UniVerse | Issue 4

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Volume 25, Issue 4 Monday 18th January 2016

tridentmedia.org NEWS

HEALTH

FEATURES

Catcalling: Creepy or Compliment?| pgs 6-7

Grumpy Corner: Body Shaming | pg 12

SPORT

Sex Education Survey | pg 19

Yoga is the best thing this year | pg 23

ACCOMMODATION BAD VALUE FOR MONEY SAY 50 PER CENT OF HERTS STUDENTS LIVING ON CAMPUS Oliver Price | News Manager

A recent survey commissioned

by Trident Media has revealed that half of the 130 students surveyed, who live in on-campus accommodation, believe their accommodation is either “quite or very bad value for money.”

The survey also revealed that 40 per cent of respondents feel their accommodation is of satisfactory value, while only 10 per cent believe their accommodation is either “quite or very good value for money,” showing that the majority of students are underwhelmed with their living quarters and the price of rent.

accommodation (less than £100 a week compared to current average of over £130), such as Roberts Way and Butler Hall. The demolition of the less expensive accommodation has resulted in the lowest cost of oncampus accommodation currently being Telford Court, which currently costs over £5,250 for an academic year.

in-work parent background (£40,000 to £45,000 household income per year) pays at least 100 per cent of their maintenance loan towards rent and deposit to pay for the average cost of a room.

Trident Media interviewed some of the students living on-campus.

Cat Charker, a first year student studying Humanities and living in an “enhanced” room on College Lane said:

“My accommodation is rather bad value for money. I pay twice the rent that I would living off campus in a house and yet have less space, less freedom and have worse facilities, services and fixtures.”

Rebecca Marsh, a third year Law and Philosophy student, who has previously lived in on-campus accommodation, said:

“The new housing... doesn’t give options. They have a lot of bells and whistles but realistically students don’t need all that.

What they need is less to worry about when they’ve already got enough on their plates moving out and starting a degree. In a small town like Hatfield it’s not going to be as easy for students to get part time jobs.”

Trident Media approached the University of Hertfordshire but, at the time of publication, they did not make comment.

Continued on page 3.

Oliver Price

Tobi Olasupo

This poll comes after the demolition of far less expensive

Research conducted by Trident Media has also revealed that the average rent costs for on-campus accommodation is over £6,000 for an entire renting period (including deposit).

The same research also concluded that a student from an average two-

Tobi Olasupo

2 Editorial • Tweet of the Week: @Tomi_Ojo getting the whole squad out for @WSTRNmusic when we go back to uni.. #herts :)

Photos of the week: ‘Exam Fuel 2016 - this is what’s getting us through’ - Betty Fekade

Yik Yak of the Week: It’s all fun and games at Xmas till you return to mouldy cour milk, rotten meat and the pungent smell of dead human.

Niceone housemartees for not clearing out the fridge!

Written, designed & edited by students, for students, and provided by Hertfordshire Students’ Union

Head of Print

Shelby Loasby headofprint@tridentmedia.org

/\ 19 \/

Trident Media welcomes new

Print Editor

Huriyah Quadri

Sub Editors

Your student radio listings

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

Head of TV and TV Director

Trident Media said goodbye to the TV executive committee at the end of last year, but when one door closes, another one opens.

Bill Ahmed and April Wilson have now stepped up to Head of TV, and TV Director, respectively, and are excited to take the reigns and lead TV in a new direction.

“I see it as a good opportunity to strengthen TV and finish the year strong.” Said Bill. “We want to make TV ready for a decent progression into next year.”

Both Bill and April are looking forward to the year ahead and have got a few ideas in the making; “We have a few shows set up including Student Chef and a Cribs style show, as well as a Campus Costs video and a lot of student showcases.”

Said Bill. “We also want to utilise facebook as a new platform for TV so look out next time your scrolling down your news feed.”

We can’t wait to see what TV will bring - after all, the competition for best outlet is coming soon!

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

Contributors

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

Welcome to your first UniVerse of 2016!

If you’re anything like the team here at Trident Media you’re probably still full on all the Christmas and New Year junk food, convincing yourself to go on a detox, and looking for any excuse to procrastinate. BUT it’s time to stick on the gym gear, get rid of the leftover’s, and get ready for another semester at Herts.

We’ve got plenty of content to keep you busy in this issue, from Bryony Wharfe’s Catcalling survey, and April

Wednesday 2-4pm: Stephanie 6-8pm: Let’s get ready for Wednesday 4-6pm: The Social Experiment 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: Nariece 8-10pm: George Willis 10-12pm: George S, Elshus and Josh

Saturday

4-6pm: Mesh 6-8pm: Adam and Jake 8-10pm: Jwande

Wilson’s sex education survey, to New Year’s resolutions, Sports Hacks, and the usual installment of ‘What’s up, Herts?’

Make sure you have time to take a look at our Coffee Break section for our ridiculous horoscopes and the chance to become Trident’s Sudoku Champion!

Don’t forget that Trident Media is always looking for new members. If you’re interseting in joining or have any questions contact Media Coordinator Sarah Bennett at s.bennett8@herts.ac.uk

Oliver Price Eleanor Spall Daniella Svrdlin Aaron Hurst Tom Boon Qi Leong Tyng Lashara Van Heerden Maxine Weller Anisah Khan Alianna Sanusi Zunaira Taj Jacky Linares April Wilson Danielle Smith Hannah Myers Aimone Sharif Kieran Dempsey Caroline Simon Annie Cracknell April Wilson Louise Hal-Fead Catie Allwright Bryony Wharfe Kieran Burman

Editor in Chief Bradley Johnson

Copy Editor

Sarah Bennett

Contact Us

vp.comms@hertfordshire.su VP Comms & Media Hertfordshire Students’ Union College Lane Hatfield Herts, AL10 9AB Published by Iliffe Print Cambridge Winship Road Milton Cambridge

News 3 • Continued from front page.

Hertfordshire Students’ Union are currently running their Campus Costs campaign, which is targeted at reducing the student costs on campus, including accommodation costs.

Grainne, Vice President of Democracy and Services, said: “This is totally expected with the consistent rising cost of higher education and students are feeling the pinch not only in accommodation but in all areas of student life, so the want and even need for things to be cheaper is evident and increasing. The Union and NUS are consistently working tirelessly to help stop or reduce the cost of higher education, for example our priority campaign Campus Costs is surrounding this issue not only for accommodation but all costs to students.”

With students spending up to 100 per cent of their maintenance grants and loans on just their rent, they are left with less and less money for other things, such as course costs or having “the university experience.”

Many students are clearly unhappy with how much they have to pay for their rent, Hertfordshire Students’ Union has recognised this by launching their Campus Costs campaign to act as a voice for students struggling with the cost of university living.

Pixabay

NHS Nursing bursary cuts Kieran Burman | Contributing Writer

Students have been left outraged after The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the government will scrap grants and bursaries for student nurses.

Herts.ac.uk

GRADUATE MUSIC LABEL: Insight Music Carolin Simon | Contributing Writer Stefan Baranowski, who graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 2014, founded Insight Music in 2011. At that time, he had just started with his BSc in Music Technology. It all started with the promotion of music online, which then rose to become a digital label for the promotion and release of music.

Insight Music promotes and distributes its music exclusively online via outlets such as Soundcloud, iTunes and Spotify. It seeks to showcase talents and art from the underground music scene that haven’t yet found much recognition on other platforms. The presentations range from chilled and electronica to ambient and other sounds that are “difficult to classify” as Insight Music labels them on its website.

The latest album Insight Vol. 4 was the first compilation album released by Insight Music in the last three years. The 14-track album captured all major sounds of the label including atmospheric future vibes of Vacant and mellow piano of Aenigma. Baranowski put all his passion into the project to showcase the talent of his idols and push their music into the right direction.

Insight Music

He said:

“Seriously, all you need to do is take a walk out through the city at dusk with a set of headphones and a copy of Insight Vol. 4 to understand why I do what I do.

Music like this changes lives. It inspires me.”

Baranowski is happy about the gradual growth of the label. Physical releases of the music are planned for the near future. “Insight was always my little baby and it still is.

I haven’t yet put together a team to help me push the boat out more but I’ll happily take any applications,” he said.

You can read more about Baranowski’s progress and the new album: Encompass at tridentmedia. org.

The Conservative government are going to scrap grants and bursaries for student nurses, which will be replaced with student loans and they will be abolishing the cap that is put on the amount of student nurses that can partake in higher education per academic year – something student nurses aren’t too happy about.

NHS have announced efficiency savings at the tune of £22 billion, which includes cutting grants for student nurses; it was unveiled an urgent £3.8 billion increase in funding for NHS England was needed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer declared the NHS as the government’s first priority and believes that the NHS is now going to be funded appropriately including an increase of £60 million in mental health awareness and treatment. It is estimated that replacing Student Nurse Bursaries with loans will save the government £800 million of government spending.

Studying full-time at university and going into the NHS can get you a few benefits including a bursary from the NHS, a £1,000 grant from the NHS and a reduced maintenance loan from Student Finance England.

However, student nurses will no longer be involved within that scheme and therefore will miss out on money to live on as well as tuition and maintenance fees. This will leave nurses with an average salary of £24,000 and almost £50,000 of debt.

First year Mental Health Nursing student at the University of Surrey,

Indika Fowler, was very disappointed with the plans:

“We rely on our bursary as we can’t uphold a part time job during our placements as we have to work all hours.”

London South Bank University Child Nursing student, Sarah Wallis, was angry at the scrap: “[The Chancellor of the Exchequer] needs to live a day in my shoes, I already do 12 and a half hour shifts so would not have the time to get a part time job. It’s a disgrace.”

Neither of these students will be affected, however, they feel for the future student nurses, Indika added: “I feel like a lot of people will be put off the profession as when we graduate we only earn £21,000 so not only will they not earn a lot but they will be in loads of debt too.”

Whilst Sarah revealed that, even though she is covered by the grant, she still struggles financially: “The money I get does not even cover my travel, books or equipment necessary to be a Child Nurse. The student finance doesn’t even cover my rent so the bursary is entirely necessary.

“It is almost impossible to live like this, and I really don’t know how people will cope without the grants.”

It certainly seems unfair that nurses are having their bursaries cut, will it be beneficial in the long run?

Share your thoughts on Twitter @TridentMediaUK

4 News •

Are the LRC facilities up to Georgia Porter | Sports Editor Students have been complaining about the WiFi connection on the University of Hertfordshire campuses since the start of the 2015/2016 academic year.

The University currently has a total of 27,700 students and trebled the intake of first year students in comparison to last year, according to Head of Infrastructure, David Combes. In turn, this has increased the amount of technical devices brought onto campus and has caused the UHWifi and Eduroam connections to feel the strain.

The common argument from students regarding the poor WiFi connection is that they all pay £9,000 tuition fees to the University every year. Therefore a treble intake of students means treble the amount of money gained by the University.

UH student, Mothiur Rahman, said: “Our £9,000 a year doesn’t go to improve student wellbeing, it goes into the back pockets of this University and the research it does.”

On the University website, students are promised top of the range facilities, including Learning Resource Centres on each campus, equipped with more than 600 computers all with

scratch? integrated access to the internet. Also students can bring their own laptops or other mobile devices and use the WiFi or desktop plug-in points.

David Combes, Head of Infrastructure, said: “The University seeks to provide good quality WiFi coverage across the College Lane and De Havilland campus, but particularly in the LRCs and Halls of Residence in recognition of student expectations for anywhere and anytime access to services. During the past 12 months, we have seen WiFi usage treble as students bring an increasing number of devices onto campus.”

Internet access is an important tool used by students to aid their academic studies. Services provided in the LRC such as StudyNet, e-books, e-journals and online information services, as well as online help and support, can only be accessed

on laptops with a good UHWifi or Eduroam connection.

Although all of these services can be accessed on the LRC desktops, there are not enough to go around to all the students who visit the centre.

The LRC is constantly busy, especially during the months at the end of semesters, when every student on every course has assignment deadlines to meet.

UH student, Prisca Premila Pandita, said:

“Trying to connect to the WiFi in the LRC is really frustrating! It takes a long time to load a page and sometimes it doesn’t even load.

“It says that there is poor connectivity and it stays like that for a minimum of two hours.

I’m not kidding, I can’t even load StudyNet to get some work done,” she added.

Mr Combes continued: “In an effort to keep pace with demand, we have arranged an external review of WiFi coverage in the LRCs and will be doubling the number of access points in the coming months.”

Students will have to wait and see if on-campus WiFi will improve over the coming months as promised.

Hertfordshire men sentenced for animal cruelty after leaving injured dogs to suffer Robert Wheatley | Lifestyle Editor Two Hertfordshire men were banned from keeping animals permanently, having admitted to leaving their injured dogs to suffer after an investigation by the RSPCA’s special operations unit.

Samuel Lyas and Valentine Baldock were sentenced at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on 23 November, after they admitted they had caused unnecessary suffering to terriers; some having been left with the skin ripped from their jaws.

25-year-old Lyas was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended from his employment for two years, in addition to 280 hours unpaid work and a £3,600 fine for causing an animal fight between a dog and a fox.

Baldock, 31, was ordered to complete 225 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,025 in costs after he also pleaded guilty.

The RSPCA began investigating Brent Pelham resident after they were made aware of allegations that his dogs were being used to attack wild animals. A warrant was carried out at his address in April this year by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Rural Operations Team, where RSPCA officers accompanying them found the abused animals.

Six terriers were found, including a red male, Max (pictured above), and a black longhair called Bronson. Max’s lower jaw had exposed flesh where the skin had been ripped off, left untreated.

“The injuries to these poor terriers were exactly those that we expect to find on dogs that are put underground to pin foxes and badgers at the back of their earth until dug down to.

“These are the result of countless encounters, and to add insult to their injuries these dogs were not treated by a vet for either pain relief or reparation, which meant that their unnecessary suffering was prolonged.”

DC Amanda Matthews said that the Rural Operational Support Team were pleased with the sentencing. She said:

RSPCA

A separate warrant on the same day took place at Baldock’s address, also within Brent Pelham, where more dogs were found. This included Gravel and Todd, who both displayed several head and jaw injuries, and like the other dogs, left untreated.

Gravel was found with staples in the corner of his mouth, administered by Baldock.

RSPCA special operations unit inspector, Cliff Harrison, said that cases like this were not uncommon. He said:

“Lyas and Baldock treated these animals abhorrently and caused them considerable pain and distress. They do not deserve to be in the presence of animals and I am reassured that they will not be able to for a good few years to come.

“I hope that today’s sentencing serves as a warning to anyone who mistreats animals that this behaviour won’t be tolerated and, in partnership with the RSPCA, the police will do all they can to bring offenders to justice.”

• News 5

Sexual offences in Hatfield on the rise Laura Slingo | News Editor

The number of reported violence and sexual offences in the Welwyn Hatfield West region has gradually risen over recent years.

publishing reported crimes within this category in April 2013: 81.

Police stats in this area for 2015 also show that the most common time for these offences to be reported are during the months the University of Hertfordshire is open for study in semesters A and B.

Statistics from the police.uk website for this region show that the average number of reported violence and sexual offences has risen by 75 per cent since 2013.

(Note: January-April 2013 are “violent crimes”. In May 2013 this changed to “violence and sexual offences”.)

For November 2015, the number of reported crimes of this type in the area stood at 69, a slight decrease on November 2014’s total (78).

However, October 2015 saw the highest recorded number of violence and sexual offences in Welwyn Hatfield West since police.uk started

Laura Slingo

The statistics that are gathered and published monthly by police.uk show that the number of violent and sexual offences in the area could be on the rise, or that perhaps more crimes within this category are actually being reported.

Despite local crime rates being publicised on such a regular basis, statistics of reported crime occurring on the University of Hertfordshire campuses are not recorded on this database.

outlets which are an initial point of call for student safety and criminal activity.

The University of Hertfordshire Police Team work with and around the University to ensure student safety.

Students can stay in contact with the University’s official policing team through Twitter @HertsUniPolice or Facebook. The local officers also work with Hertfordshire’s Students’ Union in their OP annual advisory campaign to raise awareness on how students can keep themselves safe.

The Students’ Union also provides an Advice and Support network to all students to ensure that they are equipped with professional advice and accurate and relevant information for potential and current issues should they feel they need it.

The University’s enterprise ideas challenge, Flare, is back for another year offering students and alumni the opportunity to compete and win prizes of up to £8,000.

This year the competition is celebrating the eleventh instalment, which has seen more than 1,000 students and graduates entering the competition since its launch. In that time over £120,000 in prize money has been awarded to some fantastic businesses.

The 2015 event saw Joint Honours graduate Porscha Mbawu win the Best Idea award with her luxury, but affordable clothing range, Pernelle Ltd; engineering student Sam Dallimore walked away with the

Nearly 1,000 Hertfordshire University students celebrated their academic success on Saturday 15th December as they officially became graduates.

Over 2,500 academics, friends and family members joined the graduates to celebrate their academic achievement and enjoy the ceremonies which took place on de Havilland campus.

Sue Grant, Secretary and Registrar at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “These ceremonies form part of the recognition that the University awards all of its students following their hard work.

“We are very proud of our graduates and hope that they, along with their family and friends, enjoyed a day of well-earned celebration.”

As the University has a high employment rate, it is expected that the graduating students will move swiftly into careers and continue to make a positive contribution to society and the economy.

Students head home for Christmas Tom Boon | Contributing Writer

This is likely to be because the University has three separate security

Flare Competition returns to UH Shelby Loasby | Head of Print

Herts celebrates h u n d r e d s of students’ academic success Laura Slingo | News Editor

Laura Slingo

Laura Slingo

newsbrief

prize for Best Business for his Health Hut protein bar business; Business School student, Greg McClarnon won Best Growth Business for his everexpanding live event photography venture, Splaat Media.

We spoke with Careers Officer Tope Bamgbelu to find out why students should apply for Flare 2016:

“Flare not only gives you the chance to win cash prizes, it also provides you with a whole host of opportunities to help you launch your idea or further develop your business in its early stages. Entrants can benefit from specialist advice and training in areas such as writing a business plan, financial forecasting, market research and intellectual property.

All you need to apply is an idea. The slogan for flare is ‘big things come from small ideas’ and that is what we believe, so no matter how small you think your idea is, it is well worth giving it a shot. You do not need to have studied a business degree or have previous experience in running a business/working as a freelancer to enter the competition.

To be eligible to apply for flare you must be a full or part time students or you must have graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in the last 3 years. Group entries are welcome too.”

Flare is now open for applications, please visit the following link: www.herts.ac.uk/flare/apply

To give everybody a chance to say goodbye to each other before the holidays, on the 16th December, staff at the EleHouse hosted an all day Christmas party with activities such as pass the parcel, brussels sprout eating contests, raffles and other party games.

Christmas is a time when Hatfield becomes a ghost town.

Trident Media caught up with Andrew Seaman, a third year placement student, for his opinion of leaving university for Christmas.

“I think it’s quite mixed emotions to be honest. A good chance to realise how much your family does for you. It’s good to look forward just so you can detox from the first semester and recharge your batteries for round two, but obviously it’s the time when some of your international friends go. Which is always sad because at uni you always make good friends.”

6 News •

C ATC A L L I NG : Bryony Wharfe | Contributing Writer A Twitter poll on catcalling has gone viral recently after Alexis Isabel (@lexi4prez), creator of Twitter account @feministculture, posted it to see what results she would get from her followers, hoping to prove that catcalling is a problem.

The definition of “catcalling” is unwelcome comments or sounds that are sexual in nature made by strangers e.g. whistling at a person or shouting “hey sexy”. Catcalling is therefore a form of sexual harassment and can result in criminal arrest.

The seven questions asked by Isabel were answered by around 19,000 people, such as “How old were you when you were first catcalled?” and “Do you wish catcalling would stop?” issuing a wave of disgust and shock when the answers were revealed, for example out of the 19,000 respondents, 48 per cent were first catcalled under the age of 12.

I decided to see if I’d get the same results as Isabel with university students and my Facebook friends by posting a similar poll on my personal Facebook page.

(Note: poll percentages were automatically rounded up to the closest number which is why some results add up to 101%) Have you been catcalled before?

How old were you when you were first catcalled?

1 in 3 of voters who thought that catcalling was a compliment, were male and only three were women. When asked what was said when they were catcalled, UH students responded with: “Oi Oi I’d let you suck me off”, “You’re beautiful give us a smile” and “Masha’Allah”.

Third year UH student, Aimone Sharif, shared her experiences: “Someone asked if my down under was still working as he would totally bang me – seeing i was on crutches.

“I was walking in Hatfield and someone in a truck said he would lick me up and down” Shockingly, like Burrowes, 73 per cent of respondents had experienced catcalling under the age of 16, meaning they were under the age of consent, showing that catcalling can happen to anyone at any age. This means that someone has walked past a minor and whistled at them or made a sexual remark.

Alice Connolly said: “Men sometimes beeped their horns at me as they drove past me whilst I was walking to school... in uniform” Out of the 108 people who answered the Facebook poll, only 10 were male. Although it is mostly women who are catcalled, males are too.

A 21-year-old UH student recalled an incident where a much older woman kept making remarks out loud about his body in a smoking area at a bar, making the evening so uncomfortable that he went home early.

Another 19-year-old UH student said that he was catcalled at school by a group of older girls who told him he had a “nice ass.” He added that it made him feel “weird”.

How does catcalling make you feel?

University of Hertfordshire students provided some shocking stories when asked about their experiences of catcalling. Third year student, Chloe Burrowes revealed:

“Me and my best friend used to walk down the road from her house and it was a shock for us not to be shouted or wolf whistled at, this happened from when we were about 13 and lasted until we left and went to university. Although we got used to it, for a 13 year old it was incredibly intimidating from a grown man.”

“Oi Oi I’d let you suck me off”

Do you feel when you discuss being catcalled with other, they don’t treat it seriously enough?

Male voters predominantly voted that they would not want the catcalling to stop, and said that it made them feel safe and/or happy. This suggests that men can appreciate catcalling because they don’t consider it frightening, creepy or aggressive towards them, unlike most of the women that voted.

A 21-year-old, postgraduate UH student said that when she did not say thank you or acknowledge a guy who whistled at her, he called her a “whore” and a “bitch”. Another woman revealed that when walking past builders on her way home, she was continually catcalled day after day, regardless of how big her jacket was or how loose her trousers were.

Catcalling someone is considered a disregard of the possibility of their discomfort, irritation or even fear, and signals that they are nothing more than their bodies. The most commonly heard phrase: “give us a smile” is a form of exercising a sense of control and ownership.

• News 7

creepy vs. compliment Has a person who catcalled you/ ever insulted you/ followed you/ gotten violent when you rejected them?

The statistics and stories make it clear that catcalling has the potential to become something a lot worse, thus explaining why such a high percentage of people feel unsafe and/or scared when they are catcalled. While it may seem like a harmless act to a small percentage of voters, the majority disagree as they find it creepy and frightening.

A huge 98 per cent of voters said that they wished catcalling would stop leading to the conclusion that catcalling is not considered a compliment by a majority.

Do you wish catcalling would stop?

Jeffrey Zeldman, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

“I am not your toy or here to amuse you” When asked about their thoughts on people who catcall, third year UH student, Laura Slingo, replied: “I pity men that catcall, I mean, how pathetic can you get.”

Sharif added: “Those guys have no respect for a woman at all. I am not your toy or here to amuse you, I am here to live my life. Don’t talk to me disrespectfully if I dont know you, and especially not from a truck!”

Do you feel like being catcalled is a compliment?

Results showed that 55 per cent of voters had not experienced catcalling turning violent and aggressive.

However, a statistic from stopstreetharassment.org’s report on catcalling showed that 57 per cent of women reported being touched or grabbed in a sexual way by a stranger in public (out of 811 women). This shows that catcalling can quickly turn into sexual assault.

I experienced catcalling turn into assault myself in 2014, when I was catcalled by two men walking past me. After ignoring them, they walked past me and one of them proceeded to put his hand under my dress and grab my bum.

I felt that the situation could have turned out a lot worse if no-one else had been around at the time.

UH graduate, Joely Hannah Moore, recounted an incident at a concert where a 30-year-old man catcalled her. Upon rejecting his advances, Moore said: “he tried to grab me to dance and I pulled away so he punched me in the stomach.”

Another UH graduate, Joanna Acierno, said that another bus passanger said “hey baby” to her and proceeded to ask for her number:

“When I said no I don’t want to give you my number he put his legs up to stop me getting off the bus, but a nice guy behind saved me.”

A third year UH student said that she had been stalked by someone who had catcalled her on two occasions and had been groped on campus. Groping was admitted to be a problem

by Acierno who added that it was especially an issue in clubs, Moore said: “It’s surprising when you don’t get groped in clubs.”

A third year, male UH student also admitted experiencing groping and said that it made him feel violated and dirty.

Advice & Support If you have experienced any form of sexual harassment or assault, the Advice & Support Centre will be able to offer any help you may need.

The Advice & Support Centre is based on College Lane in the Hutton Hub building is available from Monday-Friday 10.00-16.00. They also run advice clinics on Wednesdays from 10.00-16.00 on the de Havilland Campus (during term-time).

You can contact Advice & Support via email: advice@hertfordshire.su tel: 01707 285022 For more information, please hertfordshire.su/help-and-advice

visit:

8 News •

newsbrief

Tobi Olasupo

L itter problems Salisbur y Villiage Annie Cracknell | Contributing Writer I, among many other students who have classes on de Havilland, live on the Salisbury Village estate.

Recently – before I came home for the Christmas break – I realised just how bad the litter has gotten around the area. It is so bad that I thought something should be said and done about it.

The population of this development is mainly young adults, students and younger families. Most students who live on the estate are not permanent residents, they go home, like me, at weekends or on certain breaks they get in the year. However, most of the rubbish and litter seems to accumulate where the students live.

There has been a build up of rubbish on The Runway, Dragon Road and

on parts of Cunningham. This is not to say that the students are just the ones causing the litter. However, with the build up of rubbish being in the places where students are living, it is more likely that we will get the blame.

So, what can be done? If you live in the area of Salisbury Village and you walk to class most days, try picking up litter along the way to put in the bin. Even if it does not belong to you, you are helping the environment and making where you live a much nicer place on a whole. As university students, we should now feel part of the community and should respect the places where we live – even if this is only in term time.

You can also help a lot by keeping your own area around your flat or house clean. You can do this by making sure you put rubbish out on the right days and in the right bins.

This is important, as I accidentally

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put my rubbish in the wrong bin and it was not collected! If this is done correctly it will quickly clean up your whole street and the bins won’t overflow, making it a much more pleasant atmosphere.

Finally, it’s important to remember that everyone would much rather live in an environment that is clean and litter free. If enough people contribute to picking up litter in Salisbury Village then we can make the area a more welcoming place for residents and tourists. We need to respect the permanent residents of Salisbury Village and also the wildlife.

If you live in the area and want to help – please join me in the new year in picking up litter on the walk to class or even if you are just out and about. If you pick up just a small amount everyday it will have a huge impact and we will all start to see the changes.

Trident Media want YOU to be our inspiration!

Trident Media’s photography team is looking for some students to get involved in our Valentine’s Day project. The theme of the photography is… love! We want to capture the beautiful hugs, kisses, laughs and hand holding at Herts.

Share the love, get in touch with us if you’re willing to take part so we can arrange a date suitable for you. You don’t have to be an actual couple, if you and a friend are up for it then we are more than happy to snap away!

In return, you will get a gorgeous photograph(s). This is a great opportunity for those who are interested in modelling and are looking to build up their portfolio, or if you really just want a cool new Facebook photo.

Remember, love comes in all shapes, forms and sizes so don’t hold back please get in touch with us.

To express your interest or to ask any questions, contact our print editor, Huriyah Quadri, at: printeditor@tridentmedia.org or our Head of Print, Shelby Loasby, at: headofprint@tridentmedia.org

Intern China Ltd opens fourth office to create more student work experience Laura Slingo | News Editor The Manchester based internship organisation, Intern China Ltd, has opened its fourth office in major city Dalian, a seaport in the south of China’s Liaoning Province.

The company’s latest milestone ensures that UK undergraduates will be able to gain a unique experience from a variety of work placements in one of China’s financial hubs.

The opening of this fourth destination will hopefully be a part of a long-term strategic partnership with the China branch of UK higher education organisation INTO University Partnerships.

Intern China Ltd aim to create opportunities for people with ambitions in the Chinese business world, they place over 300 students in quality internships in China annually. In addition, the internship company provide student interns

with accommodation and a support network.

Managing Director of Intern China Ltd, Jamie Bettles said: “Dalian fits perfectly with our core values of offering students a destination where they can immerse themselves in Chinese language and culture.

“Working more closely with INTO has been a long-term ambition. I know we will add an extra dimension to their China study programmes and hope that an ongoing partnership

will help us to achieve even more significant growth in years to come.”

Intern China Ltd offers a unique opportunity for students to gain work experience, which is key in combatting the competitive graduate job market. This new destination offers students an insight into traditional culture alongside a thriving business environment in some of China’s fastest growing cities.

10 Comment • The opinions expressed in the Comment section are the authors’ own and are not endorsed by Trident Media of Hertfordshire’s Students’ Union.

Should you be following ‘herts_flesh’?

Louise Hal-Fead | Contributing Writer All of us are likely to know what Snapchat is and have probably seen some strange usernames on the photo sharing social media app at some point.

But have you heard of “herts_flesh”? Imagine an account that allows you to see naked members of your university and even their own sexual experiences. Well there’s no need to imagine as herts_flesh reveals everything.

On discovering this Snapchat username through a friend, I was obviously curious as to what it entailed. With a name as brash and raw as herts_flesh, it was unsurprising to discover that it was essentially a cheap way of producing porn or sexual pictures using members of the University.

At first, I was shocked and wondered why anybody would wish to exploit themselves for no “payment” or “reward” and no sure way of preventing certain people from seeing their pictures.

Personally, as someone who is quite open to porn websites and “pro-choice” in being part of them, I came to the resolution that there’s nothing terribly wrong with herts_flesh. While some people may view the fleeting “nudes” as exploitative, others like myself see them as liberating.

A third year student reveals how they believe herts_flesh is creating the wrong image for the University:

“It is disgusting, it just goes to show how sex is becoming more perverted, as it’s basically just a student porn site.”

An attraction to the herts_flesh portfolio of images is likely to be that people enjoy this sexual intimacy, like through other methods such as live sex cams. In addition, the people sending in

pictures are quite possibly those in the University, which adds another layer to this closeness. As a result, herts_flesh entices people with their “girl next door” fantasies.

I believe we have entered an era where acts like this should no longer be looked upon as shameful, demeaning acts. If you are proud of your body and the things you do behind closed doors, I believe it is up to you who sees this and what kind of attention you wish to gain.

“I see no issue with it, in fact I think it’s funny and kind of gives life to university.

Basically it’s hilarious.” - First year student.

I can certainly see why the University may have an issue with someone creating an app which displays images and videos such as this, as some may say it would diminish their reputation.

However, as herts_flesh affects a very small part of university life, I see no issue with people using this app to feel personally liberated – as long as it’s fully consented to and there are checks on whether the picture belongs to the person consenting and not someone else.

“I think herts_flesh is liberating for those who choose to submit their own pictures. But I’d also be concerned about naked pictures being sent to the account from someone else without consent.” - Third year student.

The future of herts_flesh is not certain due to how risqué it seems to be and the controversial opinions over its nature. However, the app does not appear to have affected anyone who does not wish to view it or participate in it so far. There are always going to be issues with security and, in the

case of Snapchat, people taking screenshots, those sending in photos and videos should also be aware of these risks before consenting.

So though there are risks with accounts such as herts_flesh, and people who will be against it, I conclude with my initial opinion: If you don’t like it, you simply shouldn’t follow it.

Tweet us your thoughts on herts_flesh @ TridentMediaUK

Don’t judge me because I don’t go to the gym Louise Hal-Fead | Contributing Writer When people hear that you don’t go to the gym, the common assumption is that you are lazy or not interested in your health. Worse still, those views suggest that you are not an active or enthusiastic individual, which is misleading and also insulting.

I’m someone who has a love/hate relationship with the gym; now settling somewhere in the middle. However, these are the reasons why I now, do not go to the gym.

To begin with, everything you can do at the gym, you can do at home. Let’s face it, most people go to the gym and stick to the same routine. For a cost effective lifestyle, most exercise be done using workouts available for free. Humorous quotes like “why drive to the gym to walk on a treadmill?” have been popping up on social media. Many feel like they are achieving something by showing up to the gym, however, simply getting to the gym won’t burn those calories!

Not everyone needs to go to the gym to be fit.

I would class myself as someone who likes to stay healthy and exercise, yet I am not bothered about the gym. I simply make decisions such as

walking instead of taking public transport, doing my favourite sport once a week and watching what I eat.

Louise Hal-Fead

In my opinion I think it is slightly sad that people have to force themselves to be healthy rather than

simply enjoying a balanced lifestyle.

Of course, I believe in the well-known saying: “commitment is key”, but I am not an addict.

Honestly I think some gym-goers take this phrase a little too far. It’s almost become a trend to be “obsessed” with working out! It seems that it is simply not enough to enjoy one sport anymore. It appears some feel going to the gym has to be a main priority in order to be seen as healthy.

Lastly, in my experience, the gym is a place where guys and girls are both guilty of showing off to each other. This may appear to be quite an “out there” statement, but I stick by its implications when it comes to describing how I view the gym.

Some people have been known to use the gym for “speed dating” which reminds me of a club atmosphere. The gym should be an atmosphere of dedication, hard-work and perseverance to achieve certain goals.

Of course this is only my opinion, and I can see many reasons why people who go to the gym will disagree with what I am saying. However, I hope my opinion shows other ways to live a healthy lifestyle for people who do not like going to the gym.

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Student entrepreneurs: Ruth Thompson of Kawaii Studios Katie Noble | Entertainment Editor

University of Hertfordshire’s third-year Mass Communications student, Ruth Thompson, is doing the impossible. She is successfully juggling a degree, a business, and a YouTube channel. Recently, we spoke to her about her business, Kawaii Studios, and how she manages to stay sane as a super-busy, self-employed student.

Trident Media: Tell us a bit about yourself and the course you do at UH. Ruth Thompson: Okay, so I’m Ruth.

I come from Surrey and I do Mass Communications. That’s loads and loads of different kinds of media; film, journalism, I’ve also done a little bit of sociology, advertising, and PR and communications. I was actually meant to do Psychology at university but a week before I got my results, I realised that I just couldn’t do it as a course. I found it interesting but I don’t like research methods.

TM: Tell us a bit about your business, what is it and how long you’ve being doing it for.

RT: So my business is Kawaii Studios and it’s an Etsy shop. I’ve been doing it for about three or four years now.

But I only starting doing it, like really focusing on it, like last year when I really got in to it and decided it was something that I wanted to be, a business, rather than just something I did on the side. I sell – it’s very hard to explain – it’s called “kawaii” which

is the Japanese word for “cute”.

It’s sort of putting faces on things that don’t usually have faces, like inanimate objects and things. It’s just cute, and pink, glittery things, which people seem to like. I use polymer clay and I’ve also designed things using graphics and got them cut in acrylic.

TM: How do you think your course has affected your business – do you think it has helped, or do you think the skills have helped you develop it?

RT: I feel like actually, what I’m learning now is stuff that my shop has taught me already – which sounds like I know it all, but it’s one of those things where I realise that I had to figure it out before and now I’m getting taught it. So [the business] is sort of enhancing[my studies] and I feel like I do better at my course because I own the shop. I am still learning new things; it really helps because if I already know what they are talking about, I can build on it and do my own thing.

TM: You have a YouTube channel as well – how do you use this for your business and do you think it affects your studies or vice versa?

RT: I started the business because of YouTube – a lot of people starting asking me whether I sold my things or if I sold my charms and that’s how that started. I feel like also, it’s a great way to advertise because people watch it and wonder where to buy it and then obviously I can link

everything. This year I’m actually very lucky; I have a lot of days off. Which means that I’ll film something on the Monday, edit it Wednesday, and then I can upload it Friday. It does get a bit hectic sometimes but I don’t think it affects [my studies] too badly; it’s only when it gets really busy and I’m not ahead of schedule, and I’m not organised, and then everything goes a bit… hectic.

TM: How do you manage your uni life, personal life, business life, YouTube etc.? How do you keep the balance?

RT: Everyone always asks me this.

People ask me “How do you do it?” and in my head, I wasn’t thinking that it was a hard thing to do. And then when you sit down and you realise that my whole calendar is videos, videos, assignments, assignments, and you realise that actually it is kind of hard. You know everyone asks me and I don’t actually know. I just – it sounds really bad – I just get on with it.

TM: Do you feel like you’ve always been a really organised person?

RT: Oh no, people always ask me that.

They always assume that I’m really motivated, really organised, and I’m like no – some days I just don’t get out of bed. But then, the next day I realise that I have to do the work that I didn’t do that day. I’m not a particularly motivated person. I’ve been a bit more organised this year

but – you can ask my Mum, I’m not organised. I’m very messy as well so…

TM: Do you have any tips for any students who might be interested in starting their own business alongside their studies?

RT: Whenever people ask me should they do it, I always tell them to just do it because you never know until you try. But I do feel like you need to know your priorities. Like for me, I love my business and I love my YouTube and all that stuff, but uni – to me – is still the main priority. So if I have an assignment but I need a video up, I’ll still always do the assignment first. I feel like, obviously I’ve paid so much money to be here, and in the end, I can carry all of my extracurricular stuff on afterwards.

So I feel like, just do it and you never know how it’s gonna go, but make sure you know your priorities before you start.

For more information about starting your own business as a student or as a recent graduate, search “Enterprise” on StudyNet. Find Kawaii Studios online: Etsy: etsy.com/uk/shop/ KawaiiStudios Facebook: facebook.com/ KawaiiStudiosShop Instagram: @Kawaii_Studios Youtube: youtube.com/user/ xoxrufus

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Happy New Year: Resolutions for 2016 anyone?

Qi Leong Tyng | Contributing Writer 1. Meet new people I am largely an introvert so this is something I find challenging. I do try to mingle but I just don’t know where to start! University is the best time to network with people. It is different to a work setting because, at university, you still get to make mistakes while learning how to work with people from another culture or work ethic.

Maybe you could take up a sport to meet people. Board games work too!

2. Cook actual food (because uni is trying to kill us with assignments, fire is much more interesting) We know we should eat healthily but it is tempting to just pop ready-

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cook meals in the microwave. You can find some quick and easy healthy recipes online or try multitasking; salmon can easily be baked in the oven while you do other chores and assignments.

We all need motivators. Having a gym partner doesn’t mean you need to work out together, you can just go to the gym together and then do your own workouts.

4. Try a new sport

3. Find a gym partner My gym partner has graduated.

Now when I ask people whether they want to be my gym partner, the usual response I get is “I work out alone.”

I recommend people to get a gym partner because you need someone to drag you to the gym and motivate you. They need someone to drag and motivate them as well, and that will be you!

“But I don’t need a gym partner!”

This is probably why not many stick to their New Year resolutions.

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There are sports and games where you don’t need to communicate much, like rock climbing! You just need to holler when you want to come back down. If you want to avoid talking, you can cling forever on the wall and work those muscles. But please remember the poor person at the bottom, your belayer.

Gym too expensive? Check out Active Students. No commitments; just appear when you want to. Like a ninja!

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5. Travel more Most avoid traveling because they immediately assume it is expensive.

With some research online, you can actually travel cheaply. You just need to be realistic and willing to let go of some luxuries. There are websites such as AirBnB, CouchSurfing and HostelWorld. You don’t need to travel far, but just go somewhere.

A friend I made during my Euro trip just started a blog on how it’s possible to travel longer and cheap.

He has done it and is still doing it as I write this. You can look at his posts at beyondyourborder.com/ for some inspiration.

What are your resolutions for 2016? Let us know by tweeting us @ TridentMediaUK

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Grumpy Corner: Body Shaming Hannah Bicknell | Features Editor Let’s talk body image. Yep, take a good look around and tell me what you don’t see. That’s right! You don’t see the ideal person, (arguably you could say that’s because it’s you and yes, in a way that’s true).

As everyone is different, everyone is their own version of what they should be like. But society is built on a whole foundation of beliefs about how someone should look, eat, dress, speak, write etc., and thankfully it’s becoming a quickly outdated notion.

People are starting to wake up and smell the cheeseburgers, and they are choosing not to conform to the range of crazy diets and health plans!

Hooooray! But because everyone is so hardwired with the image of the seemingly perfect body, the habit of falling back into the ridiculous light

shone on how you look (and how everyone around you looks) is all too easy.

Instead of pushing a positive view on the benefits of being healthy, the media glorifies men and women at a size 0 – even if they’re unhealthy – and shames the ones that dare eat anything. Which frustratingly becomes ingrained in people, making them think they are better than everyone else, and some aren’t afraid to let others know it.

The whole thing irritates me more than I could ever express here; especially when I hear stories about a collective group of people, targeting seemingly overweight strangers and handing them cards to tell them they are worst of humanity.

Something has got to be said of the sheer hypocrisy that follows one of those cards, but I’ve heard arguments

that agree with the card giving. The question I want to put out there is when did everyone decide what is good for everyone else? At what point did someone decide the girl sitting across from me was too wide, or too thin or too freaking tall, and deserved to be abused accordingly?

Because that’s what it is at the end of the day.

These people are abusing someone verbally and though they may not leave any physical scars, the mental ones will stay with that person for the rest of their life. It could be the cause of a drastic (either good or bad) change in their life. But, nine times out of ten, and speaking from experience, it is very rare that spewing words of disdain will make a positive impact on a person.

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New Fashion & Fashion Business Course Lashara Van Heerden | Features Manager

This September, the School of Creative Arts launched the Fashion and Fashion Business award in response to the evolving fashion industry.

Programme Leader for the Fashion and Fashion Business degree, Tony Rosella, explains that “[they] have designed an award that [they] feel is relevant, not just relevant to a national market, but to an international market too.”

The new course prepares students for a professional career as a fashion business person. Students gain expert understanding of how the fashion industry works, underpinned by an appreciation for the creative strategies that go into creating garments.

Shaun Borstrock, Associate Dean of Business, Innovation and Projects, says that the University is “teaching students the fundamentals

specifically in relation to the fashion industry, but they are also getting the hands-on experience of being able to understand the process involved in design and make.”

The Fashion and Fashion Business award is designed for students who enjoy the creative aspect of fashion business. Students get a wider knowledge of the commercial elements of running a business within the the context of the fashion industry. Thus students gain tangible skill sets that place them at the forefront of the fashion industry.

The educational philosophy and mission of the programme, as stated by Rosella, “isn’t about just learning in [the University’s] four walls, but about learning in the industry, having hands-on experience, while at the same time learning in an academic environment.” Though there are separate business modules, both the Fashion and Fashion Business students engage in some overlapping modules. Both courses

run projects with big name brands like Ted Baker, Boden and Reiss throughout the degree.

The new course is for the professional individual who is passionate about fashion and business, and aspires to be an exciting

new addition to the University’s collection. Rosella claims that “the students who are interested in this award will naturally want to do this anyway, because they want to learn about the business of fashion.”

HSMCH, Wikipedia Commons

Introducing Forward Women: Building confidence through body awareness Saskia Brüske | Contributing Writer

On Wednesday 18 November, I attended the Introducing Forward Women conference hosted by The Guardian. It was titled as “a one-day conference to set you on the road to success” and there were lots of opportunities for us attendees – from talks to Q&A sessions, debates and different breakout sessions. The one breakout session I took part in was called “First impressions: building confidence through body awareness.”

It was held by the winners of the 2013 Funny Women Awards: Nina Smith and Libby Northedge, also known as Twisted Loaf.

We started the breakout session by watching a video of the comedic duo’s winning performance to gain an insight into the things body language can display and achieve.

Scientifically proven, body language accounts for 55 per cent of our conversation, which makes it more important than tone of voice (38 per cent) and actual literal meaning of the words we use (seven per cent).

After the video, we got to do things ourselves; we put our own body language into action. We learned about the “neutral position” you can put your body in by standing with your feet flat on the ground at hip width, knees bent just a little bit, the

head held in an angle of about 90 degrees so your eyes can easily rest sort of above the horizon. Try to do it and you’ll probably feel your body (and mind) become more neutral and relaxed.

For another exercise, seven people – myself included – were selected. I was very nervous at first.

Each of us were given a playing card and we were asked to act out the status of it, only using body language.

Without talking, we then sorted ourselves by status, from high (king) to low (any number). I got the jack and I tried to show this by starting out appearing rather powerful, then slowly sinking into myself more and more with only my fists remaining clenched. I did this to indicate being somebody who might think higher of themselves – or would like to be of a higher status – than they might actually appear to others. Out of the seven people, I was the only one who got my position right, which was a nice way for me to end the workshop.

I didn’t need to be nervous at all!

The workshop taught me that body language is highly important and indicates how others view us. Our body language is more likely to say more about us than we might notice.

Since taking part in this workshop, I often catch myself slouching. I have to remind myself that my body language is capable of representing

Saskia Brüske me in a way I might not necessarily want to be viewed. I don’t think my frequency of slouching has increased or decreased since participating in the workshop, but I’m definitely more aware of it now. As a result, I can actively change my body language for the better when I most need to – to reflect openness and confidence, for example.

I’d suggest you take a moment to think about your own body language and what it might

tell people about yourself. Do you want to be viewed in the way you’re presenting yourself? If yes, that’s awesome! If not, try to be more aware of the effect of your appearance, i.e. the language your body speaks. It might help you in your everyday life for things such as job interviews, or when giving a presentation in front of a class, or even when just casually talking to people in the corridors.

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Warner Brothers Studio Tour: The making of Harry Potter Maxine Weller | Contributing Writer Innovations editor, Betlehem Fekade and I were given the amazing opportunity to visit the Warner Bros Studio Tour a few weeks before Christmas.

We were so excited for the chance and with the studio so close to home (it’s located in Watford and there’s a shuttle bus available at the train station!) we couldn’t think of a reason to stop us from going.

When we arrived at the tour, we were taken, along with a small group of tour-goers, to a room to be given an introduction of what our day would be like. We were taken to a movie theatre where Harry, Ron and Hermione (among other characters) shared some secrets of the trade with us as well as some of their favourite parts of making the movies.

As we explored the sets, it felt like we were right there beside them. Amazingly, the screen lifted up into the sky and we were invited to open the door to view the spectacular Great Hall, the honour was given to a very excited birthday girl.

Once we went through the HUGE doors, we gazed in awe at Hogwarts in all its splendour. As this was a festive season visit, we got the chance to see Hogwarts in the snow. We were surrounded with tables laden with a festive feast and we even experienced some magic of our very own involving a very flamboyant Christmas pudding. The tour guides gave us some inside information of the room, apparently the genuine solid stone floor we were standing on was laid specially for the movie over 10 years ago.

After all the excitement in the Great Hall, we didn’t know where to look first. There were so

many things to see and learn, it truly is a must for all Potterheads. The beginning of the tour gave us the chance to see the spectacular sets from the movies in all their amazing detail, from rooms and classrooms for the halls of Hogwarts to the Weasley’s cottage. It seemed like things at the cottage were moving on their own at the wave of a hand. We also found out more about the Ministry of Magic set, even though I thought the headless mannequins were a little freaky.

The interactive tour guides were dotted throughout the tour, they called themselves qualified Potter geeks and were happy to answer any and all questions.

My favourite moment was when I was standing near the infamous Goblet of Fire and one of the guides gathered everyone around the Goblet.

The Goblet opened up glowing and smoking before spitting out a burnt ball of paper at us, which, you guessed it had “Harry Potter” scrawled across it!

We got the opportunity to fly on a broomstick but don’t think we’d ever watch Quidditch the same way again.

With life scale models of number 4 Privet Drive, the Knight Bus and Godric’s Hollow, I felt as though I was walking through the magical world created by J. K. Rowling herself. We even stepped through the wall at Platform 9 ¾ and jumped aboard the Hogwarts Express which showed scenes from the movies in each carriage. I bought myself some Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans which tasted great for the most part, though I wouldn’t recommend vomit and earwax… There was an interactive tour of the third-year Hogwarts Express journey, I’d suggest keeping some chocolate on hand for that one!

Maxine Weller

The tour was broken up into two main sections by the Backlot café where we grabbed some lunch and butterbeer, which wasn’t quite what I expected but it’s something you’ve got to try if you’re a fan. They also had butterbeer icecream, which is exclusive as it’s only sold in three locations worldwide.

After lunch, we got to marvel at some very realistic mannequins of the cast. They had heads this time but it was still a little scary; some of them moved. There was one of the frankly terrifying Aragog with a humungous leg span of 16 ft!

The outstanding hard work of the animators and image artists was reflected in Diagon Alley; I enjoyed peeking through Ollivanders and the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

We finished off our tour with a spectacularly detailed scale model of the whole Hogwarts ground, covered in snow just for Christmas. We popped in for a mooch through the gift shop to grab some souvenirs. I bought a time turner, which unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use to experience the tour all over again.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan Qi Tyng Leong | Contributing Writer When in Japan, I visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is part of Universal Studios.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is different from the Warner Brothers Studios in Watford... because it’s a theme park!

I was greeted by the iconic Weasley’s Ford Anglia crashed into a tree at the entrance. Once inside, I made my way to a restaurant modelled after the Three Broomsticks where food and drinks were served, The Hog’s Head was actually connected to the Three Broomsticks. I got to choose between two options of butterbeer in Japan; they had the same version we have at the Warner Bros Studios and they had the blended version. Personally, I think the one by Warner Bros is tastier.

The Hog’s Head’s visitors were able to order a crafted beer specially made for the bar called the Hog’s Head Brew. I didn’t get to try it because of the long queue! For those unwilling to queue for beers, there were butterbeer barrel caravans around the Wizarding World. I noticed that the Warner Bros Studios offered a souvenir cup or a tankard, while the Wizarding World only had a normal soft plastic cup or a tankard.

The Owl Post was opposite the Three Broomsticks, it doubled as a souvenir shop. The

owls that sat along the walls were animatronic so they gave a realistic vibe. The shop I had been most eager to visit was Ollivanders; the wands were on sale and there were were signs along the shelves describing the different types of wood used.

There was a life-sized Great Lake and a replica of the Hogwarts castle. I went into the castle and saw the moving portraits, which also talked.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand them because they talked in Japanese. Visitors standing in line got to enjoy being spoken to by the portrait of the Fat Lady herself! To keep things even more authentic, Moaning Myrtle’s screechy voice came out of the public bathrooms amid the flushing noises.

Since it was a theme park, there was a ride in the Castle called The Forbidden Journey in 4K3D. It was an entertaining ride but it probably offered a richer experience to those who knew Japanese.

There was also an outdoor ride called The Flight of the Hippogriff, I saw Hagrid’s Hut from there but it was not meant for visitors. However, I did get to see Dumbledore’s Office and the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom!

If you’re planning on visiting Japan, I would recommend visiting The Wizarding World, it’s a completely different experience to the Warner Bros Studios and you’re going to love it!

Qi Tyng Leong

• Features 15

What’s up Herts?

bac.edu The School of Law Leong Qi Tyng | Contributing Writer

The School of Law will welcome Rayden Solicitors on Wednesday 20th January at room N108 at de Havilland from 1.00-2.00pm to hold an employer presentation. Rayden Solicitors is an award winning family law solicitors firm in St Albans. It was founded in 2005 and has grown to be the largest family law firm in Hertfordshire.

Book to attend the event through CareerHub to gain exclusive industry insights and to discover available opportunities with a highly reputable law firm.

The School of Health and Social Work Anisah Khan | Contributing Writer

The School of Health and Social Work has announced huge changes in response to announcements made by the Government in the recent Spending Review. Beginning from the 2017/18 academic year, students who were once eligible for NHS grants will now have to take out maintenance and tuition loans like many other students attending university. These changes will affect those looking to study Diagnostic Radiography, Dietetics, Midwifery, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Radiotherapy in September 2017. The changes will not affect students who are currently studying any of the mentioned subjects.

The School of Humanities Aaron Hurst | Contributing Writer

School of Humanities writers from the University’s non-profit creative writing publication, The Jabberwock, have been helping to raise money for Save the Children in wake of the recent terror attacks in Syria. The Jabberwok have created pamphlets of poetry incorporating the concept of fairytales to educate and entertain their audience, as well as raising awareness about the conflict.

The pamphlets are on sale for £3 each, and all money raised will go to Save the Children. Please email editor.jabberwock@gmail.com for more information

The School of Creative Arts Alianna Sanusi | Contributing

The School of Creative Arts has had multiple events over the past months relating to art and design talks. Since have started holding monthly talks on Theorising Visual Art & Design (TVAD) which will run until 11th May 2016. The talks feature various guest speakers from different backgrounds about topics concerning technology, design, contemporary arts and much more. It is a free event that is open to whoever is interested in gaining a wider perspective of the mentioned topics. The talks will take place at 12.45pm in room AA191 at the Art & Design Building on College Lane.

The School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics’ Annie Cracknell | Contributing Writer

The School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics’ principal lecturer in Astronomy, Mark Thompson, has now taught the first ever Astrophysics course in Zambia. Zambia is an African partner in the next major radio observatory, the Square Kilometre Array telescope, (SKA). The country has little to no knowledge in the subject of astronomy. The University has joined a UK/South African Newton Fund project, enabling Zambia and the other African partners to fully exploit the opportunities afforded by SKA. Over the course of the next five years, Hertfordshire will train the next generation of astronomers and engineers in Zambia, Ghana, Namibia and Kenya. There is also a new science building due for completion in 2016 at College Lane, it will replace the outdated CP Snow building.

School of Education Leong Qi Tyng | Contributing Writer

School of Education students interested in teaching in the USA this summer might be interested in attending the Camp Counselors USA presentation. The Camp Counselors will provide guidance on how you can go about taking steps to teach at the camp. Responsibilities will include

teaching children activities such as sports, arts and crafts, water sports or performing arts. After camp, you will be able to travel around the USA for 30 days. The talk is open to all students. If you’re interested, book in through Careerhub and meet them on Tuesday, 26th January 2016. The presentation will take place in N208 at de Havilland campus from 1.00pm to 2.00pm.

The Business School Zunaira Taj | Contributing Writer The Business School is all about offering quality education and ideal opportunities. This year, the Business School is working to make their students’ experience better than before. The MBA Professional Scholarship, started back in 2014 still continues to benefit its part time students. The scholarship is worth 40 per cent of the tuition fees, which helps minus the costs. The School also helps its students develop their networks and gain extra knowledge through Business Academy. The academy hosts lectures and invites people from the practical field to guide students. All in all, the School is continuing its hard work to help students become, not only better academics, but also the best professionals.

The School of Life and Medical Sciences Huriyah Quadri | Print Editor The School of Life and Medical Sciences students may be interested in the “Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Sciences Postgraduate Research” seminar featuring speakers: Bo Liu and Unnati Shah. The seminar will take place on 11th January between 1.00 – 1.45pm at the CP Snow Building.

The second Women in STEMM Network event discussing external roles will also take place on 11th January between 10.00-12.30pm. Confirmed speakers include: Martina Doolan, Lola Canamero, Susan Murray, Sean Ryan and Janet Drew. Contact Katerina Finnis at k.finnis@herts.ac.uk if you’re interested in attending.

16 Features 18 Features • •

Trident Media’s tips for exam prep Robert Wheatley | Lifestyle Editor

Exam month is up and running and we’re already pretty run down after all of the assignments that were (or are) due, which can sometimes make it difficult to get and stay motivated. But, we’re here to save you – well, at least motivate you to study.

We asked Trident Media members what tips they had for exam prep, and how to keep yourself focused and memorise those factoids.

Robert Gammon said: “Listening to generic game music helps you concentrate – the Super Meat Boy original soundtrack does it for me.”

Music certainly can aid with studying, and depending on your music taste, you may prefer something different. YouTube offers a lot of free game soundtracks, as well as different music genres in general, from relaxing spa music to upbeat electronic tracks. Websites like RadioTunes have many music categories available for free, with an account.

Speaking of music, Benjamin Fox suggested music association: “I find it helps to put key phrases and notes to music. Then all I have to do is sing the song – in my head, obviously – and it helps to jog my memory.”

The technique is similar to word association, only you put important information to music rather than specific words, or rhymes.

Applying key facts or phrases to a song you can remember can help jog your memory when certain parts are sung in your head.

Hannah Wileman suggested quizzing friends doing the same exam, and vice versa.

“Making tonnes of notes, then testing friends on it and them testing me. If it’s a process, for example, biochemical pathway; reciting it until I get it right.”

Bryony Wharfe also found revision with students helpful.“Revising with other students helps me the most. Doing it all by myself I may miss something or not truly understand something. Being with at least one other person helps dramatically.”

We can easily miss small things we have to revise, or we may just be having trouble understanding something that a friend can explain a lot easier. You may also find studying with students also helps motivate you to study.

You may find categorising helps you revise. Jake Borrett, creates

mind maps, Q-cards and and posters that help jog his memory with key phrases and information, colour coded for the novels he studies for his English Literature exam.

“For my English Literature examination revision I often find myself writing Q-cards, mind maps and posters. My bedroom walls are then covered with these visual aids to help me remember key concepts, critics and textual quotes. I also like to use different colour pen ink in order to distinguish between novels.”

writing one for the exam. If you need to memorise something, ensure you know what needs remembering for a particular topic.

But, do so healthily! Staying up all night before an exam will impact your performance, and may make you more susceptible to stress and forgetting in the exam. Sure, study hard the night before, but give yourself rest too! Eat something like a banana for energy, but avoid caffeine to prevent stress. If you are stressing out a lot, speak to your professors; they are there to listen. Good Luck!

Sometimes, repetition can help reinforce information needed for an exam. Huriyah Quadri, prefers to rewrite things on paper to memorise essay structure, and to almost trick her mind into enjoying the revision by making colourful posters.

“I write and rewrite things repeatedly.

The process helps me memorise the structure of my essays. I pay special attention to the first sentence of each paragraph, that usually helps me remember the rest.”

What’s most important is practice. It ensures you remember something for an exam. If you struggle with essays on the spot, practice

Flickr

When in Edinburgh!

Jacky Linares | Contributing Writer

Edinburgh is hands down my favorite city that I’ve visited. I went on the weekend of Halloween, accompanied by other study abroad students, and surprisingly, I had a really good time despite being by myself most of the time, exploring and soaking it up.

I was lucky that the weather was good since it was late October.

The trees were golden, and the wind played with my hair without being too annoying about it. There was so much history in Edinburgh that I didn’t know about, and it is the only

Jacky Linares

place in the world where bagpipes sound beautiful.

I went to the famous Elephant Cafe, where J.K. Rowling supposedly wrote Harry Potter. In terms of my adventure abroad, I would say that sitting in that cafe on Halloween was the climax of the entire semester. It was the best cup of coffee I’d ever had, but I felt like it had nothing to do with the quality but more to do with the fact that I trekked to a sacred place that reminded me why I had decided to leave sunny California for rainy Europe. It was totally worth the vitamin D deficiency.

I ate haggis. I had no idea what it was until I had already eaten it. I had no idea what the burned cookie looking thing was on my plate but I tried it anyway. I enjoyed the first bite but the appeal declined rapidly with each proceeding bite. I had the haggis with my “Big Scottish Breakfast” at Jacob’s (I think). I was the only person there.

The “Big Scottish Breakfast” contained: eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, haggis and toast. I was feeling a little bit homesick prior to the trip,

the breakfast had the same elements as the breakfasts my mum makes on Sundays when everyone is home and all we do laze around.

Edinburgh has been one of the few places I’ve been to that didn’t entirely make me feel like a tourist, or an American. I felt someone enjoying a breakfast at a restaurant that resembled the millions of breakfasts that my mum has made for me millions of times at home. This familiarity, I have thus concluded, is why Edinburgh is my favorite city on this side of the planet.

I climbed Holyrood Park which was its own Hero’s Journey. I went to the castle, by accident because I

Jacky Linares

Jacky Linares took a path a park that lead me to it accidentally. I guess that’s the best bit about traveling and walking around with no WiFi and no map; you never know where you might end up!

• Features 17

The War of Words: A Festive Staff Edition Anisah Khan | Contributing Writer

Rather than debating on the usual subjects of politics and religion, the Law staff prefer to destroy childhood figures, and make jokes about nuts. If there’s ever been a question of which school of study has the best, or more specifically, the most entertaining group of lecturers, then I think it’s safe to say that the School of Law hands down wins in that department.

Every week, the School of Law runs a debate-like session, open to all students, in which six individuals must defend separate arguments and then debate those arguments with the audience. However, as interesting as these weekly sessions are, it’s the annual staff edition in the University’s courtroom that makes the Law lecturers perhaps the most ridiculously entertaining group out there.

Occurring during the last week of Semester A, the “Special Festive Staff War of Words” invited six staff members, including weekly host and lecturer Dan Berger, to defend a controversial selection of arguments. Arguments included the heavily debated statement “that chocolate is better than sex.” Now, in a university environment, the subject of sex is hardly anything to bat an eye at. But, when you’re sitting in your very first staff War of Words, even if the question is whether chocolate

Berger made an argument focused on Donald Duck’s lack of trousers or underwear, I knew I hadn’t. Coming towards the end of his argument, Berger left the audience with the parting words: “[Donald Duck] is indecently exposing himself to young children, the dirty paedo!”

I struggled wondering whether anyone would actually believe me if I told them about this.

After six debates, multiple sexual innuendos, and a demand for “a murder to appease the darkness” from Associate Dean Kevin Rogers, the “Special Festive Staff War of Words” came to a close, not to return until next Christmas. But at the very least, the usual weekly sessions will return on 21st January 2016, and Berger has left us with the following life changing words: “Donald Duck is Saville!”

Hertfordshire Students’ Union is better than sex, the last thing you expect to hear is Associate Dean Penny Carey say that chocolate gives you “fruit and nut without the hairs!”

Honestly, to say that half the audience choked on their free buffet sandwiches (the School of Law is clearly the most generous too) would be an understatement. Ladies and gentleman, I kid you not, the crowd went wild! And riding on the back of the stir that she had already caused, Carey took it one step further by

saying: “keep your chocolate in the fridge and it’s always hard and ready to go!”

However, this was not a onewoman show, or debate, and Berger was one hell of a follow up act.

Arguing the case “that the Disney company is generally a force for evil,” Berger decided to destroy all our childhoods by accusing Donald Duck of public indecency and paedophilia.

Whilst sitting in the audience, I was sure I had misheard him, but after

18 • • 22Health Healthand andScience Science

What’s happening at the University’s Bayfordbury Observatory?

Images provided by Bayfordbury Observatory

Lashara Van Heerden | Features Manager

Bayfordbury Observatory is the University of Hertfordshire’s astronomical and atmospheric remote sensing observatory. It’s where physicists study the stars, moon, planets and even the Earth’s own atmosphere.

With state-of-the-art technology, such as seven large optical, individually-housed telescopes, four radio telescopes; including interferometer and high definition planetarium, it is plain to see that the people at the Observatory are looking up.

While being shown the instruments that watch the conditions of the atmosphere for observations I was shown an AllSky camera, Infrared (IR) Radiometers and the Solar and Lunar photometer, which form part of the NASA AERONET network that measures the properties of atmospheric aerosols, by measuring the sun, moon and sky radiances at a number of wavelengths in the visible and near-IR.

Due to a poorly timed gust of wind, the only door, with only a handle on the inside, closed, leaving us locked on the roof for about 20 minutes. This left us with plenty of time to discuss the importance of these devices and I discovered that the Sir Patrick Moore Building is where those observing the sky do analytical work on the computers, drink tea, and eat biscuits.

Mark Gallaway is Principal Technical Officer at the centre, and has a PhD in massive star formation. Some of the research at the Observatory is monitoring bright M-dwarfs. M-dwarfs, otherwise known as red dwarfs, are small stars that are far dimmer than our own sun. In fact, because they are so dim you cannot see them with the naked eye. They are one of the most common star and make up a large part of our galaxy. It was during an explanation on the M-dwarfs and the research at the Observatory that Gallaway and Jones started debating luminosity and brightness.

“Just like we look out of our atmosphere, when the clouds are out of the way, or we can look out of our plane of planets,” explained Jones.

Gallaway described it as looking out of a forest through a narrow gap until eventually, if the gap was small enough, you would see past the forest and see outside, past the trees.

I went up out to the countryside in Bayfordbury to meet with Professor Hugh Jones, the Observatory Director. The campus is located on the outskirts of Hertford, set on the grounds of an old manor house. The lack of light pollution from streetlights, buildings, and cars allows the campus to be submerged in darkness at night for observations.

If you’re wondering what that is, Elizabeth Howell from space.com provides an explanation: “Astronomers define star brightness in terms of apparent magnitude (how bright the star appears from Earth) and absolute magnitude (how bright the star appears at a standard distance of 32.6 light years, or 10 parsecs). Astronomers also measure luminosity — the amount of energy (light) that a star emits from its surface.”

Gallaway gestured to a picture of what appeared to be a cluster of colourful dots – they were in fact galaxies – and said: “This piece will be the size of your fingernail.

The first telescope at the observatory was built in 1969, since then, the Observatory has been used by undergraduates as a teaching

• Health and Science 19

Let’s talk about sex!

Trident Media’s sex education survey - were we taught the right things?

April Wilson | TV Director

Everyone has a few hazy memories of the sex education they received at school. For a lot of people, it’s remembering the fits of giggles when putting a condom on a banana, for others it’s the horror of seeing STI after STI after STI. The Impulse Buy - Flickr

But is the sex education we received at school educational useful?

And is it being introduced to us at the right age?

In 2014, the Liberal Democrats believed that the age children should learn sex education should be lowered from 11 to 7 years of age.

However, their ideas did not bring about any change, and in 2015 sex education still become compulsory at 11 years of age. However, while some elements of sex education are compulsory in the curriculum as they are listed under science, the parts of sex ed not affiliated with science are not compulsory education, and parents may withdraw their children from this if they wish.

Interested in what the students at the University of Hertfordshire thought about sex ed in schools, Trident Media conducted a survey that reflected some interesting results.

Many students expressed that they were happy with the age they were taught about sex education at school (91.3 per cent do not believe they were taught about it too early), and most disagreed with the Liberal Democrat view that sex education should be taught from 7 years of age, as only 26.09 per cent of participants believed that sex education should be introduced from ages 7-9.

The majority of respondents were introduced to sex education at 10-12 years of age (41.3 per cent).

This then correlates with puberty, as puberty usually occurs for girls between the ages of 8 and 14, with 11 as the average age, and for boys between 9 and 14, with 12 as the average age. If puberty then can start before 10 years of age, and for some, from the age of eight, is the

Liberal Democrat view more easy to understand?

A common thread of thought for many people on the issues with contemporary sex education is its lack of coverage concerning LGBTQ+ issues (e.g. transgender education, homosexual sex, etc.).

Many respondents stated that these issues were not covered in their sex education (95.65 per cent), but many respondents felt that they should have been (86.96 per cent).

When asked how they would set about revamping sex education, a common theme in answers was the

inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics (and this was also something people wished had generally covered in more detail), as well as generally approaching a more diverse range of subjects: “Children need to be aware that things aren’t black and white and that’s okay and normal.” Anonymous survey participant

Another issue that was raised by respondents was that sex education topics need to relate to young people more in this modern day and age, such as online safety and sexting.

Also, the issue of pornography was brought up, as with the advent of the digital age, pornography is source that many now turn to as a way of learning about sex. What they may see though is not always the reality and survey results suggest this needs to be addressed.

Overall, 73.91 per cent of participants believed that sex education needed a “revamp” in terms of content. It seems then that this topic is far from being closed.

Se

xand the

Univercity

Cage the Elephant: Tell me I’m Pretty

I’ll admit it, I have probably seen far too many “girly” films in my life, so I definitely have unrealistic expectations of this whole love thing. I guess I am sceptical of love. I’m not talking about the love you feel for your family, your friends, or even your pets, because that is unconditional. I’m talking about romantic love and how in today’s world, I just think that it doesn’t seem to exist.

Of course others would say different, and many have told me that I don’t believe in it because “I haven’t met the one yet.” “Give it time,” they say “When you’ve met him, you’ll know just what love is.” They might be right, but what if my Mr Right has been struck down by lightning? What if I’m destined to be one of those crazy ladies with 25+ cats? And what if my life is more horror film than Jennifer Aniston rom-com?

Hollywood has given us all these unrealistic ideas of what love is. How can we possibly compete with big grand gestures of love and displays of affection during massive rainstorms. In real life, you’d get cold and you’d get frizzy hair during a rainstorm, not happily ever after.

Instagram and YouTube have taken this further with countless photos and videos of romantic proposals and couples in stunning settings just to make us single people feel like there is no hope, especially when your Instagram is full of pictures of last night’s dinner and your future 25+ cats. And then there’s those celebrity couples on the glossy pages of Hello and OK! who share every little detail of their private lives with the world. “In the life of B and Jay-Z... Step inside the celebrity love nests.” we can’t escape the love, as much as we may want to avoid it. On the other side of it, there’s the routine headlines we’ve become so used to: “Celeb couple split after just 20 days of marriage... so and-so’s relationship is on the rocks.” It’s hardly surprising to see the breakdown of celebrity couple relationships anymore, it’s not even a question of if they will end their glitzy union, it’s all about when. We seem to all be programmed to think it these days, we may not want to but I’m sure at one point we’ve all uttered those famous words: “It’ll never last.”

Love seems to have become easy with dating apps and all the mod-cons that boast that they can help find love at first swipe. It might well do for some people. Who am I to question it?

After all, everyone’s stories are different.

As a glass half empty kind of person though I am trying to see the positive side of things, so with a new year, it might be a good time to take all we hear about love and romance be it through film, Instagram even our friends, with a pinch of salt and place our trust in the hands of life.

Live, laugh, love.

Danielle Smith | Contributing Writer Cage the Elephant are slowly creeping up the rock charts with their new album Tell me I’m Pretty released on 18th December 2015. Some may have released a sigh of relief when Cage the Elephant finally produced an album, as it has been two years since their previous release of the Melophobia. The American Rock band of 10 years are gradually becoming more well known, not by having top hits, but by having higher places within festivals during the summer, and making their music more relatable. A few of their previous albums consisted of alternative rock and jazz, whilst this album was more of an eclectic approach in the style of the new found pop-punk. This genre is becoming profoundly more and more popular with the help of the likes of Arctic Monkeys, The Wombats and Jack White.

The vocalist, Matt Shultz, said that they wanted to: “be more transparent, and have more flexibility with each song,” in their new album.

The now downloadable album, is set to bring huge emotional reactions to new and previous fans of this American rock band. Some of the songs are reminiscent of The Black Keys, but all in all, the album features a wide variety of song each as diverse as the other, none actually representing the album itself.

The album in full: 1.”Cry Baby” 2.”Mess Around” 3.”Sweetie Little Jean” 4.”Too Late to Say Goodbye” 5.”Cold Cold Cold” 6.”Trouble” 7.”How Are You True” 8.”That’s Right” 9.”Punchin’ Bag” 10.”Portuguese Knife Fight”

S t ar Wa rs : The Force Awakens

“

100 per cent not just fan-service; though there was lots of staring at one another and long pauses... and I cannot believe what they did to [spoiler]!

– Hannah Myers

”

Pixabay

Sx

• Coffee Break 21

Wordsearch

Aaron Hurst | Contributing Writer As accurate as astrology gets.

(Images by Charlotte Mullin)

ARIES Are you sure you brought everything you need back to uni after the holidays? You may find out otherwise...

TAURUS You will manage to pull on a night out sometime in the near future, but may quickly regret it. all in the process.

GEMINI Twins. They’ll be in your future, somehow.

CANCER The desire to procrastinate may hit you hard very soon. It happens to all of us at some point, it just happens to be your turn.

LEO That New Year’s resolution you made? Yeah, that won’t last much longer. You were doing so well!

VIRGO

The Sudoku Challenge Are you up to the Sudoku Challenge? Will you be crowned the Trident Sudoku Master?

Complete both Sudoku puzzles, direct message your answers to us on Twitter @ TridentMediaUK and be in the chance to win a prize fit for champions! Good Luck!

Answers and winners will be revaled on the 10th February

Easy

Medium

You’re going to want to sing Christmas songs even after you go back to uni. Bugger the system.us on this.

LIBRA Prepare for a nasty surprise in your fridge.

SCORPIO You will feel mischievous when you go back to your term time accommodation after Christmas.

Beware of any Libras finding out what you get up to...

SAGITTARIUS Your next night out might get a little messier than usual.

CAPRICORN You are the chosen one.

AQUARIUS You may find yourself developing a desire to try out some sailing. Don’t be nervous. You’ll all be in the same boat.

PISCES You may forget that your timetable changes when you go back to uni in the New Year so you’re going to show up at the wrong classrooms for the first couple of days.

22 Sport •

Sports Hacks Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager

With shorter days and crappier weather than usual, we all have the same problems when it comes to working out: do I really want to go running in the mud? Is it worth getting my clothes dirty just for one work out? Well my friends, let these hacks be the end of your hesitations!

Smelly shoes

No-one is exempt to this problem! Have you found yourself dreading the smell that’s going to come out of your shoes after a run?

Try taking your shoes off and pouring a bit of baking soda inside them it will soak up the smell in no time! Another alternative is to use deodorant! Call me crazy but it works, before going running or attempting any sort of workout, spray your shoes with Sanex micro talc anti-perspirant deodorant (it’s the only one that works). Goodbye smelly shoes.

Dirt stuck on your shoes

Do you remember your mum yelling at you when you got into the house and left muddy footprints on the floor? And then the next day you picked your shoes up and they were so grubby you just wanted to leave them there and to hopefully clean themselves (miracles can happen).

Well, in case your shows still don’t clean themselves, you can use a nail file to get everything off in no time. If you don’t own a nail file, use an old toothbrush; it works just as well.

Old looking trainer

You think your trainers will never look the same? Too old you think? Ha! Now that you’re a student you’re going to have to find a solution because buying a new pair sometimes just isn’t the best for your bank account. So, take a mixing bowl, pour baking soda and laundry detergent into it. Mix both components until it is no longer pasty. Then take a toothbrush and scrub away. See the results for yourself!

Jonathan Yip

Sweat patch

Ok some people admittedly get it worse than others, but everyone sweats. No matter what they claim.

Doing any sports competitively or intensively will leave that ugly sweat patch on your T-shirt, but it’s ok, we have a solution! If your T-shirt is old and is now getting a permanent sweat patch it’s time for you to fix it with one simple step: poor lemon juice on it before shoving it into the wash and when you take it out you should notice a visible difference. Who said it was hard?!

Now that you know how to keep your gear clean, keep active during the winter and don’t worry about anything, we got you covered.

Images provided by Aimone Sharif and PixaBay Have you got any Sports Hacks you could share? Let us know @ TridentMediaUK

Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager

Have you just arrived in Hatfield as part of a year abroad or Erasmus? Are you trying to find an easy way to meet new people?

Hertfordshire’s University has so many outlets that will help you feel part of something incredible and like home whilst being away. Active Students is one of them. A full range of activities are available from Yoga to Football including Squash, Pollicise and Badminton.

Active students is a sporting organisation running events and sessions across both campuses. If

you are looking to play sports but have timetable constraints or cannot afford the £65 fee of the Athletic union, Active students offers daily sessions free of charge.

Active Students have around 30 employees around campus; leading sessions, participating and making the experience agreeable for all. Alongside weekly sessions, special events such as ESN special, UV party or even roller disco. Just turn up and play, no commitment, no charge!

Check our full timetable online at: www.activestudents.co.uk/

Student signs up for 5k run despite ACL injuries Aimone Sharif | Sports Manager

Preparing for a race is always a challenge, especially if you have just had a knee operation.

The daunting prospect of getting back to sports and racing is terrifying after surgery, yet it motivates you to get going and get better quicker.

For nearly two years, I have had a knee injury leading to a meniscus operation during the summer and very recently the famous sports injury; an ACL reconstruction. Needless to say I have been out of the sports loop longer than I have ever wanted.

Throughout those two years I have been actively involved in the sports world in every way I could. Going to the gym, being the only girl playing last year’s campus football (3 days before my meniscus surgery), working at the university with Active Students and reporting and writing about sports through Trident Media as the Sports manager.

After the knee operation, everything that you did normally becomes a challenge. Taking a shower, walking, getting dressed, all those things take you double the amount of time through excruciating pain. Putting trousers on is out of the question as your knee is probably triple its original size, ice becomes your best friend and your bed better be comfortable because a lot of time will be spent on it.

Applying to run 5K as part of “race for life” in the beginning of June is probably the craziest thing I could think about at the current moment as my walking skills are limited. The physical impact is accompanied by a lot of mental baggage. It is so easy to feel like you are never going to be back to where you were in shape and feeling sorry for yourself. The prospect of being part of the race and the work to be done prior to it enables me to feel part of something again.

For anyone wishing to sponsor me for the race, check my Facebook page soon! And if you see me around in crutches come and say hi!

Aimone Sharif

• Sport 23

Yoga is the best thing you can do for your body this year Catie Allwright | Contributing Writer

My resolution at the beginning of 2015 was to find a method of exercise that work for me and to stick to it. That is when I discovered yoga.

I’m by no means an expert but have recognised first-hand the benefits of yoga for the mind, body and soul. This is me encouraging you all to join me and reap those benefits!

1. It’s for everyone!

Yoga is personal to the individual. It is not competitive, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Yoga doesn’t discriminate on age, gender, body type or fitness level. Whether you’re a competitive athlete or a couch potato, yoga covers a wide range of abilities and preferences. Whether you like to exercise alone or in a group, daily or monthly, or whether you are a dedicated athlete or are just starting out, yoga is for you.

2. Self-awareness Have you ever noticed that when you lie flat and relax, your fingers curl, your knees splay out to the sides and your jaw rests open? Yoga is incredibly introspective, helping you to focus on yourself.

You’ll learn to work with your body, getting to know your breathing rhythms and personal limits.

This meditative aspect means that yoga is great for easing stress and anxiety.

3. It’s low intensity It is quiet, peaceful and feels a lot less like hard work than going out for a run or hitting the gym.

But trust me, it is a work out.

4. Strength Using your own weight for resistance training is essentially how yoga helps to build strength in all areas of your body.

5. Balance With the combination of introspection and core strength comes stability and improved balance.

6. Flexibility Yoga is amazing for flexibility. It wakes up all the little muscles in your body and, before you know it, you’ll be able to do the splits! Yoga helps you to discover the movement your body is capable of.

7. It’s affordable for students You can pay for classes, DVDs and workout gear, but none of it is necessary as there’s a wealth of information online. Active Students run a free weekly class on campus, or you can do it yourself in the comfort of your own bedroom! I thoroughly recommend the Yoga Studio app. It is just a couple of pounds and contains an impressive range of pre-recorded classes.

8. You can do it anywhere All you really need is a bit of floor space and something comfortable like a blanket or mat to stand on. A downward dog can be done in your bedroom, on the beach, in the park; it’s completely up to you. There are even Instagram accounts of people practising on floating surfboards. The only limit is your imagination!

9. Whenever you have time You can make time for yoga whenever it’s convenient. It is a fantastic way to gently wake yourself up in the morning, and equally fantastic to wind down before bed. Whether it’s for ten minutes or two hours, time spent doing yoga is time well spent.

Photos by Jenny Couling

Dance Society raise money for charity Danielle Smith | Contributing Writer

What better way is there to get into the Christmas spirit than to hold a traditional charity bake sale?

The AU Dance society, held together by the president Amy Whitehouse, conducted a bake sale in the Hertfordshire Sports Village on the 9th December 2015.

Everyone was filled with Christmas joy; Santa hats were worn and festive music put everybody into a generous mood.

Yet Christmas was not the only thing to be joyful about. The Dance society had two amazing charities to donate their funds to. These were the Local Air Ambulance Charity and a Local Children’s Hospital.

Hertfordshire Air Ambulance is a charity that is very close to the society’s’ hearts. The charity is run completely off donations. These donations enable the paramedics

to get to and from places, whilst providing top quality NHS health care. This Air Ambulance service is one that has been a ‘life saver’ in many cases but constantly needs

donations from people because per mission, it costs £2,700.

The society raised just over £50 for the two charity’s. This may seem only a small amount, but any donation made to the charities will help their cause.

Lily Whitford, Vice president, organised the charity Bake Sale and said that “supporting our two local charities means a lot to the society.

We feel grateful towards the many people who helped out; from making the cakes and biscuits, to the buyers donating more than what asked for, I couldn’t thank everyone enough!”

If you are interested in joining the AU Dance Club, check them out on social media at Facebook.com/ UHAUDance

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Recoverty from ACL injuries | pg 22

Dance Soceity Charity Bake Sale| pg 23

Get involved with 11-a-side Campus Football Kieran Dempsey | Contributing Writer

When it comes to playing football at the University of Hertfordshire, there’s no denying that UH Campus Football drives the way. The programme hosts Futsal and 6-a-side but its marquee format is the 11-a-side league, which once again this semester provided thrills, spills, laughs and talent!

In a hotly contested title race, the opening weeks instantly proved that anyone was capable of defeating anyone. In League A, last semester’s champions, Mouthampton, drew with 2G1C and other former champions; Jagerbombs were held by newbies, Cheeky Wednesday. Over in League B, last season’s whipping boys, Bayern Eunuch picked up two great wins, whilst FC Royalty struggled to gain any consistency.

At the end of five fixtures, and with the leagues now merging into one, Intayanan FC led the way but with Hangover 96, Chickos, Jagerbombs & Baines on Toast with Cheese all in touching distance. The drama continued though as Baines on Toast with Cheese and Intayanan FC both lost momentum, whilst others like Dixie Normous had a big final flurry. Ultimately though, Intayanan FC held onto the top spot solely on goal difference, and they were crowned the Semester A UH Campus Football champions!

The programme is now accepting applications for Semester B. For more information visit the AU or go online at uhsport.co.uk for an application form. It costs just £385 for a squad of 14 to compete, that’s just £27.50 per player, with team-playing shirts included and a guaranteed qualified official refereeing you in this County FA affiliated league!

No team has retained the title in over six semesters; Prove that you have what it takes to take our top competitiors off their perch and become a part of our popular league!

If you are an individual looking to join a team or a team hunting for those final few players, come along to the established Get into Football Day on Wednesday 20th January 2016 on the de Havilland pitches from 12.30pm.

For any further information, visit us on facebook. com/UHCampusfootball or contact James Tierney (Sports Development Officer) at j.tierney2@herts.ac.uk.