Ashley Kirk Portfolio

Redbrick

14th - 20th March 2014

Est. 1936

Vol. 78. Issue 1447. www.redbrick.me

Your New Sabbatical Officer Team for 2014 VPE Election condemned as 'unfair' / News / Page 6 Cardboard Policies and Chronic Apathy / Comment / Page 7

Michael Jevon

News / Page 3

Revealed: Selly Oak Burglary Statistics

Millie Guy

Matt Moody interviews Bombay Bicycle Club

Samuel Booth reviews 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

Shannon Carey discusses the announcement to axe BBC3

Matthew Greenhill looks at the UK's best university cities

Music / Page 13

Film / Page 17

Television / Page 20

Travel / Page 24

6

14th - 20th March 2014

redbrick.me/news

News

VPE Elections Dubbed 'Unfair' Ashley Kirk Digital Editor

@AshleyKirk92

The Vice President (Education) election has been branded unfair by students and sabbatical officers, after the initial prevention of one of the candidates running.

Hattie Craig, current Vice President (Education), told Redbrick that she thought the elections were 'pretty unfair from the start'. One of the candidates, Deborah Hermanns, was only informed the night before campaigning that she could run in the election. It is claimed that this had a negative impact on her campaigning, reducing her preparation time to one night, whilst the other candidates had several weeks.

This follows a three-week suspension from the university, after Hermanns was arrested at a national Defend Education demonstration. After she was reinstated, many speculated whether she would be allowed to run, and questioned how long it took for the decision to be made. The NUS' Returning Officer's representative at results night, Brendon Casey, was booed as he took to the stage due to the returning officer's perceived role in the decision.

Hermanns told Redbrick about her experiences: 'after a sleepless night, I spent most of first campaigning week either in Marketing or with Guild media, painting my first banners, creating a blog, making videos – all things candidates would normally do weeks before.

'Additonally being only reinstated less than a week before the start I spent the rest of the first campaigning week either with the doctor, my welfare tutors, my counsellor or in court for a bail variation meeting.

'All of this was the result of the university interfering in Guild elections. The fact that senior managers were put in a situation where they were able to debate if a student – who had just been suspended by said senior management – should run is perverse, when at the same time student representa-

tives, through Guild Council, and the NUS had both decided that the candidate could run.'

Hermanns could be seen with her head on the table as she lost the election. She still faces disciplinary action by the university.

Joe Armer won the Vice President (Education) election, with a majority of 60.7%. Hermanns gained 1,075 votes to Armer's 2,541. The other candidate, Dan Bellamy, received 386 votes, whilst 178 students voted to re-open nominations.

"This is a clear violation of democracy and the independent nature of students' unions" When asked about his Defend Education backed opponent by Burn FM, VPE-elect Armer said 'there was a campaign from very early on to get Deborah reinstated - rightly so. I was more than willing to campaign positively with our own ideas and make the debate happen.'

Tom Wragg, current Vice President (Democracy and Resources), stated on Facebook: 'a recent case of university interference in Guild elections has totally undermined any semblance of democracy in the Guild of Students, however, and I cannot keep it private or accept it.

'Deborah Hermanns [...] has been suspended by the university on dubious political grounds, which are currently being challenged by lawyers. The university (who act as the Returning Officer in elections) has then decided that this student should be banned from running. This is a clear violation of democracy and the independent, autonomous nature of students’ unions.'

Wragg had called for the VPE election to be delayed. 'It should be noted that, a candidate is not allowed to run in the VPE election because they have been politically disqualified by the university, then the results of the VPE election are unfair and invalid.'

Spotlight on VPE Duncan Kenyon interviews Craig on the VPE elections, standing her ground, and her hopes for her successor.

Current Vice President of Education (VPE) Hattie Craig, has praised her successor, Joe Armer, as the Sabbatical Officers prepare to start the handover period. She believes that the manifesto that Armer intends to implement is feasible and very strong.

Craig has said that she is ‘pleased that bursaries are a priority for him’ but also commented that the university has already expanded the bursary policies over the last year. With other manifesto pledges, Craig feels he is ‘facing a very difficult task in changing the university’s mind’. She has most faith in Joe’s policy of student-led teaching awards because it is ‘fairly achievable’.

The manifesto point that Craig has most concerns over is Armer's pledge to put a stop to the loss of contact hours due to cancellations ‘as sometimes it’s unfeasible for both [lecturers] and students to make up the contact hours’. She would ‘also be concerned if this policy was applied to strikes’ but hopes that is not what Armer intends.

She advised Armer ‘not to be afraid of standing up to the university’. In her experience, Craig has found that the university sets agendas for meetings, and believes that the VPE must fight very hard to hold their own to push through the changes they desire.

Hattie states that Armer’s policies will not work if he just sits in the meetings he has been invited to and fails to stand his

Guild Election Res for the righ

ground.

Craig wishes all of the new Sabbatical team ‘the best of luck for the next year’ and is impressed with the variation in next year’s team. Her only criticism stems from the amount of people who were uncontested.

She stated ‘it was not their fault that no one else ran’ but feels that the Guild should encourage more people to run for office to stop criticism of candidates with uncontested positions.

Craig went on to say, ‘I am very disappointed with the Vice President of Education election in general. I think it was very unfair that one of the candidates was only informed the night before that they were allowed to run.’

Craig claimed that because one of the candidates, Deborah Hermanns, was only told she could run the night before it put her on ‘an unequal playing field’. She stresses that this inequality ‘should never, ever happen again’. Craig has called for clearer rules to be issued by the university in regards to whether or not a candidate will be allowed to run for a VP position.

Although Craig said ‘we cannot know what could have been’, but allowing this disruption to happen ‘put Deborah at a disadvantage’.

Overall, Craig wishes Armer ‘the best of luck with next year’ and is looking forward to handing over her role to him.

58%

53

Poppy's majority in the fourth round of presidential voting

Total numb students w

Non-Sabbs Without a Voice Sabrina Dougall News Editor

@Sabrina_Dougall

Winners of the Non-Sabbatical Officer elections were denied the chance to give an acceptance speech at Elections Results Night on Saturday evening. Thomas Wragg, current Vice President of Democracy and Resources and also Chair of the Elections Committee for this year’s officer elections, has apologised for the decision.

‘It’s basically a mess-up,’ Wragg answered, when asked who was responsible.

In an interview with Redbrick, Wragg said that the running-order of results night was decided by the Elections Committee, which is made up of Sabbatical Officers and Guild staff from Student Voice. The decision to deny Non-Sabbatical Officers an acceptance speech was initially suggested by a member of staff on the premise that this had been the protocol since last year. However, this turned out not to be the case, as Non-Sabbatical officers did, in fact, give acceptance speeches last year.

Wragg, who found out about this aspect of the running-order the day before Results Night, said he had been ‘too stressed’ to

overturn a suggestion from a staff member and allow time for the speeches in the schedule. ‘In hindsight, I don’t feel like it was the right thing,’ he added. When asked if he was sorry about the omission, Wragg replied, ‘of course I am’.

‘This was definitely the wrong decision and it’s one of the things I’m most annoyed about [from that evening]’.

Rachel Kenyon, who was elected to the Non-Sabbatical position of Women’s Officer on Saturday, told Redbrick that she had spent hours preparing her acceptance speech, and was surprised that she had not been able to speak after going up on stage as her win was announced.

‘I was quite frustrated because there were a lot of things I wanted to say, especially with it being International Women’s Day,’ said Kenyon.

‘I suppose it does make it more accessible to some students,’ Kenyon added, mentioning that her anxiety disorder may have caused her problems had she been asked to give a speech.

‘I think it would have been good it we had been told beforehand if we were going to be giving a speech, because it would have saved a lot of stress.’

14th - 20th March 2014

redbrick.me/comment

7

Comment

sults: memorable ht reasons?

Michael Jevons

Student-free Presidential Hustings Sabrina Dougall News Editor

@Sabrina_Dougall

The only people at the presidential hustings this year were campaign teams and media groups. It makes no sense to hold a debate aimed at improving Guild democracy when no students are there to see it happen.

The five candidates for the lead position at the Guild of Students gathered in the Council Chambers on the evening of Saturday 1st March. The main two problems with this are: a) It was in the Council Chambers, and b) It was on a Saturday evening. Many students rarely find themselves in the Guild during the week, with fewer still around at 7pm on a weekend. A third year student told Redbrick, ‘I didn’t see

"This year's presidential hustings were nothing short of a facade of Guild Democracy in action"

Katrin Busch

357

10

any publicity on it. I didn’t know it was happening.’

Frankie ‘Says Relax’ Greenwell, recent winner of the Vice President of Welfare (VPW) election, told Redbrick that holding the hustings indoors on a Saturday was ‘a terrible idea’. He explained that holding the hustings in Mermaid Square, as has been customary in recent years, was much more effective in engaging students in the Sabbatical Officer hustings. ‘The banners would draw people in,’ he added.

If the hustings had been held during an

afternoon during the week, then more students would have come across the hustings by chance, and been able to watch the debate first-hand. As it happened, candidates for the Guild of Students delivered impassioned pledges to represent the student body to an echoing room containing no more than two dozen people.

Okay so a large proportion of the student body were not going to be dragged away from The Voice to come and be begged for an e-vote. But what about the live-streaming? In fairness, Guild TV had four cameras trained on the candidates all night, beaming the action live to every procrastinating student flicking between Facebook, Youtube, and their essay. Two versions of their coverage of the evening have received 252 and 245 hits to this date, respectively.

'A Walk and Talk with Maximillian A. Shapiro' gained more views than GTV's two videos of the presidential hustings combined. The sharply dressed esquire gained 735 hits on that publicity video alone. As Shapiro himself says in the video, ‘As I understand it, you guys just want to get on with your own lives - the Guild is secondary.’ That was evident enough from the lack of attendance at Saturday’s hustings, as well as the 19% overall turnout for the elections. Whatever reasons students had for re-electing Poppy for president, it certainly wasn’t because they heard her make her case at the candidates’ debate.

This year’s presidential hustings were nothing short of a facade of Guild democracy in action. Ironically enough, it’s pretty clear that Shapiro speaks for a significant majority of the student body when he says: ‘I think you're as sick and tired of Guild politics as I am’.

Michael Jevons

Number of officer positions which were uncontested

ber of who voted

Cardboard Policies and Chronic Apathy Ashley Kirk Digital Editor

@AshleyKirk92

This year’s election turnout was the lowest in years. Very few people ran for the positions. Ten positions, including three sabbatical ones, were completely unopposed. The reason for this is simple: no one cares.

The damning report that voter turnout was approximately 17.5% shows that something’s inherently wrong. Guild Elections serves a minority of students, feeding egos and fanning the flames of the ‘same old’ Guild politics.

If we think about why no one cares, the issue becomes a little bit more complex.

Several answers are thrown up. The main answer is that it doesn’t matter. Whoever wins will struggle to actually change anything more than their opponents; their policies may take years to come into action, if indeed they can even persuade the university management to enact them. Ben Puusta’s campaign focused on this, creating policies such as building a flood-protecting biodome over the Guild, and banning everyone called Trevor from campus.

People look to the new water fountains

and free printing credits as small victories for the current sabbatical teams, but even these were projects years in the making.

How many years had candidates promised these, and voters had picked their representatives for these pledges? The only reason these were ever implemented is not because the sabbatical officers decided to implement them; but because university management - the ones with real power decided to.

And then of course, it’s the people.

‘Guildies’ is an affectionate term for those so stuck in the world of Guild Council and its ‘politics’ that they fail to have any real grasp on what the ordinary student is. The worrying thing is that they’re meant to be representing us - if indeed they, or the trivial monthly meeting in which they talk, had any real power.

This Guild clique is a poisonous relationship which prevents ordinary students from getting involved. If these people are the face of the political institutions of the Guild, why would anyone from the mainstream student body want to join Guild Council? If you want people to care, quit the in-fighting, the insignificant ‘power’ struggles and the pointless ideological Katrin rants; Busch talk

about what students care about, try to achieve something with your limited power, and engage normal, real students in whatever decision-making there is.

"The winner is the one who can get the most cardboard from Aldi" And then, of course, the final answer is that the election process is a complete farce.

There’s no politics involved: the winner is the one who can get the most cardboard from Aldi and is prepared to spend the most time painting it in some garish colour.

Democracy in action.

Candidates can promise pretty much any poorly-researched and impossible policy with no consequences. Media groups and other candidates aren’t allowed to scrutinise these under the guise of promoting a ‘free

and fair’ election. A candidate can promise a 24 hour library throughout the year, and you may vote for said candidate as you want that for next year. But it’s a fact that the library generators can’t cope with such a demand. So what’s even the point?

Students only like the Guild for two things: Fab and societies. Whilst these do need some form of leadership for oversight and management, and some student representatives in the Guild do do a good job, student politics has become so introspective and cliquey that it’s lost any sense of what it should be focusing on.

Student apathy is at an all-time high.

We don’t go out to campaign in numbers about important matters such as tuition fees, so why would we bother engaging in something as trivial as Guild Elections? It’s insignificant, petty and sometimes out-oftouch and, frankly, it’s no surprise that four out of five students simply don’t want to get involved.

Redbrick. Est 1936

Print. Digital. Mobile.

18th - 24th January 2013 Vol. 77. Issue 1422. www.redbrick.me

Fab n Farewell Gunnies?

Guild misleads paying students over Gun Barrels pub closure See page 5

Gunnies on Wednesday night

Charlotte Goodwin and Russell Webb interview Louis Smith TV// PAGE 14

Freddie Herzog

@fredherz

Comment p8 Minority victory a majority headline

Food p24 Are your cooking skills up to scratch?

Arts A night at Glee Club and a quartet of comedians

Meg Tapp This week, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of Nadia Eweida, who had taken her case there after British Airways had told her in 2006 not to wear her cross visibly when at work...

Charlotte Wilson Events such as the BBC Good Food Show are never short of famous faces.

At the end of last year, you may have had the pleasure of glimpsing anyone from baking champions Mary Berry and...

Harriet Henderson The compère for the evening, Matt Price, opened the show with highly skilled improvisation, involving various unlucky targets in the audience. His Cornish accent and razor sharp wit made for a surprisingly...

www.redbrick.me/news | 5 Katrin Busch @kabulein

University.

Students misled over Gunnies fate Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

The Guild of Students has come under criticism for marketing the ‘Fab n’ Farewell Gunnies’ event at the end of last term as ‘your last chance to celebrate an end to the era’.

Many students, on arriving back to Selly Oak after the festive break, were surprised by the Gun Barrels’ open doors despite a farewell event run by the Guild on the last night of term.

The event was priced at £5, more than the standard £4 entry into a normal ‘Fab n’ Fresh’ night, including the ‘Fab n’ Friday’ event the night before. Many students now feel disappointed and conned by the event, as they paid extra money for an event that was misleadingly advertised.

The Guild has claimed the event was planned in the anticipation that the pub would close soon. Given that the exact date of the pub’s closure is still unknown, the event, that misled many students, was initially supposed to be designed as a general farewell and not the last ever time students could drink in the pub.

David Franklin, President of the Guild, stated that ‘Fab and Farewell Gunnies’ was an event that the Guild and the Gun Barrels were keen to hold, as many of us know that the pub is closing imminently and will be missed by many UoB students and alumni.

'We don’t know the exact date when Gunnies will finally shut its doors and so, keen not to be too late to organise it, we hosted the event before the Christmas break, which was attended by over 300 students.’

City.

Students plan opposition to Council cuts Rhiannon Doyle - Maw News Editor

@Rhi_DoyleMaw

Students from the University of Birmingham have attended an emergency meeting to oppose the proposed saving cuts to Birmingham City Council.

The Facebook group named ‘Emergency Organising Meeting’, headed by fourteen people among whom are University of Birmingham ex-VPE Edward Bauer, current VPDR Leander Jones and VPE Simon Furse, proposes gathering those who are ‘ready to work organising an opposition’ to join together to form a strategy to form a cross city movement to ‘defend the city from the plans of all three major parties; the Tories, the Lib Dems & Labour’.

With 194 people ‘attending’ on the Facebook group, the creators of the group wish for everyone to contribute ideas towards the opposition, using all methods available to protest and form ‘direct action’ in order to present a ‘substantial challenge’ to the next Council Elections in 2014.

With the City Council voting on the budget for the next financial year at the end of February, concerns have been raised with regards to the effects the new budget and the consequential cuts it will cause.

The Facebook group claims that Birmingham is required to make £600 million worth of savings over the coming years, with £111 million over the next year alone.

Allegedly, the average reduction in Government funding for councils as a whole is £74 per person. However, Birmingham’s reduction has been quoted at double the national average at £149 per person.

Encouraging people to join the meeting for planning the protest, the group draws attention to job losses, the negative effect on council services and the detrimental effect it could have on the local economy. Stating that the measures will ‘certainly throw Birmingham into a long term decline’, the meeting hopes to gather those who are joined in opposition to the cuts and who are ready to take action.

The Gun Barrels has reported a substantial loss of trade, as many students think that the pub is now closed.

Members of staff at the Gun Barrels expressed to Redbrick disappointment with the Guild and said that they had found that many students now thought they were closed due to the event.

Redbrick has learnt that the event was originally planned as a ‘Last Christmas at Gunnies’ event, but this was later changed.

Leander Jones, Vice President for Democracy and Resources, commented, ‘to my knowledge it was a successful night and people had a good time.’

However, students have complained that this wasn’t the point. Jack Bishop, a third year Physics student, said, ‘Not only was it a gross misadvertisement but the drink offers were different from

those advertised. Overall it was a poorly organised event.’

Ed Gilbert, a third year History student added, ‘I spoke to one of the bar staff at Gunnies on the night and was shocked when they told me that it wasn’t shutting down for ages. It was misleading; I think the Guild should have done their research before advertising the event.’

The Holding Manager told Redbrick the Gun Barrels may be scheduled to close at some point during 2013 because of University redevelopments. However, it will remain open for the foreseeable future.

He said, ‘The Gun Barrels has always been a great student pub, known for innovative student based nights and loyal clientele. With this extension, the team and I have a number of exciting projects, events and nights planned at the pub.’

Redbrick. Est 1936

Print. Digital. Mobile.

22nd-28th February 2013 Vol. 77. Issue 1427. www.redbrick.me

Simon Furse condemned over open day protest motion

NEWS // PAGE 3

Exclusive Interview by Aqib Khan Private First-Class Justin Watt - the Iraq veteran responsible for exposing the rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza

by US soldiers '...the men we had lost were now dishonoured. I felt betrayed, disgusted, ashamed...'

COMMENT // PAGE 6-7 Keep up to date with all of the latest Election coverage online at www.guildelections.co.uk

Megan Jones on the controversies surrounding the 'Best Picture' Oscar

Beth Coveney and Josh Holder investigate NME's Awards tour in Brum

#guildelections13 A collaborative project with Redbrick, Guild TV and Burn FM.

FILM // PAGE 27

MUSIC // PAGE 22

Education.

Student ambassadors condemn VPE's protest motion

Will Siddons @WSiddons

www.redbrick.me/news | 3

Ashley Kirk News Editor

@AshleyKirk92

Simon Furse, Vice-President (Education) at the Guild of Students, has this week come under criticism from Student Ambassadors at the University of Birmingham. A letter, currently signed by over thirty students, was given to the VPE on Monday, regarding his motion 9K (Action), submitted to the next Guild Council.

It states, ‘I urge you to submit an amendment to your motion to remove “disrupting university Open Days” as an example of possible action and such an amendment was submitted to your motion at the last Guild Council.’

Many Student Ambassadors at the University have reported that their job has been made harder by protests specifically designed to disrupt open days in the past. There is concern that this motion will see such disruption becoming more common in the future.

The letter goes on to urge Furse to remove the specific targeting of open days, arguing that, ‘the University employs a number of student ambassadors to work on Open Days and disrupting such days may compromise student ambassadors who morally support and endorse the action but who may be asked to ignore it.

‘The Guild should not be placing students who it is supposed to protect and represent insuch a difficult position and am asking that you give serious consideration to submitting the aforementioned amendment.’

At the time of printing, there were 30 signatories to the letter, including Sandhya Trott (Women’s Open Place Guild Councillor) and Ollie Cosentino (Vice President of Activities & Development).

Sandhya Trott, Ambassador, Guild Councillor and coordinator of the letter, told Redbrick, ‘It's disappointing that our VPE, who was elected to represent students regardless of whether or not he agreed with them, is continuing to overlook the fact that many students feel that the motion will compromise them in their role as Student Ambassadors.

‘Instead, he is deciding to shrug it off, on more than one occasion, by saying that he “doesn't un-

derstand the point.” The Guild is designed to represent and protect students; including this clause in the motion will put students, who may actually agree with the action in principle, in a very difficult situation - those very students the Guild is meant to represent and protect from such situations.’

Dear Simon, I am writing to you in regards to motion 9K (Action) which you have submitted for the forthcoming Guild Council.

Whilst you make a number of valid points in your motion and I agree with the premise of it, I urge you to submit an amendment to the motion which removes ‘disrupting university Open Days’ as an example of possible action, and such an amendment was passed when the motion was initially submitted at the last Guild Council.

The university employs a number of student ambassadors to work on Open Days and disrupting such events could compromise students who morally support and endorse the action, but who may be asked to ignore it by university staff members whilst at work.

The Guild should not be placing students, whom it is supposed to protect and represent, in such a difficult position and I am asking that you give serious consideration to submitting the aforementioned amendment.

Yours Sincerely, Sandhya Trott (Women’s Open Place Guild Alastair Cowen, Lead Student Ambassador, commented that targeting Open Days is ‘not good for current or prospective students. It is not an effective way of getting their message across to University management, and only makes current students’ jobs harder.’

Ambassadors also highlighted a specific Open Day in November 2012, where protesters were handing out fliers to prospective students, advertising them as ‘Information about the University of Birmingham’. The fliers actually contained facts regarding the protest.

Sexual Health.

Birmingham comes tenth in new report card Patrick McGhee News Editor

@Patricksmcg

The University of Birmingham has ranked joint tenth alongside the University of Liverpool in a new Sexual Health Report Card.

The Report Card has been produced by DrEd.com and aims to measure the quality of sexual health services at universities in the UK. Explaining the purpose of the report, the DrEd website stated, 'In light of recent government cuts to sexual health services, we decided to create a benchmark, so that universities can track their sexual health services and work to improve their areas of weakness.’

The website also explains the methodology of the report, stating that, 'The research involved extensive data capture via student welfare representatives on campus, along with follow up secondary research on those centres and “mystery shopper” approaches.’ Sexual health facilities at each university were then assessed based on several different categories, including hours of operation, quality of information and the availability of contraception. The University of Birmingham scored highly in the 'Location' and 'Special Events and Testing' categories, receiving A grades, but received an E grade for the 'Campus Info' category and an F grade for 'Website Ease of Use' category.

Universities were also awarded degree-style classifications based on the research, ranging from '1st' to '3rd'. The University of Nottingham was ranked first overall and received a first, while the University of Birmingham and the University of Liverpool were ranked joint tenth and received 2:1s, ahead of the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, the London School of Economics, Durham University and Manchester University among others.

'I'm not surprised that we came tenth. I think we do a lot on sexual health here at the Guild, with condoms available from both the ARC and my office, and this year's SHAG week was a big success for Sexual Health Awareness.

However, I think this "report card" should be taken with a pinch of salt, I'm not overly sure on what the data is actually based on, such as which campus facility has been used to score us on availability of "drop ins". Generally I support this campaign and believe that students should be concerned about sexual health. But I do wonder whether these report cards would be more informative if they included whether any of these provisions are easily accessible to students elsewhere in their respective cities.'

Katherine East Vice-President (Welfare)

Report Card Birmingham

C Drop Ins or Bookings D Location A Sexual Health Info on Website B Opening hours

B Campus Info E Special Events and Testing A Sexual Assault F Student Rating D Website Ease of Use F Contraceptive Access

Redbrick. Est 1936

r

Print. Digital. Mobile.

26th October - 8th November 2012 Vol. 77. Issue 1417. www.redbrick.me

Redbrick on Bond Travel p12-13: Tom Troughton on the best Bond locations Music p16: Alice Anderson reviews Adele's Skyfall

Online: Life&Style: Chris Toyn on how to achieve the Bond look Sci&Tech: Ed Barclay looks at the top five most ridiculous Bond gadgets, and Chris Starkey on whether Goldeneye is still a classic game Film: Josh Taylor on Britain's most enduring film character

ELLIE students left with 'bitter taste in our mouths'

- Dissertation choices limited - One lecturer remaining - Less than a day to select third year modules More on page 4 Photo by Wai Tung

4 | 26th October - 8th November 2012

Education.

ELLIE changes cause concern for students Dominic Jackson and Ashley Kirk report on student experience of ELLIE prior to the closing of the course.

@fredherz

Dominic Jackson Reporter

@jackson_dominic

Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

The ELLIE (English Language and Literature in Education) course, due to close in 2013, currently only has a handful of staff left to support the final cohort of students, some of whom have raised concerns about the quality of teaching and a lack of module options.

Students were given assurances that no teaching staff would leave the department and that all students would receive the same level of support as in previous years. Redbrick has learned that since 2010 a substantial number of ELLIE teaching staff have left the University and that the provision of teaching has suffered as a result. The choice of dissertation topics for the final year of ELLIE students are limited and in some cases students have been forced to turn to staff no longer employed by the University for assistance.

Professor Cillian Ryan, College Director of Education, assured ELLIE students via email on the 6th December 2010 that ‘your current studies will in no way be affected [by the closure of the course]’. Students were later told that management would ‘do their best to ensure that all lecturers stayed on until the end of the academic year’.

Despite these guarantees the remaining 16 ELLIE students have faced significant changes to how their course is run during the past few years. At present only a single lecturer is responsible for teaching the majority of the modules on offer and for providing students with

2011 Student intake suspended.

academic support. Grace Leavy, an ELLIE student, commented that, ‘As there is only one lecturer it can sometimes be difficult as we all have to share her time'.

Students have also complained about the limited amount of time they were given to choose their third year modules. All 16 were required to select and submit their choices in less than a day.

Later they were told that students on other courses would be given priority in selecting these modules and that they were unlikely to be given places on all of their desired modules.

'As there is only one lecturer it can sometimes be difficult as we all have to share her time.'

Grace Leavy, ELLIE student

'The whole process has left a very bitter taste in our mouths.'

Casey Charles, ELLIE student rep

Casey Charles, student representative for the ELLIE course, told Redbrick of her frustration at the current situation, saying, ‘When we found out that our lecturers were leaving before the course had finished, we were all furious and understandably concerned for the future of our degree. Personally I am disgusted by how the University of Birmingham has treated both students and staff during this time. The whole process has left a very bitter taste in our mouths’.

Students have expressed their concerns about how their qualifications will be viewed by potential employers, with

16 Current number of students on the ELLIE course.

one student remarking that they would ‘likely be sceptical of recruiting students from a discontinued course’. Many have said that had they known of the planned upheaval, they would not have made the same decision when applying to university.

The experiences of those studying ELLIE have been a source of concern for those affected by the planned closure of the Institute of Antiquity and Archaeology, with fears mounting over whether or not their department will follow the same path. Georgina Thomas, a joint honours English Literature and Classical Literature & Civilisation student commented, ‘From the action currently being taken in response to the closure of the IAA, I would hope the University is starting to realise that cutting is not the key to success.’

Professor Richard Dunnill, had previously told Redbrick, 'With nearly 3,500 members of academic staff it is not uncommon for staff members to leave or join the University during the course of a year. When this happens the University always aims to ensure that the quality of students' academic experience is not affected in any way. In this case the staff involved have agreed to continue to provide on-going supervision for their existing dissertation students and the University is extremely grateful to them for doing this. Day to day support for these students is being provided by the Programme Leader.

One way in which she is doing this is to use the extension process as a further way of providing students with additional time and support in a way which recognises their needs in such a situation.'

1

Lecturer remaining on the ELLIE course.

Freddie Herzog

A new statement from the University of Birmingham has said, 'We have done everything possible to ensure the decision to phase out the ELLIE program has not adversely affected students. This year, there is actually a greater choice of English and Education options available and feedback thus far has been very positive. If individual students have concerns about this or any other programme it is really important that these are reported to the University directly, either through the Programme Director or the School Director of Education.

'We have had no negative feedback from employers about the perceptions of the program, indeed Birmingham graduates remain some of the most employable in the sector.'

December 2010

An email is sent to students stating, 'Please be assured, this does not affect anyone currently studying towards a BA English Language and Literature in Education and your current studies will in no way be affected by this review.'

January 2012

Dunlop and Sauntson confirm their departure, with Sauntson stating, 'An inevitable consequence of staff being placed at risk of redundancy is that they start seeking alternative employment.'

March 2012

Professor Richard Dunnill tells Redbrick, 'With nearly 3,500 members of academic staff it is not uncommon for staff members to leave or join the University during the course of a year. When this happens the University always aims to ensure that the quality of students' academic experience is not affected in any way.'

2013 Course closes.

31st January - 6th February 2014

Est. 1936

• Security staff struck by smoke bomb • Fourteen arrests made • Students smash down doors to Aston Webb • Police record IDs of over a hundred students

Protesters Clash with Police at National Protest

• Banner hung from top of Old Joe

!"#$!%&$"!'()*"'+((

#"!,%-(./,(0+1/2%/-3(45%# !"#$%&'$"%()*&+,()&-.)&/&$0&10.)2"-)3"4%0"&3)2-"#)

Students from universities across the country – including Scotland and Northern Ireland – have gathered at the University of Birmingham for a national demonstration.

Approximately 300 students from over ten universities, including Sussex, UCL, Kings and SOAS, gathered around the Old Joe clocktower for the main demonstration.

The protesters, some of which covered their faces, unveiled banners and chanted campaign slogans. The opening speaker stated ‘direct action is more inclusive and student apathy is representative of wider issues’.

Meanwhile, others managed to gain access to the Aston Webb Building and Old Joe to hang banners from them, one of which stated ‘management out’. Aaron Kiely, National Union of Students’ Black Students’ Officer, said ‘we need to fight back. All protests are effective, they are a way of resisting.’

After clashing with heightened campus security, demonstrators managed to break into the Aston Webb building where around 150 protesters occupied the Great Hall. Once security staff had left the Hall, protesters barricaded the main doors with equipment set up for Thursday’s Give It A Go Fair, which was subsequently cancelled.

Despite this, security staff later managed to film the occupiers from the overlooking balconies. Police were called to the scene after the back entrance to the Great Hall was broken down, prompting occupiers to decide to leave the Great Hall. However, they were then detained for around an hour before they were slowly able to leave.

The protesters had their details taken and were filmed leaving the premises whilst stating their personal details. The police are now able to undertake their investigation and protesters that did not comply were told that they may be arrested for ‘aggravated trespass’.

(Continued p.6)

)*'%+%$(#! '(% , & %

' ' ' 01' ./ -'

' ' ' 01' ./ -'

!" "#$

Charlotte Wilson )*'%+%$(#! '(% , & %

Vol. 78. Issue 1442. www.redbrick.me

!"" #$

Redbrick

6

redbrick.me/news

31st January - 6th February 2014

News

Tensions rise at national student demonstration

14 protestors arrested after violent clashes with police Ashley Kirk Digital Editor

@AshleyKirk92

Tara Dein

News Reporter

Continues from front page Students reported that the demonstration ‘took a violent turn’. Video evidence has shown security guards forcing a group of protesters out of part of the Aston Webb Building. A smoke grenade was also released by a protester in a crowd of students which struck a security guard in the face At a national coordination meeting prior to the demonstration, Defend Education branches agreed to unite in order to strength-

"We need a shared set of demands challenging the agenda of austerity" en the national student movement.

Meanwhile, the university also applied for an injunction against the occupation of Hornton Grange.

The meeting decided to build a concise list of selected demands, focusing on fighting the ‘marketisation of higher education’.

Demands included a living wage for university workers, a reversal of the privatisation of the student loan book and a repeal of the increased tuition fees.

Announcing the demonstration, Defend Education stated ‘we need co-ordination – a shared set of demands challenging the agenda of austerity, privatisation and worker exploitation.

‘We want to build the momentum of the broad student movement, establish stronger campaigns at campus level, end the repression of student protests - by university management and police, and make a real contribution to workers’ struggles.’

Deborah Hermanns, Defend Education protester, said ‘the National Meeting and Demonstration are incredibly important for me because they will indicate where the student movement is now and whether we have learned from the events of 2010.

‘I really believe that you need to organise on a local level within a campus group like Defend Education if you want to make sustainable change and therefore this meeting was organised by thirteen different groups from all over the UK. ‘Throughout this campaign we have been in contact with members of support staff, who have consistently been sending us messages of support as well as testimonies of their horrible working conditions at this University. The lack of the Living Wage, paralleled to the pay rise of the Vice Chancellor, has just encouraged me even further to continue this campaign.’

ULU’s President of the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts, Michael Chessum, told Redbrick his reason for travelling to Birmingham: ‘I’m here because

what we are witnessing in education is outright vandalism of the entire system. Any strategy based in meeting rooms, we will always lose and that’s why this is the most effective method.’

General student opinion is, however, divided. Emily Hickey-Mason, third-year Sociology student, said: ‘it’s intrusive, intimidating and overly dramatic. It’s an exclusive process which isolates mainstream students.

‘The protesters interrupted lectures to announce their demonstration, ironically preventing my own education to spread their message.’

The meeting was concluded with plans

"It's intrusive, intimidating and overly dramatic"

Charlotte Wilson

for further student activism. The groups decided on protests coinciding with staff strikes on February the 6th, and a week of national demonstrations in the second week of February.

In a statement, the police told Redbrick that they were ‘categorically not’ kettling students. ‘We are carrying out routine checks before people leave the area.

‘Police are currently at Birmingham University following a student protest.

Officers attended the University just before 5pm this evening to support the University in dealing with the situation.’

Birmingham Police Superintendent Lee Kendrick was at the university site last night.

He said: 'This may well have been billed as a peaceful protest but it escalated into a serious public order incident - a criminal investigation has been launched and anyone found to have acted unlawfully will be punished.'

The University of Birmingham has issued

"It escalated into a serious public order incident - anyone found to have acted unlawfully will be punished." their own statement 'Whilst peaceful protest is part of university life, the University will not tolerate behaviour that causes harm to individuals, damage to property or significant disruption to our university community.

'The actions of Defend Education Birmingham, a group which is not affiliated to the Guild of Students or in any way representative of the student body, included defacing buildings and property, throwing smoke bombs and fireworks, smashing down doors, damaging buildings including Aston Webb and the Old Joe clock tower, and injuring staff. Given the serious nature of their actions, the University had no choice but to ask the police for assistance in restoring order and protecting students, staff and university property. We understand that the police have made 14 arrests.'

Charlotte Wilson Deputy Editor James Phillips and News Editor Adam Rowe were caught up in the crossfire between protestors and security guards while reporting for Redbrick We were with the protesters when they were trying to gain access to the Aston Webb building via a dark back entrance that was very hidden. The door was kicked down until it broke and then approximately 150 protesters filled the Great Hall, all chanting. We then followed them in to report from inside the new occupation.

Security entered and then left, when protesters barricaded both the main entrance and the back entrance to the Great Hall.

Security began filming from the balconies of the Hall. Upon news of the police arriving, everyone vacated the Hall and were contained by the police and security, not being permitted to leave for a couple of hours. The police, after around an hour,

began to let people leave in groups of up to three, where every individual had their full name, address and date of birth noted and were then filmed verbalising this information, with some people being searched.

There were complaints by protesters due to the cold, rain and lack of access to food, drink or toilet facilities. However, some protesters managed to escape the containment area via a ladder and many of those that were released remained nearby chanting in solidarity. Some food was thrown inside the containment area, but police searched it before giving it to protesters. It took about four hours for everyone that had been detained to be processed and allowed to leave.

Redbrick

22nd - 28th November 2013

Est. 1936

Students Occupy Senate Chamber

Charlotte Wilson

Feminism: It's Hard Out Here Comment // page 8

Redbrick Reflects: Lily Allen's Renaissance Music // page 16

Vol. 78. Issue 1438. www.redbrick.me

Adam Rowe

Online News Editor

@adamrowe93

Students who are part of Defend Education, an educational activist group, went into occupation of the Aston Webb Senate Chambers on Wednesday evening.

According to social media, the group remained in occupation as of Thursday morning, saying that they were 'still going strong'.

The group Defend Education have made a list of demands focusing on equal pay, improvements for student and staff democracy and also have personally demanded that the Vice-Chancellor 'David Eastwood and the University of Birmingham should publicly take back their position that fees should be increased'.

Defend Education have issued a formal statement on their website, saying 'The Senate was, historically, the place in which the academic community came together to discuss and decide the direction of the University.

'Today, this has evolved into a box to be ticked, a bureaucratic procedure of approval which carries little weight, in which very little can be debated or contested, and in which the few academics and even fewer students are routinely ignored and powerless.

'We have chosen this site to occupy as it is symbolic of the way in which University management has steadily decreased the democratic power and representation of both students, staff and academics, and we feel this needs to change.

'Defend Education believe that staff and students should have more power in every level of university decision making.

Currently a small class of senior managers benefit disproportionately from the fees and work of staff and students. They have total unaccountable power to harm our interests within the university and lobby against our interests outside it.

'We are fighting this campaign to try and put pressure on the university to directly accept the following demands; but also because we wish to start a debate and dialogue among students and workers at the University about the kind of institution we want it to be and how we can bring this about.'

In a comment to Redbrick, the University stated that 'Universities are places of free speech and we respect the rights of students to protest peacefully and within the law. Our priority is the safety and well being of our students, staff and the wider community and we are concerned where any protest poses a potential hazard to protesters or bystanders, or causes unwarranted disruptions to study or work, or damage to property. We are particularly concerned that the actions of this small number of students is diverting safety and security resources and potentially diminishing the safety of our 28,000 other students.'

Tom Wragg (VPDR) spoke to Redbrick saying that he thought that the students were in occupation because they felt that the university was in suport of the corportisation of universities and the selling off of the loan book.

I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here Television // page 18

Redbrick. Est 1936

Print. Digital. Mobile.

15th March-2nd May 2013 Vol. 77. Issue 1430. www.redbrick.me

Calls made for new full-time Sabbatical Officers

Liberation Associations call for new Sabbatical Officers to

represent their respective groups.

Statements Mae Rohani ‘the current non-sabbatical position of Women’s

Officer and the three other Liberation Officers (LGBTQ, Disabled, Ethnic Minority) do not have sufficient time nor resources at their disposal to be dealing with the issues each group faces on the necessary scale’.

BEMA blog ‘BEMA’s call for a full-time Black Students’ Of-

ficer is based on principles of Liberation, and so we extend our support and encouragement to any of our fellow Liberation Associations also seeking the creation of Full-time officers for their campaigns.’

Women’s Assocation blog ‘Sexism and harassment are un-

fortunately alive and healthy: 1 in 7 female students experience serious physical or sexual assault whilst at University, over two-thirds of female students experience sexual harassment (Source: NUS Hidden Marks report) and 1 in 2 women experience sexual harassment in the workplace (Source: Child & Woman Abuses Studies Unit). ’

Pg.3 // Your new Guild Sabbatical Officer team

Marianne Lampon finds out what the celebs are doing for charity this Red Nose Day LIFE&STYLE // PAGE 14

Jemima Lovatt’s take on plant-based diets

James Dolton reviews Bastille live at the HMV Institute MUSIC // PAGE 12

Rebekah McDermott on the new Birmingham culture app

FOOD // PAGE 24

ARTS // PAGE 27

Charley Ross on how to do Two Days in ‘Dam

Patrick McGhee speaks to head of the British Humanist Association

TRAVEL // PAGE 22-23

COMMENT // PAGE 8

6

redbrick.me/news

11th - 17th October 2013

News

The Guild of Students bans 'Blurred Lines' Ashley Kirk and Charley Ross report on the Guild's ban of the controversial song.

Following bans by several British universities, the University of Birmingham's Guild of Students officially placed a ban on Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' on Friday 4th October.

The controversial song, alongside its equally divisive video, has come under intense criticism due to its alleged misogynistic nature. Several specific lyrics have been placed under scrutiny, with several parody films posted online.

This move adds the University of Birmingham to the growing list of universities which have banned the song on campus or in their unions, including Leeds, Derby, West Scotland and Kingston. The University of Edinburgh was the first to exercise a campus-wide ban of the song's playback, and were shortly followed by numerous other universities, including the University of Derby and the University of Leeds.

In line with the Guild of Students' Zero Tolerance Policy, which condemns all forms of oppressive and discriminatory behaviour, the song will no longer be played within the student union building. This policy came into effect on the 23rd September, after six months of groundwork during the last academic year.

"It is an important and progressive step for our Zero Tolerance Policy" The song has sparked debate across campus and online for months, especially after Miley Cyrus' performance with Thicke at the VMAs last month. After several weeks of expectation, the Guild has deemed 'Blurred Lines' to be overtly distressing, which could potentially cause discomfort for a vast number of students.

Vice President of Activities and Development, Molly Wright, told Redbrick that 'I fully support it. It is an important and

progressive step for our Zero Tolerance Policy at the Guild.'

It has been reported that Thicke's infamous track has acted as a trigger for many individuals who have experienced sexual violence, or feel strongly about the danger it poses.

"It is not a case of engaging in a slippery slope of censorship, but one of reacting to a very real concern" The Guild's ban has seen a mixed response amongst students. Several took to Twitter and Facebook to issue strong opinions on either side. One Twitter user, Zak Bentley, argued that 'it's clearly a popular song but hasn't suited the agenda of those in the Guild'.

Mae Rohani, the Guild's Women's Officer, commented that 'it is not a case of

engaging in a slippery slope of censorship, but one of reacting to a very real concern raised by many of our students in relation to a particular song which is triggering, not only due to its offensive and clear lyrics, but also because of the media attention it has received.

'This song has been put into the public eye where its blatant disregard for survivors of assault has been thoroughly examined.

The recent ban of the song ‘Blurred Lines’ forms part of our newly launched Zero Tolerance Policy. We are one of a number of Student Unions who have chosen to not play the song due to the potential harmful nature of the song to survivors of sexual assault. The protection and safety of our students has, and always will be, the Guild’s primary concern regardless of how popular the song is perceived to be.

Poppy Wilkinson, Guild President

We cannot and will not ignore the effect that this song has on our fellow students, and that is the deciding factor.'

Following the ban, there were several reports that 'Blurred Lines' was played at a Stupid Tuesdays event which was hosted at the Guild on Tuesday 8th October.

A student who was present on the night told Redbrick of how shocked they were when they heard the song begin, as the ban had been so widely publicised and talked about amongst students. However, the song was stopped midway after a request was made to the DJ, explaining the Guild's stance on the song.

The Guild since published a statement, saying that 'we would like to reassure students that, as an organisation, we are working very hard to implement the ban, we inform any external DJ’s and artists of the ban and inform them that it cannot be played. Unfortunately, we have no direct control over the songs they choose to play but we hope that they will respect the decision made by the Guild. We have also contacted SubTV, the channel which plays on the screens in Joe’s bar, who informed us that due to the number of requests made to them to remove it they have chosen to remove it from their playlists entirely.'

Was the Guild right to ban 'Blurred Lines'?

We asked 72 people in Joe's Bar their opinion on the ban.

11th - 17th October 2013

redbrick.me/comment

7

Comment Sophie Tollet argues that the ban is progress towards ending sexism and rape culture.

You only have to have seen girls drunkenly slurring the lyrics to 'Blurred Lines' at the most recent Fab to see that it’s a sexist song.

Lyrics such as ‘I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two’ and ‘Do it like it hurt’, to which the drunken masses happily sing along without a thought for what they mean, are without a doubt derogatory towards women. Similarly, the video featuring fully-clothed men and (practically) naked women dancing around them is clearly offensive, derogatory and objectifies women.

But, surely, I hear those opposing the ban cry, this is no more sexist than other songs we regularly sing to, dance to and download. ‘I ain't never seen something that'll make me go / This crazy all night spending my doe’ Flo Rider tells us on club favourite 'Low'. Is this ban just the Guild jumping on the bandwagon of the fuss created by Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance? Sure, this discussion might make us feel like we’re doing something to combat the sexism that permeates the music industry, but will it really make any difference?

What makes 'Blurred Lines' particularly offensive, however, and what makes it particularly relevant to us students, is its suggestion that there is a ‘blurred line’ between rape and consent. That is, in an

eerie recollection of UniLad’s suggestion that it isn’t rape if you shout surprise, the song perpetuates the rape culture that universities and student unions across the country have spent the past couple of years trying to eliminate.

"The drunken masses sing along without a thought for what they mean" As such, although yes there are worse songs, 'Blurred Lines' has identified with a particularly vile aspect of student culture in a way that Flo Rider’s (by now standard) description of women as objects does not.

What is more, it seems to me that the more attention and discussion given to ending the chauvinistic objectification of women in any area of our society is a good thing. Will this ban end sexism? No. Will it make any difference to Robin Thicke’s income or even the continued playing of sexist songs at the Guild? Perhaps not. But it has started a conversation. And that, it seems to me, is progress.

Jasmine Stewart argues that the Guild have just jumped on an unhelpful bandwagon.

Should the song have been banned?

Commentators Sophie Tollet and Jasmine Stewart debate whether the Guild of Students should have banned Robin Thicke's infamous track.

+

Yes No

A total of five student unions have now banned the summer #1 song by Robin Thicke, with some of the reasons given being that it’s ‘rapey’, ‘degrading to women’ or ‘anti-feminist’. You really have to ask if they actually read the lyrics of the song or if they’re just jumping on the bandwagon because they want to pretend to do something to combat sexual violence at universities. The lyrics seem to describe a girl who’s stuck in a relationship in which she doesn’t feel able to express herself sexually, so the guy is trying to tempt her to ditch her significant other so the two of them can get

"There are so many songs far more offensive to women that the Guild thinks are a-ok to play" together and do all the things she wanted to.

I definitely see why people would find the video gross or offensive, and I doubt the VMA performance of it with Miley Cyrus really helped the song’s case, but we aren’t talking about either of those things, we’re

talking about the lyrics of the song itself.

Plenty of songs have had disastrous performances or dumb videos; it doesn’t make the song itself a villain. I see how the line ‘I know you want it’ could be a trigger for survivors of sexual violence, but the line in itself isn’t ban-worthy. In the context of the song’s story it really can’t be called ‘rapey’, although I personally would find it pretty sleazy.

I was actually in Joe’s the other day and they had on ‘Fuck It (Don’t Want You Back)’ by Eamon, which struck me as odd (and not just because the song was being played in a year that wasn’t 2004). The lovely lyrics included ‘fuck you, you ho’ and ‘ya burnt bitch’, amongst other things. Sure, they bleeped out the profanities but the sentiment of the song was still the same to me.

There are so many songs far more offensive to women that the Guild apparently thinks are a-ok to play, so scapegoating ‘Blurred Lines’ is just jumping on the bandwagon.

Banning it is a lazy way to pretend to combat a much bigger issue, especially as (the way I took the lyrics, anyway) it isn’t a very good example of a misogynistic song.

According to an NUS survey, 1 in 7 women have experienced serious violence or sexual assault at university - maybe the Guild should do something about that instead of running around banning stupid songs.

16

redbrick.me/film

7th - 13th February 2014

Film

Focus on: Political Biopics

Digital Editor Ashley Kirk argues that political biopics are one of the best genres out there - so long as you avoid the pitfalls

Review: I, Frankenstein

Details Release date: 29th January 2014 Director: Stuart Beattie Cast: Aaron Eckhard, Bill Nighy, Mirando Otto

´´´´´ Alice Williams Critic

I’ve had the gift of being able to watch a lot of films in my student life – mostly due to a degree with tragically low hours and the option to watch most films whilst linking them in some convoluted way to revision.

I’ve become a huge fan of the political biopic in this time, due to their touching stories of personal struggle, courage and resilience.

Riding on the success of Lincoln and The Iron Lady, 2013 was always set to be the year of the biopic. In presenting those held as heroes by some, and loathsome villains by others, the genre of the political biopic has great potential to touch audiences and relay the extraordinary lives of others.

Telling us about the trials and tribulations involved in the personal tales of those who are forever in the media glare, political biopics allow us a small insight into the lives of world leaders.

"The political biopic has great potential to touch audiences and relay the extraordinary lives of others..."

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom hit the screens recently, bringing in the new year with the political biopic claiming one of the top hits. Timed, with a stroke of fate, to poetically chime with the icon’s death, Idris Elba’s Madiba is the latest on-screen tribute to depict the South African’s life. With his disconcerting accent and playful, self-deprecating mannerisms, Elba succeeds in capturing an idol.

Of course, the biographical role comes with severe responsibility, which could be catastrophic. Playing a real person known, and loved, by millions worldwide is always going to be a massive gamble. This gamble

sometimes doesn’t pay off – take The Fifth Estate.

Although The Fifth Estate is an incredibly opportune political biopic, tapping into a culture in which the whistleblower is simultaneously loathed and idolised, the execution of presenting such a figure of Assange did not work out.

Benedict impersonates the whistleblower well, working the drawl and powt, but the script resonates with incompleteness. The plot fails to capture the issues of the real man’s odd childhood and the sexual abuse accusations surrounding him. The gamble did not pay off.

Elba, however, handles his politician well - and so succeeds in creating a poignant masterpiece. Mandela is constantly developing as a character. From the young, confrontational lawyer who enjoyed boxing, partying and women in equal measure - to the older, matured figure who was revered almost to sainthood. Not only does the film succeed in portraying the human incredibly well, but it also plays an important role in educating us about a foreign leader Western audiences may not fully understand.

W, The Queen and Lincoln are all great options showcasing the best of this genre.

The political biopic is not designed to give a fully accurate, documentary-style description of world events; these films’ power is merely in lending one personal perspective to the politician’s story. We have a natural interest in imitation. Impersonations have often been a successful form of entertainment, and the biopic utilises this fascination on screen. Personalising world leaders and giving them a fictionalised persona we don’t often see is irresistible.

If we look at another classic, The Last King of Scotland, we again see how the political biopic achieves its art. It only touches on the wider scene of genocide of chaos in Idi Amin’s Uganda, but it is enough.

The inward journey of Idi Amin’s (Forest Whitaker) spectacularly played doctor,

Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), goes from jovial, to tense, to outright horrific mirroring Uganda’s own life whilst under this tyrant.

It shows the story of how an ordinary, naïve person gets drawn into Uganda’s heart of darkness. Nicholas serves Amin’s purpose, and we - knowing the widescale, death-ridden ending already - can only shake our heads and watch on.

In an age of political dissent and worldwide dissatisfaction with governments, the political biopic is thriving. Feeding off this opinion, an actor’s take on a politician is an attractive option to the cinema-goer.

"In an age of political dissent and worldwide dissatisfaction with governments the genre is thriving..."

Fiction is always going to capture our imaginations, but biopics harbour that gritty reality that a made-up character can never quite grasp. To watch the everyday, human heroism of a well-known figure is all the more potent. Some viewers may even have seen the actual event; real people had to endure what is shown on screen.

The biopic is fraught with dangers. These films can, if handled incorrectly, become the most rigid of genres where a director becomes confined by the real life of a notable figure. Political fans will always place these films under the most intense scrutiny.

With the presentations of political heroes (and, perhaps, villains), directors also have given us some great insights into the lives of some extraordinary people. And, with new biopics on the horizon, their potential to educate, entertain and enlighten us will continue to reign at the cinema.

Based loosely on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, however focused primarily on a comic book adaptation, the film is the story of Adam (Aaron Eckhart), the monstrous (yet still impossibly handsome) creation of mad scientist Victor Frankenstein, who becomes embroiled in the age-old battle between two clans; the gargoyles led by Queen Leonore (Miranda Otto), and the demons ruled by Naberius (Bill Nighy).

With a plot as ludicrous as this, one would expect that the writers and actors would be able to provide a little fun within the film, yet the only slight attempt at humour we’re provided with is Nighy’s appropriately over-the-top performance as the head of the demons. The seriousness with which every other actor approaches the bizarre storyline makes one wonder how on earth Aaron Eckhart managed to keep a straight face. There’s no doubt that Eckhart can act, but I think it’s fair to say that he wasn’t given much to work with; the writers seemed set on adapting the character into some kind of Underworld gaming hero, however as apt as comparisons to Underworld may seem, I, Frankenstein fails to even clear that fairly low bar.

In all fairness, the special effects aren’t bad at all; the CGI in the battle scenes is generally impressive, however fatigue does begin to set in when you’re presented with scene after scene of CGI creations smashing into buildings and disintegrating into flames.

With underdeveloped characters such as Yvonne Strahovski’s well-meaning scientist, who is seemingly just thrown in to act as a love interest for our scarred protagonist, it looks as though the writers were running out of ideas. It feels like Strahovski was added in to provide the directors with an excuse to show the monster hero without a shirt (though credit to him, Eckhart is physically impressive), and sexual attraction is thick in the air.

However, by this point, it’s pretty much impossible to take this film's undercurrent love story seriously.

By the end, the film begins to resemble a particularly excessive and violent episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The final affront is saved for the ending credits; ‘Special thanks to Mary Shelley’. I’m sure she will be turning in her grave.

www.redbrick.me/news

6 | 5th - 11th October 2012

A library for the 21st century?

University unveils new library designs Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

The University of Birmingham has revealed images of the new £37 million library that is planned for the main campus.

The plans, announced last year, would see the current, traditional red brick building demolished and replaced by a building veneered with metal and glass fit. The University website describes the new building as ‘a library for the 21st century.’

A Facebook group entitled 'Save the University of Birmingham's Redbrick Library' was set up after the new library was announced to petition against the demolition of the red brick façade currently at the centre of campus.

Those opposing the plan argue that

Concepts

the University’s traditional routes would be damaged by such a development, and argue that the installation of technology and some refurbishment does not need to result in the demolition of the red brick front.

‘As Birmingham was the original red brick university’, commented Bethany Prottey, a third-year English student and student ambassador, ‘it would be a shame to destroy a key part of our heritage and damage the traditional atmosphere of University Square.’

The University website has said, however, that the new building ‘is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to transform our campus and ensure that our students, staff, and wider community have a fa1

cility that serves their changing needs, exceeds their expectations, reflects the status of their institution, and is a source of pride for decades to come.’

The new library would cover 13,000 sq metres over six storeys. It would include many of the existing facilities, such as a café and exhibition. It constitutes a flagship development in the University’s application for 21 projects at the Edgbaston campus. The designers of the project, Associated Architects, are also working on the conversion of other buildings such as Aston Webb.

The planners state that it would be a much-needed modernisation and refurbishment to the resource centre, as well as being much more energy efficient, 2

consuming 50 percent less energy. Advocates of the development say that it will bring jobs and competitiveness to the region, providing ‘rich resources’ to students and the public alike.

In a statement on the University website, the Director of Library Services Diane Job commented that, ‘The new library will make greater use of technology to meet the changing needs of students and staff, as well as being a vital resource for local schools and residents.’

The University had committed £50 million towards the combined investment, but this estimate has since been revised down to £37 million. Construction work is expected to start in 2014.

3

Interior 1 Façade and café 2 Café interior 3 Library 4 Artwork courtesy of the University of Birmingham

Opinion

4

James Dolton Comment Editor

@Jamesadolton

I’m sorry to bring this up. I’m sure you are really busy. But we need to talk about the new library. You’ve likely now seen the drawings, and it would seem the rumours are true. Not the somewhat spurious ones about the library ‘sinking’ like some monolithic brick ship under the weight of all of it’s tomes, which remains unproven albeit bandied around as gospel truth at every Fab. The one that says we’ve decided to replace the admittedly creaking old building with a ludicrous contraption that appears to share more physical characteristics with a cheap 1980s imagining of a TV alien spaceship than it does to literally any other building on campus.

I’m all for modernisation and advancement: the current library’s masses of plug sockets still don’t cover for it’s lack of seating or the masses of books locked away in storage. It’s also nice to see University money being spent upon something tangibly and universally useful to its students.

However this article appears in Redbrick Newspaper. We are the original “Red Brick” University. It’s bizarre that such a vast oversight has been made in ruining the style and ethos of campus and particularly Chancellor’s Court for no readily apparent reason.

31st January - 6th February 2014

redbrick.me/news

3

Guild Petitions Against Proposed Housing Restrictions Ashley Kirk Digital Editor

@AshleyKirk92

It is claimed that Bournbrook will become a 'student ghetto' as the council seeks to put planning restrictions on student housing around the University of Birmingham - but not Bournbrook.

Birmingham City Council are 'letting students down by abandoning Bournbrook', according to a petition against the local authority's plans to restrict planning laws for student housing.

The Article 4 Direction, proposed by the council, is claimed to limit property owners' rights regarding planning laws.

This may result in a rule change for houses containing 3-6 unrelated individuals (HMOs), where landlords will face stricter planning restrictions.

The council's plan is in response to concerns over the impact of student housing on the local environment. The Article claims that 'if too many of these cluster together, they can put pressure on local

services and the environment, thus affecting the lives of the permanent residents.'

Selly Oak, Selly Park, Edgbaston and Harborne may all be affected by the proposed rules. However, Bournbrook will not, due to it being 'a popular location close to the University of Birmingham ... with the vast majority of its dwellings now being HMOs [Houses of Multiple Occupation].'

The Guild of Students' petition, currently signed by over 900 people, claims that this will turn Bournbrook into a 'student ghetto', as landlords seek to buy more houses to let to students in an area with less restictions.

It states: 'this is unacceptable. Students, like everybody else, should be able to choose where they live and how many people to live with; this shouldn't be restricted by the Council.'

It is claimed that Article 4 may further increase rent levels in Bournbrook, with students potentially paying more or having to live further away from university.

The petition also states that housing standards in Bournbrook, along with the

proposed area of implementation, may also be impacted.

The Guild of Students said 'future students who will be impacted by this change cannot respond to this consultation yet as they probably haven’t even thought about which university to attend – so this is your chance to ensure that future students have the same opportunities as you.'

The council stated that 'we believe that any further increase in the number of HMOs needs to be carefully managed and as such we are now consulting on a proposal to introduce steps that will require such changes of use to need planning permission, within a defined area - know as an Article 4 Direction.

'We will continue to monitor the conversion of family dwellings to shared accommodation and will consider issuing further Article 4 Directions should the evidence indicate that this is necessary.'

It has an open consultation on the article until 31st January. It is also running a drop-in session at the Guild on Monday 27th January 2014, between 12noon – 3pm.

Cadbury invests £75 million in Bournville Development Oliver Norgate News Reporter

@ONorgate

Mondelez, the parent company of Birmingham's landmark Cadbury plant, have issued a £75 million investment into the Bournville site. The move would safeguard the famous factory's long-term future, with the American company citing the need to keep pace with production seen across Europe, as well as the intention for the plant to become a 'worldclass manufacturing site'.

It will aim to keep up with competitors and sister factories in Germany and is dependent on 'successful consultations' with the unions surrounding agreements on productivity.

The Bournville Cadbury plant opened in 1879 and was controversially taken over by American corporation Kraft in 2010, recently changing its name to Mondelez. It produces some of the country's most popular chocolate bars, including Dairy Milk, Creme Eggs and Wispas.

Unite regional officer Joe Clarke hailed the announcement as ‘brilliant news’, adding: ‘It is all about the long-term

future of the site. We have had a difficult few years with a few fallouts but from our perspective, this is all good news.’ Clarke also admits that investment is ‘desperately needed’.

Tim Pile, president of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, described the move as ‘a seminal moment for Bourneville’ and that ‘there is a productivity gap in Bournville that needs closing in order for Bournville to compete with the best in the world.’

However Mondelez has warned that jobs will still be cut despite the cash injection. A spokesman said, ‘We are just trying to be open and frank and say "we believe there will be a reduction in numbers" but that's down to discussions we are having with the workforce now.’

Reece McCarthy, a Unite representative, accepts that some job cuts are necessary for the investment to go ahead.

However, McCarthy also made it clear that the union would oppose compulsory redundancies in the plant, which currently employs around 960 people, and that any redundancies should be aimed to be on a voluntary basis.

4 | 3rd - 30th May 2013

Selly Oak. Birmingham Alumnus Life Sciences Campus Redevelopment in Apprentice 2013

Ashley Kirk News Editor

Izi Hicks News Editor

@izihicks

On 22nd April, the Cabinet approved plans for the Life Sciences Campus Redevelopment on the former Battery Park site in Selly Oak. It is expected that the campus, located close to both the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the University of Birmingham, will attract new and existing companies in the pharmaceutical, life sciences and health sectors.

The proposals are part of a wider canal-side development and regeneration of the Battery Park, set to include a superstore, up to 20 shops, bars, restaurants and student flats.

Councillor Ian Ward, Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, said ‘It is expected that the campus will provide up to 2,400 jobs on site and gener-

ate a turnover of up to £243 million, in addition to bringing back to life a site that has been left vacant for decades.’

Despite the public concerns over the redevelopment plans being voiced in March, many businesses in the local community are undisputed in their opinions of the life sciences campus as an opportunity to boost growth in the life sciences sector.

The work of both the University of Birmingham and the University of Warwick has already played a role in boosting the city’s involvement in the life sciences sector, which has grown by 45 per cent since 2005.

Land Securities Project Director, Neil Carron commented, ‘We are pleased to be working with the council to deliver a high-quality, mixed-use development that will unlock wider economic benefits for Birmingham.’

Residents call for bridge clean up

@AshleyKirk92

Tim Stillwell, University of Birmingham alumnus and founder of the Burrito Van company, has recently been announced as a contestant on this year's series of The Apprentice.

The 23-year-old graduate started his catering business whilst studying in his year of his International Business degree. He did so with the help of the University's Enterprise Scholarship Programme, which helps kick-start its students' business ideas.

Tim will join 15 other contestants, competing for an investment of £250,000 from Lord Sugar, to help their businesses.

Tim described himself as 'extremely motivated by money', whilst going on to say that he 'risks annoying people'. Whilst statements are a breach of his contract with the programme, the young entrepreneur did comment that 'it is going to be really interesting to watch the show and how they edit me'.

Tim's inspiration for the Mexican food company began three years ago when he lived and worked in Mexico. Determined to bring a taste of Mexico back to the UK, he set up ‘Burrito Kitchen’ serving fast, fresh Mexican food from a catering trailer on the University's Edgbaston campus.

Due to the success of the company, it is soon to launch its first permanent outlet into Eat Central at Westfield shopping centre Merry Hill.

Tim commented that, ‘Westfield Merry Hill is a unique opportunity for us, a chance to establish the business in one of the best known shopping centres in the UK. The competition from the global food brands is fierce. However, we believe we offer a completely different, fresh approach to quality fast food.’

At this early stage of the competition, the Mirror is already calling Tim the man with the best odds, at 5/1.

Waterstones staff

uncertainty continues Patrick McGhee News Editor

Charlotte Wilson

Jasmine Northover Reporter

@jasminesarah14

Local residents, led by Birmingham-man Tom Poole, have launched an appeal to repaint the Selly Oak bridge because ‘it has looked really bad for over a year.’ Poole has argued that the bridge is ‘one of the first you see as you come down on the bus to Selly Oak.’ ‘They revamped the station just down the track and left the bridge looking like this. They painted it up really nice some time back, then the kids sprayed their tags all over it.’

He has further stated on Twitter that ‘Network snail don’t seem to be willing or able to sort it.’

Network Rail have responded that they are in ‘active discussion with Birmingham City Council to arrange for a permanent solution to prevent and

@wilsonscribbles

remove the existing graffiti on the railway bridge’.

However, a spokesperson added that ‘to remove the graffiti requires a road closure to allow the bridge to be painted with special anti-graffiti paint.

We spend more than £3.5m a year removing graffiti – money which could be better spent improving the railway.'

Selly Oak Councillor, Karen McCarthy (from the Labour and Co-operative party) also responded, saying ‘My understanding is that Network Rail would paint the bridge, but only one flat colour. The local community want the signwriting restored.’

She further said ‘I’m still hopeful we can find an answer which works to enhance the Bristol Road.

I’m also aware that local police have made progress with tracking down those responsible for graffiti across South Birmingham through sharing information between teams.’

@patricksmcg

The Waterstones branch on campus will remain open until the end of May despite staff being told that the store would be closing on Friday 26th April.

Speaking to Redbrick, staff at the store said that they received a telephone call at 10am from the Waterstones head office on the day the branch was due to close informing them that it would have to remain open for a further month.

One staff member told Redbrick that she was forced to cancel a holiday she had planned in order to continuing working at the branch, which has suffered a drop in custom this year.

Staff have stated that the store's stock is being reduced over the next month, adding that they will not be ordering new stock in bulk as it would not arrive quickly enough during the exam period. Employees have said that they can still carry out customer orders and that it should take up to 48 hours for requested books to become available in the store.

4 | 8th - 14th March 2013

#GuildElections13 Campaign Week Roundup.

Josh Llewellyn stops campaigning amid allegations of sexism Ashley Kirk News Editor

@AshleyKirk92

It has been reported that Josh Llewellyn, a candidate running for the Vice President (Housing and Community) role, has pulled out of active campaigning amid accusations of sexism.

The accusations arose from a blog post written by Alice Swift (Ethical and Environmental Officer), which stated that during the Guild Council that took place on 31st January, Llewellyn made a sexist comment from his personal Twitter account.

Swift commented that, 'All of this left me feeling very upset. In Guild Council we always talk about how few women get involved with Guild politics. The current VPW, and only female Sabbatical Officer this year, Katherine East consoled me.'

She also referred to a drawing posted on Llewellyn's personal Facebook wall, depicting sexually explicit content of a friend of his having sex with his mother.

Swift follows this by stating her concern that 'the so-called Guild “Zero Tolerance Policy” has had no effect on him, despite involving himself heavily in the Guild and running as a Sabbatical Officer Candidate.'

She does, however, state that Llewellyn then apologised and offered to meet with her and Katherine East, VPW, to discuss his actions.

Swift told Redbrick that 'I think he should stand down entirely. His apology was not unreserved he was only sorry to the people he offended making it seem like we were the ones who were wrong for misinterpreting his comments.

'What worries me the most is how someone so clearly sexist could get as far as running for a Sabbatical Officer position in the first place. The Zero Tolerance policy is just a policy; it doesn't translate into any tangible action against misogynists. Women in public positions shouldn't have to expect abuse like this'.

Llewellyn's Facebook campaign wall announced his intention to stop campaigning.

He stated that, 'her post has made me reconsider my actions, and I feel that stopping campaigning is the right thing to do. I do feel it has been blown out of proportion, though I completely understand people's views on it and why it is wrong. Again, my apologies to anyone offended.'

Voting Begins

Voting began on Monday 4th March at 10am.

Candidates and their teams filled campus with signs and banners urging students to vote for them.

Anita Baumgärtner

Guild TV @GuildTelevision

Presidential Debate

Each of the candidates running for the role of Guild President answered questions from the floor about a number of topics including press freedom and increasing groups.

Zahra Damji @zahra_damji

University Square Hustings

The University Square Hustings on Monday gave all of the candidates a platform to voice their manifesto aims to students on campus just hours into the voting period.

www.redbrick.me/news

3 | 15th March - 2nd May 2013

Your Sabbatical Offi cer

Team 2013/2014

Guild Elections.

Poppy Wilkinson voted President in record-breaking elections portion of RON votes. RON obtained 47.1 per cent of the vote for VPE, and Online News Editor @AshleyKirk92 45.5 per cent for VPDR. Both positions were, however, won The 2013 Guild Elections came to by the unopposed candidates. Hatan end on Saturday 9th March with tie Craig won the position of Vice Poppy Wilkinson declared as the new President (Education), obtaining 2214 Guild President for 2013-14. votes, to RON’s 1975.

She was elected in the third round Tom Wragg won the position of Vice of voting, as no candidates reached the President (Democracy and Resourcrequired quota in the first two rounds. es). During his acceptance speech, he After Malia Bouattia (879 votes), claimed that, despite disappointing reMark Williams (415 votes) and Areeq sults for the ‘2014’ slate, ‘the Left will Chowdury (406 votes) were eliminat- be back again next year’. ed, Tim Lucas and Poppy Wilkinson Non-Sabbatical positions were also remained. She obtained 2858 votes, announced on the night. The winners against Tim’s 2245 votes. were Roz Burgin (Community AcCurrent Vice President (Housing tion Officer), Ellis Palmer (Disability and Community), James Robertson, Officer), Rachael Cavet (Ethical and announced the results for his position. Environmental Officer), Tracy MakeOnce again, no candidates received le (Ethnic Minority Officer), Jagpal the quota needed for rounds one and Pahal (Home Students Officer), Bihe two. In the third round, Dave Charles Chen (International Students Officer), won the position with 2304 votes, with Leilani Rabemananjara (LGBTQ StuAmy Hegarty coming second. dents’ Officer), Erin Lee (Mature & The position for Vice President Part Time Students’ Officer), Mae Ro(Sport) was also closely contested. The hani (Women’s Officer) and Georgia winning candidate was Vicki Harris, Levine (Anti-Racism Anti-Fascism who beat Tim Barsellotti in the fourth Officer). round of voting. Sam Travell and Sara There was a lot of speculation in the Henderson were eliminated in the first student population about the ‘2014’ round; Dan Jaeneckie in the second; slate before and during the night. Aland James Hughes in the third. together, the slate won five out of the Molly Wright won the position of seventeen roles up for election, conVice President (Activities and Devel- sisting of two Sabbatical positions opment), beating Elio De Muccio’s by and three Non-Sabbatical. The ‘2014’ 1500 votes. slate did not win a position for which Katherine East announced the win- they were opposed. ning candidate for Vice President Turnout for this year’s election (Welfare) position. Jethro Lee won, stood at 6917, which is 25.5 per cent receiving 2425 votes, beating Jen Kirk of the University of Birmingham’s by 997 votes. student population. This made the The election broke a record with election’s turnout the second highest regards to the amount of RON (Re- in Guild Elections records.

Open Nominations) votes cast by stuThe elections also produced more dents. The two unopposed positions, female Sabbatical Officers than Vice President (Education) and Vice male, with the positions of President, President (Democracy and Resourc- VPAD, VPS and VPE now occupied es), both saw their highest ever pro- by females.

Ashley Kirk

25.5% Turnout

10,599

President Poppy Wilkinson 3rd yr Law

Vice President (Activities & Development) Molly Wright 3rd yr History

Total RON votes

47.1% RON vote for VPE

65%

Newly-elected Officers that are female ‘The Sabbatical Team has the potential to be very strong and I aim to do everything I can to optimise that to ensure students receive the best support and representation available to them.

The fi rst thing I want to

do is address the issue of engagement of the Offi cer team with the student population as I feel this is at the root of a lot of obstacles the Offi cer team

face and would ensure the best possible start for the new team.’

Poppy Wilkinson President-elect

Promised Policies.

Vice President (Democracy & Resources) Thomas Wragg 3rd yr Civil & Energy Engineering

Vice President (Education) Hattie Craig 2rd yr Political Science

Vice President (Housing & Community) Dave Charles 2nd yr Biological Sciences

Redbrick has picked some of the policies promised by your newly elected Sabbatical team.

‘Create a more convenient campus. Longer library hours & more water machines’ ‘Society Saturday’ ‘Increased student control of budgeting & events’ ‘Slicing the cost of taxis’

‘Fighting against course cuts, closures and compulsory redundancies’

‘Universal mitigations and appeals procedures across departments’ ‘Sports Fest, bringing together a second Sports Fair, a Sports Night and club Taster Sessions’

Vice President (Sport) Vicki Harris 3rd yr English & Drama

Vice President (Welfare) Jethro Lee 3rd yr Sport & Exercise Science

www.redbrick.me/news | 5

Candidates' campaign signs vandalised Ashley Kirk News Editor

@AshleyKirk92

Some of the Guild Elections Candidates' campaign signs have been found vandalised on the Edgbaston campus after two days of campaigning.Signs were knocked down, ripped and painted over on the night of Thursday 28th, with no campaign seeming to be targeted more than the others. Some signs had been painted over with alternate mock slogans, such as 'Vote Boner'.

Areas targeted include Chancellor's Courtyard, outside the library and the main path leading up from Selly Oak and Grange Road.

After candidates had become aware of the damage, they began the process of reposi-

Louise Warren

tioning and repairing their campaign signs.

One candidate, whose signs were vandalised, told Redbrick, 'it's such a shame when all candidates have worked so hard already.

The only positive is that it draws attention to the Officer elections. I can only hope that the candidates come back fighting.'

Redbrick has also learnt of mock campaign signs put up around the Vale student village, containing sexually explicit content based on the acronymic slogan ‘vote ALED’.

Some were found near the entrance of Tennis Courts, and were taken down by residents. The signs have faced criticism on the Guild Development Forum, being described as an example of ‘shocking and disgusting behaviour’.

Louise Warren

Michael Jevon

Katrin Busch @kabulein

Louise Warren

Louise Warren

Louise Warren

Louise Warren

See online at www.redbrick.me/news for more Guild Elections news Candidates warned over negative campaining Candidate Interviews

Follow Redbrick's GuildElections13 Results Night coverage at

www.guildelections.co.uk Louise Warren

15th-21st November 2013

redbrick.me/news

5

University Politics

3.2% of Students vote in Guild Council elections

One of the lowest ever election turnouts with 886 student votes Sabrina Dougall News Reporter

@sabrina_dougall

Turnout to this year’s Guild Councillor Elections on October 25th is thought to be one of the lowest ever with a total of 886 votes cast. This equates to 3.2% of the 28,000 students currently studying at the University of Birmingham. This compares to 1,247 votes cast in the same elections last year (although there was a slight difference to the positions open for election compared to this round last year).

The breakdown of results, which were published online as of November 11th, shows that the position with the highest votes (Open Place Guild Councillor) received only 439 votes, which equates to about 1.6%.

Other categories up for election in this ballot included the Women’s, First Year, Postgraduate and International Guild Councillor (all of which received between

200 and 305 votes), as well as 22 Guild Councillor positions representing individual academic schools.

For elections to individual School Guild Councillor positions, successful candidates generally failed to achieve more than a few dozen votes in their favour. The total number of valid ballots registered for positions in this category ranged from 84 to just 5 votes.

Some of the low turnout may be attributable to technical difficulties that students encountered with the new NUS Digital system that is being used for Guild elections, which resulted in the Guild extending the voting period to allow more students the chance to vote.

However, it has also been suggested that the low turnout was due to poor publicity of the Elections themselves, as well as a general lack of awareness of the nature of the roles up for re-election.

A Redbrick survey carried out on the day before the elections closed showed that half of the students asked were una-

ware that any elections were taking place.

All of the students asked said that the elections had not been not been publicised well.

"65% of students interviewed could ot name a single position on the Guild council that was up for election" 65% of students interviewed also could not name a single position on the Guild Council which was up for election this term. Many respondents to the survey had only heard about the elections because they knew someone who was running for a position who had asked them to vote.

According to the Guild website, ‘Guild Councillors sit on Guild Council as representatives of their fellow students, hold officers to account and vote on policy’, fulfilling a different role than that of the Guild Officer Team which consists of

Sabbatical and Non-Sabbatical representatives.

A Third Year Archaeology student commented that Guild Council Elections ‘only attract a small crowd [of voters]’ because the candidates are drawn from a ‘sheltered community’ of applicants who fail to represent the wider student body.

She added that the failure to engage student interest in the elections stems from a deficiency in information as to the relevance of Guild activities to most students.

Speaking to Redbrick, Vice President (Democracy & Resources) Tom Wragg said that ‘The difference in voter turnout could be attributed to many factors but, we feel, a main contributor was the difficulties experienced with the brand new e-voting system. The publicity was comparable to last year and there were a number of new initiatives to encourage nominations from postgraduate and mature students.’

Comment. 3.2% turnout: How can Guild Council vote for policies like Zero Tolerance?

Ashley Kirk

Digital Editor @AshleyKirk92 The Guild’s been under the spotlight recently after what has been affectionately dubbed ‘Sombrerogate’. Banning 'racist' fancy dress has caused a stir on campus and nationally, with blog posts, statements and open letters arguing passionately on both sides.

With the news that turnout was 3.2%

for the recent Guild Councillor elections, the question has to be asked: by what mandate can Guild Council vote to implement such measures as the Zero Tolerance Policy?

97% of Guild Council voted in favour for the Zero Tolerance Policy last year.

With the amount of controversy it has sparked, it's quite clear that less than 97% of the student body as a whole support how the policy is being interpreted.

The Zero Tolerance Policy has the potential to do wonders for equality and minority rights, but it is something that's a matter of interpretation. This interpretation should be based on common sense, but it has been interpreted extremely – with people who clearly aren’t racist being prevented from going into an event they’ve paid for because of their ‘racist’ attire.

Students do only have themselves to

blame. The Guild Council is elected by the entire student body; we can vote for who we want. We can’t really complain if we don’t bother to use this right.

But we cannot ignore the fact that the Guild Council – the very body that puts these policies in place – is elected by a minority itself. A turnout of a mere 886 voters hardly provides councillors with a mandate to vote on such important matters that affect a lot of students.

UoB drops 3 places in political university rankings University drops three places in the Which? top political universities guide

2012

top political unis

1. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2. London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London 3. University of Oxford 4. Goldsmiths, University of

London

5. University of Cambridge 6. University of Sussex 7. University of Birmingham 8. University of Glasgow 9. University College London, University of London 10. Queen's University

Duncan Kenyon

News Reporter @DuncanKenyon1 The University of Birmingham has been placed 10th on the Which? university guide for most political university, beating both the University of Sheffield and Queen’s University Belfast to tenth spot.

Rankings for this site are voted for by students. 68% of students believe that the university has a strong political life, ranking it as ‘high’ in its comparison with all other universities.

Questions asked to students in order to ascertain the university’s political ranking, according to Which?, included ‘if there are lots of different political groups and activities, such

as meetings and demonstrations at [the] university, and whether politics is a visible part of the university experience’.

Which? accredits the university’s high political success to the Guild of Students, where each student automatically becomes a member when they join the university.

Birmingham did however achieve higher in the 2012 – 2013 academic year, reaching 7th place. The drop is largely due to an influx of Scottish universities contending for ‘top 10’ places this year. This could be in connection with the growing political excitement of possible Scottish independence, with universities being used as forums of discussion and debate.

2013

top political unis

1. SOAS, University of London 2. London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London 3. University of Oxford 4. Goldsmiths, University of London

5. University of Sussex 6. University of Cambridge 7. University of Glasgow 8. University College London, University of London 9. University of Edinburgh 10. University of Jo Thomas Birmingham Victoria Kettlewell

VC's salary still highest in West Midlands

www.redbrick.me/news | 3

Sofia Karttunen Reporter

@Zophy92

An investigation into the salaries of local university leaders shows that the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Birmingham continues to be one of the largest paying in the area despite a salary cut.

The Birmingham Post report revealed that University of Birmingham ViceChancellor David Eastwood’s salary was reduced by £13,000 last year. The sum represents a three per cent decrease from £419,000 to £406,000.

The report shows that other ViceChancellors’ salaries in the area have experienced a slight growth or have stayed the same.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, Nigel Thrift, was reported to have earned £316,000 in the academic yearof 2011/2012, representing a £42,000 increase in salary and benefits compared to the previous year.

Professor Tidmarsh’s salary at Birmingham City University was also in-

2+

+2 Over £500,000 (2%)

Poll

Under £100,000 (2%)

£100,000-£200,000

£406,000 can also buy...

7at £57,505 Jaguar XJ Ls 111 years rent in each a Selly Oak house at £70 per week

188,837 small cups of caff e latte at

£2.15 each

15than times more the UK 45 tuition fees at £9,000

average wage at £26,500

each

£200,001-£300,000

Redbrick asked students on it's Facebook page to answer the question, 'How much do you think the Vice Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, David Eastwood, receives as a salary?

62 students voted

creased by £25,000 to reach a total of £258,035.

The annual salary of Professor Julia King, Vice-Chancellor at Aston University, remained the same at £272,000.

Director General of the Russell Group of universities, Dr Wendy Piatt, said, ‘Our Vice-Chancellors and other senior staff lead complex multi-million pound organisations that succeed on a global stage’.

She added, ‘Russell Group institutions contribute tens of billions of pounds to the UK economy. First-rate leadership and academic talent are crucial if our universities are to continue to excel in a challenging economic climate.’

The President of the Guild of Students, David Franklin, said it was ‘encouraging’ to see the Vice-Chancellor’s salary reduced while calling on the University to ‘seriously look at the positive implications of reducing higher managerial pay and reinvesting elsewhere on campus, in those places that need additional funding right now’.

11% 11%

52%

£300,001-£400,000

22%

1234 16GB iPad 2s at £329 each

101,500 Fab tickets at £4 each

£400,001-£500,000

VPE calls for students to support strike

Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

A ballot has been called by the Birmingham branch of the University and College Union on whether to stage a series of strikes set to begin towards the end of February. The Union, which has 1000 members from Birmingham, is objecting against the threatened redundancy of twenty eight of its members.

In a post on his official blog, VicePresident of Education, Simon Furse, wrote an open letter encouraging students to persuade staff to vote in favour of UCU’s ballot for strike action.

A flier distributed to students stated ‘support of a strike, and the disruption it will cause, is not a decision we take

lightly. However in the context of what the management are doing at this university we believe that it is necessary.’

The flier claims that ‘the University’s staff-student ratio is 21st out of 24 in the Russell Group and 249th internationally.’

It goes on to say, ‘The restructuring that has taken place this year in the IAA and Sociology is not the first to happen at the University of Birmingham and unless we organize effectively it will not be the last.

‘Senior university management conduct themselves in a way that completely ignores any staff or student opinion.

They treat us as cogs in their machine rather than the people who do the real

work that keeps the university going.’

A statement from the university expressed conserns about the strike, saying 'The University prioritises the teaching of our students and is concerned that Birmingham UCU has decided that the proposed strike action would target teaching. It could damage the experience of our current students and adversely affect the choices of prospective students considering studying here in the future.

The University has been meeting regularly and frequently with BUCU during the whole of the academic year. We have consistently worked both with the academics affected and with the Union to avoid compulsory redundancies and hope that they can be avoided. In light

of this, the university remains surprised that an unneccessary strike ballot is being held.'

'Being in support of a strike and the disruption it will cause, is not a decision we take lightly.

However in the context of what the management are doing at this university we believe that it is necessary.'

VPE Simon Furse (official blog)

Coin toss elects new Guild Council chair Patrick McGhee News Editor

@patricksmcg

Julian Bryant has been elected as the new Chair of Guild Council following a coin toss. An election for the position initially returned a tied result between Bryant and Bethan Dovey, women's open-place Guild Councillor.

Bryant was second to Dovey for three rounds before tying with her in the fourth round.

A coin toss determined that Bryant would become the new Chair. Frankie Greenwell was knocked out in the third round and former Vice-President for Housing and Community Zuki Ma-

juqwana was knocked out in the second round. The Re-Open Nominations option received no votes.

Another election for the position of Deputy Chair is due to take place at the next Guild Council on 21st February.

Julian Bryant has held the position of Acting Chair since his predecessor Johnny Dolan stepped down in December last year.

In his resignation speech, Dolan said that, ‘over my time as chair of Guild Council I have always tried to do my best’ and that 'I was always as flexible

as I could be’. Dolan also argued that change was needed with Guild Council, especially with regard to transparency and the role of the Trustee Board in their specific decision making processes.

Dolan added that he had been ‘berated’ and ‘mocked’ by individuals within Guild Council, and that this had influenced his ultimate decision to resign from the position.

Johnny Dolan had been the Chair of Guild Council for one year, and had been heavily involved in work associated with the Council.

Bethan Julian Dovey Bryant Round 1 25

20

Round 2 25

20

Round 3 28 22 Round 4 31 31 Round 5 Coin Toss Charlotte Wilson

@wilsonscribbles

4 | 22nd -28th February 2013

names of hairdressers. For example, the team stated one of their favourites cryptic clues as, 'Which Arabic hero was involved with the Forty Thieves? Ali Baba.'

'The win was made greater by the fact that our fifth housemate bet that we wouldn't win, saying that if we did, he would pay for him and our sixth housemate to join us in our prize trip to America.'

Harry Proud

University.

Birmingham team win national iQuiz competition

'50% More Moustache' were down by four points after the first round alone.

However, they finished the event by eliminating their deficit and winning,

beating the University of Warwick's team, 'God works in Quizterious Ways', by a slim one point.

The prize for the closely fought competition was a two-week trip to California, with all expenses, but food, paid for.

The team had already won a year's i subscription by winning the regional round.

Harry Proud, one quarter of ‘50% More Moustache’ stated after winning, ‘It was unbelievable. We were all a bit shocked, and a bit tired from racking our brains all evening. The most we’ve ever won before is £40 at Gunnies.

We're really pleased that we've won that national round. The win is made greater by the fact that our fifth housemate bet that we wouldn't win, saying that if we did, he would pay for him and our sixth housemate to join us in our prize trip to America.’

Ashley Kirk Online News Editor

@AshleyKirk92

On Tuesday 15th February, a team from the University of Birmingham beat 17 other teams of students, representing different universities, gathered at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery to win the national final of the iQuiz.

Each team had already qualified in regional finals. '50% More Moustache', the team from the University of Birmingham, won the event, beating off competition from other Universities, including Warwick, Oxford and Newcastle. The

team consisted of undergraduate housemates from Selly Oak, Harry Thorpe (fourth year, Natural Sciences), Harry Proud (fourth year, Physics), Richard Tasker (fourth year, French and Music) and Jonathan Jones (fourth year, Physics).

The quiz itself was compiled by Birmingham alumnus and Assistant Editor of the Independent, Simon O'Hagan.

It included a news round and general knowledge. However, he also added the 'Hairdresser Round', a round entirely dedicated to puns seen in the company

Ashley Kirk @ashleykirk92

Birmingham.

Sars-like virus causes death at QE hospital

Three men jailed over Hagley Road shooting Zahra Damji News Editor

Olivia Wilson @OKWilson_

Jasmine Northover

Ashley Kirk

Reporter

Online News Editor

@jasminesarah14

It has been reported that a patient infected with a respiratory illness, similar to the deadly Sars virus, has died.

The patient, a young boy, was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. The hospital has confirmed that he died on Sunday morning, whilst offering its sympathies to the suffering family.

He is believed to have been infected by the virus after his father was admitted into an intensive care unit at a Man-

@AshleyKirk92 despite signs that the virus is spreading

chester Hospital, having become infected with a new type of coronavirus on his travels to the Middle East and Pakistan.

Three members of his family have now been affected by this virus, all of them being treated in the UK, including an additional patient flown in from Qatar for special attention.

Globally, out of the twelve people known to have been infected with the virus, six have died. The threat to the general population is believed to be small,

in people. The virus is closely to related to one found in bats, one potential cause of the outbreak.

Professor Ian Jones, from the University of Reading, has stated that 'given the previous health status of the patient it may be premature to assume the death was a result of the infection but even if it was, it is unlikely to signify a change in the virus.

'No general virus spread has been reported meaning the risk to the public remains very low.'

@zahra_damji

Three men convicted of shooting and robbing a man on Hagley road last June were sentenced on Friday 13th.

The victim was robbed of his mobile phone and wallet after being shot in the face with a BB gun, kicked and hit over the head with a wrench whilst walking home along Hagley Road.

The 35 year old was later hospitalised for head injuries.

Shaun Evans, 20, was sentenced to six years after being found guilty following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

21 year old Mitchell Taylor and Mohammed Arif were also sentenced to five years and three months after pleading guilty.

Detective Constable Neata Simpson, from Birmingham South CID, commented saying, ‘Evans, Taylor and Arif carried out a vicious and prolonged attack on their victim that was completely unprovoked.

‘They left a man in hospital with serious head injuries and all just to steal a wallet and a mobile phone. We will take strong action against anyone who commits this kind of violent crime and we hope these sentences will bring some comfort to the victim and his family.’

www.redbrickpaper.co.uk/news | 5

Demo 2012 Russell Group accused of Rhiannon Doyle-Maw News Editor

@Rhi_DoyleMaw

Guild overlooks disabled access to Demo 2012 The Guild of Students has come under criticism with regards to the lack of advertising of disabled facilities for the ‘#demo2012: Educate, Employ, Empower’ protest, which will take place in 21st November in central London with students from across the country taking part.

On the Guild Development Forum concerns have been raised over the lack of advertising for accessibility features for students who are disabled. A member of the online forum raised the issue of a lack of provisions or advertisements of accessibility initially on the 8th November. Leander Jones, Vice President of Democracy & Resources then replied opening with, ‘Slipped my mind,’ followed by some optional provisions only thirteen days before the event.

NUS, the organising body, have planned a disabled block at the front of the march to increase accessibility however, until the issue was raised, there had been no advertisement of accessibility for disabled students as provided by the Guild despite provisions being provided last year.

'Slipped my mind.'

'If people require special alternative transport because of a disability then they should contact the Guild and say so when they buy their ticket.'

Leander Jones, VPDR

Anna Kirk

@annatidykirk

dents’ experience by offering a wider array of study options with exposure to academics with a range of academic teaching and research interests.'

Commenting further regarding Nursing, the University said, 'The University takes the welfare and success of its students extremely seriously and will do its utmost to ensure that any impact on current students is kept to a minimum.

The Options Appraisal Group is due to submit its recommendations to the University Executive Board in Spring 2013.

Whatever the recommendations are, we can confirm that all current Nursing students, when graduating, will receive a University of Birmingham degree.'

Following the issue being highlighted, Leander Jones, Vice-President of Democracy & Resources (VPDR), has stated, ‘Since that comment I consulted with the DSO [Disabled Students' Officer] and worked out an arrangement. The Guild have sent out emails and posted on Facebook stating that if people require special alternative transport because of a disability then they should contact the Guild and say so when they buy their ticket. This way we can provide this transport if it is needed, as opposed to book a minibus or whatever straight away and potentially have to cancel it if there is no interest in getting this transport (which would be incredibly expensive).’

The Guild of Students are providing return travel to London and a free t-shirt, as well as advertising free time in London and the opportunity to go on the biggest student demonstration of the year, for the price of £5. This is provided for all students but concerns that disabled students could have been deterred by the lack of advertising of facilities to enable them to take part have been raised with the march only days away.

arms trade connections Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

Dominic Jackson Reporter

@jackson_dominic

Britain’s top universities have received over £83 million in funds from firms involved in the arms trade over the last three years. Data released by the Campaign Against The Arms Trade (CAAT) has revealed that Russell Group universities gain millions in research and sponsorship money from companies which manufacture weapons.

The University of Birmingham is among six universities that have refused, or were unable to supply relevant information at the time the investigation was carried out.

Birmingham is, however, already partnered with companies such as BAE Systems, QinetiQ and NPL in a £700,000 project researching highly efficient communications and radar systems.

Continuing until May 2013, the investigation uses new microwave circuits which were impossible with traditional techniques, and the technologies developed in this programme are hoped to be used in future products using over one terahertz (1000 gigahertz) frequencies.

The sources of the £83 million are divided between UK government agencies and UK private companies. From available information, it appears that most private sector funding is ultimately government funding, through research and development contracts from the Ministry of Defence and other government agencies.

The largest private funder is RollsRoyce, which totalled at least £36.8 million. This funding focused very large grants on universities, such as Sheffield, where it paid £11.1 million, Cambridge, Oxford and Nottingham. The content of these grants are, however, ambiguous; it is highly unlikely that all research they fund relates to the defence portfolio of their organisation.

While defence does make up a significant part of Rolls Royce’s company

areas, it also deals with commercial aerospace, marine technologies and energy.

There are concerns amongst university lecturers, who call for greater scrutiny of donations, due to the fear that universities could be helping to legitimise regimes with dubious human rights records. The head of the London School of Economics, Sir Howard Davies, resigned last year over the acceptance of donations from the then Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s regime.

Chief Executive of Universities UK, Nicola Dandridge, said it was paramount that universities took account of the ethical implications of donations, and that was what they were doing.

‘They are acutely aware and conscious of the need to make sure that donations fit with their institutional mission.’ She did, however, highlight that these decisions are not clear-cut, commenting, ‘supposing the donation enables engagement that supports civil society in that country, that it empowers the people, that it is providing training to neo-natal nurses?’

Beth Smith, universities network coordinator for the Campaign Against Arms Trade, expressed concern over the links between universities and the arms trade. ‘Arms companies fund research projects partly to ensure that certain research gets done. By partnering with arms companies universities provide them with a veneer of respectability and help them to continue their devastating work. Universities should play no role in supporting the arms trade.’

A spokesperson for the University told Redbrick, ‘The University has an ethical policy in place which covers all of its fundraising activity.’ This can be viewed at http://www.birmingham.ac. uk/alumni/giving/ethical-policy.aspx.

The spokesperson went on to say that that, ‘In addition, all research undertaken by the University is governed by a code of practice, and all new postgraduate student research projects and staffled research subject to an ethical review process.’

London Midland reprimanded Beth Clarke Campus Correspondent

The Department of Transport has warned train company London Midland that it is ready to take affirmative action over its ongoing driver shortage, which has resulted in problems for many commuters.

Since October 7th it has been reported that London Midland has cancelled more than 500 services, even resulting in 25 services cut in one day. The train operator blames a lack of trained, qualified drivers, but states that they are currently in the process of recruiting and training drivers that will be ready to start in

December.

Students have previously complained to Redbrick over the frequently delayed and cancelled trains from University station, resulting in missed connections and costly expenditures for delayed trains as a result.

Emma Purssell, a second-year Economics student expressed her concerns, ‘I’m always experiencing delays from University Station to New Street and this has caused me problems in the past, especially when I need to catch a connecting train home. I think London Midland really needs to improve their service considering it’s such a popular route.’

'Whatever the recommendations are, we can confirm that all current Nursing students, when graduating, will receive a University of Birmingham degree.'

Statement from the University of Birmingham

Will Siddons @WSiddons

www.redbrick.me/news | 5

University.

Bramall Music Building opens Ashley Kirk Deputy Editor

@AshleyKirk92

The University of Birmingham’s Bramall Music Building officially opened on Sunday 25th November, with a twoweek calendar of concerts and events to celebrate.

The Bramall Festival of Music will celebrate the completion of the £16 million redevelopment, which completes the red brick veneer of the Aston Webb semi-circle. It is home to the 450-seat Elgar Concert Hall as well as the University’s Department of Music. It provides the Music Department, which is ranked two for UK research ranking, with modern teaching, research, performance and rehearsal facilities.

The development is part of the University’s Circles of Influence fundraising campaign, and has been named the Bramall Music Building to commemorate the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation.

260 students, staff, alumni and friends gave more than £6m to name more than 235 seats, rooms and pieces of equipment.

The Bramall festival includes performances by University of Birmingham alumna Carolyn Sampson and the Phil-

harmonic Orchestra, and the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG).

Vice-Chancellor David Eastwood delivered an illustrated lecture on Edward Elgar, the University's first Professor of Music, on Tuesday 27 November.

Professor Andrew Kirkman, head of the music department said ‘the Bramall Building is a fantastic shot in the arm for our music programmes, which are rapidly going from strength to strength. It provides us with a platform to build a fine music department into one of the world's best: we are very excited about what the future holds.

We now have what must be one of the best music teaching, research and performance spaces in the UK; it is certainly unique in universities in this country.

The University’s students and staff are thrilled, but it is not just for them. It is a community facility. We urge everyone to take a look for themselves.’

Tori Graney, third year Law student and saxophonist said, 'The spaciousness and the new facilities like the Costa ,which becomes a bar at night, make the building feel like a music venue rather than just a hall. The actual concert hall is great; fabulous acoustics and spacious seating and it feels prestigious too.'

George Evans @georgeevanss

6 | 9th - 15th November2012 @RedbrickComment

US Elections:

302

democrat seats

Disaster Averted Ashley Kirk After what can only be described as a desperate, but valiant attempt to claim the presidency, Mitt Romney has been beaten by President Obama. Barack Obama succeeded in eking out a second term as the President of the United States of America with a fraction of his 7.3% margin of 2008.

The result has been hailed by people around the world. Many sighed with relief; believing Romney to be a dangerous, unpredictable and illogical individual and politician, incapable of leading one of the most important countries in the world.

It is worrying how close we came to his presidency. The key swing states were all won by tiny majorities: Ohio by 50.1%, Virginia by 50.8%, and Florida by less than 50%. All of these were closely trailed by Romney, and Florida is predicted to have less than 0.5% of the vote between the two candidates.

I say ‘we’ because Romney’s election could have had a negative impact on us all. Romney would have been a reckless decision loaded with risk. At risk of sounding like a scare-monger, these risks include nothing less than overtly right-wing policies destroying American social values and a reckless, naïve ideology breaking international bonds and causing global conflict. His dogmatic stance against Iran and the Muslim world would have sparked tensions and possibly conflict: Iran’s nuclear stance requires delicacy and diplomacy, which are not Romney’s strongest attributes. He stated that military action ‘remains on the table’: an expensive, dangerous and horrific nuclear war would have been a greater risk under Romney, and we should feel a lot safer that he was denied the ‘nuclear button’.

A social catastrophe has also been averted. Under Romney, America would have declined from the pinnacle of western liberal democracy into a country where women could not even have had the most fundamental of human rights. He has attacked Planned Parenthood, abortion access, birth control access, equal pay and more. He is less concerned with controlling the economy than controlling women’s uteruses. Obama turned women, students and the working class against

Campaign

2.5 billion which

@AshleyKirk92 Romney, but let’s be honest: it didn’t need much.

Need we even talk about his personal life? The dog on the car roof for a 12 hour family drive to Ontario; the stories concerning him as a Mormon leader; the business deals at Bain Capital: the man does not seem normal, yet alone intouch or human enough to run a country.

What makes the plutocrat seem alien (apart from his vast swathes of money) is the fact that he fails to see the strangeness in his lifestyle. He admitted to putting his dog on the roof rack, but never realised why it was wrong; he just said he wouldn't do it again because it got him bad press.

Obama is by no means perfect. The economy has grown little under his

'Under Romney, America would have declined from the pinnacle of western liberal democracy.' presidency, despite huge amounts of fiscal spending to encourage growth.

However, he has been restricted by global factors, meaning he has not been able to deliver all of his ‘change[s] we can believe in’. No government can deliver growth whilst burdened with cataclysmic amounts of debt, uneasy stock markets and a buckling European economy. He has inevitably disappointed, but, luckily for him (and us), Romney was worse. In re-electing Obama, America has avoided huge social and international disasters which would have certainly made America, and perhaps also the world, a worse place to live.

9

Airbus 380s

7,152

Aston Martin Vanquishes

2

Amazon Headquarters

This election has been the most expensive presidential campaign in history, and is currently estimated to have cost over $2.5 billion. This money comes from parties, the public ($750 million was raised from donations under $2,500), influential groups (such as super PACs) and other sources that remain ‘anonymous’.

This sounds scary, doesn’t it?

It should sound scary. One of the most important races in the world is controlled by the money of anonymous benefactors that inevitably hold power over the candidates. 1% of the donors gave 60% of the money to the candidates. This mysterious 1% holds a worryingly strong hold on the candidates, holding influence over people and policies. The winning candidate will have to return the favour to their extremely rich benefactors somehow.

The money mostly goes towards advertisements in the battleground, or swing, states. There were 300,000 of them in the last month alone. The question remains, however; is this value for money?

The candidates have spent all of this money and, once again, the election has come down to a few hundred thousand voters in Florida, Ohio and a couple of other swing states. The turnout of the seven most important toss-up swing states equates to 25 million. Thus, the presidential campaign effectively spent $1,000 per tangibly important vote.

www.redbrick.me/news

6 | 5th - 11th October 2012

A library for the 21st century?

University unveils new library designs Ashley Kirk Reporter

@AshleyKirk92

The University of Birmingham has revealed images of the new £37 million library that is planned for the main campus.

The plans, announced last year, would see the current, traditional red brick building demolished and replaced by a building veneered with metal and glass fit. The University website describes the new building as ‘a library for the 21st century.’

A Facebook group entitled 'Save the University of Birmingham's Redbrick Library' was set up after the new library was announced to petition against the demolition of the red brick façade currently at the centre of campus.

Those opposing the plan argue that

Concepts

the University’s traditional routes would be damaged by such a development, and argue that the installation of technology and some refurbishment does not need to result in the demolition of the red brick front.

‘As Birmingham was the original red brick university’, commented Bethany Prottey, a third-year English student and student ambassador, ‘it would be a shame to destroy a key part of our heritage and damage the traditional atmosphere of University Square.’

The University website has said, however, that the new building ‘is a once-ina-lifetime opportunity to transform our campus and ensure that our students, staff, and wider community have a fa1

cility that serves their changing needs, exceeds their expectations, reflects the status of their institution, and is a source of pride for decades to come.’

The new library would cover 13,000 sq metres over six storeys. It would include many of the existing facilities, such as a café and exhibition. It constitutes a flagship development in the University’s application for 21 projects at the Edgbaston campus. The designers of the project, Associated Architects, are also working on the conversion of other buildings such as Aston Webb.

The planners state that it would be a much-needed modernisation and refurbishment to the resource centre, as well as being much more energy efficient, 2

consuming 50 percent less energy. Advocates of the development say that it will bring jobs and competitiveness to the region, providing ‘rich resources’ to students and the public alike.

In a statement on the University website, the Director of Library Services Diane Job commented that, ‘The new library will make greater use of technology to meet the changing needs of students and staff, as well as being a vital resource for local schools and residents.’

The University had committed £50 million towards the combined investment, but this estimate has since been revised down to £37 million. Construction work is expected to start in 2014.

3

Interior 1 Façade and café 2 Café interior 3 Library 4 Artwork courtesy of the University of Birmingham

Opinion

4

James Dolton Comment Editor

@Jamesadolton

I’m sorry to bring this up. I’m sure you are really busy. But we need to talk about the new library. You’ve likely now seen the drawings, and it would seem the rumours are true. Not the somewhat spurious ones about the library ‘sinking’ like some monolithic brick ship under the weight of all of it’s tomes, which remains unproven albeit bandied around as gospel truth at every Fab. The one that says we’ve decided to replace the admittedly creaking old building with a ludicrous contraption that appears to share more physical characteristics with a cheap 1980s imagining of a TV alien spaceship than it does to literally any other building on campus.

I’m all for modernisation and advancement: the current library’s masses of plug sockets still don’t cover for it’s lack of seating or the masses of books locked away in storage. It’s also nice to see University money being spent upon something tangibly and universally useful to its students.

However this article appears in Redbrick Newspaper. We are the original “Red Brick” University. It’s bizarre that such a vast oversight has been made in ruining the style and ethos of campus and particularly Chancellor’s Court for no readily apparent reason.

www.redbrick.me/comment | 7

Scottish Independence

FOR AGAINST

Westminster acts primarily on the behalf of England. It takes Scotland into account secondarily and so does not have its best interests in mind.

Scottish people vote Tory in very small numbers: only one Conservative MP has been sent to Westminster from Scotland in 2001, 2005 and 2010, yet decisions are made every day on their behalf by a party they did not vote in. Westminster consider Scotland to be just another constituency, when it is in fact a country, and has an independent national heritage, in its own right.

by Sophie Tollet

Just because the union between Scotland and England has worked for 300 years doesn’t mean it should continue.

Relations between the two countries are breaking down anyway, as the idea of Britishness is weakening.

Scotland already has its own parliament and makes its own decisions regarding health and education yet is not responsible for its own fiscal powers and economic strategy. Semi-independence is illogical and unsatisfactory; Scotland is already half way to independence and so should go all the way At the moment, Scotland is unable to make decisions regarding its defence or foreign policy. The UK invasion of Iraq, for instance, was opposed by many people in Scotland and yet the Scottish Parliament was not consulted. This issue is relevant when it comes to the presence of the Trident nuclear weapons on the Clyde in Scotland; the Scottish should have the power to decide whether they have nuclear weapons present in their country or not.

The examples we see in other countries; other small countries such as Norway and the Republic of Ireland, are successful. Scotland could become equally as successful if it were allowed to take its part in the world.

Unlike other oil-rich nations, Britain has spent its hydrocarbon inheritance as it was created. Norway, on the other hand, with a five million population similar to Scotland, has not and now has a national pension of over £300 billion. The North Sea has oil reserves for the next 30-40 years and the benefits of this should go to Scotland. An independent Scotland – which would have a 90 per cent geographical share of the North Sea oil and gas – would create an oil fund which could be invested during good financial times and spent to counteract economic downturns.

British economic growth is increasingly about a narrow segment of society, concentrated around London and the South East. If Britain is not willing to address the social problems in Scotland, (one in four children live in hardship and Scotland has the worst life expectancy levels in Western Europe) we need an independent Scotland who will.

The principle of self-determination. This is a key term in modern international law and it states that the people of a country have the right to choose their sovereignty and political status without external influence.

Scotland would have more influence on world affairs by becoming independent. For instance, Scotland currently has only six MEPs, whereas the Republic of Ireland has 13. And although every EU member state is represented at the EU Council of Europe, Scotland doesn't have a dedicated representative because it is a part of the UK. Currently, Scottish interests such as fishing and agriculture are poorly represented in Brussels by UK ministers.

If they vote for it. Following the signing of the 'Edinburgh agreement' on Monday, a referendum on Scottish independence will take place in 2014.

If the majority of Scottish people vote for independence they should have independence.

Westminster is an institution with proportionate representatives from all nations in the UK. It legislates on big issues, such as defence and foreign affairs, for the entire UK, but has devolved much of its power to give Scotland extensive power already.

Furthermore, the gap between public spending in Scotland (£40bn) and revenue raised there (£27bn), as well as the fact that they couldn’t have bailed out RBS or HBOS on their own, are very good reasons why Scotland should stick to the Union.

by Ashley Kirk

The idea of ‘Britishness’ has never been stronger. In the year of the Diamond Jubilee and the success of Team GB at their home Olympic Games, polls have shown that there is record support of the union.

The current scenario, namely the West Lothian question, actually gives Scotland more say. Its MPs can vote in UK matters (which includes England), whilst also having extensive powers at home. English MPs cannot vote on solely Scottish matters, whereas Scottish representatives have a say in two legislative bodies.

Nuclear weapons are held in Scotland, and any move of independence would involve severe changes and reductions in both countries’ forces. In a democracy, even if certain areas vote against a measure, the majority rules. Scotland would have to form and sustain an entirely new force; no easy task. What kind of military strength would Scotland have? Could they afford nuclear or air power? Would many of the current Scottish battalions have to be disbanded, making many people redundant?

The Republic of Ireland, a small nation that has historically resisted the Union, has recently been bailed out by the EU and is in worse economic woes than the UK. Economically, Scotland is better sticking with its stronger partner.

So the location of much of the UK’s oil is in waters geographically located near Scotland. But you cannot indefinitely support a nation on oil, which seems to be core to the SNP’s plans.

Scotland gets a lot back in return from the Union, if it wants to see it like that: it currently receives around £40 billion from the UK in subsidies a year.

The UK buffers Scotland, and helps Scotland maintain its social welfare. An independent Scotland would have to take some UK debt, which in June stood at £1.0383 trillion. It can either be partitioned on the basis of population, in which case Scotland, which holds about 8.5 per cent of the UK population, would take about 8.5 per cent of the debt (£88.3 billion) – or by GDP, in which case Scotland which produces about 6 per cent of UK GDP (which is notably lower than their population).

Scotland already is an incredibly influential nation in the UK. It is to a large extent that Scotland already has a degree of self-determination, and their ability to do many things would actually be decreased if Scotland were to go it alone.

Smaller nations actually have less influence in the UN; they have less people, less money, less power, smaller armies. The UK is a big player on the global stage; it is in the G8 and other key, powerful groups. Independence would see this status become uncertain, decreasing both nation’s influence. I should also note that a weaker UK would mean a weaker Scotland: an independent Scotland would still be tied to the UK economy through trade, geography and diplomacy.

You cannot ask a population to vote on a matter in a referendum and then say ‘no’ anyway.

However, have the Scots really thought it through? Scotland would have to reorganise and replace every piece of infrastructure, justice or institution that it currently takes for granted. Most would be substantially smaller and less effective than at present.

Photo by Charlotte Wilson

10| 19th - 25th October 2012

www.redbrick.me/comment

Death of Originality Commentator Ashley Kirk talks about everything that has already been said.

In the study of literature, many would argue that style and form are the only things one can differentiate between.

The actual content, the words being said, have inevitably already been said. Over the course of humanity’s relatively minute history, our predecessors have written and spoken about virtually everything, leaving very little room for o r i g i n a l i t y .

This leads to a little bit of a problem, particularly when most universities around the country require theses to ‘show evidence of originality and make a contribution to knowledge.’ It is part of the research culture of the sciences; every scientific result should be an original contribution to knowledge. However, it has spread to other disciplines in the Arts, where arguments and conclusions are also meant to be original.

Thus the undergraduate is a hopelessly optimistic character. He or she, confident in his or her intellect and originality, will find it hard to accept that they will rarely come up with something

original. More likely, he or she will, to use Virginia Woolf’s metaphorical words (the fact that I am quoting this ironically proving my lack of originality), ‘oar his boat through the reflections [of the river and then] they close again, completely, as if he had never been.’ The sooner we understand that we are very unlikely to produce any work that says anything new, the sooner we can get on with our lives and produce the best replicas or tributes that we are able to make.

Of course, some would argue that there will always be more to say.

Technological and scientific breakthroughs will smash through barriers of current intellectual capacity, expanding our knowledge, vocabulary and topical discussions. William Shakespeare, for example, would not have bragged to Ben Jonson about his recent high-score on Angry Birds, on his new iPad 2, or moan to his ‘civil partner’ that there’s a powercut, preventing him from tweeting to his followers. But these are hardly the most virtuous, stimulating topics; perhaps all

Freddie Herzog. Now that the deal has been signed on the Scottish independence referendum, the claws can fully come out on both sides of the argument. Cameron and Salmond will both fight tooth and nail for what they believe in and hopefully the result will be a resounding no. Scotland simply would not survive on its own, because it will not be allowed into the EU as a sole entity, meaning it will eventually come crawling back to the rest of Britain, begging to be allowed back into the Union. It is not Alex Salmond’s pigheadedness that surprises me however, but the fact that the English, Welsh and Irish are not allowed a say on this, despite it affecting them the most.

SCOTLAND

James Dolton. I'm bored of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Not bored of it's turgid writing style, tedious subject matter and idiotic control over it's tittering e-reader buyers.

Not bored of it's fierce and infuriating implicit suggestion that sex is something that can only be enjoyed if you have been having sex with someone for long enough to have grown bored of having sex with them. Not even bored of the fact that it forces me to occasionally think about the repugnant terminology of "Mummy Porn" Just bored of people talking about it in a way that makes my pernickety self want to read it's undoubtedly terrible span simply so as to more accurately criticise it. So can we stop doing that? Is that cool? Cool.

ENTERTAINMENT

of the worthw h i l e subjects have all been mined already for those ores of wholesome, useful, original knowledge. Still, it is no easy task to write original content. Even now, I am writing about a topic that has been written about and discussed for several centuries. The best many can hope to achieve is repeating what others have already said, and reference it to avoid the minefields of plagiarism. Or, if one is particularly astute, perhaps an innovative combination of someone else’s idea with your own could present something in a new light. Originality is mostly now constrained to an audience perception rather than the creator's conception.

We cannot help but to plagiarise.

News News Views EXTREMISM Patrick McGee. Malala Yousafzai, 14, was flown to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham this week after being shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan.

Malala’s attackers are enemies of equality in education, and this assault reaffirms a long-established commitment on the part of religious extremists to the destruction of free and equal civilisation. It is necessary to question the strength of beliefs that insist upon assaulting children, and the value of faith must be challenged whenever it restricts learning. Malala’s courage demonstrates that religious oppressors have much to fear from the proponents of universal intellectual rights, whose energy and curiosity refuses to be extinguished.

M y pointlessly pessimistic point is that one is unlikely to ever be original. The multiplicity of great minds has mastered the main, important subjects of our time, and we can merely study, learn, admire and repeat the expertly formulated theories of the great thinkers of our time. We have missed the boat of innovation; our fore-bearers have done it for us. And hence, we cannot be original, and even if we think we are saying something new, we are probably just repeating something already mentioned, thought or written by Newton, Shakespeare, Einstein, Plato, Watt or many others that I do not have the time or knowledge to fittingly acknowledge.

Francesca Seabourne. The US elections are hurtling towards November the sixth with gusto following a strong second debate from both candidates. In the wake of the news that Mitt Romney intends to arm Syrian rebels if he wins on November 4th, the election is shaping up to be a decisive moment, not just for Americans but for the global community. This risky foreign policy strategy, that is sure to escalate violence in the country, is a complete turnaround from Obama’s strategy of keeping a low profile. Are we about to witness a return to a Republican White House with an aggressive foreign policy agenda? I, for one, certainly hope not.

USA

Owen Earwicker. There was a time when if you needed warmth, you ventured out in the bitter cold and coppiced the local copse for the fire. Now a log fire is the preserve of the Marks & Sparks middle class. The rise in energy bills was inevitable, and it took guts for Npower and British Gas to admit it last week. For millions of concerned families, and in particular the elderly, government legislation to force energy companies to offer the lowest tariff will be welcome. But the government is soft-peddling the real issue. It's time for some genuine investment in clean, renewable energy. It would not only make energy cheaper in the long term, but also stimulate much needed growth.

ENERGY