Huddersfield Student, Christmas 2008 by Huddersfield

Student

The University of Huddersfield STUDENTS’ UNION Publication!

Christmas 2008

CHRISTMAS!

HUDDERSFIELD

www.huddersfieldstudent.com

NEWSFLASH: CHRISTMAS DAY TO BE DECEMBER 25TH

Christmas this year will be on

Election Results - Find out who is representing you this year!

25th December, as it was last year, the year before that, and every year since CocaCola brought out ‘The Holidays are Coming’ advert. Scientists claim even the current financial climate cannot stop the coming of Father Christmas, several reindeer, the occasional drunken Dad dance, and ‘humorous’ false antlers.

This yearʼs By-Election saw the hghest

November count ever. Read who you voted for, and who will be representing you this year. Results, page 7

Album of the Year, A- Z Stylie

Sam Bethell,, Music Editor gives his A-Z of

With the credit crunch almost coming to its peak, and the word ʻrecessionʼ being banded around, by politicians and suity types, one has to wonder how Christmas will be affected by the financial tidalwave we are currently riding. Students especially have to be wary of spending too much money. At the Huddersfield Student, we have some advice and tips for coping as a student debt machine over the Yuletide season. Full details, page 7

the top 42 albums this year has provided us. Get the 2008 top 42, pages 14 and 15

Splurge or Save?

Beth Hudson shows you where to find

those expensive Winter essentials, and gives a sneaky peak of where to get the same look on the highstreet. Page 20

Marketing Society Visit Bradford Fundraiser JOIN THE TUITION FEES DEBATE. INTERNATIONAL NEWS: Get the facts from NUS, and here our From Bialystok To Huddersﬁeld students’ Opinions

s NUS publish a national critique on the controversial ‘Cap on Fees’ debate, The Huddersfield Student asks: ‘Can our country really put such a price on education?’ As a country, we are protected by what we all know to be our human rights. The statement; ʻAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.ʼ is something the population no doubt recognises, even if they do not know it verbatim. Since 1952, the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, guarantees an individualʼs right to education.

Read on, pages 8 and 9

An article about a Union Society! Wow.

Page 27

T he University welcomed two Polish work placement students to the

campus during the Summer as participants in the Socrates Erasmus programme. Agnieszka Mironow and Ania Piekutowska from Bialystok in NorthEast Poland took on a three month internship at the University and were involved in tasks within the International Office and the department of Computing and Engineering. Away from their work duties both students decided to take the opportunity to explore Huddersfield and visit other parts of the UK including York, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Warwick Castle.

More International News, page 10

The Students’ Union: It’s all about you!

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TEAM TALK le e to your merry litt d others! Welcom an rls gi , ys bo Ho ho ho ent. Huddersfield Stud new editor! I ecting me as your el r fo u yo k an th t: that later... First and foremos per, but more on pa e th r fo e or st have a lot in in oding in the sky bits of metal expl ng Hud hi tc of wa ue re iss we as t y for the Xm Whilst you lo ad re ng tti ge sy en were bu I was ev a s written before pretty colours, we wa n itio ed is th most of put into it as I Stud. Seeing as t had as much in no ve , ha I e, ey 's spiring guidance twinkle in Lauren en lacking my in ev s, e es th el l al rth u ve yo . Ne bring would have liked f, once more, to ed their socks of rk to us. wo nt ve rta ha po bs im su the ws that are vie re d an ws ne latest ! udent is changing e Huddersfield St ar you Th he S! -I ' ES ?! ut PR na P er O ST a jiving jugg ch su ge an . ch ything tly ways In the 'But how can an we have our beas , ld ie sf er I want dd Hu of rmat and with it cry. Fear not, folk to a magazine fo ng how gi t an ou ch d is fin r pe Want to New Year the pa add a few more. d an at the ns wh io d ct An se ? e against whom ll to renovate all th ba a d ke kic of Warehouse doing? Who wearing? Bored or that local band is g in ad re e ar have answers to ur course ield Student will trendy kids on yo sf er dd Hu l, el W e personally y week? th features that ar and Camel ever wi s m al qu d an ns you. all these questio relevant to all of s interested (person who wa U YO is g in br to nt wa is paper. I th ge in g a part But the main chan this issue) playin of py it your: co a bm up su to ck enough to pi e near future th in ty ni rtu po ED! ple op se: GET INVOLV There will be am and ideas so plea es bl rib sc s, rd wo us aspect of this sted in the religio re te in e ar o wh th you always! And to all of you t the X-men be wi Le ! as Xm y pp holiday: Ha

Producer: Lauren Stewart su-comms@hud.ac.uk

Editor’s Letter

The evidence of Laurenʼs strict training regime has started to show on our new Editor. Bless.

The Newspaper team!

Books and Fiction Editor: Becky Wilson u0562276@hud.ac.uk

News and Features Editor: Ben Hall u0755412@hud.ac.uk

Videogames: Paddy Costelloe tempest8032@hud.ac.uk Sport and Societies: Mark Bryans u0658159@hud.ac.uk

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Film Editor: Matt Lawson u0561774@hud.ac.uk Fashion Editor: Kat Afleck u0651429@hud.ac.uk

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TEAM TALK

SABBS SAY! Julien Boville,

President Is a terribly busy bee, working on projects for all you peeps. Merry Christmas! Ju.

For a democratic organisation like the studentsʼ union participation and involvement by its members is crucial. To the Studentsʼ Union, you guys are like the blood running through a human body. We had By-Elections last month and I was running a campaign to increase awareness about the elections. I encouraged members to participate in elections. It went really well. Most of the positions got filled. The turnout was relatively very good. I hope that these by-elections would be a step towards a politically active studentsʼ union. I am also hoping to see more participation from you lot in general elections in March 2009. You probably remember that at the start of this term, we conducted a welcome ballot. It was sort of questionnaire in which we asked about the campaigns you want us to run this year. We have compiled results. The majority of students want us to run a campaign against the increase in tuition fees. Here we are, we have listened to you and we are launching a campaign against anincrease in tuition fees. As a Union, we believe that the tuition fees should remain caped. We condemn any rise in tuition fees. Soaring living cost and hefty debts are already adding to financial difficulties of students. Any increase in tuition fees is going to make the situation worst for students. Education would be a matter of affordability rather than ability. I am going to start a petition against the increase in tuition fees. In the second term, our union will hold an action week. Iʼll put a wall of debt in the library foyer and in the zone in the studentsʼ union.

Page 4 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

Vice President Communications Lauren Stewart

Hi everyone, and welcome to the Christmas edition of the Huddersfield Student! I know itʼs only November when this edition comes out, but Iʼm going to collaborate with the rest of the Commercial population in shoving the holiday season down your neck until you feel as stuffed with jollities, HoHoHoʼs and egg-nog, as the turkey youʼll eat in around 5 and a half weeks. Anyway, itʼs Christmas soon – whoop, etc. This month, Iʼve been busy worrying over elections, and who was going to end up being the Editor of the paper. Until now it was lil old me, and whoever ended up with the position would be in my care to learn the ropes and take on the responsibility of making the paper nice and pretty and relevant to you. Anton was elected for the position, and the New Year will showcase his ideas for the paper for yaʼll lovely people. Iʼve also been working hard with the Radio Twins, as I have affectionately named them. The radio is expected still in January, so keep getting in touch with either Kris or Matt, through me. To keep you all in the loop, we have the equipment, and a room, we just need University to agree. If anyone is reading this, please agree to the radio station! Thatʼs about all from me this month. While Iʼm here, thank you to everyone who came to AGM, we canʼt pass anything without your help, so itʼs really important you were there. Also, thank you to the record number of people who vote in this yearsʼ By-Elections. With your help 15 people were elected into the part-time positions that will help to represent you and your needs this academic year.

Iʼll ask you to put your amount of debt on the wall and at the end of the campaign weʼll calculate the total amount of debt. That amount would be mentioned to our local MP so that he could see our financial difficulties. I would encourage you all to sign the petition against an increase in top up fees. If you have any ideas or anything to say about the top up fees campaign please contact me. I would suggest you to read the following report to have a grasp of the situation.http://www.nus.org.uk/PageFiles/31 15/Brokeandbroken.pdf Volunteering: One of my campaigns for the year is to raise Thanks for reading, and Merry Christmas! awareness about volunteering. If you want to increase your career profile and to improve your CV then volunteering is Hey Dudes and Dudetes, HOPE YOUʼRE ALL WELL. Itʼs been another something you should be getting involved busy month for myself as I have been training some of you lovely students with. We need to be mindful of the fact that employers now-a-days are looking for a hell to become student reps. Its been difficult but now its getting much better of a lot of things other than your degree. So and its very enjoyable. this is the best time for you to make a start. Also I have been on NUS conferences and paying visits to our We have a few projects going on at the satellite campuses for student rep training and asking students the issues moment. If you like to participate then that affect them and try to solve their problems but we need to remember contact me. We have discussion forums on to change things. We need to start off slow from the bottom and improve our website. If you would like to have your year by year. say about anything regarding your Also, I would like to inform students that have been trained as experience at the University or the Union student representatives that there will be a conference on student then simply go on to representation on the 10th of December at Quayside. So if you can http://www.huddersfieldstudent.com/forum/ please attend: do so, as there will be a buffet-meaning free food and also and post your comments. I would try to reply you will learn something too. you as soon as possible. Thatʼs it from me. Take care and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Muhammad Junaid Ejaz VP Internal Affairs.

I would also like to inform students on being careful especially at night as I believe that there have been some incidents regarding theft. So please ensure you stick to the safety route and, at night, please ensure you donʼt walk on your own in the evenings. Cool and Peace be with you all. Haneef Your Education & Welfare Officer

Vice President Internal Aﬀairs Junaid Ejaz

Vice President Education and Welfare Haneef Rashid

TEAM TALK Vice President Sports and Societies Gaz Weeks

Page 5 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

Hi all, Once again I am writing to you all, and once again I am stuck for things to say, the last month has gone so quickly, I cannot for the life of me remember what I have done. But Iʼll give it ago anyway. Before I begin trying, I would like to congratulate all of the teams that have started the BUCS season so well and I would like to wish them all good look in the coming fixtures, I would also like to thank everyone who attended the AGM, especially to the team captains and society presidents, this was a great help and made sure the AGM was quorate, which in turn made sure we could ratify our revised constitution.

So, whatʼs been going on? Well apart from making sure all the BUCS teams started well and everything went smoothly, I have had numerous requests for new societies, which I have helped start up, these being the pharmacy society, the dance society, and there are a few more that are waiting to be passed, and if anyone would like to start a new society please donʼt hesitate to come and see me, im sure everyone knows where the sabbatical officerʼs office is by now. Anyway, I wanted to keep this short and sweet, but if anyone needs anymore info or has any general inquiry, please email me or pop into my office. Merry crimbo and all that! Stay classy hudds!

Z.E.B.R.A for life

Contact Information

Mature and Postgraduate Part-time Oﬃcer Emmanuel Krakue Dear Passionate Mature and Postgraduate Students of The University of Huddersfield, I am EMMANUEL KRAKUE, your Mature and Postgraduate Studentsʼ Officer-2008/2009 academic year. My role is to represent your interest within the University through the Studentsʼ Union. For efficient services, I am ready and ever willing to listen to, collect information on, and act on your concerns with the help of elected officers in the union and also work with you to provide guidance that will help meet your needs with the kind of selfless empathy that will culminate in mutual comprehension and satisfaction. I have proposed a regular feature in the Huddersfield Student Paper by all mature and postgraduate students: Proposed content: Anything on ʻFood for thoughtʼ. Proposed title: ʻSage In Maturity Miscellanyʼ. So please if you have any issues/opinions/food for thought, you believe will educate and inject dynamism into the studentsʼ union, do not hesitate to see me or communicate them to me for onward documentation and publication on the studentsʼ union website and/or in the studentsʼ newspaper.

My Availability at the Part-Time Officers Office in the Studentsʼ Union Block: Mondays and Fridays between 11am and 2 pm E-mails: U0767564@hud.ac.uk , STUNmature@hud.ac.uk and emmanuelkrakue@yahoo.com Office Telephone: 01484 538156 extension 3430. Mobile: 07804316981 Are you a mature, or postgraduate student? Part time or full time student? Please do not sit on the fence, join the Mature and Postgraduate Society now by contacting me or Jacob Agbenorhevi; e-mail: jkagbenorhevi@yahoo.com; mobile: 07932373117. Many thanks for your cooperation and attention. With passionate cum warmest regards to all Mature and Postgraduate Students. EMMANUEL KRAKUE. CHEERS!!!

All Officers are available to speak to in person, in the Sabbatical office; top floor of the Studentsʼ Union. Come see us! Julien • su-president@hud.ac.uk Junaid • su-intaff@hud.ac.uk • 01484 473424 Lauren • su-comms@hud.ac.uk • 01484 473441 Haneef • su-aawelfare@hud.ac.uk • 01484 473440 Gaz • su-sands@hud.ac.uk • 01484 473456

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N E WS

Dear Des......

Introducing Des, Huddersﬁeld Student’s Agony Uncle,here to answer your diﬃcult questions.

Sam Preest Dear Des

the the final year of my degree here at I wonder if you could help? Iʼm in a similar ying stud yed enjo I use beca se this cour University of Huddersfield. I chose ot believe how my time at Huddersfield, but I cann yed enjo ly real Iʼve vel. A-le at ect subj nd. quickly my final year has come arou careers what to do next. None of the obvious clue a have not do I My worry is that worried Iʼm but , I have thought about teaching related to my degree appeal to me, Hope you ns! ssio rece of talk especially with all this about my employment prospects, can help. , many students us, your enquiry is not at all unusual Des says: Thank you for writing to the career path of idea r clea a have not enjoy, but do opt for a degree in a subject they say is that to n. The first and most important thing they wish to follow after graduatio options are er care your t get a better idea of wha there is plenty we can do to help you er. care your rds planning ers and what your next steps can be towa appointment to see one of our care You could book a 30 minute guidance ns. optio er care e nativ may have and explore alter advisers to discuss any ideas you you will have help you identify some of the skills to able be will The careers adviser prompted to are your until not is it n ofte very ree, developed whilst studying your deg gained in the have you e e of skills and knowledg discuss this that you realise the rang career to ss acce have we ice loyability Serv past 3 years. In the Careers and Emp ivations and mot s, skill your to ers care ible ch poss planning software which helps mat t careers ul for students who do not know wha usef rly icula part is this and ests inter the might suit them. ld be a good idea to have a look at Before making an appointment it wou d calle ion sect .prospects.ac.uk In particular the Graduate Prospects website www inations and detailed information on career dest has h whic ʻoptions with your subjectʼ, ideas for most degree subjects. library with both reference and take We also have a Careers Information ort you in your ve website full of resources to supp away material and a comprehensi further for s reer k/ca .ac.u .hud ing, visit www career planning and decision mak l graduate initia all of 60% t leas at that is ng information. One thing worth mentioni are not simply you so e, s of any degree disciplin vacancies are open to new graduate ect. subj ree deg related to your restricted to applying for jobs directly just call ers appointment initially, you could If you did not want to make a care nd. atte to k boo preto d ions and you do not nee in to one of the careers ʻdrop-inʼ sess may you ries que ted rela er care ering any quick These sessions are ideal for answ . Further review your CV or an application form to e eon som ted wan you have, or if available via our website. details of the drop-in sessions are academic a ʻCareers Expressʼ service in each offer we this, In addition to ent artm dep emic acad your of one in is based school whereby a careers adviser details. er furth for us ted queries. Please contact buildings to answer quick career rela the in you ng seei to ard we look forw We hope this is a useful start and ice. Serv bility loya Careers and Emp

Dear Des

Iʼm finding it hard to make friends at University. Itʼs all so different to school where I had my own set of friends and we all went around together. I have got to know a few people on my course, but because weʼre doing different modules I only get to see some of them once a week. I seem to be spending a lot of my day on my own and in the evenings I often just sit in my room. I donʼt know what to do or how to make friends. I think I just lack confidence. Des says: Confidence plays a big part in all we do and if we are lacking in confidence it can have a negative impact on more than one area of our life. In Student Services we know and recognise that lack of confidence underpins a number of other issues which is why we deliver a ʻGrow your Confidence Groupʼ every term. The group offers a warm, supportive environment and we aim to be responsive to individual need within the group. If you would like more details about the group, or you would like to meet for an informal chat about this service please contact: g.e.smith@hud.ac.uk

Dear Des

Uncle

Des

Dear Des, Iʼm in my first year and donʼt know if I am on the right course. Iʼm not even sure Iʼm at the right University, or even if I should be at University at all. Recently I missed some classes and now Iʼm behind with my work. I know I could go and see my Personal Tutor, but is there anyone I could talk to outside of the department. Des says: There is a confidential service called ʻBack on Trackʼ that might be just what you are looking for. ʻBack on Track ʻis organised through Student Services, so you can chat about your difficulties, in the first instance, in a neutral area. The dedicated worker will listen to your concerns, explore your options and empower you to make an informed choice about your studies and your future. For more information about this service email: backontrack@hud.ac.uk

I think that I may be dyslexic. When I received my first assignment back, my tutor said that my grammar was poor and I am also not too good at spelling. Where do I go to find out if I am dyslexic, how much will it cost and will I be kicked off my course if I am?

Dear Des, Iʼm a mature student at Huddersfield university and have various credit cards and loans. Iʼm behind on the repayments, and these companies are harassing me. A friend has advised me to go bankrupt as this will wipe out all my debts, and stop these companies hassling me, do you think this is a good idea? Des says: Bankruptcy is an extreme option, designed for people with no realistic hope of being able to repay their debts, and whose circumstances arenʼt likely to change. As a student, your circumstances should change dramatically when you finish studying and start working, as you will have a wage every month. People who go bankrupt lose any assets they have, and itʼs worth considering that bankruptcy will rule you out of certain jobs (usually positions of power or responsibility, or involved in finance). I wouldnʼt recommend bankruptcy as a good option for a student - make an appointment with the student finance office, or call in and see us on a Wednesday and we can discuss other options.

Des says: You need to make contact with the Disability Support Service in the Student Centre on Level 4, CSB. They have a drop-in everyday Dear Des, from 1200-1300 hours where you can see an Adviser for 10 minutes to discuss this and make Sometimes lif e at uni is a bi Is there anyw t harsh or pres you a further appointment to start the process of here on campu sured or even s you can just maybe see a lonely. having a diagnostic assessment. go and chill fo friendly face or r a while, so meone might you a biscuit Home students will get this funded or is this just make you a cu wishful thinking ppa and give through the Universityʼs Access to Learning ? D es Fund. Funding for overseas students will come says: This is on e of those rare say, “Buzz Ligh from a different source which will be discussed occasions whe tyear to the re n I can quite lit scue!” Thatʼs Woody are do erally further with an Adviser. because Buzz wn in the Com and his friend m un gi If after having an assessment you are ity Room at th ve you a cupp e Faith Centre a between 10 and 4 Monda ready to from the Chapl found to have dyslexia, the University is y to Friday. A aincy team ar nd their friends e often around responsible for implementing your academic say they drink if anyone wan tea religiously ts to chat – to would be an un support to ensure that you are given the same derstatement! opportunities as others to demonstrate your The Faith Cen tre is in the S ports Hall and skills and academic abilities. Students are is accessed fro from the middl m round the op e of Novembe accepted into university on their academic posite side to r the Sports Ent rance. merits and are not discriminated against due to a disability.

NEWS

Page 7 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

Election Results, Who You Voted For, and Who Will Be Representing YOU This Year. Lauren Stewart Disabilities Officer • Hafsa Afzal

Newspaper Editor • Anton Jidkov

Environment and Ethics Officer • Peter Dawes

Union Councilor • Sohail Afsar UCB Chair • Jo Flunt • Marian Madley • Helen Groom If you would like to contact any of the above, please ring the Students’ Union Reception on 01484 • Naila Iqbal 432333, and they will put you in touch. Or come and see them in person; top ﬂoor of the • Matthew Moll Students’ Union, next to the Sabbatical oﬃce. Up to date details are also available on the website.

International and European Officer • Quazi Husain

UCO Ordinary Member • Funky Babalola • Raza Rajan

Christmas this year will be on 25th December, as it was last year, the year before that, and every year since CocaCola brouht out ‘The Holidays are Coming’ advert. Sam Preest The majority of people who say theyʼre skint in January will blame the “unexpected” cost of Christmas. If youʼre dreading the thought of how youʼre going to pay for Christmas this year, spend some time going through your finances and budgeting for it now, it could mean youʼre not feeling the pinch as much in January. -Work out what money you will need for Christmas, this will give you an idea what you need to budget for and what cut-backs you will need to make -Rather than buying for lots of friends, arrange among yourselves to do Secret Santa, this means youʼll only have to fork out for 1 present -For your food shopping over the festive period use a price comparison website to see if you could save any money

-Use your creative side to make your own presents -When buying presents for other students, or friends in the same financial situation as you, set a price limit or agree not to buy for each other -For any daily expenses you can do without, like drinks, or chocolate, cut them out and put this money aside every day until Christmas -If you are going Christmas shopping, make a list of everything you need to buy before you go, this will prevent any unnecessary impulse purchases -Hang onto any unwanted gifts you receive – these can be used to give out as Christmas presents next year. Just make sure you donʼt give them back to

-For Christmas next year, put aside an amount you can afford each month, this means when Christmas comes youʼll be prepared for it See how you get on with these tips, and list your expenses over the next few months so you can plan a budget for yourself. Contrary to popular belief, the university is unable to provide you with funding for “emergencies” such as Christmas shopping. If you would like help putting together a budget, come and see us at the Student Finance desk, level 4 in Student Services. We can also help you with other money saving tips, debt advice, and seeing if thereʼs any financial assistance you could receive.

the same person who gave them to you the previous year!

Dear Des

Des says: Contract for the house – individual / shared / guarantor Utility bills – whose name are they in See Jean – anything else Charlotte A – welfare / alternative accomodation

Dear Des, I am not getting on with my housemates any more and would like to move out – can I cancel my contract? Des says: Generally the answer is no unless you can find a replacement tenant. The first thing to do is to check your contract or book an appointment to speak to an Adviser at the Studentsʼ Union Advice and Information Centre, taking your contract with you. There may be a clause in your contract allowing you to give notice to quit to your landlord/agent and in these circumstances, providing you give proper notice, you could move out. However if you have signed a fixed term agreement without a notice clause (which is the case for the majority of student agreements) then you will need to find a tenant to replace you and until you do this you will remain liable for the rent. If you do decide to look for a tenant to replace you then you can post a message on the Huddersfield Studentpad website (www.huddersfieldstudentpad.co.uk) and put an advert on the notice board in the Studentsʼ Union Advice and Information Centre. Call in to the Centre for more information.

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Des says: Noooo! My advice would be to avoid it like the plague! If you take out credit for someone else, you are risking them running up debt in your name. Itʼs worth considering the effect it could have on your credit rating - you could find it difficult to obtain credit (including overdrafts, hirepurchases, mortgages) in the future. Youʼve said you know it could lead to problems, so my advice would be to steer well clear. Your friend will have a poor credit rating for a reason, i.e SHEʼS NOT VERY GOOD AT REPAYING HER DEBTS!!! Itʼs also not very kind of your friend to put you in this position.

Dear Des, I live in a shared house and Iʼve fallen out with my housemates. I want to move out as soon as possible, but need to know what I am liable to pay for. The situation is getting me down and I donʼt know where to turn…

WESTGATE

My friend has a bad credit rating so canʼt get any credit. Itʼs her boyfriendʼs 21st birthday soon and she wants to buy him something special. Sheʼs asked me to take out a credit card in my name so she can use it, and then give me the money back each month. I donʼt know what to do, I want to help her, I know it could lead to problems but sheʼs a really good friend…

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DEBATE IT

Page 8 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

As NUS publish a national critique on the controversial ‘Cap on Fees’ debate, The Huddersﬁeld Student asks: ‘Can our country really put such a price on education?’

Lauren Stewart

As a country, we are protected by what we all know to be our human rights. The statement; ʻAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.ʼ is something the population no doubt recognises, even if they do not know it verbatim. Since 1952, the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, guarantees an individualʼs right to education, and the United Nationsʼ International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has guaranteed the same right, at world level since 1966. When the greatest European and World powers of the time were writing these monumental documents, did they believe that fifty years later, Englandʼs government would exploit what they have labeled as a basic human right to the extent that todayʼs government proposes to do? One certainly would hope not, so why is our government suggesting that the cap on fees be lifted? Following on from the revelations of proposed student debt in NUSʼ report ʻBroke and Broken: A Critique of the Higher Education Funding Systemʼ this report lays down the facts and explains what we can all do to make sure the cap in not lifted. The Current System – Better the Devil you know? What is it? The current system in place is something the majority of third year students will still be reeling about. For courses starting in September 2006, tuition fees soared from £1,255 to £3,145 per year. More than doubling the cost of tuition fees was a drastic move from the government, and something that could put a number of potential students off further education. In a country that is drowning in degrees, but crying out for skilled tradesmen, there is a view that states this was not necessarily a bad thing. However, thankfully, the governmentʼs money squeezing tactics didnʼt work, and the number of students entering into degree level education rose from just over 2,006,000 to over 2,011,000 . This could have been something to do with the greater amount of help students could receive from the state than before. With the new tuition fees, loans became available.

A Student Loan to cover the cost of tuition fees (up to £3,145 for 2008/2009 or £3,070 for 2007/2008) turned out to be very helpful. Also a Student Loan to help towards accommodation and other living costs (up to £6,475 for 2008/2009 or £6,315 for 2007/2008) and grants of up to £2,835 were available for 2008/2009 - or up to £2,765 for 2007/2008 and taken by a great number of undergraduates . Whatʼs wrong with it? With all the help undergraduates could receive from the government, the new tuition fees did not seem to be such a failure from the state to help educate the population. Around two thirds of students working to a degree, depend upon the government and the money they can receive, to live and cover the cost of studying for a degree. The results also show that students leaving higher education, and coming to further education this year, are more likely to use the funding available to them than previous years. Does this mean students are already stretching themselves far beyond their reaches to gain a degree? If so, then why would the government consider uncapping fees, and thus allowing Universities to charge up to thousands more than the already extortionate rate. If one was to calculate the total debt of a student receiving the maximum amount of loan available, it can be seen that even the increase in 2006 left graduates with maximum debts exceeding £22,0000, and the average, and some would say, advantaged student with an excess of £9000 debt, payable to the state for either tuition fee loan or maintenance loan, gathered over their three teaching years. This amount of debt unfortunately become virtually universal to students studying after September 2006, whereas a greater number of students on the old system could leave University with far less of a debt. Should it be changed? It is really up to you. Whether for or against change to the funding system, the government has proposed one option that for some is not the correct way to go. The number of debates, petitions and campaigns that occurred in 2005/6, and those about to happen across the country again this year may be

something of a proof that the country, or students in this country believe the system should not be changed in the way planned. The Proposed System – Toffʼs paradise? What is it? The system proposed by the Government, in itʼs most basic element, means that institutions have the option of raising their fees to a maximum of £7000. This does not mean that, like last time, all Universities will raise their fees to match the maximum, but it is certainly a possibility for students starting study in the academic year 2009/10. The idea is that the extra cost of study will go towards a better education for the student, with more money being spent on facilities and services. Taking away from the factual report for one moment I have to say, as a student at the University of Huddersfield, I have in my three years here, never had a single period of time when the University was not building, renovating and improving the facilities we have here. If we can manage such changes as the students have seen at least during my time here, with fees at £3000, and more than 50% of the students receiving financial aid from the same institution, do we really need the extra money raising the cap may give us? Whatʼs wrong with it? Should it be implemented? The cost. Thousands of students, alongside the National Union of Students petitioned in 2005 and 2006 against raising fees to just over £3000, with the Government are looking at doubling it, it does not look like there will be less joining this yearsʼ petition and fighting against the action. What should we as students do? The Studentsʼ Union is holding a campaign against the raising of the cap in the middle of January. If you would like to get involved, and show your support in either direction, contact Junaid Ejaz, Vice President for Internal Affairs at the Studentsʼ Union. (su-intaff@hud.ac.uk or 01484 473424). NUS also have more information for anyone who is worried about the cap, and the impact it will have on students. (www.nus.org.uk).

Evidence to support the Report. Gathered from ‘NUS: Broke and Broken’ and NUS/HSBC Students Research Lauren Stewart Projected debt for a student paying a proposed ﬁgure of £4,300 tuition fees per year.

Figures Showing the Amount of Financial Support Students Receive this Year, and the Projected Amount For Next Year. 67% of students at University now, depend on their loan to cover living costs. 74% of school leavers going to University this year will depend on their loan to cover living expenses. 58% of students at University now, depend on their loan to cover tuition fees. 66% of school leavers this year will depend on their loan to cover tuition fees.

Projected debt for a student paying a proposed ﬁgure of £7000 tuition fees per year.

36% of students at University now, depend upon a maintenance or special support grant from the Government. 56% of school leavers this year will depend upon a maintenance or special support grant from the Government. 28% of students at University now, depend upon bursarys from their University. 42% of school leavers this year will depend upon (ﬁgures from NUS/HSBC Students Research, August 2008. www.gOnop.co.uk).

NEWS

DEBATE IT

Page 9 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

Students have their say! Our LGBT Oﬃcer, Evangeline Ramsay gives a student opinion on the Cap on Fees “Education – a right not a privilege” Evangeline Holland- Ramsay No to fees – A living grant for every student – Tax the rich to fund education This academic year could see the lifting of the £3,000 cap on tuition fees in higher education. Meanwhile, student debt and poverty are already spiralling, students face soaring costs of living, and the market dominates our education system from school to college to university. After years of underfunding for post-16 education, the Government brought in tuition fees and then top-up fees. Worsening the already existing inequalities in higher education, fees are greatly accelerating the development of a competitive market between universities, with a tier of well-funded and prestigious institutions and another of less prestigious, underfunded ones. Along with the absence of decent student grants, they rule out the possibility of seriously expanding access, force most students who do get to university into debt and push many into casual, lowpaid jobs. Lifting the cap will, of course, make all this worse. Meanwhile most further education students have always paid fees and never had grants. Top-up fees will be in the headlines this year, but fees are not the only issue. Though Scottish and Welsh university students studying in their own nation, and FE students under 19, do not have to pay fees, they do not receive a living grant and are also forced into poverty and debt. Nursing, midwifery and other students who have to work as a large part of their course receive a bursary as an on-the-cheap substitute for a living wage.

International students are exploited to subsidise higher education institutions through higher and higher fees, while postgraduate study is limited to a small elite through a more and more restrictive funding system. ʻWomen, black, LGBT and disabled students are affected and disadvantaged disproportionately by the growth in student poverty and debtʼ. As our education is a commodity and most institutions are run more and more for profit, the wages, conditions and rights of our teachers and other education workers are also coming under attack. As the economic crisis bites, the Government has announced that it plans to cut student numbers and further limit eligibility for grants. Gordon Brown has announced that there will only be a limited amount of university places for students and cuts will be made in grants, surely this is moving more towards a class division within the education sector. Already nearly 50 per cent of those who currently go to university are in the middle and upper social classes, while less than 20 per cent of those that have that privilege are from the working class, and the plans to lift the cap and make it harder financially for students will most defiantly increase that Gap of the classes. Students are facing spiralling debts just to come to university to get an Education, and to make it worse the government are considering lifting the cap, meaning that the debts students are facing in a climate of recession is going to be getting larger and will prevent a large number of students attending University or preventing them from

completing their degree. In fact, the average student is said to face over £20,000 of debt when they graduate. I believe that NUS is allowing the Government to get away with these deeply unpopular policies. This year, despite the review of the cap on fees, NUS is not organising a national demonstration – not even one for its needlessly bureaucratic “alternative funding model”, let alone the abolition of fees and living grants that students need. Its planned “day of action” – scheduled for 5 November, the day after the US presidential election, hardly the best time to get attention – is a start, but inadequate. That is why I as a member of Education not for Sale and my comrades, other studentsʼ union officers and student activists, are seeking to organise a national demonstration in the first three months of 2009, around the following demands: * No raising of the cap on top-up fees; halt and reverse the growth in international studentsʼ fees; abolish all fees in HE and FE – free education for all; * A living grant for every student over 16 – at least £150 a week; and a living wage for nursing and other students who have to work as part of their course; * Stop and reverse marketisation in our schools, colleges and universities – tax the rich and corporations to fund education. It is high time that the government, many of who received a free education, take note that in this current financial crisis that charging for education is NOT an option, that all students should be entitled to a free education.

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NEWS

Volunteering

Page 10 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

B o r e d? Wa nt t o t r y s o m e t hi ng ne w? D o n’t wa nt t o it t o c o s t t h e e a rt h?

GIVE BLOOD Thurs 4th Dec All day The National Blood Service will be on campus for a staff vs. students blood drive.

MENCAP CHRISTMAS PARTY Sat 6th Dec 2pm – 5pm We will be holding a Christmas party on campus for Mencap service users and their carers, involving various activities, arts and crafts, food etc. OLDER PEOPLEʼS CHRISTMAS PARTY Tues 9th De 12pm – 4pm We will be inviting groups of older people onto campus for a lunch followed by various activities including Christmas carols. KIDʼS CHRISTMAS PARTY - NEWSOME Sat 13th Dec 2.30pm – 5pm Volunteer and join in with the festivities. Food, games, music, entertainers, arts and crafts, face painters etc. Volunteers are needed to run the activities or as entertainers. Any magicians amongst you…?

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Do you have an idea for a fantas tic community pr Need some fund oject? ing to get it off th If you have an ide e ground? a for a project, bu t need some help funding it, then th with e Hands On Volun teering departm can help. You ca ent n bid for up to £3 00 to help get sta and you will get rted, all the advice an d support you ne make it a succes ed to s. Simply downloa d the application from the website form , or contact the Vo lunteer Co-ordina tor for more details.

Sarah Fawcett Volunteer Co-ord inator (01484) 473455 handsonvols@hu d.ac.uk www.huddersfield student.co.uk/volu nteer

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: From Bialystok To Huddersﬁeld

Free Football Tickets giveaway International and European students at the University were among the first to receive free football tickets from Chancellor Patrick Stewart OBE. As part of the Huddersfield Town football club's centenary season, the internationally-renowned actor donated two Huddersfield Town season tickets for the sole use of students at the University. Among the winners so far are Om-In Chaisiri from Thailand, Azdine Hadjras from France and (pictured) Loiy Bani Ismail and Ammar Fadi Resheq, both from Jordan. "I'm pleased that I am able to give something back to both the students of Huddersfield and the football club," explains Patrick Stewart. "The University's international students are often the ones left in the town when the main body of students have gone home, and I am delighted to offer them the opportunity to support our local club."

The University welcomed two Polish work placement students to the campus during the Summer as participants in the Socrates Erasmus programme Agnieszka Mironow and Ania Piekutowska from Bialystok in North-East Poland took on a three month internship at the University and were involved in tasks within the International Office and the department of Computing and Engineering. Away from their work duties both students decided to take the opportunity to explore Huddersfield and visit other parts of the UK including York, Edinburgh, Liverpool and Warwick Castle. “This was my first time in England and I found the people so friendly and very helpful which helped to distance any fears that I first had. I had such a great time at Huddersfield working with all the staff and meeting the Chancellor Patrick Stewart. The town is very easy to get around and is surrounded by some amazing countryside”, said Ania. Agnieszka went on to say “I think it's a good idea for students to participate in internships abroad, especially to get to know other culture, lifestyle and working habits. I speak more German than English, so I wasn't sure, if my command of English is enough to work at the University. However, I found the British people to be very nice and helpful, so it's easy to learn English here”.

a y h w H s m a l A s t S o u d u i p u

FEATURES

Features Happy Christmas issue. Yes, itʼs November, which means the country has been celebrating Christmas for about a month now. It may be a bit old-man-ish but people put their decorations up a little too early for my tastes. This month is the start of our ʻStudentʼs Guide to…ʼ and what better way to kick it off than with something Christmassy? Weʼve also got the usual ʻWhatʼs Onʼ and a new ʻTop 10 of Everythingʼ list feature to sink your teeth into. The Features section stirred up some controversy last month and this issue weʼve got some e-mails from fellow students about Rachel Conveyʼs Boris Johnson opinion piece.

OPINION: Emails Ben Hall Dear Features Editor, I think Borisʼ mass appeal is due to his undying charisma. He makes schoolboy errors, he completely gibbers his words and he fluffs speeches. We view him like a schoolboy but he is sincere, unlike a lot of other politicians who are shallow, deceptive and should be old enough to know better. Boris is a cool dude. A part time tractor driver known for his demolishing prowess, a man who unsuccessfully snorted a mystery powder at Eton by sneezing, a man open to interpretation whose favourite phrase is ʻno, well, yesʼ. Thanks for getting a piece about him in the Huddersfield Student- I thought it was quite good. -Rob West Rob, No problem. Like to know weʼre representing things that students like to read about. Thanks for writing in.

To get in touch and have your comments, opinions, observations or ideas immortalised in print send an email to u0755412@hud.ac.uk

Page 11 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com Also this month, all of us manning the features desk (the paper has no budget, weʼve only just got ourselves an editor so the features desk is only hypothetical and shouldnʼt be sought out) have been busy bees, tapping into the heart of Huddersfield life. Yes, weʼve been out with our Dictaphone asking what you all think of, well, things. Thanks to everyone who stopped. Thatʼs all Iʼve got space for this month so, as usual, keep in touch on the normal email. Please try and get everything you have to me before December 16th, (youʼve got about a month). Enjoy and keep this copy safe, it might just be the last, cheappaper version of the Huddersfield Student ever printed. Hurrah.

by Ben Hall,

FEATURES EDITOR Dear Ben, I was sitting in a local sa ndwich shop Huddersfield and Student. Ha ving a flick th I happened to notice a Convey, all copy of the about Boris rough I notic Johnson. O ed the nice I thought this r at least I th article by Ra was a stude ought it wou chel nt newspap primary sch ld be. er, hers rea ool. It leave d more like s the reader As I have sa it was writte feeling like th id, Boris Joh n for ey're being nson is a so couldn't have talked down m e w made that a h a t in to, te re sting subject ny less obvi give the imp , and Rache ous. Her fa ression of re l ct s se may be true arch done u Firstly, she , but they on clearly has sing Wikipe not used the ly dia. drink on the Tube often e m. They're nough to exp not students stay out of th erience peo , they're the e cold and th ple who homeless w en get oblite My second ho buy a da rated. point is rega y pass to rd ing Ray Lew reader to be is and his re lieve that yo si u g th nation. Her Lewis resign and knife cr article leads ed because ime are so b the he didn't qu ad that after resigned ove ite two months care enough r financial m . This is no isconduct a became Ma t the case. L llegations. yor of Londo The fact is, n there were this year. (M since Johnso ewis 15381 less et.police.uk) n crimes com Also, I for o mitted in Se ne am glad p tember th a t of financial we have ha crisis becau d Brown in ch se he is one a rg this country e of this coun of the greate has seen in try in times st Chancello 20 years. Convey sho r's of the Exc uld stick to th hequer e things tha politics is de t she knows, finitely not o whatever th ne of them. ey may be, but - David J. F innegan David, Itʼs good to know that p eople are re publish. Con ading and g veyʼs piece etting infuria was her opin oppositionted by the th ion but than nothing like ings we ks for sendin a healthy de I agree that g in someth bate. Brownʼs a b ing in it good. Hop September e you saw o issue. It was ur feature o Brown-nose n him in the -tastic!

What can you do in 60 seconds?:

Your Homemade video could win you a year’s free car insurance Sixty seconds may not seem like a lengthy amount of time but in reality, youʼre right, itʼs really not. 60 seconds, however, can be enough time to win you a whole yearʼs worth of free car insurance. How good is that? Can you cure a hangover in 60 seconds? Do you have a secret way of making cocktails in less than a minute? Or are you an expert at getting ready for lectures with less than a minute to spare? A new competition has arrived for you to showcase your 60-second skills and show the world how to get things done quickly. Swiftcover.com, the UKʼs only dedicated online insurance company, is challenging us all to upload videos of the best thing to do in less than a minute, with the most useful or funniest winning a yearʼs free car insurance from them- nifty, yes? Videos can be filmed on a mobile phone or digital camera and easily uploaded via www.swiftrelief.co.uk. “Swift Relief”, is swiftcover.comʼs

new consumer campaign, designed to help consumers have stress-free experiences and provide them with tips and hints for an easier life. The competition deadline is 30th November 2008. To upload or view the videos get you to www.swiftrelief.co.uk. Donʼt leave it too late though because, chances are, itʼll take a hell of a lot longer than 60 seconds to actually come up with an idea. To help you combat video-makerʼs block weʼve hit the campus and asked a few people what the best thing they can do in 60 seconds is. Kate, Film Journalism “60 Seconds? I could try eating a whole bag of prawn crackers?”

Natalie, Film Journalism “In 60 seconds I can bring my arms from my back round to my front with out letting go of my hands if that makes sense? Itʼs all freaky double jointed stuff” Hannah, Fashion Media and Promotion “I would be lying if I told you anything because I really cant do that much in 60 seconds to be perfectly honest.” So have these people got what it takes to win a yearʼs free car insurance or do you think you can beat them to the ultimate prize and claim it for yourself? Get yourself to swiftrelief.co.uk and upload your video to be in with a chance of winning.

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Page 12 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

FEATURES POLITICS: Beauty, The Beast & Barack Obama Rob West

With all the bookies now refusing to take bets on Obama winning, and the result being as good as over, you have to ponder whatʼs in store for the first black president of the “great” US of A. First of all, Obama has stated his intention to stick to the deadlines set in Iraq, and will pull out on the set dates whether Iraq is ready or not, because heʼs there to please the masses, and therefore, get everything wrong. Secondly, the economyʼs state, which mirrors the intelligence of the current leader, looks like a fivesided Rubikʼs puzzle with ancient languages rather than simple colours. Itʼs going to be another trapdoor that Americaʼs newest ʻyes-manʼ falls foul of. Thirdly, well thatʼs enough for anyone to sort out in four years really be they black, white or yellow (yes, I would rather vote for Lisa Simpson). Living with the mistakes of the former government, sounding too familiar? Weʼre not looking at a new black president here; weʼre looking at a black Tony Blair. And who wants another one of him?

At the time of going to print America is still in the process of choosing a President. Rob West and Ben Hall take a look at whatʼs to come for the US of A. John McCain started the ʻrun-inʼ with a reputation as an old wise head, ready to lead America through the tough times ahead, both abroad and on the home front, and ended it sounding like a gung-ho cowboy out to stamp on “that one” who dared to stand up to him. There was a glimmer of hope as he announced his VILF running partner- tall, dark hair, intelligent, attractive and down to earth- everything he isnʼt. Sarah Palin, “a bulldog with lipstick”, couldʼve fooled me. The Republicans suddenly had a ʻBeauty and the Beastʼ combination that really couldnʼt fail and, though judgement may have not arrived at time of printing, itʼs not looking good.

Ben Hall Sarah Palin is one of those religious types that scare me. She doesnʼt believe that dinosaurs existed (so all the proof has obviously been planted), says that homosexuality is a conscious choice and has stated that if a 15-year-old girl were to be raped by a family member that she would discourage abortion if they got pregnant- scary, yes? By the time we publish our next issue of the Huddersfield Student a new president will have been selected and will be looking forward to starting his job. Weʼll be running a profile on the successful candidate and, fingers crossed; youʼll all be reading about Barack Obama.

I donʼt know a lot about British politics, never mind American politics, but what I do know Iʼm willing to share with you. Above, Rob seems to be sitting in the McCain/Palin lawn, looking over to the Obama house and feeling like the house party heʼs at has significantly less guests than Barack and Joeʼs shindig. In reality, however, things may not be so clear-cut. I was reading in a magazine the other day that there is a genuine fear in Camp Obama/Bidden that people are feigning their support for Barack, only to turn round and vote for McCain, which confuses and frankly frightens me. The very concept of one of the most powerful men in the world choosing Sarah Palin to become one of the most powerful women in the world (especially if he dies and she becomes President) just seems terrifying.

Do you agree, disagree or just not care? Email u0755412@hud.ac.uk to make your voice heard.

The Christmas Crunch Ben Hall Research released in October reveals that one in three full time students are in over their heads with their financial situation. Features Editor, Ben Hall investigates. If youʼre like me, you get a maintenance loan somewhere in the region of £3-4k per year. Add to that the £3k tuition fee, the student overdraft and weʼre looking at ending University with debts over £20kshocking, yes? Worryingly, one in ten of us have no idea of our financial positions, constantly feeling our finances are out of control (too true) and two thirds of us turn to friends or partners for financial advice about a quarter looking to the internet for a solution. The research undertaken by YouGov for GE Money highlights the financial attitudes and experiences of full time students in major cities across the UK. The research encompasses debt from loans and credit cards and shows half of all students have debts of over £5,000, one in three owing over £10,000, and four per cent owing in excess of £20,000- and you thought you had it bad. In terms of student loans the vast majority of us use them to live and pay for tuition fees, with around 41 per cent of us needing a job to stop us drowning- a further 40 per cent receive financial help from our parents. Only a quarter of students believe they will pay their student loans off in full within five years of leaving university and 38 per cent of students believe

theyʼll still have loans up to and over 10 years after leaving- frightening. An expert from moneybasics.co.uk told us that, “for many young people, going away to university is the first time they have to be responsible for their own finances, and many will really feel the financial shock. We would encourage [them] to mange their money from day one. It is important to set budgets and stick to them. University can turn out to be a financial minefield” With that in mind weʼve hit the streets to ask you wonderful Huddersfieldian students exactly how youʼre doing in the run up to Christmas.

Natalie Flavell, Second Year “Clothes, DVDs and alcohol are my downfall. I am dreadful with money and at the moment have spent all of my loan, overdraft and donʼt have job so you will not want to be my friend at Christmas.”

Glynn Parry, First Year “Love spending some dosh so no, Iʼm poor with the old pounds. Definitely should have got a nectar card from Sainsburys because I would have some serious points by now. My birthday falls two weeks before [Christmas] so hopefully Iʼll get some pounds to spend on presents.”

Jenna Boydle, Second Year “Iʼm good with money except when it comes to clothes and alcohol. Iʼve decided that Iʼll worry about Christmas nearer the time. Not getting myself stressed about it when Iʼve got nearly two months to find some pennies. Iʼm all about the lastminute.com.”

Page 13 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

FEATURES Ben Hall

TOP 10

Usually when you think of Christmas and lists, 12 is the first number that jumps to mind. Here at the Huddersfield Student we like to play differently, so with the festive season is upon us we count down the 10 things that make our student bellies fizz with Yuletide excitement the most.

10. White beards. Youʼve all done it. A manʼs

walked past with a white beard causing you to stop and question anyone whoʼs around you: “Is that Santa?”

Things that make us feel Christmassy.

8. Putting our clocks back. Itʼs dark when we get up; itʼs dark when we go to sleep. Winter is truly here.

7. How gosh-darned cold it’s getting. When itʼs cold it feels like it might just snow and thatʼs what Christmas is about. The miracle never happens but I believe this will be the year it snows on Christmas Eve. 6. Christmas displays in shops. Even though

theyʼve been up since August they just get us in the festive spirit.

5. Christmas songs in Kingsgate. Chestnuts are

this happen back home. Soon itʼll be January Iʼm certain.

2. Father Christmas CocaCola. Holidays are coming, holidays are coming. The

TV ad hasnʼt aired yet to my knowledge but I have recently purchased some Christmas coke. This is perhaps the best Christmas thing ever except, perhaps, meeting Santa himself!

1. Christmas Eve.

No matter how old or how ʻmatureʼ you think you are, it gets to us all. No one sleeps on Christmas Eve. Fact.

roasting. Itʼs the most wonderful time of the year and even if we stop the cavalry we couldnʼt be less Christmassy.

9. Starbucks, on the odd occasion we get to go to Leeds. For those Starbucks fans out there.

Starbucks do some fabulous concoctions that you can probably buy all year round under a different name but the fact theyʼve made it Christmassy and put it in a red cup just makes us feel better.

4. The fact that only some of the lights in Huddersfield Town centre are working. Iʼve

seen a few blue ones on my walk home. I really hope thereʼll be a switching on ceremony.

3. The fact that every year people start putting their Christmas decorations up

increasingly early. October is the earliest Iʼve seen

A Student’s Ben Hall

gu id e to . . .

In our first ever student guide we take a look at Christmas and how to manage it on a student budget. As if life wasnʼt hard enough being a student, Christmas is just around the corner. For those of you who are starting to feel the pinch of the festive season, all is not lost. The best thing about being a student at Christmas is the untold excuses it gives you to buy people substandard presents. Anyone you know well enough to be buying for will, in turn, know youʼre a bit strapped in the run up to the Noel (as in no-ell, not as in Edmunds). Sue Harrison from Studentgems.com knows that Christmas is an expensive time for everyone and suggests the key to success it to plan ahead. “Get paid work organised in advance,” she told us “Not only will it enable you to earn money for the festive season but it is essential that you have experience on your CV when you start looking for a full-time job” Sue also mentions that in preparation for interview, itʼs not just about the basics. “One other thing to remember - with all those Christmas parties you have planned, “ she continues, “is to make sure your Facebook privacy settings are set to stop potential employers seeing your wild side!” So, what about all of us who havenʼt managed to get jobs or who, despite having a job, are still on a somewhat restricted budget? Well thatʼs where this handy little guide comes in oh-so-very useful because some of this publicationʼs fabulous editors and contributors have give us some suggestions for cheapo presents for music, fashion, game and literature lovers- arenʼt we kind?

Christmas on the Cheap

BOOKS & Fiction Editor, Becky Wilson, suggests: •Cornelia Funkeʼs Inkheart (£7) for those who love a good story; •Sam Stern's Student Cookbook: Survive in Style on a Budget (£10) for those who struggle in the kitchen; •Pop goes the Weasel: Secret meanings of Nursery Rhymes by Albert Jack (£13) for those with a sense of humour; and, •The Mighty Book of Boosh (£20) for any fan of comedy. •For a cheaper present you could always get a nice bookmark, book light or a simple gift card for Waterstones Michael Williams takes FASHION, Media and Promotion and suggests, “You all take advantage of being students. Places such as Topshop, Topman, etc all give a 10% discount to students and, even better, in the run up to the Christmas season they regularly bump up this discount to as much as 20%. Gift cards are always a good idea when it comes to buying for fussy friends or, buy a cheap t-shirt and customise it for the ultimate, personalised gift for fashionistas.” MUSIC Editor, Sam Bethell, says “It's often possible to pick up great headphones and earphones for under £20 from electrical retailers and high-street music shops in the run-up to Christmas. Band posters can be picked up for a few quid. Also, look out for record shops offering multi-buy deals such as '2 albums for £10' etc. iTunes do voucher cards for spending on their online download service which make great gifts for iPod owners.”

GAME lover Joshua Jasper takes Game Design and says, “One of the best places for cheap presents for game lovers is Forbidden Planet. Thereʼs always Halo or some game-related merchandise to buy.” If you have a friend who loves FILM the Internet is possibly the best place to turn to. Itʼs pretty self-explanatory (and maybe a touch patronising) but play.com, Amazon and eBay have some of the best deals. Failing that, HMV sale anyone?

If youʼd like to write a Student guide email u0755412@hud.ac.uk whether you have an idea or not and weʼll put you to work

If you would like to write for the Features section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Ben Hall, the Features Editor at u0755412@hud.ac.uk..

LIFESTYLE

Music by Sam Bethell,

MUSIC EDITOR

Hello there music lovers! As we approach the end of 2008 weʼve decided to share what we consider to be some of the best albums released this year. The list was compiled by the writers of the section and I, and therefore represents our tastes- so itʼs mainly an alt-rock list. The list is not numbered or ranked, but when I look back on 2008 some albums certainly stand out; offerings from This Will Destroy You, Emarosa,

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Moving Mountains, Search The City, and Underoath will surely be etched on my memory for years to come. SB= comment by Sam Bethell JT= comment by Joe Tyler KS= comment by Kevin Smith Thanks to everyone who contributed and Merry Christmas to you all!

Albums of the Year! A-Z Style Sam Bethell

Ace Enders- The Secret Wars

One-man rock marvel Arthur “Ace” Enders doesnʼt call himself Ace without good reason. SB

Cajun Dance Party - The Colourful Life Minimal Strokesesque indie-pop. Bouncy, light and colourful. JT

Dance Gavin Dance- Dance Gavin Dance Despite a couple of glitches, this is still captivating post-hardcore. SB

Four Year Strong- Rise Or Die Trying An impossibly fun release. SB

Idiot Pilot- Wolves The mark of a fine album is one which joins seamlessly, eliminating entirely the need for the ʻskip trackʼ button, and Wolves achieves this with aplomb. SB

Alive In Wild Paint- Ceilings If the sheer beauty of the songs doesnʼt do it for you, then Travis Bryantʼs angelic voice surely will. SB

City and Colour- Bring Me Your Love Beautiful; Dallas Green cements his place as one of the best singersongwriters of our generation. SB

Emarosa- Relativity

The surprise of the year. Does Jonny Craig possess the most impressive voice in modern rock? SB

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly- Searching For The Hows and Whys Intelligent and essential British pop-rock music. SB

Kings of Leon - Only by the Night Stadium filling anthems from arguably the biggest band in the world. Glastonbury headline set and this album completed great year. JT

The Audition- Champion Slick, polished pop-rock. SB

BrigadeCome Morning We Fight Improving on ʻLightsʼ was no mean feat, but theyʼve done just that. Stunning altrock. SB

Damiera- Quiet Mouth Loud Hands Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip - Angels The guitars are beyond the ordinary. Dense compositions of alt-rock with grooves. SB

Farewell To Freeway- Deﬁnitions

Seldom is metal this listenable. The guitars are incredible. SB

Glasvegas- Glasvegas

Scottish throwbacks to the 50s swoon on about lost love and lost parents backed up with a spellbinding wall-ofsound backing. JT

The Last Shadow Puppets The Age of the Understatement

Highly innovative string-filled bombardment from Alex Turner and Miles Kane. JT

The natural successor to The Streets, but with more sophistication and less appeal to the masses. JT

Fighting With Wire- Man Vs. Monster Sometimes itʼs just nice to hear 3 dudes playing no-gimmick rock music. SB

Gojira – The Way of All Flesh

More technically lavished than their last record, Gojira are set to become one of metalʼs most revered bands. KS

Lightspeed Champion - Falling oﬀ the Lavender Bridge It may be a bit 'woe is me', but includes some truly beautiful moments of genre-spanning indie. JT

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LIFESTYLE

The Mars VoltaThe Bedlam in Goliath

Lydia- Illuminate

Relentlessly gorgeous- a soft rock masterpiece. SB

MGMT – Oracular Spectacular

The Pink Floyd of their era and 21st century psychedelia at itʼs finest. SB

Mogwai- The Hawk Is Howling The fact that Mogwai are used as a sort of benchmark for all instrumental postrock speaks for itself. SB

Psychedelic folk tunes coupled with 3 of the best pop songs youʼll hear all year make this a truly enjoyable listen. KS

Our Last NightThe Ghosts Among Us

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul May lack the anthems of previous work, but on their seventh studio album they finally show signs of a new direction. JT

Protest The Hero- Fortress

One of the brightest young screamo/metalco re bands around. SB

Search The City- A Fire So Big The Heavens Can See It

Finally a thrash metal album that doesnʼt sound like it couldʼve been made in the 1990s. SB

Sky Eats Airplane- Sky Eats Airplane

The pop-punk album of the year by a nautical mile. Fantastic. SB

Stacy Clark- Apples & Oranges

Youʼve heard guitars, youʼve heard vocals, youʼve heard drums, youʼve heard samplesbut youʼve never heard it done like this before. SB

UnderoathLost In The Sound Of Separation

The best album by a female solo artist in godknows-how-long. SB

ValenciaWe All Need A Reason To Believe

An astounding screamo/hardcor e/rock enormity. SB

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Thereʼs part of us all that canʼt resist a chorus the size of a small country, and thereʼs plenty of those here. SB

Music 2008

Meshuggah – obZen

In a time where every band is just trying to emulate their heroes, itʼs refreshing to hear a band that donʼt follow the conventions and make up their own instead. KS

Moving Mountains- Pneuma For a debut, as good as it gets. SB

Panic At The Disco- Pretty. Odd A very different direction from their debut but nonetheless a great pop-rock album. SB/KS

Secret Lives! Of The FreemasonsWeekend Warriors If youʼre looking for slick partyrock, youʼve just hit the jackpot. SB

Take The Crown- Relapse React The now defunct Californians offer a wonderful parting gift of synth-laden posthardcore. SB

You, Me, And Everyone We KnowParty For The Grown and Sexy

Witty lyrics and pop-punk hooks that will stick in your head for weeks. SB

Music

Music 2008

Music

2008

Metallica- Death Magnetic Luckily for Metallica ʻDeath Magneticʼ showcases a band that still has something. KS

MuseumsCan We Meet In The Middle The phrase ʻhidden gemʼ has never been more applicable. SB

Paul Weller- 22 Dreams The Modfather returns with his most experimental and psychedelic work to date, proving he can move with the times even at 50 years old. JT

Sigur Rós- Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust A band at the peak of their form. SB

This Will Destroy You- This Will Destroy You The new-crowned kings of instrumental postrock. Monumental, life-affirming, beautiful. SB

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LIFESTYLE

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REVIEW -

This Will Destroy You + Mom + Machines @ Sheﬃeld Corporation, 09 October 2008 Sam Bethell In 1987 the Beastie Boys didnʼt fight for our right to party so that we could only consume alcohol in a separate bar area to where the bands are playing. If it werenʼt for the ʻno beer in the gig roomʼ rule, Iʼd have seen as well as heard Machines (6/10), whose songs range from delicate and considered instrumental rock pieces to slabs of enormous progressive metal. When vocals appear, comparisons to Tool become inevitable due to a blatant similarity in singing style to a certain Maynard James Keenan. Shaking off the title of ʻthat Sheffield band that sound a lot like Toolʼ could prove to be their menace unless they quickly move to differentiate themselves. A band with no such issues of uniqueness is Mom (8/10), a Texan duo who innovatively blend violin, cello, electro-acoustic guitar, and pre-programmed beats and samples. For their opening number, their guitarist draws a violin bow across the strings of his delaydrenched electro-acoustic guitar, which causes layer upon layer of ambient hum to cascade around the venue. Later in their set, Momʼs music incorporates reverse delay, loop machines and finger-tapped guitar, all resulting in a gorgeously melancholic vibe. Thereʼs some serious technology aiding their cause, but itʼs plainly obvious that Mom are virtuoso performers, and tonight, theyʼve gained a fan or two. While mundane press releases everywhere proclaim that “2008 is _____ʼs year”, with the name of the band theyʼre attempting to push into the limelight inserted unimaginatively into that sentence, I profess that 2008 belongs to This Will Destroy You (10/10). As if their self-

titled album were not enough evidence, their live show must surely seal it. Beginning with ʻThe Mighty Rio Grandeʼ, tremolo-picked guitars slowly emerge thanks to a volume pedal, gradually lulling the audience into a state of

hypnosis. Once under the spell, the Texans unleash the build-up-to-crescendo mammoths that are ʻThreadsʼ and ʻThe World Is Our ____ʼ, the latter of which is the most gratefully received piece of music of the evening, complete with some of the crispest sounding drums Iʼve ever heard in a live setting. What is particularly evident in their live show that doesnʼt translate to their recordings with such extremity is the ʻthrashʼ element of their sound. While This Will Destroy Youʼs compositions have a tendency to build up over several minutes before exploding into more distorted guitar sounds on record, the full force of this explosion is only truly felt in a live setting. Dono provides the visual manifestation of these thrash moments, tossing his bass up in the air whilst simultaneously beating the strings with a grimaced expression on his face. Well, you didnʼt expect a man donning bright orange jeans to be reserved on stage did you? As the band play out an unavoidable encore, they check how many more songs they have time to cram in. “Who cares about time?” is the cry from a hippy-type behind me, who in acting as a spokesman for the entire audience concisely sums up the crowdʼs consensus: if This Will Destroy You played an encore as long as the set itself it would still all be over too soon. While 2006ʼs Young Mountain EP introduced This Will Destroy You as pretenders to the post-rock throne, this new era complete with mesmerising live show cement their place at the top of the pile. Nights like these remind me why I love music so much.

Gojira-The Way Of All Flesh (CD Album) Sam Shaw The term “heavy” doesnʼt even begin to describe this latest offering from the French metal giants. This is the bandʼs fourth studio album and it feels like the natural progression from their previous release ʻFrom Mars to Siriusʼ. They have taken the template they set on ʻFrom Mars…ʼ and made it even more technical, progressive, heavy but and at the same time, melodic. Like ʻFrom Mars…ʼ this album is again all about strong heavy riffs, harsh vocals and driving rhythms. What really stands out is the brilliance of virtuoso drummer Mario Duplantier who provides the complex rhythms and time changes which the band builds upon. This is most noticeable on ʻThe Art of Dyingʼ which opens with a tribal style rhythm which the band build around and is full of Duplantierʼs inventive drum fills. The album provides metal fans with a treat as Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blithe does guest vocals on the track ʻAdoration for Noneʼ. This dynamic works really well as Randyʼs vocal style is similar to Gojira vocalist Joe Duplantier. Gojira fans wonʼt be disappointed with this release as the band havenʼt changed their style or sound, but instead perfected it. Stand out tracks include ʻVacuityʼ, ʻThe Art of Dyingʼ and ʻOrborusʼ. I would consider this, along with Metallicaʼs ʻDeath Magneticʼ to be one of the essential metal purchases of the year. VERDICT - 9/10

REVIEW -

The Riﬂes @ Hull Welly Club, 01 November 2008 Joe Tyler Most music lovers have a band that they consider their own. A band that they have been with since the beginning, and whose back catalogue has been played over and over again. A band that you will travel the length of the country to see, and whose highs and lows have been followed with consummate detail. For me, that band is The Rifles. I believe The Rifles are one of the best bands in Britain. They have been touring England and Europe for a few years now and have never really broken into the mainstream, though they have one of the most loyal core supports of any band in the country. Their gig at Hull Welly Club recently was the sixth time I have seen them, and they continue to leave me impressed with their music, and also surprised at how they have never received more credit from the media when bands such as The Kooks continue to top charts. Crowd favourites from first album 'No Love Lost' were greeted with predictably riotous scenes. The scratchy opening bars of 'Repeated Offender' and the beer-drenched anthem 'Robin Hood' portray everyday

life situations from an alternative point of view, which is something The Rifles do best. 'Narrow Minded Social Club' preaches anti-anti-social messages, whilst 'Peace and Quite' looks at a contented break-up, rather than the predictable tales of unrequited love. The Rifles second album 'The Great Escape', was originally due for release in October, but has been put back to January 2009 due to 'unsatisfactory production'. The band explained on their MySpace page that the first demos did not capture the live sound they crave in their recordings, so they changed their producer. Considering the exuberance they play with in their shows, it's no wonder they felt the need to change - live music is what they do best. Not keen on waiting another three months for new material, the fans wanted to hear teasers from the new album, and that's what they got. 'I Could Never Lie' is your typical Rifles song; euphoric, poppy, punky, and about a subject you can relate to - finding it hard to say 'I love you'. 'Talking' shows the band's heavier side. A distorted, heavy bassline is accompanied by Joel

Stoker's perfect vocal - like Paul Weller but without the 40-fags-a-day habit. Speaking of the Modfather, the following of middle-aged mods at all Rifles gigs was present again, as they search for the natural successors to The Jam, an indication of how highly this band is thought of by some. I urge you to be one of them.

If you would like to write for the Music section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Sam Bethell, the Music Editor at sam.bethell@googlemail.com.

LIFESTYLE

Hello everyone and welcome to another journey into the world of film. October has been and gone and winter is definitely upon us. Itʼs not a nice feeling when it starts getting dark at 4:30. I never see home in daylight during winter on days when Iʼm at Uni. I leave home at 7am and get back at 5:30; horrible! Anyway – onto film news. The end of October saw the new Bond film, ʻQuantum of Solaceʼ, hit our cinema screens. Itʼs proved successful so far, proved as much on the opening night as my sister tried to get in at Vue (York) on the opening night but they were fully booked. They were showing it every 20 minutes on about 6 screens simultaneously. I must admit, Iʼm a bigger fan of the old Bond films. They never were realistic, but to have an invisible car is pushing it slightly. The old films always used to have the Russians as the enemies; a surefire sign of the Cold War politics at the time. Quantum of Solace

Gary Young

FILM

by Matt Lawson,

FILM

EDITOR

Top Ten Films

1. Fight Club (1999)

With Fight Club, David Fincher gave us a powerful examination of urban life and the nature of masculinity. The film attacks the modern obsession with consumerism, reserving particular wrath for Ikea, Starbucks and the Volkswagen Beetle. The film makes skilful use of black comedy, intense violence and thoughtful insight into the urban psyche. Such themes are combined with Fincherʼs lightning paced camera work and editing to present a truly stunning cinematic statement. Lastly, the filmʼs script deserves considerable praise, combining pathos, humour, bitter satire, and one of cinemaʼs most revered 3rd act twists is an incredible achievement.

2. Heat (1995)

runs to 105 minutes which by modern film standards isnʼt very long. Letʼs hope the movie lives up to its hype. With Christmas not far away, film fans can get excited at the prospect of some unexpected DVDs as part of their stockpile of presents. Thereʼs always one relative who gets you a film youʼve never heard of, which was probably expertly picked from the bargain bin in Morrisons. Iʼm not saying we should be ungrateful for any presents, as thereʼs people that go without, but Iʼve heard some horror stories in the past about bizarre films which have made their way into peopleʼs collections. If you go to see the new Bond film, let me know what you think at the usual address. Iʼd love to have some mixed reviews on the new film. Enjoy the film section, and Iʼll see you in January for the next issue.

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In 1995 Michael Mann brought together two of the worldʼs greatest actors, an exceptional supporting cast and a powerful and complex script. What resulted was a sprawling, multi-stranded crime epic that has become the pinnacle of an already established career. Mannʼs impeccable talent for direction is showcased in a number of incredible action set pieces, the best of

which features a running gun battle through the streets of downtown LA. The filmʼs focal point however is a much quieter affair, a meeting between the filmʼs protagonists (De Niro and Pacino as professionals on opposite sides of the law) bristles with tension, both delivering restraint and gravitas to a scene which could, quite easily, have been marred by overacting.

3. Leon (1994)

Crammed with atmosphere, Leon is a unique buddy movie. The story of the bond of friendship between an assassin and a twelve year old girl who loses her family in a brutal shooting combines moments of intense violence and surprising tenderness. The film hangs on a fantastic cast: Jean Reno plays the eponymous assassin with a combination of effortless cool and childlike naiveté, a pre-pubescent Natalie Portman shows maturity well beyond her years and Gary Oldman is terrifying as the psychotic DEA agent responsible for her familyʼs murder.

4. American Beauty (1999)

Almost a companion piece to Fight Club, only with much less fighting, where Fincher attacked the obsessions of urban America, Mendes uses his film to attack the problems of suburban Middle America. Once again the film addresses the emasculation of men by modern life, Kevin Spacey delivers an Oscar winning performance as a man fighting to regain his self respect in the face of a domineering wife, a mind-numbing job and daughter who has lost all respect for him.

5. Donnie Darko (2001)

Equivalent to marmite in terms of audience reaction, there are those that love it and those that hate it, but almost all are baffled by it. Donnie Darko straddles a multitude of genres; high school comedy/drama, social satire, science fiction, horror and whilst some films which have tried the same trick would be overwhelmed by inconsistency, Donnie Darko hangs together perfectly to deliver a poignant and satisfying conclusion.

6. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Fans of Tarantino will generally state his best film was Reservoir Dogs, however this multi-narrative tale of LA lowlifes surpasses the tighter, more succinct Dogs by virtue of its standout performances, dark humour and trademark dialogue. The whole cast is bathed in cool, but the standout performance has to be Samuel L Jackson, effortless charisma and instantly quotable he symbolises the very essence of the film.

7. Jaws (1975)

Single-handedly re-invented cinema, before Jaws there was no such thing as a blockbuster, since Jaws Hollywood has become a multi billion dollar industry. Spielberg gave us a film with action, genuine sadness (Quint re-telling the story of the US Indianapolis) and a couple of shocks that still work today, not to mention

one of filmʼs most memorable musical motifʼs. I will admit though, that the shark looks rubbish.

8. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Unbelievably hilarious, watch this film without bursting out laughing uncontrollably and you are either dead or in dire need of a sense of humour. Many comedy films get too wrapped up in trying to give you a story, Anchorman gives you jokes, lots of jokes, an unrelenting barrage of ensemble comedy, excellent one liners, OTT slapstick and the greatest multi-network news anchor street fight you will ever see.

9. Garden State (2004)

JD from Scrubs (Zach Braff) shows what he is really capable of; directing, writing and starring in this tender, semi-biographical tale about the complications of returning home after a long time away. Braff is excellent as the lead, a young man re-discovering what it means to feel after spending much of his life on mood altering drugs. The film also features perfect performances from Natalie Portman (effortlessly endearing) and Peter Sarsgaard. This film is a highly recommended piece.

10. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Directed with a unique visual style by former musicvideo director Michel Gondry, the director manages to perfectly complement the filmʼs concept of artificial memory loss with distinctive visual techniques. The film also marks an impressive performance by Jim Carrey, forced to “play it straight” he emerges as an accomplished dramatic actor while Kate Winslet (who takes on the more comedic role) is excellent as the charismatic, but frustrating Clementine. At times heartbreaking and uplifting, HUDDERSFIELD’S OWN Eternal Sunshine is a RECRUITMENT AGENCY film that will ALL TYPES OF TEMPORARY WORK stay with you long after your Tel (01484) 351010 first viewing. www.stafflex.co.uk

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LIFESTYLE You get paid how much?! Matt Lawson Ever wondered what the elite in the film business earn? You think the £6 an hour youʼre on for serving drinks is a decent wage? Wait until you cast your eyes on some of the ridiculous earnings that the nine stars below are lucky enough to bring home! 9. George Clooney: $25million (£12.5million) His paypacket for Ocean's 13 was £7.5 million ($15million), which balances some of the less lucrative arthouse movies George has been involved with of late. 8. Nicole Kidman: $28million (14million) The only woman on our list, last year Kidman turned 40 - Hollywood's unofficial age limit for actresses starring in big blockbusters. Will Nicole still be able to make the kind of money she'd been used to? 7. Adam Sandler: $30million (£15million) Adam gets £10million ($20million) a flick. While he

may be rich though, is he respected by his peers? Adam is yet to be nominated for any Oscars - another benchmark of success beyond cold hard cash. 6. Will Smith: $31million (£15.5million) Like Adam Sandler, Will earns £10million ($20million) per film but he has had an Oscar nomination - for his role in The Pursuit of Happyness - confirming his acting worth. 5. Tom Cruise: $31million (£15.5million) It seems Tom has had a subdued time of late, enjoying life with the new family, and being dumped by Paramount. Will his fortunes turn for the better with United Artists? 4. Brad Pitt: $35million (£17.5million) Brad may have had a quiet past few years on screen, but his pay packet isn't flagging. Fully expect Brad to be at the top of this list next year, with a brace of

projects on the horizon. 3. Ben Stiller: $38million (£19million) Another film where Stiller wears tight trousers, 2006ʼs Night at the Museum was a big budget blockbuster that raked in $572million. Stiller's role (in a nicely snug uniform) as security guard Larry Daley paid off. 2. Tom Hanks: $74million (£37million) The Da Vinci Code grossed $758 million (£379 million) worldwide, so there's little mystery behind Tom's place on the list. His salary for the sequel to the film 'Angels and Demons', is rumoured to be $50million. 1. Johnny Depp: $92million (£46million) Aping Keith Richards as the bedraggled Jack Sparrow has proved lucrative for Depp: two Pirates of the Caribbean films released in two years see Johnny as the highest salaried movie star.

Tropic Thunder Review Brog Morris Tropic Thunder is comedian Ben Stillerʼs fourth movie as director. Itʼs centred around a group of actors working on Vietnam War movie Tropic Thunder, a production so troubled that its director (Steve Coogan) sends the ʻprima donnaʼ cast into the jungle in order to play the movie for real. Those playing the platoon include fading action hero Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), comedy star Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) and rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T Jackson). Then thereʼs Kirk Lazarus. Like Robert Downey Jr? If the answer is ʻnoʼ, chances are you wonʼt like Tropic Thunder. Much has been written of the controversy surrounding Downey Jrʼs character in the movie, Australian method actor Lazarus, who undergoes surgery (dying his skin black) in order to portray the African American soldier in the fictional war movie. However, look past that, and there is a slyly satirical performance from the actor, who is enjoying a major career revival after stellar performances in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Zodiac and the immensely popular Iron Man. He is easily the best thing in the film, spouting hilarious dialogue such as “I donʼt drop character till Iʼve done the DVD commentary”. Without Downey Jr, some (admittedly hilarious) mock trailers and the presence of a barely recognisable Tom Cruise (playing an insane movie executive), Tropic Thunder could scarcely be called a comedy. Brogan Morris This movie, based on B-movie king Roger Cormanʼs original, ʻDeath Race 2000ʼ, was never going to be the next Godfather. It knows this. If youʼre willing to look past the frankly ridiculous premise, whereby prison inmates are granted their freedom if they take part in and win the eponymous Death Race, a TV show where the cons race their machine gun and napalm-wielding cars against each other, Death Race is a fun and surprisingly entertaining (B) movie. Paul WS Anderson has made some appalling movies in the past (Alien vs Predator being his nadir), but he seems to have found his ground with Death Race. The main problems with his previous movies seemed to have been a tendency to take the material too seriously. Thankfully, Death Race (a passion project of Andersonʼs for many years) is a breath of fresh air in comparison, a film that revels in the sheer absurdity of the plot, and

Despite the presence of such major comedy stars as Ben Stiller, Jack Black and our own Steve Coogan, Tropic Thunder frequently tends to fall flat, leaving the funniest moments to non-comedy stars Downey Jr, Cruise and Matthew McConaughey (as Stillerʼs agent). Stiller occasionally raises a titter, but Black is plain annoying, and Cooganʼs movie director is too short-lived to make much of an impression. As for Stillerʼs direction; well, itʼs fine, but it begs the question of how, after just three movies (including the quite funny Zoolander and the not so funny Cable Guy), Stiller was given permission to make one of the most expensive comedies of all time. Ironically, he seems more at home directing the mock action sequences, where the majority of the filmʼs budget went. During the ʻcomicʼ moments, however, Stiller has a tough time straining laughs out of a script that never really had many in the first place. He seems to have spent too much time on the more controversial parts of the film, such as Speedmanʼs “retarded” Simple Jack character and the outrageous characters of Kirk Lazarus and Cruiseʼs Les Grossman. This could explain why they provide the funniest moments.

Death Race Review doesnʼt hold back on the gore. The performances, unsurprisingly, arenʼt ground-breaking, but it helps to have reliable supporting actors Ian McShane and Joan Allen fleshing out the onedimensional characters of grizzled old inmate and prison warden respectively. Add to this action stalwart Jason Statham perfectly cast as the wrongly imprisoned Jensen Ames, the Brit now firmly established as the goto guy for anti-hero action roles. That said, if youʼre a fan of character development or are squeamish (one of the filmʼs many violent moments shows a Death Race contestant literally splattered by a truck), Death Race wonʼt be for you. Others may find the gaping plot-holes and mindless, endless action too much to tolerate. But go into this movie with the idea that youʼre watching something intentionally and knowingly trashy, and you may just enjoy it.

If you would like to write for the Film section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Matt Lawson, the Film Editor at u0561774@hud.ac.uk.

LIFESTYLE

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THREADS! by Katrina Afleck,

FASHION EDITOR

A big festive hello chaps and chapessis and welcome to this festive issue of threads. With Halloween just past itʼs time to write the Christmas list, hit the shops to see how far our student loans can last in the run up to the big day. Now winter is a tricky time for trends yep; my trusty parkers are too thin and my lovely white pumps get covered in slush, so if youʼre like me and this time of year throws a few fashion conundrums at you fear not, help is at hand. This

Winter Accessories Sarah Fory

issue we have jam packed a whole host of tips and tricks on how to get through the winter months whilst still looking fab and, with the credit crunch still looming, on a budget. Jennna Hardy gives us the low down on, how to wrap up warm whilst looking great in this seasons must have the winter coat. Liam Cowling takes us to Leeds discovering the best pressies to buy for the family this Christmas, and Beth Hudson lets us in on the

Merry Christmas Katrina

Bargain Christmas shopping in Leeds. Liam Cowling

Christmas is looming and that student loan might not cover all the expenses and with all this economy talk you donʼt want to think about that annual shopping expedition. Youʼre racking your brain and have been scouring the streets of town to find that special something, but you just canʼt put your finger on it! Hereʼs the answer! Leeds. Seriously, just a couple of quid return on the train and in 20 minutes your there. Right letʼs get started with that trashy emo sibling. Thereʼs a hot pot of vintage and independent boutique that are aimed to the tighter Manijak Fairtrade Armwarmers, £15 available wallet kind of person. ʻCulture Vultureʼ is from Topshop. ideal, step through the door and you are These will keep your arms protected from the greeted with all kinds of random emo cold wind that winter brings. What makes them clutter. Some of the best picks are the even more fabulous is that they are Fairtrade. Pac Man necklace or the Lego-man key You can get them in a Christmassy red or a ring. lovely chocolate colour. They even have a little The majority of us have that heart embellishment on each one. fussy older sister who thinks sheʼs the next Kate Moss. Probably the best gift Pearl centre Bow earrings from Urban to get her is a little something from Outﬁtters, £10. ʻBlue Rinseʼ. They are infamous in Make sure your jewellery is on trend this season. Leeds for their re-worked vintage You canʼt go wrong with these cute, ditsy little clothing. You can go for a good bow earrings from Urban Outfitters. Available in rummage in the original Blue Rinse or black or cream. visit the local ʻMiss Selfridgesʼ where they have a concession if vintage shops Warehouse Shopper Bag, £35. arenʼt your bag. All girls love shopping and what better way to do Next is Mum, tricky. ʻHarvey it than with this gorgeous oversized handbag, Nicholsʼ food market is a sure hit, no I perfect for hiding all those extra sneaky little havenʼt gone crazy but you can pick up purchases, but shhh just donʼt tell anyone about a jar of lemon curd for a couple of the bargain price! pounds and let me tell you the label speaks more than a tea cosy that you Diva at Miss Selfridge Flower Ring, £12. kindly knitted. Trust me on this, its tried Purple is a huge colour this winter and what and tested! Throw something in from better way to wear it than a statement flower the white company in the Victoria ring. This will brighten up any outfit. quarter and thatʼs another one to tick off the list. River Island Mustard Scarf Hoody, £16.99 Now to the hardest one of all. Be ultra cool with fab and funky chunky knitwear, Dads are so tricky to buy for. ʻJumbo essential for chilly winter days. This scarf and Recordʼsʼ is probably a good bet or any hood rolled into one is so hot right now, wear other independent record stores that open or pin the scarf round with a cute brooch are scattered around Leeds. Pick up a that are everywhere on the high street at the minute. Boys! if you have a girlfriend and youʼre starting to ponder about Christmas pressies with it being just around the corner, pay attention. Or girls, if you simply fancy a pre Christmas treat, then Iʼve picked the best and most affordable accessories that are on the high street this winter, so they wonʼt burn a hole in your pocket. Donʼt forget most high street stores offer students 10% discount so be sure to save those extra pennies!

designer to high street secret. Plus we look into how to dress for the weather, what to get that special someone in your life, and we also sent reporter Natalia Wdowczyk to the opening of the new shopping centre at Clarence Dock in Leeds to cover the eagerly awaited fashion show by Gok Wan. So sit back wrap up warm and enjoy.

vintage vinyl of your Dads favourite band or a good biography of Sting or Ian Dury and they wonʼt burst the budget. Right thatʼs them done now you can give yourself that little extra treat. You can really be spoilt for choice in Leeds. But if your feet are aching and you canʼt face entering your pin or refusing another store card then put your feet up in one of the many pubs and have a well deserved pint. Merry Christmas.

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LIFESTYLE

this months Warmest Winter Highstreet Savers

SPLURGE or SAVE? Beth Hudson

So itʼs Christmas time again and with all the gifts to buy and parties to look fabulous for, itʼs bad news for our purses. Donʼt worry we are here to help you look a million dollars without spending it. We have found all the winter staples with credit crunch friendly price tags... Leather Gloves are an investment and a little detail adds femininity, but if you are looking for a pair that wonʼt break the bank hit Miss Selfridge.

A coat that can be worn to any occasion and keep you toasty is one of your wardrobe necessities this winter. Splurge on Juicy or save on good old faithful Topshop. Scarves are a must to get through the bleak winter months, and what better way to wrap up than with cashmere.

3.1 Phillip Lim £140

Juicy Couture £330

Miss Selfridge £15

Topshop £75 Donna Karan £340

Warehouse £80

Team with coloured opaques if you donʼt dare to bare your legs.

The perfect party dress can be hard to find but try stepping away from your LBD and go for a jewel coloured dress to brighten up the dark evenings.

Jumper dresses are a great casual look and keep you warm at the same time.

3.1 Phillip Lim £295

Camilla and Marc £390

Oasis £45

Stella McCartney £385

Oasis £75

New Look £18

Winter Warmers Jenna Hardy When youʼre living/studying in Huddersfield, it is always a wise idea to wrap up warm. With the build up to Christmas, a good coat is vital when hitting the shops for seasonal shopping. A coat is, in fact, a seasonal necessity, therefore it is important to find the perfect cover up for those cold wintry days at Uni. There are loads on the high street at the moment that will suit everybodyʼs taste, from trench to biker, Barbour to a statement piece. This makes the annual winter style conundrum a walk in the park. The Trench coat again is a huge hit this season. Featured on the catwalk of Lanvin and Burberry Prorsum, this style is a must for every wardrobe. Itʼs the ideal coat to throw over jeans at the weekend or over your Christmas outfit on a night out. And its wide-set neckline makes it perfect to wear over this season's must-have basic, the turtle-neck jumper. However, never fear as you wonʼt need to pay Burberryʼs extravagant prices as the high street have it covered. Check out ʻTopshopʼ on New Street in Huddersfield town centre. The Godʼs at ʻArcadiaʼ have done it again with this delicious full skirted trench coat in stone, £95. If that price is pushing your budget, nip down the road to ʻPrimarkʼ to find some guaranteed

bargains. Checks are everywhere this season; see ʻD&Gʼsʼ aw0809 collection which was over ruled by tartan. ʻNew Lookʼ have the perfect match, a bargain at just £30. This checked number comes complete with a delightful pussy cat bow. Alternatively, if you want to treat yourself an early Christmas present, head down to Topshop where they have the perfect tartan number in navy blue with a luxurious velvet collar and bow, £85. If you prefer a more ʻon trendʼ look, why not opt for the traditional school boy blazer. It proved a hot topic at Luellaʼs aw0809 show, as she débuted her version in navy blue with snappy brass buttons. Grab yours in the sale at ʻJane Normanʼ in the Kingsgate centre, or why not try a charity shop such as Oxfam in Huddersfield town. This year we have been spoilt for choice by the high street with gorgeous coats to keep us warm and toasty throughout the festive season. The only hard part is choosing the right one for you; will it be tartan, leather, a blazer perhaps? What about a trench? I think Iʼll put mine on my Christmas list and wait to see what Santa brings… Merry Christmas.

Page 21 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

LIFESTYLE Gok on the Dock Natalia Wdowczyk Gok Wan launched the opening of shops on Clarence Dock in Leeds in October with a funky fashion show not to be sniffed at. Brands such as All Saints, GStar, Replay and others modelled their clothes down the catwalk. Clarence Dock is the hot spot in Leeds for young professionals, with modern apartments, bars, restaurants and now…shops. All of which are waterside, built around the canal dock. The fashion show was created to mark the completion of the development, after eight years of hard graft, and £250m of investment. It has now become the perfect pad for young singletons and couples with disposable incomes. The residents there donʼt yet have families to support or mortgages to pay, and as they live in the city, few have cars to fuel. This results in them having plenty of spare cash to flash when shopping and going out to restaurants and bars at night. You might think itʼs a crazy time to be opening new stores on the dock with the economy in the tragic state that it is, however, these brands target the young, and at the moment, the young are the people with all the money. The one thing that the residents of Clarence Dock do not have is time, so having these retailers on their doorstep, to drop into on their way home from work, is proving very handy indeed. On the day of the fashion show crowds arrived at the dock in their thousands, with people dressed to impress, as of course expecting to be style spotted by Gok himself. The crowd was predominantly screaming girls, causing one to wonder if they realise Gok Wan is gay!? After much anticipation, Gok appeared on the catwalk and the crowds went wild as he flirted with his audience. The white catwalk ran down the middle of the water and looked very impressive. The water runway added an element of excitement for when the wind blew there was a chance a model could fall overboard. All Saints kicked off the show with dark shades of grey, charcoal and black. From short, tie dye jersey

dresses with lots of straps to ballooning black scrunched tent dresses for the girls, as the guys supported the rocker look with printed t-shirts underneath waistcoats. But an addition thatʼs really suited this look to winter is the wrap around scarf hanging loosely around the neck, and skinny jeans tucked in to ankle boots. Itʼs quite unlikely an average guy could get away with the boots, but the tall models pulled them off well. The All Saints clothes were very impressive on the catwalk. Because of the cut of the garments, All Saints clothes sometimes hang really awkwardly on the hanger in store, so seeing them worn by models really did the clothes justice. G-Star presented with a black collection. Chunky bomber jackets and gillets appeared, teamed with padded gloves and snow hats. If youʼre looking for a casual winter jacket, G-Star offer a wide selection. The most impressive for the girls was the cape coat, which you can zip down if you wish to have the use of your arms. In the female collection there are also trench coats and biker jackets. The G-Star collection is very masculine, with its tough fabrics and padded designs. It is much suited to girls who arenʼt so feminine yet want to dress fashionably, and for guys whoʼd rather support the butch, macho image over the skinny jeans and waistcoat look. Rock Couture impressed the audience with its young take on dressing to impress. The male models wore suits with

tucked out shirts, skinny ties, cardigans and pumps, a really cool way for the young professional man to wear his suit without feeling awkwardly smart. Braces are back, but this time over t-shirts clipped on to turned up jeans. Replay hit us with some much needed colour, in reds, greys, brown, blues and purples. They made casual look fun, reminding the audience of the old Christmas Gap adverts with the hip dancing on stage. With knitted jumpers for the guys, and flimsy patterned chiffon blouses and dresses for the girls, Replay caters for those who donʼt want to stand out from the crowd, but do want to look presentable whilst being comfortable.

Whatever the weather, please By Amy Cole How on earth is a young thriving fashionista supposed to look incredible when they donʼt know what the weather is going to throw at them! Seriously! I saw not one glimpse of sunshine in the supposed summer months. In an ideal Britain our faith would be in BBC weather. But we all know that they can be wrong. So I am afraid it is up to our own judgment, we are left to fend

for ourselves. The help I offer comes from a plethora of experience; many wet through summer dresses and sweat patches in 100% woollen jumpers. Take it from me, I know what it is to have misread the times. These are my wise words, from one suffering fashionista to another; let these two small tips be a big guidance in these confusing times! 1. Pashmina- one word that will save your life. A material scarf like this will keep you warm in an unexpected cold day, they are multi functional. Most shops sell them and to get a100% cashmere one try M&S or even a street market stall, usually costing from £5-£15. 2. Invest in a small but extremely good umbrella. Primark might provide cute patterns on their umbrellas but unless you are going for the turned inside out look with your umbrella after a short walk in Huddersfield weather than you may want to think twice. £15-£20 sounds steep for an umbrella. But just think. It can be small enough to be hidden at the bottom of your bag and strong enough for the evil winds around these parts. Places like Boots and House of Frazer will sell good quality umbrellas. That will be a purchase you will not regret. These are only two out of many tips I could give to cope with Yorkshire weather, but they will keep you dry and warm. And if you keep a pair of sunglasses handy you will be ready to face it all while keeping that fashionable air you carry so well!

If you would like to write for the Fashion section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Kat Afleck, the Film Editor at u0651429@hud.ac.uk.

ARTS & CULTURE

Page 22

Books & Fiction

by Becky Wilson,

BOOKS & FICTION EDITOR

If you would like to write for the Books and Fiction section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Becky Wilson, the Books & Fiction Editor at u0562276@hud.ac.uk.

Becky Wilson

I canʼt believe half the yearʼs already gone by! Is it really going to be Christmas soon? Well, I can only hope that the first half of uni life has gone well for the rest of you. And that youʼve all managed not to spend your loan away, keep up with the rent and bills, eat more than take away food and kept on top of all your assignments. First however I must humble myself before all you dear readers as if you have read the October issue story you may have noticed that I made a major mistake within it. I managed to somehow get the character names incorrect within the first paragraph. There is no Steph it should have been Charlotte. All I can say is this, let my error be an example to all young authors and poets and journalists. Remember to check it, check it twice and then check it again. There is nothing more humiliating than having a piece you liked, worked hard on and managed to get it published or printed only to go through it and find there is a major error and itʼs too late to change. In this monthʼs issue we have a guest appearance of a fellow university student by the name of Clynt who has kindly sent in two book reviews heʼd like to share with us, as well as theatrical storytelling and a final announcement that may interest anyone that likes to write creatively. Other than that I can only wish you all an early merry Christmas and a happy new year! Hope you get all the presents you ask for, thatʼs if youʼve all been good little boys and girls. I know a few who havenʼt. Remember Santa Clause is watching, so do behave. See you all again in 2009!

“Left a bit more.” “No further.” “No it was fine there.” “It still needed a bit more slack.” “No it didnʼt.” “Will you two make up your minds? Iʼm standing on a chair in high heels here!” Charlotte snapped indeed teetering in three inch high shoes upon a chair in the kitchen, holding blue tac in one hand and silver tinsel in the other. “Oh sorry, just leave it there, thatʼll do.” “Yeah, itʼs near enough perfect.” Paul teased Emily as both sat on the kitchen table and admired the tinsel which was wrapped around every cupboard handle; criss-crossed the ceiling and now bordered the windows. “This place is looking good.” “Good but we still have more to do. Amy is in her room making lots of paper snow flakes to go on the windows.” “Cool.” “You can do them this time Emily, Iʼve had enough of standing on chairs.” “I did tell you to take them off.” “Well I didnʼt know I was going to be that long up there.” She complained rubbing her lower toes where the straps have dug into the skin leaving a matching red mark. “Thatʼs fine with me. Oh Paul, has Jack got the food in yet? Weʼve all given him money havenʼt we?” “Oh yeah, he has it all. Itʼs just a question of when he can finish his summative on time. Heʼs had four weeks to do and only remembered it yesterday.” “That will explain the ʻdonʼt enterʼ sign on his door then.” “Silly boy doesnʼt he know about preparation and deadlines?” Charlotte criticized limping to the table and taking a long look round with a proud smile on her face. “Well this place finally looks christmasy. I donʼt know why we didnʼt think to do this earlier; Michelleʼs flat had their decorations up weeks ago.” “Perhaps, but itʼs done and better late than never is what I always say. I think this Christmas dinner is going to be a good idea after all.” “Yeah all we need is the Christmas tree but weʼre all picking that on Saturday from Wilkoʼs.” “Are we going to have an angel or a star on top of our tree?” Charlotte asked innocently. “A star of course.” Paul instantly answered. “No we need an angel or a fairy. They guard the presents.”

Student Stories: Mistletoe Surprise “Nah weʼre having a star.” “Well I think we should have a fairy.” As Paul and Emily got into another big debate Charlotte shook her head with a sigh and limped away from the kitchen eager to see how Amy was getting on. Excitement now bubbled inside her with the thought of next Wednesdays Slade B, flat one Christmas dinner. *** “I propose a toast. To us and our flat.” “Yeah, cheers!” All agreed raising their plastic glasses filled with coco cola across the table. “Youʼve all been a great bunch to live with.” “You too Amy.” “Although I think we can all agree that Jack sometimes plays his music to loud.” “Hey I canʼt help it if I fall asleep.” “Yeah but how are we meant to sleep through that noise?” “Okay, okay, but I donʼt do it as much anymore do I?” “Yes thatʼs true. And weʼre all glad for it.” Charlotte added with a smirk. “Anyway I suggest another toast to you girls for not giving us food poisoning, just yet.” Paul added standing up at the opposite end of the table which was laden with now empty bowls, plates and bottles. The three boys raised their glasses to the girls who all grinned proudly back. “Well you boys managed to help decorate and carry stuff in. So you deserve a toast too.” The girls did as Emily suggested. “Iʼm glad we all enjoyed it. Now, who wants desert?” Amy announced already taking out two boxes from the fridge and cupboards. “Oh I do.” Jack announced. “Me too.” Charlotte added. “What is there?” “We have either chocolate Christmas log or mince pies?” “Iʼll have some chocolate log please.” “Iʼd like some too.” Mike added along with Jack. “Well whilst I serve up desert would a few of you mind just clearing up the table a bit?” “Sure.” “I will.” Chorused Emily and Paul together getting up and gathering cutlery and dirty plates. “Would anyone else like some more cola?” Mike offered, pouring the remainder of the two liter bottle into his plastic glass. “Yes please.” Charlotte answered simply holding out her cup towards him. Emily and Paul scraped the left overs into the nearly full bin and then left the plates and cutlery in the sink in quite a messy pile at the far end of the kitchen. It was just as she tried to rejoin everyone at the table that Paul stopped in her way with a very large and mischievous grin. “Ah, ah, you canʼt leave. Youʼre under the mistletoe.” Indicating with raised eyebrows the fake sprig he held above the pair. “Oooooh Paulʼs going to kiss Emily.” Charlotte cooed in a rather childish manner.

Emily felt her stomach sink with nerves and tighten in such an awkward situation. “All I ask is a kiss. Then you can have desert.” Paul muttered quietly placing himself more in front of her to hide her from the views of the others. “Please?” The sensitivity in his voice somehow unlocked all Emilyʼs reluctance to play this game. So she gave him what he asked. For both it turned out to last a little bit longer than either had expected or hoped for. When the moment was over sparkles of excitement and shyness twinkled in their eyes. “Oooooooooooh.” The others called together at the scene before them. But Paul and Emily honestly couldnʼt care and simply played it off with laughter and apparent disregard for what did happen. Though both couldnʼt help giving the other shy glances throughout the rest of the night. *** “I guess this is goodbye then.” “Only for a few weeks. Then weʼll all be back here eager to show off our presents. Speaking of which, hereʼs yours.” Paul gave Emily a nicely wrapped box complete with pink ribbon tied around it and finishing off with a bow. “Awww thanks. Here is yours.” She handed him a triangular prism shaped box wrapped up in silver paper. “I hope you like it.” “Iʼm sure I will.” “Paul? Are you coming? Weʼre all ready to go.” A womanʼs voice cried outside the kitchen window which was steamed up with the boiling pasta Emily was cooking. “I had better go before Mum comes storming in.” “Ok, well promise to let me know when youʼre at home and I will call you over the weekend.” “Will do, Iʼll speak to you soon.” With a sigh they hugged each other close and gave her a pleasant kiss before Emily walked with him to the flat entrance door. “You let me know when youʼre home tomorrow.” “I promise as long as you do the same.” “I will donʼt worry. Iʼll speak to you in a day or so. Weʼll see if we can meet up once I know what hours Iʼm doing at work.” “Great, I look forward to it.” “Me too, bye Emily, take care and have a happy Christmas!” “You too Paul.” She cried out watching him walk away wrapped up in coat, scarf and gloves to his car before slowly driving away with a wave. Leaving Emily to return to her tea feeling quite alone now that everyone else had gone but she smiled knowing that it wouldnʼt be this way for long. Christmas always comes and goes so fast that before she knows it she will be back here, with her friends and her new boyfriend. University really was turning out to be a whole new start in life.

ARTS & CULTURE Clynt’s Bookshelf: Storytelling at the LB Theatre:

Becky Wilson Ok hands up who hasnʼt heard of ʻSir Gawain and the Green Knightʼ. You might have a long time ago if youʼre lucky. I know I didnʼt know much other than his name but I now know a whole lot more since me and my friend Michelle went to the Lawrence Batley Theatre (the one next to Tokyoʼs) and saw a truly imaginative performance of this tale one weekend in late October. However this was a re-enactment so to speak of the tale re-written, in great poetic form, by our local celebrity poet Simon Armitage. So not only was this performance great story telling in its purest form but it was written in such a way that even a boy of eight could understand and relate to it. It is a story still containing a lot of archaic charm but with language and turn of phrase fit for the modern world. With many great lines that help conjure a whole collage of images before your eyes no wonder the four actors involved didnʼt need a great expensive set and

props fit for the narrative when such magical words performed the story in a way no physical action could. As regards to the story it is all about simple honesty, trials of deceit, acknowledgement of human flaws and as well as knightly chivalry, honour, courage, strength and faith in your personal beliefs. Sad to say though, I managed to watch the performance on its last night and I canʼt honestly say if it will be back in the theatre again. I certainly hope so. But do not feel sad if you are at all intrigued by this magnificent tale for it is out in book form, so simply go to any good bookshop and ask to be shown ʻSir Gawain and the Green Knightʼ by Simon Armitage. So if you like good poetry, or even a good medieval legendary tale, or know someone who does, I strongly recommend adding this to your Christmas shopping or wish list. It really is a story suitable to be enjoyed by anyone of any age. Just try reading it out aloud to your family or friends and Iʼm sure youʼll soon rediscover the joy that is telling a good story.

1.Review of Never Let Me Go by

2.Review of Duma Key by Stephen

What’s it about? This is a novel of subtle shocks and delicate emotional devastation. To tell the truth Iʼve never really read anything quite like it before. I canʼt give too much away, as the puzzle about what is actually happening in the story is one of its greatest delights. It seems to be about some kids growing up at a sort of a boarding school – Kathy (heroine of the story and one of my favourite characters ever), and Tommy and Ruth her best friends. The story follows their shifting emotional relations with each other over the years as they mature, after they leave the school, and up to their eventual confrontations with their own mortality. But much, much more is going on in the story background and in the corners of the plot than the reader realises at first. Set in an alternate ʻlate 1990sʼ England, ʻNever Let Me Goʼ is an exquisite arrow of simple, limpid prose that will totally bust you up inside.

What’s it about? As with almost every King novel, this one is a game of two halves; the natural story that bleeds into the supernatural one. The natural story concerns one Edgar Freemantle, who is struggling to recover body and mind after a particularly nasty accident. We follow Edgar as he struggles with disability and with brain damage, as he falls away from his family and retreats to the eponymous Duma Key in Florida, where he discovers within himself a burgeoning artistic talent. The supernatural story concerns the emerging influence upon Edgar (and his eventual confrontation with) an entity called Perse. Perse likes to hurt people.

Katzuo Ishiguro (Faber & Faber 2005)

Is it any good? A life-changer, in my humble opinion.

Calling all Authors or Poets! Becky Wilson Do you fancy yourself the next J.K.Rowling? Do you have the talent to be the next poet laureate? Well this is your final chance to get your name and work in print up alongside some top authors and poets and read by many. Iʼm referring to the Grist Anthology Competition of course! All due to our very own creative writing tutor Michael Stewart who has organized it all in order to give us young creative people a chance for fame! And because itʼs University supported and approved, all students who enter the short story and poetry competitions can enter for free! All thatʼs needed is your NUS number on your application form and you wonʼt have to pay the £3 quid per entry. Another great thing is that the short stories will be judged by Joanne Harris, author of the award wining film ʻChocolatʼ starring the dreamy Johnny Depp and our locally grown poet Simon Armitage, author of the newly released re-written version of ʻSir Gawain and the Green Knightʼ, will be judging all the poetry entries. Joanne Harris, judging the short stories says “I am very happy to

be a part of the anthology, where established authors will be able to give a platform for new writers to launch their work to the public. It is so difficult to be a new writer nowadays and yet there has never been more exciting new talent and more interest in books. I am delighted to be associated with this project.” There are three cash prizes up for grabs in both sections of the competition and all runners up in the short list will be published along side the three top winners when the anthology is compiled and published in summer 2009! The winners will be revealed during the Huddersfield Literature Festival in March 2009. However the competition submission deadline is 30th November! Thatʼs less than two weeks away! So if you think you got the magic when it comes to writing, quickly go to www.hud.ac.uk/grist, read the rules for both competitions, print off an application form, write and edit all your selected works, print them off, add your NUS number and get it handed or posted in!

Why? Having read Ishiguroʼs ʻAn Artist of the Floating Worldʼ some years ago, and having found it intricate but ultimately unsympathetic, I wasnʼt mega-keen on this when my girlfriend recommended it. How silly and wrong I was! What a red face did I have when, flushed and excited, I was telling her how wonderful she already knew it to be! I could compare it maybe with Orwellʼs ʻ1984ʼ or Huxleyʼs ʻBrave New Worldʼ, but it has a far lighter, cleverer touch than these. In place of Orwellʼs brooding, violent defiance and Huxleyʼs angry satire, Ishiguro folds his story around a tiny whimper of genuine despair – of pure and searing existential anguish. And the authorʼs careful emotional restraint translates into the readerʼs experience of steadily mounting intensity. Yet the way Ishiguro is so confining with his characters, giving them such tragically limited notions of rights and privileges, such tiny joys and brief expectations, all these imbue the book with a heartbreaking simplicity – a childlike innocence and beauty. Read it – I swear itʼs the catʼs pajamas. Just try not to read the blurb on the back or other reviews of it, though – you donʼt want the mystery spoilt, believe me! Why blunt such a beautiful arrow?

King (Hodder & Stoughton 2008)

Is it any good? It starts off really good, yeah, but I think the final act and the eventual horror show are a bit naff. It suffers from the same sort of rot that has been infesting Kingʼs stuff for decades now. Why? Like billions of other pointy-headed little geeks out there, Iʼm a fan of King from way, way, way back. Iʼm talking, like, when I was at secondary school in the eighties. I fell in love with King mainly because of Dead Zone, which remains his best as far as Iʼm concerned. There just wasnʼt anybody else on those local library bookshelves who could deliver the same emotional intensity and poignancy that he could. He made James Herbert look like Dr Seuss. But it just didnʼt last. I think the only reason I still try and read King these days is because of how much I loved his stuff when I was younger. And what do I get for my loyalty? ʻDesperationʼ. If you havenʼt read ʻDesperationʼ, please donʼt. Should be a health warning on that book. And itʼs not the only stinker heʼs put on the bestseller lists over the years! I enjoyed the first part of this one, I think the author really evokes a sense of the strangely frustrating nature of Edgarʼs difficulties with language and memory. And the story of Perseʼs emergence does start out interesting. But by the end the story feels like its falling apart. After all the big, brooding build-up, you get a tiny little show. ʻThe Girl Who Loved Tom Gordonʼ is much better than this – that was the last decent novel King has done, I think. Shame.

ARTS & CULTURE Videogames Itʼs been a really hard month for me since my work has really piled up and Iʼm not able to spend as much time on the paper as I had wanted when I first applied to be games editor. But I hope Iʼm bringing a few fresh articles to the paper. In the play extra section we have continued on with non computer game games by getting an introduction to the eternal weird, cool and geeky realm of LARPʼs. Retro corner covers the ultimate goal of all games designer whether they like it or not ʻFinal Fantasy VIIʼ, all gamers who know are now given permission to bow down and utter “I am not worthy”.

by Patrick Costelloe,

VIDEOGAMES EDITOR

Ladies and gentlemen, here is possibly one of the worlds most biased views, but you cant get more honest than that, can you? Final Fantasy VII was made by Squaresoft and is renowned for being one of the most influential video games ever made. The design by Hironobu Sakaguchi, may have basic low poly graphics, but with the added musical genius of Nobuo Uematsu, millions of people worldwide found themselves in love with the masterpiece, spawning many spin offs such as Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus and the animated film Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Unlike most Final Fantasy games, the world of FF7 is not named "Gaia" or "Terra", it is simply named "The Planet", and your duty as the player is to save the world from being destroyed by a silver haired maniac wielding an 8 foot sword, because that happens in real world situations .Right? You start your journey in a city run by machines, and travel all over the fantastical world to the fire caves of Da-Chao, Fort Condor to defend the fledgling atop the underground village, and to the spiritual Cosmo Canyon, discovering some very special individuals along the way. Cloud Strife may seem like a harmless name to have for your main character, but he is not to be underestimated; one of the strongest in melee attacks and useful with materia he is possibly the most valuable asset to the team. You also get a white mage, (who may seem useless for the power hungry out there, but when you're character is coughing his guts up from poison, she is sure as hell handy to have around) and three long range damage dealers, two of whom are optional characters and if you don't go and sign them up I will personally hunt you down. The battle system for this game is basic and simple to learn ensuring easy, fast battles and fast victories, which only gets tiring when you've killed that Sand

The Phenomenon that is … When Final Fantasy 7 hit the shelves on the 1st of June 1997, gamers didnʼt know what had hit them. This game, to many, is the best game ever made, it pushed the boundaries of gaming to the next level and is still, to this date, a great game to play. Graphically Final Fantasy 7 was phenomenal; it pushed the Playstation to its maximum capabilities. As for the story, there are few games to date that can rival the epic fantasy tale that is Final Fantasy 7. As this game is an RPG (role playing game) the player takes control Cloud Strife, a seemingly troubled soul. Other characters in the game include Cloudʼs childhood friend Tifa, the ʻtough guyʼ who bears a gun on his arm Barret and Aeris who also plays a key role in the story. Final Fantasy 7 is an intense game that takes commitment to play; if you have played the game previously and arenʼt taken in, the chances are that you didnʼt play it for long enough. To truly understand this game you have to, at bare minimum, get yourself out of the main city, Midgar; this takes roughly 6 hours and up until this stage the game is heavily story driven. When you progress through the game and get out of the city you will realise that the Final Fantasy

Sahagin trio for the 50th time, but seriously, the victory poses that the characters demonstrate at the point of winning, makes it all so worthwhile; so much so that you will find the Victory Fanfare midi file and have it as your message alert tone. You know what I'm on about. Map controls are simple; the directional buttons and the triangle button are all you need to travel, and somehow the fact that your character is the same size as a town on the world map is not phasing one bit; us gamers take these phenomena in our stride. The soundtrack for this game is possibly one of the best in the entire history of video games, but when Nobuo is involved, you expect no less. Deep emotional involvement with the characters will leave you fuming in places, and sobbing like a little lost girl in others, but not once have I ever said to myself "Eugh this is boring now... I've had enough." Gamers and non-gamers alike, this, my friends is the video game that has influenced my choice in career. Seriously, to all those out there who need a damn good game to sit down and play; go and get this one. Seriously. Now. Why are you still reading? GO!

EDITOR’S

The Charts

Retro

world is a very big place, and Midgar is just a spec on the map. Whatʼs great about this game is that it has many of todayʼs standard RPG ingredients; a turn based battle system, magic or materia as it is known in the game, a leveling system, mini games, cool and interesting individualistic characters, a reasonably large planet for you to roam around, many, many easter eggs, and a big juicy story to immerse yourself in. To experience the true wonder that is Final Fantasy 7 all I can say is go out and buy the game. Copies are quite hard to come by these days, largely due to the game being on CD so they are easily scratched. Ebay would be your best bet if you want to discover why this game deserves all the hype.

CHOICE

The UK charts from 25th of October

Corner

phenomenon of the games industry

Michael Wood

We have a number of reviews and previews this week some old, some new, some borrowed – mainly from me. There is also a double whammy in the retro corner since FF7 was such a monumental game I had 2 people look at it from different angles one from the impact this game had and one for the game its self. If you have tried to contact me about writing for the games section Iʼll try and make sure you get an email invite to the next little meeting we have to discuss what will be going in next and what topics we want to cover in our main news article.

The Game that is …

Carly Street AKA Pixie

Final fantasy 7 –

Page 24

FABLE II

FAR CRY 2

FIFA 09

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2009

SAINTS ROW 2

DEAD SPACE

LEGO BATMAN: THE VIDEOGAME

WII FIT

MARIO KART WII

10.

MIDNIGHT CLUB: LOS ANGELES

What’s got my interest on each console? PC:

Command and Conquer Red Alert 3

Xbox360:

James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace

PS3: PSP:

Valkyria Chronicles Star Ocean

Wii:

Secret Files: Tunguska

DS:

The World Ends With You

REVIEWS

ARTS & CULTURE Mirrors Edge Preview for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC

The Hack:

Is Blizzard Selling Out Their Fans?

Antony Trolley I have to say, Mirrors Edge is definitely one of the most exciting looking games coming out this year. Free running across buildings and just taking in the simplistic but beautiful visuals, itʼs hopefully going to be a great game. The game is set within a city that monitors the movement and information of people very closely. Hiring a runner is the safest way to transport sensitive information; they operate mainly via rooftops and skyways. You play as Faith, a runner within the city. Your sister has been taken and framed for a crime that she did not commit and now the police are hunting you down. Faith has made it her mission to go after whoever is behind this and get the answers that she is looking for. With most FPS the focal point of the game is the gun and the many varieties of ways to kill someone with a weapon. Mirrors Edge is a FPS but with a slight difference, it concentrates all its focus on speed, momentum and balance to get across the vast mazes of the city skyline and rooftops. The player is encouraged not to use any weapons throughout the game as this slows you down and puts you off balance. Though you donʼt have a weapon to defend yourself, you are able to pull off some sweet moves to disarm, knockout any of your opponents with a series of combos. To successfully pull off these moves you have to string moves together to keep up the momentum as you can lose control of your actions this is also the case when running and jumping over obstacles. But to help you out are also granted with a slow mo feature called reaction time, this gives the player time to think about what he is doing and string together moves more accurately, this can be used on either jumping off roofs for more accurate landings or in combat to pull of the sweetest of moves. When you are running through the everlasting series of concrete mazes, you have the ability of runner vision, this is where objects are turned red, it shows you different routes throughout the city. This is more of a guide to where you can go than an actual path that you have to take and happens dynamically throughout the game. With the simple visual style of white buildings and a few odd splashes of blue and yellow, it kind of looks too simple, maybe too simple works for this game, mainly up to you, I personally like the look of the game, another thing about the visuals is that when you are running, sliding, climbing or jumping off rooftops, just being able to see your body in a FPS is something new and Iʼm quite looking forward to seeing how that works as you play the game. This is certainly different to original FPS games that have floating heads and no body. With Mirrors Edge coming out on 13th November itʼs going to be a game that has to be in your collection. Letʼs just hope that itʼs worth the wait and hype.

Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway Reviewed on the Xbox 360 Ben Hinchliffe AKA Monkey Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway is the third instalment to the well known Brothers in Arms series. Yes I said well known! If you havenʼt heard of it come out from under that rock. If you have played the other two games then you will be well aware of many familiar faces you see while playing this. You play as Sgt. Baker; youʼre the squad leader of a Recon unit of the 101st Airborne during the operations of market garden. During the previous two games Baker has seen many of his men killed in action. In the third game Baker is trying to deal with the emotional torment of everything he has seen while in service. This plays a key role in the story during the game. Right from the opening levels you are thrown into the thick of combat. With the sound of German machine gun fire whizzing past and explosions all around, you canʼt help but be drawn in. I found myself ducking while I was running to cover, sad... I know, but thatʼs how

Nathan McLean It was 10 years ago when Blizzard released the Real Time Strategy (RTS) game ʻStarcraft.ʼ (SC) Although there were more established RTS games around at the time, such as Warcraft III and Command & Conquer, Starcraft held its own with highly rated reviews with an average score of 9.3/10. The basic principle of this particular RTS, was to command a selected race, there are three races, which are; Terran (a human faction spread around the galaxy), Zerg (an alien swarm with the intent of consuming all other living organisms) and finally Protoss( a highly evolved alien race.) Once you have chosen your race, you must gather minerals and gas to develop and grow your armies to fight against the enemy; each race is delicately balanced with one another to create a fantastic 30 level campaign (10 for each race). Although SC was aesthetically pleasing it didnʼt provide anything innovative, however because of the well planned structure of the story and the intertwining struggles of all three races, the campaign provided extensive game play and additionally online play allowed one to wage war with people around the world for higher rankings or just for the sheer fun of destruction. With the success of the original SC an add-on named ʻBrood Warsʼ was created a year after. Besides developing the previous story, new and improved units for each race were attached to give more depth and strategy. Although the original and the add-on kept on selling, hard-core fans such as me were desperately crying out for a sequel. It wasnʼt long ago that even Starcraft: Ghost, the console game was halted after 2005. It started to appear Blizzard had just forgotten the SC fans. Now in 2008, Starcraft 2 (SC2) was officially announced to be developed for 2009. I have continually been keeping tabs on new developments such as improved units e.g. The Terranʼs have a new super unit called “Reaper” which can navigate up/down sheer cliffs, that were once not accessible by ground units in the previous SC. Developments have progressed quite nicely until recently Blizzard announced at Blizzcon 08ʼ that the game will be split into a trilogy. Each race has

Mirrors Edge good it is. The action is tense and can have you sitting on the edge of your seat, while you nervously watch your men move from cover to get a better shot at a German position. While playing, you will notice some very nice features to the game. When you pull off a sweet head shot or a good grenade throw, the camera will slow and zoom in to show you the action in detail. This has been done very well; it breaks the intensity for a short moment during battles. Plus I never do tire of seeing a Germans head pop clean off his shoulders. The game incorporates a squad command aspect with great success. While you are just one guy you have access to a maximum of three squads at one time. As the commander you must tell these squads what to do. If you place a squad in cover that can be flanked easily, then you can bet next time to check on them, they will be dead. The cover system can sometimes be very frustrating

its own separate game to make up the trilogy which initially I was excited about as it would provide a spectacular story, but once other factors came to mind my actual reaction was quite bemused. Activision and Blizzardʼs merger had financial affects on departments such as the games–division, which were dampened post-merger due to 22.6% loss in profits. Is it coincidence that the company ignored all requests for a sequel and now with profit losses they emerge with Starcraft 2? Also with the majority of Blizzardʼs developers working on Diablo 3 and the fact SC2 is now a trilogy, this hints to me that the fans of this product are being used as a cash cow. Now donʼt get me wrong, I will still find a way to afford the whole of the trilogy; however I just hope the quality weighs up to the price. With the credit crunch over-powering companies big and small globally, I believe Blizzard will provide limited budgets to both developers of Diablo and Starcraft. My worry is that because Diablo has a wider audience than SC, less money will be pumped into the latter. The fan base on SC could be severely damaged; the argument presented is that the hardcore gamers could be put off by the possible lack of dedication put into the game. On the other hand there are the developers who insist the games will provide exceptional story lines and the overall trilogy will be worth the wait. As an avid gamer I am tempted to buy the game just from the sheer depth of quality provided in the previous installments however I am struggling to come to terms with what I see as the principles Blizzard has towards its games. I am going to assume that if itʼs possible to develop a saga for example ʻThe Terranʼs then all the units for the other two races has to be fully completed otherwise where is the balance? So if I am correct, then there shouldnʼt be a struggle to combine the three stories into one game. It has been almost 5 years since I was denied SC2 and now, even if the SC2 base game is released in 2009 how long will it take to release the remaining two expansion packs to complete the trilogy? There is a limit to how long a consumer can wait for an entire game and Blizzard seem hell bent on stretching the game into a trilogy, so to me it appears we are being sold out just to make up a companyʼs deficit.

Brothers In Arms as squad members leap out of cover for no reason and stand on the wrong side of the wall, like a lemming leading to their imminent death. After you may have spent some time planning out your attack this can be very annoying. This thankfully does not happen too often, which is good because Iʼm running out of controllers to throw. A major part to this game is the story. The story is very well dialogued and drives well throughout the whole game. You really feel like you get to know the characters. So much so that when one got shot, I ran up to the German that did it, shot him in the face and continued to tea bag him for several minutes. Good times. If you have played the other Brotherʼs in Arms and enjoyed them then this will be no different aside from a few little additions. If you have never played them then this would be the one to buy. Your money will be well spent buying this game, more so then spending it on that hooker down the road. Bad times.

If you would like to write for the Videogames section of the Huddersfield Student, donʼt hesitate to contact Paddy Costelloe, the Videogames Editor at tempest8032@hotmail.co.uk.

SPORTS & SOCIETIES Wing Chun Club

Fencing Club

Archery Club

Cricket Club

Conoe Club

Rugby League Club Athletics Club

) Boarding Society (HUBA

Squash Club

Netball Club (Hawks) American Football Club Jiu Jitsu Club

Badminton Club

Tennis Club

Hockey Ladies Club

Basketball Club

Hockey Menʼs Club

Football Menʼs Club

Hurling Club

Caving Club

SportS

Football Ladies Club

Gaelic Football Ladies

Juggling Society

Snow Sports (HUSSI)

ring Club Climbing and Mountainee Rugby Union Club

Page 26

For any information on how to get involved, contact the Sports and Societies Officer Gaz Weeks. sands@hud.ac.uk or 01484 473441

Volleyball Club wks) Ice Hockey Club (Ice Ha

! D E V L O V N I T GE Afro Caribbean Society

SocietieS Socialist Sudents Society

Islamic Society

Motorcycling Society (HUMCC)

Sameem Society

Marketing Society

Friends of Falun Gong Society

Gaming Society (HUGS)

Transport and Logistic Society Book Club (Cocktail Critics) Medieval Re-enactment Society

International Friendship Society (IFS) Chinese Society

Motorsport Society Christian Union

Photographic Society

Sports Quiz 1.Name the four International teams from the Rugby

6.Paula Radcliffeʼs triumph in the New York

2.Who top scored for England in their defeat to the

7.Keigan Parker became the 2nd man to be sent off

League World Cup 2008 whose names end with an ʻAʼ

Stanford Superstars?

3.Arsenal and Tottenham shared the spoils after a

thrilling 4-4 at the Emirates Stadium at the end of October, but who scored Spursʼ last gasp equaliser?

4.Which country will host a Formula One Grand Prix

in 2009 for the first time?

5.John Higgins won his 19th ranking title by winning the Grand Prix of Snooker in October, but who did he beat in the final?

marathon is her 8th marathon victory overall, but how many has she competed in?

for Huddersfield Town this season after he was dismissed in injury time against Crewe, who was the 1st player sent off for the Terriers during this campaign?

8.James Toseland amassed 105

points in his first Moto GP season, where did this lead to him finishing in the overall standings?

Answers! 1. Australia, Samoa, Tonga, Papa New Guinea. 2. Samit Patel. 3. Aaron Lennon.

4. United Arab Emirates. 5. Ryan Day. 6.10. 7. Chris Lucketti.

8.11th. 9. Miami Dolphins & New York Giants. 10. Robert Karlsson.

9.This yearʼs NFL game at Wembley Stadium saw

New Orleans Saints defeat San Diego Chargers, but which two teams faced each other in London last year?

10.Which golfer won the 2008 European Order of Merit?

Page 27 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

SPORTS & SOCIETIES If you would like to write for the Sports and Societies section contact Mark Bryans, the S&S Editor at u0658159@hud.ac.uk.

by Mark Bryans,

SPORTS & SOCIETIES EDITOR

Hello everyone and welcome to the Christmas edition of the Sports & Societies section. This month sees the first ever Huddersfield Studentʼs Yorkshire Sports Personality of the Year. See the whole article for more information and please get involved and vote for your winner. Talking of winners, congratulations to Lewis Hamilton for becoming the youngest ever Formula One World Champion. He thoroughly deserves it after a season of great driving and bad stewarding, and I for one was very happy for him. Since I last had the opportunity to write my editorial England have started

By David CROSSLEY

to see some success on the football field, and Andy Murray is starting to show signs of becoming one of the best tennis stars in the World. Also a deserved mention for the Great Britain cycling team who dominated the World Cup, as they won a staggering 15 out of a possible 18 events. But Britain wouldnʼt be Britain without a couple of sporting flops and the one which has to rank the highest is the dismal display by Englandʼs cricketers in the $20million winner-takes-all Twenty/20 match. Shambolic performances with the bat left them with a mountain to climb and they just couldnʼt do it. Also as I write to you the Rugby League World Cup is

taking place down under and England have just been decimated by Australia, same old, same old. Closer to home it is nice to see the University sports teams doing, on the whole, quite well. Most of those sides who played in BUCS Cup matches advanced. Special mention is reserved for the Menʼs Football 2nds who won 11-1, well done lads! My Give It a Go! Section this month is in dedication to Lewis Hamilton and his achievements. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a speed demon, get together with a few friends and head to ʻPole Position Indoor Kartingʼ in Leeds and see who the next budding Schumacher is!

MARKETING SOCIETY VISIT BRADFORD FUNDRAISER

The annual Laura Crane Trust ball was held at Bradfordʼs Cedar Court Hotel on Saturday 1st November and raised thousands of pounds for charity. The trust was set up by the parents of Laura Crane, who in 1996 died 2 weeks short of her 17th birthday after having numerous operations to remove tumours from her ovaries, womb and bowel. Her dedication and drive to live with her illness inspires so many people to continue to raise money for the charity through various fund raisers. This yearʼs ball was called the ʻHot Ice Ballʼ and was as vibrant as Lauraʼs spirit and was driven towards raising funds as soon as you walked through the door. I was invited to the ball by the University of Huddersfield to represent the fund raising work we did for the trust and was only too keen to attend. Very generously, transport was provided by Casino Red and got us there to soak up the atmosphere on such a wonderful evening prior to sitting down for the first course. Before entering the main hall, there were blackjack tables to have a flutter on and an assortment of stalls selling items further generating money for the trust. Also in the entrance hall was a bar enjoyed by all the guests! After being told we could enter the main hall, we were seated at our table and had a browse through the goody bags we were given. Inside was information about the sponsors of the event, the trust itself and also provided were a pack of playing cards each of which provided us with some amusement before the main entertainment for the evening started. Also upon sitting down, the guests at the ball had the opportunity to bid on items in a silent and normal auction, items such as 4 tickets for the upcoming Newcastle vs Chelsea game and a Porsche weekend went for hundreds where as I made my donation by purchasing a book signed by the explorer Bear Grylls. The world famous Frank Sinatra impersonator Phil Fryer entertained his audience by reeling off only the best of Sinatraʼs back catalogue with songs such as ʻFly Me to the Moon,ʼ ʻMack the Knifeʼ and ʻThatʼs life.ʼ Before dinner was served, further funds were raised via balloons being sold that contained tickets in that could of won a prize (sadly I didnʼt win). Also, a rather elaborate game of pass the parcel was played which involved one person starting with the parcel and passing it round the table every time the events compare read out a story, with the parcel being passed right or left every time he said any version of the words right or left.

The food that was served was excellent: A starter of Italian bread with cheese, a slice of tomato and salad was followed by chicken breast served on a ratatouille of vegetables and mash potatoes, pudding was treacle sponge served with custard followed by the traditional cheese board and an option of tea or coffee. After finishing the excellent food, Frank Sinatra re-appeared to sing some more of his hits finishing with a beautifully ironic but excellent rendition of ʻMy Way.ʼ Following this, a DJ put on a disco, spinning some excellent tunes which even managed to get me out of my seat and up to dance. This enabled me to get down to some motown classics, dancing with a very attractive female friend of mine; she didnʼt know what had hit her! Overall, the night itself raised thousands of pounds for the trust and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. It show just how much love and passion The Laura Crane Trust has for raising money and awareness for the plight many teenage cancer suffers have gone through and sadly

go through every day. If I ever had the privilege of attending the event again, I would only be too happy to oblige. Please visit ww.lauracranetrust.org for more information on upcoming events, and to donate to the cause.

Want to feel good about the week ahead?

Feel it every Monday only in

The Huddersfield Daily For Advertising / Sponsorship, please contact Linda Cook, Tel 01484 437746 linda.cook@examiner.co.uk

SPORTS & SOCIETIES

Page 28 www.huddersﬁeldstudent.com

HUDDERSFIELD STUDENT’S YORKSHIRE SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR Welcome to the inaugural Huddersﬁeld Student’s YSPY award. The nominees have been selected by students from the University and below you can ﬁnd out more about them, to vote for your winner please e-mail their name and a short paragraph explaining why then should win to U0658159@hud.ac.uk. Mark Bryans Armitstead deserves Lizzie Armitstead is a Cyclist Ed, 23, led Team GBʼs 4,000Huddersfield golden boy Ed to win the title of ʻYorkshire nineteen year old cyclist from metre pursuit team to a stunning Clancy has had a year to Sports Personality of the Yearʼ Otley. She has won races on Olympic victory in a world record remember. At the age of 23 because she has track and road. At such a time of 3 minutes 53 seconds in the the local lad is fast demonstrated that she tender age she has claimed 2008 Beijing Olympics. Clancy and becoming a national hero. possesses great skill and the title of British Champion his team had already broken the For Clancy, 2008 started talent within her field. She has and European Champion, a previous World Record in this event with a Gold medal in the also seamlessly adapted from staggering three times each. in the heats with a time of 3 minutes Team Pursuit squad at the road to track and proven that Armitstead played a 55 seconds which saw them through UCI Track Cycling World she is gifted enough to take key role in supporting Nicole to the final ride-off for silver and Championships in Manchester. This on, and beat, some of the Cooke at the World Road gold. Clancy then put in the wasnʼt the first success of Clancyʼs best female cyclists in Britain, Championship and has since performance of his life to help the short, but remarkably distinguished, Europe and the World. successfully converted to track secure gold in World Record team career. He won the first stage of the She has been racing. 2005 Tour of Berlin and followed that time and make Yorkshire proud. described by many experts Her most recent Put simply, Ed Clancy deserves to up with the 2007 Team Pursuit within the cycling network, achievement came at her World Championship crown. And it is be pedalling his way to the Yorkshire including Victoria Pendleton, debut in the World Cup Series Sports Personality of the Year award the Team Pursuit that is Clancyʼs as one of the most exciting in Manchester where she won 2008. specialist discipline on the track. prospects for the 2012 in the points race, the scratch By Jack COWIN games in London. race and the team pursuit. that he proved to be one of the best Ryan Sidebottomʼs By Sophia MANN bowlers in the world as he took 41 resurgence in the England as a wild card. A DNF and a A successful 2008 saw wickets in six matches against New team this year has been Huddersfield-born Tom Sykes sixth at Brands Hatch gave a Zealand, conceding just 18.84 runs remarkable. It could only be slight indication of the potential narrowly missing out on the per victim. Adding his six wickets beaten, in football terms, if Sykes currently holds and only top 3 in the Bennettʼs British against South Africa, this gives him Michael Ricketts returned to a mix up of flags prevented Superbike Championship. a total of 47 wickets at 20.25 in score a hat-trick against him from taking victory at the In only his second 2008. Germany next month. rain soaked Donnington. season, Sykes picked up an His decision to quit Until his surprise call up by 2009 sees impressive double at Oulton Yorkshire and join Nottinghamshire Peter Moores last year, the Sykes lining up against Park as well as victory at has been a major reason in his Huddersfield born seamer looked Knockhill, signalling the start of the likes of Noriyuki revival. Sidebottom led his new side destined to follow in his fatherʼs Haga and Max resurgence for the Yorkshire to double-promotion in 2004 and, footsteps as a one-cap wonder. Neukirchner in the man. Only retirements at the following year, their first County Sidebottom hasnʼt looked World Superbike Silverstone and Brands Hatch Championship title in 18 years. back, though, and established Championship and in the last two rounds His England form has himself as an integral part of the British fans hope he can follow prevented him from overtaking limited his county appearances to national team. Since his return in in fellow Yorkshire man James Leon Haslam in the just two, but the Trent Bridge teamʼs 2007, Sidebottom has 76 Toselandʼs footsteps by championship. loss has certainly been Englandʼs international wickets at an average bringing the title back home to His form in the British gain. of 25.68. Blighty. Superbikes was transformed It was this year, however, onto the world stage, where he By David BRENCHLEY picked up impressive results final second leg of the League One Howson one of the Jonny is By Stuart FITCH latest products of the famed Leeds Play-Offs, when Howson scored He is also a local boy Lee Smith is only 22 years both goals against Carlisle to send United academy to break into the as he used to play for amateur old, but he has scored 27 tries United through 3-2 on aggregate to first-team setup at Elland Road. team Drighlington and was in 55 games. When Lee Smith the final at Wembley. Born-and-bred in Leeds, Howson picked in the England squad for was 19 he played for the Gaining plaudits from joins such household names as the World Cup in Australia this Rhinos youth squad and now Wise, current boss Gary McAllister Alan Smith, Paul Robinson and year. This home grown lad has he has come through the ranks and team-mates alike, Howson won Scott Carson among others to had a very promising start to to play for Leeds senior team. Leeds Unitedʼs Young Player of the rise through the ranks to cement The reason why Lee his rugby league career and is Year award and was tied down to a a place in the United first-team. Smith has impressed so much still improving. Last year he long-term contact to fend of interest The lifelong United fan has is that he is a winger / full back was an unknown Rhinos player from a number of clubs. 44 appearances for his made who not only scores tries, but and he has become A player with an extremely hometown club since his debut, goals too. There arenʼt many a name to follow in future ahead of him, bright aged just 18, and has developed full backs who score tries. He the Super League, Howsonʼs rise to prominence shows into a tough tackling, skilful was the in-form player in the and is a pivotal part that despite the turbulent times midfielder brimming with confidence 2007/08 Super League play of Englandʼs Rugby faced by the Yorkshire outfit in offs and he scored the winning and ability. League World Cup try against St Helens in the recent years, there is a silver lining His crowning achievement campaign. grand final. at the end of every tunnel. in a Whites shirt came in the semiBy Adam BENNETT By Tom CLARKE