Savage Grace
ISIS Selfies
Macnas' 30th anniversary Halloween Parade photos
What should we make of Snapchat's new role in news reporting?
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Ready for the Switch? SIN investigates Nintendo's latest invention Page 26
STInder: make a date with the STI clinic By Sorcha O’Connor
FREE STUDENT NEWSPAPER | VOL 18, ISSUE 05 | 08 NOV 2016
#100DaysOfCalories NUI Galway student fighting cancer with calories By Jessica Thompson A former NUI Galway student and section editor of SIN has launched a campaign to raise money for charity after undergoing aggressive chemotherapy to treat his own cancer. 25-year-old Conor Lane was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare bone cancer most commonly presenting in children and teenagers, in May 2016. Since then, he has gone through four months of aggressive chemo in an attempt to shrink a massive tumour in his chest. The next phase is a course of radiotherapy and consolidation chemo, followed by surgery to remove the tumour and three of his ribs. “The most bizarre thing about being told that I had a six-inch tumour growing rapidly in my chest, which was quite literally pushing my right lung out of the way to make room, was that I was never out of breath. I played for CNN’s football team on a full pitch and felt generally good,” said Conor. “It’s the horribly insidious nature of the disease that angers me. The worst news people get will be that they’ve likely had cancer for far longer than they realised and in that time it has a way of affecting your body further. It was almost funny when my doctor looked at me and said he’d seen bigger tumours, adding that he was confident that my case was straightforward and very treatable, and that the majority of people recover from this.” Since he was diagnosed, the tumour in Conor’s chest shrunk from the size of a melon to the size of a “fat strawberry”, making him even more positive about beating cancer. But with chemo comes a series of other problems,
Conor and his girlfriend Elisa after the diagnosis. such as a debilitating nausea and extreme weight loss. At six foot five inches, Mr Lane currently weighs 74kg, which is on the lower side of healthy for someone of his size and, in an attempt to put some weight back on, he and his girlfriend, Elisa Brugger have launched #100DaysOfCalories, which will see Mr Lane eating approximately 3,500 calories per day. The challenge was launched on JustGiving. com two weeks ago and has already reached 20% of its £10,000 goal. All funds will go to the Macmillan Cancer Centre, where Conor has been receiving his treatment. “The Macmillan Cancer Centre has been taking phenomenal care of me. The idea behind our fundraiser was that there is no way we’ll ever be able to thank them enough for the help they’ve given me but we wanted to do something that would show how much we appreciate all that they’ve done. I had thought about wanting to do a fundraiser for a long time after I was diagnosed, but hadn’t been in good enough shape to do so. “I would like to be able to say that I’m aiming to run multiple marathons for Macmillan to raise money, a type of challenge that many people do, but being on chemo meant that
was never going to happen at this time, so we had to think about what would be good for me,” he said. Continued on page 2
This SHAG week 7 – 11 November, the Students’ Union in NUI Galway has launched a sexual health awareness campaign with a difference. The SU have created Tinder-style dating profiles for common Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), the profiles using humour and some shock tactics to educate students on symptoms and causes associated with STIs. Students’ Union President Jimmy McGovern hopes the ‘STInder’ profiles will promote a less stigmatised view on STIs amongst students and encourage students to use the free STI clinic on campus, which will have extended opening hours for the week. “We hope that our STInder exhibit will encourage our students to take a responsible attitude to sexual health and to be as comfortable talking about it as they are swiping left or right on Tinder!” he said. “It is vital that such issues are not viewed as embarrassing and that all sexually active students are able to get tested regularly. Last year we secured funding for the free STI Clinic on campus and we encourage all NUI Galway students to use this great facility.” The STInder campaign and the many other initiatives run throughout SHAG week aim to educate students on safe sex and the prevention of STIs. With STIs most common in the under-25 age bracket in Ireland, it is important that students are aware of how vital regular testing is. There are 25 different types of STIs including chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea and pubic lice. Other SHAG week events include Sexual Health workshops and a workshop with Kate Dawson, who featured in the recent Asking For It RTE2 documentary, to explore different questions related to the use of pornography. The Students’ Union will also distribute free condoms throughout the week.
Macnas Abooo! See inside for more images of Macnas' Halloween parade "Savage Grace", marking 30 years of spectacle and performance. Photos: Timothée Cognard