The Insiter, March 2011

Editor:

editorial

AnnaMaria Zammit Editorial Board:

Claire Bonello Kristina Cassar Noel Camilleri Head of Design:

Theo Cachia Layout and Production:

Isabel Micallef Glorianne cassar

First they came for the writers, But I didn’t speak up, because I was not a writer.

Then they came for the artists, But I didn’t speak up, because I was not an artist.

Then they came for the Muslims, the liberals, the Jews, the homosexuals, the anarchists, the politicians…

And I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t any of them.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up for me.

Illustrators:

Kurt sammut alessi, romina tolu iella Head of Photography:

Glorianne Cassar Photographers:

Rachelle Zammit Mamo, shaun abdilla Media Officer:

Christine Spiteri Sales and Marketing:

Anton Abela Maria anthea attard Contributors:

Nathan Adams, Karl Agius, Louisa Attard, Nikolai Attard, Neville Bezzina, Claire Bonello, Luke Bonello, Hillary Briffa, Daniel Buhagiar, Stephanie Calleja, Noel Camilleri, David Carabott, Christine Caruana, Rochelle-Tess Caruana, Kristina Cassar, Oliver Cassar, Christabel Catania, Darren Chetcuti Vella, Julian Chircop, Ruth Chircop, Abigail Cremona, Andrea Debono Sant Cassia, Elaine Fenech, Claire Grima, Chris Galea, Emma Grech, Maria Claire Gatt, Annabel Hili, Tessa Mallia Borg, Louise Mifsud, Franco Rizzo, Roberta Rizzo, Chantelle Sciberras, The Nitpicker, The Whistleblower, Sandy Vella.

Cover design:

annamaria zammit, theo cachia

Many of us are guilty of the ‘it doesn’t concern me’ approach. And who can blame us? you might ask. We’re busy attending lectures, writing assignments, preparing for exams, keeping up with demanding jobs, and pursuing extra-curricular commitments. We have promising futures to cater for.

When we hear that a student newspaper has been banned from our campus, or that hundreds of books in the University library are being kept under lock and key, seemingly due to their “questionable content”, we don’t consider taking to the streets in furious protest. Heck, some of us don’t bat an eyelid when doubts are cast on the continuity of our precious stipends.

Students continue to come under fire from the general public, lecturers, and even each other for their apathy. Yet, those who protest are quickly labelled ‘anarchists’. Those who voice their opinion are ‘radicals’. Those who, Heaven forbid, demand answers and justifications are stared at in utter disbelief. Who cares?

Silence on matters affecting students is far more ominous when it stems from an organisation whose aim is ‘to represent the students in whatever issues concern them’, and to be our “voice on campus”. The Students’ Council elections, preceded by the ksu agm, are quickly approaching. One can tell from the multitude of lengthy reports being finalised, “news” of this and that completed project re-appearing, and names being thrown around (some more surprising than others) of sdm’s candidates. Once again, Studenti Demokristjani Maltin are not the least bit frightened of the opposition.

If you don’t usually vote, or if you tend to uniformly tick the boxes of the persons corresponding to your preferred colour, please think carefully this time round. Will this person stand up for you when the time comes? If you unjustly fail an exam, if you are wrongly accused of plagiarism, if you’re marginalised and discriminated against, who can you count on? Consider integrity, consistency, transparency, and a pre-existing record of taking important initiatives on campus and beyond as salient qualities in a good Students’ Council member. We owe it to ourselves and each other to speak up and select persons who will in turn speak up for us.

© 2010 Insite – The Student Media Organisation.

All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

the

is published eight times a year by insite – the student media organisation and is distributed for free on campus.

CORRESPONDENCE:

Insite – The student media organisation, university of malta, msida, msd 2080

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UOM’S NAUGHTY CABINET Hillary Briffa reports the accusations of censorship due to the notorious cabinet in the library.

04 12 14 16

News in-depth report Environment Student ORgs.

sales & advertising:

sales@insite.org.mt Email:

print@insite.org.mt WEBSITE:

INSITERONLINE.com

23 24 26 28

NATHAN ADAMS vox pop fashion shoot: flash of fluoro studying abroad

40 special report:

Karl Agius discusses focus groups as a new tool for empowering students in quality assurance.

29 30 31 37 39 44 46

The 21st volume of law jounal id-dritt documentary: suspended lives human trafficking and prostitution

the classics syllabus sign out of your facebook account celebrating 125 years of innovation top 5 apps for your

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student orgs.: The Insiter met up with mirsa for an interview regarding their latest broadcasting project.

36 CULTURE:

David Carabott shares his experience when he appeared as an extra in the film ‘The Devil’s Double’.

20 21 22 32 33 34 35

The Claire Chronicles THE NITPICKER THE WHISTLEBLOWER

personality of the month a media experiment Film Review: ‘the king’s speech’ Play Review: ‘osama the hero’

42

sportS INTERVIEW: Noel Camilleri interviewed Thomas Cremona who is an inspirational man to all of us.

insiteronline.com

03

stephanie calleja

Organisations’ Days encourage student

participation 2

7 of the 43 student organisations on campus participated in this year’s edition of ksu’s Organisations’ Days, held between 22 and 25 February at the university quadrangle. The main objectives of this event were to promote student activism and encourage students to participate in non-academic initiatives, as well as to bring student organisations’ aims to the fore, while helping them recruit new members.

The event was characterised by a number of debates about prominent issues of concern to the different sectors constituting the student population. These included gug’s debate on the permanent link between Malta and Gozo; sdm’s debate about student protests in the 1970’s and the 1980’s; Insite’s debate about Volunteering; desa’s debate on whether exams are a fair assessment of students’ knowledge; and S-Cubed/asa/Insite’s debate entitled “Science vs. Art: Two Cultures or Two Perspectives?”. Ongoing activities such as mpsa’s obIGsity Campaign, BetaPsi’s games, Insite’s focus groups and the continuous campus visits by dignitaries such as Archibishop Paul Cremona, Hon. Dr Owen Mifsud Bonnici, and former ad chairperson Arnold Cassola were also part of the calendar.

After the process of applying for a stand and being assigned one by ksu Social Commissioner Michela Boffa, the

contributing student organisations braved the bad weather to make this event a success. Every organisation was able to book a stand, and last year’s space problem was not an issue.

The debate area was available to all organisations. Ms Boffa told The Insiter that student traffic for this event increased, mostly in between lectures.

She commented about the frustration that some student organisations experience due to the low student turnout at their numerous events. “It’s easy enough to click attending on a Facebook event page, but how many people actually bother showing up to these events?”, she said. She went on to say that Organisations’ Days are a perfect solution to this problem, as they provide everyone with the opportunity to interact, with the aim of gathering useful information.

When asked why this event was held at a later date than usual, Ms Boffa said that this decision was taken after an important recommendation from former kps Commissioner Andrea Pace. Mr Pace is of the opinion that if it is held too close to Freshers’ Week, it doesn’t receive as much attention as it deserves.

Ms Boffa concluded by saying that she is satisfied with how the event turned out.

roberta rizzo

reform of Students’ charter T

he need for a Students’ Charter had long been felt in the University of Malta before work on it began in 2001.

It was approved in Senate in 2006 and since then has not been altered, although various meetings have been held of the Subcommittee for the Implementation of the Students’ Charter, which the Education Office attended. This year, the Education Office decided, along with the student representatives on the various boards of the University, to update the Students’ Charter, due to the concern that students are not well informed about its existence.

A lot of work has been done on it this year, including discussions with students, academic staff, and the administration. It is ksu’s aim to make sure that the rights of students are given importance, without any discrimination. The new

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

updated Students’ Charter is due to be approved during upcoming Senate meetings, after which a campaign will be initiated by ksu and the University administration to ensure that every student is aware of the rights conferred upon him by the Students’ Charter.

Rather than a set of rules, the Students’ Charter takes a friendly approach, working on the aspect of the student - academic relationship as one built on trust and collaboration. ksu is also working to make the Students’ Charter legally binding in order give it more significance.

Roberta Rizzo is Education Co-Ordinator on the KSU Executive Board.

news

david carabott

Heated Debate about

Student Protests O

n 23 February, a debate was held on campus about the student protests which took place in the 1970s and the 1980s. The panel featured individuals who experienced the protests and recounted their experiences: Hon. Dr George Pullicino, Hon. Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, and Mr Lawrence Zammit.

Mr Zammit believes that “today’s university is lacking students’ activism”, and that “with one’s involvement, learning becomes an enriching experience”. For Dr Hyzler, entering University was like a baptism by fire, as he recalls, “ I found myself in the middle of the battle of the grants”. Mr Zammit said that the student-worker scheme of the time was a truly mad decision, and the majority of the students opposed it. As a consequence, it provoked several incidents. For example, in 1977, some students chained themselves outside Castille. There were also a number of clashes with the police.

Dr Zammit Dimech compared the university of the past with that of the present and discussed two different realities.

“Students’s role was vital, and they fought their heart out for

the university of today,” he said. “There were only 800 students, and the intentions behind the student-worker scheme was to have them controlled by the State”.

Dr Pullicino expressed his opinion that “it is important to discuss the past to project a better future. At the end of the day, each and every government should take into account what students need and want, because the future is in their hands”.

During the debate, Mark Camilleri announced that Moviment Liberali will be contesting in the upcoming Student Council elections. When asked about the aims of Moviment Liberali, he replied that it intends “to lead ksu with our new ideas. We believe that there is an urgent need to change how ksu operates, since at present it is neither a democratic nor a transparent student council”.

The debate was organised by Ċentru Alcide De Gasperi, the accademic organ of sdm.

claire grima

science vs art?

I

s there a schism between science and art? Or is this merely a stereotype? Does science need art to progress? And does art need science to be understood? These were some of the questions raised during the debate entitled “Science vs. Art: Two Cultures or Two Perspectives?”, held on campus on 25 February. It was organised by S-Cubed (Science Students’ Society), in association with asa (Arts Students’ Society) and Insite.

The guests invited to speak at the event were Dr Adrian Grima, Prof. Joseph Grima, Dr Guido Lanfranco, Erin Stewart Tanti, and Thomas Farrugia.

Science and art are perceived as two separate disciplines, which cannot interact due to the significant differences that exist between them. On one hand, the arts are underestimated on the basis of the false assumption that they are easier to study than sciences. On the other hand, science is thought to be more challenging and require greater skill. Another misconception is that art is not particularly concerned with the truth, whereas science analyses reality and discovers facts through experiments.

While these represent the views of the majority of the Maltese public, the speakers at the debate told a different story. They concluded that science does need art to flourish, and art requires science to be understood. Science and art have a common goal: they are both in pursuit of the truth.

Innovative and imaginative ideas are greatly needed in order for science to progress. This was described during the debate as art being “the seed and fertiliser of a scientific idea”.

Without a certain amount of inspiration to accompany hours of meticulous work, scientific study would not be possible.

The world today requires people to have a vast array of abilities. While specialisation in one’s preferred area of study is still valued, the current climate welcomes well-rounded human beings who appreciate and understand a variety of subjects. It was concluded that there should not be a ‘versus’ between ‘science’ and ‘art’; together, they pave the way for progress.

insiteronline.com

05

christabel catania

Stipends to Remain

Untouched

A

s discussions on the faith of stipends intensified earlier this year, the student organisation Pulse doubted the efforts by the Ministry of Education to set students minds’ at rest as reagrds the continuance of the maintenance grant.

However, the Government has once again insisted that stipends will remain untouched. According to Pulse, in an answer to the latest Parliamentary Question on the matter, Education Minister Dolores Cristina renewed doubts about the current stipend system.

In March 2009, the Government confirmed that it was looking into different ways of revising the current system.

Back then, Minister Cristina said that the Government planned to find “creative solutions” to reform stipends. What

many students feared was that these “creative measures” would involve the termination of the stipend system.

Tensions heightened late last year when the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta publicly stated that the current stipend system is unsustainable. When contacted, the Ministry of Education said that, “There is absolutely no truth in the innuendo that the Government is considering changing the present form or quantum of the stipends.”

It was added that the Minister was misquoted when she answered to a supplementary question in Parliament, and students were assured that the Government has no intention of reducing or stopping stipends.

elsa Malta calls for

law exam reforms lsa (European Law Students’ Association) Malta has con-

eveyed to the Faculty of Laws students’ complaints regard-

ing the lack of reading time provided in most law exams. It is understood that time restrictions are necessary in exams, since students must show an ability to bring their thoughts together on paper within a reasonable time, but students should also be given sufficient opportunity to give their best performance.

It is commonly felt that there is no time to think during exams. Students often find themselves in an awkward position, having to choose between dedicating some time to planning their answers before putting them on paper (with the consequence that they have insufficient time to demonstrate their knowledge of the subject in detail), or starting to write immediately, and sacrificing order and clear expression of ideas in their essays. It would do no harm, and would potentially reassure well-prepared students, to implement a uniform fifteen minute reading time in all exams. Students often know their subjects well and are sufficiently prepared for exams. Such students should not be stressed by easily avoidable fears.

As things stand, students’ performance, and the resulting grades, do not reflect students’ knowledge of subjects, but rather their ability to make the correct choice when faced

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

with the dilemma outlined above. Choosing a question that one is ultimately less able to tackle is likely to result in the student being unable to complete his work and receiving a low grade when which he/she does not deserve.

Another complaint which reached elsa during the January exams was that students are, in practice, allowed by invigilators to leave the exam room during the last 10 minutes, this is clearly prohibited by the University regulations, thus disturbing students who are racing against time. Due to the way in which most exam venues are structured, students who are working are required to stand up to allow those who finish early to leave their seat, and the general noisy process through which invigilators collect exam papers results in havoc during the last minutes of the exam, thus creating more distress for those students who are particularly affected by the issue raised above. elsa feels that it has an obligation towards students of bringing their complaints to the Faculty, and the organisation has faith that the Faculty and the University Senate will do their utmost to resolve these issues in the interest of fairness and bettering education. In the light of the University’s aspirations to better its reputation both locally and abroad, these issues should not be regarded as minor, though litte effort should be required to address them.

news

noel camilleri

arab world unrest impinging on tertiary education T

he unrest currently engulfing North Africa and the Middle East is having an impact on various aspects of tertiary education, both within and beyond the countries experiencing the unrest.

Less than a month after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was ousted in a popular revolt, Egypt’s higher education authorities took steps towards guaranteeing independence for public universities. While the notorious state police are leaving campuses, new student union elections will be held within sixty days after universities reopen from the mid-year vacations. Previous student elections were widely believed to be rigged in favour of Mubarak loyalists.

Meanwhile, in Yemen, students’ protests are gathering

momentum as thousands are staging sit-ins at Sana’a University to demand the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Libya’s bloody revolution and the troubles facing the ruling Gaddafi family have led to the resignation of the Director of the London School of Economics (lse). The university in London has come under scrutiny in the past weeks over a donation from Saif Al-Islam, son of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Furthermore, an inquiry has been launched into claims that the phd thesis of Saif Gaddafi has extensive instances of plagiarism, as well as the university’s links with the Libyan regime.

noel camilleri

rector unanimously re-elected for second term

A

University Council meeting has reconfirmed Prof.

Juanito Camilleri as the University’s rector for the next five years., His current term ends next June. Prof. Camilleri’s re-election came about after only one nomination, submitted

by Prof. Dominic Fenech, was received by February 16, the closing date by which Council members had the right to nominate a candidate. After Prof. Camilleri accepted to be nominated for a second term, a vote was taken by secret ballot.

Subsequent to his election, Prof. Camilleri thanked the University Council, saying he looked forward with renewed vigour to further strengthen the University’s vocation in teaching and research, while ensuring that it maintains its

rightful standing among the European universities. He emphasised the need for the University to continue to actively participate in national and regional socio-economic development through collaboration with industry and civil society at large.

Prof. Camilleri also highlighted the importance of the University’s international mission, saying that it must continue to forge strategic partnerships with prestigious international counterparts and, in so doing, project a significant international presence. A more detailed plan of the incumbent Rector’s vision can be found in his recently published document 2020 Vision or Optical Illusion?, published to mark the University’s Foundation Day.

noel camilleri

thirteenth faculty set up at university of malta T

he Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences is the latest faculty to emerge on campus. Formerly known as the Centre for Communication Technology (cct), this faculty has the aim of developing and enhancing growth within this area. The University Council approved the new setup last January.

This Faculty will have six departments, incorporating media and communications, library information and ar-

chive sciences, digital arts, corporate communications, cognitive science and information policy and governance.

These changes will not affect the course programmes of B. Communications students.

The Centre for Communication Technology was originally set up in 1991 and was always focused on expanding the area of media studies.

insiteronline.com

07

Annabel Hili

Discover University!

Open Week 2011 P

rospective students, alumni and members of the general public attended the University’s Open Week, held between 14 and 19 March. The aim of this event was to help people get better acquainted with the University and show what Malta’s highest educational institution has to offer.

The Open Week ran daily from 9am until 8pm, and activities were held at the Msida, Valletta, and Gozo campuses. Such activities included guided campus tours and tours of the laboratories, and University library visits for secondary school students.

The Open Week was planned around twelve themes, namely: Courses, Research, Faculties and Departments/Institutes/Centres, Junior College, Student Life, Sports, Cultural Activities, the Library, Administration, Alumni, the Malta University Holding Company, and the Malta University Press. A pavilion was set up in Car Park 4 housing several

themed stands promoting the various activities. There were cultural and sports activities, as well as recreational ones such as a treasure hunt. Several faculties conducted talks and presentations about the courses they offer, with some even holding ‘taster lessons’ to introduce the subject to prospective students.

The library hosted ‘Meet a Maltese Author’ and gave visitors the opportunity to go ‘behind the scenes’. Other highlights included a botanical walk around the campus and a number of concerts. In the evening, talks and seminars were given on current issues in different fields, organised by different faculties.

The Open Week was planned by an Organising Committee chaired by the Rector, Professor Juanito Camilleri.

Moviment liberali for KSU elections M

oviment Liberali (ml), formerly Moviment Indipendenti (mi) has evolved over the past year and plans to contest the upcoming Students’ Council elections not merely as a form of protest against the current incumbents - as they did last year when they garnered 356 block votes - but by putting forward concrete proposals, some of which have already been published in the latest edition of Ir-Realtà.

The group is disappointed at the “reactionary and conservative forces” currently in control, and aims to constructively “protest against this stifling status quo”. They are hopeful that a Council “which hands out freebies and organises fancy parties and ceremonies” will be replaced by one that “in a practical way contributes to the education of University students”. ml laments the fact that “the last entity to come to mind when any student needs their rights defended is ksu”, thus rendering it “redundant”. They feel that this also explains why very few students bother to vote in the Council elections.

Among the changes that ml promises to implement if elected to ksu are the following: an upgrade of the Faculty of Science research laboratories to ameliorate undergradu-

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

ate research conditions; ensuring that multiple copies of all the books in the recommended reading list for all courses are available in the main section of the library; lobbying for the creation of new undergraduate courses which are not yet available, such as a B.Sc. in Environmental Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Medicine; and lobbying with the Government to create a multi-storey car park at the University.

“We aim to change the University Students’ Council from a static entity into a dynamic institution which makes practical changes in students’ lives and improvements at University”, ml said.

At the time of going to print, the candidates were the following: Mark Camilleri, Robert Louis Grech, Monique Aguis, Ryan Dalli, and Daniel Muscat.

Meanwhile, Pulse has informed The Insiter that it will continue to insist that the electoral system be changed from the current first-past-the-post system, to a proportional representation system. The current electoral system, they hold, is limiting their representation and participation. Pulse President Glenn Micallef told The Insiter that the Pulse executive has not ruled out the possibility of contesting in these elections, especially if the voting system is reformed.

news

aNnabel hili

ksu environmental fair 2011 The end of March brings with it the ksu Environmental Fair, which has now become an annual event on the University calendar. The fair, this year taking place between 23 and 25 March, is being organised in collaboration with the kps Environmental and Sustainable Development Committee.

The principal aim of the fair, according to ksu, is to boost environmental awareness among students, and to increase sustainable development practices on campus. ksu hopes to make students as well as the general public more familiar with the impacts that climate change is having on our planet, thereby encouraging them to be more environmentally conscious in their everyday lives, both on and off campus.

With this in mind, ksu is organising various environment-themed events and initiatives over the three-day peri-

od. The Quadrangle will also play host to a number of stands set up by different organisations distributing information and educating students about current environmental issues and initiatives.

Highlights of last year’s Environmental Fair include the planting of trees at Wied Għollieqa, various debates on campus, and an environmentally friendly car show. Students were also encouraged to participate in clean-ups at Wied Għollieqa and White Tower Bay, as well as visits to nature sites such as Xrobb l-Għaġin. This year’s fair promises a number of events of a similar nature. Unfortunately, the trees planted last year did not manage to establish themselves, so they will be replaced.

The ksu Environmental Fair is being sponsored by hsbc, Deloitte, Gasan Enterprises, and 89.7 Bay.

Mark camilleri acquitted On 14 March, Mark Camilleri, the editor of Ir-Realtà, and Alex Vella Gera, the author of Li Tkisser Sewwi, were acquitted by Magistrate Audrey Demicoli of publishing pornographic and obscene material in the student newspaper. Last October, Ir-Realtà was banned from University and reported to the police by the Rector. At the time of the

banning, ksu President Carl Grech refused to comment or read the short story in question, holding that “whatever I say makes no difference”. Soon after the verdict, Grech told a local newspaper that he was pleased to see that a University student was acquitted from criminal charges and that “the principle of freedom of expression was observed”.

no media at ksu agm According to the ksu Statute, the ksu agm must be held by 15 April. On 11 March, during a meeting with the editor of The Insiter, ksu Secretary General Karl Agius revealed that this year no media will be allowed into the agm, which will be held in Sir Temi Zammit Hall, rather than the ksu Common Room, where it has been held for the past few years due to dwindling attendance. Mr Agius said that it is the minutes of the meeting, and not videos or photographs that constitute a record of the event.

This decision to eliminate the media was allegedly taken by a small subcommittee of students, including representatives from the student organisations sdm, ksu, and Pulse, whose aim is to ensure that this year’s agm will run smoothly. Last year, it unfolded into a veritable farce: no agreement was reached about the agenda, the chairperson lost control of proceedings, scuffles broke out, a student was turned on for filming the event, and a photographer from the Times of Malta was asked to leave the room. This caused members of Pulse, led by President Tyson Fenech, to storm out of the

Common Room. However, their departure did not bring an end to the débâcle, as voting procedures went horribly awry, and further heated disagreements developed. This time, to avoid this eventuality, Mr Agius says that there will be a computerised system whereby when one enters the hall, he/ she signs in to a computer (which will be linked to the Office of the Registrar), and is automatically signed out upon leaving the venue. In this way, head counts will be facilitated.

Karl Agius also said that the new ksu standard, which was recently approved by the ksu Executive, will be on show during the agm, but will be officially revealed during Kokka Night 2011. The current standard was designed by the late President Emeritus Professor Guido de Marco. Mr Agius explained that the new standard will show that ksu has entered a ‘new era’.

NEWS CONTINUES ON PAGE 46 ►

insiteronline.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY SHAUN ABDILLA

Earlier this semester, the University library was accused of censorship, due to its notorious ‘Cabinet Collection’, which includes many books of a controversial nature. Lecturers and a number of students expressed their distaste at the situation, leading to a decision to review the cabinet’s contents.

Hillary Briffa reports.

10

The ‘Cabinet Collection’ in question comprises some 2000 books, incorporating a broad spectrum of Italian poetry, religious tomes, scientific volumes, collections of letters, and so forth, as well as various first editions, manuscripts and out of print publications. Their preservation, or rather them being locked away from pawing hands (as with the Melitensia and Archives), has been treated as another case of censorship. However, the library staff described it as an endeavour to protect the books “from the users rather than [to have] the users protected from the books”. The Director of Library Services, Mr Kevin J Ellul, stressed that these books are vulnerable to ‘spoilation’, necessitating extra precautionary measures. It would be unwise to allow them to remain susceptible to damage upon the shelves when not being borrowed.

The situation intensified at the start of this semester, when 25 University senior lecturers and professors penned a letter objecting to the ‘hidden books’ in the library. Sceptical towards the library’s proclamation that they were retained for safekeeping, their fingers pointed to a selection of works, predominantly of a sexual or religious nature, which they felt ought not to be restricted within an academic institution.

The library rebutted by pointing out how all the books are listed in the electronic catalogue and available to registered students and academics for reference. No request to view one of these volumes has ever been refused. In addition, over the course of the last 60 years, the University library has not once been prevented from obtaining any books due to censorship.

The Front Against Censorship remained sceptical and voiced their concerns that a number of the books were neither difficult to obtain, nor irreplaceable. The majority of works they cited, among them titles such as ‘Women, Sex and Pornography’ and ‘Violence, Utopia and the Kingdom of God: Fantasy and Ideology in the Bible’, could easily be obtained online and seem to have been restricted merely due to their controversial content. The Front did not stop there, but continued to outline how many of the works were

The Insiter • MARCH 2011

not damaged and hence did not require safekeeping. The response to this was the claim that their excellent condition is merely a testament to the positive influence of that very safekeeping.

So, what is actually going on here? Is this - as one disgruntled student bewailed - a return to the Dark Ages, where books are locked away rather than being burnt? The Front wishes to do away with this ‘lock and key’ business altogether, while library staff insist that it is necessary. As radically opposed as the two points of view may seem, there is in fact a middle ground. The Director of Library Services named the process “classification”, rather than “censorship”. The books referred to by the Front are predominantly found in the ‘Miscellaneous’ category, and hence the crux of the matter appears to be the need to review the criteria determining such classification in the first place. The original decision to place these books in a form of ‘solitary confinement’ may have been taken decades ago and may now be outdated.

Progress never sleeps, after all.

The age-old censorship question marks rear their metaphorical heads with this decision to review the categorisation process. Why pay particular attention to sexual and religious texts without extending the same courtesy to those espousing overt violence and cruelty? The selection criteria appear to be biased. To find a solution, the Library Committee has formed a sub-committee specifically geared towards reviewing the cabinet selection criteria, in conjunction with observers from among the signatories of the petition to increase transparency. The publications deemed unworthy of preservation will be promptly set free and placed on the shelves.

Having glanced at what the University library and ksu had to say about the matter, and at the other end of the spectrum, the Front’s reaction, Erin Stewart Tanti, a student, launched a campaign of his own. This student is not an unfamiliar face in the quest to reduce the silencing of artists. A chat with him uncovered his motivations for getting involved in the Cabinet débâcle and a detailed account of his actions.

news ANALYSIS While many organisations were reluctant to make the first move, Mr Stewart Tanti dived right into the heart of the issue. His aim was to encourage others to take action by targeting ksu, the University administration, and the student body itself, and every action was shared publicly via social media networks to promote the concept of transparency.

One of the slogans stamped across the photocopied book pages that he and some others affixed around campus queried ‘What does ksu have to say about this?’, prompting the Students’ Council to issue a press release two days later laying out the library’s reasoning.

Mr Stewart Tanti explained that he has no qualms with the books that genuinely deserve preservation, yet the same cannot be said for books that are stored due to being of a potentially offensive nature. Fearing books will be damaged by persons as a vengeance for revealing something adverse to one’s personal views is patronising and insulting to the students’ maturity and intelligence. The books are available if one is actively seeking them, but, if not, one might never realise that they exist in the first place, and this becomes an act of censorship, even if it is not the intention.

Finally, Mr Stewart Tanti expressed his view that as long as we continue to inadvertently promote taboos by having their evidence mysteriously disappear from our shelves and, in the bigger picture, from our lives, then close mindedness will flourish.

The Director of Library Services, Mr Ellul, is certainly a well-intentioned and dedicated individual. My own foray into the library for last edition’s article left no shadow of a doubt in my mind as to this. Yet, many still maintain that changes to this controversial situation must be made. Fortunately, the review by the aforementioned sub-committee of the contents of the ‘Cabinet Collection’ is a step in this direction. Until the outcome is revealed, it seems that all we can do is wait, and bury our heads in the nearest non-offensive book.

insiteronline.com

11

THE PRACTICAL TEST YOU’RE

EXPECTED TO FAI

080

Many of us have sat behind the wheel of a car, waiting nervously for the examiner to hand out the infamous pink paper indicating the majority’s common denominator: ‘fail’. Emma Grech identifies the current problems with the way in which driving tests are conducted in Malta.

A

lthough I’ve thrown a small dollop of bias into the effort of writing this article, because I took my driving test four times before finally obtaining my driver’s license, and after spending the amount of money I could have otherwise spent on a luxurious holiday to [enter glamorous destination of your choice], I speak for the infinite quantity of luckless, tender age Maltese people who still do not possess a driver’s license. And this not for want of effort.

While some choose not to drive, the vast majority of Maltese youngsters can’t wait to obtain that seemingly mythical legal document signifying a release from the current doom that is Maltese public transport.

I shall proceed to tackle the issue of the Practical Driving Tests as per the Motor Vehicles (Driving Licenses) Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 65.18), by sub-dividing this article into three problematic issues. The theory tests do not merit much discussion. After all, almost everyone aces them, flawlessly, first time around.

Problem 1: “In Malta, we neither drive on the right nor on the left, but we drive in the shade”.

This is the lexically-deficient joke that the Maltese frequently give as a response to criticism directed towards their driving techniques. Of course, if one has been to Italy, they’d know that the Italians don’t drive on the right, or on the left, or even in the shade: they defy the laws of physics.

In Malta, driving tests are conducted in which the newbies sitting behind the wheel are immersed into a jungle of speeding menaces, and the Schumacher

doppelgangers that are Maltese drivers. Whether this is a good idea, and whether it is even safe, remains irrelevant.

This is the situation, and change doesn’t seem to be lurking behind any corners.

Problem 2: When you type ‘Malta Driving Tests’ into the Google searchbox, the following results, inter alia, will turn up.

A) Francis Mizzi’s 2009 letter on the Times of Malta webpage, entitled ‘Why such poor driving test results?’, which brings a fiasco to the fore. In the first 9 months of 2008 there were 8761 applications for a driving test. 1931 applicants passed on their first try, resulting in a staggering 80% failure rate. Furthermore, Mizzi highlights the 2006 scandal that saw two driving instructors being convicted of bribery. In 2007, two authority officials were also convicted of taking bribes.

B) Christian Peregin’s 2010 article on the Times of Malta webpage, ‘Police seize driving licenses in Transport Malta investigation’. Parity of arms? Not in the granting of driver’s licenses, it seems. The auditors appointed found that 12.5% of licenses between 2007 and 2009 seem to have been suspiciously issued “free of charge”. This is a situation that undoubtedly smells putrid.

C) Matthew Vella’s article on the MaltaToday webpage, ‘Merciless driving test fails 50 per cent of its candidates’.

This was written in 2005. A striking phrase in this article - “whilst in the days of police supervisors, only ten per cent failed the test, today at least half of its hapless candidates will go back to the learner seat...” - really got me thinking about reform. What’s worse is that the sands of time seem to have consistently brought a worsening of the situation, with Mizzi’s aforementioned letter, written in 2009, indicating a much larger amount of failures.

Problem 3: The means and the ends.

The means are the driving schools. The problematic interface between the means and the ends is that there isn’t another way to go about it. The only other option is a non-licensed driving instructor who satisfies a number of requirements. It has otherwise become a

Conclusion The solution lies in fairness and efficiency. Obtaining this thing they call a driver’s license has become a torturous task that would make Chuck Norris doubt his abilites. What is required is the putting together of the heads of several administrative experts to address the problem. Far-fetched as it may sound, there are such things that are termed ‘Procedural and Substantive Principles of Administrative Law’ (a public authority, such as Transport Malta, and its actions fall perfectly under this title) that need to be abided by if a proper state of democracy, characterised by true fairness, is to be maintained. It is a nebulous situation that merits a tremendous amount of consideration, and should not go unattended.

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in-depth report

monopoly of moneymaking schemes, coupled with frantic efforts by driving schools to stuff as many students as possible into a week’s worth of cash. Indeed, one cannot simply blame the failures on a bad administrative regulator in the transport sector. The driving schools do not always seem to be out to help their students. Whether it is simple carelessness, or bad teaching, or wrong motives, something is definitely not right. My experience with two driving schools certainly left me with a sour taste of the whole system. My first instructor swore for a living and honked the horn (yes, while I was driving) at everything or everyone he took a fancy to.

I braved out several lessons until I couldn’t take anymore of the vest-clad sexist. My second instructor, from a second driving school, I have to believe was short of cash and had both a day job and a night job. He made up for lack of sleep during my double driving lesson, poor thing.

The driving tests’ seeming internal irregularity and consequential procedural impropriety is the apogee of this debate. Indeed, impropriety must be proven, and, unfortunately, this would be difficult to do without the unjust formation of calumnious accusations. Furthermore, an appeal before the Administrative Review Tribunal is available to any person aggrieved by any decision of Transport Malta, including the granting or non-granting of a driver’s license.

Prima facie, all is legally in check.

The problem is with the premise of legitimate expectations. Person x, taking a driving test, has a legitimate expectation to be examined in the same way as person y. But why should the examiner in x’s case hold that mounting a pavement while parking is simply “żball żgħir”, and in y’s case, hold that this same mistake is ‘grievous’, because y could have hit a pedestrian? This lack of consistency can be located in the length of the driving test, the subjective routes, and the supposed whimsical modes of passing or failing students.

Was it an easy task for you to obtain your driver’s license?

2.

Do you think that the driving test system is tainted or unfair? If so, suggest how you think it can be improved.

robert dingli LL .B.

1. No. My first instructor had an arrangement with Transport Malta. His students realised that examiners would fail them and the test fee would be shared between tm and the instructor. I switched motoring schools and passed within a month.

2. It’s unfair because there doesn’t seem to be a standard set of rules. One examiner will tell you that you shouldn’t have overtaken at a particular time, while another examiner will accept the exact same maneuver. A strict set of rules should be established which examiners and candidates can follow.

tony yam B COM

1. It wasn’t easy. Other drivers’ mistakes work against you, as you’re expected to anticipate them.

2. It seems that examiners are failing people for the slightest errors to ensure that they’ll have to pay for numerous tests. I’ve also been hearing many comments that girls are advised to dress more attractively on the day of the test as this may facilitate a pass in certain cases.

elizabeth mallia LL.B.

1. Doing the practical test wasn’t that difficult, and the theory test is very easy.

2. During my practical test, the examiner refused to wear a seat belt. This is very nerve-wracking for the driver, especially during the emergency stop procedure.

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animal welfare is our concern Late last year, Mr Justice Lawrence Quintano gripped the hearts of many while delivering a judgement in the Maltese Appeals Court. He described animals as the “kings and queens” of the environment, and quoted a poem by Pablo Neruda about the death of his dog. Likewise, Julian Chircop underscores the importance of respecting the creatures with which we share this planet.

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n a world where the human population is constantly on the increase, the well-being and lives of animals are often compromised to satisfy human needs. Animals’ lives are becoming increasingly influenced by humans, as animals are utilised as sources of food, kept as pets, and even used for entertainment (such as circuses ) and sports, and in some countries for rituals and feasts. Animal welfare groups and campaigns are of paramount importance in preventing abuse.

Animal welfare is the concern for the physical and psychological well-being of non-human animals. Imagine yourself at a restaurant being served a freshly cooked fish.

The last thing you’d think about is where it came from and whether it was allowed to live well. Perhaps it was too young to be caught. Is that species of fish rare or endangered? Is its population decreasing drastically? Such questions are a sign of concern for the animal. By showing concern and being interested we can play a role in the preservation of various animal species.

One common example of animal abuse is the breeding of animals for human consumption. Are the animals in question being bred in a comfortable and healthy environment? Are they being fed well? The main focus here is on factory farming, where farm animals are raised in confinement at a high stocking density. This raises issues such as enforced limited behavior, and painful procedures such as debeaking of poultry.

While the killing of animals - for example, for food - does not necessarily involve any prolonged suffering on their part, the act of killing an animal can be considered as, and sometimes (because of the means used or the motive behind it) certainly is, a cruel act. An example is chick culling, where male chicks with undesirable characteristics are killed soon after birth. Questions are raised, such as: why should these chicks be killed simply because we have no use for them? Don’t they have the right to live?

Another welfare concern is animal testing, where an animal’s well-being is considered less imporant than the

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potential benefits of sacrifcing it. Intense suffering might be inflicted on several animals on the ground that the ends justify the means.

Every day, somewhere in the world, a crucial part of the natural environment that serves as a natural habitat is destroyed. Apart from causing some animals to die out, this induces stress in certain species and negatively affects their way of life. Deforestation, for example, has many negative impacts on the environment. Perhaps the most dramatic impact is the loss of the habitats of millions of species. The few animals that survive often end up being killed off by humans. While humans are gaining resources for economic use, animals are loosing their homes and lives.

In an ideal world, animal rights would be respected and efforts would constantly be made to raise awareness among the general public. It is my opinion that animals should not be made to suffer for our personal advantage, be it nutrition, entertainment, clothing, or any other matter.

Humans have the responsibility to ensure that the needs of the human race are provided for in a sustainable manner, while ensuring that animals are not harmed, and that they live a comfortable life. So, the next time you come across an animal rights campaign, why not join? You’ll be making a valuable contribution, and possibly an important change.

Julian Chircop is a B.Sc. (Hons.) student, studying Biology and Chemistry. He is the Media Officer of the student organisation Youth For The Environment.

Editor’s Note: For plenty of interesting and up-to-date information on animal welfare and animal rights, visit www.peta.org. peta stands for ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’. It is an international non-profit charitable organisation which was founded in 1980 for the purpose of defending the rights of all animals. The little effort it takes to live an animalfriendly life can spare many creatures a lot of unncessary pain.

environment

we’ve got the whole world in our hands Ruth Chircop, a member of the student organisation Greenhouse, shares her thoughts about sustainability.

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n the year 3500, an alien spacecraft hovers around planet Earth. The planet seems to be full of biodiversity, and a beautiful place to live in. The aliens on board the spacecraft are baffled by the lack of human life which previously occupied Earth. Their captain explains that the planet has spent the last 1000 years recovering its beauty, after the humans killed themselves off by living in an unsustainable way. They had made a habit of producing and consuming more and more of everything they desired, and eventually depleted their planet’s resources, making it uninhabitable for them.

Hopefully, we are still in time to prevent this fictitious scenario from taking place in the future. Right now, our economic situation seems to be heading towards environmental and economical catastrophe. Not only are we approaching the ecological limits to growth, but we have exceeded them.

Mathis Wackenagel, a leading expert on the innovative new method of ecological footprint analysis of the human use of natural systems, claims that we will need the equivalent of two Earths by the late 2030s to keep up with our demands.

Even if we did have two Earths at our disposal, we’d keep consuming products, and creating waste at an unsustainable rate, and, before long, we’d run out of resources once again.

As Einstein points out, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”.

A radical change is needed. More economical growth in developed countries is simply unsustainable.

Serge Latouche, a French economist, criticises economic growth and consumerism. He is the force behind the French ‘de-growth’ movement, a political, economic, and social movement based on environmentalist, anti-consumerist, and anti-capitalist ideas. Key to the concept of growth is that reducing consumption does not require a decrease in well-being. We can maximize well-being through non-consumptive means: sharing work, consuming less, and devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community.

Latouche has made a name for himself outside of France. In Italy the monthy magazine Carta spreads his critique of development and economic growth. Grassroots environment networks and activists formed ‘Climate Justice Action’, which aims to take “the urgent actions needed to avoid catastrophic climate change”, including embracing de-growth as an alternative. The idea is spreading outside Europe. Ana Esther Cecena, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, says that de-growth has also taken root in Latin America: “We know capitalism leads to large-scale catastrophe and we need to confront it with radical change in our way of life”.

Sustainability is the key. We cannot continue to consume goods, generate waste, pollute the environment, and extract resources from Earth at the current rate. Sustainability is the capacity of a resource to be maintained or to sustain itself. It’s about taking what we need to live now, without jeopardizing future generations’ ability to meet their needs.

According to the Florida Center for Community Design and Resarch, “Sustainability is the optimal balance of natural, economic, and social systems over time.”

At the moment, our economic system is anything but sustainable. We’re extracting natural resources at a faster rate than they can be renewed, thus depleting them. A new way of measuring our prosperity is needed. This should not be based on continuous economic growth. Time spent with family and friends is more valuable than material belongings, and, moreover, it is not quantity but quality that matters.

The economy is something that we have control over. It is high time that we seriously consider ways of combining economic stability with environmental sustainability, before the clearly unsustainable current situation blows up in our faces.

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The Experience SANDY VELLA

aiesec is the largest student-run organisation in the world, with offices in over 107 countries and boasting more than 50 000 members. Many university students remain unsure of what aiesec is really all about until they actually join and gain first hand experience of the benefits of the organisation.

First and foremost, aiesec provides a platform for youths to develop their leadership potential, through various meetings and weekend seminars. Once a student joins the organisation, they will form part of one of a number of teams.

Another aspect of the organisation is the exchange opportunities it offers to all students who are interested, including non-members. Once a student signs up for this pro-

gramme, endless opportunities arise, and the search for an internship which suits one’s needs and preferences begins.

You will never feel alone, and can always rely on the help of your assigned mentor and fellow aiesec members.

As part of aiesec, students meet people from all over the world and become global citizens, learning about different cultures at every step of the way. aiesec would like to give a special shout out to all the sixth form students who will be attending university in the future. We look forward to meeting you at our stand during Freshers’ Week in October 2011! For more information, please visit out website: www.aiesecmalta.org, or send an email to aiesecmalta@gmail.com.

TESSA MALLIA BORG AND ANDREA DEBONO SANT CASSIA

ELSA’S Position on

Censorship The banning of books, plays, and other materials has always been a controversial issue. Throughout history, artistic matter such as ‘The Naked Ape’ by Desmond Morris, or ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ by Martin Scorsese, have been banned, burned and suppressed in an attempt to “protect” persons from or limit their access to controversial or unacceptable ideas. The problem is that the practice of censorship has backfired in that it has succeeded in little more than stimulating curiosity.

In Malta, the Board of Film and Stage Classification has jurisdiction over theatre and cinema, as established by regulation 42 of the Cinema and Stage Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 10.17 of the Laws of Malta), which was made under the Code of Police Laws. Alex Vella Gera’s contribution to Ir- Realtà, entitled ‘Li Tkisser Sewwi’, is one of the many examples of works which have been banned in Malta.

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The story was said to dishonour women, slander the Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion, incite the commission of the crime of paedophilia, as well as use obscene and indecent words. In response to this, protests were held opposing the idea of censorship of such writings.

While elsa Malta embraces certain benefits of censorship, such as the protection of young children, and the protection of public morals, in the context of today’s liberal society, where the right of access to information is widely accepted, censorship ultimately proves to be self-defeating, as it simply incites curiosity and the urge to seek the information that has been censored. This results in that same information being given more publicity and becoming even more available to the public.

The authors of this article are Executive Members of elsa Malta.

student orgs.

MARIE CLAIRE GATT

First Clean-Up event

by S-Cubed and Greenhouse On 9 January, the Science Students’ Society (S Cubed), together with Greenhouse, launched the first of a series of clean-up events, which will be taking place this year. The event took place at ‘tal-Ballut’ in Delimara, an engineered salt marsh listed as a Natura 2000 site and a Special Area of Conservation, which requires a long-term site management plan in order to protect and conserve the area. The Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, mepa (Malta Environment and Planning Authority), Marsaxlokk Local Council, mrra (Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Environment), and mta (Malta Tourism Authority) supported the clean-up, as they are in the process of starting a project to rehabilitate ‘talBallut’ and provide it with adequate safeguarding, as well as increase public awareness and education through information points.

In 2 hours, 22 volunteers collected a skip-full of rubbish and around 30 bags of recyclable waste. Most of the waste, which included the wreckage of a boat and large amounts of plastic bottles and pieces of polystyrene, was likely to have been deposited elsewhere and eventually washed up onto the

shore by sea currents. Dr Sandro Lanfranco, a lecturer at the Biology Department of the University, was present for the event and spent some time explaining the unique characteristics of a salt marsh habitat to the volunteers present, not all of whom had a scientific background, and who included foreign students.

The scope of these events is to promote awareness about the safeguarding of the natural environment and the ecology of areas around Malta, as well as to engage University students in hands-on activities, in an effort to promote active citizenship. It can be argued that some students do not feel responsible for the state of the environment they live in, and this mentality can have a negative effect on our society.

Therefore, activities such as the clean-ups that we are organising are providing a means by which youths can play an active role in society.

The next clean-up event is expected to take place on 20 March and is open to everyone. For more details about these events, contact S Cubed on info@scubed.info, or Greenhouse on green.uom@gmail.com.

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daniel buhagiar

Introducing the Tourism Studies Association tsa (Tourism Studies Association) is the official Senaterecognised student organisation representing students of the Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture. It aims to help these students in any way possible, while enriching their experience at the University through both educational and leisure activities.

Tourism is one of the largest contributors to the Maltese economy, and in order for it to continue to grow sustainably, the Island’s product portfolio must be diversified to entice more visitors. Keeping this in mind, tsa decided to study the possibility of Agro tourism in Gozo during a seminar held between 12 and 14 November 2010. This form of tourism is sustainable, as it would allow Gozo to improve and maintain its quaint rural characteristics. Students were given the opportunity to learn about initiatives being carried out in Gozo with regard to Agro tourism by means of a talk given by the Secretary General of the Gozo Tourism Authority, Joe Muscat, tsa also organised two site visits: one to the Ager Foundation, where students gained some insight into the running of a farm (and were also given the opportunity to milk sheep and make cheeselets), and to ‘Ta’ Mena’, where they toured the vineyard and orchards, followed by wine tasting, where technical know-how behind appreciating wine was explained as well as savouring some of the delicacies produced on the Estate. The objectives of tsa were reached and Gozo was found to be an ideal niche market to cater for Agro tourism.

The organisation participates in various events on campus. For example, it organised a Christmas raffle during Christmas on Campus. The funds gathered were donated to L-Istrina and Dar tal-Providenza, together with the rest of the proceeds collected through other initiatives.

During Organisations’ Week, tsa had a stand in the

TOURISM STUDIES ASSOCI ATION

Quadrangle, where it commemorated past events and promoted future events. A section was dedicated to gastronomy; wine donated by ‘Ta’ Mena’ was savoured by students. This section also acted as a means of promotion for International Cuisine Night, which was held in the same week, and during which tsa, in collaboration with its (Institute of Tourism Studies) offered a range of traditional Maltese delicacies.

On 11 March, as part of Human Rights Week, tsa organised a debate regarding increasing accessibility to people with disabilities. Two exhibitions where put up entitled ‘Real Life Stories’ and ‘The Mobility Trail’. An audiovisual experience, ‘Experiencing Mobility’, was organised on 7 March.

These events where held in collaboration with the Institute of Tourism, Travel and Culture. tsa has participated in the ksu International Cuisine Night, where it was in charge of the Malta stand. Students from the Institute of Tourism Studies (St Julian’s) showed off their catering abilities by making scrumptious Maltese appetisers. During Organisations’ Days, tsa, together with umgs (University of Malta Geographical Society), it organised a Quiz Game, with questions relating to tourism and geography.

Finally, a photography exhibition was set up at Birmula, in collaboration with Youth For The Environment. The theme was ‘sustainability’, and participants were given the opportunity to submit two works of their choice together with a statement. The photographer for the event was Kurt Cuschieri.

The organisation is currently planning its annual conference, which is going to focus on the theme of Transport and Accessibility.

neville bezzina

the free culture association If you have internet access, you’ve probably downloaded music or films without paying for them, and then shared them with your friends without permission. We do this without thinking about it, without feeling guilt, or even fear at the thought that it is, strictly speaking, a criminal act: piracy. This is not because there’s lack of enforcement, but rather because, as explained by Lawrence Lessig in his book ‘Free Culture’, it is a natural way to act: we come from a ‘free culture’, a culture of sharing, rather than a “permission culture”.

‘Students for Free Culture’ is an international network of activists, students, and policy-makers based in University campuses all around the world. We use the word ‘free’ in the sense of ‘freedom’ and ‘openness’, rather than, say, ‘free

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drinks’. The local ‘chapter’ of the organisation, ‘Free Culture Association - University of Malta’, will be engaging in events and projects with the aim of building bottom-up a participatory structure in society and culture. Our overarching aim will be to promote the public interest in intellectual property and telecommunications policy. We believe that through openness, collaborative creativity, and the culture of sharing, true innovation can be achieved.

You are invited to join the Free Culture Movement!

Learn more about us, our values, and our mission by joining our Facebook group, and by reading our recently launched blog at www.malta.freeculture.org.

student orgs.

MIRSA Hits the Airwaves

The Insiter met up with Hillary Briffa, Darren Chetcuti, Mikhail Pisani, and Martina Portelli, to chat about the latest project by mirsa: the third series of ‘It’s Debatable’ on Campus FM. What is ‘It’s Debatable’ all about?

At the beginning of this academic year, the Department of International Relations approached mirsa about resurrecting the departmental radio show ‘It’s Debatable’. The executive jumped at the opportunity and immediately put together a production team. We decided to rehash the structure of the show. Every episode now features two students from the ir Department, who debate current international events of particular political and social relevance, and assess their impact on the Maltese political scene.

We’re also including regular input from various academics in the department, as well as special guests renowned for their expertise on the topics at hand.

How does ‘It’s Debatable’ differ from other radio shows?

All topics discussed are current affairs, usually news items from the previous week’s press. Since it is a show organised and run by students, the language used is fairly simple to understand. Issues are analysed in a manner that is easy to follow.

Moreover, by demonstrating how ir can link the various international issues affecting our country, we aim to foster a culture of innovative thinking and analytical interpretation of events. After all, ir is multidisciplinary.

What do you consider to be the pros and cons of pre-recording the show?

On the bright side, it gives us time to edit. The production team has the daunting task of going though all the recordings and editing out the “errs” and “ums”. Most of our guests are not media oriented and pre-recording gives us the opportunity to edit out any extra information and keep to our limited time, while presenting our listeners with valuable information.

This poses a slight disadvantage, because pre-recording our shows means that some issues may already have progressed due to an unravelling series of events.

An advantage is that we can schedule particular shows to coincide with specific events held on campus, such as the minority rights debate during Human Rights Week. This demonstrates the fact that ‘It’s Debatable’ is not a stand-

alone project, but it is integrated within the mirsa structure to complement its other activities aimed at the student community.

Which topics have been discussed so far to give us an idea of what we can expect in future?

Our first programme was about Wikileaks. Mikhail was debating with Luca Lacitignola, and we had Mr Elijah Waterman from the us Embassy as our special guest.

In the programme on the unrest in Tunisia, we phoned Dr Vicki Ann Cremona (Maltese Ambassador to Tunisia) for her opinion. She had witnessed the uprising from her office window.

We also had programmes about secularisation; eu integration, climate change, and the role of super powers today.

During a survey which we conducted in the early stages of production, this was one of the most popular topics of interest among the students on campus. mirsa seems to be pretty active lately, what else are you planning to do this year?

We’ve started a series of film screenings entitled ‘mirsa at The Movies’. The idea behind this event is to show films that are related to the world of International Relations.

Hopefully, this will appeal both to people with an interest in ir as well as those interested in films in general.

The films we chose to include in this series reflect the growing remits of the world of International Relations. The first screening took place on 1 March in the ksu Common Room. The film was ‘Goodbye Lenin!’, which is set in East Germany in 1989.

We’ve also teamed up with Red Cross to organise ‘Positive Images on Campus’, a workshop through which students will develop greater understanding and empathy towards vulnerable migrants, and be better able to challenge negative stereotypes. They will be empowered to take action.

Plus, mirsa participates in other activities, such as Human Rights Week (supporting the aiesec Global Village).

Of course, our organisation retains its in-house activities, most notably the annual Diplomatic Experience.

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the claire chRonicles Passionate, silly and a bit of a nerd; every month, law student and lover-of-life CLAIRE BONELLO writes about productivity, positivity and pretty stuff, among other things. This month she happily gushes about her recent travels and how to make the most of a trip abroad.

A

s soon as my January exams were over, I took advantage of cheap flights and hospitable foreign friends, and dashed over to Iceland for two weeks of fun, frolicking, and adventure.

Iceland is a truly fascinating place, and offers a completely different environment (in all senses) when compared to Malta. Similarly, most places outside of Malta can provide totally new surroundings, so I strongly urge you to go abroad. As students, this can easily be achieved by nabbing a cheap flight ticket and staying in hostels, or with friends or family, or by exploiting some of the fantastic international opportunities most student organisations offer.

On my trip, after recovering from my initial awe at the vast amount of snow everywhere, I unleashed my adventurous side and travelled all over the island in search of the beautiful sights Iceland has to offer. One of my main reasons for visiting this country in winter was to see the Aurora Borealis, which turned out to be an utter no-show, until the last day that is, when I had the honour of seeing gorgeous streaks of green moving across the night sky. Just, wow.

Because we chose to visit Iceland during the low peak season, we often had entire guesthouses, landmarks, and natural phenomena all to ourselves. This is a good thing to keep in mind when choosing a place to visit. Then again, some places were closed due to it being February, and that was a disadvantage in itself. However, I cannot overexpress my enthralment with this superb country, with a population of 319,000, the highest literacy rate in the world, and a whopping seven universities and colleges.

Without a shadow of a doubt, travelling opens the mind, and allows you to perceive everything around you in a new way. Therefore, I proudly present my top five tips as to how to make the most of a trip to a foreign land:

1. Mingle with the locals. Immersing yourself in the locals’ way of life gives a fascinating peek at how others live their normal lives. My host in Iceland seemed to know everything and everyone, and so we could take full advantage of what’s really worth doing. Skip the tourist traps and head to where the natives hang out.

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2. Try out the wacky cuisine. In Iceland, this includes puffin (the tastiest meat I’ve ever tasted), svið (sheep’s head) (seriously, pop ‘svið’ into a Google Image search; it’s certainly a sight to behold), eel, meatballs with blueberry jam, and all the wonderful seafood I could ever want.

3. Revel in what makes this foreign place different from your home country. Maybe it’s the food, the hundreds of kilometres waiting to be explored, or even just a brand of soft drinks which you can’t normally purchase at home. Change is good.

4. Do things that make your heart beat a little faster.

For me, it was renting a car, driving on the right-hand side of the road, at night, in a terrible blizzard, on a narrow road with snow-covered mountains and lakes all around, and no clue about whether I was on the right track. I also got the chance to go snorkelling in Þingvallavatn, one of the clearest and most beautiful lakes in the world, and back in Reykjavík I took a (very) quick dip in 3°C sea, and then very rapidly dunked my numb body into a deliciously warm hot tub.

5. Read up on the place before departing from home.

My inner nerd shone through during my intense research months before I had to leave. The anticipation and excitement then naturally built up, and my stay abroad was much more fruitful because of my previously acquired knowledge. I knew that I wanted to pet Icelandic horses, view gigantic blue glaciers, and visit black sandy beaches, and that I could expect to enjoy the great Reykjavík nightlife as well as countless mountains, waterfalls, and super-friendly people.

I hope my enthusiasm is infectious enough for you all to seek to broaden your horizons with a voyage to some wonderful distant lands very, very soon.

rEGULARS

IF ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES YOU NEED BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION SEND AN EMAIL TO NITPICKER.INSITE@GMAIL.COM

THE NITPICKER A

nd so the year marches on, and the showers of March give us pause to reflect on the events that transpired both at home and abroad. The north of Africa and the Middle East seem to have been set alight by the fires of revolution.

Tripoli, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunis, and recently Libya, have been awash with protesters rebelling against strong-arm military regimes and corrupt bureaucracies. Meanwhile, in Malta, we have similar heightened passions about divorce, with parties of both factions taking to the streets to bring across their beliefs, as this is clearly an issue that threatens the very integrity of life as we know it! I am overjoyed that this extremist policy is being fought against with such crusader-like fervour. Meanwhile, at the uom...

Quis custodiet ipsos custodies* Come exam period, the usual complaints about invigilators start being bandied about by disgruntled students.

While my own exam experiences were trouble-free as regards invigilators, my top-notch journalism has shed light on some groups of these sentinels having veritable coffee mornings while students valiantly attempted to block out all distractions. So, come June, should you find yourselves victims to such inconsiderate intrusions, I suggest that you simply pull up a chair next to the offending persons and ask to partake of their coffee, biscuits, and loud gossip.

However, since enrolling at University, the amount of stories I have heard of lecture and exam clashes have probably reached triple digits. While the odd oversight is to be expected, and complications may arise due to lecture room availability, the root problem seems to be lack of communication, both between faculties, and between students and faculties.

What not to do to eager medical students Speaking of secretarial cock-ups, earlier this semester, first year medical students found that results had been released in record time, despite the class being the largest it has been to date. This sounds like an impressive feat, and so it would have been, had not the results consisted of the multiple choice section results of one student added to the short question results of another student (how?!). Understandably, this led to much wailing and gnashing of teeth by distressed students. The question I am forced to ask is whether the results were released early on (and clearly in a hurried manner) as a pure coincidence, or in an effort to impress a particular Minister who has, shall we say, a personal interest in the first year Medicine class. Perhaps Murphy’s law is a more real phenomenon than we like to think.

Love, THE NITPICKER

*Who watches the watchmen?

Coordination – you’re doin’ it wrong

illustration iella

It has been brought to my attention that the system proposed a few years ago to restructure the ict course to three years rather than four seems to be backfiring. According to an irked student, there are timetable clashes on a weekly basis. Perhaps most entertaining was the revelation that during exam week there were exam clashes despite the fact that the students only had three papers to sit for. Another complaint put forward by ict students is the blatant disregard of the 36 credit limit imposed by the Bologna Process (for more information about this, ask ksu, who love touting it to create a distraction). I am aware that due to the system at University there are a lot of variables to be considered, and communication between faculties might include the occasional mistake.

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The Whistle blower

illustration iella

T

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his is my first stint into opinion articles, and I’m approaching it as a great opportunity to do what all good journalists do: make it my business to make other people’s business my business too, and then all of yours in turn. All of this with good intentions, of course. Although by definition this column shall be subjective, I will not abandon objectivity, but simply allow myself the luxury of adding my views to any argument discussed. There are two issues resting on my stomach this time round.

A new semester is now well underway. We’ve had to adjust to a new set of timetables, clashes, and different (but the same in many aspects) lecturers. And shortly after that, we experienced a progressive apprehension, or mild disinterest, or blind panic (depending on one’s personality), as last semester’s exam results began to gradually appear on esims .

And with those, of course, the memory of those tests themselves. Issue number one.

We’ve all heard this before, but nonetheless the reality remains quite static. A big chunk of preparing for our exams involves the memorisation of masses of information, and then controlled regurgitation over the script. And, despite all the talk we hear of exams not being the sole purpose of our education (and lives), and that the most difficult and important tests we will face are far removed from written exams, our education system places a heck of a lot of emphasis on them.

This is not to say that all the average uom student thinks about is academia; that would be a sad campus indeed. I’m very proud of working in my student organisation. Every student should have that experience. It is character forming to get up off one’s backside and contribute work, energy and sweat to achieving greater objectives. Kunsill Sudenti Universitarji (ksu), currently (and previously) run by Studenti Demokristjani Maltin (sdm) must agree with these state-

The Insiter • MARCH 2011

ments at least a little, because last year a Student Organisations’ Fund was established of €5,000. It was nice to hear.

Recently, the grant-giving ceremony was very well advertised on campus. When I saw this, I was pleased. Then I opened a document which showed the amount of money to be received by each organisation. It consisted of a list of oganisations and the corresponding amount to be received next to each one. In some cases, this was little as €80! I’m curious to know the criteria which were used to distribute the amounts.

Now, my education always encouraged plenty of curiosity. Enter my calculator. The sum of the funds to be allocated to all the organisations listed was €2,745. Issue number two.

If the maximum amount of money that could be awarded to student organisations was €5,000, why use only half of it?

The projects which won the organisations their (admittedly tiny) grants were, after all, educational ones.

As I previously mentioned, I think that an argument without objectivity is quite useless. So I do make the allowance that that the conditions of the grant were established before applications opened, and also that I have yet to get my hands on the report outlining the fund allocation. As you can see, the same education that taught me to be curious also taught me to be positive in life. Therefore, I am hoping that there will be a foolhardy explanation for those €2,225 that were not distributed to the student organisations that applied for the funds for use at their own discretion. A slightly ominous sign is that back in October, ksu made it clear that the Board responsible for distribution of the grants would also have the discretion to decide what to do with any remaining amount. Why did they assume that there would be any of such a small sum left over? I, for one, would love to know. Especially in light of the way the situation unfolded.

OPINIONS

nathan adams

Ethics and its Relevance

to Today’s World T

oday, life is so fast-paced that we seldom stop to think of the ethical implications of the decisions we take on a daily basis. The culture we’ve inherited is the result of choices made by our predecessors.

The ethical implications of everyday situations become unveiled when we think more deeply about them. Ethical thinking is nothing more than thinking critically about what is right and wrong, and taking into account people’s different perspectives on something.

We need to train ourselves to think critically and ethically about our choices in different situations. These situations range from littering, to turning off the light when it’s not required, and extend to experimentation on animals, and every topic under the sun.

Take the case of organ donation. The ability to successfully transplant organs from one human being to another was once unheard of. Nowadays, the demand for organs greatly outstrips the supply. This imbalance raises ethical issues which are fiercely debated. Should we pass a law whereby the organs of healthy people who die in tragic accidents are automatically distributed to persons in need of them, in order to achieve a balance between organ demand and supply?

Considering this dilemma from a utilitarian perspective, such a decision would be ethically ‘right’, because it would lead to the well-being of many people. However, the counter-argument would take a Kantian approach, according to which the violation of human dignity must be avoided at all costs, and therefore the aforementioned decision would be perceived as ethically ‘wrong’. A possible solution that is in line with the Kantian perspective would consist in people who desire to donate their organs carrying organ donor cards.

A lack of critical ethical thinking and empathy in this context may provoke the objectification and commodification of the human body. Such behaviour is seen in China, where prisoners’ organs are sold without their consent after they are executed.

Again from a medical aspect, the highly advanced science of neurology deals with disorders of the nervous system. In neurosurgery, the surgeon has within his/her hands not only the life of the patient but also, in a sense, the patient’s mind. The aim of this kind of surgery is to improve patients’ quality of life, but ethical considerations arise here too. Sometimes, as a side-effect of certain procedures, the

mind, and therefore the personality, may become slightly ‘altered’.

What are the characteristics that make us human? A few traits that distinguish us from other species are: emotions, self-awareness, conscience, and the capacity to imagine. Is it ethically ‘right’ to ‘tamper’ with the brain if it may affect the very attributes that make us human?

Mr Ludvic Zrinzo, a Maltese neurosurgeon working at the National Hospital for Neurosurgery in London, was quite explicit when I asked him whether brain surgery was an ethical endeavour. “There is nothing unethical about a knife,” he said, “ethics comes into question only in the way it is wielded.” He submitted that there is absolutely nothing unethical about brain surgery, as long as: “the procedure is aimed at prolonging or improving the patient’s quality of life; the patient is fully informed about the potential risks and likely benefits; and the patient accepts to undergo the procedure.’’

From an environmental perspective, ethical arguments also arise. In the Book of Genesis, we read that, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Gen 2:15). Like us, our descendants have the right to be born into an inhabitable world.

We jeopardize this right of theirs everyday, by the excessive production of greenhouse gases and pollution. In order to protect them, we must all contribute. Simple acts such as separating waste and cutting down on unnecessary electricity usage are a small help. However, for colossal influence, renewable sources of energy must be used.

We will not be the ones to suffer the severe consequences of global warming and climate change. There are already frightening predictions of what may happen to our archipelago if global warming is not halted: “Rising sea levels in the Mediterranean over the next century caused by global warming threaten to submerge parts of the island [of Malta]’’ (BBC News online, February 2010).

Throughout our lives, our choices are influenced by science and the progress that it brings, whether in regard to medicine, the environment, or any other aspect of human activity. It is our duty to think about the implications of our choices on future generations. Our descendants will inherit both our mistakes and our triumphs. We must speak for the unborn generations who, as yet, have no voice.

Nathan Adams is currently reading for a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biology. He is the President of ‘Youth For The Environment’, and a member of the ksu Environment and Sustainable Development Committee.

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Studying abroad: widening horizons for greater opportunities Elaine Fenech touts the benefits of scholarships offered to Maltese students while discussing her experience of post-graduate study in a foreign country.

A

fter graduating last year, I knew it was certainly not the last stop in my educational journey. I strongly believe that learning is a life-long process, and I felt that the next step I should take was a post-graduate course; in particular, one that would complement what I had learned so far, and at the same time continue my path towards the career of my choice.

The topic that I intended to pursue is not taught in any institution in Malta. It is for this reason that I carried out fairly extensive research in order to find the course best suited to my needs, and one that would ultimately allow me to become well versed in a subject that would help me to better serve the community. I wanted to pursue a course that had value even in terms of serving my country. It was only after taking all these considerations into account that I opted for a Master’s Degree in Geographic Information Science (GIS) at the University College London.

If I could only rely on my resources, my dream would certainly not have been fulfilled. However, as result of the opportunities offered by the STEPS (Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarships) programme, I had at my disposal the means through which to achieve what I aspired towards.

I was granted a scholarship, which was part-financed by the European Union’s European Social Fund (ESF) under operational programme II: Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, ‘Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life’.

Willpower is an asset in the journey towards success.

Unfortunately, in the past, due to limited funds and resources, most students were discouraged and failed to strive towards their ambitions. From my personal experience, the benefits of STEPS scholarships (and similar programmes) are, among others, more and better career opportunities that are now available to me and many others like me.

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Living abroad for a year was beneficial, not only in respect of high quality education, but also as regards my own self-fulfilment and development while having to fend for myself away from the comfort of home. It was an opportunity to meet people from all walks of life, and hailing from different nations. This experience has helped me to refine my social skills while, at the same time learning how to cope with different and unexpected situations.

My studies involved learning Geographic Information Science, not as a regular academic program, but one more oriented towards a practical approach. Thus, I was taught to understand the fundamental basics in a way that most users of GIS tend to overlook, because they mistakenly believe that such programmes involve only the clicking of a button.

GIS is a tool with which one can carry out extensive analyses, and can be used in a variety of areas.

Through my studies, I specialised in the area of Geographic Information Science as a tool used in conjunction with environmental programmes such as waste recycling.

This was the topic of my research. I performed a study based on a locality in Malta (Marsascala), where I analysed various aspects of the behavioural approach to and the services provided in waste recycling.

By taking this Master’s course in Geographic Information Science, I have gained a certificate in a skill for which there is great demand in Malta, and which is not yet offered as course at such a high level. These scholarships provide us with the opportunity to travel abroad and gain more knowledge, with which we can eventually contribute to a better future for our country and a better quality of life for us and for our children.

FEATURE

The 21 volume of st

law journal Id-Dritt

Claire Bonello, the editor, describes the challenges of bringing the publication to fruition, and the satisfaction of contributing to the body of Maltese legal literature and the resources available to law students and legal professionals.

O

n 17 March, the Għaqda Studenti tal-Liġi (GħSL) Executive Board and the Id-Dritt Vol. XXI Editorial Board proudly launched the twenty-first volume of the law journal Id-Dritt, which has been published by GħSL since the 1940s. This publication offers much-needed legal writings about a variety of topics, and is aimed at those in the legal profession, law students, and the public in general.

Putting together a volume of Id-Dritt, or any publication for that matter, is no easy task. This is especially true when the contributors are lawyers, academics, and other busy types. Deadlines have to be understandably loosened, unfortunate dropouts are to be expected, and finding the right contributor for a greatly-needed article may be close to impossible.

However, the honour of having such an intelligent, exceptional bunch of contributors means that Volume XXI is particularly rich in highly relevant and thought-provoking articles, filling a very empty space in Maltese legal literature.

The volume includes contributions dealing with various aspects of a considerable number of branches of law: including Civil Law, such as cohabitation and the recent reform in the Law of Lease; Criminal Law, such as the crime of conspiracy and the right to legal advice during police interrogation; and Environmental Law, such as climate change. It was also encouraging to have both Maltese and foreign authors within this volume, including Professor Seán Donlan from the University of Limerick in Ireland who wrote a stirring piece on Comparative Legal History.

The foreword of our publication was penned by the venerable Prof. J.M. Ganado, who was one of the founding fathers of Id-Dritt back in 1945, while Mr Justice Emeritus Giovanni Bonello’s insightful words grace the back cover.

The proofreading, editing, and design of this publication were more intense than ever when compared with previ-

ous editions of Id-Dritt. We made sure that a sleek design was implemented throughout the publication, with special paper for the cover, UV ink for the cover’s text, and a consistent look given to each article and sub-section. Moreover, we compiled a rather full set of proofreading and editing guidelines, as well as a comprehensive citation guide based on the Oxford Citation Guide OSCOLA, including much-needed structure for the citation of Maltese case law.

As soon as I was entrusted with the role of editor-inchief of this publication, which was to be fully published and printed in a relatively short time, I felt slightly overwhelmed by the huge task ahead of me, but dived into the challenge and was able to successfully steer this project to fruition due to having an excellent team by my side, including Andrew Sciberras (GħSL Publications Officer), and Cherise Ann Abela and Myrna Azzopardi (sub-editors of the publication).

With regard to the future of Id-Dritt, this will surely be a bright and successful one. I urge current law students to take the opportunity to help with the publishing of future editions, and to maintain the prestigious status that Id-Dritt has acquired throughout the past decades, with pristinely edited articles, a greater diversity of contributions, editions being published at regular intervals, and also having contributors with more varied backgrounds. A publication such as Id-Dritt is a worthy addition to bookshelves, and provides crucial content for the entire Maltese legal community, particularly law students who have for many years used it as an invaluable aid for their studies.

To acquire a copy of Id-Dritt Vol. XXI, please e-mail the editor on editor@ghsl.org.

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suspended

lives Louisa Attard, of the Jesuit Refugee Service Malta, invites us to open our eyes to the realities that irregular migrants and asylum seekers in our country face every day. ‘Suspended Lives’ is a documentary produced by JRS Malta, in which a number of migrants tell their stories. Free screenings of it will be held at the University Chaplaincy and St James Cavalier (Valletta) until June 2011.

B

y the end of 2009, over 42 million persons worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes by war and persecution. In the past years, we have seen a sharp increase in people attempting to travel from Africa to Europe, risking everything in search of a life that is not marred by war, political repression, and poverty. Malta, due to its geographical location at the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, has, since 2002, experienced the arrival of an exponential number of undocumented migrants, who arrive by boat in an irregular manner, usually after departing from Libya.

Although not the only migrants in Malta, this category of forced migrants constitutes the vast majority of the asylumseeking population in recent years.

Almost all the irregular migrants who have arrived since 2002 have applied for asylum, and more than 52% were granted a form of protection, allowing them to begin a new, though still challenging, life in Malta. The Maltese Government and ngos working in the field struggled to cope with the unprecedented number of arrivals: setting up policies, services, and structures to respond to new realities. However, in spite of their efforts and the resources invested, our country was rarely able to meet more than the most basic needs.

The mission of the Jesuit Refugee Service Malta (jrs) is to accompany, serve, and defend the rights of asylum seekers and forcibly displaced persons who arrive in Malta.

One of the ways in which it does this is by giving a voice to asylum seekers. In 2009 and 2010, some of jrs Malta’s work focused on the production of a documentary, which was initially meant to be an educational and informative tool showing how the Maltese reception system affects the lives of asylum seekers. What emerged from the interviews that were conducted was more than just information. It was an eye-

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When you are a refugee, there is something you pay, and you pay this from your life Mariam, a protagonist in ‘Suspended Lives’

opening journey, which showed the pain that asylum seekers carry throughout their plight. The final product does not discuss law or policy, and it is not meant to be political or controversial, but simply reveals the realities, hopes, fears, and hardships that asylum seekers face every day. ‘Suspended Lives’ is a collection of some of the things they have to say; it presents their perspective and their voice.

The documentary features seven stories, which the migrants tell in their own words. All apart from one of these migrants, who arrived in Malta in recent years, arrived by boat and applied for asylum. The various protagonists recount their experiences of fear, persecution, and their escape across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea, until they reached the safety of our shores.

Following the completion of the documentary, jrs Malta launched a six-month awareness campaign in December 2010, during an activity marking International Migrants Day (18 December). The campaign aims to highlight the hardships faced by asylum seekers and forced migrants in Malta. As part of the campaign, the documentary ‘Suspended Lives’ will be screened for free at different venues, until World Refugee Day on 20 June 2011.

More information about the documentary and the screenings can be found at www.suspendedlives.org.

FEATURE

GHSK investigates: Human Trafficking

and Prostitution

GħSK (Għaqda Studenti tal-KriminoloĠija) team has noticed that human trafficking and prostitution is an issue which is seldom discussed. As a result, students are not aware of the current situation. Luke Bonello, RochelleTess Caruana, Oliver Cassar, and Abigail Cremona report.

O

n 18 August 2010, a case was heard in court of a mother of five who was “obsessed” with her unemployed boyfriend, and offered to prostitute herself when the couple could not keep up with their bills. Her boyfriend admitted to living off the earnings from the prostitution of his girlfriend. The 24- year-old man was given a six month jail term suspended for two years, and the magistrate issued a protection order banning him from seeing his girlfriend.

In September 2010, ecpat (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking), a un affiliated international group combating child prostitution and human trafficking, published a report stating that Malta is a prime destination for the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes from Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Russia, and Romania. ecpat also pointed out that Malta has no reliable available data on the extent of trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. In fact, in Malta, most known sex crimes involving children are related to child pornography.

On a positive note, Malta has agreed to ratify various Conventions aimed at preventing human trafficking and other related matters such as money laundering and financing of terrorism. There have been several initiatives - for instance, a joint publication between Aġenzija Appoġġ and the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs - to raise awareness about human trafficking, including information on the identification of potential victims and where to find assistance.

Furthermore, training programmes for government officials and several victim assistance services are in place. Also, the Attorney General is empowered by the Police Act to offer protection to victims of human trafficking and to grant a Witness Protection Programme. This can be offered to those accepting to testify against a participant in the crime.

In this case, the witness will be given the opportunity to settle in another country with a new identity, a property, and

the payment of an allowance.

The majority of you might think that prostitution affects only women, however this is certainly not the case. In September 2010, Spanish police arrested five suspected members of a gang that imported men from Brazil to offer sexual services and drugs across the country. It is said to be the first gay prostitution network ever to be dismantled in Spain.

The gang, consisting of a majority of Brazilians, is accused of providing the male prostitutes with Viagra, cocaine, and other drugs to make them available for sex round-the-clock.

Police said the gang recruited men mainly in northern Brazil to go to Spain. Many were duped into believing that they would work as models or dancers.

According to għsk’s research, law enforcement personnel regularly encounter ‘sex crimes’, mostly loitering for prostitution in localities like Marsa, Gżira, and Ta’ Xbiex.

This offence generally involves Maltese women between 20 and 37 years of age, although sometimes it also involves girls of a younger age or homosexuals.

In light of this, għsk raises a number of questions, including the following: Is Malta working on specific measures to reduce the possible participation of Maltese nationals in child sex tourism abroad? Where in Malta are foreigners being used for prostitution? għsk feels that there is not enough awareness about this problem in our country. The organisation believes that while those working in the immigration unit know about the current situation, civilians don’t realise the extent of the problem. The situation should be given more exposure through the media in order to reach the general public.

It is crucial that organisations, such as għsk, shed some light on the realities that surroud human trafficking, especially for the benefit of university students, since the majority of human trafficking cases are directed towards young and healthy people (men and women alike) just like you!

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Personality of the month:

franklin cachia

Franklin Cachia’s friends nominated him for being super positive while juggling 5th year law and a part time job, among other commitments. Sandy Vella discussed his demanding lifestyle with him. after I’m done at work. I miss out on a bit of the night but I always end up enjoying it anyway.

Are there any commitments you’ve had to abandon because you couldn’t keep up with them all?

Yes, dancing! I loved dancing. I decided to stop because I couldn’t commit to making the classes and rehearsals at a specific time everyday. I took up swimming and gym because I can go anytime I like. When I graduate, I’ll have to leave my job at the wine bar (which is my source of income at the moment) and then I can take up dancing again.

PHOTOGRAPHY glorianne cassar

Frank, give us a brief description of an average week in your life.

On weekdays, I wake up at 8am as I work at a law firm.

I’m usually done by 1.30pm, and head to the gym for a workout and swimming. Luckily, lectures are in the evening so I don’t have to miss out. At the moment, I go to Students’ Fest rehearsals right after lectures. Occasionally, I write law reviews. And I work three nights a week (usually including weekends) at a wine bar.

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Do you think attending lectures is crucial?

Anyone could get away with not attending lectures and passing exams. It’s just a matter of memorising the notes we get our hands on. I feel that by attending lectures you gain insight which you don’t get by simply reading notes. Lectures are interactive; we have discussions and conversations, and are more likely to remember facts, as well as examples mentioned in class. When I return to my notes everything is a recollection. Therefore, I think it’s important to attend, and I encourage everyone to find the time to do so.

Do you manage to keep up with your social life or do you sometimes miss out?

In every situation I find myself in, I try to make friends.

At work, my colleagues are a very young crowd and we’ve become friends. At the gym I also meet many people I know and catch up with them there. I always make it a point to keep Monday evenings free. I meet up with my closest friends and we watch our favourite tv programme together. Whenever I find a slot, I love meeting old friends for a quick coffee and a chat. On weekends I catch up with my friends in Paceville

The Insiter • MARCH 2011

How about exam time? Do you alter your schedule to keep up with studies?

Everyday when I get home I print the notes of the day’s lectures and familiarise myself with them. This helps a lot.

That way all my notes are in order, and I never find myself studying anything new; its all revision. During exam time, I stop working at the office from two weeks before. They are very understanding of this. In the long run, they will also benefit if I do well in exams. I continue work at the wine bar though, as it helps me to get away from my studies for a little while and keeps me from going out!

What would you say to those students who claim they cannot keep up with University as well as a job?

I must admit that finding things ready for me at home helps a lot, and I appreciate that not everyone has someone at home to prepare their meals, or do their laundry. However, everyone is capable of taking on more than one major responsibility. Time management is the key. When we have fewer commitments, we tend to get lazy and waste time.

Keeping busy keeps your energy levels up. Sometimes I feel students over dramatise the situation, or else they just want to be relaxed all the time. Eating healthily, motivation, determination, and prayer are also important factors.

To nominate an inspirational person as ‘personality of the month’, please send an email with their details and why you think we should interview them to the following email address: sandy_vella@hotmail.com.

FEATURE This is a media experiment in reader creativity, collaboration, contribution, and empowerment, by Franco Rizzo.

Opinion articles tend to be a one-way communicative activity. Although readers may give their feedback, there is limited participation, and in a reactionary manner, through comments (especially online), and the right of reply. This is your chance to be more involved, by doing your own bit of writing (or drawing, for that matter) - uncensored. You are free to use the blank space above in any way you wish, using pens, pencils, board markers, etc. You may choose to sign your work or refrain from doing so. If you decide to scribble something, we would be extremely interested to see the result. Just tear out the page and leave it at the Insite office (either in the letterbox or slip the paper under the door). Take this opportunity to share your work and join us in celebrating freedom of expression.

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FILM REVIEW:

THE KING’S

SPEECH

Christine Caruana reviews the multi-award winning film. At the 83rd Academy Awards, which took place on 27 February, ‘The King’s Speech’ won the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Original Screenplay (David Seidler).

H

ave you ever walked out of a dark and drab lecture room into one of the invigorating little green areas of our university? That feeling of freshness and reconnection with oneself, multiplied by several times, is the effect I experienced while watching ‘The King’s Speech’.

This might seem to be rather hyperbolic praise, yet there are several reasons for its inclusion in my top ten favourite films (at the expense of ‘Atonement’, which I still recommend). To begin with, there is the human theme of a man, and a King, fighting internally and externally against a speech impediment, which invokes the viewer’s empathy.

This is certainly a breath of fresh air when compared to the usual superficial dross that Hollywood dishes out on a regular basis. The humanity of the King’s situation is certainly done justice by the wonderful acting of the entire cast. I particularly enjoyed Geoffrey Rush’s performance as Lionel Logue, the highly interesting, loyal, and intelligent character for whose portrayal Rush won a highly deserved bafta.

The protagonist, King George vi (or “Bertie”) is brought to life by the impeccable Colin Firth, whose performance was nothing short of a staggering achievement, for which Firth won a bafta, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. His brilliant acting was a perfect match with Tom Hooper’s masterful direction, and was complemented by the ingenious music of Alexandre Desplat. The director managed to capture the loneliness and helplessness of the King through the use of filming techniques, setting, and style. The music consisted of a clever balance between creativity and purpose: beautiful harmonies were a metaphor for the journey of a developing Royal.

Although the makers of the film did their homework properly in order to make it as historically accurate as possible - going as far as to include in the script snippets of

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As the actor of the year in the film of the year, I can’t think of enough adjectives to praise Firth properly. ‘The King’s Speech’ has left me speechless Rex Reed in the New York Observer

information from Lionel Logue’s diary (discovered only weeks before filming) - I personally feel that the character of Churchill in particular was rather one-dimensional and weak. However, this does not at all detract from the enjoyment of the film as a whole.

In an age when society seems to lack heroes who deserve admiration and respect, I think it is well worth embracing the message of this film, and emulating the King by making it our mission to earn the esteem of other people and rise to the challenges life presents us with, rather than remaining in a slumber of apathy and self-deprecation. It is for all these reasons that I thoroughly recommend this film.

Christine Caruana is the Public Relations Officer for DESA, the Department of English Students Association.

culture

Osama the Hero: when victims become terrorists ‘Osama the Hero’ is a play by Dennis Kelly, which was first staged in London in 2005. In February, it was produced by MADC (Malta Amateur Dramatic Club), under the direction of Erin Stewart Tanti, and performed at St James Cavalier for three consecutive weekends. The following review is by Louise Mifsud.

O

sama the Hero’ invokes in the audience a sense terror, chaos, disgust, empathy, and compassion for its entire duration, leaving them breathless. The play explores the fear of living in a violent, anxious, psychologically horrifying environment, while creating a claustrophobic ambience.

These elements lead us to think and reflect, and make it the perfect ‘in-yer-face’ play.

The subtle humour makes you feel uncomfortable as you laugh in such a situation. I was taken aback by the title of the play, but at the same time it elicited a curiosity strong enough to choose to attend the play. In a world where the mind is still obscured by prejudice and fear towards minorities, the individual is limited in what he is allowed to express. The play lacks action, but engages the audience, who listen to what the characters (all of whom represent deviants in our society) have to say.

Gary, a student, was targeted for delivering a presentation at school about Osama bin Laden as a modern hero, not foreseeing the consequences of his innocent actions. He is kidnapped and tortured to death because he is suspected of being a terrorist. Luke Farrugia’s performance as Gary was astonishing. The clarity of his diction resulted in a convincing portrayal, despite the fact that he is bound throughout his performance.

The characters had their own individual stories, which they related to the audience. This was fundamental for the creation of the breathless, chaotic, and terrifying atmosphere. Joe Pace portrayed paedophile Mark, who was one of the strongest characters, due to his firm and precise presence. The elaborate hand gestures accompanying his monologue added colour to it. The dominant Mark is challenged by his weakness, Mandy, who is brilliantly played by Larissa Bonaci. What stood out during Mandy’s time on stage is Ms Bonaci’s ability to develop her character to its full potential.

Osama’s victims turned into terrorists. Louise (Davinia Hamilton) is a pivotal character, since, through her, the audience is urged to think. Even though at times inconstant, Davinia Hamilton’s performance was remarkable. The way Ms Hamilton delivered the last monologue intensified the unbearable aura.

Francis, who is bi-polar, was a demanding character to play, and, at times, Karl Cassar failed to give him the right attribution. The facial expressions and body gestures made

up for his problems with diction. The moment I looked into Francis’s eyes, I could really see that the character was well shaped and developed.

Producing ‘in-yer-face’ theatre requires courage, stamina, a creative flair, and firm direction. Erin Stewart Tanti’s direction proved to have all these features. Romualdo Moretti’s set design was rather peculiar, but not surprising. The sheets of plastic hanging all around seemed to emphasise deep thought, and not just represent entrapment in a burntout garage. We feel trapped by our own fears, hence also the use of red in lighting and clothing, which indicates danger (our fears), blood (Gary’s), and seduction (Mandy towards Mark). Once again, Chris Gatt’s lighting was the finishing touch on this claustrophobic play. The small space enabled the performance to develop a shared energy between actors and audience.

‘Osama the Hero’ is certainly not light entertainment.

It is the kind of play that grabs your attention and keeps it until its message is received. The play touches upon the themes of fear, the fragility of the human mind, prejudice, the power of the media, and politics. Without a doubt, it provides plently of food for thought!

Louise Mifsud is studying Communications with Theatre Studies, and is in her second year of studies.

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The Devil in Disguise Last year, the feature film ‘The Devil’s Double’ was filmed in Malta. It is based on the story of Latif Yahia, an Iraqi who was forced to act as a body double for Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and received overall good reviews. David Carabott appeared in it as an extra.

One of my latest experiences as an extra was in ‘The Devil’s Double’. On set, I had the opportunity to work with actor Dominic Cooper of ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008), and ‘An Education’ (2009). Even more remarkable was the director of the film, Lee Tamahori, who also directed the James Bond film ‘Die Another Day’ (2002). He is a true perfectionist.

During my previous filming experiences, I had never witnessed a director as well-organised, strict, controlling, yet respected and convincing as Tamahori. This is impressive, considering that I’ve had the opportunity to work with acclaimed film directors like Steven Spielberg, Wolfgang Petersen, Sir Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Lamberto Bava, and Alejandro Amenábar, to name a few. Tamahori, with his unusual (though professional) directing, his lateral thinking, and his erratic behaviour, is one of a kind.

The crew seemed constantly under pressure, and Tamahori’s methods of communication seemed somewhat peculiar. I had my doubts about them, but at the end of the day they proved to be extremely effective. Some of the crew members told me that Tamahori was giving them a hard time and was tremendously demanding. However, after filming a particular scene, he appeared delighted and praised the Maltese crew for their excellent efforts.

The highlight of my experience was a chance meeting on set with Dr Latif Yahia himself, who was forced to become the body double of Uday Hussein. Latif, a former Iraqi soldier, visited Malta on two occasions to watch some filming sessions, and to play a minor part in the film as Saddam Hussein. I will remember him for his down-to-earth character, his unique ways of approaching people, and his insightful personality and immense charisma.

Latif was chosen by Saddam Hussein because of his strong physical resemblance to Uday, but he still had to undergo plastic sur-

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

gery. Eventually - and this is a true story - Saddam developed a relationship with Latif stronger than the one he had with his own son.

During a break from filming, I had the opportunity to discuss with Latif the issue of the Western media depicting Iraq as the devil’s den, and the land of war and death. We also spoke about the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, which totally changed the Iraqi way of life. Even though Saddam Hussein was killed in December 2006, and the country was promised peace, hostilities persisted.

I believe that film production, if exploited in a better way than at present and managed more effectively, could be as beneficial to the Maltese economy as tourism, and also serve as invaluable promotion for our country. Actors, directors, producers, and the like are important tourists. These people generally make use of the best hotels and promote the Islands by filming in the most picturesque spots and localities. Furthermore, when filming takes place in Malta, Maltese talent also receives some attention. Local actors and other persons who get involved in professional big budget projects learn much about the industry while enhancing their portfolio.

Working as an extra is considered by many to be a means of making easy money. I made the acquaintance of several people who are making a living out of it. It’s worth keeping your eyes open for casting auditions, which are posted on the internet and published in various newspapers.

Everyone should grasp this opportunity at least once.

At the University of Malta, David Carabott studied the art of film language, history, and genre. He is an avid follower of the world of film, and has played a part in a number of foreign films, television dramas, and advertisements filmed on the Maltese Islands.

culture

A journey for the

soul’s rebirth The Malta Classics Association has devised a Classics-related syllabus to be the taught at the University of Malta and in sixth forms, with the aim of reviving the study of Classics in Malta. This new syllabus, Classical Studies, will be available as from October 2011. Kristina Cassar interviewed Joe Debono, an active member of the Association.

As of next academic year, many a young linguist will be spoilt for choice as regards the new languages added to their course choice list. Besides the regular languages that we’ve now grown somewhat accustomed to and which we sometimes take for granted, two Classic languages - Latin and Greek - will be added to the syllabi, both at a tertiary level at the University of Malta, and also at a post-secondary level in sixth forms.

While interviewing Joe Debono, a passionate and dedicated member of the Malta Classics Association, I was properly informed of the curricula and requirements for these two languages. Mr Debono thoroughly explained the origins of Latin and Greek, referring to the philosophical elements as well as other historical facts that such a course would teach. Mr Debono explained that the word ‘classic’ means a group, class, or fleet in the Greek language, but ultimately, and most prestigiously, refers to the elite. He made it very clear that knowing Latin and Greek allows a linguist to experience the gift of rhetoric, in a written and spoken form, and gives him the power to speak to people with fluency and a vast lexis at his disposal.

Mr Debono informed me that students will have the option to study Latin and Greek at either Intermediate or Advanced Level while attending a Maltese sixth form. University students can choose to study the Classics in the form of a three-year course resulting in a Bachelor of Arts in the subject, or by taking supplementary credits.

At sixth form level, students choosing Latin and Greek will be able to learn either language from scratch: basic grammar, history, and literature will be packed into a week’s worth of lectures. The syllabi at an Intermediate Level have been designed to familiarise students with some of the Classical works of literature, while encouraging sensitive reading and interpretations, as well as strengthening reading and writing skills.

At Advanced Level, two papers, both three hours long, will be held. Paper One will mainly comprise translations from modern and ancient texts, and Paper Two will focus on the literature of the chosen subject. While the uom credits will give a basic introduction to the subjects, a Bachelor of Arts in Latin or Greek would ensure a complete ‘Classic experience’.

On a highly positive note, scholarships, acceptance into foreign universities, and job opportunities will not be scarce for Classics enthusiasts.

Students taking an interest in the Classics, Joe Debono said, experience language in general in an entirely new light.

Texts such as Homer’s Iliad and Plato’s The Republic, for example, can be experienced in their original language - Greek - allowing the reader to get the full sensation that the authors intended. Such tantalising and heart-warming experiences are often lost in translations, which can, through a lot of effort, be eliminated from the learning of the Classics.

On a final note, Mr Debono reminded me that the Classics never die; like a phoenix, they are forever reborn, because they are built into our society. Our laws, our art, our individuality, and our history are all a product of the Classics. He expressed his belief that when we study the Classics, we produce a renaissance, by embarking on a rediscovery of the soul.

The Malta Classics Association organises many events, including public lectures, summer courses in Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, study groups for graduates, and newsletters, which are available to members of the Malta Classics Association on Facebook.

This semester, Mr Debono is giving a DegreePlus course in Latin.

Response to this has been extremely positive, and has resulted in the largest class learning the language since the early 1980s.

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health

s o less cial networking

more socialising

Chantelle Sciberras encourages us to sign out of our Facebook accounts and sign in to a Befriending Volunteer Program at Mount Carmel Hospital.

W

e are living a fast-paced and hectic lifestyle. We spend more of our time at school or University, at work, or stuck in traffic jams. We lead a non-stop life. Our busy schedule begins early in the morning and finishes late at night, when we finally get home feeling exhausted. We are living in a world where we barely have time to cook for ourselves, let alone go out and meet people as often as we would like to. Social networking has found a solution to this problem: we make friends on the internet and we live our lives through pictures posted on Facebook walls. This is having a negative impact on us as human beings because we are slowly losing basic skills such as how to socialise in real life, and how to interpret non-verbal communication and body language.

Have you ever asked yourself: are we still capable of making friends without reviewing profiles, browsing photos on line, and checking mutual friends in advance?

Can we trust each other? Do we still have the ability to ask for help, or do we feel obliged to create a Facebook group when we need to know something, or want to organise an event, and then wait and see how many people respond or select ‘attending’? Are best friends important nowadays, or can we do without them, considering that we might have thousands of “Facebook friends”?

Statistics gathered at Mount Carmel Hospital over the last five years show that more than 1200 people have been admitted with Mood Affective Disorders. The risk of suicide attempts among people with mental health problems is extremely high, especially in cases where such people live alone and receive no support from relatives or friends.

Have you ever wondered how these people, who have no access to new technologies because of various social or health reasons, can fit in this changing, internet-oriented world? How can they survive? How can they find friends?

How can they look for a job?

Most probably, these people invent their own parallel reality, which is slower and simpler than the world around them, and most of the time this is characterised by isolation and loneliness. Stop and think! Where does real life fit into a computer screen? Is it among the pictures that we post every now and then? Is it in our status updates? What can we do to help these people? How we can fill the gap created by lack of communication and alienation?

These people are waiting for us to get out of our cars, to sign out of our internet lives for a while, and to help them experience something which is real and meaningful. If you feel that you are a victim, trapped in this new high-tech era, we have a proposition for you! This year, you can do something of value not only for you, but also for others. You now have the opportunity to change someone’s life when you join our Befriending Volunteer Program at Mount Carmel Hospital. For one or two hours a week, you will be helping those in need, those who are alone, and those who are waiting for your real friend request. They are looking forward to going out for a walk or to the nearest café with you.

Contact us on: 23304249. Ms Rayna Mateva, the Volunteer Coordinator, can be reached at the following email address: rayna.mateva@gov.mt.

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&

Student Feedback the quality assurance process Q

uality assurance has nowadays become a topic of fundamental importance in the higher education area. Throughout the last years, several universities and other institutions at the higher education level have taken the initiative to carry out audits and studies on the quality of the education being offered to students.

One practice used to achieve this objective is feedback exercises. This is a relatively common practice across universities in Europe, whereby students are asked to give feedback on several issues related to the study-units/programmes they followed throughout a specific term.

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Karl Agius discusses focus groups as a new tool for empowering students in quality assurance.

about the process, and tend to be passive. Students are not cooperating in a system which is beneficial for both parties (academic staff and students).

Throughout my term as Chairperson of the Education Commission in the Students’ Council (ksu), I conducted a study on quality assurance, which was published in May 2010. Some pointed out that such a study was a “pointless exercise with pointless results”. However, the study has certainly achieved one specific aim: that of stimulating the much needed debate on quality assurance.

Last July, I had the opportunity to attend the study session ‘Enhancing Student Participation in the Process of qa in Education’, which was organised by the European Students’ Union (esu) in co-operation with the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe. Here, I presented the aforementioned study and shared good practices with other students. An interesting study on a similar basis was carried out in Norway by Christian Bjerke, from the Norsk studentsorganisasjon (nso), the students’ council in Norway. After several discussions, we came up with a new proposal which may supplement or completely replace feedback exercises.

Some students consider the questions asked to be generally vague and too broad. Moreover, the information gathered is not specific enough to tackle concrete challenges.

Recent discussions and surveys have shown that such practices are failing to gather feedback from students. Low participation by students - in most cases below 50% - is rendering such surveys illegitimate and useless. Such low response rates are also leading to a situation where complaints delivered by students are not being taken into consideration, and thus no immediate action is taken. If academic staff receives poor evaluations, no change or improvement can be expected. Students begin to feel and/or think that such feedback exercises are useless, and refrain from participating in them the following year, leading to a further drop in response rate. Eventually, there is a scenario where the results of the surveys are not made public. This goes against the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.

The proposal was presented to students from all across Europe during two sessions. One of these sessions took place during the seminar organised by esu in Jerusalem, entitled ‘qa - the ultimate tool?’. In both cases, students gave very positive feedback and were interested in considering the proposal.

In the case of our university, the highest percentage response by students (47.9%) was achieved in February 2009.

Despite the effort of the Academic Programmes Quality and Resources Unit (apqru), and although the system is run online in an anonymous manner, students remain sceptical

Christian and I submitted a paper to the so called E4 group, composed of the European University Association (eua), the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (enqa), the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (eurashe) and the Eu-

The Insiter • MARCH 2011

This paper shows how the best practices in two different countries (Malta and Norway) have been merged to come up with a new and powerful tool for student feedback and follow-up in quality assurance. It was explained how focus groups can be used to tackle problematic areas in courses or specific subjects. The benefit of this practice is that students are given more space and opportunity to give their feedback, as opposed to the rigid framework of traditional feedback exercises. This new approach will facilitate immediate action and review of the course or subject.

In our paper, some of the limitations relating to this approach were also presented, but the overall conclusion is that most QA systems will benefit from this new approach to student feedback, and will increase legitimacy in QA for teachers and learners alike.

The study is based on the principle that the main stakeholder in the process of qa is the student, and that the quality assurance process needs to be student-centred. The new approach to student feedback can be divided into six main steps. The way in which this new approach will work can be summarised by means of the student feedback loop.

Focus groups will ensure that challenges are tackled in the most effective and concrete manner, since they can be tailored for specific purposes. They can be used in courses

SPECIAL REPORT

that receive an unsatisfactory number of replies to questionnaires. They could simply replace the use of questionnaires, or they could be used to supplement questionnaires in large courses having many students. The system can also be used for small and specialised courses, where there are too few students to use questionnaires. This is especially relevant at Master’s and phd level. When setting up new courses, focus groups can be used to improve/assure quality. Finally, focus groups can be used to tackle problematic areas in courses or specific subjects, or in situations were questionnaires are not considered useful.

Students should feel a responsibility to participate in such exercises. Although a number of proposals have been put forward on how students can be motivated in this approach, lack of participation remains one of the major limitations.

Although there is room for further debate, I hope that this useful tool will be taken into consideration, and for those who are still unsure about the role of students in qa, I remind them of the words of former enqa President Peter Williams: “The rich diversity of student involvement with qa provides us with an abundant resource from which we can research and share good practice and so help all involved to learn and to develop”.

Karl Agius is a pool member of esu qa experts pool, a pool member of the Institutional Evaluation Programme run by eua, and a member of the Social Affairs committee of esu. He can be reached on agiuskarl@gmail.com.

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illustration romina tolu

ropean Students’ Union (esu). This paper - ‘Focus Groups – proposing a new tool for empowering students in quality assurance’ - was accepted and presented at the 5th European Quality Assurance Forum, which took place at the University Claude Bernard in Lyon (France), between 18 and 20 November 2010. Once again, positive feedback was obtained from qa agencies, students, and academics.

41

A MAN

WITH A MISSION

With three world records under his belt, 22-year-old Thomas Cremona is fully living up to his motto of being a half man, half machine.

This month, Noel Camilleri interviewed this inspirational man, who apart from being an accountant by profession also happens to be a past member of Insite.

PHOTOGRAPHY glorianne cassar

Watching Thomas giving countless interviews upon his triumphant return from Barbados, people could not help but to warm to his charisma and bubbly character, which hide the trials and immense feats he has faced throughout his life. Meeting him in person made me confirm all these attributes, as his positive frame of mind has the potential of rubbing off on any person who meets him.

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With his trans-Atlantic ocean record on my mind, my conversation with Thomas begins with his early life and some of the troubles he had to face. “As a four-year-old boy I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, and though I do not remember much of this experience, this served to spur me on later in life”, he explains. At this stage, he also mentions the impact that the death of one of his friends had on him and how this propelled him into a campaign which promotes the idea that life beyond cancer is possible. He models his awareness campaign on the way Lance Armstrong employs sports to give power to cancer patients. “Rowing and cycling are two different worlds, however, I consider Armstrong as being instrumental in shaping my ideas.”

Having established his motivation, our chat swiftly moves on to rowing and his decision to choose this sport.

He narrates how he was captivated by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle’s 2006 bbc programme Through Hell and High Water, which documented Cracknell’s and Fogle’s attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Thomas recounts how he had never before practised rowing, despite participating in sporting events such as the 2006 LifeCycle ‘Across the Arctic Circle’ challenge, two editions of the Malta half and full marathon, and a swim between Gozo and Malta in 2009.

The Insiter • MARCH 2011

Preparations for the Atlantic adventure were in full swing about five months before the actual crossing. Before, Thomas had made contact with Matt Craughwell, the owner and skipper of the Sara G, an 11.1m long boat which was to be used in the attempt to cross the Atlantic.

Thomas describes how he used to communicate with the crew through emails and Skype, as “I only met them in person some days before the adventure started.” Last December, as part of his training, Thomas broke the Longest Continual Row Concept2 World Record by rowing for 24 hours at Baystreet.

Thomas reports how the journey started on a rather bad note, as when they arrived in Agadir, Morocco, they had to row for two extra days to reach Tarfaya from where they had to set off to Barbados. “When we arrived in Agadir, we found that the boat’s engine had broken down and therefore we incurred two extra days of rowing, which are not part of the world record.”

While showing me various pictures and videos of the actual trip, which the crew managed to take, though understandably they are not perfectly clear, given the rough seas they encountered, Thomas told me how “sunrise was the best time to row as it reminded me of the romantic side of life”. When not rowing, he was expected to rest, eat, and carry out other duties such as cleaning, ship identification, and navigation. Thomas also dwelled on another boat which was trying at the same time to beat the world record.

“Competing with us was a boat named Team Hallin who managed to break the world record by ten hours, obviously before our arrival. The crew members of Team Hallin were all army members so you can imagine with what sort of competitive attitude we were battling against.” The gar-

Sport

gantuan effort they had to make certainly reflected itself in the number of calories Thomas burned, which he put at 8000 a day.

Thomas talks me through various frightening episodes which occurred during the rowing trip, such as the phenomenon of flying fish at night, which he compared to a ‘kamikaze attack’, and an incident where the boat’s reserve daggerboard broke down and had to be hammered again.

“The captain had to jump into the sea and hammer it down. However, this was extremely dangerous as currents in the Atlantic can in a matter of seconds pull you away.

So he had to tie himself to the boat before attempting to jump into the sea.”

Turning to the fundraising aspect of the whole event, Thomas says that “corporate sponsors were used to cover my expenses while individuals can, even now, donate money to Puttinu Cares through SMS and online donations. People could also bet money on whether the crew would establish a world record through the gaming company Betsson. Notwithstanding this, I still consider getting my message across as being more important than any monetary targets.”

Focusing on what the future holds for him, Thomas confidently says that “I definitely want another record”, though he is not sure in what he wants it in.

Like the rowing efforts he has been making, he says that beating cancer and aiming high in life are more “a psychological thing rather than a physical one.”

To donate money to Puttinu Cares, you can send a blank SMS on 50617380 for € 2.33, 50618939 for €6.99, and 50619225 for €11.65.

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43

Celebrating

125 Years of Innovation

In 1886, German car engineer Karl Benz filed patent no. 37435 at the former Berlin Patent Office for one of the most important inventions of all time: an “automobile fueled by gas”, the Benz Patent Motorwagen. 2011 marks the 125th anniversary of the patent’s filing.

Chris Galea celebrates the occasion by highlighting some key moments in Mercedes-Benz’s illustrious history.

A

n important part of the history and success of the Benz Patent Motorwagen was Bertha Benz’s famous voyage, which was the first long distance automobile trip. To promote the vehicle and to demonstrate its viability as a means of travel, Karl’s wife, without her husband’s knowledge, took the car on a 106 km (66 mile) journey to visit her mother in Pforzheim. Upon reaching her destination, she telegraphed her husband and explained what she had done. The trip included the challenge of locating pharmacies to buy fuel (they sold gasoline in limited quantities as a cleaning agent), and also highlighted features of the vehicle that required attention. In 1888, after implementing the improvements

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

suggested by his wife, Karl began selling Model 3 of the Benz Patent Motorwagen, thus making it the first ever commercially available automobile.

In 1926, the company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (dmg) and Benz & Cie. (part owned by Karl Benz) merged and, as per the terms of the merger, the new company was called ‘Daimler-Benz AG’. The cars it produced were called “Mercedes-Benz”. The popular Mercedes star was thought up by Gottlieb Daimler’s two sons, who worked for the company. While discussing proposals for a distinctive company trademark, they remembered a postcard which their father had sent to his wife. Daimler had drawn a star marking the

AUTO + TECH

position of his house and written, “From here a star will rise, and I hope that it will bring blessings for us and our children”.

Through the years, Mercedes has expanded and diversified its products to meet the challenges set by its competitors. Today, the company manufactures passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and even has an aerospace section. It has become a byword for engineering excellence, and is renowned for its high standards and long list of innovations.

Besides the first automobile, these include: the first fourstroke car with direct injection; the first passenger car to have brakes on all four wheels; the safety cell structure with front and rear crumple zones (considered by many to be the most important automotive innovation as regards safety); the first cars equipped with traction control, electronic antilock brakes (abs) and airbags; the first turbocharged production diesel sedan; and the first robotised car.

The company has a strong motorsport history. Its cars have been piloted by several legendary drivers, such as Rudolf Caracciola, Bernd Rosemeyer, Hermann Lang, Sir Stirling Moss and Juan Manuel Fangio, who drove the famous ‘Silver Arrows’ to numerous victories in the 1930s and 1950s. Mercedes has also made some of the fastest cars in the world: the 300SL ‘Gullwing’ - the fastest car of its time and generally regarded as the first supercar - and the C111-3 experimental vehicle, which broke several records in its time.

Today, the most powerful naturally-aspirated 8-cylinder engine is the Mercedes-amg 6208cc V8.

Such is the quality of the German brand’s vehicles that it prospered even during periods of financial depression, and survived two major world wars. Further proof is the sheer number of celebrities who are, and have been, proud owners of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, among them Franz Beckenbauer, Jason Kay, Elvis Presley, Princess Diana, Britney Spears, Jay Leno, and Jeremy Clarkson. Several Heads of State, as well as the Pope, make use of Mercedes vehicles, especially due to the special protection they offer.

To celebrate its resounding success on its 125th anniversary, Mercedes invited around 1 400 guests to the MercedesBenz World in Stuttgart, including German Federal Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, who was a guest of honour. During the event, the Mercedes B-Class f-cell World Drive was launched. This ‘world drive’ consists in three fuel-cell drive vehicles travelling around the world in 125 days. The B-Class f-cell is the world’s first fuel-cell powered automobile to be produced under series production conditions. The fuel-cell is a promising eco-friendly technology for the future.

Mercedes has reached a new milestone: 30 million vehicles have been delivered to customers in 65 years of post-war production. Mercedes unveiled the sculpture ‘Aesthetics 125’, which gives an important insight into the future design language of Mercedes-Benz. It combines elements of an automobile’s interior and exterior by means of sweeping (“almost soaring”) shape transitions. It abides by the designers’ philosophy that “Mercedes design is art”.

This year also marks the 5th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz Museum. In addition to the classic vehicles, a temporary exhibition called ‘art 125!’ will be on display from May to September. Visitors will be able to enjoy over 160 exhibits from the company’s collection of contemporary art, created by more than 80 internationally renowned artists. Among these works is Andy Warhol’s legendary series of paintings ‘cars’, created on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the automobile. Finally, a book comprising 125 anecdotes about the motor car, entitled ‘125 moving stories’, will be published.

Exactly 125 years after Karl Benz registered the first patent, and over 80 000 patents later, the anniversary celebrations began and the Mercedes-Benz brand adopted the motto “125! years of innovation”. Gottlieb Daimler’s famous maxim, “The Best or Nothing”, was also recently adopted as the brand’s company slogan. This is quite fitting considering that it embodies Mercedes-Benz’s approach, which has resulted in the company producing some of the best automobiles in the world.

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45

neville bezzina

jef’s

campaign jef Malta is launching the eu2u campaign to gain an understanding of Maltese perceptions towards the European Union by asking the question, “What does the eu mean to you?” The initial stage of the campaign will consist in an online survey, which will give participants the chance to voice their opinions and express their views about European issues. These views will later be compiled in a multimedia report and presented to the media and other relevant authorities. To participate, one can visit jef Malta’s newly launched website: www.jefmalta.com.

nathan adams

Human Rights Week 2011 The ‘Human Rights Campaign’ and an idea put forward by mmsa (Malta Medical Students’ Association), għsk (Għaqda Studenti tal-Kriminoloġija) and uesa (University Engineering Students’ Association), and was brought to fruition by the Human Rights Team, with the support of an assortment of student organisations. By means of the joint effort of over fifteen student organisations, the University Quadrangle was successfully transformed into a display of what is arguably the most essential possession all persons have: Human Rights.

The event took place between 7 and 11 March, and every day countless people contributed to the effort to demonstrate the absolute significance of human rights through debate, displays, films, campaigns, surveys etc.

Topics of debate throughout the week involved ‘Disability Rights’ (tsa, Tourism Studies Association), ‘Youth Participation’ (Human Rights Team, meusac, Aġenzija Zgħazagħ) and ‘Fundamental Human Rights’ (+9 Studenti). Fair trade goods were displayed for the duration of the campaign by umgs (University of Malta Geographical

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The Insiter • MARCH 2011

Society), in addition to the bubbly display of hand-made, non-animal tested soap brought by y4te (Youth For The Environment). ‘Shooting Dogs’ and ‘La vita è bella’, among other films, stressed the vastness of human rights and the effect of their neglect. These were screened during the week by mufc (Malta University Film Club). Campaigns of moral responsibility, calling attention to organ donation in Malta (y4te) and blood donation drives (mmsa) were set up in order to draw attention to each person’s right to health and well-being. A mental health survey by Betapsi was aimed at reducing discrimination against the mentally unwell within the student population.

Visitors to the Human Rights Campaign included the President of the National Women’s Council, Ms. G. Attard; the Hon. Dr. Clyde Puli; the ceo of ‘Aġenzija Zgħazagħ’, Ms Miriam Theuma; and the Archbishop of Malta, Paul Cremona. A ceremony was held, congratulating and awarding all organisations for their contribution to the Hunan Rights Campaign. Without their help, the campaign would not have been of such high quality and as successful as it was.

the

P o t ivE f

When you buy a new smartphone, you need a starting point as regards the perfect applications to fill your pristine machine. Nikolai attard shares his five favourite apps, which apply to any new or seasoned smartphone user.

1. ‘Whatsapp’ This app is not free, which might deter some users from downloading it. But if you can part with a measly 79 cents you will be whisked away into a world of free texting between iPhones, Androids, and BlackBerry phones. As soon as you install this app and provide in the necessary information (your phone number and screen name), it will send you a text message with a number that you need to add to verify your phone. As soon as you’re cleared, it skims through your phone book and shows which of your contacts also have Whatsapp installed on their phone. Finally, the free texting begins!

2. ‘facebook’ My number two was a difficult choice, as it was between Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and Viber. Viber was ruled out as it’s only for iPhone users. Skype and Twitter are more established in the uk and the u.s., but Facebook is at the top of the list here in Malta. According to a report by MaltaToday, 56% of all Maltese people use Facebook daily. The Facebook app allows you to connect to your Facebook account while on the go. The chat option is not fully available for all the smartphones. What impresses me the most about this app is that it can link everyone in your phone’s address book to your friends on Facebook. If someone gives you a call, his/ her current Facebook display picture will appear.

3. ‘dropbox’ Since we began using computers, we have been finding new ways of transferring documents, pictures, music, and even movies from one to another. In the past, we progressed from the almighty floppy disc, to the cd, to the dvd, to the USB flash drive, and now we’ve reached Dropbox. This mighty app provides you with just over 2.0gb of free space, which you can upgrade, either by inviting others to use

Dropbox, or by paying a monthly fee, which will increase your space to 50 or 100gb respectively. Once you install it on your home computer, you can just move documents to and from places without having to print them. You can then download the document, edit it and re-upload to Dropbox, and it will automatically update on your home computer.

4. ‘shazam’ This app is phenomenal. Have you ever been listening to a song and couldn’t remember who it’s by? Turn on Shazam and let it listen to it. After a few seconds, it will find a match and tag it. After it has been tagged, it will show the album artwork, tour information, YouTube videos, and more useful information. Unfortunately, this free app allows a limited amount of tags per month (five, if I’m not mistaken), but you can always upgrade it to the encore version. I assume that this app will be more popular among youths than adults.

5. ‘angry Birds’ My top five apps had to include a game. At some point or other, you will pull out your phone to play a game. This game has been downloaded over 50 million times across all platforms since its release in December 2009. It consists in helping a flock of birds to retrieve their eggs, which were stolen by the green pigs. To do this, you need to aim a bird at the pig’s structure, and kill the pigs by knocking down the structure. As you progress through the levels, the structures gets more complex, and the birds have different powers and are of different sizes. It sounds pretty trivial, but I can assure you that this game will have you hooked within minutes.

When I started playing it, I thought it was a juvenile take on ‘Crush the Castle’, but I was mistaken.

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