The Mancunion 17/10/2011

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Serving the students of Greater Manchester since 1973

Issue

05

Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

The www.mancunion.com Graphene to be used in ‘next generation of computer P03 chips’

Secret benefactor funds health reform P04 protest

Debt ridden student jailed for armed P05 robbery

Ferguson nets degree Societies:

Society Socials: To drink or not to drink?

Comment & Debate:

Cutting Legal Aid: For & Against

Politics & Analysis:

Tensions rise as Chilean students take to the streets

Arts & Culture:

Dani Middleton chats to comedy cabaret duo Frisky & Mannish

Bombay Bicycle Club: The journey so far

Lifestyle :

Black History Month

Ellen Conlon Staff Reporter Footballing genius and Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has been awarded the University’s highest honour.

The honorary degree marks his 25 years in charge of the club and recognises his role in

shaping Manchester’s worldwide reputation.

Sir Alex was presented with the degree on Foundation Day. He said, “It’s always nice to be appreciated and recognised, and getting this recognition is testimony to all the hard work that has gone on at Manchester United in the last 25 years.”

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Photo: Russell Hart

Music:

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News Visit Our Website

Sir Alex Ferguson awarded honorary doctorate at Manchester University Ruth Wildman News Editor Sir Alex Ferguson was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws last week during a ceremony marking the foundation of the University of Manchester.

The title recognises his 25th year

www.mancunion.com

The www.mancunion.com

Editor: Nick Renaud-Komiya editor@mancunion.com Postal address: Univerity of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR Deputy Editor: Emma Bean deputy@mancunion.com News Editors: Josh Carroll, Joe Sandler Clarke, & Ruth Wildman news@mancunion.com Phone (0161) 275 2933 Arts & Culture Editors: Phoebe Chambre & Dani Middleton arts@macunion.com Beauty Editor: Isabelle Dann beauty@mancunion.com Business & Finance Editors: Emily Bunting & Scott McEwan finance@mancunion.com Columnist: Ben Moore ben@mancunion.com Columnist: Lloyd Henning lloyd@mancunion.com Comment & Debate Editors: Paul Haslam & Ben Green comment@mancunion.com Fashion Editors: Claudia Canavan & Roisin Dervish-O’Kane fashion@mancunion.com Features Editor: Richard Crook features@mancunion.com Film Editors: Bill Knowles & Patrick Cowling film@mancunion.com Food & Drink Editor: Emily Clark foodanddrink@mancunion.com Lifestyle Editors: Lily Howes & Naila Missous lifestyle@mancunion.com Literature Editor: Steve Jones literature@mancunion.com Music Editors: Tom Geddes, Tom Hickman & Joe Smart music@mancunion.com Photo Editor: Jonny Whiting photography@mancunion.com Politics & Analysis Editors: Andrew Williams & Oliver Johnstone politics@mancunion.com Science & Technology Editors: Leah Wong & Aryan Safavi scienceandtech@mancunion.com Societies Editor: Ceri Wills societyspotlight@mancunion.com Sport Editors: Jack Burke & Patrick Madden sport@mancunion.com Theatre Editor: Andrew Campbell theatre@mancunion.com Web Editor: Lloyd Henning webed@mancunion.com Advertising John Conway Email studentdirect@salford.ac.uk Tel 0161 351 5402 Address Student Direct, University House The Crescent, Salford M5 4W

anniversary of the merger of UMIST and Victoria University to become the University of Manchester.

Professor Rod Coombs, the University's deputy president, presented the award to Sir Alex and said, “These two and a half decades of the Ferguson era at United have coincided with, and been a big part of, the renaissance

of this city. That renaissance has been manifest in industry, in commerce, in architecture, in the arts, in our University, and in sport.”

Sir Terry Leahy, the former CEO of Tesco and former chancellor of the University gave his keynote lecture on climate change and was the first non-academic to give the speech.

course in Manchester last June: “The position I’m in now sucks, it’s kind of tricky because there are never as many jobs as there are people so it’s taking me a lot longer than I thought to find something.

“Creating more jobs, as well as maybe encouraging economic growth could make the UK a much happier place; people feel a lot happier when they have a purpose in life.”

Tony Lloyd, Labour MP for Manchester Central, said, “Its actually frightening, young people are sadly being treated as a commodity to be dismissed at will.”

He said sharp increases in fees and the “collapse of the job market” were making it even harder for young people to find work.

“Things like the removal of the Educational Maintenance Allowance have made it harder for young people to reach higher education. We’ve got to provide increased, adequate training and support for young people.” Lloyd suggested opening up flexible working for the long-term unemployed.

He also described the experience of graduates unable to find work as “soul destroying”.

The Conservatives pledged to create 100,000 apprenticeships during their first year in government and an additional 10,000 higher level apprenticeships are being introduced.

But honouring that pledge may prove difficult while implementing swingeing cuts.

Youth unemployment highest since records began Chloe Glover

OurTeam

managing Manchester United and his influence on the Manchester's international reputation.

Other influential figures, including the Chief Executive of Cancer Research and the Chief Executive of the British Library, were also awarded with honorary degrees as part of the University’s Foundation Day. Foundation Day marks the

Youth unemployment in the UK has hit a record high, statistics released last Wednesday have revealed.

Almost 1 million 16-24 year olds are now without jobs in the UK, the biggest figure since records began in 1992.

Data from June to August shows that 991,000 young people are unemployed, equalling a jump of 74,000 since May 2011 and taking the youth unemployment rate to 21.3 percent.

The news puts doubt on the coalition’s claims that they are doing enough to combat youth unemployment and has increased worries amongst young people about their prospects of finding a

job in the current economic climate.

Irene Robinson, a student at Manchester Metropolitan University, is worried about the prospect of getting a job after university, especially one relevant to the skills she has learned: “I wouldn’t go to university if we had to pay more in fees when people are coming out of the other end now and not being able to get a job anywhere, let alone in a field they are interested in. I think they should put more money into good training schemes for young people and ensuring there are jobs out there for us.

“I feel like young people have become a forgotten generation.”

Sam Redmond, who did not want to give his real name, has been on job seekers’ allowance since he finished his university

£1k in vouchers on offer for survey respondents Joshua Carroll News Editor The University will give out £1,000 worth of Amazon vouchers to lucky students.

To be eligible for the prize, students will need to fill out the Student Barometer Survey, which runs from the 24th October until the end of November and from next April.

Tim Westlake, the Director for the Student Experience, says the survey is designed to enhance teaching, and improve the experiences of new students.

The University also wants to "reflect on the support and services" it provides and "improve relationships between students and academic advisors."

The survey can be taken by logging onto my.manchester.ac.uk.

Last month The Mancunion reported that Manchester University was the worst in the Russell Group for teaching standards, according to a league table by the Guardian.

Free iPads for medics are unnecessary, says survey Ellen Conlon Staff Reporter A scheme to provide medical and dental students with iPads is unnecessary, voters in a poll for The Mancunion believe. 62 out of 73 answered no to the question "Do medical students need free iPads?"

Over 700 medics and dentists will receive the tablet computers from the University in December.

Professors say the tablets are necessary as students will spend more time off campus on clinical placements and that the scheme is an example of the University’s determination to improve standards.

Only 11 voters believed that iPads were necessary for clinical education.

Many see it as a quick attempt to raise student satisfaction at a time when Manchester’s medical school has one of the lowest rates in the country, at 69 percent.

One medic said the scheme was a

"transparent" attempt to "buy student satisfaction". Others were concerned about the cost of the scheme being run at a time when the higher education budget is being slashed.

89 percent of voters believe that iPads are unnecessary. Photo: Patrycja Marczewska

Ed#5 Nick RenaudKomiya Editor

Business as usual You won’t have failed to notice the sharp burst of sunshine piercing through the clouds a short while ago. Now that the switch has been flicked back to its default setting, Manchester is reliably drenched once again.

As fun as it is walking around the city only to discover that the man who sold you that ‘waterproof’ jacket was a liar, it’s worth considering just how lucky we are.

In this issue our columnist Ben Moore has done just this.

Looking past the negative headlines about the University and slurs from the likes of Jeremy Clarkson, Ben examines those things, which, in his words, make Manchester ‘heaven’.

From the heartfelt to the light-hearted Turning our spotlight to the week’s events, the campus was a hive of activity. As you can see from this newspaper’s front page, the week saw Sir Alex Ferguson being bestowed with an honorary degree from our dear institution. From the heartfelt to light-hearted, Blur bassist-turned cheese farmer Alex James came to the Students’ Union to promote his new range of cheeses. Look out in the next issue for our Food & Drink editor Emily’s interview with the gentleman farmer himself.

Three (small) cheers for democracy Those more eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that voting has begun for the NUS delegate elections. Small posters smattered around the union building and various campus notice boards have quietly ushered in the ballot.

The purpose of these elections is for students to decide who they want to send to the National Union of Students’ annual conference. The group of elected representatives from UMSU will be going to discuss how to deal with issues that directly affect students. Voting can be done on your portal and ends on the 20th October, so get involved.

Now folks, we here at Mancunion Towers will be taking a break for a couple of weeks. We’ll be back with our next print edition on 7th November. Stay strong, it’s sooner than you think. You can still get your sustenance of Mancunion news, views and features by going to our jawdroppingly amazing website www.mancunion.com.

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Society Spotlight

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Union Corner

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th September 2011

Hundreds stranded after college goes bust Joe Sandler Clarke News Editor

Hundreds of overseas students have been left stranded in the UK after a London college closed suddenly last Friday.

Students at the Tasmac London School of Business are likely to have lost the tuition fees they paid and will have to find more money if they want to study elsewhere this year.

They were said to be left feeling “emotional and in a state of shock” when it was announced that the college had gone into administration earlier this month.

Tasmac awarded both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in business validated by the University of Wales (UoW).

Speaking to the BBC, Sameer Dua, who was the joint managing director of Tasmac UK business school, said that the college had been forced to close after changes to UK visa regulations brought in by the UK Borders Agency: "These changes have not only impacted Tasmac, they have impacted many more colleges that could be shut down,” he said.

"Most of our students are non-EU students. All these require visas to come. It became difficult to sustain ourselves."

Mr Dua also said that the UoW is working to transfer the stranded students onto courses at partner colleges.

Representatives from the UoW last week met up with students at Tasmac in a bid to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, staff at Tasmac have been quick to criticise the college.

Joanna Oman, who was the marketing manager for Tasmac school of business, said, "Tasmac is extremely unlikely to transfer any ... tuition fees towards the new colleges as the company has gone into liquidation in the UK," she said.

If Ms Oman is correct, this will mean that students have to pay more if they choose to transfer to another college affiliated with the UoW. Many of the 650 students had paid their fees upfront, with some masters students paying as much as £7,850.

Ms Oman also said that as the students’ visas had been tied to their place at Tasmac it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to get a new visa. This means that many students, some from as far afield as

Nepal and Cameroon, may be forced to return home.

Staff at Tasmac have also described how vans arrived to remove furniture and computers from the college’s Wembley campus just hours after it was announced that the institution was to close.

The closure casts doubt over the future of the University of Wales, which has been hit by numerous scandals over the last 12 months.

Leighton Andrews, the Welsh education secretary, said that the University should be shut down given its recent troubles: "I made a statement in the assembly earlier this week which made it clear

that the Welsh government is very concerned about the University of Wales and the damage it is causing to the reputation both of higher education in Wales, and of our country around the world.

“I think the University of Wales probably requires a decent burial.”

From Nobel prize winner … to ‘silicon chip’s replacement’

‘Most prolific’ robber jailed Dami Abajingin

A sculpture of a graphene molecule by Theo Kaccoufa and Tom Grimsey.

Photo: Jennifer Ho

Duncan Jaycock Staff Reporter

Scientists at the University of Manchester say they are on their way to creating the next generation of computer chips using the Nobel prize-winning material graphene.

The Manchester University team have created a device which could be vital for replacing the silicon chip in computers. By surrounding two sheets of graphene with boron nitrate, the team have also enabled scientists to see how graphene behaves when unaffected by its environment.

In their journal Nature Physics, the team have shown

for the very first time how graphene inside electronic circuits will probably look in the future.

Dr Leonid Ponomarenko, the leading author of Nature Physics, said, “Creating the multilayer structure has allowed us to isolate graphene from negative influence of the environment and control graphene’s electronic properties in a way it was impossible to before.

“So far people have never seen graphene as an insulator unless it has been purposefully damaged, but here high-quality graphene becomes an insulator for the first time.”

Professor Andre Geim, who discovered the material along with Professor Kostya

Dr Ponomarenko with his nanotransistor

Novosolev, said, “We are constantly looking at new ways of demonstrating and improving the remarkable properties of graphene.

“Leaving the new physics we report aside, technologically important is our demonstration that graphene encapsulated within boron nitride offers the best and most advanced platform for future graphene electronics. It solves several nasty issues about graphene’s stability and quality that were hanging for a long time as dark clouds over the future road for graphene electronics.

"We did this on a small scale but the experience shows that everything with graphene can be scaled up.

“It could be only a matter of several months before we have encapsulated graphene transistors with characteristics better than previously demonstrated.”

These developments come after George Osborne pledged £50m for investment in the material.

Academics at the Manchester Enterprise Centre have developed a unit to take advantage of graphene's business potential. Launched this year, the unit helps teach 30 PhD students researching graphene and nanotechnology to commercialise the material.

Dr Martin Henery, who runs the new unit, said, "A great deal of work will be required

to drill down from a huge global opportunity to identifying a customer that will pay to have a real problem solved, developing the technology so that it can do that job while at the same time generating intellectual property that can be protected, and finally acquiring the right mix of people, money and resources that can take this technology to market.

"In a few years from now we might not only have Manchester University's graphene technology being at the centre of an exciting new range of products, but some of our student's may have started up and be leading the companies taking those products to market."

A mugger has finally been jailed after confessing to 101 crimes.

Tyler Hayhurst, 20, committed what a judge has described as a “campaign of robbery” in the Piccadilly area for the past six years.

It is believed to be the highest number of crimes anyone has ever confessed to in Greater Manchester.

Hayhurst, pleaded guilty to nine robberies and one burglary between December of last year and June of this year, when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court. He asked that another 61 street muggings, 35 thefts, four burglaries and one attempted robbery to be taken into consideration of his sentence.

He was sentenced to five years and will remain on license for an additional four. If he had pleaded non-guilty to the crimes his sentence would have been nine years in prison.

Hayhurst’s robberies were violent and some of his victims are now too frightened to leave their homes.

He admitted to leaving a man with two broken fingers. In another attack, he even stole his victim’s glasses.

City centre superintendent Vanessa Jardine, said, "Hayhurst is by far the most prolific robber we have ever encountered in the city centre”.

04 Iranian in weight vest mistaken for bomber Stevie Spiegl Staff Reporter An Oxford University PhD student had a narrow escape when his training vest was mistaken for an explosive device.

An armed response team interrupted Goudarz Karimi’s afternoon jog after police received a report of “someone walking in a bomb suit.”

He was stopped at gunpoint and the vest was searched for explosives. Karimi was then allowed to go, having been asked to put a jacket on over the vest.

Karimi, who is Iranian, said the incident was sparked by his ethnicity: “I am 100 percent sure that if I was blond with Caucasian skin type, nobody would have noticed and said anything about it.” Thames Valley Police deny this.

Training vests, which resemble a flak jacket with weight pouches, are becoming an increasingly popular exercise accessory, with Prince Harry using one on his trek to the Arctic.

Mugger caught thanks to iPhone app Solomon Radley Staff Reporter A thief who stole an iPhone has been tracked down and jailed with the help of an application installed on the device.

Joshua Saeger, 18, was able to locate the thief using the Find My iPhone app and Google Maps.

Helped by his sister, Saeger was able to direct police to the house of the thief’s grandmother, and to the shop that bought the stolen phone.

Using the software Saeger was able to watch his phone’s movements on a map. A printout of these movements was then handed to the police, and the mugger’s identity was confirmed using a photograph.

The 15-year-old thief was arrested and jailed for 12 months after appearing at Manchester Crown Court, where he admitted to robbery.

Free posters for freshers Rachel Heward Staff Reporter A website, advicetosinkinslowly.net provides free posters created by graduates offering advice for new students.

The collection boasts handdrawn and original designs with titles such as “eat breakfast”, “let go of what you think you know” and “get off the computer now and again”.

Secret donor funds health reform protest Khalil Secker Staff Reporter Thousands of protesters, including students from Manchester University, opposed the coalition government’s NHS reforms by occupying Westminster Bridge in London last Sunday.

Numbers were bolstered by an anonymous donor, who laid on coaches for protestors travelling from outside London.

A spokesperson for UK Uncut, the group which organised the demonstration, told The Mancunion that the donor paid for 14 coaches, carrying around 600 people. One of the free coaches travelled from Manchester.

UK Uncut would only confirm that the donor was “not a celebrity”.

The protest stopped traffic across the bridge, one of London’s busiest, for just over three hours.

UK Uncut said Westminster Bridge was occupied symbolically to “block the Bill” from passing from Parliament to St. Thomas’ hospital on the opposite side of the river.

Comedian Josie Long joined the occupation, along with students, trade unionists, healthcare workers, children and the elderly.

Protestors wore hospital scrubs and fake blood whilst a young boy shouted on a loudspeaker “Cuts, no way. Make the greedy bankers pay.”

There was a large police presence and the protest passed peacefully. A small group of anarchists broke away from the main demonstration, but were held, photographed and released without further incident.

Dr Raymond Tallis, emeritus professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Manchester, criticised the government’s Health and Social Care Bill for potentially allowing for ‘Americanisation’ of the NHS: “The Bill is a mass of flaws and I am not alone in regarding it as a threat to the very future of the NHS,” he said. “An American-style health service would be inefficient and serve all but the well-off very badly.”

Recently almost 400 of Britain’s top public health professionals wrote an open letter to the House of Lords asking

them to reject the Bill. They said it would “erode the NHS’s ethical and cooperative foundations” and cause “irreparable harm”.

“The NHS is such a national treasure,” said Hannah Paterson, the Students’ Union (UMSU) Welfare Officer. “It’s the difference between life and death and people don’t even know we’re at risk of losing it.”

David Cameron last week defended the planned reforms, stating that while he understood that people have reservations about the bill, ultimately he was sure the proposals were right.

"Of course there are doctors and others within the NHS that are wary about parts of our proposals, about greater choice for patients, about greater competition with the NHS,” he said in an interview with ITV’s ‘Daybreak’.

"There have always been opponents to that, but the point of the exercise we held in the summer, when we paused and restarted the reforms, was to bring more of the health service on board, and many GPs, many doctors and many in the health service recognise that change is necessary if we are going to drive up standards in the health service, in which we invest and care about so much."

Will Stobart, a member of Manchester Students' Conservative Society, said the protest was misguided: "The Bill will achieve the best for patients and for the NHS as I think you

can have a well functioning public and private partnership. I was in hospital for a month recently and found that the privately employed agency nurses were just as caring and as professional as the NHS nurses. The Conservatives don't want to abolish free healthcare. A large portion of our voting base is amongst

A protestor on a tripod helps block traffic on Westminster Bridge. Photo: Sarah Kerton

the elderly, many of whom depend on free treatment.

"The protest is misguided since NHS funding is actually increasing funding year on year. Both the NHS budget and

Cuts will leave UK falling behind, warns Oxford head Joe Sandler Clarke News Editor

Cuts to university funding will lead to top British students and academics abandoning the UK for foreign institutions, the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University has warned.

Professor Andrew Hamilton has argued that the UK risks falling behind its international competitors if the coalition government continues with planned cuts to higher education.

He said that in China and the US, education spending has increased despite economic uncertainty while UK spending has dropped from 1.3 percent of GDP to 1.2 percent.

In the US, Harvard University receives 80 percent of its funding from the state, while Oxford is only 40 percent state funded.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government are looking to create 100 top universities this century.

Hamilton went on to say that the UK government is poor at funding postgraduate

Professor Andrew Hamilton

the international aid budget have been ringfenced. There are better things to protest about. For example in Wales where Labour are in power, NHS funding is actually being cut."

students, who are "the engine of ground-breaking experimentation", according to Hamilton.

"It is striking … that there is nothing in the UK that can compare with the US government's federal loans scheme, to enable graduate students to finance their study,” he said in his annual address to UK academics two weeks ago. “[Funding postgraduate research] doesn't always sit easily with short-term political imperatives", he acknowledged. But without postgraduates "many of the roots of our research would soon wither or die".

Hamilton’s comments came exactly a year after one of the University of Manchester’s Nobel Prize winning

physicists, Konstantin Novoselov, warned that cuts to higher education could force scientists abroad and damage efforts to recruit foreign scientists.

"Without money we won't be able to attract good people here," said Novoselov in an interview with the Guardian last year.

"The impact is going to be that good scientists will go abroad, especially the young people."

Novoselov, 36, won the 2010 Nobel Prize for physics with his colleague, Andre Geim, 51, for creating wafers of carbon that are a single atom thick. It is thought that their unusual properties could transform electronics, from solar cells to computers and sensors.

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Lecturers threaten to strike over pension dispute Stevie Spiegl Staff Reporter

University staff have threatened to stop lecturing and marking work if employers refuse to negotiate the terms of their pensions.

Lecturers at 67 universities, including the University of Manchester have begun “working to contract” in an attempt to force employers to negotiate over changes to pensions, and have promised to step up their action if their demands are not heard.

“Working to contract” would mean lecturers refusing to work outside of their contracted hours or undertake extra duties such as voluntary meetings or uncontracted cover. A recent survey has shown that lecturers work an average 55-hour week, despite the national working time limit being set at 48 hours a week.

The industrial action comes in response to a package of changes to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) implemented

this month. Under the new scheme, new members would be put on Career-Average, rather than Final Salary, pensions. This modification, combined with increased contributions and less protection against inflation, could make the average lecturer lose £100,000 over the course of their retirement, said the University and College Union (UCU).

The UCU has expressed opposition to the package ever since it was proposed in June 2010. 90 percent of those pension scheme members who voted opposed the changes, while an industrial action ballot saw 77 percent of union members backing a sustained action campaign.

The UCU maintains that it had hoped to avoid industrial action, and that its hand has been forced by the stubbornness of the universities. ‘The union has consistently called for a negotiated agreement, offered counter proposals and sought the assistance of Advisory, Consolation and Abitrary Service (ACAS) to try and

resolve the dispute. The employers have refused to talk,’ said the union’s dispute briefing.

The UCU hopes the new tactics of “working to contract”will convince universities to reconsider their terms without having a detrimental impact on the students themselves. If not successful it has warned that rolling strikes will follow, along with a boycott of student assessment, affecting up to one million students.

“Despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute, we cannot negotiate with an empty chair,” said Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary. “Our action will start today and will see thousands of UCU members at universities across the country stop going the extra mile.”

“We are keen to resolve this dispute as quickly as possible with minimal disruption and hope those universities keen to avoid unnecessary confrontation and disruption will start to apply pressure on those refusing to talk.”

Lecturers from the University of Glasgow on strike in March this year.

A million unwanted emails sent after Oxford admin blunder Solomon Radley Staff Reporter

Email accounts at the University of Oxford were suspended for just under a week, due to an error leading to around one million unwanted spam emails being sent.

The administrative error by the Oxford University Admissions Office has caused anger amongst prospective students when a huge number of emails were generated by mistake. As a result of the blunder, Microsoft blocked all mail from university accounts to services including Hotmail and Windows Live for nearly a week.

A university spokesperson explained the problem, saying, “An email list was created but misconfigured in such a way that recipients hitting ‘reply all’ responded to all users on the list, which is not normally permitted on this kind of list.”

The mistake became apparent when one prospective student

The admissions office at Oxford University (left) fell into chaos when prospective students were allowed to email everyone on a mailing list. Exchanges between applicants soon escalated to abuse. accidentally messaged everyone on the list asking why his prospectus had not been delivered, in reaction to this over one million emails were exchanged. Initially these were from people wondering why they were receiving the misdirected mail, but the exchanges soon escalated to abuse, and finally to pleas for everyone to stop sending the emails.

By the time the Admissions Office realised the problem and closed the mailing list on September 26, members had received between 400 and 500 emails each – including one from the father of the boy who initially hit the “reply all” button,

Why go to university?

A series of public lectures on the purpose of universities took place last week at the Universities of Cambridge and East London (Rachel Heward writes).

While some view university as a place to gain skills for employment and to contribute to the economy. Others see it as an institution of learning and

expanding the mind.

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said, "We have really hard evidence to show that students are fairly clear about why they want to go to university and for the vast majority, it is about getting a better job and having a successful career.”

apologising for what his son had unknowingly set in motion.

Microsoft blocked all emails from Nexus accounts following the incident, causing further frustration among students.

Although the blockade was lifted on October 3, many students had to wait days for the emails that were sent to them during the ban to arrive.

The Oxford University Computer Service (OUCS) explained, “We believe the Microsoft blacklisting has been removed but we have to be extremely careful not to retrigger it with too much mail too quickly. OUCS intends, therefore, to start releasing the queued mail in batches.”

Debt-ridden former student robs store he used to work at Charlotte Parker

A former student of Salford University who was unable to repay his tuition fees and debts stole around £20,000 in an armed robbery.

Michael Hill was sentenced to three years in jail after he carried out the raid at a Co-op store where he had previously worked, armed with a knife.

Hill entered the store on 26 August, having travelled from Manchester City Centre to Astley.

Hill had concealed his face with a scarf and produced a knife, forcing the staff to open the safe.

He also told staff he had planted a bag containing a bomb in the forecourt of the store. Hill grabbed hold of the store manager and pushed over a security guard in his attempt to get the cash.

Hill was pursued by a security guard when running from the

Riot-damaged Miss Selfridge reopens The Miss Selfridge store that was destroyed by arsonists during the riots last August has reopened (Solomon Radley writes).

A spokeswoman for the company said it is “very happy” to be trading on Market Street again, and the city council has dubbed its reopening as a “visible symbol” of Manchester’s recovery.

The store was forced to close after a fire caused an estimated £400,000 worth of damage to the building.

Two men were arrested, but released without charge over the arson.

Councillor Pat Karney said that Manchester is quickly getting back to “business as usual” following the riots.

store, with £20,000 of cash in his bag. A motorist blocked Hill’s path after they noticed the chase, during which Hill dropped some of the money. Security stopped Hill from fleeing the scene and held him until officers arrived.

Employees at the store recognised Mr Hill from his time working there.

Details of debts, which ran into thousands of pounds, were told at the hearing. It was also revealed that the ex-student of Salford University had been “kicked off the course due to issues about him not paying his fees”. Hill had been threatened with legal action regarding his legal fees.

Hill had been unsuccessful in receiving a loan, and had lost his part time job due to a lack of work.

Andrew Downie, of the prosecution told how the associated failure to pay his rent had caused him to be removed from his student accommodation, making Hill dependent on friends for somewhere to sleep.

Amassing debts with friends

and family, resulted in Hill sleeping on the streets of Manchester, saying he had “hit rock bottom” and did not want to seem “a leech and a failure” by remaining dependent on others.

The court was told Hill had been “contemplating committing a robbery to gain cash”.

William Swalwell, who was defending Mr Hill, indicated his clean record and instant admission to robbery.

Testimonials from friends and family speak of his honesty and out of character behaviour in committing the offense. Hill said the robbery was: “the biggest mistake of my life”.

Detective Constable Suzanne Rigby said: "Hill put those hardworking people through a frightening experience by taking a weapon into that shop, threatening and intimidating them.

"Plenty of people face a struggle to get an education but such hardship gives people no right to turn to crime and the jail term Hill is now facing proves that."

Free tuition for poorer students As part of the government’s free school programme, a sixth-form college will open in London with teachers from some of the UK’s top high schools, who will offer free tuition. The aim is to give disadvantaged teenagers the opportunity to get into university (Rachel Heward writes).

Staff from Eton, Highgate, City of London School and Brighton

College will be teaching at the London Academy of Excellence in east London.

The school will only offer ‘hard’ A-Levels such as maths, science, English and geography. There will be no vocational courses such as media studies or sociology. A spokesperson said it will be a “robustly academic institution”.

06

Ceri Wills Societies Editor

Drinking culture is a large part of university life. Yet a large proportion of students choose not to take part, and thus can feel excluded from many social events where they know drinking is on the agenda.

Making the decision not to drink may be down to a number of reasons. The reasons are often cultural or religious, or sometimes they are purely personal; someone may not like the taste, or they may not enjoy the feeling of being drunk.

Whatever the reason, their decision should be respected and they should not be treated differently on that basis.

For some, it’s not a problem and they do not mind being around people who are drinking while they remain sober. Sarah, a 3rd year student who drinks a little but has never been drunk, has never had a problem about not really drinking. “To be honest, a lot of students drink to give them the confidence they lack without it. But aren’t we missing the point, society socials are about being social? Besides, it’ll be a waste of a night, if you can’t remember it!”

However, it is understandable

The new Societies section is looking for societies to feature, event listings and contributors. If you're in a society and would like to be featured, contact me at societyspotlight@mancunion.com. You will also be able to find me at 11am in the Students' union bar every Wednesday.

It’s not always about alcohol, more often it’s about exclusion that for many this is not an enjoyable or comfortable situation as, let’s face it, we may not be the most lucid or entertaining bunch whilst drunk.

The practicalities of being the non-drinker can be tiresome.

Laura, a 3rd year student, says “It's uncomfortable being [sober] around drunk people because you're more inhibited, and end up as the ‘responsible’ one who walks them home and ends up looking after people.” And whilst a drinker’s memory of a night may be that everyone had a great time dancing, the sober one’s (probably more accurate) memory of the night may be that between slurs and hiccups their friends spent most of the time dry humping the nearest member of the opposite sex.

Event

Listings MONDAY 17th

Black and Ethnic minority week It’s Black and Ethnic minority week all week at the Students’ Union so keep an eye out for events.

TUESDAY 18th

Debating Union Training session for Thursday’s debate. Simon Building, room 4.38 from 5pm to 7pm.

WEDNESDAY 19th

LGBTQ Coffee afternoon in Contact Theatre from 1pm until 4pm.

Circus Skills Society 2pm to 4pm upstairs in the Burlington Society building. We’ll head over to the Students’ Union bar after to chill and chat Challenging Orthodoxies Society ‘Eugenics: The Birth of a New Generation?’ with speakers Dr David King, Dr Sarah Chan and Dr Anders Sandberg. From 4pm in the Council Chambers.

THURSDAY 20th

Manchester Leadership Programme Volunteering Fete to increase awareness of importance of volunteering in the local community.

Academy 1 from 11am to 4pm.

OPEN MEDIA Showing ‘The Interrupters’ about gang violence in Chicago, first UK screening outside of cinemas. From 7.30pm in the Council Chambers.

Talent Society Just Jam session in the Students’ Union bar from 5pm to 7pm. Take part or just listen. Space, backline and P.A provided so just bring your instrument and vibes. Open to all styles and ability.

FRIDAY 21st

Francophone Society Wine & Cheese night with a DJ spinning some funk and soul tunes.

From 7pm in room 6 of the Students’ Union. £2 for members, £3 for non members

SATURDAY 22nd

Music Society (MUMS) Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, from 7.30pm in the Martin Harris Centre.

Book by emailing boxoffice@manchester.ac.uk or calling 0161 275 8951. Tickets adults £10/concessions £6/students £4 or free for members.

SUNDAY 22nd

Hiking Club Trip to Ingleton. To sign up visit us Mon-Fri 12.30pm to 1.30pm in the activities office in the Students’ Union basement.

To include your event here please email a short description including time, date and venue to societyspotlight@mancunion.com

Why not look into holding some events in an alcohol free space?

This is especially important for key society events, such as elections, where everyone should have equal access to participate.

For a list of venues that have an alcohol free space you can look at the Manchester Venue Guide compiled by the UMSU Welfare Officer. Using rooms at the Students’ Union is also a good option as it is a well known and accessible venue.

The key point to remember is that it’s not always about alcohol; more often it’s about exclusion.

Non-drinking students will be

aware that being at university means a level of exposure to people who will want to drink, but this should not mean that they are then excluded from the things everyone else has access to. Everyone is entitled to the best possible experience of university, and this should never be dictated by whether they choose to drink or not, so keep this in mind when you plan your next social.

be submitted by Drama Society members. All you need to do for a chance to get your play into the festival is to think about your vision and a breakdown of what you will need in terms of budget, tech and rehearsals and put it together to make a cracking proposal form. There will be a panel of four theatre and film professionals judging the plays so this is a great chance to get your work noticed.

And last, but certainly not least, we have teamed up with Eurotrips to treat our lucky members with a trip to Berlin!

We will be going in early

February, so bring your duffle coats and thermals, and it will be for a ridiculously cheap price, including transport and accommodation for four nights.

If you are not yet a member but want to get involved, contact us via our Facebook group: University of Manchester Drama Society or Twitter: @umudramasoc. This is where you find out about all our latest opportunities and events. We have our amazing Christmas Party coming up in early December, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If you have any questions feel free to contact us at umudrama@hotmail.com.

Online now: Go to www.mancunion.com for more student opinion on not drinking at university, plus not -alcohol event listings

Society Spotlight: Drama Emma Fernell

Debating Union ‘This house would exclude Turkey from joining the EU’ from 5pm in the Simon Building Basement theatre.

There is also a stigma attached to being a non-drinker that you are boring, or ‘above’ the people who do drink. Laura describes the feeling like “having a big sign above you saying ‘I’m not cool.

Kick me.’”

So what are the implications for societies? All societies want to, and have an obligation to, let anyone get involved. It’s impossible to keep everyone happy all of the time, and this is not what I’m suggesting you aim to do. The key is balance. This means holding a range of different socials throughout the year, respecting the varied needs of your members.

Events like pub-crawls are perhaps one of the most obviously alcohol focused socials.

This is not to say you shouldn’t ever do them, but be aware that some may feel immediately excluded. Shefali, a Manchester student, suggests adding another aspect such as “a challenge or the like to be completed during the pub crawl, then non-drinkers could get involved through that.”

Also be aware of how you publicise your events, being careful about the language you use and the impression you’re giving. The event you’re holding may not have an alcoholic focus, but if the first thing you mention is the cheap bar then you might have got off on the wrong foot.

Photo: Jonny Whiting

Societies Get involved!

To drink, or not to drink?

The University of Manchester Drama Society has always been massive (the university’s biggest non-sporting society) but this year we’re determined to make it bigger and better than ever, and so far we’re doing pretty darn well.

Our autumn showcase is already underway with three amazing shows, and this year there’s a bit of a twist. For the first time ever, there is a special prize at the Manchester In Fringe Theatre Awards (MIFTAs) for Best Autumn Showcase play. This should inject an extra something special into the Showcase, hopefully making some brilliant plays even more extraordinary.

The first play, ‘Overspill,’ follows three girls whose night out in Manchester takes a turn for the worse when the city is bombed. It runs from the 16th to the 18th November at Club Underground.

This year’s John Thaw Studio production is new student writing play, ‘Not My Cup of Tea’, running from the 23rd to the 25th November. This play explores ideas of escaping capitalism and the dream of living for free.

Finally, our second new writing play, ‘Solve,’ set in an anonymous

totalitarian state, runs from the 30th of November to the 2nd of December at Club Underground.

Tickets for all plays are £5, £4.50 for students, £4 for Drama Society members and are available from the Martin Harris Centre Box Office and the Box Office in the Student Union. Performances are bound to sell out so book fast to avoid disappointment.

An exciting first for us this year is that we are able to offer an amazing opportunity to perform in a professional space; the Contact Theatre. In line with the work of the Contact this production will be a devised, physical performance, providing Drama Society members a chance to get involved in a wider variety of theatre. This is a unique and exciting opportunity, so reach out and grab it with both hands!

We may be bringing in a lot of new things but we haven’t forgotten the old favourites – the time for submitting MIFTAs proposal forms is nearly upon us. If you’ve ever thought about being a director, if you’ve written something you really want to get on the stage, or maybe you just have a play in mind that you’d love the chance to put on then this is your chance. We will be putting on seven plays, each of which will

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07

Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Ben Moore Columnist Following the recent sinking in University league tables and celebrity criticisms, it feels like Manchester is under siege. Fear not, I am here to tell you why Manchester is one of the best places in the world to live- and study.

Carlos Tevez, Manchester City and former Manchester United footballer, claimed this year that he was never going back to Manchester, “not even on holiday, not for anything”. What on earth could leave someone, paid (some claim) as much as £286,000 every week, to lament such a wonderful city in this way? It may be a starting point that he also says he’s the “stay at home type”, meaning he hasn’t experienced the wonderful vibrancy of the city. But, more importantly, you only get out of Manchester what you put into it and Tevez is one of the most miserable characters in professional sport; for him to detest Manchester is, perversely, a tribute to the warm, diverse people that live here.

On the theme of miserable, overpaid men, we have an informed and ever cheerful opinion from Jeremy Clarkson, who described the thriving economic hub of Salford on Quays as “a small suburb with a Starbucks and a canal with ducks in it". The BBC has planned to relocate to Salford in Greater Manchester, identifying it as an exciting location to reinvigorate a weary British Broadcasting Company. Clarkson rejects this idea, as “In short, Salford is 'up north'". Hopefully, the Doncaster born presenter sees sense.

The fact that Tevez detests Manchester is, perversely, a tribute to the warm, diverse people that live here Despite headline-grabbing news stories such as “Worst University in the Russell Group”, the University of Manchester is internationally held in good stead. The poor performance of the University in domestic league tables is largely a result of the poor ‘pupil satisfaction’ data the University receives, in particular the weighting attributed to satisfaction on academic feedback. A look at the international rankings however, and Manchester is as high as 30th in the World (QS) and consistently rated the 7th best University in the UK. If you’re worried about the prestige of the University, you should not be. The specific factor that is bringing Manchester down is also not one which will make you less employable or intellectually challenged either, which is why it is hard to take the latest rankings without a pinch of salt. So if you’re an egotist or just

Students enjoying the unseasonably hot weather in the Peak District.

football teams in the English Premier League.

In Old Trafford, we have the largest clubowned capacity football stadium in England. You can take a swim in the Commonwealth games pool for £2.50!

Manchester is also home to the county cricket champions Lancashire, with the Old Trafford cricket ground being renovated this year to increase the capacity and modernise the facilities as demand for the sport increases.

As if I haven’t demonstrated already why Manchester is, as Benjamin Disraeli said, “as great a human exploit as Athens”, then there are the wider social benefits Manchester provides. Shepherd’s Bush Westfield may be the UK’s largest shopping centre, but it is not the best. That accolade hands down goes to the Trafford Centre; anyone who has visited the food court alone will testify to the range of cuisines available to all.

Can’t get any better can it? Well, consider the fact that every day there’s at least five student orientated nights out in Manchester.

Unlike getting in to a good night in London, you don’t need to know the organiser or have a proclivity to wearing pretentious clothing and snorting expensive table salt.

When I say I’m from London to people, it is always greeted with an expectation that I feel superior to them, but on the contrary, I’d happily call myself a Mancunian. I remember having scepticism about how Mancs would act towards me as a Southerner, but they’ve been the warmest people I have ever met. Even the bus drivers all say bye as you get off. What more could a student want? Manchester is my heaven!

Photo: Zi Wei

Featured Photo

worried that Manchester isn’t highly regarded by employers, don’t worry, it is.

In fact, let’s look at what the University of Manchester does excel in. For starters, we have 25 Nobel prize winners among students and staff from the past and present. The only two universities in the UK which better this are Oxford and Cambridge. Manchester is a breeding ground for thriving academics and, established academics aren’t watching from afar either- four Nobel laureates are currently employed by the University! Throw in the fact we have Brian Cox on the payroll and I’d say the University boasts an impressive staff!

After being rejected from Oxford, I had a choice between Durham and Manchester. I had applied to, what was sold to me as, the most liberal college at the University of Durham. Upon visiting, I looked at the graduates from this college from the last four years, of which one was black. Upon further inspection, this man did not actually attend the University and was on a sabbatical from another University. Contrast this with Manchester, where we have a dynamic and active African-Carribean Society, and where there are various different active cultural and religious societies within the University.

Then there is the city itself. One trip to Rusholme and you already have more choice, a more extensive experience of the diversity than the other top British universities. A walk around the city centre too and you have people from all walks of life.

The city also happens to be excellent for sport. The University of Manchester has fantastic sports facilities, but more broadly, Manchester is home to arguably the two best

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Manchester is my heaven

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Medical Waste?

Paul Haslam Comment & Debate Editor As previously reported in these pages (Issue 3, 3 Oct.), it seems that our humble Manchester is following in the prestigious footsteps of institutions such as Stanford University and UC Irvine Medical School in providing free iPads to our medical and dentistry students.

While it’s tempting to rail against the waste of money, the blatant buying-off of dissatisfied students, and the privileging of some and not others (where’s my free iPad, you bastards?), I can see why this has been done. In all likelihood, the iPad and its descendents will be among the most important drivers of medical innovation in years to come; and it’s difficult to argue with the rationale of providing the devices to students on placement to facilitate access to e-resources.

If the trend takes hold- and it looks likely to- it will have been admirably forward-thinking of the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences to encourage medical students here to take early advantage of the new generation of powerful, ergonomic touchscreen devices.

Although iPads currently lack many specialised apps for medical use, they will be coming, just as they did for the iPhone and similar devices - applications for anything from learning anatomy to viewing radiology results, to hunting down obscure symptoms and diseases, all will be accommodated by iPad and the increasingly powerful tablet computers that will follow. Innovation in learning methods should always be embraced, cautiously - if they prove maladaptive they can always be dropped.

With all of that said, there are a couple of problems with the scheme. Foremost is the cost - assuming that it is a good idea to do this, not deferring the decision until after the forthcoming iPad competitors arrive has made the equipment much more expensive; essentially, a massive gift of both money and prestige to Apple (not that they need either) out of our stretched University budget. Secondly, it’s been claimed that the pilot scheme has benefited a few final year students, and if successful it will be implemented with the medical and dentistry students arriving next year: in which case four years’ worth of students will miss out on the scheme. This seems unfair, although of course the argument over cost still stands - if this is to be done, perhaps it’s better for the University that those not on the pilot scheme get a tough break on this one. I’m sure they’ll survive, although if it were me in that position I’d be fuming too.

At heart I’m a supporter of this and other technological learning improvements - which of us now can imagine the University without its behemoth IT structure, ill-functioning as it sometimes is? I can access my lecture slides remotely, and ‘hand in’ work virtually, online which is as good for me and my deadlineshaving ways as it is for others, who this way get to avoid encountering the twitchy, unshaven, half-dressed, coffee-infused mess that I am at those times.

Now, I’m not suggesting that all students at the University should be given free tablet computers - that would be silly. However, the

soon as published, e-textbooks will retain their cutting-edge status for as long as the user’s subscription lasts). The possibilities of collaboration between practitioners at great distance, the ability for information regarding treatments to be disseminated incredibly quickly and then confirmed or refuted with equal alacrity, and for practitioners to develop their own software tools quickly and effectively to help solve whatever problems they face, remain tantalising to my mind. All these might lie in the murky future of medicine, but whether or not they come to be the mere possibility is enough to at least partially justify acquainting our students with the technology. If nothing else, they make awesome coasters...

‘trial group’ for this scheme are a special case.

They’re on placement off-campus, and need to access online resources remotely. If desktop computers are unavailable, this means either lugging a laptop around, or putting up with the less-adequate abilities of a smartphone. So it seems that the ‘solution looking for a problem’ (as iPads have been semi-affectionately termed by some) has found a niche after all.

Even more, in the near future it’s looking probable that textbooks will be made available in electronic form (read: lighter to carry, potentially much cheaper, and easily annotated, conceivably updated remotely in much the same way as a smartphone app is, meaning that instead of being out-of-date as

Disagree? @Mancuniondebate / comment@mancunion.com

sounding clauses mean that the Department for Transport (DfT) will cover up to 75 percent of any shortfall between projected and actual profits. In plain English this means that if a company does not make as much profit as it had predicted in any given year, the government will pay the difference.

The full effect of this policy was amply demonstrated by Stagecoach in a blazing lawsuit against the DfT in 2010. The company demanded, and won, £100m for their South Western franchise after profits had not been as gold-plated as initially hoped. In 2009 the DfT shovelled a total of £400 million in revenue support into train companies. The results: in that same year, Stagecoach posted profits of £170.8m, Go Ahead Group £123.6m and FirstGroup a measly £94.2m. Yet 2009 was a bad year for train operating companies.

It seems unbelievable that anyone could countenance retaining a system where the

railways are run by regional monopolies who have their profits paid for by government subsidy. In reality what we have is not actually a privatised system. An open market demands competition, which does not exist under the current system, and forces out weak or uncompetitive companies, which doesn’t happen since the train operating companies are not allowed to fail. Meanwhile, taxpayers pour ever more money into a system which is no longer a public service, but a shameless money-making exercise. Brian Souter alone, the entrepreneur behind Stagecoach, is now worth an estimated £400m thanks to his public transport wheezes.

The present system of ‘privatised’ rail is impossible to defend. It is more expensive for the taxpayer, more expensive for the consumer, and less accountable than its predecessor. The rail system must be renationalised as a matter of urgency.

National Fail Ben Green Comment & Debate Editor Privatisation works by opening up services to a free market, which drives down prices and leads to innovation and improvements in customer service. These improvements over a nationalised system are born out of competition between different providers.

The telecoms industry is an excellent example of where privatisation has worked to effect improvements; numerous providers offer the same products and services and so compete with one another, resulting in varying prices and quality. Unhappy with BT? You can get the same services from Virgin Media. Is Sky too expensive? Try switching to TalkTalk. The opening up of the market to competition has provided consumers with the power of choice, and such is the secret to its success.

Sadly, the same cannot be said of our rail system. We are the proud owners of the most expensive train fares in Europe, with some journeys costing up to four times what they would cost on the continent. As an example, an on-the-day ticket to London from 50 miles away can cost in excess of £250, whereas in France (the next most expensive country) no similar journey would exceed £100. Whilst this is disturbing enough in itself, taxpayers are in fact forking out much more cash even than their ludicrous fares; in 2009 the government threw £5bn into the gaping maw that is rail subsidies.

Before privatisation the railways were nationalised and run by British Rail; an inefficient, expensive and unresponsive national institution, which itself provided the arguments in 1997 for privatisation by John Major. As of January 2009, ticket prices on

unregulated (i.e. “peak”) fares were on average 35 percent more expensive in real terms than in 1997 and they have kept rising since, initially at one percent above inflation, now at three percent. In comparison to today’s annual subsidy in excess of £5bn to the rail industry (it peaked at £6.3bn in 2007), British Rail received £1.07bn in 1993/4.

Are the trains at least better run? They are not. According to Network Rail and Hansard, the punctuality and reliability of train services have barely improved since British Rail was privatised.

To summarise, privatisation has led to a train system which is no more reliable than its predecessor, lacks central control and comes with an eye-watering price tag.

Why has the move to a free market failed so dismally in this instance? Because it is not actually a free market; certainly not compared to the telecoms example mentioned above. Let’s say you travel from Manchester to London on a Virgin train, but are so unimpressed at having to hand over in excess of £100 for the privilege that you want to use a different company next time you travel. Tough luck. Train operating companies bid for franchises from the government; the winning bidder then operates given lines for a standard five years.

This means that those companies essentially have a monopoly on their section of track the very antithesis of a free market ideal. If Virgin Airways wanted an obscene amount of money to fly you to Europe, you would simply fly with a different, more reasonably priced airline; if Virgin trains want to charge you an obscene fare to travel to London, you have to pay it. Or walk.

If this was not galling enough, rail franchises are usually granted revenue protection clauses. These innocent-

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

The case for cutting Legal Aid Marlow Upton The government plans to slash the legal aid budget by £350m, yet legal aid will remain in almost all criminal cases or cases that involve areas which are protected by law, such as domestic violence, forced marriage, or child abduction. The current budget for legal aid in the United Kingdom stands at £2bn, which is a higher per capita expenditure on legal aid than any other country. Despite this large spend, only 29 percent of British citizens are currently eligible for legal aid and after the cuts that amount is likely to drop. Cutting the budget for legal aid is probably a good thing since it will force would-be litigants to pursue cheaper alternatives to the Court.

The problem is not the amount of money assigned to the legal aid budget, or the government’s attempt to cut it. Our problem, as a nation, is the vast amount of criminal offences and convictions which are a result of our increasing habit of taking legal action when confronted with civil problems.

With both the political left and right wanting to be “tough on crime”, the amount of criminal offences has risen swiftly in recent years - the Labour government introduced more than 3,000. The people who typically commit these offences disproportionately fall into the eligible 29 percent. We have also developed a habit of seeking legal action rather than

mediation. So when a neighbour’s tree grows over our fence we are more likely to take them to court to defend “our rights” than to attempt to negotiate and understand one another. There are moments when judicial intervention is the right option, but it should only ever be a last resort after exhausting all other possible avenues for resolution.

What needs to increase is the amount of education and advice given to those seeking to resolve their problems in court. Currently the Citizens’ Advice Bureau provides this function and eats up most of the annual £2bn. In Scotland, a scheme is planned whereby law students (the second most common type of student, after nurses) would give free

Cuts to Legal Aid will damage and distort existing legal system advice over the phone in exchange for some excellent real life experience of law in action.

Introducing a similar scheme over the rest of the UK would provide a useful cost-saving measure to prevent some of the damage from the cuts and at least allow the newly disqualified to seek free advice before potentially wasting their money. However, this cannot replace what is really needed; a way of encouraging people to negotiate, see the other person’s side of an argument, or accept that sometimes, accidents do happen.

Disagree? @Mancuniondebate / comment@mancunion.com

Jane Kilpatrick Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s proposals for legal aid reform may sound fairly reasonable when written down; it is hard to argue that “unnecessary litigation” could ever be a good thing (Ministerial Foreword: Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales). However, what he deems to be “unnecessary cases”, which the public should not have to pay for, are far more debatable in practice.

He insists: “the Government strongly believes that access to justice is a hallmark of a civil society”, but chief executive of the Law Society Des Hudson claims

The need for reform in the sentencing of sex attackers

that the proposal risks jeopardising the principle that the law should be available to all citizens, irrespective of income.

As reassuring as it sounds that legal aid funding will continue for cases involving asylum, mental health, housing and debt where a home is at immediate risk and domestic violence, the Law Society claims that the potential consequences of this reform have not been properly analysed. That the “most vulnerable” people will be left without access to legal aid.

For instance, if an immigrant is not actually detained, his or her legal aid would be cut. Funding for cases involving school exclusion appeals would be dropped, potentially affecting young people already in disadvantaged areas and having a negative impact on the rest of their education and prospects.

The list of those who would be put at risk by these reforms is extensive. While advantages may include cheaper insurance due to the lower payouts required, and a reduction in genuinely “unnecessary” claims, I cannot see that it is worth making legal advice and representation more elusive for those who need it the most.

While Clarke claims that the most vulnerable are the ones who will remain protected, Hudson has “severe doubts” that this will be put into practice.

This reform risks not only making it harder for those in real need of legal assistance to find the help they need, but also discouraging

genuine claims, leaving ordinary people without the defence and representation they deserve. It is suggested that to make lawyers less liable for unsuccessful defences in court, clients would be liable for costs if they were found to have acted unreasonably. While not only making it less likely that clients would wish to pursue a genuine claim, I cannot help but ask why clients are not currently being told they are being unreasonable before a lawyer agrees to represent them.

A final worry about this proposal is the incentive it could give some people to lie or exaggerate a situation in court, with devastating effects. Making funding available for divorce cases only where domestic violence is claimed, for instance, could have terribly adverse effects on the lives of people in unhappy marriages. Making it harder to claim on smaller issues risks increasing the likelihood of exaggeration or outright lies in court to obtain financial coverage for the case.

According to the currently dominant paradigm, the government has to make cuts and reform areas of government spending. However, it seems unlikely that the positive spin on cutting legal aid will be noticed by any of those adversely affected by these overlooked consequences.

Disagree? @Mancuniondebate / comment@mancunion.com

www.umsu.manchester.ac.uk

Lisa Murgatroyd As reported exclusively in The Mancunion last week, the number of sex attacks is on the rise in student areas of Manchester. What, then, can be said of the number of convictions? Or the sentences these offenders are likely to receive?

Earlier this year, new plans for a consultation on sentencing reform came under fire following a BBC interview with Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. Building on an established discount system brought in under the Labour Party, offenders who pleaded guilty would be eligible for early release, including rapists. The Green Paper, entitled “Breaking the cycle: effective punishment, rehabilitation and sentencing of offenders” was first proposed by the government in December 2010.

In 2009, the average length of time a sex offender spent in prison was just over four years. Some 64 percent of offenders have known convictions or cautions; up to 15 or more apiece. This trend has been consistent for the last decade, according to the sentencing statistics of the Ministry of Justice. The Green Paper recommends continuing to provide programmes for the ‘treatment’ of sex offenders who have “proven their worth”.

However, the facts would seem to disagree with this recommendation.

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While trying to ease the burden of cost and deal with issues of space within the prison system, corners are being cut in the judicial system. Sentences in general have become shorter, offenders now typically serve only half of their sentences behind bars and the other half under the supervision of a probation officer.

In line with the new plan, sex offenders could see their sentences cut by half. The supposed logic behind this new thinking is that the victims of sex attacks will be saved the ordeal of a court appearance; yet, there are already pre-existing measures in place for such instances, and so the decrease is surely a redundancy that will only further harm the Tories’ battle against the image of being “soft on crime.”

For those subjected to sex attacks, the process of coming forward and identifying an attacker is daunting enough - let alone the abundant horror stories of some ordeals faced by victims when being processed through the court system.

There is a clear need for a reform of the sentencing guidelines and court procedures when dealing with sexual assaults, which has yet to be realised by the government. In my view and that of many others, shortening already-lenient sentences for sex attackers is clearly not the answer.

Disagree? @Mancuniondebate / comment@mancunion.com

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Manchester Edition: Monday 10th October 2011

Groupon – ‘transparent about our lack of transparency’ Groupon, an online deal-of-theday website, has come under scrutiny after filing for an Initial Public Offering in June.

Unconventional reporting of both its financial performance (which excluded its marketing expenses) and revenues has led the markets to doubt the reported data. It has come to light that the website has been deliberately undercounting the exact number of daily deals purchased, due to concerns that such figures, if available to the public, would be used to incorrectly interpret their sales.

Regulating Walmart in China Walmart has had to close 13 stores in south-west China and some store managers have been detained over allegations that it has been mislabelling ordinary pork as organic. This comes after a scandal earlier in the year involving a toxic additive being fed to pigs, suggesting that labelling products as organic would therefore boost sales.

French brand launches Sari Hermés, a French based high-end brand, recently launched a limited edition of Indian Saris, as a way to tap into the Indian luxury market. Western businesses have struggled to break into this market, making this the first offer of a sari from a western company. Luxury brands are increasingly seeking to expand into countries such as India and China however, as their elite consumer base grows with a demand for such goods.

Emily Bunting

Business & Finance Editor

Up-Coming

Events Getting started in investment banking Date/time: Monday 17th/1230 Location: Crawford House Lloyds Banking Group info session Date/time: Monday 17th/ 1800 Location: KroBar Oxford Rd Barclays Wealth presentation evening Date/time: Wednesday 19th/1830 Location: Kanaris lecture theatre, Manchester Museum

Fuel for thought…

Kirti Vasta As a student, whether you can drive or not, I’m sure you will agree that we have all felt the changes of the shooting price rise in fuel.

Stopping to rethink the need for a particular journey or where to fill up the next tank is often involved in our daily thought process, and if you’re a commuter, soaring fuel prices are swallowing up the benefits of cheaper public transport for everyone. With public transport companies passing on their costs to consumers, rail and bus fares aren’t coming down.

The AA suggests fuel consumption has reached its limit, with the level we demand expected to remain at its market price. Over the past three years, drivers have cut their petrol consumption by more than 15 percent as the price of fuel has reached highs of £1.30 a litre. In their research, the AA claims that this reduction in petrol consumption has wiped £1 billion off the government’s tax takes in the form of petrol duty. With tax

Over the past three years, drivers have cut their petrol consumption by more than 15% as the price of fuel has reached highs of £1.30 a litre revenues and consumer spending being increasingly significant given the current economic crisis, this can be seen as creating further problems for government finances.

Company profile

Society Spotlight

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc Jan Klincker Overview The PNC Financial Services Group is a diversified financial services organization, mainly operating in the mid and eastern part of the United States.

Investment Case PNC has emerged from the financial crisis as one the strongest financial institutions in the United States. The firm’s commitment to a conservative risk philosophy and a rock solid balance sheet, coupled with one of finest management teams in the industry, has allowed PNC to weather the crisis and embrace the resulting opportunities for growth and greater success in the future. Whilst most of its peers were struggling to survive, PNC acquired National City in 2008 and as a result more than doubled its size and asset base. In June 2011, PNC announced the acquisition of RBC Bank for $3.45 billion. The sale is expected to close in early 2012 and will allow PNC to increase the number of its branches by 20 percent and expand the bank’s services to some of the wealthiest and fastestgrowing parts of the United States.

PNC’s inherent strength is demonstrated by an average return on assets of 1.14 percent over the past decade, well in excess of its peers. At a price of $47.75, PNC currently trades at a

Current stock price: $47.75 (October 7, 2011) EPS (TTM): 6.21 12-month price target: $61.50

P/E (ttm) multiple of 7.69. This compares with a 10-year firm average of 12.69 and a historical industry average of roughly 10 times earnings.

PNC has increased its book value by 44 percent since Q1 2009 from $41.67 to $60.02/share.

Tangible book value currently stands at $41.16/share. This results in a P/B and P/TB ratio of 0.78 and 1.16 respectively. Compare that with current multiples of 1.04 and 1.51 respectively for Wells Fargo and you obtain a comparable share price of $62.57 for PNC. The reason for choosing Wells Fargo is because in my opinion WFC constitutes PNC’s closest peer in terms of balance sheet strength, past performance and industry position. WFC has been trading at a significant premium to JPM, BAC and C and I believe such a premium valuation is also justified for PNC. Finally, using a simple scenario analysis of various GDP growth levels, I derive a fair value for the stock of $59.67.

Alpha Kappa Psi Renate Huijbregts AKPsi is Manchester University’s premier business fraternity, combining the best of American styles of university societies. With a vast range of talented members in degree disciplines from Aerospace engineering to PPE and Law to Mathematics, we run first class events with the biggest names to suit all career aspirations.

Out primary activity is organising professional business events for our members with top local and national firms.

Our main areas of focus are accountancy, banking, consultancy, law, management and media. Sessions range from interviews and assessment centre workshops with Accenture to business events with Ernst & Young. We have plans to work with many new associates including Credit Suisse and HSBC. We have recently introduced a mentoring system that groups together members with similar career aspirations.

As many of our alumni have worked closely with international companies, we are able to share knowledge and give help to newer members seeking to enter these business areas.

Regular socials are also a major part of our calendar. This year will include a weekend in Buxton, a summer barbeque and sky-diving for charity. Our strong transatlantic links with other AKPsi groups also allow us to offer subsidised trips to the states.

Membership costs £75 and there are two opportunities to sign up at the start of each semester.

Business & Finance

Business News In Brief

Website: info@akpsimanchester.com E-mail: www.akpsimanchester.com In terms of its balance sheet, we can identify a positive trend in the provision for credit losses as the overall credit quality of the bank’s loan portfolio is improving and as the number of non-performing loans and delinquencies is decreasing. Going forward, the main threats for PNC include regulatory uncertainty and economic headwinds, including a prolonged low-interest rate environment. In addition, the net impact on bank profitability of the Fed’s “Operation Twist” is not

conceivable yet. While the shift from short-dated bonds to longerdated papers will result in a flatter yield curve, hence squeezing net interest margins, it remains to be seen whether lower long-end rates will spur loan growth and demand encourage consumers and business to increase borrowing. All in all, PNC appears to attractively valued in the current environment and in light of future earnings growth, both through organic growth and acquisitions.

If you would like to write for the Business & Finance page contact us at finance @mancunion.com Follow us on twitter @ SD_business

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Politics & Analysis Oliver Johnstone Politics & Analysis Editor

Andrew Williams Politics & Analysis Editor

Got your finger on the political pulse?

Get involved by following us on Twitter @MancunionPol Better still, write for us! politics@mancunion.com

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Party conference season – a political charade Maya Oppenheim heads our review of this year’s party conference season Party conference season has come and gone – and failed yet again. In recent times, the political conference has become little more than a piece of carefully stage-managed theatre; one where the delegates in the audience are reduced to helpless spectators rather than active participants. These three weeks in September have become devoid of debate, as disagreement and variance in opinion is increasingly marginalised (and in some cases, forbidden). Given all three party leaders argue that debate is healthy and democratic, we must ask why policy deliberation is so obviously sidelined at what is supposed to be a key forum for innovative policy ideas. The sense that conference should primarily be a forum for policy formulation has been long forgotten. Instead, conferences are now dominated by corporate interests, forceful lobbyists and media posturing aplenty.

Party members have little or no voice at conference. Instead, they are made to feel like second-class citizens and pushed to the sides like livingroom furniture. This is incredibly unjust, especially given that members keep their party afloat, and that they do the door-knocking and leafleting when the chips are down. In recent years, the number of party members attending conferences has declined dramatically; unusually, even David Cameron failed to fill the conference

hall for his keynote speech. Is there now a steady realisation amongst ordinary members that conference season no longer exists to reaffirm the grassroots links which hold the party together? It seems that an increasing number of disillusioned supporters now believe that party conference season exists purely as a vehicle for politicians to whore themselves out to lobbyists and be treated to lavish dinners by banks and PR firms. Far from representing a forum for serious policy-making, conferences have simply become a forum for frivolous political gossip.

Where the conference ‘fringe’ once provided ordinary party members and hard-working activists with an opportunity to discuss the issues closest to their hearts with the big hitters in their party, fringe meetings these days are (more often than not) corporate-sponsored and increasingly bereft of any real political meaning. An archetypal fringe meeting this autumn might have included ‘a senior politician in conversation with a senior media personality’. If conference-goers decide they don't want to bother with these choreographed discussions, they can instead browse such delights as the Nuclear Industry Association stall, or the Tobacco Retailers Alliance stand. Here in Manchester, Tory delegates allegedly spent as much time getting new suits fitted and purchasing extortionate cashmere jumpers from conference stalls as they did debating.

Not one of the three main parties came together in September to discuss policy. The Conservative conference held debates which were tightly controlled and scripted. In Liverpool, the Labour Party conference only allowed audience members to ask specially engineered, vetted questions. Even the Liberal Democrats (the party traditionally viewed as the most consensual and participatory of the three) saw their conference descend into a lacklustre charade of passivity.

The concept which once underpinned party conference season is outdated and obsolete – the event has simply become an ode to the leader. The leader's speech merely involves preaching to the converted, thus there is no pressure to convince the already sympathetic audience of anything noteworthy.

Consequently, the set-piece leader’s speech has become a fruitless formality which turns conference into little more than a self-serving Stalinist rally.

Most importantly, the British public remains thoroughly disinterested in conference season (something which is clearly symptomatic of party politics in general). If party conferences do not even attempt to address the concerns of the British public, why should the electorate be interested in this sorry charade?

Party conferencing needs a radical overhaul – we cannot blindly continue to preserve this futile and ineffective tradition.

Our Mancunion writers give us a short overview of their experiences at the three main party conferences this autumn

Oliver Johnstone

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From hot to not

Winners and losers of this year’s party conference season A good conference for…

Conference season in review

Given that party conferences are usually easier for Opposition parties, this years’ Conservative party conference in Manchester was a roaring success. It was a no nonsense affair which focused on delivering the kind of leadership Britain needs. With David Willetts’ superb announcement on radical increases in scholarships and apprenticeships, Andrew Mitchell’s continued drive for Britain to take a leading role in supporting the developing world and George Osborne remaining steadfast, along with the world’s major economic institutions, behind his tightening of public spending; the Conservatives looked very much like the natural party of government and the only option to provide leadership for a better future.

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The tone of the Lib Dem conference was in many ways similar to last year, as members of the government endeavoured to explain why they had entered the coalition in front of a somewhat hostile crowd of delegates and an even more hostile court of public opinion. Nick Clegg admitted that his own party had been “vilified like never before” but that the best option for the party was “not to bury its head in the sand”. One student was even arrested after unveiling a ‘HATE CLEGG’ banner in central Birmingham – the kind of reaction to which Clegg has become accustomed. He will hope that his plea to keep the government on a ‘liberal path’ might placate his party for now, but Clegg is well aware that he has risked everything on holding the coalition together until 2015.

Henry Lee

Upon leaving the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, I felt as if I had been to a gig with great local support bands, but a disappointing headline act. I was not impressed by Ed Miliband’s keynote speech, or his Q&A session, which left many delegates feeling similarly underwhelmed.

Red Ed? That nickname has very little grounding in reality, but there are certainly two parties pulling in different directions here. On the one hand, a group of thoughtful people sense that there is a technological and social sea change afoot; on the other, a bunch of slick corporate shills think that one more brilliant PR trick will see them safely tethered to the trough once more and damn the rest of us. Maybe Ed's head is with the first group, but his weak heart is being tugged firmly by the New Labour technicians.

Eve Fensome

Tom Watson The Labour MP, who was heavily involved in uncovering the phone hacking scandal at News International, came down hard on the culture of “corruption and criminality” in the Murdoch empire, to the delight of his party’s conference. Watson received a standing ovation – and a new position in the Shadow Cabinet – for his speech.

Boris Johnson The Mayor of London once again had no issues with discussing his successes of the past year. Boris charmed the crowd as he defended his record in the capital city, having “introduced Oyster on the over ground, brought in a new generation of open-platform buses and frozen council tax”.

Yvette Cooper The Shadow Home Secretary impressed her fellow Labour supporters with a passionate attack on the coalition’s policy on crime. Cooper argued that although the traditional Tory stance is tough on crime, this is not reflected in the decisions made by David Cameron, who is “still cutting the police and their powers” – even in light of the recent riots. Ed Balls’ less gaffe-prone wife is a rising star.

George Osborne Whilst the public welcome plans to freeze council tax and Standard and Poor’s reaffirm Britain’s AAA credit rating, Osborne’s speech received support across the Conservative Party, as colleagues reiterated his claim that “you can’t borrow your way out of a debt crisis”.

Vince Cable Once everyone’s favourite politician, Cable made quite a comeback having been caught on tape announcing his “war on Rupert Murdoch” earlier in the year. At this year’s conference he simply kept his head down, stuck to his straight-talking strategy, and won the support of the Liberal Democrats in Birmingham.

A bad conference for…

Ed Miliband The Labour leader had a distinctly average party conference. Although he was praised for pledging to lower the cap on tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000, NUS president Liam Burns argued that this is not nearly enough. A post-conference poll by ComRes revealed that only 24 percent of people see Miliband as a credible candidate for Prime Minister – 57 percent do not.

Nick Clegg The Lib Dem leader repeatedly reminded the audience of the hardships he has had to face over the past year. Clegg had precious few success stories to share with his party, following a poor performance in local elections in May and the lost referendum on the voting system. He quite obviously failed to rouse a despondent crowd.

Ivan Lewis The Shadow Culture Secretary suggested a state register for the regulation of journalists in order to prevent another phone hacking scandal. A step in the right direction, perhaps; a little farfetched, said most observers. The proposal was poorly received.

Theresa May Not only did the kitten-heeled Home Secretary attempt to convince the public that the repeal of the Human Rights Act was a positive thing, she then embarrassed herself by making false observations about an illegal immigrant who, she alleged, was allowed to stay in the country “because of a pet cat”.

Ken Clarke The rogue pet cat didn’t only spell trouble for Theresa May. Ever-cheerful Ken Clarke was branded a ‘traitor’ by the tabloid press – and some in his own party – after he publicly ridiculed May, branding her claims “laughable” and “child-like”. Clarke, a rare pro-European in a largely Eurosceptic party, could now face early retirement as a result.

Alexandra Houghton

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17 o9th October 2011

Turning up the heat: tensions rise during Chilean winter Oliver Johnstone Politics & Analysis Editor

This time last year, Britain witnessed some of its largest ever student protests against the rising cost of a university education.

Hundreds of thousands of students and union leaders took to the streets in direct action against the decision to raise the cap on tuition fees to £9,000 per year, as advised in the Brown Report. We saw numerous and appalling scenes of violence from a small but not insignificant group of rioters - but nothing compared to the truly shocking situation currently unfolding in Chile. With 874 arrests already made, a department store burned to the ground and a television station seized; what started as a peaceful, carnivallike series of demonstrations has taken a more sinister turn.

Initially, the reasonable and moderate majority of Chilean students took to the streets to take part in ‘kiss-ins’, fancy dress street carnivals and run laps around the presidential palace in Santiago in order to campaign for reforms to Chile’s university education system, which does not include the privileges of student grants and loans that we enjoy here in the UK. In fairness to Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, he did embrace this to a generous extent and has pledged limited reforms to university education, promising an extra £2.6 billion in state funding. A pleasing and inspiring democratic compromise reached in a civilised manner to put the disagreement to bed, you might think?

Not for some. For the protesters this is about more than moderate reform – it is about a total revolution of Chilean society.

Amidst the violence and tension of recent weeks, one voice has sought to radicalise the student protests and has succeeded in her attempt so far. Camilla Vallejo, a hot-headed 23 year old radical student leader heavily

immersed in the youth branch of the Chilean Communist Party, has taken centre-stage and allied the student movement with trade unions in calling for the complete destruction of the current education system.

Miss Vallejo and her colleagues have called for a completely state-funded system, free at the point of use and paid for via taxes on the rich and business. They are prepared to take drastic measures to achieve their aims, with two national “shutdown days” planned for 18th and 19th October which will undoubtedly cause chaos and upset for the vast majority of hard-working Chileans.

Surely then, the Chilean student protests and those that occurred in the UK last year are totally incomparable? If anything, the argument is almost entirely the same. As the latest QS University Rankings show, Chile has only one institution in the top ten of all Latin American universities. Yes, reform is

necessary, but the notion that the government should remove private investment and return university tuition to the state sector – and all the inefficiencies it brings with it – is simply ludicrous. Why should Chile drive investment and businesses out of the country by piling on the taxes to fund the grand Marxist projects of the far-left ringleaders of the violent protests such Miss Vallejo and her union cronies?

President Piñera, however, remains defiant.

As government spokesman Andres Chadwick has proclaimed, “our hand won’t tremble and we won’t show any weakness in seeking to control situations of public order”.

With that in my mind, it can only be hoped that the ordinary people of Chile have the good sense to back the moderate reforms pledged by their President, and not the revolutionary fantasies of the deluded Marxist left.

Civil apathy overcomes civil disobedience With widespread austerity measures beginning to bite, stubborn unemployment figures, public sector pay freezes and GDP flat lining, one would typically expect the union voice to be growing by the minute. But in light of the somewhat muted response to the gathering of the Trades’ Union Congress (TUC) in September and a public seemingly apathetic to the union cause, it seems that Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey’s calls for a campaign of civil disobedience are falling on deaf ears.

Failure to resolve the ongoing public sector pension dispute in late June led to a walk out by 750,000 teachers and civil servants. The general public were unenthusiastic about the strikes; 50 percent believed that the government should ban the strikes unless there was a turnout of at least 50 percent in the actual ballot, something which none of the four striking unions achieved.

Maintaining a sympathetic public is vital to the union cause – particularly in cases involving the public sector – because of the manner in which any potential action will be deemed a challenge to the government.

Worryingly for the unions, and just as was

Thomas Turner suggests that public opinion is once again scuppering the unions’ cry for a period of civil disobedience the case with the miners’ strikes in 1984-5, it appears that the union movement of 2011 has no firm support from any of the major three party leaders, particularly in light of Labour leader Ed Miliband’s poorlyreceived comments at the TUC that any strikes while negotiations were ongoing would be wrong.

It is undoubtedly more difficult for the public to support strike action for workers when cases of apparent union victories are being so heavily publicised. Recent

revelations that a new pay deal for London Underground staff will see salaries rise by 5% each year over the next four years – resulting in Tube drivers earning more than £50,000 per year, almost double that of the average UK wage – were a source of anger for many whose salaries are not going up in the same manner. Despite this clear victory, RMT members are still debating a vote on industrial action in the near future, citing “massive reductions in staff ” as one reason.

Therein lies the crux of the unions’ problem. Once seen as the only line of defence for the working classes, the 1984-5 dispute over mine closures was in many cases critically close to being a matter of life or death. The union landscape of 2011 is unequivocally different; although many public sector workers are faced with cuts in real wages for the foreseeable future, it is hard to imagine that we will witness any such acts of desperation from striking workers over the coming year.

Perhaps for McCluskey, Crowe, Barber et al to foster the period of civil disobedience they so crave, they will first have to reassess exactly what protecting their members entails.

My Political Hero:

Joe Slovo In recognition of UMSU’s Black and Ethnic Minority Week, Lucy Hall pays homage to one of the great anti-apartheid activists, Joe Slovo.

Many of us look back on the great struggles of history with a type of 20/20 vision that we may not have had at the time – adamant that, given the same situation, we would have done what we now see was so obviously the right thing to do. Of course, we delude ourselves. To actively oppose the regime in South Africa (whether black, white, ‘coloured’ or Indian – indeed, regardless of race) was an act of courage and commitment that should never be underestimated. One cannot imagine the alienation and suffering that those who stood up to the regime endured. Joe Slovo’s life epitomised these elements.

Dubbed ‘South Africa’s most wanted man’ in the latter stages of the anti-Apartheid struggle, Joe Slovo is emblematic of someone so dedicated to his cause that putting his life at risk became the only way he knew how to live. A white man living in apartheid South Africa, he was not an immediate beneficiary of the cause he fought so virulently for, the struggle that came to define him.

A law graduate of Wits University, Johannesburg (where he was a prominent student activist and shared classes with Nelson Mandela), Slovo married fellow anti-apartheid activist, Ruth First, whilst he was still in education. Both were active in the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African National Congress (ANC). Following two arrests – he was detained for two months during the infamous treason trial of 1956 – Slovo was eventually exiled in 1963. His life in exile proved to be the most productive period of his part in the struggle.

By the time of his self-imposed exile, Slovo had already emerged as the leader of the MK (the military wing of the ANC), which he continued to run from guerrilla camps based in Mozambique and Angola. As such, one might dispute his heroism on the grounds of his apparent advocacy of violence. This notion should be dispelled. The MK was a vital organ in the anti-Apartheid battle, without which the ANC would have been repressed early on and with ease. Although Slovo’s former classmate, Mandela, initially insisted upon a peaceful struggle, it quickly became clear that this was fanciful, fruitless and practically impossible. Surrendering its’ pacifism, the ANC went out of its way to ensure as few civilians as possible were harmed, focusing instead on causing maximum damage to South African infrastructure.

Slovo also provided invaluable ideological guidance for the direction of the anti-Apartheid movement, aligning communist ideals (he became General Secretary of the SACP in 1984) with the more straightforward ideological battle of fighting for equal rights for nonwhite citizens. Indeed, his quest for social justice extended beyond the confines of the South African borders, pleading with fellow South African exiles to help foster democracy and stability throughout the rest of post-colonial Africa.

Perhaps Slovo’s most tangible achievement was the ‘sunset clause’ he proposed in 1992, which represented a major breakthrough in the dismantlement of the Apartheid government. The clause proposed a coalition government for five years after South Africa’s first democratic election, demonstrating the art of compromise that was so important in Nelson Mandela’s fledgling government. Later, he became a minister in the Mandela government, before tragically succumbing to cancer in 1995.

Vital though they were, Joe Slovo’s importance resided not only in the practical and theoretical roles he played – it lay in the example he set. For a white man to risk everything in apartheid South Africa can have been nothing other than a beacon of hope for the countless people who suffered under an unrelentingly cruel regime every single day. He himself suffered terribly – in 1982, his wife was killed by a letter bomb on the order of Apartheid police. To know that Slovo was willing to endure so much for a cause that he could have quite easily ignored was of profound importance.

I am privileged to say that I know a little of Slovo on a personal level – my grandparents were also ANC members and anti-apartheid activists, and became good friends with the man who has become my hero. They always spoke so highly of him as a friend as well as a political figure; indeed, they too went into exile in 1963, continuing to live and work in post-colonial Africa. It is this small community of South African activists that Slovo is so wonderfully representative of.

There were many who struggled like him, but Slovo went above and beyond the lengths that fellow activists were prepared to go to; for this, he deserves special recognition.

Today, Joe Slovo is remembered as a hero of the Rainbow Nation, so much so that in 2004 he was voted one of the 100 ‘Great South Africans’. Roads and townships across the country are named after him. But it wasn’t always this way; there was a time when his life was well and truly on the line as he gave everything for his cause. He was at the heart of the anti-Apartheid struggle from its earliest days, and devoted his life to fighting injustice until the bitter end. Slovo did not have the benefit of hindsight we have now – he simply had an irrefutable sense of right and wrong.

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Feature Richard Crook Feature Editor

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Interested in travelling? Want to escape those Curry Mile traffic jams in winter, wondering if you’ll ever feel anything but bitterness for the world again?

Well study abroad might just be for you. Have a look and see how these people got on with their first-hand tales.

My reaction to the idea of the Study Abroad scheme is the same as most students. Genuinely believing that it sounds really interesting, then never taking any initiative to actually go for it. But this is a crying shame, for it is a once in a lifetime experience that more of us should be embracing.

So, to try and show you what you’re missing, these are a collection of first-hand stories.

Shaurna Cameron My trip was to the one and only Los Angeles, CA. Initially when I arrived I was taken aback by the palm trees and the friendliness of the people. I was called ma’am so many times that I started to believe that people thought it was my name! But when I stepped out of the airport and into the immense heat that envelops Los Angeles it was love at first sight. After a year in rainy Manchester, feeling the sun beating down on my back was great.

In terms of academics I am finding that everything is more relaxed. You’re allowed to eat in lectures and ask a lot of questions without being told to wait until the end of class.

Professors encourage you to

Get in touch features @mancunion.com

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Science & Tech

All abroad!

University of California, Los Angeles

Got an experience or issue you want to write about?

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Politics & Analysis

come to office hours and are more than happy to help with any issues you have. They especially love an English accent!

Although losing the familiarity of Manchester is a little hard to get used to, I can honestly say that I could complete my degree in LA. You miss your friends for a while but everyone is so polite it’s easy to meet new people.

I think Manchester could definitely benefit from the sense of belonging that UCLA students feel to their university.

The “Bruins”, as they are known, see their university as a family despite the fact that it so big. If Manchester’s students had that kind of kinship it could make for an even better experience.

Have I got any advice for people thinking of studying here? Well, firstly Americans

find the English accent really difficult, so make it easier on yourself by learning the idioms.

Throw out your trousers and embrace the pants!

Also, you come here not knowing anybody and you can’t go home on weekends. As such, I’d really encourage you to make an effort to speak to people and take part in the international programs, clubs and activities the university offers.

Study abroad is not just something that looks good on your CV. It’s an opportunity to mix with a wide variety of people from different backgrounds and hopefully learn things about yourself that you never knew before. If for nothing else coming to UCLA gave me the opportunity to meet Spiderman in Hollywood!

University of Tennessee Jessica Higham Before I left Manchester for Knoxville, Tennessee I thought it would be no competition. I have always loved Manchester and felt that it could never be kicked off its number one place in my heart. It was a case of city vs. campus, my own room vs. sharing, and rain vs. sun (though that latter competition wasn’t too hard fought).

However, Knoxville surprised me and won me round. Those who know me know that this took a while – I was incredibly homesick for the first month or so and found it hard to be somewhere where I only knew a few people, but I don’t think I could have been anywhere more welcoming. The school spirit at Tennessee is mega, and possibly something Manchester could take on board. Everyone is dressed in swathes of orange, with big T’s emblazoned across their chest. You can’t avoid it and it definitely helps that you feel a part of the university.

Sharing a room might seem outrageous to most people back home, but you really do get used to it. Yes, you have to learn to embrace the other person’s alarm and their strange sleeping habits, but after a month or so it becomes second nature. In fact, when I came home to my room it felt strange to be on my own. You get so used to having someone else there. There was one thing that I didn’t succumb too, and that was the backpack and gym shorts combo that everyone sports. When we arrived in Knoxville it was snowing, so I went for the shorts and tights

If going to America on study abroad has done one thing for me, it’s completely boosted my self-confidence and what I know I’m capable of look that many of us in Manchester wear when the weather gets a bit chilly. The stares I got. They had barely ever seen tights before, let alone paired with shorts. If you ever have a doubt about whether you’re fashionable or not, head on over to Knoxville and be put at ease, they adore the English way of dressing (not to mention the accent).

If going to America on study abroad has done one thing for me, it’s completely boosted my self-confidence and what I know I’m capable of. I would recommend it to everyone, even those home birds who think the idea is a bit daunting – you do come home eventually, and when you do you’ll feel like a new person.

Jess Higham, American Studies, went on exchange to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in semester 2 last year.

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Sydney University Imogen McRoberts

National University of Singapore Oliver Reynolds I arrived in Singapore on 29th July 2011, as term starts in early August here, flying straight from Ho Chi Minh City and thus experiencing a double culture shock as Singapore was unlike either Vietnam or the longdistant UK. A megacity-state with a population of 5 million: ultra-clean, green, organized, urbanized, modern and overwhelmingly humid.

I was shown around by my Welcome Buddy, but spent the rest of the first day milling around trying to infiltrate a group of exchange students or else target a loner and form my own group. I found one in the shop at my new halls, but as I desperately tried to start a conversation with him I discovered he was the 14-yearold brother of another student!

After that fail, I just went back to my room to unpack. Luckily, I met my next-door neighbour, a Canadian guy called Sam, who introduced me to his new friends.

From there it was fine, as I’d done the whole meeting people and heavy socialising in Freshers’ Week (or Welcome Week is it nowadays?) in first year.

The first couple of weeks felt like being in Disneyland. We went to the well-kempt Botanic Gardens, to a beach party on the

Arguably the best thing about Singapore is the incredible opportunity to travel around Southeast Asia heavily-manicured and artificial (but nonetheless fun) Sentosa island, hiking round the MacRitchie Reservoir Nature Reserve among cute, yet teethbaring, macaques and sampled a collection of very plush but extremely expensive nightclubs (where I purchased one bottle of Tiger beer for $20 – or £10! It was no Fifth Ave).

Singapore has so many laws, including no spitting, public speeches, jay-walking, or smoking/drinking/eating on the immaculately clean MRT (metro) system. I frequently forget about the no drinking law, which incurs

a fine of $250 (even for water), always glancing around guiltily and hoping nobody will report me. Yet on the other hand, drinking alcohol in the streets is perfectly legal, as is prostitution.

It’s a bizarre country of contradictions.

The National University of Singapore campus itself is absolutely stunning: dotted with exotic banyan trees and set among gentle hills with hi-tech and state-of-the-art academic and sports facilities all served by (usually) efficient shuttle buses, which also visit the main halls of residence.

Finally, arguably the best thing about Singapore is the incredible opportunity to travel around Southeast Asia very cheaply, taking budget airlines and staying in hostels even just for the weekend due to its proximity to some of the world’s best travel hotspots. It’s only halfway through the first semester and I’ve already been to Malaysia, Brunei, Bali, Java and Bintan (Indonesia) with trips to climb Mt. Kinabalu and tour Thailand on the cards. And I’m not at all rich, especially after having my wallet (and all cards) stolen in Bali.

The food is immense, the culture diverse, the transport cheap and efficient and most of all it’s a very safe city. It makes a pleasant change from living in Longsight.

If you are feeling inspired by any of this and would like to find what options you might have to study abroad as part of your Manchester degree, then here’s a date for your diary! The annual Study Abroad Fair will take place Tues 25 October, 12 – 4pm in the Whitworth Hall. There you can chat to Manchester students who’ve already been abroad on exchange as well as Study Abroad Unit staff to find out more about the programme. There’ll also be representatives from the Study China and Seoul Summer Study programmes, and the Careers Service who can help advise you on internships abroad/ postgraduate study abroad. Do remember though, the application deadline for many destinations are 15 December 2011.

For more information see: www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/studyabroad or email: goabroad@manchester.ac.uk. Nothing to lose by having a look.

Welcome to Sydney University.

‘Arrive and thrive’ is the motto, which repeatedly rolls off the tongues of the very witty, very helpful and very ‘Australian’ Study Abroad team. However, at that point I was more thinking ‘Hello bed!’ with the jetlag. The first two weeks were a daze, a hazy blur of confusion. Frustrating though it was, it was also very thrilling.

Upon arrival I was struck by an excess of warmth from various different people from an array of ages and backgrounds. I thought, “You don’t find this in England, no one’s that helpful.”

Since being here, I have discovered the wonders of good weather and the impact that has on University life.

There is usually a free BBQ somewhere on campus and a range of activities and events going on throughout the semester, much of which take place outdoors. Walk to classes and there is music is playing; kids are flyering about one issue or another, free t-shirts during the elections and free

sweets. Even the most British of Brits couldn’t moan about that.

Probably the most enjoyable aspect of life at Sydney so far has been the diverse subjects I have been able to take. Whilst being here I have studied MEN: Masculinity, Mateship and Men’s Lives (yes boys, we’re on to you!). This seems to be a subject that, although not strictly Australian, has much focus within Australian intellects. I have also taken two subjects with regard to the Indigenous people of this country. One about their contemporary art and another regarding their place in ‘Modern’ society. These two subjects have opened my eyes and my mind to an issue I would have never been aware of. I have been introduced to some amazing Australian culture, whether it is film, art or people in general. It’s a far cry away from the stereotypical Ozzie that I had preconceived before I arrived!

There is some truly inspiring creativity taking place here.

In my semester break I took a ten-day holiday and without

Manchester, UK

exaggeration, it has been one of my favourite holidays yet. I went up the coast, chasing the sun and found the beaches and the sea. There were three main parts to my travel, a sailing trip, a tour on Fraser Island (‘Oh no, a Dingo ate my baby!’) and lastly to Byron bay, the land of love and freedom! On this adventure I met some beautiful people, mostly backpackers but the few Ozzies I met were gracious and generous. This includes the three inbreeds who were attending a wedding – ‘Yeah we’re, like inbred, you know. It’s kinda weird but we’re a close family.’ The trip made me want to travel and see the rest of Australia because it is so large and so diverse from place to place.

Overall, the experience I’ve had in Australia has been heartwarming. I have had the opportunity to interact with people from many parts of the world and have been shown generosity beyond belief.

Although I have missed friends and family, it is important to step outside one’s comfort zone and by doing this in Sydney, I have reaped many rewards!

www.sandhillseast.jobs

Offering Positions In: Marketing Sales Other Business Fields Currently Offering:

Graduate Positions, Placements, Summer Internships, Part-time Vacancies Visit with us Thursday Oct 20th at the Finance, Business, and Management Fair at the Manchester Central.

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11:23:58 AM

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Fashion & Beauty

This Month in Fashion Elizabeth Harper The month of October saw the birth of two great American designers. Firstly, Ralph Lauren, born on the 14th October, 1939 who is one of the old school big boys of American fashion, alongside Halston, Blass and Hilfiger. He created the iconic Polo brand in the 1970s which provided luxury sportswear and clean cut tailoring for both men and women.

The designer has never been one to shy away from advertising himself and his brand; he contributed clothes to the costume department of The Great Gatsby in 1974. His company was also an important part of the Friends storyline with Rachel working there for five seasons. He made a guest appearance in one memorable episode.

Roisín and Claudia

Donna Karan, born on the 2nd of October, 1948, studied at Parsons School of Design, famous for being the main set of the fabulous show Project Runway. She is one of the most powerful and influential women in fashion, acting as designer and chairwoman of a global company under her name that is worth $640m.

She is also a great philanthropist, founding the Urban Zen initiative and donating money to cancer treatment centres in memory of her late husband, artist Stephen Weiss who died from the disease in 2001. Her show is always one of the highlights of New York fashion week, and her fragrance franchise Be Delicious, fronted by Lara Stone, has been a best seller since its launch in 2007. Donna is, without a doubt, one inspirational lady.

Loving & Loathing

Loving:

Loathing:

Fair Isle knits

Kate Middleton as a Vogue cover candidate

With a resurgence of the fantastically traditional Fair Isle pattern popping up on a range of knitwear from jumpers to scarves, the longevity of its appeal is clear to see.

First popularised when Edward VIII wore the print native to the tiny North Scotland isle on a tank top in 1921, a piece of this instantly recognisable, comforting sequence is a lovely addition to any winter wardrobe.

After reportedly turning down an offer to appear on the cover of British Vogue, rumour has it that Anna Wintour is courting the new Duchess of Cambridge as a potential guaranteed sales booster for the American edition.

Whilst Kate is reported to be slightly concerned about the reaction of her grandmother-in-law to her behaving in such a distinctly un-royal manner, Wintour could well attempt to exploit her connection with the palace’s favourite photographer Mario Testino to secure a real life princess for her publication. Whether Kate is deserving of such an accolade remains debatable but maybe this rather odd idea could force a departure from the standard glossy dark blow dry and knee length, pastel shade skirts that appear to be surgically attached to Princess Kate.

Claudia Canavan

C

Fashion Alphabet

is for: Creepers Anyone interested in getting involved and joining The Mancunion's fashion writing team can contact editors Claudia Canavan and Roisín Dervish-O'Kane by email on fashion@mancunion.co.uk or join our facebook group by searching for "The Mancunion: Fashion and Beauty 2011-2012". We are really excited about the fashion and beauty pages this year and would love to get as many enthusiastic and talented writers on board as possible.

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Comment & Debate

Creepers, or brothel creepers, are like sensible lace-ups with extra sole. So they’re a bit like a mullet: business out front, party underneath, however unlike a mullet they look great and, thanks to Prada, are super hot this winter.

They’re also a very sensible fashion shoe, not only are they comfortable flats, their massive soles keep you out of the Manchester puddles. Walking on water, what’s not to love? They also have a serious history, first worn by army boys in North Africa to keep sand out of their socks (we’ve all been there) they were then taken up by Teddy boys in the 1950s. George Cox, sold through the British Boot Company, are the originals and look very sharp.

Slightly cheaper at Office, they have a lovely shiny black pair with white and green soles and Topshop have a charming tasselled pair for £34.99. Interestingly, in Norway they are known as ‘Traktorsko’ or ‘Tractor Shoes’.

Elizabeth Linsley

Craving & Saving

Craving

Saving

Finger Clutch, MaisonDuPosh, £550

Red Oversized Smart Clutch, Miss Selfridge, £22

If there ever was to be a statement clutch, this beauty definitely ticks the box. This one by Azreal Sky’s MaisonduPosh features the bold jewel tones of the Autumn/Winter season, and has that extra bit of bling that encompasses the brand’s unique flair. A piece that every person should have in their possession, yet the price tag creates a slight obstacle in obtainment (though with this baby, you would definitely save money on the ring...)

Though this Miss Selfridge number does not exactly exude the luxurious air of the MaisonduPosh clutch, it definitely hits a spot with the fabulous Ruby Red colour, a key trend this season.

Versatile and bright, this clutch will not break the bank, yet still illuminate any outfit you choose to pair it with. Frankly, I think I’m off to the Arndale...

Natalie Clark

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Politics & Analysis

Science & Tech

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Beauty

Manchester male grooming at its finest Isabelle Dann Beauty Editor Guys! Exhausted by your snarky tutor / whiney girlfriend / bitchy boyfriend? Need to refresh your delicate self after one too many mornings waking up on the bathroom floor covered in jam?

Well, look no further for ostensible gentrification with all its pampering properties than The Gentry Grooming Co. The brainchild of ex-Apprentice contestant Adele Lock, The Gentry Grooming Co offers the very best male grooming experience in Manchester, with salons in Manchester city centre, Wilmslow and Didsbury. Hair, colour, shaving, massage, manicure, facial, eyebrow and teeth whitening services are all available in a relaxing ambiance, with some of the best treatments including: • Cut and Finish (wet cut and blow), £24.50, 30 mins.

• Deep Cleansing & Nourishing Hair and Scalp Treatment with Hot Towels, £10, 10 mins.

• Traditional Cut Throat Shave with Hot Towels (for sensitive skin), £27.50, 40 mins.

• Luxury Manicure & Hand Massage, £25, 45 mins.

• Deep Cleansing Facial with Face Mask (Treatment followed by Hot Towels), £35, 40 mins.

Additionally, a luxury male grooming product range is available in-store and online, enabling would-be dandies

everywhere to take care of their pretty entities in the comfort of their own home. The Essentials Range consists of eight daily skincare and shaving products: • • • • • • • •

The All Over Wash, £10.95 The Face Wash, £10.95 The Face Scrub, £12.95 The Shave Oil, £9.95 The Shave Cream, £12.95 The Face Balm, £14.95 The Eye Cream, £14.95 The Styling Cream, £11.95

Moreover, the range is over 93 percent natural, pH balanced, free from alcohol, parabens and chemical preservatives – perfect for men with a sensitive complexion.

Day and night time fragrances are also available. Concerning the range, blogger Mr Black of Gentlemen’s Goods comments: “I have been trying the range for the last two weeks and I have to say they are a pleasure to use, the peppery scent from the face wash really wakes me up in the morning ready to fight for my spot on the train. Like a lot of men I find that some products far from sooth my skin actually irritate it due to all the chemicals used in the usual big brands, so I love the fact that these products are natural”.

Finally, as a much-appreciated finishing touch, The Gentry Grooming Co feature various demonstration videos and textual tips and tricks on their website in order to ensure customers are fully aware of how to take care of their sexy faces.

So go on. Treat yourself. Because it’s a Tuesday. Or something.

WHOSE BRIGHT IDEAS DO YOU WANT ?

VOTE WWW.TINYURL.COM/UMSUELECTIONS

FRI 14TH - THURS 20TH OCT (UNTIL 6PM)

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Comment & Debate

Arts & Culture

Asia Triennial Manchester 11 You might not have heard, but Asia is upon us. Yes, yes, China’s economy is growing faster than a social network whilst the ocean is evaporating. But the real earth-shrinking news is that the Asia Triennial is back and bigger than ever. The festival that launched 23 commissions and five exhibitions back in the last decade (2008) has now thoroughly invaded Manchester.

Over 20 ‘community-based venues’ have thrown open their arms, and their walls, to Asiarelated art; new contenders include MadLab and Manchester Cathedral. The second triennial festival looks at contemporary issues facing Asia and Asia-in-Manchester: themes of immigration, city-dwelling, connectivity and all in one hegemonic, cohesively-glued package labelled ‘art’. And the really unique thing is that as well as representing Asia, the Triennial represents, creates even, contemporary art. And whether or not this platform for Asian issues is so pervasive and widespread here in Manchester due to the large Asian community is not as relevant as the fact that this conglomerate is providing Manchester with some really interesting, thought-provoking– you might even say cutting edge– art.

Take your time, Asia Triennial is on until the 27th November. Check out specific listings and events at http://www.asiatriennialmanchester.com/ and the reviews below for our writers’ recommendations.

Phoebe Chambre

Review

Diffusion: Daksha Patel at Cornerhouse and Piccadilly Station Sara Jaspan Sat enjoying a drink in the bar of the Cornerhouse you could be easily excused for failing to notice your own, eye-splitting proximity to one aspect of this year’s Asia Triennial Festival. Likewise, alighting from the metro at Piccadilly station many commuters, in the daily rush to get from a to b, may miss the way in which their journey has been quietly invaded by one of the city’s local artists.

This information has then been transformed into a series of curious and intriguing images, which can only be described as the love child of cartography, cellular microbiology and abstract design – it was only a matter of time before that happened. Thus the mass of numbers which statistics often become are given new meaning as they are presented in a striking and thought-provoking manner.

Displayed at the Cornerhouse the images are graceful and inquisitive, put out in the cold of a station they are polemic (in the

Patel 2011, Diffusion series 1.2

See the website for interviews with Enkhbold Togmidshirev and Craig Campbell.

Arts & Cultre Meetings at 5pm, Tuesdays in the Whitworth Gallery café. arts@mancunion.com Twitter @dani_middleton

We often unconsciously filter out the majority of the environment that surrounds us, swallowing exactly only what we expect to see or are looking for. This is one element that Daksha Patel is attempting to express and undress with her quietly invasive works- which themselves call for us to look again.

Her work; a series of gentle intricate etchings, drawings and photographs, plays upon the (oft-unnoticed) two-way street that runs between city and its inhabitant.

Working closely with Manchester Metropolitan University she has set about collecting and interpreting a range of data focusing on the ways in which we construct, live within, and are affected by our urban surroundings.

best possible way). Patel takes a step further in her quest to make us engage more fully with the conditions of our city and puts her work right in tripping distance of the daily grind. Displayed using a series of light boxes lining the tram-tracks at Piccadilly station, Patel’s art doesn’t just talk the talk, it gets all up in the grill of city life.

Taken out of the serene context of the art institution and placed within the alien realms of a crowded station these works confront the very population they are based upon - the people of Manchester. I only question how many will notice.

Daksha Patel’s work will be on show at the Cornerhouse until 18th October and at the Piccadilly metro stop until 27th November.

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Review

Everything happened at once Hetty Scrope Everything Is Happening At Once is an exhibition of duality and deception. Or, in the words of Rashid Rana, an ‘attempt to translate the physical, psychological and temporal access of our current epoch into the idea of two-dimensionality’.

So far, so pretentious. But perhaps we can let him off. Rashid is, after all, one of Pakistan’s foremost contemporary artists, and a leading light of Manchester’s Asia Triennial.

In gallery one there is a series of boxes printed with large pixelated images of every-day objects: a fridge, a stack of newspapers, flowers in ceramic vases.

The combination of 3D boxes and the flattened 2D images creates a sort of trompe-l’oeil in reverse. This sense of irony and fun contrasts drastically with gallery two, though disguise and trickery still reign.

The title, Between Flesh and Blood, and a warning on the door of ‘graphic imagery’ ahead forewarns a more visceral dimensionality to be flattened.

Two large-scale photomontages, one of women in burkas, the other a Pakistani

rug, are on closer inspection compiled of documentary photographs of blood, violence and death.

The horrific pictures are miniaturized, hidden within the giant images of cultural stagnation that spell out themes of deception in religion, media and politics today. There was something less 2D in gallery three, an incredible mirage-like installation called Desperately Seeking Paradise II. I worried about what happened to Paradise I- things didn’t look good for it.

Tiny photos of houses in Rana’s native Lahore are assembled to appear as giant skyscrapers. Perhaps a comment on the East- West divide, buried behind a gridlike structure of mirrors. This exhibition is a pretty powerful inspection of the world today and despite such grand designs the works are not daunting nor overly intellectual. It might even make you think, and not just about yourself.

Rana does the Cornerhouse proud: catch it before it’s happened.

Rashid Rana: Everything Is Happening At Once is on at Cornerhouse until Sun 18 December 2011. He will be giving a talk on Wed 20th Oct: The World is Not Enough

Interview

Frisky and Mannish Dani Middleton Arts & Culture Editor If you haven’t heard of/seen the Edinburgh Fringe Festival force of comedy-cabaret sauciness, your ears have not lived. On 20th October Frisky and Mannish are making their way to our humble-land (Frisky’s home-town), for the Manchester Comedy Festival, and performing at The Lowry.

Their production, School of Pop, taught its audiences Tudor history using the lyrical styling’s of TLC’s No Scrubs, and literature via Wuthering Heights and Kate Nash.

This year’s veritable feast of comic cabaret delicacies takes to the stage under the title of Pop Centre Plus; careers advice for pop hopefuls à la Frisky and Mannish.

Thus following a swift praising of Frisky and Mannish’s achievements, combined and as individuals, the questions about what makes the two tick rolled on.

Dani: What is your favourite song first off that you guys do?

Frisky: Favourite song that we do, it’s hard because we do so much and we’ve been doing them over years and years, they go in and out of enjoyment for different reasons.

One thing that we do is Rhianna’s Rude Boy, and we demonstrate that, obviously we all know it was originally by the Bee

Gees, so we do the Bee Gees original and that basically came from loving the song Rude Boy so much.

We put the Bee Gees version on, and when we make ourselves laugh so much that we fall off the sofa then we know it’s good and we really loved it.

Then we do it so much that you get to a point where we’re like “Oh it’s this one again”, but now it’s coming round full circle.

Dani: Your coloured hair, is it real?

Frisky: (Laughs) It is real! I actually walk around with bright red hair, I do cheat though I have to say, sometimes I don’t have time to get the straighteners out or make it look really pretty and nice, so I have to admit occasionally I will chuck a wig on.

Dani: (Shrill) Really?!

Frisky: Yeah it’s literally ridiculous it’s a wig of exactly my hair.

Dani: Did you have to have it specially made?

Frisky: No it’s actually quite a bargain one! It is from New York, which sounds quite fancy, but it’s from New York’s equivalent of Angels Dress-Up shop or something really crappy, it just so happens that have really good wigs.

This is a mere taster of the gold-standard chit-chat so visit www.Mancunion.com to delight in the full version.

Fashion & Beauty

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Arts & Culture

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Music

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Film

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Food & Drink

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Lifestyle

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Body Positive art show: Vegans go native The people behind nakedvegancooking.com (remember them foodlovers?) organised a two-part event to challenge the unrealistic images of beauty endorsed by the media at every juncture. Art and food mix once more, this time in the name of social change. The group wanted to reinforce that individuals need to be proud of and embrace their body the way that it is. In short: “To kick crash diets and holding your stomach in once and for all!”

The proactive group led an artmaking session at Islington Mill in Salford on 21st September, creating banners with positive body image slogans, taking photos, sketching nudes and producing art inspired by the idea of natural beauty. The product of all this festivity was then displayed in the ‘Body Positive Art Show’ at Kraak gallery; which also played host to Channel 4 who were there enjoying the view and shooting for a documentary about nudity and body image which will run in the new year.

Just as at the workshop, the Kraak show had a clothing optional policy, widely enjoyed by those who

Photo: Jess Bradley

Simone Wilkes

attended. The evening’s events – including live poetry with tea and cake, of course – all took place within an atmosphere of acceptance of the individual. The group even devised a ‘Safer Spaces Agreement’ which demonstrated their dedication to creating “a non-judgmental space for free expression, which is as safe as possible for all those wishing to attend, regardless of gender, body shape and size, sexuality, gender identity, ability [and] race.”

The evening was certainly not just about showcasing the art that had been created at Islington Mill, but also about creating living art during the exhibition itself. This was made possible by the provision of body paints, allowing art to be created on the living canvases. Even the guest poet Dominic Berry, winner of the Nuyorican Cafe Poet’s Slam in New York, performed nude and explained how this enabled him to feel and perform freer.

Since the close of the event there has been much appraisal of the work nakedvegancooking.com have done to publicise and endorse the empowering message to love the body you’re in and respect the fact that each person is different. The success of their work was really revealed when members of the public who had previously felt selfconscious about their bodies were able to participate fully in the event, warts and all.

Review

John Rylands Library: From Kashmir to Kandy Eve Fensome There is still time to see the exhibit, From Kashmir to Kandy: A South Asian Odyssey at the John Rylands Library. However, for those of you like me who have little knowledge of Asian history and culture, you might be better off staying at home.

The library has brought together a fascinating and eclectic mix of beautifully ornate religious texts, and esoteric documents from across Asia. The obvious flaw was the unfortunate lack of literature to help gauge the significance of these (presumably) marvellous items.

I was excited to see that the exhibit included a section of the Mahabharata written as a palmleaf manuscript, yet the information given was not sufficient if you had no previous knowledge to help you contextualise the documents.

The exhibit, An Inestimable Treasure - 400 years of the King James Bible, which as well as housing The King James Bible housed also ‘related materials’.

From cholera to zoology and astronomy This collection included: a 15th century Biblia Pauperum from Germany and documents spanning everything from cholera and Body-snatching to zoology and astronomy.

I was able to connect most with the exhibit of personal letters and papers spanning 200 years of correspondence between gay lovers. The exhibit was touching and revealing, and included writings by such famous individuals as the war poet, Wilfred Owen.

In essence I did spend a very pleasurable afternoon in the library. However, the curators missed a real opportunity to connect with the audience.

Theatre

Fix me another drink Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Ran at the Bolton Octagon from 22nd September until 15th October.

intensifies the tension, which is present throughout the play, as George and Martha speak in coded terms about ‘the kid’. From the outset ‘the kid’ is the drama’s central mystery – as Martha initially threatens ‘I’ll talk about him if I want to’ – a mystery that symbolises one of the play’s central themes: the conflict between reality and façade.

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of the performance is how the drama translates, from being so

Margot Leicester [Martha], Tammy Joelle [Honey] and George Irving [George]

Photo: Ian Tilton

David Thacker’s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? draws out the black humour of the three-act American drama which explores the extremes of a couple’s maliciously destructive relationship. It is the play’s dark comic edge that is used to mock the absurdity of the central characters as they constantly attempt to destroy one another through verbal abuse.

The central protagonists Martha and George, played by Margot Leicester and George Irving, entertain a young couple, Honey and Nick, played by Tammy Joelle and Kieran Hill, for the evening after a faculty party. This ‘afterparty’ provides the setting for the three-act play that is driven by Martha and George’s malicious ‘games’: acts which are essentially attempts to savagely humiliate one another and, at points, both of their guests.

One of the most noticeable directorial decisions, certainly in terms of the set, is David Thacker’s use of a circular stage. Staging George and Martha’s living room on a circular stage in the middle of the auditorium makes the play seem less of a performance of fiction but rather makes the audience feel they are being given an intimate view of the couple’s world. In fact, there is actually something about the selfcontained staging which makes you feel as though you are almost intruding on the couples’ developing hysteria.

This

inherently set within its American context into a modern day theatre in Bolton. There are moments where the play’s most distinctive Americanisms – most noticeably George’s use of the word “schmucks” – for some reason sound a little awkward and unnatural. The performance, however, doesn’t fail to convey the sadistic way in which George and Martha psychologically tear one another apart. It is these sadistic games that lead to the drama’s pinnacle moment where it becomes clear that Martha’s obsession with illusion has led her to take extreme measures to escape reality.

The way in which this performance presents the hollow meaninglessness of the four characters lives could be seen as proof that ultimately Edward Albee sees it as his job as a playwright to “ask some interesting questions and expect the audience to provide some good answers”.

Vicky Carter

Crystal Kisses – produced by Contact Theatre in partnership with Comic Relief, Barnardo’s, the Protect Team, Brook, Manchester City Council and NHS Fresh – is a powerful piece of drama which highlights an important issue in Manchester today: child sex exploitation.

The in-depth research and commitment towards giving an honest yet brutal experience for the audience, however effective, is shocking. It is a fantastic play, although I do warn it is no Cinderella story and a strong drink may be needed afterwards. The theme is constant throughout and the audience can recognise the different influences that can bring such exploitation.

With the use of subtle lighting, basic staging and interesting props, the audience can entirely focus on the acting and the theme of the play. The use of a white screen in the middle of the stage enables the actors to create shadows and movement frames, highlighting the scene in the foreground. It is an excellent technique which makes the play more sinister and disturbing.

The play is set apart with three different ‘acts’, you might call it, to present different scenarios in which the exploitation can be seen.

Toyah, who is in social care and seems to be feisty and

Photo: Joel C.Fildes

Hannah Lawrence

Brutal but honest

Crystal Kisses at the Contact Theatre

Crystal Kisses ran for eight performances between 4th and 15th October at the Contact Theatre

independent, is weak and vulnerable under her hard exterior. Jay runs away from home, although he has run to a place that is not as caring as he thought. Finally, there is Ally, the A* student who faces temptation, sex and betrayal.

Each section of the play is similar but different, using various techniques of drama such as choreographed physical movements, rhyme, metaphors, sound and dance to culminate this lucid piece of drama and emphasise various forms of exploitation.

Although this play mainly has a sombre feel, there are some comic attributions such as the character Zed who lifts the mood with his witty lines and comic mannerisms; but the solemnity soon returns and the humour is gone.

Nonetheless, Crystal Kisses is a must-see. It portrays the theme extraordinarily well whilst using an assortment of techniques.

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Music Up there with the most respected guitarists of his generation, Bert Jansch will be sorely missed. Having influenced everyone from Jimmy Page to Johnny Marr to Devendra Banhart, his virtuosic style and intricate songwriting helped lead the ‘60s folk revival, both as a solo artist and as part of folkrock troubadours Pentangle.

After fighting a two-year battle with cancer, Jansch died on October 5th at a hospice in North London, aged 67. In an interview with the Guardian last year, he said, "I'm not one for showing off, but I guess my guitar-playing sticks out", and as his legacy will testify, that’s more than an understatement.

Alexandre Briand

@

The Academy this week...

Wretch 32 – Wednesday 19th - Academy 2 His lifestyle’s terribly wild, but you’ll never catch him on the Jeremy Kyle show; you will, however, catch him at Academy 2 on the 19th.

Ed Sheeran – Monday 17th – Academy 2 Red-headed teen best known for being mates with Example and singing about Nando’s.

ACADEMY M A N C H E S T E R

ACADEMY MANCHESTER

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Feature

Bombay Bicycle Club Prior to their October 7th show at The Apollo, Rob Fuller was lucky enough to catch up with Bombay Bicycle Club and hear about their tour, their new album, and potential solo plans...

The Manchester Apollo is a big venue; huge for a band like Bombay Bicycle Club. I managed to catch up with Jamie and Suren from the band in the middle of sound check.

It’s the group’s third show in a row and there are six more dates to come with barely a day off in between. I ask them how it feels to be on a tour this big. “We don’t normally tour this much,” Suren tells me, “and this is our biggest show ever.”

Jamie points out that it’s their first electric tour for a year and a half, having last toured in support of their acoustic album Flaws. The new album, A Different Kind of Fix, is another sound entirely. Bombay Bicycle Club have, like many of their contemporaries, moved towards a more electronic sound. They readily admit that it’s a bit of a risk. “Critically, it’s probably been our best received album,” Jamie tells me. “It’s more difficult for the fans, to be honest.” But when the quartet takes to the stage later and open with new single ‘Shuffle’, the reaction from the crowd is huge.

Admittedly, the older songs are probably better received but they are an energetic and exciting live band that easily manages to win the crowd over. Some of the new tracks like ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’ and the next single ‘Lights out, Words Gone’ are wonderfully received. ‘So Much Sleep’ in particular is an exciting addition to the set. It sounds enough like the older material to be familiar while showing how strong their new sound can be.

When Bombay Bicycle Club first emerged, many parts of the media portrayed them as a part of an upstart scene of pop-sounding underage bands. Despite their already varied

back catalogue, many music fans and bloggers derided them as being too ‘Topman’: a style over substance group, not dissimilar to such acts as recent touring partners Two Door Cinema Club. I ask them how they feel about such associations.

“We’ve never felt like part of any scene,” Jamie tells me; “we just played at the same underage venues [as bands like old schoolmates Cajun Dance Party]. People have hopefully stopped writing about that.”

But he does admit that being seen as a ‘young’ band did mean the boys received

more leeway from reviewers than other acts might have. Suren tells me they “aren’t the most social of bands” and don’t have many friends in other acts. Given their hectic recording and touring schedule, it’s perhaps easy to see why. Despite this, female vocalist Lucy Rose joins the foursome on stage for a number of tracks from the most recent album and during set closer ‘The Giantess’ they are joined on vocals by support act Dry the River.

Despite the set drawing heavily from the new album, the gig also revisits a number of less recent tracks from the band’s history.

Older number ‘Open House’ makes a return to the set after a lengthy absence. Two songs from Flaws are also aired in the middle of the set. In fact, the reception for acoustic single ‘Ivy and Gold’ was one of the biggest of the night. With such a varied back catalogue that changes direction with every album, it’s an open question where the band will go next. For Suren, the electronic sound is the future: “This is the Bombay Bicycle sound.”

Jamie, however, seems to disagree, saying, “I’d like to make another 4-piece band rock

album, but it’s hard to do that and not sound like so many other bands.” For Jamie, the future lies in “the sort of off-kilter pop songs like ‘Shuffle’ and ‘Always Like this’” but “with more guitars”. So can the boys see themselves going back and making another acoustic album? Jamie pauses for a moment and then tells me, “I’m sure Jack [Steadman, the lead singer] will, whether we do it as Bombay Bicycle Club or not.”

When I ask them if they feel intimidated by the size of the venue, they tell me they look forward to it but they worry about being so far away from the fans. It’s a fear that may be well-founded. Older tracks like ‘Always Like This’ and ‘Lamplight’ have the masses jumping around at the front. But in such an arena, with a considerable amount of seated fans, they no longer have that live moment to bring the whole crowd to its feet. By playing such a big venue the gig loses some of that necessary energy. Bombay Bicycle Club are impressive and give the fans enough of what they want, but part of me thinks it was a big step up that came just a bit too soon.

Photo: Angus MacRae

A Life in Music Bert Jansch 1943 - 2011

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Comment & Debate

Feature

Live

Manchester Orchestra Aymen Saleh Ahead of Manchester Orchestra’s sold-out show at the Academy 2 I was gushing to everyone who would listen about how excited I was about seeing the band. I realised, through this, that Manchester Orchestra is an extremely deceptive band name. Describing his band as a word of mouth band, lead singer Andy Hull notes: "We're fortunate. Especially here in the UK, where we've never had a song on the radio."

It's not exactly ideal that someone’s first impression would be of a 32-piece orchestra and not what they actually are: an angstfuelled indie-rock band. He explains the name: "I was listening to The Smiths a lot and I knew that they were from here." The orchestra reference actually seems more apt than you'd think, considering their latest release, Simple Math, is an album filled with as many string arrangements and pretty layers as distorted chords and crashing cymbals. Hull is unequivocal about their

motives on the album: "We got the opportunity as a band to make a really gorgeous record with all the bells and whistles we could possibly want to do. We made an effort to make the most grand, large piece of work we can."

They aren't a band to shy away from being almost painstakingly personal lyrically and dramatic in their execution. Having admitted in a previous interview that he drew from real life experiences when writing, be it his marriage or even his relationship with religion, Hull says: "The record is so personal and so descriptive about these real and intense moments.

Simple Math was like the cathartic representation [of the marriage], helping me work through it." Having released their previous album, Mean Everything To Nothing, to wide-critical acclaim, they suddenly found themselves in the spotlight, despite having no hit-single to their name. That album was a very broody, harsh, alternative-rock and, dare I say it, an emo record. "It was kind of like a tribal meltdown," Hull muses, and adds

NME Radar Tour that on the new album, Simple Math was influenced heavily by the likes of Neil Young.

“We added strings and beautiful things on top, but they're really guttural rock songs at the bottom of it."

Later on, as they took to the stage, I witnessed the transformation of Hull from a humble and very normal guy, to a nearpossessed performer. Opening with ‘Deer’, the slow and unimposing opener from their latest album, before launching straight into ‘Pride’ and ‘Pensacola’ they quickly change the dynamic from quiet and restrained to that explosive, “guttural rock” that Hull claims is in the Orchestra’s nature. After ‘The River’ finishes, it’s obvious that they're unafraid to be gritty, loud, and intense in their performance. Manchester Orchestra are currently enduring a hectic touring schedule, but hope to be releasing more music in the future: "We have a ton of songs that have never been released. It'll be very interesting to see what we do in the next few years." I am sure that everyone who was in the Academy 2 that night cannot wait.

NME Radar Tour Club Academy 8th October

It’s never a good sign when you arrive at a show to find that a band’s pulled out as NIki & the Dove unfortunately had to do at the Manchester leg of the NME Radar Tour.

So, it was left to London-based quintet S.C.U.M. to open proceedings, immediately introducing their distortion of heavy noise rock. This became somewhat tiring fairly quickly, with singer Thomas Cohen acting more like he was in a fashion show than playing a gig. This allowed Wolf Gang to provide a breath of fresh air. Their indie pop went down a storm with the crowd and they brightened up an evening littered with disappointments.

Rachel Bolland

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Live

Column

Johnny Marr and The Healers Of all the ex-members of The Smiths, Johnny Marr has stayed most faithful to the city that made him. Nowadays, Mike Joyce seems to prefer Manhattan to Manchester, Andy Rourke DJs in New York and Morrissey expresses outright distain for his hometown (he introduced himself as being ‘from scruffy old Mankfester’ during this year’s Glastonbury). Marr, on the other hand, recognises and cultivates his connection with Manchester so it makes perfect sense that he’d revive his postSmiths musical project, The Healers, with a trio of intimate gigs at Night and Day and the Deaf Institute. In a new four man line up including Franz Ferdinand collaborator Andy Knowles, Marr takes on vocals as well as guitar to play a mix of Healers songs and Smiths hits.

Seeing Johnny Marr front and centre rather than in his usual, understated right hand spot takes some getting used to. Of course Marr isn’t a great singer; he’s

Johnny Marr and The Healers The Deaf Institute 4th October

tentative and sometimes there’s a hint of Liam Gallagher in his stance but he adapts to the role of front man well. There’s none of

Morrissey’s emotional flourish when he attempts classic Smiths songs and his nonchalant delivery completely reconfigures the originals. ‘Please excuse me from gym, I’ve got a terrible cold coming on’ has never sounded so cool.

Not surprisingly, he’s most comfortable during the instrumental moments. Sticking with his trusty Fender Jaguar, Marr’s talent for flexing his guitar muscle in elaborate chord formations rather than overblown solos is still there. The new Healers songs that he premieres are as complex and unpredictable as ever.

It wasn’t just Marr’s musical prowess that made a generation of lads (Ed O'Brien and Pete Doherty included) want to pick up a guitar.

Looking barely a day over 25 and with the intimacy of the Deaf Institute magnifying his every strum, Johnny Marr is still the coolest guitarist on the planet.

Phoebe Hurst

Fenech-Soler Northampton four-piece FenechSoler finally returned to Manchester on Thursday night, playing a rescheduled date after their March tour of the UK was put on hold due to the serious illness of lead singer Ben Duffy.

With their glittery blend of indie and electro-pop, Fenech-Soler have often been compared to bands such as Friendly Fires and Delphic, and with set opener ‘Battlefields’ they had a packed out Academy two jumping from the off. Even the band themselves must have been surprised by the size of their crowd, especially given that Death From Above 1979 were playing just down the road. However, despite pounding synths and drums shaking the venue to its foundations, there wasn’t that much substance to the set; Duffy’s

Fenech-Soler Academy 2 6th October

vocals were lost behind noisy synth-pop, and at times it was hard to tell if you were at an indie gig or watching a rather cringeworthy DJ set at some rave club in Ibiza.

Singles ‘Demons’ and ‘Lies’ were the most well received songs of the evening, and although the crowd remained energetic and vibrant

throughout you could sense them beginning to wane, especially during three minute long instrumental intros and outros which seemed to accompany nearly every song in the set. The music was impressive, but even the most hardcore of Fenech-Soler fans would surely have grown tired and found it slightly self-indulgent.

Closing with perhaps their most famous song, ‘Stop and Stare,’ ensured that the hour-long set ended on a high, but given that the band have a critically acclaimed debut album and are tipped by many for big things, you couldn’t help but feel that Fenech-Soler certainly need to up their live game if they’re going to live up to the hype.

Jon Taylor

Album

You Me at Six You Me at Six are one of the fastest rising British bands of recent years- a fact seemingly confirmed by their scooping up of Best British Band at the Kerrang!

Awards earlier this year, beating three time winners Bullet for my Valentine.

Not allowing themselves to settle, the band has stated in many interviews that Sinners Never Sleep will be much heavier than the previous two albums, Hold Me Down and Take Off Your Colours.

To gain a heavier sound, You me at six have collaborated with metal core vocalists Winston McCall of Parkway Drive and Ollie Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon.

While McCall’s screams alone would be perfect on ‘Time is Money’, alongside Josh Franceschi’s they sound like two songs that don’t gel together.

Unfortunately, the same is true of

You Me at Six Sinners Never Sleep Label: Virgin

‘Bite My Tongue’ featuring Sykes.

You Me at Six have done softer, melodic songs really well on all their previous albums with ‘Always Attract’ and ‘Fireworks’ and this continues on Sinners Never Sleep. Franceschi’s voice is much more fitting to these songs with a particular highlight on the album being ‘Crash’.

The songs on the album might

not be the most complex, but somehow the majority of the songs are simply catchy.

‘Loverboy’ is reminiscent of songs like ‘Save It for the Bedroom’ and ‘If I were in your shoes’ from Take Off Your Colours with simplistic but memorable lyrics.

Overall, the album is decent and shows that You Me at Six are deserving of their hype as a rising British talent. However, the attempt to create a heavier album in comparison to their previous releases might leave a sour taste in some fans mouths and their clean-cut image is unlikely to appeal to metal fans. You have to give it to them; they tried to do something different and add a slight twist on their music but sadly it may have backfired.

James Birtles

Is honesty the best policy?

Joe Smart Music Editor

Over the years he’s brought the world Joe McElderry, too much Dermot O’Leary and far too much of Louis Walsh sweating on my television Recently Noel Gallagher has mused that it could be a top banana idea to magic up more Simon Cowells for the music industry because more of his ‘brutally’ honest opinion in the biz could be a winner for real talent. Whilst the pure notion of this might make Louis Walsh wet himself it poses an interesting question about the role of honesty in differing professions.

For instance, whilst Liam’s brother reckons Cowell’s diva moments would deliver a wealth of good content to the charts once again, the same kind of promise cannot be granted to someone in a different line of work. A hairdresser who’s just butchered some poor girl’s perm probably wouldn’t take the ‘brutally honest’ route.

Imagine car salesmen whispering “before you buy, you might care to know that the

engine in this particular model includes a radiator made out of chocolate and the seats are actually just quite good drawings of seats”. If someone asks you whether their bum looks big in whatever they’re wearing you’d eat your own hand before you’d say anything other than ‘fine’.

So, we’ve determined that honesty isn’t the best policy all the time, but could it work for the music biz? Indeed, the idea of thousands of Simon Cowell offspring zipping about the earth in little high-waisted trousers occasionally stopping

to tell Jedward to sleep in separate beds sounds like a cracker. But why should we be so quick to go with Cowell? The man whom Noel has elected to be his omnipotent bringer of all that is true is a questionable judge. Over the years he’s brought the world Joe Mcelderry, too much Dermot O’Leary and far too much of Louis Walsh sweating on my television. Gallagher is right then, about the need for honesty (who’s telling Steps that getting back together is a good idea?) but perhaps his medium is wrong.

Manchester HMV Ritz 0843 221 0976 www.hmvritz.com

Column

22

Film Top Bruces

5

The other week it occurred to me that all my favourite film characters seem to share the same name, so join in my love of Bruce and give these five films a watch.

By the end, you too will be converted.

5. Bruce Banner He’s not got the best control over his anger. Or the best wardrobe. Or the best skin colour (though I guess it worked for Kermit). But as far as Bruce’s go, he’s definitely got to be up there.

4. Bruce Almighty He’s got the power. And he got it from Morgan Freeman. Who is God. Need I say more?

3. Bruce Bogtrotter If you don’t remember this kid, dust off your VHS player and watch Matilda.

He’s the one with the chocolate cake. Remember him now? He deserves to be on this list for his pure determination about eating that cake – “You can do it Bruce!”

2. Bruce Wayne I’m talking Christian Bale Bruce Wayne here, apologies to the Batman fanatics out there, but he is my personal favourite. He has the sickest car, damn good manners for someone who battles evil at night and Michael Caine as a butler.

1. Bruce Willis Okay, so technically he is John McClane, amongst other guises, but Willis will always be my number one Bruce. Who else can fight European masterminds/nut-jobs wearing only his vest in the middle of winter? And always with a headache, no matter what film he’s in?

Yippee-ky-yay.

Jess Higham

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Comment & Debate

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Business & Finance

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Politics & Analysis

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Science & Tech

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Feature Page

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Big screen review

Woody, Wilson and whimsy Elizabeth Harper Midnight in Paris is yet another Woody Allen film that attempts to portray a city as its own character. It aims to take us out of our mundane everyday lives and transport us back to a golden age of romance and creativity in 1920s Paris.

Allen presents us with caricatures of numerous American and European artistic and literary icons of the era.

It cannot be denied, Allen secured a tiptop cast. The acting throughout was thoroughly convincing, almost as if it were actually happening in front of you,

although I will admit that, before the film started, I was worried about the lead actor. Owen Wilson has only ever been a DVD man so far. I’ve never really had an inclination to see any of his films on their initial release in a cinema (no, not even with the added allure of a cute dog in Marley and Me). In Midnight in Paris, however, he gives his puppy dog friend a run for his money in the adorability stakes. He’s not soppy or sickening, just hopelessly romantic in a Ryan-Gosling-inThe Notebook way, and actually does an excellent job of steering the film through a storyline that quickly became tiresome, swiftly losing its sense of originality.

The central characters were left frustratingly under-developed in a way that no amount of good acting could rescue, which is a massive shame. The script severely lacked depth, and the dialogue was either really uninspiring or heavily repeated. Overkill and too much stereotyping really made this film lose its creative zest. Some scenes went around in

Midnight in Paris Director: Woody Allen

circles and dwelt too heavily on the main themes: the point of the film was made very clear to the audience, but was then needlessly reinforced by a boring stretch of dialogue between Wilson and Marion Cotillard. It all leaves you thinking ‘alright alright, I get it’.

Despite its flaws, Midnight in Paris is enjoyable to watch, mostly due to its whimsical style- it’s a piece that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Visually and musically it could have been enchanting, if it weren’t for a need to straighten out the tiresome repetitions and inconsistencies.

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates.

Feature

All hail King Kermode!

In a sea of film critics and academics - not to mention a veritable ocean of dicks on the internet, who think that just because they can string enough syllables together to formulate an opinion on a film we must all want to listen - it can be hard to find someone whose cinematic opinions we can take as verbatim. Thankfully there is such a man, a mighty colossus who straddles this ocean of critical conflict and You Tube bullshit, with Michael Bay’s bloated corpse in one hand and a double bass in the other. An alumnus of Manchester and considered by The Screen Directory to be one of the top ten film critics of all time, Mark Kermode lived and breathed film from the day he was born. Here is a man who is not afraid to buck the trend (he loves the Twilight Saga!). Here is a man who isn’t afraid to look Willem Dafoe in the eye and tell him that he knows more about Willem Dafoe’s new film than Willem Dafoe because he’s seen it, whereas Willem Dafoe just acted in it.

Here is a man who can end a ten minute rant about Sex and the City 2 with a rousing rendition of The Internationale! Indeed, Kermode is probably best known for his blustering rants, but don’t be fooled: beneath all that hot air he’s usually right! His first book, It’s Only a Movie, was a fantastic mix of funny anecdotes and cinematic insights. His new book, The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex, looks to be more of the same, but with a bit more anger thrown in, as it focusses on the horrors modern cinemas. So all hail King Kermode! And remember, other opinions are available, even if they are wrong.

Puppy-dog eyes: Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris

Joshua Harris

DVD release

Feature

Nagisa Oshima Collection

Lost World at Cornerhouse

In the Realm of the Senses (1976), Empire of Passions (1978), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983)

Well don’t I feel cultured. Arriving at the Cornerhouse on a typical Mancunian Sunday afternoon, I am genuinely more excited to be going to the cinema than I have been since I saw Tron: Legacy at the IMAX in Waterloo. Hopefully this time I won’t want to stab anyone in the face after watching it or bleed from my eyeballs during the film. The reason I am so excited is because I am about to be treated to one of the Cornerhouse’s best cinematic experiences ever, and that is saying something. On Sunday, Cornerhouse were screening a showing of the 1925 release of The Lost World in all its silent black and white glory. Am I really that pretentious? Ermmm I think you will find that JJ, the keyboardist from the Scissor Sisters is playing a live score to the film during the performance… So yes, yes I am. The atmosphere is great and my housemates’ hangovers are fading slightly as we take our seats. Now I will say that whilst the music was thoroughly entertaining – and hats off to JJ for being both a very skilled pianist and quite a funny guy, the film was a bit crazy. It was a really entertaining atmosphere, but there were long parts were nothing was really explained and we just see tiny people running away from clay models. That said it was yet another amazing Cornerhouse experience, and another reason why that cinema is so damn good.

Robert Muirhead A cautionary note: if you’re thinking about watching these films, bear with me until the end.

Nagisa Oshima is a diverse and strange director, and tends to be very extreme. Having watched these in chronological order, after In the Realm of the Senses set in beautiful 1930s Tokyo, vibrant with Japanese tradition, the atmosphere dies once the hour of unsimulated sex begins. Imagine how uncomfortable a cinema audience would become (and we can only imagine – it’s been barred from movie theatres for 40 years)!

It’s a less depressing, romantic equivalent to Requiem for a Dream – fornication replaces heroin as indulgence takes hold of a husband and his maid come mistress with deadly consequences. Men: do not watch

the final scenes- you’ll be traumatised for life.

After watching this, the only thing compelling me to see the others was a looming deadline, but it was well worth it. Empire of Passion begins in a similar sense: I won’t dwell on the ‘art or porn?’ aspect, but the necessity of sex in the opening scenes is dubious.

Again, tradition plays a key role in the environment, but this time as a plot aspect too. Surprise, surprise – an affair goes awry. This time it’s the wife, and the husband gets murdered, publicly (having started work in Tokyo). The villagers gossip, the police get involved – but something more supernatural is afoot.

Transitioning steadily from romance to horror, those who’ve seen The Ring will see clear similarities.

Leaving the best for last, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is far more

cross-cultural in comparison to the former flicks. David Bowie plays an adequate Mr. Jack Celliers, a natural-born leader with a troubled past, alongside Col. Lawrence as prisoners of war in Japan. The plot is overused, the acting meagre, but the sheer strength of the atmosphere overpowers any naysaying. It deals effectively with the effect of war on humanity, attempts to bridge cultural gaps and provides a thought-provoking commentary on the position of Japanese and British identity – you spend too long thinking to criticise its weaker areas. Combined with an incredible score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, come prepared with tissues – it’s a tearjerker.

All in all it’s fairly justified to say that Oshima is a strange director.

Whether you think he’s strange in a good way is another question entirely.

Patrick Cowling, Film Editor

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Original vs. Remake

Big screen review

“The name’s Bean, Mr. Bean” Michael Lyons Does the world need another Johnny English film? Put simply, no! The story is basically irrelevant; it's just a vehicle for Rowan Atkinson making a fool out of himself.

Similar films in the same ilk are Pink Panther and Get Smart, where you get a detective/special agent who clumsily goes about their business creating humorous moments for the audience but still manage to get the job done. Does anyone actually like these films? I would say it is a tired, overused genre already.

It’s obvious that the film is targeted at families with young children. The children

will no doubt be kept amused by Johnny English's silliness, but I feel sorry for the parents who have to sit through this. So reader, if you are a parent, don't pay the money for this unless you are really big fan of Mr. Bean. Because let's face it, Johnny English is just Mr. Bean with a nice suit.

It started off reasonably well, with the odd snigger and smirk, but as time elapsed I became more and more frustrated with Johnny's idiocy. He’s a terrible spy, lewd and a little bit racist, but MI7’s decision to re-hire Johnny English was unforgivable in my eyes because of one key thing: it created an awful unwanted sequel. Honestly, Johnny, I've had enough of you. I know you eventually saved the day and all, but it was an accident. A

fluke! I certainly wouldn't hire you myself.

So I'm advocating early retirement for Agent English, and we can all just forget this mess ever happened.

Johnny English Reborn Director: Oliver Parker Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic West

The Fly Original (1958) Among the most enduring B-movies in film history, The Fly’s premise of teleportation gone Kafka after a scientist accidentally splices his genes with a household insect is pop culture 101. The original is a loyal adaptation, barring the book’s bleaker ending. Regrettably, though, there’s little more to recommend. Enshrined in a nostalgic bubble which has deemed it a critical darling since its release, the reality is that of a missed opportunity. The central performances are muddled, be-flyed hero Andre Delambre spouts largely ludicrous dialogue, his initial life of saccharine privilege is tough to warm to, and his wife Helene is presented bizarrely as both a strong central protagonist and also the subject of misogynistic contempt. Of course, Vincent Price steals every scene he’s in. It ought to be providing Quatermass level scares, but beyond a startling reveal including some quivering mandibles, little even wobbles the nerves. Although the famous “Help Me!” scene is still genuinely unpleasant (though inescapably silly).

Remake (1986) Forward 28 years to the movie that gave body horror its big mainstream break. David Cronenberg takes the basics of the original and explores the human drama the 1958 version failed to render; unlike the post-nuclear mentality of the original, the individualism of the 1980s has produced a film about illness and how we respond to the deterioration of those we love. It was seen by many at the time as a film about Aids, and successfully conveys all these ideas without ever shedding its qualities as a piece of entertainment. 25 years on, it’s still a truly disgusting movie, with Oscar-winning make-up and the finest performance of Goldblum’s career. His insectoid tics veer effortlessly between comic and deranged. And the finale is five of the finest minutes cinema has to offer.

Don’t eat yellow snow

Peter Masheter

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Literature

Review

An extended and cynical case study on the dangers of corporate greed

Spills and Spin: The Inside Story of BP Tom Bergin Reviewed by:

Jade Scard

The BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill, beginning in April 2010, became the largest marine oil spill in history provoking outrage from the public, the media and the U.S. government. In Spills and Spin, Tom Bergin goes beyond analysis of the spill itself and the damage control which followed, giving the reader a potted history of BP since the 1980s. It charts the rise and fall of two prominent leaders of the corporation and how their actions and policies contributed to the disaster.

On the whole, it's an interesting and accessible account of an event which has inspired huge amounts of sensationalism in the press. Bergin states his case in a clear way, without patronising the reader. The result reads like an extended and cynical case study on the dangers of corporate greed. There is a morbid

fascination in reading the details of how far a company is willing to go to safeguard profits and share value. Bergin depicts a business where employees have to be ruthless to get ahead, with little or no attention to spare for pesky factors like safety regulations or essential equipment maintenance which might have a negative effect on budget statistics.

The disgust and disbelief the reader feels after such a thorough briefing on corporate ethics takes on a note of poignancy with the naming of the eleven

Review

The Good, the Bad and the Multiplex Mark Kermode Reviewed by:

Kate Pleydell

One of the University of Manchester’s own, Mark Kermode is

Review

Steve Jones Literature Editor

Aleph

Paulo Coelho

Get involved!

E-mail me at literature@man cunion.com meetings on Mondays at 5pm in room 4 of the Students’ Union

Reviewed by:

Josh Jones

Paulo Coelho, best selling author of the Alchemist, is back with his latest creation – Aleph.

Aleph is an autobiographical account of his journey along the TransSiberian railway: a network of railway tracks stretching across seven different time zones from

undoubtedly one of the most outspoken and opinionated film critics to grace the likes of the BBC and The Observer.

The self professed ‘wizened old fart’

Moscow to the Sea of Japan.

Most of the story focuses upon Coelho’s relationship with a young woman called Hilal.

Hilal, who travels with him, has a firm belief that their meeting has an integral part to play in her destiny.

Like Coelho’s other books, Aleph has a strong spiritual and philosophical theme. As Coelho describes parallel universes, reincarnation, and the path to find one’s inner peace, you find yourself asking, ‘Am I in a dream?’ As you read you quite literally feel like you’ve put on a pair of special spectacles – spiritual ones. Coelho talks you through each event of his journey, each one having a deep, profound meaning.

Although the book’s superspiritual themes at times can make you feel somewhat dizzy,

men who lost their lives in the catastrophe.

Despite being informative, the impression of straightforward reporting which lend Spills and Spin its credibility can also be unfortunately and unavoidably dry, and much of the subject matter becomes repetitive very quickly. While reading about ambitious and cut-throat business tactics has its own unhealthy appeal, reading about the same tactics used and reinforced over and over again by successive people is just a little depressing.

has ventured away from cynical reviews to the endless chasm of the faults of ‘the multiplex’, setting forth to spread the hate for chain cinemas and mourning for the apparent death of projectionists.

The Good, the Bad, and the Multiplex is a medley of colloquial anecdotes and ramblings, which come together to form a cathartic reading, after which you feel satisfyingly contemptuous and cynical about such vices as Pirates of the Caribbean and even popcorn. Kermode appears to even hypnotise the reader, revealing the flaws of

in a few select places, there are moments of true genius. These might be few and far between but it is worth reading the more idealistic nonsensical parts to get to them.

By all means this book is not for everyone. If you’re the kind of person more in tune with the philosophy of Nietzsche than that of Kant or Schopenhauer then this book probably isn’t for you. Yet if you go through life with more spiritual pizzazz you might find this book not only interesting, but possibly even empowering.

As the book is only short, it could easily be read in one, maybe two sittings. So when you’re next at Piccadilly station, and about to embark on a long but not so long train journey give this book some thought.

Book Club This week, Dan Jones talks to Alastair Michael about eels.

Dan Jones What are you reading, who is it by and what’s it about?

I’m reading Waterland by Graham Swift. In the present day a history teacher is being asked to retire early due to the controversy surrounding him and his wife after she has stolen (and returned) a baby.

However the plot is only loosely held around this circumstance. Instead the narrative follows the history teacher’s off-syllabus lessons about the Fens, his family, wider historical events and, last but not least, eels.

In terms of length and intensity, is it a marathon read or a leisurely stroll down a quiet canal?

Not overly lengthy but some chapters feel a little like a marathon history lecture (which, I suppose, they are). So it isn’t always a leisurely canal boat read.

Can you explain the title; does it do the book justice?

The title refers to where it is setthe Fens in East Anglia which used to be swamp land but is

once enjoyable pursuits such as going to the cinema, or watching Marlon Brando, whom, even if once adored, will be hated by the end of this book.

Criticism comes above all else and mere notions of praise are few and far between.

Kermode even makes a delightful reference to his residence in Manchester, Hulme, which he describes as ‘a sprawling concrete estate of industrially produced desk-access housing’, in which, when he got burgled, ‘they stole the door’. I admit this description is far from complimentary,

(and always will be) being reclaimed. It does the book justice as the setting of the Fens is an important factor and motif throughout the novel.

Are there any memorable scenes or passages that have been imprinted in your memory?

There are a few chapters where the history teacher talks about the human revolutionary condition, they were heavy but memorable.

Maybe memorable because heavy.

Would you recommend it to your best friend or your worst enemy?

Neither; I would recommend it to an acquaintance. It isn’t a book I would recommend to anyone that despises history though, however if that happens to apply to my worst enemy then I have a book to recommend them.

Mark out of 10? 6

however it does stir a flutter in oneselfTHE Mark Kermode walked these streets, casting his disparaging eye on our surroundings, even if he has now planted a seed of worry that our doors will too be stolen. For those who possess adoration for Mark Kermode, film, or simply for discerning cynicism, The Good, the Bad, and the Multiplex is a hysterically polemic read, bringing you closer to a fascinating man.

Lit ed - If you wish to sup from an even livelier fountain of Kermode praise, make your way to the Film section.

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Bacteria lessons for Glastonbury festival-goers Victoria Root

Steve Jobs: a legacy There must be few people around who haven’t heard about the death of Steve Jobs, the former co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs is famous for his critical role in the development of the Apple brand and its products.

The Apple II was the first computer on sale which did not need assembling before use; a revolution at the time. The success of the computer was clear, with 6 million units sold during the period the computer was being produced from 1977-1993.

Despite the success of the company, board members were becoming concerned with Steve Jobs. He followed ideas on a whim, which many within the company disagreed with. This, coupled with financial problems, led to Jobs being removed from the company in 1984.

After leaving Apple, Steve Jobs was in no shortage of success. He founded another company, NeXT, which produced the NeXT computer. This was the computer used by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN when the first web server was created. Jobs bought Graphics Group from George Lucas and renamed it Pixar. It became hugely successful with the release of Toy Story in 1995.

Apple Inc. bought NeXT in 1996 leading Steve Jobs back to his original role as CEO of the company after ousting the CEO at the time.

The iconic iPod and the music store, iTunes, were released in 2001. By this time, Jobs had reversed the downturn of Apple Inc. Just two years later, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

He kept this secret from everyone, save a few people at the company.

Despite his illness, Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007 and the Macbook Air a year later.

After several years of operations and treatment, and the rumours which accompanied them, Jobs took a leave of absence in January 2011 and resigned in August. He lost his fight with cancer on 5th October.

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs was a success. He co-founded one of the most successful technology companies ever. He led Apple Inc. into the 21st century and made its products the most sought after in the shops. His death is a loss to the industry.

Leah Wong, Science & Tech Editor

Photo: Anthony Beal

The journey started in 1976 when Steve Jobs, along with Steve Wosniak and Ronald Wayne. The company was incorporated without Wayne and, with the financial assistance of Mike Markkula, what we now recognise as Apple Inc. was born.

University of Manchester scientists have been conducting microbiology lessons at this year's Glastonbury festival. They wanted to inform people about bacteria that make up our bodies. Bacteria are essential for keeping us alive and functioning: they digest food, make vitamins, and fine-tune our immune system, protecting us from infection.

Dr. Andrew McBain, head of a microbiology research group in the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, was approached by Guerilla Science, an organisation which uses art and performance to challenge negative preconceptions about science.

Guerilla Science wanted to develop a demonstration of bacterial species present in the human body. It was commissioned as part of Wellcome Collection’s 2011 Dirt Season which aims to promote the importance of dirt in our everyday lives.

Dr. Joe Latimer, McBain’s research associate, and Sarah Forbes, a PhD student, volunteered to create and develop the demonstration.

It occurred at the famous Glastonbury site of Shangri-La, the festival’s version of a dystopian pre-apocalyptic ‘town’ overrun by a faux virus (a fluorescent marker which was spread by person-to-person contact).

‘Contaminated’ festival-goers were to enter Dr. Latimer’s ‘decontamination chamber’ where they were greeted with a microbial zoo with agar plates containing various microorganisms to which humans play host. This was where Dr. Latimer and Sarah Forbes taught the public about the importance of bacteria. Subsequent

Glastonbury

Bacteria are essential for kepping us alive and functioning

‘treatment’ was then offered to festivalgoers, ranging from a chemical spray controlled by people in biohazard suits to admitting your secrets to the ‘shame-drain’ which disguised your voice and broadcasted it to the public.

The project was a success and as a consequence, a second one was planned for Bestival. Dr. Latimer said, “I hope we convinced at least a few people that bacteria don’t just infect us, or live on us, but that they are us.”

Invisibility cloaks becoming reality David Lack Invisibility cloaks or cloaking devices sound like they belong in Harry Potter or James Bond movies. However recent technological advances mean that cloaking devices are quickly becoming reality.

The latest cloaking technology uses carbon nanotubes embedded into aerogel, a foam-like material, to deflect light as a mirage does in a desert. We see objects by detecting particles of light, known as photons, when they are reflected from objects. This technology redirects the photons so our eyes detect the photons from the sky instead of reflected from the

object, making it invisible to us. This phenomenon is called “photothermal” deflection.

The material creates the mirage effect when electrically heated. It is far more efficient at transferring heat to its surroundings than normal materials. This is similar to how mirages are formed in deserts when heat is reflected off the desert surface. Another way the device works is that the hotter the material gets, the easier light can move through it without interacting and therefore not be reflected off it. It is because the material needs to be heated quickly that the device works best underwater as water has a higher temperature gradient: it allows

temperatures to change quicker than in air.

This latest research by the University of Texas into carbon nanotubes is the most promising example of cloaking devices in the optical range of light so far.

Other cloaking technologies include electromagnetic antennas and metamaterials. These bend photons around an object. However these tend to work only for specific frequencies of light.

For example, they can bend a certain colour of light around an object but others will still interact normally with the object.

These technologies have only been tested with low frequencies of light so we may be waiting a while longer for Harry Potter technology.

New hope for asthma sufferers Emma Flanagan A new asthma drug, omalizumab, has been deemed too expensive to be prescribed to patients by the NHS, despite the fact that it could wipe out the need to treat asthma with steroids.

There are currently over 5 million people suffering with asthma in the UK and a large percentage of them are reliant on oral steroids, typically administered by inhalers.

The new drug is administered by injection rather than by an inhaler, which has been criticised recently. The new drug could cost the NHS £12,000 a year for each patient

based on fortnightly injections.

In a study conducted by the University of Manchester, over 60 percent of patients with severe asthma reduced their dependence on the oral steroids after taking omalizumab for 12 months. Half of these people stopped taking the steroids altogether.

Inhaler administered steroids can have very serious side effects, especially as many patients are reliant on them for many years.

The steroids work as an anti-inflammatory for the lungs but have been linked to a number of serious conditions including weight gain, diabetes, and depression. In children there is also evidence that it can cause growth retardation.

Due to the cost of omalizumab, the NHS are only allowing around 1,000 asthma sufferers to use the drug. However Dr. Robert Niven of the University of Manchester, who co-wrote the paper for this study, has said that the NHS has not calculated the long term cost of prescribing steroids. He believes that if the NHS added up the amount of money it costs to treat the side effects of taking oral steroids later on in life, there is a good chance that omalizumab may be more financially viable.

Asthma charities are intending to campaign for the NHS to work with them and increase the number of people who are eligible for the drug.

Science & Technology

Feature

Write for Science & Tech Contact us at scienceandtech @mancunion.com

Column

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Comment & Debate

Food & Drink

I’ve been to Heston’s Emily Clark Food & Drink Editor When I left Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant The Fat Duck, I felt a little dead inside, knowing that I had just eaten the finest meal of my life and that every future meal would be insipid in comparison.

Even the adoring words in this article will be pallid to my mind that so reveres that fateful day, Sunday 4th, April 2010.

Though this meal was devoured over a year ago, I remember it clearly. I spent between five to six utopian hours with my parents and three sisters, trotting happily through no less than 16 courses (with coffee and petit fours bien sûr). Being the youngest and thus most spoilt, it was all to celebrate my achievement of managing to live to 18 years old.

The first course, more of a pallet cleanser, was a liquid nitrogen-poached Green Tea and Lime Mousse. There’s nothing like a -196 °C starter to blow your mind. As the waiters poached, they sprayed a lime perfume into the air – an aspect of Blumenthal’s food is to rouse more than once sense. I can’t describe the process of eating it, because as I placed it tentatively in my mouth (after it had been subjected to green tea powder), it disappeared and my mouth was left a palimpsest of distant flavour, recalling nothing more than a wisp of lime hallucination.

It’s evident why this restaurant has three Michelin stars: every course that followed was a gloriously honed pallet of flavours and textures, everything I ate tasted better than anything I’d eaten before.

Another course was Mock Turtle soup (c.

1850), then ‘Mad Hatter Tea’, as seen on television. We were presented with a bookmark alluding to this Alice in Wonderland tale, then given a bowl with tiny amounts of reconstituted egg

I felt a little dead inside, knowing that I had just eaten the finest meal of my life (essentially a turnip mousse), enochi mushrooms, reconstituted bacon (layered ox tongue terrine), cubes of pickled turnip and cucumber, and finally black truffle.

Waiters arrived with a set of gold fob watches, which were actually freeze dried concentrated stock cubes wrapped in gold leaf. We poured hot water over our own fob watch in teacups and stirred it to transform it into a delicious stock. The stock was poured over our food, and I was delighted to eat such a ridiculously, painstakingly drawn out meal (which, of course, tasted incredible).

We drank golden tea that left one side of your mouth hot and the other cold, we peeled distilled whisky gum bottles from the glass of framed maps, we ate toffees with the cellophane wrappers still on and Queen of Hearts playing cards that were in fact jam tarts, I could go on… One of my favourite moments was on my way back from the bathroom, when I found one haphazard sister in the wine cellar with a waiter, casually discussing something or other.

One of my greatest life ambitions is to be able to afford to eat in as many of the best worldly restaurants as I can fit in. I would love to go back to Heston’s, but perhaps I’ll just spend the rest of my life combing through culinary spheres for restaurants that might touch upon The Fat Duck.

The Manchester Tart Jemma Gibson

“

George H.W. Bush

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Recipe

Review

Is there anything this city doesn’t have?

I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. I am President of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli

08

Business & Finance

If you’re interested in food with the prefix ‘Manchester’, then look out for the Manchester Tart. It’s a pastry tart, with a smear of raspberry jam and a custard filling (sometimes containing banana slices), topped with coconut and a cherry - a former school dinner favourite. I can’t say I’m a fan, I don’t know if I got a particularly bad example, or if us southerners are born without the taste buds for this delicate balance of flavours but either way I won’t be eating another.

The tart is thought to be based on the equally mysterious combination of ingredients in the Manchester Pudding,

which was made from breadcrumbs, milk, sugar, eggs, damson jam and lemon juice. I ate a Manchester Tart once - no, I ate half of one. It was suggested I do so by the editor of a publication for which I was interning and I felt it was the kind of situation in which one does as they are told. In hindsight it was clearly a sick joke and I’ve re-evaluated my principles when it comes to following recommendations from anyone.

If you’re interested more in tarts than ‘Manchester’ food, there are a huge range of regional tarts to try. I’d suggest starting with the tart of my native Kent, the super-sweet gypsy tart. The Manchester Tart was last spotted in the café at the John Rylands Library on Deansgate. It’s not for the fainthearted.

Time to bake cake It appears that we’ve reached that time in first term when we all begin to realise how much work we have to do this year. It can all get a bit depressing, unless we use the medium of cake to momentarily ease our burdens. Here are three simple recipes to bake your way out of despair.

Five minute chocolate mug cake Alas, cake now takes a dangerously small sliver of time to be in your belly. Here’s how: Mix 4 flat tbsps caster sugar, 4 flat tbsps self-raising flour and 2 flat tbsps cocoa powder. Add an egg, 2 tbsps oil (anything but olive) and 3 tbsps milk. Mix again then add optional chocolate chips or broken up chocolate bar. Heat in 700W microwave for 3 and 1/2 minutes or a 1000W microwave for 3 minutes. Hey presto, immediate cake. Probably best to save for cake emergencies.

Emily Clark

Exceptionally easy chocolate cheesecake Ingredients: 250g digestive biscuits 250g ginger nut biscuits 500g cream cheese 400g chocolate (200g dark, 200g milk) 100g butter Method: Smash biscuits in a bag until they’re in crumbs. (The perfect way to relieve some stress). Melt butter in microwave and mix in a bowl with crushed biscuits. Press mixture firmly into base of serving dish. Simmer a small amount of water in a pan and melt the chocolate in a bowl placed on top of it.

When melted, mix with cream cheese. Spread over the biscuit base. Place dish in the fridge until the top layer has set firmly.

Adapt to make a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake by using 400g white chocolate instead of dark and milk, and splash out on a box of raspberries. Crush the raspberries and mix them into the cream cheese and white chocolate mixture.

Bloaf! (Banana loaf ) Bananas always seem to be lurking in the back of someone’s kitchen cupboard in our house, and last year I made this cake almost every week – and it always disappeared within the space of a few hours. Banana cake is always better if the bananas are getting a bit old, brown and squidgy – so you’re performing a service, really, by not wasting them!

Ingredients: 60g butter 100g Demerara sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 tablespoons milk 3 bananas, mashed 250g self-raising flour Method: Preheat oven to 200oC. Grease a bread-loaf tin (or ordinary cake tin, if you don’t have one). Cream butter and sugar then add beaten eggs a third at a time. Combine milk and mashed banana in a separate bowl and add mixture alternately with sifted flour. Pour into prepared tin and bake for 25 minutes, or until a skewer comes cleanly out of the cake.

Perfect slathered with butter cream and topped with sliced bananas.

Ruby Kent

In season

Leeks Leeks are the poster boy of Welsh vegetables. The Welsh seem to have taken pride in claiming them as their own. For food trivia fans and lovers of unnecessarily scientific sounding words,

leeks come from the allium porrum family of veg and are distant relatives of onions and garlic. This means that cooking the three of them together is much like a family reunion – enjoyable, but just don’t add too much alcohol (a splash of white wine is enough!)

They form one half of the classic Leek

and Potato soup and are the ultimate comfort food when thrown into a carbonara. In fact, leeks and bacon (or pancetta if you’re feeling snobbish) are a fantastic combination. Whether in a pasta dish, or mixed with some cheddar and crème fraîche to bake as a tart, the saltiness of the pork fat creates

something beautiful with the mild, sweet leeks.

Leeks can perfect a comforting casserole one night, jacket potato topping the next day. So there you have it. The humble leek really should be a fridge favourite.

Let’s share it with the Welsh and make it the ultimate student vegetable.

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Lifestyle Editor With Black History Month approaching, black historians are yet again spending this time of the month cringing with embarrassment or despair at what they are seeing: images of Beyonce and Denzel Washington crowding the mainstream as representatives of this significant month.

The problem is the mass misunderstanding of the meaning behind Black History Month. It’s important to understand its origins and its significance to us as students.

Students are well known for their enthusiasm and activeness in, well, anything! And why should this month be any different? Involvement may not seem crucial; but awareness is binding.

The city of Manchester boasts year-on-year activities and events that promote and celebrate this month; and this year is no different.

The activities are an oppor-

Black History Month offers the chance for the uniting of different cultures as well as knowledge of a new one tunity for the public, as well as students, in Manchester to engage and celebrate with other cultures within our diverse population at, not only the University of Manchester, but also the city as a whole. It will give students the opportunity to expand their knowledge base of other cultures through the arts, culture and

music events we will be running.

Coherently with Black History Month, the University of Manchester have an array of talks and activities organised: from a lecture presented by Marika Sherwood about Malcolm X and his visit to Manchester, to how Salsa dancing has its roots embedded in Africa.

The key theme of all events running throughout the city is about encouraging selfexpression and celebrating individuality in a creative way.

Regardless of race, everyone can participate.

Black History Month offers the chance for the uniting of different cultures as well as knowledge of a new one. It encourages awareness and facilitates conversation amongst the student body. The month should be taken as an encouragement to learn about (or promote yourself to) those around you through different mediums such as lectures, debates and other forms of entertainment.

Population – people of different colours

Events Wednesday 19th October – 5.30pm Albert Square – Meeting Point (City Centre) Black History Trail Discover more about Manchester’s black history and heritage with this one hour walk of the City Centre.

Lifestyle

Naila Missous

Photo: Frame of Reference Photography

Black history month is still not history

Places limited – please contact paul.marksjones@manchester.ac.uk to reserve your space.

Wednesday 19th October – 6.30pm BME Staff Network Group Social Event.

A class above the rest Georgia Miles Whilst innocently sat in a lecture on Marxism, expecting to be told such things as “Marx wasn’t looking for a Utopia” and “Marx thought it would be nice if there were no poor people”, I heard something from the lecturer that made me listen.

“Just being here, in this university, makes you middle class.”

Now, I am not looking to start a debate on whether we live in a classless society, or whether some of us have caviar for dinner and some of us climb out of the mine and tuck into a bowl of gruel. My first thought was, “does it?”

At the time, I had been at university for six months, and coming from a very Northern, working class background myself, I experienced a bit of a culture shock in those first few weeks.

I found myself picking up the lingo, saying ‘dinner’ instead of ‘tea’ to avoid any confusion. I read books instead of watching Coronation Street and ate butternut squash on more than one occasion. But does this make me middle class?

Sat in said lecture, I thought, how can I have been working class for the past twenty years, and now, because I am sat in a room with a desire to learn new things, I am middle class?

After the walk is over, the BME Staff network Group will be hosting an event where you can meet fellow network members.

My parents don’t live in gated communities, have fat pension funds or holidays in the Caribbean. And therefore neither did I. I don’t deny that my motivation for being at university is to make a better life for myself. I’d like to be able to put money aside for a pension and live in an area where I don’t go to sleep hearing Jeremy Kyle’s most recent guests argue over who ate the last tin of beans and sausage. But I am proud to be working class.

John Lennon once said that “A working class hero is something to be, if you want to be a hero well just follow me.” And I am following John, all the way to a caravan holiday in Skegness.

Thursday 20th October – 6.30pm University Place

After his prison release, Malcom X visited Britain a number of times to give lectures. Among the universities where he addressed overflowing crowds was Manchester. To attend please RSVP to rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk as places are limited.

Friday 28th October 12.30pm – 1.30pm University Place 3.12 A brief history of Salsa.

Did you know that the popular salsa dance has African origins?

Discover more facts about the dance and practise some moves with expert Franklyn.

It’s happened. They’ve done it.

Friends has ditched Freeview, bailed on E4 and has moved on to the much swankier and more exclusive Comedy Central.

News of this move was broken to the population way back in February 2010 so it’s something that we’ve been anticipating for a while; but that doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking.

Blind

In a student house Freeview is standard; but Sky or Virgin, the home of Comedy Central?

That’s reserved for the very privileged, those that can’t live without Sky Sports or Living, not the majority of us, that’s for sure.

Now their replacement, Scrubs, is all well and good but when you got in from a hard day at uni and had traipsed through the rain or sweated it out on a Magic Bus, it was nice to know

Date

you could switch on E4 for a double (or even triple!!) bill of your favourite American chums.

What do we do now? Shell out on cable TV and a load of channels that you really don’t need? How do you survive on a day-to-day basis without Joey and the gang?!

I wish I had an answer for you. I truly do. I’m just going to go back to my box set and pretend the whole sordid switch over never happened, instead.

Photo: Geoffrey Chandler

Lily Howes

Lily Howes Lifestyle Editor

Malcolm X Visits Abroad – lecture by Marika Sherwood.

You’ll be there for me?

Lifestyle Editor

Naila Missous Lifestyle Editor

Liar, liar, pants on fire

Missing Blind Date this week? Wondering where it is? We need volunteers! Especially you boys - don’t be shy. It’s a free meal so how could you say no?!

To sign up email your name, course, year of study and phone number to lifestyle@mancunion.com

Have a question to ask? Or an idea to share?

Then contact us at lifestyle@mancunion .com or come along to our section meeting on Thursday at 4:30 in Bikos Café .

28

Absolutely appalled by the patently illinformed and foolishly brash opinions of Student Eye? Tweet him grief @lloydhenning

The spoilt brats

of society

Self-important, self-centered and self-serving, students are some of the rudest and most useless people within society.

Lloyd Henning Columnist We are looked down on, viewed as a herd of swines, revellers rolling in the muck secreted from every filthy orifice on our bodies. And it is this collection of bumbling biological organisms that are meant to evolve into a future generation of highly skilled, civilised human beings; an idea quite difficult to believe for any one watching us.

Society is supposed to put up with us until we do finally contribute, supporting us financially (albeit somewhat less now) via the government and in turn the tax payer. And we do love to demonstrate our gratitude in a myriad of ways.

When partaking in our favoured activity, consumption, we understand that ordering a drink at a bar as a student means you don't ever need think of tipping, the same goes with dining out - surely every one understands that while we would like to offer a cash reward to bar and waiting staff for the pleasantry of their services, we need to save that money for important things, like the next round of sugar loaded alchopops in 15 minutes

Fuse FM is YOUR

student radio station.

We’re back on air! Join us to hear an eclectic mix of shows ranging from science-based discussions to specialist music like soul and funk. Listen live online www.fusefm.co.uk facebook.com/fusefmmanchester @FuseFM Hattie Pearson This year Fuse welcomes old and new presenters alike. Fuse veteran Lily Howes hit the airwaves last week presenting the brand new show dedicated to our student newspaper. The Mancunion Show which will see Mancunion contributors and radio presenters fuse together (geddit?!) in bringing you all the latest from the Union and University.

I asked Lily what she most

Enjoying education

enjoys about presenting: "Obviously after the summer holidays I had to refresh my memory a little but it's always loads of fun. I like the flexibility of it. When they say you can include anything you want they really mean it!

We've had a whole spectrum of features, some more successful than others but it's the perfect forum to try them out."

Lily told me how the show went: "It was good to use the newspaper as a basis for

or so.

Saving bin space is also a great way to enjoy being a student.

Whether it's leaving that coffee cup in the lecture theatre or limply dropping the packaging of your cheesy chips on the street once they have been dunked into the red-bull scented acid of your stomach.

By not using the bins, you are preventing them from overfilling and becoming all icky and disgusting. Society even encourages this behaviour, that is why they have cleaners and road sweepers right?

Every well-cultured student knows that life without music is so dull, so feed your soul and make sure headphones are on at all times; whether on foot, on bike or even, when you really need to get some deeper understanding, in lectures.

There is no part of a student’s lifestyle that could not be improved with Ke$ha as the soundtrack.

Public transport is just one big party and bus drivers know it as well. They love to compromise their jobs and throw out all that health and safety wiff-waff and have students pile onto a bus until the windows are blocked out with butt-cheeks smushed firmly against them. They simply adore it when the stop

content and I think getting interviews from other editors was really successful and insightful for listeners. I think it's a great idea to overlap the two student media outlets and hope the other presenters for the show do really well and most of all enjoy it."

I caught up with Station Manager Dan Alani to find out how things are going now the mic-live lights are beaming red and the presenters are filling the filling the studio.

Hattie: Dan, it’s been a bit of a roller-coaster the last few weeks getting everything organised for the broadcast, how do you feel now you’re back on air?

Dan: Relieved, haha! It's great to see that all the hard work from our members has paid off in getting everything ready in time. Now we're on air all year round, we can now start working on getting the message out about Fuse FM to more and more listeners!

H: I’d hate to highlight any problems you’ve had in getting things up and running,

Photo: Peter Sutton

Column Get ed! lv o v in

Student Eye

If you are lucky you may even spot some roadworks that seem to have an excess of traffic cones that you are more than willing to take care of button is jammed constantly, regardless of whether anyone is getting off - so they can get some more practise pulling into

but has everything gone as planned?

D: So far so good! The way things seem to happen in the union is that things come together on the day, so there's been a lot of "it'll be alright on the night", which luckily has turned out to be the case. I'm looking forward to settling in to avoid as much panicking in the future.

H: Presenters have got the opportunity to be on air for ten weeks but what about those who don’t have a show or who aren’t necessarily interested in all the on air stuff?

D: Definitely! We're always looking for help with production, gathering music for the station, producing content for the website, as well as all the masses of other stuff we get up to, not even mentioning that proposals for new shows will open in November, so yes loads to still get involved in! To find out all the latest info, head to our Facebook and sign up to the mailing list, or follow us anywhere else online.

bus stops. They giggle with delight knowing that the top of the bus is clearly the no-rulesparty-floor, perfect for playing games on and being a super badass and blazing up a cheeky bifta. And most important of all, they remember that there is no need to ever thank them when you get off, because after all the above, words could not convey your appreciation of their service.

Taxi drivers also get into the party mood. When ordering a five person taxi, the operator can clearly hear from all the background noise that there may be more than five of you who are actually going to try and fit in the car. So why they seem so surprised when a group of 13 of fall out of the house and then adamantly insist that they ordered the taxi correctly. But all of this is resolved by throwing up in the back seat.

Sometimes, at the end of a big night, you just have to call the fastest taxi service in town. It doesn't exactly take you home, but you do end up in a nice warm bed. Yes, the ol' ambulance ride. An express trip

Meet The Committee Ryan Charafeddine

straight to A & E. Lay back and relax as those funny fluids are pumped from your stomach and then bandage up that heel after a little tipsy slip down the stairs. By using the NHS you are highlighting to the public its importance and usefulness, fighting for the case to keep it.

If you choose instead to go by foot, you can utilise the opportunity to express yourself to the public. Wander through residential areas and offer a song for the good people of the land, then fertilise said lands by defecating in and around them.

If you are lucky you may even spot some roadworks that seem to have an excess of traffic cones that are you are more than willing to take care of; relocating them to the far safer location of your living room.

We may not be the worst members of society, more like the brattish children than the nefarious yobs, but we certainly do not make anyone’s lives any easier. Could we learn to behave in a civilised manner, to show consideration for others in society, to not act like spoilt shits? I doubt it, we're too oblivious to even notice.

wheelchairs with bits of motor bike equipment attached to them. The other half are kids who lived on the streets in Kinshasa including the lead musician who has made himself a sort of lute fashioned out of a tin can and a piece of wire - you have to see it to believe it.

Most embarrassing Fuse moment?: Having all the equipment shut down and resorting to speaking for 4 minutes just about my love of cheese.

Course and year: Business management, Third Year Where are you from?: London Committee position: Head of Events What does your role entail?: Putting on events that make you stamp your feet, move your hips and cry 'Oh please PLEASE, I don't want this to end!' in order to raise funds for Fuse. These will be happening once a month at Vodka Revs in Fallowfield with live DJs. How can members get involved in your area?: First and foremost just come along to the gigs. Secondly, if you want a chance to play to a live crowd hit me up and I'll see if I can put you on the bill in the future.

A band we should all be keeping our eyes on: Staff Benda Billili - A Congolese band which is half made up of members who suffer from Polio and go around stage on mad max style

What do you want to be when you grow up?: David Attenborough - failing this a world famous fashion photographer.

One top tip on being 'good' at radio?: Love what you do. It sounds obvious but if you really love the tunes you are playing you can talk about them till Elvis Presley comes back from the dead and lands on the moon. This means if ever there are technical hitches then you wont be caught off guard and listeners will vibe off your passion.

If you could interview anyone in the world who would it be: That guy who rides through town blasting out reggae music from his bicycle. WHO IS HE?! If you know please tell me cos I'd love to have a chat with him.

The first thing you put in your shopping basket when you go food shopping: Aromat. Don't know what this is? You haven't lived. It's an all purpose seasoning that I use instead of salt, incredible.

Fuse in 3 words: God's plan achieved.

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Manchester Edition: Monday 17th October 2011

Acknowledging and supporting industrial action of lecturers and support staff is the fastest way to a resolution of their dispute.

Jeremy Buck Communications Officer Right now, your lecturers and support staff that are members of University College Union (UCU) are in the starting phase of industrial action. Their members felt that negotiations over their pensions that happened earlier this year were not open and fair, and that crushing changes to the pension scheme were forced through.

The first phase of action has one goal, and that is to re-open talks with the pension providers, so as to reach a fair and sustainable conclusion.

The fastest way to end the dispute is for the talks to reopen, and for a better compromise to be reached. To make this happen, staff members are engaging in a practice called ‘working to contract’, which involves performing no roles that are not a part of their job description or contracted responsibilities. This will help their employers and pension providers see just how much extra work they do, and just how valuable they are to the University.

Our lecturers and tutors chose to take up their roles because they love working in the University, because they love students, and because they

Union News

In Brief

Bright Ideas: Have your say makes new Union policy Thank you to all the students that attended Thursday’s Bright Ideas: Have your say meeting.

UMSU Book Fair: a massive success Last week all the money earned by students through the UMSU Book Fair, along with unsold books, was returned to them. £19,300 was returned to students, which,

love teaching. The Students’ Union Executive Officers are regularly in contact with UCU members and staff, and they take absolutely no pleasure in taking these steps. Teaching is one of the most rewarding parts of their jobs at the University, and we have had assurances that UCU do not intend on disrupting students’ learning at this stage. The fastest way to help your lecturers, and to avoid more disruptive action, is to back them in their decision, and to offer your support to them.

You called for us to support University staff members in any industrial action at the last General Meeting of last Academic year. Students and

staff members working together is the best way to ensure that education quality is not damaged by national government policy.

Our continuing campaign to protect your education will be far more successful if we join together with lecturers and other University staff.

Together we can make it clear to decision makers nationally and closer to home that education is vital, and that its deterioration is not an option.

If you have any questions or concerns, or messages of support for lecturers and other UCU members, please contact UMSU by emailing communications@umsu.ma nchester.ac.uk

Elections

Stories from the West Bank: A Curfew Day in the Camp (Part 2) interrogating the men one after another.

I then heard the women calling me because a jeep was coming.

“Sa’ed ta’al jeish, jeish”--“Sa’ed come on soldiers, soldiers”. As I ran I heard one of them advising “don’t ever stop even if they shoot. They don’t shoot at women”. I did not want to take any chances because I had heard of many accidents of shooting women and children.

I made my way through the small alleys and split up with the women. In the camps the houses are very close to each other due to poverty and overpopulation. I then saw a group of soldiers but they did not notice me. I needed to hide somewhere until they were gone. The alley I was in had two houses. One of them was the home of a girl who I admired or even loved, but who I had never been able to talk to. I wished that

she would be standing in front of her house when I passed by in order to show her how courageous I was, for I was bold enough to go out when there was curfew, but she was inside. As I climbed over debris littering the alley, I cut my leg badly and started to bleed. I had no other choice but to knock on her door, where her father let me in because fortunately he wasn’t at the lamah. Her mother dressed my wounds and I stayed there for the rest of the day and then started home once the curfew had ended.

As I neared the house, I heard my mother weeping. My father was assuring her saying, “Don’t worry if he was killed or injured they would announce it”.

When I entered the house my mother did not know what to do, whether to smile, to cry, or to punish me. I was grounded for

when added to the £15,700 from last year gives a total of £35,000 which has been given back to students through the Book Fair. All of this is in aid of getting cheaper textbooks for our members, and its continued success means that the Book Fair will of course return in future years.

Word

Want to know the difference OF TH between the Union and the E WEE K University, the local pub or the O2 Apollo? What sets us apart from other organisations in Manchester? If there is one thing that makes us stand out it’s that we are run by students, and that these students are chosen by their peers as the best of the best.

You have the chance to choose some of the people that will lead this Union over the coming year, representing you, working for you and helping you the whole time. Pick wisely, as they will be making decisions on your behalf. Make sure they strike the right balance for you, and use your votes to elect the people that will do the best job for you and the students around you.

Each role has different responsibilities, so please check out the manifestos which are on the Union’s website, or on the wall by the Union Shop.

Voting is on MyManchester (online) until Thursday at 6 pm, don’t miss your chance to vote!

Last year the University of Manchester Students’ Union mandated The Mancunion to feature the stories of students at AlNajah University, which our students’ union is twinned with. Al-Najah is based in Nablus, in the West Bank. The aim of this is to show the everyday experiences of students in the Palestinian territories. Here is the first of a two-part account given by student Sa’ed Abu Ayash

As I made my way to the school where men were gathered, taking alleys to avoid confrontation with Israelis, I saw a group of women from our neighborhood. We walked toward each other and they explained that they were going to offer some food and water to the men. We walked till there was one street separating us from the school. I crossed the street leaving the women behind in an alley, waiting for me to climb the wall of the school, and see what was happening.

The men were sitting on the ground in the schoolyard. I saw a soldier with two stars on each shoulder who was sitting in a classroom with a half closed door.

He was sitting on a table in front of a man and was interrogating him. There were three men outside the room in a line surrounded by soldiers and I realized that they were

Unfortunately we didn’t get the 300 students we needed to make decisions.

But we informed students about the new changes to our decision making structures that will be taken to referendum, and the affordable Postgraduate Fees campaign we are running.

As I climbed over debris littering the alley, I cut my leg badly and started to bleed. over a week, but I didn’t regret it.

In my world the curfews forced us in and the lamahs forced us out. That day no one decided for me.

Union Corner

Why should the Union support staff strikes and other industrial action?

WHOSE BRIGHT IDEAS DO YOU WANT ?

VOTE WWW.TINYURL.COM/UMSUELECTIONS

FRI 14TH - THURS 20TH OCT (UNTIL 6PM)

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Swimming Kieran Patel and Anna Hodt

The University of Manchester Swimming Club is one of the most successful clubs in the University of Manchester Athletic Union, with a long standing history of finishing in the top 8 Universities at BUCS Championships. The club is extremely diverse and caters for all abilities with both a competitive and recreational squad, along with a Learn to swim programme.

Everyone is welcome to join the club, whether you have just learnt to swim and want to work on your technique or fitness, or whether you are a former club swimmer who wants to compete at a high level. The club work hard inside and outside of the pool.

The club trains in the Manchester Aquatics Centre’s Olympic sized pool, which was the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The competitive squad is coached by former GB and Manchester University swim team member Mark Mckenna, who in the 20102011 season received promising results, with thirteen swimmers making BUCS finals. Former members of the club also include Olympian Michael Rock, of whom current member Rebecca Guy seems to be following in the footsteps. Rebecca is a double BUCS medallist and also the

Feature

Where are they now?

David May George Langford

David May will be most fondly remembered by the Old Trafford faithful as a steady centre half who was equally comfortable playing at full back. Playing the majority of games in his career at Blackburn Rovers, he finished runner-up in the Premier League in the 93/94 season before being signed by eventual league winners Manchester United the following year. May had a lucrative career and managed to bag himself two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, two Charity Shields and a Champions League winner’s medal; not a bad haul for a player who was often the understudy to preferred partnership of Bruce and Pallister.

Today, May earns a living as a winemaker importing his new range, ‘Mayson Ridge’ from South Africa, with the ‘May’ coming from his name, the range includes: a Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and a Pinotage. He obviously has managed to develop an altogether more sophisticated palate with this array of drinks, than the combination of prematch builder’s tea and post match lager he used to enjoy in his playing days.

May made recent headlines when he organised a charity event to ‘celebrate’ local rivals Manchester City’s 35 year spell without any silverware; which he was forced to be cancel by Greater Manchester Police,

The club trains in the Manchester Aquatics Centre’s Olympic sized pool, which was the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Photo: Nick Whiting

Purple Page

Club Showcase

Get down to the Aquatic Centre to try out the swimming clubs sessions for all abilities!

Fixture Pick : WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19TH Football: : Men’s 2nd’s V Edge Hill University, 2pm Netball: Women’s 3rd’s V University of Liverpool, 2pm

recreational squad coach for the club, and has a bright and prosperous future ahead of her.

The summer of 2011 was very successful for Rebecca. After missing out on a medal at the World Championships trials in March, she entered into the end of season national championships this July with a point to prove.

The competition started out well for Rebecca as she

because of the threat of antagonising the blue half of Manchester.

When not arranging charity fund raising events such as golf tournaments, which May has done previously to benefit Manchester’s Christie hospital, he works as a pundit on MUTV. Although not one of the most talented players in the Champions League winning dressing room of ‘99, May’s popularity grew at United due to his relaibility; which saw him start in ’96 FA cup final victory over bitter rivals Liverpool. Despite an impressive trophy cabinet, May was voted 34th in ‘The 50 Worst Footballers’ by The Times, an accolade that he surely won’t pay too much attention too. Nevertheless his career achievements speak for themselves as the Stretford End were all too keen to remind his former Blackburn team mate with the words, “David May, superstar! Got more medals than Shearer!”

Hockey: Men’s 3rd’s v Edge Hill, 2pm and Women’s 2nd’s v Newcastle University at 2:30pm All fixtures are taking Place at the Armitage Centre in Fallowfield.

comfortably made it through the heats and then the semi-finals in her less favoured event, the 100m freestyle. However come finals day she couldn’t quite take it to the next level but still managed to finish less than a second outside of the medals. Unperturbed by this setback it was straight back in the water for the lead leg in the City of Manchester Aquatics girls 4 x 100 freestyle relay team. After qualifying fastest by 3 seconds they increased this further to 4 seconds in the final, winning comfortably.

Gold medal number one for Rebecca Guy

was in the bag.

A couple of days later it was back to business and time for the main event, the 50m freestyle.

After cruising through the heats with the second fastest time of all the competitors there came the added challenge that both the semi-finals, and the finals would both be held in the same session along with the finals of the 4 x 100m medley relay in which Rebecca would be swimming the key breastroke leg. With this in mind she held back in the semis qualifying again with the second fastest time. This strategy paid off

however as she stepped up to produce her fastest time of the week winning the gold medal by just 3 hundredths of a second.

With just 15 minutes of recovery one more final effort was required in the medley relay final. As the team had only qualified third fastest she knew that it would require a huge effort to bring home the gold, especially after such a long tough week of competition. However swimmers from Manchester are made of sterner stuff than most and they duly took 5 seconds off their time from the heats to win again comfortably. Gold medal number 3 was in the pocket along with the prestige of being the most successful University of Manchester swimming club member at a national competition ever.

After a well deserved summer break it is back to the training pool. With the BUCS short course swimming championships only a month and a half away the club is looking forward to hopefully one of their most successful seasons and even the possibility of adding to their list of Olympian alumni.

@rioferdy5 - The 4 acts the judges are sending home are Jonjo, nu vibe(I think should stay) the girl from middlesbrough(who is v.good) + james #xfactor – Rio with a running X-Factor commentary…

The Mancunion

Tweekly

@Joey7Barton - have decided on Nando's, very cliché but also exactly what "la medicen" ordered......#chickensundays – The Mancunion’s favourite philosopher Joey Barton takes a break from quoting Einstein on national radio and heads for some chicken… @Ben_Foden - Just not good enough and for that i apologise to all the fans and supporters.........a bitter pill to swallow. #underperformed – A dejected Ben Foden after England’s Gallic quarter-final mauling sees them sent packing form the Rugby World Cup.

@RobbieSavage8 - Just found out I'm on loose women on Thursday !!! Uh oh , this is going to be a tester , I'll be scared to death ! – Strictly Come Dancing star Sav prepares for the sternest test of his career... @finnysteve - Sat in my room watching fashion TV, while the other lads play fifa next to me. I wouldn't suggest it if you've been away from home a while – Maybe Finny would be a better candidate for Loose Women than Sav… @VaughanCricket - Had the pleasure of chatting to @j_Ennis this afternoon...She has invited me to do some hill runs with her??

No problem....#chundertime – He probably just wants to lag behind and enjoy the view… @Charlie26Adam - Its hot in alicante today need to get water and lucozade in – The least mobile midfielder in football needed more that water and lucozade to prepare him for 90 minutes of chasing Spanish shadows…

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Report

European court ruling challenges the future of football broadcasting.

BOA right in their strong stance on Doping The no-nonsense approach of the British Olympic Association towards doping in athletics is integral to the sport’s reputation.

Jack Mollart-Solity

Following LeShawn Merritt’s recent successful appeal in the court of arbitration for sport overturning his ban for London 2012 after testing positive for a banned steroid - it seems uncertain that the British Olympic Association can uphold its lifetime ban on participating in the Olympics. However, the BOA is arguably right to maintain its strong stance on doping.

Sir Steve Redgrave, Colin Jackson and Rebecca Adlington among others came out earlier this month in support of the BOA’s strong stance on doping, and reportedly over 90 percent of all athletes believe the ban is fair. Currently Great Britain is the only nation which imposes a lifetime ban for athletes who test positive in doping tests - but their isolation is no reason to change their position.

Drugs are the biggest threat to the credibility of many sports in the Olympics. Drugs have proved a

Currently Great Britain is the only nation which imposes a lifetime ban for athletes who test positive in doping tests huge problem for the Tour De France and Ben Johnson brought Athletics into disrepute when he tested positive for Stanozolol at the 1988 Seoul Olympics - losing his 100m gold medal and tarnishing

Has Portsmouth landlady Karen Murphy changed the way we watch domestic football for good?

Ben Johnson brought the world of Athletics into disrepute in 1988 with his drug use. Will London 2012 suffer similar drug problems? the memory of the games for many in the process. The tough stance the BOA holds helps prevent such debacles from recurring and keeps the prestige of the Olympics at a high level. It does not seem correct that athletes who have knowingly taking drugs to gain an advantage over their fellow competitors should receive the ultimate glory of competing at the Olympics.

It must be remembered that the BOA ban can be appealed and 29 out of 31 who have attempted to challenge their ban have been successful. In fact, the BOA has stated that it would be likely that if Merritt had been British, the BOA’s lifetime ban would have been overturned. The BOA’s ban only affects those deliberately taking performance-enhancing drugs. Athletes who miss testing sessions or unknowingly take the banned substances in medicines bought over the counter are not prevented from participating at Olympics after serving their ban.

This right to appeal is why BOA chairman Lord Moynihan believes their ban is crucially

different to the International Olympic Committee’s recently overturned law.

There are negatives to the ban, for example it limits the incentives for people to admit to taking performance-enhancing drugs and does not reward people - such as David Millar who has campaigned exhaustively against drugs following his ban. Millar won the World Time Trial in 2003 after use of performance enhancing drugs – thus denying second place Michael Rogers from hearing his national anthem from atop the podium. Millar is now an ambassador for the World AntiDoping Agency - a reformed character following his return to cycling in 2006.

That Britain is the only nation to impose this ban is far from ideal.

However, there is potential for a precedent to be set – with other athletic associations following Britain’s lead and taking a tough stance on drugs – something which is paramount in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

Tennis

Djokovic – on course for greatness.

Novac Djokovic has gone from strength to strength in a breath-taking year.

Jan Metcalf

Since football began according to some - back in 1992 with the inception of the Premier League, the game at the highest level has seen unprecedented levels of wealth enter the coffers of its clubs, players, managers and chairman backed by the seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Empire.

English football has never looked back since, with billion pound exclusivity deals ensuring Sky were the only serious competitor showing domestic matches, whilst clubs reaped the benefits of the lucrative sums of money on offer, allowing them to attract the finest world footballing talents.

This seemingly unbreakable axis however was dealt a dagger blow in early October by the unlikeliest of all protagonists, Portsmouth pub owner Karen Murphy, who challenged the Premier League’s right to prevent its content being shown by foreign providers in the UK. Like many pubs across the country, Mrs Murphy had been showing 3 o’clock kick off games which Sky are unable to show, by using a foreign decoder to attain the service from overseas providers. As opposed to the eye watering £1,250 a month for a Sky pub subscription, Mrs Murphy paid Greek broadcasters Nova Sports a mere £118 per month for access to a far greater variety of matches from across the league.

Sky’s efforts to sue Mrs Murphy for copyright infringement were challenged in the European Court of

Justice, who overturned the decision, paving the way for a potential massive change in the way we watch football on television.

But what are the main implications for us fans?

Well, for starters you will now see more pubs around the country showing 3 o’clock games which were previously prohibited due to worries about attendances. Instead of having to wait until Match of the Day, mess around with a dodgy internet stream or endure the blunderings of Chris Kamara on ‘Soccer Saturday’, you will be able to watch your team live every week in the comfort of the pub - or even your own home.

The ramifications for clubs however remain unknown, as much of the technicality of the ruling lies around the use of the Premier League’s intellectual property rights badges, theme songs etc.

Therefore, there may still be a legal challenge to be made.

However, if the UK courts are to uphold the European Court ruling in its entirety, there could be a decrease in the overall TV money available to clubs, with the lucrative rights holding less value with many other competitors on the market.

Although largely the ruling is a positive step away from the domination of Sky, there remain fears that the Premier League will now look to sell the rights as a single package throughout Europe, although this would mean a significant loss in revenue. For now though, publicans and fans around the country can breathe a sigh of relief, as they are no longer compelled to watch Sky’s mediocre, cringe worthy coverage for their live weekend footballing fix.

Can the Serb superstar rise any higher?

Ciaran Milner

In September of last year Novak Djokovic, humbled after defeat in a pulsating US Open final with Rafael Nadal, joined a unanimous chorus of praise for his opponent. “He has the capabilities to already become the best ever player”, Djokovic declared.

“He has proven to the world that he’s the best in this moment”.

Fast forward a year however, and it is Djokovic who is looking invincible.

A somewhat bewildered Nadal, after another blistering US Open final in September that lasted more than four hours, conceded that “[Djokovic’s] level is fantastic... he’s doing very well, mentally, everything. So just accept that.

Accept the challenge and work. He’s confident in every moment to keep believing”.

Djokovic’s records this year make humble reading for any tennis player, let alone the likes of modern great Nadal. He has won ten titles, including three out of the four grand slams; his loss in the semi final of the French open to Roger Federer one of his only two defeats. The other defeat, to Andy Murray in the Rogers Cup final, was the result of a forced retirement due to a shoulder injury.

The magnitude of Djokovic’s incredible year is emphasised when looking at his win ratio. At an astounding 96.97 percent, he has surpassed both Roger Federer’s golden years in 2005 and 2006, and John McEnroe’s previous record of 96.47 percent in 1984. Djokovic also

surpassed McEnroe’s record of 39 straight victories with a stunning 43 game streak.

Djokovic has reaped plaudits from all corners. McEnroe saw the warning signs himself in May this year, as Djokovic stampeded towards his unbeaten record. “It certainly brings back memories of ‘84. I’m quite excited that he might break my record at the French Open.

To put it mildly, it’s been amazing to see what he’s done and how much more confidently he’s playing”.

Given McEnroe’s fiery temperament on the court, it is perhaps surprising how positive he has been about Djokovic’s achievements. “Djokovic is having the greatest year in the history of our sport”, he said in September, “[In tennis today] there is more

competition, more athleticism, deeper fields and more depth in the sport. So his record is even more impressive than mine”. Pete Sampras was equally as impressed

by Djokvic’s record this year, calling it “one of the best achievements in all of sports”.

As impressive as Djokivic’s year has been so far, though, there is still tennis to be played and McEnroe may be able to cling onto his record.

Djokovic has played 66 games of tennis this year - in 1984, McEnroe played 85. Whilst a back injury has curtailed Djokovic’s progress somewhat, he should return for the Paris Masters and the World Tour Finals in November. After a golden year it is abundantly clear that Djokovic is more than capable of maintaining his incredible form.

United fans taking full advantage of the wonderful greek television coverage.

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Photo: Michael Jimenez

Sport Sport in Brief Alex Ferguson was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Manchester last week.

The Manchester United manager received a doctorate of law, one of the university’s highest honours. The Scot stated – “getting this recognition is testimony to all the hard work that has gone on at Manchester United in the last 25 years, not just by me, but by everyone at the club”.

Manchester Women’s hockey will be pleased with their stunning start to the season British Boxing star David Haye has this week handed back his boxing license, prompting speculation he is about to retire. Haye’s last fight was a defeat on points to Wlademir Klitschko in July. There is, however, speculation that Haye could still fight Wlademir’s older brother Vitali.

Andy Murray scored an emphatic victory over Rafael Nadal to secure the Japan Open title last weekend. The World No.4 came from behind to beat the Spaniard taking the final set 6-0. The Scot had lost his previous matches against the hard-hitting World no.2.

Get ed! lv o v in To contact Jack and Paddy please email sport@ mancunion.com and also join the Facebook group -

Facebook.com/ groups/ Mancunionsport We’re always on the lookout for writers.

Report

Goals galore as Manchester Hockey cruise past Sheffield University of Manchester Women’s 1st – 4 Sheffield University – 0 University of Manchester Women’s 2nd – 5 Sheffield University – 0 Dan Moore

The newly relegated Manchester Women’s Hockey 1st XI looked set to build upon their recent away win at Liverpool with a victory against a Sheffield side still celebrating their promotion to the Northern Conference 1A. The 2nd XI meanwhile, began their campaign aiming to replicate last season, a year which saw them win the All Divisions Cup and finish 4th in the league.

The first team were up first and started well, taking inspiration

from a break in the persistent drizzle with Davis coming close early on. New player Fatch soon gave the home side the lead, firing an awe-inspiring shot into the top right of the net. This goal was to set the trend for the rest of the match, in the next fifteen minutes Sheffield barely left their own half. When they did manage to escape and take the ball off Manchester's fiery strikers there was never a way through a solid defence. The four purple shirts were like a brick wall in the face of the Sheffield attack, neutralising any threat.

The visitors conceded an everincreasing number of fouls as

they wilted under the pressure of the Manchester assault. A straggling foot led to the first short corner of the match.

Manchester approached with practiced ease and one more would have been added to the tally if it were not for some great defensive work from Sheffield, who found determination in the harsh, and unrepeatable, words of their keeper. However, no amount of foul language could prevent the inevitable, and another powerful ball in by Watton found its way through a D brimming with yellow shirts to Lucy Walker's feet just beside the net. All that was left for Walker to do was to slip it past the keeper’s pads and double the score.

This second goal appeared to wake Sheffield up and the match became significantly less one sided, with some sterling

The four purple shirts were like a brick wall in the face of the Sheffield attack, neutralising any threat

running being done by the Sheffield front two. Stevenson cast a solitary figure in the Manchester goal though, as the Manchester defence held firm and kept play away from the home D for the remainder of the half.

The second half opened with a magnificent Manchester attack led by Fatch and McMullan that was disappointingly brought to end by another great save from the Sheffield keeper. The Manchester girls did not have to wait long for another goal though, as a great pass to Crosley allowed her the space to hammer a shot home from the edge of the D. Errors became more frequent for Sheffield as the pressure began to show. A free hit in a good position was squandered and a hefty foul on Timms led to the only card of the game.

As the game entered its final minutes the weary Sheffield side managed to scramble together a final assault upon the Manchester defence only to be let down by a sloppy pass from the recently penalised forward, the break down leading to a short corner for some shoddy tackling. Crosley was the happy recipient of a fast ball and slammed it in to secure Manchester's first home victory of the new season.

A surprisingly positive Sheffield captain said "We are happy with the first friendly of the season and look forward to coming to Manchester again", while Manchester’s Hannah Cobbold described the match as "a positive first performance with lots of aspects of our game to work on."

The second team’s task was much the same as their peers, taking on opposition a couple of leagues below them. Six new players created a side full of energy and it was one of these new players that opened the scoring, Irish bullet Weir having a speculative effort that caught the keeper unaware and snuck into the left of the net. Smith was gifted a flick but prevented from scoring by a great save. However, they did not have to wait long as Halliday scored from the edge of the sixyard box, a goal that Toria Canning swiftly added to with a powerful shot from the edge of the D that slammed into the wood.

Sheffield had a few efforts but for the most part their strikers remained lonely at the front as Manchester put their bodies on the line, quite literally for Evie Lant who took a ball to the face, keeping Manchester in the ascendancy. The consistent possession allowed Canning to score another by slipping it past the keeper and the talented player swiftly followed this up with two great efforts, one reverse sweep and one powerful shot, to take Manchester 4-0 up.

The game was wrapped up when Sheffield conceded a final flick which skipper Canning put away. The Sheffield captain admitted it had been a "tough game" but said Manchester were "strong opponents", four goal hero Canning only had two words which perhaps epitomized the day’s performances - "smashed it".