Seren - 207 - 2009/10 - Freshers Issue

Bangor Students’ Union’s English Language Newspaper

ISSN 1755-7585

Issue No. 207

Freshers’ Issue 2009

THE FRESHERS’ WEEK BALL GOES FESTIVAL!

INSIDE: WILLOW DOES NEW YORK!

WE CHAT WITH THE MYSTERY JETS THE DEATH OF...

By Emily Collins & Jo Caulfield

I

t’s back… and this time, it’s going to be big! The freshers’ week ball has returned; revamped and rebranded for 2009.

Organised by your very own Students’ Union, prepare to witness Time, Academi, the Curved Lounge and the Cocktail Bar as you’ve never seen them before.

For one night only, the Union’s venues are to be transformed into a quadrangle of spectacular variety. Each of the four arenas will have something different to offer. Time / Amser is transformed into the Urban Knights arena, playing host to MOBO winner Lethal Bizzle. After gracing the stages at Reading and Leeds festival this summer, this Ghanaian rapper is making his way to Bangorbury’s main arena shortly before

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE SPORTS BOTT

embarking on his UK-wide tour. Urban Knights also features the exciting and varied grooves of Dr Meaker. This guy is all about blending genres and his music features touches of drum & bass, reggae, ska, soul and even elements of jazz. This is the man who has been described as ‘Bristol’s answer to Mark Ronson’ and we can’t wait to see him in Bangor.

The Curved Lounge is Electro City: a room of hard-hitting electronic beats, with our very own DJ Mouse paying homage to those artists who have shaped Electro into what is it today. Keep an eye (or an ear?) out for the sounds of more recent artists, too, like Digitalism, Erol Alkan, Soulwax, Tiga and expect to hear some indie alternative favorites too, skillfully mixed with heavy bass lines and high pitched melodies.

There’ll be a vibrant and exciting atmosphere in Academi, which plays host to The

Village Disco, an eclectic act of dancers and DJs, bringing you their own brand of cheesy tunes. These guys have rocked up the likes of Glastonbury, Bestival and Isle of Wight, but we reckon they’re most excited about our very own Bangorbury.

Community Music Wales have kindly volunteered to fill the cocktail lounge – or ‘Pick’n’Mix’ room – with their own style of music and entertainment. They’ve been keeping fairly quiet about what exactly this entails... so make sure you’re at the front of the queue of curiosity (behind us, of course).

However, Bangorbury ’09 isn’t just about the acts: the production of the event has been in full swing since July and your Students’ Union is undergoing some pretty impressive transformations. This amazing effort has been down to the brilliant production team; Amaze & Amuse, who have

been helped by a team of student volunteers; the hard work has certainly paid off.

Urban Knights will feature many enormous art installations, including a huge urban chandelier; stencil graffiti; video displays and even a full-scale car crash sculpture. The arena will also feature live skateboard artists, performing for your lovely selves, in the venue itself! Special thanks must go to H.L.Motors in Llandudno Junction for supplying materials for several of the art pieces. We’ll leave you guessing as to what those art pieces might be…

Electro City in the Curved Lounge is going to become a pulsating and energetic space with UV lights, a cinema screen, wire sculptures, a television installation piece and Bangor-made cityscape. You might find that sparks fly when you get a glimpse of who’s hanging out up there… [continued inside]

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2

EDITORIAL

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Freshers’ Issue 2009

Contributors: Stacey Gannon Heather Torrance Sion Wyn Laszek Emily Collins Carl James Tom Picton Patrick Ward Ben Alsford Lexy Hampton Barry Moon Xanthe Larcombe Willow Manuel Marion Turner Kelly Freear Battleship Williams Gemma Ellis Dwight McCarthy Jez Harvery Hazel Manuel Anthony Welch Joe Beardwood Liam Fitzpatrick Illtud Rhodri Ioan Jones Andy Cochrane Will Faithfull Photography: Aaron Wiles Dan Turner Special thanks to: The Sabbs Fiona Bradley Proof reading:

Spencer George Emily Collins Sharyn Williams John Jackson Andy John Tom Hecht

Hello readers!

Whilst working on Se ren last year I witnes sed many a last minu eyed editorial being te, sleep deprived, ble knocked up on this ve ary ry computer the mor issue is no different. ning we go to print.

Our team have work This ed flat out to bring yo (that’s a lot) Freshers u Seren’s first 28 pa ’ Week Issue so before ge you spill tea on it, us or newspaper a flatm e it for hamster bedd ate’s bedroom with it; ing give it a good once ov it. Be you a lecturer, er – a lot has gone int lounger, student or sa o bb feel free to get in touc (editor@seren.bangor. h with some feedback ac.uk) – I’d love to he ar from you.

My highlights are the welcome return of W illo w Does, Aaron’s Hail hilarious play on word and Fail feature, the s that I take full cred it for on page 25 and th official favourite shee e appearance of Sere p. I’ll leave you to find n’s the last one yourself.

You may be intereste d to know the music th at has gotten us throug issue. I can tell you h this extremely busy Seren would be noth ing without Simian Mo Huge, Beyoncé and Al bil e Disco’s Audacity of exandra’s X Factor pe rformance of Listen an Men album by The Go d the entire Music Fo ssip. r Last of all (thanks fo r staying with me th is far) I’d like to than late nights, tea runs, k the Seren Team fo 5 song shuffles and th r the e many times we had all and I hope you en to hug it out. I love yo joy what we’ve done. u

Peace, love & Redb ull Georgia Xx ps. I don’t look like th at all the time, only du ring Rhythm Is A Danc er

THE SEREN TEAM Editor News Features Music Design Team:

Georgia Mannion Liz Stevens Stef Black Aaron Wiles Dan Turner Jo Caulfield

RECYCLE Here at Seren, there’s nothing we love more than Mother Nature and d’you know what she loves? Recycling! After you’ve finished with us, can you put us in your blue box and make sure we get made into something else? Thanks very much.

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NEWS

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Seren Loves Bangor...

“For it to be successful we need students to back Love Bangor and remember to take pride in their city”

C

hanges are rife this academic year in the way that your library/NUS card functions. Your joint card will no longer be thus; instead, you will receive a library card that is just that – a library card. In order to reap the benefits an NUS card provides a student, an NUS extra card will have to be purchased for £10, which most stores now accept in place of the traditional NUS card. This provides the benefits the original NUS provided (such as discounts in leading stores) with extra stores participating in the scheme. The drawback for Bangor students, however, was that the stores that operated alongside NUS extra were not to be found in Bangor; with scarce little of the national stores taking up home in the city.

The Students Union, alongside local businesses, h a s , howe ver, devised a scheme to ensure Bangor students do not miss out. When an NUS extra card is purchased, the Love Bangor product is automatically added to the card; this addition is completely free. The idea behind the scheme is that local businesses sign up to the scheme, of fe r i ng the 8,000 plus students’ discounts on purchases, so that they are not left out of pocket by the NUS extra card.

The ethos behind the scheme is to emphasise the positive results that can be achieved when students work alongside their local community, and the Union will be working closely alongside the University and Gwynedd Council to achieve these aims.

The Love Bangor card, however, is merely a small bite of the apple. Love Bangor’s aims expand beyond this; aiming to integrate the two sectors culturally and financially. The scheme aims to promote a student’s need to take pride and care in the city, by encouraging local volunteering, being a considerate neighbour, disposing of waste responsibly, and various other ideas. Such projects have already been implemented by the Union; students volunteering to assist with the cleanup of St. Mary’s Church, and the Sabbatical Officers cleaning the notice board alongside Yellow Pub. Such projects are set to be just the tip of the iceberg, with many more planned for the academic year.

The scheme has received backing from the University via Gwenan Hine.

Regarding the Love Bangor card she comment-

ed: ‘It is hoped that both freshers and returning students will buy the Love Bangor NUS Extra card and enjoy the many discounts and promotions offered by local Bangor retailers.’

Her views were echoed by Union Deputy President Spencer George, who is spearheading the campaign on behalf of the Union: ‘Love Bangor is a huge project that we hope will help promote the positive contribution students make to the Bangor and North Wales community. For it to be successful however we need students to back Love Bangor and remember to take pride in their city. Whether it be volunteering for environmental projects, supporting Bangor FC or being a considerate neighbour, it all counts! We also hope that students will take advantage of the ‘Love Bangor’ card and make the most of the local discounts that will be on offer throughout the academic year.

However, this is only the start of what is a long term commitment to improving local relations. Hopefully future Sabbatical teams can improve the campaign year upon year to further its success.’

The cost of the card can therefore be reaped back in a matter of weeks, not including local dis counts, which are set to be impressive, with a number of local retailers already signed up to the scheme.

On another level, however, the scheme is set to improve tense relations between town and gown; students creating visibly positive results for the community, and working alongside those who also call Bangor home.

Such a scheme can only bear positive results for the city and for the students, and its effect will be interesting to monitor. There is only one thing left to ask… how much do you Love Bangor?

...do you?

COMPETITION

Liz Stevens

FRESHERS’ WEEK BALL GOES FESTIVAL ctd.

Grab yourself a Love Bangor badge at Serendipity and get a picture of it somewhere exciting. We know you’re outgoing but please, nothing rude.

There may even be somthing in it for you at the end... Send your pictures to features@seren.bangor.ac.uk before 2nd October and you could be in for a right treat!

The Village Disco room is essentially the festival centre of the evening. Expect flowers, foliage, peace, love and other festival-like things (only you can go to the loo without queuing for days). Wellies will be thumping (rather than squelching) this quasi-field until the early hours and the best part is you’ll be able to walk home without sinking into a foot of mud afterwards! We’ll also be getting a visit from Get Dressed Up; a travelling band of artists who haul a massive box of costumes with

them. Going anywhere near them will result in a fantastic transformation into… well, who knows?

Community Music Wales will be serenading a more chilled-out festival area, minus the bonfire. You will be able to perch yourself on a hay bale within a colourful tee-pee to listen to the sounds of Wales’ leading music charity.

The dress code for this is festival fancy dress, so bring your mud-splattered wellingtons fresh from Leeds / Bestival / Creamfields

/ Glastonbury, complete with a straw hat, muddy knees, fake moustache – it’s entirely up to you! The sillier the better, your costumes will make the atmosphere even bigger.

Tickets have been on sale since the 14th of September and the rumours are that they’re selling out fast!

One thing’s for sure, it’ll be a night the likes of which Bangor students have never seen before and Seren will be there reporting every detail!

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NEWS

I

t is common knowledge that Bangor is one of the safest university cities in Britain today; indeed, one of the key selling features at the University’s disposal is this very fact. There have, however, in recent months been a spate of incidents in Bangor that could threaten to put this fact in jeopardy. Is anti-social behaviour in Bangor getting worse?

Seren brought you reports of some local issues throughout the last academic year; including mugging and burglary on students and their properties. This summer, however, has seen a number of feature incidents which have only served to apparently heighten the problem.

Among these issues is frequent antisocial behaviour in and around the popular Roman Camp site. It has recently been reported that police are concerned about more incidents of groups drinking, camping, and in addition, causing trouble at the site, which is a popular site for walkers, visitors, students and locals alike. Police are concerned about the amount of litter and noise being created by such groups, with a number of residents in the Garth area of the city echoing these views; some fearing for their safety as groups become increasingly rowdy, leaving debris, bottles and glass at the site.

The hope was that such incidents would deplete once students returned home for the summer vacation; it appears, however, that these incidents have only continued,

as the problem seems to be shared equally amongst groups of students and locals.

Sgt Bill Coppack, speaking to local media in August about the issue, called the persistent trouble a ‘thorn in the side for the police’, calling the problem ‘one that will never go away’ due to the size of the area, but stating that something needs to be done, and that the concern of residents was one shared by the police.

this is the rule? According to Inspector Richie Green, it would appear to be the latter.

Inspector Green quotes statistics collected by a Bangor University student alongside North Wales police staff and analysts as the basis for the conclusion.

The statistics relate to crime committed against solely university students, and provide breakdown figures for each particular

Trouble has not been limited to Roman Camp. Although Seren cannot provide further details about particular incidents at the time of writing due to such trouble being sub-judicy issues, pending further and ongoing investigation/prosecution, there have been several incidents in the city, including trouble within and outside Time nightclub, and persistent and recurring issues within licensed establishments in the city.

It would appear therefore, that there has been a well-publicised increase in antisocial, and perhaps even violent behaviour within Bangor. But is this actually the case, or has increased media coverage of such incidents given people the impression that

type of crime. In 2005/2006, there were a total of 103 incidents against students, including 29 incidents of violent crime, 7 occurrences of dwelling burglary, and 15 incidents of theft.

By the academic year 2007/08, this figure has fallen to 94, and by the end of this year (2008/09), this figure had dropped steeply to 70. There is therefore a 30% drop in crimes against students on the previous year. It is also worthy of note, as Inspector Green points out, that the figures fail to show that Bangor’s student population has been steadily increasing over the past for years; as such, there are in actuality fewer student victims than ever before.

There has been however, an increase

Figures fail to show that the number of students has been steadily increasing, so in actuality there are fewer student victims than ever before

Dog Bites Man...

S

hock has resounded through student Bangor recently, in response to a story published in a local newspaper criticising students. There seems little need to provide the name and headline of said article; a swift search of the websites of the local papers reveal that, unsurprisingly, many articles and letters attack and criticise students for the mess they create, the noise they make and the general shoddiness of the lives they lead.

To a degree the position of the papers can be empathised with; they are simply responding to the legions and legions of local and county councillors who appear all too eager it seems to knock the student inhabitants of Bangor. A possible explanation may be that they are deflecting the criticism they receive almost as often as students do, but one wonders how long students can absorb condemnation without a need for the balance to be redressed.

Students in Bangor contribute thousands of hours a year to local volunteering projects and community groups, put on many excellent shows and concerts throughout the year that all are able to attend, and inject much needed cash into the

of 3% of incidents of petty anti-social behaviour on the previous year; this number, however, considers all Bangor residents, not just student victims. Inspector Green reiterates the perception is that it would appear that there has been a dramatic increase in such behaviour due to the high profile nature of occurrences; he states his desire, however, for such incidents to remain ‘the exception rather than routine.’

It seems that crime detection and prevention is not limited to just Bangor; the acting North Wales Chief Constable using his departing blog to reiterate North Wales as one of the safest places in the country, using Home Office and British Crime Survey data listing to establish that North Wales has the second lowest risk of household crime, such as burglary, and personal crime, such as assault.

Many students have spoken of their desire to see more police on foot patrol, and more general police presence in areas not as popular with the general public. Worthy of note, however, is that there appears to have been some response to such events; a tightening up of procedures, and police strenuously ensuring all licensed premises adhere to conditions imposed upon them.

It would seem, therefore, that despite protestations to the contrary, Bangor remains one of the safest student cities in Britain: a fact that can be proved.

Liz Stevens

...or students criticised by local council

The dog is for illustration purposes only, and is not being used by the local media against students. local economy, ensuring that Bangor has rance about the correct procedures. This retained much more local charm and at- also begs the question, taking into account tractiveness than some of our neighbours the noise that the pubs and clubs that serve along the coast, who seem to have sold out us create, how often is it that you read of a their identity in order to attract the tourist student arrested for drug dealing or acts of pound. violence? Whilst both are thankfully rare A fact that cannot be denied, however, in the city, it is even rarer that it is a student is the mess that students are responsible who gets arrested for these acts. Could it for prior to the summer vacation. It must be argued that the worst that can be said be pointed out, however, that a house of 15 for the majority of students is that they are students is inevitably going to create more noisy and messy; this would appear to be waste than a family of 5; it is simply igno- the case.

The majority of Bangor’s problems it seems stem from the lack of anything to do.

The recent plans announced by the Council on freshening up Bangor seem largely cosmetic. No plans for a cinema, bowling alley or anything else to provide a sense of society. At present, almost all social aspects in Bangor that don’t revolve around drinking are provided by the University. It must also be pointed out that in response to the criticisms regarding student waste, both the Students Union and University have offered advice and guidelines to students respectively, with tips on how to be a good neighbour and the correct way to depart for the summer.

This once again begs the question: why aren’t students and locals working together, clamouring and badgering the councils (both Bangor and Gwynedd) to provide more than streets paved in slate with the history of Bangor inscribed on it? Where are the plans for a proper community centre? Where are the plans for a cinema? The councils need to give all the residents of Bangor something to restore their pride.

Jez Harvey

BANGOR IN BRIEF

Is Anti-Social Behaviour in Bangor on the rise?

BANGOR IN BRIEF

Bangor Behaving Badly

BANGOR IN BRIEF

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Student Finance Chaos

Problems have hammered students as they apply for their finance for the forthcoming year. At the time of writing there were rumoured to be over 100,000 unprocessed Student Loan Company applications, and students have expressed extreme dismay and anger over the ‘shambles’. Students who have yet to receive funding should contact Bangor University directly for advice; most universities have contingency plans and emergency funding in place.

Bangor Pride Takes to Task Untidy Landlords

Gwynedd Council, alongside the Bangor Pride initiative, are tackling the problem of untidy properties on College Road and Glanrafon Hill.

Private landlords are told of the need to tackle small but vital maintenance issues, and pressure is being levelled for resolve. This coincides with the forthcoming ‘Bangor Pride blitz’ on the area, which will tackle unkempt properties in the areas.

Greener Parking Permits Cause a Stir

2009/10 marks the year that Bangor University’s new environmental and sustainability policy, officially signed in December 2008, is set to be launched. The policy calls for, alongside other aims, to attempt to reduce the amount of traffic caused by the university. The route taken by the University, however, has caused some controversy.

University parking permits have been raised for students from £10 to £25, although this does not guarantee the holder a space. This is set to cause problems for mature and commuter students, who have no alternative means of travelling to Bangor and must drive, often parking in residential areas due to lack of space.

A New Season of Entertainment planned for Bangor

Bangor University’s new Arts Development Officer has announced plans for a full and exciting activity period spanning autumn 2009 to spring 2010. The scheme, titled PONTIO (which means to bridge in Welsh) aims to bridge the gap between the University and the people of Bangor. Plans include live music for any taste, circus acts, and stand up comedy.

Further details will soon be released in a brochure, and further information can be found from the soon-to-belaunched Pontio.info.

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UNION

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Who you gonna call...Nightline! talk to the same volunteer each time, you can be sure that they will support you and won’t judge anything you say.

Our friendly service is open from 8pm to 8am every night of term- so make a note of the number: 01248 362121 and feel free to use it anytime for information or listening.

We listen, not lecture Union assures more money for counselling

I

t became apparent towards the end of the last academic year that one of the biggest issues affecting the welfare of students in Bangor was the underfunding of the University Counselling service.

Universities like ours, with a student population of roughly 10,000, have an average of 3 full time counsellors. Bangor University’s counselling service had just 1.7 counsellors.

Demand for the service had risen by over 40% in the 07/08 academic year and the number of students needing access to the service had continued to rise in 08/09.

Because of this, students had to wait an average of 19 days to see a counsellor and this was expected to rise.

The Students’ Union, with support from Student Services and Local GPs continually reiterated the necessity for an increase in funding for the service. Fortunately, it was announced at a recent University Council meeting that the service would be given a significant increase in funding.

This was due, in no small means, to the constant raising of awareness of this issue by the sabbatical team, bringing it to the attention of senior university management.

Deputy President Spencer George commented, “We are absolutely thrilled that the

University has acted upon our calls to provide extra funding for an extremely important front line service. We hope that this extra funding will go some way to alleviating the pressures it was facing.”

The additional funding is expected to be used to increase the number of counselling hours per week to help clear the back log of students wanting access to the service and also to increase the counselling hours at strategic times during the academic year when demand usually increases.

Nightline received almost 1000 calls last academic year and are planning to plaster posters all over campus this year so that everyone knows who to call when they need to chat, whether it be 8pm or 3am. However, Nightline could not operate without its committed and enthusiastic volunteers who donate a total of 5000 hours each year.

Our volunteers are awesome and give so much by anonymously helping their fellow students.

If you’re a good listener and are prepared to provide a non-judgemental listening ear to other students while you’re at Uni then volunteering for Nightline might be for you! Nightline gives you: that fuzzy feeling that only volunteering to help others provides, the opportunity to meet loads of new people and have fun at all the social events we’ve got planned and as if that

wasn’t enough… you’ll learn heaps of new skills and be able to gain Millennium Volunteering hours which look great on your CV. Nightline asks in return for a few nights a semester of your time to volunteer with us. We provide all volunteers with comprehensive training (that continues throughout the year) to ensure that our volunteers are ready for anything!

If you would like to find out more about becoming a Nightline volunteer then all you have to do is come along to our Serendipity stall (in the curved lounge) or drop us an email at: nightline@undeb.bangor.ac.uk.

Nightline only has two volunteer intakes a year so don’t miss out on your chance to get involved- get in touch with us today!

By Xanthe Larcombe

LOVE BANGOR – GET EXTRA The NUS EXTRA card has always given great discounts with selected retailers nationally and online.

Now LOVE BANGOR extends those benefits with exclusive local deals including: ♥ Monthly special offers at Subway ♥ Discounted entry to Time and Academi ♥ Weekly promotions in Basement ♥ 2 for 1 entry to Bangor City FC home games ♥ 10% discount* at Revolution Cycles and RMB Hair Salon ♥ 5% discount* at The Muse bookshop ♥ and 20% off Love Bangor T-shirts at the SU Shop

www.bangorstudents.com/lovebangor

* selected products and services

C

oming to University is an exciting time for most of us filled with the prospect of amazing parties, a chance to make some awesome friends, and freedom like you have never experienced before! And of course a chance to study a subject you love. But let’s be realistic Uni does have its daunting points as well- when all you need is a friendly person to give you that useful number you’ve been searching for, remind you of that all important exam location, or just an empathetic voice to listen to you at 3amthat’s where Nightline comes in!

Nightline is a confidential, nonjudgmental information and listening phone line, that is run by students for you. Nightline has around 60 volunteers who have been specially selected for their confidentiality and listening skills, so while we can’t say you will

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COMMENT

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

The Green Machine Eco friendly for all the wrong reasons?

LGBT column by Liam Fitzpatrick

B

efore writing this article, I was drawn to the Independent’s yearly pink list with its usual collection of out and proud stars attempting to claim their last shimmer of limelight from their everfading fame (Ian ‘H’ Watkins for example). Some stars deserve their place on the list, Sir Ian Mckellen for example. This is not only for his years of campaigning but also for his enormous talent on the stage and big screen. His endless backing of the Stonewall charity and condemnation of Section 28 has helped shape the gay community that we know today. The gay ‘scene’ has gone through so many changes; from being hidden in underground nightclubs like Stonewall to being ‘out and proud’ and now to the internationally acclaimed pride events; but where does this leave Bangor University’s Unity group?

Unity Bangor is the University’s LGBT group which brings you your monthly Fruit Salad on a Tuesday night in Academi (just thought I’d drop that subtle hint there). Unity strives to cover every camp (get it?) within the gay community; whether you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, a queen, queer, a don’t-know or don’t-care. Unity offers the ‘out and proud’ and

the ‘not so loud please’ a support system, a community and most importantly a voice.

Unity aims not to scream from the top of the Union building ‘we’re here, we’re queer’, but to continue the hard work that has been achieved in creating equality over the last 30 years. It would be fair to say we are nearly there; same sex partnerships are legal, Section 28 has been abolished and same sex couples can now have children together. Whatever label you fall under, we are all struggling for the same thing; acceptance and equality. Unity aims to keep fighting for full equality and condemn discrimination against lgbt people, at the same time as trying to break down barriers between the ‘gay scene’ and the rest of the world.

Bangor Unity looks forward to welcoming everyone to our meetings and events; including Fruit Salad, our attitude free night once a month in Academi (have I mentioned that yet?). Our Unity guides and committee will be roaming around Ffriddoedd and Normal site during freshers’ week; if you see one of us say hello and we’ll take you for a drink and a chat ... we don’t bite!!

I

n the last 5 years or so, the Green Agenda has become fashionable.

Gone are the days of Guardian reading hippies being the only ones to recycle. Health food shops are not alone in stocking environmentally friendly washing up liquid and The CoOperative Bank can no longer claim to be the only financial institution that offsets their carbon emissions. At first glance, this has to be a good thing.

Finally, people are listening to the once marginalised environmentalists and really thinking about how much their actions are costing our planet… or are they?

Like most things in life, once something becomes popular it loses a lot of its credibility. The Man and his Machine eat up all of the authenticity of the person, place or thing and use he/she or it to their advantage. This is exactly what has happened with being green. Everywhere you turn, someone is holding a tote bag, proclaiming to be the greenest thing since the giant off the sweetcorn advert. Great! No more plastic shopping bags, woo hoo!

This exclaimation of joy is slightly tainted, however when you notice most people’s tote bags are merely another advertising tool for the biggest supermarkets or some giant banking company.

The main problem with all this, however is how much complete nonsense huge corporations push through their PR companies in an attempt to appear more green (because that’s what the consumer wants these days: a clear conscience).

Take Tesco for example… this year; the giant, supermarket company

increased its carbon dioxide emissions by almost 400,000 tonnes.

Pretty enormous dent in the o-zone there guys and girls, but lo and behold, the company claims to be “setting an example” on climate change. Pretty hilarious claim in itself, but check out how they substantiate this fiction…

Tesco’s latest corporate responsibility report admits to an 8.6% increase in emissions in 1 year, but

“Bad news for the Indian villages where Coca Cola bottling plants are emptying wells”

says that it increased its “floor space” by 14%, so actually its carbon intensity “per square foot of net sales area” was down by 4.7%. Is anyone else confused by this? What exactly does floor space have to do with anything?

Perhaps “per tonne of groceries sold”; “per sweatshop worker” or even” per persecuted tea leaf picker” would be more appropriate? The list could go on.

Another example then (I know you’re dying for more) comes from the consumerists favourite; Coca Cola. For the last 18 months or so, the company has been pledging to the world that it is going “water neutral”. Sounds great but what does the phrase mean?

Apparently, something similar to: “we have pledged to replace every drop of water we use in our beverages and

their production: to achieve balance in communities and in nature and replenish the water we use”. Brilliant, so where’s the rub? Well, Coke isn’t promising to be water neutral wherever it operates. Bad news then, for the Indian villages where Coca Cola bottling plants are emptying wells (yep, that’s right guys, Google that one!) Instead, it will “replenish” that water somewhere else. How is not so clear. Perhaps they’ll make it rain more.

It’s curious that advertising standards don’t seem to apply to environmental adverts. The green claims coming from corporations can be absurdly general; nearly everything we buy these days seems to be “sustainably sourced” or “environmentally friendly”. One brand of bottled water says its product contains “300% more oxygen” (hmm).

Sometimes, though, green claims are crazily specific. Virgin Trains declares: “Our Pendolino trains emit 76% less CO2 than cars or domestic flights.”

But which cars, which flights, and how full are the trains? Earlier in this year Renault branded its Twingo model an “eco” car and pictured it with leaves blowing out of its tailpipe, even though its emissions are among the worst for a car of its size. And so it goes on…

I’m sure you get the idea by now.

Essentially, big corporations are taking us all for a ride with their faux-green claims and phony environmentally friendly schemes. Watch out, students of Bangor, or you might start to believe the hype.

By Jo Caulfield

Money.

That’s what I want.

Does the debt generation have another choice?

W

elcome and welcome back to the wonderful world of uni life! Hopefully, you have all started to settle in, found the best place to chill, the best place to party and the best place to work. Maybe not that last one so much, but you get the idea.

One of the best things about being at uni is the freedom to spend your money as you wish. I personally found having an HMV 5 minutes away and living across the road from a great pub the best way to make my bank manager gasp every time he sees my overdraft, but you’ll have your own preferences.

But, where does the money come from? It’s not a thought many of us would normally have, student loan paying day practically being a religious festival these days, as

students across the country flood the shops with their lovely “free money” as soon as they see those magic numbers on the ATM screen.

It’s an issue worth considering.

With this years “consultation” by the Government on whether or not to increase top-up fees, the issue of how to fund student life is a hot topic with the political parties, NUS and universities. The issues, whilst perhaps not very interesting are important, and directly relevant to you whether you know it or not.

Your £3,000 maintenance loan may not seem like a vast amount to you, but couple that with the fees being paid on your behalf and you start to understand why people at the far end of university look so worried when the words “student”, “debt” and “angry-bank-managers-looking-

for-them-with-a-large-stick” are mentioned. Students who started in 2007 are looking at roughly £17,500 of debt, according to a Push (a leading independent student advice organisation) survey, and if plans go the way student groups fear, we could be looking at far higher levels of debt.

“So what?” some may say, and it’s a good point. Graduates on average make more than nongraduates, so can afford to pay off students’ debts over the long term.

Well perhaps that’s true, but if the Government get their way (and the opposition parties would dare not disagree for fear of being seen elitist) 50% of people would end up with a University education. How can you argue that graduates will be earning more than non-graduates, when

having a degree no longer carries the prestige it used to? If the cost of having a degree rises more than the value it imparts, what is the point of having one? A friend of mine gave up her career as a surgical nurse to run a bin-cleaning company because it paid more. This is the dangerous route we are beginning to take.

This is where education becomes something of a political dead zone.

No government will do anything to solve the problem in the long term, because neither option wins them many votes. It’s far easier to pile more debt onto students because we are of course layabouts, frowned upon by the general public, who no longer act as the angry young generation, stirring up the debate.

There are alternatives to just piling us with debt, and I’d encourage

you in your time here at Bangor to get involved with political groups, whether they be an actual political party, or a group like the NUS to find the answer you think will work best. They’re not just a cheap source of insurance and a discount card provider, they’re there for when you get pissed off with some aspect of being a student. Raise the issues with your flatmates, get involved and take on a mantle that’s been sadly declining, the student protestor. It’s one more part of the great life we all can have at uni. And it won’t add to your debt.

By Jeremy Harvey

“It’s far easier to pile more debt onto students because we are, of course, layabouts”

7

COMMENT

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

D E H S A R T The end of Wednesday nights?

Y

ou may remember a time when Trash was a multi room extravaganza. Metal heads got their fix in the cocktail bar and various other less stereotyped groups enjoyed the thrashing guitar and grinding baselines of the epic rock night. Last year Trash became metal early on followed by rock and indie music. As the weeks went on it mutated into something all together much more disturbing - a popular indie night. As a night it was good, but it wasn’t Trash.

The music became more mainstream, regularly featuring MGMT, The Automatic and Kings of Leon. With the odd blast of The Smiths, Joy Division and Interpol it sometimes redeemed itself, but all in all the presence of chart indie was to become Trash’s downfall.

Instead of being a night of alternative music for people who rail against the mainstream it became a broad appeal event that you could find in any club, any night of the week. By doing what was popular it gained a following early in the year, which dwindled when the flash in the pan fans realised they could have the same night out on a Friday without having to get up for lectures in the morning.

This was the beginning of the end for Trash as the real indie fans were replaced with a sea of checkered shirts and polka dots. The poor metal fans were banished to Mayhem. By the end of the year it was becoming less and less profitable, so Academi laid it to rest at the beginning of the summer.

Whatever your opinion on Trash, a lot of people will be sad to see it go. Nothing else springs to mind for a Wednesday evening’s entertainment; Channel 4’s mid week ratings might go up but there now seems to be a gap in the Bangor’s nightlife.

This is where Time/Amser’s latest project comes into play. A proper indie night for the people who know who put the M in Manchester and don’t think Björk is the name of an Ikea bookshelf designer. Lost Property is the bi-weekly night on the other side of the Union and from what we gather (having had our ears pressed firmly to the grapevine over the summer) it’ll be an indie and electroindie night with all sorts of cool things going on. Art installations, floating dining room paraphernalia and the unparalleled DJ Mouse teamed with our very own Jo Caulfield will be spinning the 1s and 2s. Anyone who’s seen either of them DJing will know they are uncompromising in the quality of the music they play. Their involvement alone is almost enough to guarantee the night will live up to expectations. It seems then, that there is hope for the mid-week indie night yet...

By Georgia Mannion

Money clues to solve your cash blues Alternative money making schemes you may not have thought of

S

o, unless you’ve been living on a deserted island off the coast of Papua New Guinea until recently you’ll have noticed that no one has any money. We’ve been skint before but this may well be the skintest we’ve ever been. There are things you could do to raise some funds until the loans arrive though (if they ever arrive).

Firstly, clear out all your junk. We know you’ve been keeping those jeans that don’t fit you just in case you ever suddenly go down a dress size and have nothing to wear.

Get rid of them. Even if you jut sell them for a tenner, that’s food for a week. Sell your CDs (get the music into your computer first though), DVDs you don’t want, old course books, anything that isn’t being used.

Any old crap you find in the bottom of your wardrobe could be the difference between spending Friday night in Time or watching Little Miss Sunshine on FilmFour again.

So after you’ve de-cluttered your closet what do you do with all the stuff now strewn across your room?

Books, CDs and DVDs do well on amazon.co.uk. If you have lots to sell muicmagpie.co.uk lets you enter all you want to sell and offers you a price at the end. If you’re selling clothes or other things Ebay might be a better choice. Computer games can be traded in at games shops; this

“Car boot sales are not just for oldies and David Dickenson!” normally gets you more money than a website would.

Recycle your old phones. I saw the advert on TV like everyone else and recycled my (broken) old Nokia 6500 for £50. There’s a few websites out there so check 1 or 2 out to make sure you get the best deal first. It shouldn’t cost you anything to post your phone and you’ll be doing the environment a favour!

Car boot sales are not just for oldies and David Dickenson. Well actually,

maybe they are but don’t let that stop you getting in there, you need the money more than them! You can get all kinds of stuff there and sell them online for more or even at another car boot. You could brush up on your antiques knowledge by watching a bit of daytime television. My housemate and I are constantly on the look out for the 1 collectable brand we know of (if you see anything in a charity shop with Spode printed on, give us a call). So this tip might be for the more adventurous student but there’s ways to make money without disrupting your normal routine.

Tesco will give you points for using bags for life instead of plastic ones.

You might not earn millions off this scheme but if you shop once a week for a year you’ll see the benefit of those extra points at the end of it.

Online surveys! You may have been rejecting these automatically for years but according to Moneysavingexpert. com you can earn up to £50 a month just for giving your opinion on things!

For that alone it has to be worth looking into.

If you’ve ever worked in a pub, café or restaurant you’ll have suffered the monumental stess of having a mystery shopper scrutinise everything you do and say. Why not turn the

tables and do some mystery shopping yourself? You already know what to look for and you get paid for going out. Some websites you could sign up to are grassrootsmysteryshopping. com, retaileyes.co.uk and retailmaxim.co.uk.

If you drive you can be paid for putting and advert in your car. Money4space. com pays up to £60 for 6 months of advertising from your rear window or you could go all out and get £1500 for a years worth of advertising all over your car. There is a condition that you have to drive 500 miles in 1 month which is 294 trips to Tesco from Ffridd Site, 26 visits to the cinema in Llanduno or a quick nip down to London and back.

My last nugget of information for you is the Uni intranet. There are experiments going on all the time, filling out surveys or having and ECT, it all pays. Some pay in printer credits and some in cash but nevertheless, money’s money.

I hope these tips aid you in some small way. Even if they only get you an extra drink at pound a pint. See you in New Look on loan day.

By Georgia Mannion

8

FEATURES

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

HOW FAIR TRADE ARE YOU? N

ow a days it is all about knowing your green bin from your blue bin, and your blue bin from your blue box. There are so many different ways to recycle and so many places to do it, no wonder we can sometimes get confused. Despite all this confusion though, we all seem to have jumped on the recycling bandwagon, to make our world a better one. The problem is though that we seem to have neglected the other side of the coin, it is not just about throwing away your rubbish but not buying it in the first place.

Fair trade food is available in every su-

T

permarket, even clothing stores like New Look and Next have their organic ranges and just last week Starbucks served up its

“

Why are we reluctant to do something better for the world?

first fair trade lattes and cappuccinos across the UK and Ireland. It may interest you to know that our university and union are also officially fair trade. Even with fair trade widely available to us it still seems that we are purchasing the same products and not switching to their fair trade coun-

he true sign of being strapped for cash is when you have to choose between that oh-so-important denim shirt in Top Shop and food to last you a month. As a student, it took a while before I was truly affected by the economic crisis we find our country in today, but the day came when my student account had only one hundred pounds left in it, a costume party coming up and a whole month before the next loan came through.

In my despair I turned to the internet and found a website where a growing community of people shared my troubles and offered a solution to them. The world of clothes swapping!! For a small postage fee you could swap your old (but still wearable) clothes with other fashion lovers.

an ASOS dress which I wore quite a few times for another ASOS dress which was worth more and was brand new as the tags were still on it. This website has helped me save money on clothes and also helped me to get rid of the stuff at the back of my closet which I had rarely worn.

There is information for newcomers on how to swap safely, the most important thing being never send first if your feedback (how your previous swaps are graded) is lower than the other persons.

As a rule, newcomers send first. A newly added forum has meant that members are able to offer support to one another, talk about good and bad swaps and discuss what they are looking for and offer suggestions or items that they have in their

There are no payments for just swapping clothes as both parties pay for their own postage. The best thing is there is no sign up fee and unlike eBay it is free to upload items, so as you can imagine I immediately signed up. Recently I have swapped

virtual wardrobes. Soon Big Wardrobe will be teaming with several other companies promoting a sustainable lifestyle by hosting The BIG Swish, where thousands of girls will come together to swap their clothes and get a new wardrobe for free.

“

terparts. Fair trade products are on average slightly more expensive, although not by much, so I wonder is it really the price that

“4% of all waste sent to landfills is clothes!”

”

”

is putting people off going fair trade with their weekly shop. If it is not down to cost then why are we reluctant to change and do something better for the world, just like we do with our recycling?

I think a lot of it comes down to routine.

When we go shopping for food we know in

our minds what it is we are after and what we usually buy. If we want ice cream and always go for Ben and Jerry’s what will make us stop and pick up some fair trade vanilla instead. To be honest; nothing really will. The sad fact is that we all know where Primark gets its clothes from, we all know where it is made, and probably the terrible conditions those workers have to deal with in order to make that really nice £6 jumper we now have on, but we are all too set in our ways to inconvenience ourselves and think outside the box.

For fair trade to really work and for

everyone to start buying it people need to realise that it is just as easy and as accessible as the products we buy now. It may be one aisle up but if we can be bothered to figure out if that aluminium can goes in ‘that box’ or ‘that bin’ then surely we can do our bit. Not just for the environment but for the people, and change one habit that really will make a difference.

By Stef Black

Swap the nation In fashion old is the new new

BBC News described the craze brilliantly: “Eco-fabulous recycling at its best.”

Tickets for the Big Swish cost £5, but there are many incentives to go as ticket holders have the chance to win prizes such as a dress donated by Jodie Kidd, skinny jeans signed by Russell Brand and a Lanvin bag which sells at a retail price of £1260. Other attractions include free makeovers, skin analysis by dermatologists, butlers ‘in the buff ’ serving cocktails and canapés, topped off with the chance to brush shoulders with celebrities from the world of fashion, music and TV. The BIG Swish starts at the beginning of National Clothes Swapping Week (18th-22nd September) in Leeds, but the closest event to Bangor will probably be in Manchester on October 15th, 2009. Swapping clothes instead of buying them enables you to look your best without spend-

ing a fortune and stops you harming the planet as almost four percent of the waste sent to landfills in Britain is clothing and shoes. By swapping, you can do your part to help the planet, but still look fabulous at the same time.

By Aimee Robyn Carter

Fashion

with Stacey Gannon

Summer is now well and truly over (since around June for those who stayed in Bangor!) It’s getting crisp and cold from the autumn weather, so let’s wrap up warm and see what jackets will make you look stunning whilst battling with Mother Nature.

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From 13th of September to the 15th of October Peacocks will be offering 20% student discount, and 10% over the rest of the year.

New Look also has 10% student discount all year round. Don’t forget to get your hands on a NUS Extra / Love Bangor card to help you claim discounts at your favourite stores. More information will be available during Freshers’ Week.

W

elcome to Bangor and welcome to Storm FM. What is Storm FM, you ask?

Storm FM is Bangor’s Student Sound; a radio station run by students for students (that means you!). With on-air content being at its all-time high last year and bigger and better shows than ever before, the Storm team are back with a new look and looking for new ways to raise the bar. That’s where you come in. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to work as a presenter, as there are opportunities to get ahead in radio production, broaden your IT skills and even marketing and events planning. Failing that, just log on to WWW.STORMFM. COM or tune in on 87.7FM on Ffriddoedd Site and give us a listen! It may be a busy first week for you, but check out what’s on this coming week and keep an ear out for some ace Serendipity specials! See you there!

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

08:30 - 10:30 Ste and Coffee in the Morning 12.00 - 14.00 Al Times 15.00 - 17.00 The Monday Afternoon Bit 17.00 - 18.00 Statonary Drivetime 18:00 - 19:00 The Time Tunnel 19:00 - 20:00 Songs to...

12.00 - 14.00 Al Times 14:00 - 16:00 Past Force 17.00 - 18.00 Statonary Drivetime 18.00 - 19.00 The Tuesday Evening Bit 19.00 - 20.00 A Paddy and A Scot!

20:00 - 21:00 Tuesdays Gone

08:30 - 10:30 Ste and Coffee in the Morning 13.00 - 15.00 Chance to Dance 17.00 - 19.00 Stationary Drivetime 19.00 - 20.30 Really Random 20:30 - 22:30 Rock Out With Your Socks Out

20.00 - 22.00 The Lost Brigade

21.00 - 23.00 Thunder Storm

20.00 - 22.30 Rock Out With Your Socks Out 22.00 - 00.00 The AJ and Thatch Show

Thursday 11:00 - 12:00 Summer Festival Special 12.00 - 14.00 Al Times 19.00 - 20.00 Ka-Pow 20.00 - 22.00 The Evening Bit 22:00 - 00:00 Sympathetic Vibes

Saturday

Friday 08:30 - 10:30 Ste and Coffee in the Morning 12.00 - 13.00 Back to the Future 17.00 - 19.00 Stationary Drivetime 21.00 - 23.00 Sugar Free 23:00 - 00:00 Late Night Quickie

17:00 - 18:00 Double A Side

Sunday 13:00 - 14:00 Past Force 15.00 - 17.00 Welcome to Bangor!

18.00 - 20.30 Menage a trois 21.00 - 23.00 The Underground

Volunteer here! and especially ted about the new academic year ere at SVB, we’re all really exci paign for 2009-2010, cam icity publ new d bran a Fresher’s Week. We’ve got new projects in opportunities and one or two tonnes of exciting volunteering gor, sign up to Ban at time your in volunteering during e and visit us the bag. If you’re interested com or /svb at www.bangorstudents.com our Mailing list to learn more at out stand at Serendipity.

H

s Available: Volunteering Opportunitie . 1 Project Leader, 2 Children’s Club for 5-7yr olds m, 5-8p s, day’ Tues – dge Splo Volunteers, 1 Minibus Driver olds. 2 Volunteers, 1 Children’s Club for 8-12 yr Sblat – Sunday’s, 12.30-4.30, Minibus Driver olds. 4 Volunteers m, Children’s Club for 8-11yr Boomerang – Thursday’s, 5-8p ren affected by Autism. nesday, Children’s Club for child Sbectrwm – Every other Wed 1 Volunteer munity. 3 Volunteers Weekly, 6-9pm in the local com Red Cross Mobile Youth Bus – at local primary schools.

-4.30pm, lead sports activities Dragon Sports – Weekly, 3.30 4 Volunteers recreational befriending Monday or Wednesday, 6-9pm, The Hergest Project – Every . 10 Volunteers at the local Mental Health unit l pensioners.

loca Saturday, 1-4pm, trips out for Out and About – Every other 4 Volunteers teas for local ’s once a month, afternoon Contact the Elderly – Sunday pensioners. 3 Volunteers raising. 1 Social kly, promotion of SVB and fund The Promotions Team – Wee Secretary by any means ng’ raising money for charity RAG – Weekly, ‘Raising and Givi

D at bl yg wch ei ch Sg ili au A rwai n D evel op yo ur Le ad ersh ip Sk ill s www.undeb.bangor.ac.uk

/svb

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’ S R E H S E R F 9 0 0 2 E GUID

N O I N U R U MEET YO S R E C I F F O L A C I T A B B SA John Jackson Students’ Union President Hello everyone, hopefully you’re all well and have had a great summer break, ready for another fun-filled year in Bangor. When writing a similar letter this time last year, we thought that the SU building would have been a pile of rubble by now and that we’d be sitting up in the old Rathbone halls typing this – but no, it’s still here and so are we, although we’re not sure for how long.

As I’m sure you will have seen elsewhere in this issue, this year sees the launch of ‘Love Bangor’, a campaign that we hope will help promote the positive impact that students have within the local community. For more information see the website - www.bangorstudents.com/lovebangor Tom has been working his socks off again on making this year’s Serendipity bigger and better than ever, along with all sorts of other activities in Freshers’ Week which are most definitely not just for freshers. For example, we’d like to invite you to Bangorbury ’09 – this year, Bangor’s Freshers’ Week Ball goes Festival! From a ‘Village Disco’ to ‘T in the Dark’ and a fantastic guest line-up with a big headline act — it’s the first of its kind and will be an unmissable event... Tickets are available in Freshers’ Week and will only cost £15 with your Love Bangor card.

Andy is continuing to represent each and every member of the AU (and indeed every student at Bangor) with our ongoing heavy involvement in the University’s Sports Strategy; the main aims are now agreed, but essentially Andy will maintain the vital input required to keep the plans studentfocussed. Activities wise we’ve got the return of ‘Superteams’ and the arrival of ‘Superstars’, loads of intramural events, and of course the Varsity against Aberystwyth is at home this year. Make sure you compete in or support our teams on the 13th and 14th of March.

Sharyn, is concentrating on widening participation this year. UMCB is hugely popular in the JMJ halls, but we hope to broaden participation to as many Welsh speakers as possible, and indeed to any Welsh learners; Sharyn will be aiding the Llywelyn Society in running weekly socials for learners to practice their Welsh in a non-classroom environment. In addition we’ve got a Welsh Week planned, commencing on St David’s Day, and the new Welsh language newspaper - Y Llef - will be launching soon.

Spencer has been busy producing handbooks for freshers as well as investing in further promotional material to help develop the Union brand. Our website continues to be updated in order to make it your one stop shop for information and work is underway with the University to create the much anticipated events portal. We’ll also be working with the University in the promotion of welfare campaigns such as mental health, healthy living and cancer awareness. Spencer has also been working hard to promote the need for extra funding of the University’s counselling service and we’re delighted that the University has acted on our calls by increasing its funding by £15,000.

I have completely rewritten the Academic Reps scheme and will be ensuring that your views about your subject areas are fed through the proper channels and taken note of, as well as concentrating on helping to improve feedback from staff in all schools. Other major challenges facing the SU this year include confronting the decision about our charity status and whether or not we should become a separate organisation to the University. We’ll be speaking to you about it whenever and wherever we can, and will be continuing our ‘Walkabouts’ around campus to obtain your views. Check out our ‘Oi Sabbs!’ campaign for more details.

We’re all looking forward to your return – you’d be surprised how quiet it can get around here in the summer – and by the time you read this you’ll all be back. Also don’t forget, if you’d like to do what we’re doing, the elections aren’t that far off…

Sharyn s WiUlniloniaPrm esident Welsh

Spencer orge GePres ident Deputy

Andy John Tom Hecht Athletic Union President

Societies & Events Officer

Describe yourself in 3 words: Maybe slightly overweight.

Describe yourself in 3 words: Athletic, approachable, ambitious.

Describe yourself in 3 words: Eight letter word

Favourite thing to do in Bangor: Meal in The Harp.

Favourite thing to do in Bangor: Spending time with friends.

Favourite thing to do in Bangor: Scones on the pier!

On a day off what would you be doing?: Attempting the impossible (slamming revolving doors)

On a day off what would you be doing?: Making a futile attempt to finish the final season of The Sopranos. I started the last series over 12 months ago...

On a day off what would you be doing?: Cycling through the mountains, in the gym, having a lie-in.

On a day off what would you be doing?: Mountain biking, fell running, scrambling.

What’s your favourite biscuit?: Pink wafer (biscuit or a wafer = the new jaffa cake!)

What’s your favourite biscuit?: It has to be a Mcvities Chocolate Digestive.

Describe yourself in 3 words: Obsessed With Welshness.

Favourite thing to do in Bangor: Drink milkshakes in the Basement

If you could be a superhero, what would you be?: Green Lantern (because I’m scared of yellow and like jewellery) Finally, what are you most looking forward to this year?: Wales winning the Grand Slam

If you could be a superhero, what would you be?: According to www.thesuperheroquiz.com I would be Superman. However, I imagine I would be a cross between Po the Kung Fu Panda and Jack Bauer. The fact he can go 24 hours without going to the loo proves he has super human powers ...

Finally, what are you most looking forward to this year?: The launch of ‘Love Bangor’. It has the potential to be hugely beneficial for students in Bangor.

What’s your favourite biscuit?: Chocolate digestive.

If you could be a superhero, what would you be?: Batman-he’s pretty good.

Finally, what are you most looking forward to this year?: The Varsity against Aberystwyth on March the 13th, it’s going to be the sporting event of the year! It’ll be great to see all the hard work pay off.

What’s your favourite biscuit?: Charlie (He’s a custard cream).

If you could be a superhero, what would you be?: Mr. Incredible!

Finally, what are you most looking forward to this year?: The Summer Ball of course!

Freshers

SURVIVAL GUIDE

So you’ve made it here in 1 piece... ...fully prepared and ready to begin your academic career. Well, maybe not quite yet. There’s one or two things they didn’t tell you on the open day. As your newspaper it’s our job to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly; like a true friend would.

You may be expecting your freshers week to be non-stop parties, potentially excessive drinking (it just so happens that Drinkaware.co.uk is Seren’s favourite website) and an endless barrage of friend requests on Facebook but there’s more to it than that. This is our fool proof guide to surviving Freshers’ Week.

Don’t say we never gave you anything.

The point of Freshers’ Week (at least to those in charge) is to get you registered, sort out your timetable and have you listen to the incredibly exciting introduction from the head of your school. Unfortunately you have to do all this. Your library, loan and in fact your entire degree depend on it. You will find yourself joining seemingly endless queues without really knowing why; blindly signing forms, having a picture taken that will haunt you for the rest of your student days and probably all with a raging hangover. Our advice is to answer yes to all questions and try not to vomit.

After all this excitement you can get properly stuck into student life. There are plenty of things to get involved in. The Freshers’ fair, Serendipity, showcases all the sports clubs and societies you can join from BUGS, BUMS and BEDS to Unity, SVB and Amnesty.

Seren should be your first port of call though obviously. There are lots of free things on offer so the earlier you get there the better, and if you’re too hungover for it on Wednesday, round two is on Thursday!

Another tip for you is to prepare for the worst weather you’ve ever experienced. Rihanna had an um-ber-ella, but Rihanna has obviously never been to North Wales. Yours will have turned itself inside out, smacked you in the face and dragged you half way down the street before you have a chance to say “oh look it’s rai-“. We advise waterproofs.

Bangor is a very small place. It’s exceedingly difficult to get lost here which also makes it extremely awkward if you do something horrendously embarrassing and need to avoid someone for a few weeks. We have to remind you to drink responsibly, whether you listen to us or not.

Check out the writings of Dwight McCarthy, our angry agony uncle, who has the finest in student advice, none of which you will find on the UCAS website. All that’s left to say is speak to strangers, never drink and Ebay and have a good one!

u l F ’ s r e h s e r F s v u l F Swine : the flu. best friend your new n by the to w llo do he ck arms, say ts are stru en en pted is op ud ce e st ac id of ss hw ound 90% career’. Le rs, and wit ar ic hard he m at d es th de fr an ca e ct m ‘a ed fa elcom at Seren de ks of their ely accept t few wee e, but we rs su fi It is a wid is e is th th t rgy during ould comba be pretty. dreaded lu coat out w surd theories. . It won’t wearing a ’t be kind ab freshers’ on at w ch ke th ta su It ry . g er in ke the theo ening to ov exams): the ing to stri fore accept at go re be s is th ct u is fa Fl d flu eshers’ scientific erdrafts an But a new termed Fr ed out ov prepared.

The aptly en, so be esides max l, pp (b ha nd to ki t g in ished. Wel l to studen But it’s go ady establ eatest peri million, have alre gr 18 u e t’s yo th ha re as (t flu tion re su denly ine flu.

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Freshers throat, ru ll the two ting proper s eats, sore hol, not ea . But how can you te he sw co ac r, al ad h ve he fe uc e , m gs hers flu ar , e coughing used by pi ts es ud fr ca ea cl t of in sw no s , u is fl it e roat ptom s of swin se, sore th rison, sym Symptom u are any , runny no Fl By compa d) e s. in ce w he du S ac in er head ences with t be hangov nose and gger differ or may no However bi have .. t. ai (which may W . tions, you coughing congratula ring difficulties. bo g e, in d ov fever and th ol ab n ea e ai s and br any of th st have pl on ju m om d fr m ul chest pain g co co in u u r yo suffer knows? Yo no title fo If you are e flu? Who ally be depressing: in sw it the flu. Is ke some at would re panad, ta u; now th seasonal fl ur GP, n? Have a yo ke t ta ul be ns . co ld er least cold suffer action shou ill feel a little piggy, t A of t. se no ur st hy So what co tle. If you e, pub? W rout is lit w sp a er e p w th ee O if ol, sl e arrest. ry worst, paracetem 5 day hous d at the ve time of writing) we ur an yo u, y yo jo e and en le to join ptom at th will be ab rmed sym 36million (an unconfi me Halloween. il ta d an a snout outfit co to find an won’t have

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Dwight

McCarthy s here, 3 years of Your 3 years begin depraved humans ly ere sev acting like primordial soup. of from the sludge from someone who Here are some tips e. Don’t visit the for be has done it all of the people still pubs that are full rdial sludge such mo pri submerged in the . *’s Use these three as Oc****n and Ya* bs that dont force clu n Joi . years wisely own body-weight in you to drink your u are desperate to yo s les (un sambuca shiny things and like to pull girls who barely read). The bright colours but can vital. is on ati following inform ely cer Sin Yours MR X (Cliche eh?)

1. DO NOT SPEND ALL YOUR STUDENT LOAN INSTALLMENT BEFORE CHRISTMAS Here at Seren we like to think that as our readers you would be slightly conscientious in watching your money.

You need to budget for food and all those things that you take for granted when you are at home such as toilet paper, change for washing machines, and for some of you caviar <mumbles obscenities inaudibly>

2.DO NOT PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE YOU ARE NOT Unless you actually spent last summer with the swedish house mafia and annie mac spinning records at Ibiza Rocks, don’t tell people you did, it’s called lying, and people will not like you.

3.Go to lectures I said this as Dwight Mcarthy last year and I’ll say it again with the same pseudonym!

This is what you pay for at university and if you do the three years and fail completely, the sight of all your friends graduating while you have another year of studying to do and another year of loan to take out, it’ll make you wish you’d listened to the pseudonymed idiot.

4.broaden your horizons University is all about changing and developing as a person, if you want to “widen your horizons” by smoking yourself into a weed fueled paranoia or a coke induced seizure you might be confusing university life with an episode of Skins.

Not only would you be breaking the law (yes the law still exists here) but you’d be missing out on meeting new people and learning things to make you awesome and worldly wise. FACT.

5.Enjoy yourself!

It’s first year, the lightest workload that you will have during your 3 years so make the most of it by socializing and trying things you never have before.

6.Join Seren

You can write for us and contribute to the paper and help us make the paper even better than it already is!

o d t a h w , So u fancy? yo hlamydia

that you ell it now appears droom, be the in l ica can be eth mpaCo om French Letter Cond conl ea rD Fai of rs ke ny are the first ma de Tra r Fai r de unde doms, condoms ma is ed us ex lat al tur conditions. The na r Fai d an stainable harvested under su r be rub the ing an Trade conditions me lp he to y a royalt producers are paid French Letter also s. live ir the ve pro im Fair Deal Trading, source latex through world who pay the the only company in for latex rubber. a Fair Trade premium t types of conen There are four differ r lust, sheer ge lin , iac dis doms, aphro ssage. All are ma ing caress and stimulat . .99 £8 packs of 12 for

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e ince th asing s times e y incre il m d o a S te STI. en s ad to nosed has be can le noses ly diag which ated. w diag ost common e , e d tr n e f s e o o b e m can diagn mber sex, r e ft The nu d it is now th so goes un iagnosed it a g and en d bleedin ain when s, an e 0 s , b 9 in m a ’s id to p it p m l e r p nd no sym domina er onc arge o penis a it has tions, howev de: lower ab aginal disch om the v a lu fr c c l li a e in p u s rg s m a m co unu : disch sympto riods, include Female between pe ptoms m g y s in d Male blee urine. . passing assing urine p n o cold pain ausing face, c -term. At e th n ng skin o n is lo tive ect the infectio remains inac n also aff st cases the it ca n s it a a c n re e it wa oft mo nasty, re una s. Every so the th. In Pretty round rry it a e mou a a m c th d to o n p d h a n m w u n y the o s ro le s a p s w rs o s a e re fe sore bliste the p s can p d there a ak of painful 0% of ymptom an be treate s y least 8 the time and re n a tb c ve f an ou sn’t ha herpes, but it e o most o ted, causing d o ital va ne wh for gen be acti Even someo . no cure genitals on. There’s n es. conditio medicin ti-viral skin with an n the sores o tact with ctious n o fe c in e s to clos t highly mptom less bu else comes in econdary sy ptoms is pain .S m y n is y d il S o io h b it . p e d y s ncre con som ay Primary hancres. If the cha es.These m tch the nce of r also ca ch as c rs late ey can r the appeara ness, heada a e th y known , s rn hancre weeks afte t, tired nt it can retu mon in men a ro these c 0 th e 1 hing re com , sore treatm p 2 to develo It’s mo y men. Catc ithout in rash : a sk eir own but w al, damage. ed it ga e s o d g n n lu g o c ia in m in th n term re highest a when d e ear on t v p u e p b , a s is a d HIV s riou use se nd thus rate s of catching and ca men, a your chance o w n es tha s. increas tibiotic syphilis eated with an tr e b r in can est kille h bigg ted anal, rt u fo ) is the ng unprotec us (HIV uri ncy Vir be passed d aginal fluids. s ie c fi e d tion ha v n o a n d c u n a d m n n a of infec Im e e curable ia blood, sem after the risk IV attacks th Human in is H ex, v rld. It onths to lifevirus. e le b th the wo nd also oral s taken 1-3 m ti f p o e y la sence d susc vagina d test (usuall the pre those infecte d detect s n e stoppe a A bloo v c a ) le m has entified m and e syste od tests and n u m been id mune syste im im virus en the ular blo s. body’s HIV wh nselling, reg gress of the ndition way ning co tter stages of ro ou a c p te a e n e e re m th th co the la HIV, th ork to slow tely be a n u AIDS is you contract w rt h fo s, whic ition, will un g. If of drug nd workin ocktail anage the co c y il a m a d ectively and eff . fe of li

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doms.co.uk

www.frenchlettercon

SEX,

erpes h l a it n Ge

We’ve been hearing some pretty weird rumours about contraception & since Freshers’ Week has such a reputation for copulation, here are the facts...

Syphilis

IDS

HIV/A

“Cling film, chicken skin and even bread can be used as contraception...”

A

ccording to hearsay cling film, chicken skin and even bread can be used instead of a condom. Well, of course they can... they won’t work and they sound a bit uncomfortable but if you’re looking for pantomime prophylactics or bogus birth-control there you go.

Other way off whispers we’re hearing are that kebabs, Coke and crisps can be used as oral contraceptives. Now we know you have a certain level of intelligence because you’re reading Seren, we’re going to assume you don’t need to be told that is rubbish!

The Egyptians used crocodile dung, Aristotle thought olive oil would work and he only had one child…(that he knew of). The truth is that people have been working on new contraceptive methods for thousands of years but it’s never been as good as it is now. Campaigns like No Glove, No Love have gone a long way to slowing the spread of viruses like HIV/AIDS and it would appear the abundance of witty rhymes (Our favourite: Don’t be silly, protect your willie) show people know it’s pretty stupid not to protect yourself.

Using a condom or taking the pill are the 2 most popular ways of avoiding pregnancy but they don’t stop all sexually transmitted infections. 65% of all new Chlamydia diagnoses are people between the ages of 16 and 21 so it seems we haven’t cracked it yet.

Here at Seren, we like to provide for everyone, so here is some safe sex advice if you’re...

Boys

Man-to-man sex unfortunately carries quite a few risks.

Because anal stimulation and penetration are frequently used there is a high risk of bacteria being transferred from anus to mouth, skin or genitals. A condom should always be worn and a dental dam should be used for anal stimulation to prevent the transmission of parasites. Any contact between skin, anus, genitals and mouth where bodily fluids are involved should incur the use of a condom or dental dam. Using lubricant is advisable to reduce the chances of rectal tearing and bleeding, choose a water-based one as other lubricants like Vaseline can destroy the latex used in condoms and put you at risk.

Girls Lesbian or bisexual women should use a dental dam (a square of latex or cling film – a cut open condom is perfect for this) when performing oral sex, especially if they are menstruating.

Sex toys should be thoroughly cleaned and protected with a condom. You should have regular cervical smears, even if you have not had sex with a man for a long time – or ever. Sex between women can transmit HPV, a virus associated with cervical cancer, so be safe and get yourself tested.

...LGBTerriffic!

Cannabis

(a.ka.: blow, blunts, Bob Hope, dope, draw, ganja, grass, hash, hashish, hemp, marijuana, pot, puff, resin, skunk, smoke, soap, spliff, wacky backy, weed, zero, da ‘erb)

smoking rlooked dangers of ne of the most ove tobacco. h wit en tak usually o cannabis is that it’s for you but tobacc d goo ’t isn g thin Smoking any cording to the World (Ac r yea a s live lion claims around 5 mil more addictive than ). Tobacco is much Health Organisation oking more weed sm to d lea it could weed, and smoking e craving. otin nic a er to satisfy well than intended in ord oking tobacco is sm by sed cau side ) any The damage (if few h alternatives wit publicised, there are with some herbal s tte are cig r you e lac effects. Why not rep gs a break. ions? Give your lun tobacco from Dimens physical (and are o acc tob of cts The long term effe cannabis are of cts effe long term nections to disgusting). The con ong str scary too. It has sumed at con mental and pretty en wh a and schizophreni psychosis, paranoia high dosage.

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dRUGS...SAUS...AND O

ne thing Seren doesn’t enjo y is being patronised, and we assume you don’t either.

Instead of saying DON’T DO DRUGS OR YOU WILL DIE with out actually giving you any remotely useful information, we’d like to help you be as safe as possible. We don’t condon

e illegal drugs and are definitely NOT encouraging you to use them.

However

you should know the ups and downs of herbal highs so you can be as safe and informed as possible...

Khat

(a.ka.:Qat, kat, chat, miraa, quaadka)

side effects y think there are no y just leaves you ma would be wrong You h. hig s khat is essentiall bal her t e ones, the perfec excitement other than the positiv e been described as positive effects hav and blood e the rat gh art hou He Alt ity. re. ctiv the era uce mania and hyp ind could feel o rs als use can n it dow ia ing and euphor ils dilate. When com pup irritability the and n and sio se res rea pressure inc ms like mild dep y, m withdrawal sympto can cause letharg it es cas s drowsy and long ter iou ser st users. In more e. are common among driv sex chew khat on a ares and diminished depression, nightm US so people who gal here, it is in the ille not it’s . gh oad hou abr Alt if going check its legal status regular basis should

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here is nothing her bal about sausage rolls. They often con processed porcine bytain pastry and mis products loosely ter cellaneous med meat. Although rolls can be fullness, the immediate effe a sense of achievem cts of the can be severe. The ent and mild euphoria the effe song Who Ate All The cts of excessive use Pies was based on rolls who suffered ext a true story of a ser reme consequences ious abuser of after eating all the to “pies” as it fit bet rolls. The song was ter in the song. Sau later changed sage rolls are still leg counter at specialist al in the UK and are sol vendors (such as Gre d over the ggs). Countries suc much more liberal app h as the USA and Aus roach to the roll wh tralia take a ere they can reach a length of 12 inches or more.

Magic Mushrooms

Party Pills

Party these is arguable. he herbal-ness of don’t you (if , ich wh P pills all contain BZ for a minute) is cal hni tec ting get mind can cause a chemical that Benzylpiperazine, but is also ia hor eup and mental stimulation even to psychosis and strongly connected n drugs tha ous ger dan re mo seizures. They can be are not e some ingredients ts like cannabis becaus urers. Some produc act nuf ma e som by revealed compounds found ing tain con d ase have been rele e been party pills which hav in MDMA and other cts such as effe e sid ir the of banned because y can be aren’t illegal but the chest pains. They g. atin dehydr dangerous and very

AGE R O L L S (we’re hilario us

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(a.k.a.: Herbal highs, pep pills, dance pills, natural power)

(a.ka.: Shrooms, caps,) re gerous because the ushrooms are dan e they have been onc k bac ng goi is no en ny have been tak ingested. If too ma too late. Like a it’s il unt w sho the signs may not is not g in at the deep end lot of things, jumpin advisable. g was: e first rule of trippin s Jeff Lewis said “Th ’t trust” and he wa don you ple peo h don’t be wit everyone around and s pen hap ing right. If someth you see to get help, well, is too incapacitated . this h wit where we’re going re you y be enough to sca The film Shrooms ma in the s die ne ryo Eve ooms. off ever taking mushr t this is a standard tha rm fi con not can end. Seren e all the ught you should hav side effect but we tho information.

M

16

What’s on?

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Saturday 19th

12pm-5pm - Crazy Sports on the Ffridd Site / Tennis Courts. Food and Drinks.

Night: Academi and Time, will be open.

Sunday 20th

12pm-5pm - Crazy Sports on the Ffridd Site / Tennis Courts. Food and Drinks.

Night: Time: Welcome Party.

Monday 21st

FRESHERS’ WEEK BINGO Do your first independent shop Get drenched in the rain Spend too much money at £ a pint

Night: Basement 8pm: Quiz Night Time: Happy Mondays Academi: Mayhem

Tuesday 22nd

11am-1pm - Mature Students’ coffee and cake morning (Basement) Night: Basement: 8pm - Open Mic Night Time: open Academi: Comedy Night

Wednesday 23rd

11am-3pm - Serendipity!

Night: Bar Uno: 8pm - Clubs and Societies Night.

M.A.L.T: 8pm - Pixar Film Night Time: open. Academi: AU Night

Hide from the cleaners

Borrow a traffic cone Get locked out of your room Walk up ‘Bitch’ Hill Give a fake email at Serendipity eet

Sign Up Sh

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read Seren!

Get lost in Main Arts

Drink alcohol before midday Watch a soap omnibus Spend all morning in Mike’s Bites

Get stuck to the floor in Octagon Join ‘Bangor Sexy Times’ on

Pull a minger

Thursday 24th

11am-3pm - Serendipity round 2!

4pm - Freshers’ Tournament (Maes Glas, Ffridd Site) Night: Basement: 8pm - Wii Games night Time: Welsh Gig - live bands Academi: Hypnotist

Friday 25th

Night: BANGORBURY ‘09

Saturday 26th

Time: Headphone Disco Academi: WKD Special Student Saturday

Buy a 6” sub & 21oz drink get a 6” sub FREE with this coupon!

Remember every Sunday 2pm-6pm is BOGOF! Regular subs only, Love Bangor card holders get any sub! Coupon only valid at Subway Bangor. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer.

NEUADD WILLIS STUDENT ACCOMMODATION Our rooms are

Luxury student accommodation situated within walking distance of Bangor University

BOOK NOW FOR SEPTEMBER 2010 booking up

Just call into our office opposite Lidl car park or call us on: 01248 371450 (office hours) or 07841 369249 (evenings and weekends).

You can also email us at: irene.shapeley@carltonnw.co.uk

very fast... so don’t miss out!

17

UPDATE

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

THE ACTS...

In 2005 Lethal Biz zle won th (forward) and was e MOBO nominated fo made it to for Best N r best single for Po #11 in th ewcomer. w e UK char public radi Pow (forw ts even th o. The form ard) ough it w er More Fi hasn’t slow as banned re Crew m ed down si on ember from nce then an UK Grime/ East Lond HipHop sc d is still on on ene. He ap e of the pi N Roll Rio pe on t Tour in 20 ared at Li eers of th ve 8 and e 07. He was 2007/200 Th 8 beating Amy Wineh number five in The e NME Rock He perfor NME Cool ouse, Pete med at R List eading an Doherty an rounding d Leeds th d Alex Turn off festival is year an er. season at d it seem Bangorbur s he’s y ’09!

& bass, ece drum Ronson ker’s 7 pi k ea ar M M e to liv r is C answer ’s ol Meaker st e ri B Dr Meake th te p. soul grou ces to crea a, en ic u fl ss licks on in ba tr elec ggae d ruff-cut jazz and re does at vocals an it th as oo uses soul, o, sm di ra sound of Focus, mmercial b co u S on sound. A to e compared as at hom d as s en el be ri fe be sc s at e’ de th clubs. H ing been d av n se’s H u ou ro s. eh rg tu in unde & Sta ith Amy W d Chase e beats w fluences iv in ss a Andy C an re sk d og ul, jazz an Attack’s pr Boys “Massive hear the so rban. We like Bad u unds” you d so r l an ke lfu p u so l po /drmea the playfu pace.com as well as ost. Check out mys m e Calling th

is Danny Phillips, a party-rocking Hip Hop DJ originally hailing from Spring field, Missouri. He won the DMC Midwe Championship a wa st s competing agains t the country’s top turntablists in San Francisco at the 199 9 DMC US Finals. dropped Bruce Horns He by’s “That’s Just The Way It Is,” aiming the song’s “they can ’t get a job” lyric at his competitors. The he dropped Tom Pet n ty’s “Don’t Come Aro und Here No More” as a warning to the other DJs to step off.

Ever the b-boy, P topped his performa nce off by coming out in front of the tables and breaking and pop ping. He was the onl y DJ who received standing ovation tha a t night. Now you can find him two nights week as the reside a nt DJ at “CLUB MO ON” in the Palms Cas in Las Vegas. ino Check out myspace. com/djp

18

MUSIC

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Music Editor, Aaron Wiles, brings you what’s hot and what’s not in music this month

Leona Lewis - Happy

Woo! Leona is back with her new single Happy. It’s about being unhappy, but listening to it makes me happy. Woo!

Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind A song from his new album featuring Alicia Keys, she shines whilst Jay-Z rhymes.

The Temper Trap Sweet Disposition From start to finish, this song exudes the relaxing summery feel, either that or I’ve spent way too much time watching people frolocking to it at festivals.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Feat. Beth Ditto)

I’ve been rocking to The Gossip and raving to Simian Mobile Disco quite a bit recently, so no surprise I’m a huge fan of this

Mika - We Are Golden

Teenage dreams need a teenage circus.... eh? And put some clothes on, cheers.

Cheryl Cole - Fight For This Love

Oh we do love a bit of Cheryl, that’s why it’s even more disappointing that Fight For This Love isn’t very good. Gutted.

The Dolly Rockers They don’t get on radio playlists because they care about real issues apparently, nothing to do with how rubbish they are then?

Girls Can’t Catch Keep Your Head Up Girls can’t catch but they can apparently play croquet with some boys in a scrap yard.

Interesting. The song is rubbish too.

YOUR

This Month:

Rated & Reviewed

Missgiggles28

Track

Stevens

by Aaron Wiles and Liz

Times played

Anastacia Scissor Sisters

2,900 1,157

Paolo Nutini

484

Regina Spektor

450

Lady Gaga

410

Pink

398

Britney Spears

396

Pussycat Dolls

285

Fall Out Boy

260

Rihanna

256

Wiles’ comments:

Serious points lost for the excessive listening of Anastacia; shocking. Regina’s quite good though, which reassures me of your music taste. Backed up with Lady Gaga and Rihanna; good stuff!

Music Taste Rating: 6/10

Welcome to Bangor! Tonight you’re going to be playing to 2000 people, which is quite a small audience. Do you prefer playing to the bigger or smaller crowds?

Will Rees: I think they’re all good Blaine: Yeah we’re happy to play anywhere. You know, 1 man and his dog can be better than 10,000 girls screaming .

Do you feel under pressure to keep your name out there with the music industry being such a fickle thing?

Will Rees: Personally no, I like how Radiohead do it, they can spend 3 years between albums but by the time it comes out you’re desperate for it cause you know it’s going to be good. If you’re always in people’s faces you become wallpaper. Also I think if people like you, if you deserve to be there then people will come back to you.

You recently parted with (old record company) for Rough Trade. Why was that?

Will Rees: We weren’t sure if we

A

ge Ain’t Nothing But A Number and at 39 Jay-Z proves that he is still one of Rap’s elite artists in a genre dominated by younger artists that the fans can relate to.

People often criticise rappers about the substance and topics they choose to rap about, in JayZ’s case ultimately his present surroundings and the circumstances he finds himself in have changed dramatically from the ’99 Problems’ and ‘Big Pimpin’ situations that were his themes in previous albums. Half of the album is produced by Kanye West; other notable contributions come from Swizz Beatz, The Neptunes & Timbaland.

The hype surrounding ‘Off That’ a track produced by heavyweight Timbaland and features Drake who supposedly is the next big thing in Rap comes off sounding luke warm and ‘Run This Town’ which sounds more like a Rihanna featuring Jay-Z collaboration and seems to be more Umbrella-esque and aimed at radio spins, which is a tactic that most artists make use of nowadays to help overall album sales.

Stand out tracks on the album include: ‘Empire State Of Mind’ featuring Alicia Keys is a nice melodic ode to New York.

‘So Ambitious’ featuring Pharrell, unfortunately the only track produced by The Neptunes, which on previous albums has been a successful pairing, (Allure, Excuse Me Miss).

2009 was host to the best Summer Ball Bangor has ever seen. Headline act Mystery Jets rocked PJ Hall and found time to have a chat with Seren on a sunny lawn outside Main Arts. Here’s what happened...

wanted to stay on a major label, but in the end we decided we wanted to. It was quite a long process and in the end the English label signed everything and sent it to America, who said they couldn’t afford to do it. It was hard ‘cause everyone had worked so hard on our second album and were pushed aside by people who work in an office in America who’ve never even heard our records and everyone in England was really disappointed.

We went with Rough Trade who wanted to sign us right from the start, they’re a pretty prestigious indie label. We’re really lucky that they were still there for us, they’re really excited about making an album so we’re going into the studio in about a month (July).

Erol Alkan produced your last album, is he going to be helping out again?

Blaine: Yeah quite possibly Was it good working with him?

Blaine: It’s great working with Erol, he become like a 6th member of the band. He’d come to all the

rehearsals and let us sleep round his house and sleep with his girlfriend, all that kind of stuff. It was great.

Will Rees: That goes a bit far!

Do you ever get bored of playing the same songs?

Blaine: I don’t know, we’ve been touring Twenty-One for about a year and I don’t think I’m bored of it yet.

Whereas on the old record theres a lot of stuff that I don’t ever want to go near again. It’s a little bit sad cause they’re songs that you laboured so much over and you know you’ll never play some of them again. A little part of you dies.

WR: I’ve found that there’s songs that I’m really excited about when we record them but they just never work live. We’ve got a song called MJ on the second album which never works in front of a live audience.

That’s one of my favourites on the album Will Rees: Really? Well there you go. We could play it for you tonight but I wouldn’t want to spoil it.

‘Already Home’, ‘Hate’ and ‘Reminder’ are aimed at the critics and naysayers which Jay-Z has had to endure plenty of over his career and always comes out on top “10 Number One Albums / Maybe now 11” – a line from ‘Thank You’.

‘Young Forever’ featuring Mr Hudson, the track samples ‘Forever Young’ by Alphaville and for most die hard rap fans is either a Love It or Hate It track; simply because it isn’t a typical Rap song and is reminiscent of ‘Beach Chair’ featuring Chris Martin.

However, it is about more than Hip Hop with Jay-Z. ‘Star Is Born’ featuring J. Cole, where Jay shouts out rap’s top artists from the mid nineties to the present day and reminded us how some have come and gone and yet he has still remained relevant over the years and ask if the younger artists will be able to carry the torch.

People will always compare any new album by Jay-Z to the Critically Acclaimed ‘Reasonable Doubt’, ‘The Blueprint’ and ‘The Black Album’ but lyrically he is still at his peak and has been there since the earlier efforts, its just that the subject matter has now progressed further as he has moved upwards in his career and could now be considered a Musical Icon, not just to fans of Rap but of music in general. This might come across as a weakness to hardcore fans of Rap music. He addresses that on the opening track, ‘What We Talkin’ About’ (featuring Luke Steele).

Overall The Blueprint 3 is a solid B+ mainly due to poor production some complacent rhymes from Jay-Z due to the lack of grittiness and hunger that made the original Blueprint an instant hit with fans and critics alike. However, lyrically Jay-Z proves that he is still one of the best by showcasing his flow and although not a classic offering, is still on par with his last two albums and lives up to the hype and is definitely one of the best Rap albums of the year.

“Hov on that new sh*t, they be like how come. Say they want my old sh*t, buy my old album” – Jay-Z

Anthony Welch & Keeno

: Seren recommends Kanye West College Dropout eThe Official Mixtap e. ak Dr

The Blueprint 3 - Jay Z

19

MUSIC

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

The Refreshing taste of

“Erol Alkan would let us sleep round his house... and with his gir lfriend.”

Where was your first gig?

Blaine: In this line up, the first gig was in a pub in Fulham in 2001, quite a long time ago.

Will Rees: We used to do these acoustic gigs at the Cashmir Club which was like this little weird singer-songwriter speakeasy place on Baker Street in London and there was this little bald guy called Tony.

Blain: Didn’t he write that song?

Will Rees: He was the most cheesy song writer ever. Every time we went there to play there’d be a new song about like saving the earth and it’d be called like Rainbow Catcher or something and he had this little tribal goatee and a bald head.

Blaine: Didn’t he write that “There’s a hole in the desert, there’s a hole in the sand” Will Rees: Probably, I mean he wrote probably 50% of what you now hear on Magic FM, he’s like responsible for all of that.

How was it working with Laura Marling?

Blaine: Very quick. She came in,

put her vocal down in 1 or 2 takes, said “tada!” and jumped off in a taxi and is out of our lives. Been thinking about her ever since. No it’s cool, she’s a very interesting girl, very mysterious. We were actually talking about her last night on the bus saying we’re very curious to see what she’s going to do next on her new album. A song came on the radio and we thought it was her but it was actually Avirl Lavigne.

Will Rees: How could you possibly think that was Laura Marling?

Blaine: It sounded like her, I had just woken up Will Rees: That’s no excuse.

Her dulcet tones drifting through your mind, I think you’re probably dreaming of other things.

Blaine: No she’s great. She’s a real talent. *Discussing the topic of using Vics Vapour Rub as a pre-gig warm up* Blaine: We do, we use it in all different places. A lot of singers do it and just don’t admit to it What does it do though?

p e t s d u b b s u t e d p A

Blaine: You get like, an extra few notes of range. Gives you that edge, it’s the 11 on the amplifier.

Will Rees: You go on stage and you’re all hotted up and ready for a bit of action y’know.

Its been a closely guarded secret over the years?

Blaine: Jack Penate, vics. Mick Jagger, vics. Elton John……. vics.

Do you want a copy of Seren?

Blaine: Yeah Aaron: I’m music editor Liz: I’m news editor Blaine: Do you have your own office space?

Liz: The editor does and we like invade it Blaine: That’s pretty sick

Questions by Aaron Wiles, Liz Stevens and Will Bulteel.

couple of years back I was DJing at a house party in Upper Bangor when this gurning fiend ripped the headphones from my ears. “How come you don’t play any dubstep?” he shouted, with a face gleaming with selfsatisfaction. He almost looked glad that I didn’t have any to play!

This arse of a man was my first exposure to the genre and he almost put me off ever wanting to listen to it. When I returned home, the first thing I did was look for some dubstep on the Internet. Initially I was slightly confused,

in a darker, more minimal direction. Mmmm nice.

Dubstep had made a formidable impact within UK underground scene. In 2005 Radio One’s Mary Anne Hobbs caught the dubstep bug. She was so excited about it, she aired a one off show entitled Dubstep Warz and later released a compilation album called Warrior Dubz. The release of Dubstep Warz was possibly the most important moment in the history of dubstep. After the album’s release, dubstep nights started popping up over America.

and then intrigued by how music with such a laid back groove made me want to dance about like a mentalist! One thing was for sure, I was hooked on this amazing new sound, which seemed to have endless possibilities for development.

The rise of dubstep has been meteoric. It was only conceived in 1999 when pioneering garage music producers began mixing different genres, to create a less commercial and more aggressive style. At this point the UK garage scene was in decline so this new direction was needed to stop the complete demise of garage. Early dubstep productions were experimental remixes of 2-stepgarage tracks and sometimes featured as b-sides to singles. Things really got interesting when DJ Hatcha’s Rinse FM show introduced Skream and Benga to the scene in 2003, along with more new generation dubstep producers. An injection of fresh talent pushed dubstep

Soon after achieving international success, there were plenty of producers wanting to jump on the bandwagon.

In March 2009 La Roux exploded onto the scene when her platinum single ‘In For The Kill’ reached number two in the charts. It wasn’t until Skream’s dubstep remix that the song resonated upon me. The perky, electro pop song was turned on its head. Somehow this overload of low frequencies manages to sit perfectly with the eerie vocal track.

This year would see Dubstep injected into the pop music market. Chase And Status have seen lots of mainstream attention, particularly after working with Snoop Dogg.

So what does the future hold for dubstep? Well, I hope Squarepusher jumps on bandwagon, or even Aphex Twin.

IDM infused with dubstep sounds absolutely delicious to me!

�Dubstep� seemed to have endless possibilities for development...�

T

he Arctic Monkeys are back in town. New haircuts but the same old Sheffield accents.

Crying Lightning, the first single from the album, is a good kick off.

It did well in the charts and retains something of the Teddy-Picker sound but slower and somewhat more morose. This is possibly because the album was co-produced

by James Ford who also produced The Age of the Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets (Turner’s side project) .

Humbug was produced in LA, New York and the Mojave Desert with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. You can hear his influence especially in Potion Approaching which could be a QOTSA song

Humbug

By Joe Beardwood

attention 8 years ago they’re lost in the delivery which blends in with the slow guitar sustains and echoing baselines. The beginning of Pretty Visitors sounds like a return to The Monkeys’ style, but it’s just a cruel trick and the lyrics fall short of what you would expect. Whilst Turner claims the band listened to Cream and Jimi Hendrix when recording, none of this comes through in the music. It sounds more like they watched a lot of Quentin Tarantino films and sat in dimly lit bars drinking whisky.

In short, this is not The Arctic Monkeys we used to know. Take Only Ones Who Know from their last album, slow it down and chop it into 10, there you have Humbug.

It’s not as clever, not as quick and takes a few listens to get into. Perhaps it’s the desert that did it to them but these are no longer lads from Sheffield. Secret Door feels like a goodbye to their former selves.

They are now an international band who seem to have left their roots behind, whether this is good or bad I’ll leave to you to decide. Just be prepared if you’re going to pay for their 10 track offering, this is not another NME band album.

ey watched a th e k li re o m s d “It soun lms and sat �i o n ti n ra a T n ti lot of Quen king whisky.” in r d s r a b t li ly in dim featuring Alex Turner.

Unfortunately this is how the entire album feels. Where as the QOTSA front man’s distinctive voice and sharp lyrics make their songs as good as they are, it doesn’t work as well for The Monkeys. Although the lyrics remain more or less as witty as the ones that caught everyone’s

ends: Seren recomm

n io n n a M ia g r o e G y b d Reviewe

- The dow Puppets The Last Sha e derstatem nt Age of the Un Rascalize The Rascals -

20

FILM

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

I

’d like to think of this film as the little train that could. Premiering in the Sundance Film Festival and starring perpetual indie kids Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, this was never supposed to be a film that everyone saw. This was supposed to be a film that told a story about a boy and a girl, and made a few people happy. Except that it’s going to do a lot more than that; it’s going to make a lot of people happy!

We are warned from the outset that this is not a love story: we are in for a rough ride. Chronicling the 500 days that Summer Finn (Deschanel) spends in Tom Hanson’s (GordonLevitt) life, this film takes us on a whirlwind ride of their journey together, and does so in a subtle, heartfelt, and beautiful manner.

The film begins on day 488, and flits back and forth between significant days in Tom’s life.

Although the lack of chronology may grind for some, I felt it worked; the audience is taken back and forth between the happy and sad, and given clues and little insights throughout the entire film. It makes you want to know what happened, and gives the film a realistic touch, as Tom works out what went wrong and relives his days – something everyone has done.

The performances delivered by the two stars truly bring this film to life; they light up the screen

every time they are together.

The chemistry shared by GordonLevitt and Deschanel is delicate and is the key to the film’s flow.

The characters are real and true; neither actor is a huge Hollywood star, and their realism and quirks are relatable and honest. Everyone can sympathise with both Summer and Tom, and anyone who has ever heard or uttered the words ‘casual’, ‘not serious’, ‘fun’, must see this film – it will have a profound effect. The Los Angeles setting is also used to great effect; not merely a city they live in, but key to the characters back-story.

I have never related to a film so much as this one – a bold statement, but one I am willing to stand by nevertheless. I laughed, I hoped, I wished, and in a particular scene atop a balcony, my heart shattered and my tears flowed at the same time as the characters’.

I would struggle to find fault with this film (even the soundtrack is incredible) although I will state that men may find this film too girly, or even uncomfortable to watch if they relate to the situation. 500 Days of Summer, however, is a must see. But be prepared for an uncomfortable journey.

“It’s going to make a lot of people happy!”

By Liz Stevens

(500) Days Of Summer

P

edro Almodovar is well known for his bright colours and well developed scripts. If you’re new to his work this film will see you fall in love with him straight away.

The story is less ambitious than other European cinema around at the time of its release (See The Lives of Others, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and Pan’s Labrynth) beginning in Raimunda’s house with her husband and daughter and only stretching as far as the homes of her closest friends and family.

Though foreign in its language, the inviting nature of Spanish culture shines through and you feel yourself being drawn in by the completely believable characters. Penelope Cruz is excellent as Raimunda.

Previously playing a pregnant nun and a semi-professional but somewhat naive criminal her character is different from any other she had played before. Raimunda is the making of the characters Cruz would now be expected to play. She is passionate and authoritative

without being cold and fierce love for her family is what grips you until the end. The absence of romantic love mixed with a family pulling together and historic superstitions makes this film one of a kind. The story is small but the impact is huge.

The cinematography by Art Directors José Luis Alcaine and Salvador Parra is excellent and will have you marvelling at its beauty before the first key sequence is through.

Delivering laugh out loud moments with tear jerking twists that leave you genuinely caring about everyone involved, this film is will leave you feeling warm and happy and wanting to see more. For me it could have gone on another hour or two, but I’m biased. I love this film.

By Georgia Mannion

“The story is small but the impact huge”

21

FILM

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Aliens have never been so believable...

An unusual member of this year’s big film releases is the action sci-fi thriller District 9. The film is set in and around Johannesburg and the Sith Ifrikin iccents (if you’ll excuse the phonetic spelling) bring with them a refreshing realization that major events DO indeed happen outside the walls of America. In 1990 an alien mothership appeared over the city and lay dormant for months until humanity took the initiative and decided to crack it open and go and have a look for themselves at what secrets it holds. Inside the ship are a race of malnourished and unhealthy aliens who are refugees to the planet, they are “rescued” and brought to earth to the camp created for them – District 9.

However, sympathy for the aliens (known in the film as “prawns” for obvious enough reasons) soon runs out and twenty years later when the film takes place, there is an apartheidlike hatred and segregation imposed on the prawns who now reside in a militarized, violent slum under the control of a Nigerian gang. South Africa has had enough and contract Multi-National United (MNU), a huge, weapons-manufacturing company who have little regard for aliens to forcibly evict the prawns from their homes to a new camp 200 miles away- District 10. The job falls upon our protagonist Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a seemingly innocent , friendly and a little naive employee of MNU, to run the eviction

COMING SOON...

Fish Rank

Out: Now Starring: Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender This Cannes Jury Prize winner tells the story of a volatile 15 year old girl who is always in trouble and has been excluded from school. One day her mother brings a stranger home who promises to bring change and love into their lives.

See if you liked: In My Father’s Den, The Walker, Felon

Broken Embraces

Out: Now Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Jose Luis Gomez Spain’s most famous cinema export Pedro Almodóvar teams up once again with actress Penélope Cruz, and a stellar Spanish cast. Broken Embraces is a sexy thriller with a twist, which in true Almodóvar style plays with the traditions of cinema.

See if you liked: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, All About My Mother

Gamer

Out: 16th September Starring: Gerrard Butler, Michael C Hall, A mind-control game has taken the world by storm in this high-concept, explosive thriller.

See it if you liked: 300, Death Race

Away We Go

Out: 18th September Starring: Jeff Daniels, Maya Rudolph, Catherine O’Hara Sam Mendes directs a life-affirming road trip for a young couple trying to find the perfect place to start their family.

See it if you liked: Transamerica, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno

Ramchand Pakistani

Out: 20th September Starring: Nandita Das, Rashid Farooqui, Syed Fazal Hussain Based on true events, Ramchand Pakistani tells the story of a young Pakistani Hindu and his father who accidentally cross the border into India at a time of extreme tension between the neighbouring countries.

See if you liked: Slumdog Millionaire, Dr Zhivago

Creation

Out: 25th September Starring: Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly, Jeremy Northam Equal parts ghost story, psychological thriller and love story, Creation is the powerful story of Charles Darwin and the single most explosive idea in modern history.

See if you liked: A Beautiful Mind, Venus, Proof

operation. However, during the operation, Wikus is exposed to a liquid from an alien device he finds and starts to become ill. Within 24 hours of exposure, Wikus is to find he is mutating into an alien.

After visiting hospital, MNU’s real agenda is revealed – only the aliens

“A manhunt is now on for the most valuable man on earth” can operate their powerful weaponry and now Wikus can too- half human, half alien. As our “hero” discovers MNU’s immoral plan for making billions of dollars, he escapes from the building he’s being held in and returns to District 9. A manhunt is now on for the most valuable man on earth. Terrified by the situation he finds himself in as an outcast and fugitive, Wikus desperately attempts to enlist the help of an alien he earlier encountered and becomes a friend and ally of the prawn. Together, an impossible bond forms between the two as they fight for survival against the malevolent corporation.

One of the most impressive aspects of this film is the incredible CGI – aliens really have never been so believable, real and immersive on screen before and it brings with

it more believability of the story as a whole, you actually believe that this could happen on Earth one day. Another thing that astonished me was that Sharlto Copley is not a professional actor and does not plan on pursuing a career in acting, yet his character is thoroughly deep, emotive and undergoes powerful character development as the film moves on.

The kudos of the excellent acting on Copley’s part is slightly marred by the slightly less believable and decidedly shallow character Koobus Venter (David James) but on the whole the acting and script is solid and real and the story is strangely credible. This film was unexpectedly immersive and emotive and was far better than I had expected it to be.

It certainly isn’t just another alienbashing, half-baked science fiction film riddled with terrible script and plastic aliens; it is much more than that. If you’re a fan of sci-fi films then this is a must, you won’t see another film like it all year and if you aren’t really a fan of sci-fi films, then this is STILL a must. I’d say it’s the best sci-fi film there’s been for years and has a really unique and exciting closer-to-home feel that space-based sci-fi films lack. So go and see it – unless you’re a prawn.

By Battleship Williams

22

BOOKS & BOX

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

How

to

on a student budget

Keep a clear conscience without emptying your bank account

H

ow To Save The Planet On A Student Budget is not your average preachy enviromaniac

book. Unlike others which might demand you use recycled tin cans on organic string to construct your own solar panels, this one takes a realistic approach to how you can effectively help the environment and do it without jeopardising your bank balance. It’s not long winded and is easy to navigate between topics, there’s even varying levels of green-ness so you can be eco friendly without spending a penny or go all out and lead the environmental campaign from the front.

There’s tips for lobbying your local MPs and it explains other environmental issues like the loss of bees and how to convert your friends

and family to the cause. Kate Aydin provides thought provoking statistics such as “18,000 students unplugging their chargers when their phones have charged would save enough electricity to light 31 houses for one year” and provides genuinely helpful advice for people looking to save money (who isn’t these days?). Even if you’re not especially interested in saving the planet you’re bound to get something from this book. Ethical, eco friendly living is the message and it’s delivered well in this easy to follow guide.

By Georgia Mannion

Make it work.

The 6th season of Project Runway burst onto the catwalk earlier this month

“A

s you know in fashion, one day you are in, and the next…. you are out”.

Since 2004, Heidi Klum and company have been deciding the fate of this statement for the designers competing in Project Runway. Now in its sixth season, 16 new designers are stepping up to the plate, but only one will win. To succeed, contestants must compete with each other to create the best garments with restrictions on time, materials and theme. A runway is then held with Heidi and fellow judges Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and a surprise guest judge rating and slating the clothes as they are modelled. The designer with the highest score wins, usually receiving immunity for the next challenge, and the designer with the lowest score eliminated with Heidi’s famous line “Auf Wiedersehen.” The designers who reach the final three are given the opportunity to create their own fashion line, shown at

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The last designer standing wins an editorial spread in Marie Claire, $100,000 to help start their own fashion line, and a trip to Paris. The model paired with the winning designer throughout wins a $25,000 cash prize and a fashion spread in Marie Claire.

So far, designers have had to design a red carpet garment for Lindsay

cept of n o c s i H “ and an “chickenked like egg” loon a sling.” i feathers Lohan, a maternity outfit for supermodel and actress Rebecca Romijn, surfer inspired clothing along with an avant-garde look inspired by their surfer garment, and finally an eye catching outfit designed for their own models. Exciting stuff!

I would agree with the judges’ decisions

so far, designers thus far eliminated deserved to go. Ari was the first to leave, her outfit described as a “disco soccer ball”. She also refused to sketch any ideas, which is fine if you don’t dress people in a top that looks like a duvet without sleeves.

Malvin was a weird one too; for the pregnancy challenge his concept of “chicken and an egg” looked like feathers in a sling, this saw him waltz off the runway. Mitchell, a Perez Hilton lookalike was the third to go.

As he had featured in the bottom two for all previous challenges I was quite surprised he was still in, although he didn’t last much longer; during the surfer challenge, designers worked in teams of two and it was obvious he let his more talented team mate Ra’mon do all the work. Episode four saw Qristyl go, which was a bit of a shame

because I quite liked her. She could not, however, defend herself, and with her rather plain and simple designs she didn’t quite fit the required ‘fashion forward’ mould. Out of the designers that are left, my personal favourites are Ra’mon, Christopher, Gordana and Althea. There isn’t anyone I really dislike in this series so far; Nicolas is a bit annoying and Epperson was a bit harsh to Qristyl, but there isn’t anyone to hate unlike previous seasons: Wendy (Season 1), Santino (Season2), Geoff (Season 3).

Tim Gunn is my favourite person in Project Runway, apart from Heidi obviously. Tim isn’t a judge; instead he acts as the designers mentor, and visits them throughout each challenge to comment and give advice on the designs he can see. Famous for his lines, “Make it work”, “Carry on” and “This worries me”, it’s hilarious to watch him deliver these lines as he tells the designers exactly what he thinks, but

nothing he tells them is malicious or harsh; you know what he’s saying is exactly right and for the correct reasons. You should never disagree with Tim, not that you could ever get into such a situation with him: how you could argue with someone so nice and adorable?

To conclude, it’s more than satisfying to see Heidi and Tim back on our screens, it’s even more satisfying to hear that casting for season seven starts in May, because watching Project Runway seems to make everything ok, you forget about stresses and worries as you laugh at some of the awful garments and sigh with jealousy at the amazing ones. Project Runway makes me wish I could design and make clothes, but for now, there’s a new series of America’s Next Top Model to catch up on. Auf Wiedersehen.

Aaron Wiles

R E N R O C E V I T A E R C

23

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Calling all freshers!

en’s spectacular forum Welcome to the creative corner, Ser for your creative work!

r talent and to be inThis space is for you to showcase you lity of fellow Bangorian spired by the poetic and artistic abi gs original so why not geniuses! Here at Seren we love all thin strations or photograsend us any poetry, short stories, illu good you are (or Bangor phy and we can show the world how at least). at Seren, that’s Gemma All you need to do is email me here at elu917@bangor.ac.uk of the Students’ Union Or you can pop down to the 2nd floor in! anytime and we can scan your work

Bird of Paradise by Kelly Freear You can pull my head off and even cut my stem But I’ll just grow back again My roots are strong and buried deep Clinging to the ground exhausting man’s patience he falls in a heap How far down must you dig to find the beginning of my existence?

Still I hold tight but I’m impressed by your persistence Marion Turner

The true cost of art H

ave you ever stopped to consider the effect your hobby has on the environment? Sit down for a moment and the issue may be greater than you could ever imagine. Consider for a second the effect a simple activity such as painting could have; to be perfectly honest, the implications are shocking.

For someone admittedly and ashamedly ignorant in basic environmental issues, I was disturbed to read how something so simple could have such a vast and varied impact. Consider the fibres paintbrushes are made from. Should an artist use animal hair

brushes? The answer would appear to be no, as this raises questions from an animal rights perspective. Therefore it would appear that the only alternative would be to use synthetic brushes. But this raises a plethora of questions of its own

about paper made from hemp?

Bleach is also a factor, what is the impact of using bleach to whiten the paper? Chemicals used to coat canvasses are also a cause for concern, and one could even go as far as to consider if the cotton they are cre-

merit. What processes are used to make these brushes; what is the environmental impact of said process?

The issues do not end there.

The next question that arises relates to paper; can artists purchase recycled paper? What

ated from is fair trade.

Even the material that holds the canvas can be a problem.

Are easels and paintbrush handles made from sustainable wood? The issues cover nearly every spectrum of the seemingly harmless skill, stretching

“The issue may be greater than you could ever imagine...”

as far as the humble paint.

From where do the pigments come; and are they mineral or chemically based? Each has their own individual fret, for example, are the minerals ethically mined or are they harvested from an un-sustained location?

Chemicals once again see the issue of environmental impact raise its ugly head.

The issue is therefore far more wide reaching and worrying than I could ever have anticipated. But what can the individual do to help limit and protect against the damage caused by their seemingly harmless hobby? Ethical tools may be the only answer. A quick search of the Internet

will prove that there is unfortunately no easy solution, however, ethical art supplies are often expensive and rather difficult to come by. But there are suppliers out there. www.ecospaints.co.uk sells organic paint; it is worth pointing out from the outset that these are also just as cheap, if not cheaper, than the nearest leading inorganic market competitor. Their paints contain no animal products, heavy chemicals or white spirit. The only drawback, however, is that they currently do not provide a service for artist paint, only paint for home and industrial purposes. www.rps.gn.apc.org is also another excellent little site; here, recycled artists paper alongside other stationery can

be purchased. Although expensive, it is a worthwhile investment if here is where your concern lies.

That is a point that can be made about the issue as a whole; unfortunately it seems that to be conscientious and conscious extra money must be parted with, and extra time must be spent trawling websites and catalogues for such a service. But I think the lesson to impart here is just that; whilst the cost to you may be that little bit extra, the cost to the environment is suddenly a lot less. And ultimately it will be you that benefits from that.

Liz Stevens

24

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Last year, Seren’s roving repor ter, Willow Manuel, used her finely honed repor ting skills to bring you repor ts from an assor tment of the Union’s clubs and societies covering everything from Medieval Reenactment to break dancing.

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End of Year Issue 2009

www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

This year, Seren’s roving reporter, Willow Manuel, is dedicating some meric time to trying one an Footb of the all was out clubs and was societies. out socie perha the

t, the re-enactmen medieval medieval about medieval talk about rule of do not talk he first you do not t is that you rules. t is that rere-enactmen that there are no re-enactmen is that medieval up, of medieval third rule discovered dressing the second rule and when I t reand not about re-enactmen quite a shock sword fightingemail from the medieval and me about I received when an to fighting was actually unnerved enactment looked forward suggested he to feel slightly the societies stated that why I began secretary as to enactment would slightly curious risk... air-cadet am now getting involve incredible spent as an would come by the editor that my youtheven less that it however t; I never thought with a again; I thought re-enactmen g come in usefula session of medieval knee-bendin for with some in handy seemed relatively the session off This battle, stick). for we started with a big were preparing spear. stave (marching the fact that we with a big despite dressed on the head harmless, and I was did get hit tea break heavier a civilised but someone seven stone this we had lessons a big hat), in my Following (warrior my I commenced up as a skirmisherand metal gloves like a hobbit. During on vest somewhat from a chain hit the opponent which fighting looking I learnt not to break after in sword another tea sword fighting axes, swords, t lesson of followed by using pick This was themselves the head. medieval re-enactmen all. battled amongst urged by the violence at everyone I have been does not promote by the flower knives... however caused this society state that apparently centre. society to were also community in the floor also use the The holes society who arranging

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Ultimate Frisbee F

or the final society for Willow does (dry your tears), I decided to try out Ultimate Frisbee, having no preconceptions of what this would involve. Nevertheless I became apprehensive about Ultimate Frisbee when my friend suggested that I should try to avoid getting a black eye from a Frisbee being launched into my face. Perhaps more alarming was my other friend, training to be a learning disabilities nurse, coming to cheer me on - quite fitting judging by my abilities!

Initially the coach taught me how to throw and catch the Frisbee, which we practiced for a while, bringing back memories of playing catch with a dog on the beach. I also faced the difficulty of having long nails, which scratched the Frisbee when I threw and caught.

I was then taught the rules of the game, which were basically to catch the Frisbee in the opponents ‘end zone’ (a square box at your end of the field). To begin, offensive (the team with the Frisbee) would line up on their end zone and choose an opponent who was at the same position as them on the defensive side of the pitch. Offensive would then launch the Frisbee across the pitch and both teams then charge at each other attempting to catch the Frisbee and pass it into

the opponent’s end zone. Or at least that’s what I figured was occurring.

Bangor’s Ultimate Frisbee team are also apparently quite good, evident by them coming 9th out of 35 (ish) in the Regional competitions. There is no referee in Ultimate Frisbee, which brought to my mind in-game riots (perhaps that is just my cynical mind); however I was informed that games are based on fair play. Spirit points (not vouchers in this instance) are awarded to the team which demonstrates the most fair play. When the game commenced it was evident that you have to be in good physical condition to play; not only did you have to keep an eye on who you’re marking, but you have to do this across the length of a football

AIKI

pitch.

When the game had ended I was panting like a dog (fitting considering what we were playing then informed that there is actually with). I wasMe dita session, which may have a women’s Frisbee ting been easier for me! All the same hasUltimate of a bee Frisbee is a competitive sport; a bit n cross between netball and football, yet one of is unique in its own way.

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Seren

Nevertheless you do not have to be a subeditor or secretary to join in on the fun and excitement of Seren. Articles need to be written on whatever takes your interest, from sheep grazing at Ffridd Site to rants about Carnage. If writing isn’t your thing it is still possible to get involved - without the team who actually put Seren together using InDesign Seren would not be able enhance your lives. Being involved with Seren is not limited to just producing the paper, either. We have some amazing socials courtesy of our outgoing Social Sec, which usually involve wearing inappropriate in sunglasses

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...bringing back memories of playing catch with a dog on the beach he one and only society that I am actually a member of, and have participated in for two years is Seren – and for this reason I felt that it would be fitting to end Willow Does with my favourite society.

When I first joined Seren I didn’t get involved much, but knew that I wanted to get more involved. I have managed to do this by being the Secretary and through the mind-blowing feature, ‘Willow Does’, and have found it very fulfilling. As the Secretary my role in the paper is to keep members informed about meetings, up and coming events, and what’s generally happening within the wonderful world of Seren.

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and or head the face medieval bashed acrossour three hour had been somewhat ended the limb we After people in fun, if not lost one it really from everyone if you suffer I found I had only reception t session. a very good this society, particularly re-enactmen and I received recommend dangerous would thoroughly society and

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14

All pho tos of Wil action low in tak

by Hel en en Waller

begin ly only scared stero All photos of Willow I didn’t in of tryingI by ne action what to expla men taken fi I would grasp lled men (and is that the stratein as I Rugb at that) big Daniel Turnereithe have n’t grasp and Kirsty y so Flow I was gy was, Dyas ‘hut’ play. no r,

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of Willow All photos by in action taken Helen Waller

lighting, heading off to Academi/Time/ Racubah and commenting on/tagging/liking way too many pictures on Facebook.

Seren is a really enjoyable society to be a member of. There are so many opportunities and it looks great on your CV. Whatever your interests are there is no doubt that you will be able to incorporate them into the paper. For these reasons I urge you to join Seren in the next academic year.

Articles need to be written on whatever takes your interest, from sheep grazing at Ffriddoedd site to rants about carnage

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nigh who t out in Aca up se Uni vers and name dem dec go. i was The ity’s Vall How eivingly per BUM Mou an ey. Bein S havntainee eve mak haps r not e-a exp oversiz g ring get som -go up es I decerience ed bro ewh ses Society and it sou the bes sion go nd like t pre at . leas ided d clim wn is liter und took para it my t ten to clim ber coat tion us s whi erp ally doe up harnestimes b the prepar ch repared to wha s not for ‘littl the and s t is sma ed was, req BUM clot e’ Eve rock and uire S, a req plumbeing llest ropes in fact hes (debata dow ntu . uire club met safe rope. of vary, olde-wise, ble) d formuch clin n. To ally, I in to Ban get ing r than the Tryfan atte ging to my hor reached my the After club gor leng mpt dea knowle che in ror the exp ckin ths my par kind the th, abs rock I wasthe top, g Ogw I quivdge atte erience eilin for ents ly face info that that how lent en erin and mpted I was g and my us to . The rme for eve me gly I was rop clim real scre qua d that r I was that down the mor dec n’t e I had pats climb ly plea ame rter of ided goin was b up I e una wou d the and Des sec for g an of to dan pite climbed the hou ld hav ware a sed atte to fall ure of rock secondwith whole r, e mpt teamger was findin out at mys and way refusingto abs how face clim tim of you wor . actu g the enjo eil I wou e. elf bing clim yed which All of as I hadNeverthto com to the ld surr to fall k as youally com it! wer b quit oun the and eles e dow bott e e abo e exhterrifyin ding othemade die) hav s afte n om. back it s that . It e to fully ilara g ut Afte I was thre r clim up and r thisI decided r the is gre e tim bers trus ting Ban at exe t the. Clim really brav dow agonisi to es gor bing pro high ely n aliv ng rcis per pro clim e and er is a ud that spe e and son who than bed real ctus a goo I the up ly ban d wayis bela goo had trie rop gs e ying d way d on it and abo of exp you of erie ut. (les imp the ncin rovi t g the they ng dec bea allow utif kin ided ul d pre inspecof corto try sen tion ps) out t the big After (me , me on an wa , we cha being ani eve Unive ngi a s goo had the ng tha nin rsit pro g y a ng Sol gra d and me into secondt the when Offi etin my cer pos dier’. mm bad g ). re we the s Tra wit greens rat ed as In e wh re corps this ich about h the , pro her a in

Thi ww w. repos ye se ren.February rt ar, ba is ng Issue 200 de er, Seren or.a W di c.uk9 to cati illow ’s ro tr yi ng vi so Man ng an ng d so ou me uel, ciett club tim ies. s e

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inin wh wo sol effe was g Cor soc blems rrie die prograhad the inspec ich ct hav ps iety mm infu society tor were two ing (no tha d. Fror in , riat wh abo pas After and t the m order e he ed . ins a for t tha ere the ut pec ma t to abo s, I the they exp him The UO fi I tor l 34 ut 16.was meetinalso TC discusget inslain cal inspecdiscovve tim s led tor ere es 9.4 press Ho quite g get may sion ide ed how the we me d wh too to on ups wever worrie didpaid hav I rea info a to e, jou ‘The ntionedat lise rm me stretchthe ble in two I me d as a per attendeveryo d atio rna Sec ss tha n, wh out ep ret min t and I havsonal ! ne I list t an I hav ere and test. ute rea des then had sur e don fitne in advente bee drin the Aft s, lly pite got ss 59 pas er ks e n enj som this camoufl ure n told are we stin sit sed no test oys nt e eac exe wit out is the age tra to king ups the tha inc rcis h tar h soc of it. soc (I’mining t to redibly get and in two tar get e sin get cha swe we Me iety full suc ials che s to sur eke nge atin min for ce ste h as such mbers tha e tha nd y exp ap. d for g ute girl I wa t ad dis s s as s of I wo t the wh erie wh cip drinwe did and doing ere nce uld line the the en re rea ks the app , lea cas UOTC be is the in ‘sex che mo mo y sho UO the lyin der ino pos d go TC g for shi night on st like re to ot offi es’ gun I cer a jobp and wh skiing ly to it tha s sho ’s tea ich is trip join n and uld . tha m run attend wo com s etc as you t)! aro rk I ing , the wh get fee und ich up, y hav so l tha wil and l sta leae bril much t nd rn lian you ski t in lls goo d

“I w wo as I h rrie quit no ave d as e sin exe don rc e c ab e I ise ou wa t1 s 6”

This year Willow is breaking free from the confines of gor to bring you repor ts from places as exotic as LlandBanudno and Anglesey. So I think you’ll agree that this year prom ises to be an even better one than the last.

T

New York

he Newyorkness of this article is such that I am writing it in Newark airport, New Jersey, as I wait for my flight home. New York shattered some of my

expectations and it was also so much more than I thought it would be.

In many ways it was the grungy Gotham city featured in Batman, yet it was also the romantic setting o f

‘Sex in the

City’.

Firstly some history, as you may know, long before land grabbing settlers took hold of this area it belonged to Native Americans known as ‘Lenape’original people. The Lenape lived undisturbed until 1524 when the French discovered the area.

Then in 1609 the Dutch West Indian company encountered this area and set up trading posts, they named the colony ‘New Amsterdam’. But, as you may have guessed, in 1664 the English showed up ready for a fight.

The Dutch surrendered and King Charles II promptly renamed the colony after his brother; The Duke of York and the rest is history.

Now the boring part is over here’s a British girl’s New York’observations. The New York public library is worth a quick visit and is one of the free attractions and is a monument to learning. I visited the Empire State Building at night and the panoramic views from the observatory were amazing despite the long queue.

The Empire state building has to be visited as it is perhaps the most famous member of the New

York skyline and is featured in so many Hollywood films. Ellis and Liberty Island are also compulsory to visit and the statue was a joint effort between the French and Americans to celebrate the declaration of independence. I have been told that the statue is a lady; however I am convinced it’s a man. Ellis Island functioned as New York’s main immigration centre between 1892-1954 and epitomises New York’s population.

Broadway shows in New York are located in the theatre district near bright Times Square, in many ways the heart of Manhattan. I saw Chicago starring Jerry Springer which was amazing and much better than the film.

I also refrained from chanting ‘Jerry, Jerry’ when he was on stage. Central Park was one of my favourite parts of New York as it brought flash backs of so many Hollywood films. It is so much more than a park with so much to see from OAP’s playing baseball to the famous fountain featured at the beginning of ‘friends’.

Adjacent to the park is New York’s most popular tourist attraction; the metropolitan Museum of Art. Not only does it have an extensive, global art collection but the views from the roof

garden also provide amazing panoramic views of Upper Manhattan (where all of the Sex and the City girls live except for Samantha). A cosmopolitan in the bar also helps to appreciate the modern art collection. Greenwich Village was described to me as ‘quaint’ by a New Yorker, but it is not quaint by British standards.

This area homes New York University and buzzes from the student population.

Sex and the City is one of my favourite programmes, however it glamorises New York which is a really grubby city. I was also told that New Yorkers are ruder than Londoners (not that I find Londoners rude) but nothing could be further from the truth. I found New Yorkers extremely friendly and this can be seen through the amount of people who would read Seren (visit http://www. facebook. c o m /

Serenbangor).

From muppets to tramps, they were all polite and courteous.

To sum up New York I would say that it tastes like coffee, sounds like jazz, smells like garbage and looks like yellow cabs. I would strongly recommend a trip to the city, and as Cole Porter sang ‘I happen to like New York’.

All

ph otos W tio illow of n in by take He n Wal len ler

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25

TRAVEL

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Highway To Hel 2 students, 40 countries, 30,000 miles

C

arl James is a Bangor Sport Science graduate, he and friend Tom Picton are soon to leave on the journey of a lifetime.

For two men fresh out of uni, blinking in the bright light of the real word after years of some study and boundless beer, a question needed answering. What to do next?

The real world and ‘proper’ jobs beckoned. How to delay that? We could do what everyone else our age

does of course. Grab a backpack, get a round-world ticket to Asia and spend 6 months on a “piss-up” tour of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand, returning home with little more than 3rd degree sunburn, tourist snapshots, embarrassing ‘personal rashes’ and an empty wallet.

We wanted to travel, but where?

Along came ‘Long Way Down’ with Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman (inspired by Ted Simon’s

Jupiter’s Travels). Africa beckoned.

Driving through 40 countries over 30,000 miles we will take in some of the harshest environments this planet has to offer from the sand dunes of the Sahara to the treacherous mud tranches of the Cameroon rainforests. We shall leave Buckinghamshire in late September with the aim of arriving in Die Hel, near Cape Town, South Africa in March 2010 which marks the half way

point in the expedition. Yes, halfway.

As if equalling the feat of Long Way Down at a fraction of the cost was not enough, we plan to travel back home via the notoriously dangerous West African coast.

This trip of a lifetime also incorporates the scaling of Kilimanjaro en route as part of an aim to raise £10,000 for Link Ethiopia and Alzheimer’s Research UK upon completion of the trip, 11 months

from now.

Please take a moment to visit our website www.tohelandback.org. uk. Our mind blowing trip will raise money for two amazing charities so please donate a little - even just the price of a pint helps a lot. Thank you!

By Carl James & Tom Picton

A different Per th-spective couldn’t get over it. The $2 coins are smaller than $1 ones. Surely if it’s worth more, make it bigger!

That was the theory back in years of yore, wasn’t it?

Then again, logic doesn’t appear that much in Western Australia, like how they conveniently signpost your exit from the freeway next to it, leaving you to go past it at 110kmph

plores Heather Torrance ex n the land dow under

S

o there I was, standing at the door of a bakery at 6am on a Friday morning in Western Australia. How did it get to this? I had decided instead of fighting for a 4 hour a week job back in the UK, I’d try on the opposite side of the world. This particular bakery and café opens at 7 and so there I was ready for my first shift, before the sun had even risen, purely running on energy powered by adrenaline.

I was given an apron and told to help stock the shelves with bread.

This was harder than it looked. There were over 15 types of bread, some very difficult to tell from others and knowing where they stood on the shelf proved difficult. One type was a normal wheat bread with three scores along the top of it and another was a white sourdough with, again, three scores along the top of it. The only way you could tell it apart was one was slightly heavier than the other.

Fantastic.

I was told to leave the bread to Glenda, who was training me, seeing as I was taking so long with a type of bread in each hand, working out

up, walked the dogs, gone for a swim and written a novel with one eye shut and an arm tied behind their back.

There is a type of bread there called a “Pain de Campagne” or “country bread” which made me realise that Australians cannot grasp the concept of foreign languages. Maybe we’re so used to being right next to the continent, only hours away from foreign languages and cultures, but some of the pronunciations I heard were brilliant. “Pain de Campagne” – yes, the pain of champagne is bad the morning after, so we thought we’d name a loaf after it. Another thing; I

“I was told to leave the bread to Glenda, I was taking too long working out which was heaviest.” which was heaviest. I was left to the pastries and till counting. Half of the pastries I had never heard of before.

I managed the croissants and brioche before it started to stump me. And seeing as I wasn’t entirely used to the currency, that took me a little while as well. However, what got me was so small that it was annoying that I

on the road to Darwin working out how the hell you’re going to get back.

So the doors open at 7 and of course, there’s always someone waiting to get in. As far as I can tell from Perth’s habits, Australia wakes up before the birds and goes to bed at sunset. Chances are by the time you first open an eye on that Saturday morning, someone has already gotten

don’t know whether this is my inner middle-class talking, but I had one guy asking what chorizo was. Clearly he could see it was some form of sausage, but still he found the need to ask. When one of my colleagues said it was French, I had to step in.

There were a couple of times where I was told something along the lines of “Remember about 3 months ago you

had this particular type of cake?” to which of course, I’d reply no, having only just arrived in Australia. After explaining this, they would say “Oh, I knew there was something strange about your accent!” – Yes! I’m not Australian! Well done!

However, some of the customers did an amazing amount of cheering up for me. Being stuck in behind a counter for 8 hours after a 6am start makes you surprisingly grumpy. My days are cheered up when a teenager came in and asked for something lowcalorie. Now this is a French-style patisserie. The French don’t do low fat. Her mother then ignored her and bought 4 croissants and I caught the girl, as she was walking out, asking her mum whether croissants were healthy. A woman promptly burst out laughing from the queue behind her and we enjoyed the stupidity together.

Australians are so health conscious.

Take that teenage girl, worried about her weight as a prime example.

Living so close to amazing beaches, everyone knows how to surf, cope with swimming in strong currents and everyone jogs in the early hours of the morning.

I enjoyed it whilst I was there, but I was starting to get bored. I am enjoying waking up at social hours.

Not getting $400 a week bites though.

26

SPORT

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

Reservoir Discs R

eservoir Discs are Bangor University’s very own Ultimate Frisbee team. Ultimate is an exciting, noncontact team sport, played by thousands the world over. It mixes the best features of sports such as Football, Basketball, American Football and Netball into an elegantly simple yet fascinating and demanding game. One thing that makes Ultimate Frisbee individual is the lack of any referee/umpire meaning the players self-officiate the game. This causes a strong spirit of sportsmanship and respect between everyone involved.

More people than ever are taking up the sport as a fun way to keep fit, a great way to meet new people or just to try something new.

Reservoir Discs are a very social team, both in and out of training. Weekly socials held at our sponsor Varsity means you quickly become part of the club. There is also the prospect of attending tournaments around the UK allowing you to make friends from all over. In the last year Bangor entered several different tournaments including the BUCS regionals in Manchester and Liverpool. Bangor also holds its own tournament each year which sees 16 other Universities descend on Bangor for a weekend of ultimate and partying. If that wasn’t enough, Bangor has also attended the world’s largest beach tournament for the last 2 years in Burla, on the west coast of Italy. A week of Ultimate in the sun before returning to Bangor for Freshers’ week!

So come along and find us at Serendipity during Freshers’ week and for photos and more information visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2231968716

Patrick Ward (club president) AU Clubs Taster Sessions 21/9/09 – 27/9/09 AU club taster sessions CLUB

American Football Archery Athletics Badminton Men Basketball Women Basketball Capoeira Cheerleading Fencing

Men Football Women Football Men Gaelic Football Women Gaelic Football Gymnastics

Hockey Men Hockey Women Judo Ki-Aikido Netball

DAY +DATE

TIME

VENUE

Tuesday 22/9 Friday 25/9 Wednesday 23/9 Friday 25/9 Sunday 27/9 Friday 25/9 Friday 25/9 Saturday 26/9 Saturday 26/9

2 – 4pm 2 – 4pm 8 – 10pm 8 – 10pm 9 – 12pm 6 – 8pm 2 – 4pm 12 – 2pm 2 – 4pm

Maes pitch 2 Maes pitch 2 Normal Sp. Hall Normal Sp. Hall Normal Sp. Hall Normal Gym 2 Main Hall Main Hall Main Hall

Monday 21/9 Sunday 27/9 Tuesday 22/9 Wednesday 23/9 Saturday 26/9 Sunday 27/9 Tuesday 22/9 Friday 25/9 Saturday 26/9 Saturday 26/9

8 – 10pm 12 – 2pm 8 – 10pm 8 – 10pm 1 – 4pm 12 – 2pm 11 – 2pm 11 – 2pm 11 – 2pm 11 – 1pm

Normal Gym 2 New Hall Normal Gym 1 Normal Gym 1 Normal Gym 1 Normal Gym 1 Maes pitch 1 + 2 Maes pitch 1 + 2 Maes pitch 1 + 2 Synthetic

Saturday 26/9

1 – 3pm

Synthetic

Friday 25/9 Saturday 26/9

2 – 4pm 1 – 3pm

Monday 21/9 Wednesday 23/9 Thursday 24/9 Saturday 26/9 Friday25/9 Thursday 24/9 Friday 25/9 Saturday 26/9 Tuesday 22/9 Thursday 24/9 Sunday 27/9 Wednesday 23/9 Friday 25/9 Sunday 27/9 Thursday 24/9 Sunday 27/9

7:30 – 9:30pm 7:30 – 9:30pm 7 – 9pm 3 – 5pm 12 - 4pm 1 – 4pm 10 - 12pm 3 - 5pm 8 – 10pm 8 – 10pm 2 – 4pm 8 – 10pm 8 – 10pm 12 – 2pm 2 - 4pm 12 – 2pm

Treborth Rugby 2 Treborth Rugby 1 Gymnastics Hall Gymnastics Hall Gymnastics Hall Gymnastics Hall Synthetic Synthetic Synthetic Synthetic Normal Gym 2 Normal Gym 2 Normal Gym 2 Normal Gym 2 Normal Gym 2 Normal Gym 2 Main Hall Main Hall

B

a n g o r University

Mountaineering Society. (BUMS) are an AU club committed to giving you lot the opportunity to get out in the mountains and experience climbing. We supply transport to crags, gear, and make it easy for climbers to meet other climbers.

Come and visit us at serendipity!

Bring your AU cards along to join up for just 15 pounds and you will have access to all BUMS activities, plus loads of great blags like discounted gear from Joe Browns and The great Arête, discounted drinks and food from The Greek Taverna, cheap entry into the Beacon Climbing wall and exclusive entry into the Indy Climbing wall.

We’re always looking for new members and encourage beginners and experienced climbers alike to come along join the rampage!

We were voted AU club of the year 2008-2009 and ran many successful trips including two epic voyages to the Peak District where we too took the grit by storm; and a cold trip to the Lake District where we raved in a barn and crashed the Kendal

Mountain F i l m Festival in style, plus many more weekends away including trips to the Gower and Pembroke.

This year looks to be promising one with a climbing trip to Turkey, and our usual haunts of the Lakes, and the Peaks, not to mention the local hot spots of Snowdonia and Anglesey, plus many more locations.

We meet under the Curve Lounge of the SU every Tuesday at

6pm for an

e ve n i n g ’s climbing, often heading to one of our local climbing walls, or if the weather/daylight hours allow, we head outside for a few hours after lectures. Afterwards we head back to the Greek Taverna for a few cheap drinks and complementary sandwiches whilst having a good old banter.

On a Sunday we meet up at

the SU at 9.45 and head off at 10am for a full days climbing outside (weather permitting).

We go out and explore the local crags, providing transport and gear where required. Need it be said… after a full days climbing, a refreshing pint in The Greek is always welcome!

If you want to find out more, feel free to join our Facebook group (BUMS, Part of the Bangor network), or visit our recently updated website: bangorbums.wordpress.com Or drop us an email on BUMS@undeb.bango.ac.uk .

Join BUMS for fun laughs, Great friends and Awesome Climbing!

By Ben Alsford

27

SPORT

Freshers’ Issue 2009 www.seren.bangor.ac.uk

y it s r e iv n U r o g n a B b lu C ll a b t o o F T he Men’s Football club will be looking to challenge for honours with all three teams this season after a good season of rebuilding last season.

This season the 2nd team will be known as the reserves and will be playing in the Caernarfon and district league division 2, two divisions below the Gwynedd league in the Welsh tier system, and will be aiming to win the league. The third team will again be competing in the Sunday league and looking to emulate last season’s success. One of the main aims this season is to have all three teams competing together as one club and so players will be moved between teams more often than in previous seasons and we will be working on building a club identity rather than three separate

teams.

Our 1st team will be looking to build on last season and finish mid table to avoid any chance of relegation a season before the Welsh Premier League will be reducing from 18 teams to 10 or 12, causing a knock on effect in numbers of clubs relegated in the lower tiers.

Trials will be held on the following dates: 22nd September 11am-2pm at Maes Glas sport centre: Returning students only!

25th September 11am- 2pm at Maes Glas sport centre: First years only!

26th September 11am- 2pm at Maes Glas sport centre: Managers’ pick from both previous trials.

If you can’t make those dates but want to be involved send us an email: peu470@bangor.ac.uk

B.U.H.C.

B

angor University Hockey Club (Men’s Section) is union Club that boasts a wealth of talent both on and off the pitch. Our club consists of two teams, a 1st XI & 2nd XI in which both play Saturday /Sunday league fixtures with the Men’s 1st XI also playing in BUCS (University Championships).

The club is both an athletic and social outlet for prospective members and is one of the biggest clubs in Bangor! We have many socials at our sponsors The Albion Hotel which normally turn into fun nights! We also have quite a few socials with our counterpart club Bangor University Hockey Club Ladies’. We are always looking to bring in new members and would love it if you came and had a go at hockey with us. Our club ranges from absolute beginners to internationals so we have quite a range but we all get on and banter with each other exactly the same so please come and have a go!

For any other information on Men’s Hockey At Bangor University please contact Me James Oakes by e-mail (edu66e@bangor.ac.uk) or visit www.buhc.webs.com

CANOE POLO W

elcome to Bangor University Canoe Polo Club! What is it?........Canoe polo is an exciting and high speed sport.

There’s a ball (slightly smaller than a basketball) that two teams spend their entire time trying to throw into each other’s goals. The pitch is on water, either in a swimming pool or on a lake and everyone paddles themselves around. It is a physical team game, combining kayaking, throwing, passing and shooting along with the mental and physical tactics of competitive sport plus of course

the after practice/match obligatory social.

We are an ever growing and improving club. University polo is developing and improving at high speed with Bangor being one of the key teams in that development.

Strong links with the North Wales Dragons and other up and coming North Wales clubs will provide better local competition and improved coaching opportunities. The Club itself already has several qualified coaches and many aspiring coaches all keen to help develop individuals

paddling skills.

Competition............Last year the club competed in tournaments in Liverpool, Cardiff, Doncaster and Italy. We were the bronze medallists at the British Universities and Colleges Sport Championship and thoroughly enjoyed competing at The National League Championships and our tour to Italy. This year we are hoping to match or better last year’s form.

Party time.......Along with the thriving competitive side of the club there is also the extremely important

social.

Every week there always something on, a regular themed social, entertaining evenings, trips to the beach for a BBQ or large group dinners, you’ll never be bored, we’re a sociable club.

Training..........

Always twice weekly. Meet at the Student’s Union for transport when we go to the pool in Llandudno Fridays @ 1930hrs, and on Sundays @ 1030hrs to go to the beautiful Llanberis Lake. We are also planning to have gym sessions and other training dates, details later.

Serendipity....... We will be there,

come and find us, see photos, videos, meet club members and sign up for our taster sessions which we’re holding on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th. If you miss us at Serendipity you can always get in contact by emailing the club canoepolo@undeb. bangor.ac.uk.

We look forward to meeting you.

Barry Moon

o,xb Move in weekend

(Sat 19th - Sun 20th) o,xb Meet your warden & flatmates. Storm FM disco

Monday 21st o,x Karaoke! c

Tuesday 22nd Psychology Quiz

ight Acoustic N0 - 11.30 ands 7.3 Acoustic b

Societies Night Chance to meet Union societies

Friday 25th h Thurs 24t

Weds 23rd

Open til midnight

Sat 26th

BBQ & t s a o R g o H ay / night d ic s u m e v li

m BBQ 1-4p

for pre-ball warm up!

o,xb o,xb Sunday 27th Sept & Sunday 4th October TV lounge day - a selection of classic TV o,xb Monday 28th Karaoke! o,xc

Tuesday 29th

JMJ halls night

Meet your hallmates & warden!

LIVE LOCAL BANDS 7.30 - 11pm

Weds 30th S ept Fri 2nd Octo ber M eet your hallm ates.

(See posters fo

r details)

Saturday 3rd October LOVE BANGOR launch party Bar Uno, Ffriddoedd Site, Bangor. Clubs and societies welcome; group bookings; free wi-fi; breakfast, lunch and dinner available. 01248 38 88 88 baruno.bangor.ac.uk