The Knowledge April May 2011 issue

APRIL 2011

university of plymouth students’ union

www.upsu.com

www.facebook.com/upsunion

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APR // MAY 11

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THE KNOWLEDGE

S R O EDITLCOME WE Hello and welcome to yet another edition of The Knowledge.

We are in the beginning of the third term, and the deadlines are at their peak! We want to wish all those with dreaded exams lots of luck and if you are stressing, read our guide to exam anxiety to help you through it. Next month most of the work will be over and the only thing to look forward to will be days laying on the hoe in the sun and making summer plans! Again this issue is packed with stuff to read and enjoy.

Only one Knowledge issue left after this one in the University year so if you would like to get in touch email us at: knowledge@upsu.com Hope you enjoy the issue!

Lots of love Eilidh and Steph

Although The Knowledge may seem to be put together quickly and swiftly, it takes a dedicated team to make it what it is.

Editors: Eilidh Robbins Steph Driscoll Sub editors Sports and societies Sarah Pook Nathan Gornell Local News Georgie Luton

Arts and Entertainment Ali Tudor Union/University News Matthew Williams Student Opinion Lucia Paulis

Design Oli Horne Dan Srokosz Dane Winterson

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APRIL 2011

CONTENTS 4

LOCAL NEWS

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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STUDENT OPINION

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UNION & UNI NEWS

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SPORTS & SOCIETIES

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THE KNOWLEDGE

A Night Less Ordinary

by Abi Pettit

In 2009 the Arts Council England funded a two-year scheme to encourage young people (under 26 years old) to visit the theatre more often. A Night Less Ordinary has been up and running in hundreds of theatres across the country, offering free and discounted theatre tickets. The funding has now ended but due to the massive success of the scheme in Plymouth, Theatre Royal is keen to keep it going for as long as it can, and so A Night Less Ordinary lives on!

I discovered A Night Less Ordinary (ANLO) in my 2nd year at University. Going to the theatre is something that I hadn’t really considered in the past due to the cost, but thanks to ANLO I have seen some amazing and unusual plays, as well as more well known ones, like Sound of Music. I was pretty sad when I knew the scheme was coming to an end, but was overjoyed when I found out that Theatre Royal had decided to continue it. ANLO is a brilliant opportunity and one that more people should know about. I met with Christina Dixon from Theatre Royal and two students, Maxine and Charlotte, to hear what they had to say about the scheme.

Christina Dixon said that the scheme was to encourage “under 26 year olds to become more engaged with the theatre, it’s a way of giving something new a try and developing peoples’ tastes”. Maxine, a recent graduate of the University, said that it was a “brilliant opportunity to try something new and unusual and take a risk. Some plays may not be so great while others are amazing.” It really is all about learning what you like and what you don’t.

Christina explained that an allocation of tickets for Thursday performances are kept back for ANLO members, however these free tickets go very quickly,

something I have experienced many a time when trying to get free tickets to some of the bigger, well known performances. However she stressed the fact that you can also get tickets on for a Friday performance for only £5 if you are an ANLO member. Many people don’t know that you can get £5 tickets on a Friday, I know I certainly didn’t! So I asked how you go about getting them. It’s simple, you can ring up from 10am on the Friday of the performance and any tickets left can be bought for £5 – Easy!

Going to the theatre is a brilliant alternative to the usual night out on North Hill and with many local restaurants offering special theatre deals you can easily have a sophisticated night out for under £10.

Charlotte summed ANLO up brilliantly – “It’s pretty awesome, it’s free and students like free things.”

So I hope I have convinced you to try something new and become a member of A Night Less Ordinary. If you are under 26 then I highly recommend that you take the opportunity while it is still here. What to know how to join? Simply visit theatreroyal.com and follow the links to A Night Less Ordinary!

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APRIL 2011

Changes to Car Insurance

by Georgina Luton Major changes are expected to be put in place in regards to car insurance. Currently men pay a significant amount more than women drivers. This change has occurred due to the European Court of Justice deciding that insurance companies will no longer be able to set their insurance premiums based on a person’s gender.

This rule will not be put in place until December 21, 2012, in order to allow the industry to adapt to the changes. The reason for the change according to the European Court of Justice is that basing insurance premium on an individuals’ gender contradicts discrimination laws in place by the European Court of Justice.

discrimination means we should also rethink how age discrimination is also apparent here when it comes to car insurance?

Since these changes were announced, the Government has said it will come down harder on drivers who drive without insurance. It is thought that 1 out of 5 young drivers do not have insurance. This could mean higher fines for those caught uninsured.

However, some people are also bringing up the problems with age discrimination. Most insurance companies charge higher insurance for younger drivers, as according to statistics more road accidents occur amongst younger drivers than older, more experienced drivers. Does this rise in car insurance based on gender

Reference Tree Reference Tree is a new service that lets students buy their textbooks online, by the chapter. It works on a simple premise: smarter learning is better learning.

Textbooks can be expensive. By providing textbooks online by the chapter,Reference Tree helps you manage your budget and make significant savings on the cost of your books. Nearly 3,000 books are currently available in Reference Tree (with more being added regularly) plus the service includes useful tools to help you study more efficiently.

These include: . Text highlighting . The ability to make notes and export them . The ability to extract quotes which can be easily dropped into essays and theses.

And because Reference Tree is available 24/7 you can access your books and chapters online, whenever and wherever you need them. Chapters areavailable in 6 and 12 months subscriptions to fit in with the length of typical course modules. A further benefit is that if your chapter purchases for a particular book equate to the full price of the book itself, then the remaining chapters can be downloaded at no extra cost.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Secure your bike

by Devon and Cornwall police With more people using bikes in the spring and summer months and thieves looking for easy pickings, Devon and Cornwall police is advising students to make sure their bikes are properly secured.

then register their bike. This makes bikes less desirable and harder to sell on as well as making it easier for any recovered bikes to be identified and returned to the rightful owner.”

131,000 bikes were reported stolen in the UK last year and, according to the Home Office figures, less than 8 percent were returned to their owners.

For further information visit: www.bikeregister.com the UK’s leading online registration initiative aiming to reduce bicycle theft and assist in owner recovery, or www.immobilise.com the world’s largest free register of ownership details which forms a very effective tool in helping to reduce crime and reunite stolen goods with their rightful owners.

“It is important for students to take a dual approach when protecting their bikes to make them less desirable to would-be offenders. Firstly they should make sure they use the crime prevention techniques advised by the police and secondly register the bike online on the bike register or on immobilise.” said PCSO Sarah Nicholson “Thieves can sometime bypass locks and as an extra precaution we advise cyclists to property mark and

TOP NIGHT...

The following advice is recommended to help protect your bike: •Lock your bike, even if you are only leaving it for a short amount of time to a suitable fixed point. e.g. cycle rack.

•Avoid leaving your bike in an isolated or poorly lit area.

•Use a quality lock such as a hardened D-shaped lock. Seek out the Sold Secure logo, which shows testing has been carried out independently.

Remember to stay safe and plan your journey home Top Tips • Avoid walking home on your own • Make sure you use a licensed taxi • Remember if you look and act drunk you are more vulnerable

•Remember to secure all removable parts of the bike such as quick release wheels.

•Make the bike difficult to remove by keeping the gap between the lock and bike as small as possible and keeping the lock away from the ground.

•Always lock your bike away in a secure location when it is not in use.

•Students are also recommended to mark all property which will improve the chances of its return if stolen.

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APRIL 2011

Tsunami Hits Japan

by Eloise Wales Just weeks after the Christchurch earthquake, another has hit the north-east of Japan at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) on Friday 11/3/11, triggering a tsunami.

Although, Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active areas, this was of horrific proportions.

Measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, it is one of the world’s worst in recent years. The earthquake sent a 33ft tsunami hurtling across the Pacific Ocean. This was followed by at least 50 aftershocks, including a 7.4-magnitude quake about 30 minutes after the initial earth quake.

A tsunami warning was extended across the Pacific to North and South America and coastal areas in the Philippines, Hawaii and other Pacific islands were evacuated ahead of the tsunami’s expected arrival. Japanese airlines cancelled hundreds of flights, grounding thousands of passengers, while other airlines diverted or suspended flights bound for Tokyo.

The tsunami also caused an explosion at the nuclear reactor building of Tokyo Electric Power Co.‘s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant injuring four workers.

The Government instructed residents living within a 20-kilometer radius of the No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear plants to evacuate.

The official death toll stands at 1,596, however the true scale of the tragedy remains unclear. 590,000 people last night were stranded with rescuers unable to reach them. It has now become a race to prevent a humanitarian disaster. (10:50pm 13/3/2011)

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Vestival a small effort for a big difference

by Emily Newsome

Break dancing, live bands, cultural foods and an electric atmosphere; these are just a handful of the ingredients that comprised this year’s Vestival in Plymouth city centre. The volunteering festival upheld its reputation of quality entertainment and a diverse display of stalls on Saturday 5th March as it gave people a chance to get involved with volunteering in Plymouth. Whether it is with a charity such as Barnados, conservation organisations such as BTCV and Shark Trust, or local businesses such as Plymouth libraries, the festival offered a chance to chat with members of such organisations and find out more about volunteering in the local community and making a difference. The display of stalls was paired with a stage featuring live acoustic sets, rock bands and jazz tunes with a space in front that was visited by dance groups such as Beat Breakers throughout the day. Opposite to this was entertainment from a circus group who gave the public a taste of what they have to offer as they allowed the public to try out their equipment. The day showed the public how easy it is to get involved with volunteering whilst providing a fantastic free festival for all to enjoy.

Of course, volunteering is a two-faced effort; it is one thing to give up your time for the benefit of others and another to give up your time for a personal benefit. Therefore, whether building up a CV or just giving something back to a community, volunteering is beneficial for numerous reasons and should be considered by students, teenagers and adults alike.

One hour or ten hours a week is all it requires and with so many opportunities in and around the city of Plymouth, you can effectively tailor your volunteering

to your personal interests and hobbies. For example, if you are interested in cooking or discovering recipes from different countries and cultures, why not join Cultural Kitchen as they give up time to cook tasty and interesting delights using recipes from across the world?

Or if you’re a budding musician or enjoy listening to music, then contribute to Plymouth Music Zone’s youth forum TEMPO, working with young people.

And yet, it is easier said than done; why give up time for volunteering when we have jobs and/or study, and want to focus on our own lives first? There is no definitive answer but if you have any time to spare and are often surfing the net to find new TV shows to engage in, then get surfing and search for volunteering opportunities on the internet. The website below is easy to use; just search for an interest and select the option of finding out more about the organisation and you will receive a call from that organisation where you can chat about the role and arrange to start volunteering. That’s it! Far be it for anyone to say that people with free time should invest it in volunteering, but if you fancy work experience or just volunteering in an environment or area that interests you and making lots of new friends, then start searching.

Vestival showcased just a selection of what is on offer in Plymouth. The event was hosted by the Youth Action Team at Vinvolved Plymouth, a group of BTCV, the country’s leading practical conservation charity, and they have produced a directory presenting a variety of organisations that you can get involved with. For further information on the free directory and Vinvolved/BTCV then contact them at vinvolvedplymouth@btcv.org.uk or visit the website www.vinspired.com to discover how you can make a change. To search for a volunteering opportunity in your local area, visit www.do-it.org.uk

APRIL 2011

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The Royal Wedding: Right Royal Celebration

by Abigail Banks The long term relationship between Prince William and Kate Middleton has never ceased to captivate us as an entire nation. If we ever dared to utter the forbidden ‘m’ word, the response to this delicate topic was always the same: unremittingly elusive and tight lipped. The relentless mystery surrounding the famously private couple even led us to dub Prince William’s ever patient and stoical girlfriend ‘Waity Katy’. But after years of being kept on tenterhooks and waiting with bated breath, the ‘will they, won’t they?’ couple finally set the record straight – with a wedding date!

In October, whilst holidaying with his beau in Kenya, heir to the throne William at long last popped the question and the couple officially named April 29th as the date on which they are to be married. William proposed, giving Kate the very same ring his father had given to Diana, Princess of Wales – an 18-carat white gold ring with 12-carat oval sapphire and 14 round diamonds.

Even if this announcement was of little interest to you, you couldn’t possibly avoid getting swept up in the sheer whirlwind of media attention which has closely followed the couple ever since. For days after they released their wedding date, they reigned over our television screens and dominated the pages of our newspapers. And especially now, as hype around Kate and Wills reaches fever pitch in the run up to the now imminent big day, details about their marital preparations seem perfectly ubiquitous. Open up any glossy magazine worth its salt, and you are undoubtedly guaranteed to find articles about Kate’s praiseworthy fashion sense and the wedding’s glamorous guest list, which includes the likes of Posh and Becks themselves. Even shops are cashing in on all this excitement: don’t be surprised if you pop down to your local supermarket to be confronted with royal memorabilia such as mugs, plates and even t-shirts dedicated to the Prince and his bride to be. It seems that wherever you go, everyone wants a piece of the golden couple.

And with the momentous occasion fast approaching, William and Kate have been doing the royal rounds as they make their journey towards marital life. Their first official royal engagement saw them greeted by hundreds of people in Anglesey who took to the streets to see Miss Middleton crack open a bottle of champers over a new RNLI lifeboat at Trearddur Bay. They met with RNLI volunteers who funded the new boat, before going on to attend an official ceremony.

Anglesey, where William is based with the Royal Air Force,

was selected as the location for this initial outing since it is where the couple shall reside after marrying.

They have since returned to the place where it all began: St Andrews University, where they first met. Thousands flocked to be present at their two hour visit, where they launched the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations.

And most recently, on Shrove Tuesday, William looked on while Kate partook in a spot of pancake flipping at a cancer charity event in Belfast. They also got the chance to meet representatives of the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children. This was followed by a visit to the headquarters of Youth Action NI – an organisation that aims to enrich the lives of young people living in disadvantaged areas by providing volunteering opportunities, performing arts, apprenticeships, mentoring, accredited training, and leadership opportunities. The couple were treated to a performance by the Youth Action’s Rainbow Factory School of Performing Arts. They got to meet the actors and present certificates to young apprentices before going on to dine at Hillsborough Castle. What has become apparent throughout their whistle stop tour is that Kate, to be known as Catherine after becoming married, is quickly and comfortably easing into her role and adapting well to her royal duties.

So whatever you make of the impending royal wedding, it is set to be a huge event with several communities even planning to hold street parties in its honour. With an impressive 1900 people invited, it promises to be a lavish affair followed by a smaller, more understated and intimate reception at Buckingham Palace. Prince Harry is to be dutiful Best Man, while Kate’s sister Pippa has been chosen as Maid of Honour.

The service itself will be held at Westminster Abbey and conducted by the Dean of Westminster, after which they will be married by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee Dramatised by Christopher Sergel

Theatre Royal Plymouth Monday 9 May –Saturday 14 May

An international bestseller, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prizewinning masterpiece To Kill A Mockingbird, comes to the stage at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in a brand new production directed by Damian Cruden, from Monday 9 May to Saturday 14 May. This Twentieth Century classic celebrates its 50th birthday this year and is as pertinent today as when it was written, exploring issues of race and morality through the keen eyes of Scout Finch.

To Kill A Mockingbird features Duncan Preston as Atticus Finch. Duncan’s previous television credits include, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Dinner Ladies, Harry Enfield And Acorn Antiques with theatre credits also including the musical version of Acorn Antiques, The Mentalists And Guys And Dolls (National Theatre), Romeo And Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC).

A social drama, To Kill A Mockingbird, is set in Maycomb Alabama against the backdrop of America during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Adapted by Christopher Sergel, this beautifully written tale has dark and violent undertones.

The story of the ill-fated Tom Robinson unfolds and Scout and her brother Jem take their first steps towards adulthood, coming face to face with the hypocrisy and prejudice that surrounds them.

Harper Lee’s only novel, To Kill A Mockingbird has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and has touched the lives of many. Eighty this year, Harper Lee remains elusive despite much being made of her life and achievements in recent films such as Capote where Catherine Keener was nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of the author and Infamous starring Sandra Bullock in the role of Harper Lee. To Kill A Mockingbird is directed by Damian Cruden, Artistic Director of York Theatre Royal. He has just received rave reviews for the astonishing and ground-breaking production of ‘The Railway Children’ at Waterloo Station.

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APRIL 2011

Krafty Sounds Interview

by Ali Tudor The music scene in Plymouth may appear limited; with the large clubs smothering the smaller venues, distracting us students from the variety of music out there. Christian Gale, a.k.a Krafty Sounds, is a third year student at the University and with a passion for mixing beats I was intrigued to find out more about this unknown underground scene.

Ali: So, how long have you been Djing for?

Christian: Well, I started mixing when I was 17 but it was about 7 years ago I began playing at gigs.

A: How did you get into it?

C: When I was younger my mates and I would always go to this club, the Burston Inn, and it inspired us to learn how to DJ then.

A: What sort of music did they play there?

C: Well, they mainly played Hardhouse and Jungle, but I’m more into House and Techno now!

A: Fair enough! You joined the DJ society in your first year and were president last year, how did they help you?

C: I got to meet lots of students with the same interests as me! It was also then that I formed Dance!Dance!Dance! with 3 other DJ’s.

A: Where did your name ‘Krafty Sounds’ come from?

C: I originally wanted to open a record shop and it would have been called ‘Krafty Records’. I then decided to start a mobile music workshop, which I did for 3 years. This actually inspired me to go to Uni to study Media Arts, so I can expand on this business. But the name Krafty Sounds was put on a flyer of a gig I was going to do by a mate and it’s stuck since then really!

A: What has been your favourite gig you’ve played at?

C: I love playing at Dance!Dance!Dance! and collaborating with other promoters. I also got to perform to a sell-out crowd at Aeon Festival, which was great especially as it was in my home town!

A: What do you think about Plymouth’s music scene?

C: I have mixed opinions. It’s very split across the city.

The underground scene is not supported by the SU and the nightlife is mainly swallowed up by corporate nights such as Oceana. So there is a lack of attendance from students because it’s not really able to expose itself.

At the moment it’s mainly us older supporters and no fresh faces.

A: Do you have any advice for any wannabe DJ’s?

C: Basically just get yourself a set of Decks and start practising!

Catch Christian playing at on his weekly radio show Fridays 11-1am on eatmusic.co.uk! www.house-techno-bass.com

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Queen 40th Anniversary Stormtroopers in Stilettos!

by Ali Tudor

Queen, the iconic and revolutionary band whose regal name is instantaneously recognised with everyone; whether it’s for their head banging classic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ or for Freddie’s famous live theatrical performances. However for me personally Queen is an inspiration. Their music fills me with happy memories and their lyrics quite literally move me. Therefore when I heard about this exhibition celebrating the bands 40th anniversary I knew that it was an undoubtedly must see.

The exhibition is situated on Brick Lane in East London.

Having never been to this area I was instantly drawn into the bustling crowds gathered around unique market stalls consisting of vintage clothing, records and even odd bits of furniture. Smells from worldwide food stalls aroused my nostrils and I soon tucked into some new exciting dish I had never tried for a bargain price. After this appropriately ‘trendy London’ atmosphere and with the entrance doors in sight I swiftly dodged the crowds eager to begin the Queen journey. Admission was generously free and even though the exhibition has been on since 25th of Feb, the attendance was reasonably high. The event focused on Queen’s early days; how they formed and the production of their first 5 albums.

By looking into this time of their lives I was able to explore the youthful Queen I was unaware of; having been part of a later generation that concentrates on their older wellknown classics. The exhibition revealed how their individual musical passions joined and exploded; creating a unique and

APRIL 2011

alternative genre based on legendary influences such as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Even though the exhibition was not large by any means it certainly provided a hell of a lot of information through the use of unseen interviews, original stage costumes, gig footage and chronological captions showing the development of the British band. In the background Queen song’s from all albums played around the rooms and were sometimes all that could be heard as each individual eagerly absorbed all that was before them. There were many personal touches that connected you to the young ambitious members, such as Freddie’s fashion sketches situated in a 1960’s style lounge and old photos of the young friends, with their long wild hair, socialising together. It made it real. It showed you how much they achieved and how much they deserved it; working hours upon hours with no breaks, channelling their talent to create music to be proud of by pushing the boundaries by experimenting with vocal harmonies and also refusing to use synthesisers; creating every sound honestly, treating it with an air of respect...something that puts the Black Eyed Peas to shame. Focus was not, as it so often is, tuned in solely on Freddie’s majestic and influential stage presence and Brian’s mastered guitar solos. Obviously these two vital factors of Queen were appreciated but equal attention was paid to drummer Roger Taylor and the less heard of John Deacon

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(who Freddie attempted to re-name Deacon John...) and also to producers, photographers and fashion designers who all had an input into transforming Queen into an unforgettable and quite frankly legendary band.

From visiting this exhibition, I guess you could say that Queen is for everyone. Amongst the crowds were teens, families, old rockers and Plymouth students. It was incredible to see just how influential this band was, and still is, to their many fans. So turn up your speakers, pick a Queen classic (maybe even put on a Brian May wig) and feel part of British music history.

The first five Queen albums are due to be re-mastered and re-released on March 14th!

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THE KNOWLEDGE

The Strokes

By Ali Tudor

the course of popular culture

by Steph Driscoll

When people ask me, ‘What type of music are you into?’ I respond with the generic answer that most people give; ‘Everything!’ But it’s the truth, I do like every type of music. I can go from listening to Ray Charles for an hour tapping my foot along to Hit the road Jack and then listen to Pendulum nodding my head to Tarantula. However, beyond all other music I like listening to, there is one band I have stayed truly and utterly faithful to. No matter what time of day or what type of mood I am in, this band always give me the best feeling; this band is The Strokes!

The NME editor argues that The Strokes have irrevocably altered the course of popular culture, a culture which was never the same again after the release of their single Last Night. This is a statement I completely agree with. No matter what type of person you are, when the first chords of Last Night are blasted in any club, you can help dancing! They are masters of indie rock and have influenced numerous other bands to make music that helps define our generation. The Strokes’ music seems effortless and they make being in a band look not only cool but fun. Their tracks breeze by with riffs that seem to stand out above the rest.

They have been out of the music industry for a while choosing to take a break and work on other projects.

Their last album First Impressions of Earth was released in 2005, six years ago and for a die hard Strokes fan, far too long ago. So imagine my joy when the news came out that they were finally bringing out a new highly anticipated album!

Angles is The Strokes’ fourth album and although it isn’t the masterpiece I craved; it is still one amazing album. The trick with Angels is determination. It’s not an album that you can love after the first listen but one which reveals itself after you’ve had patience with it and invested time in it.

The opener Machu Picchu welcomes guitars exploding out of the speakers and bongos thrumming away on the chorus; moments that you miss on a first time listen. Track two Under cover of Darkness is arguably the most ‘Strokey’ track. The inclusion of an electro piano and scuzzy vocals tells listeners that The Strokes are back at last. This and the track Taken for a fool , a track that you cant get out of your head after hearing it, brings you back to the original Strokes sounds and reminds listeners of what they do best. Call me back is definitely my favourite song on the album. The steady strumming of the electric guitar which opens the songs transports me into summer and I can only describe the whole track as beautiful. On this album, the song writing process was opened up to all five Strokes members giving a more variety of tracks that listeners may not be used to from The Strokes. Experimental sounds and a return to basic raw music is an obvious inclusion in the album.

The effect Angles has makes you want to stop what you are doing, take in what you are hearing and force you to rewind it and listen to it again and again.

There is so much to love about it that picking it apart and describing every track is ridiculous. Angles was definitely worth the wait and although it may not be the best album The Strokes have offered, it is an amazing musical experience. Each track although different compliments each other making an album that proves The Strokes have upped their ante. Angles proves there is life still left in The Strokes showing they really can still make great music

APRIL 2011

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Maintenance Loan Mess

by Lizzie Shepard

A full Student Maintenance Loan is about £3300; typical rent is between £70-£100 a week, and a standard tenancy is 45 weeks. I’m not doing a maths degree but I’m pretty sure those numbers don’t add up; in fact, a maintenance loan can fall up to £1000 short of rent costs for the year. And then there’s books; I spend about £100-£150 on books every year (and that’s scouring Amazon for the cheapest one they have and draining the Library) and then I hear food is pretty essential to this living business and although Sainsbury’s 7p noodles are an end of term lifesaver, shall we say about £10-£15 a week on food? And finally, let’s not forget that all important social life; as students we can do it pretty cheap with ‘pre-drinks’ but with socials and unmissable events such as The Vengaboys at Karma, or Five at Oceana you suddenly find yourself scraping together pennies you find down the sofa and on your bedroom floor, and seriously considering selling your organs on the black market.

So aside from getting a few quid for your kidney, what are the serious solutions? Some are lucky and parents or family member will pay what the maintenance loan doesn’t cover; but for most students, we are in a bit of a sticky situation.

There are few student jobs that will pay enough to cover the costs and even if they do, should we have to compromise our degrees by working everyday instead of attending lectures or reading?

The only real solution for us is larger maintenance loans, which is a scary thought especially when considering all the debt we’ll all be left with at the end of our degrees, but evidently a necessity. I guess what I’m saying is that if you have to rack up all the debt to do it; make the most of your time at University, it’s the biggest investment you’ll probably ever make.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

40 Days and 40 nights: The Facebook Detox…

Well, I am now very much over the half way mark and let me tell you - it has been tough!

After the initial weirdness of giving up Facebook, the detox has highlighted that:

The weirdest thing I had to initially get use to was coming home and not being able to just log in to Facebook.

Sometimes it would be because I feared the dreaded tagging of photos after a night out or sometimes it would just be to speak to friends. However, mostly I would log in just out of habit. Never the less it was rather strange and took me at least a couple of weeks to get use to going into my room and finding something else to distract me rather than just rely on social networking.

• There is pretty much no escaping Facebook at Uni. Especially when you live in a flat with 7 other people using it or are part of a University sports club/society or even volunteering. Eveeerything is organised through Facebook.

• It is extremely difficult to stay in contact with friends and family. After the recent earth quake in Christchurch, New Zealand, I was desperate to log on to see if family and friends I had stayed with were OK over there. Yet it was impossible to get hold of them by phone. Had I have been on Facebook I would have seen their status update letting everyone know they were safe and well.

• You miss out on funny stuff. One of my friends from home has secretly taken up break dancing – he is literally the last person you’d expect – yet apparently he has released a video of himself competing, showing everyone his hidden talent.

And apparently he is INSANE. Yet it is still going to be a while before I get to see it. Typical.

Despite all these negatives, I have definitely seen some improvements.

• I have been doing a lot more exercise. Especially attending the gym a lot more; it is so much easier to be lazy when there is something you can get distracted by.

• I have been taking part in a lot more activities, including rock climbing, beach trips, flying my crazy power kite and just generally seeing more of my friends.

• And the obvious one: the amount of work you are able to get done without it. Instead of having Facebook on in the background and just going back to it whenever I get “writers block”, now, I just have to sit and power through. Or if that fails go and annoy a flat mate.

So I admit it, there is obviously a lot I am missing from not being on Facebook – especially the social side. Yet I think there should be a balance between being social and just the pointless browsing that I know all my friends readily admit to doing. I guess it’s just stopping yourself from spending too much time reading statuses posted by people who are clearly just as bored as you are! Especially with the exams looming…

So I have just one week left and my flatmate kindly highlighted that even looking over a friends shoulder when they are logged in can be seen as breaking the 40 day ban…

So this week I aim to stay completely free of the site and get the most from this detox.

I really don’t think this is possible at Uni but I willkeep you posted!

APRIL 2011

17

Article against alcohol

by Lynsey Elliott What’s this I hear you asking? A student protesting against alcohol and all its wonders? Yes. There are a few of us out there, maybe many, who wish to remain anonymous, who view alcohol as negative rather than the more popular positive in the eyes of many students.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy going out every now and then to lose all my inhibitions, let my hair down and just have a good time, but it is really worth it in the long run?

Is it worth the dry mouth and disgusting tasting tongue (thank you Kryptonite’s) the next day? Not to mention the unhappy tummy and thumping headache. You might even ask yourself whether it’s so great waking up naked next to a complete stranger wondering, ‘did we or didn’t we?’ Taking almost half an hour to eat a piece of toast for fear of throwing up, is NOT my ideal way of spending a Sunday morning or afternoon; obviously depending on what time you woke up, or should I say, got to bed the night before.

I don’t want to fill this piece with statistics, but I feel that a few are necessary to put things into perspective.

A recent study showed that 17 million working days are lost due to hangovers. I dread to think of the amount of money I have spent on alcohol in my three years here at uni. I admit, some nights have been worth it, but others; not so much. Great nights are few and far between.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and need to think about my future but as studies have shown, employees with alcohol problems produce at least 10% less work than their colleagues and that’s not something I really want to have on my CV. Perhaps it’s the prices of drinks at student bars that it one of the most appealing things about getting drunk, plus the numerous offers that they have throughout the week. You can get drunk at university for a tenner with some cheap pre-drinks at home before you head out.

Away from the hub of university social life, a tenner would get you maybe three drinks maximum, maybe not even as many as that. If I was given the choice of spending £10 or £50 to get drunk, I think everyone can tell what the answer would be, no doubt about that. I wonder what would happen if the drinking age was raised...would there be as many young students at university as there are now?

Back to a few more statistics for a moment as I discovered that 40% of A and E admissions are alcohol related. I’ve had the couple of bruises, scratches and scrapes (their arrival to my body are majorly unknown) but nothing as serious as some people with broken legs, swollen ankles and broken fingers as a result of drunken antics. I raise the question once again as to whether physical damage is worth it for the sake of ‘a bit of fun’?

Alcohol is a great way to have fun, forget about worries and to have a laugh amongst all the other reasons as to why we drink but is it worth the risk? The drunker we get the more risky and foolish we become. Young people take more risks while under the influence of alcohol, such as taking illegal drugs and having unprotected sex.

Alcohol has proven to be as addictive as some illegal drugs which I honestly cannot see much attraction to. I would hate to be dependent on something so destroying as simple as a drink. Maybe I’m scared of losing everything that I have worked so hard for, especially in the last three years of my life. Having said this, it doesn’t mean that at the end of my third and final year, I won’t be having one or two drinks to celebrate my degree, but I think I have given students just a few things to think about...

Fancy a pint? Yes. Yes I do.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Why alcohol is a good thing

By Nathan Gornall

There are the many social implications of a world without alcohol. Firstly, boys and girls would never ever talk to each other unless they were related, and marriages would have to be arranged by parents.

Secondly, everyone would go home before midnight every night, with no long incoherent discussions to extend social occasions into the early hours. Thirdly, it would always be cold, and the beer blanket would be forever forgotten. These are not scenarios I want to find myself in, and I can confidently say that without alcohol I would be single, lonely and wouldn’t be able to venture outdoors in the winter months.

It is a well known fact that Churchill planned the Dunkirk evacuation in a pub, Sir Alf Ramsay decided to start Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final whilst down his local, and Sir Isaac Newton was only sat under that apple tree because he needed to sit down to stop his head from spinning on his way home from the Red Lion. Our ancestors, the ones who created this ‘great nation’, did it in a world whose heart was beating in the public houses up and down our shores. This beating heart ruled over a quarter of the world, invented the telephone, and said no to Hitler when no one else would.

Now there are some fair reasons why alcohol is bad; I’m not going to deny that. Liver disease, alcohol poisoning, falling down stairs, these are all effects of alcohol abuse. I would not want this article to convince anyone to go out and drink irresponsibly, for there are tragic circumstances to something I have been promoting.

When you drink, you drink knowing full well the risks, and it is your own judgement of whether it is worth it or not. And that is just the point. Like with all dangers,

they come down to the person who has attempted to negate them. There is a quickly growing culture of “blame someone else” in this country and if that spreads to the idiots who take alcohol consumption too far, then the rest of us could be losing out on something we hold close to our hearts.

I know the government find it appropriate to ban everything we enjoy that might possess any slight danger to anyone at all, but can’t we just have this one?

I think we will. It seems like the tight fisted safety monsters might just let this one go, because let’s face it, when they come home after a long hard day of telling people off, they’re gonna want to knock back acouple whiskey’s...

19

APRIL 2011

A View From The DJ Booth I sit here to write the third instalment of my controversial and provocative series reflecting upon club life from the view of a notorious DJ/party animal with an all too familiar feeling.

Stomach churning, vision blurred and possessing all the motor skills of Stephen Hawkings, a hangover is debilitating and upsetting. A hangover is the direct effect of a night spent drinking, and in this article I will detail various such occurrences and recurrent themes ever present in nights out I have experienced recently.

Out of the seven days of the week, only Tuesday and Sunday are rendered ‘rest days’, with not much choice and providing an opportunity to slightly recover An average night starts with preparation for the debauchery and drunken antics that are likely to ensue; the right clothes, aftershave and hairstyle must be properly addressed and achieved before you set off for the beginning of the end: pre drinks.

Pre drinks or pre lash, or whatever you may call this excuse for becoming heavily inebriated even before you reach the doors of the club you are destined for, are a vital and integral part of most nights out. Normally vast amounts of alcohol are involved between the hours of 9 and 12, via the medium of drinking games such as Ring Of Fire. We all know the sense of fear and foreboding we get when there is one King left in the pack, and the middle drink contains a volatile mix of lager, cider, spirits and wine. If you are unfortunate enough to become victim to the final King then your night could go one of two ways. You could brave through the drink and if it’s weak enough still manage to function properly, or make for a tactical chunder. However if the drink has been tailored to strong and varied tastes, you face a troublesome night ahead.

You could do the drink, hold it in and then remember nothing until the morning when you either wake next to an unknown entity who is clawing at your naked form, much to your hungover disgust; or you could take a tactical and pray the alcohol hasn’t affected your senses too much and soldier on.

Arriving at the club is always an interesting affair, you may decide to walk there and of course become loud and raucous on your journey, much to the annoyance of passers by and neighbours trying to sleep. You may also decide to get a taxi to the venue, again which can prove to be hilarious. One such recent incident was where a friend recognised the taxi driver from a previous trip, and enquired as to the wellbeing of his wife. On the journey where we had first met the driver, he seemed enthusiastic to join in our talk of sexual adventures, and delighted in telling us how much his wife loved sexual intercourse. However upon my friend asking ‘How is your sexy wife doing’, he proceeded to turn the music up full blast, muttered something about the song being about divorce, and was silent for the rest of the journey.

Many of my most recent nights out have been to the Students Union, a haven for cheap drinks and great student

by Jack-William Cantwell

environment. The queue is often gargantuan by the time we arrive, so we persist and brave the elements, often for around twenty minutes to get inside. During this time in the SU queue, many will of course be victim to the notorious people who push in. We seem to have countered this diabolical action, by chanting ‘To the back!’ loudly and repeatedly when some cretin has the audacity to push in right in front of us.

The bouncers are alert to any loud and boisterous activity, and thus dispose of the aforementioned creature, dispatching him deservedly to the back.

Once inside the SU, the chase is on. Drinks are a priority (aside from full bladders), and the usual order of the night dictates that we purchase drinks at the top bar, socialise and scan the terrain. Needless to say, as a group of single guys, the most prominent thing on our minds on any SU night after numerous beverages have been consumed are girls. There may be one in particular, there may be several, or indeed there may be the philosophy that ‘anything can happen’, and as such some unfortunate female will be subject to some outrageous chat up lines, distasteful flirting and honourable persistence until either the lad gets bored, or indeed he succeeds.

The drinks are dealt with, and the group proceeds to wander the SU, sauntering from bar to bar, ending up at the main bar where the activity is high and the bar is long.

Double vodka energy are cheap and seemingly enjoyable,and by this point many of the group will have either succeeded in their quest for the night or indeed resigned to the fact they may be too drunk to function properly later, and sowill save themselves for another female at some point in the near future.

The nights out as a group often end up with several people departing to pastures greener, and a few tailing off together for late night FIFA, drunkenly buying football cards from Spa, or indeed a traditionally overpriced but seemingly delicious Goodbodies. In my next article, I will detail my experiences with socials, be they course or society.

A note to all readers: I hope you find these series of articles amusing and perhaps a tad insightful, of course many of you will have experienced a lot of these things first hand, be you male or female. These articles are written tongue in cheek, they are not meant to be taken seriously, I write primarily to entertain and secondly to inform. Please bear this in mind when you read this article, and my future publications, and I urge you to look past the seemingly blunt and quite often rude façade, and instead see the glaring truth and humour presented to you. To be quite honest, I’m quite fed up of people coming up to me calling me an ‘awful sexist writer’ and other such ludicrous slurs. I just enjoy provoking a response, and I hope you will see that a lot of the points I make are indeed incendiary and racy, but at the same time that they hold a vast amount of gravitas and truth.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

The University of Freedom

by George Marsden I’m in my last term at this university, and as I see it, it’s my last term of freedom. I overheard a fellow student saying that come May 4th, when we hand in our dissertations, we’ll be free. I think quite the opposite. When that dissertation is handed in, my life starts, for proper. I will no longer be able wake up when I want, or live on other people’s money.

Nor will I be able write 100 words and consider it a day’s work. The pressure will be immense; I think I’ll owe around £21,000. A sum of money that I still cannot fully comprehend. I rarely even consider the fact that lectures are costing me a considerable fortune. That’s probably why I neglect them so much. Come to think of it, I havetwo lectures a week, for 28 weeks, so that’s 56 lectures a year. £3,300/56 = £59 a lecture. I should have gone to more lectures.

I write a blog, and in it I asked for suggestions on what I should do next year. My mind is obsessed by it at the moment.

This year, I rely on money from my parents, and a loan from the government. I perhaps work 7 hours a week, if I’m feeling constructive. I eat when I feel like eating, get drunk when I feel like getting drunk and sleep when I’m tired, regardless of time or light. Routine and structure are two things my life

doesn’t like. I as far as I’m aware, I’m not the only student who lives like this, right?

Next year, if things go the way they’re supposed to, I’ll be working full-time, and paying for everything with my wages.

I’ll live in the real world, in a real house, waking up in the morning, and going to bed at night. Might even have to wear a suit and do a commute. I’ve always wondered why people say university prepares you for life, because it doesn’t, that’s absolute nonsense. We’re the freest we’ll ever be during the three years at university, and life gets real once we leave. I know I sound terribly down and depressed about this, and maybe I am a bit, but it’s also exciting.

I could be something next year. Fair enough I have only done a history degree, but my options are open. The world is my oyster, as some people would put it. Granted, the world is in a recession, there are no jobs, and natural disasters seem to be a daily thing, but next year is a big year and I see it being a good one.

21

APRIL 2011

Avoiding a Fonty Python…

By Will Forster.

Before finishing your presentations and dissertations, consider this, you may be familiar with Arial, Helvetica and Times New Roman; but have you ever thought of the effect these fonts have on the reader?

Whilst writing your dissertations or planning a presentation you will consciously put in paragraphs between sections or topics, and larger fonts or italics to highlight significant areas; those of you with the freedom of font choice (check in your student handbook for information) should also be considering the typeface you use. Outside of Times New Roman their is an entire world of font designers, who hide behind the Apple adverts and motorway signs you read everyday so that the message is understood without getting a headache. The same can be said about your writing, choose a font which reflects the message you are sending, or at least one that doesn’t adhere the reader to squinting, repeatedly having to read lines or miss reading them altogether. Selecting the ideal font requires a little bit of research. Look through books similar to the style you are producing, and take note of font styles on advertisements around you, critique them in their clarity and readability.

Get familiar with fonts to avoid, google the phrase ‘bad fonts’, there are websites and blogs dedicated to outlining these burdens on design. But websites like dafont.com and urbanfonts.com have a massive library of free fonts so don’t be shy to experiment with alternatives to those standard to your Mac or PC. The font in which this article is written is Champagne & Limousines, a lightweight rounded font that is clear and light hearted. Fonts you may have used before are Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman or Comic Sans.

Arial is a butchered version of Helvetica, which is regarded as the keystone of font design, avoid Arial and opt for the original beauty that is Helvetica. Times New Roman is probably the most recognisable and is the base of every Word document you open, but please refrain from using it. It is heavy, thinly spaced, boring and will make your dissertation look like an oven instruction manual. Avatar recently had the design world in uproar by using Papyrus for the Navi’i translations on screen, fonts like Papyrus or Comic sans come across unprofessional and result in your content not being taken seriously, or be brushed off as uninventive.

Get your friends to read your presentations at different distances, and remember that reading thirty centimetres from your computer screen is very different to a tutor reading two metres away off a projector, so consider sizes, thickness and spacing. Computers are fantastic for quickly editing, but always print off your pages and test them on the media of which you are ultimately presenting, so you are sure the final outcome is as refined on the day as it is on your screen. www.dafont.com/champagne-limousines.font

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Why Italy should be your number one destination this Summer...

By Eleanor Baggley

During my second year I decided it was high time I saw the world. After several months of planning, the world was whittled down to one country: Italy. My challenge was this: one country, thirteen stops, five weeks.

I am an avid preparer, to the point of obsession. I even spent a year learning Italian, though admittedly that was secretly nothing to do with needing to speak the language but more to do with my hopes of meeting a nice (non-greasy) Italian chap I could do the ‘Lady and the Tramp’ spaghetti kiss with. So, last June my friend and I boarded a plane to Pisa repeating to one another ‘una bottiglia vino bianco per favore’, the only Italian we hoped we would need.

Our first stop: Florence. I’d definitely recommend a trip to Florence, if only to admire the rather impressive anatomy of Michelangelo’s David. From Florence we jumped straight on the Hogwarts Express (an amazing train where we had our own cabin complete with a food trolley) and headed for Milan. Unless you are a very lucky student and have money to spend in designer shops, I wouldn’t bother with Milan. It’s boiling hot and the people are too pretty.

Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet was next and certainly worth a visit if you want to see where it all started. Bergamo and Bologna flew by without much excitement. Then came Venice; a gorgeous maze of a city. If you are a fan of walking and/or art it would be a sin not to go there.

Don’t bother with a gondola; instead go on a vaporetto along the Grand Canal. Venice’s speciality drink is a spritz and they promote them in every bar but they are awful so don’t try one!

Rimini was next but unspectacular. Next: the beautiful Amalfi Coast. Here we ended up staying in a B&B on the top of a hill which required a walk up 240 stairs. Not great when the heat is so intense sweat floods from every pore when you are stood still. After re-hydrating we had a terrifying cliff-edge bus ride around the coast to Naples. One thing I will say about Naples is if you are not prepared to be sleazed at by very greasy Italians, don’t bother going. However a day trip to Pompeii made the whole visit worthwhile and should be on everyone’s list. Pompeii is literally my highlight of the entire five weeks.

I’m not going to say much about Rome apart from: go there! One tip: go and see the Colosseum at night, particularly if there is a full moon. Our penultimate stop was Siena. Although it is a quiet city, there is some brilliant shopping to be done if you are a fan of Italian food like me. If you are an energetic type you’re better off sticking to the bigger cities.

Lots of my friends asked me when I got back if I would ever go to Italy again. I replied to each and every one of them that I would, without a doubt. Italy is one of those countries that I think everyone, at least once in their life, should visit. So if you ever get the chance to visit anywhere I’ve been or somewhere I’ve not you would be a fool not to jump at the chance. Go out there and drink some wine, eat some pasta and get some culture. It might just change your life; it certainly changed mine.

APRIL 2011

23

Born in the USA

By Kathleen Harding The interest among students to spend part of their studies abroad is continuously increasing. The Erasmus student network (ESN) is a non-profit organisation open to all exchange students. The ESN in Plymouth organises events in order to help exchange students meet each other, experience England, the English lifestyle and to enjoy time in England as much as possible. ESN is already a European-wide organisation with 310 sections in 32 different countries.

However, ESN Plymouth is new and looking for lots of new members, also ESN is celebrating its 20th birthday this year, so what a time for it to be arriving in the University of Plymouth.

The Bologna declaration, signed by European Ministers of Education in 1999, states the aim to reach 3 million exchange students by the year 2013. Kathleen Harding, a fellow student of Plymouth University was happy to find one of these statistics in Plymouth and fill us in with their thoughts as an American exchange student on our University and City of Plymouth…

Valli-Anne met my every expectation of a small town girl from the USA - the girl next door with long strawberry blonde hair, a chequered shirt and a pair of denims. Now, as a student and resident of Plymouth, I wondered… have we met her expectations of an urban University and British city?

Valli-Anne Hess, a 21 year old student from Idaho, USA has been in Plymouth for the last two months and is more than happy to spend another four with us here. Valli travelled all this way to learn History at our very own University of Plymouth and has assured me it has been the best experience she has achieved so far. Finding out why this certain University of Plymouth experience has been so special for Valli was a pleasure, as it is not everyday I get to hear one in such an original accent. All her American twangs blazing, I took Valli for fish and chips on the Barbican to begin an interview.

Firstly, what made you choose the University of Plymouth?

Valli-Anne: “I wanted to do an exchange to Britain for a long time and when I looked into Plymouth it seemed very beautiful and historical. Since I’m a history student, I thought it would help me out a little bit and it really interested me that there is so much American history here.”

Did Plymouth meet your expectations?

V: “Yes indeed, it actually topped my expectations. People here at the University and even in the city have been so friendly and supportive. Plus, I had no idea there would be so many different types of people with such cool accents, ha!”

What do you feel you have gained from the University of Plymouth so far?

V: “I think so far I have gained friends, that I know I can always come back and visit and an experience I’ll never forget.

I’ve experienced an entirely different way of life, the culture here is very different from where I am from and it’s not what I expected at all, this is not the type of stereotypical Britain that I have seen on television, it’s much more interesting.”

Did you have any initial worries about studying in Plymouth?

V: “My main worry was being home sick and obviously finding the time difference too hard to organise communication, but I set up special dates and times with family and so far so good. I also had worries about not making friends but I am very comfortable here now with all the friendly people on my course and people I have met on nights out and from societies. I just want to make the most of my time here, rather than worry.”

Do you feel you had any support from the University?

V: “My teachers have been incredible with support during class and through e-mails, as the education style is very different to what I am used to. Other than that, there has been so much information given to me from around the University about places to go or things to get involved with and there have been groups like Erasmus that helped me out when I first arrived, so yeah, the University support has been great.”

Do you have any advice you would give to international students joining our University?

V: “Do everything you possibly can in Plymouth and enjoy it, as time will fly by from too much fun and before you know it you won’t have long left.”

Valli-Anne added before our last bite of fish…

“I never want my Plymouth experience to end, I’ll be sad to leave but I’ll definitely be coming back.”

24

THE KNOWLEDGE

Are you InterRailing this summer?

So it’s coming to that time of year again when summer is looming and plans are under way to organise the summer you will never forget.

InterRailing is an affordable and easy way to travel, there is so much information available to you especially on the InterRail website to help make your trip a success.

Whether you are planning to travel in a group, pair or even by yourself they all have their benefits. Whatever happens

though, do not be put off if you are thinking of travelling solo.

I had the most amazing 6months travelling by myself around the world. Throughout the whole trip, I did not spend one day by myself.

I have therefore put together a short guide to all things InterRail… I hope it helps!

Understanding the passes Global Pass: Youth 2nd class (aged 26 or under) with prices ranging from £169 or an Adult (26 or over on first day of travel) 2nd class pass with ticket prices ranging from £225. The pass is valid in 30 European countries.

One Country Passes: If you are only interested in seeing one country and getting the absolute most out of it, this pass would be for you. They come a lot cheaper, starting at £29 and allow you a number of days to travel in within one month.

The InterRail passes are available to buy 3 months before the initial date of departure. They are not available to use in your own country although they can give you discounts e.g.

Discounted Eurostar travel.

Both types of passes come in either as:

Extra costs

Continuous Passes

Reservation fees

Although these are more expensive, you are not restricted by the amount of times you travel.

These became the bane of our lives on our trip. Be very careful about the trains you are getting on. Double check everything; a lot of trains do require reservation fees. These can be done by phone or at the ticketing office. It does differ from country to country but all the information you need will be in the pack provided with your ticket. When travelling in a large group it is advisable to book ahead so you can all be together as there are only so many beds allocated to InterRail travellers on each train. We managed to get a 90 euro fine each in one day, so pay attention!

Seasonal surcharge: Ferries for example can hold this. E.g.

Bari (Italy) – Patras (Greece) when crossing between June and September surcharge =10 Euros and between July and august its 20 Euros.

Flexi travel days This allows you to travel for 5 within 10 days or 10 days within 22 days. It is ideal if you will only be going to going to a few countries and not likely to hop on and off trains.

However, you need to be careful not to make a mistake with these passes as the guards can see this as the passenger trying to gain an extra day of travel.

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APRIL 2011

Accommodation

Life savers…

If you have a smaller budget – take a tent. It is not uncommon to find a pitch will cost you 5euros whilst a bed could set you back 25euros in a bog standard hostel. Although these campsites are normally further out, the experience is usually better as you will meet likeminded travellers.

Up to date Lonely Planets, Rough Guides and hostel world are extremely useful when finding accommodation, especially for a first night. However when you can try and look around for yourself and see what the locals offer - you usually get more memorable, individual experiences this way rather than just following other tourists. It also normally works out cheaper.

Try and travel as much as possible by night. Although there are reservation fees, it will save on accommodation. It also means you have more time to explore each place rather than be stuck travelling in the day. If it takes your fancy you could even do a spot of couch surfing.

Baby wipes/ Dry shampoo –When you can have 4 days stuck on trains without a proper shower you need to feel refreshed.

Anti-bac hand gel – if you do not want to get ill when being stuck on the grotty trains, this is a necessity.

Pillow/shawl – These are so useful, the Hogwarts express style train compartments get surprisingly cold at night. They shawls are also useful for females – particularly when visiting religious places that require you to cover up.

Safe money belt – good for sleeper trains to put all your values in so you have it on your person.

Last tips If saving money take into account where you are going. In general Northern Europe is the most expensive and Eastern Europe the cheapest.

Do take into account who you are travelling with – this will make or break your trip.

To save time book a cheap flight in advance, even if it is just one way. Amusing as it was doing a round trip of Europe from our local station, it was time consuming having to travel back to Paris.

Make the most of every opportunity and take as many photos as possible, you may never go back!

26

THE KNOWLEDGE

Crossword   This month’s crossword in Summer ball themed.

See if you can find all the confirmed acts for the ball in the grid!

The Wombats Wretch Thirty two Modstep Jacob Plant N trance Clemtomarfo The frontline Yovideo Random impulse Freejac DJ Jonezy Logistics Mikel dread Tom Costelloe Darko Jim Fresh

Sudoku

5

8

9 1

2 4

2

6

2

1

7

4

6

7

3

5

1

8

2

9

3 8

4

8

4

4 2

5 6

9

7

APRIL 2011

Competition Time!

This months edition of The Knowledge we have a special competition! Its your chance to win a pair of summer ball tickets.   To win all you need to do is draw a wombat in the box opposite. The best picture as judged by our very own events manager Clint wins a pair of tickets to the summer ball. Second place wins a pair of UPSU flipflops and third place wins a UPSU waterproof poncho!   To enter, hand in your drawing to the hive by the 15th May including your name and email address.

Winner will be told via email by the 20th May. Good luck!!

Name: Email address:

27

28

THE KNOWLEDGE

Seven reasons to spend your summer in the South West

By Emma Gamble

As is typical of all us summer-lovers, the sun does so much as peep out from behind its cloudy retreat and we’re all donning shorts, sunglasses and flip-flops. Judging by the last couple of weeks it’s safe to say that Summer 2011 is well and truly on its way in! I don’t know about you, but it’s got me daydreaming about lazy afternoons in the sunshine and spending the days out with my friends. We students at Plymouth are lucky enough to be right at the heart of the South West, and in the coming months there are plenty of things to do and places to go to ensure that we’re making the most of our time here. So, here are just a few suggestions of things you can do in and around Devon as we welcome in the summer months.

Surfing, kayaking & other water-sports Whether you’re already a lover of these activities or simply looking for a new challenge, Devon has plenty to offer!

Dartmouth is only a short drive away and is recognised as a great location for surfing, sailing and kayaking (to name a few!) On the River Dart, you will be able to explore the smugglers caves and hidden coves accessible only by getting on the water. Single and double kayaks are available to hire from £20.

Dartmoor National Park This beautiful place makes for a great day out even when it’s bitterly cold outside, so you can imagine how lovely it would be when the sun is shining. There is something so uplifting about spending a day out in the countryside – so pack up a picnic and go with some friends to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. Plus, it’s free to park!

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APRIL 2011

Beaches For beaches, the Devon coastline is hard to beat! You really can take your pick as there are a number of them only a short distance away from us: Oddicombe, Blackpool Sands, Ness Cove & Bigbury on Sea to name a few good ones! With boating, surfing, seaside cafés and quaint boutiques galore, you’re sure to find something to make this a memorable day out.

Paignton Zoo Relive your childhood and spend the day at Paignton Zoo and Botanical Gardens! Committed to the conservation of rare and endangered plants and animals, the park boasts beautiful landscapes and nearly 300 species. Student tickets cost only £9.80.

Ferry & Pub Lunch If you fancy escaping Devon altogether then this could be for you. For £2.20-return you can hop on the ferry from Plymouth Sound and spend the day at Mount Edgcumbe, Cornwall. This place is just perfect for a walk in the sun or a lazy afternoon exploring the grounds and gardens there.

And, to top it all off, why not stop for a classic pub lunch at one of the country pubs in the area.

Festivals Throughout the county, there are numerous festivals and events being held – from Beer & Real Ale Festivals, Performing Arts and Music Festival, International Jazz & Blues Festival, authentic Farmers Markets, the VW Festival and the Plymouth Summer Festival. Take advantage of these events and take your pick!

Plymouth Hoe Finally, how could I not mention our very own Plymouth Hoe? Picture this: a sunny day, a group of mates, a disposable BBQ and some cider – perfect. With this one right on your doorstep, be sure to get yourself down there and enjoy the sun this summer!

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Future Telling Frankie

Aries 21 March- 20 April

This could be a month you’ll never forget Aries. Make the most of new opportunities as things are starting to look up for you.

Taurus 21 April- 21 May

This is a crucial time to keep friendships alive Taurus, as you’ll never know when you may need a helping hand.

Gemini 22 May- 21 June

Don’t worry if your days seem to be blending into one Gemini, soon this will all change for you. Make sure you’re aware of this and grasp it with both hands.

Cancer 22 June- 23 July

Watch out for deadlines, Cancer, as this could become a really busy time for you. Organise your work and things will fall into place.

Leo 24 July- 23 August

This could be a time to learn something new Leo, maybe a new language or a new skill that could become useful in the future.

Virgo 24 August- 23 September

If you’re single, Virgo, then look out as this could be about to change for you. If you’re in a relationship then take time to appreciate your partner.

Libra 24 September- 23 October

This is the time to put yourself out there Libra.

April is going to be your month for new experiences and opportunities.

Scorpio 24 October- 22 November

You’re on top of your work Scorpio, so why not take some time out and do something that you really want to do. Why not make a day of it with friends?

Sagittarius 23 November- 21 December

Prepare yourself Sagittarius; this is your time to excel in an area of your life. Don’t miss out on this!

Capricorn 22 December- 20 January

A time for change is approaching you Capricorn. Even if it’s only something simple, don’t stay in your normal routine.

Remember, variety is the spice of life.

Aquarius 21 January – 19 February

The next few weeks may be a testing time for you Aquarius.

But don’t panic, things will ease off before you know it.

Pisces 20 February- 20 March

You seem stronger now Pisces, don’t question it, just have fun with it.

APRIL 2011

31

Summer Ball 2011

by Thea Jones

Watching the video of the Summer Ball on the UPSU website in July of last year, I was completely wowed. It looked amazing, and all I thought was: I cannot wait. The line-up looked amazing; and all the second years I’ve spoken to since coming to Plymouth have only reaffirmed its greatness.

Reading on the UPSU website this week that ‘The Summer Ball is the largest student event in the South West’, where ‘thousands of party goers will get together on campus for […] music arenas, top live acts, DJs, and free funfair’, there is no doubt that this is an event not to be missed. For me, the lineup doesn’t quite compare with last year which saw the likes of Diana Vickers and Aggro Santos gracing the university with their presence. However, The Wombats will no doubt impress this year; with their care-free and feel-good tunes they seem like a perfect choice, and I am so excited for it; I

absolutely adore them! Although I’m not familiar with all of the other acts, some personal promising favourites include DJ Jonezy and Clement Marfo & The Frontline.

There seems to be a tune to fit every mood of the night. I’m a sucker for smart-wear, so I cannot wait to see the likes of everyone’s attire. I’m expecting cute and colourful cocktail dresses and sexy suits with plenty of flashy accessories and high, high heels; and of course looking forward to the excitement of finding myself something to wear! A funfair, music and drink sounds like the perfect recipe to finish off the academic year and just have a whole lotta fun. So, it’s marked on my calendar, and there’s no doubt the excitement of attending the biggest event of the year will carry me (and I’m thinking many others) through those deadlines marked in red.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Sorted your Summer yet?

By Mandy Gardner With term coming to an end and the sun coming out the thought of summer is looming ever closer. I don’t know about you, but last year I was so immersed with uni and enjoying being a Fresher that I didn’t give a second thought to summer until suddenly it was here and I was completely stumped as to what to do. Ultimately, I spent the summer hanging around at home, working a bit and volunteering at a few festivals.

It was a good summer, but if I had planned it a bit better it could have been amazing. So, upon coming back to uni last September I vowed to make the most of Summer 2011 and take full advantage of having three whole carefree months off.

I mean, I’m only young once, right? This is the time of our lives when we should immerse ourselves in summer plans and experiences because, let’s be honest, there probably won’t be another time in our lives when we’ll have this much time off again without responsibilities hanging over us!

they organise volunteer placements all over the world for considerably less money than the companies I had come across. From conservation work to working in orphanages, they offer a diverse range of opportunities. At first I was suspicious as to why it was so much cheaper (almost £1000 less!) but after looking into it I realised that it was cheaper because, in many ways, you’re left to your own devices. Every project has supervisors, but instead of telling you what to do and where to go, the decision is much more flexible and down to your personal preference. Obviously this method isn’t for everyone; some will feel they need much more guidance in a country they aren’t familiar with. However, my impulsive nature told me I could handle it and the next thing I knew I had booked to spend 6 weeks in Africa - three working in an orphanage in Morocco and three working in a deprived school in Ghana.

So, about a month ago, I started thinking about what I wanted to do this summer. I’m not lucky enough like many people are to have a job to go home to during the holidays, and in the current economic climate I figured it will be pretty difficult to find a stable enough to job to justify staying at home for the whole summer. With this is mind, I went online and started to research summer volunteer projects. Every summer since I was about 17 I’ve seen my friends go away doing them - and this year I decided that’s what I wanted to do! But – and it’s a big but! - after looking into it, I found that pretty much every reputable company that offer work abroad projects attaches a pretty hefty price tag to every placement! It amazes me how companies can justify charging in the region of £1500+ to work for free! I know, I know, the experience is priceless, but that is still a huge amount of money for a student like me to conjure up.

At present, I feel very apprehensive of the decision I’ve made - but I know it’s the right one for me. This experience - combined with a few holidays and festivals I’ve booked – has left me yearning more than ever for summer 2011. By September I want to look back and smile, knowing I’ve had the best summer of my life. And right now, I don’t have any doubt that I will. If you’re in the position I was in last summer - get planning! If you don’t you’ll only regret it.

Anyway, whilst moaning to a friend about it over lunch she recommended a company called Original Volunteers;

If you’re interested in volunteering look on www.originalvolunteers.com - I couldn’t recommend them enough! Likewise if festivals are your thing but you’re struggling for cash look on www.oxfam.org/festivalsYou get free entry, meals and nicer camping in return for a few hours work! The experience is awesome and is a good way to save cash :) And there are a wide range of festivals available-big and small! Whatever you do, have an awesome Summer 2011!

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APRIL 2011

How and when to boost Your CV

By Lucie Phillips I know you all hear this a dozen times a day from parents, family and lecturers but, believe it or not, they are right.

Unfortunately for us, we are graduating at a time when having a degree doesn’t guarantee you a good job the way it once did. In fact we are now the norm for applicants to certain areas, meaning you are just the same as every other person applying for the same job... or are you? While I know that employment statistics coming out of this particular University are good; somewhere around 90% of students from the University of Plymouth find employment within a year of graduating, there is still one in ten of us who won’t.

It is important to note that these statistics don’t just cover graduates ‘doing the job you always dreamed of’; it could simply mean that we’re all very good at finding a job, any job at all.

My point is, in the current climate, we all need to be doing everything we can to make ourselves look better than the rest. It’s a dog eat dog world if you’ll forgive the cliché, and we need to have those extra things that make an employer sit up and take notice.

Obviously for different subject areas these things are vastly different but in all of them, work experience is essential.

If you can walk into an interview and tell them all about the company you used to work for in the same field you are interested in working in, even if you just answered the phone, it’s a leg up on someone who hasn’t. I understand that we all need to make money, but if you’ve got the time and the majority of us do, even if we deny it, you’d be surprised how many places will let you go and observe for a week or two, especially when you’re doing it for free. You might feel like an overworked coffee machine at the end of it, but just think about that CV. Even better, the Student’s Union has so many amazing opportunities to get involved with. Being a member of a sprts team or society is good but being on the committee for those things is much better. These activities do not even need to be related to your chosen career, they are simply proof of your organisation skills, teamwork and dedication. In with all this

is volunteering, something which people underestimate in terms of employability. This really shows how willing you are to work hard and help people, and all out of the goodness of your heart, this shows more to an employer than the longest list of part time jobs.

Even better than any of these things is the wonder which is Student Parliament and the Union itself. None of you can have failed to notice the amazing election which has just taken place, the winners of which have managed to get involved in something really important and boost their CV all at the same time. If you don’t think you’re up to the full time positions then it’s always worth going for something part time and still making a real difference.

And now to my most important point, do it now! I know most first years reading this will think that they’ve got tons of time for all of this, but just think how much more you’ll have on your CV if you start now instead of next year, or even worse, in your third year. Final year is hard enough without any of those extra worries, so the more you’ve already done the more you can relax in that respect and work on getting the best degree you can.

I hope that this inspires a few people to get a bit more involved in all of these things, even if only for the most mercenary reasons. It’s all important and maybe we can eliminate those 10% unemployed graduates because everyone from Plymouth is so much better than the rest!

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Varsity: Hooliganism or Sport Varsity is unmistakably the sport event of the year, it’s where dreams are realised or shattered. Teams work up to it for weeks before hand and the University becomes one to cheer on and support our teams. It is a huge spectacle for both Plymouth Uni and Marjons and its safe to say no matter what the result of the games, everyone has an enjoyable experience.

Not only is it a chance to watch our sports teams at their best, the proceeds go to charity! But with recent events that have occurred during some of our bigger matches, is varsity still about the sport?

Everyone enjoys a bit of banter with the opposite side. Go to any sports game and chants are hurled across stadiums showing friendly but competitive rivalry. But at varsity the banter has gotten too much. On a trip to the toilet during the men’s rugby first team game I witnessed a group of Marjon students filling up coke bottles of urine ready to throw on the pitch at Uni Plymouth players. The men’s rugby seconds game involved a Uni Plymouth player being repeatedly kicked on the pitch until he reacted badly, fitted and had to be taken to casualty. At the men’s first football game, Uni Plymouth students began to chant to a Marjon student who was playing about burning him and his family on a bonfire, a chant which I thought was less banter and more abusive. Alongside this students from both Marjons and Uni Plymouth were spitting at players when they came close to the sideline. Even the Plymouth public have complained about the behaviour of students during the period of varsity. It is being ruined for the

players and the people who want to go and watch the sport.

Why do we have to make these games so violent abusive.

Yes rivalry is good and competition makes the game more exciting but I think our sports teams are going too far. Is it time to cancel varsity forever?

Maybe it’s because we give our sports teams too much power. Anyone can witness the main players from some of our sports team strut around the campus as if they own it feeling for some reason superior to other students. They even have a uniform of sportswear that they constantly dress in to show their ‘ultimate superiority’ to others. Some sports teams are constantly in trouble for another mishap or upset they have caused and despite apologies and punishment yet another mishap is sure to happen just a few months later. I think we need to reign in our teams and make them remember that although the clubs are about banter and fun, primarily they are about the sport. Lets just hope varsity next year is less of a spectacle and more of a competition for rivalry but mostly for enjoyment.

APRIL 2011

35

Latino

By Mauricio Hi there reader, On behalf of Latina, I would just like to tell you a little bit about the music, the culture and the dancing from Latinoamerica and the Spanish world. My name is Mauricio.

I was born in London but raised as a South American, mainly by my mother while my father went to work. My mother who was born in Bolivia, La Paz which is located in the middle between Peru, Chile and Brazil raised me with Latin principles and raised me around the Latin life that has made me the young man that I am today. Ever since the age that I could talk and walk I have always been surrounded

by Latin dancing such as Salsa and Latin people talking in Spanish, or like we like to say in London, “Spanglish”. Due to being raised in the UK and being around so many Latin people trying to learn two languages was not easy. Since my dad who is born in Scotland has never been able to speak Spanish, we ended tending to speak English a lot in the house.

Nevertheless this did not stop me from still wanting to follow my Latin roots.

I went to many Latin parties, from invitations from friends and family parties and in time I had picked up a natural way to dance to Latin music. When most people that do not know Latin music hear the Latin music, I think that most assume that all Latin music is the same but there is so much great music that originates from the Latin World. Since dancing has always been a part of my life, I am able to dance Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Reggaeton - the most popular and common dance in Latinoamerica. If you want to find out for yourself, look out for me when around Plymouth where there is any Latin music or Latin parties and you can judge

for yourself. Even though, I have both London and Latin inside me I have learned to adapt both worlds and get along with both types of people and it has taught me to be very multicultural and this has given me the passion for me to learn and fully understand different cultures and religions as well music and dance and people.

The roots that I had been surrounded around ever since I was a kid has made me passionate about the Latin music and the Latin dancing. This had then led me to take this to the next step and at the age of 15 I was teaching Salsa to kids from 8-10years old. When I became 18 I had been given a great opportunity and then been given a slot to DJ. Ever since then I have been DJing Latin music (as well as World Music) and have DJ’d in over 40 different venues & bars. You may see me DJing in the University of Plymouth Student Union, Crash Manor and occasionally other venues such as Voodoo Lounge, Firefly and other venues throughout Plymouth. Never make an assumption that all Latin music is the same. Just like English music such as R&B and Rock, there are different versions of Rock such as Heavy Metal and Indie Rock and many people have their own preference.

I am writing this hoping that readers would have a better understanding about Latinoamerica and possibly it will allow some people to want to learn more about the Latin culture, music, dance and how a typical Latin person is like.

Obviously every person is different in their own way, but the UK is very multicultural compared with other countries, and while the opportunity to meet International people is here especially people from Spain and Latinoamerica, many of you guys should give it a chance to enjoy and discover more of the Latin culture.

I hope I have changed the whole perspective of how a Latin person is perceived to be as well as the music and the culture & dance and hope to hear more of you readers interested & at future Latin parties throughout Plymouth dancing and enjoying yourself. For anyone wanting to listen to Latin music, follow us on Facebook “World Tour Radio” where I myself along with another 4 in the team run the show on a weekly basis and update the group page with our weekly shows playing the best, old & new Latin music, so give it a listen and judge the music for yourself.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Blog This For A Laugh

By Hayley Bennett

As my first attempt at doing something productive in my life, I chose to blog. And as most journeys start, I began mine on Google. I mean, how else? Typing ‘blog’ into Google made me realise two things: one, I was actually about to set up my own blog, something I’d been putting off for years, persuading myself I didn’t have the time to write but also reassuring myself that someday I would. And two, blog sites aren’t that adventurous with their names. From Blog.com, to blogspot.com to blogger.com, blog sites seem to be pretty self-explanatory.

In order to read blogs, most sites require you to set up your own account, even if you don’t add any content to it.

Unfortunately because of this it’s easy to come across a lot of boring blogs. The internet it full of them. For research I scrolled through so many tedious and If I’m being honest, fairly pointless blogs, full of humourless accounts of what the blogger had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Without engaging the audience by bringing up relatable issues, a lot of blogs fall on their face for predictability, and I have to say I got a bit cocky.

A lot of people have been against adverts ruining blogs, such as postsecret.com. PostSecret is a blog that consists of secrets written on postcards and sent anonymously to be published on the website. The aim of the blog is to be accepting of the diversity of secrets that people have often never shared with anyone else. The blog is incredibly successful, producing several books and touring around America. In order to fund this art project, adverts were suggested as a way of income for the community but PostSecret readers objected, claiming this would ruin the originality and cheapen the concept behind PostSecret. However, my blog is not PostSecret, and if I can get 10p per click on an advert, I’m bloody well gonna!

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APRIL 2011

I set up something called Google Adsense, where Google chooses adverts depending on what you’ve been discussing on your blog. It’s a nifty little gadget that is really useful for serious bloggers, even if the proceeds are very small, it’s an income nonetheless. Again for serious bloggers there is the opportunity that if your blog becomes successful and you have a significant amount of readers, you can actually approach companies and suggest they advertise on your blog, giving you better profits and personally picking your adverts gives a more authentic, individual feel to your blog.

Unfortunately for me, having an essay, a portfolio and an introduction to my dissertation to hand in all in the same week, thinking about all of these things put me off writing a blog, rather than spurring me on.

Although I appreciated the option to monitor how many people click on my blog and where exactly it’s being viewed all over the world, and I think when I’ve finished my degree and have time to write for myself, that’ll definitely come in handy.

With blogging comes a whole new realisation that actually, not everyone wants to know about your opinion on the latest episode of Glee; you’re not a celebrity, and this is not Twitter. I personally am a twenty one year old English and Creative Writing student who spends half her time dancing to Katy Perry and the other half watching daytime TV in my pyjamas. How do I make my life seem interesting? And a bloggers’ job is to figure that out.

With all the set up behind me, it was down to content, and the thing about content is that you have to find your niche, something that a lot of first-time bloggers tend to forget. I don’t want to read about Mary from Brighton’s cat Whiskers, and I also don’t want to know about what Mike from Cardiff wants for Christmas, but unfortunately, they think that readers do. I was determined not to be this type of blogger, but as I figured out, I haven’t actually got a niche. I couldn’t write about relationships as I’m chronically single, and I couldn’t write about being a student because in six months I won’t be one. I’m not a fashionista or a make-up magician, and I don’t want to write about Jordan’s divorce from Alex - something that we all knew was coming from the moment they got together. So I ended up copying my last article for The Knowledge and leaving it at that, promising myself that I’d write about something I was passionate about, something that I thought people would like… Yeah I haven’t thought about it yet, but I will!

I think as a blogger. That’s what I have to think about before I write anymore, and so my top tips are as follows: 1) Do your research. Find out what blogs you like and why you like them.

2) Write about something that inspires you; because if it doesn’t entertain you as the writer, then the reader isn’t going to get it either.

3) Remember everyone has to start somewhere; as long as you’re getting your work out there, you’re moving forward.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

MINDLESS

by George Marsden

I dislike most newspapers, I believe they’re ran not by what actually happens in the world but by what people like Rupert Murdoch want you to believe is going on in the world.

They’re businesses, not a public awareness publication.

Up until 2008 Murdoch’s scummiest paper, The Sun, supported the Labour party, but in 2008 it gave up on Labour and endorsed the Tory party. Murdoch and Cameron became friends; I think they even shared Christmas together, I don’t know who I feel sorrier for. Anyway, when this happened, news published in The Sun began to favour the Tory party; it was not because the Tory party had all of a sudden become good, and the Labour party rubbish. It was because Murdoch now received more power and financial gain by supporting the Tory party. The papers credibility is therefore zero.

Unfortunately people don’t realise this, they’ll read it and believe it’s reporting the real events. The Tory party are now in power, but I wonder if they would be without Rupert Murdoch’s support.

This isn’t what I meant to talk about by the way. All I meant to try and make clear there was that I don’t trust newspapers one bit. Recently they’ve been reporting on the ‘mindless’ behaviour of ‘anarchists’, who are accused of violent behaviour at the end of last month’s anti-cuts protests. Now, I can understand fully why these people might be labelled silly, or maybe even idiotic and counterproductive. But, what I won’t have those involved being called is ‘mindless thugs’. They’re not mindless; I suspect they’ve given more thought about the state of the country than any of the police patrolling the march. I’m sure they realise that they probably will have to sacrifice their freedom for militantly protesting, and I believe that they’ve decided that it’s worth the sacrifice.

The real mindless thugs are people like Pc Simon Harwood.

He’s the officer who pushed Ian Tomlinson to the floor at the g20 protests, resulting in Tomlinson’s death. PC Harwood is the mindless thug. He’s who should be on the front of the Sunday Telegraph, not people who are protesting for what they believe in. Police following orders without thought is mindless. The 10 police who did nothing when PC Harwood pushed Tomlinson are mindless. The people that read newspapers thinking its fact are mindless. I hope Harwood goes down for a substantial amount of time. Previous to this incident, he had been accused twice before of using excessive force. However, I suspect he’ll be let off lightly, and while he gets away with that, Murdoch is taking over BskyB, he’ll have more real influence than any other man in the country. And that scares me; he’s basically Lewis Prothero from Vfor Vendetta.

Power in the wrong hands is ultimately what I’m so frustrated with. Whether it be the power of Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers, or the power of a mindless policeman. Screw them all, power to the people!

39

APRIL 2011

TAKE THE

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40

THE KNOWLEDGE

Overcoming Exam Anxiety A quick survival guide

Are you terrified of exams? Afraid that your mind will freeze, go blank or panic?

The good news is that we can control our anxiety and even make it work for us. You might not believe it but some anxiety before and during an exam can actually enhance your performance but too much anxiety can stop us from concentrating, thinking clearly and looking after ourselves.

Exam anxiety sufferers can be very creative people who use their imagination to think of all the worst case scenarios. However we can use that same imagination to think more positively.

Try this: Try reading the sentences below slowly to yourself.

Negative thinking • I am going to fail this exam • I am hopeless at this • I never do well

How do you feel?

Now try reading the sentences below slowly to yourself.

Positive Thinking • • • •

I can pass exams I can do this exam I am calm and strong I can cope

How do you feel?

You would have noticed that when you are saying positive things to yourself, you feel much better. When you say positive things to yourself, you are making less space in your mind for the negative thoughts.

Try this at home Get a piece of paper. Write down at least four positive statements like the ones above.

Practice repeating them to yourself as often as possible.

Put them on Post-It notes around your house where you will see them. When you see them, say them outloud.

Positive thinking is an important part of anxiety management and like anything new, it gets better and more effective with practice.

Relax!

Try this simple relaxation exercise: • Take three deep breaths • Continue breathing deeply while thinking: ‘I am calm. I am relaxing. I can cope.’

• Continue repeating this for a couple of minutes

Remember: The exam is not a reflection of your personal worth, nor does it tell you about your future success. The WORLD WILL NOT END if you don’t do as well as expected. You are still a wonderful person who can still have a successful future.

Useful websites www.llttf.com www.sleepio.com www.plymouth.ac.uk/counselling www.learningdevelopment.plymouth.ac.uk

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APRIL 2011

Are you tired of paying through the nose for coffee? Do you lie awake at night wondering about the future of hot beverages? Have you ever tried to save money by stuffing a small animal into a coffee grinder? Are you going to try it again?

Of course you are! You’re poor, you’re desperate, you hate tap-water and what’s more, you study at the University of Plymouth! Your student rent has bled your overdraft dry, and you don’t even live in Halls of Residence, because the latest assignment only allows you to sleep once every three days.

And such is the sum total of your miserable life, that falling down several flights of stairs to the nearest coffee machine is considered a highlight of your day. You don’t whine, you don’t complain, you just get on with it......and that’s when you discover the awful truth......

The bloody machine is broken again.

But have no fear, there is another way to salvation... the CULTURAL CAFE; a friendly place devoted to the timeless values of enterprise, community engagement, social justice and coffeeeeeee!!

From hot drinks to cold food, we’ll have it all: an outstanding range of culinary choices from across the world. But there’s one thing we can’t provide and need more than anything...

You. You are our most important asset; our greatest friend and confidante. You are the most important thing to us, and we need you, most of all, to help us make the Cultural Cafe what it should be: the centre-piece of a vibrant social and cultural scene.

So join us as we embark on our quest to bring better value to the campus and the community... onwards and upwards to a better and brighter student experience. Let us work hand in hand to make this vision of ‘Culture’ and ‘Cafe’ become reality.

The Cultural Cafe: A finer blend.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

IBM Universities Business Challenge 2011 It’s hard to believe it was October last year when we first received the hypothetical business we would be running for the next 2½ years (real time 5 weeks), a brewery called The Lonely Rhino Company (last year it was a world foods organisation). I was thrilled, my parents have owned a village pub for over a decade now and I love the subject matter.

Imperial College, winners twice previous. It was great fun and a fantastic experience!

A friend recently asked me what does enterprise really mean – he sees it on the stairs outside the library and he can barely eat the rest of his lunch without absorbing the university branding elsewhere around the campus – my view is, it’s the process by which an optimist becomes an entrepreneur. This applies to any field, from science to the arts, and is about the wider perspective adopted and the drive and determination to succeed through business innovation rather than just whether the cup is half full.

The IBM Business Challenge itself is a prestigious national competition run by Learning Dynamics, an organisation developing the employability of students and graduates through business competitions and other enterprise events.

This year 263 teams entered from 73 universities, and one of them was ours. The challenge boasts impressive sponsors such as Proctor & Gamble, Citi Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Serco and of course the lead sponsor IBM, a striking cohort. Furthermore, the challenge is recognised, on CVs and at interview, by top graduate employers such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers and JPMorgan.

So if you’re interested in taking part in next year’s Universities Business Challenge keep an eye on their website at http://www.uk.ubcworldwide.com over the coming months and get in touch with your faculty/school.

Alternatively, you can contact kellie.smith@plymouth.ac.uk to register your interest.

Only the second year of entry by the University of Plymouth and the first by the Plymouth Business School, this year’s team was Lucy Hinchliffe, Jenny White, Will Au-Yeung, Lorna Whitby-Smith and myself, Gillian Horsley. We came 6th at the Semi Finals at Proctor & Gamble on Friday 11th March, putting in a brilliant effort and outperforming other established universities within the competition, such as

Best of luck to the teams of 2011/12!

Music for Megan

By Georgina Luton

On: Saturday March 12 Where: Plymouth Guildhall

Several members of the Plymouth community turned out to watch the University of Plymouth Big Band and Student Choir perform an extravaganza of music. It was such a success that I even had to stand at the back of the room because there were not enough seats to go around.

The evening was put on in order to raise money for CLIC Sargent and the choir hoped to raise £1000. If the target was met this would enable them to give five local families a community support grant. This could help them meet the cost of any extra support they may require to maintain a normal life, such as helping out with childcare, home help, ironing, shopping etc. This allows for families to spend more time at hospital with their ill children.

For those of you who don’t know about CLIC Sargent, CLIC are a charity for children with cancer. According to research carried out by the charity, ten families every day find out their child has cancer. CLIC intends to be there every step of the way for families battling cancer before, during and after their treatment.

In light of this the University of Plymouth Big Band and Student Choir put on a great show and it was all for a great cause.

Well done Music for Megan!

APRIL 2011

Election buzz 2011

43

UPSU Election 2011 is finally over and the result was announced on the 7th March 2011 at 20:00 in Sub-lime.

We have seen a record breaking number of votes this year, with nearly 4000 individual voters, a huge increase of 70% in comparison to last year. 5 Sabbatical Officers, Parliament Chair and a number of Parliamentarians were successfully elected to lead their students’ union in the coming academic year, which many believe, is going to be the toughest and hardest year in HE to date.

Elections at UPSU give the student body the opportunity to fully engage in the democratic processes of the Union, and the ability to hold their elected officers to account for their work in the year ahead. It lays the foundations for a strong, successful Union that has a true mandate to effectively represent all aspects of the student body. The experience of standing in an election is a unique one that encourages candidates to think about their own strengths, abilities and motivations for being an officer at their Students’ Union.

48 candidates have shown unbelievable courage during this exciting election time, from the moment they submit their nomination forms, putting posters around the campus, standing on the stage to face the unexpected questions from the floor, talking to students throughout the 10 days election period, to the end point where they hold their breath with their amazing campaign team beside them to celebrate their achievement at the SU on the result night.

Thank you very much for those of you who have taken part in this year’s election, whether you are the candidates, members of a campaign team, voters or UPSU staff. UPSU can proudly say this is the best election ever and the BUZZs will certainly leaves a mark in the union’s history for years to come.

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THE KNOWLEDGE

What the Winners have to say!

Emma Wilson – VP Education & Welfare Really happy! Fantastic and there were a lot of candidates this year, which is great! Next year, improving the course rep system will be my main priority.

Definitively working on stuff that is closer to home at the University of Plymouth, such as exam feedback. I want to say thank you to all the people who voted for me, it’s very important that you used your vote and I promise that I will work my socks off for you.

Thomas Davidson – VP Sports I was absolutely worried throughout the week about my main rivals and obviously I am ridiculously happy that it came off in my favour. A moment of relief and delight! We will continue to develop sports, bring in the Team Plymouth brand, a big push for another exceptional BUCS year and continuing to work with the University. It has been an amazing election and I can’t thank people enough who voted for me. I will do the best I can for you.

Jazz Singh-Khaira – VP Activities and Communications I am speechless, the process of the election was so long drawn and I am shaking, I can’t breathe and I am so happy. Oh, my plans for next year…….I have got big plan…I can’t remember now….Oh yes, I will take the communication and media to the next level, I will be continuing to do my work for volunteering, I will do my best to make sure societies have the best funding opportunities available.

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for voting me! I am so excited that I can’t breathe.

Rich Garratt – Deputy President I am very happy, pretty excited about it, a lot of effort and it has been worth it.

A lot of things planned for next year, I will definitely try to improve sports for partner college students, try to integrate international, mature students a lot more with university life. Thank you very much, can’t thank everyone enough; like I said, it is hard work but really appreciate your guys taking time out to vote for me.

Abi Pettit – President I am tired, just want to go to sleep a little bit, but I am so happy though, thank you everyone who voted. All sorts of stuff will be going on next year, obviously to everyone I have been talking to in the past week, I have been saying about the cuts that will be happening, so we need to make sure that all of the sabb team works together and make sure that next year really counts.

Thank you so much to everyone that voted for me and to everyone that supported me during the most stressful, fun, horrible, amazing past 10 days! Thank you very much.

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Elections

By Steph Driscoll Emotional, stressful and one hell of an experience… my three phrases to describe the elections. 1st Feb, nominations opened and I decided I was going to run for the position of VP Activities and communications. It was my dream position, working in the union full time and even better, being chosen to do it by my fellow students. Looking after volunteering, societies and the media; what could be better? So I handed in my nomination form and waited for the madness to begin…….

Day 1: Friday 25th Feb

completely gutted, but campaigning wouldn’t stop for football mourning so I ran home, got changed and came back to the union for the Big quiz. I had a strong team full of clever students and felt confident about a win and as I named my team ‘Vote Steph’ I hoped a win would result in votes. We came third; a good effort and I called it a night giving my self some rest before the manic week ahead.

Day 4: Monday 28th March

12pm and it began. Posters were printed, flyers were made and speeches were written. I choose to run in a team with some other candidates who were running for different positions; Abi Petit, Tom Davidson and Rich Garratt, we were calling ourselves the A- Team and together spent our first day putting our posters everywhere and hanging our huge banners all over the union. By late afternoon I was already tired and had to call it a day to prepare for work in the evening.

Time for the real campaigning to begin. After printing out more posters to replace the ones that disappeared over the weekend we spent the morning running round uni buildings campaigning extremely hard. By 3pm everyone in Babbage was sick of us and we were sick of Babbage. I found it difficult as I was yet to feel utterly confident about speaking to strangers who were quick to shoot me down. Some people just didn’t want to listen whereas others refused out right to vote without even hearing me out. When we had finished for the day I was left feeling very down and hoping the rest of the week would be better.

Day 2: Saturday 26th Feb

Day 5: Tuesday 1st March

An early start, despite finishing work at 3am, and then joining the mass of students in the union to brand them with my marker pens. I headed into the union with my fellow A – Team members to campaign to all the sports fans that were there. I quickly learnt that sports fans do not want to be bothered and chose instead to hastily campaign during half time so the games could be watched in peace. Arriving home I felt down at the disappointing response I received but couldn’t let it bother me as I downed a can of red bull and headed back to the union for some night time campaigning. People are much more friendly and willing to talk when drunk . Some even invited me to write on them with a permanent marker shouting ‘vote steph’ as loud as they could when I walked away. My highlight of the night was campaigning in the queue approaching complete strangers and asking them to vote being told they had already voted for me, massive high.

After spending the morning hastily writing part of an essay and printing out yet more flyers and posters I headed onto campus to join the rest of the A- Team for more campaigning.

The sun was out and people seemed much happier so the day was much more successful. The evening brought question time in which each candidate goes on stage gives a speech and answers different questions. I don’t mind public speaking and by the end of it felt very confident and happy with my performance. It was even better to hear my competitors’ manifestos and know if I didn’t get elected; it was more than likely that someone who equally deserved it would!

Day 3: Sunday 27th Feb Not feeling one hundred percent on waking up. Despite enjoying night time campaigning a lot it was definitely more tiring! Luckily it was the Carling cup final and my favourite team Arsenal were playing, an excuse to do some campaigning while watching them play. Unfortunately Arsenal lost leaving me feeling not very motivated and

Day 6: Wednesday 2nd March Mid week and time to get a bit more tactical. I had seen my competitors using a technique that students loved; they were handing out free stuff! So I headed to town and bought sweets, paper bags and pens and made some little goody bags to hand out to people as I spoke to them. It seemed to work, people were much more willing to give me a chance when they saw I had sweets. The afternoon went well, we either convinced people to vote by giving them sweets, or forced them to by giving Tom a megaphone and letting him sing in it until people promised to vote to get him to stop. I then went back home for a quick change and then on to the union

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for a little bit of campaigning before heading to C103. I think this was the highlight of my week. I went all out with my marker pens ensuring that anyone who would let me had ‘vote Steph’ written all over them and I even wore tip-ex on my lip all night as a fake milk moustache, something that people definitely remembered me for!

Day 7: Thursday 3rd March I woke up not feeling too fresh at all and a day of campaigning was the last thing I wanted to do. However my drive to get elected was too strong so I dragged myself out of bed and met the rest of the A - Team for yet more convincing techniques. Fortunately, as it was nearing the end of the week I could talk much better to strangers and was even able to deal with people who were rude. However I was also less obtrusive, beginning to realise that most people had already voted and just wanted to be left alone. The second question time came in the evening. The crowd was bigger and louder and after a long day of campaigning my motivation was gone. Despite what people told me I felt like it had gone badly so choose to have a night off and with a little convincing talk from my campaign manager and life line James, I took the night off and enjoyed myself in Oceana free from campaigning.

Day 8: Friday 4th March It was beginning to feel like the longest week ever! The day was filled with visits to Babbage, the Union and Library for more printing. Luckily today we stuck together as a team; the A – Team and despite the lack of motivation between us the tiny spark of enthusiasm we each had blended together and we lifted each other’s spirits up. We also had a tactical move to go up and around all the floors of Roland Levinski feeling by the end of it like we had managed to get a few more votes.

Home for a quick nap and then back to the union for nighttime campaigning.

Day 9: Saturday 5th March We campaigned a little bit around the union but it felt like it was mostly a waste as by now students had voted and the ones that hadn’t didn’t seem like they were going to. The last night time campaigning and even though I loved it, I was definitely grateful for this. It was an enjoyable night though. I went mental with the marker pens and felt like if I wasn’t going to win now I never would.

Day 10: Sunday 6th March I had to take the day off in order to finish my essay which was due in and to rest a little bit. I was feeling truly demoralised and thanked god that James my campaign manager was there to talk me out of my sulk and give me some positive words to keep me campaigning for just one more day. Before I knew it evening came and I put my

campaign t-shirt on and headed to the union for the big quiz.

Another team of extremely intelligent students were with me and I had even more confidence we were going to win. We came second and I went home feeling very nervous for the next day.

Day 11: Monday 7th March It was finally here! The last day of campaigning and the day of the election results. I’d had about three hours sleep and literally couldn’t stop vomiting. I was shaking with nerves and was not looking forward to the day ahead. We did some last minute campaigning in the morning but I wasn’t sure if it helped. The clock turned 12 and it was over. I went round campus taking down my campaign posters and feeling happy that I would no longer have to read the slogan ‘got Steph?’ again. A shift at UPSU’s beer festival took my mind off the evening’s events and the cider I drank afterwards helped even more. But by 6pm I was feeling the lowest I had felt all week and had somehow convinced myself despite my friend’s positive words that I hadn’t won. I had to be dragged to the union that evening and when I got there had to drink several sambucca shots to stop me from shaking.

Up on stage and it was time… the results were announced.

When I saw my biggest completion Jazz next to me she looked as nervous as I did and I held her hand hoping it would be a symbol of luck to her, if I didn’t get it I hoped she would.

One by one the rounds were called out and candidates were eliminated until it was the final round and only myself and Jazz were left. Just before the winner was told I saw a friend in the crowd and as he nodded his head with encouragement I knew I didn’t have it and completely accepted it as Jazz’s name was announced as the winner.

The journey was over and after all my hard work I hadn’t won.

A week on and I feel positive about the whole process. I learnt a lot and experienced more. Although I didn’t win I came second and lost by only a few votes as everyone keeps telling me; it was so close! It wasn’t a totally enjoyable experience and I do think I have lost confidence feeling a lack of faith in myself. I don’t think I would run in election again due mostly to the vast amount of stress it caused. I also find it so strange how many people I have never met before now know who I am and stop to say hi, an extremely odd experience! However I am truly happy for Jazz and believe she will do an amazing job! I would like to congratulate her and other winners on their achievement, especially my fellow A- Team members who all got elected in! I would also like to thank everyone who voted for me and give a massive thanks to my fabulous friends who helped and pretty much dragged me through the week, you know who you are! This election has beaten all UPSU records and we have had the biggest turn out ever, something I am definitely proud to say I was apart of!

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Elections 2011

By Rich Garratt Standing up on the stage waiting for the results to be announced was one of the most nerve racking moments in my life, numbed slightly by a small dose of Dutch courage courtesy of friends. When the results were read out I was overcome with a sense of achievement commutating in probably the worse speech and biggest jager train ever seen.

As the ten days of allocated campaigning drew on I became more and more determined to be elected, with each moment I spoke of my policies to fellow students I became more passionate about them, now that I have obtained the position of deputy President my dedication to obtain the goals I have promised could not be higher.

Those students familiar with my campaign will know that integrating students from Plymouth Universities’ eighteen partner colleges into University life was top of my agenda. I intend to run a varsity similar to our own current spectacle where our finest wipe the floor with Majons, but with partner college students battling it off with one another, whether this be through the awesomeness that is rugby

sevens, football or less participated sports like fencing. While I am aware many of you reading this are probably campusbased students, the event will draw many students to the area and not only allow them to integrate with us but for us to socialize with them.

Finally I would like to personally thank everyone who not only aided me during my campaign but those who voted, the roles of the sabbatical officers are to represent you as the student body and its great to witness first hand some of the passion that was emitted by voting students.

I am thoroughly looking forwards to taking the reigns from current Deputy President Matt Chan and continuing to maintain such a higher standard of work.

I shall see you all next year, Happy days and smiley faces, Rich Garratt

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SU Elections 2011

By Thomas Davidson

So, as the dust settles on the 2011 UPSU elections and the near obligatory post results hangover finally packs its bags for warmer climates, here I am; a UPSU Sabbatical Officer for another year. And what a year it’s been! In the past seven months I have helped to select a new CEO, witnessed the united voice of the national student body take a stand over student fees, begun the process of launching UPSU’s new sports brand and many more things that I would never have had the opportunity to experience if I hadn’t been a sabbatical officer last year.

All of this, combined with an absolute commitment to better the university experience for students made me sure that I wanted to carry on in my role as Vice President Sports.

However, as UPSU is a democracy (and a bloody good one at that!), it is not simply a decision to stay in office for a further 12 months that will keep a Sabb in the employ of a Students’ Union. Instead every candidate takes to the campaign trail, and in a spirited and passionate week of approaching absolute strangers, pitches themselves as he ideal person to run the Student’s Union in the annual UPSU elections.

This year the competition was tougher than ever before with five other people running for the VP Sports role. The week was undoubtedly tough on all the candidates; my typical day involved spending most of the day on campus, dashing home for a bite to eat and then returning to the SU or a partner nightclub for more campaigning. Not only was the week physically demanding but also mentally challenging, with the amount of blunt dismissals of your pitch increasing throughout the week as students became increasingly frustrated with constant interruptions to their business by eager candidates, all wishing to sell their campaign.

At this point I would like to give my thanks to Laura Draycott, James Flain and Charlie Smith for an incredibly well fought campaigns week. I will do my best to make sure that my win was justified by continuing to work for student sport in whatever ways I can. And on that, what does the next 18 months have in store for UPSU as I continue in my role as VP Sports?

Briefly, I intend to increase our intramural system to encourage more students than ever before to participate in sport at both a recreational and competitive level. I also plan to introduce our new sporting brand, Team Plymouth, to the student body and national sponsors with an aim to increasing sports funding at a time when the financial situation throughout HE is looking increasingly bleak. I also plan to consult with larger numbers of students on many issues relating to sport, from gym prices to facility availability. So, thank you all for voting and here’s to another brilliant year at UPSU!

APRIL 2011

10 Days in an Apron

By Jazz Singh-Khaira You may have seen me running around campus in a bright pink and green apron during election week. I was running for the position VP Activities and Communications, not a job in catering (if you want to know why I was wearing an apron, check out my campaigns video on YouTube).

I embarked on the campaign not knowing what to expect, coming straight out of a flurry of coursework I hadn’t had time for expectations!

The campaign itself proved to be one of the most challenging yet enjoyable things I have ever done. During the day I sat with as many fellow students as possible, discussing issues they had, getting feedback and proposing solutions. At weekends I would arrive at the SU armed with handfuls of marker pens and flyers- hoping some of the drunken masses would remember to vote! Through this I have met some of the most wonderful people and I loved it but as the week drew on I grew more exhausted, sometimes reaching dips when I just had to call it a day. But when morale was low in the Jazz camp there was always someone to there to spur me on- especially the other candidates.

At 12 noon on the Monday, campaigning was over I took down my posters and was in a daze, I was so exhausted and did not know what to do with myself- the beer festival did little to revive me! The announcement of the election results was later that evening and was probably one of the most excruciating things I have ever been through- the competition was so close and the votes were announced by process of elimination, and each round votes were carried over- all this was announced live! It was anybody’s game, sometimes I only clung ahead by the tiniest fraction. My mind was in a whirlwind of adrenalin when they finally announced I had reached the threshold and got the position. I can remember having a mic thrust into my

hands and being able only to utter the words ‘…I really am speechless…’ and ‘Thank You’ and beaming like a fool, it was overwhelming.

Following those 10 intense days of campaigning I think my immune system finally gave up, and I fell sick that very night. Overall I feel really fortunate and glad that I have won. The realization hits me at least 3 times a day, and I get a jolt of excitement, I am raring to go!

I wish I could skip the next 3 months as my mind is now teeming with ideas and bursting with enthusiasm.

As I didn’t quite make it in my victory speech I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people. First, my campaigns team (you know who you are) for being so supportive and helpful (tasks included: transporting sofa’s and baking muffins) but mainly for making it fun and also keeping me going on days when I felt like hanging up my apron, for this I also owe it to fellow candidates who made this an amazing election, to my boyfriend Ben who [on top of all the above] put up with my madness and looked after me, and my housemates Sally and Steph who looked after my cat, Alfie. I’d also like to extend an extra special thank you to Charlie Smith and Tim Wells who ran with me in team Tasty Vote- it was awesome campaigning with you guys, you both did really well and should be proud!

Finally I’d like to thank UPSU for organizing the elections and providing all that support for us, I look forward to working with you next year!

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Elections 2011

By Emma Wilson Buzzing, exhausted, relived, happy to have spoken to so many awesome students and nervous about results – these are all feelings that fly through your head after 10 days of campaigning and just before the results are read out on stage at the SU. This years campaigning for my re-election as VP Education and Welfare was amazing. The marketing and profile of the elections had definitely been raised through all of the hard work of the elections team and the huge efforts put in by all of the candidates by getting their messages out to the student population. Standing on the stage it was apparent that many more students had engaged with the elections and that made the results night one to remember.

On hearing the results I was immensely happy, it seemed that many students that I had spoken to during campaigning remember the DEMO-lition campaign that I led last year or recognise me as either the girl with the megaphone or ‘the library girl’ and I am really pleased that I have another year in which to work harder and to achieve great results on their behalf at UPSU. This year has been an incredibly emotional one for students’ unions up and down the country; fees, cuts and politics have definitely shaped the last 12 months in the Higher Education sector. In the next 12 months I will be focussing on many challenges that are closer to Plymouth Students, such as the massive topic of Coursework and Exam Feedback. I will continue to work to strengthen and reshape the course rep system to ensure that channels where students can make their voices heard are strong at a time it is so important that students are listened to. I will also continue to campaign to ensure in times of cuts and merger essential student welfare services are protected and to give students a voice and more involvement in important decisions within the university e.g. University Committees and Fee Setting. I will also be working to continue to break down the silence surrounding sexual health and working with the other Sabbs to encourage students to have more regular sexual health screens.

I am thrilled that students have chosen me to represent them again next year and am really looking forward to working with course reps, parliament, UPSU staff, Sabbs old and new, the student body and the university to improve the student experience here at Plymouth.

APRIL 2011

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President Article

By Abi Pettit Hello, I am Abi, your current Vice-President Activities and Comms, and now President Elect.

First off I would like to once again thank everyone who took the time to vote and supported me through what turned out to be a pretty stressful 10 days of campaigning, with special thanks to my best friend Becci who put up with me and helped campaign!

During the election period it was really nice to talk to, and be quizzed by, so many people and hear their views on things such as cuts that the university are facing and issues that matter to them. It is so nice to see more students than ever engaging with campaigns that have been run this year and issues discussed by the Students’ Union, it really shows that Plymouth students’ have far more fight in them than in past years!

As President there are a number of things that I wish to focus on this coming year my 2 biggest ones however are community Relations and liaison with the University and • Community Relations is something I feel strongly about. I feel many of the negative stereotypes could be combated by creating stronger relationships and mutual understanding with our neighbours in the community. We need a regular link with the community through drop in sessions in the neighbourhood offices and attendance at PACT meetings.

As well as this I wish to hold cultural events, such as an OH! Festival which will be open to students and the community, bringing the two together.

• Everyone knows about the changes to the fees system. By the time I take office a decision will be made on where this University will be setting their fees. Our job next year is going to be extremely important in ensuring that the future students get the best possible value for money for the fees they will pay and a university experience like no other.

Our relationship with the University is already improving this year. But with the appointment of Bill Rammell as the new Deputy Vice Chancellor of Student Experience I am sure that our relationship will continue to build over the next 1218 months, and that our representation of the student voice and input will become increasingly valuable to the University.

I can’t wait for July, I think we have an extremely strong team for the coming academic year. With a good balance of experience and fresh, exciting ideas, I am sure we will do big things, so watch this space.

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Don’t Put it Off, Put it On’ Campaign

By Emma Wilson

On Tuesday 15th March over 30 members of UPSU’s Mens’ Rugby Team, Mens’ American Football Team, Mens’ Football Team and Ladies Hockey Team took one for the team and were screened for Chlamydia as part of UPSU’s ‘Don’t put it Off, Put it On’ organised jointly by the Students Union and NHS Plymouth Chlamydia Screening Programme. UPSU is encouraging students to regularly undergo full screening in order to prevent complications from STIs. The sports teams arrived at UPSU at 12.pm to pick up their screening packs which were used onsite and then returned to NHS Plymouth staff who were on hand. The tests are very simple and painless, involving just a urine sample for men or a self taken swab for women which takes just a few seconds.

After the teams have completed they posed for the I’ve been tested photo (See Below) The idea behind getting our sports teams to participate is to raise the profile of regular sexual health screening, banish the stigma surrounding sexual health and to encourage more students to take up testing, ensuring they are looking after their sexual health whilst at university.

Local services often ask for stands and stalls in the students union and this year three members of staff have been trained by the NHS Plymouth, Young Peoples Sexual Health Team to facilitate more on campus Chlamydia testing.

UPSU holds many screening sessions throughout the year – for information of when the next session will be please contact vpedadwelfare@upsu.com

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Genital Chlamydia remains the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection seen at GUM clinics in the UK, in 2008 there were 123,018 diagnoses and young people aged 16-24 accounted for 65% of all new diagnoses. 50% of men and women show no symptoms. Complications such as ectopic pregnancies and infertility for both men and women can arise if left untreated. Treatment is very effective with a simple course of antibiotics. Chlamydia testing through Plymouth Chlamydia Screening Programme last year showed that 1 in 11 sexually active 15-24s had Chlamydia.

Young peoples health service Statement: Jane Michie, Chlamydia Screening Coordinator for NHS Plymouth: “Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection in under 25s, we are pleased to be working with the University of Plymouth this year to actively promote testing. University students need to have information about sexual health services in Plymouth and we shall be taking this opportunity to promote these. Safe sex messages need to be given to students, especially information about alcohol use and the potential impact this can have on sexual health. Students already have excellent access to a medical centre on campus and can access free, confidential Chlamydia testing, treatment and condoms there. Self testing kits can also be accessed through Boots in Drake Circus and New George Street, Contraceptive Clinics. The Zone and most GP’s”

Emma Wilson VP Education and Welfare UPSU: “I think it is really important that we promote all of the services that are available to students and actively encourage them to practice safe sex whilst they are at university. It’s great that our sports teams are getting involved and we hope that perhaps students that have never had a screening in the past will follow their lead. We understand that the statistics referring to ‘young people’ do not refer directly to all of our student population but also acknowledge that as a students’ union we have a responsibility to encourage our members to look after all aspects of their health including their sexual health.

Thomas Davidson VP Sports UPSU: “I am highly appreciative of the commitment shown by a number of our sportsmen and women, who will be taking part in a Chlamydia screening day. We are hoping that this high-profile event will bring into the light and add a certain amount of fun to what has, to date, been a taboo subject amongst students. As ambassadors of UPSU and the University, their involvement in this campaign can only serve to raise the profile of sexual health and awareness amongst our students GUM CLINIC INFO: The University Medical Centre GUM Clinic Tuesday 3pm -6pm - Full STI testing.

Tel: 01752 264922 or 01752 222341 for an appointment Peverell Park Surgery and Beaumont Surgery

Services Nearby: Boots The Chemist Drake Circus, Mutley Plain and Superdrug New George Street:Free Chlamydia testing, Free emergency contraception for under 20 yr olds The Zone, Union Street, PL1 2SR(opposite the Union Rooms) Tel: 01752 206626 www.thezoneplymouth.co.uk

Free condoms through the C Card scheme, Chlamydia testing and pregnancy testing Full contraception service available on Monday 2.30-5.00pm, Wednesday 2-4.00pm, Thursday 2-5pm, Saturday 1-4pm GU Medicine Clinic, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth PL6 8DH Tel: 08451 558189 Drop in 08.30-10.30 am or appointments at other times including Saturday and evenings. Full STI testing Both offer full contraception Services/advice, Free Chlamydia testing and Free condoms through the C Card Scheme

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THE KNOWLEDGE

Beer Festival success

UPSU’s long awaited annual Beer festival didn’t disappoint. Monday 7th March saw beautiful weather, people donning summer clothing and beer on tap. It was a spectacular turnout, so much so the SU was overflowing and there wasn’t a seat unfilled on the student packed roof!

The festival was well organised particularly the menus, answering any question you may have on your beverage of choice. It listed the country of origin, where it was brewed, if it was an Ale or Cider, title of drink, the alcohol by volume (ABV), the price and its units.

The festival gave students the opportunity to try Beers from all over the world, without leaving the comfort of their home turf. It even gave the students who had travelled the opportunity to reminisce, sipping beers in (almost) similar climates.

The variety of beers spanned from European beers such as: Alhambra Mesquita (Spain) and Viru (Estonia), to Asian beers including: Singha (Thailand) and Hue (Vietnam) it even gave students the opportunity to try my personal favourite the African Tusker!

Students of Plymouth were not disappointed by the local traders. Being situated in an area renowned for its brewing expertise, we were able to try a great variety of the local Beer, Cider and Ales. The names of the drinks were

particularly amusing… Regardless of the taste, my friends tended to make their choice of drink based on the Ales with the most interesting name, such as the “Spanked Monkey” or “Summa That”!

The event even hosted a “Name Your Beer competition” thanks to the award winning Skinner’s Brewery of Cornwall.

Students could enter a competition where if you designed an artwork for the brew and came up with a name, the winning one would be created into a House Ale exclusive to UPSU. The winner is to receive 36pints of the exclusive ale and framed artwork of the real design.

All in all, the day was a great success. The only minor drawback occurred at 3pm… The SU ran out of Cider…

Disaster! This was soon fixed with a prompt delivery.

Everyone seemed to love the day and it depicted university life at its best. With students hanging out in a relaxed summery atmosphere, sipping beer… what more could you ask for... Bring on next year!

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Oh! The World In Our Kitchen!

On the 23rd February, the food festival named “Oh! The World In Our Kitchen” was launched by UPSU and ISAS as part of the “Oh!” campaign. This event is designed to allow overseas and home students to share foods with each other. Students will be preparing food to bring along to the event using their own special recipe and have the chance to taste each other’s unique cooking during the event! This has been a successful event and it allow us to see so many special dishes that represent the diversity of our students demographic.

The event was also opened to staffs as well, we had in total of 30 dishes and over 100 votes to decide the winner of “People’s choice!” in Gold, Silver and Bonze. This is a massive improvement in comparison to the one that we did in October. Not only we have dishes from Middle East this time, we also have dishes the EU and the traditional British roast dinner and cottage pie! As a result, 3 winners of the “People Choice” were voted by students and staffs at the time of the food festival: Emad (Gold), Monika, Katha, Matt (Sliver), Nazmi- (Bronze). Congratulation to you!

Well done to all of you who took part in the “Oh! The World In Our Kitchen!”, this event was a special one because of you.

Special thanks to Pat Blower, Emma Jordan, the ISAS team, Mike Joyce, the board member of ESN and the amazing SIFE; they have all been very supportive to make this food festival a success.

Comment from ISAS (International Students Advise Services) It was a great event, and some students told me they would like to see this event on a regular, perhaps monthly, basis as it’s an ideal social opportunity for them to get together with family and friends.

Emma Jordan, International Student Advisor

Emad Al-Zubaidy Winner of “People’s Choice” of “Oh! The World in Our Kitchen!”

What do you think about the event?

It was a great event for participators and audiences’ particular the Iraqi students. Many Thanks to International Student Advisory Service and Students’ Union.

What did you cook and what’s in it? Was it difficult to make?

My dish was Iraqi Tomato Biryani, which is famous in the South of Iraq, and usually present to the guests.

It is content on the following ingredients Rice, Tomato paste, onion, potato, mushroom, mix of spices brought from Iraq, Olive, Pistachio, vermicelli, pepper, green peas, black pepper. It is need more time in preparation and cooking, in addition to professional person in cooking in relating to use the ingredients quantities.

How do you feel with your achievement in the “Oh! The World in Our Kitchen”?

I am very happy in my achievement, this is my fourth participation in this festival and in all previous festivals I was in first three winners.

Why should students get involve with the SU? Important to improve their abilities to achievement what they want.

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Levi Roots Interview

By Sam Coumbe Who was your inspiration when you were growing up?

My Grandmother is my main inspiration; she is like everyone rolled into one. I moved to the United Kingdom at the age of 12, she is everything to me.

What advice would you give to aspiring young entrepreneurs?

Concentrate on Planning, this is absolutely essential. Young Boys and Girls can easily get distracted by wanting to become the next Supermodel or Sports Star, so you must be committed and stay focused.

Patience is key and make sure that you have a strong business plan.

Tell us about your incredible appearance on Dragons Den when you secured investment from Richard Farleigh and Peter Jones?

It was fantastic, I had never seen the programme before, had I seen it, I would not have gone on and did what I did. I would have talked about finances and business plans. The guitar was my Unique Selling Point (USP) and going on the programme gave me so much more confidence.

You produce a delicious range of products, but which one is your favourite?

I love them all! If I had to choose a favourite it would probably be the new Ready Meals that I have out in Tesco, they are delicious. I do have a new range of drinks coming out soon which I am really excited about though, Caribbean Crush and Ginger Beer being two of them.

Levi Roots is a British-Jamaican reggae musician, television personality, celebrity chef and multi millionaire.

He gained widespread fame after appearing on the Uk television programma Dragons Den where he gained £50,000 funding for his amazing reggae reggae sauce. We were lucky enough to have him visiting UPSU on the 31st of March where he entertained and cooked up some amazing food! I was lucky enough to be able to have had a little chat with him during his anticipated visit…

Are you still working closely with Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh?

I am still working very closely with Peter Jones, he is my best friend. With regards to Richard, it is important to know the right time to buy out your investors. It was agreed that when he wanted to sell, I could buy the shares back off him which I did. He invested £20,000 in me and I bought back the shares for £200,000. I am satisfied that the right two dragons invested in me, most people have an idea of who they want to invest in them, for example if you are in the retail business then Theo Paphitis would be your man.

What factors would you put down to the success of your product?

My appearance on Dragons Den played a massive part in the success of my brand. Also, incorporating the music with the food is something which has not been seen before and the fact that my music was appearing in Music stores. This meant that when purchasing a CD you were supporting the Reggae Reggae brand, you are buying into the person as well as the product.

The Reggae Reggae brand embraces the taste of Jamaica, what are your favourite dishes from other counties?

I have a massive passion for Italian food. My last book was focused upon British Recipes and I would love to incorporate the Reggae Reggae brand into Italian food.

How / Where do you come up with new ideas?

I have a restaurant in Battersea where I like to spend time with my Kids on a Sunday, we do a lot of cooking and talk about new ideas that we have had.

So what’s next for Levi Roots and the Reggae Reggae brand?

I would love to take the brand Worldwide, we already have a solid base in the UK and I have met all of my aims from the Original Business Plan that I created in 2006. People are now familiar with the brand so I think it would be easier to take Worldwide now rather than a few years ago.

Finally, for all those people out there who have strong ambitions to become successful entrepreneurs, remember these three things.

1.Planning – This is absolutely essential 2.Mentor – Get a good mentor who will support and advise you 3.Passion and Enjoyment – Make sure you enjoy what you are doing; this is the main thing and will play a huge part in your success.

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Design Exhibit

By Karl Gardner

From 7th – 10th March, the third year design students have had their work on display in the Portland Square building.

This work included chairs, cabinets, bowls and pottery of varying materials. I went to their opening exhibit on Monday night.

The designers were at the exhibit and I had a chance to speak to some of them about their work. I spoke to one student who had focused on nature in her pottery. The pots were blue multi-toned in order to look like a waterfall and the clay had been altered so that the pots had the texture of volcanic rock.

This gave it a great unique look.

I also spoke to a student who’d focused on the human form whilst designing a lamp, which was made from steam-bent wood. Again this had a natural look, rather than the more common metal lamps. Someone else had used steam bent wood to create a bowl, and one student even built a rocking horse.

Other designs were very modern. The one I found most memorable was a stool, which had four brightly coloured rings instead of traditional legs. At the centre of the exhibit was a reclined glider chair built using wires to cause restraint between two opposite sides of the chair.

All of the designs were unique and different, whether they were modern or traditional in style. They all clearly had a lot of creative imagination put into them. I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, and was glad for the free food and wine.

The next, and final, exhibit for the third year design students will be on 10th June.

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APRIL 2011

180x123 student duo ad.indd 1

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28/10/10 15:13:00

Crushed.

Knee Ligaments & Varsity Dreams

By Daniel Brock

In the zone, focussed on the game, hustle, energy, passion, desire to get that win, desire to defeat the enemy…….BAM!.....

Torn ligaments in the left knee and out for an indefinite amount of time.

It is not the greatest feeling in the world when time slows down around you as gravity takes over pulling you to the deck,and the shadow of disbelief casts itself across the mind. Varsitywas fast approaching and the relish of taking it to our adversarieson the basketball court was sweetening, being relegated to amere spectator when the battle is at hand was a hard demotion to accept.

Being on crutches in theory is an upgrade, three legs are better than two right? Delusional thoughts fill the brain, if only to block out those of disappointment and anger. Those thoughts however were self-centred, just because I was not playing, battling, doesn’t mean my team mates wouldn’t be. It is to them that one must channel the energy I had for varsity, not let it drain away through self pity.

I was not able to play at varsity, but you can dam well bet I was the loudest cheerleader.

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Water Sports Festival Saturday the 30th April 2011 is your chance to get involved and enjoy the water sports offer by the University of Plymouth and the Mount Batten Centre.

The Student Union water sport Clubs in partnership with UoP staff water sports clubs and the Recreation service will be hosting a Water Sports Festival based at the Mount Batten Water Sports Centre. The event is open to the general public as well as University of Plymouth staff and students. During the afternoon taster sessions for novices both young and old are encouraged to try one or more of the water based activities provided.

The activities include dinghy sailing, wake boarding, Yachting on the Universities owned J80’s, windsurfing and Kayaking. There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss with the Student Union club representatives the benefits of joining one of the water sports clubs in Plymouth or taking part in Mount Batten Centre organised water sports sessions.

The day is the perfect opportunity to try a selection of water sports and experience the enjoyment of being afloat on the water. Activity costs start at just £4 and Food and drink will be available throughout the afternoon from Mount Batten centre’s Water Side

Café and Bar. The Mount Batten Centre is easy to get to: you can either drive or catch the ferry from the Barbican which leaves at 15 minutes to and after the hour.

The one day event aims to raise aspirations by encouraging an active lifestyle in which staff, students and the Plymouth Community can benefit from the local maritime environment.

With the amazing weather and Plymouth’s location by the sea the University of Plymouth Water Sports Festival is the perfect opportunity to get out on the water and have a go.

Hope to see you there.

Behind the Visor

By Luke Jarmyn February and the time has come, change your slippers for your Sparco boots and your woolly hat for your Arai SK5 because speed, pace, ability and willingness to do what it takes is the name of the game.

The University of Plymouth Motorsport Club (UPMC) has a history of being one of the top dogs in the BUKC (British University Karting Championship), one that has seen the club finish in the top 10 for the past 4 seasons as well as accumulating the most points in the 2008 campaign. A key ingredient for success is a high turnover of drivers with which a university can provide. In this particular department we have been lucky in previous years to have had drivers such as Christophe Hissette, Tristan Gibbs and Sam Haines.

This torch has been passed on to this year’s ‘A’ team, made up of myself and Andrew Thomas from last year whilst fresher’s Matt Brierley and Harry Hunter take the seats vacated by Sam and Josh Pettet/Mark Harper (who shared the 4th seat). With the experienced Lee Bennett captaining the B’s/ 1st reserve, we know the quality is there for a strong campaign.

The BUKC is unique in that it is ultimately a team game, which is rare in karting and provides an interesting twist as whilst doing the best job you can on track you know it is worth nothing unless all 4 team-members can perform as necessary on the day.

After all consistency is the key and there are no prizes for singular achievement. The BUKC format is also unique as all team members get a race in the morning however all your grid positions are different, with two more towards the front and two at the back.

Depending upon which driver you place at the front and the back and the different skills they may have, is as important as the pace they have, and of course luck on the day is also vital.

With the first round up at Teesside Autodrome, Middlesbrough we have quite the hike but hopefully it’ll all be worth the 13 hour round drive in the university’s beautifully slow minibus as last it was the scene of one of our best rounds with a win snatched away by a cruel black flag, so fingers crossed.

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The Sports Report

By Nathan Gornall and Jack William Cantwell The sports radio show has outdone itself again. The people’s favourite feature has not only produced another fascinating battle between two rival clubs, but has enticed further action to be taken between them. In this weeks ‘Club Fight’, futsal vs football, a closely fought encounter resulted in a proposition by football’s Ryan Curtis. This proposition was accepted and so it is, the Football team will attempt to diminish any doubts of their intelligence and technical ability by putting out their best selection of players in a one off Futsal match against the University’s current Futsal team. With a number of controversial issues covered in this heated club fight, this is sure to be an incredible battle. Due to a number of technical issues this episode’s release has been delayed, but those involved and many others on campus wait with bated breath in hearing what has to be our most monumental club fight yet; so make sure you tune in to see who can join the Snowriders, Rowers, Hockey and Netballers as ‘club fight’ champions! 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.

Also remember to 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 Squash Team are so fat they jumped in the air and got stuck. From John, Tennis Society” or something to that effect.

Varsity Results Thursday 17th March

Men’s Waterpolo UPSU: 22 UCP MARJON: 2 (w)

Sunday 20th March Indoor Cricket UPSU: 96 UCP MARJON: 93 (w) Women’s Waterpolo UPSU: 8 UCP MARJON: 5 (w) Swimming UPSU: 105 UCP MARJON: 78 (w) Monday 21st March

Men’s Rugby 2 UPSU: 8 UCP MARJON: 6 (w) Badminton men’s UPSU: 6 UCP MARJON: 6 (w) Badminton mixed UPSU: 8 UCP MARJON: 8 (D) Netball UPSU: 25 UCP MARJON: 24 (w) Women’s Lacrosse

UPSU: 0 UCP MARJON: 16 (L) Women’s Rugby 18:00-19:30 UPSU: 5 UCP MARJON: 19 (L) Men’s Rugby 1 UPSU: 15 UCP MARJON: 5 (w)

Tuesday 22nd March

Tennis Ladies(D) Tennis Mens(L) Tennis Mixed(D) Women’s Futsal UPSU: 3 UCP MARJON: 3 (W on penalties) Men’s Futsal UPSU: 2 UCP MARJON: 4 (L) Mixed Lacrosse UPSU: 7 UCP MARJON: 12 (L)

Wednesday 23rd March

Men’s Football 2 UPSU: 1 UCP MARJON: 1 (D) (W on penalties)

Men’s Football 3 UPSU: 1 UCP MARJON: 2 (L) Men’s Lacrosse UPSU: 9 UCP MARJON: 3 (W) Women’s Hockey UPSU: 2 UCP MARJON: 2 (D) Men’s Hockey UPSU: 2 UCP MARJON: 2 (D) Men’s Basketball 2 UPSU: 61 UCP MARJON: 69 (L) Men’s Basketball 1 UPSU: 57 UCP MARJON: 97 (L)

Tuesday 29th March

Women’s Football UPSU: 1 UCP MARJON: 1 (L on penalties) Men’s Football UPSU: 0 UCP MARJON: 0 (L on penalties)

2 points for a win / 1 point for a draw. UPSU were deducted 1point prior to the start of Varsity.

UPSU lost Varsity 26 points to 25

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Storm It was 4.20am in the morning and I was already up, showered and straightening my hair. It was going to be a long day ahead, but I was too nervous to be tired.

Today was competition day, the day Plymouth Storm travels to Newport, Wales to compete in BCA Western Classics, our first competition of the year.

Since October, Storm has been training hard every week in the run up to competitions, and we all wanted to come back with trophies. Cheerleading is fun, but a lot of hard work too. Competition squad trains twice a week, with girls also competing in partner stunts training more, as well as our spirit squad also training once a week. You have to be dedicated, committed and enthusiastic, but if you are prepared to be all that, cheerleading is amazing fun, and an experience not to be missed.

Partner stunt; which is just one stunting group, are the first of our squad onto the mat, the rest of the team sit at the side with baited breath. It turns out we have no to reason to be worried, because the girls perform the routine perfectly, hitting all their stunts and posing playfully for the judges. We all cheer like mad (yes cheerleaders cheering!) and go back to our seats. Its only 11am and I am already starting to lose my voice.

Our Novice squad also hits their routine flawlessly, showing no signs of nervousness despite the fact it is the first time they have performed their routine to a huge crowd. Watching from the side, the girls in Intimidate are proud, but nervous, because it’s our turn next.

Excitedly we go off to warm up, and wait for our turn to be called. Time seems to drag on forever, and yet all of a sudden Storm is being called, and we are running through the tunnel, out onto the mat. All we can hear is applause, and we take our positions and wait for the music to start. The next two and a half minutes were probably the fastest of my life. You don’t even notice the crowd; your only focus is hitting the dance and making your stunts as

high and precise as possible. The next thing you know, everyone is applauding again, and your time to perform is up, it’s all over, and suddenly you try to remember how well the routine went.

There is a television screen on delay so that you can watch your performance as soon as you come off the mat. Some of the girls didn’t hit their stunts and don’t want to watch, disappointed, but we do watch, and we all agree – we are proud of what we just achieved.

7.30pm is results time, and we walk away from Newport with 1st and 2nd place in Partner Stunt categories and Intermediate also place 4th. We are ecstatic. The Novice squad did not place, but we know they deserved to, and if anything, it’s a motivator for all of us to step up our game and work twice as hard for the next competitions; BCA University Nationals and BCA Midlands Classics, which are in April. We have less than a month of training to go, but we are determined to put our all into it, and hopefully we will do well.

In the summer term we will be running a give-it-ago session for anyone who wants to try cheerleading, teaching you basic stunts and cheers, so keep your eyes peeled for dates, and make sure to come along and have some fun with Storm!

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Plymouth Argyle’s fall from distant heights

by Joel Martin

The 2010/11 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 are now well past the half-way point in the season, Argyle enter a whole realm of financial problems, and 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 on and off the pitch. On the pitch Argyle have won only 12 of their 35 games in Npower League One, which adds to poor performances in the FA Cup and Johnston Paint Trophy, leaving the club in 24th position in the league – however this is not the full story. Inadequate displays have been defined by a lack of goals and a leaking defence, not to mention a string of 10 red cards which has caused concern over the discipline of the team. This was not helped after the January departure of three of Argyle’s best players; Bradley Wright-Phillips (leading goal scorer), Craig Noone and Reda Johnson. These on field problems have been exposed due to the deep economic hole the Pilgrims find themselves in, which ultimately resulted in a 10 point deduction in the league on 21st February due to Argyle directors announcing the intention to appoint an administrator. It is difficult to pin point a reason for the financial problems, as it is more of a culmination of lack of funding from Japanese owners, a reliance on the ‘England 2018 world cup bid’ and poor financial management; amongst other reasons.

The 10 point deduction placed Argyle in 24th and last position in the league, after the deduction was simultaneous with a 6 game losing run. After a 4-0 loss to league leaders Brighton and Hove Albion on 22nd February a dark cloud hung over Home Park and Argyle.

Financial problems were to only worsen, with the announcement that Plymouth had entered Administration on 4th March, and that there would be a period of 2 weeks to find a buyer for the club – if it cannot do this then Argyle may cease to be a football

club. Over the last week, there has been horrible news for 16 members of staff involved with Plymouth Argyle, as they have had to be laid off due to lack of funds and also, something which is perhaps more noticeable to the public; the town centre Argyle shop has been forced to close.

There is, however, a glimmer of light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel. Performances have begun to pick up on the pitch considerably with a 3 game winning run; including a fine away display versus Sheffield Wednesday, a heavyweight of the league. This has been quoted as a real ‘backs against the wall fight’ by Argyle, leading to hopes that Peter Reid can somehow lead Argyle to avoid relegation. As an Argyle fan myself, I cannot express my respect and thanks for the amount of care, effort and commitment Peter Reid is showing to our football club. His dedication, for me, was summed up today when in a memorabilia auction to raise critical funds Reid donated his FA Cup final medal from his time with Everton. This gesture is just one of many selfless acts of generosity, modesty and gratitude Reid has shown towards the club in recent weeks; adding to his constant praise for players, staff and fans.

Another possible positive is the intentions of exdirectors Sir Roy Gardner and Keith Todd who have made a formal move to buy Plymouth Argyle out of administration. It will be interesting to see fans reaction to two men, who were involved in the demise of Plymouth, trying to retake control of the club.

Despite the problems Plymouth still face, there have been recent signs of possible improvement and survival, especially on the pitch. It is vital that you support your local club, a club in desperate need of backing. It is only a matter of time till the fate of Plymouth Argyle Football Club is decided, so if you care about your local football club at any level show some support and get behind the Green Army in the coming weeks!

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