I SSUE 9 F RIDAY 1 3 TH M ARCH 2 0 0 9 Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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THE UNIVERSITY RESPOND: SABBS SECURE A 24 HOUR LIBRARY TRIAL Talah Omran (KUSU President) & Professor Dame Janet Finch (Vice-Chancellor)
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ollowing my front page article (Concourse, 23rd February 2009) about library funding and subsequent discussions with the Vice-Chancellor I am pleased to report that the University has listened to the concerns of students. Despite a difficult economic climate library funding and opening hours are set to be increas ed.
The Vice-Chancellor writes: University libraries are arguably changing faster than at any time in their history and face a number of challenges. In part these challenges relate to the current economic situation but also new ways of studying and the increasing move to electronic resources, in addition to printed material, create a different set of pressures. The spiralling costs of journals and books purchased in US Dollars or Euros, caused by the changes in the exchange rate, mean that even with more money being allocated, what can be purchased decreases. There are many benefits to being a relatively small campus University which make Keele a special place to live, work and study. Unfortunately, there are some additional pressures as well and we do not enjoy the economies of scale that larger Universities do. However, in order to protect journal and book purchases during these difficult economic times, funding will be moved to the library
from other less critical budget areas and we will look to do the same in futures years. The services expected by library users, and that those that the library can deliver are changing apace. In recent years the library has been refurbished at a cost of nearly £2 million, creating a grater range of facilities, such as group study areas and bookable rooms. New services, such as greater digitization, access to e-books and more e-journals have also been introduced. For example, five years ago we had access to only 1000 e-journals and now it is nearly 4500. Although the library service continues to improve, I appreciate that many users would like this to be at a faster pace and that future improvements are of little comfort to those whose time at Keele ends this year. In order to meet the demand for greater access to the library, particularly during the important exam period, I am pleased to say that the library will be trialling 24-hour opening during the next set of exams.
Your newly elected sabbatical team for 2009/2010
President Adam Mason
VP Comms & Democracy Nick Heath
F EATURES I NSIDE:
VP Education & Welfare Rich Hill
VP Finance & Activites Oli Cotterill
F E AT URE S - P AG E 2 ONWARDS O P INION - P AGE 3 ONWARDS
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
VP Sports & Fitness Roger Weston
E NTS - P AGE 8 / 9 C ROSSWORD - P AG E 1 2
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KUSU
Officer - 1246
E LECTIONS: H I ST O RY
IN THE
M AK I NG AS
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S ABBS RE - EL ECTED Dauda Bappa (Returning Officer/VP Finance & Activities & Talah Omran (KUSU President)
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o for all those who didn`t come to the Union on Wednesday night then you mus t have been ill or bogged down with work as it was E L E CT IO N NI G HT an d y ou definitely missed out. It was one hell of a night with tears of joy, commiseration and outright mayhem. We also had a few star celebrities including our notorious ex-Presidents Pambana Kihoro otherwise known as Pambi and Nadeem (Naz) Patel. Matt Alexander ex VP Comms from last year also made a guest appearance turning up with a new swanky hair do turning girls heads left right and centre. The night kicked off with our fabulous part-time officers being elected in to chants of `German` referring to our new International Students Officer Amanda Gross and screams of joy for Charli Bailey, our current Disabled Students` Officer who was re-elected. The fun didn`t stop there, the crowds went wild for the other elected part-time officers who were:
Lauren Proctor - Campus Affairs Officer 1232 Rasha Touqan - Female Gender Officer 1192 Laurence Mallows - Faculty Humanities & Social Sciences Representative - 1213 Carrie Martin - Off Campus Affairs Officer 1246 Allie Coombs - Entertainments Officer 1224 Sonia Douz - A.U. President - 1205 Amanda Gross - International Students` Officer - 1268 Charli Bailey - Disabled Students` Officer 1275 A short recess break allowed the compares to get a few more drinks and for Pambi and myself to bust some adventurous moves on the stage, whilst the full time candidates were waiting nervously at the edge of the stage for their results. Up next was the brand spanking new full time position Vice-President (Sports & Fitness) which was won by the snake-bite drinking, pint-throwing extraordinaire Mr. Roger Weston.
Straight after the announcement of Sports & Fitness, Vice-President (Finance & Activities) was announced. There were three candidates running for the position; ex Finance sabbatical Oli Cotterill, Tom Sharp (who you may remember from last year running for the same position) and finally Alex Carr - a dedicated bars member and Drama Society exec. The quota for winning this position alone in the first round was 746. Tom received 172 votes, Alex a more meaty 347 votes and Oli a gigantuous 935 votes automatically winning the position. In essence it was a land-slide victory. Next was Vice-President (Democracy & Communications), this position included four candidates. First up was Jeremy `Jez` Tulloch, a keen exec member of the Bar Society, next was the beautiful hockey-playing Becca Mullhearn, then came the experienced tech wizard Peter `Neb` Brooks and the well spoken, gorgeous bar man from the
Kate Lawrence - Mature Students`
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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Features/Opinions
13th March 2009 Pig & Rat (only in the words of his girl
ing 916 to 527! This brought a close to an overall magnificent election night which was hugely down Dauda Bappa being drawn in as Returning Officer at such short notice due to the re-running of Rich Hill. But thanks should also go to his tremendous counting team, the Elections Forum, his special advisor Mark Holland and the Deputy Returning Officer Flick Cox. I would also like to extend further thanks to Edward Youngman and NUS Ben Ward for their help during the whole process. Congratulations all you new Sabbatical elects and heartfelt thanks to all those who ran as it could not have happened without you! It has been an honour to serve you as your President and VicePresident (Finance & Activities) but don`t think this will be the last time you hear from us.
friend Talah) - Nick Heath. Chants broke out through the crowds as to who they wanted the winner to be. The atmosphere was tense and sweat was in the air! The results of the first round were announced with Jez acquiring 261 votes, Becca with 269, Neb with 390 and Nick with a winning number of 512 votes. The final round boiled down to a head on battle between Neb and Nick. Nick sneaked ahead and won 762 to
Neb`s 579 as was thus elected. The crowds didn`t even have time to catch their breaths before we had the candidates up for the heavily contested Vice-President (Education & Welfare) position. There were a total of seven candidates for this role. Jack Thistlewood - a prominent KRAP member and past exec member, you may also know him for his ridiculously long scarves. Andy Humes - our sexy voiced Irish bar man. Rich Hill - a current sabbatical and rugby player. Oli Dziombak - who was recently spotted as a walking burger. Glen Watson prominent activist for the socialist students. Naomi Roulstone - a very psychedelic candidate who helps out a lot for the Ents department. And finally Kunal Khanderia - the eccentric Arsenal
supporter from London. These results went to 6 rounds. Rich Hill got off to a comfortable lead with 432 votes in the first round, followed by Andy Humes with 334 votes. In the first round Glen Watson was knocked out with 74 votes. In the second round, all remaining candidates received a few more votes and Naomi was knocked out with 126 votes. A similar situation happened in the third round, with Rich still in the lead with 465 votes. Jack Thistlewood was unfortunately the next candidate to be knocked out. Rich maintained a lead of 81 votes in the next round, Oli was 57 votes ahead of Kunal – thus Kunal was the next candidate out. The lead started to get bigger, with Rich now 94 votes ahead of Andy. Next out was Oli on 309 votes. The final round did not change Rich`s or Andy`s position and with a final lead of 93 votes, Rich Hill was voted the next VicePresident (Education & Welfare). Finally we come to the pinnacle of the elections. This was a two horse race which was always going to be a hot and fiery sprint to the end. The two candidates were Adam Mason and Jonathon Fox. The crowds went wild, names sung out in the air as the results were announced. KUSU had decided to re-elect their current Vice-President (Education & Welfare) to become their new President with a stagger-
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Yours lovingly Talah Omran and Dauda Bappa. (Thanks to Mark Holland for his superb photos!)
H U ST I NG S - A
PO OR PE R F OR M A N CE
Helen Miller
H aCvoinncgo u rrseea ds i ntchee s tsatrutdi negn t a tn eKwesepl eap ei nr
Septemb er I have been interested in the development s of Keele and KUSU. I was particu larly interested in a recent front page article concerning UGM`s and the need for attendance. I did actually go to one and in all honesty it was painstakingly boring and mundane, and there were a lot of in-arguments between older student members. As a new student here I felt completely intimidated and if I did have anything to say then I thought that one of these `older` members would slate or disregard what it was I wanted to say. I understand that the constitution is important and must be adhered to, but for someone who hasn`t read it all the way through or as I have recently learnt completely re-written in recent times, why can some people just not shut up and sit down and stop arguing on every tiny little minute detail? This is the reason numbers is not being met; people are put off by the in fighting and the stupidity of the whole facade. It really is just simply like being at a circus! Then there are the people at the front. The Sabbatical officers on one side, and the Constitutional Affairs Committee on the other. Continues over t he page.
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Opinion
CAC are constantly referring to these older students, but isn`t it their job to know these things already? It is no wonder that these older people always turn up; one to make themselves look superior to everyone else and to intimidate people and two to tell CAC how to do their jobs! It`s making KUSU politics look like a complete shambles. This has been something of a discussion between my self and some of my friends recently, and due to this we decided to attend Hustings. Having read the article in a previous article a few of us decided that regardless of the in fighting we would grin and bear it all and hear when the future candidates had to say so hopefully our vote might make a difference. We asked a couple of second and third years we live with about how Hustings actually works. They explained that each candidate would have time to give a speech and then the audience would write down questions on slips of paper that they wanted to either be asked to all candidates or individually. So we read all the manifestos and talked to some people that knew some of the candidates and had an idea as to what we might like to ask. We took this seriously as we felt it was the first time we had a say on something big happening. A say that wouldn`t cause an in fight or make us feel inferior. So, we turn up and nothing we expected happened. There was no walk on music for the majority of candidates and no slips of paper for us to write our questions. We were slightly confused by what we thought we were attending and what we actually did attend. We were supposed to ask questions over the microphone. I felt uncomfortable with this as people would know who was asking what. It wasn`t that I was planning on asking anything personal, I must add, just it was not what we were expecting. Then when it did come round to asking questions, the guy on stage (who is a member of CAC) asked his own preprepared questions! This meant that the audience had less time to ask questions. It was ok for the first guy as he was the only person standing for Sports and Fitness, so in essence he could be asked individual questions. For the rest though questions had to be for all candidates, which to me seemed very silly. I had some questions that were for a particular candidate about a particular point in their manifesto and they were not allowed to be asked. Someone in the audience did ask about this and the guy on stage was very rude and
abrupt to her about this, even when she asked if individual questions could be asked and decided at his discretion if they could be asked. He also asked some very silly questions to candidates and it appeared that he was simply looking for his 15 minutes of fame! This, I felt, was not fair on the poor candidates on stage as the questions were generic and answers simply kept being repeated. Time that could have been used for questions such as mine and my friends. All in all it was not an enjoyable experience and my self and my friends do not feel like we learnt anything in particular. Generic questions do not reflect individuality, which is something these roles deserve surely? Hopefully someone next year will take this on board and give the audience and the student population what they want. It`s the same for the UGM`s. Maybe these people will take a step back, get off their pedestal and let new people finally have their say without them mentioning the constitution once!
VOTERS
CH O OS E C ON T IN U IT Y
Stephen Johns
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irstly I would like to congratulate the new elected KUSU officers for next year, both full and part time. It was an historic election as it was the firs t time that any sabbatical officer has been re-elected and then it was even more historic as three managed to do it! Oli Cotterill managed to secure his position in the first round. This had led to a bit of controversy with people saying that it is unfair that two of the current sabbatical officers were re-elected and Oli into his previous sabbatical position. Some of the reasons given were that it does not give other people a chance to become a sabbatical and that there will be few new ideas as the experienced team will have already used a lot of their ideas from their first year. Yet it is not
uncommon in most universities to have second term officers. It is an argument of change Vs. continuity. I fundamentally disagree with the criticisms above. To start by having an experienced sabbatical saves a lot of time and expense in training especially in the case of Oli Cotterill who has already been the Finance and Activities
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(then Societies) sabbatical before. Yes there will obviously be a bit of training, but nothing like as much as starting from scratch. They know how most of the procedures already work, they have sat on Senate and will not be intimidated by the university`s and Students` Union top brass and so can hit home their demands and manifesto promises straight away. They have already developed working relationships with KUSU staff, university staff and students and so will not have to spend months building relationships and getting to know each other. With the argument of a lack of fresh ideas it is pretty obvious that the experienced sabbaticals will have their own, new ideas for how they are going to improve their role. They have seen the other sabbaticals do their jobs and have picked up tips and can see where they have gone wrong and so will rectify those mistakes when they re-take office. With the election campaigns they will have seen other candidates ideas and if they were impressed with any of those ideas they can take them on board. Although most importantly the critics must remember that ALL the sabbatical officers were elected democratically. They won their elections fair and square and from the people who voted they gained the majorities needed. The one thing we know about democracy is that not always the person you vote for will win but we must defend our democratic right otherwise KUSU`s democracy could end up like a farce and a sham.
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13th March 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL PALANTIR: C O NC E R NI N G G I BR AL T AR AND T HE F AL K LA ND I SLA ND S Michael Pickles
T wt hoe Bnrei twi ssh taegrariint o, r i et hs e yar e airne
Gibraltar Islands.
an d
The
Falkland
When it was made known to the Argentinean government that Prince William was to tour the Falklands as part of his search and rescue training, they protested. When the Princess Royal visited Gibraltar, the Spanish government protested. The two foreign
governments protested on the grounds of sovereignty issues. These two governments have been pestering the British people and citizens of Gibraltar and Falklands for long enough. It is time the British government formulate an `end-game` strategy in its foreign policy with regards to these two territories that would demand an end to continued Argentinean and Spanish meddling and `protesting`. To be brutally clear these two governments have no business telling what the people in Gibraltar and The Falklands should do. Gibraltar and The Falklands were territories acquired more or less centuries ago through annexation and treaties, the standard practice of acquiring territories of the time. That was in the past. Let us deal with what is happening now. The fact of the matter is the British Citizens in Gibraltar want nothing to do with Spain and have demonstrated that through their democratic process of a referendum; in 2002. The British Citizens in The Falklands want nothing to do with Argentina either. It is incredible that when faced with such democratic opposition to Spanish and Argentinean designs, they are still of the opinion that they are right. It is further more outrageous that these two countries are basing their claims solely on historical
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grounds. The two governments are basing their arguments on events dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries. There were not even people living on those two territories back then. Spain and Argentina are complaining that negotiations on Gibraltar and The Falklands respectively, are stalling. It is quite clear what these two governments are only willing to accept in any negotiations and that is the complete return of those territories. Even if it means completely dismissing the voice of the people living in Gibraltar and The Falklands from having any say, the Spanish and Argentinean governments couldn`t care less. The people living in Gibraltar and The Falklands have made their views quite clear in their democratic process. They want nothing to do with these Spanish and Argentinean plans. Argentina invaded and occupied The Falklands through armed conflict in 1982. It is incredible that there are still elements within the current Argentinean government that could still say in a straight face to the people of The Falklands that their islands belong to Argentina. It is high time that those two governments recognise the reality, recognise the democratic process, and abandon their silly plans of ‘joint sovereignty’ and propaganda maps. The British Citizens of Gibraltar and The Falklands through their democratic right choose to remain within the United Kingdom. That reality should be confirmed in any end-game negotiations.
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Opinion C API T ALI SM , S O CIA LI SM A ND T HE B N P
Joshua Walsh Keele Socialist Students
I
am writing in response to the article written in Is s u e 8 o f Co n c ou r s e b y t h e Ke e le Conservative Future group about the BNP. Whilst I fully agree that th e ris e of the BNP in the Stoke / Newcastle area is a huge issue, the description of the BNP as a socialist left wing party is entirely inaccurate.
1 3th M arch 2 00 9 A socialist nationalisation is very different, and involves putting a business into public ownership with the help of the trade-unions. This would imply a political party comprised of working class people owning companies like JCB and Bentley that are crying out for government intervention, and not a minority of wealthy upper-class businessmen such as Peter Mandelson who is selling off the Royal Mail to the highest bidder. So to describe the BNP as a left-wing socialist party and that `all fascist parties have left-wing tendencies` is a lie. Leftwing socialism stands for fighting capitalism, fascism and racism and putting the working class first.
their campaigns, which is why I agree that we need to work together to get the message across before the local elections. But to tar us with the same brush as the BNP is very counter-productive. For more information about fighting the BNP as well as any information about the topics I have touched upon, then I urge you to stop and talk to me or come to a Keele Socialist Student meeting every Wednesday in the KUSU meeting rooms at 4pm.
The BNP`s policies are anti-trade union capitalism and any nationalisation conducted by a far-right party such as this would result in a business being run by a government of the few elite at the top of a class system that drives the working class into poverty for the profit of those at the top. If it sounds scary, well unfortunately this is the system that is in place now and supported by Labour and Conservatives. The BNP is just the extreme version of the capitalist system that has driven this nation into recession, which is why you will never Keele Socialist Students have done a lot of find `a Tory that believes in...the nationalisation of pri- campaigning against the BNP, and I am happy vate companies`. to see fellow political parties targeting them in
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13th March 2009
B A IL O UT OR B A LLS U P, B R O WN AN D T H OS E B O NU S ` S! Felicity Cox
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ot so long ago, Gordon Brown invested £2 0 b i l l i o n o f o u r t a x p a y e r s m o n e y i n t o the Royal Bank of Scotland, as part of his `saving the world` scheme to save the country from recession, or as some say, a sticking plaster instead of open heart surgery. All as part of the insane plan, not t o save the countries financ ial crisis from deepening, let alone the worlds, but to try and save his current job, to cover up the gigantic blunders he made as chancellor and rescue the downward spiraling of his and the Labour parties polling statistics. All could almost have been forgiven and spun by his media hacks as a genuine attempt to prevent a depression, the likes of which as not been seen since the1930’s; until recently it was discovered that £1billion of our money is now being handed over to
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the same bankers that got us in trouble in the first place, as their annual bonuses. So let me get this straight, if I do no uni work for my course, never go to lectures and don`t sit my exams then it`s ok because at the end the year the University would still give me a First and a pat on the back? I think not! While these bankers are flipping through the brochures of holiday homes to buy and Yachting Weekly`s `for sale` section, where are we at in the financial crisis or recession, a word that many of us are too young to remember? Is Browns plan of throwing money at the problem and it will go away working? With mass unemployment, a Stirling crisis, fiscal default, hyper-inflation, hyper-deflation, can our government really afford to be `throwing` money away. The
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answer is clearly NO! Up too 600,000 of us students will be leaving university and school in June and entering the job market, but only half us will be able to find work, and of the graduates many will be doing work that we didn`t need our degrees to do in the first place. If Gordon Brown really is the wimp we all know him to be, and not call the general election until summer 2010 by then 3,000,000 people will be unemployed and a huge percentage of those will be under 25. So why are the most highly paid in the first place still being given these bonuses? Surely the Government should have put a clause in the contact when handing over our money to the banks to prevent them from paying out these bonuses in the first place. Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, stated that there were some legal issues surrounding banker`s contracts that meant that these bonuses had to be paid. Right, is this because the Government have never changed the law to sort out their messes before? Or is it that the Government has simply fallen asleep on the job? Apparently there is a review underway to investigate the... Continues on Page 10
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What`s On Mon 16th March Mega Monday St Patricks Party Tues 17th Battle of the Bands Weds 18th UEFA Cup Flirt 90ʼs Night Thurs 19th UEFA Cup Quiz Night
Fri 20th Get Funked
Sat 21st 6 Nations Rugby (all day) Sun 22nd March Live Lounge
Jayne Winstanley - Ents Department
Hey everyone! Just to let you know that on Monday 16th we'll be celebrating St Patricks Day with a Mega Monday Special we'll have the Massive Monday Crew Djʼs in K2 & the Lounge with PaddyOke Karaoke in Sams Bar. We've also got Loads of Free Give Aways, Drinks Promotions and free face painting. Look out for the Facebook event invite for how to get free entry to this event! 17th
Special Events to come in March
Battle of the Bands 1st Heat ...at last we kick off this years BOTB it starts at 8pm and goes on till Late. To make up for the hitches we have had we've decided to make the event FREE ENTRY. we would love it if as many of you could make it down to the event and show some love and appreciation for Keeles' student bands. 18th
one and sing rave along to those classic 90ʼs anthems such as ʻSet You Freeʼ. As well as indie and alternative in K2 we will also be having old skool dance. 20th
Get Funked Malibu Vibe Soundclash Hosted by Normski with Djs The Beat Monkeys, PeteBox theBeat Boxer, Cocktail Flairing & Loads of free giveaways. Malibu cocktails and drinks will be on special offer throughout the night. Keele Student Djs will compete against the Beat Monkeys in this soundclash event. One of the student Djs competing will be ʻAudio Primateʼ Fahad Ibrahim so come along and show him your support. Also show some love for 6:13ʼs Yaw Dankwa who will be pulling his finest moves in the ʻdance offʼ on stage in the ballroom. The Soundclash folks wonʼt know whatʼs hit them when they come and see how talented our students are! 30th
Flirt 90ʼs Night with guest appearance from Kelly Battle of the Bands 2nd Heat 8pm till Llorena from NʼTRANCE in the Ballroom. late Free Entry. This event will be a Get out your legwarmers and Glowsticks for this
combined with Manic Monday so For those of you that were at everyone that comes to BOTB will Keele last year you will remember automatically get into Manics for the best Summer Party we have ever free. had at Keele.....WoodStoke. We have decided to make Keele's very own mini festival an annual event and 1st April Woodstoke II will be returning on the 3rd of June. For those of you who Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have never been to a Summer Party Easter Party with Special Guests itʼs the biggest event that we put on TBA.... at the Sudentsʼ Union, as we say The last big event of the Spring farewell to you all for the Summer Semester before you all go home holidays and for some finalists its forfor vacation to revise for those ever. There will be a free fairground pesky exams. Details of this event on the car park and we are hoping to will be released very soon. One recreate different festivals in each thing is for sure...lots of free chocovenue like Glastonbury in the balllate! We are hoping to make most of room ....although with the little we the decorations from sweets and have to be spend weʼve renamed it chocolates, weʼve got a feeling the GlastonBudget! We are hoping to decor isnʼt going to last for long! The extend this years event and give infamous chicken coup will return to you a 12 hour extravaganza so you the Lounge with our lovely Ents can get your moneys worth...I canʼt chickens giving out the free choco- imagine what the last ones standing late Eggs. If you would like the survivor photos will look like this opportunity to come to this party for year!! This year In true festival style, free then keep a look out for the we have our very own woven fabric event invite on facebook with WoodStoke wristbands! We will be details of how to gain guestlist entry. releasing details of the event very soon as well as how to get your tickets. See you there! The Return of Woodstoke
Entertainmentʼs Department - j.winstanley@keele.ac.uk
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Opinion Continues from Page 7.
...bonus schemes, too little, to late. This Review should have taken place months ago. It`s not a review we want its action. David Cameron, Leader of the Conservative Party said: `Frankly, it is insulting, it is shameful, to then take the tax payers money that has gone into the banks and use it for bonuses.`
It is indeed, Gordon Browns Spokesman commented `The Prime Minister`s view is that, for those people in potential receipt of substantial payments to which they are legally entitled, they may want to ask themselves some quite searching questions about whether or not they should in fact receive them.` Sure, if I win the lottery I shall decide not to claim it because not all of my friends have won the lottery too. Oh no wait, if I`m a banker, all my friends in banking have all won the lottery! Prime Minister Brown said recently: `I believe, as a society, we should support their hard work, effort, enterprise and responsible risk taking. We should not in any way condone, but punish, irresponsible and excessive risk taking.` Ok Gordon how can we punish you? Call the general election!
KEELE`S `EXCELLENT SPORTS FACILITIES` - A VIEW FROM A SPORTS PERSON Anonymous member of Keele University Football Club
1 3th M arch 2 00 9 facilities to train or compete leading to loss of finance as to train at an athletics club. Most clubs will pay up to £100 for an hour session, whereas the university is making no money from the cars parking on the pitches. Secondly, the type of running track Keele had was a back ash running track, which was used because it has great drainage. For any club playing at Keele will know, the way the ground is with the clay type soil, it means that drainage is terrible. So for the football pitch inside the running track and the two rugby pitches by it, the running track was a great means of drainage and the pitches were regarded as some of the best in the country, hosting international tournaments such as the Reebok Cup annually and attracting clubs from all over the world. However it is very rare these days to get more than three or four games in the football pitch each semester due to the water not draining away which is a direct result of cars on the running track crushing the drainage under the ground. My second complaint of the Keele sporting facilities has been a massive problem for all clubs that train on the `all weather pitch`. It has been closed for over six weeks this academic year. Two years ago the Keele astro-turf pitches were closed by health and safety as they were dangerous to play on, so a reported £100,000 later and we now have a nice new `all weather` pitch. Calling it an `all weather` pitch is quite funny really as it seems the pitch is great unless its raining, cold or snowing, other wise it will have to
close. The pitch is a salt-based astro turf, so one would assume that the salt would stop the effects of snow and freezing as is the nature of salt. However the cold and snow has closed the astro turf for six weeks, which is ludicrous considering the `all weather` label it has been given. When asked why the astro turf isn`t treated with the salt or anything, I was informed that, `the astro turf cannot be treated as for some reason when it was built the drainage goes straight into the Keele lakes so would kill the fish if we did anything to it`. Now I don`t think I`m being unreasonable in saying that this is crazy. Firstly that a salt based astro turf was built in a way that it cannot have any salt put on it, and secondly that there is no alternative treatment for the pitches. Keele is known for its increment weather, so surely it is obvious that there is going to be a need to have the astro-turf playable in all weather conditions. Keele has the potential to have brilliant facilities as it has great space available but it seems the university is more bothered about making money from outside companies coming in. These in the longer term will probably be very profitable, but what about the students here now, surely we deserve the facilities other universities have in abundance! Hopefully this is something the new Vice-President (Sports & Fitness) will be able to tackle within their new role. Keele sports need to change for the better and hopefully the university is finally starting to realise this!
A
s a member of a sports club at Keele I was look ing forward to moving to u niversity and being able to continue playing the sports I love on better facilities than I was used t o after reading the prospectus and se ei n g t h a t K e e l e U n i v e r s i t y h a s ‘E x c e l l e n t s p o r t i n g f a c i l i t i e s ’. H o w e v e r h a v i n g s p e n t t h r e e y e a r s a t t h e u n i versity it is clear this is not the truth! Firstly I am still wondering how the Keele prospectus still says it has a running track, when all it really has is a running track shaped car park. This is the same as saying the university has a swimming pool because the union car park is always flooded. The `running track` during the day is filled up with cars, which has caused many problems; firstly for the athletics club who have no
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KPA
13th March 2009
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Vincent de Paul Society
THE KEELE POSTGRADUATE Lauren Fuzi KPA Chair
K
The St Vincent de Paul Society (or as it is often known - the SVP) is an international Christian voluntary organisation dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing practical assistance to those in need – irrespective of ideology, faith, ethnicity, age or gender. The Society is a lay organisation initially formed in Paris in 1833 by Frederic Ozanam and his companions, and active in England & Wales since 1844. Placed under the Patronage of St Vincent de Paul, it is inspired by his thinking and works. It seeks, in the spirit of justice and charity, to help those who are suffering poverty in whatever form. The work of the SVP falls into two main areas: membership activity and Special Works. The main work of the volunteer members is to befriend and assist individuals and families in need on a person-to-person basis, through visits to domestic residences, care homes, hospitals, prisons and other institutions. In England & Wales , around 10,000 volunteer members in 1,100 mainly parish-based groups make more than half a million visits each year to vulnerable people in their communities. Keele SVP was set up in October 2008, and meets once a fortnight on a Monday evening. So far the group has arranged two children`s parties, a bake sale to raise money for itself and for the SVP Sudan appeal, and the individual members are all involved in various voluntary work such as work with the homeless and with the elderly.
eele postgraduate students can be classified into two main breeds. Firstly, there is the research student who is a rather enigmatic creature, difficult to spot during daylight and curiously random in her behaviour. Secondly, there is the Masters student who is a misund e r s t o o d a n d u n d e r - o b s e r v e d b r e e d o f p o s t - If you are interested in getting involved please email the president at p r e s i d e n t @ k e e graduate, but who displays similar behaviours lesvp.izfree.com. to both the research student and undergraduate. The Keele research student is a rare breed indeed; one could say their numbers are in fact diminishing. The behaviours of this species are difficult to observe due to their reclusive nature. One can best observe them in their natural habitats – the KPA Clubhouse where one can witness the startling rates at which they drink cups of coffee; and in their office spaces where they spend long hours contemplating seemingly unimportant issues, such as how the movement of cirrus clouds affects the rate at which humans process numerical information. This state can last for an average of 3-4 years, at the end of which the student feels disorientated and highly cynical. Keele Masters students are more populous than the research student species. The migratory behaviours of the Masters student are more regular than that of the research student, normally arriving and departing in large groups, and during the same season each year. This population is highly diverse, making them a difficult species to observe. Despite this, one must not be deterred in studying this interesting type of postgraduate. The Masters student is usually of high intelligence. However, their unusual appetites for intellectual discovery lead them to retreat from reality for a period of up to 2 years, abandoning freedom and sanity for constant guilt and sleep deprivation. If you are interested in joining either of these unusual groups, then please see the prospectuses which are available on the Keele website : www.keele.ac.uk/depts/aa/postgraduate/ for Masters degrees, and www.keele.ac.uk/gradschool/ for research opportunities Keele St.
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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12
Games
Across
13th March 2009
3. oops there goes my no claims (5) 7. Butcher's tool (6) 8. west country river speciality (6) 9. TV or radio curse word, not (5) 12. old punishment (5) 14. not you, him (5) 15. small troubles (9) 16. in the beginning (4,3) 17. pro tem (7) 19. good grape (4,5) 22. construct (5) 23. clouts (5) 24. wise saying perhaps (5) 26. shade of scarlet (3,3) 27. the best years (6) 28. South west of sensible (5)
Down
1. High & (6) 2. John, Paul, Ringo, George & Egypt (6) 3. sideways movement (4) 4. assist (4) 5. happenings (6) 6. offered up (6) 10. floating on the sea (5,4) 11. ivy (9) 13. warrant card (5,1-1) 14. power of speech (7) 18. safetly marked channel (6) 19. Savanah safety (6) 20. we all have been at some time (6) 21. sickly child (3,3) 24. eons (4) 25. my first crossword (4)
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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13th March 2009
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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14 VE/Job Shop K E E LE S TU D E N TS CLE A N U P T HE I R ACT - AN D T H E LO CA L NE I G HB O U R H OO D ! Becky Taylor VE Project Leader
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and support from the local community, Ke ele students rose to the challenge !
13th March 2009 Streetscene then disposed of safely. Keele Volunteer Experience Project Leader Becky Taylor said; `National Student Volunteering Week is a great opportunity to show that Keele students are responsible and valuable members of the community, who really do care about the local environment. It is also a great opportunity for us to work in partnership with organisations and community groups such as Parksite Action Centre who have very kindly provided us with a meeting and resting place today.` We are all responsible for the litter that we throw away, and hopefully, seeing a clean environment will encourage the litter bugs to be more respectful of the environment in future. Litter left in the streets is not only unsightly, but it can also endanger animals and wildlife, and in communal areas such as parks and walkways, can even be a hazard to humans. Thanks to everyone who came along, got stuck in and really helped to make a difference.
Coming out in force on Friday 27th February, up to 20 volunteers and staff, including Newcastle Borough Council Neighbourhood Wardens Mark Jones and Joanne Morris, local Police Community Support Officers, Newcastle Streetscene and the Community Payback team, joined up with Keele students and took to the streets of Parksite estate in Silverdale to spend the morning cleaning up, helping to create a cleaner, more pleasant environment for local people. If you would like to find out more about Streetscene provided all the equipment, including student volunteering at Keele, contact litter picking sticks, bin bags and high visibility Becky Taylor at jackets. Volunteers split up into small teams to col- v o l u n t e e r i n g @ k u s u . k e e l e . a c . u k or Tel: lect a total of 52 bags of rubbish from residential 01782 733626. and communal areas around the estate, which
are unemployed) or before 6 April 09(if you have P38(S) T U D E NT AX D V I C E If you are a student who works only in the retired) holidays and whose earnings from your r e y o u a w o r k i n g s t u d e n t ? I f s o y o u employment do not exceed their personal How to reclaim PAYE overpayments –If you n e e d t o b e a w a r e o f I n c o m e t a x a n d allowance for the tax year. Complete a P38 have been taxed from previous tax years n a t u r a l l y i f y o u h a v e b e e n c h a r g e d t a x o n and give this to your employer. your earnings when y ou should not have Write to your Tax Office and include any releb e e n , a s y o u m a y b e a b l e t o g e t a t a x P45 vant documents about your earnings during the refund! If you have had a job before, your employ- tax year for which you're claiming, such as: P60, P45 er should have given you a P45 when you · Everybody gets a personal allowance which is left. Give part 1 to your employer to send · information about your employment and £6,035 for the tax year April 6th 2008 to 2009 to HMRC and keep the other parts of the benefit history. April 5th 2009, this means that you can earn form somewhere safe. £6,035 a year before you start paying Income Your tax office will look into your query, work Tax. out how much we owe you and send you a P46 *Please note the personal allowance from April 5th If you have not worked before and / or do refund in the post. 2009 to April 6th 2010 will be £6,475 not have a P45 give a completed P46 to Many students do not earn enough money whilst your employer. Completing this form The time limit for making a claim is no later than working during term-time to be classed as a tax enables your employer to operate the cor- 31 January five years after the end of the tax payer. year (5 April) in which the overpayment was rect tax code for you. made. For example, a claim for the tax year 2002Income Tax Forms 03 ending 5 April 2003 must be made by 31 P50 Use the P50 form to claim tax back from us January 2009. Here are the basic forms that you or your employ- if you are no longer working unless you're er may need to sort out any tax issues that you claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or taxable How to reclaim PAYE overpayments - this tax may have or to gain your tax back: year / during the current tax year Incapacity Benefit, or you expect to be working again within four weeks (if you
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Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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13th March 2009
DEBT
How you reclaim this year's tax will depend on your circumstances. If you're an employee: Tell your employer's Tax Office why you think you've paid too much tax. They may already have everything they need to check your claim. If not, they'll tell you what documents to send. You may get a new tax code, so any refund will be included with your wages. P85: If you are an international or EEA student and have left or are about to leave the UK, use form P85 to inform HMRC with the reasons for you`re leaving and the nature of any UK income you will continue to receive. They will use this information to decide how you should be treated for UK tax purposes. You can also use form P85 to claim any repayment of Income Tax that you may be owed.
Independent Advice Unit Top Floor, Student s’ Union Tel: 01782 7 34800 Fax: 01782 734814 Independent.advice.unit@keele.ac.uk www.kusu.net/iau Opening Hours: Ap p oi n t me n t s 1 0a m t o 12 p m M o n – Fr i Drop in – 12pm to 4pm Mon – Fri
Jobshop, Top Floor, Students` Union, Tel: 01782 7 34800, email: Jobshop@keele.ac.uk
K E E LE F E N CI NG C LU B C H AR IT Y F E NC E AT H ON Simon Chandler Fencing Club Vice-Captain
O
n S aturday 7th Febru ary Keele University Fencing Club held its annual Charity Fenceathon in the ballroom of the Students` Union. The event lasted for 24 hours from 10am on the 7th to 10am on the 8th and required that at least two people had to be fencing at any one time. For those members of the club who stayed overnight or for the full 24 hours the event was extremely physically exhausting but despite this everybody put in a great amount of effort in order to raise money for this year`s chosen charity, BDF Newlife. Due to the dedication of its members and the generosity of the public, the Fencing Club is happy to announce that it has raised over £200 through charitable donations and sponsorship. This money will be used by BDF Newlife, a charity which is known as the `specialists for special
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Most students can expect a certain level of debt during their studies. A bank overdraft is an almost guaranteed necessity and, as long as you stick to the overdraft limit, is a cheap and effective way of making your money stretch. But sometimes debt can quickly spiral out of control and, as tempting as it can be to bury your head, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. Credit cards, store cards, personal loans, finance for cars are all quite easy to get, but not so easy to pay off when you are trying to survive on a student loan. Advisers at the IAU can go through your finances with you and help you to take control of your financial situation, by looking at your income and expenditure, prioritising your debts, helping you to write to the people you owe money to and helping your get things to a manageable position. A great website to look at is www.moneysavingexpert.com where you can find practical tips on managing debt but most importantly remember that the IAU advisers are trained in debt advice, are on your doorstep on the top floor of the Students` Union and are here to help!
Tax can be confusing! If you are unsure about anything to do with Income Tax contact the Jobshop!
www.kusu.net/jobshop
IAU/Sport - D ON ` T IG N OR E IT !
R OW ING
C OM E S T O
K EELE
It has tak en some month of organising- but finally Keele has a Rowing Club!
Trentham Boat Club have taken us on board so that our students can take part. They train at Trentham Lake, within the scenic ground of the Trentham gardens estate, and are in the process of building a new boat house which is due to be completed in the next couple of months. With the plans going in place for the first regatta after a 24 year absence on the 13th June, it is an exciting time at the club. The club was re-founded from a love of the sport and a lack of provision in the North Staffs area. They started with no money, no boat house, no boats and nowhere to train. After begging, borrowing and everything but stealing, they found that they had themselves a club! Since the start they have been successful in the various different races, team and individual events locally and nationally. Initially we are looking for rowers who have had some experience already to join a developed men`s senior squad and a developing woman`s squad, who are both preparing for the upcoming sprint season. They would get the chance to row both for Keele in British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) races, as well as in composite teams with Trentham in senior races around the country, including Henley Royal Regatta, Fours and Eights Heads. If you are a student you get an amazing price on the fee. It`s only £10 a month! They are willing to do this for this academic year. Next academic year the discount will be given upon production of a valid A.U. Card. When do they train and how can I join? Each squad will have different training times during the week but weekend training is usually the same, both Saturday and Sunday mornings. For more information email: k e e l e b o a t c l u b @ g o o g l e m a i l . c o . u k including a little on your experience of rowing so far.
children`, to support children with birth defects or terminal illnesses and their families. Overall the event was a lot of fun for all participants and I would like to congratulate everyone who attended the Fenceathon for their efforts. Special mention must also be made of the students from Staffordshire University Fencing Club who turned up to help us raise funds. If anyone would like to contact the club in order to make a donation to BDF Newlife or if you are interested in giving fencing a go then please view our website at w w w . k e e l e f e n c i n g . c o . u k .
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
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Sport
1 3th M arch 2 00 9
TEAM: KEELE
Roger Weston Athletic Union President
t seems like only yesterday that I stood on the stage of the ballroom nervously awaiting election results, and out of no where the 2009/10 elections have been and gone, with Sonia Douz, the current Deputy President taking over at the helm. By the time this artice goes to print the A.U. Committee will also have been elected. I would like to congratulate all those who have taken on a role in the office, as it is a hugely rewarding role (if not a little demanding at times!). I'd also like to thank the three committee members Sonia, Steven and Chris for all their efforts this year as handover looms. Sport at Keele is finally moving in the right direction, with the university now employing a `Head of Sport`, a Sport Development Officer and we've also elected our first Vice-President (Sport & Fitness) at the Students Union. Admittedly I'm now biased as I'm taking this new role on, but these new roles are a statement of intent to improve standards, facilities and participation across the whole sporting spectrum. On a personal note I'd like to thank all of those who voted me as your first `Sports Sabb`. I am extremely honoured to be the first in this role and look forward to getting as many of you active through a huge variety of activities including a HUGE inter-halls competition!!
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K E E L E C RI C K ET M E N` S 1 ST V S. C OV E NT R Y 1 STS K EE L E - 1 0 4 A L L O U T C OV E NT R Y - 1 1 6 ALL OU T Stephen Johns
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match of the season losing by twelve runs to Coventry University.
Indoor cricket is an adapted form of outdoor cricket. The main differences being that there are only six players on a team. Scoring is one run for hitting the side walls and close back wall and four/six for hitting the far back wall. A run between the wicket is worth two runs unlike one run in the outdoor game. Keele fielded first and had a chance early on with an edge but unfortunately wicketkeeper Laurence Woodcock was unable to get to the ball. The first few overs were pretty tight but Hutchinson conceded three sixes in one over of the batting of Rishi and this put Keele on the back foot. Fortunately Richard Dwight put in a brilliant over to help restore confidence and Hutchinson caused a run out with a great throw side on to the wicket to run out Ash for 18 runs. Club Captain Ian Hewson came into the bowling attack and made an instant impression by gaining the wicket of Andy for two runs. He attempted a leg glance that spooned into the air, bounced off the side wall and Woodcock took the comfortable catch. Next over Dwight took the wicket of Blenkin that was caught at point and soon after Dwight obtained his second wicket with the dismissal of Rishi for 29 runs. He was caught at mid on by Jack Storrow.
Coventry were playing some great strokes and at times had Keele under pressure but failed to keep the pressure on permanently. This was fortunate for Keele as it allowed them to put pressure on Coventry especially at the end of the innings with Storrow taking a further catch at mid on off the bowling of Hutchinson to dispatch Saqi B for one run and Storrow taking the prized wicket of B Simpson for 39 runs. With a target of 117 Keele Cricket were optimistic of a win and it started well with Hutchinson playing some great strokes and picking up sixes and fours. He soon had to retire (once you obtain 25 runs). At the other end Allan Holly was not doing quite as well and was clean bowled for eight runs off a very impressive over by Rishi. Luck seemed on Keele`s side with Coventry`s wicketkeeper dropping two easy catches but suddenly Keele pressed the `self destruct` button! Wicketkeeper Laurence Woodcock did an idiotic run between the wickets to run himself out after only scoring two runs and in the next over Richard Dwight was having a hard time against the superb bowling of Saqib and did the same idiotic running and ran himself out for one run. It was desperate times for Keele who were completely rattled. Fortunately Jack Storrow had the maturity to steady the ship and managed to keep the score ticking over. Unfortunately Club Captain Hewson did not help Storrow and played a poor lofting shot that was caught at mid off for two runs. It was now up to Storrow and Hutchinson (allowed back into bat once the rest of the team gets out) to try and guide Keele to victory. Hutchinson was playing well and fortunately he was dropped at mid off with 37 runs needed to win off four overs. Hutchinson was dropped again but unfortunately soon after was caught and bowled off Andy after scoring 33 runs. He could not have got out at a more crucial moment and it was left to Storrow to try and win the match with 30 runs needed off three overs. Storrow battled in vain and played some epic shots but unfortunately succumbed to the bowling of Ash with only 12 runs needed to win. Storrow posted an impressive 45 runs with the bat.
Keele University Students’ Union Newspaper
It was a thrilling end to the match but Keele cricket will be kicking themselves for not winning the match with their two suicidal run outs being their main downfall.
Next Wednesday`s Home Fixtures - March 18th 2009 Basketball Men`s 1st Vs. MMU Cheshire 2nds Fencing Men`s Manchester 1sts
1st
Vs.
Golf Mixed 1st Vs. Liverpool 1sts Lacrosse Women`s 1st Vs. Leeds Met Carnegie Netball 2nds Vs. Manchester Met 3rds Netball 3rds Vs. Chester (C) 3rds Rugby Men`s 1st Vs. Liverpool 2nds
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