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22nd Sept ‘09 • Issue 13 • FREE Editors Editor: Sam Cunningham editor@qmessenger.co.uk News: Sam Creighton news@qmessenger.co.uk Comment: Bradley Downing comment@qmessenger.co.uk Science & Environment: Richard Dodwell science@qmessenger.co.uk Anna Hiscocks environment@qmessenger.co.uk Reviews: Gitika Bhardwaj & Rebecca Wynter reviews@qmessenger.co.uk Film: Alex McDonald film@qmessenger.co.uk

Freshers Fortnight!

One big piss-up?

News : page 5 PRESEASON! Check out what the QM Sports teams have been up to

Students will suffer if HMOs go

Brand new club & society listings section with crossword and sudukos

James McMillan

Brand new student comment section

pages 16 - 13

page 9

Proposed legislation could soon allow local councils to strip students of their homes as government plans to crack down on Homes of Multiple Occupation (HMOs). Councils across the UK are in talks over whether or not it should be mandatory for landlords to seek planning permission to rent their properties to unrelated tenants.

Government representatives insist that the move is a step forward in improving community cohesion and will free up accommodation for other social segments such as families. A key aspect of the debate is the “studentification” of inner city areas; with homes remaining unoccupied over the summer months and a so-called “decline” in local services. Importantly however, House of Commons transcripts avail-

able to the public indicate that the legislation may also be proposed in response to an unspecified number of complaints over littering, noise pollution and antisocial behaviour that have correlated with HMOs. The exact volume and nature of complaints which have prompted ministers to re-evaluate government policy on HMOs remain unreported at the time of press.

Examples of vehement pub-

lic opinion are not however, difficult to find, with one citizen blogging “Students come into Manchester, think they own the place and then sod off back to London after three years of vomiting on our streets and walking across the road without looking. A pox on them. A POX ON ‘EM!!”

This move is part of the government’s larger plan to Continued page 3...

page 7 Find out how Queen Mary is becoming Green Mary

page 8

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22/09/2009

What is uni all about these days?

Sam Creighton This year has seen record numbers of students applying to attend university, to the extent that 40,000 were left without a place. While the economic crisis has had a part to play in this rise, the increase has been gaining speed for years. Why is it that more people are now trying to enter higher education? With increasing competition in the labour market, is it simply a stepping stone towards a better career?

In a recent article in The Independent Nick Lezard remembered how university was once a place where you learn “how to become a rounded adult: how to love, how to argue, how to make proper friends, how to hold your drink – even how to cook.” Has this ideal fallen by the wayside? The introduction of tuition fees has seen a shift in the way people approach higher education.

The prospect of entering the world of employment carrying a debt burden of anything up £30,000 has forced people to see their time at

university through the lens of expected economic reward.

Many students starting their courses this year openly admit that they see their time at university as a way to get started in employment rather than as a learning experience. Jessica Esmond, who is about to begin her studies in Film and Television production at Westminster, says that she is coming to university ‘only because of the current state of the film industry, where you need every advantage you can get to get ahead.’ Equally Katherine Heubeck, a first year at Worcester studying animation and screen writing, also identifies job prospects as her driving factor.

Despite this focus on employability many students still do pursue subjects that they are passionate about. Sian Griffith, a first year studying politics at QM, explains that ‘I was considering doing Law for a while, but in the end I decided not to because although it was a subject I was very good at, I didn’t particularly enjoy it.’ Nigel Cook, a student at Manchester, maintains the belief that ‘in order

to succeed in a degree, you have to be passionate about your subject and about learning new things, so I believe that doing a degree for primarily economic reasons may not be the best idea.’

Increasingly however, people are entering university because they don’t know what else to do. With the government trying to squeeze 50% of all those under thirty into a higher education program of some sort and with the exponential growth of the middle classes, university is now seen as an obligation rather than a choice.

First year Daniel Blackburn says that he is coming to university ‘so that I won’t think of myself as a failure in comparison to my parents’. Amy Francis-Smith, who is just starting a course in architecture at the University of Brighton, expressed a common inability to pin down her reasons for entering higher education, simply saying ‘that’s always where I expected my life to lead.’ This assumption that one will attend university regardless of your chosen career path has led to a huge rise in graduates who have

ick Treves Scholarships.

As a school we believe that gap years can be very worth while.

“We do not specify what you must do during this period but we will expect a brief account of your experiences”.

Defending the school’s admissions procedures Professor Chris Fowler, Barts and the London’s dean for education, said students who decide against the gap year would still be guaranteed a place this year, but added: “There are reasons why it would be nice if we could get some of them to defer.

“Usually we find ourselves in the position of having a particular percentage of the people we

make offers to accepting us as their first choice”.

Prof Fowler said they were “pleased that we are so popular”, adding “It looks like we will be about 40 students over target. We thought it was worth trying”.

Although the Government has threatened oversubscribing Universities with fines, QM insists it has operated within Government recruitment limits.

Other institutions are likely to face penalties because they made substantial numbers of offers to students before the Government warned they could be fined.

Barts badly oversubscribed James Ayre Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s Medical and Dentistry school, has embarrassingly urged newly accepted students to take a “prestigious” £3000 gap year after oversubscribing by 40 places.

The school received more than 1600 applications for 277 places, but more places where offered than were available due to a record number of students meeting the Alevel entry requirements.

In a letter to students, Barts and the London said: “Now that you have a confirmed place, I am writing to encourage you to apply for one of our prestigious Freder-

begun to saturate the job market. This trend has contributed to the fact, as shown in the THES, that a graduate who has studied a vocational course at an ex-Poly will often find it easier to secure a job than someone who has completed a purely academic course at a more prestigious institution.

Equally however, people are expecting less from their degrees. Alex MacDonald, a second year at QM, feels the same as many students, that his extra-curricular activities will be just as much of an asset to him in the future as his degree. Daniel Blackburn says that because so many people now have degrees the only way to make yourself stand out in the job market is enter postgraduate study.

How useful is a degree once you graduate? Mike Campbell, director and research and policy at UKCES fears that ‘we are heading for a car crash if we are not more careful about the expansion of higher education in the future’ due to the number of graduates pouring out of university. Former QM student, Genevieve Reed says that

‘due to the recession and the large percentage of people who have undergraduate degrees I don’t think my degree has had any impact on my employability. I think my extra-curricular activities and work experience have helped me more than anything else.’

Anna Hiscocks agrees, now working at the SU she believes that while her degree might be helpful she thinks ‘the extra curricular activities I did whilst studying will help me even more, giving me much more transferable life skills.’ While a degree no longer makes you stand out, a lack of one can make you fall behind, graduates need to supplement their studies with other activities in order to stay ahead of the game.

It seems to be a catch22 of sorts, more and more people are coming to university, meaning that if you are to have any chance of getting a job you need a degree, but as the supply of graduates is fast overtaking demand, is university enough anymore?

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22/09/2009

The President

HMOs could go in government plans ...Continued from front

I would like to welcome all the new students to Queen Mary, and am looking forward to meeting many of you throughout the course of the Freshers weeks. This year we have many exciting new plans for campus, and with the new SU governance structure I believe we will achieve many of the goals that the other officers and I set out to do.

We want to have more volunteers then ever before, and we want to raise more money for charity then ever before. We want to improve and expand our awareness campaigns, and deliver an excellent social programme for our international students. Through all these exciting projects we are hoping to be more relevant to YOU! So do join us, we always welcome students to get involved with our many activities and my door is always open to anyone with a bit of passion and a good idea, so don’t be shy and do come meet me, together we can make our campus the most active, vibrant and friendly campus in all of London (which we are already not too far from in my opinion).

Below are my main aims for the coming year as President of the Students’ Union: - increase social atmosphere around campus - utilise spaces available to students more effectively (lib sq, curve stage, great hall - explore avenues to enrich the student’s academic and social experience through exploring links and relationships with other institutions e.g. ulu and london citizens.

I wish you all the best with the start of term and urge you to make the most of your time here at QM.

Nasir Tarmann

engineer what Durham council has dubbed “balanced communities” with a “mixture of different housing types available for people of a variety of social backgrounds”.

Despite this, many estate agents declare that the move would be short sighted as larger cities already face severe shortages of affordable student housing. Increasing the costs and bureaucracy of renting houses to students will not only dissuade landlords from investing in this already fiercely competitive sector but may force them to pass on those costs by increasing rents, thus further driving students out of the market.

Student response to the governments propositions has ranged from anger to

bored dismay with the NUS doing well to point out the unfairness of the situation proclaiming that “students live and work within their communities and contribute hugely to their local areas through charity work and campaigning on local issues, not to mention the massive boost they give to the local economy.”

Students will not be the only group to be affected by the new legislation as groups such as migrant and low income workers often reside in HMO’s. However, housing specialists including the Residential Landlords Association insist that the debate is fuelled by a single prejudice “the reality is that proposals to use planning powers are driven by an anti HMO lobby who do not want students living on their doorsteps. The

lobby has broadened its focus to shared houses generally, but behind this smoke screen it is all about students.”

With scant sources to draw information from it is difficult to see the debate as anything further than a heavy handed response to the ramblings of the eternally disenfranchised. Yet other bodies speculate an ulterior motive for the legislation as one Socialist Workers Party representative claims “the HMO thing in my opinion is a case of a totally confused government perhaps looking for some political capital from the last generation ‘dealing with the youth’”. As with many groups, the Socialist Workers were quick to point out the illogic of a government simultaneously attempting to put record

numbers of people through the higher education system while at the same time planning to reduce the amount of accommodation targeted for student occupation. Estate agents across the country rallied this viewpoint claiming that one of the key priorities for students seeking accommodation is proximity to the place of study, followed by price. By decreasing the availability of affordable homes within reasonable commuting distance to places of education, not only will rent prices increase with demand, but those unable pay the higher rent will be forced into more distant housing and have to bear increased transport costs.

Everett’s case is similar to that of Gillies’ in that both had done nothing wrong in terms of integrity or conduct, instead the governors blamed it on an “irretrievable” mutual breakdown in trust and confidence.

Sounds a tad fishy right?

Well, in January it was announced that the vice-chancellor of Leeds Metropolitan University, Simon Lee, was to resign following allegations about his poor treatment of staff, which he denied. To add to concerns, a whole host of other vicechancellors are set to leave their posts including Professor Stephen Hill of Royal

Holloway and Professor Bill Macmillan of the University of East Anglia.

These departures seem to be indicating a worrying shift in the balance of power between governing boards and vice chancellors taking out the vital links vice chancellors bring between governance and academic studies.

So is it a case of constricting the power of governing bodies or is it a case of building stronger and more understanding relationships? Sir Andrew Cubie, former chairman of CUC, the Committee of University Chairs, which is there to produce guides, codes of prac-

tice and performance indicators against which governing bodies can judge their institutions, feels relationships are pivotal. “The issue is not different to what you would find in a corporation where the relationship between the two pivotal people – the chair and the chief executive – is absolutely essential to the good running of the institution.

“But no matter how good the structural position, if the chemistry isn’t there, if there isn’t respect, that will not be to the good of the institution.”

Academia replaced by business Christopher Dodd University is pretty important right? Right - obviously otherwise I wouldn’t be racking up over twenty grand’s worth of debt while cleaning toilets for peanuts.

So with City University’s Vice Chancellor, Malcolm Gillies, quitting after a long standing disagreement with the university’s governing body over how to run the institution, one has to ask; who exactly is in charge of our universities?

In the case of City University the university’s council is chaired by multi-millionaire Apurv Bagri who’s leadership, as well as many other university chairs across the country, has raised the concern that big business could soon overshadow academia.

The clash between business and academia has been dually noted in recent months with some of the cases shrouded in secrecy, again raising concerns about future constitutional implications as well as the general running of our universities.

As mentioned, Gillies’ case is certainly not an isolated one. At the University of East London, the university’s governors initially suspended former vice-chancellor, Professor Martin Everett, before he later resigned.

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22/09/2009

provides QMessenger with volunteering updates Provide is the student community volunteering programme at Queen Mary, and we offer both Queen Mary and Barts and the London students a wide range of short and long term opportunities to volunteer with charities and voluntary organisations in the local area and across London.

Volunteering gives you the chance to absorb and explore what London has to offer, to really get involved in your local area and to help other people as well as yourself.

We’ll be having a regular feature in QMessenger every fortnight to keep you updated with what volunteers have been getting up to, and also what opportunities are coming up for you to get involved in.

GET A BUZZ

By volunteering, you end up meeting lots of new, like-minded people by doing something worthwhile and productive with your spare time. Why not volunteer in activities or opportunities you never would have tried before? Or challenge yourself by volunteering with groups who you necessarily wouldn’t have contact with such as older people, refugees, the disabled or children?

DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS Volunteering is a great way to gain and enhance skills, including those able to enhance your employability potential and make you stand out from the crowd. As well as skills that could enhance your career path you could learn how to fry 8 eggs in a frying pan all at once by cooking breakfast for the local homeless to gaining a national qualification by mentoring a local sports team. All are very practical and the opportunities are endless!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE All volunteering opportunities through Provide will be with non-profit organisations and charities so whatever volunteering you carry out, you will be benefiting the user group and knowing you are making a real difference. Without volunteers, a lot of charities and organisations wouldn’t be able to function or even exist, and the difference you could make to an individual’s life is potentially huge, as well as the difference you will be making to your own.

How Can You Find Out More?

Visit our website, www.providevolunteering.org and register as a volunteer. Come and find us at the QMSU and BLSA Freshers’ Fairs! Provide volunteering will have a stall in the Library Square Marquee in Mile End on both Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th and at the Old Medical Library in Whitechapel on Wednesday 23rd. Book yourself in for a Provide Volunteering Induction , taking place from Monday 28th September to Friday 2nd October to find out more about volunteering generally, Provide and what opportunities you can get involved in. Attend a weekly Provide drop-in session at BLSA or at QMSU to ask any volunteering related questions you may have. Check providevolunteering.org for times and locations.

Secondary teachers too heavily influential on students Richard Dodwell Are Teachers reluctant to promote Elitism, or is our “dismal education system” the reason why so many state-school pupils fail to secure places at top Universities?

‘AAA’ read my A-Level results back in August 2007.

Though, what should have been one of the most thrilling days of my life, had been one met with worry, confusion and quiet disappointment. Why? Because my teachers had never let me believe that it was possible, and I subsequently watched as friends with similar grades merrily set off for the likes of Oxbridge and Kings, whilst I left with an ignorant resignation for a place at a lower ranking University obtained through UCAS ‘extra.’ (Though I have since transferred up the ranks to Queen Mary).

The main difference between my peers and I was our ‘schooling.’ Though forget notions of better funding at ‘independent’ compared to ‘state’ schools, popular in current mainstream media debates on Higher Education entry. In this instance, our paths were entirely determined by the attitudes of our respective teachers at a comprehensive school.

A recent article published by journalist James Delingpole in the Telegraph slammed claims from the Sutton Trust that “State school pupils put off applying for Oxford and Cambridge because their teachers are reluctant to promote elitism.’ He argues fervently that the problem with what he calls the “dismal education system” are the “progressive” policies “imposed upon [state schools] by generations” of liberal-leftists which interfere with how schools are

run, thus lowering the standard of education received and permeating the endless educational class-war we have seen in recent years.

While one can agree that the state education system is in much need of reform to allow those at comprehensives as high a chance as possible of meeting university entry requirements, it is possible that

“Are Teachers reluctant to promote Elitism, or is our “dismal education system” the reason why so many stateschool pupils fail to secure places at top Universities?” those at the Sutton Trust are onto something.

Many young people today have an educational background which is unconventional. For instance, for one QM student, who preferred to remain nameless, who had spent his school years switching between home and school-tuition found, as a result, upon entering sixth form that his teachers had no idea of his academic capabilities. Just under a year later he found himself applying to university. He was actively discouraged from applying to anywhere with entry requirements higher than ABB at A-Level as his school’s careers advisor informed him that he would not get a place on most courses at the universities that he wanted to apply to due to his “non-traditional” background. He was even advised to apply to places offering courses requiring one grade lower than his predict-

ed grades. All this advise only aimed to enhance the school’s successful university entry statistics rather than secure the student the best education possible.

One of the many problems with state education appears to be the inflexibility of teachers, who many argue are still underpaid for the service they deliver. The ‘tiered’ system of education, which starts in toddler years and continues through to the end of GCSE already seperates the supposed Oxbridge candidates from the ex-Poly’s from the school-leavers with very little mobility between the groups for students once they have been placed.

Journalist and Internet Blogger Fraser Nelson printed a graph in an attack on Peter Mandelson’s handling of state-education which showed the percentage of candidates at independent schools achieving three or more A grades at 30.9, with comprehensive schools at a meagre 7.7. Nelson argues that money is not the issue here, “pouring money into the state schools has not been the solution - and there are now academic studies showing a surprisingly weak link between cash and outcome. And those who say “it’s all about money” should ask why grammars do almost as well as the independents. It is the style, culture and ethos of a school that makes the difference.”

QM insists that “most departments will make offers on an individual basis,” so potential candidates with suitably high academic ability, but who have been somewhat hindered by a flawed education system stand an equal chance of being offered a place at one of the UK’s top higher education institutions.

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22/09/2009

What’s going on in America?

QM’s Nick Thomson reports from across the Atlantic

So, I’ve been given a column in the paper about student life in the USA! The only problem is I’m not there yet.

So, to fill space before I can actually write something relevant, I’ve been thinking about what I’m to expect when I cross the pond.

I know to expect some similarities. Like in the UK, Californian higher education is so overstrained that to reduce the budget deficit the state has imposed a VAT-like tax on the legal sale of cannabis, well, that last bit’s unlike the UK. But what about the Californians themselves? I remember always seeing those HSBC adverts plastered everywhere, endeavouring to boil down cultural differences to bite-size witticisms. I decided to check if they had any on the yanks.

Living up to its slogan, the world’s local bank certainly came up with the goods, providing a whole guide to our cousins across the pond. Unfortunately, such info tuned out either obvious, like shake their hand when you meet them or ridiculously vague like: “Americans are raised from childhood to see themselves as distinct, separate individuals.” This is obviously opposed to the UK, which is basically a giant ant-colony lacking in any individuality. So, what have I learnt from HSBC? That all these generalisations are particularly redundant. People are just people, based on their own merit and personalities; it is impossible to expect any pattern of what they are going to be like. It a two-way road as well, I am sick to death of people saying that “oh they are going to love you” simply because I’m from the UK. What if I’m a complete bastard to someone?

Anyway, rant over. I promise news next time. If you are interested in swapping a semester or two in Mile End with somewhere sunnier, then Harry Gibney, who is charge of the Education Abroad Program, will be holding an introductory talk in October.

Freshers Fortnight one big piss-up?

Emma Aldridge Everyone is desperate to impress during Freshers Week, the new first years are searching to find their cliques before real life sets in again. As I learnt during my first year, the ‘what’s your name and what are you studyings’ flow much easier once ‘Dutch courage’ comes into play, on top of this, the Fresher’s experience provides the booming music to fill any awkward pauses in the conversation. However, with everyone in Drapers barely standing by 9 pm is this really the best atmosphere, or the best image, to present to first years?

The whole week has been accused of devolving from an easy-going social occasion into nothing more than a giant pissing contest; who can drink the most, screw the most and make the biggest tit of themselves. These student critics, for the most part, don’t want people to be sitting quietly in the corner drinking lemonade, but

are simply asking when and why did this transition happen?

One of the main criticisms is that there is very little variety in the types of nights provided by the SU. I, for one, can relate to this, feeling by the third night of my Freshers experience that I wanted more than to get drunk. I wanted a bit of variation in what was on offer.

I felt like a piece of meat in a cheesy bar. It may sound crazy but I wanted to chill out and really speak to people. The SU assures that ‘At Queen Mary, we have tried to tailor Freshers’ week to suit everybody’ and insist that events such as their comedy night ‘Gaggin For It’ and venues such as Ground and the Coffee Clinic show a culture not focussed on alcohol. They go on to insist that ‘The student union takes matters of student welfare very seriously, therefore we do not encourage students to drink alcohol, but we do provide a specific venue for those who would like to drink.’ Some are du-

bious however, saying the disparity in advertising between high revenue alcoholic events and non-alcoholic ones, which have a much lower return, mean students often feel as if there is nothing to do but drink, egging each other on with their own insecurities.

Not everyone feels there is a significant problem, QM student Joanna Piddock says ‘everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the various nights introduced you to the super-clubs London has on offer’ but agrees that not enough variety is provided and that getting drunk always seems to be the order of the day during these SU organized nights. Harpal Mudhar is quick to point out that the nights are not compulsory and that at that people should remain open-minded during Freshers Week.

Conversely, Chloe Pantazi, a QMUL student, told me she thought ‘it is like a meat market, like loads of club nights are these days, if someone is just looking to have fun but not get has-

sled, or be in an atmosphere where there was that kind of thing happening too much, they’re told they are obstructing the fun!’

These ‘meat-market’ type clubs are becoming more and more common. Ladies nights are at most big clubs now and I really don’t want the Union to end up in the same way. After all, a student union is meant to represent the interests of the all the students at a University, not the minority who always want to go on crazy night’s out.

This isn’t just happening at QM though. Oxford was criticised in March after female students were made to perform sexual acts on a banana as part of election to organise next Freshers Week. Is this really what university is all about?

the government needs to r form the system. We are going to have large numbers of British students with good A-levels who can’t get a place even while they are recruiting more from abroad than ever’, said David Willets, the shadow universities secretary.

Anthony McClaran, chief executive of the Universities and College Admissions Service, said: ‘I understand it is frustrating, but overseas students make up only around 10% of total numbers.’ Yet it is this 10% which is pivotal for the survival of some university departments, without such they may ‘implode’.

In a The Times interview, Professor Wellings, the Vice-Chancellor of Lancaster University said: ‘There are some disciplinary areas that are underpinned by international students, such as computing, engineering and physics. They have a disproportionate share of international students.’

In total non-EU students generate approximately £1.9 billion, money which supports subjects such as engineering, physics and

computing, and means universities can invest in better facilities and a broader curriculum, with the potential of attracting more students to the institutions.

Wellings continued to say: ‘If we took out those international students I think we would see departments starting to implode quite quickly and the pattern of subjects offered by universities would also change quite quickly. To some extent international students are making sure the research and knowledge fabric is being maintained.’

Ten years ago New Labour set a target to have 50% of under-thirties going to university by 2010, currently the government has failed to meet that objective. While some say that a decrease in number of foreign students would surely mean that government’s aim would be achieved over the next few years it is not actually the case. With the exception of lab based subjects such as science and those that need expensive equipment such as film-making, the extra money brought in

by foreign students allows departments to expand and therefore offer more places for domestic students.

David Lammy, the Higher Education Minister, said: “Record numbers of young people are now entering their higher education, with over half from all social classes aspiring to go to university, so progress to 50% demonstrates our commitment to make their ambitions a reality. Getting more young people skilled and into higher education has never been so important for our country’s future and the health of the economy.’

Overseas students are essential for universities to function and develop. Without the money they bring it would not be possible for U.K. students to have the chance to study at university. It is evident that without greater government funding, raised without effecting the level of fees, serious problems await universities in the future.

Overseas students preferred Philip Keech Thousands of British university applicants have been turned away; in preference to overseas candidates because of they offer higher tuition fees.

The average U.K. and E.U. undergraduate student will be charged £3,225 to study this year, in comparison non-EU students could potentially pay up to £14,750 per annum. However, a government policy puts no restriction on the number of overseas students an institution can recruit, while U.K. students are subject to strict caps.

This year saw a record high in the number of British students applying for university (a 9.7% increase from last year), due to school-leavers wanting to delay finding a job because of the current economic recession, but the government has failed to fund enough places to take on the extra applicants.

‘The brutal fact is that foreign students bring in much more money than British ones – that is exactly why

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22/09/2009

Student Comment

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International students Monty McShane

University is becoming more popular than ever. Good, you might say. However, with the recession, the government is facing an enormous funding crisis. The squeeze on university places this year has left many students forced to opt for deferred entry or sim-

ply unable to get into their choice of institution. It is no surprise that this has been a massive talking point for the media and from this comes the controversial issue of international students being admitted over UK students.

International students are a veritable cash cow for UK universities, paying much higher fees than the UK students. However, this creates an ethical quandary. Our universities must follow a quota system, where there is a limit to how many UK students are allowed to attend the univer-

sity. International students are exempt from this quota system. This means that bright UK students with the grades to get in to their chosen university could be slipping through the cracks, simply because the quota has been met. Admissions tutors should in theory apply the same criteria in making offers to students whether they are UK or international. But with record numbers of applicants and the constraints of a quota system it is obvious that where there is an international student and a UK

student of exceptional ability, the international student is more likely to get in. And yet there is no doubt that international students are essential for the funding of UK universities.

If more students in the UK are to go university, the money for more places must come from somewhere.

Charles Clarke famously called in 2003 for the abolition of student fees and the introduction of a lifelong ‘graduate tax’ instead. This idea has become popular recently as a solution to the

government’s lack of money to fund new places at UK universities. The government’s ‘go to university’ message seems hollow if UK universities are unable to admit as many bright and capable students as they would like.

However it is done, it is clear that admitting more international students may be a solution to the funding crisis, despite the problems with the potentially unfair quota system.

do pay travel and lunch expenses, but enough do not pay a wage. It is important to note that interns are often required to do similar tasks to those who get paid by the same organisation and seeing as all workers are legally entitled to the national minimum wage (£4.77 for workers aged 18 – 21 and £5.73 for workers aged 22 years and older) there seems to be a fine line between what is and is not considered proper work.

An internship is often (not always) a rewarding and invaluable experience, which can help boost someone’s ca-

reer prospects. A placement is extremely helpful for jobs in the arts, finance and the media and almost essential to make a CV look golden.

Companies mostly expect at least two or three days commitment per week, which limits candidates, but many graduates may choose to claim job-seekers allowance, work a part-time job or wait until they have the means to support themselves.

Students graduating from university next summer will hopefully graduate in better economic times. Those looking for the dream internship should welcome the

positive government changes too. The same difficulty, however, affects many undergraduates seeking summer or term-time internships who need a part-time job to supplement their loan. Internships do give some the upper-hand, but there are other unpaid opportunities with less commitment out there which can also be as beneficial and rewarding.

ers Party” t-shirt. I could scarcely contain my excitement that, after three long months, my fellow bourgeois had returned, righteous indignation firmly in tow.

At its best, the student movement is the nation’s moral compass. In the 1960s and 70s we built up an alternate narrative that, for all its silliness, was coherent and principled. This has been lost. We have nothing to say about social jus-

tice, save ultra-left nonsense and self-obsessed muttering about tuition fees. As regards foreign affairs, our motivating factors appear to be trips to Parliament Square and photographs with Tony Benn.

We too often neglect the plight on our doorsteps.

It has been said, that for every tube station further east one travels life expectancy drops four years. It is easy to rail against the callous-

ness of foreign wars and the excesses of macroeconomics. It is harder to ask whether local schools are properly resourced or if the homeless get enough help.

We can’t depend on central government. In nine months, the Conservatives will be in power, with an ambivalence towards public services and social policies better suited to the 1920s. It is time to regain perspective.

Internships Bradley Downing

Unpaid internships are unfair, but this year politicians have decided to take action.

Last April, the government announced that it would extend job-seekers allowance entitlement (£50.95 for 16 – 25 year olds and £64.30 for anyone older) to graduates working at internships for up

to 13 weeks. This month, a Liberal Democrat proposal, titled ‘A Lifeboat for the Lost Generation’, pointed out that internships and work placements could be paid for by a higher VAT rate. It is undoubtedly important that politicians have properly recognised the plight of many graduates, particularly during an economic recession.

Unpaid internships put wealthy students, whose parents live in London at an advantage, since without a financial income several graduates will not be able to pay rent nor bills. The majority of internships, however,

Student Politics George McFarlane

Staying in London over the summer break is a strange experience. With many students revelling in the delights of mum’s cooking, complimentary laundry service and warm beer on the

green, Mile End reverts to its natural state – “an oasis in a world of change”, to use the slogan of the Coborn Arms.

It was therefore with no small degree of relief that I recently heard the distinctive crackle of a megaphone as I slid from the underbelly of Mile End tube station.

Emerging, I elatedly caught sight of the bearer: a spotty, white, twentysomething, wearing designer jeans and a “Socialist Work-

8

Science & Environment

Got a story? science@qmessenger.co.uk

22/09/2009

Queen Mary scientists at forefront of Skylark research Published in the Springer journal Naturwissenschaften in late August, it was revealed that Skylarks can ‘hear the difference between friendly neighbours and dangerous strangers, and deal with any threatening intruders.’ The discovery from scientists at Queen Mary, reveals the truth behind the fascinating behaviours of

the Skylark, which included the discovery that male skylarks learn to recognise local dialects in their neighbours’ individual songs, remember where each neighbour is supposed to be and reprimand intruders who don’t belong in their neighbourhood.

According to Dr. Elodie Briefer of Queen Mary’s

School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, “this may have evolved because it is safer for the birds to live close together, but they need a way to keep intruders out. By sharing a local dialect in their song, they can keep an ear out for other birds that live nearby and kick any strangers out of the neighbourhood.”

Killer French Seaweed A lorry driver in France has died after transporting three containers of sea lettuce away from beaches where it had been decaying, releasing poisonous gas. The seaweed, which has been clogging parts of the Brittany coast, is under investigation by French Prosecutors who are seeking to determine whether the originally recorded heart attack of the victim was linked to the seaweed.

Last month, the french Prime Minister warned bathers and beach goers of the health risk of visiting the suspected beaches. The lettuce, Ulva Lactuca, was first brought to the attention of officials when a horse being ridden over the sand collapsed and died. The rider then fell unconscious and was dragged from the seaweed coated beach. By this point the Lorry Driver had already died. A local authority

spokesman strongly denied that they were aware of the death when the Prime Minister, Francois Fillon visited the beaches last month. Environmentalists claim that misuse of Brittany’s agricultural land and the high levels of nitrates used in fertilisers are the main culprit for the deadly algae invasion on Brittany’s coasts. The case continues.

Mile End’s very own cutting edge sustainable technology Attending an inner-city campus based University, the thought of green grass, flourishing flora and fauna and sustainable energy being utilised and enjoyed on your doorstep may seem a distant dream to the 13,000 students at Queen Mary.

Yet the aim of the nearby Mile End Ecology Centre is to introduce city locals to the importance of ecology, sustainability and the natural environment. Situated on the main walking and cycle route through Mile End park behind the university, the centre overlooks the lake and stands within an earth mound with a grass and soil roof. The concrete frame heats up by trapping the energy from the sun during the summer months. The warm concrete is then able to keep the building warm through the cold months of the year. The windows the centre are double glazed with a ‘low emissivity coating’ which helps to trap the

energy from sunlight. There is also a wind turbine which acts as the main symbol of renewable energy systems which the centre represents.

The 6.5 kW turbine provides enough power to operate a pump which circulates water around the lake. Small

microcosms like these may soon become a prominent feature of East London following the 2012 Olympics, which Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins anticipates as the “greenest games to date.”

Did you know... n Only a two-minute walk n

from the Mile End campus of Queen Mary, University of London is the site where the first ‘V1 flying-bomb’ fell on London on 13th of June 1944. The warhead contained enough chemical explosive to kill 8 civilians and destroy nearly an entire street of houses. Situated on the side of the railway bridge on Grove Road can be found a plaque placed by English Heritage which marks this historic site.

Researchers at Queen Mary, University of London have been awarded almost £300,000 to uncover why we feel nauseous, a condition which in most non-fresher’s week related cases cannot be controlled. Upon receiving the grant, Professor Qasim Aziz said: “I am delighted to obtain this funding, it will allow us to study the reasons why some people are more susceptible to nausea than others. We will also for the first time identify which parts of the brain are responsible of the nausea sensation.”

QM Environment £1.4m to reduce carbon emissions Extensive works are continuingly going on in the depths of many buildings, unbeknown to the majority of staff and students, there is Voltage Optimisation Equipment installed in The Library, IT Building, Laws and Engineering buildings. This reduces the amount of electricity consumed and extends the life of plant equipment.

New, more energy efficient, hot water boilers and heat-

ing has been installed in the Students’ Union, Francis Bancroft and Engineering. Residences also run a save energy campaign encouraging residents to turn off lights when leaving rooms.

The college is confident that all of this work would reduce the college carbon footprint by some 3,900 tonnes of CO2. It’s great to know that our university has its green cap on!!

New QM Environmental Manager As further testament to the Colleges’ commitment to the environment and its Environmental Policy it has recently employed a new Environmental Manager/Champion, Jake Scott. Jake’s main role will be to bring about a more co-ordinated approach to the College’s Environmental and Sustainability Policy and highlight to staff, students and the General Public the many initiatives across the college designed to reduce our impact upon the environ-

ment and make our activities more sustainable.

He will start by creating web pages highlighting environmental best practice and on how we can all help be more Environmentally Friendly at the college and at home including; Environmental Audits, Green Travel Plans, Fairtrade University Accreditation, Green Energy, Reducing, Reusing and Recycling, Carbon Emmissions Reduction, Water Usage and Ethical Investments.

The Environmental Manager, the Students’ Union and College Catering are to talk about the college gaining ‘FAIRTRADE STATUS’. The idea has been enthusiastically embraced across the College and already you should see FAIRTRADE products stocked in all college catering and SU retail outlets, as well as at meetings catered for by the college. The scheme started in 2003 when Oxford Brookes University became

the first Fairtrade University. People & Planet groups across the country took up the challenge and now there are over 70 Fairtrade Universities and Colleges in the UK, with many more working towards status. If you would like to know more visit www. fairtrade.org.uk. If you would like to get involved in promoting and helping FAIRTRADE and Queen Mary then contact: environmental@qmsu.org.

Campus gains Fairtrade Status

Science & Environment compiled by Richard Dodwell & Anna Hiscocks

Games

9

22/09/2009

Sports Club & Society listings...

Stuck for something to do? Get involved!

ACS 6th October: “the Mix” - the ACS’s icebreaker. A good way to meet students/freshers and other members of the ACS. 30th september: Pub Quiz Drapers Bar 4-6pm.

8th October: BLACS meet ‘n’ Greet: a fantastic opportunity to meet freshers from across the pond.

QMUL LINKS LINKS is the student branch of St John Ambulance. We can teach you all sorts of first aid skills, and give you the chance to go out and practise what you’ve learned at some of London’s top events!

We’re a fun-loving, friendly bunch, so come along and save some lives.

St John Unit - Introductory meeting Wed. 30th Oct 17:00 in Mile End (venue TBC).

First Aid Awareness Course

Part One: Monday 5th Oct. 16:30 in Mile End. Catholic Society Queen Mary Catholic Society is a society dedicated towards devotions towards God, promote a greater understanding of our catholic faith, as well as fellowship amongst young catholics.

We meet weekly and our first meeting will be on the 7th of October, Wednesday at 2pm (half an hour after mass) for a meet and greet amongst fellow catholics. Everyone is welcome to come!

Please let us know at this email address: qmulcathsoc@gmail.com so that we can bring food for you!

Engineering Society ‘By Engineers, For Engineers’ Welcome Freshers and Oldtimers, this year the Engineering Society is back and it is stronger than ever! We have a whole list of events lined up for you, old and

Crossword No. 1

new.

Naming a few: Gokarting, Ice Skating, Paintballing, Social gatherings, trips to flashy engineering places, trips to flashy not-so-engineering places, external lectures, hopefully even zorb balling!

YOU DON’T EVEN NEED TO BE AN ENGINEER TO JOIN! So join us, paid membership won’t cost much of your student loan – only five quid!

Plus, being a paid member gives you a whole bunch of privileges. So come check out our stall at the Freshers Fair in the marquee in Library Square on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th September.

Contact us on qm.engsoc@ gmail.com or call us on 07501334512

Speakers include: Dr Azzam Tamimi, Lowkey, Lindsey German, others tbc.

Free entry, all welcome.

Called by Queen Mary Stop the War Society.

See facebook or look out for the posters for further details.

Our first event is the freshers climb where we sign up new members and take them down the wall. This will be on Wednesday 30th September after freshers at 4pm, meeting outside the Curve.

Tamil Society eVENT: KO: THE KNOCKOUT PLACE: VICTORIA PARK DATE/TIME: 11am-5pm

October

3rd,

ABACUS SOCIETY Abacus will be have our freshers’ dinner on 6th October, venue to be confirm but it would be in chinatown.

Stop the War Society

We welcome all freshers to join us, especially if you are Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese or any oriental group. Please contact us at blqmabacus@googlemail. com for more details.

Public Meeting- “Does Obab-

Rock Climbing Club

A 7-a-side mixed cricket tournament for all students.

For more information, please contact: 07515957304 WOMEN (WITA)

IN

THE

ARTS

Women In The Arts will be holding their first social in Drapers at 8pm on Wednesday 30th September, an informal pre-drinks to meet the team before Hail Mary kicks off.

Suduko No. 1 & 2

Across 1. Man’s felt hat (7) 5. It was (4) 8. Radical (7) 10. Spendthrift (7) 12. Loud, rusing noise (6) 15. Encroach (5) 18. Instructed (6) 20. Yorkshire town (7) 23. Rotate (7) 25. Thin coating of metal (7) 26. Pace (4) 27. Nightgown (7)

Medium

ma’s 2 state solution for Israel/Palestine put the Middle East on the roadmap to peace?” 7pm, Tuesday 6th October, Skeel Lecture Theatre, Peoples Palace, QMUL.

Down 1. Empty (6) 2. Morning (4) 3. Unfasten (7) 4. Valleys (5) 5. A tenth oart (5) 6. Removing faults (8) 7. Erodes (5) 11. Agreement (4) 13. Cloudy (8) 14. Sharpen (4) 16. Dividing into two equal parts (7) 17. Silhouette (5) 19. From that place (6) 21. Scrimp (5) 22. Inert elemental gas (5) 24. Ultimate (4)

Hard

Check this space in the next issue for all answers to crossword and suduko.

10

Reviews

Written a review? reviews@qmessenger.co.uk

22/09/2009

Books The Island by Victoria Hislop Sophia has always been secretive about her life as a child, in Crete. But when her daughter Alexis, at twenty-five, once again questions her about her past, Sophia realises that she cannot keep her secrets to herself any longer. She gives her daughter her blessing to visit one of her old friends in her native village of Plaka, who will reveal all.

The novel contains a story within a story as Hislop takes the reader back in time and reveals the legacy of leprosy in Sophia’s family, and the shame it brings with it. This story

is one of scandal and love, class divide, family rivalry and betrayal. Although this sounds like a hopelessly depressing novel, Hislop manages to make it a novel about hope and survival more than anything else. And with its twists and turns, the reader is kept constantly intrigued.

The title “The Island” refers to Spinalonga, a leper colony from 19031957, which is a short distance away from, and was used by the village of Plaka. Thus, the novel has historical relevance, and is key to understanding the inner dynamics of the relationships between Crete, mainland

Candiece Cyrus

Dead until Dark

by Charlaine Harris The phenomenal book series True Blood by Charlaine Harris has been around for quite some time now, but has recently hit our TV screens this summer. The first season of the HBO Series (available on channel FX, for the UK viewers) closely follows Charlaine Harris’s first Sookie Stackhouse novel entitled Dead until Dark. The first book in the series follows the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a cocktail waitress who lives in a small town in Louisiana. She is in her early twenties, but is different from most people; this is because she is a telepathic. As a result of this unusual characteristic, she finds it difficult to form relationships with ordinary people as she constantly knows what they are thinking.

But her quiet and peaceful life is scattered when a stranger walks into her bar. She is immediately drawn to him not only because he is tall, dark and handsome but because he is different with that she cannot read his mind. However this is a huge bonus for her, as she quickly (and the unsuspecting reader could argue luckily) realises he is a vampire.

One quiet night, this stranger leaves the Bar with two dealers and Sookie follows them. Suspiciously they try to kill him and drain his blood but fortunately enough, she saves him, and as you can guess, forms an interesting relationship with him. This is not an easy affair in a town where vampires are treated with suspicion and fear; especially since upon his arrival into town, local women have started being

songs like ‘Beat It’. ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Thriller’ rocked the very foundations of music – giving two of the most recognisable beats ever heard.

The music videos are awesomely innovative, fully inspiring the medium to be considered more than a promotional tool. Who could forget the undead dancing in ‘Thriller’ or the tiles lighting under Jackson’s feet in ‘Billie Jean’?

The king of pop’s collaboration with Paul McCartney in ‘The Girl is Mine’ is a charming song that is often understated – the song’s mellow beat and simple lyrics oozes such personality that it gives me unlimited pleasure to listen to it over and over again. The socially revealing ‘Human Nature’ is light, sooth-

ing music that is perhaps modest towards the potential intensity of the message. Like ‘Baby Be Mine’, ‘PYT (Pretty Young Thing)’ is a funky disco tune that echoes Jackson’s success with his previous album, ‘Off the Wall’. Last but certainly not least, ‘Wana be startin’ something’ is an up-beat, rhythmic track that is seriously underplayed on most dance floors.

If one were to try and criticise perfection, he would be doing something not only irrational but criminal. ‘Thriller’ is perfection - who would have ever thought such a basically educated young man from Indiana could have shook the world as much as he did.

Greece and Spinalonga.

Hislop also makes a great effort to depict Cretan lifestyle, weather and culture, fully absorbing the reader into this Mediterranean tale.

Ultimately, The Island is a story about moral dilemmas. Hearing about Sophia’s past leads Alexis to make important decisions about her life and her future. Similarly, this novel will no doubt influence the reader.

5/5 Should be read on a Mediterranean beach, cocktail in hand.

murdered and strangely they have all been waitresses found with peculiar bite marks on their bodies.

Is Sookie’s new man responsible for this? She needs to find the truth before she ends up dead as well.

Personally as a reader the TV series does not mirror the book; however that should not ruin one’s enjoyment as it did not ruin mine. You may actually find that it compels you to pick up the book for yourself and uncover the thrilling adventure that Charlaine Harris has written for her readers.

3/5 Though the TV series lets it down, the thrilling adventure is not lost in the novel.

Berja Dussaussois

Music Thriller, Michael Jackson Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is the staple of modern music landing the title of the best selling album of all time by far, Jackson’s smallest album packs an extraordinary punch.

‘Thriller’ introduced a revolution of music, as people saw music videos treated as an art form rather than promotion, they were wowed at how MJ composed such iconographic, shattering masterpieces as ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Beat It’. ackson combines disco, rock and pop in way that people had never seen before – the balance is utterly perfect. The album delivers calm love ballads like ‘The Lady in My Life’, Disco anthems like ‘Baby Be Mine’ and electrifying rock pop

Television Big Brother 10 For this series the producers picked several crazy and therefore unforgettable characters in the house: the maddest and evilest one being Bea. Bea entered the house halfway through the series and instantly had

10/10 The album that changed music.

Alexander Penn

Candiece Cyrus vendettas against people, playing on their weaknesses and turning the house against them.

The cold “maniser”, Noirin will also be remembered for wooing nearly all the heterosexual men in the house.

She kissed one, Siavash, before Big

Brother surprised her by sending her ex boyfriend into the house.

Siavash brought humour to the house. In one task he had the role as a backing dancer in a rendition of Beyonce’s “Put a Ring on it” video.

Sporting a leotard, wig and high heels

and doing his own dance moves, he wasn’t afraid to look ridiculous.

The endless list of this year’s most memorable housemates and situations could go on. Hopefully BB11, Big Brother’s last series on channel 4, will be just as memorable.

Film

Like films? film@qmessenger.co.uk

11

22/09/2009

District 9 Peeking out from the usual barrage of brainless, flashy, macho trash being hurled at an unsuspecting public by dumbsploitation auteurs like Michael Bay, there are a few films which remind us why science-fiction used to be genuinely innovative, thought-provoking and socially valid rather than just being the fantasy film’s younger, nerdier brother. I mean, it’s not like District 9 is a super-cerebral film designed to simply blow the mind of all but the most mentally sturdy individual – the premise is pretty simple; Aliens come to Earth, attempt to integrate and 20 years later they find themselves ostracised by the human race and herded into a site of makeshift shanty towns called “District 9”. Now, of course, on the surface this is potentially preachy, patronising rubbish which simply screams: “RACISM IS WRONG, DON’T YOU GET IT, YOU DUMB THUGS?!” The film’s value comes in its execution. The first half of the film is presented in quasi-documentary style – talking heads ‘n all – with the main pro-

tagonist, Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) as the main focus, playing an agent tasked with relocating the 2 million or so aliens (referred to as prawns for their distinctively prawn-like appearance) to another area, so as they stop upsetting their Johannesburg neighbours.

However, the second half changes to more of a straightforward thriller narrative, as Wikus find himself forced to empathise with the aliens plight for reasons I won’t give away here. The plot is very reminiscent of any number of Philip K. Dick stories (Oh, to be a Blobel and Minority Report come immediately to mind), but don’t let it bother you – this is a film that’s aware of its own influences and the obviousness of its message as so it doesn’t really dwell on them.

It’s a film refreshingly free from preachiness. The film is shot with an intended rough ‘n ready style – heavy use of the shaky handheld style, with lots of “oh look, the cameraman’s been knocked over” shots which are frankly getting a bit overused in cinema nowadays, even if they do suit their use in this film – just seems to me to be too obvious a signifier for “GRITTY!” nowadays. Likewise, lots of greens and browns and general colours of dirt and decay don’t exactly suggest the cinematographer spent

much time planning beyond re-watching Fight Club and Saw umpteen times.

Allegedly, Shartlo Copley ad-libbed all his lines and this does come across – perhaps more than anything, he makes the film stand out with his nervous, offkilter and decidedly un-heroic performance. He gives the most sense of realism to the film, sticking to a confused everyman persona which makes him highly identifiable rather than being another gun-toting, muscle-bound Yankee hooligan. The narrative builds to a clever, open-ended climax which leaves a lot of unanswered questions, but the right kind of questions, again in the great tradition of Philip K. Dick. It’s a consciously smart film and, for all of its shortcomings, you never feel like your intelligence is being insulted throughout the film; at the same time, the film is genuinely gripping and if you don’t the sometimes over-familiarity of parts of it, there is no reason you shouldn’t enjoy it. One last thing though: don’t try and make any sense of the myriad language problems in the film – like, how a South African agent who never speaks any language other than English is able to perfectly understand an alien language, but not Nigerian. Hmm...

RATING ****

Monty McShane

It was a weird film, the documentary style was interesting, not many films do things like that, but I wasn’t a huge fan. They did a very good job of humanizing the aliens.

Bradley Downing It was interesting but I wouldn’t watch it again.

I wasn’t keen on the documentary style but overall it was worth seeing.

I have to say that I wasn’t looking forward to it before I went in but it was very different from what I expected.

It was well made and the acting was quite good.

Michael Lane

(500) Days of Summer Before we begin, is there anything more irritating than sitting a cinema and listen to the people around you laughing at things that simply aren’t funny? Or am I just a paranoid sociopath? Anyway... on to the review! And speaking of stuff which isn’t funny, I bring you to (500) Days of Summer, the new “quirky” rom-com from budding director, Mark Webb. Tom Hans-

en (Joseph Gordon-Levitt remember the kid from 3rd Rock From The Sun?) is the “eccentric” young greetings card designer who falls in love with his bosses “kooky” secretary, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanell), who, unfortunately doesn’t love him.

Right from the start, with its oh-so-post-modernistic narration, the film basically tries to prove over and over that it is above the label of

Film Soc Screening

Memories of Murder This week’s film society screening is a cult film import from Korea. Loosely based on true events that took place in the 1980’s, the film is a surreal, witty mystery thriller regarding the murders of several women in the province of Gyunggi and the bumbling, incapable detectives who investigate it. Although the film owes a lot to the style of David Lynch (particularly Twin Peaks), its demolition of the conventions and clichés of the detective film is brilliantly done – the actual progress of the investigation and unveiling of the mystery hardly unfolds throughout the film due to the total incompetence of the detectives and their methods. The acting is particularly good, especially Kang-ho Song as the leader of the investigation vwhose jumps to ludicrous conclusions lead the team in totally random directions. I mean it’s not a perfect film – like I said before, it wears its influences on its sleeve and its claims of being based on real events I feel somewhat derails the films credibility; it’s always a risky thing to suggest and come out unscathed. Still, that’s nitpicking more than anything – the film is also beautifully shot, with its locales of vast sweeping cornfields and rain drenched forests; a masterpiece of cinematography if nothing else. Well worth investigating.

RATING **** Film compiled by Alex Mcdonald and Sam Creighton

“rom-com” and it is a genuinely innovative independent existentialist masterpiece.

Problem? It isn’t. It’s just a rom-com with a slightly more obscure soundtrack – “ooh they listen to the Smiths, they’re like soooo left-offield! Only them and the 10 million or so other Smiths fans!” When taken as simply a rom-com, it’s actually not really a bad film. I mean, it’s not very funny, but who goes

to a rom-com for funniness?

But it’s decent – but the film is so sure of its own arrogant superiority that it’s just irritating, with its cheap, clichéd graphic novel tributes and scenes of magical realism. Leave this stuff to Wes Anderson, boys. Also the last line of the film is maybe the worst thing I have ever actually heard...

RATING **

I loved how your perspective of the aliens changed from animal to human, from seeing them as pests to then exhibiting human emotions.

Plus some badass explosions and a good dose of Peter Jackson gruesomeness.

Gabe Boyle

Inglorious Bastards Tarantino fever’s hitting a peak again, with the release of his Inglorious Basterds so I think this is maybe a good time to do a review of the new DVD release of the 1977 cult film which it takes its title from. Inglorious Bastards (correctly spelled this time) is a classic slice of italian-american warsploitation. The plot, set in Germany during WW2 centres around a motley crew of murderers, thieves and general badasses who escape from being transported to a military prison and go on the run to Switzerland. However, after accidentally killing a special forces team, they find themselves tasked with a near impossible mission by the American military. Weirdly enough, for a supposedly quick, cheap film, it’s surprising how professional it looks – nothing really suggests its low budget beyond the cheesy super-imposing on the opening credits. It’s all

clearly indebted to Sam Peckinpah with plenty of bloody, slow-mo d e a t h scenes and black humour.

The characters are all stereotypes to an almost hilarious degree – the black soldier is a badass with a huge cigar and moustache, the Italian soldier is sex-obsessed and constantly trying to flog stolen goods and, of course, the tough talking American white guy just wants to GET THE JOB DONE! Still, it’s also surprisingly well acted – they all play their parts with selfknowing wit and gusto. It’s an undeniably fun film and would go well with a takeaway and a few beers on a Friday night.

RATING ***

Fantastic, absolutely amazing.

Totally original, I think it marks the start of a wave of inventive film-making this autumn. The visuals were especially good. I really liked the documentary style but I’m glad it switched into an action adventure for the latter half.

Jessica Esmond An unusual cross between sci-fi and d r a m a and social commentary.

However, I found the structure annoying, because of the way the main character transformed into something completely different halfway through.

12

Sport

Interested in sport? sports@qmessenger.co.uk

22/09/2009

VP Activities Speaks..

First Regatta win for a decade John William Gull

I’m Vratislav ‘Vraj’ Domalip III, I have been elected as your Vice-President Student Activities. As VPSA I am responsible for all the sports clubs, societies and RAG. Firstly I would like to welcome all the Freshers to Queen Mary, you have chosen a truly fantastic university.

We have a very exciting year ahead of us with lots of fun activities and events planned. This year I would like to focus on a few key areas such as forging links with other University of London colleges to offer our students sports we do not currently cater for, improve and enhance the profile of societies through campus and treat both clubs and societies equally. I also want to liaise with the RAG officer Sally Nguyen to ensure the effective organisation and running of RAG events. My top tip for Freshers’ is that I believe our societies and clubs are an integral part of university life so being involved in Student Activites will provide you with a great opportunity to meet loads of new people and enhance your experience at Queen Mary.

Additionally, an important date for your diaries is the Queen Mary Freshers’ Ball which will be held on Thursday 8th October. The ball will be onboard the Golden Jubilee which will cruise down the Thames past Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Millennium Dome and Canary Wharf from 7.30pm to 1am. Celebrate the start of your Queen Mary career by taking in the beautiful sights of London in the dusk, coasting down the Thames and dancing the night away.

I hope you all have an epic Freshers’ Week, and if you see me around, come and say hello.

Vratislav Domalip III VP Activities

Over the past decade or more our beloved Boat Club have really ignored this part of the year, concentrating instead on the winter Head race season that occurs during term time. Head races are when every boat rows the course once and is given a time, with the winner being the quickest. Regattas, though, are much more fun, and as the outgoing Club President I have been working closely with the incoming President Dominic Bell to change this.

In British Rowing there is a points system to ensure that rowers of similar abilities come up against one another. The points are numbered 0-12 (with 12 being GB standard and 0 being novice). To win them is simple: win a regatta. But since QM never enters regattas, however good we think we are, we are still just a bunch of novices. So over the Summer QM have competed in no less than four events at regattas with many of our brave boys competing even more with other Clubs to try to lose our novice rating and become men.

For the first of our summer regattas I got on my bike and cycled to Bedfordshire where the Star Regatta would be held. I met up with a crew that was full of promise and cycled alongside as they rowed. The first event did not go to plan, and although they rowed well, they lost by about four lengths over the 1000m course, albeit to the eventual winners.

Not a good start but valuable experience nonetheless. Onto Sunday’s event and the course had been shortened to a 500m sprint, and with this came our first win of the summer. Going hard and fast against an admittedly much younger crew they won comfortably by about six lengths; this certainly brightened everyone’s mood after the previous day’s poor performance. But despite going even quicker in the next round they sadly were not quick enough and lost by about two lengths. A good day out but it was back to the drawing board. Losing our novice rating would not be as easy as we thought.

For me I then got on my

bike again and cycled to Sicily in southern Italy, but whilst I was doing that QM went back to Bedford for the Bedford Quarts Regatta.

With their newfound experience and renewed determination they breezed through the early rounds of this 600m event, after defeating a strong Bedford School crew in the semis they drew Sudbury for the final. Sudbury took a slight lead off the start and extended this slightly towards the middle, and despite clawing this back to half a length by the end the QM boys lost an exiting final by half a length.

So lots of improvement in four weeks, but still not quite there.

By this time I had arrived in Sicily and was checking my emails when I found that one of our boys had done it.

Lewis Dixon had won a regatta rowing with St Neotts in an 8+. This was great news although it now meant that he could no longer help us in the hunt to lose our novice ratings. Also, whilst I was there I got a bit jealous of everyone else rowing and decided to put a four together of my own and enter the Henley Town and Visitors Regatta. The four in question were Michael King (bow), Myself (2), Dominic Bell (3), Nick De Bouillane (Stroke) coxed by Richard

Darcy. Once I’d flown back into the country I met up with the boys and we were all pumped up and raring to go with our multi-coloured QM shoes.

It was a miserable day but Henley makes up for it by being such a beautiful town. Being a crew that had never even rowed together before we were all a little nervous and we were up against our very own Sean Simpson in the first round who had just won a qualifying heat and gloated about how strong the guy sitting behind him was. This Reading crew was clearly the one to beat. Or were they? After a great start we surged ahead winning by six lengths over the Oxford Academicals with Reading a further seven lengths back over the 1000m course. A great start to the day, giving us a true belief we could win. The conditions were worse for the final and with our boat filing up with rain I was very nervous sitting there waiting for the umpiring boat to turn. I remember looking over and seeing that the crew next to us were a strong crew, but then I looked at them individually comparing each seat to the guys in our boat. I thought: “I bet Nick could beat him, I bet Dom could beat him, I bet I could beat him, and

I bet Mike could beat him.”

That helped a lot.

We had not got off to a good start and the boats all set off neck and neck. I was expecting to be in the lead but we weren’t, suddenly there was doubt and I punished my body for it, we all did. And it worked.

Rich then made a great call that really calmed the nerves “Come on guys, we’re going to do this”, we believed him. From then on it only was a matter of time, don’t fuck up and you’ll win, enjoy this moment as your last two minutes of being a novice. A stupid boat passed our lane at high speed at one point but the resulting wave just made us more determined as we crossed the line having won by three lengths over Stratford and by a further length over Upper Thames.

What an amazing feeling, it is hard to put into words how happy we were. And it was QM’s first regatta win for more than a decade. We all felt a little sorry for Sean but only a couple of weeks later and we heard the news that he had in fact won a regatta of his own. I leave Queen Mary with only the happiest memories of my time in the Boat Club, which is currently in its 100th year being founded in 1910. I wish them all the best.

Sport

Interested in sport? sports@qmessenger.co.uk

13

22/09/2009

PRESEASON!

Tae Kwon-do Tae Kwon-do is a Korean martial art known mainly for its many kicking techniques.

Learning Tae Kwon-do gives you the chance to learn new self-defence skills, get fitter, relieve stress and meet new people all at the same time.

Anyone can join, from complete beginners to those with more experience, and you don’t have to be superfit either, since the lessons work on developing both fitness and flexibility, making Tae Kwon-do a more enjoyable way to get fit than say, simply going to the gym.

Queen Mary Tae Kwon-

By Rebecca Cooney (Club President)

do is a friendly and sociable Club, and is part of the British United Tae Kwon-do Federation, allowing members to work from white belt through the coloured belts, up towards black belt. There is also the chance to take part in regular competitions.

A free taster session will be held in the first few weeks of term, so if you think you’d like to give Tae Kwon-do a try, feel free to come along and get involved. For more details, come and find us at Fresher’s Fair, on Facebook or email us at qmultkd@gmail.com.

Swimming Club Because Drapers have a pool...

doesn’t

If you fancy a bit of swimming alongside all your other academic, sporting and drinking commitments then you should definitely definitely definitely join QMBL Swimming Club.

After a series of successful galas last year, the QMBL swimmers, made up of both Queen Mary and Barts’ students, became reigning champions over the other University of London teams (woohoo!) If you feel that you can help us uphold this title we would love to have you on the team!

Queen Mary Squash Club had mixed fortunes last year with a total whitewash in the ULU league, though it is to be expected; being such a small university gaining promotion to the top division in the 07/08 season was a great feat in itself, but facing the top teams in the whole of London was never going to be easy.

Out of this disappointment came a 2nd place finish in the BUCS league and a 5-0 thrashing of Barts at the end of the academic year in the annual Merger Cup. With these impressive results we hope to bounce back from our relegation. There

Life Outside Academia – Sports and Societies

By Alice Weaver (Club President)

But here at QMBL Swimming Club, we love everyone (except Kings) so whatever your ability, our weekly training sessions are a great way to maintain your hot body and improve your stroke technique. We meet on Wednesdays 3:30-4:30pm and Friday 7:00-8:00pm at Mile End Leisure Centre, which luckily is only down the road.

Convinced you yet? No? Well come to our first session and try it out for free!

For more information send us an email at: qmbl_swimmingclub@hotmail.co.uk

Squash Club

Sports Officer

By Andy Smith (Social Secretary)

are plans in progress to integrate the Squash Club more into the university by taking advantage of the recently refurbished QMotion courts by creating a ladder for varying degrees of skill and the possibility of a end of term Knock-out Cup tournament.

As you will find with most university sports teams, it doesn’t matter if you’ve never picked up a racket before or if your the next Jame Willstrop (top marks if you know who he is), just come along and have some fun! Check us out on our Facebook page: ‘Queen Mary Squash Club’.

Contact: Andy Smith , andysmith313@yahoo.co.uk

Sports Clubs and Societies are the life and blood of this university. If you want your Uni experience to come alive, the cheapest and easiest way to do it is to join a club. Learn some new skills, get some sort of education out of it, and of course meet lots of new interesting people.

Apart from the fun and games, the release from degree work, the solidarity, and the thrill of competition, there is, believe it or not, a use in the wider-world for your hobbies. Many people have jobs and careers in these so-called hobbies, including myself, so don’t dismiss something with the attitude that it won’t contribute to your future – it might just be your future while credit crunch degrees are struggling to make impressions.

Without trying to sound like a student councillor the most important thing is to get fulfilment out of university life. With probably the freest three-plus years ahead of you, the onus is therefore on you to take advantage and achieve fulfilment. Check out what’s on offer and don’t let it all pass you by.

If you are like the great menagerie of people who wish to see sport improve here voice your concerns on Queen Mary Sports Clubs Facebook page or email me at sports.exec@qmsu.org and join the Sports Working Group.

Dominic Bell Sports Officer

14

Sport

Interested in sport? sports@qmessenger.co.uk

22/09/2009

PRESEASON!

Cricket Club The Cricket Club is a relatively new part of the Students’ Union; over the years the Club has been closed down and opened up again and again simply because of either lack of interest or shortage of players. This has changed over the passed 4 years though. We are now an established Club providing the best facilities we can within the very small budget that we have. The past few years the Club has boomed and we have generated more and more interest every year. We have now become a force to be reckoned with in the university cricket leagues.

Until last year we were winning trophies non-stop and improving our ranking along with it. We took a different approach last year and focused specifically to improve our league position in the BUCS League. We

By Ali Kamal Butt

achieved our goal while sacrificing our position in the ULU League. However, we will come out stronger than ever this year with support from older players and the spirit and talent of the new members we intend to hit the ground running.

Last year we had many unforgettable matches, most we won and some we lost with contributions from many very talented player.

We did however have a lot of fun as well.

We will hold our weekly indoor cricket net sessions earlier than previous years starting sometime in early November. We will have more outdoor practice sessions followed by more matches over the season This however does come at a cost, there is far more competition between players to make it into the team so not everyone will be able

Boat Club The beginning of a new year is a challenge for any Sports Club in Queen Mary but possibly more so for the Boat Club, which has to present to the majority of new students a sport that they are completely unacquainted with. Unlike Rugby, Football, Netball, and Hockey, not many people are offered the chance to get into Rowing at school.

Rowing is more exclusively a university fad, which may say something about the intellectual IQs of rowers or more likely the aspirations of universities to follow in the footsteps of Oxford and Cambridge.

In some ways this is a good thing. If you are looking for something fresh and challenging in the sporting arena you will definitely find it here. There is no length to how far you can push yourself – the gym floor has had its fair share and variety of rowers’ bodily fluids over the past year to prove this case in point – and with a better-qualified committee this year than before you are likely to learn a lot about your body and how to turn it into a fine sporting specimen, if you are modest enough to think it isn’t already.

You needn’t worry if you haven’t rowed before then. I hadn’t and I’m not the type of person you would normally find

to play the matches even though we do our best to accommodate everyone.

Due to a much more efficient and streamlined approach and cost cutting over the years we have lowered the joining fees and have now made it a lot easier for everyone to come and enjoy a game of cricket and take some pride in playing for the Queen Mary University Cricket team.

We are hoping to roll out our team kits this year once a sponsor is found for the team. We will also have indoor cricket tournaments which proved a big hit with the players last year. Although we are not the type of Club who socialise on a regular basis I can however guarantee that anyone who is looking to have some fun should join and participate thoroughly in the university cricket team.

By Dominic Bell (Club President)

in a rowing boat either, and yet here I am directing a club that promises to have the best year it has had in recent times, especially as its 100th anniversary is coming up! Needless to say, the social side of any Club or Society is something you should check out and ours has consistently made the grade; more often than not

we attract more than just our own members to our nights of madness and mayhem.

To be a part of the camaraderie just send a message to any of the contacts shown below and we’ll get you going.

Dominic Bell qmulbc.president@gmail.com

tel: 07980008232.

Sean Simpson qmulbc.mens.captain@gmail. com tel: 07951659149.

Georgina James qmulbc.womens.captain@gmail. com tel: 07512017178.

Sport

Interested in sport? sports@qmessenger.co.uk

15

22/09/2009

McGuinness’ Moment Precedent set, legacies to be created To all you new faces, hello. To all you old hats, welcome back. And to all those who just didn’t want to leave your fellow Leopards and Griffins and have taken up a job working closely with the University, keep at it, you heroes and heroines!

It has been a summer of wonderful triumph for British Sport on the global stage, from the well-documented Ashes success for the cricketers to the lesspublicised England Hockey victory at the European Championships.

We have the number 2 men’s Tennis player in the world and, at time of writing, currently have a Brit atop the F1 drivers’ standings. And a 17-year-old from Surrey went around the world on his own in a boat. Just like the days of old when Britain ruled the waves.

We have a 15-year-old that can fall into water better than anyone else on the planet, we have proven that it doesn’t pay to push over your opponents in a milelong run and we have shown that the technology spent on your swimming costume doesn’t necessarily make you faster through the water.

Despite a trouncing, somewhat expected, by the old enemy for the Women’s Footballers, the English men qualified without seeming to break a sweat, and until recently almost all the home nations were still in with a shout of going from winter to winter in the pursuit of world domination.

In Queen Mary and Bartsrelated Sport we have shown that persistence breeds brilliance and that the harder you push yourselves (not your opponents, mind!), the faster you’ll go and the more people will be forced to eat your dust, or in this case spray.

So, in this spirit, I urge you all who consider yourselves sportsmen or sportswomen to go out there and do it for your fellow Leopards and Griffins; we have plenty to build from last year and plenty to achieve this time around.

Darren McGuinness

PRESEASON!

Netball Club Netball Club is what ‘09/10 is all about. Whether you want to play competitively, just train to keep fit or even just join us at our socials, signing up to the Netball Club could be the best decision you make all year.

Those that want to play competitively to keep fit

and work off the calories consumed on a Wednesday night have the opportunity to play in both the ULU and BUCS league. We wont lie to you; our teams are pretty ‘trim’.

Wednesday night is all about ‘session’; the chance to play many drinking

Hockey Club It’s a freezing cold evening, you hear someone scream, “Goal!!” and the moments afterwards are but a blur of united euphoria or united despair.

It is in this instance that you realise why you joined Hockey; not because of the score or the level of skill you are up against, but because you want to be there, you want to have fun with the friends you have made.

Queen Mary Hockey Club is a hidden gem of a Sports team. We have both male

games and to get to know each other.

For more information or if you just fancy a chinwag email us at: qmnetball@ hotmail.com or add us as a friend on Facebook!

Yours lovingly, QM Netball.

By Anastasia Nicholl

and female members, which makes for a balanced, as well as mischievous, time together. We play both single-sex games and mixed games, the most recent of which being a mixed tournament/camping trip in Cambridgeshire.

Engaging in the merriment and banter of a mixed Club session and tour in Spain has been the highlight of my year. I cannot stress enough the new world of friends that joining any team opens up for you, but

Dance Club The glitter, the polish, the lights, the shiny wooden floor, the razzle and the dazzle, the slicked hair and the fake tan. Combine all this with a number pinned to your back and what do you get?

The most amazing, colourful and adrenaline-fuelled dance spectacle you’ll find in the country. With over 1000 student competitors, The InterVarsity dance Competition (IVDC) is the pinnacle of the Ballroom and Latin American university dance scene in the UK. Last season saw the first ever appearance of the QMSU Dance Club in this famous competition.

The Beginners category saw over 200 competing couples, including Queen Mary’s own Geraldine Quaine, Chloe Ashley, Mo Waked, Modupe Bakare, John Gull, Danielle Topp, Darren Pilbro, Tobi Richter and hard-working team captain Jo Martin. Notable performances in this category included Modupe and John ranking amongst the top 62 couples in the first round of the exciting cha-cha-cha,

By The Committee

(Secretary)

& Emily Dobson

(President)

I would say that Queen Mary Hockey Club, especially with its network of active old boys, makes you feel like you’ve not just gained a social group but rather a family.

For more details get in touch with Sam Ecott (Men’s Captain) at: samecott@gmail. com, Emily Dobson (Women’s Captain) at: funkydobby@hotmail.com or via the Club Facebook group.

By Tim Popkin

with an overall joint 83rd place for Danielle and Darren in the same dance, and a joint 51st place for Jo and Tobi in that most energetic of dances, the jive. In the Novice category, with roughly 180 couples, Cheryl Hillson and Tim Popkin achieved a joint 103rd place in the Ballroom and a joint 102nd place in the Latin American.

In the team match, Queen Mary came joint 26th out of 40 teams in Division 2, with highest-scoring couple Jo and Tobi for their quickstep.

The team was accompanied by supporters Hanh Luu and Hollie Robertshaw, led by club coach Sarah Lowe, who screamed with such enthusiasm that she lost her voice.

For a small, new club, we shined. But the biggest flash (of light) coming out of Queen Mary that day has to be attributed to one student who’s skirt was nearly as short as her memory. This student danced and spun with such enthusiasm that the lower part of her dress lifted regularly, giving

her team, the judges and potentially one thousand spectators with video cameras the opportunity to learn something that she herself had forgotten: that her undergarments, though perfectly decent on her front side, were completely invisible on her perfectly-formed backside.

The weekend was completed with a trip to a night club for yet more dancing

and a trip to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach, home of Britain’s highest roller coaster, withtwo of our members sneaking off to a pub under the pretence of a trip to play mini golf. Fun was had by all.

With more time, practice and ever-diligent instruction from our now voiceless but proud coach, Queen Mary will surely perform even better in the forthcoming dancing season.

SPORT

Football Club For a variety of reasons, 2009/10 looks likely to be a season of transition for Queen Mary Football Club.

With the financial side of the club looking shaky, it is more important than ever to encourage new members to become involved for the new campaign, whether incoming first years or existing QM students. Similarly, from a footballing side of things, the departure of a wave of influential players at the end of last season looks likely to present a dilemma to each of the five teams this year, along with their respective captains.

In the spirit of running a tighter ship, various plans have been drawn up to increase both the resourcefulness of the club itself and the significance this can have on all QMFC players. A more efficient membership system, to maximise the income of the

Bringing you all the latest fixtures and results from the QM Sports teams Sports Editor: Darren McGuinness sports@qmessenger.co.uk Sub Editor: Rebecca Ngakane

22nd Sept ‘09 • Issue 13 • FREE

By James Aldridge (Club Captain)

club, and more regular meetings between myself, the Student Union and the team captains will look to make the football club a more cohesive unit.

On the pitch, the coming year presents all five teams with exciting opportunities.

The 1st and 2nd teams, under the leadership of Jimmy Maginn and Adam Hewitt respectively, have perhaps suffered most from the absence of last year’s graduates, and will be looking to recruit replacements to turn both from solid sides to real title challengers, in both ULU and BUCS. The 3rd team, led by Sean Bruns and Jack Olliver, will benefit from a side largely kept together after last year’s exploits, and they will be hoping to turn some of their inconsistency into more regular results. The 4th team, perhaps our most suc-

cessful of the past few years, have much to live up to as Andy Kennedy and Femi Rotimi look to follow up two consecutive cup final appearances and the second place of last term in a new division.

Meanwhile, for Jamie Anderson, Occy Gibson and the 5th team it will no doubt be back to a basic formula of attractive football and a close-knit team spirit in their own bid to tackle promotion.

These are exciting times for the football club. With a new philosophy and a continuing desire for fresh faces, 2009/10 can undoubtedly be a season to remember for Queen Mary Football Club To contact the Football Club either go through their Facebook pages, the Facebook group, or alternatively contact James Aldridge at: tp07051@qmul.ac.uk

Find out what your other sports clubs have been getting up to this summer...