gair rhydd y
gair rhydd | freeword Cardiff ’s student weekly Issue 1066 Monday 23rd November 2015 Also in this issue
Advice: The benefits of running and exercise P9>>
“You’re not safe here, get home now”: Paris-based students tell their stories of terrorist attacks
Comment: Does consumerism go too far at Christmas? P15>>
• Last weekend’s attacks on the city’s cultural heartland left 129 people dead • Student on study abroad year tells Gair Rhydd: “The city’s on tenterhooks” • Welsh UoL student: “It makes us all feel like potential targets” EXCLUSIVE Anna Lewis, Joanna Beck & Dan Heard
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ast week the world stopped to honour the 129 people killed in the terrorist attacks in Paris. Now students studying in the French capital tell Gair Rhydd of their experiences living through the biggest attack in Europe since 2004. Third year Cardiff University student Imogen Flatau was visiting friends in
Paris at the time of the attacks. She described how she first became aware of the situation whilst in a restaurant in St Michel near the Notre Dame, in the city’s fifth arrondissement. Flatau said: “It was after we had finished our main course when one of the girls looked at her phone. She had a lot of missed calls from someone. We all then checked ours and we had the same. A lot of missed calls and several texts. We then knew something had happened.” Hannah Williams, another Cardiff student currently studying on a year
abroad in Paris, was with Flatau and her friends at the time of the incident. Talking to Gair Rhydd she stated: “Naturally, we were all terrified and when it was confirmed [it was a terrorist attack] we were petrified.” The attacks began with an explosion outside the Stade de France, after an international football match between France and Germany. Diners in restaurants in the tenth and eleventh arrondissements also came under fire from armed gunmen, killing 15 and five people respectively.
Pictured: Above: The Parisian skyline (Photographer: Ryan Hurril) Below: Tributes at Place de la Republique (Photographer: Roberto Maldeno)
Continued on page 4
Politics: What did the G20 talks in Turkey achieve? P20>>
Science: Self-driving cars by 2020? P22>>
2 EDITORIAL Gair Rhydd Coordinator Elaine Morgan Editor Joseph Atkinson Deputy Editors Carwyn Williams Anna Lewis News Anna Lewis Joanna Beck Toby Holloway Advice Gwen Williams Caragh Medlicott Comment Em Gates Charley Griffiths David Williams Columnist Helena Hanson Politics Carwyn Williams Luke Brett Sam Patterson Science Maria Mellor Lizzie Harrett Societies Aletheia Nutt Taf-Od Carwyn Williams Park Life Vacant Sport Jim Harris James Lloyd Jason Roberts Jamie Smith Social Media Editor Jack Boyce Proofreaders Jamie McKay Eleanor Parkyn Get involved Editorial conferences are each Monday at 5pm. Proofreading takes place from 5pm on Thursdays in the media office during print weeks. Write to the editor editor@gairrhydd.com Tweet us @gairrhydd
At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest possible standards. Sometimes, because of deadline pressures, we may make some mistakes. If you believe we have fallen below the standards we seek to uphold, please email editor@gairrhydd. com. You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints Opinions expressed in editorials are not reflective of Cardiff Student Media, who act as the publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and should not be considered official communications or the organisation’s stance. Gair Rhydd is a Post Office registered newspaper.
the free word
We can’t be afraid of terrorism
What happened last week in Paris has changed the political landscape significantly. But we can’t allow it to divide us. Joseph Atkinson
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t’s been a sobering week of news, to say the least. Last Friday, after the last issue of Gair Rhydd went to print, the terrorist attacks on Paris took place, with the lives of 129 people lost. As I type this the news is still ticking over, reporting the arrests or deaths of the perpetrators of the attacks around the clock, forever reminding us of the harrowing events that took place in the French capital. When a news event of this magnitude takes place it is nigh on impossible to keep calm, to keep a level head and not worry. But that’s exactly what we’ve got to do, after we’ve grieved for all those lost in Paris, and indeed around the world. The very definition of terrorism is to evoke terror - to panic, scare, anger and alienate people. Terror is the cultural capital that groups such as Islamic State, AlQaeda and Boko Haram deal in; it is all that they have to remain relevant, to remain on the map. To allow events such as this to affect our way of life, our quality of life, is to be defeated. The defiance seen around the world in response to the
attacks has been heart-warming, and Parisians will keep going out to cafes, going out to concerts, going out to sporting events. It’s hard to know what is ahead. President Francoise Hollande has called the attacks an “act of war” on the French Republic, and has said that the buck stops with ISIS. While there is debate as to whether ISIS were ultimately behind these attacks, the influence that the radical group Anyway, I’m just one voice in a million saying and I’m saying the same as many others; we can’t allow ourselves to become intolerant of the innocent because of the actions of a morally bankrupt few, a guilty few who in the name of religion have done things wholly unholy. I say in the name of religion, but it is not - it is in the name of hate, and we have to be careful not to hate in the same way; we can’t demonise an entire culture, and lose our humanity in the process. There has been a whole lot of rhetoric on social media surrounding the lack of coverage of similar attacks in different parts of the world. The day before Paris, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was the site of a terror attack that killed 43 people. Back in January,
Boko Haram, who recently reportedly changed their name to ‘Islamic State’s West Africa Province’, massacred over 2,000 people in Nigeria in the space of four days. I personally can’t remember the reporting of this atrocity, and certainly it didn’t receive the sizeable coverage that Paris did. The explanations for this have varied from news values to ‘corporate white supremacy’, but perhaps now is not the time to cast judgements - every human death is as much of a waste as the next, I think we all accept this, no matter how much news coverage there is of it. We need to debate how to deal with these problems, not just whether they exist - because they quite clearly do. In this week’s paper we’ve chosen to cover the attacks extensively. I doubt that there’s been a student at this university who hasn’t been affected in one way or another, whether watching on helpless or through personal experience. A few members of the Gair Rhydd team have friends out in Paris, and they reported being worried enough just being aware that they were in the capital. The thought of being caught up in the attacks does not bear thinking about. In News we have accounts from
some of those who study at Cardiff University who were in Paris at the time of the attacks. They are powerful and paint a picture of a city living through shock. Comment have presented an excellent series of debates that encapsulate the events in Paris personally, and have done so with reason and dignity. The Politics section meanwhile have chosen to focus on the implications of what has happened in France, and the contrasting reaction of political leaders. Finally, moving away from Paris, all at Gair Rhydd were sad to see Shanna Hamilton, who has worked on Gair Rhydd for a good year and a half now, step down from her role as deputy editor. Carwyn Williams from Politics and Anna Lewis from News will take up the role as joint deputies, and are both incredibly deserving for their hard work and dedication. Shanna is a PhD student working on cardiology (heart stuff, to you and me) in the University’s School of Medicine and she’s chosen to concentrate on that side of work, which as you can imagine is very demanding. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank her for being a constant source of help, as well as being an excellent friend.
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY: GAIR RHYDD 776 22/11/2004 This week we take a trip back to 2004, when Gair Rhydd had just won the award for best student newspaper of the year at the annual NUS/Daily Mirror National Student Journalists awards. Front page news detailed the theft of electrical goods from one of the rooms in Cartwright Court which had been broken into. The thieves had forced a bedroom window open whilst the resident of the room had been otherwise occupied on a night out. Although the student, Becky, lost her laptop and DVD player, her CD player remained as the thieves were unable to remove it from the wall. Gair Rhydd had apparently already exposed the lax nature of security in certain student residences in previous issues and urged students to remember to lock their windows. The paper was also littered with a string of duck-related puns, including ‘completely quackers’ and ‘duck off fees’, in relation to the protests against top-up fees. The protest occurred at the Senedd, and involved the Students’ Union President and Campaigns Officer dressed as Donald and Daffy Duck, handing out rubber ducks to members of the Welsh Assembly. Unsurprisingly this caught the attention of
several news sites, and was covered nationally. To continue the protest, Gair Rhydd offered a full two-page pull out poster of the ‘DUCK OFF FEES’ slogan. This was accompanied by a list of suggestions as to where this poster could be proudly displayed, including stapling it to a t-shirt, sellotaping it in your window, or turning it into a placard. For the really passionate students, it was proposed that the ‘D’ in duck was changed to an ‘F’, and for those who did not care at all, the poster could be used “for toilet paper”. In possibly the most 2004 thing to happen in Cardiff, Girls Aloud and Blue turned up to Queen’s Street for the opening of the then new HMV store. The Girls are pictured holding a copy of Gair Rhydd- unfortunately the front page of the issue they were given features a story about a Cardiff University student being jailed for six years for setting his pregnant girlfriend’s house on fire. Although, that does sound like a much more exciting report than the break-in detailed on the front page of this 2004 issue. Why Girls Aloud’s presence wasn’t the front page news, rather than the 60-word article at the bottom of the third page is beyond me. - Eleanor Parkyn
EDITORIAL 3
Campus in Brief
Jack Boyce
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Cardiff University’s mental health research centre has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the UK’s most prestigious academic award.
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ardiff University’s mental health research centre has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize, the UK’s most prestigious academic award. The award, which falls under the UK’s national honours system, is given every two years to an academic or vocational institution. Since 2000, Cardiff University have scooped six Queen’s Anniversary prizes. Professor Sir Michael Owen said, “I am extremely proud of all the staff in the Centre for winning the award. It is a reflection of the amazing achievements made possible by an excellent team of scientific, technical and administrative staff which sits at the forefront of mental health research.” Cardiff Council has given its backing to an external firm to hand out fines for littering, with wider powers given to enforce laws on dog control andfouling among others. The 12 month trial will see uniformed enforcement officers patrolling around Cardiff seven days a week, with the council estimating that they expect to make £50,000 from this venture. However, the GMB union has urged residents to watch out for “littergate”, and that giving this responsibility to an external company will lead to rise in “overzealous” fining. An auction for what could be the most expensive rugby jersey in set to go on sale in Cardiff. The All Blacks shirt, worn by George Nepia during New Zealand’s unbeaten tour in 1924-1925 which earned the team the ‘Invincibles’ nickname - and has been given an estimate price of between £20,000 and £40,000. Full-back Nepia was the star of the tour, becoming top scorer with 77 points and was also widely praised for his all-round game. Auctioneer Ben Rogers Jones told WalesOnline, “He was an amazing player, an important figure in terms of Moari heritage and of course, an ‘Invincible’.”
National
Junior doctors have voted overwhelmingly in support of a strike that will occur over three days in December. In a ballot of more than 37,000 junior doctors in England, 98 per cent of them were in favour of strike action, which will take place on the 1st, 8th and 16th of December. The strike is set to severely hit non-urgent services in many hospitals, including planned operations and outpatient clinics. NHS bosses are worried that the timing of the strikes will hit NHS services hard, as the health service enters its busiest time of the year. Two men have been arrested in connection with a man was shot in his car in Belfast. The victim, Martin Garvin, was wounded in his upper body after two men dressed as city council workers fired at his car at around 9am on the 19th November. The manner in which the shooting occurred has lead to speculation that it was carried out by an armed gang or one of the republican dissident factions that operate in Belfast. West Belfast assembly member Rosie McCorley said of the attack, “I condemn it unreservedly […] the people who carried out this attack had no regard for the local community”. Police officers in Clydebank have arrested a 19-year old man over the possession of 420kg of cannabis. A raid on an industrial estate lead to the discover of the large quantity of drugs, which has been estimated to be worth £420,000. A police statement confirmed that the raid happened around 5pm, nearly 42.0 minutes after 4:20pm. Detective Chief Inspector Calum Young added, “This is a significant recovery of controlled drugs which followed an intelligence operation. This seizure simply underlines our commitment to target and disrupt individuals who seek to engage in the supply of controlled drugs.”
International
France was shook on 13th November after multiple terrorist attacks across Paris resulted in 129 civilian deaths, with a further 200 injured. 87 of these deaths took place in the Bataclan concert venue. Other shootings and explosions were reported across the city, with places like the Stade de France stadium also coming under attack along with several restaurants in the city centre. Eight attackers died on the day, with seven of those deaths resulting from explosive suicide belts. In the days after the attacks, the mastermind behind the attack, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a police raid in the Parisian suburb Saint Denis. There were protests on the streets of Philippine capital Manila at the Apec regional trade summit. Hundreds of people from indigenous, student and labour group backgrounds clashed with police. The anti-globalisation protesters called for Apec to be disassembled after accusations that the trade bloc was taking advantage of poor countries. Renato Reyes, one of the protest leaders, told the Associated Press, “Apec and imperialist globalisation have only benefitted the rich countries, while further impoverishing developing countries”. Jared Fogle, the former Subway pitchman, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to child abuse imagery and sex crime charges. Fogle, who became a Subway spokesperson after shedding 200 pounds, told the court, “I want to redeem my life. I want to become a good, decent person. I want to rebuild my life.” Fogle admitted to having had sex with two teenager girls under 18 at New York hotels, which he also paid for. John Bradford, a professor at the University of Ottawa who was hired to analyse Fogle, concluded that Fogle suffers from hypersexuality, mild paedophilia and alcohol dependency.
Pictured: The last week has seen a number of terrorist attacks around the world (Photographer: Melissa Segal)
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France was shook on 13th November after multiple terrorist attacks across Paris resulted in 129 civilian deaths, with a further 200 injured.
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4 NEWS
news
Editors: Anna Lewis Joanna Beck Toby Holloway @GairRhyddNews news@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/news
Continued: Paris students tell their stories
Continued from front page
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We must get on with our lives and send all of our regards to the victims and their families who unfortunately were not as lucky as me and my friends Hannah Williams
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The most deadly attack then followed at the Bataclan concert venue, with 89 fatalities. After hearing the news, Flatau and her friends attempted to immediately find a taxi, as they “weren’t sure if there were going to be more attacks.” She followed: “It was very scary as we weren’t really sure what was happening, but texts from family and friends were informing us a bit about the events. We waited for a long time trying to flag down a taxi but they were all fully occupied.” Williams added that “we waited on the side of the street, in the open for what seemed like days when in reality it was about 1 hour. By this point we were receiving messages concerning the death tolls and information on random shootings and that the gunmen were on the loose.” During this time, people on the street were described as running, crying and some “even laughing with friends”. Williams concluded, “I guess you never know how you’ll react to a situation like that.” The girls were also stopped by a man on the street, who warned them:”Get home now girls, you’re not safe here, get home now!” Eventually the group were able to request a car through the app Uber, which had previously stopped working. However, Flatau admitted: “It wasn’t until I got back to my friends house that I realised what had actually happened and the full extent of [the attacks].”The next day the twenty one year old was advised to remain indoors. She concluded: “I felt heart broken and deeply sad...I have thought about that night often and the events often play on my mind.” The French and Spanish student told Gair Rhydd that she will continue to complete her year abroad at Nantes University. “I know it’s important to carry on as normal. I would love to go home
just because it’s always nice to be with family after something difficult. However I have decided I need to stay in France.” Meanwhile Williams has returned to study in Bordeaux. She confirmed that due to an increased military and police presence on the streets she feels safe. In spite of the Cardiff student admitted: “The current state in France is of course frightening and there’s always going to be a part of me that is constantly looking over my shoulder but we can’t let the terrorists win. “We must get on with our lives and send all of our regards to the victims and their families who unfortunately were not as lucky as me and my friends.” Talking to Gair Rhydd, University of London student Jacc Griffiths explained that he had also been out eating dinner before news of the attacks came through. He said: “I was maybe fifteen minutes away from one of the restaurants that was attacked, but I had only found out about it when I arrived back at my friends’ house, after we’d been out for dinner.”
However, Griffiths, originally from Mid Wales, reported that unlike in the fifth arrondissement the streets were empty, due to a “citywide lockdown and curfew” and “a large police and military presence”. Within his group of friends, the French student explained that:“We shared a similar reaction, one of apprehension and fear, for sure. Some of us live nearer to the location of the events, but again, we were all inside and watching the news as soon as we heard. We remained in contact with each other via a Facebook group chat, and very soon, everyone was safe and inside.” Griffiths was quick to point out the mixed reactions to the terrorist attacks during the weekend. He noted: “I took quite a typically busy route home [on Saturday], and I didn’t really find it particularly unusual - cafés, bakeries, tourist shops were all open. There were people around, even some taking selfies in front of the Notre Dame.” Despite this, tensions remained high as the capital city was described as “on tenterhooks” and that “there were occurrences on Sunday where gunshot-like sounds was heard, and
crowds were running away and being evacuated” It was later found that the sounds were only “someone with a sort of firework”. For the French student, the most hard hitting part of the weekend was “the death toll being the innocent public” “It’s terrible, because it’s not seeming like an attack on a particular party of people - which makes us all feel like potential targets.” Cardiff student Florina Veseli has also spoken about the effect that the attacks have had on the city. She told Gair Rhydd: “It’s difficult to describe the atmosphere here in Paris after the horrific events of Friday evening. The weekend immediately after the events was very sombre.” According to Veseli, all Saturday schools were shut to mark their respect in addition to many other shops and restaurants. She said: “Black ribbons were draped on the doors of shops and houses as a symbol of respect. Without wanting to sound cliché, the atmosphere was extremely eerie. It was obvious that everyone felt the grief and sorrow of the events on a personal level.” As a teacher at a primary school she also stressed the difficulty of explaining the attacks to the French pupils: “The teachers had the extremely difficult task of trying to make some sense of the events in the face of the pupils. At the schools we spoke about the importance of solidarity, strength and resilience.” According to the Cardiff University student, the focus has remained on the lives lost and the families affected, instead of “why or how the events happened”. She concluded: “I think the people of France feel that their position after these events is to remain strong and that their duty to the rest of the world is to show that in the face of the terrorist attackers, its vital to defy hatred, violence and fear.”
Pictured: Tributes at Place de la Republique the day after the Paris attacks (Photographer: Maya-Anais Yataghene)
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The teachers had the extremely difficult task of trying to make some sense of the events in the face of the pupils. At the schools we spoke about the importance of solidarity, strength and resilience Florina Veseli
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NEWS 5
Anna Lewis & Jack Boyce
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Greer’s lecture saw approximately five police offers present outside the Julian Hodge building in lieu of student protests. Ten members of University security were also on the scene to check bags and control the queue
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EXCLUSIVE Joseph Atkinson
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One of them smacked Duncan to the ground, and started kicking him and hitting him on the ground. James Clarke, President, Airsoft society
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Protests as Germaine Greer delivers lecture
he most controversial event of the academic year took place last week, as Germaine Greer took to the stage despite widespread opposition. Greer’s lecture, named ‘Women and Power: the lessons of the 20th Century’, saw approximately five police offers present outside the Julian Hodge building in lieu of student protests. Ten members of University security were also on the scene to check bags and control the queue. The event initially attracted criticism after Women’s Officer Rachael Melhuish created a petition calling Greer out for “continually misgendering trans women and denying the existence of transphobia altogether”. The petition, which attracted over 3,000 signatures, argued that the event should not take place. However, despite concerns, the University confirmed that the event would indeed run as planned in line with its commitment to “freedom of speech and open debate”. During the lecture, around 25 students peacefully protested outside the lecture hall holding banners and handing out leaflets with questions to ask the academic. Talking to Gair Rhydd, one demonstrator from the University of South Wales explained: “She can’t be a representative of feminism as a whole if she doesn’t believe in trans people. It’s not fair.” Another protester underlined Cardiff University’s commitment to the
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equality charity Stonewall, which campaigns for the equal treatment of all members of the LGBT+ community. She stated: “To bring someone here and pay them that much money and to spout something that is in direct opposition to Cardiff University’s rules and approach is really strange.” Ahead of the talk, the University promised Melhuish that Greer’s views on transgender women would not be voiced during her lecture. In spite of this, in a question and answer session after the main event the 76-year old reinforced her fiercely contested view: “I don’t believe a woman is a man without a cock. Beating me over the head is not going to change my mind.” She also compared the situation to comments made by Strictly Come Dancing judge Len Goodman talking about the rumba last week: “What’s on the label is not on the tin. I can call this pencil a hammer - but it’s a pencil.” Although the feminist acknowledged the problems faced by transgender women, both due to the use of aggressive language and with conditions in the sex trade, she concluded “if you don’t find your pants full of blood at age 13 then you don’t understand what it is to be a women.” Other issues discussed during the Q&A session included the difficulties faced by female academics. One staff member at Bristol University told the audience that she had
been unable to get a full-time job at either Bristol or Cardiff University after becoming a mother when completing her PhD. She said that she felt both “exploited and undervalued”, and struggled to gain access to simple resources such as printers and photocopiers. In response, Greer advised that the professor go to an employment tribunal. During the evening, the feminist confronted matters such as abortion, the gender pay gap and the situation surrounding junior doctors to name just a few. She reminded the audience that the lifetime earning gap between men and women is bigger now than previously. Talking about abortion she also stated that the choice for women cannot ever be truly free as long as class and economic pressures exist, especially for single mothers. In her talk, Greer urged the audience to actively oppose the current
situation for women: “Why aren’t we angry? Why don’t we care?” She then moved on to criticise the recent film Suffragette for its focus on British suffragette “superstars” instead of working class protesters. During one stage during the evening the media also became a subject of criticism as Greer stopped her lecture to ensure that she was not being recorded. She explained that she had been “pursued” by the Guardian in an attempt to confirm rumors about her previous love life. However, the feminist stated: “I hope you never hear about this. The people mentioned are real people, still alive and with families of their own, in positions with some responsibility.” The night ended with a standing ovation for Greer, who concluded that the “equality train is going nowhere”. Women, she ended, must continue to strive to get power if we are to improve conditions for the global female population.
Pictured: Protesters outside Greer’s lecture (Photographer: Jack Boyce)
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I don’t believe a woman is a man without a cock Germaine Greer
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Students assaulted on society night out
member of Cardiff University’s Airsoft society was knocked unconscious and suffered head injuries during an altercation on a society night out. Duncan Leigh, the Quartermaster of the Airsoft Society, was assaulted on Queen Street in the early hours of Saturday November 14th by two individuals who were later apprehended by police. This isn’t the first time that Leigh has been attacked after a social. James Clarke, the President of the Airsoft Society, told Gair Rhydd: “One of our guys bumped into a group of other people” with “strong Welsh accents” which resulted in a small fracas and a verbal exchange. The groups proceeded to part ways, with the Airsoft group heading east towards Live Lounge, and the others heading west. The groups were approximately 40 metres apart before the society’s Secretary Thomas Sharrocks noticed two individuals approaching the group. “One of the guys was involved in the
original confrontation, but one I didn’t recognise” said Clarke. “One of them smacked Duncan to the ground, and started kicking him and hitting him on the ground. He was assaulted with no provocation and they continued to beat him into the ground. “They had their arm around his head in a chokehold. He had a noticeable mark on his neck afterwards, and he told us that he woke up to a boot in his face.” After Leigh was aided by his friends, who tackled the attackers to prevent them from further beating him, the group phoned the police. Clarke recounted: “Duncan was on the phone calling the police. As I approached him I saw that he was bleeding from the head.” After going to the paramedics at 1:30am, the group were taken to give statements to the police. “Duncan spent 40 minutes giving a statement to the police, and we were allowed to go home at about 5:00am.”
South Wales Police are yet to comment on the incident. This isn’t the first time that Leigh has been subject to threatening behaviour while at Cardiff University; in February of this year the former ShockSoc President told Gair Rhydd that he “could have been killed” as a driver appeared to try and hit him while walking on Lowther Road. Leigh, dressed in military surplus gear as part of an Airsoft event, told Gair Rhydd that: “The driver aggressively revved the engine multiple times and sounded the horn before the car turned to hit me.” The driver of the vehicle in question was forced to veer away from Leigh to avoid a collision with an oncoming car. Police later confirmed the event, saying: “A 22-year-old man was walking along the pavement of Lowther Road between Salisbury Road and Richmond Road at around 9:00pm when a motor car is reported to have driven towards him.” Leigh was left traumatised after that
event, suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the aftermath of his experience, and told Gair Rhydd in an interview that “I’m not sure of my own safety anymore.” Clarke expressed sympathy for his fellow Airsoft member Leigh: “It’s a shame this happened to Duncan; he’s the most passive, nicest guy ever.”
Pictured: Duncan Leigh has had an unlucky time at university
6 NEWS
Slaves concert “tainted” by inappropriate behaviour
Joanna Beck
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90 per cent voted that sexual harassment at gigs is not taken seriously enough by security
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Anna Lewis
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The antiimmigrant policies of this government have become intolerable NUS
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Duo take to Facebook to complain about audience at SU
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unk duo Slaves have said that their performance at Cardiff ’s Students’ Union was “tainted” by reports that girls had been groped and touched in the crowd. The group vented their anger on Facebook following a gig on the 15th of November after finding out that a girl had actually left the concert early due to be inappropriately touched in the crowd. They said: “putting your hands all over any women without her permission is not on at any sort of concert. “Going as far as putting your hand up her skirt forcing her to leave the venue and go home, ruining her night, is disgusting.” The band then went on to advise young women to report such behaviour to security if it happens in the future. Slaves also encouraged their fans to follow ‘Girls Against’ on Twitter, prompting an influx of comments. ‘Girls Against’ are an activist group that campaign to stop sexual harassment at concerts and encourage people to report misconduct. They sell badges at gigs and work with security at some venues. A recent Twitter poll from the
group found that out of 593 voters, 90 per cent voted that sexual harassment at gigs is not taken seriously enough by security. “The Students’ Union have assured Gair Rhydd, however, that the security for the gig were prepared. “Cardiff University Students’ Union takes the safety of visitors to the building very seriously. No reports were made to staff or our security team at the gig on Sunday night. “The Students’ Union has a zero tolerance policy to sexual harassment and the teams who operate evening events are fully briefed on this.” The Students’ Union currently have a strict ‘anti-lad culture’ policy in place in an attempt to put a stop to such incidents. A recent summit looking into the sexual assaults that took place in Cardiff earlier this year found that ‘Lad Culture’ was to blame, and this event would suggest that there is still a problem. In the Students’ Union the Slaves referred to the harassment including “lads groping young girls in the crowd”. This is certainly the case for one
young women, who commented on the Slaves post: “this happens all the time, since coming to Cardiff it has become an accepted part of a night out for many females. Security get shitty with you if they see you having a go at someone who grabbed you it leaves you with no leg to stand on when at a gig.” Many young women have described similar experiences and one third year student claims “it happens every Saturday at Flux. Every time I queue for a drink
someone touches my bum, or guys will press themselves into you up against the bar.” Many women also commented in the Gair Rhydd Sex Survey that they felt consent was a large issue at the University, and some have called for consent lessons to be implemented at the university. The Students’ Union encourages anyone who has been effected by sexual harassment to “visit our free, confidential Student Advice service or email Advice@Cardiff.ac.uk.”
Pictured: The punk band Slaves took to social media to voice their anger (Photographer: Paul Hudon via Flickr )
International students protest
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ardiff students have taken part in a network of university walk-outs, in order to protest against new government regulations aimed at international students. Last week both British and International students braved the rain to leave their lectures and congregate outside the Students’ Union. The group, made of approximately 25 people including the Students’ Union sabbatical officer team, gathered to show their solidarity and listen to a speech made my International Students Officer Grace Piddington. In her speech, Piddington outlined the changes made to restrict non-EU students, including moves made to prevent any changes of
course or degree. This follows plans announced by Theresa May earlier this year to severely restrict the amount of time international graduates are allowed to remain in the UK before finding a job. The International Students Officer accused this decision of “alienating” those affected, and “revoking the rights of our fellow students”. She continued: “This is a call to action for the government to do more for the international community. These are the students that support the cities they live in thanks to their tuition fees.” The walk-out also stressed the need to petition the government to do more to welcome migrants, in
light of the “millions displaced each year.” Students were encouraged to write messages of encouragement on a banner during the event, which included slogans such as “consider the brain drain” Another wrote: “the treatment of international students by the Conservative government is atrocious”. Talking to Gair Rhydd, Piddington suggested that the next step would be to write an open letter to the government in order for students to voice their anger. The Cardiff University walk-out coincided with similar protests across the UK as part of the NUS ‘International Students’ Campaign Day of Solidarity’.
Students from universities including Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Essex took part in the event. The National Union of Students have openly condemned new government plans regarding migrants, stating: “The anti-immigrant policies of this government have become intolerable” “The difficulties faced by International students are not isolated but are part of a wider agenda to keep away migrants and pander to the far-right.” However, it was not only attitudes towards international students that were criticised but also increasing “anti-immigration sentiment” within the British government.
Pictured: Students protesting outside the SU (Photographer: Anna Lewis )
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NEWS 7
Toby Holloway
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In memory of our colleagues, we will strive to avoid another day like this. Chief Executive Celsa UK
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Toby Holloway
Two killed in Cardiff steelworks explosion
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wo men were killed and five others injured following an explosion at Celsa steelworks in the Splott area, near Cardiff Bay, which happened at 10:30am on Wednesday morning. The men who lost their lives were named as Peter O’Brien, 51, and Mark Sim, 41. Workers were reported to have heard a “huge explosion”, as people near the steelworks saw “black smoke billowing over the top of buildings”. Mr O’Brien, who left behind a wife and six children, had begun working at Celsa when he was 16, having joined as an apprentice after leaving school with a single A-Level. He also held positions at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant and Kingsmill Bakery before returning to Celsa, where he reportedly “loved life at the works”. He was named Welsh Appren-
tice of the Year at the age of 19, and worked as an engineer at the steelworks. Mr. O’Brien was described by his brother, Kevin, as: “the true embodiment of a rock”. He added: “My brother was a family man”. Mark Sim, originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, left behind a wife, a son and a daughter. Out of the five men injured, four were taken to hospital and three have since been discharged. In a statement, chief executive of Celsa UK, Luis Sanz, said: [Celsa was] incredibly grateful to the local community for their support at such a difficult time”. He added: “In memory of our colleagues, we will strive to avoid another day like this”. Wednesday’s explosion was not an isolated incident, however, with four other serious accidents having oc-
curred over the last nine years. These incidents caused serious injuries to several workers, including loss of toes and fingers, an electric shock and three deaths at the steelworks since 2006. This resulted in Celsa being pros-
ecuted a number of times, and rewarding significant amounts of compensation to those affected. Celsa official are working with trade unions to support the families left behind by Mr O’Brien and Mr Sim.
Pictured: Celsa Steelworks (Photographer: Nick via Flickr)
Cardiff Met issue warning after student allegedly sexually assaulted on Taff Trail
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fficials at Cardiff Metropolitan University have issued a warning to students following an alleged sexual attack. The attack was reported to have taken place on the Taff Trail, which runs along the River Taff from Cardiff Bay, through Bute park, Pontcanna fields, past Cardiff Met and beyond. In a statement a Cardiff Met spokesperson told Gair Rhydd that: “We were made aware via a third party of an al-
leged assault on the Taff Trail involving a Cardiff Metropolitan student, and have re-issued our safety advice to staff and students, in conjunction with on-going liaison with South Wales Police.” The warning was issued on November 10th in reference to the events which allegedly took place the week prior. The incident was not reported to the police.
As of yet, there has been no comment made by South Wales Police on the matter, and no arrests have been made in connection to the alleged attack. This would be the fourth such attack in three months, following the three sexual assaults which took place in Cardiff in September. In response to these attacks, Cardiff council held a summit with South Wales Police in an attempt to prevent
further incidents such as theseThe summit highlighted a number of initiatives that aimed to make Cardiff ’s streets and public areas safer, including a crackdown on lad culture.
Pictured: (Photographer: Andrew Bowdan)
Man hospitalised following Cardiff Bay knife attack
Toby Holloway
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The man was assaulted with a large knife, and received minor wounds to his wrist and arm
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25-year-old man has been hospitalized following an attack which took place outside a Cardiff Bay restaurant last Saturday. The man was assaulted with a large knife, and received minor wounds to his wrist and arm. A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene of the incident, in the car park of the Red Dragon Centre. The assault happened at 7pm, outside the Miller and Carter steakhouse. A stolen car was reported to have been found crashed and abandoned near the scene. A spokesperson from South Wales Police told Wales Online: “There was a nasty assault in the car park of the Red Dragon Centre and a person was arrested”, adding: “One male was as-
saulted and received a cut to his left wrist after being struck with a large knife”. The spokesperson also said that: “We had sufficient resources at the scene and the ambulance service conveyed the victim to the University Hospital of Wales with non-life threatening injuries”, and assured that they were “satisfied we have everything in hand”. This latest attack has contributed to a recent trend of crime around the Cathays area, which has seen three sexual assaults take place in the month of September. A fourth sex attack was reported to have taken place on the Taff Trail this month. Crime figures provide by ‘police. uk’ reported 142 incidents of vio-
lence and sexual offences in September 2015. This, however, is not unusually
high for the area, and crime rates in Cathays over the past year have been relatively consistent.
Pictured: The Red Dragon Centre (Photographer: Marius Jennings via Flickr)
8 ADVICE
advice
Editors: Gwen Williams Caragh Medlicott @GairRhyddAdv advice@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/advice
Mental Youth:
The student behind the campaign explains all
George Watkins
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It would be harder to find someone you know at university who has never experienced problems with depression, anxiety, eating disorders or self-harm than someone who has been lucky enough to live without
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tarting university is never easy for anyone. We all have different ways of dealing with it, some better than others. Imagine that you’ve just moved into your new student accommodation. Your parents have just said goodbye and they’ve gone home. It’s quiet and you suddenly feel very alone. Over the next few days and weeks you do your best to throw yourself out of your comfort zone to try to make friends and immerse yourself into university life. It’s something that every student can say they’ve been through. Now imagine that you have a mental health condition that means that every day is a battle. Imagine how impossible that task can seem. On a personal level, I started university with little hope that I would last the first night, let alone until November. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for the past five years, and upon arriving here, it would not be an overstatement to say that it was the hardest month of my life. On my second night which also happened to be my birthday, I was stood outside my block sobbing my heart out over the phone at 4AM wishing that I hadn’t been so naïve about what I could cope with. A week later I visited the doctor for a casual repeat prescription for the medication I had been taking for three years, at which point he realised I could have died on the combination of drugs I was given every month. 90 mg of beta blockers (to slow down your heart rate)
and 20 mg of an anti-depressant a day would be enough to knock out anyone who was not my height and size. After a month of what has been essentially cold turkey, I can say that I am through the worst of it, enduring the feverish side effects of withdrawal along with a week of concussion from collapsing and cracking my head. Mental health care in the UK is far from fantastic, particularly for young people like myself. With over half of mental health conditions manifesting during childhood, you would expect that this demographic would be looked after a bit better, in the hope that prevention could save issues further down the line. I was one of the 3.3 per cent (290,000) of children in the UK with an anxiety disorder. However, I firmly believe that it would be harder to find someone you know at university who has never experienced problems with depression, anxiety, eating disorders or selfharm than someone who has been lucky enough to live without. With this in mind, it baffles me that the Conservative Government has taken around £50 million from the budget addressing young mental health. What can you do if you’re struggling? Cardiff University is particularly fantastic for support; for example they run the Nightline Service. This is provided by a group of anonymous volunteers who run the service from 8pm-8am every night in term time. In addition, the student support centre provides drop-in clinics on a daily basis, alongside offering
counselling for those who need it. Sadly, there isn’t enough to go around. Trying to register with a counsellor recently for me has meant being added to a waiting list, which would mean I would not receive help until December at the earliest. What if you have a problem in the daytime? What if you can’t cope? You need help straight away, and besides services like Samaritans, what can you do? I recently started a campaign on campus called ‘The Mental Youth’ in response to my personal journey and in addition to the support available for young people. Its aim is to break the stigma around mental health through offering both a support network, and a signpost service to help build up a community feeling around mental health, including bullying and everyday worries (like exams). I sincerely believe that issues like anxiety and depression are worsened by feeling alone and like you don’t have a voice. We already have the support of the Nightline service, and a growing number of societies on campus, including the Red Cross, who both aim to offer practical advice on what to do in a crisis. They also provide services to help you cope in everyday life and build up a movement on campus to make mental health a staple part of support for both new and older students. I’m building up a team of wonderful volunteers who will aid me in getting the largest coverage possible, so that we can make sure everyone who needs help has
access to it. What do I hope to achieve from this? This is what I get asked the most. As far as I’m concerned, the dropout rate at Cardiff, even at the amazingly low level of 3 per cent, is too high. I expect that a large chunk of these figures will not be for mental health related issues. However, for every student that does drop out because they feel like they can’t cope, or have failed. When the freshers arrive next September, I want information provided whether it be fliers, merchandise or both in their welcome packs. I want Mental Youth to be well known and to provide a helping hand to that lonely student stood outside their house at 4AM sobbing their heart out. We aren’t trained psychologists or counsellors, but we are friendly and understand what you’re going through. We can’t make your problem go away because mental health conditions don’t tend to disappear overnight, but we can show you coping mechanisms and give you advice on how best to manage periods of intense stress that comes with university life. If you want to get involved, email us at thementalyouth@hotmail. com, find us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and help us make this movement worthwhile, so that we can break the stigma around mental health for good. If you have any queries or need someone to talk to please do not hesitate to get in touch. This won’t work without you.
Pictured: Anxiety and depression are often described as ‘a black cloud’ (Photographer: Bill Dickinson)
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I want Mental Youth to be well known and to provide a helping hand to that lonely student stood outside their house at 4AM sobbing their heart out
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ADVICE 9
Caragh Medlicott
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It quickly became apparent that running didn’t just help my fitness, it helped me better manage stress and generally improve my life as a student
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Karla Pequenino
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If you’re an aspiring photographer or enjoy messing around with your camera, volunteer to cover charity runs
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Pictured: Capturing the moment (Photographer: Nadine RittersKamp)
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Exercise helps to run your life
remember the first time I went for a run while at uni; I dragged myself out of bed at 6am. This wasn’t because I was a dedicated athlete who jumped up at the crack of dawn just to throw on some trainers and run like Forest Gump. No, it was because after a year and a half at uni, with spontaneous nights out and take-aways galore, I didn’t want anyone to see me huffing and puffing as I jogged down the Taff trail. Before my mile was up, I was cursing between wheezing breaths and swearing to myself never again! While it was a slow and sometimes gruelling process to get into the routine of going for regular runs, ultimately it was worth it. If there is one thing I could go back and tell myself it would be to take it easy instead of feeling like packing it all in after one bad run (a particularly shameful moment springs to mind, where halfway through a run with my friend, we decided to give up and go buy pizza instead). Despite such hiccups, after just a month of running the whole thing got a lot easier. It quickly became apparent that running didn’t just help my fitness, it helped me better manage stress and generally improve my life as a student. Getting fitter doesn’t have to mean long runs or three hour gym ses-
sions. Even just small changes can make a big difference. Cardiff has some beautiful parks which are great for gentle jogs. The Taff River actually looks quite nice –and slightly less eerie- when you run by it at sunset. It doesn’t even have to be a solo activity either. With a railcard, it’s less than a tenner for a return ticket to Abergavenny. You can embark on some beautiful walks with friends (and have a well-deserved pint in the town after). Granted, Wales isn’t always the most accommodating of such outdoorsy activities but you can always try and work off some stress at the gym or in an exercise class. One of the things I found most helpful in getting fitter was having a goal to work towards. When I first signed up to run the Cardiff halfmarathon, the furthest I had run was 7k (not even half of the 21k distance required). I realise that people run far more impressive distances and generally complete more heroic feats than one measly half-marathon, but to me, it felt like a challenge and really motivated me to keep running. The first ever goal I set myself was running 5k. Small or big, having some kind of target can be massively helpful in progressing with any fitness pursuit.
There’s no doubt that uni can be a stressful time. You’ve probably heard before that exercise can be beneficial in combating anxiety and generally makes you happier. It isn’t just a cruel myth made up by P.E teachers- its science! Exercising produces endorphins which make you feel
more positive. Running helped me with so many things, from improving my quality of sleep to managing academic pressure. Overall, don’t forget to consider the benefits of exercise for not just your physical health but also mental health.
Photography: taking part in other ways
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o you want to participate in the Holiday season’s upcoming charity runs without actually running? Take the pictures! Read about the benefits, the upcoming events and how to be the best photographer on scene. If you’re an aspiring photographer or enjoy messing around with your camera, volunteer to cover charity runs. You help out, have fun, improve your photographic skills and build a great portfolio all in one. These volunteer gigs give you great material to add to your portfolio and most have Facebook groups or online pages where you can share your work and get feedback from the participants. This year’s Reindeer Run in Whitchurch promises to offer loads of inspiration for photography. It is being hosted by K&M Events in aid of the Velindre Cancer Centre. You can support the event by snapping
pictures of the runners in red reindeer noses skipping, jogging and dancing for a mile on the 5th of December. Cardiff Bay’s Santa & Elf Dash, on the sixth of December, is another opportunity. The event around Mermaid Quay will be festive and if you don’t want to run that extra mile, you can help raise awareness through photography. You will discover many more events once you start researching! If you want to get a head start on practising before joining these charity runs, try Cardiff ’s Parkrun, which runs all year round. Nadine Ritterskamp, a Cardiff University Chemistry PhD student, has improved massively since she started taking pictures of Parkrun and her work is becoming increasingly more popular. For those unfamiliar, Parkrun is a free Saturday Run at Cardiff that
starts at 9AM alongside the big Tesco Extra Building. The course is a five kilometre run along the Taff trail, within Bute Park. It was through these weekly events that Nadine discovered her passion for photography. “There is no way back. I just enjoy it too much.” The student shares her work on Flickr and appreciates all feedback: “People can go there and download the photos for free. Of course, I am always happy if I get the credits because it is time consuming to edit everything. Photography doesn’t stop the moment you take the pictures.” Despite her focus being on Parkrun, her shots don’t lack variety. In addition to snapping pictures of the runners, Nadine likes to capture the entire atmosphere. “I am there in the morning before it all starts and take a couple of photos of people chatting to each other or of the other volunteers.” The experience has taught her a lot, especially about proper lightning: “Shortly before the run starts, Paul (Parkrun’s main photographer) and I go to some areas where we think the light is good enough to get good shots. I am still learning, so Paul helps me find the right spot.” Overall, Nadine enjoys her work for Parkrun and hopes to work in other events in the future. Thinking about getting involved? Would like to get involved? Here are a few tips: If you are new to photography like Nadine, the website Expert Photography is a great way to learn more from professionals. Their most con-
sistent advice is on the importance of location and composition. When snapping runners, it is essential to consider where you are positioned. People will be zooming towards you and you will have little time to move around for the perfect shot. So, prepare and find somewhere you can snap amazing pictures before the time. How about somewhere you can shoot with the sun behind the runner as it gives nice results and avoids squinting eyes? Of course, with the current rainy Cardiff Weather that is not much of a problem. Location is also fundamental to capture the runner’s emotions. Consider the route as the kind of expressions participants will have in the beginning, middle and end will surely be different. A key point is hills as runners tend to appear worn out, yet triumphant, after overcoming them. Regarding composition, try to avoid shooting the runners’ entire body. Shots from the mid torso up capture the movement and struggle, while still capturing emotion in the face. Of course, an exception can be made for certain occasions such as “fancy dress” runs which Cardiff ’s Christmas events will have plenty of. Also, don’t ignore the crowds and try to include them in the photos of runners. Their expressions of support will surely prove to be interesting material. Finally, it helps to know who to shoot. Who do you think will reach the finish line first? If you have any idea, focus your lens on that person. It might be the “winning shot”.
Pictured: Running has multiple benefits (Photographer: Nadine RittersKamp)
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In addition to snapping pictures of the runners, Nadine likes to capture the entire atmosphere
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Also, don’t ignore the crowds and try to include them in the photos of runners
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10 ADVICE
What I did when I graduated... Charles Ross on working in a laboratory
Gwen Williams
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I always knew I wanted to work for a local NHS trust and in order to get into higher roles within this industry, research experience is required.
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harles Ross explains how knowledge of the work place is just as valuable as the knowledge you gain from your degree. What does your job entail? I currently work in the Pharmaceutical production unit at the Bristol Royal Infirmary as a Senior Assistant Technical Officer (SATO). In my role, I assist in the day to day work of the production unit and help to produce medicines. This involves ensuring products are produced to a consistent high quality to standards set out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency(MHRA). I am currently still in training so I mainly perform “lab assistant” roles until I am validated. Then I will be able to perform more technical tasks. What educational and career steps did you take to lead you to this career? It was quite straight forward really. I attended the University of Plymouth where I studied Biomedical Science. I chose to study ‘biomed’ because it covered topics which interested me and still allowed for a wide range of career opportunities. Why did you choose this career path? With any career in biomedicine, lab experience is essential. I always knew I wanted to work for a local NHS
trust and in order to get into higher roles within this industry, research experience is required. My main interest within human biology is the application of pharmaceuticals, particularly in eradicating infections and how microorganisms interact with the immune system. This is why I chose to investigate the issue of antibiotic resistance in my dissertation, a subject I am personally passionate about. Therefore, my job builds on this nicely. What do you like about your job? I find the day to day work very interesting as a whole and particularly enjoy working in a laboratory environment. Plus it offers great training opportunities. In general, the NHS is a well rounded source of employment. Are there any downsides to your job? NHS pay! There has been a lot of news coverage over the last few months, particularly linked to pay. Some NHS employees feel they are underpaid for the work they carry out. However, the pension scheme helps to remedy this. Describe a typical work day for you? My duties include undertaking regular environmental monitoring, such as the use of particles, monitors or
settle plates. This ensures products are produced to a consistently high quality and patient safety is ensured. I set up raw materials for individual batches of drugs to be manufactured by qualified personnel in clean rooms. My role also includes maintaining records and documentation of activities within the unit, to ensure any production activity has a clear and accessible audit trail. I maintain stock levels, which keeps the production unit supplied for the technicians and pharmacists. Regular training and validations are provided to ensure my techniques are up to standard, and that I follow the procedures correctly. Alongside my SATO role, I am additionally undertaking several IT based projects. I am covering paternity leave to implement changes enforced by MHRA standards following 2014’s inspection. These projects are giving me vital experience in the IT systems used to support the hospitals pharmaceutical manufacturing. I am still undertaking training to gain validation to produce aseptic pharmaceuticals and undertake more technical aspects of this role Do you have any tips for students aspiring to go into the same career? For any clinical, pharmaceutical or research career, relevant experience is paramount, most universities offer
a year in industry and summer placements. Not taking these opportunities makes it a lot harder to find work in these areas as it’s very expensive to train people. Employers are much more likely to consider you with relevant work experience. I cannot stress this enough. Did you consider any other careers while in your final year at university? I looked at biomedical scientist training programmes but didn’t get good enough grades. This route is very competitive and difficult to get onto. I also looked into clinical research as a career possibility, but this requires high levels of experience and contacts from university. What advice would you give your student self with hindsight? If you have the opportunity to do a placement year, do it. Take any experience your university offers. The best way to approach this is to talk to tutors about possibilities where you could speak to someone who works in industry. Getting the right contacts is key. Find out about the current research being done at your university. Think about what interests you. If you wanted to go into a research job, getting a job with the NHS can really help get you there.
Pictured: Want to work in a lab? Get lab experience (Photographer: Luca Volpi)
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Employers are much more likely to consider you with relevant work experience. I cannot stress this enough.
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50% of our jobs are outside of London
We have 9,100 clients across our regional offices
68% of all 2015 promotions were outside London
Our regional practices are at the heart of PwC
We welcome all degree disciplines
We don’t look at UCAS tariff for our graduate roles
12 COMMENT
comment Mark Wyatt
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The unity for the Paris, echoed across the world, was highlighted through fantastic bravery in the jaws of adversity
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Editors: Em Gates Charley Griffiths David Williams @GairRhyddCom comment@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/comment
To Paris, with love
n Friday 13th November, Paris was targeted by terrorism in a jaw-dropping night. The world’s response quickly incorporated the ‘liberté egalité fraternité’ French motto as the most famous landmarks across the globe lit up in French colours in support for the Parisians and all affected by the attacks. Australia’s Sydney Opera House showed its respect, the Brazilian Christ the Redeemer lit up, as did Wembley Football Stadium in London – the host of the French national team on Tuesday 17th November. In a modern world of instant communication, media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed people to voice their opinions, cover news quickly and more importantly on Friday night, give help. As news came flooding in over social media of what was unfolding in the capital, those in the city were urged to use the hashtag #PorteOuverte (Open Door). The idea was to pinpoint safe accommodation in Paris for those who needed it and it was used by many throughout the very long night. The unity for the Paris, echoed across the world, was highlighted through fantastic bravery in the jaws of adversity – hundreds of Parisians went to Place de
la Republique to mourn, sing and cry. The support has led to a natural swing in French polls for La Front National, and Marine Le Pen has called for borders to remain shut. The nationalistic attitude is sure to grow in France over the coming months as a result of the attacks. In an emotional night for the world, I felt the trauma on a personal note too – my older sister lives in Paris as a journalist and so immediately I was in contact with her. Her flat is in Montmatre, in the 18th arrondissement – south of the Stade de France and North of the Bataclan where attacks carried on throughout the evening. She told me that “I heard the story on the news, whilst eating dinner in my flat. Hollande told people to stay in their homes, so I did. I could hear sirens all night, as I live somewhat close to the attacks. I had planned a day out on Saturday, but I was too scared to leave the flat.” The events of Friday night will never be forgotten and all that many people can do is to show their support, the French tricolour illumination upon the most recognisable buildings as well as the mass support on social media all ensures that the world stands with France.
Social media: a help or hindrance?
Facebook and Twitter were full of live updates detailing what was happening in Paris. It undoubtedly rallied people to the cause, but the darker side of the internet also made an appearance after the attacks.
Saxon Norgard
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Hashtags like #portesouverte (open doors) did prove effective in helping those stranded during the attacks to find refuge
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n the hours and days following the horrific attacks in Paris on the 13th of November, social media globally has come alight. Facebook has encouraged users to super-impose the French flag over their profile pictures as a sign of solidarity, and various hashtags have been used worldwide to deliver messages of support to the French people. Of course, there will always be those who say that such reactions serve no real purpose beyond the exploitation of tragedy for social recognition, an accusation that probably has a grain of truth. Some have also rightly criticised the disproportionate response to attacks on Western countries as compared to those in the Middle East or Africa, who have also suffered numerous terrorist attacks recently. What we can say for sure however, is that our collective expressions of grief and sympathy are a sign of resolute unity in the face of barbaric acts by groups that represent the antithesis of civilised society. Moreover, hashtags like #portesouverte (“open doors”) did prove effective in helping those stranded during the attacks to
find refuge, as did Facebook’s ‘Safety Check’ in providing comfort to those families whose loved ones managed to escape unharmed. As we have come to expect however, there are those who take it upon themselves to seize upon attacks like this to fear-monger and spread hate. After the names of some of the culprits were released by French authorities, an image began to circulate of what was claimed to be one of the attackers posing for a selfie whilst holding a Qur’an and wearing an explosive vest. As it turns out, it was in fact a photo-shopped image of outspoken ‘Gamergate’ critic Veerender Jubbal, who was clearly identifiable as a Sikh by the ‘dastar’ on his head. Despite obviously being fake to even the most minimally informed, the image went viral and was even shared by an Islamic State-affiliated news outlet. On the one hand, it means that I can reliably inform all the people who believed this image to be genuine of their ignorance. But for Mr. Jubbal, it has condemned him to being falsely implicated in this horrendous attack for
the rest of his life. An equally sickening display was demonstrated by the thousands of fuming mouth-breathers who shared a video apparently showing a group of Muslims in London celebrating the Paris attack. The truth – not lost on those who bothered to spend 30-seconds verifying these claims before clicking ‘share’ – was that it was a video from 2009 showing British Pakistanis celebrating a cricket victory. Less visible but perhaps even more dangerous are the spouts of hatespeech that events like these always seem to spark. Everyone will have seen it on their Facebook and Twitter feeds; claims that all Muslims should take responsibility for the attacks, expressions of anti-refugee sentiment, expletive-filled rants calling for mass deportation and even violence against Islamic communities. Comedian Jason Manford faced fierce criticism after a Facebook rant (which he later deleted) in which he referred to Allah (the Muslim conception of God) as “a massive c**t” and said “I hope you are all caught and murdered”. It might be easy to deride such outbursts as iso-
lated instances of anger-fuelled racism, but it is clear that it is a voice getting louder and louder as these acts of terror continue to occur. Comments from Republican Presidential candidates in the wake of the attack, suggesting that they would cancel plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees if elected, are clear evidence of this. What people need to understand is that this is exactly what ISIS wants. By fuelling racial divides, marginalising Muslims in our communities and painting an entire religion with one broad, hateful brush, we are playing right into their hands. ISIS recruits by portraying a message of ‘East vs. West’ and ‘Islam vs. Christianity’, appealing to the millions of disaffected Muslims living in Western countries. ISIS wants us to hate Muslims, and they know that the best way to fuel hatred is by violence. It is a creature of fierce discontent, an animal of disunity and division, and it is only through coming together that we can hope to stamp out its despicable ideology and ensure that we never have to say #PrayForParis again.
Pictured: The Eiffel Tower lit up in French flag colours (Photographer: Yann Caradec)
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Less visible, but perhaps even more dangerous, are the spouts of hate-speech that events like these always seem to spark
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COMMENT 13
George Caulton
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Religion and prayers should be taken out of the grievance, and humanity should focus on becoming one and fighting back against ISIS
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Ellise Nicholls
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The Turkish capital Ankara was victim to twin suicide bombings, claiming 102 lives and countless injuries. But did Facebook offer a Turkish flag filter in respect for those deaths?
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Terrorism has no religion
riday 13th November 2015- a day of sadness, remorse and utter chaos on the streets of Paris. With 129 people killed and over 300 hundred injured, social media sites erupted with hashtags of #PrayforParis for whole nations to pay their respects and patriotic silhouettes of red, white and blue. Despite people showing respect, Charlie Hebdo cartoonist Joann Sfar claimed that rather than using the hashtag #PrayforParis we should use #Parisisaboutlife as he believes religion should not be associated with these murderous attacks. In his drawing, Sfar stated “friends from the whole world, thank you for #PrayforParis, but we don’t need more religion! Our faith goes to music! Kisses! Life! Champagne and joy! #Parisisaboutlife” Sfar’s drawing and words exemplify the idea that #Prayforparis should be composed of global unity which celebrates Paris for its social elements. Sfar indeed acknowledges that people want to show respect
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with French flags and hashtags, but worries of the word ‘pray’ in the context of Paris’ current climate. With the attacks on Paris, religion and prayers should be taken out of the grievance, and humanity should focus on becoming one and fighting back against ISIS, rather than sending prayers. By embracing the social and other faithful elements of Paris such as life and joy, the world faces a stronger, more unified society than incorporating religious doctrines and ideologies. A recent video posted on ‘In the now’ has covered the pages of Facebook and Twitter showing a Muslim Parisian with a blind fold and piece of card saying “Hug me, if you trust me, but I’m told I’m a terrorist”. Many people do, indeed, hug the Parisian endorsing and reinstating views of trust, love and of an open minded nature. But what does this man have to prove to everyone? Why should he have had to prove himself? He knows that he is not a terrorist, so why do
the public still endorse this view? The media is a constant source of symbolic annihilation in regards to the representation of Muslim people. This is a further comment on Sfar’s assumption that ‘we don’t need more religion’, the press continuously represent Muslim’s in a derogatory way causing a nation that fears, and is xenophobic towards a particular religion. Therefore, rather than stereotypes and ‘othering’, Sfar and several others believe that we should all unite as one to end the brutality caused by ISIS. Many interviews have been conducted with Muslim men and women and a campaign entitled ‘Not In My Name’ has also been endorsed where thousands of Muslim’s have tweeted that they are proud of their faith and that Islam is a religion of peace and love, not one of damage and destruction. The Quran states that “Whoever kills an innocent person, it is as if he has killed all of humanity”- Quran 5:32. Therefore, ISIS across the globe,
are not seen as embracing their religion, rather dismissing it and neglecting their faith, inevitably changing the representations of Muslim people anticipating a moral societal panic. As seen on the Daily Mail online, The Dalai Lama has also spoken out about the Paris attacks in relation to Joan Stfar’s drawing and exclaimed that “We cannot solve this problem only through prayers. I am a Buddhist and I believe in praying. But humans have created this problem, and now we are asking God to solve it. It is illogical. God would say, solve it yourself because you created it in the first place” “We need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and harmony”. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. Friday 13th November 2015 should be a day of remembrance, not thought religion and prayer, but for humanity to become closer and globally unite.
Grieve for Paris, but grieve for the world too
his week has been riddled with tragedy and sorrow. After 129 people died following the Paris attacks claimed by terrorist group ISIS, the world has united in its mourning, and the birth of a solid, international front has emerged. But why has an attack on France had such a dramatic effect? Thousands of ISIS victims, particularly around the Middle East, have had to struggle and mourn alone without the aid of Western unity and without the immense support France has received. On Thursday, just a day preceding the widely covered Paris attacks, two suicide bombers detonated explosives in southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital. 43 people are reported to have died. But did Western civilians pray for Lebanon? Similarly, on 10th October, the Turkish capital Ankara was victim to twin suicide bombings, claiming 102 lives and countless injuries. But did Facebook offer a Turkish flag filter in respect for those deaths? And the attack on Garissa University College in eastern Kenya back in April killed 147, but did the world show a sympathetic solidarity as it has done in reaction to the Paris attacks?
The answer to all of these questions is no. Onlookers have questioned the seemingly biased media coverage of each of these events when compared with coverage of the recent attack in Western Europe. But is that just it? Is it the simple fact of being Western that determines the number of prayers delivered to your doorstep during times of crisis? Does it ultimately boil down to your skin colour, your way of life and your culture, or is it the simple idea that humans will respond to familiarity? It appears that it is a combination of these factors that determines when the world will rise in unity and support. I’d like to consider what some have called ‘selective grief ’. On the morning after the Paris attacks, I was utterly moved by the passion and sympathy displayed on social media. Tributes were pouring in as the world mourned for the nations losses, as if they were their own. As blogger Parikh wrote in a poem that quickly became viral on social media, the scale of coverage on the Paris attacks stemmed from the terror found in ‘towers and cafes we find so familiar’. Western populations view Paris as a city of enlightenment and a city of love, and as Hollande
made clear during his speech in Versailles, ‘France is a country of freedom’. This was not Syria or Iraq or Baghdad, this was a staple of Western culture; a place ‘close to home’ and on the doorstep of your own country. Also, a place of relative whiteness, as Parikh pointed out. In the week before the Paris attacks, reports of the senseless and tragic bombings in Beirut and Baghdad were, of course, reported by the Western press. Despite this, the interest from both the journalists and the readers was on a considerably lower scale. The world did not mourn as it has done for Paris. Elie Fares, a Lebanese doctor, blogged that the death of his people was ‘but an irrelevant fleck along the international news cycle’. The creation of an ‘otherness’, separate to Western culture, has meant that people don’t respond so much to events in ‘those parts of the world’. This is nothing new. Why do our news industries focus on the parochialism to ask ‘were our citizens harmed?’ Surely the more empathetic response would be to grieve for the loss of citizens regardless of their skincolour, their religion and their race. Understandably, it’s a natural reaction
when the world’s power is organised and divided by the simple distinction of nationality. But grief shouldn’t be corrupt and objective. It should be personal and unique to that person or countries suffering. Wherever you are, whatever inch of the world you are tucked away in, we cannot let inhumane acts and thoughtless terrorists define who we are and what we stand for. Time and time again a new story will dominate our discussion, but again and again we do nothing except absorb the next horror filtering out the previous, as if the pain was never there. During a time of thriving hostility between ‘us’ and ‘them’, it’s ironic that what surfaces is our ability to unite. We need to use this as the foundations to change, and we need to revert our ways to the intelligent, versatile and, more importantly, compassionate human race we are capable of being. And not the passive, self-absorbed and consumerist species we are quickly on our way to becoming. I would like to take this moment to not just pray for Paris, to not just pray for the recent ISIS victims, but to pray for all of humanity for the coming days.
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Islam is a religion of peace and love, not one of damage and destruction
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Pictured: Landmarks around the world showed their support for Paris (Photographers: O. Horbacz, Clint Budd, Zengame, Oliver Dixon, Thomas Hawk)
14 COMMENT
Why is football behind the times in addressing homosexuality?
Last month there was talk of an England international footballer coming out as gay. With only a handful of footballers past and present being openly gay, why is there still such a major stigma attatched?
Brett Jones
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You can’t hold a club responsible for everything it’s ‘fans’ do, but you can blame them for how they choose to react and conduct themselves
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F
ive years ago a project called It Gets Better was started. It aims to reassure young people who were being bullied because of their sexuality, that things improve as you transition into more mature environments. It is effective because it gives hope for a better future whilst acknowledging that for many of those kids the present is pretty damn painful. And it seems to speak another truth as well; culturally many countries have been on a track to give their non-heterosexual citizens more rights. In the UK, since decriminalisation, there has been the equalising of the age of consent, more employment and consumer rights, civil partnerships, and gay adoption. It is hard to deny that over the last few decades things have got better. Progressive change is the zeitgeist and it appears to be all pervading. Well, almost all pervading. There is an oddly prominent place in British public life that seems more than usually resistant to change in this area: professional football. Famously it has been groundbreaking in its time. English footballer Justin Fashanu came out in
1990. But that ended tragically with his suicide in 1998. With football being such a big sport it does stand out in lacking any openly gay players. If people can name ten boxers, then Nicola Adams is probably among them, and Tom Daley will be the only professional diver many can name. Probably a majority of people could name more footballers, but none who call themselves anything other than heterosexual. But currently, Wales is enjoying a very good reputation on this front. Rugby is currently boasting two highly respected professionals who are gay; former international Gareth Thomas and the man selected to referee the recent World Cup final, Nigel Owens. Both have spoken about tough times when issues around their sexuality contributed to significant personal challenges, and I’m not implying for a moment that they have had it easy, but two Welsh people overcoming adversity is nothing but good representation for the country. Nonetheless it has been comforting to see the support they have enjoyed from their peers. Gareth
Thomas called coming out to his teammates “the toughest thing I’ve ever done”. Their reactions? In his own words, “They were there for me.” And Nigel Owens gets criticised from all sides (a clear sign a referee is doing a good job) but, from his colleagues, it never threatens to broach the topic of his personal life. There have been cases of homophobic abuse being hurled at him from people watching the game. Stadium owners have acted swiftly and issued bans to these ‘fans’, another clear sign that he has the support of the people he works with. Rugby’s problems aren’t on the pitch they’re in the terraces, but how does this compare with football? We have demonstrations of a worrying immaturity on the football terraces. There was the unedifying hounding on social media of someone who had accused Ched Evans of rape and England international Sol Campbell was called homosexual because he liked reading books. This is not only offensive and homophobic, it is schoolyard bullying by immature adults. And above anything else, it suggests a deep cultural problem for football as a sport.
You can’t hold a club responsible for everything it’s ‘fans’ do, but you can blame them for how they choose to react and conduct themselves. For a while they joined in; Vinny Jones mocked Graeme Le Saux by wiggling his bottom every time the guy tried to take a free kick, an act that I don’t think that could happen on more than one occasion now. But the complete rejection of homophobia doesn’t seem to be very prominent at all. Privately, some football players may have come out to their families and some of their colleagues may know and support them. Like in many walks of life the vast majority of players are probably approaching being half-decent humans. But players choosing to keep this a secret demonstrate how they lack trust in the clubs to protect them. Abuse and ignorance sits on the terraces across many sports, undoubtedly, but peers, colleagues, and supposed professionals in football are not doing enough to challenge this. Luckily they have a growing number of examples of sports who are refusing to allow their athletes be treated this way.
Pictured: Football is still a very hetrosexual sport, lacking any gay role models (Photographer: Colin Flanders)
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Welsh rugby is currently boasting two highly respected professionals who are gay
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COMMENT 15
Destroying the spirit of Christmas
Adam Muspratt
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Black Friday is becoming a staple of the UK holiday season
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Becky TaylorAshfield
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Nearly five per cent of UK students have been involved in sex work, or still are
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W
e’ve all seen the images, crazed hordes of shoppers pushing one-another in a deluge of discount based debauchery. The American shopping tradition ‘Black Friday’ is set to roll though once again on November 27th. Even though it was introduced to the UK a few years ago, it has managed to gain a particularly bad reputation. There was once a time when Britons looked across the pond, eyes furrowed in disapproval at the Americans display of wanton excess. But that time has gone, Black Friday is becoming a staple of the UK holiday season, and the shocking images it elicits are interchangeable from those within the States. In fact, we’ve taken so kindly to the bonanza that it has managed to knock mild mannered Boxing Day off its perch as the nation’s favourite day of fantastic deals. So, has it all gone too far? Before a dowdy woman with a
pushchair tells you otherwise, I would suggest that this isn’t the decay of British moral values. To tell the truth, the incidents that do make it on to the news are few and far between. Most Black Friday events are little more than gentle shoving matches, you’d find the same kind of behaviour during peak times on the London underground, or at the opening doors of a regular sale. There is something compelling about well adjusted and socialised adults going crazy over a 50 per cent off sticker. It simply translates into great TV, a fact which news outlets have latched onto and inadvertently sensationalised. Granted, Black Friday is happening all over the country on a single day, but to suggest that this kind of behaviour was alien to the country is hyperbolic to the extremes. A number of MPs have called for stores to cease the practice. Ban this. Ban that. Why is the British answer to
everything banning it? I do somewhat sympathise with the sentiment. After all, the term ‘Black Friday’ has a double meaning. Not only does it signify that retail chains are moving from the red (losses) into the black (profits), it also holds a darker meaning as the shopping sprees have inadvertently caused a number of unfortunate injuries and deaths. However, banning the day is short sighted. Black Friday is still in the experimental stages, and we should work upon not letting the event fall into a free for all. It just needs an injection of British reserve. The solution seems quite simple and can possibly please everyone. The retailers can go ahead with their sales, but they should pay for any police presence that they require. Not only will the police presence subdue the shoppers atavistic urges and coerce them to form orderly queue’s, but it also quells any complaints that Black Friday wastes police time and
resources. It will only waste as much police time and resources as football matches, pubs and clubs do. The notion that “Black Friday has gone too far” is a bit nonsensical. Humans are a naturally competitive bunch and when placed into unrestrained areas it naturally turns ugly. It’s up to the stores to facilitate the behaviour. That said, there is nothing inherently wrong with Black Friday or its participants. The allure of a bargain speaks to human nature and shopping strategies are informed by human biology. It just seems that those who would duel over microwave oven at 8AM are a tad more unrestrained than most of us. But, while we watch the events unfold on the news and chortle in smug condescension, a little part of you probably wishes that you had that microwave oven. After all, the desire for more stuff remains in all of us. Black Friday shoppers are just more honest about it.
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The retailers can go ahead with their sales, but they should pay for any police presence that they require
” Pictured: Is Black Friday causing more bad feeling than good? (Photographer: John Henderson)
S
Should sex work be decriminalised?
parked by this summer’s debate on the legal standing of the sex industry, student senate passed a motion for the student’s union to support the decriminalisation of sex work – but what would this really involve? While prostitution, the exchange of sexual services for money, is not illegal in the UK as it is in the USA, many related activities such as operating a brothel are yet to be decriminalised. Although in theory this sounds like a reasonable regulation to prosecute those taking advantage of others, its implications means that the safety and human rights of sex workers are often compromised. The issue really lies with how the law defines sex work. Currently, if two sex workers choose to operate in the same house, they are said to be running a brothel and face criminal conviction. The same can be said for any other network that workers create, even if it’s being done to try
and improve their safety and reduce isolation. This means that many sex workers are unable to report abusive clients or communicate with the police because of the repercussions. The sex industry is difficult to leave, with those already involved in sex work claiming that beside financial reasons, convictions on their criminal record play a major influence in staying in sex work. Decriminalisation would widen sex workers options. Amnesty International issued their statement in support of the decriminalisation of all sex work. Actors such as Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Lena Dunham were quick to speak out against the proposal, claiming that it would support a “system of gender apartheid”. What this also shows is that the current laws are only adding to the image that all sex workers are oppressed and forced into the industry, preventing those who have got into
sex work willingly to operate safely and encouraging work to go ‘underground’. So why should we as students care about this? While for many of us it’s a difficult industry to understand, the reality of the situation is that nearly five per cent of UK students have been involved in sex work, or still are. And with student debt a growing concern among students, it’s not hard to understand why. Surely our Student Union’s main concern should be how they can protect their students, no matter what work they are choosing to do. Main criticisms of decriminalisation suggest that it could encourage more people into the sex work industry, and works in favour of ‘pimps’ by preventing their arrest. But what is currently being proposed is that all areas of consensual sex work are decriminalised, meaning that those forced into the industry are still protected. Of course this then brings
into question another grey area. If people turn to the sex industry due to financial reasons are they in control of their occupation, or have there circumstances constrained them to it? Many have suggested that a solution to this debate would be to turn to the ‘Nordic Model’. In this, sex workers themselves would be at no legal risk, but the buying of sex is a criminal offence. Advocates of this model argue that by reducing the demand for prostitutes, less people will enter the sex industry. But this model has one fatal flaw; the exchange of sexual services now becomes something that has to be done ‘underground’, and once again the safety of sex workers is not truly considered. Although in my opinion it’s clear that the current system in the UK is not what is needed to look after the rights of sex workers, I think that the focus needs to be on what sex workers believe will protect them the most.
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The current system in the UK is not what is needed to look after the rights of sex workers
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THE GAIR RHYDD COLUMN 17
The Cait debate
The reaction to Caitlyn Jenner winning the ‘Woman of the Year’ award exemplifies precisely what some don’t understand about the transgender community
Helena Hanson
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She said something thoughtless, not because she’s a man, or because she doesn’t understand the struggles, but because she’s human
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C
aitlyn Jenner is recognised worldwide for a number of things; being an Olympic gold medallist, an American television personality, a father figure to five of the most famous women in America, and recently, for being born as Bruce. Jenner, father figure to Kim Kardashian and her sisters, publicly announced her gender identification as a woman earlier this year, and subsequently paved a journey neither her nor the rest of the world could have been ready for. She has faced extensive condemnation, as well as admiration for her bravery. Most notably perhaps was earlier this month, when she was presented with Glamour magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year’ award. The award is handed out to those deemed by Glamour to be courageous, extraordinary and inspirational women, a mould which many believe Caitlyn Jenner does not fit. This week, James Smith, whose wife Moira died evacuating others from the World Trade Centre during 9/11, returned his wife’s 2001 ‘Woman of the Year’ award to Glamour magazine. He did this in protest at the same honour being given to Caitlyn, enclosing an open letter to the magazine editor. Smith asked; “Was there no woman in America, or the rest of the world, more deserving than this man? … is this the best you could do?” This is wrong. To not even recognise Jenner as a female shows little respect to a woman who did neither choose nor ask for this award. Don’t get me wrong, Caitlyn Jenner is far from a perfect advocate for the transgender community. The stark truth is that Caitlyn does not truthfully represent the life of a transgender person. They don’t have a security team to protect them against violence
and abuse. They don’t have access to the medical support they may need. They don’t have the money for the cosmetic surgery they may desire. They don’t have a platform on prime time television to explain their feelings without the fear of being interrupted or ignored or insulted. They don’t have the expensive clothing and the makeup squad and the hair dresser. Caitlyn’s trans life is anything but conventional, but that does not make it insignificant. Caitlyn was criticised for her response to a particular question during an interview with BuzzFeed. When asked what the hardest part of being a woman was, she responded “figuring out what to wear.” This was the catalyst for Smith in returning his wife’s award. He said it “proved he [Jenner] is not truly a woman.” This doesn’t make sense to me. Firstly, Jenner does later acknowledge that “it’s more than that.” Further, I think it was an, although admittedly insensitive, attempt at humour that was taken out of context. Many, including actress Rose McGowan, took to social media to publicly denounce Caitlyn, and claim such a statement provides evidence to concur ‘he’ will never be a woman, because ‘he simply does not understand’. This month, Kate Winslett suggested that we shouldn’t be speaking about the wage-gap between men and women. This was a stupid thing to say. Does this mean she is not a woman and does not understand the plight of women? No. What Caitlyn said was dumb, of course it was, but to use this as justification to reject her identity is wrong. She said something thoughtless, not because she’s a man, or because she doesn’t understand the struggles of women. Because she’s human. Because she’s human and sometimes we
say stupid things under pressure and we upset people. I hate social media during times like these. Its response to Caitlin’s award, is one question. ‘How can she win woman of the year, when she hasn’t even been a woman for a year?’ This sort of response is the problem, and the reason why there is so much misunderstanding for the trans community today. Jenner has insisted she has felt this way for most of her 65 years in this world. Why is it then, that we measure her womanhood only from when her name changed and her hair grew longer? Critics suggest she will never know the natural struggles of a ‘real woman’, therefore she can never become one. So because she doesn’t have periods, or can’t have a baby, or doesn’t have ovaries, she is not a woman? Is that really what we think a woman is? A biological construction of uterus and breasts and period pain? Is that what makes me a woman? By suggesting this, you are telling me it is my body that makes me a woman. For years we have been fighting to express that we are more than what we look like. More than our breast size and dress size and hair colour, and yet here we are, suggesting someone who doesn’t have a womb, couldn’t possibly be one of us. Not part of the ideal. The ideal we’ve spent years shouting doesn’t exist. You cannot suggest that because she won’t ever experience period pain or the pain of childbirth that she does not deserve this award. Having a period or a baby is not award worthy, otherwise we’d all bloody have one. The award is a symbol of courage; whether that be the courage to risk your life for another, or the courage to share with the world the most intimate, honest, real
version of yourself. Both are important. Both make a difference. How dare you suggest Caitlyn Jenner is not woman enough to win the award? She is as much a woman as myself, or anybody else that considers their womanhood to be more than their body. Of course, argue she doesn’t deserve it because she isn’t working hard enough, or she isn’t speaking out enough, but don’t dare be so bold to suggest she isn’t woman enough. I disagree with Smith and the way he has handled this. Moira Smith was a phenomenal woman. A phenomenal woman who sacrificed her own life on September 11th, in order to save the lives of others. I never had the privilege of knowing Moira, but I know women like her. Women who are brave and incredible and would risk their wellbeing for another. These are not the kind of women who would disregard the courageousness or anguish of another. Women of Moira’s heroism, do not contend with other women, they support them, regardless. I can’t imagine a woman that would give up her life for others, that would dismiss another who was too trying their best, to make a difference. Regardless of the form that may come. Sadly, it seems that this year’s Glamour award for ‘Women of the Year’ has created something that is paradoxical to the whole purpose. Instead of celebrating wonderful women around the world, it has created a witch hunt. A fire of anger and hatred and transphobia and hurt, and that was not what this was about. During the rise of Caitlyn Jenner I had hope for change. Change in attitudes, change in responses, change in ideas. Perhaps we’re getting there, yet it seems we still have a very long way to go.
Pictured: Caitlyn Jenner appeared on the front cover of Vanity Fair (Photographer: Waqar Khan)
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So becauswe she doesn’t have periods and can’t have a baby, or doesn’t have ovaries, she is not a woman? Is that really what we think a woman is?
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18 POLITICS
p politics
Editors: Carwyn Williams Luke Brett Sam Patterson @GairRhyddPol politics@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/politics
French President Hollande responds to attacks with air strikes on ISIS
Ellise Nicholls
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Although Hollande’s opposition toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power was reiterated during the speech, he declared “the enemy in Syria is Daesh (ISIS)”
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P
resident Francois Hollande has declared war against “cowards” of the terrorist group, Islamic State, following Friday’s brutal attacks in Paris. ISIS were quick to claim responsibility for the attacks on a concert hall, a stadium, bars and restaurants in which 129 people have been reported dead. In France’s riposte, Hollande has promised military and judicial action against the Islamic State, which could result in France breaking the EU deficit rules. But Hollande’s military intervention in Mali can’t be ignored. Since January 2013, the French military have continued to make their presence known, despite France’s defence minister confirming that “Operation Serval’ has “fulfilled its mission” Representatives of the Malian Government and various rebel group leaders have met for peace talks despite the continuing violence in the North, potentially driven by French interference. Originally launched to combat uprising Islamic militant groups in the north, many Malians now believe the French involvement to have a secret agenda: colonial territory. With this in mind, it could be perceived that the latest ISIS attack in Paris was a direct attack on Hollande. During a special congress between the joint upper and lower houses of parliament at Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles, Mr Hollande responded to the attack with confirmation that
“France is at war” with ISIS, and he warned the 900 members of the chamber “we are in a war with jihadist terrorism that threatens the whole world and not just France”. He promised to call on the United Nations Security Council to enact a resolution to “destroy Daesh (ISIS)”. His martial performance demonstrates a sharp, political turnaround for the French left. During the congress, Mr Hollande tabled a bill for France’s state of emergency to be extended to three months, and suggested necessary changes to the constitution. During this period, France will be policed more than ever and new, emergency measures to target terrorism will be put in place. New laws may be enacted, such as the ability to strip dual nationality citizens of their French citizenship. Hollande’s sombre forty-minute speech resonated with many members of the chamber, as, at the end, they held a minute’s silence followed by a spontaneous Marseillaise in respect for the victims. Although Hollande’s opposition toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power was reiterated during the speech, he declared “the enemy in Syria is Daesh (ISIS).” He added, “What’s at stake is annihilating an army that threatens the whole world and not just some countries.” In response to the “grass-roots” terrorism in play, Hollande mo-
tioned towards a more complex and nuanced enemy. ‘We’re not in a war of civilisation because these killers don’t represent one. We are at war against jihadi terrorism.’ Members of the European Union were, therefore, called upon regarding the tightening of security and border controls inside and out of the EU. Hollande stated that otherwise, the Schengen Agreement, which permits free movement between EU nations, could be at risk of collapse. He wants to introduce “coordinated and systematic border controls” within the EU, otherwise we could risk ‘the deconstruction of the European Union. Hollande has promised to “answer with cold determination” against the “dishonourable attack.” As a result, military operations against ISIS, in Iraq and Syria will intensify. He also assured French security forces they will have access to more resources and more aircrafts will proceed to target ISIS strongholds in Syria. Following the attack, world leaders have promised France their cooperation and to “unite our forces” as an international coalition against the Islamic State. Hollande has called on Russia’s Leader Vladimir Putin, and America’s President Barack Obama, and will soon meet to discuss the “wide and single coalition” tactic against ISIS “because Daesh (ISIS) is guilty.” The Pentagon has commented that this coalition will broaden the nature of the targets.
Hollande was quick to respond to the ISIS attack, as on Sunday night French aircraft targeted and attacked Raqqa. French Officials said 10 jets were deployed in response to the attack, dropping 20 guided bombs targeting sites such as a command centre, an Islamic extremist recruitment centre and a weapons warehouse. Although ISIS have recently issued a statement saying there were no casualties and the attack targeted empty buildings, twitter reports have said water and electricity were cut off. Hollande has pledged to fight “these despicable killers.” After previously restricting themselves to Iraq, the recent raid was France’s largest attack since joining the US coalition in September. Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blasts “shook the entire city” as at least 36 explosions from air strikes, weapons and explosives were detonated overnight in Raqqa. The French military will “triple our action capabilities.” The France Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier will leave the French port of Toulon on Wednesday heading towards the Eastern Mediterranean as a means to boost operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The carrier will add 20 warplanes to the 12 currently operating against ISIS targets. The French president confirmed that more airstrikes, like in Raqqa, would be launched “in the coming days.”
Pictured: Brigade of Midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy (Photographer: Jeff Reardon via Flickr)
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The recent raid was France’s largest attack since joining the US coalition in September
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POLITICS 19
Corbyn and Cameron have differing reactions to Paris attack
Adam Muspratt
Conor Holohan
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The sweetheart of the politically incorrect right in America - one of the points of symmetry between himself and the similarly controversial Nigel Farage
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T
he shocking events in Paris elicited an outpouring of support and sympathy from Westminster politicians, but the overall response has been cautiously vague in terms of direct military intervention. This changed on Tuesday as the focus shifted to how the government should respond to the attacks, and a myriad of senior politicians gave far more robust and deliberate responses in relation to the problem of ISIS power projection. David Cameron used his time in the commons to re-affirm his belief that extensive military action should be taken against Islamic State in Syria. Ultimately, he signalled that he will seek the approval of MPs to allow the launching of air-strikes by Christmas. The Prime Minister said that the attacks in Paris had shown a “growing and direct threat to the UK” and justifies a “full spectrum” approach to deal with the poisonous ideology through the use of “military power” and “counter terror-
D
ism expertise.” He argued that ISIS has expanded past the current theatre of operations that the UK military is involved in, and it is “absurd” that the UK has not followed the terrorist organisation across the border. To adequately combat the terror group, the PM said, the UK would need to expand its operations from Iraq to Syria. He stated that the “head of the snake” was in Syrian city Raqqa, the de-facto capital of ISIS and it is from Raqqa terror attacks are “planned and orchestrated.” The Commons foreign affairs select committee was not completely convinced by the PMs proposals, stating that the government have failed to make a clear case for military intervention. In a rare move, David Cameron stated that he will respond personally to the committee about expanding the role of the RAF, and he will address their concerns by the end of the month with a formal report.
The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was wary of the PM’s approach, indicative of his traditional anti-war position. He stated that any extension of RAF operations should be approved by the UN Security Council as part of a comprehensive settlement involving all of the permanent Security Council members. He also made reference to UK’s involvement in the Iraq war, wishing that a repeat of murky legality issues not be repeated. On the prospect of airstrikes being performed in Syria, the Labour leader said it would cause, “more conflict, more mayhem, and more loss.” However, a number of Labour MPs have become impatient with the Labour leaders position on issues of defence. He had criticised French President, Francois Hollande for responding to the Paris atrocity with air strikes in Raqqa, and most recently he has shown disapproval of the “shoot-to-kill” policy announcement for dealing with terror-
ists in the UK: “I’m not happy with the shoot-to-kill policy in general. I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often be counter-productive.” he said. David Cameron will push for the vote soon, but he will not do so unless he believes that he can win. It was only two years ago when Labour blocked a vote to bomb Syria, so David Cameron will be wary of another defeat. However, with the recent attacks in Paris and the bombing of a Russian airliner, the threat posed by ISIS seems to be turning Labour MPs and Conservative backbenchers towards intervention. That said, the overwhelming anti-intervention stance of Labour still makes the vote a forgone conclusion, their main concerns lie with the lack of clear development strategies after the proposed military campaign has ended. To have any hopes of the vote passing, the PM will need to address these issues in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee.
The politically incorrect U.S.A.
onald Trump is the embodiment of everything that people criticise about America. You name it, if it is a political view considered to be disgraceful by most politically conscious Brits, Donald Trump holds it, and has probably crudely shared it. His rallies are the stuff of fictional political satire that you might find in South Park - the swearing, the quotes of magnificent sums of money and the unrelenting propaganda of patriotism. Campaigning under the slogan ‘Make America Great Again’, the sixty-nine year old has been fiercely lamented, particularly on this side of the Atlantic, for comments he made regarding gun control laws in the wake of the atrocities in Paris, namely, that they could have been averted had the public been armed. His main rival in the race of Republican presidential candidate, Ben Carson, made similar comments about the Holocaust. Trump, who is no stranger to changing his political views, has previously advocated the banning of assault rifles and the introduction of longer waiting periods for the purchase of weapons, but has since reversed his stance. Speaking on the events in Paris in Beaumont, Texas, the Queens-born entrepreneur told a large, supportive audience that “nobody had guns but the bad guys”, and asserted that “you can say what you want, but if they had guns, if our people had guns, if they were allowed to carry, it would have been a much, much different situation.” The argument it self is not considered a barbaric, radical opinion in the US, it is a common line of reasoning among the pro-gun camp. Perhaps a less crude explanation of the sentiment would have provoked less outrage. The logic of his comment is simply that, in a country with very tight gun controls such as France, a monop-
oly (or duopoly) of violence is handed to the state and to criminals - after all; a law against the possession of firearms only applies to law-abiding citizens. The pro-gun lobby in America argue that society is safer for the lawabiding citizen with firearms in legal circulation. Trump would, however, improve the intricacy of background checks on purchases, and ensure that mental health and criminal records are on the system. Regardless of how the arguments stand up, Trump chose an inappropriate and foolish time to make them. It would appear that the 69 year old, like most western politicians, refuses to let a good crisis go to waste. It is wholly insensitive to push a political agenda off the back of a masacre responsible for 129 deaths, especially whilst emotions run high, but, ever the businessman, Trump chose this moment. Now is the optimum time for politicians to exploit high emotions to gain public support for their own selfish partisan causes. We know that the prospective presidential candidate is increasingly becoming the sweet-heart of the politically incorrect right in America - one of the points of symmetry between himself and the similarly controversial Nigel Farage, another political figure that has been elevated to the status of rock stardom among his following. Trump takes an informal approach to oration; he doesn’t sound like your typical presidential candidate. He unflinchingly attacked his main, softer spoken, yet arguably equally as delusional competitor Ben Carson for having “pathological disease” (referencing Carson’s self-exposed violent tendencies as a young man) and he caused international outrage when he implied that Mexican illegal immigrants were rapists and drug dealers. Upon announcing his candidacy, Trump said:
“Day one of my presidency, illegal immigrants are getting out and getting out fast”. In reality, Trump is no radical. He is the symbol of unadulterated American capitalism, supporting an elimination of inheritance and corporation taxes, calling for greater investment in infrastructure and preferring more financially viable forms of energy before less cost effective environmentally friendly forms. He holds standard republican views in many areas; he is pro-life, anti gun control, tough on immigration and would cut federal funding for planed parenthood. In some areas he is more moderate still; he would not cut social security, he supports legal medical marijuana and, though he is personally a believer in traditional marriage, thinks the individual states should decide such an issue for themselves. These views, however alien and draconian some of
them may seem to the liberal European student, are actually rather moderate and acceptable in the States. There is a possibility that Trump realises how untenable some of his views are, and that he is merely trying to exploit the extreme political ignorance of America’s Southern, far-right, Evangelical population. Before his political career, he referred to himself as a liberal, and held much more moderate views on all manner of subjects. What we would do well to bear in mind before we self-righteously tell our friends what an outrage it is that someone like Trump could be the America president, is that the Americans are a lot more sleazy with whom they choose to govern them - take for instance Ronald Reagan; an actor playing the president, or better still, Bill Clinton; a duplicitous, mendacious moral desert, as obvious evidence of this.
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The Prime Minister said that the attacks in Paris had shown a “growing and direct threat to the UK”
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Pictured: Donald Trump speaking in May (Photographer: iprimages via Flickr)
20 POLITICS
Putin and Obama hold talks as world leaders unite in discussion over ISIS
Saabir Patel
Jamie McKay
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Various Human Rights groups have criticised the use of drones, pointing out high levels of civilian casualties
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Luke Brett
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he 2015 G20 Summit in Antalya marked the 10th meeting between the heads of government for 20 of the largest economies, which takes place semiannually. Whilst the purpose of these meetings has generally been to discuss key economic issues. The meeting that took place however, gained attention for foreign policy reasons amid rising concerns about the size of the threat posed by ISIS, the terrorist organisation that utilises brutal tactics to spread its influence using acts of brutality under the pretence of Islam. This included the atrocities that took place most notably in Paris, but
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Putin’s foreign advisor Yuri Ushakov. One of the key highlights of the conversation was that Obama and Putin had agreed that Syria needs a political transition led by Syrians, preceded by negotiations mediated by the United Nations and a ceasefire according to the US. This agreement showed promising signs in terms of relations between the US and Russia in over a year, which hadvebecome hostile due to Russian aggression aimed towards the Ukraine along with the decision by Putin to target moderate anti-Assad forces in Syria. An area of which Russia had shown reluctance to change its
stance was its support for the Assad regime. This is in contrast to the US who wanted to target ISIL directly through air strikes in preference of a ground war. However, despite the talks that took place it is still uncertain what steps will be taken by both leaders to combat ISIL as little has been said by both Obama and Putin on the matter. This could be due to the fact that both countries may be unwilling to strike a compromise. Alternatively, the biggest barrier in removing ISIL is the amount of lives at stake as the captured territories are in areas where there is a large civilian population.
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Obama and Putin had agreed that Syria needs a political transition led by Syrians
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Mohammed Emwazi: ISIS executioner presumed dead in US drone strike
n Friday 13th November US officials announced that Mohammed Emwazi, popularly dubbed ‘Jihadi John’ by the British press, had been killed in a drone strike. The assassination took place over Raqqa, formerly Syria’s sixth largest city, and now capital of the self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate. Activists from Raqqa is being slaughtered silently, a Syrian anti-ISIS campaign group, reported that Emwazi and at least one other person were killed when a drone targeted their car as they were travelling near the Islamic Court, where ISIS enforce their version of Sharia Law. Various Human Rights groups have criticised the use of drones, pointing out high levels of civilian casualties. Whilst US officials described the strike, which killed Emwazi as ‘flawless’, with no civilians killed in the operation, opponents of drone strikes have raised various ethical and legal
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also in Beirut on the 13th of November where many lives were taken, leading the world to a standstill to grieve the lives that had been tragically taken. In particular the discussions between US president Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin received high levels of attention. Obama had described the events that had taken place in the week before the summit as “an attack on the civilised world”. This was followed by a meeting that lasted 35 minutes on the sidelines of the summit. It was described as a “quite detailed conversation” the result being “strategic goals were very close, but the tactical differences remained” according to
questions concerning their use in coalition airstrikes over Syria. British Human Rights groups have raised questions concerning the legality of UK drone strikes over Syria and Iraq. Rights Watch question whether or not attacks over Syria without a UN Council Resolution is even legal. Number ten has previously invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter after British nationals Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin were killed in an RAF strike earlier this year. Article 51 allows member states to act in selfdefence, however, the wording of the article states that action can be taken only “if an armed attack occurs”. Some legal experts have claimed that the Caroline Test, which allows preemptive self-defence when the circumstances are “instant, overwhelming, and leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation”, can justify these actions. Number 10 also emphasises the fact that Syria is a
failed state. With Assad loyalists currently controlling roughly a sixth of the country having lost 50 per cent of their fighting strength since the beginning of the war the British government maintains that working with the Syrian regime would not be feasible as a means of protecting the United Kingdom. Jeremy Corbyn came under attack for his statement released shortly after it was announced that Emazi had been assassinated that he believed it would be “far better for us all if he had been held to account in a court of law”. Corbyn went on to call for peace talks, which would bring an end to the conflict under a “comprehensive regional settlement”. After two failed negotiations in Zurich over the past five years these remarks were met with some scepticism, even among Labour MPs. MPs Ian Austin and John Woodcock criticised Corbyn’s stance over social media. Ian Austin tweeted
“Well done to UK & USA military & security personnel who’ve made sure barbaric murderer Mohammed Emwazi can’t slaughter anyone else. How do people who think Emwazi should have been put on trial think this could have happened & how many others would he kill in the meantime?”. By contrast Yasmin Qureshi MP argued that greater effort should have been made to have Emwazi stand trial and expressed her dismay at the UK’s increased use of targeted assassinations.
Pictured: Emwazi pictured in one of ISIS’ brutal beheading videos
House of Lords back votes at 16
eers in the House of Lords have supported lowering the voting ages from 18 to 16 years old ahead of the proposed 2016 EU referendum, by 293 votes to 2011. Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP were the key proponents of the legislation, with a few Tory Lords backing the reforms. However, the government has said it will reject the bill when it come back to the Commons. David Cameron argued that the voting age should be determined by Parliament, something backed by the UK Independence Party that the elected House of Commons should determine the issue. Minister John Penrose said “The House of Commons has voted on three occasions in recent months against dropping the voting age from 18 - including overturning a Lords
amendment just yesterday,” before going on to say “the government will re-affirm this clear position when the bill returns to the elected chamber and will seek to overturn this latest amendment from the Lords.” The issue highlighted by legal experts is that if MPs do not discard the Lord’s verdict then the process of registering the newly legal voters would delay the referendum by up to a year. However, shadow Foreign Office Minister Eluned Morgan, who led in the Lords debate said, “The Prime Minister needs to listen and appreciate that the outcome of the EU referendum will affect these young people for far longer than him or anyone else in government. It’s an exceptional situation and a once in a life time vote – Mr Cameron should allow these young people their say and accept the Lords amendment.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn supported Eluned Morgan, “young adults should be able to have their say in the European referendum; after all it is about their future too.” Additionally, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron called upon the government to recognise the House of Lord’s decision and not reverse it. “The Liberal Democrats have been fighting for this for decades, and we are winning the argument,” he said. “This is a victory for democracy. We are giving over a million people a voice on their future. “The government must now listen and act. David Cameron cannot turn his back on 1.5 million young adults.” Following 16 and 17 year olds voting in the referendum over Scotland’s future, the SNP have said it is unfair that those who will have the longest lasting impact over the decision over the EU,
will not have a say over the issue. However, Joe Jenkins of UKIP’s youth wing argued while “young people in Britain are no fools, but those below the age of 18 do not have to pay taxes, but are subject to huge amounts of pro-EU propaganda in educational establishments.” Additionally, those against the proposals are sceptical of this being tactical by the pro EU campaign, seeing this as being deliberate to keep Britain ‘in’ as young people tend to be more supportive of the European Union. Overall, the Lords have surprisingly demonstrated their support for young engagement on what will be a narrow referendum. Although, it was predictable the government were firm to reject the Lord’s decision in order to avoid ‘Ping-Pong’ between the two chambers and to escape delaying the referendum.
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Those against the proposals are sceptical of this being tactical by the Pro EU campaign
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POLITICS 21
Wales introduces organ donation opt out
Brett Jones
Kate Elswood
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North Korea is under multiple UN Security Council Resolutions and faces EU and US sanctions
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here’s a big change happening in Wales, the way in which organ donation works is being overhauled. What was once an opt-in system is becoming an opt-out system. The leaflets are already being delivered informing people who want to know how they can opt out, with the difference between the systems being clear and straight forward, while the implications of the change are far less so. The first of the differences: there has been an opt-in system. If you wanted to donate your organs after death you had to register to be put on the list which informed authorities of your wishes. Under the optout scheme all will be presumed to
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be willing organ donors after their deaths unless they have registered alternative views. There were several problems under opt-in. Firstly, people often assumed that telling their close family of their wishes was enough. But this could lead to acrimony at would already be a very emotional time and if the individual had not officially registered then there was little that could be done. Additionally, people don’t like to think about these things, death is a scary topic. Young people would put off joining, assuming they had a long future in which to do so. There were stories, meanwhile, of elderly or seriously ill people refusing to opt-in,
worried that it would make medical staff less likely to save them if they knew someone else could use their organs. There are known cases of this where the fear itself was a deterrent. Apathy, ignorance and fear all combined to leave a very short list of registered donors. Under the current system, a Welsh citizen is much more likely to need an organ than to become a donor, which obviously costs lives. Under opt-out these problems wouldn’t arise, similar systems tried elsewhere have seen organ donation rates rise. Although, they are without possible complications. There are fears that people whose wishes are contrary to donating their
UN visit to North Korea dismissed
he motto of the United Nations is, ‘it’s your world’, which is symbolic of its values. The UN is believed to represent equality, democracy and the ability of people to work together to improve the modern world. This would definitely appear to compliment the values expressed in the popular North Korean revolutionary song, the ‘Song of General Kim Il-Sung’, which describes Kim IlSung, the founder of North Korea, as “The Sun of Korea today, democratic and free”. This asserts the supposed North Korean principles of liberty and democracy. However, this is very distant from the reality of life in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which has one of the most oppressive systems of government in the world today. Kim Jung-un, a descendent of Kim Il-Sung, holds a dictatorship in North Korea. His autocratic system of government is undemocratic and has been accused of violating human rights by the UN in 2014 and by international
NGO Human Rights Watch. On the 11th of November, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua claimed that the UN and North Korea would be brought together this week. Citing North Korea’s official news agency, KNCA, it reported that General Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary- General, who originates from South Korea, would visit North Korea. This was followed by Yonhap, South Korea’s news agency, making the same claim on the 16th of November, citing an unnamed UN source. The UN refused to make a comment. These reports have now been proven to be false. On the 18th of November, the UN issued a statement, stating that Ban will not be visiting North Korea this week. However, it has been made clear that he would be willing to travel there in the future as he would like to encourage peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea has not been receptive to previous international calls for cooperation. This is highlighted by
” A week in the Senedd
the fact that North Korea cancelled a visit by Ban in May. The tensions between North Korea and the international community are visible. North Korea is under multiple UN Security Council resolutions and faces EU and US sanctions for its nuclear missile tests. Moreover, the UN supported
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Statement on the Paris attacks “We cannot be complacent about our own back yard.” Carwyn Jones added however we must show “support and solidarity with the Muslim community here in Wales.” “They make a powerful and positive contribution to this society.” The members however did express some concern over a possible backlash to the Muslim community in Wales, but hoped an united response on this is important. Conservative
the South Korea during the civil war which led to the division of North and South Korea. The conflict between North and South Korea ended with an armistice in 1953 but no peace treaty has ever been drawn up so the two nations technically still remain at war.
with Carwyn Williams
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Andrew RT Davies added to this view and that “Muslim faith is a faith of peace” and we must emphasise we are talking about a very small minority. Kirsty Williams expressed her disbelief and horror as events unfolded in Paris, but “we must never allow them and their actions to change our way of life.” Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru added to this view, saying there is no greater victory for terrorists than for people to give up their freedom, and
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Under the current system, a Welsh citizen is more likely to need an organ than to become a donor
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Pictured: North Korean - Pyongyang. (Photographer: Stefan 2007)
to turn on one another.
Saying there is no greater victory for terrorists than for people to give up their freedom, and to turn on one another
organs will feel emotionally bullied by having to register that choice. The Archbishop of Wales has called this change ‘wrong’, saying, “Organ donation surely ought to be a matter of gift and not of duty.” Criticisms, generally of a religious bent, have been made against opt-out on the grounds of respecting the bodies of the dead. Meanwhile, there has also been a libertarian slant to objections. This change, it’s argued, takes away people’s control over their own bodies. Families are still to be allowed to refuse, so those without family, generally those least powerful and most vulnerable, will become de facto refrigeration units for those more fortunate than they.
First Minister’s Questions If the next Welsh Government includes Labour, it could mean a third health board reorganisation by the party in Wales in recent years, Andrew RT Davies made the First Minister admit that one health board for the whole of North Wales may not be the best way forward, after a series of massive failures have come to light. Leanne Wood again called on the need for further measures to ensure there is no backlash against the Muslim community in Wales, and called on a joint statement to be signed by the party leaders to promote the crucial role of promoting unity in communities. The First Minister said he had been made aware of any potential threats and was content with the pipeline of information to identify problems because of the close networks with different communities in Wales.
Kirsty Williams concentrated on education, asking, does your government believe children learn better in large classes? She added that the number of children learning in larger classes was growing, while the independent education inspectorate Estyn tells us children learn better in smaller numbers. The First Minister however said that the number of children in a class “depends on number of factors”, including the teacher, facilities, specialist in school. His message was that as long school delivers curriculum in way that parents expect then that is determining factor. The minister also criticised the Lib Dems saying they don’t care about the outcomes, only the numbers. It was also interesting to see the First Minster say that the problem of high class numbers was down to local authorities, while adding his government had seen better learning outcomes being proud on his record on education.
DT BD xmas bash coming soon
Maple Syrup
11.12.15
#DTBDXmas
SCIENCE 23
science
Editors: Maria Mellor Lizzie Harrett @GairRhyddSci science@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/science
Self-driving cars on the roads by 2020
Alec Evans
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Experts have estimated that the autonomous car industry will be worth £370 billion by 2035.
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Lisa Carr
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We are confident that this will protect people from any new strain of flu Olga Pleguezuelos
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ack to the Future Day last month showed us just how inaccurate a lot of old predictions in vehicular technology have been over the years. But one oft-predicted feature of the motoring world is getting ever closer to becoming reality. Nissan, Toyota and Honda are three car manufacturers that have announced plans to put driverless or autonomous cars on the roads by 2020. As evident by the recent changes in finish date for the new BBC Wales headquarters, estimated dates are not always entirely accurate, but 2020 is a date Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn is fairly confident about. Talking about the technology at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, he said: “It compensates for human error, which causes more than 90 per cent of all car accidents. As a result, time spent behind the wheel is safer, more efficient and more fun.” This is such a hotly debated issue that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe participated in Japan’s first autonomous driving test earlier this month. Requirements for safety improvements are also voiced by Hideki Kimura, an engineering professor at Tokai University, who stated that car accidents were often the result of drivers that were elderly
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or had dementia. But it’s not quite as simple as autonomous cars automatically creating safer roads. Toyota executive Moritaka Yoshida has said that it will be impossible for technology to advance without the trust of drivers. The technology has not become advanced enough to pick up on small signs such as looks, hand gestures or verbal interactions between motorists. As part of the Tokyo show, Ghosn agreed with these comments: “Today, you have to drive with your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel. If the regulation doesn’t change, having a self-driving car will be totally useless.” The very first ideas of the autonomous car stretches all the way back to 1925, less than 40 years after Karl Benz first invented the first petrolpowered car in 1886. Houdina Radio Control demonstrated the radio-controlled driverless car known as Iinrrican Wonder across the streets of New York City. In the 1980s, the world saw the first self-sufficient and strictly autonomous cars in the form of Carnegie Mellon University’s Navlab and ALV projects in 1984 and Mercedes Benz and Bundeswehr University’s Eureka Prometheus Project in 1987.
Pictured: Cars powered by robotics will soon be on our streets (Photographer: Jason Grey)
2013 was another big turning point for self-driving vehicles, following US legislation in four states permitting autonomous cars. In 2015 it seems like every few months there’s a big news story relating to the vehicles, from Tesla announcing AutoPilot technology to Google revealing their test vehicles were involved in 14 minor accidents since the inception of their 2009 project. There’s quite a history of autonomous cars, but that should be nothing
compared to its near future. Consultancy firm AT Kearney has estimated that the autonomous car industry will be worth £370 billion by 2035. Furthermore, expert members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers have estimated that by 2040, 75 per cent of all vehicles will be autonomous. It seems like autonomous cars are making progress into becoming a regular part of our lives, but that progress doesn’t seem like it can be rushed.
Universal influenza vaccine developed
cientists may have come up with a new way to tackle one of winter’s biggest killers. A universal flu vaccine may be available within three years, taking over from the current system of annual injections or nasal sprays. At present, the injections given comprise of three or four deactivated strains of flu virus that are considered to be at risk of becoming the most virulent that year. However, this method is not considered to be particularly effective; last year’s vaccine only protected one in three adults due to mismatches in the formulation of the vaccine. Additionally, the World Heath Organisation can’t always accurately predict which flu strains will arise. Scientists at London-based biotech firm ‘Seek’ have developed the new vaccine concept, known as FLU-v. The vaccine works by protecting the body against non-mutating protein elements of the flu virus: proteins that are present and common in all types of flu. FLU-v boosts the creation of immune cells which are able to kill the non-mutating proteins. Olga Pleguezuelos, lead immunologist at Seek, said to the Sunday Times: “We are confident that this will protect people from any new strain of flu and we are hoping it will
be fast-tracked through the regulatory process. The hope is that it will confer many years of immunity from flu.” Previous vaccine treatments made available to protect people against viruses such as the flu are not fully effective as viruses can mutate rapidly and change features such as their surface proteins. Vaccines work by injecting a small amount of the antigen into the patient so they can form an immune response and therefore have an immune memory should they be reinfected. If the surface proteins on the virus change by mutation, the immune system won’t be able to recognise the virus to fight it off. A vaccine that works one year to develop a certain immune response can be entirely ineffective another year with a different viral strain. Flu has been estimated to kill up to 12,000 people in Britain every year despite vaccines being offered to people in at-risk groups such as the elderly and pregnant women. This new vaccine, although in the preliminary stages, may offer a promising new means to prevent the horrible illness - although it might not prevent your self-inflicted fresher’s flu. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Washington (Niaid) has pledged £1 million
Pictured: Preparing a vaccine (Photographer: Pete Lewis / DFID)
to facilitate the development of the product by launching larger scale trials of the vaccine. The trials will involve infecting up to 100 volunteers with a flu virus. Half of them will then be administered FLU-v and the rest a placebo, truly taking one for
the team. John Oxford, Professor of Virology at Queen Mary University of London and collaborator on the FLU-v project said: “I am delighted the Niaid is helping to finance it. It is very promising and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
24 SCIENCE
Making sense of SAD
Seasonal Affective Disorder is a type of depression with a seasonal pattern that worsens in winter
Aislinn McDonagh
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It is thought that the limited daylight in the winter may cause lower serotonin production, leading to depression in susceptible individuals
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t’s cold. It’s dark. It’s miserable. But are you? Seasonal Affective Disorder (more commonly called SAD) has been jokingly mistaken for a general distaste for rain and snow in the past, but it is actually a serious, medically recognised form of depression, which has been thought to effect up to 2.5 per cent of the UK’s population. SAD is a mood disorder characterised by experience of major depression more severely, or sometimes exclusively, in winter months, with remission in summer. First described in the mid 1980s by Norman Rosenthal, it was originally thought to be an independent condition but is now considered a form of depression and some studies have stimulated that between ten and 20 per cent of depression cases follow a seasonal pattern. Its symptoms are similar to that of depression; persistent low mood, irritability, anhedonia, loss of interest in hobbies, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness. However, other common features of depression such as sleep or appetite changes tend to be more pronounced in SAD, with greatly increased lethargy, sleeping for long periods of time, and eating much more than usual – particularly carbohydrate cravings. These combine to make a ‘hibernation’ type of behaviour particular to SAD. The causes of SAD are not entirely known, but there are several hypotheses. Turnover of serotonin in the brain is lowest in the winter season, and the rate of serotonin production increases with luminosity, so it is thought that the limited daylight in the winter may cause lower serotonin production, leading to depression in susceptible individuals and this is supported by depletion studies. The phase-shift hypothesis suggests it may be to do with longer nights and shorter days affecting the sleep-cycle, making sufferers le-
thargic and overly sleepy. Similarly, SAD sufferers have longer melatonin release periods in winter than summer, whereas control subjects didn’t (melatonin being a crucial hormone in sleep cycles usually released in anticipation of darkness to promote sleep). This pattern of increase in the winter is usually associated with mammals whose reproductive activity is affected by season, suggesting that perhaps only individuals with SAD have retained the ability to track seasons through hormonal release. Susceptibility to SAD is also thought to be genetically related, with similarities to other mood disorders such as depression. Candidate genes include those for serotonin transport promoters, and serotonin and dopamine receptors, as well as others, which increase risk of the disorder. Just like other forms of depression anybody may suffer from SAD, though it is more common in young adults, and estimates of gender imbalance report up to as many as nine times more female sufferers than their male counterparts. However, referral and self-report is generally lower in men for mental health conditions, so it may not be as high as that. The discoverer of SAD suggests that women may be four times as likely to suffer from it than men, and those who have stressful jobs working early or long hours inside are more likely to have SAD. SAD has also been reported in children, and other mental health disorders such as bulimia, anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder may also have seasonal patterns. Many people feel down or tired in the winter, but might not feel their symptoms are as extreme as those described above. This is known as “subsyndromic SAD”, but is commonly referred to as the “winter blues”. It is also common for the degree of severity of SAD to vary according with the
winter, latitude and personal circumstances of the sufferer. Many believe that SAD is best thought of as a spectrum, and different levels of symptoms or fluctuation in symptoms between years does not invalidate the experience of sufferers. While people with sub-syndromic SAD may not require medical intervention, many of the other treatments may be just as beneficial. SAD has many potential treatments, and if you suffer from SAD a combination of any or all of them may work. Firstly, there are traditional treatments for depression such as the prescription of anti-depressants or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The anti-depressants prescribed increase the amount of serotonin in the brain without causing drowsiness, as with a primary symptom of SAD being lethargy and excessive sleeping, those treatments are ineffective at best. CBT is a form of therapy which can be administered by a professional or practiced alone that tries to alter
thought patterns and behaviours which exacerbate symptoms. However, a popular treatment for SAD, recommended by Dr Rosenthal, but not so far by NHS drug guidelines, is light therapy. This is the most widely used, extensively investigated, and highly contested method of treatment. Light therapy is usually administered by sitting close to a very high light intensity lamp for between 30 minutes and two hours a day. It’s supporters claim it can alleviate symptoms within two weeks. For context, the anti-depressants prescribed typically have a four to 12 week delay. In 2005 a review showed that over 53 per cent of individuals with SAD who underwent light therapy met criteria for full remission, though this was 10 percent lower for those who had moderate to severe SAD. One study found light therapy to be as effective as CBT. light therapy is gaining respect and establishing efficacy in SAD treatment, though it is not yet offered by the NHS.
Pictured: Bleak autumn weather in Llandaff (Photographer: Oscar F. Hevia)
Pictured: A light box like this can help combat SAD (Source: Stay Well Blog)
SCIENCE 25
Worry not! Worrying could be good for you
Eleanor Parkyn
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Students who had passed, despite spending months in a state of panic, were happier and more pleasantly surprised when they discovered they’d passed
” Maria Mellor
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Dozens of species may have the ability to sense direction, possibly even humans
N
ew research from the University of California, Riverside suggests that worrying while waiting for potentially lifechanging results can be good for us. The study, led by associate professor Kate Sweeny, Ph.D., investigated the effects worrying had on people’s emotional reactions to important results. The study involved 230 law school students who were taking the California bar exam in July 2013. The students completed questionnaires during the two week study period before the exam, detailing how anxious they felt about the exam; how often they thought about it; whether they felt confident about passing it or not; and if they had made attempts to distract themselves from the upcoming exam. These questionnaires revealed three separate groups of people. The first involved students distracting themselves from the impending exam and pretending not to panic about it; a coping strategy I’m sure we’re all too aware of. A second group were found to look on the bright side of potential failure, thinking about other prospects, while a third group actively anticipated the possibility of failure. Researchers refer to this third category as ‘defensive pessimism’, as it involves preparing for the worst outcome and embracing the possibility of failure, whilst still hoping for the best. The results of the bar exam were re-
leased four months after the students took the test, and 85 per cent passed. The 33 students who did not pass were questioned on their ability to accept their failure, whereas those who did were asked if they felt relieved. Those who had failed, but had spent the past four months worrying, were more likely to take productive action following the results, for example re-sitting the exam. This was different to the students who had not worried, as they were left in a state of denial and disbewlief that they had not passed. Conversely, students who had passed, despite spending months in a state of panic, were happier and more pleasantly surprised when they discovered they’d passed than un-worried students, who were left feeling underwhelmed. However it’s bad news for fans of procrastination though, as it was found that trying to distract themselves from worrying did not help to alleviate anxiety, instead often making them more anxious. The results clearly show that worrying can aid the emotional consequences of failing an exam, or can help to make you feel happier that you’ve passed. However excessive worrying and anxiety can make it harder to concentrate on a task, and has physical impacts, such as a lower immune system, making you more susceptible to illnesses, so try not to worry too much. But with January exams on the
Pictured: The mere thought of exams can induce anxiety and worries (Photographer: comedy_nose)
way, maybe you’d better start worrying a little to have a better chance at
coping when those results come your way.
Fruit flies have their own internal compass
I
t has been found that fruit flies have their own biological compasses, and they may not be the only ones. Dozens of species may have the ability to sense direction, possibly even humans. This so-called compass is formed of clumps of proteins that align themselves with the Earth’s geomagnetic field lines. Researchers at Peking University found that these proteins were in fact so magnetic that they stuck to their tools that contained iron, so had to resort to plastic ones instead. This protein is MagR and it forms a rod-like clump structure with cryptochrome (retinal) proteins. The cluster functions can sense the Earth magnetic field’s direction as well as inclination or intensity. From their findings, researchers have theorised that the proteins move to point
” Science questions: Answered
Why do you drool when you nap? Drool, or saliva, is produced by your salivatory glands to help you swallow food, kill bacteria and to keep your mouth moist. When you fall into a deep sleep, your salivatory glands stop producing saliva, hence why you wake up in the morning with a dry mouth. Bacteria builds up overnight to give
north, causing connected molecules to move and sending a signal to the nervous system. This means that fruit flies and other types of animals with the same mechanism can sense direction, thus being able to navigate without the use of maps or sat-navs! A series of follow up experiments found that the mechanism that researchers found in the fruit flies can also be found in a range of animals such as monarch butterflies, pigeons, rats, whales and humans. Science fiction has become science fact, as at one point science dismissed the possibility that animals could sense the Earth’s magnetic field. This research has proved that they can, and even know how to do it. Professor Can Xie, who led the research project, suggested that this discovery could go beyond understanding animals’ sense of direction,
you that wonderfully smelly morning breath. When you nap, however, you don’t enter as deep a sleep. Your salivatory glands don’t shut off and so you keep on slobbering.
Why are rainbows shaped like an arch? Rainbows are formed by white sunlight (a combination of all colours) passing through raindrops. This causes the light to bend, because it travels at a slower speed through the water than it does the air. Different colours bend different amounts, causing them to bend in different directions. A typical raindrop is spherical, mean-
Pictured: These little guys will never get lost (Source: NASA / Dominic Hart)
and could be useful in developing new technology. Scientists could go on to develop better and more accurate navigational tools. Simon Benjamin, who studies quantum materials at Oxford University, said “It would be remark-
able if we can learn some tricks from Mother Nature in this highly-advanced field of physics.” The discovery could also lead to a better understanding of how to control cell processes and influence animal behaviour with magnetic fields.
ing that you get a cone of different coloured lights coming out of the drop. This cone projects a full circle of light. However, we do not always see a circle of light. Instead we see part of it - or an arch due to the horizon.
Why don’t we take blood from dead people? Blood taken from dead people is actually a feasible idea. However, it isn’t very practical. Soon after death, blood starts to go bad, becoming loaded with waste products such as
carbon dioxide and lactic acid. When alive, these waste products are transported to the liver or kidneys by the pumping of our beating hearts. Other problems that cause death, such as ageing and organ damage, restrict the organ donor pool. Similar critera means that they would also not be suitable donors. When there is a suitable organ donor, it’s more important to keep rare organs usable than the blood and to do this you cannot remove the blood.
Email us your questions to science@gairrhydd.com
26 SCIENCE
Is personalised medicine the future? A child with leukaemia has been treated using gene therapy, but is it hype or a step forward in medicine?
Lizzie Harrett
“
We have to be cautious about claiming that this will be a suitable treatment option for all children Waseem Qasim
”
L
ayla’s parents were desperate. Their one year-old child had been diagnosed with leukaemia that was too aggressive to effectively treat with chemotherapy. Her mother, Lisa, said: “We didn’t want to accept palliative care and so we asked the doctors to try anything for our daughter, even if it hadn’t been tried before.” Eager to explore all possible treatment routes, they contacted Professor Waseem Qasim at University College London, who was developing a treatment to treat acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the specific type that Layla had. This form of leukaemia causes cancerous stem cells to release large numbers of immune cells into the blood. The treatment Waseem Qasim was developing is known as gene therapy, which is a form of treatment that involves altering the genes in our body to combat diseases. It has been termed ‘personalised medicine’, where a specific disease can be targeted by altering specific genes that will affect it. The concept of gene therapy was developed in the 1970s, just over 20 years after Watson and Crick discovered DNA, which is what makes up the genes in our bodies. However, progress has been incredibly slow in making this therapy a reality. While it is a simple concept, the technicalities of delivering this therapy due to the complexities the human body are great. However, recent advances in research have led to real progress, with Layla’s story being an example of this. Waseem Qasim’s research focused on treating leukaemia by using gene therapy to modify the immune cells that fight disease in our body. In Layla’s case, donor immune cells were
used, as the chemotherapy she had undergone and her young age meant she had a very depleted immune system. The immune cells were modified in the lab to combat the cancerous cells. This was done by adding new genes to the immune cells, allowing them to recognise and attack leukaemia cells. They were also modified to avoid being attacked by Layla’s own immune system and the anti-immune system drugs used in conventional leukaemia treatment. These immune cells were then introduced into Layla’s body to begin the process of attacking the leukaemia cells. This treatment had never been clinically trialled but Layla’s parents were willing to try it. After seven weeks of treatment, the number of cancerous leukaemia cells were depleting. Once doctors were confident that they had all all been removed, they gave her a bone marrow transplant to replace her entire blood and immune system which had been wiped out by the treatment. She is now recovering at home, but still has regular check ups at the hospital to ensure she is on track. However, like all novel treatments, restraint must be advised when lauding it is a ground-breaking success, with Waseem Qasim adding: “We have only used this treatment on one very strong little girl, and we have to be cautious about claiming that this will be a suitable treatment option for all children.” Mistakes made in the past with gene therapy have led to scientists proceeding with caution when claiming it to be a success. By the late 1990s the idea of personalised medicine was regarded as the future of treating genetic diseases in many scientific circles. However, unexpected
consequences and the complexities of taking a gene, modifying it and inserting it into a patient resulted in many negative headlines. The most high-profile example is the death of Jesse Gelsinger. The American teenager involved in a clinical gene therapy trial in 1999 when a severe immune reaction resulted in multi-organ failure. Jesse suffered from a rare liver disease where the lack of a gene in his body led to toxic ammonia building up, with the gene therapy aiming to counter this by inserting a copy of the required gene into his liver. They could never determine the cause of Jesse’s death due to no blood samples dating from before his treatment remaining. However, the accepted theory is that the severe response was caused by the immune system reacting to the vessels in which the genes were transported in when delivering them to lungs. Jesse’s immune system perceived them as foreign (not components of his own body) so proceeded to attack the vessels, triggering a massive immune response. In previous interviews, Professor James Wilson, who led the trial, has admitted that they rushed into trialling these therapy techniques due to how exciting the model of gene therapy was. “We were drawn into the simplicity of the concept. You just put the gene in,” he admitted. He added: “With what I know now, I wouldn’t have proceeded with the study.” However, since the early noughties there have been major advances into understanding our genetic make-up, such as the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, which identified every single gene found within a human body. We also have
developed the technologies involved in gene therapy. For example, the immune cells used in Layla’s gene therapy were altered to make them invisible to her own immune system, ensuring that what happened to Jesse did not happened to her. These scientific and technical advances have to led to gene therapy success stories in recent years. In August, researchers at The University of Manchester restored vision in blind mice. They inserted a gene that fixed a malfunctioning protein found in eye receptors that detect brightness. They hope for human trials to begin in the next few years. There have also been advances in using gene therapy to improve disease resistance for those infected with HIV and to alleviate the symptoms of cystic fibrosis. It is still early days in Layla’s recovery process. As this is the first time this treatment has ever been clinically trialled in a human, the long term effects and consequences are still unknown. Ashleigh, her father, reflects on this: “Even though she is well at the moment, we still don’t know what the future holds. It’s always at the back of your mind. It’s not like chickenpox that clears away, this is constant. You always have doubts.” Nevertheless, researchers are optimistic, with Waseem Qaseem stating: “This is a landmark in the use of new gene engineering technology and the effects for this child have been staggering. If replicated, it could represent a huge step forward in treating leukaemia and other cancers.” While the treatment is still in its infancy, research has progressed since the mistakes made at the cusp of the Millennium. With full clinical trials starting in 2016, hopefully Layla will be the first of many to be treated using this personalised medicine.
Pictured: Research advances are making disease treatment using DNA a reality (Source: Lwp Kommunikáció)
“
While it is a simple concept, the technicalities of delivering the therapy are great due to the complexity of the human body
”
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28 SOCIETIES
societies
Editor: Aletheia Nutt @GairRhyddSoc societies@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/societies
Hannah’s Note:
Hannah Sterritt VP Societies
James KingscottEdmunds
Pictured: One of Ornithological Society’s pictures from a bird watching trip and the Ornithological Society group photo.
H
Engage with Welsh politics
i everyone, hope you’ve had a great week! Last week was a busy one – it was a really successful Interfaith Week, in particular the Interfaith Question Time held on Monday evening and the Christian Union’s Convinced? week which featured a whole range of different talks every day. It was also Housing Advice Week where the main message put across was that there are more than enough houses in Cathays, the Heath and the surrounding areas for students and so there’s no rush in signing for a house for next year before you’re
O
ready. Student Advice are available if you want them to look over any contracts before you sign, and any other matters relating to housing. Last week I also attended the NUS Wales Zones conference in Wrexham. The Students’ Unions in Wales got together to discuss the issues surrounding our Unions, in particular how we can engage with the Welsh Assembly Elections next year. There was a panel debate with representatives from three different political parties highlighting how they can benefit students’ lives and policies which concern us. There
were also questions from the audience which raised key issues that our students face such as the availability of graduate job prospects in Wales, mental health provision and support for International students. The NUS Wales manifesto was also revealed, discussing key issues to bring to the Assembly Elections regarding what students want to see in Wales. Overall, it was good to check in with other Students’ Unions to share ideas and campaigns, and to see how what we are doing here in Cardiff relates to other institutions in Wales.
Ornithological Society: Just a fancy way of saying bird club!
rnithological Society is really just a fancy way of saying ‘bird club’, and that’s essentially what we are. For many people, the idea of bird watching seems wearyingly dull. But for many others, birding is a pastime and a hobby, a source of fascination, and a chance to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, especially in a busy city like Cardiff. Cardiff plays host to a plethora of bird species, from the vast flocks of starlings swarming over the bay, to the russet red jays in Bute park. Cardiff is even home to the world’s fastest bird, the peregrine falcon, watching over the city from the clock tower. Wherever you are there is always plenty to see, and it can often be rewarding to stop for a moment and take in what’s going on around you. The trials and tribulations, displays and dramas which play out in the lives of our feathered neighbours can be quite captivating. We provide opportunities for people from all backgrounds and subjects to learn more about birds and their natural history, to get actively involved with conservation and gain valuable experience. Despite being a relatively young society, which began only a few years ago, we’ve got quite a bit to show for it. We’ve done everything from walks in the park to passing a motion through the National Assembly for Wales. Currently, we run regular events on a weekly basis. Through the winter, these are generally indoor meetings which may involve a bird ID session, a quiz, a guest speaker, or just about anything bird-related. We’ve even had a bird themed booze evening,
sampling a range of drinks named after birds (Old Speckled Hen, Woodpecker, Bullfinch, and Famous Grouse to name a few). Our speakers have included people from the BTO, the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts and Natural Resources Wales, as well as university staff and students who want to share their research or experience. We don’t let the winter weather put us off entirely however, and we continue to run regular walks around Cardiff on the lookout for winter migrants. In the warmer months we’ll be much more active outdoors, with more walks and excursions in and around Cardiff and also further afield. There are several great birding spots and nature reserves in the area, including Newport Wetlands and our very own Cardiff Bay. We will also hopefully be taking a trip to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge in the not-too-distant future. Our ID sessions and bird walks are really useful for any level of experience, so if you can’t yet tell an eagle from a sea gull or a blackbird from a crow, don’t worry! For those of you considering a career in biology and conservation, we can provide you with some valuable experience. Whether you’re a complete beginner, an experience birder, or someone who’s never really given birds a second thought, everyone is welcome to join in. You’ll learn a lot, meet likeminded people, and have a great time doing it. If you’re interested or what some more information, you can find us on Facebook (Cardiff University Ornithological Society) and Twitter (@ CUBirds).
SOCIETIES 29
Like alternative music? Join Altsoc
Samuel Miller
“
We can’t exactly put our collective music taste neatly in a box
”
Jessica Jones
A
ltsoc is Cardiff ’s Alternative Music Society. We run socials at least once a week and our aim is just to have a good time. One of the questions we get asked all the time is, “So what is alternative music? What do you guys like?” Honestly, this is about the hardest thing you could ask us. Music is so broad, genre is so objective, and most people like more than one thing. We have members who like everything from Taylor Swift to Megadeth, so we can’t exactly put our collective music taste neatly in a box. On the other hand, why would we want to? We’re the Alternative Music Society, not the Conform-to-our-music Society. If you’re happy, we’re happy. Our socials mainly involve moving away from the mainstream club scene. If relentless chart music encouraging you to grind on everything you see isn’t your idea of a great evening, then I think we’re on the same
page. We’d rather go somewhere a little less rammed with people and find somewhere that plays the sort of music we can rock out to. The local alternative clubs want to keep the scene alive as much as we do, and they are all very generous and cooperative when it comes to helping us put together a good night out, whether it be discounts on the door or at the bar, or letting us choose the music and create a playlist tailored to our members. Our society wristbands are well known in all our favourite venues, and will always get you a warm welcome. Our upcoming socials for the rest of the semester are: a movie night on Saturday 21st; a night out to the Bunker for Team Up! on Friday 27th; a Christmas meal at Red Hot Buffet followed by a trip to Winter Wonderland on Wednesday 9th December; and Drink the Bar Dry (DTBD) on Friday 11th December. The movie
night will be our tenth social of the year, and we look forward to having a nice evening in together where we can relax and get to know each other in a non-alcoholic setting. Team Up! is the Bunker’s “alternative party”, and the Bunker is one of our favourite venues, and they always give us generous discounts. The Christmas meal is now an annual society event, always reasonably priced, and a nice festive end-of-semester event, which the Winter Wonderland of course only adds to! And let’s be honest, DTBD is a pretty big university-wide event, but why just go with friends
when you could... go with even more friends? The astute of you may have noticed we’ve left a week blank so far, but we’re doing our best to plan something big. Membership to our society is £4 which will also get you one of our awesome society wristbands which can be used to get deals and discounts at some of our favourite places. For more info see http://www.cardiffstudents.com/activities/society/ altsoc/. Alternatively find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/ AltSocCardiff Or follow us on twitter @AltsocCardiff.
though, Diff Films is our very own crew of filmmakers who have previously won awards for our short films and have successfully collaborated with other societies, such as Snow Sports, to make montages of them in action. We meet every Thursday to work on new projects. We have a great crew full of experienced filmmakers and novices who work together on a diverse range of projects and get to make some great friends in the process. Throughout the year we also run special events, such as our 48 Hour Film Challenge where different teams fought against each other to make the best short film in the time constraint. There were only two rules, it had to include a vegetable and two titles from Bond films...the results are available for your eyes only on our Facebook page. Striving to make watching films a way to let film lovers bond, we are keen believers that we shouldn’t only meet in silence in dark rooms, to enjoy films most you have to get out of
the cinema sometimes. That’s one of the many reasons we offer film festival trips around the world, with the Berlin Film Festival last year and London Film Festival only two months ago. The trips offer an immersive experience, with talks from the cast and directors of the films, and one member’s claim to fame now being that she tripped over Maisie Williams. Closer to home we also go on regular cinema trips for when you need to see that film your housemates refuse to go to! These trips are often discounted for members, so you can enjoy the films you love while making that student loan stretch further. We love seeing new faces, so if you think Film Society might be for you check out the Film Society and Diff Films Facebook pages to keep update with all our events! https://www.facebook.com/groups/cardiffunifilmsoc/ and https://www.facebook. com/groups/difffilms/ Films should always be watched together, that’s the true meaning of Netflix and chill…right?
Pictured: Members of Altsoc at the Societies Fair in September (Photographer: Cardiff Students)
Film Society: The laughs and thrills are all better shared!
I
n a world where you no longer have to leave your front door to find an inexhaustible supply of films it is a wonder why on earth students from Cardiff University trek outside to meet and watch films every Monday. After being in the society for three years I have realised there is a lot to be said for watching films together, the laughs and thrills are always better shared. The moment after the credits roll, a buzz of conversation fills the room, a hive of opinions that are not always agreed on. We are always trying to reach a
wider audience and would love to hear from any societies which would like to get involved with us as. In December we are planning a screening of a silent film with a live score from Cardiff ’s very own Jazz Society! Only last week we collaborated with Student Minds for a charity screening of ‘Girl, Interrupted’ for the final screening of our True Story Month. The power of films to reach a wide audience is part of their charm, which is why we try and show a big variation in what we watch having a different theme each month. This is only part of what we do
Pictured: Above and left: Cardiff University Film Society members. (Photographer: Cardiff University Film Society)
“
We offer film festival trips around the world
”
30 SOCIETIES
Platinum for Cardiff University Wind Orchestra
Aletheia Nutt
C
ardiff University Wind Orchestra, conducted by Martin Humphries, is one of the many ensembles within the Cardiff University Music Society. It provides opportunities for talented and committed wind, brass and percussion players to perform exciting wind band repertoire to a high standard. They are an auditioned ensemble comprising mainly of music students, and perform challenging and modern music in concerts and competitions throughout the year. In November last year CUWO performed at the South Regional National Concert Band Festival (NCBF) in Southampton and were awarded a Gold award. As a result, they were invited to perform at the NCBF Finals at Royal Northern College of Music in April 2015, where they were awarded joint highest mark in the hardest difficulty category.
NCBF is a yearly event and is renowned as “the largest, most active, enterprising Festival for wind instrument musicians who play in wind bands or big bands throughout the UK.” On Sunday 15th November CUWO performed in this years West Regional NCBF and secured themselves a place in the NCBF Finals after being awarded a Platinum Award, which will take place on the 9th and 10th April 2016. CUWO played three pieces for their performance; Simon Dobson’s Another World’s Hell, Amazing Grace arranged by Frank Ticheli, and King?, A Response to Notorious B.I.G’s ‘Hypnotise’, composed by CUWO’s very own principal trumpeter, Andy Wareham. All three pieces were greatly received by the audience and the two judges. One of whom was internationally renowned percussionist, Simone Rebello who
commented, “great soloists, playing with real colour and flare...a sensitive performance lots to admire...thank you and well done”. Conductor Martin Humphries spoke about how he felt post NCBF, “The band have worked tirelessly this semester to put together an incredibly challenging programme and I am so pleased our efforts were validated at the weekend. As a student ensemble there is no obligation or course requirement for anybody to attend - we are just a group of students who love coming together each week to create great music. I was absolutely blown away to hear we received a platinum award and would like to thank every single member of the band for helping us get there.” Congratulations to the the whole of Cardiff University Wind Orchestra!
Pictured: Conductor Martin Humphries holding the Platinum Award at NCBF
“
A sensitive performance with lots to admire
”
Cardiff Volunteering: Help us win £1,000 to help others
Rachel Jones
“
The projects help to support a range of vulnerable people
”
Lucas Zierold
B
etween the 16th November and 6th December, Cardiff Volunteering is asking their supporters to help them win a £1,000 Red Cup Grant during the second annual holiday challenge from Starbucks. Supporters can follow Cardiff Volunteering on neighbourly.com and Twitter, Tweeting using the Twitter handle @VolunteerCUSU along with the hashtag #RedCupCheer to help them win the vote, and up to £1,000 through a Red Cup Grant. Participants are also invited to follow the charity’s project page on Neighbourly’s website https://www.neighbourly.com/projec t/562f537b8f60ff01d0f6e01b sharing the link online to contribute to the social noise being calculated across the initiative. The #RedCupCheer challenge launches 16th November and runs for three weeks, with voting closing on 6th December. Cardiff Volunteering was chosen to participate by local
Starbucks store partners who are celebrating the return of the Red Cup this Christmas. Cardiff Volunteering provides a service within Cardiff University Students’ Union to get students volunteering and helping out in their community. They currently run around 25 unique projects that all require financial support. The projects help to support a range of vulnerable people including care home residents and children with disabilities. “A number of these projects rely solely on the support of our students – without their dedication, these projects wouldn’t run,” says Claire Blakeway, chair of Cardiff Volunteering. “All of our projects need financial support, whether it’s providing transport for our students or materials for activities. Funding would help contribute to the continuation and expansion of our projects.” “Since we were founded in 1971,
we’ve sought to be a force for positive action in the communities we serve,” says Simon Redfern, Director of Corporate Affairs, Starbucks EMEA. “By bringing customers together for some #redcupcheer, we hope to support some great local charities and celebrate the work they do every day of the year.” Nick Davies, Founder of Neighbourly says: “Red Cup Cheer is a fantastic way for Starbucks to connect with projects close to the hearts of customers and colleagues in their local communities. Neighbourly.com provides a space for projects to tell their story and share among friends and neighbours so that Starbucks can focus support where it’s needed most. Good luck to all those participating.” The value of the Red Cup Grant each charity receives will be decided on the basis of a popular vote conducted on Twitter and neighbourly. com, as measured and recorded by
Neighbourly’s software and verified by Starbucks. For more information: Claire Blakeway, C/O Rachel, 02920 781494 or volunteering@cardiff.ac.uk Finally our volunteer of the week this week is Abi Mitchell! Abi turned 21 on the 17th November, but still came in for her Lead Volunteer training in the evening. Well done Abi!
Pictured: Red Starbuck’s Cup
Model United Nations Society: Promoting debate
M
odel United Nations (MUN) simulations have experienced a rather dramatic increase in popularity over the past few years. Not only is MUN one of the youngest societies at Cardiff, but since then, it has sent students across the nation and beyond to other universities to debate contemporary hot political topics. Students spend weekends away and often dedicate weeks to preparation. So what exactly is MUN? It is normal for a conference to host a hundred or more people, who then debate two or three topics within their respective committees, Human Rights Council being an example of a committee. However it is not as simple as a typical debate. You are assigned a country and you must then present
the views of that country, even if they are against your own personal views. It is then via this debate process you solve the issue diplomatically by writing and presenting a resolution. MUN is something that you put as little or as much into as you want; it’s entirely possible to sit at the back playing candy crush for the weekend, but if you want to succeed at MUN, you have to demonstrate a number of things. A person who is clearly audible and makes valid points when speaking is always a good start, but the people who speak the most don’t always win awards. Speaking well isn’t enough to write up and lead people in constructing a resolution. Awards are given out to commend those who really stand out in terms of their oratory skills, debating skills and their ability
to lead others in writing a resolution. The best delegates are those that possess all three of these. Winning these awards look great on CVs, since they show that you must have a number of valuable traits, such as communication, leadership and critical thinking. Having sent students to many conferences across the years and attaining many awards, it is now our turn to host a conference. Across the weekend of the 19th – 21st of February, university students from across the nation and abroad will convene in Cardiff. With four committees, touching on issues such as the migrant crisis in Europe, it’s set to be a packed event. Applications are open and people may apply individually or as a group. Often, MUN conferences can be
quite expensive to attend, but Cardiff MUN is one of the cheapest conferences around, making sure that financial strains aren’t a barrier to anyone who wishes to attend. If we’re to believe the statistics, glossophobia ranks as one of the biggest fears of the nation.Fear of public speaking (glossophobia) is a large reason why people bottle out of signing up to their first conference, but speaking from experience, MUN is such a great way to help and improve your public speaking. So, if you want to meet people from across the globe, improve your public speaking skills, enhance your CV while debating contemporary issues, feel free to sign up. All our information is on facebook or on the Students’ Union website.
“
MUN is something that you put as little or as much into as you want
”
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32 TAF-OD
taf-od
Golygydd: Carwyn Williams @Taf_od tafod@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/tafod
Dim ond y dechrau?
Pam cafodd yr ymosodiadau ym Mharis cymaint o sylw byd-eang, a pham na fod diwedd i’r erchyllterau hyn hyd yn oed yn y golwg?
Dan Heard
“
Ond oedd Paris yn gam ychwanegol, gyda IS yn ymosod ar y byd Gorllewin
”
M
ae canolbwynt y byd wedi bod yn llwyr ar yr ymosodiadau ofnadwy ym Mharis dros y dyddiau diwethaf, yn enwedig sylw cyfryngau’r byd hyfforddedig ar bob symudiad o fewn y brifddinas Ffrengig gan ei llywodraeth a’i phobl. Mae’n hawdd anghofio mewn rhannau eraill o’r byd, bod merched ifanc yn cael eu gwerthu am gymaint, neu cyn lleied, fel can o ddiod feddal. Yn wir, efallai y byddant hefyd fod yn diodydd meddal, neu dillad, neu eitemau eraill masnachu rhwng prynwyr a gwerthwyr am gyn lleied ag y maent, ac mor hawdd ag y maent yn ymddangos i fod. Eto mae’r digwyddiadau hyn yn cael eu cysylltu i gyd gan un ffactor cyffredin- cyfranogiad, presenoldeb IS fel y maent yn awr yn fwy adnabyddus. Yr unig beth sy’n gyffredin yn eu cylch yn ddiweddar yw wedi bod yn y nifer fawr o ymosodiadau marwol maent yn ymddangos yn rhy barod ac yn rhy awyddus i gymryd y clod am. Do, bu IS yn hawlio cyfrifoldeb am yr ymosodiadau terfysg ar Baris, dim ond awr ar ôl Arlywydd Ffrainc Fran-
cois Hollande gosod y bai ar eu drws, i’w ymuno arweinwyr y byd eraill fel David Cameron a Barack Obama. Ond eto, ychydig ddyddiau cyn Paris, fe wnaeth o leiaf ugain o bobl cael eu lladd, a dwsinau hanafu, mewn dau ymosodiad ar wahân targedu Shias yn Baghdad. Tynnodd ychydig o sylw ar wahân o fewn eu newyddion cenedlaethol. Ond oedd Paris yn gam ychwanegol, gyda IS yn ymosod ar y byd Gorllewin. Roedd Paris gyda cefndir meddyliau cynulleidfa fyd-eang , a oedd yn swyno gan y dinistr yn Ffrainc. Eto i gyd yn Irac, mae mwy o ymosodiadau o’r fath yn debygol. O bosibl mwy nag y graddfeydd dychmygu o’r blaen yn bosibl, i ladd mwy a mwy o fobl, cyn belled a bod y grŵp hwn yn cadw rheolaeth dros ddarn enfawr o diriogaeth. Yn Syria, mae’r gwrthdaro parhaus ar adegau yn ymddangos yn rhy gymhleth ac yn ddychrynllyd i ddeall, ac yn Irac, ac yn mwynhau dilysrwydd rheolaeth hon yn rhoi arno yng ngolwg llawer o bobl radical. Cyn goresgyniad Islamaidd Gw-
ladol ei’r rhanbarth o Sinjar, rhyw 350,000 o bobl yn byw yn ninas Sinjar, ond pan ymosododd IS ar y ddinas, cymerodd Islam radical dal. Canlyniad hyn oedd ddinistr degawdau o ewyllys da rhwng y ddwy brif gymunedau yn yr ardal, gan adael llwybr o ddinistr o’r fath yn eu sgil, y bydd yn cymryd degawdau unwaith eto i ailsefydlu cymuned o’r fath, os gall fod yn eto, erioed. Yn y cyfamser, mae mwy na mil o fenywod wedi cael ei herwgipio, yn ôl y Cenhedloedd Unedig, ac arweinwyr cymunedol yn dweud llawer yn aros caethweision IS. Mae deliadau ymhlith y milwriaethwyr yn cynnwys cyfnewid merched hyn, rhai ohonynt yn ferched yn ymarferol o hyd, ar gyfer symiau sy’n werth neu yn gyfnewid am nwyddau- a, ie, mewn rhai adroddiadau, hyd yn oed diodydd ysgafn. Mae bywyd dynol ar gyfer can o cola. Ac nid yw’n hyd yn oed yn stopio yno. Diwrnod cyn yr ymosodiadau Paris a adawodd o leiaf 120 yn marw, wnaeth bomiau hunanladdiad yn Beirut ar ddydd Iau chwythu, gyda dros ddeugain marw ac o leiaf dau gant hanafu.
Yn ôl y derfysgwr a oroesodd, cafodd yr ymosodiad ei wneud gan gell yn cael ei anfon at Libanus o gadarnle’r grŵp yn Syria. Mae nifer o gyfrifon Twitter ISgysylltiedig wedi hawlio cyfrifoldeb am yr ymosodiad, er y gellid dim byd yn cael ei gadarnhau yn annibynnol. Aeth y digwyddiadau sylwi i raddau helaeth yn y cylch newyddion bydeang. Gwnaeth diddordeb yn ymosodiadau Paris cymryd yr holl sylw cyfryngau yn lle Beirut. Os bydd y grwp sy’n gyfrifol am ymosodiadau pellach parhau, mae hyn yn don yn awr yn wirioneddol fyd-eang o derfysgaeth bod y misoedd diwethaf, ac, mewn gwirionedd, y blynyddoedd wedi gweld ei orfodi i mewn. Yna’r ymosodiadau ym Mharis, yn gwbl syfrdanol ag yr oeddent, a bydd bob amser, o bosibl yn cynrychioli cyfnod newydd a mwy peryglus mewn rhyfel y byd erbyn IS, ym mha bynnag ffurf y maent yn cymryd nesaf, ac yn y gwirionedd erchyll, ym mha bynnag wlad, neu gymdeithas, neu hyd yn oed, ffordd o fyw, yn cael ei dargedu nesaf.
Yn y llun: Mae’r Dwyrain Canol wedi bod yn canolbwynt bomio am flynyddoedd (Tarddiad: Freedom House trwy flickr)
“
Gwnaeth diddordeb yn ymosodiadau Paris cymryd yr holl sylw cyfryngau
”
TAF-OD 33 Myfyrwyr Cymraeg a Newyddiadurieath yn ymweld a’r Senedd Dan Heard
“
Wnaethon ni ddechrau sgwrs wedi seilio ar materion sy’n bwysig i bobol ifanc o fewn Gymru
”
C
ymerodd grŵp o fyfyrwyr ‘Yr Ystafell Newyddion’ y cyfle pythefnos yn ôl i gael profiad arbennig, wrth fynd ar ymweliad i’r Senedd, canolbarth pob gweithred wleidyddol yng Nghymru, ac yna fynd ymlaen i stiwdios ITV Cymru Wales a chael y cyfle i gwpla’r diwrnod yma o brofiadau anhygoel. Cafodd ein grŵp ei groesawu’n gynnes yn y Senedd, cyn cael ein tywys o amgylch yr adeilad unigryw a hynod hwn gan ein tywysydd ardderchog. Ar ôl y sgwrs hollol ddiddorol yma, cafo’n ni’r cyfle i eistedd mewn a gweld y Cyfarfod Lawn, sef cyfarfod aelodau’r Cynulliad a gynhelir yn siambr drafod y Senedd. Wrth sbïo lawr o’r man gynulleidfa, fe welon aelodau blaenllaw o fewn gwleidyddiaeth Cymru; arweinydd Plaid Cymru Leanne Wood, arweinwyr y Ceidwadwyr Cymraeg Andrew RT Davies, arweinwyr y Rhyddfrydwyr Cymraeg (ac aelod seneddol dros Aberhonddu a Maesyfed, fy ardal i), Kirtsy Williams. Wrth gwrs welsom Carwyn Jones, Prif Weinidog Cymru, yn cyhoeddi araith o flaen ei gynulleidfa o gyd-lywodraethwyr, yn ymateb i sawl mater o bwysigrwydd. Ar ôl hyn, wnaethon ni ddechrau sgwrs wedi seilio ar materion sy’n bwysig i bobol ifanc o fewn Gymru, gan gynnwys yr oedran bleidlesio, a chafodd llawer o sylw, nid on yn y cyfryngau ac ar draws y newyddion, ond ymhlith ein grw fach ni hefyd.
Wnaethon ni ddadlai os ddylai pawb yng Nghymru gael llais yn y ffordd y mae eu gwlad yn cael ei rhedeg, a cytuno fod un ffordd o sicrhau hynny yw pleidleisio yn etholiadau Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru. Ond beth os nad wyt ti’n ddigon hen i bleidleisio? Neu hyd ynoed yn teimlo nad wyt ti’n gwybod digon am wleidyddiaeth i bleidleisio? Dyma problemau sy’n wynebu nifer o phobol ifanc pob tro y mae’r ddadl yma yn cael ei codi. Yna, wnaethon ni sgwrsio ymhellach ar y sawl ffordd o wneud gwahaniaeth a sicrhau bod dy lais yn cael ei glywed. Roedd ein grŵp o’r farn ei bod yn bwysig bod plant a phobl ifanc yn cael addysg wleidyddol ac yn dysgu am wleidyddiaeth a’r system bleidleisio. Roedden ni hefyd o’r farn mai’r lle gorau i ddysgu am wleidyddiaeth a’r system bleidleisio oedd yn yr ysgol neu’r brifysgol. Yn ddiddorol, wnaethon ni gyd hefyd cytuno byddai gwybod mwy am sut y mae gwleidyddiaeth yn dylanwadu ar fywydau pob dydd pobl ifanc yn annog mwy ohonynt i bleidleisio mewn etholiadau, hyd yn oed ymhlith ein grŵp ni o fyfyrwyr Cymraeg sy’n astudio newyddiaduriaeth a’r cyfryngau. Trwy gydol ein sgwrs, wnaeth ein tywyswr atgoffa ni o’r nifer o filiau, deddfau ac is-ddeddfwriaeth y mae’r Cynulliad yn eu hystyried ac eglurhad llawn o’r broses ddeddfwriaethol yng Nghymru.
Yna, wanethon ni fynd ymlaen i’r stiwdios ITV Cymru Wales, yn Assembly Square, dim ond rownd y gornel o’r Senedd ei hun, i ymweld a’r manau wahanol lle gaif newyddion Cymraeg ei gynyrchu’n ddyddiol. Ar ôl gael ei’n groesawu gan nifer o golygwyr, cynyrchwyr ac hyd y oed cyflwynwyr, wnaeth ein grwp cael ein ddangos y galeri, lle gaiff pob elefn o darllediad fyw ei rheoili a strwythuro o, ac yna i fewn i’r stiwdio ei hun. Cymerodd nifer ohonon
ni y siawns i eistedd yn sedd y cyflwynwr a darllen darn bach o bwletin newyddion y noson yno ar gyfer y newyddion am chwech o’gloch. Yn gyfangwbwl, profiad arbennig o dda oedd yr ymweliad, a nid un y fyddwn yn anghofio. Cafodd sut gymaint o wybodaeth amdan nid ond gwelidyddiaeth Gymraeg, ond materion fel y cynulliad, materion cyfoes i pobol ei oedran ni a fwy ei trafod, roedd e mor diddorol fod o fewn niwcliws yr holl beth!
Yn y llun: Y myfyrwyr yn trio allan desk y cyflwynwyr yn stiwdios ITV Cymru Wales
A career that takes you places Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems for our diverse range of clients. In our Assurance practice, our work might involve auditing local councils to make sure budgets are being spent wisely and for the benefit of the community, through to providing assurance that an online bank or retailer has the right controls in place to protect their customers’ money and data. It’s work that ensures the value we deliver has lasting impact for our clients and beyond. You might be surprised to know that Assurance can take your career in all sorts of directions. Once qualified, you could deepen your knowledge in a particular industry, move into a new area and develop new expertise, or maybe go on a secondment abroad or with a client. Whatever you decide, it’s a great place to begin your career journey. The range and variety of career opportunities we have is extensive – from Consulting to Tax; Assurance to Legal; and Technology to Actuarial – and our businesses welcome applications from people who don’t have business or finance-related degrees. In fact, 50% of our graduate intake studied non-business related subjects. Instead, we focus on whether someone can bring the kind of skills that will create value for our clients and lead to success in their career. Our roles aren’t limited to London – over half of our graduate jobs are regional and just like London, they have high-profile and diverse clients.
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SPORT 35
BUCS Results: Wednesday 18th November Presented by:
H/A
Sport
Cardiff Team
Opposition
Result
W/L/D
H
Badminton
Womens 1st
Aberystwyth University Womens1st
7-1
W
H
Badminton
Mens 3rd
University of South Wales Mens 3rd
5-3
W
H
Badminton
Mens 2nd
Cardiff Metropolitan University Mens 1st
3-5
L
H
Football
Mens 5th
Bath Spa University Mens 2nd
3-1
W
H
Football
Mens 8th (Medics)
University of Bristol Mens 5th
1-7
L
H
Football
Mens 2nd
Cardiff Metropolitan University Mens 2nd
0-3
L
H
Football
Mens 3rd (Medics)
University of South Wales Mens 2nd
2-3
L
A
Rugby Union
Mens 5th
University of South Wales Mens 3rd
8-37
W
A
Rugby Union
Mens 6th
Royal Agricultural University Mens 2nd
14-10
L
A
Rugby Union
Mens 1st
Hartpury College Mens 1st
75-7
L
A
Rugby Union
Mens4th (Medics)
Aberystwyth University Mens 1st
32-0
L
H
Rugby Union
Mens 3rd
University of Wales Trinity St David Mens 1st (Carmarthen)
24-7
W
H
Lacrosse
Womens 1st
Bournemouth University Womens 1st
26-0
W
A
Lacrosse
Mens 1st
University of Bath Mens 1st
13-4
L
A
Lacrosse
Womens 2nd
University of Gloucestershire Womens 1st
4-17
W
H
Netball
Womens 9th (Medics)
University of Gloucestershire Womens 5th
20-13
W
H
Netball
Womens 3rd (Medics)
Cardiff Metropolitan University Womens 2nd
27-36
L
H
Netball
Womens 5th
Cardiff Metropolitan University Womens 5th
34-16
W
H
Netball
Womens 1st
University of Exeter Womens 1st
44-44
D
H
Netball
Womens 7th
University of Gloucestershire Womens 3rd
43-27
W
H
Netball
Womens 8th (Medics)
University of South Wales Womens 5th
80-0
W
H
Table Tennis
Mens 1st
University of Exeter Mens 1st
10-7
W
A
Table Tennis
Womens 1st
Bournemouth University Womens 1st
2-3
W
H
Tennis
Womens 1st
Bournemouth University Womens 1st
2-10
L
H
Tennis
Mens 1st
Bournemouth University Mens 2nd
10-2
W
H
Hockey
Womens 3rd
Aberystwyth University Womens 1st
1-0
W
H
Hockey
Mens 2nd
Aberystwyth University Mens 1st
6-2
W
H
Hockey
Mens 1st
King’s College London Mens 1st (GKT)
8-1
W
H
Basketball
Womens 1st
University of Southampton Womens 1st
62-52
W
H
Basketball
Mens 2nd
Cardiff Metropolitan University Mens 1st
64-58
W
A
Fencing
Womens 1st
University of Southampton Womens 1st
43-135
W
H
American Football
Mixed 1st
University of Exeter Mixed 1st
34-0
W
Wins
Draws
Losses
32
3
21
36 SPORT
What place do Welsh sides have in the “English Football League”? With Cardiff City and Newport County set to be included in a newly-branded “English Football League”, Dan Heard gives us his opinion on the controversial move and what it means for the clubs in Wales. Dan Heard
“
Perhaps the biggest impact this rebranding process has had is in effectively alienating an entire nationWales.
”
I
t was announced last week that the Football League, the governing body for the three divisions below the Barclays Premier League, will undergo a rebrand from the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign. “The English Football League”, as it will be known, is part of what has been called a “comprehensive corporate and competition rebranding”. A brand new logo will be introduced, only the fourth used so far in their entire 127-year history. However, the Championship, League 1 and League 2 formats will remain as they are in the new era. The new logo (right) uses 72 circles, split between three sections to create a ball shaped design that represents every competing team and the three divisions that make up the Football League. Perhaps the biggest impact this rebranding process has had is in effectively alienating an entire nationWales. Seeing as Wales clearly isn’t English, or in England, surely Welsh teams shouldn’t compete in the ‘English Football League’. Right? It surely means that two of Wales’ oldest and proudest clubs, Cardiff City and Newport County, now no longer have a future within the Football League, despite fighting just as hard to be there. No? Then why “The English Football League”? Is it simply to make the league more recognisable, and therefore, profitable abroad? The Premier League is often referred to as The EPL (English Premier League) on networks such as in the United States and the Middle East, despite Swansea City being one of the 20 clubs involved. This is understandable to a certain extent, simply because of
the sheer marketability of the Premier League worldwide. It is now a staple part of viewing in countries where it never was before. The Football League, on the other hand, isn’t. So where do Cardiff and Newport go from here? Tim Hartley, Chairman of Cardiff City Supporters Trust, said in an official press release that he believes the rebrand will do little to benefit the clubs in the three divisions. “It’s a little bit insulting that both Welsh clubs and potentially many more from lower down the football pyramid will be classed as English. The rebranding is factually incorrect and completely unnecessary. Newport and Cardiff City are both in the Football League. The rebranding will make a lot of money for companies making logos and headed paper but will do nothing for teams playing in the three divisions. What’s the point? The Football League had status, we knew what it meant, why mess with a brand that clearly works?” Hartley has also been seeking assurances from Cardiff after the Football League revealed the change comes following extensive research, which included interviews and focus groups with clubs, stakeholders, commercial partners and more than 18,000 football supporters. “I have contacted the club asking whether they were party to this decision. This was the first we had heard of it. It underlines once again the need for formal, structured consultation between fans, their clubs and the football authorities.” Both Cardiff and Newport have yet to comment publicly on the decision, though both are likely to want confirmation that their contribution to the
Pictured:
Left: The new ‘English Football League’ logo. (Photographer: The Football League via YouTube) Below left: Cardiff City’s Championship play-off final appearance at Wembley in 2010. (Photographer: Jon Candy) organisation is still valued. Is it time. then, to rake up the old debate about whether or not Welsh clubs should even be playing in English domestic leagues, instead of making a return to a larger, collective Welsh Premier League? Well, in short, no. That would only be a backwards step, actually, more of a backwards leap for Cardiff and Newport, particularly on the Bluebirds’ part after tasting Premier League football just two seasons ago. Newport have risen from the ashes to climb back into the Football league in the first place, so to even suggest a return to playing the likes of Bala Town, Carmarthen or Colwyn Bay is simply ridiculous. This shouldn’t be a reason for the Welsh sides in the Football League to even make a claim for returning to the old ways even with the incentive of European qualification through winning the Welsh Cup (Cardiff, by the way, are second in the all-time winners, behind Wrexham). Only a few seasons ago the Football Association of Wales (FAW) were seeking to clarify whether the Welsh teams playing within the English pyramid could qualify to play in Europe if they participated in the Welsh Cup, having been barred from entering since 1995, due to UEFA insisting that only clubs playing in Wales in the domestic leagues could participate.
The idea, though, was rejected, as UEFA stipulated that if these clubs were to participate, then they would have to withdraw from the FA Cup and League Cup competitions. But I would rather see Cardiff push for Europe the only logical way- firstly, through promotion back to the Premier League, then building from there. Thus, not being part of the Football League isn’t really an option. But does that then mean that Welsh sides should be made to play under the banner of “The English Football League”? In short, yes- if Welsh sides want to be successful. Success defines a football team- it defines football altogether. I love football. More importantly, I love Welsh football, which has admittedly not exactly been a hard thing to do recently. Moreover, I also feel that the FAW is one of the leading Football Associations in Europe in terms of the infrastructure, coaching and support offered to players and managers. But for Welsh sides to be successful, they need to be playing in the highest possible leagues- and, if, for the moment at least, that means playing in the English Football League, then so be it. Cardiff and Newport fans will have to grit their teeth and bear it all. For, without success, there can be no progress, and without progress, then there cannot, or will not, be success.
Below right: Newport County’s Rodney Parade (Photographer: Toad Hall Nursery)
“
I love Welsh football which has admittedly not exactly been a hard thing to do recently.
”
SPORT 37
Cont’d: Snowsports enjoy success Continued from back page
“
The slopestyle was the last event to round off the day. Combining rail and box tricks with a big air at the end, this was one not to be missed
”
Liam Corcoran
“
I was lucky enough to meet the big man and this guy was literally the BFG, such a gentleman.
”
up against Kent, who knocked out the second team. This was a clean race, and Kent were no match for the first team. Another win on the board. The semi-finals saw Cardiff take on Portsmouth, southern champions who had seen off Edinburgh - one of the best teams in the competition - on their way to the last four. If nerves weren’t taking hold before, they certainly were now. But once again Bayles and Oakley raced immaculately, and when Portsmouth had a fall, the pressure was relieved on Kenny and Allcock to take the win, and a place in the final, was secured. The final brought with it the sizeable challenge of Manchester, and in a best of three matchup to decide the winner, it was certainly all to play for! However, retaining their superb form, Cardiff would only need the first two races to decide the outcome of the final, winning comprehensively to earn the crown of National Champions, as well as bringing home a healthy amount of BUCS points. The slopestyle was the last event to round off the day . Combining rail and box tricks with a big air at the end, this was one not to be missed, providing a spectacle to finish the day! Some incredible combinations were put in by everyone, and Cardiff showed off their skills with Ben Moore, Charles Bannister and Gareth Allcock once again stepping up to the mark. Front flips, ‘720s’ and ‘cork sevens’ were all pulled out of the bag, but it was not enough. Unfortunately there weren’t to be any medals on this occasion, but everyone
T
was provided with great entertainment. Along with the rain, Saturday morning also brought with it the Giant Slalom (GS) skiing running alongside the boarder cross. An incredible event, the GS sees some of the UK’s best ski talent hit the slopes for this fast paced, somewhat scary race. A timed race, the quickest people descend Europe’s largest dry ski slope of 500 metres in just over 20 seconds. Cardiff qualifiers once again put in some outstanding racing. but with the very high standard on display, they were unable to challenge for any medals. With the boarder cross course extended this year, this event saw two racers descend at the same time battling it out gate by gate whilst overcoming wide bends, small and large kickers and jostling with each other. The unpredictable nature of the event can mean that the outcome of these races is rarely a forgone conclusion. All the Cardiff boarders raced to the best of their ability but were unfortunately outdone by some of the best racers in the country. However some great racing and entertainment – despite the weather – did see Emma Griffiths place eighth from 32, and Ned Bayles come in 16th from 64. Once all this was through and everyone was well and truly soaked, the highlight of the weekend was up, the Big Air competition. With everyone gathered at the side of the slope the atmosphere was electric. All the spectators were undoubtedly looking forward to seeing Allcock, who has become
Pictured:
Cardiff Snowsports athletes in action at last week’s BUDS championships. (Photographer: Cardiff Snowsports)
notorious for his wide array of spins and flips. Stomping a misty ‘720’ with his first run we were all pretty excited, but unfortunately a slip on the landing of his second run let him down. In the women’s competition however, Cardiff ’s Jo Giblin put down a very stylish 180 Indy grab to put her in second place and onto the podium, bring-
ing home yet more medals and BUCS points for Cardiff! To finish off all the freestylers, skiers and boarders alike, gathered at the top of the slope for the Big Air train, seeing 50-odd people follow each other over the kicker and show off their style, a great finish to the weekend of competition.
Jonah Lomu: A tribute to a true sporting great
he rugby world shed a tear last Wednesday, as the news broke that rugby’s first ever superstar, Jonah Tali Lomu, had passed away, aged just 40. We are at a stage now where enough time has passed for all those who would try and emulate Lomu in his prime to have become professionals themselves and build a legacy of their own. Tributes from such players have flooded social media, with Wales and British & Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton leading the Northern Hemisphere condolences with the message on Twitter “Jonah Lomu was the first reason I wanted to play rugby. Inspiration and a true legend. Very sad news. Thoughts with his family.” Starting his career as a flanker, it was not until Lomu switched to the wing that he revolutionised rugby forever. This transformation changed everything for the modern day winger, altering it from a position of the smallest player on the pitch dancing his way through the opposition, to a position of the heaviest player on the pitch, who could bulldoze through the defenders, something Lomu did countless times. It was the 1995 World Cup, in
which he scored an incredible seven tries in five matches, where Lomu had arguably his greatest moment, scoring four tries against England in a semi final, the first of which involved him running through Will Carling and Mike Catt, leading to Carling (then captain) saying after the game: “This guy is a freak, the sooner he leaves the better.” Lomu continued to tear up the international scene, leading to New Zealand becoming the first ever TriNations champions in 1996. But at the end of the year he was diagnosed with a rare kidney disorder, meaning he had to take a break from the game he loved. This led to a quiet few years for the big man, but still left room for a Rugby Sevens Commonwealth gold medal in 1998. In 1999, the man mountain showed ‘95 was no one off as he scored an astounding eight tries in the World Cup, setting a (still standing) record of 15 World Cup tries. Despite his on-going illness, Lomu continued his scintillating form into the new millennium, with a last gasp try in front of 109,874 supporters against Australia, adding to a long list of personal highlights. As Lomu’s illness began to affect
his game more, he was omitted from the World Cup squad in 2003, when his career significantly stagnated. In 2005, though, the Kiwi plied his trade in Wales. Despite making just ten appearances for the Cardiff Blues, he still captured the hearts of yet another nation, scoring his first try in front of a record-breaking Arms Park crowd just over two weeks after his debut. Unfortunately, an ankle injury cut the Blues fairy tale short and he moved back to his native country, where he re-joined North Harbour. During his short spell in Wales, I was lucky enough to meet the big man and this guy was literally the BFG, such a gentleman. After failing to make the World Cup squad for 2007, Lomu retired from professional rugby, but he still managed to sneak in a few cameo appearances for Marseille and both the illustrious Aberavon RFC and Ebbw Vale RFC respectively in charity matches with his friends from the Blues. Tragically, on the morning of the 18th of November 2015, Jonah Lomu passed away in his homeland, just a day after he returned from Dubai and the United Kingdom, following his involvement in the World Cup cover-
age. Despite his illness, Lomu’s death was sudden and has shaken the sporting world massively. Potentially the greatest rugby player of all time, Lomu’s passing ultimately leaves us wondering one thing, how good would this man have been if he were healthier?
Pictured: Jonah Lomu playing for Cardiff Blues in 2006. (Photographer: via Flickr)
38 SPORT
Coach’s Corner: Jack Bairstow
Mark Wyatt speaks to Freshers’ Rugby Coach, Jack Bairstow. Mark Wyatt
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Coaching is the closest you can really get to playing - which I can never do again.
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Varsity is a touchy subject last year. It is a show piece and does get a lot of coverage and so our aim is always to win.
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Rhys Thomas Cardiff Blues Columnist
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his week in Coach’s Corner, Mark Wyatt spoke to third year student and freshers’ rugby coach, Jack Bairstow. The all-round workaholic took time out of his schedule to meet with us and answer some questions about the upcoming season, his experiences in coaching and the difficulties he has had to overcome. So, first off good luck for the season! We want to know what the best thing about being a coach is. Well I was injured playing rugby about six or seven years ago and coaching is the closest you can really get to playing – which I can never do again. The buzz of the sport meant that this was something I had to do and being involved in the sport still is fantastic – that’s why I do it and just being involved is the best thing for me after my setback. How hard is it to keep the team together? Is there a strong squad rotation system or do you have a set of players that stick with your team? There are two parts to that question, firstly – we have a very strong sense of culture throughout the university club and so there’s a whole club culture and then there’s also a culture within the freshers’ as we found last year that we went at it a bit too late and so boys who were better than others were friends with the players in the 1st team but didn’t know the freshers and so they didn’t bond and didn’t really know each other. This year we’ve done freshers’ socials once a month with team meals, nights out and that sort of thing. It gets everyone together, they’re all tight and know each other well. Players drift in between teams, it happens a fair bit. I sit down with Louis Tonkin once a month, he is the head of rugby. I sit down with him every week actually, but once a month we discuss about boys who should go up and down squads. That means freshers’ can play in the first or second team – if they can’t play for them they play for the freshers and get that continuity involved. They all know each other now, though so it’s working really well and we’re very happy with how everything has panned out so far this year.
think this year our aims are to be competitive but for me personally it’s about performance more than a win or a loss if you know what I mean. So far we’re second in BUCS and second in the Sunday league and we’ve got our first Conference Cup game on Wednesday and Varsity at the end of the year. At the end of the day our aim is do well and perform in all of them – we don’t like to see wins and losses we like good performances which lead to more. To single out a competition as our favourite we shouldn’t do – Varsity is a touchy subject last year. It is a show piece and does get a lot of coverage and so our aim is always to win. Again, though we want to be neutral with all competitions, we can’t say to our players we favour one competition over another as all of them are important – we must go in hard for all of them and see what happens come the end of the season. What has been your favourite moment in the sport as a coach? I think it was probably the end of last year, it was my first full year as a head coach for the freshers. This is quite soppy but for me it was seeing the boys that came in and didn’t know each other, some perhaps didn’t really understand the hard work we put in – those that came in and were immature. It was seeing these boys and seeing how far the team had come, the boys bonded well and seeing how they’d all grown up so much. They saw that rugby wasn’t eve-
rything but they were putting everything on the line for rugby – seeing how far that they came it made me pleased to be their coach and known I’d been there for that journey. With the Rugby World Cup being around Cardiff, did you see more people coming to rugby this year or have your numbers been unaffected? The sport has always been popular, the past two years have been insane in terms of numbers at trials. I think we’ve probably had a few more boys at trials this year from the World Cup but it’s difficult, many people have come in whilst the World Cup as on and then dropped out as the excitement of the event left the media. We have quite a few boys who are still going strong though but I think a few of them got caught up in the hype. Many don’t realise the truth. At the World Cup you see the best of every single team on the biggest stage but you don’t necessarily see the hard work behind it. A few guys came in thinking it would be really easy and straight into that environment but they didn’t see the graft that goes in on a Monday night or Thursday night that enable us to play as we do. They were shocked to see how hard our boys work, credit to them. What’s the most challenging thing about being involved with the team as such a young coach, controlling players of a very similar age to you
must be difficult? The most challenging has been keeping that distance from the players. I’m a 3rd year and they’re all freshers, I do see them on nights out and it can get a bit silly sometimes. It’s keeping that distance so that we can operate in a more professional basis. I try to avoid socials now which I don’t mind doing. The other challenge is getting my Uni work done, which is good that I don’t go out on Wednesdays with the boys, I’ll stay in and do work. It’s a good balance you see. We have a squad of almost 60 boys and if some boys turn around and say we have too much work this week and we can’t play – we allow it. However for me I have to get all of my work done – I could not be there but I really want to be all the time. So those are the two most difficult challenges I face as a coach.
I sit down with Louie Tonkin once a month - the head of rugby, and discuss the boys who should go up and down squads.
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Lastly, what’s the best match you’ve played in, watched or been involved in? I think the best one I’ve attended was the Heineken Cup Final last year between Toulon and Saracens – that was magical for me, goosebumps is the way I would describe it. That’s the stage I’d like to get to as a coach. For those reading this you know I’ll also say Varsity – we have the best atmosphere, we have time to prepare everything professionally and it’s an amazing day for all involved. It’s such a spectacle for people to watch, play in and be involved in!
Pictured: Cardiff University Freshers’ Rugby Team in action against Swansea at last April’s Welsh Varsity. (Photographer: Taliesin Coombes)
So, what are your aims for this season coming up? Last year we came second in BUCS, we didn’t do very well in the Conference Cup and obviously lost Varsity. I The start of European Challenge Cup competition offered Cardiff Blues a much needed respite from the travails of the PRO12 league, where they haven’t won since the first match of the season. Their opening European fixture was out in Italy against semi-professional Calvisano and as expected the Blues triumphed easily, winning 9-50, scoring seven tries in the process - including one for out-of-form Wales wing Alex Cuthbert. Whilst this was a routine victory, the next match at home to Harlequins was a harder proposition. The London side came to Cardiff
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for a Thursday night kick-off without a string of their top players like England full-back Mike Brown, skipper Chris Robshaw and former Wales prop Adam Jones. It seemed to suggest that they were confident of victory, and they were right to be. Quins won 20-32 with a bonus-point in a result which frankly flattered the home side. Harlequins took advantage of poor defence and sloppy tackling, and their tries were made to look easy. The Blues weren’t terrible all round though, with flashes of class from new Samoan signing Rey Lee-Lo who opened up
the Quins defence on several occasions throughout the match. Scrum-half Lloyd Williams was also lively and open side Ellis Jenkins (who was a late replacement for Sam Warburton) impressed with his work at the breakdown. Simply put, apart from a few key men the Blues simply don’t have the players to regularly compete at this level. There has been a severe lack of money spent over the last few seasons, and nothing will change without a fresh injection of cash for new players no matter what Danny Wilson does as Head Coach.
There was also the sad news last week with the death of sporting great Jonah Lomu at the age of 40. The legendary New Zealand wing remarkably played ten matches for the Blues during the 2005/6 season as part of his comeback and gave a huge boost to the club with the Arms Park being packed with fans wanting to see the big man, and his Boxing Day derby try against Dragons will never be forgotten! His arrival at the Blues sparked a renaissance for the club with the next few seasons after his time in Cardiff seeing historic wins and trophies being won. He will be missed.
SPORT 39
Sport Spotlight: Volleyball
This week in Spotlight, Gair Rhydd Sport’s Jim Harris went along to visit the Cardiff University Volleyball Club
Jim Harris
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Out came the balls. This was my time. I love balls and volleyball had lots of them
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Dan Heard Cardiff City Columnist
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dmittedly, volleyball is not one of the more obscure sports that we have covered in our ‘Spotlight’ series, however it is something that, besides flimsy attempts to play on the beach during a shoddy family holiday, I’ve never really given a go, so I headed along. Whilst being in a shape that is far from ‘athletic’, I have had a relatively sports-based upbringing and I fancy hand-eye co-ordination as a particular strength of mine: something clearly key if you’re to be top drawer volleyball player. Essentially then, I strolled to Talybont Sports Centre last Tuesday in a rather confident mood, expecting it to be something I’d be half decent at. Call that ropey prediction number one. Running five minutes late, I was welcomed by a host of friendly people who were more than happy to help out not just me, but a number of us who were, if not complete novices like myself, at least new to the sport. As a member of one of Cardiff ’s more ‘laid back’ clubs, cricket, a “warm up” is not something I’m especially familiar with, however it was perhaps a necessary inclusion to the proceedings on this occasion, so I’ll let it slide. Laps of the court were followed by an assortment of muscle stretches and finally just some run-of-the-mill shuttles. Nothing too strenuous and no embarrassment caused. Solid start. Out came the balls. This was my
Another week and another crisis at Cardiff City- this time its over the apparent inability to recruit additional firepower up front. It emerged recently that Crystal Palace’s former City striker, Frazier Campbell was being earmarked for a return on a loan deal, until January at the very least. However, any hopes of a move were vetoed, apparently by Campbell himself, reluctant to give up his fight for first-team Premiership football for regular action, albeit dropping a division into for it. Details of the botched deal emerged
time (ropey prediction #2). I love balls and volleyball had lots of them. We split into groups of four and I guess, akin to the type of drills you might see in football; we began passing one between us - or at least attempting to. It turns out controlling these nine ounce pieces of leather is just about a near impossible task. Barring any facial injuries (incredibly), the ball travelled pretty much everywhere it could have: the other side of the hall, up the wall, on to the ceiling, and in really exceptional circumstances, actually to its intended target. Now to say I’m a complete beginner would be harsh and despite having no prior knowledge of the rules and regs’ of the game, I did know that to strike the ball, contact can be made using the under-side of your forearms andor the bottom ridge of your palm. That particular strike is what those in volleyball circles would call a “dig”, however simply understanding how to perform such a technique only gets you so far. Actually being able to pull it off correctly is something entirely different and something I struggled with more than I might have imagined. It wasn’t a case of miss-contact or missing the ball entirely as like I said, hand-eye is not the issue, but it was getting the exact method nailed that I found difficult. It’s not about absolutely smashing it when you’re in a passing drill, you’ve got to almost prop the ball up or caress it to
following the City hierarchy’s decision to allow goal-shy forward Alex Revell to depart on a short-term deal to League One promotion-pushers Wigan Athletic. Revell’s presence on the field won’t exactly be missed, as his goal-to-game ratio is appalling. However, letting him go when Joe Mason is suffering his own worrying goal drought, Sammy Ameobi repeatedly fails to take opportunities when presented with them and new signing Idriss Saadi’s continues to struggle with injuries means Bluebirds’ boss Russell Slade is undoubtedly desperate to get a
make it as easy as possible for your team mate to make the next contact and keep it in the air. Unfortunately, I lost count of the amount of times I gave one of the girls absolutely zero hope of getting near it, let alone keeping it airborne. Okay, so by now it’s dawned on me that this is not the walk in the park I’d anticipated. Nevertheless, we moved on to the ‘spike’ and I fancied myself to regain some of that lost pride (ropey #3). Thanks to the excellent coaches Anton, Robin and Josh, we were all taught the correct footwork and hitting technique so began trying to absolutely smash the ball in to next week. However, you wouldn’t believe how unsatisfying it is when you leap for the ball, make contact and it doesn’t beat the net that rests less than a metre in front of your face. Time and time again it happened and when I did eventually get it over, the result was more “float” than “spike”. Disappointing. For our final coaching drill, we were taught the “serve”. Now, without blowing my own trumpet too much, for a first-timer, I really wasn’t too bad. Essentially, this is a case of throwing the ball up in the air and smashing it hard from a height as high as your hand can comfortably reach. A tennis serve, but without the racket and you are allowed a run-up, basically. As an entire group we began serving the balls from the back of the court on one side, aiming for a safe landing area over the net and into the other half. As I said, I wasn’t too bad. Not always, but I did regularly make clean contact and get it over the net, so we’re calling this one a success. It filled me with great confidence as we headed in to the matches at the end of the session (my fourth and final ropey claim). “Team One”, as we were rather ingeniously named, was my team and it was us who lined up in the first game. We were to take on the equally brilliantly named “Team Two”: a showdown to end them all, presumably. I was entrusted with the opening serve. This was my moment. All the hard work had come down to this. Now, my initial reaction was relief as I saw the ball sail over the net and remain in bounds, however the relief soon shifted to panic as the opposing team, rather impressively, returned the ball back to
us - how dare they. Nope, we didn’t get it back to them. My time as “server” was over and my limited skills in “digging” and “spiking” were all that I had left to bring to the game. Unquestionably carried by my team mates, we did actually win the first game although I had no assists or points of my own, so I may as well not have been there. We faced “Team Four” in our next and final encounter. Now in fairness, I have no idea how the scoring system works or was being worked in these match-ups, but I’m going to go ahead and claim that we won the second game as well. I won a few points with hits of my own in this one, so I can safely say it was a success - in fact, the whole session was successful and one that I think the vast majority all enjoyed. Barring the bruises on my forearms that I am still nursing today, it was a hugely enjoyable evening’s work and the sport itself is easy to pick up once you get going so I do recommend it. If volleyball is something you might be interested in, or want to know more, don’t hesitate in contacting the team at volleyball@cardiff.ac.uk or by Twitter on @VolleyballCU.
player of Campbell’s quality in. He will now have to look elsewhere, though and quickly, before the emergency loan window slams shut again (until the January transfer window). Kenwyne Jones, back in scoring form against Reading two weeks ago, is one City will need to hang on to if they want to have any chance of continuing the pressure on both the top six and the chasing pack. The likes of David Marshall, who has been phenomenal between the sticks, Iceland captain Aron Gunnarsson, who has seen game-time for his club hard to come by of late, and
even Craig Noone, who has blown hot and cold so far this season, all being linked with moves in the summer. Not only will Slade need to find a new striker against the clock, but he’ll also need to keep Premier League sides and even promotion-rivals from cherry-picking his best players. Slade must also address a miss-firing frontline and ultimately hope that he is even given enough time to both work on these issues and spend what little money (if any) he receives. Certainly, one thing he will not want to find in his stocking on Christmas morning is his P-45.
Pictured: Above: Cardiff University Volleyball Club in action. (Photographer: Emma Jones) Left: (Photographer: Jomar Galvez)
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My limited skills in ‘digging’ and ‘spiking’ were all that I had left to bring to the game.
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sport p
Editors: Jim Harris James Lloyd Jason Roberts Jamie Smith @GairRhyddSport sport@gairrhydd.com gairrhydd.com/sport
Also this week
Coach’s Corner: Jack Bairstow P38>>
Cardiff Snowsports ride to glory at BUDS championship
Sport Spotlight: We try our hand at volleyball P39>>
Snowboard team win dry slope competition in Edinburgh toppling five universities including Loughborough and Manchester Sam Snell
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UDS, the British University Dry Slope Championship, is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Cardiff Snowsports calendar. A mini ski trip in itself, minus the snow, the weekend sees over 1,500 students from all over the UK hit up Edinburgh’s Hillend dry slope for a weekend of ski/snowboard competitions from Giant Slalom skiing to Big Air freestyle. As usual, Cardiff showed up and had wins in both racing and freestyle events. An early start on Thursday saw 33 competitors and spectators board a coach for the long trek up to Edinburgh. Arriving in the evening on the Thursday it was time to get ready for the pre-BUDS party. Held at Three Sisters bar, it was a smashing night and a great opportunity to meet old and new friends from other universities in the build up to competition beginning the following day. An even earlier start on Friday morning meant it was time to head to the dry slope to prepare for com-
petition. The ski individual slalom was the first event to kick off the weekend, and with a huge amount of racers, the competition ran throughout the day. Cardiff put in some fantastic performances with the likes of Cameron Lally, Janey Rankin and Ollie Hodgkinson putting their finest efforts on show, qualifying along with most other Cardiff racers for Saturdays’ Giant Slalom event. Next to step up to the mark were Cardiff ’s notorious boarders. The individuals came first. Each racer had two runs with a combined time in an attempt to qualify for the Boarder Cross event on Saturday. With all Cardiff racers qualifying, some incredible performances were noted, in particular Ned Bayles placing fifth from over 80 racers! Following this, the course was reset for the board dual competition, a relay race with four to a team. With Cardiff having entered two teams, our chances were looking great. Unfortunately the second team came up against tough early competition from Kent and were knocked out in the first round, so it was down to the 1st
team. Having become UK winners in the Kings competition last year, they were certainly fierce competition for the rest of the pack. The first race up against Birmingham first team had everyone feeling tense. Bayles kicked it off and unfortunately had a fall. This didn’t matter, though, with the likes of Rhys Oakley, Phil Kenny and Gareth Allcock able to back him up. They managed to pull back the deficit and managed to qualify for the next race with a strong first performance. Next they were to face Loughborough, famous for their dominance in all things sport, so the stakes were high. Bayles, Oakley and Kenny put in incredible performances but with only Allcock remaining, Cardiff were still behind – a tough challenge to overcome. But with no better racer to take it on, Allcock raced exceptionally and swiped Loughborough’s lead out of their hands to overtake his counterpart at the last gate and pip him to the post by a board’s length to win. Spirits were high after the last race, and the quarterfinal saw Cardiff
Pictured:
A freestyle skier in full flight at the recent competition. (Photographer: Cardiff Snowsports)
Continued on page 37
A tribute to a rugby great: Jonah Lomu P37>>
English Football League - What about the Welsh clubs? P36>>