The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 60

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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE CX

WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2012

Welcome to the bungle

EXCLUSIVE

Edinburgh University freshers could be living in Travelodge hotels for up to a month after second year of critical accommodation shortage IN NEWS /

3

Services suspended

IN NEWS /

EUSA vice-president services Max Crema suspended under veil of secrecy in early July IN NEWS NEWS / 4 7

5

IN NEWS / 9

Visa crisis at London Met One-horse race for UoE rector Thousands of students in from Peter McColl will takeleft over limbo after UKBA revokes visa Iain MacWhirter on 1 March, sponsorship licence following uncontested election

Independence Debate ‘Yes’ campaign and ‘Better Together’ go head-to-head over issue of Scotland’s future

IN COMMENT / 13

IN THEATRE / 20-21

Robin Parker NUS Scotland president highlights challenges of the upcoming year

Belt Up Knuckle Down The Fringe favourites on the transition from student to professional theatre company

At 87, socialist stalwart Tony Benn pauses to reflect on a storied life The Journal meets the intellectual elder of the Labour party old guard

IN FEATURES /

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2 / CONTENTS

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THIS WEEK INSIDE THE JOURNAL...

Is the novel dead?

John Hewitt Jones reflects on the future of the novel in a world dominated by interactive devices

27

Fashion Festival

Inside the first ever Edinburgh International Fashion Festival at Summerhall

Bosnia: The land the West forgot

24 17

The Journal examines the complex history and painful renaissance of the troubled Balkan state

Win tickets to see

Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie Twins of Evil, Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson announced their highly anticipated UK tour earlier in the summer and to celebrate their coming, The Journal has two tickets to give away, absolutely free, for their Glasgow show at SECC on 24 November. All you have to do is answer the following question:

What are Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson’s birth names?

Answers should be emailed to:

competitions @journal-online.co.uk with the subject line ‘TWINS’.

Entries close on Wednesday 31 October 2012. Submissions after that date will not be counted. The winner will be picked at random and announced on the website on Friday 2 November 2012.

Making a splash

Scots Olympian Michael Jamieson talks to The Journal

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STUDENT NEWS / 3

University under fire over fresher housing crisis Dozens of first-year University of Edinburgh students left living in hotels and makeshift dorms

Christopher Rubey Callum Leslie Student Politics editor

Dozens of first-year University of Edinburgh students may be left living in hotels or sleeping on camp beds in common rooms for weeks following a critical shortage of University accommodation, The Journal can reveal.

The University’s Accommodation Services department has admitted that, despite buying up 1,100 beds in privately-operated student residences like UNITE, 48 first-year students have been left without permanent accommodation just days before the start of term.

Of these, 30 are being housed in Travelodge Hotels at Cameron Toll and St Mary’s Street, paying £105 per week. A further 18 are living in makeshift “mini-dormitories” in common areas at Pollock Halls paying £73.50 per week.

A University spokesman told The Journal: “We anticipate that this will be a temporary measure, which should be resolved within 30 days. In the meantime, these students’ needs are being met by providing good local accommodation. The students will be integrated into our rooms very soon.

“We believe it represents the best available option for our students.”

The cost to the University of housing the students in the Travelodge could be over £26,000 if the students all stay for 30 days.

The spokesman also admitted that

the University only became aware of the critical shortage of beds as recently as last week.

Edinburgh University Students’ Association president James McAsh condemned the measures, saying: “It is clear that the university needs to prioritise building more affordable student housing to meet the ever increasing demand.

“There are over a thousand students this year who meet the criteria for the accommodation guarantee [but] who will not be housed in university buildings. We suspect that there are many hundreds more who would like university accommodation but are not eligible.”

This is the second consecutive year in which a shortage of beds has necessitated unorthodox measures: last year, dozens of students were placed in residences owned by Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh, six miles outside Edinburgh.

This year’s overflow has also raised further questions over the use of the Masson House building at Pollock as private conference accommodation.

Mr McAsh said: “It is also worth noting that the number of beds in Masson House taken up by external customers is greater than the total number of students who are currently being put into temporary accommodation.”

Masson House is operated by university commercial wing Edinburgh First, which last year posted after-tax profits of £2.2 million.

An anonymous commenter online

said: “Time for that accommodation services director Richard Kington to do the honourable thing and fall on his sword.”

The shortage is the second embarrassing accommodation revelation for the university in recent months: in July, The Journal reported that Accommodation Services would use a loophole in the Scottish Government’s new deposit protection scheme to side-step new regulations for residential landlords. Charges for damage to university-owned residences will now be pursued similarly to library fines, with potentially serious consequences for students in debt at the end of the year.

An email from AS to university tenants, seen by The Journal, warns that “if a tenant remains in debt to Accommodation Services at the end of their contract, they will not be permitted to graduate or matriculate, whichever is appropriate, until the debt is cleared.

Alex Paul, a third-year student and continuing university tenant, said: “I’m concerned that the university thinks it’s acceptable to duck their responsibilities towards students by opting out of a Scottish Government scheme intended to protect students from dishonest landlords who unfairly charge for damages.

“It sends out the message that the university thinks this is an acceptable practice and the protection of student tenancy rights is not a priority for them.”

Balfour Beatty preferred bidder for new halls contract New site to house over 1,000 postgrad students Janina Engler Staff writer

Balfour Beatty, the UK based

international infrastructure contractor, has recently been announced as the preferred bidder for a new student accommodation project for the Universiy of Edinburgh. The £110 million project will see Balfour Beatty oversee the design, build and maintenance of new postgraduate accommodation as well as an outreach centre.

The accommodation will hold 1,160 postgraduate students and is aiming to provide state-of-the-art facilities as well as being located centrally in Holyrood. Additionally, the project includes plans for a new outreach centre, which will be the focus of Edinburgh’s community-based teaching in the future.

Balfour Beatty has a long-term track record of involvement in the accommodation sector, not only with Edinburgh University over the last eighteen years, but also across the UK nationally. Ian Tyler, chief executive of Balfour Beatty described the contractors as being “delighted” to have been selected and emphasised that the company were looking to support the University in “enhancing postgradu-

ate student experience” as a result of their involvement in this building project. The deal will see the company not only helping with the construction but also managing the new facilities for fifty years, alongside the architect John Hope.

The university reached the decision to entrust this scheme to Balfour Beatty largely due to their past involvement in accommodation projects with the University. The director of corporate services at Edinburgh University, Nigel Paul, stated that the University felt Balfour Beatty’s involvement could “create additional opportunities” as well as enhancing the overall experience of “our growing number of postgraduate students.” This is also an important project in light of the past accommodation problems the university have faced due to a lack of space for the growing student population, including the on-going crisis with new students being forced to stay in Travelodges just days before the start of Freshers Week.

Balfour Beatty is funding 100 per cent of the equity towards the project and it is hoped this decision will have a positive impact upon the student population as the project moves forward.

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STUDENT POLITICS// 5

EXCLUSIVE

EUSA sabbatical officer suspended

David Selby

Max Crema has yet to return to work after his suspension in unclear circumstances in mid-July Callum Leslie & Marcus Kernohan

A senior student representative at

Scotland’s largest students’ union was quietly suspended from his job in July and has yet to return to work, The Journal can reveal.

Max Crema, vice-president services at Edinburgh University Students’ Association, is understood to have been suspended in early July after just weeks in post, allegedly over remarks made on Twitter.

EUSA officials initially told The Journal that Crema was “out of the office for personal reasons.” But that account is directly contradicted by three sources with knowledge of the situation, all of whom confirm that Crema has been formally suspended from office for almost ten weeks. All declined to be identified, for fear of a personal backlash in the closeknit community of the students’ union.

Crema declined to comment on the advice of his trade union representative.

In a statement, EUSA’s board of trustees said: “EUSA have a number of processes in place to protect its democratic culture and to ensure that all employees, elected or otherwise, are treated properly and fairly.

These processes must be followed properly and legally so that all those involved can be confident in their fairness.

“As a democratic organisation, students are able to take up concerns through the democratic procedures available to them. The student councils allow for oversight on issues of policy and day-to-day representation with general meetings and referenda open to students to hold student officers more directly to account. The Trustees are happy to advise any students who wish to take action through these channels. Students are able to contact the chair of the Trustees at president@eusa. ed.ac.uk.”

Although Crema has been absent from work, he has continued to attend meetings of the EUSA trustees, and officially attended several National Union of Students events over the summer. EUSA sources also privately confirmed that his salary has continued to be paid.

No stranger to controversy, Crema was forced to apologise during last year’s

election for a disparaging remark he made about the professional staff who run EUSA’s entertainments operation. At the time, EUSA insiders speculated that the comment could become a running sore in Crema’s relationship with EUSA staff should be be elected.

On 18 August, while still suspended, Crema published on his official EUSA blog a post by an anonymous author purporting to work at a major Edinburgh Fringe venue, complaining of poor working conditions and sexual harrassment — and alleging that reports of such harrassment were not adequately addressed by managers. The post condemned customers who “openly and unapologetically abuse staff...

The ones who make women cry for having the temerity to serve someone ahead of them. The ones who enjoy lording any bit of power over the people paid to serve them. The people who see anyone in a staff shirt as fair game for insults, threats and heckling.”

The writer goes on to say that “any attempts at complaining about [sexual harassment] to management would at best be ignored, and at worst condemned.”

While the blog did not explicitly state where the author worked, staff meetings were held at EUSA venues to discuss its contents, and several EUSA staff members have told of an unsuccessful “witch-hunt” to find the person responsible. None would speak publicly, for fear of losing their jobs.

The post caused a backlash against Crema among staff, sources said. One staff member said “people were saying that there were managers there who wanted rid of him,” while another said that their team leader had encouraged them to contact EUSA management to say that Crema’s conduct was “inappropriate for someone in his position.”

Staff are understood to have lodged a formal complaint about Crema’s conduct, but opinion among EUSA employees is said to be divided. One staffer told The Journal: “I can completely relate to the blog post. At work, I was sexually harassed on an almost daily basis but it was just an accepted part of the job, so I never reported it.”

MAX CREMA

president services in a tough three-way race in March, Max Crema was a recognisable figure, ranking among the more visible and outspoken activists on the far left of the student movement.

The fourth-year economist, originally from Washington, D.C., was elected VPS by a margin of 12 per cent, on an ambitious platform of cutting bar prices, refurbishing parts of Teviot Row House and reopening the Pleasance during the day.

As part of the Defend Edinburgh slate of EUSA candidates, he served last year as a member of the union’s student

Sabbs rebel over gag clause contracts

Three of four sabbatical officers believed to have refused to sign a contract which included restrictions on speech and social media use Callum Leslie Student Politics editor

PROFILE /

Even prior to his election as vice-

Happier times: Max Crema pictured on the night of his election as VPS

Three out of four sabbatical council and committee of management, and was separately the driving force behind a campaign to save the popular Bongo Club from closure.

A leading anti-cuts campaigner, Crema is a prominent member of the National Campaigns Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC). He has been a notable presence at protests, participating in many of the occupations and marches which have characterised the recent anti-cuts movement. Last year, he was arrested under public order laws at a UK Uncut protest on Princes Street, but a court action was not brought and he escaped with a fiscal fine.

officers at Edinburgh University Students’ Association are believed to have refused to sign an employment contract with a strengthened confidentiality clause, The Journal can reveal.

The gag clause, which is similar to a notorious clause present in all EUSA staff contracts, provoked concern from the new sabb team, with all but one refusing to sign.

The contract, seen by The Journal, forbids sabbs to “divulge or communicate to any other person” or “communicate in any public, private or online forum” information relating to their employment, or to “express any view about your employer of

colleagues.”

A former EUSA sabbatical officer confirmed to The Journal that the clause was not in last year’s sabb contract.

The sabbatical officers were asked to sign the contract when they took office in June, but refused to do so. The sabbs continue to be paid their regular salary despite the absence of a written contract. It is not known when or how the dispute will be resolved.

The Journal has also obtained a copy of a proposed disciplinary policy for EUSA sabbatical officers, which would have placed severe restrictions on what sabbs could say on social media, as well as making anything they do outside working hours potentially subject to disciplinary procedure.

The policy, lists among the grounds which may lead to a disciplinary action “inappropriate use of social media” and “conduct outside of working hours that may be detrimental to EUSA’s image.”

The policy also proposes that “bringing EUSA into disrepute, including criticising the organisation on a public forum” would be grounds for immediate dismissal.

The new policy was mooted by EUSA’s professional staff around the time that the new contracts were issued, in an attempt to address the lack of specific policy dealing with sabbatical discipline. But the union’s board of trustees, which comprises the four sabbatical officers and five other elected student members, are since understood to have rejected the proposed procedure.

6 / LOCAL NEWS

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Martin to lead ECSA as colleges ready merger Half-ton bull makes bid for freedom from zoo enclosure pbroks13 on Flickr

Bystanders at Edinburgh Zoo forced to seek shelter in chimpanzee cage Lydia Willgress Local News editor

Visitors to Edinburgh Zoo were

forced to seek refuge in a chimpanzee cage when a bull escaped from its enclosure last week.

The 1,000lb Heck bull caused panic among tourists for 40 minutes on 3 September before zoo keepers and vets managed to tranquilize the animal. The incident occurred after an apparent dominance fight in which a younger bull pushed the older bull through the fencing.

Following assessment by zoo staff the injured bull was put down due to the extent of its injuries.

A statement from an Edinburgh Zoo spokesperson said: “Unfortunately due to the severity of the animal’s injuries, our veterinary staff then needed to painlessly put the animal to sleep early on Monday evening.”

The public were kept informed on Twitter with many visitors relaying their experience onto the social network site.

Richard Dean tweeted “to celebrate the update of Zoo Escape 3D, Edinburgh Zoo have locked us in the café and armed the keepers with brooms.”

Julia Anne Bruce, from Edinburgh, added “its like an episode of Madagascar out there!”

Despite the joy visitors seemed to gain from the animals escape, the zoo keepers took the incident very seriously.

According to the BBC, an Edinburgh Zoo spokeswoman said: “An adult Heck cattle bull escaped from its enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo for 40 minutes, visitors were immediately escorted to indoor areas in the zoo. Edinburgh Zoo’s trained team of expert keepers and veterinarians safely and effectively darted the animal. Staff are establishing the circumstances of the escape, and have secured the area.”

The incident is not the first time an animal has escaped from Edinburgh Zoo. In May, a family of hogs managed to escape and caused hundreds of visitors to seek shelter.

The zoo is facing questions over its security following a number of incidents involving a baboon and an ibis.

Telford College, which is to merge with Jewel & Esk and Stevenson to form new Edinburgh College formed in anticipation of the newly merged ‘Edinburgh College’ officially opening on 1 October 2012.

The merger is a product of three separate Edinburgh Colleges — Telford, Jewel & Esk and Stevenson — collaborating to produce one institution to represent the 30,000-strong student body that will make up the merged colleges.

It is hoped that the benefit of this new collaboration will be to build on the separate successes of the three Janina Engler colleges and provide one coherent Staff writer representative body for the merged institutions.

John Martin has been elected With a strong emphasis on student president of the Edinburgh College rights and improving as well as mainStudents’ Association which has been taining facilities in collaboration with

Students’ association takes shape as 1 October vesting date nears for the new Edinburgh College

students, Martin was elected with a majority of 54.71 per cent. Martin asserted that by “providing a platform for the voice of the student,” he hoped this larger-scale representative body would be an effective tool in influencing government policies and decisions with regard to higher education.

The proposal to merge the three separate colleges was the result of successful past collaborations between the three separate institutions. It was felt that individually, although successful, the colleges were limited, and through this merger it is hoped a more flexible and efficient approach can be adopted by the students and the college. On a larger scale this is in keeping with

the Scottish government’s hopes to reform education in Scotland post 16, and a desire to organise colleges on a regional basis.

As Martin emphasises, it is felt that by having a larger institution like the College Students’ Association, it will not only have a positive impact on the individuals within the student body, but also in the wider community regionally and nationally. Through John Martin’s pledge to try and ensure “better education and employability skills to ensure students get the jobs they want” within his role, it is hoped this in the long term will have a positive economic influence in Scotland on a local and national level.

Councillors hail improvements at city school Dramatic rise in grades at Wester Hailes after 21 per cent of pupils achieve five Standard Grades UBAC

Wester Hailes, among the city’s most deprived areas Edwina Goh Staff writer

Teachers and students at the Wester Hailes education centre in Edinburgh are celebrating after a

dramatic improvement in exam pass rates. The school, located in one of Edinburgh’s most deprived areas, has drawn praise from councillors.

From one per cent three years ago, the number of students passing five Standard Grades at credit level has

leaped to a staggering 21 per cent.

The school’s management board and teachers attributed this short, yet impressive, jump to a change in the teacher-pupil relationship.

In a statement council education convenor Paul Godzik said: “you can see the results in Wester Hailes in a place where some of the children do need that little bit extra, that little bit of boost in confidence and they’ve responded to that really, really well”.

These changes have come in the form of a positive teacher mentoring scheme for pupils and also by a programme which is based on sharing formative assessment methods and lesson observations through Teacher Learning Communities also known as TLC’s. Within the TLC programme, teachers are committed to improvements through regular meetings to exchange ideas or observations of each others lessons.

Every teacher is involved in the TLC programme and each teacher is responsible for mentoring a group of up to 16 pupils for about 25 minutes in

the mornings during registration.

During this time, teachers would encourage their pupils to check their homework, review their attendance and behaviour records as well as allow pupils themselves to reflect on the previous lessons and work on new targets. Using the ‘traffic light’ system, pupils can rate their understanding, behaviour and effort in green for no problems, amber signalling room for improvement and red which signifies major problems with a student.

Together with its changing school culture to one of “ambition and high expectation” encouraged by head teacher Sheila Paton, the school is confident of greater successes to have more than ten per cent of its students achieve three Highers next year.

Inspired by this accomplishment, the Edinburgh city council hopes to use Western Hailes as a template to motivate similar positive changes in other schools. This would encourage an increase in the number of disadvantaged children getting better jobs and entering university.

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ACADEMIC NEWS// 7

LONDON METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Chaos and recrimination as LMU lose visa license so distressed by this precipitate action.”

A number of MPs have criticised the move by the government saying this decision will harm the reputation of higher education in the UK whilst student leaders have roundly condemned the decision.

The National Union of Students (NUS) has added its voice to the criticism facing the UKBA’s decision. In a statement seen by The Journal NUS president Liam Burns stated: “It is disgusting that international students continue to be used as a political football by politicians who seem either incapable of understanding, or are simply uncaring about the impact of Greg Bianchi their decisions on individuals, univerNews editor sities and the UK economy.

“Politicians need to realise that London Metropolitan Univer- a continued attitude of suspicion sity has vowed to contest the decision towards international students could taken by the United Kingdom Border endanger the continuation of higher Agency (UKBA) to revoke its license education as a successful export to grant visas to students studying at industry. This heavy-handed decision the University from countries that are makes no sense for students, no sense outside of the European Union. for institutions and no sense for the LMU have expressed shock and country.” disappointment at the decision, with Universities Scotland director the Vice Chancellor of the university Alastair Sim also contributed to the claiming on the BBC website: “London debate, emphasising how universities Met will fight this revocation, which is work alongside UKBA to both recruit based on a highly flawed report by the students and ensure that immigration UKBA. The university will continue to rules are followed. Mr Sim also highgive top priority to the interests of our lighted the advantages that incoming international students who have been students bring to Scotland.

University promise action as thousands of students face deportation after UKBA strips university of visa license, citing “systematic failings”

However, the UKBA says its report was comprehensive and blamed “systematic failings” by LMU which it claims was previously warned about its actions in awarding overseas students the opportunity to study in the UK. In a statement on the UKBA website a spokesman said: “These are problems with one university, not the whole sector. British universities are among the best in the world - and Britain remains a top-class destination for top-class international students.”

In a statement published in The Independent the UKBA claimed that one in four students out of a sample of 101 didn’t have valid visas while a number of other students had issues surrounding their attendance at University. This, the UKBA claims, informed their decision to revoke the license to issue visas by LMU. The UKBA has granted students 60 days to reapply for permission to study in the UK at alternative institutions. A number of institutions have already offered places to affected students in the hope that they won’t face deportation despite having previously thought they could study in the UK. A number of students at LMU have reacted angrily to the news that they may be deported with one student interviewed by the BBC stating that she felt “petrified” by the possible outcome of deportation.

Peter Alfred Hess

Dark days for LMU as visa face-off escalates

Unis move to reassure students Student leaders cry Scottish institutions insist they comply with visa sponsorship regulations racism over UKBA decision on LMU Greg Bianchi News editor

immigration rules to prevent any abuse of the visa system. We are committed to working with officers within the UKBA to Scottish universities are denying ensure that we meet the published duties that the events south of the border at required under our Highly Trusted status.

London Metropolitan University (LMU) As part of that commitment, we audit regwhere thousands of students face deporta- ularly our practices so as to ensure that we tion may be repeated in Scotland. continue to meet our duties and respond The students face deportation after effectively to any changes to policy advised the UK Border Agency (UKBA) claimed to us by the UKBA.” that of a sample of 101 students, 25 per Heriot-Watt University also sought to cent didn’t meet visa requirements while reassure international students telling The a significant number of other students had Journal: “We understand that there may be issues over their attendance. concerns in light of the development of the In a statement Queen Margaret Uni- situation relating to international students versity stated: “The presence of inter- studying at London Metropolitan Univernational students enhances the student sity. It may further reassure students to community at QMU but we recognise the know that Heriot-Watt University recently importance of having robust procedures had a routine inspection by UBKA staff in in place to adhere to the UK’s very strict June and the UKBA confirmed with us on

6 August that we retain our ‘A’ rated status as a Highly Trusted Sponsor.”

Universities Scotland director Alistair Sim stated: “Universities work extremely closely with UKBA to secure and maintain trusted status, the requirement needed to recruit international students within the UK. Recruitment of international students into Scotland brings many advantages to university communities and much more widely beyond the campus but every uni- Greg Bianchi versity recognises the significant responsi- News editor bility this entails.”

This stance is at odds with NUS and a Student leaders from around number of union leaders who have largely Scotland have roundly condemned the condemned the decision by the UKBA to decision by the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) to revoke London Metrorevoke the license of LMU. LMU denies the claims made by the politan University’s licence to grant visas UKBA and has vowed to challenge the to overseas students.

Some student leaders have gone as decision.. far as to state that the decision by the UKBA was a racially motivated act. dannyman on Flickr The National Union of Students’ (NUS) National Executive Councillor Surya Prakash Bhatta published personal tweets which suggested that the decision of the government was both racist and xenophobic although he later moved to clarify that these were his own views and not those of the NUS. This view was supported by Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) president James McAsh who told The Journal: “My personal view is that this draconian treatment of international students, and foreignborn people in general, is xenophobic and intended to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment. The coalition government wants people in the UK to blame the lack of jobs on foreign workers, when

Quieter times ahead? UKBA policy shift spurs fears for future immigration

Representatives from EUSA and NUS Scotland accuse government of xenophobia, expressing solidarity with students facing deportation it is the government and tax-dodging corporations who are really at fault.”

The NUS released its own statement condemning the government but stopped short of claiming that racist attitudes informed the decision. NUS president Liam Burns stated: “It is disgusting that international students continue to be used as a political football by politicians who seem either incapable of understanding, or are simply uncaring about the impact of their decisions on individuals.

“This decision will create panic and potential heartbreak for students not just at London Met but also all around the country.”

London Metropolitan University have vowed to challenge the decision by the UKBA and on 5 September staff and students from LMU staged a protest outside the Home Office.

In the meantime the UKBA has set up a task force to help affected students and has given students 60 days to reapply for visas to remain in the UK. Other higher education institutions have moved to offer places to students and the UKBA sought to assure students that this was an isolated incident and not indicative of the higher education sector in general.

8 / ACADEMIC NEWS

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

Landmark scheme for Saudi Heriot-Watt robots could save coral reefs female students at Napier 29 students from King Abdulaziz University take part in summer course hosted by the university’s business school Marie Montondo Staff writer

Edinburgh Napier University

hosted a group of female Saudi Arabian students in a ground-breaking summer school initiative this August. The 29 women travelled to Scotland from King Abdulaziz University in the Red Sea port of Jeddah to study Business.

Grace Sharkey, an Edinburgh Napier lecturer who helped coordinate the programme, said: “This groundbreaking initiative by King Abdulaziz University has provided a wonderful opportunity for female undergraduates to experience an international business education with us – and we’ve been honoured to work with the students and staff.”

The summer school was funded

by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education. It is part of the Saudi kingdom’s recent investment in higher education

for women.

Saudi Arabia has been roundly criticised due to its stance on women’s rights, but in the wake of the Arab Spring the kingdom’s workforce is seeing an influx of female professionals.

Ms Sharkey said: “currently, while women comprise 45 per cent of the population, they represent about 15 per cent of the workforce, but this is changing rapidly”. Sharkey went on to explain that the current Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, is supportive of new initiatives to provide career opportunities for women.

“A visit I made to the kingdom in April was enlightening. There are many new opportunities for women in Saudi Arabia and students are incredibly well supported and given the opportunity to study with the best universities world-wide.”

The summer school programme at Edinburgh Napier University was aimed at helping the female students gain skills to enter the work force upon their graduation in Saudi Arabia.

Archie McLeod, another lecturer who worked with the students said: “Improving communication skills may be their single most important career step...if they learn to recognise appropriate ways to communicate in any international business situation they will have gained a major advantage in their chosen career.”

Dr Zainab Al-Suhaimi of King Abdulaziz University said “This summer school is the first of its kind in providing two months of international study during which our students can

not only learn academically but also engage in cultural interaction and get more international exposure.”

During the two-month programme, students from the Western city of Jeddah attended classes in International Business, Business Communication, and English Language. They were also able to tour the city of Edinburgh, visiting the Scottish Parliament and taking part in excursions to Stirling and St Andrews.

Kirsty Murray, course leader, explained: “As well as working hard, we wanted the students to enjoy this fantastic opportunity of living in Scotland’s capital city and experiencing UK culture.”

According to Sharkey, the students’ stay in Edinburgh was a great success: “They were excellent ambassadors for their country and impressed all who met them with their motivation, interest in Scottish education and in the lives of young students like themselves.”

The 2012 summer school was the second in a four-year cooperation between Edinburgh Napier and King Abdulaziz University. In 2011 thirty male students visited Edinburgh Napier University. However, Sharkey said this does not necessarily mean that the Universities’ collaboration will end in 2014: “We are currently in discussion with King Abdulaziz University regarding further opportunities for their students to study in Scotland, for wider student exchanges allowing Scottish students to study in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for staff exchanges.”

£2 million ‘Coralbots’ project seeks to build devices trained to repair damaged coral Edwina Goh Staff writer

A team of scientists at Heriot-Watt

University in Edinburgh have developed a new species of underwater robots which are designed to aid in the restoration of coral reefs. The robots have been named ‘Coralbots’.

Coral reefs house 25 per cent of marine species and it is hoped that the ‘Coralbots’ will repair and rebuild coral reefs instantaneously.

Lead scientist on the project LeaAnne Henry told the BBC, “our key idea is that coral reef restoration could be achieved via swarm intelligence, which allows us to exploit co-operative behaviours we see from natural swarms of bees, termites and ants that build complex structures such as hives and nests.”

Designed to mimic the actions of small creatures such as bees and ants, the swarm of ‘Coralbots’ will work collectively in groups to reach into depths of over 200 meters.

Traditionally, scuba divers would re-cement the broken fragments of coral reefs, using a method known as aquaculture. However, aquaculture only allows divers to reach to a certain depth, compared to these robots which are able to go much deeper.

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We have won awards for print excellence and digital innovation, and our alumni have gone on to work at — among others — The Guardian, The Scotsman, The Financial Times, Channel 4 News and the BBC. If you’re interested, or for more information, email recruitment@journal-online.co.uk or call 0131 560 2826.

The team at Heriot-Watt University is currently training the robots in skills, such as developing new intelligent object recognition routines, tapping on diverse coral reef images so as to allow the ‘Coralbots’ to detect coral fragments and distinguish them from other materials quickly.

This, it is claimed, would be a valuable asset in reconstructing coral reefs following a hurricane or from damages left by trawling. Naturally, this process would take decades, even centuries. The ‘Coralbots’ however, boasts a reconstruction time of days.

The team is confident of holding a first demonstration within a year if sufficient funding of £2 million can be raised, and the first ‘Coralbots’ will have been developed at Heriot-Watt.

These robots would be roughly a metre long with built-in video, image-processing and simple tools such as arms and scoops. The swarming behaviour of these robots are individually insignificant, but in a collective capacity can complete complex tasks and reach into minute cracks.

Responses towards this venture have been largely positive and if proven successful could be valuable in ensuring the survival of endangered coral reefs.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

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NATIONAL POLITICS / 9

SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE

Campaigns make their pitch to referendum voters Editorial

land should be an independent nation, separate from the United Kingdom.

For The Journal’s first issue of the For many current and future students, 2012/13 academic year, and in light of this decision will have a dramatic impact a fresh influx of students from outside on our lives and choices. Education has Scotland to the country’s universities, we already become a significant policy battlewould set out to provide students with an ground in the debate over independence, overview of the pressing political debate particularly on the subject of funding. of the day, which looks set to play out over On the changing status of RUK students the next two years: whether or not Scot- in Scottish universities, for example, the

nationalist camp has expressed confidence that the a likely decline in revenue from RUK students could be cancelled out by increased international recruitment, allowing the Scottish Government to stick to its pledge to preserve free higher education for Scottish students - a position the unionist campaign have criticised as too risky to leverage Scotland’s education sector against.

It is expected that agreements on the nature of the referendum will be reached in the next few weeks, amid high-level talks between the two parliaments. Eventually Westminster has to give its consent for Holyrood to hold an independence referendum, in the form of a Section 30 Order that transfers the necessary powers to Holyrood. Provided that a consensus is reached soon, the Scottish National Party

Yes campaign: voting for independence is a chance to make Scotland “what it could and should be”

have set their preferred date for the referendum for Autumn 2014.

Here, we have interviewed the leaders of both official referendum campaigns Blair McDougall, chief executive of the unionist Better Together campaign, and Blair Jenkin, campaign director of the nationalist Yes campaign, on their objectives for this debate, which is likely to rage furiously until the polls open.

Downing Street

Campaign director Blair Jenkins tells The Journal that current education funding policy shouldn’t be conflated too heavily with the constitutional debate over independence Staring match broken off as independence campaigns begin in earnest Greg Bianchi & Gareth Llewellyn

The Yes campaign has set out

why students should vote in favour of independence in 2014 when a referendum on the future of the union will take place.

In their central Glasgow offices chief executive of the Yes campaign Blair Jenkins spoke to The Journal on a wide variety of issues from the economy to education. Mr Jenkins was named chief executive earlier this year having enjoyed a distinguished career in the media which included being the head of news at BBC Scotland.

Speaking on education Mr Jenkins had a great deal to say on the issue of fees stating that whilst he believes fees should be abolished around the UK “like every other policy whether or not it continues into the indefinite future in an independent Scotland would depend very much on who was elected into government.”

However, Mr Jenkins moved to suggest that he couldn’t envisage a Scotland without free university education but that university is a “privilege and not a right” and that students have to ensure that the investment made in them through free higher education is repaid in a positive way for society.

On the issue of RUK fees, under current European legislation students from European Union (EU) member countries, which in the event of an independent Scotland would include students from the rest of the UK, Mr Jenkins confirmed that students from the rest of the UK would also be entitled to free fees.

This issue is of great importance

to universities which have recently announced £9,000 fees for RUK students which forms a great deal of funding for universities.

However, Mr Jenkins believes that the international reputation of Scottish universities would ensure that international students would still choose Scotland as their choice for study. Mr Jenkins cited his role as a visiting professor at Strathclyde University as evidence of his knowledge surrounding the education sector.

When asked whether this reliance on international students would be used to bankroll the free higher education for EU students Mr Jenkins said that this would be up to individual institutions but felt that this would help to fund the education sector which itself would be underpinned by a sustainable economic policy.

The economy is often raised by critics of independence stating that Scotland could not survive outside of the union. According to Mr Jenkins the offshore oil is vital to explaining future prosperity of Scotland post-independence stating: “It’s not the only pillar on what the Scottish economy depends but how fantastic is it that we’ve got a guaranteed source of income for the next forty years.” Mr Jenkins was also keen to emphasise the importance of renewables and life sciences as other pillars of the Scottish economy.

When asked for a summary of why students should vote in favour of an independent Scotland Mr Jenkins applied a broad statement, describing the campaign as “making Scotland into the country what it could be and should be.”

Better Together: the Union ensures prosperity and security Chief executive Blair McDougall argues that the nationalist argument is dangerously ambiguous, especially for current and future students Greg Bianchi & Gareth Llewellyn

The Better Together campaign

has spoken to The Journal outlining its arguments for why students should vote against independence in 2014. Chief executive Blair McDougall spoke at length about the potential dangers facing Scotland should the majority of Scots vote yes.

Speaking on education Mr McDougall was keen to emphasise the advantages Scottish students enjoy under the current system.

According to Mr McDougall Scottish students wishing to study in the rest of the UK receive a support of £16,000 from the government.

However, under this arrangement Scottish students would become overseas students and would therefore incur fees which have rocketed south of the border.

In addition to this Mr McDougall stated that in the case of independence, Rest of UK (RUK) students would become students from the European Union and as a result would be entitled to free fees should they wish to study in Scotland. This

would be a likely scenario in Scotland post-independence after Alex Salmond famously stated that “rocks would melt in the sun” before he introduced fees for Scottish students.

Mr McDougall warned that this arrangement could cost Scotland up to £1.25 billion.

Mr McDougall also spoke at length about the economic problems facing an independent Scotland, and when pressed on the question of oil stated that “independence is forever”. Mr McDougall highlighted that basing an economy on oil reserves is a risky strategy considering that oil prices can fluctuate — research by Channel 4 News has suggested figures can vary by as much as £6 billion.

Mr McDougall also warned that the economic depression is an overarching reason why Scotland is ‘Better Together’, stating that the UK’s triple-A credit rating is vital to protecting Scots from the harsh realities of the global depression currently affecting smaller independent nations such as Ireland and Greece, adding “things can and should be better.”

Another important reason for union according to the Better Together campaign refers to the cultural and institutional ties to the rest of the UK. Speaking of the cultural, familial and political links through institutions such as the BBC, Mr McDougall warned that “these are the real institutions that are at stake in this debate and underpin this union”.

The Better Together campaign also claimed that Sterling currency is one reason why Scots should vote to stay in the union. Mr McDougall also stated that the Governor of the Bank of England was appointed by a Scot and that monetary union without political union would be a damaging system.

The most damaging aspect of this according to Mr McDougall is that there is no guarantee that monetary union without political union could be created.

Mr McDougall stated that students should vote against independence to ensure prosperity and security, warning against the potential pitfalls of an independent Scotland.

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

LOCAL NEWS// 11

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

Tough new legislation to take on dodgy private landlords

Peter Barron

New Scottish Government policy for private landlords comes in response to estimated 11,000 illegally withheld deposits last year Lydia Willgress Local News editor

A raft of new policy measures have

been launched by the Scottish Government designed to protect tenants in privately-let homes.

On 2 July, the Scottish Government launched two new schemes designed to prevent private landlords from witholding tenants deposits.

The tenancy deposit schemes, SafeDeposits Scotland and MyDeposits Scotland, act as a mediator between landlord and tenant and are meant to ensure tenants receive a fair deal.

This move comes after an estimated 11,000 tenants had their deposit wrongly withheld last year.

One third-year medical student at the University of Edinburgh said that her landlord took advantage of their deposit, telling The Journal: “Over the

year our flat had no major problems with our landlord.

“However, when he returned our deposit he took £200 from each tenant for cleaning.

“Before we moved out, we made sure our flat was spotless and I feel that this estimation is a gross misrepresentation of what the cleaning would have cost – he just wanted to make money.”

Housing minister Keith Brown claims that, while most landlords act responsibly, that the schemes are “aimed at those who tarnish the image of the private rented sector and exploit trusting tenants.”

The move coincides with a renewed campaign by leading housing charity Shelter Scotland to help tenants reclaim the disproportionate administrative fees charged by some agents. Within 24 hours of launch, the scheme managed to reclaim over

£11,000 in illegal payments.

The success of the campaign has prompted the Scottish Government to reinforce legislation making tenancy fees illegal.

Gordon MacRae, head of communications and policy at Shelter Scotland, said: “This is great news for everyone who has been ripped-off by unscrupulous letting agents. It will finally put an end to this unlawful practice and ensure that tenants are no longer exploited.”

But despite a move in the right direction, students are still concerned at being forced to pay large up-front costs to ensure they secure their flats.

Costs often include administration fees, inventory fees, holding fees and extortionate deposits. With these expenses occasionally adding up to over £1,000, many have said suggested that further reform is necessary in the private letting sector.

Events collaboration a sparkling success

Full body scanners set to be University’s EIF introduced at Edinburgh airport events programme Scanners to use cartoon image to protect privacy of passengers Hannah Dowe Standring Staff writer

of new security measures and were introduced to Heathrow and Manchester airports in February 2010. It is anticipated Edinburgh Airport has become the that all airports hosting flights to the third airport in the United Kingdom to United States will be required to use elecemploy the use of full body scanning as a tronic body scanning within the next year. routine check on selected passengers.

The scanners work by using low level The new security measures, intro- x-rays and are intended to detect hidden duced at the beginning of September, items ranging from plastics and ceramics mean that anyone requested to do so must to narcotics. Questions have been raised undergo a full body scan, or forfeit the over the effectiveness of the technology right to board their flight. Passengers are after a body scan reportedly failed to disselected either at random, or when there cover a handgun concealed in the underis a particular security concern, such as a wear of an undercover agent during testing. metal detector being activated.

Counter terrorism experts have also In a statement Edinburgh Airport chief raised questions over whether this new executive Gordon Dewar said: “The scan equipment is able to distinguish items is quick, simple and safe for everyone and hidden within the body or inside liquids. does not compromise individuals’ privacy A 2010 study by researchers in medical as the image taken is deleted straight after imaging at the University of California it is assessed.” demonstrated that some scanners strugThe scanners are part of a wider series gled to distinguish between human flesh

Edinburgh Folk Club Presents

David Francy From carpenter to songwriter - Since leaving construction and recording Torn Screen Door in 1999, David Francy is recognized as one of today’s finest singer-songwriters.

Francy is a three time Juno Award winner and winner of the International Acoustic Music Award Grand Prize

proves successful

and plastic explosives.

Further concerns that these new security measures infringe on the privacy of passengers have been dismissed by Gordon Dewar, chief executive of the airport. He claimed that the scan “does not compromise privacy as the image taken is deleted straight after it is assessed”.

Civil liberties campaigners have argued that body scanning is an invasion of Pamela Paterson privacy and is open to abuse by members Staff writer of staff. To counter this accusation the airport has released images of “cartoon This year’s Edinburgh Internalike” outlines as examples of what will tional Festival saw festival organisactually be seen by both staff and passen- ers and Edinburgh University work gers. These images show up a highlighted together to create a series of events on box when a “suspicious” concealed item is 30 August for the festival going public.

The festival, which took place throughdetected.

Lothian and Borders Police have out August, held three events in tandem praised the introduction of the scanners with the University about truce, nationas representing “another layer of security hood and music.

The University and the International designed to protect traveller safety.”

Festival have worked together before by selecting panellists for various debates and discussion. Consequently, according to Susie Burnet, head of communications for EIF, it made sense to include the University in their programme: “It was a natural progression to add this day in which there was more of a profile, a partnership and a focus.”

Dr. Olga Taxidou, who acted as the University’s coordinator of the events, said, “What we’ve done is try to have a more organic relationship with the Edinburgh festival and in particular the international festival. We thought in many ways it’s the University’s com£8 concession mitment to the cultural life of the city. £6 members We therefore decided to formalise that relationship.” (in advance) The Edinburgh International Festival has been running for over 60 years and aims to showcase art from all over the world, including classical music, dance, opera, theatre and visual arts.

Performers at the International Festival

Tickets £10

SUMMERHALL EH9 1PL

Wednesday, 12th September ‘12, 8PM

University of Edinburgh works with Edinburgh International Festival organisers to create events on truce, nationhood and music are invited to take part by the Festival’s director, currently Jonathan Mills.

Among the world-class performances in all areas of the arts were special productions of 2008: Macbeth, Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor and Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) by Théâtre du Soleil.

The aim of the University’s day of events was to tie together the themes of the Festival with the main areas of research at the University. This included a special lecture by alumnis and journalist Allan Little about the relationship between the writing of journalism and the presentation of journalism and history.

There was also a morning workshop about truce, as Dr. Taxidou explains, “We decided to concentrate on the idea of truce and how the concept of truce can be in a way approached through the arts and humanities.”

According to Ms Burnet, all of the events were highly successful, “the public seemed to get a lot from the different events and the different ways of engaging,” she said, “It was a terrific addition to the programme and Olga Taxidou was instrumental in bringing together this day which picked up on strands travelling throughout the programme around truce and nationhood.”

Dr. Taxidou added, “They were very well attended, the audience was very well engaged in asking questions. The Edinburgh audience is a very intelligent and articulate audience.”

12 / EDITORIAL

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

SU DOKU

The minimum income guarantee

Taking widening access seriously For all that we — and the rest of the fourth estate — have been quick to lambast the SNP administration at Holyrood for their frequently short-sighted or wrong-footed approach to tertiary education policy, especially on matters of funding, once in a while you have to give the powers that be credit. The announcement late last month of a new minimum income guarantee for Scotland’s poorest students is one such occasion.

The decision to increase the maximum financial assistance available to the poorest students to £7,250 from 2013 is a serious gesture in support of widening access, and a welcome shift away from months of lip service. Equally, the increase of the minimum student loan, available to all Scottish students, to £4,500 from £900 is a praiseworthy move by education secretary Michael Russell. Credit must also be given to NUS Scotland, whose dogged campaigning for the minimum income guarantee seems to have been taken seriously.

This is not a perfect solution. The increase in the maximum financial assistance has caveats: namely, the fact that a greater proportion is to be made up of loans, rather than bursaries, which will increase students’ post-graduation debt.

But fundamentally, the new funding pledge will improve the lot of Scottish students immeasurably, lightening the burden on parents and making tertiary education a viable option for many more young people.

Unfortunately, cynics have pointed out a darker motivation than genuine altruism may be at play with this announcement.

The idea has been mooted elsewhere that the new funding regime, likely to prove immensely popular among young Scots, is part of a concerted attempt by the current government to rewrite its record on education funding and shore up support among Scots likely to be taking advantage of the package when the impending referendum on Scottish independence rolls around in 2014 — not to mention the 16- and 17-year-

olds who will then be considering their next educational steps, and who Alex Salmond is desperate to see enfranchised in that plebiscite. This may be partisan speculation, but the fact remains that widening access, and a responsible approach to education funding, is a crucial policy priority for any enlightened nation — not a convenient political weapon in the government’s arsenal.

We have in the past criticised this government’s far-from-inclusive attitude towards RUK and international students, and we echo that criticism now. New funding arrangements for Scottish students are one thing, but academic protectionism should be reined in. It is the diversity of Scotland’s education sector that makes it among the strongest in Europe: the government’s current course is likely to continue making Scotland seem less and less attractive to students not seen as potential voters by the government of the day, and will inevitably harm our campuses.

University of Edinburgh accommodation debacle

Time to get your house in order Anybody who says the institutions themselves don’t embrace the spirit of Freshers’ Week should take a look now at the University of Edinburgh; the grand old institution sits groggy, splayed across a sofa still stained with the previous night’s vomit, but swilling vodka nonetheless and looking mildly surprised as the fresh waves of bile burst forth.

The University’s disposition throughout the present accommodation crisis has reeked of such inertia. The lessons of last year could not have been clearer, yet here we are again: circumstances unchanged — worse, even — 12 months on.

The problem runs deeper than mere disorganisation and is that much more troubling; the University is stoutly standing by its wait-and-see solution and is yet to offer anything approaching an apology. The cost of the additional temporary accommoda-

tion – on top of that already incurred by the use of non-University accommodation such as UNITE – has been taken well in stride.

Several more factors rouse suspicion.

Consider the £2.2 million after-tax profits of the university-owned Edinburgh First; recognise how easily the crisis could have been abated by fully opening Edinburgh First’s Masson House to freshers; appreciate that bunk beds and shared rooms have been a feature of Pollock Halls for years now – as sure a sign as any that capacity has been reached; finally, note that this is the firstever year in which Edinburgh has allocated more places to RUK applicants than to Scottish. Ultimately the University appears comfortable playing close to the margins – overstepping here and there at some cost – with the surety of income through student fees and conference-hosting, while resolutely resisting investment or development

of any long-term accommodation fix.

Meanwhile, the students are left to suffer. No matter how great or small the imposition in reality, a problem as fundamental as this greatly undermines the experience of a new student in a strange place; it is the last thing that a fresher should be fretting over. On the part of the University, this case represents a failure to fulfil the most basic duty of care to its students. Indeed, the wait-and-see policy feels uncomfortable – if not outright perverse – in its apparent wishing of hastened drop-outs upon those who might free up accommodation space.

There are no qualms, either, about charging those freshers consigned to the makeshift dormitories of Pollock Halls. Such distasteful circumstances only serve to poison the University’s relationship with its students and fuel demands for a thorough reassessment of the institution’s priorities.

Breaking: University of Edinburgh solves accommodation crisis

by Jen Owen

REACTIONS Edinburgh hosts ‘epic’ university fight night

Growing a church in a post-Christian culture

The word “fight” is never, under Just found this fascinating article any circumstances whatsoever, to through its deserved link to CLAN be used in connection with the safe, 2012! Am absolutely thrilled what healthy and exciting combat sport God is doing through this church of amateur boxing... and any sports and its witness in the very area of reporter worth his salt should know Edinburgh where I grew up and this. into my own Christian faith. What - Simon Kemp, via web a blessing to see this work continuing and still developing in such a dynamic way today!

- Dave Kelling, via web

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COMMENT// 13

DISCUSSION&DEBATE

COMMENT

NUS Scotland

How to unlock Scotland’s potential Robin Parker, the recently re-elected president of NUS Scotland, sets out his policy priorities for 2012/13

Robin Parker

If you asked anyone to describe the difference between Scottish students and students from the rest of the UK, what do you think they’d say? Probably that students from Scotland don’t pay fees to study here. And it’s right, they don’t – and this is something we should be proud of. While down south, students are facing debts of tens of thousands of pounds for fees alone, in Scotland, students can start the year without this hanging over them.

But it’s not luck or accident that has made this difference. For the past few years, Scottish students and students’ associations have led the way in the UK when it comes to winning for students – not only have tuition fees been abolished, but university places have been protected, with record investment at a time of massive cuts elsewhere. And just a few weeks ago, we celebrated another huge victory on student support.

Minimum income guarantee The story begins five years ago, when NUS Scotland began campaigning for a £7,000 minimum income for students in higher education. At the time, low levels of student support in Scotland meant students were being forced to drop out, were struggling to focus on their studies, or were shut out of education altogether.

In the following years, students and

students’ associations up and down the country campaigned and lobbied politicians, leading to some small improvements in funding.

Then, in a big push ahead of the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, NUS Scotland’s ‘Reclaim Your Voice’ campaign – again through the hard work of students across the country – secured commitments from 87 per cent of the MSPs elected to not only protect places and rule out tuition fees but also to improve student support.

This commitment has now become a reality and from next September 120,000 new and continuing Scottish higher education students in colleges and universities will have access to the best student support package anywhere in the UK. Students from the poorest backgrounds can get up to £7,250 a year in grants and loans to help with accommodation and living costs, while every single student will be eligible for a £4,500 SAAS loan.

There’s good news for part-time students too. From 2013, those from poorer backgrounds will no longer have to pay fees. This ends a clear injustice as before many part-time students who could not afford to study full-time were forced to pay their own fees, while fulltime study was tuition-free.

Winning for FE students We have to admit that the picture

for students in further education has been slightly less rosy. We have successfully saved EMA, which has been scrapped down south, we have secured a commitment to protecting college places, and have seen our students’ associations become stronger.

However, our colleges have been under attack from budget cuts. We won two huge victories on college funding, first getting millions added to college bursary budgets, and then, as part of the ‘Our Future, Our Fight’ campaign, protecting that funding from cuts.

But the threat is still there. Right now, many colleges are discussing mergers or federations. Where mergers have happened, like at the Edinburgh colleges, we’ve worked to ensure students were listened to in the discussions and that the students’ associations came out of the process stronger. It is a blueprint we’ll be working to ensure that the rest of the sector follows.

What now?

Our priority this year is to get universities and the Government to take action to make access to university fairer – creating a Scotland where ability, not income or background determines how far a person can go in education.

Currently in Scotland, the numbers for students going to university from the most deprived backgrounds are the worst in the whole of the UK. At our

most ‘elite’ universities there are more than 16 students from the most privileged backgrounds for every student from the most deprived.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take action to change this, as NUS Scotland’s recent report ‘Unlocking Scotland’s Potential’ shows.

We aren’t saying universities can do everything to improve Scotland’s access rates, but they have the responsibility to do a lot more. In the coming months, we’ll be unveiling plans for how we can put pressure on principals to do just that.

With the threat of more college budget cuts looming, we will also be mobilising students in even greater numbers to make sure colleges have the funding they need, to strengthen the student voice during the merger process, and to make bursary support an entitlement – something a college student can count on, from the beginning of their course to the end.

What you can do Of course there isn’t room here to explain all of the projects, activities and campaigns NUS Scotland will be working on this year, though we hope they’ll be hard to miss.

Our liberation campaigns, having won guaranteed childcare funding for lone parents in FE and having secured widespread support for equal marriage, will continue to lead the fight against

discrimination in Scotland.

If you’re an international student, you may meet one of our international ambassadors at the airport, and if you’re a home student, you can find out more about study-abroad opportunities as part of our ‘Scotland Goes Global’ events.

You can take part in our ‘Think Positive’ project to improve student mental health, get involved in studentled teaching awards projects, campaign against UK Government policies that punish international students or join the fight against high tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK. And you can join us on 20 October in Glasgow for a demonstration against UK Government cuts, or hop on a bus to London for the NUS ‘Educate, Employ, Empower’ National Demo on November 21.

For more information on all this and more, contact your students’ association, or check out our website, Facebook pages or Twitter feed.

So do get involved – there’s almost no end to the opportunities you can take advantage of, just as there is clearly no end to the energy and enthusiasm that students in Scotland have to make change.

I look forward this year to making that change alongside you.

Robin Parker is president of NUS Scotland.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

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COMMENT// 15

Heathrow: Mistreatment upon arrival Damian Green’s two-tier UK entry system is patently unfair and only sidesteps the problem of lengthy waiting times Nash Riggins

As one of the Coalition’s few ministers to survive David Cameron’s massive reshuffle, immigration minister Damian Green continues to come under heavy fire for the introduction of his new two-tier entry system for international arrivals at Heathrow, benefitting only those from more developed nations.

The new system ensures that visitors from wealthier nations such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan are processed and allowed to enter into the UK substantially quicker than those from less developed, non-European nations via a series of ‘fast-track’ desks that only nationals of said international partners are permitted to use.

“If it works, there will be a group of people who will have better experiences at Heathrow,” Green asserted.

Indeed, it cannot be ignored that London Heathrow has developed international infamy by way of its lengthy waiting times imposed upon travellers before receiving clearance to enter the country. In fact, even travellers from rich, UK-friendly nations such as the US have been known to be left waiting in queues at Heathrow for up to two and a half hours – undermining Home Office directives that cap the waiting time for Non-EU citizens at 45 minutes.

On the surface, this may appear to be an empty concern for most; after all, don’t such inconveniences merely

ensure that an appropriate level of security is upheld? Yet according to industry officials, security is simply no excuse for the intense delays at Heathrow.

“There isn’t a trade-off between strong border security and a good passenger experience,” said one BAA spokeswoman. “The Home Office should be delivering both.”

True enough, customer service is rarely factored into the trivial equation posed by the efficiency levels at immigration points. Westminster has argued for quite some time that the less-than-warm welcomes being provided to international arrivals at Heathrow should be pegged as an international embarrassment; however, many of those same MPs are now arguing that Green’s two-tier entry solution is utterly discriminatory.

Indeed, the immigration minister’s list of nations that will qualify for new fast-track lanes are not necessarily representative of the majority of footfall within the International Arrivals terminal. According to the International Passenger Survey, those with Indian passport holders account for an overwhelming majority of around 12 per cent of daily non-EU arrivals in Heathrow – with nationals of Pakistan coming in second with around 6 per cent.

In effect, this plan stands to treat First World, mainly white, middle-class travellers as superior to those arriving from less fortunate countries; meanwhile, Third

Terminal5Insider

World nationals will be instantaneously treated as third-class citizens for no particular reason other than the financial prowess of their home country. Is having to wait in line for an hour longer than someone arriving from America the social injustice of the century? Probably not; however, such a blatant example of differential treatment based solely upon economic background is definitely not the way to go about introducing one’s nation to the world – especially if it’s a mere 15 minutes after touching

Greetings, class of 2016: hang onto your bunks, you’re in for a bumpy ride Edinburgh’s newest pseudonymous columnist welcomes Edinburgh’s newest students with a few words to the wise Edinburgh Anonymous The year has just begun and if, as

a University of Edinburgh fresher, you’re not inside a Travelodge then you’re quite clearly doing it wrong.

Heaven forbid the university find appropriate accommodation for their students, but this is just the start for you freshers and your magical mystery tour of incompetence with the University.

This is not even the first time the University has failed to secure accommodation for its first year intake.

2009 brought with it the first case of the University realising they had problems with overcrowding; not to worry though, for the lucky ones who managed to obtain something resembling their first choice were treated

to the luxury of bunk beds in Pollock.

Yes, that long time staple of youthhostelling and school trips.

It was only for the whole of first year that students — who had worked hard through school to achieve the grades which granted them a place at university, and endured the nerves not only of exam results but of moving away from home — could indulge in the unique experience of bunk-bed living. Sharing a room is never nice — not with your mum, not with your sibling and especially not with a stranger who refuses to take any of the old food wrappers out of their quite-clearly-divided half of the room. Not that this writer is bitter about it or anything.

But accommodation isn’t the only problem that will be sure to befall you as you wander your path through this labyrinth of a higher-education institution. The library, which will become your home (eventually, not in the first term — nothing in the first

term warrants a trip to the library) will frustrate and ultimately crush you with its tyranny.

The student union has no further purpose than to serve you alcohol which will always rise in price, you should look forward to a pint costing somewhere in the region of a fiver by the time you leave, but not to worry because, as we all know, students are only getting richer.

At least you have the winter to look forward to — Edinburgh as a city only gets more beautiful in the snow, its just a pity you won’t make it out of your front door if it’s anything like the winter of 2010. It’s amazing how quickly “wow-look-at-all-this-snowisn’t-it-wonderful,” becomes “if-itsnows-again-I-will-leave-this-placefor-good.”

Oh, one last thing: don’t mention the trams. edinburgh.anonymous @journal-online.co.uk

down.

In print, the UK is one of the more politically-correct nations in contemporary world history; however, a quick wander through any village nationwide would reveal an atmosphere that is substantially harsher and more offensive to immigrants and travellers than the Home Office would care to admit. Unfortunately, the necessity to point out and alienate all those who are different (racially, religiously, financially or otherwise) is inherent of the human condition – it can never

be truly conquered; however, any and every action by the UK government which lends any credibility whatsoever to such judgments only paves the way towards creating a nation that is openly unwelcoming to foreigners.

As a result, if Damian Green truly believes that all citizens of the world poses equal rights – regardless of nationality – then there is no reason why all of said equal citizens can’t all wait in the same line. Nobody likes queuing, but that’s just the way that airports work.

Marcus Kernohan

16 / PROFILE

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

TONY BENN’S FIFTY YEAR CRUSADE

Now 87, the veteran political heavyweight and intellectual elder of the Labour party reflects on a half century in and out of government — and occasionally on the wrong side of the political establishment

John Hewitt Jones Literary editor

Tony Benn’s serviced apartment

in Notting Hill Gate feels like something between a parliamentary office and the rooms of a university professor. In the bookcase at reception sits a purposefully-chosen selection of books that includes a copy of Tony Blair’s autobiography. Surprising perhaps, given this is the residence of one of New Labour’s most vociferous critics and Britain’s most ardent electable socialist.

Reclining in an easy chair, puffing gently on his pipe, Benn emanates the air of a benevolent grandfather; an image reinforced by his response to the question ‘how would you like to be remembered?’ (Note the avoidance of the word legacy.) “If when I died somebody said: ‘Tony Benn, he encouraged us,’” he answers, “I would regard that as the finest tribute, because I have tried to encourage people.” Teaching and encouragement, it seems, are at the very heart of his interpretation of socialism: “There are two people in society,” he says, “the rich and the rest, and you have to decide whose side you are on…

Benn is accustomed to standing up for his moral convictions in the public arena, having gained notoriety for the central roles he has played in numerous political campaigns: supporting the Indian Freedom movement, supporting trade unions in their fights against Thatcherite cuts, and most recently leading the opposition to the war in Iraq. Of all of these campaigns it seems that he is most proud of his part in the anti-colonial movement: “It was an unpopular thing to do because the British Empire was sacred; you couldn’t say anything about it without being disloyal.” Many of the views he has argued for have been unpopular at the time, but he points out that for many of these issues “It turns out that everyone supports them in the end.”

He cites the Freedom of Information Act as a strong example of this.

Benn’s vocal opposition to the Iraq War has proven more contentious. It was soon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001 that he was invited to become the president of the Stop the War Coalition, and in 2003, a month before the start of the Iraq War, he flew to the Middle East to interview Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in a last-ditch attempt to encourage negotiation and avert war. Years later, he recalls the questions he put to the tyrant. “I asked him: ‘Do you have weapons of mass destruction?’ And he said no...

I said, ‘do you have links with AlQaeda?’ He said no, and I knew that was true.”

But the interview enraged the British establishment, and Benn still seems disillusioned with the way the media depicted him at the time. “[They] were not keen on any alternative view... I was putting a different view and it was very strongly attacked. But if you believe something and say it, you have to take the consequences.”

And Benn has never been afraid of consequences, at times paying a high price for his outspoken views and criticisms of government. During his successful campaign in the Chesterfield byelection in 1984, The Sun attempted to discredit Benn with an article, based on a supposed report by an American psychiatrist, that Benn was clinically insane. The article was later shown to have been wholly fabricated.

Benn’s conviction that political debate boils down to a discussion of morality — a driving force in his political life — is inherited from his mother, he explains. “My mother was a Scot. She was a very religious woman. She taught me to belive that all political issues were really moral issues. Is it right or is it wrong? You can argue about that, but that’s what you should be arguing about.” He is

“New Labour was really the product of a decision by Blair that you could only ever win if you could get Murdoch to support you... he went to Murdoch and said ‘the Labour party has completely changed... it’s no longer a socialist party.’” adamant that politics should be based on principle and moral conviction, and seems to have an optimistic view of the electorate’s willingness. “If you can reveal what the moral element is in a decision,” he says, “you can win a lot of support.

Loss has clearly had an important impact on Benn’s life, and the death of his wife, educationalist and writer Caroline Middleton DeCamp in 2000 is a significant feature in his published diaries. Benn speaks of her with enormous affection, reflecting on their close relationship that “she had a huge influence on me. I met her in 1948. A friend of mine, an American said she was coming over and that I would like to meet her, so I did meet her in Oxford. I was a bit shy and I didn’t propose for nine days. I met

her on the 2nd, and proposed to her on the 11th. And I realised I would never see her again if I didn’t, because she was going home to America... so I asked if she would marry me, and to my great delight she said yes.

“She died twelve years ago. She had a huge effect on my life. She was a very tender, scholarly person.”

He recalls that later on he bought from Oxford council the very bench on which he proposed to her, and installed it in their Holland Park home.

So how does he view the political class in Westminster today, and is it representative enough? “When I was elected to parliament there were fifty miners there… they brought the experience of their lives into the work they did… Now it does tend to be a career.

“I get letters from people saying ‘I’d like to be a Member of Parliament,” he says, shaking his head. “Being an elected MP is a vocation; a crusade.”

He eschews persona politics. “This idea that an election is about who you vote for to get the Oscar is a complete misunderstanding,” he tells me.

“It’s about democracy, which is a very precious thing. Everybody has the right to destroy the government that governs them just by putting a cross on a bit of paper, and therefore you have to think in terms of the policies and the issues... it isn’t about who you want to be prime minister.”

A longstanding critic of New Labour, Benn is vocal in his disdain for Blair: “He set up a completely new party and he tried to get it established and it ended up with a war and all sorts of difficulties and led to our defeat in 2010.” Whether he refers to internal conflict within the party or the 2003 Iraq war isn’t entirely clear, and the objections he raises are primarily economic and constitutional: “[Blair] and his colleagues came to the conclusion that you couldn’t win elections unless you adopted Mrs Thatcher’s economic policy. That was

the very essence of New Labour. It was really a Thatcherite subgroup,” he remarks.

“When Mrs Thatcher was later asked what was her greatest contribution, she said ‘New Labour’.”

Benn is still fiercely critical of the changes made to the party’s constitution — particularly the weakening of Clause IV, which defined Labour’s relationship with the trades union movement. This has a particular resonance for him, as he was born next door to the original authors of the constitution, Sidney and Beatrice Webb. The constitution was rewritten in 1995, after Blair became leader of the opposition in an attempt to distance the party from its union roots and persuade the electorate that Labour now occupied the political centre.

This is an issue that arises again when he talks about the Leveson Inquiry’s recent examination of the relationship between politicians and the media. Benn sees the redefinition of the party’s socialist roots and Blair’s determination to woo media organisations as part and parcel of the same problem: “New Labour was really the product of a decision by Blair that you could only ever win if you could get Murdoch to support you… he [Blair] went to Murdoch and said “the Labour party has completely changed now; it’s no longer a socialist party.” And then Murdoch supported him in ’97.”

On his desk lies a volume of Engels, among unruly stacks of letters. Staring out of the fireplace in his living room is a metal bust with a red communist tank cap rammed on its head; Benn chuckles and explains it’s a copy of a statue of himself that stands in both the House of Commons and the Bristol Council Buildings. With that, the 87-year-old Benn relaxes back into his easy chair, a political giant in repose, and attends his pipe, gently puffing it into flame.

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

FEATURE// 17

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

THE LAND THE WEST FORGOT In the year of the 20th anniversary of the Bosnian conflict, The Journal explores a nation neither certain of her future nor fully free of her past

Jamie Timson Deputy editor

As the train passes through green

hill after green hill, it’s easy to be lost in the beauty of Herzegovina’s surroundings. However, in each rustic village that is passed through, a perfect white marble Muslim cemetery, settled below the hilltops, hints at the nation’s troubled past and uncertain future.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is the land that the West forgot.

How unlikely that statement must have seemed just 20 years ago, when the horrors of the Bosnian conflict raged on every television screen across Europe and America. The war’s position as the first extended conflict to take place in the context of 24/7 global TV coverage meant few in the West were not aware of the atrocities and the horrors that occurred in those green hills.

The visible scars of the war are now fading. Grass grows in the land that was once laden with landmines. Sarajevo - the scene of the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare – now buzzes with its moniker as ‘little Istanbul’ and that great symbol of freedom in our time: Bosnia’s first McDonalds. The emotional wounds however will remain, an ethnically patch-worked nation where a population of 48 per cent Bosniaks (Muslim), 34 per cent Serbs (Christian Orthodox), and 15 per cent Croats (Catholic) once lived harmoniously, torn apart by the great shadow that hangs over the breaking up of the former Yugoslavia.

The death of Josip Broz Tito in 1980 heralded the end of communist Yugoslavia. With the final collapse of Communism in the 1980s across Europe, the restive population began seeking solutions to provide economic and political stability for Yugoslavia in a post-Cold War world. In this state of indecision and uncertainty, the Serbian Communist party leader Slobodan Milosevic began pandering to Serb nationalism, and quickly became the unchallenged ruler of

Serbia - the largest country within Yugoslavia. Milosevic’s main concern was the consolidation of power across Yugoslavia and he used the Yugoslav National Army to achieve that aim. The Bosnian government - critical of Milosevic’s attempts at control of the federal government – sought independence. Milosevic, through Serbian army general Ratko Mladic, enacted brutal attacks on the Bosnians in an attempt to consume them within Milosevic’s ideal of a Greater Serbia. The ruthless control of Yugoslav state media meant there was fierce propaganda from Serbia, directed at Bosnian Serbs, depicting Bosnian Muslims as extremist fundamentalists and showing images of Serbian-led atrocities whilst claiming they were being carried out by Bosniaks. This immediately polarised the nation and caused many of the Bosnian Serbs to support Milosevic’s plan for ethnic cleansing as a means of creating Greater Serbia. Since the Bosnian Serbs did not inhabit a single specific territory in Bosnia and lived alongside Muslim and Croat neighbours, the prospect of war across Bosnia in every town and village was very real.

The siege of Sarajevo is perhaps the most well known aspect of the conflict. Muslim, Croat, and Serb residents opposed to a Greater Serbia and the rule of Milosevic were cut off from food, utilities, and communication. The Bosniaks were unable to defend themselves as an arms embargo had been placed by the West on the region. Through three long and cold winters, Sarajevans dodged sniper fire as they went to markets and sourced fuel whilst trying to get to their jobs. The most chillingly post-modern aspect of the war, was the ability of those who had been shot to watch footage captured by television cameras of their own injuries whilst recovering in the hospital. The average weight loss per Sarajevan was more than 30 pounds. More than 12,000 residents were killed, 1,500 of them children. All the while the West stood by, typified by British Foreign Sec-

retary, Douglas Hurd, criminally claiming that arming the Bosniaks would be escalating the fighting. Of course no one could have foreseen the atrocities that were committed by the Bosnian Serbs, however when they began much more could and should have been done to intervene.

The most upsetting part of the West’s failure and the hardest-hitting as a Briton is the attitudes of the British government in response to the conflict. Britain’s political leaders encountered a situation where the 24/7-television coverage was bringing images of unimaginable horror to the screens of its constituents.

The British people were quite rightly questioning what could be done for the Bosniaks and Croats living in Bosnia at the time. The public consensus was one of shock; the Yugoslavs were like themselves in every conceivable aesthetic capacity. However, to justify the lack of political action by the government, statements from the Foreign Office continued to refer to the victims as ‘Muslims’.

The process was one of disengagement,

to refer to the people of the Balkans as different, to make their plight seem less identifiable. The policy of using the terms ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘ancient ethnic quagmires’ was designed to distance everything that the British audience was seeing and to make the lack of intervention during genocide more acceptable.

The British attitude characterised the sentiments of the UN at the time, which treated the siege of Sarajevo as more akin to a humanitarian disaster such as a drought – one that should be managed rather than stopped – than a conflict.

The West will argue that there is peace on the streets now: the Dayton agreement stopped the violence in late 1995, at which point the war had been going for three years – an inhumane amount of time when you consider the land mass involved – Iraq is 8.5 times the size of Bosnia and Herzegovina – but the Dayton agreement also irrevocably damaged the relations between the ethnicities. The Bosnian Serbs were given ‘Republika Srpska’, a separate political, constitutional and judicial entity within

Bosnia and Herzegovina, a measure which is hard to view from the Bosniak side as anything other than unjust. No longer do the two ethnicities mix so easily; prior to the conflict mixed marriages between the ethnicities were not unusual, however a recent UN study has shown that 60 per cent of Bosnian citizens are against mixed marriages. It seems that even though the violence has stopped, the tensions have not diminished within the country.

Earlier this year President Obama set up an Atrocities Prevention Board, a signal to the rest of the world, no doubt, that America is planning tough action in the fight on crimes against humanity.

However, it also implies awareness that genocides, holocausts and the like don’t just happen – there are steps that can be taken to prevent Auschwitz, Rwanda and Bosnia from ever happening again.

Steps that, in the case of Bosnia, could have been made far sooner and with far greater force, had the West not failed the Bosnians so completely some 20 years ago.

Marco Biagi MSP Constituency Office: 77 Buccleuch Street EH8 9LS Tel: 0131 668 3642 MSP for the Edinburgh Central constituency

Constituency office surgery every Monday 5pm (other times by arrangement)

marco.biagi.msp@scottish.parliament.uk

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

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COMMENT / 19

Forget about Julian Assange — the real extradition outrage is Gary McKinnon The pursuit of high-profile targets is becoming a hallmark of the Obama administration, but the case of a Scottish computer hacker is an enlightening case of the American government’s most recent hypocrisy Jamie Timson Deputy editor

A Scottish computer hacker who

was accused in 2002 of perpetrating the “biggest military computer hack of all time,” has been under arrest for 10 years - the longest period of time for any British citizen. His predicament is scheduled to come to an end in October when the Home Secretary Theresa May will make her ruling.

However, it is his story in the light of recent announcements from the Obama administration which illuminate the actions of the US government in the last decade, and particularly since the Obama administration took charge in 2008.

According to the US McKinnon, a 46-year-old Glaswegian, is a highly dangerous computer hacker who should be extradited to America to stand trial in Virginia. But the Scot suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, and claims his motives were harmless and innocent, insisting his actions were focused on his desire to uncover the truth about UFOs. The US, meanwhile, argue that his activities caused somewhere near $700,000 worth of damage and if found guilty in the US McKinnon is likely to face decades in jail - McKinnon himself has voiced his concerns on the prospect of him being placed in Guantanamo Bay. This is particularly troubling as the American justice system has often been criticised for failing those with disabilities, particularly those as severe as McKinnon’s.

Since McKinnon was arrested a decade ago, he has lived under house arrest with his parents, unable to go about his daily life with any sense of normality, and according to his family has become a shell of his former self.

Despite numerous battles on his behalf, the extradition is still set to go ahead, however just last week his mother Janis Sharp wrote a public letter to the Prime Minister David Cameron in an effort to get the extradition quashed. Within this letter, Ms Sharp detailed the numerous remarks President Obama had made signalling that an appropriate solution would be found. Two years on, this solution has not been forthcoming and the Scot’s

“In 2009, the home secretary refused to accept medical evidence which stated that it would be unnecessary, cruel and inhumane to remove McKinnon from his homeland, his family and his medical support network.” future looks particularly bleak.

McKinnon is undoubtedly guilty of accessing restricted information, a charge he has never denied, however the British Hi-Tech Crime Unit has supported his claim by stating if he were to be tried in Britain, his sentence would be no harsher than six months in prison. This is compounded by the fact that in 2009 the Home Secretary refused to accept medical evidence which stated that when he could easily be tried in the UK, it would be unnecessary, cruel and inhumane to inflict the further stress of removing him from his homeland, his family and his medical support network.

Obama’s administration, as can be seen in its treatment of Pvt Bradley Manning, the originator of the Wikileaks scandal currently detained in barbaric conditions in a military prison, are clearly intent on severely punishing those they see as having damaged their nation. A principled intention, one could argue, if it wasn’t blighted by the statements released by Attorney General Eric Holder earlier last

The White House

week. These announcements closed down the investigations relating to the US torture program from the Bush era, specifically the 2002 death of an Afghan in a secret CIA prison and the 2003 death of an Iraqi citizen in the CIA Abu Ghraib facility.

Prior to this, 100 more cases of brutality while in custody were dropped, while these two were viewed most likely to return convictions. The Afghan froze to death while being detained in a facility known as the ‘Salt Pit’ whilst a US military autopsy deemed the Iraqi’s death to have been a homicide due to blunt trauma to the head. The decision to close the investigations has been widely reported as removing the last chance that the “war on terror” crimes committed

by Bush officials will be brought to trial. Obama’s justification for this is based on a blindly tyrannical mantra of “we must look forward not back”

but cynics would suggest this is tantamount to the president criminally covering his own back when he himself leaves office. It is a common practice for incoming presidents to grant immunity for the outgoing administration but these statements quite clearly contradict Obama’s 2008 campaign messages in which he promised to “immediately review” the evidence against the CIA officials, as “nobody is above the law.”

It would be an understatement to suggest the sustained pursuit of Gary McKinnon in light of the refusal to prosecute these individuals is unjust.

However, it also shows just how little difference there now is between the two political parties in America. With the election coming up in November and a newly radicalised Republican party in the ascendency, it appears the Democrats have a fight on their hands to keep their man in power.

The Democrats appeared to acknowledge this as their convention focused on America and Obama’s militarism.

Speaker after speaker referred to Osama Bin Laden’s demise, in much the same way the Republican conventions following 9/11 featured frequently Bush’s military prowess and dedication to the “war on terror”.

Gary McKinnon’s troubles have spanned three US administrations, and will probably linger into a fourth, but the hounding of a vulnerable British citizen is unacceptable, a failure of the British government in its first role as protector of its citizens. The Obama administration appears to be making the persecution of high profile individuals a hallmark - for McKinnon, read Manning or even Assange and yet it is sadly predictable though no less galling that the persecution doesn’t stretch to their own men. A sad indictment of our times.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

CULTURE&LIFESTYLE

Arts&Ents Piotr Jablonski

BELT UP KNUCKLE DOWN

Belt Up Theatre are darlings of the Edinburgh Fringe, and widely regarded as one of Britain’s most promising young theatre companies. Marcus Kernohan met artistic directors Jethro Compton and Dominic Allen on the eve of their fifth Fringe season

Marcus Kernohan Editorial director

n 2008, a student theatre company came out of nowhere and stunned the Fringe. A no-name group from York, making their Edinburgh debut, surprised everyone with a four-play suite which included adaptations of works by Ben Jonson and Euripides. They secured some critical and popular acclaim, and must have been thoroughly pleased with themselves. But then they clinched the first-ever Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Award, and with it an invitation to come back and make an appearance the following year at the Fringe’s well-heeled big brother, EIF. All of a sudden, things had become very interesting for Belt Up Theatre...

Five years later, and Belt Up’s star is still in the ascendant. The last two years have been especially kind to them: their intimately-staged interactive tales of lost childhood — The Boy James, inspired by the life and work of JM Barrie, and Outland, by Lewis Carroll — met with widespread acclaim, and opened the door for the company to tour the pieces across the UK and internationally, including a successful run at the Adelaide Fringe in February. From an upstart student group doing clever takes on classic theatre, Belt Up are suddenly a household name among those ‘in the know’, and even more dubious observers — The Guardian’s Lyn Gardner chief among them — seem to view them as a highly promising proposition.

But when I join co-founders and artistic directors Jethro Compton and Dominic Allen for coffee at Edinburgh’s tourist-chic Elephant House, a week before the start of their fifth Fringe run,

there are few airs and graces. These are not young thespian rockstars holding court; in fact, the sense you get from them is a mixture of excitement — joie de vivre, almost — and fierce, singleminded focus. That’s probably for the best: there isn’t time for self-congratulation, because in less than a week Compton and Allen will be doing three shows a night.

When you sit them side-by-side, the pair resemble a finely-honed double act.

Compton is cheerfully energetic: holding forth eloquently, he gesticulates forcefully, and his eyes dart around the room — to his partner, to their PR man sitting quietly at the end of the table, and back to his interrogator. Allen is quieter; more introspective. Slightly pale, bespectacled and bearded, he speaks softly — he’s witty and articulate, but less overtly theatrical than his colleague.

Belt Up’s outlandish work ethic might have had something to do with their success. In the last four years, Belt Up have performed 17 shows at the Fringe — including a superhuman eight in 2010 alone. After this year, that total rises to 20. Belt Up have brought three shows to this year’s festival — audience favourites The Boy James and Outland, and new play A Little Princess — and are doing full runs of each in the same space, from 6:30pm to nearly midnight. And as if that wasn’t enough of a physical, psychological and logistical challenge, the same small cast is used for all three shows: Compton and Allen, plus longtime ensemble member Serena Manteghi. Asked about their personal preparations, Allen is quick off the mark.

“Berocca,” he quips.

“Vodka,” offers Compton. They play coy when asked if they’ve ever done

The Boy James drunk; eventually their PR steps in with a mock-horrified cry of “Don’t answer that!”

“The shows are very balanced,” says Allen, serious now. “So we are the respective lead in each... So we know which show is going to kill us.”

Later, reflecting on the month ahead, Compton professes they’ve been cautious. “I allowed a lot of contingency time. Because this [set] build was so ambitious, and we had no idea how it was going to go, because we’re in a new venue... there are lots of unknowns. But also, we are busy making one new show, and trying to make it as good as possi-

“What we’re having to do is transition from being a student company, when everyone was working for free, and now that we’re a professional company everyone has to get paid.”

ble, as opposed to trying to do ten shows with 21 people. That’s the big difference — that we’re sleeping, whereas in 2010 I was running on about two, three hours of sleep a night for the whole of July.

When we’re saying ‘sustainable’, it’s not just finance, it’s also health...

“We don’t have time to die.”

Compton and Allen, with their codirectors Alexander Wright and James Wilkes, founded Belt Up in 2008, while studying at the University of York. They made their name with inventive adaptations of Kafka and Molière texts, but with graduation looming and the real world beckoning, Belt Up’s future was far from certain.

Providence intervened. In mid-2009, they were invited to become the resident company at York’s Theatre Royal, ranked among the UK’s leading regional theatres. “We’d literally just come back from the 2009 Fringe,” recalls Allen. “And we had a coffee with Damian Cruden, the artistic director, to potentially talk about maybe doing something in the studio at some point.

“And he said, ‘oh, you can have a residency. We’ve got a spare office upstairs.’

It was all very surreal.”

It was a fortuitous twist in the Belt Up story, says Allen. “It was a point where we didn’t really know what to do next... We were working out of our bedrooms.

“It lacks a certain class.”

“There was a support network within [the residency],” chimes in Compton.

“You’re on the internal phones, and with three numbers you’re speaking to the people who are running one of the best producing regional theatres in the country, saying ‘I think we just fucked something up.’ And they will tell you,

‘Yes, you just fucked that up.’ So that was fantastic.”

That incubation; the freedom to learn from experienced professionals, seems to have marked a turning point for the company. But it was The Boy James that pushed the Belt Up brand to national prominence. The show — a claustrophobic, surprisingly dark bildungsroman which blends inflections of Peter Pan and Barrie biography — was “a secret success”, says Compton, “because we didn’t expect it to do as well as it did.

“Not for a qualitative reason,” he is quick to add. “But just because we had some shows were smaller shows, that were on every other day, and they were just there for a bit of fun... and they were just little projects that people wanted to do. So Alex [Wright] had written this play, and really wanted to put it on.”

Success in Edinburgh led to a threeweek run at the Southwark Playhouse in London; a deal done “on a handshake” with the theatre’s artistic director Chris Smyrnios after another show pulled out. The Boy James continued to gather momentum — “Stephen Fry came to see it,” Compton name-drops, breezily. (Apparently the humourist was impressed: “Just been knocked out by “The Boy James” Belt Up’s interactive show about J. M. Barrie at The Southwark Playhouse,” he tweeted. “Still drying my eyes.”)

The Boy James’ surprise ascendancy as Belt Up’s flagship production altered the company’s perspective. “That kind of shifted what we wanted to do, in a way,” says Allen. “We’d sort of felt that what people wanted were our Kafkas and our big, ensemble shows,” Compton adds, “and whilst those are brilliantly fun to do and do get a good response,

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012 they’re incredibly hard to sustain.

“You can’t take our production of Metamorphosis around the world the way you can take these shows.”

Suddenly Compton and Allen are talking about business models and financial sustainability: our conversation has turned to the practicalities of running a theatre company in 2012, and of the struggle to achieve the company’s creative goals at the same time.

As we talk about the then and now, there’s an interesting parallel with the lost-innocence theme so prominent in Belt Up’s recent work; something faintly Peter Pan-esque about their professional trajectory. As the founders graduated and were forced to confront the realities of life outside university, so too was Belt Up as a company forced to adapt and undergo the same process of maturation. Both remain ambitious and idealistic, but listening to Compton and Allen discuss logistics, the men’s optimism and clear devotion to their art seems tempered by faint sadness about the compromises that they have had to make and the challenges of trying to run a theatre company in an age where funding for the arts dwindles by the year. The company’s touring cast, for example, is much reduced from their days as a student company: in 2009, there were twelve actors; now, there are three, because they aren’t students anymore and people need to be paid.

“We’ve had Edinburghs where we’ve had 21 people performing,” says Compton, “and it’s a lot of fun. Every night’s a party. But what we’re having to do is transition from being a student company, when everyone was working

for free, and now that we’re a professional company everyone has to get paid.

Bringing 21 people to the Fringe is not sustainable.

“It’s about making sure that the shows can have a future, and that they don’t become too expensive to do.”

And yet Compton, who is also a professional producer, is remarkably upbeat.

“That’s one of the things I really enjoy about it — the business side of showbusiness. It’s finding a way to maintain artistic principles, and everyone getting paid, and not letting the company fail.”

Indeed, Belt Up was necessarily born with a live-or-die business mentality. As Allen points out, the company came into being in a time of recession and crisis for arts funding. “We’ve never been state funded. We missed out on the golden age of the Labour government, so we were there at the tail end, when it was getting harder to get money.”

But they seem to be adapting to the strictures of life as professional thespians. 2012 marks the premiere of A Little Princess, which completes a trilogy (along with Outland and The Boy James) of shows focusing on the idea of childhood — and particularly its loss. The shows share something not just in theme but in execution: “the way [they] work is you have a young guy, a young girl and an old guy,” says Compton. Then, gesturing at Allen. “Or an older-looking guy, because he has a beard.”

The Boy James focused on the boy, and Outland on the man. Now, with A Little Princess, Belt Up are bringing the girl out of the shadows, and putting her centre stage. “We were in Australia, and we were trying to work out what

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Piotr Jablonski

would work [to complete the trilogy],” says Compton. “And the idea of A Little Princess was brought up.” Like its forerunners, Belt Up’s A Little Princess has literary origins: it’s an adaptation, with biographical tangents, of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel of the same name. “It is A Little Princess, you get the whole story... but it is very much our adaptation of it. So it brings in other stories by the author, and other elements of the author’s life are also interweaved.”

A little later, Compton and Allen

stride onto the elaborate — and, our photographer is gently warned, top-secret — set the company have built inside C nova. The space, which will be used for all three shows, is a eclectic homeaway-from-home; a cozy, unorthodox auditorium with something oddly foreboding about it. As we arrive, Manteghi is perched on a chaise longue sewing costumes, while A Little Princess’ director, Joe Hufton, bustles around overseeing final preparations. The four banter and laugh; Compton explains his new-

found love of nailguns, and Manteghi looks worried. It’s discovered that some furniture loaned by a friend was illicitly varnished, and everyone looks worried.

They trade war-stories of past sh, howling with laughter at private, youhad-to-be-there jokes. There’s something intriguingly DIY about the whole production, and a familial dynamic among the group — and then, in that moment, away from all talk of bottomlines or break-down times, Belt Up are right back to having fun in what they do.

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FRINGE 2012, AS SEEN BY FESTIVALJOURNAL.CO.UK

Trevor Noah: The Racist Marcus Kernohan Editorial director

The use of comedy as a weapon

against racism is nothing new. In America, for example, successive generations of black comics led by Richard Pryor used the medium in an effort to neutralise the ignorance that creates prejudice. But rarely has there been a comedic treatment of racism as intelligent, articulate and sensitive as South African standup Trevor Noah’s magnificent, Eddie Izzard-produced Fringe debut The Racist.

Noah, who grew up during apartheid, is mixed-race, the son of a white Swiss father and a black African mother. “I was born a crime,” he tells the packed Pleasance audience. As a mixed-race child in apartheid South Africa, he was deprived of a clear identity and left in limbo; socially positioned above his own mother but below his father. It’s this crisis of racial identity, and Noah’s subsequent pilgrimage to America in search of himself which informs The Racist.

He’s a superbly skilled comic: he speaks softly, his carefully-honed deliv-

ery deftly carrying both his comedic and moral messages to their intended conclusion — and he seldom misses the mark. Noah muses on his life, and on the ignorance and racism he has encountered along the way, with wit and candour, and an effortless flair for a punchline that many older and more experienced comics lack. It’s a highly original take on racial comedy; genial and non-confrontational, The Racist is a sparkling philosophical dissection of the politics of perception and identity, delivered by a young performer with a bright future ahead of him.

Jarred Christmas: Let’s Go MoFo Charles Dundas Staff writer, FestivalJournal

Such is the nature of British Sat-

urday night television that most people will know Jarred Christmas from his 2011 Comic Relief Let’s Dance performance as Madonna in a hot pink leotard. The joke here being that he is a fat, hairy man, dancing badly. However, given that his other claim to national fame is that he starred in the much-derided BBC2 sitcom The Persuasionists, he is likely to prefer being known for the dancing.

This show starts in darkness, out of which bursts Christmas, launching straight into a Maori haka. “You didn’t expect that?” he asks the audience. However, by the end of the show the punchline of “a fat man

This adaptation of Anthony Rapp’s

autobiographical work Without You is an emotional yet invigorating one man show, with Rapp performing music from Rent alongside original music, interspersed with narration from the book itself. The show covers the period from Rapp’s first audition for the original workshop of Rent

John Hewitt Jones Literary editor

The Economist is an insensitive

dancing badly” will have become tiresomely familiar to all present.

There is no clever material at all.

In fact, it is testament to Christmas’s charm and charisma that the hour is not as painful as it would be in an amateur’s hands.

To overcome this dearth of writing, the show is punctuated by high-energy bursts of said fat man dancing badly.

The only moment when the audience comes alive is the finale where the fat man rips open his shirt and invites 20 audience members to shoot nerf guns at him while he tries to list 10 things (such as 10 Perrier Award winners).

The foam bullets stick to his sweaty belly, leaving him like a Pound-Stretchers St Sebastian martyred by his own arrows of complacency.

Anthony Rapp: Without You Callum Leslie FJ deputy managing editor

The Economist

through to the emotional finale of the song he performed at his mother’s funeral.

This is a truly one-man show: save for two chairs and a cowboy hat, the only props at Rapp’s disposal are his rich descriptive dialogue and his fantastic and moving musical accompaniment.

The audience were truly moved by the show, with plenty of tears but even more joy. While Rapp was singing ‘Seasons of Love’ at the curtain call, the audience, almost to a man, stood and joined him in

and dramatically underwhelming treatment of the 2011 Utøya Island shooting. Telling the life story of Andrew Berwick, a fictional character based on the profile of Norwegian gunman Anders Breivik, the show attempts to tackle the old nature vs. nurture, ‘is there such a thing as innate evil?’ chestnuts.

Beginning with repetitive barbershop motifs accompanied by gap year-style banjo strumming, the show stitches together scenes from Breivik’s life with a physical style of theatre in a way that comes across as glib. Transitions between scenes might be slick, but unfortunately the production hinges on the gimmicky presentation of what should be very emotive issues; mimed scenes of police officers canoeing over to the island after hearing gunshots are fleetingly juxtaposed with Breivik

clapping and singing; a palpable glimpse into the incredible power of writer-composer Jonathan Larson’s work.

Rapp gives an emotional recounting of the story of Larson’s death and the intimate debut of Rent to an audience of his friends and family the next night, with Larson’s words “one song before I go, one song to leave behind” ringing out with more resonance than ever imagined, stopping the audience in their tracks. The original score is phenomonal, with ‘It’s Not You’ a real highlight — on a par with anything in Rent itself. This is a truly emotional show that is deeply moving to behold.

We Think Not Rachel Donnelly FJ staff writer

There’s a battered suitcase in the

middle of the room and a large circle drawn in white onthe floor around it. The audience sit in chairs lining the circle, facing the case and each other. Silence.

Cue grown man capering about the space like a child for thirty minutes, followed by a grown woman doing the same. With its roots in postmodern-

ism, Deborah Hay’s experimental choreography might be called ‘difficult’ or, less charitably, nonsensical. With We Think Not, Karl Jay-Lewin and Anushiye Yarnell offer two individual, and very different, adaptations of Hay’s 2011 work I Think Not. Lewin’s interpretation is seamed with farce, emphasised by the colourful, almost slapstick props he uses. Wearing a pair of lunatic blue and white pointy leather shoes that recall a clown’s get-up,

his movements are both measured and silly. At one point he rests his head on the knee of an audience member whilst reclining on the floor; at another, he apes a lumbering bird.

Yarnell’s performance, on the other hand, displays something both more personal and vulnerable. Without giving too much away, a surprise special guest who arrives halfway through the piece contributes to the creation of something undeniably moving; there are moments of

profound beauty and joy here.

Whether this kind of dance is convincing or not depends on the performer’s ability to communicate to the audience their own experience of the movements they’re performing, as they’re performing them. This is something of which Lewin and Yarnell are certainly capable. Ultimately, however, what we see here is the performer rather than the performance; whether this is a criticism or not will depend on your perspective.

stockpiling fertiliser. The switches in narrative voice and relentless shouting also have the effect of making it feel more like an Australian police drama than a considered insight into the mind of a Scandinavian mass murderer.

Most problematic, however, is the fact that this show indulges in the worst kind of voyeuristic pseudo-psychoanalysis. Scenes flicker between Berwick’s arrest as a teenager for graffiti, to depictions of hours spent playing the online game World of Warcraft, in an attempt to identify ‘what went wrong’. And this is the principal reason that the play doesn’t hold up: it focuses on tabloid demonisation, playing up the role of genocidal monster instead of encouraging rational analysis of a damaged human being.

With the prosecution case still ongoing and psychiatrists continuing to argue over whether or not Breivik can be described as clinically psychotic, MKA’s production is premature in its conclusions and insensitive in its interpretation.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FASHION FESTIVAL 2012

New addition to August festival lineup showcases fashion as an art form The Journal meets fashionistas Anna and Jonathan Freemantle, directors of the first-ever Edinburgh International Fashion Festival at Summerhall Laurie Goodman Fashion editor

All bare except for a lonely clothes rail

in the corner, Mr and Mrs Freemantle sit comfortably in Jonathan’s chemistry-labturned-art-studio in Summerhall. “We’re in somewhat of a decompression zone now. We’re taking the week off,” Jonathan sighs.

One a former supermodel, and the other a resident artist, the pair were married for four years before becoming minor celebrities in the newly opened arts center at the east end of the meadows. Now, the former Royal (Dick) Veterinary School lies unsettlingly quiet after the hive of activity that was the first Edinburgh International Fashion Festival - a brainchild of the pair. For five days, Jonathan’s studio was adopted by a flurry of models, designers and hair and makeup artists. Canvases were re-homed, clothes rails were stuffed into supply closets and shoes sat shoulderto-shoulder beneath worktops.

In a previous conversation, Jonathan had commented on the project stating “we wanted to create something that presents fashion as an art form.” Surrounded by colourful canvas test swatches and vibrant pigments in glass vessels, it becomes abundantly clear where this premise was derived from.

“We also thought we’d do something that has not been done before and look at

fashion from many angles: architecture, science, smell. Even though it may not be a populist approach, it’s something that we believe in. We see fashion as a vital art form.”

Rather than creating a showcase of runways with multiple shopping opportunities, from 16 to 19 August Summerhall displayed a conglomeration of the many components that are vital to a rich and varied fashion industry: designers, artisans, academics, theorists, artists, photographers and muses.

Jonathan mulls over how the event took seed: “We began this festival as one would begin thinking about a dinner party.

It’s that corny question — ‘who would you invite to your dream dinner party?’”

‘We asked that to ourselves when we made this festival. We thought ‘who would we like to have at our dinner party?’ You get the greatest product from that kind of context. Let’s not just go for big names: let’s make things happen.”

The lineup for the festival included a scintillating selection of speakers, including global scent expert Sissel Tolaas, Italian professor of neuroaesthetics Ludovica Lumer and muse to Lagerfield and Galliano, Amanda Harlech. “When we wrote the programme we wanted not brands, but inspiring people. People who work in fashion as well as other industries, and are leaders…people who can articulate the genesis of great ideas,” he said.

David A. Selby

Festival directors and industry power couple Jonathan and Anna Freemantle From this, it came as no surprise that the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival felt like an incredibly well-dressed dinner party, creating the level of intimacy that is necessary for promoting the fertilisation of new ideas. Whilst each event drew its own unique fan base (such as the Glaswegian punk-rockers at the Pam Hogg show), a core of participants underpinned the crowd at each event.

“It’s been nice to hear in the last few days that people who have come here have met and liked each other, so now they will do projects together. Perhaps they will return next year with new projects in a new collaborative form. The festival is

“A lot of the media coverage has focused on the cheesy side of fashion; the obvious side... we’re trying to do something greater than that.”

becoming a springboard in many ways,” Anna said. Discussion and interaction were imperative to the weekend, with several workshops accompanying the lecture schedule, including a silversmith demonstration from Hamilton & Inches and a knitting day at the National Museum of Scotland.

The festival was also distinctly not an event with a nationalistic bent. It seems that both Anna and Jonathan have encountered this misconception on numerous occasions: “A lot of people ask us ‘why Edinburgh?’ It’s almost besides the point.

It’s in Edinburgh because we are in Edinburgh, and it’s a beautiful city with a centre for knowledge. There’s already a lot done to promote Scotland. This is not some kind of ‘Visit Scotland!’ enterprise.”

Media coverage on the event has been limited in scope, they continued. “I’ve been quite shocked by the level of questions,” Anna begins. Amongst others, The Scotsman recently published an interview with Anna entitled My Edinburgh: Anna Freemantle, director of Edinburgh International Fashion Festival, inquiring into her favourite restaurants, cinemas, her heroes and her ‘dream weekend destination break.’

Along with this misconception, Anna said, was the inability of the media to look beyond the event as a standard commercial fashion exercise. “A lot of media coverage has focused on the ‘cheesy’ side of fashion,

the obvious side. Models. Backstage. Everybody knows about that. I was like, ‘Is that all you have?’ We’re trying to do something greater than that.”

This rupture in communication with the public will be aided by a publication from the Edinburgh International Fashion Festival editorial team in the following weeks. Jonathan said “The importance of this document is two-fold. Firstly we can present to a global audience what we did with the festival, because the majority of participants have their own networks in their respective countries and it’s important that we can communicate with those networks. But the document is also important because we want to digest and understand what we did.”

I question the concept of the document: “So it’s a manifesto?”

Jonathan swivels a little in his chair and ponders for a moment. “It’s...a gentle manifesto. A manifesto based on action, rather than postulate.”

This level of philosophy is key to the festival, and whilst the event came only two weeks before London Fashion Weekend and Vogue’s Fashion Night Out, the Freemantles are keen to market Edinburgh International Fashion Festival as more than just a commercial enterprise.

“Designers would never show their new collections in Edinburgh - Edinburgh’s not a place where buyers come.

This is a festival of ideas.”

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Photos: David Selby

Fresh Cuts 2012

ECA and Heriot-Watt graduates exhibit cuddly bunnies, sinister fascinators and futuristic forms Delphine Tomes Staff writer

For the final day of the Edinburgh

International Fashion Festival, the Dissection Room at Summerhall showcased an assortment of designs by nine of this year’s graduates from Edinburgh College of Art and Heriot-Watt University.

The show - entitled Fresh Cuts began at 3 o’clock sharp, not with any announcement but rather a rumble of sluggish hip-hop as the first models ambled along at a rhythm appropriate for a Sunday afternoon. Sluggish could also aptly describe the shape of the initial forms that emerged on the catwalk, as futuristic sleeping bag forms were followed by capes not dissimilar to the airbags of high-speed vehicles, all in muted greys punctuated with vibrant orange or turquoise.

Short of having seen their work prior to the show and without any kind of commentary accompanying the runway, it was near impossible to distinguish between each individual designer. One thread, however, did secure them together: their innovative use — and combination — of fabrics and colours. It was a delight to observe A-line skirts made out of dark snakeskin PVC coalesced with delicate pastel webs. Likewise, the paisley lining on the sleeves of otherwise minimalist shirt designs was nothing short of charming.

Influences at Fresh Cuts appeared to have been drawn from far and wide

and presented a diarisitic catalogue of the designers. It is difficult, for example, to imagine that the hearts and tassles making up Katie Bremner’s creations did not arise from childhood afternoons spent staring at her Grandma’s curtains letting Love Heart sweets melt in her mouth. The yellow jelly wedges that accompanied the outfits simultaneously brought to mind hours of rockpool gallivanting and rainy-day dress-up.

Jacob Birge brought a male perspective to the memories of youth, with sinister basketball-shaped fascinators – one could imagine them shielding a Batman army. His skirts, too, were solid and impenetrable: armour reminiscent both of scorpions and of Roman soldiers. It was unfortunate to see only one male designer in the show, and even more so to note that none of the designs were for menswear.

Polly Preston confirmed the deserved presence of performance costume on the runway along with its more traditional brothers and sisters.

Her giant bunny rabbits pranced and frolicked about, as though to show us that models are allowed to have a fantastic time on the catwalk after all. This was apparent too in the next models, who grinned widely as they waved their arms in a fashion that hinted at dance, wrapped up in tinsel and fairy lights, crochet and coloured sweet-wrappers. The whole show was a sensory treat, leaving the audience feeling much like children in a playground.

Meanwhile, away from the runway, fashion industry luminaries share their visions and expertise...

Internationally-renowned scent expert Sissel Tolaas

Chris Bird, technical director of United Visual Artists

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

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CRITICAL OPINION

Is the Fringe broken?

Allan MacDonald

This year saw a deluge of commentary from performers, producers, venues and others that the Edinburgh Fringe is “broken” — but are they right?

Callum Leslie

It started before the Fringe had

even begun — from Stuart Goldsmith’s Prick-gate, to Michael McIntyre’s £31 warm-up shows, to Stewart Lee saying the Fringe is over-commericalised, to Guy Masterton telling us that too many reviewers have too much influence, those that are willing to listen have been inundated with people telling them why this beautiful wonderful Festival is completely and utterly broken. When it comes down to it, the real problem with the Fringe is the economics.

Ticket prices are, undoubtedly, an issue. One of the best shows I saw this year was Anthony Rapp — Without You, I’d heartily reccomend it, but the tickets are £15. Now for an evening’s entertainment from a big Broadway star and a musical theatre icon, that’s not a lot, but at the Fringe people balk at the numbers.

Despite your average touring musical at the Edinburgh Playhouse selling for anything up to £50-60 for good seats, the Fringe is seen to be a cheaper commodity.

Comedy too suffers for this. Comedians like Rhod Gilbert for example, who are charging £20 for tickets here this year. This for the Fringe is a small fortune, but later in the year Gilbert will be charging £30 in arenas up and down the country. These are comics who can command high prices for their craft, and punters will be queuing round the block to see them. Does this damage other acts? In all likelihood, yes. Those who spend £20 on Rhod Gilbert aren’t going

to have the money left to see other less popular shows no matter how reasonably priced they might be.

Michael McIntyre caught a lot of flack at the beginning of the Fringe — and rightly so — for doing warm-up gigs for his tour in Edinburgh during the Fringe, but not being part of the festival itself. McIntyre charged £31 for these warm-up shows. Again, he will have had no problem shifting those tickets, but there is only so much ticket money to go around at the Fringe. The more it flows to the bigger acts, the less it will trickle down.

Articles about how much money acts make or lose have also been fairly common this year. One article in the Scotsman reported that one comic who took £70,000 in ticket sales was only receiving £7,000 themselves, and one act told me directly that he had calculated that if he sold every single seat on every single night, he would still emerge with a loss of £3,000. There is indeed something deeply broken about a festival where comics can completely sell every seat available, and not make money. Richard Herring has been very vocal about how this is the worst Fringe he has had in a long time, and is only selling 150 tickets on busy nights, at £16 a go. This may seem like a lot to performers who struggle to fill the front row, but Herring is, in all likelihood, spending a five figure sum once you include hire of a large venue and a very well respected promotion company.

The problem with looking into the financials of the Fringe is that the

whole thing is fairly opaque. The venue hire costs are widely known, but the venues themselves often blame their landlords — we wrote yesterday about Gilded Balloon creative director Karen Koren saying that their landlord’s, Edinburgh University Students’ Association “exploit” them — and it is unknown to what extent that is true. Also the cost of PRs, promoters, managers and the like are pretty much unknown. All we know in that regard is that lowely flyerers will be paid, almost without fail, £6 an hour.

The only only venue costs we truly know about are on the Free Fringe and Free Festival. The efforts of Laughing Horse and PBH are being rewarded with ever increasing audiences, and with per-

formers not having to outlay very much at all, there is much less pressure on performers, punters and venues to succeed.

Some free performers end the month with a healthy profit, and what does it say about the Fringe when Richard Herring is seriously talking about making a loss, and someone playing in the backroom of a pub is going to leave with more than they arrived?

Kate Copstick, the revered Fringe critic, wrote that she thinks we are “at the turning of the tide”, but I’m not so sure. Until it is widely known how much money performers are being asked to outlay and those who take huge profits for limited effort have a light shined on them, they will continue to get away

with ripping off performers, as well as others lower down the food chain. Until those people, and the venues, charge performers less, ticket prices will have to remain high in order for acts to retain any chance of making money. Until acts are able to make money more easily, ticket prices will remain high. Until the paying public are being asked for more reasonable amounts of money, it will remain harder for less well known acts to make money and progress. And until performers other than the very top acts can come and make money and succeed, the Fringe will continue to stagnate.

Callum Leslie was 2012/13 deputy managing editor of FestivalJournal.

What’s dull, uninteractive and made of paper?

In a world increasingly packed full of shiny, interactive things, there’s very little going for the traditional printed novel John Hewitt Jones Literary editor

How many browser tabs do you gener-

ally have open? I bet it’s more than three.

And you probably clicked through to this article from elsewhere? I imagine you won’t bother reading all the way through.

The impact of technology and the internet on the future of the novel is something that’s come under intense scrutiny at this year’s book festival. Speaking at an event last month, Booker-winning novelist Howard Jacobson argued that the majority of the reading public no longer have the ability, let alone the inclination, to pick up a novel.

And he’s by no means the only author expressing concern for the future of the book. At this year’s Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference, writer China Miéville argued that readers will begin to alter books digitally and produce ‘mash-up’ versions of published books, emulating the way in which the YouTube generation remix songs. Whether or not this is an accurate prediction, it certainly raises questions about the effect of technology on our ability

and desire to read.

Writer and broadcaster Will Self, talked to The Journal back in May, expressing some of the concerns he has for the future of the book “There’s something about having a physical analogue; it’s almost as if you are conscious of the other pages because they’re physically there.” Self worries so much about the impact of the internet on the ability of the young to read that he’s setting up a module at Brunel University to focus on this as a subject of empirical research.

It seems amazing that many members of the Internet generation reject this as even a legitimate subject for discussion. In an iPad-dominated society few people are willing to admit that the novel now has to compete for attention. It has to compete for attention in a world that is full of things with shiny buttons that you can press, where everything is interactive and flashes to grab attention and satiate our need for instant gratification. There is very little going for an inanimate object that requires a significant investment of time and mental energy.

The response of the book industry also seems a bit strange. As part of the ebook push, publishers are running to create

increasingly sophisticated all-singing alldancing Kindle books and iPad applications that will talk and move at you as part of the reading experience. Rather than helping to curate the space that makes this art form special, they would seem to be intent on providing a more emotionally passive (albeit more interactive) experience.

Reading is unique as a tool of emotional education because it makes the process of interpreting and imagining a very personal and a very active one; the reader is required to draw from his or her own emotional experience. If they aren’t forced to do this, then much of the utility of the reading process is lost.

But perhaps there’s change afoot: the James Tait Black Prize, Britain’s oldest literary award, was last month justly awarded to the American author of abstract fiction, Padgett Powell, whose latest books create a radically dystopic reflection on the future of the novel through both their form and content. The Interrogative Mood and You & Me follow a question-and-answer format, reflecting both the tweet-sized interactions that now characterise our everyday communication, and the self-oriented compass of the world of social media.

David Selby

28 / SPORT

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

The sport stars’ ignominious Twitter hall of fame

The social media website continues to serve as an all-too-accessible outlet for sport’s most temperamental icons Ruth Jeffery Sport editor

We have never asked our sports stars

to be perfect. Never have we wanted shining poster-boys who toe the party line. Legends of all sports have usually had moments of indiscretion. One thing that is getting tiresome, however, is the constant misunderstanding of Twitter which seems to plague modern wouldbe heroes.

The line between flirtatious internet banter and professional misconduct has been debated time and time again, with history repeating itself and a foot-inmouth apology offered. Often the press are guilty of over-reaction, but anyone in the public eye should be aware of the delicacy needed when tweeting. And the famous of the sports world are representing not only themselves, but their sport and, in some cases, teammates.

This week the miscreant under scrutiny

was Lewis Hamilton.

The Formula 1 driver posted a photograph last week which showed telemetry data highlighting the differences between laps by himself and Button.

Speed, tyre pressures and ride height

“The lessons of what not to write on Twitter are there in black and white.” were all included, information which would have been valuable to rival car engineers.

Hamilton was not fined or banned, but was forced to take down the picture

and later apologised. Whatever one’s views on the appropriateness of the post, the fact that Hamilton should have known better cannot be denied. A sportsman of his fame should be aware of the interest in his online presence.

The photo, which could be damaging to the McLaren campaign, was re-tweeted and sent across the world in a matter of seconds.

Not the first one to overstep the mark on the internet, Hamilton only had to look at the rest of the sporting world to see that Twitter now matters. Ryan Babel, Rio Ferdinand, Amar’e Stoudemire…the lessons of what not to write on Twitter are there in black and white.

Hamilton might have been given an easy ride by McLaren publicly, but behind closed doors he surely received a royal rollicking. For an internet blunder which was only damaging internally for the F1 outfit, this seems appropriate. Babel, Ferdinand and Stoudemire, however, posted

tweets which were potentially offensive to the public, and directly brought their sport into disrepute.

Babel’s error was the mocked-up photo of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt; Rio Ferdinand referred to Ashley Cole as a ‘choc-ice’, a slang phrase meaning black on the outside, white on the inside, during the John Terry race trial; and Stoudemire called a Twitter follower a ‘faggot’. The three were fined £10,000, £45,000 and $50,000 (about £31,000) respectively.

This, it seems to me, is not enough.

Fining sports stars — particularly footballers and basketball players — does not work as a deterrent because of their abominably high wages. And whether or not the three cases were truly terrible, a preventative measure is needed to stop internet slandering and bickering spiralling out of control.

Ryan Babel was the first football player to be fined by the FA. The first,

but not the last. Had he been given a three-match ban, he might well have been the last.

Exaggeration, possibly, but the truth remains that a boundary has to be firmly set on the internet. Our poster boys can have personality without offending.

SPORTING SPOTLIGHT

by Ruth Jeffery Shelvey and Walden cue off at Melwood

Liverpool player Jonjo Shelvey faced opposition of a different kind when he squared up to snooker world number ten Ricky Walden in Melwood recently. Keen ‘Pool fan Walden challenged the Anfield midfielder to a bestof-three snooker match, and won 2-1.

Kop fans will be hoping Shelvey’s table defeat isn’t a sign of things to come after the Reds’ poor start to the season.

Pietersen’s international career on the slide

Kevin Pietersen has not been given a new contract with the England cricket team, furthering reports that he has been sidelined from international action. Pietersen faced discipline from the International Cricket Council for texts to South African players which allegedly contained tactical advice and abusive comments about former text skipper Andrew Strauss. Pietersen was dropped from the England team for their third test match.

Domenicali calls for higher driving standards

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says Formula 1 should take action to curb aggressive driving after Romain

Grosjean caused a four car pile-up during the Belgian Grand Prix last week.

Domenicali’s star Fernando Alonso was involved in the crash, leading the chief to call for higher driving standards to be taught to junior drivers. Grosjean was given a one-race ban after causing the crash.

Roddick retires

Andy Roddick has retired after a

four-set defeat by Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round of the US Open. The American served his last ball on the court where he claimed his only Grand Slam title — the US Open in 2003. His exit from tennis means that there is currently no American male playing who has won a Grand Slam singles title.

Garcia boosts Europe’s Ryder Cup team

Ryder Cup holders Europe had another team member confirmed this week as Sergio Garcia secured his place on the team. The Spaniard won the Wynndham Championship in North Carolina, meaning he will be travelling to Chicago at the end of September to take on the Americans. Garcia has had a welcome return to form recently, and his presence will be welcomed on the European team as he has helped them win three out of the four Ryder Cups in which he has participated.

Ruaraidh Hamilton, EUAFC Jak Purkiss Staff writer

Ruaridh Hamilton, or ‘Roo’

as he is more affectionately known, appeared enthused when given the opportunity to talk to The Journal about his new, highly regarded position as club captain of the Edinburgh University Football Club. There have been big changes at the club this year with new managers appointed to all four teams. Despite this, Roo had high hopes for the new season.

“For the first team, retaining the Scottish 1A title for the third year running will be well within our sights.

Reaching the latter stages in the BUCS competition will also be a key goal for the whole squad along with the financial incentives that come with that.

The second team will still be hurting from their relegation from the top tier of University football but I see no reason why they cannot bounce straight back. The 21s and 4s have had a lot of success in previous years. With both teams gaining new managers, a cup run and top four finish in the league would be a great achievement.”

The club captain is a position that comes with a lot of responsibility, effectively having the overall say on how things are run within the club and Roo told us how he fell into the highly esteemed role:

“I have been on the Committee ever since joining the University so have vast experience on how things are run and in particular areas in which previous Club Captains have succeeded and failed.

“My vision is simple; to bring the club together by abolishing the divide between the four teams which has been growing stronger in each year I have been involved. Over the summer a lot has changed at EUAFC, but I hope to establish greater focus on player development and alongside my vision of creating a more ‘together club’ this season has fantastic potential.”

One of the more obvious tasks that lies ahead of the club captain is to try and find areas where he believes the club can improve, and it appears that Hamilton has clear objectives that he wants to achieve; “Under the guidance of new coach Barry Scott the Edinburgh “3rd” team will be piloting a six-team East of Scotland under 21s league. I think this is a brilliant opportunity for the younger players in the club, and will give them the experience and hopefully the confidence needed if they are lucky enough to make the jump into first team football.”

Hamilton comes across as a forward thinking captain, which will be a much needed asset if the football club is to have yet another successful season.

/ IN BRIEF Name? Ruaraidh Hamilton Nickname? Roo Age? 22 Studying? Business & Accounts Team? Edinburgh University Men’s Football Role? Club captain

The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

SPORT// 29

@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk

Snippets from a sensational sporting summer DeGust on Flickr

Faster than Farah, a thrilling sports line-up made the summer fly by

The summer of 2012 will be forever

remembered as the time when people from across the globe lost touch with the real world and escaped. Not to the sundrenched beaches, but to their television sets, to their radios, to their newspapers, to anything that would enable a glimpse at the next big sporting event. We’ve had it all, from records broken to dreams shattered.

Never before has ‘summer’ and ‘sport’ been so compatible.

The Spanish Conquer Europe: A sensational feat, having won the World Cup, Spain went into the Euros knowing they could do something no other team had managed to do before.

They did it, easily; at the same time banishing the press grumbles about ‘boring’ football with a thrilling 4-0 final win over Italy.

Murray Magic: Andy Murray became the first British tennis player since Fred Perry to reach a Wimbledon final only to be beaten by the seemingly unflappable Federer.

Incredible events only weeks later saw a sublime resolve of character from Murray. Removing the nightmares of losing on centre court, he clinched an Olympic gold medal against none other than Roger Federer in a straight sets demolition.

Ernie is Open Champion: While others simply couldn’t handle all the final day pressure that comes with this magnificent sporting spectacle, one man could. Ernie Els’ victory speech touched on the mixture of emotions that come with professional sport.

He could barely accept the reward for sympathising with fellow competitor Adam Scott. A touching acceptance speech that reached the hearts of many.

‘Wiggo’ wins the yellow jersey: Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to win the Tour De France. An aweinspiring achievement considering he brushed himself down to win gold at the Olympics only a few weeks later.

Olympics Mania: there are almost too many contenders for this as we were treated to a spectacular games which saw records smashed and history books re-written.

Michael Phelps: the greatest Olympian of all time, enough said?

Usain Bolt: a phenomenal advocate for the sport of athletics; a true champion on the track combined with an infectious attitude off it. This simply, is how sport should be portrayed.

Jessica Ennis: an incredibly daunting and potentially dangerous task lay

Scotland storm 2012 Olympic Games Team GB’s third place at the London Olympics showed off the cream of Scottish talent Jonathan McIntosh

Scottish

athletes won a record number of medals at the London 2012 Olympics, with seven gold, four silver and three bronze medallists. As a separate team, Scotland would have finished 12th in the medals table, narrowly behind Australia.

After a relatively disappointing start to Team GB’s Olympic campaign, Heather Stanning from Lossiemouth won Britain’s first gold medal of London 2012 in the women’s coxless pairs. This was the first gold medal ever won by British female rowers. Another rowing medal came in as Edinburgh University graduate Katherine Grainger finally won gold in the doubles sculls after winning silver in Athens and Beijing.

Scotland’s poster boy Andy Murray also tasted success in the tennis, beating Roger Federer in the final of the men’s singles to grab a gold medal. Hours later, a silver medal came from the mixed doubles with British youngster Laura Robson. Another much-talked about Scot was Edinburgh cyclist Chris Hoy. The cyclist become the most successful British Olympian of all

time with two golds at London 2012.

He found success in the Team Sprint with Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny.

He also won the Men’s Keirin.

Despite Team GB’s disappointing showing in the pool, Glaswegian Michael Jamieson won silver in the 200 metre backstroke. After breaking three British records in the process, he was only denied gold by a world-record-breaking swim.

Dan Purvis was part of the men’s gymnast team who won a historic bronze medal in the Team All Around. The un-fancied British team had last won a team medal in gymnastics in 1912. Another unlikely looking medal came from Aberdeen’s Luke Patience. After his final race was delayed by a lack of wind, the 470-class sailor was delighted to finally get his hands on the silver.

Water-sports were afloat as Team GB’s success in the C2 Canoe Slalom resulted the gold and silver medals.

Beijing silver medallist David Florence added another silver medal, but it was Timothy Baillie who took the gold, beating his teammate by a fraction of a second.

Great Britain finished a massive third in the Olympics this year, with many suggesting that a home Olympics was an important advantage.

ahead of the so-called ‘golden girl of the games.’ The nations’ hearts rooted for her before she had even begun but they came together as one to roar her onto that magical moment.

Mo Farah: One gold medal wasn’t enough for Farah as he not only smashed the field in the 5000m but thought he ought to do the same when it came to doubling the distance. A very humbling, human touch was added when his pregnant wife and daughter came onto the track to celebrate.

Ben Ainslie: The best Olympic sailor of all time. This particular triumph was one for both the individual and for the sport of sailing, raising its profile and deservedly so.

Sir Chris Hoy: The Edinburgh man rode proudly to become Britain’s most celebrated Olympic athlete and even shed a tear or two when collecting his medal; a poignant touch from a brilliant man.

The real beauty of this particular summer has not just been the aesthetic brilliance that all these athletes have displayed for our enjoyment, but the way that all this brought a nation together. It removed talk of bleak economic outlooks and replaced it with joyous celebrations, and a feeling that we can come together to achieve and succeed.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL

Matthew Wilkinson

Life without Rangers There is a great deal to be positive about in the SPL this season Gary Paul Staff writer

The summer months brought with them many comings and goings in the world of football, but perhaps none quite so controversial as the departure of Glasgow Rangers from the top table of Scottish football. Entering liquidation on 14 June, Rangers were forced to form as a new company and reapply for Scottish Football Association (SFA) membership.

Fans of the remaining 11 SPL clubs were vocal in their demands that the new Rangers were not readmitted directly to the SPL as any such special treatment would surely bring the integrity of the league into dispute.

The SPL clubs’ chairmen voted to reject Ranger’s application and they start life in the third division this year.

Despite scaremongering from Rangers fans and journalists, and even SFA chief-executive Stewart Regan forecasting a ‘slow lingering death for Scottish football’, things are not quite as grim as you might expect in the SPL right now.

Sky Sports and ESPN have confirmed their continued financial support, so the ‘lucrative’ TV deal remains intact giving clubs much more room to manoeuvre in the trans-

fer market than many had predicted.

We have seen Hibernian, Dundee United, Aberdeen and St Johnstone all add to their starting eleven’s over the summer, although most clubs would admittedly have preferred a little more strength in depth.

However, this lack of squad depth may be a blessing in disguise as it affords first team opportunities to many younger players. Already this

“Despite the scaremongering, things are not as grim as you might expect.” season fans have been raving about performances from Gary MackaySteven at Dundee United, Callum Paterson at Hearts, Ryan Fraser at Aberdeen and Kenny Maclean at St Mirren. Motherwell’s back four last Saturday had an average age of just 20 and put in a solid performance in the absence of several first team regulars, while Kilmarnock’s Matthew Kennedy earned himself a £250,000

move to Everton on the back of his start to the season.

Elsewhere, Celtic’s qualification for the Champions League group stages offers a chance to improve Scottish football’s standing in Europe, as well as forcing them to blood their own youngsters as their squad stretches to tackle both domestic and European competition.

After five rounds of fixtures Motherwell sit atop the SPL, but just three points separates them from ninthplaced Aberdeen. Newly promoted Ross County were just seconds from defeating Celtic, and this season has peculiarly seen more draws than any other at this stage; the league really is tighter than ever before.

This increased competition is exciting: attendances have increased and with several sides still to really get into their stride, there is much to be positive about in the SPL this season.

And all this is happening without the Rangers we supposedly depended upon! Sectarian chants have already been heard back in the stands at Ibrox and their management continue to offer exorbitant wages, albeit now in a league of part-time clubs. Rangers may not have changed but the rest of Scottish football is evolving.

FOOTBALL

One ball. Four men. 300 miles.

Trekking from John O’Groats to Hampden Park — with a football Orla O’Muiri

A young man once said; “You only ever grow as a human being if you’re outside your comfort zone.” This man’s name is Stuart Doyle and this particular man practices what he preaches. He and three of his mates have just dribbled a £3 Sondico football 300 miles from John O’Groats to Hampden Park in Glasgow.

One ball controlled by four Scottish men; Andrew Milne, Chris Strother, Mark Graham and Stuart Doyle. Each taking it in turns for 15 minute shifts they successfully guided the ball across the beaches of Brora over the West Highland Way and through Clyde Valley to arrive at their final destination.

They ran for ten days straight, directions courtesy of a detailed map and several iPhones. They rolled into the national stadium in Hampden on 8 September in time to support Scotland as they kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The distance plus time limit covered in this challenge is equivalent to running twelve marathons in ten days.

A feat that requires serious training and a fondness for pain: “We have trained off road a lot and tried to replicate most of the route conditions we will encounter along the way so we are prepared. I have also incorporated a mix of cross-training like football, swimming, strength conditioning,

mobility and flexibility stretching” says 29-year-old Doyle.

Like all true adventurers, the boys are camping. Before they embarked on the challenge, Doyle explained why they made this decision: “We will be wild camping each night as this gives us the most flexibility whilst also the most manly feeling! We are all outdoorsy guys so camping isn’t an issue. The midges might be however. But the reality is we will be out in the middle of nowhere so camping is our only option most nights!”

And like all good boys, they have undertaken this task not for themselves but for a charity; Tartan Army Children’s Charity. A charity which supports disadvantaged children in Scotland. “It was

an easy choice, they are a great charity doing wonderful things and have given us their full support,” says Doyle.

The scale of such a challenge and the pain and the injuries in what has been coined ‘endurance dribbling’ was an ever-present worry. Stuart Doyle endured the miles with swollen feet and a dodgy knee, while Mark Graham struggled with inflamed tendons.

However another fear outweighed

their ailments; “I think the fear of not doing it is the key,” was posted on the Jog4Hampden Twitter page.

Doyle’s parting lines were; “Maybe we will start the urban dribbling craze that may sweep the nation in 2013.”

You can donate to the cause on their JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/jog4hampden.

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The Journal Wednesday 12 September 2012

@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk

SPORT// 31 Sum of Marc on Flickr

Olympic hero Jamieson’s glorious Glasgow homecoming

Scottish silver medallist Michael Jamieson takes a swim down memory lane Olivia Pires Managing editor

Glasgow-born swimmer Michael Jamieson won silver in

the 200m breaststroke at the London 2012 Olympics, breaking three British records in the process. Visiting the Glasgow Club Scotstoun Swimming Pool as part of the British Swimming Heroes Tour he spent some time in the water with local children: “Obviously I was really excited to come back here today. I managed to bump into some pupils from my old school this morning which was great. This sort of peer learning environment, the kids can relate to us and they enjoy having us in the water and having races which is good fun.”

The tour, sponsored by British Gas, will take members of the swimming, diving, water polo and synchronised swimming squads across the country aiming to encourage children to be more active and inspire them to carry on with sport whether at a professional or merely recreational level.

“I do feel privileged to be in a position to get involved in events like this.

First and foremost I hope everyone enjoys it and that this kick starts something even better”, said Jamieson. “It is important to be approachable for them to feel like I’m just a regular person. The support on Twitter in the last month has been amazing. I’m just like everyone else, I just chose to be a swimmer and fortunately managed to get a medal last month.”

Glasgow was the fourth city to be visited with members of the British Paralympics team set to join for the final two dates in Swansea and Coventry and hopes an increased participation in aquatics sports will be the legacy of both games. However the event is primarily about the children

having fun: “In swimming terms there’s such a strong social aspect and, for the kids that are here today, just the enjoyment from it is the most important thing. I think if they are enjoying it, that kind of work ethic and competitive attitude will go hand in hand with it. The social benefit is probably the most important, for their age.”

Students often find it difficult to continue with sport alongside their academic responsibilities and the 24-year-old athlete stressed how vital the support of his school was in his development into a professional swimmer.

“From experience, I went to the Glasgow School of Sport which is obviously the perfect set up for that. I didn’t do the extracurricular subjects like art and drama, but I’m not the most artistic guy anyway. I think that a pretty good set-up there from quite a young age, provides all sorts of life skills that will be applicable to any field, not even just sport”.

“I was only 12 when I decided I wanted to go to the school of sport and I do think I have had a bit of a head start being at the school and being taught all those values that I need now as a professional athlete. It’s a great school and I do encourage anyone to give it a shot because it absolutely helped me prepare for my life as an athlete but beyond that as well.”

Funded by the Scottish Government and run as a partnership between Education and Social Work Services and Glasgow Sport, The Glasgow School of Sport is dedicated to sporting excellence, nurturing its current 132 specialist sports pupils by tailoring training and coaching sessions around their academic timetable.

With the establishment of such institutions Jamieson believes main-

“The job for us now is to create this legacy and continue to have these participation levels rising, and the longer we can maintain that the better. I think the Commonwealth Games is going to come at just the right time.” taining interest in sporting activities in conjunction with school subjects is achievable: “When they get to that early teen stage that’s where the kind of crossover is, where most people decide if they are going to go down the competitive route or if academics take precedence. I think it’s much more feasible now to balance the two.”

“Things are getting much better now, obviously the last couple of years with the lead up to the games there has been so much focus on sport at the elite level and now that the games are finished the focus switches on to the next generation.”

Likewise at a university level the issue of maintaining involve-

ment in sport is often outweighed by the demands of an academic course, however Jamieson advocates that this can be overcome if universities make provision for participation at both a leisurely and competitive level.

“I think it’s again about getting that balance. For the more academic courses it’s obviously quite difficult to find time to do other sports and to have other hobbies, but I do think it’s important.”

“I like to play golf away from swimming and for me that’s an outlet and somewhere I can get away from university work and from swimming as well. From a psychological perspective it’s probably as important as the physical benefits of playing sport and just having something to unwind with.”

Jamieson will be starting his final year of a Sports Performance course, also previously attended by Olympic judo silver medallist Gemma Gibbons, from which he hopes to graduate with a First.

“I’m based at the University of Bath and I know they have got quite a strong hand in sport and they do their utmost to make sure there’s always things available, there’s always sports clubs and associations to kind of be part of and to ensure that you keep participating in sport even if it’s just a few hours a week.”

The BSc degree is aimed at athletes who wish to follow a career that complements their competitive interest in sport such as talent development, physiology and strength and conditioning.

“The course that I’m on was initially for the rugby academy players at Bath and it was so successful that they opened it up to other sports. It has a good track record and the staff and support there have been great

and understanding with training commitments.”

In addition to finishing his degree Jamieson is to commence training in preparation for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and is optimistic that he can better his Olympic achievements.

“I don’t want the Olympics to be my career highlight I want to go on to win more medals. Glasgow is two years away but the work starts now for that and I definitely hope to be there and to be amongst the medallists as well.”

With the Games taking place in his hometown Jamieson confesses that there is an increased expectation to perform.

“I guess the swim next probably will change peoples’ perception of me as a swimmer and there will be more pressure, but I guess that comes with the territory and it’s up to me to find a way to deal with that. I want to be winning medals as much as everyone else wants to see it”.

The upcoming Commonwealth Games has potential to sustain the awareness and excitement surrounding elite sport generated by London 2012 and could hopefully encourage the public’s continued involvement in sporting activities on a community level.

“The job for us now is to create this legacy and continue to have these participation levels rising and the longer we can maintain that the better. I think the Glasgow Commonwealth Games is going to come just at the right time and if we can maintain this momentum from the Olympics until Glasgow and beyond that I think things will really catch on. Although there’s a two year gap between them it’s just great to see so many excited about other sports.”

SPORT /

Hacker:

Up Twit creek

Sport stars still flock to join colleagues in the digital doghouse

28 Christopher Rubey

New manager aims high Dorian Ogunro appointed first team manager at EUAFC

Jak Purkis Staff writer

There is an air of optimism and excitement running through the ranks of the Edinburgh University Football Club ahead of the forthcoming season. Epitomising this positive outlook is none other than newly appointed first team manager Dorian Ogunro.

The former Edinburgh University student and player for the club has risen through the ranks, previously managing a highly successful Under 21s team.

Ogunro told The Journal his team’s

IN SPORT / 30 Missing Gers?

Ignore the pessimists and doomsayers: there is life in the SPL without Rangers

prospects for the new EUAFC season are positive: “EUAFC is in a very healthy position this season - all four teams (1sts, 2nds, U21s and 4ths) have strong squads and should be in contention for silverware. The first team in particular has benefitted from keeping many of its players from last season. Having added a few new players as well there is a great opportunity to achieve success in both Wednesday and Saturday football this year.”

The new manager has high expectations for EUAFC this year both on and off the pitch; a refreshing perspective for student athletes and one which he hopes

will remain with the players during their time with the club and hopefully throughout their lives. EUAFC has been run by the players’ and development committees, who have raised the standards of the club over the past few years.

Ogunro says that these improvements are helping the club’s progress: “Better coaches, facilities, players and achievements have put the club in a strong position. I would like this to continue by making sure there are processes in place to ensure these standards are maintained, whoever runs the club.

“On the playing side I want to ensure

UPCOMING UNI SPORT FIXTURES Weds 26 September

(Men’s 3rd) vs University of Stirling (Men’s 5th), St Andrews LTA

BUCS MARS FOOTBALL SCOTTISH 1A MEN’S 14:00 Heriot-Watt (Men’s 1st) vs.

University of Aberdeen (Men’s 1st), Sports Academy, Heriot-Watt

16:00: University of Glasgow (Men’s 3rd) vs Heriot-Watt (Men’s 1st), Hillhead Tennis Club

14:00 University of Stirling (Men’s 1st)vs University of Glasgow (Men’s 1st), Gannochy Grass, Stirling

BUCS MARS FOOTBALL SCOTTISH 3A MEN’S 14:00 University of Dundee (Men’s 1st) vs. University of St Andrews (Men’s 1st), Riverside Sports Ground

BUCS LACROSSE SCOTTISH 1A WOMEN’S 14:00 University of Edinburgh (Women’s 2nd) vs University of Stirling (Women’s 1st), Peffermill 14:30 University of St Andrews (Women’s 1st) vs University of Aberdeen, University Sports Centre St Leonard’s road BUCS TENNIS SCOTTISH 4A MEN’S 15:30: University of St Andrew’s

Weds 3 October

14:00 University of Edinburgh (Men’s 3rd )vs University of Strathclyde (Men’s 1st), Peffermill BUCS RUGBY UNION SCOTTISH 2A MEN’S 14.00: University of Edinburgh (Men;s 2nd) vs University of Glasgow (Men’s 1st), Peffermill

Full standings available at: www.bucs.org.uk

there is a definite commitment from all four teams to playing technical, passing, attacking football. I also want to highlight the many benefits of EUAFC so that current and future members of the club are aware of how lucky they are to be part of such a special organisation.”

With stiff competition coming in from the likes of Heriot Watt, Glasgow and Edinburgh Napier, Ogunro will be trying to shape his team into a force to be reckoned with.

He has already been eyeing up the rivals: “The four different teams have different targets - I hope that all four see

the best team in their respective leagues as their main rivals. For the first team in particular the best team at the moment are Stirling University, they are our main rivals. I look forward to the challenge of turning that perception round to us.”

EUAFC will manage a table at the Sports Fair on Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13 September from 11am - 4pm at the Pleasance Sports Hall where current members of the club will be signing up trialists.

EUAFC trials are held at Peffermill playing fields on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 September from 12.30 - 4.30pm.

IN SPORT / 29

A sensational summer of sport

So much quality sport, so little time in the summer of 2012