2013, Term 1, Issue 4

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14 OCTOBER 2013, WEEK 4

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BADGER

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE STUDENTS’ UNION

LETTERS

“Come in and shut This week’s Claim to Page Fame featured in up”:3late-to-lecture Sussex Says etiquette Page 7 Page 5

FEATURE

Why social mobility is Page 14 in 21st an irrelevance century Britain Pages 8

OBAMACARE

America divided over controversial healthcare system Page 12

EXCLUSIVE TUNE ININTERVIEW ONLINE

Will Fortna chats to local Brightonian musician Theo Verney Page 14

Cost of living crisis NEW FIGURES REVEAL STUDENTS FACE A FUNDING GAP OF £7,000 AS LOANS AND GRANTS FAIL TO MATCH SPIRALLING LIVING COSTS

Daniel Green Students face a cost of living crisis as loans and maintenance grants fail to keep up with the rising costs of essentials, rents and bills, according to an NUS report. The report, by ‘Pound in your pocket’ – a branch of the National Union of Students, revealed that students outside of London face a shortfall in funds of almost £7,700 – making them worse off than students paying premium costs in the capital.

The NUS compared statistics over the cost of living for a student for 39 weeks with that of typical payments for government maintenance loans and grants; concluding that students outside London face a shortfall of £7,654 on average.

The vast gap between government support and expenses is blamed on the increase in rent, bills and other outgoings rising above inflation year-on-year, whilst loans and maintenance grants have been frozen at 1% growth – as announced by Universities Minister the Conservative Rt. Hon. David Willetts MP in March earlier this year.

A statement by Toni Pearce, President of the NUS, said: “Many students starting university this month are facing a cost of living crisis, with available financial support in loans and grants failing to keep pace with spiralling bills for basic essentials.

Those who do not have the rare luxury of resorting to the ‘bank of mum and dad’ are increasingly being driven to work full-time alongside study where jobs can be found, or worse still into the arms of predatory pay day lenders just to make ends meet. We need a financial support system that ensures students get what the support they need, when they need it.”

The report by the NUS also exposed that financial difficulties are now pushing many students into ‘dropping out’ of higher education institutions, with the rising prices of accommodation and transport being directly associated with reduced wellbeing and happiness.

In addition, the NUS reported that students from less well-off backgrounds face additional pressures as the level to receive maximum government support has remained at incomes up to £25,000 for five years running.

In response to the NUS’ revelations, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills stated: “This year, students at the lowest level of income can access over £7,100 of living-cost support, of which over £3,350 does not have to be repaid. The government also provides additional non-repayable support to students in specific circumstances, such as students with children and disabled students.

“Scholarships and bursaries are also available from most universities, and students in hardship can apply for additional support through the Access to Learning Fund”.

Sophie van der Ham, Welfare Officer at the Students’ Union, said to this newspaper: “The findings confirm what we have known for a long time: poverty negatively affects wellbeing and stifles student development and general enjoyment of life. Not having to think about money is a luxury that very few students actually experience.”

However, Sophie also said that there remained help for students in financial difficulty: “The University have a firstgeneration scholarship scheme aimed at students whose parents haven’t been to university. They receive a £3,000 bursary because they are often at a disadvantage.”

In an interview, a University spokes-

Data compiled by the National Union of Students suggests that the cost of living crisis gripping graduates has forced some to quit their courses, citing financial instability person revealed that 11 undergraduate students “permanently withdrew” from Sussex citing financial reasons. However, the University was keen to point out that they made up a small percentage “out of a population of around 10,000”, and that “the proportion of Sussex students dropping out of university has fallen dramatically over the last decade.”

The University also outlined its vast “action plan” to help students with fi-

nancial difficulties; a plan endorsed by the Office for Fair Access and which is worth around £8.1 million.

Kelly McBride, President of the Student’s Union, stated the Students’ Union would conduct a survey at the end of the autumn term, looking into the financial situation of students.

She said this had come “partially in response to this report and will look at both income and expenditure together

with things such as the perceived effect that having to take up additional paid work has on students’ studies.”

The news comes only weeks after the release of statistics by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) which showed a drop in the number of available jobs for young people. Unemployment amongst 16-24 year olds remains high, making up over a third of national unemployment figures, at 973,000.

the badger

14 OCTOBER 2013

in pictures • 2

IN PICTURES

What’s happening on your campus Black History Month - Capoeira Showcase

Demonstration

@occupy_sussex

Ho Wah So Poetry Workshop

Walk to Devil’s Dyke

Xiangxiang Gong

Sabrina Carter Magpie Eco Fest

Election capmaign comes to a close

Ho Wah So

Naomi Horsfall Bizzare Circus or drunken antics?

Left Wing Politics in Hong Kong talk

Mina Rassouli

Mina Rassouli

the badger

14th October 2013

NEWS • 3

NEWS

University: challenge for disabled Study shows only 50 percent of Universities make all facilities accessible to disabled students

Zoe Ambrozewska A new report has been published probing the quality of accessibility and support services for disabled students at universities the length and breadth of the country.

Trailblazers, an organisation representing and supporting young disabled people, conducted the report entitled ‘University Challenge’, which sought to identify which universities were under performing in their duty to provide maximum assistance to disabled students in and around their campus.

Some key statistics highlight a mere 33 percent of Students’ Unions had a society or organisation representing disabled students, and only 50 percent of responding universities had made all lecture theatres, seminar rooms and library areas fully accessible.

The Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 made it illegal to treat disabled students less favourably because of their disability.

The ‘Top 100’ universities in the UK were asked the same standard set of nineteen questions from the perspective of a potential student, with some, including the University Of Sussex, not responding to Trail-

blazer’s requests.

Clarifying this, a representative for the charity commented: “It is likely they didn’t have the answers at the time or they were going to email/ call us back. But, as a result, we had to record it as no response”.

When contacted, a spokesperson for The University was adamant that the university were not one of the institutions contacted to partake in the survey.

“As far as we are aware, the University of Sussex was not invited to complete this survey. This is disappointing since we could have shown the many positive approaches Sussex takes to supporting disabled students.

“The University attracts and recruits an above-average number of students with disabilities to its courses”, he said.

Outlining the array of initiatives the University undertakes to support disabled students, he continued: “We are also proud to be home to the Sussex Regional Access Centre – which provided needs assessments and training for students receiving the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

“University housing, both on and off campus, includes units designed for disabled students who are able to live independently. The University

appear to be developing the availability of information for disabled students, say some of those affected, and in May 2013 launched an online access guide for disabled users.

The guide, which was developed with help from DisabledGo, covers all venues on campus and can be found on the website’s Campus and Facilities pages.

At the time, Professor Michael Farthing, The University Vice-Chancellor, said: “It is essential to create an inclusive environment where everyone is given the opportunity to realise their full potential”.

The Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Sophie van der Ham, was also enthusiastic about the advancement of disabled facilities at Sussex.

She commented: “I’m working on setting up a disabled students’ focus group to better understand the issues”.

The Trailblazers representative later added: “The challenges for a young disabled fresher are the same as a non disabled fresher, however, there are a number of additional considerations that require attention.

“We want to ensure the transition is smooth so that disabled students go to and stay at university and have a similar university experience to their peers”.

Naomi Horsfall

Sussex tumbles down league tables Madeline Weng

The University of Sussex dropped eleven places in the world ranking league published by the Times Higher Education (THE), falling for the second year in a row.

The 2013/2014 statistics saw

Gabriel Webber

Sussex plummet eleven places to 121st in the world rankings, forty-two ranks lower than the 2010/2011 edition.

THE also placed Sussex at 17th in the UK and 48th in Europe, a relatively small drop over the past year, amidst the University’s attempts to expand their student population and increase applications from overseas.

Responding to the revelation, a spokesman for the University said that they did not see it as a downgrade: “Sussex has consistently performed in the top two per cent of world universities and in the top 20 of UK universities. “ We are in good company and indeed punch above our weight as a smaller, research-intensive university with many big, civic universities in the Russell Group - such as Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool - positioned below us.”

The drop mainly came from a decrease in scores in the teaching section of the scoring system,

which experienced a 5.4 percentage point drop in the survey’s total score.

This category, according to THE, examines the perceived prestige of institutions in both research and teaching and is composed of three factors: institutional income scaled against academic staff numbers, a staffto-student ratio and a doctoral to bachelor’s degrees ratio awarded by the institution.

In the 2013 National Student Survey (NSS), 88.5 per cent of final-year students at Sussex expressed satisfaction with the quality of teaching on their course.

However, 22 percent of Sussex students still think that the feedback on their work hasn’t been prompt, and neither do they think it has helped them clarify things they did not understand, as the national student survey provided by the THE shows.

Robert Jamieson, a Sussex MA student in Multimedia Journal-

ism who has been at The University for five years, said: “I have definitely noticed an improvement in facilities. The new buildings look great and I like the modern architecture.

“However, I’ve had a few problems with getting information on my assessments. I’ve got one due in November and we haven’t been given any information regarding what the assessment entails or what to write about”, The University has said that they are not concerned about the results regarding teaching quality but conceded that could have performed better.

The spokesman said: “ We expect teaching scores to improve as we become more responsive and increasingly engage students in high-quality teaching.

“We have recently formed boards of study with student representatives in all subjects, in order to really engage students as co-creators of knowledge” he said.

Georgia Lewis

THE BADGER

14 OCTOBER 13

NEWS • 4

Colin Jackson hurdles on to campus Justin Sealey

October marks the 26th annual Black History Month in Britain, a celebration which aims to promote knowledge of Black cultural heritage through over 6000 events in cities nationwide.

The University of Sussex Students’ Union is holding its own range of events across the month in association with student societies and the University itself, featuring lectures, film-screenings and workshops.

The Union employs the definition of Black people to include all those whose ancestral origins are African, Asian, Caribbean, Chinese, Middle Eastern, North African, Romany, the indigenous peoples of the South Pacific islands, the American continents, Australia and New Zealand.

Wednesday the 9th saw the climax of the first week of Black History Month at Sussex with a lecture from World Champion and Olympic Silver Medallist, hurdler Colin Jackson. The lecture took place in the Jubilee theatre to a

large and diverse crowd.

The talk, entitled “Dare to Dream: Lessons for Sports, Business and Life” detailed Jackson’s rise to athletic success before explaining the life lessons he had picked up along the way that he believed held the key to success in any field.

Jackson’s talk suggested that the ability to deal with both failure and arrogance after success were what led him to his position as world-competing athlete.

He drew links between his own approach to sport and those who have been successful in other areas outside the sporting discipline, pointing out that life-rules such as clear planning, learning from experience and ensuring longevity of performance are universally applicable attributes that others would do well to take on board.

The athlete invited questions at the end of his hour-long talk, and audience members were quick to broach the topic of race in relation to athletic success. Mr.. Jackson concluded that race-restrictions in athletics were being regularly broken down with the rise in so-

cial mobility in Black and Ethnic Minority groups.

At the end of the questions, audience members made the most of the photo opportunity, while Mr. Jack-

son remained behind for a further twenty-five minutes to talk closely with sport students and First Generation Scholars who had been selected and invited to the talk.

The talk is part of a series of events this celebrating Black History Month. To find out more and get involved visit: www.sussexstudent.com/events

Photo: Photographer

Ussu

Naomi Horsfall

Mental health awareness The anual event held on campus in conjunction with the Time To Change team celebrates another succesful day engaging with and takling issues and stigma surrounding mental health

Callie Payne

Imogen Adie Communications Officer

Shape the Students’ Union - our new The Students’ Union is writing its new strategy for the next three years - and we want you to shape it. The strategy will lead the Union’s direction and the things we do for the next three years, and we’re offering you the exciting opportunity to have your say.

We’re asking you to tell us the things we should focus on and how we should do things, by telling us what we should start, stop and continue doing.

We’ll then put these suggestions together and come up with multiple scenarios for students to vote on in February.

The most popular option will shape our new strategy, and will be put to all students to vote on in April.

When I stood for election, something I was really keen on was giving students the oppor-

tunity to shape their Students’ Union and create a better variety of ways for students to give their input.

Through this process we’re not only giving you the opportunity to have a say about what your Students’ Union should do, but we’re also going to consult with a wide variety of students through focus groups and surveys, and put the final strategy to a campus-wide referendum.

You can have your say by filling out one of our comment cards or heading to sussexstudent.com/ ournewstrategy and submitting your ideas online.

We’ve helpfully printed a comment card on page six, so you can fill this out and hand it in to any Students’ Union staff member or volunteer in Falmer House.

The campus played host to a series of events last week to celebrate a day aimed at increasing awareness for people with a variety mental health problems.

Against the backdrop of Asda having advertised a mental health patient Halloween costume designed for teenagers, there has been a backlash on social media sites regarding the negative and factually inaccurate stigmas of mental health sufferers in anticipation of the annual awareness event.

To celebrate the day, the Students’ Union partnered with the Time To Change campaign team, Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club representatives, as well as volunteers from in and around the university to put on events around campus.

Popular events around campus included three free yoga sessions, the return of the familiar wellbeing tree, and an online-

run competition encouraging students to submit pictures of what they do for their own mental health. (Third years already anticipating their dissertation Deadline Day may wish to take note.)

Caroline Orsola, a representative from Time To Change spoke about the benefits of holding an annual event across the country on issues such as mental health.

Having a visible and interactive presence, she said, helped not only to reduce the taboo and stigma within the community, but also hugely benefited the volunteers, who felt empowered by their ability to actively tackle real or perceived stigmas about theirs and others mental health.

The yoga drop-in sessions, hosted in the Meeting House over the lunch-time period, were in a bid to emphasise the link between physical and emotion wellbeing.

In collaboration with The Basement and Daily Life Ltd., a public ‘light box’ exhibition called ‘All very well’ features

the artwork of people living with mental health issues. Another also explored the concept of “well-ness” and challenges the concept of a prescribed, checklist lifestyle, filled with yoga and watercolours.

Students’ Union Welfare Officer, Sophie van der Ham has spoken passionately about the issues faced by those coming to terms or dealing with issues they encounter as a result of the negative stigma attached to mental health.

Commenting, she said: “the Union is committed to encouraging a more open World Mental Health Day, united by the Time to Change dialogue about mental health issues and to reduce the stigma associated with it.

“This negatively affects students’ lives and may prevent them from seeking help when they need it most.

“Members of staff at the Union and Officers have felt more supported because of the campaign”.

THE BADGER

14 OCTOBER 2013

SUSSEX SAYS • 5

SUSSEX SAYS

Claim To Fame

THE MOAN ZONE

Shopping with (Harry) Style Rosie Dodds Though often used as a go-to example of modern day music mockery it is undeniable that, particularly within the pre-teen population, the X-Factor generated phenomenon ‘One Direction’ has a vast and dedicated following.

A multitude of factors including their happy- go-lucky branding, discernibly catchy choruses, and signature hairdos have contributed to this success.

joyable shopping experience.

Thus, it was begrudgingly that I ventured to the Westfield London branch of Urban Outfitters with the intention of purchasing some new swimwear. All too soon I found myself battling with a bikini top. Attempting to stretch the clingy fabric over my head, I momentarily lost balance and stumbled into my changing room door which, to my horror, pushed open and I fell backwards into the open corridor.

Untangling myself from the top in

“I stumbled in to my changing room door, which to my horror, pushed open!”

However, perhaps the most prominent explanation for One Direction’s fan base is teenage heartthrob Harry Styles, who I was fortunate enough, or even unfortunate enough depending on how you look at it, to meet.

Most of the female population can sympathise I’m sure with the hassle that is bikini shopping; flustering to change into tight, unflattering pieces of clothing adorn with too many straps and fastening methods in a tiny changing room is never the most en-

order to have working limbs, and a somewhat uncovered chest, I looked up to apologise to the person I had bumped into during the commotion.

If you can’t see where this is going, the person standing in front of me was in some twisted turn of events, Harry Styles!

As my face burned with embarrassment, and throat started clucking in anticipation to say something- anything, he gracefully brushed passed me as if everything was entirely nor-

mal, and there wasn’t a half-dressed, red cheeked girl in front of him.

He even managed enough composure to wink at the goggling sales girl at the exit, a gesture which left her shrieking in excitement for the rest of time I spent there whilst going about recovering my clothes and dignity.

So there you have it; I can claim to have met Harry Styles. However since then I am vigorous in reminding friends that the upstairs changing rooms in Urban Outfitters is unisex, to convince them to only purchase swimwear online, and have to explain to anyone who notices, why I grimace every time a One Direction song comes on.

HAVE YOU GOT A CLAIM? Swooned with a celebrity?

Done something so embarrasing in front of your hero you’ve never told anyone?

E-mail Sussex Says at lmh34@sussex.ac.uk

CREATURES OF THE NIGHT Phoebe Holt It started off like a usual night out with all the girls: bottles of wine and ‘battleshots’. The girly music was blaring and the night’s preparations began.

As we drank more we got progressively louder and after one too many drinking games we finally decided to take the plunge and head into town. We got to the club and with no queue outside it did not look hopeful.

Nevertheless, we decided to go in anyway because with all the girls in our group we always have a good time.

We got a few drinks, danced around stupidly and then found the chocolate fondue fountain outside! One of my housemates decided that she would do the honours and take over the host’s job, distributing marshmallows dipped in chocolate to everyone around.

She definitely did a better job than

the girl who was supposed to be doing it! Despite our efforts to try and liven up the night, there is, unfortunately, only so much one can do in an empty club.

We decided to leave and within a few minutes we were accosted by some freshers who decided that they would give us a guide to Brighton life. (A little ironic since I’m a third year!)

We decided to humour them for a while before breaking it to them gently that we knew our way around Brighton very well. So once having got rid of the cling-ons we discovered a guitarist down one of the side streets who was strumming quietly on his guitar. Being over excited (and a little drunk) we danced down the street towards the music.

When we found the guy with the guitar we began requesting songs. He told us that we had to give him some money for personal requests and so we scraped together about three or four pounds.

Seemingly satisfied with this amount he played us ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse and we all screeched the lyrics at the top of our voice, my friends and I definitely think we’re great singers when we have a few drinks in us, but I

can assure you that we’re not.

After a string of karaoke classics such as: ‘Don’t stop believing’ by Journey and ‘living on a prayer’ by Bon Jovi, we had had enough amusement for the evening and decided to leave the busker to his guitar but before we could make a swift exit he tried to ask for more money off us – the cheek of it!

Ignoring his request and politely thanking him instead for the entertainment we headed home, not forgetting a quick stop off at RFC for some chips!

This week: My Flatmate’s Guests Every night I see them, floating around the flat. Though I race around behind my flatmates, slamming shut those gaping windows, I can never stop them.

I’m of course talking about the Daddy Long Legs, the Crane Fly, or the Tipulidae, to be pedantic. Despite its formal classification not as an arachnid but as an insect, it bears a striking resemblance to a spider, due in part to its imposingly long legs and itsy bitsy body.

The Crane Fly’s bumbling flight pattern isn’t exactly the material of nightmares, and the speed with which it executes its journey could be rivalled by a good-spirited amble. Also, quite unlike the spider or common housefly, the Daddy Long Legs has no great aversion to handling (provided you don’t mind the tickle of its slow-moving legs on your palms, there’s no reason why you can’t imprison one within a white-knuckled fist).

Therein, however, lies the problem. The insect’s docility finds him tangled awkwardly in the sink, floating ghoulishly in the shower, or sitting contentedly on your head. This particular guest is not welcome in my house (and probably not welcome in many other houses either!) This kind of behaviour is very unexpected of an insect/arachnid intruder; the common housefly or spider sits tactfully tucked away into corners or under beds, quietly respectful of your presence. The Crane Fly, unfortunately, affords you no such courtesy.

Mark Tovey

Creatures of the Night @THEMOANZONE

Share your moaning moments

TOP CELEBRITY TWEETS OF THE WEEK “so many great things happened on aug 28th: 1. Martin Luther Kings I have a dream speech 2. My Bday lol 3. Honey Boo Boo was born. LOVE IT” @Leannrimes “What if we spelled ‘people’ like this: peepole. That would be funny I think” @Kimkardashian “when my nails get really long I love running them through a scruffy beard (must get a manicure soon…and wax my face” @Annakendrick47 “Not even gonna lie I just saw a dog that looked identical to Barbara Windsor” @example And a special first world problem for the week comes from our favourite Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, Brandi Glanville: “Noooooooo! I’m out of coffee :(“ @BrandiGlanville

the badger

14 October 2013

Letters • 7

LETTERS

Sex sells butter?

Dear Badger, I would like to take a minute to express my discontent with the new ‘Flora’ television advert.

For those who are not familiar with this monstrosity, they should be aware that the butter advertisement depicts, through cartoon graphics, two reasonably young children who are making an ‘anniversary’ breakfast for their parents; toast with flora being the obvious choice.

When delivering a tower of toast to their parents’ bedroom the siblings are confronted with their mum and dad ‘wrestling’; even the cute family dog covers his eyes.

However prudish this may come across, I believe this advert is far too inappropriate for family viewing for such an everyday staple. To begin with, the demographics for the advert are awfully confused.

It seems to be created in child friendly manner with cartoon style graphics and a child’s voice-over, making the message confusing and even more wrong.

Parents will almost definitely be confronted too early with questions about said ‘wrestling’ activities.

Secondly, why are young children being left alone in the kitchen to handle dangerous appliances (toaster, knives etc)?

And finally, is Flora suggesting that awkward sex sells butter? This advertisement should definitely be left to post watershed!

Jen Mattei

International student fees Dear Badger, I am a second year international student and I want to express my opinion about the fees I pay. I know that it was quite a big issue last year but, unfortunately, since then nothing has changed.

Why do international students have

to pay much, much more than English students? Literally, this year I will need to pay £16,200. I really do not understand the reason for this. It’s so unfair!

Why do students, who are going through the same studying process, have to pay that much more money? I agree to pay more than others, but why is the difference so big?

How will the University of Sussex gain more students if its ranking is falling, yet the fees are getting higher and higher?

email: badger-letters@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Silly me! A couple of days later I went to the bank to sort it out, and it turns out … I was given a new card when I upgraded to a student account and hadn’t realised. Ooops.

Hermione Berendt

Come in and shut up Dear Badger,

Anna Sudnitcyna

Money management mishap Dear Badger, I’m notoriously bad with money, so when I checked my bank account after I got my student loan, I completely freaked out. I sat there for about 10 minutes just staring at the figures, thinking of all the crazy ways I might accidently spend that money.

Consequently, I decided to put the majority of it into my savings account.

Later that day I was in Sainsbury’s and my card kept being declined. Now, it wasn’t because I had no money in my account because I did; I had doubled checked that morning but the card machine wouldn’t read my card and neither would any cash points.

At first I thought maybe the card had been damaged, but then the cash point gave me the biggest fright when it told me that my account had been cancelled!

I tried to find a NatWest, but as I don’t know Brighton very well I couldn’t see one anywhere (there are about 4) and in the end I gave up.

Humiliatingly, I had to leave my shopping and then do the journey of shame back home in a complete state of panic. I genuinely couldn’t figure out what it was, but I had inkling that maybe my bank account could have been frozen because I had been messing around with so much money.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not nessesarily represent those of the Student’s Union, unless explicitly stated.

University of Sussex Students’ Union Falmer, East Sussex, BN1 9QF

BADGER

THE

Fifteen minutes into a lecture, the hall is silent. People are either 1) Hung-over 2) Checking their Facebook 3) Actually making notes 4) Wishing they were back home in bed.

Then, the door opens, and someone runs in as if they’ve done a marathon to get here. They do the awkward stare round the room, jutting their chin out and looking like they’re hunting for prey. They act all nonchalant, as if no one can see them; we can. Finally, after an awkward few seconds they go to where we all know they’ll end up – the front. If we’re lucky, they trip up on their way there.

It’s even better in a seminar; someone will run in late, and have to do the painful walk around the room to get to the chair that seems as far away as New Zealand, doing the awkward shuffle behind chairs as student tuck theirs in and adjust their bags.

I can remember this happened to me last year, I came in late, had to go into another seminar and take a chair from there, to finally sit next to the tutor. I know no one actually cares, but at the time you can feel people’s stare on you (stare of shame if it’s me who catches your eye).

However, I’ve established that there is etiquette to this. Instead of looking all embarrassed, just simply laugh at yourself. Yes, it’s going to be a little awkward, but who cares? Simply stride in with confidence, and walk to the front. It’s probably wise to nod to the lecturer in apology. After that, busy yourself with a tweet about coming in late.

That‘s my theory, and I think it works.

Of course, you could ruin it all and fall over, in which case, you can’t be helped.

Louis Patel

# T hebadger the week in tweets @Wikistevia Good to see only one of the two double doors unlocked as 150 people leave the lecture theatre #jms #TheBadger

Editor-in-Chief Aubrey Allegretti

badger@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Deputy Editors-in-Chief Emily Sutherland badger-news@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Cat Gough badger-arts@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

@Harry_TJ123 Always surprised how weird people turn out to be when you start living with them #LouisAustin #TheBadger

Tom Pearson

dbatchelor94 #Northfield is not full of stuck up people! I lived there last year and made a lot of genuinely great friends that I’ve kept. #TheBadger

badger-publicity@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

badger-opinion@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Head of Publicity Amy Bracewell News Editors Yasmin Centeno, Lucy Hartland, Jack Williams badger-news@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

@nattylow Getting better at ‘budgeting’ this yearthe most expensive thing I’ve bought all week is my second pack of Soothers! #TheBadger @JellyElliott Going clubbing on a Saturday and realising how young you actually are #TheBadger @amyrosemary14 Really want to eat my lunch outside today, but I feel that the seagulls want it far more than I do. #TheBadger @breeallegretti Having a seminar in Fulton 212- walk in rapping like Azelia Banks #TheBadger @sudnitcyna and also have sent angry letter about fee problem, I know that is not only my problem. i hope we can change it somehow #TheBadger

Letters & Societies Editor Deborah Batchelor badger-letters@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Features Editors Holly Davis-Bollard, Nicole Estwick badger-features@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Comment Editors Nick Godshaw, Paul Millar badger-opinion@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Arts Editors Will Fortna, Tom Powell, Heather Gwyther, Cesca Rampley, Victoria Rodrigues badger-artspages@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Science Editor Katherine Hardy badger-science@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Sports Editors Karoliina Lehtonen, Michael Morrow badger-sports@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

@chloegrace_94 I wish there was an on-campus salon/ beauticians at Sussex. Would make my between-lecture gaps so much more productive #nailwoes #TheBadger

GOT AN OPINION? If you’re troubled by seagul strife, want to air a campus grievance, or want to respond to an article in the paper, send a carrier pigeon to:

badger-letters@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Photo Editors Naomi Horsfall, Mina Rassouli badger-photo@ussu.sussex.ac.uk

Publicity Team Zoe Mallett, Jemma Rix, Annie Pickering, Hannah Shaw Online Editor Steve Barker Students’ Union Communications Officer Imogen Adie

communications@sussexstudent.com

the badger

14 october 2013

FEATURE • 8

FEATURE

Holly Davis-Bollard

“Rise with your class, not out of it” Pete Humphreys explains why social mobility is an irrelevance in twenty-first century Britain

At a Lib Dem conference fringe event, Tony Blair’s former speechwriter Philip Collins described social mobility as a “terrible objective” for politicians to pursue.

But is it really such a worthless aim? Surely raising the social status of those born with less is an admirable ambition for a politician to have?

It’s easy to understand why the idea of social mobility gained currency during the 20th century. A raft of professional and management jobs bolstered the middle class and people were keen to secure their children a more prosperous life than they themselves had been afforded. A university degree was the ticket to a career, and a grammar school education made this more achievable to a select group of working class youngsters.

However, this social shift wasn’t manufactured by a political class focused on making the lower classes more upwardly mobile. In fact it was a development precipitated by a changing labour market.

In today’s very different economy, social mobility amounts to a zerosum equation. With limited jobs in each strata of employment (and no increasing middle class), it follows that for a child from a poorer family to receive a management job, a wealthier child will be, in effect, displaced into lower paid employment.

While this may be fantastic for the few who manage to climb the social ladder, it is not a net gain for society as a whole.

Without changing the way our economy is structured, the aim of

“In today’s very different economy, social mobility amounts to a zero-sum equation.” enabling large swathes of poorer children to receive higher paying jobs by increasing educational standards and opportunities isn’t at all achievable.

Where then does this leave the ambition of encouraging more and more young people into higher education?

There are thousands of students today chasing a relatively small number of graduate job opportunities. Figures from the Office for National Statistics in 2011 showed that around a third of recent graduates were in non-graduate jobs, up from 26% in 2001. With-

out the guarantee of better employment, many will question whether it is worth attending a university at all.

Arguably it is no longer of benefit to encourage an increasing number of young people to study when there is not an equally increasing number of jobs for them to turn to upon graduation.

If social mobility is no longer a worthwhile target and the structure of our economy seems unchangeable, then where should our government be directing its attention?

A quote from 20th Century Scottish socialist John McClean springs to mind. “Rise with your class, not out of it”.

Britain is fast becoming a lowwage economy for the vast majority of workers, with pay increasing (far below the rate of inflation) at 2.8% in the 11/12 financial year.

Compare this with an average 12% rise in pay for the chief executives of Britain’s top companies and an ever-widening financial inequality is revealed.

It seems obvious that our politicians should be addressing the living standards and pay of the workers in our country as a whole, rather than talking about an unachievable social mobility.

Leaving the dream of social mobility behind doesn’t mean, however, that we should abandon equality of opportunity.

I think most people would agree that the children of the wealthy shouldn’t receive more opportunities to chase top jobs than the children of the less privileged. Unfortunately, reality lags far behind this ideal.

93% of the population is stateschool educated but figures reveal that 43% of barristers and 54% of top journalists were privately educated.

Even a third of the 2012 British Olympic team attended fee paying schools.

How we would achieve equality of opportunity is an incredibly complicated question.

Perhaps a solution would be to ban all forms of private education.

But aside from the libertarian arguments against this, rising house prices around “good” state schools would still give wealthier children a better chance of a good education.

Even if the state were to somehow redress economic imbalances in education, there are still a host of social factors to contend with.

In 2011 a study conducted by the Scottish Centre for Social Research found that upon entering school, children with wealthier parents educated to degree level are on average 18 months ahead with their vocabulary and 13 months ahead on problem-solving ability.

The logical solution here would be to identify these struggling children

and give them extra support in order that their attainment not be lower than that of their better-off peers.

But the statistic reveals the complex nature of the situation and how factors largely beyond state control can imbed inequality into our society.

However, I think it is worth taking a moment to critique the incredibly narrow view of social mobility and equality that I have discussed in this article and that politicians in our country normally refer to. It is a very nationalistic perspective that we have taken and does not do service to the global situation.

The vast majority of people in our country will be in the top 5% of earners in the world and have access to opportunities and possessions that would seem extravagant to those who only wish for clean water and a warm home.

It is worth noting that there are vast advances in social mobility throughout the world, with massively increasing middle classes in countries such as China and India.

It may seem impossible to fathom, but perhaps in the future children born in the poorest slums of the most deprived countries in the world will have access to an equal education system that will allow them the opportunities to attain higher standards of living.

THE BADGER

14 OCTOBER 2013

COMMENT • 10

COMMENT Where do you like to do it?

Bree Allegretti Editor-in-Chief To many people, the library is a symbol of learning: a multitude of different disciplines contained within dusty bindings.

Of courses to others it offers a discreet place for promiscuity, particularly in the more secluded corners lined with 12th Century French Literature.

(There was even a video up on the Spotted Facebook page of two people doing the deed but they chose a private study room for the privacy it offered- woops!)

However many will agree that the library’s purpose lies rather in books than bondage, and so it leads many of us to question just how motivational

the surrounding of a library can be, or whether perhaps it is a reminder of the monotony of work and a place away from the home comforts of sofas and endless fountains of coffee.

There is of course the view that being in an environment in which you can observe fellow citizens dedicating their time to learning and studying, spurs even the most resilient of students on to pick up a book - and proceed to highlight whole pages in an attempt to pick out ‘key points’.

While there always appears to be a superhuman race to whom the prospect of reading is more pleasure than pain, I suspect that many people in a library use others around them to motivate their study and without realising, are in turn motivating other fresh

faces, as they reluctantly order all of their coloured pens meticulously.

However to others, the containment of hundreds of silent and unhappy people is not an environment in which they work best. The sheer pressure confined by the peeling plaster and bitter yellow lighting is hardly an IKEA bedroom, and so doesn’t offer the most comforting and pleasurable locations to real comfort.

Some people prefer bean-bags, food on-hand (naughty!) and a Facebook tab up amongst the endless Wikipedia ones, to stimulate them and make them feel like they are relaxing more than revising.

Stress accompanied by learning is hardly efficient and instead ones utopic bedroom offers a safe-haven of flex-

ibility in terms of activity. If they want a coffee, the kettle is a few paces away, rather than a few floors (and it’s rather a bit cheaper too...)

The library can be a haven in the winter and means you can save on energy bills (might as well charge your phone there while you’re at it...) but one must first brave the troubled feat of waiting half an hour for a bus - while the live service timetable insists it’s due.

In the summer (when it finally comes around) the only salvageable positive is perhaps the free drinking water.

The rolling grassy hills of Sussex’s green and pleasant land are but a myth to those with a pressing deadline, and the endless Facebook statuses and Instagram photos of your friends who

have finished their own assignments do little to aid your mood.

Why not sit in your own garden - if you’ve been afforded such a luxuryand take your laptop out to enjoy a productive work in the warm sumer sun?

Your decision will depend on how suited you are to your preferred learning environment. You should ask yourself whether you will really be getting the most out of being in stuffy surroundings or procrastinating in a ‘relaxation revision’ session.

Either way preference is vital. By all means try and utilise both, but don’t end up falling asleep in the library. The chairs are almost certainly not nearly as comfortable as your bed.

Society of the week

piring musicians, keen gig-goers, and people interested in music, to work alongside one another putting on gigs on campus and around Brighton.

After Morgan’s sudden death in April, a group of his closest friends formed a committee to ensure his society was a success even in his absence, and we are proud to say that you reading this here means we have achieved it!

A mailing list of over 230 sign-ups was created in just one day after our hugely successful launch at this year’s Freshers Fair,

and our first ever social at Casablanca’s Jazz Club was an equally big triumph.

We managed to fill the place from front to back with plenty of support from new society members.

Our society intends to build up an extensive roster of live music acts for gigs that we shall host, and the more diverse the selection, the more varied our gig nights can be.

From a one man beat box, to a 20 piece jazz band, any act from 'a record deal around the corner' to 'just started' will be

welcomed with open arms.

And if you want to get involved with any aspect of our society, whether it be supporting us at our gigs, promoting our society, behind-the-scenes work at concerts, or you are in a band, then we want you!

Membership is free and all information about our events and how you can get involved is available online on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SussexLiveMusic.

This won’t be the last time you hear of us in university news- there are big things to come!

70% of shares buoght by investment banks, it should come as no surprise that Goldman Sachs advised the gullible Business Secretary Vince Cable to undervalue the company by £1 billion.

And as additional shares are offered following this deliberate miscalculation, naturally the larger doners are given priority., while small shareholders have been sidelined.

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail’s 150,000-strong workforce - only 380 of which refused to buy shares, but nevertheless take just a 10% stake in the company - have been teased witha huge 8.6% pay rise if they do not go on strike.

While the vast majority of us agree the disposing of badly-run, loss-making nationalised industries was a good thing in the 1970s, a YouGov poll conducted this year showed Thatcher’s privatisation of essential utilities – water, gas and electricity – to be, far from being ‘popular’, her most damning legacy on the British public.

Some 61% said in the poll that they would prefer major public utilities to be run by the public sector compared to 26% who believe they should be run for profit. There are, indeed, echoes of the late 1980s, when Thatcher herself was placed in the peculiar position of having inexplicably made British Rail the countrys’ first profit-making publicly-owned utility. It is little wonder she was in no

hurry to sell it off in the last years of her premiership, in spite of her overriding principles.

And as the first real wedge comes ebtween Labour and Conservatives in the bitterrow over energy prices, the argument over ownership – so brushed under the carpet in the years – becomes a divisive issue again.

Because aside from the economics, the Royal Mail is a cultural lynchpin, part of the patriotic fabric of our country for 497 years, Run privately, its heart will be ripped out. The sell-off of the Royal Mail epitomises all that is wrong with the psyche of the British political elite.

Even Nigel Farage’s UKIP understands the need to keep Royal Mail in state hands. Don’t you?

Sussex Live Music Society Louisa Holland A society dedicated solely to live music, seems like an obvious staple of university life, doesn’t it? However, until September of this year our campus was without one.

Founded by the amazing Morgan Grant in March of this year, Sussex Live Music Society was formed.

He aimed to provide a platform for as-

Union box

Juliette Cule Education Officer

International tution fees The Students’ Union is committed to free, popular, democratic and publicly funded education – something which we continue to fight for.

Last year, the University raised tuition fees for nonEU international students by 12.8%. Following a campaign against such an unexpected and large fee increase, the University reversed its decision and increased the fees by 5%, refunding the difference to affected students.

The University now has a policy of increasing non-EU international fee increases by 5-8%, but following research with international students,

we believe this is still too high.

This year, we are campaigning to keep fee increases in line with inflation and for a return of the fixed fee option, allowing students to budget for the duration of their course.

We will be gathering information about fee increases nationally to present to the University, and raising awareness of international tuition fees among our students by writing an article for the Badger and hosting a Sussex Question Time event. If you want to find out more or to get involved as a campaign volunteer, please visit www.sussexstudent.com/campaigns.

Royal Mail sell-off a scandal

Paul Millar Comment Editor The Royal Mail is a state asset that simultaneously provides a service to the length and breadth of the British Isles, while also reinvesting taxpayers money back into the Treasury, a huge £403 million in 2012. Profits have been growing year-on-year, but on the pious pretext that every British institution is best privately run, the coalition government has prioritised short-term profit over our longer term economic, infrastructural and cultural outlook. Paradoxically, by modernising the Royal Mail in a way that has paved the way for the upcoming selloff from state to investers, we find ourselves with a rather ideal structure.

Aside from the profitability seen on a spreadsheet, the benefits of running the less commercial elements of the Royal Mail are not immediately obvious. Little is known, for example, about the role posties play for small businesses, especially those in the countryside. What small businesses lose, speculators, hedge funds and investment banks gain. With

the badger

14 october 2013

comment • 11

THE BIG DEBATE

Should smoking be banned in prisons?

The Badger asks whether or not inmates should be allowed to smoke in prisons, in light of the latest proposal from the Prison Service wishing to implement a nationwide ban

No

Anna Sudnitcyna

According to BBC News, smoking in all areas of prisons in England and Wales could be banned by 2015, a move which is being considered by Her Majesty’s Prison Service.

This ban would rid the institutions of the negative effects of passive smoking for nonsmoking inmates and staff. However, the ban will be extremely difficult and controversial because of the fact that 80 per cent of inmates are smokers.

There are many varied opinions on this issue; some argue against a ban on smoking in prisons, while others argue for it. I will be arguing against the ban.

First of all, M. Johnson, the founder of Charity of Voice and also an ex-prisoner, stated that smoking is a choice, which inmates have as their human right.

In other words, in a democratic society like the UK, people have their rights and freedom of choice, which should be protected by law and government.

However, this ban goes against human rights because prisoners will be forced to quit smoking against their will. So, this ban must then be seen as contravening the core principles of democracy.

Secondly, prison as an institution should not only be a place for punishment, but should also be mainly for rehabilitation. After the sentence is served inmates will come back into society.

We should help prisoners change and become better, and not treat them as unwilling people who cannot decide for themselves what they should do.

A ban on smoking adds to the perception of prison being a punitive regime, and one that

focuses on retribution rather than improvement.

Another argument against a ban stems from the reasons why inmates smoke, which is, according to ex-prisoners, stress and boredom.

The smoking ban may therefore increase violence, anxiety and self-harm in prisons, because for most inmates smoking is a way of coping with stress.

Instead of implementing a ban, there are other ways to reduce the adverse effects of smoking. M. Johnson suggests that smoke and non-smoke cells can be organized in prisons. It can exclude any harm for non-smokers within the living quarters, as prisoners would only be able to smoke in their cells.

Also, the fact should be taken into account that tobacco is one of the main currencies within prisons, and even some non-smokers buy into that trade.

In light of this, if a smoking ban becomes established, inmates are more likely to use drugs as wages and as a result the amount of drugs being circulated and consumed around prisons may increase.

An example of a badly received smoking ban is optimized by the nationwide ban in hospitals, which showed that over 78 percent of people didn’t like fact that they could not smoke.

This is because they considered themselves as free adults, who could take responsibility for their own actions.

As a conclusion, in the twenty first century people shouldn’t be told what they can and can’t do in regards to their own personal space.

Prisoners have their rights in a democratic society as well as other people in it, which means that the law should provide a freedom of choice as long as it does not harm the freedom of other people.

Yes Lara Glantz

It is estimated that nearly 80% of inmates are smokers, and it has been argued that denying them the right to smoke is a violation of a basic human right, based on the individual’s decision.

Let us take into account the definition of prison, and the reason for forced imprisonment. One explanation for the term prison is, “a facility in which individuals are forcibly confined and denied a variety of freedoms under the state of the law”.

That being the case, it begs the question of whether or not smoking should always have been banned in prisons. If it had constantly been a privilege denied to criminal offenders, then would there be campaigns to lift the ban in twenty first century? I believe not.

No one would deny smoking being hazardous to the individuals health but additionally the effects of second hand smoke to staff and other inmates seems like an unfair infliction that could be avoided in the outside world, with non-smokers unlikely to find themselves confined against their will in a constricted cigarette smoke congested environment.

Surely the inhalation of second hand smoke on a non-smoker is an infliction as much as denying a smoker the ability to “light up”, and in fact a less fair one based on the healthier life choices that the non-smoker is making.

Prison should be a chance for offenders to better themselves, both through health choices and reformation of character and lifestyle, and quitting smoking would without doubt be an improvement to the individual’s health.

Andrew Neilson, from the campaign charity the Howard League for Penal Reform stated that a ban on smoking would cause consider-

able angst for prisoners who are “very often distressed” and use smoking as a form of release. Surely this is symptomatic of greater problems within the prison system? Surely in order to reform these inmates into functional and improved members of society we must then focus on the improvement of their mental health. This, I believe, is the only workable long term solution.

Why should we think that the banning of cigarettes would be too great a punishment for the prisoner?

The main purpose of prison is as a correctional facility, and as such the act of correcting all levels of anti social behaviour would be of benefit to both the inmate and society in general. Every other worker, under the law established in 2007, is banned from smoking in the workplace. A prison worker counts the prison as his work place to the same extent as any office worker or public servant, and it seems imbalanced to subject prison workers to a working environment that is hazardous to their health.

Indisputably the prison workers, being non-delinquents, should have their health and safety prioritised over the desires of offending citizens. No suggestion has been made of cutting the inmates supply off totally, as inmates who smoke will be offered safer nicotine replacements under these newly executed laws.

To conclude, Amanda Sandford, research manager of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) rightly stated that the US, Canada and New Zealand have all successfully implemented a ban on smoking in their prisons, and in doing so have had the additional benefits of reduced risk of fires, lower maintenance and insurance costs and reduced risk of legal challenges by non-smokers currently exposed to tobacco smoke on a daily basis.

the badger

14 october 2013

SCIENCE • 12

SCIENCE America divided over new healthcare system Hiral Gandhi

Over the past week, some politicians in the United States of America got ‘mad’ (to use an Americanism) at a law that got passed in 2010- the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (coined ‘Obamacare’) and the entire government shut down.

This article doesn’t aim to update you with minor changes that’ll be out of date by the time of publication, but in fact to step back and explain exactly what ‘Obamacare’ actually is.

Not all Americans at present have health insurance. Those who do pay a small ‘co-payment’ for each visit to the doctor and the insurers foot the rest.

Large scale companies offer health insurance plans to their higher ranked employees as an incentive and the Federal government provide Medicaid to those below a certain income.

If you fit neither of these criteria, then you must buy your own coverage, but some just don’t think it’s worth it

science factoid of the week

on the grounds of its cost relative to their healthy lives/low frequency visits to doctors and insurer’s habits of dropping clients when they have to pay up.

On the other hand, those who are not insured usually wait until the last port of call, the A&E room, which costs an extortionate amount.

Medical bills are the premier cause of bankruptcy in the US due to unrealistic fees, therefore some people never manage to pay them back – which leads to further cost rises to cover the deficit.

Contrary to popular misconception, Obamacare isn’t socialisation of the existing health care system; if anything it acts to humanise insurance companies.

Six changes have already been implemented. Such as insurance companies can’t limit payouts/drop patients if they become sick.

Insurance companies can’t deny chronically ill children from joining.

Parents can now add their children

Turns out all those Biff, Chip and Kipper books we read as children weren’t a waste of time.

Research from the New School in New York City have discovered that reading fiction improves your ability to understand others feelings and thoughts.

After reading different types of passages, participants were tested on their ability to infer other thoughts and emotions.

Literary fiction proved to be the best in the ability to increase the reader’s empathy. This has implications to curriculum as well as reading programmes in prisons.

So stick your head in a book to help your socialising capabilities.

Max Wilson crease on their income tax (which raises by 1% every year). They’re being coerced into buying something that they’ve convinced (perhaps rightly so) themselves for so long that they don’t need.

The other group feeling at a loss are individuals with high incomes over, $200 000 per annum, whose taxes will increase 0.9% to fund Medicare.

There are other costs evoked such as the $146 billion tax credits for small businesses and individuals who

can’t afford health care in addition to $358billion to set up health insurances exchanges (compare markets to deliver appropriate plans).

At the time of writing the US government are debating the financial viability of Obamacare, thus have shut down over disagreement.

In my personal opinion Obama is a brave man to make such harsh changes at a compromise of popularity. Obamacare will work but it’ll take time, patience and a shift in mindset.

Sussex researchers gain insight into the brain of maths geniuses Imo Dobie

Reading fiction helps improve your empathy

to their plan until they are 26 years old.

Wellness/pregnancy exams no longer require co-payments.

Insurance companies must spend 80% of premiums on actual healthcare.

Insurance companies can’t raise premiums without passing it by the state government.

Sounds alright; it seems to most definitely give the underdog a chance now. Wrong. Some Americans feel betrayed by the government, as if they are the ones being penalised and not the insurance firms.

If you are fiscally capable of qualifying for Medicare, which is 133% of the federal poverty level (accounting for income to family size), then in regards to the new changes you have nothing to worry about.

The conundrum affects the middle class families who work hard for their money but do not have a healthcare plan; if they refuse to take out insurance by 2014 they will have a 1% in-

The findings of the University of Sussex’s Natasha Sigala and Ludovico Minati may herald a new age where, to the dismay of students the country over; one can no longer profess to simply ‘not have a brain for maths’.

In their report ‘Effective Connectivity Reveals Strategy Differences in an Expert Calculator’, the pair sought to understand the neural bases of mathematical cognitive abilities by studying a particular individual with powers of mathematical reasoning in the upper echelons of human capabilities - the Cuban-born maths genius Yusnier Viera.

Viera earned a name for himself after being awarded the coveted (and surely highly contested) Guinness World Record for his calendrical skills.

He can name the day of the week for any date of any year, stretching back over 400 years, in under a second.

Ask him ‘what day of the week was the tenth of October 1768?’ and Viera will confidently reply ‘Monday, of course’.

Surely this is the ultimate in party tricks. Sigala and Minati were especially fascinated by Viera because, unlike many expert mathematicians, he does not fall along the autistic spectrum and can eloquently explain how he arrives so quickly at his answers.

He even teaches his system for solving novel equations and has published

books which espouse his philosophy that ‘life is 50% skill, 50% attitude’ (See Viera’s website ‘Spicy Math’ for more inspiring buzz-phrases).

He explains that when faced with novel mathematical problems, his brain creates short-cuts, which transform the unfamiliar into the familiar.

This he believes is the key to the phenomenal speed with which he can access stored information on his area of expertise.

Having studied the neural activity of Viera while he completes both novel and familiar mathematical problems at the Sussex Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Sigala and Minati have confirmed that his brain is no different to that of an average person’s.

This suggests that deliberate practice may contribute significantly more than innate ability to our mastery of a subject.

They found that familiar problems engaged medial areas of the brain where long-term memory is stored, and were solved quickly and with a ninety percent degree of accuracy.

Conversely, new problems were associated more with the activation of frontal areas, in charge of decision-making and logic. These problems took marginally longer to answer and conferred to a lower degree of accuracy (around eighty percent).

This finding supports Viera’s own account of consciously creating a mental

Naomi Horsfall step to create a mathematical equation which he is well-versed in performing from one which he is not.

In short, Viera’s extraordinary reasoning abilities can simply be attributed to him being so self-motivated that he has equipped himself with the tools to access the vast reservoirs of knowledge within the brain.

Dr Sigala is confident her findings are

‘a message of hope for all of us. Experts are made not born’.

So that should act as encouragement to us all when we frustratingly berate long-division ten years after we were first taught it (where do I put the carried one!?) – give it a bit longer, engage your frontal lobe that bit better and reap the rewards of your profoundly improved cognitive abilities.

the badger

14 October 2013 ARTS • 14

ARTS

Film

Pressure

Sussex Film Appreciation Society/ African Caribbean Society Screening 27th September Victoria Rodriguez O’Donnell Arts Editor Beginning their Black Britain Season, the Sussex Film Appreciation Society succeeded in choosing a most appropriate film – one whose central theme tackled a centuries-old debate about what it means to be British.

Screened in the Arts A2 Lecture Theatre, notorious for the bizarre staircase outside, this particular lecture hall was perfect for being turned into a makeshift cinema.

The sheer size of it worked very well in conjunction with this month’s profound look at the Black British experience and it housed a decent turnout.

In retrospect it’s easier to be surprised that Horace Ové’s masterpiece is so seemingly ignored today, however the organisers addressed this by commenting on why it deserves to have as much exposure as its better known (especially American) contemporaries.

The fact that Pressure was the first feature-length film to have been made by a black British director further confirms both the movie’s importance and its undeserving exclusion from the cinematic canon.

Produced in 1976, the film itself was an unflinching approach to the experiences of being a second generation immigrant in North West London.

The protagonist Tony is torn between his British upbringing and the Caribbean roots his family so ardently want him to retain.

Culture-clashing is at the heart of this film and it really did hit a nerve.

For Britain to call itself a Commonwealth and yet continue its racist behaviour was sickening to watch, but vital to the film’s message.

Though Pressure did at times feel dated, Ové skilfully pioneered a way of examining British experience through those struggling with their ambivalent identities.

The film itself did not claim to answer any of the issues it explored, but that definitely helped aid discussion amongst the audience following its screening.

Bordering on documentary, the film felt refreshingly honest and raised questions regarding multiculturalism today.

This was a great start to this month’s season and will be hard to top.

The Film Appreciation Society has, however, three other stirring screenings lined up, including Mike Leigh’s Secrets and Lies on Monday 14th.

Exclusive interview: Theo Verney

In the first of a brand new, monthly series looking at local Brighton musicians, Arts Editor and History student, Will Fortna talks to Theo Verney about getting signed to Hate Hate Hate Records, music making, and Brighton’s lack of good sandwich shops

Sam Hiscox

Will Fortna Arts Editor

Having only played his first shows last February, Theo Verney has made a pretty rapid ascent into a signed, much talked-about, touring musician.

Despite having recently been profiled in pretty much all the major music blogs (The Fly, Line of Best Fit, NME), shooting a music video and preparing for the release of his 2nd EP on Hate Hate Hate records, Theo manages to find the time meet The Badger for tea on the London Road in Brighton.

Indeed, the rest of his day is spent planning an upcoming trip to New York to play with Yuck, as part of the city’s legendary annual College Media Journal (CMJ) festival.

Theo seems unfazed by all the press and hype, though is clearly enjoying finding success.

His first EP ‘T.V.” was released on purple cassette, and the new release Heavy Sunn is being released on vinyl.

“I got my test pressings the other day.

“I went along to the mastering session where they cut it as well.

“It was basically a dream come true – sitting in a big studio with them playing in real time, being etched into vinyl on a big Neumann lathe. It was my nerdy dream come true”.

When I ask what the biggest change has been since signing to Hate Hate Hate records, Theo laughs, “I find people reply to my emails now.

“I spent so long last year badgering labels and pissing off promoters - and now I’m turning down gigs.

“So it’s cool man, it’s really good.”

In today’s digitally-connected, internet-based music scene, success can seem instantaneous and a simple matter of putting a song up online and getting signed the following week.

And yet, while his rise might seem to be fairly rapid, it wasn’t achieved without a lot of hard work.

“At one point I was just sitting at my computer, I had a template and I probably sent like 50 emails a day to blogs, just trying to get featured.

I think it’s quite important just to put the time in.

“It’s not hard – its just [putting in] the time.”

Heavy Sunn itself was recorded

months ago, and despite the release date still being a few weeks away, Theo is already talking about his next record.

“I’m in the process of recording the demos for an album.”

Describing his new songs as “heavier”, Theo is currently debating whether to work in a proper studio, perhaps even with a producer, or to continue to play, record and mix everything himself from the comfort of his own living room.

This way of working has been integral to his music up to this point, and he sees it as “part of the composition process”.

It’s a combination of writing whilst recording and his self-confessed “short attention span” that produces what appears to be Theo’s trademark sound: short, sharp songs that turn from classic melodies and upbeat drums to super-heavy, sludge-tastic grunge – and back again.

Theo’s live shows are a chance for him to display the raw power of the latter.

The other week his combination of a Gibson SG, Big Muff and Wah pedals resulted in a ridiculous mosh pit that left both Theo and members of his audience bleeding from the face.

It is the combination of this energy and noise with his knack for catchy melodies that makes Theo such a great musician, and provides the justification for all the current hype and success he finds himself receiving.

Indeed, if you’re near a laptop or smartphone, go listen to ‘Count It Up’ right now.

The music business is a notoriously fickle industry however, and should Theo suffer one too many bloody concerts, he knows exactly what he’d do instead.

“You can’t get a good sandwich in Brighton. I think maybe if I fail as a musician, I’ll start up a sandwich bar in Brighton, and make big, American-style sandwiches.

Like Philly Cheese Steaks and stuff like that. Biiiig sandwiches.”

‘Heavy Sunn’ is out 21st October on Hate Hate Hate Records.

the badger

14 october 2013 ARTS • 15

Reviews MUSIC

COMEDY

King Krule

Best of the Fest

The Haunt

Brighton Dome

7th October

5th October

Cat Gough Deputy Editor-in-Chief “This one’s about reptiles” mumbles Archy Marshall, in his deep Peckham drawl, before King Krule burst into the jazzy baseline of ‘A Lizard State’.

He paces around the stage at The Haunt on Monday night, amidst his current band of bass, guitar and drums, bounding from one foot to the other, arms swinging to the steady, spirited drum beat, head nodding assuredly.

His face, characteristically deadpan, becomes impassioned and crumpled, as he grips the microphone.

His bony, teenage frame doubles over as he yells, and his brilliance comes sharply into focus.

It’s been about six years since the now nineteen year old Archy Marshall penned his first song, and since then, he has continually written confessional lyrics that document his life.

Now, under the name of King Krule, he estimates his back catalogue to be in the thousands.

His “genre-bashing” debut album 6 Feet Beneath the Moon is neither hip

MUSIC

Landshapes

The Green Door Store 7th October

Laura McIntyre Landshapes have no doubt developed into something unique and intriguing since their previous set up, Lulu and the Lampshades, with their viral hit ‘Cups (You’re gonna Miss Me)’.

The group are a four piece comprising of folksy vocalists that harmonise as smoothly as Fleet Foxes but with the femininity of Warpaint.

The lead vocalist, dressed not too dissimilarly to Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice, sang with a mock twang, making the band’s sound slightly generic.

But their performance at the Green Door Store was something special nonetheless.

Landshapes sustained high energy levels whilst retaining a sense of calm ambience in a way that a lot of modern bands fail to do.

The psychedelic guitar echoes and effect pedals released alluring and trancelike vibes, making it impossible not to sway along in the dimly lit dance floor.

The dreamy melodies and general sound quality are similar to Tame Impala, one of the more prominent bands in the current re-emergence of psychedelic rock/pop.

Rachel Roberts

Cat Gough nor trendy: he cites influences that span from rockabilly to jazz fusion.

Yet half-way through his sold-out show at the Haunt on Monday night, he has his audience fixated.

Girls line the front row, staring forlornly into his inscrutable eyes.

A girl in the audience half shouts “he’s quite fit for a ginger, if he were a few years older...do you think he can hear me?”

His virtuosity lies, (surprisingly) not in his looks, but in the way he refuses to take on any single persona.

King Krule seemingly alternates

between painting himself as a victim and a hero in the space of seconds, whilst his voice moves from a menacing growl to a near romantic croon in the same space of time.

His raw, untrained and ragged singing and songwriting pulls him into a musical territory that is his alone.

On Monday night, his voice curled around his words, as if disgusted, but the words fought his delivery.

It was thrilling to watch.

The heavy bass and slick drumming anchored the whole sound and added a surprising grungy tone.

The bass in the song ‘Insomniacs club’ nicely resembled that of Joy Division’s ‘Isolation’, establishing an essence of punk to their otherwise indie sound.

Halfway through the set bassist Heloise Tunstall-Behrens switched to ukulele, which could have been a pretentiously hipster move but actually added a distinctive quality to the song ‘In Limbo’, distorting it through an effects pedal.

This track was without a doubt the biggest crowd pleaser.

Not only is the music satisfyingly tight, their style is enviable.

The combination of PVC pencil skirts, turbans, polka dot shirts and floppy hats encompassed their unusual sound and mysterious stage presence.

If you’re not into their music, you’ll be sure to pick up some great style inspiration at least.

Film

The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology Duke’s at Komedia 6th October Kate Schneider “I may be freezing to death, but you will not get rid of me; all the ice in the world cannot kill a true idea,” posits philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek, as he shivers in a tiny boat.

This boat hovered beside a young Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, amidst an ingenious class based reading of the iconic film ‘Titanic’.

A typical scene from The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology: the witty, stimu-

MUSIC

Lawson Brighton Centre 4th October Chloe Peristiane

Stacey Hatfield

The queue of mainly, but not exclusively, girls lining the seafront last Friday could only mean the presence of Lawson headlining in Brighton as

The first weekend of Brighton’s renowned comedy festival kicked of last week with plenty of laughs and thrills for us all.

Already being a keen comedy fan myself, I grabbed my housemates and headed down to catch the ‘Best of the Fest’ at Brighton Dome.

The lucky dip premise of the show is reminiscent of a box of Thorntons: you don’t know how many good comedians you will get.

Luckily for me they were all equally as entertaining.

The show started with extraordinarily bright lights bouncing around the room, but once I regained my sight I was in for a treat.

A number of emerging comics performed including Stephen Grant and Piff the Magic Dragon, the latter bringing a small dog in a dragon outfit.

A little strange, but definitely entertaining. I think everybody appreciates a small animal in fancy dress right?

As the only female comic in the show, Sussex alumni Sara Pascoe

kept the tone smart and playful, by rightfully bringing attention to the fact that you would never dare enter a hairdressers without a holiday booked.

Closing the show was American comedian Mike Wilmot, probably best described as a ‘dirty comic’ he had the audience in tears of laughter as he recalled the three occasions on which he had soiled himself.

As he pointed out, everybody finds that topic amusing.

Other themes revolved around his menopausal wife who he had happily left across the pond, after she had assaulted him with a bunch of keys to the head.

He kept the tone promiscuous and at times unashamedly filthy.

All in all it was a fun and relatively cheap evening, which showcased some of the best comics fresh from Edinburgh Fringe.

If you missed the show, you can catch Best of the Fest again on the 19th October at the Brighton Dome.

Rachel Roberts

lating follow up to Sophie Fiennes’ 2006 ‘cine-lecture’, The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, and one which, as is the joy of this film, stretches the viewer to the edge of their thinking.

The film navigates a mesh of popular cinematic narratives, from ‘Taxi Driver’ to ‘The Sound of Music’, with the aim of interrogating the way in which our subconscious is formed.

He vigorously weaves in the collective fantasies that shape our beliefs and practices.

The result is an exhilarating crash course lecture in the ideologies of Marx, Lacan, Hitler, and even Jesus. Žižek, with his eccentric mannerisms and rapidly diverging commentary, provides an almost overwhelming yet fascinating route into psychoanalysis.

Whether or not you find his readings a little dubious, as some critics have suggested, they provoke some

perspective altering questions which are sure to resonate after the film has ended.

As a stand alone plunge into the relationship between theory and popular culture, or as a captivating introduction to Žižekian discourse, this is a must see for those who are fans of critical and creative thought.

part of their Everywhere We Go Tour.

The support acts Room 94 gave their all, performance-wise, which made up for what they slightly lacked in vocal talent.

As the night progressed, so did the quality of bands.

It was clear that pop-rock group Paighton had the voices, lyrical ability and originality that will push them in the right direction for a successful future.

For the main attraction (in more than one way!), Lawson stormed to

the stage with their assortment of percussive and rocky musical solos, infectious chorus lines and sweet harmonious vocals, full of substance and heart-ache.

They knew how to entertain their audience with the set including familiar songs as well as those from their forthcoming album.

Given what they have achieved and their rising success in just over two years, it’s certain that the future is promising for Lawson.

BFI/Film4

the badger

14 october 2013 ARTS • 16

LIFESTYLE Nothing slicker than MEATliqour: the new burgers on the block Katherine Hardy Science Editor MEATliquor serves exactly what it says it does: meat and liquor.

Come hungry, leave drunk is their motto.

Unfortunately you might arrive at your table a little hungrier than anticipated due to its current half-hour queue just to be seated. But in its opening week in Brighton, what do you expect?

Its reputation is great, having already based itself in London, so it was only the next move to branch out to pastures new. Unfortunately this brings great queues, but also an incredible lively atmosphere at the same time.

I’m hungover, I’m tired, and most of all: I’m starving.

Elaine Mullarkey

Queuing for this long is driving me crazy, and when we are finally let in, we get taken to the bar for drinks.

My liver can’t bear a cocktail, but they all sound incredible - featuring some incredible concoctions with passion fruit, Finlandia mango vodka and absinthe to name but a few.

This is not the place you come to for a romantic meal, the walls are splashed with a collage of neon and the music is far from calm and serene.

During our wait at the bar, we are interrupted by a member of staff with a mega phone. Someone thinks they’re man enough to do the triple chilli challenge. That’s right, 10 minutes to eat chilli cheese fries, a green chilli cheeseburger and a chilli dog.

This is commonplace at MEATliqour establishments, and certainly causes a bit more attention than you’d like when you’re trying to stuff food down your throat.

This trooper finished in just over 5 minutes and gets the meal free, as well as creating a great atmosphere with loads of people cheering him on.

Eventually, we are seated in a whacky neon section with pictures of bikiniclad ladies with zebra heads and ponder the moderately-sized menu.

50% off food is offered during opening week so naturally I order more than

Revenge

Naomi Horsfall Ben Perkins Julia Schouten is usually acceptable for someone of my size.

After a little wait our incredible burgers are brought to us on trays – there’s no cutlery or plates in this establishment. We spend a little while confused about whose burger is whose before digging in.

The food is pretty good, the burgers aren’t too full - like a GBK burger - but not too measly either.

If you’re someone who loves meat, then the Dead Hippie burger is for you: two beef patties with illusive dead hippie sauce.

Not feeling up for the plethora of

meat on offer?

Why not try the delicious halloumi and mushroom burger?

Or the incredible pina colada shrimp?

The fries are a bit MacDonald’s-like, anaemic and thin, but will still fill the hole if the burger doesn’t quite do it.

The onion rings are almost as big as the burgers and definitely worth the extra couple of pounds.

Out of the many restaurants in Brighton, this is definitely one of the quirkiest.

It makes your casual burger fashionable and is definitely worth a visit.

Hungry House: Chinese in Shanghai Garden Deborah Batchelor Letters Editor Chinese food. That’s exactly what I wanted to review.

As a student, I consider myself to be highly experienced in the consumption of various types of fast food, especially the ever-tempting chicken chow mein.

Thus, I knew I was skilled enough to undertake the challenge of reviewing a fair few dishes.

Or perhaps I just wanted an excuse to eat Chinese takeaway, who knows.

Either way, I found myself using the online fast food Mecca that is Hungry House and ordering from the wondrous Shanghai Gardens.

Armed with £15 to spend and three starving friends eagerly awaiting me to fulfil my promise of, ‘free food, if you just help me review it’, I began adding to basket.

I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to order 3 servings of chicken chow mein, one egg fried rice and one boiled rice (oh how adventurous) for just £14.00.

Deborah Batchelor I was even treated to free delivery and a complimentary bag of prawn crackers, which, if I actually liked them would have been lovely; as it stands, I hate them.

This was, as my other half so very eloquently phrased it, ‘value for money’ and ‘top class’.

I was, however, asked to pay an additional fifty pence surcharge for

JOIN THE CLUB

no apparent reason, but considering how cheap the food was I shan’t complain.

I was kept fully updated via text message of my order placement, confirmation of booking and given a helpful expected delivery slot.

Thankfully, our dinner made its way to us in excellent time.

We couldn’t have been waiting any

longer than 20 minutes, which was handy because I was evidently hungrier than I had realised.

Forks poised, we piled our plates with what my friend Charlotte later chose to describe as, ‘very delicious food’, and I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree.

It was salty, but not overly so.

Much to my surprise, there were plenty of flavoursome chicken pieces involved in my chicken chow mein.

This was a rare occasion where I had not been cheated by a stingy takeaway restaurant who thinks that two meagre strips of chicken will suffice.

No, this was the real thing. The rice was cooked well and not too dry.

My friend Mo simply informed me with a nod that he ‘liked it. End of,’ which is a compliment from him, believe me.

I, along with my friends, agree that we would recommend this restaurant to others and I will definitely be satisfying my cravings for Chinese with cuisine from Shanghai Gardens in the (near) future.

Brighton is nationally famous CarmelH for its gay scene, with Club Revenge unquestionably it’s most popular venue with LGBTQ+ students in the area.

It presents itself as the “number one gay club on the south coast” - a big claim but one you’d find it difficult to argue with when you stumble out at 4am across Old Steine after a night there.

If you’re looking for a fun, camp night out - whether you identify as LGBTQ or not - the mainstream chart music that you’ll hear will probably be ticking all the boxes for you and, if we’re all honest with ourselves, it’s hard to resist a bit of Lady Gaga on a night out.

However, the top student consideration on a night out will always be cost.

The bar prices are pretty much as low as you can get in Brighton, and entry is free if you pay a little visit to Bar Revenge first.

Having said this, it’s far from perfect: the floors are sticky, the door staff are not always the friendliest and the amount of publically displayed affection will not fail to distress the average person.

But if you can see past all these things and are comfortable on the gay scene then a Thursday night in Revenge will definitely be a memorable one.

the badger

14th October 2013 ARTS • 17

Sussex Showcase - ‘Electric’

Naomi Horsfall ‘Tate Modern’

Isaac Day ‘The Shard’

Leo Solomon

Vickie Saville

Week five’s theme is:

Tranquility Send your creative pursuits gmail.com by 22nd October Francoise Beaumont

to

frampley@

the badger

14th October 2013 Arts •18

Arts

The agenda This week’s cultural highlights that you must see DANCE Roy Davis Jr./Eliphino Concorde 2

Dance

Jazz

Food

Club

Saturday 19th October, 11pm

£6

Enjoy a journey through the realm of deep house and garage with genre stalwarts Roy Davis Jr. and Eliphino.

Fuck Buttons

daNCE Julio Bashmore Digital

Jazz Jazz in the Afternoon The Thomas Kemp Sunday 20th October, 4pm

Saturday 19th October, 11pm

Free

£12.50 As a warm up to his self-curated night at Warehouse Project next weekend, the producer of tracks such as Au Seve and Troglodytes will bring the party to Digital.

Film

Local pair Le Duo bring you relaxing vibes and jazz favourities to eat your roast to.

Pub

DANCE Congo Natty Concorde 2

Food Cider Festival The World’s End

Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th

Free

Enjoy a wide variety of all things apple at the World’s End on London Road this weekend. Expect live bands and fantastic burgers courtesy of Bar-B-Q Shack.

CLUB Bug’A’Boo Funfair

Thursday 17th October, 11 pm

£2/3

Brighton’s only regular night devoted to female R’n’B. A real student favourite since the club opened last year, get your names on the guestlist for £2 entry and enjoy drinks from £1.50 all night.

Comedy

Friday 18th October, 11pm

£5

This Friday at Concorde 2 sees the return of a true master of jungle Congo Natty. Expect the best breaks - classic or unreleased.

FILM Wings of Desire

Duke of York’s Picturehouse Thursday 17th October

Encore of Wim Wenders’ Cult Cold War era classic. See preview for more information.

PREVIEW: Machinedrum Monday 14th October, The Haunt Thomas Powell Arts Editor

Berlin residing electronic producer Machinedrum will bring his fast paced footwork to Brighton’s Haunt this Monday night.

A rare live show will no doubt showcase some of the tracks off his new album Vapor City, as well as providing fans with an opportunity to hear the artist’s own tracks outsideof a mix. This

comes as such a treat since his DJ Sets are so diverse he has little time to linger on his own creations.

Having moved from downtempo, chilled out electronica early in his career, don’t be surprised by the fast paced beats and breaks at 160bpm that he has now adopted. Expect juke, footwork and instrumental hip-hop - Machinedrum will offer an intelligent alternative to trap.

Pub Spanish Night Fountain Head

Wednesday 16th October, 7.30pm

Free

Go along and improve your conversational Spanish, buy some Tapas or have a drink (I recommend Sangria).

Club Sub Bop Green Door Store Comedy Squawker Award Final Komedia Wednesday 16th October 7pm £10 Brighton Comedy Festival’s

Squawker Award comes to a head.

PREVIEW: Wings of Desire Thursday 17th October, Duke of York’s Picturehouse Thomas Powell Arts Editor

At Duke of York’s this thursday: Wim Wenders’ Cold War classic Wings of Desire.

With a rich filmography spanning feature film (see Paris, Texas) and documentary (see Buena Vista Social Club), there should be no questions asked about why Wings of Desire, a powerful and emotionally rich film about a fall-

en angel wandering the streets below the Berlin Wall, is being granted a one night encore this week.

Let Wenders’ hypnotic imagery wash over you and bathe in the poeticism of Peter Handke’s script.

Or if you aren’t up for that, keep your eyes peeled for a cameo appearance from Brighton resident Nick Cave.

Friday 18th October 11pm

Free

Sub Bop is a bi-monthly night that alternates between Green Door Store and Sticky Mike’s, it caters to those who like things noisy. Expect to hear My Bloody Valentine, Pavement, Nirvana, Bikini Kill, Pixies and Cocteau Twins.

watch, write, review Get involved in the Arts team by joining us at our writers meetings or searching on Facebook for : “Badger Writers” See submission guidelines on the Badger website

the badger

14 October 2013

SporTS • 20

SPORTS

Women’s Rugby ready to rumble Karoliina Lehtonen Sports Editor

The 2013-14 Women’s rugby season started with a bang with a record number of girls turning up to the taster sessions put on by last year’s squad. Such was the success and popularity of these taster sessions that a record number of girls now also attend the team’s training sessions.

Almost 50 talented players now train together on a weekly basis, says the team’s captain.

Women’s Rugby at Sussex has traditionally been one of the most accepting teams to join due to the fact that unlike many other teams, there is no selection process meaning that everyone is encouraged to come to training and will be offered the chance to play during the course of the year.

Dedication, commitment and a passion for learning the game are what keeps the team thriving and what keeps the girls coming to training, rain, shine or snow.

The team has always prided itself on being all inclusive and they are proud to say that most girls had never touched a rugby ball before coming to university.

The team bond is strengthened weekly when the team makes their way down to their sponsor bar, Belushi’s, in fully fledged fancy dress

and later in the evening join the rest of Sussex Sport at Oceana, for a traditional mid-week sloshy celebration.

Many of the girls claim that Oceana Wednesday’s are the best night out of the week and eagerly look forward to celebrating or commiserating the events that happened earlier in the day!

Following a very successful season last year which included the 70-0 demolition of Royal Holloway University, and more importantly, clinching the south eastern 1A league by an impressive six points, it is no surprise that there are great expectations for the forthcoming season. After narrowly missing promotion to the Premier league due to the play-off game being organised during the Easter holidays, Sussex Women’s Rugby say they are committed to coming top of the league for a second year running.

With a new committee set-up this year, the team decided to elect a coCaptain to work alongside the Captain, Social Secretary and President roles that the team has traditionally held. Both the Captain, 3rd year biomed student Josie Nelder, and co-captain, Italian national Cecilia Mattea, have vast amounts of knowledge about the game, both having watched and played rugby from a very young age.

Both women dedicate a great

amount of time to their passion and leave the team confident in their abilities to captain them to victory.

In addition to this, the team is very lucky to welcome a new coach to the team, Gavin Richardson. Affectionately nicknamed “Gav” by the girls, he has been able to prepare new and old girls alike for the upcoming game on the 16th October through his meticulous planning, hard work and commitment to the team, despite only having 4 weeks to train with the team before their first competitive fixture.

With 2 days until their first match, the girls are no doubt excited to start the season on a high and beat Portsmouth University. As one of their biggest rivals last season, and the only team in the current 1A league who Sussex have played within the last year, the girls are excited to see what new skills they can bring to the pitch. Having only lost one player to study abroad last year, the team is extremely lucky to have kept the majority of the team who came so close to promotion last year, proving that they have the experience to go all the way this year.

Sussex take on Portsmouth University at Falmer Sports Complex this coming Wednesday 16th October at 14:00. Go up and lend your support to a team who have all the necessary components to do great things on the pitch this year!

Sussex gyms raise the bar Michael Morrow Sports Editor

As if it was not already enough that our campus boasts not one but two sports complexes, fitness fanatics at Sussex have been given a further boost. Over the summer,both Falmer Sports Complex and the Sports Centre were refurbished, with Falmer Sports Complex in particular receiving a thorough revamp in the cardiovascular, free weights and resistance rooms.

The refurbishment was carried out with the help of Life Fitness, one of the world’s leading suppliers in exercise and health equipment. It is through this partnership with Life Fitness that both gyms now possess brand new state-of-the-art cardiovascular machinery. All cardio machines in the gyms now come equipped with a 19” HD television screen, and yes, there is actual TV installed in these machines so you can watch all your favourite programmes whilst going for

a jog at the same time- who knew TV could be so good for you?!

If watching TV whilst exercising isn’t your thing then fear not, as all machines are also compatible with android phones and iPhones too, so that music you can listen to your music without worrying about your phone falling out of your pocket midexercise. Many people prefer to enjoy the surrounding scenery when running/cycling/rowing, and whilst you can’t literally take the machines outside and into the Sussex downs, you can have the next best thing: the new landscape feature will transport you (not literally) from Falmer to that place where you’ve always dreamed of having a run, be it the French alps, a beach in LA or a number of other picturesque landscapes.

Fear not weightlifters, you’re needs have also been catered for! The Sports Complex resistance room has acquired three more training racks, in the hope of increasing the room’s versatility.

A spokesperson for Sussexsport said that they are fully aware of the “need

for improvement in the amount of floor space” and this is coming in due course, as once Brighton and Hove Albion move into their new facility in June 2014, the strength and conditioning room will be made available to for all users.

Sussexsport have told The Badger that the refurbishment is a way of not just maintaining their provision of equipment and creating more space, but also reinforcing the “Sussexsport fitness training philosophy which is to help users be better, move better and feel better and to use the whole body where possible to challenge our movement qualities”.

It is hoped that the refurbishments will provide a spacious and productive area for those wishing to improve/ maintain their fitness and health, and perhaps the new machinery will give a few more people the incentive they need to go to the gym and get active. Sussexsport suggest that the main hope and belief is that the refurbishment will “Create a healthier and more active University of Sussex.”

PLAYER PROFILES - Stuart Etherington Karoliina Lehtonen Sports Editor Stuart Etherington is 1st team captain of the Sussex Squash Team, one of the most successful co-ed teams at the university. Stuart became enthralled with the sport at the tender age of 11, when his father played his first game with him on holiday, and says he’s “been addicted ever since”.

Stuart points out that squash is not only an enjoyable game, but the ease at which it can be picked up makes it an ideal game for beginners as they are able to achieve a reasonably good standard in a short amount of time whilst burning more calories than any other sport at the same time!

His greatest achievements so far are captaining the Mens 1st team to an unbeaten season last year and securing promotion for the team, a huge feat within the BUCS league.

Now a third year studying a demanding biomedical science degree, and having been democratically voted in as captain of the 1st team for the

second year running, Stuart will aim to maintain the team’s position in the South Eastern 1A league, a division where squash of the highest quality is played between universities. He also hopes to continue their winning streak and achieve promotion for the Men’s 2nd team as well as the Ladies 1st team.

Although being a committee member can be stressful and a challenge to manage alongside a degree and a social life, Stuart remarks that “it’s all worth it for the sense of satisfaction at the end of a successful season”. Having increased their opportunities for new students looking to get involved, the club now offers three nights of high quality coaching a week, as well as a number of drop-in sessions.

As participation continues to rise, the club wants to see as many new faces as possible. It is with this commitment and passion that Stuart captains the Squash team, and is something which will lead them to another successful and exciting year.