yorkvision.co.uk
Vısıon YORK
29.09.15
THE UK’S MOST AWARDED STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE 252
FEATURES: WE DROVE A BUS!
GOODBYE WILLOW:
FONG’S FINAL INTERVIEW
EXCLUSIVE: STUDENT TELLS OF FEAR AFTER FLEEING ETHIOPIA
BEATEN, DETAINED AND FORCED TO FLEE STUDENT CHAMPIONING THE YORK TO CALAIS CAMPAIGN TALKS OF HIS PLIGHT AFTER LEADING STUDENT DEMO IN HOME COUNTRY
BY JACK GEVERTZ
LEADING DEMONSTRATIONS against your university is never an easy task. Not only do you face the threat of being intimidated, but you also face being suspended or removed and your education stripped from you. In this exclusive interview with York Vision, we speak with PhD student Fasil Demsash, who fled his native Ethiopia after something much darker happened at his university.
FULL INTERVIEW PAGES 8-9
CENSORED: THE STORY WE CAN’T REPORT IN FULL
PG 2
2 Vısıon
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
YORK
EGG-STREME MEASURES UNI NOT “FUN POLICE” BY JACK GEVERTZ
DAVID DUNCAN insists the university will not become the “fun police” as it seeks to crackdown on sexual harassment and so-called ‘lad culture’ this year. In an interview with York Vision, the registrar and secretary said that new policies were being brought in to tackle the issues, including training for all college tutors. But he insisted he did not want policies to go as far as infringing on students’ rights to enjoy themselves which he described would be like having a “fun police”. It comes following increasing campus media coverage on sexist behaviour at the University. David Duncan told York Vision: “We will back up actions from YUSU with disciplinary action, where necessary.”
DCI Duncan on the beat
BY JACK GEVERTZ SENIOR UNIVERSITY officials have attempted to control the number of geese on campus by dipping their eggs into paraffin, York Vision can reveal. Gordon Eastham, the university’s grounds maintenance manager, told this newspaper that they had applied for a licence from DEFRA and had been allowed to treat up to 200 eggs each
breeding season in this way. He also confirmed that they had not culled any birds and “would not” do so. The university is known for having a large population of geese on campus. YouTube channels such as Duck of the Day documents what goes on with some of the campus birds. Putting eggs into paraffin, or egg oiling, is reportedly an effective way of controlling a
CENSORED: SOCIETY EMAIL LEAK SCANDAL BY GEORGE ATKINSON
YORK VISION has been banned by student union bosses from naming a university society involved in a data security gaffe. The society in question accidentally released the email addresses of everyone in their mailing list in an internal newsletter blunder. A start of term news-bulletin sent
out by their secretary failed to hide the sensitive information of over three hundred society members from all other recipients. A follow up email was rapidly sent, urging members to delete the previous email. The second email said: “We take the privacy of our members really
EDITORIAL TEAM AUTUMN 2015 Editors-in-chief:
George Atkinson Barto Joly de Lotbiniere Print Editor: Tom Butler-Roberts
population of birds. It is used to coat the shell of an egg which stops its embryo from developing. In order for it to be effective, all of the egg must be covered. According to Eastham, the technique has not been effective. He said: “Our experience is that it has made little if any difference to the size of the adult breeding population or numbers of geese on campus.”
Features Editors: Philip Adams
Opinions Editor: Scene Editors: Hollie Parker Markella Apergi Caitlin Sherrard Anoosh Djavaheri Advertising Officer: Deputy Opinion Editor: Katie White Becca Alderson
Sports Editors: Guy Giles Jonny Long
highly [sic] and I assure you all that this will not happen again.” York Vision was alerted to the slip-up by a concerned recipient in the mailing list. YUSU management told York Vision: “While we are happy for you to talk about a generic society, we would have welfare concerns about the spe-
cific society concerned being named.” YUSU Activities Officer Chris Wall said: “We have recently become aware of this issue. “We will be working with the society concerned, and indeed all societies, to ensure that they understand the need for data security and can manage it effectively.”
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News Editors: Tom Butler-Roberts Jack Gevertz
Got a story? We pride ourselves on being the best news source in York. Email: vision@yusu.org Twitter: @YorkVision
Barto and George
Opinions expressed in York Vision are not necessarily those of the Editors, senior editorial team, membership, or advertisers. Every effort is made to ensure all articles are as factually correct as possible at the time of going to press, given the information available. Copyright Vision Newspapers, 2015. Printed by Mortons of Horncastle.
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 3 YORK
999 CALLS EXCLUSIVE: NEW COLLEGE PLANS
BY JACK GEVERTZ
NORTH YORKSHIRE Police have been called to campus twice over drugs claims, figures show. Data obtained from the force show from January 1 2015 to June 30 2015, four police call-outs were made, including two for drugs-related offences, one missing person’s report and one for anti-social behaviour.
ZESTY ROMANCE
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
TWO YORK alumni tied the knot this year and marked the occasion with a very special cake. Jamie and Ellen decided to decorate their wedding cake with The Lemon Press’s logo, having been members of the satire society during their time at York. Jamie wrote for York Vision before the heartwarming pair graduated in 2012. The cute cake also displayed a Lemon Press-style article on it in icing.
INTRODUCING... BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS TWO NEW colleges are set to open in under five years and contain an additional 1,300 on campus rooms, according to an official source. The colleges will both be built on the Heslington East campus with completion dates scheduled for 2018 and 2019. These developments come less than a year after College Nine, Constantine, first opened its doors to students. David Duncan, the university registrar and secretary said: “Increasing numbers of upper year and postgraduate students are seeking rooms on campus, and consequently we expect all nine colleges to be full this academic year. “In order to cater for future demand, we have begun planning for two new colleges, which will be located to the east of Constantine College.” No name or logo has officially been decided upon for the latest additions to York’s collegiate system, and it is not yet clear how they will be decided. Constantine College’s name was announced two years before opening by a senior member of university management and an earlier version of Constantine’s logo was changed after a York Vision poll last year found nearly 3 in 4 students didn’t like it. YUSU President Ben Leatham is set to advise on the types of facili-
COLLEGE 10 & 11 SEND IN COLLE YOUR GE NA SUGGE ME ST vision@ IONS TO yusu.o rg
It is believed the new colleges will be located on the grassy plain next to Constantine College. ties students would like included. He said: “The development of Colleges 10 and 11 is an incredibly exciting process. “I am working closely with the University to ensure that both Colleges include space for diverse social activity. “Colleges shouldn’t just be accommodation blocks, but environments that fosters a strong sense of community.”
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Duncan added: “As part of the ongoing redevelopment of the older parts of the campus, we also anticipate building 1,100 rooms in three locations - around the Derwent College nucleus, in the quadrangle beside the Vanbrugh College nucleus,
and on the peninsula site near the old James College nucleus. “Finally, we are exploring ways of increasing our stock of family accommodation, which will probably be located to the west of the Theatre, Film and TV Department.”
RUN OVER ON FIRST DAY
LIFT TRAP SHOCKER Fresher hit by van on University Road
BY JACK GEVERTZ
A STUDENT inside Constantine College was trapped in a lift - for almost TWO hours. Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show it took the university’s security service five minutes to attend the lift alarm activation inside the college on Heslington East during the last academic year. Just one person was inside the lift but it did not say the exact date of when the incident took place. In total, the student was trapped from 8.30am until 10.20am - so probably missed that 9am lecture.
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
AN UNFORTUNATE fresher was involved in a collision with a van on University Road last Saturday. A police spokesperson said at around 1pm, a young woman was hit while crossing the road opposite Wentworth bus stop. He added she was later taken to York Hospital, and that her injuries were not believed to be serious. A police investigation is currently ongoing and the university is providing welfare support. Eyewitnesses at the scene claim the international student had been looking the wrong way before she crossed the road.
One driver who witnessed the incident said: “She just came straight out from [the pavement] right in front of that van.” Emergency services were in attendance with police redirecting traffic away from the scene. One student said: “It is really dangerous on the bend, and especially with all the traffic from the freshers moving in, I’m surprised it wasn’t worse.” This incident comes barely two weeks after the City of York Council agreed to install extra road safety measures on University Road aimed at bringing the road’s average speed of 22mph down to within the 20mph limit. The University has agreed to
foot the bill for the roadworks, which is expected to reach about £15,000. The new measures will see the number of speed bumps double and the installation of a trial pedestrian island in between the library bus stops. A University spokesperson said these speed calming measures were planned to be installed in the near future. He said: “In the meantime, pedestrians are urged to take great care when crossing the road; motorists should adhere strictly to the 20 mile an hour limit; and cyclists travelling in both directions should use the cycle lane rather than the road.”
4 Vısıon YORK
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: RECKLESS UNI EXPENDITURE
UNI UNVEILS... A ROCK £83K SPLASHED BY ALUMNI FUNDS BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS A GIANT rock erected on campus has been branded an “obscene waste” after details of its cost were uncovered by York Vision. University alumni and donors spared no expense in commissioning and creating the ‘Singing Stone’ sculpture, which costed over £83,000. This included the cost of transporting the rock from Cornwall, all the way to its current location close to the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall. The bill for the stone’s unveiling was met by the university to the tune of £608, covering the cost of gold foil fabric and plaques. The figures came to light following an investigation made by York Vision under the Freedom of Information Act. Second-year student Lauren Malcharek said: “This is an obscene waste of money for something that will only impact on a minority of people. “The university should be spending money on things that affect daily student life.” However, the university registrar and secretary David Duncan
defended the lavish spending, saying: “We want to make the York campus as attractive as possible. “One aspect of this is to site pieces of sculpture at key locations. “According to your email, external sponsors have contributed £83,390 to ensure that the Singing Stones sculpture finds a permanent home at York. “Under the circumstances, the University’s contribution of £608 is a wise investment. “I hope that this work of art proves stimulating to students, staff and visitors for many years to come.” YUSU President Ben Leatham said: “University of York alumni donated over £80,000 into the creation of the sculpture. “Organising an unveiling that met the expectations of those alumni was very important. Having said that, £608 is a lot of money. “It is hugely important that the University keeps unnecessary spending to an absolute minimum.” Unveiled on June 13, the original sculpture was commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Music.
Angry students ask alumni: “Why didn’t you spend the money on us?”
SIGNING AWAY A FORTUNE
“HOW MUCH?”: £52K SPLURGED ON UNI SIGNS BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
UNIVERSITY BOSSES have been accused of signing a blank cheque after splashing out over £50,000 on a signage project. These revelations can today be exclusively revealed by York Vision after official figures were obtained following a request under the FoI Act.
Installation of the signs costed £46K
A breakdown of the costs shows the university spent £6,000 on a design agency and a further £45,950 on creating and installing the signs over the summer break Second-year chemist Marnie Grant said: “They should have just got university students to design the artwork. “It’s not worth fifty grand.” David Duncan defended the costs saying: “We have embarked on major improvements to the campus, of which the refurbishment of the Library (already completed) and the construction of new teaching facilities on the West and East campuses (scheduled for completion in 2016 and 2017 respectively) are only the
first phase. “However, in the meantime, we want to make all parts of the campus as attractive as possible. “The recent work to brighten some of the older parts of the campus are intended to do just that. “We are also planning a major overhaul of signage to make it easier for people to find their way around the campus.” However, archaeology student Freya Kingsley said: “Half the fun in going to university is getting lost around campus and finding new things.” The summer spending covered a wide range of signage including the automatic door stickers and bridge banners.
One PPE student said: “How much? The University must have been handing out blank cheques. “[The automatic door stickers] in Derwent are an eyesore. They just make it harder to see through them.” YUSU President Ben Leatham said: “It is incredibly important that the University appeals to prospective students on open days. “The premise of investing in boards and banners to increase this appeal is a good one. “Having said that, some of the investments aren’t particularly effective. “Based extensively on student feedback I will be working closely with the University to ensure that all future investments are as effective as possible.”
SPOT WHERE OUR ALUMNI ARE NOW
JOIN OUR AWARD WINNING TEAM ELECTIONS 7:30 PM MONDAY OCTOBER 5 IN DERWENT JCR Nominated for Guardian Awards x 40 NUS Runner Up for Best Student Publication Winner of NUS Students’ Journalism Awards x 9 Winner of Guardian Awards x 18 Best UK Student Newspaper x 6
Vısıon YORK
6 Vısıon YORK
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: YOR
Donations... Piled in church room BY JACK GEVERTZ PREPARING FOR their 300 mile journey south, the York to Calais team collect, sort and then place hundreds of items into vacuum bags ready to be sent to The Jungle. This is the scene (pictured right) a few days before they take to the road with a rather larger load than expected. “We have over 300 toothbrushes and 300 toothpastes. 500 bars of soap. Around 50 sleeping bags and 3 sacks of socks amongst the 3 vans and 2 car loads we are taking,” says Emma Bilson, a postgraduate social work student. “It’s just incredible.” When Emma thought up the idea of collecting for the 3,000 men and women inside the Calais camp - who live in makeshift shelters and have no sanitation - she never expected it would take off so rapidly. Now the group, who originally consisted of Emma and her three course mates Grace Redmore, Alex Musto and Miki White, are having to reject donations because they have just become unmanageable. “The project became bigger and bigger, more people have joined us, and even more supported and helped us,” she says. “It has become much bigger than we ever anticipated.” Emma had the idea of starting the York to Calais campaign after seeing negative posts on social media. “My first instinct was to go there, give the people there just a little bit of humanity, and to say no matter what, these opinions are not representative of us all,” she says. “It’s easy to rant and rave about politics until we are blue in the face, but it is not easy to do something. “Hopefully if people see me, someone with no experience, not part of a group or organisation, a full time student, full time mother to a toddler with nothing more than a few good friends, and a car. If I can do this, anyone can. It may not be perfect, or a solution, but it is something.” The reaction to the group’s project has been phenonemal. Since they started, not only have the donations been pouring in but national news crews such as ITV’s Good Morning Britain have asked to follow the group. Emma says: “I am not an overly confident person, and it was hard to put myself in the spotlight. Although the positives outnumbered the negativity tenfold and that was worth it. We have been running this campaign since July and have felt an enormous change in attitudes. The public are starting to see people in Calais, not a group of migrants waiting to storm the tunnel.” Inside the main packing room, Nick Greening, 22, also a postgraduate social work student, is busy sorting the items into sections. He got involved after the group called out for more volunteers. It is 8pm on one of the group’s final days before they prepare for their journey. Nick has been sorting items since 10am.
THE INSID
“I am motivated by helping the refugees,” he says. “Not for any sort of payment.” One of the problems the group might encounter when they approach The Jungle is that the charity at the base may not wish to take in and hand out the group’s collected donations. “That would be a shame,” says Nick. “But even if these people did come direct to our car, they are fighting for survival. We must sympathise with their situation. “Hopefully if it comes to it, we can organise some sort of system.” The base where the group have been allowed to keep their donations is St Columbia’s Church on Priory Street. For the past month, they have been collecting donations and placing them in the large room to the right on the corridor, where they sort the items and then arrange them into
sections. Afterwards, they vacuum them into bags so they can be placed into the transportation vehicles more easily. “We’ve bought tents,” says Nick. “So the refugees can cook inside them.” Once vacuumed, the group carries each of the bags into the smaller room on the left, where they stack them up. Joanna Frith, 28, is not a student but is from York. She got involved after being inspired by the group’s work. “I was helping with a similar group called No Borders,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to go to Calais so it seemed right to get involved.” Joanna has a disabling muscle condition. But she tries not to let it stop her. “If I get to go outside and get to do what normal people do, then I can’t take that for granted,” she says.
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
RK TO CALAIS...
Vısıon 7 YORK
BY JACK GEVERTZ THE SEVEN-YEAR-OLD daughter of a PhD student has penned a poignant letter to the refugees in Calais - offering to give up her bed. Naomi, daughter of education student Fasil Demsash, included the piece inside her tablet computer case alongside a pair of earphones and a toy - all of which she is donating to the York to Calais campaign. Fasil, who was forced to flee his home country, says his daughter wanted to write the letter to send a message of hope to those currently fleeing conflict. Fasil himself also penned his own letter but wrote it in English. Speaking to York Vision, he said: “Naomi has spent hours in her bedroom packing all her clothes for children of her age and below. “She further wrote a letter to the refugees in Calais to have hope in us and ring and write to us (in York) if they need more help. Naomi wrote in the Amharic letter that Ethiopian refugees are welcome in York and that they can live with us and she will give up her bed and sleep in the couch until they feel warm from the cold in Calais. “Such kind responses of Naomi leave us with emotions and real connection to human being internationally.”
DE STORY Fasil Demsash, 43, is a PhD student in the university’s department for education. He fled his native Ethiopia after taking part in student demonstrations at his university there. (A full interview on this is on York Vision pages 8 and 9). “I think the refugees will be delighted to see me,” he says. “I lived like this.” We sit by the main room in the corridor. I ask Fasil to elaborate. “They [the refugees] live rough on the streets and under a rock. Most importantly, they live day in and day out with fear. The fear isn’t of security or being settled in other countries, it is that they are unloved and unsettled.
“Interacting with them and for them to be able to see people like me with all these volunteers will show them how they are connected with us. It will increase their confidence and reach into their hearts.” He adds: “When I lived in a refugee camp in Nairobi, Kenya, the most difficult part was that I had nothing. I was in a refugee camp. Journalists or the media didn’t give me anything like blankets. They didn’t give me any thought.” Back in the main room, Emma is finishing the final few bits. “My favourite donated item was the zebra onesie, as I can only imagine the comments if the news filmed someone wearing it in the camp,” she says. A group of students from the York to Calais campaign began their journey on 26 September.
Fasil added: “I am proud of my daughter Naomi and her level of understanding of the British society she was born into and that of her dad’s culture and tradition. “At the age of 7, she can perfectly understand what it means to be a child from two different and often irreconcilable social and cultural values. “She has more appreciation to cultural diversity than the school or society she is living in.”
8 Vısıon YORK
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
HOW A STUDENT DEMO TURNED BY JACK GEVERTZ PHD STUDENT Fasil Demsash has always been proud to identify himself as Ethiopian. But because of his name he found himself at the centre of deep political, social and economic tension in his country – which began from an early age. “I joined Addis Ababa University in 1998 to study educational administration but that was not an easy process,” he says. “After I got a letter of acceptance, the university blocked me and 150 students from being registered for the course mainly because of our ethnic background. “By virtue of my name, I was always identified by the political leaders and authorities as Amhara, the most influential tribe in Ethiopian history that lay the foundation of governance, culture and traditions including the official language (Amharic).” Being identified in this way meant Fasil was up against a number of challenges. If there were seen to be more Amhara people who applied to courses at Addis Ababa University than other tribal groups, then his registration to study would be blocked. “It was considered by the university authority that students from Amhara tribe will become headteachers after graduation and will influence the educational policies and procedures in that country in the future,” he says. “Instead they wanted to recruit educationally unqualified political cadres to administer schools and play a role in diminishing the holistic and unified views of people from Amhara tribe and their legacy.” When his registration was eventually blocked, Fasil decided on direct action by demonstrating in front of the Ethiopian Parliament and Ministry of Education. After winning his case following four weeks of long continuous demonstrations, Fasil was allowed into the university and was invited to join the students’ union. But it was not until Fasil became involved in a much larger demonstration in his third year at university that the actions of the authorities took a much darker turn. In 2001, he led a demonstration of more than 3,000 students and attracted a lot of attention from wider society and campus academics. “There were at least three major factors contributing to this demonstration,” he says. “The first one was that the ongoing arrest and disappearance of students from the university dormitory for the reason of their political thoughts and membership with the opposition political parties. “The second one is that the university compound became more of a political institute than an academic one. Segregation of the students and academic staff into different ethnic groups became the new norm of the country against the will of its people. The third one and probably the most triggering factor was the ban of student newsletter and the rights to hold meetings in the university compound.” Because of this Fasil became angry and ordered the peaceful protest to demand greater rights. “I saw no other alternatives,” he says. “This was completely justified as our (former student union) formal request to the university to hold meetings had been all ignored by the university authorities and the Ministry of Education and we – the student leaders - were under threat and harassment by police on daily basis. “The increasing number of students missing from their dormitory, illegal detention, arrested and torture of students due to their difference in political ideology and membership to the opposition political parties brought students together to demand their rights and challenge the government to respect its promises on human rights and freedom of expressions as stated in the constitution.” On day two of the demonstration, Fasil was arrested and detained. “Police stormed the university and shot live ammunition randomly on to students,” he says. “I was detained, arrested and beaten by police for speaking about the ill of the government to international media.” Released by the police, Fasil joined the march again and made a speech on the third day as the momentum had grown bigger. But suddenly, he was interrupted from his speech amid scenes of fighting and brutality. “I asked the students to stop fighting and bring me the two people they were angry about.
There was g Shouting... students acr
HARROWING INTERVIEW AS HE FLEES ETHIOPIA TO “When I saw the two men, I asked them why they were there with us. They said they were students but when I asked them to prove that, they showed me two ID cards which identify them as a postman and electrician.” It was clear to Fasil and the students that the men had been sent by police to spy on them, but many were upset about such behaviour. “There were a reasonable level of anger against these people but I stopped the mass of students from beating up these two men. I hold them on my right and left hand and took them to the main office to make the point that the two people were allowed to enter the university to bring chaos and alter the peaceful demonstration we students were intended to have. “The vice academic president invited me to come in and discuss this further. I refused the offer as it was a strategic approach to minimise our demands. He again came back and said the Ministry of Education was on the phone to speak to
me regarding the demonstration and propose a general meeting with all students. “At this point I entered the vice president’s office and started talking with the Ministry of Education over the phone. As I was talking, the telephone was hanged and I found myself surrounded by two gun men inside the office.” Frightened and confused, Fasil did not know what to do. “They shouted at me and said you are the one who was leading this trouble,” he says. “I explained back saying that it was a peaceful demonstration and we had the rights to do so. At this point, I saw students running away from the demonstration centre as armed police were running to attack them. There was gun fire, shouting and beating of students in all places. The university compound completely controlled by armed police.” By this point, Fasil knew many students were in-
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 9 YORK
ED INTO A STUDENT NIGHTMARE
gun fire... . and beatings of across campus
W REVEALS STUDENT’S PLIGHT TO YORK FOLLOWING DEMO jured and something needed to be done. He called for calm. The police later apologised to him and the students for sending in spies, and the university decided to close all its classes. But Fasil was later detained and arrested again, kept in confinement for nine days. When released, his struggle did not end. Police once again came looking for him. “I became a refugee in my own country and could not live peacefully anywhere in the capital city,” he says. “I had no option left but to flee from my country.” For organising and taking part in the demonstrations, his university failed to recognise him as a student. He failed to complete his final year and graduate. “That was a very shocking experience for me,” he says. “Looking ahead, I could not see where I could live and how I could engage with the public.” In the middle of night, Fasil left his country and
headed to the Ethiopian-Kenyan border. From the border, he was helped by smugglers to reach the capital city, Nairobi. “I knew that I would never come back. I have never been back for the last 14 years since I left Ethiopia.” Inside Kenya, Fasil noticed there were already several thousand refugees who helped him emotionally and physically. Eventually, he found accommodation to stay in before Canadian authorities offered him asylum in Canada. He finally managed to complete his degree in 2005 at the University of Manitoba and also completed a master’s degree in education in 2007. Before moving to the UK, he met his partner and they had a daughter, called Naomi. When they did move, Fasil, his partner and Naomi settled in York. At first, Fasil became lonely and ended up as a full-time dad. “My first impression of York was really bad, close people
that I met at first told me how York is so white and people are not friendly to people like me, a black African man,” he says. “As there was no Ethiopian community in York we usually travel on weekends to other parts of the UK such as Leeds, Manchester and London. But, soon I decided to learn more about the English culture by engaging with people. It was very hard to be friendly with people in York. “So, I turn my face to the politics and social issues as it was described in the newspapers and TV. But, this was not the British (English) culture that I thought I knew before I came to York. It didn’t take me that long to understand the true value of the British people in this country by leaving the Westminster politicians and TV show aside. “I admired the British people’s courage and solidarity and their great generosity and support to people in developing countries such as Ethiopia through local charities.” Fasil has been studying within the department of education since 2011. His current PhD looks at BME people.
10 Vısıon YORK
Tuesday September 29, 2015
CHARITY IN HER MEMORY
NEWS
BY JACK GEVERTZ
King’s Manor is home to the University of York’s Archaeology Department
THE MOTHER of a university student who died is planning to launch a mental health charity in her memory. Saher Ahmad, 20, was in her third-year studying archaeology at the university when she was found dead inside her student home. An inquest into her death, opened in February, found that she had a history of depression. It comes to a conclusion at a hearing on 13 October. Fozia Zaheer, Saher’s mother, is planning to launch a mental health charity in her memory and to help other students. Speaking to York Vision, she said: “The main objective is to tackle mental health stigma for students, families and their peers, especially at university. “We think this is important because we want to raise awareness
around mental health and help people understand how to pick up signs in themselves and others, and it will be a fitting memory for my daughter who loved to help others.” The charity is currently being registered with the Charity Commission with the help of Fozia’s daughter, Amna, and they are looking for support for the next stage. Fozia said: “We want students to be involved, and we’ve had a very good response from the University of York Archaeology Society. “The department is helping us develop a video which can be shown at freshers week. “Nothing can bring her back but if I can help one family not to go through what we went through, it will be worthwhile.” Students can get involved by contacting the family via the Saher’s Trust website at saherstrust.org.
YORK LEAD ON EMISSIONS SCANDAL “We’ve been reporting on this for years now”: University researchers find evidence before global Volkswagen revelations
HITCHENS TO YORK
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
A CONTROVERSIAL newspaper columnist who once said “some rapes are worse than others” will be paying the campus a visit next week. Peter Hitchens will talk on ‘Britain and Multiculturalism’ on Tuesday October 6 at the University, where he graduated himself in 1973. Club of PEP President Oliver Angove said: “We’re delighted to welcome Peter to the Club of PEP to help launch our Autumn edition of our VOX Academic Journal. “He is known for being very outspoken in his Mail on Sunday column and he has asked for a long Q&A session so PEP students will have a chance to have their say!” The talk is part of a larger timetable of fresher events for PEP students, but all students are invited to attend the free event .
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS RESEARCHERS AT York have been thrust into the international spotlight after their work helped lead to the recent Volkswagen emissions fixing scandal. Volkswagen last week admitted to cheating diesel car emissions tests, with engines emitting nitrogen oxide (NO2) pollutants 40 times above legal limits. Speaking to York Vision, Professor Alastair Lewis said it was clear for years that there had been a large discrepancy between real world emissions and those reported by car manufacturers. He said: “Researchers at York have been studying urban pollution emissions for several years, and during 2012 quantified the mismatch between observed NO2 in London and that predicted based on official reported values. “Our work has been at the forefront of providing evidence f o r widespread city-wide
problems with emissions being significantly higher than expected for road transport diesels.” Evidence of these inaccuracies were what prompted American authorities to go under the bonnet of some new cars to find out why the real world emissions were so much higher. The revelations could see heads roll at other car manufacturers if the illegal practice is found to be widespread. Professor Lewis added: “We knew something was going on years ago. “Volkswagen seems unlikely to be the only manufacturer attempting to game their emissions in this sort of way. “The lack of improvement in European air quality in city centres, particularly for NO2, can be traced back to these inaccurate figures. This will translate directly through into reduced public health and increased mortality.” He also said that he thought the Atmospheric Chemistry Department was probably one of the top three things York is known for worldwide.
A university spokesperson said: “Professor Ally Lewis is one of the world leading authorities on atmospheric chemistry. “Public engagement is a vital part of our work; in addition to being outstanding scientists, Ally and his colleagues are highly skilled at explaining complex scientific issues and thereby enhancing public understanding of these important issues.” The research carried out in 2012 saw a series of experiments with sensors placed atop London’s BT Tower capable of measuring greenhouse gas emissions in a 5km radius. The data showed a significant difference between real world emissions and what there should have been.
Above: Professor Alastair Lewis Below: Labs near Derwent where Prof works
£40K FOR CANCER
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
DOZENS OF York students are set to run a European marathon next month to raise money for Worldwide Cancer Research. Having raised a collective total of nearly £40k for their charity, the students will now have to run a gruelling 26 miles through the cobbled streets of Amsterdam. Over 100 additional students are set to make the journey to the Dutch capital to cheer the runners on, on Sunday October 18. The online event description promises supporters it will be “one of the greatest weekends of your life.”
NEWS
Tuesday September 29, 2015
IN MEMORIAM
#LastWillow Alex Finnis @AlexFinnis
“Why couldn’t they have closed down one of the less important York landmarks, like the university, or the minster? #LastWillow”
Michael Brennan
@M1CHAELBRENNAN I feel sorry for next year’s freshers who’ll just endlessly hear the legends of willow.
YORK
TOMMY FONG’S FINAL FAREWELL
CLOSED ONE OF York’s most popular student haunts was forced to close for good earlier this year. A favourite for fans of sticky floors and cheap Sambuca, the Willow saw packed crowds attend its final blowout party on July 26. Rumours had been flying around for weeks before owner and local celebrity Tommy Fong finally confirmed that the landlord, Aviva, was refusing to renew the lease, giving him four weeks to vacate, with it set to be replaced with a Clinton Cards shop. The closure of the late night disco was mourned nationally, seeing obituaries in national outlets including the Guardian and Buzzfeed. And now York Vision too.
Vısıon 11
WE MANAGE to bag an exclusive final interview with cult-figure Tommy Fong, the day after Willow shut its doors for the last time. I knock. No reply. I open the door and make my way up the stairs. “Hello?” Willow is a building site when I reach the top. It’s barely recognisable as the place I had held a vimto-coke in one hand and an optimistic sense of occhiolism in the other merely 24 hours ago. The same people who served me several shots at the now dismantled bar are busying themselves with tearing up the carpet (there was a carpet!?) and in among them all is Tommy Fong, watching over the scene. Tommy is a warm and downto-earth man that most Willowgoers will have interacted or gotten a selfie with at some point over their clubbing careers. His strange Yorkshire adopted hybrid accent is instantly recognisable. He says he is too busy to think when I ask him how he
feels today after last night. “I’ll think properly when everything’s settled and then I’ll probably be bored.” He says he is staying in York and will probably try and keep fit now he’s retired. “I was going to retire when I was 50 and decided not to every five years since. If I live to 100, I might have still been here if Aviva had let me but obviously they don’t think much of the Willow.” When I ask about the possibility of another Willow opening in York, he immediately shoots me down: “No, no, no - it wouldn’t have the right atmosphere. “The setup of the Willow is great because you’ve got two, three floors. I don’t think you could get another central place like this. I don’t think you could have another place and think it’s going to be like the Willow.” Tommy puts the success of the Willow primarily down to two things. Firstly, he is very careful of who he lets in. Whereas most clubs operate what Tommy describes as a “if they’ve got money, let ‘em in” policy, the Willow has the infamous ‘students and regulars only’ door policy which, according to him, means there is
“If you haven’t been thrown out... you haven’t lived”
less trouble. He says the police used to be called twice a week and now it’s bad if they’re called more than ten times a year. Although he also says if you haven’t been thrown out of Willow, you haven’t lived.” The second secret to success: cheap drinks. Obviously. Moving on, I ask who his favourite bouncer is: “Erm... Sam is great. You know he’s fantastic.” Favourite song? “Hey Jude because it’s nice and quiet, I don’t like heavy.” Good thing you work in a nightclub I say. “Yeah that’s why I always complain to the DJs, swear at ‘em.” Favourite students? “Best group I had was a few years ago. All in amateur theatre and every time the livened up the place.” Favourite drink? “Boiling water.” I think he’s joking. “It’s very tasty, have you never tried it? Really tasty. Should try it one day. My children won’t try it. They think I’m mad.” I ask him if he dips prawn crackers into his boiling water: “I don’t eat prawn crackers. No high saturated fat. I get told off by my wife for eating too many chips. Have to keep off them.” He laughs when I ask him if he would say his wife, Sue, is a pretty important part of Willow too. “If it wasn’t for my wife, there would be no Willow. You know the
“I think people will just forget about the Willow”
BY TOM BUTLER-ROBERTS
Scott Bryan @scottygb
I am very sad that Willow is closing @YorkVision. I once cried in there drunk and once asked, told my mate “I’m just so happy, that’s why.”
You can find our liveblog of Willow’s final night online
phrase: a successful man, there’s always a woman behind them. She mainly runs it - you know I act the fool here. Nobody knows that, it’s only a rumour I’m the boss. You can ask the staff who the real boss is.” He asks his daughter, Becki, who the real boss is. “You’re just a puppet Dad” she says pointing at Sue. I tell him students will probably just go home and get to bed by 10.30 now Willow’s gone. “No, I think they’ll stay out, there’s plenty of other places to drink like Vudu, Blue Fly and Mansion. “I think after a few weeks when things have settled, people will just forget about the Willow.” I ask if he has any final messages he’d like to share with his loyal student fanbase. “Thanks for supporting the Willow, it’s been great. Students have created the Willow, not me. If it wasn’t for students, I would have packed up ages ago. You couldn’t do it in a non-student town. “York University have supported the Willow the most, about 7080 per cent are Uni of. I think St John’s prefer Kuda. York University are different people, different characters.” “We are forced to close and that’s the end. Fullstop Willow. Fullstop. Sad, but that’s the real world, where if they don’t want you, they keep you out.”
Lucky student Stephen Harper bagged the coveted Willow sign with a ladder and some rope
OPINION
OPINION
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 13 YORK
www.yorkvision.co.uk/opinion opinion@yorkvision.co.uk
COSTAS MOURSELAS DEAR FRESHERS,
W
hat’s up Oxbridge rejects. My name is Costas and for the next 2 minutes I will be your guide to the beacon of mediocrity that is the university of York. You’ll be happy to know that the university produces only the finest examples of future middle of the road citizens. But don’t worry friends, as several university officials and high strung students will remind you, we are in the arse end of the prestigious Russell group. Now I know what you’re probably thinking at this point. ‘Here we go again, another edgy moron that thinks he is so clever because he can mock a decent university.’ Couldn’t agree with you more. Now that you’re done whining, allow me to introduce you to your new life as a student at this fine institution. You will of course, start out as a fresher. While initially wide eyed and naive, you will quickly learn to hate people that can’t shut up about their ‘gap yah’ and how complete they feel after building mud huts in *insert generic impoverished country, probably in Africa*. As a fresher you will also find out that despite what your parents have told you, succumbing to peer pressure and drinking metric tonnes of alcohol is still super edgy and cool. Did I mention how many tequila shots I had last night? Loads I swear. On the subject of freshers week, there is a wide variety of events on offer that will allow you to bond with your new flatmates. These activities include clubbing, activities resembling clubbing and more clubbing.
Don’t like clubbing? It’s gonna’ be a long three years. After freshers week flies by and the stench of alcohol eventually leaves your clothes, you will start to get used to your new flatmates. You will argue about the exact definition of ‘pulling’ and how to pronounce ‘scone’ and ‘bath’ and staple conversation filler in the real world like ‘lovely weather today’, will quickly be replaced by ‘were you out last night?’
“...the initial shock brought about by the architectural monstrosity that is Derwent...” Despite the initial shock brought about by the architectural monstrosity that is Derwent college, you will eventually learn to appreciate 1960’s architecture. Just kidding, the overbearing right angles, suffocating greys and general stunning lack of imagination will make you wonder exactly how widespread clinical depression was amongst 60’s architects. As lectures start and routine sets in, freshers living in Hes East will quickly realize the seriousness of their mistake and those that live in Halifax will find out
exactly why the university had so much space during clearing. You will probably eat lunch at the Student Union operated gastropub, ‘Courtyard,’ more times than you attend your lectures, likely resulting in many a mammoth trek for those that live in Hes East. By the end of term 1, most that inhabit the eastern wasteland will wish they could switch their kingly accommodation to a cold, damp asbestos infested room in Derwent. By the time term 2 begins, most of you will privately complain about the overuse of jokes concerning the aggressiveness of the fowl on campus while publicly still using them as a crutch when meeting new people. Seeing students in medieval uniform patrolling around campus will no longer raise an eyebrow. Eventually, family members will want to visit you, and it is at this point that you will realize how little you actually know about York. To you, points of reference will be clubs and pubs and you will fail to suggest more than 2 (maybe 3) decent eateries. Campus newspapers will be mocked and derided and you will probably leave at least one nasty comment at the foot of an obnoxious piece (like this one). But, as many campus journalists will constantly remind you, we have the best student media in the country, clearly making shoddy journalism and clickbait tactics forgiveable. But hey, at least they’re not The Tab. When term 3 comes around, most students will be dumbstruck by the sheer
amount of content they have missed. This cataclysmic yet not entirely unexpected discovery will separate first years into two groups. In the first group we have those that will study just enough to pass, knowing full well that their grades in first year count for as much a student journalists
“Students will be dumbstruck by the sheer amount they have missed.” opinion on world politics. The second group will be occupied by those that will study hard to preserve the little dignity remaining from freshers week. And there you have it freshers. Your first year summed up in a neat little article. And if at least 75% of this article doesn’t ring true for your uni experience, email me in a years time and tell me all about it, believe me I’ll listen.
Bottom Line: Dear Freshers, grab your first weeks by the horns but please don’t have your expectations astronomically high. @YorkVision
14 Vısıon YORK
OPINION
Tuesday September 29, 2015
CALLUM SHANNON GIVE JEZ A CHANCE
I
won’t kid myself; it’s been a pretty naff six months for Labour Party members in York. We lost the general election. We lost control of the city council, despite winning the most seats in the local elections, and we lost some excellent, hard working councillors in the process. And while the party was leaderless and divided, the Tories have pressed on with making life harder for ordinary working people who were barely scraping a living as it is. But now perhaps, things are looking up. Labour has a new dynamic duo in the form of Jeremy Corbyn and Tom Watson (or Tom and Jerry as I like to call them) and the party finally has a direction again. Say what you like about Jezza, he definitely has a vision, something a lot of people thought the Labour Party lacked in May. He also has the most solid mandate a leader of the Labour Party has ever had: 59.5% of first preference votes is unprecedented (even higher than Tony Blair’s 57%) and although my personal ballot wasn’t one of them and I’d rather have had Yvette Cooper at the helm, anybody who can convince 250,000 party members that they’re the right person for the job deserves my humble support.
“Say what you like about Jezza, he definitely has vision” Granted, Corbyn’s first few weeks as leader have been pretty rocky. He’s been slated by the press for his policies, his style, his choice of friends, snubbing the Queen, sucking up to the Queen, turning down tickets to the Rugby World Cup due to prior arrangements with his constituents... the list goes on. But lets not kid ourselves. Regardless of who won the leadership election, the press were always going to give us a hard time. Tom Watson has already admirably stood up to the Murdoch press; his 2012 book, Dial M For Murdoch expose on corruption in the News Corporation Empire caused such a stir that The Times kept it off their bestsellers list and the very publication of the book was kept secret until three days before its release. Watson has very good reasons for writing the book: following a disagreement with Tony Blair in the late 2000s he was repeatedly hounded by the Murdoch press, causing him undeserved trauma to the extent that he feared for his life. Long story short, Labour’s new leaders are no strangers to press hostility and won’t snuggle up to Rupert Murdoch. This is an extremely good thing; for too long the right wing press has dictated British public policy and its about time we had main-
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stream politicians stood up to them. Hold on one utility nationalising minute, I hear you say. Standing up to Murdoch is all well and good, until Corbyn loses the next election because none of the largest newspapers supported him. And here we have one of New Labour’s most tantalising paradoxes: Should Labour move away from their traditional left wing routes to win elections, like Tony Blair did? Power or pride? Seats or Socialism? Well, why not both? This isn’t 1997 and the public are neither satisfied with neoliberalism or mainstream politicians. And while the left may not have held the balance of power in 2015 in terms of seats, they very much did so in votes; if only 1,000 Green voters had voted Labour across 20 marginal seats had voted Labour instead, we would have won those seats and the Tories would have been deprived of their wafer thin majority. And that is where Corbyn’s greatest strengths come in. No other politician is better equipped to win over new supporters than he. Our membership figures speak for themselves. 40,000 new members have joined the party since Jeremy’s election. These will be invaluable come election time: in the social media age, boots on the ground and tweets on the net win elections, not newspaper endorsements with
“Power or pride? Seats or Socialism? Well, why not both?” their ever declining readership. The 2020 general election is there for the taking; all we have to do is press home with our new advantage. We are after all, leader of the opposition.
Bottom Line: Regardless who members voted for, we must support their choice. @Callum_Shannon
SARA ALASEERI PROTECT OUR PORTERS
or most students, the first time in university is also the first time they are away from their own homes, parents, and everything familiar. It can be the most confusing and scariest time, where we also have our craziest adventures and make some amazing memories. In my personal experience, one of the biggest things that got me and many of my friends through this time, and made these memories possible, are the university porters. They welcomed us all with friendly smiles on our first day, ensuring that we have somewhere to go if we were lost or confused. They were available to us
“For me, the porters made my college feel like my home away from home” all day and night, which allowed us to feel safe our first time away from home. When students got too drunk, they were there to help. When we eventually locked ourselves out of our own rooms, which happens quite often, they helped us. They guided us when we were lost, listened to our complaints, responded quickly when we had problems, and went above and beyond their job descriptions for the students’ wellbeing. For me, the porters made my college feel like my home away from home. So it is understandable that I was very disappointed when I heard there were going to be several changes to the porters’ jobs and roles around the university. For this upcoming academic year, the university was planning on decreasing the porters’ wages, and making significant changes to their work conditions. Other than the decrease in pay, the porters’ shifts are said to change to three separate eighthour shifts, making it much more difficult for them to balance their family life with their work life. Furthermore, with these reduced shift hours, they would be expected to work several more days during the year to complete all their required hours and will have fewer days off. They will also no longer be working in the physics building, which is usually
extremely busy and always full of students. So there may be a much slower response to the needs of students in that area. Needless to say, it was very upsetting to find out that the porters, that have made such a great impact on the college-lifestyle, were about to face changes that would only make their lives more difficult and that would not benefit the student body in any way either. From my very first year at the University of York, it was clear that the porters loved their jobs. They never complained about their work, even during the most demanding times, like fresher’s week. I have even seen them on several occasions taking the extra time to get to know many of
“I would hate to see the comfort of on-campus student life disappear” the students’ in their college on a personal level. They have had years of experience working with students individually, and are probably best at understanding the students’ needs in colleges. They are the colleges’ biggest asset, and are one of the main reasons that many students choose to live on campus during their second or third years of university. I would hate to see the comfort of oncampus student life disappear, and for their hard work and dedication to the students to be repaid with more difficult working conditions. This is why some students and I created a petition called, “Do not dock the porters’ wages!” on Change.Org, to highlight the unfair changes that are going to happen. We have seen many comments by students whose lives were impacted by the porters. I hope that the university can find a solution that would be fair to the porters whilst also benefitting the students.
Bottom Line: When it comes to how our porters are paid, don’t fix what isn’t broken. @YorkVision
scene
GRAMMAR SCHOOL EDUCATED
KATMANDU
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FLOW FESTIVAL 2015
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FKN 90’S PHOTOSHOOT
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Contents
SCENE Editorial Team
Review
Scene Editor: Anoosh Djavaheri and Markella Apergi Life&Style Editors: Becca Alderson and Abbie Llewelyn Music Editor: Rob Wynne-Griffiths Film Editor: Ed Hunter
Music: Battles album review
Feature + Interview
Contributors: Jonny Long Laurence Morgan Eliza Gkritsi Roosa Päivänsalo Angus Bower-Brown Bianca Marcu Omar Koshin
Film: The best films to watch for a night in Music: KatManDu interview
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Interview
Music: Grammar School Educated interview
05- Coverage 07 Music: Flow Festival Helsinki 08- Feature 09 Life & Style: Make-up and Braiding 10- Photoshoot 12
Life & Style: FKN 90s
Want to write something for Scene?
Vision@yusu.org
E
very review or article about Battles (including this one) starts by talking about how hard they are to categorise. Look it up if you don’t believe me but it’s true: every damn piece starts with a critic or writer struggling with a genre label to apply or, better yet, musing thoughtfully on the concept of genre as a whole. That’s because Battles are a really strange band. Essentially a super group of the alternative scene of the 90’s, Battles players were cut on math rock, indie, metal, jazz and classicaland yet came together to make something, um, different. Plenty of people are happy to simply deem it ‘math rock,’ probably because they were tired and Battles have one helluva drummer... Others point to legitimate post rock (even prog) elements and the wisest give up, say something vague like ‘experimental rock’ and quietly move to the next paragraph. When I try and put Battles in a box, the problem I face arises out of a rather nice aspect of the band: Nobody else is doing what Battles is doing right now and you kinda need more than one band to constitute a movement. Battles come across as so starkly original because they’ve never been about reconfiguring genre so much as they’ve been about interplay: interplay between live performance and digital production and interplay between the band members themselves. That interplay underpins every single Battles song, being the most realised when they play live when, at their best, they seem like they’re struggling with the sounds they’re making; working them uneasily into a somewhat coherent song. The soft synths Battles use are being mapped to keyboards or guitars which are being played through guitar amps (PMP style) meaning they can put a crazy sonic palate into their hooks and grooves, while only sometimes having to using the help of looping machines. All these are thrown at drummer John Stainer, who cuts through them with strenuous, precise beats that never, ever feel like they’re on a drum machine. This means Battles’ looped, groove based songs get sort of spontaneous feel. It’s difficult to explain because
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spontaneity should be exactly the sacrifice that looped and groove based songs have to make. Battles realise that what makes a repetitive song compelling is variation and that contradiction has been sharpened to such an edge that their music creates a feeling of both action and inertia. It’s unnerving; like a man falling down an escalator. Simply put, Battles convinced me that keyboards, guitars, drums and synthesizers could actually say something
Review: Battles - La Di Da Di
new; so when La Di Da Di, (their third release in 13 years) hit the web, I spun it instantly. I’m glad I did, but there are problems. La Di Da Di is a continuation of a trend that started with the tribal and yet somehow sterile Mirrored and led to the sugar-coated rush that was Gloss Drop. In Mirrored, the hooks were constructed spaciously, building and chang-
ing with this eery kind of perfection, Gloss Drop created a more kinetic, teenage kind of sound with sections coming more unexpectedly (and, yes, more accessibly), sounding like a really, really good jam band. La Di Da Di, follows that intensification to the point that the grooves and loops have become so layered that the album occasionally feels a breath away from a clusterfuck. Even for a Battles record, this music is intense and, to be honest, I don’t know how well this intensity helps the album. It’s an unpredictable beast, but when it lands, it lands hard. Like there’s a run at the beginning of the album of ‘The Yabba’, ‘FF Bada’ and ‘Summer Shimmer’ which is so unsettlingly good it’s hard to put to words (see?), but it’s broken up by ‘Dot Net,’ which is a disjointing little track, feeling like Battles are trying to take you softly by the hand and show you all the clever things they can do with a 4/4 beat. Then there’s small and welcome reappearances of the humour that made Gloss Drop so much fun in the aforementioned ‘FF Bada’ and the straight up lovely ‘Dot Com,’ (which sounds like Daft Punk did a cover of ‘Stand By Me’ by the Clash), which is followed up by the bafflingly dreary and underwhelming ‘Tyne Wear.’ La Di Da Di, doesn’t have the cohesion of the archly symmetrical Mirrored or the vital energy of Gloss Drop. The record is an awkward ride of brilliant intensity and... absence. I think that the reaction will be confused, mild disappointment when it drops, but I wouldn’t be able to say that’s how I feel. I can’t shake these moments that crop up La Di Da Di (pretty much at the end of their long-form songs) when Battles aren’t playing for me any more. It feels like they’re not even playing for each other, but all are staring fixedly on something else. Like they’re taking this long hard look at an ideal kind of music that they’ve been chasing since they started this whole thing and can see it through the riffs for what feels like is maybe the first time.
By Angus Bower-Brown
scene
FEATURE So your life as a student has begun, one of endless partying, permanent hangovers, Pot Noodles, and being a member of every society under the sun, right? Not quite. The hangover part is probably accurate, but as term wears on it will become increasingly clear that the aggressive friendliness of freshers week is not a sign of a newly reformed you. In fact, there’s probably a direct correlation between how many weeks into the term you are and how much pointless TV you watch alone in your room. Step forward, Netflix- the dark horse of student survival and permanent staple of procrastination. So, to make sure you spend your time watching something decent here’s a list of some of the best films on available on Netflix
this film’s virtues, The Shawshank Redemption is an exceptional piece that harks back to the basics of cinema. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman give masterful and career defining performances as the wrongly-accused banker and unlikely friend.
& CHILL
otherwise rational people. Bruno Ganz gives arguably the greatest on screen portrayal of Hitler bringing to life the twisted megalomania of the Nazi dictator. Fargo (1996) Fargo is a delicious marriage of the subtly nuanced wit of black comedies, and the twists and turns of a pulsating crime thriller. The Coen brothers’ film teases out much of the droll humour underneath the film’s darker plot line.
12 Angry Men (1957) An undisputed cinema classic that is as ground breaking as it is gripping. Shot completely in one room with an effortlessly simple plot it is a truly absorbing spectacle.
No Country For Old Men (2007) Another Coen brother’s outing here and one of their finest. It scooped up an impressive four Oscars, including one to Javier Bardem for his performance as a sociopathic killer with a haircut as dubious as his sense of morality. The Thin Red Line (1998) The film boasts an impressive ensemble cast (including Sean Penn, John Cusack, and Woody Harrelson), but they are merely incidental amid the wonderfully shot scenery of the Solomon Islands, accompanied by a philosophical voice over and Hans Zimmer’s exquisite score.
Downfall (2004) This German language biopic, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, charts the last days of Hitler’s life in his Berlin bunker detailing the devastating effects of extremism on an
Reservoir Dogs (1992) Tarantino, though probably remembered best for Pulp Fiction or Django, gives a masterclass in how to shoot a classic on a shoestring budget. This is a subtle and simple film addled with the wry wit that runs through so many of his films and a cult soundtrack to boot. Although prepare for one scene that might make you choke up your popcorn! Boyz n the Hood (1991) Director John Singleton is the archetypal cinematic one hit wonder- but what a hit. Tracing the lives of three friends in the deprived South Central neighbourhood of Los Angeles, this social commentary on gun crime and a coming of age tale chronicles the everyday activities that are marred by tragedy and gang violence.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Although it has become something of a cliché to extoll
By Ed Hunter
INTERVIEW: KATMANDU
Operating under an alias, KatManDu has struggled keeping himself focused on his music since arriving at York, but that hasn’t stopped hundreds of thousands of people from listening. Seeing as you make your music anonymously, at least let us know a bit about yourself!? I’m a third-year Vanbrugh student studying Electronics with Music. I was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, but have lived in North West London since the age of 5. Describe your music? My music is heavily influenced by trap/drill. It always has some heavy bass and is perfect for anyone that wants to rap, sing or just chill out. The tempo ranges from 90 - 140 beats per minute. When did you start making music? I started making music around 2007, I guess it just started off as a hobby that got serious.
scene
What have you accomplished with your music since coming to university? If I’m honest, I had accomplished more things before I came to university. I was more focused in London, whereas at university there are more distractions. At times I forgot that I produced music during my first term here. Although since arriving, one of my remixes got around 360K plays on Soundcloud and I’ve never had that before.
April 2015, before that I lacked direction. Then one day I got fed up and created KatManDu.
Has coming to York helped you progress your music at all? I have met new people that have allowed me to widen my musical taste. As well as that I have been blessed to have easy access to work with more musicians in York then I did in London. The KatManDu alias only came to life during
Where do you see yourself in five years time? I see myself producing music full time. This means I’d constantly be in the studio doing what I love. However, I prefer not to think about tomorrow and worry about today, as there is a lot of hard work to be done in order to make a living out of music.
Where do you want to take your music, or it take you? I want to take my music to the clubs, radio and even the charts. I don’t only make the kind of music that KatManDu represents. I also make house, garage, hip hop, R&B, neo soul, indie rock, pop and more.
By Jonny Long
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INTERVIEW
GRAMMAR SCHOOL EDUCATED
Our Music Editor Rob Wynne-Griffiths interviews to the newly formed rap partnership, one half of which attends York.
‘G
ood kids from a good city’ is how Tariq Perera chooses to describe himself and his partner KRC (Karan Chouhan). Hailing from East London, the two 20 year olds come together to form the hip-hop duo Grammar School Educated. I sat down with a ‘still buzzing’ Tariq in the Lounge to find out more following their recent performance in Glasgow, where they supported Robb Bank$. The first thing he tells me is that Robb Bank$ is really a massive nerd despite the rugged street persona he displays, and the main interest they shared was a love for Japanese anime. Indeed the other thing they had in common is the fact that they are part of a new breed of modern hip-hop artists, coming from reasonably privileged backgrounds in comparison to the street-born heroes of previous decades. He doesn’t hold back from telling me just how good their set was. Despite being the first time that they had performed in front of a substantial crowd, they appeared more natural than ever. A short gaze at the video of their performance on their Facebook page will show you exactly what I mean. ‘By the third time the hook for On Occasion came around, people were shouting it back at us’, Tariq tells me, ‘when Karan did his solo track Basic Alchemy the whole crowd was moving… It was an unreal feeling.’ Encountering post-gig groupies and fan-girl snapchatters has left Perera and KRC feeling like minor celebrities. Tariq is studying here at York, and Karan studies economics at the University of Glasgow. Tariq was originally reading linguistics, motivated by his love of language and wordplay. He is now a second year accounting student due to a stronger desire to ‘make that dolla’. Blessed with an enterprising outlook, the two are in control of promoting themselves as a brand and making their music accessible. For now Grammar School Educated are unsigned to
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a record label, but they express a strong wish to maintain creative control if it happens. They try to make their sound as accessible as possible, whilst combining aspects from both of their influences. There’s a strong blend of different hip-hop styles on their first mix tape Juxtaposition. ‘We tried to put something on there for everyone’. ‘He’s a little shit’, Tariq proclaims of his partner Karan. Having met on their first day at Ilford County Grammar School, they were in the same class the whole way through. ‘When I first met him all he listened to was Linkin Park’, Tariq explains, who has had a love for grime since nine years old. Karan’s musical interests throughout school grew to be more focused on US hip-hop, and his attraction to grime came into being more recently following the resurgence of UK grime culture. This makes for an interesting contrast between them, as Tariq’s musical grounding comes from following the likes of Wiley and local hero Griminal, whereas Karan has transatlantic roots, made up of artists such as Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar. As they shared music throughout school their friendship blossomed into a creative partnership, with the conception Juxtaposition. Tariq recounts, ‘we would sit down and listen to rap songs, and inside our heads we’d be thinking, “I can do this… This guy’s got a record deal but when I freestyle in my head I’m better than him”’. Further motivation in the form of people they knew finding smalltime fame on the grime scene spurred them on to be more ambitious. ‘One day we were on Skype with our collective best mate and we just decided to write a verse… So we spat our verses and we were like, this is jokes let’s make a mixtape!’ From then on the formation of the group was a fast process and they recorded Juxtoposition within their last year of school. ‘It had been a long time coming’, Tariq assures me. When I asked him about their writing process Tariq wit-
tily explained that it was more and more about juxtaposition between the two of them. ‘He’s constantly messaging me like, I’ve got a verse done for this instrumental’. Tariq says about Karan, ‘half an hour later he’ll text me again with two more verses and I’ll have about four lines… It’s a longer mechanical process for me, Karan practically freestyles his verses. I was still writing the last verse for Tipsy while we were recording it in the studio; Karan wrote the whole of Basic Alchemy in half an hour while really drunk’. If you have a listen to Juxtaposition you’ll realise that these two have a fair amount to talk about. With some moderate allusions to societal and political issues the two aim to be ‘conscious’ rappers. But Tariq insists that they aren’t trying to preach to anybody, ‘we’re just writing lyrics, and what we’re thinking and feeling at the time is going to come out in them’. However when asked if there was a story behind some of the drug related lyrics on the mix tape, Tariq showed some concern. ‘Grime is getting surrounded by drugs’, he asserts, ‘you’ll be out in London and Skepta’s performing at XOYO and you think it’s going to be a proper grime rave, and everyone there is just on different drugs… It didn’t used to be like that. I don’t know if it’s necessarily a bad thing, but it’s happening a lot more these days.’ Tariq would not disclose the exact details of Grammar School Educated’s plans for the immediate future, but we can hope for the possibility of them performing in York in the near future. ‘What we would like most is for more people that don’t know us to give our stuff a listen and give us some love. It’s all very well having your friends and family supporting you but it means even more and feels amazing when people who don’t feel obliged to tell us it’s good are listening to and appreciating our music.’ You can download Juxtaposition for free from their Soundcloud page.
scene
SCENE COVERAGE
FEATURE
by Laurence Morgan
SHAMIR SPOTLIGHT Shamir Bailey is, in every sense, the modern pop star. A genderless performer with a deceivingly soft voice, Bailey’s rapid transition from country music to slick electro-pop is just one of many ingredients filled with intrigue – when listening to debut album “Ratchet”, it seems unfathomable that the Vegas-born singer had never even used a drum machine until last year. At Helsinki’s Flow Festival, in the Black Tent, a large and enthusiastic crowd indicated that Bailey already has worldwide appeal, and their attitude on and offstage toward followers suggests the Shamir love-in will not diminish. Cool, calm and occasionally aloof, Shamir’s appearance began with the understated “Vegas”; apart from being the first song on the album, “Vegas” is rather an unlikely opener, and the crowd’s initial hysteria cooled. The frantic movement became a shift from side to side, and Bailey almost seemed to linger halfway back the stage, saying little between songs. The sparse and static backing of a drummer, keys player and backing singer did little to help, and for a while, it was unclear whether the show would get going at all.
scene
However, with a familiar crack of cowbell, all was well. Arguably Shamir’s breakout hit, “On The Regular” wiped away any reluctance to dance in the crowd, and Bailey seemed to let go too. The stage became a stage, not just a platform – Bailey strolled to the very front, acknowledging the fans while speedily talk singing lyrics that an awful lot of people seemed to know. With everybody relaxed, Shamir began to show just how versatile an act they really are. A song such as “Vegas” is subtly powerful, while “On The Regular” is playful in its delivery and passes you by in a wink. While the crowd lapped up funked-up dance hits like “In For The Kill” and “Make A Scene”, the crowning point of the set was when everything slowed dramatically. Bailey is not normally credited for their vocal ability, more for the “androgynous” nature of their voice. Still, drumless single “Darker” showed off just how compelling Bailey can be at their best. On the word “darker”, the wail produced is shockingly anguished and yet still so musical, and for the first time the crowd just stood and watched, in awe.
The fans’ delight, however, was about to step up a notch. Bailey, in trademark fashion, allowed their disciples to get closer to them than most musicians would dare. While the finale of “Call It Off” was still ringing in people’s ears, Bailey jumped down from the stage and hugged as many delirious crowd members as they could. It’s this treatment of others, this caring and relatable persona that makes Shamir such an exciting pop prospect. Recently, Bailey answered fan questions of a different kind in their own “Call It Off Relationship Hotline”, answering regular people’s regular problems because they want to help. By being there for their devotees, Shamir is bringing the relationship between popstar and fan forward. This is no self-indulgent Twitter-obsessed celeb, posting pictures “just for you” that just happen to highlight famous friends and exclusive parties. This is someone who treats their followers with the highest gratitude and acts like a real person when so many others don’t. Pop music needs Shamir – let’s just hope Shamir needs it back.
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REVIEW All photography was provided by recent York graduate Roosa Päivänsalo. Check out all her photographs on her Facebook and Tumblr pages or on her website: roosaaliisaphotography.wordpress.com
The Space Lady
DAY 1 COVERAGE
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n a small industrial area of central Helsinki, just outside the city centre, excitement took over for a sunkissed weekend. Finland is not known for its warm summers (though they do happen) and the most famous music to come from Finland - Sibelius, HIM and Nightwish to name a few - would not be heard anywhere near a mainstream festival. Throw in the gravelly setting and built-up area, and you get a mixture for an unlikely festival success. And yet, for all its quirks, Flow Festival remains one of the most exciting and popular festivals in Europe. The creative work put in place by the organisers results in something far more colourful and far more interactive than the average established, field-based festival. Lianne La Havas’ early set on the Main Stage promised much of what was to come. Kitted out in a sparkling gold jacket and beaming throughout, the London singer’s clean-cut soul fit the sunny atmosphere like a glove; new single “Green & Gold” subtly got the crowd shifting from one foot to the other, whilst keeping quiet as they held onto every word. Showing her ability to shift styles quickly and comfortably, La Havas moved from bass to guitar and jumped straight into foot-stomping anthem “Is Your Love Big Enough”. Initially the Finnish crowd appeared hesitant to let go, but when encouraged to sing the refrain alone, they responded in full voice. Though her audience interaction was slow to the point of sounding unnatural, La Havas won over her foreign audience effortlessly. A late appearance from Nile Rodgers topped it off, proving that Lianne La Havas is truly
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The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granducie
mixing with the biggest artists in the world right now, without as much of a flinch. Flow Festival, however, is not just a festival for the biggest artists in the world - though a stellar, composed performance from The War On Drugs could have sufficed for the evening. On the smaller stages, there was many a gem that only an eagle-eyed viewer would have spotted. One such slot was filled by legendary American busker The Space Lady. A figurehead for outsider art, Susan Dietrich Schneider’s story is a remarkable one - after finding an old accordion in a junk store in Massachusetts, she forced herself to perform on the streets of Boston, and later San Francisco. As time went by, she developed a persona, and an act, that intrigued many for decades. On only her second tour since her comeback, this was a rare chance for audience members outside the US to witness her show. With such a celebrated history, it was nevertheless a slight surprise to see a large and noticeably excitable crowd surrounding the exhibitionist space that was the Voimala building. This was a show people have waited some time for. The Space Lady’s shy disposition, a feature of her normal life, suggests someone not used to pleasing a crowd; her assured appearance, therefore, can be seen as all the more remarkable. Equipped with nothing more than a Casiotone MT-40 and a winged flashing helmet, Dietrich-Schneider looked modest, quiet, right up until she started to play. Performing largely an assortment of covers, she has created a style attractive to those sick of the polished pop of today; her voice thin and carry-
Lianne La Havas ing softly over the retro drum machine she expertly programmed at the beginning of each song. The accompanying synths were a swirling mass that echoed enough to drag people into her world, and in covers such as Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom”, the anticipating crowd were duly enraptured. At one point, the age of Dietrich-Schneider’s equipment appeared to show - listeners heard the intro to a distorted “Born To Be Wild” a great many times before the persistent sound problem was fixed. It was testament to her following that not one person left the room during the ensuing 5 minutes. It shows the power of personality, and context, that still resides over music. The Space Lady performed only one, albeit charming, original number on the night. On other stages, festival goers had a huge variety of slavishly prepared, commercially aimed artists ready to play to them, and yet here they were, listening to a human with a story. As is so often the case, the brightest and best moment was rooted in simplicity. The audience gave an appreciative sigh of recognition as the opening chords to “Imagine” played out. What followed was both inevitable and beautiful - it would be hard for “Imagine” not to sound at least heartfelt, but something about the simple backing, the honest delivery and the general mood of hope in the room stuck firm in the memory. Though not her song, it really felt as though The Space Lady owned that song, and owned the stage, ending a day of fulfilled promise magnificently.
scene
Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado and Sam France
DAY 2 COVERAGE
D
ay Two arrived, more sweltering than before, with even more music promised. Aside from music, however, Flow Festival offered a wide variety of refreshments, gourmet and simplistic, to do more than just get the public through the day. Starters, mains and desserts from multiple continents were available at all times; vegetarians and vegans were also catered for with great consideration. Helsinki-based chef Richard McCormick, celebrating the release of his new cookbook “Paris”, offered up an intensely refreshing meal from his very own “Food Truck”. His Smoked Arctic Rainbow Trout was incredibly tender and flavoursome, and the multitude of colourful and invigorating supporting ingredients, including kale, dill and cucumber peel pesto, allowed for new taste combinations to be discovered. An equally delicious Palma Paella from the food van “Palma” showed the steadily improving quality in all supporting areas in modern festivals, and true value for money becoming evident in festival food. However, soon there was no time to think about food, as the mind returned to music. One of Flow’s very strongest aspects is its’ structure – very rarely were two similar acts pitted against each other in the line-up, and when they were, they were timed to allow the audience to watch substantial portions of all acts. There seemed to be little tension in the arenas either; apart from fairly late at night, when crowds thronged to witness The Pet Shop Boys parade around their
homage to tin foil, you could pretty much wander in to most venues to get a good view of whoever you were watching. An engrossing performance by Shamir in the Black Tent was one of the first acts anyone could see on the second day – in hindsight a wise move. The performance by Shamir ranged from slow and funky to an energetic hysteria, leaving many people a drained mess by the end. It epitomised the true festival experience: shouting along to fast, rhythmic choruses, listening to the slow, emotional “Darker” that truly made you feel alone in the tent, and Shamir’s subsequent flurry of hugs to audience members at the end left no one disappointed. In the Lapin Kulta tent (named after a Finnish brewery that translates to “Lapland Gold”), the best performance of the weekend was delivered by California’s Foxygen. Performing the very last gig of their tour after the release of their album “…And Star Power”, Foxygen’s set was a dream for anyone disillusioned with standard gig structure. Nothing, and then everything, was expected. The addition of backing singers and a large backing band (Star Power) elevated Foxygen to more than just a band, and made it a show. Fights, bizarre covers and more than a dash of madness, anyone who were unaware of Foxygen previously got a solid slap in the face for their troubles. In the warm sunset, the perfect warm, sunny festival band arrived right on time on the Main Stage
Belle and Sebastian lead singer Stuart Murdoch
in the early evening. No, not KC And The Sunshine Band (as far as I’m aware), but Glasgow beauties Belle and Sebastian. There’s a sense of positive familiarity whenever Stuart Murdoch and co. bounce onstage – maybe it’s because I’ve seen them more than once this summer – and Murdoch’s friendliness is always infectious when he salutes the crowd. Last year’s single “The Party Line” showed a poppier side to Belle and Sebastian than most people are used to, but it’s a perfect festival hit: not only does it have a selection of catchy riffs and melodies, but it also includes the word “jump” in it. Murdoch obliged, and after some coaxing, so did the crowd. Lianne Havas to As a regular festival-goer, it’s always La rewarding see a band that tailors their set for individual places. Therefore, when footage of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics appeared on the large screen at the back of the stage when “Stars of Track and Field” was being performed, a warm connection was felt between band and crowd. This warm feeling increased further when, in trademark fashion, Murdoch allowed first one, then a number of audience members onto the stage to dance with him, only stopping once to ask one dancer not to take a selfie, uttering the wise words “Look where you are!” It rounded off a wonderful day of innovative performances, carefully rehearsed sets and true audience interaction, something that in large scale festivals could easily have been lost.
Florence headlining on Sunday
Alt-J Keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton
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colours
of fall Creative directors: Becca Alderson, Eliza Gkritsi, Markella Apergi Photography: Eliza Gkritsi Thanks to the models: Sofia, Bianca, Hermione
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scene Words:Artemis Vergou
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/.1.the SIDEKNOT 2 the waterfall 3 the FRENCH
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FKN 90’s
‘The 90s aren’t dead yet. Throwback to the urban sportswear trend and mix up your old PE kit with some wavy garms. Creative directors: Becca Alderson, Eliza Gkritsi, Markella Apergi Photography: Eliza Gkritsi Thanks to the models: Omar Koshin, Markella Apergi, Bianca Marcu
OPINION
Tuesday September 28, 2015
YES/NO
Vısıon 15 YORK
DO FIRST IMPRESSIONS MATTER? JONNY LONG YES:
I’m a shitty person. I have too high an opinion of what I think and of my place in the world, I say mean things to people I care about. These are the poor qualities I possess that I’ve chosen to share with you, imagine the ones I haven’t. If you can recognise your own faults, and have a certain level of self-awareness, it’s okay to judge people when you first meet them. They will be judging you and they are at least as horrible as you are, if not worse. You do it subconsciously anyway, based on all of the awful preconceptions that have been hammered into your psyche by our villainous society and your shitty parents who didn’t raise you correctly. Making first impressions is about trying to portray an image of yourself that you want other people to believe. Making a good first impression with everyone during freshers week is impossible. You can’t retain the energy it takes to keep it up after meeting endless new faces and the endless drinking. You will let slip countless defining characteristics of who you are, and someone will judge you for that, more accurately than you think. A lot of people arrive at university thinking they can create a persona and that people will buy into it. Ultimately what they are seeking when they do this is friends and popularity. Maybe it evaded them at school, or their narcissist-ometer is set to “I JUST WANT TO BE ADORED BY EVERYONE, HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT?!”. If you don’t think that first impres-
sions count, is it rude to assume that you are not happy with the first impression that is likely to be made of you? First impressions don’t mean that people can’t change. Opinions are formed and reformed over and over again. Unless you’re part cyborg, who you are and what you think will change radically during your time at university. It is unlikely that you have been given the freedom of thought and movement to allow yourself to be exposed to so many things that have the potential to change your views before you came to university. Take my very good friend Tom who is writing the other half to this piece. His argument probably centres around how he made awful first impressions when he arrived in York even though he knew that he was an all round decent guy. There is a simple explanation for it. Tom is a moron and genius in equal measures, details of which I don’t have the space to lay bare here. But there is something about the decisiveness and brutality to our evaluative capabilities that means that we pick up on, and remember, each others faults more easily than we do each others virtues. You’re never going to be friends with all 10,000+ people on campus, trust in yourself and don’t be afraid to try and start cutting the wheat from the chaff. Life’s too short to surround yourself with mediocre human beings. Just be prepared for your piss poor judgement to come back to bite you in the arse when it turns out the racist bigot down the hallway’s dad works at the company you’re trying to get an internship at.
TOM BUTLERROBERTS NO: So, you’ve been bombarded with all
the usual contradictory ‘meeting new people scenario’ propaganda: some telling you to just be yourself and others saying for God’s sake don’t do that, just act like A Normal Person. However, I am here to tell you that none of that rubbish matters. Regardless of who you are/pretend to be in the first few weeks, people will either like you or not like you in the long run. Simple. For example, when I started university, I’d never been drunk before. Now, even for men with the most hairy of chests, freshers’ week is not a good place to first discover the effects alcohol will have on your system. I absolutely died in my first week. Threw up? Next. Lost my wallet? Twice. Tried to pay for a taxi with chewing gum, kicked out of Kuda twice and subsequently stole a bus stop? Completed it mate. Did I alienate people and miss out on potential new friendships? Probably, but I don’t miss them because, well, I never got to know them My point is, I was a massive pleb on first viewing and yet despite this, I have managed to come off fairly well, with more friends than I can count on one hand. Of course the crux of that argument lies on the assumption that these people are not just pretending to like me. Now, if you’re sitting there starting to feel morally superior because you’re a don’t-need-people-to-like-you-to-be-happy-person, don’t be a twit. Nobody likes you. Although I suppose you wouldn’t mind that.
Humans have evolved to be social animals and everyone needs social acceptance to feel worthwhile - that is a fact. However, this needs to be balanced with the need to feel comfortable in your own skin. It’s not worth giving up who you are to be socially accepted, otherwise you will crash and burn. Effort cannot be sustained for that long. Besides, first impressions aren’t even what people remember. Often the first time you meet someone, other things will be going on, and it won’t be a particularly memorable moment. What people really remember are the best moments you share. This is almost never going to be when you first meet someone as you hardly know them, but after you’ve got to know them. Just be casual. Follow the crowd a bit. Do your own thing a bit. It doesn’t matter, because eventually you will grow tired of pretending and you will default to ‘You’ mode and only then will you find the people who you want to spend your spare time with.
FEATURES
Tuesday September 29, 2015
FEATURES
Vısıon 17 YORK
www.yorkvision.co.uk/features features@yorkvision.co.uk
THE REFUGEE CRISIS WHAT YORK CAN DO TO HELP YUSU President Ben Leatham talks about his firsthand experience of the refugee crisis that spread across Europe during the Summer and outlines his mission for what can be done in the new term.
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hree weeks ago I was in Munich, a holiday that was planned prior to the refugee crisis in Europe that has unfolded this Summer. Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and oppression in places like Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea and economic migrants fleeing poverty in places such as Pakistan have made the long and hazadous journey towards Europe. This is the largest movement of people since the Second World War. The most distinct memory I have from my time there was of clapping. Crowds of people had gathered outside the railway station to clap refugees entering their country. It was an incredibly poignant moment. Germany is truly setting the example.
‘‘It was an incredibly poignant moment. Germany is truly setting the example.’’ The response from the EU as a whole to this crisis, on the other hand, has been varied. Hungary has just finished erecting a fence along its border with Serbia to control refugee movements. Bitter arguments have engulfed Croatia and Serbia over their intake and outake of migrants between their respective countries. Even Germany a few weeks ago
introduced stronger border checks with Austria, and the country has been home to at least 200 far-right attacks on refugees this year according to The Independent. Nevertheless, Angela Merkel’s government has budgeted €6 billion to cope with the expected arrival of between 800,000 and 1 million refugees this year. Although Germany will take in the largest total number of refugees, it is Sweden who has taken in the largest in proportion to its population. It is also the only country to have a majority approval rating for taking in refugees, between 71 and 77 per cent, according to a recent Eurostat survey. I was only in Munich for three days but this mindset from Germany was obvious to see. Upon arrival at Munich Central Station we discovered that the main exit was cordoned off. The road directly outside the exit was being used as a checkpoint for processing refugees. Tents had been erected and there was a strong police presence. A large crowd, including at least four camera crews, had gathered to watch. Present were fellow tourists, German nationals and even those who had previously been granted asylum in the country. Although this environment may sound quite intense, the feeling amongst those watching was one of excitement and anticipation. I didn’t sense anger or frustration from anyone in the crowd. The refugees themselves were being directed to buses or trains bound for camps up and down the country. Whilst watching for only five minutes a whole bus
had filled up and departed to Nuremburg further north. It was only 9.30am. Seeing this response from Germany first hand made me realize the responsibility we as a University and a Students’ Union have with regards to this crisis. In the confines of York campus the issue of refugees might seem quite distant. We need to make sure we don’t fall into this mindset. All of us have a voice and all of us can speak out.
‘‘In the confines of the York campus the issue of refugees might seem quite distant.’’ We can speak out to our MP, speak out to our University and speak out to each other. Three weeks ago there was a hugely well-attended demonstration (1.5K clicked attending on the Facebook event) hosted by Louisa Mallett and Hakirit Boparai in the city centre called ‘York Says Refugees Welcome Here’ to coincide with the main demonstration in London. The more people that are engaged with the issue, the more impact we can have. YUSU is also in the process of deciding what practical things we as a student body can do to help. We will be announcing our plans over the coming few weeks so keep an eye out! One of our current ideas
is to hold a clothing and food collection when term starts. This is such a good idea considering how much is left unused in student halls and houses. Before confirming this though we need to coordinate with refugee action groups in York to establish whether this would actually be beneficial, and if so how we would best approach doing it. Two weeks ago however the University itself announced the launch of a £500,000 package of initiatives. Acedemics fleeing wartorn countries will also be given ‘scholar refugee status’ and three undergraduates a year will be provided with fee waivers and maintenance grants. This comes after news last Monday that two human rights experts at York, Dr Simon Parker and Dr Simon Robins, have been awarded funding from the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Urgency Call to conduct research with migrant and refugee populations who have entered Europe across the Mediterranean, as well as with the communities they have left in their countries of origin. If you need any more inspiration to act on this issue a group of six York students have set the example for all of us. They have raised over three thousand pounds and drove down to Calais last Saturday with the supplies. This issue is about so much more than politics, it is about humanity. As a student body we have a responsibility to respond to this crisis. Please don’t just sit back and watch events unfold.
18 Vısıon Tuesday September 29, 2015
FEATURES
YORK
ALL ABOARD THE 44
JONNY LONG decided that he would deal with turning 21 the only way he knew how, by driving a bus. week, the people you meet are always different, it’s positive interactions with other people that drivers savour the most. Jumping forward to when I returned home, checking my Twitter brought up a tweet from unibus offering me a drivers job after university. Maybe it wont be that long until I too can wave at my colleagues as I pass them on my route and collect sweets from my friendly passengers. It is important to note that I was not alone at the depot, there was someone else. His name was Riaz, a small man slightly
“Physically driving a bus was a lot easier than I thought,”
I
spent my 21st birthday learning to drive a bus. In the preceding week people would ask how I was going to celebrate possibly the most arbitrary and over-celebrated anniversary of the number of years I’ve managed to keep myself alive through sheer fluke and petulance. When I told people of my plans, they would respond excitably with only the slightest hint of pity. Turning 21 throws up all sorts of problems. A series of quarter life crises have manifested themselves sporadically throughout my day-to-day life as I relentlessly surge towards adulthood: The realisation that large swathes of professional footballers are younger than you is a bitter pill to swallow. Not to mention, thanks to gifts from my family, I now for the first time in my life own and wear a watch, and
‘‘A serenity seems to exist for driving buses that does not for cars.’’ keep receipts and cards in a wallet, instead of letting them slowly bend to unusability in the right pocket of my jeans. Not to be ungrateful, but I was slightly sickened at how excited I was to receive these items. Next I’ll be at homebase comparing horsepower stats on lawnmowers and leaving comments on Amazon purchases in a bid to stamp some meaning on an otherwise pitiful existence. Back to the bus. As I slipped the hand-
brake down and ten tons of steel and distastefully carpeted seats started rolling towards a brick wall, all of my apprehension about scratching another notch onto the bed post of life disappeared. In that moment I was in control. As I gently caressed this monstrous yet elegant creature around the perimeter of what can only generously be called a bus depot, I knew that everything was going to be okay. Physically driving a bus is actually far easier than I thought, watching the drivers navigate the double-decker behemoths through my hometown of London has always impressed me. But the gears are automatic, and although being considerably heavier than a car, the steering is gentler and less severe. A serenity seems to exist for driving buses that does not for cars. A couple of friends had tagged along to witness the ridiculousness that was bound to unfold, and to their delight they got to ride along in the back. Due to my inexhaustible generosity I also let them ride for free. Thankfully they refrained from relentlessly ringing the bell as I rolled the bus around the depot for the assigned three laps, but they did take the opportunity of having access to the supervising professional bus driver, and barraged him with every single question they could think of concerning the life of buses and their captains. The most revealing was the uncovering of the smiles and waves that bus drivers share when they pass each other, going separate ways on the same route. Obviously some of the drivers know each other, but in York especially, it is just the done thing - a sign of respect - to acknowledge your fellow driver. The drivers are often given sweets as passengers become regulars, and the job is refreshingly varied as some drivers we talked to had come from previous, more monotonous employment. Even though you may drive similar routes every
‘‘As I gently caressed this monstrous yet elegant creature around the perimeter, I knew that everything was going to be okay.’’ overdressed for the occassion, who told me that he had left his home in Blackburn at 5:30am to arrive in York so that he could share in the same privilege as me. The privilege that I had taken for granted, using this opportunity selfishly as a chance to blow off steam and unburden myself from
the troubles of getting older, whereas Riaz was triumphant, exhibiting his love for public transportation in public, not shackled by the same mental foibles as me. Dressed in his suit, he would have been more appropriately attired standing at an altar, but in that moment, the marriage between human emotion and clarity of thought as we took it in turns to drive that bus was something we shared. In that moment that fate had decided to bring Riaz and I together, he knew me and I knew him. Who knows what he’s doing right now, but we will both never forget the morning that we got to drive that bus.
44 UPDATE The Unibus or the number 44 no longer stops at the sport centre but goes to the Heslington East interchange. The buses themselves have been newly refurbished and equipped with charging points and free wifi. The 44 will now run 24 hours, seven days a week. Clubbers can catch the bus every hour after half past midnight. Fare prices remain the same and a tripper card bought for ten pounds will give you 20 trips.
“In that moment I was in control.”
FEATURES
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 19 YORK
non-Communicable diseases: the silent killer PETER MICHAEL SMITH talks about his summer spent researching the effects of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the West African nation of Togo.
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t was June, and I started my West African adventure as a medical volunteer dripping wet, as Togo’s torrential downpour drowned the red, sandy streets of its capital, Lomé. I learnt two things on my first day: that my Factor 50 was a wasted purchase and something else that changed my perception of global medicine entirely. On the west coast of Africa lies a narrow strip of land that contains nearly 7 million inhabitants. This is Togo, a small tropical nation that prides itself on its thriving agriculture and beautiful landscape. Amidst the political controversy, widespread poverty and human right violations, Togolese are justifiably optimistic about the economic growth of their country over the past 5 years.
‘‘I was baffled, ‘surely not in West Africa?’’ Needless to say, infectious diseases remain sub-Saharan Africa’s leading cause of mortality - notably malaria, HIV and tuberculosis. And so, “the big three” predominated my thoughts as patients filed through the door of the consultation room. Yet, 6 of the first 10 patients were middle -aged with hyperglycaemia or dangerously high blood pressure. These patients were presenting signs of two Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs): Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), the ‘silent killers’ of the western world notorious for their
asymptomatic preliminary stages. I was baffled, ‘surely not in West Africa?’ But even outside of the city, streets were lined with vendors selling sweets, biscuits and Coca Cola, whilst moto-taxis hoarded the masses who were seldom on foot. A subsequent two months of clinic visits and outreaches to rural towns revealed epidemic proportions of diabetes and arterial hypertension, and a frightening abundance of infectious disease. In most Sub-Saharan African countries, the increased mortality rates associated with these NCDs coincide with their rapid urbanisation and westernised eating habits. Up to 50% of Togolese are expected to live in urban environments by 2035. In the poorest of countries, why would there be an incentive to moderate cheap and energy dense foods? Being overweight is certainly a cultural ideal in Togo, so much that thin people are often stigmatised, and there is an initiative to adopt a sedentary lifestyle and avoid cardiovascular exercise. It is needless to explain that a diet excessive in saturated fat and simple sugars presents severe health risks, but the dangers are far from obvious where there is no health awareness provided in schools or by public media. This is not only an omission of basic nutritional education, but also of life-style diseases and how to both prevent and detect them in their early stages. These populations are steadily growing in age and size, but seeing cases of diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease - related conditions soaring. What is most startling is the proportion of admissions in their chronic stages - diabetics for example are too often
Diabetes Prevalence Worldwide
Obesity Prevalence Worldwide seeking healthcare after the onset of late symptoms such as kidney disease, blindness or more commonly, foot ulcerations. Recent studies on sub-Saharan Africa have found that up to 7% of diabetics undergo lower extremity amputations.
‘‘Sub-Saharan African countries face an epidemic of both NCDs and infectious diseases’
double burden of disease yanks in both directions. But it’s not just an economic issue: the Togolese government doesn’t even monitor the 4 major NCDs, nor does it have any guidelines and standards for their management, and this is in spite of them accounting for 30% of its deaths. The best solution lies in prevention: reaching communities with education and prompting key people and organisations with the social research that is largely absent. This is what I find disheartening because amidst this political struggle for attention is where we find a far more insidious undertone to the term ‘silent killer’.
The staggering cost of healthcare is perhaps the greatest obstacle against NCDs, and not just for the patients: “We aim to cater for the poorest of patients who cannot afford treatment,” explained a chief of medicine in one of Lomé’s public hospitals, “but the high cost of medications for arterial hypertension, diabetes and cancers, means that we simply cannot help these patients, and they must go to the private clinics for help”. Yet, even in private clinics, it was commonplace to witness a patient seeking pain relief for their cancer as opposed to treatment. Sub-Saharan African countries face an epidemic of both NCDs and infectious diseases, and a crisis that is unparalleled by even the USA - a country that expends over $300 billion to cover heart disease. Inflexible healthcare systems are being strained close to financial breaking point, as the
NCDS Key Facts according to the WHO - Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 38 million people each year. - Almost three quarters of NCD deaths - 28 million - occur in low- and middle-income countries. - Sixteen million NCD deaths occur before the age of 70; 82% of these “premature” deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. - Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or 17.5 million people annually, followed by cancers (8.2 million), respiratory diseases (4 million), and diabetes (1.5 million). -These 4 groups of diseases account for 82% of all NCD deaths. - Tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.
20 Vısıon Tuesday September 29, 2015
FEATURES
YORK
DOING A FESTIVAL ABROAD PROPERLY - SZIGET 2015
Editor-in-Chief, Barto Joly de Lotbiniere set off on a week of music-filled adventure on the Danube, here’s what he had to say on the matter.
A
ttending a music festival in a foreign country is not such a new concept granted. However they are not as popular an excursion as they should be, considering the most common festival experience in this country now seems to be standing up to your knees in rain and mud, chewing on an eight pound burger while listening to Sam Smith. Did I mention now that getting in on this activity sets you back more than 200 quid? I now present you with a possible alternative, Sziget, described as a ‘megafestival’ by The Guardian (it’s seven days long), located in a wooded island on the Danube in Northern Budapest, Hungary. It also won Best Major Festival at the European Festival Awards last year. Now you must be thinking - it’s too far away, I don’t speak the language and do they even have Wi-Fi? No it’s not, doesn’t matter and erm sort of…
‘‘I now present you with a possible alternative, Sziget.’’ If you book a good few months in advance flights and tickets can’t be much further than the £200 mark. There’s also the fact that you’re in Budapest one of the most popular European destinations for tourists today and a UNESCO world heritage site. You wouldn’t get that level of culture sitting in a field somewhere in England. But moving on to the Festival itself this
year it was visited by over 400,000 people. Apart from Hungarians the overwhelming nationalities are Germans, French, Scandinavians and Australians stopping off on their european tours, there are also a few Spanish, Italians, and even a few British to round off what is a truly pan-European festival. Upon entry to Sziget you are handed a ‘passport’, which is basically the programme (in Britain you would be expected to fork out more than five pounds in the same situation). Ironically it’s also probably the only place in Hungary were foreigners are freely given passports, as the country is being notoriously harsh on migrants and refugees at the moment. The site itself is massive, it’s not like at a festival at home such as Reading and Leeds where there’s simply a camping area and a separated arena area, the Sziget site is seamless complete with a beach, funfair, campfire and gnome garden. The line up this year was a mix of tastes, as expected from such a big festival, with rock supplied by Kasabian and Interpol and more indie stuff by Foals, Maccabees, and Alt-J. Big name DJs like Avicii, Martin Garrix, Sander van Doorn, Oliver Heldens made an appearance and thumping Electro House was provided by Blasterjaxx, Knife Party, Bassjackers. UK Pop was well represented with Florence and the Machine, Ellie Golding, Paloma Faith and Marina and the Diamonds. There were some more out of leftfield headliners like Robbie Williams and Limp Bizkit. My personal faviroutes were Martin Garrix, Foals, Kasabian, Alt J, and Rob-
bie Williams. Although it has to be said I wasn’t a big Robbie fan before his set, after a few cheap Hungarian lagers I was singing along to ‘Angels’ at the top of my voice, the atmosphere was fun and light-hearted a perfect way to start off the festival. The only low point music-wise was having to stand through a bit of The Script’s performance and sharing a “special moment” with Danny O’Donoghue was enough to make me barf out my goulash dinner.
‘‘After a few cheap Hungarian lagers I was singing ‘Angels’ at the top of my voice,’’ Although as one might expect, it being in Eastern Europe, things to be cheap but it has to be said it was not so, a big can of beer would set you back just under two euros and a meal between four and five euros. There was also a policy of contactless payments only, whereby you had to put all your Hungarian Florins onto this credit card thing which may seem like a bit of a scam but you can convert florins on the card back into hard cash anytime you want. I know it’s corny but I’m just going to run with it anyway, the thing I loved about Sziget was the little things… Stumbling across a performance by a Hungarian opera company whose closing song was “Always look on the bright side of life”, a puppet show where the foul-mouthed puppet in question was fired out of a cannon at
the end of the show and even our German neighbours who kept on offering us cereal bars and mercifully shared their camping furniture including a gazebo and chairs. It was very, very hot when we were there, unbroken sunshine for five days until the last two when were greeted with a massive storm, apart from that the mercury never budged from the mid-thirties mark during the day. There’s another thing, there wasn’t any rowdiness that you would expect from any large gathering on these shores, I did not see as much as slap given in anger during my whole time at the festival. Nobody was going coming around every ten minutes trying to sell us drugs as in some British festivals. The ‘stereotype’ of polite somewhat reserved continental Europeans seemed to ring true, it got quite annoying towards the end, getting lightly jostled is not what I expect from a mosh-pit. Although you’ll be pleased to know this politeness extended to the toilet facilities with the portaloos remaining cleaner than most pub toilets in England, although that doesn’t say much. At the end of Sziget I came away feeling satisfactorily dead and stinking to high heaven but full of good memories, a sign of a great festival. So when some point next year your sat in front of your computer with your mouse hovered over the ‘buy tickets’ button on the Reading, Bestival or god forbid the V festival website, just take a moment and remember that you could be having a better value for money, more varied, hotter and more rewarding festival experience at Sziget.
FEATURES
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 21 YORK
The student entrepeneur MELISSA BLAKEMORE speaks to York student George MacGill about the challenges and rewards of starting a business at university. starting off manufacturing for sale?
“The idea was born out of the student lifestyle”
A
s we kiss goodbye to summer and dive into our autumn term, many of us are thinking about the endless nights out that we’ll be having and the rate we’ll be spending our student loans as a consequence... Although there’s one student who put his money into more enterprising ways, George MacGill, the director of Alpha Juices. Alpha is the first student business to be officially stocked on our campus and also the first in the UK to do this. Intrigued by this accomplishment I jumped at the chance to have a chat with George. M: What inspired you to set up your own company? G: The idea was born out of the student lifestyle. The amount of pizza and vodka in my diet was increasing more and more as terms went on! I was in the worst shape of my life, my skin was horrendous and I had no energy during the day. I realised I couldn’t remember the last time I consumed a fruit or vegetable so I started trying to look for ways to increase my intake. The easiest way to do that was to juice them. Whenever I went in stores I wished this product was available after a night out or on a run to a lecture, which is when I realised that if nobody else was going to do it I might as well take matters in to my own hands. M: How have you elvoved your brand from its initial stages? G: We conducted feedback that was really positive, which was encouraging! Following this, we had two main areas of im-
provement. In my attempts to take juice away from being something usually associated with hippies and middle-aged women (I am not knocking either of those groups, my mother is both!) and make it more appealing to our generation, we went too far with our packaging and our bottles looked like sports drinks. Many people didn’t realise it was 100% raw fruit and vegetable juice, so we changed the name of our juices and redesigned the branding to suit the product. The other issue was taste; people liked the taste of our drinks however they didn’t love them. I knew this was going to be a difficult task without deviating from our values, however we added some popular fruit flavours, such as lemon and pineapple to enhance the flavour.
G: There were so many challenges that came with preparing drinks in a student kitchen. Waking up to see the remnants of pre-drinks and empty pizza boxes made me realise that we couldn’t carry on making juices at home. Making them manually was so time consuming, too. Also, people wanted to order them in bulk and, with one juice lasting 72 hours maximum, it meant that we were spending almost every day in the kitchen. The alternative was to hire some space in town and start recruiting staff. We would also have to purchase a much larger juicer, which would of cost around the same amount as studying two degrees at UoY, which obviously was not feasible on our budget. Having an external manufacturer means that we can now spend our time working on the progression of the business instead of in the kitchen and start taking larger orders in bulk. It is such a game changer. M: What other initiatives have you come up with for promoting your brand? G: We have set up the ‘Alpha Angels’ initiative who are going to be our paid student work force, promoting the brand and giving out samples of our new juices. We are also offering internships and invaluable experience with a start-up business like this to the right candidates. We are also giving back to the UoY community by sponsoring the UOY Yoga and MMA societies. M: How have YUSU reacted to your business plans?
G: YUSU have been a dream. The two main people have been Laurie Smith (Commercial Director for YUSU) who has always given us time as well as refrigerated storage for the drinks, and Jon Greenwood (Commercial Director For the University) provided great help for project. YUSU and Commercial services do a lot of work behind the scenes, which very few students realise. M: Do you have any tips for any fellow students hoping to start a business like yours? G: Take up boxing; it will get you used to being punched in the face a lot, as that is what you will experience a lot setting up a business as a student! In all seriousness, keep a close eye on inconveniences that your peers are experiencing. When people say “I hate that…” or “Why do I have to…” find the solution! Also time management is key, especially if you plan on balancing a new company, your degree, your social life and sleep! M: Finally, is there one recipe you’d be willing to share with us? G: Absolutely! Raw beet root juice (like the one in our Zeus juice). The nitrates in beet juice increase blood flow, which increases the amount of oxygen to all parts of the body, enabling athletes to perform for longer and harder. That is why a huge amount of professional athletes drink it. The only issue is that straight beet juice tastes incredibly earthy and isn’t nice to drink. So throw in some carrots, which will help with skin maintenance, and add an apple and a lemon for a sweeter taste!
M: Have there been any setbacks while ensuring the company progresses forward? G: The biggest disappointment was that we didn’t even make the shortlist for Plan ENVY, in which students submit their business plans to receive funding from the University. This stung, however getting rejected from the Enterprise Internship over the summer (a scheme which gives students maintenance funding over the summer whilst they work on their business) stung even more. Notwithstanding, we have since changed every aspect of our business from the recipes, to how the drinks are made and how they are sold. It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. It also gave us the extra motivation to prove them wrong, which I believe we have done. M: What were the challenges first
“Having an external manufacturer is such a game changer.”
SPORT
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 23 YORK
LAST YEAR’S SPORTING SUCCESS STORIES WE UNCOVER SOME SPORTING SUCCESS THAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED LAST YEAR VX SWIMMING AND WATER POLO CHEERLEADING HOCKEY Jack R. Brown won the VX World Cup 2014, ranking him 1st Senior in the world, and he finished strongly again in 2015 with a 5th place finish. Brown also won the national V2 league in 2015 after coming 2nd in 2014, Charlie Ford finished as 2nd Youth in the 2014 World Cup, ranking him 2nd youth in the world. He also came 2nd in the national V2 youth league in 2015. The university’s VX team were also 2014 university festival champions.
CYCLING
For the first time in the club’s history the women’s water polo team got through to the UPolo national finals in Cardiff. They faced tough opposition with teams such as Loughborough and Sheffield Hallam which are well
FUTSAL
Last year, the Men’s team played in the FA Futsal Cup, the National League Division 1 and competed in the National Super League.This allowed the players to test themselves against the best futsal players in the country.
The cycling club hosted the BUCS road and circuit events, with over 200 male and female cyclists coming to York to compete. Competitors hailed it as one of the best organised races they’ve attended.
known sports universities and the BUCS Premier league champions. They put up a good fight to finish 3rd in the country (beating Loughborough 1st on a count back of points difference).
Cheerleading won three national champion titles last competition season. Along with 3 other 1st place positions, and 4 2nd place positions.
Their Mens 1sts and Mens 2nds went up in the Yorkshire league this year and their Ladies 2nds got promoted in BUCS. Also, they were unbeaten over the roses weekend with their men’s side winning every game. The darts squad finished And all of their 6 teams finrunners up in the regional ished in the top 3 in their refinals day, and 3rd in the Na- spective BUCS leagues. tionals this year.
DARTS
The women’s team secured their promotion to the top division, BUCS Northern Premier. To top it all off, Jonny Sim, the men’s goalkeeper, The Snooker club won the was selected to play for the BUCS Trophy (ranking us 9th England Development Team. in Britain) and their Captain Tommy Lewis now plays for the Emerging England team. The Pool club got to the final of the Northern Universities
POOL AND SNOOKER
Championship and were unlucky in the final. The club looks stronger than ever this year and want to be ranked 1st in Britain by the end of the year for Snooker.
10 THINGS TO EXPECT FROM THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON College Football’s new Sepp Blatter, Joshua Kerr, takes a look at what’s in store on the 3G, 22 Acres and the hallowed turf of the Archbishop Holgate. WITH THE new college football season just around the corner, let’s examine what York’s inter college leagues will have to offer. For the veterans it’s a chance to relate and for the freshers’ it’s something to look forward to. 1. Derwent will mean serious business. Having won the league in both the autumn and spring terms last year, and having failed to get any of their teams out of the college cup group stage, they’ll be more motivated than ever as they look to get back to the top of college football. 2. Don’t write off Alcuin 2nds. Becoming the second 2nds team to reach the Premier Division, Alcuin 2nds on paper are in for a tricky season against established 1sts teams. 2nd teams in the Prem however are not to be scoffed at. Derwent 2nds,
who became the first 2nds team in the Prem, finished as runners up in the league last season, only bested by their big brother Derwent 1sts.
keen to return to the second tier but Div2 looks set to be a close one - especially with three Derwent teams in the League.
3. A worldie will be scored on the 3G. York’s very own theatre of dreams, the 3G pitch at the Sports Village on Hes East has seen many a great goal - some intentional, some accidental. What’s also certain from playing at the sports village, your shoes will become full of small rubber crumbs from the artificial playing surface.
5. Not every college has nets. Sadly not all college teams are run in the same way, this means the way they are funded is different too. As a result of this difference in funding not every college team has nets - it has been known for goals to be missed or wrongly given as a result, so refs keep your eyes peeled!
4. Wentworth will look to bounce back. Having seen back to back relegations last season the Wentworth 1sts have experienced a fall of grace from the dizzy heights of the Prem and now find themselves in Div2 (the third tier) - the same league as their 2nd team. The post graduate college will be very
6. Every college has a ‘Lee Cattermole’ type. The Sunderland holding midfielder has become known as a tough tackler and every college has at least one nutter who idealises Lee Cat. 7. Offside calls are often a guess. At times it’s hard enough to get a ref for a game so linesmen are a no-
no. The lack of a linesman means the ref will often have to make his best call on an offside that he could never have seen - they won’t get every call right. 8. One lad in your team thinks he is Ronaldo. Just like one lad thinks he is Lee Cat one will think he is the current Ballon d’OR holder, trying Hollywood skills as if the Sky cameras are on the 22 that afternoon. He’s not Ronaldo and when he loses the ball, he won’t track back. 9. Before long there won’t be any grass on the Archbishop Holgate pitches. Hardly known as a carpet but the off campus school pitches the
3A and 3B leagues play on is notoriously bad. By the end of November there will be about four blades of grass in a sea of mud and sand, the once perfect white lines will be almost invisible - crisis, what crisis? 10. You’ll have a laugh. This may sound a little corny but for many it’s the closest you get to turning pro. Having the chance to play regular matches with your mates before you’re all past it will for sure provide you with some quality entertainment on what would have otherwise been a dull weekend.
24 Vısıon YORK
Tuesday September 29, 2015
SPORT
THE BELL OF
WHAT DOES THIS YEAR HAVE IN STORE FOR N
BY JONNY LONG
“I
t’s all about the three L’s. Leader. Legend. Lover. That’s it. I know I’ve got all three.” That’s the secret to being a good captain according to UYAFC’s new 2nds captain, second year Derwenter Euan Bell. He’s probably not joking around either. In between serious conversation about football and what he hopes he can bring to the captaincy, are anecdotes of what he’s been getting up to off the pitch, and a sarcastic arrogance about his footballing talent. “You’re not going to ask me about leagues and the club and stuff are you, because you’ll be disappointed with how much I know.” he warns me before we sit down. However, he is clear on what he wants to achieve and how he is going to achieve it. “I want to play with a nice, attacking style, change it up formation wise, I’ve been thinking about three at the back, will have to see how the boys like that.” but ultimately, “Promotion is what I would love to get.” Bell sees this as a very real possibility, last season Durham
were promoted from their league, a league that includes local rivals York St. John, and now it is very open and competitive, and should be interesting. This year could prove to be a tumultous one for UYAFC, with many key players having graduated this summer, the talismanic Ralph Gill a notable example. Euan seems relaxed, and confident of the clubs chances for the season ahead, despite concerns that players will be drafted up from the lower sides to fill the space in the 1st team, “We have lost a lot of players, luckily for the 2nds I’m their captain so they’ve still got their best player. But the boys aren’t too worried, hopefully we’ll get a few good freshers coming through. The 1st team lost a lot of big names but it gives room for the other boys to come through, so it could be a good thing.” It was a meteoric rise for Bell, starting in the 4th team and rising to the 2nds by the end of the season. The 2nd team finished the season mid-table, and Bell offered his analysis of the team’s season: “They didn’t start off too well but then I came into the team
“We have lost a lot of players, luckily for the 2nds I’m their captain so they’ve still got their best player.”
and sorted it out a bit, and then we did alright.” With trials taking place throughout freshers week, it will be crucial to get fresh faces in, and preseason last week was a positive experience, “The boys are looking fit and healthy, a lot better than we did last season. I’m going to take a different approach to the captaincy this year, a bit more friendly, a bit more welcoming, that shoud help us overall.” Despite this strive for inclusivity and building morale, there are some criteria that the Derwent defender will insist on: “When people wear ankle socks with their boots, they’re not getting in my team. That’s a very strict policy.” “We were looking at the Facebook page for our trials next week. One of the main things
to look for to judge talent is hairBell admits his election speech cuts. There was one lad on there was awful, after being coerced with a top-knot. He’s got to be into running by a few of his teamgood doesn’t he.” mates, and he When we “If I could meet recalls that his main policies move onto disone person it cussing the cirmainly cencumstance in tred around would be him which he became team bondcaptain, there [Danny Murphy]. ing, “I sugwas only one more Not just because gested man who Bell movie nights, cited as an inspi- I’m a Fulham fan, we can watch rational figure: the ‘Goal’ tril“Danny Murphy. but because I’m a ogy, that sort I’m pretty sure of thing.” The football fan.” only man who he invented the three L’s that I stood between talked about earlier. If I could Euan and the 2nd team captaincy meet one person it would be him. role was Goodricke midfielder Not just because I’m a Fulham James Lewis. “His speech was fan, but because I’m a football really good and he probably defan.” served to win it.” Bell admits,
BY GUY GILES
SPORT
OF THE BALL
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 25 YORK
OR NEW UYAFC 2NDS CAPTAIN, EUAN BELL?
For Euan Bell, his underlying motto seems to be work hard, play hard. Recounting the club trip to Salou this year, his eyes glaze over with a wistful look as he remembers fond memories spent with his team: The Cove is
such a nice place, but you’ve got to be a member to go there. You can’t really explain it, but it’s a beach, a private beach. It’s a special beach for me personally, and anyone else who was there.
R U O Y H FINIS DINNER “He’s a very good player, and if he for ‘Total Legends’ because that doesn’t go up to the 1st team, he’d was the name of the facebook go straight into mine.” group that I used to have with my As the interview came to a mates when I was younger.” Euan and the UYAFC 2nds will close, there was one last thing that needed clarification. I had get their first taste of footballing action tomorheard about a tattoo that he row, Wednes“[My tattoo is] day 26th Sephad acquired a pig smoking a tember, when over summer, they face local but no specific cigar with sunrivals and feldetails. “Yeah I got one over glasses and a hat low members the summer of the Northern because he’s on 4B league, York but this can’t St. John Unigo in the paholiday.” versity. Even per, well it can, as long as my judging on the mum doesn’t read it. Otherwise basis of this interview, before any I’m getting kicked out. It’s a pig football has been played, it’s gosmoking a cigar with sunglasses ing to be a good season. and a hat because he’s on holiday. The initials ‘TL’ on his cap stand
AWAY DAYS Bell explains how he ended up getting his tie battered at a cost of £15 at student takeaway favourite Salt & Pepper: “I was with the Derwent boys, I lost odds on to Michael Whitall, twice. The first
time I had to pay to get my tie battered, then the second time I lost I had to eat it.” In video footage obtained by York Vision, Bell can be seen trying to chow down on the silky treat, but eventually gives up, proclaiming it “overcooked”.
26 Vısıon YORK
SPORT
Tuesday September 29, 2015
SPORT SOCIAL SEC REVEALS ALL
BY CHRIS ILETT
DRINK, FANCY DRESS, AND SECURITY THREATS
TO SOMEONE who has never been involved in a Wednesday night social, the thought of getting utterly plastered and stumbling out of Salvo at closing time, dressed as a fairy and drenched in sweat may seem repulsive, but too many students this is the pinnacle of their week. Just what exactly is the appeal of these events that draws religious devotion from such a large proportion of the student body? The formula for a sports social remains fairly constant regardless of which sport you play or to what level you play it. There are two main components: fancy dress and alcohol. When both of these are in plentiful supply it is difficult for a social to go drastically wrong.
As a fresher, the easiest way to get involved with a sport, and make lots of new friends along the way, is just to commit yourself to one club and soon there will be no looking back. After the first social you will be hooked and a world of Wednesday night debauchery will open up. However, socials are not entirely about getting as drunk as possible. Despite preconceptions of burly rugby lads forcing freshers to consume endless dirty pints, this is actually a far from common practice. In fact, the common
ground that
comes from every person enjoying the same sport breaks down barriers between individuals and allows friendships to form where they would otherwise not. However, everyone has a story of a rumoured sport social that they heard took place that borders between the bemusing to the borderline offensive. A favourite that I’ve heard is a university sport team dressed up as terrorists
and roamed around campus pretending to capture different buildings. They encountered problems when they tried to storm Central Hall but found a swarm of campus security who were installed there as a talk was being held discussing the Israel-Palestine situation. The members of the sport team then fled, with security in hot pursuit. Another time, walking down Parliament street on the way to a bar on a wednesday night, a 20-strong group were playing a raucus game of cricket dressed in full whites, with the batsmen donning helmets and pads. Who knows how true the aforementioned, seemingly mythical, social is, but the uncertainty is surely part of the fun.
ALL ‘A-BOARD’ THE RED DRAGON FOR UNIVERSITY DARTS BY PETER BUNCE From Back Page darts club in the country they can boast to be the only club to have such a sponsorship deal, and building on the great relationship the club have worked on with the YUSU bars which last year provided more time and space to get newcomers into the sport. This deal will ensure better boards for all. Along with this deal it is the ambition of the club to host the University Darts national tournament in the spring term where they hope to move on from their disappointing third place finish last year. Highly touted to be champions, they had a disappointing semi-final in which, an experienced Darts Club member bemoaned ‘some people simply didn’t perform’ but they expect great things this year, especially on home turf. It will be a massive event on
York’s sporting calendar, with over 200 players competing for the prestigious title and club president Harley Wilkes promises that ‘if it’s half as good as Roses it will be an exciting time for York students.’ York has a rich darting pedigree with a diverse team that competes in every game and this year promises to be more successful than the last. Unlike other University sports there is a great link with the College teams, which provide the majority of the fresh talent. The strict quota of 2 women in each college team helps increase female involvement and is translated in a very balanced number of men and women in the University Club. If you fancy a go at the Oche the club want as many people involved in this very social of sports.
The Darts event at Roses 2015 was one of the highlights of the weekend, and the number of fans that turned out to watch York take on Lancaster proved the popularity of the sport.
SPORT
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Vısıon 27 YORK
EXCLUSIVE: TRANSFER MARKET LATEST
ALCUIN RESIST LATE DERWENT BID FOR NESTOR BY JONNY LONG From Back Page the biggest college clubs. Nestor made his fondness for ‘the black and blue’ clear when he won a date with Derwent AFC co-President Alexander Milton at the ‘Derwent Summer Soirée’ bachelor auction, successfully outbidding all competition. Following this, speculation was rife concerning the future of Nestor, entering his final year of study and running out of time to win the coveted College Cup. Many thought he was lining up a move away from his original college to improve his prospects, obviously concerned about his own future, in a move that would have shocked the college footballing world.
However, progress was slow and despite last minute crisis talks in Phats last Friday night, both parties were unable to come an agreement, with Derwent’s Milton stating: “I spoke to him drunkenly last night and he didn’t seem too keen.” A series of tweets exchanged between the player and the club’s official Twitter account reveal how they managed to convince their talismanic playmaker to stay put, with Nestor, possibly taking inspiration from Yaya Toure, demanding to be given a cake by the club for his birthday, and Alcuin happy to meet his demands. Nestor told York Vision that it was: “Too good an offer to turn down.”
COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEAGUE DAYS COULD CHANGE
BY JONNY LONG
TALKS HAVE been held by the organisers of College Football over a proposed change to the days which each league plays their fixtures. The change would involve Divison 1 playing their fixtures on a Sunday morning, and Division 2 moving to the Wednesday afternoon slot. The idea behind the
change is to increase the pool of players available to Colleges, as many players have to prioritise BUCs fixtures that also take place on Wednesday afternoons. York Vision understands that Derwent and Constantine are the colleges heavily backing the move, while Halifax have also shown interest.
With Derwent starting this season having lost a number of influential players over the summer to graduation, this was looking like a great bit of business, as they looked to bounce back from the disappointment of their College Cup campaign last year. A senior Derwent source, who wished to remain anonymous, said of the transfer saga: “I am very upset for Jeremy as his lack of gumption means he will never be able to fulfil his potential and enter the history books as a college football legend. We are devastated that we’ll have a Jeremy free year but look forward to embarrassing him and his team when the league begins again.”
THE TWEETS THAT SAVED ALCUIN’S SEASON
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“It’s all about the three L’s. Leader. Legend. Lover. That’s the secret to being a good captain.”
AFTER AN incredibly successful year, the University Darts Club have secured a prestigious and much deserved sponsorship deal with board makers Red Dragon. As the biggest... Turn to P26
BY JONNY LONG ALCUIN COLLEGE football club have resisted a late, final bid from Derwent College AFC for star player Jeremy Nestor. In what some pundits have been calling ‘the college football transfer saga of the summer’, Alcuin have resisted continued interest in the talented midfielder from one of... Turn to P27
#JEZWECAN
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ALCUIN THWART DERWENT MOVE FOR JEREMY NESTOR DERWENT: “We are devastated.” WANT TO GET INVOLVED? We are looking for sports writers and photographers across all sports to join our team. If you are interested please contact us on twitter, facebook or email.
Tuesday 29th September 2015 Issue 252
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