Impact Magazine - Issue 210 - May 2011

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MUM’S THE WORD THE PAINS OF A STUDENT PARENT

IMPACT INTERVIEWS

JACQUI SMITH AND KENNETH CLARKE

ON THE PROWL

A GUIDE TO GET GAME

EDITORIAL

It would be incredibly remiss of me not to start by thanking the thousands of you who took part in the Student Media Survey V]LY [OL ,HZ[LY OVSPKH`Z 0[ ^HZ V\Y Ă„YZ[ real attempt at any kind of audit for quite ZVTL [PTL HUK 0 JHU VMĂ„JPHSS` HUUV\UJL absolutely nothing. At the time of going to print I haven’t seen any of the data, but I’m sure something will be announced on our website soon enough. In the meantime, though, now seems a particularly good time to make note of the successes we have enjoyed in recent months. Our coverage VM [OL :< ,SLJ[PVUZ OHZ HSS I\[ Ă„UPZOLK UV^ I\[ P[ ^HZ X\P[L the ride while it happened. I particularly liked the way our news team would throw out an issue for discussion and get a debate going in our comments section on the website - news reporting PZ HZ T\JO HIV\[ SPNO[PUN Ă„YLZ HZ P[ PZ HIV\[ Ă„SSPUN WHPSZ While on that topic, we are blazing a trail through Varsity, covering the events with liveblogs, articles and stats, and the ‘Twimpact’ twitter feed on our website seems to have been hijacked by our sports editors - so be sure to check that out when you get a chance. Impact has once again been recognised nationally, with a recent article on March’s lecturer strikes described by a top national press commentator as “fabulousâ€? and also being referenced heavily in an issue of the Times Higher Education magazine. Style and Music have both run successful surveys recently, with Music’s results in the last issue and Style’s ‘Male Grooming’ survey featuring in this issue.

>L OH]L JYLH[LK H MVVK ZLJ[PVU ^OPJO `V\ JHU ÄUK ^P[OPU [OL pages of this very issue. We haven’t got any editors for it yet,

but if you are interested in writing on anything to do with food please contact me at food@impactnottingham.com. Impact ‘s website has also gone mobile, so check out our website on your smartphone of choice. All that, and more, with our other sections still writing like their lives depend on it. A few Impact members recently took part in the ‘Marrowthon’, a 5/10km run for the Anthony Nolan Trust – I know of Phil Bowyer who was doubtless streets ahead at the front, and Steve Lovejoy who was in a banana suit yet still managed to do the 10k in a blistering time. A special mention for Rosie Kynman, too, who has mobilised her music section to raise some money for Japanese aid efforts. Writing these editorials always seems so unfair, because if `V\ Ă…PW [V [OL IHJR VM [OL THNHaPUL NV VU 0ÂťSS ^HP[ `V\ÂťSS ZLL Q\Z[ V]LY [OPY[` LKP[VYZ ^OV 0 OH]LUÂť[ TLU[PVULK H[ HSS :\MĂ„JL it to say that I am continually astounded by all of their efforts, along with the efforts of our contributors who turn up week-in, week-out. To produce not only a top-level monthly magazine but also an active companion website, the level of work for our members – in a magazine in which nobody studies journalism and all are volunteers – is phenomenal, yet they deliver, time and time again. However our survey results turn out, I’m incredibly proud of what has been done this year, and you should be too.

Dave Jackson ,KP[VY PU *OPLM +L -HJ[V -VVK ,KP[VY

WE WROTE. YOU RESPONDED. ‘ANON’ ON

NOTTINGHAM UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES £9,000 TUITION FEES *HU 0 Q\Z[ KPZWLS [OL T`[O [OH[ (Y[Z HUK /\THUP[PLZ Z\IZPKPZL Science and Engineering? Tuition fees are only part of a university’s income. Science and Engineering research contributes hundreds of millions of pounds to the university coffers, more than making up for the extra contact hours...The reason we’re in this tuition fees mess is that no government has the balls to admit that sending 50% of young people to university for the sake of it was a stupid idea and is a huge waste of money, both for the government and the students themselves. Tuition fees shouldn’t have gone up, student numbers should have been slashed and fees reduced, if anything.

‘JOE’ ON

UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES LENTON HOPPER BUS SERVICE I hardly think this is a sustainable move on the University’s WHY[ ^P[O NSVIHS ^HYTPUN HUK [OL MVYLJHZ[LK ÅVVKPUN VM [OL *HTW\Z 3V^LY 3LU[VU ,YH Q\Z[ HYV\UK [OL JVYULY 7LYOHWZ P[ ^V\SK IL ^PZLY [V PU]LZ[ PU H ÅV[PSSH VM ZLHJYHM[ HUK Z^PTTPUN lessons to get future students to Lenton. Although I also understand that as a settlement built on a notorious breeding ground for young sharks, us Nottinghammeroonians are perhaps doomed anyway.

‘ELIZABETH GODDARD’ ON

TREMENDOUS TIFFIN ON A BUDGET 0[ PZ LU[PYLS` WVZZPISL [V THYJO (5+ LUQV` JHRL

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ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

CONTENTS- May/2011 210 02

Editorial

05

News Fees, Cuts and Charlie Sheen

12

Sport Support for Athletes - Better across the pond?

FEATURES 15

11

Student Mums The pains of a student parent

18

iDosing The latest craze or a load of white noise?

19

Gender Undivided The changing face of gender

20

In Pursuit Of Perfection We weigh the risks of bodily obsession

22

Age of Revolution The power of the protest

24

The Hunting Guide A uide to get game

26

Past and Present Impact interviews two cabinet ministers

27

Taken for a Ride The dangers facing Nottingham’s taxi drivers

28

Home Straight Growing up early or not at all?

29

No Marks for Manners The student slip to slobbiness

30

Exam Stress How do you get by?

31

15

35

Wave Your Rave and Vent Your Spleen

REGULARS 32

Students’ Union

34

Exposure

35

Style

40

Film

43

Music

47

Travel

51

Arts & Culture

54

Food

56

Science

60

Nights

63

Spare Parts IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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Mac. The perfect study partner. We’ve got together with Apple to offer you a special discount of up to 15% on Mac hardware

Mac is perfect for student life With the Mac you can share your ideas in new and creative ways. It comes with great software, like iLife, so you can do more with your photos, movies and music. It also runs Microsoft Office and it’s compatible with your printers and cameras. You can even run Windows. A dedicated online store The Apple on Campus online store, designed especially for the University of Nottingham students, is secure and easy to use. There you’ll find a wide range of heavily discounted hardware, software and accessories. Ensure you are on the University network, then visit www.apple.com/uk/go/save. You can also order over the phone by calling a Mac expert on 0800 072 1154. Help is at hand If you need help or advice, there is an Apple Campus Rep on site. They have the latest Apple products for you to try and can answer any questions you might have. For more information contact Will Burks on: - aoc.nottingham@me.com.

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ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

NEWS

WHERE’S MY MONEY?

UNIVERSITIES TO FACE FINES FOR CHARGING ÂŁ9,000 TUITION FEES The Coalition is currently debating [OL WVZZPIPSP[` VM PTWVZPUN Ă„ULZ \WVU universities deemed to be charging “unreasonably highâ€? tuition fees from next year. Nick Clegg has expressed concern at the possibility that some universities may charge the maximum rate in order to improve their prestige, whilst Vince Cable worries that too many will charge ÂŁ9,000 to subsidise revenue lost as a result of the new cap on international students. The emergence of this proposal in itself raises an important question: on what grounds will universities justify the introduction of the maximum ÂŁ9,000 fee? Ministers have said that the maximum fee should only be charged in ‘exceptional JPYJ\TZ[HUJLZÂť I\[ UV JSLHY KLĂ„UP[PVU of this term has been provided. Russell Group universities such as Oxford and *HTIYPKNL TH` HYN\L [OH[ [OLPY WYLZtige demands high fees, or that the high quality of facilities and teaching that they provide demonstrate exceptional circumstances. However, Exeter recently ILJHTL [OL Ă„YZ[ UVU 9\ZZLSS .YV\W <UPversity to announce its plans to charge the maximum fee, justifying its decision by claiming that it would need to charge a fee of at least ÂŁ7,000 simply to maintain current teaching standards, and that the provision of more staff and better facilities to meet the growing demands and

expectations of new students demands the imposition of higher fees. ;OL <UP]LYZP[` HUK *VSSLNL <UPVU <*< has echoed Exeter’s claims, suggesting that high fees are needed to replace money that the government has cut from university funding. The Union argues that for Arts and Humanities courses, which are cheaper to run than science and medicine courses, universities need to charge an average fee of almost ÂŁ7,000. They have also suggested that all universities will set fees above the ÂŁ6,000 minimum, as they must do so simply to break even. @L[ [OL <*< OHZ HSZV H[[HJRLK [OL NV]ernment for creating this situation, describing its plans as ‘shambolic’, and supporting a letter signed by 681 Oxbridge academics criticising the coalition’s new funding regime. The letter, addressed to Minister of State for Universities and SciLUJL +H]PK >PSSL[[Z HYN\LZ [OH[ \UP]LYZP[PLZ HYL ILPUN MVYJLK [V ºÅ` ISPUKÂť HUK urges the government to delay their plans until the consequences of the proposed changes have been ‘coherently and rigorously examined’. The government has been further criticised for creating an unrealistic budget. Plans to fund student loans have been based on a national average fee of ÂŁ7,500. Therefore, if too many universi-

ties charge the maximum fee, funding for loans may quickly be exhausted, and it TH` IL KPMĂ„J\S[ [V Z\IZPKPZL HU` KLĂ„JP[ from elsewhere. Worryingly, Ministers will have no legal power to set the fee that an individual university can charge. However, Vice *OHUJLSSVYZ OH]L ILLU ^HYULK [OH[ Z[\dent places and research funding could be cut if they charge ÂŁ9,000 without adLX\H[L Q\Z[PĂ„JH[PVU <UP]LYZP[PLZ JOHYNPUN over ÂŁ6,000 must also ensure that they attract a wider variety of students, particularly with regard to ethnic minorities, pupils from state schools and those from non-university upbringings. Universities must now account for reduced revenues from international students, reduced government funding, increased demands for access widening initiatives and a need to attract students in an increasingly competitive market. (JJVYKPUNS` [OL <*< Z\NNLZ[Z [OL NV]ernment’s predicted ‘average’ fee is in fact closer to the minimum that universities must charge. Perhaps, then, it is time the government provides its own HKLX\H[L L_WSHUH[PVU HUK Q\Z[PĂ„JH[PVU VM what actually constitutes ‘unreasonably high tuition fees’.

Alan Selby

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/NEWS

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NEWS

NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL AGREES £33.6M IN BUDGET CUTS Nottingham City Council this week ÄUHSPZLK P[Z WHJRHNL VM I\KNL[ cuts, as all three parties on the Labour-led council agreed a deal to reduce spending by £33.6m, in response to a £29.5m decrease in central government funding. Council members have suggested that in real terms this amounts to a £60m decrease in spending power, when the effects of last June’s emergency budget and other related austerity measures are taken into account. Around 370 council jobs will be lost, creating £11m worth of savings. An additional £6m of savings are to be made through a proposed review of staff terms and conditions.

06

-VSSV^PUN H W\ISPJ JVUZ\S[H[PVU [OL council has agreed to safeguard community protection posts, street cleaning services and children’s centres. *VTT\UP[` HK]PJL I\YLH\Z HUK ZLY]PJLZ for the elderly are amongst those who ^PSS Z\MMLY TVZ[ ¶ M\UKPUN MVY *()Z PZ [V be cut by 59%, whilst local charitable organisations such as Age UK face a 30% reduction in grant funding. Representatives from the voluntary sector have suggested that their funding could fall by 38% as a result of the cuts, from £47.5m to £29.5m. The 8.4% decrease in funding means Nottingham will be amongst the councils hardest hit by the measures. Under the

NOT T INGHAM TRIPLES TUITION FEES

UCU STRIKERS ‘MAY NOT HAVE BEEN MISSED’

Nottingham has joined other Russell Group Universities, including Oxford, *HTIYPKNL HUK <*3 PU HUUV\UJPUN TH_PT\T MLLZ *\YYLU[ Z[\KLU[Z HUK those joining the University this year will be unaffected by the change, but full-time undergraduate students starting from 2012 will pay £9,000 each year for their degree. The new fee levels are subject to HNYLLTLU[ I` [OL 6MÄJL MVY -HPY (JJLZZ ^OV ^PSS JVUÄYT PU 1\S` PM [OL` HWWYV]L VM the changes.

In an email leaked to Impact, Mike Byrne, Secretary of the University of Nottingham <UP]LYZP[` HUK *VSSLNL <UPVU \YNLK colleagues who took part in the strikes over job security, pay and pensions to register their absence with the Human 9LZV\YJLZ +LWHY[TLU[ ¸0U V\Y ZLJ[VY [OL point of a one-day strike is largely missed if institutions do not get a clear indication from everyone who participated”, he said, adding, “The fact is that in many cases our absence may not have been noticed!”

ISSUE 210| MAY 2011

coalition’s plans the maximum reduction imposed on councils will be 8.9%, with a nationwide average of 4.4%. 3HIV\Y *VUZLY]H[P]L HUK 3PILYHS +LTVJYH[ JV\UJPS SLHKLYZ OH]L HYN\LK that Nottingham is being treated unfairly in the cuts, with council leader Jon *VSSPUZ Z\NNLZ[PUN [OH[ [OL WVVYLZ[ cities are those being affected most. 3HIV\Y 47 *OYPZ 3LZSPL JSHPTZ [OH[ [OL cuts are “going too fast and too hard”, with damaging implications for the local economy. The full impact of the cuts remains to be seen, but a clearer picture is sure to emerge over the following year.

Alan Selby

NAT IONAL UNION OF STUDENTS LOOKS TO SCOTLAND FOR NEW PRESIDENT The National Union of Students has elected current NUS Scotland President Liam Burns as its new President for the year 2011-12. Burns has been credited for decisive action in securing promises from the Scottish Parliament that tuition fees north of the border will not be raised in the near future. It is hoped that Burns ^PSS ÄUK TVYL Z\JJLZZ PU [OL ÄNO[ HNHPUZ[ the rise of English tuition fees than his predecessor Aaron Porter, who decided against standing for re-election after facing criticism over not taking a strong enough stance against the tripling of University fees.

NEWS

STUDENT VISA CUTS COULD FORCE UNIVERSITY COURSE CLOSURE Several universities have warned that they may be forced to close science and engineering courses if the government limits visas for foreign students. Sixteen university vicechancellors from universities including Bristol, Exeter, Birmingham and Glasgow have written a joint letter to The Observer expressing their ‘profound concern’ over the plans. They want Home Secretary Theresa May to drop a proposal to restrict visas and raise the English language requirement therefore making it harder for people to come to the UK. May’s proposals would affect non-EU students applying for visas who currently make up two-thirds of the 273,000 visas issued to students in 2009.

year to the UK economy through tuition fees and off-campus L_WLUKP[\YL» HUK [OH[ K\YPUN ºH [PTL VM ÄUHUJPHS H\Z[LYP[` [OPZ issue is of immeasurable importance to the UK’, as reductions in the numbers of students ‘will lead to reductions in income and jobs’. Without international students many university courses, particularly science and engineering courses, may be forced to close. This would mean a reduction in the courses available to <2 Z[\KLU[Z HUK YLK\UKHUJPLZ ( /VTL 6MÄJL ZWVRLZ^VTHU said: “Any criticism can only be based on speculation as no decisions have yet been made on the changes to the student visa route.”

Helen Trimm

In their letter the vice-chancellors stated that ‘International students coming to universities contribute over £5bn each

PROPOSED OVERHAUL TO FURTHER EDUCATION

NEW GOVERNMENT REPORT PROPOSES OVERHAUL TO 16-19 YEAR OLD EDUCATION Over 90% of sixteen-year olds continue education or go onto formal training after GCSEs, though students are increasingly favouring vocational courses over traditional A levels, a move seen as less desirable for employers. A recent report, commissioned by the Education Secretary Michael Gove and compiled by Prof. Alison Wolf of Kings *VSSLNL 3VUKVU OPNOSPNO[LK [OL J\YYLU[ problems with technical education. A huge reduction of the youth labour market, and businesses now seeking cheaper production elsewhere, has left sections of society that have chosen to pursue a technical career with nowhere to go. The report also focused on the KPMÄJ\S[PLZ VM OH]PUN Z\JO HU HYYH` of different names and acronyms to KLZJYPIL [LJOUPJHS X\HSPÄJH[PVUZ

KV SP[[SL [V OLSW Z[\KLU[Z +PZPUJSPULK [V continue further education, currently 300,000 to 400,000 of 16-19 year olds HYL UV^ Z[Y\NNSPUN [V ÄUK LTWSV`TLU[ as a result of perceived low value X\HSPÄJH[PVUZ The Wolf report recommended that good coordination between schools, colleges and industry would quickly highlight weaknesses in an individual’s education WYVNYHTTL HUK OLSW [V ÄUK ZVS\[PVUZ [V THRL X\HSPÄJH[PVUZ TVYL YLSL]HU[ [V employers. *YP[PJZ HYL X\PJR [V WVPU[ V\[ [OH[ NP]LU

the shortfalls in funding nationwide and the increased cost of training an HWWYLU[PJL P[ ^PSS WYV]L KPMÄJ\S[ [V VMMLY Z\MÄJPLU[ PUJLU[P]LZ MVY JVTWHUPLZ [V get involved. Quality apprenticeships HYL ÄLYJLS` JVU[LZ[LK HUK THU` TVYL places are going to older applicants. Mr. Gove described the report as “brilliant and ground-breaking”, though the extent to which Prof. Wolf’s suggestions will be implemented is unclear and it is thought that this may take several years to implement.

Toby Karenowski

The report proposes a complete overhaul of the system, including a call to remove schemes offered to schools that reward good academic results regardless of the X\HSP[` HUK SL]LS VM X\HSPÄJH[PVU [HRLU Though boosting league table rankings, it is felt by many that these incentives

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/NEWS

07

COMMENT

FASCISM OUT OF FASHION

GALLIANO SACKED BY DIOR Years ago, when asked how he wanted to be remembered, Dior’s creative director John Galliano replied simply, “As a romantic”. Unfortunately, romanticism does not normally encompass anti-Semitism and a penchant for fascist dictators. Perhaps the French fashion house’s golden-boy will be remembered only as ‘that designer who turned out to be a bit racist’. When videos appeared on the web showing Mr Galliano proclaiming his love for Hitler and explaining to patrons of a Parisian café that “[they] would be dead today” had Hitler’s plans not been thwarted, it wasn’t long before events ZUV^IHSSLK )` SH[L -LIY\HY` +PVY announced that they had suspended Galliano following his arrest over antiSemitic comments. With increasing pressure from the numerous ethnic NYV\WZ OL OHK VMMLUKLK [OL ÄUHS UHPS PU .HSSPHUV»Z JVMÄU ^HZ KYP]LU OVTL I` Academy Award winning actress Natalie Portman. Ms Portman, herself a devout 1L^ HUK [OL UL^ MHJL VM +PVY»Z 4PZZ +PVY *OtYPL MYHNYHUJL ZHPK ZOL ^HZ ¸ZOVJRLK and disgusted” by the video and threatened to break her contract with [OL MHZOPVU OV\ZL \USLZZ +PVY J\[ HSS [PLZ ^P[O [OL KLZPNULY 6U Z[Z[ 4HYJO +PVY issued a statement saying Galliano had ILLU ÄYLK ^P[O PTTLKPH[L LMMLJ[ ;OL IYHUK»Z MV\UKLY *OYPZ[PHU +PVY KLZJYPILK Galliano’s remarks as “odious”. Galliano is known to be secretive; one employee worked under him for a year but never actually met him. Amongst the select few close to Galliano, there was growing concern that he had lost touch with reality and that he had slipped back into his previous drug and alcohol addiction. Additionally, for a man who personally oversaw twelve collections a year it’s not unreasonable to suggest his recent behaviour could be, in part, due to his immense workload. But there is a limit to what is acceptable, even for a creative eccentric under immense professional pressure.

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ISSUE 210| MAY 2011

+PVY»Z PUP[PHS PUHJ[P]P[` V]LY [OL TH[[LY PZ understandable, considering the need ÄYZ[ [V H\[OLU[PJH[L [OL ]PKLVZ HUK investigate fully the allegations made against the designer. Yet even as charges against Galliano were substantiated and a ZLJVUK SH^Z\P[ ^HZ ÄSLK YLSH[PUN [V ZPTPSHY allegations from the previous October, +PVY HWWLHYLK YLS\J[HU[ [V HKKYLZZ [OL situation. It is a tough situation for any boss to be in when the person involved has pushed your worldwide sales to an estimated £600 million, and particularly ^OLU )LYUHYK (YUH\S[ *,6 VM [OL THZZP]L 3=4/ .YV\W +PVY»Z WHYLU[ company, personally oversaw Galliano’s appointment. Perhaps the fashion house had hoped that over time, the whole nasty business would be forgotten. But there comes a point when moral obligations are forced to overrule commercial interest. *OYPZ[PHU +PVY MV\UKLK [OL IYHUK PU 1947 with the purpose of bringing back the female glamour that had been set aside and forgotten in the war. Galliano had quite conclusively gone against the ]LY` LZZLUJL VM ^OH[ [OL +PVY /V\ZL

had been founded on, yet the Board still took almost a week before taking M\Y[OLY HJ[PVU :PKUL` ;VSLKHUV +PVY»Z *,6 HUK JVPUJPKLU[HSS` OLHK VM H prominent Jewish family stated: “I very ÄYTS` JVUKLTU ^OH[ ^HZ ZHPK I` 1VOU .HSSPHUV¹ @L[ ^P[O L]LY` KH` [OH[ +PVY delayed taking action, further damage was being done to the brand’s reputation – damage that could prove very hard to repair. As a global brand, one would expect +PVY [V HJ[ VY H[ SLHZ[ IL ZLLU [V HJ[ PU a moral and ethical manner, yet their delayed action must be viewed by many as apathy, or perhaps worse, a lack of concern for one of humanity’s most divisive and destructive issues. Perhaps when Galliano stands trial in Paris later this year, it may spark a global readjustment of moral compasses. They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity; +PVY»Z Z\JJLZZ K\YPUN 7HYPZ HUK 4PSHU -HZOPVU >LLRZ ^V\SK JLY[HPUS` Z\NNLZ[ as much. We can but hope.

Toby Karenowski

COMMENT

BERLUSCONI

HOW LONG CAN SLICK SILVIO KEEP GOING? Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is back in court as a consequence of key aspects of his audacious exemption bill being overturned. Previously this bill prevented him or his ministers from being subject to legal trial whilst PU VMÄJL ;OL YLVWLUPUN VM [OLZL [YPHSZ TLHUZ OL PZ UV^ charged with bribery to withhold testimony, payment of an underage sex worker and tax fraud. This is on top of his 20 V[OLY WYL]PV\Z JV\Y[ JHZLZ PUJS\KPUN KY\N [YHMÄJRPUN 4HÄH collusion, embezzlement and multiple counts of bribery. Friends of Berlusconi do rightly make the point he has yet to be convicted. However, this is largely due to changes in the law which he brought about; either exempting him or his crime from prosecution or subjecting the trials to ‘time limit’ laws which void cases that drag on for too long.

If the Italian PM being a crook wasn’t bad enough, he is also a serial womaniser, incredibly insensitive and rather bigoted. His divorce proceedings were due to his consorting with 18 year old Noemi Letizia, in 2009 he was connected to a Bari prostitute and most recently he has been accused of participating in ‘bunga bunga’ rituals; think mass, naked, African themed orgies. Rash, TPZQ\KNLK JVTTLU[Z HYL HSZV )LYS\ZJVUP»Z MVY[L -VYLPNU companies were told to invest in Italy because they “have the most beautiful secretaries”, Abruzzo earthquake victims were advised to “see it like a weekend camping” and, according to Berlusconi, Italians trying to escape poverty should simply “do it my way and earn more money”. Even more astoundingly he claimed “Mussolini never killed anyone, he just sent dissenters abroad for vacation” and, when talking on his penchant for women, that it is “better to be fond of beautiful girls than gay”. So, sex, corruption, a myriad of misjudged comments and homophobia. One has to wonder how this man is still in power. Many attribute it to the Italian populace. They claim Berlusconi’s arrogant chauvinism appeals to the typical Italian voter and that he is somewhat of an idol. This seems very misguided. If we are to shove the whole of Italy into outdated Z[LYLV[`WLZ [OLU [OL -YLUJO TH` HZ well be garlic-swinging cyclists and [OL )YP[PZO NLU[LLS ÅH[ JHWWLK MLYYL[ wielding toffs. Simple stereotypes should not be relied on to explain such complex issues. The more likely reason that Berlusconi still clings [V WV^LY PZ OPZ IHMÅPUNS` HIZVS\[L level of media control. He owns 4 of the 7 Italian TV stations, a myriad of leading newspaper titles and has direct or indirect control over 90% of national televisual media due to OPZ HKKP[PVUHS PUÅ\LUJL HZ OLHK VM state. This level of media monopoly is totally unprecedented anywhere in the democratic world, even more so when one considers it is the Prime Minister possessing it. Indeed, the recent 4\YKVJO ÄHZJV WHSLZ PU JVTWHYPZVU" he was only competing for the majority stake in one media organisation and has minuscule political power in comparison. So is there any hope of ousting Berlusconi, the man who openly admitted he went into politics to protect his own business interests? Yes, possibly. With the revival of these court cases, plummeting opinion polls, the long awaited emergence of a viable political alternative and his masses of bad plastic surgery, the 2012 general election should hopefully be decisive. Yet with his media monopoly and extensive political contacts, PM or UV[ OL ^PSS L_LY[ ZPNUPÄJHU[ PUÅ\LUJL for many years to come.

Joe Todd IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/NEWS

09

COMMENT

BAD NEWS FOR‌

WOMANKIND

The 8th 4HYJO THYRLK [OL [O 0U[LYUH[PVUHS >VTLUÂťZ +H` HU annual event that is celebrated across the globe and is even an VMĂ„JPHS OVSPKH` MVY KVaLUZ VM JV\U[YPLZ 0U OVUV\Y VM [OPZ 4L[YV ran a poll that asked their readers to vote for their favourite PUĂ…\LU[PHS ^VTHU [V SP]L VY ^VYR PU 3VUKVU PU [OL WHZ[ JLU[\Y` ;OL ^PUULY ^HZ 3LVUH 3L^PZ ^PUULY VM ? -HJ[VY :OL gained a staggering 70.9% of the 10,000 votes, ahead of 39 politicians, authors, sportswomen, entrepreneurs and many other remarkable women. Lewis has worked for several charities as well as being a highly successful recording artist, but social networking sites ^LYL IHMĂ…LK [OH[ [OPZ ^HZ LUV\NO [V TLYP[ ]V[PUN OLY HZ H [Y\S` ÂşPUĂ…\LU[PHSÂť Ă„N\YL MYVT [OL WHZ[ `LHYZ Âş,TTLSPUL 7HURO\YZ[Âť ILJHTL H [YLUKPUN [VWPJ VU ;^P[[LY [OL MHTV\Z :\MMYHNL[[L NHPULK Q\Z[ VM [OL ]V[LZ HUK VUL ^VTHU JVTTLU[LK that the poll made them “feel nauseousâ€?. A comment under the story on the Metro website added: “Well done Metro readers, you’ve managed to prove yourselves the stupidest people on the planet.â€?

Fiona Crosby

WORSE NEWS FOR... AIRHOSTESSES

A curious case of peek-a-boo aboard Australian airline Virgin )S\L ^LU[ Z[YHUNLS` H^Y` ^OLU H Ă…PNO[ H[[LUKHU[ ZO\[ H TVU[O VSK [VKKSLY PU[V HU V]LYOLHK JVTWHY[TLU[ -VY HU LU[PYL 10 seconds, toddler Riley Williamson experienced less than Ă„YZ[ JSHZZ ZLY]PJL Ă„UKPUN OPTZLSM ^P[O JVUZPKLYHIS` YLK\JLK legroom. Apparently to the amusement of passengers onboard the Ă…PNO[ [OL JOPSK LTLYNLK MYVT ^OH[ T\Z[ OH]L ILLU [OL VYKLHS unscathed. Speaking after the “obsceneâ€? event, mother Ms >PSSPHTZVU JSHPTLK ¸-VY KH`Z VU LUK 0 ^HZ JY`PUNš Who knows what sorts of pandemonium little Riley could have gotten into in a whole 10 seconds? It is safe to say that [OPZ Ă…PNO[ H[[LUKHU[ ^HZ YHWPKS` W\ZOLK KV^U [OL LTLYNLUJ` ZSPKL OVWLM\SS` [V Ă„UK H UL^ ]VJH[PVU ^OPJO KVLZ UV[ PU]VS]L childcare, while Mum landed herself a consolation prize of 3 MYLL Ă…PNO[Z ^P[O [OL HPYSPUL 5V[ H IHK L_JOHUNL MVY H [LTWVYHY` change in seating.

Helena Murphy

AND IN OTHER NEWS‌

THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE TIGER-BLOODED WARLOCK JUST KEEPS ON WINNING

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*OHYSPL :OLLU OHZ ZL[ H UL^ ^H[LYZOLK MVY JLSLIYP[` megalomania. Whether the new benchmark represents either a dizzying high or a shocking new low for celebrity culture, it’s H WSHJL ^OLYL YLHSP[` PTP[H[LZ ÄJ[PVU PU H TPUK ILUKPUN HZZH\S[ that might leave you feeling like you’re in the throes of your own Hollywood bender, blazing through an orgy of coke, fast cars and porn stars. But you’re not. You’re in the East Midlands, and it’s all normal.

H TLKPVJYL HJ[VY JV\SK HSZV ^YP[L IHK WVL[Y`& :OLLU OHZ LU[LYLK PU[V H IP[[LY ML\K ^P[O *): HUK [OL JYLH[VYZ VM ;^V and a Half Men, the show in which he had starred until its JHUJLSSH[PVU PU SH[L -LIY\HY` 6U 4HYJO [O :OLLU SH\UJOLK a £62 million lawsuit against the show claiming long-term harassment. This entire furore continues against the backdrop of Sheen’s ongoing battle for custody of his two year old twins with third wife Brooke Mueller.

The whole debacle began in late January after a lengthy debauch of sex and drugs landed the world’s highest paid TV actor in hospital, and then subsequently in rehab. The whole series of events seemed to have followed a well established narrative arch for such celeb misdemeanours: addiction, contrition, and a swift rehabilitation. But that was until Sheen decided that tiger blood ran through his veins, that the rest of us are trolls, and started blasting “truth torpedoes� across the bows of the mainstream establishment in a series of major network interviews and eccentric webcasts.

+LZWP[L OPZ JSLHYS` K`ZM\UJ[PVUHS WLYZVUHS SPML HUK OPZ YLJLU[S` scuppered attempts to run for SU President, Sheen is, well, ^PUUPUN +\O /PZ IPaHYYL ISLUK VM H TLZZPHUPJ JVTWSL_ KY\N addled hysteria and shrewd media manipulation does feel a bit like being punched in the brain but it’s also inspired a comic book biography and led to a sell-out spoken word tour. It wouldn’t seem out of place now if, like Howard Beale in the WYVWOL[PJ ÄST 5L[^VYR :OLLU ILJHTL [OL ÄYZ[ THU [V IL assassinated on air. Whatever does happen, people won’t stop watching.

Aside from the accusations of further drug abuse and streams VM WYH[[SPUN UVUZLUZL ^OV MVY PUZ[HUJL ^V\SK OH]L [OV\NO[

Callum Paton

ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/SPORT

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SPORT

NO SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP FOR THE STUDENT-ATHLETE The dust is settling on the busiest period of the Nottingham Varsity series and the average student’s interest in university sport is slowly waning once more. Looking across the pond, however, it is obvious that American student sport is far more integral to the average American student’s university experience. While the funding that American university sport receives on the basis of developing student athletes is undeniably more, debate still exists as to whether this is truly for the better.

resources, which sees the average student suffer.

The sell-out crowd at this year’s Varsity Ice Hockey came in at Q\Z[ \UKLY -VY [OL [^V 5V[[PUNOHT <UP]LYZP[PLZ [OPZ PZ celebrated an extraordinary spectacle in terms of atmosphere and an expression of student support for university sport. Indeed, with many Ice Hockey players seeking higher education queuing up to come either here or Trent merely for a chance to play in the largest university Ice Hockey match outside of 5VY[O (TLYPJH [OPZ Ă„_[\YL P[ PZ UV[ VUS` OLYL [OH[ P[ PZ JVUZPKLYLK an extraordinary event in student sport. That it is the biggest event of its kind ‘outside of North America’ is, unfortunately, H JSLHY PUKPJH[PVU VM [OL PZZ\L H[ OHUK ;OL ]PL^PUN Ă„N\YLZ MVY this annual match are dwarfed in comparison with the bestsupported college football team in the USA, the Tennessee Volunteers, who play in front of an average crowd of over 100,000 week in, week out.

At times, colleges have gone even further than this. In 2007, 23 Z[\KLU[ H[OSL[LZ MYVT -SVYPKH :[H[L <UP]LYZP[` ^LYL MV\UK [V OH]L had their answers for an online exam provided by staff members and were subsequently expelled. This image, at odds with the YVZL [PU[LK ]PZPVU VM JVSSLNL ZWVY[ WVY[YH`LK PU Ă„STZ Z\JO HZ *VHJO *HY[LY HUK )SPUK :PKL PZ ZHKS` [OL YLHSP[` PU ZVTL JHZLZ That said, there are some that live up to the billing of a student athlete and even continue their education above the mandatory one year; the 2009 off-season for basketball saw 10% of NBA WSH`LYZ [YHKL PU [OLPY ZULHRLYZ MVY ZH[JOLSZ -\Y[OLYTVYL [OL PUZ[P[\[PVUZ VM /HY]HYK @HSL VMMLY UV ZJOVSHYZOPWZ MVY ZWVY[ I\[ remain to be two of the most competitive.

The gulf between the respective attitudes in regards to student sport can be explained by a disparity in funding and the support offered by the respective countries’ governments offer. In the United States, it is a requirement to complete at least one year of college in order to be eligible to play many ZWVY[Z Z\JO HZ (TLYPJHU -VV[IHSS HUK HZ VM )HZRL[IHSS professionally. This is starkly in contrast with the British system, where education can be seen as an undesirable handicap. Most footballers in Britain do not receive adequate education over the age of 10, let alone attaining university level education, though there are signs of improvement. One JLSLIYH[LK L_HTWSL [OL :\UKLYSHUK ( - * (JHKLT` VMMLYZ OV\YZ VM HJHKLTPJ [\P[PVU H ^LLR HUK [OLPY ºZJOVSHYZ ^OV ÄUPZO their education at the Academy come out with, among other X\HSPÄJH[PVUZ H WYVMLZZPVUHS YLMLYLLZ SPJLUJL HUK HU -( ºSL]LS 1’ coaching badge. The funding for both college and university sport comes from the institutions which they serve to represent yet the difference lies in the proportion spent on sport, which is increasingly becoming a bone of contention.

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( YLWVY[ I` [OL (TLYPJHU UL^ZWHWLY <:( ;6+(@ ZOV^LK [OH[ only 40 colleges claim that their athletic departments are selfZ\MÄJPLU[ ^P[O [OL THQVYP[` \ZPUN Z[\KLU[ MLLZ [V Z\IZPKPZL [OL athletic programmes. A case in point is the allocation of funding J\[Z THKL I` [OL *VSSLNL VM >PSSPHT 4HY` =PYNPUPH ^OPJO ZH^ H I\KNL[ J\[ [V [OLPY ([OSL[PJ +LWHY[TLU[ PU YLZWVUZL [V H YLK\J[PVU PU Z[H[L M\UKPUN -\Y[OLYTVYL TVZ[ Z[\KLU[Z HYL \UH^HYL [OH[ [OL` HYL M\UKPUN JVSSLNL ZWVY[Z HUK JLY[HPUS` UV[ [V [OL SL]LS PU ^OPJO [OL` KV >PSSPHT 4HY` Z[\KLU[Z contribute almost a twentieth of their fees to their Athletic Union. In contrast, Oxford Brookes’ sports budget was at its highest in 1998 at £150,000, which saw the students contributing roughly ‰ H OLHK 3VVRPUN H[ [OLZL ÄN\YLZ P[ PZ JSLHY [OH[ ILOPUK [OL glamour of US college sport there is an unjust distribution of

ISSUE 209 | MARCH 2011

There is greater injustice in that these student athletes take the place of those that want to pursue academia in it purest form. (TLYPJHU -VV[IHSS WSH`LYZ H[ <*3( HUK <* )LYRLSL` VU H]LYHNL score 300 points lower than their non-athletic classmates in their :(;Z [OL (TLYPJHU LX\P]HSLU[ VM [OL ( 3L]LS ;OPZ WYVISLT PZ made worse at certain institutions by a softening of courses in order to ensure that colleges maintain their student athletes.

Whilst there are obvious problems with the US method of dealing with student athletes, it provides a great opportunity for those sportingly gifted, and is sometimes used by the UK’s own athletes too. In some cases it is a necessity to study in the US to further athletic goals - in sports such as swimming and tennis, those that go on to higher education do so, more often than not, abroad than in England. It is worth noting that, for those considering continuing their education in the US, most scholarships are subject to continued demands for high performance and staying clear from injury. With these factors in mind, and the fact that with London 2012 just over a year away, still only a select few of the UK’s 300+ higher education PUZ[P[\[PVUZ HYL YLJLP]PUN L_[YH 3V[[LY` -\UKPUN MVY º,SP[L :WVY[ Many athletes will doubtlessly be weighing up whether an American education is a gamble worth taking.

Nicholas Batty

SPORT WHY NOT TRY

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU? The world of martial arts today is a complex amalgamation of styles, offering everything from spirituality to self-defence. Indeed the current market is so saturated that making just one committed decision becomes an almost impossible task. So when word came about that a new martial art called Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was trying to spread its wings in the UK from Rio de Janeiro, I was understandably dubious.

0[ ^HZUÂť[ \U[PS T` Ă„UHS `LHY H[ \UP]LYZP[` ^OPSZ[ ^H[JOPUN HU VSK JSPW VM [OL ]LY` Ă„YZ[ <S[PTH[L -PNO[PUN *OHTWPVUZOPWZ [OH[ I saw what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu could do. I remember staring in amazement as a skinny 12 stone Brazilian man completely destroyed a 17½ stone pharmaceutical-grade superhero in 57 seconds. This skinny man then went on to win the event without throwing a single punch. And the rest is history. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a ground-based grappling art created by the Gracie family, utilising submissions to disable an opponent. 0[ ^VYRZ VU [OL WYLTPZL [OH[ TVZ[ YLHS Ă„NO[Z LUK VU [OL Ă…VVY where an opponent’s strength, reach and power advantage becomes somewhat negated. Escaping and prevailing from disadvantageous positions is therefore the pinnacle of what Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is all about. Training is split into conditioning, techniques and sparring, all JVUK\J[LK PU H YLSH_LK H[TVZWOLYL VU TH[[LK Ă…VVYZ :WHYYPUN or ‘rolling’ is done with 100% resistance to provide a realistic but safe way to test techniques in a self-defence situation. We also provide competition opportunities with the many open events around the country, which are an incredible training boost and a chance to compete against a whole spectrum of people. The Gi is the traditional uniform used by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, but we also teach No-Gi classes which usually consists of wearing combat shorts with a T-shirt or rash guard. >L ^LSJVTL WLVWSL VM HSS HIPSP[PLZ UV TH[[LY PM P[ÂťZ `V\Y Ă„YZ[ [PTL or you’ve done other martial arts before, so come and see what it’s all about. Training: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays: 1\IPSLL :WVY[ *LU[YL WT WT

Vincent Pang OR WHY NOT TRY

CRICKET? *YPJRL[ WYVIHIS` VUL VM [OL IPNNLZ[ THYTP[L ZWVY[Z [OLYL PZ Ask someone about cricket and you’ll either get: “I love cricket! ;OLYLÂťZ Q\Z[ UV[OPUN IL[[LY PU [OL ^VYSK š VY ¸)HO *YPJRL[ P[ÂťZ ZV boring and nothing ever happens!â€? But seriously, what’s not to SPRL" ^LÂťYL V\[ZPKL PU [OL Z\U HSS KH` HZ ZVVU HZ VUL ZWSVKNL VM YHPU OP[Z [OL NYV\UK ^LÂťYL PUKVVYZ SPRL H ZOV[ HUK ILZ[ VM HSS ^L stop twice a day for meals! Nottingham University boasts a large cohort of cricketers, but of course we could always do with more. The ladies team play PU [OL [VW TPKSHUKZ )<*: SLHN\L HUK [OL TLU OH]L MV\Y [LHTZ HSS PU [OL [VW TPKSHUKZ )<*: SLHN\LZ ;OPZ `LHY [OLYL PZ H IPN push for club wide promotions. By now training will have moved form indoor nets to outdoors H[ /PNOĂ„LSKZ I\[ P[ÂťZ UL]LY [VV SH[L [V NL[ PU]VS]LK 4H[JOLZ are often, inevitably, scheduled on the same days as deadlines and exams so getting a playing XI together is something team JHW[HPUZ Ă„UK H SV[ LHZPLY ^OLU [OLYL HYL THU` WSH`LYZ [V JOVVZL from. All standards are catered for, whether you’re a county pro VY H ]PSSHNL Z[HS^HY[ -YPLUKS` HUK PUJS\ZP]L <UP]LYZP[` JYPJRL[ hosts some epic socials and organises an annual tour just after

L_HTZ SHZ[ `LHY ^L ^LU[ [V :[ 3\JPH :V PM JYPJRL[ PZ `V\Y passion and you are yet to exercise it, then get in touch either [OYV\NO V\Y (< WHNL VY QVPU 5<** VU -HJLIVVR Ă„UK out when training is and get yourself down!

James McAndrew IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/SPORT

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SPORT GREAT SPORTING RIVALRIES

LAKERS AND CELTICS There is nothing quite like it in American sport. Since the inception of the league in 1946, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have dominated the competition: winning 33 of the 63 championships between them. It is not only in terms of trophies that this rivalry can be measured; the fate and history of these two franchises has been entwined for as long as anyone can remember. No other rivalry has given us as many nail-biting, intensely fought clashes as basketball’s two superpowers have. Americans would immediately recognise the famous mantras of the rivalry, though ‘Beat LA!’ seems to lack the general wit of )YP[PZO VMMLUZP]L JOHU[Z (UK Ă„UHSS` UVUL IYPUN X\P[L [OL same level of hatred to the table as when the Lakers and Celtics collide because, quite simply, these two teams absolutely hate each other. So what exactly is it that makes this rivalry so special? ;OL *LS[PJZ 3HRLYZ YP]HSY` ^HZ IVYU PU [OL WLYPVK IL[^LLU 1959 and 1969. Here, these two sides met seven times in the -PUHSZ ^P[O )VZ[VU ^PUUPUN L]LY` ZPUNSL VUL VM [OLT ;OPZ ^HZ WHY[ VM H WLYPVK VM *LS[PJZ KVTPUH[PVU PU ^OPJO [OL` ^VU HU unprecedented 11 championships in 13 seasons. This was thanks to one of the greatest coaches of all time, Red Auerbach, and the most successful player of all time, Bill Russell. The Ă„YZ[ (MYPJHU (TLYPJHU WSH`LY [V HJOPL]L Z\WLYZ[HY Z[H[\Z PU [OL NBA, Russell willed his team on through a tenacious defence and his leadership on and off the court, despite frequent battles with racism. Indeed, such is his legendary reputation as a true JOHTWPVU [OH[ [OL -PUHSZ 4=7 (^HYK ^HZ UHTLK HM[LY OPT The 1970s was marred by low TV ratings and even lower attendances as people lost interest in what they thought was an ‘all-black league with a bunch of guys who did drugs.’ However, the 1980s saw the rebirth of the NBA thanks to the introduction of two iconic players and the renewal of this famous rivalry. Larry )PYK ^HZ KYHM[LK I` [OL *LS[PJZ PU ^P[O 4HNPJ 1VOUZVU taken as the 1st pick by the Lakers a year later. Both players were credited as revitalising the league as Johnson led a glitzy, glamorous “Showtimeâ€? Lakers which also contained Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the highest scoring player in NBA history. They contrasted greatly with the introverted, hardnosed style of )PYKÂťZ *LS[PJZ The match-up seemed scripted for television and, when [OL [LHTZ Ă„UHSS` TL[ PU [OL -PUHSZ (TLYPJHU PU[LYLZ[ had reached unprecedented levels. Not since the Russell*OHTILYSHPU TH[JO \W VM [OL Z OHK [OL JV\U[Y` [HRLU ZV much to a rivalry. The series began with the Lakers promising YL]LUNL [V WYL]PV\Z `LHYZ VM HNVU` I\[ VUJL HNHPU [OL *LS[PJZ came up trumps 4-2. The series included the classic ‘Heat’ .HTL ]PJ[VY` MVY [OL *LS[PJZ HZ [OL` JVU[YV]LYZPHSS` YLM\ZLK to air-condition their court. The series was also made famous for Boston’s Kevin McHale’s takedown of Kurt Rambis which triggered the start of what is still considered the most physical rivalry between two sides. This was continued the next year as 3 ( Ă„UHSS` JVUX\LYLK [OL VSK LULT` KLZWP[L SVZPUN .HTL PU ^OH[ ^HZ RUV^U HZ Âş;OL 4LTVYPHS +H` 4HZZHJYL Âť The Lakers then repeated the feat in 1987, winning again 4-2 in what became the last epic contest of the Magic-Bird era.

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ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

It was not until 2008 that NBA fans were treated to another *LS[PJZ 3HRLYZ JSHZO HZ IV[O [LHTZ LU[LYLK ^P[O UL^ JVUÄKLU[ [LHTZ ;OL *LS[PJZ OHK [OLPY º)PN  PU 2L]PU .HYUL[[ 9H` Allen and Paul Pierce who had united to make a push for that elusive ring that had eluded each of their stellar careers. The Lakers were able to call upon Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest and most divisive players of all time who is considered the closest thing possible to Michael Jordan. Along with the most successful coach of all time, Phil Jackson, the Lakers entered [OL -PUHSZ O\UNY` MVY UL^ Z\JJLZZ /V^L]LY [OL` JV\SK UV[ X\P[L TH[JO [OL WHZZPVU HUK PU[LUZP[` VM H *LS[PJZ ZPKL SLK I` 3( UH[P]L 7PLYJL ^OV SLK H Z\WLYI [LHT LMMVY[ HZ [OL *LS[PJZ won 4-2. However, once again, revenge came for the Lakers in 2010 as they defeated their bitter rivals 4-3 which featured H -PUHSZ 4=7 WLYMVYTHUJL MYVT )Y`HU[ ;OPZ ZLYPLZ ^HZ UV[LK for being, by far, the most popular match-up since Jordan’s retirement. >P[O [OL WSH`VMMZ HIV\[ [V ILNPU VUJL HNHPU HUK [OL *LS[PJZ leading the Lakers with 17 championships to 16, it is an open secret that NBA fans are hoping these two sides will lock horns again for a 13th time.

Joe Lobo

MUM’S THE

WORD

STUDENT PARENTING by Samantha Owen

M

aintaining a 2:1 in amongst the all-enveloping chaos of university can be very KPMĂ„J\S[ 5LNV[PH[PUN V\Y way through a lifestyle that requires us to balance sports training, a part-time job and society commitments - whilst Z[PSS Ă„UKPUN [PTL [V THRL V\Y IP ^LLRS` appearance on the town - leaves most of us exhausted, penniless, and permanently hung-over. But can you imagine having to wake up every morning at 6am to tend to a toddler? Having to skip lectures to pick up your chickenpox-ridden child from playschool? Trying to write your dissertation with a screaming baby demanding your attention? Or becoming a social hermit because all of your money gets spent on nappies, baby food and childcare? In 2008, the Guardian reported that 41,325 girls under the age of 18 had

images by Alix Blankson & Helen Miller

fallen pregnant in England and Wales. Information released recently by the 6MĂ„JL VM 5H[PVUHS :[H[PZ[PJZ Z[H[LZ [OH[ in 2009, 3,086 girls under the age of 18 fell pregnant in the East Midlands alone, with 495 conceptions in Nottinghamshire. +LZWP[L [OL YH[L VM [LLUHNL WYLNUHUJPLZ dropping slowly on a national level, these statistics highlight that there are still a lot of young people who are falling pregnant, be it by accident or design. It should therefore come as no surprise that the number of student parents is on the increase. More and more young mums are choosing to go into further and higher education once they have had children. But just how hard is it to juggle all the responsibilities of being a parent, at the same time as studying? And how KPMĂ„J\S[ PZ P[ [V WYV]PKL MVY H MHTPS` ^P[O little more than a student loan for Ă„UHUJPHS Z\WWVY[& In between c h a n g i n g nappies, doing the housework and stocking food cupboards, student parents ULLK [V Ă„UK [PTL to get to work on essays, reports and presentations. Time management is one of the hardest tasks

facing a student with children, with demands from both home and university requiring a lot of time, effort and dedication. After a hard day in Hallward, most of us are grateful to slouch in front of the television, indulge in whatever American sitcom is on E4 or head out for a few cocktails. But for a student parent, the real work starts when they get home. 0 ZWVRL [V Ă„UHS `LHY Z[\KLU[ .LTTH ^OV OHZ JOPSKYLU HNLK HUK [V SVVR M\Y[OLY into the travails facing student parenthood: “It’s really tricky. It’s hard to get a balanceâ€?, she explained, “You feel like you don’t spend enough time with your children because you’re too busy doing coursework, and it really does put a lot of pressure on.â€? Gemma attends lectures during the week, as well as maintaining a part time job. She continued, “I’m engaged and my partner works full time, and I work about 25 hours a week doing night shifts.â€? -VY TVZ[ Z[\KLU[ WHYLU[Z SPRL .LTTH [OL Ă„UHUJPHS Z[YHPU VM YHPZPUN children whilst studying makes life PUJYLKPIS` KPMĂ„J\S[ 0[ TLHUZ [HRPUN on part-time work, skimping on food and petrol and relying on family for OLSW ;OL UVYTHS Z[\KLU[ TH` Ă„UK themselves resorting to Sainsbury’s Basics when the overdraft runs short, but all too often that’s the result of one too many Jaeger-Bombs at Ocean, or an over indulgence at Topshop. Imagine barely having enough money to cover your rent and bills, or not having enough petrol to pick your children up from nursery. Or not even being able to afford childcare at HSS -VY [OL Z[\KLU[ parent, money never stretches far enough.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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:[\KLU[ -PUHUJL ,UNSHUK ZH`Z [OH[ [OL possibility is there to apply for extra help PM `V\ HYL H Z[\KLU[ WHYLU[ -\Y[OLYTVYL the direct.gov website states that ‘If you are a full-time student with children you TH` X\HSPM` MVY L_[YH Ă„UHUJPHS OLSW VU [VW VM [OL Z[HUKHYK Z[\KLU[ Ă„UHUJL WHJRHNLÂť (TVUNZ[ [OL OLSW VU VMMLY HYL *OPSKJHYL Grants, The Parents’ Learning Allowance HUK *OPSK ;H_ *YLKP[ <UMVY[\UH[LS` [OPZ L_[YH Ă„UHUJL VM[LU MHPSZ [V JV]LY HSS [OL expenses of raising a child, and isn’t always accessible to everybody. Abbey, a postgraduate on Sutton Bonington campus, talked about how upsetting it can be when struggling Ă„UHUJPHSS` :OL [VSK TL! ¸0 Q\Z[ ^PZO ^L didn’t have to scrimp and save all the time, and maybe I could take Oscar [her son] out to the zoo or something at the weekends, or be able to drive to work rather than wait on buses because we can’t afford petrol.â€? She added, “Having to rely on help from parents to buy Oscar clothes and milk sometimes makes us feel like we can’t afford to be parents!â€? With there being an obvious hardship for those trying to walk the precarious line between parenthood and student life, what help and aid is there available at our very own University of Nottingham? How is the university looking after this delicate group of students? I interviewed Sue Mellors, who has been the University of Nottingham’s *OPSKJHYL :LY]PJLZ 4HUHNLY ZPUJL She explained that the university offers a range of childcare services including the day nursery located near the sports facilities, the play centre on Science Road, a holiday club and a toy library. The services are tailored to staff and students who may need childcare intermittently throughout the week depending on schedules. Sue told me that “some [children] do mornings, some do full days, and some do certain days and not others.â€? The childcare services are also heavily subsidised for students, with student [HYPMMZ Z[HY[PUN MYVT ‰ H ^LLR MVY H JOPSK \UKLY JVTWHYLK [V [OL Z[HMM [HYPMM of ÂŁ200 a week. Students still need to qualify for the lowest rates, with those who are single parents or those with low household incomes automatically being given the subsidised student rate. Sue assured me that “no student will ever pay more than a staff member.â€?

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But what use are these facilities if students still lack access? The University openly admits that there is a long waiting

list for the day nursery, which means that many parents have to go private – a luxury many can hardly afford. Student T\T *HYVSPUL [VSK TL ¸4` KH\NO[LY has been on the waiting list for about six months, and the staff seem sure that she won’t get a place for a while as the list is very long.” She further commented that her experiences had left her wishing that the University had “a nursery system that is accessible to everyone rather than a privileged few.” Many student parents also called for childcare facilities to extend to Sutton Bonington campus. A large proportion of the student parents I interviewed claimed that a nursery on our satellite campus would help save time and money, with many parents having to skip lectures and ÄUPZO LHYS` [V NL[ IHJR [V <UP]LYZP[` 7HYR to pick children up on time. It is obviously a good thing that the current facilities exist, but it would appear that there are still many things that could be improved in order to help even more students. :V P[ PZ JSLHYS` X\P[L KPMÄJ\S[ [V IHSHUJL the hectic life of a parent and student, but what if you hadn’t planned on being a parent whilst at university? What would you do if you found out that you were pregnant? Would you know where to look for help? Verity has been studying at The University of Nottingham for 5 years, completing OLY <UKLYNYHK\H[L HUK 4HZ[LYZ +LNYLLZ ILMVYL Z[HY[PUN OLY 7O+ PU :LW[LTILY 2010. She found out she was pregnant Q\Z[ ^LLRZ HM[LY HJJLW[PUN OLY 7O+ VMMLY HUK OHZ MV\UK P[ KPMÄJ\S[ [V KLHS ^P[O [OL University since. “It was never a case VM º>PSS 0 KV [OL 7/+&» P[ ^HZ Q\Z[ º6R this is the situation, how am I going to deal with it?’” explained Verity. “The biggest problem I had was that there is no maternity clause for students. When I spoke to my supervisors to tell them I was pregnant I wanted to know what my position was, so I was really surprised that there wasn’t actually any policy for students.” Verity has been constantly battling with administration over how to deal with her maternity leave. The University asked her to sign off and suspend her studies, but Verity didn’t want to, nor could she afford to. She has since spent the last 6 months conducting a year’s worth of research in order to prove to her department that she doesn’t need the time off. “I told myself I ^HZ NVPUN [V OH]L HSS T` ÄYZ[ `LHY ^VYR ÄUPZOLK I` [OL TPKKSL VM -LIY\HY` HUK I have. I have worked my arse off,” said Verity. “I have proven to people I can still

jump through all of these admin hoops they want me to jump through.” It is disappointing then, that the University still do not to have a system in place for those students who do fall pregnant during their studies. While many would be happy to suspend their studies, it seems unfair that this is the only choice being offered. The Students’ Union champions the Easy Tiger campaign, but there is a question of how much support is offered when students actually become pregnant. Katie Mackay, the Students’ Union ,X\HS 6WWVY[\UP[PLZ HUK >LSMHYL 6MÄJLY admitted that the student handbook needs severely updating in regards to student pregnancies, and it was unclear as to exactly what help would be H]HPSHISL :OL L_WSHPULK [OH[ P[»Z KPMÄJ\S[ to cater for students who have children or who are pregnant, because unless they come looking for help there is no way of contacting them. Katie stated, “They are a hard to reach group. If we don’t know who they are then we can’t make special allowances for them.” 2H[PL HSVUN ^P[O 7VZ[NYHK\H[L 6MÄJLY Morgan Stankey, is campaigning for the university to register students with caring responsibilities in order to start making changes that can really help those who need it. Under current processes, students do not need to state whether they have any dependents when they apply for university or when they complete the university’s registration process, which means that student parents pass under the administration radar. As Katie L_WSHPULK ¸;OL ÄYZ[ Z[LW [V PTWYV]PUN things is to get them registered.” So, with student parents continuing [V IH[[SL ^P[O [OL [PTL HUK ÄUHUJPHS pressures at home and at university, it appears that little can be done to improve things until the number of students that do have caring responsibilities is monitored. An NUS report in 2008, titled ‘Meet the Parents’, called for just that, yet little change seems to have been made since. It would seem then, that the university and the Student’s Union have a basic infrastructure in place to try and help student parents, and the childcare facilities currently available are clearly of a high standard. However, a little more time, money and inclination could seriously improve the systems in place to reach students with caring responsibilities - ensuring that all of these students get as much help and support as possible.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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i-dosing M by Sarah Dawood

image by Kayleigh Green

P3 tracks that claim to mimic the effects of drugs by incorporating so-called ‘I-Dosing’ or brainwave technology are now being sold on the Internet. For those dosers who want to steer clear of drugs, there are also tracks that mimic emotive and meditative states, such as ‘Focus’, ‘Lucid Dreams’ and ‘Relaxation’. ;OL ZJPLU[PĂ„J [LYT MVY Z\JO [LJOUVSVN` PZ ‘binaural brainwave dosing’, the process by which listening to differing frequencies of auditory impulses promotes the creation of a ‘binaural beat’ in one’s mind, which in turn activates a cortical rhythm ^P[OPU [OL IYHPU +LWLUKPUN VU [OL

frequencies this can, allegedly, induce a state of relaxation, ultra-alertness or hallucination. The beats induced can be used as therapeutic painkillers, stressrelief and as a way to induce sleep. Or so ‘they’ say.

dose continued and the vacant sound of someone walking past my room made me jump and retreat to the light and dose-less realms of my housemate’s bedroom, before returning to reluctantly take the rest of my hit.

Being part of a generation obsessed with marketing and commercialism, one should expect that these medical purposes for binaural beat technology would be put to more interesting and YLJYLH[PVUHS \ZL +LZWP[L T` L_[YLTL cynicism, I was willing to give this 0 +VZPUN [OPUN H NV 6U KV^USVHKPUN [OL 0 +VZLY WYVNYHT MYVT [OL VMĂ„JPHS ^LIZP[L I was given a 35 minute binaural track named ‘Alcohol’. The track consisted of oscillating sound waves, a series of repetitive beeps and then a delightful array of white noise to conclude my hardcore, headphone-orientated prelash session. You are advised to sit comfortably, relax and close your eyes whilst listening to the track.

(M[LY JVTWSL[PUN [OL 0 +VZL 0 JLY[HPUS` did not feel drunk. I did, however, feel physically exhausted and tired for roughly 2 hours afterwards, as did most of the other people I tested this on. It is KPMĂ„J\S[ [V NH\NL ^OL[OLY [OPZ PZ PU MHJ[ some kind of binaural phenomenon, an intense case of the placebo effect or simply a result of incessant hoping for 35 minutes that these endless, droning noises would return to the inhuman abyss that they came from and leave my poor and abused brain alone.

The main downfall of this suggestion is [OH[ ^OPSZ[ 0 +VZPUN P[ PZ ULHY PTWVZZPISL to relax. Lying alone in a dark, isolated room, with exceptionally ethereal noises being hammered into your head does not initially strike me as pure meditative bliss, nor a desirable alternative to drinking and socialising with my friends. One person who I tested [OPZ 0 +VZL VU ZJYLHTLK halfway through “What Q\Z[ OHWWLULK& +PK something in the room just move?�, and was unable to complete it. On trying it myself, I too felt increasingly paranoid as the

It is likely that the effect you receive is linked with your state of mind and perhaps even the type of personality that you possess; if you enter the experience nervous and sceptical, it is unlikely to have a positive or substantial effect on your mind or body. With this craze currently circulating around the USA and Britain, it seems the key concern from NV]LYUTLU[ VMĂ„JPHSZ HUK WHYLU[Z HSPRL PZ not that young people will be taking part in this faux-drug-taking ritual, but that it will tempt them into experimenting with real drugs. Having lost my binaural beat virginity, I am not entirely convinced by this. What I see to be the most prevalent problem is the amount of money that is being wasted on it; the website sells ‘Recreational Simulations’ discs with a selection of 0 +VZLZ MVY ‰ ^OPSZ[ MVIIPUN ‘Binaural Beat Guides’ and ‘Binaural Brainwave Approved Headphones’ at LX\HSS` PUĂ…H[LK WYPJLZ (S[OV\NO 0 JHUUV[ JSHPT [OH[ 0 +VZPUN ^PSS be unsuccessful for everyone, I can say that it’s probably not worth your time. Similarly, it’s a bleak world we live in PM ^L OH]L [V W\YJOHZL HU 47 Ă„SL LU[P[SLK Âş;YHUX\PSÂť Âş*VUĂ„KLUJLÂť VY Âş*VU[LU[LKULZZÂť PU VYKLY [V feel some basic, fundamental human emotion. I know what tranquility feels like, and it’s not going to be transported into my brain via a laptop and a pair of headphones anytime soon.

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L

ea T has a Pocahantasian beauty about her: her dark thick hair framing ZVTL VM [OL Ă„ULZ[ JOLLRIVULZ `V\ÂťSS ever see. With her dark eyes, olive skin HUK M\SS SPWZ P[ KVLZUÂť[ ZLLT Ă„[[PUN [V describe her as simply ‘pretty’. Striking possibly? Stunning? The point is however, that Lea T is no average model. She is a transsexual. Originally named Leo, she was brought up in Brazil’s third largest city, Belo Horizonte. Her fashion career began when her friend, creative director of Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci, hired her as his behind-the-scenes model. But last year, she emerged from the backstage to the catwalk. With numerous photo shoots, magazine covers and now a debut at Brazil fashion week, her portfolio is bursting at the seams. On top of this, *HYPUL 9VP[Ă„LSK JVTTPZZPVULK OLY MVY H U\KL -YLUJO =VN\L WOV[V ZOVV[ PU ^OPJO Lea wraps one arm around her waist, and loosely holds her male genitalia with the other. As you can imagine, it is a memorable image. So by her transgenderism, we have established that Lea T is set apart from the SPRLZ VM 2H[L 4VZZ VY 5HVTP *HTWILSS But how real is this disparity? Individuals such as Lea T provoke discussion as to the disappearance of gender from society, and while I am not claiming [OH[ ^VTLU HUK TLU HYL [OL ZHTL [OH[ ^V\SK IL YPKPJ\SV\Z I\[ P[ T\Z[ IL HZRLK whether gender is as polarised as we like to imagine. Instead of man-to-man, woman-to-woman, man-to-woman, surely we should be communicating on a human-to-human level? In an era where racial discrimination is not tolerated, why can’t we eliminate the gender divide? I like to grow my head hair, I like to wear mascara, and I occasionally enjoy shaving my legs, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think men should do the same. Similarly, there is no reason why a woman should feel it necessary to carry out all [OL ILH\[PĂ„JH[PVU 0U T` VWPUPVU [OL

THE CHANGING FACE OF GENDER by Priyal Dadhania & Samantha Owen

ridicule of Gavin Henson for shaving his SLNZ ^HZ L_JLZZP]L ^P[O [OL ))* Z[H[PUN [OH[ OL ÂşOHYKS` Ă„[Z [OL Z[LYLV[`WL VM [OL hardened Welsh rugby star’. Whether he chose to wear a skirt, mascara or perfume, it would have no correlation to his talent as a rugby player. Androgyny is gripping the high street, straddling the divide between men and women, laughing in the face of KHUNLY HUK PUZ[LHK Ă…PY[PUN ^P[O ISHaLYZ waistcoats, skinny jeans and leather. The amalgamation between Topshop HUK ;VWTHU ;VW^V THU HU`VUL& has already begun. Even designers are seemingly embracing the freedom, with Marc Jacobs donning a female clothes range for fashion magazine Industrie. Of course, gender reassignment may be different to androgyny. “The choice [for a pre-surgery individual],â€? as Lea ; [VSK 0[HSPHU =HUP[` -HPY ¸PZ IL[^LLU being unhappy forever or trying to be happy.â€? And while it was Lea T’s individual decision to alter her gender,

perhaps we should all be embracing this ever-increasing blur between males and females. We’ve already ditched the social conventions that dictate that a woman’s place is in the kitchen and the man’s is at work. Women adjusted to wearing trousers quickly enough. The middle of this metaphorical gender Venn diagram is expanding, and the prospects are exciting. So join me in saying hurrah to Marc Jacobs, Lady Gaga, Lea T and all other innovators who are bravely marching towards a future of androgyny, where beauty and talent is celebrated from the inside, on its own merit and only P[Z YLĂ…LJ[PVU PZ ZOV^U VU [OL L_[LYPVY Women: wear your crotch low and make like Jessie J. And men? You tackled the skinny jean, now a consideration that Ă…VYHS WYPU[ PZ UV[OPUN [V IL HZOHTLK VM Perhaps, just perhaps, ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ will become the new dirty words of the decade.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

by Eleanor Porter

19

W

hether you’ve overdone it on alcohol during term time, overindulged at Christmas or snacked yourself into oblivion during the exam period, it’s fairly likely that you’ve come to the not-sosudden realisation that you’ve piled on a few pounds since last summer. Whilst some are content with their newfound cuddliness, some will be [Y`PUN [V ÄUK KYHZ[PJ ^H`Z [V NL[ IHJR into shape. Sitting in Hallward, one is likely to overhear endless moans and groans as people, particularly females, remark ‘I’m having a fat day’ or ‘I look like a heifer’. It would appear that weight fears are rife among us students. Issues of weight have traditionally been linked with females, with women increasingly idealising the image of the super-slim, size zero cover girl often peddled across the media. In June 2010,

the NHS reported 2579 cases of people being admitted to hospital suffering from an eating disorder, with young people aged 18 or under accounting for 882 of those. This doesn’t even begin to account for the number of people who are likely to have dealt with bouts of these diseases but have never ended in hospital admission. Additionally, the 9V`HS *VSSLNL VM 7Z`JOPH[YPZ[Z Z\NNLZ[ that girls and women are ten times more likely than boys and men to suffer from anorexia or bulimia. Ask yourself how many times you’ve looked at a spread of women’s magazines and not seen stories regarding weight VY SVVRPUN NVVK 3HZ[ TVU[O *SVZLY magazine shocked the public by telling the story of 62-stone Janey Mahoney, ‘the world’s fattest woman’, who aims to eat herself to 90 stone. Articles mocking fat people, along with more common pieces VU [OL Å\J[\H[PUN ^LPNO[ VM JLSLIYP[PLZ

make women constantly question their size and shape. Men’s magazines that display scantily clad woman create an ideal of what it means to be sexy and attractive to men. With the media perpetuating unrealistic ideals, women struggle to match the expectations that are being marketed, which can lead to some dangerous attempts at losing weight fast. The dangers of anorexia and bulimia have been well publicised in the last few years, by both the government, through schools and the NHS, and the media. Soaps such as Hollyoaks have aimed to illustrate how serious anorexia is and the detrimental nature of having such illnesses. These are extreme examples of how young people have attempted to lose weight, but with one in 100 women aged 15-30 suffering with anorexia every year, it certainly makes you question why some facets of the media are permitted

PURSUITof PERFECTION in

by PRIYAL DADHANIA images by ALIX BLANKSON 20

ISSUE 210 | MAY

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to propagate unrealistic size 0 images, rather than highlighting their danger. It is also becoming more and more common for men to question their ^LPNO[ -VY L]LY` THNHaPUL JV]LY that implies that women are only beautiful if they are skinny, there is another that suggests that men are only desirable if they have bulging muscles. Is bodybuilding for men what super-skinny is for women? A few years ago, a study I` [OL <UP]LYZP[` VM *VSVYHKV showed that in the US, one out VM Ă„]L TLU ^V\SK [YHKL [OYLL [V Ă„]L `LHYZ VM [OLPY SPML [V HJOPL]L their weight goals. When walking into our on-campus gym, the immediate distinction between male and female body ideals is obvious – more males tend to be found in the weights section, whilst female workouts centre on JHYKPV ]HZJ\SHY THJOPULZ -VY many men, supplements seem to be a ‘must have’ product for bulking up. And worryingly, more and more unregulated products are becoming readily available across the internet and in highstreet shops. Whey protein powder supplements are very popular amongst male students. Aside from aiding weight loss and encouraging muscular enhancement, protein supplements can help improve skin, hair and the immune system and are often quite rich in various essential nutrients. With the polished image of the ‘ideal’ male body put out by the media and the increase of photo uploads on social networking sites like -HJLIVVR ^OPJO TLHU PTHNLZ VM your body being available online 24/7, it’s easy to see the product’s appeal. But whey powder, just like any other dietary supplement, carries risks. The body can only handle a certain amount of protein, and so an abundance will cause serious problems to the kidneys as they struggle to break it all down. *YLH[PUL PZ HSZV \ZLK [V supplement the diet of men looking to increase their muscle mass – it occurs naturally within the body, but excessive consumption can cause serious ZPKL LMMLJ[Z *YLH[PUL JH\ZLZ water retention in muscle tissue, which is often misconceived as

an increase in muscle mass. What it actually means is that other muscle tissue is being deprived VM [OL Ă…\PK P[ ULLKZ [V M\UJ[PVU UVYTHSS` +PNLZ[P]L WYVISLTZ can also result from the use of creatine, ranging from vomiting or loss of appetite through to reduced liver function. And what’s more worrying is that when you eventually stop pumping your body with extra supplements, it will severely struggle to undertake even the simplest bodily functions. In extreme cases, men turn to steroids to help increase mass and lose fat faster. However, excessive longterm use of anabolic steroids can result in health problems, including destruction of the liver, infertility, impotency and changes in mood. Men are just as much under pressure to keep up appearances as women. In Ocean, as the Baywatch theme tune plays, it’s surprising to see that whilst many men do whip off their shirts and whirl it over their heads, many others shy away. Why is it then that they are unwilling to bare Ă…LZO& ;OL Y\NI` SHK VU [OLPY left with bulging biceps or the toned swimmer on their right is probably enough to make anyone ZLSM JVUZJPV\Z *HU HU` ZVY[ VM preoccupation with the body be healthy? A turning point in discourse on female body image was marked in June 2009 when Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, voiced concerns in an angry letter to designers, claiming that the size of the clothing that they supply forces them to use models with ‘jutting bones’ and ‘no breasts or hips’. With a massive student population on campus, it is hardly surprising that both men and women are constantly comparing themselves to others. These unachievable ideals that are continually exploited in the media mean that body image is no longer just a female-orientated problem; men are just as likely to alter their diet and lifestyle dangerously in W\YZ\P[ VM WLYMLJ[PVU *VTIPULK with the pressures of competing with the many beautiful people often seen sauntering around University Park, it’s enough to make anyone body conscious.

S

tephanie oh

Impact Columnist

Haters Gonna Hate (SVUNZPKL +HPY`SLH ;YPHUNSLZ JHY[VUZ VM <T )VUNV HUK ;VT HUK 1LYY` MHPY` JHRLZ -YVZ[PLZ OH]L SHYNLS` fallen out of my day-to-day diet. Unfortunately, this is in part down to the fact that marketing characters, such as the absolute legend that is Tony the Tiger, just don’t do it for me anymore. It is also perhaps K\L [V JH[JOPUN ^PUK VM ZVTL +HPS` 4HPS OLHKSPUL proclaiming that the high sugar content in a bowl of -YVZ[PLZ THRLZ P[ HIV\[ HZ OLHS[O` HZ ZH` Âş+VPUN H 3PUL VM *VRL MVY )YLHRMHZ[Âť 0[ TPNO[ HJ[\HSS` OH]L ILLU Âş+YPURPUN H *HU VM *VRLÂť 7SLHZL MLLS MYLL [V WPJR the headline you feel the Mail is most likely to have Y\U ^P[O )\[ T` KLJPZPVU UV[ [V VW[ MVY H IV^S VM sugar encrusted cereal might now be made on ethical NYV\UKZ )LJH\ZL -YVZ[PLZ Y\PUZ SP]LZ The life in question is that of a South African teenager called Sven, who for his own safety can only be known W\ISPJS` I` OPZ Ă„YZ[ UHTL 0M `V\ OH]LUÂť[ `L[ [^PNNLK who I’m referring to, I would like to point out that so LU[O\ZLK PZ :]LU I` -YVZ[PLZ [OH[ OL OHZ ILLU RUV^U to take to the streets, wildly attesting the merits of his preferred breakfast option. In other words: “They’re gonna taste greatâ€?. Yes, Sven is otherwise known as -YVZ[PLZ 2PK [OL Z[HY VM [OVZL YH[OLY PYYP[H[PUN HK]LY[Z Who would have known that an over-animated zest for cereal could have aroused the kind of rage usually reserved for mass murderers or disgraced members of the Big Brother house? Released in 2006, the ads promptly inspired a nationwide campaign of hate, with characteristically reactionary internet users threatening to kill, torture, and maim poor Sven. And whilst on the subject of hate and cereal – two concepts which apparently go hand in hand more often than I had previously thought – let us now [\YU [V H TVYL JVU[LTWVYHY` Ă„N\YL VM OH[L ^OVZL early morning priorities means that she has simply “gotta have my bowl, gotta have cerealâ€?. Indeed the sentiment rings true for many, but only Rebecca Black dared to enshrine it in song. The sheer inanity of such lyrics, alongside a vapid tween-pop image and ropey production values have managed to provoke an international shit-storm of outrage that has been splattering all over Black’s wholesome American face L]LY ZPUJL Âş-YPKH`Âť ^LU[ ]PYHS A wise philosopher once pronounced “Haters gonna hateâ€?. But before we start calling out for the HZZHZZPUH[PVU VM -YVZ[PLZ 2PK 9LILJJH )SHJR 1\Z[PU Bieber, et al, it would perhaps be a good idea to recognise that such hatred is perhaps not quite HZ Q\Z[PĂ„LK HZ P[ TPNO[ IL PM KPYLJ[LK [V^HYKZ [OL Hitlers, Maos, and Stalins of the world. Whilst it is OK to express our irritation at auto-tuned teenagers who prance about singing soulless bollocks, on the ^OVSL P[ PZ WYVIHIS` ILZ[ UV[ [V M\LS [OL Ă„YL HUK PUJP[L unwarranted hate crimes. After all, we ought to leave [OH[ [V [OL +HPS` 4HPS

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

21

radical alte change, me transformat innovation, the reorganizat Age restructurin Revolution shake-up, s O

n 17th December 2010, in the small rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, a street vendor named Mohamed )V\HaPaP ZL[ ÄYL [V OPTZLSM 0[ ^HZ HU HJ[ VM KLÄHUJL HUK KLZWHPY H[ OPZ poverty, his government’s corruption, his humiliation at the hands of the municipal police, and was to become the catalyst for what is already being referred to as the Arab Revolution. After generations of oppressive and autocratic governments in the Middle East and beyond, and years of apathy and helpless cynicism at the Recession and incompetent governments in the >LZ[ ^L HYL ÄUHSS` LU[LYPUN H UL^ era: an age of revolution.

After Bouazizi’s act, protests erupted all over Tunisia, and after weeks of unrest and pressure, President Zine El Abidine )LU (SP ÅLK [OL JV\U[Y` ^P[O OPZ MHTPS` on 14th January 2011 after 23 years in power. Tunisians rejoiced and the world was stunned: the people had fought the government, and the people had won. Elsewhere in North Africa, other nations under despotic governments were stirred and inspired, while the despots themselves shifted warily in their thrones. In Egypt, dissent was growing at the President of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak, as

well as at the high rate of unemployment, lack of freedom of speech, corruption, PUĂ…H[PVU WVSPJL IY\[HSP[` HUK JV\U[SLZZ other social and political problems. 7YV[LZ[Z VYNHUPZLK [OYV\NO -HJLIVVR and Twitter snowballed into revolts, and VU [O -LIY\HY` 4\IHYHR VMĂ„JPHSS` stepped down.

Suddenly, in a matter of weeks, the Arab world was ablaze with revolution and P[Z WLVWSL ^LYL ÄNO[PUN MVY KLTVJYHJ` World leaders, media organisations and ordinary people from all four corners of the globe watched on in wonder at the progression of events that unfolded daily. The people’s revolution spread almost virally, from Jordan, whose King Abdullah II has sworn in a new cabinet and replaced his prime minister after violent JSHZOLZ IL[^LLU WYV[LZ[LYZ VU [O -LI to Yemen, whose President of 32 years, Ali Abdullah Saleh, announced on 2nd -LIY\HY` [OH[ OL ^V\SK UV[ ZLLR HUV[OLY [LYT PU VMÄJL HM[LY ]PVSLU[ WYV[LZ[Z HUK many deaths. There have also been protests in countries right across the Middle East and North Africa including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Oman, Bahrain and Algeria, and there is no indication of when they will abate. 3PI`HZ JVUÅPJ[ OHZ ZV MHY ILLU [OL TVZ[

OF

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bloody because its infamous dictator, *VS .HKKHĂ„ YLM\ZLZ [V Z[LW KV^U despite international pressure to do ZV ZH`PUN [OH[ OL ^PSS ¸Ă„NO[ [V [OL SHZ[ man and womanâ€?. Within a month of the start of Libyan protests, there were over a thousand dead and countless PUQ\YLK Âś .HKKHĂ„ OHZ \ZLK [YVVWZ [HURZ bombs and even air strikes on his own people. Whatever the outcome of the Libya Revolt, however, the people have HJOPL]LK [OL \UHJOPL]HISL +Y (KHT Morton, from the University’s School of Politics and International Relations, notes that “the so-called ‘state of the masses’ – or al-Jamahiriya, as Libya has ILLU L\SVNPZ[PJHSS` [LYTLK \UKLY *VSVULS .HKKHĂ„ÂťZ Y\SL Âś PZ UV^ HM[LY `LHYZ experiencing a social uprising by the Libyan people over whom the state once ruled with no regard for human rightsâ€?. The Arab Revolts are clearly historical, but how have they been so successful, and why have they arisen now? All of the aforementioned country’s rulers, regardless of their individual political ideologies, are inherently corrupt. These leaders are all harming their citizens in various ways and in varying degrees: through economic greed, lack of free speech in the heavy censuring of media, or through violence and torture such as the ‘barrier of fear’ in Libya. This ‘barrier of fear’ is what the Arabic despots relied on for so long to keep their people in check: if the public are scared, then they will never collectively be able to rise up against oppression. The ignorance of the public also plays a critical role in a despot’s power, which is controlled [OYV\NO PUZ\MĂ„JPLU[ LK\JH[PVU H Z[H[L run media and minimal contact with the rest of the world. The reason why the revolutions are occurring now is because of the seismic shift in the demographics of the Arab world which has completely transformed both the barrier of fear and national ignorance.

;OL (YHI /\THU +L]LSVWTLU[ 9LWVY[ VM H <5 WYVQLJ[ YLWVY[Z [OH[ V\[ VM [OL 360 million Arabs in the world, the median

by Sian Boyle

eration, sea etamorphos ation, , tion, ng; informa shakedown. age is 22, nearly 60% live in urban areas and 65m Arabs live below the poverty line \UKLY HUK PUJS\KPUN H KH` /V^L]LY the literacy rate in the majority of the countries experiencing unrest is in the 7090% bracket, with some countries, such as Jordan, boasting a 92% literacy rating. What we have here then is a generation of people across the North Africa and Middle East region who are young, urbanised, poor and, most importantly, intelligent. And as their despots grow older and richer, this ticking time bomb of revolution seems somewhat inevitable. Obviously, in the UK, thanks to the democratic society in which we live, we don’t have the need to oust entire governments through marches and revolutions. However, it could be said that the 2010 student protests against the tuition-fee rise was revolutionary because it marked an end to student apathy and a new era of activism. On the 10th November 2010, 50,000 people marched through London, the largest student demonstration since 1998, and marked the beginning of a series of protests, rallies and occupations held in various locations around the country. Throughout Europe there has been growing dissent and protests about

government austerity measures, especially in countries such as Ireland, )LSNP\T [OL *aLJO 9LW\ISPJ 7VY[\NHS HUK UV[VYPV\ZS` -YHUJL ^OLYL [OL JV\U[Y` ground to a halt after a series of strikes and protests about pension reform. Just as Tunisia’s revolution had a domino effect throughout its region, in Europe, various nationalities are emulating one another in protesting for change.

None of the recent protests would have occurred had it not been for the very real and literal technological revolution of the past two decades. Among others, the Egyptian, Tunisian and British student WYV[LZ[Z ^LYL HSS VYNHUPZLK VU -HJLIVVR and other social networking sites, and the internet has been said by some to ‘revolutionised the revolution’. Social media has made the organisation and mobilisation of large groups of people PUĂ„UP[LS` LHZPLY [OHU PU [OL WYL PU[LYUL[ era, and real-time media such as Twitter sustains momentum and media attention. This new technological revolution has already seen power shift from conventional authorities to individual people who possess technological knowledge – the most relevant example being the Wikileaks’ exposure of the U.S. government cables.

+VLZ WYV[LZ[PUN ^VYR& 6I]PV\ZS` [OL answers vary. Here in the UK, politicians did not meet the demands of the tuitionMLL YPZL VWWVZP[PVU VM ^OPJO Z[\KLU[Z HYL IP[[LYS` H^HYL I\[ Z[PSS WYV[LZ[LYZ took the opportunity exercising their freedom of speech and express discontent. Ultimately, a once-apathetic HUK KPZLUJOHU[LK NLULYH[PVU OHZ Ă„UHSS` found its voice. And in the Middle East and North Africa, the protests have led to landmark revolutions and a new era of democracy.

We are in an unprecedented age where, MVY [OL ÄYZ[ [PTL [OL ºSP[[SL N\`Z JHU [HRL the power – whether it’s a few internet whizzes debilitating a whole government, students putting immense pressure on their leaders for political reform, or citizens of whole nations breaking a long-imposed barrier of fear. The underdogs are striking V\[ HUK PU WSHJLZ +H]PK PZ [Y\TWPUN Goliath. This age of revolution is a result of a new, globalised, technologically savvy generation of people - people who care about the world in which they live and believe they can change it.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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Lovejoy, Josh Fraser, On The Prowl by Stephen Justine Gold & Lois Field

Images by Stephen Lovejoy & Frances Kirk

ATTENTION! Are you a dashing young hound, but somehow unable to catch a foxy feline? Or are you a black widow who can’t draw in any males to sink your teeth into? Getting screwed over rather than screwed? LOOK NO FURTHER! Here at Impact we’ve been investigating the intriguing art of seduction, and we have compiled the

ONLY LIST YOU’LL EVER NEED!* (Note: All advice gathered from self-certified ladies-men and temptresses. However, Impact cannot be held responsible for any physical and/or mental abuse suffered as the result of following the advice on these pages.)

Captivating Queen STEP 1: Grooming All men are shallow. They don’t care for personality, only appearance. Therefore take some solid advice from Matilda’s mother and “choose looks over books�. This is particularly important before a night out – regardless of current course workload, a minimum of 3 hours should be spent on appearance. Make sure that you achieve the right balance between whorish HUK MYPNPK IVVIZ ZOV\SK YLHJO M\SS JSLH]HNL WV[LU[PHS REMEMBER: To emphasise your ‘natural beauty’, the following are essential: moisturiser, foundation, powder, bronzer, blusher, concealer, highlighter, eyeliner, mascara, lip liner, lipstick and maybe some fake eyelashes too.

TIGER: ( JVUÄKLU[ HUK Z\JJLZZM\S O\U[LY OPZ WYLMLYYLK NYV\UKZ HYL [OL bar, smoking area or taxi queue. Provided he’s fully matured, he will engage you with witty repartee.

STEP 3: The allure Once you become aware of the presence of an appealing mate, discreetly enlist one of the females in your pack to assist you in garnering his attention. Her role is to laugh at your jokes and create the aura that you are the life and soul of the party. Orientate her carefully, so that the male is visible just over her shoulder, allowing you to casually initiate eye contact. Here you utilise your well-practiced sex-eyes, unless he seems particularly timid – in which case deer-in-the-headlight-eyes are more appropriate. After 5–10 minutes of eye-foreplay, the male will approach. Act completely surprised.

STEP 2: Surveillance of grounds STEP 4: Ensnare There are three dominant male species found within night-clubs:

BABOON: Pretty easy to distinguish, you will feel this rampant grinder pressed up against your back before you even see his face. A disapproving look will not faze this aggressively physical predator; instead you will need to ricochet his attention onto another female.

VULTURE:

SUCCESS!

Working in a group, these scavengers will circle your party hoping to pick off one of the weaker members, or wait until alcohol abuse has lowered your inhibitions to the point where you’re willing to be his leftovers.

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ISSUE 210 | MAY

In order to retain the male’s interest, you must appear as uncaring and nonchalant as possible. He must remain completely ignorant of all the planning and preparation undertaken. When `V\Y U\TILY PZ ÄUHSS` YLX\LZ[LK ZLLT UVU WLYWSL_LK HUK ^HP[ H[ SLHZ[ ZLJVUKZ ILMVYL HMÄYTPUN ^P[O TH_PT\T OLZP[H[PVU HSS ^OPSZ[ Z\Z[HPUPUN ZTPSL WV\[ HUK ILKYVVT L`LZ -PUHSS` SLHU PU for a lingering cheek-peck that is dangerously close to his lips, before strutting away from him with maximised bum-swagger and without looking back. NOTE: Effect is ruined if there is loorool attached to your heel.

2011

You should receive text from him the next day and after waiting a minimum of 30 minutes and replying, you’re on an easy path to plenty of satisfying sexual relations, happy marriage and adorable babies.

Master of the Hunt STEP 1: Know thy enemy

STEP 3: The hunt

All women are cruel. Every man in the world has been screwed V]LY JOLH[LK VU VY PUZ\S[LK [V OPZ MHJL UV SLZZ I` ^VTLU H[ SLHZ[ VUJL PU OPZ SPML -HJ[ ;OPZ [OLYLMVYL THRLZ P[ WLYMLJ[S` acceptable to, in turn, rectify the gendered imbalance of justice by sleeping with as many women as possible. There are three types of women in this world:

As soon as you see a girl you like, you should be talking to OLY PU H[ SLHZ[ ZLJVUKZ ,]LU PM ZOLÂťZ VU [OL V[OLY ZPKL VM [OL KHUJL Ă…VVY +HZO V]LY [OLYL HUK ZOLÂťSS IL PTWYLZZLK I` `V\Y JVUĂ„KLUJL HUK KLJPZP]LULZZ HUK ^PSS WH[PLU[S` ^HP[ MVY `V\ [V regain your breath.

COW: There are plenty of these less-than-graceful available creatures. They throw themselves around, are willing to be led along by even the worst hunters and are not too impressive a catch.

DEER: These gorgeous creatures are both beautiful and graceful. /V^L]LY [OL` HYL ]LY` X\PJR HUK T\Z[ IL Ă„YZ[ LU[PJLK ^P[O IHP[ before one can succeed in a catch.

MOOSE: 5V[ [VV KPZ[PUJ[ MYVT KLLY I\[ [OL` OH]L OVYUZ HUK HYL [V[HS IP[JOLZ

STEP 2: Take to arms -PYZ[S` ILJVTL YLSH_LK HUK JVUÄKLU[ ,]LY` NPYS PZ Q\KNPUN `V\ on your value, thus you must be well aware of your own worth UV WYLZZ\YL )L ZLSM JVUÄKLU[ ]LYNPUN VU ZSPNO[S` HYYVNHU[ -VY [PWZ ^H[JO [OL PUMHTV\Z 6SK :WPJL HK]LY[Z 56;,! KV UV[ YLZVY[ [V HSJVOVS [V HJOPL]L [OPZ Z[H[L VM JVUÄKLU[ YLSH_H[PVU Apparently, for some reason, intelligent and beautiful women HYL UV[ PU[LYLZ[LK PU Z[\TISPUN ZTLSS` KY\URHYKZ ^P[O ÅLJRZ VM vomit on their shirt. Next, enlist a wingman from your pack-brothers. It must be someone loyal, whom you know won’t try and snatch your target. If you have no loyal friends, just choose the ugliest. By comparison, he’ll make you look more attractive. The aim of the wingman is to give the appearance that you’re just coolly hanging out with a mate, preventing any prey from cottoning on to your true motives.

Once conversation has begun, remember to actually listen to ^OH[ ZOLÂťZ ZH`PUN VY H[ SLHZ[ WYL[LUK [V SPZ[LU Âś UVKKPUN HUK THRPUN HMĂ„YTH[P]L UVPZLZ NP]LZ HU PSS\ZPVU VM HJ[\HS SPZ[LUPUN Build her comfort with you by touching her every now and then PU ZVJPHSS` HJJLW[HISL WSHJLZ Z\JO HZ [OL ZOV\SKLY *VUZ[HU[S` put her down and make her feel self-conscious, but in a halfjoking way so that she doesn’t think you’re a dick. A classic line is: “Aww, your nose wiggles when you talk, it’s really cuteâ€?. The more insecure she feels, the likelier it is that she’ll sleep with you. NOTE: When in conversation women prefer men to look at their eyes rather than their breasts.

STEP 4: The finish If things are going well and you’re think you’re ‘well in’, perhaps [HRL [OPUNZ [V [OL UL_[ SL]LS 0M `V\ ^HU[ [V RPZZ OLY HZR! ¸+V you want to kiss me?â€? If she says yes, proceed to the kissing. If she says no, to protect your honour, pretend that you were never really interested in her, and make a sharp remark about how her breath smells terrible anyway. The other surrounding women will be impressed by your nonchalance and quick wit. /V^L]LY PM `V\ ^HU[ [V OH]L ZL_ KVUÂť[ HZR! ¸+V `V\ ^HU[ [V have sex with me?â€? Instead fashion a crafty excuse for her [V JVTL IHJR [V `V\YZ -VY L_HTWSL HZR PM ZOL ^V\SK SPRL [V PUK\SNL PU H NHTL VM *S\LKV VY ^H[JO H YLHSS` M\UU` ]PKLV VU @V\[\IL +YVWWPUN OLY VMM H[ OVTL HUK WSLHKPUN [V \ZL [OL [VPSL[ occasionally achieves success too. It’s the gentleman’s way.

SUCCESS!

+VUÂť[ MVYNL[ [V [L_[ HSS `V\Y MYPLUKZ HM[LY [OL UPNO[ VM WHZZPVU [V regale them with details of the glorious hunt.

* Not 100% guaranteed. Only applies to lists of seduction techniques, other lists (for example, shopping lists, travel itineraries etc) are not included in this claim. Impact cannot be held responsible if reader requires other lists of seduction techniques.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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Past and Present

IMPACT INTERVIEWS TWO CABINET MINISTERS

S

ince last issue, Impact has been fortunate enough to interview former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and current Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. With Smith admitting that she might UL]LY YLJV]LY MYVT [OL Ă„HZJV PU which she claimed two pornographic Ă„STZ W\YJOHZLK I` OLY O\ZIHUK VU expenses, and Clarke talking of his “surpriseâ€? at the continued survival of the coalition, there was certainly much to discuss. Clarke was visiting the University as part of the School of Politics guest speaker series, and Smith’s visit was a joint venture between the School of Politics and the Students’ Union ‘Forum’, which had previously welcomed speakers such as Sky News’ Jeff Randall and ViceChancellor David Greenaway. There is certainly some common ground between them; both are very sceptical of [OL 3PILYHS +LTVJYH[ZÂť M\[\YL WYVZWLJ[Z! “It’s the end of the line for the Liberal +LTVJYH[Zš ZHPK :TP[O ¸I\[ 0 KVUÂť[ think they had any alternative but to go into [coalition]‌ people like Vince *HISL OH]L HSTVZ[ ILLU JY\ZOLK I` government. Arguably they should have not conceded what they did on higher education, because that’s toxic, for Nick *SLNN PU WHY[PJ\SHY š :PTPSHYS` *SHYRL argued that “it’s inescapable that the bulk of the present coalition’s policies HYL *VUZLY]H[P]L [OL SLHKPUN Ă„N\YLZ HYL *VUZLY]H[P]L HWHY[ MYVT 5PJR HUK they have taken on board an essentially *VUZLY]H[P]L HNLUKH PU X\P[L H SV[ VM policy areas.â€? /L HKKLK [OH[ [OL 3PILYHS +LTVJYH[Z needed to prove that they were a party capable of governing, as “they have hitherto been a party purely of protest, their main appeal has been to whichever bigger party’s supporters are most discontented at any given time.â€? That said, Ken still isn’t too happy that European politics are still not on the agenda for the foreseeable future, suggesting that the three major parties have “colludedâ€? in keeping the EU off the table. He is almost certainly the most famous Europhile in a broadly Eurosceptic party, a factor which he believes was crucial in preventing him from becoming the leader of the party

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ISSUE 210 | MAY

2011

in all three leadership contests he has entered. “Had my views on Europe not been so notorious, I can’t believe I would have lost all three,â€? he claimed, “indeed I don’t think I would have lost any of them!â€? As for Jacqui Smith, perhaps one of the most prominent battles of her tenure as Home Secretary was over the length of time which terror suspects could be held for without being charged for a crime. Smith succeeded in passing 42-days [OYV\NO [OL /V\ZL VM *VTTVUZ [OPZ SPTP[ ^HZ SH[LY KYVWWLK HUK X\LZ[PVUZ were raised as to the potential damage this could do to civil liberties. “Because of the nature of the threat – mass casualties, no warning – these will likely be plots which are hopefully interrupted before they come to fruitionâ€?, she said. By trying to prevent such a large-scale catastrophe before it happened, she said, it was inevitable that less evidence would be acquired before an arrest than would normally be the case. This is certainly not compatible with )LUQHTPU -YHURSPUÂťZ MHTV\Z X\V[L VU ZHJYPĂ„JPUN SPILY[` PU VYKLY [V NHPU security but then, according to Smith, “In opposition it’s easy to talk in generalities and broad principles. When you’re faced with both the responsibility of protecting people and a detailed understanding about the potential nature of some of the plots that you might be dealing with, you change your view.â€? Smith is also a well-known campaigner on the issue of women in politics, having entered Parliament on an all-women ZOVY[SPZ[ HUK ILPUN JOVZLU [V IL [OL Ă„YZ[ female Home Secretary. “Not enoughâ€? has been done, she says, to involve women in Westminster. Women make up V\[ VM L]LY` 47Z HUK [OPZ Ă„N\YL PZ not high enough for the former MP for Redditch. “I don’t want to see a team that only has half the population in itâ€?, she said, adding, “To have a political elite that looks very different from what my street or workplace looks like is a bad thing.â€? :TP[O ^HZ [OL OPNOLZ[ WYVĂ„SL 3HIV\Y casualty of the 2010 election, with many putting her defeat down to the expenses Ă„HZJV ^OPJO OHZ ZLLU MVYTLY 47Z PU prison for illegal claims. Not so, says

Smith: “My swing was large, but others – with no expenses scandals around them – had larger.� That said, “In all my time I had the most marginal seat in the cabinet, so I was always going to lose. If I had kept my seat it would have been a miracle.� For more of both interviews, including questions on Jacqui’s run-in with the world of pornography and more of Ken’s views on the Liberal Democrats, search for ‘Jacqui Smith’ and ‘Kenneth Clarke’ on www.impactnottingham.com.

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heir number appears higher on your ‘frequently dialled’ list than your boyfriend’s, you’ve spent more on them in the last three years than you have food, you’ve cursed them when they’re late, serenaded [OLT ^OLU `V\ÂťYL TLYY` HUK JVUĂ„KLK in them your entire, tragic, relationship history on the way home from Ocean. Yep, to the average student, your taxi KYP]LY PZ VM MHY NYLH[LY PTWVY[HUJL HUK ]HZ[S` TVYL \ZL [OHU `V\Y ILZ[ MYPLUK But recently it seems as though the taxi driver’s worst nightmare has become something far more sinister than the occasional chunder in the back seat. Violent attacks on taxi drivers have been hitting the Nottingham headlines extremely often in the last year, begging the question: is this an increasing trend?

In July of last year, two men threatened a taxi driver in Hyson Green, demanding money and his car keys. In +LJLTILY HUV[OLY KYP]LY ^HZ Z[HIILK and robbed by a group of men in St. Ann’s. The Nottingham newspapers are littered with reports of drunken ÄNO[Z HUK [OYLH[LUPUN ILOH]PV\Y towards drivers - and these are only the ones that make the papers. Arguments and refusals to pay the fare must be a regular occurrence in a driver’s working day. More sinister than this, there have been several incidents over the past few years where taxi drivers have been targeted specially, being forced to drive to obscure locations before being robbed or, in an extreme case from September 2009, murdered. In reference to an attack on a taxi

KYP]LY SHZ[ `LHY 7L[LY 1V`JL 8* commented, “Taxi drivers are particularly vulnerable.� This is easily understandable; a profession involving driving alone late at night, travelling to every corner of the city with complete strangers, of whom a high percentage will have been drinking, can hardly be described as risk-free.

IMAGE BY HELEN MILLER

BY JENNIFER NEWBOLD

TAKEN FOR A RIDE

In response to the mounting numbers of attacks, many city companies have put more security measures in place for their drivers. The government advises use of a GPS system, and some cars have a silent panic button drivers can WYLZZ PU HU LTLYNLUJ` +. JHYZ HYL H company especially concerned with safety measures. A spokesperson told Impact that all drivers are advised that they do not need to wear a seatbelt as it can be used against them by the passenger and prevent them getting out of the car quickly in an emergency. The risks of this therefore clearly outweigh the risks of being injured in a crash, which is rather worrying. They OH]L HSZV PUZ[HSSLK **;= Z`Z[LTZ" HSS JHYZ OH]L JVUZ[HU[ **;= ^OPJO JHU only be viewed by the police after an incident – they seem to be the only company in Nottingham that employs this system. ;OL PKLH VM ILPUN JVU[PU\V\ZS` ÄSTLK in the back of a cab holds the element of invasion of privacy, but chatting to students around campus, for the most part I received the opposite response. People seem to like the idea VM PTWSLTLU[PUN **;= 6UL Z[\KLU[ I spoke to explained that she would never take a cab alone late at night, but if she knew both she and the driver ^LYL VU ÄST ZOL ^V\SK MLLS T\JO ZHMLY We all know the rules about safety when taking a cab home, and these HYL KLÄUP[LS` NYV\UKLK PU JVTTVU sense, as there is also a steady stream of stories about violence towards passengers in the news. But as vulnerable as a solitary passenger may be in a taxicab, the driver is equally exposed. In view of the consistent abuse and violence towards drivers, companies often have tighter security measures than we are aware of, and P[ ^V\SKU[ IL Z\YWYPZPUN PM TVYL ÄYTZ ILNPU [V PUZ[HSS **;= JHTLYHZ PU [OLPY cabs. Given that we couldn’t cope without them, next time you’re on your merry way to a night out, try not to be the passenger from hell. And if do happen to pick a car with a camera in, you may want to watch what you’re getting up to in the back seat‌

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

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Grow Up 15 A 148

Don’t Bother Go Home A 148

4 4

Home Straight

GROWING UP TOO SOON, OR NOT AT ALL? by Lucy Kenderdine

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he media is often full of news articles and comment pieces surrounding the issue of children growing up too fast in modern society, losing their innocence and youth in an attempt to mature before they really should. However with the recent economic downturn, changing parenting styles and the increasing draw of home comforts JVTWHYLK [V NYV[[` Ă…H[ ZOHYPUN ^P[O MYPLUKZ P[ HWWLHYZ [OH[ we are experiencing a rise in the number of ‘boomerang children’. Many ‘adults’ are now returning to the parental nest after university or a failed attempt at living in the ‘adult world’ alone. It may be that society is not forcing us to grow up too soon, but rather not allowing us to grow up at all. This is not to say that the old argument of teenagers, in particular young girls attempting to emulate their adult counterparts too early in life, has gone away. Parents often remember far more innocent past times than reading sex advice columns in magazines or practicing their Britain’s Next Top Model pose in the mirror as many girls appear to do now. Pictures of young women wearing thick layers VM THRL \W HUK SP[[SL JSV[OPUN Ă„SS WHNLZ VM THNHaPULZ alongside statistics of underage pregnancy, drug use and apathy in an attempt to show how our society has forced these girls to enter adulthood early.

28

Shows such as Skins and Gossip Girl are blamed for the glamorisation of sex and drugs, targeting teenagers rather than adults old enough to understand the serious emotional implications behind the shows’ exciting and often dangerous issues. Skins has even been labeled ‘the most dangerous children’s television show ever’ by the 7HYLU[Z ;LSL]PZPVU *V\UJPS HM[LY [OL <: WYLTPLY LHYSPLY PU the year. So TV is seen to promote underage sex, as are L_WSPJP[ S`YPJZ PU WVW\SHY ZVUNZ 9POHUUHÂťZ Âş: 4Âť PZ [OL latest song to exploit adult themes and has therefore had a similar response with 11 countries banning the song from HPYWSH` V\Y V^U 9HKPV 6UL ^V\SK H[ Ă„YZ[ UV[ WSH` [OL ZVUN

ISSUE 210 | MAY

2011

ILMVYL WT VU HJJV\U[ VM ILPUN \UZ\P[HISL MVY [OL [LLU H\KPLUJLZ (SS [OLZL TLKPH PUĂ…\LUJLZ OH]L ILLU ISHTLK for the willingness of teenagers to experiment with the adult content they see everyday. So whilst the media is apparently forcing us to grow up too soon, the rest of society, in particular the way our parents raise us, is arguably not helping us to grow up at all. The recent rise in this ‘boomeranging’ trend has been blamed on the economic crisis of recent years, with high unemployment leaving many forced to return to the family unit. It has been further suggested that once in their family OVTL HK\S[Z ÂşYLNYLZZÂť [V JOPSKOVVK \U^PSSPUN VY \UHISL to do basic household tasks such as cooking, cleaning or IHSHUJPUN H I\KNL[ -\Y[OLY L]PKLUJL WVPU[Z [V [OL HYN\TLU[ that many were simply not taught these skills as a child, as WHYLU[Z WSHJL TVYL LTWOHZPZ VU HJHKLTPJ X\HSPĂ„JH[PVUZ rather than simple survival skills – in a recent survey by GfK National Opinion Polls, one in ten men admitted that they do not know how to boil an egg. So where does this leave us? We’ve come a long way since children were expected to undertake manual work and get THYYPLK H[ H `V\UN HNL \USLZZ `V\ÂťYL HWWLHYPUN VU )PN -H[ .`WZ` >LKKPUNZ VM JV\YZL I\[ HYL ^L UV^ H[ [OL Z[HNL where we are simply picking and choosing the aspects of adulthood we wish to subscribe too? Many reading this will be expecting to graduate this summer, and it seems that ZJVYLZ VM WLVWSL ^PSS OH]L [V YLS` VU WHYLU[Z [V Ă„UHUJPHSS` support them for forthcoming years. What could emerge is a generation not only incapable of living as adults in terms of basic skills, but also increasingly hungry for the more interesting or fun social aspects of being an adult as depicted by the media. Whether mummy and daddy will approve of all this ‘sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll’ occurring under their roof is another story entirely.

In an Special Extended Spleen-Vent, Felicity Brown SHTLU[Z [OL THUULYZ HUK WHY[PJ\SHYS` [OL LH[PUN OHIP[Z VM OLY MLSSV^ Z[\KLU[Z PU

Felicity Brown

VENTS HER

SPLEEN NO MARKS FOR

ON

T

he shining beacon that attracts many to campus life is the prospect of being far away from our parents’ watchful eyes. At university, you can stay up as long as you like, drink what you like, say what you like, bring home who you like... the possibilities are endless! But has this ultimate freedom become an excuse to go astray and forget the most basic manners our parents have instilled in us from birth? The time we spend at university is in many senses a stage of maturation; most of us learn how to cook, clean, shop and think for ourselves. But in terms of manners, politeness and grace, many of us seem to be going down a backwards track. In some cases, anyone would think we were toddlers again; especially those males who cannot hold their bladders long enough to make a trip to the toilet and thus proceed to urinate in their own sinks. With all due respect, and not wanting to sound like your old primary school teacher, would you do that at home? *HTW\Z SPML PZ SPRL ILPUN H[ IVHYKPUN ZJOVVS -YLZOLYZ JVUNYLNH[L L]LY` mealtime Hogwarts-style in the dining halls, but the difference is that there are no Professor Snapes around to threaten us with detention if messy eating becomes ridiculous. The result is that many students transform into something akin to feral children. Table manners clearly differ from family to family, so each person’s eating habits are going to be different. My parents have always been adamant about enforcing ‘proper’

MANNERS

table manners, but away from their watchful eyes I can now revel in the glory of slouching, slurping and eating without using a knife. Student manners are also a big issue outside of halls. Loud music and a nocturnal lifestyle leave many house owners peeved when students move in next door. A few years back, the Guardian reported that Edinburgh University Students Association had even produced an ‘etiquette guide’, including tips on how to keep the house tidy and avoid rodent invasion in an attempt to keep the neighbourhood peace. But it’s not just the neighbours who have suffered at the hand of bad student manners. Everyone has heard of the horror stories that arise from having rude and slobby housemates, and a website has been created in dedication [V [OLZL Ă„LUKZ /V\ZLTH[LZMYVTOLSS com is a blog where victims can share H YHU[ ^P[O H Ă„LSK VM V[OLYZ PU [OL ZHTL position. Someone has come up with a list of etiquette rules including ‘picking `V\Y IH[O [V^LS HUK JSV[OLZ VMM [OL Ă…VVYÂť and ‘not using your housemates’ stuff’, no matter if it’s only a ‘pea-sized portion of toothpaste’, the latter of which is probably a little excessive. But on one particularly revolting blog UHTLK /V^ [V 3VZL -YPLUKZ HUK (SPLUH[L -SH[TH[LZ H Z[\KLU[ [HSRZ VM H NPYS ^OV ‘never ever did anything’. Her other housemates had to break into her room and open the window, as the room had begun to smell ‘like gone off cheese’. They also discovered used condoms on [OL Ă…VVY HUK ZOLL[Z [OH[ SVVRLK SPRL [OL` OHKUÂť[ ILLU ^HZOLK PU H `LHY *SLHYS`

some students like to bask in their own Ă„S[O But what if all this rudeness and Ă„S[OPULZZ OHZ ZLYPV\Z YLWLYJ\ZZPVUZ& In the workplace, any such behaviour would not be tolerated. Who wants an employee who swears left, right and centre, leaves rubbish everywhere, eats like they have been reared by a pack of wolves and relieves themselves out of [OL VMĂ„JL ^PUKV^& 4H`IL ^L ZOV\SK HSS think about ways in which our etiquette needs shaping up a bit before we head to those all-important job interviews. What would our mothers do? Well, if they could see the slovenly late-night appearances or shabby living conditions of many of us, their stomachs would probably churn in disgust. But at the end of the day, isn’t being a university student all about the long, winding path of self-discovery and newfound independence? Shouldn’t we slowly but surely be learning for ourselves that growing a funghi-community on a ISVJR VM JOLLZL Ă…PWWHU[S` \ZPUN V[OLY people’s toothbrushes or waking up next to a stranger dressed in a disconcerting ‘Incredibles’ costume is not acceptable behaviour for the real, adult world? We can no longer look to our mothers for support and guidance on such matters; for all of us, there will come the day when revelation dawns, we realise that urinating and throwing up everywhere PZ NLULYHSS` JVUZPKLYLK WYL +HY^PUPHU and we ditch our childish, irresponsible ways. Until then, maybe we should feign ignorance and enjoy the ride.

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REVISION

HOW DO YOU DO YOURS?

It has got around to that time of year again when the dreaded exam and deadline period begins. Exam stress experienced by students is arguably the biggest welfare issue of the academic year: feedback from the Âş)PN 9L]PL^Âť H Z\Y]L`

conducted by the Students’ Union in March 2010 and JVTWSL[LK I` Z[\KLU[Z showed the top two daily concerns of Nottingham’s students to be academic achievement and workload. In addition to this, a small survey of about 50 students

What word best describes how you feel during exams?

Nervous

A

Worried

B

Focused

C

Stressed

B

Nauseas

B

Tired

A

What aspect of revision and exams make you feel predominantly this way?

30

I have done the best that I can

C

I think I may fail

B

The work load is too much for me

B

I have had little sleep

A

I am driven to revise so I do the best I can

C

I cannot stop procrastinating

A

I have had no time for myself or to socialise

A

I have done all the revision and work I aimed to do

C

I have had a lot of caffeine

A

Choose one statement that best describes your revision style?

I always plan a revision timetable and stick to that

C

I cram in as much as possible: when it is exam period revision all I really do

B

I work with friends as much as possible and always work in the library with others

A

I work alone in silence

B

I work late into the night

A

I cannot stop procrastinating

A

I have had no time for myself or to socialise

A

I have done all the revision and work I aimed to do

C

I have had a lot of caffeine

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conducted by the Union last month found that 64% of those asked admitted to feeling increasingly stressed during the exam period. :\JO Ă„N\YLZ JVUĂ„YT expectations, and there is loads of help out there to try and ease the pain. This year the Union is running a campaign: ‘Revision‌.How do you do yours?’. We are asking you for any top revision tips you can share with fellow students to help each other through, so keep your eye on the Students’ Union website ^^^ Z\ UV[[PUNOHT HJ \R

HUK -HJLIVVR WHNL ^^^ MHJLIVVR JVT <VM5:< MVY more information. -VY UV^ [HRL H WLLR H[ [OL quiz below. These few brief questions will hopefully give you an idea of how you study most effectively whilst helping you to keep those stress levels down. Good luck with your exams, take care of yourself and huge congratulations when they are all over! Katie Mac ,X\HS 6WWVY[\UP[PLZ HUK >LSMHYL 6MĂ„JLY

Mostly As :VTL[OPUN `V\ TH` YLHSS` ILULĂ„[ MYVT PZ SVVRPUN H[ [OL ^H` PU ^OPJO `V\ THUHNL `V\Y [PTL K\YPUN YL]PZPVU 0M `V\ Ă„UK KPMĂ„J\S[` concentrating because you are bored or tired then give yourself a break away from your work and make sure you get at least OV\YZ ZSLLW H UPNO[ @V\ TH` YLHSS` ILULĂ„[ MYVT H YL]PZPVU schedule; this could be organised through managing your revision into time slots or by having targets of subject matter to go over. Through doing this you can set yourself targets to achieve in the day time and ensure you get some sleep later on. If you give yourself a break from work your concentration will increase when you go back to learn and this can lessen feelings of boredom.

Mostly Bs It may be worth refocusing your thoughts throughout the revision period to ease stress and pressure you feel. A great advantage V]LY L_HTZ PZ [V NL[ Z\WWVY[ LP[OLY [OYV\NO MYPLUKZ ZPTWS` Q\Z[ OH]PUN H JOH[ VY OH]PUN NYV\W YL]PZPVU ZLZZPVUZ VY ZLY]PJLZ [OH[ the university has to offer. The university counselling service runs workshops that may be useful such as: ‘staying calm’ HUK ÂşWLYMLJ[PVUPZT HUK WYVJYHZ[PUH[PVUÂť ZLL ILSV^ MVY TVYL PUMVYTH[PVU ,_HTZ HYL PTWVY[HU[ I\[ [HRPUN [PTL V\[ [V NL[ things into perspective may really boost your mood and calm you down. Getting some exercise or doing anything you enjoy VY Ă„UK YLSH_PUN PZ HU PTWVY[HU[ WHY[ VM NL[[PUN [OYV\NO L_HTZ as smoothly as possible so do not begrudge yourself in doing ZV 0M `V\ Ă„UK [OL ZOLLY HTV\U[ VM ^VYR KH\U[PUN ZWSP[ `V\Y work into manageable parts. When you complete these parts of revision remind yourself of what you have achieved and use this to boost faith in yourself. You can do it.

Mostly Cs It is always great to have a structured plan of how to get through revision but remember to have a sensible schedule. Make time for breaks and don’t try to do too much, be realistic, we are only human. If you set your sights too high you may feel like `V\ HYL HS^H`Z ILOPUK VY Z[Y\NNSPUN [V RLLW \W +VU[ MVYNL[ [V schedule in breaks, sleep, meals and time for yourself. Always give yourself a well deserved reward for meeting your targets to keep your motivation up.

For more information, help and support here are some valuable resources: Nottingham Students’ Union: www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/ 4PUK TLU[HS OLHS[O JOHYP[` ! ^^^ TPUK VYN \R OLSW ))* L_HT Z[YLZZ HK]PJL WHNLZ! ^^^ IIJ JV \R YHKPV HK]PJL 5V[[PUNOHT <UP]LYZP[` *V\UZLSSPUN :LY]PJL! 5PNO[SPUL MYLL OLSWSPUL !

Helena Murphy

VENTS WAVE CONSUMERIST ON COFFEE Standing in the queue at Starbucks impatiently awaiting H TVYUPUN Ă„_ VM JVMMLL P[ PZ L_[YLTLS` HNNYH]H[PUN [V IL delayed while the customer in front demands a Frapa-lap-a-grande-latte with soya milk to go. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not averse to the occasional caramel macchiato or iced Frappuccino to propel me through the hot summer months – but when do we draw the SPUL HUK ZH` LUV\NO PZ LUV\NO& >OH[ ILULĂ„[Z KV [OLZL highly pretentious labels and vast array of choices bring to the average coffee drinker, besides donning an air of caffeine related authority, enabling one to power walk down the road, armed with BlackBerry and Starbucks cup a lĂĄ Paris Hilton? Answer: very little. With 15,000 Starbucks locations across the globe it is apparent that we have gone a little coffee crazy. And P[ÂťZ UV[ VUS` :[HYI\JRZ Âś [OPUR VM *VZ[H *HML 5LYV HUK Pret-A Manger all catering to the deprived and frenzied. ;OLZL KH`Z ^L ULLK H )( PU *VMMLL 3PUNV [V Z\Y]P]L [OL ordeal that is ordering a coffee. Standing in the queue is a nerve-wracking experience and not to be taken lightly. How is a small drink from Starbucks logically referred to as ‘tall’? Because tall doesn’t sound so small to me. In a fast paced, consumerist society where endless choice and indispensible resources are taken for granted, when will it become apparent that having 20 coffee options is simply too much? As a student, it is almost obligatory to indulge in a large JVMMLL PU[HRL Âś 0 Ă„UK H RPJR PU [OL TVYUPUN H WYL S\UJO[PTL ZOVJR HUK H Ă„UHS HM[LYUVVU ISHZ[ ZH[PZMHJ[VY` Âś I\[ PZ P[ possible to ward off cravings without plummeting into the overdraft? The extortionate prices that Starbucks charge for even a basic Americano are enough to warrant extending my overdraft. Why is it that we, as deserving coffee drinkers, allow these companies to charge us so L_[YH]HNHU[S`& ( ZPTWSL ^VYK YL]LHSZ HSS! -HPY[YHKL )\[ P[ PZ X\LZ[PVUHISL ^OL[OLY :[HYI\JRZ ^OV Y\U H -HPY[YHKL policy on their beverages, are really as altruistic as we are led to believe. The guise of ‘fair policies’ and ‘ethical [YHKPUNÂť HJ[ HZ H Q\Z[PĂ„JH[PVU [V ZOVV[ WYPJLZ ZR` OPNO without exonerating complaints from a philanthropist ZVJPL[` -\Y[OLYTVYL Q\Z[ OV^ O\THUP[HYPHU PZ H JVTWHU` ^OV MVYJLK YLZJ\L ^VYRLYZ PU 5L^ @VYR [V WH` MVY three crates of water to aid victims after the 9/11 terrorist attacks? Starbucks – the enforcers of linguistic fascism, obscene WYPJLZ HUK \U^HU[LK \W ZLSSPUN Âş>V\SK `V\ SPRL H WHZ[Y` VY JHRL ^P[O [OH[&Âť 5L_[ [PTL 0 ^HU[ H JVMMLL 0 [OPUR 0ÂťSS make it myself.

RAVE

YOUR

HER

SPLEEN

Ellie Blanchette on

BEING A BORN-AGAIN CYCLIST

I used to be one of those people who sneered with disdain ^OLU H J`JSPZ[ JSHK PU Ă…\VYLZJLU[ OPKLV\ZULZZ ZWLK WHZ[ me on the way to campus. During the morning rush, the sudden appearance of a helmeted moron tearing past me VU [OL WH]LTLU[ L]LU PM 0 ^HZ ^YVUNS` [YLZWHZZPUN ^P[OPU [OL IV\UKHYPLZ VM [OL J`JSL SHUL THKL TL \UYLHZVUHIS` irritated. Yet now, since the arrival of an old familiar friend, things have changed. After realising that spending a fortune on buses and wasting an exhausting amount of time walking to and from campus and work was no longer an option, I naturally found myself pondering the possibility of cycling. And so, I am once again the proud and loving owner of a purple mountain bike. ;V ILNPU ^P[O ^L OHK V\Y \WZ HUK KV^UZ <WVU T` Ă„YZ[ [LU[H[P]L trip into campus I found myself wheeling the stupid thing back ^P[O H OVWLSLZZS` Ă…H[ [`YL )\[ UV^ 0 HT H M\SS` Ă…LKNLK J`JSPZ[ JVTWSL[L ^P[O Ă…HZOPUN KL[HJOHISL SPNO[Z Ă…\VYLZJLU[ ]LZ[ HUK [OL WPLJL KL YLZPZ[HUJL H ZOVJRPUN WPUR JHNV\SL PU H IHN for those unpredictable rainstorms. I love nothing more than to smugly glide past sweaty students, speed walking in the vague hope of making their seminars on time. I can now be safe in the knowledge that when I arrive on campus, I may well be one of those superiorly early students who have time to nonchalantly grab a quick coffee. And as I cruise around the streets of Lenton, PM 0 JSVZL T` L`LZ ^LSS TL[HWOVYPJHSS` YLHSPZ[PJHSS` [OH[ ^V\SK IL KHUNLYV\Z HUK PNUVYL [OL W\KKSLZ VM ]VTP[ HUK [HRL H^H` boxes littering the pavement, I am once again a child, zipping freely along the tree-lined paths of a local park. I have a heightened awareness of road safety, because it can be a tough world out there for cyclists, particularly when Jeremy *SHYRZVU [`WL TV[VYPZ[Z PUZPZ[ \WVU PNUVYPUN `V\Y YPNO[ [V [OL road. If I am feeling particularly daring I will occasionally take my hands from the breaks and recklessly freewheel, just a little bit, KV^U +LYI` 9VHK (S[OV\NO PUP[PHSS` YLS\J[HU[ [V KVU [OL ZHML[` gear I have now embraced cycling wear, and it is strangely SPILYH[PUN *`JSPZ[Z YLHSS` HYL L_LTW[ MYVT [OL Y\SLZ VM [OL MHZOPVU police. :V 0 HT VMĂ„JPHSS` H YLMVYTLK J`JSPZ[ 6UL VM [OLT (UK .VK MVYIPK any pedestrians who wander into the designated cycle paths.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

31

2011 In partnership with

The Summer Party 2011 is going to be bigger and better than ever before! Radio One describes it as the ‘Student Glastonbury’, and it is known as the ‘biggest student festival’ in Europe. This year Students’ Union staff and a team of student volunteers are working together to ensure that this year’s Summer Party is unforgettable and the best one yet. With Student Co-ordinators for daytime events, entertainment and the Fancy Dress Parade, we’ve got a really enthusiastic team who want nothing more than to make sure you have a great time! With thousands descending on the Downs to celebrate the end of exams and enjoy live music, fairground rides, inflatable games, food and drink (and hopefully sunshine) the atmosphere will be amazing. We’ve made lots of changes this year, with an improved site and daytime entertainments area (have a go at the rodeo bull, human bowling ball, and test your strength). As always there will be an impressive line up, but we’ll be revealing information about this in stages – the more of you like our Facebook fan page, the more we’ll tell you! The great news is that this year our sponsor is Windows 7, by far the biggest organisation we have ever had on board. This means we can bring you lots of freebies and promotions to go along with the tons of prizes and giveaways on the day.

So don’t miss out, buy your tickets now from www.summerparty.org.uk

! w e N Party

er Summy ess r D c Fan look out , parade aking its h for it m g u o r h t way ite at the s . 3pm

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE? CAtCH (Campaign to Change) is an up and coming peer to peer campaigning group – running the campaigns that you care about, to change the things that affect you! As well as having the opportunity to create positive change for you, other students, your local community or even on a national or international level, you’ll also develop skills that will look great on your CV, including leadership, problem solving and project management. Working on CAtCH will also lead to a reference if required for future relevant positions. What you decide to change is up to you, but here are some ideas of campaigns topics you could be working on: ; -31',% !!-++-" 2'-, '113#1 ; ,4'0-,+#,2 ," 1-!' * (312'!# '113#1 ; $#26 ," 1#!30'26 '113#1

; 23"#,2 &# *2& '113#1 ; "3! 2'-, * '113#1

If this sounds like something that you could really get passionate about, then get involved and apply to be either one of our CAtCH Campaigns Organiser or a CAtCH Campaigner. Please email sucampaigns@nottingham.ac.uk for further information and an application form.

STUDENT SATISFACTION SURVEY , 6 5# ** # * 3,!&',% -30 23"#,2 2'1$ !2'-, 304#6 &'1 '1 6-30 !& ,!# 2- 2#** 31 &-5 5#** 5# 0# meeting your needs and how satisfied you are with the services we provide. We want to provide you with 2&# #12 1#04'!# .-11' *# 1- '2 1 0# **6 '+.-02 ,2 2& 2 6-3 2#** 31 5& 2 6-3 2&',) &# 0#13*21 5'** $-0+ 2&# 1'1 of future surveys and let us see year on year if we are heading in the right direction. We’ve already taken on - 0" 5& 2 6-3 2-*" 31 ', 2&# '% #4'#5 ," 1 0#13*2 6-3 ** # 1##',% 1-+# '% !& ,%#1 2- 2&# 23"#,21 ,'-, 4#06 1--, 2 1 ** . 02 -$ -30 !-++'2+#,2 2- *#2 6-3 ),-5 2& 2 5# 0# *'12#,',% 2- 6-3 - .*# 1# 2 )# $#5 +',32#1 2- !-+.*#2# 2&'1 1304#6 '2 5-, 2 2 )# *-,% ," 1 2& ,) 6-3 6-3 ** *1- # #,2#0#" ',2- 0'7# 0 5 2- 5', 9012 .0'7# -$ 8 -0 03,,#0 3. .0'7# -$ 8 --) -32 $-0 +-0# ',$-0+ 2'-, -32 2&# 304#6 -, 2&# 23"#,21 ,'-, 5# 1'2#

WHAT’S COMING UP THIS TERM? We hope everyone had an amazing Easter holiday! It may be a short term, but it will also be jam packed with events for you to mark the end of exams and the start of Summer:

WEDNESDAY 4TH MAY - AU BALL FRIDAY 6TH MAY – SOCIETIES BALL SATURDAY 4TH JUNE – SUMMER PARTY WEDNESDAY 8TH JUNE – GRAD BALL FRIDAY 10TH JUNE – SOUNDS ON THE DOWNS As always keep up to date with everything on the Students’ Union website:

www.su.nottingham.ac.uk

su.nottingham.ac.uk

EXPOSURE - Showcasing the best of University of Nottingham student photography

Helen Miller +H^U PU [OL /PNO ([SHZ 4V\U[HPUZ 4HYYHRLJO 4VYVJJV

STYLE The Men’s Issue

This is a man’s world The faces behind high fashion

We get the results of our Male Grooming Questionnaire

Style Icon: George Lamb by William Robertson

+LZWP[L KP]PKPUN VWPUPVU ^P[O OPZ \UVY[OVKV_ [HRL VU +1PUN VU Radio 6, George Lamb has always united the fashion world in adulation of his salt and pepper hair and penchant for skinny suits. His style emulates the quintessential English gent, but he blends this traditional look with bursts of eccentric modernity. Here is a man who can take your geography teacher’s tweed suit and add a pair of bright red brogues with pizazz. These are fairly large brogues too, as his feet stretch to an impressive size 13 and a half and are catered for by a specially contracted Japanese shoemaker. Having started to go grey at the age of 19, George has opted to show the silverware, and as a consequence has acquired sophistication and gravitas. Everyone knows that older gentlemen ‘subtly’ dyeing their hair black when it has been grey for the past decade look sad, whereas George is enjoying life as a silver fox. Lamb has brought classic formalwear to a new generation more accustomed to hoodies and trainers, which must be a good thing. Those eager to emulate George’s style will be pleased to know that he has created a new range of clothing with friend and designer Adrien Sauvage called, um, A. Sauvage. This is part of their ‘This Is Not A Suit’ campaign which is attempting to free smart menswear from 9-to Ă„]L VMĂ„JL [LYYP[VY` HUK THRL P[ H Z[HWSL MVY L]LY` VJJHZPVU /PZ style is admittedly not one for the faint-hearted, and not every man can pull off corduroy trousers and a leather-elbowed blazer with conviction. What we can learn from The Lamb however is that it WH`Z [V IL H IP[ LJJLU[YPJ MYVT [PTL [V [PTL HUK Ă„UKPUN `V\Y V^U Z[`SL PZ IL[[LY [OHU [PTPKS` MVSSV^PUN L]LY`VUL LSZL [V ;VWTHU

Blazer: Hugo Boss Shirt: Hugo Boss Tie: Hugo Boss Trousers: Topman Shoes: Hugo Boss

36 ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

Suit: Hugo Boss Shirt: Hugo Boss Tie: Hugo Boss Shoes: Hugo Boss

Style Icon :David Beckham by Teddy Smith

(Z VUL VM [OL TVZ[ PJVUPJ MVV[IHSSLYZ VM V\Y [PTL +H]PK Beckham is as famous off-pitch as on. He has it all - the popstar wife, annoyingly cute children and more advertising KLHSZ [OHU *VJH *VSH /PZ NVVK SVVRZ OH]LU»[ O\Y[ HSVUN the way either, with Beckham’s chiselled features fronting campaigns for Gillette, Emporio Armani… and Sharpie. There have been a few fashion faux pas along the way, PUJS\KPUN TH[JOPUN /PZ ºU /LYZ SLH[OLY V\[Ä[Z HUK [OL infamous man-sarong, but somehow he’s managed to come through the other side a shining example of male style. Whether it’s Armani three-piece suits or jeans and a t-shirt with a pretty healthy dose of man-cleavage, he always looks like he’s stepped out of a lifestyle advert. Photography: Tara Wallace Stylists: Charlotte Gelipter & Jasmin Watts Model: Tom Hilton

Never has a man been so emulated, even down to his chameleon-like hairstyles. His haircuts have spawned a million lookalikes – when he went mohawk, we went TVOH^R ^OLU +H]PK )LJROHT ZH`Z P[»Z VRH` [V OH]L highlights, it’s okay to have highlights. Maybe it’s because of his footballing roots and penchant for tattoos that he has managed to keep his down to earth appeal despite his designer wardrobe. The image he projects is clean cut and traditionally masculine, even with the fake tan and preened MHJPHS OHPY 6M SH[L OL OHZ W\[ [OL ZHYVUNZ ÄYTS` ILOPUK OPT and embraced impeccable tailoring like a true gent. He might play it safe and stick to what is in fashion, but he does it well, even if we do suspect his designer wife has something to do with his maturing style choices.

Our Survey Says‌

20% dye their hair

{

Here at Impact we are not fans of clichĂŠs. When people assume that men and women are polar opposites when it comes to grooming and beauty regimes, we would like to argue that perhaps all is not as it seems. With a little bit of investigation H SV[ VM WLZ[LYPUN ^P[O V\Y X\LZ[PVUUHPYL ^L delved into the dark and mysterious world of [OL THUÂťZ IH[OYVVT JHIPUL[ [V Ă„UK V\[ ^OL[OLY [OL Z[ *LU[\Y` THSL YLHSS` KVLZ Q\Z[ ^HZO ÂşU go with a bar of soap. Some of you were more willing to open up than others, but thank you to the men of Nottingham University for giving us HU PUZPNO[ PU[V [OL SPML VM HU PTHNL JVUZJPV\Z VY UV[ Z[\KLU[

A quarter of you either have done or would consider using makeup products. The days of having to raid your girlfriend’s make-up bag for concealer are over. With Guerlain, Gaultier and Clinique all bringing out ranges for men.

31/40

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never straightened their hair

The amount you spend on haircuts seems to vary drastically: From the DIY to the debt – inducing, with some of you spending over £100 for a luxury lid.

Surprisingly 50% of you still think there’s a stigma attached to the notion of the ‘metrosexual’ male, despite the fact that most of you voted incredibly well-groomed celebrities as your style icons.

We have to say we are extremely jealous of how little you spend on personal grooming, with 92% of you spending less than ÂŁ30 a month.

For most of you the morning routine is short and sweet with the majority of you spending less than 30 minutes grooming at the start of your day.

Less than half surveyed moisturise every day

Hair removal, excluding facial shaving got a thumbs up from 60% of you. We were innocently thinking of chest, armpits‌ maybe a cheeky nose hair trim. You seemed to be thinking ‘balls’. Either way, most of you guys seem to be embracing the razor these days, which hopefully means Ron Burgundy chest rugs are a thing of the past.

We have our suspicions that only two of you admitted to using fake tan When it comes to star products, a few stood V\[ HZ ÄYT MH]V\YP[LZ 5P]LH ^HZ [OL IYHUK of choice when it came to moisturisers, whilst Gillette came out on top for the wet shave razors. Thanks to considerate girlfriends, a few of you are recent converts [V [OL *SPUPX\L :[LW :`Z[LT JSLHUZPUN toning and moisturising as part of your daily routine. We’re pretty impressed with the guy who has already started on the anti-wrinkle regime, and the few men who can admit that sometimes we all need a bit of extra volume in the hair department. However, whilst attitudes to male grooming appear to be changing, half of those surveyed still felt that there was a stigma attached to the UV[PVU VM [OL ºTL[YVZL_\HS THSL -PUHUJLZ and age seem to be top of the list of excuses for not taking a huge interest in grooming, with plenty of you claiming that once you have more money to spend on products, and perhaps the wrinkles to justify it, you’ll fork out more readily. Whether this comes to fruition, we’ll just have to wait and see – but bear in mind that looking after your skin and body now will pay dividends later.

This is a man’s world...

by Charlotte Rottenburg There is a common misconception that the fashion industry is run by bitchy harridans with ferocious nails, immaculate blow-drys and walkin wardrobes. Ask the average man what he thinks of fashion, and he will generally reply with something similar to ‘well, it’s for girls isn’t it?’. Given that the majority of the male population seem resigned to this view, I wonder if they’d take more of an interest in the fashion industry if they knew that it is, in fact, the men who run the show. Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford, Roland Mouret, Roberto Cavalli, Alexander Wang, Ralph Lauren... I could go on. These designers are the pinnacle of the fashion world - and all of them are men.

[OL H[[LU[PVU VM +VUH[LSSH =LYZHJL -YVT his debut collection in September 2006, Kane has gone from strength to strength, ^PUUPUN [OL )-* )YP[PZO +LZPNULY VM [OL Year in 2009. Another bright young thing, Erdem Moralioglu, has recently seen his :WYPUN :\TTLY 3VUKVU -HZOPVU Week collection splashed across fashion magazines and websites. He has gained the praise of bloggers and industry experts alike who are unable to fault his [YHKLTHYR ÅVYHS HUK SHJL KYLZZLZ /PZ appeal is arguably even broader than 2HULZ NHPUPUN H YLW\[H[PVU HZ [OL ºÄYZ[ wives’ favourite’ – dressing the likes of 4PJOLSSL 6IHTH HUK :HTHU[OH *HTLYVU - as well as young Hollywood starlets such HZ *HYL` 4\SSPNHU HUK 2LPYH 2UPNO[SL`

His rising star has not gone unnoticed, and in 2010 he was awarded the PUH\N\YHS )-* =VN\L -HZOPVU -\UK H JVVS ‰ WYPaL :PTPSHY Z[VYPLZ YPUN [Y\L ^P[O ;OHRVVU 4HYR -HZ[ )VYH (RZ\ and many others. It’s now the girls who HYL ÄNO[PUN [V IL YLJVNUPZLK PU H ^VYSK that’s supposedly run by women. And what of the old establishment? Seasoned L_WLY[Z SPRL .PVYNPV (YTHUP +VSJL HUK Gabbana, and Marc Jacobs are still at the top of their game, producing up to six collections a year for womenswear alone. *OHULS WYVIHIS` [OL IYHUK [OH[ PZ TVZ[ synonymous with femininity and women, has now had Karl Lagerfeld at the helm for over 25 years, showing that yet again a ;OL WHZ[ KLJHKL OHZ ZLLU H Å\YY` VM MYLZO man is behind one of the most successful designer talent, and it’s the guys who have and creative fashion houses in the world. JVTL V\[ Z[YVUNLZ[ ;HRL *OYPZ[VWOLY Kane for example; even before he left Over at the business end of fashion, males *LU[YHS :HPU[ 4HY[PUZ PU 2HUL OHK dominate the area too. Bernard Arnault ^VYRLK MVY .PSLZ +LHJVU HUK H[[YHJ[LK PZ *,6 VM [OL ^VYSKZ SHYNLZ[ S\_\Y` 4HUZ THU ;VT -VYK ]V[LK H Z[`SL PJVU I` X\P[L H ML^ VM `V\ PU V\Y Z\Y]L` OHZ enjoyed success as the creative director at both Gucci and YSL, creating the ;64 -69+ IYHUK PU /LYL PZ H THU who really understands how to enhance, ÅH[[LY HUK KYLZZ H ^VTHUZ IVK` ^P[O :17 *OHYSPaL ;OLYVU HUK 5PJVSL 2PKTHU HTVUNZ[ OPZ JLSLIYP[` MHUZ )\[ 4Y -VYK does not only design womenswear; he has his own line of sunglasses, skincare, make-up, and fragrances, as well as a menswear range that won him the 2008 *-+( 4LUZ^LHY +LZPNULY VM [OL @LHY H^HYK -VYK PZ H THU VM THU` [HSLU[Z HUK a key player in the fashion industry.

goods conglomerate, Louis Vuitton-MoÍt Hennesy, and is chairman of both LVMH HUK *OYPZ[PHU +PVY 6[OLY YLN\SHYZ VU [OL -VYILZ YPJO SPZ[ HYL [OL >LY[OLPTLY brothers, Alain and Gerard, who own the controlling share of the iconic House of *OHULS 779 HUV[OLY -YLUJO OVSKPUN company that owns Gucci Group and other S\_\Y` IYHUKZ OHZ -YHUsVPZ /LUYP 7PUH\S[ HZ P[Z JOHPYTHU HUK *,6 ,]LY`^OLYL `V\ look, it’s the men who hold the power. On the high street and in the world of VUSPUL ZOVWWPUN TLUZ^LHY PZ ÄUHSS` coming to the fore. Sites such as ASOS and Matches play host to a huge array of menswear and accessories, whilst -LIY\HY` ZH^ [OL SH\UJO VM 4Y 7VY[LY Brainchild of net-a-porter.com’s founder 5H[HSPL 4HZZLUL[ 4Y 7VY[LY PZ [OL ÄYZ[ online luxury retailer aimed exclusively at men. Away from cyberspace, the size and number of menswear departments and exclusive stores on the high street has been steadily increasing. Topman alone now boasts over 175 stores worldwide, well on the way to catching up to the 400+ stores of its sister brand, Topshop, launched 14 years earlier. The high street may be a bit slow on catching up with the trends of the catwalk, but it certainly seems to be adapting to the high demand for on-trend menswear. The perception that the fashion industry is nothing but lipstick, stilettos and hairspray is seriously outdated, but as our survey seems to suggest, there’s still a long way to go before fashion has an equal footing in the eyes of men and women.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/STYLE

39

f film

THE WESTERN

A RETIRED GUNSLINGER? - Josh Franks

A poncho-clad Clint Eastwood bursts through the doors of a saloon, eyes piercing and calculating, dried cigar butt hanging from his lips, with a hand holding steady above the holster of his gun. John Wayne gives you a wizened smile, tips his hat and bids you a “Hello, pilgrim.â€? These men, paragons of masculinity and heroism, are both PTTLKPH[LS` YLJVNUPZHISL HZ [PTLSLZZ Ă„N\YLZ VM [O JLU[\Y` pop culture and are integral cogs in a much greater cinematic THJOPUL! [OL >LZ[LYU 0[Z PUĂ…\LUJL \UKLUPHISL [OL KLI[ [OH[ modern cinema owes to the Western genre is one that will never IL M\SS` YLT\ULYH[LK Âś HUK [OH[ÂťZ Q\Z[ PU [LYTZ VM TVUL` -YVT the 1930s to the 1960s, Westerns proved to be one of the more Ă„UHUJPHSS` Z\JJLZZM\S NLUYLZ MVY Z[\KPVZ HUK Ă„ST THRLYZ ^P[O around 200 being produced each decade, this being primarily

due to the popularity of its stars like Wayne, Eastwood, Yul )Y`UULY /LUY` -VUKH .HY` *VVWLY HUK THU` TVYL Sadly though, since the 1970s, the popularity of Westerns has waned somewhat, with fewer and fewer being released in the following decades. However, there are many that do stand out, such as Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo, known for its blend of Z\YYLHSPZT HUK JSHZZPJ >LZ[LYU LSLTLU[Z" 7H[ .HYYL[[ )PSS` ;OL 2PK PU ^OPJO )VI +`SHU Z[HYYLK HUK JVTWVZLK [OL ZV\UK[YHJR" John Wayne’s reprisal of his 1969 True Grit role in Rooster Cogburn" HZ ^LSS HZ *SPU[ ,HZ[^VVKZ THU` V[OLY >LZ[LYUZ outside of his work with Sergio Leone, including Joe Kidd, High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider and arguably his best directorial work, Unforgiven in 1990. ([ [OL HK]LU[ VM [OL *.0 LYH P[ ZLLTLK SPRL [OL [YHKP[PVUHS Western had all but faded into obscurity. However, there have ILLU THU` ÄSTZ [OYV\NOV\[ [OL SHZ[ KLJHKL [OH[ OH]L ZW\YYLK a resurgence of the Western genre, by means of subverting P[" TVKLYU ÄST THRLYZ HYL [HRPUN H T\JO KHYRLY SVVR H[ [OL Western, with the following being excellent examples of this: John Hillcoat’s The Proposition (2005 PZ H ZVTL^OH[ unique entry into the Western genre, in that it is set in Australian outback in the 1880s. It stars Guy Pearce as an outlaw who is forced to track down and kill his UV[VYPV\Z HUK IHYIHYPJ VSKLY IYV[OLY WSH`LK I` +HUU` Huston, or his younger brother will be killed. Hillcoat places great emphasis on realism in his direction, especially in depicting the lives of the Aboriginal tribes of the time. While there are some violent scenes, The Proposition is as much an atmospheric drama as it is H IY\[HS HUK \UÅPUJOPUN [HSL HIV\[ VUL THUZ Z[Y\NNSL to reconcile his personal limits and beliefs with reality. As with Unforgiven, The Proposition delves deeper into the psychology of the outlaw. :PTPSHYS` (UKYL^ +VTPUPRZ The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford PZ LZZLU[PHSS` a psychological drama rather than a Western, hence ^O` P[ PZ VUL VM [OL TVZ[ V]LYSVVRLK ÄSTZ VM [OL NLUYL 0[ PZ [OL Z[VY` VM 9VILY[ -VYK H `V\UN THU ^OV OHZ idolised the outlaw Jesse James, and eventually joins his posse at age 19. However, James is by no TLHUZ [OL THU [OH[ -VYK OHZ PTHNPULK OPT [V IL" OL PZ WHYHUVPK KLWYLZZLK HUK ULHY Z\PJPKHS -VYK PZ MVYJLK to assassinate James, the consequences of which he T\Z[ ILHY MVY [OL YLZ[ VM OPZ SPML -LH[\YPUN ZLUZH[PVUHS WLYMVYTHUJLZ I` )YHK 7P[[ HUK *HZL` (MÅLJR 1LZZL James is a masterful work of cinema. The direction HUK JPULTH[VNYHWO` PZ ÅH^SLZZ HUK 7P[[Z WVY[YH`HS of Jesse James’ fragile psyche is the most realistic to date.

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While it is very much clothed differently, and appearing less and less often on our screens in its most traditional form, it would appear that the Western is most certainly not dead. The characterisation and primary means of storytelling that lie at the heart of Westerns is present in almost every medium and other genre today: In [LSL]PZPVU ^P[O 1VZZ >OLKVUZ -PYLÅ` SP[LYH[\YL ^P[O :[LWOLU 2PUNZ ;OL +HYR ;V^LY LWPJ MHU[HZ` ZLYPLZ and even in video games, with Rockstar Games’ Red +LHK 9LKLTW[PVU" [OL >LZ[LYU OVWLM\SS` ZOV^Z UV sign of hanging up its boots for good just yet.

IS THIS A 3D DAGGER I SEE BEFORE ME? -James McAndrew

>OLU P[ JVTLZ [V HKHW[HISL ÄSTHISL material, the novel is head of the family and always has been. Then we have the youthful and popular comic book and his often-misunderstood brother the graphic novel, and then there’s their weird cousin, the video game, who never quite achieves his potential. Finally there is the stage play, which is perhaps best worked into this metaphor as the grandfather who is nowhere near as popular as OL \ZLK [V IL ^P[O [OL T\ZPJHS ILPUN the play’s seemingly ageless nonPKLU[PJHS [^PU 4L[HWOVYZ HZPKL [OL given reputation of being a product of high culture is often enough to ZJHYL HU` ÄSTTHRLY H^H` MYVT adapting a well known or acclaimed play, particularly as it may incite the possibility of offending the high and mighty critics they otherwise aim to please. If we take the Academy Awards’ Adapted Screenplay category as a way of gauging the popularity of stage to screen movies, then a very distinctive [YLUK HWWLHYZ -YVT [OLYL

^LYL H [V[HS VM UVTPUH[PVUZ MVY ÄSTZ adapted from stage plays; from 1990 onwards the total only reaches 7. More often than not it is the original playwright who adapts their precious work. Names that feature often in the category of Oscar bothering dramatists include the likes of Neil Simon, Tennessee Williams and Harold Pinter. Technically, Woody Allen is the most nominated playwright OH]PUN ^YP[[LU MVY [OLH[YL ZPUJL HSVUNZPKL OPZ T\JO SH\KLK ÄST ^VYR although he has never adapted one of OPZ V^U WSH`Z PU[V H ÄST However popular they might be, the theatrical adaptations have always YLJLP]LK OPNO WYVÄSL [YLH[TLU[ 6M[LU subsequently becoming far more well known than the play on which they ^LYL IHZLK -VY L_HTWSL OH]L H N\LZZ H[ ^OPJO ÄSTZ [OL MVSSV^PUN [^V WSH`Z ILJHTL NYHU[LK VUL PZ H SV[ OHYKLY [OHU [OL V[OLY ! Still Life and Everybody Comes to Rick’s. Any ideas? Still Life, H ZOVY[ WSH` ^YP[[LU I` 5VLS *V^HYK ^HZ ÄYZ[ WYVK\JLK PU HUK `LHYZ SH[LY *V^HYK HKHW[LK P[ PU[V ^OH[ has become a classic piece of British cinema, Brief Encounter. Everybody *VTLZ ;V 9PJRZ ^HZ ^YP[[LU I` 4\YYH` Burnett and Joan Alison in 1940, but OH]PUN ILLU \UHISL [V ÄUK ZVTLVUL to produce their play, they instead sold the rights to Warner Brothers, who then [\YULK P[ PU[V *HZHISHUJH Something that may soon follow suit ^PSS IL +HUPLS 9HKJSPMMLZ ÄYZ[ WVZ[ /HYY` 7V[[LY ÄST ;OL >VTHU 0U )SHJR (U`VUL [OH[ KPK .*:, KYHTH ^PSS WYVIHIS`

0THNL I` ,TTH *OHYHSHTIV\Z

share my absolute love and fear for this production. As much as I’d hope [OL Ă„ST [V IL H NVVK WPLJL VM ^VYR 0 MLHY [OH[ P[ ^PSS IL \UHISL [V Ă„SS [OL IPN shoes of the play. I am sure that ‘the boy who lived’ will be enough to bring in the IV_ VMĂ„JL U\TILYZ HUK THRL [OL Ă„ST a success, but the question is, will we lose part of the terrifying element of the original production in adaptation? ;OL SVUN [HRL PZ H YHYP[` PU Ă„STZ HUK essentially a challenge. It is challenging, because there is the potential for so much to go wrong; lines could be forgotten, cameras might break or the weather might turn. ‘Long’ usually means up to several minutes without a cut, which for a stage actor or crewmember is laughably short. But when it’s pulled off, the effect lasts long in the memory. See Hitchcock’s Rope ^OPJO PUJPKLU[HSS` PZ HKHW[LK MYVT H WSH` MVY H Ă„ST THKL up of only 11 shots. And more recently there’s the excellent Hunger ^YP[[LU I` WSH`^YPNO[ ,KUH >HSZO ^OPJO JVU[HPUZ an epic, unbroken 17-minute shot. -PUHSS` 0ÂťK SPRL [V TLU[PVU H WSH`^YPNO[ often referred to as Hollywood’s most successful screenwriter. He is of course, William Shakespeare. This year sees yet another updating of one of his major works in the form of The Tempest. It’s interesting to question that were he alive today might he write for the screen as well as the stage? Perhaps we’d get +\KL >OLYLÂťZ 4` +HNNLY& 6Y L]LU maybe Harry Potter and The Merry Wives of Windsor? We can but dream.

0THNL I` ,TTH *OHYHSHTIV\Z

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UNE INTRODUCTION À LA NOUVELLE VAGUE (A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE FRENCH NEW WAVE) - Ben James

The French New Wave or La Nouvelle Vague was a JVSSLJ[PVU VM Ă„STTHRLYZ ^OV LTLYNLK PU [OL SH[L Z and early 1960s, a group of critics from ‘Cahier du CinĂŠma’ ^OV ZV\NO[ [V IYLHR Ă„STÂťZ TVUV[VU` -VSSV^PUN [OL :LJVUK World War, these critics were able to view a backlog of Ă„STZ HUK ^P[OPU [OLZL [OL` ZH^ WH[[LYUZ PUJVYWVYH[LK PU /VSS`^VVK Ă„STTHRPUN -YVT [OPZ [OL` KL]LSVWLK [OL Âş(\[L\Y theory’ and essentially recognised the distinct features of classical cinema with its intention to provoke interpolation, [OL WYVJLZZ PU ^OPJO H Ă„ST \ZLZ Z[`SPZ[PJ HUK PKLVSVNPJHS KL]PJLZ [V THRL [OL H\KPLUJL LTWH[OPZL ^P[O [OL Ă„STÂťZ messages. The Cahier critics then wanted to subvert these features and attempt to break from their conventions. )` MHY [OL [^V SLHKPUN H\[L\YZ VM [OL -YLUJO 5L^ >H]L ^LYL 1LHU 3\J .VKHYK HUK -YHUsVPZ ;Y\MMH\[ .VKHYKÂťZ A Bout De :V\MĂ…L HUK Une Femme Est Une Femme UV[ only established the careers of Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna 2HYPUH I\[ HYL HYN\HIS` [OL TVZ[ PUĂ…\LU[PHS WPLJLZ VM JPULTH

DUDE, WHERE’S MY SEQUEL? -Imogen Firth-Jones

Production limbo: a black hole of studios, budgets, those minutiae of the industry that are so easy to forget about. ,]LY` `LHY P[ [HRLZ I\KKPUN Ă„ST PKLHZ HUK ZJYLLUWSH`Z many of which have already been announced to the public, and mercilessly smites them down with talk of “Being too expensiveâ€? and “schedule negotiations...â€? Just as we were Z[HY[PUN [V NL[ HSS L_JP[LK [VV VU [OH[ UV[L JHU ZVTLVUL send out a ‘Missing Persons’ ad for Sin City 2 and 3, WSLHZL& Sometimes it works out – as when limbo swallowed Halo, but by recycling props and sticking a few sheds together with superglue, spat out District 9 Âś I\[ UV[ HSS Ă…LKNSPUN Ă„STZ HYL as lucky, and we are left with ghosts of ideas that were once ZV WYVTPZPUN >OH[ HIV\[ [OL Z\WWVZLK =LNH IYV[OLYZ Ă„ST Z[HYYPUN 1VOU ;YH]VS[HÂťZ =PUJLU[ Pulp Fiction HUK 4PJOHLS Madsen’s psychopathic Vic from Reservoir Dogs? Together they could have shimmied and amputated their way through a pretty impressive spin-off. I’m aware that this is inhibited by issues of continuity, as neither brother survived his time in the spotlight, but Tarantino’s hardly a stickler for accuracy. My point is, why are perfectly good sequels waved away Ă…PWWHU[S` ^OPSZ[ Z[\KPVZ JVU[PU\L [V KLTVUZ[YH[L H UL]LY ending capacity for regurgitating franchises that should have been mercy-killed years ago. With an ending like “Wait ‘til they get a load of me,â€? we thought that Kick Ass 2 was a sure thing, but director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman ^V\SK YH[OLY Ă„KKSL HYV\UK ^P[O [OL NHaPSSPVU[O PUJHYUH[PVU VM X-Men instead, hilariously entitled X-Men: First Class. 20th

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since Citizen Kane or Battleship Potemkin. Godard took a terse `L[ PTHNPUH[P]L HWWYVHJO [V Ă„STTHRPUN ^OPSZ[ JVTIPUPUN the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre with the direction of Jean Renoir and Alfred Hitchcock. Truffaut took a more understated HWWYVHJO ^P[O OPZ SHUKTHYR Ă„STZ Les Quatre Cents Coup and Jules et Jim L_WSVYPUN [OL UH[\YL VM Âş;OL (IZ\YKÂť HUK its place in society as well as the Existential crisis it creates. (\[L\YPZT ,_PZ[LU[PHSPZT [OL (IZ\YK Âş1\TW *\[ZÂť" [OL French New Wave established a new language in cinema. The entire TLU[HSP[` VM [OL *HOPLY K\ *PUtTH Ă„STTHRLYZ ^HZ [V YLPU]LU[ [OL WYVJLZZ VM Ă„STTHRPUN The French New Wave Ă„STTHRLYZ had a monumental and innovative effect on cinema; from :JVYJLZL -VYK *VWWVSSH :WPLSILYN (S[THU ;HYHU[PUV [OL SPZ[ VM KPYLJ[VYZ ^OV V^L H SHYNL JYLKP[ [V [OL -YLUJO 5L^ >H]L is staggering and a true testament to their imagination, daring HUK WYV^LZZ PU Ă„STTHRPUN ;OPZ PZ I\[ [OL [PW VM [OL PJLILYN [OH[ makes up the French New Wave, a vast movement in cinema that is well worth exploring. *LU[\Y` -V_ P[ ZLLTZ PZ UV[ ^P[OV\[ H ZLUZL VM PYVU` With Pirates of the Caribbean 4 and a new Spiderman to SVVR MVY^HYK [V 0ÂťT Z[Y\JR [OH[ ZV THU` Ă„STTHRLYZ HYL demonstrating very little imagination. Let’s hope that the next generation of sequels are chosen more carefully, before ‘Transformers XI: Stuff Turning Into Other Stuff’ causes us all to vomit in our cinema seats.

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MUSIC AT THE PICTURES

4\ZPJ OHZ ILLU SPURLK [V [OL Ă„ST industry since the Academy Awards of 1934, when the category of ‘Best 6YPNPUHS :JVYLÂť ^HZ Ă„YZ[ PU[YVK\JLK Flash-forward 70 years and the once KPZWHYH[L ^VYSKZ VM T\ZPJ HUK Ă„ST HYL more interconnected than ever. 0UKLLK VUL ULLK VUS` SVVR [V +HM[ Punk’s latest album, a soundtrack to the Ă„ST Âş;YVU! 3LNHJ`Âť HZ HU L_HTWSL VM [OPZ UL^ WOLUVTLUVU )PVWPJZ Ă„STZ [OH[ provide us with a dramatised biography of someone or something - are another area in which the two worlds collide, with arguably the most famous example VM H T\ZPJ IPVWPJ ILPUN 1HTPL -V__ÂťZ WVY[YH`HS VM 9H` *OHYSLZ PU Âş9H`Âť ([ P[Z ^PKLZ[ YLSLHZL [OL Ă„ST ^HZ ILPUN ZOV^U in approximately 2, 500 cinemas across the world, a level of exposure which most radio stations and music channels can only dream about. However, it is for lesser-known artists that biopics can truly bring recognition, with two very KPMMLYLU[ Ă„STZ Âş*VU[YVSÂť HUK Âş*HKPSSHJ Records’ - illustrating this point. An adaptation of a biography on Joy +P]PZPVUÂťZ MYVU[ THU 0HU *\Y[PZ Âş*VU[YVSÂť focuses on the band’s rise to fame in Z 4HUJOLZ[LY *OPSSPUN HUK YL]LHSPUN in its black and white portrayal of a tumultuous time in British music, the Ă„ST HKKZ KLW[O [V [OVZL [OH[ HYL MHTPSPHY

with the band, and converts those that ^LYLUÂť[ MHTPSPHY ^P[O 1V` +P]PZPVU ILMVYL

^PUUPUN WLYMVYTHUJL MYVT 1HTPL -V__ Dan Adams

º*HKPSSHJ 9LJVYKZ WVY[YH`Z [OL Z[VY` VM *OLZZ 9LJVYKZ H *OPJHNV IHZLK SHILS that saw the birth of blues and Rock n’ Roll through little known artists such as Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. The casting of Beyonce Knowles as Eta James gives the genre a level of exposure which could be little achieved elsewhere, and provides a great introduction to pieces of music that today have been mostly forgotten.

>HSR ;OL 3PUL – ‘Walk The Line’ takes audiences on a journey VM 1VOUU` *HZOÂťZ 1VHX\PU 7OVLUP_ musical career, with a large focus on the love affair between himself and MLSSV^ ZPUNLY T\ZPJPHU 1\UL *HY[LY 9LLZL >P[OLYZWVVU 7OVLUP_ WSH`Z HU HZ[V\UKPUNS` JVU]PUJPUN *HZO LX\PWWLK with his famous bass-baritone drawl, guitar-picking goodness and a sneer that nicely compliments the singer’s outlaw image. Witherspoon also has an acute \UKLYZ[HUKPUN VM [OL *V\U[Y` T\ZPJPHUÂťZ persona in this critically-acclaimed biopic. Charlotte Krol

;OLZL Ă„STZ HYL PSS\Z[YH[P]L VM ^OH[ H biopic can offer; a vivid portrayal of the context that surrounds an artist or genre, and a greater insight into the motivations ILOPUK [OLPY ^VYR -VY WLVWSL [OH[ ^HU[ [V KPZJV]LY UL^ NLUYLZ VY ZPTWS` Ă„UK V\[ more about their favourite artist, biopics are an interesting and accessible place to start. Jake Batty 9H` - Born in deep poverty and ISPUK MYVT H `V\UN HNL 9H` *OHYSLZÂť music was as diverse and colourful as his life. His heroin addiction, childhood in Georgia and almost continual problems ^P[O Ă„KLSP[` WLWWLYLK OPZ ZVUNZ ^P[O H NLU\PUL O\THU [V\JO -L^ T\ZPJPHUZ are as worthy of a biopic as him. ‘Ray’ tells his story warts and all and contains brilliant musical set pieces with an Oscar-

:OPUL - Shine tells the story VM ]PY[\VZV WPHUPZ[ +H]PK /LSMNV[[ whose technical ability was tragically VUS` LX\HSSLK I` OPZ KPMĂ„J\S[PLZ ^P[O schizoaffective disorder. Performed by .LVMMYL` 9\ZO ^OV ^VU HU 6ZJHY MVY [OL YVSL HUK 5VHO ;H`SVY [OPZ IPVWPJ chronicles the turbulent life Helfgott led under the ruthless guidance of his overbearing father. Above all, the movie gives an insight into both the dangerous and beautiful side of musical perfectionism. Ben James

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CLASSICAL MUSIC

This issue Impact explores the often overlooked world of classical music. We present our ‘Beginner’s Guide’ in which we provide you with the basics on all things classical. You may even be surprised to know that certain JVTWVZP[PVUZ HYL TVYL MHTPSPHY [OHU `V\ [OPUR Âś ZLL V\Y Âş*SHZZPJHS ;VW ;LUÂť [V Ă„UK V\[ TVYL (M[LY V\Y Âş-H]V\YP[L 7PJRZÂť section, read Rebecca Hutter’s article on why we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss classical music as ‘dull and outdated’. Remember people...keep it classical!

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE -James Smyllie and Rebecca Hutter

Impact’s Classical Top Ten Classical music you didn’t know you knew! :LYNLP 7YVRVÄL]! º4VU[HN\LZ HUK *HW\SL[Z Bet you didn’t know that the opening music for The Apprentice PZ UV V[OLY [OHU 4Y 7YVRVÄL]Z º4VU[HN\LZ HUK *HW\SL[Z MYVT Romeo and Juliet. *HYS 6YMM! º6 -VY[\UH *HYS 6YMMZ º6 -VY[\UH PZ \ZLK HSS V]LY [OL WSHJL -YVT ;OL ? -HJ[VYZ VWLUPUN [OLTL [V :UVVW +VNNZ PU[YV H[ .SHZ[VUI\Y` 2010, this song gets around. If you’re a West Bromwich Albion fan you may also recognise this as the song played before matches at The Hawthorns. 3tV +LSPILZ! º;OL -SV^LY +\L[ 0[Z OHYK [V TPZZ +LSPILZ º-SV^LY +\L[ ZPUJL [OPZ OHZ ILLU the song used in British Airways adverts since 1989. Also YLJVNUPZHISL MYVT JV\U[SLZZ ;= WYVNYHTTLZ HUK ÄSTZ PUJS\KPUN :\WLYTHU 9L[\YUZ 4LL[ [OL 7HYLU[Z 4PZÄ[Z HUK ;OL 0; *YV^K =P]HSKP! º:WYPUN MYVT ;OL -V\Y :LHZVUZ One of the most beautiful classical compositions ever written HUK YHUKVTS` [OL 0TWHJ[ VMÄJL WOVULZ YPUN[VUL

Impact’s Favourite Picks James Smyllie and Rebecca Hutter suggest a few composers to get you started! If you like dramatic music‌ -YVT [OL L_WYLZZP]L [V [OL L_JP[PUN [V [OL Q\Z[ WSHPU YH\JV\Z classical music doesn’t hold back when it comes to drama. Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite Of Spring’ even caused its offended audience to riot in protest against the piece’s garish audacity. 0M `V\ÂťYL HM[LY JVTWVZLYZ ^P[O H Ă…HPY MVY [OL KYHTH[PJ [OLU some names you should remember are Mahler, Shostakovich and Wagner. If you like uplifting music‌ Some of the most uplifting music ever written comes from the classical world. Handel’s ‘The Arrival of The Queen Of Sheba’, Rossini’s ‘William Tell Overture’ and Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story Overture’ are all guaranteed to lift your spirits. However, if you’re after uplifting on an epic scale, then the majestic

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ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

3\KV]PJV ,PUH\KP! Âş+PL[YV *HZHÂť Anybody who’s ever watched This Is England will recognise ,PUH\KPÂťZ Âş+PL[YV *HZHÂť HZ VUL VM [OL Ă„STÂťZ Z[HUK V\[ [YHJRZ (SZV \ZLK PU ))* HK]LY[Z HUK VJJHZPVUHSS` PU )PN )YV[OLY montages‌weird. ,K]HYK .YPLN! Âş4VYUPUN 4VVKÂť Originally composed for Ibsen’s ‘Peer Gynt’, this song has reached a modern-day audience through the likes of Warner )YVZ JHY[VVUZ HUK WYVNYHTTLZ Z\JO HZ -HTPS` .\` HUK ;OL Simpsons. 7`V[Y ;JOHPRV]ZR`! Âş;OLTL MYVT :^HU 3HRLÂť Two words. Black Swan. Who can forget Natalie Portman elegantly gliding across the stage to one of Tchaikovsky’s most famous compositions? 9PJOHYK >HNULY! Âş9PKL VM [OL =HSR`YPLZÂť <ZLK PU JV\U[SLZZ Ă„STZ HUK [LSL]PZPVU WYVNYHTTLZ PUJS\KPUN Apocalypse Now. 5PRVSHP 9PTZR` 2VYZHRV]! Âş;OL -SPNO[ VM [OL )\TISLILLÂť Originally written for a nineteenth century opera, Korsakov’s Âş;OL -SPNO[ VM [OL )\TISLILLÂť PZ IL[[LY RUV^U [VKH` MYVT [OL SPRLZ VM 2PSS )PSS HUK +PZUL`ÂťZ -HU[HZPH (U[VUxU +]VYmR ! Âş5L^ >VYSK :`TWOVU`Âť Remember the really quaint Hovis advert where the boy pushes his bike up a steep hill? Well the song that documented this boy’s Z[Y\NNSL ^HZ UVUL V[OLY [OHU +]VYmRÂťZ Âş5L^ >VYSK :`TWOVU`Âť

trumpet melody from ‘Journey To The Island’ - written by John Williams for ‘Jurassic Park’ - is the perfect choice. If you like relaxing music‌ *SHZZPJHS T\ZPJ PZ NYLH[ MVY ^VYRPUN HUK YLSH_PUN [V 0M `V\ like chilled piano music like Einaudi, then have a listen to the collection of ‘Songs Without Words’ by Mendelssohn, or ZVTL VM [OL Âş5VJ[\YULZÂť I` *OVWPU -H\Yt VY 3PZa[ *OVWPUÂťZ Âş*LSSV :VUH[H PU . TPUVYÂť HUK Âş;OL :^HUÂť MYVT Âş*HYUP]HS VM the Animals’ by Saint-SaĂŤns are sure to soothe any stresses and provide the perfect soundtrack for any all nighters! If you like contemporary music‌ If you want to listen to some really wacky music, some composers have started to go to great lengths to make their T\ZPJ IV[O H\KPIS` HUK ]PZ\HSS` MHZJPUH[PUN 1VOU *HNL ^HZ a pioneer in ‘prepared piano’, instructing performers to place KPMMLYLU[ VIQLJ[Z PUZPKL [OL WPHUV Âş4PJYV *VUJLY[VÂť I` 4HJRL` is written for percussion, 5 instruments, and even children’s toys and kitchen utensils!

- AN ODE TO JOY

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BEETHOVEN OR BAYWATCH

IS CLASSICAL MUSIC BEING DROWNED OUT BY THE OCEAN DANCE FLOOR? -James Smyllie and Rebecca Hutter Classical music is everywhere. -YVT [OL PJVUPJ ? MHJ[VY [OLTL [\UL [V ;PLZ[VÂťZ IPNNLZ[ JS\IIPUN HU[OLT ;= HK]LY[Z [V Ă„ST ZV\UK[YHJRZ HUK 5VRPH YPUN[VULZ [V [OL MVV[IHSS WP[JO JSHZZPJHS T\ZPJ L_LY[Z P[Z PUĂ…\LUJL V]LY V\Y everyday life whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not. Yet, despite its dominance, it is still unable to shake its ‘boring’ and ‘old-fashioned’ image, causing even the most avid music lovers to overlook its importance. So how, despite its overwhelming emotional power and comforting familiarity, can people convince themselves that they have no interest in classical music? Is it because people feel it is a subject that takes years of study and practice to be able to appreciate? Or is it due to the misconceptions and perceived ‘rules’ of the sterile concert hall? Well, who wouldn’t be put off by the thought of sitting in silence in a sterile concert hall full of retired pensioners who frown at you for clapping at the wrong moment, for turning the page of a programme during a quiet piece or even wearing the wrong type of shoes? It’s unlikely to appear an appealing

invitation to anyone, conjuring up the dread of an exam hall VY L]LU H YL[PYLTLU[ OVTL )\[ ^OH[ PZ MVYNV[[LU HTVUNZ[ these ‘formalities’ are the post-concert conversations initiated, the emotional impact of such luxurious and overwhelming sounds and, most importantly, the universality of the music. The perceived elitism is only one small factor of classical music and it is a great shame that the few pretentious concert-goers have WYV]LK ZV PUĂ…\LU[PHS Aside from the concert halls, which in their own right are often works of architectural brilliance, the sheer diversity of classical music itself is often limited to a few household name composers. So what about contemporary composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams? These composers are drastically different to works normally associated with ‘classical music’, yet remain under the same generalised bracket of ‘classical’, a term riddled with off-putting associations. This being said, during exam periods, the role of classical music KVLZ KYHZ[PJHSS` JOHUNL -VY [OL ML^ ^LLRZ PU 1HU\HY` HUK June, it is not just the roles of Ocean and the Hallward that are reversed; Ipods are replaced with classical radio stations and late night revision sessions are accompanied by the lyrical melodies of Beethoven or Einaudi. Many of my friends have told me they listen to classical music the night before an exam in an attempt to keep calm and concentrate. But, surely enough, VUJL [OL SHZ[ L_HT PZ JVTWSL[L *HWP[HS -4 PZ YL[\ULK HUK [OL TVUV[VUV\Z JOVYK WYVNYLZZPVUZ VM HUHSVNV\Z *OHY[ OP[Z dominate the houses of Lenton once more. Music societies, such as ‘mussoc’, ‘blowsoc’ and ‘opsoc’ offer vast musical opportunities for people with an interest in music, yet this music scene seems to be relatively unknown and, ironically, unheard of by so many. In addition to the auditioned orchestras and choirs, there are numerous other ensembles that offer the opportunity for anyone to rehearse and perform in regular concerts. The free bi-weekly lunch time concerts and the large scale concerts put on each term are both examples of the amount of music available in a way that is accessible and not tainted by the aforementioned stigmas.

Image by Meurig Gallagher

-YVT VWLYH[PJ ]PY[\VZP[` [V [OL [YHUX\PS WPHUV ZVUH[H JSHZZPJHS music can be as accessible as you make it and with such an V]LY^OLSTPUN KP]LYZP[` VM Z[`SLZ P[ PZ PTWVZZPISL [V UV[ Ă„UK something to suit your emotion, mood or intellectual curiosity. The sheer fact that music written hundreds of years ago still has such a prominent role demonstrates its musical integrity. *SHZZPJHS T\ZPJ OHZ Z[VVK [OL [LZ[ VM [PTL HUK JSLHYS` ^VU Unlike the generic chart hits that are outdated after being overplayed on a two-week radio loop, classical music should be credited for its historical sustainability and malleability. It is only YPNO[ [OLU [OH[ ^L ZOV\SK YLNHYK JSHZZPJHS T\ZPJ HZ KPNUPĂ„LK rather than dull, beautiful instead of boring.

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m music

impact

introduces

FARMYARD RECORDS

SUCKING LEMONS -James Smyllie

¸;V IL OVULZ[ 0 Q\Z[ ZPNU IHUKZ 0 SPRLš X\PWZ ;VTT` -HYT`HYK HIV\[ OPZ SHILS -HYT`HYK 9LJVYKZ ;OL SHILS ILNHU IHJR PU 2009 and has gone from strength to strength, launching with the ILH\[PM\S 5H[HSPL +\UJHU HUK JVU[PU\PUN [V WPJR [OL ILZ[ MYVT [OL \UPX\L HUK KP]LYZL 5V[[PUNOHT T\ZPJ ZJLUL -HYT`HYK aims to nurture the music that Tommy and Nottingham locals are passionate about and spread it to a wider audience. Today -HYT`HYK IVHZ[Z SVJHS MH]V\YP[LZ Z\JO HZ 5V[[PUNOHT <UP]LYZP[` Z[\KLU[ .HSSLY` WVPZLK MVY UH[PVUHS Z\JJLZZ THZ[LYZ VM SP]L music, Manière des BohĂŠmiens and the wonderfully soulful Will 1LMMLY` 5V[ VUS` [OPZ I\[ -HYT`HYK OHZ H OHUK PU [OL IPNNLZ[ local music festival of the year; the Hockley Hustle. Tommy certainly has good taste. If you don’t take our word for it, check out www.myspace.com/farmyardrecords.

-V\UKLK I` 5V[[PUNOHT <UP]LYZP[` Z[\KLU[ 6SP :OPSSPUN HSVUN with fellow editors Stew Green and Rich Multimer, Sucking Lemons is a student run alternative music blog that provides its readers with regular daily updates regarding the latest releases, news, and reviews that cover both well-established artists and those that are up-and-coming and unsigned. The blog’s founders and 14 contributors, some of whom also go to Nottingham University, collectively have a wide-ranging and eclectic tastes in music covering artists across numerous NLUYLZ ,]LU [OV\NO P[Z VUS` ILLU HJ[P]L ZPUJL +LJLTILY 2009, Sucking Lemons has already been privileged enough to interview the likes of Yeasayer and Everything Everything, YLJVYK SP]L ZLZZPVUZ ^P[O ;OL -\[\YLOLHKZ HUK +Y` ;OL 9P]LY HUK OH]L VYNHUPZLK U\TLYV\Z SP]L L]LU[Z ^P[O +1 ZL[Z MYVT [OL SPRLZ VM )VTIH` )PJ`JSL *S\I :V MVY UL^Z YL]PL^Z HUK interviews from the world of alternative music just head over to www.suckinglemons.co.uk.

...Harriet has been listening to: Marcus Foster – ‘Tumble Down’‌

...James has been listening to: Weezer – ‘Say It Aint So’‌

-Harriet Brampton

LIVE REVIEW:

CHASE AND STATUS AT ROCK CITY – 13/03/11 -Jack Gilbert

Giants of the dub-step world Chase and Status exploded onto the Rock City stage to the delight of the eclectic mix of people awaiting their arrival. The hoards of excitable young teens standing beside the older generations was a true testament to the wide appeal this band have generated, and all concerned were left more [OHU ZH[PZĂ„LK I` H ZL[ VM K\I M\LSSLK carnage.

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The tone was set immediately with the vivacious ‘No Problem’, erupting the audience into an orgy of euphoric head IHUNPUN -VSSV^PUN [OPZ Âş,HZ[LYU 1HTÂť gave us all a reminder of the band’s past, with this more traditional dubstep format demonstrating the extent to which their sound has evolved over the years. A highlight of the night came with the the unexpected arrival of Tempa-T. He sprinted on stage to deliver the grimy vocals for ‘Hypest Hype’, inducing more Z^LH[ Ă„SSLK YL]LSY` MYVT IV[O [OVZL VU stage and behind the barriers.

ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

The set, mainly featuring the band’s latest album, ‘No More Idols’, was constantly juxtaposed with their old-school classics and it was hard to discern which received a greater welcome from the audience. A slightly mellower slice of drum and base in ‘Take Me Away’ stood out as one of the best moments of the night; it further L_LTWSPĂ„LK [OL ZOLLY ]HYPL[` VM ^OPJO *OHZL HUK :[H[\Z HYL JHWHISL ;OL UL^ material sounded just as good though, ^P[O Âş)SPUK -HP[OÂť YVHYPUN IHJR H[ [OL crowd as they screamed every lyric. This song was also put in the encore, but this time with a guest appearance from Liam Bailey, whose powerful vocals provided the perfect tone for the gig’s climactic Ă„UHSL All in all I was left wondering whether it was a rock show, or a drum and bass set. <S[PTH[LS` P[ ZLLTLK [V TL [OH[ *OHZL and Status have managed to use the Ă…L_PIPSP[` VM K\I Z[LW KY\T HUK IHZZ [V incorporate a more mainstream sound which includes many genres of music.

The result was a unique and diverse live ZOV^ ^OPJO LSLJ[YPĂ„LK 9VJR *P[` VU HU otherwise dreary Sunday night. ...Harriet has been listening to: Radiohead – ‘Sail to the Moon’‌

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THE CHANGING FACE OF CHINA

travel

SHANGHAI AND THE RISE OF MULTICULTURALISM - Marlene Herman

In 1997, barely 7 years old, I moved with my parents to Shanghai, China. (M[LY SP]PUN PU ;VYVU[V MVY Ä]L `LHYZ H city that I felt was my home, Shanghai seemed like another planet. Being chased by Chinese women wanting to touch my German strawberry-blonde curls, the abundance of bicycles, the strange symbols that were apparently H SHUN\HNL HUK HU KLÄUP[L SHJR VM anything remotely North American – well, I had some trouble adjusting to life in the Orient. Literally translated, Shanghai means ¸HIV]L ZLH ¹ +\YPUN [OL 6WP\T >HYZ PU the mid 19th century, the Americans and British presided over the city and opened the port’s international trade; it was this act that began Shanghai’s ascent to global economic importance. In the last century the city has been a centre of industry and politics, particularly during [OL *OPULZL 9L]VS\[PVU HUK [OL *\S[\YHS 9L]VS\[PVU +LZWP[L [OL [\YI\SLUJL of its political regimes, Shanghai has continued to grow both in physical size and inhabitants, to say nothing of its economic and global position. Thirteen years later, both my parents have ventured back. However, what was once H NYV^PUN I\[ KPZ[PUJ[S` *OPULZL JP[` ^P[O a population of 13.3 million is now an unrecognisable metropolis of 17.4 million more reminiscent of Manhattan dotted ^P[O *OPULZL JOHYHJ[LYZ HUK WHNVKHZ [OHU [OL *OPULZL JVTTLYJPHS JLU[YL ^L had gradually come to know. Pudong, the side of the river on which my dad used to

work in one of the only skyscrapers, is now a jungle of steel towers and trendy business eateries, bars and clubs. The Jin Mao Tower, the tallest building upon my departure in 2001, has since been LJSPWZLK I` [OL >VYSK -PUHUJPHS *LU[YL next to it - which in turn is about to be literally overshadowed by yet another construction. Still that is nothing compared to the plethora of boutiques, restaurants, and expensive Western cars that have come to populate the streets. Of course, as in all big cities, there are the multitude of Starbucks that have cropped up in the past decade or so. However, where once there were perhaps at most 20 dotted around the already enormous city, Shanghai now boasts an overwhelming 117 individual branches of the international coffee sensation.

consumer culture, which some might see as particularly ironic within such a fervent communist regime. Where once ‘good’ meat could be bought from an Australian butcher at the back of a large network of apartments, masses of supermarkets from all over the world have now sprung up, providing the multicultural masses with truly global gastronomic possibilities.

Since 2001, ten new underground lines have been added, each reaching a suburb. A new network of highways running above the ordinary streets connects the suburbs to Puxi and Pudong, the two sides of the city bisected by the Huangpu River. These suburbs surfaced to accommodate the growing local and foreign population. While the Shanghai 4\UPJPWHS *V\UJPS JSHPTZ [OH[ [YHMÄJ VYNHUPaH[PVU OHZ VMÄJPHSS` PTWYV]LK [OL congestion hasn’t. According to my mum it’s never certain how long it will take you to get from A to B. Thank God for having had a chauffeur; a staple for a lot of foreigners even today.

It’s pretty clear that the Eastern World in particular is changing. Shanghai [VKH` SHJRZ [OL KPZ[PUJ[P]L *OPULZL MLLS despite my dad’s observations that it has YL[HPULK H *OPULZL ¸Z[`SL¹ PU [OL WHNVKHZ HUK [YHMÄJ 5L]LY[OLSLZZ P[ PZ H [Y\L tragedy that cultures across the globe seem to assimilate more and more into the Western ideal. The former pagodas of Shanghai sit side by side with glossy steel structures and Western boutiques while Mercedes cars stand bumper to bumper on the countless highways. Shanghai has become an amalgamation of every culture and a cosmopolitan force to be reckoned with. One can only imagine what will happen with the rest of *OPUH

The expansion of the foreign community over the years has created a rather large

Having surpassed Singapore as the largest container port in the world, West clashes with East on every street JVYULY VM :OHUNOHP (Z *OPUH»Z LJVUVT` booms, so does the working middle class, and they like to spend their money; this is a good thing as the prices have increased in accordance with Shanghai’s NYV^PUN .+7

“Shanghai seemed like another world...”

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MONKEYS ON MY BACK: FEAR AND LOATHING ON THE TRAVEL TRAIL - Richard Collett

0THNL I` ,TTH *OHYHSHTIV\Z You’ve heard it all before – drugs are bad, they mess up peoples’ lives and rinse your cash and that’s why the world in all its wisdom has banned the hard ones and the fun ones alike. However, on the travel trail, the availability of drugs is astonishing. Backpackers have the chance to realise their own hedonistic dreams, and in the fast paced and carefree world of travel THU` ^PSS ÄUK [OLTZLS]LZ [Y`PUN HSS manner of different drugs for thrills before leaving the scene behind them in a blaze of pot smoke and mushroom shakes. Casual drug use is endemic amongst backpackers, but many remain blissfully unaware of the consequences they may face from the law, or the effects drug tourism and abuse can have on the local community and, indeed, themselves. Walking into a lakeside guesthouse in 7OUVT 7LUO *HTIVKPH [OL OV[LS V^ULY straightway enquired as to whether I

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would need a room, and some marijuana to go with it. I asked to see a room, and upon entering the not so luxurious 2 dollar single he pulled out a huge bag of cannabis, telling me I could have it all for only 10 dollars. This was to be the start of a period of experimentation and revelation in a place where a massive bag of drugs was the same price yet easier to procure than the paper needed to smoke it. After some days spent on the lakeside smoking with other travellers, and generally seeing little else of the city aside from the few streets around the lake, I headed down to Sihanoukville, *HTIVKPH»Z [V\YPZ[` ILHJO [V^U ZP[\H[LK to meet up with some friends who were holed up in a guesthouse called The ‘Happy Hippi’. The ‘Happy Hippi’ turned out to be essentially nothing more than a drug den, if a friendly one at that. Joe, the Norwegian manager, was typical of THU` VM *HTIVKPH»Z L_WH[Z S\YLK PU

by cheap thrills, lax laws and a corrupt police force. He’d spent most of his life on the move, escaping one dodgy deal HM[LY HUV[OLY \U[PS OL ÄUHSS` ZL[[SLK PU *HTIVKPH H JV\U[Y` ^OVZL SH^Z HUK ^H` VM SPML [YLH[LK OPT Q\Z[ ÄUL 1VL ‘created’, as he put it, all the drugs he sold, claiming he wouldn’t sell anything OL OHKU»[ OPTZLSM [YPLK ÄYZ[ ;OL YLZ\S[ ^HZ `V\»K YHYLS` ÄUK OPT ZVILY OL»K IL \W all hours of the day wandering round the building on whatever twisted concoction he’d recently been producing, amiably chatting away to all the customers. His set up was perfect for the stoner: bar, restaurant, guesthouse and movie room. Many people had been there for weeks, if not months on end. Strikingly however, the business was next door to the town’s chief of police and it became apparent that this was the man who Joe bought his menagerie of intoxicants from. The police chief, on a purported salary of only 40 dollars

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travel a month, had two SUVS, a Jeep and several motorbikes parked outside his mansion. At one point he even offered to drive us out of town to see his cannabis Ă„LSKZ HUK OH]L V\Y WPJ[\YL [HRLU ^P[O AK-wielding guards to a backdrop of TL[YL OPNO WSHU[Z *VYY\W[PVU ^HZ YHTWHU[ `L[ KPMĂ„J\S[ MVY H [V\YPZ[ [V really condemn. We cannot simply take the moral high ground when most local VMĂ„JPHSZ [OLYL HYL VUS` JVYY\W[ PU VYKLY [V give their families a half decent chance in life. (M[LY V]LYZ[H`PUN T` *HTIVKPHU ]PZH I realised the time was right to move on. My next stop was Laos. In the 70’s Paul Theroux described Vientiane, Laos’ now conservative capital, as a place where “marijuana is cheaper than pipe [VIHJJV HUK VWP\T LHZPLY [V Ă„UK [OHU H cold glass of beerâ€?. Times have changed drastically in the city, but head north [V =HUN =PLUN HUK `V\ÂťSS Ă„UK H ZJLUL reminiscent of Hunter.S. Thompson on a mescaline trip. Vang Vieng is renowned for ‘Tubing’, an activity involving hordes VM KY\URLU IHJRWHJRLYZ Ă…PUNPUN themselves into a river and drinking from bar to bar – and where there are drunken [YH]LSSLYZ [OL KY\NZ Ă…V^ HZ [\YI\SLU[S` as the Mekong River. Vang Vieng was to be a revelation. Most people I met were either trying to leave or had been there far too long to ever leave. People were in a strange, debauched limbo, torn between the easy, drunken, wild days and the realisation that this was not the sort of travel they’d set out with in mind. In South America, a similar tale is played out on the backpacker trail. A friend told me of places like ‘Route 36’ in Bolivia, where coke is snorted in a carefree environment. Many travellers enjoy relishing in the sense of experimentation, freedom and hedonism these places provide but they should still be aware of the potential consequences. It’s all too easy to get swept up in the hedonism VUS` [V Ă„UK `V\YZLSM SPRL JV\U[SLZZ before you, trying to leave a situation you should have left long ago, and before `V\ Ă„UK `V\YZLSM Z[\JR PU H IL^PSKLYPUN cycle of penniless depravity, working the local hostels and bars for little or no pay, to support either your habit or new found lifestyle. 4` Ă„YZ[ KH` PU =HUN =PLUN 0 OHK H harrowing look into the world of hard drugs; An Englishman was pacing up and down in the restaurant I was

laws. Sitting in a bar in Jakarta, for instance, I met a guy whose brother had spent the last year in jail after being found guilty of possession of cannabis. According to his story, he had purchased some weed off a local in the street, only to have the hotel room raided later that night by police. The man’s brother and a friend were both arrested and were to stay in jail until either they completed their four year sentences or paid the KVSSHY ÄULZ VY TVYL WYLJPZLS` \U[PS their families could come up with the TVUL` >OPSZ[ [OPZ PZ H JSLHY ZL[ \W P[ illustrates the risk of dabbling in drugs in developing countries where the law can IL TVYL Å\PK [OHU IHJR OVTL

He kept muttering about how he had said he would never come back to this place, how they had said they would kill him if ever came back... but he had come back anyway eating at, talking away to himself in a dazed neurotic way. He kept muttering about how he had said he would never come back to this place, how they had said they would kill him if ever came back, but he had come back anyway. The Lao staff looked on indifferently, simply serving around him and telling \Z OL ^HZ VU ºJYHa` KY\N -YVT [OL local’s reaction, I assumed this was a common occurrence here; drugged up westerners traipsing around town in their own intoxicated worlds was an all too common phenomenon. Later on I met a German man who’d just spent the previous night in the local jail cell until his friends came up with the KVSSHY ÄUL /PZ Z[VY` ^HZ H ZPTPSHY one told by travellers across Laos, he was caught on the street smoking a joint, so the police took his passport and held him until he produced the YLX\PYLK ÄUL 0U =HUN =PLUN [OL WVSPJL actively went out of their way to cash in on the drug use, regularly setting up Westerners in minor sting operations \ZPUN \UKLYJV]LY HNLU[Z *VU]LYZLS` you could safely purchase anything from weed and mushrooms to opium and @HIIH H OPNOS` HKKPJ[P]L HTWOL[HTPUL ^OPJO [YHUZSH[LZ HZ º;OL *YHa` +Y\N in all the bars in town. Step out on the street though, joint in hand, and there’s every chance you’ll be thrown in the local cells for the night. Travellers simply need to be more aware of the effects that this form of drug tourism can have. Whilst in some countries it’s easy enough to escape the law when in potentially dire straits, others will have what seem to a Westerner more corrupt and draconian

One of most weighty consequences of drug use is not even to the traveller himself; you should not underestimate the effect that drug tourism can have on local communities. Whilst it’s easy enough to smoke an opium pipe with some hill tribes, or experiment with the sinister Yabba drug, the locals still have to live with these drugs when you move on. Many are addicted to

0THNL I` ,TTH *OHYHSHTIV\Z methamphetamines, harrowingly up to an estimated 1 million in Thailand alone, whilst others struggle with opium habits with access to these drugs being facilitated by the demand which travellers provide. Although it’s clear that a few travellers not buying that second opium pipe in Vang Vieng won’t stop the hard drugs trade, in a region that produces the vast majority of the world’s opium it’s still essential that you question the effects on yourself and the local community. On the trail, things can certainly degenerate into something decidedly more sinister than a few backpackers sitting around getting stoned all day.

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THE TRAVELLERS’ TRUNK IN PURSUIT OF TOURIST CHIC - Claudia Baxter

RONDA - DISCOVERING THE LEGENDS OF ANDALUCĂ?A - Dan Adams

My Dad once gave me a book, and that book was Hemmingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, a classic based on his experience in the Spanish Civil War. In the novel Nationalist sympathisers are thrown off the cliff in a ]PSSHNL ILSPL]LK [V IL [OL [V^U VM 9VUKH PU (UKHS\JxH Southern Spain. I was fascinated: an inland town built on a precipice - I had to see it. So last month I took a week VMM \UP]LYZP[` KVU[ [LSS VU TL HUK ÅL^ V\[ [V (UKHS\JxH to get lost in Seville’s labyrinthine streets, muse on the cliffs of Ronda, party with the students in Granada, and get some sun!

You’re on the home straight and only one hurdle remains – it’s the baggage weigh-in, that unforgiving stretch of Y\IILY [OL Ă„UHS [LZ[ PU `V\Y HK]LU[\YL Z[HUKPUN IL[^LLU you and roast dinners. At this point there is one question in many travellers’ minds; why did I buy so much crap?! Like a ‘kid in a candy shop’, a bride at one of those all too familiar videos of US wedding dress sales, you just can’t get enough of the brightly coloured bargains on offer at every turn of the street. Ones to eat, ones to wear, ones just to decorate – it’s all too easy just to shop ‘till you drop’ or until `V\ JHUÂť[ SPM[ `V\Y S\NNHNL +YP]LU I` HU PUMLJ[PV\Z KLZPYL [V W\YZ\L Âş[YH]LSSLY JOPJÂť [OL \UKLĂ„ULK [YH]LSSPUN [YHKLTHYR ^L succumb to every printed t-shirt, alpaca jumper and pair of ali-babas. Seemingly useless items take on an all new appeal, making you part with your pennies to purchase that delicate handmade fan, ‘practical’ Vietnamese hat and light up replica of the Eiffel Tower. But when is it ever hot enough to warrant a MHU& >OLYL HYL [OL WHKK` Ă„LSKZ PU ULLK VM H OHY]LZ[& (UK Q\Z[ ^OH[ ^PSS `V\ KV ^P[O [OVZL ºÅHZO`Âť VYUHTLU[Z VUJL OVTL& >OLU `V\ OP[ OVTL NYV\UK HKVYULK PU `V\Y Ă„ULZ[ [YH]LSSPUN attire, like a badge that screams cultured and worldly, carrying a quarter of your bodyweight in souvenirs, you’re untouchable. You emerge out of the arrival doors, golden skin, unkempt hair, harem pants and enough ‘friendship bracelets’ to sink the titanic. You are the epitome of cool, the quintessential traveller. Sadly that soon fades. The skin whitens, the hair gets brushed, the trousers get tighter and the jewellery is reluctantly removed. You begin to realise that you’re just not as much of an individual as you thought when you were ‘living the dream’. As for the souvenirs, well, they remain on your shelf resolutely picking up dust, a trigger for reminiscence of a time long gone.

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ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

Ronda was originally constructed over 2500 years ago, a city on an outcrop overlooking a vast plain, and remained a near-impregnable fortress throughout AndalucĂ­a’s varied history. The Moors from North Africa who ruled AndalucĂ­a for nearly 750 years built up much of the old town where greats SPRL /LTTPUN^H` HUK 6YZVU >LSSLZ JHTL [V YLĂ…LJ[ (Z [OL population grew under renewed Spanish rule, a new town developed on a neighbouring outcrop. Transportation was naturally a problem so in the 18th century they built a bridge to connect the outcrops. ;OL IYPKNL SVVTPUN TL[YLZ HIV]L [OL JHU`VU Ă…VVY [VVR 32 years to complete and should be considered one of the architectural masterpieces of the era. Looking over into the YH]PUL PZ H ZJHY` ZLUZH[PVU HUK SLNLUK OHZ P[ (UKHS\JxH PZ M\SS VM [OLZL [HSS Z[VYPLZ [OL HYJOP[LJ[ MLSS MYVT OPZ V^U IYPKNL trying to etch his name onto the facade. After walking over P[Z ZOVY[ L_WHUZL `V\ Ă„UK `V\YZLSM PU HU VSK [V^U ^P[O X\PL[ cobbled streets, whitewashed homes, an awesome ‘little bandit’ museum, imposing churches and delicate convents. Take the paths down into the ravine and see the underside of the bridge and the small farms that dot the plain that stretches to the distant mountains. Ronda is about an hour from Malaga, a direct connection from East Midlands airport. If you avoid the weekend you will be rewarded with just the locals, the quaint shops and the expansive views. One or two days is ample to see this small city, with a population of only 35,000. Nevertheless visiting there is a strangely humbling experience. After your visit you can catch a bus or train to see the oranges of Seville, the Alhambra in Granada, the beaches near Malaga, the JO\YJOLZ VM *VYKVIH VY [OL ^PUK H[ ;HYPMH WLYMLJ[ PM `V\ RP[L surf. AndalucĂ­a is as wild and diverse as it claims - and 22 KLNYLLZ PU -LIY\HY`

HAS THE CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY LOST ALL NOVELTY?

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arts&culture

- Priyal Dadhania and Hannah Redhouse

Question: what do Katie Price, Justin Bieber, Aleksandr the Meerkat, and Kerry Katona have in common? Answer: they have all published autobiographies documenting their `V\UN HUK VY Ă„J[PVUHS SP]LZ 0[ ZLLTZ that an autobiography is the latest must have for enterprising celebrities. (SVUNZPKL Ă„[ULZZ ]PKLVZ YLHSP[` shows, calendars, and twitter updates everyone and their meerkat gets to tell their life story. But what is the purpose of an autobiography? Surely they should be the stories of achievement and inspiration, not everyday realisations such as “I knew I would look sexier with IPNNLY IVVIZ š )LPUN 1VYKHU The farce continued when sixteen year old pop sensation Justin Bieber wrote HIV\[ [OL [YH\THZ VM OPZ Ă„YZ[ KH[L OH]PUN had spaghetti spilt down his clean white shirt. Similarly, Michael McIntyre KLZJYPILK PU KL[HPS KP[JOPUN OPZ 7* and getting a Mac, “It’s gorgeous and

enormous and I bought it especially to write my book�. Ultimately, you would not ring home about your housemate buying a new Mac, nor would it inspire you to follow in their footsteps, but in the world of celebrity autobiographies, these banalities are heralded like the second coming. ;OL KLÄUP[PVU VM HU H\[VIPVNYHWO` PZ [OL story of one’s life written by oneself, and so it follows that you would have one published per lifetime. This is obviously not the case in the celebrity world: Kerry 2H[VUH OHZ [OYLL +H]PK )LJROHT OHZ three and Katie Price tops this list with Ä]L 0YVUPJHSS` [OL SH[LZ[ PU OLY Z[YLHT of life stories was called You Only Live Once. This interest in celebrity life stories seems then to be tireless. It is also worth questioning whether celebrity autobiographies overshadow those of genuinely accomplished individuals who have lived lives of merit. 5LSZVU 4HUKLSH ^YP[PUN HIV\[ OPZ ÄNO[

for freedom or Tony Blair discussing his motives behind taking the country to war seem incomparable to anything in Katie Price’s latest offering, and yet they share space on bookshelves and bestseller lists alike. Whilst these latter examples seem more validated than autobiographies of say, a glamour model, comedian, or pubescent pop star, it is not to say that some celebrity autobiographies are not a good read. They may, and often do, provide some light humour and entertainment. But where does the boundary lie? Is it okay for celebrities to have a new story of their life published every year? Should JOPSKYLU PU [OLPY [LLUZ IL YLÅLJ[PUN VU a career which has not yet peaked? It seems that for the Twitter generation, the need for a constant stream of inane detail about celebrity lives has eclipsed the novelty of the autobiography. So, with celebrities spending their prime years writing about their lives, it could be that they are forgetting to live them.

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a arts&culture

THE CROCUS GALLERY:

SUPPORT ING A CREATIVE COMMUNITY - Kim Smith

You may not know this, but little Lenton is host to its very own art gallery. The *YVJ\Z .HSSLY` PZ Z[PSS PU P[Z ÅLKNSPUN stages, but is already making a big impact on the local community. The initial vision was to create a voluntary led artistic enterprise in the Church Square Shopping Centre, in the heart of Lenton. This dream came into fruition in May 2010, as a response to the Empty Shops project, which aimed to inspire the formation of creative community spaces nationwide. The establishment of the Crocus .HSSLY` ILULÄ[Z [OL SVJHSP[` IYPSSPHU[S` considering the shop had been gathering dust for over four years, and now serves an innovative purpose that many can appreciate. Presently, the gallery relies on funding to keep its doors open to the public and the scheme has initially been supported I` 5V[[PUNOHT *P[` *V\UJPS HUK SVJHS JV\UJPSSVY +H]PK ;YPTISL ;OL NHSSLY` WSHUZ to become an independent organisation in the coming year, which shows great potential for extending their good work, after its initial success. The gallery has

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hosted a wide range of exhibitions, of all mediums of artwork, from local artists as ^LSS HZ [OVZL MYVT MHY[OLY HÄLSK Gallery manager Alyn Mulholland expressed that a key mission of the project is “not only to provide opportunities for artists to exhibit but also to provide those who aspire to work in arts management an opportunity to learn all aspects of running a gallery”. Individuals wishing to volunteer are welcomed, and it seems an ideal opportunity for students in particular. In the tough job market that we are inevitably gravitating towards it is becoming increasingly important to gain valuable work experience, and volunteers at the gallery can get stuck in with organising events, fundraising and marketing.

I spoke to Alice Thickett, a graduate of -PUL (Y[ MYVT 5V[[PUNOHT ;YLU[ <UP]LYZP[` H[ *YVJ\Z .HSSLY`»Z SH[LZ[ VWLUPUN HUK she explained the incredible experience she has gained from volunteering. In a short space of time Alice has been encouraged and supported to realise her ambitions through the close community VM [OL *YVJ\Z .HSSLY` HUK OHZ UV^ become the lead curator at the gallery, learning how to run a gallery and coordinating exhibitions for the public. ;OL *YVJ\Z .HSSLY` ILNHU ^P[O [OL seed of an idea, and has rapidly grown HUK ÅV\YPZOLK \UKLY [OL H[[LU[PVU HUK commitment of the voluntary community, proving that with hard work and a whole lot of passion, small projects such as this can develop into something spectacular that a local community can really be proud of. The future looks promising as the gallery is considering new initiatives such as open art critic sessions and a series of mini lectures to help aspiring artists on their way.

HELEN MOULINOS: PASSIVE AGGRESSION & ROB DIGWEED: IF ONLY THEY HAD KNOWN… @ CROCUS GALLERY - Kim Smith

Upon entering The Crocus Gallery on opening night I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality of the gallery itself - bearing in mind it had previously been an empty shop! I was impressed by how much the volunteers had achieved in putting together such a well organised and professional show. The gallery played host to two `V\UN HY[PZ[Z /LSLU 4V\SPUVZ» ÄYZ[ solo show was an interesting take on how the urban world of today can be threatening, confusing and isolating, in the face of modern technology and the startling impact of the media.

However, it was the smaller exhibition VM ^VYR KPZWSH`LK I` 9VI +PN^LLK in the back room of the gallery which really captured my imagination. The multi-talented University of Nottingham NYHK\H[L L_OPIP[LK OPZ T\ZPJHS ÅHPY ^P[O OPZ IHUK ;OL 9VILY[ +PN^LLK 8\HY[L[ in addition to his “retro perspective” graphic based work. His artwork incorporates present day experience of media, combined with historical events, which creates an interesting fusion of ideas and provokes questions pertaining to our modern day existence.

STEF CARTWRIGHT

@ LAKESIDE ARTS CENTRE - Anne Moore

After graduating from Nottingham Trent last year, Stef Cartwright is JLSLIYH[PUN [OL VWLUPUN VM OLY ÄYZ[ solo exhibition. This intimate and intriguing exhibition showcases nine black and white portraits printed on glass and wax, inspired by Victorian memorial imagery. Stef’s fascination with this theme began whilst studying for her photography degree and also provided the material for OLY ÄUHS KLNYLL ZOV^ :WLHRPUN [V :[LM I learned that wealthy Victorian families VM[LU [VVR H ÄUHS WOV[VNYHWO VM [OLPY loved ones after their death, sometimes with the whole family posing next to them. Enlisting her own friends and family, Stef’s portraits emulate this tradition. Each person was arranged under a single light, left to relax and captured peacefully dozing. The resulting images are not morbid but beautifully calm. Every portrait is the same, a head and shoulders shot, PU WYVÄSL @L[ L]LY` WVY[YHP[ PZ \UPX\L ;V appreciate these photographs you must peer at them, scrutinising each facial feature. These are faces transformed by a private sleep, the closest a living human comes to death. “There was originally one of me” explained Stef. “A lot of people didn’t know it was me, or found it hard to identify others that they

knew”. I wondered what Stef’s subjects thought of this ghostly alteration. Scarred by a texture which looks like brushstrokes, the portraits appear indistinct and ethereal. “A lot of them really like it” she said, “the women more than the men for some reason!” -VSSV^PUN JVU]LU[PVUHS KHYRYVVT techniques, each square of wax and glass was coated with emulsion and dipped in a chemical base, printed in the same way as a paper photograph. “Once you get the technique sorted, it only takes an evening per photograph” Stef said. “It was the wax which was awkward; it’s quite a precise art”. Whilst Stef’s work reminds us of the tenuous link between life and death, it brings no sense of impending doom. Instead viewers are prompted to see dignity and grace in these death-like faces.

a

arts&culture Blagger’s Guide to…

PHOTOGRAPHY -Grace Mitchell

Are we artists? Artists take photographs to document culture, and so do we. We take the photos, edit them and splash them all over the internet. If Facebook is our exhibition space, are our photographs really that different from those we see in glossy magazines, or exhibited at the Tate? Really, we are no different from American pop artists like Ed Ruscha, whose series of artist’s books consisted of badly composed photographs of repetitive and banal subjects – such as his ‘twenty-six gasoline stations.’ However, looking beyond initial preconceptions, the art in Ruscha’s work is not about composition, perspective or viewpoint, it is about the concept: documenting his world. Surely we use our cameras to the same effect. Whether you know it or not, you will OH]L ILLU \UJVUZJPV\ZS` PUÅ\LUJLK by one of these photographic heroes, so next time you see the names Nan .VSKPU VY 3HYY` *SHYR 0 \YNL `V\ [V Z[VW and take a look. These two infamous counter-culture photographers of the 70s and 80s challenged HY[»Z KLÄUP[PVU VM J\S[\YL ^P[O [OLPY highly sexualised and drug focused perspectives. Also worth considering is Richard Billingham, a key modern photographer who exposes the raw truth of his every day struggle with his alcoholic father in ‘Ray’s a laugh.’ The commercial sale of digital cameras in the 1990s has changed the nature of photography and this combined with excessive use of the Internet has created the photo-culture we have today. The snapshot style of Turner prizewinner Wolfgang Tillman is probably JSVZLZ[ [V V\Y -HJLIVVR WOV[VZ looking into recording the lifestyles of his friends. What I argue is that the concept of taking photographs on a night out echoes the work of these great artists. Are these photos an unconscious visual expression, part of our struggle to establish ourselves in the world?

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fo food

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD - Aoife Buttimer

Food – a simple word that can have a different meaning for everyone. For some it is just a simple energy provider, enabling them to get from A to B. For others food has a deeper meaning. It is a source of comfort, a pick-meup for when they are feeling low. One thing is for sure; the feelings food conjures up go far beyond its mere biochemistry. Food is a universal topic because, at the end of the day, we all need to eat to survive. But at university, do we know how to eat right? Just how many of us actually understand the difference between calories and cholesterol, and do those who do actually care? Impact perused the recent Students’ Union Food and Drink Survey, and had a chat ^P[O ZVTL Z[\KLU[Z [V Ă„UK V\[ just what they’ve been consuming since they came to the University of Nottingham. The survey certainly highlighted the changes in diet that we undergo when we get to university. With more than half of respondents eating onsite 1 to 3 times per week, and convenience ILPUN [OL TVZ[ PUĂ…\LU[PHS MHJ[VY when determining where people ate, health isn’t necessarily prioritised by many students when it comes to their choice of eatery. In the survey, our on-campus food outlets were deemed ‘Ok’, but over half of us felt that our diets had become worse since we arrived at university. Some of this must surely come down to the food on offer in catered accommodation. My own most vivid memory of hall food – that of half a butternut squash cooked to within an inch of its life, with just a tiny burnt dollop which I think may once have been brie cheese – will stay with me for a long time. My view was shared with many of the students in my halls. As well as quality, the nutritional value of the average hall dinner is a concern; with the multiple deep fried carbohydrate options and custardy, stodgy desserts on offer, it can be ]LY` KPMĂ„J\S[ [V ZOV^ ZLSM YLZ[YHPU[ and opt for a large helping of veg instead.

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The survey revealed that convenience – with 44.6% of surveyed students answering as such – is the most PUĂ…\LU[PHS Z^H`PUN MHJ[VY HZ [V ^OLYL we eat. This perhaps is not surprising, HZ HM[LY HU HSS UPNO[ Z[PU[ Ă„UPZOPUN H KPMĂ„J\S[ LZZH` [OL SHZ[ [OPUN VU our most people’s minds would be hunting down the ingredients for an organic Nicoise salad – the ease of NYHIIPUN H ZHS[` WHJRL[ VM +VYP[VZ HUK H +PL[ *VRL PZ MHY TVYL YLHSPZ[PJ Plus, with the range of fruit and veg on offer in the shop at my hall of residence - that being a dodgy looking bag of potatoes and a few soft apples - the inspiration to cook healthily is not all that strong at any time of day. In regards to the foods [OH[ ^L HJ[\HSS` LH[ [HZ[L ]V[LK [OPZ [OL TVZ[ PTWVY[HU[ MHJ[VY TVUL` HUK OLHS[O are key. It’s interesting to note that health does not play a huge factor in where we choose to eat, but is made a priority in what we choose to eat when there. Without the watchful eye and Ă„UHUJLZ VM V\Y WHYLU[Z THU` VM \Z may not see a wholesome dinner in a fortnight. But there is no shortage of strong beverages to be found in our cupboards, as just under 80% of students are drinkers. This leads to inevitable hangovers, and with hangovers come cravings for salty, fatty food. “Kebabs? However, it’s not all doom and gloom in relation to our food choices. There are of course many students out there who take much care in deciding what they eat, and try to do well by their bodies by going the extra mile and choosing food around campus based on nutrition, not price or convenience. Generally students will get much healthier options by cooking for themselves, too. As for the rest of us, it’s worth noting that service provided in food outlets was the area of the survey in which the most positive response was received – 52.8% voted in approval of our university catering staff. So even if the food is a bit dodgy and the options are few, at least we’re getting service with a smile!

It’s easier to be healthy now I’ve stopped going to catered uni dinners (AMY GRIFFITHS)

“It’s just such a hassle. It can be quite inconvenient getting fresh fruit and vegetables, and these foods are quite expensive.� (GWAWR PARRY) They’re not just for drinking, I have them anytime! (DUSAN COISIC)

“I started cooking for myself, making my own soups – they help me watch my weight and diet.� (AMY GRIFFITHS)

fo food

Curry in a Hurry... William Robertson

‘Sod it, let’s order in’, is perhaps the most likely thought of the sofa-bound student in search of spice. And why not? It’s cheap, easy, and can taste pretty good. More intrepid kitchen explorers reach for the stir-in sauce, but these always leave you feeling that something in the way VM Ă…H]V\Y PZ TPZZPUN :[LW MVY^HYK [OL ZPTWSL OVTLTHKL curry; this recipe is cheaper – not quite as easy, granted, but guaranteed to be much tastier.

What you’ll need (serves 2) ‹ ‹ ‹ ‹ ‹ ‹

Two chicken breasts, diced - although this curry will work with any meat, or even prawns 6UL JHY[VU VM ZPUNSL JYLHT \ZL JVJVU\[ TPSR PM `V\ ULLK HU HS[LYUH[P]L K\L [V HSSLYNPLZ HUK [OL SPRL One can of chopped tomatoes Spices - if you can, buy ground coriander, cumin, and cardamom. If you can’t be bothered then a ready-prepared ground spice pack would work Two onions ;^V JSV]LZ VM NHYSPJ VW[PVUHS

Instructions *OVW \W HUK MY` [OL VUPVUZ HUK NHYSPJ PM `V\]L NV[ P[ in a large pan with a liberal glug of cooking oil until they are just going golden, Then, if you can, blitz them in a blender; this will give the dish that curry restaurant edge. Keep the onions in the blender for the moment, and add the spices to the empty frying pan with a splash of oil. This might seem odd, but cooking the spices on their own YLHSS` IYPUNZ V\[ [OLPY ÅH]V\Y *VVR [OLT VU H TLKP\T heat for a couple of minutes and then add your choice of diced meat and fry until brown. Add your fried and blitzed onion to the meat and spices, HUK JVVR VU H OPNO OLH[ MVY HIV\[ Ä]L TPU\[LZ 2LLW stirring this and make sure it doesn’t burn on the bottom.

The Sauce of Inspiration William Robertson

7YV[LPU& *OLJR *HYIZ& *OLJR =LN& 0M `V\YL S\JR` :H\JL& Ah. It’s all too easy to forget sauces when making dinner, and PM VUL KVLZ YLTLTILY RL[JO\W ZLLTZ [V IL [OL ÄYZ[ JOVPJL of condiment for most. This is where the roux sauce steps in. Although it might sound daunting, this classic but simple -YLUJO ZH\JL JVTWYPZLZ VM Q\Z[ I\[[LY ÅV\Y HUK TPSR 0M `V\ NL[ this one right, it opens the door to so many saucy dishes. Below MVSSV^Z H MHPYS` MVVSWYVVM TL[OVK VM THRPUN H YV\_ HUK [OLU H selection of just some of the dishes you can make with it.

Instructions Melt around 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan on a medium heat, and when fully melted, add about two tablespoons of WSHPU Ă…V\Y HS[OV\NO PM `V\ VUS` OH]L ZLSM YHPZPUN VY HUV[OLY RPUK RPJRPUN HIV\[ PU [OL J\WIVHYK [OLU [OH[ÂťZ Ă„UL [V JYLH[L H ZVM[ paste. Add around about half a pint of milk very gradually whilst stirring continuously. Before long, you should have a smooth, thick sauce. If the starch starts to cook through, causing the sauce to become too thick, just add more milk. Add seasoning to taste.

Mushroom and bacon sauce – -Y`

bacon and sliced mushrooms in a separate pan, and add to [OL Ă„UPZOLK ZH\JL *HU IL LH[LU ^P[O JY\Z[` IYLHK PM `V\Âť]L JVTL V]LY HSS -YLUJO YPJL VY Z[PYYLK PU[V WHZ[H HZ H JHYIVUHYH substitute.

Lasagne – The roux is an intrinsic part of this Italian classic, poured in between layers of sheet pasta and tomato sauce. Cheese sauce – Just the basic recipe, but with the cheese of your choice melted in. Great just poured on pasta. Fisherman’s Pie – *VTIPUL [OL ZH\JL ^P[O JVVRLK ÄZO HUK LNN [VW ^P[O THZO HUK IHRL PU [OL V]LU MVY the ultimate comfort food.

Now add the can of tomatoes and two or three teaspoons of salt, and cook on the hob on a medium to low heat for half an hour until brown. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Mix in the cream and cook for a couple of minutes. Season to taste, and serve! Eat it with naan bread, poppadoms, or rice. You could go for all three if you’re greedy like me.

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BEING SUPERHUMAN AND YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE SPECIAL

They stupefy science, revolutionise modern medicine, accrue worldwide media attention, and yet still go on about their daily business like the rest of us. No amount of televised appearances will stop these guys from trying to live their normal lives. Here, we introduce to you an eclectic bunch of individuals science can only best describe as superhuman. Some of their stories are inspiring, others tragic, all of them astounding. Prepare to be amazed... The World’s Strongest Baby Lifting 5lb weights, performing pull-ups and shifting furniture HYL KPMÄJ\S[ [HZRZ MVY THU` adults. Yet Liam Hoekstra from Michigan has been able to do all that since the age of 3. This is because Liam has 40% more muscle mass and much less fat than other children his age. His adoptive WHYLU[Z ÄYZ[ UV[PJLK [OH[ OL had unusual abilities when he could perform the Iron *YVZZ · H N`TUHZ[PJZ TV]L involving suspending yourself IL[^LLU [^V YPUNZ · H[ [OL HNL VM Ä]L 3PHT ^HZ [OLU diagnosed with Myostatinrelated Muscle Hypertrophy. ;OPZ KPZVYKLY ^HZ PKLU[PÄLK PU humans in 2000, and is so rare that the prevalence remains unknown. There are no known health complications, but heart problems may occur in the future. However, at the age of 5, Liam is a promising athlete and a possible answer to muscle wasting diseases Z\JO HZ JHUJLY HUK (0+: Sophie Meyjes

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One Very Beautiful Mind +HUPLS ;HTTL[ PZ H ZH]HU[ someone with an area of exceptional expertise; his specialities are numbers and languages. He is mentally able to calculate any maths problem given to him and demonstrated this by calculating the irrational number Pi to 22,514 decimal places in 5 hours and 9 TPU\[LZ +HUPLS HSZV ZWLHRZ ten languages; he was seen having a deep intellectual conversation in Icelandic on a talk show seven days after beginning to learn it. His language instructor called him “not human” and a “genius!” +HUPLS OHK LWPSLWZ` HZ H ZTHSS child and has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a high functioning form of autism. Scientists believe that it’s the epilepsy and autism combined that OH]L NP]LU +HUPLS OPZ HIPSP[PLZ +HUPLS PZ J\YYLU[S` ^YP[PUN OPZ own language called Mänti, has two bestselling books and resides with his partner in London. Phil Bowyer

80% Brainless, 100% Normal A 44 year old married civil servant came into the hospital with a leg complaint. His medical history showed that he had suffered from Hydrocephalus as an infant. Hydrocephalus, meaning ‘Water Brain’ in Greek, is a rare JVUKP[PVU ^OLYL ZWPUHS Å\PK accumulates in cavities within the brain and causes the head of the sufferer to enlarge. ;OV\NO ZVTL Å\PK OHK ILLU drained until he turned 14, MRI HUK *; ZJHUZ ZOV^LK [OH[ H lot of it had built-up in what YLZLTISLK H IHSSVVU ÄSSLK ^P[O water, but actually turned out to be his brain. Astonishingly, further scans showed that this “balloon” had only about 20% of normal human brain matter left. In fact, his brain had been whittled down to a paper-thin layer of tissue due the accumulation of spinal Å\PKZ ;V [OL IHMÅLTLU[ VM medical professionals, he had managed to lead a normal life despite this condition. Sarah Greenidge

A Stranger To Pain In Gabby Gingras’s world, there is no such thing as WHPU · ^OPJO PZ ^O` ^OLU she was just an infant, she managed to poke herself blind in her left eye and had to have all of her teeth removed to stop her from chewing her hands to bloody pulps. Her disorder, known as congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, has seemingly left OLY ^P[OV\[ [OL ULY]L ÄIYLZ [V sense pain. Her parents have to remind her to blow on hot food before putting it in her mouth, and she never goes to bed without her swim goggles · H ULJLZZHY` WYLJH\[PVU to protect what is left of her severely impaired vision. Her disorder is so uncommon that doctors speculate that only about 25 people suffer from it in North America. Now a bubbly ten-year old, Gabby continues to lead as normal a life as her condition can allow. Eric John

s

science Seeing Without Sight

Surviving The Impossible

The Real Octopus Man

A 13 Year-Old in an 80 Year-Old’s body

Ben Underwood had both of his eyes removed after suffering from retinal cancer at the tender age of three. Remarkably, by the age of fourteen, he’d learnt that, through making a clicking sound with his tongue and detecting the subtle echoes, he could work out his environment in a manner similar to dolphins. This echolocation enabled him to play basketball, rollerblade in the streets and ride his bike without hitting cars or people. It meant that he could walk to school alone, being able to “see� parked cars, benches and the edges of a pathway ^P[OV\[ OPZ L`LZ +LZWP[L OPZ blindness, he lived his life like a “normal� teenager, receiving no special treatment for his disability. Ben was a good L_HTWSL ZHKS` OL KPLK VM [OL ZHTL JHUJLY H[ VM OV^ disadvantages in life do not always hold us back, but can instead make us great.

On the 13th September 1848, just outside Vermont, one railroad constructor survived the seemingly impossible. +\YPUN HU HJJPKLU[HS explosion, a 3 foot long pole, 1 Ÿ inches in diameter, shot through the head of Phineas Gage, destroying the left frontal lobe of his brain. Miraculously, not only did he survive this incident but hours later was walking and talking. Gage spent the next few weeks in a semi-comatose state and despite severe haemorrhaging, an infection and lack of modern medicine, only suffered from loss of vision in his left eye and partial paralysis of the left side of his MHJL +Y 1VOU /HYSV^ ^OV attended Gage, also noted a change in his personality: he’d become more impatient and indulgent. But all considered a slightly altered personality is a small price to pay for surviving against the odds.

Rudy Santos was born with a very rare condition that has left him with extra limbs from his underdeveloped parasitic [^PU 9\K` OHZ HYTZ HSS ^P[O ZOV\SKLYZ SLNZ and an additional pair of UPWWSLZ -\Y[OLYTVYL HU ear and extra tufts of hair can be found attached to his sternum. Rudy’s nails ÄUNLYZ HUK [VLZ HYL HSZV double sided, suggesting that his twin’s nails developed alongside his own. He claims that his extra limbs often move without his consent. However, despite of his KPMÄJ\S[PLZ 9\K` ^HZ HISL [V ÄUK ^VYR H[ H travelling freak show, where he eventually met his wife. He now has to face the dilemma of having his spare limbs removed due to severe health problems. But maybe he’s just a little bit too attached to his twin.

Having featured in the *OHUULS ZLYPLZ ,_[YHVYKPUHY` People, Hayley Okines is no ordinary 13-year old girl from Bexhill, East Sussex. She has Hutchinson-Gilford 7YVNLYPH :`UKYVTL /.7: and consequently ages at seven times the normal rate. Progeria is an exceedingly rare disease caused by one single genetic mutation. It currently affects only about 50 people worldwide, giving them an average life expectancy of 13 years. Whilst this devastating disease leaves intellect intact, it has resigned Hayley’s tiny body to the weak and fragile state of an elderly woman. Typically, signs of ageing start [V HWWLHY PU [OL ÄYZ[ `LHY VM SPML causing the skin to become wrinkly and loose, and resulting in hair loss and stiff joints. A large and shrunken head with a hooked nose give Progeria its distinctive characteristics. Hayley is currently taking pioneering medication that appears to be slowing the ageing process, although there is currently no cure for the disease.

Jess Reynolds DoĂąah Sabbagh

Bonnie Brown

Bethany Moos

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/SCIENCE

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scared and crying cub. But at the same time, who were we to think we knew better than its mother? Biologists all over the world agree that it is the encroachment of high level industry and agriculture on the environment that has caused a drastic and rapid decline in species and regional extinctions. *VUZLY]H[PVU LMMVY[Z HYL ZLLU I` ZVTL as a process capable of reversing the loss of natural biodiversity caused by human activity. On the one hand, animals are returned to their habitats – diversity can be maintained and the animal will stand a chance of ‘having a life’. But on the other, by concentrating on the individual animal and reintroducing it, the whole ecosystem is being ignored and an animal is being put back into the very habitat that rejected it. Often animals are released only to be found dead or ill after a short period of time, or have habituated to humans and are in danger of putting themselves in a risky situation. Then the ethics of rehabilitating a wild creature become less clear.

Image by Jesamine Bartlett

TO REHABILITATE OR NOT TO REHABILITATE - Jesamine Bartlett

There is no doubt about it – being hugged by a black bear cub is one of the highlights of my life to date. As is having a purring bobcat nestled in my lap whilst I wrote my daily journal, or a dozen baby racoons ‘combing’ my hair with their soft, dexterous paws. All of these wonderful moments were courtesy of the time I spent working in a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Canada. The centre specialises in rehabilitating sick, injured and orphaned native mammals back into the wild. Release days were wonderful, especially when you had raised the animals yourself, but I had persistent doubts the whole time I was at the centre. I felt like I was meddling with Nature. Wildlife rehabilitation on the face it seems to be a virtuous and wonderful thing. It re-establishes our connection with nature, claims to redress environmental ‘imbalances’ and offers humans an outlet for compassion. But does the attention

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we give to individual animals repair injustices done to the ecosystems they are part of, or is it just a small plaster over the gaping wound of our conscience? I found myself face to face with my issues on rehabilitation after a cougar cub was brought in. He had been found alone and scared in parkland after being HIHUKVULK I` OPZ TV[OLY *OHYTPUNS` OL had a penchant for eating my shoes and JOHZPUN I\[[LYÅPLZ /LHY[Z TLS[LK )\[ as the months passed his development seemed impaired. He wasn’t growing as fast as hoped and was walking with a drunken swagger. Several experts came and concluded that he had a degenerative bone disease and would need treatment everyday for the rest of his life if he was to survive. They also remarked that his mother probably knew this and that was why the cub was abandoned. The cub was eventually sent to a zoo where he is living out his days, but with what quality of life? It was tough. You would have to be pretty heartless to walk away from a

Animals exist by virtue of their integration with the ecosystem, and by individualising the plight of the ecosystem the anthropomorphism of animals is encouraged. In fact, many charities involved in animal welfare survive by attributing human sensitivities to animals to encourage donations of time and money from the public. I questioned the director of the charity I was working with about this and was told that any degree of public awareness ^HZ ILULĂ„JPHS [V [OL VYNHUPZH[PVU HUK therefore animal welfare, even if it meant encouraging short-sightedness. The public are often involved in a world with little to do with Nature, so maybe any increase in awareness or any effort to help people connect to the environment TH` IL VM ILULĂ„[ L]LU PM P[ KVLZ JOLYY` pick the details. Where emotions overrule ecology the results seem to ignore the bigger picture and often prove detrimental to [OL ZWLJPLZ PU [OL SVUN HUK ZVTL[PTLZ ZOVY[ [LYT )\[ ^OLYL LJVSVN` V]LYYPKLZ emotion it seems to go against our every instinct to protect life. And such contradictions may continue for a long time, at least as long as we continue to encroach upon the Natural World or until welfare organisations can interpret their actions as part of a larger picture.

s

science

SYNAESTHESIA: ONE OF THE HUMAN BRAIN’S GREATEST MYSTERIES -Bethany Moos

Colourful numbers. Tasty words. Musical colours. Once confused with Schizophrenia, Synaesthesia is now recognised as the association of two or more senses. In short, when a stimulus is detected, an additional sense is involuntarily stimulated. :VTL WLVWSL L_WLYPLUJL H ZWLJPĂ„J taste, smell, colour or sound with certain words or numbers, but any number and combination of senses may be fused together to create an explosion of sensory information. Although two people may both have the same type of Synaesthesia, the sensation induced by the same trigger may be very different, even between twins. For example, the letter ‘A’ may appear blue to one person, yet orange to another. This is very different to the learned associations between colours and emotions, such as the relationship between the colour red and anger. Newborn babies are born with millions of connections in the brain, but not all of which are needed. Normally many of these connections die off, but it is believed that failure to lose these connections leads to ‘crosswiring’ within the brain, resulting in Synaesthesia. Although the majority of people with Synaesthesia are born with it, a temporary state called ‘Pseudosynaesthesia’, can be induced by drugs or injury to the brain, such as

a stroke or epilepsy. The mechanism for this, however, is still very much unclear. In Britain alone, there are more than half of a million people living with over 60 different types of Synaesthesia, making it much more common than was originally believed. A condition Ă„YZ[ UV[LK I` [OL HUJPLU[ .YLLRZ Synaesthesia appears to run in families and tends to be slightly more common in women. It isn’t a disease or mental illness and many people view their condition as a gift. Indeed, many Ă„UK [OLPY :`UHLZ[OLZPH [V IL \ZLM\S improving their memory skills and also ILPUN VM ZVTL ILULĂ„[ [V WYVĂ„JPLUJ` in literacy and numeracy. However, Synaesthesia is also reportedly associated with having more trouble differentiating between left and right and a poorer sense of direction. Those SP]PUN ^P[O [OL JVUKP[PVU TH` Ă„UK P[ H distraction and hindrance to every-day tasks if it becomes overpowering. “I have a friend whose wife tastes of vomit —I’ve never told them. Another friend is earwax, his wife is dry coffee granules and his son is plastic car interiorsâ€?, one Synaesthete comically describes his experience of the tastes induced by different people. The painter Kandinsky heard certain

sounds when he used different coloured paints and even described in his youth how his paint box used to hiss at him whilst he mixed his colours. /PZ ^VYR ^HZ Z[YVUNS` PUĂ…\LUJLK I` music, and he called it “the ultimate teacherâ€?. The French musician Olivier Messiaen recounted receiving his music in “coloured dreamsâ€?, in the form of a complex coloured pattern. Other famous Synaesthetes include Marilyn Monroe, Leonard Bernstein, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder and Pharrell Williams. As can be seen from this list, people with Synaesthesia are often very creative and gifted musicians, writers or artists. In addition, many have used the concept of Synaesthesia as a source of inspiration for creative work. Scientists are currently studying the underlying mechanisms of Synaesthesia. With this knowledge, the hope is to improve the understanding of other conditions involving abnormal connections within the brain, such as Autism, Schizophrenia and ADD ([[LU[PVU +LĂ„JP[ +PZVYKLY +Y :PTVU Baron-Cohen, from Cambridge University, is a world-renowned expert on Autism. He is currently devoting much time to the exploration of Synaesthesia and its links to Autism, a condition in which sensory perception can often be altered.

Because of the reckless sanitation of astronauts, most space debris orbiting the earth is covered in human faeces.

Curcumin, a chemical commonly found in Indian curries, has anticarcinogenic effects that could lower one’s risk of getting colon cancer. Thinking for extended periods of time about eating certain foods can reduce the amount you will end up eating of it in real life.

wtf!

ACHOO syndrome is the condition of sneezing uncontrollably to unusual stimuli, such as sunlight.

WEIRD but TRUE FACTS

A shaken rather than a stirred martini is twice as effective at removing hydrogen peroxide, making it a better antioxidant.

People witnessing a rubber hand being stroked at the same time as their real hand (which is hidden from view) can be fooled into believing that the rubber hand is their own. IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/SCIENCE

59

n nights

THE NIGHTLIFE OF TOMORROW...TODAY? -Adam Dawes

There has never been a better time to organise a night out. We can call, text, instant message, e-mail and, in the past few years, have been able to set up events, invite our friends and buy tickets using the internet and social networking sites. We can put together a great night out with all our mates, and know exactly who will and won’t be there without even getting out of bed. With such organisational resources available to us in the present, Impact begs the question - what does the future hold for nightlife in Nottingham? Though students may be able to do all of the above without breaking a sweat, sometimes a night out can be a thorn in the side, stuck in days in advance. /\UKYLKZ VM Z[\KLU[Z ÄSS [OL 7VY[SHUK Building queuing for tickets to some events, and many, many more near impale themselves on railings desperate to force their way into the venue. Text tickets have, in recent times, helped the situation, yet savvy students can circumvent the system just like they can with Orange Wednesdays. But there may be a better solution. Pioneered in Birmingham and heading to our fair JP[` ZVVU 4VÅV^ PZ a system set up by two ex-Nottingham students, Matt Johnson and Andrew 3H^YLUJL -VY [OVZL of us who struggle to keep hold of cash and tickets on nights out, which seemingly become more elusive and hard to keep hold of as the night gets longer, heavier and much blurrier, 4VÅV^ JV\SK OLSW Based on London’s 6`Z[LY *HYK Z`Z[LT you pre-load event tickets and credit from the company’s

60 ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

^LIZP[L VU[V [OL 4VĂ…V^ JHYK @V\Y card is swiped on entry and can then be swiped to pay for drinks until you run out of credit. This really could revolutionise the way in which we go out, effectively eliminating the issue of queuing throughout the night. Taxi companies are starting to PUZ[HSS 4VĂ…V^ ZJHUULYZ PU [OLPY ]LOPJSLZ meaning that students may not need to have any cash on a night out at all. So those tiny clutches and skinny jean pockets can be kept comfortably slackened! When trying to plan a night online, it’s not uncommon for students to go trawling [OYV\NO WHNL HM[LY WHNL VM 5L^Z -LLKZ HUK MYPLUKZÂť WYVĂ„SLZ KLZWLYH[L [V discover events and promotions across town. Rosie, a third year English student remarks, “It’s really irritating when you OH]L [V ZJYVSS [OYV\NO -HJLIVVR SVVRPUN for a night out. It’d be better if there was a just a page with all the night’s events on it.â€? There may not be a page on -HJLIVVR HIV\[ P[ I\[ HZ ^L OH]L UV^

ILLU JVUKP[PVULK [V ILSPL]L [OLYL PZ HU App for that. Bar Buddy is an application that was set up by two more ex-Nottingham Uni HS\TUP (SL_ /VVSL` HUK 4H[[OL^ *SLNN Though only in operation since January of this year, they have developed a relationship with over 20 bars and clubs across the city. These participating establishments can upload any offers, events and promotions they have on any night of the week, which can then be accessed and used by anyone with an iPhone. Not only that, but due to being channelled through a phone, Bar Buddy can upload this information in real time, so if drinks offers change, or any breaking event occurs, students can check it out and get the best night and the best value for money possible. *SLHYS` ^L JHU ZLL [OH[ [OLYL PZ H O\NL scope for innovation in nightlife, and Nottingham is at the forefront of it. Also, we should be heartened that in [OL J\YYLU[ LJVUVTPJ HUK NYHK\H[L LTWSV`TLU[ THYRL[ L_ 5V[[PUNOHT University students are developing ideas not just for saving us money, but making our nights out better and safer. We might not be able to predict the future, but for now, we can see that it’s bright.

n nights Images by Rachel Tait

ALL YOU CAN READ BUFFET -Mim Etchells

It will one day come to pass that ‘a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips’ is a true concern for all of us, but PM `V\ HYL LUQV`PUN [OL ILULÄ[Z VM [OL unrealistically fast student metabolism alongside the all too familiar concern about value for money, you should be taking advantage of the student heaven that is the all-you-can-eat buffet. As many students spare little regard for the state of their arteries yet constantly worry about the state of [OLPY ÄUHUJLZ [OLZL HYL ZVTL VM [OL best buffets in town.

for the price. Peachys nudges ahead of Red Hot in terms of sheer range and quality, but what truly sets it apart are its ten ‘live cooking stations’ where chefs await personal orders from diners from an array of naan breads to the perfect stir fry. Red Hot does claim to offer this same service, though it seems to be SLZZ VMÄJPHS HUK TVYL H JHZL VM JH[JOPUN the eye of a passing chef. The only drawback to this inspired idea is that it is only available in its full force at dinner, and thus we implore you to visit Peachy Keens after 5.30pm to experience it in its true, yet slightly pricier glory.

Since you’re going for unlimited quantity, why shackle yourself to the cuisine of just one country? Nottingham is home to several multi-cuisine buffets, the two most prominent of which are Peachy Keens on Upper Parliament Street and Hockley’s aptly named Red Hot World Buffet, both providing an ample selection of everything from Thai to Mexican and not forgetting the buffet’s seemingly mandatory chocolate fountain. Both restaurants are priced competitively, with lunch setting you back a mere £6.95 or £7.95 and dinner an acceptable £10.95 to £12.95 depending on the day. Peachys accessible central location beats the slightly seedy walk through Hockley to reach Red Hot, yet once inside, the latter’s decor is classier than the setting suggests. A clear effort has been made to lay the restaurant out more thoughtfully than Peachys evident strategy of cramming customers in ^OLYL]LY [OL`»SS Ä[

If you’re looking to eat to excess at lunchtime, you need look no further than May Sum, undoubtedly the most popular VM 5V[[PUNOHT»Z THU` *OPULZL I\MML[Z Holding its own just a few doors down from Peachy Keens, May Sum is perhaps alone in offering an equally good range of food during the day as at its ‘Grand Evening Buffet’. Everything from crispy duck pancakes to the ample amount of vegetarian dishes is available at a quality which is sadly not the norm in all such establishments. Unlike its now-extinct JVTWL[P[VY )PN >VR 4H` :\T»Z LMÄJPLU[ headset-attired staff seat you at a table that makes you feel that you are in a restaurant, not a canteen. Their proximity to Big Wok seems to have taught them H ML^ SLZZVUZ [OH[ [OL *VYULYOV\ZL»Z IYPNO[ HUK ZOPU` -SHTPUN +YHNVU OHZU»[ quite grasped yet; May Sum’s excellent value for money and friendly atmosphere KLSP]LYZ H ZPTWSL JHZL VM JSHZZ V]LY ÅHZO

However, Peachys does exude a slightly more professional vibe compared to the rather quirky layout of its competitor. In terms of quality of food, you will always have to compromise somewhere in a restaurant that offers everything but on the whole both do a good job, especially

Whilst we may be spoilt for choice of buffets in Nottingham, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be discerning. Try these places out, and though you may leave slightly too full, you won’t be feeling regretful and the contented smile on your face will see you itching to go back.

Perhaps leave it a day or two in between though.

IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/NIGHTS IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM

61 61

n nights

A STUDENT GUIDE TO COCKTAILS -Adam Dawes

When faced with the prospect of visiting an upmarket establishment in town and picking one of many options on a list to drink, many students feel intimidated and confused by what makes a good cocktail, and what they should say and do. Worry no longer, because Impact is here to help ease your concerns and what’s more, we might just be able to help you get a great drink out of it. ;OL Ă„YZ[ [OPUN `V\ JHUÂť[ [HRL PU[V H JVJR[HPS IHY HSVUN ^P[O [YHPULYZ OVVKPLZ HUK JHWZ PZ HU` ZVY[ VM WYLQ\KPJL VY favouritism towards any spirit. Blended in a skilful manner, with the correct ingredients, almost any spirit base can be made to taste like anything, so be adventurous, and look outside the box There is one exception to this rule – vodka. Though not tasteless, vodka is a staple of many “cocktailsâ€? because it doesn’t tend to add an extra KPTLUZPVU VM Ă…H]V\Y 0M `V\ ^HU[ [OH[ save yourself a packet and buy some alco-pops, because this article just became irrelevant to you. If you like the sweetness of a Sex On The Beach or a Woo Woo, plump for Rum. This versatile spirit has roots all over the world, and is made from sugar cane, so has an PUOLYLU[ Z^LL[ULZZ HIV\[ P[ +YPURZ Z\JO as the Mojito and variants on Tiki drinks will tick the box for any adventurous sweet-tooth. Some students think that whiskey is strictly for men, and that drinks served in martini glasses are strictly for girls. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. The 4HUOH[[HU H Z[HWSL IL]LYHNL MVY *HYYPL JV PU :L_ HUK [OL *P[` PZ HSTVZ[ HSS rye whiskey – a much drier variety than bourbon. Also, some of the greatest and most simple drinks to begin with are served ‘straight up’. If you’re going V\[ZPKL `V\Y JVTMVY[ aVUL MVY [OL Ă„YZ[ [PTL HZR MVY H 5H[\YHS +HPX\PYP H ISLUK VM ^OP[L Y\T JHZ[LY Z\NHY HUK SPTL Q\PJL and you won’t be disappointed. Some drinks, such as the aforementioned

62 ISSUE 210 | MAY 2011

Manhattan and the Martini, have different variations within them, which causes great headaches and hurried choices from bamboozled students. Hopefully, this will clear it up for you. When making either of these drinks, before the main ZWPYP[ Y`L ^OPZRL` NPU VY NVK MVYIPK ]VKRH PZ HKKLK ZVTL ]LYTV\[O PZ \ZLK to coat the ice. With a Martini, it is always dry vermouth. With a Manhattan, it can IL H JVTIPUH[PVU 0M `V\ÂťYL H Ă„YZ[ [PTLY go with a Sweet Manhattan, where only Z^LL[ \Z\HSS` YLK ]LYTV\[O PZ \ZLK and progress down to perfect, where a balance of sweet and dry is achieved. With a Martini, dry vermouth is always used, and the “wetnessâ€? depends on how much is left in. If you’re like Winston *O\YJOPSS ^OV KLTHUKLK [OH[ OPZ drink only saw the bottle of vermouth and none of its contents, you’ll take it dry. If you want a complex group of Ă…H]V\YZ [HRL P[ ^L[ ;V Z[HY[ ^P[O HZR for it perfect. Having a “dirtyâ€? Martini simply means that a little olive brine is added to the drink to add saltiness, with

a few speared globes popped in your drink. The cardinal rule for all Martinis and Manhattans, no matter what the combination, is that everything MUST be ice cold. Bear in mind when indulging in a cocktail that roughly two shots of alcohol will be in each drink, so if you want to savour [OVZL ÅH]V\YZ HSS UPNO[ WHJL `V\YZLSM *VJR[HPSZ ^OLU THKL JVYYLJ[S` [LUK not to be cheap, so take your time, enjoy their nuances and check out the menu for the ingredients to see if you can taste each one. There’s no need to be intimidated, as bartenders generally love to talk about drinks, and if they know what they are doing, they will always help you. Bear all of this in mind next time you step into a cocktail bar in Nottingham, and you’re bound to have a great night, full of discovery. If you want to know more about how to make cocktails and the history of them, check out The Bartender’s Blog on the Impact Website – www. impactnottingham.com

THE TEAM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF +H]L 1HJRZVU

Associate Managing Editor Rachel Taylor PR and Distribution Managers: Sam Tully Alice Hajek Advertising Manager Jack Shields News Editors )LU 4J*HIL Emily Sargent Natasha Smith Sports Editors Lowri Wyn Morgan Joseph Lobo Tim Edwards

Associate Editors Stephen Lovejoy :HYHO +H^VVK Samantha Owen

Design Editor Andrew Speer

Associate Design Editor Matt Turner Image Editors Bruno Albutt Tara Wallace Alix Blankson Helen Miller

WEB

}

Editor .HIYPLSSH +L4H[[LPZ

DESIGN

}

Managing Editor James Sanderson

EDITORIAL

}

}

MANAGEMENT

Web Editor Ben Wadsworth

Associate Web Editor Ollie Small Vanessa Brown

Style Editors *OHYSV[[L .LSPW[LY Jasmin Watts Arts Editors Victoria Urquhart Michael de Vletter

Film Editors /HUUHO *VSLTHU Lucy Kenderdine Music Editors Rosie Kynman

ISSUE

210 CONTRIBUTORS

SECTIONS Travel Editors Ruth Edwards Eleanor Simpson

GRATIS

Nights Editors (KHT +H^LZ Lucinda Richardson Rachel Boyle Science and Technology Editors Eric John Philip Bowyer

Alan Selby, Toby Karenowski, Helen Trimm, 1VL ;VKK -PVUH *YVZI` /LSLUH 4\YWO` *HSS\T 7H[VU 5PJOVSHZ )H[[` =PUJLU[ 7HUN James McAndrew, Eleanor Porter, Priyal +HKOHUPH :[LWOHUPL :VO :PHU )V`SL 1VZO -YHZLY 1\Z[PUL .VSK 3VPZ -PLSK 1LUUPMLY Newbold, Katie MacKay, Ellie Blanchette, *OHYSV[[L 9V[[LUI\YN 1VZO -YHURZ 1HTLZ 4J(UKYL^ )LU 1HTLZ 0TVNLU -PY[O 1VULZ James Smyllie, Rebecca Hutter, Harriet Brampton, Jack Gilbert, Marlene Herman, 9PJOHYK *VSSL[[ *SH\KPH )H_[LY +HU (KHTZ Hannah Redhouse, Kim Smith, Anne Moore, Grace Mitchell, Aoife Buttimer, William Robertson, Sophie Meyjes, Sarah Greenidge, +VUHO :HIIHNO 1LZZ 9L`UVSKZ )VUUPL Brown, Bethany Moos, Jesamine Bartlett, Mim Etchells

THANKS

To everyone who went the extra mile to get this troublesome issue completed!

O V E R H E A R D I N H A L L W A R D APOLOGIES GABBY DEMATTIES Stroke her back and make a gentle purring noiseSunshine makes me sickNot once have you looked like Beyonce;LSS [OL ÄZO [V Z[VW THRPUN H TLZZHe’s getting male OV[ Å\ZOLZIf only I had another paperclipNext time JUST SAY NO Going on holiday as soon as its handed in Don’t do the dance next to the window Ocean comin’ atchaaa The fattest egg mayo baguette in the world So many disgusting implications Less the library and more my new home I am feeling reem ;OPYK ÅVVY [OL UV IHU[LY aVUL I hate him, and his tiny girlfriend Like Oscar Wilde but less glam Def the smallest thingy I’ve ever seen No doubt that I’ll be dead by the end of this dissertation Tragic OHPY [YHNPJ ÅPW ÅVWZ :SLLW VU [OL ÅVVY UV VUL ^PSS UV[PJL I promise, she’ll never look you in the eye again Fetch me the potted plant Can we please go to the park now? Red pen means your essay is terrible Lick it real good But if Glee’s on then I can’t go Stop staring at the lump, it’s not nice Filter coffee of DEATH You can’t be sick in the corridors Cram a bit of sour cream in there I’d rate myself a 10 out of 10 Bring me a bottle of white wine Suffocating on your JLS man-scarf No revising, only big chat Next time she says it, punch her hard Shakespeare’s little bi-atch I have nothing against the hairier man Twenty Cup-a-Soups in a day Powering through the misery and frustration Fifty quid per genuine pull Get your hands off my lovely sushi I’m a skim-reading artiste

To Becky-Spicy Artour for calling her Bex (YJOLY ,]LY`VUL OLYL H[ [OL VMĂ„JL OVWLZ ZOL had fun on Tsour to help forget about this mistake.

COVER IMAGE

Image by Helen Miller and Alix Blankson

CONTACT

The best way to contact us is via email, on magazine@impactnottingham.com -HPSPUN [OH[ `V\ JHU Ă„UK \Z \ZPUN ^OPJOL]LY VM [OL following details takes your fancy: Impact Magazine, Portland Building, University Park, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, 5. 9+ Tel: 0115 8468716 6\Y VMĂ„JL PZ PU YVVT * PU [OL 7VY[SHUK Building, opposite the East Concourse Lounge.

Published by The University of Nottingham Students’ Union

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