Edition 1 - September 08 by Lisa Pool

Frisky Freshers P6

APEX

Hardeep Singh Kohli Interviewed P10

Viral Music Industry P21

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN The Anglia Ruskin APEX

Issue 1 2008/09 www.angliastudent.com

CULTURE

SPORT

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Cambridge Film Festival taking place in September

Calum talks Beijing

FESTIVALS A round up of the Summer’s best music events

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No Nonsense Show me the money p11

Review

Culture

Student Activities

Oscar Contenders Take Their Marks

Yesterday Hollywood, Today The World

ARU Student Conquers Sahara

As January grows ever closer, Oscar contenders fight to lead the pack at international film festivals around the world. With directors Sam Mendes, Baz Luhrmann, Clint Eastwood and the last winners of the Best Film Academy Award- the Coen brothers- still to release films, the Oscar race this year looks to be as enthralling as ever. Other outsiders include Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” while Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker could bag him a posthumous Male in a Supporting Role Award.

After walking in Hollywood’s shadow (in box office returns terms, at least) for almost as long as the art of cinema has existed, it seems that now, world, independent and art-house cinema is beginning to land some of its own punches, receiving commercial as well as critical success in more recent years. Spanish and Korean cinema has enjoyed particular attention, thanks in no small part to Guillermo Del Toro and Park Chan-Wook, respectively.

Karl Scarr, a student at Anglia Ruskin University has spent eleven days of the Summer travelling through the Sahara desert. After nearly losing his life to MRSA, Karl founded the charity fundraiser “Scarred4Life” in 2006 in a bid to raise awareness of such charities as “The East African Wildlife Society” and “La Crèche de Tanger”. Twenty one people took part in “The Sahara Rally” and it proved to be a great success, receiving much exposure through the press and radio.

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2 NEWS

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09 Welcome back from the Summer break and “Hi” to the new recruits who’ve been conscripted to Anglia Ruskin. For the first issue of the academic year I’m standing in for Managing Editor Michael O’Flynn and under strict instruction to not let his “baby” pick up any bad habits I’ve endeavoured to not lead it too far astray. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the writers and editors for their hard work; in particular, Adam “Monty” Foskett for his invaluable contribution as our only designer, without whom the Apex would look more like Mona the Vampire than the Mona Lisa. After countless cups of coffee and Jawbreaker listens, this is what emerged once the dust had settled. Hopefully, you’ll extract much enjoyment from reading (or graffitiing) our beloved Apex- John Sherman, Deputy Managing Editor.

News

Editor in Chief Lisa Pool l.pool@angliastudent.com

Managing Editor Michael O’Flynn apexeditor@angliastudent.com

Deputy Managing Editor John Sherman apexfeatures@angliastudent. com

Chief Designer Adam Foskett apexchiefdesigner@angliastudent.com

News Editor Elma Jenkins

Lifestyle Editor Leanne Ehren

Student Affairs Editor Vacant Music Editor Simon Thomas

Culture Editor Chris Glithero apexculture@angliastudent.com

Student Activities Editor Craig Jennings

Sport Editor Michelle Hempstead

Photography Editor Jaymes Sinclair

Heather Pritchard

On Tuesday 7th August Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia. This attack follows years of tensions between Georgia and the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Since breaking away in the 1990’s the separatist regions have had economic and diplomatic support from Russia. So when the attack began on South Ossetia, Russia responded with military action. Large numbers of civilians in South Ossetia were forced to leave their homes, many fleeing to the Russian republic of North Ossetia. It has been reported that the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali has been largely destroyed. After visiting a camp for those displaced in the conflict, Foreign Secretary David Miliband reported hearing stories of random violence, the devastation of families, killing and intimidation. Russian troops formally withdrew from Georgia on Saturday 22nd August however there was still a high military presence which Russian president Dmitri Medvedev claimed was a peacekeeping force, there to protect the citizens of the breakaway regions. On the 26th August, defying Europe and the United States, Russia declared formal recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. This has been condemned by world leaders as a breach of international law. Medvedev responded that “We are not afraid of anything, including the prospect of a new Cold War”. Since fighting for independence from Georgia in 1991-1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, South Ossetia has administrated its own affairs. The independence of the separatist regions had not been officially recognised until Russia’s controversial declaration. Medvedev supported his actions, saying “The most important thing is to defend the rights of the people who live in South Ossetia

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Russia’s move has been condemned by George W. Bush as internationally irresponsible

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Editorial Team

A catalyst for the second Cold War?

and Abkhazia”. Over two-thirds of the citizens of South Ossetia hold Russian passports and the Ossetians are an ethnic group originally from Russian plains who were forced southwards in the 13th Century. South Ossetia’s aim in becoming independent was to rejoin the North Ossetians, which is an autonomous republic in Russia. Regardless of South Ossetian desires Russia’s move has been condemned by George W. Bush as internationally irresponsible, raising tensions in the area and complicating diplomatic negotiations.

Medvedev has now reportedly approached China for support in a diplomatic stand-off between Russia and the West. Similarly David Miliband is set to use a speech to gain worldwide support for a “coalition against Russian aggression.” The battle in South Ossetia over the tense political situation is far from resolved.

The opinions expressed in The Anglia Ruskin Apex are not necessarily those of the Editor, Editorial Team, advertisers or Anglia Ruskin University Students’ Union. Every effort is made to ensure all articles are as factually correct as possible at the time of going to print, given the information available.

News 4 NEWS

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

News

Beijing 2008.

The demise of the horse chestnut

Katie Brinkley

During August in Beijing, 200 London 2012 organisers observe proceedings with a keen eye on the technicalities. Impressive venues have been perfected on time, ceremony finesse is faultless, transport systems run flawlessly, the Chinese even seem to have their own special cheering procedure. Yet, through the cracks in the tightly controlled surface, seep the stories of oppression and misinformation.

Elma Jenkins

The Horse Chestnut tree is common in England. Its distinctive flowers blooming in June and the fruit it produces are synonymous with playgrounds. But a new species of disease, which first emerged in 2001 and originates from the Himalayas, has been on the rise since 2003. Known as “Bleeding Canker” it is thought to be a bacterium that has also been detected in Holland, Belgium and France. It causes the tree to ooze a black liquid and deterioration within the bark. After several years of attack the tree will weaken and die. This, says David Rose of the Forestry Commission, is the worst problem, infecting some 35-50,000 trees and experts do not know

Viewers are shocked, the International Olympic Committee is embarrassed and Tessa Jowel condemns the incident as ugly and a breach of promises of media freedom. Worse, the five absailers and their vast free Tibet banner fail to gain even a mention on any of China Central Television’s 18 channels. That news from China, available to the rest of the world, can be hidden from those closest to it seems incredible. Yet if the Sydney Morning Herald is to be believed,

they outline the Chinese Government’s instruction list for domestic journalists. Directions include following the official line on all matters relating to international affairs and, alarmingly, avoiding “all food safety issues such as cancer-causing water”. Aside from the politics of location, the Games were of course a triumph for Team Great Britain. A host of breathtaking performances by athletes worldwide were also inspiring to watch. Highlights from within Team GB included

swimmer Rebecca Adlington’s early double Gold in the 400m and 800m freestyle. An abundance of medals ensued, resulting in Britain’s biggest haul of Olympic Gold’s since Antwerp in 1920. Success stories emerge all across the spectrum, including a gold in the men’s lightweight double skulls rowing. Local cyclist Ross Edgar of Newmarket brings home a silver. Nineteen year old Louis Smith follows with Britain’s first medal for decades in men’s gymnastics.

August 17 and 18 are hailed as a ‘golden weekend’ for British Sport, with team GB 3rd in the medal table behind only China and the USA. Sports organisers begin to question the aim to come at least 4th in 2012, saying that it is time to raise the bar higher. Praise comes thick and fast for sports development programmes, such as lottery funding, already in progress. All in all a successful Games, setting hopes high for London 2012.

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Climate Camp Elma Jenkins

The contentious issue of Kingsnorth power station was the setting this year for “Climate Camp” from the 3 – 11 August. Including all things eco-friendly, from bike, sun and wind powered lighting, internet and TV to nude marches. This is the third such gathering in the group’s attempt to kick-start a social movement. It is staffed entirely by volunteers who organized workshops, talks and built compostable toilets for this year’s event. Climate Camp began in 2006 in West Yorkshire, camping and attracting media attention against the Drax coal fired power station. In 2007 the camp turned its attention to Heathrow and the infamous third runway issue in which it was supported by 2,000 people.

This year the web site claims another victory as it managed to halt the “business as usual” status of Kingsnorth, due to be replaced with a coal fire powered unit, by piratering protesters who managed to penetrate the main fencing and were arrested for “disrupting the running of the power station by causing the water inlet cooling system to be shut down”. As stated on the Climate Camp website. A diverse group were involved in the camping and action over the 10 days, reports of young children, families and elderly as well as young people, giving a good indication of the scope of interest burning coal can arise. Clashes with the police are inevitable at such events and night long stand-offs to stop protestors entering private areas ensued. Much media attention has been focused upon the heavily policed camp, some of which has vilified the police’s over zealous staffing.

Saturday was the chosen day of action when peaceful campers turned into protesters wantonly attempting to enter the off-limits area and prove that individual action can still draw large media attention. There were water, airborne, carnival and guerrilla assault campaigns. Campers themselves were asked to “be the reporters” by the organizers, through submitting their experiences and views onto communal news sites such as Indymedia.org to drum up support. Arthur Scargill, Leader of the National Coal Miners Union also visited the site. He approves of the coal renovation plan, which will be the first in Britain in 30 years, but continues to sympathize with the protestors. Drawing parallels between their plight to protest and that of the Miners picketing lines in 1980s. He believes the process of carbon capturing and burying before it is released is a

practical solution. But the Camp voices the opinion that this is not sufficient as one coal-powered plant will release more than 6 million tons of CO2 per year. Furthermore, he believes that the argument of an energy gap if Kingsnorth and five other planned coal stations are not built, is a scare tactic. No such energy gap will emerge if Gordon Brown’s plan for 40% of energy to be generated by renewable resources by 2020 materializes. The decision has already been approved by the local Medway council and now rests with the government.

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‘Bleeding Canker’ causes the tree to ooze a black liquid

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Day five sees the arrest of ITN journalist John Ray. “They dragged me, pulled me and knocked me to the ground,” he communicated by phone. The crime? John reported on a peaceful Free Tibet protest near the Bird’s Nest Stadium, in accordance with the Olympic host’s obligation to offer media freedom in venue cities.

how it has spread. They have speculated an airborne attack that increased after the mild winters and wet springs. It spreads in both rural areas, where the worst was South East with 79% symptoms, and in urban environments: The West Midlands experienced an 87% infestation in 2007. Other problems to the tree include a prolific moth, also a new species, known as a Leaf Minor which hatches its eggs inside the leaves and causes them to turn brown and fall prematurely. These are predominantly distributed around the South East of the UK, and have also been detected in Europe. The moths can be dissuaded by burning the fallen leaves, while investigation is under way to isolate and cure the deadly bacterium.

Lifestyle Lifestyle

6 LIFESTYLE

Leanne Ehren Lifestyle Editor

Under the sheets with a student... Why does everyone automatically reduce their standards and forget their values when it comes to sex, just because its Freshers’ week? Okay, maybe not everyone- that’s too general- but you come to uni (or return to uni after summer break) and it seems that every human being around you is horny and wants sex! Freshers’ fortnight is the time to make friends, discover the city, indulge in your course... really? I don’t think! I’ve heard so much talk about “fuck a fresher” or being a “fresher fucker”– the entire focus seems to be on sex. And even the powers above us (the Student Union) know it too, with their “date or mate” games, and chucking free condoms at us in every direction– hey, at least they want us to do it safely! Friends, acquaintances, course people have all had different experiences so I don’t want to tar

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I thought everything just moved a bit faster because I was at uni, but oh no, it’s just Freshers’ fortnight that has its own rules

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everyone with the same brush by any means; I’ve known guys who have met girls during Freshers’ and are still with them three years later– crazy thought I know, but it does happen.

But what if abstinence is the way to go during the fun and footloose time of Freshers’? I know, and have known people, who are adamant they are going to stay re-

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Hello and welcome to Anglia Ruskin Apex Lifestyle. This section is designed to suit the student lifestyle; containing tips and tricks to maximise your student experience in every aspect. Including money, fashion, sex and much more, Lifestyle hopes to entertain and inform your varied student lifestyles, whilst keeping you up to date with all the things that matter in your life!

Frisky Freshers and Safe Sex Ellie Clarke

born virgins during Freshers’, and everyone just laughs. The temptation is there, and for a guy, so many girls are offering themselves on a plate, it’s hard to resist. Abstinence aside, I was adamant I’d met the man of my dreams during my time at Freshers’; popular, well-liked, the year above so he could show me around– I’d totally landed a catch. But then Freshers’ fortnight ended and I woke up. It seemed everything that happened during Freshers’ week sort of stayed there. You’d meet one night, see each other again the following night (different club, different theme), go back to his, go back to yours, have sex at his, have sex at yours, have sex again, and oh, there you go, Freshers’ is over and that’s it. I was like “what happened?” His reply: “It was just a Freshers’ fling”. I’d fallen for the common trap of abandonment that follows the “fuck a fresher” concept. I was not a happy lass. I thought everything just moved a bit faster because I was at uni, but oh no, it’s just Freshers’ fortnight that has its own rules. So what I learnt (after I got my revenge by turning up at his shared house returning his boxers to him in front of everyone and humiliating him) is that Freshers’ fortnight carries different rules, and if you want to maintain respect then you shouldn’t let the sexual fog mist up your eyes, but use it as valuable time to check out the new talent for when the frantic shag-fest is over.

Freshers’ season is well and truly upon us; hundreds of students have the opportunity to meet new people, experience new things… and get Chlamydia. Sorry to bring the mood down but sexually transmitted infections (STI’s) are a problem in the UK, as government statistics reveal that two thirds of all STI’s are mostly prevalent in the under 25 age group. Around one in four people in this age group has had or will get an STI, and this makes us students appear a tad at risk to say the least. But Freshers’ week is all about letting loose. With a swarm of new faces making your acquaintance, tingly feelings will no doubt be in the air (among other special places) and all this STI media frenzy certainly won’t impede all those pulsing urges! Just read the following advice on precautions you’d be wise to take in order to avoid unwanted circumstances (even if you think you’ve heard it all before)… The most important thing is to always carry condoms – both boys and girls! It’s not desperate, it’s sensible, especially if drinking and the loss of all inhibitions is on the agenda. Even if you’re not planning on getting any action you might just find yourself changing your mind and then you’ll be thankful you came prepared. The lucky boy or girl you pull should share the same sentiments and if not, well they’re just not worth it. Remember that condoms are the only type of contraception that prevents STIs, and with condoms available free from the Student Union, there’s really no excuse not to have one on you. Safe sex actually makes sex better! The more safe and protected we feel, the easier it is to get in the mood for lovin’! Anxiety has been proven to lead to potentially embarrassing performance problems for men and women - well embarrassing for you…entertaining for anyone who happens to hear about it. A brilliant way to know

how safe you are is to get tested for STIs regularly. Experts advise that you do this yearly or more if your partners change frequently. According to an online survey by Scarletteen magazine young people aren’t doing this nearly enough. Of the 2091 people asked only 11% get tested yearly, while 44% have never even had a full STI screening. Obviously STIs aren’t the only possible result of unprotected sex. Of every 100 women who have sex without using any reliable method of contraception for a year, around 80-90 of those women become pregnant according to most statistics. Students are again in the firing line since rates of unplanned pregnancy are considerably higher for women aged 15-24 as they are more fertile. Unfortunately, unless it’s planned, falling pregnant can be an extremely stressful, inconvenient and mentally painful experience. Also, babies aren’t exactly easy on the student budget! If unprotected sex occurs then going

to your local pharmacy or GP as soon as possible to get the morning after pill is probably the best option. But remember, the morning after pill should be used as the last option as it does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases and you may have to fork out up to 40 quid for it. Condoms are easier, safer and cheaper! You’re a smart bunch of people (you got into uni you clever lot) so keep your wits about you and if you do end up going to someone else’s place/hotel room/bike shed make sure it complies with your own terms and that one of your friends knows exactly where you are going and who you are with. Mobile phones come in handy too, so keep yours close and if you ever become uncomfortable, phone someone you trust or even the police. Safe sex is simple and easy to remember: Stay protected and be on your guard or get your mates to look out for you if you are a little worse for wear.

Lifestyle Lifestyle 8 LIFESTYLE

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Top 5 Spots in Personal Safety Out and About Cambridge Leanne Ehren

Vodka Revolutions Downing Street- New addition to Cambridge city last year, this bar/club has become party centre of the city. The SU has teamed up with Revs to have exclusive access to the upstairs venue on Wednesday nights as well as drink promotions; purchase a £4 wristband from the SU Bar to receive entry and a bus ride to Revs on a Wednesday night.

brb@ The Cow Market Passage, Corn Exchange Street- Bar and restaurant. This inner city alcove has much to offer with late openings of 1am on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as 2-4-1 pizza offers every Tuesday, and 2-4-1 cocktails every Thursday.

Tree Hugging Hippy Juice Bar Norfolk Street- Friendly staff and environmentally friendly drinks and munches– we thoroughly approve of this place. Whether to drink and eat in or take away, this service is the best around town! Juices and smoothies galore as well as lunch time snacks to feed everyone’s desire for eco-friendliness!

The Place Sidney Street- This is The Place to be on a Monday night. Our SU has again arranged a fantastic student friendly night out with the fresh-faced and revamped club in the heart of town. With drink offers to suit your budget and the dance floor to strut your stuff, start your week how you want it to go on!

Gourmet Burger Kitchen Regent Street- Modern, convenient and quick, this burger bar provides a fulfilling piece of meat of high quality yet at a reasonable price. Informal and comfortable, this could be an ideal place for a first date, catch up with friends, or even somewhere to take your folks when they come to visit!

Fashion

Ellie Clarke

Leanne Ehren

With such a storming line-up of events put on for us students by ours Ents team, it looks like we’re going to let loose and actively forget what our parents taught us: we probably won’t drink in moderation, won’t be home by 10 o’clock and will talk to strangers (shocking that each year a third of university students are victims of crime isn’t it?). Even so, we can still make sure that we don’t wake up in a hospital, ditch or state of involuntary poverty since we have our friends, our common sense and even Cambridge city to look after us. Cambridge has an excellent police service and with 157 CCTV cameras set up around the city keeping a beady eye on us all, day and night, we can trust we are being looked after. However, there are certain things that you can do try and keep yourself safe and out of harms way. When out on the razz there are several things you need to be careful of. Police estimate that one in three victims of “drug assisted sexual assault” are students, most of whom have had their drink spiked. Keep your drink close or get trustworthy friends to look after it if you want to have a bit of a dance. You’re also going to want to keep your bag/personal items close, as wallets, mobile phones and watches are frequently stolen, lost or damaged in pubs and clubs. The Home Office recently said that those aged 18 and over were targeted for this type of crime between 10pm and 6am with more phone robberies than other robberies occurring during the early hours of the morning. Being a student in Cambridge you also have to be particularly wary of beggars- they may look hungry and innocent but you can’t take them home and keep them. Despite there being more tramps per square foot here than London, the great thing about Cambridge is that everything a student will ever need is always within an easy walking distance. Exploring the city during the day is the best way to get to know your way around but when night comes, the darkness and a certain lack of sobriety can somewhat hinder the sense of direction. Walking on your own at night is never advised, whether male or female, so keeping peers close and walking along well-lit busy streets can be a huge safety advantage. Sometimes, however, you may end

So where in Cambridge are the best places to find the latest fashion? As a city, Cambridge is rife with chains of stores from Topshop to John Lewis, and as the city is split into two main areas, you can usually find whatever pair of shoes/ leg warmers/ knickers you are looking for, quite close to home. Cambridge also contains many nooks and crannies, and these are best sought out early to discover the small boutiques and individual shops that Cambridge treasures. Never forget whilst out shopping to always carry your Anglia Ruskin Student ID card, or even better, an NUS Extra card– these will get you extra discounts in lots of stores that run student-friendly promotions. One large student-friendly fashion night is happening on Wednesday 24th September. Debenhams store in the Grafton Centre is having a “Student Lock-In” until 10pm. Rock up with your student ID card for this exclusive Student night to get a variety of discounts on selected lines (discounts TBA).

up on your own and it just can’t be helped. Ever managed to ditch your mates to chase that someone checking you out, only to find out they had dust in their eye? Don’t worry, it happens. But finding your way home on your own is mega risky so it may be wise to invest in a cozy cab ride. No money left? Keep a stash separate from your purse or wallet, for example at home or even in your bra, so you’re not tempted to spend it. This way you are always safe and prepared, and if you don’t need a cab then you’ve saved enough for a fry up in the morning! There are as many taxis in Cambridge as there are red buses in London, so although you may find one pulling up alongside you, always ensure you get into a registered taxi (it’ll have a plate on the back) and if in doubt ask to see the driver’s taxi license. Or even better, just call a cab and wait in a well lit area – outside the pub/club is always good so door staff can keep an eye on you. But safety issues are only relevant to women right? Wrong. Men aged between 18 and 25 are more likely to be attacked than anyone else and three times more likely to get assaulted than women. A moderate amount of alco-

hol leads to an increase in that feisty little male hormone called testosterone, making lads a bit lairy, while heavy consumptions of alcohol decrease testosterone levels leaving men feeling aggressive. Either way, some boys can result to violence, landing themselves in situations they are unable to handle. Everyone has their breaking point so look out for your friends and don’t let them get into sticky situations. If anything does get out of hand then think of your safety and always call 999, however Cambridge City Centre offers an alternative: Text alert. If you see something wrong within the city centre and you want to be discreet about reporting it you can contact the Cambridge City CCTV control room directly by texting 62288. When texting, you should include details of the street, city and a brief description of what is happening, e.g. “Market Square, Cambridge, fight”. So have fun whilst out partying in Cambridge and remember you’ve got your common sense (hopefully), your mates (which will grow in abundance if you go out as much as possible) and the lovely Cambridge to come to your rescue if anything turns rubbish.

Campaigns Campaigns

CAMPAIGNS 9

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Broke and Broken

Show you CARE

Lisa Pool

There are many reasons why the current system is flawed. Student loans cost the Government money which will never put any additional funding into the system. The current system favours affluent students with bursaries linked to A-Level attainment rather than assessing by financial hardship. In many institutions, there is no limit to the amount international students can be charged for their education, and part time students are offered no help to cover their

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This report has been timely created to influence the Government review of the system in 2009 as it will present ministers with the brutal truth of the failings in the higher education funding system in black and white. With an already large amount of national media coverage and comments from Bill Rammell (Minister for Higher Education), this report is already stirring up debate and will continue to do so for the year ahead.

Students have to take a huge financial risk, with no guarantee of success

able to pay off their student loan because the annual interest on a £42,00 student Loan would be £1,520, meaning you would need to earn a minimum of £31,889 per year to even cover the interest repayment. To make matters worse, an Art student on average only earns £35,000 more than a person with 2 A-Levels so if the cap was lifted to £7,000 there would be no financial benefit whatsoever and the typical art student would in fact be £7,000 worse off for going to university.

costs and have to pay fees upfront. These are just a few of the problems.

As a recent graduate I am no stranger to the issue of debt facing students. However, this report is eye-opening because of the figures it produces. The average student who started after 2006 will have a debt of around £19,000 once they leave university. If the government were to lift the cap on fees to £7000, this is projected to rise to around £25,000 worth of debt straight out of university, not to mention a potential of £42,000 for those who study in London and take the maximum maintenance loan. Lifting the cap would mean that a student who studies in London could potentially never be

NUS have recognised that the current repayment system for student loans would have to change if debt levels became too high. Over the coming year they will be consulting with students and Students’ Unions on how we can make the system better. November 5th is the National Day of Action and the Students Union will be looking to run a regional campaign on the inequality of the current system. If you would like to get involved please email the president on n.evangelista@angliastudent.com or check out our website for campaign updates. If you would like more information on the content of the report or would like to directly feed into the NUS future plan then visit www.nus.org.uk.

Leukaemia CARE is seeking to open up its volunteer opportunities to all Anglia Ruskin University students studying any course. However, those who are medical, nursing, psychology and counselling students as well as those with ambitions in the voluntary sector, event organising or who have personal experience of cancer might be especially interested in what Leukaemia CARE are offering; particularly as the project includes volunteer training such as IIQ Listening & Bereavement (NVQ standard) and induction days. The charity seeks potential care and awareness volunteers but also event organisers and fundraisers to help spread the word. The charity would offer training and support as well as invaluable events/ fundraising/ care/ networking experience. If you would like to find out more about leukaemia, blood cancer or the Leukaemia CARE charity then visit www. leukaemiacare.org.uk or www. raise4leukaemia.org.uk

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Everyone can leave the world a better place. Remember a Charity in your will

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In the build up to the Government’s 2009 review of university fees, NUS have revealed some shocking statistics in their new report, titled “Broke and Broken”, surrounding students and the higher education funding system. This detailed critique looks in depth at the problems students currently face with the introduction of top-up fees and the modelled consequences students could face if the cap is lifted substantially in the future to a possible amount of £7000.

27,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with blood cancer each year; these cancers include myelomas, lymphomas and leukaemias. The term leukaemia refers to one of a group of cancers of the blood and is not only the most common form of childhood cancer it is also prolific in the over 60’s. In leukaemia, white blood cells become abnormal, and divide and grow in an uncontrolled way. Leukaemia CARE is a charity that exists to provide vital care and support to all those whose lives are affected by leukaemia, lymphoma and the allied blood disorders and the charity regularly holds fundraising and awareness events.

Their work extends to the welfare of families and carers, as well as the patients themselves. Care and support is provided via the phone and in person. Their CARE Line is staffed by a dedicated team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and as well as offering a friendly ear it also provides information on diet, fatigue, hair loss, financial assistance, bereavement, choosing to die at home, hospice intervention, grants, welfare/benefits and much more.

If you would like to make a donation to leaukaemia CARE then you can visit www.justgiving.com/leukaemiacare/donate If you want to get involved in fundraising/volunteering for Leukaemia CARE then contact Pamela Clarke (Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union Student Experience Officer) p.clarke@angliastudent.com

24 hr CARELINE: 0800 1696680 Freephone the CARE line from your mobile on 0808 8010444. Registered as a Charity: England & Wales No. 259483 Scotland No: SC039207

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10 Minutes with Hardeep Singh Kohli Kate Wicklow

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I dont think there is anything we shouldn’t joke about

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There have been so many things you have done in your career to date, what has been the most fulfilling and enlightening thing you have done? I’ve loved working on the One Show because it’s about meeting people, real people and that’s been amazing, travelling the length and breadth of the country has been great. Also being a booker Prize judge, it’s just very, very special, but equally days like this where I find myself completely out of my depth, completely out of my league, and listening to people who have incredible and astonishing lives somehow puts everything into perspective.

Political correctness stops people expressing themselves freely

Do you think one day comedians will stop being funny because they are scared of this law? In a strange way it is very difficult to stop us being funny. I could be incredibly rude and suggestive to you, without using one single bad word. “You want me to put what…where…for how long…really?” Automatically in your head you have all sorts of images and I have not said anything wrong. I don’t have to be explicit to be funny, and that’s what truly good comedy does, you cannot stop people laughing.

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Monday 1st September led Lisa Pool and I to the NUS Media Reception held at Amnesty International HQ. The last part of the day was a panel debate on freedom of expression including a student leader from the 1989 Tiananmen Square Riots, a student from the Free Burma coalition and chairing the debate was TV comedian and journalist Hardeep Singh. We got to meet up with him after the debate.

my political beliefs. I was much more interested in reporting on the arts and I’ve carried on working in the arts for the last 20 years, and certainly the seeds were sewn back in my student newspaper days. How do you go from being a law student to such a high profile comedian and journalist? I was a shit law student!

You mentioned in the panel debate that you got involved with your student newspaper, what kind of things did you do and do you think that has benefited your career?

You were here today to talk about freedom of expression. Do you feel that we have absolute freedom of expression in this country and how do you think you contribute in the media to that discussion?

I kind of did music reviews, because the paper was very political and I wasn’t interested, at that point of my life anyway, disclosing

I don’t think you can ever have absolute freedom of expression, I think that is an impossibility, but we have a goal which we should

strive for. I think we suffer terribly in this country from political correctness and I think what political correctness does is it stops people expressing themselves freely. People are scared to say the wrong thing, people should be allowed to say the wrong thing, because it’s not until people say the wrong thing that they are then corrected. If people don’t express opinions about asylum seekers or immigration, it invites people to harbour these prejudices and will strengthen over time because they are never corrected. What do you think about the grey area surrounding the incitement of religious and racial hatred act whereby people can potentially be prosecuted for

offending people without intending to? I think the law is a mockery in a way. I have a personal belief that religion ought to be strong enough to sustain criticism. I would worry if the sort of religion you were following couldn’t take the odd joke here and there, and it seems to me absolutely fine to have a go at Christianity, Hinduism and the Jewish religion. I have some great Jewish jokes that don’t undermine their religion but reflect the humour within the Jewish community, but we can’t say anything against Muslims. I don’t think there is anything we shouldn’t joke about. I’ve told Madeline MaCann Jokes.

What tip would you give our students who want to go into the media industry and like you, speak about things they truly believe in? Okay, first thing is don’t do a degree in Media Studies. That’s not a joke. I don’t want people who studied media to work for the media. I want people who have studied archaeology, and history. There is increasingly less room for passion and belief in the media as we know it. Newspaper journalism is for the intellectuals and television is defined by its averageness. It is the only industry I know where you matter more if you have no training in it and no knowledge of it. If that’s how we recruited our plastic surgeons and midwives, we would all be dead in a second!

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Film festival Deniz Johns - President CFM Society

The Communication, Film and Media Society came back to life with a fantastic event at the end of last semester. ARU had its first Student Film Festival, with the great encouragement and support from our Programme Leaders and lecturers. I must admit, when we first started planning the 1st SFF, I didn’t think it was going to be that popular. We had so many submissions as well as a great audience- we had to spend more money on wine than anything else. This academic year the 2nd Student Film Festival will be more exciting with prizes, special guests, and even more drinks and food; we might even splash out on a red carpet! So start preparing your films for submission. I would like to invite all students to submit their films, videos and animations in mini DV, DVD or 16mm format before Christmas to Communication Film and Media Society. To find out where and how e-mail: deniz.johns@ student.anglia.ac.uk The date of the festival will be announced nearer the time. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

No Nonsense John Sherman

Over the Summer, while many of you were sunning yourselves on a far flung beach or grafting hard to earn funds before returning to study, the University was putting in place controversial plans to completely overhaul the bursaries system. The prospective scheme meant that bursaries for new students would have been cut by 25% and could only be spent at the John Smith’s bookshop. Thankfully, the Students’ Union fought hard to make sure that students’ needs were met. Last year students received £1000 of bursary in their first year and £500 in the second and third year. However, the University has slashed the first year amount to £500 in the first year and £500 in the second and third year. The proposed scheme meant the bursaries would have been given as credit on an “Aspire” card and could only be spent on books and possibly computers, though the total number of items potentially available for purchase is unclear. Needless to say, when Anglia Ruskin students were informed of the changes that were being ushered in, many of you were vehemently opposed to the idea

and not without good reason; arguments against the plans overwhelm the possible good points. Many students at Anglia Ruskin have very low incomes and have to make their finances stretch to pay for food, entertainment, rent, et cetera. These students rely heavily on the current cash back system to manage their funds as bursaries arrive at a time when maintenance loans have generally run out. Taking away this choice of how bursaries are spent leaves many struggling under more financial hardship; all this before addressing the issue of the likelihood of students actually spending £500 on books, laptops or stationery. Most tend to borrow many books from the University Library or use online resources to supplement core texts. Even if students bought every item on their reading list, they would not be able to spend the money. A price comparison between online bookstores and John Smith’s shows outlets such as Amazon selling books at a fraction of the price. With a 5% NUS discount and home delivery available, it’s obvious which is the better option.

Some students’ needs don’t seem to have been considered at all as many Art students require specialist materials that would not have been included in the “Aspire” card offer. It would seem that, not for the first time, the University is completely out of touch with what students want and need. Only last year we reported that the University was planning to move the Graduation ceremony to London. Once again the Students’ Union, with help from students, has been able to halt plans being forced through by University. The Students’ Union were not formally notified of the proposals until 14th July but immediately set to work gauging student opinion and campaigning on our behalf to change the plans to meet students’ needs. Many students joined the online facebook group “25% Less Bursary, 100% Less Choice” and filled out the survey. An overwhelming number of people not only opposed the plans, but were furious that they had not been addressed first before the University decided what was best for them and set about putting in place plans to “add prestige to the University”

and “increase academic ability”. The issue was of great concern to students starting their first year in September too; they had been promised that their bursary would be returned to them in the form of cash so it seemed that the University was going back on their word. Newly-elected SU President Nick Evangelista and other members of the Students’ Union met with Vice Chancellor Mike Thorne to discuss the issue and find out the full implications for students. Although there were some benefits to the proposed scheme such as there being greater availability of course books, it was agreed that the negatives far outweighed the positives. As things stand, students starting at Anglia Ruskin in 2008/09 will have the Aspire card as an option but it is not compulsory. However students beginnging in 2009/10 will not have such the luxury. An extra incentive for students to choose the “Aspire” card is that they will receive an extra £50 credit, but the book shop won’t be price-matching with outlets such as Amazon. It should be noted that universi-

ties are not legally obliged to give every student a bursary; the minimum they have to provide is £300 to students on a full loan and grant. The National Union of Students has called for a National Bursary Scheme because many universities are using bursaries for recruitment rather than giving money to students who need it. The situation has once again raised arguments surrounding the issue of the marketisation of higher education, but it seems clear that sometimes Universities need to put the needs of students before its own profit margins should it hope to continue attracting students in the future. Students should take comfort though from the fact that the Students’ Union continues to work hard in reminding Anglia Ruskin University of this.

&Opinion

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THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Editorial

Will London be able to match Guns don’t kill people... Beijing? or otherwise) in the same way that John Sherman

Michael O’Flynn

Simple answer NO! not a chance. You may be wondering how someone can be so blunt about this but there are 3 key facts which back up the no answer. 1. We live in a Democracy (an extremely apathetic one as well) 2. London has less than half the funding of Beijing and finally 3. It’s in London. Now the third point may seem slightly harsh to a few people but we will tackle these one by one. Firstly our Democracy though it is beautiful and I wouldn’t switch it to live in China, I like my human rights thank you very much, this Democracy is something China ignore and that certainly helps when it comes to opening and closing ceremonies. To quote “Mock the Week”, because I myself am not that funny , “There is nothing like the sight of thousands of people dancing and drumming in unison to remind you that there is a dictator ship in China”. not to make light of this it is a bad thing but wow, all the dancing in unison is a fantastic spectacle but you wouldn’t be able to get people to volunteer to do that, well you might but not that many and not to the level they were doing it in Beijing. Also this Autocratic government of China managed to get all the motorists off the road for 2weeks, that would never happen in London, the people of that city moan about congestion charge and public transport every second of every day, so unless the budget covers two weeks off for all city workers, you may see a few road cyclists getting squashed under the wheels of white vans. This brings us neatly to the budget of roughly 9.5 billion pounds. A lot of money but not if you need to build brand spanking new stadiums, higher all the extra security, develop all the dilapidated areas of London itself, as well as sort out public transport and generally have a good ole clean. However, Boris has a plan to combat these problem with good old fashion British “wit and ingenuity” So Sticky back plastic, toilet roll holders, and PVA glue then? Building stadiums like we built Tracey Island! They also expect to cut corners by using existing iconic venues like Lords and Wimbledon.

Now as far as I know Wimbledon has one sporting purpose as does Lords and Cricket is not an Olympic sport (if it becomes one I will cry) I have to admit though I would like to see Lords used as the venue for the BMX, that would be excellent. So if you’re counting London still needs an Athletic Stadium, a Veladrome, a BMX track, an Olympic village, water rapids for canoeing (they could use Thorpe Park or Lego Land) and an Olympic standard swimming pool. Also how safe do you think the water is for open water swimming and the triathlon? Now to the controversial point, London is not the best back drop for an Olympic games. For one there is a distinct lack of space (unlike our eastern friends knocking down peoples’ houses is not an option) and secondly we are showcasing iconic Britain. Supposedly that means Rock in the shape of Jimmy Page, R n B in the shape of Miss Leona Lewis, Art, Fashion and Red Buses (you have to admire Boris he truly loves those buses). I tell you how I see a quintessentially British Olympics 1 Rain 2.Moaning that it is overcrowded 3.Everything is delayed 4.Nothing quite works out the way it should (millennium fireworks anyone?) 5. Britain moans but in the end laughs it off whilst the IOC get very mad at Seb Coe and France sit there going “I told you that we should of got the Olympics, silly Englishmen“. Now you may call me a pessimist but do you think it is going to be any different? Don’t get me wrong, I would love for once to be proved completely off the mark with this one but there is a big mountain to overcome and there is slim chance of it happening unless certain things change. Boris could become a fascist leader making every single Londoner do his bidding, Anthea Turner joins the Olympic committee and takes over the stadium construction and cleaning projects, every youth in Britain takes up sport instead of stabbing each other and we rob Switzerland, just take all their money and use it all before they notice it is gone. Not likely is it?

You may have heard that the Brazilian government, in an effort to take 500,000 weapons off the streets, have launched a “gun buyback programme”. So desperate are they to tackle violent crime (40,000 gun-related deaths a year make Brazil one of the world’s violent countries) that they’ve set aside 45 million reais (about 15 million quid, to me and you) to fund the programme, which involves people being able to hand in guns- “no questions asked”. Depending on the condition and model of each weapon, the government is paying the equivalent of between £32 and £100 for each gun handed over. As well meaning as the plans are, it’s not hard to see how the gun amnesty might be flawed. In theory, taking the tools of a criminal’s trade should reduce crime. But paying probable criminals for each of the weapons they hand over could have the adverse effect, should any criminal recall the adage “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Buy an arms factory worth of weapons from a man and he’ll never have to work, steal or kill again.” In other words, the amnesty has the potential to spark mass acquisition of arms (illegally

Golden Tickets brought about buying Wonka bars en masse. Surely this is a scenario realised by many living in the favelas of Brazil. The seemingly magical combination of adding value to weapons that are readily available on the streets, and the ease with which they can be disposed of could prove irresistible for some of the poorest members of Brazilian society. Not that I’m against the plans. Quite the opposite in fact; I’d fully support the introduction of a similar programme in this country. We’ve had knife amnesties before but there’s been no incentive to hand them over except to reduce violent crime. I’d like to see what would happen if people in this country were paid for each piece of potential weaponry they hand over, if only to see the looks of confusion on my housemates’ faces when they realise there are no knives with which to cut their cheese/ bread/ crack. And if the amnesty had a “no questions asked” policy, the only interrogation I’d be receiving would be from friends wondering how I could suddenly afford to shop for food online from Waitrose on a measly student budget. Ah well, so long as it’s in aid of a good cause, I’m

going to be handing these dangerous weapons over so the streets are a safer place. In all seriousness though, I’m certain that politicians are missing the required common sense to realise that weapon amnesties don’t reduce violent crime. Over a five week period in 2006, when there was last a knife amnesty in this country, over 100,000 blades (that’s a shitload of potential Waitrose deliveries) were handed into police forces in England, Scotland and Wales. The campaign was declared a “success” by ministers despite daily knife offences returning to pre-amnesty levels within six weeks of the amnesty ending. I don’t claim to know the solution (a simple “peace and love” message probably isn’t practical enough to reach out to those who exist in a situation of desperation and hopelessness) but my knowledge is sufficient enough for me to conclude that amnesties alone are not nearly as “successful” as ministers would have you believe. To paraphrase comedian Andrew Maxwell “People are talking about banning knives to solve the crime problems. Let me tell you, if we did that, one of these little fuckers would kill you with a spoon.” Now, knives are one issue, but how are my housemates going to eat their cereal?

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Are you gonna go my way? John Sherman

On a particularly slow night I was trawling the internet while News 24 grumbled in the background. I was searching for something undeniably juicy to get my pen stuck into and more importantly, to justify a second opinion piece appearing under my name. Like I said, it was a slow night for newsfalling oil prices, hurricanes, black hole machines- yawn, boring. After deciding that there was no room for comedy in Sarah Palin’s hatred of polar bears or the collapse of Freddie and Fannie- nope, none whatsoever- I stumbled upon a website called “Sidetaker” (at sidetaker.com).

world decide who’s at fault”. Supposedly the website was created to solve disputes (big and small) between couples, but clearly whoever came up with the idea was (and probably still is) single and feels somewhat happier knowing that not all relationships are peachy. Some of the arguments are a genuinely compelling read. One “side” tells how their partner “hasn’t been intimate” with them in two weeks because of the Olympics. Personally though, I can understand how seeing the finest athletes in the world would make you feel inadequate as a human being and thus, lower your drive to “do the bad thing”.

The idea is simple; couples can anonymously post their sides to an argument on the website, then as the tagline says, they “let the

Sadistic though it is, it’s impossible to stifle laughter at some of the “sides” and the comments that follow. In response to a girl

calling herself “777Cherry” (I can only guess that her chosen name is a stab at irony) whose casual sex relationship (with a man who had several girlfriends) hit the rocks, one sharp-tongued user wrote: “I am in distress just thinking about how you guys could have lived happily ever after. I cry. For the future of the species.” Clearly, my input is barely necessary for this opinion piece to work. The anonymity that the internet gives to users is utilised (or “abused”) brilliantly by the most cold-hearted via the comments. My personal favourite is currently, “He probably cheated, but you must ask yourself this... ‘Have I gained weight? Am I still sexy?’ There is a reason he messed around on you, and it is probably your fault.” MasterCard cannot touch thistruly priceless.

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It’s all in the name- “Carnage” Students are just out to get drunk, aren’t they? Obviously as a recent graduate I don’t agree that students are just out to get drunk. I’m not saying we don’t go out and have a good time, I certainly had my fair share of drunken escapades, but I think we earn the right to a few drinks after the work we put in to get our qualifications. Some of you may have had invites on facebook over the summer to get involved with ‘Stamina 7’ or ‘Carnage UK’ and sure, on the surface they look fantastic- lots of students on a giant pub crawl and a free t-shirt. Who can argue with the free t-shirt?! But what some of you may not have thought about whilst clicking the button to join these groups is who will be there to look after me if I have one too many? Or who will be cleaning our city once it’s finished? The answer to those question is “no-one”. I did a little bit of research on these ‘unmissable’ t-shirt pub crawls and unsurprisingly no-one remembers the night, all they remember is what they woke up with in the morning, I can be sure that I won’t be taking part in one any

time soon. They also state that these pub crawls will include trips to numerous clubs resulting in free entry to a ‘superclub’. Can I ask, “where in Cambridge or Chelmsford is there a ‘superclub’?” We have nice venues that hold a few hundred people on a night out but I wouldn’t class any of them as a ‘superclub’! Also, if you want to go on a pub crawl, then what more do you want than to do it with a group of friends, with a sports team or society? Why should you have to pay for the privilege of doing it? The bottom line is, the organisers of these giant student pub crawls don’t care about the safety or welfare of students. They obviously aren’t bothered about the damage it could do to where we live. They want to charge you extortionate amounts of money to go into clubs we visit already and they want to support the view that students are just out to drink. Sounds like a bargain to me.

&emails

Letters

Correspondance

Apex Editor, Anglia Ruskin Students Union East Road Cambridge CB1 1PT

Email: apexeditor@angliastudent.com Tel: 01223 460008 Fax: 01223 417718

Dear Apex,

As the Students’ Union cares about the health (and sexual health) of its students I’m hoping that the variety of free condoms given to students will be read better. Last year, I suffered immense pain (both physical and emotional) when I found out the hard way, ahem, that one of the condoms I was using was banana flavoured. My phallis swelled to the size of an aubergine, sadly not through arousal, but instead because of an allergic reaction to banana and banana extracts. I searched belatedly for a warning on the packaging but could only find one after the embarrassing incident. I urge students to read the condom packaging properly to avoid their own unwanted swelling.

I gave up smoking quite recently and although I’m over the proverbial “hump” I do now and again get the odd craving for some nicotine nectar. Last year I recall that my fellow smokers and I often gathered outside the Helmore building doors that lead to the library, especially on typically British rainy days. However, now that I’ve forsaken my past in an effort to rid my body of carcinogens, I’m hoping that the University security enforces the allocated smoking areas with much more rigour than previously done so. Any relapse on my part as a result of lax security shall be followed up with ruthless vigour. Many thanks for your understanding.

I know the issue has been brought up a thousand times before but so long as the situation’s not resolved I’m going to continue complaining. When will see the end of these terrible advertising campaigns? I was on a train pulling into Cambridge when an elderly couple observed the “Home of Anglia Ruskin University” advertisement, seeing the funny side of course. I was going to stand up for the campaign but instead just cringed and walked onto the platform in silence.

Embarrassed sex fiend, Chelmsford

What next, girls complaining about “nut allergies”? Sigh, this is a low.

Dispirited Anglia Ruskin student, Cambridge

Hypocritical ex-smoker, Cambridge

Dear Apex,

I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a bit of a bookworm and often spend my Friday nights burying myself in books in the library. I work hard so I can leave uni with a good degree and all I ask from fellow library users is that they flush their faecal matter from public view. Who on Earth dumps their dookie and leaves it on show for all to see? It’s disgusting.

I’m a student going into my second year in September. I’m looking forward to Freshers’ week and particularly the nights that the Students’ Union will be putting on. I loved last year but as someone who likes to stretch their vocal cords I was wondering if there was any chance of more karaoke nights at Uni?

Disgusted library user, Cambridge

Excited Journey fan, Cambridge

Festivals Festivals 14 CENTRE SPREAD

Reading James Garnham

Every year the city of Reading grumbles an enduring moan while the rest of us cheer an elated and drunken glee as it’s festival time and time go dance in a field until 6 in the morning! Of course everyone is familiar with the festival, even if you haven’t been, as the legendary Mecca of music showcases the worlds finest bands (and the Killers) and puts on the greatest party of your life for 5 days that will leave you exhausted, dirty and undeniably happy.

If the heat and tiredness finally got to you there was always the Alternative stage where you can go sit down and listen to some hippy who’s just discovered he can play the banjo AND smoke a crate of crack at the same time. Yeah, there were some nutjobs performing on this stage but also some of the gems of the festival such as the hilariously angry Henry Rollins and also the criminally underrated Beans on Toast who, although couldn’t remember most of his own songs bless him, had more genuine political argument in his music than every other act combined. This year of course everyone was raving about the acts on the main

“

The best thing about the festival is the huge diversity in the acts that are displayed

“

The best thing about the festival is the huge diversity in the acts that are displayed, whether you’re a fan of punk, metal, indie or dance, making the main problem what bands to see and what ones to leave out. The Lock Up stage provides a smorgasbord (yeah, I went there) of the best punk and ska bands around at the moment with phenomenal sets from Gallows, Alkaline Trio and the louder than God having a seizure Cancer Bats who are one of the highlights of the entire weekend. However if having your genits blasted off by a wall of sound is not your thing the stage counterbalances these acts with acoustic, yet still as energetic, performances from the likes of The King Blues and Frank Turner who pulls one of the biggest crowds of the festival. To be honest the Lock Up is and always will be my highlight of the festival as it promotes the smaller bands that you may not of heard of whilst attracting a passionate and friendly audience who are there to have fun.

stage, well, one in particular. It wasn’t the ‘Killers’ (who only kill my appetite for oxygen) and it certainly wasn’t Metallica (by the first encore I was bored, by the second encore I was pissed off, but the third I wasn‘t there) it was indeed Rage Against the Machine. Like many people there I was still a wee lad when Rage were first together and had to listen to their music many years after it was released as a disaffected teen, but there significance is still as strong

today as it once was then. Granted there were a number of vag’s who thought that their set was a good excuse to beat the person next to them into a bloody pulp, completely misinterpreting Rage’s message, but the vast majority of the audience united in support for RATM making for one of the best performances in Reading history. It’s a shame however that bands such as Queens of the Stone Age and Biffy Clyro were overshadowed by these goliaths as they both put on performances that would of normally been the most talked about sets of the weekend. So, if you want a weekend of the best music in the world, the worst beer in the galaxy and the most fucked hangover in the universe this festival really is for you. Reading is legendary for a reason whether it be the bands, the parties or the people you meet, and you NEED to try it once. However if the above things don’t appeal to you I suggest you fuck off to V and listen to the Hoosiers. Peace.

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

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THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Photo wall coming soon!

Welcome Welcome to the brand new Ents and SU Bar pull out section of the Apex. The aim of the pull out each issue is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in your bars and venues. This pull out we’ll be giving you the low down on Freshers’ week, what’s new for this year, some important stuff we’ve been doing over the summer and how it’ll impact on you and things to look forward to in the next issues. We’ve also included a quick guide to your SU venues. So cast your eyes over the next few pages and hopefully it’ll whet your appetite! Pete and Luke Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union Venue Managers Summer 2008

Meet Our Staff

Guide to the Venues

LUKE PETE DELDERFIELD BRIZIO

The SU Bar The SU bar has had a bit of a refit over the summer and has a more funky flavour to it. New furniture, a new look and some additions to the room mean that it’s the place to relax before lectures and the place for club night warm ups.

Hi, I’m Luke the venue manager, responsible for bars and catering in the SU Bar and the Academy. I’ve worked at Anglia Ruskin for just over a year now and love it here. Previously I worked as a holiday rep for 5 years in Ibiza, Italy, Zante, Andorra and Spain before returning to the UK. I hope you have a fantastic time at Anglia Ruskin and the SU bar. Feel free to drop by and say “hello”.

Hi I’m Pete and the venue manager responsible for booking the entertainment, organising the DJs, the summer ball and all things Ents related. I have previously worked at other universities and I work full time to ensure the Anglia Ruskin gets the best entertainment within our budgets. If you see me around feel free to stop me and have a chat if you have some good ideas or want to get involved.

It hosts our regular nights with DJs such as the Vodka Revolution’s “Warm Up”, Pounded (new for 2008-9), Karaoke, poker nights and Raw Talent (our new open mic night). There’s always great drinks offers on day and night and the best place to meet new people or catch up with your mates. We’ve also spent a lot of time over the summer changing the food menu for the day and we now serve food until 7pm weeknights. Plus if you’re in a hurry

we have a new 15 minute menu where we guarantee you’ll get your food in 15 minutes or it’s on us! So if you’re feeling peckish or just don’t want to cook, head for the bar from 9am-7pm most days! The Academy The Academy is Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union Nightclub, with a capacity of 400. Each week it hosts our main club night Flirt (more info about Flirt is elsewhere in the guide) and other regular events such as comedy (the laughter lounge), Thursday Night Live (our fortnightly live music event), the Karaoke Finale and more. It’s equipped with a state of the art sound and lighting system and we’re adding a few new bits and pieces to the venue.

Best bar none regional winners 2008 Congratulations to the SU bar for recently winning the Best Bar None London and East Anglia region. BBN is a national competition between bars, night clubs and late night establishments that have met a very tough criteria for the policies and procedures that they have in place to ensure that they make it the safest place for its customers and staff. The bars are also visited and checked with a fine tooth comb before the winners are announced. We went up against some very large universities in London and East Anglia such as UEA Norwich and we managed to emerge victorious. Best bar none is awarded by NUS services limited, Coca Cola enterprises, Diageo and the Bacardi BrownForman brands. These brands make up a massive proportion of the late night licensed trade suppliers and as such this is a highly respected and prestigious award to receive.

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An Inside Guide to Freshers’ Week The Highlights Below is a quick guide to some of the events we have going on during freshers. Don’t forget to pick up your freshers lanyard with details you can carry around. Play Your Cards Right Sat 13/9 8pm-2am £3 entry The Academy and SU Bar The first Saturday of Freshers’ is always an Icebreaker event designed to help you make friends, win prizes and have a good night out! It works really easily; when you enter the venue you get given a playing card. You have to then combine this with your friends’ cards to make a “winning poker hand”. You then swap this hand for a prize. The better the hand, the bigger the prize! As well as that we’ve got a top student DJ spinning a variety of music from start to finish, and a chill out lounge upstairs in the bar where you can chat to your new friends. Total Request with Apex Launch Party Sun 14/9 8pm-2am £3 Entry The Academy and SU Bar Sunday may usually be a time to relax but not during Freshers’ week. We’ve got a Total Request DJ Juke Box event and the launch of the publication you have in your hand! Total request is a really simple but very interactive idea. The Ents team come round with request slips all night and the DJ only plays the tracks you ask for (as long as he’s got it of course, but with 13,000 songs in the ents database it’s a good bet he will!). So whether you love Queen or Dre, everyone will enjoy the night!. Upstairs in the SU Bar the Apex team will be turning the Bar into a fun filled Apex room, with

games and goodies for all, copies of the Apex and the chance to sign up and write for the Apex this coming year! Back 2 Skool Party Mon 15/9 8pm-2am £4Entry The Academy and SU Bar It’s time to dust off your school uniform and head down to the School yard. No Uniform, means no entry, so you must come dressed to impress! We’ll accept variations on school uniform e.g. Headmasters outfits, lollipop ladies, just so long as you’ve put some thought into it! But make sure you behave yourself and don’t get sent to detention! Triple X-Rated Adult Cabaret – NOT Suitable for the easily offended! Tues 16/9 8pm-2am £3 Entry The Academy If you are shocked by foul language, nudity, jokes that push the boundaries, and the word “nipple” then this one isn’t for you! We’re putting on some of the best Adult Cabaret shows and they deserve the Triple X –Rating! Adults only! Silent Arena- “Headphone Disco” Weds 17/9 8pm-2am £4 entry The Academy A Silent Disco is a new and unique concept sweeping the UK that does away with the traditional speaker systems used in nightclubs or festivals. We give everyone a set of our

wireless headphones to listen to the music and then have two DJs playing simultaneously on two separate channels, which means you only listen to the music that you want to hear! If you don’t like the music from the first DJ just flick the switch and listen to the second DJ. If you’re still confused watch our explanatory video and it will all begin to make sense! Picture the scene. You walk into a nightclub and you see thousands of people all dancing but you can’t hear any music? One of the DJs starts to play some Michael Jackson next thing you know half the crowd is singing “Billie Jean” while the other half of the crowd are chanting “Last Night” by The Strokes! It’s like nothing you have ever experienced before! TNL- “Ghost Frequency” Thurs 18/9 8pm-2am £3 entry The Academy TNL is our fortnightly live music night where you can catch the hottest up and coming bands! You’re not going to rock out to the biggest bands appearing at Wembley but we do have a pedigree of picking bands that in 12 months time will be headlining festivals! Past bands have included Scouting for Girls, the Kooks, Bloc Party, Nine Black Alps, Sonic Boom Six, Go:Audio, Good Shoes, and many more. We’re pleased to continue this tradition by having Ghost Frequency headline the first TNL. They have been described as disjointed zombie loving punks who play top quality dancey electro punk rock.

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For fans of: TEST ICICLES - HADOUKEN - THE MISFITS - ZOMBIES Recently main support on Hadouken!’s summer tour! They’re all over NME, Rocksound, the old televisual box, as well as the radio and every club up and down the country! Look below to check out one of their videos or check them out on

Anthems with DJ set from The Wideboys Thurs 25/9 8pm-2am £5 entry The Academy and SU Bar

(the ultimate covers band, doing everything from Oasis to Arctic Monkeys) Expect to be singing along all night! Guest PAs from two T4 Shipwrecked stars and more too!

www.myspace.com/cutthiscity www.myspace.com/geometricsband

“RE-RE-WIND…The crowd say BO SELECTA!” Garage is back with a vengeance this summer with hot new tracks appearing all year long from artists such as H two O and Platnum. So we’ve teamed up with Ministry of Sound to put on a Garage Anthems night at the Union. The Academy hosts the main action with a DJ set from garage legends The Wideboys and upstairs we have uni residents dropping Dance Anthems all night too. If the sounds of garage, bassline house, electro and more get you moving then this night’s for you!

Flirt!– Giveaway Night Fri 19/9 8pm-2am £3 entry The Academy and SU Bar

Flirt!– Teddy Bears’ Picnic Fri 26/9 8pm-2am £3 entry Academy only.

Flirt! is the UK’s Number 1 Student Night, taking place at over 30 Students’ Union venues across the UK. Entertaining over 30,000 students a week, Flirt! is synonymous with great music and great times! It’s even featured in Hollyoaks as their main night down the fictional SU Bar (look for the logo next time you’re watching!) It’s every Friday night in the academy and for some big events takes over the SU Bar as well. It gives you an opportunity to dress up, glam up and meet up with your friends!

Grab your teddy bear and head to the UK’s busiest student night! Don’t come too late or you won’t get in as it’s just in the Academy.

www.myspace.com/theghostfrequency SUPPORT COMES FROM - CUT THIS CITY - GEOMETRICS - READ THIS!

Our first Flirt! is going to see us giving away loads and loads of prizes, from holidays, to laptops, to Flirt! t shirts! Everyone’s a winner at Flirt! Ministry of Sound – Garage

The Beach Ball Sat 27/9 8pm-3am £13 entry The Academy and SU Bar Every year we finish Freshers’ with a BANG and a massive Freshers’ ball! This year is no exception (except it’s cheaper this year, and has more to do, you lucky freshers!). We have DJ sets from BBC 1Xtra superstar “Mistajam” and old skool dance legend “N-Trance (of “Set You Free” Fame), live music from the XFM Party band

Pounded New For Mondays

Drinks start from £1//Top DJs//Every Week

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What’s new for 2008-9 There’s been some changes this summer and some new additions to our regular nights. You can find out more details below and for the most up to date info check out www.angliastudent.com

Flirt! Flirt! moves to being a single venue event in the Academy most weeks. We believe this will allow us to offer a better student experience and make flirt feel like a true club event. It does mean that the capacity is reduced to 400 on most Fridays and we recommend you turn up early to ensure you aren’t left disappointed. Whilst the overall capacity is smaller we are adding an extra Flirt! area outside the Academy where you’ll be able to play games, check your Facebook and upload your photos whilst still out and this will be the “flirt! lounge” Imagine a mini bar and nightclub and you come close to visualising what it’ll be like! There will still be the same opportunities to dress up, win prizes and have some awesome nights out but with more focus on fun at the events! We also have a flirt fan page on Facebook now. Find us at Flirt!Anglia Ruskin Students’ Union. You can find a link on www. live2flirt.co.uk

Pounded and Pounded 2 Pounded is a new night in the SU Bar, with great DJs and lots of drinks starting at just £1. It’s every Monday and is a warm up night for Pounded 2. Pounded 2 is a new club night at “The Place”. Located next to Waterstone’s book shop in the town centre it’s a brand new night for Ruskin students where most drinks start at just £2. It’s a brilliant new venue and we’re glad to have tied up an exclusive deal for our students. Music wise it’s a commercial music night with something for everyone.

Club Retro: Club retro is a monthly 60s/70s/80s and 90s club night where only music from those decades will be played. It’s once a month on a Saturday in the Academy and is open to non-students as well. It’s a new idea and we think that it will attract lovers of retro music.

Raw Talent Raw Talent is our new open mic night where anything goes. If you have an urge to perform you can contact Mike O’Flynn (openyourearsradio@googlemail.com) and book a slot. It’s an open forum and we welcome poets, musicians, comedians and anyone else with something to offer. It’s a monthly event and will be hosted in the SU Bar.

Freshers ‘08 online:

Check out www.angliastudent.com for Freshers week photos and up to date ents information

New Menu//Food Served till 7pm// 15 Minute Menu//Grab and Go range// Local Suppliers//Served in the SU Bar

Festivals Festivals

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Download 2008 Dan Thomas

The curious thing one notices about the Download ’08 lineup is that it marked somewhat of a departure from the festival’s Metal roots. Oh there were plenty of bands to satisfy the regulars of Donnington Castle to be sure, between Friday night hard rockin’ headliners Kiss and Welsh Metalcore quartet Bullet For My Valentine. But peruse the list a little and you’ll find a few names to scratch your head over. Indie alt. rock youngsters The Subways found their way to the newly open-air second stage on Friday and Drum and Bass sensations Pendulum followed them on the Saturday. Shocking? Yes. But perhaps what’s even more shocking is that both bands enjoyed a rousing reception from the Donnington crowd, the latter attracting a surprisingly large crowd.

Standout performances include the aforementioned Kiss, utilising their usual stadium staples of explosive pyrotechnics, wire-assisted flight and, of course, a huge back catalogue of monstrously good songs. Pendulum also proved themselves to be a formi-

“

The curious thing one notices about the Download ’08 lineup is that it marked somewhat of a departure from the festival’s Metal roots

ance showcasing some Korn rarities and songs from Queen of The Damned soundtrack (Great soundtrack, terrible movie); a truly sublime performance and a really different experience. Disappointments come in the form of Incubus which, as a longstanding fan, saddens me greatly. There was nothing really wrong with the songs, as wonderfully written as they are and their ambient, lengthy extension of “Sick Sad Little World” was as good as ever, but there was just a feeling that the band are burned out and tired and that what we were in fact watching was completely by-the-numbers Incubus. Even more disappointing were NWOBHM legends Judas Priest, proving that whilst some rockers really can keep going into their sixties, front man Rob Halford is not one of them, his performance strained and hampered all the more by his clear age-induced fatigue on stage.

“

Well, another summer draws to a close and the festival campsites around the country are once more empty fields. No doubt, if any of you were planning on going to a festival this year (and like myself were too poor to attend more than one), you spent some time agonising over exactly where to go. From RATM and Metallica at Reading and Leeds to Muse and The Verve at the V Festival, all of the major festivals boasted a strong lineup of bands to contend for your cold hard cash. Download 2008 was of course no exception.

dable live act, not to be confined to the CD players and turntables across the country. Disturbed are also deserving of praise, despite front man Dave Draiman’s terrible habit of being stuck firmly up his own theatrical rectum. Last but not least there is also Jonathan Davis of Korn fame, who this year treated us to a solo act perform-

Another great year for the festival and, despite the aforementioned lacklustre performances and a few mediocre names, Download continues to be one of the top contenders for the summer’s best hard rock experience. See you there next year!

Latitude Festival Angeline Liles

Latitude Festival, although still relatively unheard of, flourished confidently into its third year this summer. Set in the sunny climes of the Suffolk coast in Henham Park, Southwold, this, as its tagline suggests, is ‘much more than just a music festival’. Boasting top acts from the worlds of theatre, cabaret, comedy, literature, dance and poetry as well as a fine array of bands, the three hundred acre parkland offers a more refined festival experience than that of its rowdier, longer-running siblings. While Franz Ferdinand, Sigur Rós and Interpol obediently took to their positions as headlining bands on the main stage, an equally formidable line-up was presented in the Comedy tent. Amongst those providing the laughs over the four days of festivities were Bill Bailey, Omid Djalili, Frankie Boyle, Phil Jupitus and an ever-distractable Ross Noble (who Bohemian Rhapsody-ed his audience out of the tent and into a neatly congregated, two thousand people strong crowd upon which to surf). The festival organisers clearly paid top dollar for this array of television-friendly funnymen whose popularity unfailingly overwhelmed the tent’s capacity, much to the disappointment of the many thousand attendees spilling out and straining to hear the set. A short walk over the lake and into the woods brought you to the charmingly isolated Sunrise Arena. It was the perfect setting for the twee, folksy indie bands, by day, and disco electronica, by

night, that it played home to for the duration of the festival. Hypegatherers such as Crystal Castles, Slow Club, Soko, Black Lips and Lykke Li put on mesmeric performances to cosy crowds packed under a bamboo shelter. This, along with the dyed pink sheep in the main arena, added to the whimsical Alice-In-Wonderland atmosphere of the festival, which after just one day in the sun (combined with reasonablypriced cider) lulls you into the impression that it’s a bit of a vivid daydream. With the two largest stages offering performances from trendyfolksters Noah and The Whale to Nick Cave’s new musical endeavour Grinderman, it is commendable that such an effort had been made to appeal to all sorts of musical tastes. After a completely disappointing set from Death Cab For Cutie (singer Ben Gibbard gave off a distinctly pretentious aura by failing to acknowledge the audience’s presence at all), it was left to Sunday night headliners Interpol to please the softrock indie crowds –‘NYC’ in the drizzly rain was quite a moment to end the festival on. The path for Latitude is definitely onwards and upwards, so long as it keeps increasing in quality and acres instead of numbers and ticket prices. If a decent festival with quality entertainment that isn’t out to take advantage of your wallet is what you’re after, Latitude is the place to be.

4 Stars / 5

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Music

Music Have the British public fallen out with the once great festival? Simon Thomas.

Ticket sales to the Glastonbury festival hugely slowed this year whilst other festivals flourished. Michael Eavis stated that it was most probably due to customers being fed up with the weather; many others disagreed. Instead of Glastonbury, I ventured to the Chelmsford leg of the V festival this summer. I was fairly excited about the line up and highly amused by the response of Michael Eavis to a question regarding whether Muse would headline Glastonbury festival in 2008. From virtualfestivals.com: “No because they’re doing the V’s [V Festival] aren’t they? They can’t do both really, it doesn’t really work doing both.” Glastonbury’s headline acts for 2008 were Kings of Leon, The Verve and Jay Z. V festival’s headline acts for 2008 were Kings of Leon, The Verve and Muse. I felt that I had clearly made the correct choice between the two, getting better value from my line up. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the few acts that I went to see at V festival I was unable to find anything on of interest in smaller tents or lower on the bill. My previous experience of festivals has been each year of the Reading festival 2003-2006 and an All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) festival, during which ’Dirty Three’ were curators. On the one hand, each year of Reading largely had passed with the same longing for a better selection of acts in the smaller tents, albeit less than at V. On the other, ATP was like a large gathering of many of these rarer acts but I never once thought of myself as being at a music festival. It would seem that the only selling point, or indeed failing point, of festivals has become a small selec-

tion of names from the top of the main stage bill, announced only very short periods of time before tickets are released. Arguments against the quality of Glastonbury 08 often focus on the choice of Jay Z as headline act for the weekend and, as previously mentioned, this was my reason for choosing V. I arrived home after the weekend to take another look at the line up of Glasto. Irrespective of whether you cared for the three ’biggest’ names, it had an incredible supporting line up, arguably containing the most exclusive appearances of all the largest UK festivals. Please go and look at it. When was the last time Leonard Cohen, Massive Attack or Neil Diamond played a British festival? Glasto’s line up was filled with musical gems that were largely

“

Glastonbury seemed like the festival equivalent of man having a mid-life-crisis; showing off poor BMX tricks he has learned to his kids

“

Glastonbury fallen?

overlooked amidst quarrels about the aptness of the headliners. This made Glastonbury seem like the festival equivalent of man having a mid-life-crisis; showing off poor BMX tricks he’s tried to learn to his kids’ uninterested friends, rather than showing them the vintage Aston Martin collection he’s recently bought. Reading and Leeds festival is growing in diversity rapidly whilst still boasting popular headline acts. It doesn’t seem to really have the same depth, maybe due to the lack of variety in stages, but seems to promise some really good nights out. If you fight to get your Reading or

Leeds ticket next year as they are released, chances are you’ll get a bill littered with popular names. Whether or not you happen to believe these artists deserve to be popular is an entirely different matter. This is the same for most festivals in the UK, but Glastonbury was a breath of fresh air. I chose not to go to Glastonbury due to the cost of the festival not being worth the line up for my tastes. With ticket registration systems fully in place now, there is little to no touting of Glastonbury tickets. This, in itself, is bound to knock ticket sales. Perhaps festival goers look for the sell out status now rather than looking properly through the line-up? Indeed, many festivals had taken to selling out with as few as 6 acts being announced last year. Wouldn’t this be a bizarre turn of fate? The most successful British music festival attempts to help the fans to eliminate ridiculous tout add-on costs and the fans are no longer interested in the festival as a consequence. The underlining result now, however, is this: Have you ever spotted a festival you didn’t consider to begin with, only to find some of your favourite acts have appeared somewhere down the line up? Officially, tickets sold out. Tickets on eBay are for 150% the original price. For the first time since 2003 I

have been able to look at the complete line up I could be getting for my money rather than handing over a huge sum or paying ridiculous amounts through an unofficial seller and hoping for some good acts. Can you imagine booking gig tickets in a venue at random, hoping that of the twenty to thirty bands playing that month that you win that gamble?

Is it not a beautiful thing that I can make this choice with little to no gamble?

WANT TO WRITE FOR THE MUSIC COLUMN OF THE APEX?

At a different look on the situation, praising a festival for slow sales sounds highly bizarre. As stated earlier, however, many initial sales are likely to be to touts at other festivals.

You could be sent to review gigs for free, meet and interview the artists and much more!

Ultimately, Glastonbury’s dwindling success only highlights and provides more choice to the public, allowing them to venture to an event suitable for their music taste. The fact of the matter is however, whether you are at the Cambridge campus or Chelmsford campus, more people than the population of your entire city/ town still travelled out to the legendary grounds and I intend to see that I do so in my lifetime when my ideal line up comes around.

For more information or to express an interest contact Simon at: Simon.Thomas@student. anglia.ac.uk

MUSIC 21

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Destined for your ears

artist will then slowly release their music or identity to their audience before a final massive reveal; usually stating a release date coupled with a brand new track or two.

Simon Thomas.

r usic

Future of the Left- Formed in 2005 by former Jarcrew and McLusky members. Strange and slightly heavy; sheer brilliance in a powerful, beefy three piece set up. Trying to explain this music is no simple task. See www.myspace. com/futureoftheleft and listen to ’Small Bones, Small Bodies’. The Ruskins- Recently attaining Steve Lamacq’s Radio 1 demo of the week title and winning Steve Harris’s XFM featured bands competition, The Ruskins sound like a school-yard brawl between Jamie T and the Fratellis.. In a good way. See www.myspace.com/theruskins and listen to ‘Slow Down Jessica’.

Hot Chip- Their recently released long player ‘Made in the Dark’ is heavily informed by two years of touring and, as a consequence, Hot Chip have become a meaner proposition live. Following a performance in the coveted slot as second headliner on the Glastonbury Festival Other Stage, Hot Chip shall be performing at the Cambridge Corn Exchange on 30th October. See www.myspace. com/hotchip and listen to ‘Ready For The Floor’.

The viral music industry Craig Hardy

Jaguar Love- Coupling the accessibility of former Pretty Girls Make Graves material yet dripping with the passion and intensity that comes from Johnny Whitney’s (vocals) old band (Blood Brothers), the band’s debut full length ‘Take Me To The Sea’ is a stunningly well conceived and executed slice of post-punk perfection. See www.myspace. com/jaguarloveband and listen to ‘Bonetrees and a Broken Heart’. Asobi Seksu- Sounding like a sonic car crash of Tori Amos run-

ning head on into My Bloody Valentine, Asobi Seksu are a breath of fresh air coming from the now stagnating New York indie scene. Their latest release ‘Citrus’ is simply astonishing beyond words from start to finish with dual vocalists Yuki Chikudate and James Hanna trading off lush sounding vocals over honey-like shoegaze melodies. An amazing group of artists creating truly timeless music. See www.myspace.com/ asobiseksu and listen to ‘Thursday CSS Remix’.

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TO A VENUE NEAR YOU Simon Thomas.

29th September 23rd September Isn’t Anything Records Present: Actionforce (tbc), The Rascals The Tupelov Ghost and Sensible Venue: The Junction Fun Venue: The Portland Arms 25th September Roddy Woomble Venue: The Junction

Indie-punk upstarts The Rascals prepare to storm Cambridge with their infectious blend of spikey guitars and smooth melodies. Singer Miles Kane co-fronts The Last Shadow Puppets with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner.

2nd October Enter Shikari Venue: Cambridge Corn Exchange Love them or hate them, there’s no denying they put on an absolutely amazing live show. With bludgeoning guitars and pounding synth, they look set for another year dominating the UK.

The very nature of the music industry has been radically altered over the past few years; with increasing pressure from illegal music downloading, alternate methods of getting artist’s music into the public eye are becoming ever more popular. Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ started a trend in this respect, with many now bands self-releasing their material digitally and bypassing the conventional means of promotion and distribution. This new method for releasing albums has been coupled recently with the rise of a new trend; viral marketing. This popular tool for modern promotion has been increasingly encountered over the past year or two, with many bands trying to find new and exciting ways to deliver their music and ideas to their fans. The idea behind viral marketing is simple and is one that has been seen before in Hollywood for the promotion of new blockbuster films. Usually starting with cryptic messages or ‘viral videos’, a band slowly builds a web of clues and intricacies around their latest release; often times including hunts around the Internet or the latest information, or spreading rumours around message boards or groups of fans. From here the

Bands that have used this method to good effect have been Nine Inch Nails with their impressive Year Zero ARG (that’s Alternate Reality Game for us outside of the advertising world!), My Chemical Romance with their lengthy stint as The Black Parade and most recently Fall Out Boy and the rest of the bands on bassist Pete Wentz’s record label, Decaydance, who have taken part in the ridiculous Citizens For Our Betterment quasi-political campaign. The idea itself sounds very interesting and original…and at first it was, but now as more and more of these bands start up their own viral campaigns the question of whether this new style of advertising has gone too far and started to eclipse the music itself surely must be asked. The aforementioned comparison to Hollywood blockbuster cinema is looking ever more true to this situation because as soon as one big-budget advertising campaign comes to an end, another seems to spring up in its place. The actual music released at the end is now beginning to seem like an afterthought; something to be thrown away when the next big thing rolls around. The future of what this style of advertising holds is unclear, as so far it has only been successful and mainstream acts with the funding and ability to stage these sorts of campaigns that have taken part in viral marketing. Would this style benefit a fledgling artist wanting to make a name for themselves? Or will this new method of advertisement further drive the stake into the heart of the integrity of these big acts and their releases? In either case, audiences should not be swayed by glitz and glamour and artists should really just let their music and talent (or lack thereof) do the talking.

Jerry Finn RIP 1970-2008

and ‘Dookie’ by Green Day. He also recently finished production work on the forthcoming Morrissey release ‘Years of Refusal’ which is set for release early next year.

Craig Hardy

His production style and attitude towards his work resulted in him being highly revered within the music community and he was considered by many to be the unofficial fourth member of pop-punk icons Blink 182, with whom he worked extensively.

In July 2008 legendary record producer Jerry Finn suffered a massive brain haemorrhage which led to his death on August 12th at the early age of 38. Finn is widely accepted as the Godfather of the pop-punk genre, having worked on seminal albums such as ‘And Out Come The Wolves’ by Rancid

In a time when so much focus is paid to finding wild new artists

and glorifying front-persons, the people who put their hearts and souls into engineering records, making them sound as good as they possibly can, often get overlooked. Jerry Finn’s extraordinary career as a successful producer stands as a testament to the power of having someone with experience and an intense passion for their work behind the mixing desk.

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Re iew

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Re iew

*(Well, it’s more like Film Page this month due to The Apex’s Postie stealing all of our review material for his children’s Christmas presents. You can’t blame him. We are entering a credit crunch after all. For next month I’ve been assured that we will use Royal Mail’s new carrier pigeons service to avoid any other light fingered postmen). As the leaves begin to fall, the sun goes to bed earlier and we Brits start crawling back to our caves to hibernate for the winter. I’m readying myself for the growing number of people who will be jabbering on about having SAD and needing to move to Majorca. It will be at this point that my brain will go into meltdown entering Washington sniper mode and I will open my brief case, remove a slender, cold, haddock and slap them around the face with it, while exclaiming, ‘Fools, wake up, it’s Festival Season!’ You see, unlike the depraved sun worshipping part of our population who are eternally let down by our summers, I actually look forward to the encroaching autumn months with the anticipation of a City fan waiting for the January transfer window. Why? The film industry gears up at this time of year with a number of international film festivals to ready the movers and shakers for the eagerly awaited awards season. It is at this time of year when the film festivals begin to buzz with the personal projects of Hollywood A-listers and modern auteurs alike, all vying for a little golden man who goes by the name of Oscar. This time last year saw the Western get up from the canvass and throw a blistering combination of “No Country for Old Men”, “The Assassination of Jesse James” and “There Will Be Blood” to show Hollywood that the old Heavyweight could still pack a punch and contend for the highest honours. Miramax showed that there was life after the Weinstein brothers by winning the Best Film Academy Award with “No

Country for Old Men” and even the plucky British film industry provided a genuine classic in Joe Wright’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s “Atonement”. In the coming months we will see competitors for this years Academy Awards take their marks. The Coen brothers will be first out to the b of bang with “Burn After Reading” (17/10/08) that sees the Coen’s move back to comedic territory they made their own with the “The Big Lebowski”, “Intolerable Cruelty” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” The plot revolves around two gym employees (Brad Pitt and France McDormand) who find the inflammatory

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DiCaprio is a true Hollywood Star and is on every director’s wish list

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Film Corner*

memoirs of a CIA Operative (John Malkovich) and attempt to blackmail him with it. George Clooney, making his appearance in a third Coen farce, plays a CIA agent tasked with recovering the memoirs. Keep an eye out for the films poster that is directly influenced by the work of Saul Bass, primarily his Hitchcock creations. It doesn’t take an intelligence operative to work out from the plot and the poster that “Burn After Reading” will heavily homage ‘Hitch’. Like the big man I doubt this will be a strong contender for any of the major Oscars but I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked up the Best Art Direction gong.

Following them closely will be Ridley Scott’s new political thriller, “Body of Lies” (21/11/08) starring an former Academy Best Actor winner Russell Crowe with Leonardo DiCaprio, who is cementing his place as a true Hollywood star and is on every major director’s

wish list. It is another in a long line of recent films based on the consequences of The Iraq War. Ridley missed out with “American Gangster” last year and judging the Academy on the past this has an ice cubes chance in hell of getting the nod for any major gongs. Although, it is fairly likely (touch wood) we will have Barack Obama sitting in the Oval Office by the time the 81st Academy Awards come around so anything may be possible. Bringing up the middle is the old darling of the Academy, Clint Eastwood with “Changeling” (28/11/08). Based on a true story and set in Los Angeles in 1928, Angelina Jolie plays a frantic mother whose child vanishes but is returned to her mysteriously soon after. This has Oscar winning potential written all over it. Period pictures always please the Academy voters with Clint also sadly pushing on a bit now a sentimental Academy may want to give him one last hurrah. That being said they may wait for his Nelson Mandela biopic, “The Human Factor” before doing this. From the reports coming out of Cannes where the film previewed, Angelina Jolie is in career defining form and may add another statuette to sit on her mantelpiece alongside her Oscar

for “Girl, Interrupted”. The early favorite to sweep the board at the upcoming Oscars is the epic “Australia” (26/12/08) directed by Baz Luhrmann of “Romeo and Juliet” fame. It is set during the Second World War; Nicole Kidman plays an English Aristocrat who has to team up with a cattle driver (Hugh Jackman) when cattle barons plan to take her land. They flee with her herd across 2000 miles of rough Australian outback. Meanwhile the Japanese prepare to bomb the city of Darwin. “Australia” is already being likened to the grand daddy of romantic epics “Titanic”. The film has been earmarked for a Boxing Day release in order to keep it fresh in the Academy’s mind. This film is going to be huge, if like me you are not a fan of the genre and wanted to pull your eyes from their sockets during “Titanic” then, I suggest you dust off the air raid shelter and stay there for a while. If it is the success that I predict at the box office then expect Luhrmann and co to be very busy on February 22nd. My last pick to be a serious challenger at the 81st Academy Awards is “Revolutionary Road” (30/01/09) by Sam Mendes. It

is a return to scene of Middle America that saw Mendes do so well with “American Beauty” and like his previous Oscar winning film, it focuses on the corruption of the American Dream. The film will inevitably be on many people’s lips for the reunion of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet sharing celluloid for the first time since “Titanic”. “Revolutionary Road” could well spoil the party for Baz Luhrmann. I expect the vast majority of major awards in the early part of 2009 to be going to these films but there are a couple of dark horses that may rock the apple cart. Firstly, Gus Van Sant’s “Milk”, a biopic about California’s first openly homosexual elected official, Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn) could well be this years “Michael Clayton”. Expect a posthumous nomination for Heath Ledger after his captivating performance as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” and David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” may draw a nomination or two for the performances of Cate Blanchett or Tilda Swinton. I don’t know about you but I can’t wait to take my seat at the flicks in the up coming months. No SAD for me sir.

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A Day in the Life review.

Inhuman Genious, Anti-life Equations and Geriatric Superheroes

James Jackson

James Garnham

First up is DC’s “Final Crisis” written by the inhuman genius Grant Morrison, in which big baddy Darkseid sets his eyes on Earth, using the anti-life equation to make all humans his bitches to do his evil doing. The book is as confusing as it is amazing and will take a couple of reads to completely understand what is happening, what with Morrison having a penchant for the strange, but is definitely one for the hardcore DC fans.

An ambitious project from Cambridge’s own Get Cross sees them attempt to create an album in a week; a seven day project that saw the artists Onewish (taking care of vocals) and Stereotype (on production duties) having to create a song a day and an album in seven days. There are also cameos from a number of Cambridgshire’s other top musicians, including Mumbles, who provides some sharp lyrical content to “Day Six”. Also featuring is Bijoumiyo Myles Sanko, layering “Day Five” with his own brand of velvet vocals. Brie, another Get Cross stablemate, features too. Stereotype’s production work has continued to progress steadily since I heard the duo’s last album; “The Music” and his beats then were already strong enough to be compared to Wiley’s early work on “A Boy in the Corner”. Onewish remains Get Cross’ pied piper, pushing the group to new levels and never willing to stand on his laurels. His work on “Day Two” and “Day Three” show a lyricist who is truly starting to master his ball point. By the end of “Day Seven” it will be impossible to take the smile off your face for the rest of the day. If this is what they can produce in a week without sleep I can’t wait to see what they’re capable of when they take their time. “A Day in the Life” is also a paradigm for how the music industry is evolving since the boom of the internet, especially the rise of MySpace as an avenue for artists

to distribute their creations to an audience of millions for free. Music artists can now take care of their own production due to the fall in price of the relevant software. It is even possible for musicians to take care of their own marketing, the mesmeric expansion of social networking sites and popularity of video sharing have made it possible for an online buzz to make hard grafting musicians an overnight success. Onewish and Stereotype took full advantage of all these mechanisms, members of myspace before the Murdoch buyout meant they already had a growing fan base. All their music has been produced in Stereotype’s home studio paid for by their student loans. They also set up a video blog to enable them to show how the project was developing instantly creating a sense of excitement on the web. What has been achieved by Onewish and Stereotype is not ground breaking, they are following in a long line of Do-It-Yourself musicians originating with punk rock. What this album does brilliantly is prove that the record industry no longer holds the keys to the Garden of Eden; they are firmly in the hands of musicians like Onewish & Stereotype who are the gate keepers for a new generation. Long may it continue. Video blogs at youtube.com/ onewishmc Find Stereotype & Onewish at: myspace.com/onewishmc

Not to be outdone or upstaged in any way, Marvel have kicked things off with Bendis’ “Secret Invasion”, in which those pesky buggers the Skrulls decide that Earth rightfully belongs to them and hatch a cunning plan to take the place of the worlds mightiest heroes (and Jarvis). The book is cool in the way that it will have you constantly guessing who is and who isn’t a Skrull, and will certainly compel you to buy the next issue. The only problem is that so far there doesn’t seem to be much substance and it is just a piss-off big fight. But when you pull battles like this off it doesn’t really matter.

Arguably though the best comic of the summer has to be “Old Man Logan”, in which the much loved Wolverine is now an old man with a wife and kids, living in a post apocalyptic world that the villains seemingly control. Everything about the book will have you screaming for more and you’ll most probably find yourself gathering bits of wood and nails to build a church in Mark Millar’s honour. Come now children and let us spread the word of Millarism. Peace.

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‘Secret Invasion’ will have you constantly guessing

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Ah, the summer…the sun is shining, the air is warm and the birds are sitting in their trees singing their merry song. But screw all that because both DC and Marvel have launched their major 2008 events and they’re pretty damn good!

24 CULTURE

Culture

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Culture

Surf ’s Up

Life After University While many are now embarking on the great journey of university life, others may currently be feeling the ‘real world’ creeping up on them as they enter the third year. With that in mind, we present a selection of websites to help you find the answer to that immortal question: What will I do when I leave uni? www.Prospects.ac.uk Official UK graduate careers website offering in-depth advice on careers, graduate schemes and postgraduate study. The site also has a searchable database of graduate jobs and schemes. www.Milkround.com Independent website which enables you to search for graduate jobs and internships by industry or employer. www.findamasters.com

Chris Glithero

Fionn Pooler

For almost as long as cinema has existed, Hollywood has kept a financial stranglehold over the industry. This has left other formsindependent, art-house, world- to fill the intellectual gaps left gaping by that commercial aesthetic. Recently though, world cinema has emerged to the forefront of the chasing pack- a few crossover hits have stirred interest in an approach that, while keeping the technical proficiencies of Hollywood, explores other paths and does so in more vibrant, interesting ways.

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They’re smarter, funnier, more exciting, scarier and better looking

movie “Cloverfield” with Bong Joon-Ho’s “The Host”. In contrast with “Cloverfield”’s posturing, gimmicks and overtones of terrorism, “The Host” is an exhilarating, properly scary action film that blends in pathos and family drama- an odd mix, but it works; it’s bloody funny, too. Another good example of a recent surge in cross-over hits comes from Spain, where psychological horror films like “The Orphanage” and Guillermo Del Toro’s frankly bizarre “Pan’s Labyrinth” have managed to claw a share of the market from Hollywood’s broken, blood-stained hands. Atmosphere and build-up are key to these films- two things which appear to be taboo in modern Hollywood horror. There are no hacksaws, drills or overwrought eighties revivalist stalk-n-slash characters, just pure creepifying oddness.

“

Chris Glithero Culture Editor

Showing Tinseltown How It’s Chariots of Shite Done

However, the most successful crossover hits of late haven’t attempted to tamper too much with the accepted Hollywood formula: explosions, gunfights, lots of attractive people kissing, and try not to make it too meaningful, please. Films like “Night Watch” from Russia have gone for the trendy vampire approach, while the French actioner “Tell No One” doesn’t even let you breathe, with chase scene after chase scene after chase scene. What makes these films different from the Hollywood offerings they compete with is that they’re better, plain and simple. They’re smarter, funnier, more exciting, scarier and better looking. The only reason that most don’t get the attention they deserve is that you have to read subtitles. And who wants to do something as difficult as that?

The closing ceremony of this summer’s Olympic Games saw a spectacular display of human ingenuity and pyrotechnic wizardry, culminating in a prodigious pyramid of performers mounted on a seventy foot steel tower. Gazing at the sheer spectacle of it all, this writer wondered how the London 2012 ceremony might compare. After witnessing Britain’s part in the handover ceremony, it’s hard not to be a tad worried. While the Chinese gave us dazzling fireworks and veritable armies of drummers, gymnasts, mono-cyclists and operatic belters, the British contingent consisted of Leona Lewis and David Beckham aboard a double-decker bus, surrounded by a small gang of dancing Asbos

and ,ahem, Boris Johnson. Okay, Jimmy Page was there too, but it’s hardly a great endorsement that the least cringeworthy aspect of the performance was an aging rocker. With four years for the London Organising Committee to try and rustle up some real talent and culture to represent our tiny island in the world’s spotlights, we can only hope that the ceremony will not be hijacked by the reality TV contestants, overpaid footballers and celebrity nothings that currently besmirch the nation’s cultural landscape like a vast grey talentless cloud hanging over this once green and pleasant land. But at least we wont have a singing Jackie Chan.

International website giving you the opportunity to search for a graduate career abroad. A useful website which also offers country specific advice on applying for a job or looking for work.

For instance, Korean cinema has, over the past decade, risen to a prominent position in world cinema. This is thanks mostly to Park Chan-Wook’s wonderfully deranged “Revenge Trilogy”- the mix of extreme, hyper-stylised violence, tragedy and dark humour making them stand out from the usual stolid, uninspired Hollywood offerings. The difference between these unhinged, often beautiful and sometimes disturbing films and the hollow, cynical nature of Hollywood can be illustrated by comparing J.J. Abram’s Hollywood monster

www.changingworlds.co.uk

Charitable gap year organisation offering a wide range of placements around the world, from working for a newspaper in India and teaching English in China, to construction and conservation in Madagascar.

Weird World

Does exactly what it says on the tin. A comprehensive website with thousands of searchable postgraduate Masters courses in the UK and abroad. Its sister site also deals with PHD courses and beyond. www.eurograduate.com

Chris Glithero

Cambodia: The price of rat meat has reached a record high of 5000 Riel (75p) per kg due to inflation putting other meats out of reach for the nation’s poor. Spiced field rat with extra garlic is especially popular.

Italy: The world was robbed of its very first nun beauty contest, when protests from stiffened shirts in the upper echelons of the church hierarchy scuppered the plans of Father Antonio Rungi. USA: An Ohio father of three was charged with public indecency, after neighbours witnessed him

having sex with a picnic table. It is not known whether the table will be allowed the right to conjugal visits.

genetic defect, one elderly owner explains that her cat grew wings ‘after many female cats in heat came to harass him.’

China: A number of cats in Sichuan province have recently sprouted wing-like growths. While experts note that this could be caused by poor grooming or a

Spain: At Bunol’s annual Tomatina festival 200,000 pounds of tomatoes were expended in the worlds largest outdoor food fight.

CULTURE 25

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Chris Glithero

As summer draws slowly to a close and we usher in the grumbling old man known as Autumn, you may find yourself lamenting the fact that all the best festivals are done and dusted, not to be seen for another year. However, fret ye not, for as these lumbering giants crawl with bloodshot eyes into slothful hibernation, there is still one more festival left to tickle our collective fancies. And it’s right on our doorstep. The Cambridge Film Festival, for the uninitiated, is the city’s annual motion picture extravaganza, centred around the Arts Picture House on St Andrews Street, and organised by the Cambridge Film Trust. Taking place later than usual, between 13th-30th September, the festival hosts a multitude of cinematic offerings, ranging from daring new feature films and classics of world cinema, to penetrating documentaries, experimental shorts and Machinima. The festival opens with a unique outdoor screening of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” in high-res 70mm format at the Institute of Astronomy, and quickly builds up steam, showcasing over a dozen films each day. In addition to a host of new feature films from around the world, the festival also boasts a number of special film programmes, such as ‘Boris Karloff: The Universal Face of Horror,’ featuring many of the actor’s classic horror films, including a double bill of “Frankenstein” and “The Mummy”. Other screening programmes to look forward to take us from powerful music documentaries such as Steven Sebring’s “Patti Smith: Dream of Life” and Suroosh Alvi’s “Heavy Metal in Baghdad”, to Polish cinema, British and international short films, a Warner Brothers retrospective and an exploration of a relatively new cinematic offshoot born of computer gaming, Machinima. In addition to these gems, the festival will also see a series of outdoor riverside screenings in Grantchester Meadows, complete with chauffeured punts to whisk ticket holders to the venue in true Cambridge style. For a full list of screenings or to purchase tickets visit the official festival website at www.cambridgefilmfestival.co.uk or pop into the Arts Picture House and pick up a programme.

Garnham’s Gander State of the Television Address James Garnham

Over the past number of years something foul and trite has been slowly but masterfully creeping it’s way onto our TV screens and systematically ruining everything it can lay it’s stubby, neon hands on. The name of the putrid beast is… “the celebrity”. There was once a time when TV stations would try their very best to put out quality entertainment, thought-provoking documentaries and cutting-edge comedies to attract an audience that had the ability to think for themselves and form opinions of their own. However, today’s public seems complacent to the fact that these times have ended, and instead we get to watch a fame-hungry whore gobble down kangaroo testicle after kangaroo testicle in the vain hope that they’ll one day be paid to get their tits out in Nuts.

I don’t know about you but my idea of reality is not chewing on marsupial scrotums while millions of people watch. In fact I’d go as far to say that I’ve never done that. I’m not saying that all TV is crap, on the contrary I wish to highlight the number of quality shows that are pushed to the backburner in favour of yet another Gordon Ramsay show in which undoubtedly he’ll at some point either a) swear a lot, b) make someone cry, c) say how he is the best/comment on the size of his testes or d) all of the above. It’s shocking when programmes such as “Peep Show”, “Dispatches” or… well, anything really, gets a lower number of people watching than a show about some people living in a house and sucking on the teat of the inevitable cash cow that follows. The problem here is that the big guys at the studios know that millions of people yearn to be recognised for not having done anything. What’s the point of developing and encouraging genuine talent when some dickhead with the IQ of my prostate will do anything you want as long as you have a camera? So how can we stop this growing tumour that lurks behind the glass in our TVs? Simple- just don’t watch. Next time Gillian McKeith comes onto your screen and sticks her face into a box of faeces, or some half-human half-silicone bitch tells someone how hideous they are (when they’re probably not), turn the TV off, leave the room and go do ANYTHING ELSE!!! And if that doesn’t stop them making crap shows we’ll start sending housemates into BB with explosives strapped to them. Now that would be good TV.

Roundup Phil Greer

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With the domination of “The Dark Knight” at cinemas throughout the past few months, it’s difficult to believe anything worth watching could be surfacing for a while.

After a slow summer, it is refreshing to see that Cambridge is kicking September off with a varied range of things to enlighten or deaden the mind. With the domination of “The Dark Knight” at cinemas throughout the past few months, it’s difficult to believe anything worth watching could be surfacing for a while. However Shane Meadows, arguably the best thing to happen to British cinema for years, releases his follow up to 2006’s “This is England” with “Somers Town”, a more light hearted offering from the usually morbid Meadows, exploring the unlikely friendship between two teenage boys in the London district of Somers Town. Also in September comes the new stoner comedy from the guys behind “Knocked Up” and “Superbad”- “Pineapple Express”(12/09)and “Tropic Thunder” (19/09), starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. as actors shooting a big budget war movie who are forced to become the soldiers they are trying to impersonate. Cambridge Corn Exchange is home to some big name comedy acts over the next month, with Jimmy Carr (20/09)) taking to the

“

Last Festival of Summer

stage first of all, followed in early October by “Mock the Week” star Russell Howard (08/10). As if this weren’t enough, “Black Books” creator Dylan Moran brings his cynical outlook on the ups and downs of everyday life to town on 9th and 10th October. For even more comedy pop over to the Junction’s “Jesterlarf ” comedy club (03/10). Music-wise Cambridge always has a reasonable scene, and September sees the Corn Exchange playing host to Enter Shikari (02/10), who define themselves as hardcore punk with “strong DIY ethics,” while Sam Sparro can be seen at the Junction(28/09). For further live music check out The Portland Arms and, of course, Anglia Ruskin’s own “Thursday Night Live”. If you’re into art, take a look at Kettle’s Yard’s latest exhibition, “Conversations” (27/10- 16/11). Last but not least, one of the biggest book releases in the next few months is the latest in Christopher Paolini’s “Inheritance Cycle”“Brisingr” (20/09). This, the third book from the young writer, promises to be an exciting read for adults as well as children.

Games Games THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Quick Crossword

GAMES 28

Across

Down

5. One of the two ovine signs of the Zodiac (5) 6. That game where you find out the truth about your lover (6) 7. Son Goku’s Saiya-jin namesake (6) 9. Allied together (9) 11. Many people enthusiastically feel this way, when it comes to doing 1D (4) 12. Cheeky as a ____? (5) 14. To bully someone, by leaving them out of a group (4) 15. Are these gnot supposed to be wildebeests? (3) 16. Tolkien-esque fantasy creature (3) 17. A very, very old emu (4) 19. A tenth of the answer (5) 21. Synonymous with ‘balls’ (4) 23. The country of cat-sounds? (9) 26. A Japanese upperclassman (6) 27. There were at least three of these in ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ (6) 28. The Hancock Donor? (5)

1. A current trend on YouTube is to do this to an anime series (7) 2. Synonym of 11A (5) 3. The spear of God (5) 4. How the Japanese pronounce ‘taurus’ (7) 8. Terribly against this answer (4) 9. Pick up a Batman villain (7) 10. Not even agreeing to disagree (7) 12. To slice is to ___? (3) 13. The predecessor author to Conan Doyle, in detective fiction (3) 18. The sort of thing the creation of 13D solves (7) 20. Not this one (4) 22. The subject of the joke that made Billy Connolly (7) 24. Synonymous and rhyming with ‘lie’ (5) 25. What you call one of the faces on a die, except in one word (5)

Quick Crossword

Across

Down

7. Liliaceous plant of the Trillium family (4-5) 8. Melba cocktail for this lady (5) 10. Be particular about respecting a woman (8) 11. Harmonises in ‘Grease’ arrangement (6) 12. Wine available in plastic containers (4) 13. Stop-go manoeuvres on skis (4,4) 15. Pale-blue fly used by anglers on the Somerset coast (7) 17. States having need of a mounted force (7) 20. Vehicle with cotton yarn for a border city (8) 22. Distinctive decoration in the current Mensa show (4) 25. Beleaguer aggressively (6) 26. State one getting into stolen property is a scamp (8) 27. Called to name the half-way point in a 1,000-page novel (5) 28. Destitute writer on African river steamer (9)

1. High waterproof boot, worn by anglers, etc. (5) 2. Holiday in bay (6) 3. Single group of investigators enter house, discovering crime (8) 4. Penalty points require descretion (7) 5. Pin for holding a woman’s hair in place (8) 6. Be festive but let care be exercised (9) 9. Correct by punishment or discipline (4) 14. Tile and slate are hard with a dull coating (6,3) 16. Seized, like some doves (8) 18. Keeps up with us in defiles (8) 19. Complaint diagnosed on the spot (7) 21. Average of Somerset’s openers given twice (2-2) 23. Horse’s home is on firm foundations (6) 24. Unusually stark limestone formation (5)

Sudoku

28 STUDENT ACTIVITIES

Craig Jennings Student Activities Editor

Student Student Activities Activities

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

‘Give It A Go’

Sahara Rally

Anglia Ruskin’s student activity scheme ‘Give It A Go’ (GIAG) is back for another year with various goings-on for students to try out and to enjoy this semester. With a numerous choice ranging from sporting classes, shopping trips and creative activities between both Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses GIAG has something that anyone can get involved in. Look out for the flyers which will be featured around both campuses. Speculated activities include:

Student enters for ‘scarred 4 life’ charity Craig Jennings

Eleven days travelling through five countries, numerous cities, tough terrains and hot climates sounds like a challenge to anyone. But what if you were going back to do it for a second time? This is the situation for one of our fellow university students as he prepares for his second charity fundraiser event ‘The Sahara Rally 2009’.

The fundraiser is a purely nonprofit based organization which presents the awareness of certain groups whom Karl’s society fundraises for. The charities include ‘The East African Wildlife Society (EAWLS)’ which is also a nonprofit organisation focusing upon the conservation of the jungles, endangered species and wildlife throughout Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Karl’s second selected charity ‘La Crèche de Tanger’ based in Tangier, Morocco works almost independently with the generosity of a small few and is non-profit making, helping to create better lives for young orphans of Morocco. Setting out from Cambridge where the 8000km journey begins, the rally team travels through the UK and France to arrive at Le Mans for lunch, before travelling to Bilbao (Spain) where the first day comes to a close. Day two travels into Madrid then heads to Fuengurola, but don’t expect any early nights here because there’ll be an overnight party! From here the adventurers should expect to find themselves travelling to Algerciras, Gibraltar where a ferry will sail them to Ceuta in Morocco. The journey continues visiting Fez, the

Sat 4th October, Thorpe Park Trip (£20, 9am-5pm) Fri 10th, 17th & 24th October, Karate (£4, 5-6pm)

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Stopping in Marrakech, the travellers can enjoy the city, its various markets and can whet their appetites for such delicacies as scorpion and goats head

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The event was founded in 2006 by Zoology student, Karl Scarr (of Cambridge). After nearly losing his life to MRSA, Karl decided that he should be doing more with his life, giving him the incentive to create the rally event, commencing every other year in July. Whilst preparing to do so, Karl would be attempting to raise money through his created charity fundraiser ‘Scarred4Life’.

Cambridge

oldest city in Morocco, then stops over in the Middle Atlas Mountains of Ifrane. Next, the adventure moves through to Merzouga in the heart of the Sahara desert for two days, where temperatures average around 55°C. The travelling parties then leave the roads, travelling 400 miles over the sand dunes of the Sahara desert to Zagora, before driving as high as 4000 metres on the High Atlas Mountain range. Stopping in Marrakech, the travellers can enjoy the city, its various markets

and can whet their appetites for such delicacies as scorpion and goats head. By the eighth day the team should be making their way onto Tangier for two days, visiting ‘La Crèche de Tanger’ orphanage and finishing the rally in true style with a black tie fundraising celebration, rubbing shoulders with Moroccan aristocracy and various celebrities who are attending the party. It is important for those interested in travelling to know that you bring your own vehicle (4x4 preferable) and self drive in convoy, as well as a self sufficient unit carrying items such as camping and cooking equipments The first ‘Sahara Rally’ fundraiser took place in 2007. Twenty-one travellers took part on the rally and it proved to be a great success receiving local presses’ attention and features in numerous magazines such as ‘Land Rover Monthly’ and BBC radio stations; it was clear to Karl that the success of the fundraiser would grow. And this has been proven correct today in preparations for the upcoming 2009 rally. With numerous interviews and international press coverage, the sponsorship for ‘Scarred4life’ has increased strongly as many organisations, including Anglia Ruskin University, have given their support to the second rally. With all the media interest surrounding the rally, there has been

a few close celebrity associations with the fundraiser, including actress Soumaya Akaaboune who has given constant support to Karl and the fundraising society, having ties with the organisation as she originates from Tangier where ‘La Crèche de Tanger’ is based. Matt Damon, who shares his own fundraiser ‘Sahara’ with Brad Pitt and George Clooney, has also shown interest in Scarred4life. Scarred4life have also received a great deal of support from film crews. One such film crew, Shepperton Film Studios (“Gladiator”, 2003) have shown particular interest in the rally. A film producer from the company is keen to film the upcoming rally as part of a documentary that he is working on. The producer has links to the project after adopting a young boy from ‘La Crèche de Tanger’ orphanage last year and entered a car with a presenter alongside celebrity entries to help promote Scarred4life’s attempt to raise awareness of the plight that both his chosen charities face. Anyone who wants find out more information, donate money to these charities or join in the ‘Sahara Rally 2009’ can visit www. sahararally.co.uk or www.sahararally.org or e-mail c.scarr1@ ntlworld.com

Thurs 6th, 13th, 20th November, Trampolining (£3, 6.15-8.15pm) (TBC) Thurs 27th November & 4th, 11th December, Life Drawing (£3) (TBC) Sat 29th November, Ice Skating (£10, 11.30am) Sat 13th December, Xmas Shopping trip to London (£3, 9am-5pm)

Chelmsford Mon 29th September & 6th, 13th October, Street Dance (Free, 7.30-8.30pm) Sat 20th September, Trip to London (£5, 9am-5pm) Mon 6th, 13th, 20th October, Women’s Rugby (Free, 6-7pm) Sat 8th November, Trip to Cambridge (£2, 9am-5pm) Sat 13th December, Trip to Bluewater (£3, 9am-5pm) Magic Lessons (TBC)

Remember that it is not essential to have experience in some of the events to attend them, its all about giving it a go! Details correct at time of print and may be subject to change.

STUDENT ACTIVITIES 29

THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

2nd Years - Get connected to Employers through Anglia Ruskin’s Employer Mentoring Scheme

Craig Jennings

The Wildlife and Roots and Shoots societies recently teamed up for a day to help conservation on the River Cam in Cambridge. The team, who spent the day at a stretch of canal near Jesus Green, managed to clear out various objects from the water, from beer cans and footballs to syringes, needles and even a shopping trolley! Overall, the day was a success with the stretch of water looking greatly improved, creating more of a suitable environment for the wildlife around the river.

To keep the river in this condition the societies involved are hoping to make trips such as these a regular occurrence hoping for either monthly or bi-monthly contribution depending on the participation of others.

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The wildlife society, with the support of Roots and Shoots and the Welfare Society will be producing their own publication about environmental events and issues that the societies involve themselves in. For more information on the events or how to become involved please contact: aruwildlifesociety@hotmail.com

The time of year has fast-approached us once again. With the Freshers’ celebrations in full swing it’s the perfect time to find out what the university as well as Cambridge and Chelmsford have to offer to its students. Alongside the events and numerous social parties that the university is hosting, the Fresher’s fair is a way to find out how you can become involved in numerous student activities both on campus and in the local community.

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it’s the perfect Limited places. Unlimited possibilities. time to find out what the University has to offer

Find out more about the Employer Mentoring Scheme – a FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY.

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Sammy also mentions how “you really don’t need to be doing an Environmental/ Life Science degree to be concerned about the rubbish that builds up around us and the effects it has on us and wildlife.”

Craig Jennings

Both Chelmsford and Cambridge Freshers’ fairs feature organisations from both on and off campus, with an assortment of represented university clubs and societies attending giving students the chance to enquire further and how to become involved in the various activities which they host. Expected alongside this will be representation from various local companies and establishments promoting the local entertainments, charities, and health & support groups. A selection of retailers will also be on hand offering a range of discounts on your student needs.

A member of the team, Sammy, told how it was “a day well spent and the canal really did look much better after. Sadly however, I have recently visited the same canal and it is quite bad again so our societies hope to try and make it a regular thing’.

you don’t need to be doing an Environmental/ Life Science degree to be concerned about the effect of rubbish that builds up around us

Freshers’ Fair

Be paired in your 2nd year with an experienced employee who will work with you on a 1:1 helping to increase your employability by building your business awareness and improving your personal skills. Current FIRST year students could also apply now to be ready on the waiting list for next year.

This scheme will match you with a volunteer employee mentor who will take you into the workplace on at least 6 occasions between November and May where your mentor will help you evaluate your own abilities, develop your skills ( CV development, interview skills, application support and much more) and hopefully give you an insight into a future work environment. This scheme offers an exciting opportunity for full time students in the Business, SET and the Arts, Law and Social Science Faculties to be paired with an experienced professional in the workplace.

There are no guarantees anymore that a degree will provide the gateway to a graduate job. In selecting their workforce, employers today look not only at academic achievements, but increasingly value graduates with ‘hands on’ knowledge and business awareness. Mentoring offers a route by which you can gain this, thus improving your job prospects. Advantages for students ….. Mentoring encourages you to plan an individual programme to develop your organisational / business awareness.

Mentoring provides one-to-one support from an experienced professional in a working environment. Mentoring gives you access to employer networks not normally available to students. You will enhance your CV by demonstrating motivation, initiative and commitment. Mentoring helps to prepare you for working life after university. We would encourage you to visit

our website at www.anglia.ac.uk/ mentoring to consider this great opportunity, to see what previous student applicants did during their mentoring and what they had to say about it, and also to see a list of companies who have been working with us on this innovative programme. TO REMIND YOU - You will need to have applied by mid October, at the beginning of your second year, at the very latest. As numbers are limited, we do operate a ‘first-come, first-served’ policy so don’t hesitate to come and register yourself as interested NOW.

To find out more about the Scheme, exactly how it operates, your commitment, or the advantages it presents, call in to visit the Careers & Employability team in the Student Centre to speak to:Chelmsford Campus – Tindal, 2nd floor - Jan Haldane, jan.haldane@anglia.ac.uk or call 0845 196 4273 Cambridge campus – Helmore - Katie Morris Katie.morris@anglia.ac.uk or call 0845 196 2541

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Roots and Shoots

Don’t let the name of the event fool you; the Fresher’s fair is also available to the university’s older year groups too. So if you’ve ever thought of yourself as a keen sportsman or want to find out if there’s a society that appeals to you then take a look at what is on offer. This year the Cambridge Fresher’s Fair will be taking place on Tuesday 23rd September between 10am and 4pm; there will be two large marquees on the Theatre Square (facing the University Library). The Chelmsford event will be taking place on the 25th September. For more information regarding both Freshers Fairs contact: Cambridge - Sarah Boston: s.boston@ angliastudent.com, Chelmsford – Linda Collett: l.collett@angliastudent.com

Work For the APEX James Jackson

The Apex is offering volunteering opportunities for anyone interested in publishing, media and distribution. By being part of our student newspaper you will learn a number of skills that are essential if you wish to enter the media industry. The Apex is looking for people who are passionate about creating a newspaper that everyone at Anglia Ruskin can be proud of. No previous experience is necessary but commitment is absolutely essential.

We are looking for: Editors Writers Designers Typesetters Photographers Advertising manager Distribution Manager Proof readers Web bloggers

If you are interested in becoming part of the Apex team then you can pick up an application form from the Students Union office or download it at http://www. angliastudent.com/export/ sites/Anglia/upload_gallery/application_form.pdf

Sport

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THE ANGLIA RUSKIN APEX ISSUE 1 2008/09

Sport

All Change In University Sport Alexis Mannion

There was an organisation called UCS (University and College Sport) which looked after sport in colleges and other higher education establishments. However they decided it would be more productive to have one organisation running sport for all people in higher education, hence BUCS was born. This has now changed; as of July 2008 a new organisation is in charge of running university and higher education sport in England. This new organisation is called BUCS, which stands for British University and College Sport. The idea behind this new organisation was so that colleges and other higher education facilities

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BUCS aims for more high performance athletes competing on the world stage

sport for young people and adult health related activity levels to influence life-long participation in sport and physical activity. BUCS also supports the development of volunteering and volunteer management delivered regionally and locally.

The aims of BUCS are for higher participation levels, greater competition across the sector, more high performance athletes competing on the world stage, and to improve the promotion of healthy campus and communities through

There are fixtures throughout the academic year. The first match is on Wednesday 8th October and the last match isn’t until Wednesday 25th March, which is a considerably longer period of time compared to recent years.

For a list of all our clubs’ fixtures for the forthcoming academic year and where the home games are being played, go to: http://www.angliastudent.com/ pages/student_activities/fixtures_ and_results/ If you are free go along and support our teams. You might even end up joining one of our clubs and taking part in BUCS sport yourself.

2008 Beijing Paralympics Alexis Mannion

The Paralympic Games is an elite sports event for athletes with physical, mental and sensory disabilities and was first introduced in 1948 during the opening of the

London Olympic Games. After the phenomenal success that Team GB had in the Olympics, our Team GB paralympians are hoping to emulate their success in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games which runs from Saturday 6th September to Wednesday 17th September There are a number of sports that are included in the Paralympic games, such as; archery, cycling, wheelchair basketball and football to name a few. There are going to be over 200 athletes representing Great Britain in 18 sports, in all there will be over 4,200 athletes from 148 countries taking

Calum O’ Flynn considers....

This year we have more teams competing in BUCS. Those teams included are: men’s badminton, women’s badminton, men’s basketball, men’s football, women’s football, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, netball, men’s rugby, women’s rugby, men’s volleyball and women’s volleyball.

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Roughly two weeks after the Olympic flame has been extinguished at the Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing will again be hosting another international sports event of equal importance. No, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Yao Ming and company won’t be there this time. However, I am sure there will be other athletes who will grab the spotlight as they did, breaking world records, attaining lifelong dreams and captivating their own legions of fans

View from the Cheap Seats:

part. This will be the largest ever number of nations at the Paralympics (twelve more than in Athens), and several countries will be competing for the first time. At the last Paralympic games in Athens in 2004 Britain finished second in the medal table with a total of 35 gold medals, 30 silver medals and 29 bronze medals, finishing with 94 medals in total. Only China finished higher with 63 gold medals, 46 silver medals and 32 bronze medals, an amazing 141 medals in total, and Team GB will be looking to better their medal tally in this years Paralympic games.

If, like me, you looked past the controversy surrounding Beijing’s Olympics then you would have witnessed the best Olympic games ever. 50 world records were broken including three world records deemed unbeatable; Jonathan Edwards still sleeps safe in the knowledge that no-one will ever jump that freakish distance he did 11 years ago.

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At least we beat Germany and as a nation we always enjoy that

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There are numerous sporting heroes who have competed in BUSA competitions whilst being at university. These include Monty Panesar (Cricket) and James Gibson (Swimming) to name a couple.

were able to compete in a higher standard of competition alongside universities. BUCS is responsible for governing all British university sport at national and international level including the World University Games. BUCS coordinates around 1.2 million students who compete in 3200 teams and 503 leagues of all kinds of sports across Britain.

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Last year the majority of sporting competitions that students took part in on Wednesday afternoons were run by BUSA (British University Sporting Association), and BUSA have been around for over twenty years, running student sporting competitions.

12 years ago was the first time I witnessed the Olympics. It was the Atlanta Games and was also surrounded in controversy. Being 8 years old none of this affected me, I just enjoyed waking up an hour earlier than usual for school and watching Michael Johnson destroy the field. The bomb scare did nothing to me then and I wish I could say the same about the politics surrounding Beijing but since I am all for human rights I found it quite hard. Like I said though, this is not a political piece, this is sports. Once again I woke up an hour earlier than usual and caught the wonderful Sue Barker presenting Olympic Breakfast, telling me all that had happened whilst I slept. During my lunch hour I caught the lunchtime round up and even used the red button facility to see if there was any live coverage to float my boat. Then after work I

was in time to watch The Games Today. This happened every day Monday-Friday and I have some great highlights. Obviously Michael Phelps who at 24 has achieved more than all of us combined will achieve in a lifetime. Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record by jogging the last 10 metres and posing for the camera, then a few days later took Michael Johnson’s unbeatable 200m record into his hands and crushed it to a pulp. Reasons behind Usain Bolt’s lack of effort in the 100m is due to the financial bonus achieved with a world record. He could have destroyed the world record and never beaten it again or instead, taken a little off the time and accepted the cheque, then at another meet taken a little more, and accepted another cheque etc… This is very sound logic in my eyes. The jewel in the Olympic crown I have to say is the impressive achievement by the Lions. People can say, “well we still didn’t win” but look at the facts: - The Winners, China, has a population of 1,321,851,888. - Second Place, USA, has a population of 301,139,947. - Third Place, Russia, has a population of 141,377,752 - Fourth Place, Great Britain has a population of 60,776,238. Great Britain has less than half the population of third place Russia. Also these countries have far more funding from private companies and government than in the U.K. The lottery fund is a fantastic charity but the Russian and Chinese governments will throw as much money as it takes to make their country athletically brilliant. Considering the lack of funding and lack of people in general I think 4th place and 47 medals is a really good attempt, at least we beat Germany and we, as a nation, always enjoy that. The other criticism was towards the sports we won gold in. A medal is a medal whether it was in a toff sport or not. Look at the potential also. Most of these athletes will be in their prime in 2012. I for one will be looking past the controversy once again and be using whatever gadgetry is at hand to enjoy more fantastic sporting achievements.

Games: Still Going Strong P27

“Give It A Go” P28

ANGLIA RUSKIN Want To Join One Of Our Sports Clubs?

Freshers Fun P16

SPORT

New Football Season Alexis Mannion

Alexis Mannion

As all returning students will know, the first few weeks of your university life are undoubtedly the most exciting and possibly the most expensive times! There is so much to do and see, especially being away from home and being your own boss, doing what you want when you want. The first few weeks at university are when you tend to make your best friends who will stand by you throughout your time at university and long after. All of our sports clubs have very friendly atmospheres and are open to anyone to join, regardless of whether you have experience or are a complete novice, every club welcomes new members. Each club is unique, both with the sport they play and the characters you get in the team. You will find that sports clubs are like small families and everyone will always look out for each other, which is ideal if you are new to the campus and need some help finding your feet. There is also the social aspect of being on a sports team. Not only do our sports teams play hard on the pitch during training and matches, but they also hold regular socials which

range from pub golf to fancy dress, and is generally good fun, whether you’re a drinker or not. At Anglia Ruskin University we have over 20 clubs which are open to both men and women and over half of our clubs compete in local and national leagues. The clubs range from American Football to Ultimate Frisbee, so you are almost guaranteed to find a club that will suit you. If you are interested in joining one of our many sports clubs or societies then the Freshers’ Fair is for you. This takes place on Tuesday 23rd September in Cambridge, on Thursday 25th September in Chelmsford and on Friday 26th September at Fulbourne. Here you can meet and talk to people who are part of the club and find out exactly what the club does, and you can sign up to the club enabling you to take part in training and matches. If you want a more comprehensive list of our clubs then have a look on our website http://www. angliastudent.com/pages/student_ activities/ and you can see what clubs and societies we have to offer in Cambridge and Chelmsford.

Around this time of year we say “goodbye” to cricket and “hello” to a new, exciting football season. However, I’m not going to ignore the achievements of the English cricket team. Unfortunately, England lost the 4 Test Match series to South Africa 2 – 1 and the captain Michael Vaughan resigned from the test captaincy after the third match (when England were 2 – 0 down). At the same time Paul Collingwood resigned as one day captain. Kevin Pietersen steps up to be handed both captaincies, and only has a few days to prepare before the 4th test match at the Oval. Never one to shy away from the limelight, Kevin Pietersen has won all of the matches in his captaincy reign so far. He won the final test match, and he lead England to a 4 – 0 win in the recent one day series over South Africa. Unfortunately he never got chance to complete the whitewash as the rain in Cardiff meant the game was abandoned. This stands England in good stead for the next 18 months of cricket, which culminates in the Ashes in England

during the summer of 2009. It will certainly be a tough period for Kevin Pietersen, but I for one will watch with interest. Back to the football, as usual there has been a lot of money spent in the transfer market. The summer transfer window has come and just about gone and, for the most part, I reckon people would agree that this was by far one of the most interesting in recent memory. From the Dimitar Berbatov saga to Robinho, Gareth Barry and Cristiano Ronaldo, the papers have had more than enough to write (or lie) about this summer. While the rumours seemed to come fast and furious every day, there never seemed to be anything to back up 90 per cent of the stories. Two of the funniest transfer sagas this summer were Dimitar Berbatov and Robinho. Manchester United thought they had a done deal with Dimitar Berbatov, only at the 11th hour for Manchester City to come in with a higher bid, but with Fergie being who he is, he eventually got his man for £30

million, plus Frazier Campbell, which left Manchester City feeling hard done by. Not to be outdone, Manchester City then managed to poach Robinho from Real Madrid from right under Chelsea’s noses. Chelsea thought it was a done deal for the player and had even begun to sell Chelsea shirts with Robinho’s name and number on it. So imagine the shock that Chelsea got when it was announced that Robinho was moving to Manchester City and not to Stamford Bridge! At the time of press Chelsea and Liverpool are sitting pretty at the top of the league, both on seven points, with West Brom at the bottom of the league with only one point from their three matches so far. Manchester United are in ninth place in the table with four points but they’ve only played two games so far this season. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go in this year of Premier League football and only time will tell who the best team in the country is.