Griffiti - Issue 63

Page 1

ISSUE 63

ISSUE 62

FEATURING: VANN MUSIC SUNSET SONS EXAM STRESS MANAGEMENT


STA SU N MAR VAN AD P EXA REV SME SUN GEN

C

COVE DREW NOOR PIERC ROBB SARA STEP STEP WALA


APRIL 2015

CONTENTS STATE OF THE UNION SU NEWS MARRIAGE REF VANN MUSIC AD PSYCHOLOGY EXAM STESS? REVIEW SMEIDAS 2015 SUNSET SONS GENUINE ARTICLE

4 6 8 10 16 18 19 20 22 24

Contributors

COVER BY: LOUIS JACOB-WALSH DREW PEACOCK NOOR SALEH PIERCE CONNOLLY ROBBIE MORRISSEY SARAH BUTTLE STEPHEN DONNERY STEPHEN HEALY WALAA AJJAWI

A letter from the editor

Hi guys! Here we are, the end of the year. Assignments handed in? Study plan made? No? Don’t worry. There’s still time. We’re wrapping up here in the SU for the year and this is the final issue of Griffiti for the year. Since I spoke to you last we’ve been to the Smedias where Griffith took home the second most awards on the night, unfortunately Griffiti didn’t win. The Griffith Ball took place in the mid April. It was a great success and a great night. In this issue we have a lot for you. Interviews with two bands, we talk a bit about the upcoming marriage referendum, help de-stress you for exams, and much, much more. I’ll wrap up this letter just by saying thank you to all contributors to this magazine throughout the year. You made this job so much easier and the quality put forward got the magazine Smedia nominated. I want to wish best of luck to Walaa Ajjawi as next president (go easy on her, I make it look easy). So anyway, thank you to everyone, hopefully i’ll see you around!

Robbie

Advertising Enquiries: su.president@gcd.ie/ 01415063 Printed by: Percision Print

Griffiti Magazine

Griffith College Students’ Union South Circular Road Dublin 8 Email: su.president@gcd.ie Griffiti Magazine is the Students’ Union Publication at Griffith College. It was established in 2004. All contents copyright of Griffiti, reproduction of any part of the magazine without permission is prohibited. The views expressed do not neccessarily reflect that of the college or the SU


STATE OF THE UNION CLAIRE ASTON, ASSISTANT MANAGER

STEPHEN DONNERY, VICE PRESIDENT & CLUB & SOCIETIES OFFICER

was a great achievement lose one game all season is For those of you that are

Hi All,

thank you for all your involvement with the SU

T

wish you the best of luck for

hanks to everyone for

Hi Guys,

out for all the college teams

college year in all the events

to go to all the other clubs awesome feeling when you Unfortunately now it has

Claire

or anything in that case,

we were not going to let

a great success with 350

Ajjawi winning the SU

those who were here for one you have great success in your

working with both of them

Stephen


SU NEWS

T

he 15th annual Griffith Ball took place on April 17th in the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. The Griffith Ball is the biggest event the SU throws every year and this year was no exception. The theme for this year’s ball was circus/carnival.

The evening began with a champagne reception followed my a three course dinner. During dessert clubs & societies awrds were handed out with the basketball team shockingly deservedly winning team of the year, Anesti Murati & Sandra Brunet winning the inaugeral Sports Male & Female of the year, respectively. The final announcement before the evening really kicked off was the announcement of the Students’ Union elections. Stephen beat RON quite

convincingly to be re-elected as Vice-President & Clubs & Societies officer and Walaa Ajjawi beating Robert Woodbyrne to be elected as Students’ Union President for 2015/16. Blue Moose then kicked off the party side of the night. They were absolutely phenomeonal on the night breaking out all the covers you could think of. The band played until midnight then a DJ took over to wrap up the last couple of hours. It was a great night overall and a great way to wrap up the year. We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did.


Computers available while you wait


F O D N E R A YE

T

he college semester recently wrapped up. That didn’t stop us from wrapping it up in some style! During the final week, the focus briefly shifted from assignments and stress to partying. We held our final beer pong tournament of the year on the Tuesday with a 90s theme. There was a great turn out and and even better costumes. The playlist of 90s tunes went down well too, with an

SU NEWS

inpromtu macerena taking place. 16 teams overall took part with reigning champions TTBM coming out on top once again to take their title (and a pair of beer pong hoodies) home with them. The Wednesday saw us end the year with a blowout in DTwo nightclub. Beforehand we held the Clubs & Societies night as a thanks to all the members who competed for the college throughout the year. That’s your lot from the SU this year. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and come back again if you can! Griffith would love to have you all back. Have a great summer, everyone!!


FEATURES Students, make your vote count on the 22nd of May

by Sarah Buttle

Y

oung people of Ireland, can I have your attention? As we all know, there is a major referendum happening in Ireland this May. An Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced the date for the Marriage Equality Referendum to be held on the 22nd of May. Now that we know the date it gives us, the future generation, the chance to make sure we are registered to vote. You can go to www. checktheregister.ie and make sure your name is on the electoral register. If you are not on it, no matter how much you support civil marriage equality you will not be able to vote. Make sure your vote counts! Get your family and friends to check they are on it too. Students in general have a slightly more laid back, “It’ll be all right” attitude to many things in life. People in their 20s expect a lot of things to be free or handed to them. If it’s not cheap, a lot of people won’t do it. They’re more likely to download movies than go to the cinema. I am not generalising the entire

percentage of students, but for many this is true or not far from it. From hearing and discussing the referendum two things have stood out to me. The first is nearly 100% of students I have asked have said that they would vote yes for the Marriage Equality Referendum in May. The second thing I have noticed which entirely impacts my first point, is that most of those students also agreed that many of them might not bother if it is too much effort and inconvenient on that day. For those who are not directly going to be affected by the outcome of this referendum, it is merely just not a priority for them. This is not because they do not support Gay marriage, but it is down to being ‘too much effort’. This is quite disheartening and sad to hear, but it is the reality of the situation. The demographic of Irish citizens who are guaranteed to cast a vote are in the age bracket of 30 onwards. Many of these voters may not be willing to accept this change in Irish society.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article do not neccessarily reflect that of the college or the SU


FEATURES A Year in Review by Noor Saleh

ćF POMZ XBZ UP NBLF TFOTF PVU PG DIBOHF JT UP QMVOHF JOUP JU NPWF XJUI JU KPJO UIF EBODF HFU VQ BOE UIJT JT FYBDUMZ XIBU * EJE UIJT ZFBS oBOE CPPHJF "T B KVOJPS JO DPMMFHF BOE MJGF * IBWF OFWFS EPVCUFE GPS B TJOHMF TFDPOE UIBU UIJT XPVME CF POF PG UIF CFTU ZFBST PG NZ MJGF * DBNF IFSF XJUI OPUIJOH oXFMM B TIJSU PO NZ CBDL BOE B QFOOZ UP NZ OBNF o BOE * BN HPJOH UP MFBWF UIJT IPNF XJUI FWFSZUIJOH 8IFSF EP * CFHJO ćF ĕSTU BNB[JOH QBSUZ JO "SUIVST JO 4FQUFNCFS PS UIF NPTU BNJBCMF 46 GSJFOET :FT * BN UBMLJOH BCPVU ZPV $MBJSF 3PCCJF BOE VIN 4UFQIFO

Here’s to the best year in restrospect: t 'JSTU * XBT iUFSSJĕFE BT TIJUw RVPUJOH 3PCCJF 1VSDFMM BOE * EJEO U LOPX JG * XPVME ĕU JO PS OPU CFDBVTF JU XBT B XIPMF OFX TVSSPVOEJOH GPS NF 1ē XIP BN * LJEEJOH PG DPVSTF * XPVME CVU NZ GSJFOET BOE UIF MPWFMZ HVZT BU UIF 46 NBEF JU B XIPMF MPU FOKPZBCMF t +PJOJOH UIF &OUT $SFX XIJDI JT TPNFUIJOH * IJHIMZ SFDPNNFOE TUVEFOUT oTQFDJBMMZ ĕSTU ZFBST oUP CF QBSU PG :PV HFU UP NFFU MPBET PG OFX QFPQMF BOE HFU NPSF JOWPMWFE JO JTTVFT IBQQFOJOH BSPVOE UIJT XPOEFSGVM DBNQVT BOE IBOH DPPM FWFOU QPTUFST XIFSF $MBJSF DBO U SFBDI t 'PS NF MJGF JO (SJďUI XBT B IFMM PG B MPU TJNQMFS CFDBVTF * MJWF PO DBNQVT XIJDI JT TPNFUIJOH * XPVME SFDPNNFOE BT XFMM JG ZPV XBOU UIF FBTZ XBZ PVU MJLF NF t * NBEF B QBDU XJUI NZTFMG UIBU * XJMM OFWFS NJTT B DPMMFHF FWFOU CFDBVTF * TVČFS GSPN '0.0 CVU BMTP CFDBVTF FWFSZ FWFOU XBT QFSGFDUMZ PSHBOJTFE GPS VT BOE ZPV DBO U IFMQ CVU iXJTI JU XBT MPOHFSw TBZT 4BOESB #SVOFU PVS GFNBMF 4QPSUT 1MBZFS PG UIF ZFBS t ćF USJQT PSHBOJTFE CZ UIF 46 XFSF

FYDFMMFOU 4UBSUJOH XJUI %FMQIJ $FOUSF KVTU CFTJEF 8FTUQPSU MPBET PG DSB[Z MBOE BOE XBUFS BEWFOUVSFT GPMMPXJOH UIBU B POF EBZ USJQ UP #VOSBUUZ $BTUMF BęFS UIBU B UJSJOH CVU FYDJUJOH EJTDPWFSZ USJQ UP (BMXBZ $MJČT PG .PIFS BOE #MBSOFZ 4UPOF BOE MBTU CVU OFWFS MFBTU UIF 4VSG USJQ JO -BIJODI $P $MBJSF t *U XBTO U BMM KVTU TFMĕTIMZ TQFOEJOH NPOFZ PO BMDPIPM UIF 46 PSHBOJTFE 3 " ( XFFL JO BJE PG 1JFUB )PVTF XIFSF UIFSF XFSF FWFOUT MJLF UIF 3"( 3*05 XIJDI * SFBMMZ FOKPZFE CFJOH QBSU PG t #FFS QPOH XBT BMTP POF PG UIF IJHIMJHIUT PG UIF ZFBS GPS NF BOE GPS NBOZ QFPQMF * N TVSF CFDBVTF JU XPVME CF TPME PVU XJUIJO B EBZ t &OE PG ZFBS QBSUZ BU %580 XBT CZ GBS UIF CFTU EBZ JO NZ UJNF IFSF *U IBQQFOFE UP CF PO UIF TBNF EBZ PG NZ CJSUIEBZ BOE NZ MPWFMZ GSJFOET .FHBO 4BOESB BOE $BUISJO TVSQSJTFE NF XJUI B DBLF BOE B UPJMFU QBQFS TBDI oDSFBUJWF HVZT UIBOL ZPV WFSZ NVDI *O UIF FOE JU T UJNF UP TBZ HPPE CZF UP UIJT VOGPSHFUUBCMF ZFBS XPOEFSGVM GSJFOET BOE NZ IPNF BXBZ GSPN IPNF ćBOLT UP FWFSZPOF XIP DPOUSJCVUFE BOE * IPQF ZPVS ZFBS XBT UFSSJĕD BT XFMM #SJOH JU PO ZFBS UXP * N SFBEZ GPS ZPV


INTERVIEW VANN MUSIC

by Robbie Morrissey

I

t’s a nippy Wednesday night on Dublin’s Abbey Street, but just a few floors away from the evening commuters, VANN MUSIC write away in their studio and chatting to a few members of the press. Sitting down with Aaron, Phil, Rob, and Ross, the band are

itching to get the words out about their latest EP. As the release of their “Running” EP comes closer, the process began with some initial demoes in their studio before later heading to the UK to work with industry veteran Stephen Hague (New Order / The Pet Shop Boys). Lead single ‘Boy’ is a real hardhitting track, offering comparisons to Bloc Party and Bastille. “We

had a lot of parts recorded already,” says bassist Ross Fortune, “Then we went to Stephen’s place in Hastings on two separate occasions and recorded the rest of the tracks.” Stephen was the obvious choice for the fourpiece on this record, citing that he had a bit more influence in the pop sensibilities.. As for their live setup, the boys are known for their rigorous


routine in terms of bringing their energy from rehearsal rooms to the stage; “We’ve always invested in ourselves. Even from our very first show, we brought our own sound engineer. [For us] the shows are absolute, they have to be amazing.” frontman Aaron Smyth pops up. “It’s about consistency” adds guitarist Phil Costello. “It has always been enjoyable to bring new songs to the live shows also.” Headlining The Button Factory on 7 March, the band have some impressive names to tick off the list with performances at Killarney’s INEC and Dublin’s Forbidden Fruit Festival behind their belt. Also a run of several dates in selected HMV stores across the country will help them to get a feel for the new EP in a live situation. A number of UK dates and a performance at Toronto’s CMJ are planned over the next few months also. Tracks on the “Running” EP along with lead single ‘Boy’ may not be as “upbeat” and “high octane” as their previous efforts like ‘Tina’ and ‘Gold and Silver’, but the band feel it allows them to “Do things and say things a little differently.” Aaron points out; “A band has to develop, an artist has to. You have to

A band has to develop, an artist has to. You have to be selfish and get enjoyment to want and keep on doing it. ”

It has always been enjoyable to bring new songs to the live shows

be selfish and get enjoyment to want and keep on doing it.” For the tracks that didn’t make it like ‘Come To The River’, the band felt there needed to be “more body and more heart” with the tracks they chose. Their hit ‘Tina’ was more about “progession” in their eyes, but with “Running”, there’s nothing set in stone for what direction the band might move with their début album. “Out of the eight tracks that we had sent in, there were four frontrunners that we all collectively agreed on.” says Phil, “Stephen called me up to say ‘I know the four’, I said go on, and he listed off ‘Boy’, ‘Repeat’, ‘Jesus Babe’, and ‘One Chance’.” and that’s how the EP’s track listing was done. Before the band settle back into rehearsals for their upcoming shows, Aaron explains what ‘Boy’ really means; “Boy is about growing tired of who you’ve become as a person, putting the brakes on and saying ‘enough is enough’. You need to change a couple of things in your life, that’s not where you want to go” “Running” is available on iTunes and in HMV stores


In Focus

by Louis Jacob-Walsh

by Louis Jacob Walsh


by Stephen Healy

by Stephen Healy

by Louis Jacob Walsh


Y T R A P E L P O E P



FEATURES The sneaky psychology of advertising

by Noor Saleh

Inadequate and incomplete”, a couple of words billboards can’t scream any louder and can’t colour any brighter, as you walk by and try to avoid them, gasping for freedom and acceptance. “Good wine needs no push, and perhaps products that people really want need no hard-sell or soft-sell TV push. Why not? Look at pot!” Ogden Nash states in complete candor and simplicity. Our exposure to advertisements is quite frankly frightening. We’re subjected to ads everyday through tv commercials, outdoor billboards, website banners, neighbours’ t-shirts, bumper stickers, flyers and much more. According to the Media Dynamics publication, Media Matters, a typical adult has potential daily exposure to about 600- 625 ads in any form, 272 of these exposures come from the major traditional media (TV, radio, magazines, and newspapers). These numbers are approximate –if not increased –more and more due to the urbanization of cities and the increasing mediums for advertising. “We never know where the consumer is going to be at any point in time, so we have to find a way to be everywhere,” said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief

executive at the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York ad agency. This industry is taking advantage of our weaknesses and our inner-most feelings. The ones that we would not normally show. They extract them, evoke them, and use them to their sales benefit. Things that we don’t necessarily need. They make us “want” them. Businesses are constantly trying to find new ways to apply elements of behavioral psychology in their advertising and marketing campaigns, but this is not a new field. Psychologists like Harlow Gale in the 1895s and Walter Dill Scott were one of the first psychologists to work in advertising. Dr. Scott, who published “The Theory and Practice of Advertising”, in which he argues that people are highly suggestible and obedient, and he’s credited with giving scientific credibility to psychology’s involvement in advertisement. Finally, John B. Watson in the 1920s who said that effective advertising appeals to three innate emotions; love, fear and rage. He also believed in celebrity endorsements and market research, and using demographic data to target certain customers. Advertisers invoke ten critical emotions to get us to


buy their products. Fear:“don’t get left behind”, value: “you won’t find a better deal anywhere else”, trust: “no gimmicks or hidden costs”, guilt: “your contribution CAN make a difference between a homeless person sleeping on the streets or in a shelter with a proper meal to eat”, belonging: “Join now and find out what other people are up to”, competition: “make your neighbours envious”, instant gratification: “Talk to someone now and stop worrying”, leadership: “be the first to join/buy”, trendsetting: “Be like your favorite celeb.” and finally, time: “Do your task in half the time required”. Today, consumers are bombarded with buzz words like “sizzling hot product” to link our emotions with the product, “People you know like this product” because people “trust” their friends’ habits and purchases, “Stronger, better, faster” to stimulate their thinking, and “Be like me” to firstly increase the sense of belonging and secondly to encourage you with celebrity endorsements. People are more likely to identify themselves with a product because a celebrity is representing it, even though they might feel apathetic towards the company itself. By now, people have become more and more immune to buzz words and marketing tactics. However, marketeers are always on the move, inventing new ways to enslave you and strip you from your purchasing freedom. In one way, the make their logos ‘speak to us’. Research shows that brand logo exposure can have a huge impact on everything from a consumer’s honesty to creativity. When we are exposed to logos, they trigger certain feelings associated with the logo, leading us to exhibit behaviors that are consistent with the brand’s image. They make you “feel happy with their product”, where they associate happy memories and objects such as flowers and sunshine to a laundry detergent for example, to get you to feel happy and buy their products. This process is called affective conditioning. An experiment was carried on to prove this, where subjects were told about two pens, one had better properties than the other. Before picking a pen, a group of subjects was shown pictures that paired the brand name of the worse pen with positive things. The results were the group that didn’t see pictures of the pen with positive things chose the pen with positive qualities most of the time, while the other group that underwent affective conditioning picked the worse pen 70% - 80% of the time. They make you “feel richer”. A study published by the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that repeated exposure to luxury brands can actually help induce huge spending habits. One more strategy is they “overstimulate you with music”. The Journal of Consumer Research also carried out a study which

shows that shoppers are more likely engage in impulsive purchasing if they were exposed to club-like loud and fast-paced music. In contrast, restaurants play slow soft music to urge diners to linger on, making them spend more on desserts or drinks. According to a study carried out by the University of Leicester, when a wine store played French music, it boosted the sales of French wine, and German music boosted German wine sales. Ads are not only targeted at adults, but at children as well. Concerning food, smoking, going out, and so on. Marketeers invented holidays referred to as “Hallmark Holidays” such as Valentine’s Day, Pancake Day, Sweetest day to benefit consumerism. The holiday, which Hallmark proclaims is always celebrated on the third Saturday of October, was legitimately created by a Cleveland-based candy company to sell sweets on that day. In Sweden, the government has prohibited all TV advertising aimed at children under the age of 12 since 1991. Broadcasters argue that the revenue generated in the EU every year by TV ads for children’s products - between 670 million euros and 1 billion euros - is essential for the creation of quality children’s programming. European governments have been pushing television stations to produce more of their own shows, to reduce the amount of American-made content that fills up TV schedules, but for-profit station owners say that without sufficient ad revenue, only fee-supported broadcasters will be able to even try to do so. Health Secretary Alan Milburn in the UK unveiled on the 23rd of January 2013, that the Government’s latest drive to reduce the number of smoking-related deaths is by highlighting the introduction of a ban on tobacco advertising on billboards and in the press. He added: “Tobacco advertising and sponsorship have acted as a recruiting sergeant for children and young teenagers to start the tobacco habit. By banning smoking adds and maybe also drinking, it will decrease the number of “newly recruited youngsters”. They’re sneaky and they think they don’t owe you anything. Allow yourself to walk away from the screaming billboards. Don’t cover your ears or eyes, but inform yourself of their strategies and understand the manipulation they do. Assure yourself that you are exactly how you should be and that you are not missing out on what they coerce you to do. Don’t be a victim of bombarding advertisement. Be confident of who you are and what you do. Don’t let them make you feel inadequate and get you to buy things that won’t fill the gap inside of you. Instead, fill it with a healthy lifestyle and try to understand what they’re doing to you and your money and psychology.


FEATURES Managing Exam Stress

by Walaa Ajjawi

I

t’s almost that time of the year again (no I don’t mean Christmas), I’m talking about exam time. Yes we are all happy the semester is over, but on the other hand, the end of the year exams are right around the corner and we are freaking out a little bit. Perhaps when you get to the exam hall and actually read the questions, you realise it isn’t that difficult, but it’s the build up to that moment that takes its toll on you (because if you’re like the majority of us, you left all the studying until the last week before the exam); you’re trying to take in as much information as possible within those last days and you start stressing; different ideas make their way into your head – the questions will be about those few points you thought weren’t important, you won’t have enough time to answer all questions, or you’re going to freeze and forget everything you learned; it gets exhausting and does more harm to you than good. Here are a couple of things you can try doing to relieve that stress and help you function better: t )BWF B TUVEZ QMBO QJDL VQ B QFO BOE B QBQFS XSJUF EPXO B MJTU PG UPQJDT UIBU IBWF CFFO DPWFSFE during the semester, then start from there – one topic at a time. When you look at a 20 page pdf file it can be scary, but if you look at it one page a time it looks manageable. t ,FFQ ZPVS CSBJO GVODUJPOJOH UIBU NFBOT FBU BOE ESJOL XFMM TMFFQ BU MFBTU IPVST BOE FYFSDJTF JU XJMM help your brain function better); you need to give your brain and your body some rest. t 5BLF B CSFBL ZPV XBOU UP MFBSO BT NVDI JOGPSNBUJPO BT ZPV DBO CVU JG ZPV EPO U UBLF B CSFBL ZPV won’t be able to remember or understand anything because your brain won’t be able to work properly. t %PO U MPDL ZPVSTFMG BXBZ 8F WF BMM CFFO UIFSF :PV TIVU UIF DVSUBJOT MPDL ZPVS EPPS BOE JTPMBUF ZPVSself from family and friends. That is one of the worst things you can do; you need a distractions – a reminder that there is life outside your room and away from your books! t ćJOL QPTJUJWF o CF DPOĕEFOU ćFSF JT OP QPJOU JO TUVEZJOH GPS MPOH IPVST JG ZPV SF HPJOH UP HP JO UP that exam with a negative attitude; trust yourself, and believe that you can do it; that’s half the battle. t 3FNFNCFS ćFSF JT B MJHIU BU UIF FOE PG UIF UVOOFM ćPTF FYBNT XJMM FWFOUVBMMZ DPNF UP BO FOE BOE the stress will end with them. So try your best with what you have, no one can ask you for more than your best.


REVIEWS Noel Gallagher & The High Flying Birds Chasing Yesterday

T

he “Godlike Genius” is back; There was a bit of pressure on Noel as the debut album reached number 1 in the UK album charts. It was critically claimed to be some of his best work since the days of ‘Definitely Maybe’ and ‘What’s The Story Morning Glory’ with Oasis. The first single released from the album with ‘In the Heat of the Moment’. More like a Noel Gallagher song with a very catchy chorus along with the pop-esque, Na Na Na’s. Following that we have ‘The Girl with X-ray Eyes’. This is more like an oasis song in my opinion; I think it could have been anyways, a heavy bassline along with a solo that reminds me of the George Harrison classic solo in ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. Next we have the track ‘While The Song Remains The Same’ a slow start to this one with a synthesizer, but it builds up to be more upbeat. Then mustering up a bit of old-fashioned, cowbell-driven glam boogie on “The Mexican,” and quickening the tempo on “You Know We Can’t Go Back,” a piece of incandescent pop. The last track on the album featuring Johnny Marr ‘Ballad Of The Mighty I’, might self-plagiarise

from 2011’s excellent ‘AKA... What A Life!’ but you have to give praise to Gallagher’s genuine talent for making gripping pop. Gallagher sells his determination (“Wherever you run, I’ll be on your tail”) at a dark-disco gait with a hall-of-echoes vocal effect that keeps ringing in your head after the song is over. So there you have another masterclass from the legend that is Noel Gallagher, I’m going to be honest that I don’t believe that it is some of his best work, I believe Noel’s debut solo album is better than Chasing Yesterday but it is still worth a definite listen, sure you can never go wrong with a few stadium anthems that Noel can right in his sleep. 9/10 By Pierce Connolly

1917

2014

T. Delaney

Bicycle & Motorcycle Specialist Cycle Sales & Repairs Motorbike Sales & Repairs Wheel Building Contact: (01) 497 1509 Email: jamesbike@eircom.net


FEATURES GRIFFITH COLLEGE SHINES AT SMEDIAS

Tiberio Ventura, winner of TV Production and Photographer of the Year

by Walaa Ajjawi

O

nce again, Griffith College students do not fail to make the college proud at the Annual Student Media (Smedia) Awards. This year, at the awards ceremony hosted in the Aviva Stadium, the students raised the bar by making the final nominations list in 13 different categories and sweeping up 6 awards by the end of the night – a first ever for the college. The college’s photography department proved its strength once again with students nominated in all 3 photography categories and with 3rd year BA (Hons) Journalism and Visual Media student Tiberio Ventura going home with 2 Smedia awards. The Journalism faculty also takes pride in its students who were nominated in 6 different writing categories including Magazine of the Year and Blog

of the Year which was swept up by 3rd Year BA Journalism student Robbie Morrissey. Among the other nominees was our very own magazine Griffiti, which was nominated for the Small College/Society Publication of the Year against Trinity College and University of Limerick – an accomplishment all previous SU presidents wished to achieve. Our TV, film, and radio students also dominated their fields by occupying the nominations list, with Tiberio claiming his second award for TV production of the Year and Ellie O’Byrne from Griffith College Cork winning the Radio Doc of the Year category. It should also be mentioned that Tiberio is no stranger to the Smedias as his work has been nomi-


nated in all 3 years of his degree here at Griffith College (if that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is). Trinity College Dublin was the big winner of the night with 10 awards, with Griffith College coming in second place with 6 awards alongside Dublin City University – a great accomplishment when looking at the difference in the student body between the two establishments.

Here is the list of our 2015 Smedia winners:

Photographer of the Year: Tiberio Ventura Blog of the Year: Robert Morrissey Sports Writer of the Year: Ryan Bailey Radio Documentary of the Year: Ellie O’Byrne Sports Photographer of the Year: Marius Dalseg Saetre TV Production of the Year: Tiberio Ventura

Robbie Purcell – Griffiti - Small College/Society Publication of the Year Carlos Lievonen – Short Story of the Year David Corscadden & Robbie Morrissey – Blog of the Year Dub8 – Magazine of the year Marius Dalseg Saetre – Sports Photographer of the Year Ciara Walsh & Diana O’Connor – RSA Journalism relating to Road Safety Caroline Brady & Tiberio Ventura – News Photographer of the Year Josefina Maria Bentz (Another Day), Marius Dalseg Saetre (End of The Line), Tiberio Ventura (Who I Am) – TV Production of the Year Ryan Bailey – Sports Writer of the Year Kaja Sitron Juul & Tiberio Ventura – Photographer of the Year Ellie O’Byrne – Radio Doc of the Year Ellie O’Byrne – Journalist of the Year – National Press News at Noon – Radio Production of the Year – News and Current Affairs

10% OFF FOR STUDENTS VALID WITH ID OR VOUCHER


INTERVIEW

SUNSET SONS by Robbie Morrissey


INTERVIEW R

ising in a way much like their name, UK pop rock outfit Sunset Sons are a four-piece currently based in Hossegor, perched in the south-west of France. Being based in the south for a few years as a cover band in the Midi-Pyrénées region, forming after some discussions in a bar called Le Surfing, owned by the brother of Pete, who was visiting at the time. Other member Jed had seen one of the staff, frontman Rory, cover a number of songs on a break at the piano. The four managed to get talking through a number of friends and the rest is history.

before, and led to an impromptu show with the help of a band who loaned them some instruments for the night. A welcoming sign and one that led Rory to “have a lot of time for the Irish”. The tour dates also support latest EP ‘The Fall Line’, which has probably been key in selling out many of those dates? “Yeah” he answers, “Probably my favourite of all, which is ‘Lies’. The delay effect on the piano, it is really stripped back. Big fan of Rob’ playing too”.

“ We have a lot of time for the Irish ”

In Hossegor at the time of the interview, Rory tells me that the band are “here on relaxation time” before heading out on tour and making a stop off at Whelan’s while their at it for a full blown taster of ‘Medicine’ and their current EPs. “The March tour was good preparation, We had one rehearsal in London before the Manchester gig. We stressed a little bit too” Going into this one, they’re not so stressed about rehearsals and performances, they know what to expect “going into it” as Rory says.

When they hit Whelan’s on 9 May, it will be Sunset Sons’ “first proper show” here, as the band once performed a short tour for Carve Surf Magazine

After the tour, Sunsets Sons are off to Glastonbury, T in the Park, Isle of Wright, and more festivals before things heat up even more with their album launch in September. “It’s great playing these festivals, we used to watch on them on TV because our mates weren’t into going and now we’re playing them.” Having spent 7 weeks working on it with JJ King in Nashville, It’s appropriate to ask if they’re excited about it since the release is a few months away’ “Our tour manager is excited” adds Rory at the end, “so if he’s excited, then I’m excited.” Sunset Sons play Whalen’s, Dublin, on 9 May 2015.


THE GENUINE ARTICLE

Time travellers appear in SU. Teach us the Macarena

an apple everyday keeps the android away New Apple watch must be removed by a genius by Drew Peacock

A

pple recently launched their new iWatch. The first reports seem to give it a positive review. There is, however, one little catch, the strap of the iWatch must be removed by a genius member of staff. (For those not in the know, they aren’t actually genius’, they just fix Apple stuff). This seems to be their gimmick to stand out from arch rivals Samsung in the race of smartphone supremacy. This is part of the overall Apple plan, announced last year, to one day fully integrate the iPhone into your arm and blood supply getting rid of chargers for ever.


This seems to have gone over badly with some customers who use Apple to avoid being sucked into Google’s massive information machine. Speaking to the Genuine article, Apple iPhone user, Donal Bryne has this to say: “I’m tired enough as it is, I hardly want to charge my phone with my energy as well. That’s what the wall is for”.

This is still in the long term for Apple. We can enjoy our nice, shiny handsets for a few years. Meanwhile, Google have been testing their next big device, the Goggle Pants. Google Pants will be made with electrodes that guide you along your route rather than risking you read a map or listen to directions incorrectly.

Barry Finnegan, lecturer in Griffith College and long advocator of AI (Artificial Insemination), also had his say: “What do they think they’re at! It’s like they’re not even reading my e-mails. Make the smartphone a daily pill that enhances your brain! For fuck sake, Tim Cook”.

While all this talk of internally wired handsets will get a lot of people excited about the possibilities of the future it has this Peacock scared. Why would anyone want that. Give me my Nokia brick anyday. A phone that could cause an earthquake when it rings beats any smartphone anyday.

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

NEWS IN BRIEF walaa Robbie decides not to run again in order to focus on working in the circus.

ajjawi

Game of Thrones returned. Number of assignment extention requests sky rocketed.

Occupation: Leeson Street Walker

0 number of rabbits reported missing from Griffith Ball.

Greatest Ambition: To own Leeson Street

Whereabouts of some of the SU remain unknown.

Hobbies: Running the Lionel Messi superfan site

Griffiti didn’t win at the Smedias. Shenanigans reported.

Likes: Barcelona

Stephen non-commital to using subtitles following re-election.

Dislikes: People who don't pay Interesting Fact: You (probably) voted for her


GCD’s Men Basketnball team proudly showing off their winnings

GCD CHAMPIONS AT VARSITIES by Stephen Donnery

G

riffith College’s Basketball team created history on the weekend of the 10-12th of April by capturing the double in Irish Colleges Basketball. The team who had secured the league a couple a weeks before hand in Tallaght, travelled to Belfast in search of more success in the Varsities Tournament. It came on the Sunday lunch time at the hands of Division 1 league winners IT Carlow. GCD started off the weekend with a victory over the North West Regional College when Dave Bakers team ran out 91 v 30 winners. With two key players missing it was a great win and all players getting a chance to prove their worth to the team. The Friday evening game was a lot tighter as the lads went up against the team who they bet in the semi-final of the league campaign. DBS started very strong and coming towards the middle of the third quarter seen themselves with a 10 point lead. However the Division 2 Champions dug deep and ended up winning their second game of the day on a score-line of 78 v 71. Day two saw GCD play Division 1 league winners IT Carlow in the final group stage match. With both teams already having secured their places in the semi-finals it was just a matter of who finished top. It was another tight game with the Division 1 champions prevailing by 6 points on a 61 v 55 scoreline. Despite this defeat, our first off the whole season, a lot of confidence could be taking from the game. We held our own against the favourites for the tournament. After a couple of hours rest the lads headed back to the

Arena to play their semi-final, with Queens University being the team in the way of Griffith and their second final in as many weeks. A game that was expected to be tight turned out to be rather one sided as GCD ran out convincing 67 v 33 winners. Finals day came around, obviously the biggest day of the tournament with GCD playing ITC again in the final. Both teams knew that after the final group stage match there wouldn’t be much to separate the teams again. This time, it was Griffith who got revenge on the team that cast them their only defeat of the year. A 17 point victory would see GCD claim to League and Championship double for the first time in the colleges history. It was a great weekend and a deserved end result for the team and management who put in a great shift all year. To win the double and only lose one game is phenomenal. Congratulations to all involved and we look forward to the team competing in division 1 next year alongside more top Dublin colleges, UCD, DCU and trinity. Coach Baker finished up by saying “I was delighted with the success of the program this year in general but it was topped off with us defeating the National Division 1 champions in the finals, which really showed basketball in Ireland how far Griffith have come and our intentions moving forward for next year’s program. It was a combination of our Basketball Scholarship players and some great additions that were here for the year. Exciting times for Griffith Basketball”




Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.