons why I would make a good HSU president.
Why I should be your next President: a not overly critical analysis in 200ish words by Chris Nicholson.
I decided to run for this role mainly because I feel so passionate and care so much about this college and about the role that the Students’ union plays, that I want to put that passion and enthusiasm into the next union and the next strategic plan to take our union forward.
I believe I should be campaigns officer as campaigns are something I care about and have been involved with for a long time.
Firstly, with the booklets, Posters, HSU website, HSUtube, The Lion and The Lion Website that I have worked on this year, I have shown I am selfmotivated and driven enough to see a project right through to the end, as well as to the highest standard I can manage. Also, I have learnt most of these skills from scratch last summer, showing that I am a fast learner, and that I really enjoy challenging myself. I have achieved a lot this year, even without being a member of The Executive and I’d like to think my contribution has helped Heythropians have a better student experience. I have observed almost every single Exec meeting, and have studied what worked, what didn’t and what needs to be improved. Along with this knowledge, I have asked lots of students what they would like to see change within their union. Many suggestions were easily achievable and great contributions towards making our union better. All these ideas have been worked into my clear, succinct manifesto, which you can find online as well as my hustings video at VoteGala.co.uk. Thanks.
The first reason I can give is because I think that I would be very very good at it. The second reason is that other people (not wishing to embarrass anybody or show them up for lying to my face) think that I would be very very good at the job. Thirdly Brad’s dad has threatened to kick anyone who doesn’t vote for me in the ankles – just saying he has a lot of black belts. Seriously though I love Heythrop and I work very hard for the Union as a whole because of this. I have experience of what the role entails and have an excellent working relationship with members of Heythrop staff and the decision makers at all levels of the College. Each and every one of my manifesto points are well researched and based upon discussions held with the decision makers at the College meaning that they are all 100% possible to achieve. Basically please vote, and if you treasure the continual functioning of your ankles you know who to vote for.
Over the last three years our union has grown from nothing into something that operates and looks like a student’s union. The progress made already has been incredible but more needs to be made, and I do believe that I am someone who can do this. By doing things such as making our name in ulu, making connections with other small and specialist colleges, will have a better voice in ulu and will also be able to enhance the student experience of our students, similarly by making business contacts we can bring more interest and potential revenue for the union which can benefit all. To sum I am the one for this role because I will put my all into achieving the best for the union and its students.
I aim to help any campaign that students want support with and to provide more information on a range of campaigns, talks and marches people at Heythrop may care about. Campaigning is more than getting out on the street though that is often all that is shown, campaigning revolves around organisation and I’m willing to be on hand to help organise any event that will helps raise the profile of a campaign both inside and outside college. It is my intention to use the links created by this years union to help gain support from other small colleges, to keep you up to date with campaigns via a blog and fortnightly campaigns email; furthermore I want you to come to me and tell me which campaigns you want to see supported around college. I personally want to see many more outside speakers coming to Heythrop to address an audience. I want events publicised by campaigns to become a major part of Heythrop life.
See all the Candidate’s Hustings Speeches on the HSutube
youtube.com/thehsutube
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
FEATurE
ELECTION CANDIDATES VOTING CLOSES FrIDAY 25th MArCH VISIT YOUr COLLEGE EMAIL TO VOTE
MAlE WElFArE
FEMAlE WElFArE
Andrew Swindley
Ashley Doolan
Michael Edwards
Ellie rimmer
Mollie Puttock
I am responsible, diligent, conscientious, approachable, dependable, trustworthy, hard working and experienced at using a thesaurus. If you were to elect me I would try my hardest to see that my role, as Male Welfare officer, would be completed to the highest standard and with the most efficiency.
right, so this is my chance to convince you why I deserve your vote for Male Welfare Officer in this year’s elections. Well first of all I believe that as a candidate I have been honest from day one, sometimes giving unpopular questions to answers, such as my stance on the condom issue.
I only have two policies, to keep things more simple really.
Hello, I’m Ellie rimmer, and I want to be your next female welfare officer.
The individual is important to me, I will make sure as many people know who I am and feel that I am not just their welfare officer but also their friend. “Life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them.” Charlie Sheen. I’ve told you now Charlie Sheen has told you; vote Andrew Swindley for HSU Male Welfare officer.
I believe though that this honesty will pay off because if the event occurs that I get into office I know every single one of points on my manifesto can be implemented without too much trouble. I believe I’m also the most experienced candidate having worked alongside the Executive this year in my role as LGBT President. I’ve had firsthand experience of Exec meetings and have worked closely with my predecessor, John Ord, on events such as LGBT Awareness Week and Sexual Health Week. As far as my policies actually go I believe they are practical and aim to achieve things that really are necessary from a Welfare Team in a modern university, such as mentoring schemes and a full overhaul of the notice boards, replacing the posters with a list of useful numbers for agencies related to student welfare advice as well as more general financial, medical and legal agencies.
My first policy is that of availability: I plan to set up a dedicated phone line and email address for the male welfare office. I will list a schedule of when I will be able to take calls (as a preliminary outline I will say 9am until 1am, Monday to Saturday, and times within that when I will be unavailable- ie during lectures- will be posted when available.) Furthermore, I will make available to everyone a list of times when I will be in the union office so that people can come and see me and know that I will be there.
I’m friendly, approachable and dedicated but most of all I genuinely care about all the students at this college. I refuse to let a single person slip through the net; feeling like they’re alone. If elected, I promise to build a bigger welfare presence on campus, online and on the phone. And I’ll ensure there are dedicated office hours, emails, facebook groups and a phone to guarantee that happens.
Hello, I am Mollie Puttock and I am running for female welfare officer as I am passionate about the role and I want to give something back to a community that has given me so much.
Finally I like to think I’m a hard working and approachable person with a genuine care for Heythrop and its students, so a vote for me would definitely be a vote for 100% commitment.
My second policy is of equality: I don’t believe that we should separate the domains of any minority group of students and any majority of students, I believe all of our students should be treated as just that, students, no more, no less. I will strive to offer the same level of support to all aspects of the student body, to offer the same amount of informative reading (ie leaflets etc.) to all students. I want no divisions between race, sex or orientation, just One Heythrop Massive.
I want people to feel they can drop in for a chat, email me or even call me at three in the morning! It’s okay. I’m unshockable, non-judgemental and I’ll work with you through any and all your issues. I want to work with the rest of the welfare team and VP developments reintroducing the fresher parent system and building a better mentor scheme. I hope I’ve shown you this past week that I am a welcoming, forthcoming person and that I’m easy to talk to. And next year, whether you are an incoming fresher or a fellow Heythrop veteran, I want you to feel like you can come to me with any problem big or small.
My main pledges revolve around the fact that the work that I would undertake if I gained the role is all about you. The role of a student union representative is to do exactly that. To represent the whole student body and I intend to achieve this by holding regular welfare meetings in which the student body can explain what they want. I would also like to create a comprehensive list of contacts for useful agencies such as legal, financial and health services that all students can use. As well as running campaigns on important issues like mental health and graduate debt. I feel that I would be good for the role because I have experience as environmental and welfare officer of my sixth form student union and have been involved with trade unions for most of my life due to my parents involvement. Vote for a caring, understanding, nonjudgemental and hard working female welfare officer with a passion for the role… Vote Mollie Puttock!
See all the Candidate’s Hustings Speeches on the HSutube
youtube.com/thehsutube
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
FEATurE
ELECTION CANDIDATES VOTING CLOSES FrIDAY 25th MArCH VISIT YOUr COLLEGE EMAIL TO VOTE
FEMAlE WElFArE
COMS AND PuBS
EVENTS AND ENTErTAiNMENTS
Halima Iqbal
Hannah Nichol Michael Feazey
Fran Gosling Victoria Yates
Alex Nandris
Hayley relph
Yo I’m Halima, I’m running for female welfare officer because I believe I am the best person for the job.
Why we should be your next communications and publications officers
We are a unique and diverse student body whose eclecticism can lead to a difficulty connecting not only amongst ourselves but also with the wider London student network.
I won’t be telling people why they should vote for me- that would be, for me, undermining their ability to reason about the pros and cons for themselves.
I should be your next Events and Entertainments officer because I feel that these are two things which help everyone in the college to feel more involved and included in the college community.
I don’t want any fresher to feel that they have no one to talk to. I know how important it is to have some one to speak to as ive been through enough of my own shit and know that it is not always easy to speak to people. That why I will raise awareness of issues and give the welfare team a much bigger presence on campus. I will try my hardest to make sure those who don’t know me feel that they can approach me in confidence. I believe my previous experiences in helping people with problems will help me in this role as I have done mentoring at school where students problems were coming between their work. I have also set up counselling sessions where I met people with various problems so I am not arrogant enough to think I’ve been through the same problems as you but do try my hardest to understand and help. So if you vote for me I will make every effort to ensure that every student knows they not on their own and to raise awareness of issues bothering students. Safe bro!
We love this college, and we are passionate about being involved in the community and building further on the achievements and hard work of the union. We feel that we would bring creativity, experience and dedication, as well as goals that are progressive, relevant and achievable. We would also say that we have good relationships many with students from each year and with the union, which is important to a role so focused on connections. However, simply saying this isn’t enough—for this role information needs to be given and publicity produced to a high standard. If you wish to question whether we will make good Comms and Pubs officers, then check out the numerous posters and manifesto, which have been on display in the basement since the beginning of campaigns. If we were to be given this role, then we would be sure to approach it with enthusiasm and commitment. We care about Heythrop and are excited about its future. We believe that we can produce unique publications to a high standard, and would work well with whoever is on the union next year.
Comms and Pubs is a vital part of creating and publicizing the college brand so that we all feel more involved and aware, and it is exactly this ethos of ‘reconnecting’ that Fran and I intend to pursue. Within the college we hope to work closely with both events and societies to ensure that students are aware of every opportunity open to them to make the most of their time here, not only during fresher’s week but continuously throughout the year so that individually and as a community we can all benefit. recognizing that many choose Heythrop not only for the college but also for its London location, we firmly believe that being smaller doesn’t mean we should be uninvolved. Already we have spoken to other unions and hope to increase our profile within ULU and jointly work for events, campaigns or other issues with larger SUs. Our goals are simple but high impact, and we are passionate about making the most of Heythrop’s potential.
But in this short space for words I would like to take the opportunity to make them aware that I have been glad to help in the way that I have, even if it has at times cost me my time, money, sweat and vanity. And if there is a more able and experienced choice of candidate for the Events position, I would be the first most willing to work with them. ...And those that aren’t familiar with our events should check out my Balls and invite their friends. That’s all.
I will do my best to create events which appeal to everyone by listening to what you all have to say and acting on it. I firmly believe that communication is the key: I will endeavour to keep you all up to date with events going on throughout the year, from Heythrop sports and societies and ULU as well as general Heythrop union events. I will do this by updating the website regularly and hopefully having a section in the Lion so you know what’s happening all the time. This will involve good communication with the other union officers. I am friendly, approachable, dedicated and hard working, which means I will always have time for anyone who has new ideas for events and entertainment and will have time to see them through. I hope that, through this position, I will get to know a lot more of you and I look forward to the chance to work with you. Vote for me!
See all the Candidate’s Hustings Speeches on the HSutube
youtube.com/thehsutube
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
FEATurE
ELECTION CANDIDATES VOTING CLOSES FrIDAY 25th MArCH VISIT YOUr COLLEGE EMAIL TO VOTE
SPOrTS AND SOCiETiES Will Thomas
Joey Youll
MATurE
rON
John C ross
re-Open Nominations In all positions, voters have the ability to select “rON” which stands for re-Open Nominations. This means you are unsatisfied by the current candidates and wish their to be an opportunity for new candidates to step forward. If rON wins the election, a Bi-Election will be called to allow this to occur
Many societies at Heythrop have grown, as successfully as the Lion. And while not as bloodthirsty or aggressive as the Lion, (you should see the editors on a night out!) they will be looking for plenty of new members next year. As someone who has ran a professional karate club I have full empathy with society heads. It will not be my job intervene with their structure, but improve how the societies operate in relation to each other. I plan to introduce a monthly newsletter, make new students more aware from day one, improve the HSU website and suggest more discussion. The improvement in communication will help to facilitate shared events, making Heythrop societies more attractive. Heythrop will see many new societies next year (rugby and chess among many others) and my policies will help them development. Talking with Broadly I have realized that it is not facilities that is a problem, because we can easily work on suggestions, but lack of commitment to continue societies after term one, Though I don’t plan to force anyone to join a society, (a bar might come in useful) I believe I have the skills and experience, to improve Commitment and Communication of all societies at Heythrop.
In a short 200 words I have to try to convince you that I am the best candidate for the post of Sports and Societies Officer next year, which should be enough. I won’t bore you with my manifesto; I won’t bore you by telling you how great I am. In fact I want to tell you my main drawbacks first. I’m very sports orientated. What this means is that I want to work more on sports at Heythrop than other things. But I will tell you why this is good. We have a sports court on site which I want to help hire out so we can at least offer a wider range of sports for all to play – tennis, hockey, netball, basketball can all be played on this court. I have also been pushing for other sports teams – my colleage is organising a Heythrop rugby team, and I am speaking to students about organising a boxing society. Just to finish off I’d like to also state that I am supportive of all societies as well, and that my proverbial door is always open. I’m not here for the union, I’m here for Heythrop students! Vote Joey Youll!
Hello! Ok so in 200 words: 1. Because in terms of value, I care, understand and appreciate all members of this college. Because of this I have decided to continue studying here. 2. Because (although yet to be a postgraduate) I am communicative and vocal both with the students I know and love, as well as those I’ve yet to develop more personal relationships with. 3. Because I have worked closely with the student body for three years already and am understanding of the dynamics of the college. 4. Because I am willing to work with the union, Welfare team and Pastoral staff to ensure that the needs of students are met. 5. Because I am focused and hard-working, and can actively ensure that the needs of the MA, PhD, research and Foundation students, as well as those undergraduates who are mature, are met. 6. Because I am broad-minded and tolerant and do not discriminate, least of all on the basis of age. 7. Because I am a friendly and approachable face, and will tackle the role passionately and with vigour. 8. Because stagnation is my enemy, and the dynamics of the mature and postgraduates, as well as the union, are my friends. Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice.* **
HOW TO VOTE 1. Access your college email. To do this, go to hotmail.com and enter your username as “firstname.surname@heythropcollege.ac.uk”. The original password is set to Heythrop1614.
ElECTiON rESulTS NiGHT Tuesday 29th March 1:30 The lounge
2. Search for an email entitled “HSU Elections 2011 Ballot Paper”. This will contain a personalised link to your ballot paper. 3. Simply tick the candidate you wish to vote for and submit.
Students may vote for any two individuals from any two “teams” running in any two person positions. e.g. communications and publications. Two candidates may be running together but voters can decide whichever combination they wish.
See all the Candidate’s Hustings Speeches on the HSutube
youtube.com/thehsutube
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
“COMMENT.” Edited by Gala Jackson-Coombs
“Why Britain needs Islam Ryan Boyd 1 year Undergraduate st
What does the English Defence League want? What does Geert Wilders want? What does, if we may group him with such unsubtle types, Martin Amis want? What do the majority of people in Switzerland want? Broadly speaking, they all want the supposed influence of Islam to be thoroughly curtailed in the UK and Europe. In the case of Amis and perhaps the others - he sees terrorist acts as an inherent, symptomatic antagonism at the heart of Islam. Islamist fundamentalism is not merely obfuscation or misreading of Islam performed for political gains; rather, it is something at the heart of Islam. ‘Islamofascism’ was Amis’ neologism coined around the time of the Iraq War. Geert Wilders wants to tax women who follow hijab, to stop all immigration from Muslim countries (not immigration per se, just immigration from Muslim countries) and believes white Christians should ally themselves with his party, even though he himself is agnostic. Switzerland decreed, by popular referendum no less that no new minaMatthew rets wereWilkinson to be built in the country. The physical sign of Islam is to be wiped out from the landscape. Allah bad, god (lower-case ‘g) good – it seems. Where - we should reasonably ask ourselves - does this irrational hatred and fear of Islam originate from? Doubtless we may easily point to xenophobia – the perhaps ever present fear of the Other, that at various times in history has been occupied by the Jew, the Negro or the Gay. Doubtless, too, we may point to terrorist acts committed in the name of Islam as grounds for mistrust. But, surely we have had enough, near constant reassurance from learned Muslims that this is not what Islam necessarily entails, that fundamentalists have misunderstood, that they are radicals, lunatics, even. Not to be taken seriously, despite the catastrophic consequences of their acts. If someone walks into the street in Texas and kills innocent people and subsequently justifies their act by recourse to their faith in Christianity, we do not ask the question ‘Should we perhaps curtail the influence Christianity has?’ nor ‘Should we perhaps stop churches being built?’ We are so familiar with the ins and outs of Christianity that we know only a perverse reading of the Bible could justify senseless killing. In the West, we have only recently seen the flip side of the potentially violent appropriation of Islam. The revolutions which have peppered 2011 have shown us the magnificent potential of Islam and belief in general. Revolution has seared through North Africa and further afield, quite stunningly and quite majestically. First Tunisia and Algeria, then Egypt, now Libya (with rumblings in China)- and no doubt there will be
more, with more violence. What unites all these countries is Islam. It is perhaps no coincidence that the lands of the old Islamic Caliphate are now providing the fertile ground for revolution. Martin Amis may feel a touch ashamed of his hastily erected and awkwardly titled Islamofascism theory in light of recent events. The Muslim Brotherhood’s role in the revolution may have been exaggerated; but no doubt they are proving to be the face of the mob (crucially, the Mubarak regime in its last moments tried to negotiate with them), and the people of Egypt have doubtlessly been inspired by their religious belief to overthrow the ‘fascism’ of Mubarak. Surely this is nothing but cause for celebration here in the West? Democracy prevailing, tyranny slain, and without Western intervention; an event which could reasonably let us imagine a future where figures such as Saddam Hussein could have been overthrown by his own people. No more messy and illegal wars, no more pointless destruction, no more lingering, eye-wateringly expensive occupations. The people of the Middle East have seized the idea of democracy for themselves and toppled a dictatorship. Perhaps this has been the source of joy for many external observers, but not, I claim, of the governments of the West. If anything, the West has shown itself to be scared of the potential consequences that this change in the status quo may lead to. America, having previously invested a cool $2bn each year in Egypt’s (or, more accurately, Mubarak’s) army, may simply be worrying about their business portfolio. Yet Obama and Cameron have chiefly stressed that they demand a democratic, ‘inclusive’ and free government to replace Mubarak’s presidency. It is clear that underneath these boilerplate ‘modern diplomacy’ statements, the message is clear: we do not want religion muddying the pure democratic waters, we do not want mob rule: fundamentally, we want things to remain the same. Oddly enough, it is only William Hague who seems to be worried about military rule, which is the perhaps the traditionally recognised ‘real’ danger lurking under the veil of revolutionary enthusiasm.
Why this cautious, sombre approach from Western leaders, then? Perhaps because the Arab revolutions have shown us the great emancipatory power of Islam, and religious belief which generates fervent self-identification in general; what horrifies the West is that Muslims truly believe. The excess that this belief generates is responsible both for the acts of al-Qaeda as well as those demonstrators in Tahrir Square. In our ‘Age of the Posts-’ (post-modern, post-ideological, post-religious, post-postmodern), what we are really afraid of is true, excessive belief. We rely on its non-existence; this is why Geert Wilders presumed he could rely on moderate political Christians. The moderate political Christian does not take to its logical conclusion his belief;
modenadude although St. Paul was the great universaliser, the contemporary secular Christian is quite content for Christianity just to have its own ‘space’, allowed to have ‘its own rules’ in opposition to the wishes of the government (for instance, allowing the Catholic Church in the UK to discriminate against women on religious grounds). The horrifying spectre for the modern Islamophobe (count the neologisms) is the idea of a reborn Islamic Caliphate caused by mass immigration, where ‘I become a stranger in my own country’. ‘What if,
heaven (lower-case ‘h’) forbid, Sharia Law were to be imposed on us all, and Islam came to dominate?’ When we consider that the Islamic population of the UK, for instance, is no more than 2% (and following a 10-year Labour government fairly lax on immigration), we can conceive of how ridiculous such a paranoiac vision is. Yet it persists. The only explanation is that we are horrified by the notion that there are still such terrifying people that exist who believe so strongly in their religion that they sincerely think the tenets of it
would benefit the entirety of humanity. For the secular liberal will give space to Islam, but he will draw the line at saying Sharia Law may work for Britain, or any other meaningful concession which would sincerely legitimise the existence of belief in Islam. The contemporary idea of tolerance engenders this very hypocritical approach; ‘very well, have your belief, but do not impose it on me (because it is violent, irrational, backward, etc.)’. And, does this formula not work for the typical
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
- A study of Islamophobia” lives.
Again, to return to Wilders assumption that he can rely on the secular Christian paradigm for support: is it not the case that, if Wilders was to somehow achieve major political power, he would stop short at actually enshrining the truly radical Christian message of ‘Love thy Neighbour’ into law, but would merely dilute the message into some sort of liberal tolerant babble, despite his affirmed right-wing beliefs? The irony being, of course, that Wilders thinks he can rely on the (Western European) Christian moderation to defeat Islamic radicalism, when, if he were to enshrine Christian values, he would be forced into a situation where he would have to make genuine effort to love his Muslim brother. Yet, after all, Western fears of the Muslim Brotherhood seem more or less unfounded. Here is a concise statement of intent from the Muslim Brotherhood issued to particularly respond to the recent revolution: “We want a civil state, based on Islamic principles - a democratic state, with a parliamentary system, with freedom to form parties, press freedom, and an independent and fair judiciary” - Issam al-Aryan, Muslim Brotherhood Guidance Bureau Here we have a clear case of, a priori, a perfect alignment of principles between West and Middle East. The problem, Cameron no doubt thinks in private, is the name. Why did it have to be Muslim Brotherhood? It contains two bugbears of modern British politics; religion (in its fundamentalist manifestation) and socialism, respectively. The last thirty years of British politics has been mostly
Anglican/secular liberal (who believes in ‘something’), too? ‘I have my belief, but do not impose it (extreme secular law) on me/them, since it is part of our ‘culture/heritage’ …’ Therefore why Islam is such a catastrophic phenomena for those opposed to religion and Islam, and even a secret fear of Cameron and Obama, is that it threatens our status quo, wherein no one truly believes and revolutions do not really happen (the student protests only became intolerable when people really insisted on their message being heard, through
violence), tolerance simply means we all get our own space in which to live our idiosyncratic inconsequential beliefs. In short, when the EDL and Geert Wilders claim to be protecting ‘good old English/Western European values’, can they not only do this in the face of some (mis)perceived threat? In other words, is it not the case that the very people who now are standing for such ‘values’, before Islam became a topic of discussion, bemoaned the anaemic, politically correct, merely ‘tolerant’ society where national identity was dead and where
no one identified believed in anything anymore, while doing nothing to revive them? Now, they claim to be defending these values they once proclaimed to be dead in the face of Islam, whose adherents, unlike them, radically associate with an identity as such. What, then, do Geert Wilders et al. want? They want Islam to stop demonstrating that, actually, ‘yes, it is possible to truly believe in something’, and that this belief has major political consequences, in order that we may carry on with our basically apathetic, relativistic and unchanging
defined by its approach to the (Socialist) Unions. Thatcher crushed them, Labour used them, and now the Coalition intends to stifle them once more. We need only listen to the recent noises made by the Conservative ‘half’ of the Coalition to see that striking may well be banned, and certainly the Unions cannot hope to stage a truly disruptive strike (again, ‘you may have your (Socialist) beliefs, but you may not impose them on us (because we want to go on holiday at Christmas, of course) in the near-future. Effective collective behaviour has been de facto abolished: you may strike b! ut only at a time when it does not affect things too much, and you must give us enough time to plan for it; you students may protest, so long as you cause no damage and allow us to pass the law regardless; you may have your belief, but you must allow women priests, gay marriage… What Egypt (as an exemplar of the Arab Revolutions) has shown is that religion is actually a potentially global solution to the post-WWII malaise of Western Leftist political apathy, and that, in particular, Islam is not merely the religion which ‘merely pretends to be peaceful’, when its true core is its terrorism, but rather, an example of what happens when genuine belief is taken to its logical conclusion: the violence (otherwise senselessly wasted on clandestine terrorism) needed for a true event such as a revolution is harnessed and tyranny is defeated. So, perhaps, the reason Cameron spends his nights worrying about the Muslim Brotherhood is because of his fundamental terror of ‘what if – gasp – the students/the unemployed/ the plebs see this… and they..., god (small ‘g’) what if… what if?’
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COMMENT
wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
ask mollie
Say hello to Heythrop College’s brand new agony aunt - No problem too big or small this mischievous Ms has been through it all. Mollie Puttock nd 2 year Undergraduate Fast Food Fresher I am a 1st year student and I have started to become worried about my weight. I have no experience in cooking or understanding nutritional value of products. On a normal day I skip both breakfast and lunch and then eat ready meals and snack during the evening. It worries me that if I put on weight my parents will think that I cannot look after myself. The fresher’s stone is a well known concept that generally relies on the stereotypical understanding that fresher students drink copious amounts. As you do not specify your drinking habits I cannot asses this but it is good to look up and understand how many calories you are consuming via alcohol (with lager and cider being the most calorifc). You also do not explain your current weight and height or how much weight you have gained. I would advise you to go to your doctors to be weighed properly and get your BMI and body fat percentage checked. If you are found to be overweight your doctor can also give you information on nutritional values of products. In the meantime use the calorie content stickers on food packaging to note down exactly what you are eating for a week and then check if you are eating over the healthy amount (this will also be useful to tell your doctor). Also the fact that you say you miss a lot of meals is detrimental to your health and I would urge you to eat something even
if its something small at these times. With the cooking aspect look online for easy student recipes or at the back of this paper where there are incredible recipes courtesy of the student hob. In regards to your parents I would not worry they will most likely just be very proud that you are at university and that you have successfully flown the nest. Course Curriculum Complaints I am a 2nd year student that has become completely disillusioned with my choice of university and course. This college is so small and there is not much going on either socially or with societies. My course simply does not interest me any more, most of the teaching does not help me and I do not see the point in getting a degree in humanities any more in the current job market. Should I leave and pursue other things? That decision can be made by no one other than yourself, you need to do this for yourself and think of what is right for you. Yet you can do a few things that may refresh university life for you. For example take advantage of the societies and social events at the main University of London campus which you have every right to use. In terms of your course, make an appointment to see your personal tutor or head of department in order to voice your complaints in regards to teaching styles etc. Perhaps you can give it a few weeks after trying to sort things out and reassess your options. Sickening Study Stress I am a 3rd year student and I am worrying about my final exams.
Although I still have a little while to go I have so much of my future riding on these exams and I cannot help but get stressed. If I do badly I will not get into the further study I need for my dream job.
blah.adam
Take a deep breath! It is totally understandable to get stressed and worried about exams especially after so much time effort and money has gone into your education. You need to forget all of those inputs and just concentrate on revision and perhaps set up a back up plan of what to do after university in order to put your mind at ease. There are so many different ways to cope with stressful situations but probably the best for exams is to set up a revision timetable which factors in times for other activities that will relax you. Alongside this you could also visit student services who often put in place a meeting about revision techniques and combating exam stress around this time of year.
All questions are printed as anonymous and all answers are simply advice. Questions may be edited in order to protect the identity of the person in question. If you would like advice on any issue there will be an envelope in which to deposit your questions in the HSU office.
Forest for Sale Phil Harrison SJ rd 3 year Undergraduate Government plans to sell off the nation’s forests were met with a public outcry. The debate suggests something more is at stake than the demise of a rural idyll. For supporters of public ownership it meant the axing of a deeply cherished part of the countryside. For the government it represented £100m of extra funds for empty coffers. We live in rural and urban landscapes which are shaped by us and the choices we make. But they also shape our lives, so what is the true value of places where we find belonging? And what can this teach us about city life? My own dismay at the plans turned to a glint of interest when I began to wonder why the forests are so important for us. There is more to valuing the countryside than just idealizing a rural past. We are deeply affected by the environment in which we live and the possibilities it opens for us. The surge of passion in the current debate reminded me of the Kinder Scout “Mass Trespass” in the Peak District. On 24 April 1932 some five hundred ramblers marched across the hills near Manchester to
protest that they were denied access to privately owned open land. Ramblers tussled with keepers and police officers with the slogan: “take action to open up the fine country at present denied us!” Five walkers were arrested in the kind of political action which seems quaintly out of place today. However these protesters were successful and as a result, laws were changed with far reaching implications. Today much of Britain’s open country is freely accessible to walkers so that everyone can enjoy it. The surge of rural passion on that demonstration and in the current debate is not about preserving the countryside as a relic from the past but about the possibility of using the countryside with freedom in the future, and the knowledge that it isn’t being used by others for their own ends. This kind of brave freedom can only come from one source, the knowledge that all of creation belongs to God. The environment in which we live does not belong to private companies nor does it belong to public bodies. It is God’s place. We have to use it for his purposes because these are the purposes which lead us to the freedom we passionately seek. With God’s purposes in mind our freedom is different and that is what strikes my
Jon Person conscience in this debate. And if God has given us the forests, then he has also given us the cities. Its here that I live my daily life and its here where I need this freedom the most. When I commute into college everyday in the middle of the bustle of London, I feel as though I am surrounded by people out to earn and spend money. Its as though the city is using them for something rather than the other way round. Of course, I too fall into the same trap, letting the city use me for its own ends.
Its timetables and advertising dictate my life: how I spend my free time, where I spend my money, who I meet and talk to. I know that if I let these shape my life I am not being free. I need to realize that I am not built for the city, nor is the city built for me. The city is God’s place too and I need a passionate craving for freedom, the willingness to trespass into the unknown, to break out of the traps that keep me from being free. I need to seek out places where I am not determined by others, where I am shaped by God’s hands alone.
London Mayor Boris Johnson has pledged to spend £4m on planting trees on the streets of London before the end of next year. It might make London greener and more pleasant, but just maybe seeing those trees grow tall can remind me that the city really does belong to God.
This article was previously published on the blog Catching Fire at http://firecatching.blogspot. com
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
COMMENT
Face it, We Need to Hear the Racists. Gwen sterry rd 3 year Undergraduate “We must strive to avoid needless censorship, context matters in a way that allows both sides to openly debate without compromising our lives and the steps that have been taken to encourage the admirable incorporation of people into British society”. This conclusion comes from White and Ferguson’s article ‘Expletive Deleted’. It’s a reasonable and amiable enough statement. And dead wrong.
As I read the article, I find the authors insisting that what they wish to do is “sit on the fence”. As I read further, I get the uneasy and deceived feeling that, instead, what is really being argued for is the suppression of free speech, described as the censorship of opinions that might be disruptive to our uncompromised (really?) lives and the “admirable incorporation of ..” et cetera, et cetera. This last sentence, by the way, strikes me as an alarmingly politically correct (cowardly) way of saying: let’s not upset various immiuARY | THE LION
FRIDAY 4th FebR
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FEATURE
LeteD
eXPLetIVe De
e Sky Sports s Free Speech, th Finn rry h Ferguson discus Jt White and Jos using the “N-word” in hucklebe sackings and
below are sed in the article All views expres not s named and are those of the author of The Lion or the necessarily those ts’ Union. Heythrop Studen
JT White and Josh Ferguson Molly mM
for you: If you don’t of here’s a little tip fundamental right agree with the , go and f*ck yourman to free speech slack-jawed witable self, you miser ser. deficient drool-dispen what anct right to say ns. We have a sacros express our opinio we want, and to power with this great but, of course, misuse the power comes pricks who given. For every that they have been somesaying igner of outspoken campa new in the name thing daring and bayard Rustin, Jeprogress (Dr King, get a bumbling, you sus Christ etc.) who farting cretin mealy-mouthed g the ranks amon be to lf he thinks himse ed heroes when of the aforemention ng his mouth off is, in fact, just shootihates black people he about how much and gays. who off some of you, s Over the weeks literature and politic are addicted to such implosions or both, might recall ted through his as Jack Straw defecanse about hordes nonse of load of mouth a the prowl in search the of Asian men on the censorship of “white meat” and huckleberry Finn. in 200+ ‘n-words’ racea case of flat out ion On the one hand the other a situat on and g baitin summed up as “politi which might be mad”. cal correctness gone not remember the though you might ent Jody McIntyre dissid at slung mud Richard Littlejohn, in a column by gayite meat-headed the everyone’s favour ng, sh*t sack at and-foreigner-hati seen recently we have ‘Daily heil’. Most ts Andy Gray and pundi ll footba horny for making sexist Richard Keys sacked colleagues; apremarks about female men are looking these parently both of a where the views for work at Al Jazeer selfwhite men with the of football-loving be welcomed... In control issues will ing people (which interest of not offend for us) we aren’t ence ns is a rare occurr make our opinio to going ly actual s Gray and Keys known about Messr a. Just make up working at Al Jazeerhas political corSo, your own mind. has political Or mad? inrectness gone bat-sh*t f*cking incorrectness gone are condoning the we lia sane?! Not that *t. Keep your genita f*cking of bat-sh ia. away from bat excret
walkdon’t look like him just ly/Flickr.com ra- of people who intact - Photo: Jonopo g hill. there are who talk about immig Name should remain ing through Nottin side of the a kind of people CLASSIC: Why Jim’s or have an actual a***holes in either “DeFANGING” A slogan “If You Want like its swine flu n, the as many we Jt and Josh would like anti-immigration Labour”. tion isation” of britai , so t into a totalitarian a Neighbour, Vote fear of the “Islam in no way debate a cool head, not a hot one, on is modthe sign of our descen thought-police, for- N*gger for camp that tness see we are to ef- political correc . In terms of trying to to preach t of political correctness. We order in which the ‘PC brigade’, are happy as either opted to make the the subjec the iveness ern tories have people blameless an institutionalised politemally known as avoid both offens matjust waiting to all working class rage r must strive to rship, context around every corner foreigner-hating fort to crush race, creed or colour, it encou excising the character “Nigge and needless censo nt both sides to , in ness, regardless of name) from a spoil your innoce in a way that allowscompromising the extent to which (actual character from speaking your still summarises ut and kicking ters, g on the Jim” witho fun and stop you , story comes playin debate this twain now, yet as And well classic Mark off Radio openly and the steps that have been been dirty, dirty mind. couldn’t care less the past as ious Frankie boyle of other races has our lives the admirable in- irrational fear distract from the more the Illustr some jokes about Palestine from people who taken to encourage New Labour under tool to into british soof the 4 for telling like a couple of steps in about the way that and sent innocent used as a corporation of people ’t seem and relevant issue es demonise doesn mined civil liberti tortured, all in the important Does anyone reciety. le. by choosing to right direction. civilians off to be terror’… Of course class strugg people who weren’t born the er that rumour about not being on etely unregay people, storm” bemela- memb name of the ‘War we hope, on a compl going to the word “brain y become aband who have more use Oh quickl to people able or claims here, unity kicked readers are all of these of ignorant d yourself that all the epileptic comm to be an ab- lated note, you the y (and quite lively) you do, the fear the time cause out surd once you remin defending the in- nin than health have never taken a fuss? that turned steaming sh*te, engage in the weekend, also this hysteria is about call black people people who ing about other cultures up fresh, in Luton on the t to anyth solute mound of g is that you debate as the anti-degeneracy protes valuable freedom makin give ber- to learn les is cynically manipulated to we’re would point known conthat but the Yes, the group of fat or lifesty the kind of names e it. against the eDL. threatgrin all across his could easily believ ved control them. nard Manning a ll hooligans who in his much-deser to victed footba ct the police” from us, you Mancunian face if you want to get come clean with In the final sense, in its purest state, ened to “prote ts who poked the fuis often slammed We’re going to really tness ly grave. correc studen actual al tness we Politic the rowdy political correc eDL failed and say that press in quasi-conge surrounding the on this whole with a stick. the igible ar- here in the right-wing a “cultural Marxwithout all the bagga er the following ture Queen that threat last week, so say where we stand is first, the incorr as on l First thing lf, Jack Straw – the man can’t We realise that both sides of the spiratorial tones now, just consid ole! to deliver take to the “inissue. form of social contro -scented term sehole himse : Stop being an a***h week we ought to Luton where ism” and a new debates about it knee-jerk lemon freedom of speech nt piece of advice ridiculous to take the this of invigorated the ry debate, be ual battlefield” one hand or ignora crafted by to erode white who right. It’s the veil in this count PC pussies on the greatness of the is anti-racist tellectwill be a round of stimulating and on the that’s ts that ‘britishness’ and Oldin -fascis book a ction of and subdue the crypto true ing a by-ele . there n over a n-word out move away from – sought to secure old fashioned race- scaremonger in their argu“defanging” a classics- thought provoking conversatio man, as well as to and in doing so are equally flawed mend body h good racism) towards of tea. We recom appalling for Morri n ham throug thereby legitimising claims other, and conclusions. We also realise “britishness” (see: It’s also just as he’s lovely cup running shoes. ments multicultural britai g and he doesn’t feel like or edgy to sit on r and a God-forsaken races work together baitin reminds us of nothit isn’t very cool s sey to say that re due to the amount armou all by the bNP. this n ad and that this instance there’ where people of britain anymo r the cause of the than the Willie horto the fence, but in despise the in we as in harmony to furthe and build a bet- ing less rvative Party’s electioneering Much no alternative. whole Conse human race as a auda- the festooned with the dare they, those strategy in the 70’s, ter world. how ently it’s the first cious b*stards. Appar
grants and minorities while they settle down and remain settled down. Well indeed. Anything but that. White and Ferguson’s conclusion reminds me of a distressingly eerie outlook held by people who feel the need to pussy-foot around ‘public feeling’ to the point of fabrication. Or, if you will, those who like to lie to avoid tantrums, and worse, to condemn anyone who is inclined to disagree with the consensus of courteous beliefs. So let me improve on that a little. Firstly, I do not believe that “context matters”. Secondly, I do not think that there is a justified need for censorship of expression, which makes striving to avoid “needless censorship” a futile pursuit. And if there was such a need, who on earth would you trust with this responsibility? Into who’s hands would anyone give the task of pre-emptively deciding what you should and should not be permitted to read and hear? John S Mill reminds us that when we reject someone’s right to share ideas, we also reject our own right to hear what they have to say. An example: supposing we live in Southern America before 1865. We all have slaves, and society, the law and God concur that this is perfectly wonderful, ethically speaking. There were those who disagreed with this status quo. If I remember history correctly, once this disagreement became voiced, it arguably compromised a whole lot of people’s lives to the point of civil war. But would anyone
seriously argue that the anti-slavery viewpoint should have been censored or downplayed? Thirdly, and similarly, I find that all of a sudden(!), I’m no longer a child. As such, I maintain that I am adult enough to bare the dark and scarring experience of being offended. I quite rightly expect all other adults to be capable of this too. As for those who aren’t, let it become a habit to worry about their mental health, rather than about the appropriateness of my opinions. The censorship of our English words ‘shit’, ‘fuck’ and ‘cunt’, and of the term ‘nigger’ from newer versions of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, perfectly betrays this censorship ‘mentality’. It is the act of “denying what we evidently already know” as C. Hitchens once remarked. This is squeamish and laughable when done by children. It’s frankly embarrassing when it’s performed by adults. Suppressed opinion has a habit of reducing mental conditions, like racism or homophobia, to a subtle level of innuendo. remember: The safest refuge of the indefensible opinion is in euphemism. “You catch it on the edge of a remark” as was once said of antiSemitism. If I might put it like this: When you move the prostitute from the posh bits of Kensington, she will relocate to the dark alleys of Soho. And she will attract more worrying clientele. So if some songwriter doesn’t feel like
he’s in England anymore because of the amount of people who don’t look like him, the let him say so. I’d like to know plainly and clearly who’s bigoted. And then I’d like to argue back. We philosophers know very well that arguments are destined not to end, but to end up somewhere else. Good. It’s the frustrating thing about philosophy, but how else would we get our knowledge? The symptom of a healthy society is that every individual gets a philosophical foothold.. If we must strive for something, it’s this: that we use language and reason, the best tools available, to better ourselves. Quiet politeness has no place in this process. The admirable pursuit of open debate is compromised, no, it is impossible when undermined by censorship. If I wake up tomorrow to find that everyone in Britain agrees that, say, racism is wrong or that Islam is a religion of moral excellence, then I’ll have learnt only one thing: That while I slept, my diverse and thick-skinned Britain had become a totalitarian state. How can one question a conclusion, if it’s enforced as the only acceptable premise? To curtail the things that can be said, in any context, has the undesirable effect of creating citizens who aren’t practiced in the act of arguing against the racists, the homophobes and the really Stupid. So please, allow me the liberty of an education, not simply of the agreeable opinion, but of the disagreeable one too.
kitty’s Day Of Tea katherine Goss rd 3 year Undergraduate
I love tea. 95% of my fluid intake comes from tea (not including soup). However, much has already been written about tea, and I don’t like to do things that other people have already successfully managed. Therefore I will, rather than write about tea, write my thoughts as I drink tea throughout the day. 1-9.50am, Yogi Heart-warming Tea
This tea tastes like sweet cabbage. It has surprised the headache and cold I had right out of my face. When I first discovered my boyfriend didn’t like tea, I nearly dumped him. I’m glad I didn’t. I wonder why those people across the road never shut their curtains. Maybe they’re trolls or vampires! From my bed I can see 7 pictures of Hello Kitty. I wish my cats were here and not at my parents. Their names are Skelly and Oogie. They are sisters but one is fat and the other is thin. Are cats from the same litter twins? I’m glad I remembered to put the bins out last night. This tea is starting to grow on me. 2-12.30pm, Fennel Why is talented and attractive actor Danny John-Jules, star of red Dwarf and inhabitant of Hammersmith, now acting in dreadful teen spy drama MI High? 3-3.10pm, Green Tea with Pome-
granate
Over the Christmas holidays I taught myself how to knit and have subsequently been churning out hats, scarves and gloves. I’m slowly making a jumper as well. If you were to want to buy or commission any of my woolly creations, please tell me so! The knitting keeps me pleasantly busy and occupies my mind when the TV is broken. Unfortunately, I have managed to convince myself that knitting is as worthy a pastime as doing essays, but more fun. I can’t drag myself away! My essays are suffering dreadfully! But gloves are more fun!
Let’s not think about essays. I’m pleased to finally have found a talent for creation. It may not be as cool as music or as lucrative as painting but it is still my new favourite way to pass time. I have been irritating my boyfriend by pointing at people’s clothing and telling him I could make them…then doing so and getting upset when he won’t wear them. “But it’s your favourite colour! Black!” 4-5pm, Earl Grey I know you can have secular weddings and secular naming ceremonies for babies, but can you have a secular funeral? Would it be more like just a wake? I’d like to leave my body to science, so it wouldn’t even be present for everyone to weep over. I’m not Christian so it would be hypocritical to involve God or any deity in such important parts of my life, should they occur. I’m also trying to decide what music to have at my funeral. I’m leaning towards Depeche Mode at the moment.
5-7pm, Pukka Harmonise Infusion I’ve tried a few of these Pukka tea medleys and I get the impression that they found chamomile a particularly cheap and easy ingredient to source. I don’t like chamomile, it makes me sleepy and the taste does nothing for me. However, this one does manage to taste like rose and liquorice as well, so it’s a good tea to take to bed with you, though I find that taking tea to bed only means you’ll have to get up again later to use the toilet. 9pm, White Tea with Apple and Rose This loose tea is too big to go in my metal teabag but nevertheless keeps managing to sneak into my mouth. I bought it in Kingly Court near Hamley’s. It was pretty expensive but it’s pretty nice. I think I’ll go back and buy something else weird next time I go to the wool shop over there. Oh, and I could get some macaroons too, and see Viv. I’m probably addicted to wool, I buy more every time I leave the house, unless I’m going to work. I fried some chestnuts with cabbage the other day, chestnuts are like the bacon of things that aren’t meat. So tasty, they should be more popular as a foodstuff. I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.
For more food and knitting musings, visit kittyhateseverything. blogspot.com
0olong
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
COMMENT
Interventions without Illusions JT White 1 year Undergraduate st
Imperial Arrogance? The history of Western imperialism could be chartered as a series of humanitarian missions gone “awry” and adventures of liberal interventionism. Every war is supposedly a war of selfdefence or of noble intention. The calls to intervene in Libya are hardly any different here. After so many years of economic support to Gaddafi the West calls for intervention once the regime lost control of the country. The conflict affected the flow of Libyan oil, at a time when there was growing concern of a potential oil shock, the rebel forces have agreed to respect old relationships with oil corporations. This is the same reason that the French were quick to recognise the coalition based in Benghazi. Gaddafi had outlived his usefulness and had become a blockage to the neoliberal project, the sooner the regime in Tripoli is toppled the sooner that the oil trade can resume business as usual. The only hope Gaddafi has of keeping power is to crush the uprisings in oil rich areas of Libya. Only then might, and that’s a big might, the support shift in favour of Gaddafi and against the rebels. The West has an ignoble record of military intervention, whereby the soldier and the policeman hold the “native” down while the businessman rummages through his pockets. This is imperialism, whether old or new, it has not changed much. The 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq was illegal as well as immoral. The slaughter, displacement and dispossession of millions in Iraq are the result of such intervention. It has to be pointed out that there are numerous differences between the situation in Libya and the imperialist invasion of Iraq. In Iraq there was no grass-roots based democratic movement pushing for social justice that could be empowered by a benign intervention. Let alone the crusade for oil that took place in 2003, which opposed to democracy and social justice. The country and the regime had been crippled by war and economic sanctions. It is true that if there had been no invasion Saddam Hussein would have remained in power, though the recent uprisings could have overthrown the regime. The Arab League supports intervention, though it should be noted that these Arab states are dictatorships backed by the US. These regimes are actively trying to crush the uprisings which threaten the established order. These are not the friends of democracy and neither are they the friends of Gaddafi. King Abdullah has a personal hatred for the obnoxious Colonel, who tried to have him assassinated in 2010 and represents a secular nationalist model that is the traditional enemy of Islamist monarchy. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively helping to stifle an uprising in Bahrain, no doubt with the full support of the US, but there are no calls to intervene in Bahrain. The logic of the Arab dictators is to snuff out any alternative political systems which might stir up the people against them. In regards to Bahrain, a predominantly Shi’ite country ruled by a Sunni elite, the repression is to avoid a revolution which could seize hold of oil reserves. This is the reason for the general hostility towards Iran, Tehran offers an alternative to the Shi’ites living in oil rich
east of the Saudi Kingdom and other states. However, we should not ignore the fact that the West has consistently backed illegitimate and authoritarian regimes in order to secure economic and strategic interests. The French government supported Ben Ali in Tunisia, as well as other regimes in North Africa. The support given to Libya was reciprocal in this case and Sarkozy received campaign funding from Gaddafi in 2007. Britain has retained a close relationship with Egypt since the 1952 revolution, with British investment amounting to £10 billion. Egypt, Morocco, Syria and Uzbekistan (among others) have all been stations to which the US has sent “terrorists” to be tortured with the sanction of the regime. This is on top of the amount of support given to the Arab dictatorships and Israel, who are tacitly aligned against the Palestinian people as well as Kurds and religious minorities like the Ahmadiyya. The people of the Middle East have legitimate grievances with those who govern them and by extension the West. Ideally the intervention would be made by an Arab state, like Egypt which is sending weapons to the rebels in Benghazi but that alone is not enough. Potential for Disaster. Because of the intimate relationship between Gaddafi and the West, that the arms being used to massacre the Libyan people are mostly Western in origin and that the funding which the regime is reliant on came out of oil deals. The arrangement between the coalition in Benghazi and energy corporations might indicate that the best scenario possible is a liberal democracy complete with greater freedoms and rights. It is unlikely that the influence of multinational corporations would not set limits on the democratic system which the rebels are fighting to establish. The calls for economic justice might also be played down, steps forward might be made but with great flaws and limitations. In a sense the revolution has B.R.Q
been diluted already, though it is still the alternative to the Colonel. With Gaddafi in power there is no hope of a democratic system emerging in any form, nor is there a chance of economic justice with the exception of the bribe of civilians in Tripoli. On the other hand, there is a possibility that the UN sanctioned air-strikes could escalate and lead to a full blown invasion. In the worst case scenario this could lead to the partition of Libya along tribal lines to create a NATO enclave positioned perfectly to suppress any further uprisings and strangle any further revolutionary developments in the region. Inaction is itself a form of intervention in itself which brings the possibility of a successful counter-revolution, which would not only sustain the power of Gaddafi but send signals throughout the Middle East and these signals would not be progressive in any sense of the word. The Arab states might easily opt for similar methods of counter-revolutionary violence in order to retain control. In both scenarios the tacit alliance between the Arab dictators and the Israeli government would be secured, with US power left relatively unscathed by the uprisings. Though Israeli interests may be maintained even if the revolution in Libya is successful. It is likely that the intervention will be used by Gaddafi to play the anti-imperialist card against the rebels and rally support for himself along nationalist lines. The problem here is that the antiimperialist card is already being played, along with every other card available, to crush the uprising. In a sense there is a ring of truth to the claim that behind the revolt are imperial interests, as the coalition in Benghazi has made deals with oil companies and out-manoeuvred Gaddafi on that front. It is possible that the masses of Western Libya and some officials might be deterred from defecting by the intervention, particularly the air-strikes. The regime
has proven it will use any ploy to stay in power, even going as far as to bribe citizens and to hire out death squads from Chad. Even if we opted for the minimal amount of intervention, e.g. selling off Gaddafi’s assets to fund the revolution, this card would still be played and it would be played if there was no agreements between energy corporations and Benghazi. Remember Jimmy Carter, who now criticises Israel but did nothing to help the Palestinians and, during his time in office, effectively exacerbated the suffering of oppressed peoples in the world. In his “heroic liberalism” or “virulent anti-Semitism”, depending on your political disposition, Carter’s critical remarks about Israel only serve to reaffirm the “superiority” of the West as no responsible actions are pursued from these remarks. Instead of the racist “White Man’s Burden” - that as the superior race we are obligated to “civilise” the inferior races - we reassert our own “superiority” by insisting on our guilt without acting to redeem ourselves and correct past injustices. Meanwhile Libyans, Sudanese, Rwandans and Slavs are left to be butchered as we claim to be in “solidarity” with them. We might as well just revert back to the most overt form of comfortable resistance and start calling for “world peace” and “universal love”. Resistance is not supposed to be comfortable, responsible decisions have to be made and there has to be accountability for the consequences. Body Bags for Peace? In the case of Afghanistan the conditions under which the decision to invade was made included the knowledge that the invasion might exacerbate a famine in the country. It was predicted that this could lead to the deaths of 7 million people. Whereas in the case of Libya we do not have such knowledge, but we do know that Gaddafi’s forces have pledged to “cleanse” Benghazi. There is a distinction between the im-
perialist intervention and the kind of intervention which might enable the revolutionaries to topple the Gaddafi regime. The invasion and occupation of Libya should be opposed, as that would no doubt be imperialist, but a no-fly zone would not be inherently imperialist. It may even be too late for a no-fly zone and we have the crimes of Srebrenica, committed long after a no-fly zone had been established over Bosnia, to keep in mind. Though the variables differ and any “cleansing” in Libya would be political or tribal, not along explicitly racial lines. It is undeniable that in the past the United Nations have supported interventionism in order to expand the American empire, protect Israeli interests and maintain the established order. But it is also undeniable that in the cases of Rwanda and Sudan (along with lots of other places) the West effectively stood back and watched as the violence reached new heights of depravity. Similarly it is undeniable that the Western powers are considering intervention out of economic interests. The West fears a long drawn out conflict and for that reason there might not be an occupation of Libya in the works. If Gaddafi was allowed to commit a major massacre, e.g. far worse than the massacres he has already orchestrated, an embargo on Libyan oil would have to be imposed and this would keep oil prices high at a time when the US and other countries are recovering from a major economic crisis. In the mantra of the SWP “No to intervention in Libya! Victory to Arab revolutions!” conceals a certain perversity. In order for the revolutionary ideal to be achieved in it’s purest form, it must fail to be “saved” for the Left as this radical ideal. Though this is ignorant of the fact that the Libyan revolutionaries have already made deals with the oil corporations. So the best outcome, e.g. if the revolution succeeds without Western interference, might only be bourgeois democracy. To “save” ourselves from this inconvenient truth we need Gaddafi to crush the rebellion. Similarly the Soviet intervention in Prague ‘68 “saved” the myth for us that there could have been democratic socialism in Czechoslovakia. We needed the Tiananmen Square protests to be repressed in order to preserve the ideal of Chinese democracy, missing the point that a democratic China might well be chaotic. Let’s not dwell in these safe illusions, where we are comfortable in resistance and welcome failure. We should have no illusions about intervention, let alone the interests of the Western governments, of which we must remain fiercely critical. The fall of Gaddafi is only preferable to them because he has outlived his usefulness as a “reformed despot” and a freed up political system will be less of an embarrassment now. Gaddafi might just be replaced with a softer, and more insidiously pro-American, version of himself and therefore even harder to drive out. But that is contingent and does not justify Gaddafi’s regime as life under even a bourgeois democracy, which is a possibility, would be an improvement. Intervention to enable the rebels to overthrow Gaddafi is the lesser evil, no form of intervention is a bloodless solution to the conflict. The revolutionaries are right to hold a sceptical view of Western military power, especially in regards to an occupation, but a no-fly zone is a necessary evil.
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
Seeing Red
comment
An Ever-So-Slightly Embellished Account Of An Adventure On The Student Campaign Trail Josh Ferguson nd 2 year Undergraduate “Hey Josh, how’s it going? You fancy coming campaigning with us?” I think it’s fair to say that when I answered with a casual affirmative to this easy-going attempt to dragoon me into canvassing for Alex Hackett’s bid to become the new Editor of the illustrious London Student newspaper, I had no idea of the odyssey that I was embarking upon. Within minutes of acquiescing to this request, I found myself on the tube with Mr. Hackett and Gala Jackson-Coombs, with fistfuls of leaflets in both hands and a severe jones for a cigarette. Our mission, Alex and Gala explained to me en route, was to simply hand these out to as many people as we could. I had my doubts about the execution of the plan, being as I am one of those bastards who actively abuses people who try to hand out flyers to me on the street, but I generally reckon that I might as well try everything once to see if I’m any good at it. We ended up, after much dithering (which we euphemistically referred to as “planning”) at the LSE, which took us a good half-hour and a decent-sized argument to find, but once we got there, I was faced with the horrific task of actually having to go up to people and ask them to take and read these blackand-white slips of A6 paper. Even if one takes into account the fact I had been thrown in at the deep end somewhat, my first attempt was utterly horrendous. I attempted to accost a clearly hurried chap of roughly my age walking past me, thrusting a flyer towards him and shrieking in a fine, quavering falsetto the truly appalling line “Hi, can I interest you in one of these leaflets?” He ignored me, and was quite right to do so, but being snubbed in such a way caused an indignant rage to flare up inside me, and I determined to make the next person I confronted bloody well take one of these bloody leaflets so they could bloody well read it and bloody well vote for Alex. This wasn’t idly helping out a friend anymore, this was a matter of personal dignity, damn it. My next attempt was slightly more successful. I approached a group of girls conversing and enjoying cigarettes
near the door to the building, apologised for interrupting them, and proceeded to blast a commanding précis of Alex’s manifesto at them, offering them leaflets for good measure. To my utter astonishment, they were actually quite friendly, cracking jokes and taking leaflets, telling me sincerely that they would check out the website and vote for Alex if they thought he was any good. I found my spirits genuinely buoyed by this, so much so that when the next chap I approached wordlessly snatched the leaflet out of my hand and returned to his Blackberry, I was only slightly vexed. Things continued in this vein for about ten minutes, being almost by turns accepted and slapped down, until Alex called us together and we decided to see if we could canvas inside the building that we had been hovering outside. We noticed the security barriers denying us entry to the extremely classy interior, so we asked the security guard present if us entering was kosher. The guard, to his eternal credit, was very graceful in his duty, politely explaining to us that we could f*ck off. We then nobly set off towards the great uncharted mass of the LSE’s other campus grounds. It’s worth noting at this point that the LSE is extraordinarily classy. It’s modern, stylishly built, full of gorgeous, intelligent people, and has a lot of chic touches that must make being a student there quite delightful. In other words, it’s nothing like Heythrop (only joking, chaps). While I had been handing out leaflets, I had texted a friend I know at LSE, asking if she fancied helping out a smidgen. She’s a very friendly girl, and with characteristic grace, she charmingly explained to me that she wasn’t there, and couldn’t help me, which I, with characteristic gracelessness, interpreted as “you’re on your own, mush. And good luck with it”. After collaring and forcing flyers onto anyone brave enough to talk to us in the library, cafeteria, student union and local pub, we decided to adjourn our attempts at that campus, and head back to the ULU. While there, I was introduced to Joe Rennison, the incumbent London Student editor, a handsome and affable fellow, and Viktoria Szmolar, the current Vice-President of the ULU, who was running for re-election at the time. After a revealing chat with them about their opponents, who by genuine coincidence were all very farleft-wing candidates, we decided that we would be campaigning outside the
Aleksi Aaltonen
ULU building the next morning. Let the record show that I was, at that point, something of a dedicated socialist. I had read Das Kapital, and believed that socialism was the way for me. I also believed, and believe to this day, that there is a time and a place for a political agenda, and that the ULU is no place for that. You’re there to represent every damn student in this, the greatest city on Earth, not to use this privileged position as a soapbox from which to spout your half-baked political frogwash. Here endeth the bitter digression. After a good night’s sleep for my comrades and a night awake drinking coffee and listening to Rammstein for me, we met outside the ULU building at high noon. I was more psyched this time, had my Hackett-praising patter down pat, and I was ready to win my boy an election. We were sharing a spot with Viktoria and her co-campaigner, Diego, and I found myself becoming quite adept at getting people to take my proffered papers and listen the increasingly uniform spiel to convince them to vote for all that was good and just and right in the form of Alex Hackett. We continued that afternoon’s campaigning by collaring various members of the ULU electorate in various places that I am legally bound not to divulge, but were nonetheless efficacious, and finished the night drinking coffee in a central London café, plotting our campaign for the next day and heart-
ily bitching about our opponents, who greatly outnumbered us in terms of both numbers and budget, but we resolved to continue the very next day in the same vein. Unfortunately, Gala was unable to join us on another day due to ill health, so Alex and I soldiered on regardless, determined to harvest as many votes as possible through the time-honoured method of forcing innocent passers-by to accept our cheaply-printed leaflets in the vague hope that they might cast off their voter apathy and lend their voice to our campaign. We struck at UCL, the Courtauld Institute (which, by the way, has a truly wonderful campus, and the students are charming and friendly) and King’s College, which was at the time just finishing its own student union elections, and had posters of Alex’s opponent, Hesham Zakai, plastered on seemingly every wall. I have to admit, it was at that point more than any other that I realised that this was an extremely difficult battle we were fighting, and my father’s oft-repeated adage “Nothing worth having ever comes easy” kept infuriatingly reverberating inside my skull. The weekend was rather uneventful, continuing a grind of handing out leaflets and being depressed because we thought we weren’t going to win this election. By this time I had become personally invested in this, out of loyalty to a friend, a sincere belief that what I was supporting was right, and sheer pigheaded unwillingness to give
up. The three of us reconvened late on Monday to campaign at to as many students as we could around halls of residence and common areas that UL students convene in. It’s incredible how quickly one learns basic lessons like “Don’t wear cowboy boots if you’re going to be walking around London for hours at a time” and “For God’s sake don’t shout at people you’re supposed to be winning round” when you’re on a campaign like this. However, I must say that it was wonderful to see all the colleges I’d never visited before, and get just the slightest impression of the people at ULU campuses. In all honesty, most people are really nice in this city. Londoners have a reputation for insularity and belligerence, deny it all you want, but a lot of the people I talked to were kind enough to spare me a few minutes to hear me out, or would at least smile and be polite about it if they weren’t interested. The people who would completely blank me or be outright offensive (one chap at a university named after a famously bloody Tudor Queen Of Scots actually told me outright that I was a c*nt and should f*ck off) were, thankfully, in the minority. No, it wasn’t the people I was appealing to that got to me. It was my opponents. And not just because we were campaigning for different causes. I hate to end this until-now light-hearted little account on a low note, but I do feel it is my duty to say this. Throughout this campaign I saw some truly vicious behaviour, and experienced firsthand people dealing in two-faced nastiness and appalling double standards. This week has changed me, and I’m not sure for the better. I’m glad I embarked on this surreal and exhausting adventure, but so much of what I believed has been irreparably shattered. My faith in the unity and brotherhood of the Left, the immutability of democracy, the pride of ULU students in London itself, and countless other previously heartfelt beliefs are lost to me forever. So I guess my opponents have succeeded in making me more cynical, bitter and hateful than I was before and I hope they’re proud of themselves. While I had a great time campaigning, whenever I sit and think about what I’ve learned that week I feel terribly, terribly sad. And that’s a shame, because I hoped I could take something positive away from this whole experience. Instead I’ve just learned not to trust people just because they agree with me. Just make the note even lower; Alex didn’t win the position of London Student Editor. He did, however, gain 939 votes, which is an incredibly high number, the second highest number of votes ever polled for that position, the highest being the winner, the aforementioned Mr. Zakai. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for Alex. I must confess that I am surprised not to feel bitter. But I’m not. I’m sad, but I still have my pride, and I’ve learned some important lessons along the way. None of the lessons were pleasant, and I’ve had to learn them the hard way, but they are lessons that I will take to heart. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to all the winners, and my sincere commiserations to all the losers. It’s been one Hell of an experience, and I hope that for all the alternate elation and depression of the week I spent campaigning, something good comes of these elections.
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
COMMENT
Fasting
A perspective from all three Abrahamic religions
iPlayer to iPrayer? Katie Plumb nd 2 year Undergraduate A side effect of living in a ‘Christian’ country is that we don’t quite own our liturgical calendar, Lent is no exception. Many people view Lent as a chance to recommit to their failed New years Resolutions. But it is misguided, though commendable, to view it in this way. This season, the question on everyone’s lips is, ‘what are you giving up?’ I think this misses the point. In my view, Lent is not a season of mere abstinence; it is a time of refocusing of priorities. Coming from a Protestant tradition, there are no clear guidelines for this season. So I examine my own life and try and improve on what I find. Like many students, I spend far to much time mindlessly watching comedy and not nearly enough time being mindful of my creator. I have chosen to replace iPlayer with prayer. I’m not quite sure what form this will take but I reckon it will free up two hours a day. What to
do with this time? Well, pray I guess, but I get so distracted. Why is it when an essay is due I have a sudden desire to tidy my room or do the washing up? I can’t be alone in finding anything to excuse my lack of work. Starting to pray is almost as daunting as starting an essay. But once I start, I wonder what all the fuss was about. This is why I do my degree, it’s fascinating! Why have I avoided prayer for such a long time? Maybe I view God as greeting me with a ‘well you took your time’, when in reality, he loves it when I seek him. When I pray I always think, why don’t I do this all the time? As much as I love Never Mind the Buzzcocks, I love being in my Father’s presence more. I’m planning to avoid the distractions of housework by getting out of my house to pray. Holland Park will be my prayerground. It will be a place where I can attend to God, clearing my mind of everything else, he will be my priority for forty days. Hopefully I will be so enthralled I’ll keep it up for good!
Fast of Tevet Abigail Kay 1st year Undergraduate “It’s 5am and I’m awake. I was on Skype to my parents last night for rather longer than I’d intended and didn’t get to bed until about 1am. I was just drifting off into the land of Nod at 2am when the fire alarm went off. So why, then, am I awake at 5am on a Friday morning on the last day of term?” These thoughts, in a much less coherent manner, were going through my brain at that inhumane time on 17 December. The answer is that it was a minor Jewish fast day, the Fast of Tevet, which commemorates the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians and I was determined to have breakfast and a shower before sunrise. Judaism has seven fast days spread [rather unevenly] through its calen-
Ramadan Sajida Mohammed 1st year Undergraduate
cent and it takes every bit of energy you have left (which isn’t much) to simply walk away.
Fasting is a time where participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking and sexual relations from dawn to sunset for a whole month. This month is known as Ramadan. It is believed to be the month when The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) received the first revelation of the Holy Qur’an. Therefore the month holds an important place in the life of a Muslim.
It’s hard, but after a long day of lectures or seminars or both, and the sky darkens and you know it’s time to break your fast, everything is okay again. But Ramadan is not just about eating (or lack of it), it’s about being the best Muslim you can be. It’s about being nice to everyone around you, not getting angry when someone annoys you, not swearing when things go wrong, remembering that there are people out there who fast everyday and not because they want to. It’s about your relationship with God and being grateful to Him for everything.
Ramadan is the time of year filled with buzzes of excitement, the time when it becomes the first thing one mentions to another, the time when everyone is kind and thoughtful, when families and friends sit together united by this common cause. Ramadan is a time of reflection, a time where the real definition of self discipline is acted out by almost everyone you meet. However, it is not the easiest thing one can be asked to do. I often wonder why we Muslims call what we do in the month of Ramadan fasting. The day hardly goes fast. I sit completely oblivious to what the lecturer is saying, staring at the hands of the clock ticking slowly by, daydreaming about the hot chocolate I could have been drinking had I not been fasting. When it’s time for break and my head falls effortlessly to the table, I secretly envy the person who walks in with something to eat. Every smell seems to magnify at that time, MacDonald’s does not just smell good, it’s smells magnifi-
It’s amazing how humble, modest and patient one becomes during the Month of Ramadan. Everything that used to matter (like watching Eastenders!) doesn’t matter that much because Ramadan is a month which holds countless blessings, blessings which you cannot bear to miss, blessings which outweigh the norms of your usual everyday life. What I love about Ramadan is that the atmosphere around you changes, it’s almost as if it transforms you and every Muslim around you for everyone is different in a good way. That is why when I wake up in the morning for another long lecture and I walk past somebody with lips as dry as mine, I smile...for I know not eating my usual ready salted crisps on my bus journey isn’t just rewarding, it’s worth it.
Got an opinion? Want to share it with Heythrop? Send us an article to comment@thehethroplion.co.uk Lawrence OP
dar; the most well-known is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is 25 hours without food or drink and with many further restrictions such as on doing any work, washing oneself and using ‘anointments’ (in our modern age, read this last one as deodorant, skin lotion, make up, etc). As an aside, I have always wondered whether the true reason behind conflict between Jews and Muslims in our shared history might be as simple as an unresolvable argument over who has it worse: fasting during daylight hours for an entire month or fasting for 25 hours solid... But I digress. The Fast of Tevet, for which I sacrificed an extremely long lie-in, is an example of a ‘dawn-todusk’ fast (as opposed to the 25 hour fasts which are ‘sunset-to-stars’ fasts); the advantage to this is that it falls in the winter, during which time there are only about ten hours between the sun rising and it setting again. Given that I
frequently forget to eat lunch at university anyway, the whole not eating thing doesn’t really bother me that much. Where it gets more complicated, though, is the other restrictions; there’s no real consensus among rabbis (I mean, when is there ever?) about which aspects apply to which fasts. The thing concerning me most about the Fast of Tevet was that I needed to shower before sunset because Friday evening is the beginning of the Sabbath, on which using hot water is forbidden. If I can’t shower on Yom Kippur or another fast called Tisha b’Av which commemorates the destruction of the second Temple, can I shower on this one? I decided to play it safe by getting up even earlier than if I had just been having breakfast in order to have a shower. Can you imagine how annoying it was to find out after the event that showering on the Fast of Tevet is, in fact, permitted?
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WEDNESDAY 23rD MArCH | THE LION
CuLTUrE Theatre: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg John Ord Culture Editor The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a story about first love, about finding that someone you think is special and the trials and tribulations that may arise as life so swiftly decided to get right in the way of it. ‘It’s so unfair!’ most people complain, and yes, often it is but this production is certainly not unfair, being a masterpiece of the modern innovative theatre style that we have come to recognise as distinctively Kneehigh. Having been rather disappointed with my trips to the theatre over the past couple of weeks, I was excited that there was a new Kneehigh show in town and eagerly rushed in to secure a ticket. I have seen a few Kneehigh shows before, although not in London, and was flabbergasted by each and every one, notably my favourite so far, rapunzel. I am happy to say that The Umbrellas of Cherbourg lifts the roof off the disappointing aura of the past few weeks. From the outset the show is different. Meow Meow enters through the audience having ‘come in the wrong door’ and begins the show generating raucous laughter from the audience. She is compelling throughout. She never drops the ball and her talent and pure love of the show radiates magnificently. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her next solo cabaret night. Her
opening skit is a perfect blend of humour and double-entendre with some audience participation thrown in for good measure and it works fantastically well. When the set is brought to life you are certain you are watching a Kneehigh show. Small model buildings are sprayed across the stage in the form of the port town of Cherbourg before being hoisted up and replaced with a series of larger set pieces that the cast climb all over and dance around. Wonderful. It is a vibrant and colourful show, resembling a fly-by from all the birds of paradise discovered by man and a few more just for good measure. Everything is colourful, from the umbrellas in the shop to the costumes, the neon lights that light up the set, the balloons that are used for one of the sequences, you name it and it’ll be colouful. This gives it a far greater sense of charm than would have been possible otherwise, the feelings surrounding the boldness and naivety of first love making it feel like a child’s first painting. They bring it home and it’s a sheet covered with bright colours and it is marvelous. So bright and colourful is The Umbrellas of Cherbourg though I dare say at least a crayon-step more complex. A credit to Lez Brotherston that such good costumes and set is used throughout and to such wonderful and enchanting effect. The whole show is sung throughout.
I don’t mean there are songs as there are in a regular musical, splicing themselves between speech and scenes, I mean that it is sung. The cast don’t talk at any point, the lines are still intact as in a normal play except that they are sung and put to music. This represents a mammoth undertaking from composer Michel Legrand and a truly innovative show that works to further increase the charm of it all. The French setting helps with this as well, providing a sassiness that could only be found across the channel (and brought in its full unadulterated form to our fair shore by Meow Meow). Emma rice says that the show is the definition of ‘chic’ and I would happily agree with her. With the charm comes sophistication. The efforts of all the cast are to be noted for their vocal work especially, with every single member being a fantastic singer, but they were also more than capable dancers. In particular, the trinity of Gareth Charlton, Aki Omoshaybi and Matt Wilman providing a marvellous physical backdrop with their dance, whether it be a choreographed routine or their innovative methods of changing the set or even moving from A to B. The whole production flowed like a piece of music, never standing still and there wasn’t a moment that I felt bored or even distracted. The main couple, brought to life by Carly Bawden and Andrew Durand were emotive as well as fun, their
Food: summer Wine marianne Levi rd 3 year Undergraduate I dread to even begin to write an article in any way regarding alcohol without the words “Heythrop student bar” cropping up. Now it’s out of the way for the duration of my writing, we shall move on. In this harsh political climate around Heythrop and increasingly warming weather, I’m here to advise upon what sort of drinks should help you through. I personally am of the opinion that there is nothing better in warm weather (or any weather, to be perfectly honest) than an icy, crisp dry white wine. It even works for picnics - my friend and I last week made a makeshift cooler out of sheer dedication to the cause. It can be noted however that walking about with plastic bags full of ice cubes and wine in the centre of richmond will make you look mental, wet and an alcoholic. Anyway, DIY fridges aside, my suggestions for white wines at this time of year: anything from the Loire valley. It sounds vague, but because of the cooler climate in that particular part of France, the
grapes develop slowly and are therefore juicier and more packed with flavour - in hotter parts of the world such as Spanish or Australian wine regions the grapes grow quickly, are more dehydrated, and have a far higher alcohol content. This also adds to the colour - more sugar in a dehydrated grape will add to a more yellow-ish colour in whites, a more opaque colour in reds. Loire Chenin Blancs and Sancerres are far paler, some almost verging on a lemony-green shade. On the nose, there are incredibly subtle scents of citrus, minerality (almost metallic in some Sancerres) and a muted floral quality. On the palate, high acidity (that feeling of juiciness in your mouth), flavours of green fruit, such as apples or elderflower, and an incredible crisp quality. Sancerre wines are made from the sauvignon blanc grape, but as mentioned before, the cool climate mutes the rich fruity qualities of the grape. If you fancy really treating yourself, go for a pouilly-fume or pouilly-fuisse from the same region - or perhaps a white Bordeaux. Most of these are made from chardonnay grapes, an incredibly versatile grape to grow - they still have the crisp minerality and almost veg-
etal green flavours, but with a bit more body & slightly fruity flavour. To aim for another style of the same whites, if you prefer more punchy, pronounced and fruity flavours, you’d be better off drinking a new world sauvignon. This is anything from New Zealand or perhaps South Africa or Chile. The Marlborough region in New Zealand is regarded by most as the best white wine region outside of France. On a personal note, I’m always more in favour of the cool, crisp, classic European wines, but each to their own. Most chardonnays from this region are oak-aged (sauvignons tend not to age well), which means they are matured in special casks - this will add a toasty, honeyed vanilla quality to the wine. If you drink a typical New Zealand sauvignon, the flavours will come right up and punch you in the face - massive amounts of peach, flowers, perfume; the colour far more golden; if these wines were people they’d be the life and soul of the party. Go for ‘oyster bay’ or ‘oxford landing’ sauvignon blancs if you’re thinking of buying - steer clear of brands such as Hardy’s, Jacob’s Creek, etc.. These are mass produced, additive-ridden monstrosities (but that’s another rant for a different day). Chil-
characterization faultless despite the unusual style. Happily, this was a trend throughout the cast. Joanna riding, Dominic Marsh, Cynthia Erivo, Gareth Charlton and all the other performers brought believable and emotionally provocative characters to the show. You find yourself invested in them far more than you had ever expected and by the end you find yourself feeling as though you’re lost in a fairytale and although it’s not the happily-ever-after, you’re not sad to be there either. This is a fantastic show in almost every sense of the word. It’s not the typical show you’d expect to see in a theatre but that is testament to the work that Kneehigh are doing continually to ean whites tend to fall somewhere in between crisp old world & full-bodied tropical new world wines; ‘Cono Sur’ do gorgeous chardonnays and sauvignons at around £8 a bottle - they do have a far higher alcohol content however so beware if you’re planning to look classy with a glass of wine. White wine rambles aside; I’ll leave you with some delicious summer drinks. Pimms is classic and obvious. However if you fancy trying something slightly different and celebratory, try a Pimms Champagne cocktail. You need: Fruit (strawberries, mint, cucumber etc) 100ml Champagne, Cava, or Prossecco 25ml Pimms Cut the fruit; put it in a champagne flute. Add the Pimms, top up with whatever sparkling wine you have handy. The measures above are not entirely specific, but for a guide, you need 1 part Pimms to 4 parts wine. The fruit’s just a bonus. This is refreshing but be warned - Pimms is gin-based, so mixing it with wine gets you pretty hammered! ‘Chimayo’- this is a tequila-based cocktail I just put on my summer menu at work - really refreshing on a hot day.
stand apart from the crowd. They have found a brilliantly talented cast and I hope they keep hold of them to bring us more shows similar in nature, with the expression in both dance and song because I did feel throughout as though the cast were holding back, like they were able to do something even more extravagant. I’m glad they didn’t as it wouldn’t have suited the show but I sincerely hope that they’ll have the chance to do so in the future. Another groundbreaking success for Kneehigh, the West End and theatre in general. Don’t make excuses, go and see it before you kick yourself for missing the chance.
50ml tequila Splash of chambord, creme de cassis or any blackcurrant/raspberry liqueur Apple juice Squeeze of lime Shake everything together in a cocktail shaker. Pour into tall glass over ice & garnish with a slice of apple & lime. And for the morning after, my classic Bloody mary recipe... Everyone has a different idea of the perfect Bloody mary so add ingredients according to taste. 50ml vodka Splash of red wine (or sherry) - optional tomato juice tobasco sauce Worcester sauce Angostura bitters Celery/wasabi salt (if you have no posh salts to hand then regular will work!) Cracked black pepper Squeeze of lime Either mix in a shaker or layer over ice. Garnish with a stick of celery and lime or lemon. If you want to make a ‘Bloody Maria’, use tequila in place of vodka, and for a ‘bloody pirate’, use rum... Both are delicious! Happy summer drinking!
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wednesday 23rd march | THE LION
culture
Film: Black Swan Sartaj Singh 2nd year Undergraduate My definition of a good movie is a picture that completely transports you away from your everyday existence and into the universe of the film that you are watching. Black Swan did that for me not just on the basis of being an absolutely jaw dropping thriller but on a deeper level that will resonate with me for days to come. Black Swan tells the story of Nina Sayers who is an aspiring dancer. One day her ballet company decide to put on the show ‘Swan Lake’. However, this particular version has a twist: the lead ballet dancer has to play a dual role, the roles of the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina gets the sought after part. However, as time goes on she realises that she must really become the Black Swan and the movie chronicles her whole preparation for the coveted role and all the pitfalls that come with it. The first thing that has to be commended about this film is the directing from Darren Aronofsky. Every shot, every scene, every moment had a vigour of artistry in it, whether it was simple shots of Nina seeing herself in the mirror or the amazing dancing sequences that made me feel like I was dancing myself and getting caught up in the moment of it all. From the first scene Aronofsky creates a sense of underlying tension that permeates the movie. It never lets up for even a single
moment. In this movie you never truly feel safe and the otherworldly scenes are brilliant, from the surreal images to the subtle way Aronofsky plays with lighting. Also, for someone who has never really been interested in ballet he makes these scenes absolutely fascinating and afterwards I had a real appreciation for it not just as entertainment but also as an art form. If there was one problem with the direction it is that sometimes scenes come off as psychological thriller 101. I was thinking occasionally this is very similar to other thrillers I have seen and sometimes it took me out of the experience. However despite this, I am very happy that Aronofsky was nominated for Best Director at the Oscars as he truly deserves it and I am curious now to check out his other movies, as this was the first film of his that I have watched. Natalie Portman gives what I think is a career defining performance. She has always been an interesting actress to me, whether seeing her in her early movies such as Heat and Mars Attacks or later ones such as Star Wars Episode 3 and V for Vendetta. Aside from splendid directing, she is what makes this movie absolutely unforgettable and Oscar worthy. She brings a sense of innocence to Nina; we see her at the start of the film all nice, dedicated and hard working. She is technically perfect when it comes to her dancing but her boss wants her to become immersed when playing the role of Swan Queen. The most amazing aspect of Portman`s performance is her transformation into playing the Black Swan and seeing trac-
Film: Potiche John Underwood Alumus : Best For Film New Wave director François Ozon, whose witty and provocative films are the stuff of legend in his native France, returns to the screen with the fourth adapted play of his career. Based on a wildly successful stage comedy from the Seventies, Potiche is an unexpectedly emotive story which, quite apart from starring impossibly iconic screen couple Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu, contains every single one of the vital elements of a great film: upholstered telephones, umbrella factories and incest. The year is 1977, and France is awash with industrial action – and nowhere are the workers more disgruntled (funny how you never hear of gruntled workers) than at the umbrella factory run by the tyrannical Robert Pujol (Luchini). His devoted wife Suzanne (De-
neuve), a ‘potiche’ or trophy wife whose main pursuits are jogging, needlepoint and writing dreadful poetry, is blissfully detached from the drama at the factory until Robert is unexpectedly kidnapped by his striking workforce. Suzanne’s conservative daughter Joelle (Judith Godrèche) is all for sending in the riot police whilst her artistic son Laurent (Jérémie Renier) favours a conciliatory approach, but it is Suzanne who saves the day by brokering a deal with local Communist MP Maurice Bebin (Depardieu), who coincidentally happens to be an old flame from Suzanne’s unexpectedly turbulent youth. With her husband released but sent on a convalescent cruise by his doctors, Suzanne is left to manage the factory – and despite her distinctly bourgeois trappings, she proves to be exactly the breath of fresh air the ailing business needed. When Robert returns from his cruise, he is met by a bustling and happy factory with a fresh direction and a practical, sympathetic CEO – a
correction
An article was published in the last issue of The Lion written by John Underwood. All work by John Underwood published in this paper is used courtesy of BestForFilm. We sincerely apologise that in the last issue they were not credited, this was merely an editorial mistake. If you would like to check out John Underwood’s other reviews, as well as others from some great writers, please visit bestforfilm.com.
es of her becoming nasty, confident and sexy was very engaging. She became a totally different person and it was just a joy to watch. It has been widely publicised that Portman did ten intensive months of ballet training and in the movie it really shows. Her dancing is very good and she is graceful whenever she is on screen doing it. I am thrilled that she has been nominated for Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards and without a shadow of a doubt she deserves to win it. It is the best female performance I have seen thus far this year. Of course the acting from the supporting cast is to be discussed as they add a lot to the movie. In particular four actors are noteworthy. Firstly, Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy, the head of the production of Swan Lake, was what one of the characters of described as a “prick.” However, the performance is far from being one-note. Cassel brings a lot of fierce, aggressive energy that spans a lot of his character from his frustration with getting Nina perfect to his determination of getting the ballet performance just right. It was truly a great performance. Mila Kunis who is mainly known for “That 70s Show” and “Family Guy” gives a very mature performance here. She is the opposite of Nina: confident, sexy, and rebellious. You can really believe why Nina feels threatened by her and you can believe that she is a very credible threat and rival to her. It’s such a shame she did not get a Best Supporting Actress nomination as I felt CEO, in fact, who’s enjoyed her holiday from the mantelpiece so much she’s not inclined to return to her previous role as a trophy wife. Robert demands that Suzanne relinquish her duties and Maurice dreams of enticing her away from her loveless marriage, but now Suzanne’s had a taste of emancipation she has new plans bigger than either of the men in her life. The French are good at revolutions, but a gender upheaval takes a lot more getting used to than simply taking the top eighteen inches off a truculent monarch… In Potiche, Ozon wilfully channels the spirit of the 70s along with a large dose of farce and screwball comedy, a style which has long since fallen from fashion in English-language cinema. The mise-en-scène and visual effects are deliciously dated, with absurd animated split screens and knowing glances into the camera very much the order of the day. Ozon plays on the extraordinary onscreen camaraderie between Deneuve and Depardieu (who appear in their seventh onscreen relationship in thirty years), making use of devices including a gloriously hackneyed flashback scene and a synchronised, Bee-Gees-flavoured dance sequence in
she truly deserved it. Barbara Hershey plays Nina`s overbearing mother who wants the best for her daughter and is living through her as she was a failed ballet dancer herself. Hershey didn’t have much screen time but kept me glued to the screen with her performance, like all other characters in this movie she had dimensions to her and did not come off as one-note. Seeing Wynona Ryder in this movie in her brief role was a treat; I have never seen her this crazy or messed up before and she provided a great counter point to Nina`s character. Nina wanted to be perfect like her but will she become as mad and vengeful as her after the fame has kicked in and she has experienced it for a number of years? Overall, Black Swan is a very good movie. It not only works as a nail-biting psychological thriller but also as a meditation on ambition and art. How far does one go to be truly perfect at something? How much can you become a character without losing yourself in the process? In addition, it is relatable, as seeing the difference of the White Swan and the Black Swan was like seeing the contrast of the good and evil that fundamentally exists within all of us. Typically in a film the conflict exists between people but this film presents conflict as not only what I just said but also an internal thing, something we can all relate to on an everyday level. Also as a former Drama student, having learned the techniques of how get into character, I could feel Nina`s frustration with getting into the part of the Black Swan. With absolutely fantastic
directing, a scene-absorbing performance from Portman and great supporting performances as well as a great script and musical score, Black Swan is an absolutely soul-absorbing movie that I recommend you see.
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a nightclub. These two actors have enjoyed a celluloid partnership unrivalled (in the director’s own words) by any couple since Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, and their reprisal of the uptown girl/backstreet guy dynamic which has served them well since Truffaut’s Le Dernier Metro is superbly tinged with regret at the gradual loss of their fiery youth.
There isn’t a single duff performance in the lead cast, with Fabrice Luchini’s frothing Robert a particularly angry, horny delight – it was also thrilling to see Jérémie Renier abandon his recent run of dark and menacing characters in favour of the louche, tight-sweatered and distinctly camp Laurent. Ozon’s trademark wit and enthusiasm for bucking the sexual norm continues apace, and the charming good humour which dominates the film disguises a couple of truly emotional performances which belie their flippant setting. A comedy it may be, but this is a film with a lot to say – the cultural context of the time and place in which it is set might disguise its relevance, but many of the attitudes displayed onscreen (particularly concerning the workers’ struggle and the eternal tussle over women in the workplace) remain enormously meaningful. I’m not sure what English audiences will make of Potiche’s delicious pastiche of farce and feeling, but Molière would definitely be proud.