UniVerse | Christmas Edition

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UniVerse

Volume 25, Issue 3 Christmas Special Monday 14th December

tridentmedia.org NEWS

Who Runs the World? | pg 7

FEATURES

Societies at Christmas | pg 15

HEALTH

Animal Testing | pg 19

SPORT

Judo Club Charity Event | pg 23

Herts SU launches Campus Costs campaign Laura Slingo | News Editor

At this year’s SU Annual Members’ Meeting on 24th November, Hertfordshire Students’ Union officially launched its Campus Costs campaign.

With feedback from Repstival, Student Ideas Forum and students from across the University suggesting major concerns with the cost of living, the SU made the decision to take action and launch a priority campaign to cut costs on and off campus.

President of Hertfordshire Students’ Union, Jack Amos, revealed the driving force of the campaign: “The price-tag of higher education is growing and getting bigger and bigger and students are struggling because [they] have less and less money. So we are running a fantastic campaign this year, Campus Costs, which is going to look at all aspects of how much things cost on campus and associated with the university.”

The Campus Costs campaign will address key areas of university life that students’ feel are financially straining such as travel and parking costs; the cost of health and childcare; support, grants and bursaries; halls and housing; campus food and shops and extra course costs for students at the University.

At the SU Annual Members’ Meeting, an open floor discussion took place with students of the University so they could raise their issues, concerns and opinions regarding Campus Costs and the price of living.

A few shocking statistics were revealed from students such

as: “Today I bought pizza, chips and a fizzy drink in the restaurant and it cost £6” and “I’m studying a book a week per class and spent £140 on books so far this semester” highlighting the need for financial readjustments on campus.

Despite being officially launched on the 24th November, the SU has already consistently made proactive efforts to ease the financial pressures at the University for students.

On the 13th October, the SU managed stop the cost of the Park and Ride rising from 50p for £1 for students by talking to the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Ian Campbell.

This success has contributed to one of the main goals of Campus Costs: lobby the University to reduce costs on campus.

Other goals for Campus Costs include: ‘make sure the Students’ Union is a value for money service’ and ‘work with SUs and National Union of Students to stop national and regional cuts to higher education.

With such a good start to the Campus Costs campaign so far, it is expected that this success will continue.

2 Editorial • Tweet of the Week: @zohibsheikh

I never in a million years thought I’d miss uni this much, all you students should cherish the moments whilst you can! @uniofherts

Photo of the week: Christmas Tree in the Forum taken by Hertfordshire SU

Head of Print

Yik Yaks of the Week: If you got a 9am start I feel bad for you son. Got 99 problems but I don’t start til 1.

Not joining the gym because running for the shuttle every morning is already too much exercise!

Written, designed & edited by students, for students, and provided by Hertfordshire Students’ Union Shelby Loasby headofprint@tridentmedia.org

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Print Editor

Huriyah Quadri

Sub Editors

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Movember 2015 a Success!

Meet your new Design Editor Hi everyone! I’m Ashlyn, your new Design Editor and I’m so excited to be designing UniVerse and BlueMoon! I’ve recently returned from a year abroad in New Mexico and still adjusting to life back in Hatfield. Who can believe it’s nearly Christmas already?! Hope you enjoy our particularly Christmassy issue of UniVerse, keep an eye out for the santa hats and snowflakes.

Movember student ambassador and Head of Print, Shelby Loasby, led the Movember campaign on campus this year, raising awareness and vital funds for men’s health issues.

After a two day training course at the Movember Head Quarters in London, Shelby came back to Herts with ideas and scope to make Movember a success at the university.

By simply wearing a fake moustache everyday throughout Movember, and placing donation boxes around the university, Shelby was able to raise over four hundred pounds for the Movember Foundation. The charity also worked with Oddballs to provide fifty pairs of Movember themed boxers to the university, which were used in Herts’ ‘Movember Pants Zumba’ and sold at various events.

Two quizzes were also held in the name of the moustache, which involved various challenges to get students ‘MOVE-ing’ as part of Movember’s 2015 campaign, and saw a combined total of £220.

The University of Hertfordshire Cricket Team were also big Mo Bros on campus and were able to raise an impressive £473, which saw the overall total for the University of Hertfordshire’s Movember campign reach £1139.

It’s Christmaasss!

Grab your blanket, make yourself a hot drink, and snuggle down with this festive issue of your free student newspaper!

This issue will take you from the seriously insightful sexual harassment research and animal testing debate, to the fun and light-hearted Christmas cracker jokes and all things Christmas around the university.

Katie’s also got a student gift guide for you if you’re several years

All money raised will help men’s health issues, including the fight against testicular and prostate cancer.

With one in eight men being diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is essential that funds are raised and that men are encouraged to go and talk about their problems and get checked.

If you are interested in the Movember Foundation, head over to their website uk.movember.com. If you want to know more about getting checked, head over to the advice and support centre or medical centre on College Lane campus.

Ashlyn Roth (Design) Laura Slingo (News) Charlie Pearson (Sports) Hannah Bicknell (Features) Robert Wheatley (Lifestyle) Betleham Fekade (Innovation) Katie Noble (Entertainment)

Contributors

Eleanor Spall Daniella Svrdlin Aaron Hurst Tom Boon Cathal Charker Nariece Sanderson William Tuffin Caroline Simon Annie Cracknell April Wilson Louise Hal-Fead Amy Dodwell Emily Alvarenga Catie Allwright Bryony Wharfe Rachel Tresher Georgia Porter

Editor in Chief Bradley Johnson

Copy Editor

Sarah Bennett

Contact Us

vp.comms@hertfordshire.su

Mo Sista and Ambassador - Shelby

behind on Christmas shopping like us!

We also have a final interview with Kealie Mardell, our previous Print Editor and former Media Coordinator, who has now sadly left us to move to America! We wish her all the best!

Don’t forget to count all the Christmas hats and snowflakes throughout, and tweet us with how many you find to win a mystery prize! Happy reading and Merry Christmas! We will see you in the new year!

VP Comms & Media Hertfordshire Students’ Union College Lane Hatfield Herts, AL10 9AB Published by Iliffe Print Cambridge Winship Road Milton Cambridge CB24 6PP @TridentMediaUK tridentmedia.org

News 3 •

Slam Dunk announce initial line-up for 2016

Nariece Sanderson | Contributing Writer

For the last seven years, the University of Hertfordshire has hosted the Southern leg of the most successful small festivals in the UK.

Soon to be a decade old, Slam Dunk Festival are due to celebrate with performances from an array of quality acts in 2016. With previous headliners such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore and The All-American Rejects, the first announcement of this year does not disappoint.

At the top of the bill is the glamorous Panic!

At The Disco, followed by metal­core mob, Of Mice and Men and pop­punk classics, New Found Glory.

Other bands announced include: Four Year Strong, Every Time I Die, ISSUES, Memphis May Fire and Real Friends.

Slam Dunk South will be held at The Forum Hertfordshire on 30 May 2016.

Around 40 more bands are set to be added to the event, so keep your eyes peeled!

Tickets are available to purchase from forumhertfordshire.co.uk. For more information, follow the festival on Twitter: @SlamDunkMusic.

Are you planning on hitting Slam Dunk South 2016? Let us know your favourite announcement @TridentMediaUK.

Introducing Forward Women: building an online personal brand Nariece Sanderson | Contributing Writer

After accidentally tweeting her way into her career, Katie Allanson (social media director for Jamie Oliver) gave the ambitious female audience some top tips at The Guardian’s ‘Introducing Forward Women’ event. Here is what the 18­22 year­ olds learnt about creating an online personal brand.

Create a brilliant biography and personalise!

A quality biography tells the reader a great deal about who you are. They can include your interests, fields of expertise or even career ambitions. This level of detail may open more interest in what you can do and can come across as a sort of online CV, particularly for potential employers. To catch the eye of opportunity, it is a good idea to personalise your page. Upload a nice profile picture and cover photo. Create a visually pleasing space for your future followers to see What’s your thing?

In order to attract a strong online audience, it may be necessary to specify the prime topic of conversation. For instance, if you are interested in food, make your Twitter about that. Follow your fellow foodies and allow them to follow you. Tweet links to your favourite recipes and some of your finest culinary photographs. This way your target audience will clearly know what you are all about.

Whatever it is, make sure it is your passion!

Remember... they are people too!

Social networks are a great way of communicating with people that inspire you. When you are online, remember real people are likely to

see what you post. Bear in mind that anyone can see what you do on social media, including bosses and relatives! It is a good idea to clean up your old social media pages and lose a few risky posts.

Keep on sharing As your audience increases, it is very important to keep your content flowing. Updating regularly can build up interest in your personal brand, as well as reminding your followers of your online existence. To keep your fingers right on the pulse, you could use online tools such as Tweetdeck to schedule the posting of your tweets. It’s also important to be responsive to online interaction to show that you are engaged with what you post about, and also care for what your audience has to say.

The hashtag is your best friend The #hashtag is a loveable invention that has made online networking a lot easier. On many platforms including Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram, the hashtag can be used to track down very specific posts about your chosen topic.

It allows you to find out what is being discussed online at that moment too. On Twitter, ‘trending topics’ are often recognised through hashtags, as a they link your tweet to a specific discussion. This allows your tweet to become more traceable and interactive, ensuring your personal brand is being introduced to many new people! As well as hash­ tagging, it is also useful to tag the names of who or what you are talking about in your posts. This way, fans of similar interests can read what you have to say, as well as the topic you are discussing.

Now for a few final points of advice: Get interacting! Throw out some questions online to fire up some conversation. Also, your success doesn’t have to be measured in how many followers or fans you have. As long as you have passion and persevere, you never know what opportunities will present themselves.

News 4 •

Who runs the world?

The Guardian’s Introducing Forward Women’s conference Laura Slingo | News Editor

On the 18th November, The Guardian launched their first ever Introducing Forward Women conference for women aged 18­22.

Hosted by The Guardian’s editor for Women in Leadership, Harriet Minter, the event aimed to show young women what it means to be a woman in today’s professional­sphere. Minter opened the event through sharing her opinion on the position of women in our culture: “So we’re often told as women that it’s not good to be too forward, you don’t want to be too pushy, too ambitious. But I really want today to challenge that idea because I think it is good to be forward, and I think it is good to go and push yourself out of your comfort zone and to ask for things and to go a little bit further than you think you can.”

The stage went on to hold some notable successful women from various industries who shared their experiences on entering their field of work. Alison Rose, CEO of commercial banking and finance sharing her experiences in investment banking and how “demanding and exciting [such a] diverse career” looking after 16,000 people in addition to small businesses, entrepreneurs’ corporate businesses all the way up to the FTSE 100.

Laura Slingo

Breakout sessions went on to teach the ambitious female attendees ‘The power of profile’ by Vanessa Vallely, managing director of We Are the City; ‘Mastering social media and building your personal brand’

by Katie Allanson, YouTube chef at Katie Pix and social media manager of The Jamie Oliver Group and ‘First impressions: building confidence through body awareness’ by Nina Smith and Libby Northedge, Twisted Loaf.

The aim each of these specialised sessions was to explore in detail specific skills and techniques such as LinkedIn profiles and body language in interviews in order to make sure that you are the most successful candidate when applying for a job or entering an industry as a professional.

The calibre of women at the conference was of a substantial height including a panel discussion on being women in business with Lucy Emptage, eFX trader, RBS; Carrie Osman, chief provocateur, Cruxy & Co and co­ founder, Mad Brands; Mair Rowlands, Vale of Clwyd parliamentary candidate 2015, Plaid Cymru ­the Party of Wales; and Naomi himada, model.

With such varied industries covered, the discussion went on to explore the difficulties of being a woman in each industry, how this is changing in society through challenging stereotypes and dealing with entering male­ saturated industries.

Other speakers of the day included, journalist and TV presenter Billie J D Porter, Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney, beauty blogger Lily Pebbles, Katie Herridge Saville Consulting, author Samantha Shannon and Olympic athlete Perri Shakes­Drayton who explored what it means to be a

woman in their field of work, coming from different backgrounds and upbringings and what success means to them.

Minter provided UniVerse with exclusive comment regarding entering journalism as a woman today: “What’s been really fantastic in the last three or four years is there’s been this massive uprising and a culture created in supporting other women, and that has really been down to a few very loud­ mouthed female journalists who started a few years ago and stood up and said it’s great to be a woman and we need to shout about it and to point out areas wher it’s difficult and we need to change those areas. That actually has now created a real trend in improving it and making it better.”

Laura Slingo

Laura Slingo

With such a push for women in the working world and events such as Introducing Forward Women taking place, it is fair to say that everyone knows the answer to the question continuously posed throughout the day: ‘Who runs the world?’ Girls.

Strong, ambitious and immensely powerful ‘girls’.

Laura Slingo

News in Brief The importance of the vote for students Tom Boon | Contributing Writer Students are being reminded to register to vote before the local elections in April. The parliamentary boundaries of the UK will be redrawn based on the number of people registered to vote on the 1st December.

While it’s too late to register by this deadline, it’s not too late to register to vote in the 2016 elections, which will see all of the local council seats up for re­ election, in addition to the Police and Crime Commissioner position for the county.

It is important to register to vote as this is your way of gaining representation on local and national issues. What’s more, as a full­time student living at university, you can register to vote in Local Elections in Welwyn Hatfield and at home.

A spokesperson from the National Union of Students said: “Where people are not registered to vote, they will be under­ represented in parliament – it’s vital that we act now to ensure that students’ voices are heard in 2016.”

You can register to vote online at gov.uk/register­to­vote.

Have you registered to vote? Let us know why @TridentMediaUK.

• News 5

Students lend a hand at Volunteering Week Aaron Hurst | Contributing Writer

The University of Hertfordshire was filled with generosity during Volunteering Week (19th­ 25th October), with a range of activities organised for the University community to participate in.

The spirit of ‘giving something back’ had a heavy presence on Twitter with #HertsGoodDeeds being stamped across social media throughout the week as students shared and celebrated their good deeds.

The many selfless acts of goodness shared on Twitter included a lecturer allowing a lunch break during a 3­hour workshop, students helping carry a pram down stairs, and a student buying McDonalds for the homeless.

Key events took place throughout the week;

it kicked off on Monday 19th October with the Trident Media team hanging out at the Forum Foyer to hear staff and students’ acts of spreading generosity and kindness.

On Tuesday, the return of 5 Minute Volunteering commenced in the Atrium on De Hav, as well as a talk about the Movember campaign.

Wednesday saw visits to the Bayfordbury Conservation to help improve the lives of the wildlife residing there, in addition to a cake sale organised by East African Playgrounds.

On Thursday, a volunteering social took place in Hutton Hall, followed by another bout of 5 Minute Volunteering.

Friday AKA ‘Wear it Pink Day’ initiated the start of Breast Cancer Awareness month. In addition, it saw Marrow encouraging UH students

Park and Ride Price Rise Cancelled Cathal Charker | Contributing Writer

Following a meeting two weeks ago, the University of Hertfordshire has decided to change its plans to increase prices for the Park and Ride bus service. Originally planning to increase the price from 20p to £1, the plans have now been changed, thanks in large part to the actions of the Students’ Union and in particular Students’ Union President, Jack Amos, and Vice President of Democracy and Services, Grainne O’Monghain.

Previously the University had placed the prices at 50p a person to ride the Park and Ride bus from the car park, this was put down to 20p last year due to heavy building works on campus.

For the academic year starting 2015, the University originally decided to raise the price to £1 in order to bring it in­line with other Uno buses and to discourage people from bringing their cars to University to lower carbon emissions.

In a meeting with the University’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, Ian Campbell, on Tuesday 13th October, Jack Amos explained the Students’ Union’s position on the matter, stating that the price rise was too much and made little sense. Ultimately it was decided to leave the price at 50p, when asked about it, Amos stated that he was

“Really happy with the result,” and that overall his action would, “save students over £25,000 across the academic year.”

We also asked Amos whether he believed the issue was done and dusted or if it would surface again, to which he responded, “I very much doubt it. The University spends a lot subsidising

the Park and Ride service, and they will be keen to recuperate more of this money if they can.”

However, when asked if the Union would respond if the issue arose again, Amos stated, “[Herts Students’ Union] will always act on the feedback of students... so if the issue arises again, I’m sure there’ll be a response.” When asked about whether there was more to be done about the Park and Ride service and its policies, Grainne O’Monghain talked about having the service charge per vehicle rather than per person in order to increase the use of car pooling, which would also fall in­ line with the University’s desire to reduce carbon emissions.

Amos said that he will,

“Fight for student rights every day, to ensure that students receive a fair deal during their time at Herts.”

to donate bone marrow in an effort to save lives.

Adding to this jam­-packed day, Trash Mob took over the local area, comprising of a group of students who took time out of their schedule to help improve the environment by picking up and binning litter around Bishops Rise and Woods Avenue.

The week was finally rounded off on the Sunday with a pub quiz at Ele House, run by UH Think, a student­ -led project raising money for Mind charity.

Overall, the week was a success with #HertsGoodDeeds gaining web­ wide recognition, highlighting a high level of involvement throughout the week by staff and students alike. It has placed hopes for an equally strong Volunteering Week at UH in subsequent years.

News in Brief Whining and Dining: New Wetherspoons opens in Hatfield Tom Boon | Contributing Writer

The latest addition to the Hatfield pub scene sees Harpsfield Hall opening its doors in Parkhouse Court to welcome Wetherspoons, which is due to be officially opened at 10am on Tuesday, 1st December.

The pub, which has been in the pipeline since early 2008, has a spacious interior which draws heavily on the town’s aviation heritage.

Examples of this are the three booths made of Boeing 747 engine parts, a coffee table made out of parts of an aircraft engine, and the vast number of aviation-related articles on the walls and ceiling. Trident Media were fortunate enough to be invited to review the restaurant ahead of its opening.

Chris Olssen, the manager of the pub was asked why students would chose to go to Harpsfield Hall. He said: “We offer great value on food and drink with deals such as our club deals most days which include a meal and a drink.”

Hatfield Wetherspoons doesn’t just seem to be a place to eat and drink. It strikes us as a place to go to sit and do work; especially during the day with free filter coffee refills before 2pm and free WiFi. What’s not to like?

Read the full review on tridentmedia.org

6 •News News•6

Tuition Fees to rise again?

Tom Boon | Contributing Writer The government has announced plans to increase university tuition fees above £9,000 a year at universities with ‘better’ ratings. This comes after the fees for higher education were fixed at £9,000 by the coalition government in 2012.

The proposals set out in the Green Paper are intended to ensure that students get value for money from their course, saying: “We will reward excellent teaching with reputational and financial incentives”. Whilst this means that some universities will receive more money from educating students and a higher budget to put towards the cost, it also means that students could leave university with even more debt than recent years.

Currently, a typical student on a three year course will have a £27,000 debt on tuition fees by the end of study. If that student then earns £30,000 a year, it will currently take them approximately 33.5 years to pay for their tuition fees alone, that’s if they do not receive a

promotion or pay rise.

When approached for comment, Jack Amos, President of Hertfordshire Students’ Union said: “I am worried of the impact that allowing universities to charge over £9000 because there is ‘good teaching’ under the Teaching Excellence Framework. Students expected good teaching when the fees were closer to £3000 and definitely do now they are paying £9000. They should not be paying more because of a good quality of teaching.

“There is strong concern that the TEF, alongside the changes from maintenance grants to repayable loans, will increase the price tag of higher education even further, and the poorest of students will be the worst affected.”

The Minister of State for Universities and Science commented in the green paper: “The regulation of higher education must evolve to champion value for money for students making big lifetime investments.”

This indicates that the

government want to put more emphasis on a university education as a product that students are paying for. The NUS responded to the green paper on Friday 6th November, with NUS National President, Megan Dunn, saying: “Change should be driven by the people at the heart of the system – students, teachers and staff. It will not be good enough for the government and institutions to decide what is in students’ interests without asking them.”

When asked for comment, Stan Tunstall, a Welwyn, Hatfield Conservative councillor said: “When tuition fees were first introduced, I didn’t like the principle. However, once I understood people would only need to repay their student loan once their income exceeded a threshold that seemed fair. The problem I now see is if the amount that universities charge becomes too high, it could deter people from attending university. I’m against the proposal.”

A Welwyn Hatfield Labour Councillor, James Broach, commented: “It is only fair that it

PixaBay is the contents of a student’s brain, and not the family bank balance, that should dictate the ability to access higher education.”

The number of students in higher education has exceeded half a million for the first time and more students from disadvantaged backgrounds are going to university than ever before. This is fantastic news and shows the Government’s reforms are working as students understand they do not have to pay up front to go to university.”

As this is only a Green Paper, there is yet to be confirmation as to whether the changes are to go through. If you have an interest you can voice your thoughts by contacting your local MP.

What do you think of the proposals to increase fees? Tweet us @TridentMediaUK

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist’s lecture filled up the Weston Auditorium Carolin Simon | Contributing Writer Apparently, UH’s chancellor, The Hon Marquess of Salisbury, made a good decision nine months ago when he invited award­ winning journalist, Anne Applebaum, to talk at his annual lecture. ‘Putin: A Great Strategist or a Great Improvisator?’ drew in a diverse audience, ranging from representatives of various County Councils to UH students.

In an interview before the lecture, the journalist said, “I will be discussing one of the most underrated problems of our time, namely the problems of a revanchist Russia.” Her talk covered Putin’s goals and fear of open criticism and Western democracy. One of the Russian President’s overall goals is to “delegitimise the West as a source of inspirations for Russians,” Applebaum said.

According to Applebaum, Putin is playing with the idea of an invasion to generate fear. She said that by hinting at the fact that he might march into the Baltic States and by buzzing air spaces, Putin forces the West to ask the question of whether the NATO would become active. His strategy is to demonstrate Western weakness. A breakdown of the EU

would not be too hard to imagine, Applebaum said, and concluded, “He pushes on open doors.”

Even though Applebaum thinks that options for the West are limited, she named a few such as sanctions, building up defences and reinforcing the NATO. “We need to be clear what our rules are,” she said and emphasised a need to reinforce our institutions, democracy and media.

Anne Applebaum has worked for several British, as well as other countries’, newspapers and is currently working as a columnist for the Washington Postand the Online Magazine Slate. She extensively covered the topics of communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe in her writing. From 1988 – 1991 she reported the collapse of the Soviet Union for the Economist magazine.

In 2004 she won the Pulitzer Prize in non­fiction for her book Gulag: A History, which, based on archives, memoirs and interviews, lays open the Soviet concentration camp system and daily life in the camps.

She visited UH for the first time for the Chancellor’s Lecture and was welcomed at a fully booked event.

The Chancellor’s Lectures take place annually and are a series of free public

Pete Stevens

lectures. For last year’s lecture, the Chancellor had invited Matt Ridley, claimed to be one of Britain’s most read controversialists. The lectures are also available online on iTunes.

Pete Stevens

News 7 •

Cathal Charker

Welwyn Hatfield Times

New QEII Hospital Robert Wheatley | Lifestyle Editor The New QEII hospital had its official opening on 6th November, by the Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, the Minister of State for Community and Social care, as well as Chief Executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens.

The event was attended by various NHS staff and patients including 27 ­ year­ old Phil Nicholls, a member of local group for people with learning disabilities, the Purple All Stars. Phil, along with Welwyn Garden City resident, 10­year­old Evan Taylor, helped unveil the commemorative plaque alongside the Chief Executive.

New facilities include the Urgent Care Centre, which is open 24 hours a day; outpatient services; diagnosis and day treatments; out of hour GP services and different therapy services.

UniVerse were given a tour of the new facilities, the designs were reminiscent of something you would see in a gallery or museum.

Each section was sleek, modern, but perhaps most importantly, colourful and attractive.

UniVerse came across Dagmar Louw, one of the Senior Sisters, who showed us the artwork on the walls. These can be seen throughout the hospital: wonderful, surrealist landscape paintings that really suit the new facilities.

What was also taken into consideration were the needs of young adults and children, for which a specific outpatient area was created on the second floor where they will also receive their occupational therapy or physiotherapy. While more suited to younger children, the interiors were bright and cheerful.

The new hospital’s design was

a result of a competition between architects. The winners, Penoyre & Presade, have also designed other health facilities, their design was chosen for its accessibility and inspirational design.

UniVerse asked director Tony Fowles of Assemble, the company who employed the architect and leases the building, why this design was chosen: “It was more on their understanding of how the pathways would work, as an architect, and how the whole thing would actually work as a patient inside a building. “... there’s a lot of glass, it’s very bright inside so you’ve got a lot of natural lighting; and it’s naturally ventilated which is quite important these days, so you don’t get the issues with air conditioning in a stale environment.”

The Purple All Stars group also took part in the opening of the hospital, performing three of their musical numbers, one asking for those with learning difficulties to get what they need from health professionals, and another which corrects our presumptions about hand washing to ensure this is done correctly. They use the acronym T.E.A.C.H. to help present this: ‘T’ standing for timing, meaning more time should be given; ‘E’ for environment, for accessible settings; ‘A’ is for attitude, meaning the attitude towards those with a learning disability; ‘C’ referring to communication, and the different ways one may wish to do so; and ‘H’ for help, to ensure that ultimately, they are getting the help they need.

After the performances, UniVerse spoke to Kate Harding, a Creative Care Practitioner with the

Health Liaison Team. Kate’s role as a nurse is to support people with learning difficulties when they access health settings, to make sure reasonable adjustments are made.

She said: “It’s important to know about reasonable adjustments if they [NHS staff] work within that health setting, and so that’s why we’ve been invited here today to talk about reasonable adjustments and the T.E.A.C.H. acronym.” “... It’s just about making people aware that people with learning disabilities may need extra help and may need extra things put in place for them.”

The opening ceremony finished with a speech from the Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP who spoke of the New QEII’s benefits for local residents, praised those behind the new facilities and finally declared the hospital to be “well and truly open”. Senior Sister Dagmar Louw then presented him with a framed version of one of her paintings, as a gift from staff.

After the ceremony, UniVerse was able to catch up with former Councillor of Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield, who also influenced the New QEII’s design.

He said: “I was keen to see community use; I was keen to see some relationship, some interface with the community whereas previously the old QEII, under the old regulations of the NHS, was seen to be there as a big building... there was a definite thrust to make sure that there was continuing dialogue with the community.”

When asked his opinion on whether he thought the design would be beneficial to patients, he said: “I’ve been here two or three

times as a patient, and I’ve found that the impression you get on coming away is that it’s bright, it’s airy, it’s cheerful; and I must say this has had an effect on staff as well, as they feel themselves to be happier.”

More information including New QEII’s opening times, what facilities it has, and what campaigns are currently running under the NHS to help improve your health can be found on its website at: newqeii.info.com

Robert Wheatley

News 8 •

The guide to getting your house for next year

Annie Writer

Cracknell

|

Contributing

Dear Fresher, So it’s already time to start thinking about a house for next year.

Can you believe, your first semester hasn’t even finished yet and already you’re having to think about where you are going to live next year? If you leave it too long; it starts getting harder to find somewhere for you and your friends. Not to worry, I have devised a guide for you to follow on how to get your housing sorted first time around.

Step one:

This is the most important step. Before you even think about looking at houses, you have to work out who you are going to live with.

Think about this carefully. You need to get on with these people for the whole of next year. Make sure you are all on the same page and that you have a budget for your house sorted.

You want to make your budget clear as you don’t want people dropping out further down the line because they can’t afford the place you are looking at. Also, don’t stress if you cannot find anyone to live with at first, there are always people who will be looking. You just have to do your research and ask around. There are accommodation options that are similar to halls for second and third years also.

Step two: So, now you know who you are living with. It’s time to decide where you are going to live in Hatfield (or even the surrounding areas if you are feeling adventurous). Personally, I decided to live near the campus I was studying at. This was de Havilland, so I thought I had better look at places in nearby Salisbury Village, which has a great reputation as a student village. However, if all your classes are over on College Lane, there are still some great places on Bishops Rise and surrounding the Asda superstore. If most of your classes are on one campus but the majority of your housemates are on the other, then I’m afraid the majority wins, you may have to do a bit more travelling to get to class but that’s what comes with the territory.

Step three: By now you should be aware of where you want to live. It’s time for the most exciting bit of the whole process – choosing your house!

Based on your location, property will vary in price. For example, property in Salisbury Village will be a bit more expensive than say property on Bishops Rise, just because it is slightly more popular. Depending on your property, you may have to go through a letting agency. This is normal and very common for student accommodation. There are mixed reviews about letting agencies as you will have to pay administration fees and obviously put a deposit down to secure your house, but that’s unfortunately just how it works.

Landlords don’t usually like to get involved in student lettings because they have most likely faced problems like people not paying rent on time.

If you can find a landlord, then that is great and I would thoroughly recommend going with one as it cuts out the middle man, but make sure he/she is trusted and that you have common ground when discussing your property. You have to make sure that every one of your housemates

herts.ac.uk

is comfortable with every step you take in the process. There are a lot of letting agencies and estate agents in Hatfield, to name a few: LetSU your universities own letting agency who charge no admin fees; Moving Places, Raine and Co., Pikes Estate Agents and Kings Estate Agents. You can view property online on their websites but I would suggest going into the actual estate agent that you choose and speaking to an agent. It’s much quicker this way and everyone can be told the same thing at once.

Step four: This is the final step. You should have some properties in mind that you and your housemates are keen on now. Now it’s about deciding which is ‘the one’. Please don’t ever make a decision on a place before going to see it in person with your agent. I recommend all people from your party going to view the house, it’s for all of you to see and make a decision on, not just a couple. You really need to see if you can live there with these people and you need to be comfortable with the overall condition of your house. It helps if there are students already in the property you are viewing, they’ll be able to tell you the good and bad of what they have experienced with your house. Before you sign any contracts, make sure everyone is in agreement that they want the same house and are happy with the money they are spending.

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Comment 10 •

Pixabay

Snooper’s Charter: Is this invading our privacy?

Oliver Price | News Manager

Theresa May, the Conservative Home Secretary, has recently spoken about her new security bill, the Draft Communications Data Bill, which has been dubbed the, “Snoopers Charter” (real name: Investigatory Powers Bill). May has, so far, been vague about what the specifics of the bill entail. However, it appears that the bill will force Internet Service Providers (i.e. the people who give you your internet connection) to store everyone’s browsing history for an entire year, so that if the police or security services need to access the data to prevent terrorism or stop crime, they can.

This means that one weird video that you looked up that one time, or that really inappropriate joke you made on WhatsApp while drunk, will be stored by the likes of TalkTalk for a whole year.

TalkTalk recently had thousands of their customers’ credit information stolen, if they cannot be trusted to keep information that they actually want under lock and key safe, how can they be trusted with sensitive browsing data that they don’t really care about?

Once this browsing data is stored, someone unscrupulous will try (and probably succeed) in accessing it. Be it hackers trying to blackmail people for money, threatening to reveal their weird habits or private messages, or even people blackmailing politicians to sway democracy in their favour. This

endangers everyone who needs to keep any data private.

Another issue surrounding Snoopers Charter that is mentioned is the idea of “banning encryption”.

Encryption is used everyday in our normal internet usage from your iMessages to credit card info. The government want to make it so that they can access any encryption or have a “back door”.

This means effectively giving the government the keys to any encryption. Of course once the keys are all stored on one central government server it makes hacking that server extremely valuable in the wrong hands. Giving the government these “back doors” creates a treasure trove of keys that, if hacked, will result in valuable information from many companies, including people’s credit card information, getting leaked even more easily than it might do currently.

Even if you aren’t worried about losing your credit card information, the Snoopers’ Charter is, in my opinion, an unwarranted breach of everyone’s privacy. “I don’t care if the government have my data as long as they save one person from a terrorist attack,” you might say.

However, I see no reason why this spying will help anyone. If a security agency want to target and intercept suspected terrorists’ data they already can. What the Snoopers Charter will do is increase that spying to everyone, almost assuming everyone’s guilt.

If anything, this new tidal wave of data will be nigh­ on impossible to efficiently sift through.

In essence, they have gone from searching for a needle in a haystack to a needle in a football field.

As the government (and anyone else who wishes to access the data) have access to every single conversation you have, the Charter basically removes everyone’s rights to privacy, and I personally value mine.

If you take away the fact that cameras and microphones in every room in the country cost far too much to implement for it to actually be feasible, I see no reason why the Home Secretary would not put telescreens (read 1984) in everyone’s homes.

The logic is exactly the same, if it’s okay to spy on everyone’s digital lives, why not their physical lives? If you are in favour of snooping on people’s internet activity then why not their physical activity too? Would you let the government put a camera and microphone into every single room in your house... including the bathroom?

So there it is, The Snoopers’ Charter. In my opinion, it’s a terrible infringement on our privacy, and makes your data insecure. It is nothing short of George Orwell’s worst nightmare.

The opinions expressed here are the author’s own, and are not endorsed by Trident Media of Hertfordshire Students’ Union.

• Comment 11

China abolishes one-child policy, but is it too late for China?

April Wilson | Contributing Writer

On 29th October 2015, China abolished its infamous one­ child policy in favour of a new two­ child policy in order to increase the birth rate. This is in order to ease the struggle with its ageing population that today stands at 12 per cent of the population.

However, there are many who fear that this new policy will not be enough to rectify the problems caused by the one­ child policy. This is because the primary problem at the heart of the policy has not been addressed, the unbalanced population in terms of gender. In a census taken in 2010 in China, there were 118 boys to 100 girls, which is far above the average sex difference of 105 boys to 100 girls.

China then needs to realise that with not enough girls being born, there is and will continue to be less marriages taking place, and consequently less children. This means the younger population will continue to die out, putting more and more of a strain on the young population that is left to take care of the ageing population that continues to grow.

Chinese women then need to be elevated in Chinese society; they need to have value and respect.

They need to be desired, and not as a sexual object, which has become a problem as more of China’s male population becomes frustrated that they will never find a wife, according to Steve Tsang: “We are talking about between 20 million and 30 million young men who are not going to be able to find a wife. That creates social problems and that creates a huge number of people who are frustrated”.

This has therefore caused China to experience a spike in sex trafficking and bride buying. Mei Fong, author of One Child: The Past And Future Of China’s Most Radical Experiment talks about how “there are basically too many horny, young men in China with no brides”.

This is a lighthearted way of saying it but what she says is the truth, the problem lies in women only being valued for being wives.

So while some see this change of policy as representing a change towards more freedom for the Chinese people; for some it isn’t enough. The call is still out there for more freedom. As long as the family unit is still state­planned and a woman’s reproductive system still a product of the state, China will not be free from the stigma of women being worthless and so, will just further go into decline.

Features• 12 • 14 Features

Does UH have a Hankering for Hoverboards?

Robert Wheatley | Lifestyle Editor

UniVerse recently ran a survey for University of Hertfordshire students regarding Swegways or, as they are more commonly known, hoverboards – essentially, a handleless Segway. The scooters gained popularity around summer this year, with celebrities like Wiz Khalifa and Jamie Foxx riding them at concerts or on TV shows in the US and, more recently, in the UK.

Respondents were asked if they had seen hoverboard usage around the University, and how frequently this had been. Out of 47 that answered, 42 had spotted people using the devices, with over half claiming they had seen them every day, or most days; they were commonly spotted around the de Havilland campus.

Opinions on their popularity were mixed, with some slating the swegway, some having a hankering for them, and others in­ between. A few wondered if the scooters would promote laziness or obesity, with one female respondent commenting: “I think they’re awful as they pure and

Ben Larcey - Flickr simply promote laziness.”

19­-year-­old Alice Connolly also saw the device as inducing laziness: “They’re encouraging laziness. You might as well just walk and save yourself a lot of money.”

The concepts of walking and money appeared in quite a few comments, with some highlighting the expense of the vehicles, which can cost up to £400, costing more if they include in­ built Bluetooth speakers.

Cheaper versions can be purchased through online auction websites such as eBay for almost half this amount, though customers may wish to go to official retailers to ensure the quality of their device.

Not all comments were negative, with 24­ -year-­ old Leong noting the entertainment value they offer: “It is pretty cool and unique but after seeing it almost everywhere the excitement goes away.”

Another looked at how it could encourage people to be more active, but also highlighted a legal issue that made the news in October: “They’re cool and I guess they encourage

people to get out more. But I don’t think they’re very safe near roads.”

Hoverboards are not actually allowed by, or in, roads under guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service. Like segways, hoverboards cannot be used on the road as they cannot be licensed like a vehicle. They also cannot be driven on pathways –sort of a Schrodinger’s vehicle.

When asked what students thought about the ban, answers were also mixed, though most felt some form of regulation was needed.

Some felt that hoverboards should be banned from both roads and pathways, with Guy Hale commenting:

“... For roadways, they’re too slow and would cause a big impact on traffic, and for public pathways the number of times I’ve seen people fall off or otherwise lose control would suggest they’re a bit of a menace.”

Others noted the safety issues for hoverboard users themselves: “I think they present a clear danger to the user if they take them on public roadways...”

An interesting theme was the idea of utilising the cycle paths some roads and pathways have. 20­ -year­ old Louise Hal­fead said:

“... maybe using the cycle lane would be more appropriate and using the road is pretty dangerous even for bicycles sometimes.”

It does seem more plausible, seeing as bicycles are also not legally allowed to be ridden on public pathways, although we would have to consider how cyclists would navigate around hoverboards and take into consideration the possibility of the hoverboard user falling from the vehicle into the road or potentially a cyclist.

Like the Segway, the hoverboard can be used on private land, which includes UH campuses.

If hoverboards are indeed as popular as the survey suggests, perhaps some of their respective drivers may just need to consider other pedestrians a little more.

Grumpy Corner: Crazy Shoppers, Enough is Enough Amy Dodwell | Contributing Writer

One thing you may not be expecting me to say is that I love Christmas. I love the lights, the music, the films, the presents and the family time.But you know what I don’t love? How crazy people turn the closer Christmas gets.

I’m sure everyone will agree with me over this, especially when it comes to hitting the shops. But why do people get like this? You see people starting to get ready for the ‘big day’ as early as October, but when the last few days leading to Christmas arrive, everyone can still be seen running around the shops stressing that they haven’t bought enough.

Working in retail myself, I have experienced the wrath of crazy customers first­ hand. It’s not nice and customers need to remember that we’re people too. But of course, we can’t remind them that ourselves because we have to smile and be

polite. The customer is always right, right?

Wrong. It isn’t our fault that we have run out of tinsel, or sold the last bauble. Christmas comes around every single year, so people must have realised by now that decorations sell out pretty quickly during the run up to Christmas. We cannot magic them out of thin air when we don’t have any more.

Most customers seem to forget that we’re only trying to do our job. Christmas should be about spending some relaxing time with family, not running around the shops frantically trying to find someone a present, just for the sake of it.

Forget good tidings and great joy, all of that goes out of the window when you’re trying to get the last turkey. And as for Christmas being all about giving, the only thing you might be given is a sharp nudge with a trolley.

Powhusku - Flickr

• Features 13

Hatfield House Frost Fair Laura Slingo | News Editor

Marking the start of the Christmas season, Hatfield House’s annual Frost Fair took place from 26th to 29th November. Fine foods, festive arts and crafts, street entertainers and more took over the Old Palace, the Riding School, Stable Yard and heated marquees on Palace Green of the Jacobean estate.

Despite the dark grey skies and the drizzle, the Fair was buzzing with children, families, students, locals and those from afar to scout out creative treasures.

Amongst the business of the toasty marquee, a crowd gravitated towards a table decorated with a selection of patterned mugs, tea towels and candles. Designer, Karen Barnes, revealed that she had only launched her businessWren Barnes six weeks ago. This was her first time displaying her collection at the Frost Fair, a relatively new experience for

her in general, but her elegant home accessories certainly gained a lot of interest from Hatfield locals.

Standing up to tradition, the Frost Fair had plenty of delicious treats to try and buy. Tonia and Carlo Nigrelli, with their moreish products from The Gorgeous Jam Collection, handed spoons to the intrigued crowd who lapped up dollops of sticky jam. Combining traditional seasonal flavours with a twist of the peculiar, the Nigrelli’s jam is knock­ out, especially the strawberry espresso!

Mouth­watering pastries, roast chestnuts, mulled wine and hearty pork sausages stuffed in a bun fuelled shoppers throughout the day as they muddled through stalls of jewellery, chocolate, wood carvings, beauty products, handcrafted home accessories and even a trip to see Father Christmas! It certainly was a warming start to the festive season.

Crush Radio: why, when, how?

Louise Hal-Fead | Contributing Writer

Crush Radio is the University of Hertfordshire’s very own radio station, which is broadcasted from the College Lane campus. Crush has two stations: Crush Radio, the more mainstream station for the latest music, news about the campus and a host of entertainment based shows in the evening; Crush Underground, which is the more alternative station allowing us to cover all student interests. Shows range from ‘The Nerd Heard’ to heavy metal shows.

According to Radio Manager, Robert Gammon, “Underground also hosts live DJ mixes and is working with the DJ society to run DJ training sessions.”

When asked why people should listen to Crush, Gammon replied, “People should listen to Crush because it has all the latest news, all events that you want to know about, plus exclusive interviews. There are also normally some good giveaways as we work with The Forum, Hertfordshire.”

Crush has been keeping busy training new members with special sessions, one of which was with The Pips. “We have also hosted a few events and outside broadcasts in The Forum. I would also keep an eye out for ‘Crushmas’ which is under planning” Gammon commented.

“I am about to put the Christmas songs on the system so we should have a fair amount of

Christmas spirit around the Crush studios. Crushmas, as I said, is under planning. We have a lot of plans for a big special event and working with TV and Print to give you a Christmas that you won’t forget with Crush.”

You can tune into Crush Radio and Crush Underground online via tridentmedia.org/crush or listen to 1278am around campus. Crush also live tweet all their shows at #crushradio – let them know you’re tuned in and get in touch with the presenters and DJs! Interested in your own show? Email headofradio@tridentmedia.org to find out more or go to our website tridentmedia.org.

Laura Slingo

Laura Slingo

Laura Slingo

Laura Slingo

Your student radio listings Crush Radio and Underground are the countires oldest student campus radio channels! You can listen in at TridentMedia.org or download the app: TuneIn Radio

Monday

9-11am: Morning Rae of Sunshine 1-2pm: Crystal’s Crush 5-7pm: Drivetime with Kieran Toman 7-9pm: The Notorious Show

Monday

10-12am: Monday Morning Mess 12-2pm: Edward H 4-6: RadioGraffiti 6-8pm: The Nerd Heard 8-10: The Music Exchange 10-12pm: That Radio Show

Tuesday

1-3pm: Stephanie 7-9pm: Late Night Lionel 9-11pm Blondie Brownie

Tuesday

Wednesday

9-11pm: Sports Breakfast 5-7pm: Drivetime with Alex and Matt 7-9pm: Chart Show

2-4pm: Take Time with Tom 4-6: Matt Snowden 6-8pm: The Maple Leaf Forever 10-12pm: Yewande and Heather

Thursday

Friday

9-11: Hangover Breakfast 4-5pm: Amy on Crush 5-7pm: Ramble on the Radio 7-9pm: The PhiLOZZAphy 9-11pm: OGC 9-11am: Breakfast with Stewart and Jacky 4-5pm: An Officer, Not a Gentleman 5-7pm: Hollie, Joe and Vicky 7-9pm: The Weekend Warmup 9-11pm: Lakota Rock

Saturday

1-3pm: Oluwatoyin Olufemi

Sunday

4-5pm: Oliver G 6-7pm: Lakota Films

Wednesday 2-4pm: Stephanie 6-8pm: Let’s get ready for Wednesday 8-10pm: Meagan Swann 10-12pm: Chelsey Bonita Thursday

12-2pm: Michael and Kayode 4-6pm:Jwaher H 6-8pm: Glen on Underground 8-10pm: Adam and Owen on Underground 10-12pm: Freeshow

Friday

10-12pm: Panic at the studio 6-8pm: George Willis 8-10pm: Elshus and Josh 10-12p,: Babyface

Saturday

4-6pm: Novolanc 6-8pm: The Weekend Anthem 8-10pm: The Live Lab

Sunday

7-9pm: Jwande’s Journal

Features 14 • Features 14•

Meet your lecturer: Jane Purcell Laura Slingo | News Editor Creative Writing lecturer, Jane Purcell, is one of the most interesting people I have ever had the chance to interview. Down­to­earth and witty, she gave me a no­nonsense insight into the life of a lecturer at UH, but more so, into the life of a professional writer.

What made you decide to teach at university level?

I sent in my cv to Hertfordshire, even though there wasn’t an actual job going because I liked their approach to teaching creative writing, (their tutors all work as professional writers). Dr Pat Wheeler called me in for an interview and asked if I could write a course on Young Adult literature.

Before freelancing, I was an editor at Random House Children’s books, so that, and blagging, got me the job. I’d never written a university course before though, so I was petrified.

What classes do you teach at the University of Hertfordshire?

Dark Materials: Young Adult Literature, The Writer’s Art: An Introduction to Creative Writing and Radio Writing: From Page to Production.

Are there currently other professional responsibilities you have alongside your teaching With so much literature in the world, how do you career? E.g. any writing projects you are working choose the final reading list for each class? on?

I have a couple of professional projects

I try to choose at least one debut novel which going on. I don’t mean to be gnomic but I hate shows that unknown writers do get published. talking about them. Trying to explain and seeing With student finances in mind, I also try to track people’s bemused expressions crushes my down short stories online. When the students have confidence, so I keep quiet. “Oh yeah that sounds to buy a play, I try to make sure it reflects some er weird . . . ly. . .interesting.” Also talking about aspect of their lives. There’s still a lot of guesswork projects in my case, means not doing projects. though and I change it about each year.

Taking a step outside of the professional­sphere, As a professional, have you always worked in a do you have any other quirky skills, qualifications university? If not, where else do your expertise or experience? lie?

I’ve stroked a great white shark (from

No I’ve only recently started working in a inside a cage!) and done a parachute jump from university. I spent years as a freelance journalist. I 12,000 feet. On landing, I rolled onto the grass and also wrote lots of comedy for radio and television thought, I’ll never be scared of anything again. and more recently, a number of plays and series.

June Purcell

Did you always imagine your career path involving writing and teaching? If not, what was your original career aim?

I always wanted to do something with writing but had no confidence. Also I thought that writing was a deeply serious thing and never considered writing comedy. (I was brought up in the seventies where comedy was stuck in a racist, and sexist phase) But looking back, having some life experience makes for a better writer, and I was definitely a late starter.

What’s your number one piece of advice for students trying to write in a professional capacity?

It’s perfectly acceptable to fail. It is not acceptable to give up.

Study Abroad Blogs: University of Western Sydney Catie Allwright | Contributing Writer

Catie Allwright

Seeing everyone’s Study Abroad blogs has got me feeling all nostalgic about my experience with the University of Western Sydney from July 2012 to July 2013. I honestly cannot believe that it’s been so long since I returned. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish I was back and I’m infinitely jealous of everyone who is still exploring all the corners of the globe!

As I discovered when I got back, everyone normally asked the overwhelming question: “How was it?!” It’s really bloody hard to summarise a year of your life succinctly. “Amazing” is usually my go­to, because I usually don’t have the time to

do myself justice, but I thought I’d share some highlights with you...

I suppose my most salient memories are road-tripping 300 miles north of Sydney with a group of friends, then chilling on the beach with campfires and guitars every night. Jumping out of a plane on my 21st birthday, travelling to Cairns and snorkeling along the Great Barrier Reef. I spent a lot of my days rock jumping in the Blue Mountains or sunbathing on stunning beaches, and a lot of my evenings clubbing in Sydney or hanging out with my new pals.

But I guess that wasn’t really everyday life.

Just like home, there were too many hours spent sleeping and binge watching The Office (although Netflix wasn’t mainstream yet...) or studying and stressing over various assignments and exams.

Culturally it’s very similar to here, except everyone has better accents, is happier and has a tan that’s natural. Plus there’s a bit of a price reversal, food and drink cost the Earth but you can roam it freely as public transport is heavily subsidised; there’s no excuse to not hop on a train somewhere!

I urge anyone who has the opportunity to study abroad to seize it. Imagine how excited and nervous you were to start at the University of Hertfordshire and how incredible it was to settle

into your new life. Now multiply that by a billion, add some long haul flights and some sunshine.

Now you have a slight idea what it’s like to study abroad, and of course, I’m biased towards Australia.

The effervescent cities, the sprawling rainforests, the rugged coasts, the indigenous wildlife; it’s like nowhere else and you have to see it for yourself.

Catie Allwright

• Features 15

Survive Christmas as an Internatinational Student Emily Alvarenga Writer

|

Contributing

As the weather starts to plunge and everyone begins to put up decorations, we realise it’s that magical time of year, and it’s easy to see why people love it. But for many International Students this will be the first time you’re away from home for Christmas. It won’t be easy, but there are so many ways to take make the most of it, and here is a list of things you can do: Keep an open mind: one of the best things about being abroad for the holidays is that you can keep it simple.

As merry as Christmas can be, it can also be quite stressful. Being abroad gives you the opportunity to avoid the stress and embrace the fun. You may never be back in the UK again, so treat it just like any other day and remind yourself to enjoy the time you have here.

Treat yourself: after all it is Christmas, isn’t it? Make this year all about you! Give yourself something to look forward to, whether that means getting dressed up and going to a fancy dinner or ordering the biggest pizza you can find and binge watching Christmas movies.

Stick to your traditions: it’s surprisingly easy to bring your Christmas traditions with you! If you’re used to having your home decorated for the holidays, what’s stopping you from doing just that?

By surrounding yourself with the familiar, you’re sure to feel more at home. Some traditions may be harder to replicate than others, but even the slightest taste of home will make all the difference.

Discover new ones: exploring can lead you to discovering new traditions you may even want to adopt for years to come. London is magical during the holidays. The whole city is decorated and there are various Christmas

events, like holiday markets and pantomimes. Do some research and you’re sure to find some unique English traditions to enjoy.

Plan a special trip: save some money and go somewhere you’ve wanted to go since before you can remember!

Maybe that’s having Christmas dinner in the Great Hall of Hogwarts!

Or going to Spain and laying on the beach. You may find yourself not even giving a second thought to the holiday celebrations going on back home.

Go to a university event: the University of Hertfordshire provides a lot of trips and events to try and include international students, especially around the holidays. Why not checkout the Facebook page and see what events you can go to?

Call your family: if nothing seems to be helping, just call or Skype your family. Keeping in touch with your loved ones will make surviving

Societies at Christmas Bryony Wharfe Contributing Writer With Christmas around the corner, societies at the University are racking up events for the festive period.

If you fancy joining fellow students for regular alcoholic evenings in new places, join their group on

Film Society

Facebook to find out more: UH Pub Society Members 2015/16.

Hertfordshire’s Film Society meet up regularly to watch films together, discuss them and meet new people with similar movie interests. This year, the society have a Christmas Quiz commencing on 17th December at the EleHouse, College Lane. Teams of between 3­5 people will compete for a grand prize with all money raised going one of the University’s RAG charities. As well as this, the society will also be hosting their usual movie showings with a hint of Christmas spirit. Like their Facebook page for more details: University of Hertfordshire Film Society.

Pub Society All hail to the ale, cheers for the beers. The University’s Pub Society meets every Thursday for drinks around the Hertfordshire area, with at least St Albans every other Thursday. This December they’re planning a Christmas dinner at either The Airfield in Hatfield, the new Wetherspoons opening in Hatfield, or Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London.

Drama Society Each year the Drama Society puts on their own pantomime for Christmas, last year it was Robin Hood, and this year it’s Treasure Island! Three shows will be running over the weekend of the 12th of December. You can get tickets (£4 for adults, £3 for students) from The Forum and the SU website closer to the time, or from them at their weekly meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All money raised will be for the two chosen charities they decide on. They had a Christmas party last year, and this year they plan on a Winter Wonderland trip around the 18th of December.If you want to watch the shows, or are interested in being a part of the society, find them on Facebook and message for more information: Herts SU Drama Society.

Christmas so much easier. After all, it’s normal to miss them. Even in different time zones it’ll definitely be worth it!

It may be tough, but take advantage of being abroad and make your own unique holiday memories.

Remember how lucky you are to be travelling, and you never know, this Christmas may surprise you! With any luck, being homesick won’t even cross your mind. Merry Christmas and happy travels!

Features• 16 • 18 Features

What’s up Herts?

We aim to bring to light what the various wonderful schools of study across the University of Hertfordshire have been up to and what they’ve got planned.

Let us know if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see mentioned in the next instalment!

You can contact us @TridentMediaUK

to do so without labelling or limiting learning.

The seminar will take place in room R115 on de Havilland Campus from 5:00 – 6:30pm. If you would like to attend the seminar please contact Sonia Meneses at s.meneses@herts.ac.uk. The School of Health and Social Work came into effect in 2012 after the University combined the

Hannah-­Rose Bicknell | Features Editor The School of Law lecturer Dr David Gibbs, has been successful in gaining funding from the British Academy. He will work as a mentor on his research projects at the Eastern Academic Research Consortium. It is a great achievement for him, as he now can further his training and learning into the field of quantitative empirical analysis.

Daisy Butcher

The School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics has started training the next generation of astronomers and engineers in Zambia. Principal lecturer in Astronomy, Mark Thompson, taught the first ever Astrophysics course in September, and will continue to train them over the next five years.

The School of Computer Science celebrated their 50th anniversary of the Computer Science degree, which took place on the 13th December. It was a reflection on the University’s achievements and contributions to computing. A gala was hosted at

School of Computer Science will be holding a public lecture on personal computing, with guest speaker, Peter Saffrey, a bioinformatics scientist for Illumina. The lecture will take place on the 21st January 2016, 7:30 – 9:00pm in the Lindop Building on College Lane.

The School of Education is holding a plethora of events over the next few months. The first was held on the 9th December to help young children explore the wonders of science, offering a practical day full of fun. The next event will be on the 13th of January, called ‘Learning Without Limits’ and is going to be run by Angela Wilson and Martyn Vandewalle from Wroxham School. The event will be focusing on teaching techniques and how

The School of Humanities recognised Mass Communication’s student, Lee Ziyang’s win at Hertfordshire’s Flare Ignite Awards, 2015. Lee produced a professional and innovative website, aided by his module at UH in Advanced Web Design, and won the Flare award for Best Design.

In addition, Dr Katrina Navickas, Senior Lecturer in History, and Dr Adam Crymbal, Lecturer of Digital History were honoured with awards at the prestigious British Library Labs Symposium.

Crymbal was recognised for his retrofitted arcade machine, aiming to create a metadata collection from the British Library’s Flickr catalogue. Navikas won the accolade for her digital map which illustrated the history of democracy.

The Political Meetings Mapper aims to bring alive the political debates from history to life through maps from the British Library selection.

Huriyah Quadri | Print Editor

Bryony Wharfe

School of Health and Emergency Professions and the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work.

This year, researchers within the school have submitted a report stating that English schoolgirls are less satisfied with their lives than boys, and they feel more pressure to succeed at school. You can read the full report online at: herts.ac.uk/ about­us/news/2015/october/hbsc­report The Business School has had an exciting few events on in the past month, ranging from the Flare competition, all the way to their bake sale in support of Children in Need. More recently though, Mary Mckinlay, a module leader on the National Centre for Project Management professional and academic programmes, has been awarded a prestigious lifetime Honorary Fellowship of the Association for Project Management for her significant and sustained contributions to the profession.

Hatfield House, following guest speaker, Professor Gordon Bull. The gala was open to all alumni and students who wished to attend. The

Laura Slingo | News Editor

Tom Boon | Contributing Writer

The School of Life and Medical Science revealed that the National Institute for Health Research are funding UH to carry out research on the most effective treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The project is called Optimal Treatment for OCD (OTO). Hertfordshire residents who suspect they have OCD symptoms are encouraged to contact the Clinical Studies Officer, Deela Monji­Patel, if they are interested in taking part. You can also contact Research Nurse, Jasmine Hanson on 01707 253834.

The School of Creative Arts welcomed award winning role­ play game designer and writer, Kenneth Hite, on 2nd December who delivered a MRG talk. They also ran a Creative Industries Employer fair on 8th December which was incredibly informative and eye­ opening. The fair showcased the multitude of pathways open to Creative Arts students, and allowed them to network with employers. Trident Media took part at the fair in order to inform students of the media­ related opportunities available to them at UH. The University also launched the new Architecture course on 16th November which featured a lecture from Sir Peter Cook.

The School of Engineering and Technology welcomed a guest speaker to the University on Wednesday the 18th November. Peter Moore came to the University to talk to students and members of the public about ‘Lightning Protection, Electromagnetic Hazards and Aircraft’. The talk was part of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s range of monthly talks organised by the Hatfield Branch of the organisation. The School regularly hosts these talks on a Wednesday afternoon every month, with the public welcome to attend. The next talk will be about the e­GO aircraft on 16th December in the Lindop Building. More information can be obtained from the School of Engineering.

Bryony Wharfe

• Features 17

Herts own YouTube Stars in the Making: Badger Way Shelby Loasby | Head of Print

to every idea we think of,” explained Bear. They have started posting mini teasers to keep fans on their toes between videos.

The boys have also been setting themselves goals with the videos, and have so far hit every single one. “There’s a really decent success rate with the videos, and we love how polarising they are.” Bear added, “People that say ‘this is cool’ are no use to us; we need people who either love us or hate us and it’s starting to happen. We’re like Justin Bieber.”

Although the comments on the videos are all pretty positive, they have had a few haters. One in particular wrote, “This video gave me aids.”

YouTube is a magical place where hours of your life mysteriously disappear; it’s a place where you can learn things you never thought you wanted to know; it’s a place where talents are discovered, and a place where the weirdest, wackiest videos can make you into a star.

One group that has seized the powers of YouTube is Badger Way. Made up of University of Hertfordshire final year students, Badger Way are growing in popularity with their series of strange, yet relevant, comical music videos. With over 280 subscribers and almost 103k views on their channel, we thought it was time to talk to the masterminds behind the videos.

The future Who are Badger Way? The inspiration

Badger Way is made up of 3D Games Art student, Bear WinterPerreau, and Visual Effects student Alex ‘Spanish Alex’ Baro Cayentano.

The boys share a student house on Badger Way – hence the name – with other housemates, Dan Olabode and Leonardo Scazzocchio, who regularly appear in the videos. Whilst Bear and Spanish Alex generally think of the ideas, shoot and produce the videos, they wouldn’t be able to do it without the criticisms and help they get from Dan, Leonardo, and their growing fanbase and friends.

The boys’ big aim and main sources of inspiration are The Lonely Island and The Midnight Beast.

Both bands have made a living out of making stupid yet hilariously observant music videos, and Badger Way are following in their footsteps.

“It’s a lot of hard work.” Bear said, “We’ve got so far to go in so many ways. You listen to The Lonely Island’s stuff and then watch ours and there’s a huge difference.”

Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, each video that the boys produce is improving in quality, both visually and in the audio. “It’s definitely a learning experience. A really fun learning experience.” Bear added.

The videos

Bear and Spanish Alex How did it start?

Spanish Alex started producing his own videos on YouTube a few years ago and loved the process of making short comedic sketches.

When Bear and himself started jamming every Friday night with friends, and with the odd random freestyle rap, the boys decided to start recording themselves. The first video on their channel shows their ‘La Bamba’ jam session, which generally sets the tone for what to expect in their other bonkers videos.

Every time Badger Way post another video, you will find yourself clicking the link in anticipation for the next crazy idea they have put together. No matter what they produce, you will find yourself sitting there and thinking what the F*%k did I just watch? And that’s exactly what they want.

‘Is Tomoto a fruit or a vegetable?’

“You have to go in both directions. We have the weird and the normal-ish videos. If people like the weird ones, we will keep making them! And it’s always good to have a mix.” Said Bear.

Their videos range from talking fruit and characters like ‘hobo Joe’ to popular parodies and interesting takes on current trends.

‘Hobo Joe’ in Hotline Bling Parody

With eleven videos and counting, Badger Way are gaining momentum and making their videos relevant to the current trends. Their most successful video, ‘Netflix and Chill’, has reached almost 80,000 views and has been featured in Doug the Pug’s video, reaching out to it’s 2 million followers. Doug the Pug has even approached the boys of Badger Way to produce some more songs for his videos.

The boys work hard to make sure that videos come out on a more regular basis. The general process from idea to finished product can sometimes happen as quickly as a few days. “Over the summer we could get so much done, but now being back at uni we have assignments and work to worry about so we can’t give our all

At the moment, the boys are doing what they love. “I’ve always admired people who do this sort of thing, so to finally do it is nice.” Bear said. Whilst himself and Spanish Alex still don’t know what will happen after university, they are both hoping to carry on with Badger Way. “I get so much enjoyment out of making these YouTube videos; I want to do something like this in life, whether it’s making music or writing comedy scripts.” Said Bear.

Spanish Alex also added, “We are making this because we have so much fun doing it and if it gets us somewhere: good! If not, I am sure we will keep doing it and when we get old we will look back at the videos – and our grandchildren will have the coolest grandpas ever.”

Ideally, they would want to grow to become the next Lonely Island and to even have their music on iTunes or Spotify.

But for now, Badger Way is doing extremely well. They have a lot of plans for the year ahead, including a possible collaboration with another comedy band, as well as a song that university students will definitely want to watch. Keep your eyes peeled and go and find the boys on Facebook, follow them on Instagram and of course SUBSCRIBE on YouTube. You won’t regret it!

Healthand andScience Science•18• 22 Health

Mental Health Survey Results

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Robert Wheatley | Lifestyle Editor

In July, a survey was released to assess how commonplace mental health issues were, and the effect mental health issues had on things like employment, university life, and how often sufferers were affected by mental health symptoms.

Participants were anonymous, and were able to, with permission, ask people they knew to answer on their behalf. Though 81 per cent of the 100 responses spoke of their own mental health, 16 per cent of respondents answered on behalf of someone else. The majority of respondents were students from the University of Hertfordshire.

Of 79 respondents, 42 were affected by their mental health issues daily, while 20 others were affected a few times a week; the rest a few times a month, or every few months. What stands out is just how many have to endure their mental health symptoms every day, with one UH student commenting: “...I have suffered depression for 10 years and never told anyone (after my parents ignored me and told me I was imagining it, aged around 9) because I don’t want people to think I’m weak. I just keep pretending I’m fine, even when my grades suffer or I can’t get out of bed or I just want to break down and cry.”

When asked if they had suffered issues with employment, 47 of the 78 respondents said that they faced no issues. However, out of the 31 who had suffered issues

with employment, 17 were finding it difficult to gain employment, 3 were not finding it possible to gain employment, and 11 were losing employment over their mental health.

One person commented that they were “refused entry into the police because of [their] anxiety”, and that as a result they had felt “lost and didn’t know what to do”.

The stigma of having a mental illness unfortunately still exists around employment, despite one in six of our workforce facing mental health problems each year.

Employers are not legally allowed to discriminate against those with mental health issues, which comes under disability, and they have a legal duty to make “reasonable adjustments” when recruiting or looking after their employees. If your mental health is making employment difficult, you have every right to tell your manager – it is their duty to under the Equality Act to not discriminate against you.

Of the 79 that answered, 72 respondents had their student life affected by their mental health; 38 had described their mental health during student life as “disabling” at times, with 6 of these often finding it disabling still. Student life had been found to be “difficult” at times by 34 respondents and 22 respondents are still finding it difficult at times.

Procrastination is something we can all relate to, but for someone with anxiety the pressure can become severe, resulting in rushed assignments and a greater sense

of anxiety. One person said: “... this caused a huge problem for my assignments – writing everything last minute because of a crippling anxiety to start until I absolutely knew I must do it.”

Supporting those with mental health issues is incredibly important.

Bottling up stress and letting it pile up will worsen anyone’s mental health, which is why services are provided to support those facing issues. The Student Wellbeing services on College Lane actually provide counselling services for students. The services are entirely confidential, and cover multiple difficulties people may face because of their mental health including exam stress, self­ harm, anxiety and depression, as well as concerns about sexuality and gender identity amongst others.

When asked if they had used a university wellbeing service for their mental health issues, 34 of the 76 respondents had used a service at a university. Up to 43 respondents had used services outside of university.

One person noted their struggle with mental health during their first year at UH, and the time it took them to seek help at their services: “... It took a long time until I felt able to seek help. Discovering the support available at the university was one of the best things I could have done... I’m not sure I would be graduating this year without them!”

For some, there may be some stigma attached to receiving support for mental health. One person noted: “I knew I had some problems but

didn’t want to talk about them all the time. I was hoping that ignoring that I had a problem would make it go away.”

Getting help is not always easy. Perhaps it makes some feel weak if they need support with their mental health; something they may consider to be small, or something another person has dealt with without help.

There is no weakness in needing help, and support is available. It would not exist if nobody needed it!

What the survey ultimately shows is that mental health is indeed an issue that people, but also many of our students, face. 81 respondents were students, but statistics showing one in four people would imply that over 6,000 of our students could be affected by their mental health; significantly more than the 65 shown in the survey.

The more we show how common mental health issues are, the more we can stamp out stigma around mental health, encouraging people to get the support they may need. If you think your mental health is having an impact on your student life, or life in general, UH has services available.

Contact the Student Wellbeing services via email at studentwellbeing@herts.ac.uk; or alternatively, call them on +44 (0)1707 284453. You can also speak to an advisor face to face by visiting the services on the second floor of the Hutton Hub on College Lane.

• Health and Science 19

Let’s talk about animal testing Rachel Thresher | Contributing Writer

“I am in favour of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being” – Abraham Lincoln.

Animal testing can be referenced back as early as the 12th Century, when the physician, Avenzoar, practiced dissection and introduced animal testing as a method of testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients. In more recent times, animals are used to advance scientific understanding, as models to study disease, to develop and test potential forms of treatment, makeup, clothes, and for entertainment. Animal testing remains a very popular controversial issue.

The argument supporting animal testing takes the stand that human diseases exist in at least one other species, and many veterinary medicines are similar to those used on people. Just like humans, animals also suffer from diseases such as cancer, malaria, heart failure, asthma and arthritis. Since using animal testing, many illnesses have advanced towards finding cures or at least becoming more avoidable: ‘preventer’ and ‘reliever’ inhalers have been developed and now 1 in 10 children receive treatment for

Stress, Stress ... Oh look! More Stress!

Hannah­ -Rose Editor

Bicknell

|

Features

Dealing with part­ time jobs, assignments, exams, relationships and anything else that races through your mind can leave you feeling overwhelmed. At times you may feel as though you can’t cope with the pressure and end up becoming stressed. The most important thing to remember is that you aren’t alone – after all there are over 2,000 students in the university!

What exactly is stress you ask?

Stress on a biological level, is when a part of your brain called the hypothalamus sends a surge of hormones, mainly adrenaline, to either fight or flight from whatever is distressing you. Cortisol, the stress hormone, suppresses your appetite and keeps you awake, this mixed with adrenaline increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure, which can have some pretty bad effects.

asthma; meningitis vaccines have meant that meningitis C is now rare in the UK; 8 out of 10 children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukaemia now survive for at least five years, whereas 25 years ago 7 out of 10 died within five years; and in 2009­ 2010 3,700 people received major organ transplants using procedures tested on animals.

As well as these results, animal testing is actually part of the UK law which states that any new drug must be tested on at least two different species of live mammal, one of which must be a large rodent, and the other a primate, excluding

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chimpanzees and other great apes.

On the other side of this argument is the cruelty­ free and/or vegan approach against the use of animal testing. Master’s in Journalism and Media Communications student, Catie Allwright, says that “unless you’re actively trying to avoid animal testing, you’re probably buying into Especially if the stress is over a long period of time. On a practical level these effects will cause you to have headaches and stomach problems such as sharp pain. More often than not however, stress can lead to feeling of distrust, anger, anxiety and depression which in turn can destroy relationships at home and at work.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences conducted a recent study on the effect of stress in relation to health. They found that long term stress can mess with your immune system to the point where you will develop viral infections such as a cold or flu more easily and frequently. Stress in itself isn’t an illness, but can cause it. It’s important to recognise the symptoms and figure out ways of coping that suit you.

Here’s how to cope: 1) Student Wellbeing Centre: luckily for us, the University has a student wellbeing centre which offers a range of services to support you.

They offer everything from online resources, to wellbeing workshops and are committed to helping you make the best out of your university experience. It can really help to get

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technologies are the way forward”.

Many people share the common view that it is morally barbaric to test human needs on animals, particularly for vanity items such as makeup or clothing, when there are in fact many alternatives on the market.

Donaldson also says that by using the “replacement, reduction and refinement” principle, animal testing may be replaced. The poor conditions and the rough treatment of these caged animals has more people searching for vegan alternatives everyday. Master’s in Journalism and Media Communications student, Catie Allwright, says that “unless you’re actively trying to avoid animal testing, you’re probably buying into it”, and the issue has made her feel “frustrated to the point of rage”.

The Animals Act of 1986 states that no animal experiments

may be conducted if there is a realistic alternative. Third­ year Pharmacology student, Chris Donaldson, suggests that “new

It has become a pop culture fandom to be against this type of animal treatment, shown through media such as Legally Blonde 2; a film based on the moral outrages of animal testing, and celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Usher, Woody Harrelson, Bill Clinton and Morrissey, who have all become vegans for the support of animals.

Overall, it is clear that there is a conflict of interest regarding the constant demands for new medicines and the moral obligations to other species of animals on this planet. Where do you stand?

things off your chest sometimes, even if it’s just to moan about the person on the bus who wouldn’t take their bag off the seat.

You can contact them to make an appointment on 01707 284453 or visit the centre on College Lane campus above the student centre in the Hutton Hub.

time to) from the assignment, exam revision, work or whatever it maybe.

Take a walk outside, or do something that is the complete opposite for 15 minutes, to clear and calm your mind. In the end you may even find that your work improves.

2) Exercise: the old cliché, I know. But exercise releases endorphins, which are natural painkillers, sedatives and puts you in a ‘feel good’ mood. It won’t make your stress disappear but will reduce the amount of emotional intensity that comes with it.

3) Me time: and I don’t mean me time for five minutes then get straight back to the assignment that’s due in five days. I mean a full on day just doing what you want, when you want and how you want it. Let yourself be selfish and either blow off steam on a night out or chill at home in the bath.

The choice is yours after all.

4) Pace yourself: you’re only human and every human has limits. It’s important to realise this and pace yourself throughout the day. Take regular breaks (and yes you have

Thomas Haynie - Flickr

Healthand andScience Science •20• 24 Health

NUS student sexual harrasment research Alenadra Jungeling | Contributing Writer

NUS research reveals one in four students suffer unwelcome sexual advances, defining unwanted sexual advances as inappropriate touching and groping.

NUS surveyed over 2,000 male and female students. With almost one third of respondents admitting that they have endured unwanted sexual comments about their body (12 per cent of men, 37 per cent of women), suggesting sexual harassment among students is not uncommon.

Two thirds of the respondents said they have seen students endure unwanted sexual comments, with just under one third bearing witness to verbal harassment based on a student’s gender.

More than half of those surveyed believe that women are more vulnerable than men, and therefore, felt it was more common for women to experience sexual harassment, unwanted sexual advances, as well as any further assault, abuse or

unwanted encounters, sexual or otherwise.

Issuing cause for concern, 60 per cent of respondents said that they were not aware of any codes of conduct implemented by their university about any such harassment or sexual advances.

Sexual Harassment, in law, is defined as: unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive work environment.

Sexual Assault is defined as: sexual touching that is unwanted and offensive.

Sexual harassment and sexual assault are illegal.

making an appointmentwith the counselling service.

They also advise you to tell your tutor, who can help, especially if the harasser is a student. In addition, they suggest telling the police, who would be able to assist in preventing such advances and even stalker­ like behaviour. This is especially important if any sexual act has actually been attempted or fully committed when it was not wanted.

The biggest piece of advice the Advice and Support team gave was: talk to someone no matter what has happened. This applies in all situations where you feel like you’re on your own, or uneasy.

Advice and Support urge you to make the most of such services at the University, as we do have codes in place and they can help.

If this happens to anyone, you are advised to contact the police and to, at the very least, talk to someone about it. If you think anything might be wrong or doesn’t feel right then voice your concerns.

The Advice and Support team in the University of Hertfordshire’s Students’ Union offers professional advice to anyone who may be experiencing any form of harassment, assault or abuse.

When UniVerse spoke to the team, they suggested that if anyone made any advances towards you in any way that were not wanted, did not leave you alone, or made you take part in any sexual activity that you did not given your full consent to, then you should tell someone. Advice and Support recommend

Does bacon cause cancer?

Catie Allwright | Contributing Writer

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a report outlining research into the carcinogenicityof red meat and processed meat.

Or, loosely, can steak and sausages give you cancer? There was a bit of a media frenzy on the matter in October, but what has come from it?

First off, let’s establish the definitions of the report. The term ‘red meat’ refers to ‘all mammalian muscle meat, including, beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, horse, and goat.’ Processed meat, on the other hand, refers to meat that has been transformed through processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation, including corned beef, sausages, ham and jerky.Red meat is classified as Group 2A, meaning it is probably carcinogenic to humans. This classification is based on ‘limited evidence [...] showing positive associations between eating red meat and developing colorectal cancer.’

There is also evidence of links with pancreatic and prostate cancer. Limited evidence means that whilst there is a positive association, other explanations cannot be ruled out.

Processed meat is classified as Group 1, carcinogenic to humans, meaning there is convincing evidence that the agent causes cancer. In this case, there is ‘sufficient evidence’ that eating processed meat causes colorectal cancer. There is also a positive association with stomach cancer, although

this is not conclusive. Other Group 1 carcinogens include tobacco, alcohol and asbestos.

The report takes statistics from the Global Burden of Disease Project, who have found that about 34,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide are attributable to diets high in processed meat. Red meat could be responsible for 50,000 cancer deaths per year worldwide if the reported associations are proved to be causal. This is compared to about one million due to tobacco smoking and 600,000 due to alcohol consumption.

So why is this? WHO have explained that it is predominantly the processing and cooking of meat which produces known or suspected carcinogens.

Cooking at high temperatures, such as pan­frying and barbecuing, increases the production of these carcinogenic chemicals.

The report has found that the more meat consumed, the higher the risk – 50g of processed meat eaten daily can increase the risk of colorectal cancer by about 18 per cent, and 100g of red meat daily could increase the risk by about 17 per cent.

Professor Tim Key, Cancer Research UK’s epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, said to The Guardian: “Cancer Research UK supports IARC’s decision that there’s strong enough evidence to classify processed meat as a cause of cancer, and red meat as a probable cause of cancer.”

Whilst the report says that eating meat has some ‘known health benefits’, other NGOs such as the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have been conducting alternative research which suggests otherwise.

A poll by The Telegraph has revealed that of over 36,000 voters (as of 23/11/2015), 54 per cent would cut back on meat to reduce their risk of cancer, and 46 per cent would not. As a nation we seem fairly divided. What do you think? Is everything fine in moderation, or is it better to take preventative steps to protect your health (and the animals)?

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The Perfect University Gift List!

Katie Noble | TV Director Stuck for last­minute gifts for your housemates and classmates? Here’s a miniature gift guide for the university student strapped for ideas (and cash).

Caption Contest!

Look out for our next Caption Contest on Twitter and Facebook @TridentMediaUK

"Dat Ass." Congratulations to Tobi Olásupo for winning our quick Christmas caption contest!

WORDSEARCH

Coffee Break 22 • RYMCOICRKISNFBQPEHQ DPVCNTPLDWTILEGNAD HOHTNZOASFODXIOCVS RUYIMNOTNNLKPFBEDB QIOREZLIHFSIGMQXNWL LYNIEKJTRVFLCJATGGNO RLDATPFEATSLEIGHUKW RRQPINIWQTKBAUBLEEI QAMNTIJLGNGVRKEZSFE ANRJEAYDEGHTYHTRSPR ESENTSGZTURKEYXCBTH VJMUIOIZLOADWHVRSR BAUBLE STAR SANTA HOLLY TURKEY PRESENTS FIRTREE SLEIGH REINDEER SNOW TINSEL MINCEPIE

STOCKING MISTLETOE ANGEL CIDER APPLES GOLDEN HIBERNATE CHILLY FOG WINDY

Aaron Hurst | Contributing Writer As accurate as astrology gets.

(Images by Charlotte Mullin)

ARIES All you’ll want for Christmas is shoes!

(Sung to the tune of ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ by Mariah Carey.

Go on, you know you want to belt it.)

TAURUS If you’re planning on having a flat Christmas dinner, don’t get a Scorpio to go shopping for your food, they’ll end up trying to carry it home without carrier bags and will drop it

GEMINI That video of that little concert you performed to your flatmates during pre­drinks will make you an internet sensation... in the eyes of your Facebook friends anyway.

CANCER To raise money for Christmas presents, you will resort to trying to sell a load of carrier bags previously stocked away somewhere in your home.

LEO Beware of anyone dressed as Santa.

VIRGO That person you got with that night at the Forum won’t be the one. Trust

Really Bad Christmas Cracker Jokes Katie Noble | Entertainment Editor

Who delivers presents to baby sharks at Christmas?

Santa Jaws!

LIBRA You will aim to master the art of turning anything your flatmates say into innuendos as a New Year’s resolution, if you haven’t already.

SCORPIO What do snowmen wear on their heads?

Ice caps!

Why are Christmas trees bad knitters?

They keep losing their needles!

Why did no­one bid for Rudolph and Blitzen on eBay? They were two deer!

How did Mary and Joseph know that Jesus was 7lb 6oz when he was born?

They had a weigh in a manger!

Why would you invite a mushroom to a Christmas party?

He’s a fun guy to be with!

What’s white and goes up?

A confused snowflake.

What’s furry and minty?

A polo bear.

How do snowmen get around?

They ride an icicle.

Why does Santa like to work in the garden?

Because he likes to hoe, hoe, hoe!

Your ‘student budget’ mentality will advance to another level as you decide to carry all of your Christmas food back to your flat without feeling the need to buy any carrier bags.

SAGITTARIUS That person you got with that night at the Forum is the one. Trust us on this.

CAPRICORN Prepare to catch the flu in the next few weeks, courtesy of a Cancer.

Hopefully, it won’t ruin your Christmas.

AQUARIUS You’ll spend the few weeks before your assignment deadline procrastinating via non­stop Christmas­themed Netflix and chill

PISCES Your mission to lead a healthier lifestyle will go out of the window by the turn of the year.

• Sport 23

Hert’s Judo club holds charity event

Georgia Porter| Contributing Writer

Mid October, Hert’s Judo Club held a fundraising event to raise money for a charity campaign that Coach Doug Seabrook set up, following an inspirational trip to Albania in September. Here we interview Matthew Hammond, Chairman of the Judo Club, to find out more.

What is your role within Judo at the University of Hertfordshire?

Matthew Hammond, 22, Final Year BSc (Hons) Sports Studies: I am this year’s chairman of the Judo Club. I love the role and I am very passionate and determined to ensure that the Club is left in a better state than I found it in.

What charity was fundraising for?

the

event

still runs his judo academy, which encourages children off of the streets and promotes the sport of judo in Albania. Myself, my judo coach, Doug Seabrook, and the rest of the Club found this inspirational. After the trip, Doug set up a charity campaign to raise funds to provide Anton with a new mobility chair, bed and developments for his club.

5. How many people attended?

Matt: I didn’t do an exact headcount but there was 18 Judo players all together, (a mix of UH Judo and Marshalswick Judo members.) There was also a small audience that came along to show their support.

What kind of event was organised?

So far we have raised over £1,600, which the whole Club is really pleased with. If you would like to donate to the fundraiser the link is as follows: crowdfunding.justgiving. com/d­seabrook

The event was a sponsored throwing challenge. We were required to complete 1,000 throws (throwing each other onto crash mats) in 30 minutes.

This seemed very hard to do but with the enthusiasm and determination that powered us, we smashed it! We completed 1,000 throws in just 18 minutes 59 seconds. We also had a raffle going on to raise money. I won a nice bottle of rosé. Not bad ey?!

Where did the event take place?

Whilst on our judo trip to Albania alongside Marshalswick Judo Club in September, we visited a man called Anton Shkoza. He is the man who initiated judo in Albania. Whilst training for the Olympic Games, Anton suffered a life changing injury which left him paralysed. Despite this, Anton

The event occurred at Marshalswick Judo Club in St Albans. Marshalswick Judo Club is like the second home of the University of Hertfordshire Judo Club. Doug is also the head coach there so we get the opportunity for some extra training.

How much money was raised and went to the charity?

Who was involved in organising the event? Anyone specifically that should be mentioned?

None of this would have been possible without Doug Seabrook, his wife Wendy, negotiations with Albania from Saimir Haxhiu and everyone who attended the Albania trip and volunteered their services at the charity event. I’d really like to thank these people very much for making this happen, they are all heroes!

Are there anymore fundraising events planned in the near future?

We have not got any further plans yet but we intend to. It awaits further planning and negotiation. I’d love to organise another fundraiser possibly on the University grounds this time.

Was the fundraising event a success?

I certainly enjoyed the fundraising event. It was for a good cause, it was challenging and we smashed the task.

My only criticism on the evening is that I would have liked to carry on for the full 30 minutes, seeing how many throws we could have achieved in that time limit. But overall, it was really great. I’m really glad and proud that UH Judo is involved in this whole campaign.The Judo Club is popular in with students this year. If you are interested in joining, check out their social media pages: Facebook.com/ UHAUJudo and Twitter: @UHJudo.

Training is every Monday 4pm till 6pm for all abilities, and higher grade session are every Friday 8am till 9am.

See you there!

UniVerse

SP RT

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Judo Club Charity Event | pg 23

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Pool and Snooker society success | pg 24

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Active Students UV Party | pg 24

Hert’s Pool & Snooker Society’s play at East of England Pool Tournament Will Tuffin | Contributing Writer

On the 15th of November, four teams comprising of 20 members from the Pool & Snooker Society travelled to Cambridge for the East of England Pool Championships. The tournament’s introduction last year brought success for the teams from University of Hertfordshire, with the A team finishing as runners­up for the plate once they were knocked out of the main competition and the B team 3rd in their respective competition. Fresher, Liam Memmott, defied expectations to bag runner­ up in the individual trophy. With revenge in mind, the teams competing this year were determined to show the country exactly what we were capable of.

The morning session proved invaluable for the A team, winning all but one of their group stage matches. All five players showed composure and aggression in their wins over Cambridge, UCL, Roehampton and Brighton, with Warwick only winning by one frame. While the A team were dominating the group stages, the other three teams were beginning their individual campaigns with little success. Richard Watson, Ryan Smith and Henry Green made it through to the second round along with Han Lip Tan, Vinh Vu and notably

Jack Duffus, who played outstandingly, making it through to the quarter finals.

The afternoon brought mixed results for the rest of the team matches. Herts B team managed to squeeze through the group stages remarkably in 1st place, beating Cambridge 3rds and Essex 4ths, only losing to Essex 2nds who, in a surprising turn of events, ended up not qualifying from group stages. Herts C only managed one win in their group against Essex 5ths and lost to Roehampton 2nds and Sheffield Hallam 2nds.

It was a similar story for D team who only managed a win against Roehampton 3rds, losing to Cambridge 2nds and Essex 3rds along the way.

During this mixed bag of results, A team were getting their individual campaigns underway.

Unfortunately, they were not in top form and three were knocked out. Last year’s trophy runner­ up, Liam Memmott, lost 3­2 to an Essex 1st player; Jack Carty lost 3­ 2 to Imperial College London; Luke Stevens also lost 3­2 to a player from Birmingham.

However, Adam Day showed his skill by beating a Cambridge player three frames to one. He continued to show his class as he battled through the rounds to incredibly make it to the final. Unfortunately, he was robbed of the championship title in a close 3­2

match against a UCL representative, but to make it to the final was an incredible achievement and we’re sure Adam will be back with every intension on winning next year. Despite a hard fought game, Herts A lost their next round match to Sheffield Hallam and their hopes of getting to the final were taken away from them. All players showed spirit and supported each other throughout the day.

By finishing 1st in their group, B team saw themselves straight through to the semi­finals where they were drawn against Essex 3rds. After a tough few games, Herts B came out on top winning 6­3 to claim a place in the final against Cambridge 2nds.

Vinh Vu, Han Lip Tan, Sam Johnson and Karl Hall all showed incredible determination by winning all of their games, which then gave Captain Will Tuffin an opportunity to secure the trophy which, after a tactical game, he did with composure.

To win 6­0 in the final was the cherry on the cake and wrapped up a fantastic day for Herts. The support that everyone gave in not only the team games, but the individual matches as well, was fantastic to see and all who played were a credit to their university. It’s safe to say we will return next year with even higher expectations!

Active Students’ UV party is a success!

Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager

The University of Hertfordshire launched its first UV party through Active Students last year and received an amazing attendance of around 200 students. So this year, Active Students decided to organise another one with the help of a larger team and versatile ideas in hope to reach last year’s attendance. So on the 14th of November, Hertfordshire Sports Village filled up with students that were ready to try something new and different at no cost at all!

Table tennis, short tennis, frisbee and badminton were part of this year’s line­ up with an introduction to glow­in­the dark volleyball due to the expertise of our own Activator and Higher Education Volleyball Officer (HEVO), Mateusz Plaza.

The event started at 18:30 but organisation and preparation started at 16:00 with the

transformation of equipment and courts to enable them to glow in the dark. Hard work was poured in to guarantee the best experience for newcomers and returning students.

Café Study was sectioned off as a face painting stand was put up with glow­ in­ the­ dark paint, chalks and glow sticks for participants. The enthusiasm shown for the face paint came to our surprise as students came back for second or third makeovers!

Once the night was underway, around 150 students turned up within the first hour. Volleyball seemed to be a strong choice, as the traditional 6­a­ side game became more of a 14­as ­ ide social match, with even more volleyball fans hitting a ball around right next to the court. Badminton offered similar results with six people on a court at any one time, and even more students playing inbetween the courts. Overseeing the badminton was Active Students’ very own Sport Specific

Activator (HESSA), who was making sure everyone was enjoying themselves and getting the best experience.

Halfway through the night, short tennis and table tennis were taken down to give a bigger platform to the previous year’s highlight: ultimate frisbee. As always, the AU Ultimate Frisbee Team were on hand to help out with the event, and to help students who had never played frisbee before by teaching them how to play the sport. The turnout for ultimate frisbee out­shined last year’s game by smashing the expected numbers.

Overall, it was a very successful event with over 300 students in attendance.

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