Issue 148

3 U n i v e r s i t y

o f

E s s e x

S t u d e n t

N e w s pa p e r

NEWS

COMMENT MUSIC FILM TV BOOKS

3

NEWS

ARTS SCIENCE

Nursing student wins national award

LIFESTYLE SPORTS

Friday 22nd November | Issue 148

MUSIC

12

Coffee house sessions

LIFESTYLE

24

Getting a job after graduation

SPORTS

27

Women’s rugby club interview

Further rises in tuition fees possible

Full story on page 2

2

News

Roxy Mason, Editor Andrea Pavón-Guinea, Deputy Editor Nisa Khan, Deputy Editor

Editorial Last week, the RAG society pulled together to raise money for various charities across the country. It has been estimated that the University has raised over £1,300 for a number of charities, which include Children in Need and Breast Cancer Awareness. This is a fantastic amount which demonstrates the goodwill which the students at our University have.

It feels rather apt that the University would raise money for charities, I also saw at the beginning of the week, a stall which was devoted to the Typhoon Haiyan relief. In a news story which has so dominated the headlines these past two weeks, it is important to highlight the amount of relief which has now been distributed to the country.

David Cameron announced that he is going to increase the British aid contribution from £20million to £50million, along with the £33million which was raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee. It has been reported that the HMS Daring is delivering food, shelter and hygiene kits. Aid has also been despatched from India, China and the US. Although this devastating Typhoon has cost thousands of lives, with many confirmed dead and up to four million still unconfirmed, there is some sense of hope. The International aid which has been raised and sent to the country simply shows how, at the end of the day, we are all human, we all understand the devastation of this Typhoon and can understand that a sense of normalcy needs to return to the country. It will be a long road, but with financial and medicinal aid, it is hoped that the country will eventually recover.

So, with Christmas break soon approaching and the thought of being at home is all that is getting you through the essays and deadlines.

Do take a minute to donate to the Typhoon Haiyan relief.

Naomi Jeffreys, Deputy Editor of The Rabbit

STUDENT

Drowning in Debt: British Universities Could Start Charging £20,000 a Year in Tuition Fees In 2012, tuition fees rose to £9,000 a year on a national level. For the typical undergraduate on a three year course, the minimum amount of student debt is £27,000. Currently, if you find a graduate job earning more than £21,000, you can start paying back your loan at a rate of 9% of your monthly income.

However, recent talks amongst the education sector have revealed new plans to raise tuition fees even further. Universities with high ‘brand-value’, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group universities intend to almost double their fee payments to £16,000 a year.

Times Higher Education Professor Petford supports the rise and says that he is “sure” that these institutions may start charging up to £20,000 a year.

Other reports suggest that the government will lose more than a third of the billions

loaned to undergraduates each year due to the lack of students leaving university with appropriate income.

The situation is such that whilst student loan repayments stand at a 40 per cent government deficit, one of the only solutions is to lower the repayment threshold of £21,000 to £18,000.

Officials advise that increasing home tuition fees will help to further replace previous government cuts and slightly relieve the deficit. The National Union of Students’ (NUS) President Toni Pearce struggles with the financial feasibility of the idea, and proposes that the archaic nature of some university vice-chancellors is “astonishing”. At present, it seems that in order to replace money lost in the 2012 cutbacks, fees for national students could cap at £20,000 a year in the coming future.

Emily Townsend

FRIDAY 22nd November | ISSUE 148

NEWS

STUDENT

Salford University Nursing Student wins National Award A thirty-seven year old Salford University student of Adult Nursing, Julia Hebb, is announced winner of the Most Deserving Student Award, hosted by Motors.co.uk.

Julia, originally from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, was entered into the final by Motors.co.uk along with 4 other students, after being nominated by life-long friend Gillian Turner.

Her story was announced as the winning entry, and she will now be presented with a Peugeot 107 car worth £5,000 sourced via JCT 600, at a prize-giving day with Motors.co.uk later this month.

The mother of two has been praised for returning to education at the age of 34, after having raised her family – and in particular for helping son, Tyler, a sufferer of both Autism and Asperger’s syndrome to overcome problems with his speech and communication.

Julia learnt to encourage Tyler’s speech by singing his favourite song to him in their small, all white family bathroom, “I did all the dance movements as well, and Tyler would join in. He soon began to mimic me, and make sounds and it wasn’t long before these mumbles turned into words.”

After speaking to Tyler’s occupational therapist about how well this technique had worked for herself and her son, the therapist asked permission for it to be used as a guide for other parents and as part of future training in occupational therapy.

Having fought hard to keep Tyler in mainstream school, Julia was successful, and her son has also now gone on into higher education to study plumbing at college.

With more time for herself, Julia went to Tameside college firstly to gain her GCSE’s, and then completed an Access to Nursing course before being accepted on to the BSc Adult Nursing degree course at Salford University where she is currently in her first year of study.

Julia’s response to hearing the news of winning the award: “I felt very overwhelmed just having been nominated by Gillian. When she finally told me, I was already one of the chosen 5 finalists. Winning the competition means so much. The car will improve my commuting

needs, but also, just having been voted the ‘Most Deserving Student’ is a huge reward in itself – the recognition of how my life has been is the best reward ever!”

Julia is now looking forward to completing her course and graduating as a nurse:“It’s my life goal to become a nurse; working as part of a multidisciplinary team, so that I can help others that may not be able to help themselves due to illness, sickness, disease or accidents,” She added.

The Most Deserving Student Award received nominations from friends, family and tutors of UK students studying at colleges and universities up and down the country.

Stephen Jury of Motors.co.uk, said: “The award has brought to our attention a great number of genuine hardworking students, juggling the demands of their course with extra activities, such as charity work or helping out friends or members of their community. Our finalists have all deserved the praise they’ve been given, and we’re pleased to be able to give a car away to our winner, Julia, to help make her day to day life that bit easier.”

Included in the final alongside Julia was Sophie Hannah Davis of Nottingham Trent University, Vicky White of Birmingham City University, Charlotte Moore of Swansea University and Cassie Galpin of Westminster University.

Each of the finalist’s stories can be read here: http://mostdeserving.motors.co.uk/student/nominees-2/ The Award website will be updated with news of Julia’s prize giving day later this month: http://mostdeserving.motors.co.uk/student/news/

UK Universities to Trial US Grading System Universities Minister David Willets is backing a pilot scheme by 20 UK Universities to grade their degrees using the American system of grade point averages, rather than the current first/second/third class system. This would mark a departure from our 200-year-old system in order to make your scores clearer for prospective employers according to The Independent this week. The Higher Education Academy, a charity promoting university teaching, is implementing the pilot and says that the GPA system could run alongside or even eventually replace the classification we now have. Trials are due to last until June 2014 when data collected will be fed into a national discussion on how students’ academic achievement is assessed and represented. Currently Essex is not one of the institutions involved in the trial but how do you feel about the possible change? Further info can be found here: http://www. heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/gpa_background

Ruth Raymer

3

4

STUDENT

Essex to Receive Share of £100 Million for Environmental Research The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) awarded the cutting-edge science research at Essex with a share of £100 million. In fact, the funding was awarded to Environment East (EnvEast), a partnership between the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent and eight other partners.

The money will fund 60 PhD students to carry out environmental research spanning a range of topics such as climate change and extreme weather events affecting biodiversity. On the other hand, it

is worth noting that this is one of the 15 successful Doctoral Training Partnerships announced by the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP. Professor David Sanders, pro-vicechancellor for Research at Essex explained how the partnership would produce a new generation of exceptionally well-trained scientists who will be in a position to address the key environmental challenges of the coming decades.

Andrea Pavón-Guinea

Café Scientifique Takes on Artificial Blood This year’s Café Scientifique’s programme comprises of a free public lecture that will focus on new techniques that are helping to develop a new artificial blood substitute and how these techniques are assisting this find. The Café Scientifique programme is supported by the University of Essex and is held every month by the Minories Art Gallery Café in Colchester with a leading guest academic each month. A Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Essex,

and the Director of the Centre of Sports and Exercise Science; Professor Chris Cooper will carry out a talk regarding his research on the development of artificial blood on Wednesday 13th November.

Café Scientifique started in Leeds in 1998 and aims to unite the public with scientists to discuss current scientific issues. All speakers offer their time for no charge and the University of Essex sponsors the Colchester Café Scientifique.

Nisa Khan

Speech and Language Therapy Society Have you ever eaten a puree meal? Unless you’ve been unfortunate enough to have your wisdom teeth out it’s unlikely. Well for 5 days that’s exactly what the University of Essex Speech and Language Therapy Society have been doing. Every breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack put through the blender. Why? Well we are training to be speech and language therapists and one of the things we help people with is swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). Around 50% of people that have a stroke will suffer from dysphagia. As we work with these clients and have to feed them pureed mush we thought we should eat some and

see what it was like. Well it was a pretty tough week, dinners tasted okay but finding savoury snacks proved difficult and everything being one texture soon got pretty boring. However, we hopefully raised the profile of dysphagia with our challenge, definitely gained empathy for our clients and raised £2500 for the Stroke Association so it was all worth it! If you want to find out more about our week and what we ate check out our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/purelypuree

Gemma Robson SLT Society Press and Publicity Officer

Santa-on-Sea: Father Christmas is back on Southend Seafront for 2013 Back by popular demand, Father Christmas is setting up his magical Adventure Wonderland in the heart of Southend seafront from 23 November through until Christmas Eve. No expense is being spared to conjure up a special seasonal atmosphere that no visitor will ever forget. Your Christmas Experience starts from the moment you arrive at Feelgoods Pizza, Pasta, Play and receive your first presents. Then step outside into the falling snow and enjoy two magical rides. The friendly Elves will guide you through the rest and then the big moment - meeting the man himself! You’ll get plenty of time to tell Father Christmas exactly what presents you are hoping for this year, before receiving a wonderful gift from him to take home. Then it’s back to Feelgoods for some Hot

Berry Juice (or a delicious Mulled Wine for Mum and Dad!), plus the opportunity to purchase souvenir photos of your visit. You can visit Adventure Wonderland for just £15 per child (with one accompanying adult, additional adults are £3 per person) every day from 11am to 7pm.

There is a special Opening Weekend on 23rd and 24th November at just £10 per child (with one accompanying adult). Plus there is also a special discount available just for nurseries if they bring more than 10 children Monday to Friday between 11am and 2pm. You can find out more at HYPERLINK “http://www.adventureisland.co.uk/”www.adventureisland. co.uk and book Adventure Wonderland by calling 01702 443400

Tracy Jones

6

international

A follow up on LGBT in Russia Just in case you were wondering – no, the situation for the LGBT community in Russia has not improved. Violence against pro-gay activists persists, and punishment for those committing such transgressions continues to be lenient. One self-proclaimed activist, who shot a pro-gay protestor in the eye was recently spared jail. The effort to further advance the legal crackdown on LGBT rights is illustrated by a bill proposal to amend Article 69 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, which stipulates the grounds for parental rights deprivation. The proposal was submitted by Alexei Zhuravlyov, who wished to add “[if they] have non-traditional sexual relations” to the list of reasons that permit the state to remove children from the care of their parents. The most obvious repercussion of such an amendment is the state being able to take away children living in households with homosexual parents.

Estimates suggest that this would directly affect about 2 million children, who would be forced

to live in orphanages and foster homes. This law could also have a tremendous impact on custody disagreements. Accusing an ex-spouse of having engaged in homosexual relations could be used to tilt the court’s opinion in one’s favor. An allegation like that is easy to ‘prove’ and hard to refute once doubt has been raised. The identifiable victims are the children – whose protection is the Russian government’s declared aim. Although Zhuravlyov has withdrawn his proposal, he declared that he will amend and resubmit it. In the meantime, the Duma passed a law prohibiting homosexual couples or unmarried adults from countries where same-sex marriage is legal, to adopt Russian children. This has effectively diminished the chances of being adopted for the rising number of Russian orphans waiting for families to take them in.

Russian policies appear in stark contrast to other places around the globe: Recently, two more U.S. States have declared marriage equality. In

Hawaii, the Senate passed “SB 1” by a 19-4 vote and Governor Neil Abercrombie will sign it into law by the end of this week. At the same time, thousands of miles away, President Obama’s home state Illinois has added its name to the list of states where homosexuals can legally marry – making the total number of samesex marriage states 16. Back in Central Europe it has been reported that the German Social Democrats have threatened to withdraw from coalition-building negotiations with Merkel’s Conservatives, should no satisfying compromise on LGBT issues be achieved. Homosexuals do not enjoy full legal equality in Germany. But other than in Russia, they seem to have strong allies in government to stand up for their rights.

Lilo Roesch

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FRIDAY 22nd November | ISSUE 148

News

Roxy Mason, Editor Andrea Pavón-Guinea, Deputy Editor Nisa Khan, Deputy Editor

Editorial

It feels rather apt that the University would raise money for charities, I also saw at the beginning of the week, a stall which was devoted to the Typhoon Haiyan relief. In a news story which has so dominated the headlines these past two weeks, it is important to highlight the amount of relief which has now been distributed to the country.

David Cameron announced that he is going to increase the British aid contribution from £20million to £50million, along with the £33million which was raised by the Disasters Emergency Committee. It has been reported that the HMS Daring is delivering food, shelter and hygiene kits. Aid has also been despatched from India, China and the US. Although this devastating Typhoon has cost thousands of lives, with many confirmed dead and up to four million still unconfirmed, there is some sense of hope. The International aid which has been raised and sent to the country simply shows how, at the end of the day, we are all human, we all understand the devastation of this Typhoon and can understand that a sense of normalcy needs to return to the country. It will be a long road, but with financial and medicinal aid, it is hoped that the country will eventually recover.

So, with Christmas break soon approaching and the thought of being at home is all that is getting you through the essays and deadlines.

Do take a minute to donate to the Typhoon Haiyan relief.

Naomi Jeffreys, Deputy Editor of The Rabbit

STUDENT

Salford University Nursing Student wins National Award A thirty-seven year old Salford University student of Adult Nursing, Julia Hebb, is announced winner of the Most Deserving Student Award, hosted by Motors.co.uk.

Last week, the RAG society pulled together to raise money for various charities across the country. It has been estimated that the University has raised over £1,300 for a number of charities, which include Children in Need and Breast Cancer Awareness. This is a fantastic amount which demonstrates the goodwill which the students at our University have.

Julia, originally from Ashton-under-Lyne, Manchester, was entered into the final by Motors.co.uk along with 4 other students, after being nominated by life-long friend Gillian Turner.

STUDENT

Drowning in Debt: British Universities Could Start Charging £20,000 a Year in Tuition Fees In 2012, tuition fees rose to £9,000 a year on a national level. For the typical undergraduate on a three year course, the minimum amount of student debt is £27,000. Currently, if you find a graduate job earning more than £21,000, you can start paying back your loan at a rate of 9% of your monthly income.

However, recent talks amongst the education sector have revealed new plans to raise tuition fees even further. Universities with high ‘brand-value’, such as Oxford, Cambridge and Russell Group universities intend to almost double their fee payments to £16,000 a year.

Times Higher Education Professor Petford supports the rise and says that he is “sure” that these institutions may start charging up to £20,000 a year.

Other reports suggest that the government will lose more than a third of the billions

loaned to undergraduates each year due to the lack of students leaving university with appropriate income.

The situation is such that whilst student loan repayments stand at a 40 per cent government deficit, one of the only solutions is to lower the repayment threshold of £21,000 to £18,000.

Officials advise that increasing home tuition fees will help to further replace previous government cuts and slightly relieve the deficit. The National Union of Students’ (NUS) President Toni Pearce struggles with the financial feasibility of the idea, and proposes that the archaic nature of some university vice-chancellors is “astonishing”. At present, it seems that in order to replace money lost in the 2012 cutbacks, fees for national students could cap at £20,000 a year in the coming future.

Emily Townsend

NEWS

Her story was announced as the winning entry, and she will now be presented with a Peugeot 107 car worth £5,000 sourced via JCT 600, at a prize-giving day with Motors.co.uk later this month.

The mother of two has been praised for returning to education at the age of 34, after having raised her family – and in particular for helping son, Tyler, a sufferer of both Autism and Asperger’s syndrome to overcome problems with his speech and communication.

Julia learnt to encourage Tyler’s speech by singing his favourite song to him in their small, all white family bathroom, “I did all the dance movements as well, and Tyler would join in. He soon began to mimic me, and make sounds and it wasn’t long before these mumbles turned into words.”

After speaking to Tyler’s occupational therapist about how well this technique had worked for herself and her son, the therapist asked permission for it to be used as a guide for other parents and as part of future training in occupational therapy.

Having fought hard to keep Tyler in mainstream school, Julia was successful, and her son has also now gone on into higher education to study plumbing at college.

With more time for herself, Julia went to Tameside college firstly to gain her GCSE’s, and then completed an Access to Nursing course before being accepted on to the BSc Adult Nursing degree course at Salford University where she is currently in her first year of study.

Julia’s response to hearing the news of winning the award: “I felt very overwhelmed just having been nominated by Gillian. When she finally told me, I was already one of the chosen 5 finalists. Winning the competition means so much. The car will improve my commuting

needs, but also, just having been voted the ‘Most Deserving Student’ is a huge reward in itself – the recognition of how my life has been is the best reward ever!”

Julia is now looking forward to completing her course and graduating as a nurse:“It’s my life goal to become a nurse; working as part of a multidisciplinary team, so that I can help others that may not be able to help themselves due to illness, sickness, disease or accidents,” She added.

The Most Deserving Student Award received nominations from friends, family and tutors of UK students studying at colleges and universities up and down the country.

Stephen Jury of Motors.co.uk, said: “The award has brought to our attention a great number of genuine hardworking students, juggling the demands of their course with extra activities, such as charity work or helping out friends or members of their community. Our finalists have all deserved the praise they’ve been given, and we’re pleased to be able to give a car away to our winner, Julia, to help make her day to day life that bit easier.”

Included in the final alongside Julia was Sophie Hannah Davis of Nottingham Trent University, Vicky White of Birmingham City University, Charlotte Moore of Swansea University and Cassie Galpin of Westminster University.

Each of the finalist’s stories can be read here: http://mostdeserving.motors.co.uk/student/nominees-2/ The Award website will be updated with news of Julia’s prize giving day later this month: http://mostdeserving.motors.co.uk/student/news/

UK Universities to Trial US Grading System Universities Minister David Willets is backing a pilot scheme by 20 UK Universities to grade their degrees using the American system of grade point averages, rather than the current first/second/third class system. This would mark a departure from our 200-year-old system in order to make your scores clearer for prospective employers according to The Independent this week. The Higher Education Academy, a charity promoting university teaching, is implementing the pilot and says that the GPA system could run alongside or even eventually replace the classification we now have. Trials are due to last until June 2014 when data collected will be fed into a national discussion on how students’ academic achievement is assessed and represented. Currently Essex is not one of the institutions involved in the trial but how do you feel about the possible change? Further info can be found here: http://www. heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/gpa_background

Ruth Raymer

3

4

STUDENT

Essex to Receive Share of £100 Million for Environmental Research The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) awarded the cutting-edge science research at Essex with a share of £100 million. In fact, the funding was awarded to Environment East (EnvEast), a partnership between the universities of East Anglia, Essex and Kent and eight other partners.

The money will fund 60 PhD students to carry out environmental research spanning a range of topics such as climate change and extreme weather events affecting biodiversity. On the other hand, it

is worth noting that this is one of the 15 successful Doctoral Training Partnerships announced by the Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts MP. Professor David Sanders, pro-vicechancellor for Research at Essex explained how the partnership would produce a new generation of exceptionally well-trained scientists who will be in a position to address the key environmental challenges of the coming decades.

Andrea Pavón-Guinea

Café Scientifique Takes on Artificial Blood This year’s Café Scientifique’s programme comprises of a free public lecture that will focus on new techniques that are helping to develop a new artificial blood substitute and how these techniques are assisting this find. The Café Scientifique programme is supported by the University of Essex and is held every month by the Minories Art Gallery Café in Colchester with a leading guest academic each month. A Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Essex,

and the Director of the Centre of Sports and Exercise Science; Professor Chris Cooper will carry out a talk regarding his research on the development of artificial blood on Wednesday 13th November.

Café Scientifique started in Leeds in 1998 and aims to unite the public with scientists to discuss current scientific issues. All speakers offer their time for no charge and the University of Essex sponsors the Colchester Café Scientifique.

Nisa Khan

Speech and Language Therapy Society Have you ever eaten a puree meal? Unless you’ve been unfortunate enough to have your wisdom teeth out it’s unlikely. Well for 5 days that’s exactly what the University of Essex Speech and Language Therapy Society have been doing. Every breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack put through the blender. Why? Well we are training to be speech and language therapists and one of the things we help people with is swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). Around 50% of people that have a stroke will suffer from dysphagia. As we work with these clients and have to feed them pureed mush we thought we should eat some and

see what it was like. Well it was a pretty tough week, dinners tasted okay but finding savoury snacks proved difficult and everything being one texture soon got pretty boring. However, we hopefully raised the profile of dysphagia with our challenge, definitely gained empathy for our clients and raised £2500 for the Stroke Association so it was all worth it! If you want to find out more about our week and what we ate check out our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/purelypuree

Gemma Robson SLT Society Press and Publicity Officer

Santa-on-Sea: Father Christmas is back on Southend Seafront for 2013 Back by popular demand, Father Christmas is setting up his magical Adventure Wonderland in the heart of Southend seafront from 23 November through until Christmas Eve. No expense is being spared to conjure up a special seasonal atmosphere that no visitor will ever forget. Your Christmas Experience starts from the moment you arrive at Feelgoods Pizza, Pasta, Play and receive your first presents. Then step outside into the falling snow and enjoy two magical rides. The friendly Elves will guide you through the rest and then the big moment - meeting the man himself! You’ll get plenty of time to tell Father Christmas exactly what presents you are hoping for this year, before receiving a wonderful gift from him to take home. Then it’s back to Feelgoods for some Hot

Berry Juice (or a delicious Mulled Wine for Mum and Dad!), plus the opportunity to purchase souvenir photos of your visit. You can visit Adventure Wonderland for just £15 per child (with one accompanying adult, additional adults are £3 per person) every day from 11am to 7pm.

There is a special Opening Weekend on 23rd and 24th November at just £10 per child (with one accompanying adult). Plus there is also a special discount available just for nurseries if they bring more than 10 children Monday to Friday between 11am and 2pm. You can find out more at HYPERLINK “http://www.adventureisland.co.uk/”www.adventureisland. co.uk and book Adventure Wonderland by calling 01702 443400

Tracy Jones

6

international

A follow up on LGBT in Russia Just in case you were wondering – no, the situation for the LGBT community in Russia has not improved. Violence against pro-gay activists persists, and punishment for those committing such transgressions continues to be lenient. One self-proclaimed activist, who shot a pro-gay protestor in the eye was recently spared jail. The effort to further advance the legal crackdown on LGBT rights is illustrated by a bill proposal to amend Article 69 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, which stipulates the grounds for parental rights deprivation. The proposal was submitted by Alexei Zhuravlyov, who wished to add “[if they] have non-traditional sexual relations” to the list of reasons that permit the state to remove children from the care of their parents. The most obvious repercussion of such an amendment is the state being able to take away children living in households with homosexual parents.

Estimates suggest that this would directly affect about 2 million children, who would be forced

to live in orphanages and foster homes. This law could also have a tremendous impact on custody disagreements. Accusing an ex-spouse of having engaged in homosexual relations could be used to tilt the court’s opinion in one’s favor. An allegation like that is easy to ‘prove’ and hard to refute once doubt has been raised. The identifiable victims are the children – whose protection is the Russian government’s declared aim. Although Zhuravlyov has withdrawn his proposal, he declared that he will amend and resubmit it. In the meantime, the Duma passed a law prohibiting homosexual couples or unmarried adults from countries where same-sex marriage is legal, to adopt Russian children. This has effectively diminished the chances of being adopted for the rising number of Russian orphans waiting for families to take them in.

Russian policies appear in stark contrast to other places around the globe: Recently, two more U.S. States have declared marriage equality. In

Hawaii, the Senate passed “SB 1” by a 19-4 vote and Governor Neil Abercrombie will sign it into law by the end of this week. At the same time, thousands of miles away, President Obama’s home state Illinois has added its name to the list of states where homosexuals can legally marry – making the total number of samesex marriage states 16. Back in Central Europe it has been reported that the German Social Democrats have threatened to withdraw from coalition-building negotiations with Merkel’s Conservatives, should no satisfying compromise on LGBT issues be achieved. Homosexuals do not enjoy full legal equality in Germany. But other than in Russia, they seem to have strong allies in government to stand up for their rights.

Lilo Roesch

8

Comment

Jake Stones, Editor Philippa Dobson, Deputy Editor

Environmental Movements With the President of Coast Rica, Oscar Sanchez, coming from our wonderful University of Essex, now joining the campaign for the release of the Greenpeace activists known as the Arctic Thirty, it seems fitting that in this issue of the Rabbit the Comment section looks into the world of environmental movements.

Jake Stones

Media Meltdowns So I woke up on the morning of November the 12th to receive an email from my good pals at Greenpeace asking me if I wanted to participate in a protest against the arrests of the thirty Greenpeace activists who were wrongly imprisoned in Russia.

The Arctic 30, as they’re now being called, were arrested by heavily armed members of the Russian Special Forces for attempting to board an oil rig in the Barents Sea in the Arctic Ocean. Now normally I wouldn’t care if Greenpeace were up to their usual hooligan antics, but considering that very few major news corporations are broadcasting or publishing this news, I have become intrigued to subscribe to the activists’ newsletter to make myself aware of the situation. So this is the reason why I have had a change of heart in my view of environmental groups.

Yes, they have committed crimes and the law needs to deal with this, but having no one broadcast their struggle when they do deserve a voice is going too far. I mean even the BNP get broadcast time and therefore their views are heard on the BBC. It’s a shame that nowadays a just cause like wanting to save

the planet that we live on gets less airtime on the news than Miley Cyrus’ performance at the MTV’s Video Music Awards.

I do wonder how many members of the public have heard of the Xerces Society, an international environmental group dedicated to save endangered invertebrate species that are essential for biological diversity by means of pollination, for example. A very noble cause that will benefit the world, yet no one has heard of them because they are not interesting enough for the global media.

This is the reason why following these activist groups is essential, because I can guarantee that there is something in nature that every individual would like to preserve whether it is the Polar Bear that you would like to see still around in the future or the Fan Palm Tree.

Everyone has that one aspect of nature they would like to see go on, and it is just a matter of joining these activist groups to find out the information that you need to help do that, because the mainstream media is not helping.

Anik Ratbo

Why complain about something we won’t act on?

When I care about something I may decide to have a discussion about it with some friends, shout out nice and loud my viewpoint and prevent anyone from expressing a possible counter view. This is probably the case for a lot of people, as the majority of people like to complain and moan and go on and on about an opinion that they have, where they have little evidence to support it etc. The issue is should we complain about something that we won’t act upon?

take action themselves, even down to small things such as recycling household waste.

I personally agree with environmental movements but at the same time don’t go out of my way to join any.

So in one respect my opinion does not even matter. The same goes for those who disagree with such movements. They can complain and joke about those ‘hippies’ but if they do not care enough to take any sort of action to oppose it then they are entitled to convey their thoughts as much as they like. My point is that words don’t mean anything without some form of action, and if people want to step up and protect the environment, express their beliefs and stand up to what they believe is right, then so be it. After all, not much harm can come from trying to make the environment a healthier and safer place. Well that is my opinion anyway, but I won’t act on it.

Now, I’m certain that there are quite a few people who laugh at those who care to protect the environment.

Insults such as; ‘Hippie’, ‘tree hugger’ and ‘haha you love plants weird sad person hippie tree man’, probably get chucked about a lot. On the one hand, it is very easy for people to complain and attempt to undermine those who in their opinion may not be extremely favourable within society. On the other hand, there is also a large group of people who respect environmentalists and may Shaun Quilter

FRIDAY 22nd november | ISSUE 148

COMMENT

Why environmentalism is bad We’ve all heard it - in fact we’ve all seen it! Plastered around cities and towns, coming through our letterboxes, advocated by the countless many walking around and making high profile appearances all over the Internet and news… yes, I am talking about environmentalism. The words, “the planet is dying because of us, we have to act now” are repeated like a broken record, but before you stop reading, let me ask you this: how many people have you heard say this on their deathbeds, “I just wish I had been more eco friendly”. The answer is likely no one.

internal combustion - this is unquestionable.

However, is it as bad as it’s made out to be? As Jeremy Clarkson pointed out, even the entirety of the annual Grand Prix calendar produces less carbon dioxide than the London Marathon every year! Is it really as bad as people say? There is quite a large and conflicting debate between environmental scientists, some advocating the death of the entire planet is imminent thanks to us, whilst others argue that it is not quite as bleak.

There doesn’t seem to be a general consensus other than global warming is certainly happening.

And after talking to one of these environmentalists or reading one of the ‘recycled’ pamphlets they give you, which tell you that by just turning your TV from standby to off you will save many trees every year, you walk away feeling very guilty. “The damage will be seen by your children and their children”, is another phrase that is often heard and is very alarming – the thought of harming your child is surely abhorrent! Yet, I think the question of whether or not I should make the effort to turn off and unplug every single plug in my house should slowly be replaced with, ‘am I purposely being guilt tripped into this?’ Is environmentalism using terror to convince people?

Ask yourself this; do you actually owe the Earth anything? Granted, the Earth is the reason we are alive in the first place, so should we return the favour and help the Earth out? Should a parasite be grateful and aid its host? No. You are not really obligated to do anything. There’s a reason parasites are the most successful organisms in existence, they exploit the given resource and move on.

The most prominent issue we hear of is the everrising carbon dioxide figure, which is being released into the atmosphere and often attributed to cars.

Cars do release carbon dioxide as the product of

I would, however, not want to be misunderstood as totally against environmentalism. I am aware of global warming and yes, if we act now we can reduce the impact, but by how much? I’ll leave you with one final question. It’s pretty safe to say it’s already a bit too late to prevent the effects of global warming, so should we be forced to feel guilty for it now by environmentalists?

Finn O’loughlin

Life on Earth will continue, but not necessarily Human Life Is environmentalism necessary? The simple truth is, with capitalism being the dominant system as it is, the answer is yes. Even if we accept manmade climate change as a myth, it’s undeniably true that our finite amount of resources is being depleted constantly in the name of pointless consumer products. If we don’t accept it as a myth, the truth is even more troubling: we may be doing damage to the planet which will make it a worse (or impossible) place for humans to live permanently.

The earth will likely continue to sustain life regardless of our actions purely because life is so good at adapting to new circumstances, but the

conditions human life can survive in are more complicated. We could gamble on the hope that man-made climate change isn’t a real thing, but if we gamble and lose, the consequences are far worse than those if we gamble on it being real. That’s why environmental movements are necessary: if the people in power are unable or unwilling to stop this from happening, then the responsibility falls upon the public to raise awareness and hopefully prevent us risking our existence on cheap goods.

Anonymous

Who is really benefitting?

Most environmental movements do have a positive effect on our planet; however some have little or no impact. After expensive scientific research, top climate scientists are claiming that global warming was not worsened by man at all, and that environmental movements established to reduce global warming have had no impact deeming them pointless.

Environmental movements or green movements promote the creation of charities or businesses that sell the means to make institutions or individuals appear like they care about the environment. This is popular with governments across the world as every country must be seen to be progressing in an environmentally friendly way. It is also popular with governments because environmental movements generate money in many different ways aiding the success of capitalism. For example, the movements have caused various environmental taxes and new businesses, of which are occasionally more concerned with generating money than making a significant and lasting impact on the betterment of the environment. Green policies themselves must never slow or stop economic and industrial growth so the green movement is limited to the positive effects it can actually provide.

An individual example could be celebrities who use environmental movements and charities to boost positive public perception. Environmental movements have become a new form of social movement so celebrities affiliate themselves with environmental institutions in order to publicly seem like “good and caring” people.

I am aware that most environmental movements and organisations do have a positive impact on the planet, however it cannot be ignored that some movements are used in a negative way to promote capitalism, to create positive images for social benefits, and aid politics and the economy.

Philippa Dobson

9

Winter

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(01206)

Cars Minibuses and Wheelchair accessible vehicles Minicab Services (Colchester) Ltd 16-17 Osborne Street Colchester CO2 7DP

Or book on-line at www.minicabservices.com

FRIDAY 22nd November | ISSUE 148

Arts

11

Jennifer Draper, Editor Amy Bater, Deputy Editor

Art Around The World When you think of Iraq, art is not what first springs to mind, what springs to mind is a suspicious lack of nuclear weapons and a war that lasted far longer than we had expected. Iraq however, is rich in artistic and cultural heritage.

This is, in part, because of where modern Iraq now stands after it once stood within the cradle of civilisation, the seed from which all modern western cultures developed.

The works of this civilisation are many, from the Lions of Babylon on the Ishtar gate of Babylon to the Great Ziggurat of Ur, both of which are incredible structures.

Although the Babylonian and Sumerian waned, the rise of Islam brought new structures and forms of art. Minarets and temples were constructed, as well as the wonderful geometric images, which were meant to provoke thoughts about an unknowable God. Iraq has a vast history, which although overshadowed by modern events, ought never to be overlooked.

Ross Homden

ART

This summer I visited Rome, which is in itself a beautiful city full of a rich and ancient history. The Coliseum is a work of art, surrounded by the passing world. It is the centrepiece of Rome. In the centre of the city also lies the Vatican City, which is home to Catholic art. This form of art has always been beautiful and the Vatican is no exception. I visited the museum and saw countless sculptures and paintings by renowned sixteenth century artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, each piece more exquisite than the last.

And not least the Sistine chapel, which is situated at the end of the tour, it does not disappoint. As soon as I entered I looked up to the ceiling, it was so incredible. Michelangelo was the best artist of the sixteenth century, every detail of his art is perfectly and accurately executed. I thoroughly recommend visiting the Vatican museums’, they are an experience not to be missed.

Amy Bater

The Book of Kells is surprisingly well preserved considering the journey it has been through, from being stolen to being ripped apart. The book is a fine piece of medieval artwork, containing the Latin text of four gospels with birds, humans, animals, beasts and portraits alongside Celtic knots and interlinking patterns to illustrate each of the pages.

The book is a piece of work that attracts thousands of tourists to Trinity University, Dublin every year, one of which will be me come January.

The colours used in each illustration within the Book of Kells really do bring it to life, together with the intricate detail of those who put it together. The time it must have taken to put each page together can’t have been short. The Book of Kells really does show us how spectacular artwork was in medieval times as well as in the modern world.

Jennifer Draper

12

Music Interview

San Cisco Ahead of their performance at the Norwich Sound and Vision festival, we caught up with Aussie band San Cisco for a chat.

What was it like growing up in Freemantle, Perth?

Scarlett: It was great living in a port city!

Jordi: It’s easy to get to the beach so we used to ride bikes around and also go on holidays to Rottnest, which is an island off the coast nearby Tell me a bit about your time at school Josh: Me and Jordi went to the same high school but weren’t in the same class. We certainly weren’t well behaved.

Jordi: Going to a Catholic private school it was quite strict with mass every month Josh: We used to do this thing with the whole school where we’d clap for ages Jordi: Or in class everyone would put their hand up at the same time. Scarlett was a good girl though!

Scarlett: I wasn’t completely good, I had a dark stage!

Apart from that, I was never on time and used to make my friend who was head girl late.

How did you guys begin playing?

Josh: These two started off in early high school and were in bands but for me it wasn’t until we formed as a group. Although I did used to jam with my cousin Jordi: Josh used to write loads of songs but not show anyone Scarlett: Jordi and Josh were jamming then me and Jordi were jamming so that’s how we came together Since your album came out last year, how’s it been?

Josh: It’s been incredibly busy, we’ve been touring relentlessly Jordi: Yeah our social life is out the window. No sleep and lots of drinking!

Scarlett: In Australia it’s been great, we did a really fun tour that was quite successful, but over here it’s been harder to get off its feet Josh: Now all our energy is going towards our next record Scarlett: Yeah we’re already thinking about how it’s gonna sound, so hopefully it’ll come out next year What’s it like being together for such long periods of time?

Scarlett: We know when to give it space, but I guess you do get a bit sick of each other Jordi: You’ve got to do your own thing, it’s easy to fall in trap of thinking you have to do everything together San Cisco’s self-titled debut album is out now.

Deborah Findlater, Editor Dragos Ion, Deputy Editor

Coffee House Sessions Every other Wednesday lunchtime, Coffee House Sessions take over the SU bar bringing the best in new live music. As selected by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens, the sessions see a host of upcoming talent tour universities across the country over 10 days. So far Essex has welcomed Australian born; Surrey raised Lucy Mason, eccentric singer-songwriter Mark Hole and prodigious South Londoner Ellie Rose.

We spoke to London boy Mark Hole before his Coffee House session.

How’s the tour going?

So this is my fifth show and the 3rd day.

It’s a long tour because you’re doing two gigs per day and often have just enough time to get to the venue then after the gig we have to pack up straight away to get to the next one!

Are you looking forward to the release of your album?

I’m really excited, this is my first professional release so it’s kinda like my debut. I’ve already had two albums but this one features tracks from each of them along with some new ones.

It’s called People Change because I’m

changing from what I’ve previously been doing. My music was quite serious but now I’m bored of being deep and just wanna have a good time!

What were you doing before your albums?

I was in a band before and in true band bust up style we split up a day before our EP launch, the whole of Universal records was coming down and the manager of the Kaiser Chiefs wanted to sign us. When we broke up I just sold my car and got two different jobs in retail to fund my first album. Ultimately you just have to carry on creating but of course you need to pay your bills.

It’s tough these days because the music industry is so different, ten years ago it made forty four billion per year, but is now only making seventeen billion.

Labels are less willing to spend money and take risks, so a lot of original artists are struggling. You just got to get out there meet people and network. If you speak from the heart you can’t go wrong.

People Change is out now.

Deborah Findlater

FRIDAY 22nd November | ISSUE 148

ONEs TO WATCH: Orla Gartland

Mary Lambert

Last Year’s Tragedy

One of Ireland’s bestknown unsigned talents, eighteen year old Orla Gartland has just sat atop international superstars Lady Gaga and Eminem on the iTunes charts. The quirky ginger songstress has a mighty ten million views on Youtube, amassing a cult following with her interpretations of classics and modern hits.

Also, as a songwriter, her own distinct brand of tunes are sometimes poignant, sometimes playful yet always poetic.

Combining astounding guitar technique with vocal prowess far beyond her years, it surely won’t be long until she has platinum records and Ivor Novello Awards under her belt.

We are all aware of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ hit single Same Love which discussed same-sex relationships and instantly became the gay anthem of this year. The track’s vocalist, newcomer Mary Lambert, co-wrote the song, and was an important part of the project as an open lgbt activist.

She subsequently released her own version of the song, She Keeps Me Warm, in which she describes a love story between two girls. A talented vocalist and poet, Mary Lambert has all the chances to become a great artist, especially after such a tremendous start to her career.

Last Year’s Tragedy, are a Kenyan metalcore band that have been around since 2005 and are swiftly bringing attention to this small metal scene.

Formed by students, Last Year’s Tragedy are pushing their scene forward and hoping neighbouring countries follow suit.

Countries like Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and various others have at least one metal band, so it is only time before Last Year’s Tragedy play in those countries with the rest of Africa to follow. The septet has been nominated for GMA’s Breakthrough African Band of 2013 and are sure to push the boat out further in the near future.

Alex Driscoll

Dragos Ion

Rhys Stevenson

MUSIC

Album Reviews Cut Copy – Free your mind HHH The Australian band’s fourth studio album is uplifting yet strangely unsurprising. Unlike their previous set of dance-rock anthems on Zonoscope, they rely on an already established history of drug-inspired music, referencing acid house classics such as Maurice’s This is Acid and Phuture’s Acid Tracks.

Lyrically, this album is a modern day anthem for the, in-love-with-everyone, hippy community. Proverbs such as ‘You gotta reach the sky if you want your life to shine’ in title track ‘Free Your Mind,’ run throughout the album. Catchy hooks, nostalgia for the summer of love and feel-good lyrics makes this album an expected, nonetheless truly enjoyable, factor in Cut Copy’s discography.

Gisselle Giron

Lorde – Pure Heroine

Gig Previews

HHHH

Essex

Norwich

London

Five

Palma Violets

J. Cole

After a five year hiatus, nineties boy band Five comes to Essex as part of their national tour. Now just four members, the group look to deliver a night of cheesy, guilty-pleasure pop.

London band Palma Violets takes to Norwich’s Waterfront on the 25th of this month. Mixing indie and garage rock, alongside psychedelic influences, the quartet is set to play tracks from their critically acclaimed debut album 180.

Grammy- nominated rapper J. Cole visits the capital for the European leg of his ‘What Dreams May Come’ tour with a series of live shows at the Eventim (Hammersmith) Apollo.

Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Southend, Monday 25th November. Tickets: seated from £41.25 and standing from £30.25 https://www. southendtheatres.org.uk/

Waterfront Norwich, Monday 25th November. Tickets £12.50, http://www.waterfrontnorwich.com/

Eventim Apollo- Hammersmith, 1st-3rd December.

Ticket prices start from £33.75 http://www.eventimapollo.com/events/detail/jcole

Sixteen-year-old New Zealander Lorde, embraces purposeful yet minimalist production (courtesy of Joel Little) that showcases her stunningly mature lyrics and harmonies. Pure Heroine sees this teenager subvert values prominent in other huge-hit music such as: “I’m kinda over getting told to throw my hands up in the air… so there”. This debut teems with interesting points of view from a girl who grew up in “cities we’ll never see on screens” and presents incredible song craft as a potential spark for more intelligence in popular music. With no single outlier of quality in the ten song affair, we can only hope for its UK success to parallel that of our transatlantic cousins.

Alex Driscoll

13

14

Film

Charis Lynch, Editor Katie Clark, Deputy Editor

Film Stars on the Rise When discussing which film stars have grabbed the world’s attention in 2013, I’m sure one actor or actress comes to your mind. Here are two which have been stealing the spotlight in the eyes of film fanatics. If you think one deserves a mention, be sure to let The Rabbit Film Section know with a short article!

Juno Temple It seems a sensible choice to start with a star who has actually won recognition as being one to watch. Juno Temple won the EE BAFTA Rising Star Award at the beginning of this year, having been singled out of a broad selection of talented actors and actresses. These included Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) and Andrea Riseborough (Never Let Me Go), whom have both earned recognition as potential red carpet walkers.

Juno Temple has starred in many acclaimed films, including Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl and The Dark Knight Rises. She is also set to appear in the highly anticipated Maleficent, taking on the role of one of the three good fairies, as well as Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Her performances have always complemented the director’s wishes, and, working alongside so many big names really sets her up for success in her future career.

Katie Clark

Jennifer Lawrence Since reaching international recognition playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (2011), Jennifer Lawrence continues to up her game, winning countless awards and ever-growing nominations. Part of the universal obsession with Jennifer Lawrence is her down to earth attitude in interviews that immediately makes her likeable.

On top of this she provides inspirational quotes for the generation of girls concerning body image empowerment, and, has undeniable raw talent in performances. Never having gone to drama school, Lawrence features in various genres of films. From an iconic supervillain, a love-interest or victim of rape, to the first action-heroine to break grossing revenues in what used to be a male dominated action genre. Jennifer Lawrence can do it all. With the second Hunger Games film, Catching Fire’s premiere this month and critics branding her ‘a miracle’, it’s hard to say who the true‘girl on fire’ is.

Adam Furey

FRIDAY 22nd november | ISSUE 148

Age… It’s simply experience When does age truly become an issue in Hollywood? With the number of celebrities going to extreme lengths to maintain their youth, it’s sometimes hard to even tell their true age. I don’t condemn those stars that attempt to maintain their career for as long as possible with plastic surgery. Unfortunately though, I do judge the fact that some, by the looks of the results, go for the ‘cheap’ doctor. Some stars have truly ruined themselves, for example Melanie Griffith and Jennifer Grey. Whereas some have aged gracefully, or with the help of an ‘expensive’ doctor and have managed to go the distance.

several films featuring a very specific cast, the golden oldies. Greats such as Bruce Willis, Robert De Niro, Dame Helen Mirren, and many more will be hitting the big screen or coming out on DVD and I for one can’t wait.

When watching class acts such as these, you definitely get a more distinguished performance. They may be the older generation of stars, but they’re still going strong in thrilling action blockbusters or moving us in an emotional rollercoaster. There are endless stars and some amazing films, so if you think there’s one worth mentioning, post about it on our Facebook page. Nevertheless, here are a few films to look out for.

FILM

in cinemas

Philomena

Escape Plan

Starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

Soon to come out of cinemas, keep a look out for the DVD. Starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Two almighty action stars team together in this prison breakout blockbuster. They may be looking a little grey, but they’re still ready to make a go at getting out. Stallone plays an expert escape artist trying to break himself out of the most secret and secure prison.

Steve Coogan is a journalist who picks up the story of Philomena (Judi Dench), a woman searching for the son taken away from her decades ago. It looks set to be a moving piece that has you gripped from start to finish.

The end of 2013 sees the release of

dvd releases

As usual The Rabbit Film Section brings you a collection of reviews soon to be released DVDs! Read what your peers thought of these chart-topping features.

Despicable Me 2 (25th November)

Alpha Papa (2nd December)

Man of Steel (2nd December)

Red 2 (25th November)

The minions are back! Tutaliloo ti amo! Gru and the girls return alongside new friends and a new villain, all of whom secure a healthy dose of laughter in this highly anticipated sequel. The storyline does progress a little slowly, but the pace is steady, providing that uniquely humorous movie experience this series is famous for.

Alan Partridge returns as the ABBA loving, middle-aged disc jockey in Alpha Papa. Cue plenty of laughs as Partridge becomes more concerned with his celebrity status than his mission to save the lives of the North Norfolk Digital staff.

There’s no ‘Aha!’ but there’s plenty for fans to enjoy.

Having been adopted on planet Earth after the evacuation on his birth planet Krypton, Clark Kent journeys forward to discover himself, his origins, and, save his new home from destruction. This twenty-first century rendition of DC’s Superman, presents a more modernised and mature interpretation of our hero’s well known story.

Starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich.

The sequel to what is one of my favourite films sees the return of the gang of oldies labelled RED, retired extremely dangerous. Action packed from start to finish, with the previous cast joined by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins, Red 2 shows how the old guys really do it and is sure to be worth a watch.

Voinea Catalin

Anna Parker

Katie Clark

Charis Lynch

HHHH

HHHH

HHHH

HHHH

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16

TV

Kirsten Alexander, Editor

Why I Love Arrow My favourite TV show at the moment in Arrow, based on the popular DC Comics character Oliver Queen, better known as the Green Arrow.

Season 2 of the show is broadcasting now on Sky and is essential viewing (especially with Season 1 available to view on Netflix). Picking up from the destruction at the end of Season 1, Oliver returns to save Starling City which is plagued by turmoil, whilst dealing with new threats and the mysterious Black Canary. As well as fighting crisis as Green Arrow, he also has to protect his family’s business from a hostile takeover.

One of the main draws for me in Arrow is lead actor Stephen Amell (one of the most likeable actors on screen today), who oozes charisma and charm as billionaire playboy Oliver Queen, whilst being very effective as his vigilante alter ego. The supporting cast are also fantastic;

David Ramsey and Emily Bett Rickards are solid as Diggle and Felicity who help Oliver in his quest to save the city. Colton Haynes is proving to be a promising talent as Roy Harper, a petty crookturned-ally to Arrow, while Manu Bennett shows menace as Slade Wilson, an ASIS agent who trained Oliver. Fans of the comics will recognise Slade as the villainous mercenary Deathstroke, building anticipation for a potential stand-off.

The world needs more shows like Arrow: not necessarily superhero ones but more shows on a grand scale that are pure escapism as well as being bucket loads of fun. In addition, Arrow still refuses to sacrifice quality drama and acting for explosions and set pieces. Arrow’s episodic structure works well in the shows favour, with episodes featuring their own standalone plot

while a larger plot looms over the entire series.

One of the joys of the show is also the character progression. Oliver learns how to be a better and more moral vigilante as the series advances, therefore compelling the viewers to have more respect for him. He also has to face up to the consequences of his actions, with many coming back to haunt him in future episodes.

These are just some of the many reasons why I adore Arrow.

Jack Fryer

FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER | ISSUE 148

: r e n r o C Comedy in y n n u S s y a w l A s ’ It a i h p l e d a l Phi Now airing its ninth season, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has shown that its off-brand comedy and dysfunctional, sociopathic characters have certainly stayed a favourite amongst its strong - if not enormous - fan base. While the characters angrily stumble from one confusion to the next, the thought behind each episode is far keener.

The seemingly abrasive writing is underscored by clever social commentary, with this season reflecting the shows underdog status through the struggles of the characters. It’s sharp, it’s obnoxious, and Danny Devito’s rabid, gun-toting addition to the cast is a hilarious splendour.

Series two of Bouncers has just returned to 4 with an insight into the nightlife of Colchester and Clacton-which, apparently is famous for its “gangs and violence”. Admittedly, I’d never heard of the show until I overheard someone boasting about being on it recently. I decided to investigate how my adoptive hometown was being portrayed to the nation. Bad idea. Interestingly,

17

N: TV Turn O irror rooker’s superb Black M B C n harlie des is

Comedia ian episo six dystop d completely series of an g, unique e two compellin ode in th is p e h c a E . of how life absorbing erent tale iff d a s ll distant fu series te e not too th w a in fl e A b . could nology h c te g to s in k h ture, than worth catc ; definitely less show D. ver on 4O up with o

Kirsten Alexander

TV Turn Mrs Brow

Roman Wilson

Colchester on the Box: Bouncers Ahh, Colchester. Famous for being Britain’s oldest recorded town, the birthplace of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and now: sprawling, brawling drunks getting kicked out of clubs by villainous bouncers on Channel 4.

TV

both the bouncers and the intoxicated Colchesterians are vilified, with neither of them being portrayed particularly well. Of course, the drunks aren’t going to come off favourably, but the bouncers too end up looking like fools, likening themselves to both condoms and nuclear weapons (yes, really).

Regardless of whether you recognise that kebab shop, or once snogged that guy being dragged out of Silk Road, Bouncers still isn’t worth watching. Ever.

Kirsten Alexander

OFF:

n’s Boys As a com edy love r, I am rassed to embarsay I’ve e ven watc show. Utt hed this erly terrib le in eve pect: the ry asac script. Eve ting, the “comedy ”, the rything a bout this dire. It’s c show is hildish, a nnoying quality of and the co of Crimew medy is lower tha n that atch. Seri ously.

18

Books

Jasmine Crellin, Editor Jessica Houlihan, Deputy Editor

Catherine Cardwell

Editorial As children of the nineties, there are many things that we share our Nokia 3410 “heritage” with: The Spice Girls, Friends, the internet, and not forgetting, the genre first spawned by Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary, and the concept of “chick lit”books written by and for women, that portray modern day life from a female perspective. This genre has often been criticised by feminists as patronizing and even at times misogynistic. This is likely due to the frequent emphasis of “chick lit” books on the love lives of the characters, who will often berate themselves for being single, or whose entire quest of the novel is to find a suitable partner. However, what is not taken into account is the fact that chick lit more often than not encompasses all aspects of a woman’s life, placing equal emphasis on a protagonists’ career, and her relationships with her friends and family. In this issue, we turn our attention to a genre that has captured so much attention.

Jasmine Crellin

Chick Lit: Friend or Foe? ‘Chick lit’ is often applied as a derogatory term in academic circles, despite its commercial success. With the focus on relationships, fashion and appearance often at the centre of these novels, they have come under heavy criticism by some for the presentation of their female characters. So how should we view this type of fiction? Is it an important part of modern literary culture or merely a frivolous genre unworthy of academic notice? Is it empowering for female readers and authors alike or does it ultimately perpetuate harmful stereotypes?

One part of me fervently rejects the female characters in these novels, whose self-identification appears to be predominantly

based on their relationship status and physical appearance.

Although the pressures of social conformity may have shifted from being the perfect mother and housewife to having the perfect figure and wardrobe, the expectation remains nonetheless oppressive and alienating.

And yet I must hypocritically confess to having read, and to have enjoyed reading, some of these novels. Superficial and frivolous as they may be they are still entertaining and do provide an outlet which many women can relate to.

Jessica Houlihan

“Bridget Jones represents a lot of women of her generation.

She wants to be a feminist but is rattled with insecurity and far too often bases her self-worth on her relationship status”

Kristen Aakvik “Novels like The Devil Wears Prada and Confessions of a Shopaholic present women that will do anything and everything for fashion. The ‘fashionistas’ in these novels allow their obsession with appearance and fashion to run their lives; it ruins their relationships, it hides their real opinions and changes their personalities. Given the popularity of this kind of literature, we can wonder whether these are the kind of women that other women should aspire to be or if they should be frowned upon.”

The Post-Feminism Backlash ‘Chick Lit’ seems to reinforce notions of women wanting to only fall in love, drink wine and gossip. Is this a positive portrayal of women? No. Many of the arguments for ‘Chick Lit’ adhere to a ‘post-feminist’ point of view. Post Feminism has had many definitions over time, however I think it is generally accepted that it is a backlash against feminism. It has been argued that it has called for a reclaiming of traditional gender roles.

Is this not what is seen in ‘Chick Lit’?

The female protagonist is faced with obstacle after obstacle in achieving the final goal of attaining the man she has been after throughout the whole book.

Take Bridget Jones’ Diary as an example; Bridget throughout the novels aims to lose weight, to stop smoking and to get to work on time. All of which many women can relate to.

However, the problem arises when the humour comes from her failing to achieve this ‘self-perfection’. This notion of self- perfection is something that I believe does the exact opposite of empowering women.

Beth Astley-Serougi

friday 22nd November | ISSUE 148

BOOKS

19

Mad About the Boy,

by Helen Fielding Nearly twenty years after her first appearance in Helen Fielding’s column, Bridget Jones’ Diary, in the Independent, Bridget Jones has returned to our shelves once more in Mad About the Boy. With her iconic big knickers, her obsession with calories and her dysfunctional relationships with men, Bridget Jones paved the way for innumerable imitators. Feminists have often railed against Helen Fielding’s creation, claiming that the Singleton in search of a man to fulfil her is an outdated portrayal of incomplete femininity. What this fails to take into account, however, is the fact that Bridget Jones is operating within the romantic-comedy, a genre that, since the earliest comedies of Shakespeare, has always resolved in marriage, as part of the traditional plot structure of the genre.

Nevertheless, if Bridget’s happilyever-after at the end of The Edge of Reason seemed too perfect, Fielding compensates by dealing a sour dose of reality in Mad About the Boy, where we find Bridget, 51 but still answering to 35, a widow of four years after Mark Darcy’s death in a landmine. An inevitably more poignant tone overshadows Bridget’s exploits in her third instalment, however, Fielding’s trademark dry humour remains ever present - in Bridget’s failed Botox, her paranoia that she is turning into an OAP, and in the uselessness of Daniel Cleaver as a god father to her children. Overall, Fielding’s writing style remains immensely enjoyable, and fans of Bridget Jones will find her as entertaining as a fifty-something mother as she was as a thirty- something Singleton.

Jasmine Crelllin

The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger Lauren Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada tells the story of graduate and aspiring journalist Andrea Sachs as she moves to New York to launch her career. Andy is offered a position at the leading fashion magazine Runway, and both reader and protagonist instantly become absorbed in the glamorous world of Armani, Gucci and above all Prada!

But a dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when Andy discovers that she is an assistant to none other than Miranda Priestly, the infamous editor

who can only be described as ‘The Devil’. Miranda is the epitome of the boss from hell as she sends Andy to complete impossible errands all over the city with hilarious consequences.

Andy’s comic portrayal of the magazine, with all its absurdities and unattainable standards, successfully ridicules the fashion industry and to date still remains a thoroughly entertaining read.

Charlotte Page

Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella Confessions of a Shopaholic is a sparkling and funny example of modern day British chick lit. The novel follows the Life of Rebecca Bloomwood, a twenty- something girl with an addiction to shopping, a chronic overdraft, and a job as a financial journalist at Successful Savings. The irony is potent in this bubbly novella, which will make you laugh throughout all Becky’s experiences, whether she is trying to avoid being hunted down by her bank manager, the villainous Deryk Smeath or facing the hu-

miliation of having her store cards rejected. When not busy ignoring her bank statements, Becky also finds time to flirt with the Tatler’s ‘Top 100 Most Eligible Bachelors’ listed Luke Brandon, the enigmatic head of Brandon Communications. Sophie Kinsella’s novel is a breath of fresh air, as ultimately, although Brandon plays a charming role in Kinsella’s novel, the main love affair of the book is that between a woman and her clothes.

Jasmine Crellin

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Friday 22nd November | ISSUE 148

Science

SCIENCE SCIENCE

21

Ben Gregson, Editor Emily Pearlman, Deputy Editor

Depression makes us older A study by Molecular Psychiatry has found depression speeds up the ageing process. Cells looked biologically older for people suffering severe depression. The difference in cell ageing was determined by the lengths of telomeres.

How to build a dinosaur Every time we eat chicken we’re actually biting, chewing and swallowing dinosaur meat.

Palaeontologist Jack Horner (the technical advisor behind the Jurassic Park franchise) has decided to use genetics to make this wellknown scientific fact even more evident by hatching the world’s first ‘chickensaurus’, as he explains in his book; How to Build a Dinosaur: The New Science of Reverse Evolution.

How does this work? You might have seen photos of prenatal development (i.e. how sperm plus egg equals baby), and noticed something strange, humans have tails at some point during gestation. It is believed that some genes work as switches to others, telling them their service are no longer required.

That being the case, Jack Horner’s idea, is that his team will be able to make chickens look more like their extinct cousins by knocking off the right genes.

Since the understanding of the genetic basis of prenatal development is far from complete, the researchers have to work using a trial and error method, by knocking off one gene at a time and seeing what happens. Whilst others have already found the gene responsible for teeth development, Horner’s team is currently looking for the ones that will allow the growth of a long tail and three-fingered hands.

What’s the use for this research? It’ll help to explain gene expression in prenatal development and to teach how evolution often works by ignoring genes that are not useful, rather than deleting them.

Simone Ramacci

Telomeres are short sequences of chemical bases that are found at the four ends of chromosomes which contain all of our genetic information. The visible differences couldn’t be explained by other factors such as smoking or alcohol intake.

Depression is already known to increase the risk of age related diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Over two thousand people took part in the study. One third of people had experi-

enced depression, one third was depressed and one third had never been depressed.

They were asked to give a blood sample for analysis. People who were depressed or had experienced depression had much shorter telomeres than those who had not experienced it. Also, the most severely depressed had the shortest telomeres.

Dr Josie Verhoeven from the VU University Medical Centre in the Netherlands said “This large-scale study provides convincing evidence that depression is associated with several years of biological ageing, especially among those with the most severe and chronic symptoms”.

Ben Gregson

Tired? Keep Yawning You know the scene, after a long night of swearing that you’ll only watch one more episode before you go to bed, you stumble into your nine am lecture completely exhausted. Your head begins to dip as the lull of sleep beckons you closer. Automatically, your mouth opens as if to let out the biggest yawn ever to reverberate off the walls of the lecture building.

Whatever you do, don’t fight it; it might be embarrassing but it happens for a reason.

Contrary to popular belief, yawning doesn’t make you more tired or necessarily signify boredom; it actually increases your alertness and concentration. Just like how a computer that’s been left on all night starts acting up, your brain doesn’t work as efficiently when it’s warm compared to when it’s cool.

Student Science

Robert Provine of the University of Maryland explained, while citing the example of paratroopers who yawn before jumping;” Yawning signals a transition between the behavioural states of wakefulness and sleepiness, and boredom to alertness.”

But why is yawning so contiguous? According to research carried out by psychologists Andrew Gallup and Gordon Gallup at the State University of New York, it may be an evolutionary adaption to raise group attentiveness. “We think contagious yawning is triggered by empathic mechanisms which function to maintain group vigilance.”

Yawning, in this case, works like a short burst from a computer fan, it chills the brain by boosting the flow of cool blood, making the brain more alert to stimulus.

Emily Pearlman

22

Lifestyle

Claudia Degli Alessandrini, Editor Luiza Sandru, Deputy Editor

Societies: Finding a Sense of Community How being part of a society gives you a warm sense of community.

As a university student, you will feel at times as though everyone around you is just… too eager. People can just appear annoying and excessively perky. Loud, extroverted personalities seem to occupy every corner, and at times, people just come across as that little bit too eccentric. I hardly blame you for thinking this.

You walk through the campus during your first Fresher’s Fair, and the first thing you are greeted by is someone screaming at you with an Afro.

They stand there… in bright coloured clothing and sweat headbands, eagerly waiting to stick a flyer in your face. Yes, I would be scared also.

Now maybe they do not all fashion the Afro look, but I must say that some of these flyerholding folk are loud – and proud. What is it then that these crazy people are selling, you may wonder Ah-ha, you guessed it. Societies.

Back in my home university, I was not a society person. When studying a law degree, being a hobbyist writer, an introvert with an endless

thought process, and a devout Spotify user… you convince yourself that time is forever a sensitive issue. This may well be true. For some, there exists still this cultural cliché that comes with being a member of a ‘society’; a subtle lingering of judgmental overtone, that reminds you of the days when ‘clubs’ and ‘societies’ were purely designed for a stereotypical lot: the neatly dressed, chess-playing folk, usually.

Nowadays, clubs are viewed at through an objective lens… hearing the word ‘society’ today does not result in the same closed frame of mind; instead we think, social infrastructure, the gathering of people, the conformity, for those of us keen on sociology. For others, perhaps the term simply reminds you of a great Eddie Vedder song. Regardless, the hysteria has long faded, and with that, the judgment that follows in what is essentially just trying to find your own unique interests and style amongst a collective group. What we have grown to re-

alize, is just how diverse (beneath the surface) we truly are; and this is something to embrace.

A point to remember ; however, is that as much as we adore the thought of being truly indifferent at times – straying away from the majority, becoming self-obsessed with notions of unconventionality, and tearing up all things (dare I say it) mainstream – we are all one and the same in the search of finding like-minded people. Yes, even hipster folk. I say with great intent that while you have the luxury of opportunity at your feet, embrace it – because whether you find that something is not to your taste, the people are crazy, or not crazy enough; you will nevertheless be one step closer to finding that little bit more about your own self and interests, than if you were to simply do nothing. Search for your equivalent of the screaming Afro man, and you will guarantee yourself a joyous sense of community.

Monica Gifford

FRiday 22nd November | ISSUE 148

Benefits of Studying Abroad Benefits to embrace during your Study Abroad experience.

Ever wondered if the student academic life can bring any benefits during your studies? Do you speak a foreign language and want to make fruitful use of it? Have you ever thought about studying abroad? Well stop thinking about it, and start developing your thoughts! The Erasmus programme is one of the European Union’s educational exchange programs meant to enable Higher Education students or staff to study and work abroad in partner Universities of their home institutions. It is one of the most popular programs for students and teachers nowadays, as confirmed by the high number of students willing to take on studying abroad. Since the programme was first launched in 1987 and until 2012, there were counted approximately 216,591 student mobilities for the UK only, according to the British Council statistics. I had the chance to be one of those students myself one year ago, when I spent my Erasmus year in Paris, which I cannot describe anything else than fantastic! Not only one gets the privilege for an academic term or year to be part of a different culture; you earn money as well. At the time I applied to study abroad, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out the Erasmus scheme would give me a monthly grant, which can vary from €315 to €375.

fee waiver for a full year abroad. Do not take this as a gap year – you will be representing your home University abroad after all. Do not take it too serious either – you are not there only for the academic life. Erasmus students are a privileged breed in their host countries and institutions, their bohemian side comes to life and a new sort of independence and world perception are 100 percent guaranteed. The partner institutions of the University of Essex included in the Erasmus scheme consist of most of the European Union’s countries, but also Russia and Turkey. So whether you want to enjoy a sunny experience in Spain, Greece or Portugal, sympathize with the French or Germans or find out more about the Eastern civilization in Bulgaria, Lithuania or Poland, opportunities are right around the ‘border’, waiting for you. You just have to let yourself carried away by a potentially extraordinary journey.

Not only this, but you also benefit from a tuition

Beatrice Bets

For those interested, there is a Study Abroad Society at the University of Essex who is always happy to answer all your questions and comfort you with the best advice! Also, for more qualified information, do not hesitate to contact the Study Abroad Office.

LIFESTYLE

23

n o e s r u o c Crash road b a g n i y d stu

A crash guide to avoid a remake of ‘An Idiot Abroad’.

So you have decided to take the initiative of studying abroad to the next step, you know where you are going (well you should know your geography) and you know that it is going to be a completely unique experience, but you forgot one thing...diversity. When visiting any nonEnglish speaking nation, it is always wise to swot up on the most frequently used phrases, such as ‘where is...’, ‘how much is...’, etc., but that does not mean you need to know word for word, remember speaking another language to the natives impresses them. However, language is just the tip of the iceberg, other factors you have got to bear in mind include national laws, customs, visas, healthcare, currencies, the list is endless and now you’re panicking and thinking ‘what have I let myself into’? Do not worry; think of it as a holiday just with the education as the add-on. This does not mean to say you can booze yourself till the early hours of the morning, in fact treat the holiday as a business trip, pretend you are an ambassador to your nation (just remember to leave the pleasantries at home) and that you’re setting an example for the University of Essex as a welcomed student.

Speaking on a climatic level, be prepared for the seasonal changes, remember Kenyan athletes do not bode well in Greenlandic winters nor do Finnish timber-men bode well in the Amazonian rainforest, this means be prepared for all weathers, make sure you know the destinations climate and are appropriately dressed. Speaking of dressing up, relating back to the customs, be assured that you know what you can and cannot wear. For instance, wearing a mini-skirt in India would not be a wise idea (guys that applies to you too), so be wary of what clothing the culture accepts and forbids, furthermore if you wish you might want to purchase the national outfit including the: Emirati dishdash and keffiyeh, Japanese kimino, Mexican charro, Egyptian jellabiya, Saami Gakti, etc. Also, remember that the food and drinks are bound to be different, so do your gastronomy research prior to leaving, also remember about the different customs in this context, for example the Orientals either use their hands or chopsticks, the Mediterranean nations tend to eat in the evening when it is cooler. Most importantly enjoy your time abroad; just do not do a remake of ‘An Idiot Abroad’.

Rhys Stevenson

24

Steps for securing a job after graduation Alin Petcu’s story about his experience during his time at University.

Being involved with all the activities that University Of Essex has to offer can help you stand out from the crowd when you apply for a job. You might think that it is not worth dedicating you time in all the activities, simply because you do not get paid when you get involved in societies or volunteering. But actually it helps you become the ideal candidate that most of the companies are looking for right now. A good degree is not the only requirement that companies have, they need skills. When you have an interview for a certain position you have to back up all your skills with work experience. You get skills for any type of work, whether it is paid or not.

Having this in my mind I decided that I want to invest time and commitment into my work and I started building the base for my future career. I am currently the Events Officer for the Romanian Society, Activities Convenor for the Societies Guild, Peer Mentor and Course Rep for Essex Business School. It is true that it takes time to organise everything, but the experience that you get out of it balances the effort that you put in.

Working with societies, as part of the Romanian society and as part of the Societies Guild brought some really nice experiences and improved my communi-

cations skills substantially. Being a peer mentor is an excellent way to help the others, especially because we all know how it is to be a fresher, to be lost and to want someone to give you a little bit of advice that could make your life easier. All these activities have helped me to get the skills required by employer. I currently work as a frontrunner for vTeam and as a waiter for Amigos Mexican Restaurant, and I definitely think about my positions as a great start for my career.

Getting a frontrunner placement is not as hard as it seems, you just have to present your achievements and also to be confident about what you want to do.

“Will this affect my studies?” This is the question that I have asked myself all the time when I was thinking about getting involved in something new. Everyone knows their own limits and it is best to keep that in mind when you are committing to something. Your studies are the most important think, after all this is the reason everyone is at University for, to do a degree. Involve yourself in whatever you like, not just for the sake of it. Here at University of Essex there are so many opportunities that you will definitely find something suited for you. You don’t need experience for them, just enthusiasm and basic skills

Passion, pursuit, prosperity Tips on making the most out of your hobbies and talents.

I am a Philosophy student. Everyone knows that, stereotypically, this means my career prospects will probably be pretty low. However, I am also a graphic designer for the SU, a position that I landed recently, which means that there is a way of making the most out of whatever you do. Although this may not be the biggest achievement you could think of, everybody has to start somewhere and this is exactly how you do it.

First and foremost, you need to find your passion.

Everyone likes something, and there is something for everyone, even if it does not necessarily intertwine with what you are studying right now. Figure out what sort of things you are into and (and here’s the trick), do it for the sake of enjoyment. Don’t take up a hobby and try and make a living out of it straight away, it doesn’t work like that and you will often end up killing that passion. Instead, do it for the fun of it - do it regularly and find others who have the same interest (a five minute Google search will prove that this is easy enough to do). I had next to no resources when I took up drawing again after a few years, but I did it because I enjoyed it and that was that. Just remem-

ber you don’t have to be a prodigy to be successful!

Also, you should definitely promote yourself. It’s important for building your confidence, if nothing else.

The phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” was coined for a reason. This may be through showing off your work, or even just boasting about your passion; my first breakthrough came from contacting a company and just boasting at how great I was, and how I could do better designs for them. I didn’t even show them a piece of work. But I was given the opportunity and they were pleased nonetheless. Self promotion is an important thing when you choose to transform your hobby into a business. This isn’t going to work for the big names out there, but start off small because the principle remains: Make an opportunity, don’t wait for it.

I built up my experience through just allowing my hobby to snowball out of control - do the same and landing a job will be the least of your worries!

Stefan Vallance

that will definitely improve in time, as all the activities are designed to help you discover and improve yourself. Additionally you get the chance to meet new people that you can become friends for life with.

Getting involved during your studies proves that you are willing to invest time in the development of your skills and by not getting paid necessarily shows that you are willing to pun in the extra effort without getting a material incentive. If you take advantage of all the opportunities you will finish with a good degree plus lots of experience which will help you getting the job that you want.

Alin Petcu

FRiday 22nd November | ISSUE 148

LIFESTYLE

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26

Sports Winter Tournaments JustPlay Essex are holding a series of tournaments over the winter to help keep you active over the festive period.

We all know that the weeks surrounding Christmas are full of all the mince pies, stuffing and all the turkey you can eat, but why not take this chance to keep yourself healthy and active? Not to mention burning off that extra helping of Christmas pudding you’ll be sure to have.

The tournament schedule, as well as the deadline dates for entry are as follows: Badminton Play Starts: Saturday 23rd November 12pm-5pm/Sunday 24th November 9am-5pm Entry deadline: 20th November Format: singles and doubles

Football Play starts: Sunday 1st December 12pm-5pm Entry deadline: 27th November Format: 5 v 5

Squash Play Starts: Monday 2nd December 5pm-10pm Entry deadline: 28th November Format: 5 v 5

Sitting Volleyball Play Starts: Sunday 8th December 1pm-6pm Entry deadline: 4th December Format: 5 v 5 Application forms are available either at the Sport Centre reception or online at http://www. essexstudent.com/activities/justplay.Enter either as an individual, accommodation, society, department or as friends. All tournaments are fun and friendly, no experience is needed.

Passport to Sport Members Staff and students FREE Non Members £3 Students £4 Staff I hope you get a chance to get involved with at least one of these fantastic events, it’s a chance not only to meet new people, or have a laugh with your friends. And for others, a chance at a shot at the bragging rights that winning brings!

Carl Graham, Editor

Note From the Editor Recently, I’ve been quite glad of a few new people joining our writing team, who will be introduced next issue along with their new content. They will be writing for their representative sports and I thought I would take this opportunity to once again remind people that if they feel their team could do with more recognition, or you even want your results known by the whole university, get involved! There are a huge number of sports on campus, and each issue can have the room for pieces on all of them.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

TIC Tournaments Reminder If you don’t already know (and haven’t signed up), on Sunday the 17th of November, two TIC tournaments will be being held from 9.30 am at the Sports Centre.

From 9.30am – 1pm there will be a football tournament, and then following this at 1.30pm there will be a Korfball/Dodgeball tournament being held in the same venue until 4.30pm. So to those intending to do both, you better bring your fitness and enthusiasm with you!

This represents a great chance not only to show pride for your own accommodation section, but also a chance to show real University spirit as well.

Make sure you bring your TIC t-shirts with you! If you haven’t already got one, they can be purchased in the Everything Essex shop on campus. So get down there and show why your house is the best house!

FRIDAY 22nd November | ISSUE 148

SPORTS

Club Interview – University of Essex Women’s Rugby Club This week The Rabbit Sports Section met up with some of the girls from the Women’s Rugby Club to get to know more about the society and encourage others to get involved. We interviewed both experienced members of the club and first years that had recently joined. Laura Baney – Vice President, Maisy Adkins – Treasurer, Gabs Steward and Gabbie Rondelli joined us for a chat.

First years, what made you chose to join the women’s rugby club - had you ever played before?

Gabs: I had never played rugby before University, but I met some of the girls from the team and they made the club seem fun and exciting and something that I wanted to be involved in.

Gabbie: My family has always been around the game so I have always been associated with it. I had never played before myself, but met some of the rugby girls and decided to give it a go!

Were you nervous about joining a sports society?

Gabs: I was slightly nervous about it, as it was something that I had never done before, but all of the girls were really friendly and welcoming. Now I’m more excited about learning a new sport and playing my first game on Wednesday.

Gabbie: I was more excited than nervous. I just wanted to learn something new and get involved straight away.

Do you think joining a sports society has helped you settle into university life?

Gabs: Yes definitely. I’m keeping fit through the regular training sessions and I’m both meeting new

people and learning a new sport – it feels like I’m part of something new and exciting.

Gabbie: Definitely! All the girls are so helpful, if you have any problems with anything to do with University life (not just rugby) they help you out and make you feel better.

Girls, what is the best thing about gaining new first years at the start of the year?

Laura: I love having new first years at the start of the year mainly because I love making new friends and seeing our team develop, it’s sad seeing third years leave but the first years make up for it! I also love seeing them get to know and love being a part of rugby as much as I do.

Maisy: The best thing about having first years join, is that we can watch them grow into more wellrounded individuals and we get to see the club develop and become more diverse.

Laura: We try to get involved in campus life such as much as possible, like helping to run the open days for prospective students, and fundraising for our club as well as charities. We also have socials such as the traditional Christmas meal. And we are planning trips to either Rollerworld or Go Bananas. We also go on tour every year to places like Spain or Italy which any team will tell you is a highlight of the year!

Maisy: As a sports club we are currently trying to organise some fundraising events so that we can become better known around campus and to help ourselves out! We try to have dinner together as a team and hang out in the SU and often go to FED on a Wednesday.

Finally, what would you all say any first years thinking of joining?

Maisy: We don’t really have many rituals before matches, but we like to reassure everyone that it will be a great game no matter the result. As long we try our best that’s all we can ask for!

Laura: If it’s an away game we try to listen to music on the bus to hype us up, such as Disney’s Mulan ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ was a favourite of ours last year. Also, we like to reassure ourselves and make sure everyone is feeling great about the game.

Laura: I would say definitely do it! Anyone can join, whether you’ve played rugby before or not. Joining rugby has enhanced my university life so much I can’t even describe, I love the sport and I love the girls. Being part of a team really gets you involved in campus life.

Maisy: To any first years joining women’s rugby or any other club - stick with it! Try to get as involved as possible! Sports clubs might be a little intimidating at first but we are incredibly friendly and love enthusiastic people. It made my first year amazing and it was a big reason for me deciding to stay on at university.

It will make your university experience amazing and you won’t regret it!

What do you guys do outside of Rugby as a club?

Harriet Troddan

Do you guys have any rituals before a game that you have to do?

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Table tennis Men’s 1st

Results Men’s Football 1st Team

Women’s Hockey

Men’s Hockey 1st Team

Uni of Kent v. UETTC

UCL v. UEWHC

Imperial College London v.

UEHC

3-14

4-1

8-0

Football Women’s 1st Team

Men’s Rugby 1st Team

Cup match

Rugby Women’s 1st Team

UEFC v. Reading Uni 1st

UEWFC v. Uni of Chichester

UERFC v. Surrey 1st

Uni of East London v.

UEWRFC

2-1

0-1

18-5

33-7

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