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USSU radical restructure to be put to vote Page X
Communications and Operations Officer roles to be axed in proposed shake-up of Students’ Union Full-time and Part-time Officer roles Students to also vote on the renaming of President to ‘Union Affairs Officer’
Alexander Ferguson & Daniel Green News Sub-Editors The Students’ Union has organised for a series of referenda to take place in an attempt to reform the hierarchy of the Union. These referenda, due to go live in a week’s time, are the result of a push to make the Sussex Students’ Union more democratic, more accountable and more representative of all students at the University. Voting on the referenda will open on Tuesday 9th December and close on Friday 12th December. Should the vote pass, the new Full-time and Part-time Officer positions would be up for election in late March. This is one month later than originally planned in order to allow time to put all of the changes in place. The proposed changes come as a result of direct recommendations suggested by the NUS after they were asked to carry out a report on Union Officer roles, published last month. The Full-time Officers of the Students’ Union have said from the outset that the findings and recommendations of this review would be put to students in the form of several referenda questions. One of the referendum questions will ask students whether or not they would like to see a radical restructure to the full-time and part-time officer positions within the Union. The implementation of the proposed model would see the roles of Communications and Operations officer scrapped, with the report finding that these positions are too administrative. The move would also see the role of Education officers split in two, becoming Postgraduate Education Officer and Undergraduate Education Officer. The Welfare role will also be split, with most responsibilities staying the same but some of the remit
moving to the Societies and Citizenship position, which will also include aspects of the Communications Officer role. In addition, all current part-time roles would also be replaced with four new ‘Liberation Officers’, which would represent LGBTQ, disabled, women and black students. The roles of the current Part-time Officers would be distributed among the newly created Full-time Officer positions. Also to be put to students in a referendum is the question of whether or not the role of President should be renamed to ‘Union Affairs Officer’. It is believed that this is a less gendered title compared to that of “President’ which statistics show discourages women students from applying. The SU also believes that the newly proposed title of ‘Union Affairs Officer’ would encourage a less hierarchical structure within the Full-time Officer team. The full role review report recommended that it was for the Students’ Union to democratically decide whether the title of president was the best name of the role However, it should be noted that the Union Executive voted to replace the role of President without holding a referendum. Michael Segalov, Communications Officer said , “There’s a strong sense of feeling amongst the Officers that the role of President is outdated, gendered and is detrimental to a non-heirarchal structure amongst officers. We are all elected by students with the same mandate, however we respect the decision of the Democracy Committee and will make the case to students. The Democracy Committee intervened, stating that changes to the role must be put to a student vote, overruling the wishes of the Union Executive, which includes Part and Full-Time Officers.
Matt Greenwood Students, elected officers, Students’ Union staff, ex-officers, and University stakeholders were consulted as part of the role review. On Thursday, the Students’ Union sent an email to all students informing them of the referendum and how they can register to campaign either for or against the proposals. Included as a separate referendum question, students will at the same time be asked to vote on whether or not the Students’ Union should become an accredited Living Wage employer. This vote was prompted by an online petition which attracted over 150 signatures. Should the move be approved, the issue will be referred to the Union’s Trustees for their consideration.
News Bites - Only 10 percent of engaged students understood what all of the Officers do. The other 90 percent said that they understood what some of them do. - 38 percent of students agreed with the statement that they could hold Full-time Officers to account, against 18 percent who said they felt they couldn’t. 41 percent of students said they had no opinion. - 40 percent of University staff questioned said that they thought the Students’ Union had 5 Fulltime elected Officers instead of 6.
- Students’ Union staff deemed the Welfare Officer role to be the most representative position. They ranked the Communications Officer role as the least representative position. - Students, Students’ Union staff and University staff all believed that the Operations Officer to be the most administrative focused role. - 29 percent of students said that they felt it was important that their representatives shared similar characteristics to them. .
the badger
1 DECEMBER 2014
in pictures • 2
IN PICTURES The best of sweater weather on campus: Matt Greenwood
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News Sub Editors Daniel Green, Zoe Halse, Alex Ferguson, Rosie Dodds,Jess Pitocchi badger-news@ussu.sussex.ac.uk Comment Sub Editors Miriam Steiner, Alice Nettleship badger-opinion@ussu.sussex. ac.uk
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the badger
1 December 2014
Three is the magic number
NEWS • 3
NEWS IN BRIEF
Students’ Union negotiates a daily £3 student bus ticket with bus company
Paul Millar The Student’s Union has managed to decrease daily bus fares for Sussex and Brighton students. The Brighton and Hove bus company has agreed to reduce the price of its daily student day ticket to £3 on routes that extend beyond the 23/25. This means a 70p reduction on users of the 23 and 25 from Brighton as well as a remarkable £1.70 reduction for students travelling on other buses from as far as Lewes, Steyning, Shoreham, Patcham, and Seaford. In April this year, the bus company rose daily fares to £3.70, angering students whose maintenance loans has remained at the same level. When the Students’ Union revealed the news on its Facebook page on Thursday, nearly 500 users ‘liked’ the announcement, with many Sussex students praising the move in the comments. The new student day saver fare will only be available on the Brighton & Hove bus phone app or alternatively the scratchcard available from the Students’ Union shop in Falmer House and the 1Stop Travel shop in North Street, Brighton. However, this will not affect students who possess a keycard have already paid for or plan to pay for 90-day or 12-month
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has announced mid-way through her four year term that she will stand for re-election in 2016. She made the announcement last week, stating that: “I intend to stand for re-election as I want to see the projects and policies that I have developed through to completion. “That’s important to me and I think it’s important for residents to have a consistent voice on policing and crime.” Katy Bourne, stood as the Conservative Party candidate in the first ever Police and Crime Commissioner elections in 2012 and was elected with a 24,426 majority.
bus travel, which amount to £115 and £365 respectively. A reduction in termly or annual fare prices “weren’t included as part of the deal”, the Students’ Union said. There is no word yet on when the revived £3 student saver will come into effect, with the USSU saying: “We’re just waiting for the bus company to confirm that. They’ve said they’ll let us know as soon as possible.” However, the reduced fare is expected to be implemented imminently, with more information expected this week. Abraham Baldry told The Badger: “I said in my manifesto that I’d reduce the cost of public transport in Brighton, and at the time, a lot of people were sceptical this was achievable. Although it’s taken three months of negotiations, I’m delighted that we’ve been able to secure this improvement for students in Brighton. “This wouldn’t have been possible without Brighton University Students’ Union, the University, and Caroline Lucas, who helped us get an initial meeting with the Bus Company. “The next step is to get B&H to introduce more buses to reduce overcrowding.” Significantly, the price of the student discount day tickets will be frozen at £3 until least until the end of the 2015 calendar year. The Students’ Union also confirmed that it was not “subsidising” the fare cut. The Students’ Union believe reducing the
daily fares will still have a significant effect upon students and commented: “We know that not every student uses day tickets but we had lots of feedback that students would like a reduction in this ticket.” Lyndsay Burtonshaw on the Re:Cycle scheme: ““While I was thrilled to hear of the success Abe had in getting bus fees re-
duced, I believe that transport should be as close to free as possible. I am concentrating my energies to providing students with cheap access to good bikes by continuing my work on the RE:CYCLE Sussex bike hire co-op.”
sity has done its best to withhold as much information as possible in the hope they wouldn’t be challenged so they would get away with it. “One gets a strong sense that the University has something to hide.” Originally, the University refused to disclose the entire contract under section 22 of the FOI Act. It stated that “procurement processes” were still underway and, once completed, it intended to formulate a publication plan for the documents. But Webber immediately requested an internal view, rejecting the application of this section due the University not meeting the requirement of having a confirmed date and intention for publication. The University responded a month later informing Webber that, having carried out an internal review, it upheld the decision to apply section 22. It also stated the relevant information would be published towards the end of January 2014. Webber said: “The original refusal under section 22 was completely spurious and against clear, unambiguous ICO guidance which says that you can only use section 22 where you are sure that the entire document will be published in due course.
“Had I not had the energy to follow it through things would have stopped there.” Webber then complained to the ICO about the way his request had been dealt with and raised his concerns about the application of Section 22. During the ICO’s investigation, the University changed its stance and published a redacted version of the contract on its website in February this year. The University informed both Webber and the ICO that it withheld certain elements of the contract under Sections 41 and 43 of the Act due to being commercially sensitive and containing information on one of the ways “Chartwells is able to offer something different to its rivals.” The University also argued the disclosure of this information would prejudice its own commercial interests and impact on the way other service providers interact with it in the future. But the ICO stated: “The Commissioner cannot see from a review of the information itself or from the submissions supplied exactly how such information could be commercially sensitive or used by one of Chartwells’ competitors.”
It also stated it is the Commissioner’s view that transparency and accountability where contracts have already been signed, as is the case with the University and Chartwells, would not deter future engagement with them. The Commissioner also supported Webber’s view that Section 22 was incorrectly applied, ruling: “It is quite clear the University had no intention of making the entire contract available to the public.” When contacted by The Badger, a spokesperson for the University said: “The commercial aspects of this contract are the subject of an ongoing Freedom of Information request and it would not be appropriate for us to comment while this request is still under consideration.” Webber added: “It’s frustrating the extent to which they are going to avoid transparency about releasing data which will answer one simple question: was the Chartwells outsourcing a good idea? “They seem surprisingly reluctant to prove this and, ironically, are even willing to spend loads of money to avoid having to do so. “I can only imagine one reason for the University to try to avoid letting the pub-
University taken to Tribunal over FOI Jessica Pitocchi News Sub-Editor
The University of Sussex is facing legal proceedings over an ongoing Freedom of Information dispute with a recent University graduate over details of their contract with catering company Chartwells. Former Politics and International Relations student Gabriel Webber began the “frustrating process” 16 months ago while he was still a student, when he submitted an FOI request asking the University to make public their contract with the outsourced catering provider. But the University repeatedly withheld certain elements of the contract from publication under different sections of the FOI Act, even though the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled they do not apply and cannot be used. The University appealed, late but with no repercussions, against the ICO’s instruction to disclose all information and the case will be taken to a Tribunal next year. Webber said: “At every stage of this ridiculously drawn-out affair, the UniverWebber sends initial FOI request to the University of Sussex
2 July 2013
22 July 2013
University responds saying no finalised contract yet, try again in August
Webber resubmits FOI request
8 Sept 2013
4 Oct 2013
University refuses information under Section 22; Webber requests internal review
University carries out internal review and upholds application of Section 22
4 Nov 2013
5 Nov 2013
Webber complains to Information Commissioner’s Office on way request handled
University publishes redacted contract online; ICO recommends further info released
22 Feb 2014
10 April 2014
University publishes redacted contract online; IC recommends further information released; University refuses under Sections 41 and 43
ICO rules Sections 22, 41 or 43 do not apply; University should disclose full contract
8 May 2014
June 2014
University appeals (after the 35 day deadline) to the Information Tribunal
A police watchdog has raised concerns about the way in which Sussex Police investigates crimes. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary raised the concerns in a new report published last ThursSophie Jones day, outlining how police forces could investigate crimes more effectively. Police Inspector Zoe Billingham said that she was “concerned” that Sussex Police were not investigating crimes as effectively as they should be. She stated: “Next year we will be seeing how Sussex Police has responded to these assessments and will be able to give overall grades so that the public can see, at a glance, how the force is doing. In response to the report, Sussex Police said that it had been successful in helping prevent crimes and reduce offending. lic find out.” All three parties involved in the dispute, the ICO, the University and Webber, are currently preparing and deciding documents expected to go in front of a Tribunal panel in January 2015. Chartwells took over from in-house catering on the campus last year and became the centre of controversy due to the company’s conglomerate, Compass’ associations with corruption in defrauding United Nations peacekeeping operations. Webber also told The Badger that the contract signed with the University certified that the company had not been subject to a corruption or fraud investigation for the last six years, while Chartwells settled its corruption lawsuits in October 2006. He said: “One wonders how the figure of ‘no corruption for the last six years’ was chosen.” University, Webber and ICO agreeing on paperwork to go before Tribunal
Now
Jan 2015
Expected date for case to go before Tribunal panel
is
the badger
1 December 2014
NEWS • 4
University to appeal against masterplan rejection Jack Williams News Editor The University of Sussex intends to formally appeal against Brighton and Hove Council’s decision to reject its £500 million expansion plan. The University’s blueprints to develop new accommodation and increase student capacity, dubbed the campus ‘masterplan’, was rejected by councillors in June over fears that it would create a “dense urban environment” and the potential negative impact the plan would have on the city’s housing stock. It is expected that the University will lodge its appeal before Christmas. The appeal will be overseen by the Planning inspectorate, a government agency tasked with reviewing public body planning appeals, before being taken to a public hearing at some point in spring 2015. A verdict on the appeal is expected to be announced in summer 2015. Local Counsellor’s rejection of the University’s proposals put the University’s plan to expands it student capacity
by 4,600 students by 2018 in jeopardy, as they hoped that the redevelopment of East Slope would allow them to house 1,408 more student and the proposed West Slope site would accommodate 1,122 new students per year. The University said in June that the rejection of their plans will be detrimental for the student intake targets for the next four years. As well as plans to build 2,500 new student rooms of campus, the University masterplan also intended to develop new state-of-the-art academic and research facilities, create 2,400 new jobs to boost the local economy, and preserve the architecture of Sir Basil Spence, the primary architect of the University of Sussex campus. Professor Michael Farthing, the University of Sussex’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “We need to modernise and expand our facilities if we are to continue to attract the best and brightest academics and students as well as provide jobs that benefit thousands of local families. “The University of Sussex is currently ranked 14th in the UK and is in the top
one per cent of universities in the world. “This is a huge achievement, but we can’t take it for granted. Some of our facilities are more than 40 years old
and we need to invest now to secure a bright future for the University and for Brighton.” The University did not wish to make
The Argus any additional comment on the issue. Brighton and Hove Council also said that it would not comment on an ongoing appeal.
University could be fined for breaking UKIP petition pending student number control limit Zoe Ambrozewska
Phoebe Day A Senate report has revealed that the University of Sussex can expect to be handed a £1,176,000 fine for exceeding the recommended number of ABB students they can enrol. The Higher Education Funding Council for England set this year’s student control number, the maximum number of students who received grades of ABB at A-level universities can take in without being fined, at 1,268 full time students. The University exceeded this number by 147 students, taking the total number of ABB undergraduate intakes for the 2014/2015 academic year to 1,415. This results in an £8,000 fine for each student over the limit per year of study. The report, entitled “Executive Summary of Business for Senate; Student Recruitment and Experience Matters” is a report that examines the number of applications, offers and students for Sussex this year. No further future actions were recommended in this report, except for the Senate to consider
it’s findings. The University will most likely have to continue paying the fines for each student beyond this academic year, even though this is the last year that universities will be restricted from taking in as many students as they want before the government’s cap on student numbers is abolished. In his autumn statement last year, George Osbourne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that the cap for the number of students universities can admit was to be lifted this year before being abolished in 2015. The University has stated that: “This is the last year of student number control; from September 2015, individual universities including Sussex will be able to recruit as many students as they like and it is not yet know what the position will be with regard to any future fines.” The report also shows the University is recruiting more students, but receiving less applications. It was reported to the Senate that overall, applications fell 14 percent across the board. The report said that: “Undergraduate applications fell by 12 percent and postgraduate taught applications fell by 16
percent”. However, more positively, the amount of postgraduate research applications had an 8% increase. While application levels dropped, the University stated that: “For Sussex, overall estimated registered numbers by 1 December 2014 total 13,426 FTE, representing an increase of 2% on the total student numbers for 2013-14.” An estimated 10.5% of students recruited this year have grades of less than ABB. Other findings in the report related to university methods of attracting future students. The open days were deemed a successful factor in gaining students as well as the location of the University to Brighton. The unconditional offer scheme has also been conceived successful, the report stating; “the unconditional offer scheme has been influential in persuading those who were at best ambivalent about Sussex initially to put us as their firm choice”. Achievement was also seen in the enthusiasm of University teaching staff and the aid of the University in the application process, described as “fast” and “friendly”.
A petition put forward by LGBTQ* Students’ Representative Emily Pinto to have UKIP banned from the University of Sussex campus is currently being reviewed by the Students’ Union Policy Panel after achieving the required amount of signatures to trigger a referendum or Emergency Members Meeting. The petition, which argued that ‘The Students’ Union should not invite representatives of the political party UKIP to attend or speak at events on campus, received 150 signatures last week. The Policy Panel are currently considering whether banning UKIP politicians and speakers from campus will incur any legal consequences. The Students’ Union confirmed that they are seeking legal advice and advice from the National Union of Students regarding the issue. The Students’ Union ‘safe space’ policy states: ““the Union is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment without fear of sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, or any other form of discrimination,” Pinto and the signatories consider the political party UKIP to fall under this umbrella, specifying in the petition incidents regarding same-sex marriage, and immi-
gration. Michael Segalov, Students’ Union Communications Officer, said: “In this instance the policy panel felt that there may be legal consequences for withdrawing union involvement for events where UKIP are present. We are bound by charity legislation, the representation of the peoples act and the new lobbying act, all of which dictate the Unions’ abilities to engage with political parties. I am keen to ensure we deal with this issue as a matter of urgency to allow students to vote on this issue.” Some students, it seems, question whether it would be fair to allow other figures from other political parties to speak on campus and not UKIP. A Politics Society committee member said: “I think it’s completely against freedom of speech! The whole point of university is for people to see a range of views and then for individuals to pick what they feel is right and wrong. I’m surprised that Sussex would even consider letting this petition go through, especially as it claims to be so democratic. Even if you don’t agree with UKIP I would hope most people would agree with the freedom and right to present your views. The local UKIP candidate for the 2015 election, Nigel Carter, said that he would like to have been given the chance to tell students the “truth about UKIP” before the petition was run.
Do you support the proposed restructure of USSU officer roles? Alex Beck - History & Politics (3rd year)
Alex Hickson - Multi-media Journalism (MA)
Lisa Redmond - Psychology (1st year)
Sarah Todd - Biochemistry (2nd year)
I think that changing the title of President is a completely pointless idea. We have even recently had at least one female President of the Students’ Union. It’s political correctness gone too far and a complete non-issue in my opinion. The Union should get on with more significant issues affecting the student population rather than the title of its own leader.
I think it’s best to have a wide students Union that can balance a lot of things at the same time. You don’t want to start lumping other people’s jobs onto full-time officers. I don’t understand why Operations and Communications is being scrapped; even though supposedly the work that is done there is mainly administrative, it is unclear who is going to do it.
While I’m not madly bowled over by the changed to the full-time officer roles, I think it’s wonderful that the minority representation roles are being transformed into part-time officer roles. The current part-time roles seem a bit useless, so its great to see that they could be finally being put to good use.
I’m a big fan of the role review. From what I understand, the roles haven’t been reviewed or restructured in a really long times, so it was overdue to consider how the Union could be run differently. The results seem a lot better than the current structure so I will definitely be voting in favour of it.
the badger
1 DECEMBER 2014
NEWS • 5
Concerns raised over Erasmus student marking policy Zoë Halse News Editor The fact that Erasmus and international students are graded to the same English language standards as native speakers for assessments is one of concern for affected students. The Badger spoke to Spanish Erasmus student, Adrian Ramon, about his concerns surrounding assessment criteria. He said, ‘The policy is unfair, it would not be unreasonable for them to be less strict, in terms of language and grammar, on Erasmus students’. He continued ‘I have the correct language “level”, to study here, technically, but how does the University know how I got there, luck is a key
factor in these tests and the level I have on paper is not necessarily an accurate reflection of my actual command of the English language. For example I am at level C1, but the level of English where I am from is poor, therefore my ‘C1’ is different to, say, a German’s ‘C1’ as the standard there is very high.’ ‘A language seminar is very different to a Literature or History seminar- I have a good knowledge of these subjects but it is very difficult to express myself. Additionally I would like to point out, I spend a lot of time checking and correcting my work but because I am not a native speaker, I cannot tell if an essay sounds comfortable, or flows in the same way that an English person
can, even when I spend extra time on it.’ ‘I also want to make it clear that I am not angry about this issue because so far my tutors have been very understanding. However, I am still worried about future assessments, and how the University’s official policy will affect them. My expression could undermine the quality of my ideas.’ The University stated: ‘Erasmus partners have their own selection and preparation procedures for students applying for Erasmus places in the UK, and it is usual for the level of English to be part of this selection procedure.’ ‘Partly to encourage inward and outward mobility, our requirements
with regard to English language are lower for Erasmus students: we require at least B2 CEFR minimum, and higher for certain subjects. Increasingly most students have the usual IELTS scores.’ ‘Erasmus students can improve their English once they are here via the Sussex Centre for Language Studies (SCLS), where students can take English language modules for credit as part of their term-time programme and also modules in English for Academic Purposes, for credit.’ ‘For international students who are admitted to our degrees, clear English language admissions requirements are publicised and must be met, which gives a safeguard on being able to be confident about
students whose first language is not English being able to meet assessment requirements.’ ‘At Sussex we make no distinction between marking arrangements for students whose first language is not English and those who are native speakers. Such a distinction would be unsound from the perspective of academic standards, not to mention impossible to effectively manage and apply.’ ‘So there is no separate policy on assessment for international and Erasmus students - there is a policy on the assessment of all students, as described in the assessment regulations. These arrangements apply across the institution and are not varied by school or course.’
The Badger interviews Clarence Mitchell
Rosie Dodds News Sub-Editor
The Badger interviews Clarence Mitchell, the Conservative Party’s PPC for Brighton and Pavilion in the 2015 General Election:
worked, they have actually caused the market to become depressed- many landlords simply take their houses off the market all together leaving the poorest quality ones there, and it can actually damage the housing stock.”
The 2015 general election will introduce a new generation of voters, many of whom have been affected by the raise in university tuition fees. Do you fear a loss in support for the Conservative party as a result? “As a result of the tuition fees issue specifically? No we don’t. We feel that the basic principle at stake here is one of fairness. If the state helps you to get a good degree through your education, then it is only fair that you give something back in the form of repaying the loan when you are in a position to do so. No one is saying that people will be bankrupted in the first instance by this, this is about giving your fair share back to society via the tax system via payments. “If your degree helps you to get a good job and a good salary at the end of the day then we don’t feel that it is unfair to ask for a small contribution back in the form of the repayments. And we don’t feel consequently that our support will be damaged.”
What are you thoughts on the Affordable Homes Bill that hopes to abolish the ‘bedroom tax’ which labour and SNP have deemed to be unfair? “Well, first of all it’s not the ‘bedroom tax’, that is a term that has been given by Labour, and it has stuck. People who are on benefits and are receiving their rent and their support from the state should be paid as much as they need to be comfortable, but not more than is necessary. “We feel that it’s a pejorative term to call it a ‘bedroom tax’. Those who are receiving more assistance from the state than they actually need will have it adjusted. We also feel that it will help to encourage people to go out to look for work. There have been blatant cases where people have been sitting on benefits, receiving state help, and it’s been a disincentive for them to go out to find work. We are removing that element where it is not required. But we are protecting those that would be adversely affected by it otherwise.”
Your ‘Improving Living Standards Campaign’ states that you wish to deliver “better living standards for all in Brighton”. Caroline Lucas has a similar campaign, #decenthomes, and has launched a promising Housing Charter. How can you compare to this? “Of course, there should be more affordable homes in Brighton, and we would always support developers where they want to particularly build student accommodation. There’s a lot in Brighton already, but there’s not enough with the university’s own plans for expansion. “We also need to see better quality of housing too. Rouge landlords need to be dealt with. And, it’s a basic human right that everybody, should have decent living standards. “We don’t believe rent controls are the way forward, in the past they haven’t
Nigel Farage has stated that UKIP will become a major force in Parliament at next year’s election. The Rochester and Strood by-election saw UKIP gain almost 3000 more votes than the Conservatives. Do you consider UKIP a threat to your overall majority at the next general election? “UKIP have made some inroads, there’s no doubt about it. They are simply though, a protest vote. They are in no position to deliver on any of the policies that they might have, including their central reason for existence it appears which is their opposition to the EU. “Mr Farage and UKIP generally are playing to peoples’ worst fears. The whole argument about immigration is playing to people’s basest fears. “Farage, I’m afraid, is smoke and mirrors. There is no substance behind him, and some of the other policies that they
espouse- their attitude towards women, their attitude towards the LGBT community- some of it is quite horrific. People need to understand that. As an insurgent party, they are benefitting from a sense disillusionment generally with politics.”
What are your thoughts on the EU after former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has called for Britain to leave it? “Clearly Europe is a divisive issue within the party- it has been for many years and will continue to be so. This is the balancing act that Mr Cameron as the Prime Minister has to perform constantly. Personally I feel that we should stay in a renegotiated European Union, and I’m not saying that simply because I’m a candidate and that’s the official party line at the moment- I believe it, it’s true. “For the moment I think that we are better off in Europe; business will tell you that we are better off in Europe for the sake of our economy. But if we were to come out at the end of the day, the world would not end over night as some people would have you believe either.” Was David Cameron’s promise to hold a vote on Europe in 2017 a pressured attempt to halt the rise of UKIP? “No, we were considering it anyway. As I said before, it has always been a major debating hinge within the party. So no, a referendum would have been part of the package quite apart from UKIP’s rise- we were not panicked into it. It’s easy to portray it as such given UKIP’s growing popularity. But, by doing it, we are the only party who are giving British people the right to decide.” The NHS does not seem to be considered on your campaign page. Both the Greens and Labour are campaigning to save the NHS, with Caroline Lucas demanding a return to free prescriptions, and a new hospital for Brighton & Hove. At the moment there is a lot of concern that the US-EU transatlantic trade and investment partnership would see parts of the NHS to private American healthcare companies.
Spudgun’s Spoutings Do you think there’s any danger to this? “The reason that there is nothing directly about the NHS on my campaign page is because we don’t feel that we need to save it. The whole question about saving and defending the NHS accepts in that statement that there is a threat to it. “We are the one government that has ring fenced spending on the NHS. The Health and Social Care Act that has been brought in has produced some fundamental changes. “Of course there are going to be inefficiencies, and individual managements will be better in certain places. A&E waiting times need to be improvedwe’re not saying that it’s perfect by any means, but we are reforming it and making changes for the better. So I simply do not accept this idea that it needs to be saved from my own party. We believe that we are the ones that are doing the saving. “In terms of TTIP, there is a small, private element within the NHS alreadymarketisation is not a dirty word. We
don’t see anything wrong with services, equipment, and expertise being delivered if it help to save someone’s life. As long as it remains free at the point of use, and the basic ethos of the NHS remains the same, then frankly, the patient doesn’t care. There are cutting edge cancer treatments being delivered in London on NHS contracts as an example which are run by the American hospitals that you mention. We offer hospitals with the ability to deliver these servicesit is saving people’s lives. “So as far as we’re concerned, a private element, be it in the NHS or other government services, is not wrong. We believe in the market: It raises standards, increases competition, and the patient, I repeat, will not suffer at the end of the day. It is scaremongering to suggest TTIP and other means that will enable a degree of marketisation for the benefit of patients is going to destroy the whole system.” The full interview can be found on our website: www.badgeronline.co.uk
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1 DECEMBER 2014 ACTIVITIES OFFICER• 6
Education is a Right - Not a Privilege. We Want Free Education Lyndsay Burtonshaw Activities Officer Last Wednesday I marched with 300+ Sussex students, graduates and Fulltime Officers, and 10,000 other people through Westminster to voice our demands for free education. We marched not in the idealistic hope of refunds, fee reductions or free education for ourselves, but as people who understand how unfair the current system of fees is. Education is a right - not a privilege. We should not have to pay for this right, and we marched to protest the idea that future generations will. As we gathered in front of Scotland Yard, groups of school children passed on the other side. Really, we were marching for them, more than ourselves. Education is a social good. We are not customers - we want to make the world a better place and we need knowledge, skills and networks to do that. The government is making cuts to education, masquerading as “we’re all in this together”, when we need investment the most. We do not agree. On that chilly November day, the crowds of thousands of students demonstrated this, rallying around a popular chant I hollered down the megaphone:
“Students, workers and the sick, did not cause the deficit - that’s bull***t, come off it, the enemy is profit” If the problem of corporate tax evasion was tackled properly, the money accrued could be reallocated to fund free higher education for all. Instead, students are made to foot the bill while privatisation is forced through masquerading as the path to efficiency. As a social good and human right, education should not be at the mercy of the profit motive. When profit is put before people, people suffer, and we end up with £9k fees that indebt us, as well as costing the Treasury. In spite of democracy, we were not consulted on this - democracy failed to give the 10,000+ voices - and the voices of the children who will face these fees - a platform. In protest, demonstration and gathering, we hear voices where democracy does not. I am proud to be an Officer who marched with Sussex students and alumni to demand Free Education. Caroline Lucas, our MP, summed it up at the rally: “Look at the evidence - 3/4 of students are never going to pay back these debts in the 30 year period… the government is economically illiterate and morally bankrupt… Education is not a commodity to be bought and sold: education is a public good.”
Michael Segalov
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1 december 2014
FEATURE • 8
FEATURE
Pawel Loj - via Flickr
Didriks - via Flickr
Should we be thankful for Thanksgiving, or is it a Turkey? Connor Cochrane describes the history behind Thanksgiving, giving a personal insight, as well as relating it to other festive holidays. Connor Cochrane Tech Sub-Editor Thanksgiving is an American holiday celebrated on the 4th Thursday of every November. The tradition is, in some part, inspired by a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast with Native Americans after a successful growing season, with help from the local natives. Prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common amongst almost all religions after harvests (and at other times), and is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. My first experience with Thanksgiving came in my first year at Sussex. It was my newly acquired American girlfriend’s first thanksgiving away from home, let alone the first one across the sea. Hopping on the 25 bus to Sainsbury’s and buying a turkey might not seem like the most romantic thing, but for an incredibly lazy student with a little Grinch heart, it was alright. To corroborate this, apparently I left halfway through cooking, to go to the video game society like a big ol’ nerd. Nevertheless, leaving my girlfriend to cook the turkey herself, apparently made her proud of herself, (“it was a huge rite of passage! I felt like an adult!”), so let’s pretend that was my intention. The result was certainly not a traditional thanksgiving dinner, being the product of someone who only ever
cooked curry and pot noodles. I tore into the turkey with my bare hands and ate it like a wild animal, my partner’s parents watching with horror over Skype. All I had previously picked up through osmosis about Thanksgiving, was turkey and native Americans. I was previously insecure that the holiday came from negative roots. Though a notable story about Thanksgiving centres around pilgrims and native Americans eating together, the origins of the holiday predates this and are literally about giving thanks. In this sense, it should be compared to Christmas, and how the holiday can mean many things to different people: giving; religion; family; friends; capitalism; whatever. Thanksgiving for my girlfriend is a big family affair, and we probably couldn’t quite replicate that atmosphere with just myself and a screen. She says: “it’s a pretty popular sitcom joke that thanksgiving dinners are awkward because you have to see all your relatives and try not to argue about politics or judge their relationships - but I’ve never felt that way.” A year later, and a year into my long distance relationship, my usual hatred for tradition seemed to malfunction and I wanted to make Thanksgiving into a thing for me. The results this time were much better, especially considering I was flying fully solo. One housemate did manage to come into the kitchen on time to cut the turkey for me, as the old tearing in with the hands trick turned out to
burn quite a bit. That year my house, as many I’m sure do, celebrated Christmas by cooking a dinner together. Having the two meals so close together did highlight the similarities. Essentially both meals are just what we would call a roast or Sunday dinner, with a bit more effort put in because it is for the whole family. Part of this comes from Americans completely associating the turkey with Thanksgiving; while we usually eat the bird at Christmas, they very rarely do, and seem to put less emphasis on the Christmas meal in general. “There’s not really a traditional Christmas meal here - ham, lamb, pork loin, anything fancy will do... Thanksgiving meal is definitely more important. It’s the point of the whole day, Christmas dinner is basically an afterthought and it’s mostly about the tree and presents.” Also, doing it yourself as a student must lose nearly all of the magic kids in America might get when they come up to a big table and see tons of food.
“...it should be compared to Christmas, and how the holiday can mean many different things to different people” My girlfriend argues that thanksgiving “isn’t just a younger sibling to
Christmas it’s a whole celebration of all things autumn and ‘harvesty’.” For me the year just doesn’t need a November holiday. I like having the room to breath between Halloween and Christmas, to just feel autumnal, without tradition or ritual attached. The two holidays when taken secularly really don’t seem to have much difference to me: it’s about family and food. One thing they do have is hand turkeys! They draw around their hands and then turn the outlines into a image of a turkey. Apparently you are supposed to watch American Football on thanksgiving. I wouldn’t. They also have parades for capitalism. In terms of Thanksgiving’s relevance for us in the UK, Black Friday seems to be having a far more infectious presence, online and on high streets. Black Friday is a day of huge sales when Thanksgiving ends, signalling the beginning of Christmas festivities. However, even in America, Black Friday seems to be the more relevant event, as in some cases it has begun during Thanksgiving. Christmas also has priority in the eyes of businesses. We may be irritated when Christmas decorations are up early, and my girlfriend says: “[grumbles]... that they should wait till after Thanksgiving.” Being not as old and far reaching as Christmas, Thanksgiving has not developed the power that Christmas has to dominate a whole month (and more: here, Christmas food and decorations hit the shops and high street just as Halloween ends, if not
before). My girlfriend cannot imagine a culture without Thanksgiving, and thinks it should be proliferated, saying: “it’s a loving welcoming holiday that should be celebrated everywhere.” For her, and many other Americans, Thanksgiving and Christmas seem very distinguished, but in the UK our version of Christmas seems to fuse the two together anyway. It is good that the USA has it’s own holiday that can form part of its identity. For me I am still deciding whether or not to cook a turkey this year. I am afraid of the effort, the deja vu it will impose on Christmas meals, and that it won’t resemble a real family Thanksgiving, not to mention that my anti-tradition compulsion has kicked back in.
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1 december 2014 Comment • 10
What does feminism mean in our modern society?
Samantha Sohota
The word feminist evokes a wide array of notions; perhaps you picture a brassiere burning brigade of angry women sticking a metaphorical two fingers up to men? Or maybe that is an unduly anachronistic definition; let’s face facts society has moved forwards and women definitely have more choices. Sometimes these choices can feel like a trap; a labyrinth to become lost in searching for the woman you should be, rather than the woman you want to be. Since the brassiere burning of the sixties, women have made meteoric progress in the workplace; discontented to be simply homemakers and mothers. The psychedelic sixties provided a new vision for young women, and the societal infrastructure that men had provided was inadequate to support this vision. These young women grew up and were able to chase their dreams, supersede men in the workplace, and smash through the glass ceiling. For many having a family became a tertiary ambition. Like her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher reached an amazing feat in becoming the first and only woman prime minister, her caustic, ruthless and driven approach earned her the title of ‘The Iron Lady’. She was a woman leading in a man’s
world and her approach was anything but classically feminine; she was the anti-protagonist. The term ‘girl power’ became a ubiquitous term of the nineties, The Spice Girls inspired a generation of women, communicating their message of feminism through placid pop and a plethora of endorsements which made them internationally recognised. Pop culture had infiltrated the minds of girls everywhere and we all wanted to be a Spice Girl; we knew it stood for something powerful. Simultaneously in the adult world, newly elected Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a strong message about the trajectory of society as he stood in solidarity with 96 female labour MPs on the steps of Church House in Westminster; an equal society was a progressive one. It seems like every decade had stood for something in the feminist revolution. By the turn of the millennium there were more female CEO’s than ever before, but a strange paradox had emerged. The media had carved a route for instantaneous success through the concept of the reality star, and many women expressed concern that young females were content to be objectified in exchange for their sixty seconds of fame. Of course a woman being objectified was not something new; Renoir, Goya and Rubens all liked their women a certain way, and this was expressed
through their art work. Nowadays you can be famous for the sake of being famous; having a leaked sex tape is a powerful platform to build a media empire. Perhaps we are in an era of sexual awakening, women are overtly confident to voice their attitudes about sex and their desires. But just simply having sex is not enough; it’s got to be good sex and it is arguable that women are more vocal than men about what this really means; the struggle for power and dominance extends to the bedroom. It seems that the modern day media circus is empowering some women and alienating others, savagely dividing them into the beautiful or ugly cat-
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egory. ‘Those Pesky Dames’; a feminist group which aims to challenge beauty ideals, which they feel are imposed by men encouraged women to grow out all their body hair. This was greeted with as much abhorrence by women as it was by men. Historically being a feminist is about feeling empowered and equal to our male counterparts, but how can we feel empowered if we are divided as a sex? Women should be advocating for women, not judging each other for life choices instead we should be celebrating that we have rights. Rights to vote, rights to not vote, rights to education, rights to abortion, rights to work, and then there are our
everyday choices: to dress how we wish, to wear make-up, to post a ‘selfie’, to remove our body hair, to keep our body hair, to choose our sexual partners. The list of rights and choices we have as women is exhaustive, and we should be celebrating that fact. Our real strength as women lies in what it intrinsically means to be feminine; our vast ability to love and to nurture, censure of our female counterparts will only disable our progress in society. We may take different routes on a journey to empowerment but we will ultimately arrive at the same destination to build a stronger future for generations of women to come.
The IT Crowd
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1 DECEMBER 2014
COMMENT • 11
COMMENT Exam timetables: The wrong kind of challenge? Laura Giovinazzi It appears to me that with time, the decisions that the University makes on behalf of students are increasingly difficult to comprehend. The latest example that I’ve come across is the publication of the exam dates, released on November 21st. As I first looked at it, I honestly thought it was a joke. There is no consideration of the fact that the assessments occur after a break which is for many religious and traditional. Or of the fact that some third year students, for example, have 2 long essays to hand in on the same day. Joint degree students are asked to take exams on completely different subjects, which require contrasting types of preparation and different skills, one day after the other, with no real time to go back to the work that needs to be done between on exam and the other. Exams are set with no real time for the brain to refuel, and I am sure that some psychology students out there would agree that this is essential for a good and focused amount of concentration. The miscoordination of the University and its inability to appropriately consider the dates that are being published for exams is particularly striking, especially because one would imagine a university to be able to consider factors such as mental well-being and the need to take a break as a part of a successful study path.
It is appalling to see the lack of attention to these details that emerges when students look at their exam timetables. Instead, the University carelessly appoints exams expecting students to be able to deliver their 100% in such short periods of time, and this is something which it must work on if it really wishes to be the more comprehensive university towards students as it likes to present itself as. The University should really think about restructuring the exam timetables, the length of term time and non-term time periods and of giving all students an equal opportunity to give their best in their assessments. How should I feel when I know that a fellow student has an exam 12 days after the 1st January whereas I have one 4 days after? Clearly, that is truly unfair, because that first student will surely have less pressure during and after the vacation period and may be more able to not only study more, but also study with less pressure and stress. Whereas this may appear as a useless or overly exaggerated point to emphasize for some, I believe that all students should think twice about how fairly they feel their timetables were decided and to what extent they think that a different structure of assessment periods could benefit them. It is for our own good, for our education and it is the reason that we will walk out of university with thousands of pounds of debt, so we may as well get together and think about fighting for a fairer system of assessments.
Xavi (via Creative Commons)
THE UNIVERSITY SAYS...
The University’s primary aim in setting the examination timetable is to ensure that no student has more than one examination per day. We achieve this using a sophisticated software package (Eventmap) to get the best result for each student within the physical, time and curriculum constraints that apply. We timetable examination start times between 9.30am and 5.00pm to avoid very early starts and late examinations. We also timetable on Saturdays to achieve the best balance possible for individual students. This January 19,315 examinations will be sat by students, involving 7,623 individuals.
The Sussex curriculum maximises personalised learning through Sussex Choice in the form of electives, elective pathways, option modules and joint degrees. We have adopted a flexible curriculum in response to feedback from our students and this involves substantive complexity when timetabling examinations. We have introduced mid-year assessment to better manage the assessment loading over the academic year and to support curriculum design and delivery. We have benchmarked ourselves against practice in other institutions and find that we adopt similar tactics to other comparable universities in examination timetabling.
This includes ensuring that we meet our statutory duties in accordance with equality and disability legislation. We also work closely with schools to adjust for particular local constraints and other factors where reasonable. Of course, we know that the examination period is stressful for students and we continue to look for ways to improve our services in this area. Therefore the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Clare Mackie, has established a Task and Finish Group to review a range of current institutional and school-level practices to identify opportunities for improvement.
Sussex needs to drop fossil fuels and get into clean energy Rachael Lipschitz An hour before a Sussex Transition meeting my friend asked if I wanted to attend it with him. "What's it about?". He replied "green ethical stuff" I was intrigued and felt moralistically I should make an effort to engage with Sussex's sustainable community. I left the meeting feeling like an activist, ready to take on the world, full of ideas and enthusiasm. But where should I begin? What's the best way to direct my energy? I decided to focus on the most attainable goal, that directly affected me the greatest - Fossil Free Sussex. Their aim is simple - directly petition for management to move all of their money out of shares in fossil fuel companies. The main reason - it’s the single largest driving force behind global warming. As ever, when money is involved it sees human interest is pushed aside. Earlier this year, Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for an antiapartheid-style boycott to tackle rising carbon emissions.
I could give you facts and figures on global warming that will shock and widen your face with horror but that won’t make you act. What can we do now? Fossil Free Sussex’s response - withdraw our support and divest. Universities are businesses- they make money, they sell degrees as a product. You are part of this company and right now it’s supporting fossil fuel industries. We cannot let the interests of capital dictate the sustainability of our society. To make huge impact we must work from the bottom up, people power. The main obstacle is that the University has no obligation to do anything, and it appears the students have little say over what their university is funding - in this instance, global warming. Investment managers are controlling our university’s money. Tobacco and Arms are forbidden from investment, so why not fossil fuel? With enough support, pressure and direct action, the overarching wants
of students and staff will cease to be ignored. It was done in Australia, where Australia National University students petitioned to divest funding within a country where the Prime Minster declared “coal is good for humanity”. Sussex is lucky to have an ANU graduate, who backed that campaign from the start, joining this very same battle, urging students to follow in Glasgow University’s footsteps. Sussex is renowned for it’s left wing ideologies. Situated next to Lewes, a transition town and within reach of Brighthelm Church Centre, the very first church in England to divest it’s funding, it’s not a question of is this going to happen but when. This is dirty energy that the organizations all around us like, British Medical Association and religions such as Quakers, are divesting from. The ‘divest-invest movement’ founded three years ago encourages getting out while the going is good and reinvestment in clean energy to break the capitalist market forces. On Wall Street September 21st
Julia Cardillo (via Creative Commons) 2014, the largest climate march in history took place, with around 400,000 participate lining the streets in support of divesting. The world is waking up. It’s about time Sussex University took notice. Fossil Free Sussex is not asking to turn of the taps on the industry, rather a slow phasing out process that’s possible and essential, to avoid bursting our carbon budget. This is a student led, union supported and globally encouraged campaign. The process matters as much as the outcome, the catalyst has sprung, we
want to prove to other universities this is a possible aim and an achievable goal. I want to be proud of my degree, but I want it to be fossil free. The University Senate is one of the top groups within the management food chain, and come their next meeting in April, Fossil Fuel Sussex aim to have enough influence to raise the issue of Fossil Fuel investment and make changes. You can’t sweep this issue under the carpet when it’s being dug up from the earth beneath you.
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1 December 2014
SCIENCE • 12
SCIENCE
The season is changing, Winter is coming; Sad or S.A.D? Jemada Cicely The days are shorter, the wind is tougher, the rain is heavier, and the cold is crisper. Let’s face it; winter is on its way. However there is more to winter and the brisker months than just seasonal differences. Although feelings of anxiety, laziness, hope-
lessness and a loss of concentration are occasional traits of a student, they may also be symptoms of harsh winter time blues or in more scientific terms S.A.D; Seasonal Affective Disorder. The term was first introduced in 1984 by Norman E Rosenthal a scientist and psychiatrist alongside
his team of the National Institute of Mental Health. Rosenthal having grown up in South Africa and having then moved to Northeastern America had begun to discover a noticeable transformation in his mood and energy level. He owed such drastic changes to a lack of sunlight in the wintery
Shima Jalal Kamali
Science factoid of the week Jade Groves Science Sub-Editor According to new research, solar activity has been linked to the increasing number of lightning strikes across the UK. Since 1990, it has been suggested by scientists that magnetic activity of the sun could be linked to lightening on Earth. This latest work suggests that high energy particles, called galactic cosmic rays, provide the link between the orientation of the Sun’s magnetic field and the number of strikes. According to Scientists, the Sun’s magnetic field is bending that of the Earth, increasing its exposure to cosmic rays. It is believed that the increased number of thunderclouds and lightning bolts have is due to the increased number of rays. Since 2009, the UK has experiences 50% more lightning strikes because of the Earth’s magnetic field being affected by the Sun’s. Dr Matt Owens from the University of Reading, the leading researcher from this study noted, “What we think is happening is that the Sun’s magnetic field is pulling or pushing on the Earth’s field and that’s letting energetic charged particles down into the atmosphere at different locations and the idea is that these actually trigger lightning.”
months. Even though in the past researchers doubted the authenticity of the illness, the term today has been commonly accepted in science discourses. Due to the need for further studies many still fail to fully comprehend the causes of S.A.D. However one theory associates its effects with a part of our brain called hypothalamus, a zone which controls mood appetite and sleep, presumed to be stimulated by light exposure. Those who suffer from S.A.D, a lack of light and a difficulty with specific brain chemicals and hormones may cause their hypothalamus from functioning correctly. Thus interfering with normal levels of appetite, mood and sleep. Another theory connects its causes with a hormone called melatonin which delays our body clocks. It is assumed that when people with S.A.D experience lack of light exposure their bodies produce more of these hormones causing such uncompromising symptoms. This mental illness generally initiating in September and lasting as long as up to March, is most susceptible amongst young adults. It is believed that the average person will experience S.A.D in their early twenties. Despite it being naturally com-
mon for most to sleep more and feel less energetic in dimmer and colder weather, it is not natural to feel severe depression that can greatly affect our day to day lives. About 20% of people suffer from emotional changes in fall and winter, but only approximately 2% suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder. According to Mind, the charity for better mental health, the list of symptoms can from vary from loss of concentration, irregular sleep patterns and weight gain caused by over eating (especially carbohydrates). Additionally, another sign is having a lowered immune system. Others include high levels of depression, where you often feel anxious, hopeless or guilty for no apparent reason. Feeling a lack of libido and participating in anti-social behaviour and displaying a lack of interest in people and in life are among other frequent symptoms. There are various treatments available, the most popular being light therapy, which consists of exposure to specific wavelengths of light for a set period of time and at specific times of the day. This technique was developed by Rosenthal himself and has been proven successful in combatting the negative effects of S.A.D.
Nerd Nite: November 2014 Review Samantha Nicholls
Punk Science: “HE ATE THE CRISPS!” Johnathan Milton and Sam Furniss, from Punk Science at The Science Museum joined us to test their new show, “Information Age” on the visibly of apprehensive looking Nerds. This comedy duo soon broke the ice with the usual banter and introduction of a voting system which would be relevant throughout their show: ‘The John’ is an overly enthusiastic thumbs up, ‘The Sam’ employs Makaton for ‘frying pan’ and I strongly advise you Google this; and ‘The Religious Zealot’ is essentially
jazz hands. This certainly broke the awkwardness! Following a geek off contest (which I failed to win!) we moved onto part of the show which will be performed at the Science Museum, demonstrating satellite delay. With two Nerds summoned, were required to answer the previous question to the one they had just heard. It was utterly hilarious yet frustrating; despite exam levels of concentration, I kept getting confused! With a wider audience, I am certain this will be a huge success and something people could try at home. This ended with a little demonstration on data packets, using crisps. Again two Nerds were called up and required to select as many of their flavour crisps
from a mix of three flavours within 30 seconds. There’s only one way to do this. Sam verified the winner by consuming said taste-tested crisps, much to the almost horror of the Nerds! It certainly left an impression. Always go out on a high note…
Prof. Ward: “What colour is the letter A?” Professor Jamie Ward certainly engaged the Nerds with his captivating introduction to the fascinating world of Synaesthesia. As a medical neuroscience undergraduate and synaesthete, this was terribly exciting. It turns out that you probably know someone with synaesthesia, simply ask them the question
Sarnil Prasad via Flickr
above and see what happens! Synaesthesia can present in a number of ways and engage two or more senses. Without reciting the entire talk, I would really recommend “The Frog Who Croaked Blue”. The Nerds questioned Professor Ward quite extensively; I had a million and one questions to ask but nothing coherent could be formed in time! During the break the room was buzzing with discussions, it was a wonderful atmosphere to be in.
Meriel Jeater: “I’d recommend a She-wee.” Meriel Jeater, from the Museum of London (not to be confused with the British Museum!) introduced us to the ever-so-slightly bizarre world that was England in the 17th Century. Witches were everywhere and defending yourself was of vital importance! Should you feel the need, you can create your own ‘Witch Bottle’ as a countercurse with your urine, hair and bent nails. Yes, there was a “here’s one I made earlier” which was rather funny. Jeater is a wonderful speaker and engaged the Nerds fully, taking lots of questions. I would definitely recommend visiting her exhibit and learning more about our quirky past. Decembers’ speakers: Anthony Metcalfe: Regeneration; Steve Cross: Naked Mole Rats and Zeeshan Khawaja: Science of Star Wars. Book early!
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1 December 2014 ARTS • 14
ARTS
iSessions: Battle Of The Bands Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Sunday 23rd November Matthew McGregor-Morales The i newspaper’s nationwide Battle of the Bands came to Brighton last Sunday, hitting Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar with a melodic bang. Five home-grown bands taken from Sussex, Brighton and Brighton Institute of Music rolled up two doors down from Casablancas to play their piece- and raised over £200 for ABF The Soldier’s Charity and Veteran Aid in the process. You’ll be able to vote for your favourites soon: the winners from this round will be going though to the national finals in the new year; and Matt Kos, Sappy, Moby Slick, Joey OscrBradick and Or So She Said all had a lot going for them. Kos started the night off with style, filling the stage with his guitar, voice and personality- and getting the rest of us involved, too. “I’m the only non-band here”, he grinned afterwards, “so I thought I could come up with something.” That something, on his last song, was throwing a few tambourines and percussives out to the crowd and getting us to play along with him. Sappy carried the mood, an alternate rock trio of Sophie Doug-
Cloud Nothings Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Thursday 20th November Laura McIntyre One goes to a Cloud Nothings gig with the expectation of potential hearing loss and physical damage, in a good way of course. The Cleveland trio certainly fulfilled expectations raised by their latest record: abrasive vocals powering through the visceral rhythm section. Dylan Baldi’s vocals were, on one level, as accomplished as on their records… impressive for such a hardcore outfit. Whilst he certainly retained a sense of sincerity to the words, I felt the lyrics didn’t come across as well live, losing its clear-cut, almost spitting quality to the fuzzy Husker Dü-esque guitar. His ability to seemingly transition from soft yet sinister tones into full on screamo, evident in ‘Pattern Walks’, is reminiscent of early Frank Black vocal - see The
las, Conor White and Harvey Norman offering some straightup jump around and throw-yourhead-at tunes. They also, graciously, gave up some t-shirts (whose sales went towards the charitable cause): ‘we were just so happy to play!’ read their Facebook following the event. Up next, Moby Slick: “its an exciting first gig for us” stated drummer Rob; you’d have thought it was exciting, but not their first. They worked together like a well-oiled swag machine. A collection of artists brought together via BIM, the set actually wouldn’t have sounded out of
place in Casablancas on a Wednesday. If you like those guys pop-jazzy style, you’ll appreciate Moby Slick. Joey Oscar Bradick had a first as well, playing with drums and bass rather than on his own: “Joey Bradick is the new face of music” his bassist yelled at me backstage. The three were solid with Joey at the helm, and paved a sweet path for Or So She Said. East Slope favourites Chloe Glover and James Southard had their own bass and drum additions, and slammed out a few with their standard instrumental talent and vocal power. “Zoe [Ambrozewska, organiser
extraordinaire] was like ‘do you wanna do Battle of the Bands, I was like f*** yeah” Chloe told me before they went on. Matt Kos spoke of the “higher standard” of the night and the bands: “it was a good night” he told me, “good to be a part of ”. And we in the audience felt the same - even Ralph, who had to sit at the door. Videos of each act should be up on the i newspaper’s website soon, and voting starts in early December. So get involved and represent Sussex (and Brighton), because this lot deserve representing.
Jamie Wyatt
Pixie’s ‘Tame’. I would partly put this onto the domination of the crowd. This was one of those gigs that heavily relied on band/crowd interaction. It’s safe to say the ethos of the gig was mainly to have a good mosh and luckily the majority was ‘up for it’. The audience essentially became a pinball machine: people within the inner circle, myself included, were flung around like little balls hitting everything in the field of indie onlookers. The rhythm and energy coming from these human collisions ultimately complemented the songs themselves. One of the band’s biggest strength was their ability to excite and uplift, emotionally and physically; I was literally swept off my feet in the wave of varying degrees of plaid. I’d say it became difficult at times to keep the momentum going for the entire set. It’s not surprising they left the obvious crowd pleaser ‘Wasted Days’ for their finale, rejuvenating
the crowd for the most intense and memorable mosh of the night. Movement was key to the experience, not just because of the crowd but also due to what I think is one of their best strengths: song structure and directionality. Each song grabs your attention with a pop-y hook, wanders into what feels like minutes of instrumental jamming, and finally hits you with that brilliant hook again. Baldi’s a good songwriter, which separates Cloud Nothings from a lot of heavy, self-indulgent mel-
Bryan Sheffield
ancholic music currently floating around. The decision to hold the gig at Sticky Mike’s was initially surprising. I had expected a bigger venue considering their heightened reputation since the release of their last two albums ‘Here and Nowhere Else’ and ‘Attack On Memory’. It seemed there was a limited view of the band for the short and the tall, thanks to the notoriously low ceiling, which prohibited successful crowd surfing. Nonetheless, it seemed suitable being underground, as if you were in Baldi’s garage, which again complements their instrumental jamlike structures. With the highly energized sound amidst the sweaty garage atmosphere, it was as exciting and cathartic as I hoped it would be. Cloud Nothings deserve bigger audiences to share this collective experience with - their rock technique of suddenly switching from quiet to very, very loud. While their studio output isn’t always consistent, their live performances are always on point.
Childhood Favourites The Arts team are back with a little insight into the films, songs and telly programmes which have made them who they are today. Embarrassing stuff as per, we know. MUSIC Ray: N*SYNC - Bye Bye Bye It was a banger when I was 9 and its a banger now. Victoria: The Spice Girls - Stop What better way to get a 3 year old dancing and “singing”. Tom: Next of Kin - 24 Hours From You The most legitimate pre-pubescent, pre-busted dynamite on cassette. Ioana: Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity This song would instantly put me in a trance in front of the TV, my parents say. I blame it on the funny hat. Lily: Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim Remix) A song that reminds me of being 5 and dancing around in a bathing suit and tutu - good times. FILM Ray: The NeverEnding Story Giant dog flying through sky. I could go, but I don’t think I need to. Victoria: Madeline You’ve just got to root for this little Parisian orphan’s fight to save her friend Pepito. Tom: Labyrinth I still don’t know how Bowie did that thing with the hands and the crystal balls, I wish I did. Ioana: Child’s Play If “child horror films” were a genre, this would be the most eloquent specimen. Lily: The Princess Diaries The intense strengthening of Anne Hatthaway’s eyebrow game still brings a shiver to my spine. TELEVISION Ray: Power Rangers The moment the Green Ranger appeared on a giant dinosaur might be the happiest memory of my childhood. Victoria: Tots TV Who doesn’t question 3 ragdolls living in a house on their own? Great theme tune too. Tom: Aquila Because finding a futuristic spacecraft in a buried field in Somerset is fantasy on point. Ioana: The Twilight Zone Watching this home alone certainly did not scar me at all Lily: NCIS McGee and Tony. That’s all.
the badger
1 December 2014 ARTS • 15
REVIEWS
music
music
Adult Jazz
Tim Hecker
The Hope
Audio
Saturday 15th November
Sunday 16th November Stephen Weller Having never been to a gig in Audio at first I was a little ill at ease in a space I’d been used to seeing full of sweaty, not-altogether-there students caught in the disjointed inbetween of strobe lights. I looked around at the familiar sight of sheep-skin coated bearded men framed unfamiliarly by the dark basement setting. This semi-surreality only escalated when the dim light of the bar was replaced by countless tealights. Descending into candle-lit darkness, I was unsure whether I would be faced with some sort of gig-asseance or that the power had gone out and no one could find the torch. It took a few minutes for the indistinct figure that was assumedly Tim Hecker to appear. The complete lack of stage lights consigned his faintly perceptible frame to anonymity. What came first was something like the sound of a trash dispenser trying to connect to the internet though this soon gave way to a nebulous hum of warm noise. Occasionally, percussion would break through and give some form to the amorphous sounds but it was usually swallowed up again, obscured by the sheer volume at Hecker’s disposal. The club setting made sense once
music
Paul Thomas Saunders
Green Door Store
Wednesday 19th November Ralph Palmer
Paul Thomas Saunders Press
Tom Jenkinson
Near Gone Press
Cat
Tim Hecker Press that volume appeared. Music that could sound muddy and opaque elsewhere was given resonance and definition by the Audio soundsystem. Hecker was equally able to produce a film of sound which you might be able to pass through and bass like a solid wall, an impasse that both enveloped and pushed against the spectator. Looking around you could mistake most of the crowd for having one too many, swaying gently with their eyes closed. Rather than a night out however, this felt closer to a church sermon with swathes of droning organ peaking out of the more indistinguishable noises; revealing Hecker’s music’s debt to initial sketches laid out on piano. There’s just something about very intimate gigs that just makes them that extra bit special. That was certainly the case here, where no more than 40 people turned up but it only added to the experience. His debut album, ‘Beautiful Desolation’ has received great reviews across the board and he brought it to life wonderfully in the cosy setting of Green Door Store. A special mention has to go to his two support acts, Georgia Mason and Jacko Hooper, who introduced the night phenomenally well with some great vocals and catchy songs from both. The main act didn’t come onto stage until quite late, but it was well worth the wait as the opening of supremely loud drums and bass shook the room. The set was a mixture of quiet, epic songs like ‘Good Women’ and bigger, show stopping songs with the help of his three-piece band. No matter which song it was though, you could see his sheer passion coming through his incomparable, dynamic music, most of all with what was the highlight of the evening, which was an acoustic rendition
The man himself remained a spectral presence throughout, the occasional flicker of light on his mixing desk the only thing revealing him as the cause of the revelatory din. Really this is where Hecker let his music down a little, it was concrete and brutal yet he was little more than an apparition and although this didn’t affect the ‘live’ quality of the performance it did mean that if those with their eyes closed were to open them they’d have very little to look at. As the gig wrapped up, criminally too soon, Hecker voiced a practically whispered ‘thank-you’. As we went to leave I was mildly surprised that my legs didn’t weigh twice as much, as if the sheer magnitude of bass had increased the gravity in the room or turned the air to a thick treacly paste. of ‘Appointment in Samarra’ in the car park after the allotted time was up. It wasn’t until I heard him sing without a microphone that I realised what an incredible voice he really has. Everybody had shivers going down there spines and it certainly wasn’t the fact we were all stood out in the cold of a wintery Brighton night. It’s always a pleasure to watch an artist live when it sounds as good as it does on record but it was different enough that it gave a different side of each song that you hadn’t heard before. In all honesty, despite the fact that he has received an abundance of praise and a fair amount of air time on radio earlier in the year, I am truly surprised that Paul Thomas Saunders isn’t a more recognisable name in the music industry. It was an incredibly special performance by an incredibly gifted musician and songwriter who I imagine we will all hear a lot more about in years to come.
Three Bridges. What are you Three Bridges? What are you compensating for with all these bridges? For me the only thing you represent is the point at which I have to leave the comfort of my cosy aisle seat on the train and get crammed onto a steamy rail replacement bus to complete the final leg of my journey back to Brighton. In summary: a stop in Three Bridges does a serious number on your pre-gig spirits, which were only rectified upon me purchasing a bottle of chocolate milk from Morrisons for a mere 9p?! Don’t get me wrong, I love a lager as much as the next top quality lad/ legend/geezer/idiot, but nothing gets me more jazzed up than a stomach full of cocoa-flavoured lactose. So with the situation rescued, along came the opening act. They go by the name of Realms and no I’m not talking about the thrash metal band from Milwaukee, these guys were more of a Poundland version of Daughter, all perfectly pleasant, but if you’ve only got a guitar and drums then you need to be pretty damn inventive to get the audience excited. Next up was G Bop Orchestra, a band with one of the best setups I’ve come across. Drums + trombone + xylophone. Mind blowing to say the least. There’s pretty much no point in me trying to describe them to you as they were completely barmy and unlike anything I’ve ever heard or seen.
What I will say is that they’re not afraid of overusing a woodblock, a refreshingly different stance from most bands. With the milky belches starting to emerge from my mouth, Adult Jazz took the stage. They opened, as they do on their debut album Gist Is, with Hum, starting out sparse and disparate before exploding into a trip-pop, dancy anthem. It was like a veritable game of musical chairs on stage, as each member of the Leeds four-piece swapped instruments after virtually every song. They glided through the likes of Am Gone, Pigeon Skulls and Bonedigger, before bringing things to an end with crowd pleaser Idiot Mantra. For me personally, the most rewarding part of the gig was witnessing how they actually go about creating such a unique sound on stage. From listening to their record it would be easy to assume that all kinds of production witchcraft and wizardry are used to get such intriguing results, but the reality is not nearly as complex. This was as much an evening of musical education as it was a gig, with both music boffins and mosh pitters going home happy. I could only think of one thing to cap off the night. A pint of choco milk please barman! What do you mean you don’t serve it?! Why couldn’t this gig have been in Morrisons...
Adult Jazz Press
the badger
1 DECember 2014 ARTS • 16
LIFESTYLE
I’m Lovin’ It: why I’m proud to work for McDonald’s Anonymous Students all love to give McDonald’s a bit of stick. Last year a supposed disgruntled employee wrote in The Badger about how awful it is to work for McDonald’s, and what a terrible company it is. At the same time I find it all too funny how our ethics and views of McDonald’s go flying out of the window when we see the adverts for a cheeky McFlurry or cheeseburger for 99p. Great value right?! I’ve been working at McDonald’s now for over three years and can safely say that it is a great company is to work for. If you push yourself and take everything it has to offer you’ll begin to understand that it’s a company that will not only do a lot for you but, it also does a great deal for the country. Let’s tackle the elephant in the room first: the pay could be better. When I began working for McDonald’s, I was on £5.00 an hour at 19 years old, in full time employment, and had to wait until the age of 21 to see a significant rise. As the line goes: “I’ve been there man”. I admit, pay is up there as one of the most important things to an employee, myself included. But, what about the other factors that create job satisfaction, things that McHaters all seem to shy away from. Their amazing flexibility, their qualification programs, their invest-
McDonald’s Press ment into the UK economy, their pioneering environment policies and the ‘Ronald McDonald House Charity’ (RMHC). For students McDonald’s UK offers some of the best flexibility that the market has to offer. Of the part time workers at McDonald’s, 74% are in full and part time education. Busy schedule at university? Got a hand in? Need time off to see family? No problem. As many problems as there are with ‘zero-hour’ contracts, McDonald’s offers the best of this type of employment system, being highly flexible and responsive to your needs. How about the qualification programs that McDonald’s provides. McDonald’s invests over £43million into its training and education programs in the UK.
For those who didn’t get English and Maths GCSE’s, McDonald’s provides GCCE equivalent qualifications, which to date has benefited over 19,000 employees. Not enough? How about the Level 2 apprenticeship scheme, providing over 16,000 employees with five A-C GCSE grade equivalents. Also offered is the Level 3 diplomas in shift management, received by over 19,000 employees thus far. Oh and did I fail to mention they offer a foundation degree in ‘Managing Business Operations’. The fact that 95% of salaried managers started off as hourly paid crew members, shows the commitment that McDonald’s puts into its education and training schemes. Then there’s the charity. That penny change you get from your burger and pop into the charity box-
es adds up. In 2013, those donations added up to over £3.2million, with over £5million being raised by stores through other events. On the 25th October, celebrating the charity’s 25th Birthday, McDonald’s UK managed to raise enough money to provide over 10,000 room nights. If you didn’t know, RMHC is a charity that builds family centres, providing a place for sick children to stay, with their families, so that they are just a stone’s throw away from the hospital that they are receiving treatment at. What else is there to say? In recent years they have made huge strides to change their image on the environment and animal welfare. McDonald’s UK has recently opened up their farms and preparation centres to camera to stomp out the allegations of poor animal welfare and poor quality control. McDonald’s on top of this has committed to using 100% renewable energy for its non-landlord sites by the end of 2016. This all just the tip of the iceberg. McDonald’s UK has committed so much towards the UK economy, to its employees and to its customers since 1974, the list could go on and on. McHaters are always going to hate, but then again I wonder how many of them will find themselves buying something from McDonald’s during the week.
Why Skyler is Breaking Bad’s most important character Sasha Khan As an openly addicted fan of the show Breaking Bad, which debuted in 2008, I find it interesting how the character of Skyler, wife of teacher-turned-chronic-meth-cooking psychopath, Walter White, is often named and shamed as the most irritating and aggravating character on the show. Interesting, because it would seem that a large amount of the show’s success, both in terms of characterization and plot development, lies solely with her, and namely her evolving relationship with her husband. This relationship has the function of providing a sense of balance to the fastpaced plot lines, and embedding a sense of reality within the manic and tumultuous story arcs. In the earlier seasons of the show, the relationship between Skyler and Walt balances the show. Scenes of Walt dealing with a dissolved corpse in a bathtub, a member of the drug cartel chained up in a basement, and an epic plane crash scatter-
ing dead bodies all over Albuquerque, contrasted with Skyler’s chidings that Walt used the wrong bank account, her complaints that he ‘won’t talk to her’, and their ever-suffering sex life. Irritating and placid as these scenes may seem, they are vital - without them, the character of Walt would cease to be a relatable character, as he would lack any dimension. Equally, the scenes of her cooking vege-bacon and complaining about bills anchor the show’s wild plot lines into reality. The popular opinion that Skyler is an annoying character is, I believe, both important and a product of good scriptwriting - she is a woman largely on her own, acting as her son’s carer while also being pregnant, with a husband newlydiagnosed with cancer, only to realize her husband is also cooking meth on the side and occasionally murdering
people. To have her character not be at least a little highly-strung would simply be unrealistic. Skyler and Walter’s relationship is probably one of the most subtle yet intriguing elements of the script-writing; in the earlier parts of the show, the seeds are sewn for a power struggle. She traces the phone call Walt had with Jesse out of suspicion, as well as convinces Walt to receive treatment despite him not being sure, showing her controlling nature in the first season. However, she begins to lose power over Walter, symbolic of Walter’s character development and his rise before his inevitable fall in the final season. Their relationship therefore acts as a marker to show how much Walter changes over the course of the show, so as by the end of it he appears almost unrecognizable - whereas the earlier
“Without her, Walt’s character development would not have been able to occur as credibly as it did.”
episodes see him almost breakdown after being discovered by the police, a few seasons later he can happily be involved in poisoning a child, or blowing someone up in a nursing home, for his own personal gain. This change is best shown in one of the most important scenes within the show’s history, when he explains to Skyler that the whole process made him ‘feel alive’ and that he ‘was good at it’, justifying his various evil actions. Walt can only reveal this because of his relationship with Skyler. Indeed, the character development that caused the bumbling chemistry teacher to morph into Heisenberg, one of the most feared members of the drug community, was only possible because of Skyler, who not only resisted turning him into the police, but who also fronted their drug money-laundering business. Skyler is vital to the development of the show, with all her irritating habits and banal domestic complaints, because without her, Walt’s character development would not have been able to occur as credibly as it did.
Pub of the Week Fitzherberts
Fitzherbert’s
Matthew McGregor-Morales Located at the gateway to Brighton’s North Laine, Fitzherberts is a cute little two-story haven with more natural charm than it knows what to do with. Sandwiched between Brighton Dome and The Mash Tun, the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly and genuine - and the prices aren’t too bad, either. Walking in past the delicious kebab stand open Friday and Saturday nights, the low wooden beams, old-school wood floor and general wood-brick convo contrast sweetly with the fairy lights and candles, flickering in the reclaimed spirit bottles (although, to be fair, most of Brighton does that candlesin-a-bottle thing). The vibe is definitely chilled- it feels a little like Aslan opened a pub halfway inside his wardrobe, and mulled cider for £2.50 or £4.50 with rum in it sort of cements that. Atmosphere: ***** The staff are friendly, funny, and always looking for help with the crossword- but the jewel in the crown for me has got to be the live music that Fitzherberts regularly serenades us with. Tuesday nights see Irish folk music; fiddle, violin and voice playing you a soundtrack that deserves an Oscar, and a fantastic live band play every third Thursday of the month, involving a tuba player nice enough in the past to let a friend or two try play themselves (no promises) and a clarinetist who, despite taking in more ale than air last week, can ace the melodies and wanders around the pub all night challenging patrons to dance. Price: £ Drinks-wise, a pint of lager or Guinness goes for a standard £4 and just under £4 for a medium glass of wine, with single spirits and mixers hovering around £3.40, and ale favourites like Harvey’s setting you back £3.60. Being from London, this felt pretty much like paradise. All-in-all, Fitzherberts is a solid place to have a chill one. If you feel like the Haunt outside Mondays is a ghost-club, swing by and pretend to sit by the warm, crackling fire, which is pretty much all that’s missing.
the badger
1 December 2014 ARTS • 17
ARTS & MINDS
Frisch weht der Wind: The Secret Treasures of Towner Eastbourne
Shadow Theatre - Matthew Miller Thomas Powell Arts Editor ‘Welcome to Eastbourne, The Sunshine Coast’ boasts a gaudy message on the arrivals side of the platform at Eastbourne station. Beyond the ticket barriers a dark November sky loomed ominously over the unassuming seaside town. I felt myself fill with a vertiginous sense of Sebaldian dread, the streets and cafés familiar and cosy, but altogether unwelcoming. The sky was pregnant with rain, threatening to drench the soles of my shoes which, like aquifers, could only make sodden my socks. At 11.04am and far from home this was a risk I was beginning to think was regrettable.
Still, who knew? Eastbourne could be due its artistic renaissance at long last, what with the fact that it now shares the decadent image of a burnt down pier with artsy neighbour, Brighton. More important than an image, the Towner gallery of contemporary art was moved to a new space on College Road half a decade ago, making an hours wait in what’s often colloquially labelled as ‘God’s Waiting Room’ all the more fruitful. Since my brain was attuned to dread when I headed upstairs at this spacious, but amply outfitted gallery, I’m going to pick up on a couple of artworks from their current collection exhibition Land and Sea. Coinciding with the continuing BPB ex-
hibition Betwixt Two Worlds on the floor above (and with their theme of collaboration in mind), the collection gallery hosts works that use photography and film in relation to land and oceanscapes. Late Brighton artist (and co-founder of Fabrica) Matthew Miller’s works develop the idea of the dread of modernity, the underground complexity of everything we lay our eyes on. One work, a model radio mast disguised by a pine tree facade looks like an Orwellian listening device, or an object that the Stasi would’ve been proud of. In reality, it is a model of a real mast near Pease Pottage, West Sussex. Dystopian technologies, as we know, aren’t so far from home. Elsewhere we see a stock architectural model that is, over a 15 minute loop, observed by birds and helicopters, before its invasion by small circles, charging strategically. Armed forces? While a large leap of anthropomorphism, the diorama just goes to show how threatening even a shadow can be, instilling meaning and dread with only the index of an image. That is of course, until the shadows themselves reach the building’s roof without climbing. They are not human, they are projected they aren’t real, but we still feared them.
Uriel Orlow’s The Long and Short of It, meanwhile explores historiography, exclusion and event-based history surrounding the six day war in the Suez, 1967. A mixture of flickering video still, documentary photo and 86 slides of event/ lyric on each wall, it tells a story of the event that evokes and suggests, elusive to any overall reading as such. Orlow demonstrates that our history goes far beyond a temporal list of events or a subjective narrative, and that every factual event has lying beneath it a
subjective and sensory experience: ‘land dissolving into water’. After an hour or two’s escape at the Towner, I felt my waves of teenage dread that had returned on my way out to Eastbourne lift. The skies were as grey when I got back on the train to Falmer as when I’d walked into the gallery itself, rain still spitting disdainfully at me. But it was worth it. Land and Sea continues at Towner Eastbourne until January 25th.
Scott Massey
Dreamin’: A Love Letter to Mac Demarco After his show at Concorde 2 on November 23rd, Arts Editor Thomas Powell penned this note of unrequited admiration to the serial japester himself by way of a review. Oh Mac, where do I begin? My beau, my jizz jazzer, my gap-toothed prankster, my pepperoni playboy. Ever since I met you those few years ago I’ve looked at you like that goofy guy at High School that everyone loves, and you’ve not changed a bit since then! I love you for the way you empower me with the obvious (‘I’m A Man’), soothe me with the sublime (‘Chamber of Reflection’) and tell a hell of a story (‘Passing Out Pieces’). Or is it boring? Whenever I see you, you’re so fuelled up on whatever you’re doing (your guitarist Pierce quipped that your manager had you taking lots of drugs like Motley Crüe?!), you look like you’re really digging that rock star thing, and that makes me happy. You’re relentless, Mac, you dive into the crowd for ‘grabby grabby’ (your words, not mine), you clamber all over inanimate objects and jump off them, you’ve even written and emphatically sung me the best advertisement for cigarettes I’ve ever heard (and that’s not just because they’re banned in my country!). Mac, please read this as an ode to you: my viceroy.
Danny Cohen Last time you had me kneeling for Neil, loving Canada, demonstrating your ‘Unknown Legend’. I saw your long *brown* hair flying in the wind as you jetted off somewhere down a desert highway, not to be seen for a sweet little while. So now you return, months later, and get in touch; admittedly via your long established Brighton pal, Be Nothing. They let me come see you for an
hour or so, alongside your sweet vocalled Uruguayan singer pal named Juan Wauters. He struck me as a Luis Suárez who’s gone one bite too far, traversed the U.S. border, landed in New York, turned from football to folk and found God in the manifestation of Jonathan Richman. Real North American poetry, you know? Lovely guy. But Mac, it was you who I was there
to see, and while I knew that…it really didn’t resonate until you got your bassist to sing me a cover of Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’, it really twanged my heartstrings, Mac! Oh you’re so funny, Mac! This is what’s best about you, Mac Demarco; you always laugh and smile, and share a heartfelt message with everyone you meet. You love what you do, and you want to make everyone feel like a rock star, even the guy who tried
to kiss you on stage who you saved from venue security. In that hour you showed me that every room is full of heart, but it’s also full of laughter. Your own songs alone showed me that, but so did the quarter hour encore of the Top Gun theme, ‘Smoke On The Water’ and ‘Enter Sandman’. But the very best bit was when you replaced a line from BTO’s ‘Takin’ Care of Business’ with the word ‘cats**t’. I loved your covers almost as much as your songs, Mac, because after all, it’s important that we all know our little place in history. Even though there were a lot of other girls and boys there when I saw you, I felt like it was a really special time, and I want you to know that. In a sense we’re ‘Still Together’, because I can’t stop listening to your songs on my walkman. However, as I left Concorde and walked out into the winter’s cold I was singing ‘Let My Baby Stay’. I love you Mac Demarco, but you’ve left my love unrequited until next time, and I’m hoping my salad days will never end.
the badger
1 December 2014
SporTS • 20
SPORTS Evans case highlights widespread issues Alice Taylor Burge The question of whether Ched Evans should be allowed back to play for Sheffield United is an issue on which at first, I was torn. I respect the right to second chances, and a prisoner’s right to employment upon their release; Integration back into society is an essential part of the rehabilitation process. However, when the job is as high profile and high paid as a footballer, I feel that his return would not only be an insult to his victim, but an insult to all rape victims. The reporting rate for sexual violence in this country is already devastatingly low at 15%, (rapecrisis.org.uk) with the conviction rate slightly higher at just 16%. Reinstating Evans into his role at Sheffield United could serve to deter future victims from reporting their crime. He has served a relatively short sentence of two and a half years, whereas this young girl’s life has been devastated beyond repair. Evans’ victim has had to move away from her hometown and
change her identity twice, such is the extent of the trolling and death threats she has received on social media. This is particularly relevant in contrast to the widespread support that Evans has received; he has the unwavering support of his family and girlfriend, in addition to backing from the public with the Twitter hashtag #JusticeForChed.
“” The cause of rape is rapists
At the time of his trial, what the Evans case poignantly highlighted is our culture of victim-blaming: Why was she in a hotel room with two men? What was she wearing? Why did she drink so much and put herself in that vulnerable position? Having sex with a young girl who can barely stand needs not be perceived as a “grey area” by society. Not only should we enforce a “yes means yes” policy, but we should also teach young boys that reciprocation and furthermore enthusiasm are vital
signs in determining whether or not a girl wants to have sex with you. The cause of rape is rapists, and nothing else. Rape is increasingly normalised and trivialised in our culture, it is often the subject of jokes, as epitomised by “lad culture”, “banter” and more recently the character Dapper Laughs. We cannot continue to normalise rape, and the repercussions for rapists must be severe. To add insult to injury Evans still maintains his innocence, stating, “I am ashamed of what I did but I am not a rapist”. This failure to acknowledge the severity of his wrongdoing is another key factor as to why he should not be allowed to return to his job. What kind of message does this send to young boys who look up to footballers as role models? Evans’ mother, Helen Roberts, who runs a campaign website trying to clear her son’s name, told the Daily Star, “We just hope the feminist gang will soon find something else to bang on about”. Perhaps if Evans showed more re-
morse or compassion I could sympathise with his position more. The striker needs to stop apologising to his girlfriend for his infidelity, and focus on the damage done to his victim. The fact that footballers are idolised by children means that we must question them morally and condemn them when necessary, for they serve as role models to younger generations. Over 150,000 people have signed an online petition urging the Bramall Lane club not to take Evans back, with high profile athletes like Jessica EnnisHill threatening to remove all associations with her home club, including the stand named after her, if Evans is allowed to return. Sheffield United have been under heavy scrutiny for allowing the convicted rapist to train at the club after his release from prison, a decision they have since retracted due to the intensity of the response from the public. The decision is ultimately in the hands of co-owners Prince Abdullah Bin Musa’ad Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia
and Kevin McCabe. The case has undoubtedly sparked controversy, with each week revealing to us more rape apologists in the public eye, namely: Judy Finnigan (of Richard and Judy) who said the rape was “nonviolent”, Michael Buerk (BBC Radio 4) who discredited the victim for being drunk, and BBC Radio Norfolk DJ Nick Conrad, who helpfully suggested that women “keep their knickers on”. The Ched Evans case bears wider significance, as it highlights the much broader problem of rape culture, and the treatment of rape victims in society. Katie Russell, from Rape Crisis England and Wales said, “It makes clear that there are still a number of pervasive and harmful myths around sexual violence in our society, as well as a lot of sexism.” The fact remains, whether he returns to Sheffield United or not, Evans has been released from prison and is allowed to carry on with his life moderately unaffected by his crime. This is a luxury that his victim has not been afforded.
Sussex ‘wipe the floor’ at Regionals BUCS Results: Alex Gorton
The 15 and 16 November saw the Sussex Mohawks retain their regional mixed indoor championship in dramatic fashion. After winning each of their games on the way to the final the Mohawks, led by captain Rachel Clark, battled back from a 2-5 deficit to take a sudden death 6-5 victory over a well organised Oxford. Hopes were high from the offset for both the first and second teams to have a chance to qualify for Nationals; whilst for the majority of the third team it was a first taste of competitive Ultimate. The third team, largely comprised of freshers, faced the challenge of several first teams in the group stages, along with the Brighton Panthers second team. Having started with a victory over Brighton in their first game, the challenge of vastly stronger opponents Oxford, Portsmouth and Chichester was ultimately too much, with the thirds finishing fourth in their group. In their cross-over against Surrey 2, much was at stake, for a victory would set up a match against the Mohawks second team. Unfortunately this was not to be as they faltered at the final moment. The 3rd team finished 17th, claiming the ‘spoon’ and cementing a creditable result. The second team started the weekend seeded 8th and with high hopes of qualification. Under captain Jonny Arthur, they started strongly, crushing local rivals Portsmouth 2, 10-1. This was followed by a ‘bagel’ scoreline (a score to nil) over regional newcomers Oxford Brookes, dispatching them 8-0. Then going on to beat Chichester 2, 13-
1, reaching the score limit of 13 with almost 3 minutes of the 22 remaining. The final game of the day was the one the team had all been waiting for, against long-time rivals and the group’s top ranked team, Surrey. In a hardfought, physical game, Surrey came out on the better side of a 7-3 score line, leaving Mohawks 2 to face Oxford 2 to secure a place in the quarter finals, and a game against the Mohawks first team. In a tight game, Oxford drew out an early lead with Sussex struggling to adapt to their organised offence, and despite a comeback in the last few minutes led by Alex Gorton and Gabriel Greening, it was a case of too little too late, with Oxford prevailing 6-5. This meant that Mohawks 2 could no longer qualify for nationals, and the prize of claiming Plate was the new objective. This they duly won, taking down Surrey 2, Royal Holloway and in a tense Plate final, Winchester 2. The first team, led by Rachel Clark, and including open captain Glen Newell and the former nationals winning mixed captain, John Maule, came into the tournament confident of retaining their regional crown. They won all games in their group dispatching Reading, Royal Holloway, Surrey 2, and Winchester 2. The Mohawks faced Oxford 2 in the quarters, and avenged the second team’s earlier loss, securing a semi-final spot against hosts Chichester. They were in turn defeated, the Mohawks securing the final that most had expected, against Oxford. Conditions on Sunday were not ideal, as the venue was struggling with condensation issues, meaning that
Wednesday 26.11.14 Mixed American Football: Southampton 15 - 12 Sussex
Women’s Basketball: Southampton 83 - 45 Sussex
Men’s Fencing:
Oxford 2nd 135 - 104 Sussex James Allen two pitches had to be shortened due to puddles forming in the end zones As well as the pitch used for the final needing to be dried between points, something that Callum Heath carried out with aplomb.
“” The pitch for the final needed to be dried between points
Oxford were quick out of the blocks in the final, opening up a 2-5 lead, before Mohawks took their game up another level, and so began the comeback. Glen Newell started to dominate the Oxford isolation offence, before scoring a point that turned the momentum in Sussex’s favour. Mohawks defence claimed posses-
sion, and after some patient play from the Sussex handlers, Newell scored again, to bring Sussex within one point with five minutes to play. A quick turnover, followed by a pitch length throw from Newell, found Adam King unmarked in the endzone, bringing Mohawks back on level terms. The game had entered sudden death. Mohawks were in possession having forced another turn-over when Stuart Thompson was able to thread the disc through the Oxford defence to the waiting John Maule for the winning score, sparking a pitch invasion from both Mohawks and local rivals Brighton Panthers, themselves securing nationals qualification. Mohawks were able to return home, their task complete, with not one, but three trophies, and a reputation as the regions team to beat firmly intact.
Holloway 2nd 115 - 121 Sussex
Women’s Fencing:
Hertfordshire 1st 90 - 121 Sussex
Women’s Football: Sussex 1- 4 UWE
Men’s Hockey: Sussex 2 - 2 UWE
Women’s Hockey:
Cardiff Met 7 - 0 Sussex
Women’s Table Tennis: Imperial College 2 - 3 Sussex
from www.bucs.org.uk
the badger
1 DECEMBER 2014
SOCIETIES SPOTLIGHT ADVERTISE YOUR SOCIETY On this page you can find out about what our societies have been up to and what their plans are for the coming weeks! You can view and join all of our 150 + societies online at www.sussexstudent. com/societies. If you’d like to advertise your society on this page, send your articles to societies@sussexstudent.com by 12pm on Wednesdays.
SUSSEX STOP AIDS Come mark World AIDS Day with us TODAY by joining us in forming a human ribbon in Library Square. Today we are taking part in a national campaign that will be pushing for the UK government to keep going in its fight to end AIDS, TB and Malaria. The UK has made an incredible contribution to ending the AIDS pandemic through their support of developing countries accessing affordable medicine and their contributions to the Global Fund along with a lot of their programmatic work through DfID . We have the chance to end AIDS in our lifetime but only if we have the political will to make it happen! We need to send a message to decision makers that the fight to end AIDS is not over! We encourage as many people as possible to come and join us. It will only take a few minutes of your time and it will be a great stunt for me-
dia awareness. If you plan in So come along to a session – first one is FREE – and check coming, please wear red. out Capoeira for yourself! We will start organizing at around 12pm and form the You should wear comfortshape of the ribbon that is able clothes, sensible shoes, the mark of solidarity to the and be prepared to sweat a lot, and feel great about it! HIV/AIDS epidemic. Classes are held Thursdays Once we are all in place, a 4-6pm in Meeting Room 1 picture from a good vantage (just above the Students’ Unpoint will be taken and to put ion Shop). online to raise awareness. We will also be collecting donations and distributing fact sheets after our little stunt. PROMENADE Magazine is back!
SUSSEX STYLE
CHOIR
The University Carol Service is on Sunday 7th December, 6pm in the Chapel in the Meeting House. The University Choir will be performing alongside readings by candlelight. Free entry, with a retiring collection for charity. Mince pies and mulled wine from 4.30pm downstairs. Any queries or access requirements please email choir@ussu.sussex.ac.uk
Sussex Style Society has been running Promenade as a blog for the past year, but now we’re re-launching the ultimate guide to Brighton’s best fashions and all the arts and cultural events that you will ever need to know about, as well as beauty, travel and lifestyle!
Societies - 21
DOCTOR WHO
The Doctor Who Society, or DocSoc for short, is a fairly new society having only been started in 2012, but since then has grown to a fullyfunctioning successful society with nearly 200 members on Facebook, and around 30 people at each episode viewing!
Monday 1st December: PoleSoc classes: Falmer House Meeting Room 1 Beginners: 5:30-6:30pm Intermediates: 6:30-7:30pm Christian Union- ‘Why should God change me?’: The Meeting House, 7-9pm
A society dedicated to finding messages, finding what is lost, stifling knocks, sealing SMuTS Christmas Cabaret: cracks, averting silence, and Falmer Back Bar, 9pm-12am turning on the lights. We will watch and discuss the world of The Doctor, primarily focusing on the most recent series (although you are welcome to discuss older series if you wish).
Tuesday 2nd December RAG Christmas Fair: Falmer Common Room, 11am-3pm
Marxist Soc- ‘South Africa and Class Struggle’: Falmer We aim to watch a show we House Meeting Room 2, enjoy,theorise madly about 6-8pm the slightest hints dropped in episodes, and generally have SMuTS Christmas Cabaret: To celebrate this huge an- a great time. Falmer Back Bar, 9pm-12am nouncement we have teamed up with Shoosh for, quite Also, keep an eye out for a simply, the greatest launch special Freshers event, as Wednesday 3rd December party Brighton has ever seen! well as other events through-
out the year! We want you all to join us from 9-11pm on 2nd Decem- For more up-to-date inforber for a night of glitz, glam- mation, join the Facebook our and Brighton’s best fash- group. Capoeira fuses dance, per- ion. cussion music, and acrobatic From a non-linear, non-submoves, with an aspect of This is the perfect opportuni- jective viewpoint, we look martial arts. It’s a good work- ty to join Sussex Style Society forward to seeing you yesterout while having fun and it as entry is £2 for members day. also increases your sense of and £3 for everyone else. self-esteem and wellbeing! There’s lots to get involved This astonishing dance is with, from writing for the known to benefit people magazine or blog, to photogmentally through developing raphy, modelling, attending awareness, mental focus and fashion events and of course, respect, towards others and great socials! yourself. Join the event on Facebook You may also find yourself or just come along on the picking up a few Portuguese night, and remember to dress words along the way, as Ca- to impress! poeira originated in Brazil!
CAPOEIRA
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Buddy Scheme Big Fat Christmas Quiz of the Year: Jubilee Building, G22, 5pm. Tickets available from the USSU website, £1 per person. TED Soc: ‘Food For Thought’: Pevensey 3 Creativity Zone, 4pm-5pm Thursday 4th December Your Voice, Your Choice launch party: Falmer Bar, 7pm-11pm Friday 5th December Postgrads, it’s Friday! Postgraduate students and researchers get 50p off pints: Falmer Bar
the badger
1 DECEMBER 2014
Careers and Employability• 23
CAREERS & EMPLOYABILITY CENTRE
International Students – what to do when you’ve finished your studies The University of Sussex’s Careers & Employability Centre offers international students excellent career related support. Having come from outside the EU myself, I understand the problems international students often face when moving to a new country. Whether it be renewing your visa, difficulties with the new language, or finding work that is relevant to what you want to do, it can be difficult immersing yourself in a country that is not your own. The Careers and Employability Centre (CEC) has extensive knowledge and resources to help international students succeed in their search for a job, be it a part-time role, or a graduate level position back in their native country or in the UK. Julia de Oliveira, second year, says: ‘I came to the UK so that I could experience a new culture and meet different people, as well as learning at one of the top universities in the country. Sussex has really given me a good experience of that, and I hope to build a career and find a job in the country when I’m finished with my studies’.
One of the ways in which the CEC can help you with finding a job is through aiding you in developing skills in order to become an employable candidate. This can be through finding part time work, work experience or voluntary work. If you are from outside the European Economic Area (EEA), there are restrictions on how much time you can work, but there are many opportunities available for students who are in the UK for more than 6 months. There is also CV help available for students who need it. Another way in which the CEC helps international students is through helping them find work inside or outside the UK. For students who wish to stay in the UK, there are different programmes which you can take part in, such as the Youth Mobility Schemes for Australian born students and Turkish students can benefit from a European deal with Turkey. Furthermore, students can apply for different Tier Visas in order to stay in the UK depending on their skills, or if they want to follow a post-graduate degree. For stu-
dents wishing to work outside the UK, there are many international graduate and job schemes available, in countries around the world such as India, China and Canada. The Careers & Employability offer a series of talks each term which are aimed at helping international students understand more about finding work, both in the UK and elsewhere in the world. If you’re wishing to remain in the UK after graduation, then don’t miss their talk on10th December at 1 pm. This will include, information about immigration, understanding how to look for a job, and who to ask for advice on these things. Full details and sign up at www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/events. Sussex One World Week is also returning on 16th March this year, celebrating different cultures as well as having panels which help you with any queries on working and studying internationally. Ashwin Venkateshver, a Sussex Alumnus, sums up all the benefits of using the CEC for international students: ‘the Careers and Employ-
WOOF! Language partners work together to learn each other’s language and culture
ability Centre has played a pivotal role, helping me to make the best of my skills and experiences to succeed in the job market. The various job fairs they held also allowed me to meet a wide range of employers and to understand what they expect from graduates and how to reach those goals’ For more information, please visit http://www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/ aboutus/internationalstudents/ outsideuk http://www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/ aboutus/internationalstudents/ ukaftergraduation http://www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/ aboutus/internationalstudents/ part-time SOME GREAT EVENTS COMING UP, INCLUDING: Paid Summer Jobs working at the NCS (National Citizenship Service), Tuesday 2 December, 1 – 2 pm (drop in), Library Cafe; 2 – 3 pm, presentation International Students – Communi-
cating Effectively with Employers, Wednesday 3 December, 12 pm Tours of the Innovation Centre, with StartUp Sussex, Wednesday 3 December, 2 pm How can I use my Revision Time Better?, Wednesday 3 December, 3 pm Get in the Game- Careers Talk from Microsoft, Unity and Boss Alien, Thursday 5 December, 10 am Full details of all events and to sign up at www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/ events
Library, University of Sussex T: 01273 679429 E: careers@sussex.ac.uk W: www.sussex.ac.uk/ careers
MEOW! A sociable, informal and free way of language learning with a native speaker
Learn another language & help someone else learn yours! Sign up to be a Language Partner... Find your Language Partner today! 1) Log into Study Direct: https://studydirect.sussex.ac.uk/login 2) Using the ‘Search for a site box’ search for ‘Language Partner Exchange’
3) Subscribe to the ‘Language Partner Exchange’ site 4) On the left hand menu ‘click’ on the ‘Language Exchange Forum’ 5) Click on the forum of the Language you want to learn
the badger
1 deCember 2014 Arts •24
LISTINGS
Tuesday 2nd
Monday 1st B.U.R.F.
B.U.R.F.
10am-11am
10am-11am
Hosted by Nick Werren & Paul Millar
Hosted by Hannah & Alex
Scumbag College
The Burrito Show
11am-12pm
11am-12pm
Hosted by Lottie Brazier
Hosted by Nick Stewart
An Afternoon with Charles and James - 12-1pm Hosted by Charlie Wall
SUDS Soapbox 12-2pm
Hosted by Paige Smith
Live It Live
Hosted by Ellie Holland
The Lie-In Show
Magazine & Wine Party
Hosted by Holly Hagan Walker
Hosted by Em Chittock
12am-1pm
The Tom Jenkinson Hour 3-4pm
The Nick Werren Show
Sam and Harry’s Existential Crisis - 4-5pm
12-1pm
Everyday Desert Island Discs
Hosted by Paddy Osmond
Hosted by Alex Mason
Sian’s Pic N Mix
The Magical Music Tour 4-5pm
5-6pm
4-5pm
Hosted by Thomas Houlton
Hosted by Jack Jewers
The Electric Hour
Anorak Ashtray 6-7pm
Hosted by Joseph Oliver
The Everything Hour 7-8pm
Hosted by Lewis Cockle
Cult of the Black Pudding 8-9pm
1-2pm
2-4pm
Hosted by Sian Williams
Holly CA-60 Show 4-5pm
2-3pm
The Musings of Gareth Mangan 3-4pm
Hosted by Sebastian Tiley
The World Show
Retrofit
2-3pm 5-6pm
The Green Frog Show
Hosted by Callum Sellins
Hosted by Matthew Locke-Cooper
Decadent Groove
7-8pm
Hosted by Adam Whitmore
6-7pm
Tangled Roots
Hosted by Harry Reddick
The Mo-mentous Show 6-7pm
8-9pm
Hosted by Elana Crowley
Paul’s Politics
Hosted by Chloe Mo
7-8pm
Tropical Hot Dog Night 7-8pm
Hosted by Paul Millar
Munch FM
Stone’s Throw
Hosted by Rory Hughes
9-10pm
Hosted by Benji Kusi
Hosted by Beau O’Shea
Gardeners’ Hour
Californication
Night Falls
The Sports Show
Hosted by Tiago Franco
Hosted by Morrow and Jackson
9-10pm
9-10pm
Hosted by Priyanka Vigneswaran
Mole
Time out with Jay
Hosted by Holly Cassidy
5-6pm
Hosted by Sam Berkay
6-7pm
Hosted by Thomas Powell and Raymond Jennings
Hosted by Sam Hislop and Bruno Riddy
2-3pm
1-2pm
Broken Old 45’s
7-8pm
1-2pm
Hosted by John McKenna-Hughes
Hosted by Akintunde Akinsowon
Alphabet Soup
The B/C Sandwich
Earlier With Ellie Holland
The Paddy Hour
Hosted by Anna Sudnitcyna
6-7pm
11am-12pm
Hosted by Alice Finney
Hosted by James Blay
Hosted by Anna Sudnitcyna
Hosted by Jake Wade Davis
The URF Review Show
Hosted by Nick Werren & Sian Williams
Jeremiah’s Urban Central
2-3pm
3-4pm
Girl’s Talk
12-1pm
Hosted by John McKenna-Hughes
Hosted by Francesca Powell
Hosted by Jonny Meah
Hosted by Benjy Kusi
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Hour
10am-11am
Little Al’s Big Show
3-4pm
5-6pm
Hosted by Nick Werren & Paul Millar
B.U.R.F.
B.U.R.F. 10am-11am
Hosted by Holly Hagan-Walker
2-3pm
The URF News Show
B.U.R.F. 10am-11am
Friday 5th
Thursday 4th
Afternoon Alternative
Paige with Guests 1-2pm
Wednesday 3rd
8-9pm
Hosted by Sam Siva
9-10pm
9-10pm
This Week on UniTV: Monday Music Sessions Wednesday NewsHit Thursday Science Uncovered Friday Getting Crafty Society Spotlight Also check the site on Thursday for Throwback; where we repost an old show for you to watch every week!
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