Lent 2015 Issue 3

The

Cambridge Student

29 January 2015 Vol. 16 Lent Issue 3

Cambridge was battered by storms this week, whilst most of us remained safe in our colleges – our homes away from home. Read more on pages 16–17.

Photo: Louis Durkan

Union remains defiant in Greer transphobia row

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Olly Hudson and Jenny Steinitz Deputy and News Editor

ermaine Greer, the academic and feminist theorist, this week made explosive claims about porn, politics, equality and transgender-people in her speaker event at the Union.

Her talk was at the centre of a growing row over invitations from the Union to controversial speakers such as Greer.

The Cambridge Union Society twice rejected a formal request from the CUSU LGBT+ Campaign to rescind Greer’s invitation. The campaign then staged an alternative event and has now begun an indefinite boycott of the weekly Union LGBT+ drinks.

Speaking on Monday, Greer declared: “I don’t know what equality

is. I don’t want it”, and described equality as a “profoundly conservative idea”. She argued that women need to stop considering themselves victims and be more proactive in asserting their own agency.

Greer also discussed in graphic detail her earlier career as a pornographer.

Despite being against sex marketing, she claims to have worked as a pornographer because of her deep disapproval of censorship. She called out Harriet Harman on not being “smart enough” for the frontbench, the Everyday Sexism campaign for making misogyny sound sexy, and the No More Page 3 campaign for ensuring

that The Sun is now “wedded” to Page 3 girls “until the Sun finally sets.”

Most controversially, she answered challenging questions on allegations of transphobia. “I didn’t know there was such a thing [as transphobia].

Arachnophobia, yes. Transphobia, no.”

Greer referred back to controversial events in the 1990s at her former college, Newnham, in which she unsuccessfully opposed the appointment of her transgender colleague Rachel Padman to a fellowship. Greer claimed that her opposition was not derived from her gender identity, but rather to the way she was appointed by the college.

Continued on page 4

Comment – What have you done today?: p12 Features – I dreamed a dream: How Cambridge is Les Mis: p18 Books – We are all that kind of girl: p25 Fashion shoot – A vintage fair to remember: p26 Sport – Let’s talk about menstruation: p30

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 2 Next phase of University extension approved Tonicha Upham Deputy News Editor The latest phase in the development of a community in north-west Cambridge has been approved.

The £1 billion project, which will be the largest single development undertaken by the University of Cambridge in its history, has just received local authority approval to proceed with plans for community facilities. The North West Cambridge site is already in development, and now has the go-ahead to begin work on a ‘social’ marketplace, to be named Eddington, which is intended to be a

centrepiece for the local community.

The marketplace will form a venue for various markets and events, surrounded by shops, social spaces and affordable housing units for key workers.

The development is based on a 150 hectare site between Huntingdon Road, Madingley Road and the M11 motorway, the stretch of land separating Girton College from Fitzwilliam, Churchill, Murray Edwards, St Edmund’s and Lucy Cavendish.

Although planning proposals have already been approved for other key aspects of the North West Cambridge development, such as additional

The development is based near Huntingdon and Madingley Roads

affordable housing, a supermarket and a primary school, the approval of this ‘social’ marketplace has been deemed highly important by those involved in the project. Deputy Project Director for the development, Heather Topel, has expressed this in an update on the development’s project website, stating: “The market square is a critical ingredient to creating the urban grain for this new district.”

The project’s completion is planned to take place in a phased manner, with the first phase expected in autumn of this year. Key features of the project include over 3,000 new homes, half of which

are to be designated as ‘key worker’ housing for University employees, postgraduate accommodation, 100,000 square metres of research space and the first school in the UK to be run by a university. Phase One, which should be completed in its entirety by spring 2017, involves 700 of the planned new homes for University and college workers, and accommodation for 325 postgraduate students. According to an update on the University of Cambridge website, the University has so far awarded £160 million in construction contracts for the development.

It appears that students are largely unaware of this venture. Some expressed their surprise at the news, having heard little or nothing about the North West Cambridge development, despite the fact that the University has been planning this project since 2003.

Undergraduate student Sophie Bell feels that the development is a natural step in the expansion of the University, even if it is at the expense of farmland: “There is only so much expansion which can take place within Cambridge itself, but this needs to be sustainable.” The North West Cambridge development’s website declares sustainability as one of its aims, and of the 150 hectares to be developed, 50 hectares will be Photo: Andrew Stawarz maintained as green space.

Plans include over 3,000 homes and postgraduate accomodation

Council on track to fund multi-million private school sports development Anna Carruthers News Editor The independent King’s College School has been awarded £125,000 funding by Cambridge City Council to contribute to their newly-proposed £12 million sports hall.

Located on West Road, close to the Sidgwick Site and St Chad’s (second year accommodation for St Catharine’s students), the school’s plans include a swimming pool alongside the sports hall and climbing wall.

King’s College School’s application for city council funding was made on the basis that the wider community would be able to make use of the planned facilities. Their request was initially for the sum of £350,000, to be drawn from the developer contributions programme.

However, the figure was revised down to £125,000 by members of the community services scrutiny committee and the west central area committee.

According to a Cambridge City Council document, the money has been specifically assigned to the alteration of visitor changing rooms to improve disabled access.

It is currently unclear whether any Cambridge University or college societies will make use of the proposed facilities. However, there are already agreements in place between societies and King’s College School.

Peterhouse student Stevie Collister Hertz told The Cambridge Student that Peterhouse netball team currently make use of the school’s netball courts: “Their facilities are always good quality and the people courteous.”

She expressed ambivalence about the usefulness of the potential new sports development, however, adding: “Whether I would use the new facilities would depend on the price. The University Sports Centre is pretty far away and my college gym is pretty small, so they could be useful. But we also have Kelsey Kerridge, so we’re not exactly short of facilities.”

Given that the school is a private one, questions were raised by councillors as to the ethics of council funding. The suggested solution was council approval of a specific plan for community usage prior to funding.

This position was reasserted by Tim Wetherfield, urban growth project manager for Cambridge City Council,

Questions have been raised about the ethics of funding a private school development

who confirmed that the council would need to approve a community use agreement when more detailed discussions are underway.

Speaking to Cambridge News, Cllr Richard Johnson, the executive councillor for community, arts and recreation, stated: “I know there has been some debate about this from councillors on both sides about making sure the council gets a good deal on the community use agreement.”

King’s College School

He added: “I think everyone involved wants the community to have good access to this excellent new facility.”

Also speaking to Cambridge News, Nicholas Robinson, the headmaster of King’s College School, reiterated that negotiations between the school and Cambridge City Council in regards to the proposed community usage were continuing: “We’re delighted to be in discussions with them over this facility.”

Photo: Daisy Schofield

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 3 University Shadowing scheme accused of “general lack of efficiency” Stevie Collister-Hertz News Reporter CUSU’s Shadowing Scheme is now underway, but the event has been beset with organisational issues and accusations of poor efficiency.

This week marks the second weekend of the CUSU Shadowing Scheme, which began on 22 January. Currently in its 15th year, the scheme is the biggest of its kind in the UK, hosting more than 420 prospective applicants across 3 weekends every year.

The scheme gives students who are more unlikely to apply the chance to see what life as a Cambridge student is really like, following a mentor as they go through their day, experiencing life with lectures, supervisions and labs and staying in a college.

The shadows also partake in a formal hall and receive an admissions lecture from a tutor, giving them an idea of how the admissions system works.

As one shadow said after completing the scheme: “It was a real insight into student life and the structure of a Cambridge degree …The trip dispelled a lot of worries and preconceptions I had about Cambridge.”

Mentors, too, agreed that the initiative was worthwhile, calling it “a wonderful

of the scheme in previous years, this year the number of shadows taking part increased by 25%. However, while Helena Blair, CUSU Access and Funding Officer, said this means that “more people will be able to benefit from this amazing initiative”, it has also led to some organisational issues.

One mentor perceived that there was “a general lack of efficiency”. The mentor continued: “The E-Mentoring Scheme … was only set up the day before the first shadows arrived”, while also citing problems with finding out locations for events.

Helena Blair responding to these issues, said that while they acknowledge that they have “run into a few issues… the feedback we have had from those attending the first week has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Despite management issues, the first week of the scheme seemed to achieve its aim. One shadow said: “I would definitely consider applying more now than I would have before the trip.”

Also keen to stress the positives of Cambridge’s Shadowing Scheme was Gonville & Caius JCR Access Officer Sam Rhodes: “The Shadowing Cambridge plays host to prospective applicants Photo: Jimmy Appleton Scheme is by far the best thing CUSU do. It makes a huge difference to lots project … [and] great in the fact that it sense of life here at Cambridge.” of people, and I simply can’t praise it provides the students with a fairly real Due to the popularity and success highly enough.”

Due to the popularity of the scheme, this year the number of shadows increased by 25%

“Learning hubs” to improve Welsh access to Oxbridge Olly Hudson Deputy News Editor The Welsh Government has announced it will be taking action to challenge the sharp fall in Oxbridge applications from Welsh students. A review, carried out by former Welsh Secretary, Paul Murphy MP, found that in 2013, only 105 successful applications were made to Oxbridge colleges, down from 144 five years previously.

As of last week, a network of “learning hubs” has been launched in three local authorities, with a further nine expected to go live later this year. Each given a one-off payment of £50,000 by the Welsh Government, the hubs hope to better prepare pupils for the rigorous application process through pooling resources and sharing best practice.

Amongst other factors, Mr Murphy cited low levels of self-esteem and a lack of academic confidence as key issues resulting in the low application rate. A history graduate from Oriel College, Oxford, Mr Murphy said: “Studying at Oxford was a life changing experience for me and I want more Welsh students to have the kind of opportunities I had”.

In an open-letter to the vice-chancellors

of both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, Mr Murphy highlighted and praised the “significant investments into outreach programmes”

by Oxbridge colleges, though called on the universities to go further, adding: “I feel such efforts could be extended and tailored to encourage more successful applications to Oxbridge from Wales”.

The report also highlighted concerns raised by admissions tutors regarding the compulsory post-16 Welsh Baccalaureate qualification. Criticism ranges from the relevancy of the “core” syllabus to the “wishy washy” nature of the course content itself.

Current guidelines for applicants, issued by the University of Cambridge, state that: “Applicants taking the Advanced Diploma in the Welsh Baccalaureate are expected to have studied three subjects at A-Level as part of their qualification.”

While Welsh applications to Oxford University have hit a 14-year low, University of Cambridge figures for 2013 show Wales to have the secondlowest acceptance rate of all UK regions after Northern Ireland.

Magdalene College currently has access links with North Wales and

Ceredigion, while Churchill College runs initiatives in the South Wales area.

Different colleges maintain different target areas across the UK, in order to increase application numbers from regions with low Oxbridge admissions numbers. Commenting on the Welsh Government’s recent announcement, Access Officer for Magdalene College

JCR, Connor Fowler, told The Cambridge Student: “The new student hubs will hopefully make it much easier to get in touch with students who have the potential to apply in this region [North wales]. The way in which we can do this is not set in stone right now, but we are currently in the process of trying to utilise the scheme.”

Welsh applications to Oxford University have hit a 14year low

I’d rather go to St John’s than Oxford

Photo: Julie anne Johnson

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 4

A rival counterevent was staged to protest what one student described as Greer’s “hate speech”

Greer, the centre of controversy

Photo: Walnut Whippet

Continued from page 1...

She further argued that the surgical procedures and medical treatments associated with transitioning are “unethical” because they “remove healthy tissue and create lifelong dependence on medicine”. She expressed hope to Union members that, in the future, there will be less emphasis on surgery, and more opportunities for individuals to exist within their own sexualities and orientations.

A rival counter event was staged by CUSU LGBT+ in order to protest what one student described as Greer’s “hate speech”. Roz Kaveney, academic and trans rights campaigner, used the event both to denounce Greer and to provide an insight into the long and, at times, painful history of the trans movement.

Em Travis, first-year MML student and event co-organiser commented to The Cambridge Student: “It was amazing to hear about the history of trans activism and feminism from some of the awesome people who have been right at the heart of it. The safe, comfortable space we wanted was totally embodied in the atmosphere of the whole room, it was even better than we expected and I’ve never felt so at home in any group of people.”

CUSU LGBT+ has retracted its support of the Union LGBT+ drinks indefinitely,although the Union has confirmed that it will continue to host the event.

One first-year student who attended the Greer talk criticised the boycott: “I was interested to see [Greer] because she is so influential in the feminist movement. I don’t agree with her opinions on trans people, but I still think it is worth going to see someone, even if they have a nasty aspect to their views. We should challenge, rather than completely shut down debate.”

Alleged transphobia has also hit the headlines elsewhere. Green Party candidate for Cambridge Rupert Read became embroiled in a Twitter row last week after he rejected use of the word “cis”. This lead to several Twitter users, including former President of the Union Tim Squirrell, attacking the 2015 General Election candidate. Read has since apologised for his comments.

The Oxford Union has been experiencing similar protests over their invitation of Marine Le Pen, with many students calling for her disinvitation.

Commenting to The Cambridge Student, Ssuuna Golooba-Mutebi from the Oxford Union’s Secretary’s Committee, who issued the invitation Marine Le Pen said: “The Union was founded on the principles of free speech. An invitation to address its members is not an endorsement of that speaker’s views.

“Any members who disagree with a speaker are encouraged to attend the event where they have the chance to question the speaker in person.”

Cambridge “still has a long way to go”

Photo: Jimmy Appleton

Record number of university offers for minority students Imran Marashli News Reporter The latest UCAS statistics have revealed the largest ever gap between women’s and men’s admission to UK universities and Higher Education, with female admissions further outnumbering male admissions.

The data also shows that there were also all-time highs in the number of disabled students and black and Asian ethnic group acceptances last year.

The existing gap between male and female applicants widened further to an unprecedented 57,800 in 2014; women now outnumber men in two thirds of university subjects.

Acceptances for students from Asian and black ethnic backgrounds reached record levels of 45,000 and 30,000 respectively, and applicants declaring a disability who gained admission to Higher Education totalled a record 36,000.

Whilst the statistics reveal an increase in state-school successes, language and literature degrees experienced yet another drop in numbers. According to

the Guardian, acceptances for Chinese numbered only 140, the lowest figure for five years.

Alex Fayard-Dody, who is studying Chinese at Cambridge, remarked: “On my course there are only 14 [students].

And year by year, less and less people [sic] apply for it. I don’t know why, because Chinese is a really important language and it should be the opposite.”

The University of Cambridge’s data for the previous year’s cycle show that acceptances for Home student ethnic minorities stayed at about around 16%, and for Home students attending UK schools/colleges, the proportion of students from independent schools is up to 38.6% from 36.7% the year before.

Helena Blair, CUSU’s Access and Funding Officer, commented: “The University of Cambridge still has a long way to go until it is representative of wider society and a truly level playing field for people of all backgrounds; however, the number of students working tirelessly on Access initiatives (alongside and independently to the CUSU Access Campaign) is evergrowing and their impact is great.”

“The Univeristy of Cambridge still has a long way to go”

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 5 Oxford follows Cambridge on Whose University? and Living Wage Shilpita Mathews Deputy News Editor Oxford University has started its own Whose University? campaign, following the original model initiated at Cambridge in Michaelmas 2014.

An open meeting on 22 January at Oxford’s Wadham College outlined the campaign’s goals of “building upon the work of the original campaign and to start organising an Oxford version of the Whose University?’ campaign”. Oxford will also be able to

Whose University? at Wadham College

receive accreditation as a Living Wage Employer this April, according to the OUSU (Oxford University Student Union). This is a major victory for the Oxford Living Wage Campaign, which has been campaigning since 2011. Fergal O’Dwyer, Co-Chair of the Oxford Living Wage Campaign, said: “This is the most significant event in the campaign’s history”. Oxford’s victory follows Cambridge’s decision to become a Living Wage Employer last August, after various initiatives taken by the Cambridge University

Photo: Another ser...

Student Union (CUSU) and Cambridge Universities Labour Club (CULC).

In response to the uptake of the campaign at Oxford, Cambridge’s Whose University? Campaign stated on their Facebook page: “We are delighted that Oxford students are taking up the Whose University? Campaign on their campus. The effects of the neoliberal university and the marketisation of higher education obviously go way beyond Cambridge, and it’s great to see that our campaign has struck a chord elsewhere enough for others to take action. We are in touch with the Oxford organising group and will be offering them much support and solidarity as they begin their campaign.”

The Cambridge Whose University? campaign aims to address “a distinct lack of clarity about who has ownership over college spaces”. An autonomous campaign, run with the support of CUSU Women’s Campaign, Cambridge’s Whose University? has been active from last term. It has been a source of debate since with the Cambridge Union’s emergency motion: ‘This House Supports ‘Whose University?’ last week.

It is yet to be seen what further steps the Oxford campaign is going to take. Initiatives by Cambridge’s Whose University? include the Study

Space Sharing Project, which is a forum of students offering and looking for alternative study spaces. With the Oxford campaign taking shape it will be interesting to see how much of Cambridge’s organizational structure and initiatives Oxford will emulate.

With regards to the Living Wage Campaign, there is still a long way to go at both universities. Wadham and Oriel Colleges in Oxford have also committed to Living Wage accreditation in conjunction with the University. Nonetheless, large number of other Oxford colleges are yet to be accredited. In Cambridge, the campaign found that only Queens’ College currently has full living wage accreditation. A number of other colleges pay the living wage but are not fully accredited, such as Hughes Hall.

Cambridge Living Wage Campaign has asked for information under the Freedom of Information Act over the Christmas vacation regarding staff pay to all colleges, and is currently awaiting the results.

The last survey conducted in 2013, found a total of 1,122 Cambridge college employees were paid below the living wage. Results from the campaign’s recent investigation may indicate more positive improvements.

“The effects of the neoliberal university go way beyond Cambridge”

Internal debate over “2 many man” in Cambridge Defend Education

‘Known interloper’ spotted at Cambridge Union

The News Team

Tonicha Upham Deputy News Editor

Members of the Cambridge Defend Education organisation have this week suggested to the rest of the group that CDE has “2 MANY MAN.” Two members of CDE, the left wing student activist group, used an internal mailing list to raise concerns that the organisation has become far more male-dominated, and also that it was “as white as it ever was”.

They also complained that the most recent CDE meeting was not moved to accommodate individuals who also wanted to attend the Trans Feminism event organised in protest to Germaine Greer’s appearance at the Union, pointing out that the meeting was attended by far fewer women than usual.

They stated: “It excluded those who wanted to be involved in fighting transmisogyny” and was “not showing solidarity with oppressed groups”.

The Trans Feminism event featured

Roz Kaveney, an academic and trans rights campaigner, who spoke of the difficult history of the trans movement, as well as denouncing Greer.

Attached to the email was a link to the YouTube video ‘Boy Better KnowToo Many Man’, referencing the “2 MANY MAN” email subject line.

CDE is a non-hierarchical group, which means all members can access the full mailing list. The separate list, where the email in question was sent, is, while public, a more restricted one designed for organisation.

CDE recently gained prominence folloiwing their campaign for a reading week in the middle of term. They called on students to boycott their lectures in a bid to force the University to consider their proposals. The campaign was backed by CUSU, however some students are concerned that it could obscure wider mental health issues.

The Cambridge Student understands that Cambridge Defend Education anticipates releasing a statement on the story following the weekend.

The email said CDE is “as white as it ever was”

The Cambridge Union has this week had to remove a persistent interloper from the premises on two occasions.

The man, identified as Jason Wakefield, has a history of loitering at various colleges and other University venues. In November 2014, members of King’s College were warned against engaging with him after he was seen numerous times around the college library.

He is also known to have posed as an academic at Clare College. He has been seen at multiple colleges in the past. Neil Seabridge, the Head Porter at King’s College, has described him as a “known interloper” and advised students “to not engage with him conversationally or through social media either in King’s, other university venues or the pubs and clubs of Cambridge”.

According to witnesses, Jason Wakefield was identified by members of

the Union Committee on both Monday and Tuesday night, and subsequently removed from the premises. The two evenings in question saw talks from Germaine Greer and Theo Paphitis.

The Union commented when approached by The Cambridge Student: “Jason Wakefield was identified at the Union on Monday and Tuesday and escorted off the premises.”

In November, porters at Christ’s and Jesus claimed that Jason Wakefield was not a “particular threat”, and gave assurances that procedures were in place between the University and the police in order to ensure “good communication” regarding matters such as this.

One first-year student from Queens College commented: “It’s quite a weird thought to think that strangers are able to walk around private living areas.

However, I’m relieved that the Union were easily able to identify him and able to act so quickly and decisively.

I hope this is a trend that can be continued across the University.”

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 6 College Watch

St John's Jesus

Caius

King's

St John’s has been overtaken by Comic Relief. David Walliams and Stephen Hawking were both spotted, the former dressed as the Lou character from hit comedy Little Britain. One second-year at St John’s posited their idea of what the filming could be for: “Comic Relief, David Walliams, Stephen Hawking and St John’s? It’s got to be linked to The Theory of Everything.” Another secondyear stated: “The takeover of our college has been both fun and annoying.

Fun because we get to play ‘spot the celebrity’ and have famous people occasionally smile at us – Catherine Tate made the day of some visiting school kids who were on an access tour by saying hello – but annoying because now we need permission to walk around parts of college. They are filming just outside where I live so I lost valuable time staring instead of working.”

This week, Jesus College removed several portraits of its previous Masters in order to make way for three paintings of women.

You is an exhibition running in the college until 8 March. The portraits for the exhibition were created by the French feminist artist Agnès Thurnauer.

She bases her work on Manet’s images of women from the 19th century.

The portraits will be hung in the College’s dining hall for seven weeks.

Dr Rod Mengham, curator of the College’s Works of Arts Committee, said: “Although it was random which paintings we would remove from the Hall it was almost inevitable it would be three portraits of men.”

One Jesuan commented on the paintings: “It is an important reminder of just how unrepresentative the art here was before.”

The now two-year long rent controversy at Caius continues to rumble on with no end in sight. Last Thursday the Senior Bursar, along with nearly a dozen members of the College staff, met with students to provide an update on housing developments and to hear further complaints. Students took advantage of the opportunity to raise the eternal question of when Caius gyp room facilities will be expanded to contain hobs, and thus enable them to actually cook. Senior Porter Russ Holmes was observed with his head in his hands at the prospect of anyone without a PhD gaining the ability to make fire, and suggested that the campaign still has a long way to go. The GCSU (Caius’ JCR body) declined to comment, but one Caius student described the student mood as “sceptical but optimistic.”

Students at King’s are on high alert after an email from the Senior Tutor’s office warned of a pigeon on the loose.

Reportedly spotted on ‘A’ staircase, the maintenance staff had previously removed the offending bird, though its swift return has prompted suspicion that a member of the college may be feeding it. In a plea to the student body, the senior tutor’s assistant Janet Luff urged the potential culprit(s) to cease and desist, warning “Pigeons will bring a lot of mess to the area and can be a health risk”. In a comment to The Tab, Chloe Hemingway, a second-year at King’s reported a surprise late night encounter with the pigeon:“I was walking to the bathroom late last night and it flew at me. This vicious vile creature is taking over the entire corridor. We may have to start arming ourselves if it is not dealt with soon.”

Anna Carruthers

Amelia Oakley

Finn Dameron

Olly Hudson

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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News 7 ‘Scrap Cambridge animal testing lab’ petition gains almost 5,000 signatures Rachel Balmer Deputy News Editor A Cambridge-based animal rights group is calling for plans to build an animal testing lab to be dropped.

The online petition, launched by the group Cambridge against AstraZeneca Planning (CAP) is entitled ‘AstraZeneca – Please Drop Your Plans for an Animal Lab in Cambridge.’ It has already gained almost 5,000 signatures since its launch last week on change.org.

The group is calling for the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to scrap their plans to build the centre at the proposed new headquarters on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

The petition asks that the company brings an immediate end to all animal testing, saying that: “AstraZeneca has the resources, facilities and academic brilliance to make this happen – please listen to the concerned public voices.”

According to CAP’s website, AstraZeneca uses 300,000 animals per year in what they say to be “cruel, unnecessary and useless experiments.”

Due to the high level of public interest in the application for AstraZeneca’s new headquarters, Cambridge City Council have been unable to reach an outcome about the application within the designated 13-week period. They

are expected to hold a meeting and make a decision this February.

A spokesperson for CAP, Rachel Mathai, said: “We are deeply moved by the messages of support we have been receiving and by how hard people are working to help us. A strong message is coming across … a vast number of people do NOT want this lab to be built.

We are currently politely contacting AstraZeneca before the planning meeting, asking to drop the animal lab from the planned HQ.” A second year medic commented to The Cambridge Student on the use of animals in experiments, saying: “To date, animal testing has helped in the development of treatments and vaccines for both humans and animals, and overall, in the understanding of science in an effort to alleviate further suffering. In the UK, animal testing is tightly regulated and is only permitted when there is no alternative method.”

Another student told TCS: “while you want to develop the best drugs to cure serious diseases in humans, animals are innately innocent and you would have thought that in this day and age there would be better ways to test drugs [and] achieve the same outcome. I wouldn’t sign the petition though as I think it’s difficult to know the complications of It’s so fluffy, I’m gonna die both sides of the argument.”

Photo: Brent Moore

Anti-terrorism initiative included in 2015 City Council budget proposals Clara Jane Hendrickson News Contributor

Not the heroes we deserve...

Cambridge City Council has launched a new anti-terrorism bid. The proposal is part of its proposed initiatives to make Cambridge a safer city, as it prepares to pass its 2015 Budget.

The Budget Setting Report includes a list of safety proposals, primarily interested in funding projects that will provide an improved police response to anti-social behaviour and hate crime.

The proposals also support the continued funding of the Community Safety Partnership, which serves as a forum for multiple agencies committed to tackling and prioritising the most pressing safety concerns in Cambridge.

Four major projects to begin in 2015 have been outlined. The first seeks to improve police response to terrorism and extremism and their ensuing ideological challenges.

Another proposal, labelled the ‘White Ribbon Campaign’, would fund prevention activities for men to tackle behaviours Photo: Neil McIntosh that lead to violence against women.

“It is comforting to know that many of these proposals aim to tackle the behaviours that lead to violence and will work with local community agencies to decide which safety issues are most pressing,” said Liz Willcock, a third year student at Pembroke.

Other initiatives include the development of a closer relationship with the city’s Neighbourhood Resolution Panels to give low level offenders a voice in their punishment decisions. Another concerns the Abbey ward, one of Cambridge’s most deprived areas, and the creation of a greater partnership with local police.

Despite budget cutbacks, Cambridge City Council plans to continue to make safety a primary issue. It aims to maintain its close work with area committees in order to identify current local safety concerns.

Last week, a Cambridge City Council press release proposed that £350,000 of the Council’s annual budget should be allocated to sustain safer community work with police, volunteers, and agencies.

Proposed funding will improve police response to terrorism and extremism

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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Dispatches 9 Wandering through Jerusalems: Nachlaot Dorota Molin Dispatches Columnist

W

hen Mark Twain visited Jerusalem in 1869, he wrote: ‘Jerusalem is mournful, and dreary, and lifeless.’ He found an unsanitary and backwater town of the Ottoman Empire, where ‘the diseased humanity throng the holy places’, enclosing 16,000 inhabitants in just 1 square kilometre.

In the end, Twain renamed his excursion there (‘The Grand Holy Land Funeral Expedition’).

But 20 years after Twain’s visit, the seams of the Old City burst, flooding the surrounding hills with new neighbourhoods. One of these newlybuilt areas was Nachlaot, where in the 1870s, rich Jews established modern residences for the paupers. Soon after, the Jewish immigration began to snowball in earnest: in the 1880s already, the winds of early Zionism blew hundreds to Palestine.

Today, even though Nachlaot is surrounded by bustling city, it still preserves its 19th century spirit.

Nachlaot is the kind of place where you will always get lost in the crooked alleys.

But when you think you just ended up in a dead-end, you discover there a cosy art gallery, a tiny playground

or a synagogue. At one point, this place had the highest concentration of synagogues in the world. A lot of them are just rooms in hidden-away houses.

Sometimes you will only discover them on Friday evening, when you’ll hear religious songs soaking from them into the dark.

But while the buildings of Nachlaot remain unchanged, their inhabitants come and go. The first resident there was a tailor from a Russian shtetl who escaped the pogroms, the next would be a young Zionist who came to claim the land for his dream country. Within that time too, the state emerged – a puzzling and a hybrid one.

Torn between modern and ancient claims to the land, it raises controversies.

When you sit there on a modern bus, you’ll feel like in European metropolis.

But as soon as the vehicle gets stuck in the traffic, you realise you are deep into the Middle East where it is obvious that ‘might makes right’.

And so nothing has remained untouched in this city, expect for the stones in Nachlaot. Yet it is them that will carry the memory of change, precisely because they’re unchanged.

Sometimes it takes a story by Mark Twain or a walk through Nachlaot for Changes you to realise how far you’ve gone.

No waiters to be seen

Chris Tan Dispatches Contributor

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Photo: Moyann Brenn

Je prends un café s’il vous plaît Sophie Cooke Dispatches Contributor

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aturday morning, 24 January, 11 a.m., Porte de Saint-Ouen.

Two elderly men sitting outside a café, deep in discussion, each accompanied by a café noisette, cigarette in hand. Welcome to Paris.

My intention is not to draw upon a stereotypical vision of la vie parisienne.

But five months in Paris has definitely taught me something: although they may not all be wearing berets and eating croissants, one cannot deny the resemblance many Parisians have to their stereotype. Sometimes I suspect

that they might even be doing it to satisfy the tourists.

Despite the January cold chilling their blood (although some may argue that Parisians are inherently cold-blooded), there seem to be no time constraints on their routine café visit. Neither waiter nor customer expects anything of the other. I have once sat down in a café to find myself, 30 minutes later, without a being asked what I wanted, let alone actually being served. My French friends will say it is a mutual respect: neither customer nor waiter wishes to be rushed. The Brit inside me, however, quickly saw this behaviour as mutual disrespect. Did they really expect a tip

The Cambridge Connection

after such substandard service? Five months on, and perhaps it is in fact mutual disregard. I have now learnt that one does not frequent a Parisian café to eat food and drink; one simply goes there ‘to be’.

I unfortunately had to disrupt the débat of the two men at this café.

Their playful tip of “the tighter you find yourself clutching your bag, the closer you are to your destination” put a smile on my face as I set off for le marché aux puces. I secretly hope that my interruption became the new focus of their conversation, but perhaps I am unjustly deeming myself as intriguing to them as they were to me.

hortly after receiving my Cambridge offer roughly a year ago, I was musing to myself that every major exam I will ever take would, in some way, be linked to Cambridge. The SingaporeCambridge GCE O Level and the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A Level are both examined by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. This is, of course, not to mention the all-consuming juggernaut of Tripos itself.

Unfortunately this appears to be a distinctly unoriginal course of action.

The Cambridge University Malaysia and Singapore Association was founded by Singapore’s first Prime Minister in 1948 while he was studying Mathematics at Trinity College, and membership has grown steadily since then. Beyond this, one sees Singapore’s fascination with Cambridge on a more quotidian level: aside from the hundreds of tuition centres (cram schools) with opportunistic names like ‘Cambridge Enrichment’, the Photo: Dorota Molin University even infiltrates Mathematics classes: Singapore’s main brand of compasses and protractors is Cambridge Instruments. The company’s logo is a rather pleasant sketch of King’s College. Singaporeans certainly know there way around Cambridge.

Perhaps this familiarity is inevitable, given Cambridge’s global reputation – yet the link goes beyond that: Cambridge and (admittedly) The Other Place have been consciously preserved as reference points for excellence post-independence in Singapore. For many years, Singaporean sixth-form colleges were publicly ranked by their Oxbridge admissions. This was actively encouraged by the Education Ministry, which was busying itself by recruiting teachers from well-known British public schools in a bid to leverage One goes to their expertise to boost successful a French applications from its students. café simply In 2014, there were 275 Singaporean students in Cambridge including ‘to be’ undergraduates and postgraduates.

To contextualise this, 275 exceeds comparable numbers for much larger countries like Malaysia (177), Canada (231) and India (246).

This national-level obsession with Cambridge may seem like a bad case of colonial hangover. Yet it goes beyond that – the social and intellectual cache of Cambridge has long been a selfperpetuating cult in Singapore, and I have willingly become one of its many evangelists.

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Science & Research

10

Killing cash: The Safari Club Nick Harvey ‘trophy’ would not be importable into Science & Research Contributor the USA and that for the rhino sold The Dallas Safari Club (DSC), a Texasbased hunting club last year provoked great controversy by auctioning the right to kill a Namibian black rhino, a member of species currently classed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN redlist. This year it has just cancelled a similar opportunity for an African elephant. The 12-day trip to Cameroon which would have allowed the buyer to kill a mature bull was apparently withdrawn by the donor. The auction, which took place during a threeday convention at the weekend, still included lots such as a two-week leopard hunt in Mozambique.

Now, as the group’s executive director pointed out, neither elephants nor leopards are classed as endangered.

But both are in decline due to habitat loss and hunting, African elephants have declined from over 10 million to 500,000 in the last century. When local people in these African countries are involved in poaching of wildlife, it is often because they live in crushing poverty and they do it to feed their families or to prevent the animals destroying their crops, so it can be understood to some extent. The license to kill the elephant was predicted to go for around $20,000, even though the

for $350,000. It is obvious that these American hunters aren’t exactly poor.

So, the selling of these licenses seems inexcusable, doesn’t it?

Many people believe that commercial hunting can in fact be beneficial for conservation. The DSC says that conservation is part of their mission, “Our conservation and education efforts today ensure that future generations will enjoy watching and hunting wildlife tomorrow”. Their website also says that all the money from the rhino hunting license will go to Namibia for rhino conservation.

So does the money raised from hunting justify the act? In many people’s view, the argument that people can pay to deplete a declining resource as long as the money is used to safeguard what remains of that resource isn’t logical.

This hunting club also tries to justify killing such animals because it claims they are overpopulated in areas of Africa. But surely a more effective conservation method would be to relocate individuals to reserves where they aren’t overpopulated? Another potentially more valid reason for hunting being a boon to conservation efforts is that many hunting reserves exist across Africa and elsewhere.

These reserves provide habitat for

Rebecca Kershaw Science & Research Contributor

A first-of-its-kind commercialscale plant is leading the way in recycling technology using EPSRC funded research from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. This plant, designed, built and operated by Cambridge spin-out Enval Limited, can recycle plastic-aluminium laminate packaging, including toothpaste tubes and crisp packets, in less than three minutes with no toxic waste products.

It not only recovers the valuable metal but make hydrocarbon fuel from packaging that is impossible to recycle using current recycling techniques. The process uses microwaves to pyrolyse the organic material (like paper or plastic) and so recover the metal without any contaminants. The impact of widespread use of this type of process will be huge, considering the use of such packaging is growing at around 15% each year. “In the UK, roughly 160,000 tonnes of laminates are used per year for packaging, which means at least 16,000 tonnes of aluminium is going into the ground. Just imagine if we could routinely recycle this.” said Dr Carlos Ludlow-Palafox, the once PhD student and original inventor of this revolutionary approach.

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The licence to kill the elephant was predicted to go around $20,000... and that for the rhino sold for $35,000

Are they really worth $20,000 dead?

Photo:Murray Isbister

many species that isn’t reliant on public donations, governmental or NGO money like pretty much all other protected areas. They harbour lots of species that aren’t hunted whilst people pay to hunt species that aren’t endangered, like many antelope.

Whilst generally conservationists are not going to run out to start shooting big game, they are often not against the killing of animals as long as it is

humane and thinking pragmatically conservation has to find funding from somewhere. If people who enjoy hunting are willing to pay for the privilege and the money goes on to help protected endangered species then commercial hunting can have a role in conservation. But surely critically endangered or rapidly declining species are too precious a resource to convert to cash in this way.

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3

After the Nobel prize in physics in 2010, graphene has enjoyed a flood of funding and excitement around its amazing properties.

So where are we now? Graphene is at the centre of a new research focus in the the Department of Engineering, with its own £24 million building being built out on the West Cambridge Site.

Recently work from a collaboration with Professor Andrea Ferrari shows it to be a leading material for meeting our energy challenges. The paper highlights that graphene is the perfect material for modern devices, from fuel cells and batteries to supercapacitors and the storage and generation of fuel in the hydrogen economy. However, the feasibility of this high-efficiency, bendable graphene world depends crucially on finding reliable ways of producing the material that can be scaled up beyond the laboratory setting for commercial manufacturing use. Very significant steps towards this goal are being made in the Cambridge Graphene Centre using various techniques, including large-scale chemical vapour deposition techniques (CVD). But we will have to wait and see if graphene’s promises have been fulfilled in another 5 years’ time.

Featured on the cover of the latest issue of Nature is the stunning Esquel pallasite. The meteorite, which can be found in London’s Natural History Museum, is made up of an iron-nickel alloy matrix containing marble sized crystals of olivine. Research conducted by an international collaboration including Cambridge researcher, James Byron, from the Department of Earth Sciences used a synchrotron (a high-resolution X-ray microscope) to look into the nanoscale magnetic features of the material. The fragment comes from a larger body within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, formed shortly after birth of our solar system.

Over the last 4 billion years of cooling, the asteroid’s magnetic core has frozen, producing a time stamped map of the would-be planet’s formation as a magnetic record, in exactly the same way that a computer’s hard drive stores data. So what can a 4 billion year old ‘hard drive from space’ tell us? This tiny piece of rock provides valuable insight into how our own planet’s magnetic iron-rich core was formed, and possibly more importantly gives us an idea of how its gradual freeze might progress and where it will end.

So what can a 4 billion year old ‘hard drive from space’ tell us?

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Editorial 11 Spiderman vs freedom of speech

Corrections

Letters

Jack May Editor-in-Chief

In our article last week on page 5 regarding new accommodation at Peterhouse, we stated that 47 new students rooms had been created. In fact, only 12 new rooms were built, although 35 were also refurbished. We wish to apologise for the potentially misleading information.

Dear Editor,

Jenny Steinitz, News Editor, would also like us to apologise for the misattribution of a cat on page 11 of last week’s issue, as part of our ‘Creature feature’. The black and white cat pictured in fact belongs to Yema Stowell, Social Media Manager.

Yours,

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s a great man once said, “with great power comes great responsibility”. As our front page story shows, the issues of platforming, freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the free press have come up time and time again: the abortion debate in Oxford, the atrocities against Charlie Hebdo in Paris and Germaine Greer’s invitation to the Cambridge Union.

It’s not my job as an editor, or our job as a student newspaper, to wade into these subjects and come out as being on one side or another, and to do so would be pretty inappropriate and verge on being naïve. It is our job, though, to use our platform responsibly.

We have a large readership and print run, and a big impact on discussion, conversation as one of the three main student publications in Cambridge.

You only need to look at the building momentum and division over the reading week debate reported in our last issue to see that how we use our platform matters.

The problem with so much of the argument about defending freedom is that it is rooted in an outdated culture.

It is telling that so many ‘free-speech warriors’ hark back to 18th and 19th century philosophers to back up their position. The emergence of the free press and the fight against the last bastions of serious state censorship at that point in history made truly free speech a radical act – something to be fought for, constantly defended and never compromised.

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,” said Rousseau. In many places in the world that is still

true today, but “everywhere” is taking things a bit far. You’d have to be some kind of conspiracy theorist to believe that we don’t have a fairly substantial level of freedom in this country today.

With this in mind, we shouldn’t conflate the fight against oppression led by organisations like Amnesty International with the state of our rights to free speech and expression in the UK and other relatively free societies.

We’re lucky that we’re at a stage where we can afford to think less about rights, and more about responsibilities.

This means thinking critically about whose views we give credence to by giving them the prominence of our platforms – here in our dingy newspaper offices as much as anywhere else.

Media, and student media in particular, has a very important role. If we play our cards right, we can expose failings, injustices, wrongdoings and suchlike. We can use our platform to make an active difference in our community. Or we can give racist, sexist, and other variously awful views the use of our free-for-hire megaphone.

That’s our choice.

Sure, in the privacy of a conversation with your friend Jim, bang on about how you think Hitler got it right really, and that if we’re honest women probably shouldn’t earn as much as men just because, you know, reasons. That’s your prerogative. That’s your freedom of speech. But doing that through the legitimising beacon of the Cambridge Union Society, or the student press is something else. At that point, don’t let’s bang on about freedom of speech with the sensitivity of a Labrador humping a toy bunny rabbit. Let’s have the responsibility to be considerate of others, and above all, remember – “with great power comes great responsibility”.

Here in our dingy newspaper offices, we need to think critically about whose views we condone

If your comment contributors are riled enough by my writing to riposte it, might I suggest they actually read it?

Whilst last week’s piece (‘Why being a gay Tory is a paradox’, p13) on LGBT+ Conservatives was intriguing, it entirely misconstrued my views and Furthermore, the picture on page 4 of argued against a premise which was King’s College Chapel was erroneously quite different to the one I clearly attributed to Daisy Schofield. In fact outlined. the picture was taken by Alex Brooks Shuttleworth, who also took the image I’m sorry to be such a pedant, but if I on page 20. We wish to apologise to Mr were a cynical man, I might consider Shuttleworth for this mistake. your writer a little disingenuous.

Charlie Bell Editor-in-Chief The Tab Cambridge

The Editor apologises to both parties, and assures them both that no personal Love what we’re doing? harm or offence was intended in the misattribution of the aforementioned Hate what we’re doing? cat. The image below depicts Iggy, one of Ms Steinitz’s two cats, and the one Riled by something we’ve published? intended for print last week.

We’re always very keen to get feedback on all our work, online and in print. Please let us know by emailing the Editor-in-Chief at editor@tcs.cam.ac.uk, or by writing to us at: The Editor The Cambridge Student Old Examination Hall Free School Lane Cambridge CB2 3RF

Editorial Team: Lent Term 2015 Editor-in-Chief

Jack May

Associate Editors

Colm Murphy Sam Rhodes Freya Sanders

News Editors Deputy News

Science & Research Editor

Shreya Kulkarni

Comment Editors

Albi Stanley Rebecca Moore Brontë Philips William Hewstone

Jenny Steinitz Anna Carruthers Interviews Editor Rachel Balmer Shilpita Mathews Features Editors Jack Lewy Tonicha Upham Olly Hudson Catherine Maguire Columns Editor

Grace Murray

Fashion Editor

Maddy Airlie

Books Editor

Alice Mottram

Lifestyle Editors

Jessy Ahluwalia Lucy Meekley

Food & Drink Editor

Julia Stanyard

Sport Editor

Charles Martland Flora McFarlane

Design Editor

Daisy Schofield

Production Editor

Thomas Saunders

Social Media Managers

Yema Stowell Ru Merritt

Chief Sub Editors

Megan Proops Char Furniss-Roe

Sub Editors

Tasha Pennington Hayden Banks Daisy Buckley

Directors

Ciara Berry Jemma Stewart Siu Hong Yu Hazel Shearing

TCS Top Dogs

Simon Cheney (Bread & Meat) Freya Sanders Chase Smith

Julius Haswell Amelia Oakley Elsa Maishman Chase Smith Sian Avery

Investigation Editor Ellie Hayward

Theatre Editor

Harry Parker

Dispatches Editor

Technology Editor

Sam Raby

Will Amor

TV & Film Editor

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Comment 12 The Leaders’ Debates: Is this the kind of politics we want?

Amatey Doku Comment Columnist

S

ince their trialling before the 2010 general election, the expectation has always been that presidential-style election debates were here to stay. But this time, coalition politics and a proliferation of smaller parties has presented broadcasters with a puzzle.

The first proposals for the debates featured the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and UKIP, much to the consternation of the Greens. The loudest voice of furore came from one of their newfound supporters – David Cameron. Though the Greens were ruled not a “major” party despite having an MP, the Prime Minister said that he would not take part in any debates without the Greens present. Was this Cameron’s attempt to try and split the left wing vote live on air, or just an excuse to avoid the debate entirely?

For an incumbent of a political office, any form of formalised debate with opposition parties would be approached with caution. Gordon Brown agreed to the debates in 2010 because his personal

ratings were so low that the only way or Tory seats combined with the next was up. For David Cameron, there is largest party still don’t create majority much more at stake. His personal ratings administrations). It is fair to say that are still better than his main opponent, the drama of the TV debates engages Ed Miliband, though the debates tend to more people in the political process and act as a leveller. brings the election to life.

Then came the revised proposal of Debates also call into question a debate of seven leaders; Labour, whether this is the type of politics we Conservative, Lib Dem, UKIP, Green, TV debates want. TV debates often put personality Plaid Cymru and SNP with Cameron often put and charisma ahead of debate, especially and Miliband facing off in two further personality when evaluating who is the ‘winner’. debates. The broadcasters have made it and charisma It becomes about a clash of clear that the debates are going ahead, personalities and may lack the depth ahead of with or without party leaders. that people need to make an informed The 2010 debates captured the debate decision. Not to mention the fact that public’s imagination. Nick Clegg’s with seven party leaders they may all impressive performance raised his struggle to get a word in edgeways, party’s profile. But this did not translate encouraging them to whip out the into seats; the Lib Dems lost five, in part due to boundary changes.

The broadcasters’ proposal has many possible effects. The uncertainty with which we approach the election means it is anyone’s guess which parties will be the key players in forming coalitions in the next parliament, and more worryingly whether or not those parties will, even when partnered, have enough votes to form a majority government (the possibility that Labour The family gathered to watch Farage take on Cameron

soundbites and one-liners.

The public appetite for these debates will mean that they do take place.

However, will the endless soundbites and post-debate spin presented by seven different parties merely confuse the public even more?

Worse still, we now see calls for geographically limited and nationally irrelevant parties to be included, from the Northern Irish DUP to the SNP, Plaid Cymru and more. Perhaps we have found a new way to connect with and engage otherwise apathetic people in the political process. All we do know is that the debate about the debates will continue right up until… well, the debates.

Photo: Paul Townse

Leftwing supporters dress better than their rightwing opponents Rory Weal Comment Contributor

Oh no – you’d look far too Eton in that

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t first glance, there appears to be nothing political about fashion.

Can you work out someone’s views on income tax policy by their propensity to wear a snapback?

Does doing that thing where you slightly roll the bottom of your trousers to reveal a pair of blindingly white socks mean that you’re well versed in the collective works of Karl Marx? Of

course not, you say.

But you’d be wrong. Leftwing people dress a lot better than rightwing people.

This is a fact (*in the Fox News sense of the term), and I will prove it.

Coming from someone who is themselves on the left this could seem sort of biased – indeed someone who is the Publicity Officer for that illustrious institution, the Cambridge

Universities Labour Club (CULC). Yet the betterness of leftie fashion can be objectively proven, and you’d better start adjusting your voting choices accordingly…

Let’s start with the enemy. There are two words which should convince any reasonable person not to vote Conservative at the next election: red chinos. Only marginally worse than beige chinos (of the baby poo coloured variety), this horror-show of a clothing choice is all the rage amongst our opponents on the right.

What makes this fashion howler even worse is that they have stolen our colour and made it look shit. The colour red goes on party rosettes and membership forms, not on trousers.

A nasty rightwinger can likewise be spotted by their wearing of a suit, all the time, to any event, ever. They look like they’ve read every issue of GQ, Photo: Matt Bro but filtered out the taste.

But that’s enough of the negative campaigning, which political parties are so often rightly accused of propagating. What are the merits of Who was fashion on the left? better Firstly, you know where you stand – dressed, there is a direct correlation between the Che Guavara bagginess of a leftie’s vintage jumper and how high they believe marginal tax or Richard rates on the super-rich should be.

Nixon Furthermore, all that extra and

unnecessary material requires production, and thereby boosts economic growth. Pretty sweet ‘eh?

For further evidence of leftwing style you need only to look to CULC, where to us every week is our very own London Fashion Week. It takes real leadership from our Chair Fred Jerrome to combine wearing the beret, man bun and necktie (he claims it is a necktie, but to most impartial observers it’s clearly a cravat), and to simultaneously avoid getting beaten up walking across Parkers’ Piece. That’s the kind of bravery which is sorely lacking in contemporary British politics.

As Fred ably recognises, wearing something vaguely French looking is important for us on the left – after all we’ve got to look good when the revolution inevitably comes. You can’t exactly man a barricade wearing a North Face fleece, can you?

To even the most hostile observer, it should now appear obvious and indisputable that those of us on the left are far better dressed than our counterparts on the right.

To rest my case, I will conclude with one final, and important, question: who was better dressed, Che Guavara or Richard Nixon?

Absolutely no clichés or generalisations were relied on in the writing of this article. Not even one.

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Comment 13 What have you done today?

Freya Sanders Associate Editor

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refined conclusion; a memorable trip to the pub with your friends or a slightly longer bibliography?

At the end of the day, this is where we set the tone for our adult lives: these three years are full of choices.

And that’s pretty great. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to be so busy.

You’re in control, so choose wisely.

Look at your life: what’s missing?

What’s unnecessary? Are you doing what you love? Are you happy?

If not, don’t keep calm and carry on – make a change. Skip the chapters you find boring. And, most importantly, spend time with the people you value.

Far from being a ‘waste of time’, these are the things you’ll remember fondly when you look back on your years here. And after a day of banging your head against the unyielding wall of Kantian ethics, the simple gratification of polishing off a whole bag of peanuts with your best friend is, frankly, healthy.

To dwell on the negative – the nonexistent ‘nothing’ that you have done today – is unwise. And not only that, it’s unproductive. It’s overwhelming.

It’s that sudden moment in the library when you realise you have eight books to read in two hours and you’re going to fail your whole degree and end up living with your parents until the age of 52 and going to bed at 8pm every night just for something to do. This state of mind is, funnily enough, irrational. As my wisest and sagest friend likes to tell me, CTFO. I for one had an excellent rhubarb crumble, discovered ‘eggings’ and found that according to BuzzFeed I was “a pretty average ’00s teen”. I also wrote this article, not because I had time – what even is time? – but because it just started oozing out of me while I was trying to read about the effect of the French Revolution on the English Enlightenment, and I thought it was worth giving some time of day to. I hope you agree.

uring the last week, how many times did you hear someone complain, “I’ve done nothing today” How many times did you reply, “me neither”? And how many times was that strictly true?

We’re all here, at the University of Cambridge, because we are masters of denial. We deny ourselves a tea break when there are problem sheets to be solved; we deny ourselves sleep when there are essays to be written.

Meanwhile, we’re egged on by tales of tutors who claim that a 60-hour week is what’s required to do Tripos Try and fit this through the eye of the needle...

Photo: Spencer Jarvis ‘properly’ and that supervision partner who always gets to the good library books before you and never skips lectures. We’ve never read enough or Sam Rhodes said enough.

Associate Editor It takes the fun out of it all – the pleasurable sense that you can feel ebates over the role of understanding of the role of religion your brain swelling with knowledge is Christianity in modern in broader discourse before the current eclipsed by the sense that your brain society almost invariably incarnation is forcibly, and quite rightly, is fruitlessly contracting to produce devolve into dueling with removed. Luckily, models of better a disappointing mess of an essay. For statistics. The Church takes guard with practice do exist. Rowan Williams’ the perfectionists among us – and the results of the most recent census: editorship of the New Statesman was unsurprisingly, the term can be applied 33.2 million Christians still exist in widely hailed as an example of a to the majority of Cambridge students the UK. In riposte,the secularists quote Christian leader successfully critiquing – the fight or flight instinct is in almost a survey suggesting that 65% say modern society from a perspective perpetual overdrive: depending on that they’re not religious. The battle external to it. Christianity should caffeine and sugar levels, we invariably appears to be over a silent majority who embrace its new outsider status, for choose either to work so hard as to run in reality are almost entirely apathetic. it is from this position that all of the ourselves into the ground, or to just Points are scored on both sides, and the best things done by Christianity have give up all together. conversation moves nowhere. occurred.

But “where can we escape to, when Of course, religion deserves no Charity and love are corrupted we are unhappy with ourselves?”Clue: privileged place at the public table. As a by power, within the Church more the answer isn’t Cindies. And it might Christian, this seems clear. Aside from than almost anywhere else. That Charity and not be a Reading Week – which would the obviously dire example of the role electioneering and gerrymandering love are be a very simple solution to a very of my religion in American politics, nearly held the centuries-overdue corrupted complicated problem. Instead, we Jesus explicitly rejects a political role recognition of women bishops is a should be asking: why should we want

by Power for himself and his followers. Other mark of deep shame. Institutional to escape at all? Why is there a need for religions may take a slightly more obsessions with policing sexual within the that pause? Shouldn’t we be working ambitious view, but ultimately the idea behaviour and other disgraces also Church more on lowering the expectations of that political power should flow from abound. Any beauty possibly remaining than almost ourselves and the University at large? religious prestige holds no water. in the church is found in the local anywhere Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves what This principle is entirely and the parochial; the communities it we value more: sleep or a slightly more else undermined by the existence of the creates for the excluded and the care it Lords Spiritual. The 26 most senior gives to the needy. When it comes to bishops of the Church of England are living a truly Christian life, everything given political power on the implicit else about the church just seems to get understanding that they will never in the way. actually use it. Should they ever Christian communities in Cambridge draw attention to themselves then it seems should take particular heed of this obvious that this relic of the middle ages lesson.

Countless millions are would swiftly pass into history, and spent annually on restoring chapels so they keep quiet and relish popular and ancient churches. Our walled apathy. This makes the decision of the communities insulate us from those Cambridge Union to revive the debate whom we have an obligation to help. on Thursday somewhat perplexing. Christians should not look to be Without Stephen Fry the debate would recognised by society simply because certainly have sunk without a trace. they happen to be religious, but rather However, the direction of travel is because of the way they live. If we clear - we are heading towards a more renounce the Lords Spiritual, perhaps secular public sphere. Christians need we will regain enough credibility to be to negotiate amongst themselves an worth listening to.

Tea? Of course, there is always time for tea

Is the Church its own worst enemy?

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Photo: Laurel

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Comment 14

Yes Sriya Varadharajan Comment Contributor

T

he release of Ched Evans in October last year and his subsequent search for a job has forced us to ask once more: what can we do about rape? People took to Twitter in flocks to voice their opinions, which in many cases were proved to be ignorant, misogynistic and entirely offensive. His current unemployed status is evidence that thankfully, the majority of people hold the opinion that a convicted rapist who served two years out of a five-year sentence should not be given a highly-paid and prestigious job. however, this is slightly dampened by the sheer amount of outraged voices protesting that he had served his time, that he’d ‘just made one mistake’, that he should be rehabilitated rather than punished, and perhaps worst of all that he’d never actually done it despite the overwhelming amount of evidence to the contrary.

This last argument is, to me, the most bitter. It’s one that gets thrown up a lot around cases such as these, and it shows

an utter lack of empathy towards the victim – who, in this specific instance, has had to change her name, move house five times and spend Christmas away from her family due to being identified illegally online. She, and other rape survivors in both high and low profile cases, have essentially to go through two trials: one where they have to prove their own innocence to a jury, and one where they have to do the same with the sceptical public. This, on top of the psychological trauma of sexual assault, is entirely unjust.

At the end of the day, the question boils down to this: do we side with the victim, or the rapist? To even ask it seems absurd, as the answer is – or should be – obvious. And yet we consistently see that it is not: Ched Evans; the Steubenville case (where the loss of the rapists’ future was lamented not that they had raped a girl); the suicide of Eleanor de Freitas, three days before she was due to be tried for ‘ruining’ a man’s life with a false accusation, despite a total lack of evidence to support a case for perverting the course of justice. In these and countless other cases, we see that the focus is always on male subjectivity. Not to mention the ways we legitimise rape culture on a day-to-day basis: telling rape jokes

We must remember that only 3% of rape allegations are false claims.

Protest against DSK at the Cambridge Union Society is siding with the rapist. Casually objectifying women is siding with the rapist. Denying that men can be raped is siding with the rapist.

None of these things are the same as actual rape, but they contribute to a culture wherein rape has been described as ‘decriminalised’ by a Met advisor.

They are the second trial rape survivors go through; evidence that we naturally side with the rapist without even really thinking about it. But it is possible, and necessary, for us to change. The burden of proof must be shifted, so that the victim does not have to prove that they are telling the truth, but that

Photo: Devon Buchan

the accused has to prove they are lying.

We must remember that only 3% of rape allegations are false claims. Crossexaminations need to be as considerate as possible; potentially invasive tests need to be carried out with as more care.

Even in a tiny minority of cases, where the accused does turn out to be innocent, asking them to prove it is going to cause less harm than our current system of further traumatising rape victims.

If we do this, I truly believe that we can at least begin to move towards a society where we have fairer and more humane trials, and hopefully, one where we need fewer trials in the first place.

Guilty until proven innocent: The solution to rape culture?

Justice must be preserved

No

Jack Smith Comment Contributor

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on’t get me wrong – I view rape as a very serious moral offence, and in keeping with the idea that there is a rape

Photo: Tory Rect.. culture, I recognise that the trivialisation of rape and sexual assault is a structural issue, a social problem which requires a social solution.

What I don’t agree with, however, is reversing the burden of proof in rape cases so that the accused rapist has to prove themselves innocent. The fact that the burden of proof is on the prosecution in criminal trials is a cornerstone of not just the UK’s criminal justice system, but that of many others. Undermining it

The choice isn’t between reversing the burden of proof and doing nothing

is not the only solution to the problem of rape culture. The burden of proof being on the prosecution doesn’t just assure an ultimate level of protection against false accusations, but ensures that public confidence in the criminal justice system is maintained.

The system’s judgements are not merely procedural: they act as a moral precedent as well. It is the fact that a jury has to be certain of guilt that ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ gives it, and the society which it is supposed to represent, moral authority.

Reversing the burden of proof, even if for one offence (or one class of offence), undermines that authority.

This is not only true of rape and sexual assault cases given the stigma which being convicted of one of these offences rightly carries. We consider the nature of an offence, such as rape or sexual assault, to be particularly heinous when compared to other offences, it is probably important then that a jury is sure that an individual’s guilt is proven before convicting them of that offence.

The choice isn’t between reversing the burden of proof and doing nothing or, even worse, taking some sort of action which shifts responsibility to the victim. Taking preventative action to inform those most likely to commit rape or sexual assault of what is

deemed to constitute consent and the potential consequences awaiting those who don’t seek that consent, is another way to responsibly tackle the problem.

This neither dismantles cherished, and fundamentally sound, legal principles nor harms victims of sexual assault through victim-blaming.

We need not view this as an either/or decision, instead we could follow the lead of the Scottish justice system. In Scotland, there is a ‘guilty’ verdict and two different forms of acquittal: a ‘not guilty’ verdict (in which the accused has comprehensively proven their innocence) and a ‘not proven’ verdict, in which the accused hasn’t done so, but the jury remains unsatisfied that the prosecution has presented enough evidence to convict.

This approach, while not without its critics, can be of benefit concerning rape and sexual assault cases. In returning a ‘not proven’ verdict, a jury doesn’t have to be concerned about whether delivering an acquittal implicitly accuses the accuser of lying. Neither does it run the risk of undermining the authority of the criminal justice system which a reversal of the burden of proof would present.

Rape is awful. We need to do something about it. But reversing the burden of proof isn’t the answer.

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Interviews

15

A worldwide audience for a student phenomenon: ‘Students of Cambridge’ Julius Haswell Interviews Editor

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he ‘Students of Cambridge’ brand has grown exponentially over the past few months. Based on the ‘Humans of New York’ model, the Facebook page sets out to post photos and small quotations of random, interesting, and often weird students in Cambridge. I got the chance to speak to the founder of ‘Students of Cambridge’ and was able to ask him some questions about his work. He has asked to remain anonymous, so for the sake of this interview he shall be called Tom. I started off by asking him what gave him the idea for starting up the page: “About a year ago I just wanted to know what the people of Cambridge were really like. I was also a massive ‘Humans of New York’ fan at the time, and there was nothing like it for Cambridge. I just made it my goal to create a similar Facebook page.

“We’re trying to paint a more honest picture of what Cambridge is like.

We’re not trying to say that people who

The eponymous students fit the Oxbridge stereotype don’t exist, because they do and we wouldn’t shy away from it. We’d embrace it if we came across someone like that.”

Tom was so passionate about his new project, and his sincerity shone through more than anybody else I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing. I asked him why he does it still: “I just really like people! It means I’ve seen over half the colleges because I’ve been there

Photo: Students of Cambridge walking around them. Whereas most of my friends have no idea about most of the other colleges in Cambridge.”

His criteria for choosing who he talks to is very surprising. “If I’m walking past someone in the street and they make any kind of friendly eye contact, I’ll go straight up to them. Sometimes I find myself walking past someone then 10 seconds later running back after them because I’m forcing myself

to go and talk to them. It can be nervewracking and difficult going up to a random stranger and explaining who you are and what you do, and basically befriending them.”

I soon found out however that ‘Students of Cambridge’ is now a platform for causes around Cambridge: “It used to be just something fun, but now I’ve seen it develop into something more. When the two girls started the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign with the whiteboards, we put it on the page and it was seen by 22,000 people. We have audiences from all around the world now, from Asia to South America.

“I have now also trademarked the ‘Students of...’ brand, and we’ve spread to Oxford, and many other universities around the country like Bristol, St Andrews, and Leeds.” Tom’s idea has spread fast. The variation on a theme of ‘Humans of New York’ is very popular around the world and gets thousands of views in all four corners of the planet.

Still Tom had to play his talent down at the end: “I’m not a photographer! I was the guy on school trips who took other people’s cameras and tried to take cool arty photos of stuff!”

I’m struggling

and I don’t know

WHERE to turn.

Drop in, call, or email…

It can be nervewracking going up to a random stranger and basically befriending them

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Features 16 The bridge of lies: Touring Cambridge city centre with a misguided tour guide Chase Caldwell Smith Features Editor

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es, yes, over here. Is everyone together? Don’t want to lose anyone – Cambridge has a mildly dangerous city centre, you know, especially at this time of day.

Ok, spiffy then. If you’d like to follow me, we’ll start over here. Gather round!

Just take a gander – by golly, isn’t it beautiful?

No, my dear lady, that’s just King’s College Chapel. I’m referring to that imposing stone fence separating you from the inside of the college.

Built in the late 19th century to keep the soaring walk-on-the-grass rates down at King’s, it has been effective at blocking out randomers for over a century (including me – I was pooled from there!)

Moving on – here we’re passing Ryder & Amies, your new prime gift destination. Make sure you pick up your quality Cambridge jumpers – not now, mind you – afterwards! Come back!

We’re now approaching my favourite college, Gonville & Caius. Careful though, this one’s tricky to pronounce.

Did you know that you can tell a tourist from a student just by asking them for directions to this college?

Here, I’ll help you out. OK, repeat after me: “Gonville and CAY – OOOS.”

Cambridge has a mildly dangerous city centre at this time of day

Home away fro

Yes, sir, “Cay-oooos.” You must be careful not to rhyme the second word with ‘keys’ – that would be a dead giveaway.

We’ll keep walking now – watch out for that cycle! Yes, Trinity Street is oneway. I’ve tried cycling the wrong way, and goodness, was I yelled at! Well, enough about me, here’s Trinity.

Trinity has a long and venerable history, which was founded with wealth stolen viciously during the dissolution of the monasteries. Fascinating! It’s a pretty big college if I do say so myself, but as I told my history supervisor last week, it sure looks like Henry VIII was compensating for a lack of male heirs.

Over here is Trinity’s fiercest financial rival, St. John’s, which is named after a saint named John, of which I am told there were many. It may be world-famous for the redness of its bricks, but its ultimate renown lies in the horrendous songs drunk students hurl at it in the night-time: something about Oxford being better? Don’t glower at me – we all know Cambridge is far better than the Other Place – oh you’re an Oxford graduate are you? I’m so sorry.

Anyways, thanks for coming on my enlightening tour! I think I did a good job if I say so myself. If you’d like to see Girton, it’s a half-day’s journey in that direction. Have fun!

Cambridge: A peculiar place which we all call home

A field trip to Homerton College Julia Craggs Features Contributor

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here is sometimes a bit of a Hotel California vibe down here at Homerton. ‘We are all just prisoners here, of our own device’ – especially if it’s perpetually raining, so you haven’t been to lectures in a week.

There’s no point denying it, Homerton has a bad rep. Averaging 25th on the Tompkin’s Table, we’re out in the sticks down south, with hordes of local sixth formers stampeding our Sainsbury’s Local every lunchtime.

Then again, maybe we don’t get as many firsts because we’re too busy lounging around in our orchard, or walking all over our grass (sorry, King’s). We haven’t produced Darwin or Hawking or Coleridge; but when you switch on Broadchurch every Monday, just remember that it was the hallowed halls of Homerton that birthed the brilliance of Olivia Colman.

There’s plenty of room at Homerton,

too. Our rooms are doled out in a fair and liberal manner; not dependant on your captaincy of the rowing team, or how you did in your exams. We’re progressive and new, but still live in Neo-Gothic beauties worthy of any Instagram - not that tourists would know; I haven’t seen a single muggle on the paths of college since the day I got here.

Then, of course, there’s our bopsbops where we actually dance. We don’t just stand around looking cool or sulky (here’s looking at you, John’s) – we flail our arms and swing our legs and generally embarrass ourselves, because as the biggest, friendliest college at Cambridge, either no one will care, or, if they do, you’ll probably never see them again anyway.

Homerton can sometimes seem a bit like that Eagles song – ‘you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave’ – it’s just a bit too far out of town to do it that regularly. But then again, if you’re at Homerton, why would you want to?

We are all just prisoners here, of our own device

This could be heaven or this could be hell

Photo: Sophie Buck

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Features 17

om home

Setting the bar high: The perks and inconveniences of having drinks on tap Catríona Aldrich-Green Features Contributor

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y friends and I have had some wonderful conversations in our college bar – the sorts of conversations you idly dream about having at Cambridge, hearing brilliant people talk passionately about the most important ideas. And then we start talking about sex and one of my supervisors walks in.

I assume that they, as academics, exist on a much higher plane than us mere students, supping the ambrosia of generations of human endeavour.

Should they deign to descend to our level they would however learn how one would have sex on a garden swing Down the hall and to the bar!

Photo: Abigail Scruby (with difficulty).

Girton College Bar is a fantastic vulnerable to academic ears. place, but sadly underused considering The best thing about our bar, then, is the college’s distance from anything simply the fact that it’s there. Within resembling civilisation. There are only staggering distance of the library and ever a handful of people there, which is stumbling distance from my bedroom, a shame given that the ease of access to Joyfully within its proximity is more than could be said alcohol and lack of sweat condensation stumbling for any other alcoholic establishment in render it superior to the majority of distance of all of Cambridge.

Cambridge nightlife.

I wouldn’t advise the delicate flowers the library My friends and I have tried to puzzle of the central colleges to attempt to this out: the prices are decent and the make it all the way out here for what cellar like atmosphere has a certain is, most of the time, an empty room, but charm. Our only conclusion is that no the bar is nonetheless a small oasis of one uses the bar...because no one uses sanity within the madness of college, the bar, which leaves the few souls there and deserves more love than it gets.

Photo: Ben Brown

Out of the box: Intercollegiate friends Freya Sanders Features Contributor

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ther species of Cambridge student can be intimidating or perplexing. But it can be useful to mingle with them: they can provide floors to sleep on in unfamiliar territory and a different insight into our great – yet fragmented – institution. If you’re looking to expand some horizons, here are some tips: Lectures. Lectures may be boring, but when handled right they can be the social event of your week. Arts students: choose wisely. A midday lecture is more likely to be full of relatable people than a 9 a.m. Once inside, position yourself centrally, strategically drop a pen, and as the eyes of all are upon you, nonchalantly log on to Facebook so everyone can see that you’re so over this education lark. Just whatever you do, don’t speak – no one wants to be friends with that person who extends the torture by a minute because they wanted to ask a question.

Sainsbury’s. Where else can you find long lines of weary students united by their need for food? What could be a better recipe for eternal friendship?

There are many opportunities for attachment: comment on people’s tea preferences, scan your nectar card in a sensual way, or bond over niche brands.

The hill. If you want to make friends with people over the river, try cycling up Castle Hill. There is an indefinable solidarity amongst students who stand on their pedals and go all out, puffing and panting, to reach the summit.

Once your breath returns, express your triumph with a perfectly constructed yet meaningless truism, and Bob’s your uncle. Or your new best friend.

RAG Blind Date. What are the chances of two people with ostensibly nothing in common, thrown together through fate, actually becoming romantically attached? Very slim. However, RAG Blind Date is a golden opportunity to form a new BFFL. So use it.

Life. As in, the club – although the condition of existence is a good context

Strategically drop a pen, and log onto Facebook so everyone can see that you’re so over this lecture

Intercollegiate friendships are awesome. in which to find friends as well. Life, above and beyond other clubs, is particularly likely to enhance platonic affection. The questionable stickiness and interesting odour brings people

Photo: Ewan Wallace

together through shared revulsion.

TCS. Over 50% of colleges are represented by the team. We bond over late nights and exorbitant amounts of cookies. Who wouldn’t want in on that?

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Features 18 All experiences matter

I dreamed a dream: How Cambridge is Les Mis Chase Caldwell Smith Features Editor

Chris Page Columnist

H

2. A reading week would benefit us all

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ast week, I made the point that not all experiences of Cambridge are the same. Some people love it here, and some people have a terrible time and fall foul of gaping flaws in welfare policy.

Reading the coverage and reaction to the #NoMoreWeek5Blues campaign, it is impossible not to repeat others.

Some sections of the press were more vitriolic than others. ‘A reading week would kill the Cambridge experience’ screamed one column, while another suggested that people who had positive experiences of Cambridge welfare were now being stigmatised (um, what?).

A reading week makes sense to me.

It gives students a break – and if, like me, you have a long term disability, that’s welcome. A week to reflect and gather thoughts would be an advantage to learning; it would bring Cambridge in line with practices at other Universities – most do have a reading week, which, magically, hasn’t caused them to plummet through the league tables – and it would be beneficial to teaching staff.

Young academics come under an immense amount of pressure to prove themselves, to publish, to make their name through supervising two dozen undergraduates, delivering a lecture course, and maintaining some semblance of a life: a tall order.

How would it work in practice? No idea. I agree with the principle, and the practicalities would need to be worked out. Show me one campaign in the history of student activism which identified a problem and also immediately proffered a solution.

These things will take time to work out. It doesn’t undermine the nature of the campaign.

What I can’t fathom is the intolerant tone of many of the articles criticising viral campaigns like Whose University? and CSIM. Is it unreasonable for others not to have a carbon copy of your life?

How can it be so easy to attack the people who are trying to do something for the greater good of the student body? Perhaps – and I speculate here – it’s out of fear; a desire to preserve the pristine image of the Cambridge experience.

So maybe, Cambridge, instead of laying into welfare campaigners at every opportunity, you might want to actually listen to them? Just a thought.

I dreamed a dream my essay deadline would be extended

uddled in a blanket, stuffing my face with newly discovered digestive biscuits (I had ignored them because I thought they were for the elderly), my eyes are glued to the laptop screen. My friend stops slurping her hot chocolate long enough to whisper, in half-hushed reverence, “It’s about to start…”

We have a minor freak-out while Les Miserables begins. The minutes pass.

We sing along. Russell Crowe’s vocals are criticized. It is only when, as Anne Hathaway lies dejected in a frozen shipyard, moaning about her awful life, that we have a sudden epiphany. We improvise.

“I dreamed a dream in days gone by!

When hope was high and life worth living” – is drained out by our own, not always in tune, but enthusiastic, attempts.

“I dreamed a dream that I would get a first! I dreamed a dream my supervisor would be forgiving...”

This goes on for an embarrassingly long time, although, luckily for us, the student next door is sleeping. As the film carries on, it becomes increasingly clear to us that Cambridge is essentially Les Mis with (somewhat) less singing.

So when the scene shifts, with Sacha Baron Cohen stumbling about: “My

This is essentially King’s College. band of soaks, my den of dissolutes. My dirty jokes, my always pissed as newts,” we are quick to note, “This is Cindies.”

He’s not done though: “Food beyond compare. Food beyond belief. Mix it in a mincer and pretend it’s beef…”

“Caius Formal Hall?”

The scene changes to Paris, where over-exuberant students wave red flags and drink alcohol. Singing idealistically, they declare a revolution.“This sounds an awful lot like King’s College!”

Our ultimate achievement, however, is in realizing that “One Day More” basically complains about an essay crisis.

As in our lives, the evening-before begins with a dash of wistfulness: “One day more. Another day another destiny…

Photo: Via YoutTube Les Mis gets the locked-in-your-room bit too: “One more day all on my own.

What a life I might have known.”

Then comes the midnight angst as delusion begins to set in: “One more day before the storm! The time is here!”

Finally comes the 3 a.m. rush of reality: “Tomorrow is the judgment today.

Tomorrow we’ll discover what our God in heaven has in store. One day more!”

As the film ends, with biscuit packets tattered and empty on the floor, we agree that this was a superb use of time.

My friend grins as I get up. “Watch out for all this rubbish. You’d better make sure to look down as you head out.”

“At the end of the day it’s no big deal.”

“I see what you did there.”

Student Spotlight: The John Hughes Arts Festival Amelia Oakley Features Editor

A A Jazz brunch, an art gallery and a smoker complete with comedy organ

misty corner of the Jesus hockey pitches.

The building was overcome with noise, bustle, and, most importantly, art on Friday, with the launch of the festival’s open hang gallery.

The walls of this normally dilapidated space were covered in art: paintings by students, photography gifted from a London Gallery, and to top it off, a Henry Moore residing majestically on an old industrial stand.

All this was centred around a lifedrawing event in which the otherwise

fter a few short months of planning, the John Hughes Arts Festival kicked off this weekend in style, with a shoutout from Stephen Fry, a talk from playwright David Hare, and the launch of a new art gallery. The brainchild of a group of Jesuans, the Festival was launched to commemorate the life and work of the late Jesus Chaplain John Hughes, who passed away last year.

The Festival was a diverse and at times utterly bonkers affair. From a Masquerade Formal injected with a performance of the medieval allegorical play ‘Mankind’; to a Jazz Brunch to the sweet sounds of the homegrown Jesuan band B & the Jukeboys; to the comic marvels of a Smoker set in the Chapel - complete with comedy organ - there was something for everyone.

Ruby Stewart Liberty, one of the festival’s organisers, commented that “It was an occasion where everyone rallied, even at the last minute, to make things work.”

The most spectacular sight emerged in the Forum, an abandoned market & warehouse which stands silently in a When art takes over

non-artsy were encouraged to draw to their heart’s content.

With free drinks flowing and completed life-drawings going up on the walls at a rate of knots, the night was a buzz of artistic activity and, above all, a moment to recognise the achievements of this wholly student run affair. Even though, as a first year, I arrived at Jesus College after John Hughes’ time here, I left the Forum in no doubt of the incredible impression he has left on those who knew him.

Photo: Amelia Oakley

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Features 19 A spinster and her goldfish – college marriage woes Elsa Maishman Features Editor

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ometimes I am overwhelmed by a terrible fear that I will end up alone. Single, lonely, gathering dust on the shelf. I won’t even have the spinster’s cliché of cats to keep me company, as the only animal I could realistically conceal from my bedder would be a fish. Not an ideal substitute for a spouse.

College marriages are a strange Cambridge tradition. During the Christmas holiday, I made the mistake of mentioning my college parents over a family meal. The following 15 minutes of awkward explanation ensured that I will never mention the phenomenon at home ever again. The idea of ‘marrying’ one of my friends had never seemed in the slightest bit odd before that point, but after being forced to stress more than 20 times that it “isn't weird, I swear,” my conviction began to wane.

Although the same system operates in countless other universities, instead of ‘parents’ students are called ‘mentors’ or ‘buddies’, and do not tend to go through a ritual of marrying one another.

This seems to be yet another tradition that continues because nobody feels like changing it, and because frankly, college marriages are a bit of fun. At least, they're fun for the lucky few who

Cambridge Curiosity Cabinet Guy Lewy Columnist 2. Footprints in the mud: Cambridge’s Victorian past

The idea of marrying one of my friends had never seemed Not the best option as a life partner Photo: JamesDPhotography strange until manage to actually find themselves a third years, my friends have so far all that point suitable spouse.

Over the last few months I have watched my friends go one by one from extravagant, rose-petal strewn proposals to spontaneous weddings, to the prospect of a long and happy marriage and four perfect little fresher-children. The most elaborate wedding I have so far witnessed involved a drunken science quiz in the early hours of the morning (I don't think it gets more stereotypically ‘Cambridge’ than that) followed by a trip to the library for the official ceremony.

The problem is that I am a wife-to-be with a catch. As an MMLer at Emmanuel, where college parents are traditionally

flatly refused to marry me on the claim that I won't be here to help them raise the kids.

Logically, considering that each college family comprises four children to every two parents, half of the people who want college children will be denied them. And yet, no-one I know is prepared to sacrifice their chance of parenthood, however slim it may be.

On top of this, nobody seems willing to wait in Cambridge until I return from my year abroad to join them in mature parenthood. I suppose there’s nothing for it and I shall have to get used to the company of my goldfish.

Gown Snaps No longer are gowns just for Formal.

Cambridge students have diversified across our city’s spaces, wearing gowns in the most irrelevant situations possible. The results, if a bit pretentious, are glorious.

Photos (clockwise from top left): Helen May, Elsa Maishman, Elsa Maishman, Amelia Oakley, Amelia Oakley

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his city’s streets are not what they used to be. The hard, sterile flagstones and tarmac that we no longer notice are unloved heroes of the modern era, because what came before them was disgusting beyond our imagination.

The job of every van and lorry we see on the streets today was of course taken by horses, which in Cambridge were dropping around 60 tonnes of manure a day into the mud of the city’s then rutted and unpaved streets.

Moving these endless piles of manure had always been a problem. The Times made the bizarre prediction that “in 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure.”

For a woman there was a suite of extra problems: the long-trained dresses popular from the Regency era needed an army of staff to keep them clean on the grimy streets. White dresses were an unattainable status symbol for regular women who had no servants to hold trains and launder out inevitable specks.

Roads were so filthy that street children took up the job of ‘crossing sweeper’: squishing a thin channel through the mud with a brush to save the hems and boots of fashionable ladies, in return for a small informal fee. Crossing sweepers later became archetypal figures of unschooled vagabond children of the street.

Incredibly, some of the numerous residents of Victorian cities found by the social journalist Henry Mayhew were so removed from society that they had never heard of God. The mud and grime did leave one beautiful chain of largely unnoticed scars on Cambridge. Not just the organic forms and curves of our streets, but the elegantly sculptured boot scrapers we walk past a hundred times a day. If you have never noticed these mysterious objects set at floorheight by Victorian buildings, take a look down.

Though the cast iron relics are redundant but intriguing flourishes in our age of tarmac, in the era they were made for they were vital, coated in dung and mud by weary walkers ending their trudge and entering the building.

Now they are splendid reminders of a squalid past, watching with nostalgia as the mudless boots swing by.

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Cartoon 20

Cartoon by Miranda Gabbott

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

Games & Technology

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

21

Indie Games in Review: Salem Town Grace Murray Games & Tech Contributor

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t first, Town of Salem resembles a Puritan version of a South Park dream sequence. Its cartoon sprites, by default named after characters from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, are burned alive at the stake or struck by lightning, only for some multi-coloured text to scroll across the screen and reveal them as the Sheriff. Granted, it looks and sounds ridiculous, and an extent it is, but that is also why it’s managed to turn a wellfunded Kickstarter campaign into an indie phenomenon.

As it turns out, Town of Salem is an unexpectedly entertaining strategy game which requires a maximum of 20 minutes of your time and not much strategy at all, which is ideal for a term-time reprieve from the Cambridge workload. In Classic Mode, you’re randomly allocated a role from a limited list of ‘Town’, ‘Mafia’ and ‘Neutral’ characters, which no other player can see. Each night, you meet in the town centre to see who died the previous night and vote whether to lynch another player on suspicion of Mafia involvement. Alternatively, you are a member of the Mafia, in which case you must lie, cheat and kill your way to victory.

There are various game modes, including one helpfully titled All Any, which perfectly captures the chaos which ensues when the full complement of characters is unleashed, with no required roles. Suddenly half your town might be Mafia, or you might have three Witches who can control the abilities of the other characters, or you could be faced with nightly kills by multiple Werewolves. Any Mode almost removes the strategy element but can become quite dull if you land a Town role in a Mafia-dominated game, but at its best it’s fast-paced and fun.

For the most part, even in Classic, Town roles are rather thankless until you understand their capabilities, and the relatively small community is far too busy to help out its newbies. Town of Salem has its roots in the party game Mafia and Werewolf, and some players approach the game with the same commitment as your drunken relatives bring to charades on Christmas Day. Themed naming is common, so don’t be surprised to find yourself playing with Gandalf, Frodo, Samwise, Gamgee and Gollum, only for Gandalf to be revealed as the Serial Killer.

Criticism levelled at the game tends to focus on the players who fail to take the mystery element seriously.

Unfortunately, some roles are more limited than others, and if a player

You must lie, cheat and kill your way to victory

The Thug life unequivocally chose 17th century America allocated to Sheriff or Mafioso fails to take advantage of the role’s capabilities it can change the game’s outcome.

The clash between those who’d play Sherlock Holmes and those who’d rather be Moriarty occasionally sees some games dissolve into flame wars.

Thankfully, it doesn’t happen all that often.

In fact, the game’s flexibility does explain why Town of Salem managed to attract so much Kickstarter support.

If you enjoy challenging yourself by second-guessing your opponents and double-crossing them at every turn,

E L C Y C DON’T LIGHTS! WITHOUT

…AND AVOID A £30 FINE.

Bike lights available from CUSU for just £8.

Old Examination Hall, Free School Lane, Cambridge, CB2 3RF.

Open 9am-5pm Mon-Fri | 01223 333 313 | info@cusu.cam.ac.uk

Image: YouTube

Town of Salem is for you. If you’d prefer to throw a spanner in the works from beyond the grave by feeding false information to your dim-witted Medium for no other reason but boredom, Town of Salem is also for you. Yes, it sounds absurd but this is a game for everyone, and perfect for pockets of minor procrastination. So whether you’re acasual or committed, new to gaming or an old hand, you’ll find something to enjoy in this bizarre murder mystery.

Town of Salem can be found online at http://www.blankmediagames.com/

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

TV & Film

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erence Fletcher, played by J.K Simmons, demands of his student “Are you rushing, or are you dragging?” moments after striking his faltering student. This sudden, unpredictable act of brutality sets the electrifying tone for Whiplash, a flawlessly paced film which is never guilty of either offence.

The impossibly-paced beat that Fletcher demands of his student is mirrored in Simmons’ ability to register intense psychological changes in the blink of an eye. A gentle criticism becomes a vitriolic threat in less than a beat; a tightening of his lips can devastate or elate his musicians, and has no less compelling an effect

22 on the audience. Fletcher quite literally snatches the music from the air with a sudden tightening of his fist, indicative of the incredible control practised in all elements of this film.

Director Damien Chazelle’s control in no way limits the film’s emotional reach, however. Miles Teller batters against the airtight structure of the film, delivering an incredible performance as Neiman spirals into a sadomasochistic deadlock with the ambiguously antagonistic Fletcher. We get the feeling that we can never quite figure each character out, that they never pause long enough for us to understand them; Neiman is endearingly awkward and then callously single-minded; Fletcher

is impenetrably cruel and openly but fleetingly vulnerable in his inscrutable grief over a former student’s death.

Their constant and psychologicallycharged struggle climaxes in the breathtaking final act, in which we are never allowed to rest in one emotion for more than a beat and the utterly unpredictable finale delivers its punches at a breakneck pace.

It is in the communion of the final scene that the nature of the film is properly exposed. Jazz is Chazelle’s vehicle rather than his focus in this dissection of the nature and the physical demands of genius, imbuing it with the pulse and climax of the music to which it is set.

TCS Recommends: The Royal Tenenbaums, via Netflix

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10/10

J

ay Hunt is the only person working in television to have held the top job at BBC One, Channel 5 and Channel 4, where she brought the channel more BAFTA nods in 2014 than ever before. We have her to thank for commissioning Sherlock on BBC One, and she also brought Homeland to Channel 4 and aired Benefits Street. Basically, this woman is responsible for most of your wine-fuelled conversation at formal.

This week she returned to St. John’s, where she studied English, for a talk organised by the Humanities Society.

Despite a schedule that sounds busier than a NatSci’s timetable, Jay managed to spare a few minutes to speak to TCS about her own TV favourites.

Why we love Joss Whedon Maddy Airlie TV & Film Contributor

Susanna Worth TV & Film Contributor disaster” that has turned the three once prodigal children (played by Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Luke Wilson) into adult neurotics. Each in their own eccentric world of emotional turmoil, the film explores their descent into even further dysfunction when reunited under the same roof for the first time since childhood, and their estranged father’s unpopular return to the family in an attempt to ‘win them back’.

Narrated by Alec Baldwin and with some stellar performances from Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Danny Glover and Owen Wilson, it is ultimately Gene Hackman’s turn as Royal himself, the philandering, lying, bastard who raises this film out of the depths of sentimentality and makes it truly worth a watch.

With the success of Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, now is as good a time as any to revisit his earlier work. Whether you’re an aficionado or a sceptic, you’ll find something to enjoy.

Now available on Netflix.

Whiplash Ciara Larkin

Grace Murray TV & Film Editor

Favourite show you’ve ever picked up? Homeland.

Show you wished you’d picked up?

Modern Family, which airs on Sky1.

Guilty pleasure TV? Grey’s Anatomy!

Show you’re looking forward to this year? Indian Summer, which stars Julie Walters and will air on Channel 4 later Photo: Kinocheck via YouTube this year. Look out for it!

The dramatisation of your worst fears in a supervision

odged somewhere between fantasy and fable, fast-paced comedy and character-driven melancholia, Wes Anderson’s films have been described as being at best beautiful yet honest, agonisingly emotional and possessed of an embraceable grown-up whimsy. At worst they are repetitive, shallow, and stuffed with supercilious oddities. In short, they are not to everyone’s taste.

The characters themselves are a quirk away from reality, the cinematography meticulously detailed and artistically shot, and the narratives centre upon the dynamic between the family we are born into and the family which we create for ourselves.

The Royal Tenenbaums is no different. Released in 2001 as a follow up to Rushmore, the tale of a precocious and eccentric schoolboy floundering in a world of adult emotion, Anderson’s picture-book family drama explores the lives of the Tenenbaum family after “two decades of betrayal, failure, and

<

In Profile: Jay Hunt, Channel 4

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The film explores their descent into dysfunction under the same roof

e have a lot to thank Joss Whedon for: inspiring birthday party themes, giving us a beautiful adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, and transforming a vampire into a muppet in one of Angel’s more hallucinatory episodes. But most of all, Joss Whedon gave me Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I don’t have to put my love for this show into words often – squeaking sounds normally suffice – but I think the seven seasons he wrote and directed are the closest we’ll get to perfect television. BtVS is a world where women have power (and to assume otherwise means you may end up dead), high school is built on a Hellmouth, and no character, human or demon, is reduced to a stereotype – vampires can have souls just the same as the popular mean girl.

Joss Whedon was probably my first encounter with a male feminist. In an interview where he was asked why he writes strong female characters, he replied, “Because you’re still asking me

that question.” My hero. While his fans around the world – myself included – probably think ‘What Would Buffy Do’ when in a difficult situation, it might save writers a lot of time by asking ‘What Would Joss Whedon do’.

Photo: Gage Skidmore

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

Theatre

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

23

Review: Ajax440 First night at the ADC: Equus Harry Parker Theatre Editor

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hatever can be said about its lack of polish, there’s no denying that the concept Ajax440 is clever.

In Henry St Leger-Davey’s inimitable adaptation, the video-game age has taken hold of Sophocles’ classic and spewed it out in a late-night, caffeinefuelled binge. Its mighty warriors become ‘game vloggers’ (whatever they are), its goddesses become characters in a fictional world, and its eponymous hero becomes Ian, a cold, twisted addict, playing under the online pseudonym of ‘Ajax440’.

There’s more in common between digital gaming and theatre than one might initially think: the entry into a world unlike our own, the feeling that everything is unravelling before us.

With many more theatre companies now embracing the ‘immersive’ or ‘interactive’ label, the distinction is even becoming blurred. And so, just as Ian navigates his way through the game, we are forced to play along with him, examining the choices he makes as, eventually, our empathy wanes.

In particular, some of the scenes toward the start feel a little more like a redacted, translated version of the original than a raw piece of theatre.

But as the pace picks up we’re fast absorbed into the world which Ian has constructed for himself.

Ian is a Sophoclean hero in all respects: stubborn, narrow-minded, and resistant to change. His misogyny is a particularly ingenious aspect of the play: at once pointing to the grotesque sexism of the gaming community, and tragically revealing our hero’s blindness. Joe Spence’s hunched, drawling Ian brilliantly brings out his pain as well as his ugly obsessiveness.

I would imagine that playing a virtual character poses something of a challenge, but Laura Waldren more than rises to it, coming across as suitably single-minded and manipulative, but without showing too much humanity.

Alice Carlill as the despairing Teucer also stands out, but aside from the core cast of three, the rest of the characters did tend to feel a little superfluous.

Which is a shame, because they were acted superbly: Rose Reade as Ian’s mother, and Toby Marlow as Oddie especially come to mind here.

The play is at its most effective when we’re dumped back into Ian’s sad world of addiction and solitude.

The conflicting choices of the main characters are played out superbly and such is the intelligence of the writing that by the end we start to feel as if it is reality which is impinging upon the game, and not the other way around.

Charlotte Furniss-Roe Theatre Reviewer

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quus is an ambitious play.

Written in the early 1970s, it deals with societal expectations, young male sexuality and the problems with religion and psychiatry.

Flaws in the script made some lines seem clunky and outdated which got in the way of their delivery, and the female characters are rather underwritten and almost entirely in tropes.

The play itself built up slowly, from a disjointed start, with a rising intensity that was aided by intermittent and pounding music and unaccompanied singing. This played upon the primitive and ritualistic aspects of the personal religions and interests of the characters.

As the lead, Jonah Hauer-King was impressive, starting from the awkward,

distressed 17-year-old patient, and ranging to the exhausting passions of religious furore associated with his own sort of god.

Ben Walsh was outstanding as psychiatrist Martin Dysart, bringing a soft world-weariness and bewilderment to the role, as well as the eloquence to attack the meatiest themes of the play.

In particular, his monologue addressing whether mental health conditions could be viewed as an integral part of the sufferer’s identity, or whether societal expectations draw the line between health and insanity, was very powerful.

It struck me as a shame that this play should be famous for nudity. It just felt entirely natural, as well as being essential. That said, I do not wish to underplay the bravery of Jonah HauerKing and Katurah Morrish.

I thought the chorus was underused,

It struck me as a shame that this play should be famous for nudity

which was frustrating for one that was onstage the whole time. However, they skilfully augmented the scenes in which they played a part, thanks to Lucy Moss’s stunning choreography. With that, and the costumes, they threatened, pulsed and scattered as one. This was helped by the costumes which picked up on the theme of the primitive and pagan. They were great, especially the masks for the horses, which toed the line between realistic and stylised so that they did not seem either comical or too abstract.

The play is not perfect, and nor was this production. But there was a compelling intensity to be found there, among the charming snapshots and the gathering darkness. It shows the humbling breadth of Cambridge theatre, that students have the opportunity to create plays as powerful as Equus.

The Marlowe Society: Professional theatre in Cambridge?

Harry Parker Theatre Editor

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ir Ian McKellen once joked about there being a ‘Cambridge mafia’ in the acting profession.

Look at a list of graduates who have made it big in drama – Trevor Nunn, Griff Rhys Jones, Sam Mendes, Tilda Swinton to name a few – and it’s easy to see why. What’s interesting about all these names, though, is that they have all featured on the programme for a Marlowe Society production.

Given the way that Mark Milligan, second-year English student and newest star of the Marlowe describes the society, this is perhaps not surprising.

“The idea of the Marlowe is to try to push people into bridging the gap between university and professional theatre. We always have an Arts Theatre production every year with a professional director, as well as the Marlowe showcase, which will premiere at the ADC, again with a professional director, and we’ll go to London and have a showcase in the West End, or off West End.” Asked whether “bridging the gap” Mark Milligan in rehearsals Photo: Atri Banee is something which attracts him, Mark remains coy. “Hopefully [professional The Merchant of Venice at the Almeida. acting] is the plan. I mean we’ll see.

So, clearly we can expect a high quality I think I’d like to give it a go.” His show – her approach is “very much a Camdram credits will certainly do him contemporary approach, with a very no harm: he appeared in last term’s “That’s what human feel about it” – but I wonder Footlights pantomime, and as Ariel in Henry V is: whether the world of Cambridge drama, The Tempest. Playing Henry V with with its wonderful tradition of amateur a really epic The Marlowe Society, which opens plays, should be at least a little wary of next Wednesday at the Arts Theatre, is, piece of too much professional involvement in however, by far his biggest role to date. theatre” its shows.

Mark’s mention of working with a Mark disagrees. “I wouldn’t think professional director is something that so. I mean, I think that you can never intrigues me. Henry V will be directed take away from amateur dramatics the

by Lisa Blair, whose credits include opportunities that Cambridge provides.

Where, as a director, you have the opportunity to put on a show and do whatever you want with it.

“I’d never suggest that we have professional directors for everything, but if you’ve got the chance to have professionals come in and work with you, you get a flavour of how people in the industry work, how they think, their approach to a text, the way they run rehearsals. It’s just an amazing opportunity that should be maintained.”

The second big difference between this and other amateur productions is that it will take place in the Cambridge Arts Theatre, “a 600-seater venue where the stage is huge and the space to fill is massive.” Is Milligan nervous or excited? “I mean, it’s the best feeling to have a full house at the ADC, and so I will feel even luckier to have such a huge space to do something which is really epic. Because that’s what Henry V is: it’s a really epic piece of theatre.”

Despite all the opportunities which the Marlowe seems to be offering, I am sceptical about its exclusivity. In particular, its insistence on putting on Jacobean and Elizabethan verse plays clearly limits the roles available for female actors looking to take advantage of what the society offers.

I put this question to Mark. “That is something that we have been discussing, and it also plays into other discussions taking place across the University, particularly with the Footlights. A year ago we had Sarah Livingstone as Hamlet, and it was a brilliant performance. In Henry V, a lot of characters which were written as male have been gender swapped, so the split in the cast is actually pretty even.”

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Music 24 Meet Little Comets Miriam Shovel Music Editor

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ittle Comets are an indie rock trio from Newcastle. In advance of their gig at the Cambridge Junction on 24 February, I chatted to Rob Coles about their third album and upcoming tour.

Describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you before.

The music always comes first. We’re positive musicians, so often the music will sound upbeat and happy. My mind is a bit darker in a lyrical sense than it is in a musical sense, so the lyrics will often be weightier than the music. I think that’s the most noticeable thing, the contrast of lyric and sound.

We’re happy in the studio, but we’ve had our most euphoric moments playing live

What is your favourite moment of the new album?

For the song ‘My Boy William’, we

recorded my little boy William and Micky’s little boy George playing.

They’re about two years old, so their language is really starting to develop.

In a quiet part of the song, you hear the conversation between William and George. I’m not sure how William will feel about it when he’s older, he might be mortified, I don’t know!

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s Lent term powers on and that first essay still isn’t complete, many of you may sympathise with my overwhelming urge to hibernate in a onesie and dream of safer lands. I have a rose-tinted memory of home and my childhood there. Some tracks never fail to take me back to these halcyon days and provide rousing hope that I will make it to mid-March.

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Matilda. For now, I’d give my left arm to be making pancakes in my kitchen at home, bopping along to this cracker.

‘I’ll Bring You Flowers’ – Sweet Female Attitude Listening to this takes me back to standing in the park with my friends on a Friday night, flirting with some boys we’d met the week before. The uniform was Hollister tees and fake Uggs bought at Primark with carefully saved pocket money. Don’t judge, we’ve all been there. This period of my home life feels ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ – Mint Royale like a dream: my biggest problem was A remix of the title song from the whether I’d used too much Impulse, and greatest musical ever made. Listening I didn’t even know that the concept of brings back warm fuzzy feelings of post-modernism existed. being tucked up on the sofa watching TV (a luxury that is quickly becoming a ‘Life is a Rollercoaster’ fading memory), and reminds me of my – Ronan Keating first ever crush Gene Kelly. I bet you As soon as I hear that snare drum were as sucked in as I was by the ‘rags intro I can practically smell my Mum’s to riches’ story of George Sampson as cooking. That’s right, this was the he flipped and spun his way to 2008 soundtrack to my parents’ 2000s dinner Britain’s Got Talent victory. parties. It evokes an idyllic scene of Mama H dancing around the kitchen ‘Send Me On My Way’ – Rusted Root chopping carrots and pouring wine. I’ve I still want Miss Honey to be my conveniently repressed the memories teacher and to live in a pretty cottage of the two hell-raising hours that came and wish I loved reading as much as before, when she realised the house looked like a battle-ground!

Do you prefer touring or writing songs?

Touring and writing are totally different. Recording an album takes a long time; every aspect of it is permanent, so it has to be right. With live performance, the challenge is to connect with the audience in the moment. Once the moment has gone, that’s it: you just have to move on straight away. Overall, we’re happier in the studio, but we’ve had some of our most euphoric moments playing live. Seeing people singing our words is great. Also, we know a lot of the people who come to see us, so we have conversations about what’s going on in each other’s lives.

production. When you record things you can be very passionate, but it’s with controlled passion, whereas when we play live it’s a more urgent passion.

There are also more vocal parts. We just try and present the songs in an honest way, and play with real emotion and hope. Hope, that’s what we want to come across.

Your lyrics are quite political. Do you see music as a platform for change?

As I’ve got older and written more songs I’ve got more confident expressing myself in music, rather than hiding behind a character or writing songs that don’t really mean anything.

I care about lots of issues, but often I find that I can’t adequately represent what I want to say in a discussion with somebody, whereas in a song you have to be succinct. I love being able to channel not only my passion but also my thoughts into my lyrics. In the What can we expect when you perform wider sense of popular music, I think at the Junction? if that’s what the writer feels they need We don’t have big lights, no big Rob Coles

Personal Playlists: Home Bethany Hutchison Music Contributor

to do, then they should. Anything that gets someone to engage with an issue that they feel passionate about is a positive thing.

Let this encourage you to delve into your own playlist of songs that remind you of home (think ‘Never Forget’ by Take That). Perhaps, instead of making us want to hibernate, these tunes will help us stand firm on our musical foundations and feel empowered for the next five weeks until we are reunited Photo: Tobi Firestone with home.

> American Beauty / American Psycho – Fall Out Boy Abigail Smith

8/10

all Out Boy was always going to find it difficult to follow up the explosive comeback that was Save Rock and Roll, which saw them move away from their ‘emo’ trappings, with collaborations with massive names such as Courtney Love and Elton John. After the impromptu roughness of PAX AM Days, American Beauty / American Psycho definitely feels very well-polished, and more than ready for the arena.

Once lost in the shadow of Pete Wentz’s off-stage antics, Patrick Stump now undoubtedly goes a long way in carrying this album: from his embittered cries on ‘Novocaine’ to the soulful crooning on ‘Jet Pack Blues’, his vocal range never fails to astound, and the band don’t hesitate to take advantage of this. The heavy use of sampling is a welcome addition too.

From the surf-style Munsters theme in ‘Uma Thurman’ to a sample of Motley Crue on the title track, the band leave no pop culture stone unturned; it’s just a shame that Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley’s playing feels somewhat overshadowed by this.

They worked on this album for centuries

Photo: Dave Briggs

The first half of the album is a fast-paced adrenaline ride, carefully blending genres to create a decidedly unique sound. The title track is relentless, feeling like a throwback to their Evening Out With Your Girlfriend days, while ‘Centuries’ and ‘Uma Thurman’ are enormous stadium singalongs.

By contrast the second half of the album falls a little flat, from the saccharine sentimentality of ‘Fourth of July’, to ‘Favorite Record’, which feels like it’s simply trying too hard. It is thankfully saved by ‘Twin Skeleton’s’, a breathless and pounding closer, with extensive layering and brilliant guitar from Trohman, matched only by the energy of ‘Novocaine’.

The record is certainly not without its duds, but overall the album is one which simply demands to be listened to.

It is hard not to sing-along to tracks like ‘The Kids Aren’t Alright’, and on the whole Wentz’s lyrics are stronger than ever. It’s not as accessible as Save Rock and Roll, but it cements the unique sound that Fall Out Boy have made their signature.

Photo: YouTube

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Books 25 Revolutionising the written word: From parchment to pebble We are all that Alice Mottram have been fundamental in the research Yet, the pebble was not an insult to the kind of girl of printing processes, and shed light gallery, but carved in admiration of it, Books Editor

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ver 500 years in the history of written words separate the exhibitions currently held at the University Library and Kettle’s Yard. They are vastly different, the library displaying medieval manuscripts notable for their marginalia, whilst the gallery explores 20th century concrete poetry in visual arts. However, these exhibitions are united in their desire to revolutionise our colelctive understanding of written–word culture.

Private Lives of Print: The use and abuse of books 1450-1550 at the University Library is the culmination of a five year project to catalogue the University’s collection of incunabula, or medieval printed manuscripts.

The collection on display features marginalia, annotations and decorative details which reveal the “individual history of each individual copy”, says Ed Potten, Head of Rare Books.

The differences between copies of the Guttenberg Bible and unique illuminations of many texts on display

The course of the written word across time, on which it still journeys

on the status attached to owning such books. The exhibition covers not only the prestigious “books of kings and queens”, but also “the scribbles of school boys”, which prove not unlike the graffiti to be found in many modern volumes held at the library.

Kettle’s Yard is a curio of creativity, and the current exhibition Beauty and Revolution: The Poetry and Art of Ian Hamilton Finlay is no exception.

Finlay, who died in 2006, was invited to exhibit his work at St. Catharine’s College in 1964 by postgraduates Mike Weaver and Stephen Bann. It is Bann’s personal collection that forms the core of this retrospective. From the gallery’s permanent collection is exhibited Finlay’s 1995 flat-stone carving, which reads “Kettle’s Yard Cambridge England is the Louvre of the Pebble”.

This pebble perhaps captures the fundamental challenge of Finlay’s work. In the catalogue Unnatural Pebbles exhibition was expressed Finlay’s disillusionment with modern art: “a modern PEBBLE is prized as a sculpture, as it were, of a PEBBLE”.

Jack May Editor-in-Chief 1. ‘The Line of Beauty’ Alan Hollinghurst

3. ‘The Almost Nearly Perfect People: The Truth About The Nordic Miracle’ Michael Booth

I’m sure people who know more about these things could tell me of its many flaws, but, filled with fun facts (more Icelanders believe in the existence of elves than God), idiosyncratic analyses of national psyches (the historically authoritarian pseudo-socialist state as a cause of Swedes’ reluctance to cross 2. ‘The Bloody Chamber and other the road before the light turns green), and other titbits, it’s a joy to read, and stories’ educational, too.

Angela Carter A guilty pleasure of sorts. Seriously sumptuous prose, and a storyline that flits between the alarmingly raunchy and the surprisingly poignant. Set in the edgy world of gay 1980s London, there’s enough Thatcher-bashing to keep everyone happy.

Above all, these stories are just a lot of fun. Take famous and well-loved fairy tales, and expose the underlying sexuality and violence in all of them as vividly as humanly possible. Aside from being hilarious to the adult reader, it highlights the problematic elements of the stories we tell our children at bedtime and gives a dark twist on those happily-ever-after Disney films.

Photo: Steve Punter

and exemplifies Finlay’s modern style.

Leanne Walstow The current exhibition challenges the perceived boundaries of poetry and Books Contributor modern art, as Finlay’s media range through ceramics, glass and metalwork.

Prints do dominate the exhibition, however, as a canvas to concrete poetry. The playful ‘Acrobats’ is a deconstruction of the word ‘acrobats’ into individual letters, the repeated pattern of which dances across the page like the performers the word defines.

‘Seams’ is a similarly amusing piece in which the word is printed as a vertical stack divided in two, as ‘SEA MS’. Its visual simplicity betrays its thematic discussion of The Odyssey – the lonely sailor on the vast sea, separated from the home.

Cultures of communication and literature are constantly evolving, from Homer’s oral tradition, through the development of print, to the his is probably obvious: if disestablishment of word from paper in you like Girls, you’ll like Lena the modern world. The juxtaposition of Dunham’s literary debut Not these exhibitions illustrates the course That Kind of Girl – it too is raw, of the written word across time, on slightly uncomfortable yet enjoyable. which it still journeys.

Dunham presents the reader with an often graphic account of her life experiences, which range from hilarious to heart-breaking, even at times a little existential. Aspects of Dunham’s on-screen self Hannah from Girls – anxiety, oversharing and romantic awkwardness – are meditated upon alongside personal anecdotes, featuring a list of “18 Unlikely Things I’ve Said Flirtatiously”, containing the quote “He had no legs, and HE wasn’t into ME”.

Dunham invites us to recognise our shared experiences and reflect on them alongside her: “Emails I Would Send If I Were One Ounce Crazier/Angrier/ 4.’Outliers: The Story Of Success’ Braver” – sounds like something you’d Malcom Gladwell send to your supervisor, right? Her recollections of her time at college may strike a chord with many; losing one’s Hugely divisive, some hail Gladwell virginity, platonic bed sharing and the as bringing the useful knowledge of fear that comes from being seemingly psychological and social sciences to directionless in life (hello!). the masses, whilst others think him a More The book itself is a joy to own in its waste of paper. However, this book is Icelanders hardback form; the endpaper is nothing a cracker. He reveals the secrets behind believe short of glorious. As well as being an the successes of some of the world’s in the interconnecting whole, it is perfectly greatest people, and leaves the ‘anyone can make it to the top’ rhetoric of the existence of structured for the busy Cambridge lifestyle as the text can work as a series Right in tatters. elves than of stand-alone essays; perfect for those God odd hours between supervisions.

5. ‘In The Frame: 2012–2014’ Not That Kind of Girl offers a fresh Tom Humberstone perspective on what it’s like to live as a young woman in the 21st century.

The New Statesman’s most regular Dunham expertly handles difficult cartoonist is a genius, and this book themes and in doing so makes us more collates the best of his weekly work in comfortable with ourselves. It is not one great coffee-table book. Highlights only about the author, but the female include Michael Gove pretending to experience in our culture. We are be human (terrifying) and “the ghost invited into Dunham’s intimate world, of your ability to feign surprise” at but looking around we find in many increasingly depressing headlines over cases it is also our own. the past two years. A worthy investment.

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29 January 2015 the cambridge student

Fashion

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

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Fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field trip: A vintage fair to remember

Photography: Maddy Airlie and Young Sun Park

Model: Freya Sanders

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Fashion

27 Cambridge hair nightmares

Something old, something new Maddy Airlie Fashion Editor

Meggie Fairclough Fashion Contributor

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opshop, Zara, Gap and M&S are the big players in my wardrobe.

That’s where the best basics are to be found, the old favourites you repeat buy every few seasons.

And yet, sometimes jazzing up your ensemble with some exotic accessories is not enough to get the individual look you seek, sometimes you need to go a bit further. Last Saturday, Freya and I went along to Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair which was celebrating its fifth anniversary in the city and its tenth in business. We wanted to see what the stalls had on offer to counter the readymade Cara Delevignes of the world – and they had plenty of alternatives.

Vintage markets are the only time I really endorse shopping with other people; there’s so much variety that it becomes impossible to find all the treasures available by yourself.

However, since this can be overwhelming, it can be wise to have some guiding principles so that you don’t spend hours and hours trawling the rails. For Freya, I was looking at earth tones, which complement her skin tone and that dreamy personality – like a hippy princess from the woods who has accidentally stumbled into student

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Try something different from the high street So fetch

Photo: Young Sun Park

territory. A pretty precise directive I agree, but with the 70s vibe the catwalk has been loving recently, every piece seemed more appealing, and perfect for Freya’s outfits. Mixing textures was also key - who could resist layering quality linen for a fiver under a velvet jacket? There is no point in paying attention to size: just grab what looks good and try it out!

oming to Cambridge, I expected to let my hair down.

Metaphorically I did, with my new-found freedom and friends. In my first term, however, I discovered the reality of the situation.

If I were to wear my hair down, it would not appear anything that closely resembled Rapunzel’s, but instead stay truly tangled. Surely everyone will have experienced the following hair traumas on a daily basis: ‘Helmet Hair’. Cycling up the hill to Murray Edwards is often considered hell on earth, but going down is the real problem. It is not as leisurely and carefree as it appears when your luscious locks are getting up in your grill.

‘Hat Hair’. It’s cold and all practical students should be wearing warm bobble hats to avoid becoming absolutely freezing in the seemingly sub-artic temperatures Cambridge winds seem to generate. Hat on, you can gracefully walk across Kings with a smile on your face; hat off, a gremlin has just been born!

‘Work Hair’. When I’m working, like many others I am sure, I have

Work hair for sure Photo: Ellie Wintour the habit to lean on my hand in weary despair. Any wandering hairs will soon become matted or sandwiched to my face, giving the look of either really bad sideburns or an unfortunately wonky beard.

Now, in Lent term, my long hair is permanently tied back in a Ms Trunchball-style bun – unattractive and serious. It is simply not practical to have long hair loose and wild for the normal, hectic Cambridge day. It gets in the way, and is down right annoying!

To look slightly recognisable as a human, (let alone attractive) and not something out of the plughole, the only solution is to wear your hair off your face - or chop it off...

Sorry, I don’t feel pretty: Why we must stop apologising Mary Nower Fashion Contributor

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eing British, most of us have a natural propensity to apologise, even when we have done absolutely nothing wrong and are possibly using the apology in a sarcastic, passive-aggressive way.

However, there is another apology that most of us have probably uttered a thousand times which I personally feel is unnecessary and should be halted immediately.

“Sorry, I look a mess!” “Sorry my hair is ugly, I didn’t have time to wash it!” “Please forgive what I’m wearing, I’ve been really busy.” Do any of those sound familiar? Just last week, I was going to a talk, followed immediately by my exercise class, and as I wouldn’t have time to get changed, I wore my muddy fitness gear. I told my friends “Sorry, I’m going to be wearing my fitness stuff”.

But when you really stop and think, what on earth am I apologising for?

Sorry, when I do sit ups outside in January, my clothes don’t stay pristine.

Sorry if my hair in a sweatband

Is Queen Bey actually flawless? is considered ‘ugly’, but it isn’t half practical for running 5k. The ubiquitous practice of apologising for how you look has crept into everyday language like some noxious gas, and, consequently, lots of people are forced to feel guilty the second they step out of the house. Erin McKean, an American lexicographer and blogger for A Dress A Day, once said that ‘You don’t owe

Photo: beyonceVEVO via YouTube

What are you sorry for?

Sorry there is more to your life than the way you look?

prettiness to anyone’, yet society has made people feel like they owe the world an ‘attractive’ version of themselves, and therefore they must apologise for its absence. This is wrong. ‘Prettiness’ is not the currency you pay to justify your existence. What are you sorry for?

Sorry there is more to your life than the way you look? Sorry you regard your comfort above other people’s

prejudices? In a more damaging way, feeling like you owe the whole world an attractive appearance can cause you to force your feelings inside. An outward appearance of normality can hide an inside that is unhappy, but heaven forbid you show that on the surface.

So next time you feel like apologising for the way you look, don’t bother: you have nothing to apologise for.

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

Food and drink

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Pack it in: Student packed lunches Lucy Roxburgh Food and Drink Contributor

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some pan-fried halloumi.

Place your couscous in a bowl, sprinkle over some vegetable stock and cover with boiling water. Cover and leave for five minutes, then fluff up with a fork. Meanwhile, cover your salmon fillet and microwave for two minutes until cooked through. Add pomegranate seeds, plenty of seasoning, the zest and juice of a lemon and a handful of chopped mint to your couscous. Add the salmon on top, and enjoy.

fter a morning spent pretending to read in the library or staring at that blank page of an essay, everyone needs a decent lunch.

But lunch on the go doesn’t need to be one of the suspicious-looking sandwiches from the Sidgwick Buttery, or a depressing salad. These are just a few ideas of healthy, delicious meals which will give you the impetus to power through the rest of your day.

Guacamole This works equally well as a packed Salmon couscous afternoon snack or a packed lunch and This is a great way to get nutrients is also a great recipe to have up your easily and feel fairly classy whilst doing sleeve to become the most popular so. Couscous is endlessly versatile: person at the start of any party. Peel two stir through a spoonful of pesto, add avocadoes and remove the stone. Mash tomatoes or feta, or swap the salmon for with a fork into a paste, either smooth

Om

Nom

or chunky depending on your taste.

Add a crushed garlic clove, two roughly chopped spring onions and a big pinch of salt. Gradually add the juice of one lime, tasting as you go. Fold in a handful of roughly chopped coriander.

Finally, cover with cling film directly on the surface to prevent the colour deteriorating. Serve with tortilla chips!

After a morning pretending to read in the library, everyone needs a decent lunch

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aking a group of friends to Relevant Record on the exotic Mill Road felt like a risk. Having found the café/record shop combination on a quiet Sunday afternoon and spending the ensuing week ranting and raving and waving around my new Charles Bradley, I was a little nervous about dragging them so far afield for

All the comfort - all the time

one of the venue’s weekend live music nights. This apprehension was only exacerbated when, from a distance, a friend commented that “it looks like it wants to sell me home insurance”.

However, this was thankfully a deceptive impression, as the second you open the door you’re in a comfortably crowded and effortlessly intimate live music venue, welcomed by the ever-friendly owners - husband and wife partnership Andy and Angie Powell – and all the coffee, craft beer and vinyl your heart

into your Tupperware and leave to cool completely before topping with a big dollop of vanilla custard (the M&S one is the dream if you are splashing out) and popping in your bag for later.

Cornflake crunchie cakes This is really just an opportunity to go down memory lane and remind us all how awesome cornflake cakes are. Why do they all vanish as soon as you leave primary school?

Melt chocolate, more chocolate, golden syrup and butter in the microwave then tip in your cornflakes and stir until coated. Spoon into cupcake cases and top with crushed Crunchies.

Leave to set and then do your best not to eat them all at once.

Orange plums with custard Treat yourself to something more exciting than a piece of fruit chucked into the bottom of your bag: this is incredibly easy to make and works just as well as a hot dessert.

Quarter your plums and place in a saucepan with the zest and juice of one orange and a generous spoonful of sugar. A dash of Cointreau is also delicious if that happens to be your The essays still won’t do themselves drink! Bring to the boil and cook, but hopefully – with these tasty little stirring occasionally, until the plums are numbers up your sleeve – they now soft and the juices thick and syrupy. Tip won’t seem quite as daunting.

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Review: Relevant Record Ciara Larkin Food and Drink Contributor

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

could desire.

With live music at weekends varying from jazz to soul and acoustic, Relevant achieves exactly the vision of the owners – to create a place where people wouldn’t just enjoy music and great coffee, but would meet, share, and talk about it. The cafe upstairs feels like your best friend’s kitchen, with your cooler older cousin’s bedroom as a basement. The decor has a throwback seventies feel: downstairs the walls are lined with records and retro wallpaper, with dangerously comfortable sofas and enough space to have a good old wander through the new, used and rare collections. The record shop has all the shiny new records you could want, and all the second-hand ones you can afford – I managed to take home a perfect-condition Otis Redding for a fiver.

Returning to the cafe in the daytime is just as happily nostalgic and comforting.

A double-shot cappuccino and huge slice of carrot cake set me back just over five pounds, and with no less than three varieties of brownie on offer in a single day I was a little better insulated on the walk back home. The record collection is Photo: Ciara Larkin exhaustive, the café is among the best in

Photos: Lucy Roxburgh

Cambridge, and the combination of the two makes Relevant the kind of place where you could accidentally but happily spend an entire day (and evening, if you stick it out for the café-to-bar transition).

It’s refreshing to find a business that feels so welcoming. I’m planning on taking up a near-permanent residence in the near future, whiling away my time with perfect coffee and perfect records.

The second you open the door you’re in a comfortably crowded and effortlessly intimate live music venue

Home

Photo: Ciara Larkin

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

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Lifestyle 29 Instacam Jessy Ahluwalia Lifestyle Editor This week’s theme was your favourite part of your college, and we’ve got some great entries: baby plants sprouting their first blooms at Emmanuel, awesome arches in Murray Edwards, window fun at Caius and sculptures in Churchill.

Call on those around you

Photo: Peddhapati

Mental health matters: It’s time to talk Jessy Ahluwalia Lifestyle Editor

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ental health is one of the most important parts of our overall welfare, and it’s about time we started taking care of it. Rosanna Hardwick from mental health charity Student Minds offers her insider tips.

1. Exercise Sometimes at Cambridge it feels like there are not enough hours in the day – but make sure you do take some time out to exercise. Getting your sweat on

doesn’t just make you look good; your 4. Get a work-life balance mind will thank you for it too.

Cambridge doesn’t have to be all work and no play. Get your groove 2. Take time out to eat on at hula-hooping, debate your heart And eat well, for that matter. Take out at the Union or just take an hour to time to step away from your desk, and Skype a friend. make choices that will keep you feeling full and energised.

5. Speak up If you think you might be suffering 3. Establish a core network from a mental health disorder, talk to Join a society, or your JCR; whatever someone. It can be your Tutor, your it is, try and socialise throughout the DoS, or your friends; there are so many day. By cultivating a group of people people on hand at Cambridge to help you can trust, you’ll be more likely to you out when you need it most. talk to someone when you start to feel like you might really be struggling.

Check out studentminds.org for tips.

Review: ArcSoc’s “Cabaret” Chase Caldwell Smith Lifestyle Contributor

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eing sober in a room of drunk people makes you laugh. A lot.

That would be the one lesson I would take away from Friday’s ArcSoc “Cabaret” at the Union.

The theme for the evening, “Saturate,” celebrated color in all its dazzling forms. Even in the line outside the Union, which slumped drunkenly along through the drizzle, my fellow revellers and I could sense the promise of excitement emanating from just within the door.

Once inside, a riot of color engulfed me: the chamber had shed its daytime formality, glowing with jets of light and vibrating with thumping bass.

To imagine that this same space, now filled with neon-bedecked students, had hosted the likes of Winston Churchill and the Dalai Lama, only increased my sense of surrealism.

Eager to explore the event’s other offerings, my fellow Caians and I trooped off to find the curiously named Tin Foil Room. We were somewhat surprised to find that this was, in fact, just a room covered with tin foil. It

sounds strange, but lounging about here was one of the highlights of the night, if not for its excitement, then certainly for its novelty. Fortunately (for my innocence) we later could not find the Life Drawing, which in any case may have been too much to attempt sober.

Instead, we showed off our disco moves on the second dance floor. Smaller and less crowded, it hosted the live entertainment for the night, which was impressively talented.

My only significant complaint would be on behalf of those who had to wait an inordinate amount of time to buy drinks at the bar, though understandable to an extent, as a handful of bartenders were serving hundreds of guests.

All of this raises the big question: was “Saturate” worth £15? I did enjoy myself and made some hilarious memories.

However, if you’re looking for dancing, music, and booze, all of which were available in abundant supply, then I would suggest buying yourself a ticket to a club. ArcSoc hosted a beautifully decorated event with great DJs, live bands, and a distinctive architectural flair, but this year it was, from my perspective, too ambitiously priced for the spread of activities on offer.

Getting your sweat on doesn’t just make you look good; your mind will thank you for it too

Next week Instacam is taking a break, but fret not: we’ll be back in Issue 5: send in your snaps of extra-curricular activities so we can see what you’ve been up to at lifestyle@tcs.cam.ac.uk.

Photo: Anna Carruthers

What’s on?

Jessy Ahluwalia Lifestyle Editor Photo: Sophie Buck Chinese New Year Celebrations Head down to the Wesley Methodist Church on Saturday 31 January between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Lounging in the Tin Foil Room was one of the highlights of the night

Outstanding Women of Achievement Lucy Cavendish is hosting inspirational talks every Thursday at 6 p.m.

Open Mic Night Downing are running a spoken word and open mic night on 29 January.

Charity Ceilidh Amnesty International head over to Emmanuel to get down and charitable on 30 January.

Photo: Jack May

CamCareers Events CamCareers are stepping it up this term!

Check out their events for interview practice, working in the music industry and starting your own business.

St John’s Picturehouse Screenings on Sunday 1 February at 7 and 10 p.m. Tickets £3.50

Photo: Alex Lloyd

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Sport 30 Terrors of the transfer system

Let’s talk about menstruation

Hayden Banks Sport Contributor

Eleanor Simmons Sport Contributor

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is hardly going to revolutionise the beautiful game, yet a sum of £2 million certainly suggests such expectations on Real’s behalf. There is evidence that such extortionate sums of money has detrimental effects on player’s performances.

Take Fernando Torres. A glittering start to his career at Atletico Madrid and Liverpool prompted a British-record £50 million transfer to Chelsea, assigning him the title of most expensive Spanish player in the history of the game.

How can one individual cope with the inevitably high expectations that come with such a title? Torres’ performances faltered and it’s hardly surprising. If we as spectators and followers of the best teams in the glove wish to continue witnessing world-class games, we cannot continue to support inexcusablyhigh transfers which prohibit players from fulfilling their potential.

veryone experiences pressure at some point during their career.

It’s a natural part of adult life and one which we are readily being prepared for at Cambridge. However, imagine that every day of your career you have to run out onto a football pitch with 60,000 supporters jeering from the stands and every performance must be your best. Add to this the fact that you are being paid £80,000 a week and have transferred to one of the country’s top football clubs for a sweet £2 million.

And you’re only 16 years old.

This is exactly what Martin Odegaard will be facing as Real Madrid’s newest signing and he’s not the only one. We are reminded constantly in the sports pages and on the news of the ridiculous sums of money sportsmen are being paid to simply kick a football around a pitch or whack a ball over a net. Yet it is so much more than this.

Sport is undeniably an integral part of our culture and many cannot imagine a world without it. But rarely do we stop to question the pressure that is being placed upon our most celebrated performers, particularly those just starting out their careers, to live up to their price-tags in such an intense environment. At 16 years old, Odegaard Priceless?

S It’s natural and unavoidable, but it can be talked about

Photo: Calciomercato24

for the effect of, and the solution to periods is not as important as being able to talk about them. Judd should have been able to explain the reasons for her disappointing performance, rather than delaying the interview before fighting through tears while apologising for letting everyone down.

‘Go on the pill’ and ‘get the implant’ are both common suggestions. Even without the physical manifestation, though, women still have to face all the hormones of the menstrual cycle, the effect and timing of which neither the pill nor the implant can control.

Constipation and a short-temper can affect performance as much as symptoms of a cold or a dodgy knee.

It’s natural and unavoidable, but it can be talked about. Heather Watson’s comments are a step in the right direction. To empathise with our sports stars, we have to appreciate what they’re going through. That cannot be done if discussions about menstruation and its effects are not made more prevalent.

ince Heather Watson suggested last week that ‘girl things’ were responsible for her loss in the first round of the Australian Open, the subject has prompted a flurry of debate. Both sides looked to bolster their claims with scientific evidence, which unfortunately had little to offer.

Menstruation isn’t widely discussed in relation to sport, so the lack of research is unsurprising. Increased levels of oestrogen may cause laxer muscles, and lower levels of iron and a less regular core body temperature might cause dizziness and dehydration. But other studies have shown that there is no effect at all. Paula Radcliffe broke the marathon world record in 2002 on the first day of her period, so why is it such an issue?

The science surrounding menstruation in sport is hazy and overlooked – but in any case, it’s irrelevant. Anyone who has periods knows that sometimes it does affect your performance, and sometimes it doesn’t. Middle -distance runner Jessica Judd was given norethisterone by male doctors to delay her period before her 800m heat in the 2013 World Championships. Radcliffe has since said that the drug makes things 100 times worse. The search We feel you, girl

Photo: Keith Allison

Captain’s column: Cambridge University ice-hockey Flora McFarlane Sport Editor

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training camp in Switzerland with highaltitude training three times a day. All in all we train six times a week, with on ice training, roller-hockey which is the next best thing, and off-ice training as well.

What’s the rivalry like?

AM: Last year we went on a training camp with Oxford. They’re really nice people –we could just be at the same university!

JG: Well, our Varsity is the longest-

his term we’ll be talking to university sport captains to find out about their Varsity matches and their preparations for the term. Week three sees the turn of ice skating captains, Anna Martin and Jaason Geerts.

When is Varisty and where is it?

AM: The Women’s Varsity match is on March 8 at 8:30.p.m. at Peterborough Planet Ice which is a home game.

JG: March 7 at 8.p.m. in the same location, so we are hosting – anyone who buys a ticket to the game gets a free bus trip.

How has the season been going?

AM: The season really kicks off this term: Michaelmas is all about introducing new players to the sport, and getting back to training. This term we’ll be continuing our usual training – on ice every Sunday evening leaving at 6:30.p.m. and getting back at about 1.30.a.m. with fitness and off-ice skills as well.

JG: Our season has been going well, we’ve won more games than we’ve lost and just came back from an excellent Freezing their pucks off

Nothing matters more to us than winning Varsity

standing ice hockey rivalry in history, even including Canada so it’s a pretty big rivalry. We’ve built extremely close relations with the Oxford guys but nothing matters more to us than winning Varsity.

What was the result last year?

AM: We lost last year (10-1) – our goalie’s collarbone was broken two weeks before varsity so Erin Walters (ex-president of Ospreys and lacrosse goalie) had to step up at the last minute

after having tried it only once before.

JG: Oxford won last year (12-6) Any star players to look out for?

AM: Amy Neaverson (forward) she’s just had a baby and is doing a part-time PhD but she’s amazing. Jen Klinck is really good.

JG: We have, among others, three.

Romain Tourenne (goalie) – he’s our best player and almost played professionally. Our assistant captain – Christopher Fitch is our leading goal scorer and a star defenseman, Spencer Brennan (defense).

Any fresh new talent?

AM: Kerry Mackereth (goalie), she just joined last year but we’re all impressed.

JG: We have a high turnover rate but all three of our star players are new.

Finally, if you were to pick an anthem for the team to skate out to, what would it be?

AM: Well we actually have to choose a song to skate out to but my personal favourite is ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ by Guns n’ Roses.

JG: I don’t know if I should say this but… but ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ is a Photo: Jeff Torosian fantastic pump-up song!

29 January 2015

the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Sport

31

Eddie Butler: From Cambridge to the Rugby World Cup Charles Martland Sport Editor

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ith 2015 set to be a magnificent year for rugby, which will culminate with the World Cup being hosted

by England, Eddie Butler, former Wales captain, Cambridge Blue and current BBC commentator, talked about the past, present and future of the game.

Butler came to Cambridge in 1976, studying Modern Languages at Fitzwilliam College. Having only studied French at secondary school, he spent a year in Madrid before arriving in the city, in order to learn Spanish before starting his degree. Arriving in the Spanish capital in the final weeks of General Franco’s regime, Butler, initially speaking very little Spanish, taught English whilst remaining able, as a result of a chance encounter, to play regular rugby. “I was just walking past a bar one day,” he reflects, “and I saw rugby photographs on the wall… so I went in and asked if they were recruiting. It turned out to be the Industrial Engineers club of Madrid and I began playing for them. I’m not romantic about my own rugby generally but I had a big rugby arm wrapped around me then and never looked back.”

By the time the Welshman arrived

at Cambridge, word had already reached coaches about his talent on the rugby field, after he also plied his trade at Pontypool Rugby Club, a side packed with Welsh internationals.

Butler remembers his days playing for the Blues “only with huge fondness” and reminisces about memorable encounters against a travelling New Zealand side and beating Gloucester.

The style of rugby at Cambridge also helped in Butler’s development as a player. Pontypool had a reputation for being built around the pack, whereas the Blues’ tendency to play high tempo stuff, centred on the backs, provided refreshing variety for the Number Eight.

Having left Cambridge, Butler reflects on captaining a Welsh national side in the midst of a tough rebuilding phase, especially after such a successful period in the 1970s; “The 1980s were tough times. All the old stars retired through injury or whatever and a lot of countries thoroughly enjoyed exacting a bit of revenge on us.” In addition, the players still had to carve out a living for themselves away from the game, something Butler achieved by joining the BBC. The result of this necessary balancing act, he believes, removed some of the enjoyment from the game: “it ceases to be the all consuming passion…you look back on the days of

amateurism and wonder how on Earth we managed to balance playing with carrying a job.”

By contrast, the modern game has almost become, Butler believes, “too good,” such is the strength and athleticism of the players, something which brings some more negative aspects to rugby. The number of injuries in the modern game, illustrated only this week by England’s loss of Owen Farrell, Tom Wood and Geoff Parling from their opening Six Nations fixture, is reflective of more general concerns.

The conversation turns to this year, labelled by Butler as “the biggest rugby has seen in this country,” a claim few could disagree with in advance of both the Six Nations and World Cup in England in 2015. “It’s a massive opportunity for rugby to do something that justifies all the hype…for the next eight months rugby will be in the spotlight like it has never been before,” he continues passionately.

In terms of predictions, Butler advises against seeing the upcoming Six Nations as a guide for World Cup success “what goes well in one may not go well in the other,” he stresses, and believes France may be the Northern Hemisphere side capable of going all the way come November time, regardless of their performances over the next two

Crossword 1.

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Across

1. First name of this week’s most divisive Union speaker (8) 6. Alternative to (2) 7. Location featured on page 20 (2) 8. A science student; colloquial (6)

Photo: Keith O’Brien

months. “They’ve got a very good track record at World Cups and I wonder if it might just be their turn,” he adds, “just by being ‘peculiar’ enough, they could do it.”

As for England’s difficult looking Pool A, which also includes Wales and Australia, Butler fears for the side that fails to progress from the group phase; “it’s going to hurt somebody badly,” he says, “on the other hand I think it’s quite possible that the two sides that do escape from that pool could reach the final, just as France and New Zealand did at the last World Cup.” Butler’s thoughts on the year ahead only add to the excitement of such a monumental time for rugby. All will be looking forward to watching it, whether live or in his company, in the form of his typically entertaining coverage for the BBC.

“Rugby will be in the spotlight like it has never been before”

Sudoku

3.

2.

Eddie Butler

16. _____’s company (3) 18. The star of King’s this week (6)

Down

1. Edmund _____, founder of a great college in 1348 (8) 2. Large period of time (3) 3. Not a President, Mistress, Warden, or Provost (6) 4. The 13th letter of the Ancient Greek alphabet (2) 5. 7 May 2015 (8) 9. A large mechanism not owned by the majority of Cambridge students (3) 10. What you do with a match (6) 13. The opposite of ‘yes’ (2) 14. International trade deal causing scandal (4) 17. Acronym for an officer sitting on many college JCR’s and principally responsible for womens’ issues (2) The solution to this week’s puzzles will be printed in our next issue.

11. Rhymes with Cambridge’s foremost charity organisation (3) 12. No-one knows you’re a dog on the ________ (8) 15. Abbreviation for J.R.R. Tolkien’s best-known series (4)

Thomas Prideaux-Ghee

We’re also looking for more crosswords and sudokus to appear in future issues. If you think you’ve got what it takes to devise a bamboozling masterpiece for us, send it over to editor@tcs.cam.ac.uk.

Last week’s solutions

29 January 2015 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Sport 32

A despairing dive from the Nottingham Trent goalkeeper as Cambridge score again

Photo: Will Lyon Tupman

Double delight for hockey and netball sides but women’s tennis lose again

Charles Martland Sport Editor

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ambridge overcame Nottingham Trent 5-2 on Wednesday, at blustery Wilberforce Road. The result saw the visitors lose for the first time in eight BUCS matches this season.

The Blues took the lead early, although both sides struggled to find a foothold in the opening exchanges.

Cambridge doubled their lead from a well worked penalty corner, before the visitors hit back after a fine individual run and finish. The Blues then took advantage of an opposition player being sin-binned for dissent to establish a 3-1 half time lead.

The second period lacked a moment of true quality, but Cambridge managed to withstand some heavier pressure before extending their lead. As Nottingham Trent searched for a way back into the game, the Blues struck on the break to seal the win.

Cambridge Cardiff Met

4 8

Flora McFarlane Sport Editor

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he Women’s Blues slipped to a ninth straight defeat, as they succumbed to Cardiff 8-4.

In the doubles, both pairs put up a strong fight with some good net play and communication between the players. Kondratowicz and Liis Saar were beaten 7-5, 6-4, in their match as number one pair against an experienced duo, whilst Mair and McFarlane had a much closer affair, winning the first set but eventually going down 6-4, 1-6, 7-10. The singles was a mixed bag, with the top two singles players winning.

Kondratowicz had an easy win, 6-2, 6-3, whilst Liis Saar battled it out to win in three sets: 3-6, 6-2, 10-6.

Mair and McFarlane were unfortunate in their singles, losing 6-3, 6-4 and 6-2, 6-2 respectively. The women’s side host Bath next week as they look to record their first win of what has, thus far, been a difficult campaign.

Cambridge Notts Trent

Women's Netball

5 2

Women's Tennis

Men's Hockey

Cambridge Notts Trent

32 25

Emily Coulter Sport Contributor

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he Blues continued their winning run with victory over Nottingham Trent. Blues started a little shakily in attack, but a very strong defence saw flying interceptions from Laura Spence, Charlotte Plumtree and Hayley Smith. Although the visitors were aggressive, Cambridge settled by the second quarter, seeing excellent shooting from Izzy Bell and Frances Lee-Barber. Cambridge finally started playing their own game, with beautiful movement all the way down the court.

The third quarter saw Nicky Taylor help to create large amounts of space and Sophie Hussey performing well in her shooting alongside Bell. Jodie Green also came on at WD, causing problems for the visiting attack. Cambridge won the game in the end, with the final scoreline of 32-25 reflecting the Blues’ overall dominance. Cambridge now top the BUCS table after six games played.