Michaelmas 2014 Issue 9

04 December 2014 Vol. 16 Michaelmas Issue 9

The

Cambridge Student

Decking the (Formal) Halls

Photo: Sandy Rushton

Addenbrooke’s doctor gets 22 years for abuse

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Hesham Mashhour Deputy News Editor

yles Bradbury, a former paediatric consultant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, was sentenced to 22 years in jail on Monday 1 December for abusing young cancer patients.

In his trial the 41-year-old admitted to 25 offences, including the sexual assault of 18 boys in his care and the possession of more than 16,000 indecent images of boys aged between 10 and 16. The Independent also claims that police had found over 170,000 images, though these were not classed as indecent, on the doctor’s spy pen when he was arrested.

Offences against patients began only six months after Bradbury took up his

job at Addenbrooke’s and continued until his arrest in December 2013.

Canadian authorities had alerted the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in July 2012, when Bradbury was found in possession of a DVD containing indecent images of children.

At the trial, the prosecutor, John Farmer, told the court that Bradbury “betrayed his profession”, and often isolated his patients from their parents.

He then asked them to remove their clothes, and proceeded to grope their genitals, in Farmer’s words, “for his own personal gratification”.

Defence barrister Angela Rafferty

said she was not asked to justify Bradbury’s position in any way, adding: “The only point I make is a legal point – thankfully, none of the offences were penetrative.” She later said that Bradbury seemed to have had repressed homosexual feelings during puberty that influenced his behaviour to some degree.

CUSU LGBT+ Communications Officer, Eddie Angel, reacted to this comment, saying: “The conflation of homosexuality and paedophilia is destructive but predictable. Such comments are damaging.”

Continued on page 2...

Opinion – We need to show black lives matter: p13 Editorial – The final team farewell: p11 Interviews – Tim Squirrell on free speech and trolling: p18 Theatre – Are college pantos always naff?: p24 Escape – Europe’s best Christmas markets: p29

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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News 2 Continued from page 1...

Bassingbourn sports campaign launches Anna Hollingsworth News Reporter Several Cambridge sports clubs are campaigning to return to Bassingbourn Barracks, the site which they were evicted from in early 2013 to make way for the Libyan army.

The barracks were used by a number of sports clubs, including Anglia Land Yacht Club, the Angling Federation, Bassingbourn Golf Club, Bassingbourn Snowsports Club, Royston and District Aero Club and Royston Hockey Club, until March 2013 when the barracks were taken over to train Libyan soldiers.

However, following a series of sexual assaults allegedly committed by several of the soldiers, over 300 Libyan troops had to leave the barracks in November.

The soldiers had been receiving training at the barracks as part of a government programme, although this policy is now under review by the Ministry of Defence.

Upon their initial arrival the soldiers were only allowed out of the base as part of escorted trips, but the rules were then relaxed, allegedly resulting in a breakdown of discipline and ‘riot nights’. Now some of the evicted clubs are aiming to negotiate a return with the government.

Adrian Dent, County Councillor for

Bassingbourn, told Cambridge News that the clubs had agreed on a campaign to ask the government and Ministry of Defence for permission to return to the base, and that some of the clubs had been allowed onto the premises to inspect the condition of the area.

However, Des Downey, representing Bassingbourn Golf Club, also speaking to Cambridge News, felt that the Ministry of Defence was not open to discussion about continued access and had not been clear about the reasons for the eviction.

Steve Borrill, chairman of Anglia Land Yacht Club, spoke to The Cambridge Student: “We are hopeful that the unfortunate turn of events at Bassingbourn will have a favourable outcome for the clubs at some point in the future. Our members are keen to return to the sailing venue, not least because we have failed to secure an alternative site over the past 18 months.

We look forward to working with the MoD and DIO to restoring land sailing at the site at a future date.”

A representative for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, which owns the land, commented to Cambridge News that given the current indeterminacy of the future requirements for the barracks, the Ministry of Defence could not at the moment allow access to the base.

In the sentencing remarks, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth said: “I have never come cross a more culpable and grave course of sexual criminality which has involved such a gross and grotesque breach and betrayal of your Hippocratic Oath and the trust reposed in you by your patients, their families and colleagues.

“Your actions have undermined public trust in an already overstretched health service and have caused enormous expense and upheaval in the internal inquiries.”

When contacted by TCS, Director of Medical Education and Clinical Dean, Dr Diana Wood said: “Dr Bradbury was employed by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (Addenbrooke’s Hospital). As soon as a complaint was made about his activities, the Trust took immediate and appropriate action. As far as medical students are concerned, if we became aware that a student was behaving inappropriately towards patients of any age, they would be dealt with by the University’s Medical Student Fitness to Practise procedures.

“If a medical student believed that they had witnessed inappropriate behaviour on the part of a doctor, then there are medical student ‘whistleblowing’ procedures in place in the Clinical School. Medical students in Photo: DigitalGlobe, Bluesky, Getmapping, Infoterra, The all years of the course are informed of GeoInformation Group; via Google these procedures.”

Britain’s first state-funded online school could open next year with younger students finishing at 1pm human interaction, and certainly for Emily Handley News Editor

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Photo: USAG-Humphrey

The UK’s first state-funded online school could open in 2015 to radically change the way that children are being taught across the country.

The Wey Education Schools Trust, which has submitted plans for Britain’s first ‘virtual school’ to the Department for Education, will use the school to provide online tuition to pupils aged between nine and nineteen for up to four hours per day.

The trust’s ‘Wey Ecademy’, as it has come to be known, will help parents who teach their children at home. However, it may also prove popular with families who are not currently satisfied with local teaching standards.

The Buckinghamshire-based school will initially open to students between Year 5 and Year 10 before admitting sixth-formers. There will be 100 students in each year group, with 20 pupils in each class.

According to the school’s website, lessons will begin at 9:30am, with a warm-up period from 9:15am. The teaching will cover the full curriculum,

and students in older year groups ending lessons at 1:45pm.

The school’s online portal will allow pupils to access the lessons from their home computers through a secured ‘intranet’ system. They will interact with teaching staff via audio link or using an instant text message service.

The project comes under the Coalition’s free schools initiative, which includes charitable and church-run organisations that are not controlled by the local council.

Whilst supporters of the online school claim that it will reduce travelling time to and from school and minimise disruption in lessons, critics suggest that it offers little face-to-face interaction between pupils and teachers.

Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge’s Labour parliamentary candidate, told The Cambridge Student: “Education in the future will be transformed by new technology, with huge implications for schools and for universities. In my youth, language laboratories were all the rage, and I remember many hours spent sitting in booths listening and responding to tape-recordings. The technology was great, but the missing spark was the

me, it didn’t do the trick! That is why I am cautious about rushing to embrace virtual schools – so much of schooling is actually about learning to live in society and how to relate to other people. It isn’t just about course content.”

Fred Jerrome, who chairs Cambridge Universities Labour Club (CULC), added: “Innovative use of digital technology in education should be encouraged, but this idea seems frankly misguided. School is about so much more than lessons, and there’s no substitute for face to face interaction.”

Reece Edmends, Chair of Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, commented: “The Free School Programme introduces market anarchy to an already stretched state school system.”

A trust spokesman talked to the Times Educational Supplement about potential benefits: “Ofsted has said that 20 per cent of lesson time is lost due to pupil behaviour, but this is totally eliminated in the ecademy.

Up to half a child’s day is taken up by getting to and from school as well as breaks and moving between lessons, whereas there is no such issue with a school like ours.”

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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News 3 ‘Whose University?’ campaign aims to “make students the priority” Ellie Hayward News Reporter “To whom do our University and college spaces belong?” is the key question underpinning a new student campaign, named ‘Whose University?’, which aims to address problems caused by “a distinct lack of clarity about who has ownership over college spaces”.

The group describes itself as an “autonomous campaign run with the support of the CUSU Women’s Campaign” and seeks to draw attention to cases where the University and colleges are perceived to be prioritising business interests over the needs and welfare of students.

A campaign statement published on the group’s Facebook page emphasized the “contentious” issue of space at Cambridge, stating: “We struggle to find rooms to book for student events, and many of us are kicked out of our rooms as soon as term ends so that colleges can rent them out to conference guests.”

The statement highlights that students may need to stay in Cambridge for welfare or academic reasons, and asserts: “We want the University and colleges to realise that the idea of a ‘home’ to return to each vacation is not

Whose college? King’s! a privilege that everyone here is able to access.”

The organiser of the campaign is Daisy Hughes, who also holds the position of Living Wage Officer for CUSU. Speaking to The Cambridge Student, she said: “I feel the need for the campaign has been brewing for a while … but the final push came out of Women’s Forum last week when

Photo: Marco Barisione we were discussing how access to mental health provision in Cambridge is restricted by the fact we’re made to leave at the end of each term, and also how domestic violence may affect people such that ‘home’ isn’t a safe place to go back to over the holidays.”

Many students have welcomed the campaign. One third-year student, who

wished to remain anonymous, told The Cambridge Student: “Cambridge spends so much time convincing people from non-traditional backgrounds to apply without seeming to realise that the problems which could prevent people from applying don’t stop once you move in.

“I have been very lucky in having an extremely proactive Head Tutor who has made sure that I have somewhere to go. But even then it isn’t a standard procedure … it’s terrible that, on top of our work worries, some of us have to be concerned with making sure that we are not homeless over the Christmas vacation.”

However, other students have questioned the campaign’s premise.

William Nott, a third-year student at Girton told TCS: “I think it’s a fundamentally flawed idea since conferencing effectively subsidises rents and other college services.”

However, in response to such criticism, Daisy Hughes told TCS: “While I appreciate that there are certain business requirements the University must fulfill. It is really a question of priorities. If students are made to feel that they aren’t a priority in their university, then we have a problem.”

“We struggle to find rooms to book for student ents, and many of us are kicked out as soon as term ends

Selwyn drinking society scandal over “sexist” messages Rachel Balmer Deputy News Editor Alleged misogynist conversations held by members of a Selwyn drinking society on Facebook have been uncovered by Varsity, which include the rating of fellow female students they have slept with.

The Templars, a second-year drinking society at Selwyn, have a closed Facebook group where members have posted messages using language to describe other female students that some have called sexist.

The messages published by Varsity have shown that members used the online space to describe various women with words such as “effervescent”, “cavernous”, “benign”, “sensual”, “kinky”, “heinous” and “naughty”.

Furthermore, after some members helped a crying female student into a taxi, it was said that whoever had brought her back needed to “improve [their] taste” in women.

Group members also discuss the issue of consent. One describes a traffic light party as a “sexual consent nightmare”.

Another member rejects the comment, affirming: “It’s only a consent nightmare

if you choose to interpret green as an invitation to fuck. [I] think we all have a lot more sense, experience and respect than to think that.” He ends the comment with the hashtag “#vivalarevolution.”

Another member seemed to ignore the sentiment of his fellow member, writing “it’s not about consent, it’s about intent.”

A spokesperson from Selwyn College told Varsity: “The College condemns any sexist and inappropriate comments made online. We will investigate this matter, and will take disciplinary action if required.”

On Thursday 27 November, the Dean and Senior Tutor of Selwyn College sent an email to all undergraduates about the messages on the Facebook page. The members of staff wrote that the comments were “extremely sexist [and] would certainly be offensive to the people being talked about”.

They added that “the overall tone is simply distasteful.” They expressed disappointment that members of the group thought it was acceptable to make such comments, and wrote that it showed a “lack of maturity”.

They warned that although the Facebook group was closed, “the reality is that on the Internet there is no such

thing as privacy.” They emphaisised that, if you post, “that comment can all too easily become public.”

Founders of St Catharine’s Gender Equality Discussion Group Suzanna Beaupre, Maddy Austin and Jess Denniff spoke to TCS about the misogynist messages. “This is yet another example of how the drinking societies within Cambridge can provide a breeding ground for horrendously misogynistic language and behaviour.

Sel-wine society in hot water

“Selwyn is not anomalous: most colleges have drinking societies and if this can be taken as an example of what goes on within them, then we have a worrying epidemic within our institution. We hope that this serves as a platform for much needed discussion about drinking societies ... Just because it’s not an easy issue to resolve doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be trying at an individual to institutional level.”

Photo: Matthias Rosenkranz

Members described various women as “cavernous”, “sensual”, “kinky” and “heinous”

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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News 4 College Watch

Illustration: Hannah Taylor

Girton

St John's

Tit Hall

Trinity

P. D. James, celebrated author, member of the House of Lords and Honorary Fellow at Girton College, passed away on 27 November, aged 94. She had to leave school aged 16 to work, after having attended the Cambridge High School for Girls. Later in life, she rose to fame for her crime fiction, including Children of Men, published in 1992, and for her Adam Dalgliesh mystery series.

In 1991, she was made a life peer as Baroness James of Holland Park and sat in the House of Lords as a Conservative.

In August 2014, she was one of the 200 figures who signed a letter to the Guardian opposing Scottish independence. “The Mistress, Fellows and Scholars [of Girton College were] deeply saddened to hear” of James’ passing away. She is survived by her two daughters, Clare and Jane, five grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren.

A student at St John’s was last week awarded a European journalism prize.

Takis Würger, 29, who studies HSPS, is currently on a three year sabbatical from the College and has written for German newspaper Der Speigel for over five years. Würger received the ‘Writing for CEE’ prize at an award ceremony in Vienna for his report on Illichivsk, a provincial town in southern Ukraine.

His report looked into the conflict surrounding a seven metre gold statue of Lenin which some want torn down, also bringing to light the wider social and political tension in the region.

Würger travelled through Ukraine for eight days, speaking to Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian supporters.

To research the article he claims that he and his photographer “spent a few days by the statue, drank a lot of tea, ate a lot of roasted bacon and froze”.

The hall of Trinity Hall has become home to some rather overzealous Christmas decorations, including a twenty-foot Christmas tree alongside a collection of fake packages and presents beneath it. The decorations were put up just in time for the College’s much awaited Christmas Super-Hall.

Students at the College are overjoyed by the news. Sophie Newbery, a firstyear languages student, told The Cambridge Student: “The Christmas tree in the hall is quite literally the best thing that has ever existed. I’m so glad that it was up in time for Christmas dinner!” Although the price of the tree is yet to be established, it seems likely that it was a very costly purchase for the College. Other colleges have also set up Christmas trees to celebrate the season. All that can be confirmed is that students were delighted.

Many students at Trinity were left unhappy as they queued outside the buttery for over 45 minutes waiting for tickets for Christmas formal to go on sale. Trinity organised four formals on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The formal on Sunday, however, was exceptionally popular, as it was the formal where the Trinity choir made an appearance and sang to the delight of students and fellows alike. The menu boasted a smoked salmon starter and turkey roast for main course with a price set at £16.00 including wine and port. Students were allowed to buy a single ticket for themselves and one for a guest. Students, however, attend more than one Christmas formal. A student at Trinity who chose to remain anonymous told TCS they “felt it was a shame that Christmas, meant to be a happy time, was made so stressful.”

Max Smith

Rachel Balmer

Jack Lewy

Hesham Mashhour

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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Dispatches 5 Koala Diplomacy: G20 Summit

Band Aid 30: A money - making sticking plaster?

Stevie Collister Hertz International Commentator This week, the World Health Organisation announced that 16,000 people have been infected with the Ebola virus, of which 7,000 have died, the vast majority in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. This news came on the same day that it was revealed that Band Aid 30, Bob Geldof’s charity record in aid of Ebola victims, had sold 312,000 copies in the past seven days and is on track to become the best selling single of 2014. However, the song is not without its critics.

Many commentators, such as Robtell Neejai Pailey, a researcher at SOAS and a Liberian citizen, have called the song “incredibly patronising and problematic”, perpetuating a “white saviour” narrative in which the West rescues a passive continent.

Similarly, Fuse ODG declined his invitation to take part in Band Aid 30 citing its presentation of Africa as a homogenous “diseased, infested and poverty stricken” continent, rather than 54 diverse countries that include seven of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. Many have criticised the song for reinforcing out-dated

Jenny Steinitz International Commentator

Bob Geldof - charity hero or “white saviour”? stereotypes, noting how the lyrics have changed very little in the past 30 years, despite great progress in most African countries.

Yet despite the controversy over its message, Band Aid 30 has undoubtedly been a fundraising success, raising over £1 million within five minutes of its release. This money is desperately needed – when Ebola was first diagnosed in Liberia, there were only 50 doctors in the country of 4 million people and, despite pledges from governments and international organisations alike, greater resources are still needed to train and equip the necessary medical staff across the Ebola-hit countries.

What cannot be ignored, however, is the ‘trade versus aid’ debate in the economics of developing countries.

Child soldiers are often forcibly recruited or abducted

Photo: Africa Progress

Although emergency help is needed for to fight Ebola, the message Band Aid 30 perpetuates could in the long run damage the development of African countries, as it discourages investment and tourism. These are thought to be necessary to improve the infrastructure, and healthcare, of developing countries. It may then be that Band Aid is just what its name suggests – a plaster for a problem, but not a long-term solution.

Many critics of Band Aid 30 have instead given their support to Africa Stop Ebola, a different fundraising record, written and performed by West African artists including Tiken Jah Fakoly and Amadou & Miriam, which has a more positive message, encouraging listeners that “there is hope to stop Ebola”.

Many have criticised the song for reinforcing out-dated stereotypes

Photo: DVIDSHUB

Child soldiers: 250,000 failed lives Tonicha Upham International Commentator When we consider the impact of war on children, we rarely stray beyond the humanitarian consequences of conflict.

What is often overlooked is the reality of war for those children forced to participate in conflicts.

International Children’s Day on 20th November, marked the 25th anniversary of the UN’s adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Worldwide. 194 countries have ratified the Convention, an unprecedented level of support for a human rights treaty, recognising the various rights of children, and over the past 25 years there has certainly been much to celebrate.

However, one aspect of the Convention which appears to have been

somewhat overlooked is Article 38.

It states that children under the age of 15should not be recruited as soldiers. An Optional Protocol added in 2000 looked to safeguard all children under the age of 18 from military participation, and in 2013 the UN resolved to fully prevent governmental use of child soldiers before 2016. Nevertheless, the use of child soldiers persists.

Today, it is estimated that there are 250,000 child soldiers worldwide. They are easier to brainwash than adults, and cheaper to feed. These children have often been forcibly recruited or abducted, coerced into attacking or killing relatives in order to ensure their loyalty. Around 40% of them are girls recruited either as soldiers, domestic help, or ‘wives’ (read: sex slaves). There are harrowing stories surrounding the

inducing or delaying of childbirth by these girls at times when camps are required to move. All of the children involved are subject to serious physical and psychological damage.

Last week, there were reports of soldiers aged between 15 and 17 involved in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, on both sides of the conflict.

In October, ISIS, a known recruiter of child soldiers, published a photo of an armed ten-year-old, claimed to be the youngest member of the jihadist group to have been killed. Even today, children are considered an exploitable resource in warzones.

On the 25th anniversary of the Convention protecting children from such a situation, it is time that every child was allowed the right to protection from these situations.

Today, it is estimated that there are 250,000 child soldiers worldwide

If the organizers of the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, were hoping that some Koala diplomacy would ease tensions between the world’s leaders, they were to be left disappointed. The summit was a veritable minefield of diplomatic tensions.

The first day of the two-day summit was dominated by talk of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has previously threatened to “shirtfront” Vladimir Putin, did shake Mr Putin’s hand and pose for photos with him.

The reception in Brisbane in general, however, was fairly frosty for Mr Putin.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Mr Putin that he would shake his hand, but that he needed to “get out of Ukraine” (to the response of “But I’m not in Ukraine!”), and David Cameron and Barack Obama threatened further sanctions.

Contrary to diplomatic norms, Putin left the G20 Summit early, officially because of a long flight back to Russia, but likely because of the strong and constant criticism he received from leaders at the Summit. He did, however, describe the summit as “constructive”.

Elsewhere at the summit, Tony Abbott and his government attempted to keep climate change off the G20 agenda, but this was undermined by the historic agreement between China and the US earlier in the week, which saw the US promise to double the pace of emission cuts, and China promise for the first time to cap carbon pollution by 2030. Barack Obama then used the G20 Summit to speak about the need to rally behind a new global climate change agreement and announced a £3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund (a fund which Abbott has been highly critical of in the past).

There was some agreement however on economic development and regulation. The Brisbane action plan calls for the G20 states to implement new policies aimed at growth in their collective wealth by two percent, the creation of an infrastructure hub to promote investment and greater regulation to end the threat from banks that are “too big to fail”.

Cuddly diplomacy

Photo: Taz

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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News 6 Union election results: Christof Epaminondas is Easter President 2015 Anna Carruthers Deputy News Editor The Cambridge Union Society has announced the results of its elections for the Standing Committee of Easter Term 2015.

Five positions were on offer: President, Executive Officer, Speakers Officer, Social Events Officer and Treasurer. Elections also took place for the Supplementary Committee whose members will serve in Lent Term 2015.

Christof Epaminondas, a secondyear historian at Trinity College, was elected to the role of President.

He has served this term as Speakers Officer, overseeing the process that resulted in successful responses from Robert Downey Jr., Pussy Riot and the Israeli Ambassador. In Epaminondas’ manifesto he made it clear that he wants to continue to bring in A-List speakers by appointing Speakers Deputies at the beginning of Lent Term and thus hopefully increasing the number of invitations sent out. Speakers Deputies are not members of the Standing Committee and, according to the Union, the appointments are based on performance in Speakers Committee. Epaminodas stood for the role unopposed.

A new Union? Epaminondas replaces Jude Law William Fitzalan Howard has been elected to Executive Officer, Katherine Reggler to Speakers Officer and Helen Lam to Social Events Offier. Unusually for

Michaelmas Term elections, the role of Treasurer was won by a fresher, Jack Lewy from Trinity Hall, with a significant margin of 98 votes (278 votes were cast in total).

Photo: Christof Epaminondas Lewy was ecstatic: “To be elected onto the Standing Committee in my first term is a real privilege – I can’t thank enough the people who took time out of their busy days to vote.

I look forward to working with the rest of the committee to make Easter 2015 a great term!”

One noticeable aspect of this Union election was the fact that three positions went unchallenged, including that of President. Social Events Officer and Executive Officer appointments also only had one person standing per position.

Ted Loveday, a former Union officer who organised last term’s elections process, added: “It’s always a shame to see so many uncontested positions.

The problem is that people are nervous about putting themselves forward – they’re afraid that they’re ‘not experienced’ or not a ‘Union insider’.

“In reality, the Union is much more accessible than most people realise – Jack Lewy, a first-year, won the election for Treasurer, and the vast majority of appointed officers each term are totally fresh faces.

“I wish the new committee the very best of luck – and I hope they work hard to make the Union seem like a friendlier, more welcoming and accessible place for its own members.”

The Cambridge Union Society was unavailable for comment.

Significant university review of sports funding passes Regents House Colm Murphy News Editor A review which called for an overhaul in Cambridge University sports funding has passed, meaning its recommendations will be enacted. It was announced on Friday 28 November that the Placet in support of the review was passed by 480 to 325 by members of the Regents House.

The Sports Review had criticised the Sports Syndicate, the current funding organisation.

With only one representative from the University, the Director of

Physical Education, as a member of the syndicate, the review argued the current group was therefore almost detached from University structure. The main point of contact with the higher powers was an annual report, which The Blue Bird had criticised as “extremely ineffectual”.

In its place, the Review recommended a Cambridge University Sports Committee, which would be more directly connected to the University.

The review’s findings did face opposition. During the SenateHouse Discussions last January,

Director of Physical Education Mr Anthony Lemons stated: “This report envisages that sport should be downgraded to a service, like buying rubber bands or paperclips. It leaves no room for vision, imagination or innovative strategy.” However, it received widespread support from students, with over 1,000 signatures, including from University and sporting societies such as the Cambridge University Boat Club.

Editor-in-Chief of The Blue Bird, Tom Bennett, told The Cambridge Student that the review was “an extremely progressive step” which

contained a “core of positive proposals”.

However, the passing of this review does not constitute the end of their campaign. On their website, The Blue Bird state: “This is only the beginning. We by no means believe that the passing of this review is the end of the matter ... it lays the foundations upon which it is possible to engineer positive change for sport at this University”.

CUSU has tried to raise the issue of levels of funding for sports socieites, as well as its structure. CUSU Coordinator

Sports review: keeping its eye on the ball

Jemma Stewart had investigated the levels of funding at Cambridge in comparison to other Russell Group universities. She found that the latter were providing between roughly £200,000 and £700,000 direct funding to sporting clubs and societies. The Sports Syndicate was only giving roughly £130,000.

Stewart commented to TCS: “At CUSU, we’re well aware that the University has not given enough priority to funding and supporting the student experience – especially sport – and it’s something we’re looking into running a campaign on.”

Photo: William Lyon Tupman

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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News 7 Promiscuous lifestyles result in failure, survey finds Jack Lewy Deputy News Editor A survey has revealed that having multiple partners at university hinders academic results.

In a boost for abstinent Cambridge students, statistics have been published which suggest that those who do not choose to have multiple partners in their final year of study perform more successfully in their final exams.

According to a survey of 2,000 students that have left university over the past 10 years, 36% of those who failed their degrees admitted to having numerous relationships in their final year – compared with a mere 12% for students who went on to earn a first.

The following trend also occured: for those who received a third, 32% had engaged in multiple relationships in their final year. Comparatively, for those that achieved a 2:1, only 11% admitted having more than one relationship.

A first-year Maths student, who prefers to remain anonymous, told The Cambridge Student: “it is great news to hear that my lifestyle choices will make me statistically more likely to succeed!

Relationships are for arts students and time travellers.”

The survey went on to highlight the number of hours of work that those

Photo: Rurik Jutting via Facebook

Extracurricular activities anyone? who achieved a first did per week in comparison to those who failed their degrees. In news that will upset and repulse even the most easy­going Cambridge student, the survey showed that the average student who achieved a first worked for 16 hours a week.

ProPlus, who commissioned the survey, commented that students should “be organised and on the b­ all in terms of workload, plan ahead and comfortably meet deadlines... Whether single or in a relationship, don’t get distracted by a constantly turbulent love life.”

The survey also revealed some other shocks, for example only 16% of students who received a first told the survey that they frequently pulled

Photo: Alan Cleaveraver ‘all­-nighters’ in an attempt to finish their work in the lead up to a deadline.

However, 39% of those who went on to get a third and 43% of those that failed their degree told the survey about their unproductive lifestyles. This either suggests that working through the night may not be a helpful strategy, or just that people who fail their degree are less efficient than those who get a first.

ProPlus provided some helpful tips for students. These included prioritising academic work when deadlines are looming, achieving a good balance between work and play, planning timetables around when you feel at your most attentive, and making sure that you get sufficient nutrition and exercise.

36% of those who failed their degrees admitted to having numerous relationships

Cambridge professor to help combat Ebola crisis Sophie Newbery News Writer Professor Ian Goodfellow, who works with a research group at Cambridge University, flew out to Sierra Leone this weekend in order to help control the Ebola crisis.

The professor, who leads a group of scientists in the university’s Department of Pathology, will be based at a facility in Makeni, one of three new diagnostic laboratories set up by the International Medical Corps (IMC) and the UK government in Sierra Leone.

The government has pledged £20 million for the construction and running of these laboratories, which will be used to test swabs and blood samples, as well as to give the all-clear to survivors of the virus.

Professor Goodfellow recently said that he wanted to use his expertise to help. “It’s such a huge crisis that’s been unfolding over a number of months.

The best way is to contain it in West Africa and the only way to do that is to put resources in.”

He added: “It will be difficult to sit here and do nothing and watch this outbreak get bigger and bigger in the

knowledge that I can make a small contribution to help. If you have a diagnostic service available we can dramatically decrease the time and get people in for testing, then get them out as quickly as possible.”

One first-year languages student at Trinity Hall commended the professor’s decision, telling The Cambridge Student: “I think it is good to see those with the relevant knowledge and expertise getting involved and making a real difference rather than hiding behind their books and computer screens.”

However, a Bio NatSci student was more cynical: “Almost seven times

as many people die of Malaria each month as have died from Ebola during this outbreak. We are only focusing on Ebola because it is so infectious that we are afraid it will spread to the West.”

As of 21 November, the World Health Organisation has recorded 5,689 probable, suspected and confirmed deaths as a result of the outbreak, including 1,398 in Sierra Leone. 136 healthcare workers in the country have been infected Professor Goodfellow said that he was “a little bit nervous but very excited to be able to get out there and do something.” He will remain in Sierra Leone until 3 January.

Did somebody call a doctor?

Photo:Army Medicine

136 healthcare workers in the country have been infected

Rurik Jutting fit to stand trial for murder Rachel Balmer Deputy News Editor

Cambridge University graduate Rurik Jutting has been declared mentally fit to stand trial for the murder of two Indonesian women in Hong Kong earlier last month.

Jutting, 29, is charged in connection with the murder of two women, whose bodies were found by police in his apartment earlier last month.

Jutting graduated from Peterhouse in 2008 with a degree in history.

Since his arrest, he has undergone two weeks of psychiatric examinations at a high-security centre in Hong Kong.

On Monday 24 November, Jutting appeared in court where it was ruled that he was mentally fit to be tried for the murder of Seneng Mujiasih and Sumarti Ningsih.

In court, Jutting spoke only once, responding “I do” to a question from the judge. He did not enter a plea.

The case has been adjourned until July 2015, with investigators being given 28 weeks to examine over 200 pieces of evidence from Jutting’s flat.

Jutting was arrested on 1 November after police were called to his apartment.

They reportedly found the body of Ms Mujiasih in the living room with knife wounds to her neck and buttock. Ms Ningsih’s body was found a few hours later in a suitcase on the balcony. The two women were domestic workers in Hong Kong, but were thought to be employed in the sex trade.

Jutting moved to Hong Kong in July 2013. Until recently, he worked as a securities trader at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and reportedly quit his job in the days before the incident.

Before resigning, he reportedly set an automatic response for his email account at the bank which read: “I am out of the office. Indefinitely.

For urgent enquiries, or indeed any enquiries, please contact someone who is not an insane psychopath. For escalation please contact God, though suspect the devil will have custody (Last line only really worked if I had followed through).”

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

Science and Research

The world’s first man-made enzyme

Stephen Hawking: Will AI be the end of mankind?

Shreya Kulkarni Science & Research Editor

Shreya Kulkarni Science & Research Editor

Cyborg brain Speaking to the BBC about the installment of his new voice control system, Stephen Hawking warned of the possible dangers that Artificial Intelligence poses, though his own speech computer (which has recently been replaced) operates on similar principles. Whilst his old system had a “primitive system of predicting the next word”, the new system’s predictive analysis process should considerably speed up his speech. However, Professor Hawking declined to be given a new voice or accent, remarking that, though robotic, the voice has “become my trademark and I wouldn’t change it for a more natural British accent”, especially after “being told that children who need a computer voice want one like mine”.

On the subject of AI, Hawking said: “The primitive forms of Artificial Intelligence we already have proved very useful. But I think the development of full AI could spell the end of the human race. Once humans develop AI it would take off on its own, and redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate,” suggesting that a superior AI could mean the end

Photo: Saad Faruque of mankind.

Whilst other intellectuals have also voiced concerns, many still hope for a future of AI well within the reins of human control, including Rollo Carpenter, creator of Cleverbot.

Cleverbot is on the lines of possible future AI; it learns from previous conversations in order to chat like humans. Scoring highly on the Turing test, the software has even managed to fool some people into thinking they are chatting with another person rather than a computer interface. The recent film Her portrayed a more optimistic view of AI and how it could integrate with our day to day lives.

But could the real danger of AI be the way we humans develop it? By designing AI for our own purposes of destruction or warfare, are we setting up a system that could all too easily slip out of our control? Maybe what is required is a detailed look into the dangers mentioned by Stephen Hawking and how our communities could possibly integrate the use of AI to develop a consideration of our societies in the future.

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Amedra Basgaran Science Contributor

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a psychiatric disorder that can highly impact a patient’s lifestyle, making day-to-day activities consume a lot more time than they should do. There are many hypotheses relating to the underlying cause of this disease but, as of yet, there is no single coherent model. Scientists at the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge have now proposed a new and interesting idea.

The compulsive component may be related to abnormalities in decisionmaking. Using a commonly known symptom as an example, patients may indeed be compulsively washing their hands because they are unable to decide whether their hands are sufficiently clean. Hence, these scientists found evidence to suggest that the inability to commit to ultimate decisions may be due to enhanced evidence accumulation, making it more difficult for them to come to a decision based on a large amount of evidence. All in all, it now seems that impaired decision-formation processes may underlie OCD.

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

“The development of full AI could spell the end of the human race”

A team of scientists with the Medical Research Council (MRC) have developed the first synthetic enzyme, made from artificial genetic material.

The work, published in the scientific journal Nature, can give us insight into the workings of these fundamental proteins and the roles they may have in the future.

Enzymes inform nearly every reaction occurring in the body, catalysing reactions from digesting food to the manipulation of DNA. Acting in every organ, these key players are vital for our survival.

The scientists based their work on the previous research by MRC Molecular Biology Cambridge and the University of Cambridge, who developed synthetic versions of DNA and RNA named XNAs. XNAs, like their natural counterparts, have the ability to act as building blocks for larger molecules.

These XNAs have formed the basis of the newly formed XNAzymes.

The XNAzymes of the study have been able to catalyse the simple reactions of cutting and joining

together strands of RNA. However, the true promise lies in the fact that these enzymes are more stable than the natural enzymes. This opens many doors for their future use, including facilitating life on other planets. Being of synthetic origin, they have the added benefit of not being recognised by the body’s naturally degrading mechanisms and thus could provide long-lasting theurapeutic action against human diseases.

Nonetheless, the research may lead us to question the true basis of life on our planet and what other ‘building blocks of life’ could lead to. Dr Alex Taylor, a Post-Doctoral Researcher at St John’s College, Cambridge, now based at the MRC Laboratory and the study’s lead author, noted: “The chemical building blocks that we used in this study are not naturally occurring on Earth, and must be synthesised in the lab. This research shows us that our assumptions about what is required for biological processes – the ‘secret of life’ – may need some further revision. The results imply that our chemistry of DNA, RNA and proteins may not be special and that there may be a vast range of alternative chemistries that could make life possible.”

It was probably harder than building this model

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The general prevalence of cancer is increasing everyday but many cells manage to avoid the mutations. How do they do so? Researchers have focused on transcription factors, the key regulators of growth and division.

These factors are commonly disturbed in a range of cancers, but they have long been considered ‘undruggable’.

Mike Gormally, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge, explains why: “Targeting the interface between DNA and the protein is difficult. It’s often much larger than can be targeted with a ‘small molecule’, and lacks well defined cavities for the drug to latch onto.” Nevertheless, researchers at the Department of Chemistry set off on a mission to drug these socalled ‘undruggable’ targets and have seemingly succeeded in their efforts to find such a molecule. After a long trawl through a library of over 50,000 small molecules, they came across a molecule, FDI-6, which has the potential to prevent cancer cell proliferation. Although not a drug itself, understanding this molecule promises to open the door to future effective treatment.

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Photo: Net _efect

3

The influenza virus is estimated to cause up to 500,000 deaths annually worldwide, according to the WHO. Vaccines are developed by basing them on circulating strains in the population. However, by the time these vaccines are developed, the influenza virus has usually evolved so that the vaccine is less effective. “It’s a real challenge: the WHO selects a strain of flu using the best information available but is faced with the possibility that the virus will evolve before the flu season,” explains Dr Judy Fonville. Dr Fonville and a team from the University of Cambridge are investigating new approaches to the vaccine, by predicting the evolution of the influenza virus.

Using a computer-based method, the team can model the immune reaction of antibodies to vaccination thus enabling a greater understanding of how pathogens like the flu evolve and re-infect us. A key finding was the phenomenon of ‘back-boost’, where a response includes action against previous strains also encountered in the past. Thus an effective future vaccine could provide wide ranging protection against influenza strains.

Computer based models of the immune systems could help develop vaccine of the future.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Science and Research

9

Brutal and Beautiful – TCS reviews BBC’s ‘Life Story’

Is surviving ‘Simples?’

Max Gray Science Contributor Having now watched the entire series of David Attenborough’s latest offering, the BBC’s Life Story, let me encourage you all to take the time over Christmas to watch it. It will almost certainly improve your holidays.

I did not think this when I first started watching episode one, First Steps. A dramatic opening sequence follows a group of meerkats, who have seen far more airtime than is strictly necessary in my opinion. Despite the fact that these particular meerkats were part of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, affiliated to Cambridge’s very own Zoology department, the opening sequence struck my cynical mind as pandering

Photo: Heather Paul

to an audience already unreasonably obsessed with these insurance-peddling mongooses.

However, the series did pick up and provided example after example of stunning footage. I was absolutely amazed by the footage of a conflict between two male hummingbirds. I don’t want to describe too many of the examples – as you really should go and discover them yourselves – but just wait for the bit with the goslings.

Suffice it to say, since Life was broadcast in 2009, we’ve been gifted with a view of the natural world that, if anything, is more beautiful than going out and seeing it for yourself.

I can attest to this, having been fortunate enough to have seen green

turtles laying their eggs, and the footage of them doing so in the finale of Life Story is a far more beautiful showcase than anything my memory can provide.

But to my mind, Attenborough’s documentaries in the last five years have been a little dumbed down.

They seem to trade away detailed descriptions of animals, in favour of showcasing a wider array of beautiful audiovisual footage. And the footage really is beautiful. But I fell in love with Attenborough for the knowledge contained within the documentaries that I watched growing up. Life Story has rejuvenated that love by once again showing nature to viewers in a new light – in this case by highlighting the sheer brutality of nature, more so than in any previous documentary, I think.

And I love it for that. Life Story shows us the natural world in all its brutal glory.

The harsh realities of nature are made clear, but with the visual feast that the series provides, along with Sir David’s comforting voice guiding us through each episode, the end result is one of wonder and enjoyment. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a documentary this much (despite the meerkats), so I highly recommend you take a few hours out to watch Life Story: it will improve your life. But do be prepared – not all the cute animals will make it through.

James Watson to auction his DNA Nobel prize Sam Raby Science Contributor

‘Life Story’ finally shows us the natural world in all its brutal glory

E L C Y C T ’ DON IGHTS! WITHOUT L

…AND AVOID A £30 FINE.

Bike lights available from CUSU for just £8.

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

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

James Watson, famous co-discoverer of DNA, revealed recently that he would be auctioning his Nobel Prize.

He first deduced the double helix structure of DNA with Francis Crick in 1953, and was later awarded the honour in 1962, but saw controversy in 2007. After making claims that Africans were innately less intelligent than Europeans, he was accused of racism and expelled from a number of his positions, though he remains an emeritus professor at Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory. Today he says he feels an ‘unperson’, and wants to raise money to supplement his income so that he can donate to the institutions with which he is affiliated, including Clare College, Cambridge, and a number of charities. Francis Wahlgreen, the Christie’s auctioneer selling the item, is confident that the sale could fetch $3.5 million, despite Watson’s chequered past, stating that “there are a lot of personalities in history we’d find fault with – but their discoveries transcend human foibles”.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Business 10 Selling yourself effectively (the business way) Osaseri Guobadia Business Contributor

E

It is the only way to get better at it. Be complimentary, express a real interest and then ask a question. People enjoy being flattered and are more responsive to questions about what they do than outright requests for help. Take time to develop a ‘relationship’ first.

3) Believe in yourself. Of course, you have to believe in the qualities that make you the best for the job. It can be difficult in the beginning, but you really do have to fake it till you make it.

4) Work. Look for work, apply for internships, shadow those with jobs that interest you. In the last five years I have found work experience with different companies, ranging from a week to three months, so I can honestly say that of all these tips, this one is the most valuable. So apply; it’s the practice you need to eventually succeed.

5) First impressions. For interviews, make sure you give yourself plenty of time beforehand to find out exactly where you’re supposed to be going.

Research the company thoroughly, so you can impress the interviewers with your dedication 6) Dress smartly. Brushing up makes more of a difference than you think.

veryone is a brand. I remember the first time I heard that, reading an article about developing your personal offering. I thought to myself, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I was right at the point of redefining my skills to match the type of job I hoped to get when I graduated. Mainly, I was regularly stalking and connecting with professionals on LinkedIn, and sending out messages begging for any work experience. The first thing I learned is that being a brand means you have to sell what makes you you.

It’s all the things that you believe you can do better than or differently from most people. Note the word ‘believe’.

It takes time and practice to actually be useful in the workplace. Most people aren’t in the beginning, but developing an understanding of different industries and their requirements can go a long way. So here are my top tips for selling yourself.

1) Start doing what you love: Don’t wait till you get the job, start now.

Everyone and their dog has a blog (including me), but it doesn’t matter.

Blog about what you love, design a Osaseri currently works as Marketing product, make an app, create a company. Manager of TalentPool www.talentpool.

2) Send awkward networking emails. com

The first thing I learned is that being a brand means you have to sell what makes you you

Shiny, happy, corporate people

Photo: Gianfranco Blanco

Black Friday: Should we be ashamed?

Brendan Kelly Business Contributor

I

t’s that time of the year. No, I’m not talking about Christmas (or Bridgemas). On Friday 28 November, the world bore witness to the manic consumerist earthquake known as ‘Black Friday’. Originating from the US, this is an annual commercial event where, on the Friday following Thanksgiving, most major retailers open early and offer unusually low prices. This ‘holiday’ has now spread to the UK. The concept might sound pedestrian.

Indeed, it could be a much-needed boost to a lumbering consumer economy.

Stores were thronging with customers hungry for deals. Retailer websites crashed, with Currys online customers waiting for an hour in a queue. Indeed, Amazon UK reported their “busiest day on record”. The website recorded 64 items sold per second.

However, anybody who has seen the news reports will know that the onset of Black Friday brings outright anarchy.

Police were called to deal with scuffles in a number of shops across the UK, and there were reports of adults punching

and kicking each other over products such as televisions and computers.

Indeed, there are some truly shocking Black Friday horror stories. In 2008, two men actually drew guns and killed each other after a disagreement over a product in a Toys ‘R’ Us in Palm Desert, California. People have died during this ‘event’.

Even then, this year Black Friday barely represented the triumph of consumer capitalism it is often sold as. In America, where Black Friday is almost an institution, sales were down 11% in a sluggish year, according to the National Retail Federation. Former CEO of Best Buy, Brad Anderson, told Business Insider that a significant factor may be the relative poverty of US consumers in 2014.

But should this matter? Even if Black Friday were initiating a consumer boom, would that justify the animalistic behaviour and physical violence it sparks? Or perhaps Black Friday is a consequence of neoliberal capitalism, which to many is characterised by aggressive individualism? Everybody likes bargains, but perhaps we should consider the effect of Black Friday on our holiday season.

Even if Black Friday were initiating a consumer boom, would that justify the animalistic behaviour?

Whatever happened to the orderly queue?

Photo: Paul Townsend

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Editorial 11 A Love Story Ciara Berry & Freya Sanders Editor-in-Chief & Deputy Editor

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hen first offered the positions of Editor-in-Chief and Deputy, many of our friends said we Should’ve Said No. But, Fearless, we accepted, knowing All Too Well we would be Enchanted by the thrill of producing, after endless fun and late nights, a physical paper that would leave the student body Breathless.

The Story of Us has been at various moments Sad Beautiful Tragic and brilliant. We will be Haunted by memories of being four hours off the deadline only to find a Blank Space in the paper, surrounded by Red alerts for overset text. But every time we encountered a problem, we would tell one another, over a Fitzbillies coffee choux bun, to Shake It Off, and every week we would Begin Again excited to see how the next issue would take shape.

If someone said, “Tell Me Why You’re Not Sorry to have sacrificed hours of sleep and possibly dissertation success to The Cambridge Student”, our answer would be centered on the team. Seeing Sparks Fly at commissioning meetings, I Almost Do wish we could Never Grow Up; the camaradie born when Fifteen of us cram round a single computer to debate how to Change our front page headline at 3am makes us wish we could Stay Stay Stay on the Holy Ground of the TCS offices Forever and Always.

But I Know Places where we can have frequent reunions, so hopefully no one will leave their term at TCS thinking We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Ours has been a fantastic team, and we would like to Speak Now and thank everyone for their tireless work. Never in our Wildest Dreams could we have imagined a more dedicated, innovative and endlessly amusing set of human beings to work with. We’d especially like to shout out to Thomas Saunders, The Lucky One blessed with absolute knowledge of the TCS style guide, and Style in general. Tom, you are our knight in shining armour, riding in on a White Horse with a spear of grammatical accuracy.

Now that we’re almost Out of the Woods, Everything Has Changed.

Living without the weekly routine of putting the paper together will leave our lives without structure. No longer will Thursday – the day TCS goes to print – be The Best Day. This is The Last Time the sight of a pile of freshly printed papers will be more beautiful to us than Starlight. You can’t see the sky from the TCS office anyway. We’ll soon be wishing we could go Back to December and relive our happy days in the office. All that’s left to say is good luck to the fantastic new editorial team – led by the wondrous Jack May – and Long Live TCS. We must acknowledge our extreme indebtedness to the world’s favourite young female singer-songwriter: her mad moves and lovely lyrics kept us sane throughout our term in office.

Thanks Britney.

Michaelmas 2014 team Editor-in-Chief Deputy Editor

Ciara Berry Freya Sanders

News Editor Colm Murphy Deputy News Emily Handley Catherine Maguire Rachel Balmer Hesham Mashhour Helen Spokes Anna Carruthers Jack Lewy Science & Shreya Kulkarni Research Editor Business Editor James Hebbron Opinion Editors Sam Rhodes Albi Stanley Rebecca Moore Interviews Editor Jack May

We would like to take this opportunity to thank TCS past editors Louise, Dom and Bashley for all the love, alcohol and emergency subbing they have given us

The team must say goodbye to many dedicated members; the few mentioned below are just a sample of those who have enriched the team this term.

Goodbye to...

Ciara Berry, Editor-in-Chief Ciara joined the team as Books Editor last Michaelmas and rose through the ranks to become Chief. She is known for her love of gin, Taylor Swift and swordfish.

Features Editors Sarah Howden Hannah Graham Deputy Features Sophie Buck Charlotte Furniss-Roe Lily Rosengard Theatre Editor Greg Forrest Deputy Theatre Laura Pankhurst Film Editor Dan Leigh TV Editor Yema Stowell Games & Gemma Izen Technology Editor Books Editor Ru Merritt Fashion Editor Sandy Rushton Music Editor Rob Stockton Food & Gigi Perry Drink Editor Escape Editor Peter Iltchev

Ted Loveday, Social Media Ted’s contributed to TCS since the glory days of Michaelmas 2012. Once featured on ‘Cuties of University Challenge’, his wit is sharp, his wisdom endless and his smile winning.

Lifestyle Editors Holly Willis Maddy Airlie Deputy Lifestyle Connie Muttock TCS Broadcast Nick Jones Eddie Millett Social Media Ted Loveday Rebecca Thomas

The TCS team getting festive: Merry Christmas one and all

Apology With reference to last week’s front page story, which reported a £70,000 disparity in Masters’ pay.

The Cambridge Student would like to offer an unreserved apology to the members of Murray Edwards College, and in particular to President Barbara Stocking, for a miscalculation in our analysis of Master’s expenses last week. We erroneously attributed £100,921.56 to the Stocking’s expenses, when in actuality it is around £60,000 less.

We recognise that such misinformation is deeply damaging to the College, and removed the incorrect information from our online article as soon as possible.

TCS strives to be as accurate as possible and lessons have been learnt from this incident that will prevent any repeat from occurring.

Sport Editors Gerald Wu Charles Martland Clara Buxton

Gerald Wu, Sport Gerald has been on the TCS team since the dawn of time (Lent 2013): he’s just finished his fourth term as Sports Editor. We’re not quite sure what we’ll do without him.

Production Editor Thomas Saunders Sub Editors Jess Baker Emma Molloy Megan Proops Rose Washbourn

Directors Ashley Chhibber Ben Redwood Sandy Rushton, Fashion Rebecca Alldridge Ciara Berry Sandy has spent her time at TCS Jemma Stewart nestled happily in the middle of the

Siu Hong (Alfred) Yu Lifestyle section. She regrets not being Hazel Shearing able to bring her two sections, Food

and Fashion, together; meat dress Man of the match (Issue 9): special, anyone?

Ciara Berry

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Opinion 12 Jack Monroe: a woman to be reckoned with Holly Higgins Opinion Contributor

J

ack Monroe visited the Union Society on Sunday as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival, appearing in conversation with Anna Whitelock. Monroe is known by some for her blog, ‘A Girl Called Jack’, her column in The Guardian and her low-budget recipes.

However, Monroe isn’t your usual celebrity chef; her blog posts about chickpea curry and lentil dhal have always been interspersed with comment and opinion pieces about politics, food banks and her experiences of living on the breadline.

Monroe left her job in the fire service in 2012, after finding it impossible to both care for her 18 month-old son as a single parent and work long night shifts. Monroe’s interest in politics was sparked soon after, when she wrote an article in response to a local Southend Conservative MP who had complained that “druggies, drunks and single mums” were spoiling the high street. She joked at the Union that since becoming unemployed, she had started to get involved in local politics, attending council meetings and writing about them on her blog or in the local paper.

As she has gained prominence in the public eye over the last two years,

Monroe has been vocal about food poverty in particular, and the widening of the inequality gap in general. In 2013, she launched a petition alongside the Trussell Trust (the UK’s largest network of food banks) and the Unite union, calling for a debate in the House of Commons on food banks. She labelled the drastic increase in the use of food banks a “disgrace”, symptomatic of a society which has been failed by austerity policies. Just last month, the Trussell Trust reported that the number of people being referred to a food bank has risen by 38 per cent over the past year – a sign that government debate needs to be followed up by action.

As the new poster girl for Sainsbury’s ‘Love Your Roast’ campaign, Monroe has been referred to as “the face of austerity Britain”. Monroe has written in heart-wrenching detail about her daily struggles of living below the poverty line. Monitoring your expenses down to the pennies, making the most of every last scrap of turkey – Sainsbury’s is ditching the conventional celebrity chef for a figure more in tune with the times.

Far from Jamie Oliver’s ‘happy chappy’ persona, Monroe represents an increasingly precarious segment of the British population whose voices are unrepresented or silenced and often stigmatised. Underlying much of Monroe’s rhetoric is a

critique of changes to the welfare system, but also a backlash against the negative stereotyping of benefit claimants as some kind of uneducated, scrounging underclass.

Monroe has been vocal about her experiences, and in campaigning to alleviate poverty; she has contributed to the foregrounding of food poverty as an urgent issue that needs tackling and shifted attention to the politics of food which often plays out behind closed doors. Monroe also represents the underrepresented: as a woman and a mother; as a lesbian and a single parent; and as someone who has lived the cruel reality of policies. She speaks and writes with passion and emotion, yet this never gets in the way of clear rationale behind her argument: “Austerity is not a medicine; it is a cancer”. The Conservatives would do well to inject a little more passion – or perhaps more importantly, compassion – into their own politics.

We need more women like Monroe in politics. Sadly, the reality is that politics does not accommodate such individuals – single mothers with children, women championing causes that affect an oppressed majority.

Monroe admitted: “I wouldn’t fit in [in Parliament].” Jack Monroe is not just a woman to be reckoned with, she’s someone to listen to, and we need to The Face of Austerity make more room for others like her.

Photo: The Guardian viaYouTube

Screw Bridgemas: It’s much more Fyodor Dostoyevsky than Charles Dickens Albi Stanley and Ruth O’Connell Brown Opinion Editor & Contributor

I

Scrooge you, Bridgemas

t’s ‘Bridgemas’ morning. Looking out the window, I catch sight of my own face in the drizzly pane.

Is that another spot, or just the tomato sauce that I had for dinner last night? Does it really matter? I’ve been watching Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman and I feel as if nothing will matter ever again. Oh little boy, why did you have to go outside? There’s nothing for you in the garden but disappointment and despair. All that is left is a lifeless lump of ex-snowman.

Formless and sloppy, the inanimate precipitation reminded me not just of general existence, but also of my final essay.

Desperately trying to get into the Bridgemas spirit, I’d attempted to read Keatsian ideals of Truth and Beauty into the Cambridge City Council’s Christmas lights. Instead, I ended up Photo: Matthias Weinberger with a Foucauldian analysis of the (re)

wiring of power cables. My supervisor asked me in what way this was relevant to the presentation of Nature and the Wild in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

I stared at her blankly for 50 minutes, then went home to contemplate the meaning of Bridgemas.

After a fitful nap, I was woken by the heat of a 1000 suns – my faulty radiator had raged into life once more. Unsticking my face from the chipped paint I wailed, “there must be more to Bridgemas than Sainsbury’s Basic’s mince pies and overwrought continental philosiphising.” Wandering over to the Grafton for encouragement, I asked the happy-go-lucky shoppers what they wanted for Christmas. Of course, nobody said me.

The smell of pumpkin spiced latte wafted from Starbucks, making me want to vomit. In a last ditch attempt to feel that special Bridgemas glitter, I queued up outside King’s Chapel for the carol service. There was no room at the inn.

I walked home along Bridge Street,

searching for some greater design. I looked deeply into the icy grey waters but all I could find was cigarette butts, detergent froth and some Wyvern chunder. The solitary Cam choked on the flotsam of smothered dreams.

Gazing hopefully into the eyes of passers by, I willed a meaningful connection. I met nothing but cataracts and fear.

At the English end-of-term drinks, one of our number drank so much mulled wine their nutmeg consumption reached hallucinogenic levels.

By now, the library bookshelves will have begun to resemble an Eastern Bloc supermarket, as the scramble for vacation borrowing begins.

There is darkness at noon; the sun sets before most of us have even got out of our beds. So for God’s sake, lets call a spade a spade. Week Eight is not Bridgemas; it is November. And anyway, it always feels like Christmas in Cambridge because the streets are so self-consciously narrow.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Opinion 13 TCS Chat

Photo: Black Lives Matter CUSU BME Campaign

Why we need to show Black Lives Matter Morwan Osman Opinion Contributor

I

was asleep when the Missouri Grand Jury declined to indict Darren Wilson for the killing of Mike Brown. I woke up to a news feed full of pain and frustration. The grand jury’s decision widened the hollowness in me. I’ve come to expect cases to play out this way, but even so, Mike Brown’s hit me harder than most. I had lived in St Louis. It was city that felt like home, and again, the American government had failed it.

When I was 17, I moved to St Louis to study at Washington University.

It was my first experience living in a city with a large black population.

I was no longer the only black kid in my neighbourhood. I no longer stood out because of my skin colour.

This newfound sense of identity and belonging came with ugly realisations.

I noticed that if a black person was walking down the street, other people would cross the street to avoid them.

At first I found it amusing, chalking it up to the naïveté of those around me.

Then one night, I realized people were crossing the street to avoid me too.

It did not matter that that I was all of 171cm and 57kg, that I was an awkward kid interested in protein aggregation, or that my father was a professor. All they saw was a black male, a thug waiting to strike.

As blacks in America, we have been told for centuries that our lives do not matter. It’s fine for the police to decide to kill our men and children in seconds for playing with toy guns, but spend the better part of an hour talking down drunks brandishing semiautomatic rifles. Election districts are redrawn that keep us from being represented, laws are enacted that disproportionately keep us from voting and laws that protected our right to vote are struck down. It does not matter if you’re Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, arrested for trying to open his front door, or actress Daniele Watts, arrested for kissing her white boyfriend in public. If you are black, you are a threat.

So where does Cambridge fall in all of this, 4,200 miles away from Ferguson?

Why is there a need for us out here, to express our support for a struggle so far away? Are we, as one man claimed, ‘inciting hatred’ by stating that black lives matter?

Isn’t America, the self-proclaimed

If you’re black, you’re seen as a threat. A thug waiting to strike

land of the free, brave enough to tackle its own human rights issues?

In the 1950s, continued civil rights abuses by the United States Asking the tough questions... had damaged its reputation abroad.

While segregation had been declared What’s your Christmas drink of unconstitutional in 1954, defiance choice? was widespread throughout the south.

On September 4 1957, an attempt to integrate a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, was met with national guard troops, ordered by the governor of Arkansas to ‘‘preserve order’. The images of American troops keeping nine black students from going to school led to expressions of solidarity throughout the world. Austrian students sent open Peter, Escape letters to the governor of Arkansas.

Dutch, Indonesian, Libyan and Brazilian “Herbal tea with a shot of honey media openly criticized the American Tennessee whisky. It’s technically government, and diplomats in Denmark good for you” reported they “were embarrassed over the Danish reaction”.

Three weeks later, President Eisenhower intervened by sending the military in to enforce integration. In his speech to the nation, he cited the international responses as a motivation for his actions: “[I]t would be difficult to exaggerate the harm being done to the prestige and influence, and indeed Jack, Interviews to the safety of our nation and the world.” In 1948, Eisenhower opposed “Port. Maybe sherry. If it’s free. desegregation of the US military. Nine Failing that, a good Merlot?” years later, he was using the military to integrate schools.

Cambridge University is an elite institution, with a long history of producing leaders in industry, academia, and politics. Many of you will go on to become part of the “the more influential elite”, whose views on segregation pressured Eisenhower into acting. Blacks are constantly told Sam, Opinion by those in power that our struggles, our frustrations, our concerns are not “Christmas is a time for sober religious important. contemplation, not drinking” Blacks are told we only deserve a seat at the table when they deem our culture “respectable” Cambridge already has a seat at the table. Someday, when you finally reach that position of power you’ve wanted, maybe you’ll remember this campaign, so that when it comes to addressing the policies that made the deaths of Mark Duggan and Sean Ciara, Editor-in-Chief Rigg happen, you’ll change them.

When you make the simple statement “Gin. I’m teetotal apart from the gin” that “black lives matter”, you show that black voices are not alone; that tear gassing of Amnesty International observers in safe spaces is not acceptable; that it is not a ‘delusion’ that institutional racism is alive, well, and killing in America.

Tom, Chief Sub “Champagne, but then champagne is always my drink of choice”

Photos: Sam Rhodes

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

Features

14

Baubles, banners and blu tack: Whose room is it?

Cambridge Problems

Hannah Graham Features Editor

Elsa Maishman Features Columnist

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L

ast week I was at the ADC waiting to see a comedy show.

The Footlights Pantomime had run overtime and so the audience members leaving that show filed past us on their way out.

Suddenly I heard a high pitched voice, squeaking ‘That went on for a long time, Mummy!’ or something similarly insightful. Turning my head I saw the speaker – a child of about eight.

I must admit that I did a double­take.

Of course, children make up a large enough proportion of the population that I should not have been surprised to see one. However, the sight of someone outside the 18­to 25 age bracket was jarring. On top of this was the realisation that here was someone who beyond any doubt had nothing at all to do with the University. This boy could not have been a student, a bedder, a porter or a lecturer – in short, any of the people who make up almost the entirety of my human contact.

Seeing this child was a rare glimpse through the film of the ‘bubble’ in which I have become ensconced over the last eight weeks. I find myself existing almost entirely within the Sidgwick to boathouse to ADC triangle around my College and so it comes as a shock to encounter people who live in the ‘real world’; those whose lives aren’t dominated by essay crises and rowing outings and for whom, shockingly, Bridgemas must mean nothing.

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Regulations make it clear that however much college rooms seem to be our home, they are temporary spaces, granted by the kindness of college

n my room, Christmas decorations go up on about the 20 November.

I used to be able to hold on until December, but with our absurdly short terms and Bridgemas offering the only chance to enjoy the festive season with friends from College, the Yuletide spirit has had to start earlier. I take every opportunity to deck the halls – often very literally. In the past my corridors have been draped in enough tinsel to cause a significant fire hazard. The urge to adorn every available surface hits me particularly hard at Christmas, like many of us I choose to counter the bleak weather and the long nights with the gaudy gleam of tinsel and fairy lights.

Yet this need to decorate is not just a seasonal one. By throwing posters and photos and that embroidered gap year scarf onto our walls, we take possession of our space, claiming it as our own.

As students, we spend so much time bouncing from place to place, from short, intense terms to those oh-so-long holidays, that it can be hard to know where ‘home’ is located: I probably spend more time in my childhood home, but university offers a space which I, however briefly, can own for myself.

The recent ‘Whose University’ campaign (see p3) aims to raise the question of who owns university space, whether a sense of home and security for students ought to be seen as the University’s priority, rather than the comfort of conference guests. A small

Baubles: vital to feeling at home this Bridgemas but significant part of this sense of ownership and priority relates to our ability to stamp our personalities on our space, whether with baubles or band posters. Many colleges enforce bans on blu tack, preventing students from adorning their rooms with whatever decorations or memorabilia they see fit.

We are not allowed candles, incense or even the fairy lights which are such a key part of the Christmas experience.

These regulations make it clear to students that however much college rooms may seem to be our homes, they are in fact temporary spaces, granted to us for a brief interval by the kindness of the college, to be returned as soon as term ends.

This contributes to the general sense that we’re all at some sort of especially large, very odd boarding school. How many other students, adults who ought to be able to make their own decisions, live with regulations on the guests that they can have overnight in their

Photo: Joe Buckingham

rooms? Although these regulations are not always enforced, almost every college has rules about the number of ‘overnight guests’ that will be tolerated.

The inadequate kitchen facilities seen in many colleges are another prime example of the University’s tendency to emphasise that our space is not our own. We are not sensible grown ups who can cook for ourselves and run our own lives. We are children who cannot be allowed more than a toaster, a kettle, perhaps a single hob, little more than would be found in the average school common room, lest we burn the place down.

The ability to decorate, to fill my space with tacky Christmas ornaments, holiday photos and angry poster is an important part of feeling at home in our space, in claiming the rooms we live in as our own. Sadly, many colleges have regulations which make it clear that our sense of home is not a priority.

The use and abuse of freedom of speech: the idea deserves more respect Brontë Philips Amnesty International Columnist

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he phrase ‘freedom of speech’ has permeated a great deal of news material recently, in a range of situations and

contexts.

It has been brought up regarding the imprisonment of British – Iranian activist Ghoncheh Ghavami for protesting outside a volleyball match; the violent responses of police towards protests in Hong Kong, Mexico and Ferguson; in the controversy surrounding DJ Nick Conrad’s ‘rape apology’ on Radio Norfolk. Most recently, the issue has been discussed in the debate surrounding the NUS’s ‘no platform’ policy.

In each case, the rallying cries of ‘right to protest’, ‘platform’ and ‘free speech’ riddle opinion columns, often with little explanation or justification.

For taking to the streets in Ferguson to protest against the verdict not to

indict police officer Darren Wilson for shooting unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, those demonstrating were silenced with tear gas. The students marching against the lack of democracy in Hong Kong face police brutality and prison detention.

Mexicans protesting in support of the 43 missing Ayotzinapa students are beaten, detained, tortured. Ghoncheh Ghavami, faces a year in an Iranian prison for doing nothing more than peacefully demonstrating in support of women being allowed to watch volleyball matches,. She spent the first 50 days of her imprisonment in solitary confinement.

Those arguing against the cancellation of the Christ Church College debate on ‘This House believes that abortion culture harms us all’ – on the grounds that, in the words of Tim Stanley, one of the speakers in the cancelled debate“free speech is under assault on campus” – are given a ‘platform’ to air their dissent in response, write angry

opinion pieces for The Spectator and engage in ‘trolling’ the various pressure groups responsible for the cancellation.

Yet there is a difference between expressing a taste and the absolute silencing of dissent: those criticising the Union for objecting to an unpopular debate can go home and tweet about it.

Ghoncheh Ghavami, however, cannot.

The idea of ‘freedom of speech’ should not be reduced to a rhetorical

device, a sticking-plaster for the purposes of a debate nor a get-out clause for bigotry, racism, sexism or poorly-informed propaganda.

Freedom of expression is not a privilege; it is a right to which every human being is entitlement, enshrined in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. As such the term deserves a greater understanding, greater respect and more disciplined application.

Amnesty fights when free speech is really silenced

Photo: Amnesty London

The idea of ‘freedom of speech’ should not be reduced to a rhetorical device

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Features 15 Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all the TCS team!

Ciara, Editor-in-Chief

Freya, Deputy Editor

Thomas, Production

Hannah, Features

Sarah, Features

Catherine, News

Lily, Features

Charlotte, Features

Sandy, Fashion

Anna, News

Jack, Interviews Colm, News

Ru, Books

Sam, Opinion

Gigi, Food & Drink Rachel, News Albi, Opinion Becca, Opinion Jack, News

Helen, News Sophie, Features

Yema, TV

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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Features 16 Illuminating Christmas: Yule Hannah Graham Features Editor

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t the age of seven, in a lesson about Christmas traditions, our teacher told us of the ancient festival of Yule, celebrated on 21 December, Midwinter’s Day, the shortest, darkest day of the year. Ancient pagans, he told us, would celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the turn towards the brighter days of summer on this date, with fire festivals and fertility rituals. “Oh yes,” seven-year-old me piped up, “we celebrate that with our grandparents every year!”

After that, the teacher in question treated me slightly oddly and at the next parents’ evening asked my parents in hushed, slightly worried tones, whether we were really Pagans. Of course, my mother played up to this. To this day a number of teachers from my old school genuinely believe my family ritually sacrifices a goat every 21 December.

We don’t, of course – goat blood is a nightmare to wash out of a winter coat. However, in a way my teacher was right: I do observe many Pagan rituals in my Christmas celebrations, and I imagine you do too. Indeed, many claim that even the date of Christmas was chosen to coincide with Pagan festivals, fulfilling a deep, human need for light and celebration at the darkest time of the year. The Christian religion replaced the festivals of this older religion and therefore undermined

Image: Sophie Buck its dominance. It’s not only the date that we borrow from Pagan tradition, however. Mistletoe, a Christmas staple for so many, was traditionally banned from use in Church decorations because of its Pagan associations. Mistletoe was a key part of Yuletide celebrations, cut

by Druids with a golden sickle on the sixth day of the moon cycle. Druidic religion also brings us the traditional burning of the ‘Yule log’, which was originally burnt during the twelve darkest days of the year to conquer the darkness and banish malevolent spirits.

Perhaps your Christmas isn’t so far from Pagan after all.

Snow (and red balls) are falling... all around me

Festive frivolity: How to take care of the pennies Mary Nower Features Contributor

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t’s that time of year again. Stores are attempting to whip you into a spending frenzy with glitzy Christmas displays, you need a snowplough to manoeuvre through the shoppers and to your lectures, and everyone’s decorating their rooms in cheap Christmas tat from Tiger.

However, before you join them and blow a sum of money that would make even the average resident of St John’s shriek “Steady on”, spare a thought for your poor old bank account. He’s currently quivering in terror at the monumental pounding he’s about to receive, particularly just as the last dregs of your student loan drain away.

So, shop smart and consider these useful money-saving tips: Student discounts are one of the best things about being a student. It is definitely worthwhile investing in an NUS card – it’ll pay for itself in no time. But remember to always check at Reindeer have money troubles too. the till whether a store does a student

discount – sometimes you might be pleasantly surprised. Combine this with UNiDAYs, an online student discount, and you can pretty much avoid ever paying full price for anything. Asking about discount at the till may seem pedantic, and sometimes downright cheeky (how likely is it Hotel Chocolat does a student discount?

Actually incredibly likely – enjoy 5% off everything!), it is always worth doing. It’s a good idea to follow NUS, UNiDAYS and your favourite shops on social media and to sign up to receive newsletters. This allows you to hear about when student discounts are momentarily boosted, as well as receive invitations to sale previews, special money-off events and free stuff.

I do recommend, however, setting up a separate email address so that crucial emails from supervisors don’t get drowned in a sea of promotional mail. I’ve got half-price coffees, free doughnuts as well as money-off vouchers this way.

Image: Sophie Buck The two most important websites for avoiding being overcharged are

Camel Camel Camel and Findadvd.

Camel Camel Camel tracks the price of any item on Amazon, allowing you to follow trends in the price. This means you can ensure you are buying your present in the trough, not at the peak, of its price history (on top of your 5% Amazon NUS discount). Findadvd. com compares prices of DVDs from different online websites, allowing you to find the cheapest place to buy.

However, beware: but online shopping is convenient, studies have shown that for items such as clothes and food, buying in store is actually cheaper – especially since you don’t have to pay delivery charges.

Finally, the best way to save money at Christmas is actually taking some time to think about what to get people. The fact is, everyone would prefer to receive a thoughtful present where you thought hard about their interests, instead of some overpriced gift they didn’t want and will never use. So remember this when shopping – your friends, family and bank account will all thank you!

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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Features 17 Presents: the perks and perils Flora McFarlane Features Contributor

W

Image: François Sherwood

hen I was 12, my grandmother gave me a book about horses for Christmas. The fact that I’m not particularly interested in horses, horse riding or really anything equestrian was my first objection. My second was that half of the pages were missing. From page 19 to 111, it was blank page after blank page. I never did get to find out about the generic girl’s relationship with her generic horse.

This is just one example from a long list of bemusing Christmas gifts from the grandparents over the years, not to mention the beauties that crop up on birthdays.

However, I am being unfair. The fact that two elderly people think of me enough to send me presents (albeit fairly questionable ones), when it’s been nearly five years since we actually met in person, shows the strong bonds of family ties. It’s Christmas time – allow me some sentimental license. What can you expect from someone who doesn’t really know you, your tastes, or even your clothing size? (I have been on the receiving end of several size 18 garments over the years.) We seem to have come to a tacit agreement that gift receipts are always included, and there is no awkwardness in admitting that I did indeed return the sky-blue size 22 fleece I got last year.

What’s more important is that, over the years, we have moved from the

biannual phone conversation thanking each other for the slightly impersonal gifts, to almost weekly Skype sessions where we can actually find out what would be a suitable present. Surprise surprise – communication makes gift giving a whole lot easier.

My advice? Instead of worrying about what to get that long-lost relative for Christmas, or about what you’ll have to open on Christmas day, try getting in touch and finding out what would actually be worth something to them, whilst also hinting (incredibly subtly) that you’re not super-keen on equestrian memorabilia. Granted, some people are just terrible gift-givers, but give it a try. When Christmas comes, you might just be surprised.

Image: Sophia Bharmal

Skating, skiing and Swiss Santas: An alternative Christmas Flora McFarlane Features Contributor

S

o many Christmases, each special in its own way. And this one, she determined, would be as special as she could make it. A perfect Christmas, she hoped.”

So writes Desiree Cox in A Perfect Christmas.

There are so many ways to spend Christmas, a thousand traditions to combine and a plenitude of treats to indulge in – whether it’s putting up the Christmas tree on 1 December, baking gingerbread men and Christmas cookies, the countdown to advent (the perfect excuse for a daily chocolate treat!), wrapping presents in secret solitude, watching the Queen’s Speech religiously on Christmas Day or leaving mince pies and milk out for Santa. But what if we were to break these traditions and do something different, just once?

Last Christmas I woke up to the dulcet tones of alpenhorns, their melodious music seeping through the Christmas morning fog and echoing

round the valley. Opening your curtains on Christmas Day to a world covered in snow, its mountainous peaks tipped with icing and trees cloaked in a soft layer of frosting, is an experience very different to the rain that normally accompanies an English Christmas! Instead of the slow, lazy day that naturally follows the morning after too many mince pies (!), I raced out of bed to open some presents before hitting the slopes to carve the first tracks in the freshly-laid powder of Christmas morning.

Christmas Day was spent skiing before Christmas lunch, though for this, I have to admit, we kept to the traditional turkey, roasties, stuffing, gravy, and all the Christmas trimmings – we then built a snowman – something I have longed to do since I was a little girl, watching American movies and dreaming of the same white Christmas in England to.

In Switzerland, Santa appeared in the town centre, arriving on a sledge with a huge basket upon his back filled with sweets for all the ‘nice’ local Deary me, it’s snowing? children. Then mince pies and mulled

Image: Oli Brenner

wine was served outside the openair ice rink, free for all to join and celebrate in the community festivities!

Snowball fights, sledging, iceskating... all followed as we indulged in the opportunity of actually having a snowy Christmas! Then back for the traditional Christmas cake for tea!

It was a merging of English traditions of Christmas with the occasional indulgence in Swiss customs and the unique presence of snow on Christmas day. I’m not suggesting that you move to Switzerland (although you could do a lot worse!). But maybe this Christmas, blend tradition with something a little bit different. Perhaps you could invite the entire neighbourhood round for mince pies; spend an hour sorting through old clothes to donate to charity or go for a cycle ride through the frosted countryside?

Or maybe even cook curry instead of Christmas lunch!? But whatever you decide, be it traditional or new, make sure you have yourself a ‘merry little Christmas’.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Interviews

18

Tim Squirrell: Free Speech and getting trolled by ‘The Spectator’ Jack May Interviews Editor

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im Squirrell has had a bad week. I’m sure we all know the story of Oxford’s cancelled abortion debate and the ensuing argument about free speech that broke out across Twitter, Facebook, The Spectator, The Telegraph, and The Tab, but in case you’ve been hibernating: The Cambridge Union’s President, Tim Squirrell, got himself involved in quite a big way.

“I wrote an article for The Cambridge Tab titled, ‘Freedom of Speech doesn’t mean you get whatever platform you want,’ which I didn’t think was particularly controversial, but turns out is. I didn’t say ‘I hate free speech,’ which most people thought I did; I said there were limits on free speech, which most people agree there is, like hate speech laws. “[I said that] people were so upset about the abortion debate in Oxford because of the people involved, where it was, and the framing of the motion, and people went ballistic at me. The Spectator emailed me to say they

Tim Squirrell defending his ‘Freedom of Bum’ were sending me some complimentary copies of The Spectator at the Union.

Incredible. I’m being trolled by The Spectator. Someone made me a little origami squirrel out the front page of The Spectator, which is really cute.”

Lots of the vitriol he’s received in response to his views on the matter seems to have been online, and more informal. “There was one guy who wrote a blogpost called ‘Tim Squirrel: the dangers of pre-enlightenment philistinism,’ which was really funny, and he was having a go at me on Twitter, and he just quoted so many

Photo: Tim Squirrell

dead philosophers. I said ‘maybe you’d agree with me if I quoted more dead white men’, and he said ‘sarcasm isn’t your strong suit Tim’ so I said ‘coherent prose isn’t yours’. He wasn’t very happy about that.”

Did he find it upsetting at all? “It was quite exhausting and absurd. I made a collage of all the things people had said about me, which was fun, but to be honest when it gets to the point that people are tweeting you abuse every hour, it was kind of either laugh or cry. There was kind of a point when the Varsity article came

out on the Saturday, after four days of constant argument, that I was a little bit upset, but I think the strongest response is to keep smiling and laughing and trying to notice the funny side of everything.”

I wonder, with the backlash his involvement has incited whether he regrets getting involved in the matter.

But it’s safe to say Tim’s a bit more strong-willed than that. “I wrote this because I feel quite strongly about it, and I’ve been interested in free speech for quite a while, and it felt like it had to be written now. I think that for me it’s been important to realise that I can hold an unpopular or controversial view and that’s ok. A lot of my writing has been quite middle of the road, terrified of The Tab comments, always scared that someone will say ‘Tim your writing is awful, you’re a dire human being.’

I’ve realised 1) I don’t have to read the comments, and 2) I’m ok with that. I’m ok with not being in agreement with the majority of people all the time, and I think that’s important to recognise when you want to write about things you care about.”

It’s Freedom of Speech, stupid.

It was quite exhausting and aburd.

I made a collage of all the things people had said about me, which was fun

Baroness Jones: Shadowing the London Assembly’s Green Lady Jessy Ahluwalia Interviews Contributor

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heading down to Mayor’s Question Time. Or, as Jenny puts it, “watch Boris avoid questions and laugh at Labour”.

Little did I know, this actually wasn’t a joke.

Boris bumbles in, as he does, and after running through the previous meeting’s minutes, the bombardment of questions begins. Boris fends off questions about the Tories’ plans for education and youth initiatives, most of which come from a Labour member. At one point, he loses his temper entirely, shouting “we have done more for youth than Labour ever did, so you can take that paper and shove it up your…” Charming as ever.

ambridge to London. I’m on the commuter train. It’s 7:15am. I get to City Hall around 8:45am and I’m guided through security before being given a badge that had been prepared for me. When I meet her, Jenny is on the phone with the BBC – they’re about to interview her regarding the student protests against education fees.

She vehemently advocates the protest, arguing that we need students, we need educated people in society and we should be putting our money into the education system. By the time she hangs up the phone, Jenny has made a point about education cuts, policing, climate change and human rights. The interview lasted all of five minutes.

Baroness Jones is forthright, honest and she really believes in the Green Party’s manifesto. While I can’t say I’m Green through and through, I can’t deny I am intrigued by this politician who really doesn’t fit the bill; she answers questions honestly, she refuses to hire interns without paying them a proper wage and she is fully aware of just how hard her staff work to make her look good.

I sit down with Jenny and she asks a little about my background, what I study and my personal interests, before Even the water bottle is green

The atmosphere feels very much like playground demeanor, with all the Tories ganging up together against Labour, shouting and jeering, with sniggers all the while.

Jenny does ask a question, regarding the next climate change summit in Paris: “Will you make a commitment to climate change and put London on the map as being one of the big players?” Boris doesn’t really answer it, and manages instead to make all the members giggle.

Notably, in the three hours the meeting lasts, men dominate the majority of the conversation. The six women in the room do all speak (eventually) but it by

no means feels equal. When Jenny came to speak here at Cambridge, she took questions on a male-female alternate basis, ensuring that women got their voices heard. I asked Jenny about this afterwards, and she replies with a wry smile “yes, well, that’s Boris for you – very misogynistic”.

On our way to the Lords, we stop by the student protest, where Jenny marches up to the Green party campaigners and introduces herself, stops for a selfie and applauds the speakers. She tells me she wishes she could stay, as she “loves a good protest”. Inside the House of Lords, Jenny gives me a quick tour and then we take our seats to watch the amendments’ debates. While the topics of debate are interesting, the people debating them certainly aren’t.

I hadn’t realized just how childish our political system really is, nor had I realized just how much I hate Boris Johnson. What inspired me most though, was seeing a woman take power and own her title and career.

Baroness Jenny Jones is not by any means a pioneer for females in politics, but she is a perfect example of how to be both a woman and a politician, without having her outfit assessed or her hair colour acknowledged.

She is, simply, a Green Party member doing a great job, and one of the most refreshingly down to earth politicians I Photo: Heinrich Boll-Stiftung think the UK has to offer.

Yes, well that’s Boris Johnson for you – very misogynistic

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

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Interviews

19

Meeting Lorna Finlayson, the mind behind state-school colleges Jack May & Basha Wells-Dion Interviews Editor and Contributor

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ou may have noticed some commotion on Facebook comment threads in Cambridge this week. If you have, it’s likely to have been about Lorna Finlayson’s article in The Guardian. She saw “a college that only admits state school pupils” as the ultimate solution to Oxbridge’s access problems. Safe to say it was a divisive piece, particularly coming from a Fellow of King’s College, so it seems sensible to ask her why she thinks it had such a reaction.

“I suppose it’s because a lot of people, especially people who already study or teach at Oxbridge, have a lot invested in the status quo (much as they might make noises, from time to time, about the need for change). People who themselves went to a private school, or who send their children to private schools, are likely to react defensively for obvious reasons: what’s at issue here is an attack on a system from which they have benefited.”

For Lorna, much of the difficulty comes at supervision stage. “Levels of confidence and the sense of entitlement are both gendered and classed.

And that’s a problem that is selfperpetuating: when a privately educated

A different perspective, or a patronising look down? white male speaks at length and with an air of confidence in a seminar, this can have a demoralising effect on others present.

“You think, ‘he must know what he’s talking about’ – what he’s saying might not seem to you to make a lot of sense, but you think ‘maybe that’s because I’m too stupid to understand it.’ I certainly struggled with that.”

Many of the responses to the piece argued that there are other ways to encourage state-school applicants, and that all state-school colleges would be an insensible knee-jerk reaction.

To a certain extent, Lorna agrees. “A lot of people put a lot of hard work into access, including many student

Photo: Roger W Haworth

volunteers. I don’t want to denigrate that. But they are working within a broader framework that constrains how much difference they are able to make. That’s why we have the current situation. Access initiatives have been going on for many years, and we’re still in a situation where 7% of children go to private schools and at Oxbridge it’s 39% on average. That’s still a huge disparity.”

She acknowledges the potential benefit of going to schools and speaking to potential applicants, whilst also giving credit to bursaries across the University.

“Limiting admissions to state school candidates would cut the Gordian knot – it wouldn’t solve everything

(grammar vs. comp, for example, or ethnic minority representation), but it would make a huge difference.

“What is really needed, of course, are radical changes to society at large: for example, in my view, there shouldn’t be an elite tier of private schools in the first place. But we have to consider what we can do from where we are.

What can Cambridge colleges do, from where they are now, given that what they are doing clearly isn’t enough?

Here’s something they can do.”

Perhaps at the heart of the issue is the idea of ‘social mobility’, so how does Lorna think this fits into the narrative?

“A little bit of social mobility is good for hierarchy. It helps it persist, and to present itself as legitimate or ‘fair’.

But ‘too much’ social mobility, and the system is put under strain.”

A dubious idea, but possibly one worth considering. Thankfully, she recognises the possibility for the proposal to be seen as demeaning. “Others are genuinely worried that a move like this would be patronising. I don’t see it as patronising in the least. Attempts to criticise or remedy oppression or inequality or injustice are invariably accused of being patronising: it’s par for the course.”

In the mean time, this philosophy fellow will continue to divide opinion.

I’m struggling

and I don’t know

WHERE to turn.

Drop in, call, or email…

When a privately educated white male speaks at length and with an air of confidence, this can have a demoralising effect on others

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Film

21 Review of the year: the good...

Best Films ‘Guardians of the ‘Under the Skin’ Galaxy’

Best Performance Ethan Hawke in ‘Boyhood’

Biggest Surprise ‘Two Days, One Night’

Aislinn McDonagh Film Judge

Jacob Osborne Film Judge

Jacob Osborne Film Judge

Daniel Leigh Film Chief Justice

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U

T

Comic heroes

Johansson

eloved of nerds and the normal alike, Guardians of the Galaxy has to be the best movie of 2014. It took all the best things about superhero movies and threw away the trend to make them gritty and dark in order to be credible. They reintroduced the comic book element of Marvel and most importantly brought back the jokes. The CGI was amazing, Chris Pratt as the comic lead was genius and it had a soundtrack that hasn’t left my head since. If you haven’t seen it, make sure you do; no matter what kind of movie you like, you’ll love this one.

nder the Skin is pure cinema, a visually and aurally audacious feast that favours ambiguity and suggestion over verbal exposition. We follow a voluptuous alien (Scarlett Johansson) who drives around Scotland, preying on young men. She then gradually begins to adopt human characteristics, with difficult consequences. It is stunningly filmed, combining terrifying visual effect sequences and hidden-camera shots. The soundtrack blurs the line between sound effect and music, while Johansson’s performance is surely her best.

But hang on - the new ‘Hobbit’ film hasn’t come out yet ...

Image: paperstreet.it

Hawke

... and the bad Most Disappointing ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’

Worst Sequel ‘300: Rise of an Empire’

Aislinn McDonagh Film Judge

Aislinn McDonagh Still Judging

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-Men fans have been hurt before, and this promised to right the wrongs of Last Stand.

In a way it did. It wasn’t a bad movie in and of itself; it was just disappointing because it could have been so much more. It was only really praised because of Quicksilver’s scenes, which were amazing, but the rest of it left me unmoved, especially the focus on Mystique, Xavier, Wolverine and Magneto. We’ve had enough movies based around them. #BringBackGambit2k14

What a let-down

I

can’t really describe how pointless, unnecessary and boring this sequel was. 300 was visually unique and exciting, with a genuinely interesting plot; 300: Rise of an Empire was a desperate cash grab with little to no originality, except perhaps with regards to casting. To give it credit, Xerxes backstory was okay, and I appreciated Lena Headley showing up to be badass at the last minute. But really, no one will watch this twice.

If you can, spare yourself the first time around.

Image: ign.com Even worse

Image: imdb.com

o some extent, all the main performers in Boyhood deserve recognition: shooting a film over twelve years of their lives requires a level of dramatic sophistication that each satisfies perfectly. Yet it is arguably Ethan Hawke who most stays with us: he is utterly convincing as the layabout divorced parent who gradually matures and reassesses his priorities. His is a naturalistic, humorous and honest performance in a film of unvarnished humanity which focuses not only the life of a boy, but also on fatherhood, sisterhood and motherhood.

T

his probably wasn’t a surprise for anyone who already knew the Dardenne brothers, but in my shameful ignorance I did not have any expectations for what was to become my favourite film of the year. I didn’t think anything could top Boyhood or 12 Years a Slave, but this agonising social drama, telling the story of a woman who must convince her co-workers to vote for her to keep her job instead of keeping their bonuses, is simply stunning. It is the most painful and most uplifting cinematic experience I have had for a long time.

Photo: austinistdotcom Marion Cotillard

A Totally Overrated Christmas: Love Actually Aislinn McDonagh Now Hating

It has gone from a heartwarming family movie to one that shows humans as petty, selfish, vulnerable and lonely

L

ove Actually is a staple of my Christmas. The first time I saw it in my early tweens, I cried when Colin Firth proposed and Hugh mGrant kissed the girl who wasn’t even vaguely fat and Liam Neeson’s son ran through the airport.

The second time, I cried when Laura Linney’s happy ending was ruined by her mobile, and when Bill Nighy finally stopped emotionally abusing his manager. As I got older, I cried at its depictions of a broken marriage more than anything else, because it was well acted. And now, though I watch it every Christmas at least once, I find myself liking it less and less.

The easy things to mock Love Actually for are the creepy guy who forces Kiera Knightly to choose between lying to her new husband and ruining her husband’s relationship with his best friend, or the totally unnecessary montage of Hugh Grant dancing, or the constant criticism of Martine McCutcheons’s appearance, or the fact that Liam Neeson doesn’t shoot anyone. But that isn’t my

problem with the film.

My issue is that the truly empathetic characters in the movie, the ones with realistic and tragic storylines achieve no sense of resolution. In this movie, and the subsequent and abominable knockoffs such as Valentine’s Day, the joke is that all ten character storylines neatly resolve. Yet neither Laura Linney, who one can only assume continues to be responsible for her ill brother until the emotional strain takes too much of a toll and she has to move away or becomes ill herself, nor Emma Thompson, a loving wife and mother whose marriage, faith in her husband, love and probably her own self-esteem are shattered by a silly, pointless secretary’s necklace, get their happy ending. Their plights are really quite upsetting.

As I’ve grown up Love Actually has gone from a heart-warming family movie to one which shows humans as variously petty, selfish, vulnerable and lonely, and leaves me feeling distinctly unfestive.

Having said that, the scene with Rowan Atkinson is definitely still funny. Oh, and the Christmas lobster.

Love that Christmas lobster.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

TV

22

Monty the money-maker? Adverts at Christmas Elsa Maishman TV Contributor

S

ince early November, our screens have been dominated by a series of Christmas adverts, designed to weave their way into the hearts and minds of a nation – straight into our pockets. The first one I saw this year was from John Lewis – a supposedly heartwarming ‘story of friendship’ between a young boy called Sam and his pet penguin Monty. I fell in love with Monty just like everyone else, but I could not help questioning the storyline - why on earth would a child envision a reality in which his

imaginary friend got bored of him and started pining after a romantic relationship? Advertisers seem to think that the public will be won over by soft lighting and soppy music, without paying any real attention to the subject matter of the advert. This is especially true of Sainsbury’s contribution this year – a touching story of selfless giving at Christmas time – set in the trenches of World War I. The worst thing is that they succeed in creating a heartwarming, pleasant story. I am sure that there were nice moments during the war – opposing sides did indeed have fun and play football together, but not in the way depicted by Sainsbury’s.

The soldiers featured all walk out on two legs, and in spotless uniforms.

Where is the blood, the gore, the dirt, the depression? There is enough propaganda surrounding World War I already, and we do not need to be reminded of the ‘glory’ or ‘camaraderie’ that existed in the trenches, for fear that these images will smother the reality of what actually happened. In taking the single most cheerful story of a four-year war and broadcasting it to the country at Christmastime, Sainsbury’s have attempted to gloss over the atrocities and horror of a conflict in which millions of people were maimed, killed or driven insane.

TCS TV Picks of 2014 “The worst thing is that they succeed in creating a heartwarming, pleasant story”

‘Orange Is The New Black’, Series 2 Daniel Leigh Who knew that a show about a women’s prison could be so uplifting? This Netflix gem got me through Tripos last summer (Mad Men was too depressing): it is everything you could want from a TV series, and the finale is sublime.

‘Prey’ Yema Stowell It felt like ages since I had last seen John Simm on the television, and then came Prey: a crime thriller which sees a detective turned prisoner, after being accused of his wife and son’s murder.

With Simm on the run, the creativity and emotion in the series was excellent.

‘Crimes of Passion’ Shreya Kulkarni

A different kind of Christmas truce

Illustration: Abi Scruby

This murder mystery drama, set in the suave Scandinivian 1950s was said to be the Swedish answer to Mad Men. Whilst the murder deduction was not as ingenious as Sherlock Holmes, or quite as sophisticated as that of Poirot, the series was a joy to watch, following the main characters through the picturesque setting and lush outfits.

A Christmas of TV and Comedy

TCS recommends: On iPlayer

Yema Stowell TV Editor

Hilary Samuels TV Contributor

C

hristmas is great for many reasons but, in amongst the Christmas markets, the frantic last minute-shopping and the endless sing-alongs to ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ is that little gem of Christmas that comes in the form of television.

The first show that comes to mind is, not too surprisingly, Doctor Who which can always be relied on to feature sometime soon after Christmas dinner.

Unfortunately, this year’s Christmas special doesn’t look like it’s going to be one of the better ones, but where the BBC have pulled out all the stops is in the comedy this Christmas.

I must begin with the show that I am most excited about and yet most dreading: Miranda. As fans will know, this Christmas sees the end of Miranda Hart’s hugely successful selftitled sitcom and although I trust her to deliver a fantastic what-I-call finale, I am incredibly sad Miranda is to end so soon. On the more positive side, the BBC have also prepared a Not Going Out Christmas special, after a series which has been on top-form this year, as well as the return of Would I Lie To

You? Outside of the BBC, Christmas will also see the return of the annual Big Fat Quiz of the Year, as well as an extra anniversary special. Last year I teamed up with my brother who put me to shame with his knowledge of this year’s news, but I did just get two questions in a row correct on University Challenge so I’m not feeling too bitter.

But whether Christmas TV aims to challenge or inform, there’s no doubt that with the line-up this year the days leading up to Christmas will certainly be full of entertainment.

Such fun

Photo: BBC Press Office

I It’s fantastic for holiday watching because it feels vaguely intellectual

f you’re looking for something to watch this Christmas, I would recommend the show Life Story.

A six-part series narrated by David Attenborough, Life Stories focuses on the obstacles animals face at different stages throughout their lives. This is fantastic for holiday watching because it feels vaguely intellectual, and so is a lifesaver for those moments when you’ve watched so much reality TV you begin to lose all faith in humanity.

The BBC show features some amazing filming, and the benefit of no adverts on iPlayer can hardly be overstated! The first episode, ‘First Steps’, features some classic adorable

animals shortly after birth – Life Story has some of the necessary feelgood moments for the festive season.

The series introduces viewers to some highly unusual species, with unexpected experiences in every episode. Captured by some truly astounding camera footage; the team spent a huge 1900 days filming the series in a total of 29 countries crossing six continents. There’s even an interactive downloadable e-book on the BBC website for those who end up truly obsessed by this series. Life Story is an amazing series that includes something for everyone (provided that they like animals), and all six episodes are now available to watch online, so it is the perfect choice for a TV marathon over the holidays.

Up for a TV binge of elephantine proportions

Photo: BBC Press Office

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Music 23 Who’s afraid of the big bad Turbowolf? TCS chat to lupine rockers James Pearson Music Contributor

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urbowolf, who bring out their new album in April and who took to the Junction last week in support of Royal Blood, talk to The Cambridge Student’s James Pearson about crafting their last album and heading out on their recent tour.

James: When it came to creating the enormously diverse sounding album that we get, was it the result of a long writing period, or did the flow of the album come all at once when you got in the studio?

Andy: It took a long, long time to make that album. We put it together in little chunks. We would write a few songs

and then go and record them and then write the next few.

But that’s not why it sounds so diverse; we wrote it as one piece even though it took a long time. And we put all the tracks on there that were a little quieter because we wanted the album to be listened to from start to end, and we spent a long time trying to make it really work like one unit. So all the other stuff is there to give your ears a bit of a break really.

If you listen to ten really furious songs in a row, by the time you’ve had six of them you’re done with it and might want to put a different record on. So we wanted to make something so that people wouldn’t turn it off halfway through

Extravagant shirt and curly moustache? All the better to rock you with my dear.

and put something else on, but wanted to give them something else they might want to listen to, so they might as well just listen to the whole thing. So it was all very planned the way it all sounded.

James: I think it’s really nice that it isn’t just a collection of singles. I love buying an album and listening to it as a whole. It’s something which isn’t just music – it’s more than just individual tracks. Together it works.

Andy: That’s totally how we do it. When we did the first record there was a bit of pressure from the label we had at the time to stick all the singles at the start because they thought that that was good for reviews, but we weren’t interested in that. We designed it for people who

Photo: laguicheuse.com

can be bothered to listen to the whole thing. That’s who we make it for.

James: So your live show – how do you keep performances fresh each time?

Blake: I think that the energy on stage is what you create. Some nights you feel like it might be hard, but once you are up there, if the crowd are responsive and up for having a good time it just plays itself really.

Andy: It’s about energy really; not necessarily about us having a good time, but making sure we have the energy.

Blake: Yeah, sometimes we play better if there is something worrying us. If you’re angry you put in a really good performance. But if you are in a good or bad mood, it’s great. And that’s the good thing about this kind of music.

Chris: And we try to make it different every night. We enjoy the chaos.

Andy: In the early days we were trying to win people over, so in the early days the songs were mega and abrasive all the way through to try to tear people’s heads off. But now, especially on the new album, we know people want to hear what we are doing, and will give us a bit more time. There is a bit more space in some of it because we know people have the patience now to listen to it.

Turbowolf ’s second album Two Hands will be released on 6 April 2015.

We try to make it different every night.

We enjoy the chaos

Coldplay and Yo La Tengo – Repackaged, but revamped?

Rob Stockton Music Editor

Y

o la tengo, in Spanish, means ‘I have it’. What exactly the band Yo La Tengo have, or whether they refer to the having of a mysterious, unnamed feminine object is unclear, but what they sadly have never had is massive mainstream exposure.

Always the band that critics love but most people just don’t actually care about at all, not even a little bit, Yo La Tengo have been knocking around making grade-A indie since the mid-eighties.

This December sees them reissue 1993’s Painful, packaged alongside 12 new demos and live recordings. To a cynical eye this re-release (pointedly pre-Christmas) is Yo La Tengo aiming to tap into a different market – angling for a burst in sales figures courtesy of a new, never-before-accessed musical generation. But said cynical eye would have to be blind to the aching beauty of Extra Painful, which, over 20 years on from the original release, still packs a heck of a punch.

From gentle, glistening opener ‘Big Day Coming’ – all pretty organ ostinatos, rippling guitar feedback and almost whispered vocals – to turning point ‘I Was the Fool Beside You

for Too Long’, which, after a tender opening statement, erupts in distorted guitar strumming, we’re reminded just how Painful remains so heartbreaking and brilliant. Above everything else, Yo La Tengo’s 1993 album still proves fantastically relevant. A record of curious sadness and unease, yet, at the same time, hopeful romanticism (‘Do you know how I feel? How I feel about you / Doesn’t take much to tell / That I love, oh, I –’), Painful is all unfinished sentences, all tense longing – secure and yet not quite. Extra Painful is an album that accompanies the tribulations and insecurities of the 2010s just as well as it did those of the 1990s.

The accompanying demos and live recordings are pretty addenda to an album that is so much about construction and revision. Painful is an album that contemplates change, and the acoustic renderings and unfinished musings add a tenderness that sits well with the themes of the album proper. While the repackaging is clearly a band having a whack at herding up a new market, you can hardly blame Yo La Tengo – so extraordinarily underrated – for having a go.

Charges of flagrant commercialisation ought be levelled instead at Coldplay, who released their Ghost Stories Live

< Ghost Stories comes back from the dead 2014 album last Monday. While I still remain a staunch defender of the 1990s pop rockers, and while this is the fourth time they’ve released such an album, a live version of a fairly recently released set of tracks just in time for Christmas is hard to stomach.

The issue is that the live tracks seem so at odds with the sentiments expressed in the album. Ghost Stories was a heartbreak record, supposedly a cathartic purge for Martin following his split from wife Paltrow, but the tenderness of loss is undermind by the undeniable cheekiness of the release date. The tracks themselves are pretty and, as always, well performed – whatever charge you choose to throw at Coldplay, you can’t say they’re bad live.

Image: calvin.edu

And Ghost Stories Live 2014 is far from the occasionally sickly bombast of Mylo Xyloto. The band return to the acoustic format of their youth with Parachutes. The album steps along nicely, with a performance of the beautiful ‘Oceans’ – all strummed acoustic guitar and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea blooping – being a particular highlight. Yet the reason for its release remains an unsettling background question, undermining the grief-stricken truths Chris Martin anthems out. On balance, the album is nice enough, but doesn’t warrant the price tag mere months from Ghost Stories’s release. Questions surrounding the band’s increasing exploitation of a commercial market are inevitable, and perhaps not unfounded.

Coldplay – Ghost Stories Live 2014

5/10 Yo La Tengo – Extra Painful

9/10

04 November 2014

the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Theatre

24 Review: ‘Romeo & Juliet’

O

<

ne of the principal challenges of performing Romeo and Juliet lies in bringing freshness to what is, for most people, an already familiar story. Shakespeare’s original, in which the fated love of Romeo and Juliet is thwarted by the rivalry of their respective families, is barely recognisable. Set in a modernday community dominated by drugs, morality is distinctly shady. Where Romeo’s sense of guilt at Mercutio’s death stands out in the original, here it is merely the tipping point; infidelity is a constant, as both Romeo and Juliet already have lovers when they meet.

Though the grim grittiness of reality overshadows romance, it does not completely supplant it. That the bond between Romeo and Juliet achieves poignancy against such a bleak backdrop is tribute to the qualities of the central performances. Rosa Robson is compelling as Romeo, exuding a visceral toughness from the outset.

ADC Theatre

Are college pantos naff? Oh no they aren’t!

Image: Claire Parker

The 24 Hour Plays

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wenty-four hours.

Five plays. Twenty-six actors. An impressive demonstration of the inventiveness and talent of Cambridge’s drama scene, ‘The 24 Hour Plays’ are justifiably regarded among one of the highlights of the thespian calendar. Given 24 hours to write, produce and rehearse a play (an idea originally pioneered in Manhattan’s Lower East Side), the pressure on the teams can often result in some excellent performances. This year saw minor changes to the format and the nature of the show more generally (all the plays taking time travel as their common theme). Most notably, the winners were decided by audience vote – a welcome innovation after some often dubious judging decisions in the past.

All five productions contained large chunks of comedy, and those that focused on this aspect tended to be the most enjoyable. Red Button, the first to be performed was well-intentioned, though the comic tone of subsequent plays undermined this initial attempt at seriousness. Travelling People, was one of the more inventive interpretations of the theme, being premised on the idea of aliens on their ‘gap year’ travelling along people’s timelines. But Wait! was the most traditional exploration of the theme, with multiple confused time travellers and knowingly poor puns. The highlight (and winner) of the evening was Mise-En-Abîme, focused on a writer’s journey through space & time to try and avoid writing for the 24 Hour Plays themselves. The final play, Borrowed Time, perhaps suffered by comparison with the others – not only did the actors (ironically) run out of time, but the execution was noticeably less polished.

None of the plays, though, were unenjoyable, and the focus on comedy rather than high drama worked well with the format. All the teams, given the brevity of time available, impressed.

In general, the 24 Hour Plays were very enjoyable: a pleasing demonstration of the variety and quality of Cambridge’s dramatic talent.

Tom Langley

8/10

Grace Murray Theatre Contributor

D

However, her rapport with Juliet (GriggEdo) truly brings the complexity of her character to the fore.

The reticence of Rosaline and Paris as the respective other lovers of Romeo and Juliet serves to underscore the cut-throat nature of the world they inhabit. In particular, Catriona Sterling’s alluring yet slightly vacant demeanour as Rosaline highlights her apparent powerlessness. Nonetheless, the dynamic between the supporting characters often seems underwritten, to the detriment of the plot’s clarity.

Photo: Arise Arise And yet despite this, the production’s inventiveness, coupled with the strength of its acting, more than compensates for the lack of direction. Romeo’s Will Spencer primal, violent reaction to Juliet’s death encapsulates the core of this modern adaptation. It departs from the Corpus Playroom otherworldly, star-crossed love at the crux of Shakespeare’s play, focusing instead on the flaws of human vices, a theme as relatable as it is universal.

<

8/10

with me for a moment. When I arrived in the first week of term with no idea what to expect, Girton’s fresher show, Girton the Musical, was a funny but slightly confusing experience. All of the heckling went straight over my head.

Cambridge’s strange language, filled with words like ‘plodge’ and ‘DoS’,

was exclusive, but as term comes to a close, (almost) all of college life seems familiar and even reassuring – so much so that next year’s performance of the musical can’t come round fast enough.

Apparently, for me it took watching a second-year dressed up as the college cat to realise that.

ecember is finally upon us, which means that while panto season has just kicked off around the rest of the country, it’s been underway in Cambridge for almost a week. You may have missed out on tickets for the ADC’s Christmas extravaganza, but fear not: you can still arm yourself with a mug of mulled wine and wander downstairs in your slippers to watch your college’s very own seasonal show.

This Monday I did just that for the Girton Amateur Dramatic Society’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

The show included all of the most important features of a pantomime: a fresher in drag, increasingly drunken audience participation and constant and inventive Girton bike jokes. The audience had heard all of these before, so the cast have to keep the jokes fresh, and if that means that Jack has to sing a version of ‘Uptown Girl’ about his legendary ‘Girton thighs’, so be it.

Kat Wiggell, who wrote and directed this show, describes it as a “very Girton pantomime”, and that seems to be the secret of the successful college panto.

As a fresher, nothing makes you feel more included in college life than watching the second-years, who so responsibly showed you the way to the UL in Week One, launch into a tuneless rendition of S Club 7’s ‘Reach’. There was even a proud moment when one of the many bizarre College in-jokes about unsettling Girton locals actually made sense.

Mulled wine also induces a little bit of Christmas sentimentality, so bear Someone’s been at the magic beans... Photo: Girton Amateur Dramatic Society

04 December 2014

the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Books

25

Five books that inspired me...

My College as a literary character: Trinity Hall Genevieve Cox Books Contributor

“If I were called upon to mention the prettiest corner of the world, I should draw a thoughtful Photo: Abi Scruby sigh and point Evangeline Douglas-Scott the way to the Books Contributor gardens of Trinity Hall” ver since I first arrived at

E

Cambridge University, I have felt at home in such a vigorous academic environment. I am the fourth generation of my family to have attended Trinity College and I would hope that I am not the last!

I do not usually participate in ‘trends’ from social media (the Ice Bucket Challenge is really quite beyond me).

But since I have enjoyed reading a multitude of books, besides those required for my studies, I have decided to tell you which five books have truly inspired me.

M

y College as a literary character… a concept that initially appeared simplistic, and yet on reflection posed somewhat deeper questions of analysis.

My first reaction was to analogise my college to my favourite protagonists from novels I once worshipped as a child: Anne of Green Gables, Jane Eyre and so on. But I admit, with little doubt, that this was just a natural attempt to glorify and idealise one’s own college in Cambridge.

Yet similarly I realised that if I allowed myself to draw a parallel directly between my favourite literary characters and my college, I would be guilty of a crime which writers themselves are often accused of: falling in love with their own characters, making these ideas of them false, overidealised, shallow and impossible to truly believe in.

But if I was only providing an analogy, a literary equivalent for my college, then surely I must be allowed

to indulge at least a little in aligning Trinity Hall with Lucy Pevensie, the youngest “daughter of Eve” in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

“I think – I don’t know – but I think I could be brave enough” The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For me, Lucy Pevensie embodies the literary character equivalent of Trinity Hall in her open honesty, her friendliness, her innocent kindness and caring attitude towards not only her own siblings, but her new friends in Narnia.

She, too, is small, the youngest of her family – as Trinity Hall is similarly one of the smallest colleges – yet this doesn’t stop her achieving greatness as “Queen Lucy the Valiant”.

Despite being one of the only “Hall” left, after Henry VIII’s ridding of the concept, Trinity Hall retains its beauty, tradition and idyllic qualities as a Cambridge college where Henry James confessed: “If I were called upon to mention the prettiest corner of the world, I should draw a thoughtful sigh and point the way to the gardens of Trinity Hall.”

Much like Lucy’s discovery of Narnia in the series, discovery of life at Trinity Hall is, for me, a parallel journey into the magical unknown, only to find that

Entrance to Narnia?

Photo: Klovovi

the beautiful improbable is possible, as Lucy says in The Last Battle: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!”

1. The Bible

Of course, nobody’s list should be without this magnificent work. I have both read it for pleasure and studied it in my spare time. Cover to cover, this is an inspiring must-read.

2. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)

One of the first books I read after primary school, Tolstoy’s philosophical discussions have greatly informed my own. Although the book currently stands at 1,225 pages, Tolstoy could definitely have expanded further!

3. Les Misérables (Victor Hugo)

I absolutely detest the musical and I refuse to discuss the film. Don’t read a translation; the original French is the only way to capture the beautiful way in which Hugo addresses ideas such as the notion of law and grace.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis)

A children’s book like no other, the religious symbolism behind this novel make it an inspiring story. It was my favourite series when I was younger and remains so even now.

5. Finnegan’s Wake (James Joyce)

Many of my peers complained that they found this novel to be “unreadable”.

However I would beg to differ. I was given a copy when I was younger and I found Joyce’s insightful messages life-changing.

Her dark retellings of fairytales combine the grotesque and the shocking

Alice Greenwood Books Contributor 1.The Iliad Homer

Telling the story of Achilles’ wrath near the end of the Trojan War (disclaimer: the film Troy is not an accurate adaptation), this epic poem spanning 24 books is arguably the basis of Western literature.

Pick a good translation and you’ll start noticing Homer in everything you subsequently read. Maybe.

4. The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes

This book is both short and compelling enough to be read in one sitting. Barnes’ novella borrows its title from Frank Kermode’s classic text, and explores the fragility of human memory through its narrator, Tony, an average and aging man. It is uncomfortable, verging on the tragic, and admittedly demands a lot from its reader. A second reading is almost unavoidable, but trust me - it is Photo: Ander Kitzmiller ultimately worth it.

2. Burning Your Boats Angela Carter

3. The God of Small Things I love short stories. Perhaps it’s because Arundhati Roy of my limited attention span, or perhaps because when written well, they can be perfectly crafted, intense miniatures.

This volume puts all of Carter’s stories in one place; her dark retellings of fairytales combine the grotesque and the shocking to form something really quite beautiful.

Set in Kerala and based on the ruin of a prosperous family, this novel takes the reader through grief and love, dictated by an unforgiving caste system. Roy’s narrative plays with twisted chronology, carefully crafted into a narrative which is at times very funny, morally challenging and incredibly poignant.

5.Coraline Neil Gaiman

I was given this book for my ninth birthday and it terrified me. I am not too ashamed to admit that I refused to sleep in my own bed for quite a while, but I refused to let it stop me reading.

Gaiman’s story is both sinister and brilliant; it involves a talking cat, an ‘other mother’ with buttons for eyes and a pretty great heroine, Coraline.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

Games & Technology

26

Dear Santa...

Eugene Chua Games & Tech Contributor

Milestone technologies in 2014 essays are killing you? If so, then, Far Cry 4 is definitely the game to get.

The top 10 items on my Christmas 6) Nintendo New 3DS – 16,000 ¥, or wishlist this year are... approx. £90 (Japan exclusive) Everything the 3DS was, but new, faster 1) Moto 360 Smartwatch – £249.99 and just better all round.

Hands down the best looking Android smartwatch on the market right now – not to mention that sexy round watchface.

2) GoPro Hero4 – £369.99 GoPro or go home. This is the best GoPro on the market now, with 4K-capable recording and 12MP photos, all condensed into this small portable block.

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

7) Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire – £31.85 Another bout of nostalgia arrives as Nintendo releases a remake of the classic Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, this time with a new ‘Delta Episode’ where you fight Deoxys with Rayquaza to stop a meteor from falling.

Gemma Izen Games & Tech Editor

T In an era where privacy and security are becoming greater concerns, ultraprivate smartphones will seem increasingly important

3) Hubsan 61145 4 Channel 2.4GHz RC Quad Copter with Camera – $48.99 on Amazon USA Cheap but good – comes complete with a 0.3MP camera for extra fun.

4) Playstation 4 – £289.99 Never say never to a PlayStation. With games like The Last Of Us, as well as upcoming PlayStation exclusives Uncharted 4, and Infamous: Last Light, 8) Lytro Illum – $1,599 on Lytro Online this is the console to get.

Shop This groundbreaking light-field photography technology allows you to shoot photos with real depth that you can adjust in post-processing as you wish – not to mention it looks amazingly gorgeous.

9) Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 – Available for pre-order at the Oculus webstite, for $350 The latest available Oculus Rift is still one of the best gadgets to experience virtual reality with.

5) Far Cry 4 – £42 Do you have anger management problems? Do you feel like you want to shoot the world down because your

10) iPhone 6 – from £539 The latest offering from Apple’s iPhone series, with amazing speed and performance as well as a bigger screen that is bound to make ‘damn you, autocorrect!’ a thing of the past.

Photos: (clockwise from top left) Hi Consumption, Nintendo, Segment Next, Oculus, ubisoft, NBC News

echnology is improving all the time, yet breakthroughs are rare.

Here are some of the technologies from the past year that really could change the world.

Agricultural drones For less than $1,000, these drones come equipped with cameras to closely monitor crops. Advanced sensors and imaging capabilities can gather more data, so farmers can irrigate less and use less pesticide. Not only can the technology be used to produce more tasty food, but also to keep farms more environmentally friendly.

Ultraprivate smartphones Mobile phones that transmit very little personal information are becoming available commercially. These phones prevent governments and advertisers from being able to gather personal details, such as numbers you have dialed, from your mobile phone. In an era where privacy and security are becoming greater concerns, ultraprivate smartphones will seem increasingly important.

Robots with legs Machines that have the ability to walk and run across uneven ground have been created. These machines with legs can reach areas that have typically been inaccessible to traditional, wheeled machines. The robots could

eventually be used to repair equipment in dangerous environments, such as a nuclear power plant about to have a meltdown.

Brain mapping After a decade of work, the Human Brain Project, an international team of researchers, has produced a threedimensional map of the brain which can show structures as small as 20 micrometers. These maps can be used to further the study of brain activity.

Neuromorphic chips A new design for computer chips will enhance performance limits, making them ideal for artificial intelligence.

Configured more like brains than traditional microprocessors, these chips are designed to improve a computer’s abilities to analyse its surroundings.

Microscale 3-D printing Inks made from different types of materials mean that we can print far more than ever before. We are now able to print biological tissue with blood vessels, which could lead to the production of artificial organs. Or even cyborg parts.

Oculus Rift High quality virtual reality hardware has finally made it to the commercial market. Thirty years after virtual reality goggles were first seen, the technology is finally ready for widespread use, including new forms of entertainment and communications.

We are now able to print biological tissue ... This could lead to cyborg parts

Agile robots

Photo:Journal Du Net

04 December 2014

the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Fashion

27

Festive fashion fix Swanky Xmas do? Go retro! (above left)

Lazy winter day? Go cosy! (below left)

Curling up with a book and an excessively large mug of hot chocolate is my favourite way to spend a winter’s day. Crack out the knitwear and stay cosy all day long. Funnel neck jumpers and chunky waffle knits are the warmest and snuggliest of AW14’s woollen offerings. Pull & Bear have some great oversized jumpers, like this bright red sweater (£26).

If a really frosty day comes along, stay warm from head to toe with thick, woolly slipper socks and fuzzy knitted or faux fur headbands. My favourites are DSW’s fuzzy monkey socks (dsw. com Sock Monkey Slipper Socks £6) and H&M’s braided headband (£5).

The seventies are the era to emulate this season. Whether it’s a college Christmas formal, a Winter Ball or a fancy do back at home, send your wardrobe to a more glamorous time.

Deep v-necks give an edge to fulllength jumpsuits and midi dresses.

Oh My Love’s Metallic Kimono Midi Dress (urbanoutfitters.com £63), with its elbow length sleeves and stunning silver colour, is the standout piece in this season’s Studio 54 trend.

If you don’t want to go for full-on glittery glam, opt for a more subtle homage to seventies style with sparkly bronze eyeshadows and eyeliners.

Maybelline 24 Hour Eyeshadow in Bad To The Bronze (£9.50) is easy to apply and can be used on eyelids and cheeks.

Pair your polo neck with a suit jacket to give a vintage Halston vibe, and inject colour with printed silk details like French Connection’s Silk Grenade Pocket Square (£13).

Sandy Rushton Fashion Editor

Christmas markets? Go bold! (above right)

Just because it’s grey outside doesn’t mean your outfit has to be dull. A nostalgic polka-dot scarf will keep you warm while brightening up a plain outfit. Jigsaw’s Polka Dot Scarf is an investment at £55, but there are many high-street alternatives.

Rainbow-coloured coats will ensure that you don’t get lost in the crowds at your local Christmas market.

Blackfive.com’s mustard cocoon coat (£42), Pull & Bear’s pink collarless offering (£60) and Missugided’s cobalt blue coat (£48) are three of the best for style and colour and will last you through to springtime.

If you’re out in the cold, ditch the beanie and try out a new style of hat.

Pork pie hats are easy to wear, not too outlandish and readily available in most high street shops. River Island’s Dark Red Felt Pork Pie Hat (£20) is quite traditional in style, while Topshop’s Pork Pie Hat (£25) is more of a pork pie-bowler hybrid.

NYE Party? Go all out! (below right)

It may seem a cliche, but sequins and sparkles are always a winner at New Year’s Eve parties. If you’re feeling shy, go subtle with glittery nail polish.

I love Delia’s Galaxy Glitter Nail Polish (£3). If you’re a bit more bold, opt for glitzy t-shirts and co-ords: One Nation Clothing do great crop top and miniskirt sets, including a blue sequinned number (£40).

The standout bag of 2014 was the box clutch, so bring it out for one last hurrah before 2015 hits. Another standout accessory is the iridescent shoe. There’s a fine line between snazzy and cheesy, but Asos has nailed it with their midnight blue Arrest Me Chunky Chelsea Boots (£32).

TCS Fashion brings you the definitive guide to winter style for all festive occasions, from sleepy days on the sofa to wild nights on the town.

Head to our website for more details of all the clothes and accessories featured in this article.

All Images: Polyvore

04 December 2014

the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Food and drink

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Bejewelled duck & orange salad Gigi Perry Food & Drink Editor As improbable as it might sound, this salad has Christmas written all over it. The succulent duck, adorned with glistening, red pomegranate seeds and golden citrus segments is a sight to behold.

Who ate all the (mince) pies? Guilty as charged

The history of the mince pie

Ingredients:

4 duck breasts, salt, pepper, packet of salad leaves (watercress and/or rocket work particularly well), 2 oranges (peeled, sliced, halved), a bunch of fresh mint (chopped), seeds of one pomegranate, a handful of roasted hazelnuts.

For the dressing: 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp honey, juice of 1 orange.

Instructions:

1. Start by lightly scoring the skin of your duck breasts with a sharp knife.

Season well with salt and pepper.

2. Heat up a frying pan and drop in your breasts skin-side down. Fry for about ten minutes until the skin is golden

Genevieve Cox Food Contributor

Image: Louise Ashwell

brown and the fat has rendered. Then flip the meat over and lightly brown the other side for a couple of minutes.

3. Take your pan from the heat and leave to rest in a warm place.

4. Mix together your dressing ingredients and use to coat the salad leaves. Put your dressed leaves onto a big plate and top with the orange slices.

5. Slice your duck breasts on the diagonal and place on top of the salad.

Scatter over the mint, pomegranate seeds and roasted hazlenuts.

6. Luxuriate in guilt-free pleasure and savour this taste of Christmas.

It is particularly wonderful when devoured alongside warm, crusty dough sticks.

A salad at Christmas? Don’t quack me up.

Luxuriate in guilt-free pleasure and savour this taste of Christmas

Photo: Gigi Perry

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tiny, tender package of pastry, giving way to rich, sticky, sweet fruits, the mince pie is Christmas in a bite. With its luxurious spices, cinnamon scents and tangible warmth, all sewn between the folds of a sugar-coated pie: it is the ultimate symbol of Christmas. Yet it is not often that we take a moment to consider how our taste of Christmas came into being.

The earliest mince pie is traceable to the thirteenth century, and was originally a useful method of using up leftovers. During mediaeval times, mincemeat was created from chopped up meat. Tasty. Gradually, it was sweetened with the addition of fruits, sugars, alcohol and spices to coincide with a growing interest in Middle Eastern cooking methods.

Today, our pies are generally round with a variety of tops, but the earliest mince pies were quite different. Oval in shape, they were designed to imitate Jesus’s crib, with the top representing his swaddling clothes. And whereas a mince pie would have served as a family dish in centuries past, we have a greedy (though unashamedly so) habit

of having one to ourselves. Admittedly, and perhaps rather unfortunately, the size has reduced somewhat in response to our individual indulgence.

Yet why have these become such a Christmas treat? Originally, it was seen as appropriate to celebrate Christ’s birthday with a pie containing spices from the Holy Land. Indeed, the three spices (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) were those given to Christ. For the superstitious (or secretly greedy) among you, it was thought lucky to eat one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas. To refuse would lead to bad luck.

There are, thankfully, no rules for the enjoyment of mince pies. A good, shopbought pie, served warm, either alone or with brandy butter or cream, is a glorious thing. You should be warned, though, even the best shop bought pies cannot hope to compete with a generously filled, handmade one. These are on another level with their buttery, crumbly pastry, the homemade hallmark, and boozy spiced fruit filling, stirred with festive cheer and served with love and the pride of culinary prowess. And, of course, a big steaming glass of mulled wine.

The majesty of mulled wine

White Winter As always, I’m dreaming of a White Christmas. Fortunately, my idea of perfection is not weather-dependent.

Ingredients Vodka Kahlua Cream

Instructions

Merriment Guaranteed Photo: Gigi Perry

Photo: Gigi Perry

1. Mix together a shot of vodka, a shot of Kahlua and two shots of cream.

2. Fill a chilled low tumbler with ice cubes.

3. Pour the cocktail over the top.

4. Clink your glasses together and drink with festive cheer.

5. May all your Christmasses be white: Happy Christmas!

Starring: Red wine Orange Sugar Cloves Cinnamon Cardamom Nutmeg Ginger

Looks good enough to drink?

Illustration: Ben Brown

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Escape 29 Dreaming of a European Christmas: four of the continent’s finest markets Credit (from left): Ross G. Strach, davidp, Trey Ratcliff, Zürich Tourismus (via Flickr)

Laura Tan Escape Contributor

Edinburgh, Scotland

Munich, Germany

21 November – 4 January

27 November – 24 December

T

hanks to the historic ‘no’ vote last September, if money’s a bit tight, you needn’t leave the UK this Christmas to reach a wonderful, wintry wonderland.

Edinburgh is well known for its towering castle and its zoo but it also offers several Christmas markets (for your pleasure). The European Christmas market is open from 10am to 10pm, meaning you can spend an entire day collecting kooky crafts and sampling foods from our European neighbours without needing a passport.

The markets are running between two important Scottish dates, St Andrew’s Day (30 November) and Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve), so make sure you visit the Scottish market to experience the local culture too.

M

unich is worth a visit if you want to take home Bavarian wooden gifts, enjoy live music at the daily Christmas market concert at the Town Hall or enjoy a good mediaeval gospel sing-along. Still not convinced? Remember your school nativity play? Perhaps you were a beautiful angel with a silver tinsel halo, or a wise man where you basically got to hang out with your two best friends in a dress for two evenings, or else a narrator trying not to smile too much at your mum weeping at your Oscar-winning performance. Well, if you want to rekindle those memories and more, head to Neuhauser Strasse, where you will find Germany’s largest manger market, to see the nativity reimagined right before your eyes.

1hr 10mins flight from London 2hrs flight from London airports to Stansted (STN) to Edinburgh (EDI) Munich (MUC)

We’re only two hours away from four of Europe’s main Christmas markets!

Paris, France

Zurich, Switzerland

15 November – 5 January

20 November – 24 December

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ne of the largest Christmas markets in Paris, but also one of the most magical, is the Village de Noël des ChampsElysées. The street itself reflects much which is often associated with French cultural stereotypes; there are plenty of places to eat a large pain au chocolat and a chocolat chaud, as well as expensive, chic shops with beautiful clothes, all a short walk from the amazing Arc de Triomphe. At Christmas, though, the focus is very much on the little huts full of colourful gingerbread treats and gaufres de Liège (waffles), and not giving a crêpe about the calories.

If you have some time on your hands, head along to the markets in Place de la République or Montmartre for some more Christmas cheer.

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ast but definitely not least, playing host to one of the largest indoor ‘Christkindlimarkts’ in Europe, is Zurich, with around 200 stalls to show for it. How did Zurich make this shortlist, I hear you ask? Does it have great food and music, impressed by Swiss culture? Who knows. I must admit that I was pretty much sold by the amazing Christmas tree found at the main train station, standing at 50 feet (15 metres) tall and decorated with 7,000 Swarovski crystals. Wow. Just wow. If you do decide to venture out into the open, you might fancy the sight of 800 floating candles on the Limmat river, launched at 6pm on 18 December. Make sure to grab yourself a glass of glühwein (mulled wine) to keep warm.

2hrs 15mins Eurostar from London St 1hr 40mins flight to Zurich (ZRH) 8hr Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord train to Zurich Hbf (change in Paris)

A man of many names: Father Christmas and his foreign relatives Genevieve Cox Escape Contributor

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re you staying home for Christmas, waiting for Santa Claus and his sleigh of reindeer to call on Christmas Eve and fill your stockings with presents, meticulously wrapped by the elves from the North Pole? Or are you perhaps venturing abroad, travelling for the Christmas holidays and exploring the various traditions the festive season has to offer all around the world?

Father Christmas dominates many of the world’s Christmas festivities. Every year, children across the globe anticipate his arrival, each with their separate beliefs and traditions, accompanied by

a variety of names for our jolly bearded man to go with them.

Whereas the French Père Noel and the Brazilian Papai Noel sound faintly familiar to our native English ears, some countries have very different ‘Santas’ coming to deliver their gifts. In China, Shengdan Laoren brings presents; in Germany, children receive presents from Christkindl (the Christ Child).

Similarly, in Costa Rica, Columbia and parts of Mexico, the gift-bearer is el Niño Jesús (the infant Jesus).

Japanese boys and girls, on the other hand, await their surprises from a Buddhist monk called Hotei-osho.

In Morocco, Black Peter calls and in the Netherlands, de Kerstman (the Christmas Man) leaves the children

their presents.

Yet it’s not just the name of the gift-bearer that differs from culture to culture. Children prepare rituals as they each await their Santa, and they even celebrate Christmas on separate days.

In Spain, children leave their shoes under the Christmas tree on the eve of 5 January to receive presents from the Three Kings, Los Reyes Magos (Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar), while on the same day in Italy, La Befana flies around on her broomstick, bringing gifts to well-behaved children and coal to the naughty ones.

In Yugoslavia, children celebrate the second Sunday before Christmas as Mother’s Day, for which they trap their mother by strapping her feet to

a chair and cry out “Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day, what will you pay to get away?” It is then their mother who gives them presents before they play the same trick on their father the following week. Meanwhile, further east, Syrian children are brought gifts by one of the wise men’s camels, believed to have been the youngest and smallest, who fell down exhausted at the end of the long journey to Bethlehem.

So wherever in the world you are this Christmas, whether Hotei-osho or Papai Noel leaves you gifts under your tree, whether you hang up a stocking or decide to tie up your parents in a plea for presents: Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Sheng Dan Kuai, and a happy new year!

Buddhist monks, flying witches, and tying up innocent parents: how the rest of the world celebrates Christmas

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Sport 30 Phil Hughes: A Life too Short

Work to do ahead of World Cup

Charles Martland Sport Editor

Toby Salisbury Sport Contributor

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he world of cricket was rocked last Thursday. The death of Phillip Hughes, the Australian batsman, at the age of twentyfive, has left not just the cricketing community, but the whole world of sport, in mourning.

Hughes had undoubted talent and in the week of his death had been tipped to replace the injured Michael Clarke in the First Test squad for Australia’s clash with India. The youngest man to score a century in each innings of a Test match, a feat achieved against South Africa in 2009, the Macksvilleborn opener’s future was bright.

Nine days ago, Hughes was struck on the neck by a Sean Abbott bouncer during a domestic game in Sydney and, having fallen unconscious, was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital. Two days later, cricket fans woke to the worst possible news: Hughes had succumbed to his injury, suffering a freak dissection of

his vertebral artery.

Wednesday saw the batsman’s funeral take place in his home town, with the service drawing the presence of cricketing greats past and present.

Australian captain Clarke paid tribute to his team-mate, saying that Hughes’ “soul enriched not just our sport, but all of our lives.”

Where does the game go from here?

The sporting community needs to rally around Sean Abbott, who faces the difficulty of continuing his career with the ascribed guilt and other repercussions of the incident. Next week’s Test against the Indians is set be a poignant and emotional occasion.

Hughes’ death shows how sport pales into insignificance in the face of such tragedy. His passing is not just a loss to the cricketing community, but a loss to the world.

The man tipped to wear the famous Baggy Green cap over a hundred times, will now never add to his total of twenty-six appearances for his country.

Cricket will forever remember him.

Phil Hughes celebrates one of his three Test hundreds

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Hughes’ soul “enriched not just our sport, but all of our lives” Michael Clarke

Photo: moral definition

ith the World Cup just ten months away, have we learnt anything new about the major powers that be in rugby this autumn?

No country stated their intent more than Ireland. Jonny Sexton confirmed his world-class status, but what really made Ireland so effective was Sexton’s partnership with scrum-half Conor Murray who showed, more than any other number nine this autumn, the absolute importance of high-tempo ball recycling.

Scotland too made massive strides this autumn. Spectators at Murrayfield were treated to plenty of tries and exciting, attacking rugby, something that has been missing from the Scots’ arsenal for years. Though a shaky defence still needs shoring up.

Wales may have beaten South Africa, but predictions of World Cup success are premature. Biggar and Webb

seem to be forming a solid half-back partnership, and Wales have often held their own in defence for this autumn.

However, they were only able to keep their composure in the final quarter once, against a fatigued Springbok side.

Whether it is possible to say that Wales have actually made improvements remains to be seen.

England claimed a big scalp in the form of old rivals Australia. But the Wallabies also looked exhausted after a comparatively intense international schedule. One couldn’t help but think that both nations put forward half a team: England’s pack was immense and their backline poor, Australia the precise opposite. England are still in the grips of a backline crisis.

All the home nations must look to the Six Nations in February for a final assessment of their international credentials before the World Cup. Ireland are surely favourites, but all four nations need to improve if they are to challenge the supremacy of the Southern Hemisphere.

Twickenham hosts next year’s World Cup Final

Photo: groobster

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Sport 31 Cambridge look to win rugby Varsity match for the first time since 2009 Charles Martland Sport Editor

• Last year saw the first red card in the fixture’s 142-year history, when Oxford’s Sam Egerton was ext Thursday 11 December, dismissed for making contact with an Twickenham Stadium will opponent’s eye. play host to the 133rd rugby Varsity match, contested • The match has been played at between Cambridge and Oxford. Twickenham since 1921, with games Cambridge captain Harry Peck will be not taking place during World War II. looking for his side to prevent Oxford from winning for a fifth successive year. • A minute’s silence will take place The Blues have endured an before this year’s encounter to inconsistent season, with Monday’s commemorate the 100th anniversary of defeat to the Leicester Tigers meaning the outbreak of the First World War, in that they have won just a third of the which 55 Blues lost their lives. nine games they have played since October.

• Former internationals including Stuart They will be looking to avenge last Barnes and Tony Underwood have season’s 33–15 defeat when they run featured in previous Varsity matches. out at the stadium, which will host the Rugby World Cup final next year.

• Clothing manufacturer Jack Wills will sponsor the fixture for a fourth time, Varsity match key stats: having first involved itself with Varsity • Oxford are aiming to equal the in 2011.

Varsity record for consecutive wins.

Victory will take their winning streak to five games, repeated once before by The game is likely to attract 25,000 Cambridge between 1994 and 1998. spectators and TCS Sport will be bringing you live coverage of the game • Cambridge leads by four in overall on the website, as well as reports and games played, winning 61 to Oxford’s post-match reactions from the players 57. 14 games have been drawn. and coaches.

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Cambridge are looking to avoid a fifth straight Varsity rugby defeat

Flashback to the Light Blues’ last victory at Twickenham in 2009

Photos: J-Fair

Blues inflict defeat on reigning champions

Year in review

Jaason Geerts Sport Reporter

Gerald Wu Sport Editor

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Thus, after 20 minutes of play, Cambridge paused uneasily, up 2–1.

Halfway through the second frame, Southampton tied it up, but the Blues quickly responded with three unanswered goals. Gagnon and Finch teamed up for two and Kum Nathan got one of his own off a tricky bank shot from behind the goal line.

This increased the score to 5–2, Cambridge. The next two minutes saw an explosion of firepower, with each team banking two more goals. Nathan got his second of the night, tapping home a Finch shot that rested on the goal line, and Swedish legend Oscar Wilsby curled around the Spitfires’ defence and slapped a shot that found the back of the net.

The Cambridge team returned to the dressing room after the second period leading 7–4.

Lack of discipline in the final third cost Southampton penalties and the men in Light Blue did not hesitate to capitalise on this.

Finch completed his hat trick with a patented stealthy sneak out of the corner and snipe from the slot, and not long after, Nathan secured a hat trick of his own.

Julien Gagnon earned Player of the Match, scoring two goals and an assist; Christopher Finch secured three goals and three assists; Jaason Geerts five assists, and team-voted Player of the Game, Kum Nathan, notched up three goals and an assist.

n the back of their victory against Oxford, the Cambridge men’s Blues ice hockey team faced a bigger challenge Saturday night: hosting the reigning British ice hockey National Champion, Southampton Spitfires.

While it is difficult in this league to predict how much talent is retained and gained from one year to the next, the Light Blues expected fierce opposition as they sought to improve their record to 2–1.

An extremely sloppy start saw Cambridge concede a goal after just 16 seconds of play. Despite lots of offensive pressure, it was not until nearly the end of the first period when Light Blues’ sniper Julien Gagnon buried home a blistering slap shot from the top of the circle to even the tally.

Two minutes later, Cambridge scored again, this time on the power play. British University Ice Hockey Association (BUIHA) leading scorer Christopher Finch picked up a loose puck and cruised into the slot before burying a wrist shot over the Southampton keeper’s shoulder.

Cambridge beat reigning champions Southampton 9–4

Photo: Jeff Torosian

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Player of the match was the excellent Julien Gagnon with two goals and an assist

s 2014 draws to a close, TCS Sport looks back at the memorable moments in Cambridge sport over the past twelve months.

The main highlight of any Cambridge sporting calendar is the Boat Race.

This year’s race saw both the men’s and women’s Light Blues crews suffer comprehensive defeats. Cambridge will have to redouble their efforts under new President Alexander Leichter.

Elsewhere, men’s football recorded a tense Varsity win in a penalty shootout after the match ended goalless at Craven Cottage. Honourable mentions also go to the men’s tennis team for their ninth consecutive Varsity victory and the women’s lacrosse team for their outstanding BUCS performances.

In July the Tour de France passed through Cambridge for the very first time. Huge crowds thronged to the city as the best cyclists in the world raced past Cambridge’s iconic buildings.

As we enter the holiday period, the rugby Varsity match looms. Cambridge will look to avoid five straight defeats and end the year on a high.

04 December 2014 the cambridge student

www.tcs.cam.ac.uk

Sport 32

Cambridge Pythons defeated Oxford Lancers 16-0 in the American Football Varsity match last weekend at Grange Road.

Photo: Chris Moore

Cambridge Oxford

16 0

Alistair Gempf Sport Reporter

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ambridge Pythons defeated Oxford Lancers 16–0 in this year’s Varsity Bowl.

Oxford won the toss and kicked off to Cambridge. The Pythons’ offence started in their own half and managed a first down before punting the ball away. The ensuing Lancers’ drive was a three-and-out, forcing a punt, giving Cambridge good field position.

The Pythons made sure this opportunity was not wasted and a mix of plays got them down to the Oxford 33, before the minor setback of a fumbled snap, recovered by QB Joe Yarwood.

The next play was more successful, with Yarwood making a nice throw to Joe Moore who ran the ball in for a Cambridge 41–yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful with the same combination.

Soon after, the Cambridge offence

started another series from their own six yard line, this one dominated by the run. After pounding the ball for four plays, James Digby got the ball on another running play, and took it for a 70-yard score. Yarwood and Moore’s connection continued on the two-point conversion, making the score 16–0.

The next few offensive series was scrappy. Oxford had two one-play drives end in interceptions to Tom Carr and Harry Richer, while penalties and sacks ruined drives for both teams. In the last Cambridge possession of the half, the punt was partially blocked, giving Oxford good field position. They managed to get a 25-yard completion, and roughing the passer penalty gave them another 15 yards, but four incomplete passes saw out the first half.

In the fourth quarter, Oxford got a chance when Cambridge fumbled the Lancers’ punt, and then fumbled again on an interception. This drive was also disjointed, the second play being a completion that was fumbled and recovered by Ned Bransden. The Pythons then ran out the clock by running the ball, leaving the final score 16–0 to the Pythons.

Cambridge Warwick

Cambridge Pythons’ Varsity victory reflected their strong start to the season

Men's Tennis

American Football

Cambridge Pythons win Varsity Bowl in style, men’s tennis continue fine form 10 2

Nikhil Sharma Sport Reporter

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he tennis Blues finished Michaelmas undefeated and on top of their BUCS division after beating Warwick 10–2 at home.

At no. 1 doubles, captain Tim Prossor and Neil Cordon came up against inspired opponents. Even though they fought hard, it was not enough as they lost 3–6, 6–7. At no. 2 doubles, Gerald Wu and Alex Cole played a consistent match to win comfortably 6–1, 6–2.

At no. 1 singles, Prossor recovered well from a first set loss to win 3–6, 6–1, 10–6. Cordon was up against a big server and managed to weather the storm in the second set to win 6–1, 7–5.

At no. 3 singles, Wu quickly found himself 5–0 down in the first set. He slowly worked his way back into the match to win 3-6, 6–1, 6–3. Cole managed to come through a nervy second set to win 6–1, 6–4.