WWW.YORKVISION.CO.UK
Tuesday January 17, 2012 Issue 221 vision@yusu.org
p 17 & 19
SIMON SINGH'S LEGAL BATTLE FOR FREE SPEECH p 14-15
- sCENE -
SPRING PASTELS
- features -
- lifestyle -
NAMED 'STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR 2011-2012' BY THE GUARDIAN
JON SNOW SPOTLIGHT
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
EXAM DISRUPTION ANGERS STUDENTS
BY ALEX FINNIS AND WILL HAYDON THE UNIVERSITY’S commitment to giving students fair and equal opportunities to achieve good marks has been called into question after a series of blunders left stu-
dents without adequate information or preparation for last week’s exams. Mistakes and misjudgements were found to have been made at every level of exam organisation. Departments were accused of poor communication with students, and exam invigilators of poor exam-room preparation
and unprofessionalism in extratime exams. Exam timetable organisers also came under criticism from Disabled Students’ Officer Liam Haakon Smith for showing a disregard for the needs of some disabled students, for whom the irregular exam times would have a detrimental effect.
2 NEWS
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
CENTRAL OVER-HALL . . . Y E M I R FROM G BY OLIVER TODD CENTRAL HALL'S polished new look is complete after months of work on the Heslington West campus. The famous York spaceship has been surrounded in scaffolding since late October.
In June, University registrar David Duncan told Vision that the work will involve "sealing the roof, replacing deteriorating concrete and painting the exterior." The project, which saw the Central Hall bridge closed off throughout the first term, cost
?
Photos: Oliver Todd
WEEK
Good Week for next year's students – accommodation prices look set to rise at a rate below inflation.
STUDEN T COLLEG S FROM WHIC EW H IMPRE SSED W ERE LEAST IT OF THE IR FRES H THE VALUE HE TICKET RS' WEEK S?
Bad Week for York's TV street-cred – Eternal Law just can't pull in the audiences.
Photo of the Week: The sun setting over York earlier this week
Photo: Katy Roberts
£1.23m
The grant given to York archaeologists by the European Research Council
College Freshers wristband purchasers who felt it offered poor value for money, according to the First Impressions survey
20%
51.4%
Houses in most streets near University permitted HMO status in a new Council proposal
Got an opinion? Get involved at www.yorkvision.co.uk Or contact us at vision@yusu.org
a total of £655,000. Second-year Economics student Ben Huckle said, "Central Hall certainly looks a lot better, but how much paint can you buy for six hundred grand?" The refurbished building reopened for exams this week.
Guardian Student Publication of the Year 2011-2012 Editors: Maddy Potts Katy Roberts
Deputy Comment: Marinus Maris Anmoli Sodha
Sports Editors: Fred Nathan Alex Finnis
Deputy Editors: Jack Knight Paul Virides
Features Editors: Georgina Strapp Harry Pick
Deputy Sports: Will Cooper Oliver Wessley
Scene Editors: Teja Pisk Rachel Pronger ____________
Deputy Features: Sine Bakumeni Judith Marzo
Chief Sub-Editor: Bethany Porter
Lifestyle Editors: Scott Simmons Nicholas DunnMcAfee
News Editors: Will Thorman Oliver Todd Deputy News: Will Haydon Helena Kealey
Deputy Lifestyle: Sarah Woods Rachel Longhurst
Comment Editors: Max Sugarman Luke Sandford
Photo Editor: Oliver Todd Webmaster: Magnus Tripp Web Editor: Milana Knezevic Scene Editorial list in pullout
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, 2012. Printed by Yorkshire Web Cover Photo by Ruth Gibson
NEWS
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
3
YORK BURGLARY RATE "EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH" LAST MONTH - UNI UP THE PRESSURE ON BIKE-THEFT GANGS
BY HELENA KAZNOWSKA
BREAK-IN' NEWS!
ROBBERIES HAVE reached record levels for University of York students in off-campus accommodation. The York Community Watch declared that in December 2011 there were three aggravated burglaries, up from one in the same month the year before, and 65 attempted burglaries, an increase from the previous year's 45. A third-year Psychology student told Vision about the robbery his house experienced over the Christmas holidays: “They broke in through a back window and bolted the front door in case we came back. They took an Xbox, broken mobile phone, digital camera, and my bottle of vodka. They wanted small things of high value. "It would have been so much worse had we been living there. We'd secured the house up since none of us were there over Christmas - if we had left our bedroom doors unlocked we wouldn't have had the mess of smashed
doors, but then we couldn't have claimed on insurance...You just never think it'll happen to you though.” York boasts lower rates compared to the national average in eight out of ten crime categories. But for 'Burglary' and 'Other theft offences', York's statistics are “exceptionally high” according to a spokesperson for the York Community Watch. Information re-
leased by the Home Office regarding data collected by police forces in England and Wales between 2010 and 2011 revealed that York's burglary rate was 10.5 per 1,000 people, compared to the national average of 9.6, and 'Other theft offences' was 26.3 compared to 19.3. There has been an increase in opportunist burglaries (those that have not had forced entry, primarily through an unlocked
Photo: Oliver Todd
door or window) from houses in multiple occupation. Since 2005, when the University had a peak of 80 burglaries on campus in one year, this rate has been steadily reducing, and was just 12 cases in 2009. With the enhanced security provided for on-campus accommodation, thieves are looking towards houses of multiple occupation which provide the ideal opportunity for easy theft. With many students possessing expensive electronic equipment such as laptops, iPods, phones, cameras, and televisions, thieves can simply pick up and walk out with four or five of each item from an environment that is likely to be less secure than oncampus accommodation. In an attempt to raise awareness to these issues, the Safer York Partnership, Neighbourhood Watch, North Yorkshire Police, University of York and Yorkshire Housing have collaborated to organise four days on-campus to publicise home security. In addition, Operation Spoke
is an ongoing North Yorkshire police campaign to help reduce bike theft experienced by members of the public and York students. With 11,900 bikes registered since January 2009, the scheme claims to have decreased cycle theft on campus from 83 cases in 2010 to just 37 incidents during 2011. Jane Grenville, the Pro-ViceChancellor for students, said Campus Security have chased off three groups of bike thieves and, working with the police, they arrested one person in association with the bike robberies. Grenville encouraged students to buy D-locks, which are available to buy from Campus Security for just £10. She warned students: “Don't buy an expensive bike, that way it will hurt less if it is stolen.” For information on how to keep safe, drop by the stalls situated in the library (17 January) and the Ron Cooke Hub (20 January), or email yorkcommunitywatch@yahoo.com, twitter: @yorkwatch, Facebook: York Neighbourhood Watch.
A MIXED FIRST IMPRESSION of
84%
BY MADDY POTTS
Derwent
students rated their Freshers' Week wristband as value for money
of
78%
Halifax
VISION CAN exclusively reveal the results of YUSU's First Impressions Survey, which questioned 644 incoming students about their experience of Freshers' Week. The survey was launched in week four of autumn term, and ran for four weeks. Amongst the results are figures demonstrating that almost a third of respondents were dissatisfied with Live & Loud, citing size of venues, a lack of atmosphere and disorganisation among the reasons for their discontent. Some of the most interesting results concerned students' experience of their college's Freshers' Week, with a startling disparity between the results from different colleges. Derwent topped the tables with 84 per cent of respondents stating they thought the wristbands were value for money, and 46 per cent describing the events as "excellent". Ex-
said their wristbands were NOT value less than 3% of for money
70%
30%
of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Live & Loud
the
of
students rated their pre-arrival
students were satisfied with their
info from YUSU
STYCs
as poor or terrible Graphics: Maddy Potts
Derwent Chair Matt Jenkins told Vision that he and his JCRC team "concentrated on giving the Freshers value for money, and the fact that we were one of the cheapest colleges, but offered events to cater for all tastes every day, has clearly been a successful strategy." Langwith received a 75 per cent "value for money" rating, followed by James (61.8 per cent), Goodricke (58.5 per cent), Vanburgh (42.9 per cent) and Alcuin (38.6 per cent). Halifax, who sold the most expensive wristbands, received the lowest student rating, with just 16.9 per cent of respondents describing them as value for money, and just six per cent describing the events as "excellent". ExHalifax President Davedass Mootanah told Vision: "Predictions were that it would be sunnier during Freshers' Fortnight...This was an important factor that had to be taken into account when selecting the price of the Halifax Freshers' Fortnight tickets."
but
90%
were satisfied President with Freshers' was the most widely Fair known officer, followed by the
York Sport President
4 NEWS
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
Vision's Will Thorman stops pouting long enough to observe what's going on in other university media...
student press
Since the Government's announcement of increasing tuition fees, students have been feeling a little strapped for cash. The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) said the number of calls received from students had "at least doubled". Not being an open supporter of prostitution, I decided to look at the alternatives. The Huffington Post spoke to Charlie (name changed), a 23-yearold student from Nottingham University who worked as an elf in Hamleys over the Christmas period. Charlie describes the £6-anhour job as "horrible, unbearable even. "[We had] breakfast with Father Christmas, lunch with Father Christmas, tea with Father Christmas...you get my drift." But it gets worse: "No one's allowed to say what tricks or performances they have planned in case elves from competing stores find out and steal our ideas." Charlie also shared stories from her darkest days in the elf trade: "I think I sung 'Jingle Bells' for four days straight..." Students have also turned to gambling and volunteering for medical experiments. Rhian, a
STUDENTS BADGERED OVER PARKING BY SARAH RUDEFORTH NEW PARKING restrictions have, in the past week, come into force on Badger Hill, leaving students and staff in danger of being served penalty charge notices if found parked illegally. The area is regularly used for parking by students and staff based on the Heslington East campus, as well as those living in the area. The Traffic Regulation Order introduced by City of York Council will cover all of Field Lane, Low Mill Close, the section of Badger Wood Walk that is accessible from Field Lane and Deramore Drive between the Field Lane junction and the Yarburgh Way junction from 19 January onwards. The restrictions on these four areas, however, will be slightly different. Field Lane, Low Mill Road and Badger Wood Walk will be Resident Permit only areas, meaning any vehicle not displaying a timed resident permit Monday – Friday between 8am - 6pm will receive a penalty charge notice and possibly further enforcement action.
As for Deramore Drive, there will be a single yellow line highlighting 'no parking' Monday – Friday 8am – 6pm between the Drive’s Field Lane and Yarburgh Way junctions, along with double yellow lines across the junctions at Field Lane and Yarburgh Way. The new restrictions are particularly troublesome for students, as the only car park currently available on Heslington East becomes full everyday, with some drivers even creating parking spaces for themselves outside of existing bays. The Civil Enforcement Officer (Parking Warden) will allow only a five minute observation period, after which time, if no loading activity has taken place in the vehicle, a penalty notice will be issued. The solution to this reduction in car parking spaces is the new 150 space car park opening shortly on the Heslington East Campus. This car park will lie to the east of the existing car parking space available on the new development, which operates using a ticket and barrier system charging around £6 per day. On the matter, Elizabeth Heaps, Pro-vice Chancellor for
Estates and Strategic Projects for the University, commented that “The University is pleased that the City of York Council has been able to respond to the concerns of Badger Hill residents about parking on roads within the estate, by creating a scheme to manage parking on the estates roads.” Students seem slightly more disgruntled at the removal of previously free, and perfectly located, parking spaces. Second year Law student Derek Williams said “I would hardly call this fair,
ing issues. Anna-Therese McGivern, a second-year SPS student living on Hull Road said, “It seems like the council’s plans don’t take into consideration student issues at all. This will push rental costs even higher in areas like Hull Road and force students to live further away from University,." Osbaldwick Councillor Mark Warters has supported the Article 4 direction from the start but opposes the move to bring in a threshold. He told York Press that he thought it would “open the floodgates” to student housing in wards such as his, and called for restrictions to be applied on a case-by-case basis. YUSU President Tim Ellis told Vision: “It is very worrying to see the Council push ahead with this discriminatory piece of legislation despite the huge problems that 'HMO thresholds' will create. It is claimed that it isn't an antistudent policy, yet I find it abhorrent that the Council would use legislation to ban students from living in certain areas. There is also a worry about...the changes to housing benefit that will mean we will have a huge increase in numbers of non-students needing HMOs.”
BY HARRY PICK
I pay my road tax like every other person, and practically all the houses on Badger Hill have driveways anyway. For the sake of having a car outside for a few hours a day, I think it’s pretty pathetic that it’s come to this. "I understand the residents' concerns but the responsibility also falls with the University who need to provide more space, regardless of whether they want students to utilise public transport or not."
Photo: Oliver Todd
HMO-H NO NO PHONES 4 " YOU DIDN'T! U GOODRICKE!
I sang 'Jingle Bells' for four days straight...
student at Swansea University, travelled to Mexico last year to take part in a medical drugs trial for diarrhoea tablets, for which she was paid more than £1,000. Asked about her experience, Rhian said: "It was an easy way to get hold of a lot of money - which I desperately needed to pay for my rent. I'd never consider prostitution though, no matter how hardup I was...It's not safe and it would definitely ruin any future career prospects." With safety being so high on Rhian's list of priorities, you wonder if she ever considered why the drug testing was taking place in Mexico (we've all heard of The Elephant Man). It doesn't get an awful lot better after graduation. Cat Reilly, a graduate from Birmingham University, has launched legal action against the government after she was allegedly "forced" to stack shelves in Poundland without pay, which is against the European Convention on Human Rights (slave labour, not working at Poundland). She was told she would not be eligible for her £53-a-week Jobseeker's Allowance unless she accepted the placement with Poundland. On a side note, Birmingham has a higher graduate prospects rating than York. It seems the alternatives aren't a lot better...
BY BETHANY PORTER
CITY OF York Council are this month looking to impose a threshold on the number of student houses in areas close to the University. Despite strong opposition from the University and YUSU, the Council Cabinet approved drafted plans to limit the number of HMOs in certain studentheavy areas of York to 20 per cent last Tuesday. On many streets close to the University, such as the popular Heslington Road and Thief Lane, this threshold has likely already been reached. This decision is to coincide with the enforcement of an ‘Article 4 direction’ on 20 April, which forces landlords to seek planning permission before converting a regular house into an HMO. Houses of Multiple Occupancy, or HMOs, are defined as those let to three or more tenants with a shared living space. In York, student lets make up the majority of these. This change in the regulation is, without doubt, aimed at limiting student housing, after residents in wards neighbouring the University have blamed students for an increase in crime, anti-social behaviour, and park-
STUDENTS LIVING in Goodricke College have been hit by a decision to remove all internal phones in student rooms. The phones provide a vital link to welfare services, including a free-phone service to Nightline and the emergency services. They also allow international students to use purchased phonecards, which offer significant price reductions on the cost of calling worldwide from a mobile. They will now only be provided in rooms for those who register themselves as having physical disabilities and it has been suggested that other students may only be able to hire out a phone at their own expense. The Goodricke management team were unavailable for comment as to why the decision was made, but Goodricke Chair Emily Miller revealed to Vision that no prior consultation with “any member of the college” had been undertaken. Miller explained, “This decision concerns me greatly. The issues around internal phones should not be a case where con-
sideration for the needs of the majority should outweigh those of the students that really stand to benefit." The college management cited "under-usage" to the JCRC as the reason for the removal of the phones. The decision has also been criticised for ignoring the possibility of it further socially excluding international students or those who have, or develop, disabilities whilst at university. For many disabled or foreign students the internal phone is a lifeline. Often, Miller argues, it is these students who are most vulnerable to the financial implications of using a mobile, due to their dependency on making expensive calls to relatives abroad or need for regular contact with family and support groups at home - which can see costs spiral out of control. Miller hopes the decision will be reversed by the college, saying that “claims of under use don't allow for the fact that if just one life is saved as a result, the entire provision has been justified.” As of yet, no time frame has been set for the removal of the phones.
NEWS
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
STUDENTS SUFFER AS EXAM COMPLICATIONS CAUSE HAVOC AT CENTRAL HALL
EXAM SHAMBLES!
BY ALEX FINNIS AND WILL HAYDON
Continued from front page Tutors have come under fire for withholding crucial information and spreading misinformation about exams, as when History of Art students were told by a seminar tutor to prepare for a two-day open exam, only to be told just before Week One that they would be taking a two-hour closed exam. Second-year History of Art student Georgie Siddall was one of the students affected by this mishap, telling Vision: "I'm really angry and quite disappointed in the History of Art department. It's almost as if they want us to fail. How are we supposed to study for and do exams when they don't even tell us what to expect?" Michael White, deputy head of the History of Art department, confirmed the mix-up, telling Vision: "The module tutor gave incorrect advice to the students at one point about the exam; she was teaching another module that term which was to be assessed by open paper rather than a closed exam and at a certain point confused the two." He denied any serious wrongdoing, however, stating: "She realised her mistake and informed all of the students on 4 January, one week before the exam." White went on: "The students had the correct information from the beginning of their module, as printed in their module booklet. Those who checked with the departmental office were given correct information and the correct information also appeared on their exam timetables." History of Art students were also left confused over exam requirements. Hours before one exam, third-years were sent a Facebook message telling them they
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What's The Quack? ELECTIONS SPECIAL
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needed new student cards to sit their exams, prompting a rush to the Information Centre, where a single member of staff dealt with the queue of students. Elsewhere, Biology students who had been told to prepare for an exam in which they could use calculators were given a non-calculator exam. A third-year who was in the exam room told Vision: "After someone complained that calculators should be allowed, invigilators rang the Biology department, who said that they were not allowed - but then halfway through the exam they came round with a box of calculators and started handing them out."
POOR PREPARATION The Economics and Management departments have also been criticised for poor preparation over
EXAMINING THE ISSUE
Professors from the University of Manchester were left red-faced last year after Geology exam papers were given out with the test’s answers stapled to the back.
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Last week, a female Swansea University student was arrested during an exam, suspected to have assaulted a member of university staff who suffered injuries to his hand. It wasn’t made clear what the staff member did to provoke the student’s wrath, but rumours later circulated that he was wearing very noisy shoes.
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A schoolgirl won the right to use an iPod during her exams last summer, after claiming that she can only concentrate while listening to her favourite music. Her school was forced to buy a new iPod, loaded with the girl's choice of music, to ensure no exam answers were hidden among the tracks.
> In one exam in France, students were told to hand their exams in
at the front when their time was up. Each paper took some time to process, and it was 20 minutes before the queue was dealt with – at which point around a dozen students were found to still be writing. The invigilators said (something like) “Bof, excusez-moi, you should have finished 20 minutes ago, please hand your exams in toute suite.” No punishment was given to the intrepid students.
the exam period. Second-year Economics students opened their exam paper on Friday to find that a large part of it was missing, and were made to wait almost half an hour to receive it. One of the disrupted students said: "It was pretty off-putting to turn the paper over and see that half the questions were missing... Eventually the invigilator came round and ended up stapling the second half of the exam to each person's paper but it wasn't ideal. "Students spend so much time revising for these exams, you don't want to have to worry about any mistakes on the University's behalf on the day as well." The treatment of students who receive extra time has also come under question. One student, who wanted to remain anonymous, spoke to Vision of being taken into a room, “already behind schedule, without many lights on and the desks incorrectly set up,” which added disruption to the exam. There were then further distractions as the invigilators later had to hand out missing parts of exams which should have been delivered earlier. Elisa Wubs, a third-year Biology student, criticised examiners for a separate incident, stating that "in the room for extra time the invigilators were having a conversation during the whole exam." This is sure to prompt questions about how seriously invigilators treat students' extra time requirements.
INSENSITIVITY The University has also been criticised for a lack of foresight in arranging timetables. Disabled Students' Officer Liam Haakon Smith voiced his anxiety to Vision: "The student who spoke to me has Sea-
sonal Affective Disorder, a mental health condition which makes people feel lethargic, unmotivated and depressed in the winter because it is dark... I wouldn't want to do an exam whilst exhausted and the University must have known that it would be dark when they chose to timetable exams late in the evening. "Other students may have medication they have to take with meals but didn't think the University needed to know about medication they take in the evening. Some people have to eat regularly throughout the day so they don't collapse - I don't know if people have actually had those problems this time, but the University doesn't seem to have thought about them." When asked if an official complaint would be made, Haakon Smith continued: "I will do my best to help any disabled student who wishes to make a complaint about either the timing or handling of their exams and would point students in the direction of mitigating circumstances forms if they feel their ability to do any exam or assessment was compromised by circumstances beyond their control." YUSU President Tim Ellis expressed his concern to Vision: "Anything that gives some students an unfair disadvantage in exams should be taken very seriously by departments. It is important that students get in touch with their departments, and their course reps, if they feel that any assessment or exam has been negatively affected because of something outside of their control. "I would urge all departments to ensure that any kind of information given out to students about exams is correct, and that it is clear and transparent what is expected from them."
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6 NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
RENT RISE REPRIVE
BY WILL THORMAN
CREEPY CAMPUS YORK WAS named among the top ten most haunted universities in a Telegraph article published earlier this month, which estimated that 500 ghouls are currently residing in the city. It listed sightings of “Roman legionnaires marching through a cellar” and “cries of murdered children buried beneath [a] Victorian ragged school” as further examples of York’s ghostly goings-on. York’s supernatural activity is well recognised by residents – currently over half a dozen ghost walks are in operation around the city’s streets. In 2002 the city was awarded ‘Europe’s Most Haunted City’ by the International Ghost Research Foundation. Missing from the Telegraph’s list of York’s most haunted attributes were infamous campus poltergeists the Langwith Ghost, the Derwent Daemon and the Halifax Haunt, whose antics you can keep up with by following their Twitter accounts.
COUNTRY RE-FRESH STUDENT FAVOURITE grocery store, Country Fresh, which appeared to be closing down this month, is instead reopening its doors to students under new Mr Efe's management before becoming student housing in three years time. Country Fresh, the popular fruit and vegetable outlet on Heslington Road is, despite rumours of closure, to undergo a dramatic re-vamp, and open in February as ‘Just Fruit and Veg.’ Mr Zaffar Mohamed, who is the landlord of more than 30 student properties, ‘Zaf ’s’ Indian Takeaway, Efe’s and also ‘Country Fresh’ said that the old management were doing a poor job, and that it was time for Mr Efe to take over. Mr Zaffar spoke to Vision to explain his plans, "Country Fresh is to have a complete revamp. We will be introducing a much larger selection of fruit and vegetables" he said. Furthermore, as ‘Just Fruit and Veg’ will be run by Mr Efes, famous for his late night student takeaway across the road, Mr Zaffar is confident that the shop will stay open, "until around eight or nine o’clock" or "as late as possible" under new management. "I’m really pleased it will be re-opening" says Alastair Hunt, a Second Year French and Spanish student, and a resident not far from Heslington Road, "it’s a nice place. Much better than going to Tesco."
YUSU HAVE successfully fought the University's proposed price increases for accommodation next year. The University were originally planning to raise non-catered accommodation by 5.7 per cent, catered accommodation by 8.7 per cent and not raise the cost of studio flats at all. Following YUSU's successful campaign, there will now be a 5 per cent flat increase (in line with inflation) across all accommodation and studio flats are reducing in price by 9 per cent (they have previously proved notoriously hard to let due to the price). The proposed 5.7 per cent increase for standard accommodation was in line with inflation, while the 8.7 per cent increase was well above inflation. Vice-Chancellor for Students Jane Grenville explained that "last year the catered services were subsidised. To pay for the ongoing accommodation renovations on Heslington West campus, we have to stop subsidising the food service, which is why the prices have gone up above inflation." YUSU President, Tim Ellis told Vision: "I am extremely pleased that the University has listened to student concerns
about the huge hike in accommodation prices that was originally planned for next year. After various consultations with the university they have agreed to lower the increase below inflation in order to make it more affordable and fairer for students. "I would urge the University to ensure that the high rents that students are expected to pay are matched by a good quality service across the board. I will continue consulting with the University on how we can keep costs down as much as possible for students, particularly in light of £9,000 fees next year." The University have also committed to leaving 505 rooms available for returning 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates and have agreed to run 51-week lets from July to July instead of October to October to fit with the private sector. This prevents students being required to make two simultaneous rent payments through summer. There will also be 41-week lets available this year for similar reasons. As soon as the rent increase was proposed, Ellis made his concerns known to both Grenville and the University Registrar, David Duncan. Ellis persuaded them that the price hikes were far too high, especially considering the numerous problems that
some of the University accommodation had been experiencing, and the introduction of Article Four which was passed by York City Council, as reported by Vision. The Article Four Direction requires that, in future, landlords will require planning permission and an HMO license to convert an ordinary house into one for multiple occupancy. This, combined with the rising number of students being accepted into the University, may result in increased rental prices in sought-after areas. Residents had complained about University students beginning to take over local areas as more houses were being convert-
ed.
The University had been criticised for not offering enough accommodation for the growing number of students, forcing them out into local communities such as Badger Hill and Heslington Village. When the original rent increases were proposed, Ellis stated: "We [the University] should be encouraging affordable rooms on campus, for all first years, and some second and third years, not pricing them out. I would urge the Senior Management Group to reconsider the implications of such a price rise." Full accommodation pricing details are available on the University website.
Photo: Oliver Todd
Studio flats at Kenneth Dixon Court, Goodricke College.
ARCHAEOLOGY DEPARTMENT RECEIVE HUGE GRANT TOWARDS YORKSHIRE DEVELOPMENT
DIGGING FOR GOLD!
BY ARJUN KHARPAL
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AT the University of York have won a £1.23 million funding boost to carry out sophisticated research at the site of Britain’s earliest surviving house. The team, led by York’s Dr Nicky Milner, will use the grant from the European Research Council to continue exploration into the way of life of the huntergatherers in the context of climate and environment change during the early part of the postglacial period (10,000 – 8,000 BC). The house was discovered in 2010 at Star Carr, North Yorkshire, one of the UK’s most important Early Mesolithic sites. The 3.5 metre wide structure predates the edifice that previously held the title of Britain’s oldest house in Howick, Northumberland. Over the next five years, further excavations will be carried out in the hope of uncovering more huts in addition to the wooden platform that has already been discovered. This is the earli-
est evidence of carpentry in Europe. This excavation is especially significant as very little is known about the post-glacial period, an era where the climate and environment were still changing after the final cold snap of the last Ice Age. In this epoch, Britain was still part of continental Europe. Dr Milner told Vision: “The current thinking is that the hunter-gatherers who lived at this time were very mobile, dispersed and lived in small groups. Our research suggests this is not the case because this is a very large site with substantial structures. “The work is therefore turning round current perceptions of how people lived at this time.” The grant will allow the team to carry out advanced, high-resolution research. The archaeologists will look to reconstruct the environment and climate of the past era through analysis of insects and oxygen isotopes. Other techniques such as radiocarbon dating and laser scanning will help to date the site and delve deeper into activity that may
have occurred. Whilst interesting objects like a boat paddle and arrowheads have been found, there is another aspect that is even more fascinating to researchers. Dr Milner revealed: “What makes it [Star Carr] so special is the preservation of the organics – bone, antler, wood rarely survive.” Yet this preservation has caused anxiety and concerns amongst the archaeological team. Dr Milner expressed her worries: “There is a major issue in that the site is deteriorating rapidly due to changing water levels and high acidity.” “We have been desperately trying to get funding in order to uncover the rich remains before it disappears forever. It is a race against time!” Professor Julian Richards, Head of the Archaeology department at York, recognises the benefit for the University. He told Vision: “It will mean collaboration with lots of specialists around the country working on state of the art scientific techniques, and links with European colleagues
who have an interest in the work. “And for our students, it means a great opportunity to become involved in the project and possibilities to help in this research which may perhaps lead on to further career and research opportunities." There are few known sites which date to this period and Star Carr has understandably stirred great excitement in the archaeological community. Professor Richards explained: “The project will hopefully mean new discoveries for a period which is little understood - just at the end of the last Ice Age.” English Heritage has listed Star Carr as a Scheduled Ancient Monument for its rarity and archaeological importance. YUSU President Tim Ellis said, "This is great news for the Archaeology department and for the University as a whole. It is fantastic to see a York Academic at the forefront of a huge project that should give some fascinating insight into the Mesolithic period."
YORK VISION
NEWS
Tuesday January 17, 2012
7
EXPERIENCE COUNTS!
UNIVERSITY DEMANDS DEATH B NIGHTS CERTIFICATE FROM GRIEF-STRICKEN STUDEN TS
M FOR DEPRAVED CLU
> DODGY DJS ENCOURAGE PUBLIC SEX ACTS
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> ACCUSATIONS OF "EXPLOITING DRUNK STUDENTS"
Issue 216 vision@yusu.org
ISSUE 215
YORK STUDENTS IN
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Vision's guide to getting the perfect summer body
SLOGAN T-SHIRTS - YAY OR NAY? p 22
my big fat gypsy prejudice p 14-15
DEBT HELL GONECome along to meet the team, get involved and > £54K OWED BY ONE
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ORS OWE MORE THAN £650
> TOP TWENTY YORK DEBT
WILDstand for an editorial position BY KATY ROBERTS
BY ADAM COE A STUDENT at the University owes an astronomical £54,000 to the Student Loans Company, making them the 12th highest debtor in the country, Vision has learnt. The revelation comes to the fore in Vision's last edition before the University's fees announcement due on the 24th June. YUSU President Tim Ngwena confirmed last weekend that discussions in Heslington Hall about the final top-band
figure to be set had essentially come to their conclusion. The £54,000 debtor is the only student based at an institution outside London in the top 20 debtors list for the entire country. In the last few days, Labour MP for York Central, Hugh Bayley, and NUS President Aaron Porter both reacted to the findings in reference to York's future students who can only expect to be overwhelmed by even higher levels of debt in the future.
- FULL STORY PAGE 5 -
SEVERAL LANCASTER students were sent back to their university after consistently inappropriate behaviour over the Roses weekend. Vision spoke exclusively to the streaker from Friday's Rugby match at Huntington stadium. We also caught up with Lancaster Football 1sts Vice Captain after he missed the last game of the tournament following an injury he sustained after drunkenly jumping into the lake.
- FULL STORY PAGE 5 -
Across the board, about one-third of students who were due to finish their three-year course in that academic year dropped out or failed. These disclosures come from a series of Freedom of Information requests and interviews conducted over the last four months. A senior Financial Officer at the University conceded that if such high rates were seen in any other department, it would be a "very extreme, unprecedented event," and the University's teaching grant would be reviewed.
MURDER, HE WROTE 'MIDNIGHT SCRAWLER' TERRORISES FLATMATES
Y
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> TOP TWENTY YORK DEB
Alan Rusbridger, Editor, the Guardian
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TUESDAY JANUARY 25, 2011
ISSUE 212
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> £54K OWED BY ONE
£2.7 MILLION STUDENT CENTRE TO BE COMPLETED BY OCTOBER? - PAGE 8
ISSUE 214
a love-hate relationship p 17
"York Vision is totally fantastic"
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TUESDAY MARCH 15, 2011
MARMITE
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HUGE LOSSES
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SPOTLIGHT
RTMENT ALONE
THE UNIVERSITY'S Health Sciences department has been subject to chronic drop-out and failure rates in recent years, a Vision investigation can reveal. A sample of students who began their degree in 2006-07 revealed that around half of Nursing - Adult Health BSc (Hons) students failed to complete over the duration of their studies, meant to finish in the summer of 2009.
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TUESDAY MAY 17, 2011
Cocknbullkid
RE UNI DROP-OUTS
BY ADAM COE
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a love-hate relationship p 17
NHS FUNDED COURSES SEE
> WELFARE OFFICER BOB HUGHES : "IT'S INSENSITIVE AND IMPERSONAL" > VANBRUGH CHAIR KALLUM TAYLOR: "THEY TREATED THE LAD WITH CONTEMPT!"
Piers Morgan, ex-Mirror editor South Sudan
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THE FAR LEFT
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DAMNING LANDLORD SURVEY
STUDENTS SLAM PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION PROVIDERS FULL STORY PAGES 4-5
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GUARDIAN STUDENT PUBLICATION OFSCIENCES THE YEAR YORK STUDEN RACIAL EQUALITY OFFICER TELLS EX-STUDENT: HEALTH I WOULD BE ASHAMED 2011-2012 IF I WAS JEWISH DROPOUTS SHOCKER NOMINATED FOR GUARDIAN STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE YEAR 2011
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Tuesday June 28, 2011 Issue 217 vision@yusu.org
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NUS PRESIDENT INTERVIEW
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BURNING QUESTIONS:
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Tuesday October 11, 2011 Issue 218 vision@yusu.org
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mike harding
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SHAME ON YOU! The UCD pepper spray scandal first hand
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DAZZLE IN SEQUINS THIS WINTER
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Tuesday November 8, 2011 Issue 219 vision@yusu.org
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Tuesday November 29, 2011 Issue 220 vision@yusu.org
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STUDENTS AT the University of York can look forward to a number of benefits to the "Student Experience" following a £2million investment by the university's senior management group. The improvements, announced earlier this week, includes further improvements to the library, additional lecturing staff, and work to improve graduation employment opportunities through internships. The University is currently undertaking a hiring process which will see departments with some of the lowest student to staff ratios authorised to appoint an additional 20 lecturer posts, whilst it has been confirmed that the library will trial 24-hour opening times in the summer of this year. University registrar David Duncan told Vision, "Those appointed will provide academic leadership in a range of disciplines, with a weighting towards the sciences. "The successful candidates will therefore play a role at both the undergraduate and postgraduate stages; they will also boost York’s performance in the next Research Assessment Exercise,
Some of the improvements outlined are things that were already committed to before the higher fees were announced, most notably the 24-hour opening of the library and it is important that we don't stop here but continue to increase investment into the student experience. We will continue to lobby the University to increase its spending on the things that directly affect students and will be using the results of our 'What Are You Paying For?' survey to do this." The changes are all set to come into place in time for the 2012/13 academic year.
which has been re-named the Research Excellence Framework." York achieved 8th place in the UK in the last exercise in 2008. YUSU President Tim Ellis commented, "The increase in student-staff ratios is a very welcome and and much-needed improvement, particularly in some key departments. However, this is only a first step to ensuring that the teaching at York matches students' expectation. "The initial commitments made by the University in spending the extra-revenue generated by the increase in fees is a good start but is by no means enough.
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BY OLIVER TODD
DAZZLE IN SEQUINS THIS WINTER p 18
DEBA
TOKYO UNDER CRIT
> DODGY DJS E
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8NEWS
YORK VISION
ETERNAL BORE?
BY HELENA KEALEY
OLIVER RICHARDS, a second year student in the department of Theatre, Film and Television spent his summer working as camera trainee on the new ITV1 series, 'Eternal Law.' The drama, which aired for the first time earlier this month is set in York. 'Eternal Law' is the story of a small legal practice where all the barristers are angels sent by God to save the world, one legal case at a time. Richards originally started out with the 'Eternal Law' cast on work experience and landed himself the paid position of camera
Photo: ITV
trainee, when the camera team was split into two and he was promoted. Richards talked to Vision about his experiences working on this ITV1 drama about guardian lawyers. "I learnt a lot", Richards commented to Vision, "it was a lot like doing a feature film shoot with so much going on." Clearly enthused with the whole process, Richards went on to explain how the "awesome camera" they were using and the different filters, produced an "etherial look" in the shots. "It's cool stuff", he said. For any avid viewers of 'Eternal Law', they will clearly remember the scene when in the second episode, 'Zak', the angel leading
the defence case, squats on a roof and talks to the daughter of his client. "I helped shoot that scene" Richards explained. He told us how the close ups were done on different days to the wide shots, and how the weather had to be digitally changed to match these. "I did lots more in episodes 5 and 6. There's a really exciting fight scene," he went on to tell us, "and things get a lot darker." "It was great, the days were really long, but the free food was amazing, and the people were really nice. It made me think about what I want to do after I graduate." Richards and 30 other York University students even had the opportunity to be extras in the Gallery Club scene which features in this week's episode, although apparently this was "really awkward...we had to dance, in the middle of the day, without music." "Really awkward", might be how some viewers of 'Eternal Law' will choose to describe the entire thing. With sadly plummeting ratings after only two episodes, the Telegraph commented that "even though it was written by the team that brought us the similarly tricksy but very cool 'Life on Mars', this time the result was a mess." A bizzare watch, 'Eternal Law' manages to entertain though the ludicrousness of it's premise. The third episode airs on Thursday, 9pm on ITV1.
Tuesday January 17, 2012
CLEAVER JAILED
BY OLIVER TODD
THE MAN found at troubled York nightclub, The Gallery, wearing surgical gloves and wielding a meatcleaver has been jailed for eight months following a trial at York Crown Court. Joseph Michael Moore, 21, refused to explain his actions, although his lawyer said that Mr Moore had drunk in "industrial proportions" during a day at York racecourse. The incident itself occured in August last year following the Ebor Race Festival. Mr Moore was found climbing the fire exit of The Gallery. Moore, of Hadrian’s Park
Photo: Oliver Todd
Caravan Site, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to carrying a meat cleaver in public. This was just one of many recent incidences of violence and disorder associated with the nightclub. Its license is set to be thoroughly reviewed in April following a 1,050 per cent increase in crime at the venue in the summer of last year. This follows the recent purchase of the club by Ranimul 2 Limited, who took over the venue following the decline of the Luminar Group. Two other men were also jailed after being convicted of offences including carrying a machete, threatening behaviour and numerous public order offences.
COMMENT
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
>Comment
9
LOSING FACE IN YOUR JOB
HELENA KAZNOWSKA
F
acebook claims to have 800 million members. In fact, I imagine that almost everyone who reads this article will have an account. With more than 900 million objects available for people to interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages) and over 70 language settings available on the site, it is easy to see why so many of us are involved. All you have to do is tear your eyes away from your own computer, glance around at the other screens in the library and you'll be met with endless screens modelling the social networking site or, at the very least, a tab dedicated to it. Facebook is everywhere. There is, however, constant worry that data contained on sites such as Facebook could come back to haunt us. The results of a recent YouGov survey revealed that 42% of British students admitted they were worried posts on social sites could harm their future employability. Over recent years it has become common to read about yet another “fired blogger” and increasingly, employers are admitting to researching candidates using Facebook. According to a survey carried out by CareerBuilder.co.uk,
WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR BOSS THE PASSWORD TO YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT?
more than half of employers research potential job candidates on social networking sites. For most users however, the idea of employers checking Facebook profiles is old news. We've been warned on countless occasions. And yes, I fully appreciate you can simply change your privacy settings to
Recently, in the United States, employers are taking a new approach: by requesting both usernames and passwords to social networking sites as part of their job application process prevent your future boss delving through photos that are hardly résumé-enhancing. However, with ongoing alterations to the site's format, privacy settings can be automatically altered back to the default setting without your knowledge; an option that provides minimal protection for the user.
Not only this, but with friend lists having hit the hundreds and edging towards the thousands (obviously all extremely close and personal acquaintances, or perhaps we're just too lazy to cull) the more people you know, the more your personal information is spread around, and the more at risk you are of your data falling into the wrong hands. Even when adjusted to a “friends-only” profile, your Facebook page could still be explored through the URL history on a work computer or simply not logging-out could enable access to your page from fellow colleagues or the powers that be. Yet recently (in the US admittedly, but the idea is sure to make it across the Pond), employers are taking a new approach; by requesting both usernames and passwords to social networking sites as part of their job application process. An example of this was leaked in November of last year, when an application form for a North Carolinian police department asked candidates for a clerical position: "Do you have any web page accounts such as Facebook, Myspace etc...? If so list your username and password". For many of us, our Facebook is as
private and personal as a diary; a treasure trove of information and handing over our password, particularly when there is a new job at stake, is as intrusive as handing over our house keys.While the message of keeping scandalous pictures out of the public eye, or removed entirely should have sunk in by now, the idea of handing over passwords would enable potential employers to access both private and instant messages as well as personal statuses. Even if your privacy settings are high, in providing your password, personal aspects of an online account might reveal information that you simply don't want your employer to know about. Political views, family members, your favourite books, what you're looking for in a sexual partner or past and current relationships are to name a few. Information concerning these characteristics, many would argue, is simply not their business. In most cases complete access to your account would enable employers to discover a great deal more than could be found out in a job interview, therefore, are Facebook members defacing their job prospects regardless of how private their settings are?
THE TYRANNY OF THE COLLEGES
MAX SUGARMAN
"D
emocracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." When George Bernard Shaw said that, I’m quite sure he wasn’t talking about the recent college elections or even anything to do with York. Yet, as the Autumn term ended and the countdown to Christmas began, Shaw’s message was clear: you get what you give, and as was revealed, we certainly hadn’t given much at all. The elections last term were, to use the political jargon, an absolute shocker. With no one running for positions and less and less voting, it seemed that we as a university had reached an all-time low. Usually in college elections, as with most others, the hype gets bigger as the positions get more important. You can expect for about three or four people to run for chair, two for most other positions and perhaps one for the less significant roles. A month ago, though, it seemed to be like the AV referendum: absolutely no one cared. Of course, it’s understandable if a position like Ordinary Rep or Publicity Officer never gets filled, but if my politics degree has taught me anything, it’s that if no one’s voting and no one’s running, something is most definitely wrong.
UNCONTESTED ELECTIONS ARE RENDERING OUR COLLEGES MORE LIKE A MONARCHY THAN A VIBRANT DEMOCRACY
First of all, I should state that this is not the situation for all colleges, and those that saw reasonable election results know who they are. Some though, such as Langwith, saw the the top three positions, that of Chair, Vice and Secretary going completely uncontested. The general buzz of Freshers getting involved
It's a sorry situation. I feel sorry for the incoming JCRCs who are going to have to deal with a bunch of apathetic, couldn’t-care-less students. I feel sorry for the students too, who have had barely any choice and will have to deal with these problems. and taking it all a bit too seriously was all missing. When the results were read out, they seemed to take an abnormally short amount of time while the list of positions that still needed to be filled seemed to flow onto page after page. I convinced myself
that RON was an actual candidate just so it didn’t feel like I was voting in Zimbabwe. I started to look around for people to hand me a leaflet or to tell me who to vote for. I even sat staring at the YUSU website, praying to God that some candidate would suddenly appear on the screen offering change and shouting ‘Yes we can’! Okay, so I didn’t go that mad or imagine Barack Obama was running for College Chair. Nonetheless, I certainly felt the gloom of disappointment as the results rang out and uncontested candidate after uncontested candidate rode comfortably past the finishing line, poor RON trailing at the back. The problem becomes that we start to lose the right to call ourselves democratic. A decision between one person and RON isn’t a true democratic choice, mostly because, although he tries for every position, it seems RON never really wins. Overall, its a sorry situation. I feel sorry for the incoming JCRCs who are going to have to deal with a bunch of apathetic, couldn’t-care-less students. I feel sorry for the students too, who have had barely any choice and will have to deal with problems if things start to slacken. It seems it's a general lose-lose situation in which the college becomes less cohesive,
the students and reps end up annoyed and disgruntled and the services the college provide get worse. The reputation, though, will be the greatest casualty and probably the hardest one to heal (due to the fact that reputations tend to stick for rather a long time). And in truth, the blame lies with everyone. It lies with me and you for not standing for anything, or not voting for people. It lies with the last JCRCs who failed to gauge the utter disinterest of the rest of the college and didn’t advertise the elections enough and sooner. It's a general problem that will start to affect everyone in the colleges, when an event doesn’t go quite to plan or a Chair is too busy to notice something important. It will affect the incoming freshers who are put off by a less than perfect Freshers Week that ruins their relationship with their college for the rest of their years here at York. What can we do? We should act more like RON; try to sort out the problems that are so easy to complain about. If not, we will find this mess doesn’t improve. George Bernard Shaw was on to something when he said "we shall be governed no better than we deserve". If we choose for no one to govern us, then what can we expect.
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10 COMMENT
THE VOICE OF
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
FOI-NTASTIC LEGISLATION OLIVER TODD
S
A
Vision Says...
well deserved congratulations, good job and thanks to all those involved in the construction of the new Sports Village on the Heslington East. For far too long sport has been a horrific and long running joke at the University. Students have had to put up with second rate sports tents, badly maintained astro turfs and muddy athletics for far too long. While our collegiate cousins at Leeds, Hull and Newcastle have been treated to gleaming well-maintained facilities, York students have had to approach our sports equipment with a dry sense of humour and a “make do and mend" attitude. Not anymore! Thanks to the tireless work of campus superstars such as Keith Morris and Sam Asfahani (to name but a few), York has finally started listening to their students, responding to their needs and meeting the challenge head on. Campus refurbishments are often a lengthy and costly joke – going over budget and over time. However, Heslington Hall appears to have gone into 2012 with a new attitude of professionalism. All students are rightly quick to grumble when we see a campus cock-up. But let's give credit where credit is due. Keith Morris and his stunning sports team should be praised for their hard work and great results.
T
Thumbs down to...
he University, for the extreme examples of exam cock-ups. Communicating with the student population about the simplest details of assessments really is the least undergraduates should expect. How can professors tell their seminar students the wrong format for exams? How can academics confuse their undergraduates in the run up to exams with confusing messages about what needs to be brought to assessments? Why haven't administrators been told whether biology students should have calculators or not? And surely it isn't beyond the scope of some of the brightest minds in the University to avoid missing out pages of an economics paper? Some campus cock-ups are excusable. Not being able to run a system of assessments is beyond a joke. It is the core of what the University should be good at. Students will rightly be asking if Cantor's cronies can't get this correct, what hope is there for the future of higher education?
Thumbs up to...
T
im Ellis, for successfully lobbying against proposed rent rises. Last year Heslington Hall stated their intention to raise noncatered accommodation by 5.7 per cent and catered rooms by a staggering 8.7 per cent. But our beloved President has raised his voice and lowered our rents. Now all rooms will only be going up by the current rate of inflation. Too often students have been subjected to mediocre statements of “we tried our best” or the frankly patronising “what students may not realise is...” The silent but effective Tireless Tim has persuaded Heslington Hall of their mistakes. President Ellis doesn't shout, he doesn't moan and he doesn't patronise. He just gets off his arse and gets on with the job. It is great to see students finally get the representation they deserve and not have to put up with the vocal but useless BNOCs we have seen before.
ince its full provisions first came into place some seven years ago, the Freedom of Information Act has allowed any member of the public to question public authorities on any subject they choose, including the University of York. "Any subject they choose" can, and has included, the costs of the clean-up of duck excrement on campus or the type of trees found in 'The Quiet Place' (they're mainly topiaried yew trees, if you're interested), and universities across the country have recently expressed their displeasure at the obligation to answer these futile requests. So are Freedom of Information requests a waste of time and resources for the university, or is this information in the public interest? Perhaps not with regards to scraping up duck excrement from outside the newly painted Central Hall, but why shouldn't the university be encouraged to be a little more transparent with their dealings? Shouldn't those that we pay thousands of pounds of fees to be held accountable on how they spend that money? The Freedom of Information Act was first brought into place in 2000 and aimed to make public sector bodies more open and accountable. It also helps people understand better how public authorities carry out their duties, why they make the decisions they do and how they spend our money. This is still relevant
WE NEED THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT TO HOLD PUBLIC BODIES TO ACCOUNT for universities today. Admittedly, a large number of FOI requests to universities are sent by student journalists throwing out a fishing line and hoping for something back, but
Why shouldn't the university be encouraged to be a little more transparent with their dealings? Shouldn't those that we pay thousands of pounds of fees to be held accountable on how they spend that money? equally anyone could, and should send in their own FOI requests. The university employs staff to fulfil this legal requirement and, for the right purposes, it's something we should take advantage of. How much are the university paying academic staff ? How much is being spent on the latest improvements to the uni's infrastructure? These are all things that, as paying 'customers' at this institution, we should be interested in, whether it's revealed by a campus newspaper or not. FOI requests force universities and other public authorities to be more
transparent with their dealings, something that we should all have an interest in, and for every question about how much money is spent on biscuits, some genuinely interesting data can be revealed on the internal workings of our university. By no means am I endorsing a scatter-gun approach to FOI requests sent to the university, but they undoubtedly can be a useful tool both to journalists and the public. The Freedom of Information Act is being reconsidered by a parliamentary committee, with specific concerns regarding increasing request volumes and the cost to those that have to deal with them. For me, it's arguably one of the most important pieces of legislation passed in the 21st Century. FOI requests revealed numerous details about the 'War on Terror' and the internal goings on of our country's police force amongst other things. York Vision used it to expose the extravagance of Brian Cantor's expense claims, clearly in the interest of students. It's a powerful piece of legislation and should be one we value for its contribution to holding figures employed by the public accountable for their actions, no matter how many trees there are in 'The Quiet Place'. Transparency, within reason, is something we should be encouraging, not suppressing. Just try not to leave student journalists bearing the brunt of any criticism for your duck related queries...
ON TRACK FOR DISASTER
ANGUS HILL
P
oliticians often seem to make bad decisions. The official announcement last week that the Government had decided to proceed with the highly contentious HS2 rail project seems even worse than most. Having to sit on a busy train doesn’t seem much fun with anybody, so a scheme which would make train journeys up to half an hour shorter seems worthy of praise. That is before we learn that such a scheme will cost the taxpayer £32 billion. The rail link, to open in 2026 would see high-speed trains travelling between London and Birmingham in 50 minutes. Talk of this scheme connecting the capital with the North is little more than the stuff of dreams, with the extension to Leeds and Manchester not included in this budget or timetable. High Speed rail seems exciting, but it also seems like a hugely expensive longterm commitment that the Government has embarked upon without properly thinking through. Critics of this Government frequently lambaste it for failing to invest properly in infrastructure projects. Infrastructure investment is undeniably necessary but such spending would be more effective from an economic perspective if this was spread across a variety of different sectors nationwide. Instead the Government is putting all its eggs in one basket.
HIGH SPEED RAIL IS A COSTLY EXPERIMENT BASED ON SHAKY EVIDENCE Although the main opposition arguments are undoubtedly economic, conservationists have put forward a strong case against the project based on the fact that at least a forty-mile section of the route will travel through the Chilterns, an area of outstanding natural beauty. By framing the debate purely in economic terms those ardently supporting HS2 are able to claim that these environmental concerns are simply irrelevant, as they don’t fit into their cost-benefit analysis framework.
Infrastructure investment is undeniably necessary but such spending would be more effective from an economic perspective if this were spread across a variety of different sectors nationwide. Moreover the whole premise upon which the project is based is questionable. Far from encouraging greater economic activity in the North and Midlands it is much more likely to work the other way round, with HS2 acting as a vacuum to these areas, sucking labour and other resources out of these areas
and sending them to London. There is no proof that it will lead to a more even economic landscape in this country and in fact it could well do the opposite. High Speed rail in other European states has been shown to directly aid job migration away from the area that it was intended to benefit most. Even if there is a problem with capacity in our rail network, this seems like a highly elitist response to that. It is inevitable that the ticket prices for highspeed trains will be significantly higher than those for standard trains, partly in order to offset the huge costs involved. High Speed rail will become the choice for business travellers and those able to stump up for the huge fares. Everybody else will end up stuck on the current routes. This in itself is not the end of the world. But when it is being built using £33 billion of taxpayer’s money it seems unjust that the majority of taxpayers will be unlikely to benefit from it directly. And even the indirect benefits to the economy as a whole are questionable. Investing in infrastructure seems wise, putting all your eggs in one proverbial basket seems foolish, and spending £33 billion to do in a time of intense economic pressures when very few of those funding it will ever reap the questionable benefits seems frankly outrageous.
YORK VISION
COMMENT
Tuesday January 17, 2012
11
A GOAL OF EQUALITY ALEX FINNIS
A
Olivia Waring
STUDENTS DISCONCERTED TO LEARN THAT THINGS ARE GOING BUMP IN THE NIGHT(LINE)
SHOULD SCOTLAND BE INDEPENDENT?
BELLA BOMAN-FLAVELL
A
nyone with some knowledge of historical English-Scottish ties, or even just a love of Braveheart, understands the fractious relations that have always existed between the northern and southern points of this island. Despite the close geographical proximity, relatively similar cultural history and numerous UK nation-building exercises, Scotland remains socially and culturally distinct from the United Kingdom. Now the Scots want the opportunity to govern themselves. Let them have it. You might think that ‘British’ is a national identity that includes all people of the entire British isle – English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish. If you think that, you are probably English. In 2005 the Commission for Racial Equality found that most English people tend to think of themselves as indistinguishably English or British, while both Scottish and Welsh people tend to self-identify as Scottish or Welsh. The report showed that England was most strongly linked with Britain, with many participants unconsciously substituting ‘Britishness’ and ‘Englishness’ in their answers. These separate national identities cause issues in the political arena. A ‘nation-state’ derives its political legitimacy from the meeting of the political entity, the state and the cultural/ethnic entity known as the nation. After the 2010 General Election, Labour retained 41 seats in Scotland, while the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives retained 11 and one respectively. Because they do not culturally associate themselves as British, many Scots are left wondering what right
YES NO
the current Liberal DemocratConservative government has to govern Scotland. Although devolution was intended to improve this situation, in reality it has just made things worse. I have heard many English complain that ‘English’ taxes are spent on giving better care to the Scottish elderly than the English receive, and granting Scottish students free university tuition whilst English students face fee increases of up to £9,000 per year. It is entirely in the Scottish Parliament’s remit to spend its budget in the way it considers maximally optimal. It might, however, have a better understanding of the costs and benefits of certain policies to society if it had complete financial autonomy from Westminster. The Scots desire to rule themselves independently for the first time in 300 years. The SNP pleads for a "partnership of equals" in a social union rather than the current political union. It is a principle of international law that all peoples have a right to self-determination. The current political union cannot continue in its current form. There are some economists who claim that an independent Scotland could not sustain itself financially. The SNP disagrees, and foresees a wealthy future from Scotland’s natural resources and development of green energy technologies. Scottish independence is not an issue to be decided by criteria like ‘pragmatism’. Economists can only predict the future, and have been wrong before. It is condescending in the extreme to assume that the Scots lack the ability for self-governance. This is an issue that strikes at the heart of political legitimacy.
T
he UK's constituent nations enjoy distinct cultural identities and their diversity is part of what makes Britain great. Nobody can question that the Scottish people should proudly celebrate their heritage, but they must also remember that their country has thrived as part of a wider union. Proponents of an independent Scotland draw mainly on emotional arguments, claiming that the brutal and oppressive English coerced their country into the union hundreds of years ago. Such lines of reasoning bear little relevance to the everyday lives of ordinary Scots. The rhetoric of powerhungry SNP politicians is out of touch with those whose first and foremost concern is for a stable economy and a job market which will offer security for their families. Nationalists often point to the successes of other small European states. They fail to address that it was smaller countries, such as Iceland and Ireland, which bore the brunt of the global financial crisis. It is easy to complain about the current state of the UK economy but had Scotland secured independence several years ago things would be far worse. Chief Secretary of State to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls have both agreed that the collapse of the banking sector would have had catastrophic consequences for Scotland had it not been part of the United Kingdom. The cost alone of recapitalising the Edinburgh headquartered banks HBOS and RBS "dwarfed the entire Scottish budget". An independent Scotland would have to reapply for
BEN DILKS
membership of the EU as a new sovereign state. They would almost certainly be forced to join the Euro and forego the benefits of the UK's low interest rates, at a time when the single currency is in crisis. Nearly two-thirds of Scotland's exports are sent to the UK, so joining the Euro would also make trading more difficult. The Institute for Economic Affairs has calculated that an independent Scotland would inherit around £110 billion of the national debt. As part of the UK, Scotland receives a higher percentage of public spending per capita than England; those defending Scottish independence claim high public spending could be sustained by profits from North Sea oil, but production is at its lowest levels for years and oil revenues are forecast to fall dramatically over coming years. A decision for independence would bring about huge problems not only for Scotland but for the reminder of the UK. The UK's fragile economy would not withstand the uncertainty that complex negotiations over separation would inevitably lead to. Lengthy legal battles over assets such as oil would likely plague the two separating nations, undermining confidence in both economies. Both Scotland and the rest of the UK would lose influence on the world stage. At a time of instability in the Middle East, both countries' defence programmes would be thrown into chaos. In a likely referendum on independence, I hope that the people of Scotland base their decision not on historic tensions, but on the economic realities of their country's future.
s 2011 slowly drew to a close and 2012 emerged in its wake, it looked as if we could be in for a year of progression and groundbreaking changes as physicists pondered over particles that have the potential to change the way we view the world. Then, to mar the budding revolution, an old foe, racism, began to rear its ugly head once again, and sent us back decades. Unfortunately, most of this racism was born out of sport, more specifically football, and if there is anyone who doesn't need to stir up any more contempt, it is the players of our national sport. The stance of Liverpool Football Club on the Luis Suarez case is beyond absurd. How a club can continue to give their unbridled backing to a man found guilty of racial abuse when they compete in such a multicultural league, residing in such a multicultural society, is beyond me. It gets worse too, as this racism is now spreading to the fans. Mere weeks after Suarez was found guilty and handed his ban by the Football Association, a supporter of the very same football club was arrested on suspicion of racially abusing Oldham Athletic's Tom Adeyemi from the stands. As well as the court, Liverpool themselves now have a duty to deal with this man in some form, yet why should Suarez be worthy of their full support when this so called football fan is not? I'm not sure "because he's their star striker and he's paid a fortune every week" is a particularly valid answer. The fact that this high profile racism case has seemingly led to these attitudes, once again, becoming prevalent in the crowds is extremely worrying. It is possible that Liverpool's stance on Suarez has led this fan to feel his outburst is somehow acceptable. Now, I do not want this piece to become an outlet for bashing Liverpool FC (I can save that for The Courtyard at the weekend) but there is no excuse for racism in today's society, and whilst they are far from encouraging racism, they are doing far too little to help kick it out. Elsewhere there's no surprise that our good friend Twitter, that online hot-bed of controversy, has also become a centre for this re-emergence of racism. Footballer turned pundit and anti-racism activist Stan Collymore found himself victim of racial abuse on the website in early January whilst Diane Abbott, the first black female MP, recently apologised for saying that "white people love playing divide and rule" with the black population. I can't help but feel sad at both of these particular cases. The fact that a man who is striving to remove an ugly form of hatred from our society is being subjected to it is nothing short of despicable. Collymore has done all of this work on something he is clearly passionate about, only to have it thrown back in his face. With regards to Abbott, I can't help but feel hugely disappointed that she still harbours such views, but disappointed not only at her but at society for giving her such an impression. It is clear, therefore, that in a time of advancing technology, a time at which we perch expectantly on the edge of a scientific revolution, that the problem of racism is still very much existent. If we can't shed the mistaken attitudes of the past, it doesn't really feel like we're progressing at all.
JOIN THE DEBATE AT WWW.YORKVISION.CO.UK/COMMENT
12 SATIRE
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
THE SKETCH
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FEATURES
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
>Features
13
OLYMPIC HURDLES
GEORGINA STRAPP looks into bouncers, Russians, and our chances for (surviving) the 2012 Olympics
A
s we bring in 2012, we naturally start to consider what the new year will hold for us. We'll just have to hope these 12 months, when Britain will take centre-stage, doesn't mimic Cameron's thinning hairline. The Olympics should bring business, fame and cultural prestige, but, it also brings security concerns on a global scale. In an event that puts London on the centre of the world stage and coverage that is going to be seen by
overlooked the 13,500 personnel the Ministry of Defence are providing, alongside the HMS Ocean (the largest ship in the Royal Navy just in case you were getting worried), which has recently returned from Libya. It comes as no surprise to learn over £533m will now be spent on security. Included in this cool sum are surface-to-air missiles. Casual. Is anybody else thinking 'over-reaction' yet? Arms suppliers will benefit greatly from this
"You don't want people coming to London thinking they've walked into siege city" 15 per cent of the world’s population; it's fair to say the government cannot afford to mess up. Historically, the games have been at the heart of global politics. From the 1936 Olympics in Germany, where the Games were used to try and reinforce Nazi ideology, to the 1972 Munich Massacre, we can see that the competition is a catalyst for conflict. The Guardian wrote that the disaster of the Munich Olympics "launched the new era of international terrorism." With such global wounds being opened at the games, in a context of a precarious withdrawal from the Middle-East, the government
transaction so I think we can sense who had a lot of security advice to give… having said that, it’s safe to say we can lay any terrorism concerns we may have had to rest. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 100,000 condoms were handed out for free; our protection might be weapons but with China to compete with, now at least, terror prevention is one less thing for the organisers to worry about coming up short on. There does seem to be a lot of attention on the armed forces, but we shouldn’t overlook civilian efforts. It has been rumoured there will be a whopping 24,000 Konrad replicas training as se-
An artist's impression of the London Olympics site. should be, and are, taking Olympic security very seriously. In a recent statement, Lord Coe raised warranted concerns about the security status of the events. He says “There has to be proportionality here. You don't want people coming to London thinking they've walked into siege city.” Coe appears to have
curity personnel to safeguard the 100 plus Olympic venues, although there might be a slight problem with executing this plan as the country doesn't have that many Konrads (now breathe), so students have been recruited to make up the numbers. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Para-
lympic Games (LOCOG) is primarily responsible for arranging the recruitment of security staff, however a majority of this colossal task has been undertaken by private security companies headed by G4S. Perhaps the promises made when we ran our Olympic bid, to generate more business for UK companies might actually become a reality, making a pleasant change from the countless broken promises made by the government so far. Although 24,000 security guards will be patrolling the Games, this won’t be just managing the queues for the beach volleyball. The security have been tasked with taking care of everything from terrorist threats to drunken spectators. They will also be providing security for the party area Russian events tycoon Sergei Kolushev has swung for the teams. He’s managed to appropriate Perks field, by Kensington Palace. Not only does the security have to worry about how much gin Queen Lizzie guzzles, they have to deal with the possibility that we may have a couple of Russian weightlifters meandering drunkenly along the Mall. With this as just one example of the fringe activites of the Olympics, door supervisors, as well as general security, will be needed in abundance. Bill Fox, M.D. of security training firm Maybo, stresses that, "for most hospitality and events providers and retailers the biggest worry is not terror - it is getting sufficient qualified security personnel to meet venue license requirements." Whilst drunken Russians might not be the terror threat that had been predicted, the biggest threat to safety will come from the high concentration of people being organised in the day-to-day activities of the Games. G4S, the company that got the dream security gig, did their homework for 2012 very thoroughly. I bet you didn’t think that those muscled security guards could be geeks as well. ‘G4S teen’, was launched in 2007 as an athlete development programme, which supported young athletes with aspirations to compete in the 2012 Olympics. You can definitely see that it’s in their interests for it all to go smoothly. Double Olympic Champion Haile Gebrselassie, ambassador for G4S, states that the "level of commitment that G4S have shown to the members of the team is impressive." With G4S also supporting the GB sailing team, it would seem that for once the government
seems to have picked a candidate that knows the field they’re working. It’s good to see fair play in British society being enacted in the business world and that filling up your CV brings benefits. G4S is clearly dedicated to
The accumulation of these concerns has amalgamated into a worry that the 2012 Games will leave behind a sour legacy. When talking about the security staff post-Olympics, Fox comments that "there will probably be a significant proportion that dis-
What the Opening Ceremony might look like. investing in sports, but with 12,000 athletes, and 10 million in attendance at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is a worry that G4S’s priorities are elsewhere. We saw in last summer’s riots that multiple locations are difficult to protect, and with over 100 venues to keep secure, G4S will definitely have their work cut out. The numerous security situations demand different priorities, but with G4S adverts saying "you only need to apply for one role and attend one interview to be on our system for London 2012," there is definitely a danger that not all scenarios will be covered. G4S is working with Bridgingthe-Gap, which has government
appear prior to, or do not secure Olympics work in the first place and after the Olympics there will be less demand for staff. Many of those training will not be suited to the traditional role of a door supervisor, i.e. in the licensed retail sector, but they may get general security work." This doesn’t paint a rosy picture of how taxes are being spent on numerous low value qualifications. However, Georgia Harris, 18, from Hitchin, who currently studies Health and Social Care at NHC, commented: “I’ve already got a job lined up for when I qualify, I’m going to work at local clubs and events and also hopefully at the Olympics.” If (a big if) we can take this as
"The biggest worry is not terror- it is gettign sufficient qualified security personnel to meet venue license requirements." funding intended to pay for the training of new security staff for the upcoming games. The training course (run partly by ESST) will typically last just a short four days. With security recruits coming from all over the country, needing to be ready by summer, it seems priorities really are “logistical more than quality” as put by Fox. The brief training course on offer for the new security recruits, leaves those attending with little more than shaken confidence in the standard of security to be expected.
a general picture, and do a better job of maintaining the sporting legacy that the competition will leave, then there could be a lot more sports events taking place in the country after 2012 for which we will have a readymade security army on hand. This is the best case scenario. It’s not hard to imagine that, if we fail to keep this sporting spirit, combined with the millions that is going to be spent in removing facilities from some events afterwards, the wasted money and potential will be hard on taxpayers.
14FEATURES
YORK VISION
A PAIN IN
Tuesday January 17th, 2012
JACK KNIGHT TALKS TO SCIENCE WRITER SIMON SINGH A
O
n one indistinct Saturday morning in April 2008, Guardian readers lazily leafed through their newspapers like any other weekend. As they chewed over their toast and swilled their coffee they would have perused news of the EU scrapping its biofuels targets, Gordon Brown’s trip to the US and a Bafta accolade for Bruce Forsyth. Resting at the top of page 26 was a half page comment piece entitled “Beware the Spinal Trap” by the scientist and writer Simon Singh criticising the
ing the evidence together Singh judged that “if spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market” and that the BCA “happily promotes bogus treatments”. The scientist and writer is happy to admit, when interviewed, that he never predicted the furore the comment piece would produce and the legal storm it would create. “At the start, I had no idea it would be so expensive, time-consuming and
"I fought the case purely to defend my right to express my opinion about the lack of evidence" work of the British Chiropractic Association (BCA). No reader on that sluggish weekend morning could have predicted that what was printed at the top of page 26 would lead to a two year libel legal battle between Singh and the BCA, costing the author around £300,000. Singh introduced his readers to modern chiropractics, writing “You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas.” He went on to list some of the problems the BCA claimed it could treat, referenced recent scientific criticism and documented the possible adverse effects of treatment. Bring-
painful, and I did not realise the broader issues that would arise”. However, someone high up in the BCA was reading his article and had decided an “expensive, timeconsuming and painful” experience was exactly what Singh was going to get. In many ways Simon Singh was the perfect candidate to take on the BCA. After studying Physics at Imperial College and completing a doctorate at Cambridge, Singh had worked at CERN and become an award-winning science writer, journalist and author. On the way he had earned a host of honorary degrees and the respect of nearly all his peers. Singh knew what he was talking about and he knew the
The BCA came in for large-scale criticism during the trial.
BCA didn’t. His education and professional training may have made him perfectly poised to take on the BCA, but that didn’t mean that the legal minefield of the British libel system was going to be any less of a nightmare. British libel law is an unusual beast. In legal terms Singh’s commentary upon the BCA highlighted the burden of proof of unjustified defamation. In simple terms that means who has the onus of responsibility for proving what has been claimed in a libel case. In most countries, if someone believes their reputation has been damaged without justification they have to prove the allegations made are false. However, in Britain the onus is upon the author to prove what they have stated is legally true. This meant the whole case was going to be a lot more complex for Singh when the burden was on himself to prove, under libel law, every piece of his commentary in court. For the author it was simple – “I fought the case purely to defend my right to express my opinion about the lack of evidence surrounding many chiropractic claims.” However, the presiding judge in the preliminary hearing would judge otherwise. In May 2009 Justice Eady ruled that “Beware the Spinal Trap” was not, as Singh and his lawyers argued, a comment article. Instead the court judged the assertion that the BCA “happily promoted bogus treatments” to be a factual statement that accused the chiropractic body of being actively and consciously dishonest. Singh is refreshingly honest about his thoughts at the start of the trail admitting “Initially, I assumed that the BCA would back down and it would not actually issue the libel action.” He continues, “Then I assumed the BCA would drop the case and it would be over by Christmas. Then I assumed that the preliminary hearing would go in my favour and the BCA would drop the case, as so on. Over and over again, I was proved wrong.” While the legal process was proving a lengthy dilemma for Singh, outside the courtroom a public campaign to highlight the problems of libel law was building up. The pressure group “Sense About Science” had picked up Singh’s legal battle and had started an online petition about getting libel law out of scientific disputes, garnering 20,000 signatures. Additionally, bloggers, writers and celebrities were attempting to highlight the problems Singh
Simon Singh outside the High Court before his pre-trial hearin faced in his legal battle. “Had bloggers, lawyers, scientists, doctors, rationalists, sceptics, tweeters and many others not come to my support, then I would probably have dropped the case after the preliminary hearing that went so disastrously wrong for me. It was the massive support that told me that I had to try and appeal that ruling.” What, in the not so distant past, would have been a dry and little heard of legal battle between one science writer and those people who click your backs around a bit had suddenly become a petri dish highlighting the problems of English libel law and the curtailing of free speech. “Other scientists, doctors, journalists, NGOs and free speech groups began to point out that my case was not the only example of English libel shutting down reasonable debate and criticism – that is when I realised that something bigger was on the horizon. Winning the case is one thing, but winning the battle for libel reform is a much bigger issue.” The trail rumbled on and in October 2009 Singh and his legal team, including a barrister that had agreed to defend him on a no-win-no-fee basis, were grant-
ed the ability to appeal. Five months later the author found himself appearing at a pre-trial hearing before three senior judges and by April 2010 the judges had returned a judgement in favour of Singh’s appeal ruling that Justice Eady has “erred in his approach” in the pre-trial hearing and that “Beware the Spinal Trap” was defendable as legally permissible fair comment. After two years of legal backand-forth, thousands of pounds in legal fees, an unprecedented publicity campaign and the birth of his first child, Singh could walk out to the newspaper journalists, libel reform supporters and TV cameras and claim victory. “Beware the Spinal Trap” had become more than just an informed critique for Singh. It had become possibly the most unknowingly precedent warning in the history of journalism. “I think the Court of Appeal made a very wise judgement in case (but I guess I would say that, wouldn’t I). In particular, the three judges showed an understanding of how science operates. This was a fairly important ruling, but it does not go far enough, which is why we still need a draft defamation bill.
YORK VISION
FEATURES
THE BACK
Tuesday January 17th, 2012
15
ABOUT HIS TWO YEAR LEGAL BATTLE FOR FREE SPEECH
ng before three senior judges. More generally, the problems with libel are not restricted to scientists and doctors.” What could well have been a brutally effective suppression of unwanted criticism had, through an enlightened legal defence and a well coordinated campaign, become an unwanted source of negative publicity for the BCA. Following Singh’s trial success the General Chiropractic Council received fifteen times more complaints about its members (including correspondence about the BCA’s own officers) and had to hire six new members of staff to deal with the problem. Singh’s judgement about the chiropractic industry is clear – “My greatest criticism is that the GCC has failed in its duty to protect the public from chiropractic claims that lack evidence.” “I think the BCA have some very odd ideas and some very off ways of dealing with critics. Odd is a very polite word for how I feel. I have met chiropractors who seem to know their limits and seem to act very responsibly, and they have even expressed that they are embarrassed by many of their colleagues.” The science writer is clear about how the chiropractics need to evolve. “The problem is that these con-
cerns are not raised in public or to the regulators. A profession can only improve and weed out the quacks by open and honest debate and criticism, rather than by brushing everything under the carpet.” The need for an open and honest debate about the chiropractic industry was only emphasised through Singh’s legal case when some chiropractors, sensing the tide of public opinion turning against them, resorted to subterfuge. At the very start of the legal battle the BCA had decided not to take up The Guardian’s offer of responding to Singh’s criticism in print, choosing instead to resort to legal threats. In an email of June 2009 the McTimoney Chiropractic Association (MCA) – another industry group – strongly advised its members to take down their websites, remove all MCA leaflets and to be wary of any enquiries from new customers out of fear of prosecution over unfounded claims made about treatments. The email ended with the MCA’s Chair stating “we strongly suggest you do NOT discuss this with others, especially patients... it would not be ethical to burden patients with this.”
As if only to prove the worth of Singh’s efforts to shine a light on the suspect claims of the chiropractic industry, after losing in the courtroom the BCA released a one and a half page statement claiming to demonstrate the evidence for their claims of being able to treat childhood illnesses. As Martin Robbins of the Guardian’s “The Lay Scientist” blog reported, the statement was quickly torn apart by science writers and the British Medical Journal who noted that of the 29 citations over a third had nothing to do with chiropractic treatments, the rest were a small collection of poor quality trials and one was nearly totally misrepresented. Practising what he preaches Singh has been at the forefront of a campaign to not let the legal establishment simply shy away from the considerable problems with English libel. Singh is clear and concise in his criticism of English libel laws. Although, he admits that the government’s October 2011 report on the issue “was very good in many ways”, he argues that political leaders need to make greater changes. “First, instead of merely restricting the right of companies to sue for libel, I would prevent them completely. Libel law was not invented to protect the profits of corporations, but rather it was invented to protect the reputations of people. In any case, companies have other ways of seeking redress. Second, we need a proper and robust public inter-
est defence, which encourages journalists and so on to tell us when something is wrong. Such a public interest defence would differentiate between journalists who deal in tittle-tattle and those who raise matters of genuine public concern.” At the end of this lengthy legal process Singh has become a campaigner, a father and a man with a much lighter wallet. “A very rough estimate of costs would be £300,000 for me...Typically, winning defendant’s get back 70 percent of their costs from the losing side. Neverthe-
However, he is happy to admit understandable moments of self doubt – “there were times when I questioned why I had written the piece and why I was defending it. Fortunately, the massive support that I received reassured me that I was not crazy, but rather it was English libel that was crazy.” Looking back over the three and a half years since an 800 word comment piece air dropped him into a legal minefield Singh appears remarkably good humoured and resolutely more confident in his convictions. “I don’t think the BCA imagined
"I think the BCA have some very odd ideas and some very odd ways of dealing with critics. Odd is a very polite word for how I feel" less, on top of this I also lost over a year of work (spread across two years) and the associated income, and there is also the severe stress of having to fight the case.” It is therefore admirable to hear Singh’s optimism over the whole affair. When questioned about whether he ever regretted writing “Beware the Spinal Trap” Singh happily retorts “absolutely not” and “BCA v Singh was certainly worth the fight”.
that I would stand by my article, or that it would lose the case or that public opinion would turn against them. Next time, I suggest they ask for Psychic Sally’s advice before they sue a journalist. I understand that Psychic Sally has some ability to foretell the future. When I began to question her abilities, her lawyer began sending me some rather nasty emails. Fortunately, Sally could foresee that this was not a wise path to follow.”
Simon Singh at a press conference after his legal victory over the BCA.
16 FEATURES
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
THE PRICE OF EDUCATION
JUDITH MARZO investigates the truth behind recent claims that student sex work is on the rise.
H
as it become a necessity for students looking for a higher quality of life to sell themselves for money? Student sex workers have recently been making headlines across the media including in the BBC, the Daily Mail and the Huffington Post. The reports claim that the financial pressures of education are leading some students to take dangerous measures to fund their future. These assertions are based on a new NUS report that claims that student prostitution has risen in recent years. So are the reports true or is this just another case of “middle class victimization,” or even worse a case of “sex sells”? The UK proudly boasts an extensive student loan programme with government subsidised interest and an income based repayment system. However, for some, the loans just don’t stretch far enough. Jacob* is a second year Sport’s Studies student at the University of Kent who, due to limited government funding, felt he had no alternative but to resort to sex work. “I qualified for the standard student loan to cover living expenses but it barely covered my accommodation for the term. I searched for work but they wanted experience I didn’t have. This way I can earn up to £1,500 in one night.” Jacob’s problem is shared by many students at the University of York, where the price of student accommodation can easily eat up all of a student’s living allowance. A standard room at the most common 39-week let costs a student £3,579, which leaves even students who get the full maintenance loan only a few hundred pounds left on which to live. Students with parents who can’t afford to fund them are left with little option but to get a job or fall into the never-ending debt trap of an overdraft. For some courses a term-time job isn’t a problem, however, students with demanding courses often have six hour days and can’t afford to work during the week. In such cases it is easy to see how taking an escorting job or even sex work might seem like a quick fix to the problem.
NUS UK An NUS report has claimed that student prostiution has risen over the last year. leaves students from less privileged backgrounds with their hands tied behind their backs. Emily* is a recently graduated History student who took to student escorting during her years at Cambridge University. “I tried to work as much as possible during the vacations but it simply wasn’t enough to keep me going through the term. Escorting really did seem like the only solution to the problem.” When I asked Emily about how she thought future employers might react if they were to find out about her escorting she said “that is my biggest fear, if my career fails then what was the point of all of this?” The truth is that student sex workers are putting their future careers at risk as most competitive sectors, from the NHS to teaching, prohibit their employees from having had any background in sex work. Perhaps one of the most serious side effects of taking work in the sex industry is the
"I searched for work, but they wanted experience I didn't have. This way I can earn up to £1500 in one night." Students at Oxbridge have it even worse as some colleges have policies that forbid their students from taking term time jobs, claiming it restricts them from having enough time to work on their degrees. This
psychological toll it can take. Many newcomers are unaware of these effects and have come to adopt a romanticized view of prostitution crafted by shows such as 'The Secret Diaries of a Call Girl.' The show features Bil-
lie Piper and manages to make prostitution seem like a more glamorous, not to mention more profitable, way of enjoying sex. Julie*, an administrator for SAAFE, an organization aimed at helping new time sex workers, and long-time sex worker herself, claims that newcomers are fooled by such programs into believing sex work is as easy as “swanning in and out five star hotels clutching handbags full of crisp fifties.” In reality she says it is a lot harder: “it isn’t an easy option, and given the money involved there is no reason it should be. Anybody considering sex work needs to go into it with their eyes wide open and be aware of all the potential consequences.” When I asked Jacob about how this line of work had affected him he said, “this sort of work lets me pay my debts and study comfortably but at the same time I could never tell my friends or family, it's emasculating.” Emily told a similar story, “I am not ashamed of what I did because I know I did it for the right reasons but it took me a long time to feel comfortable with it and to be honest I still find it difficult to have ‘normal’ relationships with men.” While researching for this feature I stumbled across Sally’s* profile, a Masters student at the University of London. When I sent her an email asking her some questions about her work she told me that she had made the profile but could never make herself go any further: “it's humiliating really, and although money
was tight I couldn’t go through with it...nope, just couldn’t.” Sally’s case shows both the psychological ordeal prostitution can cause as well as how even a brief involvement in the industry can haunt an individual for years to come. Her profile is still circulating on the web, on very accessible prostitution websites, despite her repeated attempts to remove it. As can be seen from the examples of Jacob, Emily and Sally student prostitution exists and despite romanticised notions of
based around the evidence that “the NUS has anecdotal evidence of students taking to the street to earn money.” Considering that the £9,000 fee rise will only be put into effect from the next academic year and that there have been no changes to loans since the increase in tuition fees in 2004, a recent increase in student prostitution just doesn’t add up. Further, while student prostitution is definitely no laughing matter we have to ask ourselves if the media coverage would not be put to better use covering more pressing issues in the industry? There are plenty of examples of issues that desperately need the media’s attention, one such issue being child sex trafficking, which is happening in the UK on a daily basis. The Child Trafficking website has over 140 reports showing increased activity throughout Europe in this decade alone. “Wherever we have looked for exploitation, we have found it. But the real tragedy is we believe this is just the tip of iceberg” claimed Anne Marie Carrie, the chief executive of Barnardo’s, the UK’s biggest children’s charity, in an interview with The Guardian. Such reports could benefit from as much media coverage as possible, and yet children under the poverty line, being kidnapped and forced into prostitution, are considered uninteresting and not newsworthy. Yet middle class students who consentingly take part in sex work have managed to fill the columns repeatedly in the last couple of months. Media attention aside, the truth is that whether there has
"Its humiliating really, and although money was tight I couldn't go through with it, nope just couldn't." prostitution it can be both psychologically harmful and can place a serious dent in a students career. However, the media’s claim that there has recently been an increase in student prostiution may be an exaggeration. Julie claims that the recent media interest is unprecedented. “It is salacious rubbish; there are no more students in the industry as a percentage then there were five years ago, there’s just more of everybody; more housewives, accountants, barmaids and everything else; the increase in student prostitutes is no way disproportionate." The media reports seem to be based largely on hearsay, with the recent BBC article being
been a recent increase in student sex workers or not, no student should even have to consider selling themselves to be able to pay for their degree. At a time when most children working their way through the school system are finding it difficult to see the point in further education the last thing this country needs is to make university an even less appealing prospect. It is a serious failure on the government’s behalf that students like Emily and Jacob have had to resort to such levels only to get a better chance out of life. *All names changed for confidentiality
LIFESTYLE
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
>Lifestyle
In this issue:
17
P 18 - Chocolate York P 19 - Spring Fashion P 20 - Light Foods P 21 - Manuary P 22 - Wagamamas Review
Pastel eyeshadow is big news for spring/summer 2012. A simple fresh face looks modern and bang on trend.
Nails
Lip Marker in Popsickle, TOPSHOP, £8.00
Statement lips were all over the catwalks once again. Pair with neutral eyes as seen on the model (left) for high impact. Vibrant lips are wearable for day and night. Stick to a pale to mid pink or a coral tone for the day and up the anti with a lippy such as TOPSHOP's 'All About Me' featured above. Sure to instantly update any little black dress without having to shed your tights for the latest spring dresses (not yet anyway...)
Lipstick in Saint Germain, MAC £13.50
Blush in Neon Rose, TOPSHOP £8.00
Pastels
Lipstick in Crosswires, MAC £13.50
Nails in Blue Monday, TOPSHOP £5
Collection 2000, £1.79 Boots
Nails in Gone Fishing, TOPSHOP £5
Cheeks
Lips
Baby Pink Lip Paint Barry M £4.49
Blush in Angelika, NARS £20.50
Nails in Peaches and Cream, TOPSHOP £5
Lumi Lux Blusher, ASOS £16.50
It would appear that coloured streaks are in fashion for the upcoming spring/summer season. I say, it's a trend for the brave... the model in the photograph above hasn't gone all out stick to fairly neutral shades and it's actually wearable. Blue or green may be more difficult to pull off...
Lips in All About Me, TOPSHOP £8.00
Hair
Pastel nails are a hit with Chanel this spring 2012: their collection features a gorgeous pink and a peachy orange. Get the look for cheaper with TOPSHOP's nail varnishes, Vision loves all the new colours and will be investing in more than a few.
Collection Trio Eyeshadow, NARS £33.00
Cream Eyeshadow in Velvet, TOPSHOP £5.00
Eyes
18 LIFESTYLE
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
The Chocolate City Scott Simmons explores York's chocolatey past, present and future...
W
e're in the middle of a revolution. A revolution that celebrates one of York's most famous exports and brings the city's past into its most pleasurable present. I am, of course, talking about its association with everyone's favourite confectionary: chocolate. Have you ever been wandering around the city and smelt that smell? It's not the manure that the countryside may bring, or the industrial smell that you may have to endure in other cities, it is strangely pleasant and initially, I struggled to understand what it was. I soon realised that it was the smell of the Nestle factory pumping out the charming fumes produced by the world famous KitKats or the bubbly brilliance of the Aero. The people of York literally breathe chocolate - we're all passive chocoholics whether we like it or not. Chocolate is entrenched in York's history and the 'Chocolate City'- as it was affectionately (or confectionately) known - continues to sustain its heritage. Exactly one hundred and fifty years ago, Henry
! P O H S
Isaac Rowntree founded the nation's favourite confectioners and began to produce well-loved chocolate (and sweets, let's not forget about Fruit Pastilles). The factory, now owned by Nestle, remains just outside the city walls and continues to produce much loved chocolate so that the world's taste buds may continue to benefit from, what we can call, local produce. It doesn't bare thinking about how Uzbekistan would cope without 'the purple one' in a box of Quality Street. Predating Rowntree, more of York's very own entrepreneurs, Joseph Terry and Robert Berry, founded the wellknown Terry's brand. Initially producing a chocolate apple, the founders realized their mistake and began producing the Chocolate Oranges that are consumed in bulk over the festive months. Unfortunately for York's heritage, Kraft Foods bought the Terry's brand in 2005, but it is still a huge part of the city's chocolate history and one that it continues to celebrate. Like me, you may not have been aware of York's impressive confectionary his-
nced nnou at a e v t is haelopmen oot f Lew ohn lion dev 0,000 sq ob. J ! t t ye ÂŁ15 mil r, the 1 2013. S o n . l . e . i Well s to for a . Howev pen unt plan ks Cross ctually o Mon won't a store
LOOK!
tory when joining the university, and you may have little interest in where your vending-machine purchases come from, but, if you're a lover of chocolate, the city continues to offer plenty of exciting things to enjoy. As with most major British areas, the chocolate chains can be enjoyed here in York and shops like Thorntons (known for its classy gift boxes) and Hotel Chocolat (known for its free samples) should not be overlooked. But, before you graduate, why not look at what the 'Chocolate City' has to offer. Little Pretty Things is a local business set up by an ex-student chocoholic. It celebrates the history of York's confectionary and offers workshops that allow people to taste how the city's chocolate has evolved; following its journey to the modern day. The workshops (scheduled throughout the first quarter of the year) offer a rare insight into how the city's trademark food export was (and still is) made so that people can literally taste its history. The company has also recently opened the York Cocoa House on Blake Street (op-
Described as 'a 50 Epic', head dow s & 60s Rock 'n' Roll House if you likn to Grand Opera e to Twist!
posite Bettys) for people to visit to enjoy hand-made, exotic chocolates. It is still relatively new to York (it was only opened by the Lord Mayor at the end of November) and is open every day for people to enjoy a chocolate-themed lunch in their novel cafĂŠ or to purchase all things chocolate to enjoy at home. York's chocolate heritage is soon to to be celebrated further when the new ÂŁ2million tourist attraction, York's Sweet Story, opens in the city center in spring. It will encapsulate York's past association with confectionary and will encourage a continued association with it in the future. A local heritage company has worked with the aforementioned companies to offer an enjoyable experience for all ages that will help us all learn a bit about our city's past. As I said, we're in the middle of a revolution. It is one that will restore York to its rightful place as the 'Chocolate City'. So, if you were planning an anti-chocolate new years resolution, you really have come to the wrong place.
lub tyC Par love , e scen roup ee" a usic ting G and Fr M r k or po oung Y he Y sup to t ng gig Give " n o . i g b n n e e i op nc hF rs! Bou e their on 17t our ea s y v r a e e h ibb rat at F en, libe t s i l
LIFESTYLE
YORK VISION Tuesday January 17, 2012
Out with the Old, In with the You!
19
Sarah Woods encourages you to change your wardrobe with the change of year...
As a new year begins so does a new year of fashion trends. What will be ‘in’ this year? What fashion piece will make a come back? And what trends are most definitely not trendy anymore? Give your wardrobe a clear out of those items you’re never going to wear again and invest in some key pieces this year. in the style stakes.
BUY
BLAZER Whatever style suits you; oversized and brightly coloured to classic, fitted black. A blazer is the perfect partner to your skinny jeans for everyday effort-
PASTEL COLOURS
Minty greens, pale blues and baby pinks. They will be everywhere this spring. Although powdery lilac and lemony yellow may seem a bit grandma-ish, don’t despair as the pastel colours that are being seen on catwalks for Spring/Summer 2012 are going to be a bit cooler.
less style. Floral print – always a favourite for Spring collections and that remains true this year. Get out the pretty patterns to liven up your wardrobe when the weather warms up.
THROW
TOPSHOP £40
JEGGINGS Let’s face it, we all owned a pair but did they ever really look good? Sure, they're more comfy than jeans but so are pj bottoms...
River Island £30
PENCIL, DIPPED, SKATER Skirts have had a rework this year. Ditch the mini skirt and quirk your wardrobe up this year. Sophisticated and fitted, longer and dipped or fun and flippy. This year will see skirts and dresses of all different styles. Classy but with a cute twist.
BOYFRIEND FIT It may look cute to wear an oversized cardigan but the baggy jeans and tent-sized t-shirt just luck scruffy. Let's forget we ever bought them.
KEEP SKINNY JEANS A fashion classic that every girl must own. Whether they’re vintage, charcoal denim or a cropped, indigo blue the skinny jean is not on the way out. Although the bootcut jean has been making a bit of a comeback, the skinnies are still top of the list
LouisVuitton
UGG BOOTS They may form the furry foundations of your everyday wear, but maybe it's time to reconsider their place in your life. They look unsightly with skinny jeans, childish with joggers and always a bit odd. They don't truly match anything or follow a trend, unless your dressing up as a cave woman in which case
you probably have bigger issues than the things you put on your feet. "VINTAGE" GEEK GLASSES As much as looking like you're from Dalston might be your thing, we'd maybe ask that you stop wearing these. They certainly don't frame your face and have absolutely no purpose. Boho-hoxtonchic isn't vogue anymore. Even if it ever was. Liberate your face from these heavy black shades, and save the eyewear until summer comes around. 3.1 Philip Lim Spring/Summer 2012
Where There's a Wills...
Thomas William Banks writes in defence of Jack Wills, with tongue firmly in his blue and pink cheek...
A
s clothing brands go, most are harmless, with people apathetic at best. Take the American clothing brand Penguin. What can a little aquatic bird do to harm anyone? Not much, I hear you say. However, the poor pheasant, complete with his little top hat and cane, has come in for some real abuse over the years. As its popularity increases, so to it seems does the hatred. Of course, the acrimonious brand I am describing is Jack Wills. As I write this from the comfort of East Coast’s First Class facilities, sipping on my complimentary cup of tea en route to London, I’m not here to continue the onslaught. Heavens no. Far from it. I am standing (or sitting, rather) In Defence Of Wills. For too long Wills wearers alike have accepted the torrents of abuse, hurling of chants and endless Facebook groups complete with obscenity. Almost as many people ‘like’ the page “Jack Wills brings rahs to the yard, and they're like, put it on Daddy's card” than the actual Facebook page for Jack Wills itself...This must end, it’s time we spoke out. In fact, there are 5 key arguments to pick at...
"Taking off your jack wills gilet after a hard day following the crowd"
You buy your shirts from Topman, I’ll
buy mine from Jack Wills. I don’t mind the difference in price and neither should you for goodness sake! We both agree on the fact that we like a check pattern on a shirt, so where’s the problem? Don’t call me a posh tosser for it, we have a more similar taste in fashion than you think!
"Jack Wills brings rahs to the yard, and they’re like, put it on daddy's card" It’s the classic. Did Daddy buy you that gilet? Well yes, he probably did. Why has it become a chip on your shoulder, person I’ve never met before on Facebook?! Daddy probably buys you things, and if he doesn’t, don’t blame a clothing company for your languid relationship with your parents!
"I love Jack Wills, but I hate the price tag" So a shirt sets you back £59, a T-Shirt £29. Is that actually overpriced? And even if it was, it’s my money (unless my 2nd point applies to you). Since when did the common man/woman start caring about my (or my Dad's) wallet? If I bankrupt myself through excessive purchases of Kirkham underwear and boating blazers, so be it. Don’t lose
sleep over it young fellow, calm down over there! I’ll spend my money how I want, and I’ll let you dream about the money you wish you could spend how you want!
"Why are you still in your PJ’s? Oh sorry, didn’t see the Jack Wills logo" Comparatively, there are other brands that sell pj’s that deserve a lot more flak! Do some market research before you abuse the poor sod wearing his tartan loungepants! You’ll pay double the price for a pair of tracksuit bottoms in Ralph Lauren than in the poor pheasant's humble abode. It’s even more 'preppy”' than Wills too. The logo is a guy playing polo… come on! No wonder we feel victimised...
"I shop at Jack Wills... LOL jk, I'm not a Rah" A little harsh, wouldn’t you say? Mugabe kills hundreds a day. World poverty exists. Even the tuition fees are going up to £9,000 a year (thank goodness Daddy pays for my education out of his offshore). All of these issues, however, fail to frustrate even the most hardened of students as much as Jack Wills. Take a short breath, compose yourself, and
when you really want to punch a guy like me in the back of the head for popping out in my pyjamas to get some organic milk and a pack of six duck eggs, channel that anger into donating to Barnados or something. Basically, there are bigger problems than people who purchase a heavily branded t-shirt once in a while. So there you have it. 5 points to consider about the University Outfitter you all love to hate. For those of you who love it, bravo! Continue shopping safe in the knowledge your foes are now wellinformed. For the haters who still hate despite this passionate defence, I’ve got a few uses for this bright pink, branded Jack Wills pencil I can think of...
Ciao prepsters!
20 LIFESTYLE
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
Two Thousand and Tw-healthy! Rachel Longhurst gives some easy top-tips for a healthy New Year...
T
erm two comes as a bit of a shock after well-stocked fridges and overeating home-cooked favourites. Returning to university after such luxury, particularly for those who took a cooking holiday for three weeks, leaves many students reminiscing before week two has ended and questioning whether or not home-cooked food parcels can be sent through Royal Mail. You may instead be struggling with a new diet and entering the beginnings of the post-diet failure of mid-January- an idea enticed by the chimes of Big Ben which whisper to millions that the clichéd and eternal resolution-forced healthy eating must begin (and end, most likely, somewhere in late January). If you are pining after the image of Christmas dinner or eating gallons of cabbage soup to lose the couple of pounds that said Christmas dinner
aided you in gaining over the festive period, or if you are simply looking for a healthier and cheaper start to 2012, all you really need to remember are the golden rules of healthy cooking and living on a budget:
- Buy fresh ingredients that span sever-
al meals and look for unprepared food, ignoring pre-bagged lettuce and stir fry mixes in favour of the raw ingredients themselves. Although ready meals are tempting, the basic ingredients in them can be bought cheaply and constitute much healthier meals in general. You can also control exactly what goes into the mix, removing unnecessary additives and preservatives and giving you the control to eat and experiment with the foods that you prefer.
-
Make meals that can be refrigerated or frozen to make the most out of the fresh
ingredients you have and to save time another day whilst still eating healthy.
- Don’t ignore well-known but underappreciated products like frozen vegetables, which can be bought for a pound and last for half a term.
- Whole grain pasta, cereals, bread and brown rice are much healthier alternatives to their counterparts but also help to fill you up for longer, saving you money on snacks.
- We can’t ignore that water is good for
us and even better; it's free! Drinking 6-8 glasses a day is said to be best and increasing water intake can also help those with tight budgets to avoid buying bottles of drink…every little helps!
- Substitute expensive pre-made pasta,
curry and stir fry sauces for healthier and normally cheaper alternatives that can be homemade by using tins (like chopped tomatoes), seasoning, herbs and spices (supermarket basics are ridiculously cheap) and a little bit of time.
-
Experiment with and simplify recipe ingredients; throwing in whatever you have is an artform in student kitchens and saves unnecessary food (and money) wastage. Avoid expensive ingredients that will only be used once, try and substitute them for a cheap and versatile alternative, like 5 spice powder instead of cumin. If you need a helping hand with some quick, cheap and delicious meal alternatives to try, here are a few short recipes to get you started…
Mild Lentil Curry
Salmon and Vegetable Fried Rice
1 Onion, sliced 1 Garlic clove, finely chopped ½ tsp mild curry powder/tsp curry paste 2 Potatoes, peeled and chopped 220g Lentils ½ tin Chopped Tomatoes Vegetable Stock cube Spices, Salt and Pepper
100g (approx) Fillet of Salmon 70g (or ½ a mug) of Basmati Rice 100g Frozen Vegetables Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs for seasoning Price per 1 portion – Approx. £1.50
Price for 2 portions: Approx £2.50-3.00 You’ll never need to order takeaway again after this easy curry! Add 1 pint of hot water, vegetable stock, a pinch of salt and spices into a saucepan and leave to boil before adding lentils (washed until the water runs clear) and chopped potatoes. Stir occasionally until the lentils turn mushy and the potatoes are cooked through. Whilst you wait fry onions and garlic in another pan with the remaining spices (add more if you like spicier food) and chopped tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes before adding to the cooked lentils and potatoes. Cook the curry for another 10-15 minutes, adding more salt and pepper to season and adding extra spices if desired. For a meaty alternative, add cooked chicken to the pan of onion and spices and substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock.
Quick Couscous 120g Couscous Vegetable stock (in 200ml water) (Spring) Onion, finely chopped 1 Red Pepper ½ Cucumber 50g Feta Cheese Pesto (if desired) Price per 2 portions – Approx £2.00-2.50 A much easier to ‘cook’ alternative to pasta, couscous is filling and cheap– it should be in every student’s cupboard! Measure out roughly 120g of Couscous into a large dish, add vegetable stock in 200ml of hot water to the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes or until fully absorbed. Chop the onion, red pepper and cucumber into small pieces and mix with the Couscous, adding feta cheese and pesto, if using. It can be eaten hot or cold and although best eaten fresh, it can also be frozen. Alternatively chicken and tuna make interesting but tasty meal combinations…Enjoy!
Salmon fillets make a tasty and deceptively cheap meal - Morrisons sell fresh fillets at really affordable prices for a student budget. Start by washing the rice until the water runs clear and then place in a pan of hot water for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is expanded and fluffy. Just over halfway through cooking the rice add in frozen vegetables. If using chopped fresh veg then allow extra time in the pan. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan and season your fillet lightly with herbs, salt and pepper before adding to the pan. Allow to cook on the scaled side and as the top side begins to slightly bubble, flip the fillet over for 1 minute and then flip back again for a further few minutes. Remove from the pan when the fillet flakes – a sign that it is perfectly cooked. Drain the rice and vegetables and fry in the empty salmon pan for 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly and adding oil as desired. This balanced and delicious meal is complete, and it takes less than 15 minutes!
LIFESTYLE
YORK VISION
Tuesday 17 January, 2012
21
THE 2012 MAN MANIFESTO Nicholas Dunn-McAfee wants the men amongst you to consider some changes this year...
T
oo often, the 21st century construction of masculinity is just a little bit too alien. We live in a world where you can communicate with someone half the world away, carry thousands of songs with you on a tiny device and dress in the same luxurious garments as our modern idols and celebrities. Despite these advancements, men caring about their image and appearance is still questionable; a little “off ”. It’s something that society sets in stark contrast to our ideas of the quintessential English gent. Films and literature have told us that all women really need is a muscle-bound hero, or a devoted simpleton. Now, I’m not about to break into a feminist deconstruction of The Godfather (despite its alpha-male dominated hierarchy) or The Notebook for giving women everywhere elevated hopes of menfolk (we’re not building you a house, just accept it and move on), but these images aren’t reality. But this doesn’t mean, men, that we can’t strive for better. Of course, you’re not going to turn into Daniel Craig or Brad Pitt overnight – and I for one have already accepted the fact I’ll never be on Made in Chel-
sea, but that’s Caggie’s loss. There are still little ways we can embrace and cultivate a new appearance, Chaps, so follow this simple manifesto to switch into a different gear this new year…
The Smell of Success If you’re a member of the countless legions of men who opt for a single everyday scent, then perhaps it’s time to stand out. That old bottle, a well-thought Christmas present from a kindly relative some years ago, has to fade into the background. Replacing it should never be an option: aftershave lasts for such a length of time that settling into a groove can mean reeking of the same unfortunate smell for years at a time. To go forward, sometimes you have to take a little step back. Bang by Mark Jacobs looks like an aesthetic wonder from 2112. But the aroma is anything but futuristic; it’s a throwback to the age of musky leather and tobacco. Imagine your dad chopping wood for the fire whilst fending off bears, IN CANADA: that's the level of protomasculine musk we're talking here.
Of course, remember to mix things up a little, change your scent daily. One for night and one for the day no longer fits the modern world, so think sensibly and sensually. If blood, sweat and tears in a bottle isn’t really your thing, then consider Jean Paul Gaultier’s new Kokorico; it’s made a splash in the perfume world, so splash some on. Cocoa beans (bear with me on this) combine with fig leaves (keen bearing) and the crisp freshness of sandalwood to deliver a powerful hit of manliness.
Cut Above the Rest The barnet, the locks and the birds nest – there are almost as many names for the fun follicles on your head as there are styles. The days may be short, but your hair definately shouldn't be. Opt for the oxymoronic 'controlled chaos' and have your hair cut with a choppy fringe and side wings, a throw back to Britpop aesthetics and relaxed days this winter. If you fancy going for something a little more extreme, head to your banterous barber and ask for shortest back and sides, leaving it markably longer on top. For all
your hairdressing needs, I can only send you to Cads, near the Blue Bicycle. Friendly staff and a modern masculinity create the perfect experience. Don’t worry if you don’t like the look at first, it’ll really grow on you.
Fashion a Gentleman Twenty-twelve is the year to invent, reinvent, embrace and disregard. Those wardrobe staples that were so integral to you last year may need to be reconsidered. Change those mustard chinos, now found on man in the world, for some dark red cords. Not only does it smarten and sharpen the look, but getting colour into your wardrobe will help you sail through the awkward winter-spring transition. Update your collection of shirts and tshirts. Now, I realise that checks aren't leaving the world of gents' fashion any time soon, but that doesn't mean you can't shake it up a bit. Opt for this Fred Perry piece buttoned up to the top to really stand out from the checked crowd. Just follow these three simple sartorial steps to climb up the ladder of new age manliness.
Maroon Cords at TOPMAN £36
Bang 50ml at Boots £41
Fred Perry shirt at ASOS £85
ASK MEG AND JACK...
Vision's resident Agony Aunt and Uncle deliver some questionable advice. Q: All My Boyfriend Ever Wants To Do Is Snuggle. What should I do? Megan - First, you should know that there’s no shame in having found yourself a man who wants to snuggle. They’re difficult to come by nowadays, and always very useful in a crisis. But if you want to change things then you need to stop pressuring him and try actually having a conversation. There could be underlying issues here, and if you keep trying to pounce on him without sorting them out you’ll only make things worse.
There can be a very fine line between romance and sexual assault, make sure you stay on the right side. Jack - How twee. However, I assume from the desperate tone of your question you might not be entirely happy with this pattern. I cannot stress one emotion strongly enough - jealousy. Flirt with every college sports captain in Willow on a Wednesday night, spend far too long pining over the Cosmo centrefold, leave sex toys around your room whenever he's coming over, the larger the better. Obviously, you could actually have chat with him about this and approach the problem like an adult. But that wouldn't be as fun. Q: How Do I Make Girls Like Me? Megan - If you’re on track for a first, but your social life is emphatically last, it might be time to get out of the library, even if just for a long lunch in V Bar. The issue here isn’t that girls don’t
like you, but that the ones you want to like you just don’t know you. Very few people are actually, genuinely, unlikeable, and even they can depend on that one girl who just can’t resist a dysfunctional wanker. If you can avoid leering, excessive and inappropriate touching and any conversation involving your playstation you’ll probably be ok. And if that doesn’t work, just study really hard, get a good job and earn loads of money. Everyone will like you then. Jack - Well, how about not making yourself sound pathetically desperate by writing into a student Agony Aunt and Uncle column? Girls don't like needy. But for a more long-term battle plan how about telling girls you are bi? It may sound mad, but girls love bisexual guys. I myself am a macho red-blooded heterosexual, but I learnt long ago that pretending you are also interested in men just has an odd flirtatious effect upon women. Maybe it has something to do with appearing like a Renaissance man. Could be linked to creating a bit more competition. Might it be that it makes a sexual partner more interesting? Who knows! Girls just seem
to like guys who have hanky panky with a hunk. Q: A Guy I Went Home With Last Week Just Tried To Add Me On Facebook. Advice please! Megan - This one’s really your call. If you suspect he might be The One you’ve been waiting for your entire life (or you had fun and he was quite nice, whichever), then by all means accept, he’s hardly asking for your hand in marriage. If it wasn’t such a fun night (you think you nodded off half way through, and you know you vomited on his doorstep the next morning) then just ignore it. You can rest easy knowing that if you ever bump into him on campus, your rejection of his Facebook friendship will be the least awkward thing he can ask you about. Jack - I am guessing from your correspondence laced with negativity that you don't really want to see this guy again. You could always just reject the friend request. But we all know from the insular incestuous nature of this university that within a week you will have
ended up sitting next to him in a lecture, bumped into him outside Derwent and run away from him in Revs. Therefore, the only way to ensure that he steers clear of you is to appear far too keen. Accept him on Facebook, but then "like" all of his photos, comment on every one of his statuses and poke him incessantly. You may have to sacrifice some of your social standing, but you will have avoided a lot of awkwardness.
22 LIFESTYLE
Student Stunners
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
Paris wears.. Jumper: River Island Coat: Jack Wills Belt: Vintage Shoes: River Island
Topshop £45
Urban Outfitters £40
Horatio wears... Jacket: Barbour Cardigan: Jack Wills Jeans: GAP Boots: Primark
ASOS £30
Topshop £50
Vision Dines At...
In the first part of a brand new series, Vision's Katy Roberts and Maddy Potts head to York's newest chain restaurant, Wagamamas, to sample some Japanese cuisine.
T
repidation. That was my overwhelming feeling as I walked to Wagamama last week. Not because I’m particularly frightened by the restaurant – that would, after all, be ridiculous but because my dining companion is the sort who would eat raw chillies like grapes if it were socially acceptable. I’m not adverse to heat myself, but when we’re going to be sharing food I do worry rather for my intestinal tract. It turned out that I needn’t have worried, for if you’re after eye-watering heat you probably won’t find it at Wagamama. If, like me, you grew up in a small provincial town, you may well never have eaten in a Wagamama. You might be surprised then, when it’s busy, to be sat shoulder-to-shoulder with other diners on long benches, in a style that prompts school dinner flashbacks (albeit with considerably better food). On this occasion, though, we were seated in a small anteroom, on our own table, with just a handful of other customers. It’s something of a shame not to sit with a view of the kitchen, but the view over Goodramgate is pleasant, and a prime people-watching opportunity. To the food, then: giddy with the generosity of the vouchers we’d been comped, we gorged ourselves, ordering three sides to ‘accompany’ our main courses. The chilli and garlic edamame beans are the stuff of Wagamama legend, and did live up to their hype. A slight kick from the chilli flakes is set off by the mild nuttiness of the bean;
their moreishness had us picking at them long after we’d pushed our main dishes away, groaning. Next we went for the Negima Yakatori, skewers of chicken and spring onion, drizzled with Yakatori sauce and grilled. The chicken was soft and succulent but a touch on the bland side, the sauce offering little more than a soy reduction. The undisputed triumph, though, was the Duck Gyoza, billed on the menu as “deep-fried duck dumplings served with a spicy cherry hoi sin sauce.” The duck, which is slow-cooked before being fried, is deliciously tender, while the dumpling pastry is golden and crumbly. The cherry sauce is sweet, spicy and far less cloying than its plum counterpart so often is. The main course I chose, Yaki Soba, was a nest of noodles, chicken, shrimps and spring onion, topped with pickled ginger. It could have been hotter, but was still delicious, and the portion extremely generous. The dessert menu intrigued us more than anything else, and we felt we couldn’t possibly leave without trying the chocolate fudge cake with wasabi sauce. Sadly, the wasabi didn’t translate, and the cake itself had a strange, fibrous texture. Ending on a high, though, the coconut ice cream was divine – silky, creamy and sweet. Wagamama might be a chain restaurant, and it would almost certainly be a fallacy to suggest that it offers an authentic account of Japanese cuisine, but it does leave rivals like Pizza Express & Cafe Rouge in its dust. MP
W
hen Vision heard York was to gain a Wagamama, we were all pretty excited. I had only discovered the restaurant over the summer when I was taken for lunch over the course of an internship. I'll be honest, before then, I had never even heard of it, convinced it was a 'southern' thing. It seems I was wrong, Wagamamas litter northern cities. My first experience was a very good one, all ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry (bar me) - it doesn't look particularly appetizing. I chose the Chicken Raisukaree, a divine coconut and lime curry. It is safe to say my taste buds were looking foward to vising the new York branch. When we arrived, we were seated in a rather small room at the front of the restaurant, I assume to make Wagamama look busy to passers-by. Call me pedantic, but I would have much preferred to have been sat in the restaurant overlooking the kitchen, seated on the benches... but it could have been much worse. The view from the table out onto Goodramgate is a fine one, so there were no complaints and the room filled quickly with couples and students alike. We ordered drinks, intrigued by the 'Super Juice', containing 'Sharon Fruit' - something I was not familiar with. The juice was fruity and thirst quenching. It was swiftly followed by a large glass of Wagamamas finest pinot grigio - which, considering
it was the cheapest of the white wines on the menu, was very nice - and I am quite fussy. Maddy and I decided to order three sides to accompany our main meals. The Edamame Beans I would recommend to anyone. Coated in chilli and salt, they were zingy and a perfect nibble. Novices with the beans, on their arrival we ate the whole thing as presented, pod and all. Following quick realisation that the pods were fairly disgusting and... hairy, we instead popped the beans out. The duck dumplings, accompanied by a plum hoisin sauce were the biggest hit of the evening. Absolutely scrumptious. The Negima Yakitori chicken skewers however were something of a disappointment, we found them distinctly lacking in flavour. For the main course, I chose off the Specials Menu, a chicken stirfry with lemongrass and mint. I found the noodle based dish average, it was lukewarm and I much prefer food to be piping hot. I ordered extra chillies to give the dish the kick it was lacking, but it still lacked heat in both senses of the word. For dessert, I ordered the coconut ice cream, with a passion fruit coulis and coconut flakes. Despite already having consumed mountains of food, I could have devoured several plates, it was simply delicious. As a chain restaurant, Wagamamas tops my list, Nando's better watch out. KR
YORK VISION
SPORT
Tuesday January 17, 2012
>Sport A REAL SUR-REAL DEAL
23
VISION CHATS TO A FOOTBALL BLOGGER WHO DOES THINGS HIS WAY
BY ALEX FINNIS SURREAL FOOTBALL is a football blog with a difference, not only in content, but in attitude. Most people who write blogs about football do it for two reasons; firstly, for their love of the sport, and secondly, as a mode through which they could get recognised by someone important somewhere within the big, congested world of sports journalism and end up realising their dreams writing the back page story of The Guardian. Ethan Dean-Richards is a second year English and Politics student who part owns thefcf.co.uk, the website with which surrealfootball.com has recently combined, and he lives under no false pretences. "The site started up because me and two other writers I knew thought we could make money from it" he told me, "we'd written for a few places already and fancied we knew how to get hits. I'd thought about being a sports journalist for a bit, but a week as an intern at Goal.com made me realise that I hate deadlines and being told what to do, and that I don't like football. So the site seemed a logical way to go; a way of making money, but also licence to do what you wanted. What it was never meant to be was purely for fun. We've always done it as a business, and I think that you have to be like that if you're actually going to make decent money from it. Enough money to avoid a proper job, that is." The merge with the FCF, therefore, makes a huge amount of sense. As Ethan says, "there were a few reasons for the
move, but they all come back to looking more like a business than amateurs. Surreal Football had a reputation for being opinionated and that was going to hold it back slightly - in terms of hits and sponsorship. The FCF has, first of all, a name which is more flexible - it can be serious or jokey, for instance. But it's also better known as a quality site - the owners of the original site all write for The Guardian and ESPN, and we've all done stuff for places like Sports Illustrated and Football 365 (yeah, get us!) - so it's got maybe more potential than Surreal Football had. One of the three of us doing Surreal Football already part-owned The FCF, so that's where the link between the two came from." Away from being driven by money rather than love, Surreal Football also makes an effort to be different from other football blogs, primarily, so as not to be "utter wank". "We try for some funny stuff, because it's easy to do and gets hits; some quality sports writing, because I don't think many places do that, really, and it can be genuinely good; and some stuff with a conscience, because I think a lot of things are s**t in football (and everywhere else), and if you've built a decent platform you should try and use it to point out those things", opines Ethan. "We spend a lot of time taking the piss out of the readership too - the main in-joke is that we're harvesting them for hits." The websites display articles ranging from the very normal, such as previews of fixtures, to the absurd. On searching through the Surreal Football archives, I found that Dean-Richards has even conducted an interview with himself, which
makes for quite bizarre reading. What is without doubt is that when there's an opinion to be expressed, Surreal Football don't hold back. "We got a lot of criticism from bloggers for attacking The Guardian Sports Network because we felt it was going to be bad for writers", Ethan says. "Basically, the Guardian came up with putting blogposts up on its website with a link back to the original site as the only payment. We called this out as the beginning of a race to the bottom, where writing is devalued and writing jobs are eventually lost - why pay for something you can have for free?" More recently, the website attacked Luis Suarez, found guilty of racially abusing
Patrice Evra, and his club, Liverpool FC, through their twitter feed. For instance, mocking Suarez every time a black player scored in the Premier League."We thought it was wrong for a club to use the almost religious fervour surrounding it to defend racism for its own ends. That serious journalists who support Liverpool were arguing this case is a pretty nasty business. I'd rather point things like this out than pretend to be alright with them. It did mean that SF is unpopular though - The Guardian didn't like us anymore and stopped linking, and a mention of us at an awards thing a couple of weeks ago was greeted with boos by bloggers," he admits. Speaking on his aims for the future, Ethan says, "the aim is to get the balance right between quality and getting hits (making money). We'll get 300,000 page views this month, but next month, once we've got into a rhythm with the new site (and for various other reasons) I'd guess we'll actually be closer to 500,000. But we want to do something interesting - not just stuff we could write for other places, probably for more money. Some of the best stuff we've had up would never have been taken if you were offering it to one of the very biggest places as a freelancer, and I like that we take stuff like that. I'd like to have the website as my only job, because my experience of freelancing is dreadful - rejection, being cheated out of money and being edited badly by clowns I don't respect. It's the opposite of an ambition: I want to have it fucking easy. Though I don't want to write about football forever either, just until I can afford not to."
STAR OF CAMPUS: TOM CLARKE UYAFC'S STAR MAN CHATS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES WITHIN THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL BY WILL COOPER How did you get into football? I played as a kid like everyone does and for local teams around where I live. I started playing for Dorset and it was there that Yeovil noticed me and offered me a contract. What is it like playing and training with a Football League side? It’s indescribable, just because you need to train every day; that’s your job, but you have to be strict with it too. It’s good fun because you’re with 22 lads aged between 23 and 33 and it’s really enjoyable, but tiring as well. How does it compare to playing with James 1sts or the University? Is there a huge gulf ? Yes there is a big gap but I think it’s mostly in physical development. I think a lot of players here are still quite young and not fully evolved. We’re not a massive sporting or football university but I get so much enjoyment out of playing for them because my friends are there and I try to be a big part of the club by being Social Secretary. Who’s the best player you’ve ever played or trained with?
Marcus Stewart. Just technically and in the mind he’s still got it and even though at Yeovil he was 34 he was still making clever runs and scoring goals - you can tell his success in the Premiership was deserved. What are you doing at the moment regarding football? I started playing semi-professional here for North Ferriby United who are quite a good standard and getting paid for that but it started taking over my work and I decided to just concentrate on University football.
I started playing for Dorset and it was there that Yeovil noticed me and offered me a contract Do you have any aspirations after University to continue playing football professionally? No, not really, I’ve got a career goal now and unless you’re going to make it into the championship and get an agent, it’s very hard to get back into that sort of thing. But I play it for enjoyment and that’s the main
thing. Is there anyone you have grown up with who has made it as a footballer? The only one who was really exceptional was Craig Alcock. He played for Peterborough against Sunderland in the FA Cup. He’s started 19 games for Peterborough this season and he’s made a living out of it. It’s a career choice, and most people just get released in their late teens and do something else. I played part-time for Bognor and Dorchester in the Conference South, but if you continue with that you have to sacrifice a career and university. I’ve also played against Theo Walcott and he is unreal! What do you think of the accusation that English football doesn’t work hard enough at grass roots level to develop its youngsters? At grassroots level I don’t think we bring players up from the very bottom. It’s a very physical game in England and I found that between the ages of 17 and 19 I wasn’t very strong and that really held me back. I think people look for players who are very big, strong and quick, unless you’re exceptional. Theo Walcott is a prime example: he’s technically not very good but he’s quick and that’s what the English clubs look for.
TOM CLARKE
24 SPORT
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
THE
TIPSTER HIS NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION IS TO GIVE UP SMOKING £50 NOTES
sure thing thing sure LUKE DONALD TO WIN A MAJOR IN 2012
The Brit is world number one by a considerable distance, having had an ominously good season last year. 2011 was littered with accolades for the 34 year old, from becoming the first man to win the US and European money lists in one year, to winning the PGA Player and tour Player of the Year, becoming the first Englishman to triumph in either award, as well as picking up the European Tour Golfer of the Year. 20 top ten finishes in 27 starts is the stat that shows his ruthless consistency. Yet there is of course something missing from all these individual awards (and Ryder Cups), namely a major title to his name. However, he is determined to fulfil his remarkable talent with the top accolades, and 2012 is the best chance he will get to truly become a great.
TIPSTER'S ODDS:
3/1
OLYMPIC SIZED AMBITIONS BY ALEX FINNIS & FRED NATHAN continued from back page. A SWIMMING pool has been a gaping hole in York's sporting scene for many a year, and so for many, the 25 metre pool and smaller training pool will come as a very welcome addition. The pool is the centre-piece of the complex, not only aesthetically but also since it is overlooked by a 120 seater viewing gallery, allowing it to stage galas and other competitive events. Not only will University sports clubs such as Swimming and Water Polo benefit hugely, but so will student and community members alike who swim recreationally. Swimming club member Helen O'Brien is overjoyed at the prospect of a pool on campus: "This development will benefit our club and the city of York massively. It looks classy and we even have a specialised training pool." Another area in which the University has previously lacked is in gym space. The current campus gym is on the small side, with only 65 stations, due to rise to 90 when TechnoGym take over the equipment, but the new sports village will include a large, open plan 120 station gymnasium. There are set to be treadmills lined
long shot ANDY MURRAY TO WIN THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Great Britain have produced a long line of nearly men, all vying to win the first grand slam for our nation since Fred Perry in 1936, from John Lloyd, to Greg Rusedski and Tim Henman. Andy Murray is by far and away the most talented player we've had since Perry, but as of yet a Grand Slam has eluded him. He's appeared in two finals in the past few years, at the Australian and the US Opens, yet has failed at both attempts. We can but hope that one day he will win, and there is nobody better placed to do so. The first Grand Slam of 2012 is on the hard courts in Melbourne, his favourite surface. However, the current dominance of Djokovic and the quality of Nadal and Federer, not discounting the emergence of Tsonga all render Murray's bid for the title a very tall order. Let's hope he proves us wrong.
TIPSTER'S ODDS:
11/2
ABSOLUTE MADNESS PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN TO WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEXT SEASON PSG, despite their brief 41-year history, are one of the giants of French football, having had a sustained spell of success in the mid 1990s. They had fallen off the radar slightly in the new millenium and their large and passionate fanbase were getting restless. However, last year the Qatar Investment Authority took control of the club and immediately tried to replicate what fellow Arab owned Manchester City were doing by spending big, 70 million Euros in total, most notably capturing Javier Pastore for 40 million. Carlo Ancelotti is their new manager (previous boss Anthony Kombouare having been dismissed in harsh circumstances with the club at the top of Ligue 1). They hope to dominate France and of course compete in the Champions League from next season and for years to come. Yet Man City struggled in Europe this season and it is surely ludicrous to expect them to triumph over the likes of Barcelona and United next year. If they sign Tevez though, you never know.
TIPSTER'S ODDS:
150/1
Photo: Dave Hughes
Walking through the main entrance
up along the windowed side, with other cardiovascular equipment behind them. All these machines will also feature individual entertainment screens on which gym-goers will be able to watch television whilst they work out. This same equipment will be used in the Olympic Village in London, since TechnoGym are the official contractors to the British Olympic Association (BOA). The centre of the gym will feature resistance equipment whilst numerous rowing machines and the free-weights section will fill the other main walls. The members' changing rooms will have a high class finish, with under floor heating, vanity areas and access to a unisex health suite, containing a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. There will be three multi-use studio spaces upstairs for such activities as aerobics, spinning and yoga, whilst downstairs there are treatment rooms suitable for physiotherapy and massage. A Costa coffee bar near the reception will provide refreshments. Finally, four team changing rooms will cater to the outdoor facilities, namely three five-a-side football pitches and a large 3G grass pitch for football and rugby. This will be used for BUCS fixtures and college sport and there is a possibility of York City FC having some training sessions on the pitch. Discussions are ongoing regarding the construction of another phase of development in the future in conjunction with the community stadium to be built at Monks Cross. A cycling track would be built (which would be the best in Yorkshire), as well as a county standard athletics track and 500 seat stand. Thanks to £1000 of funding received
Photo: Dave Hughes
The new £9m sports village in all its glory
from the NUS 'Be a Champion' scheme, associated with the Olympics, the sports village will be home to a piece of art work. There is to be a competition, open to all students, to create a piece of art that commemorates the legacy of 2012, with the winning piece being placed in the new village. The rest of the money is due to be spent on a torch relay from York to Lancaster for this year's Roses, giving our own premier tournament an Olympic feel. The University have launched, or are in the process of launching initiatives to increase participation in fitness and activity this year. Sports chief Keith Morris says that "from our perspective, we intend to encourage as many students and staff at the University of York to be active in 2012." They have introduced discounted membership prices for students, where £40 can be saved off six-month packages, with the hope that people will make a solid commitment to fitness in 2012. Second year maths student Will Hanby said, "One of my new year's resolutions was to start attending the gym regularly, and now with these lower priced memberships and the new facilities due to open, it has tempted me to join up with the university instead of David Lloyd." Looking ahead to February, North Yorkshire Sport have teamed up with the University in a bid to entice those not currently active to become so in the form of new activites they might not have done before. The 'Sportivate' programme will contain beginners zumba, piliates, gym and spinning courses, each lasting six or seven weeks, and funding is currently be-
Photo: Dave Hughes
The 25m swimming pool
ing sought that will subsidise participants fees as well as the provision of coaches, equipment and facilities. The spin bikes have already been bought and will be implemented into class sessions soon. Also going live in February will be the 'iPledge' scheme. It is a country wide initiative which encourages people to pledge to be active in 2012 and to become part of "our greatest team". The idea is that with everyone taking part in sport and fitness, the entire nation will support the actual olympic team this summer. The University will also be tracking how many students and staff in the entire institution pledge to be active through a computer application which will allow the University's overall performance to be rated against others. Those who pledge will also be directed to the sports centre
Photo: Dave Hughes
The 120 station gymnasium
facilities, clubs or college sports. Individual sports clubs also have much to look forward to in 2012. The Boat club have organised the White Rose Head event for the 28th January which will attract up to 500 rowers, whilst a number of men's and women's rowers are going to Olympic trials in preparation for the 2016 games. Meanwhile, the Netball team have been asked to join with the University of Hull to take on a team of players from Leeds and Leeds Met. universities as a warm-up for the Yorkshire Jets Super League match being played in Hull. There are of course the old favourites Varsity and Roses to look forward to. Varsity will be on Sunday 24th February and will be contested against Hull for the second time after last year's success, once again at home. There is to be a closing ceremony in the Roger Kirk Centre before everyone moves to an after party at Vodka Revolution, with late buses back from York allowing the Hull students to join the frivolities. Roses will commence in Lancaster on the weekend starting the 4th May, and York's travelling teams will hope for a repeat of last year's victory over our old foes in Europe's largest inter-university sports competition.
YORK VISION
SPORT
Tuesday January 17, 2012
WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY JACK BRADSHAW PONDERS OVER WHO'S GOING WHERE THIS JANUARY
IT'S JANUARY. A month characterised by exams, broken New Year’s resolutions and of course updating the teams once again on my beloved FIFA '09 game; brace yourselves for more transfer activity, folks. The "window of opportunity", as Roberto Martinez describes it, has already raised a few eyebrows over the last two and a half weeks and expect there to be plenty more drama as we enter the frantic finale when the biggest deals are struck. The main talking point so far has been great players coming back to help their former clubs. Most of these clubs are ex-
"Maybe this plethora of loan deals is the way forward for the big clubs." periencing problems in one way or another and realise the best way to replace their former stars is simply to bring in an older version. For example, Manchester United have brought back the 37-year old phoenix that is Paul Scholes to resurrect a depleted midfield. But I doubt Anderson would have been too happy sitting there on the bench against Manchester City, seeing the old man brought on before him. Also, Arsenal have brought back a now-bearded Thierry Henry to take the pressure off their only reliable striker, Robin van Persie, who deserves a break. His goal in the FA Cup against Leeds shows he still has that quality which will strike fear into Premier League defences over the next few weeks. Another nice touch which has gone under the radar is Jason Euell’s loan move from Charlton Athletic to AFC Wimbledon, the replacement club for the old Wimbledon FC for whom he scored 41 goals between 1995 and 2001. And who knows, maybe one of the greatest strikers ever to grace the Premier League, Emile Heskey, will re-join Liverpool to give them a bit more firepower up front. Luis Suarez’s 8-match ban has deprived Liverpool of a very talented player and Andy Carroll’s
link with a return to Newcastle sums up the Geordie’s lack of impact. He may have just turned 34, but Heskey is a fan favourite who would surely lift spirits after a few weeks of negative headlines for the Merseyside club. Maybe this plethora of loan moves is the way forward for the big clubs as UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations come into force this year. It is an attempt to create a more level playing-field by eliminating the unfair advantages for clubs with more spending power, as they can only spend as much as they earn. Hence we are likely to see total spending around half the size of January 2011, which saw an incredible £225 million splashed out, the largest amount since the window came into existence in 2003. However, many clubs will still be prepared to complete a big deal if it enhances their prospects for the league title, promotion or survival. At Sunderland, Martin O’Neill has been promised funds, presumably for a striker; Bobby Zamora could well be the man to fill the void left by Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan. And QPR’s new manager Mark Hughes reportedly
has £30 million of ammunition from owner Tony Fernandes. Their targets include Christopher Samba, Nedum Onuoha and possibly Chelsea’s Alex to bolster the defensive ranks. Although a swoop for Carlos Tevez may be a bit too far-fetched, there is no doubt QPR are no longer a ‘small club’ when it comes to wielding their influence in the transfer market. Another speculative switch would be a Manchester United swoop for Newcastle’s Demba Ba. Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson could tempt the striking sensation to the North West by offering a free bucket-load of strawberry syrup every time he scores. And expect there to be one or two exciting overseas players coming to our shores this January. Forward Eden Hazard, of Lille, has been linked with Chelsea, Arsenal and, as if they don’t have enough attacking options already, Manchester City. The 20 year old would be under a lot of pressure to live up to his name at such big clubs, however. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Manchester United are reportedly keen to sign Basel’s diminutive winger Xerdan Shaqiri, who impressed greatly in the 2-1 defeat of United in December. And finally, there has been more talk
"There is no doubt QPR are still a 'small club' when it comes to the transfer market." than ever about lower league talents who could cut it at Premier League level. Most of this surrounds Huddersfield Town’s Jordan Rhodes. The 21-year-old Scottish international has bagged 27 goals at the time of writing, including five hat-tricks. When interviewed last week Rhodes insisted he was concentrating on the present and was surprised and flattered to be linked with the big boys. But inside he will be hoping for that phone call. Crawley Town’s Matt Tubbs is also catching the eye. The former Salisbury City player has scored 49 goals in 63 appearances since joining Crawley in 2010, and has helped them reach the top of League Two. Wowzers.
THE ULTIMATE COMPETITION BY HELENA KAZNOWSKA THIS WEEKEND'S sporting activity was dominated by the York Indoors, a two-day Ultimate Frisbee event with teams competing from Manchester, Lancaster, Nottingham, Newcastle and York. The tournament, which is in its sixth year, contains 16 teams in the Open Division, including mixed gender teams and a Women's Division. A magnificent sporting tournament, with music blasting from huge speakers, woolly hats resembling strawberries and pandas, tiger onesies and dazzling pyjama bottoms on display, the event had a fun yet competitive atmosphere with crowds of enthusiastic supporters. Players demonstrated excellent skills, admirable fitness and a certain level of balletic grace that goes hand-in-hand with the sport. The Women's final was between 'Some Girls' (a team made up of York alumni)
and 'Pies' (Newcastle University's team). The sides fought hard in the final, Beth Piastra demonstrating her dedication to victory by smashing into a wall in order to make a fantastic catch. The home team came out on top and York's captain was delighted with her team's performance: “It is the first time this team has ever played a tournament together and it's great to walk away winners!” In a York-dominated Men's final, 'YOPEN' (York's Open Division team) faced
Photo: Oliver Todd
'Some Team' (York graduates). YOPEN were victorious with their 7-5 win, Jamie Smith, the current Vice-Captain of the York first team, was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the weekend. As Ultimate Frisbee is self-officiated, any disagreements are resolved on pitch. The 'Spirit Prize', voted by the players for the players, was awarded to 'Randoms' for the Open Division and shared between York and Nottingham Trent in the Women's, the teams received a smarties cake for their good-sportsmanship. Club Treasurer Steve Eyre remarked that “it's been a really fantastic two days. Some particularly great news was that York beat Lancaster this morning 9-5, which bodes well for this year's Roses competition”. The club has got a busy season ahead, with the Women's BUCS regional qualifiers at the beginning of February and the Outdoor Open in the beginning of March, which the club are hoping to host on campus.
25
EASTERN AMBITIONS
THEY MAY NOW BE THE WORLD'S BEST, BUT CAN ENGLAND'S CRICKETERS TASTE VICTORY ON THE SUB-CONTINENT?
YES
BY TOM BRANDRETH
LATER THIS month the England cricket team play an enigmatic Pakistani side in what will be their first Test series since acquiring the enviable status of the world’s best Test playing nation. Following back-to-back home series wins last summer against Sri Lanka and the former number one side India, Andrew Strauss’ men will go into the series confident they can secure their third straight series victory over a sub-continent side. Pakistan, not at the peak of their powers and surrounded by controversy, are yet to replace their two world class bowlers Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir, who are both serving bans for spot-fixing. Their batting line-up, although talented, has often demonstrated a lack of application - something that will need to be addressed if they are to beat their disciplined visitors. Conversely, England look strong in all departments. With the bat, Alistair Cook and Ian Bell are in the form of their lives and in Jonathan Trott, England have the ICC World Player of 2011. There is also healthy competition amongst the bowlers with Graham Onions and Steven Finn pushing for places in an attack that boasts three out of the four best bowlers in the world. Add this to the fact that England are one of the most polished fielding outfits, and the signs are looking good.
NO
BY WILL BARNES
DESPITE THE fact that England have recently become the number one test cricket side in the world, I would not be surprised if they do not win the upcoming test series against Pakistan in the UAE. England's past performances on the subcontinent hardly reflect well on the world's foremost test side. They have not defeated India and Sri Lanka in their own backyard since the turn of the century, whilst they last were victorious over Pakistan away from home more than ten years ago. Admittedly, they have defeated Bangladesh away twice in the last decade, but then, it is Bangladesh. Furthermore, Pakistan are no longer the side who were so easily brushed aside by England in 2010. They were undefeated in tests in 2011, overcoming Bangladesh and Zimbabwe away from home as well as being victorious over Sri Lanka in the UAE. The tests they are to play against England are to take place here and this is to Pakistan's advantage. The wickets in UAE are slow and batsmen friendly, very much like those in Pakistan. Therefore, despite the fact that England have a long line of capable batsmen, the wickets suit Pakistan's attack, who demonstrated last year that they had enough variety and firepower to be victorious.
26 SPORT
YORK VISION
Tuesday January 17, 2012
FROM FLOODLIGHTS TO FISHNETS THE VISION SPORTS TEAM LOOK BACK AT THEIR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
'FAX'S CUP TRIUMPH
RUGBY REIGN AT ROSES ALEX FINNIS
A ROSES at home is the highlight of any sporting year at York, but in 2011 the competition received some added sparkle when Sam Asfahani announced that the show would open with a bang. The rugby 1sts kicked off the tournement under the floodlights at Huntington Stadium, and the spectacle drew thousands to witness York's 30-8 victory. Scrum-Half Tom Bugge had a sensational game, dictating the play and scoring twice, enducing pyrotechnics which mercifully warmed those sat shivering in the stands, for a moment at least. My favourite part of the whole event however, had to be the fact that the Lancaster team's bleached blonde hair not only looked ridiculous but now also serve as a mark of their defeat. York's men's 2nds and 3rds also won to ensure a rugby whitewash over their red rose counterparts, who further embarassed themselves with their drunken antics. Their football captain injured himself jumping into the lake and was forced to miss his match the next day and most notably there was the notorious 'midnight gobbler'. York went on to win the tournament by 176.5 points to 104.5, with the women's basketball team providing the win that sealed
Photo: Ruth Gibson
the return of the Carter-James trophy to its rightful home. Other notable victories came in the women's lacrosse, with our first team crushing Lancaster by a staggering 40 goals to nil, and the men's football 1sts also pulled off an unexpected 1-0 win thanks to a goal from Dan Atherton in a game that had everything from red cards to missed penalties. Here's to hoping for more of the same when we head over to Lancashire!
WHAT A JAFFER! CHARLOTTE FERRIS
MY SPORTING highlight of 2011 was Andy Kirkwood’s outstanding century in the 45th over, which led the Cricket Men’s first eleven to Roses glory. Not to forget the contributions from Will Felgate and Kash Memon, these three players effectively turned over the game and secured four points for the White Rose when the game had been largely in Lancaster’s hands. The Cricket Club went on to win joint University Club of the year with Women’s Basketball and Andy Kirkwood himself won Roses player of the year, which accompanied his highly esteemed title of York’s Ultimate Lad. In recent weeks, the off-pitch antics of the Cricketers has eclipsed their exceptional season, but under the control of a highly competent President, Will Smith and a dedicated First Team Captain, Andy Kirkwood, we can anticipate further success from this club in 2012. In terms of Netball, the 2nd team must be admired for their consistent performance in 2011. With a dedicated Tess Webb in charge in 2012, there is no reason why this team cannot get promoted. In terms of the Firsts, getting to the final rounds of the BUCS Cup is clearly a highlight, and BUCS Cup glory could be possible in 2012.
SALLY DOLTON WITHOUT A doubt, the best moment of 2011 was the College Cup. Ultimately, a dazzling display of York’s footballing prowess, but so much more as well. The cup this year was unpredictable from the start. No-one expected James 3rds to qualify for the plate, let alone come top of their group. With reigning champions Alcuin 1sts suffering from a depleted pool of talent, the favourites were arguably Derwent 1sts, having previously won the College League. However, Halifax had a fantastic cup to beat them 2-0 in a spectacular final. Both teams completely deserving of their place, neither conceded a match. Brennan, attired in fishnet tights from the previous night's antics, and Tringham’s goals lit up the whole JLD with an energy that sizzled through the spectating crowd. What was so special, for me, was the desire and drive exhibited in each Derwent and Halifax player and the genuine euphoria for Halifax when the final whistle blew. The cup also threw up some amazing individual triumphs; Jon Garness for Derwent 2nds and 3rds looked like he couldn’t miss the net throughout the tournament scoring the majority of goals
VARSITY VICTORY HELENA KAZNOWSKA
PERSONALLY, I think Varsity should get a mention, even if it is widely considered to be a warm-up for Roses. Last year's competition was, however, notable for the moments of comedic excellence; particularly when York St. John delivered the ultimatum 'us or them' after the proposal to include Hull in the weekend's events, and we, of course, chose 'them'. Not that the new 2011 competition caused York too much sweat; even with the change in opposition, for the first time in Varsity's 46 year history, York still dominated and enjoyed a 60-25 overall victory. The home team took the early lead with wins in the first matches of the tournament; the netball medics shot to victory with a 50 - 5 whitewash and the golfers dominated their event, setting the standard for the rest of the competition. While some major sports, such as hockey and rugby were unable to participate (some say Hull were too scared, but BUCS clashes could have been to blame), our dancesport squad waltzed to victory. York also aced the racquet sports, with huge victories in the badminton and an unbeaten display in the tennis. It was the men's football 2nds who delivered the killer blow, however, cruising to a 4-1 victory to clinch the tournament.
Photo:Oliver Todd
for both teams. Sam Clitheroe’s bizarre, bouncing goal from the a boot on the half way line is another personal, if slightly less stylish, highlight. In other sports, the rowers' triumph at the White Rose Head is an under-lauded spectacular. Organised at York, with the event held on the Ouse, York were highly successful,winning the Women’s 1st VIII with the 2nds coming 2nd. The men’s four even resulted in a dead heat between York and Leeds to add further excitement.
CLEAR BLUE
TOM BRANDRETH DESPITE BEING a much smaller college than its main rivals, 2011 proved to be a hugely successful year for Derwent sport, with the most notable achievements coming in football and rugby. The football firsts were recently crowned winter league champions, making it back-to-back league titles following their triumph last Spring, either side of a solid performance in the Summer’s College cup. Derwent, having won all five of their first five games, finished four points clear at the top of the table ahead of Vanbrugh and James, who both had strong ends to the term. Captain Joe Boughtflower claimed; "Our football, at times, was some of the best I’ve seen at college level". The rugby side were equally triumphant, beginning with victory over a strong James side in the College Rugby final. This proved to be the stepping stone for further success as they added the college Xs title to this victory in March, and have recently followed that up with an impressive start to the 2011/12 academic year by going unbeaten in the first term, having won their opening five matches. Other highlights included the College Roses match, which saw Derwent run out 3-0 winners against Lancaster's best college, and finishing second at College Sports Day after narrowly losing out to Halifax.
YORK VISION
SPORT
Tuesday January 17, 2012
27
MARADONA, MINSTERMEN & ME OLIVER WESSELY SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY TO YORK CITY MANAGER GARY MILLS AS THE Conference Premier moves into the second half of the season, York City FC find themselves in the play-off places with a fight for promotion on their hands. Manager Gary Mills takes time out to talk about the late former manager Brian Clough, his unique record and to give tips for future footballing stars. Now into his second year as York City boss, Gary Mills has the same desire to do well for the club as when he first joined. His rich outlook on the game's simplicities has worked well with the club's staff and players. Since he joined the club it has steadily improved in the Conference Premier, as well as enjoyed a successful FA cup run which saw them take Premiership side Bolton all the way in the fourth round. It is no surprise, therefore, to hear Mills has enjoyed his time so far. He stated: "It's a fantastic football club within a fantastic city." But despite all this he does not get ahead of himself: "I know the rules of football management; you've got to keep producing the goods, and stay successful. If you don't, you won't stay and I want to stay here for many a year." Much talk around the football club and the city of York has been the proposal of the new 6000 seater Community Stadium, Mills adds that the "talks are in progression [for a new stadium]. Firstly though I want to get this club promoted. If we get promoted the timing would be perfect. If you work hard at trying to achieve, you get more satisfaction from it." With conversation restricted largely to club affairs when Mills gives press con-
ferences, it is a rarity to hear him talking about his prolonged career. The fact that listening to his doctor when they told him to retire at 34, but still go on to play non-league football until the ripe old age of 48, is his only regret, is a testament to just how successful his career has been. It was thus a privilege to hear of it first hand from the ex-Nottingham Forest and Derby man in person. "At 15, I had played for England schoolboys Rugby as well as Football. Even managing to score a goal at Wembley and score a try at Twickenham! I made my debut as Forest's youngest player aged 16 against Arsenal, which was the team I'd supported as well, and I was part of a Forest side that was unbelievable. To play at the Bernabeu against Hamburg and win is as special now at 50 as it was back when I was 18. Sometimes I look at my cap and medal from that night, they're an inspiration to me for what I want to achieve as a Manager." Now properly retired from the game aged 51, his managerial career is still very much in its infancy. But Mills, a player once under the guidance of one of England's greatest ever managers, could not have asked for a better apprenticeship before the step up from player to boss. He commented on the late Brian Clough, "He did most things different. He was a genius to be honest with you. A one-off. I couldn't sit here and tell you what he used to do, as you wouldn't believe me. He was a fantastic motivator. Honest. Kept things simple. We'd do our jobs, if you didn't you didn't play, if you did, you did play." It then seemed sensible to ask what he
had learnt from the mercurial manager. Mills replied: "Discipline, Motivation and how to conduct yourself at your football club on and off the field. I've probably had the best apprenticeship working under him for 13 years. Don't get me wrong, I am my own man, but if you didn't learn something from him there was something wrong."
I now decided to fire off a few quick questions at the City boss. England players for the future? "Rodwell. Jones at Man U, and I like the right back at Spurs [Kyle Walker], especially as I used to play there." Next England Manager? "An Englishman
PLEASE!" Best player played with? "John Robertson at Forest" [The man who scored the winner in the European Cup against Hamburg]. And against? "I've been lucky to play against a lot of good players, like Maradona and Carlos Alberto." Impressive to say the least. We then got on to discuss the role of students and what could encourage us to support the Minstermen during our time at York. The quizzical Mills replied: "Well I've been here just over a year, and you can fall in love with somewhere. If that is the case then try and be a part of the community." This is a man who is still the youngest player ever to win the European Cup; it's clear that he knows how to motivate oneself at a tender age. To finish he gave a message to the promising youngsters at the University: "Listen, if you've got the ability, then never ever let anyone knock you down or turn you into a negative person. Stay positive and believe in yourself. If you've got the attitude with the ability you will get there. I've had knocks as a player, but you just need another door to open to allow you to be the player that you are. The door is never shut, it's only yourself that stops you being as good as you want to be." York City next play at their Bootham Crescent ground on Saturday 21st January against Ebbsfleet United. They currently sit fifth in the Conference Premier, and a win for the Minstermen would help cement their place in the play-off position and give them a greater chance of moving up into the Football League.
SPORT SPOTLIGHT
ALEX FINNIS TAKES TO THE NETBALL COURTS, BUT CONVENIENTLY FORGETS HIS SKIRT I DIDN'T think I would say it, but I really like Netball. I know I'm supposed the slate it and say how Basketball is "so much better", but actually, I'm not so sure. Walking into the tent to join the group was at first slightly intimidating, since I stuck out like a sore thumb for obvious reasons. But I was warmly welcomed by team captain Rebecca O'Dwyer and the girls, and once we got into the drills I started to enjoy myself. Vision's own Charlotte Ferris talked me through the opening stages, as we partnered up for some simple catching exercises. As a college rugby player I feel quite at home throwing a ball around, and this probably led me into a false sense of security, as when we got to the more complex drills things weren't nearly so easy. We moved onto a drill which involved turning sharply and beating a defender before sprinting to receive a catch and pass the ball on, and at first my male brain struggled to comprehend the multitude of instructions; all three of them. I kept getting in everybody's way and even managed to throw the ball into areas of blank space a few times, but got the hang of it in the end. After these warm up drills I was raring to try my hand at a proper game, and my wishes were granted when the squad split up into firsts, seconds and thirds for just this.
I joined the second team and unfortunately for them was given the job of playing centre, which was good in the sense that I was very unlikely to run somewhere I shouldn't, but bad in that it should have been my job to dictate the play. I was told to mark my opposite centre and the game wasn't five minutes in before I realised where my biggest downfall in the sport would come. Every time I looked
around to see where the third team centre was, expecting her to be behind me, cut out of the game by my exquisite blocking skills, she was actually over the other side of the court feeding the shooters, whose accuracy I was impressed with throughout the session - they don't even have back boards to assist them like basketballers do. Occasionally I would display a fleeting moment of averageness (the dizzy hights
Photo: Oliver Todd
for which I was striving) by intercepting a pass or making an ambitious pass of my own, but there was an obvious gulf in quality between the girls and myself. For one, they were very well drilled, and they played with such speed. Everyone always seemed to know immediately where to find a team-mate, and there were occasions in which four or five points would be scored in a matter of minutes. After my stint at centre I also tried out at goal-defence, which limited me to the defensive side of the court and gave me the job of marking (oh joy) the opposition goal-attack and trying to prevent her from scoring. Needless to say she racked up the points, though I did manage to make a few decent interceptions - I had decided by this point that intercepting was my favourite part of the sport. Late on in the session I received a promotion, though not one based on merit, and played at wing-attack for the first team. I quite enjoyed this position as it felt a bit like playing in my favoured footballing role 'in the hole' behind the strikers, and it also gave me license to run around lots in order to warm my freezing cold body before heading home. I actually felt disappointed as training came to an end - I had really enjoyed my time with the netball team, I would go back, although to be honest, it would probably look a bit weird if I turn up to another session without Vision as an excuse.
Tuesday January 17, 2012
Issue 221
SPORT
STAR OF CAMPUS: TOM CLARKE
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YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR ALL UNI SPORT
NEW YEAR, NEW DAWN WORLD SPORT: TRANSFERS
P25 P24
2011 REVIEW
Photo: Oliver Todd
P26 SPOTLIGHT: NETBALL
> VISION TAKES AN EXCLUSIVE TOUR AROUND THE NEW SPORTS VILLAGE > WE LOOK AHEAD TO A MAMMOTH YEAR OF SPORT BY ALEX FINNIS & FRED NATHAN YORK UNIVERSITY is bracing itself for a momentous year of sport. Just as the Olympics will set London alight in the summer, York will see its own sporting revolution when the ÂŁ9m sports village opens on Heslington East in July. Vision received an exclusive tour of the new complex to see how it is taking shape, and with the grand opening six months away
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it is taking shape very rapidly. On taking the tour, it was easy to visualise how this important addition to, not only the University, but the entire city of York, will look when complete, and it's sure to become a jewel in the crown of York's sporting scene. The centre is situated close to the new Langwith College, due to open in time for the next academic year, and there will also be transport links from the main University campus, with buses extending their routes.
Photo: Dave Hughes
To go with this facilities boost, both Keith Morris, Head of Sports and Recreation at the University and York Sport President Sam Asfahani have a myriad plans for this exciting sporting year, focussing largely on getting people active and increasing participation in sport. With Varsity and Roses also to look forward to, Vision is eagerly anticipating this Olympic year to be York's best. Continued on Page 24
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