Michaelmas 2016 Freshers' Issue

Fashion Shoot

Research Roundup

The Long Read

→ The Thursday Magazine, pp. 20-1

→ Science, p. 8

→ Features, p. 12

Topshop takes us back to school

The

04 October 2016 Vol. 18 Freshers’ Week Edition www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Best ever year for Cambridge donations “Yours...Cambridge” sum reaches £743 million Armaghan Hallajian News Editor

T

Building a home in the Calais Jungle

Learning from butterflies for the clothes of tomorrow

Dr Bill and Weslie Janeway to the Faculty of Economics.

Borysiewicz has previously stressed the importance of philanthropy as the foundation of the University’s “academic autonomy”.

Using an anonymous gift of £20 million, St. John’s College has been able to launch a “studentship” scheme that replaces the scrapped maintenance grant, gifting a non- repayable sum of £9,750 per annum to students whose household income is below £25,000.

This year also saw a £35 million benefaction to Pembroke College from the estate of American inventor and Pembroke alumni Ray Dolby. It is the largest single donation in the University’s history.

The college is to use the donation for the construction of new graduate accommodation. Pembroke Master Lord Chris Smith described the donation as an “extraordinary gift”, bringing Pembroke closer to achieving its “vision of an enlarged and enhanced college”.

Dr Mohamed A. El-Erian, who donated $25 million to the campaign and also serves as its co-chair, has expressed his delight over the campaign’s success, emphasising the importance of the way in which “Cambridge transforms lives and improves the wellbeing of so many.”

Last November, famous alumni, including Ian McKellen, Sir David Attenborough, and Stephen Hawking, gathered at King’s College Chapel to celebrate the launch of the £2 billion appeal. However, the campaign came under fire after it included David Starkey in a campaign video.

he University of Cambridge is celebrating its “most successful fundraising year ever”, raising over £210 million as part of its “Yours… Cambridge” fundraising project.

The total raised by scheme now stands at £743 million since it was announced in August last year.

The appeal aims to increase the University’s funds, allowing it to keep pace with the greater budgets available to American institutions and remain competitive on the global stage.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, who announced the figure in his final October address, reiterated the value of the “transformative research” facilitated by philanthropy throughout Cambridge.

Borysiewicz also made clear that the campaign is especially important at a time of “unparalleled financial challenges”.

Whilst the current Vice Chancellor appeared confident in the University’s ability to face what he called “formidable challenges” – namely the consequences of Brexit and the enactment of the Higher Education and Research Bill – adapting to these changes as well as reaching the £2 billion goal will be the task of his successor Professor Stephen Toope who will continue fundraising with events held both in Cambridge and around the world.

This year’s total was bolstered by numerous generous donations, including a sum of $27 million from Editorial Comment page 13 →

Cambridge Student

Cambridge scientists key in finding HIV cure Joanna Taylor News Editor

A 44 year-old British man may have become the first person ever to be cured of HIV by a new treatment developed by five UK universities.

The London-based social worker, who wished to remain anonymous, showed no traces of the virus after taking part in a 50 person clinical trial.

The treatment, a two-stage “kick and kill” attack, was developed by researchers from Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, UCL and King’s College, London and was paid for by the NHS. Mark Samuels, managing director of the NIHIR Office for Clinical Research Infrastructure, told The Sunday Times that the trial is “one of the first serious attempts at a full cure for HIV”, adding that “the progress has been remarkable”.

HIV is usually treated using Antiretrovial therapies (Art), but the virus is able to hide out of the drug’s reach in the immune system’s T-cells, meaning full recovery is not possible.

The new method of treatment entails a vaccination to aid the body in locating infected T-cells, followed by a course of the new drug Vorinostat, which awakens dormant T-cells. Those cells then produce HIV proteins to act as homing devices for the immune system.

Professor Sarah Fidler, a consultant physician at Imperial, said that there is “good evidence” the drug will work.

She added, however, that “we are still a long way from any actual therapy”.

More than 100,000 people in Britain live with HIV, around 17% of whom do not know they are infected with the virus. Only one person, Timothy Brown, has ever been cured after receiving a stem cell transplant in 2008 from a person with natural immunity.

The researchers plan to continue with medical tests over the next five years. Fidler advises that “we are not recommending stopping Art” but that Belongings are brought back into cloudy colleges, as the annual move-in “in the future, depending on the test marks the start of a new academic year.

Image: Stevie Hertz results, we may explore this”.

2

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

News

Editorial Team 04 October 2016

Returning to Cambridge, returning to print?

Volume 18 • Freshers’ Issue

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Columns Editor Theatre Editors Fashion & Beauty Editor Lifestyle Editor Food & Drink Editor Books Editor Music Editor TV & Film Editor Images & Design Editor Chief Sub Editors Sub Editors Directors

Stevie Hertz Jessie Mathewson Armaghan Hallajian Joanna Taylor Reetika Subramanian Khushali Dodhia Jenae Michelle Carpenter Matt Harrison Ned Booker Matheus Henrique Nunes Camilla Penney Will Tilbrook Sriya Varadharajan Sana Ali Jo Alsott Taqwa Sadiq Merlyn Thomas Lili Bidwell Sophie Dickinson Ronan Marron Alexander Groes Gemma Sheehan Pippa Smith Megan Lea Alice French Rachel Rees-Middleton Juliette Bowen Megan Fereday Theo Howe Stephanie McMorran Rebecca Agliolo Olivia Goodey Will Tilbrook Stevie Hertz Jessie Mathewson Elsa Maishman Amelia Oakley Thomas Saunders

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Stevie Hertz & Jessie Mathewson Editors-in-Chief Coming back to Cambridge after the Long Vacation always brings with it a mixture of feelings; excitement to return and be among friends and medieval architecture, guilt over the neglected summer work, and vague anxieties over what’s to come.

After the summer The Cambridge Student had, all of these emotions were amplified for us. Following the cuts to our budget, the outlook was not good, and it seemed that the weekly print edition – the core of TCS – was destined to come to an end.

However, after talks with CUSU, it looks, tentatively, like TCS will return to print, albeit in a fortnightly edition. For the time being, this is a trial period, funded through our own discretionary editorial budget, but we are hopeful that, with approval from CUSU Council, it can become official.

After talks with CUSU it looks, tentatively, like TCS will return to print We understand that this is a bit of a stop-gap solution; as with most newspapers right now, we’ll continue to fight for advertising to make ourselves

profitable. But it will allow us to retain our print-based heart, as well as giving us more time to focus on the website, and consider an online redesign. A perfect, profitable compromise.

But before we get ahead of ourselves and look to the future, there is plenty to enjoy in this issue. In the main section of the paper, Science has returned, with a research roundup and a new feature on why you should care about things. This week – forests! We also have a new long-read feature, on the Jungle in Calais, as part of our Home Away From Home Features section.

However, undoubtably the greatest changes to the paper come in our redesigned pull-out, The Thursday Magazine. We’ve rebranded, and refreshed the design, intergrating the Culture and Lifestyle sections to allow more collaboration between our section editors.

We’re really happy with the results, and there’s lots to enjoy this week: our fashion shoot, collaborating with Topshop and the Grand Arcade is definitely a highlight, and we’ve also got some great theatre previews, including for the CAST 2016 show.

Of course, a new term means a new team, and we’re excited to have lots of new faces on board, as well as

some old friends coming back. The start of term is always a whirlwind of training for a new team, but we’re very lucky to have such an enthusiastic and organised group. Thanks are due to all our editors from the off – we couldn’t

Undoubtedly the greatest changes to the paper come in our pull-out make the paper happen without you.

Our section editors are not the only ones new to their role, and we’re excited to be finding our feet as editors.

The nerves – and to counterbalance, the sense of achievement – associated with watching the paper come together have been immense, and it wouldn’t have happened without the help of our out-going editor Amelia, and Lent term editor Elsa, who have been with us in the office, over the phone, and via message to answer our questions, dimiss our worries, encourage us, and remind us what we’ve been forgetting.

Of all the emotions of a new term, excitement is the one that all of us want to embrace. We’re looking forward to this term, and finally it seems that the new things ahead could be good for TCS.

The Cambridge Student takes complaints about editorial content seriously. We are committed to abiding by the Independent Press Standards Organisation rules and the Editors’ Code of Practice enforced by IPSO, and by the stipulations of our constitution. Requests for corrections or clarifications should be sent by email to editor@tcs.cam.ac.uk or by post to The Editor, The Cambridge Student, Cambridge University Students’ Union, 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB2 1RX. Letters to the Editor may be published.

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3

The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

News

Demand for student mental health services spikes Students seeking support from university mental health services has risen by 50% in the last five years Joanna Taylor News Editor The number of university students seeking help from mental health services has doubled in five years, according to information obtained by The Guardian.

The figures, which were collated through a series of Freedom of Information Requests, show that over 37,000 students from 37 universities sought advice on mental health last year, up from 25,000 in 2010-11.

The study showed that more students are arriving at university with existing mental health conditions.

Additionally, a greater proportion of male students are turning to welfare services. Increasing numbers of international students are seeking counsellinng, potentially under pressure to succeed after having saved to attend a British university.

The mental health charity Mind has

managing stress and depression.

Students from underrepresented However, a decrease in stigma groups, who would not previously have come to university, are arriving at institutions “like UCL or Oxford “A lot of these things or Cambridge” and finding that are normal emotional “the pressure is enormous”, she said. responses to life Alan Percy, head of counselling at challenges” Oxford University, was less sympathetic, warning against the “catastrophising” has led to a willingness to seek of student mental health. help by students who are suffering.

Many students feel “they’ve got Catherine McAteer, head of to get everything right” he claimed, UCL’s student psychological and thus their reactions to such services, reported that services pressure are “normal emotional are becoming overstretched in responses to life challenges”. an effort to keep on top of the A 2016 YouGov poll put the surge in students coming forward. percentage of undergraduates

According to Stonewall, 48% of trans people under 26 have attempted suicide.

For students undergoing mental health issues, Cambridge University offers access to Mental Health Advisors (MHAs) to whom a student must be referred by college or university staff.

In 2013/14,1592 Cambridge students visited the University 1 in 4 students claimed Counselling Service, 8.5% of the of the to have a mental health total student body. problem, rising to 1 in 3 Welfare services within individual amongst women colleges and CUSU are also available.

In a recent attempt to rank British amongst LGBT+ undergraduates, of universities based on mental health whom 45% polled said they suffered provision, The Tab found Cambridge from some form of mental health issue. University to be fourth best behind Kent, Reading and Oxford.

Mental health has long been a focus of student campaigners and welfare teams with mental health issues well above national average.

Of 1,061 students polled, one in four claimed to have a mental health problem, rising to one in three amongst female students.

And the trend is even more dramatic

1,592

37,000

Number of Cambridge students who visited the University Counselling Service in 2013/14

in Cambridge, as many students find it difficult to adapt to work pressure.

The National Student Survey showed in 2015 found that only 55% of Cambridge students find the workload on their course manageable, whilst only 38% agreed that their course “does not apply unnecessary pressure”.

Number of students who sought advice from university mental health services in 2014/15.

similarly pointed to the correlation between the dramatic increase in university fees with the rocketing numbers of students seeking help

Punt touts unfazed by threat of fine

Andrew Smyth’s Bake Off rise

Armaghan Hallajian News Editor

Joanna Taylor News Editor

On 15 September, Cambridge city council introduced a Public Space Protection Order, threatening punting touts looking to drum up business on some of Cambridge’s busiest streets with a £75 fine.

Lewis Herbert, leader of the city council, cited the ‘hassle’ faced by students, Cambridge locals, and tourists as unlicensed punts compete for customers. However, the law, which will be in place for three years, has faced backlash from those working in punting. Janne Jarvis, said to the BBC that the new Protection Order is “a throwback to the 1930s, to fascism, unbefitting of a western democracy. It cannot be allowed to stand and we’ll fight it to the death.”

Jamie Boevby, general manager

“It’s facism, unbefitting of western democracy”

of Cambridge River Tours, said to Cambridge News: “What shocks me is that a Labour council is putting a lot of young people out of a job. There are about 70 jobs under threat now.”

Herbert claims he has been in talks with punt operators for two years in efforts to reduce the number of touts.

Despite the fervour in which the law is being protested and celebrated, the extent it will be followed remains to be seen. At the time of writing, punt touts remain along King’s Parade, unfazed with the prospect of a fine.

Herbert has suggested that touts join licensed firms which hire out punts or work with tourist shops. However, there are doubts that there would be space to accommodate an inundation of 75 new punt operators given the limited number of institutions in the city.

Plans for a rival baking show are reportedly underway at the BBC

Designing jet engines for Rolls-Royce does not appear to be challenge enough for 25 year-old Cambridge graduate Andrew Smyth, who has consistently wowed audiences of The Great British Bake Off with his elaborate and precisely-made bakes.

Putting his mathematical knowledge to good use, Andrew designed and created a life-like gingerbread structure of himself punting in Cambridge after his final exams in week 3, complete with a bridge and bicycles.

He has since continued to score well in technical challenges and has impressed the judges with an array of show-stoppers, but a wobble in week six left him in floods of tears as he narrowly clung on to his place in the competition.

Andrew, who studied Engineering at Sidney Sussex, said that he first learnt to bake from his mum and gran and has won fans and followers with his baby face and delicious-looking cakes.

But despite his (fairly) consistent performance on the show, Andrew has never won Star Baker, being pipped to the post by Benjamina, Candice and Durham student, Tom Gillford.

And that’s not the only bad news Bake Off fans have faced this summer, after Channel 4 bought the rights to the show from the BBC for £75 million.

Hosts Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins resigned after the shock announcement, as did judge Mary Berry, leaving only Paul Hollywood from the original line-up.

But despite the takeover, plans for a rival baking show are already underway at the BBC.

4

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

News

Cambridge results mixed in Universities to receive annual university rankings medal based rankings

Joanna Taylor News Editor

Cambridge University topped the Sunday Times UK University Ranking once again this summer, beating out Oxford for top spot. The annual league table, compiled by Exeter Enterprises, assesses universities based on factors such as research quality, entrance standards and student satisfaction.

This comes after Oxford beat Cambridge in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. These rankings place a lower empaphsis on student satisfaction and instead look to research quality.

Knocking off the California Institute of Technology after its five consecutive years at number one, Oxford became the first ever UK university to top the THE annual league table. Cambridge came in at fourth, remaining in its 2016 position.

Although assessment based on academic factors favours Russell Group universities such as Cambridge which prioritise academic research, it was the University of Surrey who topped best student experience in the Sunday Times Rankings.

The university, which fell to an overall rank of 14th in 2017 from eighth in 2016, still managed to top 90% for student satisfaction in the National

Student Survey.

Despite criticism for prioritising academic attainment above welfare, Cambridge students do appear to be satisfied with their overall student experience. The university is ranked 18th for this by The Complete University Guide, once again edging just ahead of Oxford.

Cambridge also retained top spot in The Complete University Guide’s 2017 ranking, again pushing Oxford into second place out of 127 universities.

Despite not scoring as highly as Oxford in research quality and having equal student satisfaction, Cambridge has higher entrance standards and graduate prospects, earning an overall score of 1,000/1,000.

Many British universities also slipped down the QS World University Rankings, with Cambridge falling to 4th, its lowest position to date. From the 48 UK institutions in QS’s top 400, 38 dropped in the rankings. Oxford remained at six and UCL at seven.

Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, connected this fall to fears about the future: “Uncertainty over research funding, immigration rules, and the ability to hire and retain the top young talent from around the world seem to be damaging the reputation of the UK’s higher education sector.”

Stevie Hertz

Cambridge students do appear to be satisfied with their overall experience

From next year, English universities will now be classed as bronze, silver, and gold, under the Teaching Excellence Framework (Tef).

Receiving high rankings will allow universities to raise their tuition fees in line with inflation.

Classifications for the rankings will be based on student satisfaction survey results, graduate employment rates and dropout rates. According to guidelines published this week, these will be judged by a panel of “experts in teaching and learning as well as student representatives, employer representatives and widening participation experts.”

However, rather than just the 3rd class, universities assessed as bronze will be seen as “significantly below” desired standards in some areas.

Jo Johnson, the Universities Minister, has praised the introduction of the new system, saying: “The framework will give students clear, understandable information about where the best teaching is on offer and for the first time place teaching quality on a par with research at our universities.”

The University has previously raised “significant concerns” about the Higher

“The framework will give students clear information about universities”

Education and Research Bill, which includes the Tef, particularly focusing on threats to “academic freedom” and “institutional autonomy”.

Following a year trial, the ratings will determine which universities can raise their fees for 2018-19. As it stands, all universities can. Cambridge intends to raise its home tuition fees to £9,250 for 2017-18.

Julia Goodfellow, the president of Universitites UK, of which Cambridge is a member, said that “the challenge for the Government... will be to develop a single framework that can respond effectively to the tremendous diversity within our higher education system, throughout the UK.” Cambridge University has previously drawn attention to the need to increase education funding, potentially through increasing fees.

Current fee rates create a “funding gap” between the cost of a degree and the amount the University receives. In 2014-15, this was £7,700.

At the time, the University commented that “it is appropriate that some of the cost should be covered from the University’s own endowment...

The University has no set view on what future fee levels should be, but the increasing shortfall in meeting the cost of an undergraduate education

University nominates first Union’s termcard short of non-Briton to be VC big names, high on events Jenae Michelle Carpenter Deputy News Editor

Cambridge University has announced the nomination of Prof. Stephen Toope as its next Vice Chancellor. Following formal approval by the University’s governing board, Toope will become the 346th person to hold the role when he replaces Sir Leszek Borysiewicz in October 2017.

A graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, he is currently director of the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and an expert in international law. He has previously worked as President and ViceChancellor of the University of British Columbia (UBC) as well as serving on the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances which involved him travelling to Nepal so as to investigate disappearances in person – a hands-on approach he took to his position at UBC. Toope, a legal scholar and human rights specialist, faces the formidable task of navigating Cambridge through a phase of unprecedented

Toope has served on a UN working group for Enforced or Involuntary

disappearences

uncertainty and precarity, following the referendum vote to leave the EU and ongoing decimation of higher education funding.

Following disappointing results across multiple University Ranking matrices, his appointment may lead to wholesale changes required to maintain Cambridge’s international reputation within an increasingly competitive education landscape.

In many ways, Toope conforms to the archetypal model of University Vice Chancellor. Throughout its history, Cambridge has seen only one woman appointed to the post of Vice Chancellor - Dame Alice Rosemary Murray, who served in the role between 1975-1977.

However, he is the first person to hold the role who is not British.

On his appointment, Toope commented “I am thrilled to be returning to this great university.

I look forward to working with staff and students in the pursuit of academic excellence and tremendous international engagement – the very mark of Cambridge.”

Khushali Dodhia Deputy News Editor

The Cambridge Union has released its Michaelmas termcard, revealing diverse speakers ranging from midnoughties singer KT Tunstall to Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron MP and chef and author Lorraine Pascale to TV presenter and radio DJ Reggie Yates.

Wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan MBE will be speaking in week one after his appearance at the Union last term was cancelled.

Farron is not the only politician featured; both current MP for Cambridge Daniel Zeichner and his predecessor, Julian Huppert, will debate during the term and in week nine Nicky Morgan MP will propose that ‘This House Would Lean In’ in an all-woman debate.

There will also be ‘Mock PMQs’ about the Conservative Government between the Chair of CUCA and the co-chair of CULC, the student political organisations.

With the US presidential election

looming, the Union will also debate whether ‘This House Has No Confidence In The American Electorate’. Two Presidential Election Debates will be screened, and at an ‘American Election All-Nighter’, live coverage of the election results will be shown. A puppy therapy session will be held the week before the election.

Other events include a broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions?, and a Poly Speed Dating night. To mark the visit of Oscar winning director Oliver Stone, the Union will also screen his upcoming film SNOWDEN. One student at Christ’s said, “This term looks really good. I’m particularly interested in the debate on confidence in the American electorate – everyone seems to have an opinion on it, and hopefully someone will say something we haven’t already heard.”

Another student, at Peterhouse, commented “There aren’t that many big name speakers, but the debates and events look pretty good – maybe the Union is transforming into the social club it claims to be in all those Facebook posts.”

A puppy therapy session will be held the week before the US election

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6

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

News

Cambridge at crossroads foll An uncertain future for EU students

Reetika Revathy Subramanian News Editor

Until June this year, 23-year-old Michael Simon, a student in Paris, was certain of what the next five years would look like for him. A PhD in Economics from University of Cambridge was his planned ticket to a high-paying job in an international research organisation.

However, with the UK voting to leave the European Union, and the possibility

25

“I am not sure whether I’ll be able to get a loan – and would it really be worth it?”

Percentage of postgraduate who are from EU countries of all EU students possibly having to pay the international, non-EU fees, Simon fears that he might have to shift gears.

“Even as there is no clarity, I may be stuck with annual fees adding up to nearly £35,000. I am not even sure how the student loan system would work in the time of such political upheaval,” rued Simon, adding, “Would it really be worth it?”

Like Simon, several students from the EU, who have paid ‘home fees’ until now, fear that the Brexit vote will stack them up with international students, whose annual tuition fees is nearly three times as higher.

According to data from the UK Council for International Student Affairs there are approximately 1,025,000 EU students at British Universities who pay home fees and are eligible for student loans.

At Cambridge, 2,000 of around 11,000 staff are from other EU countries. In the case of students, the figures are roughly 10% of its undergraduates, 20% of its Masters students, and 25% of its postgraduates.

The University has confirmed that EU nationals starting their degrees in 2016 or 2017 will pay the Home rate for the course of their degrees.

However, they also state that the “The fees for all applicants, including Home/EU students, considering entry in 2018, have yet to be set.”

Eariler this week, the Vice-Chancellor once again confirmed that he is “against immigration policies that will stymie the flow of talented international students and staff to our University.”

The unrestricted movement of talent, the networks, partnerships, funding, and significant mass of research activity from EU membership have played a crucial part in the growth and development of

University of Cambridge.

A joint statement issued by CUSU and the GU previously condemned the referendum result.

“We will seek – so far as is possible – to ensure that EU students’ ability to live and study is protected, that international student mobility schemes such as exchanges and fieldwork are not compromised, and that all students are sheltered from the worst of the consequences of the difficult decisions to come.”

Even for non-EU students, the news about Brexit and the absence of clarity has brought with it a range of fears.

“Even if it won’t necessarily affect those of us who are here now, people worry about how it might in the future in terms of their ability to study further or stay in the UK to work,” said Santiago Efrain Nuñez, who studies for an MPhil in Management student at Hughes Hall.

Adding to Nuñez’ thoughts, Sauleha Kamal, an MPhil in Criticism and Culture student from Pakistan said “The general hostility towards immigrants that flared up in the lead up to and in the wake of the Brexit vote extends towards internationals from certain other countries, and it may colour people’s experiences and ability to be comfortable in the UK, including safety in extreme cases, negatively.”

the world leading research that takes place in the UK.” However this did not alleviate fears of funding shortfalls in the scientific community, with the campaign group Scientists for EU describing the statement as “useful” but “decidedly underwhelming” because it represents “no boost to science”.

opportunity missed”.

UK scientists’ continued ability to obtain Horizon2020 funds will depend on the terms of exit negotiated between the UK and the EU. Swiss access to the programme’s funding was prohibited after it voted to limit mass migration by ending the free movement of people to the country.

Seven academies, including the Royal Society, have demanded that the Government assure EU researchers that “they and their dependents will be able to continue to live and work here”, as restricted EU migration will have more than just a financial impact on British research.

Simon Redfern, from the University’s Department of Earth Sciences, said “Science... is an international activity that benefits from cooperation and collaboration.”

Although he remains “optimistic”, uncertainties concerning both funding and free movement prompt the question: after Brexit, “will the UK continue to attract the best minds into its universities from across the EU and elsewhere?”

How Cambridge

Despite treasury guarantee, research funding under threat Khushali Dodhia Deputy News Editor Brexit has also created clouds of uncertainty over how future scientific research will be funded, without EU grants.

The UK currently receives £1bn EU funding to invest in research – 16% of the total EU funding available, second only to Germany which receives 17%. In comparison, the funding available to nonEU states is 7.2%.

The University of Cambridge is also the leading university recipient of research funding under the EU’s Eighth Framework Programme, Horizon2020. Of the £445m it receives via research grants and contracts, 15% comes directly from the EU, up from 7% in 2008.

A Treasury statement confirmed it will ‘underwrite’ research projects currently funded by the EU, including Horizon2020, even if the project continues beyond the UK’s departure from Europe.

Minister for Universities, Science, Research, and Innovation Jo Johnson said, “By underwriting Horizon2020 funding in this way today, we are again demonstrating the importance we place on maintaining

Cambridge is the leading recipient of Horizon2020 research funding

15 The percentage of Cambridge’s research grants that come directly from the EU It pointed out that the Government had not committed to funding projects should UK scientists lose their ability to apply for Horizon2020 funding in the long term, once the UK has officially left the EU in mid-2019, saying that this was a “big

73.8% Remain, 26.6% Le

7

The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

News

lowing EU referendum vote FROM TOP: ALEX PROIMOS, INFROGRAM, RICH GIRARD

Jenae Michelle Carpenter Deputy News Editor

T

e voted How the nation voted

eave

OPINION:We contributed to Brexit

he Brexit referendum has been depicted as an unprecedented act of self-sabotage, proof of the death drive of the ‘lower classes’, which have opted for a form of ritual suicide that will not only relegate Great Britain to obscurity but also destroy the great European project.

After all, who would want to leave the EU? For Britain’s liberal class, the potential of the EU is its lasting legacy – it has provided boundless economic and cultural opportunity, opened the borders to open travel, and open trade. For the overwhelming majority, however, this is mere utopia.

When casting their vote, the public were not asked to choose to ‘stay’ or ‘leave’, or the ‘left’ or ‘right.’ Rather the true choice here was between ‘business as usual’ and ‘radical change’, an anaemic technocracy and impassioned ideology. The vote, in this sense, can be understood as an act of pure democracy, as millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated by their

Brexit is a crossroads for the liberal class and the Cambridge legacy

presumed betters; the educated leaders of business, banking oligarchy, and media.

The referendum is proof of the crisis of ‘manufacturing democratic consent’ and the growing gap between establishment institutions and popular rage.

The Brexit vote in this sense represents a crossroads for the British liberal class, and more specifically the Cambridge legacy.

We can either ignore the crisis, dismissing it as a mistake, a mere convulsion in the broader narrative of progress; or use it as an opportunity to breathe new life into intellectual culture and political thought.

In his recent address at the World Academic Summit, Vice Chancellor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz recognised this impasse, warning that in the aftermath of Brexit, the widespread perception that universities did not share the public’s goals was one of the biggest risks to its legitimacy.

He continued, “if that is really so, and it would be a mistake to underestimate the strength of feeling or the sense of grievance felt by many then we need to make a better case for our role as institutions that contribute to the public good.” Whilst there is no doubt that crises are painful and dangerous, we must use this as a chance to react to the need for radical change – after all they are the terrain on which revolutions are won.

Erasmus without freedom of movement?

Khushali Dodhia Deputy News Editor

48% Remain, 52% Leave

British students could face exclusion from the Europe-wide exchange scheme Erasmus after the UK voted to leave the European Union earlier this year.

The programme allows British students to study at European universities, and their European counterparts to study in the UK, for up to a year. Their fees are paid for by the EU. Currently, there are 27,000 EU students in the UK under the scheme.

According to Universities UK, these students contributed £600 million tuition fees in 2014-15, meaning that an end to UK participation in the scheme could seriously affect university finances.

Brexit Secretary David Davis has refused to guarantee the scheme’s long term future in the UK. Answering a question from Labour MP Diana Johnson on whether he would “make it his policy” to ensure UK students’ ability to participate in the Erasmus programme, he said only that there would be “no change to those currently participating in, or about to start” the scheme.

This was reiterated by Jo Johnson, Minister of State for Universities and Science. He admitted that certain “questions” about higher education

“It would be one of the ways Brexit makes us poorer”

“will need to be considered as part of a wider discussion about the UK’s further relationship with the EU”.

It is expected that the UK’s continued involvement in the Erasmus scheme will depend on whether a Brexit deal includes freedom of movement. Norway, which is not a member state of the EU, does take part in the programme but it accepts the free movement of people. Switzerland, which does not cannot participate.

Erasmus’ founder Hywel Ceri Jones told The Observer: “I feel bereaved by Brexit, and if it leads to the end of freedom of movement and exclusion of the UK from Erasmus, this would be devastating.”

It is looking increasingly likely that this will be the case, with Theresa May signalling a move towards a ‘hard Brexit’ after telling the Conservative Party conference that “We are not leaving the European Union only to give up control of immigration again.”

Third year MML student Cat Watts, who is currently studying at the Universität Würzburg, said: “The Erasmus exchange is an amazing opportunity – and the grant makes it affordable for me to be spending my year abroad here. The loss of the scheme would be just one of the ways that Brexit will make us poorer.”

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The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

Science

Why should I care about...

Forests

Rosetta comes to rest after a decade in scientific service

Matheus Henrique Nunes Science Editor

Camilla Penney Science Editor

O

n Friday 30 September the Rosetta probe collided with Comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimento, bringing its ten year mission to an end. The spacecraft landed at 11.19 GMT, when it lost communication with Earth, having sent a final picture from 51m above the comet’s surface.

Rosetta, launched by the European Space Agency in 2004, is the first spacecraft to orbit a comet. The probe reached its comet, 67P, in 2014, where it achieved another first by depositing a lander, Philae, on the comet’s surface.

However, the strange two-lobed shape of Comet 67P made entering orbit and launching the lander more challenging than scientists had anticipated.

Despite Philae bouncing on impact, which caused initial readings to be taken mid-air, surface measurements promise fascinating new insights into the nature of comets. Speaking

to Cambridge News shortly after Philae landed, Dr Caroline Crawford, from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, said, “There’s so much more you can do from a surface landing. You can drill into the ground, you can sniff out the gas given off, and test what the surface is like.”

Comets’ blazing tails have caught the eyes of humans for millenia.

Perhaps the most famous, Halley’s Comet, was depicted as early as 1070 in the Bayeux Tapestry. At the time comets were viewed as harbingers of doom, in this case portending the Norman Conquest. With the advent of telescopes about 400 years ago, proper observations of comets could begin, but a clear understanding of their behaviour has only started to emerge in the last 50 years.

As some of the oldest objects which travel near the Earth, comets provide

a unique insight into how the Solar System was formed. The essential building blocks of life on Earth, including water and hydrocarbons, may have been brought here by comets. By orbiting 67P for two years, Rosetta has been able to monitor how much water vapour is released from the comet over time, and how this relates to the comet’s proximity to the Sun. The decision to end this groundbreaking mission and lay Rosetta to rest came as Comet 67P’s orbit will shortly take it out beyond Jupiter. So far from the Sun, Rosetta would lose power, with little hope of being able to reboot the instruments on its return. Instead scientists focused on gathering as much data as possible about the surface of Comet 67P as Rosetta landed; data which will take us a step closer to understanding these icy orbiters.

DLR

F

orests can play a crucial role in feeding the world. The right to food is a fundamental human right that implies that people have sufficient nutrition, dietary needs are supplemented and people have the means to access it. All of this can be provided through forests.

For millenia, forests were a primary food source for humans, as a rich area for hunting and gathering.

However, one in nine people are suffering from hunger, and malnutrition leads to a decrease in 11% of the global GDP as a result of lives lost and less learning, according to the Global Assessment Report coordinated by the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) in 2015.

“We need to think about choices that are healthy to people and the environment” says Dr. Cristiane Derani, researcher at the University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute (UCCRI) and Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

“Food production should be deprived of economic interests from large corporations to achieve food security”.

Feeding the world is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind.

According to Dr. Bhaskar Vira, director of the UCCRI, forests appear

One in six people directly depend on forests for food

1

Ned Booker Science Editor

Researchers at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience have for the first time studied the changes an embryo goes under following implantation.

Working with scientists at King’s College London, The Francis Crick Institute and the CARE Fertility Group, they cultured embryos in vitro past the implantation stage up until 11 days past fertilisation. They saw that at this stage of development the remodelling events are autonomous within the embryo, highlighting the self-orgnanisation of human embryos.

The implantation of human embryos is a critical stage in human development and the failure of embryos at the seventh day past fertilisation to implant is a major cause of early pregnancy loss. At this point the embryo undergoes significant restructuring, allowing the yolk sac and the placenta to develop.

2

Researchers in the Department of Physics have created roll-toroll printable polymer colour changing opals. The printed films are blue in colour but when the film is repeatedly stretched and released polystyrene spheres self-organise to form an ordered lattice and the film turns green. This phenomenon is realised in nature in bird feathers, butterfly wings and opals. This is because when materials have regular structures with length scales around the wavelength of visible light they can take on vivid colours, with the colour coming from light interacting with the material structure, not any pigment.

The researchers achieved this by printing polymer films embedded with 200 nm diameter spheres, chemically linked to their neighbours. Perhaps soon one will be able to wear clothes made of synthetic polymer opals, adding some science fun to Cindies.

to have the potential to add value to food security, considering that one in six people directly depend on forests for income and food. This dependence

3

A team including a Cambridge chemist has borrowed a technique typically used by big data companies – maximum entropy modelling – to sift through bacterial genomes.

These genomes contain data sets about histadine kinases and response regulators. Through these proteins bacteria are able to sense and respond to their enviroment. By understanding more about these proteins – particularly their properties and how they pair up – more sophisticated and targeted drugs can be developed.

With a team including French and American geneticists and physicists, the teams used these methods to study correlations between genomes that often leads to successful protein pairing.

They have now been able to match over 23000 protein pairs in data sets of 2000 species.

is even higher in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin-America, where foodrelated problems are bigger caused by shortage of food, lack of infrastructure, and inadequate access to food. The diversity of food and nutrients can also be enhanced when relying on forests.

Conventional agriculture is good to provide carbohydrates and a more calorific intake, but other nutrients are essential for balanced diets, says Dr. Vira.

An agricultural system based on large crops is also more vulnerable to extreme weather events, and a more integrated landscape including forests can help to avoid the effects of global climate change.

The diversity of food can be enhanced with forests The use of forests to feed people can also slow down the loss of biodiversity and decrease the costs of water treatment by 90%. Agroecology, for instance, which brings ecological principles and agricultural production all together into a science, must be supported to achieve the right to food and stop soil and water degradation.

It is still important to develop conventional agriculture practices with more modern mechanization and irrigation systems, as well as improve genetics and fertilizers to maximize production.

But the conventional and traditional approaches need to learn how to coexist with a tree-based agriculture.

Forests are crucial as a source of life, says Dr. Derani, and this ecosystem must be sustainably explored to provide several benefits to all species on earth.

PETR KRATOCHVIL

3 6 20

Cambridge workspaces: a freshers’ guide

CAST: As You Like It preview Topshop fashion shoot

The Thursday Magazine

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

Cambridge in literature Jessie Mathewson Cambridge life may be a daily reality for students, but inspiration can strike even in the midst of the everyday, and the city and university feature in a range of creative writing. If you’re looking for a topical addition to your reading pile, these books might be the solution.

The Reeve’s Tale: Chaucer’s tale is an early literary portrayal of Cambridge, following students John and Aleyn’s revenge on a crafty miller. The mix of slapstick humour and violent sexual desire comes with a warning, and makes for an unflattering portrayal of Cantabs.

Birthday Letters: Ted Hughes’ poetry collection is best known as a response to the accusations against him that followed Sylvia Plath’s suicide. At times intensely emotionally charged the collection charts his relationship with Plath, beginning with their years in Cambridge: the backdrop to their student days feels familiar even today.

Engelby: Another unflattering portrayal of Cambridge undergrads, Sebastian Faulks’ derides our arts degrees (English students, prepare to be ruffled), and casts Cambridge students as drug-obsessed but sexually awkward. The jury is still out on the accuracy of these stereotypes, but student Engleby’s obsessive personality and dark tendencies are certainly hoped to be fictitious.

Cloud Atlas: David Mitchell’s Booker-shortlisted novel weaves together six stories that take the reader from island-hopping across the the Pacific in the 19th century to a strange and unfamiliar post-apocalyptic future.

Robert Frobisher is a bisexual English musician and recent graduate whose letters home make up one of the narratives: he gives Caius a surprising literary mention.

The power of background noise Emer O’Hanlon

I

n The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon sums up the difficulty of choosing music for a party: “if one plays good music, people don’t listen, and if one plays bad music, people don’t talk’” It would be a little unfair to apply this idea to all film soundtracks – composers are, after all, well-appreciated for their work – but it’s a useful general principle. The best soundtracks do not stand out from the film, instead playing an ensemble role in the creation of a film’s overall ambience.

With scoring being so integral to the atmosphere of a film, it’s not surprising to find a wealth of director-composer partnerships. Some play off each other perfectly, such as Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Hermann, with Hermann’s best known work being on Vertigo and Psycho. Hitchcock believed that Psycho, a decisively modern film with liberal amounts of sex and violence and a neat psychoanalytical conclusion to boot, needed a jazz score to dispel any claims of his being old-fashioned. , Hermann, however, not only refused to write a jazz score, but proposed using only strings rather than a full orchestra to cut down on cost. Today, much of Psycho’s success is attributed to these strings, their

screech-like, stabbing sounds creating an atmosphere of tension and unease long before anything scary happens.

In fact, it was only at Hermann’s insistence that Hitchcock agreed to score the shower scene, now one of the most iconic moments in cinematic history.

In contrast, Miklós Rózsa’s music for Spellbound is detrimentally overpowering. The soaring orchestral score seems too big to be contained within the film – it breaks our suspension of disbelief, turning excitement to melodrama and suspense into horror. It’s a lovely piece of music, but it doesn’t really fit the atmosphere of the film. Miles Davis’ work on L’Ascenseur Pour L’Échaffaud presents yet another angle. This time, the score is far superior to the rather forgettable film, a blissful jazz record with a sub-par music video. There is little interaction between the two.

It’s hardly surprising that composers occasionally get carried away with what they’re creating to the degree that the score becomes bigger than the film. This, however, cannot be said of Angela Morley’s work, whose scores are delightful whether you’re watching what they accompany or merely listening. Although probably best-loved for her

enchanting Watership Down score, Morley’s career was remarkably varied yet underrated. She began working in Britain, where she specialised in light music for radio shows. It was when she moved to America that Morley’s work took a turn for the more contemplative and heartfelt, whilst never losing its light touch. The best example of this being her refined, yet playful scoring for the ridiculous melodrama of the TV soap Dynasty, giving life and pathos to an otherwise weak show.

Composing scores is less time consuming than many other kinds of involvement in film-making, and thus, successful composers are able to have their eggs in several baskets at once. This affords them immense power – after all, the score has the power to carry with it an entire film – and if you look back at the Oscar winners for Best Score since the 1990s, you’ll find that the films which win the award often tend to do very well in other areas. But do good films attract good composers, or do good composers transform good films into brilliant ones? The question may present something of a chicken-and-the-egg-like scenario, but it’s pertinent to ask nevertheless.

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

A fresher’s guide to Cambridge clubbing Micha Frazer-Carroll

W

hen you’re working hard, one of the best ways to blow off steam is to go out and aggressively cut some shapes.

But nightlife is subjective, and when you’ve just moved into a new city, finding the right nights for you can be difficult. Cambridge offers a range of events throughout the year, so here’s a guide to some of the best to help you choose!

Oh-Rama: Oh-Rama is a proper queer night at Q Club, down by the station. Round up your LGBT+ friends and share a cab - it’s worth it for the great vibes, fab decor and 80’s queer jams. Think sparkly garms, facial glitter, and jelly shots. Unlike most Cambridge nights, they’ve got gender neutral toilets (and a pole)!

Sundays at Kuda (aka Life): Stereotyped as a postdrinking Soc swap night, Sunday Life is very popular.

The music is ‘Hot Hits UK’ with a sprinkling of noughties crowd-pleasers like Stacey’s Mom. Horror stories involving house remixes of Old McDonald Had a Farm abound, but if that’s your jam then never fear!

Tuesdays/Thursdays at Fez: Midweek Fez is very similar to Lola’s music-wise – it plays all the mainstream hip-hop and R&B from the last 20 years, with bits of garage thrown in. Tuesdays are Fresh Tuesdays, an ARU night (go DANEIL DINU

early in a group of four or more and you’ll get a free bottle of bubbly), and Thursdays are Cambridge nights. Pro tip: if you’re nice to the bar staff, you can get a loyalty card that gets you £1.50 Jägers!

Wednesdays at Ballare (aka Cindies): Wednesday Cindies is a marmite night. People either love it (sometimes ironically), or hate it, but it remains Cambridge’s most popular club night. The music is hardcore cheese: think remixes of The Circle of Life, My Heart Will Go On, and Wannabe. Everyone will be there: your supervision partners, your course-mates, that guy you got with in freshers, and everyone from everyone’s old school. But this is great if you enjoy smokers’ chat more than dancing.

The Junction: Junction nights are for people who are ‘into music’ in a more serious way. You’ll find most of Cambridge’s best live gigs here: last year both Stormzy and Toddla T took to the stage. Clubbing nights start around midnight and (unusually for Cambridge) go on until 5am.

Some complain that it’s ‘so far’, but don’t let that deter you: it’s around a 20 minute walk or a 5 minute cab ride from central Cambridge, and well worth the journey if you want a really good night out.

Thursdays/Mondays at Lola Lo: The playlist in Lola’s is composed of crowd-pleasers, but not aggressively cheesy ones. You’ll hear the Jackson 5 played alongside Hey Ya, and its two floors gives you the freedom to DJ your own night. Some find the Hawaiian-themed décor problematic, but the fairylit, open-air smoking area on the third floor is pretty cool. There’s also a light up dance floor, which makes for slightly edgier Snapchats.

Finding your optimum workspace Alice French Lifestyle Editor

U

nfortunately, the rumours are true. You will be spending a significant portion of your time at Cambridge working.From your bedroom to the University Library to coffee shops, here’s your guide to finding the best workspace for you.

Your room: Arguably the cosiest and most convenient option, your bedroom can be a haven of productivity if you organise yourself effectively. If you plan to spend time working in your room, take steps to make your desk as welcoming as possible as soon as you move in. This could mean moving it closer to the window to make it lighter, acquiring a quirky cushion for your swivel chair, or adorning it with copious amounts of Japanese stationery.

Whatever works best for you.

BOTH IMAGES: JESSIE MATHEWSON

The Faculty Library: The main bonus of working in your faculty library is, of course, that you have all of the academic resources you could need at your fingertips. It is also handy when you want to get some work done in a spare hour in between lectures.

However, it goes without saying that some faculties are more glamorous than others (I’m looking at you, lawyers).If you are feeling particularly stressed, it can also feel a bit stifling to be surrounded by people all working on the same subject as you, so the faculty library should be approached with caution.

24-hour libraries: If you are a late night/early morning worker and aren’t a fan of working in your room, then there are workspaces in Cambridge that can accommodate your needs. The maths library, although not the cosiest workspaceon offer, is open all hours, as are many college libraries. There’s no shame in writing your essay at 2am in your pyjamas in the college library, but perhaps avoid making a habit of it!

The University Library: The king of Cambridge libraries is of course the iconic UL. You are almost guaranteed to find a seat here, so it’s a good bet if your college/faculty library is full.The Reading Room is ideal for focused, quiet study, although can be a little intimidating if you are new to the UL. The side rooms are a bit more chilled but still a great place to get in a day’s work, particularly on a Saturday, for example.The tuna melts in the UL café are also very much worth sampling.

Sidgwick site: Sidgwick is a hub of creativity, literacy and (attempts at) edginess. As well as being the natural habitat of most arts students, it is home

to a selection of great libraries and workspaces. One of the beauties of Cambridge is that you are not restricted to your own faculty’s library, meaning that even the lowliest non-lawyers among us can enjoy the luxury of the Squire Law Library.The Seeley Historical Library is also a great place to work, offering an open-plan layout filled with natural light.

Definitely try to go and explore Sidgwick during your first few weeks – you won’t be disappointed!

The Espresso Library: If you feel like treating yourself, make your way to 210 East Road, grab a coffee and a snack and settle down for an afternoon of reading in the Espresso Library. The clean, cool interior of this café/gallery/work zone is conducive to a chilled but productive day of work, and the food and drink on offer are great motivation/ distraction.

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

London Fashion Week’s fresh take Karishma Patel

T

wo weeks ago London played host to global icons, designers and fashionistas from around the world. The energy and excitement of London Fashion Week was palpable all over the city, and this season’s heart and soul was the fresh take of young designers. With wild patterns and vibrant colours running along conveyor belt runways to dance party music, it was nothing short of uninhibited youthful exuberance. Here are six names to know that rocked LFW. Bora Aksu: Aksu is a London-based Turkish designer often heralded as star of the show, and this season was no exception. Gothic lace in pastels with layered frills and matching cropped jackets were the tools used to create masterpiece frocks that evoked a modern Lewis Carroll plot, transporting viewers to Wonderland with the utmost elegance.

new level. Deconstructed denim was piece-wise presented as installation art on models laying in white display cases.

With finesse for construction, the dramatic collection harmonized the ability to make a statement against standard archetypes with artistry.

Mary Katrantzou: Katrantzou’s signature is creating a wearable objet d’art. Despite an unusual and modern ethos behind the designs the collection still screamed luxe, managing to marry the old and the new from the runway.

Gareth Pugh: Pugh rocks the world as he revolutionizes modern fashion. This season he channelled the regal decadence of ancient Rome, with giant headdresses, gilded gold mosaics, and beautifully rendered sunburst fabrics. Watching his show is like walking through your favourite art gallery on a cloudy day: you leave rejuvenated and excited for what comes next.

A longer version of this article appears on the TCS website.

J. W. Anderson: This Northern Irelander has created this season’s ‘It’ bag: the Pierce bag was seen both on the runway and on attendees, and complemented the designers’ layered pieces from Romanov-inspired bulky-edged knits and buckled jackets to draped cascading fabrics that created optical illusions. It seems that he can do no wrong, defining one of this season’s trends of utilitarian khaki in mixed media, creating modern looks from the previously blasé.

Faustine Steinmetz: This season the Parisian turned a well-loved fabric inside out and showcased true blue on a MEGAN LEA

To Caff or not to Caff The sound Eddie Baptista

I

look back at first-year Michaelmas term as a time when menial decisions and details easily got blown out of proportion. From the accommodation one is allocated to one’s political affiliations, in the rush to make friends we survey every possible factor that could increase the speed of this process. Hence the choice between eating in college or self-catering can acquire an exaggerated significance. However, things really aren’t this black and white.

In the rush to make friends we survey every possible factor Money-wise, a quick glance at most college menus suggests that cooking is much cheaper than going to caff. This is especially true if you’re a lazy foodie i.e. you love to eat a tasty, full meal every day yet lack the patience to cook it. A meat or fish dish with sides and a dessert at my college caff is usually between £5-6, the 80p charge for a spoonful of vegetables doubling the cost of what was initially a £2.20 meal if you stick to your five-a-day.

Luckily, there are tactical ways around this dilemma.

Most caffs have a salad bar, usually with a wide variety of vegetables and carbs. A large salad box at Jesus College caff costs £1.40 and the flexible container provided allows you to really pack in a lot of calories. If you then add soup, usually a cheaper option, you can have a highly nutritious meal for about the same price as a main course without sides.

Eating in college also has the benefit of keeping those work-related blues away. If you keep in mind one of Ep-

icurus’s gems of Greek wisdom: ‘Before you eat or drink anything, consider carefully who you eat or drink with rather than what you eat or drink’, caff is a very sociable experience.

Increased food costs aside, after converting from an appalling first-year cook to an assiduous, second-year caffer, I found exam term of second year much more bearable than first.

This is saying something: I am part of that heretical minority that had pseudo-exams i.e. prelims in their first year.

Despite this, if you’re used to cooking your own food or find the activity relaxing, then don’t scrap it for fear of what may happen to your college cred. With the right mindset, cooking can be just as sociable an activity as caff. In my first year, I wish I had asked the second-years in my staircase to pass some of their cooking wizardry onto me. It would have ended the twice daily runs to Sainsbury’s and created the opportunity to spend time with people I got along with.

Cooking can be just as sociable an activity as caff Ultimately the decision you make is not life changing.

Some people say caff is a real time-saver, allowing you to eat good food without spending time cooking and washing up.

Although this may be an omen for my future job prospects, I actually found washing up relaxing, its simplicity allowing me a break from the wannabe intellectual persona I sometimes drift towards in Cambridge.

The point is there are no rules regarding the choices you make. Just make sure they help rather than hinder you.

of home...

A

new city, a new room, a new life – moving ,to university can be a daunting experience.

So when you’re all moved in, have decorated with your fairy lights or suitably ‘gap yah’ looking throw, arranged all your fresh stationary on your desk, it’s time to sit back, relax, light one of your non-protocol candles, and listen to some chilled beats.

1. I tried - Folded like Fabric 2. Lay by - Tennyson 3. Measurements - James Blake 4. Break Well - Mount Kimbie 5. A Walk - Tycho 6. Reach for the Dead - Boards of Canada 7. #3 - Aphex Twin 8.The Rip - Portishead 9. 6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps 10. 33 “GOD” - Bon Iver

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine• The Cambridge Student

Rzewski’s Coming Together Gemma Sheehan Theatre Editor

G

emma Sheehan sat down with Sasha Amaya (Director and Voice) and Naomi Woo (Musical Director) to discuss their one night performance of Frederic Rzewski’s Coming Together.

Tell us a bit about your performance – what makes it unique?

Sasha: It’s a staggeringly beautiful American work, based on a text by political activist Sam Melville, and scored for spoken voice and indeterminate instrumentation.

Naomi: Rzewski’s music isn’t performed especially often in Cambridge, and like many of his works, this piece has an unusual structure that makes it highly engaging to play – and hear. The basic framework is an unrelenting musical line, which is both extremely repetitive and persistent, but also constantly shifting. Following a guiding set of instructions from the composer, the performers choose when to join the melody, and when to remain silent.

The combination of spoken voice and instrumental ensemble is interesting.

Has navigating the two been difficult?

S: Naomi and I have collaborated for some time under the name ‘tick tock’ to produce and direct opera, music, and physical theatre. Working together on this piece isn’t too hard: we are pretty collaborative about the process and often challenge or question one another.

N: Agreed! It’s a pleasure to work together.

In this piece, one challenging musical aspect is navigating the improvisation. The kind of freedom offered by the composer requires a surprising amount of preparation and control, and involves cultivating a degree of trust between performers.

Ideas of incarceration are important to the performance. Does the audience get an impression of this?

S: I came to know and appreciate the piece artistically before understanding its greater political and social context. It’s simply a beautiful, exciting, moving piece to hear and to perform – it can stand on its own.

That said, understanding the context in which the text was written adds depth to the piece. There’s a sense of claustrophobia at times: the repetition, the overlapping instrumentation, moments of cacophony.

The way Rzewski transforms the text reveals the ordinary and mundane in Melville’s text as startling and remarkable.

N: One incredibly powerful aspect of this piece is contained nowhere in the actual text: Melville was killed in the Attica Prison Riots shortly after the letter was written, and Rzewski wrote Coming Together in response to the riots.

Does the musical composition heighten the political message?

N: Absolutely. The interaction of the musicians and structure of the piece reflect both the specific political issues at stake, but also the nature of political engagement more broadly: the way in which performers are forced to choose between joining or abstaining from the relentless flow, for example; their seeming freedom within an ultimately rigidly structured trajectory; the uncanny way in which the melodic line is both repetitive and unpredictable.

S: The composition augments Melville’s text, and it also sheds light on the issue of our incarceration system and legal rights more generally. At the same time, this piece goes beyond the political: Rzewski captures so much about passion, and determination, and bravery in this piece.

Jesus Chapel seems an atmospheric setting. Has this location affected the production in any way?

S: It’s always a privilege to perform in the spectacular architecture of the College chapels. They are beautiful places that promote contemplation, so we’re really pleased to be putting on this type of work in that context. Acoustically, these spaces are all a little different, too, and so it’s a great experience for us as young directors and performers to understand how sound, light, and atmosphere work in these spaces.

Coming Together opens Saturday 8 October, at 8pm in Jesus Chapel.

SAPPHIRE ARMITAGE

“As much an organ a creative one”:CA Pippa Smith Theatre Editor

F

resh from an impressive US run in 10 different venues, the Cambridge American Stage Tour’s rendition of As You Like It returns to Cambridge to delight audiences at the ADC this week. But what of the journey thus far? Our theatre editor, Pippa Smith, spoke to some members of the production team to get a sense of how such an ambitious and challenging tour is put together by students.

Founded in 2000 under the patronage of Dame Judie Dench, CAST enters its 17th year, and this time Tour Managers Louisa Dales and Josie Wastell leave their mark by stamping the Cayman Islands onto the tour map. Of course, there is something special about CAST’s relationship with the venues it has visited every single year since its conception but the expansion to Grand Cayman offered fresh challenges for the team.

“Being able to take the tour to a new country and work with a whole new set of people was really exciting, and the schools we worked with in Cayman were very different to those in America, which was a challenge, but also so rewarding” enthuses Louisa. Along with Josie,

Louisa plans and implements every practical detail which allows the tour to go ahead from booking flights and venues to drafting lunch plans for the cast and crew whilst on tour – it certainly is a momentous endeavor!

Also at the forefront of the crew’s minds is the unique educational aspect of CAST. As well as performing in professional theatres the show visits high schools and the team devise and implement workshops specially crafted to engage young people in Shakespeare and theatre production. In fact, for many of the schools CAST works with, practical workshops are a more important aspect of the tour than the show itself, offering the valuable opportunity to inspire the next generation of actors, directors, designers and lighting technicians.

Every detail of CAST’s As You Like It considers its educational ambition in order to engage its audience and Louisa feels that the production this year “finds the line between staying true to the original text, whilst keeping the play relevant and interesting to watch”.

When performing to children as young as 11 or 12 it was certainly important for the team to strike this balance. To further implement

The Cambridge Student • The Thursday Magazine • 04 October 2016

ALL IMAGES: SAM PAYNE

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Warpaint underwhelms Megan Fereday Music Editor

T

he four members of LA-based Warpaint have returned from their stints pursuing individual group projects for their third studio album, Heads Up. It’s a record that indicates a new musical direction for the group; but whether it will gain or lose them fans remains uncertain.

Warpaint have tried to sugarcoat their trademark noir alt-rock on this album with poppier structures, catchy lyric loops and featherlight vocals which lack the ominous authority they held on earlier records.

Opening track ‘Whiteout’ gives a pretty good demonstration of what to expect from the album as a whole: a steady, gently pulsing beat gives way to a languidly reverbed introductory riff, over which sleepy vocals whine ‘Don’t go toniiiiiight…’. It takes over three minutes for the track to eventually pick up the pace, by which point we’re left wondering what it has left to offer. It’s at this all-too-early point that the same question’s raised of the album as a whole.

‘The Stall’ and ‘So Good’ revive the record from its sleepy start; tight, shuffling drumand-bass riffs ground these songs, and give them an assertive feel. ‘The Stall’ offers the

nisational feat as AST’s As You Like It the educational aims of the tour, Abigail Smith acted as this year’s Education Officer. Louisa felt her contribution to the tour was invaluable: “Abi and the rest of the team did a fantastic job with the workshops, and we got so many students involved in workshops, including the more troublesome ones, so I really hope we were able to impart a love of Shakespeare and theatre to at least some of them!”

Another key challenge that an international tour of this size faces is the design and technical members of the CAST team. The tour visited a combination of theatres, colleges, and schools as well as kicking off the tour with a preview in Ely Cathedral – quite a diverse range of settings to adapt to. Changes in venue size and set up mean the ambition of the lighting plans and sets have to be flexible and imaginative. To complicate matters further, the set and props the team can use are limited to what is feasible to transport across the Atlantic. Lighting designer, Sam Payne, explained how the team have to prepare for all eventualities: “when you walk into a venue, no matter how weird and different it is, and no matter how scary the prospect of putting your show into it might

seem, you know you’ve set everything up so that you will be able to make something work”.

The crew’s careful planning was certainly put to the test this year. From a tech office populated by scorpions to a lighting desk that was thought to have predated World War Two, the tech team appear to have faced it all over the last few weeks. In fact, Sam concedes “if we had more than twelve minutes left before house opened we congratulated ourselves on a top-notch job!”

It seems therefore that CAST pushes Cambridge theatre scene veterans to their very limits, in a challenging test of logistical complications against creative vision. After overcoming so much in their summer run, the final hurdle facing CAST 2016 is playing to a packed Cambridge audience back on home turf and the production team are keen to showcase the feat of all their efforts. With a reportedly fantastic reception in the States, this Week 0 ADC Mainshow is undoubtedly eagerly anticipated!

As You Like It plays at the ADC Tues 4th – Saturday 8th October at 7:30pm.

darkest and most complex lyrics on the record, dealing with the pain of caring for a suffering loved one, of wondering ‘How to make you feel alright?’ It’s a welcome change from the repetitive, vacuous loops which characterise most of the choruses on the album, for which the listener need look no further than the droning ‘oh’s on ‘So Good’.

Other tracks, like ‘By Your Side’ and the lyrically irrelevantly named ‘Dre’, showcase promising hints of hip-hop influence in their rhythms and beats. But they’re tracks that will get heads swaying, not feet dancing - as is the album’s lead single ‘New Song’.

On this and too many other tracks, there’s a lack of the energy and grittiness that can be sensed on their earlier records; it’s this that we miss, and sadly so.

In trying to cover too much musical ground, to appease both old and new fans, Warpaint have spread themselves too thin on this album. Sugarcoated it may be, but the band will need more substance to make this change in direction.

4/10

Review: Hell or High Water Rosa Price

I

n a genre as well-established as the Western, it can be difficult to make a real impact. Try to be too clever and it ceases to feel like a Western, stick too close to the classics and you create a cheesy pastiche.

Hell or High Water is an entertaining thriller Western which ultimately seems a little like it was painted by numbers.

Its weakest points are the attempts to individualise its main characters, brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster). Pine is given an ex-wife, two sons and a heavily mortgaged family ranch in order to exculpate his decision to rob branches of Texas Midlands Bank (which is – of course – the bank foreclosing on the mortgage). A scene in which Foster, just released from prison, returns to the ranch to hold back tears at his mother’s empty hospital bed seems artificial; the film would be better if director David Mackenzie was not so intent that the audience approve of his characters The same flaws are apparent in the police officers chasing Pine and Foster. Jeff Bridges is good in a role which he could probably do in his sleep, dreading his coming retirement and making racist jokes at his partner Gil Birmingham (the only Native American actor in Hollywood) – but Mackenzie spends too much time letting the audience know that Bridges isn’t a genuine racist and that Birmingham is fond of him really. Making the characters likeable means that the film lacks the impassive brutality and epic moral

scale of the best modern Westerns.

In one of the last scenes, a confrontation between Bridges and Pine, Mackenzie tries to play with genre convention defuses it by the introduction of – again – Pine’s ex-wife and sons. This coda to the film illustrates its successes and its flaws: it’s a melancholic rumination on the effects of oil, industry, and money on the traditional (in film, anyway) Texas landscape and rural life within a tense character-driven confrontation that really sparks, but Mackenzie doesn’t do much with these more demanding parts of the film.

The film’s strongest points are its use of Texas as a setting, in both landscape and character. The shots of empty, arid scrub and desert are striking, especially in contrast with the complex of the casino; the little character sketches of a waitress intent on concealing her $200 tip from Bridges, a restaurant which serves only steak and jacket potatoes, a customer at the bank who can’t believe the robbers aren’t Mexicans. It’s here that the film comes closest to making something new out of the Western, in its sharp and unsentimental portraits of modern characters. Hell or High Water is well-made and very watchable with flashes of being an even better film than it turns out – but its parts never quite come together.

6/10

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

Who needs film critics anyway?

Lydia Sabatini

W

e live in a world where a world of film is at our fingertips, mere clicks away.

And besides the films themselves, the buzzings of critical voices offering their opinions about film can feel deafening. So how do we decide what to watch, and who to listen to when deciding what is worth watching?

Film critics – the traditional sort who write for newspapers and other publications – had a much more clearly defined role in the pre-internet age. If you cared about film, you could seek out the opinion of a particular critic to see what sort of reaction a particular new film was generating, which could then influence your decision whether to see it.

Now strong opinions are everywhere. There are bloggers, vloggers, podcasts, forums, word-of-mouth suggestions through social media, and websites ranging from populist to niche all out there for those interested in the film opinion.

If algorithms are your thing, there are even the sometimes

Freshers’ week hangover cures Alice French Lifestyle Editor

D

rinking is of course not a compulsory part of Freshers’ Week, however the majority of us (first years and third years alike) will inevitably find ourselves in a hungover postCindies state at some point. Unfortunately, this is Cambridge, and the first week of term does not allow for long lie-ins and wallowing. Therefore it is important to get a handle on your hangovers as soon as possible. Here are our top three tried and tested tips for coping:

The Debrief

An essential part of the night out process, especially during freshers’ week when there will undoubtedly be a lot of drama. Either convene in someone’s room over a cup of tea and some malt loaf or, if you’re feeling adventurous, head to Spoons for a fry up.

Pretence

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Cambridge students are always hardworking, conscientious, responsible, and organised. Sometimes the only way to deal with a hangover (or even just extreme tiredness/delirium) is to live up to this stereotype. Go through the motions of your typical Cambridge day as religiously as possible so as to distract yourself from the nausea. Even if your lecture note-taking turns into scrolling through last night’s Cindies pictures, at least you’re keeping up appearances. Maybe even don your gown for good measure.

The Great Outdoors

It’s not a myth. Fresh air really does help with a hangover and is, in fact, a good treatment for most minor ailments.

Sadly, much of the grass in Cambridge is off limits, but cycling to Grantchester, strolling up the Murray Edwards hill or even just making a trip to Sainsburys to stock up on some form of carb will make the world seem like a brighter place.

laughable commercially derived suggestions that think you might enjoy In the Realm of the Senses because you rated Moulin Rouge! highly. This feels like democratisation in action, like a large conversation, that any one of us can be a part of. It feels good that film critics, who traditionally came from a specific privileged demographic, are now far from the only voices available.

The best way to take advantage of this democratisation is to dive in and explore, to find out what the focus and tone of particular critical sources are in order to find out what resonates best with you. This also may vary depending on the type of film you want to watch. New comedy out? A recommendation on Twitter from a friend may be most valuable, as your sense of humour is closer to theirs than to a broadsheet film critic. New superhero movie out? There are some film websites, such as Empire, that take geek culture seriously while maintaining a sense of humour and quality-control. Want the low-down on a new film

festival favourite? It may be that the more academic film publications write best about it.

With their informed experience, passion, and way with words, I think it would be silly to assert that old-style film critics have no place for a young person who is interested in film. but sites such as RottenTomatoes which give aggregate ratings based on multiple reviews are particularly useful, as they allow for the consultation of numerous critical views at a glance, leaving film criticism as a common resource to be mined freely.

The world of film criticism is wider and more accessible than it has ever been before. Sometimes the number of choices on offer can be overwhelming, especially with different publications having wildly different target audiences. This choice can be frightening, but ultimately it is a wonderful thing which allows for the opinions of a huge number of different groups to peacefully coexist.

Ravishing Ratatouille Rebekah Kerr

W

hen Freshers’ Week hits hard and you need some nourishing, simple food in your life, this ratatouille might be just the thing. I discovered this surprisingly simple French classic, popularised in the Disney film by the same name, while on my year abroad.

It’s straightforward, suitable for vegetarians, and delicious!

If you make extra, it is a great leftover to have in the fridge.

Although it may seem time consuming, the trick is to cook all of the vegetables separately before mixing them together.

Serves: 4 Preparation time: 50 minutes Ingredients: 2 large aubergines 4 small courgettes 2 peppers 4 large tomatoes Olive oil Small bunch of basil, fresh is better 1 medium onion 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp sugar Feel free to mix up the vegetables, adding whatever you have left in the fridge. Carrots and mushrooms work well!

Method: 1. Chop up the aubergines, courgettes, peppers, and tomatoes into small cubes.

2. Pour 2 tbsp olive oil into a frying pan and lightly fry the aubergines for 5 mins. Transfer the aubergine into a large mixing bowl.

3. Repeat for courgettes and peppers.

4. Cook the onions in frying pan for 5 minutes before stirring in the vinegar, sugar, tomatoes and basil.

5. Put all ingredients back into the pan with salt and pepper for a further 5-10 minutes or until cooked through.

6. Serve with your accompaniment of choice, I recommend pasta or couscous.

TOP IMAGES: RACHEL REES-MIDDLETON; BOTTOM: REBEKAH KERR

11

04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

In Conversation with a Cambridge Thespian Pippa Smith Theatre Editor

T

he Cambridge theatre scene is undoubtedly legendary. Well-known actors such as Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie… (and the list goes on!) have all trodden the boards of Cambridge theatres before the talented performers, directors, and production crews we know today. Many undergraduates grasp the theatrical opportunities on offer with both hands, and because Cambridge offers no degree subjects directly related to the performing arts, the theatre scene is undoubtedly more of a level playing field than you might find at other universities. Nevertheless, with so many shows performed each week and endless lists of auditions, it can all seem a bit overwhelming at first. We chatted to Oscar Yang, a second year at Peterhouse, to try and get an insight into the wonderful world of Cambridge theatre.

Did you find the Cambridge theatre scene daunting or complicated as a fresher? Yes, definitely.

There were so many venues and societies and it was definitely confusing and complicated. However, the fresher ‘get involved’ campaigns were so successful last year and it made actually getting involved with the Cambridge theatre scene as a fresher so much easier and less nerve-wrecking!

That’s true, more venues and shows also means more opportunities to kick off your dramatic career at Cambridge I guess! How would you say you broke into the Cambridge theatre scene and did it take long? It’s difficult to say! I would say I am

involved with some shows in Cambridge but the whole Cambridge Theatre community is so big that no one can really get into all parts of it! I was incredibly lucky to encounter some great mentors from years above who have helped me in so many ways and I hope in the very near future I can be in that position, helping people new to the Cambridge theatre scene!

It sounds like you quickly become part of a community when working on shows. What has been your favourite show to be involved in? My favourite show to be involved in? It would have to be a tie between Spring Awakening and Grief. Sorry to other shows I was involved in – I loved working on them too!

For Spring Awakening, the company, especially our wonderful director was just so on it I barely needed to do anything as a producer in regards to making sure each department was doing their jobs properly! For Grief, I got to work with people I’m familiar with and have worked with before plus people I’ve always wanted to do a show with so it was just a wonderful experience, except the fact that the play was way too depressing and we had to watch it every night for a whole week!

rather flexible in that people can pick and choose how much commitment they want to put in, from the number of shows one gets involved with to the type of role (some may require more commitment and some less).

Awesome! And finally, what would be the one piece of advice you would give to a fresher keen to engage in theatre at Cambridge? Get proactive! If you’re interested don’t worry to email or just ask! Everyone is so willing to help and support and there is no question too dumb to be asked!

Visit the CUSU freshers’ fair to find out more about getting involved in the wealth of theatre societies in Cambridge.

JOHANNES HJORTH

Haha oh dear! With such a high production standard I often wonder how Cambridge thespians fit it all in! Does being involved with theatre put a lot of strain on workload? I would be lying if I said being involved with theatre is helpful in regards to workload! However, I find that Cambridge theatre is

Crossword Clues Down 1. Fresh connecticut, spatula slung (10) 2. Will make peace when clever programmer is caught between texting ‘thank you’ (9) 3. Macabre, like a ghost, sort of (8) 4. Caution! Sin stirred is nonchalance (10) 5. May be taking legal action, coupled with 11 gets representative body (2) 6. Inelegant arrangement of sweet briar (9) 14. Covering all types, 14 dissected fauns (3) 15. Deer loses tail to perform (2) 17. Twitch sounds correct (3) 18. Call next of kin to decorate cake (3) Across 1.Feline self-esteem to ascend and group (10) 7. Curve part of archway (3) 8. Chooses reorganised end (4) 9. A small lump cut in 2 weed (3) 10. Island is first in old natural affinity (4) 11. Old institution of copper (2) 12. In hebrew and collaboration with 17 is minty fresh; confused act is felix (3) 13. Smears with fat to hide head of traffic post (5) 14. Hearing glass in the door is agony (4) 15. Randan cement veils cut shapes (5) 16. Crayon or short story (5) Crossword created by Cameron Wallis

12

04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine• The Cambridge Student

Photography Aiden Chan Styling Megan Lea and Jessie Mathewson Models Anthony Bridgen, Kate Ellison, Ally Lim, Jonathan Woolley Special thanks to Imogen Cassels and Amelia Hall

Back to school

The Cambridge Student • The Thursday Magazine • 04 October 2016

Topshop and Topman at the Grand Arcade

13

Our first fashion shoot of term saw TCS join forces with Topshop and the Grand Arcade to celebrate the start of a new academic year. Our models were sent back to school, with bright primary colours, sharp lines, and preppy styling providing a throwback to the crayons, pencils, and graph paper of childhood classrooms. We completely fell for Topshop and Topman’s latest collection – and a new year means new clothes, so what better way to ring in the term?

If this shoot has given you a style education, the Grand Arcade’s student night could be a budget-friendly solution. On Wednesday 5th October they’ll be offering increased student discounts at a range of stores, including 20% off at Topshop, as well as free food and drinks, an instore DJ, and lots of goodies up for grabs. Time for some wardrobe revision!

A longer version of this article and further images will appear on the TCS website.

Topman: Grey skinny fit suit (£160), navy rollneck jumper (£28), green skinny fit suit (£130), white and pink shortsleeve shirt (£28), embroidered bomber jacket (£75), white and grey check shirt (£30) Topshop: white shirt (£32), navy pleated skirt (£32), mustard jumper (£36), white trainers (£26), red top (£30), grey check skirt (£32), black shoes (£32), black check trousers (£42), pink coat (£79)

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04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

Listings Wed 5 Freshers Week debate workshop, The Cambridge Union, 7.30pm.

Grand Arcade’s Student Night, Grand Arcade 3-8pm Thurs 6 Vegan Tour of Cambridge, Parker’s Piece, 3pm Fri 7 WomCam Jumble sale, CUSU, 12pm Jazz @ Johns, Fisher Building, 9pm Clare Ents, Clare Cellars, 9.30pm RAG Freshers’ Bar Crawl, 7pm Sat 8 Guided Tours of The Fitzwilliam Museum, The Fitzwilliam Museum, 2pm

15

Taste Test: Tortilla Chips Amiya Nagpal

I

t’s week one and having some semblance of a social life still looks like a real possibility, so you decide to have people over in the evening. You need snacks, and somewhere between the constant offerings of port and of fancy tiny foods by your college you crave normality, so you go for crisps. Perhaps tortilla crisps, because you can never go wrong with those. They go with everything – salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, homemade cheese sauce (milk, cheddar, flour, butter - trust me), and even hummus if you’re weird like that.

To aid the choosing process (I know, dear readers, that you were losing sleep over this) I conducted a scientific double-blind taste test, sampling tortilla crisps from a range of sources: classic Doritos, the often over the top Marks and Spencer, and the Sainsbury’s Basics. Scientifically speaking, what you look for when tasting crisps are three vital things: the crunch, the texture, and the flavouring.

Doritos are hands down awful. When you first bite in, the crunch is misleadingly good, but once I kept going I slowly began to realise how odd the texture of the crisp was. The

flavouring somehow rests on top of the surface of the crisp, and no matter what type of Doritos you’ve gone for you come away with a weird powdery after-flavour.

Destitute from my Doritos experience, I was grateful to be able to taste some plain salted tortilla crisps. I was given both the Marks and Spencer tortilla crisps and the Sainsbury’s Basics (this is where the double-blind part comes in) and honestly, they were both fabulous: I couldn’t differentiate. Excellent crunch, an appropriately bumpy texture, and a degree of salt that is definitely unhealthy but also infinitely delicious. The difference here is simply price. M&S does the trick but with a hefty £1 label attached. Basics sweeps the table clean at 60p, the ultimate bargain.

True, M&S also does ‘interesting’ flavours and ‘scoop shaped’ crisps, but if I’ve learned anything from my twenty years of existence it is this – a tortilla is the spoon of the crisp world. Don’t get caught up in the funky flavours you find on the shelves. Don’t get bogged down by branding.

Stick with the classic, simple salted. Let your choice of dip define the evening.

BOTH IMAGES: JESSIE MATHEWSON

The Watersprite Film Festival: Freshers’ Screenings, The Old Divinity School, St John’s College, 7pm Sun 9 Impronauts: Quickfire, ADC Theatre, 8pm Mon 10 The Marshall Society: EY Networking Evening, Howard Building, Downing College, 6pm Tues 11 TCS Welcome Drinks, Grad Pad, The University Centre, Granta Place, 6-8pm

Compiled by Amelia Oakley

Too busy to read at Cambridge?

Molly Moss

S

o you’ve just got into Cambridge! You can’t wait to be here, and (assuming you do an essay subject like me) you can’t wait to get stuck into the mammoth reading list, either. You know that reading for the course in such an intense way will be incredibly rewarding but you’re anxious, of course, about how you’ll manage to peruse your favourite books (books that are unrelated to your degree) during term time, having heard the famous words, “I don’t have enough time to read – I’m too busy reading!” – even of people who have begun to detest books altogether. You’ve heard that books are no longer our friends; they are our enemies. How will you survive?

It’s true that during the madness of freshers’ term and the Medieval paper I stopped reading for pleasure. Wrestling the Green Knight and his axe seemed like an easier option than reading anything else on top of the mountain of work I had already, and whilst trawling through Piers Plowman (which felt at the time to be the most boring and longest poem in English?), there were times when I wasn’t sure if there was light at the end of the tunnel. It is safe to say that by week seven, I was more likely to be found using books as a pillow than reading any extras for pleasure.

However, by this point I could barely sleep, I was tense, and I was struggling with the reading for my degree. Miraculously, as soon as I turned back to the favourite old books that I had been neglecting, my sleep improved, my mood soared, and I learned to unwind.

Losing yourself in a book is the supreme relaxation. I found myself reaching for Sebastian Barry’s soft, lilting prose and Irish syntax, or something light and easy, to send me to sleep. Alternatively, I picked something like ‘Vanity Fair’— just feeling the weight of the book made me drop off. Reading a little in a less intense manner than my course required, I found it easier to handle my workload. What’s more, reading for pleasure improves your creativity and also widens your horizons. Do I sound mad? Well, in the words of Dr. Seuss: “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

But how, I hear you cry, am I going to find the time? Here’s a few helpful tips.

1. Manage your time better: Be organised: admit that the time you spend clicking on Facebook (around 30 times a day) could be put to better use. Not leaving your essay until

a couple of nights before your deadline will, of course, give you more time to read the books you enjoy.

2. Opt for lighter books, or poetry: The books you will be reading for your course are probably going to be demanding, so it’s OK to pick an easy read now and then – perhaps something that doesn’t require all of your concentration.

3. Join societies that involve reading for pleasure: Sitting through PemSoc (Pembroke Poetry Society) with a glass of wine in your hand and poetry in your ears is always an enjoyable evening, and a great way to distract you from your workload.

Even if you don’t have much time to spare, reading for pleasure alongside a busy degree is a great way to boost your wellbeing and mood. I’m talking about the moments you’re trying to get to sleep, while you’re having lunch or breakfast, or while you’re sprinting to your lectures – simply pull out your book and indulge yourself. We all have 24 hours in a day, and no one is ever too busy to read!

04 October 2016 • The Thursday Magazine • The Cambridge Student

Welcome to Cambridge

A

rriving in Cambridge can be a strange experience: for many students, a place here was a longstanding goal at school, a goal that brought with it lots of hard work, worry, and pressure. Getting a place is the reward, but it’s easy to feel that your time here will just mean more work and more pressure. It’s true that Cambridge can be stressful, just like any other university, and the pressure is something you’ll undoubtedly hear far too much about over the next few days and weeks: but it’s worth remembering that Cambridge can be lots of fun too, and that’s something you should absolutely make the most of.

Talk to people, make new friends, drink tea and eat biscuits, go out to bad clubs and cosy pubs, join societies, fail to respond to most of their emails, try out a few, find what you love. A Cambridge degree can feel like a constant rush to make the most of your time whether you’re in the library, on the pitch, on stage, or doing something else entirely – but it’s not what it should be about. At school it can feel like it’s all hard graft to get the grades, but your time at university is yours, and it’s up to you to decide what kind of experience it will be. So make it your own, and have some fun!

16

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student 9

Interviews

“Cambridge really doesn’t understand how academia and sport can coexist” Sriya Varadharajan Interviews Editor

G

iven the gloom that hangs over Cambridge during term time, not to mention the fact that the closest coast is seventy miles away, you wouldn’t really expect beach volleyball to particularly thrive here.

This, however, is exactly the assumption that Sam Dunbavin is looking to challenge. The third-year MML student recently represented England for the first time, travelling to Oslo to take part in the NEVZA (North European Volleyball Zonal

“The first day of the tournament fell on a day I had an exam” Association) competition, where he and his partner faced off against some of the best teams in Northern Europe.

They narrowly lost both their games and exited the tournament, which was a blow; speaking to The Cambridge Student, Dunbavin remarked that one of the main things that stood out to him out of the whole experience was how quickly it ended.

“We travelled four days to go to Oslo

and it was all done inside of an hour and a half.”

However, it was still a rewarding experience for him. “Really, the dream for me is playing for England on the international circuit. I got a block on the first point, which reminded me that it’s actually the same playing as in every other game – you still block them, still hit the ball.”

However, his experiences of playing high-level sport have not been wholly positive, and for this he places some of the fault on the university. “I don’t think Cambridge is very good at supporting athletes compared to other top universities. I entered a competition earlier this season that was in exam term, and the first day of that fell on a day I had an exam, exactly the same as for several other athletes that were going. They applied to their universities, who made arrangements; Cambridge refused to do that, saying that if I didn’t take that exam I’d fail that year.”

How much of a difference did this make? “That competition would’ve been my first cap, and if I’d been able to enter that competition I’d have been able to play three such competitions because I’d have got points from that.

They stopped me from getting on the

ladder earlier.”

He suggested this problem was endemic in Cambridge’s attitude to sport. “I emailed a lot of people, none of whom were really helpful at all. They weren’t very understanding in terms of accommodating both the academia

“It’s actually very physical, people hit the ball really hard” and the sport. There are a lot of people who can manage both.”

He has spoken out before about the lack of facilities in Cambridge for beach volleyball, saying: “The nearest beach facilities are at least an hour’s drive away, which is difficult especially in the winter. They’ve rebutted suggestions to build a beach volleyball court, saying it’s not really a sport. People will very rarely commit to having to travel two and a half hours to train for an hour and a half. It really impacts study and cuts down on your social life.”

Dunbavin is currently in Austria on his year abroad, where he aims to be more persistent than ever in trying to get beach volleyball facilities built. He highlighted the importance of getting

more people to help in this, especially finding space to build a court, as well as contacting the University Beach Volleyball Club to find out about teams and trials.

Does he think there’s a stigma around beach volleyball which contributes to this unwillingness to make adjustments?

“People are always mentioning Top Gun to me,” he said, a bit wryly. “A lot of people dismiss it as a girl’s sport. It’s actually very physical, people hit the

ball really hard, and it’s a very active game. There’s always something going on, there’s always something to capture the imagination there.

“So it is stigmatised a bit, and I think people don’t really take it seriously as a sport and it’s not very well known, but it is growing in England. Hopefully, slowly but surely, we’re breaking that stigma down and showing that people who play beach volleyball are athletes, are serious competitors, and deserve to be treated as such.”

SAM DUNBAVIN

Clockwise from top: The students of Government High School, Phey (Credit: Hugh Hathaway), Volunteers and class at Asrai centre NGO, Mongolia (Credit: Rūta Valaityte), Travelling around Ulaan Baator (Credit: Rūta Valaityte) , Williams Papworth Studentship holder Yum Skyid matriculating at Murray Edwards (Credit: Yum Skyid)

Applications

now open Find out more at

uk.capgemini-consulting.com/graduates

Julia

Consultant

10

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

Features

Getting found in a good book Elsa Maishman

N

orwegian Wood is a 1987 novel by the Japanese author Haruki Murakami. It’s also one of the reasons why I finished my second year at Cambridge. I hadn’t read anythingnon degree-related for six months before I read Norwegian Wood in April – and I hadn’t read much degree-related either…

Despite having lived in Cambridge for 18 months, I felt lost.

Eventually I got sick of staring at a laptop screen willing the words written there about 19th century French literature to make sense, and went to Waterstones to find something else to read. A friend recommended Norwegian Wood, and although I can’t say that life suddenly became full of sunshine and rainbows, it certainly became more endurable.

It absorbed me completely. Maybe it was the characters’ problems, maybe it was the fact that the protagonist was also a university student… Maybe it was just the fact that for a few minutes I could pretend that I was somewhere, anywhere, other

than Cambridge.

After Norwegian Wood followed On Chesil Beach, The Children Act, Atonement, and The Kite Runner. Thankfully, Exam Term has largely faded into oblivion, but most of the snippets that I do remember are of me reading: in bed, on a blanket outside, on the floor of a friend’s room.

Having something enjoyable to look forward to can make a world of difference.

It’s all very well to be focused, to concentrate your time on your academic work, but everyone needs time for themselves. For some people that means getting drunk with friends, burning off their frustration on the rugby pitch or writing high-quality student journalism, but for others it can be vital to take some quiet time alone to just read.

Escaping into the fictional world of another person can be extremely therapeutic, because there is always someone who feels the same as you, or is in a world completely unlike your own.

Whether you need companionship or escapism, it’s there.

Home away

JAMES NICHOLS

Constructing a place to call home as a fresher of colour

CANTAB12

Sana Ali Features Editor

M

y very first experience of Cambridge was not one of comfort, love and the promise of a new home, as it is now. On the first day, sitting amongst my entire year and fellow companions for the duration of my time in college, I instinctively scanned the room for anyone who looked like me. Darker skin, a hijab perhaps, anything I could visibly identify with to make me feel like less of an anomaly. After this proved largely unsuccessful, I convinced myself that this did not mean I did not belong, that I was no different and deserved to be here.

But, as a young fresher of colour, the weight of questions such as, ‘intelligent people cannot be racist, right?’, and the offhand nature of microaggressions slowly but surely begins to manifest themselves in the form of a wavering sense of self and hardened vulnerability. In other words, in the space of a week, Cambridge’s unbearable whiteness begins to wear you down. There is a specific loneliness that comes with being a person of colour who feels unable to truly take up the space they occupy, to

You’ll be surprised at how quickly loving relationships build

claim their duality of identity and culture as their own. But there is an even more specific, liberating feeling of inclusion that comes with mutual acceptance, self-love and good company. These affirmations may seem obvious, but some affirmations are worth affirming.

Firstly, you are not alone. Cambridge may seem like a lonely place, but it has the potential fiercely to be the opposite. From super cool, friendly groups such as FLY, to the feeling of being part of a comfortable college environment, Cambridge does not have to be isolating. Be willing to share your experiences with friends, and be willing to accept their willingness to understand in return. Through fostering an open atmosphere, you’d be surprised at how quickly loving relationships build.

Be open, but also understand that it is not your job to educate people. Defending yourself so often can be tiring. You do not always have to correct people. Sometimes it’s okay to let things go and focus on being kind to yourself. Did someone say something inappropriate without you calling them out on it? It’s okay. Feel uncomfortable around people using

racial slurs without feeling like you could vocalise your discomfort? It’s okay. First and foremost, your priority is yourself. It can be exhausting to always be on guard, so unwind, watch a bit of Game of Thrones, and let violence and war fill your mind instead.

You did not fill a quota by being here. You are intelligent, and you belong. Be proud of that. Be bold and claim your identity as your own; you may feel as if you are forced to explore how you see yourself and that is not a bad thing. Allow yourself to feel

empowered through connecting with parts of yourself you may not have had to probe in the past.

Whether you come from a place which is the antithesis of Cambridge or not, it can be difficult to just be whilst here. However, the potential to create lasting, strong relationships is unparalleled to any other university. The strangers around you now are the same people you’ll share love, tears, laughter, vomit and heartbreak with, so get used to their faces. Claim your identity as your own, and the rest will follow.

11

The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

Features

from home

Admiration for Decoration!

JESSIE MATHEWSON

Jo Alstott Features Editor

A

ny self-respecting Cambridge student will happily wax lyrical about the radiant beauty of our university town. Cobbled streets, elegant colonnades, ornate towers – your Instagram will certainly thank you for such infinite sustenance. In spite of this glorious outer-shell, most freshers upon arrival will discover an inverse-Tardiseffect. A dark carpet, dark curtains, barren shelves, a “pillow” that resembles a dropped pancake, are a long way away from the Gryffindor common room you’ve been dreaming of. To transform this soulless hovel into a home-awayfrom-home is entirely down to you.

But why, some may ask (those, perhaps, who managed to fit all their possessions into a single solitary suitcase) does it matter? It’s a place to sleep, and nothing more. We here at Features would beg to differ.

Whilst the various Cambridge libraries

have much to offer, there will be times when working in your room is a necessity.

In order to work well, you need to create an environment where you can be comfortable and productive. Whether this means creating a snug of blankets in the corner of your room, or putting photos along your desk to motivate you, you’ll need to improve upon the provided clinical beige theme.

Having a personalised and cosy room will not only benefit you, however. It’s often something your neighbours will appreciate. If you’re nervous about befriending these strange new students on your staircase, a room that feels like home will be an instant hub. One of the easiest and simplest ways to achieve this friendly atmosphere is a rug, and lots of wall décor, and some extra lighting (controversial fairy lights optional).

You’ll have the true Hogwarts feel in no time.

SEBASTIAN BALLARD

PokemonGo and dragons in the library: returning from intermitting Miriam Joy

G

oing back to Cambridge for second year after the long summer vacation was hard enough.

This time, it’s not three months I’ve been gone, but seven, and I haven’t been diligently reading for my dissertation or going over my notes – I’ve been avoiding work altogether, and trying to learn to manage the combination of health problems that led me to intermit at the end of February.

Now, as I contemplate readjusting to uni life and Cambridge as a city, I’m trying a new technique to try and put a positive spin on it.

I now make a mental table: for each thing I’m worried about, I have to come up with something else I’m looking forward to. Bearing in mind that I have an anxiety disorder and literally get worried about everything, this is quite the challenge, but it’s one I embrace and at least it forces me to remember that there are good things too.

For example, having to go and do my own food shopping sucks, because it’s money and effort. But every errand I

EDUARDO WOO

run in town gives me a chance to visit Cambridge’s millions of Pokéstops and catch rare Pokémon. I left several months before Pokémon Go was a thing and my hometown’s offerings are pretty feeble, so I’ve got to admit I’m way more excited about playing in Cambridge than I rationally should be.

(Related: I’m sure there are grounds for research on the popularity of Girton among people trying to hatch 10km eggs.)

It’s also going to be scary going into a new year group, but then again, I already know some of them and I’ll be able to see a lot of my old friends again, including some who have been away on their year abroad.

Newnham’s also going to be a building site and I live right next to the building they’re demolishing – but however noisy it is, at least I’ll have my own space again, instead of living with my parents.

But those are the easy clouds to find the sunny side of. It’s harder to offset my fears about the workload, and the fact that I won’t be able to take a day off every time my chronic pain, mental health, fatigue – or all of the above – flare up. These aren’t

insiginificant – they’re the reason I left, and they haven’t gone away.

But then I look beyond work and I keep reminding myself of everything I’m looking forward to: my friends, visiting Heffers, the Newnham gardens in Spring, Cambridge when/if it snows, the ballet society, the dragons that get drawn on the whiteboard in the ASNC Common Room, the bad puns you hear constantly in Cambridge (or is that just among my friends?)…

Then I think again and maybe, somewhere underneath all the anxiety and Netflix addiction, I’m even ready to go back to studying.

However long you’ve been gone from Cambridge – or whether you’re about to arrive for the first time – there are always concerns, fears, potential problems. It’s an intense place and only gets more intense in our own minds.

But there’s also a lot to look forward to. And as I go into Year 2.5 (I’ve yet to think of a wittier name for my second attempt at second year), I intend to focus on the positive things, in the hope that they can keep the negative ones at bay.

12

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

Features

Navigating Cantab The Long Read: Calais, building a home culture Week One:

Merlyn Thomas Features Editor

Matriculation dinner

Emer O’ Hanlon Columnist

S

o, you’ve done the actual matriculation bit where you wear the funny gown and sign the special book with the special pen stating the historic county of your birth. Already it’s a more elaborate process than at other universities where you sign a form and head off to the pub. However, there is one more matriculation hurdle to get through: Matriculation Dinner.

First of all – remember this – pace yourself. Cambridge affords the opportunity to get invited to several of these ‘fancy dinners’ (Halfway Hall and Scholars’ Dinner, to name a couple) and eventually you’ll get wise to it.

But let me make it plain – you should regard it as your duty to bag as much free stuff as possible at the college’s expense. But unless you, like Elizabeth I, have the heart and stomach of a concrete elephant, you can’t do that effectively if you get squiffy after fifteen minutes.

You’ll start off with some kind of wine or champagne

Unless you have a stomach like Elizabeth I, pace yourself reception. Tempting as it might be, try to limit yourself to one glass, because the less champagne you drink before dinner, the more room you’ll have later on for the dessert wines, and that is where the goodies are.

Remember that at dinner you’ll be seated with one or more fellows as well as your subject mates, most of whom you won’t yet know. Conversation may be jolly, but most likely you will find rough spots. This, combined with the free-flowing drink, makes wine an almost inevitable topic of conversation. In this you have a choice of several personalities to adopt. Safe but conventional is to admit you know nothing about wine. Potentially less safe in the company of future supervisors is to show off your in-depth knowledge of the Lidl £3 range. (I’m personally a fan of the one with a lizard on the bottle).

The whites and reds served with the food will be nice, but the dessert wines are where it really gets fun. The sweet white and claret are pleasers, but for me, port will always win on style points. A pleasant surprise about the expensive ports is that they’re deliciously spicy.

But enough of wine. What about the food? Any foodies out there will have been already traumatised by the way Cambridge colleges like to cook their vegetables, but for big dinners the kitchens always pull out all the stops. Expect at least four courses, and expect good things. Richer sauces, exotic ingredients, nicely steamed vegetables and showstopping puddings all await thee.

One warning, though. There are those who refer to a treat after dinner as ‘dessert’ and those who call it ‘pudding’. Having been a stout believer in the former my whole life, I never thought I’d change my ways for Cambridge. But Cambridge, as is so often the case, is insidious. Pudding, in the scenario of a fancy dinner, is the sweet thing, and dessert the wine, cheese and fruit afterwards. After just a few of these dinners, I found myself not wincing at the sound of someone calling a post-meal cake ‘pudding’. Let me tell you, it took me some time to come to terms with the person I’d become.

T

ents flap precariously in the wind. These patchwork colours of nylon sprawl left, right and centre. Jagged fences of battered, old wood poke out of the sandy ground fixed around some 3x3 square metre pieces of land. This is what they call home. This is what we call the Jungle, a refugee camp in Calais.

It is hard to believe 10,000 people live here. Amidst the knee high tents, a few small wooden shacks stand shoulder height with tarpaulin stretched across them and tied. This particular one even has a creaky door, half rotten at the edges. Inside this small space sit five men on makeshift chairs and an old bed. Where there is space, there is a home.

I don’t know how old they are. In the Jungle, age really is just a number: a man of 40 years may look 20; a boy of 15 may look 30. Likewise what was supposed to be a month has become a year and what was supposed to be the dream has become a nightmare.

A Bollywood song fills the air, coming from the 3 Idiots restaurant, a wink at those who know it as a reference to the Bollywood comedy, or a conveniently amusing name to others. Despite the chaos and poor conditions, many have lived in the camp for months, sometimes years. I was volunteering there for a month.

But I could leave – they couldn’t.

What many outside it do not realise is that they are not just a conglomerate of people, they are a community. A community with small restaurants, serving food from their home countries; shops, the majority selling flags from the respective countries of the refugees; barbers; mosques and churches. In these conditions of extreme fragility and inactivity in the

camp, these amenities have several functions – primarily an eerie sense of normality amongst the bizarre landscape of the Jungle.

The men insist I have tea, scooping a heaped spoonful of sugar into the cup – the Sudanese way I am told.

The man nearest to me, Sadiq, reaches for the bowl of nectarines, which had been brought out especially for me, and passes me one whilst he yawns.

“Did you try again last night?” I ask.

They recount another failed attempt to cross over to England. The Channel Tunnel is a short distance from the Jungle. A metal fence about 15 ft high towers over the sprawling landscape of the camp. It is all that separates the camp from the motorway leading to the ferry port.

And now a new wall is being built.

The UK immigration minister, Robert Goodwill, told MPs that a four metre high wall will be built to run alongside the wire fencing as part of a £17m Anglo-French attempt to tighten security. People regularly die trying to get onto the motorway so they can stow away in one of the lorries. Yet despite the new wall, that is not going to stop.

People will always find new ways to get around but it will only become more dangerous for those trying.

But by 31st October, the Jungle will all be demolished. The French government claim that they will rehouse and move the residents of the camp to accomodation across France, in an attempt to “unblock Calais”. This is not the first time such claims have been made; French authorities have made repeated efforts to shut the camp down before, but all unsuccessfully.

Less than six months ago, a large area of the south side of the camp was demolished in an attempt to reduce the number of residents in the camp. In the chaos that ensued, 129

They are not just a conglomerate of people, they are a community

unaccompanied minors went missing.

Vulnerable children were exposed to child traffickers and sexual violence as they got lost in the commotion.

It is feared the same will happen again – but on a far larger scale.

There are around 900 unaccompanied minors living in the camp at the moment. Around 400 of these are eligible to be resettled in the UK, but, despite government promises, not a single one has been yet.

Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere in the Jungle is tense. With the fear of eviction constantly looming, there is uncertainty in the air. Of course. uncertainty is not foreign to these residents. They know what it is like not to know where the next meal will come from, or which country they will be in next or even the next time they will see their families.

In an almost childish back and forth of responsibility between the French and British governments, it seems as though neither wants to take much responsibility for the Jungle. The small, under-funded charities that operate in the camp have acted as a life support amidst this ongoing political game of table tennis.

In a last push to help residents continue their life in the Jungle before it is dismantled, these charities, such as Help Refugees and Care4Calais, are calling desperately for donations.

Being evicted from the camp will not be an easy process. They have already been forced to flee one home, and leaving another will not be any easier.

Donations will enable these residents to leave with whatever dignity and few possessions they have left.

Like so much, this has become a political issue. But it is a humanitarian one, and history will not remember us kindly if we turn our back on what is essentially on our doorstep.

MERLYN THOMAS

13

The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

Comment

Cambridge Freshers’ week: In defence of the dull

Editors-in-Chief: Stevie Hertz and Jessie Mathewson Founded 1999 Volume 18

Lili Bidwell Comment Editor

F

reshers’ week. A blur of drunkeness.

Constant hangover and bad decision after bad decision. That is what we all expect, that is what they do at other universities. Cambridge is different.

We have college families, quizzes, and film nights. Perhaps more tame than other universities. Moreover, it does not last as long. First years are thrown into lectures the first Thursday here.

There are positives to this system though. Freshers do not have time to get bored and homesick. They are less likely to feel lonely thanks to the college community, and there are options available for those who do not like drinking and going out. The involvement of second and third years because of the college family system is also very positive; it allows freshers to fully integrate into college life and they have a range of people whom they can ask for advice. The focus on daytime and sober activities provides a better opportunity for freshers to actually make friends, rather than desperately trying to piece together what happened the night before in the club.

Furthermore, who actually wants to be completely overwhelmed and lost in a huge club, separated from the few

people they recognise and thrown into the mosh pit amongst random people from other universities? It is not so appealing. The idea of the crazy nights out and partying for weeks on end sounds fun, but the reality results in a haze of alcohol and vague recollections of people you met last night.

Cambridge, in comparison, gives students a chance to form deep relationships with other students and to fully understand both the university and college systems. Perhaps the most valuable is the involvement of students in other years. In other universities the freshers events are solely aimed at freshers, which is effective at giving them the chance to get to know each other, but leaves little scope for older years to participate. Cambridge is very different. With the college system and the college families within that, new students meet second and third second who can show them the ropes.

Subject parties and events are also benficial because they link students with other people on their course who can help them. It creates a subject community that benefits both freshers and older students.

Although it can be nice for second and third years to be a part of fresher’s’

week, it can be a strange experience for them. For example, as an older student in the college bar on the first night it can suddenly feel as if you are back in first year, once again surrounded by people you do not know.

Second and third years are faced with having to make endless small talk with incoming freshers, or else risk no longer feeling part of the college community. Third years especially can feel distant from the incoming students, less linked with college life; the freshers slowly begin to take over and third years might not feel like they belong anymore. The majority of the events in freshers’ week are organised by, and revolve around, the first and second years, leaving out the third years. For some this is not an issue; in their final year they are happy to do their own thing and are not interested in freshers. However, others can feel out of touch and all of a sudden very old.

Freshers’ week is not easy for anyone, but it is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and Cambridge freshers’ week is fairly unique. Cambridge’s different emphasis is arguably much more worthwhile than any big, anonymous night out.

STUX

On paying for Cambridge Where should the money come from?

Across this issue of The Cambridge Student, there seems to be a great question of where the money, for all of this – the buildings, the academics, the port – should come from. In undergraduate degrees, there remains a large funding gap between the cost of our degrees and how much students pay. So, as the risk of falling EU funding looms, it appears that the University will become evermore dependent on the Government, donations, and on raising tuition fees (albeit in line with inflation).

While raising tuition fees will surely do more harm to access, relying on philanthropic donations is no panacea for funding the shortfall.

There continues to be questions over whether donations and research partnerships can and should alter

the direction of work. Can such large amounts of money ever fully come without strings attached?

Furthermore, the University already has an endowment of £5.9 billion, the largest of any university outside America. Are these donations doing the maximum good that they can do by coming here, rather than by going to another charitable cause? While Yours, Cambridge, would certainly argue so, it is not necessarily clear.

With such entangled ethical debates, the responsibility to pay for educating the next generation should lie with the Government. If we want to retain a highly skilled workforce and scientific and research development, bodies such as Cambridge should be funded, in a reliable, unbiased way.

Judging universities A smart metric is needed

There’s a pleasing karmic justice in that, after years of measuring us, giving us grades and finding us wanting, universities in England will finally themselves face standardised testing. Under the Government’s new plans, universities will receive rankings of gold, silver, and bronze, with bronze not meaning, ‘nice

try’ but rather that determined improvement is needed. However, student satisfaction, graduate employment, and drop-out rates are fantastically broad strokes on which to judge a university. For example, judging welfare strictly on those who drop out leaves a silent wedge who will never be heard. We can do better.

It’s not the junior doctors who are killing the NHS

Noah Froud Columnist

T

he NHS’ condition is not an exciting Casualtystyle emergency: a simple defibrillator shock of a few million or billion pounds will not revive it.

No handsome A&E doctor is rushing down the corridor to save it. There is only Jeremy Hunt, who is so desperate to prove his dedication to the health

service he wears an “NHS” badge 24/7.

The NHS’s disease is persistent, with no obvious cure. We continue to see groups protest when expensive treatments are denied to them. Most recently, the latest debate is over breast cancer drugs which lower the risk of cancer returning. The number of such denied drugs continues to increase as the service suffers from chronic underfunding, made even more catastrophic by increasing demand.

With an aging population the number of people who regularly use NHS services, require operations and hospital beds is set to continue to rise. With continually rising demand, we need to accept that we need to spend drastically more on healthcare over the long term, or accept that the

NHS cannot remain as it is, treating everyone on clinical need.

Terms like “rationing” and “utilitarianism” are being used by commentators and experts more and more to describe the future of the NHS. Deciding which groups are most in need and most deserving of care is firmly on the agenda of NHS trusts.

Slowly but surely the public is accepting that a comprehensive universal healthcare system is unsustainable with our aging population.

Once the previously sacrosanct idea of treatment for all is violated in one way, the whole house of cards will come crashing down as the public accept this new logic of rationing as unavoidable.

Young and healthy as we are, the

consequences of such a shift are not obvious. Yet changes to the NHS will clearly affect us when we grow older as we come to rely on it more and more.

As the retirement age rises, we’ll rely on it to keep us healthy and able to work for longer and longer.

These changes and the weakening of the universal system have been occurring for years. There has always been this mesh between private health care and the NHS. But recent trends and moves towards “rationing” will dramatically accelerate it. What we will find more and more is that receiving rapid treatment on the NHS for non-emergency aliments is virtually impossible.

The consequence of this is that if you have a non-emergency condition

which nonetheless makes your life a misery and working hellish, you’ll be forced to either sit it out in a waiting list for treatment, or pay to be treated now.

The NHS itself will remain “free at the point of use” as the government promised this week, yet the service will simply shrink to a skeleton of its former self, unable to stretch to provide non-critical care.

This is how the concept of care “from cradle to grave” dies, by slipping away quietly, without fanfare or some epic clash between Jeremy Hunt and the junior doctors. It is avoidable, yet we need to massively increase how much we spend on the NHS, starting now and continuing as the population ages.

14

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

Comment

Cambridge requires a touch of the real world Izzy Sabini

M

y last second year exam was an existential car crash of French literature, so as I walked out into the cava-soaked sunshine, the prospect of fifteen glorious essay-free months was the exam term antidote that I needed. A year and a half later, away from libraries and overly-articulate academics, my perception of Cambridge has been on a rollercoaster with me.

Three months in, I found myself sitting in the airport waiting for a one-way flight to Spain and questioning every life choice I had ever made. I never thought Cambridge would be my comfort zone, but eight weeks of madness had become the norm and arriving alone in a foreign country, with a mediocre level of Spanish and nowhere to live, definitely was not.

Fast forward a few months and Cambridge was a distant memory. Seeing my friends as anxious finalists quickly reassured me that MML actually had been the right decision, and I retreated to Barcelona, safe in the knowledge that my

biggest concern was how frazzled I would get by the sun, and not by my supervisor.

But contrary to common belief, I didn’t have a doss of a Year Abroad. I had a lot of responsibility, with long hours. Yet the reality was that working life outside ‘The Bubble’ suited me. I found myself transformed. I was no longer the person who used to swear at their alarm in the morning, instead becoming somebody who enjoyed a routine. And perhaps the best discovery of all – the weekend was a real thing.

So fast forward again and I was unashamedly sniffling as I wrote an emotional end-of-year-abroad Facebook post in the airport – something I always swore that I would never do. However, it wasn’t just the prospect of leaving an amazing place and incredible friends behind, deep down, the thought of leaving my new comfort zone terrified me.

I was used to the slight anxiety felt at the end of the long vacation, then the pre-year abroad jitters, and now I had come the full circle. I hadn’t realised just how much I had demonized Cambridge in my head

I had lost sight of why I applied but time away made me learn to love my subject again.

and the thought of returning to rolling deadlines, late-night library sessions, and an excruciatingly neglected dissertation made me feel physically sick.

You could argue that if I felt so strongly, then a year away is not a good thing. But in hindsight, we all love to hate Cambridge and I will readily admit to being melodramatic.

The truth is, now that the blues are fading, I know how lucky I was to have this year as the break that I needed.

With the stigma surrounding intermission and the constant pressure making us unnecessarily dwell on our mediocrity, I would now say that a year abroad is the break that every Cantab needs and deserves.

Rather than being catapulted straight into final year, a year abroad provides a necessary dose of perspective. To burst the bubble and reflect on it from the outside is invaluable. There is a real world out there and there is a life beyond the essay crises – something we all too often forget.

I had lost sight of why I applied to Cambridge, but ironically, spending time away helped me to love my subject again.

NICOLAS HUK

Is Cambridge those it once ig Moriyo Aiyeola

T Trapped between conferences and conventions Stevie Hertz

T

he news tonight, as has been most nights for the past few weeks, will lead with a piece on one of the party conferences. Squadrons of journalists have been dispatched to report on the speeches read, policies announced, and obligatory protests that occured outside. Swathes of news segments, hot takes, and analysis have been produced.

But despite all of this, eyes glaze over at the talk of party conferences; they are for insiders, for political journalists and not for the people watching at home. The drama is behind the scenes in the people meeting and schmoozing, not in the speeches in front of camera. Westminister may have set up shop in Birmingham for the week, but it is still distant to all too many.

Compare this to the American nominating conventions. Attending the Democratic National Convention this summer, it was clear that there was an emphasis on accessibility. Anyone could

attend a majority of convention events and even many of the ticketed events were streamed online. These events were made interesting for everyone; not just by featuring celebrities, though seeing Katy Perry live was fun, but also how the politicians themselves spoke.

Speeches were rousing and emotional, and went beyond policy to discuss the health and future of the nation. A clear party stand, attitude, and position was put out. While of course the election brought further attention, 33.7 million people watched Clinton’s speech and 34.9 million watched Trump. Even on nights when the candidates were not speaking, between 20 and 30 million tuned in to watch the conventions. Political engagement of this sort rarely, if ever, happens in Britain.

Of course, such populism comes with both literal and emotional costs. When pitching themselves as a convention site, Philadelphia estimated that it would cost $84 million, alongside $43 million in policing and security costs. These

It must be possible to engage without devaluing debate

overshadow even their most extravagant British equivalents.

The cost to the political system is harder to quantify. The glamorisation of politics and preference of rhetoric over policy has, over the years, allowed the rise of Trump and other politicians who appeal to emotion and fame, rather than the cold policy of the party conferences.

But surely, there must be a middle ground – to be able to engage people and make political debate interesting, without entirely devaluing it. A balance has to be struck between preaching to those already interested in politics and keeping some solemnity. Britain already gives into its political demons through PMQs, when we show how divided our politics can be, why not use that energy instead for an optimistic speech? It is not mutally exclusive to engage people in politics without completely sacrificing facts. Without a participatory democracy, which gets you vaguely excited to vote, we are dooming ourselves to perpetually apathic politics.

o link Vogue and Cambridge seems far reaching, but there is a point to it. Watching Richard Macer’s recent documentary following the ins and outs of British Vogue was slightly like gatecrashing.

All working at the magazine were “well to do”, many had connections and yes, all were white. As a coveted name in fashion, getting a position there is the Holy Grail for some trying to scrape a career together in fashion, journalism or both.

Cambridge in no way acts as British Vogue does. But, the preconceptions of both are similar to many people. Both are longstanding, elite British establishments of influence and have tended to cater for those towards the top. However this is nothing unknown.

A sense of feeling lost in a field of people unlike you is part of the deal of going to university. After all, that is what is good about moving out at eighteen or nineteen years old and discovering the world is not the bubble you grew up in. Yet coming from an underrepresented group also adds feeling of isolation and internal conflict.

Isolation because seeing and connecting with others from the same background initially seems unlikely. Yet internal conflict about whether you will lose yourself. It’s almost like getting that job at Vogue as a young, working class black journalist and abandoning the difficulties that made you you in the first place. You consider choosing to assimilate into the ways, the talk, and the behaviour of the new club, because you got

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The Cambridge Student • 04 October 2016

Comment

HUANGCJZ

Older and wiser: the pros and cons of ‘maturity’ Tanya Brown

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ou’re over 21, and you are coming to Cambridge for your undergraduate degree, From the outside it might seem that mature undergraduates face unique challenges, but in fact they don’t differ from those of standard age students.

I was told during my application period that because I hadn’t studied extensively through A-Levels, but had taken an Access Course, that I would be less prepared for the workload.

Well, let me tell you, I don’t think any student is fully prepared for the workload (and the sometimes raised eyebrows when you don’t complete an essay, or miss the point completely, likely owing to the 3am Red Bull driven verbal diarrhoea on a screen).

Another misconception is that being a mature undergraduate is boring, or that we are boring. At the age of 27, I do have a better idea of what I enjoy doing, so I didn’t sign up to Cheerleading or Chess Society when I made my pilgrimage around

There is an idea that being a mature student is boring

Freshers’ Fair, but I did join societies and engage in activities that I know I enjoy, and that have enhanced my Cambridge experience.

The social side of Cambridge is no different for mature students either.

Admittedly, I might not be in Life on a Sunday, or have a plethora of bad life decisions to laugh about whilst quietly dying inside, but there is as much socialising as you like. For example if you don’t like clubbing anymore, all the mature colleges have Bops and Swaps, of the formal and very informal types, as well as intercollege sports and societies for example Boat Clubs and even June Events.

I should also add, that I have many standard age friends, mostly from my course, just because you may be slightly older it doesn’t mean that you will be ostracised. Some of my friends like to go out three times a week, some don’t; this doesn’t differ what age you are when at Cambridge, where age is such a irrelevant divide amongst people who have far more in common than not.

There are a few small benefits to being a mature undergraduate; for example knowing what you enjoy doing, and using this to refine and maximise your time at Cambridge. I was also told that mature undergraduates often have more idea of time management, and are more driven toward their goals with less incentive to go out and party. Finally, and one of the greatest benefits of being a mature undergrad is that the JCR’s and MCR’s at mature colleges are not split. This means that all students socialise together so you get the opportunity to meet a wider student community.

My experience as a mature undergraduate has really been about personal discovery.

I came to Cambridge from a professional job, and I thought I had established who I was as a person, but Cambridge has definitely expanded and refined my beliefs about the world I live in.

I have made life long friends, of all ages, made mistakes that I will learn from, and learnt to subsist on beans on toast. Isn’t that what university is about?

welcoming to We’re not gonna pay: when college gnored? accomodation is extortionate in and want to stay in. Perhaps donning that gown for the first time at a formal does rather feel like costume, especially when you are the opposite of a rich, white male.

The truth is student populations are rapidly changing. The initial issues of arriving at university are certainly dealing with those who have not been exposed to as many differences as others, and might retain certain ignorances. However there is now less reason to accept feelings of alienation once entering an establishment where it seemed far off or unwelcoming for someone like you.

Whether you are working class or belong to an ethnic minority you are no longer entering top universities or succeeding in your careers like an imposter. The Establishment that seemed to shut you out is now there to be transformed, diversified and perhaps enlightened.

Access schemes, outreach events and initiatives are slowly working to encourage groups less likely to apply to Oxbridge, to apply. Although private schooled and perhaps Grammar schooled students still dominate Oxbridge proportionally more than they should, progress is happening.

Britain and its institutions will continue to be dominated by class, but arriving at Cambridge doesn’t mean you have to prove anything or transform yourself. You don’t have to censor the way you talk, tame your accent or suppress your culture. Right now you are one of a few, but in the long run, the few will be turning into the many.

Sophie Dickinson Comment Editor

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can’t afford to eat if I don’t work”, said a UCL student in January when asked about her living costs. We are repeatedly told that no one’s university experience should be shaped by personal finance, and yet this still so clearly is the case. Whilst the UCL ‘Cut The Rent’ campaign ‘declared victory’ as their university conceded over a million pounds to students, the affordability of university across the country still needs discussing.

In Cambridge, rent prices are rarely discussed. Whilst accommodation choice varies across universities, most have a scale of affordability, which all students will be aware of. In Cambridge, the variation of accommodation within each college, and then across colleges themselves, means people stoically accept their living conditions without a wider awareness of their quality, or even whether they are objectively expensive.

Living in, or amongst, the crumbling arches of the city means that facilities (constant hot water! room for a proper kitchen!) are dubious, and can quite easily be dismissed as part of the eccentricity and charm of the university. However, it seems that students have forgotten that they are entitled to comfort.

More importantly, the cost of accommodation should not bleed a student loan dry; should not be a source of panic.

The living costs of Cambridge are expensive enough – it simply is not a student town

in terms of its retail or food choices, that much is clear. So we do need to follow the lead of UCL and demand change from the university we are paying to house us.

Is our being quiet on this issue indicative of a wider lack of student engagement with policy and protest? Feeling among the mass of students (at Cambridge, but indeed nationally) seems happy, according to the official line of our institutions. Maybe this is a positive: if we don’t feel the need to protest as the generation before did in the heady days of the 70s and 80s, maybe real progress has been made. The fact the minority group movements are represented as standard across higher education bodies is a clear indicator of this. But social justice groups also garner media coverage for the wrong reasons (see recent outrage from Oberlin College in the US after Vietnamese banh mi was served with ciabatta instead of baguette, for example).

Perhaps our lack of action regarding rent strikes reveals a fatigue with the minutiae of social movements as a whole; a fear of appearing to be a pastiche of the ‘left wing loon’ Daily Mail columnists so eagerly berate. However, in a society in which a record number of adults cannot afford to move out of their parents’ home, it seems the demographic which should be protesting is oddly quiet.

As an educated, numerous body, in a position to mobilise effectively (as seen at UCL), it seems almost disgusting that we are not holding our universities to account for something that essentially amounts

University places should be available on the basis of academic merit, not financial siuation.

social cleansing. University places should be available on the basis of academic merit, not financial situation. Rent prices are a basic cost that students have to pay, and therefore attempts to lower the cost of study should begin there.

As always, the university is aware of its status, and therefore can make financial decisions that do not favour the student.

Of course, the university would respond with cries of ‘financial aid is available’ and ‘student welfare is our priority’- and I’m sure it is. However, the fact that students have limited accommodation choices within colleges, and the culture of accepting where we live (especially in first year) means that the university can act as a rule unto itself in terms of costing decisions.

I do not think we are demanding enough as a student body. UCL ‘Cut The Rent’ campaign clearly faced incredible difficulties – threats of court action and eviction, on top of studies, cannot have been comforting. But the sheer amount of media coverage (from The Guardian and BBC particularly) indicates interest beyond the student body.

If there begins to be movement from amongst students, the support from without is there. To refuse to pay rent is daunting for most, but holding the university accountable – contacting JCRs, blocking hikes in prices en masse, demanding transparency about room facilities – is a right we don’t exercise enough.

Sport

04 October 2016 • The Cambridge Student

SAM DUNBAVIN

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Beach volleyball

An interview with a player on his English debut → p. 9

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/sport

JOHANNES HJORTH

Jessie Mathewson

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erhaps the most surprising thing about muggle quidditch is that it actually functions as a sport, with actual rules and actual tournaments.

If we didn’t have to run around with a stick between our legs, I doubt we’d attract quite the audience of tourists who gather on Jesus Green on a Sunday morning.

They take photos of us as we prance about, throwing and dodging balls, occasionally engaging in a crunching tackle.

Quidditch is far from the most dangerous sport in the world but it does have more contact than people often expect. At tournaments particularly, when the competitive juices are flowing, it is not rare to see five-man pile-ups after a particularly hearty collision. It’s also surprisingly tiring, particularly for the Snitch – a designated neutral player, who spends the length of the match running, until tagged.

When playing, you feel genuine intensity and team pride; you would put your life on the line for your brothers in arms, but when viewed from outside, we’re just a bunch of weirdoes, with brooms between our legs, wishing we were wizards.

Theo Howe

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Ballet

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or me, climbing is an excuse for never having grown out of that childhood desire to get to scramble to the top of tall things – trees, climbing frames, accomodating adults. But more than that, climbing as a sport is an amazing workout, a mental challenge, as well as having an amazingly supportive community of people involved with it.

Ever wondered how you could build your finger muscles? Yes, climbing is the answer.

In Cambridge the facilities are somewhat limited: top-roping and lead climbing are out, as the climbing wall at Kelsey Kerridge has bouldering only. The good news is that this rope- and harness-free aspect of the sport is super accessible, and it’s something you can get involved with even if you don’t have a partner to climb with.

After filling out a registration form and completing a brief safety-related induction, you’re free to use the bouldering wall any time, although it’s cheaper before 5pm. It’s not usually too busy, but there are always people around, and it’s not unusual for someone to give you advice on a route – it’s that friendliness that makes climbing fun.

Muggle Quidditch

Rock-climbing

Looking beyond blades: the alternative Cambridge sports f you’ve ever been to a ballet class before, it was probably as a toddler and involved copius amounts of pink and surprisingly little technique. Classes at the Cambridge University Ballet Club couldn’t be more different; you can wear whatever makes you comfortable and the emphasis is on improving your skill and style, not posing in Mum’s pictures.

There are 11 classes a week, for people with all levels of skill, ranging from Beginner to Advanced, with extra sessions for ballet fitness and pointe work. The classes are completely friendly – the opposite of the Black Swan stereotype.

All this training climaxes in the annual ballet show, in which everyone, regardless of skill, is invited to perform in. Last year, this was Romeo and Juliet, which featured almost 100 dancers and gained 8/10 from The Cambridge Student. Last year also saw a May Week show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring original student choreography and a live orchestra.

Dancing might be a strange sport for some, but it certainly pushes fitness, strength and sportsmanship.

Stevie Hertz