The Knowledge. Jan / Feb 2011

JAN 2011

JAN/FEB 2011

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THE KNOWLEDGE

EDITORS WELCOME

Hi everyone and welcome to the first 2011 issue of the knowledge. We hope you all had a brilliant Christmas and New Year and had a chance to relax after a hectic first term! This issue of the knowledge is packed with information and stories for you to read and enjoy. We also have some brand new features that we hope get you love! We would just like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has contributed to this issue of the knowledge and a special thank you to all our new sub editors who have helped put together one of the best issues so far. We are still looking for writers and contributors so if you would like to get involved email us at knowledge@upsu.com once again we hope you enjoy this issue and have an excellent term!

Lots of love Eilidh and Steph

THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

Writing and reading are lessons that we all get taught at the earliest age and we all take part in throughout the course of our lives, but what about the chance to get even more involved. The knowledge is a newly formed society for upsu and we are offering you the chance to get involved in your students union newspaper. Writers, reviewers, designers, cartoonists any walk of life get involved!!

If you are interested, email us at knowledge@upsu.com

EDITORS PICKS As ever the next couple of months in the union are jam packed with events that are unmissable!! Here are some of our favourites to look out for….

ELECTIONS

Time for the campaigning to begin and you to vote for who you want to run your union next year. Don’t forget to vote…… no vote, no voice!!!!

BEER FESTIVAL

Once again we have our annual beer festival celebrating the best of local beer and cider.

Always an exciting day to enjoy whether you’re an avid beer lover or just want to try something new. One definitely not to miss!

VARSITY

One of the most exciting weeks of the year.

Our sports team play against local rivals Marjons for the glory and pride of winning.

Come along and help cheer on our teams!

CONTENTS

JAN 2011

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STUDENTS FIGHT THE TUITION FEES WAR!

Thousands of students took to the streets of London leading up to what was expected to be an antagonising vote from the government. The Government has proposed that English Universities will be able to increase their fees up to as high as £9000 and a lot of government funding will be withdrawn from many subjects. This could make it even harder than the years previous for those applying to university to get a place, or restrict those from even going to university.

On Thursday 9 December 2010 it was decided by Members of Parliament that tuition fees would rise. MPs voted for a rise in tuition fees to increase up to £9000 with only a 21 majority vote, this was a tight gap compared to what the government expected. Meanwhile students were uproared and unfortunately protests did turn violent.

On the day of the vote taking place many students took to the streets of London in protest. Once MPs had voted to raise tuition fees Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla were attacked while in a car. A window was cracked and paint was thrown at the car, but neither of the passengers was injured. 12 police officers and 43 protestors were injured and 34 people were arrested at the scene.

The students here at Plymouth also played a part in the student protests. Over 20 students took part in student sit ins, by sleeping in the Roland Levinsky Building for six nights.

There have also been plenty of you all marching around campus, and multiples of students from the University of Plymouth have attended some of the earlier protests in London in November and December.

UNEXPLODED WWII BOMB IN PLYMOUTH

By Georgina Luton

On the 12th November 2010, workmen in the centre of Plymouth found an unexploded German WWII bomb. Located in Notte Street and found at approximately 15:40, the surrounding area had an exclusion zone of three-hundred metres. Buildings within the area had to evacuate and a barrier was put in place and only residents were allowed to return to their homes.

The unexploded device was 18 inches in length and the Ministry of Defence Explosive Ordnance Disposal decided to dispose of the device by taking it to the Millbay Docks to be set of safely under water. Plymouth City Council said ‘The 70kg German wartime bomb was stabilised by the MoD Explosive Ordnance Disposal team before being moved to Millbay and taken off shore.’ It has been suggested by that the device was the ‘front end’ of an air-dropped explosive.

The surrounding area was affected badly. The Holiday Inn, Tanner’s Restaurant, The Treasury, Bar Ha Ha and The Guildhall were amongst some of the businesses affected by the exclusion area. Residents were directed towards Plymouth Pavilions as a refuge point. Roads were closed causing heavy traffic building up during peak rush hour times.

Plymouth City Council set up a help and support service to provide information on the situation.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

MISSING ARCHTECT'S BODY FOUND IN BRISTOL

By Georgina Luton

A 25 year old woman named Joanna Yeates went missing on Friday 21st December, 2010. It was thought by investigators that people Joanna worked with last saw her leaving a pub in the centre of Bristol on 17 December. Her parents tried numerous times to get in contact with her and thought it was ‘very out of character’ for Joanna to not get back in contact with them.

Prior to the landscape architects body being found, CCTV footage showed Miss Yeates at her local Tesco Express store in Clifton, Bristol, buying a pizza on the night she was last seen. Police tried to use this to trace where she may have gone, it was thought that she would have gone straight home, but there was hope that if they found the pizza it might have brought them closer to finding her.

The young architect’s body was later found on Christmas Day on the side of the road by a couple walking their dog. It was not confirmed until Boxing Day that it was the body of the missing architect.

A post mortem has been in place since the police confirmed that the body found was Joanna Yeates to determine how she died. Since discovering the body, the landlord of Joanna Yeates has been questioned by the police. It is thought that she may have been strangled to death. Police have confirmed that there is no evidence of her being sexually assaulted.

CONFLICT IN KOREA

By Karl Gardner

The world has remained largely unaware of the politics of General Kim Yong Il’s regime in North Korea.

However recent events have brought North Korea into the public eye. On 23rd November 2010 the North shelled the island Yeonpyeong on the Koran’s sea border resulting in the death of four people, two of whom were civilians. This is the first attack since 28th March 2010, when a North Korean missile was found to be behind the sinking of a South Korean warship.

South Korea’s president Lee Myung-Bak has announced that he hadn’t done enough to protect his citizen’s and warned the North that he will retaliate against further attacks. These attacks reveal that the North may have hopes for expanding their military regime into South Korean territory. However such provocations have not been ignored by the US.

The USA has deployed the George Washington, an aircraft carrier of enormous size, into the Yellow Sea, surrounding the Korea’s, in an attempt to deter North Korea against further attacks. The US has also held joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan, demonstrating that the US will take action if a war outbreaks.

General Kim Yong Il is keen to increase his nuclear power, in contrast with the denuclearisation talks. China has called for a meeting of the nations involved in the talks, which have so far been delayed. There is further pressure on China from the US and the UN to reign in North Korean aggression. It appears that North Korea wont attack whilst there is US military present in Korean waters. However tensions remain, and diplomatic talks are needed if war is to be avoided. A war in the Korean’s would clearly involve the US, Japan, and possibly China. A prospect best avoided by diplomatic talks. In the meantime North Korea appears to have been intimidated into submission by US presence.

JAN 2011

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SHOCKING COST OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE SOUTH WEST

Youth unemployment in the South West of England could cost up to £10.3 million a week, The Prince’s Trust and RBS reveal today (2nd December).

The Cost of Exclusion report highlights a steep rise in the number of long-term unemployed young people. In the South West, the number of 16-to-24-year-olds claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for 12 months or longer has recently hit a 12-year high as well as more than doubling since before the recession.

The new report, based on research conducted by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, warns that the price of youth disadvantage is at a new high.

Even a conservative estimate - based on lost productivity being equivalent to JSA - suggests that youth unemployment costs per week for the South West would be more than £3 million. Based on the lost productivity of unemployed young people being equivalent to the average weekly wage for their age group, the cost of youth unemployment in South West is £10.3 million a week.

Rick Libbey, acting regional director of The Prince’s Trust in the South West says: “The annual cost for an individual jobseeker in the South West can be as much as £16,000. The argument for intervention and support is unquestionable. For a fraction of this cost, The Prince’s Trust can support a jobless young person through an intensive personal development course, helping them leave the dole queue for good.”

The report shows how the significant rise in youth unemployment since before the recession has left the UK with a much higher youth unemployment rate than many of its European neighbours, such as Germany, Denmark, Austria, Norway and The Netherlands.

Fionnuala Earley, RBS Economist says: “As the UK struggles to clear record levels of national debt, we cannot afford to ignore the growing costs of youth disadvantage.

This is not just a welfare burden - lost productivity and wasted potential directly affect the rate of economic growth in the UK. “It’s crucial for the economy that young people have the skills and confidence they need to find work and view entrepreneurship as a realistic option. This is why RBS is a long-standing supporter of The Prince’s Trust.”

According to the research, young people with few qualifications have been hit particularly hard by the recent recession. More than a quarter of young men with few qualifications are now unemployed - a much higher proportion than in previous recessions.

The Prince’s Trust & RBS Cost of Exclusion report goes on to show how educational underachievement in the UK costs £22 billion for a generation. This represents the impact of education on wages and employment chances and the ‘wage scar’ over a lifetime.

Rick Libbey adds: “Youth disadvantage in the UK is a financial burden on us all, but at The Prince’s Trust we also see the devastating effects on individuals and communities across the region.

“Every day at The Trust we meet another young person who is caught in a spiral of joblessness and poverty.

With the right support, these young people can break this cycle and get their lives back on track.”

The Prince’s Trust helped more than 3,300 young people in the South West last year, giving them the skills and confidence to find a job.

More than three in four young people supported by The Prince’s Trust move into work, education or training.

The Trust works with 14-to-30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

For further information please contact Louise Gaw Tel: 020 7543 1249 louise.gaw@princes-trust.org.uk

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THE KNOWLEDGE

PLYMOUTH CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

By Katie Helyer This year Plymouth saw one of its most star-studded, glittering Christmas lights switch on in years, even though the lights themselves haven’t changed the atmosphere was buzzing. Lemar, ever the charmer, rocked the stage with classics that got everyone singing along whether they were fans or not. The stage also saw other local celebrities such as Tom Daley, Plymouth’s own future Olympic diver. Although one of Plymouths newest celebrities, ‘Britain’s next top model’s ’Charlotte Holmes, fresh from the show travelled back from London to her home town for this special event, and had time to squeeze in a little chat with me....

So Charlotte, it’s been a crazy year for you! How did it feel when you were asked to switch on the Plymouth Christmas lights this year?

It was lovely to be asked to come back and be part of the Christmas light switch on. It’s always nice to come back to Plymouth for work, after all it’s where I’m from and there’s nothing quite like the south west!

It must have been a big step from watching them yourself to standing alongside Lemar in just the space of a year!

It was quite surreal being on stage as I’m normally part of the crowd, so to be stood with Lemar in front of thousands of screaming Plymothian’s was a fun experience! I’ve had such a busy time recently and it just proves a lot can change in the space of just a year.

Speaking of Lemar....what was he like?

Lemar was such a cool guy!! Beautiful eyes!! I’ve got a

boyfriend so I won’t say much more!! (Charlotte laughs) What are your hopes for the coming year? And how have things been since the show ended?

I have signed with MOT Models in London and have also signed with a television agent called Wise Buddha, so things are exciting and I have plans to just continue working hard.

It was strange to go back to normality after the show finished as you do find yourself in this strange bubble whilst filming.

But I was very pleased with my experience in the show and my performance. It is great to see a lot of hard work finally beginning to pay off.

Plymouth clearly holds potential for aspiring models like Mecia Simpson who won the show last year. Is there any advice you would give to anyone wanting to give modelling a go?

I think Plymouth has a whole host of talent, not just in modelling but in other fields too. I hosted the Herald Youth Awards not long ago, and seeing what the youth of Plymouth are achieving was fantastic. I believe that, as cheesy as it sounds, if you want something enough you need to keep plugging away and it may take a while but you’ll get there. That goes for everything in life, not just the modelling industry.

At least for one Plymouth girl this night seems to be one that she isn’t going to forget in a while. Who knows what next years ‘celebrity’ guests will be, but as Charlotte agreed, anything can happen in a year....

JAN 2011

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WHAT’S ON AT THE THEATRE ROYAL?

By Eleanor Baggley

So Christmas is over, the panto is packing up and moving on, which means it’s time for a new season of productions at the Theatre Royal. From ballet and comedy to drama and musicals, there certainly is something for every taste in the upcoming Spring season. After their successful Triple Bill and Romeo and Juliet in October, the Birmingham Royal Ballet returns in January with a version of the fairytale classic Cinderella (Tue 25- Sat 29). Also in January, the Western College Players present a modern adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank in the Drum Theatre (Tue 18- Sat 22).

Monty Python’s Spamalot, starring EastEnders’ Todd Carty hits the stage on the 31st January until February 5th. Featuring classic comedy songs like ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’, Spamalot tells the story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and promises to be a hilarious night out.

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie make sure you get your tickets to see Verdict running from the 7th until the 12th February. Alternatively check out the inventive Drum drama Beachy Head (Wed 2- Sat 5) that blends theatrics with visual animations as it explores the effects of one man’s decision to commit suicide.

Take a trip down memory lane with the stage production of the classic children’s war story Goodnight Mister Tom which follows evacuee William Beech in the build up to the Second World War and examines his relationship with the elderly Tom Oakley (Tue 22- Sat 26 Feb).

Do you love the 80’s Kevin Bacon dance flick Footloose? The West End stage version of the film is now on tour and will reach Plymouth on the 28th February until March 5th, featuring classic 80’s anthems such as ‘Holding Out for a Hero’ and the title track ‘Footloose’. Packed full of energetic dance routines and feel good music, Footloose is one not to be missed.

March boasts the arrival of Angelos Epithemiou, star of BBC 2’s Shooting Stars for a night of comedy with plenty of drama in the form of Charles Dickens’ The Haunting, Shakespeare’s Hamlet and First World War drama Journey’s End .

If you do like the sound of any of these shows, don’t forget your student card when you book tickets for great discounts, or if you are under 26 join the “A Night Less Ordinary” scheme for free tickets.

SABBATICAL REPORT

By Matthew Chan Deputy President, UPSU

Over the last 6 months, I have had the privilege to be a part of a large organisation to maintain the strong and stable relationship with our students who are studying in the 19 partner college campuses across the country. The engagement between the UPC (University of Plymouth Partner College) and UPSU has never been more important.

Many students have been able to benefit from the opportunity to access the excellent support services, facilities and resources both at UPC and at the University through UPSU.

I am very proud of our UPC Reps who work closely with UPSU to represent UPC students not just in academic meetings, but also passing on useful feedback to UPSU so their student union can provide specific membership services to support UPC students’ needs. Thank you very much and a special recognition to Claire Smith (South Devon College), Hollie Solomon (Somerset College), Shelia Wilson and Claire Down (Both Petroc).

The “Oh!” campaign that I have started back in July has proven to be a success. Events that were organised as part of the campaign such as “Oh! The World in Our Kitchen!” and “Oh! Movie Night!” have been able to engage overseas and home students and enable them to enhance their experience at Plymouth. Students can build life long friendships, break down cultural barriers and fight against racism together! A global experience for everyone at UPSU.

If you would like to take part in either seeking ways of engaging with our UPC students or with the “Oh!” campaign, please come and see me in the HIVE! My door is always open for you and everyone are welcome! Alternatively, you can contact me via my e-mail: deputypresident@upsu.com

I hope to hear from you soon!

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THE KNOWLEDGE

YEAR 3 3D DESIGN EXHIBITION

For one week in November, the 3rd year Design students held an exhibition of their work in the Roland Levinsky building. The work was of incredibly high standard and many students displaying in the exhibition mentioned ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco-design’ as influences or restraints.

One such example was Matthew Bodily who worked with Barncrest Kitchens in Falmouth, who recycled off cuts of wood and transformed them into “sophisticated objects by using simple but clean shapes and beautifully contrasting materials.”

Continuing the theme of sustainability and innovation, Chris Pichler designed an ‘EDF Energy Monitor’ which works much like the fuel gauge in your car – the device would connect to your wireless router and based on your current energy usage it will anticipate whether you will have done well or poorly by the end of the month. When the needle is in the red, you are on track for a costly bill.

However, switch off some lights or turn down the heating and the needle will travel back up, helping you to save money.

Brilliant as this is, the real innovation lies in the way the meter works with the charity National Energy Action (NEA).

According to Chris:

“I propose a partnership between these two institutions which allows EDF customers to donate unused or saved energy to NEA recipients who cannot afford energy themselves ... You, as a new or existing customer with EDF would have the choice to sign up to this service and pay a standard fee per month reflective of your current energy usage. Half of any energy saved under this per month would then be donated to NEA recipients and the other half would then be given back to you on a credit basis for your next energy bill. In essence, the more you save yourself the more you can give to charity”

Simon Levi designed a change in the manufacturing process to make envelopes reusable, opening his press statement with: “On average the Royal Mail handles 84 million envelopes every day, which is enough envelopes to reach from London to Sydney when placed end to end. The majority of these are disposed without a second thought once their use as a vessel is over. Some of these envelopes are currently recyclable but none are designed to be reusable.

With small and simple changes to the current manufacturing processes and our way of using envelopes thousands of trees can be saved each year along with the energy involved in recycling the existing disposable envelopes.”

Emma Caddick designed the Flexibol, a washing up bowl designed to assist the elderly as they grow older.

According to Emma: “The bowl is designed to be useable by everyone, with subtle features that benefit users when they would appreciate a little extra help.” It is made from high-density silicone rubber, giving the user a firm grip even when their hands are wet. It comes with a detachable shelf and is designed to allow the user to organise items of washing up and place breakable or sharp items on the shelf to avoid damage or injury. An integrated plug in the bowl means that the user does not have to lift the bowl to empty it.

Megan Joseph’s exhibition ‘If a book could bind itself’ is a “series of three handmade books with defensive personalities.” Each book is bound using a different technique, inspired by the different habits many readers exhibit. Some may fold down page corners, while others peek into the book to avoid creasing the spine. The first book is bound by its folded corners, evoking this method of marking a page. The second book is difficult to open to prevent the user from cracking its spine. It opens tantalisingly from the top corners, with ‘Hello’ peeping out from one page. The third book is all about that forbidden last page. The book is mistrustful of the reader and has covered up its last page. It asks ‘Why should I trust you?’ If the user carefully tears the perforations, they will find the final page declaring ‘This is my secret.’

Daniel Espinosa created a table inspired by suspension bridges: “Table in Tension is a smart design comprising of 19 separate pieces that slot and clip together and hold together without the need for glue. The table is inspired from the design of suspension bridges ...”

There was a wealth of excellent work at the exhibition including pieces created from recycled and furniture parts, a metal stool inspired by the way in which trees and plants are structured, and sculptures inspired by the fusion of nature with the man-made. The exhibitions are excellent opportunities for students to increase the exposure of their work, and a second exhibition will take place in the summer.

JAN 2011

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By Matthew Williams

Ink is a collection of creative writing which is published

annually by students at University of Plymouth. The magazine has been running in some form since 2001, and was renamed from Torch to ink to mark the migration of the English and English & Creative Writing to the Plymouth campus in 2004.

Word of the Week is a word announced each week via the magazine’s Twitter and Facebook accounts and is designed to provide some inspiration to people. Many writers will have experienced the agony which comes with writer’s block and WotW will hopefully alleviate some of this. It will be interesting to see if an impromptu theme emerges as the week’s word inspires people’s work.

Who chooses what goes into ink?

Who is it for?

Primarily it is aimed at students, so that writers at UoP can have their work recognised by their peers. However it is for everyone to enjoy, whether that is members of the public, students at other universities or schools, literary agents, and people in the publishing industry to name but a few.

Who writes for ink?

Any student from University of Plymouth may submit their creative writing. Traditionally, ink has received most submissions from English and Creative Writing students, but we encourage work from all students at the university.

What kind of writing is submitted to ink?

Poetry, prose fiction, life writing, and dramatic writing form the body of the submissions. However each year we encourage and receive many submissions of artwork and photography to be entered into the magazine, one of which will be offered the prestigious award of being used for the cover of ink.

What do the submissions have to be about?

In previous years ink has had themes; last 2010’s issue had the theme ‘Journeys’. However this year there will be no theme as such, but the magazine will be running something called ‘Word of the Week’ which began on Monday 3rd January.

Ink’s board of editors is made up of fourteen students. There are twelve Assistant Editors: Liam Harkin, Emily Newsome, Natalie Houlton, Stanley Finch, Lucia Phillips, Lynsey Elliott, Rachel Mace, Patrick Smith, Emily Ronan, Rosalie Woodward, Nathan Franklin, and Matthew Williams.

Additionally, two MA Publishing students, Gavin Smith and Maria Vicaretti, are performing valuable roles with their insight and experience, and will be performing short-listing roles along with the other Assistant Editors. Hannah Kelly and Jessica Lloyd have been appointed Editor in Chief and Managing Editor respectively.

What have people who have worked for ink gone on to achieve?

Previous Editors of ink have gone on to achieve some great things. Hana Sklenkova was shortlisted for Aesthetica magazine’s short story award, published in 2008. A short story written by her appears in The Edinburgh Review, 2010. Tom Vowler received Arts Council England Individual Artist’s Grant in 2009, and was the winner of Salt publisher’s Scott Prize for short story collection, released in October 2010. Alaina-Marie Bassett was admitted to study MA English at York University in 2009. Edd Howarth received a Studentship to attend MFA Creative Writing at Longwood University, USA, in 2009.

Where can I get a copy?

2011’s issue of ink will be launched on March 26 and will be distributed for free. In previous years there have been launch parties to celebrate the release, and this year is no exception.

Join our Facebook (http://on.fb.me/fnlSbN) and follow us on Twitter (@InkMagazineInc) for updates. You can find our back issues on ink’s website – www.plymouth-ink.co.uk

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THE KNOWLEDGE

By Emily Robson Women’s Campaign Chair, UPSU

8th March 2011 I

Is International Women’s Day celebrated every year by Men and Women all over the world. This year is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day so there will be a week of celebrations all over the country and the world. UPSU are making the most of this opportunity and joining the world on the 8th- 13th March to celebrate the achievements of women in the past 100 years and the present alongside helping to ensure the future achievements of women worldwide. We’re planning three main events for International Women’s Day:

Tuesday 8th March

Will be about widening participation; secondary schools from Plymouth will be invited to RLB to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects to female students.

Watch out for- The Vaccines

They’ve only just created a website; before they had no time for it, they relied totally upon the hype; the hype which is buzzing all over the UK. They have been doted by some as “the British Strokes” and already claim many musicians as fans including: Marcus Mumford (Mumford and Sons), Alex Kapranos (FranzFerdinand) and Mick Hodgson (Kaiser Cheifs). Their gigs last a mere but intense 20/25 minutes but show that the hype and comparisons are truly justified.

Thursday 10th March

We will be Raising Awareness about issues affecting women and girls worldwide, what we can do and is being done. There will be stalls selling Fair Trade crafts stalls, stands, posters and petitions to let you know what’s going on in the world and what we can do; a film to get you inspired to make a difference, and the Top 10 inspirational women over the past 100 years; soon to be voted by you!

Saturday 12th March W

We will be celebrating International Women’s Day in the Students Union you’re all invited for some live music from some local female musicians, Karaoke and lots of other fun stuff.

So that’s International Women’s Day in a nutshell so far; if you are interested in getting involved or if you have any ideas email vpedandwelfare@upsu.com. Or come down to the Hive Wednesday 19th January and meet me and my lovely volunteers.

The new single, Wreakin’ Bar (RA RA RA), coming in at just 1 minute and 20 seconds, gives an immense blast of the real Rock ‘n’ Roll which is returning through them and ‘Mona’, to kick indie bands like ‘Klaxons’ and ‘Vampire Weekend’ into touch.

With only one single to their name they can’t let themselves get carried away; they’ve even got a ban on selfGoogling. Their debut abum, currently untitled, is being released in January, recored live and expected to come in at less than thirty minutes in length, lead singer Young says “We wan’t to make a record that sounds like a first record”, “We’re not trying to make Kid A”.

Out Now: Wreckin’ Bar (Ra Ra Ra)/Blow it up (Available on itunes) For fans of: The Strokes, The Ramones More Info: thevaccines.co.uk

Pulp – first tour in 15years!

The Strokes – new album out March 22nd!!

JAN 2011

10

By Lucia Paulis

Ever wondered what goes on behind the making of your favourite TV programme? Ever thought about the fine details involved to make sure that you, the viewer, will be sitting in front of your television screen at exactly the right moment? Well Dr Wayne Garvie, Managing Director of BBC Worldwide Content & Production was here at Plymouth University to certainly explain it all.

Beginning with a sophisticated drinks reception, groups of students, lecturers and members of the community gathered to hear Garvie discuss his media career. With media being one of the most competitive industries to work in, it was not surprising to see the number of people wanting advice in television production, work experience or how to get their ideas heard. Garvie himself explained that the ‘thing what will give you that difference will be your ideas’, as television revolves around new concepts and the need to make everything contemporary and interesting. He commented on how to gain work in television; you need to have a ‘realistic understanding of the TV market’. This along with these new ideas and enthusiasm is what will make you stand out from others competing for the same position as yourself.

Before earning his position at BBC Worldwide, Garvie had a range of jobs in the television industry ranging from working at Granada Television producing This Morning with Richard and Judy Finnigan, to most impressively becoming Head of Entertainment Group for the BBC in 2001, to which he stayed for four years. As part of his role in Entertainment Group, Garvie helped to create successful shows such as Dragon’s Den and Strictly Come Dancing. Garvie’s hard work has certainly paid off. He is a fine example that another important quality to have in this industry is to be persistent if you think you have a great

concept. He explained that Strictly was rejected twice by every broadcaster they approached, and for the third time they asked the BBC; who finally agreed to make it. The journey the show took from being an idea to an actual success is astounding, as from the popularity of the programme in the UK, Garvie and his colleagues took the show to America and called it Dancing with the Stars. This is now the biggest show in America, reaching higher viewers than American Idol.

Garvie also explained that BBC’s brand value is ‘audiences are at the heart of everything we do’ and because of this, this is why the BBC put so much effort into every detail of every television programme. For example with Strictly, Garvie stated how the time they air a programme is vitally important. It also it needs to appeal to a wide audience and this is why there are often sports players on the show, so perhaps the father in the family can relate to it. It was all of these fine details that I found really fascinating as I listened to Garvie talk. It is clear to see how Garvie and his team’s hard work ‘revitalised Saturday night TV’.

Garvie’s message to be creative, innovative and have new ideas when working in television production really came across to the audience, as he described his working life in the media. He commented ‘our industry is all about finding great talent and working with them’. Let’s hope Plymouth behold some of that special talent to succeed at such a high level, as Dr Wayne Garvie himself.

THE KNOWLEDGE

11

THE S K N A B L M MY JI Y URR A M &

By Ali Tudor PLYMOUTH SU 21 NOVEMBER 2011

The Build up

Facing a crowd of excitable Scrub fans on your first solo gig is not an easy task; yet the up and coming artist Jimmy Murray delivered. His nerves were noticeable at first yet when he began to play his music fuelled his confidence, along with the support of the crowd. His enthusiastic interaction with the wannabe doctors was welcomed; inspiring a mass sing-a-long to Reach by S club. His music was as suave as his waistcoat and his personality as animated as Mickey Mouse. If you fancy yourself a bit of The Script or the inescapable Buble then check out this effortlessly smooth sounding cheeky chap.

The Main Act

Scrubs fans were in for the night of their lives. To say that there was an air of contagious anticipation for the famous quartet is an understatement. When they stepped to the stage the crowd’s reception was deafening. Sam, more commonly known as his goofy character Ted, actually made me unexpectedly star-struck as I admired his glossy bold head. Him and his fellow band mates exerted loveable humour and provided a well planned sketch show entwining their impressively harmonised songs; such as Underdog and Charles in Charge. Everything they did created eruptions of laughter; from their exaggerated facial expressions, their cleverly crafted comedy acts, their enthusiastic dance routines and their genius announcement that Zach Braff would stop by to say ‘Hey’. Their friendly nature was delivered off stage as well as on as they stayed to meet their adoring fans; proving that they are possibly the nicest guys to have ever graced the SU stage.

In a Line:

Like the ‘Chuckle Brothers’ telling you that you have won the lottery.

JAN 2011

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BIFFY CLYRO

By Lucia Paulis PLYMOUTH PAVILLIONS 1 DECEMBER 2010

Some of their oldies included ‘There’s No Such Thing as a Jaggy Snake’ and during the encore, ‘Justboy’.

Changing guitar every few songs, Neil showed his natural determination to perform a good show, putting all his energy into his rock infused vocals and playing his guitar like it was the last time he would see it! I was standing closest to bass player James Johnston who put amazing energy into his headbanging as well as his consistent playing! Not forgetting his brother Ben who remained on top form throughout, smashing the drum kit until the sound carried to the back of the room, where other members of the crowd were seated.

Half way through their set Neil played my favourite song acoustically. With the spotlight on him he came closer to the audience to sing ‘Folding Stars’ and I was in my element. This was later followed by another acoustic version of ‘Machines’. With their mix of rock and soft rock, Biffy Clyro brought a bit of everything to the stage. As they finished with the popular ‘Many of Horror’, the lights went down only to be interrupted by the crowd consistently screaming ‘Mon the Biffy!’, to which they reappeared for a final four songs, the last one being ‘Mountains’. They thanked the crowd who sung along in dedication.

Biffy Clyro definitely performed an amazing set vocally and instrumentally, one of the best £20 I’ve spent!

Here’s to their next tour...!

It’s not often that Plymouth welcomes such a big act for the very affordable price of £20; which included two support acts and 25 songs by the very band themselves.

Student budget - tick! As I arrived there was quite an impressive turnout for the first support act Holy State; an unsigned band from Norwich who had quite a rhythmical punk sound to them. Next were the Futureheads. Previously I have not been a great fan, but when they started playing they won me over with their upbeat punk driven songs such as ‘Heartbeat Song’. Lead singer Barry Hyde split the crowd in two to join in with the well known song ‘Hounds of Love’ which helped warm the crowd up for the main act.

Biffy themselves definitely lived up to expectations.

As I waited anxiously for them to make an appearance, the audience chanted their name with enthusiasm. Through the darkness, the beat of Ben Johnston’s drum resulted in fans clapping loudly with anticipation for the lights to come on and their set list to begin. The heavy drum beat announced their first song ‘The Captain’, and as the lights came up there was a roar of excitement and cheers from the crowd. The strumming of Simon Neil’s guitar helped fill the room with even more devoted fans and the atmosphere was suddenly lifted! Instantly every person in sight was cheering, screaming, singing and jumping.

As they played through their total of TWENTY FIVE songs, they pleased fans both new and old with songs such as ‘God & Satan’ and ‘Many of Horror’ from their latest album Only Revolutions.

13

THE KNOWLEDGE

By Hayley Bennett

Last year’s cinema really pulled out the big guns in its attempts to break the box office record set by Avatar in 2009, however its attempt was unsuccessful. The genius that was Inception and the eagerly awaited finale of the Toy Story series, not to mention the comic book adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs the World, saved 2010 from failing miserably.

After many sequels reaped in the profits, the trend seems to totter into this year, picking up speed with countless sequels set to be released, most of which have the uninspiring number-at-the-end-of-the-original-title debacle. This list includes The Hangover 2, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Paranormal Activity 3. The list unfortunately goes on.

Matching the number at the end of the original title, sequels are notoriously lacklustre in their effort to wow audiences further with the familiar plotlines and the exact same characters whilst relying on a change of setting to draw in audiences. Unfortunately, despite the mass audience appeal from the success of the previous film, I think most film critics will agree that these sequels may only make a blip in box office ratings, therefore translating as disappointment on a large scale. However, there are some exceptions.

180x123 student duo ad.indd 1

The final of the ten year long series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, has the potential to impress.

With worldwide appeal, I think the movie community will be thoroughly bracing itself for the absolute best in profits and in audience approval.

Following in the incredibly large footsteps of the Harry Potter film series, the Twilight Saga appears to be breaking up the final book into two films. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is set to be released in November of next year. Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides are sure to make their impressions on the year, and some potentially interesting projects to emerge from pioneering remakes dominating screens of Hollywood; Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood looks visually stunning, and Gnomeo and Juliet appears, despite it’s questionable title, a comical interpretation of the famous Shakespeare play; quite refreshing from the de ja vu inducing sequels we’re in for.

We might have to look overseas for the good stuff, and hopefully we’ll be treated to some cross-over Independent films to restore our faith in innovative cinema, because I have a feeling that after this lot, we’re going to be left wanting much, much less.

28/10/10 15:13:00

JAN 2011

“Quite intense” is how my mate described Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1 as we left the cinema, I had to agree, I was very impressed with the 7th Potter cinematic production.

In true keeping with the Harry Potter saga this film was darker, sharper and more intense than its predecessors as the awaited climax draws closer. It was interesting watching it with my friends as some like me had read all the books and others hadn’t; creating different perceptions of the film. This film stands stronger than its predecessors, due to its rich and specific content relating closely with the book with very few parts missed out.

Even though my friends hadn’t read the books they made full sense of what was going on as well as remaining hooked to the screen whereas with the 6th film, ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince’ this wasn’t the case. The 6th being my favourite book just didn’t work as one film due to the depth and quality of the story. It’s a shame it too wasn’t split into two parts as at times you feel it jumps ahead far too quickly & is difficult to keep on top of. Hats off to the producers for making the call to divide the Deathly Hallows into two films as this allows a much deeper, more thorough and intense cinematic experience that would have otherwise not been possible.

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I was kept hooked to the screen as every scene portrayed the great plotline magnificently with superior production and a quality cast; any faults in this picture are minimal. It was also quite different from the other films with Hogwarts no longer being the backdrop, which is something that I found refreshing as a series can run the risk of stagnating.

Furthermore, there was a steady undercurrent of humour throughout, mainly between the young cast members. The graphics throughout the film are very much a reason why this film is so impressive and creates a good flow throughout. I was surprised at the ending point but have to say that it was the right place to break the two parts. (have altered the position of the last 2 sentences)

Like the previous films there was an impressive British cast, a personal highlight being the appearance of Bill Nighy as Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, a part that the veteran actor of ‘Love Actually’ & ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star pulled off commendably; as did the bone-chilling performance from Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort.

Moreover, talent just oozed out of the array of young British actors and actresses the film plays host to, most notably Rupert Grint in his role as Ronald Weasley. Daniel Radcliffe was perhaps a shortfall the key role of Harry Potter, yet I have to admit he has improved as the series reaches its much hyped climax.

15

THE KNOWLEDGE

by Karl Gardner

We’ve been left with the death of Albus Dumbledore and the shocking discovery that He Who Shall Not Be Named i.e. Lord Voldemort i.e. Tom Riddle didn’t die the first time he was “killed” because his soul had been attached to various sundries very much like Tolkein’s Sauron who is kept alive by the one ring, in The Lord Of The Rings.

Rowling takes the idea one step further than Tolkein, as there are an enormous seven horcruxes, containing Voldermort’s shattered soul. Harry, Ron and Hermione are left with the difficult task of locating and destroying these devices, but with Lord Voldemort restored to full strength and Albus Dumbledore no longer around to help them their task must surely be nearly impossible.

Where does that leave us next? Well, it leaves us at the Weasley’s house of course. Hermione has erased her parents’ memories of her, presumably so that they won’t miss her, and moved in with the Weasley’s. Harry’s journey there is more troublesome, resulting in the death of Mad Eye Moody and his owl Hedwig. Of course everyone quickly forgets about these deaths and it swiftly moves on to a wedding, which then takes a miserable down turn by the sudden arrival of death eaters. The magical trio quickly escape, break into the ministry and steal a horcrux.

They escape with nothing but a scrape and then go on a camping trip. During the trip we’re constantly given reports of what is going on in the magical world from Ron’s portable radio. However we’ve never seen radio’s in the wizarding world before and no explanation for it is given. The trip soon turns bitter when Ron leaves the other two behind.

I’d rather not give too much more away but the action of spell casting has become less like dancing and more like sword fighting; the film portrays a dark and depressing world, far different from the magical world we’ve been used to. This film shouldn’t be a 12A, as it would be far too scary for a young child to watch. The ending isn’t the happy ending we’ve come to expect, unless you’re money’s on the death eaters. We are left with an even bigger cliff-hanger than the previous film and a mood much lower than the excited anticipation we felt on entering the cinema.

One might be frustrated enough to shout, “Where’s the rest of it?” as the credits begin to roll across the screen.

If you’re still planning on watching the film, I advise you to wait until the DVD is released, that way you can watch both parts one and two, rather than leave the big screen feeling like you’ve just paid full price to watch half a film.

VAMPIRE WEEKEND ALEXANDRA PALACE, December 2 LONDON Thursday,

By Georgina Luton

Vampire Weekend know how to get a crowd dancing. The four-piece New Yorkers performed in London and although many people had to wrap up warm in Alexandra Palace it was definitely worth it. Laura Marling made a guest appearance as the opening act.

Their self-titled debut was a big hit in 2008 and since they released their second album ‘Contra’ in January of 2010 they have come even further to producing great indie rock tunes.

Opening with ‘holiday’ was a good start though towards the end most of the hits had been performed which meant lots of people left before the encore to beat the rush of people trying to leave the venue.

Vampire Weekend also played a second night at Alexandra Palace with Ratatat supporting due to Laura Marling unfortunately having to pull out due to ill health.

What to look out for at Plymouth Pavillions: Tinie Tempah with Katy B - Monday, February 28 Plan B - Tuesday, March 8 The Script - Monday, March 28

JAN 2011

16

By Lynsey Elliott

Having spent the day nursing an awful hangover, possibly the worst of my student life, I looked forward to the comedy night to take my mind off my banging headache and unhappy tummy. It did just that. The night was brought to life by Marcel Lucont and his experiences of being an American living in England for the past ten years. He proceeded to talk about alcohol and drinking, something that I had wanted to forget about due to the previous nights consumption. He made the most likely correct assumption that students spend the majority of their time as a student drinking. Shocked by the difference between the number of units consumed in the UK compared to the US, he put things into perspective but I was far too busy laughing at his own experiences that he was willing to share with us, that I was not too concerned with my own drinking habits.

He introduced Jay Foreman onto the stage; a messy haired man with a guitar; both signs that he was going to be an immediate hit with the audience and he sure was.

Singing his own creations such as, “I’m glad John Lennon died,” and “What Else Has Dick Van Dyke Been In?” where he encouraged audience participation, something that I usually try to avoid at all costs, helped me to block out the pain of my hangover. Appealing to all audience members as students, Jay’s song, “Stealing Food” was very impressive and highly entertaining. I’m sure the majority of the people sat in that room that night could relate to what he had to say, either by being the victim or maybe even the thief. This song with its catchy tune and funny lines had me thinking about my own experiences as well as singing it on the walk home. He then asked us if we remembered Captain Birdseye from our childhood and sang about how the captain was a bit creepy if you thought about him a little longer and in a different way.

The line I remember most clearly was how Captain Birdseye put his fishy fingers in children’s mouths...

I don’t think I can ever think of the captain or his products in the same way ever again! That’s one thing I love about comedians; how they can change the way we look at something that seems so innocent on the surface, but when you look a little deeper, they are often nothing but creepy old men.

Next on stage was Luke Toulson who began by telling us about his children. Asking the audience if any of us had children, the answer being no, he looked uncertain as if we could be able to relate to what he had to say but judging by the laughter he received, it didn’t seem to be a problem.

Making his children lie about their age to get on a themepark ride or pretending to lose them so that he could go on the rides himself, set up his sense of humour with the audience. The laughter that rumbled around the room suggested that the audience would take on these words of wisdom and good ideas for when they take their own children to a theme-park. Luke went on to ask if any of the audience members were dyslexic, which he soon discovered that there were quite a few and decided to pick one of them out and name him ‘Dyslexic Boy,’ much to the enjoyment of the audience as well as the guy himself. Luke then began to think about his future performances and he would develop the character of a superhero, simply known as dyslexic boy.

The one humourous line that sticks in my mind is “swings and robots,” as opposed to “swings and roundabouts,” which caused slight confusion amongst the audience until we all fully understood the joke a few seconds later. Maybe we all had a hint of dyslexia or were just like me, ridiculously hungover. Comedy Night is definitely one of the best ways to end a ‘hangover day’. The simple combination of man and guitar is pure genius, something that never ceases to amaze me. Five pounds for the greatest hangover cure? You can’t go wrong!

17

THE KNOWLEDGE

by Karl Gardner

The weather has taken a cold snap, and it seems that the cold has grasped the hearts of the British people.

This winter holds such little festive spirit that the only winter that could compare is when Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas. Student fees are going up, benefits are being cut and public transport is being disrupted all because of a bit of snow. On top of that the National Rail is holding a strike on Boxing Day and the January sales will see an increase in VAT.

Like most people I have been feeling the zeitgeist of pessimism and it seems that, due to budgetary constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel has now been switched off. In these times it’s no shock that people should start to become more unpleasant. Whilst wasting my evening on a social networking sight recently I came across a forum in which someone had posted a link to a YouTube video of someone falling over on the ice. He had written beneath it, “Don’t you just love laughing at someone else’s misery when you’re having a bad day?” Someone else had retaliated, “Or that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you do something good for someone else”.This was the turning point. Feeling pretty low myself and with the Tim Minchin song Some People Have It Worse Than I echoing through my mind, I decided to do something for charity. I have more coats than I could ever

need, so keeping just one for myself, I donated the rest to the homeless shelter, so that those unfortunate enough to not have a roof over their heads have something to keep them warm during this cold snap.

I then couldn’t stop myself from doing more.

Having seen the empty Facebook campaign, in which people changed their profile picture to that of a cartoon, in aid of the NSPCC, I actually picked up the phone and donated money to the NSPCC. I’ve since ordered a calendar from my housemate, in aid of charity, featuring the UPSU sports societies and attended a Christmas Cabaret, which was in aid of a children’s hospice.

If you’re feeling the winter blue’s this time of year then the perfect cure is to attend a charity event, get involved in one yourself, or simply donate your unwanted clothes to those who need them more. Congratulations to those who took part in the calendar shoot and those who braved the stage in the Christmas Cabaret and to all those who have done something for someone less fortunate recently. We will all have a warm fuzzy feeling over the holidays that we have the power to improve life for those less fortunate, and so we have.

JAN 2011

18

THIS YEAR THE COURSE REP SYSTEM IS CHANGING!

After a fantastic Conference UPSU held with 40

LIKE THE SOUND OF BEING A COURSE REP?

Standing up for Students to ensure that they get the best experience from their course and institution is an extremely rewarding experience; it will equip you with many skills that you can apply to your academic work and also on your CV! You become a vital link in the communication between the university and students and are supported every step of the way by us here at the Students Union.

members of university staff and course reps, we have a great deal more understanding about how the course rep system works within each Faculty. The event was a great way to share best practice and introduce UPSU’s ideas for the future of the course rep network.

UPSU are bringing the election dates for course reps, school reps and Faculty Reps forward to March (of the first and second year) so that 2nd and 3rd year reps are trained before the end of term and the exam period and return to university after the summer raring to go! This will also provide a chance for a ‘buddying’ system to take place – so that old reps and new reps can go to some of the meetings in the summer term. So this means that if you are interested in being a course rep then mention it to your programme leader in the next few weeks! Training for course reps will become specific to each Faculty – so you will receive a lot more of the information that you need to know!

Course rep elections will still take place in programme groups, with School and Faculty rep elections happening electronically on www.upsu.com – watch out for more information soon!

19

THE KNOWLEDGE

By Katherine Murphy & Lucy Frost

So it’s the New Year – time to make a resolution?

How about following one of these healthy eating tips?

1. BASE YOUR MEALS ON STARCHY FOODS

Starchy foods such as bread, cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes are a really important part of a healthy diet.

Try to choose wholegrain varieties of starchy foods whenever you can, as wholegrain foods contain more fibre and other nutrients than white or refined starchy foods. We also digest wholegrain foods more slowly so they can help make us feel full for longer.

Starchy foods should make up about a third of the food we eat. They are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet, so try to eat at least one starchy food with each of your main meals.

Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram they contain less than half the calories of fat!

2. EAT LOTS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Most people know we should be eating more fruit and veg. But most of us still aren’t eating enough.

Try to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and veg every day. It might be easier than you think. You can choose from fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced, but remember potatoes count as a starchy food, not as portions of fruit and veg.

One portion of fruit:

1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar sized fruit 2 plums or similar sized fruit 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables 1 heaped tablespoon of dried fruit A glass of fruit juice (however much you drink, fruit juice only counts as one portion a day).

3. EAT MORE FISH

Most of us should be eating more fish - including a portion of oily fish each week. It’s an excellent source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals.

Aim for at least two portions of fish a week, including a portion of oily fish. You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned - but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt.

What are oily fish?

Some fish are called oily fish because they are rich in certain types of fats, called omega 3 fatty acids, which can help keep our hearts healthy, for example salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, fresh tuna, sardines and pilchards.

4. CUT DOWN ON SATURATED FAT AND SUGAR

To stay healthy we need some fat in our diets.

What is important is the kind of fat we are eating. There are two main types of fat:

saturated fat - having too much can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases the chance of developing heart disease.

unsaturated fat - having unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat lowers blood cholesterol.

Try to cut down on food that is high in saturated fat such as sausages, hard cheese, pastry, cakes and cream, and have foods that are rich in unsaturated fat instead, such as vegetable oils (including sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil), oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds.

Most people in the UK are eating too much sugar. We should all be trying to eat fewer foods containing added sugar, such as sweets, cakes and biscuits, and drinking fewer sugary soft and fizzy drinks.

Having sugary foods and drinks too often can cause tooth decay, especially if you have them between meals.

Many foods that contain added sugar can also be high in calories so cutting down could help you control your weight.

JAN 2011

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5. TRY TO EAT LESS SALT – NO MORE THAN 6G A DAY

Lots of people think they don’t eat much salt, especially if they don’t add it to their food. But don’t be so sure! Every day in the UK, 85% men and 69% women eat too much salt.

Three-quarters of the salt we eat is already in the food we buy, such as breakfast cereals, soups, sauces and ready meals. So you could easily be eating too much salt without realising it.

Eating too much salt can raise your blood pressure. And people with high blood pressure are three times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than people with normal blood pressure.

6. BE ACTIVE AND TRY TO BE A HEALTHY WEIGHT

It’s not a good idea to be either underweight or overweight. Being overweight can lead to health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.

Being underweight could also affect your health.

If you’re worried about your weight, ask your GP or a dietitian for advice. But if you think you just need to lose a little weight, the main things to remember are: • only eat as much food as you need • make healthy choices - it’s a good idea to choose low-fat and low-sugar varieties, eat plenty of fruit and veg and wholegrains • get more active The way to reach a healthy weight - and stay there - is to change your lifestyle gradually. Aim to lose about 0.5 to 1kg (about 1 to 2lbs) a week, until you reach a healthy weight for your height.

7. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

We should be drinking about 6 to 8 glasses (1.2 litres) of water, or other fluids, every day to stop us getting dehydrated. When the weather is warm or when we get active, our bodies need more than this. But avoid drinking soft and fizzy drinks that are high in added sugar.

8. DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST

Breakfast can help give us the energy we need to face the day, as well as some of the vitamins and minerals we need for good health.

Some people skip breakfast because they think it will help them lose weight. But missing meals doesn’t help us lose weight and it isn’t good for us, because we can miss out on essential nutrients. There is some evidence to suggest that eating breakfast can actually help people control their weight.

So why not go for a bowl of wholegrain cereal with some low-fat milk and sliced banana and a glass of fruit juice for a healthy start to the day?

For more information please visit www.eatwell.gov.uk or if you have any questions please contact me: katherine.murphy2@students.plymouth.ac.uk

21

THE KNOWLEDGE

Why should we as young people be forced to pay for the debt of an entire nation?

While I’m sure that we all understand that the national debt must be paid off, why is it that education should suffer? The country is very much falling deeper into recession at this time, shops are closing, and there are towns whose councils could not even afford Christmas lights for the festive season. Places are literally stuck in darkness with very little hope for the future. In this situation, I can hardly find any logical reason to remove further hope by limiting the possibilities for young people, the so called ‘future of the nation’. I say this as, admittedly, someone who has been at university for longer than the average three years. This is not because I don’t want to live in the real world, I simply did not find my ambition until later, and thanks to the opportunity of university and just about being able to afford to pay my fees (the penalty of changing courses), I was able to find the right path. University is not simply a time for messing around and hoping to get a degree at the end of it; the vast majority of students are here to get a degree in order to reach a career goal, one they would not be able to achieve without that degree.

current Iflimit, the fees were any higher than the I for one would not have been able to change courses.

I would therefore more than likely have left university without a degree or with one I would not have used. While I believe that we all expected the fees to go up at some point - as they have been doing gradually since the top up fees were introduced - this astronomical jump immediately prices many people out of the running. Our own university awards bursaries to those lacking in funds, as do the Student Loans Company. However, those whose family’s income is over the limit for additional help, but do not have the capacity to help pay off the tuition loans later on, disregard university as a possibility as they understandably do not wish to be lumbered with over thirty thousand pounds worth of debt before they are twenty five.

WHY THE TUITION FEE RISE IS A BAD THING

By Lucie Phillips

Another very valid problem with the rise in fees across the board is that the earning potential for some careers obviously vastly outdoes others. When one undertakes a medical or law degree, one does so with the assumption of a high salary later in life, therefore making paying off a large student loan less cumbersome. Think of this in proportion to those of us with the vocation to go into a lower paid but equally worthy profession such as teaching or nursing.

These students nobly go into these careers with the equal knowledge that the earning potential is that much lower and still wish to pursue these vocations. Therefore, the difference in salary will make the ultimate loan which needs to be paid back, however gradually, one which proportionally greatly outweighs that of those in the higher paid professions. In this way, those who would have previously considered going into these careers, either will find other, more difficult routes in order to avoid the debt, or will not go into them at all, leaving the country with a shortage of those qualified.

I understand that we have reached the point at which University will never be without fees as it was in the past.

However, the expectation that young people who have yet to even find their career path have to pay so much, for let’s face it, so little in terms of teaching time and support, is ridiculous. Once we have more teachers who have more time, then I’ll agree we should pay more, but until then it is unreasonable to ask students to support the economy during their degrees when that is what they are trying to do by getting good jobs and ultimately paying taxes.

JAN 2011

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23

THE KNOWLEDGE

Yes, I’m a student in favour of the tuition fee rise.

I am not writing this in an attempt to be controversial; I only want to express my opinion. I am not doing this to be political; I am in fact a rather liberal thinker and will not bring politics into my argument. I just feel that during this whole issue the key facts have been overlooked and a lot of students have been mislead into supporting a cause they might not even believe in. I hope to inform these of the true reasons behind the consequences of the rise in fees and hopefully with that, calm the revolution.

“I can’t afford nine thousand pounds a year”

This has been one of the most over used sentences on campus over the past month. And it is one that astounds me. It builds a picture of a student happily strolling up to the payment desk every year and handing over around three thousand pounds, but finding out it now costs nine thousand and announcing, “I simply don’t have that much money”.

The fact is, the majority of us don’t even have the three thousand pounds, yet we are still allowed to attend university through the ineptly slow yet completely necessary Student Loans Company. We are never able to see that money, whether it is three thousand, nine thousand, or twenty million pounds. In fact, we don’t even have to begin to pay it back until we are earning a healthy salary.

The system is put in place to provide a safety net under every single graduate; if you come out with a decent degree and earn a good amount of money for the rest of your life, you will hardly notice the small payment to the Student Loan Company every month. If you leave university unable to find a high paying job, whether that be temporarily or permanently, you don’t have to worry about paying it back at all. The band at which you begin paying the money back has also been increased, so those worried about graduating from uni with a low salary have less to worry about than they did before the rise. The general impression that students have is that either they can’t afford it or they will never be able to afford it; this is simply untrue.

WHY THE TUITION FEE RISE IS A GOOD THING

By Nathan Gornall

“Education is a right”

Of course it is. I’m sure that everyone would agree with that. And we’ve all been put through fourteen years of free education, only twelve of which were a statutory responsibility. However, university is an extremely expensive process. In a perfect world everyone would be put through uni without paying a penny or having a huge debt at the end, but people need to face up to the facts; we are in a recession.

If it were to be made free to all, to what extent would this right to education end? Should all courses nationwide be made free? Should I be able to learn how to skydive, speak Japanese and cook a perfect soufflé at no expense of my own because it’s my right? This may sound ridiculous but it is no more far-fetched than the demands of the marchers and protesters and megaphone wielders. The beauty of a university degree is that the student chooses it for themselves.

They launch themselves into a subject that they really care about and this opportunity of self realisation is something I, and anyone else, should be willing to pay for.

“Universities should be worrying about their students, not their profits”

Let me reel off some numbers for you. On average, it costs a university about £10,000 to put one student through one year. On average, someone with a degree will earn £100,000 more than someone without over their lifetime.

So even if we had to pay for everything ourselves, with no support at all, as if the university was a shop selling degrees, we’d be coming back out of that shop with £70,000 profit.

Now that is an investment anyone should be willing to make.

Not only that, we get an extraordinary amount of help to get through university when we probably shouldn’t,

JAN 2011

“Other things should be cut before education.It’s the most important thing bar the NHS”

Now this is a more constructive argument that I’ve come across, and it is one that I agree with. However, student fees are something that in my opinion have been over funded anyway and come as an exception to the previous statement.

I ask the people who believe I’m wrong, what should be cut instead? During a recession nobody can deny that sacrifices have to be made. A summary of the sacrifice we are about to pay with the tuition fee rise is this: We will have a slightly reduced salary for a slightly longer period of our lives once we finish university. That’s it. That is what all of this has been in protest of. I appreciate people voicing their opinions and fighting for their cause, but the amount of time and energy that has been spent fighting this has been monumental.

Considering all the other things this time and energy could have been spent on, it sounds like one thing to me, and that’s selfish.

The most saddening thing about this whole affair is what the protests have taken the media’s attention away from.

The government has scrapped the Education Maintenance Allowance. Caroline Lucas, the only Green MP in the country, took the words straight out of my mouth:

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“We now face the risk of many being forced to drop out of the education system at a time of high insecurity in the job market. It’s clear from the experiences of those already in the system that the EMA has supported increased participation in education and helped to broaden the horizons of many young people.” (Lucas 2010)

I know a good number of people who would never have been able to afford another two years without work who with the help of the EMA are now studying amazing degrees at university, I’m sure most of you do too. It is more than just a helpful aid, it is a lifeline. And yet the hoards of students kicking up such a huge fuss about that ‘slightly reduced salary for a slightly longer period of our lives’ have completely overshadowed the EMA cut.

I ask of you, please consider the real issues at stake here. I know a large number of you that are marching against the EMA cuts as well, but you must understand that the mindless protest against tuition fee rise has taken an almighty centre stage. Students that have to pay the inflated fee prices will be looked after by the Student Loans Company. It’s about time that they understood this.

25

THE KNOWLEDGE

Flux 2010

By Tom Lacey

On the 17th November, I was part of one of the 12 teams took part in the Universities heat of Flux.

SO, I HEAR YOU ASK WHAT IS FLUX?

It’s a business competition where teams are given a scenario with which they have to develop a business plan and then pitch it in front of some business experts as well as their rivals. In many senses it’s a mix between Dragon’s Den and the Apprentice, being all about teamwork, business instincts and presenting. It was an early start having to be at the Gateway in Roland Levinsky building, at 8.45 am, with most teams turning up in smart clothes or suits. Such a smart group of students must have taken passersby with surprise!

This year’s challenge was for each team to create a business idea that would help people save energy either with a product or through a campaign to change people’s behaviour.

So why did I decide to enter this competition?

This question was something we asked ourselves many times during the day as the pressure of the competition got to us. Quite a few of my team are taking a placement module looking at how we can use our degree in order to get a job, and this experience seemed a perfect way to help us stand out from the crowd when applying for a job.

It was great fun to do it with a group of course mates, working together on something in a completely different environment to a lectures theatre. During the morning we had to come up with our idea – after a long time we decided on an eco- building consultancy, to help people renovate and develop buildings into the most energy efficient possible. Now that we had an idea we had to create a business plan, which was completely alien to a group of sociologists so some of the business elements had to be explained to us.

Over the following three hours we had four meetings with business leaders to ask questions so that we could use their advice to work on our business plan and presentation. Twenty minutes before our first meeting which was on finance we were all unsure of what we needed to ask.

The rest of my team helpfully decided I was the best people to go to the meeting, as it sounded like I knew what I was talking about, which I really didn’t! I managed to ramble my way through the 10 minute meeting which went in no time.

Throughout the day the rest of my team came back from their meetings a lot more relaxed and had even made jokes with the business experts that they had met with.

JAN 2011

At 3pm, we moved to another room with the other teams in our strand, ready to pitch our idea to some of the business experts. Our team had decided that it wouldn’t work with all of us talking, so I was chosen to do the pitch as I had organised the team. This had meant a lot of passing the corridors trying to remember my lines. Two other teams presented their pitches before us so we could check out the rivals ideas, I whilst I did some last minute preparation of my pitch. Our pitch went well, luckily I remembered most of what I was meant to say and the rest of my team answered questions. We went for the minimalist approach forgetting our poster, and in hindsight it would have worked better if two of us had shared the pitch.

The top team from each of the three strands was announced in the Gateway to go through and face one final challenge. I sat there waiting and hoping for our team name to be called out but sadly it never came, I had thought we had a good chance. Our strand was won by Team Marine Two whose concept was about installing recycling points for drinks cans which would work with a loyalty card where users would get rewarded with vouchers for Itunes. They had done a really strong pitch with all of their team taking part and answering the questions strongly.

26

They also showed that a shiny suit doesn’t mean everything in a business situation as they were in more casual shirts which they must have felt comfortable in. For the final challenge, one member of the winning team from each strand had to prepare and then present their pitch as though they were trying to convince someone to invest in them whilst in a lift. It was great fun watching the last challenge, seeing how the three people pitched their concept in 90 seconds. Some were a lot more relaxed and funny which was great for the audience to watch.

The day was long and very tiring but really enjoyable and I learnt a lot from it. After getting home knackered and slumping on a sofa, it was great to open an email from the head of Sociology wishing us the best of luck – cheers Penny! I would certainly recommend it to students from any course, business knowledge may help but creativity and new ideas are just as important. It’s a great way to put yourself in a completely different situation and work with course mates or friends on a challenge, with the added bonus of potentially winning a nice sum of money.

Finally I’d like to wish the winning team – Team Marine Two, the best of luck for the National Final of FLUX 2011, in April.

27

THE KNOWLEDGE

By Hayley Bennett

It’s happening, it’s finally happening: On the fifteenth of January I will be turning twenty one. However, instead of being happy that I’m one step closer to not being asked for I.D everywhere I go, I am terrified.

Think about it; what’s the best thing about waking up on the mornings of your seventeenth and eighteenth birthdays? The fact that when the clock strikes midnight, you can do more than you could the day before! When I turned seventeen, it was driving lessons every week. When I turned eighteen, it was the inevitable piss-ups that got my blood pumping. But what is there to be excited about when you turn twenty one? Having to finally get started on the career ladder? Oh… great.

Unfortunately for me, as well as turning twenty one my student lifestyle is coming to an end. I’m in my last year now, and I’m sure my fellow third years will agree; shit just got real. And yes, that is a Bad Boys Two quote.

A couple of years ago I don’t think I’d be panicking quite as much as I am now. I mean, I’m not deluded, twenty one is young, I am at the prime of my life, my mum would say. However, I feel that our generation seems to have broken the age limit of success.

For instance, Mark Zucherberg. You’ve probably never heard his name before The Social Network but you’ve sure enough heard of the site he co-invented: Facebook. He’s aged just twenty three years old and is worth an estimated one point five billion dollars. One point five billion dollars!

I’ve got £10 to my name, and that’s before a Friday night out! And Charlie McDonnell, a video blogger and musician from Bath, you might know him as ‘charlieissocoollike’ on YouTube. Charlie is the most popular youtuber in the UK with over six hundred thousand subscribers, including me.

He’s been on various TV shows such as BBC Breakfast and The Gadget Show, presented an award at the BAFTAs 2010, and talked at conferences such as ‘tech@google 2009’. He’s twenty years old. Then, if there wasn’t enough success in this paragraph so far, there’s Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, who published her first novel In the Forest of the Night when she was just fourteen, and has since published ten other novels, with another set for 2011.

I mean, whilst these guys were figuring out the latest technology for their college society, setting up a webcam to talk into every week and writing their first novel, I was quoting Futurama, watching Disney films in my pyjamas and getting pissed with my friends. Yeah.

I mean, I’ve done stuff. I have! Well… not that I’ve actually shown people. And I think that’s the problem.

With so many opportunities to show off your skills, reaching for the stars seems less plausible than ever. I look at all these successful people, all of whom are under thirty, and I think there are too many of them; they intimidate me with their early success, it makes part of me want to curl up in a ball and watch hangover TV with my housemates.

However, the other part of me is completely and utterly inspired and I have taken action. I have decided that my New Year resolution, or rather my Twenty First Birthday resolution, is to try something new every month. Whether it’s to gain more experience to brag about on my CV, or further me as a person, I’m going to start living like there is actually a life after studenthood. First step: Blogging.

JAN 2011

By Will Dawson

One-time actor, then film maker, and finally a novelist and back again; that is the long and short of the infamous Bruce Robinson’s career.

Known primarily for his debut feature film Withnail and I, a true-ish tale of two desperate alcoholics seeking to escape their dire predicament in 60’s London, Robinson became known for his genius for dialogue and passion for authenticity. It is little wonder then that he has been sought out after a decade of inactivity to direct an adaption of the late Hunter S Thompson’s The Rum Diary.

28 On paper his career may look a little under-nourished, with his film credits being few and far between; but the handful of creations that have survived Robinson’s self-described ‘maulings’ by Hollywood top-dogs are a testament to the man’s ingenuity.

His outspoken nature and dark sense of humour, combined with a chronic desire to ground his works in reality, naturally make him unlikely blockbuster material.

But, he is appreciated by many- including Johnny Depp, who orchestrated and is starring in the production of The Rum Diary, and specifically requested Robinson for the director’s chair.

Aside from the infinitely quotable Withnail and I, notable works by Robinson include Jennifer Eight (his Hollywood nightmare), the screenplay for The Killing Fields, for which he won a BAFTA, and the hilarious yet commercially unsuccessful How to get Ahead in Advertising. He has also written a semi-autobiographical novel The Peculiar memories of Thomas Penman which is a beautifully written and strangely endearing prelude to the story in Withnail and I.

The Rum Diary is set to be released early this year, and looks to be an epic example of Robinson’s form.

Combined with the structured madness of Thompson’s writing and Depp’s proficiencies as an actor, the uniting of these three cult icons will make his return unmissable.

By Emily Newsome

As all the hubbub and spotty decor surrounding Roland Levinsky Building on 19th November 2010, it loudly indicated we were the chosen venue to hold the regional live Children in Need party, representing the South West.

Was this the perfect choice for such an occasion? Well, not wanting to ignore such an event I joined with friends to swim in the sea of the excitable public who were elated by the prospect of being on TV. As we floated around the stalls and stages I found myself completely drawn in by the laughing, face-painted crowds and am confident in stating that yes, it was a perfect choice for such a party. There was entertainment in music, giant bubbles, sponsored activities and a personal favourite of mine and my friends, the portable Immersive Vision Theatre dome.

The staff had created a brilliantly bright, spotty setting including a balloon-lined central staircase. It gave university students as well as members of the public a chance to come together and spend the evening raising cash and awareness whilst revelling in the free entertainment. We certainly did, when we sampled the free tasty food by ‘Food Is Fun’, offering vegetarian stir-fry, steak sautéed in red onions and for those who were more adventurous, ducks tongue and frogs legs!! It is a big congratulatory thumbs up to the Plymouth University for hosting the night, giving the students and the public the opportunity to come together and be part of a national event.

29

THE KNOWLEDGE

SAFETY ON A NIGHT OUT & RESPONSIBLE DRINKING

By Matthew Gibbs

Everyone wants to have a good time at university and being a student you will often find yourself out on the town looking for a good night, involving plenty of alcohol.

But you better watch how much you’re drinking, and what you’re drinking, whether it be spirits, beers, wines or White Ace, as they all add up in the morning.

Though it’s not always the dirty headache or dry mouth that is the worst thing when you wake up the next day, it may be the lack of memory from the previous nights events, and having mates tell you how embarrassing you were and what actually happened.

4. There are other people out enjoying themselves as well as yourself, so don’t annoy them because you cannot handle your drink…laugh together!

5. And finally, the best cure for a hangover is not to wake up and carry on drinking, that’s just going to delay the inevitable alcohol comedown.

Instead take a few painkillers, drink water and eat a decent meal.

2, Eat well before you start drinking, which will soak up much of the alcohol coming your way.

That way you may even be able to stay out for the whole night.

Going out with a large group of friends will usually result in a great night out, but just because there are a lot of people out all together does not mean your responsibilities to behave are any different. When you have a few to drink you become a lot more confident than you usually are, resulting in personality changes, and many people having arguments and fights when they are drunk, leading to very serious repercussions. The law does not let people off with less severe charges because they were drunk, and many people have learnt their lessons from committing a crime when drunk, but also many haven’t. Also, the university can take action against clubs and individuals who do not behaviour on nights out, especially if it involves other societies from the university. If found guilty of an offence the university can ban students from participating in certain activities, for instance playing games and training, and if the offence is so severe, they are able to expel you from university.

3. Try to avoid mixing your drinks…jagerbombs, followed by a few beers, and then some sambuca shots will more than likely make your night a lot shorter than planned and may increase the potential for embarrassing moments!

So next time you are out, wherever you are, not just at university, think about how much you’re drinking and in the time period it is consumed, as “I was drunk” is not an excuse to do what you want and get away with it. But don’t let that stop you from having a good time, after all, it’s a big part of your university experience!

So here are some helpful hints for when you’re next out…

1. Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated! Often, a pint of water every few drinks and another pint of water just before you go to bed will reduce the pain of the hangover the following morning.

JAN 2011

30

TUTITION FEES

By Derek Dodd

With MPs poised to vote on a controversial motion to raise the cap on tuition fees in England – to redress a funding gap generated by a 40% (£3.1bn) cut to University teaching budgets – a delegation of students from the UOP travelled to Westminster to petition Oliver Colvile (Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport) as part of the NUS’s ‘Lobby 2010’ campaign. While thousands protested outside, the UOP delegation met with Colvile to make their case for voting against the proposed fee increases and to deliver a petition signed by over a thousand students and Plymothians opposed to higher education cuts. Following a cordial introduction in Westminster’s central Lobby Colvile and the student delegation settled down for a frank discussion on his party’s higher education policies and their significance for Plymouth. As a stock, career conservative with a professional sideline in representing the interests of the business community to the front bench of his party, Colvile was generally expected to turn in a party-line vote.

From the outset he made it clear to the students that he was not for turning and had already decided to vote in favour of raising the cap on fees, even reporting that he had resolved to accept the recommendations of the Browne report before it had been completed.

In its recently published Universities at risk – the Impact of Cuts in higher education spending on local economies the University and College Union identified the UOP and Marjons as being at ‘medium’ and ‘high’ risk respectively.

With more than 50% of the UOP’s annual income coming from recurrent funding body grants and an estimated 33% of its students classified on the lower half of the NSSEC* spectrum Colvile was quizzed about the wisdom of taking a sledgehammer to the University’s financial base on the premise that already hard-pressed and less well-off students would be willing to bear the burden of a trebling of University fees.

The UCU have estimated that for every £1m of direct output, higher education institutions generate an additional £1.8m for the South-West’s local economies. They also account for 28.4% per cent of regional employment directly and indirectly. The economic importance of the University is particularly visible in Plymouth with Colvile himself describing it as a major “catalyst” for its economic regeneration. With such a clear economic case for further investment in higher education in the South-West the student delegation appealed to Colvile – as a “small business man” and advocate for local enterprise – to consider the implications of jeopardizing a core part of Plymouth’s economic infrastructure for his electoral pledge to address the “rising unemployment”, “low wages” and “low skills base” that compromise the city’s already fragile economic prospects.

Colville was also questioned about his commitment to alleviating social inequality in Plymouth on the basis of his own belief that “every child, whatever their background, should be educated to the highest possible standard and given the opportunity to fulfil their highest potential”.

In light of his electoral assurance that he would become “Plymouth’s representative in Westminster” rather than “Westminster’s representative in Plymouth” it was suggested that Colvile, by taking – in one stroke – such incalculable risks with Plymouth’s University and economy, was reneging on his electoral commitments and placing his interest in toeing the party line before the wellbeing of his constituents. When asked about his ability to reconcile such an unprecedented experiment with Plymouth’s future prosperity with his responsibilities to his constituency, Colvile appeared to concede that his commitment to his party’s long-term - and arguably myopic – national economic strategy would invariably have profoundly negative consequences for Plymouth, its Universities and its people in the foreseeable future. * National Statistics - Socio-economic classification.

31

THE KNOWLEDGE

We walked into the hive feeling excited and nervous. As newly appointed editors we were excited for meeting some real celebrities and as this was going to be our first official interview, we hoped it was going to go well.

The Blanks; George, Paul, Sam and Phil had just performed in the main room of our very own SU and were eating berries and drinking water to their hearts content to get refreshed after their active show. All four welcomed us with hearty smiles and warm hands as we entered, thanking us when we assured them that their show was one of the best things that the union has ever seen. Sam, who we all know as Ted from Scrubs assured us; ‘This is one of the best crowds we have ever played to!’ Of course we expect nothing less from the amazing Uni Plymouth students. We were offered a beer from their table of refreshments and took it gracefully as we moved to the corner of the hive and sat down to begin the interview.

EDITORS: Firstly, how did you all meet?

SAM: Me, Paul and George all met while studying at Syracuse University in New York.

E: So what was the first gig you played?

PA: The first time we played to an audience was at Philip’s grans 80th birthday. Philip was a star to her and she loved that his band was playing for her party S: That’s actually how we got the name for our band. We needed to have a name to introduce ourselves to the crowd.

We played around with a lot, Joe and the dominoes, Joe star and band and then we came up with phil in the blanks... you get it fill in the blanks! we liked it but decided later to cut out the fillin... you get it cut out the fillin!!

G: We are funny aren’t we... but that’s when we became the Blanks!!

E: How did you get into the show scrubs?

PH: It was a guy named Al.. all because of Al

PAUL: Its good that some people you meet at university, you stay friends with forever

G: Al made it happen.. we love Al

GEORGE: And sometimes you even create an acapella group!

PA: Actually it was Sam, we only had 3 songs for years and that’s all we sung at any show, the same 3 songs

S: A bit later, George met Phillip in LA. They met at an imporv comedy club and became friends there, but George had actually done a bit of acting before that

PH: The part of Ted was actually written for Sam. He had been in loads of shows already Seinfeld, 3rd rock from the sun, Malcolm in the middle. Bill Lawrence had seen him and loved him so wrote the part of Ted for him

G: Yeah I was in a play called forever Plad that played at the Prince Albert, you might have heard of it... It played for about 9 months

S: And I nearly didn’t get the part

S: After that we were a band and tried to play anywhere PHIL: We had an audition for a cruise ship and we were so excited PAUL: When we got the audition we thought we were the ‘BEES KNEES’ put that in the article PH: Anyway we blew the cruise ship audition, we couldn’t afford instruments so just did singing and that’s not what they wanted

E: You didn’t get a part that was written for you?

S: Yes! G: Lucky Uncle Chris (Christopher Lloyd who plays Doc in back to the future) got him the part PH: We were invited to the Scrubs Christmas party with Sam S: Yeah I asked could I bring my band along and we would sing

JAN 2011

PA: As they say, the rest is history E: What did you sing?

G: Well we didn’t technically sing, I mean we did, but not with words. You know the original theme tune for superman (The Blanks begin to hum the entire theme tune harmonising at every point) PA: Well we did that and Phil made up some words

32 E: Have you enjoyed being in Plymouth?

PA: We have but we’ve not had a chance to look round it S: Yeah we got in this afternoon and have to leave at 10 tomorrow morning G: We are doing an interview for Radio one with Scott Hill?

E: Scott Mills?

PH: (singing along to Paul, Sam and Georges humming) superman, he’s faster than light, superman he’ll put up a fight....

G: Yeah Scott Mills

S: They loved it and they even tried to get us to sing it in the scrubs episode my hero, you know the one were JD sees Dr Cox as his hero through the episode, but they couldn’t get copyright so they gave us a choice of mighty mouse or under dog...

SAM: Four hip guys learning some hip songs

G: And we picked mighty mouse PA: We picked under dog and became the ‘worthless peons’ or Ted’s band E: if you had to pick someone, who would you all say was your favourite cast member?

S: Its hard to say, they are all such nice people PH: Id say Sam G: I think we would all say Ken Jenkins (Dr Kelso)

PA: They want us to do some top 40 hits so we’ve got a lot to learn in the van on the way

E: One last question, what’s your favourite songs to sing in the show?

S: I don’t known really, we love them all, probably what ever song I’m singing PA: I can tell you my least favourite song, a little polish (they all laugh) PH: That’s because I’m the lead on that E: Well thanks so much for talking to us!

S: it was a pleasure you guys in Plymouth are really great

PA: He’s really nice and an exceptional guy

We then move on to have our pictures taken with The Blanks and copies of The Knowledge which they all pledge ‘to keep and read on the bus on the way to Radio one’. They seemed impressed with our paper!

S: Everyone is great though and they all party; especially Rob Marschio (Todd from Scrubs)

We begin to pack up with our interview all done and dusted but not before we get one last piece of information…...

G: I get on really well with Sarah Chalke (Eliot from Scrubs) often we just spend time together rapping on the set

G: I don’t know if you guys know and Paul wouldn’t say as he’s too modest, but he actually won an Emmy for the musical episode of Scrubs. It was awarded for outstanding and original music and lyrics. He wrote all the lyrics for the songs.. just an extra piece of info for your girls to put in your article!

S: Yeah we all spend a lot of time with him on the set

PA: George loves to rap actually E: Can we hear a sample of your rapping?

George then breaks out into a full on rap of the song ‘Baby got back’ he sings the whole thing until he is red in the face, out of breath and has to get his momentum back by biting a chunk of brie cheese and eating a handful or blackberries PH: George always complains he never gets to talk enough in interviews, you happy now George?

With that information we excitedly get our postcards signed with Sam having issues spelling names, we shake hands for the last time and leave as The Blanks welcome in more excited students to meet and greet.

33

THE KNOWLEDGE

YOUR NEW SPORTS EDITORS Welcome back! We hope you had a great holiday and are ready for a great second term.

In the dawn of a new year, we bring you a revamp of The Knowledge that will focus on bringing you the latest in sports news and results from around the university, as well as the latest stories and updates on your societies. Not just that, but two brand new sports editors, whose passion for this university and the clubs involved promises to deliver a Sports and Societies section that everyone will want to get their hands on. We aim to provide a central output for all of the sporting news and results, and hope that everyone uses it as a source of finding out how all of the clubs are doing. We want to unite in support of each other, and together improve the

overall standard of our teams, perform better against other universities, and most importantly, maintain our dominance over Marjons! A big congratulations to some sublime performances from our teams, and it will be made a feature of the Knowledge from now on to deliver a table of team standings as far as game win percentages. A big thank you must go to the brilliant work our Sports and Societies did for Children in Need, raising huge amounts of money for the charity, including a 24 hour rowing session and skiing mount Everest (or at least the equivalent of!)

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with either of the Sports Editors, either by sending us an article about your club or requesting that we come see you and write the article ourselves. We can be contacted at either: nathan.gornall@students.plymouth.ac.uk or sarah.pook@students.plymouth.ac.uk.

We’ve had a brilliant response from the clubs for this issue and I’d like to thank all of our volunteers for writing in. We really need the help of club members to get articles in and create an extensive and diverse Sports section.

So keep writing, get involved, and help us create a University Newspaper that can rival the best in the country.

Enjoy!

Nathan and Sarah Do you want to write for The Knowledge?

JAN 2011

34

A Dramatic Social

Go West!

by Rob Hughes

Footballers play with the constant risk of injury, which can often lead to agonising spells out of the game they love so dearly. Ant West, a 2nd year student at the University suffered severe ligament damage to his right ankle causing him to spend a prolonged period out of action for UPFC 3rds. Ant was determined to remain as much a part of the club as possible, so he sought the advice of the 8th team Captain Michael Pope, and together they found a possible avenue for Ant. He was made manager of the 8ths, initiating training sessions, leading them through drills and exercises and even implementing managerial activities on match days. His track record was exemplary, and in his first game in charge the 8ths romped to victory against Marjons. Ant is a true support of UPFC, and the club can be very proud of a man so loyal and dedicated to a sport and a society. Ant has begun his recovery and we believe he may well be back to full fitness in the New Year.

As social sec, there is quite an expectation that on a social I must lead the entertainment, have a whole load of fun myself, and make sure everyone else is having a good time. So this particular social I pushed that a bit further; I played guitar amazingly, even behind my head and played the piano furiously, trying to impress the judges. Oh yeah, and I crapped myself onstage. Well, at least I thought I was doing these things. You see, I had been hypnotised. We decided to have our social at the Mutley Crown, where we knew there was going to be a comedy hypnotist and quite a lot of us hadn’t seen a hypnotist before, and even less believed they actually worked. Well, consider my opinion towards it changed. I don’t usually pretend to be a washing machine (harder than it sounds), try to steal someone’s girlfriend, or sit on the lap of the guy next to me, especially when I don’t know him. I don’t think I’m in any hurry to be hypnotised again, that’s for sure!

The University of Plymouth Amateur Dramatics Society (UPAD) holds its meeting on Fridays 5.30-7.30 in Babbage 411. Come along and get involved, we are putting on a show late February and need all the help we can get!

By Jack-William Cantwell

Good First Term puts Basketball Firsts Second

by Thomas Kelly

Have you been wondering how the Men’s basketball BUCs is doing this year?

We have incorporated 5 new players into the first team, but have had to deal with some painful injuries such as a dislocated knee and a fractured tibia! This caused the team to start out slow, with a close loss to UWE as our first game. However, we quickly continued our winning ways by destroying Southampton Solent and Bristol University.

This was followed by a very tough game against a great Bournemouth team that we unfortunately lost to.

Still, this did not dampen our team spirit! We had two consecutive weeks of away games to Winchester, the first of which was a cup game, where we dominated and flew into the second round. Another win the following week earned us another win in the league competition and made us good for joint second.

In the new term, not only do we have many players healthy again and ready to go but some good match ups in both league and Cup play. Our next Cup game will be against Southampton in the middle of February and there is of course Varsity to think of, where we expect you all to come and support.

Not only this but expect to see Men’s Basketball around the SU and having a lot more events for you to join in, so make sure you find us on Facebook and keep a look out for our new website coming soon!

Hope to see you all supporting at our next home game!

35

THE KNOWLEDGE

UP:LGBT Rewarded for Hard Work

By Natalie Shilton

The past few months have certainly been a busy time for UP:LGBT. As many of you are probably aware UP:LGBT won society of the month in November, the first time we have ever done so! Credit goes out to Rob Young and his committee for all their hard work! Not only have the team organised many amazing socials; they have also promoted campaigns such as Blood Donation Rights Awareness and World Aids Day. The committee has many more campaigns in the pipeline for this upcoming term, so be sure to check out the UP:LGBT Facebook page for more information.

UP:LGBT have also been liaising with White Rabbit, in order to promote Prism, their monthly gay night.

The themes included over the autumn term were Ghetto Blaster, Freaks and Science Geeks and the Fresher’s UV Party. Prism is always a great success and you are guaranteed to have a fun-filled night with many crazy experiences that you will not get from other nights out so be sure to check out when the next night is so you too can join in on the fun!

Unfortunately, as of the writing of this article, the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell campaign in America has suffered a major blow in their resolve to end the ban on gay men and women being allowed to openly serve in the US Military. The US Senate blocked legislation to end the ban in a vote of 57-40.

This comes after a Federal District Judge declared DADT unconstitutional; issuing an injunction that prohibited the Department of Defence from enforcing the policy.

The Senate’s vote has now rendered this worthless.

In more positive news many celebrities, politicians and organizations came together to lend their voice to the ‘It Gets Better’ project. This campaign is in response to the alarmingly high amount of teenage suicides resulting from gay bullying, and was founded in September 2010 by Dan Savage. Over 5000 people have submitted videos of their own experiences as a gay teenager and there have been over 15million views. Celebrities such as Chris Colfer, Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway and Ke$ha have spoken out and lent their support. The President of the United States, Barack Obama has also shown his support towards the project. This is a great example of people coming together for a brilliant cause and hopefully it has already started to positively affect the lives of many gay teenagers who feel they are alone.

To round things off, if any members would like to buy a society t-shirt please get in contact with the committee.

Prices currently stand at £5, but the more orders we make the cheaper the t-shirts will be! And last but most certainly not least Plymouth Out is being held on Saturday 19th Match. The day will include a march from the hoe, through town to the University Campus and there will be stands open throughout the day as well as plenty of entertainment in the evenings.

Promotional material, as well as a webpage, will be available very shortly.

JAN 2011

36

A View From The DJ Booth:

By Jack - Cantwell William

Men and women. Both of the same species, but so very different. This is depicted perfectly in club life, with men and women both having utterly opposite purposes on a regular night out. As a rule, if women go out, they will be looking to go and have a fun filled night out with their girlfriends, a few drinks, and to have a dance to their favourite songs.

Seemingly innocent, and a standard night out for most girls.

However, men go to clubs for one reason alone. The women.

As a DJ, recognising this innate motive is key to any success when playing in a mainstream club on a popular student night. If you get girls dancing, you get guys dancing.

Or guys attempting to dance, but instead trying to grab as much female body as possible whilst still keeping up the pretence of dancing innocently. Simple. But it has to be that way round, no girl will want to go dance with her friends if the dance floor is filled with sweating drunken LADS who all flock to them the moment their heel touches the dance floor.

It’s like hunting in the wild, inviting your prey to come to you, making sure they are settled and content. You can’t do anything that may scare them off, once you have them on the dance floor, it’s about keeping them there until they are powerless to resist the advances of aforementioned male hunters. They try to escape, some lucky ones may even make it out without being indecently propositioned and/or grabbed at, but the majority will have to suffice with laddish antics until the men need more sustenance in the form of alcohol or they lose interest. Normally it is the former, which allows the women to break for their sanctuary that is the female toilets.

One of the benefits of being a DJ of course is the women. They are drunk, and are dazed and confused by the pretty lights and huge volumes of noise coming form the

ethereal DJ booth or stage (the stage is more impressive).

One example of this is Freshers week of this year; a stage invasion was hosted by no less than 20 stunning women all of whom were allowed to remain on the stage by the bouncers.

There were at this point 3 DJ’s on stage, one grabbed the mic and was immediately accosted by about 5 or 6 of the women, who were drawn to the immense power of this vocal projector. Clearly he was compensating for something else not being as powerful. I took the initiative and spotted one girl dancing around near my end of the stage, and proceeded to take her to one side, and simply said ‘I’m the DJ, can I have your number?’. I shan’t divulge names or details, but nevertheless it proved to be a good job I did meet this girl, albeit she was drunk at the time.

The power a DJ can hold over women however is not matched if they are that drunk that they do not even recognise the DJ. If you play a song they request, you shouldn’t be mistake for thinking they will come up, thank you, maybe even offer a little kiss to say thanks. However, past a certain point they will immediately relate their requested song to the guy who is currently grinding upon them, and will proceed to show their gratitude to him, and not the DJ.

There are many ups and downs to DJing, and one of the main tricks is controlling a suitable ratio of women to men, always try and ensure there are more women, not only for your viewing pleasure but also because it makes your life so much easier, and also if you are a man reading this you will know it’s much easier to generate interest if the dance floor is teeming with girls, and as a girl you will know you prefer not being gawked at like some Aphrodite-esque sex object by a hundred leering men.

PLYMOUTH ALBION –ARE YOU A FAN?

We need a Plymouth Albion fan to write a short article in each issue about the club; this can be a match report, a review of the past month, or even a blog of your own support of our City’s proud rugby team. If you are interested, please get in touch with either of the Sports Editors, contact information is in the Editors note at the start of the section.

To everyone else, keep looking out for the Plymouth Sport section; we may have some interviews lined up with stars of Argyle, Albion and the Raiders for future issues!

37

THE KNOWLEDGE

By Tom Davidson, Vice President Sport, UPSU

So here we are in a brand spanking New Year! I hope that you have put your new year’s hangover behind you and are all suitably rested and well-fed following the Christmas break in preparation to once again get stuck in to club competition at whatever level you play.

The autumn term has been an eventful, and successful, one in terms of sports with a number of teams enjoying successes across the board and I would like to give a special mention to the following teams that (at the time of this article going to press) are currently top of their leagues and showing no signs of being anywhere else in the coming months;

Badminton 1st’s (Western Conference 2B) Women’s Hockey 1st’s (Western Conference 2A) Men’s Rugby 1st’s (Western Conference 2A) Netball 1st’s (Western Conference 3A)

ATHLETICS CLUB RUNNING PERFECTLY The other guy may in fact be the favourite; the odds may be stacked against you. Fair enough ... But what the odds don’t know is this isn’t a math test. This is a completely different kind of test. One where passion has a funny way of trumping logic.- Versus Sport Commercial As a VP of a sports team it’s important to state my genuine pride at how much everyone in University of Plymouth athletics club has achieved. The club is still maturing and with each passing year it takes leaps and bounds in raising the benchmark. At the end of the last academic year the club regularly trained a small but dedicated squad, this year the club has grown into a larger closely knit community of over thirty members. Our expansion isn’t only limited to our new members, this year has seen a regular appearance at Plymouths Armada three kilometre run,

Obviously, these aren’t the only teams that are doing well and many of our competitors in local leagues are also upholding the sporting name of UPSU across the SouthWest… Keep up the good work!

There have also been developments off the pitch with record amounts of money being raised for Children in Need by clubs including Rowing, Netball, Rugby and many more. On top of this the University now has it’s own sports page in the Plymouth Herald and as they say, any publicity is good publicity!

Finally, by the time you read this article, a decision will have been made on the future of the Team Plymouth concept; an idea that could potentially change the face of sports at UPSU in the coming years.

So, from both myself and the rest of the Sports & Societies team, we wish you a happy new year and the best of luck for the rest of the season. Bring on 2011!

a great turn out at an all-terrain ten mile around Drogo castle, an inter-university match against Exeter university athletics club, and we’re expecting to make a striking appearance during the upcoming UWIC Grand Prix’s and both Cross-country and Indoor BUCS Championships. During BUCS in March our relay team completed the 4 x 200 relay in 01:35 and recently in November in our inter-university match defeated Exeter University despite the freezing weather conditions with a time of 01:37! We’ve also taken great strides in the administration of the club, it may not seem very impressive but any small committee can appreciate and relate to the transition when a sport or society finally creates a solid foundation to work up from, for this I’d like to make a huge shout out to Samuel Caplen for the huge amount of time and effort he put in during the beginning organising and communicating between so many individuals.

It is an absolute pleasure to train with the fine athletes who are proud to say they are a member of UPAC, and I can foresee nothing short of brilliance in the clubs future.

The University of Plymouth athletics club (UPAC) trains at brickfields Monday & Wednesdays 19:00 – 20:30 and Circuit training at the University Gym Studio on Saturdays 16:00 – 18:00.

JAN 2011

38

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE – THE SEASON SO FAR

By Joel Martin

The season started with promise and delight for argyle fans. A 1-0 win away at Southampton and new high-profile manager Peter Reid promised much, but as we approach the half-way point in the season it seems the early hope of a ‘next-season-bounce-back’ to the championship is now a distant dream.

So far, it has been a season of disappointment, with only 7 wins in 22 games in all competitions. Argyle have been knocked out of the FA Cup, Johnston Paint Trophy and lie in a lowly 17th place in the Npower League one. To quote the famous adage ‘the table never lies’, which has never been more appropriate than in this situation, as Argyle’s performances have been not much better than appalling.

Poor performances have been defined by a lack of goals and a leaking defence, not to mention a string of 7 red cards which has caused concern over the discipline of the team.

Perhaps the most disappointing moment of the season was the 2-1 home defeat to Devon rivals Exeter City in the Johnston Paint Trophy (A game marred by crowd trouble, creating yet more problems for Plymouth Argyle FC).

The poor performances culminated with the lowest home attendance of the season of 4,960, as Plymouth managed to scrape a 2-1 win against fellow strugglers Dagenham & Redbridge. All of these issues after a promising pre-season and the appointment of high-profile manager Peter Reid.

However in amongst the doom and gloom there have been positives; for example a convincing 3-1 victory over westcountry rivals Bristol Rovers, and striker Bradley WrightPhillips being League one’s top goal scorer. However, with this in mind, it creates questions as to the quality of the defence and the lack of goals from others.

Added to the on-field problems, there have been well-documented off-field problems at the club, mostly surrounding the clubs financial situation. Argyle have never been a wealthy club, but with new ‘multi-millionaire’ Japanese owners taking over the club in 2009, money issues were thought to be disappearing. However, it is rumoured the owners have not attended a game and had very little interest in the club, ultimately making little investment. This peaked in 2009/10 with a reported £2.8million loss over the year.

In the last couple of weeks the situation has worsened; the staff have not been paid wages for the month of November and with the related news that Argyle have

been issued with a ‘winding up order’ by HM Revenues & Customs. It gave the club have until the 8th December, where they will attend a court hearing to clear their considerable debts, thought to be around £1million. Further more, in the last week England lost the 2018 World Cup host bid, and in turn put a halt on Plymouth’s recent stadium development plans and halted further investment in the club from the FA.

Due to these financial problems, Peter Reid has been forced to cut the wage bill, sending star midfielder Damien Johnson on loan to League one rivals Huddersfield Town FC for the season, sending first-team defender Marcel Seip out on loan and more recently sending under performing striker, and ‘world-cup star’, Rory Fallon out on loan to Ipswich Town FC, with view to a permanent deal.

Argyle now face a big week, not only with the court hearing on 8th December which will decide the fate of the club, but also on Saturday 11th December where they will play Exeter City in the much awaited league Devon derby.

The next few days will be ‘make or break’ for the club, as they face the real threat of administration and consequently a possible 25 point reduction in the league (taking the team to bottom of League one, and facing a season fight of relegation). Not only this, but the supporters and teams pride is at stake on Saturday 11th, as they go into the derby with Exeter, something many fans will see as more important than the off-field problems the club faces. When this article is published and distributed, the game will have been played, and the financial situation will have taken steps (forward or backward), lets wish for a happy ending for the club this Christmas.

An Argyle fan myself, I am living in hope that my club will scrape some money together to dig itself out of this financial hole and lift the dark cloud that has descended over Home Park. As a loyal Pilgrim I’ll be there cheering my side on Saturday 11th, desperately hoping for 3 points. If you care about your local football club at any level show some support and get behind the Green Army in the coming weeks!

39

THE KNOWLEDGE

PLYMOUTH RAIDERS - THE SEASON SO FAR

By Matthew Jameson

After a summer of gaining new faces and reshaping the entire team, the Plymouth Raiders came on strong at the beginning of the season. They won a string of home games in front of very supporting crowds who seemed to enjoy the new-look team. However, the Raiders struggled to continue success on the road, with some tough losses on away games.

To combat this, Raiders made another change, bringing in Lithuanian Point Guard Evaldas Zabas from Worthing, who had treated Plymouth to a 30 point when Worthing lost to the Raiders early in the year.

Zabas was an instant success, not only bringing flash and excitement but leadership and great skills as well, which have now earnt the best home record in the country.

However, overall they are only 9th in the BBL, which many feel is below what they are capable of. Of course, the Raiders have played fewer games than the rest of the league, so this could all even out in the end.

The team recently made one more move, deciding to let go of American Guard Brian McKenzie and sign Chez Marks in his place, and so far he seems to have fitted in well.

The Raiders will be gaining fans in new places now, after earning a slot on Sky Sports 4 every now and then, and they seem to enjoy the spotlight, shown with a huge win over Worthing Thunder 112-77, providing a bit of revenge over Zabas’s former team.

The team shows a lot of promise at this point in the season, and winning some silverware is definitely not out of the question.

Be sure to check out: www.plymouthraiders.com for all the news and fixtures.

SURF LIFESAVING -NO ORDINARY SPORTS CLUB

As sports go, the sport of lifesaving and surf lifesaving are certainly very different to most other sports, there are many disciplines within lifesaving, for a few years now we have been very focussed on pool competitions, but we have recently made strong links with Whitsand bay surf lifesaving club, and can now offer events such as IRB racing, (see picture). IRB’s started life as a practical rescue boat but soon after someone came up with the bright spark idea of racing, this event has proved very popular over the past couple of years with one of last year’s members attending the European championships, narrowly missing out on a medal.

Definitely worth a quick browse on you tube.

Paddle board racing, a great work out particularly for the weaker swimmer who may not be comfortable with long sea swims.

We have a busy calendar with many weekends away competing in pool events against other universities, with a lot of clubs its drive to the match, play, stay for a drink and drive home, whereas with lifesaving there is an organised social event afterwards (many people go to competitions under the guise of competing just to drink afterwards.)

Lifesaving also has a serious side as the name may suggest, we offer people the chance to gain both pool and beach lifeguarding qualifications, with the dates of a beach course being confirmed for the new year, just in time for people wishing to work on the beaches this summer.

Come see us anytime, or join the facebook group UPSLSC 2010-2011.

JAN 2011

40

MENS BASKETBALL 2NDS SAVED BY TEAM MEETING

By Daniel Brock (2nd Team Captain)

Things didn’t go too well for the UPBC 2nds last year, after winning their first game attendance of the players to both training and games decreased, thus resulting in the losses increasing in each game, and that very first win would be the only one all season.

A new start and many new faces following trials for the 2010-11 season produced a 2nd team with vastly more potential, and perhaps more importantly commitment, than last year’s squad. We got out the blocks to be holding a lead of 6 points in the closing minutes of the season opener, however the powers that be didn’t agree with the potential victory, switching off the spark the team played with the whole game to lose by 5 points. Not disheartened by this loss the team practiced with intensity and with a chip on their shoulder the following week in preparation for game 2, although almost identically losing a late lead tripping over their shoelaces to lose by five again. Guess what happened in the third game of the season? Another 5 point heartbreaker, which left the team throwing down their jerseys and round housing their kit bags, it was apparent that the guys were unsettled, knowing full well that for three consecutive games they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The following two games didn’t show any prospect of gaining that elusive first mark in the win column, as the team lost by greater margins.

Sensing the team had developed a losing mentality and in a last ditch effort to try and save the season before losing all hopes of a winning record, players demanded a team meeting where every player could say what they thought the team were doing wrong, and what the team needed to do it improve. After an hour of heated discussion the guys went to training and played with a renewed sense of pride in their craft, frustrating some of the first team players by beating them in multiple scrimmage games.

Then judgement big day came, the first game following the talk, and the day to see if anything had been kicked into place as the seconds walked into the same sports hall they had lost in every time this season to face a Cannons team much higher ranked than they were. Ranked what? The guys shot out of the blocks like Usain Bolt on a gut full of McNuggets, playing inspired basketball, dismantling their opponents in a 98-39 ravishing, casting aside any doubts that might have been in their minds that they might be able to make some noise in the league this season.

MUSICAL THEATRE GROUP

by Dan Wilde

This term is the start of us working on our main project for this year!! SWEENEY TODD - the demon barber of fleet street. We have a fantastic, talented set of people already involved with the show. However this does not t mean we are not looking for more, enthusiastic people, to come join us. Aside from Sweeney Todd, we are actively involved in the community, looking to establish a youth project this term.

So, if Sweeney Todd isn’t your thing we have a charity event where we are creating a 50’s style performance for coming up, too!! We cannot stress enough that you do not have to be

talented at anything to be part of our group.. as anyone part of MTG will tell you, you just have to be up for a good time.. which the group always provides!!

Sweeney Todd will be being performed the week of March 21st. Expect more info coming soon. If your interested in joining us, please contact: musicaltheatregroup@hotmail.co.uk or pay us a visit at the reFreshers sports and societies fair on the 23rd January.

41

THE KNOWLEDGE

JAN 2011

42

National Sailing Championships showcase University of Plymouth

Over 200 sailors from all over the UK in 130 boats competed in the BUCS National Sailing Competition held the weekend of 6/7th November 2010. This was the first time the event had been held in Plymouth for 10 years. Perfect conditions greeted the students at the Mount Batten Centre in Plymouth.

The Plymouth team comprised of 39 sailors and included six of the University of Plymouth dinghy sailing scholars. Sophie Mckeenem, Charlotte Greenhalgh, Anna Piggot, Oscar Mcveigh, Peter McCoy and James Spencer have all represented Great Britain at international regattas, and share the same ambition to secure a place in the Skandia Great Britain Transitional squad which will ensure that they continue on the Olympic pathway.

Sailors from Exeter University fought hard to retain their title, beating off fierce competition from Plymouth University. After six races for the Fireflies and Laser 2s and five races for the Handicap and Laser fleets, only one point separated the top two teams.

University of Plymouth Water Sports Coordinator Tim Cross said: “It’s fantastic to see this event back in Plymouth. It is a great opportunity to once again showcase Plymouth Sound as the perfect location for major national regattas. With such a high standard of racers in the Plymouth team it was fantastic to see us achieve second place in the championships”.

The event relied upon strong working partnerships between the Mount Batten Centre, Marine Institute, UPSU Sailing and Powerboat club, the Diving and Marine Centre and received support from Plymouth Youth Sailing and Plymouth Power Boat School.

Eighty volunteers from UPSU, University staff, Plymouth Youth Sailing, Mount Batten Centre and the Plymouth Powerboat School made sure the event ran smoothly.

Tim Saxton – Visiting competitor said: “It was well run, at a great venue, we’ve had a great time. Racing was intense and the Race Officers did a great job in difficult conditions.” With very positive feedback from both the competitors and the RYA / BUCS event representatives, the ultimate compliment has been made with the event already being scheduled in the diary for Autumn 2011.

43

THE KNOWLEDGE

SPORTS REPORT ON UPSU RADIO

Each week, Nathan Gornall and Jack-William Cantwell bring you the best of the week’s results, news and sporting statistics from around campus. Nathan, the Knowledge’s Sports Editor, and Jack, super star DJ, combine to give you a banter filled hour, packed to the brim with entertaining features and interesting trivia.

Amongst the features includes ‘Club Fight’, a weekly battle between two of the University clubs to see who can be crowned king of their respective field. So far we’ve had Snowriders vs Riders, where Snow triumphed over Horse, and Swimmers vs Rowers where the Rowers sneaked to victory to be crowned kings of the water. We have some cracking match ups in the pipeline, and we will be in touch with you as soon as we want you in the studio to represent your clubs!

We work closely with Tom Davidson Sports VP, and each week he comes in and spreads the joyous words of success that our clubs have enjoyed. We also do interviews, and would love for anyone with an interesting story to get in touch to organise some studio time.

We have a number of features that NEED your input to succeed. Our Club of the week will go to anyone who thinks they deserve it, and nominations can be sent via email with the club of your choice and the reason they deserve to win. We also bring you our ‘Quote of the Week’, the lucky winners of this prestigious award have so far been Josh Webber with “The girls I pull tend to be both clever and sophisticated” (a downright lie), and Dave Ord with “Women? Well they all love it don’t they. All women are sluts aren’t they.”, (another downright lie, shockingly said whilst he thought the microphone had been turned off). You can also send music requests, interesting news or anything Sports related that crosses your mind. So get your Club of the Week nominations, quotes, and everything else sent in to either: nathan.gornall@students.plymouth.ac.uk or jackwilliamcantwell@gmail.com.

We also take texts; these can be jokes, challenges

or questions, so send SPORTS followed by your message and your name and club to 07809411893. For example, “SPORTS The Cricket Team are so smelly they made right guard go left.

From John, Golf Society” or something to that effect.

We record on Tuesdays from 12-3 and our show is available to listen to throughout the following week. We also have a Fan Page, ‘Plymouth University Radio – Sports Report’ on Facebook, where we will post links to shows and keep an eye out for casual suggestions from listeners as to what we should be talking about.

We’ve had a brilliant time recording so far and the shows can only improve with your help so keep those emails and texts coming in!

Thanks, Nathan & Jack

JAN 2011

44

UNIVERSITY OF PLYMOUTH SPORTS TEAM RANKINGS

In every issue of the Knowledge you will now be able to find a table recording our sports team’s progress compared to each other. Not only will this be a way of finding out how the University is doing in sports as a whole, but will hopefully create some competition between clubs, motivating higher performances and maintaining that ever important

element of students life, the banter! A big well done to our Rugby Men’s 1sts who take the top spot in the Knowledge’s first ever published table of performance, winning an incredible nine games our of nine.

For more info go to www.upsu.com/sports

45

THE KNOWLEDGE

SUDOKU

FUTURE TELLING FRANKIE Capricorn 22nd December – 20th January: New experiences fire up your adventurous side. This is the time, Capricorn, to start thinking about the next couple of weeks and how you would like to spend them.

Aquarius 21st January – 19th February: You’ve been very busy for the last week or so, but all your hard work is about to pay off. Don’t give up now Aquarius; you’re so close to achieving your goals.

Pisces 20th February – 20th March This is the time to question your current relationship and to ask yourself if this is what you really want. This is a very important decision Pisces, it’s important to take your time.

Aries 21st March- 20th April Finances have been strained recently, but don’t panic Aries.

Things are definitely looking up! Look out for any other money-making ideas and opportunities.

Taurus 21st April – 21st May Learn to say ‘no’ Taurus. Let people know that you’re fed up of being a push over. Changing your attitude now will make people value and respect what you do.

Gemini 22nd May – 20th June You’ll be burning with enthusiasm for someone or something, which is going to lead to great prospects in all areas of your life, Gemini.

Cancer 21st June – 22nd July Your hopes and dreams continue to develop leading you to a new opportunity. Don’t ignore this offer Cancer; you never know where it will lead you.

Leo 23rd July – 22nd August There’s one thing on your mind at the moment, Leo, and that’s your love life. This is the time to take control and act on your instincts.

Virgo 23rd August – 22nd September It’s important at the moment for you to tie up loose ends, Virgo. Pay off those bills, finish that project and you will feel a weight being lifted from your shoulders.

Libra 23rd September– 22nd October It’s been a stressful time recently for you Libra, and you may have forgotten something important to one of your friends.

This is the time to explain the situation in full.

Scorpio 23rd October – 21st November A positive change is happening in your life Scorpio. Embrace it and take the time to contemplate. Listen to the advice of loved ones for help. The thing you are looking for is close by.

Sagittarius 22nd November- 21nd December Work is important to you so keep at it. Stress may be following you but the pressure is positive. Take the time out to pamper yourself, a new look is on the cards.

JAN 2011

46

PROBLEM PAGE

Hi guys, I would like to introduce myself as Ready – to – help Rhi, your student problem solver! If there is anything on your mind, whether it’s a health problem, financial problem or you just need some friendly advice then please feel free to contact me at this email address: rhiannon.haydock@students.plymouth.ac.uk

Dear Rhi,

I am in my second year here at Plymouth University but have recently been told of a problem regarding my family back at home in Bedfordshire. My 14 year old sister found out a week ago that she is pregnant. She is determined to keep the baby but it is tearing the family apart and she cannot see how irresponsible it would be of her to keep it. I really need some advice.

Anon, Plymouth.

Hi there.

I realise how hard this must be for you, your family and of course your sister. At 14, your sister is still a child herself but whether to keep the baby or not is ultimately her decision. She will need your support either way but I think it is important that she realises how much hard work it is to look after a baby. If possible, wake her up at least a couple of times a night in preparation for when the baby will wake up for feeds. As you are at Plymouth University, it would be a good idea for her to visit you and then she can experience the university experience that she may miss out on if she decides to become a mother. Also, your sister will need to think about how this will affect her and the family financially. According to a recent article in The Guardian, a baby, on average, costs £9000 a year. Is it realistically possible for your sister to support her baby financially? This is a very controversial issue as many people strongly disagree with abortions but each case is different. Remind your sister that she has the rest of her life to start a family but you must remember that she is carrying this child and she will be very confused so the support of her friends and family is essential at this difficult time.

Please let me know how this goes. Good luck!

Rhi

Dear Rhi,

I started my course here in September of this year and although it has only been a few months, I have found myself getting into terrible debt. I only have a hundred pounds left to spend of my overdraft and this had to last me two more months until I get the second part of my loan in January. I do not receive any kind of bursary and my student loan is just not enough to cover all of my expenses. I do not want to ask for money from my parents as I have 3 younger siblings and I don’t want to put extra pressure on them. I am so worried and find it hard to sleep at night, please help me!

Jessica, Plymouth.

Hi Jessica.

I am pleased that you have taken the first step to tell someone of your problem. You must feel better for getting it off your chest! First of all, it is essential for you to manage your money. There is a student budget planner on the university portal which offers a template which you can use to manage your incomes and outcomes. It can be found on University Life – Money – Budget planner. You, perhaps, should also be more restrictive when shopping; all supermarkets offer a value range like Tesco Value or Sainsbury’s Basics and the food here is very affordable and sometimes even tastier than the brand names! Although you may not want to trouble your parents, it is better that they know that you are struggling for money so that they can put aside some emergency cash for when you really need it. I hope this advice helps and please try not to worry!

Let me know how you get on. Good luck!

Rhi

THE KNOWLEDGE

WWW.UPSU.COM/SUELECTIONS

GET MORE THAN A GRADE

LOOKING FOR WORK NEXT YEAR?

£17,203 plus benefits.

Scale 3 point

No interviews required and no experience necessary.

Just enthusiasm to do a good job! .............................................................................................................

A fantastic opportunity within a busy students’ union exists for a group of individuals to work as a team representing nearly 30,000 University of Plymouth students. We are looking for current University of Plymouth Higher Education students and people who want to enhance their future career by taking a one year sabbatical position. In return we offer you the opportunity to lead your students’ union, develop excellent leadership and management skills, discover and deliver the needs and wants of all students, campaign (both locally and nationally) on issues that affect students, enhance your C.V., and have a great time doing a job that you will really enjoy. Full training & support given.

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For more info - www.upsu.com or email electionsinfo@upsu.com

STUDENTS’ UNION ELECTIONS Fill out a nomination form available from the Hive and upsu.com NOMINATIONS OPEN 1ST FEBRUARY 2011 12 PM