The Journal - Edinburgh Issue 70

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16.11.2012

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PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR 2012 » Scottish Student Journalism Awards • PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR 2012 » NUS Scotland Awards

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EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

ISSUE LXX

WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH 2013

ALL CHANGE AT NUS SCOTLAND

“All of these parties are committed to tackling ‘lad culture’” COMMENT / Kelley Temple on the GUU misogyny scandal and lad culture

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IN COMMENT AND FEATURES / 9-13

• President-elect Gordon Maloney vows to “build a stronger movement” • Robert Foster unopposed in vice-president (education) race • Sinéad Wylie defeats EUSA’s Max Crema for VP (communities) job

IN NEWS /

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• Anatomy of Autonomy: Energy and climate change • Pornography threatened • Students mollycoddled?

IN ARTS / 14-19

Hearts broken at Hampden

Rape scandal rocks socialists

• Snooker: World Champ preview • Football: Players of the season • Dunfermline’s money woes • Hacker: Romance of the cup

• Chaos in radical left over claims IN NEWS / SWP leadership covered up rape • Exclusive: splinter group say “sexist culture” prompted split in party

IN SPORT /

20-23

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• Edinburgh Int’l Festival 2013 • Film: censorship in cinema • Art: Rodin’s ‘Kiss’ in capital • Food: foodies, where art thou?

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

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NATIONAL POLITICS / 3

SPECIAL REPORT: SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CRISIS IN THE RADICAL LEFT Microwave Chef

Revolution on the rocks: rape scandal splits SWP Party leadership accused of whitewashing rape allegations Rachel Barr Local News editor

Britain’s largest far-left politi-

cal party remains engulfed in turmoil this week, after an emergency conference intended to quell a rebellion over claims that its leadership covered up charges of rape and sexual harassment against senior members.

The Socialist Workers Party, which claims over 7,000 members, called an emergency ‘special conference’ on Sunday 10 March, to address a scandal which has split the party faithful and prompted over 100 resignations in protest.

Speaking exclusively to The Journal, a former SWP national committee member has today revealed that the resignations of almost 40 members in early 2011 which resulted in the founding of dissident ‘International Socialist Group Scotland’ (ISG) - was directly linked to the sexual misconduct crisis (see next story).

ISG organisers had previously said only that the schism was related to the SWP’s complex and increasingly bitter internal factional politics.

The SWP platform published on the party’s website includes a pledge “to campaign for real social, political and economic equality for woman [sic].” But their commitment to women’s liberation

has been called into question following outrage over their handling of a string of damning allegations against two prominent SWP activists.

The scandal dates back to 2010, when a young female member, identified only as ‘W’, lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against a senior party member dubbed ‘Comrade Delta’. That complaint was subsequently expanded to include an allegation of rape.

A ‘disputes committee’ was convened by the party’s central committee to investigate the allegations, but ‘W’ has since criticised their questioning as leading and irrelevant, saying she was traumatised by the experience and made to feel like “a slut who asked for it.”

The committee unanimously concluded that it did not believe ‘W’ had been raped by Delta. But critics claimed the panel was a “kangaroo court” comprising friends and colleagues of the accused.

Further rape allegations from multiple women were subsequently levelled against another member of the SWP leadership. Several of these women have claimed they were also subject to inappropriate questioning by the investigating panel, including being asked whether they had been drinking and whether they “were ‘sure’ that they’d said no.”

SWP sources told The Journal that one

woman’s party branch was contacted by the committee asking whether an apology from the member accused of raping her “would do”.

None of the allegations were turned over to the police. SWP transcripts leaked from the 2010 conference which discussed the decisions of the disputes committee justified the insular nature of proceedings because of a deep rooted distrust in the “bourgeois” police.

‘Candy U’, who sat on the committee, reportedly said: “We’re not a law court.

We are here to protect the interests of the party, and to make sure that any inappropriate behaviour of any kind by comrades is dealt with, and we do that according to the politics of a revolutionary party...

“The disputes committee doesn’t exist to police moral, er, bourgeois morality.”

Both men were acquitted of all charges by internal panels. Delta voluntarily resigned “to a standing ovation” from supporters, while the second man was handed a temporary suspension for the party for minor offences unrelated to the sexual assault allegations.

The scandal has threatened to tear the party apart, with a furious conflict continuing to rage on socialist websites and blogs. A 500-strong opposition bloc, the “In Defence of our Party” faction, launched a bid to reform the party from

within, prompting the leadership to call this month’s special conference.

The national committee claims that the faction has now been dissolved and the majority of the over 1,000 attendees at this month’s conference in London expressed “overwhelming” support for the motions passed.

However, this has been damned as a “bureaucratic victory” by its opponents and the war of words has continued apace. Over 100 members resigned en masse after the conference, publishing an open letter in which they state: “We are not prepared to accept or abide by the decisions of the special conference.

The conference is a bureaucratic victory which will only lead to the demise of the SWP.” They add that the party’s reputation “is irreparably damaged as a result of the handling of these complaints... and the leadership’s determination to protect one member rather than to develop a clear perspective on rape.” The letter continues to gather new signatures.

Some of the women involved have since spoken out publicly against the party. One told The Guardian she was too afraid to go to the police, saying: “They said, if you go around calling him a rapist, you’ll be in trouble... They’re not the kind of people to get on the wrong side of.”

The transcripts report that another woman was shunned by her local branch for coming forward during the internal grievance proceedings. In the hearings, a panel member said: “Shortly after the hearing Candy referred to, a second woman came forward with an allegation of sexual harassment, and she will speak herself in this session.

“I think it’s important to say that she’s been moved from her party job following giving that evidence, and that she’s been told her presence at the centre would disrupt the harmony of the office. I think this constitutes punishing her for making a complaint of sexual harassment.”

An SWP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment as The Journal went to press.

Socialist splinter: we quit over sexist culture International Socialist Group founder reveals in Journal interview that allegations prompted them to leave SWP EXCLUSIVE Rachel Barr

A former member of the SWP’s

national committee has today revealed that his public resignation alongside dozens of other Scots activists from the party was directly connected to the ongoing sexual misconduct scandal and the party’s “sexist culture”, joining the mounting attacks on the party’s culture of secrecy and factionalism in the radical left.

In early 2011, 39 Scottish members of the SWP resigned from the party to form the dissident International Socialist Group Scotland (ISG). In a public letter of resignation, the group attacked the party’s approach to combating the coalition government’s cuts programme, and condemned the rival factions inside the SWP which forced the resignation of Right to Work campaign leader Chris Bambery, saying that the ouster “means we can no longer trust a section of the Central Committee.”

But James Foley, a prominent figure in the dissident International Socialist Group Scotland, has now told The Journal that the decision to split from the SWP was also motivated by “the cultlike way that they handled the claims of sexual harassment”.

Foley confirmed that the group knew of some of the allegations against Comrade Delta, saying: “When we left,

we were aware of a case of sexual harassment against Comrade Delta by W”.

However, the group were unaware of the extent of these allegations. Foley said that the allegations of rape only emerged after members’ exit, saying: “I genuinely believed that this was a case of aggressive text messaging and harassment. That was all that anyone knew at the time.”

Although the scandal exploded into the mainstream political conversation following widespread national media coverage in January, the issue of sexual misconduct has dogged the party’s internal discourse for years, with the initial harassment allegations against Delta discussed at length during the party’s 2011 conference.

Foley, who was elected to the party’s national committee during that session, described the account of the allegations given to the membership during conference as unclear and euphemistic.

He claimed that this lack of information, and W’s desire that the issue not be taken further, are why the matter was not taken to the police or press until now.

Calling the alleged offences “inexcusable and vile”, Foley said he was unsurprised by the party’s handling of the affair in light of their “cult-like secrecy.” He told The Journal that the party structure means “members can’t openly have their own ideas. All opinions must go through the paper [The Socialist Worker], an artifact from the ‘50s.

They’re completely behind the times, especially in terms of gender equality.”

He claimed is likely to prove “terminal” for the party, saying: “I support all those opposing from within the party and wish them all the best. However, it is my belief that ‘SWP’ is now a toxic name and many groups on the left have joined the widespread boycott against working with the party.

“For the opposition [faction] to win they would have to remove the toxic elements, the secrecy, the lack of concern for other socialist groups and, by then, there’s no SWP left... In the long run, the bureaucratic force of the central committee will force everyone decent out.”

The group has since released a public statement expressing their ‘disgust and dismay’ on the way that the SWP investigated the rape case against Comrade Delta.

An SWP spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment as The Journal went to press, but speaking before this month’s special conference, national secretary Charlie Kimber told The Guardian: “The woman concerned brought serious accusations to our attention, we investigated, found against the accused and took prompt action.

Those are the facts of this case.” He did not provide further information, citing confidentiality concerns.

In a move to further distance themselves from the founders’ former party, the ISG have made combating sexism

robotswanking

a cause celebre, passing policy during their inaugural meeting explicitly stating that they are “a feminist organisation”.

ISG member Alice Bowman told The Journal that the group has “really tried to distinguish itself from the allegations made in the SWP through its women’s

liberation work.”

Though not previously a member of the SWP, Bowman said the party’s handling of the allegations was “appalling”, adding: “I can’t see how you can have an anti-capitalist organisation without it also being a feminist one.”

4 / ACADEMIC NEWS

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

University opens ‘Office of Student Festival to the Americas’ in São Paulo boost global links Edinburgh University looks to forge new links with South America

Jasmine Xie

This month the University of EdinFernando Stankuns

Katherine Wei

The University of Edinburgh has opened an Office of the Americas based in São Paulo, Brazil.

Following the successful establishment of the Office of China and the Office of India, the university announced its newly opened Office of the Americas on 11 March.

The office aims to strengthen and improve the collaboration between the Edinburgh university, education, businesses and government partnerships across the whole of Latin America.

Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, vicechancellor and principal of the University of Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh researchers are already working closely with partners across Latin America, helping address global issues such as climate change, health and economic problems. The Office of the Americas will help to extend this important work”.

“The establishment of the new Office is seen as an opportunity to bring the best students and academics from the region to Edinburgh to work with the university,” said Dr. Antonio Loris, a Brazilian lecturer in environment and society at the University of Edinburgh.

In order to encourage more Latin

University enourages students to get a Brazillian...degree American students to study at the unichallenges and future governance, and versity, 12 additional scholarships worth relations with neighbouring coun£5,000 each have been created for tries. These will be held in São Paulo, the most talented students from Latin Brazil, Santiago Chile and Mexico City America. respectively.

By 2016, the university set a target A second Latin America forum will to welcome 10,000 Brazilian students be held next month at the University to the UK through its Science without of Edinburgh Business School. Key Borders collaboration with the Brazilian business leaders will gather together government. and talk about the rapid changes in The university has also welcomed social, economy and education of Latin some of the first ‘Science without America in recent years.

Borders’ scholars to the UK. Additionally, the university is also Following the opening of the office, establishing the Centre for Contempothere will be a series of conferences rary Latin America Studies to publicise on themes targeting issues including the range of academic activities related natural resource management, medical to the region.

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burgh’s Student Festival will be engaging in its first partnership with the Global Horizons Festival.

A myriad of events are planned that celebrate the ‘student experience’ at the University of Edinburgh. Performances, talks and even a game of dodgeball are on the agenda, as numerous societies advocate their cause. International events such as the Latin American Dance Festival, St Patrick’s Day Celebrations and the Korean Culture Fair are also to be held in EUSA venues during the festival.

Sung Hyun Lee, Director of the Korean Culture Fair for the University of Edinburgh Korean Society, told The Journal that the Student Festival is a “great opportunity to promote your own country and background because the University of Edinburgh is becoming more culturally diverse and therefore students would benefit from an international academic atmosphere.”

Co-operation between the International Office, Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), academic staff and support teams has helped to organise the annual Global Horizons festival, as an effort to emphasize the importance of global and cultural diversity.

While the Student and Global Hori-

zons Festival have maintained independent statuses in past occasions, 2013 has brought along new terms of partnership. Both festivities are now championed under the common goal of promoting student participation within university life within a uniquely international context.

The inclusion of events such as a film viewing during Islamic Awareness Week by the University of Edinburgh Film Society and the Alwaleed Centre for the study of Islam in the Contemporary World places an emphasis on raising international awareness.

Emphasising the opportunities for students at the Student Festival, Valeria Skafida, Stelios Psycharakis and Claire Kydonaki — instructors at the University of Edinburgh Greek Dance Group — told The Journal: “The different dances…of Greece reflect the country’s long history and varied cultural influences. Dancing is one of the best ways to share Greek culture with the student community and is always a popular activity!”

A Societies Oscar applauding the achievements and contributions of societies in the University of Edinburgh is further scheduled on the 23 March as a conclusion to the three-week festival.

Detailed programme schedules can be found on the EUSA website at www. eusa.ed.ac.uk.

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

Murdoch new EUSA president Hugh Murdoch elected as president of EUSA despite a better night for rival contingent Defend Edinburgh John Hewitt Jones, Callum Leslie

Hugh Murdoch has been elected president of Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), beating Liam O’Hare by 82 votes, with Mike Shaw coming in third.

Briana Pegado and Sian Robertson made up the rest of the field. Murdoch was running for a second time, having narrowly lost out to James McAsh last year. Commenting on his victory, Murdoch said: “I am so, so excited. This was the toughest campaign that I’ve ever fought in...I’m glad it’s over...I’m going to spend May getting ready by going out and talking to students.”

O’Hare and Murdoch’s teams had clashed during the campaign as O’Hare was repeatedly accused of overspending on his election publicity.

Mike Shaw will have an opportunity to run next year due to not being in his final year, and Briana Pegado was quick to state on the night her intention to run again next year.

The race for vice-president (societies and activities) was decided by the

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk closest margin in over ten years, with Nadia Mehdi defeating Sophie Tolley by just 16 votes. Speaking to The Journal, Mehdi said: “Thank you to all the other candidates who ran. I’m looking forward to taking up the position of VPSA and making sure that liberation groups have more of a voice in EUSA.” Kirsty Haigh was elected vice-president (services) by 393 votes over Jacob Bloomfield, with Fiona Das and Fraser Graham also some way behind. Speaking to The Journal she stated that she was thrilled to win, but stated: “all the candidates ran great campaigns...thanks to everyone who voted.”

Many EUSA observers noted that the race for the VPS position this year was low-key. Completing the new sabbatical team, Alex Munyard was elected vicepresident (academic affairs).

Despite Murdoch’s victory, his colleagues from the university’s Labour club had a less than successful night. As well as Rackley’s loss, the group’s two EUSA trustee candidates James Beaven and Declan Sheridan, lost out. Their candidates for equal opportunities convener, academic campaign rep and women’s convener were also unsuccessful.

The far-left Defend Edinburgh group, who last year successfully supported the campaigns of James McAsh and Max Crema, saw two out of their four sabbatical candidates elected: Alex Munyard and Nadia Mehdi. Kirsty Haigh is also considered to be politically close to the group.

Defend Edinburgh candidates Aurora Adams and Hona-Luisa Cohen-Fuentes took the two available seats on the trustee board, defeating the two Labour candidates James Beaven and Declan Sheridan.

Marcus Kernohan

STUDENT POLITICS / 5

NSA elections live More presidential candidates than ever before Greg Bianchi News editor

From EUSA to Hugh-SA

ANALYSIS /

LABOUR DON’T HAVE IT ALL THEIR OWN WAY Hugh Murdoch achieved

something he has been working towards for almost two years by becoming EUSA president, but despite the celebrations of his team it was not a great night for the Labour Students.

Defend Edinburgh took both of the available seats on the trustee board and seats on all three councils as well as their two sabbatical wins, and crucially now hold six out of twelve seats on the trustee board.

Many had predicted the group’s demise and rumours were rife of dissent and factionalism, but these wins could unite the group’s

The Napier Students’ Association (NSA) elections are to take place in a week-long voting window this week.

There are numerous candidates contesting all positions after an uncontested election campaign was run by out-going president Tom Zanelli last year.

Mr Zanelli, who has served the maximum of two terms, is stepping down this year. Fellow sabbatical officers Liseli Sitali and Daniel Parker are also stepping aside.

There are six contenders in the presidential race; Sean Cavanagh, Ivan Dodig, Bryan Laird, David Robinson, Daniel Smith and Aaron Walker.

The manifestos of the candidates are available online and all promise to campaign on a wide variety of concerns from safety around the campus, to improving social life at the university after the recent opening of the Napier students’ union at Cowgate in Edinburgh.

There is a three-horse race in the campaigns for both the Vice President Sports and Societies (VPSS) and Vice President Reps and Volunteers (VPRV). The race to become VPSS hosts the sole female candidate Robyn Love alongside Dimitris Kok-

kinakis and Eddie Naper.

The race to be VPRV is being contested by Alberto de Arriba Prieto, Graham Leydon and Robert Malcolm.

Speaking to The Journal presidential hopeful Daniel Smith said: “Throughout my life so far I have always tried to make the most of opportunities that face me.” Mr Smith also stated that he hopes to help students find more practical work and organise free bus travel to campuses. Mr Smith has also made a wide use of social media in his campaign.

The Journal also spoke to VPRV candidate Graham Leydon who said: “I want students to be able to enjoy their academic experience as being there for them is what matters.” Mr Leydon said he hopes to campaign for stronger staff-student relations and the abolition of paper hand-ins to help save money on printing costs.

Speaking to The Journal current VPRV Liseli Sitali said: “We (current NSA Executive) are delighted to have the most keenly contested election we have ever had with a record number of six students running for NSA President and three students running for our two Vice Presidency posts. We anticipate that this week’s elections will be very lively and will help raise NSA’s profile which we think is a real positive.”

1 0 % STUD

EN DISCOU T NT on all labou r

6 / STUDENT POLITICS

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

2013 NATIONAL UNION OF STUDENTS SCOTLAND ELECTIONS

Maloney wins presidency ‘Fairly left-wing’ Aberdeen University Students’ Association welfare president will succeed incumbent Robin Parker as president of NUS Scotland from 1 July

Megan Dunn

Gareth Llewellyn Deputy managing editor, Glasgow

Gordon Maloney has been elected president of NUS Scotland for 2013/14 at the union’s conference in Dundee.

The 22-year-old Aberdeen University Students’ Association welfare and equal opportunities president polled 74 votes ahead of University of the West of Scotland student Jamie Kinlochan, 61 and one vote to Re-open nominations.

There were 136 valid votes, with a winning quota of 68 as over 176 delegates from colleges and universities came together to elect national officers and set the union’s national policy.

Maloney, who was also educated at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on Skye, said: “It’s been a great honour to have been elected NUS Scotland president. I’ve been incredibly inspired by the students and union officers that I’ve campaigned with over the past few years, and can’t wait to get to work this summer on changing students’ lives.

“I’m proud of how positive this election was, focusing not on whether to prioritise issues that affect just college students, or just university students, but how to improve the lives of both.

“Our movement faces another challenging year fighting against college cuts and for fairer access to universities for those from deprived backgrounds.

I’ve no doubt, however, that we can continue build on the many wins we’ve achieved in recent years and build an even stronger student movement.”

Maloney will succeed fellow University of Aberdeen graduate Robin Parker who is stepping down after two years in post.

Parker said: “Gordon is one of the most enthusiastic, principled and dedicated student campaigners I’ve had the privilege to work with. Over the past few years, he has campaigned tirelessly to improve college and university students’ lives at a local and national level, and will no doubt continue to do so in the coming academic year.”

Maloney, who was favourite to win election, was endorsed by Parker and current vice-president (education)

New President promises not to be full of old Maloney Graeme Kirkpatrick.

Glasgow Caledonian University student and current Scottish Executive Committee education campaign convener, Robert Foster, was elected vice-president (education) with 123 votes in another uncontested election for the position, with just seven votes to Re-open nominations.

Sinéad Wylie, current vice-president wellbeing at Glasgow Caledonian University Students’ Association, was elected vice-president (communities) in the second round with 67 votes to Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) vice-president Max Crema with 59.

Kat Bateson and Re-open nominations were eliminated in the first round.

Later on Sunday, NUS Scotland elected the additional six members of its Scottish Executive Committe for 2013/14.

Edinburgh College Students’ Association’s (ECSA) Kelly Parry was reelected to serve as priority campaign convener with Xander McDade of Perth College UHISA causing the

upset of the day to defeat Aberdeen University’s Megan Dunn 62-61 in the second round to also be elected to the priority campaign.

Herior-Watt’s Conor MurrayGauld defeated EUSA president-elect Hugh Murdoch and University of the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association’s (UHISA) Lydia Crow to be elected as education campaign convener along with ECSA’s James Moohan who was uncontested for the FE place.

Langside College’s Vonnie Sandlan defeated ECSA’s John Martin and Cumbernauld College’s David Cooke to take the FE place as community campaign convener along with University of Strathclyde student Gary Paterson. who defeated UHISA’s Euphemia Matheson 65 to 45.

In the final elections of the day for the Scottish Procedures Committee, the ever-popular former EUSA vicepresident Tim Cobbett was joined by current Heriot-Watt Students’ Association president Mike Ross, ECSA’s Jim Hein and Glasgow Caledonian University’s Liam McCabe.

PROFILE // GORDON MALONEY The Gaelic-speaking Linguistics graduate is a known National

Campaign Againast Fees and Cuts activist and describes himself as ‘fairly left-wing’.

He boasts an impressive record in succeeding as an experienced campaigner through roles at Aberdeen University Students’ Association (AUSA) and NUS Scotland and will be at the forefront of a more active student movement over the next 15 months.

Some of his achievements in office include a guarantee from the Scottish government not to legalise premium fees, an end to plans to introduce HMO quotas in Aberdeen, votes at 16 in the referendum, anonymous marking at Aberdeen, a city-wide commitment from Aberdeen nightclubs on zero tolerance, creating more ethical university at Aberdeen, and divesting almost half a million pounds from arms com-

ANALYSIS: WHERE NEXT FOR THE SCOTTISH STUDENT MOVEMENT? With education in Scotland at various stages of transformation in an era blighted by economic problems, Gordon Maloney will lead NUS Scotland at arguably one of the most difficult, but exciting, times with the build up to 2014’s independence referendum likely to be at the forefront of many debates in the next 15 months – an issue on which he believes NUS Scotland should not take a stance, but maintain a position to shape the debate.

The leadership of the largest student movement in Scotland under Robin Parker has seen a number of highly successful cam-

paigns, with wins on guaranteed minimum income and reduction of college funding cuts just some of the victories students have won in the last two years, but the organisation has continued to have an over-reliance on politically-active students, predominantly affiliated to left-wing political parties, each pushing their own agenda and ideology and, the reality is, it will not be much different for the foreseeable future.

The president-elect is a NCAFC activist and will continue to lead the fight against the introduction of tuition fees in Scotland as well as

potential funding cuts in the next budget, but also appears to want to remind politicians and students of the wider societal role students play.

Indeed, his manifesto talked up action on the social value of education and about students as ordinary people, like the millions of parttime workers; prioritising funding for further education and improving the reputation of higher education courses within further education colleges and ensuring that payments are made on time after shambolic administration by the Student Awards Agency for Scot-

land (SAAS) in recent years.

The biggest change expected of the student movement over the next 15 months will be to see a more visible, more active movement.

Maloney’s vision is that NUS Scotland should not be just an Edinburgh-based office with a troop of keyboard warriors email-bombing campaigns to MSPs, despite their part in recent successes and, ably backed by a Scottish Executive Committee of proven campaigners, will be the leader to take the student fight back to the streets of Scotland and the doorsteps of politicians to seek results for students.

LOCAL NEWS Question of same-sex marriage teaches raises Section 28 concerns CONCERNS ABOUT THE possible reintroduction of Section 28-style school legislation have been raised by gay rights campaigners amid the wider debate on how same-sex marriage will be taught in Scottish schools.

Section 28 was a controversial 1988 legislation which prevented local authorities to “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” The legislation was repealed in 2000.

Norman Wells, the director of Family Education Trust, told The Journal: “Tens of thousands of parents would be deeply concerned about the prospect of their children being taught that two fundamentally different types of relationship are equivalent to each other.”

However, Tom French, Policy Coordinator for the Equality Network, said: “This [Section 28 style discrimination] would roll back equality and have a damaging effect on young people and the wider education system. We firmly believe that school should be a welcoming environment for all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation or family situation.”

Warning issued over ‘bagpipe fungus’ threat A STARTLING HYGIENE warning has been issued by bagpipe organisations following one man’s encounter with a growth of potentially fatal fungal spores which were growing inside his bagpipe.

John Shone, a leader in the art of classical piping, fell ill in September of last year. His condition deteriorated following a failed course of antibiotics.

Shone said: “I was extremely tired and slowly fading away.

My consultant told me it was life-threatening.”

It was not until the consultant asked Shone about his hobbies and the bagpipes were examined that a family of fungal spores was found growing and reprducing inside. Shone was given the appropriate mediation and he recovered.

Robert Wallace, Principal of the Glasgow-based College of Piping, responded to the incident, stating: “It’s very important that all pipers make sure they sterilise their pipe bag regularly. With the advent of synthetic bags, this maintenance is even more essential.”

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

STUDENT NEWS / 7

Warnings issued over spate Students go nuts of laptop thefts at uni library over new food shop Heightened security at the University of Edinburgh following multiple incidents of students’ laptops being stolen from library Greg Bianchi News editor

Students at the University of Edinburgh are being warned to ensure their personal belongings are safe at all times after a number of incidents at the university in the past few weeks where students have had laptops stolen.

As The Journal went to press the perpetrator or perpetrators were still at large but security staff claim to have worked with police and identified a possible suspect. In the meantime students are being advised to ensure they don’t leave their valuables unattended for extended periods of time.

Speaking to The Journal one victim, fourth year Adam Brady, said that while he didn’t want to get anyone in trouble he didn’t feel that “the general situation was handled particilarly well”. Mr Brady explained that he had left his laptop unattended for twenty minutes only to return and find it had been stolen. While Mr Brady said he understood that it was his responsibility that the laptop was unattended and as a result stolen he has suggested that there were some failings in security which meant that CCTV wasn’t available to identify a suspect. In

addition to this Mr Brady shared a great deal of personal information in order to try and get a witness to come forward.

While Mr Brady praised the sympathy shown to him by the majority of staff at the library he also criticised one member of staff for being rude.

In response The Journal spoke to current head of security at the university Tom Speirs who moved to reassure students that the university “takes all incidents very seriously”. As a result the security staff have pledged to work with police to identify potential suspects and bring an end to the sequence of thefts around the library.

Mr Speirs emphasised the need for staff to be trained to a higher level in order to address students’ concerns in a professional manner while also increasing staff awareness about the potential for thefts to take place. In addition to this the security staff have pledged to advertise the potential for thieves to operate in the library and students are being encouraged to remain vigilant.

In addition to this staff at the university are looking into updating the existing CCTV system which has been partially blamed for the inability of thieves to be properly monitored and eventually

caught.

The Journal also spoke to Barry Croucher who is head of the information services at the university pledged to work closely with the security staff in order to deal with the problems of thefts in the library while also ensuring that all staff are sympathetic and obtain more training regarding how to help students who may have been the victim of a crime in the library.

Speaking to Mr Croucher it was revealed that in the period of January to Feburary 2013 there were five reported incidents of theft at the library.

As a result of the thefts security staff have stepped up their presence however several more laptops have gone missing over recent days.

If students are concerned or know anything about the thefts they are encouraged to contact the university security service or the police. Equally students are encouraged to remain vigilant and not leave themselves open to the potential for a theft to take place.

The university security services can be contacted from any university telephone on 2222 or alternatively on 0131 650 2257.

Study: Students not properly prepared for university life Hannah Dowe Standring Student News editor

A study by Wellington College, Berk-

shire, has revealed concerns that students are underprepared for the experience of university.

A study into the views of 104 school head teachers from across the country and from both state and private sector revealed that 68 per cent do not consider schools to be appropriately preparing teenagers for the pressures of the university lifestyle — in particular living away from home and the perceived culture of excessive drinking.

88 per cent of respondents believed that universities tended to ‘turn a blind eye’ to excessive drinking, and are thus implicit in its institutionalisation on campuses.

In lieu of this, Anthony Seldon, master

of the Wellington College in Berkshire, who conducted the survey stated in an article for The Independent: “A number of steps should urgently be taken. Undergraduates should have an effective personal tutor, above all in their first year,” and went on to suggest that universities should introduce well-being or happiness classes.

Citing the statistics that suicide rates among students have increased 170 per cent between 1985 and 2005 and 50 per cent in the last five years alone, Dr Seldon called for universities to step up and take greater responsibility for students’ mental wellbeing, arguing that: “It is no longer acceptable in the 21st century for universities or schools to hold up their hands and say, ‘We do exams only: get the rest elsewhere!’”

Suggesting that in times where universities are in need of maintaining inter-

‘Hearty Squirrel’ co-op open premises at Potterrow following lengthy campaign

est among potential applicants, the temptation for universities to allow cheap booze and wild living in order to keep up application figures is great, Dr Seldon suggested that this kind of philosophy: “reminds me of the wrong kind of schoolteacher who thinks they will become popular by being lax.”

Others though, have questioned this call for greater protection of students as overindulgent. Writing in The Independent, the sociologist and author Frank Furedi criticised Dr Seldon’s report, pointing out that the belief that young people are adults and can fend for themselves is not so fantastical.

Furedi said that the calls for more pervasive pastoral care represents another step in the advance of the project to extend childhood which has been most notable since the 1990s in the re-definition of an undergraduate as a ‘toddler’.

Alice Fitzsimons

The University of Edinburgh’s

student-run food co-operative, the Hearty Squirrels, have officially opened their new on-campus shop.

The co-operative has been running in various forms for several years, purveying fair trade and organic dried foods to the student body, along with their weekly VegBag stalls which provide a collection of Scottish-grown vegetables, eggs and bread.

The food stall had previously been running from a temporary spot in Potterrow, and the fight for a permanent shop space has been a long one.

However, with the help of current vice-president of services, Max Crema, the Hearty Squirrels have now managed to secure the spot beneath George Square Lecture Theatre.

As a co-operative, the Hearty Squirrels is run entirely by a group of students, who collectively manage the shop, organise regular food workshops (past themes include bread baking, raw food and curry and spices) and events around the themes of food security and sustainability. Volunteers

take part in many ways, from working in the shop to planning events, to producing artwork and writing posters, to cooking soups for the weekly ‘fair trade’ cafe in the Chaplaincy on Mondays.

Speaking to The Journal, cooperative member and volunteer Bryony Budd highlighted the significance of the co-op gaining a permanent home: “It is a very exciting aspect of the campus that has now been recognised.”

Regular customer Lucy Eskell added: “We’ll always know where to find you, its a great step forward for the recognition of co-ops on campus!”

The Hearty Squirrels hope to develop their space into a friendly hub, with a small reference library, zine shop and the regular supply of grains, beans, nuts and dried fruits to satisfy hungry library appetites. The Squirrels hope to remain open throughout the revision and exam periods.

The shop will be open on Mondays (10am-3pm) and Thursdays (11am4pm) and Friday mornings, with the potential to extend to other weekdays in the future.

Greyfriars Gifts Up to 20% Student Discount 7 Forrest Road, Edinburgh EH1 2QH, 0131 629 0767

8 / EDITORIAL

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

EDINBURGH’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER The SWP rape scandal

Behind the barricades, a sad betrayal of principle The ongoing saga of the Socialist Workers Party’s apparent whitewashing of a series of allegations of rape and sexual harassment against senior members is a particularly sordid tale, even by the standards of sleazy British politics. The allegations levelled against ‘Comrade Delta’ are incredibly serious, and warrant a full investigation by both the party and the police — not simply an internal ‘disputes committee’ whose impartiality is in serious doubt and whose treatment of the issue appears to resemble a kangaroo court.

The facts of the case are still only intermittently clear. We know, for example, that the fiasco dates back to 2010, and the initial allegation of sexual harassment against Comrade Delta by a young party member, ‘W’, which was later expanded to also allege rape. And

we know that several other women later lodged complaints of sexual harassment and rape against another senior SWP figure known as ‘X’. Yet there appears to have been relatively little substantive action; only a dubious investigation which concluded that nothing untoward took place. There has been no acknowledgement that a string of serious complaints against high-ranking figures in the party implies a culture of misogyny which desperately needs redress.

Almost as reprehensible as their alleged connivance to protect sexual predators within the top echelons of their organisation and their abject failure to properly investigate and address those accusations is the shameless manner in which the SWP’s central committee have attempted to redirect the entire conversation, and make the salient issue the

factional divides within the party. The inane squabbling of factions on the left should take a back seat to even the most mundane political issues — let alone the question of severe sexual misconduct by party leaders.

The miserable mishandling by the party of this entire scandal represents a failure on two fronts: first, and foremost, it suggests an abdication by the party of the commitment to liberation groups which is meant to be a fundamental priority of left-wing politics. The protection and advancement of traditionally marginalised or oppressed groups in society is a basic tenet of socialism, and the prevention and punishment of sexual violence against women and the dismantling of institutionalised or culturally entrenched sexism should be in the very first rank of liberation priorities. If the SWP truly

NUS Scotland

A new start, with the same old clique Recent students’ association

elections have demonstrated a fundamental problem with the student movement in Scotland: that cliques and factions can prove uninviting and impede previously-considered apolitical students from getting their voices heard.

The elections at last week’s NUS Scotland conference in Dundee also showed that long-existing problems are still prevalent in the student movement at a national level with the top positions within the organisation failing to attract much interest with the majority of candidates being students who already occupied positions within NUS Scotland or their students’ associations.

As has been pointed out by some delegates prior to the conference, the presidential race again saw just two candidates, neither of whom were women, or self-defined as BME, while was particularly vocal about the backgrounds of pre-

vious leaders.

Again, the important position of vicepresident (education) was uncontested, with the only candidate a familiar face in the student movement and strong ties – the reality being only another candidate with a similar profile could hope to have a chance of election.

Just 136 students voted on the leadership of the union for the next 15 months and, while it might indicate that more colleges and universities are sending more delegates to shape the Scottish student movement, it is still not absolutely representative and omits potentially hundreds of students from participating because of external factors which could prevent them from standing to become a delegate at their college or university, not least the complex methodology for determining delegate quota for each institution.

NUS Scotland is widely recognised as an influential campaigning organisation

Equality in action at the Socialist Workers Party...

in this country, particularly through its work under the leadership of Liam Burns and Robin Parker, but it has a long way to go to truly represent all students, to be a union of which any student, irrespective of background can really be a part of as an equal.

As the union considers how best to implement the latest policy motions passed last weekend, its primary concern should be with breaking down the barriers to inclusivity and levelling the playing field for those students disadvantaged by not having been part of the movement for years or being particularly active in their students’ associations.

Widening access to higher education, including postgraduate studies, is just one priority area NUS Scotland is campaigning heavily on at the moment but, next academic year more than any other, it should mandate to widen access to its own organisation.

by Jen Owen

have sought to sweep this issue under the carpet, then they have betrayed their own principles in the most shameful manner.

But in a broader sense, the Comrade Delta debacle, and the infighting which has accompanied it, offers in one depressing package an illustration of why the radical left in Britain is a functional political irrelevance, and has been for years.

The British left has always shown a tendency towards factionalism, and that inclination has proved enormously damaging time and time again. Not only is the navel-gazing an unnecessary distraction and a farcical waste of energy and intellect, it also does a grand disservice to the millions of Britons who so earnestly want and deserve a credible left. When is the revolution going to stop eating its own young, and focus on making a credible political case?

// REACTIONS Former VP: EUSA sabbs not “trusted, empowered or facilitated”

I admire Philippa Faulkner for

coming out on this issue.

One thing I have noticed from past interactions with EUSA is that it appears to suffer from Whitehall syndrome. Unelected civil servants can balk on any proposed reform no matter how enthusiastic the sabbaticals were.

When I would come to meet a certain former president with a proposal, I felt more compelled to direct my lobbying to the EUSA staff during the meeting and appease their interest than concern myself with what the president thought on the matter (no doubt a nice person that genuinely shared my view). EUSA staff exercised a veto over any reasonable change and believed they knew what was best for the organisation. It was like an ordinary episode of Yes Minister.

Given how opaque EUSA’s power structure is, I could only glean so much from my experience with it. Several rules were clearly in place though.

The SRC (antecedent of the student council) was feckless and comically irrelevant, passing unhappily drafted resolutions right and left to no effect.

If there were a structure of power it looked something like this: a balance of power between the board of trustees and the EUSA civil service. All the major battles over reform ran along this relationship alone.

In my time, the staffers had the upper hand, although I would not discount the possibility this relationship undergoes an annual flux, depending on the strength of incoming executive leadership. Anyone attempting to influence EUSA should keep this in mind when dealing with the organisation.

- Ralph Snyder, via web. .

Please direct all letters, complaints, threats and general rants for publication to letters@journal-online.co.uk.

Letters may be edited prior to publication. To contact a specific member of staff, email firstname.lastname@ journal-online.co.uk.

PUBLISHER Devon Walshe EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Marcus Kernohan EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sean Gibson DEPUTY EDITOR Jamie Timson MANAGING EDITOR Jen Owen MANAGING EDITOR (DIGITAL) David Selby DEPUTY EDITOR (NEWS) Greg Bianchi NATIONAL POLITICS Daniel do Rosario LOCAL NEWS Callum Leslie STUDENT POLITICS Rachel Barr STUDENT NEWS Hannah Dowe Standring ACADEMIC NEWS Kirsten Waller COMMENT Jon Vrushi FEATURES Lydia Willgress DEPUTY EDITOR (ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT) Laurie Goodman BOOKS John Hewitt Jones MUSIC Rebecca O’Malley FILM Nathanael Smith ART & DESIGN Gillian Achurch FOOD & DRINK Ben Kendall FASHION Oliver Giles DEPUTY EDITOR (SPORT) Ruth Jeffery PICTURE EDITOR Christopher Rubey DEPUTY PICTURE EDITORS Malgosia Stelmaszyk Ella Bavalia Stanley Liew Allan MacDonald LAYOUT DIRECTOR Alina Mika SUBEDITORS Jonathan Langley SALES Arran Walshe Charles Beare

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

COMMENT// 9

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

DISCUSSION&DEBATE

COMMENT

Fight the campus devaluation of women NUS women’s officer Kelley Temple discusses the deficiencies and discrepancies in women’s partiipation in university life Kelley Temple Women’s officer, NUS I got involved in student politics

because I was sick of women’s contributions being devalued at my students’ association. I was bored of seeing women being under-estimated in wider politics and tired of the way women’s liberation is sidelined.

While working as women’s officer I’ve learnt a lot about the problems female students face while at university.

Research completed by the National Union of Students (NUS) has shown that one in seven female students have been a victim of serious physical or sexual harassment while at university.

Female students are also more likely to be working for lower wages than men, and student carers (who are predominately women) are more likely to have considered dropping out of university due to time and financial pressures.

Research by NUS sheds further light

on the issues affecting women at university. ‘That’s what she said: Women students’ experiences of lad culture in higher education’, a report published on International Women’s Day by the NUS, reveals that 50 per cent of study participants identified ‘prevailing sexism, ‘laddism’ and a culture of harassment’ at their university.

The report has also gathered opinions and statistics from The Everyday Sexism Project and Equalities Challenge Unit, as well as gaining support from Universities UK and British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS).

All of these parties are committed to a summit which will aim to tackle ‘lad culture.’ NUS is calling on Jo Swinson to convene the summit as Women and Equalities Minister. I hope she will answer it.

Even in the student movement women are woefully under-represented. Women currently make up almost 57 per cent of the UK higher education student population, but just 18 per cent of student union presidents are women. It’s depressing.

But although these figures do not

‘Women currently make up 57 per cent of the UK student population, but just 18 per cent of student union presidents are women.’ make for a pretty picture, there are plenty of students making change happen. Susana Antubam, from the Royal Holloway Students’ Union, was named Inspirational Woman Student of the Year by the NUS Women’s Campaign.

Susuana is a full-time student and President of the Royal Holloway Feminist Society. She founded the London Student Feminist Network and played a major role in organising the Student Feminist Conference; an exciting conference bringing together women with

a vision to learn about different issues and create an important informal space for female students to come together and develop their own campaigning capacity.

The University of Edinburgh Feminist Society, who have worked against anti-choice groups and affiliated Edinburgh University Students’ Association to Abortion Rights, have done some amazing work discussing the effects of lad culture on their campus.

I think it’s really important that we recognise that great women like Susana

are on campuses making a real difference for female students. Not only is it vital that as women, we realise that we have the power to shape our education, but also that we can challenge the sexism and prejudice which women have to navigate in pursuit of an education and wider student life. By working together and supporting each other we can challenge this ‘lad culture’ and make our universities a better place for women.this National Convention would look beyond an agenda of constitutional change.

Lads, do not go gentle into that good night... LASH LASH LASH For their penultimate column, Edinburgh Anonymous rather lazily hands over to Oliver Asquith-Jones, a belligerent student who barged into the newsroom drunk last Friday night, for a rare defence of the ‘lad banter’ phenomenon Edinburgh Anonymous This is a call to arms. Men, Women, Children gather yourselves and prepare to defend the last vestige of masculinity. Lad Banter. Is nothing sacred anymore? Can we really trust no one to uphold the banter?

In an age where we have to moisturise, where mutton chops are an absolute no-no and where we are forced to wear sickeningly skimpy Y-neck shirts just to turn a girl’s head, true lads must do everything in their power to reaffirm their identity and preserve a legacy for the next generation.

On entrance into an overcrowded pub during a rugby match, any selfrespecting red-blooded male would dream to hear the chorus of “LAD LAD LAD” as he proceeded to expertly demolish ten pints of bitter before the second half had even started.

I, Oliver Asquith-Jones, am prepared to stand up for that dream and for the rights of a young lad to have a bit of fun.

It’s a truth universally acknowl-

edged, that a single man (such as myself ) in possession of a good fortune (did I mention Daddy’s estate?) must be in want of a bit of banter. What else are we poor lads - with such unfulfilling male role models as we have today - supposed to do?

Banter, of course, is really just harmless. A bit of fun. All this talk about sexism and misogyny, its missing the point. The ladies down at the polo club back home - they’d never hear a bad word said about what we lads get up to.

Indeed, some of them join in.

Cressida’s been known to drink with the best of us and we’ve welcomed her with open arms into the fold well, at least Barney did, if you know what I mean.

And yes, sure, Smithy did have to have the little toe on his left foot reattached last weekend, but I’m sure he’d be the first to join in the post-lash air rifle banter again when we have our next rugby social.

“Hunting the Banterlope” is a bastion of our times and a tradition that we should continue to uphold just maybe get out of the way a bit quicker next time eh Smithy?

The drinking never gets too heavy when we’ve got class the next day,

and we’re always careful as true lads should be, to look after one another.

Even when one of the lads pulls, we always remember to take a picture of the girl in question just in case he doesn’t return the next day. Anything ould happen to him, on his own like that. In this day and age it’s a team building exercise more than

anything. The key to a good team is good banter.

Something that never goes amiss is the travel banter - the absolutely hilarious stunt where we force a youth, barely of drinking age to hop on a train from Edinburgh to Timbuktu because he failed to drink that urine fast enough.

Top class banter when it takes him three weeks to return with a note from the French and Malian forces declaring ‘Banter prime!’

So I come to the point of the motions to curtail our beloved patter and launch my rallying call to our masses with these four words... ‘It’s Just Banter Mate’.

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

The Anatomy of Autonomy PART V: ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE // IN THE PENULTIMATE of our considerations of the independence debate, before tackling the contentious economic and fiscal policy, we will look at energy policy and climate change both as self-contained dimensions of the independence discourse as well as linked to the economic considerations.

Back in the 1970s, the discovery of oil in the North Sea was one of the factors responsible for the reinvigoration of the Nationalist movement. Today, 40 years later, as the independence referendum approaches, the issue of oil and gas ownership has emerged again. Professor Peter Cameron, director

Peter Cameron Director, Centre for Energy Petroleum and Mineral Law & Policy It is forty years ago since the rallying cry was first heard: ‘It’s Scotland’s Oil! What a very different energy world it is today and how odd such a cry would sound now. Amid all of the talk of independence, the global energy landscape has been transformed by the large-scale production of shale gas in North America and in some places at least the introduction of large-scale wind farms, on-land and offshore. None of this has made oil less important but somehow the connection between Scotland and Oil has become less obvious or even interesting to the general public.

Yet ownership of oil still arouses passions in many parts of the world.

It is one of the reasons the Chinese and Japanese have come to blows in the East China Sea and is the source of a myriad of disputes before international courts and tribunals about claims to offshore waters.

Recently, with global warming this has extended to the potential for oil exploration in the waters now accessible as a result of the melting ice cap of the Arctic.

The lack of passion about the issue

of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law & Policy explores the issues around the ownership of oil as well as new avenues for consideration such as the overheating effect that oil revenues could have on an independent Scottish Economy.

Lastly, an assessment of the devolved Scottish Government climate change policy, provides a prognosis of what the environmental commitments of an independent Scotland would be.

Feel free to join the our online debate by visiting the Anatomy of Autonomy page in The Journal website or tweet with the hashtag #indyjournal. in Scotland is explained to some extent by the fact that the oil is a long way offshore, and has few visible on-land effects, if you do not live in Aberdeen that is. It is also attributable to the pessimistic refrain from many sources, some in Westminster, that the oil is in decline and will run out very soon. To date, this has proved wrong. Declining production from a peak some years ago has still not deterred investors from piling in recently, from large to small companies, foreign and British owned.

In the context of the independence debate, one of the issues is how much of the oil and gas in offshore waters would an independent Scotland inherit? If we were to engage in a division of the offshore oil, the available legal materials would now be much greater to hand than a few decades ago. There is now much more customary practice in demarcating offshore waters than there was in those days.

A settlement would probably come about quite quickly as both parties would be keen to ensure that the oil kept flowing and that investors were not deterred by lengthy and acrimonious debates between the new Scottish state and the rest of the UK. But that would be the start of another debate. Nowadays there is much awareness of the negative side of oil development: the so-called resource curse associated with Black Gold.

This brings us to the question –

Climate change policy in Scotland Independence could well prompt positive moves Jon Vrushi Comment editor

The Scottish Government is considering climate change policy as an integral part of the Scottish Constitution, which would be Scotland’s main official document if independence is achieved.

Other countries such as India, Poland and Argentina also have environmental and climate-change principles enshrined in their constitutions.

On 5 February the Scottish Government published a report called ‘Scotland’s Future: from the Referendum to Independence and a Written Constitution’, which maps out the next steps if the majority of the electorate votes ‘Yes’ in the independence referendum in 2014.

One of the issues considered is the future of climate change policy. The document states: ‘Scotland’s natural resources are vital to the future success of an independent Scotland. We believe a constitutional convention should examine how principles on climate change, the environment and the sustainable use of Scotland’s natural resources

should be constitutionally protected to embed Scotland’s commitment to sustainable development and responsible and sustained economic growth.’

On 29 January the Scottish Government declared that it would continue tackling climate change and allocated £1.14 billion on measures to address climate change in the next three years.

On the occasion, the minister for Environment and Climate change, Paul Weelhouse, said: “Scotland is at the top of the European league table for emissions reductions and is recognised for leading the way across the UK, Europe and the rest of the world in tackling climate change. Our concerted action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions has seen Scotland achieve greater reductions in emissions than not only the UK, but other nations recognised for their high ambition, such as Germany and Denmark.”

He then went on to add: “We are taking strong action on renewables, zero waste, peatlands and tackling fuel poverty with ambitious new plans to decarbonise production of electricity and heat.”

Contacted by The Journal, the press

NEXT WEEK: Economics and monetary policy

TILTING AT WINDMILLS

Peter Cameron explores the future settlement of the North Sea Oil

which has not escaped the Scottish Government – of what an independent Scotland would actually do with the revenues. How would they be managed? Perhaps it seems an odd question to present as a problematic issue but many oil-producing countries are all too aware of the risks of overheating their economies with too rapid an influx of revenues, of embarking on expensive infrastructure projects that produce whiter elephants than city tram networks, or distributing shares of the revenues directly to citizens as

the Governments of Alaska and Mongolia have done to the delight of their citizens, leading to statistically proven increases in alcohol consumption.

The Norwegians have built up an enormous sovereign fund for future generations and – some would say as usual - have probably taken the most sensible route. To their credit the Scottish Government have studied this idea of an oil fund and have viewed it positively.

As an issue ownership of oil has given way to a much greater under-

standing of the real challenges of managing a resource to benefit present and future generations. The legal issues of who owns what are probably a lot easier to resolve now than people think.

The next stage – avoiding the downside of oil development as the UK has done to date – would present an independent Scotland with a challenge that has faced many other new countries, only a few of which have been successful. But it could certainly give it a good try.

officer of the department for Environment and Climate Change stated: “We have set world-leading targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are over halfway to meeting our target of cutting emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. We are also championing climate justice on the international stage, with a dedicated £3m Climate Justice Fund

which is helping communities in Malawi and Zambia most impacted by climate change access clean and safe water and we will host an international conference on climate justice later this year.”

The Scottish Government has consistently shown good will and commitment to tackle climate change. Examples such as the development of renewable

energy sources as well as the Climate Justice Fund, illustrate the responsibility that Scotland is taking in the global environmental effort. Whether this direction would be kept under an independent Scotland is difficult to tell, but the commitment of enshrining environmental principles in a Scottish constitution are promising indeed.

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

FEATURES// 11

Women give a damn about their reputations Sukey Scorer

I

celebrated

International

Women’s Day in my own way this year.

By day I researched the often-overlooked contribution made by women to the French Resistance during the German Occupation. Take, for example, the 1,061 medals awarded for the Order of Liberation, a distinction intended to honour those who helped free the country.

A mere six were awarded to women, who, let’s not forget, had only just been granted suffrage, while five were given to places (including the minute Île de Sein, which is essentially a rock in the Atlantic Ocean). In the evening, I saw Haifaa al-Mansour’s film Wadjda, the first Saudi Arabian film directed by a woman; in more conservative areas she directed from a van via walkie-talkie to avoid being seen giving orders to men.

Both stories left me feeling hopeful — the forgotten résistantes are at last beginning to tell their stories, and Wadjda, the tale of a little girl whose dream is to own a bicycle, is concrete proof of progress.

The power of the media to shape our society is undeniable, yet women don’t even make up a third of all contributors; eight out of 10 front page stories are written by men, and of the 12 daily national newspapers in the United Kingdom, only one is edited by a woman.

If you do manage to get your delicate foot in the door, you have only a few years to make your mark before it will be resoundingly slammed in you haggard, wrinkled, old face. Men dominate the content of lead stories, and while women are slightly more likely to appear in lead photos, the odds of said individual being either a Middleton sister or Madeleine McCann are disproportionately high.

I wanted to duplicate some of this research in an area that specifically interests me — music journalism — to see whether I could provide some concrete evidence for my gut feeling that it’s a massive sausage fest. It actually turned out to be even worse than I’d thought.

Out of 30 current music magazines, websites and sections of newspapers, I found only one female editor-in-chief, Hanna Hanra of the BEAT. She puts this deficit down to the old school idea of a music journalist as “someone who goes out every night trying to find new bands amidst the sea of recycled pap — not really an appealing idea if you’re in your thirties and have kids”.

She says her experiences of sexism have been limited, but notes, “someone did refer to me as ‘a nice girl who worked for the BEAT’ recently. I set him straight pretty quick.” In its 50-year history, NME has had just one female editor, who took up the post back in 2009. Lucy O’Brien, a former contributor, explains: “The

general feeling was that you couldn’t really write about music. Women didn’t have the attitude, the balls, or the knowledge.”

Mirroring the rest of the media, the treatment of women by the music press leaves clear room for improvement. Rock journalism is particularly disappointing as women are so underrepresented, whiletheir counterparts in pop and R&B seem to be heading for world domination. Rolling Stone’s awful ‘Women Who Rock’ contest, which bizarrely pitted Siouxsie and the Banshees against Missy Elliott, is a prime example of the media treating female musicians as a homogenous group, despite the fact that rap and gothic post-punk have nothing in common.

Categorising female musicians as women first and artists second leads to an inescapable emphasis on their appearance and sexuality. While the press praises angry front men setting the world to rights with a guitar, the female equivalent is derided or has their message distorted. Many bands belonging to the feminist riot grrrl movement of the 90s refused to speak to the mainstream press for fear of being misrepresented. Women who are legitimate artists in their own right, like Courtney Love and Yoko Ono, end up being defined as glorified groupies and are subjected to undeserved vitriol and scorn. But we women are actually

Isa Blake quite a wily bunch, and we’re catching onto the media’s game. Before the Brit Awards this year, Lily Cooper tweeted a perfect parody of the Daily Mail sidebar of sexism: “Looking forward to ‘flaunting my post pregnancy body’ and ‘showing off my curves’ whilst ‘pouring myself into a dress’ tomorrow”. At the Oscars earlier this year, Jennifer Lawrence demonstrated the banal sexism of many of the reporters’ questions in her unique, no-bullshit way. When asked about “the process of getting ready”, she replied, “I just woke up and tried on the dress and… took a shower.”

While doing press for The Avengers, Scarlett Johansson called out a reporter for asking her male co-stars ‘the really interesting, existential question’ and drilling her about ‘rabbit food’. Does this herald the start of a revolution? I hope so.

Despite what this article might have you believe, writing about women in a nonsexist way actually isn’t that hard. Simply

change the gender of the subject and if it sounds ridiculous (“Starlet Justin Bieber is virtually unrecognisable as he leaves the house without make up!”; “George Clooney shows off his enviable figure in a revealing pair of swimming trunks!”); then it’s time for a ruthless edit.

One of my favourite musicians, punk rock goddess Brody Dalle, once said: “They say women can’t play guitar as well as men. I don’t play my guitar with my fucking vagina, so what difference does it make?” You can pretty much apply this to anything when confronted with sexist ideology (the only two exceptions I can think of are prostitution and surrogacy, which very much do involve your vagina). So remember that quote the next time someone tells you that you can’t do something because you’re a woman; whether it is that you don’t deserve to tell the world the story of how you fought the Nazis or simply that girls don’t write about rock music.

No1 SUMMERHALL HOME TO THE ARTS

SPRING PROGRAMME 2013

Spring Programme

“ Every city should have its own Summerhall ” Paul Morley BBC The Review Show

“ I’d urge anyone not to miss out on Summerhall...

Art lives here ” Daily Telegraph

FREE exhibitions open everyday from 11.00am - 6.00pm This season features videos and sound works form acclaimed artists including Wolf Vostell, Ryan Gandler, Agnieszka Polska, Gavin Evans, David Bellingham, Maris, Rachel Maclean, Jack Smith and many more.

FILM THEATRE VISUAL ARTS LITERATURE INSTALLATIONS MUSIC DANCE

Box Office: 0845 874 3001 General enquiries: 0845 874 3000

Summerhall has a wide range of events throughout March - May. Gigs by Umberto, City of Salt and William Tyler. Performances including the acclaimed Deadinburgh, Amusements, Neu! Reekie!, Death Row Diva, Be Silent or Be Killed and much more.

Email: info@summerhall.co.uk

For the full line up of what is happening at Edinburgh's newest and most exciting arts venue visit www.summerhall.co.uk

Cafe - Open Daily 9.00am - 6.00pm

The Royal Dick Bar 12.00pm - 11.00pm Sunday - Thursday 12.00pm - 1.00am Friday - Saturday

1 Summerhall Edinburgh EH9 1PL

www.summerhall.co.uk

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

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FEATURES// 13

Pornography targeted as a root of gender stereotypes Simon Thornton argues there is still a place for pornography in the modern world despite threats to its legitimacy This is an issue already being tackled head-on in Iceland, where in February it came to light that legislators were looking to implement a blanket ban on all pornography, preventing Icelanders from viewing or downloading any material deemed pornographic or x-rated.

Iceland’s interior minister, Ogmundur Jonasson, hopes that a total ban will bring an end to the damaging effects of pornography and the internet upon young people and how it misguides or twists their perspec-

The Flying Dutchman Expect the unexpected. 4 Apr -19 Apr | Glasgow • Edinburgh

Opera.

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MEPs recently voted against a report recommending the ban of pornography across all forms of media, including the Internet. This seemingly draconian proposal, endorsed

by Dutch MEP for the Socialist Party Kartika Tamara Liotard, is part of a report aiming to eliminate gender stereotypes once and for all within the EU by eradicating them at their source.

Liotard was cited in the Daily Telegraph calling for “statutory measures to prevent any form of pornography in the media and in advertising and for a ban on advertising for pornographic products and sex tourism” which includes the “digital field.”

These measures, although rejected

by MEPs for the time being, do bring into question not only the state of Internet censorship in Europe; with many fearing that it is becoming too controlled, but also the effect online pornography is having on children.

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tives towards sex.

Yet those who deem a blanket ban to be perhaps infringing not only our civil liberties but also ur personal lives claim that it’s the parents who should take responsibility for their children’s online habits. They should enforce more stringent firewalls and monitor their children’s usage more closely.

However, as political advisor to Mr Jonasson, Halla Gunnarsdóttir explains, the material a child views online is not always within a parents power and therefore a total ban is the only effective means of control: “It is no longer acceptable to keep blaming parents for the fact that children see graphic sexual content.

Parents are not the only ones responsible for protecting our young people.

They cannot be with their children all the time and the porn industry actively tries to seek children out.”

As we’ve heard countless times, we live in a technological age, an age in which a fifth of all children under 16 in the UK own a smartphone. Therefore to expect a child’s parents to always have total control over what they access is a rather naive argument against banning internet pornography.

There will always be those with the ability to access pornography

and subsequently share it with their peers, whether in the classroom or the playground it is the sad and disturbing truth of today’s youth. Like smoking cigarettes, porn is regarded as cool and adult, and sadly like cigarettes its consequences can be damaging.

For many children, seeing porn is their first actual encounter with sex.

Thus their perception of an act which should be the most natural thing in the world is reduced to an artificial representation intended purely to entertain, produced by an industry that has no respect for how they are influencing the lives of impressionable young people.

The main issue here is clearly to find a way to educate young people that porn is not real life, and it should not influence them or shape their expectations with regards to sex.

But to stamp out porn completely would only lead to the emergence of a ‘black-market’ industry which certainly would not reduce levels of exploitation.

A total ban, as Iceland are expected to enforce this year, would not only be a step too far, as the EU evidently agrees with their rejection of it, but also a major step back in terms of our own sexual liberation.

Are students all growed up?

University is becoming a learning lesson for a generation of young adults who have a lot of major growing up to do Lydia Wilgress Features editor

At the beginning of March, The Independent published an article that discussed whether university students should be called young adults, or whether we bear more similarity with toddlers. In the article, the author Frank Furedi explores the idea that academic life is being infantilised, and asserts that university students should stop being spoon-fed. While he advocates in the end that students should be let loose, Furedi outlines throughout the article the reasons why students just aren’t what they were.

One of the points raised in the article is that universities have increased their welfare support and advanced their tutor systems, allowing students to ask for help on a 24-hour basis.

In the great welfare state we live in, support has been increased in many ways, but inappropriately deeming those that ask for help as being like a ‘young child’ is unproductive and inaccurate. Welfare support at universities has, arguably, allowed students to remain more independent; helping to prevent money worries, sort out academic issues and ensure that there is a health service accessible to everyone.

These services do not spoon-feed or mollycoddle students. Instead, they are akin to a bank advisor, a lawyer, or any other professional that adults rely on all the time. Just because they are on campus does not make them a creche.

Plus, is it possible to be spoon-fed by a lecturer you see for only three hours a week with 285 other students; a lecturer who only has one office hour a week? The argument that academic

studies are becoming easier has been bandied around for years. Whether it is everyone getting straight ‘A’s at A-Level because the board is just not what it used to be, or degrees becoming convoluted and invaluable; the news is full of claims that education has become easier for our generation.

Detractors may pull out the statistic that the percentage of students gaining a first or higher second class degree has risen by 10 per cent, from just over 48 per cent, to 58.7 per cent, and this, obviously, means that degrees are getting softer. However, this assumption discounts the fact that many entrants are better qualified, and ignores the changes that have taken place to the constitution of many degrees, with some focusing more heavily on coursework because it is a better way to teach particular subjects.

I’m an English Literature student, and 100 per cent examinations would not test my ability to form coherent essays, interpret particular texts or develop my understanding of major theories. Instead, it would become a memory-test: a skill that would not help me improve academically.

Certainly, I can hold my hand up high and affirm that I was not as independent when I started university as I am now. Thus, my years at university have been my terrible twos: the time I learned how to stand on my own two feet.

Despite this, it is inaccurate for people to look for small changes in the university and academic systems and assert that a whole generation remain little more than young children.

The question, whether a student is a toddler or young adult, should not be asked and reflects a growing ignorance of the efforts students are having to go to just to be employable.

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

CULTURE&LIFESTYLE

ARTS&ENTS ARTS “Fidelio is your world...”

Sydney-born director of Edinburgh International Festival Jonathan Mills delves into his 2013 programme

culture

Eoin Carey

Laurie Goodman Arts & Entertainment editor

When

Jonathan Mills was appointed director of EIF in 2006, he was dismissed by cultural commentator Norman Lebrecht as a ‘minnow’ in the sea of the British art world. Lebrecht stated, “Mills arrives naked at the high table, an innocent among panthers who have no need of his patronage.”

Seven years, two contract extensions and several programmes with recordbreaking amounts of funding later, it would appear that Lebrecht is in need of some critical revision.

Spanning 9 August – 1 September and bringing 2,200 artists together from 35 nations, Mills explains that this year’s EIF is “about the ways in which artists use the technology of their time to completely reinvent the world and give us a new slant on the way we experience our lives.”

Key to this idea is the theme of invention: “I don’t care if something was invented yesterday or 500 years ago, I care if it is compelling, if it speaks to me and actually contributes to my understanding of my life.

“You have to ask yourself, ‘What is the nature of art?’ ‘What is the nature of innovation?’ This programme deals with that spirit of curiosity.”

Mills’ programme encompasses and approaches everything from Beethoven to Broadway, burlesque and ballet.

What’s vital, however, is that the classics are presented with contemporary twist. For example, in an exhibition entitled The Mechanics of Man, Leonardo Da Vinci’s studies of human anatomy are juxtaposed with the most up-to-date medical imagery, such as CT and MRI scans.

Having announced the 2013 schedule six days before our interview, Mills is ostensibly a difficult man to acquire.

In reality, he seems delighted by the prospect of reaching out to a student audience. He explains attendance from younger audiences at EIF is usually hindered by fallacies concerning the accessibility of ‘high art’ and the pricing of EIF in comparison to the Fringe.

This year’s programme attempts to subvert these preconceptions, Mills explains. “This is a period in which we can actually move across cultural and historical divides: what seems to be high art is actually accessible, and what seems to be low brow is sometimes more experimental than it seems to be.

“That’s what the festival is doing this year: It’s not about arbitrary political distinctions, it’s about artists getting down and dirty, exploring their world and using the tools at hand in unusual ways.”

In this context, one of Mills’ major blockbusters this year is a 21st century reimagining of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. Featuring video projections and searing light effects, director and contemporary media artist Gary Hill’s production sees Beethoven’s narrative unfold on the spaceship ‘Aniara’ as it hurtles into space.

Speaking directly to The Journal as a student audience, he said, “This is a story for your age. It’s a time when habeas corpus is suspended, when there are all sorts of shenanigans by government, of extorting information under torture and duress, and when there are secret trials without juries. That is exactly the story of Fidelio.

“Never been to the opera? Come to Fidelio: It is your world. It is a world I think you need to engage with Beethoven’s insight into in order to understand how to live your own life.”

“I don’t care if something was invented yesterday or 500 years ago, I care if it compelling.

‘What is the nature of art?’ ‘What is the nature of innovation?’

This programme deals with that spirit of curiosity.”

Fidelio is one of eleven world premieres that Mills has scheduled into the lineup for this August – all of which, he explains, carry substantial risk.

“The great thing about a live festival is that, there’s no guarantee of it arriving fully packaged without flaws. The festival is about immersing yourself in ideas, arguing with them, debating with them, being challenged by them, disagreeing profoundly with them.”

I question Mills on the act he thinks could make or break the festival - and the answer comes as no surprise. “I would suggest that in terms of the greatest single challenge and controversy, it would probably be Fidelio. There will be heaps of purists saying ‘that’s not opera!’…Bring it on! Bring on the argument.

“I think that’s exactly what opera is about, about throwing different areas of art together… It came out of artistic discussions in places of political protest - of

incredible intensity and passion. I think a production like our Fidelio is suggesting that the values that underpin Beethoven are incredibly relevant to our lives today.”

A searing blend of the classic and the cutting-edge, Mills’ 2013 programme is one that can perhaps finally indicate to the general public that the modes of opera, dance, classical music and theatre are not the dusty grandparents of the cultural spectrum.

“60 or 70 years ago there was a much clearer division between classical art and popular culture, and I think the single thing that blew that apart was the Internet. I think that it’s not a question of us competing with a couple of other festivals any more, I think it’s much more revolutionary and broader than that.

A deep breath rattles down the line.

“Unless you address that, you’re going to get left behind. It’s a huge existential challenge.”

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

A&E / 15

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk Oliver Saillant

LOVE DANCE • Tilda Swinton to front new Chanel collection • Scottish fashion leaders featured in Vogue • Iona Crawford new Stirling creative director Oliver Giles Fashion editor

Although Chanel debuted their Scottish-inspired Metiers d’Art collection last December, Karl Lagerfeld’s unique take on tartan and tweed is once again at the forefront of Scottish fashion news.

At the end of February, Chanel announced that they had chosen Scottish actress Tilda Swinton to be the face of the Metiers d’Art collection, with the campaign being released in full in May. Discussing his choice of Swinton for the campaign, Lagerfeld stated: “Tilda perfectly embodies the Paris-Edimbourg collection. She is of course Scottish, but more than that, she is a modern woman, a timeless icon of elegance.”

However, the announcement that Swinton is the face of the Metiers d’Art collection was not the only news bringing Chanel’s Paris-Edimbourg collection back into the spotlight.

The release of British Vogue’s April issue sparked a flurry of excitement in the Scottish fashion industry due to a leading feature entitled ‘Great Scots’, which showcased leading Scottish models and industry insiders swaddled in Chanel’s Scottish-inspired collection.

A few of the many faces featured in the shoot are Scottish models Amanda Hendrick and Idina May Moncrieffe, enfant terrible of Scottish fashion design Louise Gray, and supermodel and Edinburgh International Fashion Festival founder Anna Freemantle.

Styled in a Fair Isle cardigan, beaded organza top and argyle stockings, finished off with a Chanel-issue leather sporran slung over her shoulder, Freemantle looks every bit the stylish Scot in the Vogue feature.

Speaking exclusively to The Journal after the shoot, Freemantle explains: “It is a very positive thing for Scotland that Chanel, Vogue and others are celebrating the Scottish aesthetic and history. I’m delighted to be a part of this but, more importantly, it is good to see that the recent energy that has been injected into the local fashion scene is getting noticed.

She added: “The Edinburgh International Fashion Festival is part of this, but there are other positive forces at play as well. Add to this the current energy surrounding the Scottish art scene, particularly in Glasgow, the prognosis is very good. We’re looking forward to adding to this further with the Fashion Festival this year: we’re announcing the programme in June, so watch this space.”

As well as international fashion houses, student designers from Scotland were also making headlines following the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) undergraduate fashion show on the 5 March.

Students have hosted the event since the 1940s, but this year’s third-year students had the added pressure of fundraising for their trip to the New Designers exhibition in London in July 2014, which aims to introduce the next generation of designers to established business leaders.

This year, the show was hosted in The Arches in front of an audience of fashion

press, established designers, fellow students and supporters. This year’s theme was a celebration of the Ballet Russes, but with an incredible 55 designers showcasing their work the range of looks was mind-blowingly large.

The textile students had a range of specialities including print, embroidery, weave and knit. Catherine MacGruer’s knit collection stood out due to her innovative combination of geometric detailing and oversized tassels; she was also one of the few students to showcase both menswear and womenswear.

Print specialist Vanessa Hindshaw is also a young designer to look out for, with her clever use of layered colours and repeating patterns impressing the audience.

Scottish fashion designer Iona Crawford, who was sitting front row at the GSA undergraduate show, was also in the news this week, as it was announced that she will take up the position of Creative Director for the city of Stirling in 2014.

Crawford has had a busy couple of weeks: just back from hosting a showroom at London Fashion Week, she is soon off on business trips to New York and Beijing. However, she explains:“being appointed Creative Director for Stirling 2014 is undoubtedly the highlight for me. 2014 is a big year for Scotland and Stirling with the Commonwealth Games, Ryder Cup and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. As the heart of Scotland, I feel this is a great opportunity to raise Stirling’s profile world-wide.”

In Calcutta looking at the stars Amit Chaudhuri’s new travelogue reaches new levels of selfreflection as a heart wrenching tale of Calcutta and colonialism

books Vivek Santyana Staff Writer

Amit Chaudhuri’s new travelogue-cum-autobiographical tale is a remarkable feat. On the surface it’s a poignant personal narrative that takes the reader on a journey across the city. But it’s also a uniquely heartfelt reflection on the process of maturing as a reader, intertwined with the author’s childhood memories of the city.

From ragged homeless quarters to stately colonial buildings and soaring architectural eyesores, this is a vivid depiction of a city that’s experienced great historical turmoil.

Spanning contemporary colonial legacy back to the 17th century when Calcutta was the capital of a French colonial administration in Chandannagar, Chaudhuri doesn’t shy away from any details in his depiction of

the capital of West Bengal.

What’s most impressive about Chaudhuri’s book is that he manages to tie together his panpoly of ideas into a seamless narrative, while simultaneously conveying the city’s myriad contradictions.

This creates an oblique critique of the roots and origins of cultural and economic conflicts which still exist in the region today — a brief interlude explains on Marxist terrorism in Naxalbari and the emergence of the Naxalite movement is most telling.

Despite the flowing prose, there are times when Chaudhuri’s imagery becomes a bit too rich.

The author employs several Bengali idioms, translated quite roughly into English, and at points this appears to bleach out much of the meaning. At least Chaudhuri captures the historic, literary and cultural richness of Calcutta without resorting to hackneyed oriental clichés. A fitting tribute to a mesmerising and magnificent city.

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

The Paperboy

Ban This Sick Filth!

The Journal explores the ongoing debate over censorship in cinema Thrilling, sweat-soaked swamp-noir impresses

Nathanael Smith Film editor

As the EUSA vs. The Student scandal

begins to fade, and freedom deprived liberals are left to lick the wounds of damaged pride and a thwarted press, it’s perhaps befitting to look at the role of censorship in cinema.

It’s more prevalent than you might expect. In 2012, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) cut seven seconds from The Hunger Games ‘to reduce emphasis on blood and injury’ in order for it to achieve the ‘12A’ category.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, China’s State Administration of Radio Film and Television (SARFT) gave Cloud Atlas a whole 40 minutes of cuts. There is a bittersweet irony in Cloud Atlas being censored, as one of its major themes is about the control and dissemination of information.

It’s not the first film about censorship that has been censored: Stanley Kubrick famously withdrew A Clockwork Orange from cinemas because he didn’t want it to be associated with copycat violence.

Although famous for shocking scenes of rape and brutality, Kubrick’s

masterpiece also explores to what extent the state can and should control the behaviour of its people.

A film being altered or banned altogether is most often due to the extreme nature of the film – The Exorcist (1973) was famously banned in America for being too scary, and The Evil Dead (1981) suffered heavy cuts due to scenes of rape – which raises questions about how much government should be allowed to intervene with what the public choose to watch.

Both those films are now regarded as horror classics, but film-makers continue to push the boundaries of acceptability, and you have to wonder whether the BBFC are doing us a favour by denying the uncut releases of The Human Centipede 2 and A Serbian Film, which feature depraved and paedophilic sexual violence.

Opponents of censorship would argue that the public have a right to choose what they watch. However, by permitting these films to be made and released, would the state be making depictions of extreme sexual violence acceptable?

Not all censorship is inspired by offending the public’s constitution: it’s often political, too. Legendary director Jafar Panahi was subjected to a 20 year ban on film-making from the Iranian government because of alleged propaganda against Ahmadinejad’s

government.

Here, censorship takes on a much uglier form than the removal of violence. In the case of Panahi, his silencing was derived from an overtly authoritarian move, squashing creative voices that don’t tally with the accepted state creeds.

Panahi’s response to the ban was inspired. He created This Is Not A Film, about a day in his life shot on an iPhone and smuggled out of the country on a USB stick hidden in a cake.

It’s a film about the process of filmmaking, and the need for freedom in the arts. This Is Not A Film is part of a fight against real censorship, a celebration of creativity under trying circumstances.

This August will also see the release of Wadjda, the first ever film made in Saudi Arabia (a country that banned cinemas in the 1980s), in which a young girl defies gender expectations by trying to purchase a bike.

The film’s existence is a marvel in itself, but the very simple act of riding a bike is lent extra meaning as both the female director (Haifaa Al-Mansour) and the protagonist experience freedom in new and exciting ways.

Both This Is Not A Film and Wadjda remind us that the role of censorship occupies multiple platforms - usually relative to a localised political position - that escape media furore in the United Kingdom.

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film

film Charlotte Keeys Staff writer

The Paperboy, selected for last year’s Cannes Film Festival, finally opens in UK cinemas glistening with sweat.

A reporter returns to his hometown to investigate the hasty trial of a man (John Cusack) accused of murder and sentenced to death. This dark crime investigation is the background for a portrait of an unrequited love affair and more than a few secrets, all set in the boiling summer of 1965.

The interesting and diverse cast works well together. Nicole Kidman particularly shines as brilliantly trashy Charlotte Bless; she is the object of Jack’s (Zac Efron) affections even though she has pledged her heart to the incarcerated Van Wetter (Cusack).

A grainy documentary style accentuates the visceral elements of the plot and establishes a visual context to its 60s setting.

Just as Charlotte’s bright, tacky dresses seem alien compared with the reporter’s dreary shirts, so the swamps of Florida are like another planet and the people living there seem of another

world.

The casual racism of the time is quietly and effectively acknowledged; the narration by the main character’s black servant gives a certain insight into the difficulties of the era and the kindness of some in society.

The Paperboy is a strange mix of romance and thriller, but it is fascinating to the end; the characters are interestingly erratic and the plot provides more than enough twists and turns to intrigue.

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Leith Fox Street, 650, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 9422 East London Street, 800, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9320 Buchanan Street, 475, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 9560 Easter Road, 1240, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Bonnington Mews, 575, 2, 1S 1D E P, 0844 635 4820 Tower Place, 775, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Leith Walk, 875, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Balfour Place, 650, 2, 2D W, 0844 635 9354 Prince Regent Street, 595, 2, G CG O, 0844 635 2418 Pitt Street, 1125, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Breadalbane Street, 700, 1, 1D CG P, 0844 635 2422 Lindsay Road, 550, 2, 1B G CG O, 0844 635 2418 Elbe Street, 625, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 John Place, 550, 1, E O, 0844 635 2418 Portland Street, 1060, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Hawkhill Close, 925, 3, 3D G CG P, 0844 635 2287 Elbe Street, 650, 2, 2D W, 0844 635 4820 Edina Street, 675, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Sheriff Park, 575, 2, 2D E CG P, 0844 635 9558 Smith’s Place, 1600, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 930, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Great Junction Street, 805, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 New Orchardfield, 600, 1, CG, 0844 635 9308 Great Junction Street, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Bonnington Road, 1400, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 Great Junction Street, 850, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Giles Street, 550, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 1312 Murano Place, 495, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 3876 Salamander Street, 450, 1, W CG O, 0844 635 9422 Dicksonfield, 1000, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Balfour Place, 700, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 3330 Duke Street, 950, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9424 Albion Gardens, 700, 2, 2D, 0844 635 4820 Portland Place, 600, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 9340 Kirk Street, 960, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Easter Road, 775, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Giles Street, 665, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 4820 Pirrie Street, 500, 1, 1D G CG O, 0844 635 9578 Great Junction Street, 700, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 9390

Leith Links Links Place, 600, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 4820 The Bond, Johns Place, 625, 2, 2D E, 0844 635 3330 Rosevale Place, 495, 1, 1D CG O, 0844 635 9460

Leith Walk Leith Walk, 2145, 6, 6D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Haddington Place, 1590, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Albert Street, 535, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Leith Walk, 720, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Antigua Street, 1760, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Cambridge Avenue, 745, 2, O, 0844 635 9456 Dalmeny Street, 855, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Springfield, 510, 1, 1D E CG P, 0844 635 3780 Mcdonald Road, 725, 1, 1D G CG P, 0844 635 4820 Dicksonfield, 1050, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 4820 Leith Walk, 1020, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Leith Walk, 825, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Springfield Street, 725, 2, 0844 635 9456 Iona Street, 595, 2, 1S 1D G O, 0844 635 0859 Springfield Street, 650, 2, 0844 635 0623 Leith Walk, 1100, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700

Liberton Braefoot Terrace, 895, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 6450 Newtoft Street, 550, 2, 2D G CG O, 0844 635 2287

Meadows

Area Agent phone number

Buccleuch Street, 750, 2, 2D W CG Z, 0870 062 9434

Bedrooms Monthly Rent Location

Summertrees Court, 575, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3780

Marchmont Warrender Park Terrace, 1850, 4, G CG, 0844 635 2418 Roseneath Street, 1075, 3, 3S G CG Z, 0844 635 9322 Roseneath Terrace, 685, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9362 Marchmont Crescent, 1250, 3, CG Z, 0844 635 9352 Marchmont Road, 1050, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Warrender Park Road, 1110, 3, 3D W CG Z, 0844 635 3876 Warrender Park Road, 1295, 3, 1S 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 9460 Marchmont Road, 1230, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Warrender Park Road, 1230, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9362 Spottiswoode Road, 1605, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Warrender Park Road, 1400, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9314 Strathearn Road, 1300, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 3780 Marchmont Street, 1075, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Marchmont Road, 1000, 2, 2D G PG Z, 0844 635 2214 Lauderdale Street, 1350, 3, 3D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 3780 Marchmont Road, 975, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 4820 Arden Street, 1800, 5, 4D 1B G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Marchmont Road, 1620, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9424 Moncrieff Terrace, 620, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 9362 Warrender Park Road, 1900, 5, 5D G CG Z, 0844 635 9312 Beaufort Road, 795, 2, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 Spottiswoode Street, 1950, 5, CG Z, 0844 635 9308 Thirlestane Road, 1185, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 3876 Gladstone Terrace, 1185, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 3876

Meadowbank Dalgety Road, 600, 1, 1D W P, 0844 635 4820 Wolseley Terrace, 1200, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Parsons Green Terrace, 1125, 3, G, 0844 635 9679 Meadowbank Crescent, 550, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9320 Meadowbank Terrace, 930, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 4830 Dalziel Place, 980, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700

Meadows Argyle Place, 1320, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Arden Street, 1600, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Lonsdale Terrace, 1600, 4, G CG, 0844 635 2418 Moncrieff Terrace, 795, 2, 0844 635 9679 Livingstone Place, 775, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820

Merchiston Mardale Crescent, 1560, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9316 St Peter’s Place, 1100, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9314 Merchiston Crescent, 1822, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9316

Morningside Craighouse Gardens, 600, 2, 2D E P, 0844 635 9322 Balcarres Street, 525, 1, G CG O, 0844 635 2418 Morningside Road, 1650, 5, 2S 3D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1030, 3, 1S 2D G Z, 0844 635 9316 Balcarres Street, 525, 1, 1D, 0844 635 3700 Comiston Gardens, 725, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 4820 Morningside Road, 1400, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Steel’s Place, 1080, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9478 Morningside Road, 1750, 5, 3S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Falcon Court, 750, 2, E P, 0844 635 2418 Comiston Road, 930, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Morningside Road, 1440, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 9302 Falcon Gardens, 1150, 3, G CG, 0844 635 2418 Comiston Road, 1145, 3, 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9322 Balcarres Street, 575, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9324 Morningside Road, 1750, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700

Murrayfield Coltbridge Avenue, 700, 1, 0844 635 9308 Murrayfield Road, 1200, 3, 3D G CG P, 0844 635 4820

Musselburgh Stoneybank Terrace, 525, 2, 2D G PG O, 0844 635 1312

New Town Brandon Terrace, 1800, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9320 St Vincent Place, 1795, 2, PG P, 0844 635 9308 Great King Street, 1760, 4, 3D 1T G Z, 0844 635 9320 London Street, 1750, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9312 Dundonald Street, 1700, 4, G, 0844 635 2418 Great King Street, 1700, 3, 2D G O, 0844 635 4820 Hillside Street, 1600, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 4830 Young Street Lane South, 840, 2, Z, 0844 635 9308 Great King Street, 850, 2, 1S 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Northumberland Street, 875, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Hopetoun Street, 895, 3, CG P, 0844 635 9352 Scotland Street, 1460, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 4830 Cumberland Street, 900, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Hart Street, 900, 3, 1S 2D G CG, 0844 635 6872 Heriot Row, 1400, 3, PG P, 0844 635 9308 Dundas Street, 975, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Elm Row, 980, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 St Vincent Place, 1325, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 4820 Logan Street, 1000, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9314 Abercromby Place, 2500, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9596 Great King Street, 1275, 3, Z, 0844 635 9308 Canonmills, 550, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820

Bedrooms: Heating: Garden: Parking: Furniture:

Great King Street, 1250, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Cumberland Street, 1200, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Gayfield Place, 1200, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Broughton Road, 575, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Eyre Crescent, 1150, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 4820 Great King Street, 1185, 3, 3D W Z, 0844 635 3876

Newington Dalkeith Road, 900, 3, 1S 2D, 0844 635 3700 St Leonards Hill, 425, 0, 0844 635 9318 St. Leonards Bank, 2400, 6, 6D G PG Z, 0844 635 9302 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9302 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9302 Causewayside, 710, 2, Z, 0844 635 9352 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9302 West Preston Street, 2700, 6, G, 0844 635 9679 Hope Park Terrace, 2150, 5, 5D, 0844 635 3700 St Leonards Street, 475, 1, G CG, 0844 635 2418 Montague Street, 2125, 5, G Z, 0844 635 9679 South Oxford Street, 1110, 3, 3D W, 0844 635 9314 South Clerk Street, 2000, 5, 5D G Z, 0844 635 9302 Montague Street, 1960, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Dalkeith Road, 1140, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9362 East Preston Street, 2850, 6, 6D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Nicolson Square, 1800, 4, 4D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Fountainhall Road, 750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9316 Mayfield Road, 1170, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9302 Dalkeith Road, 1710, 5, CG O, 0844 635 9352 Lutton Place, 775, 2, 2D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Melville Terrace, 1180, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9314 Viewcraig Gardens, 1625, 5, 5D E P, 0844 635 9302 Rankeillor Street, 1607, 5, 0844 635 9316 East Parkside, 780, 2, P, 0844 635 9352 Rankeillor Street, 1185, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Montague Street, 1560, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Lutton Place, 1185, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Lord Russell Place, 1080, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 2287 Rankeillor Street, 1500, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 St Albans Road, 1500, 4, G PG P, 0844 635 2418 East Mayfield, 1450, 4, 2S 2D, 0844 635 3700 Causewayside, 695, 2, P, 0844 635 9352 South Clerk Street, 1075, 3, 3D G CG, 0844 635 9424 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9302 Dalkeith Road, 1375, 4, 1S 3D G CG O, 0844 635 9334 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9302 Dalkeith Road, 1360, 4, 4D G PG O, 0844 635 9302 South Oxford Street, 1050, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700

S Single D Double T Twin B Box G Gas Central W White Meter E Electric PG Private CG Communal Z Zone O On-Street P Private UF Unfurnished

East Crosscauseway, 695, 1, 1D G Z, 0844 635 9679 Montague Street, 1020, 3, 3S, 0844 635 3700 Mayfield Terrace, 1200, 3, 1S 2D G PG P, 0844 635 6872 Grange Loan, 1320, 4, 4D G CG Z, 0844 635 4830 Lutton Place, 1320, 3, G P, 0844 635 9679 Montague Street, 960, 3, 1S 2D E, 0844 635 9314 St Leonards Hill, 1000, 3, 2S 1D G, 0844 635 9314 Brown Street, 1125, 3, 3D G P, 0844 635 9302 Buccleuch Terrace, 975, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Mayfield Road, 1280, 4, 4D G O, 0844 635 3876 Dalkeith Road, 1260, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Dalkeith Road, 1250, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 9302 West Nicolson Street, 1235, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 West Nicolson Street, 1245, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700

Old Town Forrest Road, 1500, 4, 4D G, 0844 635 9314 Hunter Square, 695, 1, 1D 1B E, 0844 635 9679 St Marys Street, 595, 1, 1D E Z, 0844 635 4820 Inglis Court, 760, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 3931 Sugar House Close, 675, 1, 1D, 0844 635 4820 Grassmarket, 650, 1, 1D E, 0844 635 4820 St Marys Street, 660, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 9362 South Bridge, 1200, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3931

Pleasance Viewcraig Gardens, 800, 2, 2D E CG Z, 0844 635 9679

Polwarth Polwarth Crescent, 1150, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9316 Polwarth Terrace, 1150, 2, 2D G PG P, 0844 635 9302 Gilmore Place, 1140, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9478 Yeaman Place, 1130, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Tay Street, 1200, 3, 3D 1B W, 0844 635 3780 Bryson Road, 525, 1, 1D E P, 0844 635 2287 Polwarth Gardens, 1500, 4, 4D E CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Watson Crescent, 625, 1, G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 695, 2, G P, 0844 635 2418 Watson Crescent, 395, 1, E, 0844 635 2418

Portobello Kings Road, 575, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 0835 Portobello Road, 990, 3, G CG O, 0844 635 9679 Westbank Place, 625, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 4820

Sciennes Mayfield Road, 1080, 3, 3D G O, 0844 635 9478

Slateford Appin Place, 795, 2, G P, 0844 635 2418

Appin Terrace, 515, 1, 1D W, 0844 635 9560 Inglis Green Road, 600, 2, G P, 0844 635 2414 Slateford Road, 700, 2, 2D W P, 0844 635 4820 Slateford Road, 695, 2, 1S 1D E CG P, 0844 635 3780 Moat Street, 550, 1, CG O, 0844 635 6450

Stockbridge Dean Park Street, 515, 1, 1D W CG Z, 0844 635 9312 Comely Bank Row, 650, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 St Stephen Street, 825, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 4820 Comely Bank Row, 600, 1, 1D G CG Z, 0844 635 4820 Leslie Place, 1050, 3, 3D G Z, 0844 635 9320 Learmonth Crescent, 1095, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Patriothall, 550, 1, 0844 635 9308

The Shore Hawthornvale, 495, 1, E O, 0844 635 9679 Ocean Drive, 750, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9384 Tower Street, 675, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9384 Portland Row, 925, 2, 2D G CG P, 0844 635 6450 Rennie’s Isle, 675, 2, 2D G P, 0844 635 9320 Salamander Court, 675, 2, 2D P, 0844 635 9679 Henderson Street, 515, 1, CG O, 0844 635 9352

Tollcross West Tollcross, 520, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9590 East Fountainbridge, 990, 3, 1S 2D G, 0844 635 9302 Valleyfield Street, 1400, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Brougham Street, 900, 3, G, 0844 635 9314 Lauriston Street, 525, 1, G, 0844 635 2418 Panmure Place, 930, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Lochrin Buildings, 1640, 4, 4D, 0844 635 3700 Brougham Place, 1050, 3, 3D, 0844 635 3700 Grindlay Street, 750, 2, 2D, 0844 635 3700 Drumdryan Street, 775, 2, 2D E CG Z, 0844 635 9679 Valleyfield Street, 1100, 3, 3D G, 0844 635 9318

Trinity Dudley Avenue South, 575, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 4820 Trinity Crescent, 650, 2, 2D G O, 0844 635 9679 Rosebank Grove, 995, 4, 4D G CG O, 0844 635 3337

Viewforth Viewforth, 695, 2, 2D G, 0844 635 9318 Murdoch Terrace, 550, 1, 1D G O, 0844 635 9446 Viewforth Terrace, 1100, 3, 3D G CG Z, 0844 635 9448

West End Randolph Lane, 625, 1, 1D G, 0844 635 4820 Manor Place, 950, 2, 2D G Z, 0844 635 4820

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

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Rodin’s ‘The Kiss’

Sculptors’ Prints

Daring sculptural masterpiece is undiminished by its inelegant new display

An inspirational exhibition exploring the relationship between sculpture and printmaking

ART&DESIGN Krystin Arneson Staff writer

It is impossible to ‘review’ Rodin.

His two most famous sculptures, The Thinker and The Kiss, are considered to be two of the greatest accomplishments in modern Western sculpture.

They bring logic, passion, reason and emotion to physical form.

While The Thinker contemplates Paris in Rodin’s namesake museum, The Kiss is now temporarily at Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery.

Though geographically separate, the two masterpieces share a common origin: they derive from reliefs for Rodin’s ‘Gates of Hell’ — a set of bronze doors depicting scenes from Dante’s Inferno.

While The Thinker supposedly depicts Dante himself, the passionate couple of The Kiss is noblewoman Francesca da Rimini and her lover Paolo — her husband’s younger brother. Dante writes that the pair were reading the tale of Lancelot and Guinevere when they were caught up in a moment of passion. Francesca’s husband caught the couple in flagrante

delicto and killed them both.

Daringly seizing the heat of the moment, Rodin portrays the book dropping from Paolo’s hand as he and Francesca are swept up in the breathless moment before their lips meet.

Francesca’s hand pulls Paolo closer — far from the Victorian ideal of the submissive woman, she is instead a full partner in the adultery.

In the Scottish National Gallery, the work is abruptly displayed. Finished in 1904, this copy of the original statue is blatantly anachronistic with the 18th-century paintings surrounding it. Problems of size also distract: the sculpture is a massive work unto itself, one with which the giant canvases on the walls compete for attention.

Perhaps most distressing (or humorous) is the subject matter The Kiss is surrounded by: Scottish landscapes and Biblical scenes abound.

Three saccharine Bouchers hang sideby-side on one wall, all of them depicting naive pastoral couples at distinct odds with the raw passion of the pair in the centre of the room. Most out of place is a bust of Pope Clement XIV, His Holiness’ line of vision focused directly on the erotic, adulterous scene before him.

For such an acquisition and for the amount of advertising and

marketing that has promoted it, it is hard not to be struck by the abrupt inelegance of the sculpture’s display.

However, if you can allow the background to fade and let yourself be swept up by The Kiss, a trip to see the masterpiece should definitely be in the diary.

VENUE: SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY DATES: UNTIL 2 FEBRUARY 2014 PRICE: FREE

ART&DESIGN Zena Moore Staff writer

Prints by members of the Royal Scottish Academy, better known for their sculpture work, are now on show in an exciting exhibition at the Princes Street gallery. Featuring works by current, past and honorary members, Sculptors’ Prints confirms the relationship between these two forms of art.

This colourful exhibition is a comfortable size, and split across the RSA Project Room and the Finlay Room on the ground floor. Presented artist by artist, the exhibition presents an assortment of print-making techniques: monograph, lithograph, etching, digital and screen-printing, among others.

While the majority of the prints show designs for either unrealised or propsective projects, others are presented sculptures in themselves.

The prints on display are linked only by the occupation of their creators. As a result, there is a wide variety in size, subject and use of colour.

However, the majority of prints are abstract, and follow themes of nature and of the body. Many are noticeably architectural in style, with graphic lines and layers of geometric shapes, perhaps a result of the sculptural working method.

There are also collaged prints, as well as pictorial, text and photographic pieces.

Additionally, some sculptures and sketchbooks are displayed, offering further insight into the works. The inclusion of sculptures in the RSA Project Room is particularly enhancing, as the connection between sculpting and printing can be clearly understood. Both printmaking and sculpting require a sense of three dimensions, as well as involving a mechanical and physical production process.

Sculptors’ Prints is a strong exhibition. The Finlay Room includes the more interesting pieces, although very few works in the exhibition are dull. Most of the prints are for sale — out of the student budget, of course, but nevertheless this makes for an inspirational visit to the RSA. Get there before the end of the month.

VENUE: ROYAL SCOTTISH ACADEMY DATES: UNTIL 31 MARCH 2013 PRICE: FREE

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

A&E / 19

@EdJournal / journal-online.co.uk

Get ready for Princes Mall’s First Ever

Easter chocolate cake Sam Stern Makes a deliciously soft, moist chocolate cake, while the icing is dark, rich and fudgy.

Shopping tip: everything is available from the corner store.

1.

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ gas 4. Grease a 20.5cm cake tin (mine is 7cm deep) — loose bottomed is easier — with soft butter or flavourless groundnut oil. Line the base and sides with baking/greaseproof paper. Grease the base lining. Boil a kettle.

2.

Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large mixing bowl.

3.

Tip the measured mayo in.

Mix with a fork then a wooden spoon.

It will look a bit lumpy but integrate as best you can.

4.

Measure the cocoa into a bowl. Add the boiling water. Stir until dissolved.

5.

Pour the cocoa into the dry ingredients, beating as you go, using your wooden spoon. Add the vanilla extract. Beat thoroughly until the mix is very soft and creamy.

6.

Beat in 1 tablespoon of coffee or juice/water. The mix should now drop easily off the spoon (add the extra coffee/liquid if it will take it to get that result). Spoon evenly into your tin.

7.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake has risen and started to shrink from the edges of the tin. A thin skewer/

cocktail stick/piece of dried spaghetti should come out clean after insertion in the centre. Begin to check after 30 minutes (but as few times as you can!)

Always open and close the oven door slowly to minimise the risk of sinking.

8.

Remove to a rack. After 10 minutes, sit another rack on top. Invert the cake. Remove the outer rim of the tin, the base and carefully peel the paper away. Leave until completely cold.

9.

If you opt to fill the cake: use a sharp long-bladed knife to cut horizontally across through the centre from one side to the other using a firm sawing action. Hold it with care so it won’t split.

10.

Carefully remove the upper half of the cake. Leave the cake intact for the less rich option.

11.

Icing: put the butter and water into a pan on a low heat. Gently heat to melt without boiling.

12.

Sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl. Beat the liquid gradually into this dry mix (you may not need it all) until smooth and not too runny. If it looks too thick to spread or very grainy, quickly beat in a little cold water to get it back on track.

13.

Fill and ice the cake. If filling, spread a third of the icing over the cut side of the bottom section of the cake.

Place the upper cake on top. Pour or spread the remaining icing over the top or top and sides of the cake. (I use a spatula for a smoother finish.)

14.

Decorate with mini-eggs or whatever Easter sweet/symbol takes your fancy. Enjoy!

The joy of food

Discounts for Students & Young Scot Card Holders plus LIVE acoustic Fluorescent Hearts

INGREDIENTS

Full of enticing thoughts of

imagined smells and possible tastes, the food world has an undeniable lure that can quickly turn one from a fan to a fanatic. Such an obsession can be easily fuelled by the plethora of recipes, images, and programmes filling the Internet and television, so there is no end for the mind’s imagination.

There is an equal sense of fun and satisfaction that ensues from darting about the kitchen and experimenting like a mad scientist, yielding not only an exciting array of concoctions but also an increasing group of ‘foodies’ that revel in fervent food antics.

To be a foodie, or not to be a foodie?

The term itself is as relative as ingredients are to each recipe. Some days,

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Fudge icing 275g icing sugar 25g cocoa powder 110g butter 3-4 tbsp water Decoration Mini Eggs (Cadbury’s!)

Ria Edmonsen

it is all about the taste. Some days, it is all about the community that the term identifies with. There is a perception out there that ‘foodie’ comes from a high brow class of people, when in reality it merely applies to those who give more attention to what they eat and how they eat rather than taking the simple route and buying a ready meal.

Think of all the opportunities for palatable satisfaction that the next meal can provide. How amazing is it that one can take a few simple ingredients, and after a bit of a cup here, a few hundred grams there, and some elbow work, there is a final dish that sends fireworks off of the tongue. The possibilities cooking offers for creation, taste, and enjoyment are well worth the effort that goes behind executing a recipe.

Loving food is a personality trait just like any other, and the smiles it

2 9 M a rc h

Chocolate cake 275g white self-raising flour 1½ tsp baking powder 225g caster sugar 200g mayonnaise 220ml boiling water 4 tbsp good cocoa powder (Divine Fairtrade is great) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1-2 tbsp cold black coffee (or orange juice or hot water)

In a world of ready meals, quick-fixes and meat scandals, The Journal reconsiders the fate of the Foodie Mary Kinsella Staff writer

set by

5-6pm

creates and the laughter that surrounds it provide frivolity, not forced fineness.

Look at the word ‘foodie’ itself.

Can it really be taken that seriously?

Food is a pleasure, one of the few things in life one can simply and honestly enjoy. Creating food and sharing it with others is a large part of that, and collaborating with others in the kitchen can yield comically disastrous or successful results.

The food world and terms associated with it should only be taken seriously to an extent. The joys it can offer outweigh the toil and formality that are attributed to food and foodies. After all, when you look into your past, aren’t some of the greatest memories centred around food and friends? Anyone can be a foodie, one just needs to see the world from this certain light, and then every moment can have a lasting, delicious flavour.

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20 / SPORT

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk

Fireworks at the football as Hampden rocks Entertainment was off the pitch as well as on when St Mirren beat Hearts to the League Cup trophy Ruth Jeffery Sport editor

Passion, excitement, tensions

running high and then a brutal low when one team misses out on a trophy… a cup final is always a big day for all involved.

Sunday’s League Cup Final at Hampden Park had all the ingredients for a classic, and the atmosphere in the ground prior to the match was unbelievably intense.

Joyous, too, for St Mirren fans, to finally get their hands on some silverware after the disappointing defeat to a ten-man Rangers in the 2010 final. Beating Celtic in the semi-final and then coming from behind against worthy opponents Hearts certainly makes for a great story, and the jubilation in the stands showed how much

the whole of Paisley wanted the title.

Getting the train to Glasgow and back from Edinburgh was an experience and a half on the day. Waiting in Queen Street Station on the way back, surrounded by Hearts fans whose singing filled the platform and yet was not rowdy was quite something. The words were ones they had been hollering this time last year after defeating Hibs in the Scottish Cup final, and they probably all wished they were about this year’s match: “It was only 5-1, it was only 5-1.”

Danny Lennon said after the match that he was “delighted to see St Mirren fans and Hearts fans together”, and indeed the rivalries on the train ended up being between fans of the same crest.

An argument broke out between two

OCEAN DWELLER

by Adam Gordon Managing in the Premier League is a doddle As the battle for survival in

the English Premier League intensifies and managers began to fall at the wayside, the latest example being Brian McDermott at Reading this week, spare a thought for poor Giuseppe Sannino, who, on Monday, took over as coach at struggling Palermo who currently reside at the foot of Serie A. If the pressure of managing a relegation threatened team wasn’t enough to contend with, then the unpredictability of Palermo owner Maurizio Zamperini surely is. Zamperini’s appointment of Sannino means that Palermo have fired their coach on four occasions this season, if that alone doesn’t seem strange then it’s probably wise to point out that Sannino actually started the season as coach, only to be replaced by former Inter man Gian Piero Gasperini. Gasperini was then sacked as Alberto Malesani came in for all of three games, before Gasperini returned to take charge again. The club’s predicament at the bottom of table led Zamperini to take action once more; sacking Gasperini for the second time and bringing back in Sannino thus the circle was complete.

In roughly the same time that Alex Ferguson has been in charge of Man Utd, Zamperini has hired 43 different coaches during his time as club owner of first Venezia and now Palermo.

Who said Premier League managers have it tough.

fans about which was the more loyal Jambo, one claiming “I haven’t missed one Hearts’ home match in 40 years,” and the other saying “my watch cost more than your house, pal.” After having a beer together, one said he was from Aberdeen, the other used the word “sheep” in a sentence and suddenly fists were flying faster than St Mirren’s comeback goal in the second half.

The offender who had thrown the first punch, a rounded older man with a surprising combination of both Barcelona and Hearts gear on, was deposited in some godforsaken train station with nought but a wooden fence and a creaking sign. He no doubt had to make his own way back to Edinburgh.

This incident was as bemusing as it

was frustrating. On the platform fans had been united in their songs, but individuals showed that hearts aren’t always filled with love.

Elsewhere, it has to be said, flags of both maroon and black and white were flying high. Jim Goodwin, solid defender and sterling captain of the Saints, commented after the match: “From a personal point of view it’s fantastic, but obviously it’s more about the team and Paisley as a community and the supporters. I said earlier in the week what we lack in fan base and budget we make up for in team spirit. And I mean not just the team as players but collectively with the supporters and backroom staff and directors.”

Goodwin said of the nervy last five

minutes: “We showed a lot of courage.

Many other teams might have crumbled — the Hearts fans were right behind our goal, cheering their boys on and full credit to Hearts as well. I thought they made a great game of it.”

One particular image stands out from the day; Central Station in Glasgow after the match. Four grown men of average height, one on the tubby side. All dressed in maroon leotards with the Heart of Midlothian crest on the front, little maroon pumps and gigantic afro wigs of the same shade, eating burgers. And on the opposite side of the station a group of outlandishly dressed Paddy’s day revellers in green versions of the same costume. It was a day of glory, yes, and of triumph too. But it was also a day of fancy-dress.

FORTUNE TELLER

Paul the Octopus will make you a few squid Forget the water hazards When playing a round of golf most players are likely to focus their energy on trying to avoid placing their shot in a lake, perfecting their tee shot, or even keeping their distance from the odd camera-friendly alligator that happens to reside near the course.

Mark Mihal encountered a far greater problem after falling down a sink hole, while playing in Illinois. The amateur golfer was thankfully rescued with a ladder and some rope from the hole, which was thought to measure up to 18ft wide and 10ft deep, after around 20 minutes. Mihal sustained a dislocated shoulder.

Competitive opener for F1 season at Melbourne Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen took victory in the first race of the season at Melbourne, Australia, last weekend - his second race win since returning to the sport in 2012 after a stint in the World Rally Championship.

The 2007 champion finished ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in second and reigning triple champion Sebastien Vettel in third. Raikkonen utilised a two-stop strategy to gain the advantage over his threestopping rivals, while others such as Lewis Hamilton - who finished fifth on his debut for the Mercedes team - failed to make a similar move work and dropped down the order with their badly blistered tyres. The close running of the top teams promises an exciting year ahead

Matthew Dunne-Miles Octopus whisperer

he was a Swansea ball-boy and giving him a kick in the ribs.”

The clock is running down on this

Wish you were hair * Some players will go to great lengths for a transfer, just look at Peter Odemwingie, a team of sea-lifefortune-seers couldn’t have seen that coming. However it’s easier to see that Scott Brown is itching for a taste of the Premiership.

I predict the bald-headed boy booking himself in for Marouane Fellaini hair extensions in order to attract the attention of those down South.

Justifying his new afro, Brown will say: “what, this? Oh it’s not what it looks like. I’ve always had naturally really curly long locks, the whole balding brown wispy hair thing I had going on was just a look I was trying out.” I sense a displeased Neil Lennon, who will be hurt as Brown had told him that his ginger afro idea was “diabolical”.

season of football and with no major tournament this year, I’ll have to find something else to do in the summer.

The trouble is there’s not much call for undead psychic octopi in the jobs market. I tried bar work once but my tentacles kept knocking over people’s drinks. I attempted to be a lifeguard at my local swimming pool but got caught ‘heavy petting’ (players gon’ play), while my job down the bookies was scuppered by my incredible foresight, as I couldn’t help revealing to customers which horse was going to win; I also predicted the outcome of the Eastenders ‘who killed Archie Mitchell?’ storyline.

On with the latest instalment predictions…

Don’t make him angry * I sense the fire of a young Spaniard.

Fernando ‘Flop’ Torres, who recently took a boot to the face in the match against Steaua Bucharest and proceeded to look more involved in the following twenty minutes than he had done for the past two seasons, will realise that to play at his best he has to stay in that angry zone.

Next week Torres will be seen prematch running topless around south London, slapping himself in the face with a wet fish and shouting “anger!” in order to get himself geed up for the fixture.

Eden Hazard, Fernando’s Chelsea team mate and life coach, will comment fondly: “it’s great to see our Nanny T so ready to play, I’ve been helping him out with all of his burning rage by pretending

thesportreview

David de Handstand * Following last week’s FA Cup quarter-final performance many Manchester United fans will be fully confident in goalkeeper David De Gea’s ability to save a ball with his feet.

However, I sense some shocked faces when the beardy keeper chooses to play the next 90 minutes doing a hand-stand to maximise his foot-saving capabilities.

Sir Alex Ferguson will defend De Gea’s unorthodox playing style by saying: “We’re all about innovation here at the Theatre of Dreams and what David is doing here is the future. I mean the boy’s got spider legs for pete’s sake! Why would he not use them!?”

I foresee Nike releasing footballs with finger attachments by the beginning of next season - which will prove a great deal more popular than their innovative series of goalkeeping slippers.

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

SPORT// 21

@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk

FOOTBALL

Ronnie MacDonald

The players of the season The Journal looks at which contenders are in the frame Michael Mawdsley Staff writer

Player of the Year is a highly contested prize, and to select just one outstanding from over 500 players is surely a tough task.

Steven Gerrard said last week that Louis Suarez deserves the prize, but he will have to face some heavy contenders. The Journal’s selection of the best from the Premier League 2012/13 is by no means a comprehensive list, rather an attempt to pin down the finest quality in the League.

Defending is a challenge in itself; in the Premier League, stamina, pace, technical knowledge and the ability to bomb forward are all essentials to what was once a relatively simplistic and easy job.

There is only one stand out defender in the Premier League this season. Whilst his hair-cut may resemble a 1970’s pin-up, Leighton Baines of Everton has played like a man possessed. With a devastating left-foot, he has scored five goals this season, whilst recording twentythree shots on target. Seven assists also don’t harm his reputation either.

Any manager would have him, and it is doubtful that he’ll be at Everton come

August. Jan Vertoghan would come a close second.

The midfield question is significantly harder. If the award had been in December, Marouane Fellaini would’ve been a dead cert. Now however, as his form drops, others have risen; Gareth Bale at Tottenham has become virtually unplayable, and deservedly has been touted.

Secondly, Santi Carzola at Arsenal in a team that has struggled this year has shown himself to possess vision beyond that of his team; should he be rewarded with a striker next year, that potential will become a reckoning.

A third candidate and somewhat unsung hero would be Scott Parker of Tottenham. Parker’s performance as a midfield engine has been electrifying; the last derby proved that. The winner here will undoubtedly be Bale, if simply for the final coming-of age of Great Britain’s greatest touted talent since Michael Owen, with sixteen goals to boot.

The final area is those who take the glory for themselves; the centreforwards. Even, amongst many, there are three to pick. Miguel Perez Cuesta, ala “Michu”, signed for a measly two million has demolished teams and ensured Swansea’s safety and first cup

title. Fifteen goals in a debut Premier League seasons is not something to be frowned at, but given his challengers in Luis Suarez and Robin Van Persie it is doubtful he will win anything. As United seemingly coast to the title, the difference has been the goals scored by their ‘Flying Dutchman’. Nineteen goals for twenty million has been a bargain, and virtually ensured Sir Alex Ferguson’s side the title.

But his competition with Suarez, leading goal scorer as the table stands with twenty-two and has shown himself to have finally proven his worth. Sitting just off the forward striker, he has created and converted chances in abundance this year. Possibly the most dangerous striker in world football at the minute, there is no doubting that the devil inside him has dissipated to position himself in line for the award.

Frankly speaking, the vote will fall to Van Persie, Suarez or Bale. Their goals and flashes of genius have made the Premier League what it is this year.

There are ten games left; in those final matches, that particular title will fall to those who perform. As it stands, Gareth Bale should pip both his rivals to the post.

Dunfermline are visited by the taxman The Fife club are the latest to feel the financial squeeze, but may yet come through unscathed Ali Wollaston Staff writer

Forget the credit crunch, stuff the global recession and say boo to the Eurozone, I don’t comprehend a word of it.

Football however, I can understand - and in Scotland we have a cash crisis of our own to worry about.

With a little perspective, Scottish football could be forgiven for casting an envious glance or two down south.

Robin van Persie is paid a reported £250,000 per week by Manchester United, promotion to the Premier League is claimed to be worth £90 million and Joleon Lescott is inexplicably worth more than the proud town of Auchtermuchty, probably. It is a veritable festival of decadence, but we love and envy every minute of it.

North of the border, things are a little bit different. Our boardrooms and back pages are littered with tax cases, revenue problems, liquidation

and administration.

Rangers, Hearts, Livingston, Gretna and Clyde are just some of the names to have fallen into the financial pit in recent years, and now Dunfermline Athletic have been added to that list.

As a steering group took control of the club earlier this month, it was startlingly revealed that the Fife side could be out of business before April, with immediate liquidation a real threat.

The club’s reported debts are around £134,000 and time is fast running out for the HMRC demands to be met.

The group - led by club legend Jim Leishman - have made a passionate plea for support, warning that around £270,000 needs to be found in the short term alone if Dunfermline are to survive the crisis.

The plea has also been broadly backed in parliament, although perhaps a more realistic scheme would be to ask Robin van Persie to

have a rummage down the back of his sofa.

In fairness, though, it is wrong (if enjoyable) to swipe at the Premier League’s millionaires and point to the current zenith in the English game as a reason for the problems facing Scottish football.

Perpetually living beyond your means can only end in crisis, and when Dunfermline hopefully overcomes the short-term cash issues facing the club the directors will have to come to respect that reality in order to ensure long-term survival.

For now though, it is up to the steering group and the fans to save their club – and fortunately they have some powerful allies.

Sir Alex Ferguson, a former Dunfermline player, has reportedly offered to take his Manchester United stars to East End Park in a cash-generating friendly, and with support in Holyrood the club still have a fighting chance of escaping a financial meltdown.

Not all Scientists wear white coats Use your science background to make an impact on society www.teachfirst.org.uk Edinburgh The Journal - STEM banner.indd 1

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The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

SNOOKER

Usual suspects eye up World Champs The Journal assesses the chances of all the main contenders for this year’s World Championship crown Ruth Jeffery Sport editor

The snooker World Championship

is coming round again from 20 April to 6 May and for the avid fans who dream of day-long BBC coverage of the ‘Theatre of Dreams’, it can’t come quick enough.

This year promises to be as exciting as the last, even with Stephen Hendry retired. Of course, Hendry might once more take to the commentary box, an illadvised move considering his uninspiring stint last year. Ronnie O’Sullivan, last year’s champion, has returned from his sabbatical, ensuring that all eyes will be fixed on the Crucible to see if he can claim a fifth title. Only Stephen Hendry (seven) and Steve Davies (six) have a better record in Sheffield. Others look likely to challenge the ‘Rocket’, as the unpredictability of the tournament still proves its central appeal.

Being a sport which is finely balanced between mental strength and natural ability, shocks can happen in every round.

We look at the three biggest names in snooker at the moment; and the three most likely to steal Ronnie’s crown.

Ali Carter Ali Carter was the runner-up of last year’s World Championships, losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan 18-11. Carter also lost to the fellow Essex-lad in the final of 2008, beaten 18-8. However, his success in both tournaments was much applauded, especially as he has suffered off and on with Crohn’s disease. In February this year Carter won the German Masters, beating Marco Fu in the final to clinch his third ranking title. He won the Welsh Open during the 2008/09 season and the Shanghai Masters during 2010/11. He is currently 17th in the world rankings, and will surely be lusting after a Crucible win and hoping to make it third time lucky if he reaches the final.

Mark Selby Mark Selby is the current world number two in rankings, despite being thrust out of the Welsh Open in February this year by Joe Perry. He won the UK Championships in December last year, beating Shaun Murphy 10-6 and claiming the biggest title of his career. He also won the Welsh Open in 2008, beating

mhoeffken Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final, and overcame Mark Williams in the Shanghai Masters final in 2011. Also winner of four minor ranking tournaments- including this year’s Munich Open- and four nonranking tournaments, Selby is a formidable opponent across the board. In last year’s Sheffield outing he exited early to Barry Hawkins, something he will want to better this year.

Judd Trump World Number one Judd Trump could well be the favourite to win this year’s World Championships, especially as O’Sullivan is out of practice. Both Trump and Selby suffered early exits in the first round of the PTC Finals in Galway last week. Trump won this season’s International Championship, claiming his third ranking title. His other titles are UK Championship, where he beat Mark Allen in the 2011 final, and the China Open three years ago. Trump’s campaign at the Crucible last year was brought to a halt by Ali Carter, but being the world number one this time round he might be able to find some extra confidence.

SAILING

Edinburgh make splash at regatta Ruth Thomson

Edinburgh University Sailing

Club’s two teams came 4th and 6th out of 20 competitors at the Team Racing Regatta in West Kirby last weekend. Manchester Old Boys (OB) came 1st, Sheffield OB 2nd and Liverpool 3rd.

Edinburgh Blue and Green teams were flying the flag for Scotland and were wellsuited to the artic weather conditions.

On day one, both the teams were a formidable force. Despite some good challengers, and some very close calls, the Blue team won every race in their pool. The Greens hardly put a foot wrong,and both teams secured a place in the gold fleet.

With such initial success, the pressure was on but the competition was tougher in the gold fleet. However, both teams were on top form and sailed well, winning races and providing good competition.

Sunday morning got off to a disap-

pointing start, when the Edinburgh v Nottingham race had to be re-sailed. Having beaten them twice the day before, the Edinburgh team was not overtly concerned, but perhaps this complacency was what caused them to be spectacularly defeated: Nottingham 1,2,3 Edinburgh 4,5,6. However, recompense came for Edinburgh in the form of the Green Team, who decisively defeated Nottingham.

As the day continued, the steady breeze turned into a gusty gale, which required bullet fast reactions and left no room for mistakes. Capsizing boats kept the safety team busy, but luckily for the Edinburgh teams these only happened in between races. The lighter teams found the strong winds more of a hindrance but put up a good fight, while the OB teams were in their element.

The final was a Manchester OB v Sheffield OB, which ended with Manchester taking the title.

The Journal Wednesday 20 March 2013

SPORT// 23

@EdJournalSport / journal-online.co.uk

FOOTBALL

Hearts broken in League Cup final

St Mirren emerge triumphant from a fiery final encounter with the Jam Tarts at Hampden Park Scottish League Cup Final

ST MIRREN

3

HEARTS

2

Ruth Jeffery, Sean McGowan Sport editors

St Mirren lifted the Scottish League Cup trophy on Sunday after beating Heart of Midlothian 3-2 in a passionate final.

Ryan Stevenson netted two for the Jambos while Esmael Goncalves, Steven Thompson and Connor Newton got the Saint’s goals.

The Saint’s manager made just three changes to the team that beat Hearts two weeks ago. Van Zanten, Goodwin and Goncalves started in favour of Barron, Guy and Mair.

Hearts of Midlothian welcomed

Darren Barr back from suspension and Dylan McGowan overcame an ankle injury to make it into the starting XI. Danny Lennon said of his opponents: “We always knew that Hearts would bring a bit of quality and I’ve got to give them credit. They started the game where we didn’t and got off to a flier.”

Hearts looked on top for most of the first half with Ngoo and Sutton joining superbly to create some golden chances and putting St Mirren under real pressure. Stevenson’s first goal came only ten minutes into the match and until the equaliser in the 37th minute Hearts were energised, St Mirren only getting a look in on the break.

The second half was a different story, with Thompson putting the Buddies ahead after a minute and Hearts’ attack kept quiet.

St Mirren Captain Jim Goodwin said: “I’m over the moon- delighted, absolutely delighted. It’s a moment you

HOCKEY

LACROSSE

BUCS Scottish Conference Women’s 2A

BUCS Men’s Scottish Conference 1A

P W D L F A GD Pts

P W D L F

A GD Pts

8 8 0 0 31 6 25 24

St Andrews 1st

6 6 0 0 76 10 66

18

Edinburgh 2nd

8 3 2 3 18 19 -1

Glasgow 1st

8 3

5

7

Glasgow 1st

8 3

Edinburgh 1st

6 2 0 4 26 43 -17

6

Aberdeen 1st

8 3 0 5 19 25 -6 9

Stirling 1st

5 2 0 3 21 40 -19

6

St Andrews 1st

8

Aberdeen 1st

5

4

11

1 4 14 21 -7 10 1 6 20 31 -11 4

1

1 4 54 49

1 3 20 55 -35

FOOTBALL

RUGBY

BUCS Scottish Conference Men’s 1A

BUCS Scottish Conference Women’s 1A P W D L

1

F

The pair looked revitalised in the few minutes prior to the goal, Ngoo hungry to get Hearts on the scoresheet.

The three minutes of stoppage saw Hearts desperately trying to put the game to extra time, but St Mirren held on and the Jambos, though looking full of heart at the end, couldn’t score.

Jim Goodwin was a solid figure in defence for St Mirren, back after three weeks out for a calve strain. Danny Lennon was full of praise for his Captain after the match: “The full squad, the full group of players will go down as legends now and I’m delighted for them. We didn’t just invest in Jim Goodwin because of he was a good player; we invested in him because of his leadership qualities.

And I look upon the SPL at this moment in time and I don’t see too many strong leaders with good character. If there was medals given out for that Jim would certainly be in my top two.”

The women’s team doesn’t get the same level of recognition as the men’s despite being high achievers

Edinburgh 1st

P W D L

half in a burst of energy, with Steven Thompson scoring on 46 minutes.

Taouil had a shot from 30 yards out, showing the Jambos’ eagerness to get back into the game, but hit it with too little gusto enabling Samson to make an easy catch.

St Mirren stormed ahead again on 64 minutes, Connor Newton and Goncalves with a one-two 25 yards out, Newton slamming it home with conviction. Similar to the first goal, Hearts allowed St Mirren to slice through their defence, the Buddies picking them apart with passes.

Stevenson missed a sitter in the 83rd minute but redeemed himself one minute later by scoring a fantastic goal for the Jambos off a Ngoo pass.

Ngoo dodged three St Mirren defenders and slid a pass to Stevenson who was waiting by the left post and he slotted it home with Samson left sprawled in the box.

Hibs ladies start new season

LEAGUE TABLES

1

dream of as a young boy. I’ve watched so many legends climb up those stairs and you always hope that you’re going to get the opportunity to do it yourself.

I fulfilled one of my all-time ambitions today, to lead a team full of great great boys, great characters, in front of all the fans.”

Hearts’ first goal saw some skill from loanee Ngoo. His run with the ball was ended 30 yards before the goal by Goodwin, his flick passing it neatly onto Stevenson’s feet who dodged St Mirren’s defence and slotted the ball home.

Esmael Goncalves got St Mirren back into the game after 37 minutes. Steven Thompson with the ball just beyond the half way line sliced through the defence to Gary Teale who was waiting on the right side. His ball through to Goncalves gave the forward an open goal, and his effort was well timed to give the Saints heart.

St Mirren came out for the second

A GD Pts Leeds M. Car' 1st

F

A

GD Pts

11 9 0 2 362 130 232 45

Stirling 2nd

7 5

1 19 6

12

16

Durham 1st

Heriot-Watt 1st

8 4 1 3 15 16

-1

13

Loughborough 1st 12 9 0 3 394 172 222 44

Edinburgh 1st

8 2 3 3 16 18 -2

9

Newcastle 1st

12 6 0 6 147 269 -122 27

Aberdeen 1st

7 2 2 3 11 15 -4

8

Birmingham 1st

12 4 0 8 269 335 -66 18

Glasgow 1st

8 2

7

Nottingham1st

11 2 0 9 84 430 -346 12

Edinburgh 1st

12 2 0 10 146 369 -223 6

1 5 13 19 -5

12 9 0 3 414 111 303 45

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

Alfred Cary

Hibernian Football Club are sitting snuggly in the top half of the Scottish Premier League, with the players relaxing as European qualification becomes unattainable but relegation impossible. Despite the season drawing to an end, the players still receive a generous wage with 10,000 fans watching their every move.

The same cannot be said for their female counterparts, who are preparing for the long season ahead of them with up to 10 training sessions a week.

This rigorous schedule does not come with the same rewards as the men, despite their identical effort.

With three Scotland internationals in the women’s squad, the standard is very high but the reward is lackluster: about 25 spectators at each game, and a bill of £35 at the end of the month to cover the costs of playing.

by Ruth Jeffery

In the Pitchside Podcast we

discuss all manner of footballing antics from East of Scotland to the Bundesliga. Sometimes we also talk about very serious things like beards or strange incidents on the pitch.

Last week, however, our eye was firmly turned by the might of Barcelona and the Manchester United match. One of the reasons why they are perhaps so spell-bindingly successful is, as Adam said: “Ten of the line-up against Manchester United started in the Champions League final line-up two years ago,

so they’ve gone back to the winning formula. Only Alba instead of Abedal was the difference.”

Consistency is a big part of producing results, and when the regular players are Messi and Iniesta, it’s easy to see why they are kept snugly in the team.

Another factor we touched on was desire. Of that victory, Craig commented: “You could really see it in their faces once the game was finished. When you looked at that, if you hadn’t known what game was on, you would have thought they had won the Champions League.”

Next time: the Russian league.

trophy cabinet and maintain their exceptional record. 11 trophies in 10 years is exceptional, and the players will be hoping that they can break Glasgow Cities’ six year run as league champions. However, to mount a challenge they will need to overcome the hurdles of funding, spectatorship and sponsorship. In an attempt to raise money, the club has resorted to bucket collections, supermarket bagging and club days. Without these fundraising efforts, the club will struggle to compete with the top teams in Scotland.

It’s fantastic to see the finest female players in the country fundraising and supporting their club with more than just performances on the field.

They truly are role models for our society, but they don’t get the recognition that they deserve for the trials they undergo to play football fulltime but unpaid.

Independent Bike Servicing Specialists

PITCHSIDE POD // OPINIONS In this week’s podast...

There is little opportunity for professional success in the sport. Indeed, only one player in the last 15 years at Hibernian Ladies has gone on to play for money, making their enthusiasm for the game their only incentive to play.

Or perhaps, it is the lure of international football, playing for the national team in front of 20,000 spectators.

These seem reasons enough, but for coach Willie Kirk “The girls’ desire to be the best, play the best and win tournaments as a result, is outstanding.

“The hardship that they go through to get them to where they are is exceptional and it’s no surprise that we now have 10 players representing the international squads at all levels.”

The first game of the season looms closer, and on the 17th March Hibernian hosted Aberdeen at Albyn Park.

The club is hoping to add to the

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