The Lion Volume 5 Issue 4

je suis charlie, je suis ahmed est. 2010

Volume 5 Issue 4 13th January 2015 theheythroplion.co.uk

Sabs Alex & Matt Sit Down With The Lion For A Chat The HSU Sabs talk Heythrop, St. Mary’s, TOPSE, student protest and student apathy with The Lion’s Editorin-Chief Fergus Cronin-Coltsmann in an interview.

Pages 4 & 5

St. Mary’s Is Hotly Debated (Yet Again) Four students share some insights, from the parallels of Heythrop’s position to KCL’s to what St. Mary students themselves think of the partnership.

Pages 8 & 9

The

Lion

NO S.M.U.T HSU Votes To Oppose Any Partnership With St. Mary’s In ‘Historic’ Referendum

Discover Twickenham!

• Yes vote to oppose partnership with St. Mary’s

Culture Editor Jordan Mant takes a look at what Twickenham has to offer the student body. Discover the joys of The World Rugby Museum and other wonders inside!

University, Twickenham (S.M.U.T), gets 113 votes • No vote gets 81 out of 194 votes cast Page 10 • Overall 29.8% of eligible students cast votes

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TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY| THE LION

NEWS The

Editor-in-Chief Fergus Cronin Coltsmann Managing Editor Megan Skingsley

megan.skingsley@yahoo.com

Copy Editor Katt Johnson

katherine.johnson@heythropcollege. ac.uk

News Editor Vacant

ferguscoltsmann@hotmail.co.uk

Comment Editor Terence Sibley

terence.sibley@heythropcollege.ac.uk

Culture Editor Jordan Mant

jordan.mant@hotmail.com

Lion

Head Writer Robert Leftwich

robleftwich@gmail.com

The

The Lion is the independent student newspaper of Heythrop College, University of London. We distribute at least 1000 free copies during term time around campus and to popular student venues in and around Kensington.

The Lion is printed by Mortons Print Ltd. No part of this publication is to be reproduced, stored on a retrieval system or submitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.

NEXT DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS

5th February

Please send your submissions to: ferguscoltsmann@hotmail.co.uk NEXT ISSUE RELEASE DATE

10th February The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Editors or of the Heythrop Students’ Union. Every effort has been made to contact the holders of copyright for any material used in this issue, and to ensure the accuracy of this fortnight’s stories.

The London Student, the former student newspaper of the defunct University of London Union, has relaunched online.

This relaunch also sees the paper increase what it aims to report on.

Previously it focused on the University of London and its constituent Colleges, however the paper now aims to report on Universities throughout the capital.

The paper’s website is being overseen by Ben Jackson, former editor of Roar News, King’s College London’s student newspaper, as interim editor until a democratic structure is in place to elect a new Editor-in-Chief.

He released this statement on the London Students website (www.lsnews.co.uk): “My aim is to secure the future

of London Student as a digital product while managing it in accordance with our readers’ wishes. We’re looking to recruit anyone interested in digital publishing from writing to coding, PR and social media.

“We’ll inevitably start with a small team, so no matter what sort of position you might be interested in, you could be playing a key role in something special.”

The previous Editor of the paper, Oscar Webb, had spoken about the possibility of the London Student becoming a cooperative.

The London Student is currently advertising a large number of positions that individuals may apply to on its website.

Government To Start Postgraduate Loan Scheme George Osborne announced in the Autumn statement that the government will be offering postgraduate loans starting in 2016-2017.

The loans will be offered for any masters programme up to the value of £10,000. The loan system is part of a plan to increase the number of students enrolling on a masters degree. The move to increase funding for postgraduate study comes from the Government’s push for a higher-qualified workforce. In a statement issued to the House of Commons, Osborne said ‘until now there has been almost no financial support available, and the upfront costs of postgraduate degrees deter bright students from poorer backgrounds’. It is expected that the plans will benefit around 40,000 students, allowing an extra 10,000 students the opportunity to study for a masters degree.

Furthermore the initiative comes after a 10% decline in entrants to masters degrees since 201011. The job market has also seen a rise in the number of jobs that require this level of qualification.

This loan is set to be repaid alongside the undergraduate loan once the student is earning over £21,000 a year. Final details as to the exact

rates of the loan are expected early this year, as yet there is speculation that the loan will be offered at a higher rate than the undergraduate loan, which is for current students, who started after September 2012, inflation plus 3%. The report does indicate the value of a master degree, and states that on average a masters graduate will earn 14% more in their lifetime, amounting to £200,000. The report has stated that in the first year the net amount needed to launch this initiative is £300 million in the year 2016-17.

Although the loans are set to allow an extra 10,000 students, they will however be subject to an age limit. Only students under the age of 30 years old will be eligible for the loan. In the Department for Business Innovation and Skills report from December 2013 titled ‘Exploring Student Demand for Postgraduate Study’ it shows that the percentage of students over 30 years old in postgraduate study is 27%. It is also remarked that this figure has not changed in 7 years, raising questions as to why over a quarter of students are being excluded from this new initiative. More information is set to be provided about the loans.

BE our news editor!

What’s going on, In Bloomsbury and Beyond?

ferguscoltsmann@hotmail.co.uk

Beyond W8

Editorial Team

London Student Relaunched Online With New Editor

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TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

NEWS

HSU Says NO To St Mary’s Heythrop Research Found To Be

By Saying “World-Leading” YES To Opposing In Assessment The Partnership Plans Heythrop’s Students’ Union has voted to oppose any partnership with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham. A referendum asking “Do you want to oppose any strategic partnership with St. Mary’s University, Twickenham?” was launched at an Emergency General Meeting held on the 12th of December and closed at 5 o’clock in the afternoon on the 9th of January.

The overall turn out of the referendum was 194 students, representing 29.8% of the 650 eligible vote. ‘Yes’, the vote to oppose any strategic partnership with St. Mary’s, received 113 votes, 58.25% of the vote. ‘No’ received 81 votes, 41.75% of the vote.

To put that turnout in context, 252 voters participated in last year’s

HSU Exec elections, representing 35.1% of the electorate. This vote, however, did come after two weeks of on-site active campaigning by eighteen different candidates.

A study published in 2012 by the National Union of Students found that the average turnout for SU elections across the country was just 16%.

The wording of this referendum was decided upon at a focus group held on the 9th of December after it became clear that its original wording, which focuses on retaining the University of London status, was out of date following the release of a statement by Fr. Holman stating that it was highly unlikely that UoL status could be retained.

That statement was released at an

EGM held on the 4th of December, which was called to discuss the receipt of a report requested from the Governing Body, and the College’s decision to not take undergraduate students, which the exception of Bachelor of Divinity students, in September 2015, which was announced on the 1st of December.

HSU President Alex Jozsa and Vice President Matt Holland have yet to release a statement concerning the outcome of the referendum, however they did discuss what sort of action they could see happening and stressed the importance of yes voters “actioning” their vote in an interview with The Lion which took place before the announcement of the results and which can be found later in this issue.

“Heythrop Can’t Duplicate Everything” Sketch Of Heythrop-S.M.U.T. Partnership Given By Holman The Principal’s Forum held on the 6th of January saw Fr. Holman lay out the first ‘sketch’ of what a Heythrop-St Mary’s partnership might look like.

In it he stressed the importance of securing a ‘central London’ location with easy travel access for postgraduates and Divinity students.

Bachelor of Arts students, it was explained, would likely be taught in Twickenham on St. Mary’s existing campus in this vision of Heythrop.

Holman cited that this was because BA students often require greater access to administrative and pastoral services, which St. Mary’s has based at its current location. He also stated that BA students being

in Twickenham lead to a greater student experience as it is where St. Mary’s Students’ Union is based.

When challenged that the unique bits of Heythrop’s student experience, among other things, such as the small size and personal nature of the community, would ‘die’ for undergraduates if their courses were taught at St. Mary’s current campus, Holman said that the College was working at trying to find ways to preserve those things, but ultimately that ‘[Heythrop] can’t duplicate everything’.

When asked if Heythrop would be for BA students ‘little more than a stamp on their degree’ if they were taught on a different cam-

pus to where Heythrop was primarily based, Holman explained that faculties in many other larger universities were often split between campuses and suggested that lecturers would be based in central London some days a week and Twickenham other days.

Current students also stated the value of the personal approach to teaching, such as one-to-one tutorials, that Heythrop has and asked if it would be preserved.

Holman responded that it was important to the College, but, that for BA students, they didn’t know if it would remain the same.

Durham and Roehampton Among ‘Pursued Partnership Possibilities’ For Heythrop The Lion has obtained a report on “Partnership Discussions”.

The report is dated the 20th September 2014. In the “Preamble” to the report is a recap of “various possibilities for partnerships [which] were identified by Governors and Academic Board over the last year, and have been systematically pursued”.

In this recap, as well as listing St. Mary’s University; “Durham explorations”, and Roehampton are listed. The report states that: “the Durham explorations have been halted owing to the VC interregnum (“planning blight”)

and would be unlikely to be reactivated for several months.

Issues of distance and difference in academic standards (e.g. tariff points for undergraduate entrance) were identified” Of Roehampton says that they were unlikely to meet Heythrop’s criteria.

This statement was given to The Lion by Fr. Holman: “By last Easter it was clear that the College may need to continue its mission and work in partnership with another college or university and that some solution to its financial problems would need to be found soon as the deficit was not one that

could be supported for long. It was also clear that one characteristic of the partner would need to be an ability to guarantee the denominational identity of our work for the training of future priests for the Catholic Church. A detailed strategic options review was conducted by the Governing Body, which considered a range of possible options. Taking all factors into account, the Governing Body decided that commencing partnership talks with St Mary’s University Twickenham was the best option”.

Heythrop College’s research profile has received excellent results in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF). Work produced at Heythrop achieved 4*, indicating the quality of work is “world-leading in terms of originality, significance, and rigour”, in all three elements assessed, notably in the Impact section, which measures the impact of research beyond academia, and the Environment section, which grades the research environment.

In this section 40% of Heythrop’s submission to REF was given 4*. Of Heythrop’s research output, 13% was rated 4* and 31.4% was rated 3*, indicating that its quality “is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but ... falls short of the highest standards of excellence”. Overall REF,

which weights its assessment to favour the output section, ranked 22% of Heythrop’s research profile at the level 4* and 40% at the 3* level.

Dr Michael Lacewing, Director of Research, said of the results: “The achievement of the world-class results in all elements shows our success in establishing a supportive research culture of excellence and rigour at Heythrop.”

Fr Michael Holman SJ added: “I am delighted that the great quality of research produced by staff at our College has been duly recognised. The results are a fine tribute to the expertise and hard work of our staff. To achieve such high scores, in particular for the impact element, reflects our commitment to producing research which meets the needs of the society and supports positive social change”.

College Edits Out Criticism Of St. Mary’s In Transcript Of Principal’s Forum The notes from the Principal’s Forum held on the 6th of January the College has circulated on HELIOS have been edited, removing some criticisms of St. Mary’s.

At the forum, a correspondent for The Lion gave a detailed account of St. Mary’s defunct Philosophy, Theology and History School. This being that in 2012 St. Mary’s split and merged that school into two general humanities departments, to the protest of its then head, who, after emailing staff and students his criticism of the decision, was removed mid-lecture from campus by St. Mary’s security and suspended from teaching. The question of what safeguards were being put in place to prevent a similar thing happening to or at Heythrop should

the partnership happen was then put to Fr. Holman.

In the notes that the College is circulating, the question reads: “St. Mary’s University used to have a school of Philosophy and Theology, which in 2012 was merged into a general Humanities faculty. What would safeguard against something similar happening to Heythrop?”

Either way the response from Holman was the same. He explained that he imagined that there would be some contractual agreement in place, and that the Trustees for Roman Catholic Purposes, the Jesuits, or Heythrop would likely have some role in the Governance of St. Mary’s.

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TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

The Sabs on Record

This interview with HSU President Alex Jozsa and Vice President was conducted by The Lion’s Editor-in-Chief Fergus Cronin-Coltsmann on the 7th of January

Fergus Cronin Coltsmann: Thank you both for being here.

Matt Holland: Well, thank you for having us FCC: What do you think of the sketch that Holman laid out [on the 6/01/14] at the Principal’s Forum, that postgrads and [Bachelor of Divinity courses] will be taught in a central London location, and Bachelors will be shipped downed to Twickenham? Do you think that’s what Heythrop should be?

Alex Jozsa: It’s a difficult question, partly because the whole situation is difficult. That’s currently what the sketch is, and the sketch is a sketch so we have to work with it. There’s no reason that has to be, it’s not in stone so it can change. I presume the reason why that’s in his mind is because undergraduates have a heavy reliance on Student Services and Student Experience, and our BD students and our postgraduates don’t have a heavy reliance on them. So to have the undergraduates in central London and most of the Student Services at St. Mary’s would create a difficulty.

I imagine that [this is] the reason for [this], so the students can be close to all the student facilities that are in Twickenham, as well as the student support, students’ union and student services. But there’s no reason we can’t negotiate on that to maybe have some teaching done in central London.

I don’t know, this is a part of the consultation that we are going to be looking into with focus groups.

MH: With the question of what Heythrop should be, [Alex and I] both, I like to think, have become aware over the last few months, with the financial situation, what Heythrop should be has become a very different question because the Heythrop we know and love now has got to fundamentally change because it’s financially not viable. I made that point at the EGM on the 12th of December, that whatever future Heythrop holds will have to

be radically different to what it is now. I personally loved this place as an undergrad, and particularly love the location, and that’s another thing that they’re going to have to consider, and might be one of the things that changes.

FCC: Do you think that there has been a bias in favour of the Bellarmine Institute and the PG courses in preserving how they currently are, potentially to the detriment to the BA courses?

AJ: I genuinely think that it actually works better, going back to what I said about the facilities. And markets, we do unfortunately have to pander to the market, which is a very annoying thing but that is where we are now in terms of Government policy for education. But being in central London is useful for postgrads because it allows them to come in from different areas, even [at the Principal’s forum] we had postgrads who only come in once a week and they travel in from Preston and places like that, so it’s easier for them to come into central London... whereas most undergrads will live on-site or close to [campus] because of the amount of lectures they have, three or four a week, and to be close to libraries and to use student services and all these kinds of thing. So in a sense, if we can’t afford a massive central London location, with halls and all these other things, student services and everything else, then it is easier to go out to Twickenham. And cheaper, as obviously there is a financial problem. Is it bias? I don’t think so. Could you possibly see some biases as someone just looking at it? Maybe you could, I can understand why people could. But personally I don’t think there is a bias, I think it is done on a needs basis and how you can have the best impact for as many people as possible.

MH: That’s pretty much what I was going to say. I was just going to add I think the current direction is an attempt to save as much of the work that Heythrop does as

possible. At the moment it is trying to save BA, BD, undergrad, postgrad, researchAJ: -Part-time, full-time.

MH: I think this question will be even more prominent if St. Mary’s fell away. So for example, the referendum is going on at the minute, and say there was a yes vote and say the students got active and scared off St. Mary’s and that was off the table; we know the finances only last two years. So I think the question of what is key to Heythrop’s mission [will become more prominent]. It’s also clear looking at the figures and the history of the place that the BD courses are in that scenario what you’d expect them to be safeguarding more, in a scenario of closure, that’s something that if St. Mary’s fell away, rather than the current scenario where they are trying to save as much as possible with as little bias as possible. I think there would be more bias if the situation was more severe.

FCC: Would you, if you had had proper influence over decision, have pursued Durham or Roehampton, if that had been to the benefit of the BA courses but potentially to the detriment of the Bellarmine?

AJ: Regards commenting on previous options, I don’t think we can go into too much detail on those.

FCC: Well they were on the table and you can say whether you would have continued them.

AJ: In an ideal world, of course we would have, but it’s different when you are the party which is looking for something. We are the party that is looking, we are not the party which is doing the asking unfortunately. Do I think we could have been creative with other options?

Yes, I would have loved to have seen something interesting with, say, the bioethics department of UCL and the political philosophy wing of the LSE and the theology bit of King’s, and done some sort

of thing like that. But there isn’t the time to develop those in ourselves, let alone the time to convince someone else to do it. So I’ll go back to something I’ve said before which is this should have been done 15 years ago, 20 years ago.

FCC: Do you think it represents a failure of the College’s previous senior leadership that it wasn’t?

AJ: I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a failure; I wasn’t involved so I don’t know. Obviously over the last three years we have seen there are very, very difficult financial things which are going on and a part of the way to mitigate those was things like the new academic strategy, the new courses to try and get more students to try to stem that problem. The College has tried to do things strategically in the time I have been here and the time I have been involved. Before that I really couldn’t comment. With hindsight, it’s great to be able to say 15 years ago we should have worked out our partner problems.

MH: I’m sure that would be a question for [management] as well, if you ask them ‘do you think you’ve failed?’ I’m sure they’d say ‘with hindsight, maybe’. I’m sure that’s the same with a lot of situations. Particularly with Durham or Roehampton, would we have liked them to gone further? We weren’t involved at the time. I personally was a fan of Durham, they’re very well regardedAJ: -I applied to themMH: -but as Alex says it’s got to be coming from two ways and our understanding is that St. Mary’s is far more of a two way street.

FCC: Alright. Explain TOPSE. MH: Teach out and protection of student experience, a nice long one. I think TOPSE first officially met in December...

FCC: Explain it to a student who you where explaining it to if they

were to come in [to your office] and ask you [that question].

AJ: Okay, so TOPSE includes Matt, myself, [the Academic Affairs officer] Jenny, a couple of academic staff such as Bridget from the [theology] department, John Loose who is the director of learning and teaching, Saladin who is the director of administration, and Kathryn Powell who is the head of academic policy. So it contains people who are generally involved in management and are a part of the Senior Leadership Team and people who are involved in the ability to facilitate change.

So that’s who’s involved and who sits on the committee. What does it do? Basically we’re looking at the way the College can continue student experience that we promised, in this difficult time, so it doesn’t feel like everything is going to the wall and we don’t care about you.

It’s the way we can ensure that we can give the best experience possible and continue to enhance because obviously a part of what we do is look to make things better, even though we have a 1st year and we’re not going to have a 1st year next year, we’re still trying to improve courses. So from 2nd years we’re looking for feedback so when this year’s 1st years become 2nd years they can benefit. It’s looking at keeping things as good as they are now but making them better.

FCC: It’s forward looking.

AJ: Yes MH: It’s like a spider-group in that it can feed quickly, maybe a lot more quickly than other groups, into senior management.

It’s been set up so that it feeds into lots of different places so when you list all the places it feeds into it sounds like it’s a slow process but actually instead of a process that goes ‘through here, then here, then here’, it can go to one of many. It’ll have two student focus groups going into it, so that’s student activities which is currently society heads, and academics which is currently course reps-

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TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

NEWS AJ: -but this will grow, initially it’s these, and it will grow.

MH: Yes. And it will go directly into LTAC, the Senior Leadership team and Governing Body.

And Academic Board. And it goes straight to any of those.

FCC: Okay, assuming that there is not a vote to oppose St. Mary’s, or even if there is a vote to oppose St. Mary’s, that there will still be some student say in negotiating with St. Mary’s, how is that going to come from the student body?

AJ: This is where TOPSE becomes difficult because TOPSE’s main focus is protecting the student experience now for the students that we have now. Obviously to work on what we need to be then you need to have student input, and that’s why in the terms of reference of the focus groups there is this forward looking idea. It’s about what you want to see, what you want to save, what parts of the curriculum you think are great, what’s mission critical to the students, how student activities can be helped now but maybe also how they can continue. This is how you develop negotiating points, how they get implemented beyond that needs to be a two way street. We haven’t been able to see how we can talk to St. Mary’s yet. We’ve met the president of their students’ union and had sort of preliminary discussions. We’ll take it to the next level when it comes about, the ideas will be generated from these groups we hope and from a wider context which we are working on.

FCC: Will [the focus groups] have any decision-making power? The ability to say ‘this isn’t enough’ if St. Mary’s and Heythrop reach an agreement.

AJ: Obviously the reports and the minutes from the focus groups will go to TOPSE and will be a part of the documents from TOPSE and will go wherever they need to go, so Governing Body if it’s relevant, if it’s ‘we don’t think the academic plan is enough’ it’ll go to the Academic Board. So it’ll go to where it needs to go. Basically the focus groups are what the students say, the College will be looking to the focus groups for the student opinions.

FCC: Will there be actual power in the hands of students?

AJ: Yeah, the students can say ‘this is what we want’. Obviously it’s not directly effecting any of the [cur-

rent] students themselves... The thing is the College needs the students’ opinion because they want to make it as good as possible so I imagine where it is reasonable it will be taken on board: ‘oh, so that’s what you want. Great, we’ll do it’. That’s the way I see it.

MH: I would add that another element of that is us being on the Governing Body and having voting power and the ability not just to submit a bit of paper but to verbally and passionately argue. And that’s how it is up and down the nation, in many student unions it’s about fighting for what you believe in. So when you say ‘will they have decision-making powers?’ through the process and hopefully through us [as] two people who will fight for the decisions which are right for them.

FCC: Do you think it is fair that some students have levelled criticism at you two, that you have been ineffective to some extent? For example, University of London status was something there was a clear mandate from the student body to fight for, I remember you both talking about it quite strongly, and it seemed to be taken off the table without much of a fuss or bother. There seemed to be a general ‘rolling over’ on it.

MH: We were very honest from the beginning, from September, that it was always the most unlikely scenario; remaining in UoL. While it was still an option it was something we wanted to fight for and the students wanted to fight for, but it was always going to be a highly unlikely scenario.

AJ: Unfortunately. When the minutes for all these things are published, and they do take time to be published, you will see that at every meeting it’s ‘University of London status, University of London status’. So we have definitely made known that and the Governors are aware of how important that is to us. Ultimately Heythrop is changing, so that aspect of the College, its awarding body, is changing. We do have to accept that. Let’s say again that every student who was accepted onto a UoL degree will get a UoL degree provided they pass their exams. It’s a difficult one, we did the best we could but there are some things that just aren’t workable. We did look, we had extensive talks with the University and the University secretary and the administration of these things and it just really wouldn’t be workable in a sense because we’d become a

part of St. Mary’s, there wouldn’t be enough in it for them as well as us and the whole administrational thing and identity problems are just unbelievably complex so yeah [sic].

plement, these things are followed nationally. There are various different avenues where we can do things very professionally and in public, but also just general student action.

MH: With the referendum and how it’s going at the minute, we could definitely see come September a move away from a complete dismissal to a more torn understanding of what was going on. And I think that has been very evident in the last few months. We regularly discuss between ourselves what we’re doing and what we’ve done and have we made the right decisions in hindsight. I think the referendum will be telling. If the referendum comes out 70% plus yes, then I will probably except that we should have done something a lot sooner, personally. If it comes out closer? That’s how I see the student body at the moment, one of the two ways, I think it’s around sixty forty. Which shows in my opinion we did the right thing by fighting for UoL status because that was important, we always knew that was going to be tough.

We always knew the chances were very, very slim because of the exact way everyone would have to come together and agree to it and the nature of the partnership that would build, which was always highly unlikely. So I think come the referendum we’ll then know [if] we should have done it sooner.

MH: And things on campus.

Things that are visible on campus make a difference. But something that we’ve seen, from for example the student debate on [the 5/01/15] and the Future Forum with the principal [on the 6/01/15], is that the turnout from students isn’t very good. So what I’d say if it does turn out to be a ‘yes, you want to oppose’, if you have sat there and clicked yes-

FCC: Nonetheless, a lot of people still do, and I don’t think it’s unfair, feel alienated and disengaged. They didn’t really see the fight for UoL status when they felt there was a mandate there. So should referendum turn out yes and we were to oppose St. Mary’s, how are you going to engage a broader range of the student body, a fuller part of the student union in that opposition, rather than arguments going on behind closed doors,?

MH: We’ve kind of mentioned before at EGMs what the HSU has the power to do and what it could do with a yes vote. That would be demonstrations, using the pressAJ: - open letters to the College, using the press within the College -hopefully The LionMH: -social mediaAJ: -our own social media channels; but also external to the College, so using platforms like The Tablet -obviously we can’t guarantee they’ll publish anything- and things like the Times Higher sup-

AJ: -action itMH: -actually get behind what you are voting because it all good voting yes, but if ten people then go outside in the garden with a placard its going to make no difference. If you’re going to vote yes, be willing to do something about that.

AJ: This also applies to a wider issue. I think it should be recorded that student engagement is extremely important to us. In effect, these things could have been mitigated earlier if there was more student engagement in the process.

The first EGM in Freshers’ week talked about some of these issues, and I’ll state it now: anyone can call an EGM if they put it in writing to me, anyone can call a referendum, the door is always open to our office, you can send me an email 24/7 to try and engage with this process, to ask us questions, to try and start some grass roots movements. We’re here to facilitate and give you plans and give you information but we are also here to facilitate what you want. It is definitely a two way process, so things like attending the General Meetings, attending the Forums, attending the debates and focus groups are really crucial to the way we operate because a students’ union is made up of students and if we don’t have any students turn up to the things that we do then it becomes very difficult to engage with them.

FCC: Do you think that the lack of student engagement is down to some sort of ethereal student apathy or do you think it is a failing of the union and the College to engage students?

AJ: And with all student unions across the country.

MH: There have been three EGMs and one OGM, there have been four focus groups. In my opinion our publicity of these things has been better than most previous years, apart from when we had trouble with the publicity office.

We had an EGM in the Freshers’ Booklet. In Halls, posters are on every floor for every event and major meeting, every single floor and the lift gets a poster. We send out emails in advance, reminder emails, Facebook, Twitter. Sending a letter to each registered address for ever major meeting, or going personally and knocking on their doors, are the only two things more we could do.

FCC: You don’t think there is a structural problem with how the Union engages students?

That it’s not just about publicity?

AJ: If someone could tell us how we could engage students in a better way I’d be absolutely welcome to here it [sic] because I feel we are trying our absolute best. We’re doing a whole range of electronic things and a whole range of on site things. We’ve got word of mouth, we’ve hopefully got people talking about things. So really, if anyone has anything else to suggest my door is open. I think we’ve tried our best. Is there a structural problem with the education system in this country and with engaging students? Yes I think there is, I don’t think it is isolated to Heythrop. If you look at voting turnouts across the board Heythrop does very well, even in terms of small and specialists. I think we do better than other people. Is it a natural problem with students? Maybe, I don’t know, maybe we need to look at the bigger picture, but we do our best I think.

FCC: Okay, is there anything else either of you want to say about anything we’ve talked about?

AJ: My last word would be we all want the best for Heythrop, and if anyone has got any suggestions please to get in contact, because we all have the same goal, we might have different opinions on how to get there, but we do all want the best for this place and to keep doing what it has done for us.

MH: [Fergus] you’ve been a part of this College for three years, apathy has rooted in many of the things that happen and we do.

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“COMMENT.”

6

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Edited by Terence Sibley | terence.sibley@heythropcollege.ac.uk

Je Suis Charlie: The View From London Ben Mercer Comment Correspondent I am, as I write this, standing at the edge of a small crowd of people gathered on the steps of the National Gallery in London. It is one of a series of such gatherings now taking place around the world; a show of solidarity with the journalists and cartoonists of the magazine Charlie Hebdo who were murdered by Muslim fanatics yesterday.

It also purports to be a demonstration in support of free speech and expression. Paris briefly became the latest battleground in the fight between free speech and the forces of jihad, and it is a relief to see people on the streets in support of the right side of that dichotomy. Never mind that many of them will not have read the magazine in question, and never mind that many of those gathered here, if they had seen some of Charlie Hebdo’s more risqué cartoons and caricatures, would have, under other circumstances, decried the magazine as a racist screed not worth the paper it’s printed on. Tonight at least, the principle is the right one.

The demonstration began some time before I arrived. I overheard one reporter as she was speaking to her camera; apparently there had been as many as seven hundred people in the crowd before I arrived. And there are still over a hundred of them here now, some holding pens and notepads, some holding cartoons, and some holding signs and placards bearing the Twitter hashtag that has come to represent the movement: #JeSuis-

Charlie.

The reverent atmosphere here feels slightly out of place. The magazine in question, and its spiritual counterparts in countries around the world - the likes of South Park, the offices of which were attacked in 2010, and Jyllands-Posten, the Danish magazine that caused its country so much trouble when, in 2006, it printed a set of cartoons that were deemed offensive by rabid mobs in Pakistan and elsewhere – celebrate irreverence.

That is the crime for which they have been deemed worthy of death and destruction, and that is the reason their offices are now, and have been for many years, under heavy police protection. These are the sorts of magazines that would shout to interrupt a vigil, and so, with that in mind, this seems to me to be a very quiet demonstration in support of free speech.

It is, though, pleasingly diverse.

There will undoubtedly be people who want to excuse these attacks or misdirect the blame for them; people to whom the notion of moral responsibility is alien; people who will look at the attacks in Paris, and those that have happened before and will almost certainly happen again, and claim that they are in some way excused by our own actions. “We had it coming,” in other words, for our criminal governments and our oppression of Muslims and our drone strikes and our obsession with oil. Well, tell that the man who goes by the name of Ken, and who is one of four or five people here bearing the flags of the Kurdish YPG, and its women’s’ wing the YPJ. They have

placed a sign on the floor, adding to the pile of newspapers, comic strips, pens, candles and placards, which reads: “The Kurds will never forget you.” These men and women are themselves av counterargument against the nihilists and the masochists who believe these attacks were a just response to imperialism.

I asked Ken whether he wanted to issue his own pre-emptive response to that line of argument, and he duly obliged. He told me he believed that what motivated him to stand there, in the cold and the wet, holding his flag, was the same thing that motivated his brothers and sisters in Iraq and Kurdistan. He is not in a position to take up arms, but he felt obligated to show, in some way, his support for the values that motivate the Kurdish and Iraqi forces in their fight against barbarism. And he made the point, so often missed by idiot commentators like Glenn Greenwald, that the fight against the likes of al-Qaeda and Islamic State – the fight against Islamic extremism in general – is not one of foreign imperialists against beleaguered freedom fighters, as the likes of Michael Moore would have us believe, any more than it is a regional, territorial struggle between competing tribes. The Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting against Islamic State are, as Ken rightly says, fighting for us in a war that much of our own public would rather not acknowledge or engage with; the war between the civilized world and the forces of jihad who would see it all burn.

It is not a conflict in which our

allies in the region enjoy the unqualified support of Western governments, and it hasn’t been for some considerable time. Since the US-led intervention became a bungled and, for then-President Bush, a near impeachable farce of an occupation, public opinion in the US and the UK has been marshalled far too easily by those from the ostensibly anti-war movement; those who spoke for far too many people when, in their guise as MoveOn.org, they glibly labelled the impressive General Petraeus “General Betray Us.” The same bold cowardice provided ammunition for much of the success the Democrats enjoyed in the 2008 election, and was still seen as a sufficient giver of momentum when the Obama administration chose to sabotage the talks with the Iraqi government over the renewal of the Status of Forces Agreement.

(I have yet to see anyone make the argument that the complete withdrawal of forces from Iraq made the current crisis less likely.)

But we do occasionally see tentative shifts in the direction of good sense. The crimes committed by the likes of Islamic State have, at the very least, deprived George Galloway of some of the platforms he once enjoyed. And time will tell whether this attack – an attack that took place not in some remote part of the world but in the capital city of France – will move us toward a little righteous blowback of our own. (By blowback, I do not mean the unfortunate and all but inevitable support for Front National, or the Pegida movement in Berlin.)

The response has, thus far, been a

vast improvement from that seen in 1989 and 2006.

But, still, many high profile news outlets have been reporting on the story – a story generated by images, from an attack which was itself a response to those images, and which has taken place in the age of the image – without showing the images in question. I have asked the question of three different media organisations, including the BBC and ITV: Will you show the cartoons when you report on this story (as the likes of Slate magazine have, to their credit) or opt for the cowards’ approach; the one taken by outlets from CNN to The Telegraph? I almost succeeded in cornering Nick Robinson of the BBC, but he was dismissing all questions with the disappointing stock response: “Sorry, I’m in a rush.” The cameramen, who were more talkative, were unable to tell me whether their employers would stand up for the freedom of speech and expression and, as it transpired, the answer was disappointing.

As I finish writing this, I am sitting on the tube. I have looked at stories on the websites of those organisations I have already mentioned; I have not seen a single cartoon.

This is not brave, and this is not ‘appropriate’, this is capitulation to those who, at their most moderate, believe that free speech is licensed on condition of banality; on condition that it does not offend. Well, brothers and sisters: fuck that. I hope you agree with the sentiment, but it doesn’t – or shouldn’t – matter either way.

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7

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

COMMENT

Ringing In The New Year Rebecca Pyke Cooking Correspondent Each New Year when visiting relatives or friends the same question is always asked of me, ‘Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?’

It tends to be a bit of conversation filler and normally I mutter that I am going to be healthier. However, I usually admit to myself at Easter after my fifth chocolate egg that nothing has really changed. So this year, I have decided to write a fun list of New Year’s Resolutions and on top is to go to a sushi restaurant because I have never been before. This got me thinking, where did this whole tradition originate from?

The tradition of celebrating the New Year can be traced back to 2000 B.C in ancient Mesopotamia where the Babylonians held a festival called Akitu. This festival was

after the first new moon in March and was a time when people took to the streets, celebrating by parading the statues of the gods through the city and enacted rites symbolizing Babylonian victory over the forces of chaos. This celebration in honour of the rebirth of the natural world was in the belief of symbolically cleansing and recreating through the gods the world in preparation for spring. The Babylonians also had New Year’s resolutions often in the hope of getting out of debt (I think we all know what that is like).

However, if you had a time machine the best place to be in the festival of Akitu would be the statue of the god Marduk. The Babylonian King was made to strip before it, swear his allegiance to the city and then forcibly dragged and slapped by the high priest in an attempt to make the monarch cry. If tears

did flow then Marduk was satisfied and the Kings rule was prolonged.

Questionably, it is unknown as to how the King would have been treated and like many actors today he may have used other means to produce his New Year’s tears, luckily the ancient Babylonians had onions!

Jumping to the ancient Romans, their calendar was tampered with from the same date as the Babylonians, to start the New Year with the celebration of Janus. The god of change and beginnings saw Janus, the two-faced deity looking back to the past and ahead to the new. On the 1st of January offerings were given to Janus for good fortune in the coming twelve months as neighbours and friends exchanged figs, honey and well wishes to begin positively the New Year. However, it wasn’t all fun and games as the ancient Romans would

work for part of this day as idleness was considered a bad omen.

Unlike the chosen date of the ancient Romans, the culture of the Ancient Egyptians followed the patterns of the Nile and corresponded with it flooding. The New Year festival, Wepet Renpet otherwise known as the ‘opening of the year’, was an unpredictable event as the brightest star Sirius had to first be visible after an absence of seventy days. Occurring in mid-July, this symbolised fertility as soon afterwards the Nile would flood ensuring fertile farmlands. The Ancient Egyptians New Year was honoured with feasts and religious rites and was seen as a time of rejuvenation and rebirth. What followed the Egyptians’ New Year was the ‘Festival of Drunkenness’, a party which celebrated mankind’s salvation from Sekhmet a war goddess who planned to kill humanity

who was tricked into drinking until she was unconscious. This might sound rather familiar to those who had a very merry New Year.

The festival which we celebrate however is influenced by Pope Gregory XIII who created the Gregorian calendar and placed New Years Day as the 1st of January.

This sonar calendar means that our dates are different from other traditions that follow a lunar calendar such as the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah and the Islamic festival of Muharram which occur in autumn. The Chinese New Year also falls in late January to February and lasts for a month. Consequently, however you celebrated your New Year and if you made resolutions or didn’t I hope that your year is as interesting as its history.

Tea: A Stoic Drink For Stoic Times Oscar Yuill Comment Correspondent I’d wager that your spirits have been as low as mine about what’s being called ‘the St. Mary’s malarkey’. In light of it all—I mean the absence of Freshers’ next year, the uncertainty, the poor communication, our president’s understandable and, I’m sure, pleasurable abscondence to Salzburg, Austria—I’d also wager that you need a bit of moralising. Not the preachy kind. We’ll have plenty of that in the future. Also the ethics of encouraging substance abuse and hedonistic ventures is questionable at best, so I’d urge you not to turn to the tipple or to casual sex (if you do, I’ll meet you in The Builder’s and then Heaven). No, we all need something more solid, more proven, more uplifting. I

am, of course, referring to tea. In the words of Jerome K. Jerome: ‘After a cup of tea (two spoonfuls for each cup, and don’t let it stand more than three minutes,) it says to the brain, “Now, rise, and show your strength. Be eloquent, and deep, and tender; see, with a clear eye, into Nature and into life; spread your white wings of quivering thought, and soar, a god-like spirit, over the whirling world beneath you, up through long lanes of flaming stars to the gates of eternity!”’

I’m aware that the same imagery could be applied to any number of substances, but with tea isn’t a delusion. As Orwell said in his essay A Nice Cup of Tea (it’s always ‘nice’, I’ve observed), the fact remains that ‘tea is a mainstay of civilization in this country’. And, in lieu of a number of similar comments on the beverage, for example by

Douglas Adams and Christopher Hitchens (and numerous Victorian novels), it has befallen me, in these dark times, to re-prescribe the proper ‘tea conduct’. I know we all have our own customs in the making of tea, and while they’re probably an outrage to cultured taste and sentiment the world over, as long as you’re putting the bag in the cup before the water, I think we’ll get on. (Interestingly, it was Yoko Ono who disrupted decades of correct practice by urging John to do just the opposite. It wasn’t just the Beatles…) First thing’s first: use fresh water. Water that’s already been boiled has lost its oxygen and will produce a tasteless muck. Just before the kettle’s finished boiling, pour a little into the cup or pot to warm it up. Overlooking this step is practically an institution. It also happens to be very important, as we’ll see. Once the cup’s heated,

tip the water out, pop the bag in and pour on boiling water. Water that’s been boiled and left to cool, even if only for a few moments, will not ‘activate’ the tea; the chemical process of infusion requires the water to be 100 °C—a rolling boil.

You warmed the cup so that the temperature of the water doesn’t diminish too quickly. The rest is up to taste. If you buy that relativism nonsense. Really, tea should be quite strong with just a hint of bitterness and a dash of milk. This requires about a three-minute brewing period. Adding sugar—and here I agree with Orwell—is about as reasonable as adding salt and pepper: if you don’t like the taste of Camellia sinensis, don’t drink it. So there we have it, a stoic drink for stoic times. So important is tea in this country, at least historically, that the Nazi Luftwaffe made sure to target our tea plantations to

Hate 2015? hate tea? write for us!

damage morale, which led to rationing. Of course, the foregoing instructions assume you’re drinking the standard British black tea.

The majority of the world drinks green tea, mainly thanks to China, but in our black-tea-and-milk habits the Aussies, Kiwis, Irish, Turks and large swathes of Europe join us. If you’re eccentric enough to be sipping tea-like concoctions—such as herbs masquerading as tea—I wish you well in life, but please don’t abuse the noble nectar’s sweet, malty name. And if you have the audacity, as I did, to repudiate the pre-educated practice of drinking coffee, and purchase a pot and some loose leaves, we should meet in private. Great is the ridicule bestowed upon the loose-leafer; final is the judgment. If all else fails, vodka is cheap in Soho. Happy New Year. Might be your last here.

8

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Featured Section: Four Insights To The St. Mary’s Debate

Skin A Rabbit!

A King Without A Crown Oscar Yuill Comment Correspondent

On the 16th December 2014, the prodigious King’s College London, established in 1829 under royal charter, underwent a change costing roughly £300,000. Was it towards higher staff wages or a wider range of courses or the improvement of existing facilities? Of course not: that would be reasonable. Instead, such an obscene amount of money went towards changing KCL’s name— and thus over 200 years of history—to ‘King’s London’, in what Sebastian Debrouwere, the student union president, termed, in language equally applicable to changing a child’s nappy, a ‘big,

exciting change’. Skin a rabbit!

The main reason for this change appears to stem from foreign confusion. The principal, prof. Ed Byrne, explained that ‘our current name was causing considerable confusion: is King’s a residential college, is it an academic college akin to the colleges of Oxbridge, or is it an educational institution of some other type such as a further education college? Internationally, there was further misunderstanding because “college” is not a widely understood term in many countries.’ As many KCL students have pointed out on Twitter and newspaper comment sections, anyone incapable of Googling just what King’s College London is, probably isn’t the cream of the crop.

While its official, legal name will remain King’s College London (for degree certification, etc.), KCL’s turmoil is hardly unique. It stems, first and foremost, from an environment in which the government seems only to recognise the value of degrees more conducive to moneymaking, rather than the value inherent in a humanities or arts subject, which enrich the lives of students and make for rounded citizens. And where changes are made, they are nearly always bureaucratic, unnecessary and excessively stupid. (One need only observe KCL’s new logo, which may as well have been produced in multicoloured Comic Sans.)

The similarities between KCL and Heythrop are, sadly, almost

absurd. In each case there was a major change. In each case the majority of students felt cheated and uninformed. In each case administration and leadership have been infuriatingly incompetent, fatuous and secretive. We have been asked to vote in a referendum the outcome of which may or may not make the slightest difference, and this with a view to merge with a college that offered hypnosis as a course. One wonders if such techniques were used to influence Heythrop’s administration to trick them into merging.

The bottom line in these two sad, sweet little stories is that quality and integrity and honesty are being systematically replaced by dodgy deals and ideological expedien-

cies—or expedient, ideologically dodgy deals. Two great institutions have been struck by a blitzkrieg of insidious downgrades. Like the crumbling Parthenon, perhaps we should visit the new entrance to KCL to observe the marked decrease in beauty and pride in its brand, and contemplate the sad fact that, King’s College London or King’s College, London or King’s London—at least they’ll have a name in five years. When Heythrop’s undergraduates are gone and thus its main source of funding, perhaps the old St. Mary’s hypnosis course will become the new Heythrop?

ness student, Emma:

whatsoever and bar that, whether this move means anything to St. Mary’s itself. The fact that the students are so uninformed about the move could make one wonder how much St. Mary’s is invested in the possible move. One can only hope that Heythrop’s ethos and academic excellence will make a difference to St. Mary’s and their existing course. Questions such as these desperately need to be asked because of the seriousness of what is going on. Surely there should be more of a debate with the students of St. Mary’s so that at the very least both sets of students are informed about the move. However, one can only hope that all the risk is not being shouldered by Heythrop.

The Simmarian View Sophie Jdouri First Year Undergraduate The Heythrop St. Mary’s debate has been raging since the start of last term. Every angle has been covered, positive aspects and negative aspects, what we haven’t heard however is how the St. Mary’s students themselves feel about this impending move.

For this article, I had to find some students who were willing to talk about what the atmosphere is like at St. Mary’s with regards to this move. Anna, a third year Law student at St. Mary’s discussed her thoughts on the merger with me.

She said:

“I have literally no interest in the merger; there is no benefit for us at all. I had never even heard of the college before we received an email discussing the proposal. I see no benefit for us. Heythrop isn’t well known and if any money does change hands, that money doesn’t benefit any actual students. Besides, I leave this year, if there are any positive changes, I do not benefit from them”.

I then spoke to Freddie, a second year Sports Science student. He said: “As St Mary’s is seen as such a ‘sporty university’ I don’t see how diversifying into other subjects can be a bad thing. Heythrop might be able to bring a better reputation to

our other subjects. I know that we do Theology so hopefully we can use that to benefit our students.

Heythrop can’t be losing out, the university has just doubled the size of the library and is improving the campus itself”. He also spoke about the problem of a growing university market “We are very close to other, very big universities. Kingston and Roehampton, these two universities do mostly the same subjects as us and are basically of the same class; St Mary’s needs to be able to compete. The University market is just as competitive as the job market, if Heythrop and St. Mary’s can work together to form some kind of a secure future then surely that is important?”

I also spoke to a Third Year busi-

“To be honest, I haven’t heard much about the possible move, from what I have heard, St. Mary’s have played it out in a positive light…I just wonder whether it’s as positive for Heythrop. I don’t really know what impact if any it would actually have on St. Mary’s students, we haven’t been told enough to judge. From what I’ve heard though, the risk seems to be all on Heythrop”.

The question to be asked having heard all of this is whether the move is wise. St. Mary’s seem not to have offered much information to their students at all, which really begs the question of whether this is having any impact on them

tired of st. mary’s chatter? write us a feature!

9

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

FEATURE

It isn’t The Place Of The Students To Have A Say On St. Mary’s Harrie Bamford-Lyons Second Year Undergraduate

I’m not writing this to convince you that joining St Mary’s is a ‘good thing’ however you understand that phrase: solipsistically and as to whether it will hamper your start in life’s 100m dash or you have some kind of genuinely warm concern for your alma mater because I admit I have no idea.

Personally I think the former interest (that of yourself) might suffer in some very tiny way while the latter, that of the university, will be massively improved, provided we concede the principle that not existing at all would be bad for Heythrop’s future. These are, however, just like any other weigh ins on the ‘St Mary debate’ both inside and outside this newspaper, unprovable conjecture.

What is not conjecture is that it is not actually my place to have a say

in the St Mary debate, neither is it yours, the student-reader, to help decide its resolution: it is not your place legally and (one would hope in a college where ethics is studied in some form by all students in an (a)theistic context, the more important reason) it isn’t your place ethically.

The fact is, the college administration already knows this and hence, much to the chagrin of certain zealous soon to leave fellow undergraduates, have not consulted the student body in the process. They know that underneath the fresh faced sentimentality and devotion students bring to their college they are in truth paying customers.

Language like ‘your place’ won’t sit well with some readers and doesn’t gel with the hierarchophobic tendencies in much of student culture, but this again stems from a misunderstanding. In the same way we are not share holders, we are not citizens that have been given

‘rights’ beyond what was promised in our contract, the terms of which, such as the coveted University of London stamped certificate, have already been guaranteed by the College. Beyond this contract, what happens to the university while we’re here and after we are gone, is truly, truly none of our business.

To say we ‘pay for the university’ and ‘without us there is no university’ and expect this to mean we can therefore influence the running of the College is utterly ridiculous. As students we pay money and we receive a product: an education as well as certification confirming it, in the same way apple for example depends entirely on its customers. And just like Apple customers, we as students don’t have a say (though we may be consulted) because when the ship sinks we’re not the ones who will be drowning.

This brings me onto to my point about why it is, as a student, immoral to actively oppose the merg-

er in the hope of preventing it. If Heythrop joins St Mary’s there is a CHANCE it MIGHT some day be noticed by some potential employer that you are an alumnus/a of a college that is now part of the great boogie-man that is St Mary’s. If the merger falls through, everyone currently employed at Heythrop college WILL lose their job.

Although the staff at our college will technically be declared redundant only to be (hopefully) rehired post merger and although of course there will be those who will lose their positions either way; by not accepting whatever decision the governing board takes we are saying that a possibility that our job prospects might hypothetically is worse than you, the staff, actually losing your job. That our potential ‘difficulties’ that we might not get that cool internship because the guy had the energy to Google Heythrop but couldn’t be bothered to read the ‘history’ paragraph on

Wikipedia are more unjust than grown men and women, many of them with families losing for certain their stable income, forced to seek work as an expert in a shrinking subject (though granted the celibate contingent at Heythrop is even larger than the average university).

If those hit hardest by that decision, to close the university, feel it is the right thing to do then so be it, but for us, for whom the damage is merely a knock to imagined pride, to make that decision for them is, I believe, immoral. By all means make your views and opinions heard but the student body has a duty to accept the decision taken.

That is why I oppose any protest by either the HSU or students independent of the union or any motions to make the life of the governing body any more difficult in this already extremely stressful time for them and I hope those wanting to participate in such activities will seriously reconsider.

Oppose S.M.U.T. And Save Heythrop

Anonymous

Note: This is an heavy adaptation of the speech that Matt Holland read out on my behalf at the student debate last week. I have sought its republication, with some areas fleshed out, in an attempt to convince those among you that voted no that the (hopefully) upcoming protests against the merger are worth participating in.

St. Mary’s is not the sort of institution that Heythrop has a lot in common with. Casting an eye over its recent history serves to illustrate that.

In 2012 St. Mary’s had to drop it’s clinical hypnosis (yes you read that correctly, clinical hypnosis) undergraduate degree after an investigation by the Quality Assurance Agency (which is basically Ofstead for universities), which found “a litany of failings in the management and oversight of the course.”

The QAA report goes on to explain (and I’m quoting the Times Higher Education): “teachers were inadequately qualified, reading lists were out of date and the external examination was not fit for purpose, ‘putting academic standards at risk’... In one case, a student on the course was also listed as a teacher and an examiner”.

This isn’t just about that the fact

that St. Mary’s is such a non-university that it until two years ago offered such a non-subject, its also that they couldn’t even do it well.

Anyway, 2012 wasn’t a particularly good year for St. Mary’s.

They also proposed to merge their School of Theology, Philosophy and History into a general humanities school that year. The head of the Theology, Philosophy and History school wasn’t very happy about this, and sent an email to staff and students criticising the decision. Which is pretty reasonable.

St Mary’s managements’ response?

To have him removed mid-lecture from the campus by security and to suspend him from teaching. I can’t, nor do I want to, imagine one of our beloved academics being dragged from a lecture, in front of their students, for daring to criticise Heythrop’s Senior Leadership Team (I do, however, kinda wish one of them would criticise Senior Leadership, if for nothing else then to see what happens).

You can still do a theology or philosophy BA at St. Mary’s, Philosophy is taught alongside illustrious subjects such as Gothic Culture and Media Arts; and Theology alongside Physical Sport and Education.

Also in 2012 (what were they smoking that year?) St. Mary’s came under some fire from the press. This

was because they refuses to remove Father Laurence Soper from their list honorary fellows. The calls for Father Soper to be stripped of his honours were made because he was (and as far as I can tell, still is) on the run from the police over child abuse allegations. Now, I believe you’re innocent until proven guilty, but skipping bail isn’t the best way to prove your innocence.

But then what do we expect from a College who’s current Chancellor Vincent Nichols, to quote the Times, “presided over a child protection system that allowed a paedophile priest to continue abusing schoolboys despite repeated complaints from victims”. Was he complicit or incompetent? “Church officials said that Archbishop Nichols was not told the full details of Pearce’s [the priest in question] child abuse offences until he replaced Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor at Westminster last year” the Times says, but make your own mind up. Anyway, he wasn’t Chancellor of St. Mary’s then. What he was doing was going on Newsnight and saying that homosexuals couples are called to be friends, but not married.

Oh, and one more thing on the paedophile front. In 2009 in response to a report that revealed just how the Catholic Church in Ireland was letting priests and lay members get away with child abuse for sev-

enty years, Nichols did stand up and condemn those involved in the abuse, an action that takes all the moral imitative that one might expect a banana to possess, but used that same platform, the same statement to say “we shouldn’t forget that this account today will also overshadow all of the good that they also did”. Yep, let’s not forget about all the good people who raped children, and the people who let them get away with it, have done.

So why is Heythrop even talking to St. Mary’s when we know that negotiations with both Durham and Roehampton were still open?

Because what the management of Heythrop view Heythrop as Jesuit and The Bellarmine Institute, and St. Mary’s is Catholic.

The language used in the statements from Michael Holman about the merger make that clear enough.

The announcement in the summer was littered with word catholic and Holman has continually stated the importance of training priests in Heythrop’s future. Neither of those things, the Bellarmine and the Jesuits, are bad things. What is bad is giving them disproportionate weight in deciding Heythrop’s future.

Heythrop is, to the vast majority of its students, a welcoming, nonsectarian and diverse place. It is academically and pastorally sup-

portive of its students (the QAA report on Heythrop listed that as a feature of good practise in 2011).

Heythrop’s student body (the whole student body) is listed as a key stakeholder of the College in the Heythrop’s own Royal Charter, alongside and equal to the Jesuits.

We are not just customers. We are a fundamental part of what Heythrop is.

To ignore and exclude the student body from your vision of Heythrop, to make decisions that are only justifiable from a narrow, exclusive and fundamentally incorrect point of view, is a bad thing.

And that is what is happening. That is why St. Mary’s is on the cards.

And while it remains on the cards, the student body at large, the community which defines Heythrop and makes it a fantastic place to study and live, will not factor into the decision making process of Heythrop’s future.

That is why you should oppose St. Mary’s, because it isn’t a future for your Heythrop. Other options and possibilities will not be explored or researched while that tiny select part of Heythrop can survive at St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s or bust is a false dichotomy entirely manufactured by those only interested in their Heythrop. So demand the exploration of other options and save your Heythrop.

10

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Culture

edited by jordan mant

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Jordan Mant

memorabilia.’ This fantastic

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Twickenham

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the need every now and again

Furthermore, once the acts

And finally, no trip to Twicken-

ing for ‘Visit Twickenham’, is

for some retail therapy (espe-

have finished, the party contin-

ham is complete (so our Google

only a thirty-four minute walk

cially when the student loan

ues with DJ’s playing alt/indie

searches suggest) without a

or twenty-seven minute jour-

lands in the bank account) and

music in one room and dance/

trip to ‘one of England’s most

ney on a bus. This is sure to be

therefore we’ve researched

bass in the other. In conclu-

elegant and eccentric Gothic

a thrill for Heythrop’s thriving

one of the best Oxford Street

sion – good live music will, at

houses.’ This house which,

community of rugby fans.

and High Street Kensington

least, still be on offer nearby to

in fairness, looks like a mini-

only in the likes of science fic-

Richmond Shakespeare

alternatives. In all seriousness,

our potential new Twickenham

version of the Disneyland castle

tion. However, as it currently

Society

the results are not actually

home.

(it does look rather impressive)

stands, such a transformation

The Mary Wallace Theatre

too bad with the discovery of

Twickenham Green

would be a perfect place to take

of our beloved college may

A perfect replacement for the

be about to become a real-

renowned Globe Theatre. The

ity. Hence, we thought that

website of this theatre company

we would leave our ‘Discover

boasts a “programme of eight

London’ section on the shelf for

productions a year by vastly

this issue and instead would

differing playwrights from an-

detail some of our discoveries

cient Greece to the modern day.

of what our future could be-

In addition, we have two shows

hold, should we undertake this

by our Youth Theatre groups.”

unexpected journey to the land

That’s not all – the group also

of Twickenham.

perform an open-air show in

Wind back the clock twelve months and the possibility of Heythrop soon becoming St. Mary –Throp (name TBA) would have been thought to have been something akin to a strange parallel world, seen

The World Rugby Museum Twickenham

the summer too in the garden of York House which is another well-known attraction in the

The Bentall Centre. A twentyminute train or a thirty-minute bus ride will you take you to this shopping hub in Kingstonupon-Thames. Fashion is covered by the likes of H&M, Hollister Co, Sole Trader, Timberland, Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oliver Bonas, New Look and Superdry. Your technology needs can be satisfied by the Apple Store, EE, HMV, O2 and Vodafone. Whilst McDonalds, Starbucks, T.G.I. Fridays and Costa Coffee can help you keep

Heythrop’s current location is

area. The next performance on

spoilt for choice when it comes

the schedule is a production of

to museums with the V & A,

Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

Natural History Museum and

and this particular adaptation

Science museum only a fifteen-

is by Oscar-winning playwright

minute walk away in South

Christopher Hampton. Thus,

Kensington. The big question

even though we do not know if

is: will our love of museums be

the proposed merger with St.

hindered by our new home?

Mary’s is to be or not to be yet,

The answer – most definitely

some guaranteed high quality

not! An absolute must for any

theatre is on the doorstep. Our

visit to Twickenham has to be

Arts & Culture Society will love

Kingston

The World Rugby Museum that

this.

This night has actually been

Uncle Vanya is being per-

recommended by our music

boasts an extensive collection of 25,000 objects on display along with various other visiting exhibitions. The museum opened as ‘The Museum of Rugby’ in 1996 but took on its current name in 2007. Its annual 25,000 visitors head to the museum, situated in the East

formed at The Mary Wallace Theatre from Sat 24th to Sat 31st January. Visit www.richmondshakespeare.org.uk for booking info.

The Bentall Centre Kingston

focused through your deadlines and keep your social life on track. Oh and we nearly forgot – whilst Harry Potter went to Diagon Alley for his school supplies, you can go to WHSmiths, Waterstones and Paperchase.

Sorted.

New Slang Night Thursdays at McClusky’s,

correspondent, Will Howard.

The night features live performances from local Kingston bands as well as international touring acts. Additionally, the evening often sees bands showcase their new material with single release shows. Past

Stand of Twickenham stadium,

St. Mary’s University have a

performers have included the

to catch a glance of ‘the world’s

‘Location and Lifestyle’ page on

likes of Vampire Weekend,

largest and most comprehen-

their website and they inform

Disclosure, Franz Ferdinand,

sive collection of rugby football

students of the closeness of

Catfish and the Bottlemen,

Twickenham Richmond Park, often most famously known for being the home of Red and Fallow deer, is just under an hour away from the campus of St Mary’s on foot – making it slightly easier for members of the Heythrop Running society if they partake in any more 10k races there.

However, even closer to the campus (a fifteen-minute walk in fact) is Twickenham Green.

This is, according to totallyrichmond.co.uk, ‘the surviving fragment of the eastern section of old common lands called Hounslow Heath.’ This nice green space would be perfect to have a break during essay deadlines and apparently it is also the home of cricket during the summer……we used to have a cricket society a few years ago right?! There is also a ‘Friends of Twickenham Green Executive Committee’ so if you’ve always wanted to have a say on what happens to grass and benches, then this could be a great CV opportunity for you!

the family to when they come for a visit. Perhaps it could be a potential summer ball venue too? You can gain free entry to their gardens seven days a week (Twickenham really do seem to love their greenery), full-time students get half price entry to the house for £6 and you can also relax with an afternoon tea in its café. Goodbye Kensington Palace and hello Strawberry Hill House.

So there you have it. A brief insight into what future Heythrop students can entertain themselves with, should our removal vans be heading to Twickenham in the coming years. Some readers may have noticed slight hints of sarcasm and occasional disapproval of our move to Twickenham. However, let me be frank – I would be a rather peculiar Culture Editor if I was promoting the idea of us trading England’s capital city for…well….that place which has a Rugby Museum and a fair sized shopping centre.

However, in the interest of at least acknowledging my bias tone, maybe I should note that perhaps such sarcasm was once used by Londoners towards the likes of Shoreditch and Brixton and look how up and coming they are now. If Heythrop does move, perhaps we can set out to replicate such success in Twickenham…

11

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Theatre: Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Katie Milne

managed to capture the creativ-

long time to progress into the

humdrum first half, was that it

into a doll with an uncanny

ity of Willy Wonka perfectly on

chocolate factory. Although

was often hard to understand

likeness to himself all just add-

stage. Through projections and

the time spent seeing Charlie’s

the lyrics. I’m sure I missed out

ed humour to the show, rather

I recently went to see a matinee

lifelike props the chocolate fac-

life at home was enlightening,

on quite a few funny additions

than taking anything away from

performance of Charlie and

tory of my childhood was easily

it became a little dull and felt

simply due to not being able

it. The Oompa-Loompas were

the Chocolate Factory at the

brought to life.

as though the story could have

to hear the actors singing. I’m

very cleverly done and looked

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Also to be commended are the

been moved along a bit quicker.

not sure whether adjusting the

much more endearing, fun and

Having read rave reviews I was

wonderful costumes which,

I did however like the involve-

volume would have helped,

loveable than I had imagined.

very excited, as I loved both

considering the large number

ment of Charlie’s parents, who

perhaps the young actors just

Their recurring presence after

incarnations of the film and

of characters on stage at a

were played very lovingly by

need some practise in enuncia-

the interval definitely helped

had read Roald Dahl’s book

time, meant you were never

Richard Dempsey and Kirsty

tion.

to secure the show’s success, it

over and over again as a child. I

confused about who was who.

Malpass, and the further de-

On a more positive note, I was

would not have been the same

have to say, I was not disap-

Willy Wonka himself looked

velopment of Uncle Joe, who

very impressed with how the

without them. Finally, I was

pointed. I had wondered how

exactly as you might imagine

provided light comedy through-

production managed to capture

pleased to see the inclusion of

they would manage to create

and the actor who played him

out the show, to keep the adults

the transformations of the

the song “Pure Imagination”

the wonderment of Willy Won-

captured his dark wit and hu-

entertained while children

“naughty” children in a way

from the original 1971 film in

ka’s chocolate factory that had

mour perfectly. The child who

gawped in delight at the visual

that did not look crude or poor-

the score. When Willy Wonka

tantalised my imagination as a

played Charlie was instantly

spectacular on stage.

ly done without the help of CGI.

and Charlie were lifted into the

child and had been brought to

adorable and charming in his

One other negative was that

Augustus flying through the

sky in the glass elevator and

life by CGI in the most recent

role, epitomising the sweet and

although I loved the score and

waste chute, Violet having her

sang the song, I was trans-

film. However I needn’t have

clever child I so empathised

felt as though the upbeat tempo

legs and arms expanded and

ported back to my childhood

been doubtful, the sets were

with in the book. One criticism

of the songs helped to keep the

ending up in a giant glitter ball,

and the magical moment really

beautiful and colourful and

would be that it took a very

show afloat, especially in the

and Mike Teavee being turned

captured my heart.

Second Year Undergraduate

Music: Stealing Sheep Gig and White Heat Relaunch Will Howard

artists, puppets, projection-

Located in between these two

2014 saw the sad end of

night of my 21st birthday

Music Correspondent

ists, and a marching band; they

the rhythmic genius that is

London’s best indie night:

18 months ago, I feel I am

parade round the entire room,

Lucy Mercer, playing a variety

White Heat. The unfortu-

not the most ideal repre-

The Christmas spirit is one that

cutting through the crowd:

of percussion instruments, at

nate news came due to the

sentative but I can assure

looms over us all in the latter

drums, bells, whistles, pots,

various paces, all at the same

closure of Madame Jojo’s,

you that you will never

stages of each year, and there

pans, horns, and a dragon. A

time. Pure brilliance. The trio

the venue in which the

find a place as fun, full of

are few acceptable responses

real carnival was kicking off in

harmonise their vocals to cre-

night was held, due to a

like minded people and of

to its inevitable occurrence. My

the top of a swanky bar in east

ate an eerie and unforgettable

fight breaking out between

course £1 vodka shots. If

favourite of the most recent

London. Among the costumes

sound which crosses bounda-

bouncers and passers by –

you have never been, do

festive reactions was the End

and excitement three young

ries and incites imagination.

baseball bats and broken

not despair as the organis-

of the Road Christmas Special.

musicians crept on stage,

They play a host of songs

bottles, it sounds horrific.

ers have re-launched the

Hackney Central’s finest bar,

shielded by a wall of colour and

which, some new, some old, all

Aside from the appalling

night at an impressive

kitchen, and venue Oslo opened

noise, and initiated a uniform-

of which are amiable, experi-

truth of this recent closure,

venue in North London.

its doors to a small despondent

ity in the racket engulfing the

mental and all boast animated,

it seems that Soho’s spirit

The Lexington is located

crowd for what we expected to

room. All instruments now

ethereal melodies. ‘Shut Eye’

is being revoked its license

on Pentonville Road, in

be a typical yuletide celebra-

playing together, a repetitive

sticks in memory (perhaps as

and replaced by some

between Angel and Kings

tion, only to be greeted by an

pattern formed and the gig was

it is the only song I had heard

large clothing chain or

Cross, and Friday nights

almost inexpressibly bizarre

underway.

before booking tickets) for its

something equally devoid

will be reserved for White

fiesta. Liverpool’s Stealing

As three-piece bands go, Steal-

engaging opening lines, which

of soul. This news brings

Heat’s residency of ‘swel-

Sheep are an all girl psyche-

ing Sheep are not particularly

falls into a gorgeous folk tinged

an end to the place where

tering disco, leftfield pop,

delic folk trio, who bridge the

conventional, owing precisely

verse, building to a full-bodied

many young Londoners

throbbing house, and new

gap between the mystical styl-

to their unconventional sound.

chorus which got every person

misspent their youth. A

wave edits’. I would sug-

ing of the pagan countryside

On one side of the stage, Re-

dancing. This track ended a

place which has seen many

gest that everyone gets

and the psychedelic tenden-

becca Hawley was surrounded

wonderful performance and

coming-of-age nights for

down to one of these nights

cies of a port city. The show

by four keyboards and syn-

was enriched by the return of

the teenagers of the last

at some point in your stay

begins with a muffled sound

thesizers; she is of course the

the puppets and drummers,

decade will now be merely

in London to experience

of a banging drum; as people’s

clear influence of electronica

navigating the crowd for one

a cherished memory. Hav-

hedonism as you’ve never

chatter quietens the drummer

on the band, with almost every

last party. I shall never forget

ing only first frequented

seen before.

is revealed through a small

song featuring a distinctively

the festive bazaar that was The

the establishment on the

access door to the side of the

majestic synthesised melody.

End of the Road Christmas

stage. The sound of many more

On the other side stood only

Special, a true mythopoesis.

drummers follows, and through

two keyboards and a few gui-

Stealing Sheep return to Lon-

the door bursts a procession of

tars, Emily Lansley patrolled

don to play Chat Palace Arts

drummers, percussionists, and

this area accompanying songs

Centre, Hackney. Tuesday 10th

puppeteers. Their Mythopoeia

with sharp and precise riffs, not

February.

Procession is a collective of

out of place on a Can album.

submit culture

12

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

D

Video Game: Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby: Looks like they’re out of Dreams and Adventures Rob Leftwich

which the games were set) was

why it’s exactly the same as the

now part of the story and we

ing from Pokémon games now,

full of challenges and surprises

one in X and Y. I must assume

actively tell you exactly what

i.e. new ideas, new direction.

When talking about these

then. It truly was a world where

that these decisions were made

you need to do to find all of

How about instead of beating 8

games, I first need to get

dreams and adventures await,

either due to time constraints

them, then guide you through

gym leaders and the Pokémon

the cool stuff out of the way.

as the opening spiel goes.

or to make room for the online

them! I don’t understand who

league whilst fighting team

*Spoiler alert* - Yes going into

What a shame then that the re-

play features which only appeal

this is for, old players like me

<insert name here> we have to

space on Rayquaza’s back to

makes of arguably the most in-

to some people and will only

already know the solutions so

go and find our missing family

catch Deoxys and blow up a

novative Pokémon games ever

remain active for a limited

don’t need to be told, and new

using Pokémon, or fight a war

meteor is pretty cool (although

are so lazy. Whereas previous

time.

players (shockingly) may actu-

against an invading army of

not as cool as it sounds), yes

Pokémon remakes added new

I still play on the old Pokémon

ally want to work things out for

Pokémon trainers? How about

the new dexnav that lets you

areas and challenges, this game

games because the multiplayer

themselves instead of being led

instead of having to catch them

search for specific Pokémon

actively removes them - the

features aren’t necessary to

by the nose through the entire

all, we can only pick six and

more easily is useful and well

battle frontier from Pokémon

enjoy the game, however I

game. What new features there

then we have to engage in a

implemented, it’s also cool

Emerald is gone, as are the

feel like the current genera-

are either seek to make the

conservation effort to protect

that we can finally put organise

mirage tower and desert under-

tion of Pokémon games will

game lose all of its bite or are

Pokémon in their natural

boxes at the top of the list in

pass, there are also fewer puz-

be hard to come back to in ten

gimmicks which, by definition,

habitat? Or at the very least, we

the PC but these are chocolate

zles in the trick house and all

years because all the challenge

get old quickly. Yeah flying over

could have a game where once

buttons on top of a stale and

the Mach bike floor puzzles are

and intrigue from the game is

Hoenn is really cool the first

we beat team de jure and the

small cake.

gone. What we have in place

gone, and I doubt the online

three times you do it and then

league we can go explore some-

I was ten years old when Poké-

of these expansive areas are

features will still be there to

it just reinforces how small

where else and find something

mon Ruby and Sapphire came

“mirage spots” where a handful

pick up the slack. I felt like the

Hoenn is, especially compared

we weren’t expecting. Pokémon

out and, at the time, I loved

of Pokémon and items can be

game was holding my hand the

to Kalos from X and Y or Unova

Alpha Sapphire and Omega

them. Despite being disap-

found. We also have a (admit-

whole way through. Oh look!

from Black and White.

Ruby do three things well,

pointed that there was only one

tedly cool) redesign of Mauville

A free legendary Pokémon!

It just seems to me that Nin-

they render Hoenn in 3D very

playable region and not all the

city and the shipwreck as well

Oh look! May is here to guide

tendo are pulling their same

nicely, they incorporate a few

Pokémon from the older games

as the battle resort, which is

you to where you need to go

old trick of not seeming to

features that are cool for com-

were available, there was lots

like the battle frontier but

next because god forbid you

understand what innovation is.

petitive players and they shit all

to love. The Gameboy advance

much smaller. In place of the

should actually have to think or

Innovation is not giving us the

over people who liked Pokémon

brought colour, life and com-

seven facilities from the fron-

explore anywhere for yourself.

same thing with different bells

for the challenge, adventure,

plexity that the series had never

tier, each of which had it’s own

Are you sure you wouldn’t like

and whistles. Innovation is

puzzles and exploration.

seen before, as well as a host

unique battle style which tested

to make the game even easier?

taking something and exploring

In summary, if you loved Ruby

of new features: a revamp of

different aspects of Pokémon

What? You like being surprised

new avenues with it, moving it

or Sapphire and want to enjoy

how Pokémon’s stats worked,

strategy, we have only one facil-

in our games? Well tough shit,

in a new direction and having

a better version of those games

farmable berry trees, a weather

ity which was copy/pasted from

all the secret areas from the

fun with it. You only have to

with a raft of new features and

system, the diving mechanic,

Pokémon X and Y with some

old games except one have now

look at the Pokémon modding

great replay value, go buy Poké-

double battles and much, much

weak story rationalisation of

been either removed, or are

community to see what’s miss-

mon Emerald.

Head Writer

more. Hoenn (the region in

13

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Film: I Predict A Great Year Jordan Mant

film’s Facebook page describes

Two actresses who are said to

and Bob, take a voyage to New

see Taken 3 (out now) as Liam

Culture Editor

it… ‘a struggling actress and her

be stepping out into career-

York to save their species. I

Neeson reprises the role of one

novelist lover each illustrate the

defining roles this year are

am not even going to lie…this

of the most unfortunate fathers

struggle and deconstruction of

Jennifer Aniston and Reese

is probably one of the film

and husbands ever portrayed

their love affair.’ Kendrick also

Witherspoon. Aniston is said

releases that I am most excited

on film. First his daughter was

stars in Pitch Perfect 2 (15th

to deliver an ‘Oscar-worthy

about. There are also two new

taken, then he was taken and

May) as the Barden Bellas are

performance’ in Cake (20th

animated Disney films which

this time….his pet fish? In all

taking on an international com-

Feb) which depicts a woman

are worth a recommendation

seriousness, Neeson refused

petition which an American

who becomes obsessed by the

with Big Hero 6 (30th Jan) and

to do the third instalment if

team has never won before. The

suicide of Nina, a member of a

a new live-action version of

someone was taken again so

good news is that the majority

support group which she also

Cinderella (3rd April), star-

the writers have come up with

of the cast are said to be return-

attends. She begins to develop

ring Downton Abbey stars Lily

a different spin for this final

ing for the sequel.

a relationship with Nina’s hus-

James and Sophie McShera.

outing. Finally, fans of the

If musicals are not really your

band and this sees her facing

Hopefully everyone will stop

Hunger Games can see the last

thing, there’s no need to worry.

up to some of the truths about

talking about Frozen for a

instalment of the franchise

Perhaps you’re more of a fan of

her own personal life. The cast

while now…doubtful! If you are

when Mockingjay: Part 2 hits

drama and romance. If so, then

is littered with Academy Award

looking for something aimed

cinemas on 20th November.

you should get yourself to your

Nominees, along with….you

at a more adult audience, you

Stop. Everything I have just

nearest cinema this very mo-

guessed it….Anna Kendrick.

can also catch Vince Vaughan,

said is basically pointless.

ment to see Eddie Redmayne

This could definitely be one

Dave Franco and Nick Frost

There is only one film that you

and Felicity Jones in the film

of those underrated films that

in Unfinished Business (6th

need to see this year and that

which tells the story of Stephen

actually take us pleasantly by

March). You could also go and

is the 24th (that’s right, 24th!!)

Hawking and Jane Wilde, The

surprise this year. Meanwhile,

see the film Get Hard (27th

instalment of one of the long-

Theory of Everything. I saw

Reese Witherspoon stars in the

March) which was produced by

est running film franchises of

the stunning movie last week

movie Wild (16th Jan) which

and stars Will Ferrell alongside

all time – “The name’s Bond,

which is based on Jane Wilde’s

sees the star take true centre

Kevin Hart, as Hart’s character

James Bond.” In December, a

memoir of her romance with

stage in the film. She plays a

teaches Ferrell’s how to survive

press conference was held at

Stephen Hawking and the

woman who goes on a 1,100

a stint in prison.

Pinewood studios about the

challenges which the pair faced

mile hike across America by

If its action that you’re after

next film in the series and Dan-

upon Stephen’s diagnosis of

herself after the break-up of

then you should put three dates

iel Craig was confirmed to be

motor neurone disease. The

her marriage and this leads to

on your calendar for certain.

once again playing 007 along-

movie is beautifully created,

a reflective journey of some of

First up, Arnie is so done

side a fantastic cast – Dave

stunningly acted and is filled

the things she did in her past

with being the Governor of

Bautista, Ralph Fiennes (typi-

with information which you

that she was not proud of.

California and now is reprising

cally known as Voldermort),

may not have known about one

Well after all of that drama,

his role as the Terminator in

Monica Belluci, Christoph

of the world’s most famous sci-

you are probably going to need

three new films for the series.

Waltz, Ben Whishaw, Sher-

entists. If Eddie Redmayne fails

some lighter entertainment.

Terminator Genisys (3rd July)

lock’s Andrew Scott, Naomie

to be showered with awards for

My top recommendation would

contains a host of stars includ-

Harris and Rory Kinnear shall

his performance in this film,

probably be the Minions (July

ing Doctor Who’s Matt Smith,

all be featuring. The director of

then a great disservice has been

10th) movie which is pretty

Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney,

the highly successful Skyfall,

done. This month you can also

much guaranteed to make

Douglas Smith and most likely

Sam Mendes, is also back on

see Alicia Vickander bring the

anyone and everyone happy

a rather tedious storyline to ex-

board after many negotiations

First World War memoirs of

(especially its makers who are

plain why this created machine

due to his hectic schedule. The

Vera Brittain to life in Testa-

bound to make a fortune from

has aged massively since the

film has already started filming

ment of Youth (16th Jan). Vera

it!) This spin-off to the Despic-

first film back in 1984. Regard-

and the cast have been spot-

postponed her Oxford educa-

able Me films is set 42 years

less, any Terminator film star-

ted in Notting Hill and on a

tion to serve as a Voluntary Aid

B.G. (before Gru) and tells the

ring Arnie himself shall be an

speedboat on the River Thames

Detachment nurse in London

tale of some of the minions’

entertaining action film even if

so far. They have now headed

and abroad during the war and

past masters and the problems

it’s not the best of the franchise.

to the Alps in Austria. James

the film depicts this and her

they face when they fail to have

If you are a fan of big action

Bond will return in….Spectre

relationship with her fiancé,

someone to serve. Thus three

sequences, fast cars and explo-

(23rd October).

played by Kit Harington.

new minions, Kevin, Stuart

sions, then you should also

The line-up of film releases over the next year is so impressive that it’s bordering on ridiculous. I mentioned this to our Head Writer, Rob Leftwich, the other day and he rightly pointed out that a schedule of well-anticipated movies is no guarantee that they will be good. He makes a fair point.

2015 could be a year of great trailers but awful films. However, with a release schedule like this, I think we will certainly have a pleasant list of new successful films by the end of the year. Here’s my run-down of some of the many new releases hitting your cinema screens in 2015.

For one thing, 2015 is guaranteed to be musical and this is mostly down to Anna Kendrick – an actress who, until a few months ago, I could barely name anything that she had starred in. Now though, her agent has done a good job of securing roles for her in a wealth of new films. You can catch Anna in Disney’s musical Into the Woods (out now) as she plays Cinderella.

The musical which also stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp tells of the consequences of the wishes and quests of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. The post-‘happily ever after’ tale is told through a story of a baker and his wife who has been cursed by a witch. If you can’t get enough of Anna Kendrick then you may be interested in watching another film based on a musical, The Last Five Years (release date TBC). As the

Actor most likely to do well in 2015: Eddie Redmayne Actress most likely to do well in 2015: Anna Kendrick Film that many will say that they won’t go to see but actually will: Fifty Shades of Grey Film that I’m contractually obliged to mention or my editor won’t run this article: Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Out 18th Dec. Film originally meant to be released in 2015 but has been delayed: Finding Dory. Annoyingly, we now have to wait until 2016. Oh well, just keep swimming.

write reviews of all these films for our culture section!

14

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

The Creative Commons A Creatively Compiled Collection The Top Ten Best Kitchen Shortcuts Rebecca Pyke Cooking Correspondent

1) 2) 3)

4)

Dear Dr X, Thank you

for taking the original

piece of work that

I spent weeks of

When needing to soften or break up butter for a recipe then try grating it.

my life on, squatting over it and

Green beans can be pushed to the end of their plastic jacket and the ends all chopped off in one quick motion.

ally enlightening to see how you

Make your favourite bake quicker and easier by pre-measuring the dry ingredients and keeping them in an airtight jar ready for use. If for example you regularly enjoy fresh pancakes, you can keep the dry ingredients stored in a handy airtight plastic bag and write the recipe on the front ready for breakfast.

Save on your peeling by making chunky mash made with the skins left on. Squash can be baked in its skin too.

unleashing a big pile of steaming corrections all over it. It was rejust threw it away because

I didn’t

stand upside now and retell the same bullshit as everyone else. also really liked how you

“try

I wrote,

to improve” in the comments

section

because

helpful.

Maybe

that

is

really

next time, tucked

in with the coversheet will be the offer of a pint of my warm still beating blood straight from out of the jugular.

Yours most graciously,

5)

6)

Make wrapping your sandwiches easier by placing the plastic wrap in the fridge. This makes the plastic cold, hard and easier to wrap over food.

Stop chopped and peeled fruit from browning by adding a squeeze of lemon juice. An alternative would be to add a solution of one part honey and two parts water to your fruit salad

together to split open the end, and peel it from the bottom up.

9)

Speed up the ripening of your fruit by placing them in a sealed paper bag.

Dear Dr. X, Anonymous We don’t have the economies of scale that the student experience needs to sustain and develop the

Four Pillar missions of our

Buzzwords Focus Group

Buzzwords Buzz W. Ord

10) When you want frothy milk but can’t afford an expensive espresso machine. Then buy a plastic jug that seals easily, fill the cup half full with milk and shake it till it has doubled in size. Tip into a microwavable container and heat for no more than 30 seconds. Then you can have lovely frothy milk.

submit a poem to the lion newspaper we’ll take anything

From Heythrop College

8) When a banana is difficult to peel turn it upside down, press the edges

Student Y

food for thought

7)

Fresh herbs can be washed, chopped up and frozen in water or oil in an ice cube tray. Then they can be popped out and added when needed to your saucepan.

15

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

spot the difference! can you spot what’s missing from the second image? submit your answer to the lion editors for a chance to win a secret prize!

Societies Sports and

Make the Heythrop Running Soc Your New Year’s Resolution

Either St. Mary’s or Heythrop Wins Netball Match (Probably)

Jordan Mant President of Running Soc

a week. On Tuesday evenings at

but we will be offering our mem-

8pm we run to Knightsbridge and

bers a discount out of our society

This time of year sees many of us

on Sunday mornings at 10am we

budget.

Yesterday’s netball match

it was a draw. If I were a bet-

run in Kensington Gardens and

For more info about the race or

saw the Heythrop team

ting big cat, I’d put my money

Hyde Park.

the society in general, you can

square up against the St.

on the sports college having

We also organise entries to races

e-mail running@heythrop.su.

Mary’s side (if anyone

won. The loser, whoever it

which members have the choice

You can find us at facebook.com/

showed up). Unfortunately,

was, put up a gallant fight,

to participate in. The next race

HeythropRunning or on Twitter -

at time of writing the match is

unless they got whipped, in

that we shall be participating in

@HeythropRunning

tomorrow.

which case they should hang

shall be a 10k at Regent’s Park

Happy New Year and hopefully

The Lion is undeterred by

their heads in shame.

on Sunday 1st Feb and the event

see you soon! Free food and drinks

this fact and is reporting on

Either way, the match is sure

website states that they welcome

are provided. The event starts at

the symbolic game anyway.

to be remembered as a game

beginners if you’ve never ran a 10k

7.30pm in the Rec room. Hope to

The Lion can reveal that one

with an outcome, whatever

before. Entry to the race is £16

see you there!

of the two sides won - unless

that outcome was.

making New Years’ resolutions and if becoming a little bit more active is one of yours, then perhaps you should give the Heythrop Running Soc a try. If you have yet to come across our society, we are a group that encourages anyone of any ability to come and join us – from casual joggers, to expert runners and anyone who just wants to keep fit. We currently meet twice

16

TUESDAY 13TH JANUARY | THE LION

Horoscopes Charlie

Charlie

Charlie

Charlie

Mar 21 - Apr 19

Apr 20 - May 20

May 21 - Jun 20

Jun 21 - Jul 22

Financial matters are playing on your mind this month. It could be that this is because you have recently come into a large amount of money, or because money is running out, but either way you should keep an eye on the bank balance or you could be in for a nasty surprise come February

Hope you made it through Blue Monday okay, coming back to work after the holidays can always be a bit depressing. But think of all the exciting things coming up! Like the seemingly imminent death and/or mutilation of Heythrop! Oh.... Well, if you’re a postgrad or a BD student you’ll be fine.

Probably. Unless the HSU messes everything up with its protests.

Actually I’m not done with the last one. If you are a BD student, why are you reading this witchcraft? This is serious stuff, I commune with the stars and other cosmic entities to write these, that isn’t very Christian. Nah, I’m just kidding, I know that most of you guys have a sense of humour.

Charlie

Charlie

Charlie

Charlie

Jul 23 - Aug 22

Aug 23 - Sep 22

Sep 23 - Oct 22

Oct 23 - Nov 21

Having read the informative article inside this paper about New Years, I have decided you should celebrate every New Years from every Calendar that has every been written, including several that I just made up. You should also join all religions, from the major to the cultish, become a member of every political party and declare allegiance to every country on the planet.

Speaking of elections, the HSU Executive elections aren’t too far away. I mean they are, but whatever. Thinking of running? I suggest you follow the lead of David and Ed and kick off your campaigning now. It might technically be against the rules of the HSU elections, but people admire guts, so you should go for it.

The hetero-inductivism of your diffractometer is causing the pseudoadministrative filing errors in your neural-syntax memorabilia. To address this, eat some ice-cream.

Bacon might go well with it too.

This is will be an important month for you (maybe). A lot of things are happening that will (or could) have a life changing effect (potentially).

It is not the time to shy away from change (or it could be that time).

Embrace your future! (Or don’t!)

Protest! Fight the Power! Fuck the System! Wreck Stuff! Don’t hold doors open for people! Smoke outside the designated smoking areas!

Return your library books with the page corners folded! Don’t sign in when you attend your lectures! Knock things over! Don’t water the plant!

Charlie

Charlie

Nov 22 - Dec 21

Dec 22 - 19 Jan

See, my last piece of advice was good.

You checked yourself and you are not wrecked. You owe me. I accept cash.

You should start thinking about who you are going to vote for in the general election. The parties have already kicked off their campaigns, presumably forgetting that there is still four months to the day and that we aren’t in the US (where the campaign train never stops!) and that everyone will (unless your a political junkie) be sick to death of the whole affair by the time May actually rolls around. Anyway, far be it from me to tell you how to vote, but you should definitely vote for the Monster Raving Loony Party. If they aren’t running in the constituency you live in, simply move house.

Charlie

Charlie

Jan 20 - Feb 18

Feb 19 - 20 Mar

When we move off this site I’m taking everything that isn’t nailed down. I could use a pool table in my living room, and I’ve always fancied those lion busts next to the big wheelie bins. I think something from Halls would be appropriate, to remind me of my time there. Perhaps a fire alarm. And the grammatically incorrect HSU banner hanging in the Sab office. At the end of the day, whose going to miss it?

What even is your sign? A couple of fish dancing? Making sweet love?

Seriously, what’s up with that? I suppose you’re better than the one next to you. Is that a lady trying to strangle a jelly fish? That doesn’t sound pleasant for either party involved.