Michaelmas 2015 Issue 3

Our Grade, Our Choice:

Black History Month

Is it time for Cambridge to stand up against tradition for tradition’s sake?

Vivienne Westwood:

Freedom. Love. You. The women of FLY

Clothes, tanks, and life as a ‘freedom fighter’

→ Comment, p.16

→Part 2, p.3

The

22 October 2015 Vol. 17 Michaelmas Issue 3 www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Trinity’s land assets valued at £730m

Cambridge Student

Fear of being ‘gaslighted’ dulls debate on Assange Stevie Hertz News Editor

Exclusive: Gulf between colleges’ land holdings Anna Carruthers Deputy Investigations Editor

A

n investigation by The Cambridge Student comparing college land ownership has revealed significant disparities in acreage and income, with Trinity College reportedly owning over £700 million worth of land.

However, their senior bursar, Rory Landman, has stressed that much of the income they get from the land is redistributed to other colleges.

TCS has used a combination of college accounts (if available) and freedom of information requests to give a snapshot of land ownership.

St John’s has the greatest total acreage at 14,700 acres. This land is located in Cambridge, elsewhere in Cambridgeshire, Kent, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Berkshire, and the estimated current value of the College’s agricultural and other land is around £80 million. This “agricultural and other land” does not include operational playing fields.

St John’s College were unavailable for comment when contacted.

However, Trinity’s land is of more value than St John’s. Trinity owns 13,335 acres of land, with an estimated current unaudited worth of £730 million. The latter figure does not include the value of the main site.

Although direct comparisons are tricky, this is over nine times the value of St John’s land.

Trinity does, however, contribute significantly to supporting the collegiate nature of the University. In the annual account of 30 June 2014,

→Part 2, p.9

Trinity declared that it contributed approximately £7 million a year in support. £4,962,000 was in donations and £2,102,000 in university contribution. The former was down from £5,035,000 in 2013 and the latter up from £1,983,000.

Landman stated that “this represents about 25 per cent of the net income from Trinity College’s investments.”

A further £4.4 million is spent on scholarships and awards (see page 3).

Landman explained how Trinity’s considerable wealth affected its position within the University: “Trinity is pleased to support collegiate Cambridge as part of its long-term commitment to the University. Trinity College believes that the diversity in the collegiate system, a historical legacy, should be celebrated as it is one of the University’s great strengths. It leads to a friendly rivalry and competition between the colleges which motivates and encourages us all.”

Aside from contributions to the University, Trinity also spends an average of £8 million of its income each year on maintenance and repair of its Grade I listed buildings. In 2014 only £5 million was spent in this area but Landman clarified that this was in anticipation of the recent refurbishment of New Court.

For the year ending 30 June 3015, the gross income from property for Trinity was £45.3 million, down from £46.2 million in 2014.

Continued on page 4 →

Editorial Comment page 15 →

The decadant view from a Trinity bathroom

The Cambridge Union Society yesterday held its debate on the motion ‘This house would host Julian Assange’.

However, with fewer than 100 people in attendance and many of the speakers reiterating previous statements, the event was what one audience member labelled “uneventful” and another, “disappointingly peaceful.”

In his opening speech, president Oliver Mosley stressed that this was the first such debate and referendum in the Union’s history and in itself hoped to encourage free speech.

However, one speaker, James, argued that many people had chosen not to speak at the debate on Wednesday evening, for fear of being ‘‘gas-lighted”, or made to doubt their own experiences of oppression. James, among those the Union has asked to only be identified by their first names, spoke of an individual who had told him that “as a victim of abuse it makes me physically sick to have [Assange] there’’. None of the floor speeches came from women.

Kate, who spoke for the proposition, said: “The actual act of hosting him is not something people are forced to engage in.”

CUSU women’s officer Charlie Chorley was among those who chose not to speak at the debate, instead sending a statement to be read out, which called for members to abstain.

Chorley reinforced the position of the Women’s Campaign saying that “by inviting Assange, the Union reveals its inability to attract new, diverse speakers. It demonstrates its skewed priorities which have, for years, alienated women and minorities.”

However, despite the emotive language Chorley used, the debate was not the contentious affair that many expected, but rather more sedate, with little direct interaction between the speakers on either side.

Continued on page 8 → Image: Anna Thomas

2

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

News

Editorial Team 22 October 2015

Volume 17 • Michaelmas Issue 3 www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Editors-in-Chief Jack May Freya Sanders Art Director Alice Mottram News Editors Stevie Hertz Catherine Maguire Elsa Maishman Deputy News Editors Will Amor Tonicha Upham Investigations Editor Colm Murphy Deputy Investigations Editors Anna Carruthers Olly Hudson Features Editors Magdalen Christie Sammy Love Anthony Bridgen Deputy Features Editor Lottie Limb Interviews Editor Chase Caldwell Smith Comment Editors Amelia Oakley Julia Stanyard Grace Murray Columns Editor Audrey Sebatindira Food & Drink Editor Lucy Roxburgh Books Editor Jemima Jobling Music Editor Olivia Fletcher TV & Film Editor Miriam Shovel Theatre Editor Tom Bevan Fashion Editor Jessie Mathewson Lifestyle Editors Maddy Airlie Isobel Laidler Sport Editor Paul Hyland Social Media Manager Sydney Patterson Chief Sub-Editors Charlotte Furniss-Roe Megan Proops Sub-Editors Josie Daw Leanne Walstow Natalie Bird Directors Jack May Freya Sanders Colm Murphy Sam Rhodes Jemma Stewart

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, 16 Mill Lane, Cambridge, CB3 1LB.

The Copper Kettle on King’s Parade this week proved a popular venue for combining dining and haircare A Cambridge Diary

Martin Bond is a professional photographer. His project A Cambridge Diary, where he posts a portrait photograph from Cambridge online each day, is his own labour of love. It is now in its sixth year, with nearly 2,000 photographs and counting.

A Cambridge Diary pictures feature every month on the front cover of Cambridge Magazine, they are the pictures behind the Cambridge Literary Festival and they are seen by thousands of people every day. Follow @acambridgediary on Twitter or like A Cambridge Diary on Facebook.

tcd

• tcd@tcs.cam.ac.uk •

JACK MAY

TOFFEE DRYNESS

Whilst this Diarist can sympathise with the perils of dry news weeks, this might not excuse the misdemeanours of Blewswire, who this week found themselves in a twist by implying that Sainsbury’s was selling potentially toxic toffee apples. An article (rapidly deleted) on the site linked the preHalloween price cut of toffee apples in the Sidney Street store with US findings that the space between the toffee and the apple could harbour bacteria. Whilst Sainsbury’s wouldn’t stoop to taking action, this Diarist can’t help but feel that in journalism, as in toffee apples, you’re better safe than sorry.

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

This Diarist has previously been keen to repeat Union president Oliver Mosley’s observation that “his surname name is probably the only interesting thing about him”.

This name saw him back at alma mater Eton College this week to switch on the facade lighting of the school theatre donated by Simon James Mosley, the president’s grand-

father, “in grateful recognition of the many happy years Oliver spent in this theatre”. Oliver was, of course senior general manager of said theatre. This Diarist can gleefully report that another of his titles, as boy in charge of House Rowing, was ‘senior wet bob’.

IT’S OFFICIAL

Tatler has this week published online its already printed guide to Cambridge. Scroll down, and you catch the official BNOC list: Charlie Chorley, Oliver Mosley, and Talia Zybutz.

Better luck next time, Mr. Freeman.

Too Caian to share

Avid followers of social media outlet Students of Cambridge will have noticed a glitch this week, as a post was deleted hours after publication. Following the various debacles at Gonville & Caius College (pictured left), culminating in the story – broken by this newspaper – of the Master’s email accusing the students of ‘loutish’ and ‘bullying’ behaviour, a Caian appeared on Students of Cambridge rejoicing in his college’s newly-found ‘lad college’ status.

This Diarist is informed by multiple sources that this ‘Student Of ’ faced a steely meeting with a senior college official as recompense for his willingness to tell of his glee on such a public platform.

This Diarist is yet to decide whether this can be decried as a curtailment of free speech, or hailed as an instance of a college intervening to save one of its own from future embarrassment once all this blows over.

Front page: ANDREW STAWARZ, DAN KARAJ, DANIEL ZHANG

3

The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

News

The college scholarship lottery New figures have brought to light a £4,000 per student discrepancy in college spending on scholarships Stevie Hertz News Editor The Cambridge Student can reveal a large discrepancy in the amount colleges give to students in scholarships and awards. In the 2013/14 academic year, Trinity, perhaps unsurprisingly, awarded the most of any college, giving £4,432,000 in total – an average of £4,203 per student.

Meanwhile, in that year, Homerton gave 66 times less than this – the lowest of any Cambridge college, at £64 per student.

The total amount awarded per student in the University was around £800. However, this varied significantly from college to college, ranging by £4,139.

Scholarships and awards include not only prizes for academic work and music scholars, but also travel grants and financial awards based on need.

However, Rory Landman, the senior

home and overseas students.”

This is due to Trinity offering 20 full cost undergraduate studentships for overseas students, which weighs the average in their favour.

Trinity JCR President Cornelius

“This is something we have expressed concerns about as a student body” Roemer said to TCS, “About 40 per cent of incoming freshers are international, half of which are non-EU. Without scholarships many non-EU students could not afford the tuition fees of up

to £30,000.”

On the differences between colleges, Roemer said: “There is no clear-cut answer to the question of whether it matters which college one goes to, it is a question of degree. It matters in some respects but not in others.”

St John’s College awarded the second largest amount, at £2,512 per student, over £2 million in total. Gonville and Caius College followed St John’s, offering over £1 million pounds in total, £1,304 per student.

One student who receives financial aid from Peterhouse, which awards the fourth most amount of money per student, at just over £1200, commented:

“The bursary I recieve is a great help to me. I realise that the money provided is not necessary – as it could be replaced by a financial loan – and that makes me all the more grateful for the help that I recieve... it is just one less thing to worry about now and in the future.”

At the other end of the spectrum, following Homerton, Hughes Hall and Selwyn provided the least per student, with Hughes offering just £88.

Alongside being a mature students’ college, over 85% of Hughes Hall students are studying for postgraduate degrees. At many colleges, some postgraduate students receive full funding for their degrees.

Ruth Taylor, president of the Homerton Union of Students, commented on the disparity to TCS: “This is something that we have expressed concerns about as a student body but I am pleased to say the College has been receptive to our views … The College actually signed an agreement with Santander in May for them to

66

FRANMAN247

Times larger the Trinity fund is per student than Homerton’s provide a number of scholarships for academic achievement.”

Ms Deborah Griffin, bursar of Homerton said: “Since these accounts were published, Homerton has doubled the value of most of its prizes, and is now awarding additional grants and scholarships.”

However, one Homerton student seemed less optimistic about the disparity.

“Scholarships, awards and other forms of monetary grant are more than just a cash prize for academic dedication. For a lot more people than you’d think, these serve as essential sources of funds for maintenance, wellbeing and study during term time.”

£4,203 Amount Trinity awards per student per year bursar of Trinity, commented to TCS that creating an average per student “necessarily oversimplifies a complex picture involving need and differential fees for undergraduate and graduate,

Additional reporting: Anna Carruthers

Cambridge leads anti air pollution research

Crackdown on city punting touts

Elsa Maishman News Editor

Stevie Hertz News Editor

Cambridge University is to lead a £4.1 million research scheme entitled ‘Managing Air for Green Inner Cities.’

Led by principal investigator professor Paul Linden, the research focuses on the reduction of air pollution and enhancement of air quality within cities.

The researchers will use experience in fluid dynamics to model air flows in cities to help urban planners understand how best to include green spaces and how transport systems can be adapted to limit urban pollution.

This forms part of a wider project launched by minister for universities and science Jo Johnson, which will receive £21 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and includes seven

“Air pollution is a huge health risk worldwide”

projects based at 19 universities across the United Kingdom.

Johnson toured Cambridge’s Centre for Mathematical Sciences with University chancellor Lord Sainsbury last Friday. He said: “Cambridge is very successful at bringing in the private sector to compliment the resources government make available, and we want that to continue.”

Work will begin in December, and will be supported by an additional £11 million industry investment.

Emmanuel College green officer commented that: “Air pollution is a huge environmental health risk worldwide, and is also affecting our ecology. We need Cambridge as an institution to set an example: promoting and funding research that will enable us to develop ways to live more sustainably and healthily.”

“It’s spoiling the quality of walking around the city... you’re being stopped so much”

Cambridge city council is considering introducing a public spaces protection order that would exclude people advertising punting tours from certain spaces in town.

This comes after complaints from both tourists and residents about touts blocking the pavement and becoming a nuisance. Currently, there is a bylaw intended to prevent aggressive touting by ensuring that punting companies can only tout near their businesses.

However, this gives preference to larger punting companies with more central stations, leading to many smaller companies breaking the law.

One second-year student welcomed the idea of banning touts, saying “I’m looking forward to a time when my way to Sidgwick isn’t constantly blocked by

punting touts and assembled tourists The city council’s head of property services, David Prinsep, agreed saying: “It used to be far more aggressive than it is – now it is very much the higher number of touts … It is the sheer numbers and it’s spoiling the quality of walking round the city, as you’re being stopped so much.”

Jonathan Fry, treasurer of the Granta Rats, the Cambridge University Punting Society, said students should avoid the need for touts all together.

“We would encourage students to use self-hire punts, so they can have the full punting experience.”

Earlier this year, punting companies faced increased safety measures, including ‘airline style safety briefing’ at the beginning of the tour and the requirement to help individuals who are drowning.

4

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Investigations

For richer, for poorer: Colle Continued from page 1...

Trinity were unable to provide us with net profit as they do not take into account the costs, such as harvest and maintenance.

Trinity owns the 999 year lease of the O2 Arena, acquiring rental income. They also bought Dunsfold Park, Surrey for £50 million in 2014, which is the site of the BBC show Top Gear’s track.

In January of this year, it was revealed that Trinity had agreed to lease three dilapidated cottages and a disused squash court from the Cambridge Union Society, at a cost of £4.5 million. The Union will use the money to fund necessary renovations.

The then Union president, Amy Gregg, said: “We are very excited to be able to take

Robinson told TCS they made a small loss on their land in 2014/15 this step forward towards safeguarding the future of our Union’s building.”

Trinity’s land holdings are spread across the country, with high concentrations in Cambridge, Leeds, Felixstowe, and Trimley.

The Felixstowe land was first acquired in 1933, prior to the major development of the Port of Felixstowe, the largest container port in the UK. Now known as the Trimley Estate, these land holdings include farms, commercial estates and docks, a nature reserve and woodland, and a rifle range.

Trinity JCR President Cornelius Roemer told TCS: “In everyday student life, Trinity’s wealth is not very apparent. Rent levels are kept slightly below Uni average.”

He continued: “No student will have an identical experience, Cambridge is far too varied. One of the things students definitely lack at Trinity is statutory student representation. Many Colleges have student representation on their councils or at least on major committees, Trinity doesn’t. Maybe it’s because Trinity is so rich and they’re scared we’ll be spending rather

than investing the money.”

Peterhouse, Pembroke and Corpus Christi complete the top five colleges in terms of acreage. Both Corpus Christi and Pembroke told TCS all the land they own is “in Cambridgeshire”.

King’s College does not keep a record of its acreage and so cannot be directly compared. However, it does have extensive land holdings in the local areas. These include Granchester Meadows and Granchester cricket pavilion. The land is worth over £9 million.

Downing, with 21 acres of agricultural land, holds the least amount of land among those who do, in the information we managed to obtain.

Robinson told TCS that they made a small loss on their land in the financial year 2014/15. The College has been seeking permission to develop land next to College accommodation on Romsey Terrace for two years, but have been met with local opposition. Labour city councillor Dave Baigent signed a petition in September 2014 in support of the residents.

Across the colleges, the predominant form that land holdings take is agricultural and much of the portfolios are located within Cambridgeshire – although this was sometimes the only information provided to us, such as for Darwin College.

Some colleges specified that the quoted figures did not include operational college land, but not all could tell us this.

Several colleges have no land holdings beyond operational college land: Fitzwilliam, Homerton, Hughes Hall, Lucy Cavendish, Murray Edwards, Newnham, Robinson, Selwyn, Wolfson and Darwin.

Churchill, Clare Hall, St Edmund’s and Trinity Hall failed to respond to our FOI request within the required time period.

Gonville and Caius College were overdue, but informed us they were still collecting the relevant data.

Trinity Peterhouse

13,335

2,340 acres Pembroke

1,586 acres

COLLEGE IMAGES (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT): ADAM SOLOMON, CHRIS HUANG, NOM AND MALC, STEPHENGG, RTPEAT, CHRIS HUANG

Christ’s

941 acres

Facts and figures

£730m £7 14,700 Estimated worth of Trinity College land Annual charge paid by Caius to Trinity

Acres of land owned by St John’s College

5

The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

Investigations

ege land ownership revealed LOGGAN VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

St John’s

Analysis: Cambridge divided between old and new colleges, with a few ancient quirks Olly Hudson

T

he headline figures here should come as little surprise. While St John’s is the University’s most prolific landowner, the actual value of the holdings is some nine times smaller than that of Trinity with a current estimated land value of more than £700 million.

5 acres

14,700 acres Magdalene

180 acres

Unsurprisingly, new colleges tend to have far less in the way of land holdings Trinity’s role as the biggest beast in town also seems to have been substantiated by our findings: as of June 2014, the College dedicated some £7 million per annum to supporting the wider University.

This poses a number of interesting questions about the scope of provision on offer in the various colleges of Cambridge University.

Unsurprisingly, newer colleges tend to have far less in the way of external land holdings other than their main sites and playing fields.

However, even the older colleges fall prey to Trinity’s substantial reach. The Cambridge Student was given access to an original deed agreed between Trinity and Gonville and Caius Colleges, which appears to suggest that much of the corner of Caius’ Tree Court, nestled between Trinity Street and Trinity Lane, is in fact, part of a long term arrangement with Trinity College.

Rory Landman, Senior Bursar of Trinity College, told TCS: “Caius College pay us £7 a year on a small piece of land. That

payment dates back to 1563!”

The deed reads: “The Master, fellows and scholars of Trinity College, Cambridge of the one part and the Master and fellows of Gonville and Caius College of the other part: Agreement to convey to the second parties and their successors four messuages with curtilages etc. in the parish of St Michael over against the church and churchyard between Michael Lane on the north and a tenement of Robert Lane, baker, on the south abutting on the High Street on the east and the gardens of Gonville and Caius College on the west.”

Cambridge folklore has long held that Trinity owned the land upon which Sidney Sussex is situated, with the latter paying a £1 rent charge on a very long lease – as reported by The Tab in 2009.

£13 Annual charge paid by Sidney Sussex to Trinity, dating back to the 1590s However, Rory Landman, Senior Bursar of Trinity College, was keen to set the record straight.

He told TCS: “The freehold interest was in fact sold in the 1590s and the College’s entitlement is simply to a rent charge (now a very archaic charge) in the order of £13 a year.”

The Top 10 Colleges by acreage 1 2 3 4 5

St John’s College Trinity College Peterhouse Pembroke College Corpus College

14,700 13,335 2,340 1,586 997

6 7 8 9 10

Christ’s College Emmanuel College Queens’ College St Catharine’s College Magdalene College

941 860 447 240 180

6

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

College Watch

Images: Jessica McHugh

St John’s

Caius

Sidney

St John’s has been flaunting its aristocratic connections by inviting Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, to open its new Archive Centre.

This marks the return of Prince William to John’s, the College with which he was affiliated when he completed a course at the University in 2014. The state-of-the-art centre will house St John’s collection of manuscripts and early printed books, including a 14th century copy of the Magna Carta.

Prince William paid a memorable visit to Cambridge with Kate Middleton in 2012 after being made its duke. Before that, he visited Trinity, his father’s alma mater, in 2007 with his brother when he quipped ‘‘it’s the closest Harry’s ever got to university’’.

The new archival facility is based in the School of Pythagoras, a 12th century house that stands on the west bank of the river Cam. For several centuries it was owned by Merton College, Oxford, though John’s finally acquired the lease in 1959. Until then, students could have gone to Oxford in their back garden rather than to St John’s.

Student accommodation owned by Caius on the south side of Parker’s Piece has been broken into twice in five days. An email from the College’s head porter Russ Holmes urged students to lock their doors at night. He noted that tailgating or broken door locks can give access to “the criminal fraternity who frequent that area”. There have also been reports of people trying to steal bikes at the property, thwarted by the police who have increased their presence in the area.

However, one second-year Caian was unconcerned by the email, commenting that: “I would say that Caius seems to be quite fond of this scare-mongering, it seems to pop up every year and it’s surely a case of personal responsibility to lock one’s own bedroom door.

I don’t believe that there is a ‘criminal fraternity’ targeting Cambridge students exclusively. But who knows…’’

Whether or not the master of Caius will make comments likening those who leave their doors unlocked at night to negligent ginger beer brewers or Haringey Council social workers is as yet unknown.

The earliest known draft of the King James Bible has been discovered amongst in the archives of Sidney Sussex. Jeffrey Miller, a scholar from Montclair State University, found a notebook dating from between 1604 and 1608 containing about 70 pages of illegible notes, including biblical commentary with Greek and Hebrew notes. “There was a kind of thunderstruck, leapout-of-the-bathtub moment,” Miller told the New York Times. “But then comes the laborious process of making sure you are correct.”

The King James Bible, which has been described as the greatest non-Shakesperean influence on the English language, was the work of 47 translators working in teams, or ‘companies’, in Cambridge, Oxford and London. The notebook belonged to Samuel Ward, one of a team of seven men working on the translation in Cambridge.

However, the composition process has never fully been understood by modern scholars. According to Miller, Ward’s draft “points the way to a fuller, more complex understanding than ever before of the process by which the KJB, the most widely read work in English of all time, came to be.”

Text: Will Amor

Girton

Students at Girton were unlucky enough to experience a fire in their accommodation last week. Head porter Ciarian O’Loughlin sent an impassioned email to the College’s undergraduates detailing the incident. “Mistake number one” was when a student had used a tea towel as a lid for a saucepan of rice. When the towel caught alight from the hotplate, the student placed the burning rag into the bin, which O’Loughlin notes “was mistake number two!” The student then left what was described as a “smoldering [sic] tea towel” in the kitchen: “that was mistake number three!”

In response to the student’s three mistakes, the head porter gave a list of four points to remember regarding fire safety in the kitchen, namely not to use tea towels in cooking, applying water to towels when they do combust, not to leave a kitchen until you have extinguished a fire, and to inform the porters of any conflagration caused. While TCS wishes for the continued safety of students at Girton, the emails from Mr O’Loughlin are a pleasure to read and we sincerely hope he retains his ebullient email etiquette.

7

The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

News

Cambridge sees major rise in recorded sex offences Tonicha Upham Deputy News The number of recorded sex offences in Cambridge rose by 84% last year, it has emerged.

Cambridgeshire constabulary has claimed that this increase is likely due in part to high profile incidents reported last year, including sex offences committed by Libyan soldiers based at Bassingbourn Barracks last October, and those by paediatrician Myles Bradbury.

It was noted that a number of the incidents included were historic sex offences, classified as having taken place at least 28 days prior to the report being made.

CUSU’s women’s officer, Charlotte Chorley, suggested that this sharp increase in reported offences was due to victims feeling more confident to come forward, and attributed this in part to work carried out by colleges.

“Whilst it is difficult to determine whether the increase in reported sexual offences is causal of, or correlative to, the emphasis on consent or the rewriting of many college sexual harassment policies, there does certainly seem to be more consciousness, and more confidence in reporting.

“The upward trend certainly demonstrates the prevalence of sexual violence in Cambridge.

“Many crimes go unreported for a variety of reasons, and there needs to be a collective effort to cast light on these reasons. A lot is already being

done in colleges to empower students and update the reporting procedures, but there is more to be done.”

However, while this figure does suggest that victims have an increased level of trust in reporting procedures, nevertheless this statistic remains a cause for concern.

Sophie Bell, a second-year student at Selwyn College, said: “I think the current record on sexual attacks highlights the flaws in the way sexual violence is tackled in Cambridge.

“The statistic is also particularly

“Many crimes go unreported for a variety of reasons and we need to cast light on them”

concerning when we take into account current plans to switch off streetlights after midnight in Cambridge from next year, and it is a real fear amongst many Cambridge students that the decision to do so will only make this statistic far worse.”

In order to cut costs, Cambridgeshire county council plans to switch off street lights between midnight and 6am from 1 April 2016. A petition launched by Trinity College Students’ Union to contest this has so far received 457 signatures.

JAMES BOWE

A new Tripos in Archaeology may be introduced as part of continued upheavals in Cambridge’s social science teaching.

Just two years after the Archaeology and Anthropology Tripos was merged with Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS), the General Board of the University of Cambridge has recommended the two are separated once more.

If the report, submitted by the General Board of the Faculties, is followed through, a new Archaeology Tripos will matriculate its first students in October 2017.

Archeology will have an initial annual intake of 20–30 students, rising to 40–50 in due course. The General Board notes that, under the

Cantab leaves BBC’s QI; to be replaced with another Cantab Stephen Fry, graduate and honorary fellow of Queens’ College, is leaving the acclaimed BBC quiz show QI. Fry joined the show at its inception in 2003, and has become a national treasure for his professorial chairmanship of the show. He is due to be replaced by Sandi Toksvig, a frequent guest on the show and Girton graduate.

John Lloyd, the show’s producer and former student at Trinity College, remarked that Toksvig will be ‘‘the first female host of a mainstream comedy panel show on British television – an appointment that is well overdue.”

The show’s researchers, also known as the ‘QI elves’, are currently on tour in the UK, and will be hosting a live recording of their podcast No Such Thing As a Fish at the Cambridge Junction on 20th November.

Bake Off finalist set to judge Cambridge’s own cake sale Ian Cumming, a finalist in the Great British Bake Off this year and Cambridgeshire resident, is coming to the Round Church on 21 November for a charity bake sale.

The event is to raise money for Mind, the mental health charity. Spectacular competition cakes are expected. One hopeful entrant said to The Cambridge Student “My entry will definitely stop the show, though potentially not in a good way.”

The Facebook event notes that a quarter of people in the UK “face mental health issues every year.” Cambridge is well known for being mentally and emotionally demanding on its students, and Cantab Stephen Fry is the current president of Mind. The charity was founded in 1946 and operates throughout the UK.

Oxford students pioneer app for sexual assault victims

Social Sciences Tripos saga takes another turn Louis Ashworth

NEWS BULLETIN

current system, the loss of visibility for the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology has led to a “considerable drop” in students interested in the field, of whom there are approximately only 10 per year.

The hope is that the new Tripos, due to having its own UCAS option and a number of “taster” days for prospective students, will appeal to potential archaeologists who are currently more attracted to courses at other universities, such as Oxford.

The splitting off of Archaeology echoes the creation of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos, which began in 2013, after the study of human behaviour was deemed too distinct to be part of the then-new HSPS Tripos.

HSPS will continue to consist of international relations, politics, social

Some students are worried that the constant flux would lead to a loss of name recognition

anthropology and sociology.

This latest academic upheaval has caused relief and consternation amongst current HSPS students.

“It’s annoying, ironic but good,” one third-year HSPS student told The Cambridge Student. “The change is needed and inevitable”, said another.

Some students currently taking the course are worried about employers becoming confused by the continuing flux of HSPS, and the Tripos therefore losing its name recognition.

Another third-year HSPS student, who has chosen to focus on the Archaeology papers, was more ambivalent towards the change. “I’m quite conflicted - it’s true that only a tiny fraction of the Tripos specialises in archaeology, but it remains an exciting prospect to throw yourself into something that seems so specialised”.

A number of female Oxford University students have created a smartphone app called First Response, for survivors of sexual assault and their friends. The app’s options range from calling police, to getting medical attention to attending a sexual assault referral centre. It also gives information about optional ways to respond to a sexual assault and knowledge about support resources including contact details and answers to frequently asked questions such as what constitutes sexual consent.

The first of its kind, the app was coded over 10 months by a group of women, most of whom had no previous coding experience, as part of a collaboration between the University, students, and professionals from the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre.

MP hits streets for ‘attractive’, ‘measle-like’ Cambridge Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, came to Christ’s Lane on Monday to colour in the pavement. He was collaborating with the Cambridge Business Improvement District Clean Team to draw circles around chewing gum that had been dropped on the street. The MP hoped this would “create eye-catching measle-like patterns” which he thought would be “attractive”. The disease aesthetic is not one typically used in urban design due to the inherent human repulsion to illness.

Afterwards, the gum was removed. Thankfully, Zeichner’s drawings were water soluble, so will wash away with the plentiful rain.

8

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

News

Assange’s possible videolink Cat-astrophe narrowly avoided appearance divides Union by plucky Emmanuel students Elsa Maishman News Editor

Jasper is now recovering at home after being missing for 13 days

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picking’’ to break through a padlocked trapdoor into the loft, where she discovered, in her words: ‘‘a very dusty, sad looking white cat. The dean’s cat to be precise.’’ Jasper had been found, miraculously still alive after spending at least a week trapped in the loft of a student house.

However, the story did not end there, as both Georgina and Laura are allergic to cats and therefore could not move to Jasper’s rescue.

At this point a third student, Roisin Beck Taylor – who is not allergic to cats – stepped in to lure Jasper out of his lair with some mature cheddar and a can of tuna. The cat was then wrapped in a towel and returned to his worried owners – the dean and his wife.

Ms. Beck Taylor assured students of Emmanuel College that this had been ‘‘the most exciting evening back at Cambridge so far’’.

Speaking to The Cambridge Student, the dean, Reverend Jeremy Caddick, said that he and his wife ‘‘were fearing the worst’’ after Jasper’s two-week absence. He said he is ‘‘overjoyed’’ to have Jasper back, and assured us that Jasper has now had a bath (which he ‘‘didn’t like’’) and is recovering at home. The students in question have been rewarded for their cat-saving efforts with several bottles of Prosecco.

, A Z Z I P E N O Y BU GE T ONE

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‘‘This is not a referendum on Assange, this is a referendum on the Union.’’

One of Emmanuel College’s beloved cats has been returned alive and well, after having been missing for some time. Jasper, the ‘‘more sociable’’ of the dean’s two cats, was last seen on Saturday 6 October. Reverend Jeremy Caddick and his wife feared that their cat had wandered off in the chaos of Fresher moving-in day. A search was launched within the college a few days later, with all members being asked to keep an eye out for the much-loved missing feline.

Emmanuel students began to despair at Jasper’s 13 day disappearance, to the extent that some started hearing faint notes of desperate meowing issuing from the walls while they slept.

The experiences of one such student, Georgina Shepherd, were dismissed by her friends as a week two hallucination. However, on Monday night of this week, the meowing increased in volume and it became apparent that this was neither the imagination of a sleep-deprived student nor the wails of the Ghost of Park Terrace Past, but a genuine cry for help from a stricken feline.

Shepherd called for help from a housemate, Laura-May Nardella, who used her ‘‘peculiar talent for lock

EE

The debate over whether to invite Julian Assange centred on whether or not a platform should be given to those facing allegations of sexual assault and other crimes.

Sweden has sought to extradite Assange due to allegations of rape and sexual assault against him, dating back to August 2010. However, in June 2012 after losing his appeal against extradition, he took asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. While the statute of limitation on many of the allegations has expired, the accusation of lesser rape remains. Assange denies all the allegations and no charges have been made.

Yet despite the lack of charges, no speaker in proposition argued that he should be invited due to the lack of charges, but rather that even if he were convicted, it would not negate his right to free speech. As one speaker, Kate, said: “Unfortunately a lot of very terrible people have very interesting things to say.’’ She also argued that the only way to hold a person accountable is to force them to talk about it.

Speakers in opposition also stressed Assange’s right to free speech, with one speaker, Elinor, commenting exclusively to The Cambridge Student:

“This ultimately isn’t as issue of free speech – Assange is not lacking in platforms from which to make his views known. No one has a right to appear at the Cambridge Union, a private organization, and we do not have a duty to host anyone.”

However, Tom, who spoke to support Assange’s invitation, stressed that just because Assange has other methods of communicating his message, does not invalidate him as a speaker. He went on to say that it is wrong to not invite someone due to “the fact that you might not find a speaker interesting”, because you have heard their argument before.

Tom also stressed that if the referendum voted not to invite Assange, it would hang over the head of future Union standing committees, limiting whom they would invite in the future.

As voting opened, it was clear that many felt it would influence the future purpose of the Union. Chorley’s statement finished by saying “This is not a referendum on Assange, this is a referendum on the Union. If it is to exist, then let it be better. Abstain.”

Voting will close at 10pm on Thursday 22 October. If the motion passes, Julian Assange will speak at the Union via videolink on 11 November.

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The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

News

Cambridge child poverty rises

NEWS BULLETIN

Catherine Maguire News Editor

A new £5 million building at Robinson College has been opened this week by the Chancellor of the University, Lord Sainsbury. Alongside a large central space, the new building also has five meeting rooms, aiming to provide seminar facilities. It also features Robinson’s trademark architectural style of red brick. There are also new catering and bar facilities.

Warden of Robinson College, Professor David Yates, commented on the new building “We are delighted that the University’s Chancellor ... Lord Sainsbury, is opening the Crausaz Wordsworth Building... We look forward to welcoming both the academic and commercial communities in the very near future.”

Figures show that in parts of the city a third of children will grow up in poverty Government figures have revealed that parts of Cambridge are among the most poverty-stricken in the UK. The index of multiple deprivation measures the impact of poverty through six key areas – employment, education, income, health, crime, environment and barriers to services, and is often lauded as the most accurate guide to poverty and wealth.

The areas in Cambridge which rank among the top 20 per cent of the most deprived countries in the UK are around Newmarket Road, Ditton Lane and Wadloes Road.

Nonetheless, Cambridge as a whole

is still comparatively wealthy, ranking in the top third of the least deprived local authorities in the country, and considerably ahead of Oxford.

Cambridge performs well in the areas of employment, income and education. However, major problems include housing and air pollution.

The figures also revealed that in three parts of the city – Abbey, King’s Hedges and East Chesterton – more than 30 per cent of children are growing up in poverty. “Poverty” includes families who are out of work and in receipt of Jobseekers’ Allowance, as well as those who are in low-paid work and receive tax credits. 13.9 per cent of children in Cambridge are deemed to be in “low-

House prices and fuel poverty are driving deprivation indices up

MICHAEL IGNATIEFF

income” families, while the figure is 18.9 per cent in Oxford.

Speaking to Cambridge News, Daniel Zeichner, Labour MP said that Cambridge was now a “divided city, with too many people … really struggling to get by. The policies being pursued by the government are set to make the problems worse”.

In a reference to current government plans to cut tax credit, he added that “their [Conservative] cuts will take over £100 a month away from some Cambridge families who are already on the breadline.”

In addition to these figures, a recent report from the Cambridge branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAP) has revealed that last year 33 per cent of referrals to food banks were children.

A TCS investigation led by Anna Carruthers and Colm Murphy revealed last week that local homelessness charities were struggling to cope with the swell in the rise in demand for their services. The investigation found that the number of recorded instances of homelessness had risen fivefold since 2011.

They also reported that in 2014/15, almost 5,000 people were helped by the Cambridge Food Bank. In light of this, a Cambridge Foodbank society has been recently established.

According to the Trussel Trust, nationally in 2014/15 enough emergency food for three days for over a million people was distributed.

BHF ups University heart research funding Elsa Maishman News Editor The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has pledged £750,000 to the University of Cambridge to fund research into new artificial heart valves.

300,000 mechanical valves – which are more durable than their biological alternatives made from animal tissue – are fitted every year.

However, these mechanical valves require the patient to remain on medication in order to prevent blood clots forming around the new valve.

As part of BHF’s commitment to spend half a billion pounds on research in the next five years, the charity will support a Cambridge team led by Dr Geoff Moggridge, developing artificial valves specifically designed to prevent clotting, thereby reducing the reliance on medication.

If successful, the University team will ensure that, in the future, patients with artificial heart valves will not

have to depend upon taking anti-clot medication for the rest of their lives.

Speaking to Cambridge News, Dr Moggridge said: “Surgeons have been successfully replacing faulty heart valves with man-made valves for many years, giving patients longer, more active lives ... We hope that with this new valve we can offer people needing a valve replacement a better quality of life and a chance to live even longer.”

The British Heart Foundation’s medical director, Professor Peter Weissberg, said: “This research, being conducted at the University of Cambridge, is a brilliant example of the BHF’s commitment to ensure more research makes it out of the lab so it can hopefully benefit people suffering from cardiovascular disease.”

The BHF funds over £39 million worth of cardiovascular research across the University, including a Centre for Cardiovascular Research Excellence. The centre has 30 leading

300,000 mechanical valves are fitted every year

investigators, across numerous University departments.

Other research conducted at the University focusses on ways to prevent and treat heart attacks, the causes of pre-eclampsia, new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat coronary heart disease, and using stem cells to regrow damaged heart tissue.

In the past, Cambridge scientists have improved understanding of the link between triglycerides and heart disease as well as makinge discoveries that have the potential to develop a future treatment for pre-eclampsia.

Amy Thompson, a second-year medic at Pembroke commented to The Cambridge Student that: ‘‘Heart disease is the biggest killer in this country so any investment in treating it will be very beneficial to patients.

“The British Heart Foundation funded research will have the capability to save many lives.’’

Robinson unveils £5 million education and seminar space

Oxford University Press shows Crimea as part of Russia Oxford University Press (OUP) has come under fire this week for publishing a Key Stage Three Georgraphy textbook which showed Crimea as part of Russia.

Russian forces in Crimea held a referendum in March 2014 to become part of Russia. Although the referendum passed, it is internationally unrecognised. The textbook writes that Crimea was territory that “Russia took from Ukraine in 2014”.

Ukrainian Embassy spokeswoman Oksana Kyzyma commented that “showing Crimea as a part of Russian territory contradicts international law as Crimea was brutally annexed by Russia with its boots on the ground”.

OUP will change the wording in future editions.

Cambridge to host first ever Christmas pudding race Parker’s Piece is going to be transformed into a race track for a Christmas pudding relay on 5 December in an effort to raise money for Cancer Research UK. Six teams in fancy dress will run the course, using a Christmas pudding as a baton. Cole’s Puddings from Saffron Waldon are supplying the baked baton, and the proceeds will help to fund research at Addenbrooke’s. Presumably the puddings will not be lit before being used in the race.

The organisers of the event point out that this is the first Christmas pudding race ever in Cambridge. Quite how such a well established and athletically demanding sport is only making its first appearance in 2015 remains a mystery.

University receives $25 million following new funding drive Cambridge University, along with Queens’ College, has announced a $25 million gift from Jamie Walters and Mohamed A. El-Erian to support the work of Queens’ College and the Faculty of Economics Dr El-Erian was an economics undergraduate between 1977 and 1980 and is now an Honorary Fellow there. He is now the chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council and chief economic advisor at Allianz. In addition to funding studentships, research and a professorship, the donation will help create The El-Erian Institute for Human Behaviour and Economic Policy.

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22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Features

#FirstWorldProblems: The niggles of student life Allie Weaving

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s students I feel that most of us are well acquainted with the first world problem. Living away from home, we are suddenly confronted with the necessity to perform basic, adult tasks.

This is followed with the swift realisation that passing your 18th birthday has in no way qualified you to be an adult.

I myself am no stranger to the term, having been found lamenting that my destination is a whole five minute walk away. The worst part? I was going to the gym.

There’s a certain reaction which accompanies the declaration of a first world problem.

A slight pause as you review the words that just made it out of your mouth followed swiftly by a visual sweep to see if any of those around you might be the type to send your misguided error in to Overheard in Cambridge or else memorise your indiscretion for later fining purposes.

“I keep tripping over all the champagne corks strewn across my bedroom floor” Most of us have a friend who seems to experience a whole lot more first world problems than anyone else. You’ll find her languishing in the bread aisle in Sainsbury’s

To bike or not to bike?

unable to bring herself to buy a whole loaf because that’s ‘just far too much of a commitment’.

A particular favourite of mine came from a friend who complained that his muesli tasted too nice so he didn’t feel healthy while he was eating it.

Fine for anyone who had to buy new clothes because the washing machine wouldn’t accept their 20p These issues are, by definition, trivial in nature, but we’ve all been there. Maybe you were up all night writing those three essays that should have been started last week and just don’t have time to untangle the earphones that definitely weren’t double knotted when they went into your pocket.

Or maybe having to drink champagne out of a wine glass is just too much for your delicate soul after a full day in labs.

Acknowledging these as ‘first world problems’ is a gentle reminder of how good our lives really are. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and laugh at ourselves.

At the end of the day we can each get into our own bed and forget about the work, the food failures and electronic issues.

Just don’t get too comfy – you’ll just have to get up in a minute when you realise you forgot to turn the light out.

Dispelling Cam

Cambridge, I assure you it is not. The bus my friends reluctantly loaned me their bikes. Now have you ever heard that phrase system in Cambridge is utter shite.

Not once did a bus arrive on time; the along the lines of ‘there are some things traffic was atrocious; sometimes a bus you never forget; it’s like riding a bike!’ never came at all. More often than not I That is the biggest lie you have ever been would have gotten there 10 times faster had told. Let me tell you, reacquainting yourself I not naively waited around for a bus that with a bike after seven years cold-turkey is Sammy Love Features Editor not fun. Fear met me at every corner and I never came.

It was then that I started cursing 13-year- was convinced every pedestrian harboured hat is the real question. Unless you’re at Girton of course, in which old me for deciding to sell her bike. Luckily, a death-wish and was just waiting to throw RICHARD MASONER case, a bike is obligatory.

I made the decision last year to go bikeless, and had a lovely year, occasionally strolling through King’s on my way to Sidgwick if the mood took me to go to a lecture. But this year, the bike question reared its ugly head again.

I found myself needing to get to West Cambridge, a mythical land I had only heard stories of from my NatSci acquaintances. Google maps indicated this would be a 40 minute walk, but ever confident of my superior walking abilities, I assured myself it could take no more than half an hour. This turned out to be a gross error.

After a few days walking to and from West Cambridge I was pretty sure I’d developed severe shin splints. A solution had to be found. I decided to give public transport a try. If anyone else is considering this as a viable means of getting around Cycling past the haters who be walkin’ up the hill

T

I ignored Google maps; confident of my superior walking abilities

themselves into my path. It didn’t help that I seemed unable to turn right.

I was disappointed that my dreams of cycling through Cambridge, gown billowing in the wind and a basketful of literary masterpieces at my side had not been realised. It’s bad enough that I don’t row, but my lack of cycling prowess made me question whether I can even claim to be part of this University at all.

Although for a few short days I was committed to reconciling myself to the bike-life, I soon realised this was misguided.

For a start, bikes are sickeningly expensive, even before you think about locks, helmets, lights and all that jazz.

You’re talking at least £200 and if you want pretty pastel colours and a wicker basket – obvious essentials – then be prepared to double that. Think how many jaeger bombs you could buy instead – or Malibu, if you’re a classy gal like myself. Then there’s the trauma of helmet hair. The static, the sweat; just no. Some of you may mock those who wear helmets, but cycling is pretty perilous, especially given the number of tourists aimlessly wielding selfie sticks and racing across the road for free fudge. My boyfriend can attest to this, having broken his arm after falling off his bike last term.

Although, it did get him out of exams, so I suppose it’s swings and roundabouts.

Part 2 5

Exploring the New Hall Art Collection

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Broadway in Trinity razzle dazzles

The Cambridge Student 22 October 2015

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Top 5 restaurants for parents

Black History Month

2

22 October 2015 • Part 2 • The Cambridge Student

Culture

Black History Month Special Racism in the alternative genre Mariam Ansar

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y first gig was one which featured all the nerves of a first gig. I am a perpetual worrier by nature, and the idea of seeing one of my favourite bands – in the flesh – was a thought which both thrilled and terrified me. There was the prospect of being eaten alive in a mosh pit or being noticed by the lead singer, and the wonder of exactly what I was going to wear; all of which kept me awake for many hours the day before it would all be happening for real. The latter point, wondering what I was going to wear, was something simple yet complex. I knew what I was going to wear. I simply had to accessorize my ultimate accessory: my headscarf.

Usually, I didn’t think twice about wrapping this fabric around my head, but the idea of going to a gig and being around fans who liked the same thing as me but, were afforded certain privileges out of my reach, suddenly had me second-guessing my entire existence.

As a woman of colour and someone who is visibly Muslim, my existence is one which is inherently, and which always will be, political. The racial climate, alongside the repercussions of the so-called ‘War on Terror’ and the demonization of the Islamic faith within the media has left me, and countless other Muslims around the world, with a few burdens to carry.

CHRISTINE OLSON

Fan-spaces aren’t necessarily the safest of spaces. Scrolling through any corner of the internet, when it comes to Indie bands,means coming face-to-face with whiteness. This isn’t to blame the fans of this genre, nor to stress that people of colour diversify their music tastes. It is a fact that I’ve been forced to accept. The ratio of white to non-white fans, in the alternative genre, is disappointing. Of course, there is also a subconscious level of racism as bands sing about stereotypically white female names, crafting lyrics to praise elements of (non-exclusively) white bodies, and cast only white actors in their music videos.

Coupled with the progressive liberal ideologies these bands usually align themselves with, the disconnect is huge and disheartening. Essentially, it breeds fans who are unable to sympathize with a fan who may not look like them, but who may be equally enthusiastic.

Listening to synths or acoustic guitar is not an exclusively white practice The unifying nature of music is one which should mean that any concert is a welcoming place. But social spaces are only as good as the people within them. Whether it is the nostalgia of a lost love or the sadness of a late night, themes hit home

Should literature be “colour blind”?

Nandini Mitra

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hree years ago during Black History Month, The Independent published an article about King’s College graduate Zadie Smith’s (along with other novelists’) quest to turn literature “colour blind”: to re-educate the reader to decondition their mind from the default setting that any and all characters are white, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Really, when you think about it, it’s quite sad that in the entire world of fiction, where literally anything is possible within the realms of imagination, the idea that novels shouldn’t automatically be whitewashed was so notable it needed its own special feature in one of the country’s biggest newspapers.

There’s no space for race in the western canon It’s not really that surprising though. Being a total bookworm when I was young, I blitzed through all the books Roald Dahl and Michael Morpurgo wrote. As I grew older, those authors were replaced with modern classics like Fitzgerald and Plath. I remember most of the storylines in the several libraries’ worth of books that I’ve read, but I don’t remember the point in my life, if there was one at all, when I questioned why there was nobody like me in the books I was devouring, let alone such a character (that is, a woman of colour) being the central figure in her own storyline. At some point in my reading life, I’d quietly accepted the knowledge that for a book to be great, its protagonist had to be white. And straight. And male. There’s no space for race in the western canon (and no, ‘west’ does not mean ‘only white people’): the narrative in Harper Lee’s iconic To Kill a Mockingbird, probably the most widely read book concerning racial inequality in America, is told by somebody who is white. Whilst the book beautifully shows profound humanity in childish innocence, it’s another example of how a

book can only be deemed notable, revolutionary even, when its hero is white. Even when the story told is black.

This lack of both literary acclaim and general recognition for novels that focus on minorities, especially minority women, is exactly why I happily accept Smith’s quest for “colour blind” literature. We shouldn’t expect fiction to be homogenous; Smith is right that it’s exhausting to be introduced to the lone BME figure by the one-word description of their skin, the marker of tokenism in a novel we automatically assume is white before we even open it. However, I would go one step further than just normalising BME characters where white characters are still considered the default in fiction. We need more recognition of literature that embraces colour, rather than being “blind” to it, as reams and reams of white male angst (Caulfield, Paradise, take your pick) was embraced before.

Khaled Hosseini said fiction was lies that should “arrive at a greater truth”. That truth is, there are more voices in the world – both real and literary – than that of the white hero. So many more. And they all have a story to tell.

with most people. Listening to synths or acoustic guitars is not an exclusively white practice. The trope of the tortured artist doesn’t exist simply with skinny white boys with floppy hair and bruised circles under their eyes. I think pretentiousness is something we can all afford to adopt sometimes, and yet the social pressure of white fan-spaces is so intimidating that one is assumed to be less involved, less knowledgable, less authentic than the rest. The alternative genre, in this sense, divorces the, arguably most alternative population, from true participation in what should be easy: the partaking of listening to music and, to some extent, the crafting of identity.

What happened, Miss Simone?

Miriam Shovel TV & Film Editor

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f you are looking for an interesting insight into one of the most influential black women of the twentieth century, you should definitely turn to What Happened, Miss Simone?, an exploration of the life of Nina Simone.

Born in North Carolina in 1933 when segregation was still in effect, Simone received intensive training in classical piano from the age of four, and admits to feeling lonely as a child. Her aspirations to become a classical performer were repeatedly quashed by racial discrimination. However, her turn to jazz and blues led her to become an iconic performer and civil rights activist.

NETFLIX

DAVID SHANKBONE

Directed by Liz Garbus, the documentary feels structured to the point of being formulaic at times, and is politically timid, especially given its subject matter. However, Garbus is blessed with a wealth of archive footage, and uses it well. A variety of people from Simone’s life are included, as well as voiceover clips from Simone herself, which create a feeling that we as viewers are being let in to her inner thoughts.

The rather ordinary format of this documentary does not do it any favours, but luckily Nina Simone’s life is so interesting that the documentary still stands up as a thought-provoking watch. And of course, the live performances which make up the soundtrack are breathtaking.

The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

3

Culture On Black History Month

I used to strongly disagree with the idea of Black History Month. I found it patronising and tokenistic. However, it became increasingly clear that its existence points to the fact that the contributions to human history of black Africans and the diaspora are frequently ignored or white-washed.

Particularly in spaces like Cambridge, the only time the contributions of black people are properly recognised is during October. And even then this recognition comes solely from a minority of students. This is an issue especially at a university where the majority of students are understandably and inevitably white. If university is a place where one pursues knowledge, this pursuit is rendered ineffective when the contributions of only one demographic are acknowledged. It also serves to other black students who attend Cambridge at an institutional level, as it’s reinforced to them and to others that no one who looks like them has done anything worth studying.

Now I see BHM as an opportunity to celebrate blackness.

More than that, it reminds me of how much further we have to go in deconstructing hegemonic whiteness at educational institutions like Cambridge through means such as diversifying our curricula and critically questioning whose achievements we celebrate, whose conceptions of knowledge we deem valuable and universal.

Freedom. Love. You.

On FLY

FLY is the network and forum for self-defining women of colour at Cambridge. An acronym for Freedom. Love. You., it primarily provides a safe space where women of colour of all backgrounds and intersecting identities can meet each other.

Although it’s obviously not the case that all women of colour have the same experiences, by virtue of our status as minorities here there are some aspects of our identities that might not be understood by the majority of the student body.

FLY fills a gap by providing a space where you can be around women who are more likely to empathise with your experiences and understand where you’re coming from.

We have a political side, too. Through our blog and ongoing video series, we explain to the rest of the student population the ways in which our race and gender have shaped our lives.

Photography Dan Karaj Direction Alice Mottram Models Heather Abbey, Audrey Sebatindira and Elhan Ali Text, with special thanks Audrey Sebatindira Editorial Comment Part 1, Page 15 →

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22 October 2015 • Part 2 • The Cambridge Student

Culture

Shedding light on This article was based on real events Cambridge theatre Sam Rhodes Tom Bevan Theatre Editor

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s a Cambridge theatre goer, it is easy to get to know the faces of the actors who circulate the scene. Even directors become recognisable. But what about the students working behind the scenes to make sure everything looks and sounds professional? I caught up with Johnny King, who has been the ‘lights dude’ for eighteen shows since matriculating last year.

How did you get involved in lighting?

I’ve been doing tech stuff for a number of years now and I left school with the explicit objective of not getting involved with anything serious. But then I got involved with our [Downing] freshers’ play and was reminded that being behind the scenes is just a great way to meet a whole load of people really quickly.

What’s been your favourite show to work on?

My favourite show as an experience was Cirque De L’Extraordinaire. Everyone involved in that show was great fun and the whole premise of sketches set in a circus was hilarious and really fun to light.

And so you must have a preferred venue too?

Well, I’ve mainly done [Corpus] Playroom and in-college shows. I find the ADC a lot more ‘high maintenance’ and time consuming.

What are your tips for freshers who want to get involved in technical theatre?

Doing technical theatre stuff is very accessible here. There are so few people involved so there is always a really high demand and you can get into shows pretty easily. Once you learn the basics you can go a long way with quite a limited technical repertoire!

To read the full interview go to our website.

I

t is nearly two years since 12 Years a Slave brought the powerful story of Solomon Northup to our cinemas, swept the Oscars, and made history as Steve McQueen became the first black director of a Best Picture Oscar winner. The film was all the more successful because the narrative that it was closely based upon was a true first-hand account of slavery in the American South in the 19th century.

However, with a few years-worth of distance from the film’s undeniable emotional impact (I was among the many viewers who were moved to tears) some more subtle elements of 12 Years’ excellence come to the fore.

Everyone is familiar with Disneyfied versions of true stories, ranging from Erin Brockovich to Remember the Titans, where the power of high school American football defeats racism in ’70s Virginia. Manipulating reality to create a more compelling narrative arc onscreen is hardly a new practice for film-makers, with characters constantly being rolled together and time frames collapsed.

New films ostensibly based in reality are often no more factual. Everest has recently made headlines as some of the mountaineers on the expedition have challenged the narrative of the film, and Straight Outta Compton was heavily criticised across large swathes of the internet for painting N.W.A in a far too positive light. ‘Based on a true story’ too often means that the scriptwriters merely skimmed a Wikipedia page or two before setting to work.

Not so for 12 Years. Northup’s original narrative was heavily scrutinised by slave-owners at the time, and similarly by academics 100 years later. Steve McQueen consulted with a wide array of experts to make sure that he never overstepped the mark. McQueen was, of course, lucky to have a story that worked so well on screen without significant alteration. But his resistance to changing even inconvenient parts of the story is deeply admirable. The slightly unsatisfying conclusion of Brad Pitt’s liberal carpenter Samuel Bass stepping in to save Solomon single handed was retained despite providing something of an anti-climax.

Many stories similar to Northup’s ended via the far more cinematic underground railroad, but McQueen resisted the urge to edit in an exciting finale for the screen. Instead, the story that he told said something much greater about the mundane nature of both good and evil; it only took a letter and a few questions to end Solomon’s horror.

Perhaps a few other directors would do well to learn from his example.

FOXSEARCHLIGHT

Word of the Week: the matutolypea blues Can’t explain why you’re in a bad mood?

Neither can we, but here’s a new word for you.

Jess Payn Columnist

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word that sounds misleadingly grandiose, matutolypea is that familiar feeling of waking up, reluctantly crawling out of bed, and knowing that it’s going to be a shit day.

Everyone you come across balks at your particularly cantankerous temper today. ‘Got up on the wrong side of the bed, have you?’ – and, yes, that’s exactly it. Matutolypea, rightly diagnosed, is a feeling of irritability when you get up in the morning.

Clothing this state of irritability with Latin and Greek pretensions (‘matuta’ deriving from the Roman goddess of the dawn, and ‘lype’ meaning ‘grief or sorrow’ in Ancient Greek) may or may not make you feel better about your inexplicably bad mood. I would say, though, that this word

is at least more straightforward than the conventional idiom. After all, ‘getting up on the wrong side of bed’ is, when you think about it, a rather absurd means of explaining a foul temper.

I wonder if you share my pedantic concerns. Your bed is probably pushed up against the wall in a tiny college room; there’s no space for picking a side even if such a choice could conceivably impact your mood that morning.

More annoying than the expression itself, though, are the attempts of some to rationalise what is just an errant metaphor. The Daily Mail, for example, recently published an article that claimed for groundbreaking news that “You CAN get up on the wrong side of bed”. A research study claims that “those who sleep on the left are generally more

cheerful” than their right-equivalents, who don’t cope as well in a crisis.

What makes the article most frustrating is that it tries to panic you into trying to switch the side on which you sleep – catastrophising about those who prefer the right side – without giving any kind of explanation for what seems to be just a random correlation.

Surely, the one thing most detrimental to a good night’s rest is to try to change your sleeping routine. On the whole, days where you ‘get out of bed on the wrong side’ are few and far between: much better to respect that your body knows best than to force a change to your sleeping habits just because you’ve taken a superstitious figure of speech too literally...

The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

5

Culture

New Hall Art Collection

Top five contemporary poetry collections

Living amongst the world’s second largest collection of female art, Murray Edwards students share their faves

Imogen Cassels Poetry’s a funny thing. It can be easy to get caught up reading what has been written, and not find time to read what’s being written now. If you feel like dipping your toe in the poetry pond of the here and now, here are a few places to start.

1. Dear Boy – Emily Berry Berry is one of Faber’s younger generation, and is, for me a stand-out talent. Dear Boy is eclectic in its form and content, with poems that constantly surprise and unsettle (‘A Short Guide to Corseting’ is a personal favourite), focusing on fractured angles of modern life.

2. A Light Song of Light – Kei Miller Incorporating narratives, figures and language from his home country of Jamaica, Miller’s A Light Song of Light is full of beautifully controlled and playful poems. Casting shadows and uplifting, the collection always returns to its titular poem with ‘Some Definitions for Light’ and a final ‘Some Definitions for Night’.

Marcelle Hanselaar, Northsea Bathers, 1999 “The artist said herself, ‘I had no idea where this image had come from.’ Nor have we, Marcelle.” Freya Sanders

Wendy Taylor, Three Dung Beetles, 2000 “Hopefully this is not a metaphor for the woes of a Cambridge term.” Beth Jamal

3. Woods etc. – Alice Oswald Oswald is often cited as a modern nature poet, but this description seems so reductive of her stunning and unpredictable language in poems like ‘Head of a Dandelion’, bringing back the violence and modernity of nature. Often short-line, sometimes featuring neat halfrhymes (‘Song of a Stone’), Oswald’s poems are remarkable in their capability to surprise and to reward.

STAN WIECHERS

Sophie Ryder, Black Horse, 1989 “It looks like the thestrels from Harry Potter. It reminds me of my mortality on a daily basis.” Anna Carruthers

Jenny Saville, Nude, 1992 “I like the perspective. I’ve always wondered what naked breasts look like from below.” Charlotte Furniss-Roe ALICE MOTTRAM

4. Quite Frankly – Peter Hughes Running the sublime Oystercatcher pamphlet press in Norfolk, Hughes is, like all poetry publishers and editors, a poet himself. Creative translations of Petrarch’s canzioniere, Quite Frankly is topical, relatable, formally stunning and frequently hilarious, featuring cameos from Bear Grylls and Michael Gove, but still carrying with it the absurdity and tragedy of love across the centuries.

Barbara Hepworth, Ascending Form (Gloria), 1958 “Despite resembling female genitalia, there is nothing traditionally feminine about this piece.” Alice Mottram

Tracey Emin, Birds, 2012 “During exam term this reminded us that we (might, possibly) survive the term.” Beth Craig-Geen

5. Poems – J. H. Prynne J. H. Prynne’s Poems is, what you’d call in fashion terms, an ‘investment piece’, weighing in at £25, and being largely, as some might argue, entirely impossible to understand.

Prynne’s tome is encyclopaedic, with a short essay ‘On Metal’, and a poem written entirely in runes. But there are wonderful touches – his syntax is a journey in itself, and poems such as ‘Charm Against Too Many Appeals’ exude a warmth that everyone can understand.

6

22 October 2015 • Part 2 • The Cambridge Student

Reviews Toucan flops and flaps Eleanor Costello

A

s the lights went up, four coconuts on sticks appeared in the centre of the stage.

The audience started to throw tennis balls. Within 30 seconds the stage was littered with balls, and every coconut had been knocked off its stick… bar one. That stubborn coconut gazed at the audience, taunting us. It gradually became painfully clear that the play would not start until that coconut had been knocked off its perch. Eventually someone in the front row put us all out of our misery and marched up to the coconut, whacking it the floor with their hand. Everyone relaxed, and the sketch show began.

That rather set the precedent for the evening. It was completely shambolic, almost farcically so, and I loved it. The best bit was a section near the end in which the crew tried to set up some TVs to play a short film. The TVs didn’t work, obviously. At one point a laptop was produced, but this also failed and through it all Jordan Mitchell was ad-libbing on the microphone, regaling the audience with a long-winded tale about his uncle. I was in fits of laughter. When eventually they got the film playing, it wasn’t even particularly good. That whole segment was a disaster, and it was comedy gold.

This is not to say that the production itself was bad. When things ran smoothly, there were delightful moments. All four performers had an easy, relaxed dynamic, at least at the start. The jokes were silly and playful, however, the transitions were awkward, and often the humour felt

That whole segment was a disaster, and it was comedy gold forced. It was too silly, too playful for my taste. The pace lulled in these moments and only picked up again when something went wrong and the actors were forced to make off-the-cuff jokes. It was the disastrous elements of this production that saved it; the cast rolled with the punches and emerged the other side, weary, but unbeaten.

I have no idea what the show will be like as the week goes on. I don’t know whether everything will fall together smoothly, or whether the play will continue to be plagued with technical errors and unfortunate occurrences. I really hope it’s the latter.

7/10

JORDAN MITCHELL

Confusing, bizza The Master an Charlie Clissitt

Buoyband: Some stand out stand-up Tom Bevan Theatre Editor

S

tudent stand-up is always at risk of being somewhat hit and miss. This genre of performance is very tricky to master and despite a few inevitable lulls, the trio of Haydn Jenkins, Orlando Gibbs and Yaseen Kader overall entertained a modest late night audience at the ADC. Covering everything from freshers’ antics to caffeine addiction and back again, the three separate sets largely impressed. The witty awkwardness

of Jenkins and his well timed, middle-class mocking one-liners complimented Kader’s later more politicised flourishes, covering sexual fetishes and the brilliance of Kanye West. Gibbs perhaps dwelled too much on a naked Njovak Djokovic gag, but was nonetheless a key player in this highly promising trio of comics.

8/10

T

he Marlowe Society’s The Master and Margarita is largely a triumph; an excellent performance combining both dark and comic elements that builds up an enthralling energy, only to plod to a rather anticlimactic halt.

Mikhail Bulgakov’s zany and multilayered political novel, completed in 1940 but unpublished until 1967, concerns the struggles of the Master, a playwright

So very little of Bulgakov’s brilliant imagination is omitted suffering under the censorship of the atheist Soviet Union. His subsequent visit from the Devil instigates a bizarre series of events. The Master’s own play dramatizes

Pontius Pilate’s personal difficulty with crucifying Jesus Christ. Bulgakov’s work does not seem to lend itself well to the stage, yet this performance suggested the opposite. We see much of the supposedly ‘unstageable’, including a talking cat, a severed head served up on a table and even the nude, oiled and airborne Margarita; so very little of Bulgakov’s brilliant imagination is omitted.

Jack Needham and Eleanor Mack both offer fantastic performances as the eponymous Master and Margarita, but it is Ben Walsh, playing the devil who really gives the production its comic impetus. Disguised as visiting Professor Woland, Walsh is introduced to us in a brilliantly funny scene set in an anonymous park, immediately instigating the play’s transition from interesting to captivating. Woland is accompanied by an equally exciting entourage; Katurah

The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

7

Reviews NICHOLAS HULBERT

Broadway in Trinity II is twice as nice Chase Caldwell Smith

C

UPO has a renowned knack for drawing together the finest vocalists and instrumentalists in Cambridge for its delightful musical extravaganzas, and Broadway in Trinity 2: Masquerade was no exception.

An impressively large number of individual soloists must receive my commendation: Adi George for his thrillingly tender ‘Bring Him Home’ from Les Miserables, Rosalind Dobson for her stratospheric ‘I Feel Pretty’ from West Side Story, Jonah Hauer-King for his deliciously smoky ‘Razzle Dazzle’ from Chicago (which, in the paraphrased words of the production’s stunningly capable conductor James Bartlett, more than thoroughly “twitched the ovaries” of a fair number of audience members, who practically gasped for breath at the completion of the number), Holly Musgrave’s climactic rendition of Elphaba’s ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked, and of course Joe Beighton’s

are and brilliant: nd Margarita Morrish’s convincingly feline performance as the talking cat Behemoth and Declan Amphlett’s sinister Joker-esque Fagotto are both well worthy of note.

The inevitable confusion that envelopes the play is in fact a necessary part of the viewing experience The production stays true to Bulgakov’s complex intertwining of multiple character narratives, and the inevitable confusion that envelops the play is in fact a necessary part of the viewing experience. There are, however, a few issues that tainted an otherwise strong production. The conclusion of the Pontius Pilate narrative that underpins the whole performance

might have offered a fitting ending for the play itself, but instead we see closing monologues from a number of the central characters which offer little in the way of an impressive or evocative ending. The production’s use of music between and during scenes – ranging from minimalistic electronic to jazz instrumentals – is key to evoking the novel’s urban and infernal atmosphere, although some characters’ speech often goes unheard as a result.

The Master and Margarita is an exciting production that offers an engaging oscillation between the worlds of Pontius Pilate and 1930s Moscow. The vibrant and frenetic world of Bulgakov’s novel is vividly captured, but the performance reaches a comic peak too early.

6/10

hilarious ‘I Believe’ from The Book of Mormon (which he was asked to learn less than 48 hours before the concert to fill in for another cast member).

My one major criticism centres on the quality of the microphones: I was unable to hear many of the individual words of the soloists, which was unfortunate.

I disagreed with my friend who thought that there was too large an emphasis on more ‘obscure’ songs rather than popular favourites. I feel that CUPO did an excellent job interspersing well-known pieces with lesser known ones, which gave the show an original spin that introduced me to several new songs, rather than leaving me with nothing more to explore.

The mixture of familiar and unfamiliar was much welcomed.

Besides the technical challenges of the microphones, the quality of performance was high, and the evening succeeded in balancing a feeling of informal fun and humour with top-notch performance.

Gengahr: live at the Portland Arms Jamie Turpin JAMIE TURPIN

T

he North London four-piece, Gengahr embody many of the most desirable characteristics in a band: they are humble but assured, simple and effective, original but accessible in their sound, as well as creatively self-sufficient. All of this comes across as they play an impressive set at The Portland Arms in Cambridge.

The band’s dazed pop-rock has travelled a long way, only beginning in 2014 with one humble Soundcloud recording, they are now headlining their own UK and European tour. As they stroll past their fans onto the set of The Portland Arms’ intimate venue, their air of self-assured confidence is visible, and throughout the

night their performance is both mature and refined. What is perhaps most striking about the band’s performance (onstage assuredness and humility aside) is the ease with which they translate their sound from studio to live setting. As Bushe points out to me, prior to the gig, “Wwe’re about as simple as a band set up could possibly be in this day and age [so] we’re either very dated in what we do or really quite efficient.”

If this set was anything to go on, I would opt for the latter. Gengahr’s live performance requires little to no technical adjustment and this allows them to focus more on refining the interplay between instruments and developing more nuanced performances.

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The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

Lifestyle

Photoshoot: Bright and beautiful The Cambridge Student celebrates Black History Month with a beauty photoshoot Jessie Mathewson Fashion Editor October is Black History Month, and this week TCS Fashion is profiling the damaging ways that the beauty industry inhibits and erases non-white beauty. Many mainstream makeup brands design their collections almost exclusively for white skin – not only does this leave people of colour with a limited choice of makeup suited to them, it also affects the way beauty is portrayed in the media, whitewashing our perceptions of what is beautiful. I got together with our lovely model, Micha, to experiment with what instream makeup can do – the results were gorgeous.

Model Micha Frazer-Carroll Photographer Tom Dorrington Direction Jessie Mathewson Makeup Micha Frazer-Carroll & Jessie Mathewson

Culinary Dreamin’: No Masterchef here Why fail on national television when you

can fail in the comfort of your own kitchen?

Hetty Gullifer Columnist

I

just read an interesting Tumblr post from a desperate college student suggesting the ultimate challenge for a chef. Three professional chefs compete in three different student kitchens. Their challenge? To cook a three course meal using only the equipment and ingredients they find.

Bring on pasta sauce on toast and microwave-baked cheese with a Doritos crust. If they’re really lucky, dessert could be a chocolate cake made using just Nutella and eggs.

University Masterchef: The Professionals (patent pending).

I think that’s the reality show I’d like to apply for. The bar is nice and low. People would be impressed if I managed to make anything with just a microwave.

That said, although I often get asked if I’d ever go on a

reality cooking show to further my career, I don’t think I ever could. Even The Great British Bake Off admitted that after the first round of finding out who can actually cook, their final selection comes down to portraying a diverse group of candidates.

This isn’t a bad thing – it varies the demographics of people on TV. However, it wouldn’t be useful for starting a culinary career. You would never go on The X Factor if you actually wanted to be a singer. Sure, you would get your name out there and on TV, but you’d be told whether you were good or not by four people. And once you’d been put down on national TV you probably wouldn’t keep trying.

Simon Cowell would particularly hate me: I went to Cambridge, I get stage fright, and I’d audition with jazz

rather than One Direction. Good thing I don’t want to be the next Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.

The fact is that I have made some big cooking mistakes.

I had to try and cook a 5kg turkey in the microwave in less than an hour after misjudging my timing one Christmas.

Then there was the time I made an apple crumble using semolina rather than brown sugar. I even exploded a bag of blackberry puree all over an expensive machine at one of the restaurants I worked in.

But I am so glad that these mistakes weren’t judged by a panel of judges in front of 7 million people. That might have just put me off cooking for life. More importantly, I have no sob story, or at least not one I’m prepared to share with a national audience.

The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

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Lifestyle

Clothes, tanks, and freedom fighting Vivienne Westwood– catching up on fashion, feminism, and politics with an international fashion icon DANIEL ZHANG

Jessie Mathewson Fashion Editor

I

’m a heretic.” Vivienne Westwood is sitting across the table from me, and looking at her I can well believe it.

Dressed in a black knit catsuit and asymmetrical olive shirt, accessorised with chunky heels and a necklace made of conkers, Westwood is doing just as she pleases.

She looks different – she looks incredible. This of course, is nothing new: even from an early age, she tells me, she didn’t want to follow the herd: “I was very polite and respectful as a child, but I always wanted to do things differently.”

“Do things differently” is an understatement – we are, after all, talking about one of the world’s most celebrated fashion designers, practically the inventor of punk style, still designing, and controlling a multi-million pound business at 74, as well as spearheading Climate Revolution, the NGO she founded.

She is a female icon, and she’s certainly never felt limited by her gender: “When I was a young girl I was really astonished when I discovered that some of my friends – when I was about eight or nine – they wanted to be boys because they thought that boys had more freedom. And I just thought, what a funny idea – because I always thought that I could do whatever I wanted, really.”

“Fashion”, Westwood says, “can help you to express a part of yourself you didn’t even really know existed ... People have to find a way to express themselves”. Westwood herself dresses in a way which is both powerful and feminine there’s no room for the suggestion that those two words are in any way contradictory.

Westwood’s first punk designs shocked the nation - but today she shows little interest in punk: “I stopped being interested in punk - they weren’t at all political, they just liked jumping around and pogo-ing, and looked absolutely great. It’s still a great look and I think it’s wonderful to have invented a real look, of rebellion supposedly. The thing that’s left to me regarding punk is that the attitude of a punk is ‘don’t trust what you’re told’. Whether they do or not I

don’t know, but that’s the kind of stance they take. I think that’s quite good.”

Today, Westwood herself is extremely political. Not that she really engages with the system: she has little time for government – “once they’re voted in they do what they like” – and sees our current free market capitalism as “a rotten financial system”. Her form of political engagement is active, theatrical, making a statement.

This summer she drove to David Cameron’s house in a tank, to protest against fracking. She tells me about choosing her outfit for that day: “I thought I’d wear something rather sort of romantic – all my clothes are romantic. I’m a freedom fighter ... I did choose this long black skirt and this little sack cloth jacket and white highheeled shoes. I just felt that that was something really, I don’t know, in a world I wanted to be, so I thought it was good for the tank. And I think it was better than if I’d looked like some tough guy.” This is Vivienne Westwood:

clothes and politics come together, to express an idea, and something about who she is. She says her clothes “tell a story ... they’re theatrical in that sense.”

As I left the Union following her speech, it was impossible to miss the slight sense of discontent – “I wanted her to speak about fashion”, someone complained. It’s true that Westwood’s talk was for the most part about climate change.

But to see her political and ethical beliefs as seperate to her fashion is short-sighted. Westwood spoke about how humans are apart from the natural order - “every other species gives and takes, but we only take.” She said we need to be part of the system, but also to reflect on it.

Anyone who thought she wasn’t talking about fashion missed the point: fashion doesn’t have to be a flimsy, insubstantial thing trapped in a bubble.

It can be a powerful tool to communicate who we are and what we believe.

Read the full interview online at www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Top five restaurants for when the parents visit Natalia Rye-Carriegas Three weeks into term and you have finally accepted that the Bank of Mum and Dad is no longer around to finance your foodie cravings. Suddenly, they announce that they are going to ‘pop to visit’ one weekend. This is your chance to get a decent meal, and escape from Curry King and Spoons.

Caffè Sicilia - £ This is a great one to try when you’ve just picked your parents up from the train station and you’re all craving Italian food. A wide selection of Italian, especially Sicilian, classics at a great price with excellent service. A 10% student discount means it might even become a regular eatery for you, too.

The Olive Grove - ££ Another little gem on the way into town if you fancy something Greek. The interior is lovely and it is clearly a family-run restaurant based on the friendly atmosphere and attention to detail by the chef to any “different” orders.

I couldn’t recommend this more for a relaxed and intimate evening together.

NEIL BARNWELL

Butch Annies - ££ There are plenty of burger places in town but this one stands out for all the right reasons! As well as the classics, new and interesting flavour combinations will impress and tickle your taste buds after an everyday diet of pasta and rice. Plus, the extensive milkshake list puts Gourmet Burger Kitchen to shame.

Rainbow Café - ££ This is the only restaurant in Cambridge to be entirely vegetarian, specialising in gluten-free and vegan food.

This little place has a tasty selection of international dishes to please even the most hardened meat-eater. It works especially well for a leisurely weekend lunch stop following the infamous tour of King’s.

Cotto - £££ This European restaurant features fixed-price menus, meaning you can enjoy multiple courses in a seamlessly planned ensemble. As the price is steeper than a typical pub, leave this one for a special occasion: graduation perhaps?

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The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

Lifestyle Little luxuries for the kitchen

B

etween supervisions, a dissertation and attempting a basic understanding of Middle English, life at Cambridge can wear me down.

Considering the importance of meals in keeping a degree of regularity in my life, I’m not afraid to spend a little more on good ingredients. It can make all the difference.

Cooking pasta on a near daily basis, I value quality olive oil, good tomatoes and a jar of dried dill. After having practically been raised on my grandmother’s homegrown vegetables, sweet cherry tomatoes are a much needed taste of home. If you’re cooking with Basics tomatoes you may as well not be using them at all.

If you’re cooking with Basics tomatoes, you may as well not be using them at all Dill is a sadly underused herb. It adds a nuanced flavour to a pasta dish, which might otherwise be unremarkable. It pairs well with seafood, or with a simple fresh tomato and olive oil sauce.

If your store cupboard is empty apart from some old pasta, a bottle of olive oil can add flavour to what would otherwise be a bowl of (ironically) simple carbohydrates.

With a long life and various uses – from moisturising your skin to caring for bike brakes – olive oil is invaluable.

Splurging on good oil, tomatoes and herbs might seem unnecessary, and unaffordable. However, if you buy ingredients with friends you can ease the financial burden.

Alice Mottram

Nothing fills a gap quite like an M&S strawberry tart.

Buying cheap strawberries & cream doesn’t compare. I’ll probably pass on the nice wine if it means I get my tart.

Magdalen Christie The one thing that has made me question my MML degree and the year abroad that it contains, was the thought of the lack of good mature cheddar cheese. Now I’m back home, I owe it to poor, sad, homesick me to buy Taste the Difference at the very least.

Elsa Maishman I am of the rather unpopular opinion that you just can’t scrimp on wine. After a year abroad spent in France (yep, I’m that person), I really can’t stomach the Sainsbury’s ‘House Beaujolais’ any more; I’ll happily splurge.

Jemima Jobling DWIGHT SIPLER

Listings Thursday 22 If these walls could talk – These Walls. King’s Chapel 500th Anniversary Celebrations, until 8pm.

Proud to be loud – October’s Queers in Shorts. Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, 9pm.

Friday 23 Baz Luhrmann in conversation. The Union, 3pm.

Casts by Candlelight. Museum of Classical Archeology, 6pm.

Newnham Smoker – with Bethany Black. Newnham College, 8pm.

Arena: night and day – BBC film screening pop-up. All around Cambridge, 12pm.

Saturday 24 Fun in the sun – Apple Day. Murray Edwards College, 2pm.

PEN – Post Conflict Poetry. English Faculty Drama Studio as part of The Festival of Ideas, 4:30pm.

Sunday 25 Simply Garage – Fez Club, 10pm.

Compiled by Isobel Laidler RHIANN RONE-CLARKE

The Cambridge Student • Part 2 • 22 October 2015

11

Restaurant Review: Reys

Lifestyle

Lucy Roxburgh Food and Drink Editor

L

iving in a small city like Cambridge, eating out can quickly get repetitive, especially when restricted by a small student budget. Hence why it is always exciting when somewhere new opens. Tis week it was Reys, a new eaterie located on the corner of Corn Exchange Street. Inspired by French rotisseries, with a few Asian influences thrown in, the menu is simple and to the point.

On arrival, the bold orange and white colour scheme successfully manages to be cheery and stylish rather than giving off an EasyJet vibe. Even though it is brand new, Reys already has a buzzing Saturday night atmosphere that attracts both town and student residents. A major selling point is the super friendly service, with clearly knowledgeable staff recommending their personal favourites.

The portion sizes at Reys are generous from the onset.

The avocado on toast starter (£5.50) comes with three pieces of toast, yet somehow it is good enough that you find yourself eating it all. The minimalist menu means you are spared the dilemma of too much main course choice – the size of your appetite being the main dictator of your meal.

We went for the classic half chicken with gravy (£11.50) and once again it was huge, taking up a whole dinner plate.

Moist chicken, rich almost sweet gravy – it was a taste of home and Sunday roasts. There is also the choice of salads or a pulled chicken sandwich, where vegetarians can switch the chicken for butternut squash and ricotta.

The restaurant sells itself on the signature rotisserie chicken but the real highlights are everything else – the unique steamed Asian bun side order so you can construct your own chicken sandwich, the perfectly salty fries, the melting chocolate lava cake (£5). Oh, the chocolate lava cake. No matter how full you may be after polishing off a

vast amount of chicken, do not go to Reys without tackling the dessert menu. With the perfect ratio of delicate sponge and melting middle, it alone is reason enough to go back.

The one problem is, despite the food itself being pretty faultless, Reys selling point can also become its flaw. As with all minimalist menu restaurants, once you’ve tried it once you’re unlikely to head back the next day just to have the same chicken all over again. The half chicken was very good, and yet it just became slightly monotonous to eat halfway through. Whilst I may not rush back for dinner, the pulled chicken hash on the brunch menu is definitely calling, and for nearby colleges the takeaway option could prove very tempting for a Sunday roast fix. Although it is unlikely to become an everyday destination, Reys is definitely worth giving a try especially for protein lovers, the chance to try something new, and, of course, that awesome chocolate lava cake.

LUCY ROXBURGH

Sexual healing: A guide to Cambridge sexual health Isobel Laidler Lifestyle Editor

E

ven after the heroic efforts of our JCR reps and the sleepy gentleman on the sexual health table in Kelsey Kerridge, knowing how and where to find information, advice and… that stuff… in Cambridge can be bizarrely difficult. More students than you might think aren’t sexually active before university, and being thrown into a city stuffed with hormones can feel overwhelming to the most experienced amongst us.

Whether you prefer online research, a phone call from your own room or a face-to-face meeting with a student or professional, these services should be easily sourced and accessible - so here’s a vague attempt to clear the fog.

Most of our JCRs are a great place to start, as you can talk to the women’s or LGBT+ officers, and some colleges have a men’s officer or a welfare officer. These guys can offer you impartial advice, should be able to give you free condoms and can point you in the right direction if you’re looking into different contraceptive techniques, thinking about having an STI screening or think you may need other medical attention such as the morning-after pill or any one of those happy little suprises you can find yourself dealing with. It’s so easy to forget that talking about all this isn’t a taboo these days, and you shouldn’t feel dirty or confused

about discussing it. Sometimes though, the thought of approaching someone in your own college, who you see walking around or socialise with, can be daunting at best.

Your doctor is a good next stop. Contraceptive advice and some procedures can be done here, as well as acquiring

CUSU womcam self-care tips group on Facebook is a safe, equal platform for discussion. the pill on prescription. It’s best to do some research before committing to a pill, as many women find one works when another doesn’t, and it’s worth putting in the time to try different pills over time.

If you feel that you can, ask any women in your family what methods have worked for them in past, as often hormonal responses run in families. Hoewever, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this, or just fancy being in conversation with ladies of the same age, then join the CUSU womcam self-care tips Facebook group, a safe space in which women and non-binary people can ask questions

and share experiences on an entirely equal platform.

Gents, if you’re feeling left out, then contact CUSU about starting an all-male discussion group and see if you can get the ball rolling on that one. Equally, CUSU itself can be a good place to look; head to their website www.studentadvice.cam.ac.uk, then click on ‘Life & Welfare’ and then ‘Sexual Health’ which has some good content,Otherwise you can go in person to their offices at 17 Mill Lane, by the Graduate Union building, and can pick up free condoms and pregnancy tests.

In terms of acting outside of the university, which some people find most comforting, try The Laurels on 20 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8DT (just behind the Grafton Centre) or you can ring them on 08456 50 51 52.

Here you can find completely confidential advice and help, as their records aren’t shared with your GP or any NHS departments. If you’re at a complete loss, type Cambridge Sexual Health into your server and the results should be fruitful. And, most importantly, talk. Just talk – on Facebook groups, to friends, anonymously to the JCR, or to a doctor whom you will never have to see again if you don’t want to. Whatever you do, don’t worry yourself sick – its not worth it in the long run.

12 ALEXANDER HARDWICK

COLM MURPHY

COLM MURPHY

SARAH METCALF XAVIER BISITS

Marginalia, or contraband doodling Spending all day at the library can be tiresome, and even the most conscientious students find themselves doodling occasionally.

For some, the margins of a library book are not only for drawing love hearts and stick people, but for academic gibes and ripostes. Whilst the UL may discourage the defacing of their books, marginalia has become an academic topic in itself. Maybe one day, if you’re lucky, even your absent minded doodles will be food for cerebral thought.

ISOBEL LAIDLER

GRACE MURRAY

EMMA WELLS

JACOB OSBORNE

KAIT JARBEAU

MARY HOLLANDER

ZOAH HEDGES-STOCKS

FREYA SANDERS

MIRIAM LONGMAN

To all who read this book, I warn you: this man is a moron

Best of Cambridge Marginalia

22 October 2015 •Part 2 • The Cambridge Student

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The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

Features

Classic Cambridge ALICE LAW

SIMONPIX

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onsistently ranked in the top three universities in the world, Cambridge students have earned a reputation for academic excellence. But sometimes, this is pretty questionable... enjoy these not-so-smart quotes we’ve overheard in Cambridge!

“Is York in Yorkshire?” Christ’s “OMG it turns out chickens don’t need men to lay eggs!” Churchill “What’s a hymen?” Christ’s “I thought crabs walking sideways was an urban legend” Murray Edwards “Are weasels real animals?” Queen’s “I thought I was writing my C of E, not a “Whereabouts in London is Reading?”

CV” Jesus Murray Edwards U.S. EMBASSY NEW DELHI

“When planning my trip to California I was most excited to see the Empire State Building” Clare

“I thought Mahatma Gandhi was a prophet from the Old Testament” Emma “Oh, I thought it was called ‘vulva wheat’” Hughes Hall

mbridge My ths

“Until last year I thought Rome was famous for its sixteen chapels, not the Sistine chapel” Murray Edwards MARTIN PETTITT

In-Cam-petance: Punting Perils Jack McMinn

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ambridge is a city of stereotypes, expectations about the people, the architecture and the bicycles (especially the bicycles). However, the one thing that is most closely associated with Cambridge is punting. Only the top minds in Cambridge’s halls could possibly manage to comprehend the idea of shoving a boat along a river with a big stick, so naturally it’s one of the first things many freshers get introduced to, myself included. So into the punt I hopped with a few chums, glazing over when the instructions were being handed out on how to steer and such.

Surely we could handle a simple task like this by ourselves? We are adults now!

What followed was an hour of terrifying chaos – ricocheting off banks and giving the local ducks the fright of their life.

We almost rammed a boatful of Japanese tourists, cameras and all, headlong into the river Cam. We then spent so much time trying to move in a straight line that the same boat came back in the other direction and we promptly bumped into them again.

Isaac Newton would have been proud of

“Don’t we have a supervision about nowish?”

the momentum antics we were getting up to, which in hindsight would be strangely appropriate given our proximity to his (if we are to believe the punters) Mathematical Bridge. The oar in particular – usually used only for emergencies – was adopted as something to thrash about in the water, in some vain attempt to stop ourselves taking out another batch of endangered birdlife.

However, when it became clear that all this managed to do was to get everyone soaked through, this plan was aborted. We were down the river Cam without a paddle.

At last, our boatsman came to a revelation. ‘Oh! I was meant to put the pole in the water like this!’ Immediately, the punt glided along the surface of the river as elegantly as a swan – or at least, as gracefully as a swan would, had we not injured most of the native waterfowl in the last few minutes. We drifted along the river and everyone was pretty relaxed, until my friend turned to me and said “Don’t we have a supervision about now-ish?”

There was no time to go back to the dock. We scrambled up the vertical bank alongside the Mathematical Bridge, hoping that another aspect of Newton’s work

(y’know, the one about falling down? You may have heard of it) did not take effect, with our pilot using the newfound skills at punt manoeuvrability which he had picked up in the last five minutes in order to carefully bring the punt as close as he dared to the side. After a mad dash around

Queen’s College for a while, we made it out, essentially abandoning the rest of our party at the mercy of the river.

I don’t know what happened to them.

Maybe the ducks took revenge on them for their crimes. That would be an un-camfortable situation.

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15 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Features

Taboo: is armpit A scientist’s guide to life in the humanities hair really weirder than leg hair?

Lugging Anthony Bridgen Features Editor

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Rose Reade Columnist

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ast year I wrote an article about shaving my legs for the first time (aged 19, for a play). A year later, I find myself doing exactly the same thing. This time round I’ve had to keep it up for longer (the play has had a long run!) and have experienced the highs and lows of shaving rash, prickly stubble, deciding that shower gel is nicer than shaving cream, and the perils of not moisturising. Upon reflection, I still feel the same as I did a year ago: my legs are cold and I feel like a pre-pubescent child.

However, I have been thinking about other areas of body hair (I’ll save pubes for another column), and my armpits have come to my attention. I toyed with the idea of shaving my armpits for this particular play but realised I had become too fond of my soft fluffy underarm hair to ever shave it off.

I have been informed by my sources (my friends in the kitchen), that they would notice armpit hair on a woman more than they would notice leg hair. In fact lots of women have been taking advantage of this and drawing attention to their unshaved armpits by dyeing them or baring them on social media/ in the public eye.

The most famous example is Miley Cyrus who did this in June. More interestingly, Chinese feminist Xiao Meili launched an armpit hair competition this summer, saying in an interview with CNN, “Women should have the right to decide how to deal with their bodies, including small details like armpit hair…

“You can choose to shave it, but you shouldn’t be forced to do so under the pressure of stereotypes.”

My friend don’t go around stroking my armpits, but I have been informed by my boyfriend that he “found armpit hair gross” until he met me Personally, I hope that in years to come, campaigns like this will be unnecessary and people will feel free to choose what they want to do with their bodies without the fear of being judged by societal expectations. And I truly believe we are on our way there.

However, for now, it is important to challenge these stereotypes. I find it interesting how we rely on celebrities and social media to get our point across. As useful as it is to see people like Miley Cyrus making choices about their body hair that challenge expectations, I’ve found that after people’s initial surprise at my hairy pits, they get used to it and even grow fond of them. No, my friends don’t go around stroking my armpits, but I have been informed that my boyfriend “found armpit hair gross” until he met me.

So a challenge for you: If you ever get fed up with prickly pits, give not shaving them a go and see how you feel and how other people react.

You might love it, you might hate it, but it might be an interesting and liberating experience and actually make ‘to shave or not to shave’ a real choice.

If you’re interested in reading more about Rose’s adventures with body hair, head to TCS online to read her article: ‘An Actor Prepares: 20 years of leg hair down the drain’.

have always been a scientist. Since I can remember I have always wanted to pursue the sciences, be like David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins and all the other cliche idols of all nerdy young children.

So I went through life, studying maths, biology and chemistry, then came here to Cambridge to read Natural Sciences, the zenith of my ambitions, home to so many of the greats and the greatest thereof. Now, in my second year, I thought it would be a good idea to take the History and Philosophy of Science.

Before I’d had any lectures or even the vaguest idea what I was doing, I had been set an essay, an actual history essay, replete with reading list and vague question.

I suddenly realised I haven’t written an actual humanities essay, with y’know, an argument and stuff, for three years. Yes I’ve written science essays but they do not even come close to the demands of a history essay.

So I panic, go on a tour of the libraries, lug back a heap of books of a thickness I have never before considered and spend two days straight just reading. Having finished this mammoth exercise, I realise I have no clue what to do next...

The sciences give you a clear and structured path to follow that is

almost entirely absent in the practice of history as an undergraduate.

This is where having historian friends comes in pretty handy, with a year’s historical wisdom at your fingertips. Notes, arguments and vague noncommittal statements like ‘what do we mean by the scientific revolution’ spring to mind, but now I feel like I might have the slimmest chance of not producing the worst thing I have ever written – or that my

a heap of books of a thickness I had never considered

supervisor has ever read – but we’ll see about that.

The whole experience has greatly increased my respect for the historians for whom this is their whole degree; it’s impressive. In all, despite the stress and strife it has caused me, I’m happy that I chose HPS. It’s so different, so new, so challenging and as such very refreshing. Although I’m certain my optimism will fade. especially when I have to write a philosophy essay.

CHRISTOPHER MICHEL

Argh, what am I doing here???

Greedy monkey: my big career indecision Dorota Molin

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n visions of my future career (failure), I picture myself seized by the greedy monkey syndrome. You might have heard the story.

Holding on to too many irresistible goodies inside, it won’t be able to pull its full hand out of the bowl. It could have had something, but ended up with nothing. I can see my peers in 20 years down the line, smiling pityingly from the top of the ladder at me – a free spirit.

Still scribbling here and there, still struck by the world-Messiah complex, a self-proclaimed academic. What a pity I didn’t listen to everyone in

Cambridge, they who knew what was best for me and what the ‘ideal me’ should be busy with.

Or did they? When it comes to careers, I have come to believe in the scenic route, because it is precisely experience in diverse fields that shows you what gets you going and why. Let’s talk specifics.

I thought that working with Bedouins in Israel was just me trying to satisfy my academic curiosity about the Israel-Palestine dynamic. It turns out that I was trying to understand my own childhood and youth. That is, what it means to be an ethnic and TAMBAKO THE JAGUAR

I picture myself seized by the greedy monkey complex

linguistic minority in a country, and how one juggles progress-serving integration with faithfulness to tradition. In this way, I realised that it is this link to my personal experiences that makes me nuts about this work.

I am not trying to say you have to ‘discover your true self ’, or some similar cliche that you’ve heard 1,000 times before. It could be just having a blast or roaming around aimlessly.

In fact, taking the scenic route can be hard work, because the path is often longer. It can take more time, both here in Cambridge and in the big scary world, to figure out your route.

The personal and the professional are often intertwined and you need to get both right. It’s also ok if others have always had it sorted (or at least make it seem so).

In the long run, this diverse path can in fact feed back into your career.

My friend is a corporate solicitor who exchanged six years in the City for a PhD in the philosophy of virtue. “You know, conventional career paths are hard to achieve.”

13

The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

Features

Matchmaking and raunchy sleep talking: Behind Cambridge’s What not to expect on a research trip Campaigns: The BME Campaign

Chase Caldwell-Smith

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he warned me over Facebook: “Hangovers at altitude are intense. Avoid at all costs.”

And so, with characteristic dignity, our illustrious editor-in-chief Freya bestowed upon me her wisest words concerning Andean travel.

When you’re in the process of planning a research expedition to Peru, some things initially seem more crucial than others: ethics and methodology, interview technique and translation, logistics and travel arrangements. In the months leading up to the trip in July, the team of four undergraduates of which I was a part applied for grants, hunted for funding, dutifully received our rabies and yellow fever vaccinations – in short, tried to do all the things we ought to do in order not to die once we arrived.

But what I hadn’t thought about, naturally, was the time in between the research and the planned sections – the random bits I never could have expected.

Imagine my surprise, one morning, to discover that in my sleep I had declared, tantalizingly, “I am a new man! Ever since…” trailing off to the utter dismay of my curious roommate.

Or another night when I sleepwhispered, mystifyingly, “I am not familiar with the fruits of the harvest.”

Or that supremely awkward morning when one team member woke up to learn that in the night, she had all-toocandidly professed, “I like it rough…

Do you like it rough?”

Raunchy sleep-talking, incredibly,

was the least of our adventures.

Fruit-salad politics were emphatically more intense. Every morning in the homestay I would wake up far too late to help all the others with the peeling of oranges and the slicing of guava in the kitchen. However one day, the very same team member who had to listen to my nocturnal chatter could take my fruity absence no longer, snapping, “It is unacceptable that you do not assist us with the peeling of this fruit!” At this pont, all of the other members of the cutting team looked up in surprise, shrugging that they didn’t particularly care who sliced the apples and who didn’t. Fruit confrontation averted.

There was of course the brief social crisis in which a motherly Peruvian beckoned me over, and without reservation asked me, “Are you single or married…?” to which I replied with regrettable sincerity, “Single! I’m only 18…” Pointing to a nearby lady, my would-be-matchmaker shamelessly declared: “Ah but she is single too.” If I could blush, I certainly would have glowed completely red at this point.

Instead I just laughed a bit stiffly and attempted to slip away. I should have listened to Freya again, who, with extensive romantic wisdom in her possession, suggested creating a fake partner back at home to discourage would-be lovers.

Then of course there was the evening when we tried to play a Disney movie for our six- and eight-year old host children, only to discover to our alarm that the store had swindled us

“I like it rough… Do you like it rough?”

by selling us a blank DVD. Instead, our host father put in the nearest disk, which for some inexplicable reason happened to be an unrated action film. Sitting in complete shock at the very graphic opening shootout scene, I practically fainted when a sex scene began, and leapt in front of the television to block the screen from the children. Unfortunately, they did not understand my intentions, so they too hopped up and stood with me, which was not at all what I was trying to make happen, but which conveniently prevented them from seeing the screen, until it was mercifully turned off. Then we watched Teletubbies instead.

Spending six weeks with the same three other people had some unintended and unforeseen consequences, things like keeping track of days gone without showering, commenting on hair greasiness levels, and of course the inevitable problem of running out of small talk. Although in the end we collected our data, some of the most memorable moments of the expedition were emphatically not the academic-related ones.

So, to those of you who might be preparing to travel across the world in your next holiday from Cambridge, make sure to pack some social skills at the risk of forgetting them at home.

And, even more importantly, be sure to message Freya or another travelsavvy friend for handy advice on alcohol and relationships before you board the plane.

Mariam Ansar Columnist

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hen it comes to issues concerning race within Cambridge, it is easy to become disillusioned with the University as a whole.

Attempting to convert this disillusionment into some kind of energy is the difficult part. During first year, I experienced the struggles that came with being non-white in Cambridge.

Invisible but visible. Quiet but loud. From FLY meetings came frustrations which not only mirrored mine, but eclipsed them. There is a complex spectrum of details which come with being non-white and surviving within Cambridge, and all deserve to be listened to.

The passion of so many people recognising what is wrong and trying to amend it was enough for me to invest my frustrations in the BME Campaign.

As a platform for non-white voices to be heard, the actions of the BME campaign intend to illustrate the frustrations many of us feel

The BME struggle is one found in every college. It can be demonstrated by, but is not limited to, never seeing anyone who looks like you in the pictures on the wall of the buttery, noticing that representation is clearly not considered when looking at a reading list, and experiencing ignorant, offensive remarks during a night out at Cindies.

As a platform for non-white voices to be heard, the actions of the BME Campaign intend to illustrate frustrations many of us feel. In putting on talks, workshops, and solidarity campaigns, we emphasise key issues in our diverse communities.

YOTUT These may be seen as small steps to achieving change, but they are significant: they announce a presence which does not simply struggle, but which tries its hardest to learn, educate, and grow along the way. This is ongoing and can be exhausting but the strength of it lies in its unwavering KATE HISCOCK persistence. I’d like to think for as long as there are race issues within Cambridge, there’ll be people trying to combat them. There is a pride to be taken in that.

CUSU BME CAMPAIGN

The BME Campaign ran ‘I, Too, Am Cambridge’ two years ago to raise awareness of the issues that BME student at the university face.

14

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Interviews

Raz Hussain: From Emma to the Calais jungle Elsa Maishman News Editor

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ntering Emma bar, I find Anna Walker, the second-year student organiser of the Emmanuel-toCalais Refugee collection, surrounded by two tonnes of toiletries, clothes, and tinned goods.

While we wait for my interviewee, Raz Hussain, to return from collecting a clothing donation from St John’s, I ask Anna about the extraordinary collection she has organised.

The first thing she emphasises is that 100% of the money donated by students has gone directly into goods which will be given to refugees. ‘‘Students have so little money” she tells me “that all of it has to count.” Raz will pay for the fuel and Eurostar ticket, while Anna, aided

by Emmanuel College, has absorbed the costs at this end.

Raz and Anna plan to drive to Calais next weekend, where they will set up a 24-hour marquee to cater for refugees arriving at night, when most of the NGO tents are closed. This will be Raz’s fourth trip to the camp, and as Anna stresses, by this stage he knows exactly what is needed there.

At this point Raz returns, and my first question is how a man in his early thirties with a house-removal business in Milton Keynes began making regular trips to the Calais jungle.

“In August there was that photo that went viral of that young child that had

been washed up, and that affected me.

At that point I didn’t know too much about the situation and what was going on there, but, one way or another, I was going to become part of the effort to try and help people affected. So then I just put a post on Facebook saying “I’ve got some vans and I’m happy to cover any costs from here to Calais, what d’you say about donations?”

He explains that when he first arrived in the camp a queue of refugees formed behind his van within minutes, and he was advised to park somewhere else to avoid being “swamped”.

He then describes the second time, when he arrived to find French police “bulldozing the tents down. They had tractors, because there was an overflow of tents past a bridge.’’ I ask him, tentatively, whether or not there were people in the tents. “No, they tear-gassed them in the morning. To get them out.” He continues, matterof-factly: “So people had lost all their stuff. Some their passports, their paperwork, everything. That day was a bit chaotic. It was almost a stand-off between the refugees and police.

“The third time that I went around, which was last Tuesday, I stayed the night there as well. It was the most freezing night I’ve ever spent anywhere in my whole life.”

When I ask him if it would not be more effective to collect financial donations in the UK and buy goods for

the refugees once in Calais, he replies that: “The reason why it’s easier for us to buy them in the UK is because we know the UK. In regards to cost it makes no difference.”

I raise the inevitable question of long-term solutions, and Cambridge’s pledge to take 50 refugees balanced with its homelessness epidemic. Raz responds that “We’re not going to influence political decisions. You’ve got to make the best of a bad situation.

They’ve got nowhere to go back to. flowing in. Calais is hot property at They’ve got nowhere to go forward to. the moment, people are focussing there. But the vibe will die down.

I’m hoping Anna and some people “They were bulldozing are going to go [to Calais]. When you the tents down. They see your own stuff being given… you tear-gassed the refugees remember a few weeks back you were to get them out.” at the wholesaler’s thinking about a certain type of teabag, and when that Those things down there [he gestures box of teabags is in a kitchen and a to the goods collected], that’s making row of refugees [are] about to drink the best of a bad situation. And it’s your tea, that’s special.”

RAZ HUSSAIN

Nnenda Chinda on launching the Black Cantabs ANTHONY RUBINSTEIN

YAO TANG

Chase Smith Interviews Editor

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or Nnenda Chinda, co-founder of the Black Cantabs Society, the history of Cambridge possesses a glaring omission: that of the presence and achievements of its very first African and Afro-Caribbean alumni.

The idea for a research project to fill this gap began with the election of Priscilla Mensah as CUSU president last year: “She was the first black woman [in this position], and that was a big achievement for us, especially for the Women’s Campaign and for the advancement of black and minority ethnic women in the University.”

Looking back in history, Nnenda and her friends began to find politicians, mathematicians, kings, queens, and all sorts of incredible students who had come here. She underscores that “some found it very tough being here, and couldn’t do as much as they wanted to because of where they came from and because of the colour of their skin.”

Many students of African heritage have simply been erased from the memory of the university: “A 20-yearold Trinity Law student came here but

[went] away to fight in the war, and sadly died on his way back to England, but he’s not recorded on the list of the fallen in King’s College Chapel.”

When I ask who can get involved in the society, and whether non-minority students can contribute, Nnenda draws a distinction between two aims of the society. “So, everyone can get involved in it. In terms of the Facebook group

“Black Cantabs is not just for ourselves. It’s for everyone. People need to know that they matter.” called the Black Cantabs Project, that’s only for ethnic minorities because it has been conceived as a safe space. But we’ve [also] created a society page so that everyone else within the wider community and outside of Cambridge can know about it, like it, post on it, and we can talk to them about way they can get involved in their community.”

We have touched here on a broader theme: Nnenda thinks there is much work that needs to be done to increase racial equality and opportunities

for people of all backgrounds at Cambridge. She points to a lack of representation of black minority students at Cambridge colleges, emphasizing the reality that often “you can count how many there are on your fingers, and most of the time it’s not more than five people.”

I ask her about any personal experiences of racism she has felt at Cambridge. Nnenda admits that she “can only speak personally.” “[People] don’t view you holistically, you know, it’s just that one incident, and then all of a sudden you’ve got a label to your name. I think there’s a lot of pressure on black students to overperform and not fit into the stereotype, and sometimes when you can’t perform as well as you want to because of various external circumstances, then you do feel like all eyes are looking at you. I think that’s a lot of weight to carry on your shoulders, especially in a place like Cambridge.”

In light of all of this, “Black Cantabs is not just for ourselves, you know, in fact it’s not for us, it’s for everyone, because everyone needs to know that they matter.”

27

The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

Comment

Is the second ‘indyref ’ just around the corner, or was it really a one-time thing?

W

Through the looking glass With colleges’ land, transparency is key

Amatey Doku Columnist e were told by Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon at the time of the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 that this was a “once in a generation” opportunity to settle the question of whether Scotland should be an independent nation.

However, since the SNP’s landslide election victory earlier on this year it is becoming less clear whether the party will be sticking to this line.

In fact, it looks like it’s been ditched already.

In recent months, Sturgeon has made it clear that “if the circumstances change” there may be a case for another independence referendum, arguing that the UK voting to leave the EU against the wishes of the Scottish people could represent this change in the circumstances.

So at her party conference, she went on the attack. It was no surprise to hear her disdain for the majority Tory government, for Westminster, and for David Cameron, but perhaps most interesting was her stance towards the Labour party.

She warned her party against becoming “arrogant, lazy and

Editors: Jack May & Freya Sanders Founded 1999 Volume 17

complacent”, which, in her assessment, the explanation for Labour’s recent rapid decline.

For the Labour party more broadly, however, she suggested that Corbyn was a weak leader who was “allowing Labour to change him” and not the other way round.

Whilst she has made clear that she welcomes his anti-austerity standpoint, she argues that if Labour

The cynical view would be to say that the current arrangement suits the SNP doesn’t present a “credible alternative to the Tories” then independence would be the only real alternative to successive Tory governments.

In many ways the cynical view would be to say that the current arrangement suits the purposes of the SNP. We have a majority Conservative government whose defence secretary, Michael Fallon, claimed in reference to the cabinet that “we’re all Eurosceptics now”; a Labour party still reeling from the election of the initial outsider Corbyn and at risk of not healing

the divisions before the next election and so losing once more; and 56 SNP MPs who see themselves as the real opposition to the government. It is hardly surprising if the SNP have increasing appeal within Scotland.

But is that enough? Over the last weekend senior SNP sources revealed that a level of 60 per cent support for Scottish independence over the period of a year could be the “trigger point” after which a referendum might be considered.

A referendum this soon would be a huge risk for the party and they would have to be in no doubt that they would win this time round.

The other question that would need to be asked is how Westminster would respond. They may take a leaf out of the Spanish government’s book and refuse to recognise another referendum in this “generation” as legitimate.

Let’s be clear, the SNP’s raison d’etre has always been to liberate Scotland from the tyranny of Westminster.

In light of this, it would be unwise and a great underestimation of the SNP leadership to think that the SNP might not try again.

It’s just a question of timing.

DORSM365

Much of what makes investigating the land holdings of the colleges of the University of Cambridge so enjoyable, and so fascinating, is the old quirks and foibles it throws up.

Discovering the annual charges of £7 and £13 still payable by Gonville and Caius and Sidney Sussex Colleges, respectively, to Trinity College, is as tittilating as the revelation that St. John’s College owns over 14,000 acres of land is extraordinary.

This newspaper takes no issue with the colleges’ ownership of this land.

We have no intention of advocating radical seizing of land. Much of that land has been in college hands for centuries – and that is not a fact to dismiss. Often, alumni with great attachment to colleges would leave land to their college in their final will, in an attempt to secure for the students of the college a future much like the one they enjoyed there. This is a recognition of the college’s success,

and should not be penalised.

Instead, what is key is that the colleges are transparent. Students should know, and should easily be able to find out the state of their college’s assets, finances, and spending plans. Students should be able to argue with the college on what the proceeds of those assets should be spent on, and should be able to have a direct voice in those colleges.

This newspaper is grateful to Rory Landman, Trinity College’s senior bursar, for his transparent and forthcoming engagement with our enquiries to his college. However, Trinity is a college with no direct representation for students on key college boards. This needs to change.

Vastly wealthy colleges cannot be begrudged for their extensive assets, but must be challenged whenever they fail on transparency, and whenever they fail to give students an adequate voice in the running of the college.

Time to listen

Black History Month should be taken seriously It’s all too easy to dismiss the increasing number of ‘history months’ as a fad – as some kind of a new-age, trendy, lefty instinct to designate certain things and certain groups in a certain way as worthy of particular attention for the duration of a seemingly arbitrary month.

This is not a helpful way forward.

Ultimately, it’s vital that we’re all alert to racism, and alert to the kind of language that is alienating, xenophobic, or oppressive. That’s a duty that all of us face all the time – and it’s important that we fulfil it.

However, Black History Month gives us all an opportunity to go further. It can be a chance for us to listen to voices of the past, and – most crucially – to learn.

On this issue, people of colour must take the lead, and everyone else must have the grace, and the decency, to sit down, shut up, and listen. If people of colour want to mark Black History Month, they must be supported.

If people of colour want to involve anyone else in the marking of Black History Month, those people ought to

be active and willing participants.

In our Part 2 supplement this week, we wanted to create a visually rich feature focused on the figures and experiences of FLY – Cambridge’s network for women of colour.

It gave us a unique opportunity to highlight the personalities behind one of Cambridge’s most active and compelling student campaigns.

Crucially though, that feature was entirely led by Audrey Sebatindira, our Columns Editor, and one of the main women behind FLY. We are enormously grateful to her for helping us to celebrate Black History Month, and to all the women of FLY who contributed articles and advice to the Black History Month Special.

In the microcosm that is Cambridge, it’s easy to forget or overlook issues of global magnitude – especially for those in a position of privilege, who may feel only ripples, where others feel waves.

If you need a reminder, and if you wish to be inspired, visit the incredible FLY website, at flygirlsofcambridge.com.

16

22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Comment

Our Grade, Our Choice: A campaign against tradition for tradition’s sake

Grace Murray Comment Editor

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ast year’s exam season saw the establishment of Our Grade, Our Choice: a campaign group which aims to ensure that students can easily opt out of the traditional practice of publicising exam results, most famously in the class lists at the Senate House.

Over 1000 students and supporters signed a petition in favour of abolishing the current system, which only allows students to withdraw their name in exceptional circumstances. Yet given the huge number of online petitions circulating on social media each week, it seemed likely, if unfair, that the issue might disappear once summer began and exams were over and hopefully forgotten for another year.

To the credit of those involved with Our Grade, Our Choice, and to all those students who publicised the issue, it did not disappear, but received support from the General Board Education Committee and the Senior Tutors’ Committee, and may now be debated at the Senate House itself. It’s a big step forward, not to mention a huge boost to student activism.

Still, it’s hard to forget the University’s initial defence of grade publication when the petition reached the national press: “This is an age-old tradition.”

“Age-old tradition” is a large part of

what makes Cambridge a great place to study. Most of us feel proud to be a part of an institution with such a long history.

However, most of us also recognise that tradition itself is not inherently a good thing, which is why the University’s initial reply to the petition was so concerning.

A tradition which includes publicly shaming students for their exam results, as well as potentially harming trans students who have not yet legally changed their names, is not one we should be upholding just because it’s what Cambridge has done for hundreds of years.

Our Grade, Our Choice should empower students to challenge those practices for which the reasoning goes no deeper than ‘because that’s just what we do’ – and there are a surprising number of them which are usually taken for granted.

Why, for example, are some colleges still rewarding scholars with better accommodation? Why is the inclusion of women and people of colour in reading lists still a work in progress? Neither of these questions have adequate answers which don’t begin and end with ‘tradition’.

It was mentioned at the time, in connection with Our Grade, Our Choice, that Cambridge students had become too ‘mollycoddled’. Although Oxford had already abolished the practice of publishing exam results after almost half of the student

Most of us recognise that tradition itself is not inherently a good thing

body opted out, Cambridge’s stand on the same issue was co-opted into a discussion about the immaturity of modern students.

After all, sharing exam results publicly was once seen as a way of introducing the competitive spirit which exists in the real world, outside the Cambridge bubble.

These arguments usually fail to consider that modernising these ancient practices might move us slightly closer to a better world which doesn’t rely on cutting off those who don’t make it.

When we sort scholars into separate accommodation and ply them with dinners, we’re creating a miniaturised class system, which doesn’t always reward effort but merely exam technique. We are also perpetuating an environment which treats stress as a natural consequence of a challenging degree, rather than a symptom of a bigger problem.

The support which the University has now given to Our Grade, Our Choice suggests it may be willing to change. This term has also seen the introduction of cross-college mindfulness classes, which will help to ensure that a Cambridge degree is not necessarily stressful.

We must follow the example of this successful campaign, and accept that Cambridge traditions are not a fact of life here, but a choice which successive generations of students continue to make.

ANDREW STAWARZ

Does the Uni referendum Michael Morrison

T

he Cambridge Union Society has faced strong criticism after its decision to invite Julian Assange to speak via video-link at a debate on 11 November, a move which has triggered an extraordinary amount of media attention, exaggerating the affair as an outbreak of chaos and mass resignation. A standing committee came to the decision to hold a referendum of its membership on 22 October over whether to accept or decline Assange’s invitation, yet this unanimous decision to opt for a representative student vote has largely been overlooked by mainstream media coverage.

In holding a referendum for its membership, the Union is allowing students to exercise their right to free speech through an online vote. Opting instead to hyperbolise over a frenzied sixhour committee meeting, media outlets have severely underplayed the measures put in place to ensure that those who hold strong views are able to get their voices heard. Assange has also placed no restriction on the questions which can be put forward; interrogation from the floor should therefore take the form of a probing cross-examination with all free to vocalise their views. Rather than conjure up the sensationalised image of the Union offices

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The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

TED SHELTON

Comment

Are Cambridge societies too cliquey and unwelcoming?

Yes – Cambridge’s student societies have an image problem Finn Dameron

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ion’s Assange go too far? encasing a cackling committee of costumeclad upper echelons intent on silencing every sector of the student body, we should focus our attentions on the measures taken towards rearranging affairs, especially under such intense outside pressure.

As well as the referendum assigned to Union members across the world, CUSU has also been invited to put forward representatives to express their views at the debate, irrespective of membership. The quick, thorough decision-making of the committee members is seemingly at odds with the ‘meltdown’ which some would have us think is taking place.

However, is the referendum itself the best way forward? It is important to recognise that stopping the debate from going ahead is not the equivalent of winning it. In having so readily protested at past events, with jeering swarms obstructing Eric Pickles from taking to the platform, David Willetts hounded out of the building midspeech and demonstrators scaling fences in a bid to silence Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Cambridge is instilling an increasingly censorious atmosphere.

Free speech must be granted to all, in accordance with the Union’s longestablished and unwavering stance which it has held throughout its history. If anything, the option for Union members to vote on Assange’s platforming is a step too far.

he cliques of Cambridge are, as The Cambridge Student has been very happy to point out, in crisis.

The Union and The Tab in particular are shaking at their foundations not three weeks into term. And why are these venerable institutions suddenly quite so vulnerable? Because they are stagnant and incestuous.

This is not a new idea; last year, one of those same old faces submitted a parody article to TCS covering a proposed merger between those two bastions of Cantab hackery.

However, the problems suffocating those societies are by no means unique; every group in Cambridge could do well to pitch its tent a little wider.

The freshers’ fair passes by in a blaze of free Domino’s and manic-looking postgrads insisting that the biggest problem in any given fresher’s life is a profound

J-FAIR

lack of the modern pentathlon. If you don’t get on board then, in many cases your time has passed.

That’s not to say that most student societies aren’t perfectly welcoming once you actually turn up, it’s just that tracking the buggers down in any month other than October seems to be nigh-on impossible.

Even if you can find out when the Cambridge University Real Ale Society (for example) meets using arcane methods of research, it takes serious cojones to go along and just join in with a group of people who’ve known each other for months.

All of us would do well to be coaxed from our rooms a little more, and all the things Cambridge has to offer outside of academia are pretty much uniformly wonderful and excellent fun.

But the onus can’t be on students to reach out – societies need to come and get us.

No – Even the most famous University societies are open to all Amelia Oakley Comment Editor

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here is a constant echo throughout the busy streets of Cambridge, and it is not the angelic heralding of the college choirs at evensong. It is a much sourer sound — the perpetual whispering of a student body who would ‘love to do this’, would ‘really love to get involved’ but absolutely cannot, because ‘it’s such a clique, they wouldn’t want me’.

People act as if Cambridge is an ‘Age of Empires’ battleground with the thesps in one corner, the journos in another, hosted in the Union Debating Chamber, whilst Blues swing from the ceilings and the drinking societies pass out on the stage. It is as if Cambridge societies have somehow become well fortified armies, suspicious of any new recruits. What these ‘clique shamers’ have come to forget is that

Cambridge societies are just that – societies – with open, largely free membership, and regular recruitment drives. Anyone can and should get involved.

So why are people so keen to write our societies off as impenetrable, unwelcoming, inhospitable cliques, full of Cambridge Regina Georges? Quite simply because when you look at societies from the outside, you only know the names of the stars of the show, and they all seem to know each other. As a result, it must seem as if the same group of 10 people run the entirety of Cambridge. But there’s an entire world beneath that; a whole infrastructure of diverse individuals, from a variety of backgrounds, with a multiplicity of skills.

The ADC is arguably the most infamous of the Cambridge cliques; its hallways are literally filled with portraits of the thesps who have ‘made it’. Yet, whilst the

I have found the ADC to be one of the most welcoming places in Cambridge

PRISONER 5413

stereotype of drama and ‘theatre-folk’ more generally may be one of self-gratification, hierarchy, and cut-throat competition, I have found the ADC to be one of the most welcoming places in Cambridge.

There are few big societies which offer, each and every week, such great opportunities for new members to get involved. Perhaps the clubroom might seem intimidating, or the post-show ADC bar overwhelming, but get chatting to people, you’ll soon find them to be – perhaps not normal – but definitely friendly. Equally, you might think that the student journo circle is guarded by an impenetrable barracks wall, but if you ever want to write an article about the inaccessibility of journalism – or about anything, for that matter – then you will discover how little of a clique it is in reality.

Cambridge is a network, structured by these so-called cliques. But these cliques are part of life: divisions in the school playground become the seating arrangements at lunch, which then become clubs at University, which then become career paths. Our lives are constantly partitioning away from our peers, but it is up to you which ‘clique’ you are a part of.

So perhaps life is full of cliques, but only if you see them as cliques – the moment you stop, and start considering them as a group of people doing something they love, and are interested in, then it’ll be a hell of a lot easier to join in.

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22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Sport

The price of football: Is it Cardiff to Cambr right that fans should have A to fork out to watch a game?

Connor Lempriere

KOMPANIA PIWOWARSKA

Paul Hyland Sport Editor

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his week’s Champions League match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich was not just remarkable because the hosts, who had failed to pick up a point in the group stages of the competition so far, had managed to overcome one of the world’s finest teams, led by one of the world’s finest managers.

It was more remarkable for what happened on the stands than on the pitch, as for the first five minutes of the game the away end remained entirely empty.

Fan group FC Bayern Worldwide had organised this as a protest against the price of entering the stadium on Tuesday

“It’s £64 per ticket. But without fans, football is not worth a penny” evening, with fans having already paid to travel from Germany and to shell out on London’s sky-high hotel rates.

After five minutes of play, the Bayern fans took to their seats, unveiling a banner which read “£64 per ticket. But without fans, football is not worth a penny.”

The Arsenal fans, for whom £64 per ticket is nothing unusual, welcomed the

protest with rapturous applause.

The contrast to Germany is stark. At Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, a standing ticket rarely sells for more than €15.

When Bundesliga clubs mooted increasing the price of a standing ticket to €20 in 2010, German fans responded with the Kein Zwanni für ’nen Steher campaign, which translated, in every sense of that term, to the recent ‘Twenty’s Plenty’ campaign by fans of English clubs.

And who could blame them? Last week’s BBC Price of Football Report found that, while two thirds of ticket prices in the Premier League had been frozen or reduced, the price of a club’s cheapest ticket rose on average.

To put it into context, Arsenal’s cheapest season ticket will set you back over £1000.

At Bayern, it’s a little over £100.

This is what happens, though, when clubs forget that the stadiums they run are centres of cultural importance.

As a Liverpool fan, I grew up within spitting distance of Anfield, and remember the feeling of pride that the stadium brought to its community.

I didn’t go and cheer on my team just because I liked the game of football.

I went because I felt part of something greater than myself, a sense of belonging in my own community.

rriving in Cardiff for the second consecutive weekend, I, my father, and two friends of his, one of them an Argentinian, were all experiencing the usual mix of excitement and trepidation that comes with a rugby weekend. For the Argentinian, excitement at his team’s chances for the match the following day, and trepidation as to the effect victory might have on his chances of securing a return lift back to London in a car with three Irishmen. The rest of us were primarily excited about reacquainting ourselves with a lovely pub that, despite its surprising proximity to the Millennium Stadium, had been an oasis of relative calm during the previous weekend, with ample seating, good beer and plentiful rugbyshowing screens, thanks largely it seemed to a location across the Taff and away from the main drag and the fact that it had no English name to speak of.

With only Irish and French fans in town, then, it had seemed something of a quiet local secret. Last Saturday afternoon, however, it was transformed into a noisy

Spine-tingling performance of the Haka beneath the haze of pyrotechnic smoke

Now? My student budget can’t justify the £50 face value of a ticket.

And don’t give me the argument about how clubs need to charge that much to remain competitive.

English clubs generally have much higher ticket prices than clubs in Germany, Spain and Italy, yet all of these countries outperform us in European competition.

While two thirds of ticket prices in the Premier League have been frozen or reduced, the clubs’ cheapest tickets rose on average Last season’s Champions League saw not one single English team reach the Quarter Finals (though teams from both France and Portugal did).

And that’s all in spite of a television rights deal which sees over £1.6 billion (yes, billion) split between Premier League clubs per season, more than double what teams in Germany can expect.

Fans are effectively becoming the scapegoats for the underperformance of their teams in Europe.

Yet whatever the clubs’ motivations are for charging so much, one suspects that they are far from sporting.

Sport Abroad: Why haven’t ne Sophie Penney

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he first time I told my French boss that I was going to play netball I ended up acting out pivoting in the middle of the office and googling to explain. As for hockey, that means ice hockey in France. Even the doctor treating me for my hockey injury had no idea what it was. We’re not talking Gaelic Football here; this is netball and hockey, two of the main sports in the UK. I too was sceptical about how different it could really be so I decided to join a hockey club. The first training was cancelled

Netball: a mix of basketball, handball and the game ‘ten passes’

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The Cambridge Student • 22 October 2015

Sport

ridge: Rugby dispatch Experience: An authority local secret, with people filling the streets to see Wales overturned by Australia.

The same can be said of the Millennium stadium that evening, as the rising strains of ‘Athenry’ punctuated proceedings midway through the second half of the quarter final between New Zealand and France, demonstrating just how many Irish fans had taken, as I had, the ‘in for a penny...’ approach to the two fixtures that were in Cardiff this weekend.

The night was made truly special, though, by witnessing the All Blacks in person for the first time. From the spinetingling performance of the Haka beneath the haze of pyrotechnic smoke and the stadium roof, to the awesome spectacle of Julian Savea dismissing hopeless tacklers, New Zealand, despite the lack of a contest offered by a once again pedestrian France, did not disappoint.

Whilst the Irish were in full voice on Saturday, it must be admitted that on Sunday afternoon that perpetual cliché, the ‘sea of green’, was animated by an effervescent spray of blue and white, as it was joined by the magnificent Argentine fans, literally bouncing along to their

team’s equally superior display. Though Ireland’s injury list, and Argentina’s fortune in escaping a second sin-binning, left the merest lingering ‘what if?’s, our team’s performance on the day left us shaking hands with and wishing semi-final luck to the Argentinian around us.

Travelling back up the M4, minus an Argentinian referee who had stayed in Cardiff to celebrate, the radio coverage of the remaining quarter-final brought a thrilling end to the weekend’s proceedings, though sadly not entirely for the right reasons. Though the jury appears to remain very much out on the referee’s conduct, it was a shame that, having managed to lose one referee, another should succeed in intruding upon the journey (and on a weekend of consistently excellent rugby) by awarding Australia the controversial penalty that saw them beat Scotland.

Nonetheless, vindicated in my pessimism over Ireland’s tournament prospects when entering the ticket ballot, I find myself furiously canvassing opinion for the best rugby-watching locations in Cambridge, before a semi-final weekend that promises more superb games still to come.

MARC

when the world cup’s on

James Pearson

S

ome say that the reason sport is interesting is because it is inherently unpredictable. It’s not.

Bookmakers win far more often than they lose. The reason for this is that they understand the predictability in sport; they have done the analysis that you probably haven’t done. Sometimes this analysis is really quite simple.

Oxford were the fitter and more experienced crew, and anyone who knew that were not remotely surprised when they obliterated Cambridge in The Men’s Boat Race. However, whilst the predictive analysis of rugby may be considerably more complex than rowing, there is certainly no more room for chance.

The All Blacks will almost certainly win this year’s Rugby World Cup. And rightfully so.

They are the fittest, strongest, and most skilful team in the tournament. All of these attributes were on show during their dismantling of an experienced French team in the quarter-finals.

Whilst it’s clear that New Zealand understand how to play rugby, I’m not convinced that England are quite there yet.

Desperately needed changes in English

No longer do you hear of players getting drunk and throwing dwarves about

rugby have been implemented under Stuart Lancaster.

No longer do you hear of players getting drunk and throwing dwarves about (thank God!), and the level of pride which the English players appear to have in the team makes for proud viewing.

But whilst a New Zealander’s pride in his rugby shirt is assumed, that English rugby is just coming back into this mindset shows just how far England have had to come from.

The important question right now is how much further they can go under the current leadership.

I like Stuart Lancaster and I don’t see how replacing him with a coach who hasn’t had the experience of having gone through several Six Nations and a World Cup will help the situation.

Only by repeated selection and unity under a stable management will players feel comfortable enough to perform the basic rugby skills with instinct on the world stage that separate New Zealand from the rest.

With Tualangi back on the side, I can’t think of a stronger English team in recent years, and I fully expect them to move on to win the Six Nations under Lancaster.

This time, though, they were just not experienced enough.

QUITE ADEPT

etball and hockey crossed the channel? because of a horse race, which I only found out by chance. I just happened to be on the phone with them that day.

The second training took 50 minutes to get to. I turned up, shin pads on, mouth guard in, only to be told that they didn’t have a women’s team. To this day I have no idea what was going on in the head of the receptionist who had been arranging everything on the phone with me for a fortnight.

A lack of success with hockey turned me to netball. Netball is so unknown that Margaux, one of three French people at the netball club, has to describe it to

her dumbfounded friends as “a mix of basketball, handball and the game ‘ten passes’”. Before joining a club, she herself found out what it was by watching YouTube videos. When I went to a session we had to mark out the court using masking tape and everyone was English. However, Margaux is adamant that it should be given more credit: “Netball is the perfect sport for me right now, it ticks all my boxes.” Who knows? If more French people realised it was an option maybe it would fit all their needs too. But no – netball and hockey seem to have gone completely AWOL trying to cross the Channel.

Sport

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22 October 2015 • The Cambridge Student

Sport Abroad: Why haven’t netball and hockey made it across the channel? →p. 18

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/sport

The Cambridge University Women’s Rugby team in action against Cardiff Met this Wednesday

Image: Will Lyon Tupman

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William Lyon Tupman

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t was a dreary and unfortunate afternoon of play for the Cambridge Rugby team.

The team from Cardiff Metropolitan University, at the absolute top of their form, dominated the possession in the first forty minutes, scoring five tries and converting three without reply.

Cambridge brought their game up a gear in the second half but could do little to assail a half-time deficit of 31-0.

All that being said, glimmers of brilliance shone through in Cambridge’s play. An amazing sprint by prop Ayala Doneghan showed promise but Cardiff were quick to cut out the threat and bring the game back on their own terms.

Eight successive tries soon followed, most of which were converted.

Cambridge were within inches of a consolation try in the dying stages of the game, but it was not to be.

With the score already 93-0, Cardiff were able to kick the ball into touch and enjoy an incredible victory.

Cambridge Southampton

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Emily Birch

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n a dark and rainy morning, CUWLC made their 5 hour journey down to Southampton.

After a short warm-up, Morrill took control from the outset on the first draw and assisted Wise with the first goal within the first 30 seconds of play. Cambridge took advantage of the early lead to practice plays and implement attacking moves resulting in goals from Abbott, Lehovsky, Nicholls and Morrill. The defence held Southampton out well denying all the cutters and only allowing one shot, expertly saved by Gildersleeves. At half time the score was 8-0 to the light blues. In the second half, Cambridge regained composure and played with patience. More goals added to the lead, but the highlight goal came from Morrill and Gardiner executing the ‘switch two’ play following several attempts. The defence unit also forced turnovers on every transition Southampton had. Coach Trentham was pleased with progress of the game and all came off the pitch feeling excited for next weeks game against Exeter.

Women’s Football

Cambridge Cardiff Met

Women’s Lacrosse

Women's Rugby

Extreme results in mixed week of women’s sport Cambridge Oxford Brookes

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Gerda Bachrati

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ambridge kept the ball and played confidently around their opposition in the early stages, though their inability to break through the Oxford Brookes defensive line was frustrating. Cambridge widened the play, and managed to take the lead when a cross from Kathryn Savage on the right wing was turned in by Katy Edwards for 0-1. Beccie Graves’ fleet-footed run the length of the right wing, and the powerful finish past the keeper that followed,came to nothing when the referee blew for an earlier foul. Halftime, and Cambridge had to settle for their one-goal margin. The break reinvigorated the team. Cambridge enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but Brookes were able to take advantage of the slope in the pitch, running downhill to score with a shot that looped over the Cambridge keeper.

A long goal kick by the Brookes keeper found its way behind the defence and was flicked into the back of the net by an unmarked striker. How Cambridge lost this, only they will know.