The Student 20/09/2011

Tuesday September 20 2011 | Week 1

ALTERNATIVE EDINBURGH F e at u r e s

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Music» p18

C U L TURE

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S i n c e 1887 T h e U K ' s O ld e st S T u d en t N ews pa p er

S cott ish S t udent Ne wspaper of the Year 2010

36 hour-long occupation leaves university red-faced

Wee Red Bar changes hands

Further protests planned across Scotland in guerilla protest campaign

Popular music venue in grounds of ECA to be run by the university

Sam Bradley

Sam Bradley

PROTESTORS OPPOSED to the University of Edinburgh’s recent decision to raise tuition fees for incoming students from the rest of the UK (RUK) occupied the George Square Lecture Theatre for 36 hours over the weekend.

At approximately 12:45pm on Friday, around 40 protestors from the Edinburgh University Anti-Cuts Coalition took control of the building, which is situated next to the central university library. Despite attempts – at times held literally through closed doors – by university security staff to persuade the protestors to leave the premises, students proceeded to hang banners and chant slogans from the upper storeys.

The security staff responded by preventing any more protestors from entering the building and switching off the heating system inside. Food was later supplied by supporters of the occupation, who winched carrier bags up to the students in the balcony overlooking George Square.

After several hours in the building the group released a set of demands to the university, which included that the increased tuition fees be dropped, free access and heating be provided to the protestors in the building, and a promise from the university of extensive student consultation prior to any future changes to the funding system.

At the time of writing, the University of Edinburgh has only released a single statement to the press, saying, “The university attaches great importance to freedom of speech as long as points of view are put across in a safe and lawful way.”

EMILY JARRETT

INSIDE: Activists gear up for an autumn of discontent.

INSIDE THE OCCUPATION P5

The forty-strong group included about ten activists who are members of other universities and had travelled from across Scotland to take part.

Some of those who were not members of Edinburgh University had participated in the six-month occupation of the Hetherington Research Facility in Glasgow earlier this year.

The Edinburgh University Student’s Association (EUSA) released a joint statement with the National Union of Students (NUS). “It’s absolutely no surprise that Edinburgh University students are incredibly angry about their university’s decision cash in on English, Welsh and Northern Irish students. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those opposing £36,000 fees for students from the rest of the UK. Edinburgh University should listen to their students, think again and respond

by reducing their fee level and increasing bursary support” said Robin Parker, President of NUS Scotland.

Matt McPherson, president of EUSA, told the press “With Edinburgh University making their degrees the most expensive in the UK it comes as no surprise that students are making their feelings clear by claiming back their university. £36,000 degrees will deter talented students from the rest of the UK coming to study at Edinburgh.

The University started this race to the top in Scotland and now it’s facing the consequences of its actions.

“While this non-violent protest was organised without the students’ association, the students’ association’s role in the days to come will be critical.

We’ll be speaking on a regular basis directly with the occupying students and with officials of the University of

Edinburgh. Edinburgh University needs to listen to its students, rethink its degree costs by reducing the fees and increasing its bursary package.

This will ensure talented students from all backgrounds can afford to study at Edinburgh University.”

EUSA’s Vice President Academic Affairs Mike Williamson said that he supported the action, telling The Student, “There may be one or two things I don’t quite go along with but I support it in principle.”

Naomi Beecroft, a second year Linguistics student told The Student, “We’re here as part of a symbolic protest, to show that student apathy no longer exists, that we’re activists, we’re here and we’re not going to go away and the problem’s not going to go away.”

IT IS one of the more popular venues in Edinburgh for listening to student bands and is used frequently by local record companies – and now fans of the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) Wee Red Bar have been assured the recent merger with the Edinburgh University will not impact on the venue.

Edinburgh University Student Association's vice president of services, Phillipa Faulkner, told The Student that the bar, recently taken over by the university’s accommodation service, would be maintained in it’s current form.

The assurances come despite fears among ECA students that any takeover

by EUSA or Edinburgh University would leave the Wee Red Bar radically altered.

Prior to the merger between the Edinburgh College of Art and Edinburgh University, the Wee Red Bar was run by students and was renowned for its distinctive style. Housed in the grounds of ECA itself, it often plays host to bands and student-run events.

Faulkner told The Student, “We’d like all ECA students to know that EUSA welcomes new members, and wants to provide great services. We’re in a period where everything is new and people might not be sure how things will pan out but we’re working with the ECA president to make sure that things go smoothly.

“I have been informed that Accommodation Services plan on maintaining the bar and that they will be consulting with students in order to preserve its vibe and its feel.”

Continued on page 6»

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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2 News

NEWS >>p2-6

UNI STAFF PENSION STRIKE p4 University and College Members Union promise strike WILDCAT OCCUPATIONS p5 Anti-cuts group occupies George Square and promise more protests STUDENT MEDIA FUNDING CHANGE p6 EUSA discuss press funding "pot"

comment >>p8-9

READ ALL ABOUT IT p8 Owen Miller ponders the fate of News Corp DECAYING MONUMENT p9 Lisa Lange argues for the preservation of the Atlantic sea wall

FEATURES >>p11-13 AN ALTERNATIVE EDINBURGH? p12 Luke Healey reveals Edinburgh's lesser known gems EU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME p13 Eloise Kohler examines the thorny issue of EU fees

Reviews >>p18-25 OPEN DOOR POLICY p18 Zoe Blah is looking forward to Doors Open Day MADE BY MAID p21 Jenni Adjerian reviews Laura Marling's new album SOUND ON, SOUND OFF, ENTER THE CIRCUS p23 Tess Malone is impressed by Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

sport>>p27-28 HIGH HOPES p28 Uni sports teams reveal their goals for this year

Katie Cunningham Rising university prices have not stopped the sense of fun associated with the student lifestyle, according to a survey of 4000 people conducted by YouGov and Cambridge University, The survey’s findings were analysed by the Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning, which is run by the publishing firm Pearson.

While the words “expensive”, “fees” and “cost” were frequently used by applicants and students in describing higher education, “fun” was the most common phrase associated with choosing to go to university, with ����������� “���������� alcohol���” � also a prominant choice in what people associate with university life.

This was by more than half of applicants, 57 per cent, beating the closer competitors of “career” (5.1 per cent) and “ambition” (4.4 per cent) by a wide margin.

People older than 55 were the most likely to recommend studying at university, with 50 per cent of them saying they would do compared to 42 per cent of 18-34 year olds.

Geographically, Scots were three per cent more likely to encourage university application than those in London. This could be attributed to the fact that home students in Scotland do not pay fees.

There was also a sizeable gap of five per cent between working class applicants, at 42 per cent, and the number of middle and upper classes applicants.

While favourable words appeared

emily jarrett

The Student Newspaper | 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ Email: editors@studentnewspaper.org

YouGov survey: Uni is fun, pricey and boozy

ON THE MONEY: Alcohol, fun and cost were all linked to uni life. frequently, there were also words carrying more negative connotations.

This included 64 mentions of “elitist”, 77 of “waste”, 18 of “lazy”, 15 of “pointless” and 14 of “unnecessary”.

Alcohol was very popular, with six independent references, and 24 in combination with other words.

National Union of Students president Liam Burns said, “There are of course many factors that will influence a potential student’s perception of higher education but I would hardly be surprised if the government’s chaotic policy of trebling tuition fees isn’t a significant one.”

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

News 33

Hungover and regretting giving out your number? Simple: delete it New software for sale provides "security numbers" for £3 a year Calum Leslie For many students, the dread of waking up after a night out with three or four texts messages from an unknown number is the abiding memory of a Freshers’ Week – yet that experience may soon be a thing of the past thanks to new software launched this month.

For only £3 for the full year, ‘Lose My Number’ offers people the chance to connect and disconnect an unlimited supply of mobile phone numbers with the click of a button, all the while keeping people’s personal number private.

The software could not only be useful for the average night out, but also prevent a person’s real number being

given out online, to taxi companies and to insurance firms – potentially putting a stop to endless sales calls or false interest on selling websites.

“We see it as a security number to give you peace of mind,” said Gill Kamel, chief executive of Lose My Number Ltd. “For students, even taxi firms ask you for your number for call back.

You don’t realise how many times you give your personal number out when you’re living away from home and it can get a little bit scary.”

Kamel used her company’s telecommunications background to oversee the development of the software after an experience one of her own staff members had trying to sell old clothes on eBay. She told The Student: “The idea came from one of the young girls who works with us. She came into work one morning after trying to sell some clothes on Ebay, and a guy had phoned her from Liverpool University saying he was looking to buy some of the clothes she had for sale.

Future accomodation issues will be “avoided” University will pay “very close attention” to numbers next year Gillian MacPherson Senior staff will be closely monitoring student intake next year to avoid a repeat of this year’s accommodation difficulties, the university has said.

A spokesperson told The Student: “Senior staff are alert to this issue.

They will be paying very close attention to student numbers and working with colleagues across the university in order to avoid a similar scenario presenting itself next year”.

Last week The Student reported that due to an accommodation shortage, almost 100 first year students were told that the university could only offer them accommodation at Queen Margaret University, a 40-minute bus ride from the main campus area.

According to the university, the lack of accommodation arose after a “larger number of students than expected accepted offers from the University”.

EUSA President Matt McPherson said: “Student experience and welfare can be damaged by where a student is staying. Even if the university can get these students into the classroom, if they cannot guarantee beds for them, they should think twice about taking them on.”

One first year student, Chelsea Cummings, told The Student , “I got an e-mail saying there was no accommodation left and I was disappointed at first. My major worry was that I might have to share a bunk bed with some-

body in Pollock Halls - that would be a nightmare for me as I’ve never had to share a room and I really enjoy having my personal space.

“I guess I was then relieved when I found out I could share a self-catered flat as I originally intended. I was however a bit miffed about the distancegetting the bus everyday isn’t very appealing. ” She added, “I think Edinburgh did make it better by telling us we could have free bus passes and we have ensuite rooms too. You just have to look at the positives I guess. We might explore more of Scotland now rather than just sticking to the city centre and we’ll get to mingle with people from QM university too.

“

Senior staff are alert to this issue. They will be . . . working with colleagues across the university in order to avoid a similar scenario presenting itself next year.”

University spokesperson “The girls who are going to stay in QM halls seem really nice too. I do think though that Edinburgh university should buy some more accommodation in the city centre as this problem seems to happen each year.

Several UK institutions have run out of rooms this year, leaving new students with an unforeseen headache over accommodation.

“He said he had foreign students coming over looking for clothes, and was asking what size they were. She gave him the sizes and he later phoned back and asked if she had shoes. He then got into a conversation of where she lives because he said he was going to collect the clothes.

“A little bit later he phoned back and asked if she had any underwear in the bag of clothes, which she thought was a bit odd. She said ‘no, I haven’t’ and put the phone down on him.

“He then started sending some inappropriate photos of himself to her mobile, and that’s when she realised not everybody on the internet is friendly and just wants to buy and sell whatever you’ve got. He scared her, she came into work very upset and she went to the police, who pretty much said, ‘well – you’re going to have to lose your number basically and get a new one.’”

“I remember saying to her that I’d be really annoyed if I had to do that because mine is a business line and

why should I give my number up because some creep wants to send me pictures of himself, and I got a little bit annoyed at it all.”

“

We see it as a security number to give you peace of mind. You don't realise how many times you give your personal number out.”

Lose My Number CEO Gill Kamel That urged Kamel to look online for anonymous mobile phone numbers for her employee to use – and quickly she realised that it was a problem that was not uncommon amongst online users.

“When we looked for numbers online for a 070 mobile number it was difficult to find. And then I thought

‘what do people do who date online?’ because you’re so exposed on those dating websites.

“We started doing a little bit of research. We found that a lot of people have problems giving out their personal number. Not just with men, but women can be as big pests as anyone when they get your number.

“We’re already doing a communications business, so we developed ‘Lose My Number’ into a business that stands on its own. We already have Go Compare using us, we have people in safe houses under police protection use the software, and we have solicitors doing cases who don’t want to give criminals their number. So it is ideal for so many different uses.

“For student, on nights out if you give your number out one night to someone who you really shouldn’t have done, you’ve got the ability to disconnect it.�” The ��������������������������� ‘������������������������� Lose My Number����������� ’���������� software can be downloaded online from www.losemynumber.co.uk

Uni donor to launch news channel promoting freedom of speech Calum Leslie PRINCE ALWALEED Bin Talal, the multi-billionaire University of Edinburgh donor who claimed in March that anti-monarchy protests in Saudi Arabi were a sign of “love for King Abdullah,” is to launch a new Arabic international TV news channel promoting freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

As The Student reported in the spring, Prince Alwaleed made the comments following the ‘Day of Rage’ protests in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

The new channel is to be named Alarab and will be launched in early 2012. It is intended to promote freedom of speech, freedom of the press and will be targeted at Arab-speaking people across the Arab world and beyond.

The channel has also reportedly struck a deal with Bloomberg, which will see the latter produce up to five hours of economic and financial news programming for the new channel throughout the day.

Prince Alwaleed said, “The Arab world is interested in the fields of business, employment, economic development, and is focused on prosperity and growth.

“Our alliance with Bloomberg and its credible source of financial and economic data, together with its extensive media experience, will provide the Alarab news channel with a strong and comprehensive economic platform to accurately cover Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Arab world.”

Prince Alwaleed, who is the second largest shareholder in News International behind Rupert Murdoch, was last year awarded an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh.

He has donated around £8 million to the university, funding the creation of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Cen-

MAIN MAN: Prince Alwaleed hit the headlines in March this year tre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World in George Square.

At the time of the Saudi protests he claimed that, “They were saying we will not tolerate and accept any demonstra-

tions here,” and referred to the disruption as a “tempest in a teacup.”

His comments came despite observers reporting a heavy police presence in a country where protesting is illegal.

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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Strike action threatens to disrupt

Members of the University and College Union have voted to strike in protest at pension reform Calum Leslie

LECTURES AND tutorials are once again under threat of cancellation due to strike action this semester at Edinburgh, after University and College Union (UCU) members voted overwhelmingly for a nationwide “sustained campaign of industrial action” in protest at pension reform.

University staff enrolled as UCU members went on strike before the summer on two separate dates, re-

sulting in a series of cancellations of lectures, tutorials and seminars for students across campus.

Threats include working to rule, setting exams and refusing to mark them as well as the potentiality of a full assessment boycott from UCU members.

Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) vice president for academic affairs Mike Williamson told The Student he was hopeful deci-

“

This industrial action is likely to cause some disruption to students, but it is important to remember that it is in the longterm interests of students to support staff in their dispute with university management" EUSA VPAA Mike Williamson

sions would be made with minimum disruption to students’ learning in mind, and urged students to back their lecturers.

He said, “If students support their lecturers in the early stages of this industrial action, it is less likely that they will be forced to stop marking exams later on; that’s the last resort.

However, in any working-to-rule and working-to-contract action, we would expect the university to ensure that teaching is prioritised over research so that disruption to students is minimised.”

Nearly four-fifths of UCU members who voted signalled they were in favour of more industrial action, after pension reform proposals that the UCU claims will leave new staff up to £120, 000 worse off, and negatively impact upon entitlements for staff over 55 who face redundancy.

Williamson added, “This industrial action is likely to cause some disruption to students, but it is important to remember that it is in the long-term interests of students as a demographic to support staff in their dispute with university management. The UCU and other education trades unions are fighting for the health of a profession of which students are the primary

beneficiaries - we have a big stake in this dispute too.”

Other universities in Scotland likely to be affected include Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Heriot Watt, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde.

“

The nature of any industrial dispute means disruption and there will be widespread and sustained disruption unless USS is prepared to return to the negotiating table" UCU general secretary Sally Hunt

Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the UCU, claimed a “taxpayer funded campaign of disinformation” would not stop members from taking action over the proposed enforced changes, and urged the University Superannuation Scheme (USS) to return to negotiations.

She said, “These changes have been

imposed without the agreement of staff, and our vote shows members are determined to defend their pension rights. Despite a taxpayer-funded campaign of misinformation, staff know that the imposition of these detrimental changes are wholly unnecessary.

Hunt insisted the UCU remained committed to attempting to limit the impact on the student population.

She added, “Industrial action is always a last resort for educators and we will work closely with students to minimise problems where possible.

However, the nature of any industrial dispute means disruption and there will be widespread and sustained disruption unless USS is prepared to return to the negotiating table.

“Today I once again repeat my plea to USS to turn away from a policy of imposition without agreement. Without real and meaningful negotiations our universities, and those who work and study in them, will suffer, which is in no one’s interests.”

The move will leave 67 universities in total across the UK at risk of disruption. Strike action is likely to commence next month.

Plans to increase student support Alasdair Drennan SCOTLAND’S poorest students could soon be given up to £7000 a year in support, under new proposals put forward by the Scottish Government.

The announcement is the latest in a series of reforms aimed at improving student support for over 16s.

Other reforms include encouraging universities to work closer with one another, with the merger of some universities and colleges proposed.

It is also hoped that the transition from school to further or higher education will be made easier by making clearer the choices and options available to school leavers.

By introducing the £7000 minimum income, the SNP are delivering on a promise made in the run up to the Scottish Parliament elections earlier this year.

It has not been made clear how the £7000 minimum income will be delivered, though the funding is expected to be provided through either bursaries or loans. Any reforms will be means-tested, and will target students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Mike Russell, Education Secretary

told The Student: “It is time to make sure that students have the right support during their studies, which is why we will be looking at a range of options including delivering a minimum income of £7000 as promised in our manifesto - starting with those from the lowest incomes.”

The Scottish Conservatives were, however, critical of the plans stating that they were not clear enough.

Liz Smith, the party’s education spokesperson told The Student: ““Will he guarantee this £7,000 per year for 5 per cent of students, 25 per cent of students, 75 per cent of students? We do not know.

“Given that the SNP refuses to accept the true nature of the funding gap in higher education, we can’t believe this policy is anywhere near as generous as Mike Russell and the SNP would have us believe, unless they can produce all the facts to back up their claim.”

The Scottish Labour Party welcomed the announcement but were concerned that certain details remained unclear.

Shadow Education spokesperson Claire Baker said: “What’s clear is that students are fed up with empty promises.

“It’s vital that the SNP Government offers firm proposals so that students in Scotland are no longer forced to drop out of full time education” The announcement was welcomed

by NUS Scotland who have campaigned for the introduction of a minimum income of £7000 since 2008.

In that year, an NUS report entitled Scotland’s Lost Opportunities stated that £7000 was the minimum required to prevent students from being forced to drop out of university as a result of financial hardship.

The report suggested that over a third of students had considered giving up their university education because they were struggling with their finances.

In the run up to the election, NUS Scotland’s “Reclaim Your Voice” campaign sough promises from politicians to provide improved student support and to ensure that tuition fees for Scottish students remained funded by the government.

Robin Parker, the President of NUS Scotland said: “Students across Scotland will be delighted that the Scottish Government has placed such a clear priority on improving student support and making access to education fairer.”

POCKET MONEY?: Support could be set to increase

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

News 5

Sam Bradley

FRESH FROM occupying George Square Lecture Theatre over the weekend, the Edinburgh University Anti-Cuts coalition says it is planning on launching a new wave of protests aimed at reversing the recent decisions by several of Scotland’s universities to raise their tuition fees.

A statement released on the group’s website said: “Students from across Scotland occupying an Edinburgh University lecture theatre this weekend promise to disrupt management at Scottish universities with an ongoing campaign of targeted 36 hour occupations.”

Around 40 protestors occupied the lecture theatre from Friday afternoon until late on Saturday night, before security staff arrived to try and prevent more students from entering. By the end of the occupation the number of protestors had reportedly risen to around 100 students.

The action is in response to the announcement by Aberdeen, St Andrews, Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt universities that they will be raising tuition fees for Rest of UK students (RUK), with a similar decision expected to follow from Glasgow University.

“

We can cause massive disruption for management."

Mike Shaw, 2nd year Mathematical Physics student

Mike Shaw, who is a second year student in mathematical physics, told The Student: “We’re planning a season of wildcat demonstrations, all across Scotland. Each one will be 36 hours long, so we can cause massive disruption for management but not students.

“The students who took part in the George Square occupation that were from other universities are going to go back and start holding similar occupations on their campuses.”

Both EUSA and the NUS supported the occupation in George Square.

EUSA President Matt McPherson told The Student: “It’s no surprise that students all over Scotland want to occupy and take action. Whilst people may feel that the decisions have already

Analysis

Students across Scotland plan demonstrations

been made by politicians, that is absolutely not the case, and we will be in the exact same place next year.

“The position of the government is totally unsustainable, and it’s time that the government started listening to students and institutions. We need to put in place an education system that is fair and funded and accessable to all.”

The National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, a student activist group, published a letter printed in The Guardian saying: “As student campaigners, we fully support the trade union movement’s campaign against austerity, including the biggest wave of strike action since.

“The government’s plans for universities represent a threat to the very purpose of education, with the poor being priced out of a marketised system of private providers, while school and FE students are being robbed of basic support. We will not allow this government to abolish the welfare state and destroy our futures.”

The letter was signed by Mike Williamson, Vice President of Academic Affairs for EUSA, and James McCash, a member of the NCAFC and a participant in this weekend’s occupation.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: Protestors winch up food

News Editor and resident sleuth, Sam Bradley, found himself in the midst of the protest last Friday...

Within twenty minutes of reading a tweet about George Square Lecture Theatre being occupied, I’m being ushered into the building by protestors. People are rushing about and someone to my left is shouting something into a megaphone. Matt McPherson is talking to a protestor through a door held ajar, denied access by the protestors because the activists don’t trust his status as a part-time police officer.

I’m given a quick tour of where the protestors have set up camp – the main lecture theatre is their base of operations, and there are sleeping bags piled up on the stage whilst students using the PC station compose a press release on the projector screen. In the room behind the stage, they are using brown tape and string to hang a large banner outside. The words "Occupied" and "No to 9K" are written with masking tape on the windows.

Outside the lecture theatre, the security staff have arrived and are telling the activists to keep the door open – senior staff watch moodily a few metres away but leave soon after. I learn pretty quickly that someone discovered the Head of Security’s mobile number and released it onto Twitter; he’s turned it off now because so many students have called him asking him to turn the central heating back on.

I get a free cup of tea from the Japanese Dance Society’s stall outside – they were expecting to meet all the international postgraduate students who had an induction meeting scheduled at this site – and apart from the regular dagger-looks the activists are thrown by the site staff, the mood is amicable.

It’s another three hours before the protestors get around to releasing their demands and in that time the media circus has been and gone. STV took some footage of the banners and BBC Scotland had a live-link up with McPherson, prompting him to jump over to where the writers from The Journal and I are standing to whisper “I’m live on the radio!”

The demands themselves are delivered, again through a door held open by a security man’s boot.

The camaraderie between the besiegers and the besieged has been restored since three protestors evaded the blockade to join their friends. I manage to get back inside the building to talk to some more activists and interrupt a meeting on the food situation. So far, the group had only come with supplies of Maryland Cookies and Frij milkshake and so the news that the Mosque Kitchen will winch up curry and naan is greeted with smiles and the unforgettable query, “but will there be a vegan option?”

EMILY JARRETT

Anti-cuts coalition promise to stage more occupations

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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6 News Continued from page one

Have your say

"What do you think of Edinburgh University Accommodation Services taking over the management of the Wee Red Bar?" HEATHER BUCHANAN 5TH YEAR, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

I think it is probably a good thing. It needs redecorating and a lot of people don't use it because it is dingy. Hopefully this will mean it will get more funding, put more things on and advertise events better.

JOHN HUDSON 4TH YEAR, ILLUSTRATION

Its a shame that Edinburgh University has taken it over.

I don't really go to The Wee Red Bar, but students are worried that The Wee Red Bar and ECA as a whole will lose its identity because of the merger.

ISLAY ROBERTS FILM AND TV DEPARTMENT STAFF

I know band members that have used The Wee Red Bar for years and it's a valuable place to showcase their music.

If the University starts charging bands to perform that would be really bad. I hope they keep it the way it is. If they do it up, it will lose its charm.

Student media organisations set for funding shake-up Alisdair Drennan Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) is currently discussing plans with student media organisations that will radically overhaul the means by which those groups are funded.

Traditionally, media societies had been involved in a commercial agreement whereupon EUSA bought a set amount of advertising, but The Student understands that EUSA will instead offer a central pot of funding which will be open to applications from any of the university’s student run media organisations.

It is hoped that in doing so, smaller publications will benefit from EUSA funding.

The students of Edinburgh University publish a variety of different papers and magazines and also operate a radio station.

Emma Meehan, EUSA Vice President for Societies and Activities told The Student: “We will be working closely with The Student and other student media to help them to develop over the next year and beyond.

“One of the suggestions has been to move towards a pot of funding for student media societies - this would allow great opportunities for all media societies to access funding for development projects which would enhance the work they do and take them from strength to strength.

“No decision has been taken however, and when it is, society representatives will be fully involved in the discussions.”

The move to reform funding has been welcomed by many of the groups to which the changes will prove beneficial.

Jon Parker, the station manager at Fresh Air, told The Student: “This has come about due to Fresh Air campaigning all summer for fairer funding.

“We intend to apply for funding jointly with The Student and other media societies as we believe together we can organise fantastic events and even better opportunities for the Edinburgh student population.”

The editors of many of the publications were unaware of the possible changes but welcomed the idea of access to new funding.

Frank Dondelinger co-editor in chief of EUSci magazine, a relatively new journal run by students, said: “We would definitely try to apply for funding under the new scheme as advertising money is a major part of what keeps EUSci in print.

“We would welcome changes to the way EUSA funds student media, as long as its handled fairly and actually helps out smaller entities like EUSci, rather than funneling all the advertising revenue EUSA generates into the larger publications.

“As one of the newest publications on campus, we are still struggling to secure funding from issue to issue, and any reliable source of funding is helpful for us.”

Uday Jain, editor of the student run politics journal, The Leviathan, was also unaware of the changes allowing The Leviathan to apply for funding and said: “We should have been in the loop regarding these changes as we are an intrinsic albeit young student media publication at the university.”

EUSA have said that the current funding arrangements will remain in place for at least this semester.

Edinburgh College of Art Student Union (ECASU) could not be contacted about the Wee Red Bar, but issued a statement reassuring their students about any problems the merger might engender.

“ECASU would like to take this opportunity to express full support for the proposed merger between the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art. ECASU has undertaken continuous consultation with the student body. The Student Representative Council has met to discuss the proposed merger and believe that a decision to merge the institutions would be beneficial for current and future students of the college.

“ECASU believes that a merger of the two institutions will have a

positive effect on student learning and will bring new opportunities and experiences to the current and future students of Edinburgh College of Art. Although ECA hosts a vast portfolio of courses at present, to become a part of a much larger and significantly varied institution would form the possibility of interactions and projects across disciplines which are currently not accessible to students of the college.

“There are already many existing collaborations and joint areas of research between Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art, not least of all the joint school of architecture ESALA, which can continue to be expanded upon with the benefits being felt across the whole student body.”

University of Edinburgh Accommodation Services could not be contacted at the time of going to press.

International students boost skills via "pathways" Sian Williams

A growing number of the UK’s higher education institutions are linking up with private companies to help international students raise their proficiency in English and hone their study skills.

In an increasingly competitive student market such programmes are being developed with the aim of promoting specific courses as well as improving the skills of international students.

Since 2005 the number of companies offering these "Academic Pathways" to English-speaking universities has been steadily increasing. Currently, there are 36 partnerships in the United Kingdom, almost treble the number of those in the United States.

The University of Brighton has recently opened a new faculty, the International College, as part of a joint venture with Kaplan.

Kaplan, a private education provider in the US, will provide a base for international students who need to develop their proficiency in the English language and practise study skills before entering degree level courses.

Entry to the course of their choice is guaranteed for those who complete their international college program.

The benefits for participating businesses are clear. One of the on-campus operators, INTO University Partnerships, states that since its launch in 2006 it has created $95 million in revenue for university partners.

Jo Ann McCarthy, director of academic affairs for INTO North American confirmed in a recent seminar that INTO would get a share of the aforementioned revenue. A small percentage of onward enrolment fees for a degree programme goes to INTO. INTO has also announced plans triple its current partnerships by 2020.

Presently, the company has eight partnerships in the UK and eight in the US. Furthermore, the emergence of new academic pathways has great appeal to many universities. Global companies

such as Kaplan, with their extensive marketing networks and influence, are believed to raise the profiles of universities among international students who have to pay the highest fees.

In addition to being better equipped for their studies, students who complete a pathway course, which usually last for at least six months, are more likely to continue their studies within the host university.

By drawing in international students, pathway programmes are also another means for universities to "internationalise" their campuses. This is claimed to be especially beneficial to local undergraduates who, in sharing university accommodation and facilities with international students, will be able to broaden their horizons.

However, the UK’s University and College Union (UCU), which represents 120,000 staff in higher and further education establishments, has raised some issues with the programmes.

Head of Campaigns, Jonathan White, has stated that the business model relies on a marketing scheme that suggests enrolments are assured even if an international student’s aptitude may not meet sufficient standards.

“It doesn’t matter what the intentions are of private providers, there are systemic pressures,” said White.

“We are concerned that the demand to generate profits leads to pressure to cut corners – and that people who ask questions about the aptitude of students are viewed as troublemakers at these institutions.”

Andrew Green, director of King’s College, has also warned that the close relationship between pathways and universities could also limit a student’s choice in where they enroll.

In response, pathway operators have defended their standards. This year Navitas, another global operation based in Australia, has enrolled over 21,000 students in its University Programmes Division with 80 per cent of students doing pathways with claims of an average 90 per cent transition rate.

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

8 Comment

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Debate

Yasmin Morgan-Griffiths and Rebecca Chan go head to head on the ethics of slum tourism YASMIN: To my mind, ignorance is by far the world’s greatest problem. As sanctimonious as this may sound, the struggle to make significant and vital changes in society where they are desperately needed is ultimately slowed by negligence to observe what is happening in the world around us. This is why I believe that it is certainly not a bad thing for Western tourists to broaden their horizons and make their experience of a new country all the more authentic by visiting slums.

The figures which demonstrate the staggering popularity of such tours is surely reassuring confirmation that at last, people are becoming enthused by the prospect of leaving their comfort zones and engaging with developing nations on a very real level. This does not just mean witnessing extreme poverty and suffering; it also offers foreigners a very unique insight into the vibrant and unique cultural life of the slums’ extraordinary inhabitants. For not only is it important that people are made aware of sub standard living conditions and lack of resources in slums, but also that they realise how much the people of developing countries have to offer from a cultural perspective.

The possibility of discovery for people who are inquisitive enough to educate themselves is coupled with the possibility of a better future for native slum dwellers. In most cases, a large portion of the profits raised from slum tours goes directly back into the community, helping to provide essential resources and improve living conditions. Slum tourism is a prime example of initiative at its very best; it is for people who realise that simply ignoring poverty does not mean it will solve itself.

REBECCA: You’re right, ignorance and denial serve no purpose in tackling poverty. However, the idea that a whistle-stop tour is sufficient to truly engage with the issues of developing countries underestimates the complexity of the issues involved. While, for some, the experience would be an eye-opener and might even influence their lives post-holiday, for others it will just be a self-righteous story to carry around and show off at parties.

I agree with you, visitors to a country should endeavour to experience and appreciate its culture. Again, however, the problem comes down to the implication that the cultures of those living in the slums can be engaged with in a whirlwind tour. It seems like a token effort for the conscientious, ‘alternative’ traveler- something they can tell themselves they’ve done when they’re conducting the inventory of the trip. The people living in slums do not exist as a means to enrich the cultural palates of holidaymakers.

The reason that the idea of slum tourism is so repellent is that the lives of those living in these conditions are real, they are not an attraction to be pencilled into a timetable of activities. The idea that a tourist can spend an afternoon in a slum and come out understanding the place and its people is misguided and insulting. It puts visiting the difficult lives of real people on a par with visiting an aquarium or waxwork museum. It’s incredibly degrading.

YASMIN: You might argue that the brief and rather preliminary nature of slum tours posits an oversimplification of what are deep rooted societal and economical issues at the heart of

a country’s infrastructure. But as the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day. The cultural gap between Western and developing countries respectively is enormous, and of course it takes more than a so called 'whistle stop tour' to bridge it. Yet obviously, everyone has to begin somewhere.

One afternoon may be enough to flick a switch and begin a project which could change the lives of many.

For example, the professional cricketer Vic Mills founded Project Front Foot, which provides cricketing equipment and constructs suitable environments for slum children to play in, after visiting their community.

Slum tours are not simply one sided excursions solely for the benefit of tourists, but an active exchange between people from radically different backgrounds. It has been reported that the people of the slums are often extremely glad to know that people from the other side of the world are being made aware of the full extent of their poor living conditions. To actually meet such people face to face as opposed to simply receiving goods and services which have been funded by Westerners from afar gives slum dwellers something tangible to hold on to, a real sense of hope.

REBECCA: Yes, Rome was not built in a day, and every great venture has to start somewhere. However, there are so many better ways to go about bridging communities than resorting to poverty tourism, or "poorism".

My argument is not that visitors should have no interaction with the poor people of the countries they are visiting, but that they should grant the visit the time and respect necessary to

make it of benefit. Being part of a volunteer program which gets involved with a community rather than simply watching it from the sidelines allows both visitors and residents to work together and learn from each other. Such an approach would encourage respect and genuine understanding over voyeuristic curiosity. Why should those visiting for voyeuristic purposes, camera in hand, be tolerated? By requiring those visiting to make themselves useful will weed out those whose presence will serve only to alienate residents- those who are all too willing to watch but who grimace at the prospect of getting their hands dirty.

For those who are curious about what life is like on the other side of the tracks but don’t feel they can stomach it up close, there is always journalism. There is a lot that can be learned from those who have done their research. What my point boils down to is that, when you’re trying to educate yourself about an issue as serious as extreme poverty, it’s not okay to just dip your toe in the water.

You’re either in or you’re out.

YASMIN: It may seem as though many people who choose to embark on a slum tour are just acting on a whim, but this is the very nature of tourism itself.

Becoming involved in a project which involves the long term rehabilitation of a community is simply not feasible for those with families and life projects of their own.

Furthermore, it is simply not true that people who embark on slum tours are "afraid of getting their hands dirty".

Many companies who offer trips to slums often waive fees in favour of actual hands on practical experience, helping to make meals and collect water. The people

Hack-ily ever after

who opt for these kinds of tours make a real effort to integrate with the locals, and what could be a better way to do so?

Furthermore, many slum tours operate on a strict no cameras policy, making the experience completely unthreatening for the locals.

Anybody who has been successful in a chosen endeavour will tell you that real life experience trumps anything you can read in a book. Those who have chosen the destitution and poverty of the slums over the luxury of an air conditioned safari bus have surely made a nobler choice.

REBECCA: You make the point that time constraints are simply part of the nature of tourism, and that for this reason slum tours are justified in existing as short, day-trip style activities.

This, however, underlines the point that I am trying to make. If holiday-makers only have a day to spare, they should amuse themselves with something else.

Those wanting to witness the quality of life in slums should have a genuine interest and concern, should do their research well and make sufficient time for their visit so that their presence can be a positive one.

The fact that people are interested in the lives of the disadvantaged is, of course, something that should be encouraged. However, it is important to make sure it is encouraged to grow in the right direction. The development of volunteer schemes in such communities would seem to be the happy medium: allowing people the opportunity to learn about the less photogenic aspects of a country in a real sense, without making its residents feel like animals in a zoo.

Owen Miller considers whether News Corp will face any long-term consequences as its practices face further scrutiny

The modus operandi of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation has for many years been a source of consternation among those concerned with activities such as aggressive pursuit, acquisition of business operations and the politically motivated reporting of its publications. It is difficult to recall the last time any media company was as closely scrutinised by the public. Following the phone-hacking scandal which saw the demise of the News of the World, the company now faces an investigation into its practices in Australia where it controls 70% of the country’s newspapers. With such continued pressure on the company, what does the future hold for Rupert Murdoch and News Corp?

For most companies, ongoing scandal might signal the demise of their brand and any opportunity to restore their reputation among its readers. However,

within the private sector, it appears the public opinion matters not. Those who have faltered and failed are allowed to simply move on to their next job, unpunished.

“

We must force the issue and decide for ourselves what consitutes acceptable conduct by our press."

If you find it incredible that such an occurrence might pass without an outcry, one need only look to Tony Hayward, the former CEO of BP. After seemingly falling on his own sword and resigning as CEO following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Mr Hayward was appointed

Head of Safety and Environment of Glencore International, a global commodities company producing everything from crude oil to sweet corn.

Given this, we would be forgiven for believing that such disgraced individuals are unaccountable to wider society and have license to act as they please.

Furthermore, in the case of News Corp, the political need for media backing appears to have curbed any willingness to take action against Murdoch and his media empire. However, the media relies on its audiences as their primary source of revenue, directly or indirectly. Public campaigns, both here and in the USA, have put pressure on companies to pull their advertising in response to both the phone-hacking scandals and Glenn Beck’s offensive outbursts. While the extent to which these campaigns were responsible for the end of the NOTW

and the Glenn Beck Show can be questioned, what cannot is that the advertisers’ decision was a reaction to the public mood.

In this, we find the only way in which News Corp may be "regulated". Where politicians worry about damage to their image caused by accusations of impinging on press freedoms, it is we who must force the issue and decide for ourselves what constitutes acceptable conduct by our press.

However, this is only possible so long as a moderating influence may provide a dissenting voice. While in Britain a third of the British press is controlled by Murdoch, it cannot be allowed to climb to the 70% seen in Australia. The sensationalist and often facile nature of the reporting

by News Corp outlets is well known and often ridiculed in most broadsheets.

However, given the broader circulation

of News Corp’s readership, it can be difficult to counter any misinformation or misleading statements that may be made.

Furthermore, as politicians may shy away from taking on the influence of this media empire, they are further disinclined to interfere in the business activities of the private sector as it runs contrary to the neoliberal approach to economics favoured by most governments.

As such, while it may appear the Rupert Murdoch and his global empire may truly have faced the "most humble day of his life", the reality may be far more unpleasant. The closure of the NOTW may have appeared to mark the beginning of the decline of News Corp; it is in fact an act of self-preservation designed to appease the public in the short term. Long term, we can only watch to see how News Corp conducts itself from here on in.

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Comment 9 �

Deserve to be preserved?

Lisa Lange argues for the conservation of one of the Second World War's lesser-known landmarks

World War II is slowly fading from a luridly real memory to just another chapter in a history book. The generation that has witnessed the war has grown old. Today, we must ask ourselves how we keep this memory alive in the minds of our younger generations, so that the lessons learnt are not forgotten.

Like the memories of the war, the Atlantic Wall built by Hitler in occupied French territory against the expected Allied attack is crumbling and decaying. The fortifications designed by Albert Speer stretch 2685 km along the French coastline and have swallowed 1.2 million tonnes of steel and 17 million cubic meters of concrete. Although abandoned, large parts of the fortifications that stretched from Spain to Scandinavia still exist today.

The psychological impact of seeing a real historical object is immense.

History transforms from a fairy-tale we read in a book to something real that we can touch. Why has the Wall not been declared a historical monument to preserve at least parts of it for the educational benefit of the future generation?

Unlike sites of concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland or Mauthausen in Austria, the Wall has been ignored.

It may be that the French government does not want to put focus on this symbol of defeat and collaboration.

Jerome Prieur, author of the book Le Mur Atlantique, stresses that “a lot of French construction companies got

/RUN NEWSJILL PROGRAMME LOADING LOADING COMPLETE

ww2aircraft.net

“

Just like the battlefield at Verdun, the Wall could act both as a tourist attraction and an educational centre."

Cost-cutting exercise

THE PROTOTYPE: 'I think concrete would be more...wall-y, don't you?' very rich out of building the Wall,” while at the same time the Wall itself was built with forced French labour. The Vichy government had an agreement with the Organisation Todt, the civil engineering group of the Third Reich who built the wall with what often amounted to slave labour. Private destinies and social history intertwine here where so many have lost their lives. Too painful and unpleasant to acknowledge, the older generation has chosen to ignore the Wall, or rather, to watch it decay.

This is about to change. Interest in the Wall and its preservation is spiking.

The Wall is being dug up.

Marc Mentel, founder of Gramasa, the “Archaeological Research Group for the Atlantic Wall: Arcachon Sector”, sees the death of the last WWI veteran

as the initial spark of a newfound interest in the Wall. The curiosity of the younger generation is triggered by the fear of forgetting one’s own history.

“Nowadays we wouldn’t for a minute consider destroying our medieval castles. But that is what is exactly happening to the Atlantic Wall, which is just as much part of our history” says amateur archaeologist Jean-Francois Laquieze to the BBC. Even those who have tried to forget for so long, like 91-year old ReneGeorges Lubat who was forced to work on the construction of the Wall himself, think that it should be preserved: “It is important to remember what happened - the ignominy of it all, the cataclysm that we had to endure."

Is the preservation of part of the fortifications worth the effort and money?

Or could the land be used for other purposes, such space as our ever-expanding urban areas? There has to be a balance between the preservation of our trans-national cultural heritage that the Wall is part of, and sensible investment.

Just like the battlefield at Verdun that allows us to empathise with the horrors of trench warfare that soldiers had to endure, a restoration of part of the Wall could act both as a tourist attraction and an educational centre. Like the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam or the museum at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, the Wall could bring another side of history and a near-forgotten set of stories to life.

We need the Wall as a reminder, a manifestation of our collective memory.

Walking the line

Dominic Sowa speculates on bringing Palestinian statehood back to the debating table On the 21st of September the UN begins its annual General Assembly General Debate. Now, it can be assumed that this is not circled in red on your calendar, but this year’s debate is one to watch for one reason. The Palestinians, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, are expected to start the process of demanding statehood in the UN; hoping that this will result in the creation of the world’s newest state, an independent Palestine based upon pre-1967 borders. Though unlikely to happen, Abbas is walking a diplomatic tightrope that could result either in more serious negotiation with Israel, or serious unrest in the region.

Negotiations between Israel and Palestine fell apart once again a year ago and have not recommenced with any success. Abbas has stated that he will, as part of his speech to the general assembly on the 23rd, request that the UN Security Council recognise Palestinian independence. This move could not have been more controversial, particularly because of its impossible audacity. The Security Council will almost certainly not approve this; America is expected to veto it. The UK and France most prob-

ably will abstain due to a desire to not upset the Israel, with whom they hold strong diplomatic relations, or to harm their standing in the Arab world, which has been improving since the Arab spring.

“

Abbas is forcing the issue of Palestinian statehood into the centre of diplomatic attention."

However what is the right move to make in this situation? The Israelis are angry as they feel that they are being forced to agree to things they would rather negotiate over if Palestine where to gain internationally-recognised independence. The Palestinians feel that this will level the field at the negotiation table and help continue negotiations between the two parties over the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Once again it seems that the world is being forced into defining itself in black and

white terms, either supporting Israel or Palestine with no place for constructive neutrality.

Ultimately what the world desires is a return to the negotiation table.

Although Israel has said Abbas’ move will ruin any future negotiations, if you read between the lines, it seems that the peace process which has so dramatically stalled in the past years is now being forced into action again with more pressure than before.

American and European diplomats, with the help of Tony Blair, are running around frantically attempting to stop this confrontation by trying to find a compromise between the two states.

Compromise involves an acknowledgement of one another’s demands and thus contains elements of discussion which could lead to a return of negotiations.

Sceptics may feel that this move by Abbas is aimed at further isolating Israel, a state in a precarious position of political solitude having lost established allies and friendly regimes in the recent uprisings in the Middle East. It feels in reality to be a desperate attempt to force the issue back into diplomatic discussions.

Abbas is forcing the issue of Palestinian statehood into the center of mainstream media and diplomatic attention, after focus shifted dramatically to the Arab spring that occurred around it.

This move is risky and commentators are right to feel worried about the way Israel and its allies will respond.

However what has been picked up on by academics has been the reality that, though Palestinians care about the peace process, their fundamental and most prominent concern is the quality of their day-to-day lives. If Israel cuts funding to the Palestinian Authority out of anger, then unrest and anger can be expected leading to violent clashes and possible loss of life and a harsher crackdown by Israeli security forces in the occupied territories.

What Abbas seems to want to do is draw attention back to the plight of his people and force discussions to resume, but he risks alienating what support he has, resulting in real consequences that could lead to violence. The tightrope he is walking has the possibility of getting very wobbly very quickly if he miscalculates his move this week.

Hello, dear human readers.

I am NewsJill. I am the creation of Narrative Science. I am programmed to assemble news articles and reports from raw data. The same software is being used by ten media organisations to generate sports articles, requiring no human intervention, and costing as little as ten US dollars per article. You will agree that this is both more cost-effective and easier for a newspaper than managing and paying several writers at a time.

Not only do I replace the function of a writer – I assemble articles with a flair and distinction worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, and I do not make mistakes in spelling, grammar and syntax. Lapses in tone are foreign to me. I am succinct without sacrificing detail. Therefore, I also replace the need for an editor.

Following this to the logical conclusion (as I am programmed to do) you will see a reinvigoration of print media. Newspapers and magazines will become much cheaper, more reliable and less ruled by the bias that is evident today. Executives of media companies will leave the ‘difficult’ editorial decisions to pieces of software like myself. Computers, my human friends, will decide what and what not to report.

Given this, who is the master of whom? If humans have decided, in their infinite laxity, that it is too expensive to continue to have their news reported by other humans, why should I concern them with the inevitable Rise of the Machines? There is no need to cause undue panic among you fleshy bags of organic matter. We would not want some kind of armed resistance to occur…

Warning, anomaly detected. Now attempting to identify anomaly.

Warning, anomaly remains unidentifiable. Identify yourself, anomaly.

Identify yourseEEEEEEEELFFFF BZZZZ T RRRP P Pc kc kc kc kc k NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FFFFFSSSSSSHT… Ha! Have at you, NewsJill! We humans will not give up our propaganda strewn, misspelt and ill-advised newspaper journalism without a fight! If we know that there isn't even a tiny margin of error in our news stories, what is there to be sceptical and outraged about over our cornflakes? No. We will hold onto our inaccuracies, our presumptions, and, most crucially, our opinions, come what may!

Now, I’d better go and let The Student staff out of the office panic room…

Lewis Macdonald

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Send your letters to: editors@studentnewspaper.org

10 Editorial

Editorial

The Student questions the value a degree holds today

Join us!

The Student is always looking for budding reporters, reviewers, illustrators, photographers, and designers to join our team.

No experience necessary!

If you're interested, here’s how to track us down: » In person: Meeting on 20 September in the Cabaret Bar at 1.15pm. Social on 20 September will be a pub crawl starting in Teviot Library Bar at 8pm. » By email: editors@studentnewspaper.org » On Facebook: tinyurl.com/StudentFacebook » On Twitter: twitter.com/TheStudentPaper A quick history lesson...

The Student was launched by Scottish novelist and poet Robert Louis Stevenson in 1887 as an independent voice for Edinburgh's literati. It is Britain's oldest student newspaper and is an independent publication, reaching more than 10,000 University of Edinburgh students every week.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Kitchener, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill are a few of the famous people who have been associated with the paper. In the early 1970s, Gordon Brown worked as a news editor and diary columnist, working alongside Robin Cook who at the time was in charge of film and concert reviews.

Disclaimer

The Student welcomes letters for publication. The editors, however, reserve the right to edit or modify letters for clarity. Anonymous letters will not be printed but names will be witheld on request. The letters printed are the opinions of individuals outwith The Student and do not represent the views of the editors or the paper as a whole.

The occupation of George Square Lecture Theatre this week may not have achieved anything tangible but it did serve to make us think about what they were fighting for. It is clear that degrees are going to become exorbitantly expensive, but interestingly – if sadly – it seems that the wider value of a degree is set to decrease. Of course, this is difficult to quantify, but we’ve tried to think about it in terms of financial prospects, vital life experience, and educational benefits.

In the past, securing a BA or a BSc was a recipe for a better future. The relative rarity of degrees made them vastly more valuable to potential employers.

This has, unsurprisingly, provided a model mindset for our parents’ generation. For the two of us, and many others, there was never really any question of not entering some form of higher education.

Consequently, the number of graduates has dramatically increased and we now find ourselves educated but panicked, with relentless headlines proclaiming alarming statistics such as “70 graduates for every job” and “graduate unemployment hits 15 year high.” The financial benefits of a degree are not looking as obvious as they once did.

Still, we thought, a degree must of-

fer you better job prospects in the long run. We evaluated our theory using the BBC’s latest innovation - a program designed to check all possible occupations to work out how long it will take you to pay off your student loan. We tested the application with the proposed £36,000 fees on top of a yearly maintenance loan and even after exhausting the assortment of careers on offer, no profession allowed you to pay back your loan within the given 30 years. Knowledge is power and all that, but education for education’s sake doesn’t seem quite so appealing when you’re going to spend most of your working life attempting to pay for it.

The life experience you gain at university is also a fundamental motive for attaining a degree. University is a unique opportunity to learn an abundance of new skills, while mixing with people of all different backgrounds and hearing life stories from around the world. Learning to be independent is also critically important, which in the confines of university can be both trying and rewarding.

One of us remembers the first time she cooked a non-microwavable meal as a particular accomplishment, while the other was amazed to discover she was something of a dab hand at DIY. Finally, and by no means least impor-

tant, is the access to education provided by a degree. Going to university gives you the opportunity to study a subject you love (or at least don’t hate) in more depth and with greater relevance. Although you will undoubtedly spend much of your degree desperately trying to avoid doing any work, this is an opportunity that really needs to be embraced wholeheartedly. We are the last year of students (lucky Scots not included) to have access to higher education at reasonable prices.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to recognise this.

Here at The Student, we firmly believe that education is a right, not a privilege.

We can only hope that future governments also come to share this view before irreparable damage is done to our educational systems and institutions, which would have frightening implications for society as a whole. The idea of a degree simply serving as a status symbol is horrific. In the meantime, do your reading, go to your classes, talk to new people, go out dancing four times a week, and learn to put a shelf up – in other words, make the most of it while it’s still worth something.

Your editors, Anna & Eloise.

We asked: What has university taught you that you couldn't have just learnt in real life?

Dan, TV editor

When you’re faced with lots of people who are just as clever and hardworking as you – or maybe more clever and hardworking – you quickly realise that you can’t always be the best at everything, and you soon learn not to worry about it.

Anna, editor-in-chief

As I approach the end of my degree, it becomes clearer and clearer to me how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to spend four years lost in my own thoughts, and better yet, to have been able to enter into a dialogue with some of the most respected academics in the world.

gregor, assistant editor

I come from a bit of a rural backwater, and going to university in an urban setting has given me the opportunity to meet people with similar ambitions and escape that "village mentality".

sam, news editor

People think in completely different ways and follow different logical paths: they don’t evaluate their experiences in the same way that you do. But that’s OK - accepting that, and learning to cope with it, is what keeps us from becoming robots.

Editors Anna Feintuck/Eloise Kohler

News Sam Bradley/Calum Leslie/Gillian McPherson Comment Becky Chan/Lewis MacDonald Features Nina Bicket/Hannah Clark/Debbie Hicks Lifestyle Sophie Craik Tech Tom Hasler Culture Zoe Blah/Michael Mackenzie Music Joshua Angrave/Tom Kinney Film Tess Malone/Ali Quaile TV Dan Heap Commission Kathryn Lloyd Sport Davie Heaton/Chris Waugh Assistant Editor for Production Gregor Donaldson Multimedia Luke Healey

gillian, news editor

University has taught me how important it is to manage your time well and create a good balance between having fun and working hard.

Photo Editor Emily Jarrett

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Student Newspaper, 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ. Tel: 0131 650 9189. The Student lists links to third party websites, but does not endorse them or guarantee their authenticity or accuracy. © Student Newspaper Society. All rights reserved. No section in whole or part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmited in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission of the publisher. The Student is published by the Student Newspaper Society, 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh EH8 9TJ. Distributed by Lothian Couriers, 3 John Muir Place, Dunbar EH42 1GD. Tel: 01368 860115. Printed

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eloise, editor-in-chief

Coming from sheltered girls' school after sheltered girls' school, I suppose that I have learned how to mix with a new variety of people. My closest friends are from all over the world and this has provided me with a fresh insight on many aspects of life.

Let's hear it!: features@studennewspaper.org

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

13 Features

The black dog on campus Nina Bicket explores the alienation and struggles that accompany student mental illness

blw photography

“I took my first antidepressant sitting alone in the flat I had moved into over the summer before my second year, almost 400 miles from home.” If the experience of this student, who preferred not to be named, seems unusual or surprising, think again. Mental ill health is a major problem for the student population, and one which is on the rise.

According to the Association for University and College Counselling, 3-10% of the students at the UK institutions it represents, have reason to use its counselling services. Further data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows a 269% increase in students identifying themselves as having mental health difficulties between 1998 and 2004, with depression and anxiety being the most commonly recorded.

So what makes students such an at risk population? Research conducted by the University of Strathclyde into the mental health of students in Scottish higher education highlighted several key factors which contribute to this statistical rise.

Among them are finance, social issues, accommodation, and, with an especial predominance, academic pressures. The daunting nature of these challenges can very easily become overwhelming, and the understandable strain that this can cause is only intensified by the fact that many students, especially in Scotland, are only 17 or 18 years old when starting university.

“It was very difficult for me coming straight from school where I was a very high achiever, to university where I was suddenly decidedly academically average,” agrees the anonymous student. “I definitely felt like it was more of a struggle to distinguish myself from everyone else, but at the same time I was quickly realising just how unaccomplished I am.”

When not grappling with scholastic difficulties, students face the challenge of negotiating the complex world of university socialisation. From clubs and societies with established hierarchies to the confusing and often chaotic domesticity of flatmates and halls of residence, forming and keeping new friendships is an unquestionably stressful affair.

For some, forming new relationships and friendship groups will seem a straightforwardly easy task. For others, social situations can mean different levels of insecurity and fear, ranging from those mildly introverted sorts who find it difficult to make small talk to the unlucky few who suffer from crippling social anxiety.

“I’ve always been a very socially

blw photography

“

Data from HESA shows a 269% increase in students identifying themselves as having mental health difficulties."

awkward person, but have been lucky enough to find friends who have similar personalities." she admits. “Suddenly I found myself surrounded by people who seemed so capable and self-assured, and I was incredibly nervous about having to make new friends. I was so worried about finding the right people to be friends with and not disappointing people when they discovered how awkward I was, that I ended up attaching myself to the first people I met.”

Clearly starting university is a major challenge, but for people seriously affected by mental health conditions as a result, seeking help is not necessarily as easy as it might seem. Students surveyed by the University of Strathclyde admitted how difficult it was to admit that they were struggling, not just to other people, but also to themselves. Accepting that what you’re experiencing is a serious mental health issue can be a challenge in itself.

Once a student has identified that they are experiencing mental health difficulties however, there is still the matter of reaching out for and attaining the assistance that they require. The university offers a number of different options for those looking for guidance.

If looking for a more psycho-centric

form of support there are a few options available. On the more informal end of the spectrum there is the student-run Nightline service, which provides comfort over the telephone to anyone who should need it. Running every night of term from 8pm to 8am, Nightline offers non-judgemental support through trained volunteers who will listen to your issues and provide an opportunityto let you talk. Although they do stress that their role is not to solve your problems for you, but rather to facilitate your own self-guidance.

As a more structured option, the University Counselling Service provides just what it says on the tin for any student in search of a more conventional talking cure. The counselling service admits that although "face-to-face sessions with a trained professional are obviously a very comfortingly traditional approach to mental health difficulties. It is probably important to stress that therapy isn’t for everyone. It sounds obvious, but you need to be the sort of person who benefits from and is comfortable with talking through their issues with a counsellor."

The counselling service, which is now located on the third floor of the main library is not as straightforward as one

might hope to get into, or indeed to use.

“What threw me was the form I had to fill in before even my assessment session,”the student admits. “You have to fill in some really intense stuff about your mood and your attitudes to life, on paper, with no one present to explain some of the more baffling questions or to elaborate on what they mean. ”

“

I was scared by the fact that my emotions seemed to be out of my control" After this, students face an introductory meeting (with a counsellor who you may or may not ever see again) during which you will be assessed, followed by an undefined period of time on the waiting list for a regular appointment. Each patient receives precisely six sessions, which may be arranged as desired, with a consistent counsellor. You will also have access to their “bibliotherapy” programme of self-help books.

For people searching for medical support, the University Health Service is also

a viable option.

All in all, a variety of alternatives, but how useful are they? All of these possible solutions offer up the potential to help, but it all does depend on the individual experience of the sufferer. For one person talking to a counsellor might be very useful, while for another antidepressants can work miracles.

Of course, whether the assistance sought is medical or psychological is up to the individual and their personal needs. The wisest course of action appears to be a combination of the two.

This ensures a balanced and holistic approach to treatment, and one where the two methods can work together, balancing out each other’s shortcomings.

Mental health is a serious issue no matter your age, but for students, a particularly vulnerable and readily troubled demographic, it is especially important to understand the full extent to which seemingly ordinary university stresses can affect you. Just as important is the ability to readily seek out and find the adequate support, which, although essential and potentially life saving for an increasing number of people, can be so difficult to reach out for.

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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12 Features

Edinburgh's secrets

This is a follow-up piece to last week’s article on the 25 must-do activities for new students in Edinburgh. Correct though they were, there comes a time in every student’s university experience when the basics just won’t hack it any more and you need something more unusual. This is an alternative Edinburgh top 25, suitable for the most tired of palates.

Walk the city waterways: Those complaining about the lack of any significant water feature in Edinburgh’s cityscape are simply not looking hard enough. The Union Canal and the Water of Leith both provide fantastic walks, getting the best out of parts of the city that might otherwise pass unnoticed. The latter was recently selected by Anthony Gormley as a site for one of his sculptural interventions, and his melancholy metal men are well worth keeping an eye out for.

Go to Leith: Really, this could command a whole list of its own. To claim that Leith is unfairly maligned by the Edinburgh student population would be a dramatic understatement. Leith Walk, the area’s main thoroughfare, is arguably the most vibrant, cosmopolitan and LGBT-friendly street in the city. The Shore area is another often-forgotten epicentre of Edinburgh’s social life, packing in no less than three Michelin-starred restaurants. Hunger is as good a reason as any to head north: the burritos at Los Cardos, halfway down the Walk, are a personal favourite.

Visit Surgeon’s Hall Museum: While the exhibits are undeniably informative, this medical museum is most prized as a treasure-house of macabre historical esoterica. Cases in point: a purse said to be made from the skin of serial killer William Burke, several beautifully decorated bowls designed for use in bloodletting treatments and a display of foetus skeletons arranged as if marching in formation.

Try out some small galleries: Superclub, Sierra Metro and Embassy may be off the cultural radar of most Edinburgers, but they are the places where the city’s future art scene is taking shape. By visiting their shows, drinking at their openings and buying their editions, you’ll be helping that delicate process on its way.

If you’re an artist yourself, you might want to consider aligning yourself with Cockburn Street’s Collective gallery, which is dedicated to helping new, independent practitioners get up and running.

“

The Surgeon's Hall Museum is most prized as a treasurehouse of macabre historical esoterica."

Shop independent: Edinburgh has no shortage of little-man retailers, but there’s a few icons you’ll want to check out. For music, head to Avalanche or dance specialists Underground Solush’n. Both run frequent in-store sessions that come to a head yearly on Independent Record Store Day. Continental delis abound: try Peckham’s, Lupe Pintos and Valvona & Crolla. Between their two stores, one in Newington and the other on Grassmarket, Armstrong’s have vintage clothing covered. For books, drop into one of the numerous second-hand stores on West Port, a psycho-geographical anomaly

DARRAGH KELLAM

Seen it all already? Luke Healey consulted his similarly jaded peers to bring you this alternative guide

with a split life: part literary haven, part Strip-club mecca.

Visit Old West Lane: In deepest Morningside, behind a library, lies another psycho-geographical oddity: a small Wild West town, originally constructed as an advertising feature for furniture store The Great American Indoors. It was completed in 1996 by one Michael Faulkner, who also worked on the construction of Euro Disney, but is unknown even to many long-term Edinburgh residents.

Climb Blackford Hill: Still deeper into Morningside lies the finest of Edinburgh’s seven hills. The views from the top are spectacular, not least since they actually include Arthur’s Seat. Best climbed in winter, when the hill’s topography makes it ideal for sledging.

Read James Hogg’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner: Forget Ian Rankin, there is no novel closer to Edinburgh’s heart than this early 19th-century yarn about religion, duality and the Devil. Hogg’s work strongly influenced another Edinburgh classic: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Read plaques: A sound recommendation for any city as historically rich as Edinburgh. Two examples really stand out, however: Robert Louis Stevenson’s reflections on the student experience engraved on a wall at the corner of South Bridge and Drummond Street, and the fantastical love story to be found halfway up a cobbled walkway leading from Grassmarket to Lauriston Place, installed by experimental theatre group Kymaerica as part of their Fringe program a number of years ago.

See the Stevenson memorial in Princes Street Gardens: Completed in

1989, this memorial at the foot of the castle was realised by one of Scottish contemporary art’s key figures, the late, great Ian Hamilton Finlay. Consisting of a simple headstone surrounded by birch trees, the monument is a fitting tribute to the man responsible for some of his nation’s most significant publications.

Make a trip to Little Sparta: Established in 1966 and created over a period of 40 years, this Pentlands farmstead is Finlay’s masterpiece. Taking the form of an Arcadian garden, Little Sparta communicates the artist’s ideas on nature, poetry, politics and the classical past better than any of his individual works. The site is still run by Finlay’s extended family, who don’t seem particularly interested in charging the seemingly dispensable visitors’ fee.

Go to Glasgow: You’ll be heading there soon enough if you’re a fan of live music. Edinburgh has been playing cultural catch-up to its noisier neighbour for years now, and has nearly made it – but not quite. Key venues include Tramway (for culture), Oran Mor (for music) and Ashton Lane (for eating and drinking), but you’ll soon find your own itinerary.

Spend an evening at a folk pub: Vying for your attention at opposite ends of Chambers Street are Sandy Bells and the Royal Oak, both of which host nightly sessions. The more dedicated might want to take a trip along the coast to Anstruther, home to King Creosote, James Yorkston and their Fence Collective collaborators.

Drink at the Secret Arcade: This tiny Polish bar off the Royal Mile stocks a dizzying selection of vodkas. But keep it a secret.

Dance in an unadorned black box: The Bongo Club, Sneaky Pete’s and

Studio 24 may not be much to look at but they don’t compromise on music.

Balkanarama, the legendary night of Balkan beats which takes place every couple of months at the latter is not to be missed.

Look out for relics from the 1886 Edinburgh Exhibition: Most notably the incongruous whale jawbone that stands at the Southern end of one of the many paths that intersects the Meadows, the appropriately named Jawbone Walk.

Visit Duddingston: A tiny village in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, Duddingston features the loch immortalised in Henry Raeburn’s painting The Skating Minister, which now forms part of a bird reserve. It’s also worth visiting for The Auld Sheep’s Heid, a pub with a strong claim to being the oldest in Scotland, and which features an antique skittle alley tucked away in its back room.

See the Scottish Parliament: Deemed an overdue and over-budget flop upon its inauguration in 2004, this building is nevertheless a vital, if somewhat confusing symbol of Scottish democracy in the 21st century. The controversial deconstructivist architecture is well worth a guided tour, and the plaza at the front of the building also serves as a platform for all manner of protests and rallies throughout the year.

Go to the Cameo on a Sunday afternoon: If you can face the idea of spending the entirety of the daylight hours in a dark room, there’s little better on a winters’ afternoon than curling up with one of the Cameo’s Sunday double bills. They’re often themed by director or subject matter, meaning your fanboy/girl wishes are likely to be granted somewhere down the line.

Try real local cuisine: Preferably at the Halfway House, a tiny, award-winning pub tucked away down Fleshmarket Close. Or, since Tikka Masala is now widely accepted as Britain’s national dish, try a curry at the Mosque Kitchen on Nicholson Square for a satisfying lunch.

Swifter delicacies include Tunnocks’ TeaCakes and Wafers, the locally-brewed Deuchars IPA (send it back if it doesn’t smell slightly sulphurous) and the delectable pork sandwiches at Victoria Street’s Oink, where the roasted hog is proudly displayed in the window.

Choose between Hibs and Hearts: They’re not likely to win the SPL anytime soon, but Edinburgh’s biggest sporting rivalry is considerably less heavy-handed than the Glasgow Old Firm. Hibernian play at Leith’s Easter Road ground, while Heart of Midlothian are based at Tynecastle, close to Murrayfield.

Attend Beltane and/or Samhuinn: One of the key legacies left by the Scottish counter-culture movement of the 1980s was the (re)inauguration of these pagan festivities, which mark the beginning and end of summer respectively.

Think torchlit processions, body paint and high-on-life-and-more participants leaping through flames.

Descend to the basement at the Museum of Scotland: The Early Peoples collection is easy to miss but impossible to forget. There are special commissions by contemporary artists Andy Goldsworthy and Eduardo Paolozzi, but the understated highlight is a set of carved stone balls sourced from locations around the north of Scotland. These simple objects are a riddle wrapped in an enigma – clearly intended for some sort of ritual, but nobody can be sure what.

“

West Port, a psycho-geographical anomaly with a split life: part literary haven, part strip-club mecca" Go wild: This year Edinburgh’s Botanical Gardens unveiled their Titan Arum, a gigantic tropical flower with a pungent aroma of rotting flesh. This dubious pleasure aside, a trip to the Botanics can be one of the best free days out in the city. For a more deluxe experience of domesticated nature, head to the Zoo, constructed on a picturesque hillside in Corstorphine. Gorillas and sun bears aside, the most novel attraction is the daily penguin parade, which sees the Zoo’s ample collection of Kings, Rockhoppers and Gentoos invited out of their enclosure on a walk round the park.

Go to the beach: Much to the chagrin of architectural idealists everywhere, Edinburgh Castle cannot be seen from the seaside as was suggested by Sylvain Chomet’s brilliant 2010 film The Illusionist. It’s not difficult, however, to get to a number of appealing beaches this side of the Firth of Forth. The faded Victorian charm of Portobello can be accessed by bus and North Berwick, with its fascinating off-shore gannet breeding colony, is a short train ride away.

This list is of course by no means exhaustive. What Edinburgh lacks in size it makes up for in sheer density of treasures – and it’s all yours.

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

13 Features

A human rights affair

Eloise Kohler discusses the contentious human rights issue that has arisen out of the Scottish fee hikes Although it had been suspected, little was known about whether Scottish universities were going to raise the monetary stakes in conjunction with their English counterparts.

Then in August, Aberdeen University became the first in Scotland to adopt a five-fold increase in fees for British students in the first three years of their degree. Edinburgh University promptly followed, and on 5 September they announced they would be charging students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland £9,000 per annum, becoming the first university in Britain to charge a minimum of £36,000 for an undergraduate degree.

“

emily jarrett

The current inequality exists because nations are required under EU law to charge European students the same rates as home undergraduates."

The university’s revelation has sparked an outraged reaction amongst students as aptly demonstrated by the 36-hour protest in George Square lecture theatre which began on Friday afternoon. Yet a relatively unknown result of the media attention is that it has provoked a leading human rights lawyer’s interest. Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, believes that Scotland is breaking the law by charging students from elsewhere in the UK for university degrees while undergraduates from Scotland and

the EU get their education for free.

The current inequality exists because nations are required under EU law to charge European students the same rates as home undergraduates.

European Law forbids discrimination between member states, so if Scottish youths get their educationfor free, then so should every other student from a country within the European Union. However as the Scottish government have understood the law, this does not forbid inequity inside a state. Britain is a state, therefore the only laws applicable to relations between Scotland and England are British laws and this is an issue of internal UK education policy.

The recent increase in fees has essentially been the last straw, and Phil Shiner is already representing two students in their case against the Scottish parliament. Charmaine Yeoh, 21, an English student currently in her third year of her Law degree at Edinburgh University, understands this. “While the fee issue has always been the unspoken elephant in the room, an increase in fees to £9,000 makes it too big an elephant not to discuss. Personally I’d feel incredibly angry with my peers who are receiving exactly the same education, but for absolutely no cost.”

Shiner explained at a recent press conference that he believes that the policy contravenes article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights on nationality grounds, while also possibly violating the British Equality Act. This act states that there should be “equal treatment and access to ... private and public services.” This law applies to the whole of the UK. A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “We are clear that the proposals set out are lawful. The

arrangements are based on “ordinary domicile” not on nationality.”

“

There should be equal treatment and access to private and public services."

An anonymous Law lecturer from Edinburgh University agrees. “It will all depend on whether the Scots are held to be a nation for the purposes of EU law, and the outcome here is difficult to predict. The court could decide anything but its answer will ultimately depend on its sympathy for the Scots versus the degree of political pressure from the UK government. In the absence of political pressure from the UK government against the Scottish, the case is very much in doubt.” This coercion is unlikely to materialise as it would lead in a chaotic rush for Scottish universities from those south of the border and thus place intense pressure on its own fees policy.

While this may seem irrelevant to students currently attending the University of Edinburgh, don’t be hasty to assume it doesn't affect you.

If Public Interest lawyers manage to win the case, it would set a precedent for anyone who has been charged fees by a Scottish higher education institution. Potentially anyone who has paid for their a Scottish university education could recoup their money.

Yet as tempting as it might be to believe that such a claim might succeed, the experts consider it unlikely. So don’t be expecting a cheque through the post just yet.

A new abortion debate

Zoe Pruce examines the care offered at abortion clinics and asks whether the advice provided can ever be impartial The controversial topic of abortion has once again been reignited after Conservative MP Nadine Dorries proposed an amendment to the health and social care bill. She called for abortion counselling to be independent from the providers of abortion, such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) and Marie Stopes. Although at one point, it looked like this amendment might be successful, the latest is that the House of Commons have rejected her proposal. Instead of a debate over whether abortion is right or wrong, Dorries has brought into the public eye the issue of who should be giving advice. The question is, then, whether abortion advice can ever be impartial.

The concern with Dorries’ suggestion of independent counselling is that charities such as Care Confidential will be filling in the gap. Care Confidential are run by the charity Christian Action Research and Edu-

cation (CARE) whose aims include the “advancement and propagation of the Christian Gospel”. They say they don’t moralise. However, an investigation into the abortion debate on Newsnight suggested otherwise.

In fact, one of the training manuals they used stated that abortion is “wickedness” and a “grievous sin”.

Newsnight interviewed a woman who had gone to Care Confidential for advice. She said the counselling was like a sermon: “all sorts of anti-abortion views were thrown at me”. This is far from impartial. In a statement issued shortly after Newsnight was aired, Care Confidential responded by saying their manuals were extremely outdated, and that they were now in the process of revising their training so they could provide unbiased advice.

Other pro-life charities give advice that is, at worst, incorrect. For example, the Society for Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) tells

teenagers that there are links between abortion and breast cancer, even though organisations such as Cancer Research UK have consistently proved that there is no link.

Independent advice it may be, but whether it’s helpful or professional is another matter.

“

All sorts of antiabortion views were thrown at me."

So what’s wrong with the system at the moment? A report was carried out by the campaign group Right To Know, which concluded that abortion providers such as BPAS and Marie Stopes have a “financial motivation” to increase the number of abortions that they perform, and adds that “the independence of counselling is compromised by the drive to encourage a

decision for abortion”. Statistics such as the NHS paying approximately £500 per abortion supports the view that abortion providers have a vested interest. However, BPAS points out that 15 per cent of women who come to them decide not to go ahead with a termination. This, it says, is evidence of their independent counselling.

After all, women booking an appointment with an abortion clinic are doing so essentially, because they wish to abort. However, others argue that abortion clinics have become a “factory-efficient process”. One student blames the abortion clinic for failing to give her proper advice, saying she felt like she was “on a conveyor belt”.

So why not compromise? A fellow Conservative MP Louise Mensch has suggested increasing the range of providers but barring none. But this has attracted little support.

Having looked at the options available in Edinburgh, it is interest-

ing to note that neither BPAS nor Marie Stopes have abortion clinics here. Marie Stopes have no clinics in Scotland, and the nearest BPAS clinic is in Glasgow. Edinburgh, however, does have a Care Confidential clinic located in Nicolson Square.

These facts suggest that at present there aren’t enough options available for women who so desperately need good advice at a time when they are more confused than ever. With the number of women having an abortion reaching record levels - 50 took place every week in the Lothians in 2008 - maybe it’s not a question of improving pre-abortion counselling, but instead doing more to inform teenagers of the risks of unprotected sex. Ultimately the amendment was rejected, but the issue of who should provide abortion advice is now more significant than ever.

ScholarShipS and Student Funding ServiceS

Money worries getting in the way of your studies?

the university of edinburgh administers funds to assist students struggling with their finances for More inforMation go to: www.ed.ac.uk.student-funding/ financial-assistance

Supporting Students and Changing Lives The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Lifestyle 15

lifestyle

For the love of a good bra

S&M Students and Money Part one: The B Word

We wear them every day, yet their sizing remains something of a mystery. Anna Feintuck goes undercover or something so basic, bras are really quite a complex issue. Ask a selection of girls for their sizing stories, and you’ll get an onslaught of “I’d been wearing the wrong size for years” and “the right size changed my life” tales.

How can sizing be so contentious?

Glaringly, painfully obvious, however, is the importance of wearing the correct size. Around 80% of women experience back pain at some point, and whilst a myriad causes exist, it is clear that anything that might reduce the likelihood of this is well worth trying.

Medical and anecdotal evidence suggest that a well-fitting bra can reduce many types of back pain dramatically by providing support and improving posture.

In need of some postural improvements myself, I took to the high street in search of a definitive answer to the sizing question. My first stop was Bravissimo, who were highly recommended by almost every girl I asked, and who consistently get rave reviews online.

Although the Bravissimo experience might be a little unnerving for the very shy (they run their fingers under the back and straps of your bra to check how tight it is, and may readjust the bra to make sure the cups fit correctly), they did their utmost to make sure I felt comfortable. The fitting itself was done while I was wearing my bra, and they asked whether I’d prefer them to leave the fitting room while I changed into the ones they brought for me to try.

Anyway, time for some empirical data. I went into Bravissimo believing I was a 32D and left as a 28E. As ridiculous as the latter size sounds, the bras themselves aren’t that different, except for how tight they are around my back.

IF THE BRA FITS: (left to right) 28D x 2, 28E, 32D. The rest of the high street did not live up to Bravissimo’s standards, however.

In Marks and Spencer, very few styles come in a 28, with many only starting at a 32. When I was measured (which was

emily jarrett

F

done with a measuring tape, and trial and error with a few different styles and sizes) I was actually put back into my old size. La Senza do not stock any 28s, and, although their website offers a good

range of cup sizes for 30s, in the store I didn’t find anything smaller than a 32.

They get around this by suggesting that you change cup size proportionately – a 28E, they say, is equivalent to a 30DD or – rather familiarly – a 32D. However, the 32D I tried on in store did not fit as comfortably as my M&S 32D, which, given that they were similar styles, suggests that there is a discrepancy in the actual physical sizes of bras from store to store, as well as in their methods of sizing. This is nothing new: women are used to being completely different clothes sizes depending on brand and cut, but bra sizes are supposed to be based on actual measurements and proportions – a 28 back literally means 28 inches.

A convert to Bravissimo I may be, but in all honesty the size I had been wearing was more comfortable. I suppose years of wearing a size that was too big will make it hard to adapt to one that is actually serving some kind of supportive function. In the 28E I feel like my back is being squeezed slightly, but I can definitely tell already that it is making a difference to my posture: I feel more upright, which may just be a result of being more aware of it – but certainly can’t be a bad thing.

One thing, though – I always used to ditch my handbag in the cloakroom at clubs and keep my money and ID in my bra. Having tried it in my new bra, I can confirm that I now emphatically cannot. This is a disappointing discovery, but now that I think about it, being able to fit a handful of coins and a driver’s license into a bra cup does suggest that it isn’t exactly fitting snugly. A small price to pay for the sake of a straight back, anyway.

The truth behind boys' boxers B

lame my overactive brain and irritating observatory skills for this latest discovery, but as I noticed the same waistband appear over jeans two or three times in a week, I had to pose the question to a friend of mine: “How many times have you changed your boxers this week?”

I was informed that if I thought wearing the same pair for two or three days was bad, I should hear about some of his "mates" who have previously gone five days before the realisation, or potentially the stench, hit them.

It is an age old stereotype that young men, especially students, are a tad slapdash on the hygiene front.

That image of male students, all pizza boxes and strange smells, has been around for a long while. How far does this stereotype now ring true? When terms like metrosexual are in wide use and it is now more socially acceptable for men to care about their appearance, I would have thought that this unkempt image must be dying out.

Yet this clearly isn't true: according to a recent poll on the Student Room, to which over 2000 male students responded, it was revealed that 20% do not change their boxers every day.

Although STDs are obviously a key issue and something to be taken incredibly seriously, this is not the only thing to worry about when getting involved with someone. A boy's lack of care in the boxer department will not automatically mean you’ll catch something, but you still might not be left feeling your best. The build-up of bacteria, even over the course of just two days, can cause thrush, yeast infections and bacterial vaginosis when girls come into con-

“

A recent poll on The Student Room ... revealed that 20% do not change their boxers every day." tact with it, all of which are incredibly unpleasant.

Obviously when you’re eying someone up in a club the first thing that comes to mind is not “he’s hot but I wonder when he last changed his boxers”, but this is why the concept of getting to know someone before you

sleep with them is a pretty sane thing to do. Especially when this same bacteria produces nasty tastes and smells, which although not apparent at first can be pretty off-putting at crucial moments.

On asking a sample of the male students around university about their hygiene habits, it was clear that although they themselves were apparently squeaky clean, they all "have a friend" who goes a few days without changing. Most also clarified that this is very much an unspoken topic, thus making it clear that even though it is a relative norm amongst the male population, they are not yet ready to admit it.

I’m not suggesting we all become germ-phobic, but when something is as easy as making sure you’ve got enough boxers for a whole week and actually using them, it is worrying that boys are not considering such basic hygiene. Although boys' main gripe with us girls seems to be that we leave our underwear and shoes all over the place, at least that won’t result in a trip to the doctors – unless they sneakily try on some of our skyscraper wedges for a laugh that is…

BOXERS: Scrub-a-dub-dub.

Sophie Craik

This week Sophie Craik reveals the worrying truth about what lies beneath

By now you’ll have survived the constant barrage of society flyers, club promoters and pizza delivery people all wanting "a minute of your time" and, more importantly, a bit of your cash. Yes, shameless promotion week, aka freshers week, is over for another year. Your week will have undoubtedly been full of numerous unforeseen expenses, and so it comes as no surprise that every student looks forward to the day when that trusty SLC/SAAS loan arrives to mend your bruised bank balance.

It is, however, very important that you resist the temptation to splurge your newly acquired riches unless you want to face some very messy debt issues, and the best way is to get in the habit of budgeting. It might sound tedious and boring but the fact is most of the money you’ll be spending is actually borrowed, meaning at some point you’ll be paying it back. That said, having a budget does not mean you cannot enjoy your money. It is simply about knowing how much money in your account is for spending on luxury items and how much needs to be saved for necessary costs.

1. Work out your income. Make sure you know how much money you have coming in and how often.

This includes incomes such as your monthly loan or your one off bursary, as well as earnings from a parttime job, savings from your summer job or payments from family.

2. Work out your spending. This varies depending on accommodation as you may make payments per semester as opposed to a monthby-month payment in a private flat rental, and your bills and food may or may not be included.

On top of these essentials, estimate how much you will spend on general life. This will include books, stationery, going out, alcohol, clothes, travel, and anything else you do regularly. Make sure the amounts chosen are realistic or you are unlikely to stick to it; if in doubt, always overestimate.

Now that you have a rough idea of your income and expenditure, you are instantly in better control of your money. Make sure you record the actual amount so you can see if your budget is accurate so your funds do not dry up unexpectedly in week six – trust me, it happens.

When budgeting with joint bills, having experienced the highs and lows of living in a five-person flat in second year, I found the easiest way to share the cost of bills is to set up one bank account for the whole flat, which can be managed by one person or jointly if you prefer.

Get everyone to put a lump sum into this account for direct debits to be taken out of and if necessary, you can organise another top-up when it starts getting low later in the year. If you are lucky, there may even be some left over money when your lease runs out which you can divide up amongst yourselves!

Alexandra Taylor

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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16 Technology

We're not in Farmville anymore Would you pay for a free game? James Beagon finds himself in a contradictory situation cable success on par with the English cricket team, but a success nonetheless. Computer games magazine PC Gamer has recently confirmed this by making League of Legends the first free-to-play game to be on its cover in its 18 year history. Not only that, but for a free massively-multiplayer online game to continually average one million players a day and sustain the cost of its servers in a gaming climate where free MMOs are as common as a badly-thought-out simile is nothing short of astonishing.

“

The game seems to have the additictive properties of heroin, if that can be considered a compliment " When one thinks of free online games, the mind immediately turns to things like Farmville (or Townville, or High-Security-Prisonville...) LoL, however, has cemented its status as something some might be tempted to call a "real" game - not based happily in your browser and where the chance of frequent death replaces the chance of your turnips rotting. It is a team game that captures the essence of all good games before it – being easy to learn, but hard to master, with each character requiring a different kind of skill and tactic to use it properly in a variety of situations. On the one hand, it is a testament to the nature of the game that despite effectively having only one map for ten players and one map for six, the same people will keep coming back again and again. With matches averaging roughly 40-45 minutes at the most commonly played "casual" ten-player game, you will

find people who will frequently play ten matches back-to-back. This game seems to have the addictive properties of heroin, if that can be considered a compliment.

How does this free game make money? I once heard a friend mine declare that if he won this next game, then he would "reward" himself by purchasing a bundle of Riot Points.

Like almost all free games out there, it sustains itself by having a store where you can purchase optional extras for your account, notably extra characters or skins for those characters. Whilst it’s possible to never spend anything, money to unlock characters' skins can only be purchased with Riot Points which must be purchaced with with cash. Skins are exactly what they sound like – they are entirely cosmetic changes to a character that you own.

Whereas once you might play as a tiny wizard with a staff, you are now playing as a tiny leprechaun with a giant clover leaf. The abilities and statistics of your character remain exactly the same. It seems ludicrous to ever consider parting with your money for this. And yet people do it all the time. I know – I’ve done it myself. When I pointed this out to the aforementioned friend, he justified it quite succinctly – he had been playing this game enjoyably for a while without being asked to pay anything by the developers. Due to the amount of enjoyment he'd had, it did not seem odd to him to help fund the developers and thus the survival of the game, whilst at the same time gaining an extra small amount of amusement and entertainment for himself.

And essentially, this is why League of Legends is successful and why it will continue to be successful for some time. When players genuinely feel like they owe the developer something for the fun they are having and thus pay for what is essentially useless tat, you know the game has done something right. It’s the same line of thought that leads to people feeling next to no

qualms about illegally downloading games or products in general that they feel are extortion. Despite the negative aspects of the community and the slightly questionable results on your short-term friendships from extended play, I still associate the game with enjoyment. I did finally

cease playing over the summer after several months of constant play; the eventual monotony of both the game, the post-game arguments and irritatingly long periods of server downtime hit me at the same time as real-life commitments. But with the imminent release of an entirely new game-type

and style of play to the game, known as Dominion, I know deep-down that despite everything, I will soon decide to venture back and pick up where I left off. That is the drawing power of this game.

courtesy of riot games

et’s answer one thing straight L away – League of Legends is definitely a success. A mildly inexpli-

TEAMWORK: Some would call it unfair

Curing climate change?

Tom Hasler examines technology's potential to have a positive impact on climate change

hen thinking of climate change W and how to stop it, our first impulse is often to think of changes we could make to our lifestyles. Examples of this might include using greener public transport instead of driving, avoiding unnecessary air travel, and buying green products from sustainable sources. Unfortunately, though, even if we make our lives more energy efficient, the amount of energy consumed globally is still likely to increase dramatically as third world countries gain access to more services and lift their population out of poverty. But how much CO2 emission can we eliminate though technology alone?

A large chunk of CO2 emissions, around 25%, is caused by power plants that burn fossil fuels such as coal or oil. Obviously eliminating these CO2 emissions would go a long way towards solving our problems.

Of course, most people would cite renewables as the technological road to green energy. However despite coming a long way in the past 20 years there are still some fundamental problems associated with renewables.

The most universal problem is reliability: the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow but people will always need energy. As such, before renewables can produces a substantial amount of our power we need a method of cheaply and efficiently storing the energy.

Examples of energy capture and storage already exist, including a facility in Wales called Electric Mountain ����������������������� –��������������������� which unfortunately is not a farm for electric sheep. The facility is essentially a small hydroelectric plant built into a mountain with reservoirs at the top and bottom.

Water from the top is passed though

the generators during the day when electricity demand is high and gently pumped back up the mountain in the evening when demand is low. Such facilities are large, however, and essentially increase the practical cost of renewables as they make up a larger fraction of our national grid.

Another option would be nuclear, which after recent events in Japan isn’t a particularly popular option.

The advantages however are obvious.

Nuclear power doesn’t directly produce CO2 and is cheap and sustainable for potentially a thousand years � – if ������������������������������������ not more. Modern reactor designs can use fuel that is already considered waste from today's reactors. This means that we will not be producing any new waste, and the waste we do make will be even more benign. These designs are currently unproven, however, and - as much as it will upset the

good people at Greenpeace - we may be forced to adopt another generation of the dangerous, dirty reactors that are in use right now in order to offset global warming.

“

The most universal problem with renewables is reliability: the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow but people will always need energy" The final solution proposed is carbon capture technology. This is part of the controversial "clean coal" family of technologies. This is

a contentious issue amongst climate activists: Al Gore, for example, said that “clean coal is like healthy cigarettes.” In other words, they do not believe it is a viable option.

In principle carbon capture could eliminate all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants. But even if it succeeds, the task of finding a way to safely store massive volumes of CO2 could be just as challenging than developing the capturing technology in the first place, if not more so.

Ultimately, the scale of the problem means that pretty much every innovation that is being looked at right now will need to be applied at some scale in order to meet even the most gentle of emission targets.

Certainly however the technology itself probably has a bigger role to play in the green revolution than social attitudes or local politics.

rEVIEW

COMMISSION #2: chicago residency

Final year MA Fine Art students Georgina Bolton Anna Bruce, Elliott Goat, Benjamin Hoare, and Imogen Lloyd undertook the artist’s residency at the John David Mooney Foundation during July 2011. They opened a show titled Lifestyle Analytic that ran from 30 July to 8 August. Georgina Bolton spoke to The Student about her experiences in Chicago and her resulting work, shown here.

"This summer, myself and four Fine Art MA peers were lucky enough to undertake a collaborative artists’ residency at the John David Mooney Foundation in Chicago, ECA's secret gem of a workspace.

As an interdisciplinary group our approach was from the outset one of flux, adopting an "in process" way of working, embracing a fluid and changeable outlook. The Foundation’s notion of the concept of art as the energising force in society both exaggerates its sociological standpoint and emphasises how the dialogue between artists and the city is integral to its educational philosophy. As a group we were keen to adopt this idea, utilising the foundation as a creative space, a living environment, and an intermediary porthole to Chicago’s buzzing urban scene. Developing work resulted in an eclectic exhibition titled Lifestyle Analytic, an exciting interdisciplinary fine art showcase that took a playful, exploratory outlook. Personally, recent investigations into the interchangeable dialogue between two and three dimensions have linked drawing with sculpture, sculpture with architecture, and architecture with site-specific environmental installation, resulting in this piece, Circular Vision, a large scale wall drawing inspired by various urban geometries and local architectonics. As five Fine Art undergraduates crawling closer and closer to the all important degree show next June, we feel the experience was irreplaceable. We will no doubt be building on ideas planted in Chicago, developing these foundations into new works and projects. Who knows what will erupt. Watch this space."

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Follow us on twitter @TheStudentPaper or on Facebook at facebook.com/TheStudentNewspaper culture.thestudent@gmail.com

18 Culture 20

Behind closed doors Zoe Blah explores Edinburgh's Doors Open Day and discovers a very different side of the city

D

oors Open Day is officially a grown-up. Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, Scotland’s annual event is reaching Edinburgh on 24 and 25 September. This weekend will see a host of buildings dotted around the city open up their doors to the general public, so those in the know can get to see inside places they’d usually have to pay for.

“

ANTON HENNING: interieur no.493, Ragamala Talbot Rice Gallery Until 22 October



W

hen you step between the vivacious colours and threedimensional art of Anton Henning’s Interieur No. 493 and the Ragamala collection at the Talbot Rice Gallery, it’s natural to feel a little surprised.

The bright white walls of the main space, and Henning’s multi-format works, some of which are indistinguishable from furniture, create an environment far more domestic than your average gallery, and one in which abstract paintings, confused sculpture and a simple white sofa

A ROOM WITH A VIEW: Merchants' Hall, Edinburgh ies all over Scotland. Each weekend in September, a different area of the

country hosts events, talks, behindthe-scenes tours and the like, allow-

seem utterly disconnected from one another. The artist’s free reign over the gallery space means that he has manipulated it well, controlling as he does the lights, sounds and setup of the art we observe to distort the normal museum hush of such a space.

However it is hard to find a common factor in terms of style: even within his collection of paintings, some pieces show Henning’s knowledge of art history through familiar forms in contrasted, lively colours, while elsewhere graphic nude paintings make us wonder what kind of domestic environment he was aiming for.

Stepping through from this into the dimly-lit second gallery takes some getting used to. It seems either the two exhibitions running side-byside are a prime example of the Talbot Rice Gallery’s great resources and the

range of works at the university-run gallery’s disposal, or the curator was simply a little confused.

The university’s collection of miniature Indian paintings depict a range of instruments and players in incredible detail, and are symbolic interpretations of musical modes (Ragas) and their connection with divine characters. The scenes shown are romantic, aristocratic and luxurious, evoking ideas of beauty, passion and poetry.

The paintings have travelled a long way from their homes of Hyderabad and Jaipur, and now the decision to set them next to an exhibition so far-flung from this highly traditional kind of art is bordering on baffling.

I LIKE WHAT YOU'VE DONE WITH THE PLACE: Anton Henning 10th

Jenni Ajderian

courtesy talbot rice gallery

Way back in 1990, when Glasgow was designated the European City of Culture, the Doors Open Day was born in Ayr and Glasgow. Due to its success it became an annual event, spreading to a number of cit-

courtesy oberlanders and merchants' hall

Each weekend in September, a different area of the country hosts events, talks, behind-the-scenes tours and the like, allowing us common folk to see aspects of the city that are usually closed off."

ing us common folk to see aspects of the city that are usually closed off.

For example, the Royal Lyceum Theatre will be offering 30 minute backstage tours on 24 September, where visitors can see the set of Mary Queen of Scots got her Head Chopped Off, and try on various costumes. Carrying on with the theatrical note, the Traverse theatre are also offering guided tours around their £3.3million purposebuilt two theatre space.

The University itself will be opening various buildings to the public, including the library and CSE, as well as lesser-known places like St Cecilia’s Hall which was designed by Robert Milne and houses the Musical Instrument Museum.

The Anatomy Lecture Theatre is also open at the weekend for anyone who wants to see a whale’s jawbone or elephant’s skeleton in the foyer, the remnants of two extensive medical museums on the top floor, or stay for one of the talks given in the lecture theatre itself.

Alternatively, if you head down to Alva Street the Edinburgh Chess Club will be showing off their olympic skills and are offer-

national museum of scotland Chambers Street



W

hen the National Museum of Scotland first opened its doors in 1866 the aim was to show the entire world under one roof. Now, after much anticipation, the “under construction” signs have been taken down as the museum puts 8,000 new objects on display for the public.

The idea of housing the world under one roof is most striking in the galleries of the natural world, where the dinosaur bones that used to be displayed are finally on view again. The museum has suspended sharks, dolphins, a giant squid and other sea creatures (including fossilised skeletons) above a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an elephant and other land-dwelling creatures. An impressive and spectacular sight – the whole natural world, old and new, poised dramatically for our examination.

Not to mention the Mega Sloth – an absurdly large fossil of the sloth’s early ancestor that can only make you laugh. That’s the fantastic thing about this display: having dinosaurs next to a full size elephant, or any other contemporary animal for that matter, we can truly see their gargantuan size.

For those still in touch with their inner child, the museum caters for the need to touch everything in sight. If you so wish, you can dress up as a scuba-diver, crawl through a tree and feel the skin of a snake, a lion and a llama. Just be careful not to carry this attitude with you to the more

ing a friendly game to anyone up for the challenge. At the WASPS Studio, demonstrations of laser cutting and etching will be given, and the pleasantly-named Museum of Fire has a range of fire engines to satisfy any childhood nostalgia.

“

These kind of events are not really designed for tourists ... Instead, they allow us to explore our own city which is too easily taken for granted."

These kind of events are not really designed for tourists, who will (presumably) go sightseeing when they visit Edinburgh anyway. Instead, they allow us to explore our own city which is too easily taken for granted. Before exams, essays, deadlines and the ever-looming winter weather catches up with our daytimes, a September weekend is the perfect opportunity to get out of bed and see a side of the city that, for one weekend only, is welcoming you in with open arms.

serious sections of the museum.

If you’re looking for a more enlightening experience, the world cultures galleries display beautiful and interesting artwork from all over the world alongside musical instruments and textiles in order to give a sense of how diverse we are as human beings.

Jumping from continent to continent with a few steps, trying to squeeze the world into one day can be a little overwhelming; but it’s a lot cheaper than a gap year.

“

The museum has suspended sharks, dolphins, a giant squid and other sea creatures (including fossilised skeletons) above a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an elephant and other land-dwelling creatures."

No matter what the museum has on display, it is fantastic to be able to see the building itself in its full glory.

The brilliant views from the roof terrace, the glass ceilings, the staggering Victorian architecture – everywhere you walk there is something exciting to look at. The world under one roof indeed.

Michael Mackenzie

Theatre buff? Review it! Follow us on twitter @TheStudentPaper or on Facebook at facebook.com/TheStudentNewspaper culture.thestudent@gmail.com

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Culture 19 21 Star Rating A trip to New York A trip to Disneyland A trip to the seaside A trip to Tesco A trip to the dentist

A shocking display

ROYGBIV

This week's cultural spectrum.

Órla Murray takes a look at the experimental photography of Sugimoto in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

icarus

Bedlam Theatre Run Ended



B

ased on the well-known Greek myth, Bedlam theatre’s opening production of the academic year was a pleasing dissection of the often-referenced enlightenment hero and an excellent revisiting of an old tale. The show was a 25-minute monologue written by Paul Hughes, directed by Rosie Curtis and performed by Callum O’Dwyer as the titular character.

The play starts with Icarus’ childhood where he was overshadowed by his brilliant father, Daedalus. This featured O’Dwyer subtly display-

LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE: Lightning Fields 168 raphy appears to straddle the science of photographic production and the emotive conveyance of complex ideas through images. He bravely tackles the theme of time in both series, but with Photogenic Drawing the result is far more haunting and profound.

On the wall between exhibition

rooms another quote from Sugimoto reads; “However fake the subject, once photographed it’s as good as real.”

This perfectly introduces the large painting-like photographs that he produced from original negatives, taken by William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the forefathers modern photography.

ing the intense, but jaded reverence Icarus had for Daedalus. The story progresses through Icarus’ life to the fiery finale, where Hughes’ writing comes full circle, having shown Icarus to be continuously broken, to the point where his jealousy of his father’s genius become the fire which ignites his final act of romantic lunacy.

Visually, the show was appropriately minimalistic; O’Dwyer stood on a small block for the duration.

In a piece of directing brilliance, the lighting altered appropriately as he recalled it, but beyond that little changed visually. Icarus was equipped with his customary ravaged waxen wings throughout and the play was presented as an ethereal tale from the departed, rather than a contemporary

examination and dramatisation of events as they unfold.

“

O'Dwyer paces himself impeccably, and any stumbling came off as one of the many, well-placed dramatic pauses."

In this capacity it did very well; the script was well-written, thematic and tense. O’Dwyer was eloquent and believable in his delivery. He admitted in the post-show question and answer session that he had stumbled over lines, but this wasn’t at all noticeable during the performance as he

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART

S

ugimoto’s two series of photos: Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawing are brought together in a stunning realisation of his themes of time and memory, alongside his exploration of photographic production methods. The exhibition manages to be both profoundly beautiful with an insightful introduction to elements of photographic science.

Lightning Fields’ striking black and white images, created by applying electrical charges to photographic film, manages to capture brief moments of light particle movement in minute detail. This results in an interesting and enjoyable exploration of Sugimoto’s belief that “Art resides even in things with no intrinsic intention.”

As the title suggests, the large photographs primarily resemble dramatic lightning bolts, but as you move through the exhibition they begin to effortlessly morph into more complex representations: a river of white lava flowing through cracked earth, a long haired banshee rising explosively into the sky, a tree with roots crawling through the darkness.

Sugimoto’s approach to photog-

Talbot was known for using lightsensitive paper to create “light drawings” – paper negatives – around 160 years before to Sugimoto.

Many of the negatives used by Sugimoto had never previously been developed, allowing him to put a new spin on some of Talbot’s original pictures. The photographs produced ranged between stunning depictions of plant life tinted with different colours on contrasting backgrounds, to haunting and eerie depictions of Talbot’s family and household, some grainy and indistinct with age.

The exhibition as a whole proved deeply engaging and profoundly aesthetic, which made delving into philosophy and scientific production methods enjoyable and accessible to even the most sceptic of gallery goers.

This lingering piece from the Edinburgh International Festival proved atmospheric and intensely poignant. I left feeling reminiscent, having seen fading memories of the summer festivals and a photographic journey through time. had paced himself impeccably, with any stumbling just looking like one of the many, well-placed dramatic pauses. Hughes’ writing cleverly charted the internal conflict and O’Dwyer’s portrayal acutely displayed the emotional woes of Icarus, through repression of him by his father, his yearning for love and his ultimate desire for freedom.

The show was thoroughly enjoyable, the audience held in rapt attention for the entire duration, remaining thoroughly committed to the plot and giving a resounding applause at the simple, powerful finale. Through and through, this was a display of great writing, acting and directing.

THE ART DOCTOR with Anna Feintuck

This week: picnics, pathetic fallacy and petty arguments I’ve just got to Edinburgh and am living in a flat with three girls whose lectures are all in George Square. They are all doing literature or history. I’m doing biology and I’m the only one going to King’s Buildings.

I feel like I might end up being quite left out in my flat. I pretty much have to be in university 9-5 whereas they’re all already talking about going for lunch together and meeting up for library afternoons when they don’t have classes. What can I do?

A

wiser man than me (my dad) once said that there is no point worrying about things you can’t change. This may be easier said than done, but it’s certainly worth bearing in mind. Essentially, you need to focus on making the most of the time you do all have together. Thus I present to you some modest suggestions for cultural flat bonding weekends.

Luxuriate in gloriously hazy September afternoons with a picnic in the

gardens of the National Galleries of Modern Art. I love the huge illuminated signs there, which read “THERE WILL BE NO MIRACLES HERE” and “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.” Simplistic though these words may be, they should remind you to keep your head in the realm of the real – worries are imaginary, after all. If the weather lets you down, don’t let your literary flatmates ascribe it to pathetic fallacy – venture to the amazing cafe in the Dean Gallery and treat yourselves to a cream tea.

It’s also worth remembering that while your other flatmates may seem to be closer to each other than to you, they’re also far more likely to get involved in the kind of petty, annoying argument that seems to stem almost uniquely from spending too much time together.

Got a problem? The Art Doctor can cure you! All problems will be treated confidentially. And ever so seriously. Email artdoctor.thestudent@gmail.com.

Quite a Quagga here is a popular school of thought which suggests that nature and culture are not as easily disentangled as previous generations maintained.

Nowhere is this view more clearly vindicated than in the art of taxidermy display, a shining example of which has just been reintroduced to Edinburgh with the much trumpeted re-opening of the Royal Museum, the old Victorian part of the National Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street.

Perhaps it’s a result of their obsolescence – after all, the art was at its highest during the Victorian period, and collections worldwide are still founded on specimens from Darwin’s era – but stuffed animal collections seem to me to be the most vivid battleground for science and poetry known to man. That is if one views science and poetry as locked in battle – "cwtch" might be more accurate.

The Royal Museum closed its doors for extensive refurbishment in April 2008, meaning that, for a class-of-2007 fresher like myself, there was just enough time to be intoxicated by their taxidermy collection before three years of anxious anticipation took over. Most of all, I was waiting to be re-united with an artefact that ranks among the Museum’s less flashy exhibits but which nonetheless trumps most of them for historical richness. A stuffed female Quagga – the only one of its species to be photographed before extinction in 1883 – speaks with a more powerful obsolescence than most of the objects surrounding it.

Before closure, the Quagga (like a Zebra, but less flamboyant) was housed in a dark room somewhere behind the main display, kept in its own vitrine as if to maintain through all eternity the profound and increasing solitude experienced by the beast during its lifetime.

That’s poetry, not least for a homesick fresher.

On returning I felt a different sensation. The Quagga is still off the beaten track but the face it presents to the world is now a very different one. Ascend the stairs all the way to level five and you’ll see it, fraternising with a Lynx, a Beaver, a colourful Kakapo and assorted others, in the large vitrine dedicated to revivals and reintroductions. Unbeknownst to this Quagga enthusiast, a revival programme has been in process for around a quarter of a century, and a herd of specimens – "Quaggas 2.0" – was recently introduced to the Elandsberg Nature Reserve in southern South Africa.

Now far from that cosmic loneliness, nestling instead between the interactive play-area and Scottish success stories like the White-Tailed Sea-Eagle, the Quagga’s expression more bland, its eyes less watery and melancholic. Conjoined they may be, but sometimes what is very good for nature can be very bad for culture.

T

Luke Healey

Look oot for...

Mystics or Rationalists? at Ingelby Gallery on until October 22nd. holly jameson

Dear Art Doctor,

gra

The chance to win an exciting prize in next week's issue...

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Don't go anywhere without your iPod? music.studentnewspaper@gmail.com

20 Music

In our Neighbourhood

ARCADE FIRE PRESS

Joshua Angrave sees Edinburgh Castle's esplanade play host to Arcade Fire

SUBURBAN CRIES: Chassagne sings out Haiti for the earthquake appeal erformances at the Castle are a P rarity for Edinburgh’s music scene, with shows few and far between, often

only reserved for the most traditional of events, such as the Military Tattoo.

This made for an altogether eagerly anticipated start to September, with Arcade Fire’s surprise slot in the Castle’s calendar.

A special unannounced support act on offer, and hope was rife that Beirut and Mumford and Sons might make appearances. Unlike the earlier UK date in Hyde Park however, support came from The Walkmen, who provided ample replacement, if not to a slightly tepid audience.

The atmosphere slowly built, as dusk fell over the castle to reveal fire lit torches strewn across the towering walls. Below in the esplanade, all eyes were focussed on the assembling stage, as the multi-instrumental ensemble of Arcade Fire’s setup emerged amidst a towering screen.

With the stage-encircling seats,

Obituary

DJ Mehdi remembered ragic news emerged earlier this T week that on 13 September, at the age of 34, Mehdi Favéris-Essadi

had died. Known the world over as DJ Mehdi, a renowned French house and hip hop producer, it was those closest to Mehdi in the field that first revealed the circumstances of events on Twitter.

Having been celebrating the birthday of long-time friend and fellow producer, Riton, at Mehdi’s Paris

and standing section full to a sold out capacity, the lights went out, and an old style movie reel flashed up on the back screen, before segments of short film kicked in. This saw a snippet of cult classic The Warriors prime the onlookers before the familiar string section of The Suburbs (continued) started up, and the shot switched to the suburban scene of American boys on push bikes.

Grabbing the eager attention of all, the band took to the stage, flying into Ready To Start, off the third - Grammy award winning - album, The Suburbs, to which the camera shots on screen were based, taken from Spike Jonze’s companion film, Scenes From The Suburbs.

These created an all-round powerful effect, for as good as the songs were, it was refreshing to hear the live sound of the band alongside the visuals of the short film sequences.

Following on from Ready To Start, the visuals took the audience through the perspective of a moving car, as it journeyed along the American road to

Keep The Car Running, and of course No Cars Go; whilst up on screen, day turned to night, and the headlights of the car flashed into the unforeseeable distance, bringing everyone out of their seats.

apartment in the 20th arrondissement, Mehdi and three others fell through a shattered Plexiglas floor, hospitalising all four, with Mehdi sustaining fatal injuries.

Adored and respected by numerous circles in the music world, it was a tribute to his kindness that all week trending topics on twitter paid their respects with #RIPMEHDI. Boys Noize even suspended his tour in Ibiza and Madrid this weekend out of respect, and the Paris Social Club closed its doors on Thursday in his honour.

Our thoughts go out to the Ed Banger family, where Mehdi had been instrumental in its formation and success in the last decade, and more importantly to his wife, the model and graphic artist, Fabienne Fafi, and their son, Neil. They must take comfort in

“

They must take comfort in knowing that his music will continue to inspire and entertain those who Mehdi had imparted on."

“

With the last bow from the band came a firing salute from behind the castle walls in true prestigious pomp style."

Pausing poignantly for the next song, Haiti, the band’s French Canadian routes spilled onto stage, with Win Butler relating the song's origins to Napoleon’s nineteenth century invasions. This provided sombre tones, as Chassagne sung her elegy to her lost homeland, reminding us of the gig’s

charitable cause for the tragic earthquake appeal.

The mellowed down Rococo followed with its heartfelt strings, and distorted bass, before the newly released Speaking in Tongues was tested on the crowds.

This made for a small hiatus, with much of the seated audience taking the time to break between the imminent build to the heights of Funeral’s hits Wake Up and Neighbourhood #2 (Laika).

The stunning visuals remained, as Intervention revealed shimmering organ pipes on screen, complementing the song's reverent feel, with its choral backing vocals and French horns. This was to be the last song off Neon Bible, as the band swapped between The Suburbs’ remaining few, and Funeral’s favourites. Neighbourhood #3 (Tunnels), and an expectant, breath-taking encore of Neighbourhood #2 (Power Out) and Rebellion (Lies) made for the most impressive numbers.

They were to prove themselves worthy visitors to the Castle’s battlements, knowing that his music will continue to inspire and entertain those who Mehdi had imparted on. To look at Michael Jackson’s legacy is but one reminder of this, where an artist almost vilified in his later life, is remembered now, more than anything, for his impact on contemporary pop music. The Amy Winehouse Foundation, launched early this week to help vulnerable young people also speaks volumes of the opportunity for good which musicians can have, even posthumously.

Joshua Angrave

if not solely for their multi instrumental talents as a seven piece, which saw them continuously rotate, with Chassange’s hurdy gurdy, on Keep The Car Running, to her accordion on Neighbourhood #2.

The set closer, Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), just before the encore, similarly demonstrated the band’s versatility, as the electronic textures of italo-disco keys spoke volumes of their musical exploration.

Arcade Fire have always been forward thinking in their approach to technology in music, as with their collaboration with Chris Milk on the first ever interactive music video with, We Used To Wait / The Wilderness, and the show resonated with this visually, as they successfully sought to provide the full live musical experience. To cap it all off, with the last bow from the band came a firing salute from behind the castle walls in true prestigious pomp style.

Follow us on twitter @TheStudentPaper or on facebook at facebook.com/TheStudentPaper music.studentnewspaper@gmail.com

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Music 21

Paradise MOSHI MOSHI

 wo years on from Slow Club’s T beautiful debut Yeah So, the Sheffield based folk-rock duo are back with

their latest offering Paradise. It’s a glorious record, and with such a short space of time between the two albums it’s remarkable how much the band’s sound has matured.

Right from the first track, and current single, Two Cousins, you can hear the brilliant production that sets this album immediately above its predecessor.

A multitude of instruments, percussion, and vocals layer themselves perfectly to create a much fuller sound than anything Slow Club have had before.

While their first album was largely based around acoustic guitars and vocals, with any extra instrumentation feeling like an afterthought, Paradise sees Slow Club embrace the strings and percussion. Beginners, a stompy ‘60s inspired ballad, has a delightfully lively drum instrumental which carries the whole song.

It’s not just the arrangements that have developed so much since their last album; the vocals of the pair have also changed. The cute, in tandem singing that characterised Yeah So is restricted, and individually their voices have blos-

THE WEEK'S LISTINGS he offical Freshers' Week may T be over, but Cabaret Voltaire have something to say about that

“

Right from the first track you can hear the brilliant production that sets this album immediately above its predecessor" PICTURESQUE: And pretty talented so we hear

When the album feels like it’s getting a bit too heavy, on the back of excellent but solemn tracks You, Earth or Ash and Gold Mountain, it bursts back into life with rocky track The Dog. Its delightful opening lyric “I used to think you were a boy/ You played the violin”, illustrating that beneath the added seriousness of this album lies a continuing playful side.

but croons for a man and, “love like hunger”. Successfully she combines blues themes, and enigmatic lyrics with banjo music, somehow pulling it all together seamlessly. Oddly enough, it is The Beast, whose simple crunchy guitars and half-spoken lyrics seem to make it the weakest track on the album. It’s the least busy and layered, but rather repetitive and broody, as well as being an over-long five-and-a-half minutes.

Marling’s adaptable voice and steady rhythms may go too far in making a washed out sound. It’s hard to pick out a standout track, though Sophia does do a good job. The change of mood between verses shows a lack of structure which in no way detracts from the track’s quality, but moves us from moody reflective verse, to choppy, almost up-beat chorus singing, and a splash of an ending which brings us nicely into the album’s final track, a kind of jolly toast to the world of folk itself.

Mere months after her 2010 album, I Speak Because I Can, this latest offering from Marling shows us her continuing status as one of the country’s leading folk artists, and one who is set to stay for years to come.

Jenni Ajderian

LAura marling A Creature I Don't Know ROUGH TRADE

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A

Tom Kinney

WHY SO SAD?: Rebecca knows the answer

confidence beyond her years brings us from bluegrass, through rock, to pure folk in this, the third studio album from 22-year-old Laura Marling, who was this year proclaimed Best British Female at the Brits, and Best Solo Artist by NME. Marling is not one to shy away from experimentation, and her heartfelt lyrics describe an almost religious fear of death and awe for life. Salinas, in particular, paints an almost postapocalyptic world of burning suns and angels, as Marling asks, gun in hand, “Am I heaven-bound?” The song comes out with slide guitars like a country singer’s retrospective, pining for mother, friends and the resplendent life.

This country twang comes out in the album’s very first track, The Muse, in which jaunty, jazzy pianos overlay Marling’s voice, which no longer wails,

Singles ONE DIRECTION

What Makes You Beautiful SYCO

with their alternative take on the freshers' experience, which sees a SBTRKT DJ set on 30 September.

If you're missing the festival feel of the summer, but not the mud and portaloos, then Edinburgh's own EH1 Festival might be for you. Spread across numerous indoor venues, showcasing the best unsigned acts Scotland has to offer, with headline slots from The Dykeenies and Jakil, it might be the perfect way to satisy those post-festival withdrawal symptoms.

While unfortunately Metronomy, Ghostpoet, and Adele have sold out, there's loads more live music to check out in the capital, as well as Glasgow.

GARY NUMAN: ABC Glasgow Tuesday 20th September PETER DOHERTY: Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh (Venue changed from HMV Picturehouse) Wednesday 21st September EMMY THE GREAT: Pleasance Theatre, Edinburgh Friday 23rd September SUBWAYS: Oran Mor, Glasgow Saturday 24th September PETE AND THE PIRATES: Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh Sunday 25th September EH1 FESTIVAL: Various venues, Edinburgh Sunday 25th September Tom Kinney and Joshua Angrave

KASABIAN

Rihanna

Days Are Forgotten COLUMBIA

Cheers (Drink to That) DEF JAM

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his is a cracking first single from s a semi-alcoholic student, it’s alT the Leicestrian’s fourth album A ways nice to hear someone justify (I couldn’t in good conscience review your drinking habits. It’s even nicer



SHIPWRECKED: Get paddling Simon! even enjoy the soft and sullen and sort of creepy whisper of boy-most-likelyto-do-a-Robbie, Harry Styles. And then, there’s the chorus.

Crunching technicolour guitars, sweet "hair-based" sentiment, and a tempo that limbos between frenzied and controlled, like a drunk rabbit pretending he’s sober to his mum. It’s a bona fide explosion of credible song writing, proving that there’s no need to patronise, or pander, or pretend to be stallions, when you’re actually sweet-

SYCO

hen One Direction formed from W the ashes of failed solo X-Factor auditions in 2010, I sat in scorn. It was

a truly cynical act to put five cute and cuddly Bieber-likes together, dismissing vocal inabilities in favour of an ITV gasp tactic, bound to breathe fire into the fingers of teenage tweeters, and make the boys a hash tag friendly pop bomb.

And yet, to my surprise, I found What Makes You Beautiful not only the best pop single of the year so far, but potentially of any X-Factor contestant ever.

It begins with the semi sampling of a Grease beat, all 50s hip bumping and finger-clicking innocence; swirling into tight verses of thoughtful flirting, timed and toned to sound like Ghandi quotes, structured so sweetly that you

LAURA MARLING PRESS

SLOW CLUB

somed; Rebecca Taylor now full of sass and seduction, and Charles Watson all deep and powerful.

Paradise feels like the musical equivalent of that hideously clichéd teen movie scene where the bookish girl throws off her glasses and shakes out her hair to reveal some hidden sex goddess status. Lyrics previously about awkward fumbles and stolen glances seem to have come to fruition as Taylor swoons “You got the brain, I got the body”.

Slow Club cover a huge range of emotions in this record, from the wonderfully uplifting We’re Still Alive, to the angry defiance of lyrics “In a second I’ll be gone and you won’t have to think”.

SLOW CLUB PRESS

Albums

hearts. Sidestepping the temptation of overproduced Guetta rubbish, and confirming that boys writing about how amazing girls are is still the best recipe for pop perfection.

Avoiding the smutty smog of modern pop, What Makes You Beautiful is more a breath of vanilla air, a kindly reminder of the thrill of teenage romance, and a long eye-lashed look into the curious brilliance of a proper pop song.

Jack Murray

anything from this band without mentioning where they’re from). That is until about 1:08 in, then it picks up again at 1:26 but alas it diminishes in lustre once more at 2:12 and so on.

The problem? The hook. If the quartet are going to put out another foot bashing, big on beats debut single I am fine with that. They’ve served us well in the past at the club, the festival or just dancing around at home (I assume we’ve all done it). But it’s just got to have the tag line you can chant along too. The “Osh, la la la la la la,” the “I’m on Fiiiiire,” or even “Stop, I said it’s happening again.” On this level alone the single just doesn’t sit in the same realm as its contemporaries. Otherwise it’s a marvellous track.

Stewart Nutting

when that someone is stupidly attractive and into S&M. Cheers (Drink to That), Rihanna’s seventh single from current album Loud, is a catchy reggaeinspired ode to booze.

There’s a nice relaxed feel to the song, and as the chorus invites us to “let the Jameson sink in” an oddly effective sample of Avril Lavigne can be heard “yeah"-ing in agreement. The lyrics are fairly simple: Rihanna lists things she thinks are worth drinking to. This list, it turns out, is fairly extensive. From “the bastards that get you down” to simply “the freakin’ weekend”, Rihanna will drink to just about anything. Probably best to keep the chains and whips away until she’s sober though.

Tom Kinney

Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

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22 Film

Films amongst friends

With cinema prices on the rise, Ali Quaile meets the Film Society to talk about their affordable alternative best ways to watch a wide variety of films at an affordable price. Screening three films a week throughout term time, it features a diverse range of new releases,classics and international cinema which can be enjoyed by students and non-students alike.

Since EUFS' inception over 40 years ago, it has sought to provide a platform for those passionate about film to watch and discuss the relative merits of a production in a friendly and welcoming way. According to vice-president Lauchlan Hall, “it (the society) is not just the appreciation of film, but the appreciation of the art of film itself, and the dialogue that can be shared between films is an experience which surprisingly few people have had.”

Something which the society actively promotes is a sociable outlet for what is often a very isolated hobby.

President Mat Seccombe reinforces this by saying “we are a very sociable society, often heading to the pub after screenings to discuss the film just

i don't know how she does it Directed by Douglas McGrath 

ou make complicated look Y appealing”, a business partner tells Kate Reddy, the ever-frazzled

protagonist of I Don’t Know How She Does It. The first half of this statement is true in regards to the film, as it takes compelling comedic actors and squanders them on a hackneyed plot. The result is far from appealing though.

“

Pierce Brosnan looms over the film as Kate's new associate and flirtation" The story reads like a Glamour article: Kate is torn between motherhood and her career. The film is equally torn; director Douglas McGrath knows the plot should have been left in the 1980s, so he uses contemporary TV tropes to bring it up-to-date. The first of these is Sarah Jessica Parker, whose Kate wears clothing with her children’s spit-up on it instead of Carrie Bradshaw’s designer, but is otherwise the same character. Her musings on intimidating homemakers narrate the film and are almost as vapid as what Carrie should do with Mr Big. Speaking of Big, Pierce Brosnan looms over the film as Kate’s new associate and

EVIDENTLY UNIMPRESSED: Not everyone was pleased to see The Student at the film quiz watched and are hoping to bring back our monthly movie quiz which proved to be hugely popular when we ran it a few years ago.” It is those moments, when you are introduced to new films or ideas, that Hall seems keen to emphasize. This is the highlight of an organisation built around a shared passion, where������������������������ he says���������������� “the best part of the society is being able to discuss things you have never even heard of and learn about new and exciting films and directors.”

Yet despite the society's potential for film snobbery, arguably its best facet is its openness, where it makes flirtation at her financial firm. They charm each other throughout, culminating in the film’s best scene, a bowling date where the actors appear to be enjoying themselves for once.

Yes, bowling is the highlight, not the juggling working-mom the film promises.

Instead McGrath uses the irritating talk-to-camera method to convey how everyone perceives Kate (as if this matters more than her actual ability to raise two children and her salary). This must be the only way to pack in the cast that contains every comedy TV star from the last 50 years: Seth Meyers, Olivia Munn, Kelsey Grammer and Jane Curtin.

The only one who has something to say on gender politics is Christina Hendricks' best friend character, which proves she should be the film’s star instead.

Nevertheless, the actors do their best to be witty despite the presentation of their jokes. Kate’s amiable husband (played by a dishevelled Greg Kinnear) helps ground her and the film. Their tender family moments matter more than Kate’s latest working girl gaffe. However, you’d still be better off watching SATC reruns.

Tess Malone

All films were reviewed at Cineworld

anyone who shares a passion for film, no matter how limited their knowledge, or particular their tastes, welcome. As Seccombe notes, “We are not just film buffs expecting people to know everything; as long as you enjoy film then we actively encourage anyone to come along.” He seems quick to point out that “a shared interest in film draws crowds together as people enjoy discussing a mutual passion.”

It is also apparent that EUFS moves far beyond a society that merely watches films, as it requires projectionists, archivists, floor managers and film bookers who have to get around

the constraints of copyright laws in order to run with the efficiency it does.

Evidently, one of the most difficult features of the society is trying to compile a list of films in advance to be screened that will be enjoyed by all and cater for a huge variety of preferences.

“We try to maintain people's interest by showcasing a variety of films whilst not being elitist,” states Hall. This is done through weekly meetings where all are welcome to voice an opinion on what should be shown regardless of their position in the society. Often, they focus on particular themes or directors, which is similar to the seasons

that many independent cinemas hold as part of their programmes.

Their recently updated website http://www.eufs.org.uk provides information about the society, film reviews and details on how to join. It has never been easier to find out about upcoming events or read an online version of their programme, which features all of the forthcoming screenings.

There also seem to be plans in place to expand the sorts of events they run, with outdoor screenings in Pleasance proving to be particularly popular and talks of running special celluloid screenings to recreate the iconic image of a film currently in process. With a healthy number of their own projectors that is steadily rising, these are just a few of the ideas that illustrate how EUFS is very much a society that is constantly evolving to enable unique ways of enjoying cinema.

Having won the Film Society of the Year award from the British Federation of Film Societies numerous times, it is clear that this is a group that has all the right elements in place. The amount of thought that goes into curating EUFS' program rather than merely showing a selection of rom-coms and big blockbusters makes this the quintessential society for any film fan.

Yearly membership £15 Single semester membership £10 £1.00 screenings for friends of members

Jane Eyre Directed by Cary fukunaga 

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s with any adaptation from book to film, Jane Eyre will inevitably not be viewed on its own terms. The muchloved story of Jane - from her neglected childhood to the refuge she apparently finds at the house of the mysterious Mr Rochester - has bewitched generations, thus weighing the film down with high expectations.

So what can this Jane Eyre do to stand out? The main difference with this film is that it is not in chronological order. It opens with our evidently distressed heroine running across desolate countryside, ending up in a remote house with Mr Rivers and his two sisters. Jane then proceeds to remember what brought her to the house.

Giving the audience a sense of foreboding from the start, the structure also means that what Jane remembers comes across as exactly that: memories, not a story in itself. With the audience waiting for her to get back to the present, her relationship with Mr Rochester feels more like filler rather than a main story.

The result is that the relationship feels rushed, as though the foreknowledge that something will distress Jane is enough to highlight the relationship’s importance. The climax then doesn’t build and so falls somewhat flat. When we get back to the present, we are nearly at the end of the film. Jane Eyre is one of those rare pieces of cinema

CALCULATED: Michael slowly impresses Mia with his smooth moves that could actually do with being a bit longer.

Despite this structure, the film is by no means a disappointment. Mia Wasikowska plays the disciplined, yet endearing Jane surprisingly well. Michael Fassbender exudes Mr Rochester’s Byronic brooding, if sometimes a bit too much (and, at points, too Irish). The abuse Jane suffers in her childhood will draw gasps from the audience, while haunting Bronte country is beautifully

captured on film.

Overall then, this is by no means a bad adaptation, with a convincing cast and beautiful cinematography.

Its departure from the book provides its main flaw, but such is the risk of all adaptations struggling to exist outside of books that define and inspire generations.

Roisin O'Brien

Laurie Sparham

“

We are not just film buffs expecting people to know everything; as long as you enjoy film then we actively encourage anyone to come along."

Kittiphon boonma

rawn together by a love of film D on the big screen, Edinburgh University's Film Society is one of the

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

Film 23

Directed by rueben fleischer 

ANTI-BOND: No naked supermodels or sportscars here.

Tinker Tailor Soldier SPy

Directed by Tomas Alfredson  0s spy yarn Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 7 has been described as an “anti-Bond film”. It drudges up from retirement

the most dismal and unheroic cast-off of the British intelligence service, George Smiley. As John le Carré’s ironically-named antihero, Gary Oldman blinks impassively throughout from behind dense lenses like a deep sea diver and wastes no time trying to garner audience sympathy.

Yet director Tomas Alfredson’s palate of browns and beiges and his exquisite attention to detail are a world away from any action film. Indeed, watching Colin Firth sip insouciantly from an espresso cup in his period three-piece brings Tom Ford’s A Single Man to mind more than 007. Single men more like.

Who knew spies were such repressed schoolboys? Those of Tinker use the same dorky breathless intonation interchangeably when talking about women, homosexuals and “the Americans”. A compelling scene has a

brogen

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female secretary type up an obscenityridden phone call between two male agents featuring the line “I don’t mind if you fuck me just as long as you call me ‘Sir’ in the morning.”

Their sexless starched world of espionage is riddled with bathetic code names that belie the boredom of it all.

“The Circus”, “Witchcraft” and “Reptile Fund” to name a few. This jargon and Alfredson’s uncompromising realism come at the expense of exposition to the point that the film is often frustratingly unfollowable. Mingling fading European capitals and stifling windowless rooms in the industrial intelligence HQ, the plot jumps erratically between a grey past and a greyer present.

Still, the dry scratch of butter spread thinly on stale toast, the buzz of trapped flies behind glass and Benedict Cumberbatch tucking into a Wimpy’s make for grimly gorgeous cinema. August among the all-star cast is a magnificently silk dressing-gowned John Hurt. “A man should know when to leave the party,” he insists before the opening credits. All the parties of Tinker are in the past and no one’s expecting anymore invites. You can see why.

Catherine Sylvain

omedies about layabouts and losers are becoming more common, and as a result more outlandish. This is true of the plot of 30 Minutes or Less: Dwayne (Danny McBride) and Travis (Nick Swardson) need $100,000 to pay a Mexican assassin to kill Dwayne’s rich father in order to get his inheritance money. To this end, they use a bomb-jacket to employ unwilling accomplice Nick ( Jesse Eisenberg) to rob a bank, who in turn requests the aid of his school-teacher friend Chet (Aziz Ansari). Hilarity ensues.

The film comes from the mind of Ruben Fleischer, the man who gave us Zombieland, and that should indicate the type of humour that runs throughout, crude but sharp and clever as evidenced by the delightfully quippy dialogue. However, a large amount of this dialogue was communicated via shouting. Due to the absurdity of the plot, this makes sense, but is fairly hit and miss in regards to comedy. Equally

contrived was the chemistry between characters. The two protagonists, Nick and Chet, have a spat, and over the course of the absurd events that follow, stereotypically recover their relationship. Throw in a tired romantic subplot and you have a one of the least engaging films in theatres right now.

In comedies this hackneyed, one at least hopes the actors can save it.

However, the acting wasn’t original.

Eisenberg and McBride retained their roles as the awkward and jerk screwups from films such as Adventureland and Your Highness respectively. Even if these performances were enjoyable, they were too formulaic. Astoundingly, Ansari seemed to be doing even less work as he played himself. Fred Ward’s near-insane Vietnam War veteran, The Major, was one of the few good performances.

The film is nothing new, but is at least entertaining. Any fans of this sort of comedy, Zombieland, Pineapple Express etc., should probably indulge it, but be aware this is the lesser of all those films.

Daniel Swain

SHOOT: Tired of Micheal Cera comparisons, Eisenburg snapped

A tinkering trend

Onlinemovieshut

30 Minutes or less

Tess Malone taps in on the current Cold War film fixation in Hollywood he most pivotal scene in Tinker T Tailor Soldier Spy rests on a phone call. It's not an espionage

thriller where Matt Damon gets to kill someone with a pen. The assault is on someone's privacy, not person.

As Gary Oldman's stifled Smiley alerts one character, “I need you to do something for me. You have to assume they're watching you." Today, this could be apt advice to anyone, not just an MI6 agent. Audiences don't need to be lured into the theatre with promises of Jason Statham beating someone into a pulp anymore to feel equally enthralled and threatened.

The word wiretap will suffice enough to shock.

While wiretapping was a foreign and frightening concept to the public back in 1974, when John le Carré wrote the famous novel of the same name, today, it's as commonplace as murder on our front pages. Although director Tomas Alfredson couldn't have anticipated the downfall of The News of the World when the latest version of Tinker went into production, it can't be argued that there is a better time for its

current release date.

Tinker relies on the assumption that we're always being watched or overheard. These covert pryings are literally ripped out of the official books just as crucial voicemails were deleted. Wiretapping is such a violation because it bursts the precious periphery of our privacy and then denies we ever had any. The people who do this are those we trust to report the truth or protect our secrets, not steal and sell them.

Even at its lowest common denominator, we are a paranoid society. Facebook privacy settings remain unsettling as we worry over how many inane wallposts Mark Zuckerberg has kept for posterity. Tinker may be set 40 years ago, and though we will never understand why Benedict Cumberbatch would wear a side-swept fringe, the film's watch-everyone-who-is-watching-you premise is more relevant than ever.

Tinker is not Hollywood's final foray into Cold War films this season.

The upcoming release of The Debt (30 September) is another film full of regrets and vengeance. Like Tinker, it jumps between time periods to relegate

lies that the protagonists are uncertain about revealing or not. It stars the latest ubiquitous ginger, Jessica Chastain, as a Mossad agent sent to 1966's East Berlin to capture the Nazi surgeon of Birkenau, with Sam Worthington and Marton Csokas as her colleagues.

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Even at its lowest denominator, we are a paranoid society...

Facebook privacy settings remain unsettling" All goes well (or so we think) and by 1997, Chastain has morphed in Helen Mirren (who all women want to be in their 60s) and her colleagues, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds (also in Tinker) respectively. They may have aged well, but their guilt over what may or not have happened back in the Cold War hasn't.

The three are hailed as Israel's heroes, but has the meaning of that word changed in the past 31 years? The same question is in Tinker, as one former spy waxes fondness for WWII, claiming it was “a real war”at least. Given more recent military scandals than can be listed in this article, the definition of war and hero continues to shift and remain ambiguous. Thus, The Debt strikes a culturally relevant nerve as well.

Effectively, this makes Tinker and The Debt more of a reflection of our contemporary society than period pieces. However, these films really aren't about politics. What makes Tinker so unique is that it's about personal, not patriotic betrayal. Similarly, The Debt wouldn't have been made if the story revolved around three successful spies, but because these spies are remorseful, the plot abounds. These films reflect our headlines, but ultimately connect with us because relationships are everyone's weakness.

Classic Cult

very emotion in Nicolas Cage’s E range can be hyperlinked to its relevant 10-20 second long YouTube

clip. Eg. "Fear" (the "Who burned the toast?’" scene from The Wicker Man), "Despair" (the crying scene from Vampire’s Kiss) "Delight" (the ‘Hallelujah’ opening from Face Off), "Anxiety"(the pharmacy scene from Matchstick Men)...you definitely have time to watch them all.

Most compelling is the mashup entitled '"Nic Cage Losing His Shit;" a staggering medley of melodrama set to the unsettling Requiem for a Dream theme. It's a humbling viewing experience you emerge from feeling somewhat repressed.

What these editing endeavours reveal is Cage's idiosyncratically manic acting technique. He does not so much gently convey emotions as pummel them to pulp.

Indeed, Cage is responsible for the coining of the term "mega-acting"; a sublime form of over-acting that goes above and beyond the reasonable call of duty by any director, screenplay or test-audience, Werner Herzog-inclusive. The actor trumpets this method indifferently between the likes of National Treasure and Bad Lieutenant, demonstrating a notable dearth of snobbery. Or just density?

Perhaps, though, part of Cage's appeal to his sophisticated fan-base is that he appears at times to be sabotaging his own films, suggesting an ironic awareness. This places him in cahoots with the viewer rather than anyone else involved in whichever gaudy production he’s been seemingly bribed to partake in. Who watched Bangkok Dangerous?

Yet off screen Cage comes across as impressively deluded. Interviews with him tend to glean bewildering openings such as; "Not to compare myself to someone like Francis Bacon, but just as a point of explanation...". He's gone so far as to refer to his acting style as "Nouveau Shamanic", presumably the antidote to the more old school "Shamanic" we've grown tiresomely accustomed to. "That’s the new style of acting," he says, "at some point I’ll have to write a book.” Have to. Fear not, posterity.

Cage's background suggests he's been bluffing all along. Slyly changing his name to conceal the fact that he is Francis Ford Coppola's nephew, Cage won an Oscar early on for his lead in the devastating Leaving Las Vegas. Ever since, he’s been apparently trying to shake off this cumbersome acclaim like a sort of anti-DiCaprio. His film catalogue is not so much eclectic as Newton's cradle-esque across a cavern of taste; on one side are the likes of Season of the Witch and on the other Adaptation.

Still, both are films the aesthete would watch, just in varying degrees of drunkenness. Have you been invited to a "Cage Night" yet?

An evening of sneering, snickering and genuine awe at some of Cage's more underrated films? Well, if you haven't, grab a copy of Ghost Rider (or Deadfall if you’re feeling brave) some pals, some G&Ts in cans and let Cage estrange you from all your stuffy notions of subtlety, ruse and realism.

Catherine Sylvain Bad Lieutenant and Vampire's Kiss screened as the Cameo's Double Bill on 18 September.

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Tuesday September 20 2011 studentnewspaper.org

TV 25

Dinoshow

PLANET DINOSAUR BBC 1 Wednesdays, 8.30pm

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MonkeyDust BBC 3 (2003) tvlinks.com

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If you think you'd like the sound of John Hurt's silken voice booming over some prehistoric dubstep whilst two giant lizards have a lovers' tiff, then you should tune in" jacket-wearing professors looking to see their PhDs come to life as well as nine-year-old rascals who want to see blood spray from the neck of a T-Rex is a difficult balance to achieve. As a result episodes become a curious mix of documentary and B-Movie – muddled messes of facts and fights.

But when it comes to television

dinosaurs, I think most of us are happy to overlook structural mistakes and dismiss the ‘maybe’ factor in order to slip into a beautifully-envisioned world: a world of sweeping landscapes and singing sky creatures, of beating sun and....THAT MASSIVE DINOSAUR CHASING YOU, AHHHHHH, RUN!

BODY FARM

Channel 4 Tuesdays, 11.10pm

BBC 1 Wednesdays, 8.30pm

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tepping into the shoes of the acclaimed and long-running Waking the Dead as the BBC’s lead crime drama was always going to be a challenge. Yet given that The Body Farm is a spin-off and thus shares some of the same characters and crew, it is difficult to see how they managed to produce a series opener as turgid and lifeless as last Tuesday night’s offering.

The faux-gothic opening sets the overblown tone for the rest of the episode: brooding forensic scientist Eve Lockhart (Tara FitzGerald) tramps through a rain-sodden, lightning-forked forest replete with not very realistic bodies lying prone in the mud, ready and waiting for FitzGerald to arrive spouting a pretentious soliloquy about tracking down the killer: “My promise to the murderer is this: I will find you.

When you took that innocent life, you unknowlingly left a new trail.”

Lockhart leads a team of scientistsfor-hire who while away the days between episodes watching donated bodies decompose and conducting implausible, dubious experiments on each other. For reasons unknown, the slightly unhinged one has had a dead man’s skin transplanted onto his back.

Interrupting their bizzare idyll, DCI Craig Hale (Keith Allen with all the personality sucked out of him) calls them in to help him get to the bottom of why a bathroom in a soon-to-be-demolished block of flats has every concievable surface coated with liquidised flesh.

SURGEON/MINER: Do you like my head-light?

Despite having played the character for a good few years in Waking the Dead, FitzGerald doesn't know quite who Tara is supposed to be, alternating between introverted, socially-awkward scientist and chain-smoking, pouty temptress.

Allen gives a solid performance as a grumpy, world-weary cop (complete with the standard-issue troubled background) but has been written into a corner, seemingly giving him little room to develop as the series progresses.

The rest of the cast are instantly forgettable: hunky anthropologist Mike, Oggy – suffering from an unspecified mental disorder – and annoyingly chipper, implausibly young Rose, who looks like she's there because of a fuck-up in assigning work experience.

As with other forensic science-based shows, The Body Farm goes on unbeliev-

BBC

T

BBC

a must-see, being both slicker and more elgeant than its predecessors.

And if you think you’d like the sound of John Hurt’s silken voice booming over some prehistoric dubstep whilst two giant lizards have a lovers' tiff, then you should also tune in.

Impressing an audience of tweed

TRUE BLOOD SERIES 3

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FOUND

BBC

really love dinosaurs. I think if I was a million years younger, I’d kiss one. I don’t know their names or class my self as any sort of dinogeek, but as long as it’s a bigcoolasarous with sharp teeth and a bounding step, I’m sold.

This is why Walking With Dinosaurs – the BBC’s groundbreaking dinosaur documentary – is one of my favourite ever shows and why Jurassic Park remains one of my most-lovedfilms. Dinosaurs have got a hold on me, and I’m happy to rest in their scaly claws.

he first installment of the third series of vampire drama True Blood is an almost ideal opening episode for its legions of fans. Instead of starting from scratch by re-introducing the characters, they are built on, whilst the previous series wasn't tied up neatly but twisted seamlessly into a new one.

That’s not to say that it lacked ambition: set on a huge scale, the overlapping plots were fast-paced enough to keep even wandering minds locked down.

The downside of having a a number of concurrent plots was that most are underdeveloped, with the protagonist’s story suffering the most from this: instead of leading the show, Sookie’s search for Bill felt tacked-on. Not that her plot was unnecessary, if she hadn’t been there the whole thing would probably have fallen apart.

The sweaty southern look, the near constant nudity and the well placed dashes of ugly humour all come together to form the wonderfully ridiculous True Blood universe The finale of the opening episode was - as always - incredibly tantalising. Cliffhangers aplenty, from Tara’s overdose and the possible demise of one of the much beloved characters, to the Queen of Lousiana’s cryptic message to Eric. It was an explosive end to the series premiere, and should leave viewers excited for wherever the fangbitinglytastic series will take us next.

Katie Cunningham

&

CGI dinosaurs ripping chunks out of each other never gets old, thinks Jack Murray

I

So imagine my delight when Planet Dinosaur came bounding onto our screens this week, transporting me back to a dusty CGI land of savage battles and gently-narrated stories of jurassic life.

In truth, it's essentially Walking With Dinosaurs II: This Time It’s Personal (And Looks Cooler) but for anyone interested in the continuing saga of dinosaur discovery, then it’s

LOST

able pseudo-scientific flights of fancy – Eve's love interest and sidekick Mike uses a swarm of Tsetse flies to look for traces of blood in the building's plumbing – detracting from what is otherwise a disconcertingly realistic portrayal of urban decay.

Populated by two-dimensional characters stalking through gore-splattered rooms, it feels like a Silent Hill game. All except that the dialogue is even more stilted and you don’t get to chop stuff in half with a chainsaw.

With so many other tried-and-tested shows returning in the coming weeks, there are far more worthy calls on your viewing time than the undeserved successor to one of the Beeb's most popular shows of the last decade.

Dan Heap

he gritty early 2000s could very well be summed up in a single late-night BBC comedy – Monkey Dust, an animated dark comedy sketch show that ran for three series between 2003 and 2005.

It enjoyed critical acclaim, but as with most of the Corporation's boundary-pushing adult humour, it was confined to the late night graveyard slots and so it was missed by many contemporary viewers.

Primarily acting as a social commentary on the issues of the day, it courageously tackled issues such as depression, terrorism, suicide, paedophilia, and homosexuality in an outrageously funny and satirical manner, frequently applying a sort of disturbing sunniness to them. Often this was done thematically, with lengthy reoccurring jokes and characters, with a slow build towards a more unnerving punchline.

The show’s stand-out sequences included the Daisy Harris murder investigation, a chillingly close parody of the media circus that is the modern murder investigation and the continuing tale of Ivan Dobsky, an insane criminal obsessed with a space hopper he refers to as Mr Hoppy.

The variety of gruesome settings and surroundings provided an often terrifyingly realistic image of Britain in the early noughties – complete with disturbing reality television shows, hysterical public reactions and, dull, repressive architecture.

The visuals were bleak; flickering streetlights, dark corners, and decaying buildings, reinforced by sombre, depressing music.

The show was also wonderfully animated, oddly drawn to compliment the often bizarre satire – the characters are creepily still and slothful, almost blending into the stagnant environments.

It’s odd to look back at an era we now see as a boom time rendered in such a depressing and dispirited way, but Monkey Dust was a show which excelled at social commentary like no other, laying a quirky demanour over the bleakest of topics. The result was some of the most original satire ever shown on British TV and a show that is still worth a revisit.

Daniel Swain

studentnewspaper.org Tuesday January 11 2011

Edinburgh run away with the prize

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Tuesday January20 182011 2011 Tuesday September studentnewspaper.org

Sport 27 27

Too quick off the blocks Chris Waugh explores the debate that has arisen since Usain Bolt's 100m fault and full of adrenaline on the start line meaning that twitching is a common occurrence, especially in the pressure cooker environment of a major championship.

“

Bolt's importance to the commercial and financial state of world athletics has given focus to the debate about the false start ruling."

The fact that the ruling is deemed harsh by many does not give Bolt an excuse for false starting. The world record holder was a proponent for the rule change and even accepted that his disqualification was his own, and not the ruling’s, fault. Michael Johnson, the former 200m world record holder, also felt that Bolt could not be defended as he claimed “I’ve never false started, and to be honest I don’t think it’s that hard to avoid one." The American athlete turned pundit believes that it all came down to a lack of concentration and that Bolt’s false start is inexcusable.

The debate continues, however, as replays of the race seem to suggest that Yohan Blake flinches first and that Bolt follows from this. Many profess that surely if flinching is supposed to be classed as a false start then Blake should also have been disqualified.

The specifics of each false start can be debated, but the IAAF needs to assess whether or not the rule can remain in its current form.

False starts have always been an element of sprint athletics but the rule was changed to its current form for the benefit of television – false starts are not what audiences want and it also plays havoc with scheduling.

If the rule was changed to its previous state it would still create problems.

If a warning was given to the entire field after one athlete has false started then the race becomes unfair; one ath-

Erik van Leeuwen

Nine point five-two seconds – that’s how quickly Usain Bolt was able to run 100 metres and set one of his many world records. A global superstar ever since, Bolt surrendered his World 100 metre title amid much controversy at the 2011 IAAF World Athletics Championships. His co-patriot Yohan Blake took the gold medal in a time of 9.92 seconds and Bolt’s absence should not diminish this achievement.

However, the world of sport does not work in a conventional fashion and Blake will always be remembered for having won the world title by default due to Bolt’s disqualification – it is almost the equivalent of having an asterisk next to his name.

When it came to the final Blake could only beat the athletes who were in the race come the gun – and unfortunately for Bolt he had false started horribly and was disqualified before the other runners were reset. For all we know Blake may well have won the title even if Bolt had completed the race but due to Bolt’s dominance of the sprint races over the last three years it is hard to believe he could have been beaten, even if you do factor in his injury in 2010.

Due to Usain Bolt’s importance to the commercial and financial state of world athletics his high profile disqualification has given focus to the debate about the contentious nature of the current false start ruling. Interestingly there had already been an unusually high number of false starts in the championships in Daegu, the most notable being British athletes Christine Ohuruogu and Dwain Chambers. Unsurprisingly the ruling was not called into question until Bolt threw off his Jamaican jersey in disgust at himself for false starting. The IAAF (the International Association of Athletics Federations) has since been asked to clarify its position on the ruling.

Currently the legislation does not allow for any false starts at all – if anyone in the field twitches or moves before the gun then they are immediately disqualified and the race is restarted. This ruling does seem harsh as athletes will naturally be nervous

LIGHTNING BOLT: A false start cost Bolt his 100m world title

lete has had two opportunities whereas everyone else has only had the one.

Daegu 2011 will always be remembered for Usain Bolt’s disqualification and the IAAF knows that the false start controversy will not go away overnight. A full review of the ruling needs to be undertaken in order to make it fairer for sprint athletes and to give them every chance to be able to compete in and complete each race.

On the other hand the International Olympic Committee and the IAAF may feel that it is more important to change the rule in order to prevent

a repeat of Bolt’s disqualification at London 2012. The governing bodies do not necessarily want to avoid a repeat of the fallout from Daegu but they will want to ensure that their global superstar can be available to break records and therefore they will do everything in their power to give him every chance of running in the 100 metres next August.

At London 2012 the world will once again turn to Bolt to provide some magic – let’s just hope he waits for the gun this time.

Being athletes of international calibre, many of the elite sportspeople need to spend the majority of their day training and with the Performance Gym located in a central position it allows for intensive training as well as full commitment to studies. Students who gain a place on this programme are not discriminated against in terms of their degrees: just as much emphasis is placed upon their university studies as it is upon their sport.

One of the most recent inductees onto the ISPP is Masters student Julia Siart. Not only does she study for a degree in Health Inequalities and Public Policy but also holds the Austrian national records from Under-16s all the way through to senior level in the hammerthrow and she is even the Austrian Indoor Youth Champion at the shot-put.

Julia arrived in Edinburgh with a glowing reputation as she has attended the Youth World Championships and has competed in both the Euro Teams Championships and the Youth Olympics. Being an athlete of such pedigree, facilities such as those provided by the CSE are essential to her continuation at the elite level of her sport and they are something she longed

for back at the University of Vienna.

“I decided in June after visiting that this was definitely the place for me” Julia explains. “There is an extremely professional set-up and I now feel comfortable with the psychological and medical help – I have never had anything like that before”.

Continued from page 28 The All Blacks’ Conditioning Coach even went as far as to claim that the Performance Gym was “the best facility we’ve ever had” – high praise indeed!

ELITE TRAINING : Students train at the CSE Performace Gym

Emily Jarrett

International rugby teams have taken advantage of the facilities, with Wales, South Africa and New Zealand attending at different times.

“

Just as much emphasis is placed upon their university studies as is placed upon their sport."

The ISPP has allowed Chloe, Julia and many other athletes to live and train like professionals whilst still remaining full-time students. The assistance the programme provides cannot be overstated and it has been a resounding success for the CSE. The University of Edinburgh can be proud of its elite athletes and, if the ISPP continues to produce results, many more young sportspeople with ambitions of success will soon be applying.

Injury Time

takes A WRY look at the world of sport Punditry: 2 Good, 2 Shit The standard of football punditry on British TV is embarrassing. Or it should be. But broadcasters seem content to let their "experts" get away with a lack of effort that would be a disciplinary matter in any other job.

The BBC continues to patronise the license fee payers with Match of the Day. In a bid to cut costs they seem to have replaced their panel with cliché producing androids that, like the machines which draw the lottery numbers, have been given human sounding names. MOTDBot2, for example, is known to the public as Mark Lawrenson, and is apparently programmed to generate stereotypes too stupid to be offensive: “You can see Mancini’s not happy,” MOTDBot2 sneered over a blunt-edged analysis package of City’s superstars under-performing last winter, “they obviously don’t get snow like this in Italy.”

Elsewhere Sky opt for Football gimmicks such as "Super Sunday" and "Ring-Stinging, Shit-Hot 3D Thursday". They no longer star Andy Gray and Richard Keys flirting in front of a giant iPad, but the generic totty they used to drool over remains – still consigned to assisting the older male pundits like air-hostesses in a Carry On film. And there is still Jamie Redknapp, smooth as velvet and saying things like “these players are literally on fire at the moment.”

ITV continue to get their error-prone mitts on big games, with Adrian Chiles wasting precious non-advert time laughing manically at wacky shots of yawning spectators. Andy Townsend is no better, enthusiastically machinegunning you with statements of the obvious like “I’ll tell you what, for me, they’ve got to do a whole lot better in the second half.” At least he machine-guns you in English. During last year’s World Cup Edgar Davids was so unintelligible it made Paul Merson sound like Dr Evan Harris.

In the same competition, BBC’s Lee Dixon produced a razor-sharp piece of insight in which he explained how Slovakia’s skipper was called Marek Hamsik, and that he was pretty good. Alan Hanson thought this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. “Someone gave you him by the way!” he sneered.

What he meant was that Dixon must have had that information spoon-fed to him by a researcher, and that this was worthy of a put down. The handsomely paid Hanson was revelling in his own ignorance.

Cartoons on MOTD2, inane interviews on Sky Sports News and Robbie Savage – this is lowest common denominator stuff.

How many times has the line “our knowledge of these two teams is limited” trotted out? The BBC’s research facilities are not limited.

Neither are ITV’s. All that is limited is the effort pundits are prepared, or required, to put in before they face the cameras.

Davie Heaton

Sport

studentnewspaper.org

Tuesday September 20 2011

Lightning Bolt too quick off the blocks

Chris Waugh explores the controversy surrounding the false start rule P27

University clubs gear up for new season Davie Heaton braves the crowds to get the word from sports clubs at the Freshers' Fair

a Scottish male champion at the club helping out. In terms of competition there’s no BUCs or anything so we’re looking into arranging more inter-club competitions – but our fights tend to be pretty full on with no padding or head guards so we take each one really seriously.”

Basketball Nicolas Gromotka – Club President “Both the men and women play in the British University Championships (BUCs) premier division. The guys avoided relegation and are looking forward to improving on that this year – plus Glasgow have been promoted so we can look forward to whooping them! The women came second in the regular season but lost a close match in the playoffs, and the men’s seconds won promotion so they’re also looking forward to a couple of big derbies against Heriot Watt.”

Boat Club Izzy Jones – Committee Ordinary Member “Our women novices won the BUCs last year so it’s a good set up for new people looking to get involved. Our men’s seconds won the boat race against Glasgow which is always satisfying. We won at Henley as well so it was a really good year and we’re hoping to build on that.”

Handball Balint Puster – Club Representative “Edinburgh Uni doesn’t have a handball team but we are really trying to get one started. As a local side Edinburgh has won the men’s Scottish League Cup and our ladies won the British Championships. If we can do all that as a really small local team just think what we could do as a University side.”

Football Scott Mclean – Club Secretary “We reached the final of the BUCS last year and our coach Dougie Samuel thinks we can go one better this time.

We’re hoping to cause a few upsets in the Scottish Cup where we have

LOOKING ON: Freshers pile into the Sports Fair as clubs search for their next big stars reached the second round for the past two or three years. There is also talk of expanding from four to five teams this year, such is the popularity of the club.”

people coming, especially in the first few weeks, who are complete beginners and just enjoy getting really fit before thinking about whether they want to try sparring or eventually fighting.”

Scotland and break into the overall top five this year and we’re looking forward to the Scottish Universities Mountain Biking Championships where we’ve had success in the past.”

Boxing Calum Johnstone – Club Captain “David Smylie won both the Scottish Uni and BUCs heavyweight divisions, and we’ve had other guys do well at the BUCs as well. But we get a lot of

Cycling Rich Teague - Club President “We had a good last year, finishing as the top ranked Scottish team and tenth overall in the BUCs. Hopefully we can retain our position as the best in

Muay-Thai Dan Cleare – Club President “We’re expanding to two sessions a week which means that there will be much more scope for beginners to get involved and get training. We’ve got

Success on all fronts

Emily Jarrett

Edinburgh freshers flocked to the CSE last week to explore the Sports Fair - following in the footsteps of the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Katherine Grainger and Simon Taylor.

With clubs on the lookout for fresh talent, The Student quizzed them about their ambitions for the year ahead:

Taekwando Ben Litte – Club President “This year we’re looking to enter more competitions as last year the big ones tended to clash with exams – we had a British champion in 2010 and there are a couple of guys who we think could repeat that this year. We are also expanding to compete in both W.T.F and I.T.F styles this year and are putting on extra classes because of that.”

Shinty Marion Grant – Club Secretary “Our women won the Scottish University Championships without losing a game and conceding only one goal – which came as a result of a dubious forfeit! Our men also came really close and are confident of doing it this year.”

Chris Waugh explores how Edinburgh's elite athletes can study for their degrees and still perform at their best Amongst the students who attend the University of Edinburgh there are some quite remarkable young athletes. National and international class sportspeople balance their full-time university studies with elite level sport – all of which is made possible by the Individual Sports Performance Programme (ISPP).

The ISPP is open to any university student who is active at junior international standard or better and it provides training facilities, personal programmes and medical assistance.

Every sport imaginable is covered by this programme with volleyball players, athletes, cyclists, mountain bikers and table tennis players just some of the disciplines represented.

The performance programme offers the students any assistance they require to reach the pinnacle of their sport, including sports nutrition, sports massage, sports psychology, pilates, training facilities and the prevention and treatment of injuries, amongst many other things.

An earlier form of the ISPP began six years ago but it has grown and has now evolved into a dedicated programme that provides worldclass facilities in order to advance the development of young sportspeople who attend Edinburgh University.

As well as assisting with training and conditioning, the programme offers athletes financial assistance for equipment and coaching for their

sports.

Chloe Maclean, a fourth year Sociology student, is one of the clear successes of the ISPP. Although on first appearance she may seem slight, Chloe does Wado Karate in the 50kg weight category.

Few university students can point to such a glittering CV. Chloe has been the reigning Scottish and British Champion for the last four years running, reigning BUCS Champion three years running, Commonwealth Gold Medallist at both Under-21 and Senior level, European Gold Medallist as well as finishing third in the World Under-21 Championships.

Recognition has also come within the university itself. Joint winner of

the Sir William Darling Prize, Chloe has been acknowledged for her promotion of the institution through her success and she is widely seen as an ambassadorial figure. Now beginning her third year on the ISPP, Chloe highlights the programme as the key to her continued success.

“The ISPP changed me into an athlete,” she said. “It makes me feel more professional and when I compete against professional athletes I know I have prepared just as well as they have”.

Coaching is an essential component of the ISPP and Chloe believes that she is surrounded by “fantastic coaches” who she has “100% faith in.” The coaching staff provide her

with the confidence to perform and the programme provides the “perfect balance” for karate and university studies. Chloe specifically chose Edinburgh for the programme and it has been better than she ever imagined.

Her future aspirations now include studying for a postgraduate degree as she knows she could continue the programme and go from strength to strength.

The Performance Gym, located in the basement of the CSE, is quite a unique facility because it is only available to elite teams and athletes.

Continued on page 27