Issue 9

The University of Leicester’s free student newspaper

www.the-ripple.co.uk ripple@le.ac.uk @uolripple www.facebook.com/therippleleicester Issue Nine

Semester Two

19th February - 2nd March

Big Topics In The Big Debate

Last night NUS President Toni Pearce chaired the Student Union Elections Hustings to a packed audience in the Rattray Lecture Theatre.

The debate opened with the Education candidates. With all six candidates present the debate quickly focused on the idea of ’value for money’. Candidates primarily expressed their views on how students should approach the on-going pay dispute between University Management and Staff. Toni Pearce commented that the Education debate was the most “existential”.

In this issue...

Features

Opinion

Culture

Lifestyle

Following this the Engagement debate, though shortest by far, became the most heated of the night. The only two candidates, Katrina King and Sean Kelly-Walsh, both argued for different approaches to the role. The question of cliques dominating Union Council was asked by The Ripple with both candidates agreeing more needed to be done to address the issue.

Tensions leading up to the debate in the Experience category were largely unrealised as the topics of welfare and activities dominated the discussion.

Women’s Officer Rachel Hol-

What’s On

land also asked the candidates about the provision of welfare for liberation groups. Candidate Duane Thompson has dropped out of the elections.

Finally, the Presidential Debate got underway. All candidates fundamentally disagreed as to how aggressive the President should be when negotiating with the new Vice Chancellor.

There was also spirited debate as to the role of the NUS in student life with Toni Pearce coming under fire from some candidates.

More election coverage can be found at www.the-ripple.com

Sport

Why You Homophobia Comedy Poundland Alternative Football Varsity on Campus Should Vote Duo Review Bargains Nightlife Controversy

NEWS

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Edited by Emily Gussin

50 Words, One Policy We’ve asked this year’s election candidates to tell us about a key policy that makes them stand out from the other candidates, but in only 50 words. Here’s what they had to say...

President

Education

Experience

Peter Clarke If elected I will bring back the Union’s Safety Bus. So many students’ I’ve talked to say this is fantastic service. Some students with disabilities said they’re not going on student nights because there’s no Safety Bus. The Union is about providing services and this is one our Union needs.

Charlotte Agran Every student has a right to an education without financial barriers! We need to sustain students’ access to university and ensure every measure is taken to support every student once they are here. Leicester University needs to continue to find the resources to fight government cuts of scholarships and bursaries.

Jay Appelyard University should be a place of inclusion. My policy regarding ‘Open Faith Forums’ allows representatives from every faith to come together and discuss beliefs with general students. The Forums provide a sense of community for students who identify with a faith group or perhaps just wish to expand their horizons and knowledge.

Aaron Elcock I have a vision of a sabbatical team who will work FOR students and not against them. A united team of student leaders who will fight for EVERY gain for students, not just one’s that will look good on their CV. A vote for Aaron is a vote for ACTIVISM.

Alexia Elena My Manifesto is quite broad, but one policy which I think makes me stand out is my plan to implement Society Families, where society-members can plan study-sessions together, at times which suit them. I believe this support network will improve students’ wellbeing, and help them balance extracurricular and academic commitments.

Chris Everett I want a better deal for sports groups and societies. We can get an extra £15-20,000 for Team Leicester sponsorship, to cut the price of sport for students. Societies will also have the option of installing trained Sponsorship Secretaries on every committee; to help societies make money outside the Union.

Alistair Robinson The fact that this issue of the ripple is delayed yet again, is proof that any plans to increase society funding only through private sponsors will fail. Put students in control, take the union back from the cliques with careerist agendas, and every group whether liberation, welfare, other societies and sports will benefit from the freedom afforded.

Mandy Groves It’s no longer enough to graduate with a good degree and expect a job – employers want more, and so should students. I will increase the opportunities and uptake of years in industry and study abroad. I will facilitate credited access to languages and more varied modules, providing a real education.

Matt Jones The policy that makes me stand out from other candidates is that I want the University to implement fairer resit rules.

Mitigating circumstances procedures can be hard to access and don’t always help students.

The 40% resit cap doesn’t recognise students’ work. This needs to change.

Michael Rubin I’ll introduce an SU Loyalty Card. You’ll build up points for everything you do, from buying coffee to being on a committee. Then, you can exchange your points for money off your Shabang ticket, lunch in Nourish or cheaper drinks. Let’s reward your loyalty and make the SU more affordable.

This Week’s Team Editor & Designer: Emily Gussin eg155@le.ac.uk Opinion Editor: Sarah O’Rourke sor3@le.ac.uk Features Editor: Karina Maduro akm38@le.ac.uk What’s On Editor: Nikki Skinner ns317@le.ac.uk Culture Editor: Patrick Reckitt pgr8@le.ac.uk

Editor- in-Chief Samuel Osborne so104@le.ac.uk President Christopher Everett ce70@le.ac.uk Operations Team Secretary: Mel Agnew Advertising and Marketing: Lauren Swain Print and Distribution: Hollie Brookes

Lifestyle Editor: Katie Masters kmm36@le.ac.uk

Online Development: Vicki Clarke

Sport Editor: Samantha Blundell sb555@le.ac.uk

Events: Olivia Milizia

Yordan Nikolov Amongst my policies making me stand out from other candidates is the one about improving the personal tutor system.

Being the only Education candidate involved in the personal tutor research project gives me the insider knowledge and credibility needed to implement efficient improvements and tangibly benefit students across the university Jack Coopey No comment submitted.

Samuel Rowbothan One of my main policies which makes me stand out from other candidates is being able to use my experience as Sports President to increase participation and performance on a national scale. I would begin to do this by increasing minibus’ and reducing sports card costs, which will increase participation.

Harry Wells I promise to lobby the University to use their welfare budget to fund prepaid prescription cards for students with chronic illnesses, so finance isn’t a barrier to them being able to learn while happy and healthy. I believe it’s a reasonable, affordable and compassionate request.

Engagement Sean Kelly-Walsh I will continue fighting for a better bus service. This year I got Arriva to introduce Wi-Fi and a Sunday service. Next year I will introduce new services to run at peak hours and negotiate lower prices. I will not stop until I achieve a ‘Fare Deal’ for you.

Katrina King Making engagement easier, motivating people to engage the union and creating support networks is my top priority. Buddies for internationals. Skype for distance learners. Cheap and sometimes free events for society’s. Online booking forms and risk assessments.

FEATURES: ELECTION SPECIAL

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Edited by Karina Maduro

10 Reasons Why You Should Vote With candidate names confirmed, campaigning at its height, and the polls opening in a matter of days, Nida Admani gives you ten reasons why you should get involved in this year’s elections.

by Nida Yasheen Admani It’s that time of the year again, Leicester Uni. Time to change the face of our student body. New year, new beginnings and new changes.

That’s right – it’s the time to elect the Executive Committee of the Students’ Union.

Image by Producer

Last year, although there was an increase in the amount of people voting, it was still a small proportion of the student body. That needs to change this year. (I bet 100% of DMU students voted during their elections!) This is why The Ripple brings you 10 Reasons to Vote: 1) First of all, you should vote for the elections… simply because you can! You are here for a minimum of three years and you should make it count. Grab every opportunity and take every chance you get to have your opinions put across. It’s a privilege to be part of the ‘elite without being elitist’ student

body of Leicester University, and you get to decide who runs it. Make the most of that opportunity. Power to the people!

2) One of the worst things about being a university student is that at this stage in your life, arguably no one listens to you. Not your parents, not your professors and especially not that one flatmate who still leaves dirty dishes in the sink, even after the countless times you’ve asked them not to. But your Students’ Union is listening, and they want to know who you think should run it. Finally someone is asking you what YOU want. Don’t leave them hanging.

3) The Students’ Union believes in providing an ‘Exceptional Student Experience’ for each and every one of us. They work towards achieving this goal and making it better every time, only so that we can have an experience of a lifetime here at our lovely Leicester University. All we have to do is simply take the time out to vote for our choice of candidates.

to vote as a citizen of the UK. Freshers, you should vote mainly because you are witnessing the executive elections for the first time. Second year students, the potential Executive Officers will determine how your final year goes. And graduates? Last chance to vote! Vote for the best candidates and leave your mark on next year’s student body. ‘We, the people’ and stuff, you know?

6) Have you checked the manifesto for each candidate this year? Whatever you view on the changes that need to be implemented at Leicester – whether it’s cheaper food on campus, better sports facilities, or, maybe even an on-campus Nando’s or a Tuesday student night at the o2 – there’ll be a candidate who’s most suited to your views.

4) The Executive Committee is essentially the voice of the student body. Don’t you want to make sure the candidate with the best voice takes your message to the top?

7) All those students running for posts have tirelessly been working for this – campaigning, writing manifestos and making sure they look good for the pictures. It’s not easy to choose one picture for the flyers out of a thousand selfies.

There’s a reason they’re walking around in colourful clothing and bombarding our Facebook newsfeeds as well as our mailboxes. They deserve your votes for all the effort and hours that they have been putting in.

5) It is arguably your duty to vote as a student of the University of Leicester, just like it is your duty

8) If you do your research right, get involved with the elections and help select the best man

Societies?

Sports Groups?

Events?

or woman for the job, you will broaden your knowledge of how our Students’ Union works. You will discover everything they have to offer and everything that they’re working towards to improve our lives as university students. And who knows, maybe this exposure will lead you to run for an Executive Officer role one day - maybe even President! Working for the Students’ Union is a valuable and enlightening experience, something you should definitely consider.

9) They’re young. The problem with ‘authority’ these days is often that they’re out of touch with the people they’re representing. These candidates aren’t. As all students are eligible to run, they are still going through the university experience themselves, and next year will either have just graduated or will still be in education.

They’re not out of touch with students. Make the most of that.

Buy this space from £15 Advertise your events, socials and matches Email ripple@le.ac.uk

10) And lastly, because you matter to our Students’ Union. They care about your opinion because ultimately, the Executive Committee will make changes that will affect YOU more than anyone else. Whichever candidates we select will be responsible for making your year at Leicester a more memorable one. Your vote will determine the face or our student body next year.

So go on, make a difference!

Campaigning: The Guidelines You get bombarded on campus and on social media, but how much do you actually know about campaigning?

by Karina Maduro

comes to campaigning:

The Sabbatical elections take place once a year, where students are able to vote for 4 roles: President, Engagement, Education and Experience.

1) Don’t go over budget

You see the candidates each year, roaming around campus in colourful tops, banners along the railings and people stationed strategically throughout campus, encouraging you to vote. With campaigning already under way, here is a guideline as to how the process works.

There are 3 key rules when it

Each year, all candidates are set a strict budget in order to maintain an even playing field. This year the budget has been set at £120, up from a previous £100 in order to compensate for inflation, with £100 then being reimbursed. In order to check that everyone remains true to this budget, all candidates are required to keep receipts which will then be submitted and checked on the final day of voting by the deputy returning officers and independent return-

ing officer. As candidates are given this equal opportunity, it means that they have a chance to get creative. Having gathered a team together, it is then up to them to decide on the most effective way of campaigning, gaining support and eventually securing votes.

Common campaigning techniques which we’ve seen in the past include colourful tops (candidates usually choose one distinct colour in order to make themselves and their campaign schemes identifiable), banners around campus and leaflets outlining the reasons why you

should vote for them. It’s also a very common and highly effective technique to use social media as a platform. Candidates in the past have raised awareness by changing their profile pictures, cover photos and creating events. This year, given the recent reduction in manifesto size, social media has also been a very effective platform for providing further details on their manifestos.

2) Don’t campaign near ballot stations or the street teams How and where candidates choose to campaign is mostly

up to them. However, there are a few exceptions. Candidates aren’t allowed to campaign by the polling booths. They are also not allowed to campaign near the street teams. Street teams are people employed by the union, who have the job of encouraging people to vote. As familiar as we all might be with the constant bombarding on campus, there is a bright side.

This year, stickers will be handed out to indicate that you have already voted. That way, you can go about your day without having to worry about the influx of pro-voters.

3) Don’t break the law or university regulations Finally, candidates are advised not to break the law or breach university regulations. Hopefully this one doesn’t need explaining; it’s pretty much what it says on the tin.

With campaigning already under way, voting will open at 8pm on Saturday 23rd February and will close on Wednesday 26th February; results will then be announced at Red Leicester.

FEATURES

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Edited by Karina Maduro

Leicester Go Green Why We Must All Fight to Close take part in the nationwide Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp Leicester movement to improve sustainability Lola Johnson discusses the case of Shaker Aemer, and considers how we, as students, can and need to get involved in these wider issues.

by Lola Johnson Twelve years ago, the American government opened an extra legal prison in the name of your safety. In the name of your safety, the British government heralded its opening, acting as accomplice. Like disease, every generation inherits the mistakes of its predecessor. We are the generation that inherited the ‘war on terror’, and the blood of countless lives continues to rest on our inactivity to speak out against the unjust nature of this ‘war’.

On the 11th January 2014, I took part in my first ever anti-government demonstration, outside Trafalgar Square. ‘Free Shaker Aamer’, our placards read as countless tourists and Londoners walked past us, intrigued by our bright orange prison suits. A previous article published in The Gaurdian stated that Aamer, the last UK resident in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp (GITMO), is refused entry back into the UK

by MI6, although he has been cleared for release. To bring him back would be to admit that MI6 acted as spectators during his illegal torture - in the name of your safety. James Bond is now a figure of Western totalitarianism, particularly against Middle-Eastern and North African ethnic groups, and the Islamic religion.

Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp is far from the UK, and you are not terrorists. As stu-

dents, what does this have to do with you?

Like most of the world, you most likely watched the World Trade Centre go up in smoke on the 11th September 2001.

Like most university students, you most likely witnessed this world-changing catastrophe as a child, not fully understanding the terror on your parents’ faces. ‘Terror’ is a world far removed from our bubble of education, where phrases like ‘torture’, ‘force-feeding’ and ‘illegal imprisonment’ are not readily discussed.

We are supposedly the most enlightened and progressive generation. The 1960’s boasts the civil rights movement; we boast the ‘Gay Pride’ movement. We boast tolerance, gender equality and a peaceful globalisation that works (at least on our soil). But we can yet boast of fierce intolerance of our modern day injustice and warfare. Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning and Julian Assange are an indication of what can happen to us if we speak out. Fear is now our motivation, or, if we’re lucky, ignorance of world politics.

As a student preparing to enter the ‘real world’, this is the period where every one of your actions counts. Every decision is pivotal. Do you go through the motions: a status-quo? Or do you fight injustice? If history has taught us something, it is that injustice feeds on our averted gazes. Shaker Aamer has been tortured, forcefed and illegally imprisoned.

Someday; one day; today, you could replace him.

President of the University of Leicester’s Amnesty International society, Mel Agnew, advised that, ‘Lots of students here are so focused on their degrees; they create a bubble for themselves. Our degrees can

PRO BONO

Free Legal Advice This week: Deposits

by Kirsty Bates

deposit deductions are for:

Pro Bono Group Secretary The short answer is: yes they can. However, there are things that they cannot deduct money for and they can only deduct money from your deposit for things that will cost them money. The most common

- Any damage to the furniture or property - f there are items missing from the property which were listed on the inventory when you moved in - Any outstanding rent payments by yourself or a joint

really make a difference. What we’re learning at university, we need to learn in order to change the world.

‘The “war on terror” means that the government is fighting a war against a concept. You can’t wage war against a concept because it lacks geographical boundaries. Essentially, the government can do whatever they want. That is where a lot of the problems of this “war” stem from’.

For over two years, Jamal Abdullah Kiyemba, a student at Leicester, who studied pharmacology at De Montfort University, was held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp.

Kiyemba was imprisoned during a holiday to Pakistan in 2002. He has previously been quoted as saying, ‘I have lived in a 21st Century nightmare. I have been held hostage by the most developed, advanced, richest superpower’.

On the 11th January 2014,

was little media coverage on the event. At least once a month, a ‘shut-GITMO’ demonstration is held outside the US embassy in London by Amnesty International, again, with little coverage. If Guantanamo Bay is so far away, why does the American government control what our British newspapers report to you, and I? University of Leicester’s Amnesty International society is currently planning a university-wide campaign in March, for the closure of Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. ‘The government needs to be aware that young people do understand these issues and we’re not going to be passive about it’, Agnew explained. ‘We do want to make ourselves heard, even if it means wearing orange jumpsuits all week. We’ll do everything we can to close GITMO, no matter how small’.

As students, as well as getting involved in the university-wide campaign, you can also write

alongside nearly fifty other people, I took part in my first ever anti-government demonstration, outside Trafalgar Square. We were small in number, but we made our voice heard. Deep in the centre of London, parading bright orange prison suits, and raising anti-government placards, we could not be missed. Yet there

letters to prisoners in Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, to let the prisoners know that they are not forgotten. Visit - “http://www.reprieve.org. uk/articles/writetoguantanamo/”http://www.reprieve.org. uk/articles/writetoguantanamo/

tenant - aying for the property to be clean as it was left in a dirty condition

be done on a like for like basis, for example a single bed cannot be replaced with a double bed.

Even though your landlord can deduct money from your deposit for damage to the furniture or property, this does not include damage that could be regarded as wear and tear. Wear and tear would be regarded as deterioration of furniture or contents over a long period of time as a result of normal use.

Also, when items need to be replaced due to damage this must

Remember, you can also request to see receipts for payments the landlord has made and wishes to deduct from your deposit because even though you may have paid your deposit to a letting agency, it was on behalf of the landlord and they are responsible for returning your deposit.

If you have an assured short hold tenancy (which is the

on campus.

by Marie-Claire Hynes The ‘Students Sustainability Project’ is a nationwide campaign that is encouraging students from different Student’ Unions across England to help create potentially life-changing projects. They are not just helping universities to become more environmentally friendly but creating new sustainability skills for the students that lasts a lifetime beyond education.

The campaign has already helped twenty-five unions across England to produce greening projects, leading to pro-environmental behaviour across higher education.

Within its first two years, it has engaged 50, 000 students across the country and saved 4, 000 tonnes of CO2, helping to create a better environment. The project itself, widely known as the ‘NUS Student Green Fund’, uses funding from the HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) and has since invested £5 million in creating a better future for everyone.

The project’s main aims are to benefit everyone at the University and to the wider community, by bringing different groups of people together to gain sustainability skills and make a big impact to help the environment. This has been done by growing spaces on campus for students to learn about and grow their own food in order to save money and reduce waste, encouraging greener student homes and developing sustainable transport for physically disabled students.

The University of Sheffield have taken on the project ‘Sheffield On A Plate’ where the city’s universities and colleges have collaborated together to reduce the amount of food waste and increase food banks, through student led food procase for most people who privately rent) and a dispute arises regarding how much of the deposit is to be repaid at the end of your tenancy, then a relevant amount of money will be held by the deposit protection scheme that the deposit was placed under until the dispute has been resolved. It is possible to use an alternative dispute resolution service which is provided by the deposit protection scheme, or take the matter to court for it to be resolved. Landlords are required to put deposit mon-

duction and cookery classes.

At the University of Birmingham their project of ‘Recycle & Up-Cycle Café’, is a mobile sustainable café based on 8 of their campuses. They collect books and clothes that can be re-used or given to Oxfam as part of the ongoing project.

Our own Students’ Union, here at Leicester, are taking part in this campaign and have created ‘Sustainable Food Production on Campus’, where students can take part by growing food, cooking it and selling it, as well as focusing on improving employability skills.

They decided to take part in response to their findings that less than 20% of students have grown their own food, and because they wish to embed sustainability into the curriculum.

They are currently establishing it across the academic departments. They have a strong focus on providing sustainability and practical skills within education, encouraging students to engage in wider issues. As well as this, they’ve spread the project to local secondary schools alongside the geography department, where they bring students onto campus to share in the learning. As part of the ongoing sustainability project, vast changes have already happened here at Leicester. There are now over 300 portable plots, meaning a 10-15% increase in the student body buying sustainable foods.

Students received an email making them aware of the project, as well as providing a short survey to share their opinions. Recently at the Refreshers’ Fair, there was a stall to increase student awareness on the importance and the wider implications of this project.

ey into a deposit protection scheme and if they have not done so, then they have failed to meet their legal obligations and this can be used to negotiated the return of your deposit.

OPINION

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Edited by Sarah O’Rourke

“Don’t be tolerant: be accepting” A plea to rid our campus of homophobia

by Ryan Armstrong To be tolerant of something is to ‘put up with’ or to ‘endure continued subjection to’ it. To be accepting of something on the other hand is to regard it as ‘proper, normal or inevitable’ and to recognise it as ‘true’. The difference is great.

Tolerance is when the university allows the formation of an LGBT society; acceptance is when two members of the same sex can hold hands or kiss on

campus and people don’t stare, laugh or whisper.

Tolerance can be legislated but acceptance cannot. The latter requires a societal shift.

As a gay man, I do not want people to merely ‘put up’ with my sexuality. I want people to class it as ‘normal’.

Standing in the way of a successful ethos of acceptability relating to homosexuality on campus is the widespread adop-

tion of phrases such as ‘that’s so gay’ and ‘you’re so gay’. Here ‘gay’ is used pejoratively to denote something of low worth and inferior quality which have a negative impact on members of the LGBT community.

Research conducted by the University of Cambridge has revealed that 99 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people hear phrases such as hat’s so gay’ and ‘you’re so gay’.

Here ‘gay’ is used pejoratively to denote something of low worth

and inferior quality which have a negative impact on members of the LGBT community.

Research conducted by the University of Cambridge has revealed that 99 per cent of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people hear phrases such as ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘you’re so gay’ in school and 84 per cent of gay young people are distressed when they hear the word ‘gay’ being used as an insult.

I’m sure that many people would never dream of uttering a racial or religious slur, so why is it ok to use a homophobic one?

There are plenty of things that are acceptable to be called ‘gay’; me, or anyone else who identify themselves as homosexual, for example. There are also a number of things which are not acceptable to be called ‘gay’; an assignment, someone’s ridiculous haircut, the weather or the library – these are not ‘gay’.

The adoption of the term in this context suggests that there is something wrong with homosexuality.

You are using the wrong word.

Unfortunately, ‘gay’ is not the only word in our lexicon to need a makeover and other terms such as ‘faggot,’ ‘pouf,’ and ‘queer’ are used flippantly and

Image by Flikr user IvoVisualista.

without due consideration of their potential impact.

I was in the library at the start of term when I overheard an individual shout to his friends ‘orite you faggots!’ In a pragmatic sense this individual was using the word ‘faggot’ somewhat habitually and without consequence and the volume with which it was spoken suggests that he found it acceptable to use as a mode of address.

How do I, as a gay man who knows the sacrifices that many LGBT activists in history have made in order to get gay rights to a place where it is (in the United Kingdom at least), react to this? My immediate reaction was one of shock, disbelief and anger, just like I imagine a person of Afro-Caribbean descent would react if they overheard someone using the word ‘nigger’, or a Jewish person overhearing the word ‘Jew’ being used pejoratively to denote a non-Jewish individual. Words such as these represent oppression. Should I have ignored it and put it down to a lack of social awareness, or should I have challenged him? I did nothing, and I felt like a coward and a failure. I felt like my sexuality had been undermined and I felt like my silence had consented his choice of words.

I’m sure that many reading this will think that I am overreacting and that the use of pejorative terms such as these is not homophobic because homophobia is not intended. In part I don’t disagree given the fluidity of language and the fact that words are often said in a clichéd fashion and without any real consequence. I can only assume that the adoption of such terms is a result of a lack of education and ignorance which hinder people’s ability to understand the negative impact that they have on members of the LGBT community.

Say what you mean and mean what you say because the implications of choosing the wrong word can be devastating. It is my plea to the students and staff of this university that implications of terms such as ‘that’s so gay’ and the pejorative use of modes of address such as ‘faggot,’ ‘pouf ’ and ‘queer’ are understood and eradicated. We are the next teachers, doctors, lawyers and journalists and our ability to inspire a societal shift is tremendous. Let’s not allow homophobia to triumph in our village, people. Don’t be tolerant: be accepting.

Potential Sale of the Student Loan Book Results in Outcry

by Jessica Wells At the end of November 2013 it emerged that the government had sold off £900m worth of student loans taken out before 1998. The buyer, Erudio Student Loans, got their hands on the loans for bargain price of only £160m. Whilst this does not directly affect current students, we should be concerned. If the government act on their options to reduce the deficit, they could well be selling off the Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) loan book, which contains all student loans taken out after 1998.

In a confidential government report it was revealed that if the ICR was privatised, then the cap on interest for repayments would have to be increased or removed all together in order to make the deal profitable for the private firms. In other words,

our student debt would rise dramatically and make education inaccessible for others. Whilst this may seem unattainable, we have already agreed to it. The Tory Minister for Universities, David Willetts, argued that it would be easy to remove the cap as the small print for our loans state that the government ‘reserves the right to change the terms of the loans.’ However, Willetts insists that the terms of our student loans will not be changed should the privatisation of the student loan book occur.

The proposed sale - part of a larger plan to sell £15 billion worth of public assets by 2020 to reduce the deficit - has been strongly opposed by the Student Assembly against Austerity and Defend Education. Both groups have been campaigning tirelessly over the last few months to raise awareness about issues such as these. On the 29th Janu-

ary, the groups met at a national meeting attending by approximately 300 students from a wide range of universities to discuss their plans and organise the mass protest which happened in Birmingham last week.

bers, as well as preventing the sale of the student loan book to name a few. Interestingly on this list was a demand to stop all attempts of criminalising protests and the ‘victimisation of students’ which they ar-

Image by Flikr user LendingMemo

At the meeting, Defend Education devised broad aims that they wished to achieve, ranging from free education to narrowing the wage-gaps of staff mem-

gued, occurred at their protest at the University of Birmingham when 14 students were arrested after being ‘kettled’.

Members of Defend Education Leicester were present at the meeting, and added three points to the growing list of national aims; paying the living wage to staff members and thus ending the current strikes was top of Leicester’s list, as was the protection of striking staff from intimidation and threats. Lastly, and, more amusingly, Defend Education Leicester called for students to be put before ‘vanity projects’, such as the costly new plinth outside the library that holds a statue which ‘resembles labia’.

As the protests begin to grow in numbers however, the government have still provided us with no answers. If the student loan book is sold to a private firm by the government it is us, the current students, who will be paying yet an even higher price for our education just to reduce the deficit created by a past generation.

We should make it clear to the government that we shall not stand for this. Student fees have already been raised to an incomprehensible amount, why too should they sell on our loans to a private firm? The government need to realise that education is a gift, and one that should be widely accessible to all. I believe that this will be shown through peaceful protests and not like the one that occurred in Birmingham. By vandalising property and retaliating violently against the authority, we will get nowhere. The only outcome from that method is losing trust from the government. If we treat them with respect, we can only hope that they will listen and treat us in the same manner by ending all considerations to sell the student loan book.

WHAT’S ON

6

Edited by Nicky Skinner

Pick of the Week

by Nicky Skinner

thing a little bit different.

On Campus

An important event in the University’s AstroSoc calendar is sure to be the The 26th Annual UKSEDS National Student Space Conference, which this year will be held on the weekend of 1-2 March at the University of Leicester. There will be a wide range of speakers across the weekend, including David Ault (Big Bang Fairs), David Johnson (AMSAT-UK), Chad Anderson (Space Angels Network), Prof. Richard Brown (Centre for Future Air-Space Transportation Technology, University of Strathclyde) and Steve Leach (University of Leicester), along with many other prominent space organisations. Whether you are a science student or just take a keen interest in Space science and technology, the weekend of events promises to be both enlightening and insightful experience for the keen astronomer.

Leicester Student’s Union Executive Elections 2014 will undoubtedly dominate conversation on campus for a few weeks yet. The elections will decide the executive team who will run the student’s union for the next year, so it’s important to get clued up on what each candidate has to offer before casting your all-important vote.

If you want to find out more about the candidates running this year, their manifestos and their proposals, then head along to Executive Elections Question Time on Tuesday 18th at the Rattray Lecture Theatre at 6:30pm. Candidates will then have time to campaign before voting opens on Wednesday 24th February at 10am, with the final votes being counted at 2pm on Wednesday 26th.

To cast your vote head to www. leicesterunion.com/vote, and don’t miss out on the special Red Leicester on the Wednesday evening when the results will be announced.

Rock ensemble The Answer will be visiting the O2 Academy 2 on Tuesday 25th, if you are looking for some live music over the next couple of weeks. The band from Northern Ireland claim to ‘walk, talk and rock’ the spirit of their music, and look set to be a great evening for fans or if you’re just looking for some-

Off Campus Away from campus, Dave’s Comedy Festival continues with a thriving programme in the city centre until the 23rd February. Be sure to look out

for Irish Comedian and Impressionist Liam Hourican, whose foodie sketch show ‘A Kitchen Nightmare and Other Stories’ will be showing at Upstairs at the Western on February 17th.

Other great events to watch out for include ‘Wittank’, a sketch show which invites you into the charmingly warped world of school (19th February, Crumblin Cookie), an interview with top comedian and presenter Jason Manford (20th February, The Curve), ‘Comedy in the Dark’, a unique sell-out comedy performed in the pitch black (21st February, Phoenix Square), and BBC Comedy Awards finalist Mark Restuccia’s new show ‘The Life of I’, a show which provides an insight ‘into the world of a comedian that nobody sees’ (19th February, Belmont Hotel). Another event which may prove to be particularly relevant to Leicester students is ‘The Trial of Richard the Third’ (20th February, Heroes@ Hansom Hall), a piece of improv drama which allows the audience to become spectators in the trial of Richard.

Aside from comedy, Leicester also has plenty of theatrical offerings this fortnight. From Monday 24th February, De Montfort Hall will play host to ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical’, the feel-good international hit sensation, for one week only. The Curve will also see the residency of an international smash hit musical,

Leicester’s Alternative Nightlife: Pubs and Bars

by Nicky Skinner

Second Semester Back in Leicester, and it’s time to branch out.

Everyone knows that university students love a cheap night out.

Shabang!, Red Leicester, Republic; week on week students return to their much-loved club nights at their favourite venues for a guaranteed night of drunken fun and dancing. But venture away from these standard student clubbing haunts and you’ll find a whole host of great bars and pubs that boast great atmosphere (something you certainly won’t get yelling at your friend over ‘YMCA’ at Red Leicester), great drinks, and often some really good deals too. They may not offer £1 VKs and there certainly won’t be much cheesy music, but given a chance, Leicester’s alternative night life certainly has a lot to offer.

Leicester does not miss out when it comes to pubs, and there is sure to be something near you which will appeal;

whether you are looking for nice food, quality beers, or just great atmosphere. If you fancy a chilled night out and you happen to be in the city centre, you could head to Taps (Guildhall Lane). This hidden gem is situated in one of the oldest buildings in Leicester, and unique in every sense of the word. Their self –serve draught beer system is good fun and makes a great change from waiting for your pint at the bar, and they host a great range of International beers, delicious cocktails as well as traditional pub grub. If you’re a bit of a beer enthusiast then we recommend you heading over to The Pub (New Walk). Here they boast the largest range of draught beers in Leicester, showcasing around 30 draught brews from both home and abroad, as well as over 60 different variations of bottled beer.

Heading back into the city centre, you’ll find The Orange Tree (High Street), a small bar with lots of character that makes a great stop-off before a trip to the cinema or for some relaxed

post-dinner drinks after a meal in Highcross. They regularly host some great (and often free) events, such as local band appearances, as well as their regular Monday night music quiz.

Following suite with a relaxed atmosphere and great food and drink is The Font (Gateway Street). Although a visit will mean crossing the border to DMU territory, it makes a great change from the city centre.

However Leicester doesn’t fall

17th February - 2nd March adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, War Horse takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of First World War France. Filled with stirring music and songs, this ‘powerfully moving and imaginative drama’ has been hailed as ‘a show of phenomenal inventiveness’.

Best of the Rest…

where ‘Hairspray’ will run from the 28th February. Be transported back in time and sing ‘Welcome to the 60’s’ as we follow the ambitious, bubbly and heart-warming Tracy Turnblad in her dream to be crowned Miss Teenage Hairspray. It’s lively songs, witty lines and heartfelt storyline makes it one not to be missed.

In the lead-up to the Oscars, which will be held on March 2nd this year, the Phoenix Cinema in Leicester City Centre will be showcasing a number of the nominees in light of the upcoming awards ceremony.

This makes a great opportunity to see some of the films that you missed the first time round in the cinema, or to perhaps see if some of the nominees live up to their hype. From now until the awards, the cinema will regularly be showcasing Gravity, American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave, Monuments Men, Dallas Buyer’s Club and Inside Llewyn Davis, all films nomshort if you’re looking for somewhere a little more lively. If you find yourself in the city centre then head over to the muchloved Firebug on Millstone Lane. Voted last year as ‘Best Independent Bar’ in Leicester*, Firebug keeps itself popular with students and locals alike by combining the same kind of relaxed atmosphere you would find in any pub with a thriving nightlife. The bar regularly hosts numerous comedy, film and club nights, and has earned itself praise as one of Leicester’s best cultural venues. Only a five minute walk from Firebug is the more sophisticated Fat Cat Bar (Belvoir Street). Plush

Image by Flickr User Elton One

inated for awards this season.

Nonetheless, as usual, Phoenix resits showcasing only the biggest and most current names in cinema, and over the next fortnight will show a plethora of films for those looking for something other than the big names of Hollywood. On Tuesday 25th they will showcase the Oscar winning There Will Be Blood, an American epic which tells the story of a silver miner-turned-oilman on a ruthless quest for wealth during Southern California’s oil boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Staring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano, this stunning picture is not one to be missed in its return to the cinema. On Thursday 27th, the Phoenix will screen a National Theatre Live performance of War Horse, which will be streamed live from the West End to cinemas around the country. Since its first performance in 2007, War Horse has become an international smash hit. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s novel and Seating and a whole menu of ‘possibly the best cocktails in Leicester’ make for a sophisticated evening with friends that won’t leave you totally penniless. Or check out The Exchange Bar (Rutland Street) or The Lansdowne (London Road) for great alternatives with a similarly stylish atmosphere that will provide a great addition to any night out. Student hotspot Clarendon also offers some great nightlife for students who don’t want to fork out for a taxi to and from the city centre. Olive Bar (Queens Road) is somewhat the hidden gem of Queens Road, offering a vibrant and lively night out. Be sure to head down for student night on a Tuesday, for £1 shots and a mix of classic and up and coming Indie, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Dance, Dubstep, and a lot more. Another Queens Road favourite amongst The Ripple team is Bar Babelas. This quirky continental bar again appeals to lots of students as well as locals, and has a unique atmosphere that makes a refreshing change from the usual student haunts.

Back in the city centre, and if you’re looking for something for a special occasion or just fancy treating yourself to a

In Cinemas this Fortnight: Monuments Men, Dir. George Clooney (From 14th February) Her, Dir. Spike Jonze (From 14th February) The Lego Movie, Dir. Chris Miller and Phil Lord (From 14th February) The Book Thief, Dir. Brian Percival (26th February) Album Releases this Fortnight: 17th February- Nina Nesbit, ‘Peroxide’ 3rd March- The Fray, ‘Helios’ And Don’t Miss…

The Sochi Winter Olympics (until Sunday 23rd February) The Oscars (March 2nd) The Six Nations Rugby (England v. Ireland at Twickenham, 22nd February)

drink or two in a more upmarket venue, make sure to check out Hakamou (Bowling Green Street). The bar, which draws both its décor and its menu from Caribbean influences, has an extensive and authentic cocktail menu that caters for all tastes. From ‘Naughty’ alcoholic Orangina (it’s as good as it sounds!), a ‘Cheeky Pineapple’ served in a real hollowed out pineapple, and the Hakamou Kitchen Sink (which, as the name suggests, is served in a kitchen sink) all help to create a quirky night out that you are sure to remember (or not, depending on how many kitchen sinks you get through!) For ultimate sophistication make sure to head to The Terrace (Albion Street). This Champagne and Cocktail bar does not make for the cheapest night out, but its quality menu and atmosphere makes it perfect for any special occasion.

So next time you head out for a night out, consider trying something new. You never know, it might just become your new alternative to Red Leicester… *by Leicester Best Bar None Awards, 2013

CULTURE

7

Edited by Patrick Reckitt

BAG Soc Takes Firebug By Storm Holistic, Important, Fantastic

by Adam Trigg For the third time this year, Firebug provided a welcoming setting for the Band and Gig Society’s Gig Night, and showcased the society’s sizable and varied catalogue of bands and acoustic acts.

From personal experience these nights are good for meeting new people, chatting about music over a drink, whilst listening and dancing like a possessed chimp (I speak mainly for myself), to good original live music from an eclectic selection of acts.

This most recent evening proved to be no exception and the bands were greeted by a decent crowd.

Kermes (singer- songwriter Will Teece) opened, armed with only a guitar, amp, effects pedals and a voice reminiscent of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. These were used to good effect on a set of well-chosen covers, such as Talking Heads’ ‘This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)’ and King Creosote’s ‘Bats in the Attic’, as well as finely crafted originals. His evocative vocals and melodic versatile licks came across well despite technical glitches, which he overcame with style and humour to provide a set that was enjoyable regardless.

Kermes was followed by The Exhausted, and they provided quite a change in tone. Frontman Smige provided a nihilist punkish intensity which would take Johnny Rotten aback, to a set of striking originals such as the apocalypse defying ‘The End Can Wait’.

The abrasive, cynical lyrics of Smige and guitarist Calum Burns are delivered in a sneering growl that wouldn’t be out of place on an early Buzzcocks

Image by Tom Morris

record, paired with a powerful guitar attack which toes the middle ground between Nirvana and Metallica. This could sound like uncontrolled aggression, but a tight rhythm section kept everything in check.

Their in-your-face brand of acerbic song craft is admittedly not for the faint of heart (or ears), but it’s hard not be impressed by their viscous precision and inventive lyrics.

Third on the bill were the ever popular Needle in the Hay, originally a three piece and now down to a duo. Whilst frontman

Ross Willet puts on an impressive display with assured jangly guitar and keyboards part that give an unmistakable nod to The Killers, he was restricted by having to carry each song virtually single handed with only drums for support.

In spite of this the band’s original compositions demonstrated accomplished, ambitious song craft; the best, ‘80/80A’, neatly surmised the emotional rollercoaster of the fresher’s commute into a catchy, if slightly formulaic ballad. These are mixed with crowd pleasing covers such as Soft Cell’s ‘Tainted Love’, making for a fun set, confidently performed.

Headliners Steady State, the winners of last year’s ‘Battle of The Bands’ competition, and it’s clear why. Their brand of biting, guitar driven, indie rock calls to mind early Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. You suspect either of these indie stalwarts would gladly pass the infectious original ‘I Shook the Walls’ off as their own. Covers of classics from The Black Keys and Arctic Monkeys covers round off a set of hard, yet intelligent, alternative rock that’s ideal for a headline slot. The perfect end to an evening which showed the society and members at their best, with acts that brimmed with originality and talent. A must for budding musicians and gig goers alike.

On The Up and Up - You Me At Six

by Peter Gilbert

Since releasing their debut album Take off Your Colours back in 2008, You Me At Six have been a permanent stalwart in the world of pop rock.

Hold Me Down brought the five piece even greater success, and 2011 release Sinners Never Sleep categorically placed the Surrey natives at the top of the British rock scene. They’ve toured the world, sold out Wembley Arena on the same night as the X-Factor final, and with Cavalier Youth have finally grasped that fully deserved Number One album. All before any of the band have passed 25.

Am I jealous? You bet.

What makes this album better than any of their previous efforts is the fact that not one song

stands out as just ‘filling’ the album. From start to finish, every song could easily be a single for future release.

The album kicks off with a track that could pretty much sum up the fresh feeling of youthful optimism that runs throughout the twelve tracks. Whilst ‘Too Young to Feel This Old’ is not quite the opener that ‘Loverboy’ was (from ‘Sinners Never Sleep’), it is still an excellent start. Next up we have the two songs that were previewed before the release of ‘Cavalier Youth’, ‘Lived a Lie’ and ‘Fresh Start Fever’. The latter of the two is probably my favourite track on the album, and the strength of this song suggests the band are now writing songs to suit arenas that they shall soon be filling.

The album, after reaching the halfway mark, continues to impress. The two stand out tracks here are ‘Cold Night’ and ‘Wild Ones’. The first of these highlights the five piece’s ability to write sweet, romantic and delicate tracks. Josh Francesci’s softly sings “I knew the moment I met you, I could never lose you”.

That should’ve been in every Valentine’s card this year.

‘Wild Ones’, ends the album well by looking to the future.

It’s an uplifting, well rounded track that ends an album - full of wonderful songs – on a high.

Cavalier Youth is an album by a band at the top of their powers.

Compared to the darker, heavier Sinners Never Sleep, this is a more mature and optimistic effort. There is no doubt that You Me At Six deserve the Number One slot, because Cavalier Youth is pretty damn good.

Cavalier Youth is out now on Virgin Records

The Ripple reviews The Lego Movie

by Dan Jordan

We’re living in a post Man of Steel world. Instead of looking to the skies and imagining the feats we could accomplish, we are instead hit full in the face with a deluge from the dark cloud of Christopher Nolan.

This acidic, miserable rain has eroded the barrier between appropriateness of subject matter between adult and child audiences, filling our theatre screens with dark, violent and near indistinguishable major releases. The weakening of these boundaries has also allowed cross promotions to broach the mainstream.

The crassness of films such as Alien vs. Predator, previously on the furthest boundaries of public consciousness, is achieving new status within the age of ‘shared universe’ movies such as The Avengers and the upcoming Batman vs. Superman. The Lego Movie takes all these developments in stride and hurls it’s cross textual licence on to the screen and sees what happens.

The result is a wonderful, en-

ergetic chaos with spontaneous and heartfelt universal appeal.

Emmitt (Chris Pratt) is completely satisfied with his routine life. Following the instructions he’s been supplied with by the administration of President Business (Will Ferrell) gives him almost everything he needs. The revelation of his SPECIAL DESTINY throws all this into disarray. In order to fulfil his true purpose and save the world, Emmitt must reach to the core of his being and find the true hero within. But will that be enough?!?!

Guest starring Batman (Will Arnett), The LA Lakers, a hyper active astronaut (Charlie Day), Dumbledore and Gandalf (Todd Hansen), Wonder Woman (Cobie Smulders) and a giant mechanical pirate with cannons and grappling hooks for arms (Nick Offerman).

The Lego Movie shares in the tradition of Finding Nemo respecting younger viewers enough to engage with complex subject matter letting grownups enjoy gloriously colourful and irreverent stories. The satire of consumer culture, that this film could so easily have been a proponent of, blossoms clearly enough for a child to pick up on it. The control of style by the animators contrasting smooth, realistic motion early on and the marvellously erratic feats

of world construction as motor bikes and spaceships are built from the ‘bricks’ making up the landscape traverses the gulf between demographics. This is the most impressive of the film’s constructions; the bridge that breaches the harshest cynics’ defences to deliver pure, frantic joy.

This kind of unity is The Lego Movie’s greatest strength. For the most part, the comedy isn’t limited to simple pop cultural references as seems to be the wont of other animations of the past. Characters who could have served as single jokes are integrated into the story and developed. This attention to detail and consistency exposes the film’s big heart, helped all the more with its championing of moments of intimacy in its calamitous story, some entirely unique.

What we see in The Lego Movie is a guiding light through the gloom of mass releases failing to gain mass appeal, making it and the animated films it shares its high ground with a very important genre to keep track of in future. Appeals to, performs for and can be recommended to one and all. Multiple viewings are a must.

Lego Movie is out now.

Danny Ward - Infra Dig

by Nick Palmer

As Danny Ward hopped onto the stage at the Kayal Restaurant, one might be forgiven for thinking that he looked a little nervous; hunched over, his eyes darting around and licking his lips because, as he later explained, he *definitely* does not suffer from any social anxiety disorder.

Still, the nervousness has clearly been embraced by Danny as part of his act and it works wonderfully to supply a certain crazed energy to his performances.

Infra Dig, short for Infra Dignitatem, titled as such to draw in Guardian readers, according to Danny, is a personal show about

Danny Ward’s rise, then fall, on the social scale, or rather, his self-perceived rise, then realisation that he hasn’t moved up at all.

To demonstrate this, the show was bookended by a hilarious account of his interview, aged 17, for a job at WH Smith in which he was asked, to his dismay, to work with a guy called Richard (who told Danny to call him Rupert) in order to construct a paper aeroplane capable of flying three digestive biscuits across the room.

He didn’t get the job. The end of the show came back to WH Smith with a little story about Danny’s professional jealously from seeing Jimmy Carr in two spots on the DVD chart section at that same WH Smith and taking it upon himself to rearrange the DVD’s accordingly.

It was the variety which really made the performance. Jokes ranged from safe, observational stuff like the price of parking to a bizarre account of a late-night chicken shop encounter with a man holding a milk carton full of an unknown yellow liquid.

All told with the nervous energy

which made these anecdotes all the more believable.

A sleepy man at the front of the audience became the target of Danny’s aggression, and after a couple minutes of jokes about the damage to his self-confidence and the guy needing a paramedic, Danny left him alone and the audience was in good spirits. There were a couple people who laughed at everything he said, but the audience did generally find the performance very enjoyable and he received wild applause when he finished his hour at the Kayal Restaurant.

Infra Dig’s debut show went down a storm, and rightly so, the loosely-themed approach worked well to tie together the often disparate topics and accounts together. And Danny’s performance as the underdog quickly won the audience over and allowed him to chalk down laugh after laugh and deliver an all-round great show.

Danny Ward’s gig list can be found at www.dannyward.org

8

Running With The Firm

The Ripple talks to former undercover police officer James Bannon about hooligans, violence and Millwall

by Dan Jordan In the late 1980s James Bannon infiltrated notorious football hooligan gangs. Now, he has released Running with the Firm, a full account of the two and a half year operation. The Ripple caught up with him to find out more.

How did you prepare for going undercover?

We had no support. It was very much seat of your pants.

You learned on the job. For me, it became a role and a character that I portrayed. I suppose that’s why, after the operation concluded, I looked to become an actor. All I did was assume the role of Jim from Wandsworth, the painter/decorator who was a football hooligan.

I’ve read a lot of instances of the Bushwackers turning on more moderate Millwall sup-

porters at home games.

Was there ever any discernible unity at matches, especially in international games?

If West Ham play Millwall, the hooligan element will do everything they can to get at the West Ham supporters to have a fight. There’s a rivalry. However, on the Saturday they would each turn up and be standing alongside each other as England supporters playing against Germany or against Poland or against Holland or against whoever. That’s just how it works.

Is there a unity? Yeah, there is.

Why is that? Well, we could talk about that forever.

Were you involved in the Kenilworth Road riot that drew the media spotlight onto football hooliganism in 1985?

No, my operation started in 1987. But the Kenilworth Road riot between Millwall and Luton

was probably the first time that football hooliganism on that level had been played out live on television. It became a political issue as much as a police one. It was then decided it was time to try and eradicate hooliganism by using undercover police officers.

his ground. There’s lots of talk about the violence; lots of posturing. But when it does happen it’s horrendously scary, very, very violent and it happens very quickly.

How did the firm feel about their particularly negative image in the media of the time?

What was the most unsettling thing you witnessed whilst undercover?

At that time, it’s not really something that would’ve affected them. We didn’t have social media, where everyone can say something about everything. It didn’t matter to them how they were perceived by the public.

The worst thing for me was about 4 months into the operation. A Millwall hooligan set about a guy with his wife and two children on a train because he was wearing a Crystal Palace lapel pin. The train was absolutely packed and no-one stepped in to help. We took the decision that we could deal with that situation at a later time but the victim never made a complaint so he was never arrested.

We never knew who he was.

In 1977 an episode of Panorama looked at possible links between the Bushwackers and National Front. Did you ever see any fascist activity in the firm?

I never, ever came across any right wing activity at all. In fact, one of Millwall’s leading hooligans at the time was a black guy, the same as other firms from around the country. It wasn’t down to the colour of your skin. It was about whether you’d stand your ground or not.

Were high levels of aggression always present amongst Bushwackers?

Probably the most violent thing I saw wasn’t hooligans attacking other hooligans. In one instance it was one Millwall hooligan assaulting another Millwall hooligan because he had run away when there was an incident at a train station with an opposing firm. He hadn’t stood

Image by Craig Brough/Action Images

So Millwall’s firms aren’t worse than any others? Is the problem more general than the media tends to depict?

The media are very quick to

Fast Paced Sketch Comedy and the Oppertunity for Smugness The Ripple reviews Croft and Pearce at The Regent Club

by Peter Sayce

seat for the next hour.

For those readers who are old enough to remember a time before Richard III was dug up in the car park, Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival has long occupied a special place in our collective heart.

Initially, I found the show to be, frankly, challenging. The main reason for this was that mild confusion that stemmed from the fast paced nature of the show, with two performers playing multiple roles, often within the same overall sketch and with differences between characters in separate sketches limited to a few accessories and accent changes.

It is something very special for Leicester and a time for people to go and laugh at (or with) some world class comedic talent. Over the previous years, I have seen many top notch comedians perform their signature stand up routines in front of approving audiences who knew exactly what to expect and were not disappointed.

This year, however, I decided to try something different and go and see a sketch show.

Despite the fact that I was raised on a comedy diet of Carry On, Monty Python and the old Radio 2 Comedy Hour, I really didn’t know what to expect from a modern comedy sketch performance; even one so highly rated as this. A quick glance around the audience suggested that I was not entirely alone in my thoughts; but with the show about to start, I settled in to my

However, it must be said that these were all handled well enough that you were always laughing with them at the material, rather than at two women impersonating two, sometimes even three characters, each with their own personality.

However, here’s the thing: after three sketches, it all clicked and I could begin to really enjoy the show for what it was, a hugely entertaining and clever performance. The characters were well crafted and incorporate some of the well-used social stereotypes, like upper-middle class women and office interns.

But the real genius of the show lies with some of the more original characters; brown owl, the

jump on Millwall. They were only as bad as a lot of other football firms around the country.

Hooliganism is still there. There are specific games that will attract a much bigger attendance by people who are willing to have a fight. The figures are out there; there’s been a rise in it. We live in austere times and people lose their tempers much quicker when they’ve got less money in their pockets. It’s not something that’s ever going to leave us and we’re not going to be able to eradicate it. But we’re certainly in a much, much better place than we were in the mid to late 80s.

Since we’re thinking about the present again, can you tell me about the reactions to the book you’ve received so far?

book in WHSmith Travel. And it’s the bestselling regional true crime book of 2013. It only came out in August! The nicest compliment that I’m getting is people are enjoying the writing as much as the subject matter.

It’s the same with the show.

People are going who don’t know the film and don’t know the book. They’re going because they’ve been told it’s a good piece of theatre. It’s given me the opportunity to do things that I never, ever expected to be able to do.

Running with the Firm is now available on Amazon and is currently playing at the Soho Theatre in London.

My expectations have already been far, far surpassed. The book’s [in the] Sunday Times Top 5 and is the bestselling

Featured Poem The Charles Wilson Building or an Epic in LXXXVII Partes Your humble Patrone presents this little Epic in Eighty-Sevene Partes with the expresse hopes that it may in summe smalle waye please your Glorious Majesty.

Yours, &c.

young married couple and the “misunderstood” teacher to name a few. For a sketch show with only two performers and a very few props, the amount of character development was surprising, but probably one of the reasons why the show works so well.

By and large, the first half of the show was spent introducing the characters, with the second half linking the most of them together into one encompassing story that gives you ample opportunity to make the connections and feel rather smug.

Overall, my opinion of the show was that it was incredibly well put together and arguably offered better value for money than a night of stand up comedy; especially if you are a bit fed

up of hearing jokes about being middle aged and depressed.

The sketches are well conceived and executed, while the performances themselves were equally so. If I had to offer one slight criticism, it would be that the show could have done with being a little bit longer, though this isreally just a tribute to the quality performances. This really is a must see show.

Croft and Pearce are performing again on the 23rd of February at Just The Tonic Regent Club.

Lord R------ de F----Canto I Through aire the silvere stones of Destiny Do cleave, and full bejewel that Citadel Where Eagles of lore have made their mosse-forg’d Nests, And in the Ray of Cynthia’s streaming Eye There pulses Pluto’s ghostly Afterglow; No vulgare Word could frame those bounds Nor ashen Brushe with crafted Colours glaze A Virgin canvas to splendid Counterfeit.

Upon its head is drap’d a Crown, below It meets the Earth as did the hallowed Steps Of Solomon’s goldene temple,

that craft of Kings, And as a Pantheon its subjects kneel To the modern Jove, and Mars, and Proserpine Who smile and bless the sunlit Vestibule.

A Soul may flittere through that Portal’s Mouth To find th’interior a Paradise, A second Eden, markless in the Mover’s eyes And [summe sections excised] Converge and, blazing white in the central point, The granite fortress stamps its glist’ning mark On time’s predestinated tome, which glides Between the twilit realms of sterne discorde.

End of Canto LXXXVII

LIFESTYLE

9

Edited by Katie Masters

Fashion Freedom

Hannah Philips on individuality, non-conformity and good old retail therapy There’s nothing much exciting about the new year when you’re a student; Christmas is over before it really begun, you’re thrown into exam and assessment period without having really digested your turkey and the freedom of Easter is simply a mirage. It doesn’t really matter what people say about “getting soooo wasted at the SU last night and dancing to 1D all night, LOL JKS!”, University is hard.

If you haven’t already worked it out by now, you will never have done enough reading, you will never have started that essay early enough and you will never really understand how you got it all done when term finally finishes. But have no fear, in a society where young adults are frazzling themselves with the pressures of uni work, fashion swoops down as our saviour.

dictator issuing rigid commands about the season’s sole colour or single silhouette - you had to dress within the ‘fashion

Designers this season are sending out one clear message to all us fashionistas: freedom! There was time when fashion was once like university work, a stubborn

criteria’ in order to get that 2:1 you deserve. However, for those of us dreaming of freedom, designers have answered our call.

Retail therapy is the new an-

swer to university stress - put the books down, stop crying, go out and buy whatever you want!

There is literally nothing to stop

you from being you this season.

From denim to lace, metallic to monochrome, floral to tribal, the fashion world is yours to play with and I implore you to

follow your heart and buy something you normally wouldn’t because it ‘doesn’t fit in.’ What I am particularly excited about

this season is the way each trend is flexible to each individual; there are no limits as to how you wear a trend but simply a new feeling of relaxed easy glamour

that trades formality for individuality. Here’s my tip for following this when shopping: it’s incredibly easy to simply go out and buy items that are on trend, e.g a pair of grungy creepers or a floaty floral top, but are you really thinking about your own style? I very rarely go shopping with an idea of what I want to buy in my mind andI don’t necessarily shop for trends I’d much prefer to shop within trends to find something suited to my individual style.

So, how do you know your style?

A completely rhetorical and unanswerable question on my part, as only you can know. What was it you liked wearing when you were thirteen/fourteen? I always feel that this is the age when you really start discovering yourself, it’s the dawning of your own personal bildungsroman and the first point in your life when you become aware of how others perceive you. Personally, I have always been a bit of an emo/grunge/scene-kid growing

up and I am confident in saying that these looks make up a big part of my fashion identity. I absolutely adore wearing black, as it’s classy and elegant and can be done right in a gazillion other ways. However, there will be many of you who cannot stand wearing black, who are all for bright colours and intricate patterns because when growing up, those are what you felt most comfortable in. Weird tip: if you really aren’t sure on what style direction you should be headed in, stalk your own Facebook/MySpace pictures.

Find the outfits you remember being in love with, find the outfits that you look really good in and, most importantly, find the you that looks the most content.

It’s time to remember who you are and celebrate the freedom that fashion can give you where university can’t. S/S 2014 is the perfect opportunity for us to stop becoming fashion drones: designers no longer want conformity and, let’s be honest, when exactly did we?

Snowy Outside, Soup Inside Poundland Bargains: Fill Your Make-up Bag for £10!

by Jess Buckley

For all of the avid readers of The Ripple out there: you may remember way back in October we featured a recipe on pumpkin soup. If you managed to get your hands on our Halloween edition and try it out, you will know how surprisingly easy it is to make tasty soups at home.

And since the weather is getting so much colder as we experience an unusually late cold snap, homemade soups are the perfect thing to warm you through.

All of the soups featured follow a fairly similar recipe that involves cooking the ingredients in a tablespoon of vegetable oil for five minutes, adding one and a half pints of vegetable stock and salt and pepper, if needed, and finally, blitzing the broth in a blender (or with a hand blender; much cheaper, just a little messier) to form a luxuriously thick soup. What are you waiting for? Give it a try.

Leek and Potato Soup You will need 1 onion, 8oz of potatoes and 2 leeks in addition to the vegetable stock and oil. Once you have blended the mixture add 200ml of dou-

ble cream to make a creamier, thicker soup. The thickness of this soup is lovely, especially if you’re suffering from a winter cold or feeling the effects of throwing yourself back into uni life!

Again, use 1 onion in addition to 1 head of broccoli, 280g of peas. This is a very small list of ingredients and I found that perhaps an addition of garlic and/or basil would have given the soup a little more flavour.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Get Experimental!

It’s fun making soup, especially the classics, but trying out your own flavours could land you with some pretty good results.

I used 1 onion, 1 sweet potato, 1 regular potato, 1 carrot and 2 cups of sweetcorn. This created a very sweet, very thick soup that would be perfect to eat as we move from the winter months to spring.

In addition to the staple ingredients and methodology you should use 1 onion, 1 potato, 450g of carrots and a handful of coriander. With this recipe, the flavour of carrots was rather overwhelming so if you love carrots – great! If not, I’d recommend only using 300g of carrots and adding an extra, smaller potato to the mix to thicken it up.

Pea and Broccoli Soup

Soup is the perfect comfort food for when you’re feeling ill, stressed out or maybe even a little bit homesick. All these recipes take under an hour to make and all the ingredients (for all four recipes) cost just over £10 from the local grocers in Clarendon Park, Queens Road. That’s 4 soups that feed 4-6 people each and are easily frozen, costing just over a tenner – you’d be mad not to give them a go!

by Lydia Jones It’s likely that if anyone asked where to find top brand makeup products on the high street, the obvious answer would be Boots, Debenhams, House of Fraser or Superdrug. But no more! With no doubt I can say the exact same products that you buy in these stores are ones that you can find at a fraction of the price at Poundland…Yes, I said Poundland: not somewhere you would usually associate with larger brands like Rimmel London, Calvin Klein, Barry M and Collection 2000! In reading articles about how the superstore is storming the high street, I decided to look and see whether you could really find the same range of makeup products that usually cost so much in comparatively well-known stores.

Needless to say, it was unexpectedly easy to find a huge variety of well-known products, and ten of these makeup items altogether easily total no more than a very purse-friendly £10.

In searching the store, the best find without a doubt had to be the Rimmel powdered eye shadow collections that they sell in multiple palettes and colours.

The GlamEyes trio and quad eye shadow palettes are both for sale at Boots, currently at £6.49 and £6.99; at just £2 for the two there is already a saving of £11.48!

The mono eye shadow palette and Traffic Stopping Shadow

sets are likewise costly at £4.49 and £6.49 at Boots, again a huge saving here at only £1 each. Surprisingly, they also stock the Rimmel Stir It Up cream-based shadow currently only available in the US for around $5, a definite gem of a find in a shop you

Image by Wikipedia user Calliopejen1

wouldn’t expect! Also on sale are Miss Sporty duo palettes (£2.59 in Boots) and single Collection 2000 shadows (£2.19 in Superdrug), again something well stocked and part of good quality brands. Although there weren’t any pencil eyeliners or mascaras outside their own store brand,

Poundland stocks the Glitter Liquid Eyeliner from Barry M in a multitude of colours that is usually for sale around £4.50 online. With the new Chubby lipstick range that Clinique sells in Boots for £17.00, Poundland offers a cheaper alternative; the Chit Chat Juicy Lipstick is a good quality product well worth £1 despite it not being from a familiar, well-known brand. In terms of the nail polishes they sell, in honesty there are some that are not too great and from cheaper names, but they do have a small selection of Collection 2000 varnishes that are a reduction from Boots’ standard price at £1.99. Last but not least, and definitely worth the purchase, is the Nivea Pearly Shine and Rose Tinted Lip Care Balms that usually sell in most high street stores around £2.29.

By just switching the shop you purchase these products from, Poundland turns a total cost of £41.29 that you’d spend in Boots into just £10. This isn’t obviously only applicable for makeup alone; Poundland is great for both shopping and gifts on a budget, and overall, the store equals and by far excels popular department and highstreet store products and prices with its cosmetic range.

A Window of Opportunity 10

Sarah Williams talks routine, shaking things up and motivation There is a window in my house halfway down the stairs, dressed in curtains. I pull those curtains shut every day when the sun goes down. Every morning when I leave the house I opened them. They’ve become an old friend, a habit, something I didn’t notice until recently. The curtains do not affect the lighting in any other room, just the stairwell. But still I keep their junction. They open, they close.

But why? There is no need.

Their existence is futile. Why do we do these things, so insignificant and irrelevant? Humans live day to day, many with some kind of a routine. Without no-

ticing, that routine begins to define you. Or at least claim you.

As students, lectures and that nine o’clock nightmare sometimes fill us with dread, or at least procrastination. We question the necessity of attendance if what we’ll get is the ‘same old’.

We wonder whether to start that essay two weeks before deadline when we know we’ve perfected the all-nighter. Many of us do the easy way because we enjoy a certain lifestyle. We go out, we watch Netflix, and we incessantly scroll the internet. What we need is motivation.

You could see my curtains as

a metaphor for life or you may just see them face value for what they are: a chore. A practicality.

Life itself may be a practicality and opening and closing those curtains may be inconsequential. Days may be similar, draining or boring. But if you don’t open the curtain how can you possibly know what’s just sitting out there waiting for you.

I’m not saying your life is going to turn into a movie just because you open your curtains, far from it. What I’m telling you is you have the power to better your life. And only you. You want motivation? Get off your

backside and do something.

Every day is unknown, dripping in potential. It shouldn’t be motivation you crave for concentration and success.

Exploring your curiosity, stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something wonderful will domino effect in to the rest of your life. If you enjoy your everyday life, studying and working become easier.

Smile at someone in the street, do something nice. Hold open a door, make an effort where you normally wouldn’t. The shackles of routine begin to break.

You are the master of your own

freedom. Doing things, having a job, studying – these don’t equal unhappiness and mundaneness. It is opportunity. Flip your switch from cruise control to acceleration and enjoy the results.

I open my curtains not because I really care about them and not because I’m even really thinking

Image by Wikipedia user Alvegaspar

about it; my arm reacting without my brain’s dictation. They are a stepping stone in my day.

To get downstairs and out of my house they must part. What happens after is entirely up to me.

Wardrobe Mistress Fashion Q&A with Laura Sampson Q.) It’s my 21st Birthday, and I want to find a nice dress to wear: nothing too formal or over the top. I’m a size 10 and quite short.

Your 21st birthday is important, I don’t care what anyone else says, and therefore you have to look and feel your best.

This party dress by Misguided will hopefully achieve just that, making you look and feel special on your day. I personally love this dress, it’s demure and elegant and at only £34 it really is a bargain.

bit more special. Equally, the A line cut is exceptionally flattering and I always feel that white makes you stand out in a crowd, so everyone will be able to find the birthday girl. This dress really is gorgeous and at £60 I don’t feel that it’s too extortionately priced. Alternatively, this gorgeous high neck monochrome skater dress by Miss Selfridge is bang on trend and fits your brief perfectly.

The exposed back is very different and exceptionally elegant, making it a brilliant alternative to a dress.

Q.) I have a job interview for an internship in London coming up. The dress code is formal, but I would like to wear something different to the standard suit combination.

I always find that a dress and a nice tailored jacket with some high heels is a good bet for an interview. It’s smart, but it’s not as boring as the suit combination. For something like this I would look at Warehouse. Although quite expensive, they have some great pieces for work attire. This tailored work wear dress, for example, is great.

Miss Selfridge £42

Missguided £34.99

If money isn’t an object then how about this gorgeous Topshop dress?

It isn’t too formal or over the top, but could be dressed up with some nice jewellery and heels, and would look absolutely amazing on a night out, or out to dinner, depending on what your plans were. On my trawl of the high street and internet I did find this gorgeous ASOS playsuit, I know you were after a dress, but this is lovely, and jumpsuits are one of this season’s must haves.

Topshop £60

It’s very elegant and simple yet the small flowered belt adds some bling and makes it that

ASOS £50

mesh dress is gorgeous and at only £12 it seems almost too good to be true. Dress it up with some gold jewellery and a pair of gorgeous heels.

Q.) I tend to lean towards dark colours, as I feel they suit my complexion, however I feel I need to brighten up my wardrobe as spring is upon us.

Warehouse £60

et. Topshop do some gorgeous fitted jackets but I’m sure you could find a cheaper alternative online or on the high-street.

Some plain black heels are also a must; you could probably pick up a pair in New Look or online relatively cheaply. I did find this fabulous website that sells last season Kurt Geiger shoes for a fraction of the price (shoeaholics.com) - most of the time they come in at under £30, and so it’s definitely worth a look.

The spring/summer collections were dominated by feminine pastel colours and therefore there really is no excuse to hide behind a black and navy coloured wardrobe. Miss Selfridge have a gorgeous pastel blue light weight coat, which would be great for the upcoming months.

Wear with pale blue jeans and this gorgeous flowery sweatshirt from Berkshaw: at only £19.99 it really is a bargain and exceptionally practical.

Q.) I have a date: we’re going to dinner and then for drinks but my whole wardrobe seems terrible HELP! Warehouse £50

At £50 it’s quite expensive but they do offer student discount!

The style of the dress is gorgeous, not to mention extremely flattering, with the contrasting contoured panels creating the illusion of a more slender frame.

Alternatively if you’re looking for a bit more colour, this floral Warehouse dress is bang on trend and absolutely ideal, hopefully helping you to stand out from the crowd. It screams confidence, which is surely a good thing in an interview.

Both dresses would look great with a tailored coat, or jack-

geous red tartan smock dress for £40 - however you can get a 20% student discount through the UNIDAYS site.

Firstly I’m sure your whole wardrobe isn’t terrible, but if you really are stumped then there are some great dresses out there for under £20. This H&M

When shopping try and push yourself out of your comfort zone, and find items in which you feel happy. Ultimately you don’t have to ditch dark colours completely, just add a few pieces from this season’s key trends and you’ll be well on your way to brightening up your wardrobe.

Societies?

Sports Groups?

Events?

Berkshaw £19.99

The light grey isn’t too far from what you’re used to, but the feminine floral print adds colour and makes it a gorgeous on trend piece.

H&M £12

Motel £40

Equally, tartan is a big trend this spring/ summer and there are some great red tartan dresses online. Both Boohoo and Missguided have plenty from which you can choose. Or, if you’re feeling a little more flush for cash try Motel which has a gor-

Buy this space from £5 Email ripple@ le.ac.uk

SPORT

11

Edited by Samantha Blundell

Club Captain Chat Max Thompson - LUSSC Captain

Squash Success

beginners course for just £16 you get a set of four lessons at the dry slope in Stoke. These are a great way to get up to standard to roam the mountains. For those more experienced we offer freestyle and race training on a weekly basis.

What’s the best thing about part of LUSSC? The people!! With a society full of like-minded snow addicts you’re sure to make some great mates along the way. I have made some really close friends through LUSSC that I hope to keep in contact with for along to come. A close second has got to be the trips abroad. As soon as you get on the coach to leave, everyone is loving life, and with a night out every night you sure are feeling it on the way back home.

With everyone in watching the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia at the moment, The Ripple thought it would be interesting to have a chat with the Leicester University Ski and Snowboard Club (LUSSC) captain, Max Thompson.

tee with me and we work really well as a team. So when it comes to my involvement as captain, it’s mainly to keep an eye on everything and make sure it’s all running smoothly, from weekly sessions to massive trips to the Alps.

How long have you been skiing for?

How has the season been?

I’ve been on a set of skis according to my dad since I was 3.

When coming to the University I was sure it was something I wanted to join. Up until my time at university I’d spent a season in Canada and instructed in Switzerland but I’d never had the option of doing something a little bit different and racing is something I’m really glad I took up.

What does Club Captain of LUSSC involve?

I’ve got an awesome commit-

One word…. insane. The Christmas trip to Alpe d’Huez was something I’ll never forget.

Everyone that came really got in the mindset of having a good time and although there was a slight lack of snow, there was plenty to ride and if anything it made the nights out even better. Results this year have been strong with riders qualifying for finals at British University Dryslope Championships (BUDS),our national competition, in November.

What sort of competitions do you have? And how often?

So there are two main opportunities to compete at a BUCS affiliated event. Firstly there is the British University Dryslope Championships. It’s a pretty heavy weekend away in Edinburgh in November involving competitions in both skiing and snowboarding doing slalom racing and freestyle. The second is the British University Indoor Snow Championships held inside the snow dome in Milton Keynes in March. For those wanting something a little less serious there is a five round competition called Kings, it’s a great introduction into slalom racing against other universities.

What sort of members do you have? Beginners etc.?

We can cater for anyone, whether you’ve never put on a board or skis, to if you’re the next Bode Miller/Jenny Jones. New to the club this year is the intensive

What are you looking forward to about the next ski trip?

Sitting back in sunny Andorra with everyone and having a cool beer after a hard days skiing.

With our trip to Andorra this Easter we’re venturing slightly into the unknown but with dirt cheap food and drink I’m sure it’s going to be another awesome week away with LUSSC. Where’s the best place to go skiing (in your opinion)?

I would have to say Val Thorens, with its endless runs in les 3 Vallees and awesome snow you’re gonna struggle much better. The nightlife is world famous with Republic sized clubs at your doorstep and there’s nothing better to cure a hangover than getting out on the slopes and skiing some powder.

Up and Coming Sports at UoL: Judo of our club, Daniel Mouncer, Emma Longford, Louis Jones, Naomi Scarsbrook will be competing.

Continued from back page...

If you are interested in learning Judo, be it for self-defence, in

After another short wait Louis Manders competed in the under 73kg advanced category and walked away with a bronze medal, winning one of his fights with a lovely ippon throw (ippon refers to a whole point score and is one of the ways to win a match in judo).

he managed to walk away with a bronze medal for the Leicester club as well.

The last competition of the day was the under 73kg novices category in which Jacob Lisle fought. Winning one of his fights with a standing arm lock

These two competitions were a great warm up for the upcoming BUCS tournament taking place in Sheffield on 22nd February in which a few members

order to compete or for fitness purposes, we train on Wednesdays 3.00pm-4.00pm in the martial arts room in the Danielle Brown sports centre (the sports centre and gym on the main University campus). It’s absolutely free to train with us this year, no sign up or tuition fee necessary. No prior experience is needed and it’s very easy to pick things up quickly.

You’ll also have the opportunity to train at the Vale Judo club in Oakham if you wish as this is where our coaches, Mike Newton and Joe Powers, do the majority of their teaching.

by Samantha Blundell On the weekend of the 8th9th February the University of Leicester Squash Team travelled to London for the annual Roehampton Club University Squash Cup. This is the third consecutive year that Leicester has taken part in this tournament and the team was eager to continue their success with past results being 9th place in 2012, 8th place in 2013 (the tournament consists of 16 university teams from across the UK). The team this year was made up of Chris Beever, Alex Cumming, Jason Pyne, Daniel Watts and myself.

Each university is put into a group of four where they play one another before progressing into the next round. Our first match was against Bristol 1s, a strong side from last year’s tournament, who we narrowly lost to 2-3. Our next match was against Kingston and we were keen to show that our first result wouldn’t put a dampener on our spirits. We managed a clean sweep with a 5-0 victory (this means all players won their prospective matches).

The last match of the day at 5pm was against Surrey. We had beaten them in the tournament last year but we were also aware that the team Surrey had brought with them this year was very different from the previous year.

We needed to win this match by at least 3-2 to progress to the

quarter finals of the tournament (and have a chance of beating last year’s result). Every player put their absolute maximum amount effort into every point, with a couple of 15/13 games, but unfortunately the new Surrey team were a little too strong for us and we narrowly lost 2-3.

This was disappointing for us as this positioned us in the bottom half of the draw; the best we could now come was 9th. (We later found out that Bristol 1s came 2nd overall and Surrey 5th, so it seems like we did pretty well really!)

After a long nights rest, we returned ready to show that we were not going home unless we came 9th. Our first match on the second day was against Roehampton university who we quickly defeated 5-0. This left us playing off against Bristol 2s for 9th place. Although we only narrowly lost to their 1s we had suspicions that they may have mixed up their teams a bit, perhaps attempting to make two evenly strong teams. Let’s just say that we weren’t expecting an easy match. However, we managed to beat them 5-0 also, although the matches were a lot closer than the score suggests.

Our final result then was 9th place out of 16. Although this was not exactly what we had hoped for it is still a good position and gives the team an achievable target to beat next year!

For all the latest match reports, fixtures and results, and for more expert analysis from our seasoned Sports team, visit www.the-ripple.co.uk/sports

Up and Coming Tradition Broken as Sports at UoL: Varsity Football is Moved from King Power Judo

by Jacob Liste Leicester University’s Judo club has only just started, but even so that hasn’t stopped our players from throwing themselves into competitions.

The club began its tournament season on the 25th January by attending the University of Warwick Invitational Tournament. 4 University of Leicester judokas (judo players) attended the event, with mixed results.

The day began with the individual novices competitions in which Leicester’s Jacob Lisle competed and subsequently had his gi (judo suit) handed to him.

by Carl Robinson It has recently been confirmed that Varsity Football this year will break tradition after Leicester City refused to host the event at the King Power Stadium. In recent years the annual Varsity match between Leicester University and De Montfort University has been held at the impressive King Power stadium, but due to the success of Leicester City in the Championship league tables it has been decided that this annual event cannot be played at its usual location.

The Championship team is currently sitting fairly comfortably at the top of the table, 11 points ahead of second placed Burnley, putting them in prime position in their pursuit for promotion into the Premiership this season. Despite this the club feels that the Varsity event would

cause too much damage to the pitch and therefore affect their push for promotion.

The new location for the event has been up for debate, with the pitches at Hinckley and Manor Road being thrown into the proverbial hat. However, the front-runner appears to be the pitch used by Oadby Town Football Club, a mere peasant in relation to the size of the King Power stadium, but nevertheless has the potential to field such an event. In an attempt to make the game a success it is assumed that the usual consumption of food and drink will be available and that the university will provide free transport in an attempt to encourage students to attend. This news is due to be confirmed in the coming days, with the date for the game expected to be the 17th of March.

The decision to change the event has caused much outrage from university students and players alike, especially those who have experienced the quality of play and atmosphere that the King Power Stadium can produce.

Many 3rd year students will remember the last two quality games played between these two university rivals, with a heartbreaking 2-1 loss for Leicester in 2012 avenged last year with victory. Students will be hoping that a change of location won’t affect this quality or affect the whole occasion. For much of the University of Leicester football team the disappointment is enhanced as it will be their last year to bring home the varsity trophy. The players affected include Tom Cole, John Woodcock, Harry Balfour, Dan Akanni, Alex Wood, Rob Kane, Rob Igbodo and the captain Jack Lines, all of whom have

worked their way up, dreaming of the chance to lift the trophy inside the famous King Power stadium.

Despite this news the match will certainly be keenly contested and with the new arena being smaller and with more standing, it may create a better atmosphere for the players to produce a cracking game for the spectators. However, this move raises the question as to whether this will become a permanent fixture. Many will contest that if this change came about due to Leicester’s potential promotion to the Premier League, will the decision remain the same as they attempt to stay there?

These questions for now remain unanswered, but the great tradition of Varsity football at the King Power stadium has certainly been broken at least for this year.

Once the novices competitions were over, the intermediate and advanced team competitions began. Not having enough players to form a full team for either category, the Leicester lads teamed up with players from other universities. Louis Manders joined one of Warwick’s teams to bring their numbers up to 5 and Jake Davis and Dan Mouncer formed a team of 4 with a player from UCL and another from the University of Hertfordshire club.

Team judo takes the form of 5 individual fights at each weight category – under 66kg, under 73kg, under 81kg, under 90kg and under 100kg (men’s weights) – with the team with the most victories at the end of the five fights emerging victorious.

Louis Manders had a close first fight as the under 73kg player for his team but was unfortunately defeated. Due to some disorganisation with the event scheduling his team were not given another fight in their advanced grades pool and were knocked out of the competition.

Despite being a man down the combined Herts, UCL, Leicester team managed to make their way through to the final round with only one or two individual losses in the lead up. We saw some good pins and strangles from Jake Davis and some good throwing work from Dan Mouncer. In the end our team was defeated at the final hurdle but we walked away with 2 silver medals under our belt.

Eager for more, the club took part in the Southfields Judo Club Invitational Championship on 8th February. A slightly larger, this competition had primary and junior categories as well as the seniors which our club took part in. After watching young whipper-snappers fight for about 7 hours the club finally got to step onto the mat and fight.

All of the competitions were individual rather than team in this competition and James Freed started things off for the Leicester club competing in the under 90kg category. After a few good fights James walked away with a silver medal.

Continued page 11...

ALSO IN SPORT THIS WEEK...

Judo continued...

Club Captain Chat with LUSSC

Squash Success