The Print Volume 3, Issue 1

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Wednesday 28th September 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

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Maynooth welcomes 2,129 new students KEITH BRONI Editor-In-Chief

During this year’s Orientation Week (Monday 12th September to Friday 16th September), 2,173 new students formally registered for their first year of third level education in NUI Maynooth. 952 of these students were male, while 1174 were female.

A total of 878 new students have been registered to MH101, the general Bachelor of Arts programme.

Meanwhile, 137 students registered for MH201 , the university’s General Science Programme, an increase on previousl years.

The smallest degree programme amid the first year students is being studying by only two first year students, both of which are male. This qualification is the Electronic Engineering with Communications.

However, all Engineering students take common First, Second and Third Year programmes, only fully specialising a la their CAO course acceptance for their fourth and final year.

At the time of publication, a total of 6709 students have registered for the 2011 / 2012 academic year.

This figure is expected to rise to roughly 8,000 in the coming weeks as sloe students continue to register.

THE

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News 1-5 Opinion & Comment 6 Features 7 Welfare 9 Entertainments & Culture 10 Technology 18 Procrasination 19 Sports 20- 2 1

Heineken Cup on Campus LENISTER RUGBY PRESS RELEASE New University President, Professor Philip Nolan will be on hand to award the Elite Rugby Scholarships to the eighteen fresher’s in addition to the 14 second year students who have returned from last year.

Among the recipients are Robbie Holt and Michael Brown who both represented Leinster Under-20 side this season as well as former Ireland Under-19 player Conor McDermott. Each of the players will be hoping to line out for NUIM-Barnhall in their opening game of the Ulster Bank League this weekend.

Also present will be NUIM alumni Sarah Crosby and Sinead Ryan, who were both part of the Leinster women’s senior team who recently won the IRFU Interprovincial championship.

The ceremony will also include a delegation from Université de Perpignan which will be officially twinned with NUI Maynooth and will see student exchanges for a variety of academic and sporting programmes.

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

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Troy Davis Executed in Georgia EDITORIAL

CHRISTINA MURPHY

So here we are. Welcome to the first issue of The Print for the 2011 / 2012 academic year! It’s a little rough around the edges, but hopefully ultimately to your liking!

Those of you previously familiar with the Students’ Union publication may notice a few key differences between this newspaper and The Print of last year. Some are major, some are more subtle. I could make a list of them here, but I don’t; they’re waiting for you to discover for yourself. But for the moment I’m going to discuss a change which those of you previous familiar with The Print must have immediately noticed; the change in size.

Instead of the 32 / 40 page Berliner-style paper of the 2010 / 2011 academic year, you are currently reading a 24 page enlarged tabloid.

This change of format was imposed for three reasons: cost, frequency and student demand.

This paper cost far less to print per issue than last year’s publication due to its smaller size and new printing location (County Wicklow instead of Manchester, England). The cheaper cost and smaller size also allows this volume to be printed more frequently, with the aim being roughly every two weeks of the semester rather than every three or four.

Finally, if a small survey on Facebook can be trusted, a smaller yet more frequent publication seemed to be what a majority of Maynooth students want. On my personal profile I asked whether students would prefer 32 pages every three weeks or 20 pages every two weeks. 159 people voted, with 14 in favour of the 32 page document and 145 in favour of the 20 page document. That’s 8.8% against 91.2%. A landslide victory for a smaller and more frequent newspaper, so that’s what I’ve given you (I took the liberty of assuming it was landslide specifically for a document of exactly 20 pages).

Hopefully that answers any questions you might have had over the change in size of the paper. If you’ve any further questions about The Print, such as how to get involved, e-mail me via vpsec@nuimsu.com or ‘like’ The Print on Facebook via Facebook.com/ThePrintMSU. Cheers for reading!

Keith

Last Wednesday, at 11.08 p.m. , Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia, four hours later than originally scheduled. Live coverage of the event was truly harrowing, as Davis’ future seemed uncertain right up until the last minute.

He was originally sentenced to death in 1991 after being found guilty of murdering Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail. In the twenty years since, the Davis case has acted as a catalyst for organizations, such as Amnesty International, who oppose the death penalty. Protests have occurred across the globe, from New York to London and also Maynooth.

The case has been fraught with controversy, with many groups angered by the lack of physical evidence used in Davis’ trial. The guilty verdict

was reached, solely from evidence by eyewitness accounts. These accounts themselves have been scrutinized amid accusations of police interference and seven eyewitnesses who no longer stand behind their original statements. As the case fed through the justice system in later years however, courts upheld the guilty verdict and capital punishment sentence.

The MacPhails stated that they were thankful that the Supreme Court decided to uphold Davis’ original sentence. Davis and his family maintained his innocence up until the last moment The execution of Troy Davis was called to halted, by high profile figures including Jimmy Carter and Pope Benedict XVI. The world of showbiz was characteristically vocal, with Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Russell Simons and Kim Kardashian all broadcasting their support of Davis.

The fallout from the Troy Davis execution will be felt in coming months and years. The state sanctionedexecution of an African American prisoner, who many believed to be innocent, has rekindled debates regarding racial inequalities in the justice system.

Further, it has renewed doubts over the use of capital punishment. Benjamin Jealous, President of the NAACP, (National Association for the

Advancement of Coloured People) has indicated that the organization aim to end the death penalty within the next decade.

Ripples from the case may even seep into the Presidential election 2012. Many have expressed anger at Barack Obama’s refusal to intervene in the case. Presidential hopefuls, such as death penalty advocate, Rick Perry, may also face a backlash.

The only thing that remains certain is the uncertainty that will surround the Davis case.

Moreover the manner in which the execution took place will have lasting effects both politically and personally for those invested in the case.

New societies on campus for 2011 society has finally restarted itself and this year it promises to be better than ever. Some of the events it hopes to hold are table quizzes, a sorting ceremony, movie nights, a Yule Ball, potions lessons, a Quidditch tournament, an End of Year feast, and maybe even a Triwizard Tournament.

Sounds exciting right? See for yourself during Clubs & Socs Day, and don’t forget to tweak your sorting answers so you don’t end up in Hufflepuff.

Hufflepuffs often tend to die.

RITA MACIULYTE

The Long Legs Food & Wine Society

We all look forward to the day that is Fairs Day, the atmosphere of optimism and commercialism is everywhere. The first years are not sure what to expect but they want to join EVERYTHING and the other years vow that ‘this year will be different’ so therefore we join as many as we can as long as we can carry all the free stuff. We look forward to presidents and committee members shouting ‘join this society’ at us and promising us all the enjoyment in the world. This year we have a few more societies to add to the series of enthusiastic smiling presidents. Each of the following brand new and renewed societies promise to keep you interested all year round with their movie screenings, food tasting sessions, and magical adventures.

The name really speaks for itself. This society is a new society starting up in Maynooth this year and by looking on their facebook page, really have got themselves organised. They will be holding food tasting, wine tasting, movie nights, and all with exciting twists of it being different themes every week. For example, on October the third they will be holding a French Night (in conjunction with the French Society) at which there will be French food and wine. There will be different types of cheeses and sounds like a fun evening all round, and the best part? No cover charge! Other events include a German Night, and Irish Beer Craft night. The society promises to find tasty recipes and simple meals for minimal costs for students, which is always nice isn’t it?

The Harry Potter Society

The Disney Society

To many of us the Harry Potter saga is the definition of our childhood; the books, the characters, the magic and the movies. Now that it is over, some of us wonder – ‘what else is there to do with my life?’ Good news! The Harry Potter

So this year the Disney Society is starting up in Maynooth and it sounds so colourful and cheerful it would be hard to walk by their stand without smiling and signing your name. The Society hopes to be light hearted and hold Disney Movie

Nights, Dress up Parties, and raise money for some charities. Everyone has a soft spot for their favourite Disney movie and a debate whether Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty is better is always fun, no matter if you’re five or twenty. This society is also free to join, so why the bubbles not?

The Psychology Society

The Psychology Society has been on and off for a few years now and now that its back promises that it will be better than before. One thing to remember is the Psychology Society is not only for psychology students. There are a lot of students around who genuinely enjoy psychology and don’t study it so why not come along? Some of their events include movie nights, a Psych Ball, and guest speakers speaking to you about neuroscience, clinical, sports psychology etc.

Surely that’s good for your degree and brain right?

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2011 Irish Presidential Race: A Bluffers’ Guide

MARK DILLON By the time this is in your hands, the deadline for candidates to the nominated to run for the presidency of Ireland will have ended and the final line-up for the ballot paper will be announced.

However, following the action of yesterday we know of the record-breaking seven candidates that will be contesting the election.

The office of President was established in 1937 and despite having spent seven terms in government, Fine Gael has never managed to have their proposed presidential candidate elected. Aiming to change this, they have nominated Gay Mitchell. A party stalwart, Mitchell comes with a wealth of political experience. However, he is heavily associated with Dublin, limiting his appeal in more rural areas, and he does not seem to have the full confidence of his party hierarchy; Enda Kenny visibly slumped and could not contain his disappointment when Mitchell clinched the nomination.

The other partner in the current governing coalition, the Labour Party, have chosen Michael D. Higgins to lead them into the race. Higgins has been active in Irish politics since 1973 and has a wide range of interests, stretching from poetry and authorship to the presidency of Galway United F.C. Higgins was seen as the front runner of the declared candidates earlier on in the race, topping a Red C poll of declared candidates a month ago, however a recent poll conducted on Liveline, although not the most scientific of analysis, sees him languishing in 5th. His age, 70, is seen as working against him in some peoples’ eyes.

The final party who have decided to endorse a candidate, with the help of four independents, is Sinn Fein, who have placed their hopes in Martin McGuinness. McGuinness was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from May 2007 until earlier this month, before stepping down to contest the presidential election. McGuinness is seen as

Those hoping to become the next Irish President (clockwise from top left): Gay Mitchell, Michael D. Higgins, Martin McGuinness, Mary Davis, Dana Rosemary Scallon, David Norris and Sean Gallagher. having a checkered past, admitting to have been a member of the IRA in the 1970s and is rumoured to have been a central figure on the IRA army council.

However, McGuinness will be keen to stress his ecumenical role in Northern Irish politics in recent years. How his past is covered in the media could decide his faith.

Two independent candidates, Mary Davis and Sean Gallagher, have so far been confirmed. Davis is best known as for acting as CEO for the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Ireland in 2003 and is heavily involved in the Special Olympics organisation to this date. In politics, she is a member of the Irish Council of State, assuming office in 2004. Davis is seen as having a slim chance of winning the race, being somewhat unknown quantity and, since she polled well with Sinn Fein voters, the entry of Martin McGuinness will not help her chances.

Sean Gallagher, on the hand, should have no such problems with recognition, being a familiar face

through his role on the television show, Dragons’ Den. Gallagher studied youth and community work in NUI Maynooth before going on to become Youth and Community Development worker. Akin to this, he is a successful businessman, having an interest in various ventures. Gallagher, however, is tainted by his previous association with Fianna Fail, being a party member from the 1980s to 2010 and he is keen to stress himself as an independent, running under the slogan ‘For An Independent President’.

The final two candidates, David Norris and Dana Rosemary Scallon, reached the requirements to be nominated only yesterday. Norris is a Joycean scholar, a member of Seanad Eireann and was a key figure in the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland. He had previously withdrawn from the race after it emerged that he had pleaded for clemency in the case of former partner Ezra Nawi, who was facing charges of statutory rape in Israel. He reentered the race after huge popular support for his candidacy was shown in a series of polls. Norris has

secured the support of 18 of the 20 members of the Orachteus required to participate in the election, but was denied further support and instead lobbyed the councils. Already having received the backing of Fingal County Council, he received the nomination of Laois CC on Monday and Waterford City Council and Dublin City Counil yesterday.

Dana Rosemary Scallon, most commonly referred to simply as Dana, won the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest with ‘All Kinds of Everything’ and has been active in politics, finishing 3rd in the 1997 Presidential Election and subsequently serving as an MEP. She received a nomination from Offaly, Carlow, Roscommon and Westmeath. However, she is unlikely to feature as a serious contender if she does run, her strong conservatism seen as anachronistic in modern Ireland.

Specialist gaming store opens Galway Pensioner Died Via on Maynooth Main Street Spontaenous Combustion DONAL McCLEAN On the 24th of September at 10 am, Maynooth bore witness to the opening of its very own specialist gaming store, Gamers Hub. Located at unit 1 Geraldine Court, around the corner from Caulfields bar on Main Street, the shop takes up residence in an old veterinary supply shop. The owner of the store, Ethan Day-Jones, is a former student of NUI Maynooth and is now attempting to facilitate the thriving gaming population which exists in the local community.

The shop opens from 10am-10pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and 10am-10pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2pm-6pm on Sundays.

The store will be providing ‘Friday Night Magic’ session starting at 7pm on the 30th of September and has plans for eventually setting up tournaments

PÁRAIC KERRIGAN

and competitions for table top gaming as well as Role-playing nights, with Pathfinder and World Of Darkness to name just a few. Further upcoming events will be announced on their Facebook page, so be sure to check them out to avoid missing out.

he had not seen anything of the like before.

The West Galway coroner, Dr Ciaran McLoughlin, has had to come to the conclusion The death of a seventy-six year old man, who was found badly burnt lying in his Galway home last year, that the cause of death was spontaneous human has been accounted to the uncommon phenomenon combustion, which is one of the first cited incidents of its kind in Ireland. The court was told that no of spontaneous combustion. Michael Faherty’s trace of an accelerant had been found and there had burned remains were discovered in his living room been nothing to suggest foul play. McLoughlin also in Ballybane, three days before Christmas last year. says that he is certain no other parties entered or By definition, spontaneous combustion is death left the house that night. Pathologist Grace Callagy from a fire originating within the victim’s body noted that Mr. Faherty had suffered from Type 2 without any external causes. There have only been diabetes and hypertension but felt that he had not 200 cases that have been recognised to date and died from anything heart related. possible causes vary, ranging from the dangerous The last suspected case of spontaneous raising of blood alcohol levels to paranormal explanations. According to Garda O’Callaghan, of the combustion was back in 1982 in Edmonton, London, where Jeannie Saffin was said to have divisional crime scene investigation unit: “The ‘seat’ ignited in flames in front of her shocked family for of the fire was around the body of Mr. Faherty and confined to this area- the rest of the house was smoke no apparent reason. damaged”. Garda O’Callaghan himself admitted that

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

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PRINT NEWS

Quinn Creates Student Grants Appeal Board

CONOR O’BRIEN Ireland’s flawed grant system received a major boost last week when Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn announced the establishment of the country’s first Student Grants’ Appeals Board, accessible to students from the start of this college year.

The board was created under the Student Support Act 2011, which guaranteed reform within the grants’ system, and will comprise a Chairperson and six members with extensive expertise in the area of third level grants. These will include a USI representative, guaranteeing students a level of representation within the grants system hitherto unseen.

Other members include former director of the Department of Social Protection Maureen Waldron, Head of Education at UCD Dr. Marie Clarke and former UL Registrar Professor Kevin Ryan. This array of experience in student affairs, coupled by the voice of regular students supplied by the USI board member, is hoped to bring the greatest possible degree of fairness to the appeals’ process.

“The experience and expertise that the members

will bring to the process will be an important contribution to improving the grant scheme for students” claimed Mr. Quinn.

The USI (which previously advocated such a board) has welcomed the announcement, believing that this new committee will ensure the “fair and impartial” administration of appeals for all students, as they will now be dealt with solely by an independent authority.

“Increasing numbers of students are being forced to rely on student grants” said USI President Gary Redmond in a statement on the group’s web site. “[They] can now rest assured that their grant applications will be addressed in a fair manner.

“This is a momentous occasion for Higher Education in Ireland…USI is pleased to be able to offer its experience and expertise on education in Ireland, and looks forward to improving the grant experience for the students of Ireland through its representative on the Grant Appeals Board.”

The move comes as part of an ongoing attempt to try and streamline the grants system under the new government.

In June, the four existing schemes were consolidated into a single centralised system devised to simplify the application and administration of grants. In addition, the grantsonline facility was made available to a further 24 awarding bodies, allowing access to an even wider array of students across the country and helping to reduce application errors.

However, the USI remains staunch on its disapproval of the up to 60% cuts levied on student grants this year, and will continue to campaign for their reversal.

NUI Maynooth Second In Low-Level Income Preferred University of the Year 2011 To Interships & Placement CONOR O’BRIEN NUIM finished runner-up recently in the ‘Sunday Times University of the Year’ list, second only to UCC. This resulted from a number of factors, including UCC being the only Irish university to rise in rank in the most recent QS World Rankings, with NUIM managing to hold steady. UCD, NUIG and Trinity all fell in positioning.

Furthermore, UCC was found to have amongst the highest levels of graduate employment of any third level institution in the country; less than 7% of graduates were unable to secure a job within 9 months of receiving their degree, a statistic only

marginally trumping NUIM’s impressive record for graduate employment.

Other factors accounted for by the list included Leaving Cert points by incoming students, dropout rates and research income generated per academic, a field in which NUIM reigns supreme, exceeding any other Irish third level institution.

This is the third time that UCC has received the prestigious title, having previously held it in 2003 and 2005. NUIM last held the honour in 2008, although remains the only Irish university to be included in the Princeton Review for Best Colleges as of 2011.

DIT, meanwhile, was named as the top institute of technology in the country.

CONOR O’BRIEN Research released last week has uncovered that students who favour paying jobs over internships or work placements can be seriously hampering their future job prospects.

The findings, by utility company Centrica, revealed that a majority of third level students opt for lower-level paid employment in such categories as fast food, bar work and telemarketing as opposed to seeking work experience relevant to their degree or preferred future career.

Understandably, money was the main motivator behind this trend, although 75% of university applicants concurred that a summer placement of

some sort would be vital for gaining work in the future.

A majority of students regret not having undertaken a work placement during their degree, the research found, with the lack of payment that typifies such labour being frequently cited as an initial deterrent.

The findings suggest that students should strive as best they can to find a paid placement that matches their future aspirations for the summer months, guaranteeing a combination of valuable experience and a dependable wage.

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American Revolution on the streets of New York

CILLIAN SHIELDS

Earlier this month, thousands of people flocked to lower Manhattan, New York City and set up temporary homes for themselves. The peaceful protests on Wall Street began on September 17th with the common aim of everybody attending to make a statement against corruption in banks and governments, and an overall culture fixated on maximising profit above all else.

Hacktivist group Anonymous, who have become more and more famous in the past few months with their operations such as infiltrating Sony and the CIA’s website, are the orchestrators behind the demonstrations. In a video released on YouTube on the 10th of September, they proclaim their intent to demand freedom, and a “liberation of voices.”

Anonymous said in the video that they wanted 20,000 people to take to New York’s financial district and the financial capital of the world. It’s unknown officially how many there are, but close estimates in media say 6,000. This number is growing every day, however, and people are coming to New York from all over the United States to make their voices heard.

Setting up camp on sidewalks is perfectly legal in The Big Apple, and the protesters are abiding by the law, while causing the disruption on one of the busiest streets in the world.

Despite what they are doing being legal, there have been some arrests made since the beginning of the protests. One was arrested for objecting to the removal of a tent protecting the protesters’ media

equipment by police. Another group of 6 were arrested in a march of protest against the recent execution of Troy Davis, while on their way to Liberty Plaza.

But on Saturday, September 24th, relations between the protesters and police worsened further.

NYPD made over 80 arrests during one of the larger scale demonstrations organised. According to the police, most of the arrests were made for blocking traffic, while charges were made for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Some activists who were present at the time of the carnage were able to record some of the arrests and have uploaded their footage onto YouTube. One

video shows a protester lying on the ground unable to move after his hands had been tied behind his back. A police officer standing next to the man refused to help him after he was told by other protesters that his hand was bleeding and he needed medical treatment.

Patrick Bruner, a spokesperson for the Occupy Wall Street movement, described the actions of the police as “exceedingly violent” while the NYPD rejected to comment on the arrests and the videos.

The Twitter hashtag for the movement was originally #OccupyWallStreet, before having to change to #TakeWallStreet and later #OurWallStreet. The reason for the changing of

the tags was because the social networking website removed #OccupyWallStreet from its trending topics, when it became one of the most tweeted things in the world at one point.

The entire movement has spread to other cities on the American continent since Wall Street was first occupied on September 17th. Chicago and Boston have since followed suit and protests, smaller in size though, have begun in the two northern cities. There are also plans for protests of similar ilk to begin in Montreal, Dallas and Miami amongst others.

NUIM Registration Error Freshers “lack life skills” claims new research ÁINE KIRWAN Hundreds of Maynooth students are left angered and confused after online registration and fee payment mistake by student web services on September 9th.

The month of September is an expensive time for third level students. Between paying rent, accommodation deposits, new books, and general lifestyle expenditure, it is not long before the numbers for spending are into four figure numbers.

When returning to NUI Maynooth this year, students were faced with an increased registration fee from €1593 to €2093 (the €93 being a service levee). This figure was set in last year’s budget, despite the efforts of numerous students who marched in Dublin last November the 3rd and further lobbying by the Union of Students’ in Ireland (USI).

As requested by the University, each student

logged onto their own personal web services account on September 9th, pay the required €2093 and registered for their course and modules.

However, hundreds of students were faced with a different figure.

Despite having a year to make sure the web services site was up to date, the facilitators still failed to do so. When we logged on, it appeared that the 2010 fee of €1593 had to be paid. Although, our hopes were dashed when we received an email from the fee’s and grants office stating that, “It has come to our attention that the online registration process is requesting the incorrect amount…you can now go back in to the Student Web Services and pay the remaining €500.” A poor apology for this mix up was also included in this e-mail.

In order to find the cause behind this, both the Fees and Grants Office and Student Web Services have been contacted, but despite committing to giving a full response, failed to do so by the time of publication.

Several students are finding it hard to believe how the Fees and Grants Office reacted so casually to this mistake. one of such students is Dean Mc Carron, who explained “It felt like we were being kicked when we were down, especially those of us that don’t qualify for a grant. In the future we can only hope that such incidents can be avoided and that we won’t be screwed around any more than we already are.”

PRESS ASSOCIATION University freshers lack basic life skills, with many never having cooked, cleaned, or shopped for themselves, according to new research.

A survey carried out by Sainsbury’s Finance found 20% of new university students never washed their own clothes, while 14% cannot even boil an egg.

More than a fifth (22%) have never shopped for food on their own, while 13% have never done their own ironing. The results are based on a poll in September 2011 of 512 students starting university in 2011, carried out by OpinionPanel.

It found that for more than half, going to university is cutting the apron strings for the first time, with 57% having never lived away from home.

One in 10 freshers (11%) claimed they do not know how to cook, with 14% having never even boiled an egg.

Many are likely to struggle with cleaning, with one in five having never cleaned a bath or shower before leaving home, and almost one in 10 (9%) had only ever used a dishwasher to clean the dishes.

Sainsbury’s also warned that more than a quarter (25%) of freshers have never budgeted for themselves and 7% have never set up a bank

account, with 18% never having opened a savings account.

The research found two-thirds (69%) of new students have never paid a utility bill and 68% have never paid rent before.

Natasha Virtue, from Sainsbury’s Finance, said: “Living alone for the first time with the responsibility for studying, managing finances and making new friends can be a daunting prospect.

We’d urge students to take time to think about their finances, there are lots of helpful tools online for example on the UCAS web site itself.”

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

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PRINT OPINION & COMMENT

The Apocalyptic Sneezing Season Is Upon Us

RŨTA EMILIJA Do you hear that sneezing sound behind you?

Yeah, that one. That’s your fellow student dying.

Or at least they could swear to you they’re about to depart this world in a multi-coloured train. They’re not exaggerating either. Half the Print’s staff is down with some bug or other and we’re all feeling like our eyes might pop out of their sockets any moment now. And I’m pretty sure the floor isn’t actually swaying and that Portfolio Analysis lecture wasn’t nearly as funny as I thought it was. And I’m also pretty sure that the guy/gal behind you could swear the multi-coloured train is driven by some kind of circus clown / Indiana Jones crossbreed!

So now you’re listening to your fellow students sniffle and cough and the next thing you know the government will issue a huge health warning just like with the swine flu. Soon, we will all be forced to shower in sanitizer. We’ll be scared half to death by an order to wear gas masks like the end of the world is about to be brought on by midgets in multicoloured trains (that did happen in Japan not so long ago! Well the gas mask part, not the midgets.

They’re all so short it’s difficult to differentiate). To be honest I’m pretty sure that option is a lot more attractive than being eaten alive by crazy neighbours in your local bomb shelter while we wait for the nuclear war to end. Still, the apocalypse never gave anyone much in the way of warm fuzzy feelings.

Unless you’re Hitler. I’m pretty sure that guy got some kicks out of contemplating how he could pull

the whole thing off. You can say whatever you want but genocide was his prelude to something bigger and much more disgusting than soap made from dead people.

Anyway, where were we? Oh, yeah, someone’s sneezing on you. So in 24 hours you will be seeing human sized bunny rabbits, thinking your floor is a carousel and wondering is it flu or are you one of the first victims of some killer virus that will change the world as we know it into some apocalyptic cliché where only the pretty and the gun-wielding survive. And if you do survive you’re going to be facing lack of running water, the results of a nuclear war and increased debt. Because let’s face it, there is no way the Germans are going to let someone off just because the world ended.

So when you look at all the facts it seems like the smartest option is bring out the gas masks early, become German and have a private bomb-shelter so you’d be in no danger from your neighbours teeth. Sure it may seem ridiculous now, but back when antibiotics were just rumours and legends thousands dying from an epidemic of common flu (the exact thing we have on campus now) wasn’t unusual. And with all the biological weapons testing going on, the one we’re not supposed to know about, all kinds of fatal is starting to crop up.

What do you think swine flu was? And AIDS was something they decided to test on a small village in Africa a while back. Then it got a little out of hand. You may have heard about it in recent years.

So I won’t be overly surprised when we get hit by something that no amount of pills can cure. And then you have two options: become filthy rich very quickly so you can buy the very limited supply of cure. Or move to Mars. I’m pretty sure option two works out to be cheaper.

Troy Davis was failed by the American Justice System

CHRISTINA MURPHY Last Wednesday Troy Davis was executed by the state of Georgia, amid a whirlwind of controversy and global outcry. Human rights activists and figures ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to former USA President Jimmy Carter, expressed their outrage publicly. The execution of Davis came twenty years after he was originally convicted of the murder of Georgia police officer Mark MacPhail.

There is only one verdict that is certain however; the State of Georgia is guilty of denying Troy Davis justice.

The Troy Davis case shows that race politics are still rife behind the veneer of Obama’s presidency.

The ‘Who is Troy Davis’ Twitter stream is full of tweets which emphasises the fact that Davis is an African-American. Does race really play such a big role in this case?

Is the controversy a simple replay of the racial tensions surrounding the O.J. Simpson trial? To use Johnny Cochrane’s phrase, “if the gloves do not fit” must we acquit? The problem is with the Troy Davis case there are no gloves. There is also no murder weapon. There is no DNA evidence.

There is no physical evidence of any kind that can prove, without doubt, that Davis is guilty of the murder. Nine eyewitness accounts were deemed to be enough evidence to sentence Davis to death. But that’s not all, seven of the nine eyewitnesses in years following the trial, admitted to believing that they

may have been mistaken in their testimonials.

Others claimed that police coerced them into testifying against Davis.

Do not be mistaken in dismissing these examples as conspiracy theories. It is impossible to say whether Davis was guilty or not but frankly, this is not the true issue. The true issue is doubt.

There is a huge cloud of doubt, which hangs over not only the evidence that was not included, but also the evidence that was used to sentence Davis to his death. People from many different backgrounds have criticized the handling of this case. Troy Davis is not seen merely as an African American victim of the justice system, he is seen as a victim, pure and simple.

The MacPhail family undeniablely had their lives torn apart the night of August 18 1989, when Mark MacPhail was murdered. They expressed their satisfaction that Davis would still face execution, after a failed last minute plea to the Georgia Supreme Court. It is clear that McPhail’s family wanted justice. However, Troy Davis’ family also strove for justice and moreover they partook in a twenty-year rollercoaster ride through the justice system in order to gain that justice.

Throughout this journey they maintained their faith in Davis’ innocenceand campaigned tirelessly for a retrial. The cruelest spectacle of all was the four-hour wait they and Davis had to endure on Wednesday night. The wait on a Supreme Court verdict over whether the execution should go ahead. Now knowing the verdict, this was undeniably an act of torture.

Davis’ last words to his supporters thanked them for their support and urged them to continue their fight against the injustice of the death penalty. Though heartwarming and encouraging, it does not take away the cruel reality that Troy Davis is dead, that his family and Comrades mourn him and that he is still a victim of injustice.

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Philip Nolan: A Profile of the NUIM President

CONOR McCRAVE Just four weeks into his presidency at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Prof. Philip Nolan has, in his own words, “settled in very well already” and is looking forward to the coming academic year.

A student of the University College Dublin since 1988 and a lecturer since 1996, Prof. Nolan has graduated with degrees in both Physiology and Medicine and also holds a PhD for his research in those areas. On the 14th of August of this year he resigned from his position as the Registrar, Deputy President and Vice President of Academic Affairs in UCD and accepted the position of the President of the University in NUI Maynooth, a move which he viewed as an “extraordinary opportunity”. Little has changed: “I’ve been here four weeks now and I am happy to say I know I made the right decision. As

I’ve gotten to know the institution, I think it has enormous strength and enormous potential”.

Although NUI Maynooth is recognized as the smallest university in the country, Prof. Nolan believes “the size of the institution feels like an advantage in terms of helping setting a direction for the institution”. “Maynooth, for me,’ he added, “is a university that makes a very unique and important contribution, to the national system of Higher Education’.

Prof. Nolan also commented on the eight percent increase in first choice CAO college applications for NUI Maynooth this year, the biggest increase in first choice applications across any University in the country. He attributed the massive jump to both the quality of the academic qualifications and the quality of the student life equally. “The quality of the staff, the nature of the institution, the quality of the education you get here, and the particular experience for a student to come here” are to Prof.

Nolan all of great importance.

We have also been assured that Prof. Nolan will be taking an active role as President of the University and will be looking at ways “in which the student body in general are more aware of, what overall direction the University is taking, and who’s responsible for that”. An early indication of this is that Prof. Nolan will be continuing his passion for lecturing, with first year Biology Students during the coming second semester.

An Insight Into Maynooth’s Notable Alumni

DECLAN SUPPLE At this time of year the university receives an influx of new blood in the form of all the eager fresh faced freshers, excited to be let loose out in the big bad world that is the university. Some will have chosen NUI Maynooth because that’s were their friends were going to, perhaps because the train or bus goes from their road to the college door or due to its friendly welcoming atmosphere. Though more will have chosen to come to Maynooth due to its reputation for producing world class graduates who have excelled in all disciplines from science, politics, media and literature.

So it is for the sake of you new recruits that we give you a little history lesson on some of the more renowned alumni who have had an impact on the world in many different forms since the university was established first in 1795 as St. Patrick’s college right up to it’s present form of NUI Maynooth. Traces of these figures can still be seen around the campus today.

Nicholas Callan (1799-1864): Native of county Louth and educated at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth ordained as a priest in 1823. Inspired by new advances in the field of electromagnetism during the 1830’s he set about creating the worlds first induction coil, which he successfully invented in 1836 whilst working in Maynooth. He is also noted for his pioneering work on the design of batteries greatly advancing their function.

He has had a lasting legacy on the college with the Callan science building on North campus and Callan Hall on South campus being named in his honour.

Daniel Mannix (1864-1963): Elected Archbishop of Melbourne Australia in 1917, who is recognised for his distinguished career and achievements as a social and political activist.

Native of Charleville Co. Cork he was educated at St. Patrick’s college Maynooth being ordained in 1890. From 1903 to 1922 he reigned as president of the College. It would take an entire article to convey all of his deeds in full. He formed a relief fund for families affected by the conflict with Britain during Ireland’s fight for freedom, outspoken on many political issues in Australia such as communism, he was also involved in the formation of two educational institutes in Melbourne, being honoured by the city with a statue outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

John Hume (1937-Present): Not only the name of our flagship building on North campus which is a dedication to him. John Hume a Derry native has played such a positive role in the shaping of the political landscape of the North of Ireland in recent history. He is a graduate of St. Patrick’s college Maynooth were he received his MA degree and went on to become one of

the major players in the Anglo-Irish and Belfast Agreements, also helping to pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement. He has received world wide recognition being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 and in an October 2010 RTE viewer pole was voted as Irelands greatest person.

Brian Friel (1929-Present): Born in the county Tyrone he is a celebrated Irish playwright who studied for his BA degree in St. Patrick’s College from 1945-48. He is noted for his illustrious literary career with a large number of titles credited to him which include, Aristocrats 1979, Dancing at Lughnasa 1990, Faith Healer 1979, Molly Sweeney 1994.

Mary Hanafin (1959-Present): Fianna Fail party member studied at St. Patrick’s college Maynooth for her BA degree. During her political career so far she has help a number of ministerial roles, she was Minister for Education and Science (2004-2008), Minister for Social and Family Affairs (2008-2010), Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport (2010-2011) and she currently holds the post as Fianna Fail Vice-President.

Sir Dominic Corrigan (1802-1880): He was a Dublin born Physician educated at St. Patrick’s college Maynooth. Most noted for his

contribution to the understanding of heart and lung disease, he was elected to Parliament in 1870 and was a strong campaigner for education reforms and health issues in Ireland, most notably in his home city of Dublin. He was five times elected as the president of the college of Physicians Dublin during his career.

A few more notable Alumni are Craig Doyle television presenter who has worked in the BBC, ITV and RTE. Eamon de Valera a former President of Ireland lectured in mathematics in Maynooth during 1912, the late Jim Aiken the successful concert promoter, former miss Ireland Niamh Redmond is also a graduate along with TD Mary O’Rourke.

This list is only a taster of the people who have past through Maynooth on their way to notoriety and it is easy to see that at this university we walk in the footprints of some great names. They have left their mark on Ireland and the world in many different forms, so if you are a fledgling first year or at any stage in your study at Maynooth, from time to time spare a thought for those alumni who have succeeded in whatever field they chose after their stint here and be encouraged that at university you can put yourself on the road to becoming whatever you want.

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A Student Accomodation Survivial Guide

higher maintenance payment, which has the knockon effect of inducing students living within 45km to try to move closer to their college to save on transport costs.

It is not all doom and gloom for students however; static rent prices allow for better planning of rental expenditure, not just in advance of the coming academic year, but for the duration of their course. In addition, the second quarter has seen a significant increase in the number of properties entering the market. Amidst greater competition landlords looking to secure tenants are now trying FIACH O’NEILL to appeal to the student market which they may MSU Vice President for Welfare & Equality previously have avoided. Take advantage of this greater choice by shopping around. More properties From crippling cuts to the grant system, a available simply means that students should whopping €500 increase in the “student contribution more thoroughly investigate what’s out there. The charge” and with fees looming on the horizon, this mixture in trends emphasises the need for students year is going to be very challenging for students to research fully and inform themselves before financially, and these latest rental figures offer little agreeing a price with landlords. comfort. Unlike previous years, as students faced into The PRTB (Private Residential Tenancies Board) a new academic term they encountered a largely static reports that more than 40% of students have had rental market, rather than a falling one, with prices their deposit “unfairly held”. This figure is much around some of Maynooth increasing. higher than the industry average, and in order From the release of CAO offers on August 22nd to tackle it students must make themselves fully onwards, tens of thousands of incoming students are flooded the rental market looking for accommodation for the year ahead. But what can they expect to pay?

Students have benefitted in recent years from a 25% decrease in rents since 2007, but this year face a market which appears to have plateaued somewhat.

As with all prospective tenants, finding a suitable location is key; trying to balance lecture timetables and late hours in the library with a long commute is difficult, but combined with the benefits for incoming first-years of living with or near fellow students it becomes an even greater determining factor. Moving away from home and beginning college is a daunting experience for all concerned, but securing “a roof over their head” for the year at an affordable price makes the whole process a lot less intimidating.

Continuing students can expect to pay broadly similar rates as last year, although it is crucial that students begin looking for a property as early as possible. It is on the whole more economical to group with others and rent a property together. However, it is important that students consider the number of people they share with carefully and thoroughly investigate the market as there is a great disparity in trends and rental prices overall between property sizes and the cost of individual room-rentals. The statistics show that larger houses do not necessarily mean a lower rent per person, so students should consider all their options in this regard.

Almost ironically, this September saw the introduction of much publicised and controversial changes to the non-adjacent grant. Students living within 45km of their college no longer receive a

aware of all their rights and responsibilities. The Students’ Union, USI, Threshold and the PRTB are all excellent sources of advice and information for student tenants. Always sign a written agreement in advance of moving in, and subsequently ensure that your tenancy is registered with the PRTB. Students who have had their deposits held illegally and have failed to get satisfaction from discussing the matter with their landlord may contact the PRTB to avail of their dispute resolution service.

An area of interest in the overall rental market is the possible introduction of a tenancy deposit protection scheme. This scheme, operating currently in England and Wales is a free custodial service offered by a state-approved body which manages deposits and any subsequent disputes, and is funded by the interest accrued on the deposits. The rental sector has grown significantly in recent years, and following on from the obvious benefits for aggrieved tenants and landlords, such a development may boost the sector further.

Earlier this year, AIB released research showing that a student’s average weekly disposable income has fallen by 36% in the past two years, from €86 to €55. While previously decreasing rental prices had

counteracted some of the financial cuts students encounter and the fall in available part-time jobs, this year a steady market with increases in rent around many educational institutions will likely add to thefinancial strain. Unfortunately, the stabilising rental market in the face of a drop in income may see an increase in students bowing to impossible financial obstacles to their education, and drop out of the system completely. Students must budget carefully and make sure they are aware of all the financial supports available to them.

Being familiar with the current rental market situation means students know what prices to expect, and makes it easier to recognise value for money. Growing up, the graduating class of 2011/2012 enjoyed the full force of the Ireland’s boom but this year many will struggle under the impact of the bust. This rental climate may exacerbate struggling student’s financial difficulties but also provides opportunities for students who have informed themselves and researched all their options fully. The golden rule for students planning on renting accommodation is look early, look extensively and look carefully.

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Calvin HARRIS

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Some Terms and Conditions Meow Apply

KEITH BRONI Editor-In-Chief

The comedy rock and roll supergroup Dead Cat Bounce were on hand in your Students’ Union to kick of Freshers’ Week 2011 on Monday the 19th of September. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit down with James (lead vocals / guitar), Mick (keyboards) and Shane (bass) following their sidesplitting performance in Your Clubhouse bar to discuss their lastest run in Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the creation of Dead Cat Bounce and what the future holds.

You’ve just recently finished performing your latest show Caged Heat at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which received a lot of critical acclaim. I believe the British Comedy Guide gave you a five star reviews.

Mick: “We nearly got the full hand! We nearly got a one star, two star, three star, four star and a five star review, so we were thinking of throwing the last show to try and get as bad a review as possible!”

So it was the one star you were missing?

Shane: “Yeah, we were missing the one star.

They’re hard to get! They’re actually harder to get than fives!”

And all the while you were juggling various different performances?

James: “Yeah; we were doing Caged Heat at half ten at night and then we did a two hour covers set in a club from three to five every morning.”

Shane: “It was as part of the Late ‘n’ Live, which is the longest running late show in the Fringe. It goes from 1am to 5am and we were the house band for that this year, which was pretty cool. Although we were going pretty insane by the end of the month since we hadn’t seen daylight in so long!”

Especially considering you also performed at both the Reading and Leeds festivals during the run. Was that the product of lunacy?

Shane: “Well in the end it actually ended up being a really good idea because both shows at the festivals went down really really well; the tents were packed!

But logistically it was a nightmare… On the Thursday night we did our own show at half ten, the covers set 3am to 5am, the taxi picked us at a quarter to 8 and flew to Heathrow. We then drove to Reading, performed, drove back to Heathrow with 5 minutes to spare, got on the plane again, went and did our shows at half ten and 3 to 5, got up the next morning at 8 o’clock and drove four hours to Leeds. This is Saturday at this stage!”

James: “So we really didn’t sleep much!”

The four of you all met one another while you were studying in Trinity College back in 2002. You return there on Wednesday (21st September); are you looking forward to this homecoming gig or sorts?

James: “Yeah, we always like returning to Trinity to perform. We do it several two years or so!”

Mick: “It’s cool getting to go back to where we all met one another together and doing what we love to do. We always get a great response there.”

Although you all met and performed together in various comedy sketch groups while in college, there’s a notable gap between your graduation and the formation of Dead Cat Bounce.

James: “We’d done the sketch stuff for a number of years while in college and by the end of it we had a five-man group. But we all just kind of ended up

going our own separate ways. We all got jobs. But then after a few years us four realised we all hated our jobs and we said we’d try doing a show.

Shane: “After college people were all living in different cities, so everything just stopped really.

And then myself, Jim and Damo ended up living together and we decided one day ‘here, let’s make a show!’ ” Jim: “It sounds very calm. And rightly so; it was.”

Can you remember the first instance when that show began to take shape?

Shane: “I remember I came down the stairs. Two flights of stairs, actually; we had a three-storey house. Anyway, I remember I went from the very top floor of the house all the way to the bottom shouting at Jim that I’d gotten the opening image for a show. It was kind of like ‘Man, if we were going to ever do a show it should start like this: three stockbrokers standing over the body of a dead hooker!’ And sure, here we are.

And that scene is of course where the name Dead Cat Bounce came from. (Ed’s Note: “Dead Cat Bounce” is a stock broking term).

Jim: “Yeah. It’s really hard to name things. I mean, we had a list of really stupid ones. Duck Punch was one. And the second option we seriously considered was Girls Girls Girls, which would have been terrible. I mean, Dead Cat Bounce is a bit of weird name considering what we do now is rock and roll, but it could have been so much worse”.

Mick: “I remember the best thing we ever named was when we were back in college taking a sketch show to the Fringe festival. It was called ‘Stop Fist Fighting, You’re Pregnant’, which was the name of an episode of Ricky Lake we watched once.”

Jim: “Myself, Mick and Damo also used to have a band, which was kind of a comedy band, called Captain Seaweed and the Shagganasties, which I thought was pretty good.”

And I’m sure you’re sick of people mentioning who was at your first show as Dead Cat Bounce.

Jim: “People don’t really ask us about that any more. I think people think that it’s a lie, ‘coz it sounds like a lie. And technically it’s only accidentally true. We did the first show in the Project Arts Centre in Dublin and he was staying in the Clarence Hotel which is just across the road.

He apparently just went to the concierge and said he want to see show comedy.”

Mick: “The laziest concierge in the word. ‘How about over there?’”

Jim: “So we were sold out but someone from the Project came into us before we went on stage and was like ‘Yeah, so Will Ferrell’s here with his Dad and his brother and he wants to come in and see the show. So I think we got rid of some wheelchair seats or something.”

Shane: “The most interesting fact about Will Ferrell is that his Dad was the keyboard player in the Righteous Brothers!”

Your second show as Dead Cat Bounce, Radio Play, was when the current line-up of Dead Cat Bounce first began performing together as a band.

It was also the first time you went to the Fringe Festival as Dead Cat Bounce. Do you feel it was a natural progress to take the show to the Fringe?

Mick: “Well the Fringe is like the tradeshow of comedy. If you want to do anything, you have to go there whether you like it or not and lose a lot of money.”

Shane: “Most people lose money at the Fringe.

There’s comedians who go back every year and lose something like ten grand, but it’s part of their year.”

Mick: “This is the first year we actually made some proper money!”

Jim: “Even last year, when we were playing a 150-seater and we were sold out for the entire month, I think we made like 200 quid each or something!”

Your songs for the most part seem to be written in two parts; they feature a comedic curveball

around the halfway point.

Jim: “Well to be honest a lot of them get written in two halves. One of us will have an idea and then write up to a certain point, which usually like two verses and two choruses or something, before taking it to the group where we then decide to take it something else. It’s how we write punch lines into songs, in a way. It’s a reveal kind of gag or a twist or something Shane: “Musically comedy can often get a bad rap because you can find a lot of the time there’s only one joke and that’s repeated in the chorus all the way through. We’ve done songs like that, but the audience few bored and then are just waiting for the song to end, which is why we keep adding in these weird twists such as the Africa choir or the movie advert for ‘Equinox: Rise of the Midgets’.”

You’ve got two live EPs for sale via your website.

Would you consider recording and releasing an album?

Jim: “Yeah, well it sadly just boils down to getting someone to pay for it!”

Shane: “With the live EPs it’s simple enough, we just take the audio feed from the desk and if you tweak it a bit it can sound pretty good. But getting into the studio is two weeks and it’s a grand a day, ya’know!”

Jim: “And I mean, we could probably scrape the money together to get some decent studio recordings done, but they we’d have to sell it and recoup it, ya’know, which is a whole other thing.”

So would a securing an album be the

aim?

Shane: “It’s certainly one of them. We’ve got a couple of things lined up now, which will potentially happen; we’ll see. We’re going to be doing some stuff with Republic of Telly in the next couple of weeks, which’ll be pretty cool and we’ve been talking to Channel 4. Nothing definite yet or anything like that… or even actually likely! But we’re push for it ya’know. In order to play more gigs, and bigger ones, you need to properly break into TV, so that’s the major aim for right now I’d say.”

Dead Cat Bounce have just finished up a tour of several colleges across Ireland. Check their official Facebook page for updates regarding future dates: Facebook.com/DeadCatBounce.

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Retrospective Pop Culture Review of Summer 2011 AOIFE CARROLL & DEAN HEALY Now that the summer is officially behind us, we can all get back to the coffee, rain and jumpers that litter Maynooth student life. Although the sun may not have graced your pasty Irish skin in the last three months there were some entertainment highlights that may have kept you occupied during this “summer” period. Here The Print will take you through some of the stand out songs, albums, movies and events that held your pre-semester lives together.

SINGLES Party Rock Anthem LMFAO Synth heavy, uncontrollably catchy and with no real aim other than to make you move. This is modern pop music at its populist height. This song targets your brain and your feet with a repetitive nuance that has allowed it to become ingrained in every age groups psyche all summer. Granny shuffling? Baby shuffling? Pop music is of course supposed to be cheesy, but LMFAO now own the cheddar mill.

All of the Lights Kanye West ft. Rihanna Kanye West became the official king of hip-hop in 2010 when he released his near perfect album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and single handedly raised the bar for all other aspiring hip-hop artists.

His collaboration with the Barbados queen Rihanna however was the song to take the radio waves by storm. Rihanna and Kanye have such notoriety in modern music that it was only a matter of time before they hit it off and produced a game changer song like this. Violin, piano, sirens and strobe lighting? It works.

The Lazy Song Bruno Mars Bruno Mars please get a haircut. That is a Morrissey quiff. Unlike Morrissey however, Bruno always oozes happiness. “Today I don’t feel like doing anything, I just wanna lay in my bed.” Simple lyricism, but it’s so bloody happy. It is not a chore to listen to this type of music; in fact it can be argued that it is too damn easy, but that is why the jingle works. This song is so twee; it has whistling and mandolin going on. Why world, why? The answer is sometimes you just need to chill out and be a bit joyous.

ALBUMS

:

21 Adele When this album came out originally the public didn’t care too much for Adele. They knew who she was of course, but she was just alright. Then we all loved her. Now not so much. The reason for this is because every track on 21 has been played to death.

Hits like Rolling In The Deep, Somebody Like You

and Set Fire to the Rain are all superb heartfelt pop tracks, but unfortunately this album will not have a long shelf life simply due to the over saturation of the songs in the media. Adele is definitely the biggest success story in the summer of 2011 though.

on the album cover. She was born this way.

Suck It And See Arctic Monkeys

Forbidden Fruit

With a title like that you would think the Arctic Monkeys were out to shock with this album. But you would be wrong, as this is pure unadulterated rock & roll. It is a return to the earlier sound of the first record while also giving a nod to all the guitar based rock that went before them. The record was written on guitars and this element shines through on songs like Don’t Sit Down Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair and the surprise hit (but the terribly named) The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala. This record is a slow burner and you may not get it on the first listen. Rock & roll needs time. And leather. And cigarettes.

Born This Way Lady Gaga Oh god. We have to hate her just so we can love her. Born This Way is a mess of an album but it works due to the personality that lies behind it. It is a singles based piece of work and fails miserably in the lyrics department. But when the songs work they definitely work. The singles The Edge of Glory, Judas and Born This Way are not sonically very similar but it shows her musical range? I just sometimes wish that the New Yorker would make a bit of sense every once in awhile with her music.

And yes this album has Lady Gaga as a motorbike

FESTIVALS The very first two day Forbidden Fruit festival took place in early June on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin. The festival promised a new boutique outlet for a more astutely alternative crowd and the line-up delivered.

The Flaming Lips and Aphex Twin made rare appearances in Ireland to headline the weekend.

Both bands delivered the crazy sets autonomous with each band; lasers, giant balloons, confetti and exuberant visuals intact. Other acts included Jamie xx (of The xx fame), Caribou, Battles, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Jape, Ham Sandwich and Wildbeasts. These acts of course attracted a crowd of knock off sunglasses and scarf enthusiasts.

Oxegen 2011 This year’s Oxegen festival sported an unbelievably diverse line-up. There was literally something for everyone. Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, The Strokes, The Script and The Black Eyed Peas (who played their last date in Europe before a long hiatus began). And they were just the headliners.

Other notable acts included Weezer, The National, Deadmau5, Paolo Nutini, Two Door Cinema Club, Pendulum and Jimmy Eat World. The rain even stayed away for once to keep the crowd in (drunken) high spirits. Coldplay produced the duet of a lifetime in the form of the legendary Christy Moore to close the weekend off; now that was impressive.

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Style Spotter

Electric Picnic 2011 Electric Picnic was the 2010 Best European Festival Award Winner and taking that in their stride they just got on with it again. This festival is the ultimate experience for lovers of the arts.

The festivitiesrange from the obvious music and comedy tents to theatre productions and science labs. The artinstallations alone would get you to visit Stradbally. But the line-up took a turn for the better witha more modern 2011 edition. Acts included Interpol, Arcade Fire, PJ Harvey, Sinead O’Connor,The Chemical Brothers and Underworld.

Many a sing song was there to be had (especially in thesurrounding forests).

FILMS Bridesmaids Touted by many critics as a female version of The Hangover, Bridesmaids certainly differed from the usual batch of girly summer films. Much more bawdy and with less girl-meets-boy predictability than other hits of the summer (cough, Friends with Benefits...), Bridesmaids is perhaps a less ladylike trip to the alter than expected, but it nonetheless succeeded in pulling in top box office figures, appealing to men and women alike with its universal sense of humour. A little longer than necessary at just over two hours, Bridesmaids is definitely a film to watch, especially considering that comparisons with The Hangover make it likely that a sequel will soon be in the works...

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part II Nobody alive during the last decade could fail to avoid the hype surrounding the final film in the phenomenally successful Harry Potter franchise.

This film differs from others in the series in that it is essentially just one massive battle scene – difficult to stretch into nearly two hours of engaging film.

But David Yates makes it work, with just the right amount of emotionally touching scenes holding together and perfecting what could have been just one big action sequence. Special effects, incidentally, are much improved from earlier instalments in the series. This has been the film franchise of the decade, the last chapter is obviously not to be missed...

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS A summer film round-up would not be complete without a superhero film! X-Men was one of several this year, but perhaps the most anticipated.

Following the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which ended the original trilogy, big things were expected for a franchise rebirth. Set in Cold War USA, the film traces the founding of the X-Men by Charles Xavier, and the conflict which eventually leads to a separation between him and future nemesis Magneto. Magneto is played by Irishman Michael Fassbender who, though sporting a dubious accent in this film, has received attention for his performances in several other summer hits. There’s even talk of 007 in his future! See X-Men: First Class just to say you were there at the beginning...

MAEVE KAVANAGH

Roisin Brett 20, Carlow, 2nd yr Arts Sociology & Geography Spotted in Manor Mills Shopping Centre.

Where’s your outfit from?

Cardigan – Dunnes €32 Top – Forever 21 €15 Skirt – H&M €5 Shoes – Dunnes €16 Bag – Penneys €12 Describe your usual style...

Casual, funky & alternative.

Favourite shop?

H&M Biggest splurge?

Earrings for €100!

Style icon?

Blake Lively!

Biggest fashion mistake?

Those awful string pants from years ago!!!

Wardrobe essentials?

Long handle bags & killer black heels Fashion rule?

Either lips or eyes when you’re doing make up, never ever both!

Best magazine for trends?

Look or Kiss What will the next big trend be?

I think we’ll move away from this seasons colour blocking and start seeing a lot more pastelles.

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Blogging From Abroad: Germany RED STATE

Film. 88 minutes. Directed by Kevin Smith Starring Michael Parks, John Goodman.

Frankfurt

Göttingen

EOGHAN DUNNE

THOMAS CHAMBERS

I wake up. It seems I went out last night. My throat is dry and my head is pounding. I reach around on the floor and – sweet relief - a bottle of water! I take a large mouthful and end up spitting it all over my room because it turns out it’s FIZZY! There are a few things to get used to when you arrive in Germany. The most important to me are the fact that the water is fizzy, and the crisps are all Paprika flavour. I went shopping only to realise that they just don’t sell dilute drinks! After I’d recovered from the shock I realised that the Aldi or Lidl or Pennymarkt I was in was tiny, because I’ve been shopping in Maynooth’s Tesco Extra all these years. In Germany, a shop cannot have more than a certain amount of floor space, because if a shop is too big it damages independently owned stores, corner shops etc. A good idea.

I don’t live in Dublin, so the Luas is a rare experience for me, but the transportation system in Frankfurt is something to behold. Not as large a scale as Berlin, but with my Student card I can get a bus, a tram, an S-bahn or U-bahn train, all over Frankfurt, as many trips as I want, as long as I’m registered here, absolutely free. You see Germany looks after its students. I live in a Wohngemeinschaft, one of a large pair of towers, both about 17 floors, with hundreds of other students – and only students. There’s a shared kitchen for every floor, in fact some snooping has led me to believe that some people beyond an ever-locked door have their own kitchen, which would be 3 per floor, so it’s never too crowded when you’re battling with German “cuisine”. I live beside the University’s sports complex, volleyball and running track available whenever I want, and some other stuff that I may have to pay for, and so I won’t be using for the time being.

Now the language is a beast that I’ve studied for seven years, but the accent in Frankfurt is a mutation that I never expected.

Wikipedia (that reliable old source) describes the accent as “uniquely incomprehensible”, and for once, it’s not wrong. It’s early in the semester so I haven’t really met any Germans yet. But when you are thrust into a room with twenty people from around the world doing the same intensive language course as you, and the only thing you have in common is that you speak German, you end up giving the language a pretty good go. We all have terrible accents, the French sound French, the English sound English, and being from the Midlands I can only assume mine is just as bad. But it doesn’t matter because this is a learning experience. This is the life for a year. This is a rung on the ladder. This is the greatest adventure.

Liebe Freunde (Dear Friends), To me, the simple question is “why Germany?” Why a land characterised by alcohol, bread, coffee, efficiently alphabetized lists, and punctuality? Filled with the famously direct Germans? True enough, Germans can be direct—they don’t feel compelled to say “sorry” every ten seconds, but they also never mutter under their breath when there aren’t enough cashiers. If you manage to snag a date and agree to meet at “half 2,” expect to arrive at the bar promptly at 13:30pm, because they cut the hour in half in darling Deutschland.

The Germans are efficient, but sweet and friendly in a subtle way that only living in Germany can reveal.

I currently reside in a little city called Göttingen in the Federal State of Lower Saxony, about two hours north of Frankfurt. Cinemas, stunning medieval and Renaissance era buildings, students on battered bicycles, and gems of side streets with gelato cafes, vinyl stores and little krimskrams (knickknack shops) form the charming town centre, with the little Gänseliesel, or ‘Goosegirl’ statue standing at the core. Gänsliesel was a young resident who tended to the animals of the area during the Middle Ages. When students complete their Doctorate they are obliged to kiss the Gänseliesel on the cheek. The only prerequisite is extreme drunkenness— an awful idea considering that a steep climb up the fountain is necessary to reach her. If kissing Gänseliesel’s cold bronze lips doesn’t tickle your torso then you can rent a bike and take a trip around the city, take a city tour of Göttingen (in English or German), or visit the array of German, Spanish and Irish bars scattered around the place.

This year I’m completing an English Language Assistantship, placing me in the favourable position of 1) making much way more money than an Erasmus student and 2) doing less work. Essentially, ELA ships you to a nice warm country (although the winter will freeze your balls off) filled with people who are dying to hear your Irish brogue. Most of the coordinators will feed you, house you, and give you 800 a month just to go to school for 12 hours a week. You follow the lesson plan of the different teachers, and chat with the students, - crossing a few ‘ts’ here and dotting a lower-case ‘j, there.

Grab some beers with colleagues as you’re getting settled in, and best of all, receive free entertainment from people whose mother tongue is not English. A 14-year-old student recently said to me, ‘‘I am since three month the guitar playing, it’s making for me fun. Can you her also playing?’ Most importantly, ELA provides the opportunity for a good laugh, new experiences in a new land with great opportunities for travelling, drinking awesome beer, and improving job prospects when you leave college…incidentally, don’t forget to actually go back to Ireland after the year.

Mach Spaß (have fun)!

Kevin Smith has spent the last twenty years making comedies that are regarded by many as ‘cult classics’ (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, to name a few), but in his latest movie Red State, he has tried to make an out-and-out horror movie. And although this is a radical departure from his canon, it might be the best film he’s ever made.

Red State tells the story a community beleagured by the Five Points Trinity Church, a group of Christian extremists led by charasmatic Pastor Abin Cooper (Micahel Parks). The brief first act tells the story of three high-school boys who, like any young men with a car and free time, attempt to solicit sex from an older woman (Melissa Leo).

However, all is not as it seems, as the boys are drugged and become hostages of the aforementioned Cooper clan.

Whereas the first act bears some resemblence in dialogue to previous films by Kevin Smith, what follows is a dark and visceral living nightmare for the three young men,as it becomes apparent that the Five Points Trinity Church have been summarily executing the sinners in their midst. The teenagers frantically attempt to survive the Coopers on the inside, while a standoff brews on the outside of their compund with the ATF, and Agent Keenan (Goodman).

Whereas John Goodman and Melissa Leo make good turns in this film, make no mistake, Michael Parks is the star of this film. Best known to this point for bit parts (most notably playing the sheriff in both From Dusk Til Dawn, and Kill Bill), the often underrated Parks is the centrepiece of Red State, as fearsome preacher Abin Cooper.

His performance in the role is as terrifying as it is enthralling, and we are treated to two lengthy cermons from him inthis film. And I do mean treated: his performance is such that during one ten minute scene where all that’s really happening is Cooper speaking about the evils of America, you are hanging on every single word. Parks’ Abin Cooper is one of the best on-screen performances you’ll see all year.

Some twenty years after the original release of Clerks, some critics have argued that Kevin Smith has finally arrived as a great filmmaker.

Truth is he arrived twenty years ago, but one thing is certain, Red State is his best film.

DAVID RYAN IV

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1 THE

PRINT ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE

DRIVE

FRESH MEAT

THE PLAYBOY CLUB

Drive is a stylish crime thriller that follows the exploits of a reserved getaway driver, as he struggles to do the right thing in the wake of a direct encounter with the criminal hierarchy of Los Angeles. Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, who earned much global recognition through 2008’s Bronson, invokes a classic Film Noir format to beautifully illustrate a portion of the subterranean anguish created within modern urban societies. As the story develops, the protagonist actively emerges from a content isolation, behind the wheel of his gorgeous Chevy Impala, in order to tackle a series of moral dilemmas contrived in the external world.

The Driver, played by Ryan Gosling, is a deeply compelling individual, but not in the usual cinematic sense. His stoic demeanour gives the character an innate ambiguity, leaving the audience in constant state of mystery regarding his exact personality.

Moreover, we are oblivious to his past experiences and his current form of perseverance involves very few words. So, how do we connect with such a character? It’s simple, we discover the essence of the man through his actions. Where others speak, the Driver does.

And what he does, is drive. By day, he is a stunt double for major Hollywood productions and by night, he is a wheelman for hire. The Driver devotes his life to his passion and shows no respect to the limitations set by contemporary laws.

Nonetheless, like all men, the Driver can’t resist the allure of a compelling woman and after a couple of chance encounters, Irene (Carey Mulligan) becomes a part of his life. She has a young son, Benicio (Kaden Leos), and they both grow to admire the Driver’s honesty. His veracious disposition offers them a firm sense of security, something missing from their current lives. However, just as the Driver begins to embrace the role, Irene’s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), arrives home from prison. Initially, Standard is wary of his family’s new friend, but as an opportunity arises for him to repay the depths he accumulated inside, he distinguishes the Driver as an ally.

What ensues is a million dollar heist that produces a series of gripping events, both astounding and picturesque in equal measures, which eventually jeopardizes the safety of Irene and Benicio. In order to preserve their well-being, the Driver must abandon his life of isolation to confront a number of elusive characters, portrayed by a group of extremely talented actors, who are all trying to cover their own tracks.

On the face of it, Drive simply follows on from an fine history of existential driver films. However, Refn puts his mark on the genre by making the movie culturally relevant. There are deep undertones of escapism prevailing throughout the story. Each character is fundamentally driven by their desire to evade the routine nature of life in the 21st Century. Hence, the lucid title of the movie functions as a captivating allegory concerning the present human condition.

Despite a set of fantastic performances, the real star of “Drive” is Nicolas Winding Refn. This is his first venture into the Hollywood movie system and it has resulted in one of the year’s most memorable films. Recently, he has been in talks to direct a “Logan’s Run” remake, as well as a new Wonder Woman adaptation. For the sake of artistic innovation in modern filmmaking, let’s hope he turns his back on such projects and continues to focus on excitingly fresh material, as he has successfully displayed here.

DAN MURPHY

Fresh Meat is a bit… meh.

British comedy writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong are currently two of the foremost in their field with a BAFTA and various comedy awards under their belt. With credits such as Peep Show and last year’s film Four Lions, any new show by the duo is going to be eagerly anticipated. However, their latest venture Fresh Meat proves to be a massive disappointment.

The basic plot of the show follows six mismatched students who’ve missed out on getting on-campus accommodation and find themselves lobbed together under one roof. As a result, we’re presented with a posh guy and girl, a middle-class guy and girl, a Scottish oddball and a tough working-class girl and they have to put up with each other. The set-up is not exactly original so the comic value relies on the quality of the characters. Unfortunately, on first viewing they all seem to be extremely one-dimensional. Basically, the posh people are naive twats, the working class people are quirky and the middle class people are naive twats who can also be quirky at times. The show is also let down by observational jokes that work so well in “Peep Show” but feel out of place here. The working-class girl uses a PC while the posh girl uses a Mac. Yeah, we get it.

There’s a lot of sexual tension between Josie (Kimberley Nixon) and Kinglsey (Joe Thomas from The Inbetweeners). There is that “will they/ won’t they” factor but, unfortunately, the characters are too one-dimensional to keep the show afloat.

The most unoriginal aspect of the show is that two characters seem to have been stolen directly from Spaced – the character Howard is basically a young Scottish version of Mike while Oregon has a striking resemblance to Daisy Steiner, in both appearance and character. It wouldn’t be surprising if the writers find themselves on the phone with Pegg and Hynes’s lawyers.

What the writers have done here is ripped-off the premise of The Young Ones, taken jokes from Peep Show, stolen characters from Spaced and watered everything down. Also, since it’s a coming-of-age comedy show about teenagers, it feels like you’re watching a lighthearted episode of “Skins”.

The performances are poor too, especially Jack Whitehall who plays JP. You would expect Whitehall to be perfect to play an insufferably-smug toff but unfortunately, it seems even this is beyond him. His acting abilities seem to be as limited as his stand-up. Joe Thomas just plays Simon again from The Inbetweeners with a haircut.

In short, the show is overrun with mediocre jokes, lazy clichés and is completely lacking in originality. It seems Fresh Meat is anything but fresh. My advice: if you want to watch a quality British comedy about housemates, just watch Peep Show or Spaced.

ALLY KERR

The Playboy Club, as you can probably imagine, is full of drama, VIPs and very beautiful bunnies. At the club, the word of advice is “the higher the hips, the higher the tits, the higher the tips”. It’s a glamorous and exclusive place where “anything can happen to anyone or any bunny”. I was half expecting the show to be just a scripted version of The Girls Next Door but it turns out to be quite the contrary.

Set in 1960’s Chicago, we first witness Bunny Maureen (Amber Heard) on her first day and already she makes a few blunders. The biggest one of all is accidentally killing mob boss, Bruno Bianchi, in self-defence after he tries to molest her in the store room. Not a good first day by any standards! Of course, suave lawyer Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian) swoops in to rescue Bunny Maureen and cover up the murder even though they’ve just met. This part of the plot is hard to fathom. However, there are other redeeming factors to the show.

Feminism and gay rights are two major themes which make the show very intriguing. The lead bunny, Bunny Carol Lynn (Laura Benanti), eventually quits her duties and makes herself the boss. We see from the offset that she’s a very head-strong, calculating character and a potential villain. She is an ambitious femme-fatale with some definite self-beneficial plans ahead. There is also the character of Bunny Alice (Leah Renee), a secret lesbian in a sham marriage with a gay man. We see that they are members of a gay activist group and, remembering that this is the less-liberal 1960s, it will be interesting to see how this story develops.

The show, much to my surprise, is of full of strong, female characters. Altogether the performances are very good and there are many likeable characters. Bunny Brenda is probably the most likeable of all and has plenty of hilarious one-liners. At one point, she comments that she wants to be the first “chocolate” centre-fold and that “you can’t discriminate against these babies” in reference to her bosoms.

Another surprise (you could also say let down) was that there was a limited amount of overtly sexy scenes in the show. There is an unlimited supply of skimpy outfits to feast your eyes on but absolutely no nudity. No nudity in Playboy?

The Playboy Club is overall a very entertaining show which deals with important political issues at the same time. However, there are times that you have to remind yourself that you’re not watching Mad Men. It’s narrated by Hugh Heffner himself, which is a nice touch, and the retro feel of the 1960s (with the suspenders, seemed tights, bouffants, etc) is convincing. If you’re a fan of Mad Men then definitely check this show out. However, if you want sleaze, explicit scenes and frequent nudity, don’t bother!

ALLY KERR

Film. 100 minutes. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Starring Ryan Gosling.

TV Programme. ~47 minutes. Channel 4.

Starring Jack Whitehall, Joe Thomas.

TV Programme. ~47 minutes. Brova.

Starring Eddie Cibrian, Laura Benanti.

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SQUAREHEAD YEAH NOTHING

MASTODON THE HUNTER

KASABIAN VELOCIRAPTOR

Squarehead is a 3-piece band from Dublin with what could be described as distinct sound but one which certainly has its roots in the hot-rod/surfer’s pop-rock era of such bands as the Beach Boys. There is also a slight grunge feel to it and some hints at a ska influence, particularly in the bass-lines.

‘Yeah Nothing’ is the band’s debut album having previously released a few smaller projects, so there will already have been some expectation as to what this album will deliver. However it’s fair to say that this album will easily live up to expectations. It kicks off with ‘Midnight Enchilada’ where you hear all those elements mentioned above come together immediately, very much setting you up for the rest of this 12-track album. It’s the vocals and backing vocals of this song that give it’s surfer rock-like quality and the drums very much follow that pattern as well, it’s really only when the bass guitar comes into the mix with that ska-like groove that you hear why this band’s sound is so special.

So having established this sound with Track 1, the band has a foundation which they continue to build on throughout the album, through some little guitar licks, riffs and solos, most noticeably in ‘Axes of Love’, ‘Fear your Face’ and ‘The Abandoned Sea’. This is essentially a pop-rock band but that’s not to say the Dublin trio don’t have a little bit of fire in their bellies. ‘Circle’, which is Track 11 on the album, is a prime example of this, particularly in the slightly cracked vocals in the chorus. They maintain that original sound that they had before, but that little feature gives this track a nice little edge.

Let’s face it, bands have always either tried to revive or at least to incorporate elements of older genres of music in the creation of their own original style, but Squarehead is a band that does it very naturally and very effectively. A lot of students even today would still listen to bands like The Beach Boys and the Kinks ,but Squarehead have added something a little bit different to that sound and they’ve very much made it their own. They’re young, they have a huge amount potential and I’m sure they have a very bright future ahead of them!

MICK O’TOOLE

American metallers Mastodon have already released four excellent studio albums. Last year, bassist Troy Sanders announced that he was “ecstatic” about their new album, and that he couldn’t wait to record it. Their fifth and latest release, The Hunter, was definitely well worth the wait.

The title of the album is in honour of Brent Hinds’s brother who unexpectedly passed away while he was out hunting. The Hunter is Mastodon’s second non-concept album (the first since Remission in 2002).

Drummer Brann Dailor told AOL that the album was “like a super-heavy Led Zeppelin” and he isn’t far off. There are definitely some influences from Led Zeppelin on the album especially with the towering riffs of All the Heavy Lifting. Their lyrics also tend to have a mythical element to them. It wouldn’t be surprising if the band members like to dream (or at least trip) that they’re on their way to Valhalla while composing these tunes.

The Hunter is clever, concise and hard-hitting. Each track on the album sounds completely different from the next and have their own story behind them. Another novelty is that each band member tries their hand vocally on the album and they do a superb job, making their sound very diverse. Their songs vary from slow, psychedelic tracks with clean vocals to much heavier songs that feature screaming vocals from Hinds. The song Spectrelight features Neurosis vocalist/guitarist Scott Kelly.

The Hunter isn’t a complete departure from previous albums such as Cracked Sky and Blood Mountain. It still retains their old sludge/progressive metal sound that they’ve had since the beginning. You can still hear that grunge sound inspired by Melvins while having that psychedelic, Pink Floyd-esque sound added to the album. You can hear new and recognisable influences from other bands such as Queens of the Stone Age, especially with their song Curl of the Burl. The songs not only sound amazing but have great song titles such as Stargasm and Bedazzled Fingernails.

The Hunter is one of those gems that you can listen to for the first time and enjoy instantly. Mastodon believe that this is their finest work to date and I’m inclined to agree. The Hunter truly is an excellent and inspired album.

ALLY KERR

Kasabian’s Velociraptor! wasn’t even released when it was dubbed 7-1 favourite by the bookies to win at next year’s Mercury Awards.

The band got a nomination for a Mercury prise for West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 2009 but does Kasabian’s latest release deserve a nomination?

Their self-titled debut is undoubtedly a quality album but didn’t exactly bring anything new to the music scene. The albums that followed their debut, Empire and West Pauper Lunatic Asylum, were deservedly more successful commercially with a move towards new musical directions.

Velociraptor! certainly shows that the band have matured as musicians and have produced a more polished, psychedelic rock album this time round.

The album opens with Let’s Roll Just Like We Used To. The intro is quite experimental with its ominous Mariachi horns and Tom Meighan sorrowful cries. The song then changes into what sounds like a catchy Sophisti-pop song. I Hear Voices is a great, psychedelic tune with its Kraftwerk-esque discord. La Fee Verte is an enervated ode to dissipation and indulgence where eerie psychedelic strings and brass are draped around a spooky, fairground-like organ and acoustic guitar. Acid Turkish Bath employs that Arabic style that they have used before in previous albums with droning strings and guitar.

Switchblade Smiles is, admittedly, the poorest song on the album. It’s the first single off the album and with its farty bassline and electronic style, it’s a fairly mediocre offering in comparison to their other rock singles. However, they redeemed themselves with their follow-up single Days of Forgotten with Robert Plant-like wails by Pizzorno.

The album’s title song Velociraptor! is probably the best song on the entire album. With its electro-rock guitar and funk infused style that is more classic Kasabian.

Unfortunately, a lot of critics have dismissed Kasabian as just a “lad rock” band or “Oasis wanna-be’s” but the group from Leicester are so much more than that and Velociraptor certainly proves this.

Everything that is great about Kasabian’s previous material appears to have been incorporated in this album while anything that was holding them back now appears to have been left in the past.

Overall, Velociraptor! is a beast of an album. Kasabian are set to play The Odyssey Arena, Belfast on November 25th and the 02, Dublin on November 26th.

ALLY KERR

Album. 34:34 minutes. Richter Collective.

Album. 53:01 minutes. Roadrunner Records.

Album. 53:01 minutes. Roadrunner Records.

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PRINT TECHNOLOGY

Facebook’s New Ticker Feature: A Step Too Far?

DECLAN MEENAGH It’s big, it’s blue, it knows where you live, what you eat, what books you like, which girl your looking at photos of at night, and it’s about to get a whole lot more dangerous.

In 2006, facebook introduced the news feed and mini-feed. The news feed appeared on every user’s home page showing recent activity from their friends. This included status updates, photo tagging and relationship status changes. The mini-feed appeared on profile pages showing that friend’s recent activity. This was considered a massive privacy breach, as there was no way to opt out of it. After a lot of pressure from a group of students, facebook implamented some type of privacy settings.

Beacon was a dubious system which was introduced in 2007. It spied on users of 3rd party sites and posted their actions on facebook, this could include purchases and games etc. It was on by default, which is facebook’s modus operandi so users who aren’t paying attention will just miss it. It was discontinued in 2009 after a lawsuit.

In 2010, facebook updated its privacy settings.

Again, with these updates the default was public, so people clicked through without realising that there entire profile was public; Facebook considered this a feature, not a bug.

Mark Zuckerberg’s response to all this was worrying: “When I got started in my dorm room at Harvard, the question a lot of people asked was ‘Why would I want to put any information on the Internet at all? Why would I want to have a website?’ And then in the last five or six years, blogging has taken off in a huge way and all these different services that have people sharing all this information. People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.”

Before the latest incarnation, we had a feed which

showed the latest news from your friends. There was also the top news feed which generated the top news from your friends decided by an algorithm called Edgerank. But let’s think about this for a minute.

Bob is friends with Alice and Mary. Imagine your Facebook. Is Alice’s status about twilight more relevant to bob than Mary’s status about the UN general assembly? If Bob is a member of party A and Alice is a member of party B, are Alice’s posts less relevant to Bob? This is just scratching the surface of the problem with social relevancy.

In a TED talk called Beware Online Filter Bubbles, Eli Pariser talks about how the social web is becoming more fractured, and how we aren’t aware of how things are being filtered. I think we all should be aware that it’s a very imprecise mechanism which pics what’s most relevant for us on Facebook.

The news ticker is a bit pointless as well. The other problem is that the news ticker shows things you really don’t care about. Comments people make on their friends’ posts,even if you’re not friends with that person. People need to think carefully about what they are doing and who’s watching them.

The news ticker is a bit pointless as well. The other problem is that the news ticker shows things you really don’t care about. Comments people make on their friends’ posts, even if you’re not friends with that person. People need to think carefully about what they are doing and who’s watching them.

Facebook has a little nasty feature you should be aware of. Your post privacy starts out defaulting to friends. However if you make a public post, your next post defaults to public. Make sure you know who’s seeing your post. This is a really vicious attempt by Facebook to con people into posting everything publicly.

But if you think this is bad you aint’ seen nothing yet. Facebook has announced a radical redesign based around a timeline which will be made available in the coming weeks. It is not clear if this will be an optional feature or not, but I will write about it in an upcoming edition.

In the new apps, sharing everything is the default.

The Guardian makes public every news story you read. In fairness you can click something to remove it from your feed, but it’s still a worrying development.

In an opinion piece on Mashable, Ben Parr argues that facebook has successfully killed online privacy.

Considering all the above points I’m inclined to agree with him. It remains to be seen what effect this will have on society at large.

Anonymous VS Facebook SHANE KIERNAN World renowned hacktivist group, Anonymous, recently declared they are going to take down/”kill” Facebook. This intriguing threat was published via Twitter in August, the more intriguing part is that they also announced it would take place on Guy Fawkes Day (5 November). Anyone with prior knowledge of Anon will know that the group’s only face in the media is that of the Guy Fawkes mask, takenfrom Alan Moore’s seminal graphic novel V for Vendetta and its film adaptation.

Although it is still speculated that the threat is not conclusively affiliated with Anon, none of the group’s representatives have come forward to announce that they are not in support of the operation. Therefore, we are led to believe that at least a part of Anon is in favour of taking down the social giant.

Anonymous’ recent exploits have garnered much attention in the media and rightly so, with operations involving WikiLeaks, Sony, and our own, Fine Gael. The group is made up of computersavvy hackers with ideals that focus heavily on the freedom of information, hence their recent involvement with the supposed avenging of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange; and which said involvement resulted in twenty arrests in the UK, US and the Netherlands, due to involvement with attacking MasterCard, PayPal and Visa over having frozen WikiLeaks accounts.

This, therefore, begs the question: why Facebook?

Apparently, the reason for their threat on the second highest ranked site on the web is due to the distribution of private information to governmental organisations via the web. This motive comes in a slightly eschewed way, as all Facebook users provide their own information and agree to the websites terms and conditions. The very notion of a social network is the sharing of information through the site, and thus, the speculation of the depth of Anon’s involvement rises. It could considered that it is simply a publicity stunt on the group’s part to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. Anonymous’ use of shock humour in past operations could indicate this, yet any threat should not be taking lightly given their reputation.

If the threat is real, Facebook should be well prepared given the length of notice on Anon’s part.

Internet chatter has given rise to the rumour that Anon will not actually kill the site, but cause a denial of service, DDoS, to users. The locality and length of the attack remains to be seen, yet if the reputation of Anon is any indication, it could last from minutes to hours.

A successful DDoS could mean a serious loss in users for Facebook, with a network that has recently made many unfavourable changes to its interface and design, a denial of service could be the final push users need to begin a mass migration to upand-coming social networking sites. Anonymous’ threat has been met with a great deal of scepticism and attention, yet the group’s true power may beshown on Guy Fawkes Day.

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1 THE

PRINT PROCRASTINATION

Sudoku EASY

MEDIUM

Word Search 3:1

Accommodation David Norris Facebook Pensioner Calvin Harris Dead Cat Bounce Grants Philip Nolan Clubs Drive Jape Registration Dana Dublin League of Ireland Societies

HARD

Doodle Space

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September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

THE

PRINT SPORTS

Summer Soccer 2011: The Best Bits of Business

CILLIAN SHIELDS The transfer window has come to a close, finally.

Some will be revelling in their team’s purchases, some will want their manager/board sacked for letting their most prized assets leave for pittance, in their opinion. Others will probably still have Jim White’s voice ringing in their ears.

Here we’re going to take a look at what was the best pieces of business made in the transfer market of summer 2011.

Juan Mata to Chelsea. The exciting, young Spanish winger moved to The Bridge from the Mestalla, and will interestingly return there with his new club in the Champions League group stages. Mata will add pace and pin-perfect passing to Chelsea’s play, while also being a new face to their lineup, which they also needed.

Chelsea will want their 50 million pound rough diamond Torres to shine this season. The Blues are planning for the 11/12 season with the Spaniard as the focal point of their attack. Introducing Mata to the Chelsea team will help Torres a lot with his already difficult start to his Chelsea career. The pair know each other well from the world cup winning Spanish first team, and their experience together will no doubt prove valuable while playing for the London club.

Inter Milan have done great business where their strike force is concerned. Firstly, they let Samuel Eto’o go. Now, Eto’o is a player that I rate very highly, three champions league medals as well as four leagues and a rake of other awards proves he’s got quality. But at 30 years of age, I think Inter did very well out of the reported €25 million transfer fee to Anzhi Makhachkala. (As well as that, Eto’o himself did well out of the transfer, with a €20 million salary…)

Inter were then left with a gap in their attacking lineup. Ricky Álvarez had already signed from Argentine champions Vélez Sérsfield, but isn’t that similar a type of player as the departing Cameroonian. Instead, the Italians picked up World

Cup 2010 Golden Ball winner Diego Forlán. The Uruguayan signed for Inter for a fee of merely €5 million. Although two years Eto’o’s senior, Forlán is still a more than useful player to have in your team.

The 2010 Golden Ball and 2011 Copa América shows us that he’s still able to win things into his 30s. The €25M for Eto’o and €5M for Forlán deals have been some of the best pieces of business this summer.

Premier League newcomers Queens Park Rangers have done quite well in the transfer market this year. They firstly managed to complete arguably the signing of the season – Joey Barton on a freetransfer. The former Newcastle midfielder went out of favour with the management at the northern English club and was allowed to leave for nothing at all. Barton is a more than adequate player to have in your squad, and will be excellent for newly promoted QPR. Barton also has eight years of premier league experience behind him, which will also prove valuable in his new team.

As well as snapping Barton up, Rangers also managed to capture Shaun Wright-Phillips’ signature. The former Manchester City and Chelsea winger always managed to stay involved there or thereabouts in the first team of Man City when the billionaire owners took over and injected so much money into the team, introducing the likes of Robinho to the blue half of Manchester. WrightPhillips and Barton are both fantastic signings from QPR, two of the best pieces of business done in the summer which will greatly improve the quality of their squad.

Pat Fenlon also deserves credit this transfer window. The Bohemiansmanager has signed midfielder Stephen Hurley and striker Aidan Downes this summer. The signing of Aidan Downes has proved particularly good as goals have been the main (on-field) worry for The Gypsies this season, with both Christy Fagan and Anto Flood suffering injuries at one point or another during the campaign. Downes has impressed in the red and black since arriving at the club, with notable performances against Sligo Rovers Longford Town.

What is most impressive about the signings of Downes and Hurley is that they have both joined the club on amateur contracts. No fees have been paid for them; Hurley was with Arklow Town before Bohs, while Downes was a free agent. Neither player receive a salary from the club either, but you wouldn’t be able to guess that judging by their quality and honesty of effort each time they’re selected in the first XI or even off the bench.

Everton didn’t look like they were going to sign

GAA Football Final 2011: A NUI Maynooth Alumni Affair KEITH BRONI Editor

Of the 30 players who performed who performed in front of 82,300 during last month’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2011, seven were graduates of the MBNA GAA scholarship scheme run by NUI Maynooth’s own GAA officer, Tom Maher. The MBNA GAA scholarships, which are awarded to students who have the potential to reach a very high level of performance competing at national and international level, provide access to expert coaching, fitness training, sports psychology, health and nutrition advice, performance analysis and lifestyle management assistance.

The players which graduated from there scheme are Mark O’Se (Kerry Full Back), Alan Brogan (Dublin Left Half Forward), Bernard Brogan

(Dublin Corner Forward), Barry Cahill (Dublin Right Half Back), Ger Brennan (Dublin Wing Back), Declan Lally (Dublin Left Half Forward) and David Henry (Dublin Center Half Forward).

Since the creation of the MBNA GAA scholarships in 1998, the scheme has aided over 200 students. Prior to the addition of the six aforementioned members of the Dublin team, alumni of the scheme included 24 All-Ireland medal winners (including Mark O’Se) and six All-Star Awards. As well as this, almost half of the recipients of the scholarship have played within the Senior Inter-County Championship for their own county.

For more information about the MBNA GAA scholarship scheme, visit the NUIM Sports office website (sports.nuim.ie) or contact the NUIM GAA Officer either via his office phone (01 708 3321) or e-mail (tom.f.maher@nuim.ie).

anybody at all during the transfer window. All summer long The Toffees were linked with nobody, as their lack of finances dictated how the summer would go on the Blue half of Merseyside. But with deals for Arteta, Yakubu and Beckford to all leave, some money was made available to bring Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi in. Stracqualursi is said to be the closest thing to Duncan Ferguson, according to Daniel Colasimone. The young, powerful, typical number 9 was the top scorer in the 2010/11 Apertura/Clausura combined, scoring 21 goals for Tigre, helping them to two 11th place finishes in the double competition season.

It’s only a loan move that Stracqualursi has been signed on, so no fees have been arranged. It’s possible that Everton will choose to buy him when the loan deal expires, should they deem his stay up to then successful enough. So for no money, Everton have acquired not only a great goalscorer, but also one of the hardest working players in football. Daniel Colasimone writes in his article (link above) that not very long ago at all the player was a bench warmer at one of the Argentine Primera División’s lower teams, and was jokingly told to go find work in a factory where he wouldn’t be laughed at due to his weight issues. Since, Stracqualursi worked relentlessly to get in shape and become the player he is now.

Real Madrid’s first signing of the summer was probably their best, and one of the best in Europe too. Former Dortmund midfield orchestrator Nuri Sahin signed for the Spanish giants for a price of only €10 million. The Turkish international is only 22, so still has a lot of maturing and improving to be done on his already fantastic quality. Guiding Dortmund to their seventh Bundesliga title, Sahin also picked up the Player of The Year for the 2010/11 season in the German top flight.

Cillian is a second year student of both English and Media here in Maynooth. He also co-runs his own football news and commentary blog, ‘Balls Out In Public’, along with nonMaynooth students Seán O’Sullivan and Robert O’Reardon. The blog can be found via: ballsoutinpublic.wordpress.com. twitter.com/BOIPfootball

September 28th 2011 - Volume 3, Issue 1

21 THE

PRINT SPORTS

A Dublin Fan’s Rollercoaster Ride to Heaven

MARK DILLON Sitting in Croke Park in 1997, wrapped in an oversized blue and navy flag and watching Dublin taking a beating from Meath, I could hardly have imagined what I had signed myself up for. Following Dublin in the intervening years has often had an almost sadomasochistic edge to it. The agony has been relentless. The Leinster famine till 2002, Cosgrave hitting the upright against Armagh the same year, being hammered

by Tyrone in ‘05, the collapse against Mayo in ‘06, the humilation suffered against Tyrone in ‘08, the horror show against Kerry in ‘09 and the soul crushing disapppointment of losing against Cork last year all spring to mind. The pleasures were few and always had a tinge of hollowness

about them. Yes, days like beating Laois in ‘05 and any day we beat Meath were good days but there was something unfulfilling about them. Even the recent dominance of Leinster began to feel sterile eventually, evidenced by Byran Cullen’s “season’s only starting now” comments after this year’s Leinster final. The 18th of September wiped all the bad memories away. It was the comeback by the chokers. It gave us two moments that will live on in the hearts and minds of the Hill for years to come. The bustling Dessie Farrell-like forward McManamon giving us hope when all seemed lost and Stephen Cluxton, the man who had come through all the pain with us, securing his place in the hall of legends. That cool head. That kick.

That white flag. Pure ecstasy. Another minute and Kerry would have scored and clinched the replay, which is what seemed to happen every other day. But there wasn’t another minute. And now, Dublin are All-Ireland champions and it still feels like a dream. 2011 may only be the beginning of something beautiful for Dublin football, but for all those who suffered heartache after heartache with the team who, for 16 years, always managed to blow it, it should be remembered for what it is-the end point of one hell of a rollacoaster ride.

In a League of its own: where to for Irish soccer?

DONAL FALLON The Irish are a ‘Sports Mad People™’ by all accounts. This is something one hears in times of great triumph, be it a returning golf star at Dublin Airport or a public celebration like that just witnessed in Merrion Square over Dublin’s heroics on the Croke Park pitch.

Soccer in particular is a game we often hear the Irish have a great love for. Indeed, growing up in West Dublin in the early 1990s I can remember the kerbs of the capitals suburbs being painted green, white and orange to encourage Jackie’s Army on to victory (or at least a few respectable draws). Thousands of us sold everything short of the kitchen sink to make it to Italy or America, and later Japan and South Korea in Celtic Tiger times.

The ‘Green Army’ of Irish international football followers have built up the sort of commendable reputation money can’t buy, and it should also be remembered that every week thousands of us part with our hard-earned wages to avail of package trips to football stadiums up and down the United Kingdom.

For a people who supposedly love sport however, the elephant in the room is undeniably the domestic soccer league. Indeed, until Shamrock Rovers made history in Belgrade by becoming the first Irish side to reach the group stages of a European competition, very little of the media focus on the domestic game related to anything but financial woes and uncertainties. How a league can falter to such an extent as the League of Ireland has, in a country with such a passion for sport, is one party

mystery and another clear error.

Incredibly, there was a time when FAI Cup Finals at Dalymount Park could draw tens of thousands of supporters to that iconic and historic venue. Dalymount is rather symbolic of where Irish football is today. Where once Pele and others graced her pitch in front of thousands, today she sits looking like a relic of East Berlin, her Connaught Stand considered unsafe for visiting supporters and her seats fading and terracing crumbling. The one-time home of Irish football can today struggle to see a thousand paying punters pass her turnstiles weekly. The future of Bohemian F.C, a club founded in 1890, is precarious to say the least. Bohs are not the only team to win the league in recent years to find themselves wallowing in financial misery.

Who could forget the newspaper story of two young Drogheda United fans selling their toys and belongings to assist their club? Drogheda won the domestic league title in 2007. It didn’t take long for debt to knock on their door afterwards.

It is perhaps fair to say that University College Dublin AFC, based on the campus I now call home having made the great leap from North Kildare, have become something of an in-joke to the League of Ireland faithful. Indeed, on one occasion I heard the idea suggested that match reports from Belfield should not only include the names of the squads starting eleven, but also take the time to name the home supporters individually. The great misfortune of our on-campus side is undoubtedly the fact that at the age one enters university, if one has a real passion for the beautiful game they will most likely have a League of Ireland side close to their heart already. Yet it remains undeniable the game in Ireland is centered around the major cities here, and Dublin in particular. By that logic, thousands of students who are normally geographically distant from football clubs should find one on their doorstep during their time at that college. As Shamrock Rovers have demonstrated so well in Tallaght, the key is promotion. Promote, promote, promote. While a religious follower of another West Dublin side, preferring the red and white scarves of Dublin 8 to the green and white of Dublin 24, I still find myself often taken aback by the efforts

of Shamrock Rovers to promote their club on a community level. It’s the sort of hard-graft essential if we’re to move the game forward here at all.How many NUI Maynooth students are aware of the partnership between that institution and Saint Patrick’s Athletic F.C for example?

The achievements of Shamrock Rovers in Europe will not change the fact that week in, week out stadiums up and down the island are seeing appalling attendances. If a portion of the money which leaves Ireland weekly for Old Trafford, Parkhead and the like remained in the country, perhaps it would not have taken quite so long for us to reach this point. The onus is on the Football Association of Ireland and indeed the clubs themselves to find new ways to promote the domestic game, but a certain amount of responsibility must rest with us ourselves. It’s a tragic reality that the largest fixture in any League of Ireland sides calendar is the glory-friendly with English opposition, often referred to as a ‘preseason’, despite nearly always occurring mid-way through the domestic season. If people want better

quality football, there’s a need to help bring it about financially.

Who knows, perhaps one day away fans will stand on the Connaught Stand of Dalymount Park once more. Perhaps the best days for soccer in Ireland are still ahead. Time will tell if Shamrock Rovers heroics will translate into anything in a broader sense.

Donal is a graduate of NUI Maynooth with a BA in History. He is also the an editor of the popular history blog, Come Here To Me blog, which deals with Dublin life, culture and the pure heartache that is a life following your local League of Ireland side.

Come Here To Me can be found via: comeheretome.wordpress.com/ facebook.com/comeheretome