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December 2016

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DEBORAH MEADEN Tells us how to get that job

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KATE TEMPEST On the plight of students

Jump on to craze Trampoline park puts spring in our step Full story Page 3

Palestine activist denies allegations of violence @ JASMINE CHINASAMY

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SPORT Take a shot at FA Cup glory

INTERVIEW

A pro-Palestine protester, who was involved in a heated rally at University College London, has rejected claims her side was ‘violent or anti-Semitic’. The campaigner, who has asked to remain anonymous, wanted to voice her side of the story, following the protest against a UCL Friends Of Israel Society event featuring former Israeli Defence Force agent Hen Mazzig. The UCL Friends Of Israel Society

said the protest was ‘madness’ and the pro-Palestine protestors embarked on aggressive and intimidating behaviour. However, the pro-Palestine activist told TUP: ‘We didn’t think we had done anything wrong. We were merely exercising our right to protest. So to wake up the next day only to be bombarded with lies upon lies about the “details” of the event was really quite shocking.’ She argued their side was not given a right of reply by the media, adding: ‘I was at the protest, my fellow students

We were made out to be perpetrators, we were accused of being antiSemitic and violent

Pro-Palestine activist

were at the protest, yet we were not approached for our opinions. ‘Since [supporters of Hen Mazzig’s speech talked] to the press first, it was only their account which was published in the news. ‘We were made out to be perpetrators, we were accused of being anti-Semitic and violent. We were accused of having “no respect for gay people or women” and that our religion was “violent”. We were called terrorists, shouted at to “get out of our country” and told we were at

risk of radicalisation. All of this has been documented on footage, which has been ignored, because most news outlets decided our account wasn’t important to them.’ The protester was keen to deny allegations of anti-Semitism, she said: ‘The protest was secular. We had, and have, nothing against Jews and Judaism. To me the protest was about fighting for what I believed was right. And I think a legal, peaceful demonstration is the right way to do Continued on Page 3

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December 2016

REVIEW Bouncing freed the exictable child in me

IN BRIEF

SPORT Oxygen Freejumping

Rapist put behind bars

The hour of allotted time sped by as we freed our inner children

Acton

«««««

 Amy Denman

Amy Denman

Walking through the long, winding alleyway from West Acton station, my bouncing comrades and I thought we may have taken the wrong route. As we reached the end of the alley we were hit by a glow of light and the yellow and blue exterior of the Oxygen Freejumping centre. It was as if we found the pot at the end of the rainbow, we looked at one another – light and excitement reflecting off of our faces – and bounded on to the entrance. We were all trampoline park virgins, so we had no idea what to expect. We were greeted at reception and given a pair of yellow socks and told to wait in the pre-bounce area – which felt somewhat like a chicken coop – for a safety briefing, we waited like wound

Jumped up: Trampolining got us all in a frenzy

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Uni kicks off over kit

Goldsmiths’ rugby kit sports Palestine flag @ Tom Gellatly

A rugby team are defending their decision to include the Palestinian flag on their kits after being criticised by their own university. The Goldsmiths' squad have been playing with the logo to show their support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, which aims to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and to support the Palestinian people. But a spokesperson for the university told the Jewish News: ‘At this university we are rightly

proud of our diverse, inclusive and respectful community. ‘This includes in the field of sport and it’s disappointing that the rugby club has taken this decision. ‘Sport should be unifying and should be played without borders and by all. ‘No one should feel alienated or excluded. ‘We are working with everyone across campus to ensure all groups feel safe and supported at Goldsmiths.’ Goldsmiths’ SU responded to the comments in a statement which read: ‘Sport should be unifying and played without borders by all, and this is exactly

the point of the campaign. We’re proud of our attempts to work towards an inclusive community at Goldsmiths, and it’s a shame the university’s condemnation of the rugby club has so actively sought to undermine the great work of those involved, and the political mandate of the student body. ‘Actions from John Carlos’ “black power salute” in the 1968 Olympics, American athletes’ refusal to stand for the national anthem in protest of state and police violence, the rugby union’s decisive role against South African Apartheid, to more topically, the Celtic fans’ flying of Palestinian flags in a Champions League game,

up toys ready to be let loose. Once the safety rules were made clear, the jumping refs swung open the doors and we walked into what felt like Peter Pan's Neverland. Groups of teens, children and adults were flailing around, lobbing balls at one another and hurling themselves into foam pits and on to what looked like a giant pillow – it was amazing. We spent the next hour exploring the park. The assault course and foam pit were a favourite among the group. We also spent a substantial amount of bouncing time in the 'freejumping' areas, hurtling ourselves against bouncy walls and trying our best to resurrect old trampoline tricks. The dodgeball area was also a highlight, although I am not a strong thrower. The hour of allotted time sped by as we freed our inner children, and we were all slightly disappointed when home time came around. However, the tube ride home was a rather quiet one as we were all exhausted.

Society deny involvement

« Continued from Page 1 all of these actions demonstrate the this. I can’t speak for everyone but willingness and capability of the sporting arena to voice political and I personally do not regret any of my actions from that night and I will progressive opinion.’ continue to support the At the time of their kit release, pro-Palestinian cause until Palestine the rugby club wrote on Facebook: is free.’ ‘We’re hoping through our work The UCLU Friends of Palestine with Goldsmiths Palestine Society Society said the protest was not this year we can encourage more organised on behalf of the society, societies and clubs to endorse and or affiliated to the society in any raise awareness about BDS.’ way, but said: ‘We believe all Goldsmiths’ SU have shown commitment to the BDS movement, groups reserve the right to free expression as long as they abide and said in a statement: ‘We by the UCL code of practice on believe the privilege we have freedom of speech and remain in the UK to play sport without within the law. borders is not one available to the ‘This allowed the event as well as Palestinian people, and this action is the protest to take place.’ a reminder.’

A 21-year-old man has been jailed for 12 years after imprisoning and raping a woman. Jordan David Smith was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court after he was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm. The three day ordeal took place in March this year when the student was held against her will at Smith’s property in Lilac Close, Chingford, Metro.co.uk reported.

Campaigners take to streets Thousands of campaigners will take to the streets of London to demand free and accessible higher education. Activists from across the country will take a 2.4 mile route from Park Lane to Westminster on Saturday, November 19. It has been organised by the National Union of Students and Universities and Colleges Union.

SU scraps veggie day University College London’s students’ union have repealed Meat Free Mondays at the SU’s cafe. The campaign started in April 2015 to encourage students to not eat meat for a day. The motion was passed at a council meeting in November and took immediate effect.

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News

Campaign aims to stop cheaters handing in their paid-for essays Researchers say number of students getting 'essay mills' to do their work in return for cash has shot up Boss of one company selling customwritten work online claims not enough help is on offer at unis

@ Henry Edwards and Patrick Hollis

Type ‘essay help’ into Google and pages of websites promising ‘highly skilled in-house essay writers’ ready to complete assignments to order will pop up. Some offer discounts and others claim the people who write essays for their customers are ‘PhD Qualified Professionals’. Many warn in a disclaimer that handing one of their essays in could get students into trouble and claim the work is only intended for research purposes. But those investigating these sites have seen a rise in the number of students caught submitting paid-for essays, whether ordered through websites or word of mouth, as their own work – a practice known as ‘contract cheating’. Students at Coventry and Swansea universities are leading the British effort in a worldwide protest against contract cheating, aimed at making students aware of its consequences. Coventry students’ union vice president for education, Akanimo Enime, spoke to students about the problem and appeared in a video during a global day of action on October 19. He said the level of essay writing support on offer at the university meant students should never have to turn to outside help if they are

The only people who can bring this to an end are the students themselves

Akanimo Enime, vice-president for education, CUSU

stuck. ‘One way of really reducing the number is to make students more aware of resources at the university such as the Centre for Academic Writing,’ he added. ‘It’s a student problem and the only people that can bring an end to it are the students themselves. ‘If the students choose not to take advantage of the resources then contract cheating will continue.’ He admitted it was unlikely the problem would be completely stamped out but said ‘it can be reduced’. Lowering the numbers has become an urgent task as the presence of online ‘essay mills’ grows. Thomas Lancaster, a lecturer at Coventry who has researched the problem for the past ten years, said: ‘The number of students using these services is sky-rocketing – or if it wasn’t there before, we’re starting to detect it a lot more.’ He said one factor behind the rise could be students starting degrees in subjects linked to high wages rather than in something they are good at. ‘Business disciplines show particularly high rates of contract cheating,’ he said. ‘People on those types of courses can get held up by the mathematical elements. ‘I think another thing is students end up succumbing to the pressure. [Essay mills] have really ramped up their marketing and how they push themselves to students. Now you

December 2016

IN NUMBERS

lowest price found for an essay – a law masters dissertation proposal – by researchers Newton and Lang last year

This is degrading everybody's degrees

Irene Glendinning, anti-cheating campaigner

Global fight: Students at Coventry University, top, and Simon Fraser University in Canada, left and right, speak out against cheating

most expensive essay found by the same researchers, for an English PhD dissertation

INSIDE STORY: I MADE £500 WRITING ESSAYS FOR ANOTHER STUDENT, BUT I HATED DOING IT A former student who has written essays for money in the past tells us their story.

PICTURES: COVENTRY UNIVERSITY SU/ SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

can’t even search on the internet for essay help without these companies coming back as the first results.’ He said although cheating was often seen as a victimless crime, ‘this is not the case’. ‘Two students might both go to a job interview and one person will have cheated their way through a degree,’ he added. Dr Lancaster’s colleague Irene Glendinning, the university’s academic manager for student experience, is one of the global group of academics who organised the day of action on October 19. She agreed that cheating was far from victimless. ‘The honest students think it’s absolutely dreadful that students are doing this because it’s degrading everybody’s degrees by having students cheating,’ she said. ‘They’re simply not learning anything. In some ways it’s like a drug because if they’re doing it and not learning anything then they can’t do anything else after that because they can’t build on knowledge they haven’t got.’ Ms Glendinning and other campaigners want to see contract cheating made illegal by governments across the world. ‘We thought that would send the right message to students,’ she said. But she added using the law to clamp down on websites would be hard because many are based abroad, where labour is cheaper. ‘What we see as a very small amount of money, for example 50 dollars, is what it can cost to do an essay,’ she said. ‘That’s a lot of money in some countries. ‘You can request what date you want it by, how much you want to pay and what result you want, so you can say “I’ll have a first”, or “I’ll be OK with a third or a 2:2” and you can pay extra to get it more quickly.’ Dr Lancaster said picking up on cheats using online essay writing sites was hard because the companies often guarantee work is original, meaning it will not come up when tutors check for plagiarism. ‘They make it clear they will delete the essays from the system,’ he added. ‘It was suggested that if they want to help universities, they could give copies of essays to [an online plagiarism checker].’ TUP put this suggestion to Daniel Dennehy, chief operating officer of UK Essays, which offers ‘Academic Writing Services’ on its website. He said sharing essays on plagiarism-checking sites was ‘not something we do’. ‘I don’t see it as a long-term solution whatsoever,’ he added. ‘You go backwards 20 years and you used to get parents and family members and friends writing essays for you anyway. ‘So us submitting everything we’ve ever done to [a plagiarism checking site] – it’s not going to stop the other little companies that just pop up.’ The company’s website offers ‘complete confidence’ when ordering and guarantees ‘100 per cent originality’. But Mr Dennehy said students were briefed on the company’s policy that essays are merely

Ghost writing was something I fell into as a student. I was introduced to someone at a different university who studied a similar course and wanted someone to write essays for him in exchange for money. Although I worked, got a full loan and a full grant, I was still somehow always short of cash, so the amount he was offering was the initial attraction. First, I worked out the risks and felt there was little chance of me getting caught as we went to different universities, so I agreed to write two essays for £500 – however, the price would

model answers and should not be submitted as their own work. ‘We’re very heavy on the fair use policy, in terms of when they ring up and enquire about a service, we give that to them,’ he added. ‘We tell them it’s not to be handed in.’ He said the guarantees of originality were to make sure work is ‘tailored’ to customers’ needs. But he admitted he understood how students could be tempted to hand in an essay they had paid for. ‘Unfortunately other sites out there do not care about this aspect,’

vary depending on the grade. When I sat down to write the essays I found it very difficult to get them done, so the standard of the essay wasn’t the same as if it were my own and it got to the point where I just wanted it to be finished. I finally managed to get both essays complete – after a bit of a struggle, as they were due around the same time as my own work. Once I sent the essays off to the other student there was a disagreement with the amount of money promised. This wasn’t because of the grade he got – he received a 2:1 for both the essays, which we had agreed was worth £500. After the dispute I didn’t get the amount promised and began to doubt how much I trusted this person. I went on to study my

he said. ‘They will just sell an essay and that’s it. We’re so different. ‘Fifty per cent of our homepage is dedicated to free resources. It’s not about just selling essays.’ A government report published earlier this year looked into a small sample of essay mill websites and found most were either registered overseas or anonymously. The report, Plagiarism In Higher Education, by the The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, also asked why the sites were in demand, giving laziness

I wouldn’t recommend risking your own degree to help someone else’s

Former ghost writer

third year at university when he approached me again. He asked me to write a 3,000 word essay for £200, for a module he had to retake. I refused the offer as I was in my final year at university and felt dedicating my time to my own work was more important than getting paid to do someone else’s. In hindsight I am not ashamed of what I did as there are a lot more immoral things you can do for money. Perhaps I would have carried on if the person I wrote the essays for didn’t mess me around. However I wouldn’t recommend risking your own degree to help someone else’s and I do agree that the whole business of ghost writing and essay fraud does cheapen the worth of a degree.

as one possible reason. But it also noted that out of the 50,000 students caught cheating at British universities over the past three years, a disproportionately high number were from overseas. ‘Cultures vary in their interpretations about what is and what is not acceptable in academic writing,’ the report added. Mr Deheney, whose company is registered in the UK, has spoken to many students who use its services, although he is not a graduate himself. He said one of the reasons

Does cheating ruin the image of education or is it a victimless offence? Email your thoughts to editor@unipaper. co.uk

students gave for seeking outside help was not being able to get support from their university. ‘If it’s a particular subject or module they don’t understand, they don’t have that one-on-one time with their tutor and there’s an increasing demand on tutors over the past few years,’ he added. But Dr Lancaster said this idea was the opposite to what he had come across in his research. ‘There’s so much more help now than there was ten years ago,’ he added.

K number of students caught cheating at British universities in a three year period. But that's only...

per cent of the entire student population in the UK

6|Research

December 2016

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Hanging with buddies makes chimps less stressed Study shows the value of friendship

conflict between rival groups and ‘downtime’, when chips were relaxed. The study found daily supportive actions from friends and family may be key to regulating hormone stress levels, which could have medical implications for humans. In humans and chimps, stress is related to poor health and high mortality levels. Prof Klaus Zuberbühler, a researcher at St Andrews, said: ‘The major finding here is long-term social bonds, or ‘friendships’, play an especially important role, demonstrating that the effects of hormones go much beyond the ‘here-and-now’. He said stress hormones ‘interact with the life histories and long-term social strategies of these animals’.

@ Amy Denman ‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ rings true even for wild animals, researchers found. According to research from the University of St Andrews, support from family and friends significantly reduces stress in wild chimpanzees. The researchers joined with scientists at a university in Germany to study how chimps cope with both stressful and non-stressful situations when a ‘close bond partner’ is both present and absent. The scientists measured the hormone stress levels in the chimps’ urine during episodes of

Long-term social bonds, or ‘friendships’, play an especially important role

Prof Klaus Zuberbühler, University of St Andrews

IN BRIEF

Apps treat diabetes Phone apps could give effective help to patients with type two diabetes, according to research from Cardiff University. The review of 14 previous studies found they had all reported a reduction in average blood glucose levels in patients who used an app compared to those who did not. Current apps allow patients to keep track of progress, plan meals and prepare for appointments.

brain confirmed @ Amy Denman

What could have been mistaken for a brown pebble has been confirmed as the first example of a fossilised dinosaur brain. The tissue, which is likely to be from a species related to the iguanodon, was examined by researchers from the University of Manchester and the University of Cambridge, who found tough membranes surrounding the brain. The iguanodon was a large herbivorous dinosaur, which lived during the early Cretaceous period, around 133million years ago. The discovery was made by a fossil hunter in Sussex more than ten years ago, but researchers have now identified parts of the brain, including blood vessels, using CT

scans and electron microscopes. Finding fossilised soft tissue is rare, but this dinosaur’s brain was pickled in a highly acidic and lowoxygen stretch of water shortly after its death, which helped preserve it. The conditions in the water were similar to those where prehistoric ‘bog bodies’, which still have their skin and hair, have been found. Dr Russell Garwood, a lecturer in earth sciences at Manchester, said: ‘This is a really interesting

Pebble brain: The brain, shown in red

specimen, and by CT scanning it we’ve managed to get a clearer picture of which parts have preserved tissues and which are mostly sediment infill. ‘Untangling the complex history of how this might have come to be preserved was something of a challenge.’

Sound of road traffic could kill wild animals @ Amy Denman

Whoever thought noise could affect your sense of smell? According to a University of Bristol study, man-made sounds can have a negative impact on how animals perceive the world. Scientists conducted field-based experiments on dwarf mongooses. They played recordings of road traffic noise and placed a predator’s faeces around the animals’ burrow to convince them danger was near. Once the mongooses found the predator poo, the traffic sounds made it harder for them to inspect it. They also found it harder to scan for danger and spent less time in the safety of their burrow, leaving them more vulnerable to hunters. Prof Andy Radford from the School of Biological Sciences said: ‘We’ve known for a long time noise from urbanisation, traffic and airports can

PICTURE: SHANNON BENSON

PICTURE: TAMBAKO THE JAGUAR

LO NDO N? First found dino Supportive smooch: Stress can be reduced by a friendly face

detrimentally affect humans by causing stress, sleep deprivation, cardiac problems and slower learning. ‘What’s becoming increasingly clear is that a lot of other species – mammals, birds, fish, insects and amphibians – are also impacted in all sorts of ways by anthropogenic, or man-made, noise.’ Lead author Amy Morris-Drake said: ‘While lots of work on the impacts of man-made noise has shown effects on animal vocalisations, movement patterns and foraging, it is often difficult to determine what that might mean for survival or reproductive success. ‘By looking at responses to cues about a predator’s presence, there is a direct link to survival; making the wrong decision can result in death.’ Scent-sitive: A dwarf mongoose

Can he fix it? Female fish judge males on their DIY Dads must adapt to changing conditions

more protection from predators. Researcher Dr Megan Head said: ‘What is really cool about this result is females seemed to have flexible preferences for the type of nest they preferred – they did not always choose a particular nest design, but they chose the nest which was best designed for the particular conditions they were experiencing.’ Environmental changes, including global warming and pollution, can lead to reduced oxygen levels underwater and can pose a threat to the fish and can affect their

reproductive behaviours. Dr Iain Barber, the lead researcher from Leicester, said: ‘This makes sense, because male sticklebacks have to work really hard as dads, using their fins to fan water through the nest to supply the eggs with the oxygen they need to develop. ‘If the water is low in oxygen, then having a looser, more open nest allows more oxygen to reach the eggs, but it probably comes at the expense of increasing the risk of them being discovered by predators.’

University of Leeds scientists used a cloud lab to discover how particles form in the atmosphere. They travelled to CERN in Switzerland to watch molecules cluster together to create particles that lead to cloud formation. Prof Ken Carslaw, the lead scientist in the study, said: ‘This is a major milestone in our understanding of the atmosphere.’

Weekend is ‘no less safe’ NHS trauma services in England show no signs of a ‘weekend effect’, a study shows. A team from universities including Liverpool and Manchester studied data from 22 major trauma centres in England. The study found no difference in patient death and recovery between those who were treated at the weekend and those admitted on a weekday.

Personality picks music The type of person you are dictates the kind of music you like, a study has found. Guests on the Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs were grouped by their professions by Glasgow Caledonian University researchers and given corresponding traits, such as ‘social’ for counsellors. Social types chose new music and arty people liked quiet tunes.

Anti-doping push backed c r m -s t u d e n t s .com/london

@ Amy Denman Female fish judge potential mates on their ability to build the right nest for their environment, a study suggests. Three-spined stickleback mothersto-be prefer a loosely constructed nest when there is less oxygen in the rivers they inhabit, and a tighter design when the supply is better. University of Leicester researchers

found female sticklebacks chose a mate based on his ability to build a nest suitable for the conditions. Male sticklebacks look after the eggs and young fish on their own, fanning water through the nest so the growing small fry have enough oxygen to develop. Researchers at the Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour said looser nests made it easier for water, and therefore oxygen, to be wafted through the nest to the young. But tighter builds give young fish

View not so cloudy now

DIY dad: Stickleback

Leeds Beckett University is taking part in a study funded by the International Olympic Committee in a bid to stop cheating in sport. Teams at the university will research the outcomes of antidoping education programmes.

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Comment

December 2016

Want to have your say about a current event? Email your comment to editor@unipaper.co.uk

Many expect university to be the best three years of their lives, but as the price tag is pushed up by the government and fears grow that the bill will keep on growing, some are asking if we should be getting into debt for our degrees

This month’s question:

With the rise in tuition fees, is the cost of studying worth it? ‘Soft’ degrees not worth the money Immy White, Newcastle University editor

Why should all courses cost the same? Elliott Mills, Warwick University

You can’t put a price tag on the experience Louisa Kendal, Bristol University editor

No-one knows the impact on our lives Jasmine Chinasamy, UCL editor

When I asked people what they thought of this, the majority said university was not still worth the cost. I would say they are right. It has become clear we are paying a fortune for a degree where we have nine hours of contact time a week and spend most of the time skipping lectures and writing essays the night before. Vocational degrees are still essential, and are worth the cost. However, with the rise of fees, ‘soft’ degrees can be seen as futile. With more apprenticeships than ever, work experience is more valuable than non-vocational degrees.

Loan repayments like a tax on wages

Science departments require a lot of equipment, whereas humanities departments need some chairs and that’s about it. So why is there a blanket fee for all courses? I used to think it was fine, but then I realised it made no sense at all. Before this revelation, I thought paying the same amount as someone studying a subject that was more expensive to run was just how things were and so how they should be. It was one of those illogical things the precepts of capitalist society require us not to question. I don’t think it’s logical to pay £2 for a coffee, but it’s just what is done. So I happily drifted along with the notion of paying £9,000 for a course on which I mainly spend my time independently reading books which I for the most part have bought myself. But now, I’m not so sure…

Working out the value of uni is like an equation

With uni fees, rent and bills all soaring, there are definitely times when university doesn’t feel worth it. We’re spending money which we’ve not made yet and we all know we’ll still be paying the debt off from beyond the grave. In those anxietyinducing moments, I always take a second to reflect on the past two years. Have I made the best friends I could wish for? Yep! Have I grown intellectually and personally? Of course! Have I had the most amazing years of my life? Without a doubt! I can’t imagine who I would be if I hadn’t had the experiences I’ve had at uni. For me, it’s the memories, which money can’t buy, that make university worth it.

We gain more than just a degree

Can universities justify putting a price on knowledge? When looking at the facts and figures, the cost of university is eye-watering. Plus, with the all-nighters spent writing essays, the stress of exams and the increasing uncertainty of graduate job prospects, I would be lying if I said I had never questioned whether going to uni was worth it. However, it is too soon for anyone to be certain of the long-term impact of university costs on our adult lives. Instead of dwelling on doubts about the worth of university, I focus on how much I love my course, all the friends I have made and the life experiences that university affords. In choosing to study at university we have all asserted that, at some level, we have faith that a university education is an investment that will pay off.

It’s pricey, but the job market is competitive

Jack Taylor, Nottingham University

Heba Asran, Salford University

Patrick Hollis, Coventry University

Lily Winter, Bath Spa University editor

With the recent farcical reworkings of student finance, it now no longer matters what the cost of university is. The truth of the matter is, if you’re claiming the full amount of student loan, you might never be able to pay it back. As student loan repayment is tied to salary and not the amount owed – although this does accrue interest – it makes sense for most students to claim the maximum loan. No real attempt at paying back the money ever has to be made, as all outstanding debt is wiped after 30 years. Effectively, for 30 years you will be taxed at nine per cent of your salary above £21,000. So the question for most people isn’t whether increased fees make university worse value for money, it is whether university is worth a 30 year tax. And for me, it is. Let’s face it: University is expensive. Even if the tuition fees are disregarded for a moment, the costs of food, travel, books, and rent can add up to make any prospective student squirm. If you bring tuition fees back into the equation you’re left with an algebraic atrocity. You must define the term ‘worth’ both numerically and subjectively. If a student is agreeing to the debt, then the degree must hold some worth to them. Yes, the fees can be daunting, but most importantly, prospective students should study something they enjoy, because debt can come and go, but the experience of a higher education you enjoy and apply yourself to can be worthwhile. University is still worth investing in, despite the sharp increase in tuition fees over the last few years. It provides people with a standard of higher education that cannot be matched in any other environment. Of course it’s expensive, but the student loan system gives any student the chance to get a degree. Most students won’t need to pay off their debt, which means long term financial worries are history. The social aspect of university also makes the £9,000 a year very worth it. Living and working with new people is the ideal way to work on group communication and improve social skills. The skills, experiences and independence gained by moving to university are testing for any student but it is these challenges which will end up being vital when searching for jobs. I don’t agree with the rise in university tuition fees, and believe they should be lowered rather than raised. However, the problem is so many people feel pressured into going to university. So many people now go into higher eduction and many employers expect you to have a degree on your CV rather than just work experience in that field. So although I feel university is too expensive, I also feel I don’t have a choice when so many people are getting degrees. I don’t think I’ll ever pay off my whole loan because of the cost, and many graduates now receive a low salary when they finally get a job – there are just too many people with degrees to compete.

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Your Life

Students reveal their unique experiences at university. Email editor@unipaper.co.uk to tell your story

December 2016

I started uni with a new identity PUR E ALDGATE

Weeks before Harry Taylor, 20, arrived at university for the first time, he came out as a female-to-male transgender person

NEVER thought it would be a plan of mine to start university as the gender I always knew I was – male – but I thought I would take the opportunity while it was there and it just kind of happened that way. It was really quite quick – I literally bought a few new clothes, cut my hair short, because it had been long until this point, and then moved to Westminster University. I had come out to my parents before I moved to university but when I went into the flat I shared with 12 people I introduced myself under my previous name. As soon as my parents left I said to my new housemates ‘I don’t really want to be known as that, I just don’t want to upset my parents’. From day one everyone was great. There was never an issue with me being trans at all, in fact people were just curious and supportive more than anything. One of the first things I did when I got to London was go to

got a prescription for my hormones. I study television production and I made a short film called Silent T about being transgender, which the tutor would split the class into the shops and buy myself a whole helped fund a lot of my private one male and one female group and new wardrobe. I had to do that in transitioning. it would be an issue where I would order to pass as male at uni. It was Myself and my friend Ross think ‘where will I go? There’s not a bit of a shock – I didn’t realise I decided to make the film for Campus MovieFest. Ross is gay and really a place for me here’. would have to do this at the time I’m trans so we decided we wanted But the hardest thing I have but it kind of just happened. Then as to do something LGBT-based. experienced during at the seasons changed I had to keep PUR E my Btime ANKSI DE We decided to do something on university has been trying to get buying new clothes social justice and I wrote a poem for I’ve not experienced any negative referred to a gender identity clinic. the film. I set up a new GP when I started reactions from other students or We didn’t realise how much the staff to being transgender. However uni and I thought ‘I’ve known I had to film would take off, but it won a for five or six years now – I’m there are some things at uni which constantly few awards. What was interesting ready to transition [change gender are sometimes a bit of a problem. out myself to is Campus MovieFest actually presentation permanently] even I’d be binding my chest and get the right emailed me to say would I want to wouldn’t feel comfortable to go into though I’ve just come out’. pronoun be up for best actress or best actor When I went to the doctor to get the male or the female changing Harry Taylor which I think is a bit ironic. some help, they transferred me to rooms at the gym. We put the film on Facebook not Also I hadn’t legally changed my about three or four different mental thinking much of it. I’d come out to health teams – completely the name before I enrolled, so I still PUR E CI TY everyone at university at this point wrong places. had my birth name, which is very and I forgot I’d made a brand new Nothing was happening and I got feminine. I was telling people I was Do you have a story Facebook profile. more depressed and agitated being Harry and then on the registers that to share? Email I didn’t have many of my old at uni and not having a low voice. wouldn’t be the case, so a lot of editor@unipaper. friends on it, apart from one or two, I just had to constantly out myself people would be confused because co.uk but when they shared it, the others they didn’t realise I was trans. When to people in order to get the right found out [I was transgender]. tutors read out the register of names pronoun. I thought ‘I can’t keep I didn’t realise how many people I feeling like this’, so I went private. I would be publicly outed. Poetic social justice: Harry made a film on being trans had known in my life. I paid for two appointments and I Similar incidents happened where

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What’s On

TheSorry Lowdown I punched Santa

December 2016

P16 & 17

DEBORAH MEADEN Staying cool in the den

TRAILER PARK BOYS P18 & 19

MILLIONAIRES Success after graduation

P23

KATE TEMPEST On loving language

P24 This trailer trash trio are always getting into trouble with their drunken antics

@ Maya Jundi

PICTURE: KNUT_AASERUD

CRAIG DAVID Feeling the musical vibe

S SOON as I start chatting to the Trailer Park Boys, Julian, Ricky and Bubbles, they tell me it’s 1.23pm in their home country of Canada – and they are ‘WASTED!’. The characters I am talking to are so embedded in the actors who play them, it’s hard to remember I’m not actually speaking to real people. Bubbles, played by Mike Smith, tells me he enjoys ‘long walks on the beach, kitties and getting down with the ladies’. Ricky, played by Robb Wells, tells me he ‘likes to smoke cigarettes and marijuana, drink and enjoy fast cars and fast women – and big

cars and big women’. He says he lives in his car because he ‘bangs in the boot, right in the middle of the intersection’. Julian, played by John Paul Tremblay, is ‘a businessman’ and he’s going to be retired ‘probably in the next two years’. Julian started an illegal bar and casino in the trailer park. ‘I’m an entrepreneur, like Trump, but not a dick,’ he says. Canadian politics is rather calm compared to the current US situation, the boys tell me they would ‘start a riot’ if the political situation in the States was ever emulated in Canada. Mischief is a common theme in the show, as they are constantly in and out of jail and plotting ways to get rich quick. Julian tells me his

Mischief next plan is to ‘screw the Canadian makers: (l-r) government over’ by setting up his Julian, Bubbles own school. and Ricky He explains: ‘Regular schools are

For a longer version of this interview go to www.unipaper. co.uk

not working’ and he wants to teach kids ‘regular life stuff, instead of filling your head with a bunch of nonsense’. This all sounds like a great idea, until Julian tells me he’s hoping to meet ‘Santa, Jesus, the big guy’ to apologise for punching him last year. Assuming they aren’t locked up at the time, the trio will be leaving their on-screen trailer park home in Nova Scotia to visit the UK in December for their Dear Santa Claus, Go F#CK Yourself Tour. They have visited the UK before, selling out shows in 2015. Bubbles tells me London was his favourite

city, especially when he ‘got drunk with Noel Fielding, got thrown out of Buckingham Palace and looked at old shit’. Bubbles tells me this time he is coming to ‘spread the true meaning of Christmas: getting drunk and smoking dope with your friends and family, and not worrying about any damn money’. Quite the opportunist, Ricky interjects, and says Christmas is ‘the best time to make money, as everyone is spending money’. Ricky warns me: ‘If you don’t like to swear or hear swearing don’t come, if you’re offended by hash or marijuana, don’t come. Same goes for nudity or drinking. ‘Everybody is welcome, as long as they are drunk.’

The Lowdown

December 2016

Hello

OVERHEARD ON CAMPUS

from The University Paper

So, what do you want to do after uni then? Honest answer: I want to explore the world, go swimming with sharks, write a book, become a scuba diving instructor in Thailand. Answer you give: Not sure yet. Finance, maybe. And when you ask your friends what they want to do, most of them already have it mapped out. “I’m currently learning Mandarin in my spare time so I can successfully launch a Chinese franchise of my company,” Dave the business management undergrad says. “I’m doing an internship flying jumbo jets with BA,” says Sofia the aeronautical engineer. Well, don’t panic. Not everyone knows what they want to do and even if they do,

they probably don’t realise the best way to get into it. That’s why, unlike every other monthly publication, December is not our Christmas edition, because let’s be honest, we know what happens at Christmas. Same thing every year – it’s the fat man in the red suit. Too many parties, too many calories. No, the December edition is our jobs special and we really have pulled out all the stops. We’ve got business advice from Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden, The Apprentice winner Dr Leah Totton and Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed. Plus we take a look at the millionaires who have earned a tidy sum after leaving university. Elsewhere, we’ve got some huge interviews. We chat to

I’m breaking up with myself because you can’t have a relationship without trust and I for one certainly do not trust myself

Nottingham Trent University

I have my parents saved on my phone as “pay-rents”. Am I a bad person?

Leeds Beckett University

I like how the plagiarism section of the syllabus is the same for every assignment for every course.... almost like it was copy and pasted there

University of Birmingham

Born to do it: Craig David speaks to TUP

comeback king Craig David about throwing the perfect house party and south London’s most hyphenated artist, poet-rapper-playwrightauthor Kate Tempest. As always we will put a

spotlight on the best student music acts in the country – this month we talk to singer Amber Prothero. On top of all that we have sports results from up-anddown the country.

So, seeing as it is our jobs special, let’s get down to business. Much love

The TUP team

Does the word “neat” automatically become incorporated into your vocabulary when you become a lecturer

University of Bristol

Just saw a guy walk straight into a door and apologise to it

Swansea University

My relationship status has now changed from single to very single

Bath Spa University

With all the essays I have to write, a really bright part of me has decided to binge watch the entirety of Friends

Sheffield Hallam University

The trend of ripped jeans on guys has got to go

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Nottingham Trent University

Did you know that a candle flame smells exactly like burnt nose hair?

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Birkbeck, University of London

Editor-in-chief: Sam Murray sam.murray@unipaper.co.uk Deputy editor: Clare Hardy clare@unipaper.co.uk Sub editor: Amy Denman amy@unipaper.co.uk Online sub editor: Tom Gellatly tom.g@unipaper.co.uk

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The Interview

I get fired up by Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meaden gives her tips for staying calm in the hot seat

‘I

Daykin, who was 19 at the time. a lot more time than it looks to get He and his grandfather invented themselves together. F SOMETHING goes a specialised screw, which can ‘However they have got to get wrong, I beat myself up be used to fix almost anything to themselves together,’ she stresses. for about 30 seconds,’ a plasterboard wall, after trying ‘Because business doesn’t wait Deborah Meaden unsuccessfully to fit a blind in his for you – if you can’t get your laughs. ‘Then I say bedroom. act together that’s telling me in my head “well this is not very Daykin asked the Dragons something.’ constructive is it?” Sometimes I for £80,000 and used a radiator Meaden has invested more than actually say it out loud to myself.’ attached to plasterboard to £3million through Dragons’ Den It’s not quite what I’d expected demonstrate his product. since first appearing in 2003 – only from the business guru and ‘He was very good until Peter Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis, who Dragons’ Den investor, who is Jones stood up to test the fixing have been on the show longer, have known more for triggering other and pulled it off the plaster board,’ forked out more cash. people’s coping mechanisms than Meaden says. ‘I think one of the reasons I having to rely on her own. ‘At which point most people am very well suited to Dragons’ Her role on the BBC Two show would have crumbled, but it was Den is I’m a generalist, so I don’t is to maintain a steely face while actually the moment I thought consider myself an expert in she uncovers the pitfalls in nervous “gosh you’re really impressive” anything,’ she says. ‘I consider entrepreneurs’ business ideas. because he didn’t crumble. myself to be someone with very But as we talk about what makes a ‘Peter asked “why did that good judgement. I can also pick good pitch, Meaden is funny, down- happen?” and he said “let me have personalities that can work well to-earth and readily admits she’s no a look – yes, the plasterboard is with other personalities.’ stranger to mistakes of her own. damp”. I wonder if she has any tips The Brighton Technical College ‘It wasn’t his plasterboard, it was for holding it together during an graduate started out in business Dragons’ Den plasterboard, and interview. ‘Spend time thinking at 19, when she launched a glass it was left out in our corridors the about and understanding the and ceramics company supplying high-end shops including Harvey Unless you get somebody really arrogant on Dragons’ Nichols. Den – that gets our backs up – we give people a lot more Despite having sole rights to sell time than it looks to get themselves together her products, they started appearing elsewhere and as she did not have night before. It got damp and that’s business you’re going into,’ the money for a legal challenge, she what failed, not the GripIt fixing. Meaden says. ‘Think about the walked away from the business. ‘I looked at him and I thought “I culture around that because culture She tells me: ‘There is not a know a lot of experienced business is very important. successful person in the world who people who would have just fallen ‘It’s important to you that you hasn’t made big mistakes. over”. But he didn’t. He just get a job but it’s also important that ‘I always say the best people I explained, very logically and very you’re going for the right job. have worked with are the ones who calmly, why it wasn’t his fixing and ‘Every business has a character have made the biggest mistakes. it showed a level of confidence in – they’re either stuffy and grey or ‘They have also had the biggest his product.’ light-hearted. You should try and success because they try and they Meaden paid the full £80,000 get an essence of that.’ push the boundaries.’ Deakin asked for, in return for a She says being straightforward She says she is ‘not a great 25 per cent share in the business. helps with self-confidence. navel gazer’ and did not dwell Meaden laughs. ‘You know it’s ‘If someone asks me a on her performance as a young even better, because nobody else question I don’t know the entrepreneur. made him an offer and I did!’ answer to I tell the truth ‘I do consider things, but I don’t She says GripIt is now worth and say “I don’t know, spend hours looking back and I £10million. I will find out”, she think that’s one of my strengths,’ But not all pitches are as laughs. she adds. successful as the GripIt one. ‘Then you don’t ‘If something happens I look at it, The Den is notorious for its get this feeling I learn from it and I move on.’ intense and often awkward of “I’m going While talking to Meaden, her atmosphere, as many pitches turn to get it confidence shines through. out not to be what they seem. wrong, She says this is another desirable But Meaden insists the hopeful I’m attribute in business. entrepreneurs are given more slack going ‘Confidence is a fantastic thing,’ than it appears. to get she adds. ‘I really don’t mean ‘The thing you don’t see is some caught arrogance, there is a difference. of the pitches will take three hours out”. ‘Sometimes people think and you only see five to ten minutes ‘I’m behaving in an arrogant fashion of them,’ she says. just honest shows confidence and I think quite ‘If someone comes into the Den, and I think the opposite.’ all of the dragons are completely that’s To show the kind of confidence aware of the fact that this is a very a big she’s talking about, Meaden intense environment. I would say skill.’ recalls the pitch of one of the without exception unless you get youngest entrepreneur to secure an somebody really arrogant – that investment from the Den, Jordan gets our backs up – we give people

@ Amy Denman

For more interviews from the world of business, as well as music, sport and news updates, go to www.unipaper. co.uk

31 17

December October 2016

cool customers

and shares her top moments from the show as we talk success with business leaders

Apprentice winner: A&E prepared me for Lord Sugar’s grillings

@ Henry Edwards

ONTESTANTS on The Apprentice are not known for their words of wisdom. During this year’s series, we’ve had gems such as: ‘If I wanted to be like everyone else, I’d have waxed my monobrow,’ from Karthik Nagesan, and ‘I’m king of the truth bomb,’ from Dillon St Paul. And then we have Bianca Miller’s musings from 2014. ‘I regret not becoming a scientist so I could clone myself and be more successful in half the time,’ she said. But as I speak to Dr Leah Totton, winner of the BBC One show’s 2013 series, it’s clear her confidence is based on much more than just boardroom bravado. The Northern Irish doctor took a finance course while she was studying medicine at the University of East Anglia, as well as taking on jobs outside of uni. ‘I came top of my year so I really thrived,’ she tells me, adding that she didn’t find her medicine course too overwhelming. ‘I didn’t have to do a massive amount of work,’ she says. ‘I’m pretty academic and my memory is pretty good.’ In fact, the 28-year-old is so selfassured, I feel she probably could clone herself if she wanted to. It might come in handy, as she splits her working week between her cosmetic clinics in central

London and Loughton in Essex and busy NHS wards. ‘On the average day, I will wake up, do emails from 6am to 8am over a coffee, then work in the hospital 8am to 5pm and then do evening emails from 6pm to 8pm, then have downtime,’ she says. ‘It’s really important to do NHS work as well as private. ‘I spent a long time acquiring the medical knowledge I have. ‘I like the patients and it keeps my knowledge really fresh. ‘From Wednesday, I’m in the clinic full-time and it gives me a perspective, which I think is valuable. Sometimes you can get caught up in business.’ She says her medical background also prepared her for The Apprentice, where she faced grillings from Lord Sugar on the ideas at the core of her business and the business name she came up with – which was ‘skin’ spelt backwards. She also managed to silence the terrifying Claude Littner with the speed she spoke at. But she claims she did not need to develop any special tactics to stop her crumbling under the pressure. ‘I think it’s just my personality,’ she says. ‘I think having worked in A&E gives you a cool, measured composure because when you’re dealing with life and death emergencies you need to be very calm. I think it was one of the reasons I was successful.’

She spoke about the perception of women in business on This Morning earlier this year, when she said a woman dressed ‘inappropriately’, showing her cleavage, would not have a greater chance of getting a job at one of her clinics. But she said the idea that women dress in a ‘sexy’ style to get on in business was not one she had come across much. ‘What I see more is women who almost move away from femininity in a bid to compete with men in business,’ she said. ‘It’s not something I do and that’s never held me back. ‘Whether women are attracted to male-dominated trades because they have those traits anyway or they adopt them, it’s hard to know.’ Although she recognises there are ‘some very successful female entrepreneurs’ in the beauty sector, she is keen to help more women make it and mentors them. ‘I’m very passionate about empowering women,’ she adds. I ask how she inspires more confidence in women at work and her own self-assured manner pops up again. ‘I never struggled with confidence at all,’ she says. ‘I think the key is you’ve got to do something you feel qualified for and passionate about. ‘I’m a very confident businesswoman and doctor, but not

I didn’t have to do a massive amount of work at uni – I’m pretty academic and my memory is pretty good

a confident financier, for example. ‘I would never strive to go and start a business in a completely different sector. ‘My advice would be to equip yourself with high qualifications.’

Dr Leah Totton

Innocent founder: You need to find the red sock @ Amy Denman When speaking to the founder of Innocent Drinks the last subject I expect to arise is socks. However, as I ask Richard Reed for the best advice he has received he tells me: ‘This guy taught me to look for the red sock.’ Reed explains the red sock symbolises the one good thing when several things are going wrong in life. He says: ‘If there are 50 pairs of black socks and one red sock, when you open the drawer looking for black socks it’s all you’re going to see. But if you open that drawer and look for the

one red sock – even though there are 50 pairs of black socks – you’re going to find it.’ Reed attributes this abstract analogy to his career change, which led to Innocent being founded. He and two friends from the University of Cambridge started the company four years after they graduated. This was not the first business they set up together. Reed says: ‘When we were at university we were organising club nights.’ He explains his clubbing days started before uni and he noticed a revolution in nightclubs when house nights were introduced. But he tells me when he moved to Cambridge, house nights did not exist there. Reed and his friends saw a gap in the market and took the opportunity.

I’ve been lucky to be in a room with people who give good advice

Richard Reed

Meet the millionaires

From books to megabucks

These British millionaires made their fortunes after kick-starting their careers at university – could you and your mates be next on the list?

see all their seven albums reach No.1 in the UK.

@ Amy Denman O YOU dream of becoming a famous rockstar, actor or author but feel you should go for a more ‘sensible’ career, guaranteed to bring in a steady salary? You could always do both, like these super-rich graduates who followed their dreams.

Sir Chris Hoy

University of Edinburgh

Christopher Nolan UCL

Estimated net worth: £110million to £120million

before making his first big-budget film Insomnia, which brought in £92million worldwide. PICTURE: JULIA KENNEDY

The man behind Oscar winners Interstellar, The Dark Knight and Inception, Christopher Nolan, knew he wanted to become a film director at an early age. He studied English literature at UCL and took advantage of the film-making facilities there to create some of his earliest work, including shorts Tarantella and Larceny. He was also president of the UCLU Film Society. Like many successful people in the movie trade, Nolan was dealt a series of rejections

Cumberbatch, the actor best known to most as Sherlock Holmes found success after throwing himself into the subject he was passionate about. Cumberbatch studied drama at the University of Manchester and after graduating, went on to do a masters in classical acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) which also counts Chiwetel Ejiofor and David Oyelowo among its well-known alumni.

Chris Martin

UCL

Estimated net worth: £115million

If it wasn’t for this London

university, the world would never have heard the sound of Coldplay – as it was at UCL that Chris Martin formed the band with Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman. Martin stayed at UCL’s Ramsay Hall and graduated with a first in Greek and Latin while forming a band who would go on to

Adventure Of A Lifetime: Chris Martin (centre) with Coldplay bandmates Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Guy Berryman

Sir Chris is the second most decorated Olympic cyclist of all time, with one silver and six gold medals and was said to have raked in £10million worth of deals after the London 2012 Games. The Scot studied maths and physics at the University of St Andrews for two years before switching to applied sports science at the University of Edinburgh, which he graduated from in 1999. He was originally inspired to cycle by Stephen Spielberg’s film ET and was a member of the City Of Edinburgh Racing Club.

Benedict Cumberbatch

University of Manchester Estimated net worth: £12million

You don’t have to be called Chris to make millions after uni – even sporting the name Benedict

EL James

University of Kent Estimated net worth: £50million

Millionaire men: Christopher Nolan, Chris Hoy and Benedict Cumberbatch

In recent years everyone has become familiar with the sight of this author’s naughty novels being read on buses, trains and beside pools across the globe – there really has been no escaping Fifty Shades Of Grey. Raunchy writer Erika Mitchell – known by her pen name EL James – studied history at the University of Kent. After graduating, Mitchell worked as a studio manager’s assistant at the National Film and Television

December 2016

School. Her career path changed dramatically when she began to write raunchy fan fiction for the Twilight novels. She seems to have unwittingly tapped into the dirty minds of almost every woman in the world (and some men). All of a sudden, it became acceptable to read erotica in public. Mitchell’s trilogy, which she describes as her midlife crisis, earned her a top spot on the Forbes list of the highestearning authors in 2013. Just goes to show a dirty mind is worth indulging in from time to time.

a year to be a perk of the course. Four years after graduating from Exeter with a degree in French and classics, she came up with the idea for Harry Potter while travelling on a crowded train from Manchester to London.

Kate Garraway Bath Spa University

Estimated net worth: £1.6million

TV presenter Kate Garraway studied English and history at Bath College of Higher Education, now Bath Spa University. The familiar face of British television has presented GMTV, The Biggest Loser, Daybreak and now sits with Ben Sheppard and Piers Morgan on the Good Morning Britain sofa. Her career began in 1994 when she worked as a production journalist, reporter and news presenter on the south edition of ITV News Central.

Ruth Wilson

University of Nottingham Estimated net worth: £2.5million

English actress Ruth Wilson is best known for her roles in The Affair and Luther, but also has a number of film roles under her belt, including parts in Saving Mr Banks and The Lone Ranger. Wilson studied history at the University of Nottingham and got involved in student drama at The Nottingham New Theatre. Like Benedict Cumberbatch, she studied at LAMDA after uni.

JK Rowling

University of Exeter Estimated net worth: £584million

The story of Harry Potter and his wizarding world came to this author a few years after she graduated.

his career while at the University of Oxford. He joined the Experimental Theatre Club, where he met Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson. He graduated from Oxford with a first in English language and literature and after a breakthrough performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, was commissioned by the BBC to co-write a radio series with uni mate Rowan, called The Atkinson People. His first film success was with Four Weddings And A Funeral, which was followed by Notting Hill, Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually.

Richard Curtis University of Oxford

Estimated net worth: £24million

Seven books, eight films and a raft of spinoffs and prequels later, it’s made her one of the world’s richest authors, with a personal wealth of £584million. Rowling wanted to study English literature at the

University of Exeter, but her parents wanted her to study a vocational course, or a ‘useful’ modern language, so she opted for French. Despite wishing she had stood her ground, she found living in Paris for

When you think of the films Notting Hill, Love Actually and Bridget Jones’s Diary, you may well imagine nights curled up on the sofa with ice cream and all your favourite girl mates – whatever your gender. But for those who did’t know, the mind behind those cheeky rom-coms belongs to a man. Screenwriter Richard Curtis began

The mind behind Harry Potter: University of Exeter graduate JK Rowling

Sacha Baron Cohen University of Cambridge

Estimated net worth: £104million

Screen stars: Ruth Wilson, Kate Garraway and Sacha Baron Cohen

Long before his creations Ali G and Borat saw the light of day, Sacha Baron Cohen appeared in Fiddler on the Roof and Cyrano de Bergerac for the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club. After graduating from university with a 2:1 in history, he worked as a fashion model and trained as a clown before creating Ali G, a rudeboy from Staines in Surrey whose famous interviewees included the Beckhams and Donald Trump. Although he rarely talks about his private life, it’s likely to be more glam than Ali G’s, as he shares his fortune with filmstar wife Isla Fisher.

Q&A: NUTRITION STARTUP BOSS Many former students’ money-making success started as an idea at uni. Oliver Dickinson came up with the idea for his first business in his halls at Plymouth University. After making graduate recruitment company We Connect Students a success and selling the business, Oliver founded Wow Food And Drinks with a friend he met at Plymouth. Products include a drink made with nutrient-rich chia seeds – the first of its kind in Europe – which is stocked at high-end shops across Europe, including Waitrose, Harrods and Selfridges. Here he gives some advice to students thirsty for a successful business. Be inspired by your idea

You should never create a business which is just motived by you wanting to make money because it will never work out. You often hear about a lot of entrepreneurs who will sit down and they will try to work out: ‘Can I make money out of this?’ The business ideas which really work are when you have an idea which you are passionate about. The leading thing is you’ve got to be passionate. The people who get involved with the business will look for that too – that is what they will look for first and foremost. They will ask themselves: ‘Does this person really believe in what they’re doing or are they just punching numbers into a calculator?’ Don’t be shy to share your ideas

I would recommend having a co-founder to do the whole thing with. I think for a start it makes the

STUDENTCENTRAL.LONDON

Thirst for work: Oliver runs a drinks company whole experience more enjoyable – you don’t want to be sat in an office until 3am by yourself. Also, having that sounding board is immensely powerful and useful. Choose investors wisely

Be particularly careful when choosing investors and who you bring into the business. As soon as you bring investors in the whole thing becomes something totally different. If you’ve brought the wrong investors in, it can totally ruin your business idea. If they’ve got a different vision for what you want or if they don’t behave in the way you want them to behave, it can really ruin the journey so you really have to be careful when choosing investors. Planning is key

You see a lot of entrepreneurs who don’t plan ahead. They sort of work day to day. But really you have got to have a well thought out 12 month plan of objectives and goals and

work out how you’re going to get there. Also you need to plan for yourself to kick things off, because if the business kicks off and starts to go well, you can always lose sight of that success. It is really important to sit back and tick boxes and say: ‘Oh yeah we succeeded in that’ or ‘ we didn’t succeed here’. Don’t deny your weaknesses

Do not be afraid of your downfalls and your weaknesses. Investors like somebody who can say: ‘Look I’ve got this passion, but I know I can’t do this and I know my weaknesses lie here.’ They can then help by saying: ‘I’ve got contacts here’ or ‘I’ve got some experiences there’. But if you try and present yourself as the perfect business person, it won’t work. I always see it when I watch The Apprentice and they paint themselves as the dogs b******s of business people and that just doesn’t work – you’ve got to be open about your weaknesses.

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December 2016

There is no better time of year to get up to snow good (on both sides of the bar)

@ European Bartender School HE bells are ringing and Mariah Carey is blasting through the sound-system. Someone is approaching you under the mistletoe… This is your chance – play it cool. They open their mouth and whisper into your ear: “What’s your cheapest shot?” Welcome to Christmas behind the bar! You will be in for a roller-coaster of a month for sure, and December will have its ups and downs. Don’t panic though, we have some tips which will help you to survive the festive season without turning into too much of a Scrooge. n Comradeship is key You and your bartending buds are in this together. However, don’t expect the fun to just appear from nowhere – sometimes it needs a little spontaneous spruce up. Try to pick up the Christmas spirit with a game. If you need some inspiration, our favourite is bar bingo. All you need is a bingo card each

Check out EBS’s website www. barschool.net

No bar-humbugs here and the rules are easy: Check a box off each time someone asks for ‘something sweet’ or when someone starts dancing on a table. You get an instant full house when

there is a marriage proposal, so keep your eyes peeled. n Spruce up Spotify There are only so many times you

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shifts. Yes, microwavable burgers taste great, but they’re a quick fix and aren’t the healthiest of options. If you eat and drink healthily, your body will thank you for it. Swap the energy drinks for water to stop those sleigh bell shakes. Don’t forget to stretch when you’re behind the bar – not full-on downward dog, but there’s no harm in keeping limber. n Stay calm When a Christmas party full of drunken elves come in, they’re already on Santa’s naughty list, so don’t despair – even if they spill drinks on your new Christmas jumper. Pour yourself a rein-beer after the shift, take a deep breath and remember – they’re getting coal in their stockings.

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The Interview

We’re in a tough time for students Wordsmith Kate Tempest takes a look at the state of the uni system

@ John Shaw

HE first time south London wordsmith, Kate Tempest, came into my life was (let’s say for the lawyers’ benefit) when I was 18 drinking in a one of New Cross’ many fine watering holes. I’m not one to remember a night, but I do remember Tempest’s performance. She was different from the generic indie bands which filled the stages at the time. She was small, scruffy and possessed a way with words like no-one I’d heard. Her passion was astonishing, so memorable I still recollect the otherwise unremarkable night. Now, as we chat on the phone just after the release of her album Let Them Eat Chaos and before her December UK tour, we’re talking about that period – a time before she was labelled Britain’s brightest rapper-poet-author-playwright. ‘It was pretty relentless and constant and unforgiving but it was an important time, I suppose, for just working out how it felt to be on stage in different places,’ she says. I wonder out loud whether it was around the time she was studying English literature at Goldsmiths, just down the road from the pub where I first saw her perform. She’s not sure about timings so we move on to the period after her stint at BRIT School but before university, in which she enrolled in part-time evening classes. ‘I really enjoyed that,’ she says. ‘I found the discussions were really democratic. It was kind of older people and professional people (when I say professional people I mean people who had jobs). I learnt about how exciting it is to learn. ‘I got access to the library which blew my mind – I could just sit in there all night. It connected all these

KATE ET MPEST

December 2016

ON TOUR Dec 1 Glasgow, The Art School Dec 3 Sheffield, Plug Dec 4 Birmingham, O2 Institute Room 2 Dec 5 Norwich, The Waterfront Dec 7 Manchester, O2 The Ritz Dec 8 Bristol, O2 Academy Dec 11 London, Roundhouse For tickets visit www. katetempest. co.uk

unused connections in my brain.’ From there she went on to study full-time at Goldsmiths, but her enjoyment didn’t follow. ‘It was full of people who were too cool for school, who didn’t really want to contribute to seminars,’ she says, sounding disappointed. ‘Suddenly I felt I was extremely uncool for wanting to get to the bottom of why a particular poem had lasted as long as it had. ‘I remember once in a seminar I didn’t know how to say Don Quixote. I said Don Quicks-oat, because I didn’t f*****g know, and all these people laughed. I just felt stupid.’ As I speak to the 30-year-old from Brockley, it’s easy to see why she was disappointed. She has an undeniable, probably inherent, love of words. When she answers one of my questions, she will take a little pause to think then begin, slowly at first, but her intensity builds until eventually she comes to her finish. Unlike most people, she rarely trips on her phrases or stops to rethink about what direction her thoughts are going in. That’s until we speak about fee increases for students. I ask whether she would have gone to university if the prices were £9,000 a year. She exhales deeply and explains her night classes were around £600 per year – which was manageable with a job. ‘There’s no way you can casually raise up £9,000 a year,’ she says, exasperated. She stops and attempts to think of a solution but all she says is: ‘Like how? You’re not going to be working because you’re just beginning to go into what could be your career. I don’t know…’ Sounding downhearted she adds: ‘It seems like quite a precarious moment for students because we are constantly being told we are over-educating people and it doesn’t mean anything. ‘There’s no jobs and fees are going up. But I think there’s so much to be said for surrounding yourself with ideas and learning and people that have different and similar opinions to you. ‘I think it’s a very important environment for somebody with imagination and intellect to be in. It’s troubling that it’s so expensive.’ She’s in an excellent position to comment having also been a visiting fellow at University College London. Speaking about that time she says: ‘I went in and did a couple of seminars with the students and just reminded them to engage passionately with language. ‘I think they were a bit confused but I think they got it. I think a couple needed to hear that and it’s probably the same for a few [of your readers]. ‘We can feel a bit sheepish for that passion but it’s extremely important to remember to read with passion.’ I come off the phone feeling reinvigorated to write. I haven’t forgotten my first meeting with Tempest and I doubt I’ll forget my most recent.

The Interview

@ Amy Denman

LICKER Than Your Average is not just an album title for Craig David – it’s a personality trait. He is one of the most alluring but humble artists I’ve interviewed, even as he tells me about the Miami house parties that fuelled his comeback.

From debut album Born To Do It to his latest, Following My Intuition, David’s music spans generations, with requests for his early hits still being made at nightclub DJ booths up and down the country. ‘That’s probably the most surreal and exciting thing that’s happening at the moment,’ David says. ‘Some of those songs were so big and they touched so many people. ‘I would love to say I had some master plan for all this but it really is something that has completely thrown me for six.’ Speaking of throwbacks, I tell David how my mum and I would blast Born To Do It in her car when I was younger. His reply is

as smooth as ever: ‘For me, that’s beautiful,’ he says. ‘You can’t make those stories up – one minute your mum’s playing the music, then you discover the newer music, then we do an interview together and then – I just love it, I love how things always join up in the end.’ It has been 16 years since my mum and I were singing along to 7 Days and Fill Me In and the singer was pioneering UK garage. But for a while there was a quiet period, in which the Southamptonborn artist spent a lot of his time living it up in America. But he was still working hard. Before his comeback album, he toured across the UK playing festivals and had a stint at Ibiza Rocks this year with Craig David’s TS5 Pool Party. His TS5 DJ set, which grew in popularity after getting a UK radio slot, started out as a house party in his Miami pad. ‘When I started doing the first house party I was really over the whole thing of going to a club – especially in the Miami nightlife,’

December 2016

The comeback king talks freestyling, house parties and uniting the generations

they can invite their mates and everyone who comes through this door is VIP. There’s drinks on tap and food. Everyone’s going to get a little shout out on the microphone so everyone feels like a little star in the place”.’ Not content with their host’s

One minute your mum’s playing the music, then you discover the newer music, then we do an interview together – I just love it he says. ‘It would be “come into the VIP area,” and people just got a little too excited about it, because they were in the VIP area and there was a red rope dividing the dancefloor and this little area. ‘People were just getting a bit too elitist about it, whereas I just was like “you know what, this is nonsense,” because to be honest, being inside this area is so stuffy and crowded and drinks are poured all over you. It’s not what it’s really made out to be. ‘So the whole wave of house parties came about because I was just saying “listen, I’m going to throw my own house party, I’m going to invite my friends and

better-than-your-average DJing skills, the guests started to demand he sing as well. ‘People kept saying “you gotta sing one of your tunes”, because at first I would never do that,’ he says. ‘I was just playing other people’s tunes and adlibbing and freestyling.’ So as he’s now a house party pro, I wonder if he can pass on any tips. ‘Even if it’s ten friends in your house, if you’re playing the right music, you’ve got the right drinks going on and it’s the right energy, that’s all a house party is,’ he says. ‘All I’ve done is do that and it’s crazy for me when I’m in front of 20,000 people at Glastonbury, thinking “this is what I was doing with my mates with ten people having shots” so it’s no different

to me but it’s just crazy how it’s connected.’ That may be the case, but his gatherings have led to big things for the DJ. A Radio 1Xtra appearance led to a collaboration with rapper Big Narstie on the single When The Bassline Drops and a new record deal came shortly afterwards, before Following My Intuition entered the UK chart at the top. ‘I was totally overwhelmed,’ David says. ‘It was surprising because I was really excited about putting out this album, in a very similar way to when I put the first album, Born To Do It, out. ‘There was no pressure in terms of when I needed to get the album ready. It was so natural the way the songs came around, so I was excited that people were going to be able to hear new music. ‘But then to see it holding at number one throughout the week and of all people Greg James – who has been championing me at Radio 1 forever – to be able to announce it live on air was crazy.’ David kept it low key while celebrating the album’s success though. ‘I love live performance,’ he says. ‘So I was just resting up and making sure I was 110 per cent for performing rather than completely turning up and losing myself.’

I witnessed how much David puts into his performances when I watched his album launch at HMV in London’s Oxford Street earlier this year. Not content with the billed three songs, he finished off the performance with an impromptu freestyle, saying he didn’t feel he’d given us a show until he added a little something extra. ‘I just sort of felt that when I was doing the few songs people were just getting into it,’ he says. ‘Because I was used to doing an hour and a half set, I was like “I’ve gotta do something”. ‘Also, I like keeping the musicians on their toes. I was like “let’s do a little freestyle and see what you’ve got here because yeah, you may have rehearsed those

show, before going viral. ‘A lot of the songs literally start from freestyling,’ David adds. His belief in doing things organically can lead to a difference of opinion while making records. ‘The producers are more inclined to have the track and everything already together,’ he says. ‘I’m like “let me get in the booth and put my headphones on and [then] play me it and record me”. The first two or three minutes that come out of my mouth – usually there is a good 70 per cent of it that is the melody. ‘I feel like rather than sitting down and making it a science experiment and doing the maths of a song, it should be a vibe.

I feel like rather than sitting down and making it a science experiment and doing the maths of a song, it should be a vibe songs, but let’s actually do some live music”. ‘I love all that stuff because it makes it feel spontaneous and real.’ David is no stranger to freestyling – his album track 16 began that way, on MistaJam’s Radio 1Xtra

‘I love the freestyle of it because I think that’s where all the magic is.’ That’s not to say he has any less of a connection to DJing – he was touring his hometown, Southampton, as well as Bournemouth and Portsmouth before his first ever album. ‘It was such an important element

of my song writing,’ he says. ‘I would take the songs from the studio, play them to a crowd and no one knew it was from me. ‘I could test the song out to see what the reaction was.’ David tells me how he enjoys the freedom of DJing and being able to remix his own work. ‘I think over the years when I’d kind of left that part behind,’ he says. ‘As soon as I brought it back into the mix again it brought everything back to it being brand new, like I did with Born To Do It, and also it allows me to flex differently. ‘I can do some of the remixes of some of my songs or play an instrumental and freestyle over it. ‘It’s given me that balance of the new stuff and still being able to do the old stuff and love that as well.’

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December 2016

Musician of the month

December 2016

I love my time on the stage Each month we introduce you to the best student bands and artists from the UK’s campuses. This time we chat to Amber Prothero, who studies at the University of Bristol

@ T om Gellatly How would you describe your music? My songs have been a mix of pop, blues and maybe even country. However I haven’t truly discovered my genre yet because I like to experiment when I write original songs.

I find the things which upset or hurt me the most make the best songs

Amber Prothero

Who are your major influences? Carole King, Eva Cassidy and Newton Faulkner. Who are your favourite artists right now? JP Cooper, Ella Eyre, Lily Allen, Astrid S and Paolo Nutini. If you could do a collaboration with one artist, who would you pick and why? I would love to collab with JP Cooper. I saw him live at the Trinity Centre in Bristol and he has an UniMag Vector AW.pdf

CMY

For more from Amber and other student bands, go to www.unipaper. co.uk 1

18/08/2016

venue and I’ve seen so many great artists play there. What are you working on right now? I’m working on an EP which I co-wrote with some friends. I’m releasing my first single, Something In The Water, in November or December. I will release another four songs in the upcoming months. I’m excited to see what everyone thinks because we’ve been working on the EP for two years.

incredible voice. His style is quite similar to mine too. I think our voices would work nicely together. What are the main topics of your songs? I often write about relationships with people close to me. If something is bothering me, writing usually helps. I find the things which upset or hurt me the most make the best songs.

What do you enjoy doing outside of music? I enjoy playing with the mixed lacrosse team at university and exercising. I also love to sit down and watch a good thriller.

Where do you want to be in ten years’ time? I would like to be signed to a label, touring and to have released two albums. Although I love recording, I get a buzz from playing to a live audience. The crowd interaction brings out the best in me. Give us one place you’d like to play live? I would love to play at the O2 Academy Bristol – it’s such a great 18:56

No alter ego: Amber Prothero

If you had to choose one philosophy to live by, what would it be? I think my philosophy is every time I get on stage, my music truly reflects who I am as a person. I know many artists create an alter ego, but that isn’t for me. I also believe the type of music I sing needs to be a reflection of my own life and experiences.

28|Sponsored content

We had a thirst for the wurst

The founders of Herman ze German tell us it’s all about a passion for quality sausage...

@ The University Paper HERE’S always one super cook in a student house. You can spot them easily because they will be eating salt crusted sea bass while everyone else tucks into fish finger sandwiches. They will also have an incredible passion for food. Florian and Azi were those people and, trust me, you would want them as housemates. The pair have since gone on to found Herman ze German, a

chain of restaurants and takeaways serving the finest German sausages and cuisine But it all began with a desire to share mouth-watering food from their home country with their friends in Brighton. ‘We lived with eight other students,’ Florian said. ‘I always wanted to do barbecues for them to show them how good a proper German sausage can be. ‘But there was nowhere to buy any of these in England – when you checked in supermarkets where the sausages came from, it said

December 2016

them make it bigger. ‘We agreed to his terms and our first permanent home was born,’ Florian said. Now, the business offers the finest wurst in the country from three London locations – Charing Cross, Soho and Fitzrovia. And the shops are sticking to the same winning recipe as always – the sausages are still made in the Black Forest in Germany by Fritz the butcher. Business bite: Herman ze German founders Florian, left, and Azi, and Ze Wild Bock Roll, inset ‘It was about showing our friends how good a German sausage can be. We still run with the same Newcastle or somewhere and it’s Festival were based above a pub the Florian said. ‘It was a lot of hard not the real deal.’ Frustrated, Florian pair were working at and asked if work but such a fun and busy time. product we had before, and I think that matters. That’s the difference and Azi called on their butcher they wanted a stall. ‘After the festival, we thought with us – we cook everything, every friend in the Black Forest to ship ‘We said we definitely would now we’ve got this trailer we may day, fresh.’ across some authentic goods. without even really thinking about as well use it!’ For more, visit www.herman Happy to share, they organised what it would entail,’ Florian said. After years of plying their trade at zegerman.com. Students receive German market menus in Brighton The pair bought a trailer on eBay, markets and festivals, the pair got 25 per cent off from Saturday to pubs, which proved a catalyst for put in a mass order and set off. their second big break. Wednesday and 15 per cent off on their first big break. ‘That first festival was really the A friend heard about the their Thursday and Friday. The organisers of Beachdown beginning of Herman ze German,’ business idea and offered to help

Music

December 2016

Young ones have got it right Toddla T on a new order in music and how to capture the carnival spirit

@ Henry Edwards NLESS you relish wearing massive coats, this can be a depressing time of year. DJ and producer Toddla T’s solution to the winter blues is to recreate the August bank holiday’s Notting Hill Carnival inside a toasty London club in December. ‘Notting Hill is my favourite time of the year,’ the 31-year-old says brightly as we talk on a Friday morning. ‘It’s bang in the middle of where I live and it’s where my studio is, so not only is it a great party, I feel like it’s a celebration within my community. You get people raving next to each other who wouldn’t normally. ‘I want to try and replicate the experience of what carnival is to me so we’re going to dress the club up really well. We’ve got some dancers and these girls who are like comedy policewomen, who arrive and

pretend to arrest people.’ He took his and fellow Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac’s son – who is actually a toddler – to the carnival’s family day for the first time this year. ‘He had too many sweets and got a bit mad,’ he laughs. The artist, real name Thomas Bell, was dubbed Toddla T by older DJs when he started out in his native Sheffield as a teenager. ‘I used to have a residency at a bar in one of the high streets and I had to take my own decks,’ he says. ‘At one of my first gigs, they said “you can have £30 and four beers” and I was like “my god I’d do this for one beer, let alone four and £30”. He also remembers one of his first sets in London’s Fabric. ‘I was putting a record on in the main room and I was shaking so bad with nerves I couldn’t put it on,’ he says. He has come a long way since then, taking on Radio 1 and 1Xtra shows, and refers to himself as one of the ‘olders’ of the scene.

His Winter Carnival acts go back to when his music tastes formed. ‘I’m really looking forward to Roll Deep performing,’ he says. ‘When I was growing up, listening to mix tapes and pirate radio, Roll Deep were the main crew.’ It’s not just about the throwbacks though – MOBO best video winner Nadia Rose and 29-year-old DJ Charlie Sloth are also on the lineup. Bell tells me the latest generation of grime musicians has also caught his eye recently. ‘It’s been such an incredible year for grime,’ he says. ‘You just have to look at what’s happened with Skepta and Stormzy and your Section Boyz and Mist – all these people who are selling out venues and not compromising the art form. ‘It got saturated the first time round because major labels tried to make it something it wasn’t. But the youngers don’t give a s**t – they’re DIY. They’re showing people like me how to do it.’

TODDLA T For more interviews, reviews and music news, go to www. unipaper.co.uk

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In Style

These classics with a twist will mean you’re ready for anything...

From work to watering hole

OU are on the cusp of adult working life – soon you will swap the weekday club nights for bed before 9pm. We know you are gagging to start professional life, but if you know one thing about career hunting, it’s that the process is

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Jess says: ‘Nailing a job interview starts with having a great outfit, as first impressions are important. The trousers paired with the shirt give you a stylish but serious edge, showing you are ready for the world of work.’

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Watch, £24.99, TK Maxx Scarf, £16, Next Jess says: ‘The watch and scarf are the perfect accessories to add some class and take this outfit from the office to the pub.’

December 2016

a long one. Which is why you will need to nail the interview – and having your outfit on fleek will help you achieve that. TUP’s fashion vlogger Jess Rachford has the perfect outfit for your interview or first day at work and accessories to glam it up for post-office, or celebration, drinks. Check out Jess’ vlog at: www. youtube.com/user/JDRMakeUp

The Interview

SHAPE YOUR

CAREER

I get fired up by Dragons’ Den investor Deborah Meaden gives her tips for staying calm in the hot seat GET STARTED AT MILKROUND.COM

‘I

Daykin, who was 19 at the time. @ Amy Denman He and his grandfather invented GraduatesF come in all shapes and sizes -screw, so which can SOMETHING goes a specialised wrong, I beat myself up be used to fix almost anything to one-size-fits-all solutions simply don’t work for about 30 seconds,’ a plasterboard wall, after trying when you’re taking your first steps on your Deborah Meaden unsuccessfully to fit a blind in his laughs. ‘Then I saywill provide bedroom. career path. Milkround you with all in my head “well this is not very Daykin asked the Dragons the help you need to choose the direction thata radiator constructive is it?” Sometimes I for £80,000 and used actually say itfor out you. loud to myself.’ attached to plasterboard to works best

a lot more time than it looks to get themselves together. ‘However they have got to get themselves together,’ she stresses. ‘Because business doesn’t wait for you – if you can’t get your act together that’s telling me something.’ Meaden has invested more than £3million through Dragons’ Den since first appearing in 2003 – only Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis, who have been on the show longer, have forked out more cash. ‘I think one of the reasons I am very well suited to Dragons’ Den is I’m a generalist, so I don’t consider myself an expert in anything,’ she says. ‘I consider myself to be someone with very good judgement. I can also pick personalities that can work well with other personalities.’ I wonder if she has any tips for holding it together during an interview. ‘Spend time thinking about and understanding the

It’s not quite what I’d expected demonstrate his product. from the business guru and ‘He was very good until Peter We offerDen top-quality soJones you’ll never Dragons’ investor, whoadvice is stood up to test the fixing known morewrong for triggering pulled it off the plaster board,’ put a foot - andother becauseandwe have the people’s coping mechanisms than Meaden says. widest employers, jobs and having range to rely onofhergraduate own. ‘At which point most people Her role on the known BBC Twoto show wouldmake have crumbled, opportunities man, we’ll sure but it was is to maintain a steely face while actually the moment I thought your career shapes up in a way that’s right for she uncovers the pitfalls in nervous “gosh you’re really impressive” entrepreneurs’ business ideas. because he didn’t crumble. you. But as we talk about what makes a ‘Peter asked “why did that good pitch, Meaden is funny, down- happen?” and he said “let me have to-earth and readily admits she’s no a look – yes, the plasterboard is stranger to mistakes of her own. damp”. The Brighton Technical College ‘It wasn’t his plasterboard, it was graduate started out in business Dragons’ Den plasterboard, and at 19, when she launched a glass it was left out in our corridors the and ceramics company supplying high-end shops including Harvey Unless you get somebody really arrogant on Dragons’ Nichols. Den – that gets our backs up – we give people a lot more Despite having sole rights to sell time than it looks to get themselves together her products, they started appearing elsewhere and as she did not have night before. It got damp and that’s business you’re going into,’ the money for a legal challenge, she what failed, not the GripIt fixing. Meaden says. ‘Think about the walked away from the business. ‘I looked at him and I thought “I culture around that because culture She tells me: ‘There is not a know a lot of experienced business is very important. successful person in the world who people who would have just fallen ‘It’s important to you that you hasn’t made big mistakes. over”. But he didn’t. He just get a job but it’s also important that ‘I always say the best people I explained, very logically and very you’re going for the right job. have worked with are the ones who calmly, why it wasn’t his fixing and ‘Every business has a character have made the biggest mistakes. it showed a level of confidence in – they’re either stuffy and grey or ‘They have also had the biggest his product.’ light-hearted. You should try and success because they try and they Meaden paid the full £80,000 get an essence of that.’ push the boundaries.’ Deakin asked for, in return for a She says being straightforward She says she is ‘not a great 25 per cent share in the business. helps with self-confidence. navel gazer’ and did not dwell Meaden laughs. ‘You know it’s ‘If someone asks me a on her performance as a young even better, because nobody else question I don’t know the entrepreneur. made him an offer and I did!’ answer to I tell the truth ‘I do consider things, but I don’t She says GripIt is now worth and say “I don’t know, spend hours looking back and I £10million. I will find out”, she think that’s one of my strengths,’ But not all pitches are as laughs. she adds. successful as the GripIt one. ‘Then you don’t ‘If something happens I look at it, The Den is notorious for its get this feeling I learn from it and I move on.’ intense and often awkward of “I’m going While talking to Meaden, her atmosphere, as many pitches turn to get it confidence shines through. out not to be what they seem. wrong, She says this is another desirable But Meaden insists the hopeful I’m attribute in business. entrepreneurs are given more slack going ‘Confidence is a fantastic thing,’ than it appears. to get she adds. ‘I really don’t mean ‘The thing you don’t see is some caught arrogance, there is a difference. of the pitches will take three hours out”. ‘Sometimes people think and you only see five to ten minutes ‘I’m behaving in an arrogant fashion of them,’ she says. just honest shows confidence and I think quite ‘If someone comes into the Den, and I think the opposite.’ all of the dragons are completely that’s To show the kind of confidence aware of the fact that this is a very a big she’s talking about, Meaden intense environment. I would say skill.’ recalls the pitch of one of the without exception unless you get youngest entrepreneur to secure an somebody really arrogant – that investment from the Den, Jordan gets our backs up – we give people

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Food & Drink

33 31 17

December October 2016

Meals to fuel the A long office hours

cool customers

@ and shares her top moments from the show as we talk success with business leaders Amy Denman

These healthy, tasty dishes can help you make the most of the nine to five

S ANYONE who has ever pulled an all-nighter followed by a gruelling 9am can confirm, getting through the day on coffee and energy drinks alone is just about possible, as long as you can deal with the caffeine shakes and mood swings. But once you get a job and swap long days in the library for even

For more food and drink, go to www. unipaper.co.uk

longer shifts at the office, you’ll need a permanent plan to help you avoid the dreaded mid-afternoon slump and stop your grumbling tummy from interrupting your morning meeting. Here at TUP, we have done some extensive research and come up with the best foods to start your day, keep you going and have on standby when you get home after a hard day of climbing the career ladder.

Apprentice winner: A&E prepared me for Lord Sugar’s grillings

BREAKFAST

FRUITY PORRIDGE

London and Loughton in Essex and She spoke about the perception busy NHS wards. of women in business on This ‘On the average day, I will wake Morning earlier this year, when up, do emails from 6am to 8am over she said a woman dressed a coffee, then work in the hospital ‘inappropriately’, showing her 8am to 5pm and then do evening cleavage, would not have a greater emails from 6pm to 8pm, then have chance of getting a job at one of her downtime,’ she says. ‘It’s really clinics. But she said the idea that important to do NHS work as well women dress in a ‘sexy’ style to get as private. on in business was not one she had ‘I spent a long time acquiring the come across much. medical knowledge I have. ‘What I see more is women who ‘I like the patients and it keeps my almost move away from femininity regret not becoming a scientist so knowledge really fresh. in a bid to compete with men in I could clone myself and be more ‘From Wednesday, I’m in the business,’ she said. successful in half the time,’ she said. clinic full-time and it gives me ‘It’s not something I do and that’s But as I speak to Dr Leah Totton, a perspective, which I think is never held me back. SALAD winner of the BBC One show’s valuable. Sometimes you can PASTA get ‘Whether women are attracted 2013 series, it’s clear her confidence caught up in business.’ to male-dominated trades because This recipethey is tasty allows you is based on much more than just She says her medical background haveand those traits anyway or to pack inthey as many vegetables boardroom bravado. also prepared her for The adopt them, it’sashard to know.’ can also make a few The Northern Irish doctor took Apprentice, where she faced you can. YouAlthough she recognises there portions to feed yourself a finance course while she was grillings from Lord Sugar on the are ‘some verythroughout successful female theand working week. For thisinrecipe you sector, studying medicine at the University ideas at the core of her business entrepreneurs’ the beauty can choose any pastamore you women of East Anglia, as well as taking on the business name she came up with she is shape keen toofhelp like, but we recommend fusilli. For the jobs outside of uni. – which was ‘skin’ spelt backwards. make it and mentors them. tomatoes ‘I came top of my year so I really She also managed to silencesauce, the combine ‘I’mchopped very passionate about garlic, tomato pureeshe andadds. thrived,’ she tells me, adding that terrifying Claude Littner with with the crushed empowering women,’ some mixedI herbs. While saucemore is she didn’t find her medicine course speed she spoke at. ask how shethe inspires cooking a low heatin boil a portion too overwhelming. But she claims she did not need to onconfidence women at work and of pasta and red onion,manner a ‘I didn’t have to do a massive develop any special tactics to stop herchop ownthe self-assured amount of work,’ she says. ‘I’m her crumbling under the pressure. pops up again. pretty academic and my memory is ‘I think it’s just my personality,’ ‘I never struggled with pretty good.’ she says. ‘I think having worked in confidence at all,’ she says. In fact, the 28-year-old is so selfA&E gives you a cool, measured ‘I think the key is you’ve KALE CRISPS assured, I feel she probably could composure because when you’re got to do something you clone herself if she wanted to. dealing with life and death feel qualified for and are a yummy It might Kale comecrisps in handy, as she and guiltemergencies you need to be very passionate about. free snack – kale is high in fibrecalm. and I think it was one of the splits her working week between ‘I’m a very confident fat free. Preheat the oven and cut her cosmetic clinics in central reasons I was successful.’ businesswoman and doctor, but not

As well as being low in fat, porridge Henry Edwards releases energy slowly, so it should keep you going atONTESTANTS least until lunch.on It The Apprentice areyou not known for also contains nutrients to help their words of bugs wisdom. stay energised and fight off the During this we’ve your new workmates areyear’s boundseries, to had gems suchwith as: ‘If I wanted to be be carrying. Mix the oats about like everyone else,place I’d have waxed twice as much water or milk, my monobrow,’ in a large bowl and put it infrom the Karthik ‘I’m king of the truth microwaveNagesan, for two toand three minutes. bomb,’ from Dillonadd St aPaul. Once the porridge is cooked, And thenberries we have Bianca handful of the frozen and a banana and Miller’s pour on musings some honey. from 2014. ‘I

I didn’t have to do a massive amount of work at uni – I’m pretty academic and my memory is pretty good

Dr Leah Totton

LUNCH

the stems off the kale. Put the kale on a baking tray, drizzle oil over the top and sprinkle on salt and paprika. Place the tray in the oven and bake for 25 minutes. You can vary the seasoning depending on your taste – you could use garlic salt or lemon zest. If crispy veg isn’t your thing, try one red sock – even though there are Amy Denman popcorn – you can buy it raw and pop 50 pairs of black socks – you’re going it yourself to make sure it’s not too When speaking to the founder to find it.’ of Innocent Drinks the last sweet or salty – or fresh fruit. Reed attributes this abstract subject I expect to arise is analogy to his career change, which socks. led to Innocent being founded. He However, as I ask Richard and two friends from the University of Reed for the best advice he Cambridge started the company four has received he tells me: ‘This years after they graduated. guy taught me to look for the This was not the first business they red sock.’ After a long at the office, last‘When we setday up together. Reedthe says: Reed explains the red sockyou were thing will want to do is we getwere homeorganising at university symbolises the one good and start cooking, but a nutritious club nights.’ thing when several things are is key dinner finishinghis offclubbing a good days Hetoexplains going wrong in life. day. Whichstarted is whybefore we suggest youhe noticed a uni and He says: ‘If there are 50invest in arevolution slow cooker – do a bit when house in nightclubs pairs of black socks and one of prep before leave theBut he tells nightswork wereand introduced. red sock, when you open the specialised low heat mecooker whenon he amoved to Cambridge, drawer looking for black socks through the day.nights Taginedid – anot north house exist there. it’s all you’re going to see. But African if you dishReed named after the putsaw it’s a gap in and his friends open that drawer and look for traditionally the right, thecooked marketin, and tookbut theitopportunity. can also be made with a slow cooker. To prep, drizzle a teaspoon of honey

a confident financier, for example. ‘I would never strive to go and start a business in a completely different sector. ‘My advice would be to equip yourself with high qualifications.’

handful of olives and mushrooms and one pepper into small chunks. Once your pasta and sauce are cooked, drain the pasta and toss it in with the sauce with a drizzle of oil and mix well so the pasta is completely coated with the sauce. Leave the pasta to cool in a Tupperware box, then slice the mozzarella and add it on top. Add the onion, olives, mushrooms, peppers, salami and whatever other vegetables you fancy.

SNACK

Innocent founder: You need to find the red sock @

DINNER

TANGY TAGINE

I’ve been lucky to be in a room with people who give good advice

Richard Reed

‘We were pretty much the first house night in Cambridge and it was wildly popular,’ he says. ‘ We realised we were having even more fun being the guys who organised it than the people at it.’ After 20 years the trio still work together. However, Reed decided to embark on his recent venture independently. and some oil over parsnips, His new book, If I Could Tell carrots, You red onion red pepper. Just One Thing, is full and of advice from Put the in aremarkable preheated oven for 30 some of thevegetables world’s most people. minutes until they are brown. Cook the cumin, paprika, and He says: ‘Not everyone’s beencinnamon as chillito powder in asame frying pan for one lucky as I have, be in the minutewho and add tin of chopped room with people give agood Oncetrying the vegetables are advice. Thetomatoes. book is about to roasted, putage.’ them with the sauce and capture wisdom of our (optional) The bookchicken includesthighs interviews with into the slow cooker, on a low heat. Once you’re Simon Cowell and Andy Murray. home, make some couscous or rice and help yourself to a big spoonful.