The Student 11/109/2012

Tuesday September 11 2012 | Freshers Week

S I N C E 1887

T H E U K ' S O LD E S T S T U D EN T N EW S PA P ER

Welcome to Edinburgh

First students paying £9,000 fees arrive

Bed shortage leads to accomodation woes Sam Bradley

SCORES OF new University of Edinburgh students are being forced to stay in hotel rooms due to a shortage of beds in University accomodation.

48 students have been allocated rooms in a Travelodge or ‘mini-dorms’ at Pollock Halls by Accommodation Services. A university spokesperson explained to The Student, “30 students have been allocated rooms at Travelodges on St Mary’s St and in Cameron Toll; a further 18 students will be accommodated in mini-dormitories at Pollock Halls.

“We anticipate that this will be a temporary measure, which should be resolved within 30 days. In the meantime, these students’ needs are being met by providing good local accommodation.

“The students will be integrated

into our rooms very soon. We believe it represents the best available option for our students”.

The university guarantees first year students a room if they reside outside Edinburgh and plan to study for the full academic year. Although the agreement states that the type of room that students “might prefer” cannot be guaranteed, some critics have claimed that by failing to provide university lodging Edinburgh has broken the accommodation guarantee.

Concerns have also been raised that, although temporary housing has been provided, these students may well miss out on the plethora of activities and social meetings organised in and around the University’s halls of residence.

The recurrence of the issue will also add weight to critics of the university’s controversial Masson House hotel,

which is situated inside Pollock Halls but is not open to students. Whilst the hotel has gained large profits for the university since it launched – as much as £216,000 in 2012 – its detractors, including University of Edinburgh rector Peter McColl, have taken issue with it.

“

We believe it represents the best available option for our students” University of Edinburgh spokesperson McColl, who plans to use his three-year term as rector to campaign for improved accommodation, told

PETER GUTHRIE

BETH THOMPSON

THURSTON SMALLEY

Thurston Smalley

The Student, “Student halls should be used for students first and as hotels if they can’t be filled.”

The president of Edinburgh University Students’ Association, James McAsh, told The Student, “It’s difficult to point the finger exactly, but it’s clear that the university needs to start prioritising the welfare of its students before the commercial interests of its spin off ventures, like Masson House.”

The accommodation shortage bears similarities to conditions during last year’s first term, when dozens of students were given accommodation in Musselburgh, miles away from the city centre campuses and on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

As well as in 2011, the issue of accommodation space is not unfamiliar to the University, with similar shortages occurring in 2009 and 2008.

THE UNIVERSITY of Edinburgh this week welcomed its first class of undergraduate students paying £9,000 per year tuition fees.

This year marks the first time that UK universities are permitted to charge the maximum £9,000 annual fees, allowed by the coalition government in Westminster.

The fees, which apply only for rest of United Kingdom (RUK) students, are up almost 500 per cent on last year’s, which stood at £1,820. Students from Scotland and the European Union still do not pay any tuition fees.

The announcement of the new cap on UK university tuition followed news that the UK government would be slashing public spending on universities by up to 80 per cent. Higher tuition is intended to shift university funding from the state to the student.

Critics of the increase, including the National Union of Students, the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA) and Peter McColl, the university rector, claim that higher fees will discourage potential applicants and saddle new students with considerable debt. Proponents of the fee rise say that higher tuition is necessary to offset Westminster’s 80 per cent reduction in university funding and will allow the University of Edinburgh to offer the most competitive bursaries in the country.

In a press release following his installation as rector, McColl said, “Education is a social good and access should be on ability to learn, not ability to pay.

“No fees are acceptable. Fees of £9000 a year are nothing short of a disgrace.”

Echoing McColl, EUSA President James McAsh branded the tuition hike as a “great tragedy” in remarks to The Student.

He said, “We welcome the university’s bursary package but maintain that for university education to be truly inclusive and egalitarian, it must be paid for by progressive taxation.”

Asked whether the value of a degree from the University of Edinburgh had effectively quintupled, he said, “The value of education cannot be measured monetarily.”

Figures from UCAS showed nationwide university applications down 8.7 per cent from last year, with significant geographical variations. English university applications were down 9.9 per cent, Northern Irish applications down 4 per cent, Welsh applications down 1.9 per cent, and Scottish applications down 1.5 per cent.

Continued on page seven»

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What you missed...

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

NEWS »p1-7

LANDLORDS p5

Stephen Maughan reveals the profits being made from Edinburgh students

OLYMPANANIA p8

Daniel Swain and Francesca Larcombe explain the impact of London 2012

FEATURES »p14-16

PROGRESS? p14

Lucy Antrobus discusses political reform in Myanmar and the students trying to drive it forward

LIFESTYLE »p17

A GUT-WRENCHING DECISION p17

Alasdair Drennan explains why it's time he stopped eating donuts

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT » p18-19

CHIMPANZEES, TARZAN AND LOINCLOTHS p18 Nina Seale interviews her idol Jane Goodall

MUSIC »p28-29

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT p28

The Student sums up the best music the last three months have had to offer.

FILM »p26-27 IT'S A GOOD THING IT RAINED A LOT p26

BONGO: Now set to remain part of the Edinburgh club circuit until January 2013

Bongo club lives on

Thurston Smalley

THE POPULAR Bongo nightclub will exist on its present site until January 15 2013, three months longer than its original lease, thanks to a student campaign to save the venue.

The club, which is housed in the University of Edinburgh-owned Moray House, had been told in the spring that it would have until September to vacate the premises. The University

Forest Café re-opens

Alistair Grant

EDINBURGH’S POPULAR Forest Café has moved to new premises at 141 Lauriston Place in Tollcross, after a year without a base following eviction from their previous site at the end of August last year.

The not-for-profit community arts collective was forced to leave their former address at 3 Bristo Place after their landlords ended the lease and would not consider extending it. The property was previously owned by Edinburghbased charity Edinburgh University Settlement (EUS), but was bought up by a property developer when the charity was declared bankrupt in October 2010.

Thurston Smalley

SPORT »p31-32

A BAN on SABMiller products which was passed in last February’s referendum has been overturned by the EUSA board of trustees on “both financial and reputational grounds.”

The ban was put in place in protest of alleged “unethical tax practices” by SABMiller, but a subsequent consultation between the EUSA trustees, SABMiller representatives and Ac-

Phil Smith discusses the future of the England cricket team following the departure of Andrew Strauss

The Forest Café attempted to raise enough money to buy their former property, but fell short of the £100,000 target, raising only £38,000 via their JustGiving account.

“

Thanks to a collective effort, here we are in our new place and it feels good” Ryan Van Winkle, founder of the Forest Cafe's publishing arm

Ryan Van Winkle, founder of the Forest’s publishing arm, told STV, “I’m

campaign to save the club.

Last month he told The Student, “I’m glad [the University] Court has seen the value which the Bongo Club brings to the community and I’m sure that they will continue to make every effort to ensure that their very important work on widening access through the Office of Lifelong Learning doesn’t negatively impact on the experience of our existing students while in Edinburgh; or indeed, the culture of the city.”

not going to lie, what followed was a real struggle. We had a roller coaster year trying to find a new space. We had a look at a whole bunch of places across Edinburgh and it was difficult to stay positive sometimes.

“But thanks to a collective effort here we are, in our new place and it feels good. Tollcross is buzzing. It’s the Piccadilly or Times Square of Edinburgh.”

The opening of the new venue was celebrated with a parade from the Forest’s former base at Bristo Place to the new property at Lauriston Place.

Those involved in the café and arts collective say the Forest will continue to be a community-driven, open, and creative space.

Ban on SABMiller overturned

Sally Pugh takes us back to an incredible summer of film

WHAT NOW? p31

intends to use the lot for classroom space to support its Lifelong Learning programmes.

Bongo, a well-liked city centre nightclub with a large and loyal following, is known for its big-name DJ sets and club nights, as well as arts and cultural events. The revelation that the University of Edinburgh planned to force it to close provoked a strong reaction among Edinburgh students.

Max Crema, now EUSA’s Vice President of Services, led the student

tionAid, the group that sponsored the referendum question, found that SABMiller’s tax practices were in fact more ethical than those of other brewers.

Bollocks to Poverty, the youth branch of ActionAid, criticised the overturning of the ban on the grounds that the action was undemocratic, and maintained that SABMiller was guilty of abusing the tax code.

Meanwhile, opponents of the ban

ALASDAIR DRENNAN

COMMENT »p8-10

said that because the referendum had seen such a low turnout, the ban was undemocratic to begin with and the EUSA trustees claimed that boycotts of business partners were damaging relations with other suppliers.

EUSA-sponsored boycotts are nothing new. A ban on Nestlé products has been in place since 1997 in response to the company’s marketing of their baby milk formula as an adequate substitute to breastfeeding.

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Sam Bradley and Alistair Grant

JAMES MCASH, President of Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), has said that involvement in student politics is “more important now than ever.”

In an exclusive interview with The Student, McAsh discussed the future of higher education, the role of EUSA in a changing education sector and his planned policy initiatives for the coming academic year.

Speaking about the place that EUSA occupies within the university community McAsh said, “I think student unions and EUSA in particular do a lot of things, but the key thing is that they change the university and the community, and where possible the wider world to the benefit of students as a whole.

“I don’t think it matters a great deal whether we’re talking about an occupation or a petition or meeting with an MP, or doing something at a university committee meeting. The point is not how you do it, the point is the impact you receive from it. I think it has to be about making positive change for the benefit of students.”

When asked about the future of the higher education sector, he said, “The higher education sector is changing massively, and I think that we need to be ahead of the curve, not just respond to these changes but start changing ourselves.

“I think that the question of what higher education is for is a really

important one at the moment. Is it about just going and spending four years and then getting a slightly better paying job, or no job at all? Or is it about something more than that – thinking critically about the wider world, and about your place within that world? That’s what I think it should be.”

Talking about how the University of Edinburgh can adapt to new trends, he said, “I think the university needs to change … so it’s less bureaucratic, less faceless, less commercial and more focused on the needs of students and academics. They’re at the heart of what higher education should be: students and academics coming together to understand the world.”

When discussing the ongoing campaigns to reverse increases in university tuition fees, McAsh admitted that it could take activists years to achieve their goals. “We want an education system that is egalitarian and inclusive for the benefit of society.

It’s easy to think that we’ve lost this and that we have £9,000 fees forever – unless they increase – but I don’t think that’s the case at all.

“In the last week we’ve seen students in Quebec, after protesting for almost a year, reverse the decision on fees in their universities. In a number of regions in Germany, tuition fees have been abolished after five years of student campaigns.

“It’s easy to think that ‘in 2010, we marched in London and the fees came in anyway, so let’s give up’.

But realistically, anything this big,

anything worthwhile can’t be changed with one march. And I think that’s why we have to keep the pressure up, it’s more important now than ever.”

Speaking about the policy changes he hopes to effect in his time as President of EUSA, McAsh told The Student, “So over the summer my main five priorities have been better representation of students, widening participation, green energy, ethical investment and university governance.

“We’re currently trying to open up town-hall style meetings in the academic schools, where students and academics can come together to discuss governance and other issues.

The Principal [Sir Timothy O’Shea] has agreed to do this universitywide.”

On the issue of ethical investment he said, “Profit and ethics don’t have to be diametrically opposed qualities; you can invest in something that is good and also profitable, and the university has begun to improve on this.”

McAsh also spoke about improving student engagement with the union, saying, “I think the key thing is making clear to people what EUSA can do.

“It’s very easy for EUSA to be seen just as a clique or a big society where everybody’s mates and they just chat about stuff. The point is that EUSA has to be changing student’s lives.

I think a large part of it is how we communicate as well; if people see value in EUSA, more students are going to want to be part of it.”

licenses. Per adult sales of vodka alone were double the level of England and Wales.

supermarkets and off-licenses – now accounting for over two-thirds of Scotland’s pure alcohol sales.

Clare Beeston, Principal Public Health Adviser at NHS Scotland, said this switch from drinking at pubs, restaurants and clubs to at home could be the result of “decreasing alcohol affordability as disposable incomes fall during the current deep and sustained economic downturn.”

In 2011, alcohol bought in offlicenses averaged 48p per unit, whereas on-trade prices averaged £1.46 per unit.

This gap is likely to be smaller once plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol are finalised by the Scottish parliament.

Beeston continued to express support for minimum pricing, stating, “The report shows that alcohol consumption in Scotland continues to be at high levels and we shouldn’t be complacent. High levels of average consumption are closely linked to raised levels of alcohol-related harm.

“There is still a high proportion of alcohol sold through off-sales at relatively low prices, and we need to take steps to make sure the welcome decline continues.”

EUSA-PHORIC: EUSA President McAsh on the night of his election

EMILY JARRETT

EUSA President aims for increased student involvement

Read the full interview online at www.studentnewspaper.org

Jake Cordell

ALCOHOL SALES in Scotland have fallen for the second consecutive year, according to a report published by NHS Health Scotland last week.

The quantity of pure alcohol sold in 2011 was five per cent lower than in 2009 and there are hopes amongst both medical professionals and politicians that this fall marks the beginning of a long-term downward trend.

Despite this recent decline, there are widespread concerns that consumption levels remain too high, with the average Scottish adult consuming 21.6 units of alcohol each week.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged that “these findings demonstrate the continuing extent of Scotland’s alcohol misuse problem, with enough alcohol being sold for every adult to exceed weekly recommended limits for men [21 units] each and every week.”

Of serious concern is the imbalance between rates in Scotland and the rest of the UK, where weekly consumption among adults is twenty per cent lower.

A large proportion of this difference stems from high sales of discounted spirits in supermarkets and off-

“

The report shows that alcohol consumption in Scotland continues to be at high levels and we shouldn't be complacent” Clare Beeston, Principal Public Health Adviser at NHS Scotland The Scottish parliament is keen to introduce a minimum pricing structure to stop the sales of discounted spirits and encourage more responsible drinking.

This will complement legislation introduced in 2011 forbidding bulkbuy discounts of alcohol, which had been popularised by supermarket special offers, such as 3-for-2 deals.

The report also identifies a distinct change in drinking habits, with off-trade sales – alcohol bought in

SALES SLUMP: Alcohol sits unsold

LYLE BRENNAN

Scottish alcohol sales see decrease

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THE LONDON Metropolitan University is to commence legal action against the UK Border Agency (UKBA) following its decision to revoke their license to sponsor international students.

On August 29 the UKBA stripped the university of its ‘highly trusted’ sponsor status after investigations uncovered problems enforcing visa regulations at the institution.

Immigration Minister Damian Green explained the UKBA audit found the university had failed to address ‘serious and systematic failings’ in three specific areas: 25 per cent of overseas students sampled had no leave to remain in the UK; 40 per cent of files checked displayed ‘no proper evidence’ that the student had attained the mandatory level of English required to study in the UK; and 57 per cent of files showed issues with attendance monitoring which made it impossible for the University to know if students were attending class.

In a statement on London Metropolitan University’s website, their Chancellor, Malcolm Gillies, stated that refusing the institution a license to sponsor international students could cost them £30 million annually and will displace roughly 2,600 non-EU students who are currently enrolled in courses.

These students will have until December 1 to obtain sponsorship from other universities needed to complete their degrees.

To this end, a government-led task force is being created which will include the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), Universities

UK, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the UK Border Agency and the National Union of Students (NUS). This will work with the university to provide support for students affected by the UKBA’s decision and to set up a mini-clearing system for the reallocation of students who are studying in the UK legitimately.

Determined to “protect its reputation’ and that of ‘the UK’s globally recognized education sector,” London Metropolitan University has instructed its lawyers, Penningtons Solicitors LLP, to “commence urgent legal action to challenge the revocation”.

Meanwhile, on September 5, some 200 students, lecturers and staff of the university staged a demonstration outside the Home Office and Downing Street in protest of the retraction of London Metropolitan’s recruitment rights.

The university has also garnered support from the NUS with its President, Liam Burns, labelling the decision not to allow overseas students to return “a disgrace”.

The NUS has contacted both the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to express their anger at how this “potentially catastrophic” decision has been handled.

Concerns have been raised as to how this latest visa scandal will affect the reputation of British Universities abroad. Last year the University of Wales was dissolved following revelations of visa scandals and lax checks on foreign colleges accredited by the university to award its degrees.

Estimates suggest non-EU students contribute roughly £5 billion a year to the UK economy.

London Met fights back

PETER ALFRED HESS

Madeleine Ash

Education Secretary kickstarts plethora of funding initiatives for beginning of academic year Alistair Grant

THE SCOTTISH government has revealed a new funding package designed to benefit students from the poorest backgrounds.

The package, which was announced in August this year, will see students from families with an income of less than £17,000 become eligible to receive a minimum grant of £7,250 a year, composed of a combination of bursaries and loans.

The changes will come into effect for the 2013-14 academic year, and will also see all students become eligible for a loan of £4,500 regardless of income background.

Furthermore, the new proposals mean that part-time students with an income of less than £25,000 will no longer face tuition fees.

Mike Russell MSP, Education Secretary for the Scottish government, told the BBC, “Scotland is the only country in the UK with free higher education.

“It is the only country to see an increase in the number of young people applying for courses as well as the highest number of students ever accepted into our universities on Highers results day.

“

I am delighted to announce changes which will [ensure] that Scottish students can access the best and most straightforward package in the UK” Education Secretary Mike Russell MSP, “This is tremendous news and a clear vindication of our policy of no tuition fees.

“I am delighted to announce changes which will enhance the offer

by ensuring that Scottish students can access the best and most straightforward package of student support in the UK.” Mr Russell added that the introduction of a minimum income of £7,250 for students from the poorest backgrounds was likely to benefit around 45,000 students each year.

Robin Parker, National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland president, lent his support to the plans, telling the BBC, “The announcements are a huge step forward and a victory for years of campaigning by countless students across Scotland.

“We’ve always said that getting an education should be about your ability, not your ability to pay.

“We need to provide enough support in order to get the most out of our most talented people, and we hope these announcements will do just that.”

Commenting on the changes, James McAsh, President of the Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), told The Student, “I think it is excellent news.

“More can always be done, but this is a fantastic step forward in terms of providing a decent living income for students in Scotland.”

HOLYROOD: The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament

ANDREW WILKINSON

Scottish government launches fresh raft of student bursaries

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LANDLORDS ARE netting large profits from student tenants nationwide, with Edinburgh ranked as the third most lucrative city for property owners renting to students.

Recent studies by landlordexpert. co.uk have shown that the potential rental yield from student tenants is often considerably higher than tenants of other demographics.

In 2010, the estate agent Knight Frank reported that the average rental revenue for a student-rented studio property in London stood at £257 per week, producing just under £9,500 over a 9 month contract.

“

Student property is appealing to landlords as they usually benefit from higher-thanaverage rental yields, as rooms tend to be let on an individual basis.”

John Heron, Paragon Mortgages A studio flat in Exeter, tailored to students, cost Landlord Judith Hick £85,000. Despite this hefty price tag, the £6,180 per annum rent rate means she makes a 9 per cent profit on the

original value of the property.

Profit margins for landlords of student property, which average 6.45 per cent, vastly exceed the yield of property investments aimed at young professionals or retired people.

John Heron of Paragon Mortgages, which arranges mortgages for the student sector, said, “Student property is appealing to landlords as they usually benefit from higher-than-average rental yields, as rooms tend to be let on an individual basis.”

Student tenants are often obliged to pay high rent rates for each room individually rather than a single payment for the whole property producing a significantly higher rental income for the landlord.

“There are generally lower arrears as tenancy agreements benefit from parental guarantees,” Mr Heron said.

Will Tod, a spokesman from Bowson Lettings, told The Student that demand for student housing was also a factor in creating huge rental incomes in this sector.

“If there is a huge demand for accommodation, as there is from students, the levels of high-quality student housing will be low.

“Subsequently, the rent rates for top-standard student accommodation rise due to the demand for quality,” he said.

Edinburgh’s high student population, comprising students from The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Stephen Maughan

MIKE SHAW

Edinburgh students lose out to landlords

FLAT-OUT DEAR: A student flat at Exeter University Napier University, Heriot Watt University and Queen Margaret University, means there is a constantly replenishing stock of new tenants requiring accommodation.

Other factors that make Edinburgh a promising choice for investment are

the features of the city itself.

Forums used by property investors such as investor-square.com cite Edinburgh’s cultural heritage, excellent transport links and growing population as strong reasons to invest.

The student housing sector has

been markedly resilient during an economic downturn.

With banks such as Nationwide predicting a 2 per cent growth in the rental sector, the number properties rented to students is set to grow.

in equal measure. The best part was the overwhelming support from not just the Edinburgh Debates Union but the whole of the Scottish debating circuit.

“With their flags and singing of Flower of Scotland it felt like a

meant to the university and the people involved to host such an event.

“It made me realise how much people can take for granted the right to free speech, as the Belgrade University’s speaking union, Open Communication, was forced to shut down during the late 1990s as the government clamped down on free speech.

“It reminded me that even in parts of Europe in my lifetime there have been big struggles for basic rights.”

The topics debated included a wide variety of subjects, ranging from capital punishment, the modern music industry and the political rights of aboriginal peoples.

The hosting of the championship in Belgrade was particularly notable because of the recent history of Serbia. During the presidency of Slobodan Milosevic, civil and political rights, including freedom of speech, were curtailed.

The organisers of the Belgrade competition, Open Communication, said they aimed to “[promote] civic discourse, non-violent communication, critical thinking, argumentative presentation of ideas, public speaking as a form of free speech and the use of parliamentary debate as an educational and promotional tool”.

The 2013 EUDC contest is due to take place in Manchester.

Debate Union championship success

“

It [the debating championship] reminded me that even in parts of Europe in my lifetime there have been big struggles for basic rights.”

COGITO ERGO SUM: A student delivers an argument at EUDC 2012 Sam Bradley EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY Debating Union (EUDU) reached the quarter finals of the prestigious European Universities Debating Championship (EUDC), becoming

the first Scottish debating team to do so in five years.

The competition, which was held in Belgrade, Serbia, was held during the second week of August.

Five members of EUDU travelled to compete in Serbia. The EUDC allows matriculated students of Eu-

ropean universities to test their debating skills against fellow students from across the world.

Marlena Valles, a University of Edinburgh student who was one of the members of EUDU that made it to the quarter final, said, “I think that we were surprised and ecstatic

OPEN COMMUNICATION

Ian Bruce-Smith, EUDU Treasurer group victory which made it all the more fun.”

Ian Bruce-Smith, a third year Chemical Physics student and Treasurer of EUDU, told The Student about his time at the contest, saying, “I felt very privileged and knew that I had to go and make sure I learned from, as well as enjoyed, the experience.

“I made sure to make the most of the opportunity to meet new people, understand other people’s points of view and experience a new culture.

By the end we understood what it

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Jane Goodall launches biodiversity hubs

WORLDFAMOUS PRIMATOL OGIST Jane Goodall visited the Highland Wildlife Park last Monday to launch the new biodiversity hubs affiliated with her youth ‘Roots & Shoots’ program.

Roots & Shoots is a program that encourages young people to plan and carry out projects to make a positive impact for society, animals and the environment by providing free resources and activities.

Volunteers from a local Roots & Shoots program have been recruited by the Highland Facilitator Team to help set up a series of ‘biodiversity hubs’ that aim to replant native species of plants, such as aspen, that will

“

Educationally the biodiversity hubs will represent a living legacy of true meaning and real worth... increasing knowledge and understanding” Jasper Hughes, Highland Wildlife Park Education Officer complement the wildlife at the park and help to re-establish natural biodiversity.

Jasper Hughes, Highland Wildlife Park Education Officer, said, “We’re delighted to develop an array of dedicated biodiversity hubs within the Highland Wildlife Park. We have selected key sites within the Parks grounds.

“The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) gardening team and the Highland Facilitator Team will work together in order to select plant species native to the area and sympathetic to the animals in our collection.

Educationally the biodiversity hubs

“

It's fantastic to come to a place where animals have everything they need” Jane Goodall “It’s not just about conservation of the large animals, but the plants and invertebrates that underpin these animals and their ecosystems The bio-diversity hubs will create an opportunity for involvement in serious research projects whilst also enhancing the visitor experiences in the Park.”

Goodall unearthed the first sod of the biodiversity hubs to ceremoniously begin the projects to be continued by the young Roots & Shoots volunteers, before taking a tour of the walking section of the Park and then making a speech at the reception afterwards.

She expressed her praise for the park and its affiliated project, “It’s fantastic to come to a place where animals have everything they need; from keepers that care passionately, to naturalised enclosures with space and then added to that the additional benefits of enrichment when needed.

Many of the animals won’t even know that they are captive.

“Attached to this is then this wonderful initiative that is connected to the Jane Goodall Institute Roots & Shoots programme that amongst other things helps to restore wild nature.”

At a later date this long-term project will launch its second phase, where hubs will be set up in the drivethrough section of the park and create a screening area to provide the animals with some shelter from the visitors.

P.18: The Student's excusive interview with Jane Goodall

PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY: A series of biodiversity hubs are opening around the highlands

SMILES ALL ROUND: Goodall celebrates the launch of her 'Roots & Shoots' programme

NINA SEALE

Nina Seale

will represent a living legacy of true meaning and real worth; by facilitating the uptake of citizen science activities amongst the general public, increasing knowledge and understanding of the importance of biodiversity protection and conservation.

NINA SEALE

Renowned environmentalist Jane Goodall launches new biodiversity hubs at the Highland Wildlife Park

<<Continued from front page

Hardest hit by fee increases have been mature students, defined as those over 21 seeking university study. This group is more likely than 18-yearolds to be self-reliant for its university funding.

Speaking to The Student, McAsh stressed the importance of student engagement in the ongoing dialogue over fees and cuts.

He said, “We have seen from Quebec in the last week and places like Germany before that that student resistance can lead to lower fees or no fees at all. They [£9,000 fees] are not a ‘done deal’ - now is not the time to give up.

“Students need to come together and articulate the same message in unison - for a democratic and free education system, run for the benefit of staff, students and the wider community.”

COSTLY: Edinburgh is one of the most expensive cities in Scotland for living and studying

BBC

First wave of students paying top fees arrive

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8 Comment

God save Jessica Ennis

Daniel Swain thinks that as a publicity campaign, the Olympics were Boris Johnson-level terrific.

Health Service, it’s canon – J.K. was there.

Britain’s historical diversity may have been on display in the opening ceremony, but her modern diversity was displayed by those wearing the Team GB uniforms. Britain’s Olympic team

boasted an impressively diverse roster, from first generation immigrant Mo Farah, through mixed-race, games poster-girl Jessica Ennis, to the impossibly posh ‘Lord’ Lawrence Clarke. In addition, every corner of the isles revelled in the medal haul.

Noticeably absent from London’s Olympics were protesters in sympathy with the independence movement of any part of the United Kingdom, or any protestors who had general gripes with its human rights record in general.

It was also very pleasant to be able to

live in the host country, and not have my Google searches limited by some central machine.

“

How Britain looked bearing the Olympic Flame was stellar" London 2012’s few detractors hail from either the absurd right-wing complaints about Dizzee Rascal being involved in the opening ceremony, to whiney left-wing noisemaking about low attendance at opening rounds of the tennis.

What the British Olympics put on show to the world was a country at ease with itself, at ease with its lack of defining ‘characteristics’ (besides perhaps its lack of caring about defining characteristics), at ease with its fluid identity and content with its openness, happy in the knowledge it’s a place people want to live. How closely this is aligned to the reality of living in Britain today is a much bigger debate, but how Britain looked bearing the Olympic Flame was stellar. And you know what they say; there's no smoke without fire.

COURTESY OF THE TELEGRAPH

IN CASE you missed it; having averted failing to build stadiums on time, the end of the world and any inkling of a terrorist attack, Great Britain held the 2012 Olympics in the nation’s capital this past summer. Despite all the preemptive cries of never being able to beat Beijing, London probably did (by most measures that don’t include performance in the medal table). What the whole display said about British society, was overwhelmingly positive.

London 2012’s opening ceremony was a far cry from that seen four years earlier in China, a country which refuses to acknowledge Manchuria by any other name than ‘The North East’, where the relatively few foreign spectators observed an impenetrable display of ‘mass discipline’. Britain revelled in its eclectic, diverse culture – showcasing each of the British Home Nations and displaying various sections of society from its three-hundred year history.

The opening ceremony also showcased Britain’s incredibly wide and accessible cultural palette, showing off such internationally recognisable faces as Mr. Bean, James Bond and Lord Voldemort. Who, consequently, is now deemed to be inferior to the combination of Mary Poppins and the National

FIRE: The Olympics lit up a nation

Did 2012 enable the disabled?

Francesca Larcombe analyses the cultural impact of the Paralympic Games on the perception of the disabled Paralympics this year than ever before, with 10,000 more tickets being put on sale, and millions more tuning in to this year’s opening ceremony than that of Beijing in 2008. With its mass advertising campaigns, high profile sponsorship and consistent coverage, the channel has become the self elected poster boy of the Paralympic cause.

It was not all plain sailing, however.

Chancellor George Osborne was booed by thousands of spectators at the opening ceremony, leaving many members of the public reeling. The Paralympics, an event clearly established outside the realms of party politics, should have remained apolitical, many argued. In the current social climate, however, perhaps this is an unrealistic aim. Despite our enviable haul of gold medals and widespread sporting fever, it is difficult not to consider the games in light of their paradoxical reality. The Paralympics do not represent the true spectrum of disability, nor the current plight of the disabled, in the UK. With the Department for Work and Pensions cutting disability benefits by 20 per cent, mass poverty amongst some of the least

fortunate is set to rise. As it stands, the insistence of the Paralympics to portray disability as a obstacle which can be defeated could unfortunately do more harm than good.

A survey by one of the leading disability charities Mencap, showed that hostility towards those unable to work due to their handicap is rising. Although some less able people can and should work, for many, this is an impossibility. As much as the Paralympics championed a wide range of ailments, little emphasis was put on how just how crippling disability could be. The scope of opportunity available to the television athletes does not generally apply to the masses, and whilst this widespread plight should not diminish the astonishing achievement of some of the athletes, a clear line should be drawn. Sadly, many severely handicapped people have been unable to attend the games due to the unaccommodating nature of the public transport system, and are therefore under-represented at the event. Those that did, likened the Olympic Stadium to a ‘theme park’, as it is one of the only truly accessible places in Britain.

It would be unduly negative to say that the Paralympic games are all doom and gloom. Many of the policies within the arenas, athletes described by their sporting merit, for example, as opposed to their handicap, can only be a step in the right direction. The high profile televising of people with disabilities has done much to positively influence the public’s perception of the handicapped, and as a result, to quote the London 2012 tagline, will inspire a younger generation to get involved. The question remains however that, glitz and Para-

lympic glamour aside, what will remain of this summer’s sporting legacy? Will all disabled people be compared to the ‘super-human’ athletes, or judged upon their own merit? Will such fairness be spread throughout London and the UK, or stop when the Olympic gates are closed? Although Channel 4 took up the Paralympic challenge with much vigour, a similar emphasis should be placed on showing all types of people, all year round. After all, disability is for life, not just for August.

PARALYMPICS: Captured imagination, did they change minds?

ALASDAIR DRENNAN

AMIDST THE heady glory of London 2012, with Team GB coming in at an unexpectedly high third place on the medal table, Olympic fever well and truly hit. Even the most die hard of cynics, grumbling at the ungodly queues, packed tubes and secret fears of terrorist threat, were pleasantly silenced. Despite the public’s cynicism, the games went off without a hitch, and, ignoring the G4S balls up, it was all rather jolly.

The fun was not all over yet, however, with the Paralympics soon to follow.

Challenging the usual BBC dominance, Channel 4 managed to land themselves the lucrative Paralympic coverage deal, knocking the Beeb off the top spot for a princely £9 million.

With the opening ceremony proceeding to attract the channel’s highest ever ratings, the games were set for success.

Showing over 150 hours coverage of events, and clearing many of its daytime schedules due to public demand, Channel 4 was awash with Paralympic fever. For many, this can only be seen as a good thing. Thanks to the glory of the Olympic games, the general public has expressed more interest in the

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Comment 9

Stop debating questions

M. M

failed to answer, in detail, the questions the debate has raised. It talked of a commitment to the EU but failed to explain what Scotland’s position in the EU would be and what the process for joining would be. This is important given that joining the EU as a new member state would require the adoption of the Euro at some point in the future. It has also become apparent over summer that the SNP position on Nato membership is no longer as clear as it once was. The party once took a hard line against Nato membership but it will now be debated at the party’s conference in October whether this should be changed. More concrete information is required before anyone can make a well-informed decision on the future of Scotland.

Instead of presenting solutions to the problems that would emerge from building a new country, it seems that the campaign is being set up to manipulate a sense of nostalgic Scottishness into the voters. An independent Scotland today would be entirely different to the country that existed before the Act of Union was signed in 1707. However, the referendum on Scottish independence is proposed to take place in 2014 – the 700th anniversary of victory at the Battle of Bannockburn. It is insulting

to try to manipulate the electorate into voting for independence because of a battle that took place centuries ago.

“

Scotland should not break away from the rest of the UK over a 200-year rivalry" In an event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year, two proponents of Independence argued that focusing on the details of the process of becoming independent was distracting from the overall debate that, in their opinion, should be about what Scotland could do as a nation in the future. It was suggested that when devising the NHS, William Beveridge did not need to figure out exactly how many bedpans would be required in hospitals, in the same way that the SNP should not need to figure out what will happen to every bus route that operates across the border.

There is, however, a very stark difference between these two examples.

Had the NHS not been the success it turned out to be, it would have been possible to return to the status quo pre

NHS, however, if a new Scottish nation fails to create the promised benefits it would be near impossible to rejoin the United Kingdom. It is important those campaigning for independence do not attempt to mould the debate into an abstract discussion of an invented Scottish nation whilst leaving the voters confused about what exactly they are voting for – the voters have a right to have their questions answered.

Similarly, it is important that the motivations for independence are justified.

Those participating in the Book Festival’s debate believed that the overwhelming majority of supporters believed that an independent Scotland would genuinely be better off economically and socially however this is a naïve belief. It is not difficult to come across those supporting Scottish Independence simply because of a dislike of the English or a sense that Westminster posh-boys are pushing the Scottish around.

Scotland should not break away from the rest of the UK over a 200-year rivalry or because 2014 was a particularly ‘Scottish’ year. There needs to be a much more detailed and transparent vision of Scotland made available in order for the Scottish electorate to determine whether independence is the best option

Feminism: Rebranded

Becky Chan argues that Pussy Riot suceeded in representing women opressed by authoritarianism

SINCE THEY first burst onto our screens and newspapers, Pussy Riot have grabbed viewers and readers by their lapels and forced them to hear their message. After three members of the punkfeminist band were arrested in March, the past few months have seen global protest, bright balaclavas on front pages and a video featuring the band’s remaining members abseiling down a building and setting fire to an enormous poster of Vladimir Putin’s face.

Many have accredited their global coverage to this iconic punk branding, or to put it in more cynical terminology, their Unique Selling Point. After all, these aren’t people who have been arrested for lurking around drab governmental offices,

placards in hand; these are young women, dressed head to toe in neon coloured spandex, playing punk rock in a cathedral and praying for the Virgin Mary to bring their president down.

This aspect of the movement has not gone uncriticised, with more than a few journalists pointing out the “hypocrisy” committed by the West for allowing itself to be glamoured into outrage at the jail sentencing. Guardian journalist Simon Jenkins was among the most condemning of British reaction, reminding us of how Charlie Gilmour, the university student who was jailed for 18 months for swinging from the Cenotaph and throwing a can at a police car, fared in our own justice system. Other angry bloggers have asked

where the world’s media was when less photogenic political protesters were being imprisoned.

Yes, Pussy Riot have brought to light the fact that there are many other dissidents, who have been felt great injustice and gone without headlines. The important thing is that these injustices are now getting some attention. If it took twelve young women in fluorescents to do that, it only confirms what we already know about the media – to be heard you have to be louder, brighter and more outrageous than anybody else. Pussy Riot understand this – who would have cared if they’d been performing folk songs in a town square or empty car park?

While ending the weaponisation of the church by the state was never realistically going to be on the agenda, to dismiss Pussy Riot as an overblown media furore is to ignore what they have managed to achieve. The high-profile nature of the case has meant that the sentence, deeply problematic in its wording, has been published in newspapers the world over. The court found the band guilty of breaching the “mutual respect” required between the feminist movement and the Russian Orthodox Church, finding a motive of “religious hatred” in the cathedral performance by way of “the defendants being feminists”.

That the court places the band’s one-time intrusion of the church over the church’s long-standing intrusion on women’s rights boggles the mind. The seemingly logic-defying hypocrisy is enough to make your eyes water, but one

message that gets across loud and clear is that the influence of the church on judicial proceedings is far too close to be comfortable, and the general public have the proof, printed in black and white, in their morning papers.

And what of the younger generation of girls who might never have heard of the feminist movement, or even worse, assumed it to be an outdated social movement that achieved its goals when women were given the right to vote? Pussy Riot may have served to open their eyes to a movement they didn’t know existed, fighting against a problem they may have been oblivious to. They have helped to remind a younger generation that feminist issues are not resolved. Was this aided by the imagery of the Jolie-esque Nadezhda peering through her holding cell, or displaying a raised fist of solidarity whilst being led by policemen? Definitely; but if it got the message across, the band are unlikely to be wincing at the “cool” packaging the media have delivered them in.

With supposedly 65 per cent of Russian participants stating in a poll that the arrested members of Pussy Riot should be imprisoned, and supposedly 80 per cent of the population describing themselves as Russian Orthodox, the move away from patriarchal and religious dominance was never going to happen overnight.

Whether it will ever happen is uncertain.

However, what Pussy Riot have done for debate, and for awareness in the plight of women around the world, should not be taken as irrelevant. Discussion is a tool no movement can be without.

BBC NEWS

SERIOUS DISCUSSIONS about Scottish independence began in May of last year when the SNP won an unexpected majority in the Scottish Parliament and yet the debate has failed to move any further than the discussion of a referendum question. Regardless of what the question is (or indeed questions are) in 2014 we will have a decision to make – yes or no to Scotland leaving the United Kingdom.

Growing weary of discussions over referendum questions, the country has begun to question what exactly an independent Scotland would be. We have questions about our membership of the European Union; our currency; our membership of Nato; tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK and the future of public broadcasting in Scotland – up to this point these questions have been left largely unanswered.

Additionally there are other questions, which seem insignificant to most but will massively impact the lives of many.

What will happen to bus routes that currently operate between Scottish border towns and their nearest city – Carlisle?

The SNP launched their Scotland Forward campaign with a document that set out a vision of what an independent Scotland would be. This document

DANIEL SWAIN

Alasdair Drennan insists that the debate on Scottish independence must move past the basics

MY NAME is Mr. Market. Often it’s hard to understand what I’m doing and why, so I’ll provide a brief explanation of my actions here every week. If you lost money, whoopsy! If you made money, buy me a pint!

Last week I had a bit of a fright around Wednesday, but I managed to compose myself in time for my regular weekend sleep. I felt a bit confident this week due to positive actions by the European Central Bank in moving towards buying bonds.

London-based steel firm Evraz had an impressive week, as did Barclays bank, who received rewards for their upper management shake-up. The big losers this week included mining giant Glencore, who continued to suck at acquiring competitor Xstrata.

Another big loser was a bit strange given the performance of it's industry: Imperial Tobacco. The Bristol based tobacco firm, the world's largest, was down 82.00 points, 3.2 per cent of it's share price. On the other side of the tobacco rolling paper, Imperial's rival Anglo-American was up 132.00 points, 7.17 per cent of its price.

Daniel Swain

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10 Comment

Democracy amid instability Hong Kong swan song WELCOME TO Newsjack. Here we’ve taken the news, beaten it with a giant bucket of silly, let it go brown in the sun for a little bit, then cut off one of its fingers and demanded 10,000 French Francs for its release.

Unfortunately the particular government we’re dealing with does not negotiate with terrorists. There will be no feast of French goods from before 2002 for us.

This past Saturday the people of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong today voted in an election for their new (bigger and badder) legislative assembly. The number of seats has expanded from 60 to 70 (bigger) and now more than half of the seats, 40, in the assembly are actually elected. 30 of the seats in the Hong Kong legislative assembly are appointed by a commission.

Clearly, this move towards a partly elected, partly nominated legislative model, coupled with anger towards the People’s Republic government in Beijing is clearly a demonstration of the people Hong Kong’s willingness to be reunited with a government approved of by Her Majesty. Indeed, I’m sure if Hong Kong asked nicely the British government would definitely consider reinstating Hong Kong’s British Crown Colony status. But we’d definitely have to get something out of it, like a good football player or some Olympians (Perhaps Lee Wai Sze? Britain really needs some Cycling medals.)

Hong's readmission to the Empire would not only spare it continuing pain due to human rights issues, it would also allow Hong Kong martial arts films to include snooty British characters once again.

Something that the good people of Hong Kong have sorely missed.

The advantage for Britain is that another sabre-rattling state could constantly demand the return of a British colony which has no interest in joining said country. These colonies could have their own games like the Commonwealth games. Hong Kong's mighty Olympians would have to contend with best athletes from the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar. Former colonies in said position could be legacy members and could get involved too, with Corfu and Heligoland getting theit chance to pursue Gold Medals in the 'British Colony pursued by other Powers' Games.

Daniel Swain

AFTER NINE years of investigation, the Israeli court recently declared that the death of American activist and pro-Palestinian campaigner Rachel Corrie was “an unfortunate accident.”

This ruling was justified by the claim that activists gave up their rights, as they had no business entering a restricted area. Witnesses watched as an army bulldozer crushed the 23 year old where she stood, resolutely and extremely visibly, as she tried to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home in Rafah. The verdict has provoked a fresh wave of indignation against Israel’s culture of impunity, and raised some fundamental questions about the treatment of foreign activists in Israel.

For example, what kind of future treatment can activists expect in light of Israel’s failure to protect civilians?

Ami Kaufman wrote in the Guardian that the Israeli government consider even the most peaceful protestors “a nuisance,” who have “nothing to do with peace”. To Israel, activists are irksome pests whose efforts amount to nothing more than unwelcome meddling. Israel thus justifies its own disregard for basic human rights, choosing to hide behind spurious logic which defends the army’s right to respond violently to peaceful protest.

Judge Oded Gershon of the Haifa Court claimed that Rachel was responsible for her own death, as she “did not distance herself as a reasonable person would have done.” Any government which expects foreign activists to react ‘reasonably’ as they watch innocent families’ homes and livelihoods being annihilated before their eyes because it

has nothing to do with them has much to learn about the notion of cross-cultural solidarity.

Rachel worked with the International Solidarity Movement, a pressure group with an Israeli-Palestinian majority which promotes non-violent resistance. They speak out fiercely against Israel’s atrocious displacement policies, which have led to the destruction of around 160,000 homes since 1967. Far from seeing foreigners as a hindrance, Israel’s citizens welcome the chance to work alongside internationals who wish to bring their expertise and passion to the advancement of their cause.

“

Concealing the truth will cost Israel more than accepting responsibility for Rachel Corrie's death."

Rachel was only the first foreign national to die for Palestinian rights.

Three weeks after her death, British peace activist Tom Hurndall was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper. A month later, British cameraman James Miller suffered the same fate at the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces.

Their martyrdom has done little to force Israel to stop the destruction of Palestinian homes. 2011 was a record year for Palestinian displacement,

BULLDOZERS: Take on a far more sinister character in Palestine with double the number of people left homeless in comparison with the previous year.

Activists are not disheartened by these figures, but neither has Israel changed its hostile attitude towards pro-Palestinian campaigners. There have been several incidents this year of international protest movements being denied the right to enter the country. The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign was prevented from travelling between Manchester and Israel in April, while members of the Welcome to Palestine movement were recently barred from crossing the border between Jordan and Israel.

Concealing the truth will cost Israel

GOOGLE IMAGES: PRWATCH

Yasmin Morgan-Griffiths laments the effects of the Israeli court decision on Rachel Corrie

more than accepting responsibility for Rachel Corrie’s death. She has achieved a bittersweet victory for activism, as the international community begins to turn its attention towards the condition of campaigners in Israel. Even in death she continues to inspire human rights campaigners through her writings, which have been published, adapted and performed worldwide. As the voices of the indignant are amplified in fresh protests, we can hope that the heated discussion surrounding the death of this brave and selfless young woman will force Israel to change its attitudes towards the cause which she fearlessly defended.

It’s still the Economy, stupid Jon Vrushi argues that Obama needs to attack Romney on the economy and not his work history

AS THE Republican and Democratic National Conventions officially nominated Romney and Obama respectively as their candidates, it is a good point to look back at the ethos and logos of the election campaign thus far.

Four years ago in his inaugural address, Mr Obama promised to fix unemployment, reconcile political divergences and look after the planet. Now four years later Obama is still besieged by disappointing jobs, the political gridlock seems more entangled than ever and the common American seems to be too troubled with quotidian issues to even think about global warming and other ethical issues.

Maybe four years were not enough to simultaneously clear the mess left by the outgoing Republican administration and bring about the promised change, but the Democratic campaign should emphasise this more while showing a concrete plan of action, rather than display ideas that everybody likes but won’t change too many minds as they are not tangible.

Barack Obama has thus far led a negative campaign in an attempt to expose Mitt Romney’s weaknesses, rather than his own strengths. While

the Republicans have been unfolding their vision for the American economy − which is the number one priority of the American voters − it seems that the Democrats are focusing an awful lot on ad hominem attacks on Mitt Romney’s personality, charisma and background.

Indeed the Democratic National Convention seemed like a festival of ‘bashing the elephants’, apart from the last speech delivered by Mr Obama.

Having led an entire campaign which has been inspiring fear rather than hope, the president may have felt that he had to counteract that with an inspiring speech at the end of the Convention. He talked about ideas and values and how he has changed along with time but, again, very little on unemployment and his vision for the American economy.

Unlike his last campaign, this one shouldn’t be so heavy on abstract ideals and values and principles. That worked in 2008 when Obama was an inspiring candidate due to the novice element, but now that he’s been in office for 4 years he can’t just rise above party politics. He is not some public intellectual or fatherly figure to talk about values; instead his campaign should be more

about concrete and tangible solutions.

In a recent poll conducted by the Economist and Yougov, American voters listed the economy, healthcare, social security and budget in this order of priority. This year’s US elections campaign should have, therefore, been about the economy and jobs. However, unemployment wasn’t even mentioned in his speech. Arguably that is the single most important figure during this election campaign. At 8.1 per cent, the unemployment level is the ‘Achilles’ heel’ for Obama. No president since Roosevelt was re-elected with unemployment figures lower than 7.2 per cent – and that is for a good reason.

Using the ‘Republican obstructionism’ as an argument for why things are going bad is also not the strongest point of the Obama campaign thus far; after all it is one of the duties of the American president to reconcile the big parties and strike compromises in decision making.

Obama could very well respond to the supply side policy that Mitt Romney advocates, but he is, in turn, afraid to provide with an alternative. A demand side agenda − which his party would also favour due to the leftist

leaning – would be substantially more convincing and it would most certainly improve the debt and the unemployment at the same time. Though the president touched upon Romney’s promise on tax reliefs and promised that he will not allow such a policy as long as he is in office, an alternative to fixing the debt wasn’t presented.

Ultimately, Obama’s reluctance to tackle ‘middle America’ and the common American voter could cost him the presidential elections, and Mitt Romney seems to be capitalising upon that fairly well. Mr Romney’s ending line in his acceptance speech was: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet; my promise is to help you and your family.” Governor Romney is certainly trying to appear more in touch with the common people’s problems.

The conclusion therefore seems straightforward. Obama’s campaign is not going the right direction and the unemployment figures have placed him at a disadvantage. Unless the president starts promising concrete solutions, the negative campaign conducted thus far, could backfire any time soon.

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12 Editorial

Editorial

Join us!

The Student is always looking for budding reporters, reviewers, illustrators and photographers to join us. We’re also hunting for recruits for our marketing and events teams.

If you’re interested, here’s how to track us down: » In person: Meetings every Tuesday in the Teviot Debating Hall at 1.15pm Socials: Tuesdays in the Teviot Loft Bar at 8.30pm (starting in week 1) editors@studentnewspaper.org www.facebook.com/TheStudentNewspaper www.twitter.com/TheStudentPaper thestudentpaper.tumblr.com

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.

The Student welcomes Edinburgh’s newest residents.

Welcome! You've made it.

This week almost 5,000 new students have arrived in Edinburgh.

Before the hard work begins next week, Freshers’ Week is an incredible opportunity to make new friends and sign up for activities that you’ve never tried (or even thought about trying) before.

It can also be incredibly daunting.

There's a lot of pressure to make your new best friends straight away and to try and have as amazing a time as everyone says you'll have. However, in the coming weeks all of Edinburgh’s new students will find their place in the university community.

On Wednesday and Thursday this week, the societies and sports teams of the university descend on the Pleasance and the gym to show what they have to offer. This is an amazing chance to get involved and meet people that share your interests. There are almost 300 societies ranging from Knit Soc and the French Theatre Society to the Geology Society and the Scandanavian Society.

Additionally, there are over 60 sports on offer including new Olympic favourites like handball and university sports like korfball and ultimate frisbee.

SINCE 1887

Joining a society can be intimidating at first but stick with it - the first few meetings might be a little uncomfortable but find your perfect society and you could well end up making some friends for life and having a real impact on your university community. Whatever happens, you will not regret trying to get involved.

Celebrating our 125th anniversary this year, The Student is the oldest student newspaper in the UK and we too are a university society. We have around 100 contributors, a team of almost 30 editors and a dedicated committee all working to produce a newspaper that we think you’ll find relevant and engaging each week.

To do this we have meetings for prospective writers on Tuesdays, editors meetings on Wednesdays and then spend the weekend putting the paper together, usually finishing in the early hours of Monday morning ready for distributing across the campus on Tuesday.

There’s also a lot more to The Student than the newspaper. Our weekly socials take place on Tuesday evenings in the Teviot Loft Bar and we regularly set up joint socials with Fresh Air - Edinburgh University's student radio station. We’ve also got football and badminton teams that

all our members are welcome to join.

If you’re interested in contributing to the paper, this week is a great time to get started. We’ll be at the Freshers’ Fair on Wednesday and Thursday and, excitingly, you can join us for some free food and a pub crawl on Thursday evening. We’ve also got some other great events at the end of the week but if you can’t make it along then either send us an email or come to our first meeting next Tuesday.

Joining the paper has been one of the best decisions we’ve both made at university - we wouldn't vountarily dedicate our weekends to The Student if we didn't love it. But if the paper isn’t for you, there is so much out there to get involved with: join a sports team, go along to Juggling Society, be in a French play. It’s very easy to let the amazing opportunities on offer here pass you by, so whether you’re just starting out or have already been here for a while, we urge you to go out, get involved and try something different.

Alasdair and Leo

T H E U K ' S O LD E S T S T U D EN T N EW S PA P ER

The Student Meeting and Socials Calender: Semester One 2012-13

Disclaimer

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A generation of reform

RUNNING THROUGH the streets with crowds of joyful Burmese people in the monsoon rain, it would be hard to imagine the oppression the country has faced in the last few decades under their military dictatorship. Aung San Suu Kyi, affectionately referred to as ‘Aunty Suu’, is making an appearance for Martyrs’ Day on 19th July where her father, the hero of Burmese independence, was shot dead amongst others 65 years ago.

This is the first public celebration of Martyrs’ Day for 21 years, and the sense of joy is boundless. A few months ago it would be unthinkable that so many citizens together would be so blatantly displaying their allegiance to a the National League for Democracy (NLD), the military junta’s political opposition.

“

The gutsiness of the '88 students is further shown in their instant proactivism upon release from prison” Meanwhile, the NLD are not the only reformist force at work in Myanmar. In January of this year some of the key leaders of the 88 Generation Students who have been imprisoned on and off since 1988 – a stretch of up to 24 years – were released. These are people who were at university in ’88 and were imprisoned by the government because of their involvement in political protests.

Having spent the majority of their lives in prison from when they were at university to the present, 88 Generation members still view themselves as students even though they be 45 years of age or older. Combined with members of the new generation – current students who share a passion for a freer Myanmar, with greater individual freedoms and rights – they are the 88 Generation Students Group.

The ‘88 students have a key role to play in the history books – however with the severe political crackdown Myanmar faced after the ’88 uprisings, their significance is only shared in conversation. Gradually their pictures are appearing on the front pages of more radical journals inside the country, but with such restricted access, few outside Myanmar know who they are.

There is a variety of extraordinary life tales to uncover; people who have sacrificed their entire youths for greater political freedom; who more than 20 years ago saw friends shot dead in front

of them, yet ‘escape’ with a lifetime sentence in prison. These are people whose only time spent out of solitary confinement each day is for hard labour, and who are moved around the country’s toughest prisons so that their families struggle to know where they are – in a prison system where the best hope is a good relationship with your jailor, but where jailors with conscience are “very hard to come by”.

Than Zaw, Burma’s longest serving political prisoner to date, was sentenced to both the life and death sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Partway through his sentence he was asked to sign Act 401 in exchange for immediate release. This would mean pleading guilty to the crime he had spent over two decades in prison serving. Such is his integrity and resilience that he refused. He was finally released some months later after a paper was redrafted based on what he was prepared to sign.

Whilst he was in prison he was given an award by Japan for his bravery called the “Unknown Hero”. Perhaps this encapsulates the story of many of these unsung heroes.

The gutsiness of the ’88 students is further shown in their instant proactivism upon release from prison. A mere two weeks after release and having never seen a computer in his life before, Than Zaw had already set up a Gmail account. He pointed out that even some professors at Yangon University did not yet have email accounts. A Facebook account is in the pipeline, but at this stage could be politically sensitive.

Ko Ko Gyi, arguably the leading political activist of the 88 group, said that they are not afraid of being sent back to prison. He said they are “awkward” in the ways of daily life but know exactly how a prison works. They share the value that life is short and precious, so Ko Ko Gyi does not feel it a waste to have spent his youth in prison standing for what he believes in, and he clearly makes every moment out of prison count.

Others like Myat San see forgiveness as the future of the country. After a 15 year stint in prison Myat San was released in March 2005, four months after his father passed away, just missing the chance to see him one last time. Myat San was subsequently reimprisoned due to his involvement in the saffron revolution in 2007, a peaceful movement in which thousands of monks took to the streets – so named because of the colours of their robes. Mentioning his life in solitary confinement in prison he says, “There was a light in the cell, but most of the time it wasn’t working.”

The striking thing about all members of this group is the freshness with

LUCY ANTROBUS

Lucy Antrobus reports on the current climate of political regeneration in Myanmar

SOLEMNITY AND JOY: NLD supporters gather together on Martyrs Day which they greet you, and total lack of any trace of bitterness about the sacrifices they have made. This is a characteristic shared by many of the Burmese people, who have a very giving nature and warm friendliness that makes you want to erupt in smiles as you greet them. It seems whether young or old, the Burmese people are giving back no matter how little they have. Many of the new generation of students volunteer for several months each year as teachers in remote communities. In addition, fearless young leaders take on politically sensitive work with full conscience as to the consequences this may entail.

For example, Chit Suu Win Htein, who didn’t have a father for most of her childhood as he was locked up in prison because of NLD activism, is about to embark on an internship in women’s rights and gender equality, and then pursue a masters scholarship to Melbourne to learn about gender and development and bring back this knowledge to her country. One cannot help but glance at their steely role-models and be awed by their resolve.

These experiences have inspired the creation of a student group for Edinburgh University students, called Myanmar 88 (MM88), coming soon to the university. This group is being formed out of the desire to create greater awareness about Myanmar and the ‘88 generation students, and to link together all Edinburgh students with an interest in Myanmar. MM88 will bring with it the ethos: “To connect, to inform and to transform”, and

will provide a platform for the sharing and spreading of knowledge about a country in midst of political and social transformation. The student group will also facilitate future opportunities to Edinburgh University students to work with ex political prisoners in Yangon – those with an interest in journalism, politics, anthropology, and the environment to name but a few disciplines, as well as students wanting to work with these inspirational figures helping improve their English and computer skills. A few months ago this possibility would have been unheard of with many of these political activists still in prison, which shows the seismic political shift the country has undergone recently.

“

There is a variety of extraordinary life tales to uncover; people who have sacrificed their entire youths for greater political freedom” The 88 Generation Students Group is just one pocket of the extraordinary people in Yangon at the moment. Many ‘tigers’ in reform are slowly surfacing and extending their networks, who have for many years been working underground in the oppressed political climate. Additionally the President of the current military government, Thein Sein, has

shown a reformist bent and is allowing his government to engage with opposition political figures.

However Yangon is a liberal bubble and is unlike other areas in Burma where oppression still sits heavy on the state’s citizens. Conflict recently flared up in Rakhine state, and Kachin state remains rife with civil war. Communities fear their lands and livelihoods being taken away from them and resources and wealth extracted out of the country are profiting business abroad. Activist groups are thirsty for young, educated people to assist them in steps towards a brighter future, since their education system has suffered almost fatally in the last two decades. Most activists have no experience of what democracy really means, a radical concept to a nation like ours whose bread is buttered with democracy.

One visionary sees a future for Myanmar where their country is defined by human rights, peace and the environment, rather than by growth in their GDP. With people like the 88 Generation Student leaders, who have the respect of the people, the motivation, and the network to make steps towards this future, it would be shortsighted for the rest of the world not to shake their hands and offer its support.

For those interested in becoming a member of Myanmar 88 Students Group Edinburgh and/or curious about Myanmar, please contact myanmar88soc@gmail.com.

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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Features 15

Accentuating differences GETTING YOUR voice heard above all the pub crawls, icebreaking sessions and nocturnal debauchery can be tough in Freshers’ Week. As a Fresher, you will meet students from different countries, cultures and different worlds, though amongst the sea of difference there will be one thing you will definitely have in common: language.

During that first week, you’re likely to meet people from across the Anglophone world. But dividing that community are the regional dialects and accents that flavour the linguistic stew of English, and in an environment such as Freshers’ Week – where speakers not just of different varieties of English, but for whom English might be a second language will meet – there are some important considerations to keep in mind.

The way in in which people pronounce their mother tongue can be one of the most distinctive facets of a personality. The accent or dialect a speaker possesses contains vital information about their identity and their background – you can tell which region of a country a speaker originates from just by listening to their voice.

Dr Lauren Hall-Lew, a lecturer in sociolinguistics at the University of Edinburgh, talked to The Student about the role accents and dialects can play. “An accent or dialect is potentially an important part of one’s identity, but how important it is depends on the context.

An accent is a set of pronunciations that are similar to those used by one group but not those used by another group; every individual has an accent because every individual has a way of speaking that someone else, somewhere, perceives as different from their own.

“So when we’re around people who use pronunciations the same way that we do, we probably don’t pay much attention to accent as a marker of identity.

But if a person suddenly finds herself in a linguistically diverse environment, their accent or dialect may quickly become one of the most important aspects of their identity.

“Freshers’ Week is a good example of a context where many people who are used to more linguistically homogeneous social interactions suddenly experience a tremendous amount of diversity with respect to native and non-native accents and dialects of English. There are a range of possible ways in which a student’s speech might be influenced by this social change, where a speaker attunes the way they speak to (what they perceive to be) the needs of the listener.

“Often this process is subconscious and automatic, where we start to hear ourselves picking up linguistic features of the person we’re talking to, in sort of the same way that we find ourselves falling into step with someone when walking side by side.”

At the University of California, the ongoing ‘Voices of Berkeley’ study is currently analysing the speech of 791 students over the course of their academic career. Whilst primarily designed to map the linguistic diversity of their

students (at the University of California, 30% of students reported that English was not their first language), the study also aims to record students’ accents in their second and fourth years, to see if there has been any change.

Dr Keith Johnson, the professor in charge of the study, spoke to the LA Times when the investigation began in 2011. He said, “It seemed like a good opportunity for me to learn something about our population and also give the incoming class a chance to learn something about each other, just by listening to each other”.

After conducting our own investigation into whether fellow students had experienced discrimination or prejudice as a result of possessing a regional accent or dialect, The Student found several instances of linguistic discrimination.

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “I feel like, at university, I have to do some serious accommodation, even with other Scottish speakers. At times when I have slipped from this and used the odd word from my local dialect, I’ve been openly laughed at.

“As another example, in a tutorial where I was the only Scottish student, someone asked why Scottish people say ‘telt’ instead of ‘told’ and the (American) tutor suggested that we weren’t taught properly when we were at school.”

She told The Student, “because I do accommodate I don’t think I have

“

All of our respondents, whether they taked about negative or positive discrimination, felt the difference that having a regional accent can cause” experienced discrimination to a more serious extent than that – but in order to be taken seriously and to also further my hopes of a career in media I feel like I have to lose my dialect (in my home country). I utterly resent myself for doing it, but to avoid discrimination I feel I have to.

“I think I am not taken seriously if I use my local dialect and I’ve been conditioned to accommodate in order to avoid being mocked.”

Tess Malone, a recent English Literature graduate who comes from Minnesota, USA, told The Student, “I remember always feeling like there was no point even trying to blend in because my accent always made me stick out. It forces you into playing into your nation’s stereotypes.”

Anna Feintuck, a history postgraduate, told The Student that, “I’m not sure I’ve felt discriminated against exactly, but I’ve certainly had some unpleasant remarks or even just people laughing.

I’m from Hull and I don’t have a particularly strong accent – I think – but I’d

NO SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY: Starting university can bring with it exposure to a variety of new dialects say it is noticeable amongst Edinburgh students.

“The other thing is that when I go home people often comment on me having ‘lost’ my accent and assume I must have changed because of that. So I feel like I can’t win”.

This issue – the feeling of being stuck between a rock and a hard place – came up several times during our investigation. Kirsty Wareing, a recent sociology graduate who relocated to Seattle, told The Student, “Whilst most people are polite about it [my accent], I’ve had several people parrot back to me, which makes conversations pretty frustrating.

“I also can’t help but take on the American English words for things – for example, closet instead of wardrobe – which causes great amusement for family back home who think I am ‘changing’.”

One respondent, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Student, “I’m from the Edinburgh area and my boyfriend is from Hong Kong. Since I have met him, he has picked up a slight Scottish accent. When meeting a lot of his friends in Hong Kong, we both got the impression that a couple of them were looking down on us somewhat, and teased him for not having a ‘proper’ standard American accent, saying that they thought his English was very bad and they couldn’t understand him anymore, even though I would say he actually has very good English.”

Not all the responses reported examples of negative prejudice. Kate John told The Student, “I’m from Wales and although I have lived there all my life and both my parents are Welsh, my accent was never very strong. At school, people were forever saying that I must

be posh because of my accent. Now, it’s quite an asset”.

Melissa Geere, a fourth year Linguistics student said: “I thought I would face prejudice moving up to Scotland from the south of England, but no one has ever discriminated against me. But maybe people are used to the accent in Edinburgh”.

All of our respondents, whether they talked about negative or positive discrimination, felt the difference that having a regional accent or dialect can cause. Most people link their accent directly to their regional identity, and so when we feel discrimination for our speech variety, by extension we feel discrimination against our particular regional identity.

Dr Patrick Honeybone, a lecturer in dialectology and a specialist in British dialects, spoke to The Student about dialectal prejudice in Britain. “In Britain we tend to be very much attuned to differences between accents and dialects, and there’s a wonderful array of dialectal diversity here - just think of how different people sound if they come from Shetland or Glasgow or the Western Isles or Newcastle or Yorkshire or Liverpool or London or Bristol.

“A few decades ago it was probably fair to say that Received Pronunciation (the accent that the Queen and David Cameron use, for example) was perceived as the most prestigious and most pleasant variety, but I’m not sure that this is still the case. In a recent student of attitudes to accents, Scottish and Irish accents were found to be more socially attractive than Received Pronunciation, and varieties from the North East and the West Country of England also did well.

“There’s a general feeling that preju-

dices against particular accents and dialects are becoming less extreme. There is still probably subtle discrimination against certain varieties of English, but it’s much more common than it used to be to hear accents other than RP in the media and that’s surely a sign that things are getting better.

“Many people are still prejudiced against some varieties, though, such as the dialects of Glasgow, Birmingham and Liverpool. The speakers of these varieties typically don’t care about this kind of prejudice, though, and are as proud of their dialect as anyone else.”

In Freshers’ Week, new students will meet new friends and fellow students from across the English-speaking world. If you are able to remember anything through the hangover haze, then it should be to remain mindful of the importance of a person’s accent, and of the way it defines their identity.

Dr. Honeybone on accomodation: “Many people certainly do feel that their accent or dialect is a really important part of their identity and would never dream of trying to change it consciously. Having said that, all varieties of languages are changing naturally all the time, and this partly involves accents and dialects becoming more similar to each other. People will also often subconsciously alter their speech subtly to make it more like the people that they’re talking to, so if someone from Glasgow meets someone from London at Freshers’ Week, they’ll both probably start sounding a bit more like each other if they talk for long.”

EWAN MCINTOSH

This Freshers’ Week, Sam Bradley looks at how accents and dialects can become centre of attention at university

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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16 Features

All the president’s tweets

Nina Bicket writes on the way that the social media revolution has impacted politics

vent this by disabling comments on blog posts and YouTube videos, for example (the official Downing Street YouTube does this), but this seems to miss the point of the free exchange of information and ideas that is provided by online communication.

The anonymity of the internet raises another problem, namely the use of a politician’s name or identity in an unofficial and unendorsed capacity. Facebook and Twitter make this especially easy, as the user is entirely anonymous, and images of politicians are readily available through a quick web search to lend authenticity to any account.

SCOUT TUFANKJIAN FOR OBAMA FOR AMERICA

“

OBAMA ONLINE: Barack Obama moves his campaign trail onto the internet LAST WEEK, President Barack Obama caused a digital stir when he took part in an AMA thread on the popular website Reddit. AMA stands for ‘ask me anything’ and is an online interview of a sort – users can advertise themselves as available for questioning and commenters have the freedom to, well, ask them anything (the interviewees usually range in interest from celebrities to ordinary people who have had something mildly unusual happen to them).

“

The phenomenon of politicians using social media as an additional platform for their voice to be heard is a growing one, and they are moving past the usual suspects of Facebook and Twitter” That the president would take part in this was surprising for a number of reasons. In the world of online social media, Reddit simply isn’t as mainstream as other websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (President Obama maintains a presence on all three of these, as do a growing number of politicians). Although it is well known amongst frequent internet users (and is in fact one of the most visited sites on the internet), unlike those sites previously mentioned it’s not the

sort of thing that your aunt or elderly neighbour would typically have heard of, and the general perception of the site seems to be that the majority of its users are white males with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

For Obama to initiate an AMA on the site is indicative of two things.

One, that he is no longer simply using social media as a means to reach out to large numbers of people, and perhaps specifically a younger demographic; rather here he seemed to be courting a specific, technologically active, web-oriented vote. Second, that the phenomenon of politicians using social media as an additional platform for their voice to be heard is a growing one, and that they are moving past the usual suspects of Facebook and Twitter and onto smaller circles.

These days it seems as though every politician is on at least Twitter – with the current pervading popularity of social media it only makes sense for them to tap into the digital zeitgeist and start practicing whittling announcements, calls to arms and humanising insights into everyday life down to 140 characters or less. Obama is one of the more technologically adept of them (or at least has technologically adept staff-members), whose online presence extends beyond Twitter and Facebook to Tumblr, on which his team reblogs stories from supporters, posters both official and fan-made, and clips from The Daily Show amongst other things.

This online presence is not unusual amongst politicians, though, and governments from Downing Street to

Cape Town have YouTube channels, while Facebook offers opportunities to ‘like’ the official pages of politicians as diverse as Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and Nick Griffin. So social media is definitely a convenient method of staying in touch with a large followership, quickly communicating ideas to the public, and maintaining a level of communication that is on a more human level than televised press conferences, newspaper interviews, or other official modes of contact.

For many people, this has the effect of humanising politicians. By communicating through social media it feels more like a friend is speaking to you than a high-profile politician. Likewise, it makes it easy for the public to get in contact – all it takes is a quick tweet or a comment on a Facebook post to get your voice heard by the politician of your choice. Admittedly, they may not reply or even take much notice but it feels like you have a direct line of contact with them, and often what matters to people. It also gives politicians a chance to show off their technological credentials. When Barack Obama started his official Tumblr there was huge excitement on the website, users of which saw him as more web savvy and part of their own community as a result.

However, there is a downside to this, too. Having a profile on any form of online social media makes you hugely visible. Any mistakes you make will be seen by millions of people – and the possibility of making a mistake is exponentially increased. Most highprofile politician’s accounts are run by a

media team and not themselves, which means that they are only indirectly in control of what gets posted, leaving the possibility of a staff-member making an inaccurate statement, or one which the politician does not actually endorse in their name, wide open.

If the politician is running the account themselves, the worry then becomes that of technological ineptitude. A public tweet that was supposed to be a direct message; an angry tweet in the heat of the moment that is later regretted; an accidental Facebook like.

On the internet, mistakes are forever, and even if tweets, Facebook comments and blog posts are later deleted, you can be sure that someone will have taken a screen capture of your mistake.

Websites like Undetweetable also exist which catalogue every deleted tweet by username, making it easy to see all of the tweets your MP, senator, or Prime Minister didn’t want you to know about.

The ease of communication with the public and their ability to contact politicians right back is also a doubleedged sword. Although members of the public can contact you with insightful questions and courteous opponents can offer well-reasoned rebuttals to your posts, the reality of the internet is that for every polite interaction there is an equal and opposite angry bombardment of anonymous hatred. The internet provides a unique opportunity for both direct contact and anonymity; a heady combination for some who use this power to pester politicians and innundate them with angry comments and tweets. Some politicians circum-

By communicating through social media it feels more like a friend is speaking to you than a highprofile politician” Twitter employs a blue tick next to the name of a celebrity or organisation to show that this user has been verified and is who they claim to be, but many politicians and celebrities do not have this symbol, despite being official and authentic accounts, making it difficult to tell whether you are really following that person or if it is an unofficial or parody profile. There have been many examples of politicians being impersonated on Twitter, either for defamation or parody purposes – something made possible by the unique anonymity of the internet.

All of this provides a wealth of content for journalists to report on, but raises problems for this too.

Something mistakenly tweeted under Barack Obama’s name by a member of his media team is still connected to his account, and even if he hasn’t endorsed it he is still responsible for it. However, reporting it as a statement from the president would be misleading if he does not actually believe it. In this way, social media can provide challenges when it comes to attribution and accurate reporting, as well as self-representation on the part of those behind the accounts.

Social media has indisputably changed the way that politicians and the public communicate with eachother, but whether that is for the better or for the worse is still in debate. Although it provides new and different opportunities for interaction and the ability for politicians to present themselves in an alternative, more informal way, it also creates novel problems for both the users and the public. Like any platform from which politicians express themselves it has its positives and its negatives, but whatever else it may be, it is apparent that it is also an opportunity for them to curry favour with young and potentially previously apathetic groups.

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Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

Lifestyle 17

A fresher’s tale

Health and Weight Loss The War on Summer Cellulite begins

Tabby Powell-Tuck tells her tale of social angst and unmet expectations starting to wonder whether a university degree was really worth all this social anxiety, I realised that Freshers’ Week had turned me into a monster. I was not the kind of monster that spent Freshers’ Week prostituting herself on Arthur’s seat and brushing her teeth with vodka. Instead, I was a paranoid mess, one eye constantly seeking out opportunities with lips curled into the most painfully disorientated smile.

I had imagined university to be an opportunity to meet new and interesting people, to discuss the meaning of life and to learn to play the ukulele: a kind of Laura-Marling-come-Clarissa-Dalloway oestrogen fuelled fantasy. Somehow it was a bit more

‘Made In Chelsea’ than this. Being a boarding school ‘snob’ (“let’s just quit while we’re ahead eh?”), I guess I had just never really been around people that were that different to me.

Then one day, as if by magic, I realized that everything was okay. The epiphany came when as I sat in my friend’s room, strategizing over the best way to ensure we were first in the H&M queue for the launch of the new Marni line the next day. (I had never believed in soul mates before).

Although impossible to even contemplate at the time, life gets easier than Freshers’ Week and everyone does eventually calm down. There was only so much small talk you can have before

it becomes microscopic. And luckily drinking games get boring.

I still have not had adventures in places like Uganda and it’s safe to say that Aung San Suu Kyi does not need to worry about me swiping the Congressional Gold Medal from under her nose. But, in the same way that you endure your Granddad’s occasional World War Two rants, endure this… while I may not have been there when the Luftwaffe launched its first offensive, I lived to tell the Freshers’ Tale and frankly, I think that deserves a medal.

EXAMINER

PEOPLE SAY that when something really traumatic happens, like a car crash, the brain’s immediate reaction is to repress it. I’d like to think that this was the reason for my patchy memories of Freshers’ Week, not the Red Bull fountains and 2-for-1 shots. Yet, the phrase, “this is the most brutal form of socializing you will ever do in your life” that was uttered to me on the first day will never be forgotten.

As I sat on a bedroom floor, listening to a girl about her gap year in South America, sand-boarding in Huaccachina and visiting the salt flats in Bolivia, I found myself praying that someone, somewhere, would ask what flavor of frozen yoghurt everyone preferred, the natural or the fruit flavor.

Admittedly, it was not soul-seeking stuff but then again, maybe someone would answer ‘natural’ too so then we could hold each others hands and revel in our new potential friendship.

It was achingly artificial but somehow it was the unspoken mantra of Freshers’. You’re sinking in deep water, desperately grappling at anything to keep yourself afloat, no matter how tenuous the social branches are.

There were those painful club nights which seemed to be the only antidote to ‘fomo’ (the ‘fear of missing out’) while also making you wish that you were anywhere else in the world, having drunken yourself into a senseless oblivion where the music cannot be heard and you cannot acknowledge the fact that yes, you are dancing alone.

Sleep deprived, hung-over and

FRESHERS: So young, so impressionable

Sartorial September Betsy Chadbourn stitches together the perfect back-to-school wardrobe IT’S HERE. The time you couldn’t even fathom back in late May when you were packing your whole life into a few cardboard boxes and dusting off your Ray Bans in anticipation.

September. The end of warm summer days and denim cut-offs, the reluctant salute to frosty mornings and winter coats and concrete. The beginning of Autumn, and of course, the return to university. Having a schedule and remembering that life does not solely revolve around how much more tanned your legs are than they were last week – or not – as my case may be.

But with the dreaded cold of Scotland looming in the back of my mind, and thoughts of how I will ever manage to teach myself how to hold a pen

again - there is a glimmer of hope.

Back to school means back to school fashion. Comfortable winter wardrobes full of tall boots and knitwear that promise to hide the stomach that will undoubtedly grow from alcohol, takeaways and eating for insulation.

When I sat in the close rows of a room buzzing with excitement, back at London Fashion Week, I knew that this was going to be a fantastic season even before the lights dimmed.

So, what to expect? Well, luckily the trends reflect life as an Edinburgh student pretty much thread for thread. It’s all about oversizing, layering-up, and going heritage.

Fancy wearing your boyfriend’s jumper, some palazzo pants, a tunic

dress and your quilted Jack Wills jacket all at once? Well this season you can. And people won’t even stop and heckle you in the street for being a stereotype. Choose purple for a touch of elegance, or stick to military styles; khaki shirts, tweed two pieces, or camo jackets if you want a masculine edge.

You won’t even suffer for your style on nights out this season; all those gothic leathers will keep you snug and tucked in, combined with a colour-popping fur and you’re set.

Unless you decide that you’re in a particularly suicidal mood and think that the ‘bare minimal’ lace trend is more for you... Let’s just say that I may or may not have seen a lace ‘peep’ jumpsuit in the Hive last year.

As for my boutique picks: NastyGal.com and Sheinsider.com have particularly piqued my interest, with covetable and affordable new season collections.

So, while you’re greeting old or new friends, trying to make your parents leave as they hand you yet another pack of a toilet roll economy pack, or wishing that you hadn’t already burned through your bursary on JC Litas; just remember, nothing will ever be as bad as that lace jumpsuit. Happy spending!

THIS SUMMER, I ate my way across America and my waistline has inevitably suffered the consequences. I returned from three months in the USA to find that either all of my trousers had shrunk or, more likely, I gained a kilo… or eight. According to whoever developed the Body Mass Index, I am now classed as ‘overweight’ and it is probably time that I set about correcting that.

While I am not overly disturbed about the label of being ‘overweight’, I am concerned that after spending April and May locked up in the library revising and the rest of summer eating donuts, I now struggle to climb two flights of stairs without feeling out of breath. I would also quite like to avoid having to replace all of my clothes. It’s time to get healthy.

The Internet tells me that there are an infinite number of different approaches I could take. There’s the Dukan Diet: involving eating nothing but protein for three days, then having to go through a series of different stages before finally achieving my ‘true weight’.

Or I could opt to replace food completely with whole ranges of slimming soups and shakes. One advert also keeps telling me that Edinburgh mums have been losing weight by eating some magic berries. However, I think I’m going to stick with the obvious – eat less and exercise more. How hard can it be?

I’ve joined the gym again, and raided the kitchen ‘Gillian McKeith style’; throwing away all the saturated fat and sugar I could get my hands on. (I should point out that the kitchen is the only thing I will ever be going through ‘McKeith-style’.)

Going to the gym has not been a pleasant experience at all this week. My sedentary lifestyle in Boston has taken a dramatic toll.

Yet, over the course of just this week, I’ve found that day-by-day I endure the treadmill a little longer.

Eating healthily has undoubtedly been the greater challenge when Teviot sell burgers at all hours of the day.

In the coming weeks I’m going to share my experiences – good and bad, and test out some of the products, classes and apps all designed to help improve your health. Find regular updates online at studentnewspaper.org.

Alasdair Drennan (weighs 81.2kg)

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Chimpanzees, Tarzan and loincloths

LISA LANGE AND REBECCA CHAN

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

THERE ARE perhaps a handful of people in the world, famous or not, who have undoubtedly changed the world for good. When Jane Goodall, a young British woman crazy about animals, first visited Kenya and fell in love with Africa, it was not in her mind to be one of them. But now, at 78, she is an internationally recognised conservationist who has given a voice to animals, especially our close relatives the great apes, worldwide, through her research, books and the charity she founded in 1977, the Jane Goodall Institute.

As a zoologist hoping to one day work in Africa, Jane Goodall has been my hero for as long as I can remember, and I recently started reading Africa in my Blood, a collection of the letters she sent to her friends and family when she first left the UK and found her home in Africa. The voice of the girl a few years older than me is full of enthusiasm, passion and excitement for life, as well as being absolutely obsessed with wildlife. So when I received an email telling me that she was visiting the Highland Wildlife Park, it was completely surreal that I may meet this woman over fifty years on.

There was suddenly the opportunity to meet a true inspiration and I found that, despite over fifty years of fieldwork and a hectic schedule of travelling 300 days of the year, the enthusiasm and dedication present in the letters I have been reading from fifty-five years ago are still as passionate and inspiring in person.

After a tour of the Park she attended a reception where gave a speech praising the projects she had seen. She then proceeded to show us what chimpanzees would do if they could see the wonderful array of food available at the reception (that everyone had been eyeing up, too scared to be the first to try a bite) by throwing her arms around the Chief Executive Officer of

Edinburgh Zoo, Chris West, and making chimp exclamations of joy, to the delight of the hysterical room. She then encouraged us to do the same before we all tucked in to the food- a crazy ice breaker.

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The first time I saw one of our chimps with a brand new baby, the placenta was still attached and it was her first baby and she didn't quite know how to handle it and it was just amazing to watch” Jane Goodall After summoning all my courage, I managed to stutter out my request to interview her and got a chance to talk to her about her amazing career in conservation.

She tells me her main goal at the moment is to promote awareness, saying that in conservation, “The main priority in a range of priorities is education, so helping bring awareness so people can understand.”

It was very interesting to hear from her, who she had got her inspiration from. She told me, laughing, “Well, this may seem like a very odd answer but when I was a child my inspiration came from Doctor Doolittle and Tarzan!

“Also, from my uncle, who was a surgeon, and would let me watch him operate, which for me was very inspiring to see what can be done to help people, and what the human body is able to withstand.”

However, she never considered going into Medicine, following her passion for animals deep into the African wilderness.

What was her most touching experience in the natural world? “Well, that’s very hard after seventy eight years to pick out one that’s particularly special. Maybe I think the first time I saw one of our chimps with a brand new baby, the placenta still attached and it was her first baby and she really didn’t quite know how to handle it and it was just amazing to watch. Right close up, it was like this tiny little human being with its mother. So that was very meaningful. Motherhood.”

Although, following primates in their forest habitat was not all plain sailing. I asked her about the most dangerous encounter she had ever had: “Probably two.

One was when I was walking in a tunnel made by hippos on an island in Lake Victoria. So I was watching monkeys and I knew they went towards the lake in the heat of the day so I climbed down this hippo tunnel, quite a big tunnel with very dense vegetation. And I saw a man coming towards me, just with a loincloth and a big spear. And he hadn’t seen me, and I thought ‘Well, if he suddenly sees me, crikey!’ so, because I was hidden in the vegetation I stepped out and he pulled his spear back, ready to throw- oh!- but fortunately he didn’t use it. A crocodile poacher.

“The other was when I’d been following a mother baboon who had lost her baby, it had been taken by another female who couldn’t feed it. And this mother was so low-ranking, and she was angry and sad and everything so she threatened me, because she didn’t dare threaten any of the baboons around her, they were all dominant.

“But when she threatened me, one of the males immediately thought I had harmed her. You know, baboons can kill

TWO OF A KIND: Jane Goodall outside the snow monkey enclosure leopards. Every male, and there were ten of them, surrounded me, and they were all doing their threats- hah- hah- hah!- and raising their eyebrows and showing their teeth. And then I was really scared, but I thought, if I were a chimp I would wave a stick because baboons can’t wave sticks so I picked up the biggest stick I could and I twirled it around and they all jumped back and whoosh- I was gone! That was really, really scary.”

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You know, baboons can kill leopards. Every male, and there were ten of them, surrounded me”

people aspiring to make a difference to help save the natural world. “Well, I think first of all is that some people find it very difficult, you know, first you have to get this degree, and some people don’t want to do that, but are still passionate about animals. I think, you know, the most important thing is that if your heart is totally in it, if this is really what you want to do, then you will find a way. But you’ve got to keep your ears open, and another important thing is that if you don’t get there straight away, don’t worry because you’ll come around and back to it. You may have to take a boring old job for two years and do night school or something like that but the main thing is not to give up if it is your passion. If it is your passion and you give it up for whatever reason, then you’ll never be really happy.”

Jane Goodall After my ten minutes interviewing her, I asked what advice she would give any

Funding to find sun-stroke of genius

Is skin cancer already in your genes? Maithili Mehta explains current cancer research within the University of Edinburgh

A HUGE £60 million of awards from the Medical Research Council (MRC) will enable scientists at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (IGMM) to delve deeper into the genetic basis of conditions such as cystic fibrosis, schizophrenia, genetic eye disorders, osteoarthritis, and cancer.

The monetary boost, to be provided over a period of five years, will hopefully enrich our understanding of disease mechanisms, and help improve therapies for afflicted patients.

Professor Nick Hastie, Director of the MRC IGMM and MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh, says, “We are in the middle of a genetic revolution. The challenge we face is to work out how human genes work together to build a human. We also want to find out how subtle DNA differences help shape human diversity and influence susceptibility to a wide range of common

diseases. This funding will help us to turn the potential of the genetic revolution into reality.”

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We are in the middle of a genetic revolution” Professor Nick Hastie

Amongst the diseases under scrutiny is a lethal form of skin cancer – melanoma. Like all cancers, skin cancer has been linked with damage to DNA by a physical, chemical, or environmental agent.

This mutation can then be inherited by one’s progeny, making him/her as susceptible to disease. In the case of melanoma, ultraviolet radiation from the Sun damages specific DNA sequences in skin cells (scientifically, melanocytes - cells

that produce the dark pigment, melanin, responsible for skin colour), interfering with the cells’ growth cycles and causing them to multiply uncontrollably to form a tumour.

“The incidence of melanoma is rising in fair skinned populations, and in particular Scotland has shown an increasing trend” explains Dr. Elizabeth Patton, group leader of the team studying melanoma at IGMM. The team trace the progression of the disease by using an animal model, the zebrafish, the melanocytes of which are microscopically observed at different stages of the fish’s life, from its embryonic state through to adulthood.

Contemporary studies focus on sections of DNA such as the BRAF gene (which is involved in sending signals within a cell related to cell growth) and the MITF gene (which carries the instructions to make a protein involved in development, survival, and function

NINA SEALE

Nina Seale interviews Jane Goodall at the Highland Wildlife Park about her life in Africa and her inspirations

of certain types of cells) which are frequently found to be mutated in cases of melanoma.

By identifying some such DNA

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The incidence of melanoma is rising in fair skinned populations, and in particular Scotland has shown an increasing trend” Dr Elizabeth Patton sequences that control melanocyte development in zebrafish, and the small biological molecules that activate or inactivate these sequences, it is possible to

generate a repertoire of target molecules for drugs to act on. Seeing as the developmental processes of melanocytes, as for most other cell types, are conserved between vertebrates, these molecules are also potential targets for human cancer drugs.

Professor Hastie emphasises the imminent clinical bearing of the research, “[While the] majority of the £60 million will continue to fund ongoing programmes in the Human Genetics Unit, a significant proportion (10-20 per cent), combined with money from the University of Edinburgh, will allow us to do exciting new science, to buy new microscopes to allow imaging of cancer cells, and to build a brand new PhD programme which will help us integrate with the NHS” The funding has reconfirmed the IGMM’s position as a world leader in Genetics research.

Amazed by atoms? Follow us on twitter @TheStudentPaper or on Facebook at facebook.com/TheStudentNewspaper science@studentnewspaper.org

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

Science & Environment 19

The elusive Higgs Boson particle found But what is it? Katerina Gospodinova explains the mysterious particle found at the end of a forty year scientific treasure hunt it difficult for them to start moving again.

As the proposed Higgs field (the partygoers in Miller’s explanation) can’t be directly detected, scientists have come out with the idea to excite it to such a high energy level that it will produce the particle. So, the hunt for the obscure boson continued with the invention of special machines, such as the Large ElectronPositron Collider (LEP) at CERN, the Fermilab Tavitron in the USA and the mother of all atom smashers – the Large Hadron Collider, again at CERN, where streams of protons smash together to produce the particle. The next step was to narrow the mass range where the Higgs Boson could be so that physicists could be more confident in their discoveries. It has turned out that the mass range of the Boson is consistent with a popular but still PROF. PETER HIGGS: The Edinburgh scientist who believed unproven theory, known as supersymmetry (SUSY), according to which every with the speed of light. That is why this of object never known to exist before.”The particle has a twin with a different spin. thrilling discovery is one of the few which discovery also won Kane a $100 bet with have actually required textbooks to be Steven Hawking, who did not believe it rewritten, why the Higgs Boson is refered would be found.

The Higgs is a to as the God particle.

According to the aforentioned standard model, at the very beginning all particles were massless. The interaction completely new kind The subatomic between them and the until recently hy- of object never known Higgs field slowed them down particle ... answers the pothetical to different extent, causing them to either to exist before.” fundamental question: acquire mass or to continue travelling Gordon Kane with the speed of light, Why does matter have unconstrained like the photons. To visualise this theory Now, when a Higgs-like particle has David Miller, a physicist at University mass?” finally been found, physicists can sigh college, produced one of the best Higgs with relief as the last piece of the puzBoson analogies by comparing a heavy As Gordon Kane, a theoretical physizle seems to have been found. However, particle to a celebrity (his choice, in 1993, cist and emeritus professor at the Unithe possibility that new Physics, beyond was Margaret Thatcher) trying to make versity of Michigan, has said in a recent the standard model, with more complex their way through a crowd of partygoers interview, “All the discoveries in the last and interesting concepts, still exists as at a cocktail party, as they move the people century, in a sense, were finding more of phenomena such as the “dark matter” clustering around them make it harder to things like those already found — until and the “oscillation” of neutrinos remain stop, and if they do stop the throng makes this. The Higgs is a completely new kind unsolved.

UNIVERSITY OF DINBURGH

MAYBE IF you weren’t living under a rock this summer (or the student version: off on a mini gap-year to volunteer somewhere remote) you may have caught wind of the Higgs Boson discovery. A mysterious sub-atomic particle alluded to for years in physics research that supposedly would explain how all matter attains its mass.

Finally, on July 4 this year, it was announced that this elusive particle, named the Higgs Boson, had been found after a 45 year search, completing the physics’ collection of subatomic particles. Professor Higgs, a theoretical physicist and emeritus professor at the University of Edinburgh, predicted the existence of a new particle in the 1960s when he proposed a theory of the origin of mass for particles. Several decades later, he wiped a tear from his eye as the research teams from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) presented their findings at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) in Geneva. He commented, “It’s a really incredible thing that it’s happened in my lifetime.”

So what is the Higgs Boson and why has Leon Lederman called it the God particle? First, the Higgs Boson seems to be the last piece of the puzzle of the socalled standard model, which describes all kinds of particles and forces known to humankind, except gravity. However, the subatomic particle, named after the British physicist Peter W. Higgs, is quite different from the others as it answers the fundamental question: Why does matter have mass? It is exactly the interaction with the Higgs Boson which gives mass and shape to everything in the Universe, including you and me. Without this elusive particle everything that we know would be in the form of energy, travelling

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Can you spot a lie?

Sarah Aldous looks at recent research suggesting that you can no longer rely on shifty eyes to catch out fibbers WE KNOW how to spot a lie, right? When you challenge your flatmate about the lack of milk or whose turn it is to take out the bins, you can always tell when they’re fibbing to your face- after all, just look at those shifty eyes! However, the common assumption that if you want to catch someone lying you must watch their eyes, and that liars look to the left while ones who speak the truth look to the right, is just a myth.

This first originated from NeuroLinguistic Programming, or NLP, which believes that linking patterns of behaviour and thoughts helps target psychological problems, and that our eye movements are particularly closely connected to our thoughts. The founders of NLP have never actually claimed that eye movements are a method of lie detection, yet somehow it has become a widely held belief, held not only by the public but also by many businesses as well as in police forces and security services.

Research into a number of NLP theories proved that many of their practices have very little scientific basis, yet up until now no one had challenged this particular method of lie detection. New research at the University of Edinburgh with the University of Hertfordshire has debunked this idea and has shown

that there is no significant basis for relying eos, one group using NLP theory, and the on eye movement as a indication of lying. other using no method.

None of these tests indicated any support for the theory, neither that eye movements changed significantly according to a The common lie or the truth, nor that the NLP theory was assumption that if a successful method of lie detection.

It is unclear how this idea has become you want to catch so rooted in the public mind, and there are someone lying you many practical implications of relying on an method, from being able to call a must watch their eyes incorrect poker bluff, challenge your flatmate, to the slightly more important situation of security ... is just a myth” services challenging suspects. Polygraphs, which measure heartbeats and perspiration New research carried out by Dr Caroline Watt, along with fourth year Psychology The most useful Honours students, tested this theory. Participants were videoed, some lying and some cues for lie detection telling the truth about a given scenario and these videos then shown to examiners. They lie in speech” did not know whether they were watching a Dr Caroline Watt truth or a lie and the eye movements of the individuals were traced and analysed for any significant patterns. Researchers then used by skin sensors, can be inaccurate, as a liar’s these videos and those of high profile press self control may trick the sensors, or a frightinterviews, which were known lies or truths, ened truth teller could trigger a false result. to test the success of the NLP theory as a lie Further research into this area is not curdetection method. Participants were asked rently planned, but there are other ways to to identify truth tellers from the earlier vid-

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spot a lie. According to Dr Watt, “The most useful cues for lie detection lie in speech.”

There is also other research into studying movement of face muscles, and the ability of people to hide, or present different emotions.

Having successfully debunked this myth, it is hoped that this approach to lie detection will be abandoned, and instead focused on alternative methods, that are far more reliable and accurate .

Just in case your milk goes missing or you consistently find yourself taking out the bins, here are a few tips either to spot your flatmate’s lies, or the tells you may want to avoid in order to get a away with a lie. Since they are essentially making up a story people will tend to avoid using words such as ‘me’ ‘mine’ or ‘I’, and they will probably keep rather still as they focus on constructing the lie. The classic ‘ums’ and ‘ers’ are also a giveaway as they stumble over themselves in trying to convince you. Hesitations are often a clue too, as they have to plan ahead when they speak and so they may start pausing awkwardly before answering, and those waving hands, or if they cover up their mouth, start fiddling with their hair....be suspicious of that.

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS SCIENCE IN the news comes in all shapes and forms, more often than not the stories run in national newspapers are dumbed down, pointless and tragically boring. The stories are often split into three discrete groups: breakthrough, weird and scare stories. These stories span from the ridiculous claim that watching Richard and Judy can increase your performance in an IQ test to the MMR vaccine will give your child autism. The former story is just funny; however the latter represents a serious problem in how the modern media has a profound effect on science and how findings are digested by the public.

The effect of running constant sensationalist stories and pseudoscience (thank you Daily Mail) has paradoxically led the public to mistrust rigorous science yet accept pseudoscience in its place. You only have to spend about five minutes looking at the Comment section of a controversial science issue on YouTube to witness the media’s effect on people’s knowledge and perception of science. Too often have I seen people referencing and quoting ‘scientists’ only to discover after a couple of seconds to check their background they have no credentials and are about as informed on the issue at hand as I am on Jackson Pollock paintings.

People have figured out that if you make some graphs, learn some jargon and get a feature in a newspaper, they have everything they need to sway public opinion, because in some circles public opinion matters, a lot. Earlier this year a concerning report emerged on the BBC website that the Canadian government were using the media to ‘muzzle’ its scientists because there findings on global warming didn’t coincide with the political motives; basically, publishing the research would have cost them votes.

So now not only do scientists have to worry about producing research under ever-shrinking budgets and tight deadlines, they may have to wonder if their research will ever be published because their findings don’t ‘agree’ with an administration. If this was to become a major trend what would it mean for research? Would universities have to deliberately steer research away from topics that sponsors feel indignant about or else face their wrath and have funding withdrawn? Let’s hope not, as this would lead to a breakdown of the ethos of why research is undertaken – the love of discovery.

P.S. A great lecture on being a good sceptical scientist is available on YouTube, courtesy of one of Edinburgh’s very own academics: Dr Richard Milne – Critical Thinking on Climate Change: separating scepticism from denial.

James Watt

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Tuesday September 11 studentnewspaper.org

Standing evasion Alex Shedlock tries taking a stand for the good of his health

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How many hours a day do we spend just sitting around?"

PUBLIC DOMAIN

RUMSFELD: Standing up

more, I’ve seen longer-term health benefits: my legs are flipping thin, I find I have more stamina whenever something physical is required, and my mood is generally better, even after a long media-consuming sesh.

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Obviously, having blood pumping the whole time keeps your brain switched on..."

Your feet do hurt initially, though.

And among other healthy side-effects, probably the weirdest I experienced was getting severe dizziness in my first moments of trying Battlefield 3 online: if you play a first-personshooter standing up, you feel a far stronger sense of immersion and attachment with the game, as your avatar is standing also. Sprinting around corners in BF3 I felt my centre of gravity pull around as if I was running myself. Sitting down while your character is standing creates an inherent disconnect that we don’t even think about normally. Even in TV shows I felt this: while watching Breaking Bad I found myself pacing the room and tensing up just as Walter and Jesse do throughout the show.

If you’re looking for easy ways to burn calories, or just want to enjoy your entertainment media in a new way, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend taking a stand. I don’t know why we haven’t always done this. It feels natural. And it feels like a way forward.

BREAKING BAD: Don't break your back watching

AMCTV

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Okay, that last part might be slight exaggeration. But there exists a golden, lethargic nugget of truth. Studies are finding that physical inactivity to the above extent is leading to severely reduced life spans and general illhealth (references on request. If that’s your sort of thing.) Even people with this sort of sitting cycle who regularly exercise for good periods of time each day will suffer more from diabetes and heart disease than those who are moving muscles and burning calories consistently.

How does this fit in with gadgetry and technology, you ask? Well, to counteract the consistent entropy of numbly sitting at a desk, which apparently burns even fewer calories than

fidgeting or chewing gum, there is an emerging phenomenon of ‘standing desks’ in offices around the world.

White collar folk can now stand and work for periods of time to keep their muscles going, and if they get tired they can still slide the computer monitor, keyboard and mouse down to a sitting position. If one really gets into the fad, one can get a walking treadmill for the workspace, so one can really work on the move. These standing desks aren’t cheap though.

They’ll set you back at least hundreds.

However, it poses no challenge to improvise one: just find a desk with a high shelf, or stack some books on a cabinet or tallboy; anything you can think of!

The idea obviously applies well enough to a working environment.

Next logical step: why not an entertainment environment.

So, bearing all of this in mind, several weeks ago I moved my TV, Xbox, and a hard drive full of shows to a different room in my house. A room with a shoulder-level shelf in it. I set up the TV on said shelf, which was attached to a desk below, and I plugged all my gadgetry in. I decided to temporarily leave the typical world of sitting down to use computers for this new fad.

And, I would never go back. Since my first day standing, I’ve watched the most recent season of Breaking Bad, enjoyed the hilarious Black Dynamite cartoon, completed all three fantastic episodes of the Walking Dead videogame series and had a long co-operative gaming session with a friend. During these periods I found my posture improved, I had better focus when gaming, and I got more ‘into’ the TV shows or movies I was watching. Obviously, having blood pumping the whole time keeps your brain switched on; stark contrast with the lazing lethargy of slumping into a chair to enjoy something. What’s

AMC

AFTER COUNTLESS hours of service, my latest in a long string of apple earbuds finally, gracelessly, gave up the ghost. As usual, this had hardly come as a surprise. The formerly pristine white plastic had stained to sepia and the rubber seals had slowly started to peel. The left earbud had been going gradually deaf for weeks and the never-quitestellar bass was fading fast. Finally, after one rapid pocket-exit too many, the sound cut out completely.

I decided to face facts: my apple buds had always been a bit naff, and frankly, with a little bit of research, I could do better. And it’s this search that led me to one of my favourite tech finds of the summer.

The Koss KSC75s may look like yet another pair of cheap, semidisposable earphones in a marketplace already saturated with cheap, semi-disposable earphones. That description would hardly do these phones justice. I decided to give them a chance based on the massive popular approval they’ve garnered on sites like Amazon. And the fact that they can be had for just over a tenner in the UK. For their price, these phones have an incredible, detailed sound, outperforming nearly anything I had to test them against, regardless of cost. Based around earclips, the KSC75s are partway between earbuds and traditional headphones.

This ear-clip design makes these an attractive option for active people, or anyone who just doesn’t get along with regular earbuds. Being ‘openback’ helps maintain sound quality, but provides next to no insulation against the outside world. Whatever is going on around you will leak in, and whatever you’re listening to will leak out.

For better or for worse, Koss seems to be a company focussed entirely on sound quality, even at the expense of other considerations.

The drivers that power the KSC75s are typically seen on bigger, more expensive headphones, and this has a definite impact on their appearance. No matter how great their sound may be, Koss products in general can be charitably described as ‘funny looking.’ These are hardly discreet, and unlike smaller earbuds, will not make a neat addition to your silhouette.

These headphones make a fantastic option for any audiophile on a budget (if you can live with the look)

I’M GOING to tell you a couple of scary facts. Don’t worry, this isn’t another ‘doom and gloom’ article. I’m going to talk about how you can evade these scary facts with fun!

The problem is this: we all sit, all the time. Doesn’t sound too scary, surely? I’ll elaborate: as students we spend extensive amounts of time seated while working to get qualifications.

How many hours a day do we spend just sitting there? Even the typical image we have of a ‘successful employee’ nowadays, be they self-employed or otherwise, is someone sitting at a desk. All day. ‘9 to 5’. Up at the crack of dawn to sit down for the best part of eight hours or more. What’s worse: factor in driving and being too tired after a strenuous successful-person day, one might end up sitting for even longer than the defined working stretch. What's the problem? All this sitting is killing us.

FORTRESS AMERICA imagines a world where the Star Wars project succeeded. At least until an uneasy panglobal alliance undertakes an invasion of the United States to shut it down, that is. Unlike Risk or any number of similar games, there is no illusion of fairness. This is a bloodthirsty three-against-one. America – the defender – is going down. The only question is how long they can hold out.

A reprint of the 1986 Milton Bradley cult hit, Fantasy Flight’s new Fortress brings back the classic atmosphere of the original, but with significantly streamlined rules and enhanced presentation. The board is sturdy, the play aids are comprehensive and the masses of little plastic toys are masses of little plastic toys.

America starts the game woefully unprepared, their forces spread thinly across the continental states. The Invaders have a huge initial advantage in manpower, but a crippling long-term disadvantage in the limited nature of their units. The attackers must move quickly or give America a chance to regroup and turn the tables.

Nicely for replayability, gameplay differs between invading players and the defender, and between each individual Invader as well. Each can expect a subtly different challenge and a different route to success or failure.

And then there are the dreaded lasers. In addition to their partisan Red Dawn reenactors and conventional forces, every turn the American player gets to place another laser superweapon, letting them reach across the board to take apart invading formations with ease, giving the Invaders yet another reason to race to the Great Plains.

While Fortress America is plainly and shamelessly ‘Ameritrash’ in its presentation, it is by no means brainless. The first few games might seem hopeless for the defender, with both sides falling into a mindless melee that America cannot hope to win, but soon strategies begin to emerge. The Americans are not meant to – simply cannot – defend everything all the time. A successful defender will fall back steadily as far as they can, as often as they can, without jeopardizing victory. Striking when targets of opportunity present themselves, aiming to effectively group their forces to reclaim their lost homeland.

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

21 Paid for by the Edinburgh University Students’Association

A message from the EUSA president James McAsh welcomes new students to Edinburgh Hi there, and welcome. My name is James McAsh and I am President of Edinburgh University Students’ Assocation, or EUSA – the students’ association of which you are now all members.

When trying to work out what I should say today, I thought back to what advice I would have wanted four years ago when I was new to the university. And here it is: think critically about how the world is and what it could be. Now, more than any other time in your life, you have the real potential to shape your future and the world around you.

I didn’t really do this in my first year. I drank a lot of beer, went to some classes, slept in through some classes and met a load of new people.

But that was about it. In my second year I decided that I wanted more from my university education so I joined some societies and got involved in the Students’ Association. I’ve never looked back.

The reason that I am here today, why I ran to be student President, is that I believe education is something to be valued, and something that needs to be defended. But education is about much more than just lectures and tutorials – it’s about understanding and improving the world, and the students of the University of Edinburgh have a great record in this.

For instance, in 1992 a group of students decided that the Library Cafe should stock Fairtrade tea and coffee, which was fairly unheard of at the time. So they dressed up as a big coffee bean and collected signatures for a petition. They then took the idea to a EUSA meeting, where it was debated and passed as policy. This meant that the Student President, and Vice Presidents, had to act on it. When they called to place their order with CafeDirect, the then sole importer of Fairtrade coffee, the woman on the other end fell off her chair.

The order that EUSA wanted to

place would have doubled the UK’s total imports of Fairtrade coffee.

CafeDirect could do it, but they needed some time. They needed to invest much more and develop a whole host of new Fairtrade farms. So Edinburgh students waited, and let Fairtrade grow. And that sparked a chain reaction. Other universities copied us, cafes and coffee shops started doing the same, supermarkets began to stock Fairtrade and as a result, Fairtrade grew and grew. Today it is huge, and by demanding that EUSA coffee pays a decent price to the farmers who grow the beans, Edinburgh students played a small but significant part in alleviating poverty for thousands of people across the globe.

Today we face some massive challenges. We are the first generation in a century who will be poorer than our parents. We’re watching as our education system is being dismantled and sold off piecemeal to the highest bidder. The gap between rich and poor

has not been so wide since Victorian times. And right now there are over 2000 international students at London Metropolitan University who are facing deportation, through no fault of their own. But in many ways we’re the lucky ones – we’re not the ones with no job, no education and no future.

Students have had great successes in recent years. In the last year alone, Edinburgh students have achieved so much. We won subsidised bus passes for our vet students, we created a Fair Housing Charter to protect us from dodgy landlords, and with partner organisations we derailed the government’s privatisation of education, and won a living income for students in Scotland.

But these things are only possible when people work together. So, let me give my advice again: these four years are an amazing opportunity for you to make real change in your life, in the University and in the wider

community. Join a society, volunteer, or get involved in EUSA’s campaigns.

I hope your time at Edinburgh is fun and fulfilling, and I look forward to meeting you.

James McAsh can be found at @eusapres, www.facebook.com/eusapresident and president@eusa.ed.ac.uk

studentnewspaper.org

editors@studentnewspaper.org

22 Crossword & Horoscopes

H Breathalyser Brian is not actually

BY PICUS

Oliver ninnis

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OS R O

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E OP

Dual Crossword No. 14

a real breathalyser. It is infact a ploy to draw in unsuspecting freshers who love motoring and don’t want to put a brandy between themselves and the law. To encourage them, he is pointing at himself with his stupid fucking thumbs, and has subtly placed a blow-hole over his male external genitalia. Every time a client successfully docks, Brian expels his creamy wisdom. Don’t take his predictions lightly, turtle necks, as any psychic worth his salt and pepper knows, indicate level 8 clairveyonace.

Aries

This week you pursue Jagger. You’ve seen Jagger move, and you’ve even moved like Jagger, but you have never followed him home.

Taurus

This week you are trapped inside a venn diagram. Oh no! Disaster! Overlapping circles of social sciences converge on you - a frightening glimpse into the next four years of your liberal arts degree. You are also impressed by the bold statement it makes on geometry.

Gemini

One week into uni and Uranus has already guided you superbly. You are the leader of your own gang ('The Uranii'), have your own clubnight (Uranus Tonight), and host an orgy night (Saturn’s Cock). You really owe that planet a big thank you.

Cancer

Having disposed of you, you discover your parents have purchased a small Indian boy to make trainers in your bedroom. They have given him your room, your old possessions, even your name, removing your legal right to it and transferring it to his slender, South Asian shoulders.

Leo

Pluto has not been a planet for several months now. This week you will right some wrongs and left some mistakes, and take your neighbour’s cartoon dog out for tea.

Virgo

While gazing at the night sky, I noticed your neighbour, Craig’s asteroid’s tail aflame, like a fire. Typical Craig. Mystic lore tells me that this week you must avoid being aflame, like a fire.

The Chambers Dictionary (2008) is recommended.

Comments, questions, complaints etc can reach the compiler via the editors.

Libra

On Thursday this week you will discover the Tesco supermarket on Nicholson Street. And it is super. And it is market.

Be on your guard as a tramp will greet you as you enter. Engage him by tickling the areola of his left breast. If he nods thrice and gives you his Clubcard consider yourself lucky. Otherwise you should probably head to Scotmid.

Scorpio

This week, you try out your star sign as a sex position. Your boy/girlfriend (delete as appropriate - I can't do ALL this prediction malarky) stings you in the back and then eats you.

Sagittarius

After a long period in Brighton, Barry will return this week. You scream. Then hastily pack away your brazil nuts.

Capricorn

George Osborne, like Orion, has a good belt. Its large buckle is good for hitting woodland animals and impressing ethnic youths. However, their faces are entirely different: Orion has no face; George is with face. Orion has never been booed at the paralympics. That was an example of a satirical horoscope.

Aquarius

This week, you try out your star sign as a sex position. Your girlfriend insists that arm bands aren't sexy. You drown.

Pisces

To attract a mob following, you develop an Italian-American accent and wear 1920s suits. Suddenly, you’re in way out of your depth (1.65m). You need more than whiskey to cut this chase and mustard (wholegrain) isn’t all about being a big shot in medium sized cities.

CRYPTIC CLUES

ACROSS 1 Support a foreigner vocally, then pull off his tail in wild celebrations (11) 7 Ghostly duck leaves flickering clear spot (8) 8 Crazy Pyotr endlessly makes keyboard error (4) 9 Childish diction is recorded ? (4) 10 General Short appears after funny intro. It’s a gas (8) 12 Sunday Times suffers disruption and strikes (6) 13 Family follows reliable tip for babywear (6) 15 Switch positions occasionally (3, 3, 2) 17 Leading quartet of Russian ballet pirouette for slovenly boor (4) 18 Well I’m blowed ! That’s more than an arm or a leg (4) 19 They make canopies bloom - and tear trousers (8) 20 One battling with dodgy currency, and military aircraft (11)

DOWN 1 A tough initiation where immersion in water leads to official anger (7, 2, 4) 2 Battleground for birds, a pile of hay and stone (7) 3 Unsentimental feature encapsulated by unyielding god (9) 4 Line up to drop ‘e’ for nowt (3) 5 House where biblical character receives time, and love (5) 6 Leo ripped pear in bits - so everything is tidy!

(5-3,5) 11 Head up, Margaret downs gin mix, it controls the tension (6-3) 14 Collapse of idiot wearing sulky expression (4, 3) 16 Bream leaps for orange (5) 19 A long way to rise in Service (3)

ACROSS 1 Roman orgies (11) 7 Ghostly (8) 8 Printing mistake (4) 9 Speak childishly (4) 10 Atmospheric gas (8) 12 Strikes hard (6) 13 Baby wear, diaper (6) 15 Now and then (3, 3, 2) 17 Fat couch potato (4) 18 Arm or leg (4) 19 Parachute openers (8) 20 Military aircraft (11)

DOWN 1 Initiation (for the brave) (7, 2, 4) 2 Pilot’s cabin (7) 3 Unsentimental and tough (9) 4 Zero, zilch (3) 5 Housey-housey (5) 6 State of neatness (5-3, 5) 11 Violin string tightener (6-3) 14 Distribute : to faint (4, 3) 16 Colour : ancient fly-trap (5) 19 Air Service (3)

CONCISE CLUES (same answers)

A bit about cryptic clues Many people enjoy crosswords, but a surprising number of them confine their efforts to the simple Definition puzzles and shy away from Cryptic clues.

This little series of articles (one with each published puzzle) will try to show that there’s no magic about Cryptic clues, that they are (or should be) entirely logical with definite rules - and that once you understand their basic structure and the various types that occur, they’re great fun.

A few of the early articles will be similar to those that appeared last Lent Term,

but there’s no harm in repetition, and some of you weren’t here last year.

The first crossword was compiled by Arthur Wynne, a Liverpool-born expatriate living in New York. It appeared in December 1913 in the New York Sunday Times, which persisted with crosswords for ten years before they finally caught on (and in due course crossed the Atlantic).

The first English puzzle, one of Wynne’s, appeared in The Daily Express in 1924.

Like all puzzles at the time, the clues were simple definitions.

Crossword clues nowadays are of 2 types, Definition and Cryptic.

Definition clues give a simple definition or synonym of the answer word.

For instance: BIG (5) - possible answer: LARGE. Cryptic Clues always contain a Definition of the answer word but also provide extra information to help you (a bit).

In the coming weeks we will look at why Cryptic Clues arose, examine how they and that “extra information” developed and analyse most of the different types and patterns of clue.

rEVIEW

COMMISSION #1: EMMA FINN

Emma Finn is a final year intermedia student interested in stories about people remembered and those who’s names were unimportant. She prefers to loosely reference, with only a sense of events remaining.

Emma’s work combines storytelling elements such as video, maquettes and graphic novel aesthetics but her work is non-narrative, leaving the viewer to formulate the events taking place. She likes to echo her works with the site in which they reside, bleeding the edge of where the work is and where the experience of the viewer ends. She takes references from photographic documentation of events, both originals and reconstructed.

The work shown here is a still from ‘Construction’; a small scale installation piece which combines video overlaid with an animation of scaffolding rising, projected on limestone which has been carved to resemble clouds of dust.

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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There’s more than just the Fringe

HOLLY JAMESON

24 Culture

Thom Louis demonstrates why Edinburgh is a great city for theatre lovers at any time of year gramme therefore is varied, fascinating and often brilliant. The building offers two spaces – a changeable 200 seater and a smaller studio space – and a cosy cafe-bar. Ticket prices vary from as little as four pounds to as much as 15, but it’s usually worth it to see the Traverse and the many touring companies it hosts flex their new writing muscles. The theatre is also the place to go if you’re a playwright yourself, offering plenty of opportunities for writing instruction and feedback.

THE PLAYHOUSE

Just next to the University’s Old College is the Festival Theatre, run by the Festival City Theatres Trust; don’t let its modern facade fool you, a theatre has been on this site since the 19th century. The impressive building contains a 1,915-seater auditorium and the biggest stage in Scotland. Playing host to both Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet on their visits to the city, as well as its fair share of West-End transfers and music and comedy one offs, it’s well worth giving the programme a look through.

Best of all, the Festival Theatre offers an excellent student stand-by system – unsold tickets are available for £10 from 10am on the day of the performance to anyone with a student card.

THE ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE Nestled beside Usher Hall in Tollcross, the Royal Lyceum Theatre is a beautiful, 700 seat Victorian space. Often playing host to the National Theatre of Scotland, the Lyceum presents an eclectic programme of theatre across the year, showing everything from the classics to original writing and adaptations, all of a consistently high standard. Most of these shows run for about a month and, even better, the Lyceum offers brilliant discounts for students: seats for the Wednesday matinee cost only five pounds and for every other performance – apart from those on a Saturday evening – the tickets are only a tenner.

THE TRAVERSE Where would Edinburgh’s theatre be without the Traverse? Situated on the other side of Usher Hall, the Traverse is Scotland’s new writing theatre; the pro-

THE CHURCH HILL THEATRE

KING’S THEATRE

THE PLEASANCE THEATRE

The other major venue run by the Festival City Theatres Trust, Tollcross’s King’s Theatre holds a 1,350 seat auditorium, built originally in 1905. The theatre has been missed over the past few months due to a massive refurbishment project.

However, the first show goes up on October 1, and with everything from West-End theatre transfers to the famous King’s Panto playing, the King’s Theatre is bound bring plenty of variety to its reopening season - plus, thanks to the Festival City Theatres Trust, the £10 student stand-by also applies here.

As well as being the university’s societies centre, Pleasance also holds a 320 seat theatre. Although its productions are rather sporadic, Pleasance hosts a mix of Edinburgh Uni’s amateur companies and a few touring groups.

The Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company and the Savoy Opera Group both put on their productions in this space. The shows here are often cheap, cheerful and well worth the ten minute journey from the central area, especially when the drinks are at union prices.

BEDLAM THEATRE The cornerstone of Edinburgh Uni’s theatre scene and run entirely by the Edinburgh University Theatre Company , Bedlam looms at the end of George IV Bridge just north of the cen-

OTHERS Although there are plenty of big venues, many theatre companies go out of their way to use the different spaces that an ancient city like Edinburgh has to offer. The university’s own Theatre Paradok – the alternative theatre society

ALASDAIR DRENNAN

Situated deep in the south of the city in Morningside, the Church Hill Theatre puts on a rather sparse selection of performances outside of the festival months. Usually hosting the city’s larger amateur companies (Edinburgh Uni’s Footlights often put on their massive musical production here), this place is worth a visit for the odd production, particularly when you know someone involved. On the other hand, if you find yourself in Morningside with nothing to do, the Church Hill is worth a visit for its cafe: Loopy Lorna’s does the biggest and best slice of carrot cake in Edinburgh, hands down.

ALASDAIR DRENNAN

Hosting a rake more impressive than a Greek amphitheatre and, with capacity for 3,059, the biggest audience size for a working theatre in the UK, this old mega-cinema is the place to come for the big guns. Part of the ATG ticket group, it is the venue for the big budget, West End musical transfer and the massive touring comedian: an easy choice if you’re a stadium comedy fan. If you’re wanting something a bit more glitzy or a TV personality, this is your venue.

THE FESTIVAL THEATRE

tral campus. Unfortunately covered in scaffolding, the beautiful, but currently concealed, church opens its famous red doors throughout term time, putting on at least two different productions every week. The theatrical offerings here are usually straight drama and more often than not fall into the dark and edgy category. However, Bedlam also acts as the base for The Improverts – Edinburgh University’s brilliant improv comedy band – who play every Friday at 10:30.

Bedlam also offers plenty of scope for involvement, running open auditions and workshops throughout the year.

ALASDAIR DRENNAN

dinburgh is a theatre city. Usually, people think that just as they flood into the city during August, when it plays host to both the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – the world’s largest arts festival, with almost 2,700 shows – and the International Festival, which gathers together some of the highest profile performance from around the world. However, much like a dog for Christmas, Edinburgh theatre isn’t just for August. The city’s scene may calm down after the festival buzz ends, but the sheer number of theatres in Edinburgh means that there is a vibrant selection of entertainment all year round.

So here is a rundown of Edinburgh’s venues: take advantage of them, they provide enough variety for any taste.

Theatres from top to bottom: Traverse, Lyceum, King’s, Festival – goes out of its way to find different locations for each of its productions; the Traverse too have been known to put on productions in pubs. There are also a handful of theatres that open once or twice during term time, including the Adam House Theatre, situated on Chambers Street by Old College, and the student union’s own debating hall.

Not technically a theatre, The Scottish Storytelling Centre is also well worth a mention. Situated on the Royal Mile, it puts on an array of oral tradition every week. There is also an exciting start-up from this year’s Fringe: the beautiful

GLOBAL TRAVELLER

E

Summerhall, located in the former Dick Veterinary School, is planning on opening its doors year round for both art and performance.

With so many programmes and so much variation between the venues, Edinburgh has plenty of performance to offer. Don’t let shows, and the deals that come with them, pass you by - one night out of the library, or indeed out of the pub, always does you good.

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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Culture 25

Unleash your inner art lover New to the city? Let Troy Holmes take you around some of Edinburgh's finest galleries and art venues EDINBURGH PRINT MAKERS You might not know where Union Street is yet, but soon you will.

Check out Edinburgh Printmakers for all things print related, including a beautiful working printing studio.

It’s a gem of a gallery with some odd exhibitions that are often worth a long look. Head down for some interesting contemporary printmaking that unfortunately is becoming rarer and rarer these days.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART When you look this gallery up on a map, don’t just write it off - it’s not as far as it looks. Once you’ve made it past Haymarket and up a massive hill, you will find one of Edinburgh’s best modern art galleries. With a great permanent collection including Henry Moore, Marina Abromavic, Paul Klee and Eduardo Paolozzi and often mind-blowing temporary exhibitions, this gallery is not to be missed. Go and see Edvard Munch before it moves

and while you’re there make sure to peek into their Picasso exhibition.

THE COLLECTIVE GALLERY One of the best galleries in Edinburgh, the Collective is perfectly in reach of even the laziest student art lover. A great supporter of local and emerging artists, who can often challenge your perception of what art can be, this gallery is a great little find. If you like contemporary art then make sure you take a look in the Collective on your way to Waverley station at the end of each semester.

DOVECOT STUDIOS This gallery ticks all the boxes with a great exhibition space, consistently interesting and different shows, a very central location only a few minutes away from George Square, a beautiful working tapestry studio and a lovely little café - you have no excuse for not visiting this wonderful gallery. There is nothing better on a chilly, windy winter’s day (you’ll be seeing a lot of

ATHENS OF THE NORTH : Edinburgh is full of arty hot spots

them) than to go into this welcoming gallery. An old converted swimming pool with a mezzanine perfect for a quiet snoop, this studio provides a little peace and quiet.

INGLEBY GALLERY Right under Waverley station, this gallery offers up some thought provoking stuff and often some pretty big names. Their current exhibition of Ian Hamilton Finlay’s sculpture and audiovisual installation is no exception and should definitely be on your bucket list of exhibitions to see this autumn.

AXOLOTL GALLERY Currently being relocated, the Axolotl Gallery used to stand out from the commercialised and frankly boring painting galleries on Dundas Street.

Focusing mainly on figurative work, this interesting gallery should be popping up in a new location soon, so get on their mailing list and I’ll see you at the re-opening party.

EDINBURGH ART FAIR Don’t be deterred by the fact that this is a buyers art fair; even if you’re not there to purchase work, wandering around the many gallery stalls will give you a great idea of what is going on in the local and international scenes. If you’re expecting Frieze Art Fair then you will be sorely disappointed; this is not a fair celebrating the crème de la crème of contemporary art. Its purpose is to sell work at relatively low prices.

FRUITMARKET GALLERY

TALBOT RICE GALLERY

SUMMERHALL

The Talbot Rice’s offerings aren’t very consistent but always live up to their aim - to provide thought provoking exhibitions that actually involve the students and people of Edinburgh; they do this very well. The gallery is open to all students, not only art geeks, so support it and be proud of our own gallery that does its best to provide great art for us all to enjoy.

Summerhall used to be the Veterinary School, which you might not think would convert easily into a gallery but its history adds an interesting and quite visceral element to the place.

During the Fringe some big names were involved in exhibitions such as Carolee Schneemann and Ian Hamilton Finlay. This space has potential to be a new hub of discussion, performance and exchange of ideas; if you

This week: Overwhelmed by Freshers' week? Let poetry soothe your soul

Perhaps the first thing you should do is emulate e.e. cummings and be a little sparser with your punctuation.

Wantonness with punctuation is a clear sign that you’ve gotten yourself frazzled by all the new experiences facing you. It’s understandable: your life was a calm ocean, but now the gathering swell of university is threatening to engulf you. You’re like the surfers in Thom Gunn’s poem From the Wave.

You have little control over what will happen over the next few weeks; you’ll be tossed around all over the place.

Like the surfers, you must ride the crest of the wave by ‘imitating’ it. Don’t fight the current, you’ll drown. Let all these new experiences carry you along

for a while. And, since you’re out there in a wetsuit, enjoy the ride.

Remember leaving home is something to celebrate, a human ritual greatly romanticised in literature. If you are still having trouble staying afloat, picture yourself as the narrator of Hardy’s poem When I set out for Lyonnesse. You’re going to a strange place, innocent in the ways of the world, but rather than being afraid, you feel excitement and wonder (incidentally, Lyonnesse is an old corruption of ‘Lothian’, so it is especially apt for you). Revel in the thought that

EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ART As much as we art students like to keep to ourselves in our studios at Edinburgh College of Art, we do often put on exhibitions. In fact, there is a new exhibition every week, if not more frequently, coming from ECA. This is art in the making and these are the people who will shape the art world of tomorrow, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to see these challenging, funny, thought provoking and often ridiculous creations.

STILLS

THE POETRY DOCTOR with Isabella Flanders Dear Poetry Doctor, I’ve just arrived, but I’ve never been away from home before and so I have a few concerns. Like, what if I don’t make friends? And how do I manage alone?

What outside course should I pick? What is an outside course?! What if I waste Freshers’ week? Do I go on all the pub crawls? Will a Bob Marley poster make me cool?? And what does fabric softener do? Do I need it?!?????????!

visit any one of the venues I’ve recommended, let it be Summerhall.

adventures are going to befall you and shape you into a worldier person, until it is time for your triumphant homecoming, “when I came back from Lyonnesse/ With magic in my eyes!”

Oh, and fabric softener makes clothes cosy and fragrant, but nothing bad will happen to you if you don’t use it.

Got a problem? We can cure you! All problems will be treated confidentially.

And ever so seriously. Email us at artdoctor@studentnewspaper.org.

With a constant stream of exhibitions, workshops, talks and other collaborative endeavors, if you love photography you won’t be able to help being sucked in at some point. This gallery provides a great range of activities to see and partake in and it cannot be recommended highly enough if you’re looking to improve your photography skills. Unfortunately workshops and courses often come with a hefty price tag.

THE FRUITMARKET GALLERY The Fruitmarket is a staple of contemporary art lovers. Its consistently exciting exhibitions draw in the biggest names in Scottish and international art, providing a small but incredibly versatile space to visit. With a history of exhibitions from Martin Creed, Christine Borland and Louise Borgeious, you can’t afford to miss this great gallery.

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

JOANNA LISOWIEC

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Summer sizzles at the cinema Sally Pugh looks back over the best of this summer’s film releases. owadays amongst film critics it N seems to be all the rage to adopt an attitude of condescending snob-

THE ANGEL'S SHARE DIRECTED BY KEN LOACH  ne of this summer’s film highO lights was undoubtedly The Angel’s Share, directed by Ken Loach

of Kes fame.

Robbie (Paul Brannigan) is on the wrong side of the law and has just avoided a jail sentence. Whilst serving community service, he tries to turn

“

MAGIC MATTHEW: McConaughey has been an abs-olute revelation this summer

WARNERBROS.COM

bishness towards summer cinema.

‘Surely nothing decent will come out during the school holidays’ the critics bemoan. ‘All we will see,’ they lament, ‘are dim-witted talking animal cartoons, superfluous sequels and blockbusters’.

It would of course be untrue to say that these views are entirely without foundation. This summer did – after all – see the release of such treasures as Ice Age 4: Continental Drift and The Expendables 2. However, behind this inevitable layer of cinematic waffle, this summer’s audiences were presented with a fine selection of films of all varieties. These were films which entertained audiences through rainy summer days and which proved that the word blockbuster no longer needs to be uttered like a dirty word or used as a synonym for ‘expensive piece of mindless nonsense’. Therefore as the nights draw in and we say farewell to summer let us take a look at the high points of the last few months of film.

If there is one thing that summer 2012 at the cinema has proved above all else it is that the cinemagoer’s love affair with superhero movies is stronger than ever. This summer’s two biggest box-office superhero smashes – The Dark Knight Rises and Avengers Assemble – each brought home worldwide box-office takings of well over $1 billion dollars respectively (for the box office nerds amongst us takings for The Dark Knight Rises currently stand at $1,011,011,261 and for Avengers Assemble a staggering $1,502,623,837.)

In addition to these two superhero giants, the surprisingly good The Amazing Spiderman brought home a very healthy $735,111,206 proving that perhaps audiences are ready for a spidey reboot after all.

On top of being enormously successful, Avengers Assemble was a thoroughly enjoyable roller-coaster ride of a film. In a poorer director’s hands this film could have been a complicated mess crippled with an intimidating amount of characters

It was, however, so much more than that.

Magic Mike was a surprise for several reasons. Firstly, Soderbergh manages to take a plot which could so easily have been developed into a silly, predictable farce and create an entertaining and thoroughly engaging film.

This is achieved primarily through a well-balanced script and a series of convincing performances from the film’s cast. Which brings us on to the second surprise of the film and the greatest overall surprise of this summer: Matthew McConaughey can act.

For years now it seemed as though McConaughey’s only talent was an impressive ability to find an excuse to take his shirt off in every movie. Now, however, he suddenly seems to have discovered that he has the ability to act – and to act very well at that.

and complex back story. Cult favourite Joss Whedon, however, managed to embrace the Marvel Universe wholeheartedly and created a coherent and engaging film full of spectacle, wit and terrific performances - especially from the endlessly engaging Mark Ruffalo and Tom Hiddleston.

Since the release of Batman Begins in 2005 the wave of admiration and adoration for Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy has grown to almost frenzied heights. Therefore the arrival of The Dark Knight Rises this July was met with almost as much apprehension as anticipation as audiences and critics alike prayed that Nolan had not dropped the ball and ended his trilogy on a bum note. It is perfectly clear

now, however, that we had no reason to doubt him.

The Dark Knight Rises is an astounding film which manages to combine the skilful character development found in Batman Begins with the thrilling spectacle we came to expect as a result of The Dark Knight. Bale has never been better as the eponymous hero and Anne Hathaway instantly silenced all doubters with her mesmerising portrayal of Selena Kyle. The Dark Knight Rises is a supremely intelligent film and a satisfying end to a trilogy which has arguably reinvented the superhero genre.

Beyond the bats and billion dollar box office takings, this summer’s cinemas were also full of a terrifically

diverse mix of high-quality films made on much lower budgets. Highlights included Ken Loach’s excellent The Angel’s Share (reviewed below) and Robert Weide’s Woody Allen: A Documentary which featured some of the most open and insightful interviews Allen has ever given and which allowed the audience to take a rare look at the creative process behind this legendary director’s work.

Perhaps the most surprising of all this summer’s cinema releases was Steven Soderbergh’s male stripping drama Magic Mike. With its cheesy title and the preponderance of toned male flesh in the film’s advertisements, Magic Mike was being labelled a ‘guilty pleasure’ before it was even released.

his life around with the help of his affable Community Service Officer Harry ( John Henshaw). Sound familiar? Yes, the film is essentially the classic tale of a likable yet troubled youth seeking to better himself but Loach manages to tell this well-known story with charm, humour and whisky. Lots of whisky.

Discovering a talent for whisky tasting, Robbie and his new found ASBO posse head for the Highlands and, in a surprising yet enjoyable turn of events, attempt to steal the crown jewels of whisky.

Although the two halves of the film – misunderstood troublemaker seeks better life and high tension heist

– don’t quite run smoothly from one to the other, the film is nevertheless immensely enjoyable and heartfelt. You root for the characters throughout and can’t help but will them on – however illicit their means. There are moments of genuine heart-wrenching drama (which are never overdone) and laughout-loud humour with some excellent one-liners which will leave the audience chortling into their popcorn.

Furthermore, the film doesn’t try to be overly Scottish (despite the tartan, whisky and location shots of Edinburgh and the Highlands) with the ‘Scottishness’ successfully being diluted with irony and self-mockery

which will earn knowing chuckles from the audience.

“

Laugh-out-loud humour and some excellent one-liners will leave the audience chortling into their popcorn."

The film also touches on class differences and society boundaries in a way that packs a punch without becoming too bogged down in moral messages.

From Spidey to strippers and whisky to Woody, this summer has certainly provided an eclectic mix of films."

In both Magic Mike and William Freidkin’s chilling black comedy Killer Joe, McConaughey steals every scene he is in by bringing a sinister, dark quality to his acting that we have never seen before. When watching Killer Joe the audience’s previously held perception of McConaughey is turned upside down as we find ourselves being repulsed and frightened

by McConaughey’s towering portrayal of hit man Joe. And so from Spidey to strippers and whisky to Woody, this summer has certainly provided an eclectic mix of films. Autumn certainly has a lot to live up to but with highly anticipated releases such as Rian Johnson’s Looper and the new Bond film Skyfall chances are that we won’t be disappointed.

2012 certainly is proving to be a good year to be a cinema fan.

Although this is a film we’ve all seen before in some form or another, it is handled with care and affection and will keep you engaged to the very end. With likable characters and solid performances throughout, one of the films key strengths is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is.

If you missed it at the cinema, it’s well worth watching – maybe even with a wee dram to accompany it?

Sarah Rundell

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Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

Film 27

DIRECTED BY SARAH POLLEY  THE SECOND feature from writerdirector Sarah Polley, Take this Waltz, tells the story of twenty-somethings Margot and Lou whose five-year marriage experiences a crisis when Margot encounters and falls for Daniel who coincidentally lives across the street.

The romantic drama is an exploration of what happens when life eventually becomes stale and routine.

Michelle Williams – nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn - stars as Margot, an offbeat twenty eight year old who meets rickshaw-driving artist Daniel (Luke Kirby) on a work trip to Nova Scotia.

Fitting in with the films hipster aesthetic, Margot is a directionless journalist who is indecisive and suddenly torn between her happy five-year marriage and her curiosity for Daniel.

The film is filled with dialogue that attempts to be deep but instead makes Margot seem self-absorbed and twee - ‘Life has a gap in it,’, Margot is told, ‘New things get old’ - and we often wish she would just hurry up and get the point.

Alongside Williams is Knocked Up’s Seth Rogen playing Margot’s husband

Lou - another writer - this time writing about the different methods of cooking chicken. Rogen stands out in Take this Waltz. Playing a character we caught a glimpse of in last year’s 50/50, Rogen finally appears to be stepping away from the crude roles that he has become notable for (for example in Pineapple Express) and in the process is proving that he is not a one trick pony.

There are times when Take this Waltz irritates. The blurred and unfocused shots, the rambling home decorated with an eclectic collection of frames and vintage bits and bobs, the interpretive pool dancing and the delicate acoustic soundtrack imbues Take this Waltz with an aesthetic that, though sometimes beautiful, often feels fake, verging on the meaningless Instagram images that grace our Facebook timelines and Twitter feeds daily.

The film does have positive moments; the scene featuring the exercise class in the pool is guaranteed to have the audience laughing out loud. The story, however, eventually lets Take this Waltz down by becoming misdirected and leaving us confused and disappointed. Up until that point Take this Waltz is a bearable and sometimes entertaining watch.

Hannah Campbell

YOUR SISTER’S SISTER DIRECTED BY LYNN SHELTON  year after his brother’s death, A Jack (Dulpass) is an emotional wreck in need of some serious change.

Luckily, his best friend Iris (Blunt) provides him with just that when she sends him off to her dad’s isolated cabin where there will be only Jack, his bike and a tent.

The premise for a cheap horror steers in an unexpected direction when, in the cabin, Jack finds Iris’ lesbian half-sister Hannah (DeWitt), and the two have sex. Things get even more complicated when Iris turns up and confides to Hannah that she’s in love with Jack.

“

Shelton’s drama offers a fresh take on the least pleasant implications of sisterhood" Lynn Shelton’s drama offers a fresh take on the least pleasant implications of sisterhood: Hannah and Iris spend almost as much time getting along as they do embarrassing each other in front of Jack and bring-

LOVE TRIANGLE: Jack meets Hannah at Iris’ father’s cabin ing the worst out of each other.

Furthermore, whilst Jack’s presence does not make their relationship any easier, it ultimately brings the three of the characters together and helps Jack to come to terms with his brother’s death.

Wobbly shots and an occasional amateurish feel aside - a rather low budget did not prevent Shelton from making an original movie which is both touching and visually beautiful.

The unusual love triangle develops against the breathtaking landscape of San Juan Island, off the coast of Washington state, and the photography rivals that of high-budget productions.

As a result, even though the dialogue – which is largely improvised by the actors – is probably the best part of the film, the non-spoken sequences keep the audience equally

TOTAL RECALL

THE IMPOSTER

DIRECTED BY LEN WISEMAN

DIRECTED BY BART LAYTON 



ayton’s The Imposter introduces L audiences to a story so bizarre and unlikely that it out-weirds its

MUDDLED MEMORIES: Farrell may wish to forget this perfomance tation device travelling between the UFB and ‘The Colony’ through the earth’s core proves to be the most interesting aspect of this new and fascinating world.

“

Amazing CGI, gliding cars, hovering platforms of urban life and even luminous tattoos all fulfill the fantasies of a floating futuristic world" The UFB is controlled by the totalitarian Cohaagen who exploits the colony workers and as a result Quaid finds that he is not only struggling to discover who he is but also who he is really fighting for.

FMTACCESS

(UFB) and ‘The Colony’ (Australia) left inhabitable, Total Recall follows Douglas Quaid (Farrell), a factory worker with a gorgeous wife living on ‘The Colony’.

Plagued by dreams of another more exciting life and bored with his monotonous existence, Quaid visits ‘Rekall’ where your dreams can become memories. Here he encounters a conflict of memories which he did not expect – although the audience did – leading to a man hunt and the realisation that he is not who he thinks he is.

Farrell's attempt at an American accent is laughable, with the odd Irish twang quickly ruining the illusion that this film may be more than your average poorly-acted action movie.

A remake of the earlier 1990 movie sporting the same name, 2012’s Total Recall attempts to stay truer to the original inspiration, Philip K Dick’s We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.

Those in the audience hoping for some satisfying sci-fi effects will not be disappointed by what we see on screen. Amazing CGI, gliding cars, hovering platforms of urban life and even luminous tattoos all fulfill the fantasies of a floating futuristic world.

‘The Fall’ a mass public transpor-

Aside from the direction and basic premise of the movie, much of the film is predictable and similar to every other sci-fi movie in execution.

With a typical romantic plot thread (which hints at a love triangle) coupled with a glorious fight scene to conclude – if you are looking for an average sci-fi action movie then you won’t be disappointed. However, if you are looking for more than average sci-fi, you may have to look further.

Ellie Watters

JOYHOG

et in a world mostly devastated S my chemical warfare with only the United Federation of Britain

OFFWESTEND

TAKE THIS WALTZ

fictional contemporaries.

Not only that, this well crafted but deeply unsettling documentary shines a light on an area of crime that’s usually banished to the more ridiculous end of the mystery movie spectrum: identity impersonation. But don’t be fooled, The Parent Trap this is not.

The film follows the events leading to Frédéric Bourdin, a serial impersonator, assuming the life and identity of Nicholas Barclay, a young American who had disappeared three years earlier.

“

This well-crafted but deeply unsettling documentary shines a light on an area of crime that's usually banished to the more ridiculous end of the mystery movie spectrum" What makes this so remarkable is the fact they share zero physical similarities, yet Bourdin is immediately accepted into Barclay’s family with no questions asked. Did the family’s desire for their son to come home blind them to the blatancy that this was not him?

hooked.

With a script only roughly outlined, the real strength of Your Sister’s Sister is its cast. Blunt and Duplass once again display their unquestionable talent through their remarkable performances as two directionless friends slowly finding their place in life. But it is Rosemary DeWitt who truly shines as a barely likable character that nevertheless manages to win the audience over.

Overall Your Sister’s Sister is quite impressive but, with its abrupt ending, you may be left wishing you were able to see more of it. Now we will have to wait for Shelton’s next movie - hoping that it will overcome these problems and improve upon this standard.

Claudia Marinaro This question only scratches the surface of the madness that unfolds.

Interviews with the Barclay family, the authorities involved and the detective that rumbled Bourdin are cleverly interwoven with reconstructions of events and videos taken from the time. At no point does the film slow down, due perhaps to the slick cohesion between all of this different footage.

“

The Imposter asks more questions than it answers, leaving you to make your own verdict."

Moreover, the way Bourdin himself narrates the main body of the story whilst addressing the camera directly gives the film a strange flavour. No one appears more dumfounded by the bizarre sequence of events than Bourdin himself, and the way he almost shares in the audiences disbelief – making no pretence of being a criminal mastermind – leaves you somehow rooting for him, eager to see him succeed.

Ultimately Frédéric Bourdin is not a modern day Martin Guerre nor does this film come to your classical bow-tied ending. The Imposter asks more questions than it answers, leaving you to make your own verdict, but the final twist rivals anything penned by a Hollywood screenwriter.

Ryan White

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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Summer catch-up Been away all summer? Music presents its summer highlights in one convenient location.

L'Enfant Sauvage

F

rench technical metal experts Gojira show exactly why many consider them to be at the top of the game with their latest effort L’Enfant Sauvage. A crushing collection of head banging metal that almost appears to just be them showing off.

Few metal albums this year will match this instant classic.

Comet

N

ew Jersey pop punk icons The Bouncing Souls latest album Comet shows exactly why they’ve been at the top of the game for as long as they have. A collection of great summer anthems shows that they haven’t missed a step and still have the ability to write catchy, fun music.

James Young

Stuart Iversen

Budapest et on a picturesque island in the middle of the Danube, Sziget is one of the biggest festivals in Europe.

While most festivals say they cater to every kind of musical taste, this one truly does. With everything from dance to Latino-African music with rock and pop along the way, it really caters for everybody. With a real chilled out ‘all together’ kind of spirit, it makes a great alternative to having bottles of piss thrown at you in a muddy field.

Niall Carville

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM

G

inger Wildheart ’s latest album 100% was funded entirely by fans via a pledge music campaign and with the lack of record label intervention it gave the Newcastle born rocker a chance to show off just how great his song writing skills are. Full of songs that will be stuck in your head for days Ginger shows he’s still got it.

Michael Caird

Donnington

S

et in the hallowed grounds of Donnington Download has become a yearly pilgrimage for many heavy metal and rock fans. On its tenth anniversary it may just have outdone itself though with three days of storming bands that make sure that even with the rain and mud no one is left unhappy. As Black Sabbath close the Sunday it ’s understandable why: the originators of heavy metal playing its spiritual home, doesn’t get much better than that.

DR JOHN Locked Down

100%

DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL

SZIGET FESTIVAL

S

GINGER WILDHEART

THE BOUNCING SOULS

GOJIRA

he Nitetripper is back with this Dan Auerbach-produced album which has to be one of his best yet. Being kept away from a piano has allowed Dr. John to harness his funk spirit and lay down some great tracks. “Revolution” and “Ice Age” see him raging against the system, which few musicians seem to do anymore, in what has to be the best album of the year so far.

Niall Carville

THE DARKNESS

THE KING BLUES

Hot Cakes

Long Live the Struggle

T

he Darkness’s return from the wilderness in the last year has seen them re-establish themselves as a great live act. The question was always going to be whether they could follow it up with a great album. While comparisons to Permission to Land are going to see many dismiss Hot Cakes, they have managed to put together a collection of great tracks that show a confident rock band ready to retake their place among the elite.

Stuart Iversen

T

L

ong Live The Struggle is The King Blues final album after they announced their intention to break up following it’s recording. That they managed to produce a good album makes that intention just a little bit sadder. Another collection of great summer punk tracks shows just why this band gained the following that they did and why so many are sad to see them go..

James Young

Stuart Iversen

ALL THE YOUNG M.I.A

Handwritten

he Gaslight Anthem’s Bruce Springsteen inspired brand of rock has seen their career take a steady upwards climb, a trajectory that doesn’t look likely to change with latest album Handwritten.

There’s nothing here that we haven’t heard before from the band but this is them ramped up to eleven with everything bigger and shinier. This album sounds like it’s made for stadiums and if they get what they deserve it might just lead to them filling them.

Gavin Lodge

SZIGET FESTIVAL: An alternative to the Great British summer

STEPHANIE TAKAVCHIN, FLIKR

T

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TuesdaySeptember 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

Music 29

STAR RATING Classic AnthemRadio Hit Chart Botherer Top 200One Hit Wonder

Albums

and continuing with a dynamic change of tempo throughout it cements their status as unique in the Indie scene.

Fresh from Reading and Leeds a THE VACCINES COME OF AGE few weeks ago, The Vaccines are on top COLUMBIA form with highlight “I Always Knew” and its relatable lyrics, “You talk to me  and it goes over my head / let’s go to bed before you say how you feel”, shows off xplosive - the perfect way to dethe softer side of the bands attributes scribe opener ‘No Hope’ off The which is just as strong as their more Vaccine’s second album, Come of Age. rhythmic side.

Ironically there is so much hope for the “Ghost Town” may seem predictable Vaccines that titling their opener ‘No on more than one level, led by guitar Hope’ is just a plain lie, they’re back and drums, but the track is what The with a bang. It’s no secret that there Vaccine’s fans are awaiting, the band is nothing more exciting than an elechaving produced another knock-out trifying intro to a Vaccine’s number, record they’re known for; reliable, edgy and their most recent single, “Teenage and upbeat anthems you’ll have runIcon” (also out this week) doesn’t disapning about your head all day on loop. point, opening with jagged guitar riffs Been there, got their tee shirt…

E

However it must be said that the album lacks the power delivered in previous singles “Wreckin’ Bar” or “If You Wanna”, but there are still surprises to be had. Be sure to check out “Change of Heart Pt.2” as it wins the award for the best lyrics, truthful and direct, “Honesty’s a dying art / So tell a man if you’ve had a change of heart.”

It won’t fail to lift your mood, make you feel that bit cooler and have you hooked for more, making the deluxe CD a must for avid fans - extra material and live versions to boot.

Flawless even live, on record The Vaccines are absolute perfection anytime, anywhere.

MATCHBOX TWENTY NORTH ATLEANTIC

 atchbox Twenty are one of the M legions of post-grunge American bands that came to prominence in the

mid to late nineties. Their latest album North is their first studio album since 2002 having released greatest hits album Exile on Mainstream in 2007 and been on hiatus twice during that period.

Therefore long terms fans will be looking towards this album to make up for lost time.

It’s safe to say that they’ve picked up where they left off. If there’s one thing Kate Walker Matchbox Twenty can lay claim too it’s an ability to write soft touching songs that jerk on the heart strings of everyone listening. This ability continues into North on tracks such as “I Will” which sees Rob Thomas at his best with his delicate sounding vocals and soft piano.

Matchbox Twenty can definitely fight it out with the best for the title of best soft pop rock band.

That’s not to say this is an album of sad

songs and if anything Matchbox Twenty seem to have lightened up in their old age. “How Long” wouldn’t sound out of place on most big pop band albums and “Radio” comes across as a classic feel good rock song that takes influence from bands like T-Rex and has a chorus that will slip its way into your brain and stay there.

North shows that Matchbox Twenty haven’t lost a step in the last ten years.

They sound like they’ve grown up and in doing so have managed to embrace the pop aspect of the band and consequently wrote an album of sparkling feel-good songs. However, it is hard to imagine this album leading to new fans flocking to their banner. These songs are good but its ability to make a huge impact outside of people who were already fans of the band seems limited, which in many ways is a shame as these songs were made to be played on the radio. However there’s nothing here to distinguish them from hundreds of other bands that do the exact same thing. This is a solid 12 track collection of songs that sound exactly like Matchbox Twenty, so if you loved them before the chances are you still will.

Kieran Heads

Classic Album SLAYER

REIGN IN BLOOD DEF JAM

MARK TIGHE, FLIKR

the years since its release, Slayer’s Iof nReign in Blood has set the benchmark what a thrash metal album should

THE VACCINES: Dark and brooding.

THE SCRIPT

HALL OF FAME EPIC/PHONOGENIC



LOWER THAN ATLANTIS

LOVE SOMEONE ELSE ISLAND RECORDS



be. Coming in at only 29 minutes its ferocious assault on the senses made it one of the heaviest albums ever written at the time. While many of its contemporaries have aged it’s lived on with the band continuing to play it live in its entirety on special occasions to this day.

Opening with “Angel of Death” it doesn’t take long for you to figure out why Slayer are still considered one of the greatest pure heavy metal bands ever. They’re loud, they’re heavy and

they don’t care what anyone thinks. It’s an approach that continues throughout with no prisoners being taken on a single one of these tracks. With most of the album coming in at under three minutes per track it’s such a short sharp blast to the senses that upon finishing you find yourself sitting wondering what exactly you just listened too. “Rain in Blood” sees you out and as it closes you find yourself just going right back to the start again to re-experience it all over.

Reign in Blood will always be remembered as one of the greatest thrash metal albums of all time and wrote the blueprint of what every metal band since have done. When people think of heavy metal they picture Slayer and this album was where it all started.

Stuart Iversen

GREEN DAY

KILL THE DJ REPRISE/WARNER BROS



all collaborating to combine the power of their names to try and hit the top of the charts, how does the latest partnership between The Script and Will.i.am compare to previous alliances?

No better, no worse. After a gentle piano introduction and keyboard synths, it builds up to be one of the songs that will probably become a radio anthem, and as the drums come in with Will. i.am and Danny O’Donoghue’s raps it becomes a catchy beat that will quickly fill pop playlists and dance floors.

The lyrics are supposed to be about achieving dreams of fame and success, but if you are turning to them for inspiration you will find them sorely lacking… the repetitive, unoriginal lyrics are not what makes this a good track. Its junk food music made for a night out to get clubbers in the right mood.

Nina Seale

pop punk band have seen their profile slowly rise over the years and will want to continue the theme on their newest release.

“Love Someone Else” is at the very least a good start. It sees Mike Duce complaining that due to the nature of his lyrics everyone believes they know him. “Incessantly expressing myself lyrically so literally has lead the listener to believe they have perceived the real me.” Over their trademark guitar based sound.

This is another example of why many consider Lower Than Atlantis one of the better bands coming out of the UK at the moment. They write music that is catchy enough to appeal to the masses while at the same time retaining enough of an edge to not dismay their long term fans.

Stuart Iversen

rise from a punk rock band to a global rock band fans will be looking to see how their style has changed.

It’s a change that is very noticeable on this song. Gone is the punk rock fire of old instead replaced by a disco pop element. It sounds like it has been written to fill dance floors across the country rather than the punk rock clubs where they first built their fanbase.That alone is not enough to make this song a bad one but what is is the fact that it just comes across as boring.

There is nothing here to suggest that Green Day even care about what they are doing.

There is no doubt that this song will not affect Green Day in any way.

They’ll continue to sell out stadiums with ease. However, long-term fans are likely going to be trying to figure out just what has happened to their band.

SLAYER: Heavy metal personified.

SOUNDSMETALLIC, FLICKR

reen Day are back with the second dam Levine and Christina Aguilera, ower Than Atlantis have released G single off their upcoming album A Rihanna and Eminem, Enrique Igle- L their third album in three years: ¡Uno! “Kill the DJ”. With their recent sias and Eminem… With the big voices Changing Tunes. The hardworking

Tuesday September 11 2012 studentnewspaper.org

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STAR RATING

The American DreamThe American DaydreamThe American RealityThe American NapThe American Scream

Hannah Clapham-Clark swears by the BBC’s seminal comedy series

THE AMERICAN

D

BEAM

uring this election year, both Democrat and Republican politicians will grab “The American Dream” and squash its rhetoric into persuasive canapés: familiar morsels to satisfy the stomach of a nation.

But parallel to this political power struggle, there is a bubbling television industry that now more than ever subverts this optimistic ideal of America with vibrant writing, fizzing style and an embittered and self-deprecating wit.

For the most part anyway.

One show that does offer this compelling sideways look at American existence is Breaking Bad, which began its fifth and final season early this summer. Still injecting curious macabre into the television schedule, the Chemistry/Cancer caper is as explosive and dark as it’s two C’s suggest; delivering a bleak portrayal of human survival in a world where money rules.

As damning of the “system” but done with more suits and far more swearwords is the brilliant Veep, the U.S Government satire which hit British screens via Sky Atlantic this June. From the writers of The Thick of It comes a similarly silly send-up of political buffoonery that finally sees Seinfeld star Julia Louis Dreyfus deliver a performance as snarky and crackling as her infamous Elaine. If Elaine wore twin sets and had free range on the word “c*nt”, that is.

Other highlights included the eye-poppingly fearless Louie, in which Louis C.K. continues to condemn the world and its crippling inadequacy with his trademark bite of benevolent anger, and Girls, which by recognising the gap between uber-American-perfection-parades Sex and The City and Gossip Girl found a space waiting to be filled with modern portrayals of the bustling, self-conscious and sassy female in 21st Century New York City.

So has American television shaken the shackles of bullshit and shazam and began a long overdue process of TV review? Will it begin to commit to a more liberal scheduling, providing platforms for young writers to be as anti-American as their constitution allows?

Probably not.

For in the aching pursuit of “The American Dream” certain qualities will always win out over others. You may think that American viewers would value the honest message of Breaking Bad, but no, they want more Glee. You might believe that American television has finally reached its magnum opus in the opulence of Mad Men, but no, they want a 2,345th season of American Idol.

Enter...a fluffy, kiss-a-minute remake of Dallas.

Jack Murray

THE THICKOFIT BBC2 Saturdays, 9.45pm



S

ince announcing the return of The Thick of It earlier this year, there has been much speculation about how the show would deal with the shift in government; Will they get along? How many gaffes will there be? and, has Malcolm Tucker had a heart attack yet?

Series four returns with its trademark brilliance. In fact, it seems far too obvious and blatant to sing the show’s praises. There was not much doubt it would be able to sustain its impact. Its intricate intelligence and attention to the smallest of details means the show goes beyond being a topical juggernaut; it has a complete monopoly over intelligent comedy.

The show creates a tangible satisfaction with every sarcastic quip or stinging putdown, reveling in a lavish and glorious angst that anyone who has ever hated a job can relate

DR WHO BBC1 Saturdays, 7.35pm



W

ith the 50th anniversary in sight, the new series of Doctor Who has a lot of high expectations to live up to. What better way to start than by pulling out the iconic Daleks, albeit with a new twist: now they can look like people.

The Doctor and his companions, the previously married couple Rory and Amy, are spirited away by some of these human Daleks. Why? Because the evil pepper pots need help themselves. There’s a problem with the force field around their asylum planet (a home for the especially insane Daleks), and only the Doctor can fix it. Helped by Jenna-Louise Coleman in a surprise cameo, who is due to take over as the next assistant at the end of the year, the heroes have to blow it up.

Even a Doctor Who novice will know that the Daleks and the Doctor aren’t on friendly terms. This episode successfully explores new ways to view such an iconic relationship.

It’s even a little bit exciting. And for the most part, this episode follows up on the concept’s promise.

It’s ridiculous, fun, and, unlike a lot of the other episodes penned by Stephen Moffat, it is straightforward enough to follow without having to take notes. Better than that, it’s still dark enough to steer clear of being labelled as kid’s TV. The series retains its trademark level of creepiness, as well as a stunning and climatic plot twist. This is coupled with a defining performance

by Matt Smith who is truly growing

to. It teeters accurately between the line of complete verbal silliness and scorchingly accurate political insight, a rare and difficult balance to pull off and the reason why the show is so completely set apart from everything else.

Its plausibility is sometimes frightening, with this week’s plot following a truly gigantic fluff-up surrounding a new technical initiative and many toe-curling attempts to be ‘down with the kids’. A bit of innocent racism and the complete breakdown of Peter Mannion’s (Roger Allen) 21st Century knowledge provides a beautifully cringeworthy scene that is seeping with a frustration and head-boiling anger that Allen delivers perfectly through a sense of pathetic defeatism.

Almost every line stands alone, quotable as if it had been adored and reenacted for years. Whether it is a flippant reference to Dennis Norden’s Laughter File, or seeing Mannion flounce off in search of a Twix, blink and you’ll miss them, but each one is representative of how each episode is drenched in effortless wit. The show’s strength is the

freedom that comes with not being driven solely by plot. Armando Iannuci’s script, and subsequent improvisations, have the ability to toy with language, and cling to traditions of true inventiveness which are becoming harder to find.

It is reliably, and consistently, funny but that’s not to say the new series hasn’t upped its game. It does not rest on its laurels; the opening episode features an array of new

into the lead role, and finally making the Doctor feel like more than a hyperactively quirky one note character. This is a taste of what Stephen Moffat’s past series could have been.

Unfortunately, that’s not to say that it’s perfect throughout.

The drama between Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) feels a little pointless. Unless you’ve watched the internet only miniseries ‘Pondlife’, you’ll enter this episode thinking that they’re still married.

That would be fine, if there was any real depth to their problems, but in the end, their romantic storyline basically boils down to padding; you know from their first lingering glances that this isn’t going to end with them still apart. But they’re still adorable together, with Darvill, in particular, proving exactly why his character deserves his cult popularity.

Their plot wouldn’t have felt so intrusive if it wasn’t for the other drama-driven plot line that deserved far more time on screen. Oswin, a girl trapped in the depths of the Dalek planet, would have been a far more compelling presence if she’d been given enough time to grow out of the Moffat female character mould: perky, sexually confident, fast talking and a little naive. Despite these flaws, her story line is still interesting enough to keep the action going.

Really, that’s what this episode boils down to: great potential and good delivery. There’s a lot to enjoy, even if you aren’t a dedicated Whovian. Hopefully the new series can keep up this standard, and if it can it will be worth the anniversary.

MRS BIGGS

Katie Cunningham

players welcomed in by the coalition government. There was not a glimpse of the political behemoth that is Malcolm Tucker, and we weren’t waiting for him because this was by no means a display of the B team. The cast, script and every inch of the show is independent from what it has become particularly famous for, as every character makes a distinct mark on the screen making the show a genuine rarity.

ROGER ALLEN: A face glowing with laughter and comedy

ITV1 Tuesday, 9pm



I

TV’s five-part drama exploring the lives of infamous train robber Ronnie Biggs and his wife Charmaine began with a stylish scuttle rather than an almighty chug. Gently laying the tracks of the well documented story into a smartly acted and semi-sepia hour and a half, this is a considered and stylised peek into the tale, giving a glimpse of the protagonist’s past and a glance into their future.

Introducing us to the affable Ronnie Biggs, played with a mixture of whistling charm and occasional malice by Danny Mays, Jeff Pope’s script contrasts his relatively gungho existence – spilled pints, winks and working-class bravado – with his future wife Charmaine’s. Her upbringing under the stuffy, strict and tight-trousered guidance of her rich father, delivered with coiled electricity by Adrian Scarborough, has left her a confused and tamed ball of worry and possibility.

Possibility fully realised when she meets and falls for “humble carpenter” Ronnie.

Their whirlwind romance is directed in a gorgeous light by Paul Whittington and initially soaked in early-sixties sunshine: where classes clash and masks cascade as they snog in school halls and twirl themselves into chuckling trouble. But quickly their kissing is replaced with running as Ronnie coaxes Charmaine into a new life of petty crime and prison visits, far removed from teacups and cardigans.

The deeper they sink into debt

DES WILLIE/BBC

Sink or swim?

and danger, the moodier the direction, with the sound of trains becoming an omnipresent backdrop as Mrs Biggs adjusts to life without money or direction, away from the solace of normalcy.

It is in her switch from the besotted juvenile accomplice to the complex and optimistic housewife that Sheridan Smith achieves true class in her portrayal of Charmaine. Flashing her bra at Ronnie in one year and caring for their two children the next,

“

The deeper they sink into debt and danger, the moodier the direction" her bright eyes and kitten heels are replaced by a determined smile and an apron.

Her dream to be independent, a mother and a wife has already been achieved and yet, as 50 years of folklore remind us, Ronnie’s was not. He could never have been normal.

As this episode ended, both he and Mrs Biggs stood on the cusp of something strange. For him it’s idol-status and pop songs, while for her it's a life of waiting and panic. It is to Smith’s credit, in this her most rounded television performance to date, that her Mrs Biggs - wet doe eyes and perfect beehive - seemed to always be waiting for a thump of reality, the mannered and mollycoddled girl within her could at anytime resurface and regret her heart’s decision to drive her facefirst into Ronnie’s inevitable journey towards chaos.

Jack Murray

Sport fan? Write for us! sport@studentnewspaper.org

Tuesday September 10 2012 studentnewspaper.org

Sport 31

Glasgow takes the baton

London 2012 sets a great example for Glasgow's 2014 Commonwealth Games, says Chris Dyer The 2012 Olympic Games were a rip-roaring success. Despite initial fears about security and how well the transport network would cope with the large influx of athletes and spectators to the British capital, the organisation of the event ultimately proved second to none. For two weeks, the world’s eyes were fixated on London and as a global spectacle, it certainly delivered.

London’s legacy has provided a catalyst for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and has seen a sharp rise in calls from people wishing to volunteer and buy tickets. Having seen from afar just what goes in to running a successful event, organisers of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow have learned a great deal and hope to capitalise on the public mood, which was noticeably lifted by the success of British athletes.

David Grevemberg, chief executive of Glasgow 2014, said, “Everyone is buzzing. Within the context of the UK and the context of the Commonwealth, people are starting to ask the question: Well, what’s next after London 2012?

Following the Paralympics in Septem-

“

The Games have the potential to go down as one of the most memorable sporting events ever held in Scotland"

ber, we’re the next obvious target, the next obvious event.”

From a Scottish point of view, the record haul of 14 medals in London – 7 golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes – is genuine cause for optimism as the start of the Commonwealth Games draws ever closer. Scotland came a respectable 10th place last time out in Delhi in 2010, winning a total of 26 medals – 9 golds, 10 silvers and 7 bronzes. Scots will be pinning their hopes particularly on cycling, swimming and shooting events, which accounted for three quarters of their medal tally in Delhi.

Given his iconic status as Britain’s most successful Olympian following his triumph in London, Sir Chris Hoy would be the perfect face of the 2014 Games. As a seven-time Olympic medallist, his feats can inspire youngsters to

their impressive collection, would lead the English medal charge.

Political wrangling threatens to overshadow the 2014 Games, which will take place under the backdrop of the independence referendum due to be held in the autumn of the same year.

First Minister Alex Salmond will be using the Games, along with the Ryder Cup, due to be held in Gleneagles in September 2014, as an opportunity to promote Scotland’s cultural and political vitality and thus gather greater support for independence.

On the other hand, Scottish politicians in favour of the Union such as Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, emphasised just how much the success of Team GB brought all four corners of the country closer together like never before. Great Britain will inevitably split into England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for the Games. Officials have been keen to stress that the political desires of the Scottish Government will not undermine the integrity and the principles on which the Games were founded - fraternity, unified diversity and promoting Commonwealth citizenship.

The Commonwealth Games in 2014 have the potential to go down as one of the best Games of their kind as well as one of the most memorable sporting events ever held in Scotland. Regardless of the ongoing political battle between Holyrood and Westminster, the Games will provide a unique opportunity to showcase Glasgow and Scotland in a very positive light.

aspire to achieve such greatness or at the very least increase their participation in sport.

The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome is being constructed in his honour and organisers are hoping he will take part in the event itself. It would certainly give a massive boost to the sporting extravaganza and be a fitting swansong for the Edinburgh University scholar to sign off his glittering career.

Organisers will be hoping to see other world class names competing at the event in two years time. A continuation of the compelling duel between Olympic 100m and 200m champion Usain Bolt from Jamaica and his fellow countryman Yohan Blake would certainly add to the intrigue of the Glasgow Games. Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah, both of whom are missing a Commonwealth medal from

Over

Andy tillcliffe

Phil Smith examines the future of English cricket following the departure of Andrew Strauss

The great Aussie-slaying off spinner Jim Laker once remarked that “the aim of English cricket, is in fact, mainly to beat Australia.”

With this is mind, it is a fairly simple task to analyse the recently-retired Andrew Strauss’ time as England cricket captain. In the modern era, only Len Hutton has matched his achievement of leading England to Ashes triumphs both home and away. Combined with last summer’s demolition of the then number one ranked India side, it is easy to look to Strauss as one of the finest captains in England’s history.

However, as the curtain finally falls on his reign, the former Middlesex batsman leaves a team reeling from a flurry of defeats, the most recent of which, a 2-0 home defeat to South Africa this summer, saw his team displaced at the top of the world test

rankings. It has been a spectacular fall from grace for a side that looked set to conquer the world, and yet, the legacy provided by Strauss and his ever loyal lieutenant Andy Flower is a remarkably strong one.

In many ways, the demoralising test defeats to South Africa were a vindication of the methods pioneered

by Strauss and Flower. South Africa played with a remarkable team bond and strong work ethic, showing extraordinary discipline in the field and a relentless appetite for runs.

These were the pillars upon which Strauss’s successes were built. Indeed, Hashim Amla and co.’s colossal performances were not dissimilar to the way Alistair Cook and Jonathan Trott relentlessly ground down the Australian attack down under just two winters ago.

Unfortunately for England, a dressing room collapsing over the Kevin Pietersen saga was simply not able to match the Proteas’ commitment, and gave the impression of a tired side coming to the end of the road. The key to success for England, however, is not to ditch its approach but to rediscover it.

It would be an easy decision to ditch Pietersen for good, and begin the process of building a new side. However, it seems absolutely essential to repair relations with England’s most talented batsman and to hence find a way to restore him to the side.

Strauss’s retirement means a new batsman will have to be blooded in India, where an inexperienced middle order that wilted so often in the summer will also need to be at its strongest. To take two inexperienced batsman to the subcontinent is a gamble, to take three

is suicide. Pietersen has been very publicly humiliated by this scandal, and has the lost the respect of a fanbase that has roared his brilliance on time and time again. This is punishment enough. It is time to move on.

Nevertheless, it is clear that there needs to be an element of change and progression if the team is to restore its position as the best test team in world cricket. One way to do this may be to refresh the coaching set up. Both Flower and fielding coach Richard Halsall have done superb jobs, but England’s fielding standards have dipped dramatically of late, whilst Flower has admitted to being frustrated at not being able to spend time with his young family.

In order to prevent stagnation, could a new face be added to the dressing room? Ashley Giles must be an outstanding candidate, having led Warwickshire to county glory this year.

Immensely popular within the sport and already involved with the England set up as a selector, he could prove the perfect candidate to bring new ideas to a successful dressing room. As coach, he has helped the immensely talented Varun Chopra finally live up to his potential, to the point where he is now a credible contender, along with Michael Carberry, to replace Strauss at the top of the order.

The end of the Strauss era leaves England with many unanswered questions and dilemmas, but none that require dramatic change in response.

Strauss has left behind a team that is used to winning, and most importantly, one that is used to beating Australia.

What more can we ask for than that?

Injury Time

takes A WRY look at the world of sport

Premier League 2012/13

The 2012/2013 Premier League season ended with it’s typical dosage of high-octane drama as Swansea City’s remarkable summer signing, the floppy-haired Michu, produced a thrilling virtuoso performance, scoring his 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st goal of the season to clinch the title in a thrilling 4-3 victory at Fulham’s newly named ‘The Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough Cottage’ .

Defying everyone’s pre-season expectations, Michael Laudrup’s team left both Manchester sides in their elegant wake.

In truth, Manchester United never really got going and following a mid-season slump, when the entire squad contracted a rare-balding virus after a ginger pube was “accidentally” grated into the players’ Lucozade. They fell into shy and shinyscalped obscurity, even sacking Sir Alex Ferguson, whose crimson-nose exploded snot, blood and whiskey at his final press conference, leaving Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves a gooey gobsmacked mess: stoic as ever, he continued to denounce Ferguson’s career as “lucky at best”. Ever the professional.

Ferguson’s replacement was the word-garbling bloodhound in a suit whose key skills include banter and window rolling, Mr. Harry Redknapp. After coming to United’s rescue and consolidating a midtable position, Redknapp proceeded to save every other club in the Premiership (bar Swansea) with his usual brand of charming bullshit.

One of his more intriguing decisions during his week long spell at relegated Liverpool was the decision to emergency loan Kevin Keegan as the Red’s striker crisis reached desperate levels.

Perhaps the most surprising moment of the 2012/2013 season though came when former badboy Mario Balotelli announced his footballing retirement to pursue a life as a Priest. He was last seen, robed and serene, giving out pamphlets and gluten-free cookies to drug addicts in Birmingham.

His departure left 2011/2012 champions Manchester City with some serious questions and following a philosophical inquiry into the club’s moral wellbeing, headed by Desmond Tutu and Noel Gallagher, City decided to donate all their money to local charities with the squad playing for occasional food but eternal happiness. All except for Carlos Tevez, who quickly scampered back to West Ham. Just another normal season, then.

Jack Murray

Sport

studentnewspaper.org

Tuesday January 31 2012

Over to you, Glasgow

The pressure is on to deliver a 2014 Commonwealth Games befitting this Olympic Summer, writes Chris Dyer �31

Time to turn talent into points Scotland must win against Macedonia tonight to keep alive their Brazil 2014 hopes, writes Davie Heaton means shameful. Nonetheless, Sinisa Mihajlovic’s side finished behind Estonia in qualifying for Euro 2012 and have only one win from nine games.

A home win seemed crucial with the strength of Croatia and Belgium to come. Macedonia showed enough resilience in their opening game – a 1-0 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb – to suggest they can handle themselves at Hampden. Failure to win tonight would cast Levein’s men dangerously adrift.

Levein was booed by sections of the

STALEMATE : Naismith spurns Scotland's best chance of a winning start

JAMES WATT

SCOTLAND WILL hope to ignite their World Cup qualifying campaign tonight against Macedonia after a scoreless draw with Serbia in Glasgow on Saturday. Manager Craig Levein had hoped for six points from two opening home games. He will now have to settle for four. Anything less could be terminal, even at such an early stage.

The Serbs can call on an impressive pool of players – even without the internationally-retired Nemanja Vidic. A point against them is by no

crowd on Saturday and is in danger of being undone by his own words. He recently claimed his team was talented enough to win each of their qualifying matches in Group A, but the bluntness of their display on Saturday suggests otherwise.

“I am disappointed about the fact that we had opportunities but didn’t take them,” he said.

“I know we can play better. We made opportunities to score but couldn’t force the ball home. One or two of our creative players just failed to find the final pass today.”

In fact, the host’s most impressive performances came from the back, and it was Gary Caldwell on his 50th international appearance who found the most incisive pass of the match to send Steven Naismith through in the second half. The striker shot wide, compounding a disappointing afternoon which could yet get worse if he is handed retrospective punishment for an elbow on Srdan Mijailovic which the Swedish referee missed.

Levein can ill-afford to lose attacking players to suspension after seeing Kenny Millar put in a performance so ineffective that spectators soon began chanting for £8m striker Jordon Rhodes, who came off the bench. Another young substitute James Forrest

– just six years old when Scotland last qualified for a major championship – looked lively as did Robert Snodgrass.

Debutant Paul Dixon performed well.

There are reasons for optimism.

“

Fans are entitled to ask when Levein will find a formula to turn talent into results."

This is a fact not lost on Levein, who has been gushing in his praise for the collective ability of his squad.

Even without Scott Brown, Darren Fletcher, Steven Fletcher and Kris Commons through a combination of injury, infantile stubbornness and risky omission there are plenty of men operating at a good club standard.

Charlie Adam, Barry Bannan, James Morrison, Shaun Maloney, Naismith, Caldwell and Snodgrass are all Premier League starters while Rhodes, Ross McCormack and Matt Phillips are making waves further down the league ladder.

Fans are entitled to ask when Levein will find a formula to turn talent into results. A win tonight is essential.

Group A 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th

Belgium Croatia Scotland Serbia Macedonia 1 Wales

0

Pl 1 1 1 1

Pts 3 3 1 1

1

0

Macednoia (11th Sept 2012 Home; 10th Sept 2013 Away) Managed only eight points - six off Andorra - in Euro 2012 qualifying. Striker Goran Pandev remains a threat.

Wales (12th Oct 2012 A; 22nd March 2013 H) Have understandably struggled since manager Gary Speed's death last year but can still call on Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen and Craig Bellamy.

Belgium (16th Oct 2012 A; 6th Sept 2013 H) Heaps of Premier League talent make them joint favourites with Croatia.

Serbia (26th March 2013 A) Blessed with a strong group of players but manager Sinisa Mihajlovic has so far failed to make the most of them.

Croatia (7th June 2013 A; 15th Oct 2013 H) Recent tournament experience might give them the edge over Belgium - the only team in the group who can match their technical ability.

A hero’s welcome for Edinburgh Olympians EDINBURGH’S OLYMPIC and Paralympic heroes are to be welcomed back with a parade through the city centre this weekend. An open-top bus, which will leave from the City Chambers at 2.15pm on Sunday, will travel along the Royal Mile towards the Mound, before passing along Prince’s Street and stopping on George Street.

Cyclist and six-time gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy, whose two gold medal victories at the London games make him the most successful British Olympian ever, will then be awarded the Freedom of Edinburgh at a private ceremony at the Assembly Rooms, which is to be attended by 500 invited guests.

Hoy, who was born in Edinburgh and educated at the city’s independent George Watson’s College, graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an Applied Sports Science degree in 1999. Also a talented rower and rugby player during his early years, he decided to dedicate his training to track cycling in 1994, when he joined the

prestigious City of Edinburgh Racing Club, the most successful track club in Britain.

Hoy, who carried the British flag at this summer’s opening ceremony, became Scotland’s first Olympic champion in 24 years when he won the 1km Time Trial at Athens in 2004. He has since gone on to win five more gold medals and a silver at the Olympics, whilst is also an eleven time World Champion. Hoy holds two honorary degrees, one from the University of Edinburgh and one from Heriot-Watt University. He is one of only six people to be awarded the prestigious Freedom of the City award, the others being the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Sir Sean Connery, Nelson Mandela and Burmese democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi. Invitations to the parade have been extended to all of the city’s Olympians, including rower Katherine Grainger, who won her first gold this summer with Anna Watkins in the women’s double sculls. Having taken up the

sport at the University of Edinburgh from where she holds an Honours law degree - Grainger became President of the University Boat Club in 1996/97 and was inducted to the University’s Sports Hall of Fame in May 2008.

She now represents Edinburgh’s St Andrew Boat Club.

Salom canoeist and double Olympic silver medallist David Florence is also likely to be in attendance. Aberdeenborn, Florence lived on the same street as Hoy during his time in Edinburgh between the ages of 7 and 18.

The parade will also be attended by the city’s Paralympic stars, including Musselburgh-born James Clegg, who won bronze in the S12 100m Butterfly, and his sister Libby, who won silver in the T12 100m sprint on the track.

Officials have suggested that spectators will have the opportunity to mix with the athletes at meet and greet sessions before and after the bus tour. The official victory parade for Scotland’s Olympic and Paralympic stars will take place in Glasgow on Friday.

HOME SWEET HOME: A return for Edinburgh-educated Hoy

TESSA NICHOLS

Sir Chris Hoy amongst those to be honoured with a city parade on Sunday, writes Piers Barber