UCC Express Issue 2 by University Express

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | uccexpress.ie | Volume 18 | Issue 2

Image by: Emmet Curtin

Greater alcohol-free accommodation uptake amid successful Freshers’ Week Barry Aldworth News Editor As the 2014/5 academic year got underway, UCC’s efforts to increase health awareness among its students received a boost as a total of 24 students opted to take a space in alcohol-free accommodation. The figure was a significant increase on last year’s total of six students who opted for the ‘dry accommodation’ in the first year it was offered.

In light of the 400% increase, UCC Campus Accommodation now plans to extend the scheme further, through the introduction of a dedicated social programme to facilitate a move towards Wellbeing Housing. Whilst 48 students had originally signed up for the alcohol-free spaces, this figure eventually dropped by 50%, due largely to students changing their mind or failing to fully complete the application process. Of the 24 students who did sign up, the offer was more enticing to women, with 16 females

accepting places versus eight males. The sign-ups come from a variety of backgrounds, with only eight Irish students among the 24 and the remainder coming from countries such as India, Australia, Canada and Germany. More than half of the group are made up of incoming firstyear students, with one second-year student, five postgraduates and five international students rounding out the group. For the students who did accept a

place there were two key factors in their decision. Firstly they either didn’t drink or wanted to avoid an alcoholcentred environment, or they felt the choice would allow them to focus on their studies more easily. Throughout the year the 24 students will also take part in the pilot ‘Living Learning Community’ scheme, which includes a focus on Irish Language and Culture. Verdi Ahern of UCC Campus Accommodation highlighted that the scheme was “about students with similar academic and co-curricular

interests living and learning together in an environment that encourages well-being and social and academic engagement.” UCCSU President Mark Stanton highlighted that he hoped the decision made by these students would assist the Students’ Union in improving relations with local residents.

Contd. on Page 5

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Inside Today: Education failure? Page 7

UCC breakthrough in research to help fight coronary disease

Body Images Page 8 Freshers’ Week Diary Page 12 US hypocrisy Page 16 History Expressed Page 17 Ice-Bucket Challenge Page 20 Editorial team

Contributors

Deputy & News Editor: Barry

Zoë Cashman

Aldworth

Robbie Byrne

Deputy News Editor: Brian

Saragh Allen

Conmy

Gregory Gorman

Fiction Editor: Ruth Lawlor

Diarmaid Twomey

Features Editor: Conor

Garrett Mulrain

Shearman

Michael Stack

Deputy Features Editor: Laura

Trevor Drinkwater

Flaherty

Morgane Conaty

Sport Editor: Stephen Walsh

Tara Murphy

Designer: Kevin Hosford

Ryan Collins

Editor-in-Chief: Stephen Barry

Emmet Curtin

Carlo Heﬀner Jevgenija Kokoreva

Heart disease is the number one killer in Ireland, leading to about 10,000 deaths a year.

In a significant step forward for the treatment of coronary disease, UCC’s Centre for Research in Vascular Biology has developed a new medical device that promotes the bypass of arterial obstructions which could potentially remove the need for major surgery.

The research around this device was published in the latest issue of Biomaterials and was led by Professor Noel Caplice in UCC, in conjunction with researchers in the Mayo Clinic, USA.

Approximately three million open heart coronary bypasses and peripheral artery operations occur each year, which involve major surgery that includes inherent risks of anaesthesia, ventilation, surgical trauma and potential complications such as kidney failure and wound infection. About one-fifth of individuals who would be in need of these types of procedures would not be able to risk surgery for various reasons.

7 20

Kevin Galvin

Jordan McCarthy

The Number Cruncher

Brian Conmy Deputy News Editor

The device is designed to deliver vascular cells once inserted via a keyhole procedure through the artery to the site of obstruction and promotes micro-bypass of this obstruction over a four week period. This leads to a return of normal heart function. This was successfully tested with a large animal model with similar sized arteries to a human. Professor Caplice, Director of the Centre for Research in Vascular Biology

at UCC and Chair of Cardiovascular Science, said: “If reproduced in humans, this device would offer an alternative to open surgical bypass operations with implications for treatment of patients who are currently inoperable. It also has the potential to reduce costs and time spent in hospital. “Plans are now in place to test this technology over the coming years in patients who require bypass surgery but would otherwise be deemed unfit for surgical intervention. We anticipate that this work could be completed over the next 3 to 5 years.” This micro-bypass device was originally envisaged by Professor Caplice and a bioengineering colleague in the USA and was refined over time to the device we have today; a result of 5 years of work.

The number of current or former UCC footballers who started for Kerry in their All-Ireland semi-final replay win over Mayo. Their manager, Eamonn Fitzmaurice, is also an alumnus.

The percentage increase in student numbers seeking financial advice from UCC Budgetary Advisor Evan Healy from this time last year

€866 19,000 The average monthly rental cost for a student house in Cork City.

The volume of water dumped on top of 18 UCC Security and General Services staff for their ice-bucket challenge, which raised over €500.

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

UCC trapped in housing shortage Emmet Curtin | News Writer A recent Daft.ie survey has shown that there has been a reduction of almost 40% in the amount of properties available for students to rent this year. The survey also found there has been a 7.4% increase in the average price of accommodation in Cork City. This makes UCC is one of the many universities in Ireland whose students are facing difficulties in finding accommodation in the new academic year. Recently, there has been lack in available accommodation due to a number of factors, including an increase in the CAO offers accepted by students, an increase in international students and a decline in available properties.

the cost of college is now at €13,000 per year USI President, Laura Harmon, spoke to the Express on this issue: “The deficit in student accommodation is certainly becoming increasingly evident in many urban areas, including Cork, and students are encountering increasing financial pressure due to rising rent costs. “According to a recent Bank of Ireland study, the cost of college is now at €13,000 per year and the average maintenance grant is €3,025, or €84

per week for academic term. The lack of campus accommodation means that students are renting primarily in the in the private rental sector.” This last statement is particularly true for students in UCC.

the UCC Accommodation website had only 18 properties, its lowest number since its inception. UCC has one of the smallest numbers of available on-campus accommodation out of all the Irish Universities. Other universities such as UL and UCD have 2,500 and 3,000 rooms respectively, while UCC has only 800. The last oncampus accommodation was built by UCC was University Hall back in 2006. The UCC strategic plan for 2009 – 2012 stated that UCC had planned to increase the amount of on-campus accommodation by 1,000 spaces. The reason why the University has chosen not to build any new on campus accommodation is unclear, however there is no mention of the issue in latest UCC strategic plan for 2013 – 2017 and it seems that UCC has no plans to build any new on-campus accommodation in

the foreseeable future. As a result, the majority of UCC students are renting from private accommodation. The UCC Accommodation Office recommends that any students still looking for accommodation visit their office. The Carraigside office has a network of 1,100 landlords across Cork for students to rent from.

Due to the low number of available places, the office is currently running a waiting list for any students still looking for accommodation. Any students that sign up to this list will be sent text alerts when any new room become available.

As of last Sunday, the 14th, the UCC Accommodation website had only 18 properties, its lowest number since its inception. Half of these properties are digs, with a hostel and short-term

The waiting list was started at the end of August and had 127 names on it. The majority of those students were contacted again in the last week by the Accommodation Office

Philomena Lee speaks on forced adoption Stephen Barry Editor-in-Chief

Philomena Lee, whose story was told in the Oscar nominated Philomena last year, was the keynote speaker at an international adoption conference held in UCC. Lee appeared alongside her daughter, Jane Libberton, as she spoke about her search for the son that was taken from her. “There he was getting into a car and going off and that’s the last I ever saw of him. I never gave him a final hug or kiss or anything; I was distraught as you can imagine,” said Lee at her most emotional during a captivating talk in Brookfield. “The nurses told Anthony that I had abandoned him at two weeks old, when I had looked after him for three and a half years. This was the sad part of it; he died thinking I had abandoned him.” ‘Redefining adoption in a new era: Opportunites and changes for law and practice’ took place over two days at the start of September, with Anne Ferris TD, Susan Lohan, Adoption Rights Alliance, and Nigel Cantwell, UNICEF, among other to address the interdisciplinary

conference. The conference was inspired by Lee’s story, with legal changes required to give rights to the victims of forced adoptions.

Research being carried out in UCC will see significant improvements made to the treatment of cancer within the next few months. Clinical trials carried out at the Cork Cancer Research Centre have shown a series of promising results in the treatment of cases of lung and bowel cancer, as well as the skin cancer, melanoma.

“She didn’t even tell us he was buried there,” adds Libberton.

Wicklow TD Anne Ferris, herself adopted from a mother and baby home and who also had be firstborn given up for adoption, added that Lee had empowered other natural mothers to search for their lost children. UCC Law lecturer Dr. Aisling Parkes further explained the need

New device may improve cancer treatment Barry Aldworth | News Editor

Lee faced many roadblocks on her lengthy search to find her son, with the abbey she had been sent to in Roscrea of little help until bluntly announcing that her son, Anthony (known as Michael Hess in his later life) was dead.

The conference also featured emotional contributions from the large audience, with others affected by forced adoptions praising Lee’s lack of anger and calling for policy changes.

accommodation also included on the list.

for the conference and subsequent law reform, with current law serving to make parents and children untraceable. “Although relatively recent, the Adoption Act 2010 is outdated by international comparison. Moreover, it is inconsistent with Irish Adoption practice.”

The trials centred on a device invented by the UCC based team which sends a small electric shock through a tumour, which in turn leaves it porous for a number of hours. As a result of this, drugs can be delivered directly into the tumour, which significantly reduces the amounts of drugs normally used to treat tumours in traditional chemotherapy. The device has already been successfully trialled on over 400 melanoma patients in Cork. In light of the successful trials the team

and this number is now down to 3. The office recommends that students try their office before searching on Daft.ie, as all landlords advertised by the Accommodation office have to sign certain terms and conditions and students can ﬂag landlords who break these terms and conditions. They also recommend that any students looking on Daft.ie to be careful not to sign any contracts longer than 9 months, or the length of their stay at UCC.

has now extended the use of the device to include bowel cancer patients with the Mercy University Hospital, as well as St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, with the device scheduled to begin being used in the treatment of lung cancer in Cork University Hospital in January 2015, pending approval. Whilst bowel cancer typically proves to be non-fatal in cases of early diagnosis, with 93% of Stage 1 patients expected to live longer than five years after surgery, the survival rate beyond five years drops to below 6% for those in Stage 4. The survival rates beyond five years for lung cancer patients are less defined, with Cancer Research UK stating that between 58% and 73% of Stage 1 patients who undergo surgery will live beyond this period, with as few as 2% of Stage 4 lung cancer patients living beyond five years.

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Lord Mayor praises SU after stolen statue returned

UCC Clubs and Societies experience membership boon Zoë Cashman | News Writer “Joining a club or society is great for one’s development in college and is a great way to get involved,” said Jim McEvoy, President of the Clubs’ Executive, as he and UCC’s 61 clubs packed Devere Hall for the annual UCC Clubs Day on September 9th. On the day, one word that kept popping up time and again was ‘family’ as many of the active members of UCC’s clubs have said that their teams are very close and have bonded like a family. Ultimate Frisbee members Darragh O’Keefe and Mags Carey agree that their club is very social and open to everyone as they all begin at the same level and grow together as a team. Despite the sport being almost unheard of just a few years ago, Ultimate Frisbee has become one of the college’s biggest clubs and currently has about 70 active members. Likewise UCC Dance, winner of the 2014 Club of the Year, stated that they are one of the universities most active and social clubs, not only holding dance classes but also hosting great nights out to bond the team. For those with more exotic ambitions, the Sub-aqua club’s Captain, Naomi Roche, commented on how exciting the past year had been; returning only a week ago from an exhilarating trip with 15 members of the club to Tenerife.

Roche was very enthusiastic about the progress the club has made, as last year they trained more people by November than they had in the previous three years combined. Just 24 hours later, students were again cramming into Devere Hall, this time to see what UCC’s 97 societies had to offer. Katie Dennison, Societies’ Guild Ents and Awards Officer, highlighted that: “All the people involved in societies are so passionate and put so much work into their events, often with little reward.” This view was echoed by Guild President Aaron O’ Sullivan who stated that societies are like a network of support for students as they try to integrate their way into college life. The sunshine on the Societies Day complimented the colourful mix of societies present, all eager to welcome new members to share in their interests. A new and very fulfilling society on offer to students this year is the SÁMH Mental Health Society. The society is offering students the opportunity to help others who may be experiencing mental health issues, with many plans for the upcoming year, such as releasing a charity single with the Cork School of Music and setting up a buddy system with Peta House.

UCC seeks to commercialise malaria vaccine Brian Conmy Deputy News Editor The lead researcher on a vaccineinduced protection against malaria infection is set to travel to Silicon Valley to meet venture capitalists and technology companies in an attempt to commercialise his research. The research has led to the development of a microneedle-based patch to attempt to combat malaria, the mosquito borne infectious disease that causes fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches and disproportionately affects Third World nations. This particular research is groundbreaking in its use of two vaccine technologies in an attempt to overcome pre-existing immunity to a vaccine. Using microneedle patches to treat diseases or infections such as malaria can have significant consequences on the cost and logistical application of vaccines. The research carried out by the Department of Pharmacology and the Tyndall National Institute was led by Dr. Anne Moore in collaboration with colleagues at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. It was published by Nature Publication Group in Scientiﬁc Reports and funded by Enterprise Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland. The skin patch uses an array of silicon

microneedles that painlessly create temporary pores in the top layer of skin. This is more beneficial than traditional vaccine methods as this layer of skin is rich in cells of the immune system. The vaccine itself is based on a live adenovirus; an engineered virus similar to the common cold used to deliver a protein from the malaria-causing parasite to the immune system. These viruses are also being utilised in treatments for diseases such as HIV, Inﬂuenza and Ebola. The immune system unfortunately also promotes immune responses to adenoviruses and, as such, a different strain must be used in booster immunisations. Dr. Moore has this to say on the research: “What’s exciting from this work is that administration of this vaccine with the microneedle patch did not induce this strong anti-adenovirus immunity, even though very potent immunity to the malaria antigen is generated.” About 3.4 billion people are at risk from malaria infection. In 2012 alone there were about 207 million cases of malaria, with an estimated 627,000 deaths. While increased prevention and treatment measures has led to a reduction in malaria mortality rates, it is still a significant problem in many parts of the world.

Also very enthusiastic was UCC’s longest running society, the Philosophical Society. This society is always very active, last year competing in the finals of every major Irish debating competition. They are also very excited to host a conference about climate change and its effects on international relations this year. James Upton, Auditor of the LGBTQ Society was delighted as they had about 290 sign ups on the day, approximately 80 more than last year. This pattern was replicated across many societies as over 2,000 students had already signed

up to UCC’s various groups by the day’s halfway mark So if you’re political, sporty, a fashionista, a kung-fu master in the making or simply someone who enjoys a hot beverage, UCC has the club or society for you. The tagline for this year is ‘Get Involved’, so get involved UCC students; the best experience of your life could be just around the corner.

Barry Aldworth | News Editor The Lord Mayor of Cork, Mary Shields, has thanked the UCC Students Union for its quick response to the theft of a Virgin Mary statue from the Horgan’s Buildings grotto near The Lough. After the statue was discovered missing on Tuesday morning, and with Fresher’s Week under way, it was quickly claimed that a student or group of students were responsible. The news prompted the UCCSU to quickly intervene and issue a public call for the statue to be returned. Approximately 24 hours after the statue was discovered missing, it was found a short distance from the area, leading Shields to thanks the Students’ Union for its quick response. Whilst Councillor Shields highlighted that she believed there was no malice involved in the theft, she stated that she was “delighted to see the Students’ Union getting involved in something like this. It might seem like a small issue to many but people were very upset.” The Lord Mayor also congratulated the current UCCSU, as well as its predecessors, for the ongoing efforts to improve relations with the local residents. “The Students’ Union are doing a great job in UCC. They’ve organised a barbeque with the students and the local residents, they have their Student Patrol organised at night and about 30 students have volunteered for the community sports games in the local area too,” Shields said. Councillor Shields also confirmed that she would write to the UCCSU to express her gratitude.

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

SU thanked for Freshers’ Week conduct Contd. from Front Page “In previous years a number of residents, including young families and older people, have been kept up by students and others returning from town late at night,” said Stanton when commenting on the alcohol-free accommodation. “This year, the message we are trying to send out to students is simple – ‘you wouldn’t like it if your grandparents were being kept up at night, so don’t do it to others’. We want students to stop and think about their neighbours during Freshers’ Week and throughout the whole year.” Stanton’s plea for students to consider the impact of their behaviour may have on residents during Freshers’ Week was seemingly heeded by the UCC population. Superintendent Barry McPolin of An Garda Síochána stated that whilst a total of 12 student arrests were made during the week, not all of these involved UCC students and in general most people were well behaved. “In general terms, the week was quite positive from a policing perspective,” stated McPolin, before adding that whilst one arrest was made in relation to assault, the majority were due to “drunkenness or more boisterous behaviour.”

12 student arrests made last week While McPolin did allude to the added challenge faced by Gardaí due to Freshers’ Week clashing with the Junior Cert results night, he thanked the UCCSU for its efforts in limiting anti-social behaviour, as well as the Student Community Support service. By having the service around Cork City during the week, McPolin highlighted that Gardaí were able to avoid wasting time with minor matters and were instead able to focus on the larger challenged presented by the week. “I want to thank the Students’ Union as well as all the relevant bodies within UCC for their work in making the week a great success.”

UCD bans cigarette sales on campus Barry Aldworth | News Editor Ireland’s largest university, University College Dublin, has introduced a ban on cigarettes and tobacco products as part of a plan to become the country’s first smoke-free campus. A recent survey found that approximately 25% of Irish third-level students smoke. However the decision to curb cigarette sales was introduced after a referendum held by the UCD Students’ Union in September 2013 saw 55% of students vote in favour of a ban. In addition to banning the sale of cigarettes and tobacco within UCD’s three Students’ Union outlets, as well as in a convenience store on campus, electronic cigarettes will also no longer be sold. While several areas in UCD have already been declared smoke free, college authorities are aiming to stretch the smoking ban across the entire 320acre campus. UCDSU President Feargal Hynes highlighted that the Students’ Union respected “the mandate that the students gave us on the back of the referendum last year,” and would therefore support the university in its efforts to become smoke-free. As well as UCD, a second Dublin-

Image: UCD Media Services based college, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), is aiming to ban smoking on campus, but the idea has yet to receive the same level of student support that was found in UCD. Despite the fact that members of the TCD Students’ Union openly supported a potential smoking ban, a referendum

held last year saw the idea defeated in a tight vote, with 53% of students voting no.

reportedly in the process of updating its anti-smoking policies to include e-cigarettes.

Outside of Dublin users of electronic cigarettes may take another hit. NUI Maynooth, which has already banned smoking in campus buildings and on-campus accommodation, is

The recently published Eurostudent V survey, which was carried out in 2013, found that approximately 25% of Irish third-level students smoke, with 11% claiming to do so regularly.

UCC Professor immune to fame UCC third placed Irish college in global university rankings Robbie Byrne | Music Editor Gastroenterologist and Chairperson of the Department of Medicine at UCC, Professor Fergus Shanahan, recently became the focal point of BBC1’s Horizon: Allergies & Me which aired on August 27th. The long running documentary, which reportedly boasts a weekly viewership of 3.2 million, featured the Professor along with a host of other leading immunologists including Professor Ben Marsland of The University of Lausanne to discuss solutions to the rise of allergies in the developed world. Prof. Shanahan used statistics compiled by UCC’s Alimentary & Pharmabiotic Centre to explain the ‘old friends’ theory, which argues that the domestication of our daily lives has lead to a contraction in bacterial diversity in the colon- resulting in abnormal immune reactions to everyday organisms. Today, 1 in 3 children in the UK suffer from allergies, a figure in stark contrast to the tribes of Sub-Saharan Africa whose outdoor lifestyle and diverse diet see 1 in 1,500 suffer from a defective immune system. “We think of bacteria as something harmful, but in truth they are largely beneficial to us. Microbiomes educate and help the immune system mature, so anything that threatens the microbiome creates an abnormality in the immune

Brian Conmy | Deputy News Editor A newly revised global university ranking by the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) has seen UCC placed 463rd in the world and third in Ireland. This is a comparatively low ranking when held against other university ranking metrics. system,” Shanahan said. The UCC Professor also commented on role that antibiotics play in the allergy phenomenon: “It has been shown several times that the greater the number of antibiotics someone takes, especially in early life, the greater the risk of allergies. For example, if an infant of under twelve months takes antibiotics, their chance of developing eczema increases by 40%.” A recent patent filed by Shanahan’s UCC team for a new strain of probiotic also received praise, leading the professor to argue that while probiotics have their benefits, no one food substance is sufficient to sustain a healthy body, concluding that; “We are technically more bacteria than human, so the absorption of natural and diverse foodstuffs, such as fruit and veg, from birth are the building blocks for a fully functioning immune system.”

In their most recent updates from 2013, the QS Rankings put UCC at 210th and the Times Higher Education World University Rankings placed the Leeside college between 276th and 300th. These rankings are due to be updated. Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin outperform UCC in all three metrics by varying margins. Despite coming in over 250 places behind Trinity College Dublin in the CWUR, UCC topped colleges such as NUI Maynooth, NUI Galway and Dublin City University. The CWUR, an organisation running out of Saudi Arabia, purports to measure the standard of a university by the quality of education and training of students along with the prestige and research quality of their faculty members. Of the metrics given a number to determine a university’s rank, UCC scored highly on Quality

of Faculty Rank and Patents Rank. The organisation only ranked the top 100 universities upon its inception in 2012, making 2014 the first year the list was expanded to 1,000. At the top of the 1,000 universities listed by CWUR was Harvard University, an institution which consistently contents for the top spot on the list of every university ranking metric organisation.

CWUR ranked Trinity College at 200th worldwide, with UCD at 269th, NUIG 600th, Royal College of Surgeons 647th, DCU 819th, NUIM 820th and UL 944th.

Letters to the Editor R&G Week ’14 far from negative Dear Editor, I’m writing this in response to your article “R&G Week fundraising halved despite full-time Ents role.” This is not a defensive letter against any criticisms, I appreciate feedback on how students feel my position was handled and the direction it should take. However I felt your article perpetuated a negative image of R&G Week. “Fundraising halved” was compared with the impressive €42,000 raised in 2013, but failed to acknowledge that this figure essentially doubled the amount raised in other years (2012 - €24,000, 2011 - €8,000, 2010 - €20,000). This, juxtaposed with the controversy over me accepting payment, leads me to believe that this was an article written with an agenda. Regarding my payment, students should rightly debate this – it is important that there is dialogue on these issues – but

again, there was a referendum on the matter. Importantly the money is not taken from student funds but is set aside by UCC each year. This allowed me to dedicate my time fully to the Ents role and, although I did not achieve some of the targets I wanted to (R&G Week fundraising included), I believe the Ents role is of value and will prove its worth over time. There has already been progress in the area; however the full value of a full-time Ents Officer will not be seen over one academic year. It is difficult to instigate actual change when coming into a position for such a short time; it is a gradual progress as we build on our predecessors. In terms of whether “R&G week still fulfils its principle purpose” there was over €100,000 raised in 5 post Celtic Tiger years and several needy charities to strongly disagree with questioning its value. There has been a strong focus

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Houses for postgrads and females only Dear Editor,

towards returning the former RAG Week back to Raise & Give Week. The community and awareness aspect of R&G week has improved and has even been praised in the last few years as a result of these efforts.

If you go on the UCC Accommodation website, it basically shows you have to be a postgrad or female to receive any form of accommodation – utterly ridiculous!

The article belittled the fundraising achievements and community efforts of all those involved in R&G Week. The week was in no way a failure. The amount raised by UCC students through societies, SU, clubs, classes and individual initiative is a testament to the nature of all involved.

Excellent accommodation service here

I would like to thank the student population for awarding me such a personally rewarding year and I hope I showed my worth for it.

In response to “UCC accommodating gender discrimination,” I have seen first-hand the carnage that has been caused by students in houses and I can completely understand why certain landlords do not want to lease a house to a group of lads who are in college.

James Murray UCCSU Entertainments Officer 2013/4

Scott Wilcox

Dear Editor,

The Accommodation Office in UCC does not just simply advertise accommodation for students; they also

supply a valuable service to students once they have begun a tenancy. This office is often the first port of call for a student who is having an issue with a landlord or an apartment complex. The author of this article has done nothing but to smear the name of one of the most valuable assets to a student in UCC. I’d ask the author to go to other universities in Ireland and see if the same level of support is found there. Instead of attacking a student service maybe you should look at the excellent work that this support service provides to students for accommodation.

David Orde

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Can we fix the broken third-level education system?

independent Grant Thornton Study noted that a 12% decline in third-level foreign students in Ireland since 2008 was of critical concern to Ireland’s Government. Ignoring the beast lurking around the corner is something us Irish have always had a habit of doing and it appears that our gross dependence on generous patrons and foreign students for third-level funding is a catastrophic misjudgement. More importantly, a reliance on such unstable financial sources limit the confidence of thirdlevel to invest in a relevant thirdlevel education system, that seeks to construct our long mooted knowledge economy.

Practical skills

Robbie Byrne | Music Editor Rather grudgingly, I wish to bring up that well worn adage that is “Ireland, the land of saints and scholars,” a phrase that would lead the uninformed to accept that this little nation effortlessly churns out game changing scholars on a daily basis. The world today is a wholly different place to when that mindset began during the Dark Ages, where in the midst of a chaotic political scene across central Europe, Ireland had become a safe haven for scholars spanning conventional Christian spheres. Today the image of Ireland as an Eden for intellectual thought remains erroneously engrained in our psyche. Still, the belief that Ireland is a nation that produces world-class graduates in bountiful numbers holds some weight. After Cyprus, Ireland boasts the EU’s best educated young population, with 42% possessing a third-level degree; a figure that starkly contrasts with an EU average of 29%. In a global context, the United Nations Education Index ranks Ireland a noteworthy ninth out of 181 nations with a near perfect score – above the USA, UK and Germany. Viewing the facts with a selective eye, it seems there is little cause for concern. When the Celtic Tiger vanished with its curtain-closer circus trick, it was the frontline service cutbacks which received the focus of red-top media and, while health service and social welfare payment cutbacks were of de facto importance then, few of us have shifted focus to the cataclysmic effect that third-level education cutbacks are placing upon Ireland’s posterity.

Cutbacks To place these effects in context, it is first necessary to examine the cutbacks that current and previous government cabinets have placed upon

our seemingly unparalleled higher education system. Since 2008, exchequer funding to third-level education has been reduced by 36%. This has triggered an in-house staff curtailment of 12%, increasing the tutor to student ratio to 1:27. Combine this with an increase in student numbers of roughly 10,000 year-on-year since 2008 and the inevitable result is a fatal third-level poison that threatens the very quality of Ireland’s anaemic graduate populous.

We live in a nation where the second highest educated people in Europe suﬀer from an unemployment rate triple that of Germany. Today student fee receipts, endowments and foreign investments have outweighed exchequer support. This radical alteration as to how Irish colleges are funded is already marginalising Ireland’s reputation on the international scene. In this year’s prestigious Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, not one Irish college achieved a place inside the top 100, while Trinity College Dublin, the highest ranked of all Irish applicants, was said to be “well outside the first one hundred places.” To afﬂuent foreign families who are willing to sponsor prestigious British or American colleges in order to provide the ultimate education for their siblings, rankings like this matter; drawing now vital revenue from our failing higher education system. However this is not simply a future concern; in February this year the

Earlier this year in a piece published by the Irish Times, former Union of Students in Ireland President Joe O’Connor stated; “Ireland must strive to be renowned as an education and skills haven, not a tax haven.” While O’Connor intended to raise the need for proper state investment in thirdlevel education in order to develop positive “human capital investment,” he inadvertently raised a fatal ﬂaw in Ireland’s higher education system: while it provides a solid education in a theoretical sense, it ignores the practical skills needed for a graduate to become relevant in a technology dominated labour sector. The briefest glimpse at Ireland’s university module offerings reveal a plethora of courses rooted in nineteenth century disciplines, incapable of adapting themselves to the modern world. While Folklore and Greek Culture may by prime examples of our third-level institutions obsession of catering for neither the individual nor the economy, far more worrying is the abundance of modules such as Architecture that allure with their alarmingly low CAO points requirements, blindly leading the unassuming student down a path of saturated unemployment rates. The issue with the current CAO system is that it attracts students to courses that appear prestigious, placing perceived desirability over genuine interest. A Masters in Architecture or Greek Culture may seem impressive, but is a

degree in such disciplines needed in a nation so bereft of research scientists and IT specialists? Some years ago, the ultimate solution to our economic woe was the creation of a highly educated youth that would become the English speaking face of the EU economic powerhouse. Today we live in a nation where the second highest educated people in Europe suffer from an unemployment rate triple that of Germany. Our problem is evident for the world to see. Despite the pessimistic forecast, the problems that third-level education faces today are a relatively easy fix. Of paramount importance is the realignment of the Leaving Certificate. Mandatory subjects such as Irish must

Our gross dependence on generous patrons and foreign students for third-level funding is a catastrophic misjudgement.

be optional, while such as Religion be taught outside those who wish to

marginal subjects and Latin should school hours for follow a career in

academia. In its place would be a choice of science, electronic and software related examination topics that are relevant in today’s world, ensuring that a student’s college course choice is a natural and informed commitment. Turning towards the world of thirdlevel education, it is vital that each course is angled towards a specific profession in which vacancies and entry level points would be adjusted depending on the availability of employment in that specific discipline. Of those who want to spend a life in academic research, limited places in specific disciplines would be available to those who excelled in the Leaving Certificate examinations. All is not lost; even these rudimentary measures would ensure that Ireland has a structured number of graduates with qualifications relevant to what is required by employers today. This in turn should reduce the chronic youth unemployment rate that plagues the financial health of our higher education system, freeing up financial resources. Surplus revenue could be fed into the college system, weaning colleges off their dependence in foreign investments. A land of scholars is no longer enough; we must become employable to be relevant in a global economy.

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

‘Ugly’ in a beautiful world Saragh Allen | Features Writer When I was a little girl, my grandmother sat me down and said to me: ‘We are all like snowﬂakes: all of us are different; you should enjoy that.’ I remember looking at her as if she had finally gone insane (it was always 50:50 with my grandmother); now though, I see the true genius in what she said. It took me a long time though; a very long time. I used to hate being different, I remember doing everything I could to fit in with others. I struggled straightening my curly hair every day in order to look like the others. I wanted to be shorter so I could be the same size. Everyday images of skeletal women and pumped up men are shoved in our faces telling us this is real beauty. Their miserable faces are plastered on every poster, advert and ﬂyer. Adverts try to sell us lotions and potions to buffer away impurities in order to attain perfection. The same adverts declare that if we lost weight or gained muscle we would be more desirable and wanted. These declarations cause us to look at ourselves and see imperfection. We don’t see what we truly are; beautiful originals. We strive every day to become copies of what we believe to be ‘pretty’ or ‘handsome’. In doing so, sadly, we begin to lose bits of ourselves. As children we are told that girls are so pretty and that boys are so strong. Why

can’t that work both ways? Why can’t women be deemed strong and men looked at in admiration, not because of their muscles or strength but because of their funny personality or their genuine smiles. When did beauty stop meaning happiness? When we were young, we picked our friends not because of their style or looks but because they made us laugh, they shared their crayons or they were fun to play with. Now, by instinct, we take in what someone is wearing and make a snap judgement purely by their clothes. Those who make their opinions known, who aren’t afraid of showing their intelligence and who refuse to fit into the stereotypical norms are deemed ‘weird’ or ‘strange’.

When did beauty stop meaning happiness? As the college year starts, students come under pressure to ‘fit in’. You’ll become competitive both academically and personally. We all celebrate the idea of not having to wear uniforms, then the realisation hits us, we have to wear our own clothes! God forbid if anyone were to judge us for our fashion sense.

that. The courage to stand out may take time yet once the courage grows, so will your self-confidence.

So many of us will become sheep in the first few months as we change our style to suit everyone else. Sometimes, if you look closely, you’ll see groups of people who all look identical.

Look around you. The animals and plants that surround you are varied and one of a kind. The fact that there is so much variety is what makes the world beautiful. The world needs originals.

When starting college we all have a starry-eyed vision of being in an establishment where we are all individuals and no one faults you for

Imagine a rainbow; can you see the array of colours? Now imagine a grey rainbow, with no colour, no variety. It’s not the same is it? It’s lost its beauty.

Image by: Clare Keogh We are all a part of that rainbow; we are what makes the world beautiful. You are not perfect because of the lack of imperfections. You are perfect because of your imperfections. These imperfections combine to create the wonder that is you. We are never happier than when we are free to be ourselves. Don’t be afraid to wear the clothes that make you happy. Listen to the music that makes

you dance and sing. Read the books that make you laugh or cry. Never be hesitant to be who you are meant to be, whether that is a history enthusiast who happens to adore video games or a scientist who enjoys looking fashionable. You don’t have to fit into some norm or be what people expect of you. No one else can be you. So be you.

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Making the best of college Gregory Gorman Features Writer

College: so often proclaimed as the best years of our lives; that no adventure will ever be as grand or as insightful as the time spent in college. When this statement is casually thrown about, it is stated as a universal fact, rather than acknowledging the huge variety of experiences people obtain. Certainly college has the potential to

be the best years of our lives; a place to learn about ourselves, experience new things, develop new skills and make new friends. Or it could be a place to use our freedom to be lazy, uninvolved and ultimately to squander these precious few years. The choice is entirely yours. There are a few ways we can manage our college experience. Honing our independence is one, not only enjoying the best years of our lives but

developing the character to be able to say they were worthwhile years also. While the majority of people don’t spend every day skipping lectures and hungover, it might be important to consider how you can engage in a way you get the most out of college, rather than merely exerting enough to just about get a degree. A commitment to making the most of college and giving it your all could be the best way of enjoying the experience?

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Semesterisation: revenue tool or pressure relief? Laura Flaherty Deputy Features Editor This academic year heralds the introduction of semesterisation to UCC. Certain schools of the college will already have familiarity in the workings of the system but now the change affects each year of every course. In previous years a student’s success or failure was fully determined by a series of summer exams. The new system, however, changes this. Proponents of semesterisation claim it halves the workload for students, allowing for a complete module to be taught and examined in a single teaching period, be it September to December or January to May. The system is designed to reduce the pressure on students and allow for a greater distribution of the student workload throughout the year. The UCC webpage dedicated to semesterisation mentions that, “Semester-based systems are generally acknowledged to improve the student learning experience… The semesterisation project will not only lay the foundations for further modernisation of the university, but it will also support opportunities for income generation.”

For most people college is a liberating period; it serves as a great place to invest in developing the type of lifestyle that we want. Not only do we have the choice to skip or attend lectures, we can also become members of societies and clubs. When searching for those ideal moments of college, unlike those moments of sweet excess engrained into us by American Pie and the likes, clubs and societies may not cross your mind. However these are doorways into meeting like-minded people, who you are likely to become friends with, share goals and projects with and eventually

On the surface it seems that semesterisation will lead to bigger and brighter prospects for the Western Road college. Looking closer, however, one might be cynical regarding the administration’s true motivations behind changing the system. Semesterisation will allow UCC to apply for the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System label, a “tool which helps to design, describe and deliver study programmes and award higher education qualifications.” This allows students greater mobility and transfer of learning experiences between varied institutions. In other words, this system will allow more international students to join the university, generating more lucrative revenue streams for the university. What does the system have to offer for current students, however? Unfortunately for the breed of students among us used to study month, the new system prevents cramming in those last few weeks of the year. For many familiar with letting work slide, adapting to a new system may prove a challenge. Others will undoubtedly find the positive in such a system; a year of hard work will not be boiled down to one 90-minute exam in May.

- triumph or fail - party with. The social avenues opened up from being part of a society lead to more than just the group in one particular society but other groups in collaboration events or the many celebrations clubs and societies have. It leads to welldeserved celebration between groups of people who toiled towards shared goals, which in turn often leads to some of the best fun of the year. While clubs and societies offer the chance to widen our social experiences, they also put us in novel situations; situations that lead to character and skill development.

The experiences of those who have undergone semesterisation in other colleges seem to be largely positive. Rachel Gartland of the University of Ulster spoke of her experience of the system; “Semesters did suit. I think they are great for not only staying organised but having a break from the university environment which can really get tough at times. It helps you manage your time as you go into the next semester.” The midterm break is an aspect

These developments are usually what set people apart; your previous experiences will always reﬂect your current self and employers know this well. With the support of the Students’ Union and other society members, college serves as a safe place to develop these skills. To ensure college is a great experience and to get the most out of it, use the freedom to your advantage and make it happen. Who knows where these few character building years could lead you.

of semesterisation which will be welcomed by many in UCC, offering a break from the former nonstop workload of previous years.

Christmas would work and then study weeks and exam periods too.

Similarly Becky Kelly of Waterford Institute of Technology gave a positive rendition of college life with semesterisation: “I thought it worked really well.

“It worked well module-wise too because you could be doing one module one semester and be examined on it, then you’ll switch it for a different module in the second semester and then be examined on it, so that was good. It took some of the pressure off.”

“It was clear cut and defined so you knew exactly where you stood with how many lectures you would have, how your breaks like midterms and

Although the signs may be promising for semesterisation, the student body will quickly tell whether it deserves to be deemed a success.

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Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Abortion necessary to protect lives

Diarmaid Twomey says Ireland has failed its women

It’s happened again. Once more Ireland has abandoned a vulnerable, pregnant woman in her time of greatest need. Just as the collective psyche of our nation was beginning to forget the horror of the case of Savita Halappanavar, we got a chilling reminder, in a case reminiscent of the X case, of just how archaic and incongruous our laws are, when it comes to the reproductive needs and rights of Irish women in the 21st century. This debate is no longer about whether you are pro-choice or ‘pro-life’. This is about whether you believe rape victims and women on their deathbeds are entitled to determine their own destiny. Do you view them as living, breathing, emotional beings? Do you think they get scared and suicidal at the thought of carrying a pregnancy, forced upon them by the most heinous of crimes? Do you recognise that they and their loved ones collectively cried, as they needlessly slipped away, because ‘Ireland is a Catholic country’? Why do people feel they can rationalise such horrendous tragedies, just because their ‘moral compass’ allows them to; because they are ‘pro-life’? Colours to the mast; yes, I am prochoice. However that is inconsequential at this stage, I believe.

It is one thing for a society to wash their hands of the plights of thousands of women, who board planes and ferries every year to avail of an abortion in the vacuum of Irish provision. It is quite another thing to leave a woman die, or force a suicidal rape victim to sustain a pregnancy, forced upon her by her rapist, because of the cowardice of our political system and the dictation of a conservative minority. As a society we should be appalled at the most recent treatment of a teenage rape victim. Force-fed, lied to and made to endure a pregnancy that made her want to end her own life. And all to appease a minority who place equal, if not more value, on a zygote than they do on the suffering of a living, breathing woman? I think it was indicative of the mindset of the more hardened ‘pro-life’ contingent that, in the wake of this most recent case, a vigil was held for the prematurely delivered baby, yet no such holy processions were held for the raped and suicidal teenager; the actual victim in the whole sordid debacle. How many more women’s lives must be lost or diminished before this nation grows up and accepts we need a proper solution and not some halfway-house to reside in, in order to keep the Vatican and the men in frocks content?

Individual people are very much entitled to be against abortion and to express that resistance, as private citizens. However groups of people that congregate as conservative groups, hell bent on using misinformation, lies and scare tactics to further an outdated agenda, to the detriment of a huge amount of women, should be recognised for what they are. They are a hindrance to the development of a fully functioning Irish state and a threat to our very democracy, not to mention the lives of women. People need to stop disassociating

Disorder doesn’t equal disadvantage

Laura Flaherty | Deputy Features Editor

The problem with disorders like dyslexia and dyspraxia is that they can often be brushed aside. The word ‘only’ is often attached to them… As if it not frustrating to want to draw a picture but have to stop because your hand won’t let you. As if a calf cramp from walking out your front door is just one of those things. As if forgetting how to spell your own name is something you can brush off.

I was surrounded by anger or indiﬀerence and I decided that I was going to be neither

While there are many conditions so much more serious and much more difficult to live with, I can only talk from my own perspective. Life with dyslexia and dyspraxia may not have been easy but it has made me the person I am today. As a baby I never learned to crawl. As my family so affectionately put it,

I bum shufﬂed along the ground until one day I decided to walk.

When I was seven years old I couldn’t spell my second name. I couldn’t tie my shoelaces. I couldn’t run as fast as my friends and I couldn’t kick a ball as high. When I was ten years old I cried because a boy in my class made fun of the way I spelled soldier. I’m sure I butchered the word. When I was 13 I started to get angry. I started to hate that my body didn’t work like it should. I started to hate that my friends got to run and jump and play in the Community Games, while I couldn’t run the length of the classroom without getting a cramp. When I was 14 I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia. Microsoft Word is telling me to correct dyspraxia, that it is not a word; that’s how much information there is about the condition. I started going to meetings where kids were told about the condition and asked to talk about their experiences. I was surrounded by anger or indifference and I decided that I was

going to be neither.

At 17 I did all Higher Level classes, except for one. My teacher couldn’t understand that I knew the formulas and how to solve an equation; it wasn’t my fault the numbers wouldn’t stay still. I was accepted into college at 18, 100 points clear for the course I wanted. I went to my first lecture and my hand cramped. I recorded it on my phone. I finished that module with 68%. I had my first college exam and got mixed up with all the numbers I had to put on the front of the booklet. I asked an invigilator for assistance. I passed that first year. There is no shame in looking for help. When I was 19 I got shortlisted for an internship with the Irish Independent. As for now, I’m 20. I am 20 years old and one year clear of graduating university. I am 20 and I am a dyslexic writer. I am 20 and I still can’t tie my shoelaces.

themselves from the plights of women and resist reﬂecting on women’s options from a safe distance. What if it were your daughter that was raped and suicidal? What if it were your partner that needed an abortion to give her a better chance of survival? Would you place the same value on a microscopic embryo as your loved one in that situation? Abortion is a contentious and divisive issue; there is no doubt about that. But now is the time when we must come together and empathise with women once and for all.

Just because your life is secure and you have the ability to offer a new life a home, don’t assume everyone else can. Just because your pregnancy or that of your partners was event-free, don’t assume all others are. Being ‘prolife’ should be about more than using your self-assumed superior morality to dictate the futures of others. The care and protection of women should precede all else, and most certainly that of the unborn, as uncomfortable a concept as that is for some.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Beep, Beep, Flat Line Garrett Mulrain

and your appeal only inﬂates.

Beep, Beep

You exhale an aura of maturity; an aura that those peons are lucky to bask in; an aura that, while you had accepted it, is forced upon them when they leave their colleges, public buildings, stations and theatres. You are the guardian of the external doorway; you never really stop anyone, only filter them in your smoked radiance as they come and go from the gate you stand at.

The flint is struck and a spark is ignited. The spark chemically reacts with fuel to create a flame that you bring three inches from your lips. That spark then ignites in your brain, rekindling the fire that had burnt itself into normalcy. But how long does a spark last? Long enough to ignite, long enough to give you the scent of bliss, long enough to even cause an addiction, but long enough to realize its existence before it is extinguished? Drag You retract your teeth back as the fog eases past your tongue, filling your mouth as it glides through the trachea, bypassing the bronchi on its way to each lung. Each half of the organ is coated with smoke – pure and white. Gaseous ecstasy fills those soft, pillow organs. Organs pink as the day that you sparked from the womb. There is no coughing off this pull, just the simple ease of the diaphragm, flexing smoothly back into shape; a shape that leads to the regrettable expulsion of that vapored ecstasy: the smoke, pure and white that went in, exits your body not slow enough. Beep, Beep When did you even take this path? Months, years, decades? Despite the time that has passed, you still remember that first stick. Bleached paper, filled with the pesticide-abundant plant ripped up from the dirty ground, laden with chemicals of origins no one really knows, all machine rolled to sell at an exorbitant corporate mark-up.

Beep, Beep You were sixteen when your brother’s infallible logic stepped up: “You will never smoke.” So he had the solution, but what was his method? Three powerhits, one immediately after another. The first made your stomach rattle and shake. Who would voluntarily choose to breathe this way? On the next you are coughing and spitting and your throat is dry, but you’re forced to finish the whole fag. Brother knows best. Lesson learned?

You are the guardian of the external doorway; you never really stop anyone, only filter them in your smoked radiance as they come and go from the gate you stand at.

Beep, Beep

Not before the third one evidently. You have been coughing so much at this point that you forgot when you fell onto your hands and knees; ironic only since you’re praying to that place where the smoke goes for it to be over. Coughing turns to hacking at this point… wheezing… and you can’t see your hands’ tight hold on the grass because your eyes are long since watered. You have stopped coughing for a single spark of time, only because it is replaced by vomit that is dryheaved out of somewhere unfamiliar inside of you. Humans weren’t meant to cough up tar. Your brother did in fact know best though: you would never smoke again; yet what do you do?

Drag

Flick away the ash

And you let out that gaseous brilliance. You are the coolest of your friends and everyone knows it. They preach and tease but in the back of each of their unstimulated minds you are supreme. Every breath, every drag, inhale, exhale

Beep, Beep

There are filters too, but that’s nothing short of hilarious really. Where were the media filters? The corporate price regulation filters? The cashier, filtering through those who are able to buy a pack even before the curse of puberty grinned its tar-stained teeth in their direction? Each dart has a filter sure, but the culture that it’s rolled up in lacks one completely. Flick away the ash

Drag No one really cares where your tax dollars are going, but how about where

your stress goes? You feel so free it’s inconceivable. The nicotine massages your brain to full relaxation. All your cares dissipate as if into pure, white smoke. It is the single best part of waking up: that first morning puff. First light at first light. It can wake you up, and get you going way better than caffeine could ever hope too. You’re ready to face today’s stress. What stress though? You have a filter to stop the stress. Academic struggle, relationship struggle, job struggle – no real struggle at all. This stick is your euphoric key. A long day ends with a final hit, and you go off to bed with your body at full rest. That pure white smoke drifts up to the heavens, and seems to carry you with it. Beep, Beep 5.4 million people die every year; one person dies every 6.5 seconds. Untold amounts of cancer develop, grow and metastasise. The reality is that people feel bad for breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and even skin cancer. But lung cancer? Fuck that, society says you deserved it. No one ever feels bad, because you bring it on yourself. Self-induced death, self-prescribed at the end of your suicide cane. Still, you continue though. Flick away the ash Beep, Beep

Drag The steady path of smoke arising from between your index and middle finger is so perfectly visible it has you in a trance. It can really only be described as beautiful. This smoke can kill you? It seems as innocent as the clouds that hover over your head on the sunniest of days, shading you from that eternal spark in the sky. This elegant haze glides up in a billowing plume, only to lose its singular direction to the graciousness of a wind that you can’t even feel on your face. And when that whispering smoke sometimes circles around to double back onto itself, it forms perfect curves that nostalgically kiss the spot that it just was, not even seconds before. Beep, Beep Outside those gateways you notice the corpses of past guardians, strewn about the ground. The angle of a cigarette when it’s used up is the same angle of your body when it’s dying on a hospital gurney, and is the same angle as your corpse when it rots in your casket underground. That casket is nothing more than a rolling paper that holds your chemical remains which plague the same earth that you had originally dug up that carcinogen from. Look at them all, smoked down to the filter; some remembered, some not; each just a microcosmic spark for the incalculably

limitless death toll. As you step on their crinkled, discarded corpses, what do you do? Flick away the ash Beep, Beep Final Drag As the pure smoke rises, so does your ego. The maturity inﬂates and your independence reaches a pinnacle level that many in life simply won’t achieve. It gently dissipates into a greater existence, that same entity that the pure smoke does. Some day it will be so mundane that it loses its independence and distinction, but that hardly matters. You’ve achieved it and you were there for it: that’s how you’ll remember it. As the smoke goes up, the paper burns down. Each drag cuts the life of the stick down a bit: down until the filter. One day you’ll join the ranks: outside the doorways, horizontal, becoming forgotten but still being statistically valuable to some who would preach to their friends about their choices. You’ll end in that same angle either way really. So at this point, why not? Flick away the ash Beep, Beep Flat Line…

12 |

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Michael Stack’s Freshers’ Week Diary Sunday Evening After watching the All-Ireland hurling final at home in Killarney, I guilttripped my parents into giving me a lift up to Cork (oh the power of love) and due to the sheer amount of luggage and bags I had, I was forced to take my parents out in public and into my student accommodation, Victoria Mills. Not wanting to be seen with my parents in front of my prospective new friends (I still live at home with my mom, how lame), I quickly ushered them up the lift and into my apartment, after checking the coast is cleazr of course! Mom set it upon herself immediately to make the bed and dad wanted to help me unpack. Between cigarettes, condoms and naggins, there was a lot of contraband that I’d rather they were oblivious to. Thus I managed to convince dad (who is a doctor) that I’d contracted a temporary dose of OCD and that I get antsy if someone else were to unpack by clothes (and contraband) so luckily I had them out of the new gaff relatively quickly, embarrassment-free.

Sunday Night The both anticipated and dreaded first night of Freshers’ Week; brighteyed first years are decked out in their fanciest of outfits in order to obtain a mate (or a shift as it is now known as these days; kids eh?). The streets are littered with literally thousands of students looking to start the year on a good note, which is to say, getting thrown out of Havanas and spending the last of your dollah in Hillbillies before walking home alone, cradling your chicken tenders like a newborn child. I’d a busy day ahead of me on Monday, so all I did was head into town with a few of the lads for a sober creep but after hearing phrases like: ‘Oh, I knew her from Irish College!’ and ‘What did you get in your CSPE in the Junior Cert?’ I decided to pack it up, pack it in and head home.

Monday My first lecture was at 10am but I had to rise earlier to prepare myself; sure don’t you have to be looking well on day one of the college year? After a nutritious and fulfilling breakfast (half a granola bar and an apple that had seen better days), I wandered in the direction of the Western Gateway Building and took my seat in G02. Then I got up again as I received a text saying the lecture was in G01. Not a great start but luckily neither lecture had started yet. The first lecture of my Biotechnology Masters encompassed the obligatory introductory crap that I had gotten the

first day of every year, first through fourth, so I quickly lost interest in what was going on. That was supposed to be the only lecture of the day but they sprung a surprise double lecture on us, a sucker punch that made me debate whether or not to drop out, but I held fast, kudos to me. Reardens was the destination Monday night: solid venue, future wives scouted, Chipsy King for dessert and off home we went.

Tuesday Up early I was, manning the desk for Clubs Day. Having to entice hundreds of students to join my club (which shall remain nameless, but it begins with ‘B’ and rhymes with ‘Radminton’) was a daunting task after taking into consideration my earth-shattering hangover, my scruffy looking head and my infamous disdain for small talk. I guess I’ve some hidden charm that was like a shining beacon to these Freshers because they came in their droves to sign-up, like moths to a ﬂame. Mom raised me well. I gave Tuesday night a miss as I was going to have another full day of Devere Hall on Wednesday for the Comedy Society table. Not even a sober creep was had and bed was embraced by midnight.

Wednesday With enough freebies to sink the Titanic again (too soon?), Comedy Soc. were ready to go. A lot of newbies were apprehensive to join up, many assumed either: 1. You had to be funny; 2. You had to do stand-up in front of a live audience; or 3. You had to know how do they get the fig into the fig roll? But after convincing them otherwise, we established a strong new following with promises of LOLs, giggles and chuckles in large quantities. After another long day of it, many of these society folks hit the Franciscan Well in town (another great spot) for a wee after party. 11 o’clock came around and the time came for us to head further into town. I had to go back to my friend’s house to collect him and bring him into town (he wouldn’t budge otherwise and, with his Donegal accent, he is a valuable asset to have on a night out). He lived, ironically, right next to the statue of the Virgin Mary that was stolen the night before. Unfortunately, while he was showering, I sat down on his couch; mistake number one. I rewarded myself with a powernap; mistake number two. I woke up groggy as the groggiest grog and Leonardo DiCaprio must have incepted me because someone dreamrobbed all of my motivation to go out during that nap; after two long days of Devere Hall the last of my energy left my body and I bailed. How hardcore

am I? I’d never felt so old and decrepit. Was this the end of Stack? Stay tuned ‘til next time!

After hearing phrases like: ‘Oh, I knew her from Irish College!’ and ‘What did you get in your CSPE in the Junior Cert?’ I decided to pack it up, pack it in and head home.

Thursday Up for yet another impromptu, surprise

lecture at 9, and with bed hair that could topple a nation, I had to embrace more of this Biotechnology postgrad. Having showed face, I went back the Nodland to recharge my batteries for the night ahead, which promised to be a long, eventful one. After scabbing a lift into town from a friend, we made it to Voodoo. There was no queue so we went to the Brog for one (SoCo, West Coast Cooler and lime, try it) and literally, 10 minutes later we went outside and BOOM, the formerly non-existent queue was as lengthy as... as... something very long. Conceding that queues everywhere were going to be this long, we remained in the queue and 30 minutes, three cigarette burns and plenty of stomped feet later, we made it in.

I won’t elaborate, but I’ll sum up the night in a few words and allow you to piece things together yourselves. Credit card. Jagerbombs. Auld dolls. Chips.

Friday Friday was detox day, lying in the sun and patting myself on the back for surviving yet another Freshers’ Week. I should really have a medal at this point. If you’ve made it this far into the article, it’s apparent that you also survived, so a hearty congratulations to you too. Let’s be friends someday. Over and out!

| 13

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Rash of diabetic incidents linked to Societies Day Trevor Drinkwater outlines the latest epidemic to hit main campus We’ve all heard the terrible stereotypes: bitter, sweet-hating grumps, biologically unable to derive pleasure from the fruit of the sugar cane. Caricatures like this luckily belong to our parents’ and our grandparents’ generations. This is notwithstanding a small minority of diabetes deniers who, although sparse in numbers, are incredibly vocal. The great historic institute which is University College Cork has regretfully been mired by incidents, perhaps not entirely unrelated to those of the hate groups above. Although none of these groups have officially claimed responsibility for the attacks, UCC’s internal investigative bureau has strong suspicions regarding the Assertive Society and the Dislike of Minorities Society’s involvement, both of whom are currently undergoing further investigation. But what if the problem goes deeper than that? It is a truth universally acknowledged that a society in possession of a good fortune of gummies must be in want of new members. This is near axiomatic in its application, but these recent events throw the whole ordeal into a clear light. From interviews that our research team have conducted with actual diabetics, it is clear that something must be done about the abundance of sweets on campus. I am aware that for some of you these pleas will fall on deaf ears, met with rebuttals as ill-thought out as ‘why not just say no?’ – probably said with an

Image by: Emmet Curtin uneducated rural accent. Scenarios like this are unfortunately only possible for more experienced diabetics, such as Nathan Keegan. “I tell them I don’t want any f****** sweets and if they don’t like that, I tell them their mom is a dumb ****.” Having long been steeled against the offers of sweets from friends and family due to the avoidable fatal implications, Keegan no longer cares about appearing like a dick, on occasion even coupling his refusal with a ‘wet willy’ or ‘dead arm’. However it is not such an easy choice

for some milder diabetics, like Mary Figus. “I don’t want to appear mean,” Mary told us through sobs (ruining her make-up and on a whole making her less attractive), “so sometimes I just take them anyway and give them to my non-diabetic friends or obese children. But sometimes they just won’t take no for an answer...” She went on at great length detailing an event where an unnamed society’s PRO forced her to ingest a gummy, however she was not a natural storyteller so we excluded that passage. As heart breaking as her plea was, the fact that a diabetic can have nondiabetic acquaintances is really a

beautiful idea and a sign that we are headed in the right direction.

the distribution and consumption of sweets.

Whether to face certain death by way of hyperglycaemic attack, or appear curt for the refusal of delicious candies, is fortunately not a decision I will ever have to face. But the fact of the matter remains; there is no nice way to say no to sweets – which is why this journalist feels like he must make a stand!

With some scientists believing that a concentration of confectionary as dense as a Societies Day can actually create a ‘hot-box’ like effect, or ‘sweet-box’ as some civilians have taken to calling it, with diabetics getting unwittingly high upon others’ supplies. I urge you to stand up and be counted! Write to your representative, sign an online petition, do whatever you can to make these hate crimes a thing of the past. People need to know that gummy legislation is sometimes bittersweet, or often sour like... Tangfastics!

While I think banning sweets altogether would be irresponsible, what with studies showing that they represent the majority staple of most students during their first three months of term, I do feel that UCC should more heavily regulate

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Crossword

Across:

Down:

8 Dim niece is taught in Brookfield (8)

1 (&14D) Location of graduation ceremonies (6,4)

9 I crash in lectures while sitting on these (6) 10 Follows a failed test (6) 11 People in Dramat are chattier (8) 12 List of foods (4) 13 Philosoph teach this art of persuasive speaking (8)

5 Devious plan (6) 6 Inky mark (6)

14 See 1D 16 Spoken examination (4)

22 UCC's 'great hall' in North Wing (4)

18 Tired student may inadvertently fall asleep (3,3)

24 Clare student of hurling (8)

20 Grannies predict future income (8)

27 To occur on seldom occasions (6)

21 Online assignment submission tool (8)

31 Most popular Arts subject (7)

Medium

4 Direction of computer building (7)

17 Not obvious question can lure wrong answer (7)

30 Counteract with equal eďŹ&#x20AC;ect (6)

Hard

3 Lodge or Mills (8)

7 More intelligent (8)

29 Do I sit with fools? (6)

Sudoku

2 The LGBT Society's third (8)

15 Name of UCC chaplaincy (4)

19 An educational talk (7)

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

23 Finds sly uses for Joycean work (7) 25 These people also get trained in 8A building (6)

32 One of the courses available from 12A (8) 26 Eaters get a study break in April (6) 28 This vote would make Scotland independent (3)

August 19th Answers

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Let’s talk about suicide Conor Shearman Features Editor

It is no secret that Ireland suffers from a problem with suicide. Recent tragedies both national and international have brought discussion of suicide to the front pages once more. Sadly almost everyone in the country could attest to knowing someone, whether family, friend or acquaintance, who has taken their own life; deaths which should be completely preventable. The statistics of suicide reveal the truth behind its usual veil of secrecy. Ireland’s suicide rate is not particularly high compared to other countries in the EU, particularly the Baltic states, but this changes drastically if one focuses on particular groups. Young people from the age of 15 to 24 are the group significantly at risk of suicide and worryingly this trend is rising, not slowing. Ireland has the highest rate of suicide amongst females aged under 19 in the EU and the second highest among men in the same age bracket. The disparity in the figures between genders may not tell the full story. Although Irish men are more than five times likely to take their own lives than women, the statistics may be hiding the fact that just as many women struggle with suicide as men.

One explanation offered for the skewed figures is that, men tend to use more lethal means of suicides whereas females have more failed suicide attempts. Many researchers believe the statistics surrounding suicide belie the complete picture; many suicides often go unreported whilst suicides attempts are not included in the same figures as those completed. There is a firm consensus that Irish attitudes towards mental health need to change. The belief that those who take their own lives tend to be seriously mentally unwell is no longer acceptable, figures from the National Suicide Research Foundation indicate that nearly 50% of male suicides in Cork city from 2008-2012 had alcohol present in their toxicology report. It offers a damning indictment that suicide can be a decision made in an instant, clouded by the inﬂuence of substances, rather than being rationally thought through. The air amongst Irish people of being ‘grand’ needs to change. Admitting one has a problem and talking about it is universally agreed as the first step towards recovery. Breaking down the stigma of mental health problems is the first step on the path of progression. Simply looking across the pond to our stateside companions illustrates this acceptance of mental health; therapy has become such a mainstay

of American culture that it is portrayed and parodied in numerous TV shows. Mental health problems need to be treated as the equivalent of physical ailments. Telling someone to get over their case of measles or simply hoping it heals itself would be deemed ridiculous by most people, so why should mental health problems be treated any differently? The media coverage of suicide too, needs to change. Glorifying victim’s

Why do Irish people love the Premier League? Diarmaid Twomey Features Writer I look forward to September each year. Certain events and aspects of this time of year excite me, one being the hope that Cork are competing for silverware on a certain two Sundays. There is another element to this time of year, however, that since I can remember, I dread more than you could know; the arrival of a new season of the Premier League, and all that comes with it. I make no bones about it, I am not a soccer fan. I never have been, but for some ﬂeeting, somewhat peerpressured moments in my childhood and adolescent years. Growing up, no one in my family pleaded allegiance to a club in a city hundreds of miles away. We played soccer for fun but I was always much more interested in GAA, even if I was woefully bad at it. My interest in GAA was never my sole reason for disliking soccer so much however; no, it always ran much deeper. I always wonder if I am the only one who finds the ‘beautiful’ game so atrociously boring? Have you ever watched a soccer match after a game of rugby or hurling? The idea of wasting an hour and a half of my life to watch a game play out a scoreless draw is something I could never bring myself to do on a consistent basis. Of course people argue about the

entertainment of tactics, the tension and the sidelines battles but, let’s call a spade a spade; games of sport are scoring contests. Something I reserve a pet hate for is how passionate and tribal Irish people get about ‘their’ clubs, which not alone exist in a different city, but in a different country. I must admit to feeling particularly nauseous anytime I hear or see Irish people calling each other ‘Mancs’ or ‘Scousers’, sometimes purely for banter but, other times, amid quite heated debates. Where does this blinding allegiance to foreign clubs in foreign cities come from, such that friends and family become pseudo rivals based on nonexistent connections? Why do Irish people feel the need to dream up new identities as locals of English cities to discuss their ‘beautiful’ game? When I watch Cork, Munster or Ireland play, I get extremely riled up; something my friends and family could most certainly attest to. I get passionate because I am Cork, I am Munster, I am Ireland. It’s in my blood. I was born here, my loved ones live here; I have the passport, the accent, the swagger. What has a man or woman from Bandon, Gurranabraher or Ballincollig got in common with a club in North London, in Liverpool or even Glasgow for that matter? How can they get passionate about a club in an area they have no connections with?

This leads me to my next issue with the Irish fascination with English soccer. How come the majority of these ‘die hard’ Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool fans will claim allegiance to English cities and their clubs, yet shout against the same players from the same cities and ‘their’ clubs, when they wear the English jersey? Surely the hypocrisy of that doesn’t escape people? I would have thought the days of shouting against our neighbours and friends simply because they’re English were well and truly over? All this aside, I must admit to having huge admiration for the real Irish soccer fans, who frequent the local grounds of this country, even if I don’t share their love of the same sport. These are fans that first and foremost support their local team, something I can truly relate to. I’m sure I adorn enough dartboards at this point, so I will leave you with a final thought. Do you think a league that pays any man £300,000 per week to kick a football, can still represent the grassroots and fundamentals of that sport fairly? We have world tournaments, being agreed upon and planned for summertime in the desert, solely on the back of brown envelopes, nods and winks. The ‘beautiful game’ is no longer a tag fitting of such a corrupted and ugly business.

deaths promotes suicide as a glamorous choice particularly amongst young people. The spate of suicides amongst young girls in 2012 which accompanied widespread reports of cyberbullying being responsible for their deaths, illustrates the responsibility which the media has in reporting on suicide. Unfortunately there is no fast track solution to issues of suicide. The Government may prioritise resources for treatment of mental health problems but this alone is not enough. Education

needs to be foremost. Attitudes may not change overnight but once a frank public dialogue remains open on the issue, change will come.

You can contact the Samaritans on FreePhone 116 123 or Pieta House in Cork on 021 434 1400.

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Tuesday, August 19th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

The science behind thinking with the gut John Cryan | Anatomy and Neuroscience Dept. We have all experienced the influence of gut bacteria on our emotions. Just think how you felt the last time you had a stomach bug. Now it is becoming clear that certain gut bacteria can positively influence our mood and behaviour. The relationship between the brain and gut is perhaps not as out there as you might first think. We use it in our everyday language- gut feelings; gut instinct; gutted; gutsy; gut wrenching experience; butterflies in my tummyto describe a raft of different emotions. For the most part we acquire our intestinal microbes immediately after birth, and live in an important symbiotic relationship with them. The evolutionary formation of a complex gut microbiota in mammals has played an important role in enabling brain development and sophisticated social interaction. These bacteria have a vast array of genes, capable of producing hundreds if not thousands of chemicals, many of which influence your brain. In fact, bacteria produce some of the most important brain signalling molecules, such as dopamine, serotonin and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

These findings give weight to the notion of probiotics – bacteria with a health benefit. Probiotics were first proposed by the Nobel Prize winning Russian biologist Elie Metchnikoff who, in the early 1900s, observed that

It is now slowly becoming clear that certain bacteria – dubbed psychobiotics – might have a mental-health benefit too. people living in a region of Bulgaria who consumed fermented food tended to live longer. Thus microbes may be the elixir of life. Indeed recent studies from the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in UCC published in the scientific journal Nature also point to a role for microbiota in preventing agingassociated frailty. It is now slowly becoming clear that certain bacteria – dubbed psychobiotics – might have a mentalhealth benefit too. Although the field of psychobiotics is in its infancy, there are already promising signs. Last year, for instance, researchers from the California Institute of Technology

in Pasadena showed that when the bacterium ‘bacteroides fragilis’ was given early in life, it corrected some of the behavioural and gastrointestinal deficits in a mouse model of autism. Studies in animals are one thing but can we translate this into humans? Can we develop psychobiotics? There is growing evidence which suggest exactly this possibility; a 2011 study showed that a combination of bacteria reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in healthy volunteers. Certain strains of bacteria can also reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, a common stress-related disorder of the brain-gut axis. This is probably achieved through a reduction in levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol and of inﬂammatory molecules produced by the immune system. These findings are promising, but we are still a long way from the development of clinically proven psychobiotics and it remains to be seen whether psychobiotics are capable of mimicking that of their most prized goal, antidepressants. The focus of microbiological research has changed. There is a recognition of the health benefits of bacteria, not just from an immunity perspective but from a mental health one. All of the accumulating data point to the

importance of maintaining a healthy microbiota. With an increase in factors that can negatively affect the diversity of our microbiota such as antibiotic use, bad diet, infection and stress, it is a cause of concern from a public mental health perspective. We may have learned a

lot about how the microbiota impinge on brain function but are only at the beginning of a new exciting paradigm shift in neuroscience. John Cryan spoke in the ‘Weird and Wonderful’ session at the TEDMED annual conference in Washinton DC last Friday.

The hypocrisy of the West’s words on Ukraine Morgane Conaty | Features Writer Cold War tensions are on the rise again as Russia and Western allies exchange tough talk and sanctions over the continuing crisis in Ukraine. Russia’s intrusions seen as a violation of Ukrainian national sovereignty have prompted widespread condemnation and criticism. Once again there seems to be a good versus evil divide as America and the European Union try to save Ukraine from the wicked machinations of Vladimir Putin. No doubt the next Bond film will see Daniel Craig pitted against a huge, evil-eyed, Russian general. The political and media reactions to the crisis have exposed the hypocrisy of the West. Democratic, egalitarian (to a certain extent) and free thinking societies in Western nations, have a complacent attitude that we live in a more civilised and almost superior society, and therefore occupy the moral high ground in international affairs. Whilst world leaders were busy criticising Russia’s actions they seemed to be forgetting their own meddling on the international stage, rendering their strong rhetoric and economic sanctions almost insincere. When Malaysian Airlines ﬂight 17 was allegedly shot down by proRussian separatists armed by Russia,

the world’s press and politicians united in horror, anger and condemnation as the finger was immediately pointed at Russia. Undoubtedly the death of 298 civilians is a horrific tragedy yet no one seemed to remember a very similar incident occurring in 1988. During the Iran-Iraq War the United States Navy shot down an Iranian passenger plane ﬂying over Iranian territory with all 290 aboard killed. It was later claimed that the plane was mistaken for a military one. The United States government never formally apologised to its Iranian counterpart, nor did it admit liability. A cursory glance through the history books fast reveals the hypocrisy of the West’s criticism of Russia. A US backed dictatorship in Nicaragua in the 1970s suppressed any political opposition. After a civil war the dictatorship collapsed paving the way for democratic elections. The subsequent government, however, had communist leanings and so the US sent financial and military support to rebel groups known as the Contras, who were accused of many human rights violations. The US has so far refused to pay restitution for the actions of the Contras, including the placing of underwater mines in Nicaragua’s main port. It is the United States in particular it

seems who have little regard for the sovereignty of other countries and act only in their own interests. In 1973 fearing Chile would succumb to communism, America through the CIA, were involved in the coup that overthrew the democratically elected Chilean president, Salvador Allende. He was replaced by Augusto Pinochet who instated a military dictatorship and ruled for 17 years. He later faced 300 criminal charges in connection with numerous human rights violations, including the murder and torture of

political opponents. In Guatemala in the 1930s and 1940s the US supported the dictator General Ubico, a regime that was brutally repressive but under which US companies thrived. The regime was overthrown in 1944 by a popular revolt leading to democratic elections. Subsequent governments in Guatemala implemented social reform but American companies, at a loss from land and labour reforms, lobbied for their removal. In 1954 a CIA paramilitary

invasion led to the government being overthrown; a military dictatorship was then installed. This article is not seeking to condone Russia’s actions or even to try to justify them. As history has shown interference by one country into the affairs of another has not ended well for the people of that country. The West should still be condemning Russia’s actions but it also needs to acknowledge that it does not occupy the moral high ground and maybe it would do well to act as it tells others to act.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

History Expressed: The resurrection of Queen Victoria Emmet Curtin The Queen Victoria statue in UCC, currently located in the Graduate Common Room, is the oldest statue created for the college and one which went unseen by human eyes for almost 50 years. Created in 1849, back when UCC was called Queen’s College Cork, by Cork sculptor Edward Ambrose out of Cork limestone, it was commissioned by the architect of QCC, Sir Thomas Deane and presented as a gift to the college. It was the only statue in the college at the time and a sign of British rule. In August 1849, during a visit by Queen Victoria, the statue was hoisted onto the topmost gable in the college and Queen Victoria witnessed this event from her carriage on Western Road. The Queen didn’t stop in Cork City at the time due to an outbreak of cholera in the city. The statue remained on top of the Quad until the 1930s when the atmosphere in UCC was still very nationalist, by both UCC authorities and students alike. It

was decided that the statue be removed from its location, as it was no longer appropriate in a new, independent Ireland. One Professor has put it on record that the reason for the statue’s removal was the fear that students would, somehow, blow up the statue. The Queen Victoria statue was replaced with a statue of the patron saint of Cork, Saint Finbarr. He was designed by another Cork sculptor, Seamus Murphy, and stands there to this very day. The choice for St. Finbarr also comes from the University motto ‘Where Finbarr thought, let Munster learn,’ which comes from the belief that St. Finbarr had a monastic school around the same area where UCC was built. The motto has existed since QCC/ UCC’s inception and was chosen due to the strong connection Cork has to their patron saint. The Queen Victoria statue, not being removed from its pedestal, presented a problem for college authorities as they did not know what to do with her. It was eventually decided to place the statue in storage in the East Wing, not too far from where she once stood, and was viewed privately by people from time to time. The statue, which is estimated to weigh between three-quarters and one and a half tonnes, remained there for many years, until it eventually proved too much for the ﬂoorboards in the East Wing and had to be removed again.

The college authorities eventually took the odd decision of burying the statue in what was considered one of the classiest locations in UCC, the President’s Garden. The statue was buried privately in a mock ceremony by UCC authorities in 1946 and remained there until the 1990s. With the university approaching its 150th anniversary, it was decided to resurrect the Queen Victoria statue as part of the sesquicentennial exhibition. The statue was exhumed from its straw lined grave in the President’s Garden in late 1994 in the dead of night by college authorities who had been sworn to secrecy. The statue was dusted off, restored and placed in a glass, apparently ‘terrorist proof’, case in the Graduate Common Room. Despite some objections raised at the time, the statue was well received by those in UCC and was a sign of improving British-Irish relations at the time. The statue remains in the Graduate Common Room in the North Wing of the Quadrangle today, although it was brieﬂy moved to the Lee Maltings Complex on Dyke Parade in order to be viewed by Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Ireland. The statue can be viewed in the Graduate Common Room by arrangement with the UCC Visitors’ Centre.

FEAR IS A PRISON. FACE YOURS AT

m l a e R e r a m t h The Nig

SCAREHOUSE

Albert Quay, Cork, from Oct. 3rd

BOOK NOW on thenightmarerealm.ie TNR UCC Express 2014 148x105.indd 1

12/09/2014 11:39

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Tuesday, August 19th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

Images by: Emmet Curtin

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Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Pete Frates: Mr. Ice-Bucket Challenge Stephen Walsh | Sport Editor This summer you, along with many of your Facebook friends and Twitter followers, have probably engaged in the ALS/ MND Ice-Bucket Challenge to raise some much needed funds for the fight against motor neuron disease. Yes, we all know the process involved with the challenge whereby you’re nominated by a friend to pour a bucket of ice-water over your head within 24 hours for €2 or else suffer online shame and a €10 (or in some cases €100) donation.

This would prove a shock to a man who was a leader on the field. Suddenly, he was losing the ability to perform the most menial of tasks. But does anybody know how this craze began? Pete Frates is not a sporting name that will ring a bell in anybody’s head, besides the few fortunate enough to watch him play Division 1 baseball with Boston College, where he currently holds the modern day team record for 8 runs batted-in thanks to a grand slam and three home runs in 2007. The captain enjoyed a couple of years playing professionally in Germany before returning back to the States to play in the summer leagues.

Yet, for anybody who dreams of becoming a top baseball player growing up in Boston, there is only one place that they would like to score a home run; Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. During Frates’s junior year in a Beanpot championship game against Harvard the dream came true as Frates hit the ball over the famous Fenway Park wall for a home run. Of course, you are probably still wondering how this individual helped to start a craze that has gone viral and led to supermarkets running out of ice on a continuous basis… Well on his return to the States, having played abroad for a number of years, Frates noticed a little twitching in his arms. At first he put it down to diet and decided that a few bananas and a bit of Gatorade would do the trick. However there was no improvement over the following months and when his performance started to slip, Frates decided to take a number of tests to see what the problem was. Much to Frates’s dismay, no answer arose from the tests. He continued playing until one day he was unable to hit his speciality fastball and injured his wrist. Despite all the treatment his wrist wasn’t improving and, with medics failing to provide any correct answers to his problems, Frates decided to Google his symptoms. This led him to the ALS website where suddenly he was able to relate to the symptoms. This would prove a shock to a man who was a leader on the field. Suddenly, he was losing the ability to perform the most menial of tasks.

In Profile: UCC Dance Club Tara Murphy

UCC Dance is a friendly and welcoming place that is perfect for students to connect through a common love for dance. It is also a thriving and hardworking club which aims to provide students with a high level of teaching. The 2014 Club of the Year is looking forward to the coming academic year with anticipation and reasonably high expectations! We aim to cater for everyone, having a broad range of beginners and advanced classes across categories such as hiphop, commercial, jazz, Irish, ballet, contemporary and belly. Because of the range of classes that we offer, the Dance Club is perfect for any experienced dancer or total beginner. We are warm and friendly people who love to see new faces! We also have a committee who work hard to make everyone’s experience as part of the Dance Club as positive as possible. We have an annual show in the Everyman Theatre which showcases

each class, beginner and advanced. This is a fantastic opportunity for our dancers to show what they have learned throughout the year and to grow in confidence as a person and as a dancer. The proceeds of the show go to charity. We also take part in annual intervarsity competitions, where we compete against other colleges around Ireland in many disciplines. Last year we placed first in Jazz, second in Irish and third in lyrical. We are very proud of our long list of achievements at intervarsities and believe that this shows our hard working attitude and strong team spirit. Above all we strive to provide the students of UCC with a way to continue dancing in college, continuing something they love.

The hardest part was when he had to tell his future wife Julie (who he married last year), his friends and family that he was suffering from a disease that would see him die within the next few years. Frates decided to do something to raise awareness about this awful disease and took the idea from New Yorker Patrick Quinn of throwing a bucket of ice-cold water over your head. He challenged his friends to do this to each other and it began to spread like wildfire. Soon, it went nationwide. As Malcolm Gladwell said in his famous book, The Tipping Point occurs when something becomes main stream. This has been traced back to the show Morning Drive on the Golf Channel, when the Ice-Bucket Challenge was captured live on the 30th of June 2014. Over the following weeks many celebrities began to perform

the challenge. The ALS Association of America last week announced that they have raised over $70m, in stark contrast to the $2.5m they had raised at this time last year, further emphasising the impact of this viral challenge. Meanwhile Pete Frates lost the ability to speak and move his hands in March of this year. However Frates and his wife Julie are expecting their first child this September. He now communicates using eye contact with a special tablet device. One of his last requests was to ask his friends to do something for ALS. Little did they know that their challenge would become the Harlem Shake of 2014. Frates is currently lobbying MLB authorities to make all the annual 4th

of July games, ALS games in honour of legendary baseballer Lou Gehrig, who had to retire from the sport in 1939 due to motor neuron disease. However it wouldn’t have been a true campaign if the founder didn’t take part in the challenge, and on the 1st of August Pete Frates, joined by a few close friends did the Ice-Bucket Challenge in the only place people felt appropriate for a former Boston College captain: the home plate at Fenway Park. So next time you donate your €2 by texting MND to 50300 or laugh at somebody’s attempted Ice-Bucket Challenge online, spare a thought for the baseball player who started the craze of summer 2014.

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

The Art of Walking Alone Ryan Collins outlines the misconceptions surrounding Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard Steven Gerrard is a folk hero in Merseyside, with his exploits frequently put into song and his stat lines memorised by die-hards as an expression of respect for his abilities. There is, however, a man behind the myth of the all-conquering legend and once the rose-tinted glasses have been discarded, the man is not as good as what some Liverpool supporters say. This wouldn’t be being discussed in September 2014 if it weren’t for the debate between Gary Neville and, Gerrard’s fellow Scouser, Jamie Carragher which took place last year, when they discussed the merits and respective rankings of Gerrard, Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard. Regardless of Neville’s history, his brief career in analysis has earned him the admiration of his peers and neutrals in the sport, but Carragher, for all his affable camaraderie with his cohosts, represents the blinkered Anfield faithful. In no universe is Steven Gerrard a better player than Lampard and Scholes in terms of increasingly potent and relevant stat lines, such as goals or assists, nor was he consistently the best player on his own team. In Liverpool’s best years during the Gerrard era, he was the captain on the pitch for the most part, but he could never truly call himself the lynchpin of the team.

In 2000/1, when Liverpool captured their own Treble, Gerrard was a rotation player in a packed and explosive midfield package. Jamie Redknapp, Didi Hamann, Danny Murphy and Gary McAllister fought for the two central midfield roles, while the prodigious Michael Owen was the superstar on the pitch. Gerrard did establish himself as a very important piece of the puzzle for Liverpool’s stellar run under Rafa Benitez, in which they achieved Champions League qualification for five straight years, won the FA Cup in 2006 and attained the crown jewel on a faithful night in Istanbul, by winning the Champions League. It was under Benitez that Gerrard morphed from being a strictly defensive constituent to an energetic, free-ﬂowing assault weapon; a Swiss knife of a footballer. This is where the misconception began. Gerrard took it upon himself to become the offensive leader of the team; anything in the final third went through him. He became a highlight reel of outrageous strikes on goal and long range bullet passes. But for every goal against Olympiakos, there were ten shots that found Row Z. For every 50-yard assist, there were 15 passes that took down low-ﬂying birds.

Meanwhile the criminally underutilised Xabi Alonso kept Liverpool’s defence reasonably watertight while Gerrard sought the Hollywood moment. When one saw as much of the ball as Gerrard did, there were always going to be opportunities. The reason he could do so much, however, was because Alonso was watching his back and placing the ball in the best positions. 2007 through to 2009 were Gerrard’s best years and the only seasons in which he achieved Lampard-like numbers, scoring 21 goals in 2007/8 and 24 goals in 2008/9. There is a reason why this particular squad is widely considered to be the most dynamic Liverpool team of the 21st century and that is down to the arrival of Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano. The mercurial Spaniard forged a lethal partnership with Gerrard and

his off-the-ball running complimented Gerrard’s new seek-and-destroy short passing game, inﬂuenced by Alonso. Incidentally, Alonso had a larger role too, freed from defensive shackles by the perpetually under-rated Mascherano. This four-player core was feared and they astonishingly passed and tackled Real Madrid out of Anfield in a 4-0 demolition job. What’s noteworthy is that Gerrard wasn’t the volume scorer (Torres), defensive lynchpin (Mascherano) or best passer (Alonso). An argument could easily be constructed to support the idea of Alonso being the best overall player on the team. Even in 2013/4, when Liverpool looked as good as ever and Gerrard embarked on a Renaissance in his new, Andrea Pirlo-like regista role, he was far from the best player. Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, when he played,

In profile: UCC Olympic Handball Club Carlo Heﬀner Not many students know what Olympic handball is and even less know about the UCC Olympic Handball Club.

At the age of 34, Gerrard has only briefly and recently shown flashes of the maturity that has allowed the likes of Pirlo, Alonso and, indeed, Scholes and Lampard to flourish into their later years. Brendan Rodgers knows what he wants Gerrard to do and that’s why he has installed Henderson by his side to do the majority of the running and graft. But Gerrard and his supporters will always walk alone in the spotlight, hunting one more ‘Oh You Beauty’ goal.

national team. It has given us the reputation of being a committed and powerful team that is dangerous until the final whistle. Coached by a German team of trainers with over 20 years experience, the goal is to take the Irish Championship to Cork. That is where we need you! Are you a newbie? No problem; come and learn how to play. Are you a veteran player? You are more than welcome to join the team. We have a men’s team and looking at the formation of a women‘s squad as well.

To answer the first question, Olympic handball is a fastpaced, tough, physical, modern and tactical team sport. It is the second largest sport in Europe after soccer, with millions of active handball players. And to make a long story short – the UCC OHC is one of the most successful clubs in Ireland. Since our foundation four years ago, we have won the Second Division, were twice runners-up in the Irish Cup and second in the First Division championship.

You don’t want to play? No problem; visit us at our home games and support the team on the way to the title!

The secret to the club‘s success is the mix of residential players and students, especially Erasmus students from all over Europe. We have players from Ireland, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Nigeria, Pakistan and Switzerland.

ran the offence in a lightning manner that Gerrard was never capable of. Plus the emergence of Raheem Sterling as a gifted trequartista meant that Gerrard was relegated to defensive duties and, even still, he persisted with impossible pass attempts and wayward strikes.

Those students bring their knowledge and power from their home countries and make a real impact on the sport in

Ireland. Often they are playing at their first and second divisions at home as well.

This environment managed to shock some old clubs from Dublin and even developed two players for the Irish

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Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Clubs Exec get smart with phone app Stephen Walsh | Sport Editor

needed by staff and students.

Have you ever been bored on a Tuesday evening or wondered what game will be on in the Mardyke at the weekend? Well the UCC Clubs’ Executive is launching a new smartphone app that will be the first of its kind in the college.

“The UCC Sport homepage is a centralised site for all UCC clubs’ individual pages. All the upcoming events, fixtures and recent results will be posted to the main page from information individual clubs submit.

According to Deirdre Begley, PRO of the Clubs’ Executive, the app was created to address a lack of awareness of UCC Clubs.

“The UCC Sport App holds the same info but you can subscribe to get notifications from only the sports you’re interested in. This is a chance for all the clubs in UCC to promote their club and it’s achievements within and outside of UCC.”

“There are many of us involved in sport in UCC who believe that a lot of UCC’s athletes’ achievements go unnoticed outside of UCC and, in some cases, within the college itself. The new UCC Sport website and app are solutions to this.” The new website will be a one-stop shop for all clubs to advertise their future fixtures as well as try and attract new members that will have signed up for the various clubs last week at Clubs’ Day. It will be play host to all the important fixtures and results in the coming months from all teams, ranging from the UCC Senior Rugby team to both the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon teams. Begley explained the site further, saying that it will cover all basic information

The Executive has yet to formally announce a date for the launch of this app but it is found on a huge variety of sites including on Google Play, the iTunes App Store and any Android app store. “The new website can be found at sport. ucc.ie,” continued Begley, “although both the website and app are currently in skeletal form until all clubs have updated all their information. However there are a few fixtures and training times already added to the site.”

the app was created to address a lack of awareness of UCC Clubs

So the next time you have a spare night, give it a look and go and support the skull and crossbones!

Volleyball for Dummies Jevgenija Kokoreva Sport Writer

Good servers with many aces in the game can become a total nightmare for an opposing team.

serve and doesn’t attack. Their main responsibility is to pass, receive and to reach to as many balls as they can.

How to dive in, get some free balls and finish the game with an ace?

Don’t forget to tip!

Being a specialist in defence, sometimes the libero covers far more space on court that any other players on his team. The libero can also dig very well; receiving the ball, turning the opponent’s attack into a nice pass to the setter or just keeping the ball alive.

Volleyball is one of the most popular sports worldwide. It is truly a sport for everyone as people with different skills levels, backgrounds and physical abilities can enjoy this team game that encourages people to communicate, better understand each other and simply have fun. In more advanced levels volleyball is an extremely fast-paced game. And when, in the heat of the moment, players yell and scream to encourage their teammates or celebrate a well performed attack, some particularly interesting words appear in their vocabulary…

There are always players with aces up their sleeves… Every point in volleyball starts with a serve, which is as important as any other element of the game. It helps the team a lot to disorientate players on the other side of the net, taking them ‘out of system’ by serving tough, smart serves that are extremely hard to receive and this way lower opponents’ chances of a successful attack. Sometimes one good ace, when ball lands on the receiving teams court without a contact or with only one person contacting the ball before it hits the ﬂoor, is good enough to earn a point.

Volleyball is a very complex and strategic game and simply being good at doing straightforward things may not win your team a point. Volleyball players love to trick their opponents. Playing smart can help players reach incredible results. It happens sometimes though that players make a mistake when receiving or setting and it becomes hard to attack the ball in the best way. In this case, good old tip comes to help. Experienced players may pretend they are hitting the ball and at the last second instead of sending the ball to the other side of the net at top speed, simply guide it with the fingertips right behind the block or elsewhere along the net, where an opponent who’s waiting for a hard attack won’t be able to get to fast enough to cover the spot.

Free ball coming! When neither an attack nor a tip is possible or preferable, the ball is just sent over the net, as a ‘free’ ball which is very easy to receive. These kinds of balls are real gifts for opponents as they give the receiving team a better chance of recovering the ball, going on the attack and earning a point.

Meet the libero: an expert in digging… The libero is a very special player on the court. This player doesn’t

When volleyball players dive like a pancake… In some situations when ball is falling too far away or too low from the volleyball player, volleying or digging the ball can’t be performed. In such scenarios players dive by jumping from the place where they’re standing and falling ﬂat to the ﬂoor with their full body extended into one line and their hands trying to reach the falling ball like a pancake; a hand position with the palm of the player facing down. If this tricky manoeuvre is performed well, the ball bounces from the top of the hand, stays in game and gives other players a chance to recover the situation and score the point. These and many more volleyball jargon words help players on the court to communicate faster and more efficiently, making this wonderful team game even more interesting. So next time you’re playing volleyball, don’t forget to yell “ace” when your teammate scores from the serve, feel happy to get a free ball, dig every attack and cover when someone is yelling “watch the tip!”

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UCC EXPRESS | Tuesday, September 16th 2014

An Erasmus student’s view of the All-Ireland hurling final Kevin Galvin | Sport Writer The first Sunday in September means only one thing in Ireland, All-Ireland final day. After a summer of battling it all boils down to one (usually) splendid Sunday afternoon in front if Croke Park’s 82,000 capacity crowd to determine who will be crowned the country’s greatest side for this year. I’ve always adored the day and how it carries its own nuances, routines and traditions, much like that of its English counterpart, the FA Cup. For the day the two counties involved empty their population, descending on Dublin to cheer their local side to victory.

the ‘Four Courts’ was showing some sort of fashion show, totally oblivious to the country it was, supposedly, representing. Usually I’d be an avid armchair follower, getting myself nicely set-up in front of The Sunday Game to carry out a great Irish tradition; but this year was slightly different. For the year I’m living in the south of France; sun, sea, sand, but not a sliotar in sight. That being said, I optimistically decided to invite a few of my international friends around to watch the game in one of five ‘Irish’ pubs available in the Provençal town. We decided to leave early, to give us every chance of setting up, getting the beers in and settling down for what was being billed as the best contest in years. We got to our first port of call, a pub

called ‘O’Shannon’ at about 3pm Irish time. Closed. We hung on for a few minutes as they opened, and as I approached the barman I knew my luck wasn’t to be in: “Have you the match?” “What time?” “Half 4.” “Soccer!?” “No, not soccer! The All-Ireland final… Is this an Irish pub or not?” “Désole monsieur, only French channels.” Slightly down but far from defeated, we went through the town looking for an alternative. ‘The Kerry’ was dormant, presumably resting ahead of next week’s encounter. ‘O’Neale’ was also closed and the ‘Four Courts’ was showing some sort of fashion show, totally oblivious to the country it was, supposedly, representing. But fear not, as we Irish tend to do, we made the best of a bad lot and sat down at one of the Union Jack emblazoned tables at ‘O’Sullivan’s’ in our last stop of the five. We asked the usual question and to our surprise the barman had heard of it. At this stage we had lost much of our travelling crew, while the only survivors were the souls feeling pity for their two Irish friends in their vein quest for the holy grail, a live stream. Despite the barman’s help, the match couldn’t be got on the TV’s internet browser (curse you Flash!), so we decided to give the GAA’s new ﬂagship streaming service a GAAGO! Well...a go. And it didn’t go very far, not working on any laptop, device or the TV which we originally bought it for. So with about 20 minutes gone in the game, we made the call to go back the apartment we had left an hour earlier and see if we could set it up in the kitchen. After various stream resets and a near nervous breakdown, our

Michigan friend offered to grab his laptop, which had some sort of proxy extension, RTÉ Player!! The last ten minutes played out in beautiful HD and looking around at the dropped jaws surrounding me from around the world, I did feel a sense of justification. An incredible display of hurling from both sides showed what a truly amazing game hurling is and why it is, in my mind, undoubtedly the best part of modern Irish culture. Despite our foreign friends’ ﬂimsy grasp of what was going on, the sheer spectacle of a final for the ages enthralled them beyond anything they’d ever seen.

Hurling’s speed, skill, and ferociousness is totally unique as part of a sporting canvas in which doping, cheating and childishness are far more common traits. Though I myself may be a soccer fan above all else, I couldn’t help have an inexplicable national pride as from Canada to Sweden, and from America to Ireland our small group were probably the only locals to see one of the most memorable finals in All-Ireland history.

Ireland’s most frequently published College paper, now on all your devices!

Meanwhile a TV screen is on its way from Amazon ahead of the replay 11 days from now, and I’m expecting the kitchen to be a lot more packed than any of those Irish bars in anticipation of the greatest export this country never sold.

Champion contender enters premature retirement Jordan McCarthy There are some horses that claim the hearts of the public: Denman, Istabraq, Kauto Star and Moscow Flyer ranked among those; and while Peddlers Cross may not have done so in the manner that those horses did, he has given fans of the sport some very big moments indeed. After retiring the Tim Leslie-owned gelding, trainer Donald McCain tweeted; “After a lot of thought we have decided to retire Peddlers Cross, the best horse I may ever train. Thank you.” Coming from a Grand National winning trainer, that really says it all. Looking over his short career, you could pick out several moments where this horse lit up the racetrack. Although he did not take to fences as one would have hoped and his return to hurdles did not bring about any sense of rejuvenation, the son of Oscar was a

serious animal; from his point-to-point win in Liscarroll in March 2009 to his runner-up berth behind the mighty Hurricane Fly in the 2011 Champion Hurdle.

at Cheltenham where he just never really got going. Of course, his two defeats over fences came via Sprinter Sacre and Sir Des Champs, a truly topnotch duo.

His win in the Neptune at the festival a year prior was a really impressive performance and will no doubt be put down as the highlight of his efforts on the track. He took the Cheltenham Grade One in good style and had some very smart horses behind him.

After his defeat in a novice chase, McCain’s stablestar was not seen for almost ten months. A crack at the World Hurdle resulted in him being pulled up and it would prove to be his last run.

The following season, Peddlers Cross took the Fighting Fifth Hurdle en route to a tilt at the Champion Hurdle. He pushed the dual-Champion Hurdler Hurricane Fly all the way to finish a gallant second at the Cotswolds. It was another big run from the horse that gave jockey Jason Maguire some great moments in the saddle. His sole season over fences was an anti-climax, in particular his run back

Peddlers Cross is perhaps the horse that launched the successful combination of McCain and Maguire. The nine-yearold gave us some great memories in a relatively short career, winning ten of his 16 races under rules and totting up almost £300,000 in prize money. It is very much a case of what might have been though, given that he is still young in racing terms. However, at least he retires in one piece.

UCC

SPORT

Tuesday, September 16th 2014 | UCC EXPRESS

Giant-killer Miller settling back into college after intense World Cup Stephen Barry Editor-in-Chief

having end of year exams in May after her third year of study.

One month ago she was a central protagonist in the biggest Irish sporting story of the summer, but last week Irish international winger, Alison Miller returned to college the same as any other student.

“We had done a lot of hard work over the whole year, not just the summer. You’re in the gym mornings and you’re training evenings, and you’ve skill sessions around the country and weekend camps. There’s a lot going on that people don’t realise.”

As a transition, it’s one made tough by its mundane nature; one minute you’re in the middle of an intense World Cup campaign, the next you’re swinging back into the lecture routine.

They may not have become the best in the world, as England took that crown, but they did beat the incumbents, New Zealand, along the way.

“The World Cup is very physically and mentally draining, so to get back to college was difficult,” concedes the final year Sports Studies student. “The whole summer and the three weeks of the World Cup were very intense. You have one goal and you’ve one focus, and then to move on so quickly when you get home was hard.” Her year was spent in dedication to a goal of being the best in the world, something somewhat helped by not

That in itself was a victory for the ages: the first ever Irish team to beat New Zealand at 15-a-side; the first team to beat the Black Ferns at the World Cup in 23 years; the team that knocked out the four-in-a-row winners. The ability to go toe-to-toe with the queens of rugby for 80 minutes was honed in those summer session and that helped grow confidence; “We knew that we were well prepared and we knew we were capable of beating them.”

Miller scored a crucial counter attacking try in the 17-14 win, with a lung-busting, 50-yard surge which put Ireland ahead for the first time. However that was is not necessarily her most enduring memory from the historic win. “You’re focused in the moment because there’s so much going on in the game. Your thoughts are just in the moment and you don’t think about what’s going to happen next or what just happened.

“They were attacking in the last few minutes and I managed to get a turnover near their try-line. It’s little things that stand out more than others. I made a try-saving tackle in the second half which stands out as well because they were attacking us so dangerously for the last few minutes. “It’s great to score a try but, considering how dangerous they are at all times, I take a lot of pride in the defensive work.” The game was a thorough response to those who had written off the 2013

Grand Slam winners, although the experience was somewhat tarnished by a disappointing semi-final performance against the eventual winners.

It’s great to score a try but I take a lot of pride in the defensive work.

“You look back at the great win against New Zealand and obviously it was a historic win and is something that won’t be forgotten. But also there

is the disappointment of losing to England in the manner that we did and knowing that if we had put in a better performance, we could have been in a World Cup final.” It’s a case of mixed emotions so for the Portlaoise native, but the achievements of Miller and her teammates will have a lasting effect on their code and women’s sport in general. “Some people don’t have any respect for it [women’s sport] but we don’t worry about those people because they’re there in all aspects of life. So not worrying about them I think is the best way to think about it. “The success we have had will mean that more girls take up the game and there are pathways in place. One our players, Nora Stapleton, is in charge of directing the women’s game in Ireland; she has many initiatives and she is very effective at it. “It’s a work in progress and it’s difficult, but it’s been successful so far.”