Issue 6 (May 2015)

WessexScene.co.uk

University of Southampton’s Student Magazine

MAY 2015

6

POWERING A STAR MACHINE THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR FUSION PAGE 12

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OCD: BUSTING THE MYTHS 04

Battling the stigma surrounding OCD

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trend report: the 70s 20 The seventies are coming to a high street near you

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IRAN VS THE WEST 28

The tricky path of diplomacy

Welcome

TAHLIE COOPER Editor

editor@soton.ac.uk FRONT COVER IMAGE BY VINCENT SONG

WESSEX SCENE TEAM Want to write for us?

Get in touch with a section editor.

Editor Tahlie Cooper editor@soton.ac.uk

Deputy Editor Kerry Sclater

deputy-editor@wessexscene.co.uk

Head of Design Sam Bailey

design@wessexscene.co.uk

Image Editor Jess Cox

image@wessexscene.co.uk

Features Hebe Neate-Clegg

features@wessexscene.co.uk

Science and Environment Jennifer Allerton science@wessexscene.co.uk

Politics Bridie Pearson-Jones

politics@wessexscene.co.uk

Winchester Kalisto Bancroft

winchester@wessexscene.co.uk

Opinion Isabella Hunter-Fajardo opinion@wessexscene.co.uk

HELLO READERS! And so we have reached our penultimate issue of the year. Time flies when you’re editing copious amounts of articles and distributing 1000 magazines every month across campus…oh and writing a dissertation!

In between all the usual chaos, the Wessex Scene and The Edge had a busy weekend helping host the Student Publication Association National Conference (SPANC) during the Easter break! We received wise words from speakers on how to land that all important job in journalism. The likes of Journalist Works and the Press Association graced us with their presence, allowing budding student journalists from across the UK to network with the experts and find out more about the industry. But, of course, the highlight was the awards night. We proudly took the highly commended award for best design that night and we screamed the house down when we heard our name. The credit for this goes to the whole team, especially our Head of Design, Sam Bailey.

Once again, the team here at Wessex Scene HQ have put together a great issue for you all. The feature writers and editors have been working hard on creating an informative spread about setting the record straight on those that have OCD. But if the discussion of women having armpit hair is more up your street, we have an insightful take on this in our opinion section. Meanwhile, the science and environment team have covered interesting ground, exploring how researchers are working hard to starve cancer cells and…powering a star machine? What’s that you ask? You’ll have to read that to find out. (A special thanks to PhotoSoc for providing us with a fantastic image for the cover!)

POLITICS 16 Interview with Natalie Bennett - Bridie Pearson-Jones. Image by Jordan Stewart

ISSUE 6 MAY 2015

I shall leave you all to enjoy this magazine as a helpful tool of procrastination throughout the hectic dissertation and pre-exam period.

I would recommend the final article of this issue. Our Pause editor, Aidan Pittman, gives some ‘sound’ advice when it comes to revising!

Lifestyle Laura Cox

international@wessexscene.co.uk

WASHING AWAY THE STIGMA OF OCD

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TREND REPORT: THE 70S

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GETTING IT STRAIGHT: WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT OCD

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GRAD BALL FASHION FIX: DRESSES THROUGH THE AGES

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OUR COUSINS IN SPAIN

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MEETING BECKY BEDBUG

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TRAVEL

OPINION

END THE DEFORESTATION OF THE FEMALE RAINFOREST

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THE POPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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Happy reading!

Tahlie

THE TRAVELLER OR THE TOURIST THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: WHAT DO ARTISTS DO ALL DAY?

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INTERNATIONAL

STARVING OUT CANCER

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IRAN VS THE WEST

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MAKING FAIR DEMANDS?

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INTERVIEW WITH NATALIE BENNETT

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SPORT

NO VOTES FOR WOMEN?

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THE ELECTION FOOTBALL FANS REALLY 32 CARE ABOUT PAUSE

News Emma Cheshire & Chloe Fabregas

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT REVISION...

news@wessexscene.co.uk

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POWERING A STAR MACHINE

Sport Ross Wilson & Jack Pethick sports@wessexscene.co.uk

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WINCHESTER

POLITICS

lifestyle@wessexscene.co.uk

International ROSY HOWELL

LIFESTYLE

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

Travel Anna Jenkins

travel@wessexscene.co.uk

FEATURES

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wessexscene.co.uk

Pause Aidan Pittman

pause@wessexscene.co.uk

MARKETING Corinne Dugdale

@wessexscene

Editor-in-Chief Megan Downing

fb.com/wscene

publicity@wessexscene.co.uk vpdci@susu.org 02

WELCOME

WELCOME

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Washing away the stigma of OCD

Getting it straight: what you didn’t know about OCD

Liam Reeves talks about the stereotypes surrounding OCD.

Hebe Neate-Clegg busts the myths you might have heard about OCD.

IMAGES BY JOSHUA WOOLFORD

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quick introduction; I’m a 19-year-old undergraduate reading English Literature and French while also coping with a mental disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, commonly known as OCD. The current stigma and misconceptions of OCD in our society form the general public’s first and lasting impression of the illness, but where do these misconstrued and often negative stereotypes come from, and why do the public feel the need to latch onto them?

Public discourse can be facultative in their creation. Newspapers love to plaster the front pages with photos of crime-committing psychopaths. The fact that they had committed a crime no longer defines them; the fact that they are mentally unstable incriminates them. Rightly so, one may justly argue. However, what is seemingly unfair is the public’s further belief that all psychopaths are the same because of this anomaly. Stereotypes replace individuality with gross oversimplifications. This can be seen in the case of OCD, where books, TV and film render it a pretty insignificant illness. An OCD sufferer is reified to their red hands, which are emblematic of the disorder.

There lies the problem; the public take the mental disorder at face value, where focusing on objective realities (or in the case of OCD – compulsions) becomes favourable to understanding the underlying thoughts (obsessions) which accompany them.

In other words, they see someone always washing their hands but they don’t think about why. As a result, all OCD sufferers are reduced to mindless hand-washers, much like all psychopaths are reduced to amoral murderers.

In a similar way treating OCD as the one with the hand-washing allows individuals to understand it, which comforts them. The process of understanding a sufferer’s repetitive and debilitating obsessions, that ultimately fuel their compulsions, would seem alien to a non-sufferer and scare them. Ignorance is granted to the public in following these stereotypes allowing them to marginalise and repress sufferers, without feeling guilty.

These stereotypes ultimately create a vicious circle which the sufferer does not only become part of, but also trapped by. Students are particularly affected because many are only just coming to terms with their problems, or realising there is a problem at all. Imagine a student breaks their leg and is therefore given a cast by the doctor, in order to fix the bone and restore it to its former strength. In a similar way, imagine a student is struggling with obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviours – and therefore undergoes therapy in order to restore their former state of mind. Effectively, this therapy constitutes a ‘metaphorical cast’ for their mindset. Now, we wouldn’t dream of taking the cast off a student’s broken leg as the leg would be vulnerable and exposed, and potentially break again. Yet, what the earlier stereotypes mentioned do then to the student with OCD is rob them of their ‘metaphorical cast’, in undermining the reality of their illness. This can suspend the quality of a sufferer’s recovery and, potentially, take them back to square one. In the worst case scenario, without their ‘metaphorical’ cast, their mind may not be able to cope with the pressure of the stigma, causing a breakdown. As we allow a cast to fix a student’s broken leg, we have to be understanding of students’ mental illness in order to allow their ‘metaphorical cast’/therapy to fix their mind.

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iven that 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem each year, you’d think everyone was pretty clued up on symptoms, causes and repercussions. Unfortunately, stigma, stereotypes, fear of the unknown, they all lead to it just not being talked about. As someone who suffers from our lovely friend OCD I wanted to clear up a few myths and rumours, and explain things you maybe never wanted to ask. Although these answers may not apply to all sufferers’experiences, they may give you a better understanding about how it is more than lining up your pens on the desk, and how mental illness is just that: an illness.

“Is that the one where you’re always washing your hands?”

Yes and no. This is one of the token OCD symptoms everyone sees in the movies – it is seen as ridiculous, mad and sadly, often comical. But it is just the tip of the iceberg.

The reason a sufferer might stir their tea 5 times anticlockwise is because in their mind, if they don’t, someone they love might develop cancer, or crash their car, and by this point the sufferer thinks “well why would I risk it? I might as well stir every cup of tea I have for the rest of my life this way, just in case.” This may sound ridiculous, but it is very hard to believe it is not true, and you can become obsessive over adhering to these rituals.

“But you don’t seem crazy”

No, I like to think I’m not crazy. I do get it, I can’t blame people for laughing at that character in Friends who has to switch a light off and on otherwise his family will die. It can sound extreme and often the way for me to deal with it is to tell people and laugh at how strange it is. But OCD isn’t just for “crazy” people. Anyone can suffer, and it is far more common than you may think. Many

Yet, why is the public so keen to believe these stereotypes? It may be that it comforts them. To have psychopaths labelled and defined as ‘murderers’ allows someone to physically and mentally distance themselves from them. If they allowed each psychopath’s individuality to be evident, they may realise that in fact everyone has some psychopathic tendencies, which a rather stigmatising Britain doesn’t quite seem ready to accept.

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people you know have it, and may not even know it themselves. It is so easy to think you’re just worrying a bit too much, but seeking professional advice might show you otherwise – if I had not seen a doctor, I might never have got it under control, and been stuck with sleepless nights and washing rituals for the rest of my life.

“Just stop worrying?”

If I had a pound for every time someone said “stop worrying” or “don’t overthink it”…

This is actually something everyone struggles with, and OCD sufferers simply find it harder than others. Try this: don’t think about a pink elephant. Whatever you do, right now, think about literally anything else but a pink elephant… You’re thinking about the pink elephant right now aren’t you? Unfortunately, that is how we work – the more you try not to think about something, the more serious it becomes in your mind, so you can’t just “stop worrying”. That’s why, when you’re panicking about an exam or a job interview, it ca be hard to just forget it and go to sleep, and that is why it is so hard for someone to believe that they can just stir their tea without it affecting the likelihood of something.

“Everyone’s a bit OCD, stop trying to be special”

It is completely true that it is human nature to worry, focusing on that embarrassing thing you said at a party and forgetting how fun the party was, or washing your hands after handling dirty things. It is even fairly common to have superstitions – “I wear my lucky socks so I’ll win” – the difference is that someone who’s suffering from OCD will obsess and take them to extremes, avoiding situations to avoid doing rituals, and potentially letting it take over their life. You don’t just wash your hands after touching something dirty – you overextend it, believing you must wash your hands after touching anything someone else has touched. Then you can’t touch anything in public, which might lead to avoiding public spaces or even anywhere outside. So yes, everyone has aspects of their personality which are similar to elements of OCD, but no, no one who actually has OCD wants to parade it – to be honest we would all just quite like it to go away.

Visit www.wessexscene.co.uk for more OCD myth busting!

FEATURES

FEATURES

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Features

Features

Our cousins in Spain IMAGE BY SAMMIE BURSTOW

Southampton’s unlikely links to Bilbao. Jack Pethick

others. In fact, under Franco the club was forced to change its name to ‘Atletico’ but changed it back to ‘Athletic’ once Franco was gone.

2 North Stoneham camp When the Spanish Civil war broke out in 1936, Britain took an official stance of non-intervention on the war. However, many volunteers – particularly in Southampton - outraged at what they were seeing such as with the bombing of Guernica, stepped up to create a number of refugee camps for children during the war. Over 4,000 children arrived aboard The Habana ship to Southampton. One of the largest camps was located at North Stoneham in Eastleigh where children camped under rented army tents on straw bedding. Many of the children remained in the UK following the end of the Civil war and the end of WW2.

3 Economics and business

What’s Southampton got to do with Spain? British steel and shipyard workers in the early twentieth century - particularly from Portsmouth and Southampton - marked the beginning of a developing English presence in the Basque Country, particularly the city of Bilbao. From football to economics, here are five links you might not have thought about...

1 Athletic Bilbao Dockyard workers from Southampton and Portsmouth seem to have played a key role in the foundation of the club in 1898.

In fact it is believed that the club gets the colours it wears from those of Southampton and also Sunderland (red and white stripes) where dock workers from Britain were from. The club has had eight British managers since its foundation many 06

of which have been a success; many Englishmen played for the club in its formative years, chief among whom was vicecaptain in the early twentieth century Alfred ‘Alfrédo’ Mills, who typified English presence in Bilbao with his flat cap.

The first four managers were English, and four Englishmen have managed them since. Perhaps the greatest of those, Fred Pentland, was adored so enormously by the fans that he became affectionately known as ‘el Bombín’ i.e. the Bowler Hat, and now lends his name to the supporters’ club. These hats still feature heavily in goal celebrations for Bilbao fans even today. Even the turf on the pitch was imported from England, as was material for the stadium’s construction.

Finally, the club has remained loyal to its British routes by keeping its name as ‘Athletic’ rather than ‘Atletico’ like many FEATURES

The presence of British steel and dockyard workers from Southampton in the Basque region marked the start of an economic relationship between the two regions that flourishes to this day. Today, focus has shifted from the more traditional mining routes and now Anglo-Basque trade centres upon technology, energy and the service sectors. For example, British energy giant Scottish Power is owned by the Bilbao based energy giant Iberdrola.

4 Basque culture In the early 20th century, the wealthy Basque educated classes travelled to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce, mostly in order to take over the family business of steel mining in the mineral rich areas of Bilbao. However, they returned very much with an education but with an interest not only in the game of football but with a number of other British sports. This led to the introduction of a number of British-like sports clubs such as tennis, cycling and, of course, football, being founded in Bilbao and other areas of the Basque country. Parallel to these a number of women’s clubs were also formed – something for which FEATURES

Bilbao was seen as a pioneering city not only in Spain but also in Europe. In addition, the presence of English dockworkers, particularly from Southampton, further permeated British culture: a number of English pubs, schools, a cemetery and other institutions were formed in the early twentieth century.

Note the names: St George’s and The Lion’s Tavern.

5 Nationalism Although this link is much more wide-spread rather than specifically between Southampton and Bilbao, there is a strong link between the UK and the Basque nationalist party. Similarly to what can be seen in the English county of Cornwall and the Spanish region of Catalonia, citizens of the Basque country tend to distance themselves from the rest of Spain; seeing themselves as Basque; not Spanish. The ‘Euskadi Ta Askatasuna’, meaning Basque Homeland and Freedom, abbreviated to ‘ETA’, is the extreme left nationalist group of the Basque country, which has instigated terror in the region for decades. Their popular slogan – “You’re in the Basque Country, not in Spain” encapsulates the message they’re trying to spread. Many members of the ETA were particularly keen to see an independent Scotland in last years referendum, hoping that they could use its potential success to spark a similar movement in Spain.

Even the turf on the pitch was imported from England, as was material for the stadium’s construction 07

End the deforestation of the female rainforest

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here’s something unsettling about seeing a woman with hair in non-preordained places, something perturbing that kicks at the back of the throat and brings the gag reflexes into play. Hair is for men and the head of a woman.

Period. Indeed, those of us that know the true pains of that particular word (womankind, the 52%), will know that hair-removal (henceforth known as ‘deforestation) is no easy feat. Hair sprouts, and you can cut it down but it will be back with a vengeance. This is no small battle, women and body hair are waging war, a full-on gruesome, strategic, bloody war, and unlike our monthly bloody war, we undertake it optionally and continually.

Then one day you might sit down and ask yourself ‘why?’ Why do I have to wage war with my body?

Why do I find these natural tufts so alarming and revolting? Who am I shaving for? ‘For myself!’ I hear you cry! Maybe. But if you’d been brought up in some far distant civilisation where the issue of body-hair had never been raised you would never have even contemplated removing it. Female-deforestation is clearly a social norm, not something that we all individually dreamt up and perceived to be beautiful, but it is something we have learnt to appreciate, like an apple mac, or high-top trainers.

When I first decided to let my hair grow last year because I could not remember what I removed it for, I didn’t think I would be confronted by such a public reaction. No-one had ever judged my body like that before. No-one had ever told me

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OPINION

There are several things that we can all agree are disgusting about the human body: snot, dandruff, urine, faeces and body hair on a woman.

Amanda Cole to cut my hair because the split-ends were making them want to vomit, or that I should probably lose/gain some weight because the political point I was making with my size was attention seeking, or that the colour of my eyes was radically unfashionable. Indeed, I didn’t know my body was a public exhibition.

My body isn’t for the public, it’s for me. Ultimately, I’m not a product. I’m not for sale. I’ve got no barcode on the bottom of my foot and you won’t find in small script at the small of my back ‘we’re sure that you’ll be happy with the quality of this product but in the rare instance that you are dissatisfied then please contact us’. My body is not for sale, it didn’t roll off of a production line, so ultimately why should it matter to you if I’m not the same as the other bodies? If you order a pink applique cushion and it comes in blue then complain away.

If you find a worm in your lettuce packaging then please feel free to be outraged. But please don’t be outraged at my own decisions of what I’d like to do with my body.

But that’s just it. The sad reality is that women are products.

Hair-removal isn’t viewed as a personal choice, it is a personal choice between being viewed as a fully-functioning model (normal) or as a faulty one (a hairy weirdo). There must be some deeper forces at work. This stinks of sexism. Men aren’t craning their necks in the shower to shave the backs of their legs and running their hand admiringly up their ‘smooth, silky’ thighs (‘hairless‘ in layman’s terms). I chose to not deforest my female rainforest. Yet female deforestation is not a personal choice, it is not a fashion. It is a ‘beauty routine’, AKA ‘I am ugly’. It is ‘taking care of oneself ’, AKA I am feckless and incapable. It is being ‘sexy’ AKA ‘No-one will want to bed me as I am not attractive to other human beings’. It is ‘feminine’ AKA ‘I am a man?’

Well, I have body hair, it grows without my explicit consent, I don’t remember signing any forms, and I still consider myself

OPINION

feminine. In fact, I have a vagina and ovaries and a womb and breasts; pretty much the full collection. These are quite ‘feminine’ appendages I believe. Ultimately, women have to be hairless because this is the product description. Women are objectified. Women are the gender of sex, of attraction, of appeal and of allure and of seduction. We don’t see adverts of men grinding on white beaches in tight white pants with a burger hanging provocatively from their lips. Men aren’t products.

Let’s take our bodies off the market! It’s high time we women threw down our weapons, called for peace and ended the eternal battle against hair. Make tufts not war! Don’t get me wrong, I’m by no way suggesting we should just stop femaledeforestation. Simply, that I do not believe that it is possible that 100% of the British female public independently decided that hairlessness is the fashion trend that expresses their individual and personal preference. After all, if every single woman wore their hair in a bob and sported red court shoes we would be nothing more than drones. Mindless, indoctrinated, socially-conditioned drones.

So wake up and smell the coco, or that putrid smell of sexism.

Wind back the ball of weave to find the loose end. Did you only really buy Pokémon cards because all the other kids had them, although you secretly realised it was a highly successful market-ploy to exchange paper with pictures of creatures on for papers with pictures of the queen on? We’re not immune to social pressures, but it’s important to recognise them. We will have an awful long time to think inside the box when we are six foot under the ground. So I beseech you, if you love deforestation for the right reasons, then go ahead. Pluck every hair-molecule red raw and marvel at your body-baldness. Just be sure that no social pressure or conditioning is stomping on your individuality and freedom over your body and accept that other people’s bodies may not perfectly configure with yours, and that’s OK too. Peace.

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THE POPE IN THE MIDDLE EAST SARAH PIMBLETT IMAGE BY CHESTER FRAMPTON

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ecently, the Vatican and the Pope have started speaking out regarding troubles in the Middle East, regarding extremism, Christians groups in the region, and endorsing military intervention to help fight against ISIS. As heart-warming as this is that Tomasi and the Vatican are starting from “the foundation that they [Christians in the Middle East] are human beings with equal rights” in order to legitimise war in their minds, it begs the question as to whether the Vatican would have an opinion at all if the population they were concerned with was not a “Christian…minority group.”

There are multiple assertions of the Vatican comments with which I take issue. The first is that there were no Christians in the area, and the second and most important is the encouragement of a “spiritual communion” between Christians and other religious groups; a setting-aside of religious differences in the name of peace. Again, how heartwarming. That is, until you realise just how hypocritical it is.

Where was the Vatican’s empathy when the circumstances did not suit them? In horrific conflicts affecting the same human dignity they now speak out to protect, but not involving a religious persecution? And if they are so outspoken about a universal religious community, why are they not so outspoken about those Christian groups who preach hate of other cultures and religions in the name of their prophet and their god? The attack on the Wisconsin Sikh Temple in 2012 was committed by Christians, yet George Bush himself claimed that Christianity is “inherently peaceful”, and Islam “inherently violent.”

Muslims in the UK face increasing Islamophobia, especially following the heinous crimes against Charlie Hebo. In the current climate, many Muslim citizens may feel much

OPINION

consternation for not actively and frequently speaking out against ISIS and other extremist groups. Increasingly, Muslim citizens feel a pressure or obligation to forcefully distance themselves from the terrorists in the Middle East, in order to placate the general population and stop trends of thought that lump Muslims together with extremist terrorists. If this is how Islam is ever-increasingly understood, it is only logical then that all sensible and moderate Christians should also aim to likewise distance themselves from the idiocy of those outspoken lunatics who comprise the Westboro Baptist Church, for example. But they do not. Somehow it is acceptable to be a Christian, regardless of the radical differences between denominations and groups, and their respective activities.

When will society realise that people are free to make their own choices? One of the first teachings of the Bible is that humans were created with free will – how else would Eve have been able to defy an all-powerful deity and eat the forbidden fruit? You cannot make someone guilty of the horrendous crimes committed by ISIS by such weak association as sharing the same religion.

So, to the Vatican, to Tomasi, and to the Pope: do not speak out against crimes when it suits you. Speak out against everything that affects our dignity and equal rights as human beings instead of only focusing on that of your fellow Christians, whom you suppress every day by controlling even the most intimate of your followers’ relationships.

In the words of Karl Marx, ‘religion is the flowers on the chains of religious oppression’ (Marx’s Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right). The sooner that this is realised, the sooner there is hope for the dissolution of extremist groups like ISIS, and the sooner we will all be saved from the hypocrisy of the Vatican and every other religious group.

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This is a constantly ongoing process in stars, where the temperatures and pressures are created by the star’s own gravity.

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rogress on the development of ITER, the world’s widest collaborative nuclear fusion reactor and research centre, recently entered a new phase with the commencement of work on creating the infrastructure that will provide the vast amounts of electrical power needed to fuel the device.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, is a project involving countries representing over half of the world’s population working together to find a viable and efficient alternative energy source to fossil fuels; China, India, Russia, Japan, South Korea, the US and the EU are all contributors. The site itself is situated in the South of France, where preparations began in 2007 with the clearing and leveling of 42 hectares of land. The building of the onsite headquarters was completed in 2012. January this year saw the first component of the tokamak fusion device arrive on site, and in April works began on the development of the electrical infrastructure.

Powering a star machine

A tokamak is the name for a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) device that uses magnetic fields to confine a plasma (an ionized gas, meaning the electrons have been stripped from their nuclei), and is the favoured design for fusion reactors.

In nuclear fusion, nuclei are forced together under extremely high pressures and temperatures to create new, bigger nuclei, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process. This is a constantly ongoing process in stars, where the temperatures and pressures are created by the star’s own gravity. Hydrogen fuses to form helium, and in very massive stars, even heavier elements, including carbon, nitrogen and oxygen, all the way up to iron in the cores of the most massive stars. Elements heavier than iron can only be created in the most energetic explosions in the universe, supernovae. On Earth, most experiments so far have only successfully been able to fuse up SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

JENNIFER ALLERTON IMAGE BY BETHANY WESTALL to helium, and at an efficiency of close to 0, meaning it takes as much energy to heat the plasma as is given out in fusion energy. There are different candidates for possible reactor fuels, the generally favoured combination, and the one that will be used by ITER being a deuterium-tritium reaction.

Deuterium and tritium are both isotopes of hydrogen, respectively consisting of one proton and one neutron, and one proton and two neutrons. Deuterium and tritium fuse to form helium, with two protons and two neutrons, leaving one neutron spare. The energy production comes from the fact that a helium nucleus and one neutron actually have a mass very slightly lower than that of a deuterium nucleus and a tritium nucleus. Thanks to Einstein’s most famous equation, we know that this apparent destruction of mass does not in fact defy the laws of nature, but is converted to kinetic energy with a conversion factor of the speed of light squared, 9×10¹⁶.

It is the spare neutron that carries away most of this energy, which is then absorbed by a surrounding blanket of lithium which slows the neutron through collisions, converting its energy to heat to then power a generator.

The trick is in managing to create a plasma that can be sustained for significant periods of time. At the moment, it takes as much power to create the fusion reaction as is given back out in energy. In most cases, a plasma only lasts for fractions of a second before collapse. If it were able to be held for longer periods of time, it would be self-sustaining and only need the initial burst of energy to heat it in order to create vast amounts of energy. This is why ITER is such an important project for the entire scientific community. Completion of the assembly of the tokamak is projected to occur in 2019, with hopes for creating the first plasma in ITER in 2020 and the beginning of deuterium-tritium operations in 2027.

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Starving out cancer Amanda Hyne takes a look at pioneering research in the fight to treat cancer.

IMAGE BY JOSHUA SPACKMAN

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Advert

IMAGE 84mm x 98mm Cancer cell

esearch published in Nature earlier this month has demonstrated the requirement of fatty acids for the formation of new blood vessels; a crucial process in the survival of cancers. Scientists from Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology have succeeded in inhibiting this pathway, providing the basis for a potential new treatment that effectively starves cancer cells.

There are a number of ways in which cancerous cells must adapt to survive in our bodies, an environment where the balance between cell division and death is normally tightly regulated. Once a cancer has reached 1 to 2mm across, it must become more vascularised – form more blood vessels to give it a constant supply of oxygen and glucose, and remove waste – to sustain uncontrolled division, a hallmark of cancer cells.

Moreover, the ability of cancer to spread to other organs, propagating its lethal effects and complicating treatment, depends on the ability of tumour cells to enter the blood.

The cells which make up blood vessels must divide in the process of angiogenesis to allow ‘vessel sprouting’, causing them to extend into a tumour. As such, there have been many attempts to counteract this process by blocking the function of angiogenic factors. These attempts have hitherto been inefficient and easily bypassed by cancer cells in the production of a distinct angiogenic factor.

CPT is an enzyme responsible for shuttling fatty acids into mitochondria, the power stations of the cell. Mitochondria use fatty acid oxidation to produce energy for the synthesis of DNA and proteins, all of which are crucial to cell survival and division. Silencing CPT1a in mice reduced cell division in blood cells, indicating a defect in angiogenesis. They found that products of fatty acid breakdown, detected by radioactive labels, were used to synthesise DNA which was impaired when CPT1a was silenced. Moreover, angiogenesis was rescued when precursors of nucleotides, the building blocks of 14

DNA, called nucleosides were added to the endothelial cells.

Therefore, by impairing DNA synthesis, CPT1a silencing has the potential to inhibit endothelial division and, consequently, angiogenesis. Moreover, pathological angiogenesis was inhibited when a blocker of CPT1a called etoxomir was tested in mouse models. The use of fatty acids by endothelial cells in the production of DNA is distinct to that of most other cells which rely mainly on the availability of sugar and amino acids, as was previously thought to be the case with endothelial cells.

Identifying such pathways unique to a cell type is crucial for selective targeting, making fatty acid metabolism an excellent candidate for a novel anti-angiogenic.

These insights could form the basis of a novel strategy for blocking pathological angiogenesis by lowering fatty acid oxidation to starve endothelial cells, therefore cancer cells. The prevention of angiogenesis would also prevent the spread of cancer through the blood, a crucial stage in improving survival rates among cancer patients. Dr. Maria-Fendt states that their new-found insight is “ground breaking and has the potential to have a major impact on the treatment of disease with vascular involvement such as cancer”. Indeed, this research could have implications in other diseases; uncontrolled angiogenesis can cause blindness by the destruction of the retina due to leakage of blood, underlying the pathology of many diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. However, as Dr. Carmeliet warns, “We still have a long road with many years of research” before bench-side theory becomes bedside practice.

SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

Politics above the rate of inflation. We also want to build 500,000 homes for social rent [council houses, or similar], over the term of the next parliament, to help to restore the balance.

That should bring more balance into the housing market, we need to get rents and an affordable level and we need to build affordable housing to deal with that.”

An issue where the Green Party sticks out from other politicians significantly is the decriminalisation of cannabis to the ‘Dutch level’. Should the Green party be worried about drug tourism? “What we’re trying to do is harm minimisation, it’s very clear that the war on drugs has failed and the issue with drugs is a huge problem related to criminality. We’re focused on trying to reduce the damage that is done by drugs.

There’s a lot of expert advice and evidence from around the world that says decriminalising cannabis is the way forward, in this area and so many others we want to move towards an evidence based policy.”

‘We’re not looking to go into a coalition’ Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett, speaks to Bridie Pearson-Jones about tuition fees, feminism, legalising weed, and where the Green Party will stand after May 7th.

IMAGE BY JORDAN STEWART The first half of this interview was published in our General Election issue.

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ne of these policies that sound great is the abolition of tuition fees, but how are the Green party planning on funding this? Pretty simply, taxation, taxation, taxation: “We very much want to focus multinational companies and rich individuals pay their own way – on the HMRCs own figures tax evasion and avoidance cost £34billion a year. We also want to bring in a wealth tax, which by the end of parliament could bringing in £25billion a year, and a Robin Hood Tax, 16

or financial transactions tax, which could bring in £20billion a year. We want to balance society so people who can afford to pay, pay.”

For students, one of the biggest issues is housing, three quarters of students have problems with their rented student homes, and are getting into debt to pay for it. Natalie offers me her sincerest sympathies over my housing situation, and adds “It’s not just students that this happens to – there’s a real problem with relationship between landlords and tenants, and the way in which that housing is seen as a financial assets first and a secondarily as a home.” Bennett continues “we want to introduce rent caps, so you have security of tenure for up to five years, if you wanted it also wouldn’t see your rent rising POLITICS

A lot of the Green Party’s points are on so-called ‘evidence based policy’, so if the Green Party were to go into a coalition – which policy points would they insist on keeping? “Just to put on the record, we would never prop up a Tory government, in any way at all.” Bennett insists, “We also wouldn’t be looking towards a coalition; we’d rather support a Labour-lead minority government on a vote-by-vote basis. If you go into coalition you take ministerial cards but you’re then forced to vote against your principles, if we were in opposition we won’t lose our principles.” So what if Bennett herself doesn’t get elected as an MP? At the moment, pollsters are predicting her to come third in her consistency of Holborn and St. Pancras, will she step down as leader Farage-style? “I think I have a very large mountain to climb in Holborn and St Pancras, and if we’re going to see real change, that’s the way things will be. I’m working very hard on that and looking forward to a hustings. I was elected by the Green Party members as leader, and I’ve been given a job to do, and I’ll be doing that as long as I’m still elected.”

According to voteforpolicies.org, the Green Party is the second favourite party of the UK electorate, shortly behind Labour. I asked Natalie why she thought this wasn’t the case in reality “The British Electorate have been trained over decades to vote tactically. I’ve met a lot of people who have told me they voted Lib Dem in 2010 to keep the Tories out; but there’s been an increasing disillusion with that, as people are realising politics isn’t changing as a result of that, as a result of 2010.

The two largest parties in particular tend to slant their policies POLITICS

towards swing voters in the swing seats, assuming their core vote will stay with them no matter what. If we’re going to get a different kind of politics in Britain, it really is in voters hands – as you pointed out with votes for policies, we need every British person to vote towards their own belief, looked at the candidates in their constituency, it’s in voters hands to actually deliver a ‘peaceful political revolution’ on May 7th.’

But it’s not tactical voting that’s the problem for most students, it’s voting at all. Voter apathy is at an all time high, especially in 18-24 year olds. How would the Green Party encourage the youth to vote? “What we have to say is this is our world; this is the future world, in Westminster, lots of important decisions are made. I know there’s lots of rhetoric out there, Russell Brand being among them that say “don’t vote, it only encourages them” but if you don’t vote, I’m happy enough with how things are that I haven’t bothered, which I don’t think is a true reflection of how things are at all. What I’d say is make sure you register to vote, go along to the polling station and have your say. I’d obviously say vote Green, but above all else, vote for what you believe in – look up your local candidates, go along to local events where their speaking if you can and see who you agree with. If you really don’t want to vote for any of them, write something on the ballot box that would indicate that.” Another of the Green Party’s policies is to lower the voting age to 16, which, according to Natalie is a “This is a long term Green Policy, support for which has grown as a result of the Scottish Referendum, which saw a very high level of engagement for 16 and 17 year olds.” The leader of the Green Party tells me “It’s the future; it’s your world for many decades to come. 16 and 17 year olds are as well informed as any other group about politics. If you have General Elections every 5 years, and your birthday is the day after the General Election, votes at 18 could actually be votes at 23. You’re leaving people along way down the track before they can have a say about society.”

“It’s the future; it’s your world for many decades to come. 16 and 17 year olds are as well informed as any other group about politics” 17

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hundred years ago, a scheduled General Election was postponed due to the outbreak of the First World War. Had it gone ahead however, the hum of political discussion amongst university students would have sounded distinctly different to how it does today as we approach the final stages in the lead up to this year’s General Election. This was not simply owed to the fact that Britain was in the grips of war, but because Britain was a country within which only half of the population were by law allowed to make a contribution to national-level politics. If this were still the case, nearly 12,000 students at the University of Southampton would be turned away at the polling station on the 7th May, not because they were not registered, but because they are female.

Today women possess equal voting rights. As the centenary of 1918 Representation of the Peoples Act approaches, that people will recount those well-known, heroic tales of the suffragists and suffragettes; footage of Emily Davidson throwing herself under the Kings Horse in 1913, images of Emmeline Pankhurst’s multiple arrests, women and men who put their livelihood and lives on the line for political future of British women, and rightly so.

However, there is one tale that won’t be popping up on our newsfeeds in 2018, that being the story of the women who campaigned against the female parliamentary vote at the beginning of the twentieth century. It’s a narrative which has been consciously forgotten in British history, perhaps because women actively campaigning against their own enfranchisement doesn’t have quite the empowering or heartening effect as the popular images of suffragettes locked behind bars. To the majority today, the concept may appear incredibly contradictory, perhaps a little ludicrous.

The existence of the Men’s National League for Opposing Women’s Enfranchisement, led by diplomat and colonial administrator Lord Cromer is unsurprising - a large proportional of Edwardian men were against Women’s suffrage. In 1910, struggling to gain mass-support, the organization merged with its female equivalent to form the National League for Opposing Women’s Suffrage, with a female figurehead. The movement drew to a natural close after a number of British women were granted the parliamentary vote in 1918, however cracks had started to show in the supposedly amalgamated league from the start. There was clear gender division within the league, whereby many of the men based their opposition on the belief that women were simply incapable of being trusted in political affairs. A proportion of the women however, including the figurehead, Mrs Humphry Ward, believed that women’s contribution to society extended beyond the domestic sphere, into local level politics and community matters, yet as Ward herself said “the men who bear the burden [of Britain’s imperial responsibility] ought to be unhampered by the political inexperience of women”.

The point at which the movement begins to appear particularly contradictory is when we take a closer look at the life of Mrs Humphry Ward. This woman was Britain’s best-selling female novelist, selling over 250,000 copies of one novel within the first few months of publication. Interestingly, she was one of the key advocates for women’s rights to higher education and lastly a philanthropist who was applauded for her work in helping 2,400 disabled children to attend London schools. For these reasons you would think she would be celebrated today as one of the most inspirational women of the past century.

If Ward’s ideals were implemented today millions of universityeducated women be made to keep quiet on May 7th. It is not an ideal that many would be proud to promote in 2015.

No votes for women?

By Annie Copp, Annekka Patel, Natalie Rowell, Jessica Leach, Connie Burbidge, Poppy Bowers and Kate Roddy IMAGE BY KATHRYN SMITH 18

POLITICS

IMAGE 206mm x 260mm

Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Trend Report

The 70s

Grad Ball Fashion Fix

Dresses through the ages

Perfect in prints Bold, bright and clashing prints were seen on the catwalk at House of Holland and Valentino among others. This trend is incredibly versatile – if you’re keen to try the trend in a subtle way, pick out an accessory such as a bag or plimsolls. If you’re a fan of prints and want to embrace the trend, head to Zara’s TRF section for a multitude of dresses, blouses and playsuits in vibrant colours and layered prints.

This year, SUSU will be taking graduates back through the decades with their very own Graduation Ball time machine.

Embrace the music by breaking away from modern outfits and dare to follow these early decade style tips.

Angel Seeboruth

Burnt tones Burnt orange, mustard yellow and terracotta reds were seen on the Gucci SS/15 catwalks.

These tones evoke summer festivals, sunshine and days spent relaxing! They look great teamed with neutral chambray and denim garments. Again, Zara’s TRF section is a great place to shop for this trend.

70s: Groovy Baby Seen as one of the most iconic fashion decades, 70s chic is currently a hot trend this season. Continuing on from the late 60s, the early 70s embraced the hippie look, incorporating paisley patterns, floral designs and bright colours, forever defining the ‘flower power’ statement. Don’t be afraid to refer back to the ever famous Austin Powers to really grasp the hippie style with flares, fringing and funky patterns.

ASOS have a great selection of dresses, especially in their ‘That Seventies Show’ section, like this off-the-shoulder paisley print dress. Grab a headband and some crazy round sunglasses and you’re ready to go. Groovy baby!

The 70s returned in full swing on the catwalks for SS/15 and the High Street is taking note. This trend isn’t about dressing like you’re heading to a fancy dress party; it’s all about taking influences from the fashions of the decade and giving them subtle updates to make the look current. Laura Cox

80s: Don the Madonna The Eighties bring you a wide choice of outfits to steal the show. Keep to the early decade style and create a disco-inspired outfit with tight and bright leggings, a spandex leotard and leg-warmers. If the aerobic attire doesn’t quite fit your ideal Oceana-appropriate outfit, then channel your inner Madonna rock-chick. Famous in fashion during this period, Madonna changed style forever by daringly wearing lingerie as outerwear, as well as fingerless lace gloves, layers of beads and fishnets. Grab yourself a lace bralet, and team it with a black A-line skirt, a huge bow in your hair and some crucifix earrings.

Denim delight The SS High Streets have been awash with denim in a range of hues and textures.

To keep in with the 70s trends, pick smock style tops and dresses, as seen at Topshop and Marks and Spencer, or opt for soft blue chambray – as seen at Zara.

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LIFESTYLE

60s: Girl Next Door Gone were the lengthy dresses of the 50s and in came the mini skirt. Short dresses dominated the scene in A-line shapes and girly, sleeveless shifts. Throughout this decade, the mini skirt ruled the fashion world and can Sixtie-fy your Grad Ball outfit. Channel your inner Twiggy with a pair of tall boots and tonnes of mascara.

Play it safe and opt for a block coloured box-shaped shift dress, like this one from Topshop, or opt for a late 60s hippie inspired dress, decorated with some crazy paisley patterns.

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Lifestyle

Meeting Becky Bedbug LAURA COX IMAGE BY ALEXANDER MAVRONICHOLAS

I caught up with blogger Becky Bedbug about music, style and the city of Southampton!

How and when did you first get into blogging?

I first started blogging way back in 2002 when I started up a Diaryland journal. Over the years, my blogging switched over to MySpace, Tumblr and eventually I started creating blogs on Blogger and WordPress. I couldn’t even count the number I’ve had but it was only when I started Becky Bedbug in December 2011 that I finally found something to stick with.

What is your proudest ‘blogging moment’ or favourite ‘blogging experience’ so far?

There are so many things that have made me proud that I couldn’t possibly choose one. Reaching 1000 followers was a really big deal for me at the time, as was the first time a “big blogger” contacted me. I’ve also had some really amazing experiences like being invited to a preview of the Warner Bros Studio Tour Platform 9 3/4 expansion. Most of all, I think I’m just proud of how committed I’ve been!

Where would you like to take your blog in the future?

I really want to keep developing and keep pushing. I had an epiphany at the start of the year that I’m not really giving my readers any added value so this year I’m working on being more helpful and a more productive member of the blogging community.

What inspires your style and where do you find inspiration?

I can get inspiration from anywhere. Right now I’m all about kitschy early-90s children’s icons: My wardrobe is made up LIFESTYLE

of My Little Pony and teddy bear prints, not to mention my amazing Sooty top! I tend to take trends but try to make them a bit more fun. I could never get away with being one of those uber-cool, super-serious sunglasses-and-floppy-hat types!

What would be your ideal day out in London?

At the moment, I have a list of really quirky places to visit in London so I’d knock one of those off. I love morbid pathological museums like St Bart’s or the Hunterian. For lunch, I’d stop off for tea at somewhere beautiful like Sketch or Ladurée, then end my day with some shopping at a vintage market. Perfect!

Do you have a favourite place in Southampton or on the South Coast?

In my uni days, I was all about nights at The Dungeon! Now that I’m a little older, I much prefer to walk along the beaches.

I once had great fun visiting Hythe and riding the little train along the pier, and I’m itching to visit Netley Abbey!

What’s your favourite album?

Deja Entendu by Brand New will forever be my favourite. The lyrics are just wonderful!

What’s the best gig you’ve been to?

Oh man, this is taking me back! April 9th 2005- My Chemical Romance at (the now bulldozed) London Astoria. It was my very first gig, the first of what would be 17 times seeing MCR and it was pure magic for me. It makes me happy every time I think back to that night in such a missed, iconic venue.

Thank you Becky!

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THE TRAVELLER OR THE TOURIST?

and a GoPro, their mind is brimming with wanderlust, unique experiences and endless Tumblr quotes.

These are the stereotypes that are defining the way we travel.

Who we want to be and who we don’t. More often it’s the tourist that we fear we could be labelled as for pulling out an itinerary or insisting a visit to a city’s main tourist attraction.

Travel is fast becoming a rite of passage for many. For a weekend escape from native soil you can jump on a plane and be on foreign ground for as little as £20. Gap years between school and university, university and the graduate world are becoming increasingly popular for those who want their last tastes of adventure before reality sets in. Travelling has become easier and more accessible to us all, yet has brought a new and competitive trend to judge who travels the “right” and “wrong” way; who is the traveller and who is the tourist.

Excluding a traveller’s and tourist’s stereotyped appearance, what’s the difference? Many argue that the traveller travels to experience a place’s authenticity off the ‘beaten track’, connecting with local culture and embracing their surroundings. The tourist explores the already discovered for pleasure, jumping from attraction to attraction to take in a sugar-coating of culture. To put it as an analogy, the tourist is the 14 year old you find sporting a Guns n’ Roses t-shirt to look “edgy”, knowing at most the chorus of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’; whilst the traveller sports the 1988 tour shirt and has all six albums. It is a stereotype that defines inward motives and authentic knowledge.

The way we travel is fast becoming defined by stereotypes, dictating who travels the right way and who’s doing it completely wrong. But does your choice of how you see a place really distinguish if you’re a nomadic traveller or naïve tourist? Felicity Cusack IMAGES BY GEORGE THOM

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itted out in khaki shorts, an ‘I heart [insert city]’ t-shirt and a rain jacket tied around the waist, the common Tourist can be found with their head submerged in their Lonely Planet guidebook. Occasionally, they may reach for their bumbag of secrets and pull out a bottle of overpriced water to cool themselves from the scorching foreign heat.

The females lie in the shade; nattering about the dreamy pool they will dip themselves into that evening, piña colada in hand with plenty of Instagram-worthy bikini snaps. The males however, begin an extraordinary show of dominance in the pack, taking it upon themselves to argue ferociously with the

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tourguide who waves his ‘Follow Me’ flag in surrender to the sunburnt males.

On the outskirts of the same city is a vastly different species.

Identifiable by their clashing choice of tie-die and florals, and covered in tattoos of Chinese lettering; these are the Travellers. Sunkissed skin decorated in friendship bracelets and festival bands, the traveller wanders the land in search of the authentic. They are usually found alone, poor, and smelling of the grapes they crushed on the nearby vineyard to earn their next meal. These rowdy creatures live out of their rucksacks; yet though their bag may only contain harem pants

POLITICS

Like the 14 year old’s inexpert choice of attire, the tourist is often labelled as only seeing the materialistic culture of a place. Most likely this is fuelled by the booming tourism industry that makes travel more comforting and pleasurable for the foreigner, with cities operating to please any native in any circumstance. Yet this pleasure and comfort appears to be turning many off, with many seeking culture that isn’t handed to them on a plate, exploring away from the busy crowds and into the rawness of a place. The choice of how people travel, and what they see, has led to this unnecessary and untruthful divide of stereotypes.

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I’ve always thought of myself as a tourist, enjoying the safety of a guidebook on family holidays. When I ventured on my first solo trip to a South African riding centre it occurred to me that this could be my chance to level up to “traveller”. I had a growing portfolio of countries visited, I was young and I was going somewhere you wouldn’t find in the Lonely Planet guidebook; surely that qualified my traveller status? Not at all.

Although I found the authentic; drinking with the locals and herding cows out of fields cowboy style, I was still a tourist.

A tourist that had to pretend to be a traveller leading other holidaymakers on their beach treks, knowledgeably pointing out the names of coastlines and the best local spots for lunch.

It was like the blind leading the blind, but on horseback.

I met a friend there who travelled South Africa with a meticulously planned out three month itinerary of the major cities. Another friend enjoyed spontaneously jumping from outback farm job to farm job, and another who was sorting their visa to stay for another six months at the centre. Each of these people had their own experiences and stories of South Africa, they had been both on and off the beaten path and gained the same highs and lows of any travel experience. Road tripping the famous Garden Route made their experience no less authentic than working at the remote riding centre, but working there didn’t mean they were anymore traveller than tourist. They were still strangers learning to live in a foreign place, surrounding themselves in a culture that they wouldn’t find at home whether for pleasure, escape, or business.

Whether you reach for the experiences handed to you on a tourist-place or not, your choice of activities and exploration when travelling does not define your travel stereotype.

“Tourist” should not be made a demeaning term used to justify the “wrong” way to travel. Nor should “traveller” be used to hail the connoisseurs of travel that define themselves on what they are not. Travel with good intention and consideration; that is the only right way.

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Winchester

The age-old question: what do artists do all day?

KALISTO BANCROFT IMAGE BY CHARLOTTE SCARROW

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o they merely throw paint about a canvas with a maddening disposition, sit outside cafés all afternoon smoking and discussing culture, philosophy, and politics with artist counterparts? For this particular idea of an ‘artist’ has been assumed for some decades now; the drinker, the smoker, the eccentric, the lover…

I have recently been watching the BBC series “What Do Artists Do All Day?” (hence the title of this article) and have found it continuously fascinating. As an art student and young artist myself I have often found it an invigorating sight to behold an artist in their working environment; watching a group of established and diverse artists at work in their studios is, upon speculation, an education of sorts for an aspiring painter.

Scottish artist Jack Vettriano, taxidermist Polly Morgan and Welsh sculptor and painter Shani Rhys-James are among my favourites. Their ardent passion for their practice is rather inspirational in setting aside goals for my future as an artist.

Do you know what significantly caught me? Of all the artist stereotypes, Vettriano is indeed a smoker, which somehow just fits. The idea of an artist smoking for some traditional reason is emphatic. It compliments the image as it has done for some years; and I like that. I admire that. Despite all the negative hype and unhealthy detriment of smoking, he still smokes. I don’t know. Perhaps this opinion just reflects the Franco-British blood within me. Vettriano, a painter of glamour and class of the lost golden age, works from his apartment in Knightsbridge, London, from 5am each day.

In fact, each artist within the series were more or less ‘early

WINCHESTER

birds’. You see? These artists are truly dedicated to their practice, efficient workers with brilliant minds. They do not sit about all day, drinking coffee and existing upon political discussion. They work; they hammer away profusely, whether writing, sculpting, painting etc. they put their backs into it as it were.

An artist fulfils their practice via a deep need and understanding to express visually and philosophically, I find.

But to truly understand an artist’s mind, you need to be one.

We’re a strange sort. As Rhys-James so eloquently puts it “not many people would understand why anybody would do this”.

Out of a crying need to fulfil ourselves, a burning necessity that drives us towards the lucrative path of creating something extraordinary. Rhys-James is successful in her contemplation that “it is extremely important as a human being to fulfil yourself, man or woman.” She’s right. Just so inexplicably right.

What an artist does all day is central and only truly explicable to the creator. What an artist does each day is comprehensive to their form of artistic practice. An artist does not rehearse the art of being a virtuoso ‘lay-about’ as some may otherwise perceive, but rather use their time to express their emotions, memories, anecdotes and philosophies on this contrivance we call ‘life’. An artist focuses on the juxtaposition of light and dark, right and wrong, pro and con, and attempts to go about it in a way that conveys their concept.

Contrary to what some might think, artists are bloody hard workers…

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International

International

The tricky path to diplomacy

Iran VS THE WEST Iran and the West have recently reached a temporary deal over Iran’s nuclear programme, but a final deal still seems far from being achieved. Cameron Ridgway investigates the possible contentious points between the two sides.

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ast year marked a thaw in the tense relations between Iran and the West, with the election of a somewhat more moderate president in the form of Hassan Rouhani. The Englisheducated cleric was elected on a platform of improving relations with the West, as economic sanctions implemented over Iran’s refusal to end its nuclear programme have crippled Iran’s economy and severely restricted growth. Iran later entered negotiations with the West to end sanctions over its nuclear programme, but so the negotiations have not produced a final agreement.

A temporary deal is currently in place, under which Iran has agreed to stop enriching ‘medium grade’ or 20% purity uranium, which could easily be enriched to weapons grade material. Weapons inspectors will also be allowed greater access to its nuclear sites and development will be halted at a plant believed to be capable of producing plutonium. In return western countries will not apply any new nuclear-related sanctions for the next 6 years.

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The country will also receive approximately £4.3 billion of sanctions relief in a number of sectors if it abides by the terms of the agreement. This is intended to be the precursor to a full deal.

Both Iran and the US have claimed responsibility for the creation of this temporary agreement. The Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Jawad Zarif, described the accord as ‘a removal of any doubts about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme’.

However, this deal was only achieved after a series of top secret face to face talks between Iran and the US in addition to the official talks on the agreement featuring the ‘P5+1’ group of countries (The US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany). These top secret meetings are reported to have been kept secret even from US allies and conducted in a variety of locations including Oman, where it is thought the Omani Sultan Kaboos acted as a mediator and played a key role in the negotiation.

other western powers involved in the negotiations of failing to offer enough concessions, though a temporary deal has now been reached. However, with so many stumbling points in the preliminary negotiations is it difficult to envisage how a comprehensive final deal may ever be achieved, especially with the recent demands of Ayatollah Al Khameni, Iran’s Supreme Leader, that the West must lift all sanctions in order to have any prospect of achieving a deal.

This has led critics of the deal on the American side to condemn the US government impression that sanctions would be lifted in phases as ‘delusional’, due to the marked difference from the Iranian impression of the process.

Congress will also soon vote on a bill which will give them the final say instead of the Obama administration, meaning that any final deal will be voted on and reviewed before the house makes any decision on whether to suspend sanctions, potentially risking the collapse of the entire negotiation process.

With so many stumbling points in the preliminary negotiations is it difficult to envisage how a comprehensive final deal may ever be achieved

Despite this additional level of negotiation, Iran has been constantly accused both by the Americans and INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL

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Advert

MAKING FAIR DEMANDS? Is Greece right to seek ‘war reparations’ from Germany?

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ROSY HOWELL IMAGE BY JOSHUA SAMWAYS

ensions having been rising between Greece and Germany in recent months. With Greece in €317 billion debt, according to the Jubilee Debt Campaign, and Germany being referred to as their biggest creditor this is perhaps not a surprising turn of events.

Reaching its peak (one hopes) Greece claims that Germany owes them reparations amounting to €279bn.

This staggering amount was calculated by the a Greek parliamentary committee and covers what Greece feel are existing debts including the loan the Bank of Greece was forced to give the Nazis who occupied and archaeological treasures which were taken from the country. It has been argued that Greece suffered particularly harshly under Nazi occupation with one report saying it was ‘among the most savage’.

Therefore, it may seem as though this cannot be simply an attempt to get back at the country with which it is currently displeased. Greece has been claiming they are owed reparations from Germany for far longer than this recent demand. Although very high, the amount being demanded is based on calculations about what Greece’s losses would be worth today.

However, taking Greece’s debt into account, the timing seems suspicious. The amount demanded would more than double Greece’s GDP, while setting Germany back more than a tenth of theirs. Greek hostility towards Germany has grown as many feel that Germany is to blame for the forced austerity. Germany has already paid Greece reparations to the amount of 115 million marks in 1960 but Greece claims this 30

was only ever meant to be an initial payment. As one might expect, Germany disputes this claim and insists that they have honoured reparatory obligations.

“It’s moral blackmail” according to Bela Anda (formerly the spokesperson for Gerhard Schröder when he was German chancellor). This sentiment is echoed in the outrage of Germany. It has touched on perhaps the most sensitive topic there is for Germany and been seen as merely an attempt to gain ‘leeway’ from its creditors. The demands were called ‘stupid’ by Germany’s Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, who dismissed them as having “nothing to do with World War Two or reparation payments”. The real issue, they argue, is being clouded over by “the fiery booze of antiGerman rhetoric”.

Yet, still this issue is controversial in Germany with many members of the Left party stating that they believe compensation should be paid. One member, Annette Groth, argued that it was “Germany’s moral duty” to pay Greece for the suffering that was inflicted upon them during World War 2 even if international law is unclear.

Greece has not taken Germany’s refusal lightly. Greek Defence Minister has spoken out to the effect that Germany’s reticence would be met with Greece permitting migrants easy access to Germany, with explicit mention of ISIS members being “given papers and sent to Berlin”. Moreover, he argued that Europe, although the threat was seemingly primarily aimed at a Germany, would only have “itself to blame because of its attitude towards Greece with regards to the debt question.”

INTERNATIONAL

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his month sees the results of the 2015 FIFA elections, where either Sepp Blatter, Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, Michael Van Praag or Luis Figo will be elected as FIFA president. Oddly enough, this event is often very quietly covered by the worlds media, probably because Sepp Blatter has won it the last 4 times and it often clashes with other national elections.

As stupid as it sounds, this 2015 election could drastically change the future of football, if Blatter is not re-elected. For the last 15 years or so, Blatter’s presidency has been full of controversy, corruption allegations and quite simply a lack of common sense. But who am I to judge, why not hear some of the comments Mr Blatter has made over the years:

The election football fans really care about Sport Editor Jack Pethick discusses the candidates, issues and potential outcomes of the FIFA Elections.

IMAGE BY SAM PENNY

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On attracting more followers to women’s sports: ‘Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. They could, for example, have tighter shorts.

Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?’

On dealing with racism in football: ‘He should say that this is a game. We are in a game, and at the end of the game, we shake hands, and this can happen, because we have worked so hard against racism and discrimination.’

On the match-fixing scandal in Italy: ‘I could understand it if it had happened in Africa, but not in Italy.’

But anyway, what about the other candidates?

Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein:

Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein is the third son of King Hussein of Jordan, and the second child of the king by his third wife, Queen Alia. Since the 6th January 2011, he has been the Vice President of FIFA for Asia. Ali believes that an unfair system of patronage has taken root under Blatter and that drastic measures are needed to restore the credibility of FIFA’s name. Ali’s manifesto centres around 4 key themes: Development, Football and the World Cup, Commercial success and Corporate Responsibility. The manifesto contains several thinly-veiled digs at current President Blatter, but nevertheless a few key issues arise from these core aims: 1. A detailed 10-point proposal for development, providing more support for National Associations who need it most and more investment in Women’s Football, Women’s and Youth Tournaments, establishing Regional Development Offices and simplifying the FIFA development application process.

SPORT

2. Ensuring that, within four years, every single Football Association in the world will have what it needs to play the game, including basic infrastructure and equipment.

3. Ensuring that any decisions about FIFA World Cup Expansion are made openly, democratically and for the good of the sport, based on meaningful professional research.

4. Protecting current revenue streams, reducing wasteful spending, and generating significant increases in revenues – therefore increasing the funds available to invest in football around the world.

5. Transforming FIFA’s approach to governance and embracing a transparent, democratic leadership style which encourages debate, empowers others and ensures a clear understanding of the roles of all within the FIFA administration including the role of the President himself.

Michael Van Praag:

Michael van Praag is a former chairman of Ajax Amsterdam and the current chairman of the Royal Dutch Football Association. One of the more unknown candidates, Van Praag shares many manifesto points with fellow candidate Luis Figo. The key element of his campaign is a need for increased transparency in the worlds footballing body and his key phrase being ‘Football for Everyone’. These are just a few key issues taken from the Dutchman’s manifesto: 1. Increasing the amount of teams who participate in the World Cup from 32 to 40.

2. Creation of a “world trainer’s academy” for coaches and “central referee’s academy” 3. “Normalization”; Publishing of the ‘Garcia Report’ and the publishing of all executive committee meetings.

4. Reinstitution of “financial humility” 5. Will only stand in office for 1 (4 year) term- something that should be implemented for future presidents too.

6. More attention paid to human rights in FIFA statutes

Luis Figo:

For many avid football fans, this man needs no introduction.

Figo, who’s list of achievements includes being the most capped Portuguese player ever, winner of the 2000 Ballon d’Or, 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year, and in 2004 was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. In addition, Figo’s trophy wins include the Portuguese Cup, four La Liga titles, two Spanish Cups, three Spanish Super Cups, one UEFA Champions League title, one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup, four Serie A titles, one Italian Cup and three Italian Super Cups.

However, Figo is now a man of footballing politics, undoubtedly his footballing reputation may have some influence over his campaign, but do his policies match his reputation? Figo, who’s campaign twitter hashtag is #ForFootball, outlines 9

SPORT

key points in his manifesto all starting with the word ‘change’, they include: 1. Change and Development 2. Change and Solidarity 3. Change and the World Cup 4. Change and FIFA’s structure 5. Change and Leadership 6. Change and Cooperation 7. Change and the Law’s of the Game 8. Change and Protecting the Game 9. My Pledge From these 9 points, some key points of his manifesto can be filtered: 1. Increase participation and expertise in both elite and grassroots football.

2. Improve refereeing and distribution of infrastructure and football material.

3. Fairer distribution of FIFA’s finances.

4. Expansion of the number of places at the World Cup and cross-continental tournaments.

5. Re-implement FIFA’s image of being a body at the highest ethical and moral standards.

6. Increase and create a fair debate for further introduction of technology into football.

7. Pledge to take a pro-active approach to the running of the World’s footballing body.

Sadly, the general public does not have a say in these elections, that in itself is a whole new debate that could be explored. The elections are based on the votes received from the individual footballing bodies themselves such as the FA. However, this in itself is arguably one of the key reasons for the mass corruption that exists in FIFA currently. In fact, in an interview released

by The Guardian last year, revealed how a previous candidate claimed that FIFA changed the voting system to ensure Blatter would be re-elected, despite having less than 10 per cent of the voting consensus. One striking quote from the report, stated how: ’Fifa officials like to talk about how it’s a great democracy, but most great democracies don’t have one-candidate elections.’ It is quite frankly incredible that sport which represents the ‘peoples game’ and has so much money invested in it, contains so much corruption that goes relatively unnoticed or unpublicised. One only has to go onto FIFA’s official website, to see how sections of it are dedicated to the achievements of Blatter when they are supposed to outline the President’s role and responsibilities. FIFA needs a drastic shake-up if we are to seed the much needed change in football, and it starts by removing the King from his throne.

Blatter quotes taken from sportsmolfe.co.uk

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W

ake up, your exam is today!! Nah I’m just messing with you, go back to bed… unless of course you’re reading this on the day of your exam… if so then you’d better wake up, your exam is today.

Yes it’s that time of year again, exams are looming and students all around Southampton, and the world, are trying desperately to distract themselves. As runner-up of the ‘World Procrastination Championships’ myself (I lost out narrowly to the legend that is Billy ‘Get Distracted Easily’ McGhee), I understand the plight of the student who has to struggle with carefully balancing revision with their many interests and hobbies such as Netflix, bear baiting and not doing revision. So to help you all, here are my top tips for getting the most out of the pre-exam period.

First off, why not try dabbling in the occult? Yeah OK, Satan may have a few odd ideas about eternal damnation and central heating, but he sure as hell knows (pun most definitely intended) his oxbow lakes from his photosynthesis and his integration from his microeconomics. After all he invented them… or was that God?… or Darwin?... You see, if I had sold my soul to the devil in return for infinite knowledge, I could probably tell you. And how much is your soul worth really?

Yeah sure, you only get one of them, but that’s also true of your appendix and you don’t miss that when it’s gone, after it decides to try and kill you! Basically what I’m saying is, sell your soul now while you still can, before it explodes.

And let’s be honest, would you rather be either, a happygo-lucky 2:1 student, with friends and a shining soul but no sports car, or a demonic soulless husk with a 1st, who can twist their head round 360 degrees but does own a sports car? I know which one I’d choose… Vroom Vroom suckers, which way to the underworld?!

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There are still many more pearls of revision advice I have to share with you, in fact here’s a simple mnemonic to help you remember them…

G.I.V.E U.P. I’ll take you through it. The G stands for ‘Give Up’, remember that is always an option. Then I is for ‘I mean it, give up’, it’s really important to reiterate that one. V stands for ‘Veal’, an excellent source of protein. E is of course ‘Edward Heath’, this one’s a bit of a long shot but may help those of you studying politics. The blank space between the E and the U, is just a blank space; don’t read anything into it. Next up it’s my personal favourite - U for ‘U can give up, no one’s judging’, sound advice indeed. And last but most certainly not least, P for ‘Use mnemonics’, they never go wrong.

But seriously, my best piece of advice about revision is…

Stop reading this! Just stop! Do some work! Close the magazine… no wait… read the other brilliant articles in here first… done?... good, now close it… I mean it Abigail! - I really hope there’s a person called Abigail reading this and beginning to freak out right about now - Burn the magazine!

Realise that burning magazines is a tad excessive! Retrieve the charred magazine! Take out some work! Take a very deep breath and… Revise! ……………*Tumbleweed Sound FX* …………… Watch Netflix!

So please, even if you forget everything else I’ve told you today, just remember - G.I.V.E U.P., G.I.V.E U.P. and G.I.V.E U.P. again, and I’m sure you’ll do fine. Good luck!

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