“all the news you need, this week”
vol.
INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER NEWS
Stopped at the GATE
Why some students may not qualify come January. Page 3.
OPINION
Oddball Genius
'I WAS PAID'
Steve Jobs Remembered. Page 10
ARTS&CULTURE
Kartel's Class in Session
Trini woman vies to become "Teacha's Pet." Page 17
GUILD PRO ADMITS HE WAS PAID $300 AND GIVEN LAPTOP FOR PRO-GOVERNMENT BLOGGING OPERATION By Faine Richards Staff Reporter
T SPORTS
UTT trounces UWI
Opening day defeat for defending champs. Page 24.
17, 2011 1/no. 3
october
he public relations officer (PRO) of the Guild of Students at the University of the West Indies (UWI) has admitted to being paid to write for the bloggers project orchestrated by a group claiming to work for the People’s Partnership. Guild PRO Mervin Agiste, a national of St. Lucia, made the disclosure to the Campus Chronicle after an investigation revealed his participation in the project. He is the first student to be identified as a paid blogger who wrote pro-government comments on newspaper websites and online chat forums. The organisation which runs the propaganda operation, “tntgoodblogs,” also pays students to author comments or blogs that attack the Opposition. As part of its investigation, the Campus Chronicle obtained an e-mail sent from “tntgoodblogs” to student bloggers on Aug. 6 instructing them to fill out a chart with their contact information. The chart lists their personal e-mail addresses as well as the “fake” e-mail addresses and screen names or aliases they would use to blog. please see
BLOGGER / p. 3
“It was something that I started doing with the hope that it would ease my financial circumstances because I am paying for my school fees on my own. However when I realised the implications of it I did remove myself from the equation. Me as a blogger did not affect or has not affected my role on the guild.” - Mervin Agiste UWI Guild of Students officer
NEWS september
7, 2011
campuschronicle.com
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october
News
17, 2011
3
Closer scrutiny looming for tuition-assistance applicants Abby Brathwaite Staff Reporter
Effective January, tertiary education students who do not meet their institution’s minimum performance standards will be required to pay their own tuition. Within the past week, several schools have warned students that they will no longer receive Government Assistance for Tertiary Education (GATE) funding if they do not maintain the required grade-point average. The move comes on the heels of the Oct. 10 budget presentation by Finance Minister Winston Dookeran that announced tighter regulations for the administration of the grant. “…The GATE programme will now be subject to more rigorous pay-for-performance rules with respect to students to ensure value for money spent, and greater accountability will be required from the institutions that are registered in this programme,” Dookeran said during his presentation.
BLOGGER FROM PAGE 1
The chart displays three Hotmail and Yahoo accounts which comprise Agiste’s first and last names. A search on Facebook revealed that one of the e-mail accounts is also associated with his personal Facebook profile. The Campus Chronicle tracked down at least six e-mail addresses that Agiste used to submit reader comments on the Trinidad Express website, and the Yahoo chat groups “Caribbean Talk”and “theunitedvoice.” One of his screen names, “youngsense86,” is displayed as the author of at least 72 comments on the Trinidad Express website. Other comments were discovered in the Yahoo chat forums under the screen name “mervin. agiste.” In a telephone interview with the Campus Chronicle, Agiste admitted to receiving a payment of $300 after blogging for a week in July. He said he continued to blog for approximately three more weeks, during which time he received a laptop from the young lady who worked for “tntgoodblogs” and who only identified herself as Marsha. Agiste recalled initially being
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Fazal Karim warns delinquent students to buckle up.
During the past fiscal year, the government spent a total of $624.9 million on the GATE programme. An additional $16 million was also made available during the same period for vocational students. For fiscal year 2011/2012, the GATE allocation was increased by $25 million. Science, Technology and Tertiary Education Minister Fazal Karim
promised a BlackBerry cellphone, but said “tntgoodblogs” later rescinded the offer since the organisation feared that blogs posted online from the cellphonecould be traced. Asked why he decided to participate in the bloggers project, the guild PRO said, “It was something that I started doing with the hope that it would ease my financial circumstances, because I am paying for my school fees on my own. However, when I realised the implications of it, I did remove myself from the equation. Me as a blogger did not affect or has not affected my role on the Guild.” On the topic of political affiliation, article 18(22) of the constitution of the UWI Guild of Students only prohibits members of the Guild Council – of which the PRO is a member – from being an executive member of a political party or holding office in a political party. The final-year UWI student said he decided to stop blogging and to forgo additional payments owed to him because he objected to certain instructions from “tntgoodblogs.” “When I began, I was told that, you know, it’s patriotic to support (this initiative)…It was after the fact that, when I had started, that instructions would come in to support particular stances.
told the Campus Chronicle recently that some areas of the programme are being abused. “What we have been looking at is there are a number of students who continue not to succeed at their examinations, and we continue to pay those fees and in some cases we even have students who are unable to complete their programmes and who then try to move from one programme to a next programme,” Karim said. “One of the ills that we are looking at is when you have GATE funding, you have to sign an agreement to serve for two years. We have been noticing that this has not been very stringently adhered to; therefore, what that amounts to is that we are really training for brain drain if people are leaving without the requisite controls.” Dookeran has appointed a GATE review committee that will be chaired by NIHERST Chairman Jwala Rambaran. Karim said, “What I decided to do was to appoint this GATE
review committee to ensure that we have stringent adherence to the regulations. Once we have more rigorous and stringent controls, then more people will benefit.” The committee will also have the task of setting up guidelines that will ensure that GATE meets the demands of the local labour market. Karim said, “We do not want people to simply get the expectation that, ‘I would have applied to GATE for two degree programmes and I want to expand to three and four and five programmes and because I have a GATE approval for the first two, I think it is automatic …’” “We are saying that should not be so unless the other degree programmes are required for the economic development strategy of Trinidad and Tobago.” The committee is expected to begin public consultations on GATE funding before the end of the year and will submit its recommendations to the minster by March.
Well, my objection was to be told how to attack somebody (supporters of the Opposition) in terms of their blogging…the fact that we were instructed as to the type of blogs, I had issues with that and I did raise objections to those issues. “When I realised everything that was going on and how difficult (it was) to continue, I did say, you know, well, I want out of it.” The guild PRO said he was not privy to any information regarding the person or persons who managed the “tntgoodblogs” propaganda campaign. He also said he informed Marsha of his desire to return the laptop to “tntgoodblogs.” However, he said he has been unable to do so, as Marsha has not returned any of his calls in the two weeks since the Campus Chronicle exclusively reported on the blogging operation. Agiste said that to his knowledge, the operation was pushed underground because of the public scrutiny generated by this newspaper’s investigative story. The Campus Chronicle understands that Marsha is a student at the UWI St. Augustine campus. She has been cited by students who applied to the blogging project as the person who supervises student bloggers working for “tntgoodblogs.”
THE COMMENTS
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abby@mycampuschronicle.com
BUDGET BOOST
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education received $2,806,400,985 in this year’s budget. Here are some of the programmes within the Ministry that received an increased budget allocation:
$16 million increase — UTT $15 million increase — MuST Programme $15 million increase — COSTAATT $10 million increase — OJT Programme $10 million increase — National Training Agency $7 million increase — YTEPP $3 million increase — Higher Education Loan
Under the name "youngsense86" Mervin Agiste wrote pro-government comments on various websites for pay. The following are two comments left by Agiste on the Trinidad Express website. The first was left on the article “Rowley: I will not apologise to Kamla" and was published August 19. The second was left on the article "Daly: Govt won't hang the Jack" and was published on August 23.
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NEWS
october
17, 2011
'Administrative blunders' not making the grade with would-be graduates By Faine Richards Staff Reporter
It’s the rite of passage which, in a singular moment, makes the years spent at university seem worth the sweat and tears: students don their academic regalia and step onstage to receive their diplomas. While thousands of students across the country are eagerly awaiting their graduation ceremonies this month, others have to forgo their moment in the sun because of “administrative blunders.” One of the unlucky ones is a postgraduate M.Phil. student at the University of the West Indies (UWI). After labouring over her 100-page thesis for two years, she submitted the final version to her supervisor in July. Three months later, she is still waiting on her thesis to be graded. “Every May or June to August, my supervisor would obtain a travel grant and go out of the country,” recalled the student, who asked not to be named. “Even though I tried to keep in contact with him via e-mail, it was difficult because he wasn’t responding all the time.” But she believes the delay was caused not only by the supervisor’s absence from the country, but also his own feelings on graduation. “My supervisor doesn’t see the importance of going to the ceremony, so I feel that translated into how he treated my stuff,” she said. “He just didn’t care to push to get my stuff done so I could go to the ceremony.” She said UWI has already finalised the list for graduation, and she has no hope of graduating on time. “When you reach this far and do all this work, you’re supposed to have the privilege of going onstage and graduating with everyone. Emotionally, it does something for you; it makes you feel like you’ve achieved something. I sent in my thesis in a good enough time to graduate.” Over at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), another student has already resigned herself to the fact that she will not graduate on time next May. Accounting student Shinelle Rajkumar said the USC administration lost vital paperwork – and didn’t discover the error for three years. Rajkumar withdrew from courses for the 20082009 academic year when she was diagnosed with a medical condition. She said she submitted a doctor’s note and a withdrawal form to USC, and expected the university’s finance department not to bill her for courses she could no longer take. “All they had to do was remove me from the system, but they didn’t. So the classes that I was enrolled in were still there. That was in 2008, and I didn’t find that out until this summer when I was already midway through the summer semester. They couldn’t find my withdrawal form for those two semesters, and because of that, GATE wasn’t going to give me funding (for the summer courses).” As a result, she was forced to drop the summer classes she had already begun taking. She is unable to do those courses until next summer. “It was basically their fault; they didn’t have my paperwork. I’m not giving up, though. I’m going to keep trying to get it sorted out.” faine@mycampuschronicle.com
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Parking spots are a commodity in limited supply at the UWI St. Augustine campus.
Officials clamping down on parking violations By Ruth Osman Staff reporter
Sonielle Rahim, a first-year graphic design student at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), glanced out a window during her math class just in time to see the tow truck pull up. “Everybody run down with their key to go and move their car, to put them further out,” she told the Campus Chronicle. “You have to be walking far, far to get your car.” Rahim, who no longer drives to school for fear of her car being towed, is just one of the hundreds of students affected by a shortage of designated parking space at COSTAATT’s City Campus. “The only parking is downstairs for lecturers,” said Tarique Eastman. “It’s not for students unless they have a disability.” Lanky, with a cap pulled over his eyes, the final-year IT student proceeded to explain how difficult it is to get a spot in the lecturers’ car park. “Even when I broke my leg, I couldn’t get to park downstairs … They moved me from the handicap spot. They said I needed a form stating I’m handicapped even though I had a cast on my leg. I mean, who would go through the trouble of putting a cast on their leg?” he shrugged. As far as everyone knows, students have always competed for the 20 designated spots in a parking lot on the nearby Fitzgerald Lane, along with those in front of the City Campus. When all else fails, they resort to park-
‘‘
Even when I broke my leg, I couldn't get to park downstairs... They moved me from the handicap spot. They said I needed a form stating I'm handicapped even though I had a cast on my leg.” Tarique Eastman Final year IT student
ing on the narrow streets surrounding the institution. But that was before the tow trucks and the $500 fine that has to be paid before a car is released. “They started about a month ago, in September,” Rahim said. The administration’s response to the problem, the students said, was to put up a sign saying, “Parking is not permitted on Melvine Lane. The wrecker is working now!” Crista, a biology student, remembers that there was a plan to acquire space in the car park of a nearby eating establishment. “The idea was to get students to pay a certain amount and use their car park, but nothing came out of it,” she said. COSTAATT students aren’t the only ones facing parking woes. Students at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine campus, are also
complaining about a lack of space for their vehicles on campus. “There’s a huge problem with parking,” said Nicole Henry, a final-year accounts student. “There’s never any space. Everywhere you go, the [spots for] students are filled. So if you’re rushing to class or an exam, you park anywhere.” And that’s when you get clamped. Henry’s friend, who asked not to be named, gets clamped every month. He recalled the most recent incident: “I came out of my class around 7 p.m. and found my car clamped. I was like, ‘Should I stay here or should I walk home?’ ... because most of the time I’m broke on Friday evenings.” At UWI, the cost of getting a car unclamped is $100. Once the fee is paid at the UWI estate police head office, the owner of the car is accompanied to the offending vehicle and the bright yellow clamps are removed. A UWI estate constable laid out the grounds for clamping: “If you’re parked illegally, or parked in a parking lot that you’re not supposed to park in, or in a designated area without a parking sticker, or along the yellow line ... or if you’re disrupting traffic or blocking someone – then we clamp you.” The ratio of parking spaces for staff compared to students, he said is about 50:50. At a university with a student population approaching 18,000, that may be reason enough to take the shuttle. ruth@mycampuschronicle.com
october
NEWS
17, 2011
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
UTT Bachelor in Education student Malorie Longchallon praises primary school students during a game of Spanish scrabble.
Spanish Day offers students a friendlier way to learn a foriegn language By Faine Richards Staff Reporter
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Like most primary school children, they knew the nursery rhyme by heart. But instead of singing “Old McDonald had a farm,” the standard five pupils stumbled over words in an unfamiliar tongue: “En las casa de animalitos, e-i-e-i- o.” To make the children’s first attempt at a foreign language less daunting, the instructors – students at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) – held up images of farm animals labeled in Spanish. “When you’re teaching, especially Spanish, you should use a lot of visual aids, because you want the children to make the connection,” explained Shalinaar Rhaatt, a final-year student enrolled in UTT’s Bachelor’s in Education programme. “When they see a picture of a cat and you say ‘gato,’ it’s easier for them to understand and remember. We also use a lot of audio because children, especially in Trinidad, tend to learn a lot by hearing because they are so accustomed to music as part of their culture.” Sounds of the foreign language echoed through the halls of UTT Corinth in San Fernando during the second annual “Spanish Day” on Oct. 12. Primary school students from south Trinidad were invited to participate in interactive Spanish lessons. While they learned how to count to 10 in a new language, the nation’s future primary school teachers had the opportunity to put textbook teaching methods into practice. “The students hit the ground running (once they get a teaching position), so we try to give them as much experience as possible to expand their skills beyond just teaching them in the classroom,” said UTT Spanish lecturer Mariette Cooper. The teacher trainees transformed their classrooms into a theatre, a games room and a concert hall. Showcasing their theatrical flair, a group of UTT students dramatised a picnic in the park. Creeping up behind them was a hungry “monster” that looked like a cross between a pierrot grenade and Cousin It from the Addams Family on a bad hair day. Cooper said the performances helped shy students overcome their apprehension of standing up at the front of the classroom to teach.
When I go into a new classroom, I ask the students what they want to learn in Spanish, and I start by teaching them what they're interested in." Radine Teelucksingh UTT teacher in training
“The girl who wrote the play performed in it, and after this experience she told me she felt it really made her open up. I do see a big difference in her confidence,” Cooper remarked about one of her more timid students. Other UTT teachers used Velcro to stick up cut-outs of letters on a life-size Scrabble board, encouraging the primary school pupils to spell out simple words in Spanish. Former UTT student Ramona Boodoo said this resourcefulness is a skill she honed during last year’s Spanish Day and which she now draws upon in her own classroom. “(This exercise) gives them an opportunity to showcase other strengths, like if they are good at making teaching tools like flashcards and charts and games,” explained Ramona Boodoo, a teacher at St. Peter’s Private Primary School. ”So by the time you have to go out and teach, you’ve discovered the methods that work best for you,” The UTT students believe this creativity will equip them to tackle the oft-lamented state of the education system, which has traditionally mandated that students memorise and regurgitate information. “The normal thing we’re accustomed to is people just standing in class and telling us ‘do this or that,’ or writing on the board,” UTT teacher-intraining Radine Teelucksingh lamented. “When I go into a new classroom, I ask the students what they want to learn in Spanish, and I start by teaching them what they’re interested in.” Teelucksingh said innovative pedagogical practices can transform the “learning by rote” system into student-centred lesson planning, and can help students truly retain knowledge. faine@mycampuschronicle.com
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6
NEWS
october
17,2011
Application period for classes expands Animation festival drawing widespread interest By Ruth Osman Staff reporter
By Abby Brathwaite Staff Reporter
For the first time, the University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine will give prospective students the opportunity to apply for undergraduate programmes that commence in January. The pilot project will begin with several degrees from the faculty of Social Sciences, which will be available to full-time and evening students. Campus Principal Clement Sankat told the Campus Chronicle that other faculties are considering similar expansions of their offerings. “This is going to be a first, because we are always evolving. I think the faculty of Science and Agriculture is also thinking of this as well,” Sankat said. “I think our campus at Mona has already done this, so this is an evolution. We are moving along that path … but let us see how it goes with Social Sciences before we move too fast.” He said the move to expand the university’s intake to January will give students more time to decide what they want to study and will help reduce the institution’s administrative burdens. “It is a response to the growing demand for space at the university, but also has to do with students having their CAPE results so close to the admission (deadline) at UWI,” he said. “CAPE results come out on August 15, students have to register at the end of August, some students have challenges of one kind or another, some students need a little more time to think about what they want to do.” He added, “I think this can only help give students more choices, and it can
also in many ways help reduce the tremendous pressures put both on students and the university in that twoweek period in August, in that crunch time. We are creating a little space for everybody.” The new BSc in InUWI PRINCIPAL CLEMENT SANKAT surance and Risk Management will be among the offerings available this January. It is the only full-fledged degree programme in this discipline to be offered in Trinidad and Tobago and in the wider Caribbean. Speaking at the formal launch of the programme recently, Sankat said the degree programme would target the more than 3,000 people who are already involved in the sector, as well as people interested in pursuing this field as a career. He said that the programme was designed with the input of the sector’s established professionals. “We are definitely pioneers here and charting a new course for teaching, learning and scholarship in this discipline,” he said. “ … the degree programme will not only address the knowledge and skills needs of the insurance industry, it will also allow for indigenous technical know-how and expertise that are unique to the insurance sector of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean to be integrated into the delivery of the programme.” The application deadline for the January intake is Nov. 30. abby@mycampuschronicle.com
On Oct. 31, Animae Caribe, an annual animation festival showcasing the work of regional and international animators, will launch its 10th edition. The festival, which began in 2002 with a total of five submissions, has since grown to attract emerging and established talent from places as far-flung as Norway and Egypt. This year, submissions from Russia, India, Australia, Cuba and Panama are expected to join a lineup of films from Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean. Festival director Camille Selvon Abrahams is particularly excited about the festival’s opening, which will feature Mr. Beam, a Holland-based company that specialises in projecting 3D animations onto buildings. “It’s our way of opening the festival, of lighting up,” she said. “You’ll have to see it to believe it.” The five-day festival will be hosted by a number of venues, including the Academy of Performing Arts, the Little Carib Theatre, Studio Film Club and Alice Yard. Its schedule of events will include workshops on hands-on animation, music in film, marketing and distribution, as well as master classes by internationally renowned animation professionals. Selvon Abrahams expressed the hope that animation students, as well as the general public, would make the most of the opportunities for learning. “We want ... (them) to be one-on-one with these people, to really get a feel of what the overall industry is about.” The development of those critical linkages between the production of animation and the development of a viable industry, she said, is one of the main aims of the festival. But as powerful as the festival is, Abrahams believes that Animae Caribe is just half of the equa-
tion. To that end, she has spearheaded the establishment of an animation programme at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). Speaking of the festival and the programme, Selvon Abrahams said, “Each can’t happen without the other, because the idea of the festival is that it’s a platform for Caribbean content, and the idea of UTT programme is that it’s a training programme to create Caribbean content.” The two-year programme, a Diploma in Digital Media Studies-Animation, focuses on the contextual, technical and entrepreneurial aspects of the animation business. Abrahams, who is the programme administrator, admits that it carries a heavy workload. “We take in about 25 students, and we usually end up with about 15. It’s that intense … almost like you’re working for an associate degree.” Final-year animation student Sadé Collins believes that she is up to the task. “This experience (the programme) has been very rewarding … I like how it challenges my expectations and my imagination.” Collins, who hopes to someday have her own animation company, said that the programme prepares participants for the rigours of the industry. Classmate Shane Young Sing agreed. Young Sing, whose early love affair with animation was stunted by a lack of opportunities for training locally, left his job as an insurance salesman when heard about the programme. “I was a bit sceptical at first,” he said. “But it has met and exceeded my expectations. I can’t complain.” Collins and Young Sing are currently working on their final-year projects, which will be submitted for entry into next year’s Animae Caribe. ruth@mycampuschronicle.com
september
NEWS
19, 2011
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8
NEWS
september
19, 2011
october
Throwing money at national security doesn't solve problems
A
Opinion
17, 2011
fter watching the presentation of this year’s budget, I couldn’t help the mixed feelings that subsequently followed. PNM supporters, don’t get excited here. This column isn’t going to be your regular government-bashing space, as I try to keep a level head when discussing critical issues such as these. Were I to ever lose my level-headed capabilities, that would be the day I become an elected member of the House of Representatives, because everybody knows that finding logic in that place is as likely as finding a Gay Rights movement in Saudi Arabia. Reshmi Ramnarine and Sasha Mohammad scandals aside, the government did manage to somewhat redeem themselves with a few feasible plans, among them job creation and imposing stricter penalties for white-collar crimes. However, they did manage to raise a few red flags. As an advocate of alternative energy, I was pleased to hear the Minister of Finance announce plans to implement solar water heating, wind energy and compressed natural gas. As I read the statement from last year’s budget, however, it turned out that these plans were proposed a year ago but apparently never left the drawing board, assuming they even got that far. It would have been nice to know why there was a delay, if any, or a proposed date for these ideas to come to fruition. I’m not asking for an honest explanation, keeping in mind that this is politics, after all. Just a reasonable one. My main issue with this year’s budget, however, was the increase in the amount of money allocated to National Security: $5,170.5 million, compared with last year’s $4,762 million. In 2008, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Latin America and Caribbean Region of the World Bank published a fiveyear case study on violent crime in the Caribbean, chiefly Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia and Jamaica, with murder rates of 30, 20 and 50 per 100,000 population, respectively. Perhaps the most interesting observation made was that the more a country spends on national security, the higher the country’s homicide rate. I quote: “Literature suggests that more often than not, crime and violence result in the diversion of national expenditure away from human development and
9
doodle
ANGELO HART
welfare services to services focused on controlling and addressing the impact of crime and violence such as policing and the Judiciary. “A comparative examination of expenditure on social welfare and national security in Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago suggests that the percentage of GDP spent on national security has increased steadily for all three countries over the past five years, while expenditure on social security and welfare remains fairly constant. It also suggests that far greater expenditure occurs in the area of national security than on social welfare.” To be fair, the government did increase the pension and expanded the GATE programme, so social security isn’t bad, especially since most of our expenditure is aimed at education (although education in Trinidad and Tobago is far from impressive, but this is a different matter altogether). Jack Warner and John Sandy arrived at a consensus when they said that crime in Trinidad is a matter of “blacks killing blacks.” So I wonder, is it more important to keep said blacks in prison than it is to feed them? Because our agriculture sector hasn’t seen much increase, with $1,954.3 million, a small increase over last year’s $1,836 million. I’m no expert in biology, but I highly doubt it is possible to eat the 200-plus motorbikes that were purchased for our police service, unless the government knows something I don’t. I haven’t even begun to discuss the fact that we are currently spending more on national security than we are on health care. You would think that a body with some authority such as the United Nations would have some influence over decision-making in this country. This is a period when our public servants are very poorly paid, while the government proposes to build an airport in Central. Is landing a plane in an airport a stone’s throw (if you happen to be using a catapult) from the main one absolutely more important than making sure your workers remain happy? Again, perhaps the government knows something I don’t. But say what, sans huminate.
Don’t waste perfect chance to obtain your education
M
aybe you should just drop out. protests, but the government insisted that the inKanye West did. So did Mark Zuckercrease was necessary to address the budget deficit. berg. Heck, even Steve Jobs abandoned In 2004, when GATE was first introduced here, the college route. students in England were being asked to begin But if you’re not going to leave the hallowed paying for their tuition, which was before then halls of learning, if you’ve decided to enter into an largely free. unwritten agreement with the children of Trinidad The Campus Chronicle welcomes the government’s and Tobago to use their inheritance to fund your announcement of its review of the GATE proeducation — don’t waste it. gramme. In the past three years, close to $2 billion was We should not be paying for your mediocrity. If spent on the Government Assistance for Tertiary you don’t pass, we don’t pay. Education (GATE) programme. The tuition is free, but it should STAFF EDITORIAL That’s billions of dollars of taxnot be free for all. payer money spent for your benefit, The discerning mind underin a global economic climate characterised by stands, though, that the schooling is far from free. sharp budget cuts and austerity measures, which It was brokered for with the toil of our parents, often directly impact tuition. who could only dream of opportunities such as From Italy to California to Quebec, students these, whose investment in this country created the around the world have been forced to spend more wealth that now sends their children to university. money on tuition, while you have paid none. Don’t insult them with your squander, lest the In 2010, Britain’s parliament voted in favour of next generation hear a tale of a time when people a bill that raised the ceiling on annual tuition at despised free education and heap scorn on our English universities from about $5,200 to $14,200. heads. The move sparked sometimes-violent nationwide Don’t you dare waste it.
Kerry Peters
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Faine Richards
MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST
Mark Gellineau PHOTOJOURNALIST
Abby Brathwaite ASSISTANT EDITOR
Favian Mookram
SALES REPRESENTATIVE
Ruth Osman STAFF WRITER
Published weekly during the academic year by Caribbean Communications Network (CCN), The Campus Chronicle is an editorially independent newspaper for tertiary students. Opinions expressed in signed columns and cartoons are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Must we tell you that all the “Heckler” stories are fake?
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10
OPINION
october
How a brilliant misfit can change the world forever
I
nventor, role model, nerd and hero … These are but a few monikers associated with the late and great Steven Paul Jobs. Everyone knows him as the man behind Apple, the company that gave you the Mac, iPods and iPhones and thereby revolutionised the way the world listened to music, browsed the Web and enjoyed socialising. But there is so much to Jobs that you may not know and which makes his life story such an amazing tale of inspiration and hope for us college students, especially those who are lost at the crossroads of confusion and hopelessness with regard to the future. The first and perhaps biggest thing you should know about him is that he never graduated from college. That’s right; right now you are technically at a better position than Steve was when he was your age. Steve dropped out of college after one semester because he found that it was not doing anything to make his life better. To quote a speech he gave to Stanford’s graduating class of 2005: "I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out and here I was spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and hope that it would all work out OK.” The next thing about Steve that is so inspiring is that he was raised by adoptive parents. He was taken in by Paul and Clara Jobs. Now,
NICHOLAS MOHAMMED
this is just so amazing because what you may not know is that Paul and Clara were not college graduates. In fact, Paul was nothing more than a mechanic of sorts. Nonetheless, he and Clara worked hard and saved as much as they could to send Steve to college. Steve, after dropping out of college, went to India for a while to find enlightenment at the age of 19, though that was most likely his reaction to the confusion that we all faced during our first semester of college. But this changed Steve a lot when he returned home. He began working with a close friend, Stephen Wozniak (AKA Woz). Steve and Woz were like the geeks that even the biggest chess club/sci-fi fanatics would choose to avoid. But this didn’t stop the duo from creating the Apple and Apple II by 1977. However, Steve was thrown out of the partnership due to being “too temperamental a manager,” but that was just his desire to be the best and to give nothing less than that. Though hurt deeply, he did not let that stop
him. He took control of a small project called Macintosh and, from 1981-2001, he worked until Mac became the name synonymous with amazing products and the induction of rage in avid PC users (such as myself). His untimely death from pancreatic cancer came at age 56. Ever the fighter, Jobs did not falter or even show many signs of weakness in his final days. To be honest, I didn’t even know his age until I began research for this article, because he didn’t even look a day over 40. Steve’s life is such an amazing tale that should serve to inspire anyone who’s lost right now. If you feel like you don’t fit in with what you’re studying or that you don’t belong there, then take a step back and “Think Different.” Follow your own passions and your own dreams. So I leave you with a toast from Steve himself: “Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes…the ones who see things differently – they're not fond of rules…You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things…they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.” RIP, Steven… you shall be missed.
17, 2011
october
11
OPINION
17, 2011
permanent head damage
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Giving the Ph.D. students the "third degree"
he Ph.D. researcher is a rare species. The Huffington Post (a Serious Newspaper for Serious People) reported in 2010 that 6.7 percent of the world’s population had completed an undergraduate degree. I’m not able to find statistics for the numbers with higher degrees, so, using my BA cohort as a point of reference, let’s say that 20 percent go on to do a higher degree such as a diploma in education or a master’s degree. That takes us down to 1.34 percent of the world’s population. Again, no proper statistics are available, so based on my M.Phil. cohort, let’s say that half of those go on to earn a Ph.D. That’s 0.67 percent of the world’s population, or about 47 million people. Yes, that’s 47 times the population of T&T, or less than 5 percent of the population of China. By my calculations, therefore, you’re just as likely to find 11 cricketers who will restore the West Indies’ former glory as you are to meet 11 people working toward a Ph.D. And here’s
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GUYANNE WILSON
a list of things you should never say to them (the Ph.D. people, not the cricketers): You still in school? Especially if the emphasis is on the “still,” or if “school” is said with disgust, or if you graduated after getting your B.Sc. in Engineering and now make lots of money in the oil industry. We are at university, at the lower echelons of a career ladder known as academia. We are not “still in school.” You have plenty classes? This is linked to the first one. Yes, we are classy people (not really), but we don’t actually have class. We meet with our supervisors once a month and talk about what
we’ve been up to in that time. In most universities, Ph.D. students do the bulk of the seminar/tutorial teaching and marking, while the actual people with Ph.D.s give lectures and counsel Ph.D. students. So unless your question is whether we teach a lot of classes (answer: yes), bite your tongue.
What’s your thesis about? Umm, in my experience, a Ph.D. thesis or dissertation is anywhere from 80,000 to 100,000 words in length. In order to write those words, Ph.D. researchers spend years reading books and articles, running experiments, interviewing people, recording events and basically trying to make sense of the world. We can’t summarise in a sentence or two, and we definitely can’t summarise it without using big words like “hegemony” and “indexicality.” It’s not that we think you wouldn’t understand, it’s that we aren’t quite convinced that we understand, and so the process of making others understand is
daunting.
You want to go to a party? No. Unless it’s a party with other Ph.D. students, we probably don’t. Please don’t take this as snobbery, but Ph.D. students by and large are awkward. We don’t do well in events that require things such as dancing and, gods forbid, talking about something not related to our work. We know very little about pop culture (unless we are doing Cultural Anthropology or Film Studies), don’t know many jokes, and don’t own any “nice clothes” except for the smart shirt and pants that we wear when we have to speak at a conference. You nearly done? This is a bit like asking your grandmother if she is going to die soon. As soon as you utter the words, our hearts skip a few beats, our lungs collapse, our throats become dry, our blood pressure skyrockets. If you keep pressing, we could die. Forever. It would be your fault. You could
be charged with murder. When we finish, you’ll know. We’ll post it on Facebook. What you going to do when you finish? We don’t know. Ideally, we’d like to believe that our work will win a Nobel Prize because it will change life on the planet forever. In reality, no one will read our thesis other than the examiners, and the only real change it will make in their lives is that they will be a little older and a little more confused about life after reading it. There aren’t enough jobs in academia for all the Ph.D. people in the world, so we will probably end up writing columns about the state of higher education, advising the government on funding for higher education, or teaching secondary school. Follow these guidelines and you are sure to have a smooth relationship with any Ph.D. student you meet. When you get to know us, we are just like everyone else … except not.
Are you ready for the New World Odor, um, Order?
he government — on the puppet strings of the New World Order — has gone crazy and taken the armed forces and police service with them. Mass pandemonium, people are being shot and locked up for expressing any form of dissent with their rule. They assert that they shall purge the land (and all the world) of undesirables so that we may live in a beautiful new place filled with only goodness, loveliness and 11 p.m. bedtimes. Undesirable means just that: You do not befit the wants of the rulers, who are unseen but for their grimy fingers holding the strings attached to well-dressed puppets in tailored suits, and of the female puppets, one standing out in particular wearing a slightly gaudy lady-suit made of fine cloth so as to hide the dullness of the puppet herself. No one has said you are an undesirable, but the pictures in the paper of the people being hunted sure do look a lot like you, until you
SIAN LANGE read the words below the caption and suddenly the photograph is of monsters (or marauding thugs). “Is this The Revolution?” you wonder. “Where are my joystick, bumpers and triggers? If I could press my left trigger now, I could focus and target the enemy…but where is my controller?!” You want to pretend it’s not you they’re after, but you’re ill-prepared, not dumb. It sucks, but reality is you have gone from Joe Ordinary to Public Enemy No. 1 and thumb-eye coordination is not going to help you out. Of course, this scenario comes from the wildest, darkest depths of my imagination, but it does bring up a very pertinent ques-
tion: “Are you ready for The Revolution?” Should sh*+ hit the fan, could you survive? It is one thing to throw back the live grenade from behind good cover in “Call of Duty” and score the most kills for the game. But here, in the flesh-and-blood world, soldiers don’t re-spawn after being shot to pieces — they bleed and die. I know that the likelihood of me surviving The Revolution will happen in one of two ways: 1. I find Headquarters early. My ideas and thinking are considered imperative to the success of the post-revolution society. I am therefore trained to survive and afforded the protection of Headquarters in the interim; or… 2. Early on in the melee, I cross paths with a soldier from “Jah Army” who considers my survival as vital as his. I do admit that option 2 is far more fun to fantasize about. We’ve all seen “I am Legend.” To survive in the long run, you
will have to get to HQ eventually. I suggest you assemble your crew early. This is the win-all plan, because a well-selected crew has a greater chance of surviving and finding HQ; and if you choose extremely well, HQ could turn out to be your base! Imagine that! You could be a founding member of a new era of humanity in this place with a little planning, intelligence and the right choice of companions. I recommend a few key elements in your crew. First, all members should be intellectually competent. Anyone dumb enough to recite a statement they never read before, in any binding forum, should be excluded. You need someone who can supply provisions, so perhaps you should find a good bandit (or hunter-gatherer, as they were called in the past). If you’re trying to assemble the Supercrew, a farmer who also knows how to gather could replace your bandit. If you want a “Superheavy”
Supercrew, your farmer will also be a specialist in ’erbal medications. Also remember that white-collar bandits will have become useless at this point. You definitely need muscle; sometimes the only strategy that will work is fighting might with might. A visionary is necessary, someone to lead the strategic planning and keep the enthusiasm going, someone who can hype up the crowd for action and subdue them for patiently laying low. Alcoholics should be excluded, as they might do something irrational like declare a state of emergency or give approval for declaring one even though nothing to warrant it has happened. It’s OK if you, like me, know you’re not really ready. However, what you need to do now is stop, look around and see if the party you moving with is the crew that could not only save you, but also improve your life. Or like yuh mudda say, not jus’ carry yuh but also bring yuh back.
WE WANT YOUR LETTERS! EDITOR@MYCAMPUSCHRONICLE.COM
12
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OPINION
october
We oversimplify what matters, to our own destruction
ne Dies Millions Cry; Millions Die No One Cries A groovy friend of mine shared a link with me today. In the left hand was a picture of Steve Jobs with the caption “One Die Millions Cry”; on the right hand was a picture of hungry, disheveled, helpless (African) children, with the caption “Millions Die No One Cries”. My Mac mind went immediately into a right religious fury – dare talk about Steve, will they? But the one good thing about rationality – if you allow for it – is that you can separate the emotion in order to see the validity in an opinion even if it is not one you hold to. This is not to say the destruction of innocents does not throw me; I live on Earth, so of course it is painful. But the constant oversimplification of a thing (usually for sheer shock value) amuses me
TRACY
HUTCHINGS
greatly. But what should one expect from homosapien society? I remember when Michael (Jackson) died. The world became divided into two sets of sycophants: the ones who (possibly never cared but still) posted videos and pictures and the ones who (like Republican U.S. Rep. Peter T. King) said, “What’s the big deal about a child molester?” Right. Again, the oversimplification of a thing is just hilarious. Now that Steve is gone, the same stupid human imperative has reared its malad-
justed head. This, of course, is where you say that all those tiny Apple parts were made by little children in China. Of course, everything you own is actually made in a tiny village in China, down to the acrylic nails on your fingers, so where is the outrage then? WHY do millions die? Millions die because elected dictators (I use the term “elected” loosely) prefer to subjugate rather cultivate. Little men with a limited understanding of power lord it over the innocent whose only crime was geography. Millions die because one sect’s idea of God does not match another’s. Because instead of coming together to seek God as a collective unit, let’s just kill each other. Millions die because after centuries of imperialists raping and pillaging every natural resource, they are now at the mercy of the scorned.
17, 2011
Millions die because bad men, of a culture’s own blood, steal, coerce or encourage the young to be child soldiers; innocent souls longing to be whole, to belong, are led down the path of evil. Millions die because life as we know it is completely unbalanced and altogether unfair. One dies and millions cry because a man decided it was not merely enough to accept the oxygen life offered; because one man asked himself, “How can I help change the world?”; because one man showed that knowledge comes not from living in a dorm but from going out into the world. Beyond Steve’s quotes, beyond the posting and reposting of Steve’s TED video, there was a true message walking around in a 56-year-old man that, sadly, we’ve missed, all in favor of oversimplification. Lovely.
october
Heckler
17, 2011
13
Finance minister's TV role could leave country speechless The director of “The King's Speech,” Tom Hooper, is reportedly interested in creating a reality version of the movie starring our very own Finance Minister Winston Dookeran. The project, tentatively titled "The Minister's Speech," will follow Dookeran as he goes through speech therapy to help him become a better orator. “The King's Speech” is the story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne, and the speech therapist who helped him overcome his stuttering problem. Winston Dookeran is well-known for a stammer in his speech. His budget speech earlier this week was 2 hours and 40 minutes long, but experts believe that someone with good diction would've taken approximately an hour less. "He'll never be able to ‘bahlance’ the budget until he learns to pronounce it," Hooper said. "By
Finance Minister Winston Dookeran could reprise his role as a work-in-progress orator in a reality series tentatively titled, "The Minister's Speech."
the end of the show, he's going to speak like Obama...or at least Joe Biden." The show is originally carded for one season (16 episodes), but may
Scientists say it's time to get Uranus off this planet NASA scientists have revealed that they are continuing to search for inhabitable Earth-like planets in an attempt to escape the benign existence of humans. “Honestly, we just can’t take it anymore,” said John McBride, senior analyst at Cape Canaveral. “It’s just too much. Too much mindless conformity. There’s got to be a way out of this madness.” The decision to push harder to find more Earth-like planets came in light of discussions with members of the Republican Party, who explained that global warming was the result of mass menopause, brought on by chemicals found in vegetables. The problem was further aggravated upon the discovery that most of the western world was
more obsessed with tweeting about last night’s cheese sandwich cock up than making any real lifeaffirming change. “We live in a world where videos of cats dancing are king of the Internet! We at NASA are sick of it! We want out!” McBride lamented. So far, scientists have discovered a few planets that fit the bill, but the current constraints of space travel have hampered efforts to get there. However, the team remains undaunted. “We invite anyone who feels the same way to join us at www.leavethisplace.com for updates and information. “The minute we find a habitable rock closer to home, we’re blowing this joint!”
be extended depending on how well Dookeran does. "This is a finance minister who can't pronounce the word 'statistics' and has trouble reading numbers
out loud. We might be looking at a three-year run with this show," Hooper announced. The project isn't limited to Dookeran, though. Hooper said that
in this government, the possibilities for spinoffs are endless. Rudy Indarsingh and Alicia Hospedales from the Opposition PNM are tipped to appear in later seasons.
Freemasons decide against soca takeover, calls music stupid London, England: Word came today from within the headquarters of the Masonic Order that the group will not be infiltrating soca on the grounds that it is too stupid. Amadeus Amadeus, a spokesman in the London office, said that while at one time soca appeared to be ripe with promise, it no longer held any real interest, as it was becoming “just too daft.” “Year after year, some half-baked git slaps together a poorly constructed ditty with a thinly-veiled double entendre and calls that music. And the worst part of it all, the masses jump to it like headless corpses. And how the devil does it even get on the radio?! It’s terrifying!” Amadeus said that while certain producers were considered for their admirable execution of the nowsignature gym-style beats commonly called soca, it was not sufficient for the Freemason body to throw their square and compass into the ring. “It’s too tiring. We want no part of it.” This news did not go down well within the local soca fraternity. Prominent producer and fete promoter Matthew Montana said that pulsating beats of the same theme played for 10 years is EXACTLY what the Masons need in the Caribbean. “This stark and blatant bias by the powers-that-behidden is an insult to the Trinidadian Collective who no
DESTRA GARCIA will have the audience stand there and stare at her at the 2012 International Soca Monarch.
doubt can be an asset to any organisation or government ment ment ment with the right amount of clout. We have agendas, too, you know.” In related news, soca songstress Destra Garcia is said to be penning another song that no one will know for the 2012 International Soca Monarch.
14
HECKLER
october
17, 2011
Rowley reported to be increasingly addicted to online game PNM sources have revealed that Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Rowley is suffering from a debilitating addiction to the online game “Angry Birds.” The anonymous source from within the PNM said that Rowley will spend hours at a time in his office playing the game, which has severely affected his ability to lead the Opposition. “In a world where people are standing up against oppression by holding massive sit-in protests...in the Middle East, Spain, and even in the U.S., Dr. Rowley deals with the oppression of the State of Emergency by calling a press conference,” the source said. “And that’s because he can’t be bothered to do anything but play that bloody game! But Rowley doesn’t see his game play as an addiction. Instead, he calls it a strategy to deal with the PP. He said, “I don’t know where you are getting this information about an addiction, but I play as a means of practice. It’s a war out here between the PP and the PNM. They’ve stolen the eggs of the nation, and it’s my job to get it back. This is just practice for the big showdown.” Rowley couldn’t expound on exactly how playing “Angry Birds” could help him “prepare” for any kind of battle with the government. He did say, though, that he felt the UNC had something to do with the creation of the game, because the yellow birds had greater power than the red ones which did absolutely nothing and were pretty much useless in the game. “It gets worse when he’s losing. It affects his whole mood and he’s very rude to staff,” the source said. Rowley has reportedly damaged three computer monitors and an equal number of keyboards during his marathon sessions. Opposition Leader Dr. Keith contends it is unjust for the UNC-aligned birds to generate more points than the PNM-affiliated red ones in “Angry Birds.”
Assang may be guilty of Police warn mother who forced youngsters to watch Parliament Channel stealing a foreign accent An investigation has been launched to discover exactly where the director of the Trinidad and Tobago police service public affairs unit, Sharon Lee Assang, obtained her accent. Sources within the police service believe that the accent is not hers and that an American somewhere is missing theirs. Lee Assang has been chairing the daily police briefings since the start of the State of Emergency. She speaks with a strong freshwater accent; her mouth never opens more than a few centimetres. “She’s well-groomed and has a very charming smile, but that accent doesn’t add up. As far as we know, she was in the U.S. for a short time, but not long enough to get that accent,” said a police source. But according to the source, people don’t even need to travel to the U.S. to acquire accents. “Sometimes foreigners come to the country, and when they speak to locals, they just take the accents like it’s theirs!” he said. The spate of thefts is said to be especially bad during the carnival season. “The worst part is, it’s not just the ‘poor’ perpetrating these crimes. The so-called upper class does it, too, but people seem to excuse them. Accent theft is serious no matter who does it.” But Lee Assang isn’t the only person under probe. Football star Dwight York was found guilty of pilfering a British accent. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was previously under probe, but the investigation was dropped because investigators couldn’t figure out where in the world she could have gotten her accent.
Police were called in yesterday to the home of a Claxton Bay mother of two after reports indicated that the woman has been forcing her children to watch the Parliament Channel. Neighbors claimed that for some time now, strange noises that can only be described as political banter have been coming from the house owned by Janice Jane Tid. This was usually accompanied with the sound of screaming by the children ages 17 and 9. “To be truthful, I did always suspect
something was going on,” an unidentified neighbour said. “But is when I hear ‘Mr. Speaker! Mr. Speaker!’ and the loud animal-like behavior, I KNEW she was making them poor children watch those horrible, horrible images.” A defiant Tid said that she did nothing wrong and maintained that sometimes a little punishment is necessary to maintain the chain of command in her house. “Children have to learn that a sassy attitude will not be tolerated. Sure, the Parliament Channel may SEEM a bit
extreme, but I guarantee one hour of that and they bound to learn discipline.” Constable Donaldson said that while this is not the first case they have encountered, this is one of the more severe. “I can’t understand how any parent would subject their children to Rowley and Warner like that,” Donaldson said. “What ever happened to making them kneel on a grater, for crying out loud?” Police are advising the public not to delay in coming forward with cases of Parliament Channel abuse.
SMART PEOPLE READ. SMARTER PEOPLE READ THE NEWSPAPER.
october
Arts&Culture NEWS
17, 2011
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MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Divine Echoes serenades Queen’s Hall.
FADING ECHO Despite an uncertain future, big band's enthusiasm not waning
Ruth Osman Staff reporter
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big band in full swing can be a magical thing. Last Friday evening at the Queens Hall auditorium, Divine Echoes, Trinidad and Tobago’s only big band, gave the capacity audience a taste of that magic. As the band carried the audience through a variety of genres, ranging from swing to Indian classical, one could hardly believe that its future hangs in the balance. Divine Echoes consists of more than 40 members, about half of which are students at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), the University of the West Indies St. Augustine (UWI) or the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT). The band was formed in October 2007 under the direction of then-Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Established to bring back a “renaissance of formal, elegant ballroom dancing to live music,” as one of the ads stated, the band has performed at numerous government functions and public concerts throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Four years later, there is a stark difference in the band’s circumstances. Except for a few appearances and two recent concerts, Divine Echoes seems to have fallen off the radar. James Fenton, one of the band’s percussionists
and a music student at UTT, told the Campus Chronicle that there is an obvious difference in the number of gigs that the band plays. “We’ve only performed at a few functions as compared to the years before,” he said. “Of course, there’s a difference.” Band manager Tamba Gwindi insists that the band receives a certain level of support from the current administration. “Support for the band has not changed in terms of our requirements being met,” he told the Campus Chronicle. Those requirements, he said, include practice space, instruments, the maintenance of equipment, uniforms and salaries. Gwindi, himself a renowned percussionist, also listed a number of events at which the band has performed recently. He noted, however, that they have not been invited to play at the Diplomatic Centre, previously one of their morefrequented venues. “On more than one occasion, I’ve been approached by members of government who have an interest in the band playing a role in mentorship programmes,” he said. “And we’ve had visit from ministers expressing support for the band, but it has not manifested itself in our being invited to perform at government functions.” And then there is the question of the contracts. Fenton’s contract, like most of his colleagues’, expires in 2012. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen next year...if they’ll renew it or not,” he
said. The uncertainty has led a few of the band’s members to leave, including one of its leaders. “It is highly possible that he could have left because of the uncertainty,” Gwindi said of the bandleader’s departure. “Here we are, a few months away from a contract that will expire, and we can’t say that we know it will be renewed.” Uncertainty or not, the band isn’t sitting back on its heels. It has initiated a series of school tours in which band members seek to inspire young students to become involved in music. “So far, we’ve worked with more than 10 primary schools,” Gwindi said. “The idea is to encourage youths in a positive direction using the arts as a means of focusing.” Friday’s concert at Queens Hall was another example of the band’s thrust to make itself relevant. “I understand that it’s part of a series of concerts that we’ll be doing,” Fenton said. “We’re trying to expose the public to what the band has to offer.” At the end of it all, it’s about the music. “Being a musician myself,” Gwindi said, “I believe that we need to play, we need to perform, and as such, I am looking positively to the future of the band.” “I think we should continue as long as we’re in the position to.” ruth@mycampuschronicle.com
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ARTS & CULTURE
By Faine Richards. Staff Reporter
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here’s one in every woman’s closest: that pair of jeans which hugs her curves in all the right places. That alluring black dress. That piece of clothing which just makes her feel sexy. For Desirai Johnson-Phillip, it’s a pair of white stretch cotton shorts. “Fitted, not pum pum shorts,” she makes sure to specify. Her mother, Lizabeth, recalls the typical conversation as Desirai is leaving the house: “I’ll say, ‘Are you sure you’re comfortable with (wearing) that?’ And she says, ‘Yes, I’m fabulous.’” That confidence supersedes any apprehension the 21-year-old may feel about being a plus-size woman baring her legs. Next month, Desirai will strut her stuff on a stage far less secluded than her bedroom in Roystonia, Couva. She, alongside 21 other buxom, busty women, will vie for the title of Miss Queen Size T&T. The fourth-year biology student at the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) acknowledges that her fashionista flair made her gravitate toward the competition. But the pageant has grounded her confidence in a sense of purpose. “When you look at the media, you always have conflict between what plus-size means,” she explains. “I think a lot of people look at it as though you’re plus-size, so you’re fat. You eat too much, you don’t exercise, you’re lazy. What this pageant puts forth is that there is nothing wrong with being plus-size.” The aspiring surgeon points out that certain medical conditions leave women with no choice but to be overweight. It’s a reality her mother knows all too well. Lizabeth has hypothyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland in her neck does not produce normal amounts of hormones. “Basically, my body does not burn anything I eat, everything is stored. My metabolism sucks,” she says with a chuckle. With their shared experience of being plussize women, mother and daughter hope the pageant will be a platform for Desirai to start a plus-size fashion store. The two lament that even with so many full-figured women in Trinidad and Tobago, fashionable plus-size clothing is virtually nonexistent. “You find that some of the trends are really… like, in my case, I’m young…I like to look young and nice and hip…and some of it is just ‘frou frou.’ I wouldn’t put anybody in something that I wouldn’t be comfortable in.” The $15,000 cash prize from the Miss Queen Size T&T pageant would be valuable start-up capital for the business. The “Miss Intelligence” phase of the competition will take place on Oct. 23, and the finals will be on Nov. 5 at the Cascadia Hotel. Whether or not Desirai is crowned queen, the pageant has already made her feel like one. “Liming with the bigger women, she views herself in a different light,” Lizabeth says of her daughter. “She’s not ‘the bigger person,’ she is just herself. And it’s quite attractive.”
Plus-size woman hopes for big win at pageant
faine@mycampuschronicle.com
october
17, 2011
BEAUTYQUEENS By Ruth Osman Staff Reporter
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MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
To DESIRAI JOHNSON-PHILLIP, plus-size is perfect. She'll take that confidence to the Miss Queen Size T&T Pageant in November.
tacy-Ann Parris laughs. “It’s gonna be colourful, I could tell you that. I love colour,” she says, drawing “love” out so that it becomes “luuv.” She is describing what she plans to wear when competing at the Miss T&T Differently-Abled Queen Show. The event, the first of its kind in Trinidad and Tobago, is being hosted by the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter of Disabled Peoples’ International North Region Branch. Parris, who has cerebral palsy, explained: “You know the part of your brain that tells your legs to move? Well, that doesn’t happen with me.” But she doesn’t let it stop her. Parris, now 31, has appeared on numerous stages as a spoken word artist, and she is currently attending the city campus of College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago(COSTAATT). “I’m enrolled in the COMPASS Programme,” she said. “It prepares you for your undergraduate degree.” Parris plans to do an associate degree in Library and Information Studies at COSTAATT. She also wants to become a published author and a professional photographer. For her, the Miss T&T Differently-Abled Queen Show is another scenic stop along the way, another story to tell. She’s already started practicing: “I heard about the pageant through FB. A couple of friends of mine were like, ‘You should enter it. You’d win!’ I had to remind them that they have other people there besides me,” she laughs. Bolstered by her friends’ confidence, Parris attended the screening event at the Hyatt Regency last month. “I went in front of the judges and told them what I wanted to be. I also gave them one of my poetry pieces, and it really touched them ... Now, I’m in the competition!” Last Saturday, the 13 competitors received their sashes in a ceremony at the Cascadia Hotel. “The sashes,” Parris says, “are according to the categories they fall into: crutches (she raises hers), amputees, wheelchairs and the visually impaired.” The sashed competitors are then expected to make a number of public appearances before the final event on Nov. 27. For Parris, it’s not just about that one night at the Hyatt Regency: “People out there think that differentlyabled people are not capable of doing certain things. I wanna prove them wrong,” she says. In many ways, she already has.
Contestant in Differently-Abled pageant aims to defy challenges
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
STACY-ANN PARRIS took a leap of faith when she auditioned for the Miss T&T DifferentlyAbled Queen Show.
ruth@mycampuschronicle.com
october
17, 2011
ARTS & CULTURE
CHANNEL SURFING
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TV'S NEWEST GUILTY PLEASURE "Teacha's Pet" characters make for good, shameless television By Brittany Bain Staff Reporter
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efresh. Refresh. Credit card in hand and no matter how many times I click refresh, no page is coming up. I’ve been waiting for this for MONTHS, but now the page isn’t opening. No it’s not a sale…tonight is the first episode of “Teacha’s Pet.” “Teacha’s Pet” is Jamaica’s version of “Flavor of Love” starring an even more interesting character, Vybz Kartel. Months before, producers had advertised casting calls for girls to participate in the show. They said the show would be set in the uptown area of Kingston and they were seeking 20 females: 10 from Jamaica and 10 from all over the world. I never thought anyone would enter, but being a reality show enthusiast, I know many women use these shows to launch their careers. However, what would you get from co-starring in a show with a man who doesn’t even own an American visa? Yet women were interested. Within weeks, we started seeing videos of women seeking to be in “Mansion” and started seeing tweets from the production staff. The show was to premiere on Sept. 23 on Jamaican television and online. However, at the moment, that page is not working. Capacity overload. Seems
like I’m not the only person “deh a farin” that’s interested. I don’t know if the “Gaza gods” knew I was about to go to sleep, but at exactly 11.36 p.m., the page came up and I was well on my way to enjoying my new guilty pleasure. And there he was. Vybz Kartel. Adijah Palmer. Addi Teacha. Werl Bawse. Whatever he calls himself today. I was excited to see who would be vying for his love. There he sat in his bleached, tattooed skin wearing weave and braces, doing a new hand movement that accompanied his saying “Werl Bawse,” speaking about how this show is going to transform Jamaican culture…blah blah blah. We just want to see the girls! Awoah! Girl after girl came on to introduce themselves. And then she came on. “Hi, my name is Nikita, and I’m from the beautiful island of Trinidad.” I wish I could’ve taped my mother’s reaction (yes, Mum’s watching it, too). I had to pause the show. I sighed loudly. Why? Why? Why Trinis just cya leave people thing alone? How we end up on that? Having done my first degree at UWI, Mona in Jamaica, I was so upset. I know that Jamaicans have a certain perception that Trinis are oversexed and easy. In fact, many men on campus wish to have a Trinidadian girlfriend because they see us being “freaky.” Seeing that Nikita,
nicknamed Trini, was on “Teacha’s Pet,” I was hoping she wouldn’t reinforce this image. Whoever did the casting made sure there were several characters on the show who made for good television. Like every reality show looking for love, there were the strippers (The Twins), ones seeking their identity, ghetto girls, girls who you wonder why are they here (Trini falls in that category), ones trying to re-create themselves (Lola), the followers and, of course, the one who got stopped in customs (Shirelle, big up yuhself). But the producers went a step further and threw in a coke head (Australia). Sigh. Within the first episode, there was a fight between Australia and the Twins, causing Australia to leave. The Twins are entertaining, but this loud, ghetto, overbearing act is getting old fast. They gang up on everyone, sometimes for no reason. Like two pitbulls. Then you remind yourself that the name of the show is “Teacha’s Pet” and that they are indeed acting the role. Trini is so dull and colourless on the show. Even her narrative put me to sleep a bit. The biggest highlight thus far was when she met Kartel and told him she wanted to “whisper in his ear” why he should choose her. Kartel seemed to be quite interested after the sweet nothings, apparent in the second episode when he
called her aside for personal time. Even though I like her quiet, easygoing persona, I wish she would do more! Maybe this is the calm before the storm since her introduction does say “Good Girl Gone Bad.” Now, the biggest surprise of the show (to me) is that there are only two Jamaicans recognizable by accent. In fact, there was a big argument because a Jamaican said, “Jamaican Patois is ghetto.” Of course, the twins were the centre of that argument, since their parents speak Patois. Sigh. The producers seem to have chosen girls of Jamaican heritage rather than girls born and bred in Jamaica. Kartel seems to be using the show to address negative stereotypes attached to his name, using narratives to speak out against drugs, violence against women, etc. In the upcoming weeks, it will be interesting to see how it is accepted by Jamaicans, considering Kartel’s current cases before the court. I know I will be tuned in, paying my $5US weekly (don’t judge me) to see the show. I’m interested in seeing how far Trini makes it and whether she will get a voice. I know many Jamaicans like the Trini because of her looks, sex appeal and quiet nature. We just need to see how she does in the challenges and whether she’ll make that special connection with Kartel. Werl. Bawse. Werl Bawse.
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NEWS
october
17, 2011
Lack of amenities, possible relocation worry Creative and Festival Arts students By Abby Brathwaite Staff Reporter
Behind the main building of the university’s Department for Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) on Agostini Street, St. Augustine, is the studio that students use for dance and theatre rehearsal. The door’s broken glass panes do little to help the ventilation in the room. Using the dusty air-conditioned unit means instructors and students must shout above the loud rattle coming from the appliance to talk to each other. Just outside the studio are a series of rusty lockers that are all unused. And scattered throughout the compound are green boxes filled with poison for the rats and other pests that plague the area. Frances De Lancey, a secondyear Theatre Arts student, told the Campus Chronicle recently that she remains confused about the department’s lack of amenities. “I want anybody to take a walk over to Engineering and then take a look at what we have to use here and tell me if we are being treated fairly,” De Lancey said. “It is important to make the comparison, because I don’t understand how an industry like the arts, which is responsible for a million-dollar industry like Carnival, could be treated like this.” The university has plans to utilize the space on Agostini Street to provide much-needed parking for the growing campus population. Earlier this month, students from the DCFA staged a performance to highlight their dissatisfaction with the lack of information regarding their relocation. National news reports suggested that students were reluctant to move from the space but the Campus Chronicle was told that they have
no issues with the demolition of the building. De Lancey said while students understand the need for the use of the space they currently occupy, they are disturbed by the university’s inability to find Creative and Festival Arts an adequate home.
‘‘
I want anybody to take a walk over to Engineering and then take a look at what we have here and tell me if we are being treated fairly." Frances De Lancey
Second year Theatre Arts student
Even more disturbing, she said, is the lack of funding for the proper administration of the department’s programmes. “We do not have the amenities to help me excel and the resources that I would need to improve,” she said. “Imagine having to do a technical theatre course without the proper equipment for lighting and sound. That is like doing an IT degree without access to computers.” Students often find themselves sitting on the ground or standing during their classes because of a lack of seating. This lack of seating also extends to the department’s small library. The toilet facilities are deplorable. One in particular is housed in a space where the flooring is threatening to collapse. All this is enough to make Renatma Baptiste wonder if devoting three years of her life to studying Theatre Arts was the right choice. Baptiste, also in her second year,
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students have to use dilapidated lockers outside the Department for Creative and Festival Arts at the UWI.
remembers painting her entire body black for a recent performance. The joy of successfully mirroring a Black Jacobin quickly fizzled when she realized that a slow trickle of water was all that the department’s malfunctioning shower would provide for her to wash off the paint. “Everything about Carnival is built on theatre right from the very start with the Camboulay riots. People say they love Carnival, but look at the way we are treated. Without the artists, there would be no Carnival,” she said. Meanwhile, Campus Principal Clement Sankat told the Campus Chronicle that he wants to assure DCFA students that he is aware of their current situation and is doing
all that he can to alleviate their problems. “I have been engaging for the last year the Department of Creative and Festival Arts, and I’m talking about its leadership, on trying to create new facilities. They represent buildings that were built since the Imperial College of Agriculture,” Sankat said. “Our facilities management has said there is not much you can do with those facilities. They are gone; they have expired their useful time. I am sensitive that their facilities need to be enhanced.” He said some people were anxious about the plans to build a carpark where the department is currently housed, but said that this would not be attempted before a suitable space
for these students was found. “The first thing that has to happen is that we have to rationalize where our students within the Department of Creative and Festival Arts could be housed. We meet their needs, settle their issues first and then we can talk about how we will redeploy the bit of space for parking and other student services for the campus,” he said. “We cannot do that without dealing with our programming needs for Festival and Creative Arts, and we are working on that.” Sankat said he was examining options for the funding of the department’s relocation and the subsequent construction of the carpark. abby@mycampuschronicle.com
october
17, 2011
ARTS & CULTURE
AUDIOLOGY
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES Two big-name musicians have surprises up their record sleeves By Brandon O’Brien Usually an album or an artiste doesn’t really surprise me, even when their music is a breath of fresh air to their genre. The real surprise to me, though, is when an artiste I didn’t expect much change from suddenly has a whole new sound, or at least promises to bring something new to the table in their next album. That being said, I get the feeling that Oct. 24 will be a day of record-store surprises from two big names in their respective genres. Drake’s sophomore album Take Care is due in late October, and although not a lot is really definite about it yet, one song in particular is definitely shining – the album’s first single, “Headlines,” is an incredible flow over an incredible instrumental, perfect in almost every way. When Drake joined the Young Money gang I had high hopes for him and said he would be the one on Lil Wayne’s team with the most untapped potential; this song alone is a wonderful example of his tapping into that potential – so much potential, even, that he records songs such as “Trust Issues,” the sequel to “I’m On One,” just for the heck of it. And I’m eager to see what the rest of the album has in store – especially since some currently confirmed artists on the album include Stevie Wonder, Phonte (formerly of conscious underground hip-hop group Little Brother), and perhaps the most surprising name called to make an appearance on the album, British art rock sensation Florence and the Machine. Part of me is hoping all this hype isn’t for nothing, like Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday that rose so high only to fall flat afterward, but I get the sincere feeling that Drake isn’t going out like that with this one. Also up for a late October release is Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto, the first single of which caught me well off-guard: “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” had some bloggers even commenting that this may be the first song the band has ever written that wasn’t meant to be somber or brooding. It’s an excited get-up-and-dance tune, sort of – the likes of which Coldplay doesn’t often venture toward – with a weird sense of random neon graffiti colour just like the song’s video and the cover of the single’s album are bathed in. Their last album, Viva La Vida, was largely experimental in the scope of its sound, and I get the feeling the same is going to happen here – songs such as “Paradise” and “Major Minus” are examples of the band confidently strutting out of their comfort zone just like they did then. But what really caught my eye is… Rihanna’s gonna feature on the album? Well, this has to be good… My early verdict is that both albums are up there in the 4.5-star club – from what I’ve seen and heard so far, these could be musical game-changers for their genres. Both Drake and Coldplay are not only coming more into their own sound and pushing the boundaries of what their music can do, they’re also opening the door for more eclectic musical genre-meshing – the end of this year is the time we’ll get artists and bands putting their sounds together with unlikely collaborators instead of staying in safe territory. I wouldn’t be surprised, even, if both make my annual Top 10 album list. What do you think, though? Feel free to e-mail me about your thoughts on these two albums at nova.crux@gmail.com.
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october
17, 2011
Movie's "Final Destination" should be the trash can By Brandon O'Brien As a self-professed horror movie junkie, I am terribly disappointed to say that the movie industry hasn’t managed to make a decent film in the genre for quite a while, and yet they keep milking the same dried-up cows for all the curdled milk they’re worth. Nothing proves my point more, in my opinion, than the “Final Destination” franchise, of which the latest, “Final Destination 5,” has recently come out. This was my understanding of the film (an hour before walking into the cinema, mind you): A group of friends is led by one person who inexplicably gets a psychic vision to escape a terrible accident (trying to outdo the racetrack crash in “Final Destination 4” with, of all things, a bridge collapsing). They survive and, as a result of cheating death, are killed off one by one in incredibly random and unexplainable ways in order to not escape their fate again. But this time, it’s in 3D (and I was hoping there’s more to the film than that…). Who would’ve guessed that it’s no different at all? It’s simply a mess of uninspired, unimaginative, mostly unrealistic but overly gruesome deaths that capitalise more on gory computer graphics than good sense, and it’s only saved so much by mediocre acting and tasteless side-stories that would do better in a genuine drama or comedy than here. Fully half an hour into the movie and nothing shocking or awe-inspiring
ARTS & CULTURE
MOVIE NIGHT
21
A snapshot of bad acting in Final Destination 5.
happens – just a lot of nasty, bloody death. The formula for this movie not only follows the previous four to the letter, but succeeds in showing how vapid and flavourless that formula is at its heart. It’s not meant to do anything really special – it’s just supposed to show you dead bodies, and it even fails at that a lot. In one moment you see really genuine, believable deaths, and then at others you see cartoonish things like a gymnastics accident sending people’s bones flying in the air. It’s almost as if the director believes that some people, especially girls, are built to
crumple up like paper dolls. The only highlight of the entire film is Nicholas D’Agosto – his acting is, on some level, actually really impressive, but he swims in a sea of otherwise terrible acting, which makes it just as unbearable to see him, since he spends a great deal of time communicating with one of those other terrible actors. Even the act of running is too much of a task for some of them, and as I mentioned before, they’re even worse at dying. I am trying so desperately to fluff this up with all the harsh words I can think
of, or at the very least one sentence of something I can look forward to, but don’t bother. If you want blood and gore, then go right ahead and watch it – it’s at least vaguely watchable in that regard, when it’s not being unreasonable and cartoonish. But if you’re looking for a really good, hair-raising, gut-wrenching horror movie, don’t watch this drivel – all it will do is make you want to die, in one of the gruesome ways they can’t get fed up of showing you. Final Destination 5: 0/5 stars
22
SPORTS
october
17, 2011
South COSTAATT campus lacking sports; campus constituencies debate reason By Faine Richards Staff Reporter
Lukewarm interest from students and inadequate support from administration are being blamed for the lack of sporting activities at the south campus of the College of Science Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT). The Guild of Students at the south campus expressed its frustration to the Campus Chronicle in response to student concerns about the limited options for athletics. “I was accustomed to playing cricket in (secondary) school and I MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER came to COSTAATT ‘cus I thought Most students at the COSTAATT south campus are enrolled part-time. The guild says that makes it difficult to sustain student they had cricket,” a female student participation in sports. said. “There’s nothing else to do, just come and go to class.” Requests for more sports also appear in the campus’ Facebook group. “What athletic or physical activities does it have available to south students?” one student posted. “Nothing, south (campus) fail on that,” someone replied. But the guild contends that the athletic teams are inactive because of inconsistent participation from students. “The south students just don’t like to be involved,” said Khadine Chattergoon, president of the COSTAATT South Campus Guild of Students. “They would come one day to training and then you wouldn’t see them for three days of training… They’re not committed to it.” Part of the problem, Chattergoon said, is that most of the estimated 2,600 students at the south campus are enrolled part-time. “They have their families at home and jobs, so they don’t have time to be involved,” she said. A couple students who spoke to the Campus Chronicle echoed similar sentiments. “It doesn’t really bother me (to not have sports) because I just come, go classes and go back home,” Mano Jairam said, shrugging his shoulders. But there are conflicting accounts on whether information about campus sports is disseminated effectively. Guild Vice President Chandad Spencer said students ignore athletic recruitment flyers posted on campus notice boards. The guild also uses Facebook to ask students to sign up for netball, cricket and football. However, some students believe this information is difficult to find. “Say what is going on with registration for extra-curricular activities,” one student posted in the COSTAATT south campus Facebook group. “I’ve tried to find my peoples in the south guild or a guild rep for that matter but I’m not seeing anyone at all...”
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Guild president of the COSTAATT south campus, KHADINE CHATTERGOON.
Athletes contend that campus sports are also handicapped by a lack of financial and training resources from the COSTAATT administration. “We need more support, that’s the first thing,” insisted Collin SmithRamsden, who plays football and volleyball at the south campus. “We need a coach, because we have to coach ourselves; that is very hard. We have no equipment or uniforms.” Smith-Ramsden has to travel from San Fernando to Woodbrook for volleyball practice with the coach who trains the team from the Port of Spain campus. The president of the student body said COSTAATT does not hire coaches for the south campus. “We’ve sent requests (for coaches), that’s all we could do,” Chattergoon lamented. Students at the south campus also asked the administration for aerobics classes similar to those offered twice a week at the city campus. In September, the student life and athletics department promised to meet with students to hear their concerns. “As part of our discussions, we will address our student life and athletics services at your campus,” department director Ian Carter said in a letter to students. The meeting was subsequently cancelled. The Campus Chronicle contacted Carter to inquire about the athletics department’s relationship with the south campus. He said he is not permitted to speak with the press. Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Camille Samuel said she was unable to comment on the issue immediately, but promised to do so at a later date. faine@mycampuschronicle.com
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Sports
october
17, 2011
UTT Tertiary Football League
UWI: 0 / UTT: 2
DETHRONED Despite UWI defeat in opener, match filled with drama, controversy By Sean Taylor efending champion UWI succumbed to an opening-day defeat at the hands of UTT during the kick-off of the 2011 UTT Tertiary Football League. But the hard-fought 2-0 UTT victory was not without drama and controversy, as the team had two players sent off by the referee. The UWI-UTT clash was the second match in a double-header staged at the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya on Oct. 13. It was a rematch of last year’s thrilling final; the UWI-UTT face-off, fraught with pre-game hype, was pure acrimony. From the first whistle, UTT settled quickly. The team was neat in possession and tight at the back. Continuing in fine form, they went through Jeremy Providence in the seventh minute with a neat tap-in from a corner. UWI, fielding a new squad, looked lively but were stifled in the middle. Their through passes were constantly intercepted in the final third, and at the other end, they made defensive errors. UTT’s left winger, Mark Voison, doubled the lead in the 20th after a long run and composed finish from the left. Seven minutes later, a neat UTT buildup almost resulted in another goal. UWI was more urgent in the second half, but UTT retained possession intelligently. The tide turned when a questionable penalty kick was awarded for UWI. A UTT player was seemingly sent off for dissent. UWI capitalised on its numerical advantage, but UTT still seemed in control. In the 77th minute, a second UTT player was sent off with a second yellow for an innocuous challenge. At this stage, everything the referee did was questioned by the frustrated crowd. The quality of football was still maintained, though, and a talismanic UTT player missed a sitter to put the game beyond doubt. UTT held on to their lead until the end however, gaining three points in the process. UWI seemed to settle into the match far too late, but showed signs that they will improve
D
MARK GELLINEAU | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
UTT dominated possession against UWI during their first clash in the 2011 UTT Tertiary Football League.
as their campaign progresses. In the first encounter of the night, Cipriani Labour College overpowered USC with a 3-1 scoreline. With slick one-touch passing, USC proceeded to dominate their opponents from the start of the first half. In the opening minutes, there was a flurry of corners that left Cipriani frantically defending the set pieces. It took Cipriani 10 minutes before they had their first foray into the USC half. USC’s lynchpin midfielder was constantly at the centre of all things, managing to thread an 11th-minute through pass to create the first chance of the game. He also had his deflected shot tipped away for a corner 12 minutes later. Cipriani eventually settled and began to
create chances with long balls from deep. However, the first half belonged to USC, with a 38th-minute ball from the right wing tipped over for a corner. In the second period, USC kept their momentum and pressured their opposition. They were soon rewarded for their efforts in the 54th minute as the referee awarded a hotly-disputed penalty. Richard Flemming stepped up for USC and easily converted, much to the joy of the numerous USC supporters. The goal seemed to galvanise the Cipriani attack and they began to impose themselves in the match. Six minutes later, they were awarded a free kick from about 25 yards. Cipriani’s Andre Mohammed restored parity with a rocket of a shot that went into
the net untouched. With the match certainly alive, Cipriani managed to take the lead with a free kick from the same player, this time awkwardly deflected into the net. This seemed to deflate the USC boys, who ran out of steam, and Cipriani capitalised on the counter-attack. In the 71st minute, Cipriani added a third from Simeone Fortune that sealed USC’s fate. The final 10 minutes saw Cipriani play with a swagger similar to their opponents’ in the first half. Mohammed almost added another for Cipriani with another of his heat-seeking free kicks going narrowly wide of the near post.
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