QMessenger issue 43

Issue 43

Monday October 17th 2011

Find CUB inside this issue

SBCS Restructure

Changes to the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences could see staff made redundant Page 6

Is Britain The Art of Full?

Ink Are tattoo’s really art and if so, how

Does an influx of immigrants help the country, or is it detrimental?

Page 8

artistic is the Queen Mary student body?

CUB Page 5

The Newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union

Union General Meeting

Read QMessenger’s report on the first UGM of the year, where a record 337 students voted on changes to union governance.

Pages 4-5

Bed Bugs Infest East London Rosie Reynolds Bed bugs have been discovered in QM halls of residences and are suspected to be part of a London-wide epidemic.

Bed bugs have been discovered in Pooley House this September, and have been found in Maynard and Sir Christopher Frances in previous years. Bed bugs are becoming more and more common across London, and especially in Tower Hamlets.

Experts fear that the problem is set to spread when people start to arrive from abroad for the

Olympics.

Bed bugs are small parasites that feed exclusively on the blood of warm-blooded animals, particularly favouring humans.

They are mainly active at night.

Bed bugs were mostly eradicated in London in the 1940s, but there has been a steady upsurge in numbers since 1995. The reasons for this are unclear, but an increase in foreign travel and resistance to pesticides have been blamed. Pest control experts reported a 24% increase in the number of cases in he last year alone.

Another reason for the rise

in numbers may be one that directly affects students. Some experts are blaming a more frequent exchange of second hand soft furnishings - a practice rife in houses and flats rented by students. Rachael Young, a third year biology student, said: “When we first moved into our house we requested an extra bed, as there were more of us than there were the previous tenants.

I was just given a bed stand that was falling apart and a mattress that was obviously quite old. It was left in the lounge for me to take upstairs! I bought a new one. I didn’t want to risk

sleeping on a mattress that could have come from anywhere.”

While many don’t want to take the risk, some students don’t even realise that their beds could be infected. A student who would like to remain anonymous told us: “We had bites after living in our house for a week; apparently the bed bugs had been there for some time but the previous tenants hadn’t noticed, as not everyone reacts to the bites. The house has been fumigated and we’ve had new beds and carpets - it took a while but it finally seems to be sorted.”

Pest control experts have

warned that action against the parasites needs to be taken quickly.

‘If your home has bedbugs and you live in a flat or a terrace, prompt action should be taken to avoid spreading the infestation to neighbouring properties,’ said a spokesperson for Rentokil.

Bed bugs can hitch a lift on clothes and soft luggage, and it is feared that with the Olympics coming up the bed bug epidemic in London could rival that of New York, where bed bug numbers are higher than they were during the Second World War.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

News Editorial Team: • Executive Editor - Sam Creighton vpcommunications@qmsu.org • Managing Editor - Caz Parra editor@qmessenger.co.uk • Sub-Editors - Robert Pritchard, Maria Sowter and Lauren Mason proof@qmessenger.co.uk •News Editors - Rosie Reynolds and Kaamil Ahmed news@qmessenger.co.uk • Comment Editors - Ross Speer and Kashmira Gander comment@qmessenger.co.uk • Satire Editors - Ben Richardson and Aaron Barber satire@qmessenger.co.uk • Sports and Societies Editors - Shafi Musaddique, Hollie Carter and Ashley Sweetman sport@qmessenger.co.uk • Photography Editors - Keeren Flora and Bethia Stone photography@qmessenger.co.uk

You should writing for us.

The Cloud How you fit into the news.

Pressure is building on defence secretary Liam Fox over concerns that his friend Adam Werrity, a defence lobbyist, had too much access to high levels of government.

The Lords have accepted coalition plans to reform the NHS.

The UN have warned that a cholera epidemic sweeping through Africa is one of the worst ever to hit the region with almost 2,500 dead and 85,000 infected.

Medical professors at QM have criticised the Coalition’s stance on health. Both his NHS reforms and plans for a tax on obesity have been criticised.

Email any of the above email addresses to sign up to our award winning team and get your career in student media off to a flying start.

Alternatively find us on Facebook at /QMessenger.

Students voted for BLSA to retain 50 percent representation of Student Council in a heated discussion at the UGM last week.

Two women from Liberia and one from Yemen were awarded the nobel peace prize last week.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is strongly tipped to win Liberia’s second ever presidential election.

Hamas and Israel have agreed a swap deal for prisoners with Hamas releasing captured soldier Gilad Shalit, whose safety has been a major concern for Israel since his capture in 2006.

26 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians last week. It is thought that the violence was sparked by government agitators.

The American government claim to have foiled a plot by Iran to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the US.

QMessenger is printed at Mortons of Horncastle Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, LN9 6JR. Tel: 01507 523 456. Each issue has a print run of 1,000 and costs £445 to print and deliver.

Established in 2008, QMessenger is the free weekly newspaper of Queen Mary Students’ Union. We are proud of our editorial independence and endeavour to always hold the College, Union and external bodies to account and to provide the best news and analysis to the students of Queen Mary, University of London.

QMessenger is created entirely by students and the publication retains all copyright of design, text, photographs and graphics, along with the individual contributor.

Any views expressed in QMessenger section are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the paper, the editorial board, Queen Mary Students’ Union or Queen Mary, University of London.

@QMessenger

In this digital age of ours it would be remiss for us not to keep an eagle eye on our online presence.So,here are the best messages tweeted @QMessenger this week.

Saw a page of @ QMessenger floating down Bow Road earlier. Its fabulousness is spreading...

Check out @QMNETBALL in @qmessenger

Saddened by @ alexbadrick’s graffiti findings but great article! @ QMessenger

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By Kaamil Ahmed Images by: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf by World Economic Forum (Flickr) Occupy Wall Street by Paul Stein (Flickr) Busking for War Child by LexnGer (Flickr)

60,000 job seekers who cannot speak English have been told that they must attend lessons in order to keep receiving benefits. Many of those affected will be Bengali women in Tower Hamlets.

Protest at QM as Lansley appears on Question Time Tom Stevenson Queen Mary was alive with the sound of protest chants on Thursday night as ‘Right To Work’ demonstrated against Health Secretary Andrew Lansley’s visit to the Octagon to film

BBC Question Time.

The banners of ‘Lewisham Keep The NHS Public’, ‘The Medic Practitioners Union’ and the ‘Socialist Workers Party’ greeted entrants to the Queen’s Building from 5.30pm, and chants of “Andrew Lansley get out, we know what you’re all about” interrupt-

ed the Question Time reception at Muccis.

Speaking for the demonstration, Tower Hamlets GP Jackie Appleby iterated the need to, “stop this bill”, and urged those with tickets to the Question Time audience not to believe “the lie” that the Reform Bill was not a privatization bill.

‘NHS patient’ Valerie Brennan spoke in front of the Queens building, crutches at her side, of the dedication of NHS workers without whom, she said “I wouldn’t be here”.

Queen Mary StuAnarchist protestor tries to enter Muccis where guests were being registered.

Image by Matthew TK Taylor.

dents Union Women’s Officer Wanda Canton criticized the police presence at the demonstration. Leaning against the door to the Queen’s Building as it was pushed close by a police officer, she told QMessenger: “They are bullying people around, and at the end of the day this is a legitimate protest.” This kind of policing, she said, “completely destroys freedom... we [demonstrators] are doing nothing illegal.”

Protestors gathered outside QM to defend the NHS. Image

by Stian Skistad

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

News

"We're exploited": Stewards claim Matthew Martin Controversy has been stirred amid claims that a job offered exclusively to students is actually detrimental to both their welfare and studies.

Students can currently apply to become halls stewards - the ‘eyes and ears’ of the residences department at QM. Halls stewards earn £80 a week and are expected to be on call from 5am-8pm in the week and 24 hours a day over the weekend. They are trained to dealing with minor maintenance issues and to carry out preventative roles such as fire alarm marshals. Halls stewards are supported by live-in staff and are encouraged to direct distressed students towards the full-time employees. The stewards are expected to complete a week of unpaid training over the freshers’ move in weekend in September.

However, there have been accusations that the job is underpaid and employees overworked. “You work too hard for no money,” said a graduate who did not wish to be identified and worked as a halls steward in 2007.

In 2007, duties included touch-

Students are paid to work as stewards for QM halls of residence such as Pooley House.

However, some are unhappy with their working conditions.

Image by Matthew Martin.

ing base with management five times a week, being on call on a duty phone seven nights a month and doing unspecified duties as required. “There were also periodic things you had to volunteer for, like Summer Jam - all unpaid, of course, it was the condition of the job,” explained our source.

“You potentially had to be on call over Christmas - they picked names out of a hat because no one wanted to do it, and you didn’t get paid extra,” they continued. “Basically, the job involved a lot of getting up in the middle of the night and working for free.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by a current halls stew-

ard, who also declined to be named. “Being on call every other week and 24 hours over weekends often makes one feel exploited,” they said.

Previously stewards received a £30 discount on rent but were only paid £50 per week, so the overall amount has stayed the same.

Suzanne Cantello, Residential Services Manager, said: “We can’t offset pay through rent by law.

We found some people forgot about the rent reduction, so this money went into payroll. It needs to be separate, for legal reasons.”

However, this does not satisfy our source. “If a job requires

Students help clean the canal

driving, you get a company car, if a job requires selling smart clothes, you get discounted suits, if a job requires travelling, you get your tickets paid for; so why are we paying full rent for a place we are required to be to carry out the job?”

There have been complaints that the job description provided for the halls steward application is misleading. “They [management] don’t advertise it as a semivoluntary role, they advertise it as a job,” commented one of our sources. “It feels like we are almost paying to do the job, not that it’s paying us. We could make the same money doing an eight hour

Chomsky visits QM Caz Parra

International students help clean Regents canal.

Image by Matthew TK Taylor.

Matthew TK Taylor International Foundation Programme (IFP) students became cleanup volunteers last Wednesday, as they helped clear Regents Canal from debris and weeds as part of a project from Thames21.

Around forty IFP students from humanities and social science departments attended the event, intending to help clear the damaged waterway of the debris left on the highly frequented canal. Students helped grapple rubbish including bottles, fast-food packaging and even a petrol canister from the canal-bed, whilst enjoying a

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day out in the sunshine, though they were frequently interrupted by time-conscious but appreciative cyclists.“We’re undoing our own mistakes”, said Ahmed Afrid, an IFP student from Pakistan, comically, “students are the main cause of the rubbish, so it’s good to help clean it up”.

Others worked further upstream, attempting to clear some of the green duckweed that had formed a solid layer across the canal. “I wasn’t even aware there was a canal”, said Anosh Habib, an IFP student from India, “there was just this green mess, it’s great to do my part helping the environ-

ment.”

There are around 120 students on the IFP from over 30 nations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.

“It’s a great opportunity to have the students network and learn to work together,” said Will Hutton, a teaching fellow on the English department as part of the IFP, “It’s great to see then working together to clean up the community and making a contribution with Thames21.”

Thames21 will return on the 19th for another session, and run the two-portion event once a year every October.

shift once a week, without sacrificing our freedom.”

The main feeling from the halls stewards is one of resentment.

“The students that apply to do this job are students that obviously need the money. However, the rent and levels of pay does not necessarily leave us better off. A lot of us are not 100 percent happy with the situation but ultimately we need a job and a place to live while we study,” said one of our sources. “They’re exploiting people’s wish to stay in halls. They’re always going to get people to do it.”

Cantello said that she feels that the halls stewards are an important and positive addition to campus life. “Students themselves are customers as well as employees, and they are more approachable than staff. They know the campus well.”

Despite spending cuts across the board, Cantello insists that the programme will run next year.

“It’s never about saving money, it’s about changing the expectations of students as customers. Support comes in a variety of different ways,” she said. “We’re constantly looking to provide better service, and getting feedback from students is key.”

“Arguably the most important Intellectual alive”, linguist, philosopher, political activist and cognitive scientist Noam Chomsky spoke at Queen Mary on the evening of October 9.

Under the title Language, Mind and Nature the event followed an interview format, and was led by Professor David Adger, Head of the Linguistics Department. Professor Agder quizzed Chomksy over how current theories of language inform the study of the human mind, its biological and psychological processes, and how they influence cognitive science.

Attendants were also afforded the opportunity to question Chomsky directly.

When asked about the topic for the event, Professor David Adger told QMessenger “I chose [it] because [the Linguistics Department] has a formal group that's interested in the nature of language, a social group interested in the use of language, and a psychology

group interested in the cognition of it all.” The event included “one part of which includes language, a general interview about the nature of language and its evolution-theory origins would be relevant here as that's how we do things.”

Noam Chomsky is regarded as the “father of modern linguistics” and the world’s most cited living author. “Chomsky renewed linguistics as a science of the mind and as a means of understanding human nature,” explains Professor Adger. “In particular, he identified universal patterns in language that have their source in our biological make-up, part of the hard-wiring of our brains.”

Chomsky, who’s is currently based in the Lexington, Massachusetts, is often invited to speak at various events on different subjects from Linguistics to Foreign Policy, and the Middle East. “We knew Chomsky was in London for the Rebellious Media Conference” says Professor Adger “so the Linguistics Department was very interested [in inviting him to speak at Queen Mary]”.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

News

Medical students dominate UGM Lawrence Jones The first Union General Meeting (UGM) of the year was filled to the brim with a record breaking number of students turning up to vote on the direction of Queen Mary Students’ Union (QMSU).

However, despite the record turnout, some have branded it as illegitimate.

ArtsTwo Lecture Theatre had 337 students crammed into seats and isles. However, it has been claimed that the decisions made at the meeting are unrepresentative of real student opinion, as 257 of those present - 76 per cent - were from Barts and The London School of Medicine of Dentistry, which in reality has only 3,000 of the 16,000 students at Queen Mary, 19 per cent.

Controversy surounding the meeting has been circulating around Barts and The London Student Association (BLSA) for the two-weeks since the UGM was called. The motion that has so incensed medical students was the changes to Student Council proposed by Wilson Wong and seconded by QMSU President, Sophie Richardson. Under the current Student Council system Barts and The London enjoy 50 percent representation. However, under the proposals the number of positions gauranteed for BLSA fell to seven, compared to nine for students from the other

two faculties. There would also be a further eight positions that would not be faculty specific.

While many have argued that this new system would provide fairer and more proportional representation for all. Some Barts students felt that they needed to “defend” their voice on Council. The troupe of medical students was led to the meeting by QMSU Vice-President Association, Geroge Ryan.

Ryan proposed an amendment to the motion which reinstated 50 percent representation to pass. Despite long and heated debate, the sheer number of medical students present meant it passed overwhelmingly.

Dominic Bell, Vice-President Student Activities, branded the evening as “facrcial” and “undermining democracy”. He has called a meeting with all Student Councillors not from BLSA on Monday evening to organise student consultation around the issue of Barts representation on Council. It is thought that he will try and use this data to convice Student Council to block the changes when it comes to the group for ratification at their next meeting on November 1.

Sam Creighton, VP Communications, took a slightly different line, saying: “While on one level it is disappointing, as I do not think what has happened improves representation for the majority of students. However,

what I find equally disappointing is that so few non-medical students turned up to the UGM to vote. If people don’t show up to make their voice heard, they can’t really complain if they aren’t listened to.”

By the end of the meeting, the mood was ugly, with the traditional rivalry between QMSU and BLSA bubbling over into heckles and jibes.

It has been alleged that BL students were simply follwing the lead of George Ryan, voting together as one block. However, this has been fiercely denied.

Ryan did send out an email to all BL students encouraging them to attend the meeting and saying: “The concern is whether a student from BLSA could be and would be represented by a student who doesn’t study medicine or dentistry in one of these cross campus positions.” He went on to explain that medics and dentists are different from other students due to geographical location, community spirit, different working hours and levels of union engagement, and thus needed seperate representatives.

Ryan denies any such allegations, saying: “I told people as neatly as I could what the issues were but encourages everyone to come down, listen to the deabtes and make their own minds up. I was very aware that I didn’t want people just to vote the same way I was.”

Sophie Richardson, President of Queen Mary Students’ Union, a against an amendment proposed by her Vice-President Associat ing. However, it still passed. Image by Matthew TK Taylor.

Regulations codify role and fre Sam Creighton, VP Communications, commented: “I think it is fantastic that these reguLast week’s Union General lations have been passed and Meeting (UGM) saw an over- the incredible margin by which whelming number of students they passed just proves how vote in favour of implementing important a strong, indepenQueen Mary Students’ Union’s dent and representative stu(QMSU) first ever set of media dent media is to this campus. regulations.

Now that my position will no The vote came at the end of longer exist, it is more impor-

Roma Nesi Pio

“We’ve never before had anything codifying what the media is for, this has been a long running and grave mistake.” VP Communications, Sam Creighton, proposes the media regualtions to the UGM. Image by Bethia Stone.

George Ryan, Vice-President Association, looks happy after leading a troupe of over 200 Barts and The London Students to the General Meeting last week, contributing to a record-breaking turnout for QMSU. Image by Matthew TK Taylor.

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a long and controversial UGM that was characterised by the rivalry between Queen Mary and Barts and The London.

The meeting also passed motions fundamentally changing the way QMSU will be governed in the future, including the abolition of the role of VicePresident Communications, the Sabbatical Officer responsible for student media.

tant than ever to ensure that both the role and the duties of the media at Queen Mary is codified and supported by regulation.”

The motion for the media regulations was proposed by Sam Creighton, VP Communications and seconded by Oscar Williamson, VP Education and Welfare, Caz Parra, QMessenger editor and Ozzy Amir, dra-

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

News Students timed out at General Meeting Kaamil Ahmed

at the first General Meeting of her term. She spoke strongly tion altering the Student Council changes that she was second-

Students have expressed their disappointment about the way the Union General Meeting was conducted last week after only one student drafted motion was discussed.

Although six motions were voted on at the meeting, five of them were written by the Sabbatical team. All motions left undisucssed can be taken to the next Student Council meeting on November 1 if their proposers decide to resubmit them.

Some students who attended the UGM have questioned how effective it was considering that it had been advertised as a chance for students to take their issues to the union.

“It seems completely unfair that some motions get effectively demoted based only on their position on the agenda,” said Sam Playle, President of the Palestine Solidarity Society which put forward two motions about supporting the Palestinian cause which were not discussed at all due to time constraints.

“We hoped our union would take a stand against oppression, but we wanted all students to be

able to vote, to make it a meaningful statement of solidarity .

Only a handful of people get a vote at Student Council so even if the motions pass, it won’t be as much of a moral victory as it would at the UGM.” The motion that dominated the evening was the changes to the format of Student Council.

It was proposed on the night by Wilson Wong, QMSU Socieities Officer and third year genetics student. However, when it was originally presented to Student Council at their training weekend, it was done so by Sophie Richardson, QMSU President, and had been drafted by the Sabbatical team over the summer break.

Wong explained that: “Sophie gave it to me because she was inspired by my enthusiasm,” he said he was “100 per cent behind the idea.”

Richardson commented, saying: “Wilson expressed interest in the motion and strongly supported. I am all for students councillors taking ownership of our policies and Wilson did just that.”

QMSU denies that there is any kind of prioritising of motions and that the agenda run in the

order which the motions were submitted.

Wanda Canton, QMSU Women’s Officer, whose motion to affiliate the union with the organisation Defend the Right to Protest, was the only student drafted motion discussed on the night, said that it should have been given more time to be discussed - it was given only 15 minutes at the end of the three hour meeting.

“There was not enough time, nor did people have the patience to properly discuss it. I am shocked that it fell despite nobody speaking against it,” said Canton. “There were other motions proposed by students on very important issues, such as Palestine, and supporting actions against the draconian cuts of the Government - but the mob mentalities between Barts and QMSU prevented any productive conversations beyond constitutional changes.”

Five motions could be carried over the the Student Council meeting, these are ‘Support November 9 Demonstration’, ‘Support 30th November’, ‘Justice for Palestine’, ‘Boycott Israeli Goods’ and ‘Condemnation of Library Staff Redundancies’.

eedoms of media Students fundementally alter how their Union runs ma editor for QMTV. It stated: “An independent media greatly enriches the student experience and improves campus life” and that an, “absence [of media regulations] has previously caused confusion and conflict over both what the media should be doing and how it should be doing it.”

The motion also codified the editorial independence of the QMessenger Media Group, something which has always been taken for granted but, until now, has not been enshrined in regulation. Editors now have their responsibilities clearly defined, and have to sign a contract saying that they understand what the Union will expect from them and what they can expect from the Union.

The regulations also improve accountability by introducing The Collective, a group of students who ensure that the media remains student focused and student led. The establishment of this body was a major part of Creighton’s re-election campaign to the position of VP Communications.

Michael Hammond Students voted last week to fundamentally alter the way Queen Mary Students’ Union operates on almost every level.

A trio of motions: adopting a new set of Articles of Association to replace the existing Constitution, reducing the number of Queen Mary Students’ Union’s Sabbatical Officers from five to four and completely overhauling the Student Council, was passed at last week’s Union General Meeting (UGM) after numerous amendments and prolonged debate.

Vice-President Education and Welfare, Oscar Williamson proposed the first motion, to adopt the Articles of Association.

The Charities Act 2006 made it compulsory for Students’ Unions to register as charities. It is beneficial, both financially and in terms of trustee liability for Unions to become an incorporated charity. However, if they wish to incorporate they must adopt Articles of Association in place of their existing Constitution.

The Charity Commission and the National Union of Students co-drafted a template document and it was this, slightly amended, that Williamson presented at the UGM. An amendment was proposed

by QMSU Campaigns Officer Ozzy Amir to remove a clause allowing the Board of Trustees to overturn decisions made by students deemed not to be in “the best interests of the Union”.

Oscar Willaimson said: “The problem with documents like this is that they are co-produced by competing groups of lawyers who all have different priorities that generally don’t align to ours which crushes difference and individuality in small groups like Students’ Unions and because we don’t know what has to be in there for it to be legally binding and what’s just in there because lawyers like putting things like that in, we look like morons debating it, which I aptly demonstrated at the UGM.” The second motion, proposed

by Vice-President Student Activities, Dominic Bell, looked to abolish the positions of VP Activities

and VP Communications, and split the role of VP Education and Welfare into two portfolios. Bell argued that VP Activities was “fast becoming redundant” due to increases in staffing and Part-time Officers.

Not all students present were happy with the proposals. Amendments seeking to vote on the roles separately, to keep VP Activities and to keep VP Communications were all suggested, each only failing after lengthy debate.

It was during the discussion of the first attempted amendment that the tone became ugly, with allegations of incompetence levelled at Bell. Third year History and Politics student, Babs Williams, suggested that Bell spent “too much time in Drapers”.

The position of VP Communications was defended on the basis that it was necessary to have someone who could be held accountable for student media but current VP Communications Sam Creighton, argued that a staff member would be just as capable of filling the role and supporting elected students who manage the media alongside their studies.

QMSU campaigns officer, Ozzy Amir, argued that a Union seeking to be more representative should not be reducing its number of representatives. Bell responded that the removal of VP Activities in particular would allow more direct interaction between the heads of clubs and societies and the Union’s senior team, thus improving representation.

The final motion was the most controversial. Proposed by Wilson Wong, QMSU Societies Officer and seconded by President, Sophie Richardson, it looked to create an Academic Zone, a Welfare Zone and a Union Zone, with all Officers sitting on one of these zone committees.

An amendment was proposed

by George Ryan, BLSA President, reinstating the 50:50 split between QM and BL councillors. Under the original motion, QM was guaranteed nine positions and BL was guaranteed seven, with eight to be elected crosscampus.

Bell and Richardson argued against the amendment, but the huge number of BL students present meant it passed easily.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCOTBER 17 2011

News

SBCS may restructure to maximise research funding

QM expert slams Coaltion claim that patient choice improves healthcare Irene Kashioulis

The GE Fogg building is where the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences is based, if the proposals are accepted the school would undergo a major restructure. Image by Shafi Musaddique.

Alex Badrick Proposals being put to College Council would redistribute academic staff within the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences (SBCS), QMessenger has learned.

The shake up would see six academic posts made redundant, while new staff would be recruited based on their “relative ability” to receive and generate funding. There has been general disapproval from staff within SBCS towards the proposals.

“There is a pressing need to improve research that is consistent with Queen Mary’s ambition”, which SBCS believes requires “a significant refocusing of the School’s activity,” says an internal document addressed to the Department of Science and Engineering, and leaked to QMessenger.

The report details the proposal in full: SBCS staff would be assigned to one of four roughly

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equal divisions: Chemistry, Organismal Biology, Molecular Biology and Psychology, reducing the number of academic staff in Organismal Biology from 26 to 20, and increasing the number of academic staff from 15.7 to 20 in Molecular Biology and from 7.5 to 14 in Psychology. Chemistry would retain its 20 members of academic staff.

Overall, six staff, “in the current ecology and evolution groups” would be made redundant, with SBCS asking the Queen Mary Senior Executive, “to approve the proposal and agree to the Faculty seeking Council’s approval to set up a redundancy committee.”

The department would recruit 10.8 new members of staff, with the change said to “emphasise out best performing programmes... [which are] biomedicine, psychology and biochemistry.”

The SBCS justifies this by stating: “[the School] has not focused on supporting its research

strengths preferring to appoint in such a way as to emphasise diversity”. With “the uncertainty of the impact of upcoming changes in student funding” and “70 per cent of its income from teaching”, “this potentially leaves the School in a vulnerable position”.

Aamna Mohdin, a second year biology student, said: “The proposals seems more about league tables than quality of teaching.”

The report proposes “to retain the exiting portfolio of undergraduate programmes” and “develop a new portfolio of taught postgraduate programmes.”

One lecturer, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “No one I know in the department likes this. Although the department is being reasonable and consulting staff before a final proposal, it’s worrying. Cuts are only being made in one discipline.”

QMSU Vice-President Education and Welfare, Oscar Williamson, was disappointed with

the proposals, saying: “I think these proposals just demonstrate the way the wind is blowing in higher education. Essentailly the department is refocussing itself along two criteria: how much reseach funding is available and what is currently topical and of interest to leading journals. The only reason these would be the criteria is because of an obession with league table that unfortunatley pervades the entire sector. Interesting, under the financial objectives section they are justifying their contribution to the college by ‘making a robust contribution to the schools finances’ which just makes very, very deprerssing reading for someone who believes in education for the sake of knowledge as opposed to education as a commodity.”

The initial consultation period runs until October 24, with the proposal submitted to College Council on November 24.

The Head of SBCS was unavailable for comment.

The coalition’s claim that the introduction of more choice in surgery would improve healthcare is fundamentally flawed, according to QM expert.

The government Health and Social Care Bill 2011 was significantly influenced by the original study, written by health economist Zack Cooper, and was used as the basis for the Prime Minister’s statement that competition “is one way we can make things work better for patients.”

Mr Coopers report found that the number of deaths avoided is likely to be “significantly higher” across the whole health service since patients were given more choice where competition was increased.

However the Lancet report led

by Allyson Pollock, the Professor of Public Health Research and Policy at QM, reveals that the study shows no evidence or explanation as to why the availability of choice for selective procedure should have any effect on the survival of heart attack patients.

Professor Pollock said: “This work should not be quoted as scientific evidence to support choice, competition or the new Health and Social Care Bill.”

According to some academics the report also identifies crucial faults in the original study, one of which are that a heart attack is a medical emergency and therefore patients have no choice about where they are treated. Another is that the authors ignore the possible effects of major changes in primary care prevention and secondary care intervention for heart attacks.

Mr Cooper defends his findings in a response to Professor Pollock’s comments. He said: “Competition creates vital incentives for NHS providers to improve patient care, it is not a baseless assertion, it is backed up by evidence from my work.”

However Professor Pollock insists that no hard evidence is found. “The paper simply doesn’t prove either a cause or effect between patient choice and death rate.”

The dispute on whether competition on the NHS benefits mortality rates or not is very much ongoing.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

News

Block The Bridge, Block The Bill

Demonstrators block Westminster Bridge on Sunday in protest against the Health and Social Care Reform Bill.

Tom Stevenson Matthew TK Taylor Atop a 15ft scaffold, fashioned from three thick pieces of what looks like bamboo, a young man dressed as a surgeon ties one end of a huge banner to his own precarious perch. As he tightens the knot, large bold letters reading “Save Our NHS” stretch out across Westminster Bridge.

At the base of the construct, a crowd of protesters mill around dressed as nurses and doctors, symbolically blocking the way between The Houses of Parliament and St. Thomas’ Hospital.

The demonstration, dubbed ‘Block The Bridge, Block The Bill’ by the primary organisers UKUncut, drew thousands of people together on Sunday to protest against the Health and Social Care Bill as it was debated in the House of Lords.

In a move criticised by medical unions across the country including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing and the British Dental Association, the Billl - contrary to the manifestos of both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats - proposes to abol-

ish Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) in favour of general practitioner (GP) led commissioning groups.

Caroline, a scrub-clad demonstrator who had been giving a speech from a megaphone, stopped to talk to us. “I’m just a public member who wants to save the NHS”, she said, “I love it, I think it’s a great institution, I’ve paid my taxes all my life and I‘m getting older now... I want to make sure that I can take advantage of it.”

She bawls into her megaphone, “private healthcare is here to stay... paid for by taxes, provided by capitalism, run for a profit - the worst of all possible worlds - block the bill!” The Reform bill is widely perceived to be a ‘Privatization Bill’ by another name, and smells, to the protesters, approximately as sweet.

At the North-side, a young boy took to a megaphone and began leading chants to the tune of the popular ‘Andrew Lansley rap’ by NxtGen . Equal measures of pride and amusement in the assembled activists ensued as he sang “the NHS is not for sale, you grey haired manky codger” to “greedy” Health Sec-

retary Andrew Lansley.

As the day progressed, UKUncut drew together a large crowd to give speeches. A young woman addressed the demonstration, and called for a “permanent” political movement. “It’s fair enough assembling in public places, but why not take the fight to where it really should be - the workplace - take the fight forward: strike!”

The organizers then broke from speeches, asking the crowd to “get together in groups, and have some discussions”. It was clear that many wanted to see more direct action against the bill, calling out for “action not workshops”, but there weren’t enough of them to change the bridge occupation into a more extravagant act of civil disobedience.

For an unplanned demonstration, the policing was surprisingly measured. The Parliament side of the bridge looked like a militarized border, with more police vans squeezed together to form a blockade than looked logistically possible, and two lines of officers in a similar, tightly-packed formation. The South-side, however, remained entirely open to protesters, with roads further down blocked by

a substantially smaller police presence.

Dave Sims, a fourth year medical student at Barts & The London, attended the rally. “The turnout is a little disappointing”, he said, “I feel not enough people know what is really happening, Barts spend a lot of time in student politics and it frustrates me that more haven’t turned out for this demonstration, this affects our future as health-workers”. He feels the Bill will affect the education of future clinicians: “Education will have to change”, he said, “GPs are being asked to become businessmen, and we’re not. We’ll have to learn how to handle enormous budgets alongside dealing with patient care.”.

His views chime well with those of Payam, a Barts graduate who was unequivocal about the Reform Bill, and the rally against it.

“This is going to damage our NHS services hugely”,

Images by Matthew TK Taylor. he said, “and I think we’re running out of avenues.” The demonstration, he said, was the last opportunity to stop the process entirely.

As a foundation trust, Barts will be expected, under the Act, to accept “any willing provider” of healthcare. Private competitors will be able to provide care that they ‘pick-and-choose’, potentially taking cheap operations that offer good turnover.

Foundation trusts do not make a ‘profit’ but are permitted to reinvest any ‘surplus’ that they have left over at the end of a financial year. Operations that are ‘cheap’ and provide a high rate of return could be taken by private companies whilst the NHS is left to deal with expensive bills for care such as nursing for chronic degenerative conditions.

George Ryan, VP Barts and The London Student Association, when asked for comment, said, “Barts has bigger problems to conquer.”

He did not, however, specify what these were.

news@qmessenger.co.uk

8

QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Comment Is immigration a problem in the United Kingdom?

Our New Role?

If you’ve lived on campus, you’ll know the ones. The guys that called you an ambulance at 3am after a night out in Drapers. All this for what seems to have developed into a semi-voluntary role that may in fact be, at best, redundant. Student exploitation is sadly not an unfamiliar story; we are desperate, skint and, most importantly for employers, an endless resource.

Students have had a rough time of it recently with tuition fees at one end and working for free at the other, we seem to be getting the worst of it all. A word we got used to hearing during the tuition fee debate was ‘compromise’. Is this our new role?

It is easy to forget that a culture of internships and voluntary schemes does not have to mean compromise on fairness.

Are we seeing that Higher Education itself, the very industry which exists on our side of things, is placing us at the bottom too?

The Rise Of The Revolution The world is changing. Difficult as it is, cast your mind back to early 2010; the Arab world was supine beneath the various metallic fists of dictators, Britain had lived under a Labour government for over a decade, and large-scale public protest was but a dim memory. No more.

Barely a week now passes without a demonstration on London’s streets; New York’s stock-exchange is occupied by ordinary Americans; and the grand patriarchs of Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Libya live in fear.

It would be presumptuous for us to attempt to offer an explanation of why, and why now. Grand narratives of history are inevitably reductive and partial, and from where we sit the release of V for Vendetta has as strong of a claim to be the source of this wave of popular dissidence as the implosion of Capitalism.

The London stock exchange, we are told, will soon be occupied too. The V for Vendetta hypothesis probably won’t sound as implausible when Bank is surrounded by protesters in Guy Fawkes masks.

Gabrielle Shiner

I

s immigration a problem in the UK? No, but xenophobia is. Claims about immigration are passionately, and cheaply, tossed around but very rarely do people take the time to approach this subject rationally. When the effects of immigration are analyzed with intellectual integrity, it is easy to see that the popular concerns about immigration are unfounded.

Immigration is not a problem; it is a win-win situation.

The argument is often made that immigrants are stealing native jobs and driving down wages. This is not true. The 2007 Home Office report, The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration, clearly states, “The empirical literature from around the world suggests little or no evidence that immigrants have had a major impact on native labour market outcomes such as wages and unemployment.”

On the contrary, immigrants provide cheap, low-skilled labour, which drives down costs for employers, makes prices cheaper for consumers, and allows natives to spend more money on education, holidays, or whatever they value. Immigrants generally face language and education barriers that exclude them from directly competing with the great majority of the native labour force. Further, as more immigrants take on low-skilled jobs, native workers are given the opportunity to move into higher-skilled, better paid positions.

People fear that immigrants take advantage of government benefits. Again, the Home Office report directly contradicts this claim: “In the long run, it is likely that the net fiscal contribution of an immigrant will be

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greater than that of a non-immigrant.” Often, immigrants arrive and begin working when they are fairly young. This means that they will be paying taxes for years before they start claiming the majority of their benefits as senior citizens. The UK is able to profit from their tax contributions without needing to pay for their education.

The UK benefits from welcoming immigrants during their most productive years, and can reap the advantages of this with minimal costs attached.

What about our culture? Take a look at the great cultural epicenters of the world: London, New York, and Los Angeles, for example. They are diverse and home to a relatively large number of immigrants, which allows them to indulge in a dynamic pool of creativity. Yes, perhaps these cities also suffer from relatively high crime rates. This, however, is a much more complex issue that is grossly oversimplified by assuming that immigrants are somehow inherently more dangerous or criminal than the native population.

The argument that immigration is a problem is an emotional one. When open borders have the possibility to transform the lives of millions of people living in dire poverty, however, emotional sentiments are not enough. Migrating not only changes the lives of the immigrants themselves; they often send remittances home that educate their children and transform their communities. Allowing people to vote with their feet empowers individuals and peacefully pressurises corrupt governments. Look at the facts, open borders, and the world benefits.

Gabrielle Shiner is a third year English Literature student and founding President of the QM Liberty League.

Paddy Ford

B

e under no illusions.

Britain has a work crisis: the highest unemployment figures for 17 years were revealed on Wednesday.

We have an acute lack of housing, affordable or otherwise.

Our healthcare system is more sick than most of the people it is treating. It is time for this fiasco to end.

Centuries ago, the great philosopher Rousseau spoke of a “social contract”. Today, that idea is simple, but under threat. It’s the idea that if we pay our taxes and abide by the law, the government will look after us – directly or indirectly – by helping to keep us in work, in good health and under a roof. But with 1.58 million people claiming jobseekers’ allowance (this is a fairer measurement to use than the 2.8 million unemployed, who may be incapacitated or voluntarily out of work), waiting lists for basic operations up to eighteen months in length and families with new-born babies being forced to live in hostels due to council housing shortages.

Despite these outrages, people continue to flood into our country. Economic migrants, immigrants and, more recently, benefit tourists have flocked to our shores in search of a better lifestyle. And although most of these people end up working for the minimum wage or even being exploited, they are depriving us of jobs, of access to healthcare and housing. Rows about pet cats aside, every day we hear stories of immigrants resisting deportation, or being prioritised for healthcare and housing. How is that fair or even logical?

This argument isn’t about racism or nationalism. It’s not about political creed or a person’s colour. It’s about us, the British people, standing up for ourselves and saying: “Enough is enough. Britain is full, we have to close our doors.” Immigration would be fine if equal numbers of British people were leaving. But they’re not. Since 1993 for example, the number of immigrants outstrips emigrants every year; and we sit fifth in the worldwide population density table. The numbers just don’t add up. But our nation’s landscape is under threat from mindless population growth.

How is it sensible to let more people in when we can’t help the people already here?

Immigration to these isles has been going on for millennia; more recently, since the end of Empire, we have seen widespread migration here from the Caribbean, Asia and Pakistan in particular. Sure, there have been problems with crime and violence, and communities are divided. So let’s get to work with our existing problems before they get out of hand. But it is impossible to ignore the immense cultural benefits immigration has brought: a truly diverse culture, with everything from Jamaican beat poetry to Brick Lane’s curry strip enriching our everyday life.

Britain, and Queen Mary too, should be hugely proud to be the beating heart of a multicultural world. So let’s keep it this way. Let’s do the best possible job we can for the all of the people already here. And this requires us to be firm and say: “Britain is full.”

Paddy Ford is a first year student studying Modern and Contemporary History.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 20

Comment

Facebook is taking over our lives, should we be letting it?

Mark Zuckerberg at the F8 conference where developers witnessed the latest in a series of Facebook redesigns.

Alexander Sarychkin The impact of Facebook is clear. It’s changed the way we communicate, the way we interact, the way we relate. It has globalised communication in an unprecedented way, connecting people all around the world in a way never seen before.

Today we use social media in a way that would have been unthinkable to most even as little as 20 years ago. More than simply interaction, Facebook has revolutionised our understanding of the world: we now have the ability to peer into the personal lives of almost anyone we choose, without a word of exchange. Nothing is private anymore, with each of us presenting to the world a 24/7 window into ourselves. Facebook picks up, and exaggerates, the natural human desire for attention, asking you constantly: “What is on your mind?”

As you ask yourself that question, the box sits there, a single line staring at you, encouraging gently. It’s that word, ‘status’ that is so curious. What do

we mean by status? One’s social status? Or perhaps a physical status? Whichever it may be, it urges you to update your ‘friends’. Nobody ever posts an emotional exposé on Facebook, and even if they do it’s with irony, something that ultimately shoots you to the higher planes of social status. It’s simply designed to be addictive, a way to live constantly with other people.

The rise of Facebook in modern society has been incredible. The website has infiltrated into our lives beyond the social; we see it in politics, me-

simply “It’s designed to be

addictive, a way to live constantly with others.

”

dia and even the law. A feature film, The Social Network, based upon its humble Harvard beginnings, saw great success. It’s crept into the law, where recently two dudes were thrown in jail for starting a riot (that never happened) over a

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Facebook event page. This sentence is irrelevant, but clearly the police saw the potential of something like this causing mass attendance due to the site it was placed upon. As we stared blindly into our cereal bowls, Facebook placed itself neatly into our lives and we accepted it willingly.

But we should not fear. This is not the end. In fact it’s only the beginning. The beginning of something terrible, and terribly annoying. The future is a place where everyday we will not only have to worry about what we’re going to post next but also what your weirdfreaky-friend’s-cousin’s-cousin has to say about his sister’s mispronunciation of ‘hermeneutic’ (hernamewtic). But hey, I don’t blame you man, that is pretty annoying.

Let’s relate, perhaps meet up for a ‘chat.’ We can express our ever-placid facial expressions through small yellow circles that exemplify the very base levels of emotion. :) :D :( :’( :O :| ;) :P. (Though nobody is ever sure what that last one actually means). Emoticons can be used to convey emotion but in

Image by markkennedy (via Flickr cc)

fact they lack any real physical attachment to emotions themselves. (Forgive me for stating the obvious :P). Even with people you know well, you emoticate, and even then, by wishing to express the state you are in, you are desperately trying to maintain the standards of that Facebook persona, that con-

“What is the need

for a census with 500 million users across the world?

”

global database of human information, their lives and lovers, their friends, their jobs, their schools, their parents and their family, the crimes, their pictures, their births and their deaths. All this data is stored.

What is the need for a census? With 770 million users across the world at last count, the number is sure to only increase. At the moment, Facebook seems too big to ever disappear. We must simply wait and see. But at least as we wait we’ll instinctively hit the blue icon, or type facebook.com, without even thinking about it. How many of you stopped reading a few paragraphs ago to check for notifications?

At least with this last update they’ve stopped sending us emails every time our friend’sfriend’s cat sneezed.

We’ll have something to do, something... anything, as we find the comfort in those first blue lines cropping up on the page, safe in the sad knowledge that soon, we will all know: WHAT IS ON YOUR MIND?

stant open window.

This doesn’t, unfortunately, always mean that the darkest portions of our emotional lives are hidden from view.

They are also slowly becoming a part of the public social media domain. We’ve all heard about the heartbroken ex who massacred the one who betrayed him while posting publicly for all to see, that it ‘served that bitch right,’ or something to that effect.

Over the next twenty years we are sure to see Facebook Alexander Sarychkin is a second year grow even further. Imagine a student studying English Literature.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Comment For Eastenders to be groundbreaking, gay storylines wouldn't be drama ma around it, with smashed win- line would terrify me. To know I dows, threats and scary brute, would be faced with abuse would Phil Mitchell throwing his weight scare me back into the closet. oap operas are meant to pro- around.

There need not be any drama vide a representation of evin simply coming out and saying: eryday life, but they also hold “I’m gay”. Of course Eastenders a position of influence in society. needs to create drama- it’s a soap Eastenders has recently shown after all, and people tune in for teenager Ben come to terms with drama. But why all the trials and his sexuality – has Eastenders got tribulations? Although the writit right- surely it’s best than not ers’ intentions were were good, With respect to Eastenders, for they haven’t thought of the negcovering the subject at all?

Coming out is difficult, and the upholding their social responsi- ative effects this could have. Creaim of soaps is to represent real bility to include story lines reflect- ating such a drama surrounding life. But why must Eastenders ing modern society, while uphold- a person’s sexuality, is deeming it take it to the extreme? After keep- ing the entrainment factor. But to be something that is abnormaling his sexuality under wraps, Ben are they handling it right? which it isn’t.

If I were a young man, who snogs boxing buddy Duncan. The Communities are more welwriters have created a web of dra- wanted to come out, the story- coming than the storyline makes

Kamilla Baiden

S

need not “ There be any drama in

simply saying “I’m gay”

“

The big, bad world of student democracy

I

f there’s one thing that amuses me the most about this Students’ Union, it’s when it takes itself seriously.

The lucky ones that missed last Monday’s UGM dodged a massive bullet, as what was supposed to be a civilised forum to discuss issues descended into a shit show of rants, heckles and mud-slinging.

Our union is loaded with all the assets of a democratic state, boasting trustees, council members, sabbs, officers, managers and even a president. Yet, as the UGM nose-dived into farce, it’s about time we realised that we’re a union, not a country.

Filled to capacity, the ArtsTwo Lecture Theatre was stirring with activity. There were 12 agendas to cover in a mere three hour gap, so this event needed leadership and organisation. However, the chair was unable to control the audience.

Motions were muddled and people didn’t even know what they were voting for. With abiut 75 per cent of the crowd being from Barts, the crowd were vastly unrepresentative. Of course, Barts need a voice, but last week, it didn’t just speak, it threw a tantrum. Sure, they got themselves noticed, but what does it say about the union when the vast majority of the crowd attempt to leave after they got what they came for?

We can’t attempt to simulate a democracy without respect and with the medics’ attempted

exodus, it’s obvious to me that such ‘general meetings’ are a completely hapless attempt to contrive QM unity.

The UGM was less a meeting than it was a rally, thus failing to provide normal students with a voice. Civilised debate spiralled into table thudding, fist pumping rubbish, and it’s the Union’s bad organisation that has to be partly blamed.

But, it’s not just organisation that ruined the evening, I think it comes down to a student mentality throughout QM. We’re students, yet we like to meddle with constitutions, regulations, uni laws, minority officers, protests, campaigns etc.

Whatever happened to being a student? To living life for life itself, rather than all this bol-

“ General

Meetings are a hapless attempt to contrive QM unity.

“

Alexander Penn

locks? We have our whole lives to pretend to be serious, why can’t we lay our suits aside and succumb to the fact that we’re students without a real care in the world?

We could try to get together to be serious, but, sorry, I don’t think we’re quite ready yet.

Alexander Penn is a third year student studying English Literature and online editor for QMessenger Media Group.

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out. It’s as if the writers thought, lets do something with homosexuality again and present it in the most extreme fashion. What does that say about the state homosexuality in the UK? Eastenders never have a ‘coming out’ story line without complications. Previously with Christian and Syed it was religion, this time it is a crazed meathead father- I wonder what trick they’ll use next?

They sensationalise the moment when the person delcares: ‘I’m gay’. If you have a parent that is like Phill Mitchell, they will act crazy at you saying that regardless.

If soap operas are going to be a social influence, surely there would

then be no need to have to come out and say “I’m gay”- you don’t go home and say, “I’m straight”, you would just say here’s my boyfriend/girlfriend- that’s how it should be. If soap operas want to be truly influential a big deal wouldn’t be made out of it.

Eastenders should do more to influence the mindset of society, and by doing an over sensationalised, over dramatized and downright unrealistic storyline, they are merely continuing to inscribe the ideas present in society.

Kamilla Baiden is a third year student studying English Literature and film editor for QMessenger Media Group.

Theresa May causes cat controversy after comment at Tory conference George Knight

T

heresa May has sparked a storm of debate with her conference speech on October 4 when she stated that a Bolivian immigrant could not be deported because he owned a cat. Justice Secretary and fellow conservative, Kenneth Clarke, was quick to react and deemed her claim to be highly inaccurate.

I realise that the Home Secretary used this very specific example to create public outcry over the idiocies of the European Conventions on Human Rights but she is not entirely wrong.

Ownership of the cat, named Maya, was used by the Bolivian defendant as evidence of a four year long relationship with his partner, who has leave to remain in the UK. So, by that count, it may not have been the deciding factor but the fact that a pet could be used as evidence in regard to such a grave matter surely hits home the point May was trying to make: that the ECHR should not be used to sway the laws of our country. After the pet owner was allowed to stay in the UK, the Secretary of State tried to have the decision over turned but the outcome remained the same. But point seven in this second determination states: “The Immigration Judge’s determination is upheld and the cat... need no longer fear having to adapt to Bolivian mice.”

Refreshing as it is to read from a Judge with a sense of humour, this surely is evidence enough of the cases ridiculousness (and I’m

Theresa May, Conservative Home Secretary, has caused a stir with her comments regarding immigration. Image by .the Home Office (via Flickr cc).

a cat person!)

The new rules which May wishes to instigate include that if a person has entered the country illegally, or been convicted of a crime, they could face deportation, regardless of whether they have settled with children...or pets. In terms of crime, especially violent crime, I firmly believe that if you infringe upon another person’s human rights, you lose the right to your own. Imagine going to a party, to which you are not invited,

forcing your way in, vomiting everywhere and then leaving it to the host to clean up your mess.

Human Rights were created to respect the fellow members of our species but this is a two-way operation; the law protects its people and if a person disrespects the people’s law, then it is not the government that is splitting up a family but the person themselves.

George Knight is a third year student studying English Literature and is cohost on Quest Radio’s The Steak Club.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Comment The UGM set a new direction was set for representation at QM Sophie Richardson President

Hi guys!

and how we can make the elections more accessible for more The QMSU General Meeting students. took place last week and a new I am also keen to ensure that direction was set for the rep- candidates have a good underresentation of QMUL students. standing of what it is they’re The task now is to make sure running for and the remit of we have as many students as the role and there will be lots possible running for the posi- of planning and organising gotions in February. Here in the ing on towards the end of this union we’ve already begun to semester to ensure we provide think about election season the opportunities for candi-

dates to do this.

This week sees the East London Community Organising annual delegates assembly take place. If you’re interested in the work of London Citizens and feeding into the campaigns they are running in QMUL’s local area, then go along to the meeting on Wednesday 19th October, 7pm at York Hall in Bethnal Green. All QMUL stu-

dents are welcome and if you’d like more info do drop me an email president@qmsu.org If you’re interested in what I’m doing for students on a day-to-day basis, then follow me on Twitter @PresidentQMSU or add me on Facebook.

T’rah for now, Sophie

I hope that the new structure attracts more students onto Council George Ryan BLSA President

Monday’s meeting has left a thick fog in the air and I have no doubt this week’s paper will be full of opinions of how the UGM went.

I would like to disperse some of this fog and make clear what changes were made, more specifically those involving Student Council.

Student Council as we know it was set up as an amalgama-

tion of the Student President’s Council (SPC) at BLSA, and the Mile End Board in 2007.

At the time, the SPC was, and still is made up of some operational positions such as the ‘External Affairs Officer who don’t represent any group of students. As Student Council is a representative body there is no reason for these students to have a seat on it.

The changes made have removed these positions and created a far more representative Council that is split into three zones: Academic, Welfare and Union roles, with the intention of covering all aspects of the student experience at QMSU and at the university more generally.

We should all hope that the new structure will attract even

more new students onto Council, who are passionate about the Students’ Union and keen to make changes for the better of its students. That way neither campus will have to face the problem of unfilled positions and uncontested elections and we can have a strong Council moving forward into the future, ensure that our Union remains student focussed.

The unhealthy rivalry between QM and BL surfaced at the UGM Dom Bell VP Student Activities

If you’re new to Queen Mary this year, or not involved in a sports club, you won’t have heard of the Merger Cup. It is the match between Queen Mary and Barts sports clubs that typifies the sporting rivalry between the two. But, after what I saw at the Union General Meeting (UGM) last Monday I would tell every QM Club to not turn up.

We consider the Merger Cup to

show healthy rivalry and competition between medics and nonmedics but I now just see it as contributing to a wider problem.

To give you some context, the traditional rivalry between Barts and Queen Mary took a nasty turn at the UGM where I tried and failed to turn over the historical antagonism. A progressive motion on the formation of our Student Council which would have

improved our representative body was cut down by our BL President and his followers. I made my argument to turn our Student Council into a body that could be filled by either students from QM or BL, from students studying Humanities, Social Sciences, Science, Engineering, Medicine or Dentistry, and that would be good for everyone.

I wanted to see us adopt a Coun-

cil that was open to anyone. It would ensure that all students were fairly represented, that no particular set of students was over or under represented, but instead we’ve had to concede 50 per cent of our Student Council to roughly 3,000 students out of the 15,000 that study at this university. What about the other 12,000?

Do they really deserve less than a minority?

I learnt more about QM in a week as a Sabb than three years as a student Oscar Williamson VP Education & Welfare

The best kind of policy is ‘evidence based’ policy. Governments and organisations put a lot of resources into trying to work out what is going on so they can design policies to respond to it. But once crunched, the data is usually squirrelled away in the organisation’s archives, never to be seen again.

The government are con-

sulting on opening up many of their databanks for public use.

There are a lot of arguments in favour of this: the marginal cost of disseminating the data once gathered is minute; it is more transparent, and it allows external groups to cast a fresh set of eyes over issues usually seen only by policy wonks.

Similarly, QMUL has huge

amounts of data about its courses and students. Some of it is rightly confidential, such as staff medical records. Most of it is confidential by default, because it hasn’t occurred to those who hold the knowledge to share it, or because they don’t have the time, resources, or platform to do so.

I learnt more about the col-

lege in my first week as a Sabb than in the preceding three years, and this has proved invaluable as I work to improve it. Very little of that information is deliberately confidential, and if it was made publically available it would give students huge power to improve the QM experience for all concerned.

The lemming like nature of the VP Comms and why this is good Sam Creighton VP Communications

I managed to piss off quite a few of my nearest and dearest at last week’s UGM. One of the great things about student media is how you all become a bit of a family, so I can understand my fauxbrothers and sisters’ surprise as I stood in front of 3oo-odd students and dived face first off a cliff, clutching ever-sotightly to student media as we

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know it.

I have loved every second of being VP Communications (previous rants in this column aside) and I do think it is a job worth doing. However, there comes a point when you have to think of what is actually best of the organisation as a whole. Under the new system that will be coming in from next year we will still have

elected students running the student media. However, instead of a Sabbatical Officer supporting these students, they will have a staff member, with experience in the media, to train, mentor and generally give them bits and bobs of advice.

While I may have taken a meteoric fall from, if I say so myself, one of the best

though of VP Comms by my editors, to undoubtedly the least popular, I stand by the fact that my decision is right and must simply hope that others come round to my way of thinking.

In the mean time, I’m here for the rest of the year and there are many more 4am finished putting QMessenger together ahead of me.

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QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Satire All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Please don’t mistake anything on this page for fact.

note from the co-editor Next year's History exam paper found A Ben Richardson introduces this week’s section with a quick note.

Ben Richardson

A student-run investigative group has this week gained access to top secret History department documents, including next May’s first year exam paper. This was published on the rogue website for all students to see. Upon reading the paper, students were outraged.

Second year History student, Lawrence Jones, had this to say: “This exam paper is completely unfair and really harsh on first years. They would have found themselves well unprepared.”

An unofficial source within the history department has confirmed that this was intended to be the May 2012 History exam paper. In response to the outrage, he told us, “The paper was to be the first of its kind in that the students would be required to bring a pen.”

In previous years there have been delays of up to an hour at the start of History exams as students found that they had forgotten their pencil crayons.

Our source said, “We’re hoping to resolve our organisational issues by moving to a slightly harder exam paper where real pens will be used. We have, however, decided to use the multiple choice format for the more difficult questions to give our students a chance.”

After accidentally eating a fly this week, I decided to follow the path as described in the nursery rhyme. I ate a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a pig, a goat, a cow, a donkey and a horse. Quite a task, surely? Not at all. Luckily for me, all of these animals can be found in any chicken burger bought on Mile End Road. Problem solved.

The news in briefs

porn would go to www.penisland.com instead of www.penIn recent years, many new doisland.net and crash Pen Island main names such as .biz, .gov and servers. It was a very similar .org have replaced our old favou- case to the www.utube.com (a rites such .com and .co.uk. This tubing manufacturer) vs. www. is because as the internet grows youtube.com (the video site). the old domains become full and In response to the number of bloated. This makes it hard to cases involving similar domain set up new websites as all of the names the Internet Corporation good web addresses inside each for Assigned Names and Numdomain are taken up. One of the bers (ICANN) created a plethonewest additions to the family ra of new domain suffixes, .xxx is the .xxx domain (it’s for adult being one of them. sites if you didn’t guess or know, It seems .xxx has only partialyou dirty little sausage you). The ly solved the problem, the excreation of the .xxx suffix stems ponential growth in adult sites from a legal case in America four means in four years .xxx will be years ago when the blog site Pen full. In response ICANN has deIsland sued (and won) the Adult cided upon a new adult domain. site Penis Land for denial of ser- Their choice? .cum. Who says vice after people looking for gay IT folk lack a sense of humour?

Aaron Barber

Is that a bug in my burger?

Ben Richardson Secret US surveillance documents have been leaked

this week, showing that high spec ‘Covert Undetected Noise Transmitters’ have been hidden in fast food restaurants.

The initiative, first proposed in September 2010, was the brainchild of Barack Obama in a bid to collect innovative politi-

cal ideas. In a report, the president had written, “Some of the best socioeconomic and political analysis takes place in McDonalds between two and four AM. This is something that people have known for years, but often these intoxicated experts

are casually disregarded as ‘dick heads’. We really ought to tap into this valuable resource.”

The plan has now been running successfully since March of this year, and plans to expand to Burger King and KFC are well underway.

Thank God for the iPhone Mya Medina You know you’re a bunch of moronic idiots when even the KKK won’t support your slanderous cause. Westboro Baptist Church are at it again with their “picket” this and “god hates fags” that. One can perhaps stand by as they accuse Princess Diana of being a supporter of the “dirty” homosexuals, even their rants about the quick succession of disasters in Japan being the work of the almighty pink elephant in the sky (or something of that sort) seem relatively acceptable. This time, however, the height of their Fancy yourself a cartoonist? Email Maria hypocrisy has reached levels D’Amico at cartoon@qmessenger.co.uk of ridiculousness that even

satire@qmessenger.co.uk

Dick and Dom would be ashamed of.

Their glee over the recent death of Steve Jobs was expressed through a tweet from one of the leaders of the community, a Mrs. Margie Phelps. She said,

“Westboro will picket his [Steve Jobs’] funeral. He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught sin.”

This all sounds pretty typical, coming from a bunch of uninformed lunatics.

There was only one thing about this comment that struck me as being pretty odd, and that was the fact that below the tweet was written, “via Twitter for iPhone”.

A number of other online observers, as well as myself, saw this display of jaded hilarity and responded accordingly with some rational rebuttel and a few choice swear words. An hour later a response was issued by the head of the Church, Fred Phelps, who claimed “God made the iPhone, not Steve Jobs”, this put everyone’s mind

at rest...

It seems to me that perhaps the Westboro Baptist Church are really informed about the current economic and political climate. We should probably all go round picketing the funerals of people that gave their lives to defend us, and set up an exploitative church which centres its beliefs around informing minority and select racial groups that their death is imminent.

It’s a real shame we all have brain cells.

You know what, I hope that when I die Westboro Baptist Church picket my funeral... It will probably mean I did something really good.

QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

13

Games Sweaty Brow of the Week

Sudoku

Image by Free-ers Which wealthy Russian faces big losses in a high-profile court case this week?

Shape Algebra

Answers for all puzzles, including a freshly moist brow in next week’s QMessenger.

Rules: Each of the shapes corresponds to a number. What are those numbers?

Last week’s answers: The sweaty brow belonged to Amanda Fox.

games@qmessenger.co.uk

14

QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Societies

New Turn presents: Maajid Nawaz Alice Norman Maajid Nawaz is now the Executive Director of the Quilliam, an anti terrorist think tank, but was once the leader of a UK radical Islamist party and still holds somewhat controversial views on the issues surrounding radical Islamism. It is for these reasons that the talk on Tuesday October 11th was not as widely advertised as other New Turn events. Nawaz’s extremely fascinating life has meant he has made enemies, who have previously threatened and attempted to take his life.

The anticipation for the talk was matched by a feeling of mystery and apprehension as people started to gather in the David Sizer lecture theatre.

By half past six, the lecture theatre was full. As mentioned, Maajid Nawaz’s life story and his shift from the radical Islamist party, Hizb ut-Tahrir, to a life helping governments form policies against radical Islamism meant he was always going to draw a big crowd and his speech did not fail to keep the audience enthralled.

As he described his life up till sixteen, everyone was shocked with the racism and violence he had witnessed growing up in Essex, so it was easy to begin to understand the grievances he felt; grievances that he explained are a key

Ashley Sweetman

Narwaz spoke about the differences between Islam and Islamism. motivation for young people getting involved in radical Islamism.

Mr Nawaz was born into a British Pakistani family that were not overtly religious, but at sixteen he moved to London and quickly became involved in the non-violent extremist group at his college. By 2001 he was in Denmark, having previously been in Palestine recruiting fellow extremists.

He was then sent to Egypt, but was arrested and sentenced to jail for five years. It was in prison that he witnessed torture and injustice, and also discovered Amnesty International. He then realised

they were working for him; when he was released from prison, he returned to the UK. Having previously left SOAS with an incomplete degree, he returned to finish his studies and resigned from the extremist Islamist group.

Why? He could not shake the guilt that he was abusing his religion for the sake of a political objective.

It was his reasoning for turning his back on radicalism and extremist groups that summarises the work he is now doing. There is a difference between Islam as a religion and Islamism, the latter being an extreme belief in a certain

Image by Tamsin Vincent

way of life.

Maajid Nawaz’s talk on Islam and Islamism, and his belief that extremists are often fighting for the right to an identity with religious justification that frequently leads to violence, was a brave admittance of his controversial views and a life that at times most people in the room would have judged harshly. He still holds the opinion that the UK Hizb utTahrir should exist, however he does not condone violence, instead offering a fascinating side to a debate that raises sensitive, provocative and contentious issues.

What the UGM outcome means for YOU! Hollie Carter On Monday evening I swapped my usual night at Drapers for a different event on campus - the Union General Meeting.

With posters littered all around campus and cash prizes on offer for those who attended, I was pleased to see a good turn out, with the ArtsTwo Lecture Theatre packed and people even seated in the aisles.

During the night, many important motions were heatedly debated, but I’d like tell you about one particular motion that, I think, will have a direct impact upon the running of sports and societies next year.

This motion is the abolition of the roles of Vice President of Student Activities and Vice

Society Spotlight: History Society!

President of Communications.

The motion itself was proposed by Dominic Bell (current VP Student Activities) and seconded by Sam Creighton (VP Communications), both arguing that neither role is representative of students and can be better performed by a combination of paid administrative staff, elected parttime officers. Arguments against the motion said that abolishing these sabbatical roles would lessen student representation, with some members of the audience controversially arguing that if the roles were performed correctly they would be a successful, even a vital part of the Students’ Union.

Various amendments were put forward but all were rejected and the motion in its original form

societies@qmessenger.co.uk

was passed by the students in attendance.

So what does this actually mean for students? Well, as of next year, roles such as distributing budgets and allocating rooms for events will fall to staff members, with the role of representing student needs being given to the various part time elected positions, such as RAG Officer and Sports Officer. Equally, a full-time student will be the overall editor of QMessenger Media Group, the hope is that the media will be fully student led, making it more representative and eradicating the possibility of a Sabb having conflicting interests.

I have to say that despite the fact that I voted in favour of the motion, one of my concerns is that we are primarily full time

students, and it is in our spare time we perform roles such as editors of student media and sports officer. What student has the time to ensure that all societies are fully represented or that the paper is full of content and checked for libel? Equally are staff, who cannot be held accountable to the students, going to fully understand the needs of the sports and societies or the media? Without a full time sabbatical officer listening to and representing the needs of the students I fear the student voice will just be lost amongst a pile of administrative papers.

As with all the motions passed only time will tell if they prove to be successful, but let’s hope that this time next year I’m not regretting my descision to vote for the motion!

This year, the History Society hopes to completely reinvent itself. For the last couple of years, organizing events has not been one of its strong points. But, with some new committee members and a more determined attitude than ever, the society hopes to get as many students as possible to socialize outside of university and to enjoy the company of others with common interests Last week saw the History Society’s first social event, something that will hopefully become a regular occurrence throughout the academic year.

This year the society are keen to organise a trip abroad, possibly to France or Germany, but this is very much contingent upon active membership. Museum visits, such as to the Cabinet War Rooms, could be much more easily planned if the society were able to accurately predict the number of people attending.

Co-Presidents Asha Rani and Ashley Sweetman really are keen to get the History Society on its feet again. With a lot of first and second year students keen to get involved, the future really does look promising.

Once the group is established as an enjoyable social activity and can provide something different and exciting, it will be far easier to gain a bigger budget and plan much more adventurous events.

For now, the society is focused on increasing membership and allowing people with similar interests to chat and get to know each other in a far less formal environment than university classrooms.

But, there is no reason for the History Society to have to hold events alone. It would be great to see other societies interacting and arranging joint socials, or even with an equivalent society from another University of London college.

So, here’s to a bigger and better year for the History Society, and hopefully another year of growth for every other Queen Mary society too!

15

QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Sport Sport in Spotlight: Archery Rugby World Cup Round-up Becky Adkins Between 3rd and 10th October, Lord’s Cricket Ground swapped balls and bats for bows and arrows as it hosted the London Prepares Series Archery event.

This is just one of 54 events which have been taking place since May in order to help London prepare for the Olympics next summer.

As someone who has an interest in archery, I was looking forward to watching some of the world’s top archers shoot against one other, but it turns out I was one of a select few. Unfortunately, archery is not the greatest spectator sport and draws small crowds in comparison with things like snooker and swimming, let alone football and rugby.

When I entered Lord’s I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find it practically empty. The BBC have stated that each of the 54 events had expected sell-out crowds of 1,500 people, but that was definitely not the case on Sunday, despite the fact it was the penultimate day of competition.

The competition took place in the format of head to head matches, with two archers shooting against each other in a round robin. There are three arrows per end and four ends per match. After that, if the scores are

Ashley Sweetman

Become a pro: join QM Archers for just £5. Image by Michael Dobson tied, the archers have a one arrow shoot off, with the winner being whoever is closest to the gold circle in the centre of the target.

Whilst watching the women’s head to head matches, which culminated with a victory for Korean Dasomi Jung over Mospinek of Poland, I found myself pondering over the current situation of archery in the UK. According to Archery GB, the sport’s governing body in the UK, there are currently 33,000 people who are registered to shoot across the country. This is in stark contrast with football, which has 40,000 clubs, let alone players. Furthermore, this figure does not accurately represent the number of people who actually shoot, as many register but stop

shooting regularly soon after starting.

This leaves us with the question, what can be done to increase the popularity of archery across the United Kingdom? Whilst I think the main change that should be made is to increase the publicity given to archery, it is not always easy to attract people to what is traditionally a non-spectator sport. However, take my word for it and give it a go! Join QM Archers, Queen Mary’s very own archery club for just £5! Find them on the Student Union website http:// www.qmsu. org/groups/ archeryclub/ and join today!

By the time you read this, Wales’ fate will be known. As a Welshman in London, I can’t imagine there being a great deal of support from English fans, but nonetheless, a Northern Hemisphere team reaching the latter stages of the World Cup is something to be celebrated.

‘Believe’ is the slogan written on specially-made Wales T-shirts, and I will.

As for our opposition, I hope I am right in saying that France can be an erratic side. A focused England team could have beaten them. Marc Lievremont has come under scrutiny for his selection policy during his time as French coach, but there is no doubting the ability the players. Big matchups include Vincent Clerc on the wing against the inexperienced George North, who, despite his lack of caps, has shown great maturity. Rhys Priestland has kept out both James Hook and

veteran Stephen Jones at fly-half, and Saturday will be a test of his ability.

A lot of discussion has surrounded the off-field antics of the England team, but even as a Welshman I do have some sympathy for the scrutiny they face. Many of the English players are high profile, and the press will jump on the slightest mishap in their public appearances. There is no excuse for jumping off a ferry and swimming ashore. But, that is not to say that these events are the reason for England’s failure.

For now, I remain hopeful that Wales can pull off a famous victory against France and line up against one of the world’s best teams in the biggest rugby game on Earth. Sam Warburton certainly has what it takes to lead his team to victory, and I hope that this time next week I will be writing about our determined and tireless performance against France, and looking forward to a showdown with New Zealand or Australia in the final.

Where do England go from here?

Harry Redknapp, Jamie Redknapp – I don’t care if it’s LouThe internation- ise Redknapp, we al break is as point- need someone new less as Arsenal’s title in charge. challenge. It just re- We have nine minds the world how months to prepare, bad England are. If it’s time to rebuild.

England’s collapse We won’t win the in Montenegro last Euros, that’s a battle week teaches us an- the Germans and the ything, it’s this: Eng- Spaniards will fight. land will not pre- Our goal has to be the sent a challenge for World Cup in Brazil the Euros next sum- in 2014, that gives us mer. Not because three years to build we haven’t got good a team capable chalplayers, we just can’t lenging. play as a team. This The Euros must be begs the question – used as a chance to where do we go from give our youngsters here? experience. We have Mr. Capello, you some excellent playhave got us to the fi- ers coming through, nals, your job is done. but so do the SpanI’m not alone hoping ish and the Germans the FA removes him – most notably in the of his duties. We need form of Mario Gotze a change. and Thiago Alcantara.

Sean Mahoney

Ashley Young is ironically England’s leading scorer since the World Cup – what a player he is. Rooney should be dropped, at least until after the Euros. His petulance is disgusting and with him likely to miss the group stages what’s the point? Let’s get Sturridge and Wellbeck playing together!

After all, if we do progress to the knockouts, one of them will be dropped for Rooney, and that is not fair. He should be punished, stay at home and fight your way back in next September. I’d like the squad to include as many of these names as possible: Hart, Terry, Cole, Bertrand, Smalling, Jones,

Walker, Baines, Richards, Rodwell, Parker, Cleverley, Young, Wilshire, Albrighton, Walcott, Downing, Sturridge, Jarvis, Johnson, Chamberlain, Bent, Welbeck, Carroll and maybe even McEachran.

Granted, it may not be as strong individually, but I guarantee they will play better as a team and progress further than the talentless mugs we have at the moment. It’s a squad full of youth, pace and hunger. France have brought through some amazing young players like Marvin Martin, Yann M’vila and Mamadou Sakho after their pathetic World Cup campaign – so why can’t we do the same?

sport@qmessenger.co.uk

16

QMESSENGER MONDAY OCTOBER 17 2011

Sport

The first City Starter Cup Polo Match 2011 Pippa Dwan In May this year, medical students and doctors from Barts and The London Medical School and trainee lawyers from the College of Law, Moorgate, formed two fun, novice polo teams. The two groups had mixed levels of ability from complete beginners who had never ridden a horse before, to those who play polo regularly at competitive club level.

The season started off in May with a “Try Polo” weekend at Little Bentley Polo Club, Essex, where after eight hours in the saddle on the Saturday, everyone was just about able to hit the ball without falling off! There was a well deserved “Asardo” (Argentine BBQ) and lots of therapeutic wine in the evening to help relieve aching muscles. On the Sunday, after a large quantity of tea and muffins, a friendly match was played where the lawyers won 5-3.

Since May the teams have been training together regularly, escaping the city up to twice a week for coaching and “stick and ball practice”.

Slowly, everyone has shown a

Barts and CoL students enjoyed thier first Cup Polo Match with Medics winning 7 - 6. Image by Pippa Dwan great improvement.

On Saturday the 17 th September the first “City Starters Cup” polo match was held, organised by the two team captains Samuel Outtridge (Ashurst LLP) and Dr. Pippa Dwan (FY2 Newham, previous Barts and the London graduate), and kindly sponsored by the College of Law, Moorgate. The morning was spent having lessons together and getting used to the often quite speedy ponies. There was a lovely

hearty dinner at the club house where there was plenty of fuel and just enough wine to give Dutch courage for the match.

There was a small but excited crowd of spectators and the teams were well matched. It was decided to play “off scratch” and so no handicap was awarded. The game started off slowly with lots of accidental fouls, some often quite funny miss hits and a very gracious, slow motion fall by trainee lawyer

George Davie. In the second chukka, the game started to quicken up. Each chukka is just over 7 minutes, after each chukka the players swap horses to give them a well deserved rest. This match consisted of four chukkas in all.

The first goal was scored by 5 th year medic and novice polo player Ben Morris, who scored from 40 metres outside the goal on his very bouncy and excited polo pony. The scores remained even, with

the lawyers’ captain Samuel Outtridge scoring a number of goals to keep his team in the game.

By the 4 th and final chukka the score was 6-6 and went into extra time with the decision made to play until a “Golden Goal” was scored.

An accidental foul by Simon Gleeson close to his goal post left the medics with a chance to clinch the match with a 30 yard penalty. As the heavens opened the penalty was taken by the medics’ team captain Dr. Pippa Dwan who hit the ball well into the goal to win the match. Final score: Medics 7 - Lawyers 6.

Looking back on this year, it has involved a lot of organisation and hard work to get us all together for training and matches, but it has been thoroughly worth it.

Both teams have had a great first season and all shown improvement in their game.

Most importantly we have all made some great friends and established a close link between the College of law and the Barts medical students and doctors which we hope will continue for many years to come.

Celebrating Black History Month in sports Shafi Musaddique The leaves of October are starting to drape the streets of London. A sign of coldness for sure, but it also calls for the start of Black History Month.

For every great orator on the front page, there’s always been a hero on the back pages.

Many of those, men and women alike, have come from humble beginnings to rise above social prejudice.

sport@qmessenger.co.uk

Past eras of racism – the likes of the banana skin hooligans at football grounds in the Eighties – have disappeared from the social norm. Prejudice is still ripe, however, with a lack of British Asian representation in major sports, as well as a lack of representation in minority sports across the board.

As a way of channelling the positive energy that many have given, this month will focus on the achievements of the famous and the not so famous. Don’t

blink too fast, or you’ll miss our cover articles faster than Usain Bolt runs. And he will be featured too.

Autumn may be the main player on show, but the countdown to London 2012 continues. The ongoing saga over who will own the dominant blue bowl of East London continues.

It has been confirmed that West Ham’s bid to own the Olympic Stadium has been rejected; the permutations as such mean

that the Hammers can choose to rent the stadium. However, a planned reconstruction of the Olympic Stadium post-games to a 60,000 all-seater will be at the expense of the public purse.

With £40 million loan from Newham Council, the future of Stratford may be claret and blue.

Away on foreign soil, the Welsh have stormed into the semi finals to become the singular representative from the home nations at the RWC. Yet, coverage has been negated

by accusations from the media about the prevalent drinking culture of the England squad.

Boys will be boys, but is it about time for a strict code of conduct outside the field of play?

For more analysis on all things rugby, read our own Welsh supremo’s view, Messier Ashley Sweetman, on the conclusion to the RWC down under.

For now, keep on polishing those trainers, as well as participating in all things sport and society based, as ever!